Hello! Here is the followup chapter to the Hydra attack. Thank you all for the favorites and reviews for this story. Your support truly means the world to me!


Nicholas held his arms out and held the monster down mercilessly, watching through the clear water as it struggled not to drown. I stared, slack-jawed, at my son. My son who had never before shown even a hint of ability when it came to water. My son who now handled it like a seasoned pro.

It had been maybe two seconds. Nicky looked up at me now. "Get her!" he cried, "Get Han-nah!" His voice broke on his best friend's name and I knew how terrified he was for her. "GO!"

Broken slightly from my shock, I glanced quickly at Logan, who was standing now, wide-eyed. He nodded, understanding, and began moving forward like he'd suddenly caught a second wind. He would keep an eye on his brother. He'd be there to help if and when Nicky needed him, but my youngest son was right. For now, I had bigger things to worry about. And I took off, running right on the water and using it to propel me further. I was at Hannah's side in seconds.

She lay curled in a fetal position atop the wet ice, dazed and crying out as the Hydra's poison ate through her clothes and flesh. Her hand cupped the side of her neck, which was badly blistered and burned beneath her fingers. Her winter coat was smoking and coated with the corrosive substance, which ate away more and more of the fabric by the second but hadn't yet fully reached the skin underneath. Her jeans had a few holes burned through them, revealing bright red skin beneath, but her middle had taken the majority of the hit. Her face, save for a small spot on her chin, seemed remarkably unharmed. "Hey, hey," I said, "You're okay. You're going to be fine." It wasn't pretty, but it could have been way worse, all things considered.

I directed a stream of water over her neck, flushing out the burns and hopefully neutralizing the poison there. Hannah gasped at the sudden cold.

"Move your hand," I said, laying my own gently atop her wrist and guiding it away.

"It hurts," she managed.

"I know it does. It's okay. Listen, I need to get your coat off. You have to hold still okay? Don't move. Can you do that?" Her eyes were tightly closed in a wince, but she managed a nod. I pulled Riptide from my pocket. It had left my hand at some point during the last few minutes, but had since returned to its place, reliable as always. Quickly and carefully, I slid the tip just under the bottom hem of her coat and sliced up. It was easier than cutting through butter. The acid-soaked fabric split easily and was away from her body in seconds. The long-sleeved blue shirt she wore beneath was riddled with tiny holes and minor burns, but the heavy coat seemed to have protected her from the brunt of it. "Thank gods," I breathed quietly. The last thing the poor kid needed was a full-body burn.

The sound of rushing water caught my attention now. I risked a glance behind me toward where Nicky, Logan beside him now, had held the Hydra down. I figured out quickly what had happened. He'd won. The monster had drowned, vanished into golden dust, and the water now rushed to fill in the space it had formerly taken up. Relief and pride welled inside me. Nicky had done that. He'd surely expended a lot of energy doing so too, and I hoped he hadn't shocked his system, having never done anything even close before. But he would be fine and I couldn't worry about him right now.

Hannah was still crying but her shrieks of pain had quieted some, which I took to be a good sign. The burn on her neck, where the poison had come in contact with open flesh, was the worst. Treating that first had been a good idea. But the residual poison everywhere else would still cause serious problems if I didn't get it off of her. I needed to flush the whole area, and Hannah was not going to like it.

"Hannah, listen," I said, "Can you look at me?" She did. "I need to get the rest of the poison off you before the other burns get worse. I have to dip you in the water." Her eyed widened. "Yeah, you aren't going to like it. But I promise, I'm going to dry you off as soon as you're out, okay? And then we'll get you some Nectar. Sound good?"

"No," she answered, "But you can do it anyway."

I smiled and was about to reply when Logan's frantic cry of, "Dad!" sounded from behind me. I turned to see him lowering his brother, apparently unconscious, to the ground. My heart sank, but Nicky would be okay. He was shock, I was almost positive, and worn out both physically and emotionally. But this knowledge didn't make seeing it any easier. "Nectar and Ambrosia!" I yelled, "Force it down his throat if you have to!" Annabeth was always drilling it into the boys to carry the stuff wherever they went. Logan, thank the gods, had listened.

Satisfied that Nicky, for the moment anyway, was well taken care of, I turned back to Hannah. "What happened?" she asked weakly, "Is Nick okay?"

"He'll be fine," I assured her, "Let's worry about you." I scooped her carefully up off the ice and carried her to the edge where it broke off into icy water. Hannah eyed it unenthusiastically, even as tears still fell from her eyes. She was still in astronomical pain, even after the little I'd done, and I was very impressed with how well she was handling it. I willed the warmest currents available in the lake to move to where I stood. It would by no means be warm, but I was doing my best. "Real quick," I promised her. She only closed her eyes tightly and held her breath. Taking that as all the signal I was going to get, I crouched down and lowered her quickly into the lake.

She cried out the second the freezing water touched her body. I had her out again almost as soon as she was in. Willing every last molecule of water off of her as quickly as possible, I set her on the ice at my feet, perfectly dry but shivering violently. She was crying again. I felt awful. "I'm sorry," I told her, "I had to do that." I dug from my back pocket the small package that contained a portion of godly food and drink. "Here," I said, handing her a square, "Eat this." She obeyed, chewing through her shivering. I doused her neck thoroughly with the Nectar and left just enough to lightly address the minor burns along the rest of her body. They all healed significantly and fast. The neck burn remained open and nasty, but maybe looked a little less raw.

I cast glances every few seconds at the boys as I worked. Logan knelt over Nicky, blocking my view of him. I couldn't tell if he was out still or not. I turned back to Hannah.

"How ya doing?" I asked, shedding my coat now, "Feeling better?"

"It still hurts," she replied.

"Is it any better?"

"A little, I guess."

"Okay. That's good. We've got more first aid stuff at home I can give you, but for now at least you aren't getting worse."

"T-thank y-you," she managed, shivering.

"Don't thank me," I said, wrapping my coat around her and helping her into it, "Let's just get you home. Come on." I bent and picked her up again, balancing her carefully in my arms and trying not to hit any injured areas. With the ice as broken and scattered as it was, the only direct way to Logan and Nicky was across the water itself. I carried Hannah across it as easily as I would dry land. She stared down, wide-eyed until she noticed the boys and walking on water grew unimportant.

"Is he okay? What happened?" she demanded.

"It's okay," I told her once again, "He used up all his strength drowning the monster."

"Drowned it?" she repeated, "Like, with the water?" She'd been too preoccupied to see anything. I nodded. She looked back toward her friend as we drew near. To my immense relief, I thought I saw him stir slightly, but I didn't dare pick up the pace. Jostling Hannah would only cause her more pain. As it was, she winced with every step. "I didn't know he could control water too," she said quietly.

I gave a smirk that she didn't see. "Neither did he."

We reached the ice where the boys were and I set Hannah down next to Nicky. She looked on in concern, but he was definitely stirring now, his head cradled on his brother's knees. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and then cracked them open, looking dazedly around. "Hey, champ," I said, cradling his head.

"Oh my gods, Nicky," Logan said, his eyes slightly wet, "Give me a heart attack, why don't you?"

"What happened?" Nicky managed. He struggled to sit up and quickly gave up again, relaxing back onto his brother's lap.

"I think you wore yourself out," I said with a small smirk.

Still a little out of it, he squinted at me. "Did I really do that? With the water…?"

"Yeah, you did," I said, my smile growing, "Perfect timing, too."

Looking slightly awed, Nicky started to shake his head. Then he froze, eyes widening. "Hannah. Where's Hannah? Is she—"

"I'm here," Hannah piped up, looking and sounding worse for wear.

"Are you okay?"

"Kind of."

"We've got to get home and get her more Nectar and some stuff for her burns," I said, "Think you can get up if we help you?

He still looked drained, but he nodded. It took a minute, but we managed to get him on his feet. Logan slung his brother's arm around his neck and helped support him. I carried Hannah again and we set off slowly for home.

I was glad the lake was so close.


The next few hours were a bit of a whirlwind. By the time we made it back, Annabeth was, unsurprisingly, already back with Carly. She took one look at the four of us and immediately sent the eight year old to get Hannah's parents. "Tell them there was an accident," she said, and then sent Logan to retrieve the half-blood first aid kit on the top shelf of the linen closet. When he returned, she handed him an Ambrosia square which he was to eat immediately, and then sent him back for blankets for Hannah, unbundling her just enough to see her neck.

The wound was a nasty one. She thoroughly cleaned it, which had the poor girl screaming in pain once more, and then doused it thoroughly in Nectar again before covering it liberally with burn cream. I recognized it as the same stuff used by Apollo campers in the infirmary at camp, which was good. I knew first hand how great it was for healing and pain. Beyond the cream and applying a loose bandage to the area, there wasn't much more to be done. Nicky didn't leave his friend's side for any of it.

Sue, Hannah's mother, arrived with Carly seconds after Annabeth finished with cleaning, which was good because the poor woman looked panicked enough. She rushed into the room, took one look at Hannah, and her jaw fell open. "Oh my—what happened?"

Annabeth sent Carly upstairs to play before we could explain. She went easily, looking a little scared. I told Sue what happened then. She looked horrified, but took the news surprisingly well. She listened quietly, brushing tears away but otherwise pretty levelheaded. When she'd heard everything, she took a deep breath, seated beside her daughter, and, releasing it slowly, asked, "Is this what you meant? When you told us the monsters would come?" Her voice was soft, but even.

Annabeth nodded quietly. Hannah, who had been silent throughout my entire recount, looked at her mother now, suddenly concerned. "Don't make me stop being friends with Nick, Mommy, please. It wasn't his fault. It just happens. It would've even without them. I—"

"Hannah," Sue said softly, placing a hand on her hair, "Relax. I'm not going to do that." Nicky looked visibly relieved at this news as well. "I'm appalled," she said, speaking not just to her daughter, "But I realize that this all would have been so much worse without you and your boys," she looked at me now, "So thank you."

"Of course," I answered.

Sue looked back at Hannah, assessing the large bandage on her neck. "Is this going to scar?" she asked, looking at Annabeth only after she finished talking.

Beside me, Annabeth hesitated momentarily. "Yes."

Hannah looked up at that. "What?"

"I'm sorry, honey," she said, "It's a really bad burn."

"But it's on my neck." She looked to her mom's tearful eyes before slowly turning back. Her concerted effort to be strong for her mother was amazing. "How bad?" she asked.

Annabeth glanced at me before answering. "Maybe not bad. Percy got the poison off you pretty quickly, but we'll have to wait and see. "

Sue took Hannah home pretty soon after that. She needed to rest and heal, and her father would be getting home any second. Nicky, still unsteady on his feet, rose to say goodbye. He looked like he wanted to hug his friend but thought better of it with her injuries. "I'm glad you're okay," he said, "I'm really sorry you got hurt."

Hannah, favoring her left side, offered a weak one-armed shrug. "It would have been worse without you."

He blushed then and looked down. "Feel better," he said.

"You too."

We walked with them to the door. Hannah was doing a little better though and was okay to walk. When they had gone, Annabeth turned to Nicky. She pulled him close and hugged him. "I'm proud of you," she said and kissed the top of his head. He leaned into her but said nothing. "But you have to practice with Dad so you don't pass out like that again, okay?" he nodded and she let him go. "Go lay down. I'll get you when dinner's ready."

"'Kay," he replied dully and turned for the stairs.

We watched him go until he disappeared around the corner. Annabeth looked at me. She studied me for a second and then sighed. "Our kids aren't supposed to be this powerful," she said, "They're only legacies."

I smirked. "What else is new?"

She shook her head and the raised a hand to my face. "Did you get burned?" she asked, running her thumb down my cheek. It stung a bit. Like a bad sunburn.

I shrugged. "Possibly. There was fire."

She shook her head, releasing her breath in a laugh. "You should eat some Ambrosia too."

"Okay."

She stepped forward and planted a light kiss on my lips, before turning to go with a smirk. "You should also stop fighting Hydras without me."


Thanks for reading!