Short but important, or so I think.

A regret I have, not showing bonding between Aaron and Meggy more often and time skipping a bit too soon...

I also regret not showing Percy fighting more when he is present...

"... so you may have killed a demigod, that does not bode well."

Aaron tried to not roll his eyes but it was hard. "We were under attack and they would have tried to recruit the kids, had we not done this. More importantly, we have a spy or several. They knew we were coming, Meggy and I. They even knew we were after two demigods. I am concerned and frankly that is what we should be worrying about."

Chiron frowned. "Your callousness worries me."

"It shouldn't, I hate that I had to kill anyone but I know that I have to accept it or go mad. I choose to accept it and move on with my life. Simple really. I plan on offering a sacrifice and coins in case he really dead, so he can at least go to the afterlife."

"That is something at least."

Aaron finally managed to roll his eyes. " I am not a monster Chiron. I have focus, that is all. Now onto the spy issue... what are we going to do?"

"What can we do? We can't investigate every camper nor can we spread panic."

"Unbelievable, you do realize there are about twenty people and only a handful knew that I was even leaving? The spy or spies have to be one of the year rounders still here, we just have to either question them or go through their stuff until we find what we are looking for. I'd advise a heart reading but that kind of magic is far beyond me for one person let alone almost two dozen." Sighing, Aaron leaned back in his seat. "We are at serious risk right now, all of us. Your father's forces are not going to just lie down, they will use their spy to ruin us and that cannot stand. We need to deal with it now before it becomes a problem."

Dionysius, who had been quietly pouting since losing his third game of pinochle in a row, turned to Aaron with a scowl. "My father has forbidden any discussion of Kronos or his potential army." He raised his hand, stopping Aaron's arguing. " I don't entirely agree either, but that is the reality of our situation. My father can be quite... stubborn." He almost whispered, leaning in low. "We cannot look for this spy, Chiron and I, but you can. This is not an order, I cannot order that, but I can advise you." He winked at Aaron. "You have proven yourself more loyal then most of these so called heroes, and for that we will trust you to do what is needed." He ignored Aaron's gap entirely. "Now, let us review your work. You managed to not only fight off three potent demigods, skilled Demigods, and protected not one but two demigods and sent them to where their divine parent asked you to. You cloaked their presence entirely, protecting them from monsters and what not. Frankly you have gone above and beyond, and so I will allow you to go out and gather more demigods alongside the Satyrs."

A sense of joy washed through Aaron. "That would be an honor."

"Yes, well, don't go expecting too much. However you should be aware that doing so garners you my blessing. It does not give you powers or anything but it does give you divine protection so long as you are on a mission to collect the demigods. Think of it like an aura of that tells gods and those that can read your aura that you are under my protection. I will be forced to intervene so long as I am stronger then or equal to that being. Or if I feel like it, depends really."

"I welcome anything you can give me."

Dionysius actually smiled, and his features shifted ever so slightly. The ugliness seemed to fade away, though not entirely, leaving Aaron wondering why he was so... awful to everyone else when he was capable of being reasonable and decent if he wanted to be.

'Perhaps it has to due with his punishment, bitterness is a powerful force.'

Chiron seemed a bit baffled. "Um, well... that... that being what it is, I usually am the one to get the reports from the Satyrs when they have found a child. If you are to find them, you will be reporting to either Mr. D or myself. Mr. D here occasionally gets requests from various gods about their children, as do I. Together we should be able to bring quite a few more children into our haven."

"That would be nice." Aaron said. "Meggy will be joining me, I need the muscle and company. Frankly she owned them, our attackers. If it wasn't for her incredible skill, I would have been utterly defeated."

" She will carry my blessing as well, if she is on those missions them." Mr. D said, shrugging. "Having a powerful force aiding you will only help in your missions."

"Wonderful... I'll go tell her the good news. If it okay, try to not send us out more then once or twice a month, so we can still train and improve."

Dionysius nodded. "I will do my best, but I can make no promises... and Aaron, remember what I said about that spy."

"""

'Lord Hades, we beseech you... if that Kid I shot is dead, allow his spirit mercy and guide him to the proper afterlife.' With that prayer in mind, Aaron tossed in two coins and some of his food into the sacrificial fire. 'If not, enjoy the money as a thank you for what you did for us and please use the coins for another soul that needs it. Thank you.' Satisfied, Aaron moved away from the fire and moved over to sit next to Charlie. "How has Camp been in my absence."

Charlie smiled. "You were only gone like four days, not much happens. Not much ever happens outside of summer. I made like four swords, a shield and carved a statue. Really just an average couple of days."

"That's good, it's not always nice when things are super busy."

He leaned into him, whispering low. "Meggy told me you were forced to kill a demigod. How are you handling things?"

"Honestly, better then you'd think." He rubbed his chest, ignoring the dull ache at the reminder of what he did. "He was so young, my age... it sucked, if I am being honest, but I had to do it to protect my charges. I would have rather not have done it but well... I wasn't given a choice."

Charlie nodded. "I figured as much. I saw you through some coins into the fire, was it for him?"

"Yes, I owe him a proper farewell of nothing else."

"Your a better man then most, Aaron... a lot of people, heroes included, wouldn't have bothered."

Aaron just shrugged, he had nothing to say about that.

""'

Silena wanted to cry, Chris' death was heavy on her soul. Meggy had told her about the boy's death, about Aaron shooting him during a confrontation. The notion that her report had caused that death was ... painful. 'I might as well have killed him with my own hands.'

She barely held it together as Meggy sat next to her, smile on her beautiful face. "Silena looks sad, are you okay?"

Barely managing a smile. she nodded. " Just tired, don't worry about it too much." She straightened her back and really tried to pass for okay, no matter how she really felt. She was a spy, she had to fake it, that was her job as much as passing on knowledge. "I am glad your mission went well, I really missed you guys."

"We missed you too, Sister."

That warmed her heart as much as it made her cringe internally. "I have a question though, how did you block a demigods' scent? I didn't realize that was possible?"

Meggy frowned. "It was a spell, with my blood as a catalyst but I don't understand enough about magic to really understand more then that."

Silena nodded, planning to reveal that much to Luke. She hated betraying her friends but she wanted to mitigate as much damage as possible, and if that meant some betrayal, so be it.

""'

That night, under the moonlight, Aaron repeated his purification ritual, splashing water upon himself he cast aside the taint of the dead and drank in the magic of life, drawing from the Earth to ease himself. He was amazed at how much better he felt, something that never seemed to fail to surprise him.

"That looks weird." Meggy said, looking at him as he wiped up the water from said purity spell.

" It is, but it really makes me feel better. It's a little hard to explain, but the magic of the Underworld attracts parasites and in general a living soul channeling the dead isn't healthy. This ritual and my talisman are natural precautions. I don't really even have to worry about it, the talisman smooths out the magic and absorbs the excess so I do not suffer. Eventually it will be so filled with their power that I can draw from it independently... or so is our hope."

Meggy nodded. " Come with me to the Forges tomorrow. I want to start making our enchanted arrows. After what happened, with how easily you were knocked out from your magic, it just seems dumb to not get started."

" That would be good, I'll see you after I work with Will. I need to get good enough at healing to invoke Apollo's essence without his help... if we are attacked again, healing is a must."

" So much to do, so little time... we will always be busy it seems."

"That just keeps us out of trouble dear sister, but you are free to do as you please."

She sighed. "No, I am not. I am not ignorant, I know that like you I must always reearn my keep here. It is not fair but there is a great deal of bias towards us both and that means we have to work to maintain our status."

"Sometimes I wish you weren't so smart... "

She beamed a mocking smile at him. "I can't help it, it comes naturally."

"I know it does... who do you think the spy is?"

" Honestly, no clue. We only know like three people well. We are too isolated from the rest of the camp to be sure of anything. We are going to have to be careful who we tell things too and what we tell them. We carry too much important information now. That makes us targets..."

Meggy nodded. " I don't regret it you know, letting you adopt me and putting me in this position where I would have this knowledge and what not... I know I have only known you for a few short months but you have become my family... it is worth it."

He didn't hide how touched he was at that... he couldn't if he tried. "Your a good kid, you know that? I don't regret taking you in either, you are amazing."

Despite all that was happening, the stress of the spy and the worries of the war Zeus refused to acknowledge, both slept well that night, content in the realization that they had each other when it really came down to it. Not that long ago they would have had nothing and now...

They had everything.

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

This was a lot of fun.

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.