Aaron appeared on a beach, the air burning with power left over from a god and literal fire. He saw cop cars on fire and so many other terrified people looking on with horror in their eyes. "What happened here?" Aaron asked, looking at Percy, who was panting and bruised, and his other questers. They all were shaking terrified.

Annabeth spoke first. "Ares was here, waiting for us... he was angry, so angry, and he fought Percy... Percy beat him, and stabbed him through his heel. He cursed Percy's blade when he left."

Aaron groaned. "Persephone, is this why you sent me last?"

He heard her sigh in his mind. 'Yep, I sensed that you would have interfered and that... would have cost you your life. Sorry, but destiny is destiny. The fight had to happen. Oh and my father has granted Percy Jackson permission to fly home, you need to do this and send Percy to Mt. Olympus, my father and Uncle wish to see him.'

After passing this along, the kids hurried off and within an hour they were flying away, back to New York and back to Camp Halfblood.

They were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course, everybody treated them as if they'd won some reality-TV contest. According to camp tradition, They wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in their honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where they got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in their absence.

Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful—gray silk with embroidered owls. It radiated subtle magic, the magic of Athena herself or so he assumed, even while burned.

Being the son of Poseidon, Percy didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make his shroud. They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER was painted really big in the middle.

Aaron's shroud was unexpectedly beautiful, black with lily's decorating it's front. Demeter's cabin, since he served their sister Persephone, had personally crafted the shroud in honor of that connection as well as for his green thumb. He was touched and promised to make friends with that cabin later on. They had been helped by Dionysius' kid, Castor and Pollux, for his connection to the earth that they appreciated. He could also, when looking through the veil, taste Dionysius' personal blessing, or so he assumed that's what it was, that made the smoke taste of grapes and strawberries, two lovely scents. That made him get some ideas for later.

As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores. Grover received his Searchers license since apparently, he was looking for Pain, by the Council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."

Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday..."

Aaron approached Dionysius later on, and before the god could say a thing, he hugged him. "Thanks for the shroud. I could feel your blessing."

The man gaped, blushed and nodded. "Yo... you are welcome, Aaron... I like you, you are respectful and not a hero, not tending towards terrible and evil selfish behaviors." You also made my son's happy, they both seemed to like your green thumb." He sighed. "Just don't tell anyone, please, I have a reputation to hold up."

"I won't... hey, would your sons like to join my coven?" He asked, partially for more coven members, but also to make an ally out of a god that actually was pretty scary. He was self-made, and very powerful. Aaron could sense his powers and knew that he was not to be underestimated.

The man froze. "Maybe, just maybe... I will ask them, but remember you made an enemy of Athena, that might be enough to dissuade others." He sighed once, then twice. "I cannot bless you, that is part of my punishment, but if you need an ally, please come to me. I am fond of Persephone and Hades both, they allowed me to take back my wife and mother, to resurrect them and render them gods. As you serve them, I am your ally. Though bound, I will do what I can to help you."

"Very much obliged."

Dionysius smiled, looking years younger and far less miserable than before. "You just might make my imprisonment more bearable, you know that?"

"I'll try." And he would, even if only to make an ally out of the only god he would have frequent contact with besides Persephone. It would be stupid to make this being, who held sway over the mind, an enemy... ever. "Speaking off, you know of my promise to Medusa... how do you feel about me visiting her while I work on a way to undo her curse?"

::

The last night of the summer session came all too quickly, even for Aaron who spent so many hours mastering his first grimoire to prepare himself for mastery of his newer grimoire. He really wanted to get a full grip on magic before he touched the newer, stronger stuff his patron had given him. He hadn't spent much time with others while he trained, determined to fulfill his promise to Medusa. He even, to his shame, neglected his connection to Percy a little bit to study hard, however Percy understood it when he explained.

The campers had one last meal together. They burned part of their dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.

Aaron got my own leather necklace The design of the new bead was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.

"The choice was unanimous," Chiron announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the Underworld to stop a war!"

The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause. Aaron was pushed forward mystically by Dionysius himself, and he could not help but blush at the applause. Even though it was not really for him, he saw a lot of resentment directed toward him in the eyes of a great many. He knew, as a mortal, he was lesser in their eyes and that... disgusted him.

Such petty creatures.

Percy, sadly, ended up leaving the Camp the next day, his mother had killed Gabe by pushing him into a car and got Insurance out of it so she could remake her life. Good for her, Aaron thought. He swore to visit his friend throughout the year, keep him up to snuff on his training while he could. They would have to, as Zeus was denying that Kronos was rising at all... or so Percy reported back to them.

And so, Aaron's life really got started, he had nothing but time to practice magic, learn to fight and ready himself for the war to come...

He only prayed he would survive it.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was a joy to write.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.