Sorry for such a long wait, the Next Chapter is here!

Because there is such a large cast, I've decided to split the break into at least two parts.

I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 9 - First Break Pt. 1

Once Zeus had finished his sentence, Travis and Connor jumped out of their seats and practically shoved their faces into Seth's, who grimaced at the sudden breach of his personal space.

"Dude!" Travis exclaimed in disbelief. "You cannot leave us hanging like that!"

"Yeah!" Connor agreed, shaking his head exponentially. "Who's the girl? Is she your twin or something?"

Katie deadpanned at the Stolls' behavior. "Considering I've never heard of a single set of identical twins who are male and female. I doubt it."

"Just because you never heard of something doesn't mean it's not possible." Annabeth reminded. "However, in this case you would be correct. There's no such thing as an identical male and female pair."

Katie shrugged and Annabeth let a satisfactory smile appear on her face. Clarisse groaned as Cassie and Luna shared a look.

"Alright Ms. Know-it-all, we get it." Clarisse grumbled. "You know everything."

Athena's lips twitched upwards at her daughter's knowledge as Artemis raised a brow and glanced past Apollo and Hermès, who had taken a page out of the Stolls' book, and started hounding Artemis for answers. Hera most likely would have had a similar reaction to her fellow goddess of childbirth if she hadn't flashed away the second she could.

Artemis growled as she glared at her twin and half-brother from the corner of her eye. If either of them pressed their face any closer into her personal space, she'd kill them.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what Apollo did.

"That's it," Artemis snapped, before summoning her bow.

Artemis used the tip of one of the limbs to smack Apollo in the temple and sent him flying. A single look at Hermes had the messenger god backing up with his hands held up placatingly. This was now between the twins and he would rather not get involved.

Zeus sighed before grumbling under his breath. "Hera is going to kill them for destroying the throne room...then kill me for letting it happen."

"Actually," Cassie started almost afraid to speak up while Luna winced as Apollo howled from another arrow embedding itself in his leg. "Annabeth is only partially right."

Athena turned and stared curiously at Cassie while Annabeth's brief satisfaction turned into indignation. "Pardon?"

"Well," Luna started, taking over for Cassie, who was lost for words. "You're mostly right about a pair of identical twins not being both male or female-!"

"Then what's the problem?" Armani asked, cutting off the alums in his confusion. Was there something he missed in child of a childbirth goddess 101?

Luna sent Armani a dry look before explaining, "It's extremely rare for identical twins to be both male and female. Those rare cases are the result of genetic mutations developing from a Zygote that started off as XY or male."

"And what is the statistic?" Athena asked to confirm.

"Point one percent," Cassie answered, and Athena nodded in satisfaction.

"While on this topic, I should also mention that there are male and female twins who look identical." Luna added.

"Just because they look identical doesn't mean they are identical," Annabeth argued.

"That's true." Cassie agreed softly. "However, there is such a thing as sesquizygotic or semi-identical twins. Which can, in fact, be male and female."

Annabeth's argument died on her lips as a puzzled look appeared on her face before she started asking questions.

Alessa sighed before turning to Lady Hestia, trying to not only move past this argument, but also the divine brawl happening between the twins. "Are we allowed to go outside?"

Hestia smiled at the eldest of the demigods. "Yes, go ahead. We'll send someone to fetch you when we're ready to start reading again.

Excitedly, the demigods filed out of the throne room as Charlotte watched the demigods leave with a torn look on her face. Aphrodite turned away from Ares with a laugh to glance at Hephaestus, but ended up noticing the look on Charlotte's face causing her to instead watch the girl worriedly. With a dejected sigh, Charlotte bit her lip before walking over to an area by the hearth and noticed Nikki.

Nikki, oblivious to Charlotte's attention, turned to Zoe. "Is there any way that I can continue my training while we're here on Olympus? I still do not feel confident enough in my abilities."

Zoe looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "There is an archery range that we can visit in order to help thee practice the bow, as for thy hand to hand combat training…." Zoe trailed off in uncertainty, glancing at Artemis, who was now calm enough to engage a conversation with Athena. I suppose I could ask Lady Artemis if she would be willing to negotiate with Lady Athena for us to use the arena. "I shall discuss the matter with Lady Artemis."

Nikki hesitated to ask her next question. "What about tracking? Will that have to be delayed?"

Zoe sighed before shaking her head. "I'll speak to Lady Artemis about that as well."

Nikki nodded in understanding and Zoe's expression softened. "Are the other girls still giving thee trouble? If thou tell me who it is, I will be sure to speak with them, and inform Lady Artemis about this."

Nikki only shook off the older girl's concern. The last thing she wanted to do was get Lady Artemis involved, it would just make it worse. "The other girls are treating me well," Liar. Her consciousness echoed as she fought off the urge to touch a bandage hidden on her shoulder. "I simply feel like I should be doing much better than I am."

Zoe stared at her a moment longer, her face unreadable before nodding once. "In that case, I shall make sure to promptly speak to Lady Artemis," Moving a step closer to the slightly shorter girl and placing a hand on her shoulder, Zoe smiled softly at Nikki. "Do not push thyself too hard, everyone learns at their own pace."

Nikki had to fight back a wince of pain when Zoe touched her shoulder but somehow managed to smile back as to not alert the lieutenant that something was wrong. "I'll make sure to remember that."

Meanwhile, Charlotte turned away from her sister and stared at the crackling fire of the hearth. Nikki had been acting strange since she returned from border control with some of the meaner girls in the hunt. Charlotte had wanted to ask Zoe to give Nikki a different task or group to patrol with, but Nikki had her swear on the Styx to never tell anyone about the bullying they received from some of the other girls. Especially not Zoe or Lady Artemis.

That was fine. She didn't want to bother either of them anyway.

"Is something wrong, child?" a soft voice asked from next to her, causing Charlotte to jump.

Immediately, Charlotte tensed as she normally did when speaking with people she didn't know. Except now it was amplified because the person next to her was a deity, she didn't even need to look to know that- she could feel the power they emitted just by standing next to them.

"I-I-..um." Charlotte fumbled before nervously turning to bow to the goddess next to her. "F-forgive me, Lady Hestia, I uh…."

"Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong," Hestia said amusingly. The goddess placed her hand under Charlotte's chin and lifted her head up. "If you're lonely, then you should join the other demigods."

Charlotte fought back a wince. "I doubt I would fit in….I'm the youngest here after all, I don't think they would want to be stuck babysitting."

"Why on earth would you think that?" Hestia asked. "They seem like a friendly bunch and physically, you're only three years younger than young Thalia and Nico. I would hardly consider that babysitting."

Charlotte seemed to fold in on herself, she didn't exactly want to tell a goddess that she was often excluded from groups since she was the youngest. It was a common occurrence with the hunters (some more than others) and occasionally with Nikki too. Even the girls who were physically younger than her had decades, if not centuries on her.

Hestia stared at Charlotte for a moment before she inclined her head in understanding. Not wanting to accidentally insult the goddess by staying quiet, Charlotte started fumbling over her words to respond. "W-well...I, um..."

Smiling warmly, Hestia reached out and lifted Charlotte's chin to look at her eyes. "Just because you're the youngest doesn't mean that you can't interact with the other demigods."

Charlotte hesitantly met the goddess' gaze, she didn't want to get her hopes up but she also didn't want to anger the goddess before her. "I-I…" Charlotte swallowed before continuing. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try being friendly…?"

Hestia smiled brightly at the young girl.

The rest of the demigods had made their way out to the steps of the building, Thalia and Cassie let out a breath of relief as a gust of wind blew past them. Luna cracked her neck before walking over to the side of the building that had a small grassy sitting area and a fountain and fell onto her back with a sigh.

Percy winced, Luna fell back like she would in a pile of snow or on a bed. "Did that not hurt?"

"I'm just happy to be out of the building right now." Luna replied.

Annabeth's eyes followed Luna the whole time before widening at the scenery before her.

Tucked next to the building were two tier flower beds made of natural stone where in front of the benches it was split by a large split level fountain. The stone wrapped around the basin with room to sit like a bench and at the bottom were black river stones mixed with glowing blue and green pebbles and a couple gold drachma's lying on top. The back wall of the basin went up to the top level of the stone border, it had a picture of a lion half way up, and at the top streams of the water arched up, crossing each other before rippling down the feature wall. The second level of the fountain had a misshapen slate tower that caused the water to fall in a zig-zag pattern.

"How have I not seen this area before?" Annabeth breathed, gaining Thea's attention.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if you rarely visited Olympus before the war." Thea smiled. "It makes sense that you wouldn't know about hidden gems like this."

Nico scoffed as he walked past the two girls to sit in the shade. "More like she paid more attention to the design of the buildings than she did the scenery."

Thalia let out a laugh as she threw an arm around Annabeth's shoulders. "That certainly sounds like our Annabeth!"

"What is that supposed to mean?," Annabeth sighed.

Katie eyed the small group of Luna, Nico, Will, Armani, Thalia, Thea, and Cassie as they walked into the shade. "Is it okay for us to sit here?"

Luna sat up, stretching before turning to the daughter of Demeter. "Why wouldn't we?" Luna yawned before shaking her head. "Sorry, I guess I'm more tired than I thought."

"Will you be alright?" Armani asked in concern.

Luna nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine, why?"

"You said Cassie and Alessa's panic attacks were likely triggered due to their exhaustion, right? Could that happen to you as well?" Armani clarified.

Nico turned to Will skeptically. "Is that how panic attacks work?"

"Not quite." Will responded, sitting a little straighter and going into doctor mode, causing Nico to roll his eyes. "Exhaustion doesn't cause panic attacks by itself. However, if your emotions are already heightened by stress or anxiety, then it's more likely that being tired will help trigger a panic attack."

Luna narrowed her eyes in thought before tilting her head to look at the branches above her. "It certainly is possible, though it's rare for me to have panic attacks."

"You just end up giving an attitude and starting fights." Dove said with a roll of her eyes before tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Not much of a difference compared to when you first wake up."

"So I might start getting annoyed and have a clipped tone, it's not guaranteed, though." Luna replied defensively.

"You mean like earlier with Lady Artemis?" Thalia asked with a raised eyebrow as she sat down on one of the benches next to Cassie.

"Ugh, please don't remind me of that." Luna grimaced. "I can practically hear the lecture already." She shook her head before turning back to Katie. "Sorry to get off topic, why wouldn't we be allowed to sit here?"

"Well…it just seems that we've been a little too free with roaming around?" Katie asked nervously. "Besides, what if this area is like…sacred or something?"

Travis walked up behind her and placed a hand on Katie's shoulder causing her to shrug him off and side step to her right. Travis looked a little hurt before he covered it up with his usual mischievous grin.

"I'm sure we would know if this place was sacred or not." Travis reminded her. "Besides, it's not like we're lounging on the steps of the temple. Wouldn't that be more disrespectful?"

Seth nodded as he joined the group. "We were never told we had to stay in one area of the building or Olympus. If we wander around and they don't like it, then it's their fault for not saying anything. Within reason, of course."

"May I also remind you that we've spent most of our time in the temple?" Armani added. "We haven't wandered around at all really. Some of us went to the archery range yesterday, and that's right around the corner."

Connor nodded before hooking his arm around Travis' neck, bringing his brother closer to his face with a grin. "This morning doesn't count since nearly all of us were being escorted or observed by the gods…and goddesses," he added quickly as Thalia narrowed her eyes, nodding once after he corrected himself.

Katie shifted nervously as she walked to join the group and sat with Luna, Theresa, and Armani on the grass, both Stolls following behind her. Seeing most of the group had decided to sit down, the remaining demigods followed. Percy and Annabeth walked hand in hand to sit in front of the fountain, causing a few eye rolls from the group. Clarisse trekked over to the right side of the fountain sitting in front of a bed of Hyacinth and close to Cassie and Thalia with Ashlynn skipping happily behind her. Alessa sat in front of a bed of Yarrows with Dove sitting next to her.

Luna noticed Seth, who was still standing by the stone pavement. "Aren't you going to sit down?"

"We have been sitting for a few hours now. I think I would rather stand," the son of Artemis replied. Luna simply shrugged before sprawling back on the grass.

A cool breeze passing by caused the leaves of the tree to ruffle as a comfortable silence fell upon the group.

Clarisse looked down from the hill the Temple stood on, staring at the arena in the distance. "Would anyone be up for a spar at some point today?"

"Sure, I wouldn't mind sparring with you but don't expect me to hold back." Cassie replied instantly, a teasing smirk on her face.

Clarisse snorted. "You say that like it's a threat. I'm the first daughter of Ares to become head counselor of cabin five, remember?"

"So?" Thalia asked with a raised brow. "There's always someone stronger."

"I also have his blessing," Clarisse said proudly.

"That still doesn't mean you're the strongest," Percy said.

Clarisse scowled. "Didn't my dad curse you?

"It's still big-headed of you to think there's no one stronger than you here," Percy pointed out.

"Should we test this theory?" Connor suggested while pretending to twirl a mustache. "Clarisse spars with everyone here. If she wins, then she's the strongest and we all have to admit it."

"And if she loses?" Thalia asked skeptically.

Connor looked thoughtful for a moment, the glare Clarisse was sending him promised pain if he suggested something embarrassing.

"She refers to everyone as sir or madam?" Will suggested.

Travis shook his head. "Nah, that's not good enough."

Luna turned to grin at Thalia. "Didn't you lose our bet at the archery range? I still gotta figure out what to have you do for the next day and a half."

Thalia's grin was wiped off her face as she narrowed her eyes at Luna. "You wouldn't."

Luna pressed a hand to her chest in mock offense. "Tali, I would never."

Thalia's eyes widened as Percy and Nico started laughing, Annabeth also grinning at the nickname.

"Where did you come up with that?" Thalia asked as she blinked in shock.

Luna opened her mouth to answer but quickly closed it and looked thoughtful. "Actually, I'm not sure. Definitely before the quest to save Artemis I think. I don't remember which came first, Tali or Auntie."

Travis and Connor started howling with laughter as Thalia's face darkened and sparks danced around her, causing Cassie to shift down to the end of the bench. "Do not call me Auntie."

"Technically, you are the aunt of nearly every demigod at camp," Dove reminded, causing Thalia to scowl and turn to glare at Dove, her eyes sparkling with electricity that only caused Percy and Nico to laugh more. "There's only five demigods present that you aren't the aunt of."

Thalia glared at the other two children of the Big Three before immediately starting to shake her head, the static disappearing momentarily. "Stop, stop, STOP! Everyone stops keeping track of relatives outside of their cabin, so no one should be calling me aunt!"

Armani let a small smile grace his face. "It seems I'm not the only one to think of that."

Thalia growled in irritation as two sparks flew off of her. With a sigh, Cassie placed a placating hand on Thalia's shoulder, the static seemingly not bothering her. "I feel your pain, more than you think, but it would be a waste if we spent our break fighting. We only have an hour."

Alessa raised her hand seriously. "I vote we take a few minutes to embrace this opportunity to go to the bathroom then go grab some coffee."

"I agree with the bathroom part." Connor agreed with a sagely nod before scratching his ear. "Not so sure about the coffee part though."

Seth raised an eyebrow at Alessa. "Didn't you already have three cups?"

Alessa started waving her hand around. "I had like two cappuccinos when I woke up, a cafe latte with breakfast, and a macchiato with lunch. It's espresso time."

"So you had four cups of coffee?" Armani said.

"That amount of caffeine could cause another panic attack," Will mentioned in concern.

"I think you mean she only had four cups." Nico smiled ruefully. "I remember my mom used to have five or six throughout the day."

Katie stared shocked at the pale demigod. "Everyday?"

Nico shrugged. "Italians love their coffee."

Alessa nodded. "I think on average it's like four cups a day, but in my family it's normal to have like seven….maybe eight when my aunt and uncle are taken into account…" Alessa trailed off with a finger over her lips in thought before shaking her head. "I've been drinking the same amount of coffee since I was fourteen, the caffeine doesn't bother me anymore."

Nico sighed. "I still can barely stand the stuff."

"I don't think I've ever seen you touch a cup of coffee." Percy mused before turning to Annabeth. "Have you?"

Annabeth's response was a shake of her head. "Nico rarely shows up for breakfast so I wouldn't know."

"Think I've only seen him drink coffee once." Clarisse shrugged.

"Can we get back on track?" Seth reminded everyone, gathering their attention. "I doubt any of us want to waste this break on trivial topics."

"I agree." Armani said as he stood up. "It's going to be a while before our next one, and I'd like to have those group discussions we were talking about before we have to read for the next four hours-!"

"Four hours?!" Clarisse interrupted, eyes wide in disbelief. "We've been reading for four hours already?"

Travis looked dejected. "Is all our time going to be taken over by this reading?"

Slowly, the seated demigods rose to their feet as they began walking back to the pavement that led to the building. Seth had just taken a step onto the pavement when Charlotte burst down the steps. Slowing to a stop, Charlotte glanced around before noticing the group of demigods walking back to the building causing her face to fall.

"You're all heading back this soon?"

Thalia broke away from the group and walked up to Charlotte. "Not yet, we're just taking a bathroom break before deciding what to do."

The youngest huntress' face lit up hopefully, but she seemed to fidget under everyone's stares. "W-would…." Charlotte seemed to get a bit tearful at being unable to voice her request.

Thalia seemed confused as she looked back at the group behind her, hoping for some kind of answer. Will cautiously walked up to Charlotte, who seemed to tense the closer he got.

Will stopped walking six feet away from the two huntresses and raised his hands in a placating manner.

Smiling reassuringly, Will offered a suggestion to the younger girl. "Try taking a deep breath, then try again."

Charlotte eyed the blonde skeptically before doing as instructed, taking a deep breath before turning back to Thalia and softly asking. "Would it be alright if I joined you?"

"You would have to interact with the boys too." Thalia pointed out.

Charlotte seemed to freeze before eyeing the males of the group. Will had an encouraging smile on his face, Travis and Connor had matching mischievous grins while Nico stuffed his fists into his jeans pockets and glanced away. Percy swung his arm around Annabeth's shoulders before grinning. Seth merely raised an eyebrow at the young huntress while Armani simply nodded in greeting.

Sighing in resignation, Charlotte hesitantly nodded once at Thalia before answering. "I….suppose…if it's just this once..?"

"Alright," Annabeth started once everyone regrouped. "We have roughly forty five minutes before we need to be back in the throne room. What does everyone want to do?"

"Spar!" Clarisse shouted almost immediately.

Thalia shook her head. "When do you not want to spar?"

"Didn't we spar earlier?" Percy asked, exasperated.

Nico deadpanned at the stringy haired girl. "You mean, play the Clarisse beats everyone up game?"

Clarisse argued. "That's not true. Most of you can hold your own against me. You three included. Earlier, we were evenly matched too."

Katie shook her head exasperatedly. "And by most, she means less than half of us. Namely, Percy, Thalia, Nico, and Annabeth."

Thea seemed surprised for a second before turning to Katie. "Wait, you can't hold your own against Clarisse?

Katie seemed amused by the question. "My swordsmanship is nowhere near Clarisse."

Connor threw his arm around Travis' shoulders and pulled him closer, causing Katie to look skeptically at them. "I say we take a walk around, nothing like stretching our legs!"

Seth looked doubtful at this version of the Stolls as Katie narrowed her eyes further. "Meaning you want to pull a prank or two." The auburn haired boy translated in a dull voice.

The two not-twins gasped dramatically, equal expressions of mock offense on their faces. Travis' hand flew to his chest like a character in an old sitcom. "Why, we would never!" The elder Stoll shouted, scandalized. Connor turned up his nose with a huff as Travis, continuing with the dramatics, turned to his brother. "Did you hear that, Connor? Did you hear that?"

Connor simply huffed again as he turned his back on the remaining demigods, several being torn between laughing and being exasperated while some just rolled their eyes at the act before them. Ashlynn, being the only one to openly show entertainment at the display while Charlotte just seemed confused.

"Of course brother, the nerve to suggest such a thing." Connor answered with a shake of his head. "The two of us are upstanding citizens after all!"

Travis nodded at his brother's words. "That's right! Up. Standing. Citizens."

Seth only smiled at the two brothers' act. "As amusing as your performance is, we really shouldn't delay any longer if we want to enjoy our break."

Nico sighed. "It might take the rest of the remaining time to find something we all would like to do."

"We could go with Connor's suggestion of everyone fighting Clarisse?" Percy suggested.

Thalia shook her head before staring at Percy. "I think we would need more time for that."

"The next time we have a day off, we can dedicate an afternoon for a brawl if you want," Seth placated, before glancing apprehensively at the Stolls, who seemed to be buzzing- their grins more mischievous than ever. "Besides, I think those two would rather do something else."

Armani glanced dryly at the Stolls. "Really? I couldn't tell."

Alessa sighed. "I really need that espresso."

"We could split up again?" Luna suggested.

"For the most part, that's all we've been doing." Annabeth reminded. "Plus we keep forming the same groups for the most part."

Ashlynn narrowed her eyes at Seth. "I still want to hear the werewolf story."

"Sorry to disappoint," Seth said with some amusement, "but I wouldn't call it much of a story."

Thea shrugged. "I'm sure it would be interesting either way."

Will hummed before intertwining his hand with Nico's, causing the goth to raise an eyebrow at his boyfriend. "I know I did already, but I wouldn't mind hanging out with Ashlynn and Seth some more." Briefly turning to Nico, Will winked as he started to swing their intertwined hands back and forth. "Maybe I can show off my amazing archery skills." Nico simply rolled his eyes as Will continued to address the group. "I'm sure the three of us could find some common ground, and of course anyone else who may want to join."

Luna turned to Seth and Armani. "Is there anyone in particular either of you would want to hangout with? I don't want you guys to feel excluded."

Armani shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me. I'll probably just join a random group."

Charlotte twitched slightly. "It must be lonely being the only ones here from your time."

A small smile appeared on Armani's face as he shook his head. "I don't mind. Besides, I don't know who could have been sent that wouldn't already be here."

Seth seemed indifferent at the reminder, but had to agree with Armani. Walt or Lynetta could have been sent with him, but since Walt was...well, Walt - that probably wouldn't have been a good idea.

"Let's switch it up," Thalia shrugged. "Multiple people said they wanted to talk during break, so we should just group up that way."

Annabeth nodded. "That's the best way to branch out."

In an attempt to find out more about the versions of themselves in the other timelines, Annabeth, Thalia, and Percy decided to join Luna, Cassie, and Armani, making them the first group. Instead of going through the tourist-friendly main road of Olympus, like some of the other groups, the six demigods had decided to take one of the more naturesque back roads. The paved pathway was lined with cypress trees that had the occasional apple or fig tree mixed in, juniper shrubs and aster flowers.

"I wish I had seen more of Olympus before the war." Annabeth muttered, snuggled into Percy's side as they walked. "There is so much more than I originally thought."

Percy seemed confused. "You spent a lot of time here during the reconstruction. Haven't you seen all of Olympus already?"

"There's a difference between seeing a place before and after destruction, seaweed brain." Annabeth sighed.

"True," Percy started, trying to cheer Annabeth up, "but I'm sure you have seen more of Olympus than you think."

Cassie poked her head out from next to Thalia. "Most of the damage in our timeline was centered around the temples and the palace, so if it was the same in your timeline then it's possible that areas like this are still around."

Annabeth hummed before resting her head on Percy's shoulder. "I wonder if the gods back in our time will let us walk around Olympus when we get back."

"It wouldn't hurt to ask," Percy said, before pressing a kiss to Annabeth's hair.

Cassie fell back a step to give the couple a little space. Thalia also had the same thought in order to avoid witnessing her two friends' sappiness.

Thalia let a smirk grace her face as she turned to look at Cassie. "Palace?"

"Well what would you call it?" Cassie asked, rolling her eyes. "The main temple? The temple with the throne room?"

"The temple atop the hill?" Thalia suggested with a shrug.

"This whole place is atop a hill, Thals." Luna smirked as Armani snorted, the two appearing on the opposite sides of Cassie and Thalia respectively.

Cassie shook her head and glanced at the couple a few steps ahead. "Don't let Annabeth hear you say that." She whispered conspiratorially. "You'll get a lecture on the differences between a hill and a mountain."

"I heard that." Annabeth called back, causing Cassie to grin.

Luna barked out a laugh before simply shrugging as Thalia stepped ahead and started walking backwards to face the other three. "So, what should we do? Are we just going to walk around and sight see?"

Armani threw his hands behind his head with a hum. "I wouldn't mind, we would be able to stretch our legs then."

"I have to agree with what Travis said earlier." Cassie grimaced. "It seems like most of our time here will be spent reading."

Armani made a face as Thalia groaned. "Oh, I don't want to be sitting for that long…"

"I don't want to be quiet for that long." Percy grumbled, glancing at the group behind him.

"We are able to comment." Annabeth reminded him gently.

"Yes, but our commenting has led to many side conversations," Armani argued.

Cassie sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself and glanced up at the sky. "And Seth doesn't seem to want to participate in those conversations."

Luna wrapped her arm around Cassie's shoulders. "Can you blame him? We're in the middle of reading about his life. He probably finds off-topic conversations disrespectful, and I can't blame him. If anything, I agree."

Annabeth tilted her head past Percy's shoulders to stare at Luna from the corner of her eye. "Yet you still participate in those conversations." She noted, causing a light flush to appear on the silver-eyed girl's face.

Luna rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand as she chuckled. "I-I guess I'm not helping matters much."

Cassie sadly stared at Luna as she raised a hand to squeeze the one Luna had draped over her shoulder. "I don't like the way Seth acts around you, Lu…" Everyone's gaze turned to Cassie as her eyes drifted to her feet. "It's like he doesn't like you."

"...He does seem to get along better with others," Thalia noted.

"Really?" Percy said, sounding puzzled. "I thought he was just reserved."

"He is," Armani agreed, "but it does seem like he's been clashing with Luna. Remember when Dove mentioned the similarities between the two of them with the moon gazing during the first chapter?"

Luna shook her head at the conversation the others were having. "I think you guys are reading too much into this. Seth had a right to get upset, we had just started his story and I started speaking about something that may or may not happen in mine."

"Still," Cassie said, unconvinced.

"That's right," Annabeth mused. "You said something about me being with you in Japan?"

"Yeah, I'll get to that in a little bit." Luna smiled before turning to Cassie and rolling her eyes. "And still nothing, Cass. You worry too much. If anything, having me around might make him a little uncomfortable."

"Why?" Armani asked.

Luna sighed as she glanced past the trees in uncertainty. Some naiads were giving baskets to the nymphs to sell, likely at one of the stalls on the main street. "Probably the same reason that my brother was," she revealed quietly.

Cassie stared sadly at Luna, wrapping an arm around the taller girl for a hug as Thalia hummed and Annabeth raised a brow. Armani and Percy, however, seemed taken aback.

"You have a brother?" Percy asked, receiving a distant nod from Luna in response.

"Yeah."

Armani seemed excited by this revelation. "What's his name? And why isn't he here with you? Is he too young?"

Annabeth glanced back at the rest of the group, trying not to break away from Percy but meeting Thalia's eyes in the process. The two shared a look before Annabeth turned to Luna with a scrutinizing gaze and Thalia glanced at her uncomfortably.

"Why was your brother uncomfortable?" Percy asked, confused.

The question seemed to shock Luna out of her stupor as her eyes widened at the question. Turning back to the group, Luna gave them a once over before a smirk appeared on her face as she glanced around slightly. It looked like they were close to one of her favorite spots. Luna hummed slightly before treading off the pathway, heading through the trees to the left as she beckoned the others to follow. Cassie grinned realizing where she was heading as Percy and Thalia seemed apprehensive about leaving the paved road. Annabeth simply shrugged before following the two girls, dragging Percy along and grabbing Thalia's hand as she passed her, ignoring the protests of the two cousins. Armani raised a brow at Luna's evasiveness before following the group with a twinkle appearing in his eyes.

The second group consisted of Seth, Katie, Will, Ashlynn, and Theresa. Theresa had seemed insistent on staying near Katie and as Katie was one of the few demigods that Theresa was noticeably relaxed around, no one objected. Ashlynn had seemed torn between joining Theresa or Will, who had paired up with Seth, but she ended up talking both pairs into forming a group.

They were currently walking down the main road of Olympus, taking in their surroundings as they looked for something to do.

"This place is gorgeous." Katie breathed. Demeter had led Alessa, Theresa, and her down a back road when they went to visit the fields and central hearth earlier, so she wasn't able to see the full beauty of Olympus, which was displayed on the main road.

Will whistled in amazement as he glanced around before noticing something. "It seems like the temples for the Olympians are closer to the acropolis, we didn't walk this far when we visited Apollo's temple."

"I wouldn't know," Katie began before looking around for a moment. "We took the back roads to visit Mother's fields and the central hearth."

Ashlynn seemed excited. "Was it the road that lets you overlook the theatre? Isn't it a beautiful view? I would love to have a concert there, the acoustics must be wonderful." Ashlynn trailed off with a sigh as Katie looked at her strangely.

"There's a back road that lets you overlook the theatre?" Will asked, leaning closer to the girls in order to partake in their conversation. "What does it look like?"

Seth scrunched his face in confusion before turning to Thea, who was watching a couple of Nymphs selling items at a stall on the side of the road. "It seems that you all are quite familiar with Olympus, more so than most demigods."

Thea seemed to freeze slightly before turning stiffly to face Seth before she started laughing nervously. "D-do we? It must be the book that Dove had us read, she was the one most interested in learning about the home of the gods." The young girl rambled. "Did you know that there are at least 300-!"

Seth interrupted, "Even so, some of the things you all have said imply that you've visited more than most."

"W-what? No, not at all, at the very least, we tend to visit almost as often as Percy or Thalia. Annabeth visits far more often than us. Honestly, most of the stuff we know is because of her rambling-!"

"Visit? I thought you read about it in a book Dove let you read?" Seth caught the discrepancy, causing Thea to stutter and look over to Ashlynn for help, but the latter was talking eagerly with Will over what instrument might sound best in the Olympian's Theatre. Seth let the girl stew in her thoughts before he raised his hands in an attempt to calm her. "I'm just curious, there's no need to panic. I can understand if you would rather I wait until your story is read. In the meantime, try to get your stories straight," he advised quietly, "I doubt everyone would allow you all to get away with not talking for long."

Thea looked unsure for a second before a strange combination of a scowl and a pout made its way onto her face. Shooting Seth a look, Thea turned back to staring at the many stalls that lined the road.

"You're right." Thea sighed. "I said something similar before we were sent here, but everyone is worried Ash will reveal too much before the stories are read."

Katie, seemingly done with leading the small group, fell back a few steps so she was walking on the other side of Seth.

"Look at how many stalls there are and each one is selling something completely different." Katie marveled, turning from the one stall selling baskets to one run by a young looking Satyr who was selling reed pipes in different shapes and sizes.

"I didn't think there would be a market place here," Seth mused.

Thea glanced over at the two. "This may be the home of the gods, but many nature spirits live here too. With the way nature is treated nowadays, many nymphs have been forced to migrate here, it's one of the reasons there's so much greenery." Katie turned from staring at Thea to looking at another stall, this one had three nymphs running it. "In fact, there's a small forest-like area not far from here that house's quite a few dryads."

Seth's eyes widened slightly. "There's a forest?"

Thea nodded. "It's fairly small, I'm sure you wouldn't find it very interesting."

"Does it just house the dryads or are there animals as well?" Seth questioned.

Katie seemed just as interested. "Are there any other plants? Maybe wild fruit or something?"

Thea blinked once before tilting her head to the side. "There are plants and animals back in my time, but I'm not sure if they would be there now. I was told Lady Artemis decided to add in the animals so she can hunt on Olympus whenever she wants. I'm not sure about the plants though."

Katie enthusiastically nodded. While she would have preferred seeing the fields again, she didn't want to risk any of the deities learning of her parentage yet. Part of her was worried that she would end up spending less time with Demeter if her parentage was revealed. An irrational fear, but she was unsure if the ancient laws could be used as an excuse for some of their godly parents to avoid the children.

"Would you be willing to guide us?" Seth asked. "We'll see if there are any animals and foliage."

Thea thought it over before shrugging, and turned towards Ashlynn and Will, who were still engaged in a deep conversation. "Ash, you wanna go to the forest?"

Ashlynn stopped what she was saying mid sentence before turning to Thea confused. "You mean the Dryad forest?" Thea nodded so Ashlynn turned to Will. "Do you want to go?"

Will shrugged before a confused expression appeared on his face. "Sure, but why is there a forest on Mount Olympus? Isn't the home of the gods supposed to be full of marble and gold?"

"If you use that logic, then a lot of the places on Mount Olympus shouldn't be here." Ashlynn shrugged.

Seth raised a brow. "Like what?"

"Well," Katie began, "like my Mother's fields, Queen Hera's garden, and several other nature deities' dedicated domains said to also be on Olympus…"

Connor and Travis stared open-mouthed at the large building in front of them. The Stolls had decided to join Clarisse, Alessa, Nico, and Dove, since that seemed like the easiest group to sneak away from. They had been in the past for a whole day, and they hadn't pulled a single prank yet. Both brothers agreed to make use of this break to remedy that.

"Connor," Travis started, "I'm not sure about pulling a prank here."

Connor grimaced, sharing his brother's sentiments. "It's either here or one of the temples. I'm sure we could find more places, but if we can't prank an arena, then how can we prank a temple?"

Travis' eyes glanced over to the other four demigods of the group, Clarisse and Dove were in the middle of choosing a weapon and armor while Nico and Alessa talked quietly from the stands. Travis gulped before turning his eyes away from the demigods and to the reason for his nervousness.

A giant owl statue seemed to be watching the Stolls, and behind the wall the statue stood on the sounds of battle could be heard in what Travis assumed to be another fighting area of the arena.

"How do we know this place is used often enough for an effective prank anyway?" Travis argued but winced at the loud metallic 'clang' that followed his question.

Connor fully faced his older brother. "Scared?"

Travs tried to respond with his usual confidant attitude but his grin was shaky. "You wish."

Alessa glanced over Nico's head to subtly watch the Stolls. Once she noticed the two brothers were simply talking, she turned her attention back to the floor of the arena where Dove and Clarisse were now facing each other.

"Are the Stolls from your timeline normally so well behaved?" Alessa asked doubtfully.

Nico simply snorted in response. "Behaved? I'm surprised they haven't pranked half of Olympus by now."

Alessa raised an eyebrow at the young goth. "Only half? " Nico's head snapped to Alessa in shock.

"They can be worse?"

Alessa involuntarily shivered. "You have no idea."

Nico looked over his shoulder at Travis and Connor with a feeling of dread.

Dove flicked her eyes towards the stands before glaring determinedly at Clarisse, twirling the short sword in her hand. Not only was it shorter than she was used to but it was bulkier too. That fact gave her pause as she glanced uncertainly at the weapon.

This little spar was simply to kill time, but there was no doubt in Dove's mind that Clarisse would be unbearable with her boasting if she won.

Especially if it was an easy win, but there was always the possibility that Clarisse would claim that it was an easy win regardless.

Granted there were witnesses to claim otherwise but no one was paying attention.

"Scared?" Clarisse taunted as she clenched the spear in her hands tighter.

Dove raised an eyebrow with a scoff, twirling her sword once more before taking a fighting stance. "Please, you scare me as much as a puppy."

Clarisse scowled before launching towards Dove, spear pulled back and ready to attack.

Hera appeared in her temple with a flash. While her garden was the preferred option, it was too well known and she just wanted to be left alone. It was unlikely Zeus would try to find her, but she would rather be somewhere he couldn't easily find her just in case.

Even though they were married, he would need her permission to enter any of her temples.

Meaning she had time to calm down before she had to interact with either her husband, the other Olympians, or any demigods.

Walking over to a shelf on the wall, she grabbed a book that Athena had lent her before walking over to the couch, kicked her feet behind her and was about to start reading when a shimmer distorted the air causing her to sigh in annoyance.

Grimacing, Hera waved her hand in the air, allowing her visitor into the temple but not the area where she was sitting, a gold shine in the doorway.

"Yes dear?" She questioned, not turning from her book when Zeus appeared, glaring at the golden air.

Zeus turned his attention from the archway to Hera and cleared his throat. "Do you wish to talk about earlier?"

"There's nothing I wish to speak about, dear," Hera said quickly. Without reading any words on the page before her, she absent-mindedly turned to the next page in her book, before glancing up at her husband. "Is there anything you wish to say?"

Zeus stared at his wife for a minute before shaking his head. "No, there was nothing." He responded before turning away.

Hera gritted her teeth slightly and ignored the sinking in her chest. "I see." No apology then. "Well, I best get back to this story, it's quite interesting."

The king of the gods stopped for a minute and glanced confused at his wife before shaking his head and began walking away.

"Zeus," Hera called.

"Yes?" Zeus asked, stopping for a second.

Hera seemed to be fighting herself for a minute before sighing. "Is there any chance one of those demigods is yours?"

The hesitation was enough of an answer, but still Zeus sighed and answered softly. "I don't know."

Hera nodded once, and returned to the book, eyes unfocused.

After leaving her twin looking like a pin cushion and having a small conversation with Athena, Artemis had flashed away to escape any more questions about what she might know about the mystery girl in Seth's story.

Honestly, did they forget that the boy was from the future? She was as blindsided by this as the rest of them!

With a sigh, Artemis looked around her surroundings and noticed she had appeared in the woods closest to the elevator to the mortal world.

That was fine. She preferred to be left alone with her thoughts anyway.

Seth's appearance has unnerved and infuriated her since the moment he arrived. Before they started the book, she had been inclined to believe her initial theory that her brother had altered the demigod's appearance as a sick joke before sending him to join others sent to her current time.

Now, she was not so sure.

When the doubt started, she couldn't remember. Maybe, it was when the story mentioned Seth's hobby of moon gazing. Or, it started when she noticed the bright silver outline that surrounded him.

There weren't many reasons for the boy to have any sort of connection to her domain, and there were even less reasons for this connection to be so strong.

A scowl formed on Artemis' face.

And if the situation couldn't get any more complicated, the book's summary not only made things worse but frustrated her even more.

The boy had the audacity to hate her and for some unfathomable reason believed that she had destroyed his home. What reason would she have to do such a thing? It's not like she made a habit to kill innocent mortals and destroy buildings, especially not children. Then, there was the book's summary, claiming how she apparently holds information about his life.

Artemis quietly recalled how Seth had hesitated when reading that part aloud. Why the pause? He…couldn't have altered it in any way, right?

Finally, there was the appearance of that girl at the end. A part of her had briefly hoped that the girl was her actual child, but if that were so, then she had no idea who and what Seth would be. Perhaps some creation she made in revenge or something? No, it made no sense for Seth to be sent back and not the girl. Also, to her knowledge, she hasn't angered anyone enough recently to do such a thing.

Plus, she knew her preferred form like the back of her hand after using it for so many millennia. That only led to the question of why she would be bothered to check on a demigod who wasn't even fully aware of his identity yet.

Unfortunately, that last thought simply brought her musings back to the first.

Exhaling in frustration, Artemis walked into a clearing where a stone bench sat facing towards a waterfall in the distance. Taking a seat, she mused some more.

Out of the three unexpected outlines, Seth's appeared to be the strongest.

There were only two possible reasons. The first reason, she had given the boy her blessing.

That one was unlikely, especially since she had three- possibly four, her mind supplied helpfully- hunters present.

Gritting her teeth, Artemis glared out into the distance. The second reason was not one she wanted to think too much about. She would wait until more information was revealed before she'd let herself truly consider it.

Aphrodite rested her chin on her hand as she looked around the throne room. She could have run off to the mortal world for a minute and play matchmaker during the break, but she was more interested in the demigods.

Especially the boy Travis and who she might be able to pair him up with before the demigods return to their timeline.

"Why don't we eavesdrop on the demigods?" Hermes asked Apollo after the god had removed the last of Artemis' arrows. Aphrodite glanced at the eleventh Olympian curiously.

Apollo barked out a laugh. "Are you really that bored?"

Hemes rolled his eyes. "Of course not, but it would help us figure out who the demigods belong to."

Athena raised an eyebrow. "That's a surprisingly good idea. Despite that, however, I shall refrain from participating."

Hermes barely reacted. "I didn't think you would want to."

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes and hummed thoughtfully. This could be useful. While she didn't sense anyone else using any of her abilities like she did with Dove, that didn't mean she didn't have another demigod present.

Plus, she might be able to find someone to match that Travis boy up with. His declaration of being single certainly felt like he was challenging her.

Twirling a lock of hair, Aphrodite glanced around the room. It seemed like only Apollo was interested in Hermes' suggestion.

There were only five Olympians left in the throne room. After Hera and Artemis, Zeus left, probably to find Hera, Ares went to the arena, and Hephaestus went straight to his forge. The others probably went to check on their domains as well.

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at Persephone, who remained seated. "I'm surprised you didn't join your mother."

Persephone smiled softly in return. "Since we're all going to be here for a while, there's no rush for me to spend as much time with mother as I normally do. Besides, it looked like Aunt Hestia needed to speak to her."

Standing, Aphrodite nodded before offering, "I see. Then, do you care to join me outside for a bit?"

Persephone blinked, clearly surprised. "Are you going to spy on the demigods?"

"Probably not. Why? Did any demigods catch your attention?" Aphrodite questioned.

Persephone opened her mouth to respond before hesitating, and shooting Aphrodite a strange look. "No…why did you ask?"

"There are at least fifteen demigods with unknown parentages." Aphrodite responded with a roll of her eyes, her hair turning from brunette to black. "One of them might be yours….or more likely, your husband's."

"I have no plans to have a demigod child," Persephone said firmly, getting up to join Aphrodite to leave the throne room, "and I'm sure Hades has been staying true to his oath."

Even if he does have a demigod present, Persephone bitterly reminded herself.

With a sound that sounded suspiciously like a snort, Aphrodite shook her head. "You know as well as Hera and Amphitrite that it's only a matter of time before one of them breaks their oath."

Persephone looked like she swallowed a lemon before shaking her head. "That is possible, but I have faith that my husband won't be the first."

Aphrodite hummed before nodding. "I suppose. Especially when our Lord Zeus is involved."

Persephone gave a slight grimace. "Hera is already expecting it to happen."

"Yes," Aphrodite agreed.

The two goddesses fell into an awkward silence as they continued walking till they reached a small flowery area near the dryad forest.

"Do you think one of the demigods is yours?" Persephone asked in an attempt at conversation.

Aphrodite glanced at the other goddess briefly before nodding. "I do, in fact I believe I know which one."

"That's nice, so that's two demigods we can rule out. Will you be informing everyone?" Persephone questioned as she watched some flowers dance in the wind. When Aphrodite didn't answer right away, however, Persephone turned her attention to the goddess of love. "Aphrodite?"

"Normally, yes. I probably would have shouted it out the moment I realized it. You know how I am when I get excited…." Aphrodite started, her finger playing with a strand of her hair.

"What makes this time different?" Persephone wondered.

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Besides the fact that these demigods are from the future? Multiple futures?"

"Okay, so the situation isn't exactly normal," Persephone relented. "However, I doubt that would give you pause in revealing your demigod."

Aphrodite sighed slightly before speaking so softly that Persephone barely heard her. "I have three demigods present, and two of them are…"

"Are they hunters?" Persephone guessed. "Are they the reason why you aren't revealing their identities? They will find out sooner or later."

Biting her lip slightly, the goddess of love said, "I don't want to show favoritism, but there's something…." Aphrodite shook her head. "I just want to wait a little bit before I reveal it. I want to know more about these futures."

And find out why Dove would be sent back if she was an empath. Or why Dove is so familiar with Artemis' daughter.

There was no doubt in Aphrodite's mind that Artemis had at least two children present, Seth and Luna. However, since there were three books and Armani was also here, she wouldn't be surprised if he was also her child.

Aphrodite was certain that Artemis knew it too. She just refused to admit it.

Aphrodite didn't mind playing the waiting game. She would savor Artemis' reaction when she realized that not only did she have three children present, but also had one that was close to one of her daughters.

While Aphrodite was still confused about that relationship, at least this unknown would result in seeing an amusing reaction from that emotionally constipated goddess. Of course, she anticipated Artemis would start an argument and accuse her of using Luna as payback for turning Charlotte and Nicole into hunters. That might have been an option, but lately, Aphrodite hasn't been particularly fond of including her children in her acts of revenge, so she most likely wasn't the reason.

Persephone narrowed her eyes in confusion, glancing out into the distance as the wind carried over cheerful voices.

"What are those demigods doing?" Persephone asked, knocking Aphrodite out of her thoughts.

"What?" The love goddess questioned, looking over at the direction Persephone was looking.

Ashlynn had an arm draped over a grinning Theresa's neck as she playfully shoved a laughing Will. Seth was watching the interaction amusedly while Katie was shaking her head at whatever was said. None of her daughters were present, but Aphrodite couldn't help but be curious all the same.

"Why are they all the way over here?" Aphrodite muttered.

"It looks like they're taking the path into the forest," Persephone noted, watching Katie, Theresa, and Seth carefully. The three demigods seemed to appear more at ease the closer they got to the forest.

Aphrodite also watched the group of demigods with keen eyes. She was sure that Seth was Artemis' son, and the way he lit up as he glanced at the forest only made her more certain. She glanced over at Theresa and Katie- both seemed to be entranced by the forest as they walked closer.

In fact, their eyes seemed to be glowing slightly. As was typical of Demigods when surrounded by their parents' domain. Katie's had the typical green, gold, and brown glow that was associated with children of Demeter. Theresa, however, had a completely different color in her eyes.

Or colors.

Green, black, and red.

Colors that would represent a different goddess as Theresa's parent.

"Are you sure you don't want a demigod anytime soon?" Aphrodite pried casually. Persephone turned and stared at her strangely.

"Yes," Persephone replied slowly, "why?"

Aphrodite shrugged before crossing her left leg over her thigh and getting comfortable. "Just curious, I mean those five seem quite happy and I'm sure that since you haven't had any before, Zeus would probably give you some leeway with the ancient laws."

Persephone replied, "It's possible, but unlikely. What made you bring that up?"

Glancing at her nails with sudden interest, Aphrodite answered, "No reason. I just figured I should ask. I'm very curious about what changes these demigods will bring."

"I still think we should check up on the demigods," Hermes sighed as he played one of the arcade games in Apollo's temple.

Apollo shrugged as he summoned a guitar from the corner of the room and tuned it. "We can do that later, I want to try and guess which kid is mine on my own first."

Hermes shot Apollo a look over his shoulder. "You really haven't figured it out yet?"

"Nope." Apollo said simply.

"It's really not that hard to figure out." Hermes said dryly. Apollo jumped up from his couch and waved his arms frantically.

"Don't tell me!" The sun god rushed out. "I want to figure it out on my own! Besides, it's not like you figured out who your kids are." Apollo finished with a mixture of a glare and a pout.

Hermes rolled his eyes before moving to the basketball shooting game. "That's because I don't have any that were sent back." He said as he twirled a ball between his hands.

Apollo gaped at his half-brother's nonchalance. "Of course you do! You and I were the ones who sent them here, of course we would also send our kids back!"

Hermes dribbled the basketball slightly before shooting it towards the basket. "If I had any kids here, then they would have already pulled a prank or two by now."

The self proclaimed god of awesomeness, Apollo, hummed and narrowed his eyes at Hermes. "That's a valid point, your kids wouldn't have stayed quiet for so long."

"Exactly!" Hermes exclaimed, shooting another basket. "It's been far too quiet." Hermes turned and grabbed another ball, tossing it between his hands as he got a thoughtful look on his face. "On another topic, have you noted that Aphrodite has been acting a bit….strange, lately?"

"I wouldn't think too much into it," Apollo replied."She's probably acting like this because her daughters are here."

Hermes shot Apollo a look before shaking his head. "I'm not sure." He said skeptically before dribbling the ball a bit. "She hasn't been openly gushing over the demigod couples, she hasn't been changing her appearance multiple times during the reading or meetings and she doesn't seem as bubbly as she normally is." Hermes shot the ball as he finished his sentence.

"It's likely tied to her daughters." Apollo reassured. "It's barely been half a year since the two girls joined the hunters, she's most likely not over it."

Hermes appeared thoughtful while searching for a new game. "Things have been quiet between her and Artemis."

"So?" Apollo questioned, strumming a chord on his guitar. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't you think it's strange?" Hermes mused.

Apollo strummed another chord. "I highly doubt one has anything to do with the other."

"You don't think this could be the calm before the storm?" Hermes asked before briefly stopping to watch a game's waiting screen, a future game from 1994.

"No. It's not unusual for rivalries to turn civil for a while." Apollo shrugged before playing a quick riff.

"True but-!" Hermes got cut off by a loud noise from the front of the temple as a golden shimmer filled the air, turning to Apollo and said, "I think someone wants to see you."

That's all for now!

Updates will most likely be slow for now due to a hectic work schedule, but I don't plan on dropping either of my stories.

Please review and let me know what you think! It really helps!

Until next time everyone!