Percy had never been happier to get blasted into a tree.

He picked himself up off the dusty ground, a grin on his face despite the stinging pain in his back. He met the bright eyes of his companion, her arms still extended outwards, a wicked smile on her face.

"Yeah, Aika!" Percy was ecstatic. "Hell yeah!"

He stood up, wiping at the bark and residue that had clung to his back. He stretched, cracking his lower back, before walking back to the smiling demigoddess. Zoë clapped from her perch in the neighboring tree, a smile on her face. Aika gave her a bow, laughing.

The trio had spent the morning continuing their trek to Mount Olympus, riding southeast across the top of the Chalkidiki peninsula. The mountains gave way to plains as they traveled, passing north of Kissos. Percy had grinned as they once more came upon the sea, and he practically sprinted to jump in the Thermaic Gulf. Zoë and Aika had both broken down laughing at him, splashing in the warm waters without a care in the world.

As they continued southwest, the afternoon sun had become too unbearable to continue. Percy was able to separate the salt from the Mediterranean water, but even with a water source as powerful as he, they were getting exhausted. Aika had wanted to keep pushing, but Percy and Zoë both motioned for a break from the humidity. They sought out a small clump of leafy trees, choosing to camp out in their shade for a bit, the shadows cooling their skin.

And thus, the trio rested, their legs and their behinds sore from a long day of riding. Bread and wine went around in a circle until their bellies were full and their hunger had been sated. Soon enough, Zoë had suggested Aika try and work on her powers. Experiment a bit.

Aika jumped at the idea.

The incident during the Dolos fight had clearly lit a fire underneath her. Percy suspected her search for her father had been slowly losing steam the longer she continued. Maybe intrusive thoughts had started to creep up from the outskirts of her mind. Was her dad actually a God? Did Aika's mom lie to Aika to cover up her own sins?

All that was put to rest with her ability to command the air itself.

She was motivated now. She wasn't going to Olympus out of a possibility her father was there - she was going to Olympus, and no one could stop her. No matter what got in their way.

Percy had offered to help with her training, given his connection to his own powers. But Percy and Aika had run into a roadblock early on - she hadn't felt a tug in her gut. When Percy channeled his powers, whether to create a wave or control raindrops, his gut always twisted, like a pinch. But Aika reported nothing like that at all - no physical limitations that they could tell.

"Ok, Aika… hmm. Yeah, let's try that." Percy nodded to himself. "Just envision the air moving under your command. Tell it to push forward. Know that it's you, not anyone else. It's you making it happen."

She had nodded, her eyes closed, concentrating on the breeze blowing in the plain. In a smooth motion, she had pushed her hands into the air in front of her, the force of which would have knocked a regular man out.

Nothing happened.

A punch followed the attempt, this time an uppercut that would have sent Gregorios to the atmosphere.

The same result.

She opened her eyes, disappointment evident. "Damn."

Percy put his hand on her back, comforting her. "Trust me, it isn't easy. It takes time. You'll figure it out."

Aika looked at Percy, her sky blue eyes connecting with his sea green. Her pupils were slightly dilated. "Yeah. We'll figure it out."

Percy shot her a smile. "Let's try it again."

She nodded, turning once more. A couple more gestures followed, each slowly growing wilder and wilder until it simply looked like poor interpretative dance. Percy tried to stifle his laughter, but when she looked like a praying mantis, it was hard not to.

Aika hit him. "Jackass."

He stepped back, hands raised to the sky. "I'm sorry! It was just too…" He trailed off into laughter.

She raised her eyebrow. "Too what, Perseus?"

Zoë chimed in from her branch, interrupting the sarcastic retort Percy had planned. "Maybe you need someone to hit."

Aika and Percy looked up at her, confused.

"The intention," The archer elaborated. "Maybe you need to have a target to hit. Just like it's easier to practice archery if you have a target with you."

Percy locked eyes with Aika, who shrugged. "Worth a shot, right?"

He nodded. But suddenly, Aika had a wicked gleam in her eye, one full of mischief. She exchanged a meaningful look with Zoë.

Percy looked at her, backing away. "Wait… who's going to be the target?"

So he got sent into a tree.

"You alright, Percy?" Aika asked, although she was still smiling. Zoë was holding back laughs behind her hands, covering her mouth.

Percy twisted his back to the left and right, eliciting a few more sharp pops from his spine. "Oh yeah, I'm good. That was great!"

She grinned, teeth shining in the afternoon sun. "Like Zoë said, I think I just need to identify and focus on a target. Shouldn't be too difficult to do."

The wind blew once more, warm air sweeping over them. Percy smiled at its touch - it just felt right. The air was cleaner in Greece, for sure. There was a noticeable difference between the ancient world and the future. It felt far more… authentic, the old world.

Percy wasn't surprised that more mortals believed in the gods in this time.

Around mid-afternoon, clouds rolled in, the sun's oppressive rays fading behind the gray, peeking through once every so often. The trio forged on, Zoë hoping to reach the old city of Methone, a bit south of the Axios River. They hopped on their horses and continued on.

The land flattened out even further and the vegetation grew more sparse, until the trees stood alone and the horizon stretched for miles. The world seemed wide open.

They continued on, the Greek landscape stretched out before them in all its glory. This, this was a world where gods roamed and ruled.

Finally, they came upon the Axios, trees lining its banks, clear water tumbling south towards the Mediterranean. The mountain peaks in the distance only gave Percy more confidence. They were getting closer and closer to Olympus, and hopefully closer to uncovering Aika's mystery.

The horses stopped to get a drink, while Percy stood guard. Zoë and Aika talked to each other on the riverbank in hushed tones; Percy was glad they were getting along, if he was honest. He held Anaklusmos loosely in his hand, switching between watching the river and the surroundings.

A deer drank from the river downstream. A flock of birds flew up from a tree hanging precariously over the water upriver. A bubble burst in the middle of the river.

The river swirled.

Anaklusmos suddenly jerked to his left in his hand, of its own accord, nearly wrenching Percy's arm out of his socket.

He yelped, dropping the sword on the ground, where it tumbled before falling flat on the dirt, pointing towards Percy. But yet again, it jerked to the left, swinging until the blade pointed downriver.

Zoë and Aika looked up towards Percy, questioning looks on their faces.

"Everything good, Percy?" Aika called.

He nodded, waving his hand in her general direction, not looking up. His attention was solely on Anaklusmos. "Yeah, yeah. No worries."

He crouched to the ground, examining the sword. Percy's eyebrows raised as he noticed the ανακλυσμός engraving glowing a soft blue. There was a thin layer of water atop the blade, acting like a cast around the sharp edge. As Percy bent down, he noticed another thin string of water extending from the sword's tip, snaking along the ground. Tracing the thread, Percy realized it came from the exact location of the bubble he had noticed earlier.

As he picked his sword up, the water thread stayed attached. The sword still aimed downriver, resisting any attempts by Percy to alter its direction. It only pointed downriver.

Like a compass. Guiding him.

Someone wanted to talk to him.

"What's happening?" Aika's voice came from above him.

He stood up from his crouch, Aika and Zoë now standing next to him, all staring at Anaklusmos. Percy lifted the sword, holding it in front of him like a spear, letting it guide him. Percy looked back at his friends.

"Someone wants to talk to me."

"Do you know who?" Aika asked.

"Maybe your father?" Zoë posited.

Percy nodded. "Maybe." He looked downriver. "Wait a couple minutes before following me; who knows if I'll need backup."

They nodded, hopping on their horses. Percy spoke to his horse quickly, telling him to follow Aika and Zoë. After some profanity and hefty promises of sugar, Jim (Percy decided to name his horse Jim) agreed.

And thus, Percy went off alone.

It felt odd, being alone. He had only been alone maybe once since he woke up on the warship at Aegospotami. Over the past week, he had been hunted by monsters who wouldn't die, surrounded by Roman demigods, and been accompanied on not one, but two quests. There simply wasn't much opportunity to be alone.

So in his current situation, hands in his pockets as he willed a bed of water to keep Anaklusmos in front of him, strolling along a riverbank with nobody around him, Percy found a little bit of peace.

It was quiet.

The only sounds were the gentle reverberations from the river, the sound of water streaming over polished rock. Birdsong could be heard in the distance. A dragonfly buzzed by his face. The air wasn't too humid, the wind wasn't too strong, the ground wasn't too damp. It was a beautiful day.

Percy found himself walking with a smile.

As he walked, the shoreline opened up in front of him, the river emptying into the gulf. Seagulls cawed overhead as the ground turned marshier. Percy's steps became slower as the ground became less and less secure. Small bands of earth snaked around large pools and estuaries.

Percy entered the delta, trees falling behind. Here, the fresh water and the salt mixed, while the sediments grew looser and looser. Soon enough, Percy was simply wading through the weeds and water, willing his shoes to stay dry despite the watery world.

The resistance from Anaklusmos disappeared.

He stopped, looking around. He saw nothing - no ripples, no waves, no tell-tale signs of a god. Grasping Anaklusmos, Percy called out.

"Hello?"

A hand reached up from the water.

Percy stumbled back, yelping. He sloshed around a bit before regaining his balance, holding Anaklusmos in front of him.

The hand was connected to a body, which rose up from the shallows. Percy's eyes widened - this was definitely someone mythical.

A gaunt figure rose out of the water. He was thin, almost skeletal - Percy could see his individual rib bones, glowing underneath his skin. All of his skeleton was glowing, as a matter of fact. His face was similarly thin, his cheekbones prominent as his skin barely stretched over his skull. The hair on his head had long fallen out. Strips of skin were peeling off his body. He looked like a prisoner who hadn't eaten in weeks.

One of his legs had been cut in half, ending at the patella. His tongue hung limp to the side of its mouth. He reminded Percy more of a zombie than a human, barely hanging on to life, by either sheer will or against his will. He was certainly more dead than alive.

But as Percy looked even closer, he realized something. The skin wasn't skin at all.

It was water.

The being spoke, a raspy, rattling voice coming from the nearly-exposed vocal chords of his throat. The voice sounded… cold.

"The sea…you are of the sea." Its skeletal right hand pointed at Percy.

Percy collected his wits, standing strong once more. "Yeah. Son of Poseidon here. Who are you? Why did you call me?"

The being smiled, an ugly collection of rotting teeth meeting his eyes. "It's always nice… to see another… person… with such a… strong connection to… the seas. I just… wanted to… talk."

Percy stepped back, keeping his sight on the ghostly figure. "Who are you?"

The skull's jaw dropped open as it cackled. "So… you don't know me… no one does… not anymore." He chuckled. "We are… all… forgotten."

Percy stayed quiet.

"I was… not always like… this. I… was handsome… once. I'd like that… again."

The entity glided forwards, foot skimming through the surface of the water, a small path carved in the murky delta.

"I am… Dipsioi."

Percy wrapped his hands around the hilt of Anaklusmos a bit tighter.

"The Old One."

Dipsioi neared Percy, coming to a stop just inches in front of Percy's face.

"The Dead One."

He suddenly grabbed Percy's neck, bony fingers and watery skin wrapping around, gripping Percy's throat. Percy couldn't breathe. Dipsioi got right in his face, dead, iris-less eyes glaring, an unnatural sense of hunger behind them.

"The… Thirsty."

The delta erupted.

Percy swiped Anaklusmos down, freeing Percy's throat - he subsequently took a gasp of air while pushing himself better. The brackish water around them seemed to burst, towers of water shooting towards the heavens.

Percy skidded back, using the water to slow his movement and give him a platform to leap off. He reevaluated Dipsioi.

The thin man was dangerous. Those eyes… they were glowing now. He was unearthly, a demon of water and bone. He truly seemed like The Dead One.

Percy's thoughts were interrupted by Dipsioi shooting towards him like a rocket, a tidal wave forming behind him. He raised Anaklusmos, a wall of water appearing in front of him, trying to block the wave.

The wave was stronger.

Dipsioi split the wall like a dart, punching a hole through it. The wave curled over the wall, crashing down and removing Percy's influence from the water. Percy dove right, dodging Dipsioi's charge. A flash appeared in his peripheral vision, and Percy moved to block it.

Anaklusmos parried Dipsioi's blade, and yet Percy felt a cut open on his upper arm.

The deity's blade wasn't a normal blade.

Percy cursed, cut stinging, as he willed the water to throw him backwards. Giving him enough space to register what his blade was.

It shouldn't have existed.

The blade wasn't one blade at all - it was a collection of bone fragments, sharpened on two sides, held together by the water. The fragments weren't even touching each other - they looked like islands in a river.

When Anaklusmos had connected with the blade, it had just gone through, in between the bone pieces. It had simply reformed around it.

Percy shook his head, before readying his sword once more. Dipsioi's haunting laugh swept across the delta.

The water erupted once more, a whirlpool opening below Percy's feet, keeping him stuck in position. Dipsioi dashed forward once more, deceptively fast for being one-legged and malnourished. Percy couldn't move, and thus had to raise Anaklusmos once more.

This time, his blade struck one of the strong bone fragments. But still, the water blade continued on its path, and Percy had to twist his torso to dodge the strike, barely avoiding getting bisected. He summoned a jet under his feet, launching him into the air to avoid a second slash.

"Shit!"

On his way down, Percy clenched his fist, summoning another hail of water bullets like he did in Portland. They appeared instantaneously around him, before launching down at Dipsioi, all aimed straight at his head and his chest.

They had no effect. Dipsioi just smiled and laughed.

Percy grit his teeth. This asshole was going to be tough.

He just needed to last a couple minutes before backup arrived.

Percy raised Anaklusmos once more, continuing on the offensive. He sprang forward, leaping off of the water. But before he reached Dipsioi, he created a spear of water underneath him. As Percy charged, the spear shot out, aiming for Dipsioi's shoulder. Percy shot at his right, swinging Anaklusmos down hard on his side.

Both blades made contact.

Neither blade caused damage.

Percy rolled atop the water, looking back. No wonder they did no damage - Dipsioi's watery skin didn't cause pain when it broke. There was literally nothing beneath it. No blood, no muscles… no pain.

Fuck.

Dipsioi dove at him once more. Waves charged at him from three directions, Dipsioi from a fourth. Percy boosted himself up once more, going airborne, barely dodging the skeletal blade. But one of the waves hit him on the way down. The force felt like the Mare hitting him all over again.

The dance continued. Percy couldn't find an attack lane. Dipsioi wasn't just a hard hitter, but he was slippery.

The cuts kept coming as Percy tried new strategies. Another on his left shoulder. One on his right bicep. His legs were littered with small cuts.

He tried freezing the water. But there was far too much of it, and Dipsioi would attack before he could concentrate long enough.

He tried coating Anaklusmos in water, but it had no effect.

How does a water-based demigod fight a god of water itself?

It soon turned to a cat-and-mouse game. Percy couldn't find a single attack that would do damage, while Dipsioi was getting closer and closer to skewering him. He dodged, weaved, leapt, and dove, narrowly dodging Dipsioi's attacks. But he was starting to tire - he couldn't keep up the pace. He needed to figure out a way to end this, and fast.

Another Dipsioi slash opened a cut on Percy's forehead, blood seeping down onto Percy's face, mixing with sweat. The red liquid cascaded down onto his right eye, which he had to shut. He was lucky that was the only injury he had suffered with that hit.

"What the fuck is your problem, man?"

Dipsioi shot forward once more, and Percy's gut twisted, launching himself in the air again.

"So… thirsty…"

Percy threw his hands up. "You're literally made of water! How damn thirsty can you be?"

Dipsioi just growled, readying for a charge once more. Percy tried thrusting the water underneath the god straight into the air, hoping to put a bit of distance between them once more. As Dipsioi was launched into the air, Percy realized something.

Dipsioi needed to be in contact with the water's surface.

As Dipsioi flew through the air, a tendril of water snaked from his good leg to the surface, keeping him connected. It seemed almost effortless for the god to create and maintain it.

Percy needed to break it.

Dipsioi sent a wave at Percy, who this time dove down, crashing through the breaker. He re-emerged just feet from Dipsioi, stabbing Anaklusmos down, into the water.

A massive surge of water burst from the ground, the force of literal tons of water catapulting Dipsioi high in the air. Percy launched himself as well, hoping to land a strike aerially before landing back in the delta.

Percy shot into the sky, blade whirling behind him, a trail of water following the xiphos as it spun. He heaved with all his might into the tendril, a slash across the water cylinder followed by a stab in his neck. Dipsioi was too unbalanced and thrown off to offer resistance from his own blade.

But still, no damage. The tendril remained intact, bending instead of breaking. Dipsioi's connection remained firm, and as they fell back towards the delta, Percy knew he was screwed. A horse whinnied in the distance, and hooves started pounding the ground loud enough for Percy to hear them from the delta.

Wait. Horses.

Aika and Zoë were here.

An idea worked its way into Percy's head. As he splashed back to earth, he summoned nearly as much power as he could, sending a concentrated jet of water straight at Dipsioi, the pressure blasting Dipsioi back nearly a football field far. He could hear Dipsioi's irritation loud and clear, and afforded himself a slight chuckle, before sprinting to Aika.

"Aika!"

"Percy!"

Percy waded out of the water, collapsing to one knee in front of them, breathing heavily. Aika and Zoë ran up to him, concerned.

"What in my father's name happened?" Zoë shouted.

Percy waved her off, looking at Aika. "I'm going to need… your powers. To win this."

Aika blanched. "What? I can barely control them!"

The demigod smiled wearily. "Trial by fire. I'm gonna launch him in the air, one more time. I need you to keep him in the air, and sever the water trail he'll have coming from his leg."

Aika looked wild. "How? I don't know - "

Dipsioi's rattling shout interrupted her. Percy continued, hurriedly. "Trust yourself, Aika. Trust yourself." He turned back, sword raised. "I can't beat him water versus water. I need some air in there."

Aika swallowed, beyond nervous. "Ok."

Zoë readied her bow, just in case. Percy nodded, before wading back into the estuary, Anaklusmos raised once more. He sprinted forwards, charging head-on with Dipsioi, who rushed him like a raging bull seeing red.

Percy yelled, raising Anaklusmos and his left hand at the same time, summoning his power reserves to lift Dipsioi up one last time, sending him spiraling into the air.

Dipsioi went up.

Percy held his breath.

He did not come down.

Percy looked up, witnessing Aika's arms outstretched, Dipsioi levitating off the ground. She had a shocked look on her face, of excitement and joy at getting it right. A spiraling ball of wind seemed to be swirling around the god, the thread of water being sprayed into a fine mist as soon as it approached.

The thread was broken.

"No!" Dipsioi's voice was anguished, dry as always, as he realized his predicament.

Percy let out a satisfied, tired smile. "Yes."

But the job was not yet done. Percy's smile reverted to a hard, thin line, steeling himself for what he had to do.

Reaching out, Percy felt the water surrounding the bones that made up Dipsioi's body, and he concentrated on that water. He could feel it, his hands vibrating as he took control, mentally overpowering a panicking Dipsioi. He held it, held the water constituting his body, and he pulled.

As hard as he could.

The water slowly streamed towards Percy's hands. Dipsioi's agonized cries filled the air, decibels loud enough to cause ripples in the delta. Percy winced, but held on.

The agony in his screams turned to fear, which led in turn to desperation. His defining features collapsed, bones slowly losing human form, turning amoeba-like. The radius and ulna floated away from the humerus, the pelvis fell away from the spinal cord, and the skull separated from the neck.

And still, Percy held on, knowing that if he let go, Dipsioi would murder not just himself, but his friends.

A tear rolled down Percy's cheek.

He wouldn't let that happen. Ever.

Dipsioi's screams faded away as all the water left his amorphous body, now crumpled into a ball the size of a basketball in front of Percy's hands. The bones now floated under Aika's spell, none attached to each other - just a collection of fragments.

They had stopped glowing.

Aika dropped her arm, letting the bones fall into the delta. Percy threw the water ball off into the sea, channeling the last reserves of his power to ensure it would go further than just a few hundred yards.

Percy sunk to his knees, the water coming up to his chest.

His friends were safe.

And he had killed to ensure it.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked into the water at his own reflection, the ripples breaking up the clear image. It was an accurate metaphor, Percy thought to himself.

He wasn't perfect. He wasn't clear. He was desperate.

He heard Aika and Zoë rush into the water, calling "Percy!" But he couldn't respond. His mouth had clamped up. Instead, he crumpled into the river, passing out from power drainage and exhaustion, entering the dreamworlds once more.

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The first thing Percy noticed was how uncomfortable the hospital sheets were. They had been folded up underneath his body, while a lumpy, uneven pillow sat under its head. It did not feel good.

His body didn't feel good either. It felt exhausted, despite the assumption he had been sleeping prior to waking up. Every joint and muscle ached, and as Percy pushed himself up on his elbows, he groaned in pain.

As his eyes focused, his surroundings slowly came into focus. The room was almost acidicly white, far too stale to be natural. It was unnerving. The ceiling and walls were both all white, joined by the similarly colored sheets and pillow. A wall was stocked with cabinets to his left, a counter and sink being the only break from the floor to the ceiling. Each cabinet was labeled in Ancient Greek.

It felt cold, skeletal, especially for a place supposed to help ensure life.

He looked around the familiar space. He had been in this room before, in a dream… Annabeth had appeared, right? Asking him to come back to her?

Had he come back to her?

Why were his dreams repeating suddenly?

Percy turned to his right, expecting to see Annabeth, holding a cold towel, perhaps a small flask of nectar.

He didn't expect to see Aika, shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes, staring concerningly at him.

"Aika?"

The girl let out a sad smile, but moved forwards, resting the cool cloth on his forehead. He sighed a bit at the touch.

"Come back to me, Percy." Sadness was evident in her voice. A tear dribbled down her cheek from the corner of her eyes. But it wasn't just sadness - it was desperation.

"Find me, Percy. Please."

Percy opened his mouth to respond, but he was jolted away, the image fading away as he once more exited the dreamlands.

"The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind."

Sigmund Freud

The jail cell admittedly could've been worse. He at least got a comfortable pillow.

The previous night, the Amazons had brought him and Frank to a set of cells on an upper level of the warehouse, right off the side of a catwalk. They were of decent size, and the beds had mattresses on them, even if they were the firm variety with broken springs you might find in a college dorm. A small desk with a chair sat to the right, while a small toilet sat in the corner.

Hazel had joined them roughly an hour later, shooting thumbs-ups to both Frank and Percy. Percy wanted to ask her about her conversation with Hylla, but the guards at the cell's doors were not particularly lenient to men. He had learned that the hard way early on.

So now, he waited.

He tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn't. He had barely been able to fall asleep last night - he had been so restless that one of the guards slipped him a sleeping pill, if only to stop his pacing. Now, there was no such relief available.

Hylla's duel weighed on his mind. Obviously, he was hoping for freedom - but without the Amazonian assistance at Camp Jupiter, the army Hazel described would overrun the camp, even with a free Thanatos. The camp would fall, New Rome burned to the ground.

He would also probably be killed by Reyna for letting her sister die.

So, Percy sat there, trying his best to ignore the situation he and his friends were in. They were making good time up to Alaska, but Percy was still cautious. Roadblocks can come out of nowhere, he knew.

He hoped Aika was doing alright.

Nearly half an hour later, he heard footsteps coming along the catwalk, slow and purposeful. Light had yet to peek through the warehouse windows, and a couple of the guards had fallen asleep against the cells.

It was Hylla.

Percy breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank the gods.

Hylla walked up the guard monitoring their cells, speaking in hushed tones to the woman. The woman seemed to get in an argument with Hylla, but Hylla put her foot down. It became nearly a battle of wills, the two staring at each other, but the unknown soldier finally relented. She gave Hylla a set of keys and walked down the catwalk, footsteps fading into the distance.

The door to his cell squeaked open, and Hylla gracefully entered, not a motion misplaced. As she approached, Percy could see a cut open on her arm, but she made no acknowledgement of it.

Hylla's eyes widened as she saw him, however.

"Hi, Hylla."

"Percy, why are you bleeding?"

"What?"

But as Hylla had asked her question, his body started to sting. A cut on his forehead, both arms, one of his legs, one of his shoulders. Cuts that had sapped his strength in a fight before. Cuts from Dipsioi's sword.

As Percy looked down, he realized there was blood leaking from his shorts and his sleeves. He felt his forehead, and his fingers came away red. No wonder Hylla was shocked.

"Did the guards do this to you?"

Percy shook his head. "It's a little more complicated than that. I'm alright, though."

Hylla raised her eyebrow, but nodded. She rifled through her pockets, finally producing a small Ziploc baggie, filled with squares of ambrosia. She offered him a cube, which he took with gratitude. The cuts healed up, with only a couple bloodstains evidence he had been hurt in the slightest. He felt a bit better, too.

She grabbed the chair, sitting down. "I came here to talk to you about something."

He leaned back, pressing up against the wall next to the bed. "Shoot."

Hylla leaned forwards. "As Queen of the Amazons, I am afforded certain… abilities. Many think these come from Ares, but in reality, no one knows. We think whoever blessed us might not even be Greek." She was dead serious, her tone flat, although not cold. "My blessing includes the ability to see… it's hard to describe. But I can visualize the power levels of people that enter the throne room."

Percy cocked his head. "Like a… power scale?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly, although you're not wrong. Hazel, I can see that she has incredible power for a child of Pluto. A great potential. And Frank, he's got half-decent abilities from Mars, but something else, an ancestral secret."

Percy whistled softly. "They're tanks, huh?"

He was greeted by a smile. "They're among the stronger demigods that have passed into our territory, from what I understand."

"What about me?"

She paused for a moment, as if collecting herself.

"Percy… you confuse me."

Percy shrugged, holding his shoulders up for a moment. "Thanks?"

"No, Percy," Hylla continued. "You are a son of Poseidon, and a very powerful one at that. Probably the strongest I've seen, if I will be honest." She clasped her hands, leaning forward. "But that's not all I see, and I'm confused."

"How many… what do you see?"

"There's three different powers within you, Percy. And I can't even recognize one of them."

Percy leaned forward. "You're saying that in addition to my powers from Poseidon, I have two others?"

Hylla nodded.

"How would that even happen?"

The Queen shrugged. "There's countless ways. You could be a legacy, like Frank. Maybe you were blessed by another Olympian before your amnesia. Maybe you hold a role elsewhere that gives you a certain power."

As she said that, Percy realized her right hand was grasped on the hilt of her sword.

"You said you didn't recognize one of them… do you know the other?"

Hylla looked uncomfortable, looking outside the cell once more, before leaning close. She spoke cautiously, as if testing waters she wasn't sure she wanted to be disturbed. Her grip on her sword tightened.

"Percy, can you time travel?"

He looked around this time as well, nervously. He really didn't want to get noticed by the Olympians, not now. He had a feeling those warnings from camp might be legitimate. But his silence spoke volumes, and Hylla backed away.

"Hmm. Interesting."

Percy's hands curled into fists, his voice like steel. "No one needs to know. Even I don't really know why. It just happens."

"No?"

He shook his head. "I really don't. I'm serious. I go to sleep, and I wake up in the past. I don't know how."

Hylla put her hands up. "I know, Percy. Trust me." She stood up, beginning to pace around his cell. "But I will warn you. If the Gods get wind of your extended abilities, they likely will not favor you. Some may even try and kill you, or steal your power." She stared at him. "The power of time is held by no one on Olympus. It is incredibly valuable. You might have a bit of time in Alaska to explore yourself, but watch out."

Percy nodded. "Thanks, Hylla."

He was the one sending himself back to Aika? If he was honest, he didn't really understand why he was waking up there consistently, but he hadn't thought much about it. He had just taken it at face value - life sent him back to Ancient Greece, and he accepted it.

How the hell did he himself time travel?

"How'd the fight go?"

Hylla snorted. "Got six more, I'll get back to you then."

Percy chuckled.

Hylla gave him the keys to strode out to the doorway. "Wait about ten minutes, and then get your friends out of here, Percy. Go free Death. Hazel knows a way out, follow her lead."

"Thank you, Hylla." He spoke with conviction, giving her a smile. "See you in a week?"

She looked back at him. "Fingers crossed. Don't die, Percy." She walked away, disappearing down the long catwalk, slipping out of sight.

Percy smiled to himself. He twirled the keys in his hands. Time to get the hell out of here.

A/N: Welcome back! Sorry for the shorter chapter than the last few - I tried adding more, but I hated the pacing and the structure of it, so I'll fold it into the start of Chapter 12. Things like that happen, ya know? Once again, shoutout to all of you who commented - 7ove, Bobthebuilder, Perseus46, Le Connoisseur, thelordoptimus, Dethcat. I will address a question from Le Connoisseur - this is not a bashing fic against Poseidon whatsoever. I included that for a reason, but this will not be a blind hate-the-gods-Rick-likes fic. This work, and its likely sequels (!), will focus heavily on the nuances between the gods themselves. So I hope you continue reading, and that doesn't turn you off too much!

Hope y'all have a great rest of your week! See you in a bit :)