HECTOR

To say Hector felt as if the whole world was watching him would've been an understatement.

It was unnerving, to say the least. The silence settled over them like an overstretched blanket, as the campers stared at the three siblings, the holographic tridents fading above their heads. Kassandra was standing beside him, still holding on to his hand, and despite her stuck-out chin and fearless demeanor, Hector could see she was rattled by the commotion. It's hard not to be, he thought, as his eyes slowly focused on the huge crack that separated him from his older sister. Annabeth had stepped away from Helena and was back to Percy's side, who was twirling the pen between his fingers, a habit, Hector had noticed, he did whenever he sensed danger. The couple exchanged a look, before turning their attention back to his sister, who was holding onto the stone table. Her skin was pale, and sweat drops collected on her forehead like she was waking up from a feverish dream. Yet, her eyes looked brighter, almost like a small fire had been lit behind the pale green orbs making them come alive. He had the desperate urge to fix his glasses, a way to keep the tremble in his hands from becoming too noticeable. His glasses. He'd spent the better half of the last 15 years partially blind, had it not been for the thick glass that allowed him to see, but now… He squinted his eyes as he focused on the couple before them, just to make sure. He could read the faded-out letters from their shirts, and count the freckles on the girl's cheeks and the shades of green on the boy's eyes. His eyesight was fine. No, not fine, he thought, it was perfect. He'd noticed it that morning when for the first time in years, Hector had woken up without the searing pain behind his eyes, and the blurriness that came with it. He wanted to feel relieved, but the small voice in the back of his mind suggested otherwise. It should've been impossible, Hector had been to enough ophthalmologists to know that should've been impossible, yet here he was, his horrid case of myopia somehow cured. He should've been more surprised, maybe even happy, but given what they had been through in the last month, there was little excitement he could muster for his newfound condition.

"You three are coming to the Poseidon cabin. Follow me." Percy said, interrupting Hector's thoughts, and without a second glance, the pair turned, walking out of the dining pavilion.

Hector glanced over at Helena, but she wasn't looking at him, instead, her eyes drift around the room, realizing a million eyes were still glued to them. In a silent agreement, the three siblings followed the older campers, aware of the lingering gazes that followed their steps. As they began moving away from the pavilion, Hector felt an ease wash over him, as his breathing, which he hadn't been aware had become short and quick in the first place, began to return to normal. He hated being the center of attention, hated the feeling of being stared at, ever since he was a little kid, he had always avoided the spotlight. He imagined his shyness and his desire to stay in the sidelines was probably the product of his middle-child-syndrome. Their parents had always said they didn't have favorites, and he didn't doubt they believed that to be true, but he always knew they had both gotten along better with his sisters than they had with him. Their mom, despite their constant bickering and arguing, had always looked after Helena more than she had him. Besides, while they shared a few interests here and there, their relationship had always felt strained, and he could never figure out why. Then, there was his dad who we had never had that much in common to begin with. Before Kass was born, even as kids, Helena and their dad had always had a larger adventurous spirit than he had, running around, diving fearlessly into the waves. Hector had instead enjoyed the comforts of the mundane, of routine, and that had often made it difficult to connect with his father who was still a kid at heart. Then, Kass was born, and her resemblance to their father was undeniable. And so the story went, and Hector was stuck, quite literally, in the middle.

He shook his head slightly, pushing away the thought. He didn't want to be thinking about his parents, he didn't want to think about any of it, especially now, especially when they were… No, they aren't dead, you know they aren't dead, they can't be dead, he thought to himself, it had almost become a mantra at this point. Besides, he was well aware that digging up sad memories would do nothing to help the intensifying headache he was having. It was probably his brain's processing mechanism self-imploding from all the bizarre things they had seen since arriving at Camp Half-Blood. As they walked with the night sky stretched before them, he noticed he had fallen behind the rest of the group. Kassandra was walking closely behind Percy, meanwhile, Helena who was keeping her safe distance from the older campers, was still ahead of Hector. He jogged slightly, catching up with her.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked. She didn't look at him, and instead stared off into the distance with her arms crossed as they walked.

"I-I don't know. Nothing about this is normal, I-I could've killed someone." She whispered with a shrug.

From the way she spoke, he knew she wasn't just referring to what had happened tonight, she was referring to their entire situation. He gave her an understanding nod and walked quietly beside her, as they began to see the small house-like structures stretch out at the bottom of the hill. He knew, logically, it was crazy for anyone to believe that Lena had caused that earthquake. Humans didn't cause natural disasters, basic geography and seismology did. Yet, everyone had just accepted the fact that whatever had happened had been a product of her making, and to some degree it made sense. Sure, he'd never seen his sister crack the Earth in two back in Washington, but then again, she was an angry teenage girl, who the hell knew what she was capable of.

Most of the campers seemed to have forgotten about the events of the night, or maybe it was the glares Percy and Annabeth shot at them, that made them avoid the strange little group like the plague. Ever since they had gotten to this weird camp, almost every insane story they heard had involved Percy and Annabeth going on some quest and saving the world. The entire camp either respected them, or, especially among the newer campers, was intimidated by them, and he could understand why. They were practically legends, practically invincible. Besides, their rocky start with Annabeth hadn't been completely one-sided, his sister had played a large role in the staring contest as well. When Hector had confronted Helena about it, she'd refused to give him an explanation. It wasn't until a few nights ago when he'd woken up in the middle of the night, and seen his sister quietly sneak out of the cabin, that he'd gotten more than a two-word response from her. He made the split-second decision to follow her, with the intention of not getting caught, but when he stepped outside into the moonlit steps, he found Helena staring off into the field, quiet tears staining her cheeks. Hector sat down beside her, as she quickly wiped the tears away.

"You should go back to sleep." She said in a hushed tone, her voice nasally from crying. He pretended not to notice.

"You should go back to sleep." He replied, and she gave him her famous side glare, a comfortable silence settling between them.

"What's going on Lena?" He asked quietly.

She took a deep breath, and in the stillness of the night, Hector could feel her hesitation. Despite her constant teasing growing up, Helena had a fiercely protective side that he'd only ever witnessed after some bully had broken his glasses. She'd thrown the first punch and gotten suspended for a week. When their parents had picked them up from school, despite their mom's persistence, Helena never said what had happened and Hector knew despite their differences, they had each other's back. The memory made his throat feel dry, the world it had belonged to seemed to only exist in his imagination.

"You can tell me if something was going on, you could tell me. I know you're trying to keep Kass in the dark, but you don't need to protect me anymore." He said, focusing his eyes on his bare feet, thinking that after she had thrown that first punch, he'd had to hold his ground in the years that followed.

"Do you remember the house in New Orleans?" Helena asks, slowly shifting he gaze toward her brother. He scrunches his brows together.

"Barely, what about it?" Hector asked, trying to conjure up the images of the old house with the bay windows and cold, wooden floors. Helena shook her head slowly.

"Me either. I mean, sometimes I'll see it in a dream, but I can't really put it together." She started, twirling the long, golden chain around her neck.

"Something happened in that house. When we left, mom and dad changed. I can't explain it, but they were different somehow. I think-"

"You think whatever happened back then, has something to do with that man, with what happened in," Hector interrupted. As he trailed off, Helena nodded.

"Yep, that's exactly what I think." She said, coiling the chain through her fingers.

"Okay, but what's that got to do with the girl from the other day?" He asked, pushing his glasses upwards. She bit her lower lip.

"You're going to think I'm insane."

"Too late for that." Hector responded sarcastically, which earned him an earnest push from his sister.

"She was in the house." Helena said simply.

"What?" He asked flatly.

"Annabeth. She was in the house, in New Orleans, and then she disappeared."

Hector didn't know what to make out of that conversation, but in retrospect, he wished that had been the weirdest thing to happen to them since arriving to camp. If Helena had seen Annabeth almost ten years ago, wouldn't that make Annabeth almost twice their age? And if his sister hadn't actually seen her, but instead it'd been something else, what did that mean? Were they supposed to meet now? He couldn't accept that. If there was such a thing as destiny then all their efforts would be defeatist at best, and they couldn't fail, not when there was so much at stake, not when there was a chance, they could still be alive.

"We're almost there." Annabeth said, turning around for the first time to make sure the three of them were still there.

They took a few more steps, stopping before a large temple-like structure, decorated with seashells and wave designs that complimented the thin, classical columns at either side of the large wooden door. There wasn't a lock on the door, but Percy could only manage to open it after giving it a slight push with his shoulder. The inside of the cabin was almost exactly what you'd expect a temple to a sea god to look like, with nautical themes and marine elements decorating the walls. Two bunk beds had been pushed together in a corner of the room, ancient books and papers scattered over the messy sheets. On the other side of the room, old beds were made up and perfectly aligned, looking as if they had never been used. The place was a world's difference from the hectic ambiance of cabin eleven, yet it also struck Hector as quite a lonely place to be in.

"Welcome to cabin three, home sweet home." Percy said, gesturing around the room, while Annabeth stood with her back against the wall. No one knew what to say.

"You said we were children of the… Earthshaker? Why are we here then? I thought Poseidon was the god of the seas." Helena asked, breaking the silence, while Kassandra explored the room further, clearly losing interest in the conversation.

"Poseidon is the god of the sea, but he is also the god of earthquakes. That's where the nickname comes from. You were claimed by his symbol, that makes you Percy's siblings." Annabeth replied, her gaze shifting between the three children.

As Annabeth spoke, Hector moved towards the free seat by the desk, settling himself in a swift motion.

"So, what happened back there-" he began but was cut off by Percy.

"It's one of the abilities children of Poseidon can have. It was probably triggered by your emotions, when I first got here, I made the toilets explode during a fight with Clarisse. Producing earthquakes is rare but not unheard of for us." The older boy spoke giving his sister a small shrug.

"Does that mean I can make toilets explode too? That'd be pretty awesome!" Exclaimed Kassandra as she turned to face Percy, turning her attention away from the seashells carved onto the walls.

Percy gave her a shrug and chuckled as the dark-haired girl went back to restlessly studying the carvings on the wall. Hector figured that despite the dark-haired boy's carefree demeanor, he was probably feeling awkward about the whole thing, especially considering it looked like he had been the only one living in the cabin for some time. Lena nodded, taking in the information, and he could almost see the gears in her mind turning as she tried putting together the pieces to a puzzle none of them could make sense of. Their entire lives they had been normal, their family was potentially the most standard American family in the country, nothing about them was special, except for the fact that they were exceptionally boring, and their parents had moved around a lot before Kass was born. And now, they were expected to believe and accept that they were the children of eternal mythological beings? That was just…

"Insane…" Hector mumbled to himself, and he felt the three pairs of eyes turn towards him. He quickly shuffled uncomfortably, his gaze landing on the wooden floor.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to, it's just…" He narrowed his eyes on the floor, trying to gather his thoughts.

Why was this any more outrageous than anything else that had happened to them in the last week? Why was this harder to accept? He subconsciously gave a small shake with his head. He knew who his parents were, who his real parents were. They were the people who had raised them, who'd been there through the birthdays, and the seasonal flus and everything in between. He wasn't going to accept anything less.

"We know who our dad is, and it isn't some god or any of that nonsense. I can't explain right now how Helena did what she did, but I will, and when I do, everything will go back to normal, and we will finally go back home." He said, the words leaving his mouth before he could stop himself.

He knew he wasn't supposed to say that, but it was too late now to take it back. Helena shot him a warning look, while Kass had her full attention on the two of them. Out of the three, she was the one who had avoided talking about home the most. Kass had pushed away any semblance of their past and treated their arrival to Camp Half-Blood like some grand adventure, instead of what it really was, a hideout. Percy and Annabeth shot each other a look, like they were having a telepathic conversation, and Hector simply got up from his chair and began pacing around the room, tired of feeling like he was only being shown half the picture.

"Hector," Helena began, but he cut her off.

"What?, It's true!" He snapped. "They are out there somewhere, waiting for us to find them, to help them! And what are we doing? Entertaining the idea that some stranger is our real family?" He said exasperatedly. "We didn't come here for this. He didn't send us here for this." Hector mumbled, rubbing his temple.

The silence engulfed the room, Kassandra looking at her untied shoelaces while Helena shot him a deadly glare. The older demigods remained quiet, and the air suddenly felt thick and heavy, like a storm was about to hit inside the cabin. Hector let his head fall, mentally cursing at himself. He shouldn't have said that. He knew he should have kept quiet. But then again, what good had keeping quiet done them? They had been following Helena's plan, to keep quiet about the truth, find out as much as they could about the strange, bearded man who had told them about Camp Half-Blood and the demigod pair in the first place, and then confront them. But who knew how long that would take, and they didn't exactly have a lot of time in their hands.

"Who's he?" Percy asked, his voice low and grave as his murky green eyes shifted between the two older siblings. Hector opened his mouth to speak, but Helena's voice rang in his ears before he could make a sound.

"We don't know exactly." She said, her eyes unable to meet Percy's.

"What do you mean you don't know? Didn't you see his face? Ask for his name?" Percy asked, his voice rising in frustration, clearly skeptical of the blonde girl. Helena bit her lip, shaking her head slightly.

"It's not that- we saw him, but he didn't-"

Before she could say anything else, she was interrupted by a loud, desperate knocking at the door. Annabeth, who had remained still and quiet, shot a concerned look at Percy. He was clearly upset that someone had interrupted the small interrogation, giving the teenagers a dangerous look before walking over to the door and opening it; this isn't over, he seemed to say. A small, dark-haired girl barged in with her hair partially soaked. Had it been raining?, Hector wondered as the girl stormed into the room quickly dramatically dropping the dark red cloak that covered her onto the floor.

"Lou Ellen? What's wrong?" Asked Annabeth, closing the door, raising her brow in concern as the girl she had referred to as Lou Ellen made a hand gesture as she caught her breath.

"One… second…" The girl gasped as she moved towards the corner of the room, as she dropped her wool bag on the desk and began to search frantically for something in her bag.

"Is everything alright, were you… running?" Percy asked, looking confused.

His tone was softer, as if the anger that had so clearly been brewing inside him, had completely disseminated in a matter of seconds. Hector wasn't sure what to make of it, he was equal parts terrified and impressed. The girl shot him a glance that seemed to say, duh! A few seconds passed, as her breathing steadied and she was able to stand upright. Hector noticed that despite trying to focus his eyes on her face, it was as if her face was constantly shifting every time, he looked at her. One second her eyes looked green, then brown, then her hair seemed longer or shorter depending on the angle he was looking at her. She caught him staring at her and gave him a small mischievous smile before his cheeks turned red.

'Sorry, the mist has been going crazy these past few days." She said, waving her hand over her face, as if she were swatting a fly away. Hector stared dumb founded as he noticed the faint green smoke that surrounded Lou Ellen and followed her movements as she turned to face Percy and Annabeth.

"I found something, something big." She said, looking at them, and then reaching out into her bag.

When she stepped closer to where the five of them were standing, she was holding two small, golden lockets and simple golden ring. Without thinking the three teenagers reached out to grab their stuff, but Lou Ellen was prepared, quickly closing her fist and snatching the items away from them.

"Hey! That's ours!" Cried Kassandra, while Helena seized the small girl, glaring down at her.

"You took our stuff? Helena said, the gravity in her voice making it clear that she was not going to ask again.

Hector noticed that despite the evident threat in his sister's voice, the brunette seemed unfazed. In fact, something in her eyes glistened, as if she welcomed the challenge from the new camper.

"Hold your horses, I didn't take anything. Someone in my cabin did, and that's why I'm here, or rather what I'm here to tell you." She said, still hiding the items behind her back, but this time she didn't wait for Helena to respond and instead simply walked past her, standing in the middle of the room. Percy had a small smirk on his face, almost like the idea of a power showdown between the two girls amused him, meanwhile Annabeth was shaking her head slightly.

"Why would anyone at the Hecate cabin steal those? What's so special about them?" Asked Annabeth, softly tapping her finger against her lower lip as she walked closer to Lou Ellen, examining the small trinkets in her hand.

It was the same thing Hector had been wondering ever since their things had gone missing. They had brought with them more stuff, that surely were worth more than some old lockets and an old wedding band that were only valuable in sentiment. What was so special about those things that someone had gone through so much trouble to get? The small, gold-plated lockets had been given to his sisters when they were kids, and they had both worn them ever since. It had been a small gift from their parents, and at the time, they had just been a pretty piece of jewelry. His father had given him the ring as a good luck charm, said it had been his grandfather's. Hector had worn it around his neck with an old leather string, tucked beneath his shirt. Now, the memorabilia had meant more to them than anything else they owned, it was the reason they had made it to camp in the first place. Those tiny, pieces of gold had saved them after… Hector pushed the thought away focusing his attention on Helena, who had on a stoic expression, but the incessant fidgeting of her fingers gave away how nervous she truly was. They were both thinking the same thing, if they figured out a way to decipher those lockets, they would have a lot of explaining to do. Hector decided nothing made sense in that place.

"No one in the Hecate cabin meant to steal these, they were just looking for magical items, and voila." Lou Ellen spoke, gesturing to the trinkets in her hand.

"You mean to tell us those are enchanted? Why?" Asked Percy, wrinkling his nose as he scratched the back of his head, as Lou Ellen gave a small, but firm nod.

Before the girl could speak, Hector threw his hands up in the air, giving everyone a crazy look. This could seriously not be happening, he thought as he stood up from his chair.

"You can't be serious! Where are we, in Harry Potter? Magical items? Really? You're all insane! Lena, Kass you can't seriously believe my glasses are magic!" He said turning to his sisters for support, but all he got in return was a small shrug, typical.

"It's super weird-" Helena began but was quickly cut off by Kassandra's loud sigh.

"Oh my god you two! Yes, it's weird, but is it any weirder than Lena causing earthquakes, or the weird sword-pen he has, or the glowing forks we literally had on our heads like, 20 minutes ago? Really? This is where you draw the line?" Kassandra said, rolling her eyes at them before walking over to Lou Ellen and grabbing her locket, holding it out towards the girl who couldn't have been much older.

"You were saying this is magic, what can it do?" She demanded, tapping her foot impatiently. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Percy whisper something into Annabeth's ear that made her nod and smile.

Hector kept quiet, feeling as if, despite the very core of his being screaming out in protest, his younger sister made valid points.

"Thank you for that, I was about to get to it. These things are made from Olympic gold, they're basically indestructible, not to mention super rare. AND they have the blessing of the mist," Lou Ellen said, examining the items once again.

"A blessing of the what-now?" Kass asked and Annabeth stepped in.

"The mist, it's like a magical veil that acts sort of like a camouflage for mortals. That's why they can't see monsters or any of the magical creatures we have here. It's also part of the reason we can hide out here without any lost tourists accidentally wandering into camp. Basically, it makes people see what they already believe in." The blonde explained and Hector felt like his brain would explode.

"So, like a really bad case of confirmation bias?" He asked and he heard Helena roll her eyes and whisper nerd under her breath. Annabeth however gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, something like that." She responded. Lou Ellen cleared her throat, calling the room's attention back to her.

"Right. The thing is, these have some pretty hardcore magic binding them, in fact they're probably the reason why you've all gone so long being, well, normal." Lou Ellen said, her eyes shifting towards the siblings. Percy tilted his head to the side.

"You mean, because they were wearing those, monsters couldn't sniff them out?" He said, but Lou Ellen shook her head.

"The magic used here is stronger than that, these things don't just have the ability to suppress demigod smell, but the abilities as well. They essentially make you mortal." The short girl responded, her bright eyes studying the three things as if they were precious metals.

"That explains how I caused that earthquake." Helena mumbled but Percy shook his head.

"Is that even possible? I mean to just hide a demigod's power forever and call it a day! Why would they wanna hurt three random kids?" Percy asked, throwing his hands up in the air, meanwhile, Annabeth's grey eyes were focused on the items as she bit her lip.

"It wasn't about hurting them; it was about protecting them." The girl whispered, her gaze shifting toward the quiet siblings.

Hector could feel his thoughts moving at the speed of light, as a million questions entered his head. Why would their parents give them this stuff? How had they known about magic? and more importantly, what did they need protection from? The boy shot a glance at his sister and got the feeling they were probably thinking the same thing he was. They were just adding on to the list of questions about who their parents really were, questions they needed to get answers to. Despite Kassandra's optimistic demeanor, she had gone quiet, fixing her gaze on the wooden floor planks below her feet. It was what she did when she was upset, just stare at the floor until the world melted away. Hector felt like the brotherly thing to do would be to comfort her, but a bigger part of him knew he wouldn't even know where to start. Helena on the other hand was focused on the conversation happening between the three elder demigods, her face as expressionless as ever. Hector wondered how she was able to simply bottle up her emotions so effortlessly while the world collapsed around them. He wondered if maybe that was the real reason, she had taken on the role of the leader among the three of them. He decided to quiet his brain for a few minutes and focused on the words being said around him.

"I mean, it's plausible. The magic in these things is strong, stronger than anything I could conjure up." Ellen Lou was saying, and Annabeth kept quiet, slowly nodding her head as if the puzzle pieces were beginning to fall together.

"Is that why they look-" Percy began and gave the trio an apologetic look, "more alive now?" he asked, and Annabeth shoved him with her elbow. He gave her a small wince at the jab.

"What? They were paler than Nico when they got here! That can't be normal!" He exclaimed, and Lou Ellen simply shrugged.

"It could be, I've never seen magic like this." She responded, nonchalantly.

The truth was Hector hadn't noticed any differences between them, but he also hadn't been paying attention. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the skin on his arm did look a bit more colorful, his blue-green veins looking less prominent against his papery skin. He turned and studied his sisters, wondering if he could notice any other subtle differences and to his surprise he did. Helena's hair, which he had always thought had resembled the rolls of hay they would see on their family road trips, looked different. He didn't know how to explain it, but now it reminded him more of honey than hay, the thick curls simply resting over her shoulders. The older girl also looked taller, and he noticed she was finally developing a tan instead of her usual sunburn. He glanced over at Kassandra, who had decided to sit on the floor and rest her legs against the wall, her long raven-colored hair sprayed all over the floor and her bangs sticking out in every direction. Looking at her, Hector was suddenly reminded of how young she still was. The differences were more subtle on his younger sister. Like Helena, some of the color had returned to her cheeks, her freckles no longer contrasting so starkly against the whites of her cheeks, and her wide eyes looked brighter, no longer the murky, kelp color they usually were. It had taken a while for Hector to notice, and he wondered if maybe, Percy was a lot more observant than he let on.

"Could you guys stop talking about us like we're not in the room? It's annoying." Muttered Helena as she crossed her arms, but Hector could see her nervously pulling at her sleeves. Percy gave her a small smile and silently mumbled a sorry her way, but Annabeth seemed unfaced.

"There's just one thing I'm not sure about, if that was masking them as mortals, how did they make it past the camp's borders?" Annabeth asked, but Lou Ellen simply gave her an unknowing look.

"I could study these a bit more, but I would have to take them back to my cabin. Speaking of, I should actually head back there now." The girl said, and Percy gave her a quick nod.

"Thanks, Lou. Let us know if you find anything." Percy said, as the girl picked up her bag, and headed out the door.

From the way Percy and Annabeth exchanged looks, Hector could tell they had a long night ahead of them, and he wondered how they would explain something they couldn't make any sense of themselves. Helena spoke before Percy or Annabeth could say anything, and as the words left her lips, the air tensed.

"You want answers? So do we. The man who sent us here, he told us he'd be in California. He told us if we got you to come with us, he would tell us where our parents are. I know you don't trust us, and there are a million things going on, but that's the truth." She said, meeting Annabeth's eyes as she spoke.

There was a heavy silence in the room, as Annabeth and Percy seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes, and Hector wondered if maybe this was the final nail in the coffin. He couldn't imagine either of the teenagers would agree to their crazy proposition to go halfway across the country, especially since things just kept getting more… complicated. Percy shot them a smile and Annabeth gave a heavy sigh.

"Fine, tomorrow's the fireworks and the Apollo cabin is throwing a party. We can get the pegasi ready in the morning, and use the party as a cover to sneak out, but no one finds out about this or Chiron will kill us, got it?" She said, and Helena gave a firm nod.

As they began discussing the logistics of a cross-country trip, Hector's mind wandered to the adventures and dangers that would lie ahead.