They tell them the truth.
Grace, Luey, May, Sally, Beryl, and the Chase family sat in front of them as they told the tale of the sea twins and the adventures of their friends. May held onto Luey tightly at their words, both faces pale at the implications of the fate that they had narrowly avoided. Percy didn't miss the grateful look that May shot his sister.
("My son," she hissed in a dry voice. "Danger. Terrible fate!")
They didn't want to believe it, of course. Who wanted to know that the same children that they were raising would fight in a war, to die, to be thrown so far back in time that their ancestors' ancestors hadn't even been born yet.
Percy and Ariadne both were carefully avoiding looking in Sally's direction. The new queen had instead kept her eyes on Luey who was crying his little heart out while hugging his brothers. The real shock of the moment was when Beryl bypassed Grace and threw herself at Thalia in hysterics.
[She wasn't a good mother. She knew that, but she never wanted to die with her children thinking she hated them or them hating her. She still kept quiet on Jason's whereabouts.]
Annabeth's uncle, who had taken up teaching alongside her father, shook his head in disbelief. Randolph Chase turned to look at Ariadne. His sister raised a brow at the bewildered look on the man's face, "No, that's… that's impossible because that would make you…. 85… 88 hundred years old."
Ariadne rose a brow, plainly stating, "Yes." They had just told them that they time traveled. She has lived longer than 16 years. He slid to her side, smirking in what was supposedly a flirtatious way. If anything, he looked like someone tapped had placed masking tape on his cheek and pulled. "Oh, well, hey, lookin' good," the man smoozed. Percy almost puked. Annabeth was looking green in the face.
[From the way that the hair rose on their arms, they could conclude that Apollon was watching and he was not happy.]
Ariadne turned to look at her brother and his fiancée. Her brows were furrowed in confusion. She didn't seem bothered by the flirting, but it makes sense when literal gods were interested in you. Mere mortal flirting isn't that big of a deal, "Did-did he just quote a disney movie at me?"
She shook her head, "Nevermind that. You all wanted the truth, so we told you what you wanted to know." Their eyes cut over them all. Percy looked his mother in the eye, "The war is shaping up again. It's different this time. Hekate is in control of the mist; her magick is stronger fueled by anger and grief. We're going into this half blind."
Thalia glared at the ground, "And the Moirai have a very thin control over what happens. The Kronides and Aphrodite have slowed on giving birth to children. And yet–every child that Father or Uncle Poseidon birthed has fallen victim to one of Hekate's spells. She's trying to manipulate the prophecy to her liking which if we move quickly enough… we'd be prepared. Grace, JackJack and Angel are the first priority, but every child of Demeter and Aphrodite that are out amongst the world have been under close watch."
May looked at them all, holding onto Luey's arm from where he continued to clutch at Chris. "You bring them here or take them to camp."
Clarisse nodded, "The protections at camp are strong enough to keep her out. There are no children of Hekate at the camp yet but even the known ones… the ones that we were close with especially have been taken and hidden away from her."
Lou Ellen was currently roaming the world with Artemis' hunt. It was better to be safe than sorry.
Travis' eyes gained a faraway look as he thought about the girl who helped him and Katie work things out between them.
[After all, despite the flirting they had been doing for years, Travis had been incredibly hurt when she accused him and his siblings of spying. As if Travis hadn't been fighting alongside Hypnos' children to keep Luke out of their dreams.]
"There is a lot of nature magick that's woven into the protection of the camp and while its not powered by the spiritual essence of Thalia, the magicks of the sea have worked overtime to ensure that they cannot be broken. And while Hekate is the titaness of magick, unless she has the key to it all… she cannot get in."
"Where's the key," Beryl questioned, hands hovering uncertainly around both versions of her daughter. "It's not only any of you, is it?" Fear clouded her mind to think of such a strong opponent coming near her children. She almost wanted to break and go after Jason but– but she couldn't. Not yet at least.
The Fated shook their heads; not willing to reveal that. After all, where they hid the key was connected to the sea's prophecy. And outside of the twins, no one knew about it exactly. Even the bare mentions of it to the Olympian council did not leave them with a lot of answers.
[Though the Kronides were worried. Poseidon was the only one that was left unprotected and that was without mentioning him being the second youngest. Demeter spent lots of time in the Netherworld to be at Hades' side alongside Hermes' frequent visits to lead the ghosts there. Zeus was on Olympus covered by the rest of their family. All Poseidon had was Palphian and she was mostly on Olympus completing her duties as Aphrodite.]
May looked at them, tears streaming down her face. "You named the kingdom after us." Percy shook his head, "We named it after Luke." They smiled at the godling that had his face hidden in his brother's arms.
Sally stood slowly from her seat, approaching the twins. Percy gave her a slight smile while Ariadne raised her brow. "Percy… Ariadne, may I speak with you in private?"
Ariadne looked at the woman in silence for a moment before shaking her head, "I cannot speak for my brother but there is nothing for us to speak about, Ms. Jackson."
"Ariadne, please," the woman muttered, but the demigoddess shook her head. "I forgave you already. For the hurt and pain that you unknowingly caused me in another life. I've moved on from that and you should too."
They didn't notice the other fated leading the others away. Travis and Annabeth stayed behind as support. "It's not me and my issues that you are trying atone for, Ms. Jackson. It's yourself."
Sally began to cry silently and the twins shifted uncomfortably. They had never enjoyed seeing their mother's tears. "How can I forgive myself after I hurt you? How could you forgive me?"
Percy reached out for his sister's hand, "She had other people to fulfill the role that you left in your wake." Ariadne shrugged uncaringly, "I told you once that maybe some part of you did love me. Maybe some part did care. I stopped looking to you for love and I found it elsewhere. I found it in my friends. I found it in my companions. I found it with the gods. I found it with my siblings. With my stepmother. With my father. With my brother."
Percy was torn. He wanted to comfort his mother, but he was also worried that this would push his sister's recovery back. Ariadne squeezed his hand, and he turned to look at her. She inclined her head at their... his mother.
"Was I at least a good mother?"
Ariadne looked so tired suddenly. Percy glared at the floor. He remembered the glimpses of her members as she was scared of returning home, Scared that the day Gabe tried anything. Scared that her mother wouldn't even care. "To Percy, you were a super mom, I guess. But to me? You were just my egg donor. Please, Ms. Jackson—Please, Sally. Let it go. For both of our sakes. There's no need to keep beating at a dead bush."
Percy's heart clenched as the woman shook her head, "Sal-Mom, please." He could tell that Ariadne was getting angrier by the second. Sally began to cry even more earnestly, but Ariadne wouldn't waste her tears on her. "Ariadne, please. We can– we can work this out."
"For fucks sake, lady, this isn't about you," his sister snapped. Her eyes flashed colors too quickly to see as she glared. "I honestly do not give two flying fucks about you. This is not about what you didn't do. It's about what I did. I raised my damn self, and you know what? I did a fucking great job. It wasn't perfect as all my mental issues could probably account for but it was better than any attempt you could claim to have made." The ground rumbled ominous under them all. "I found Aphrodite's girdle. I found Demeter's scythe. I survived the sea of monsters. I traveled through the labyrinth. I've fought Oceanus, Oeolyca , Demeter, and I've fought Kronos. I wield Poseida's trident, Tidalwave. I've fought Cetos TWICE!"
She was crying in frustration and yet— there was still a certain peace to her that couldn't be touched. "I've fought the trojan war. I've fought against the most deadly thing to a person… my own mind and I've survived. And I did it all, no thanks to you. Because you were not there for me. Sally Jackson, you may be Percy's mother but you are not mine and you never will be. There is nothing to work out between us. The relationship that we shall have is me being the sister to your son and you being a citizen of Castellan."
Ariadne breathed deeply; Percy tightened his grip on her hand, "You have to let her go for your own sake, mom."
Sally stood quietly for a moment, getting herself together before she looked at them with watery eyes, "I am sorry. And for what little that it is worth, I am proud of you, Ariadne." She left the room quickly as Ariadne glared into her lap. "I'm sorry that you have no right to be proud of me. Not anymore." His sister ran a hand through her hair before turning to look at him, "You should go speak to her. You want a relationship with her. Don't let my issues hold you back."
Percy shook his head, "You are right. She is not our mother. And I'm not going to choose anyone else over you. Not again." Ariadne looked at him with wide eyes. "There is nothing wrong with you, Ari. Okay? You are so important to me. You're a great woman, a great friend. You're so special, you're so loved, you're so valued. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that enough before. I'm sorry that I made you feel less than because you are the best of us."
She placed her hand on his and laughed lightly, "No, Percy. You are the best of us. I have always been bitter and jaded. But you–you my wonderful brother. You have always been equal to hope and strength for us all. I have never been more proud to be your sister. I probably would have let the world burn if I hadn't had you in my life."
She smiled brightly at him; the stress of speaking with their his mother washing away. "You're so intelligent and funny and witty and caring. You give us all the chance to open up to you and speak about whatever is on our minds. I truly appreciate you, Percy. I'd go throw all the hell of my life again if it meant that you were always happy. Because when you smiled, all my problems washed away. You're my brother, and though you technically are younger than me… you've always been my protector."
She turned to look at Travis, holding her hand out for him to take. "You, Travis, Lee, and Becks… you all gave me the chance to laugh and not be scared of what was to come. You all made sure that I knew that I would never be alone again. So, do not worry, Percy… even if I did come second or third in your life before… just being in your life was enough. You were my pillar of strength. The one I looked to. You all gave me the chance to let me express myself however I wanted. My dearest brother, you are like the sun that shines within the sky."
"And what? You are the moon," he smirked. Ariadne smirked, "Well I am too dead on the inside and I can control the tides." She shook her head, "But no seriously, we are bound together by leaps of faith and strings of destiny. Since the birth of time, since the dawn of life, since the crashing of the first waves against the naked shores—you, my dearest brother, have always been the best of us. So, Percy, if you want to reconnect with Sally, do not let me hold you back. She is your mother and you love her."
"I love you too."
"And I love you more," Ariadne immediately countered. "We can go back and forth all day, Percy. But I have a few errands to run also. Hephaistos needs me to do something for him."
Percy perked up, "I'll come with you and then I'll decide if I want to reach out to her." Ariadne shared a look with Travis. They both knew that he would. He just wanted to assure Ariadne that he wasn't going to throw her to the side.
"Very well. We shall leave in an hour or two. Benny has done a recall for most of the pegasi in turn for their monthly cleansings so we'll have to bring Nico along.
The quartet left as they shared smiles. Percy and Annabeth left for a late lunch while Travis and Ariadne went for a ride around the kingdom.