I was in Tartarus. The banks of large rocky walls on both sides of me made the familiar area look familiar. The Hundred Handed ones were gone, but cyclops took over their work area, clad in chains. Kampe held her whip menacingly. She had a few new scars that would be with her forever, thanks to Charlie's and my blades. She'd regenerated quickly.

The cyclops were obviously new to this whole imprisonment thing. They were still struggling and trying to speak with each other.

I knew the drill by now. Nobody could see me. I couldn't help. I walked the rows of cyclops, searching for whatever in this dream the Arai wanted me to see.

In the center of the room, chained by the neck was a cyclops I recognized. He was the only one urging the others to run. Tyson; my uncle. I ran forward and tried to grab his arm or yell at him, but of course he didn't respond.

"Don't worry," he said to the other cyclops that used to work in Poseidon's forges. "My brother is going to get us out of here. He'll come back." He sounded so sure, as if without a doubt he believed that my dad would save him.

The cyclops next to him sighed and smashed his hammer into a piece of metal. "Perseus Jackson is dead, brother. They are all dead. Nobody is coming for us. Now pipe down and don't get us killed," he harshly whispered back.

Tyson huffed and threw his hammer into the table, causing it to crash to the ground. Everybody went silent. Campe turned to watch with evil eyes.

"Percy is not dead! He's going to come back! He'll find a way to save us!"

Kampe approached, raising her whip. "Nobody is coming for you, cyclops."

I tried to jump in front of him but the whip went right through me. Tyson wailed. Kampe kept hitting. Tyson was on the ground, bleeding out. But Campe kept hitting, screaming at him to sing for her. I knelt besides my uncle and tried to hold his face.

"I'm sorry, Tyson. I'm so sorry, I won't let this happen. Ok? I won't let this happen to you. If you are ever here, if this ever happens, I'll come back. Remember that, Tyson. I'll come back, I won't leave you here."

Tyson opened his eyes, and he looked right at me. He reached up a shaky hand and stroked my cheek. "It's too late. Go." His hand went limp, his eyes cleared. But Kampe kept hitting.

I woke up that night screaming for my uncle.

"Jase!" Charlie grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into his arms. I was shaking badly, unable to hold myself up.

"We need to get back to camp. Nyx is going to kidnap the cyclops," I said. Charlie stroked my hair and shook his head. He didn't reply, he was too busy humming something in Spanish.

"Nyx is dead, we killed her," Luke reminded me.

"But her army is still alive. Her plan is still in action. We have to get back to camp and warn them. They're going to kidnap the cyclops that work in Poseidon's forges. Tyson— all the cyclops are in danger. We need them; they are the ones that build and fix our weapons when we go to war."

You're too late.

"Your word is enough, Jase. We'll get back in time. We'll save your uncle and all the other cyclops," Charlie promised. I nodded, unable to think for myself enough to decide if I believed him.

"We should keep going," I changed the subject. It was still dark out but I could see the sun peaking over the horizon.

Bob was sitting in the creek bed, splashing around in the water like a toddler. Damasen acted as a guardian and sat under a tree watching him. They looked ready to go. Luke was already packed up. The only thing Charlie and I had to pack was the blanket that Luke had given us in the Labyrinth. As we stood up to leave, Charlie wrapped it around my shoulders. I was going to pull him into the blanket with me but he lit his hair on fire. I figured he was covered.

Not by you.

"I think I see the city lights again," Charlie said after a few minutes. Charlie was right. There were twinkling lights in the distance that looked too man-made to be shining monster eyes. We'd seen them the day before but they were much closer now.

"We need to figure out where we are so we can get back home in time. If anybody has a spare drachma we could send an Iris Message?" I suggested.

"I don't think any of us have drachmas," Luke responded coolly. I sighed and kept going. Pretty soon our feet hit cement; a paved street with yellow lines and everything. A car drove by but I was too shocked to flag it down.

Bob and Damasen hid behind the trees. "We'll wait here," they said.

Just then, another car zoomed by, prompting Bob and Damasen to disappear into the edge of the tree-line.

"PEOPLE!" Charlie screeched.

I wanted to laugh at his childish antics but I was just as relieved as he was. We crossed the street into what seemed to be a residential zone. There wasn't anybody out and about, so I guessed it to be somewhere in the middle of the week. It was pretty chilly out too, maybe 45F? I wasn't sure, but I held the blanket tighter around myself. Tartarus was usually hot and humid. I wasn't used to the cold.

Does the cold remind you of us?

Charlie pointed out a person in the middle of the park. He was on his phone, casually scrolling through his news feed as he watched a toddler run around on the playground. I tried to hide my missing arm and disheveled appearance as much as I could as we approached.

"Excuse me?" Charlie called meekly.

The man turned towards us slowly, then dropped his phone when he looked up. "What the fuck?!"

You'll never be accepted now.

"Uh, sorry. We've been, um, lost...and just found our way back into town. Think you could help us out?"

The man scooped his phone back up. "I'm calling the police; are you kids ok?" he asked. His eyes fell to my arm, then to Charlie.

I hadn't realized how sick he must look to the normal person.

No, you're not ok.

I thought for a second about answering the question honestly. "Sure," I said instead. "But it would be really helpful if you could point us in the direction of the nearest police department or Subway sandwich shop."

That's weird.

Charlie gave me a strange look. "Subway?"

"One of my cousins from New Rome runs the chain. They're really into sandwiches. Actually, she was the one who taught Dad how to cook."

"Um, well the police department is five or so blocks that way," the man said, pointing down the street. "Here, let me walk you." He turned back towards the playground. "Beth!" he called. My heart twinged at the name.

A little girl with bouncing curls jumped into the man's arms. She looked a bit like Adora, but her eyes were brown. Her smile was just as bright.

You'll never see her again

"Hi!" the little girl chirped. She watched us uneasily, as children do with people that look like zombies.

I waved, unable to speak. I was afraid I'd cry if I opened my mouth. I wondered how much older Adora looked now. How long had we been gone, anyway?

Too long

"Sir, where are we?" Luke asked. He held Charlie's wrist and my shoulder firmly as we walked. He spared a glance over his shoulder and smiled, confirming my suspicion that Bob and Damasen were following behind us.

"Just outside San Francisco. It's hard to tell, we usually don't get this cold in March."

"March?" I squeaked.

The man looked at us with a look of sympathy. "Yeah, March. What's your name? Maybe I've seen you on the news or something."

I felt nervous giving this guy my name. He had a point, but I doubted I'd made it to any news outlet. The only reason my parents would have reported me missing was not to get in trouble with law enforcement. It's not like the police could send SWAT to Tartarus to fish us out.

They don't want to find you.

"I'm Jase. This is Charlie and Luke. Luke here found Charlie and I and helped us," I explained.

The man froze. He slowly set his daughter on the ground and stared at me with a new sense of awe.

Run.

"Jason Jackson," he said.

I nodded apprehensively. Nobody who recognized my name since the fall was a friend.

He didn't attack us, but his eyes grew wide. "You've been missing for nine months! your face is plastered all over the country. Of course I know who you are; everybody knows who you are!"

"What?"

"Your family has been looking for you the whole time, I think the police declared you as dead a month or so ago when a gnawed off arm with your DNA showed up near the family estate. They still have no idea what happened to you."

They think you're dead

I didn't know how to respond to that. I hadn't thought about my arm, how it had been on the other side of the wall. Of course they would take that as a sign of death. An injury like that would be deadly unless you happened to have a fire wielding demigod on hand and a giant with hallucinogenic pain medication.

"Wow," I said.

"I'm Bob, by the way. This is my daughter, Beth. Your parents never appeared on tv, but I saw glimpses of your house from the news. You had a dog in the front yard." Bob didn't keep walking.

You have to run.

I forgot to answer for a moment. Then I smiled. "Mrs. O'leary, she's my dad's dog."

"Yeah, but I saw that dog."

I squinted at him, unsure what he meant.

"I know what that dog is, it's like a Hellhound or something, right?" he asked.

"How did you know that?" Luke said. He got out his dagger and held it by his side. I frowned and stepped in front of him, indicating towards the small child.

"My half-sister is one of the demigods, I'm clear sighted. If you're a Jackson then your dad has got to be Percy Jackson, right?"

My brain exploded. I didn't make the connection yet, but I should have. "You knew my dad? Any chance you could get us in contact with him, or any demigod for that matter?"

You're an idiot.

The man sighed sadly, looking much more like a child than a father. "No. I wish I could. My dad and step-mom broke off contact with my sister years ago."

Get it now?

I looked up to Luke in panic. He was thinking the same thing as I was, but he looked much angrier. "Are you Bobby Chase?" he asked accusingly.

"Yeah, I am. You know me?"

I pushed Luke back to keep him from doing something rash. "Your sister, Annabeth, that's my mom!" I wasn't sure if I should have told him but I got excited.

Told you. Idiot.

"What?!"

"She married Percy Jackson! She's my mom!"

Bobby took my arm and pulled us off the road. His eyes were shining with tears. "I didn't know she had kids! I didn't even know she was still alive! But if you're her son, then I have to get you home safely. Last I heard she was in New York, right?"

I nodded.

"Ok, good. And the police station is a bad idea because it's basically just an electronic death trap for demigods. That's what Annabeth used to say, anyway. I don't have her phone number anywhere; does she have a phone? She doesn't have any social media; I checked. I could get some money together for a plane ticket or something? We could find out from there how to get you to New York, but I'm not sure."

I could keep the grin from my face. "Thank you so much."

He smiled kindly. "Tell Annabeth I say hi, and sorry. I wish I could have taken advantage of the time I had with her as a kid, or stood up for her when Helen kicked her out."

I clapped him on the shoulder. "Maybe I could get you back in touch if I ever get back home."

"When," Charlie corrected me.

"That sounds great!" Bobby smiled. "Really!" He glanced around for monsters or mortals alike, the paranoia of the greek setting in. "Now come with me, I've got an old motorhome I can use to get you three across the border."

Still an idiot.

Charlie laughed cheekily. "We also have a titan and a giant."

Damasen suddenly walked up behind him. "It is ok Charlie, we can make it on our own from here."

"But—"

"No, Jason. This is not Tartarus, we shall be fine. We can go ahead, help prepare the Camps."

As soon as he said Camps, I felt as if somebody had pierced me through the heart. "Gods," I groaned. "I am such an idiot! Bobby, we don't need to get to New York. Could you take us to San Francisco Bay?"

Charlie facepalmed. "Camp Jupiter," he said.

"Camp Jupiter," I clarified.

"What's Camp Jupiter?" Luke asked.

Told you. Again.

Bobby looked confused, but he nodded. "Yeah, I can get you there. Is there anything else I can do?"