A/N: It's been a while since updating this fic. I hope you've been patient. :)

Chapter 16: In which plot finally happens

21st December, 2005

Though actual plot events happened on 22nd of December, it no way meant that the preceding days were void of action and attention. I sighed as I continued packing my things in preparation of both the trip to Olympus as well as spending the Christmas with Luna and rest of our 'family'. Kami, it was still weird to think those titans as part of my family.

I hadn't seen Lelantos, Leto and Autere since that introductory meeting. Probably good. I couldn't really make my mind about them. They were immortals after all. And while their offer to pose as family was generous, it was still… I was worried about possible strings attached to the offer.

In any case… Just last week Luna had announced that she'd managed to craft first God Slayer arrow. It apparently required some specialized materials and spells to be crafted but she'd succeeded with Hephaestus's help. I was proud of her. Darn worried, but very proud anyways.

And then there was the latest heist by Thalassa. Just last night. One would think that with me stuck at Camp, Luna would need to be home helping with Christmas preparations instead of stealing more stones. But apparently, she'd gotten Sally Jackson's help aside from Leto's and while pretending to go to store, she'd gone and stolen yet another gem. This time a red gold ring with a golden beryl in it. Lightbringer, Apollo's stone. Luna and promised that one to me for obvious reasons. Personally, I wished she'd take a break from stealing stones for now. She'd lately pulled a heist per month. It was not healthy even if school work was easy for her. Frankly, only thing she was getting trouble was coming to class late, after everyone else had recited the Pledge of Allegiance. But as that happened every day, teachers had stopped getting to her case about it. Apparently, it was more trouble than worth to deal with her.

And yes, like mentioned, Luna had invited Sally and Percy to spend Christmas with her and the titans so they wouldn't need to be stuck with Sally's husband Gabe Ugliano. I did not know when she'd managed get to know Sally but good for them.

"Clay, you ready?" Will asked behind me. I zipped up my bag closed and dropped it on my bed. It was time to leave.

"Yeah."

Olympus… surprise, surprise, was the same than last year. Down to the stalls and their merchandise. Other demigods were awed and starstruck but I… Frankly, I was mostly bored. I wasn't even entirely sure why I'd decided to come to this trip instead of leaving early for holidays. But Luna had insisted, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. I dreaded to know what she'd planned and opted to simply ignore it for now. I looked away from the sights and gave a cursory glance at the other campers on the trip. Clarisse, Annabeth, Luke… Samuel, Lee, Will, Silena, the Stolls… and some others who had remained at the camp once more.

The visit itself was much the same as well. We introduced ourselves to the gods. We sat down to listen to the useless debate about the exact same topics as last time. And suffer through arguments with the exact same insults as last time.

Including Thalassa since she'd collected five stones more, upping the amount of known stones in her possession to eight. I glanced at my bracelet hidden underneath my jacket sleeve. It was currently housing Hades's stone. I quickly looked away though, not wanting to draw anyone's attention to it, catching Luke's eyes instead. The to-be Lighting Thief rolled his eyes at the debate and I couldn't help but quirk a smile before letting my gaze wander again.

Eventually the council drew to end, the debates and arguments ceased for a moment and the group was about to be broken in order to spend some limited time with the gods once more…

Wind blew into the room.

It was just like last time.

But this time…

I heard her. Actually, everyone heard her laughing joyfully. But then there was a burst of green and there was a pair of arms wrapping around me from behind and a chin pressing against the crown on my head. Luna, using Aphrodite's stone, was in her Thalassa outfit and thus adding to her height with adult form and some heels, fitting me comfortably against her.

"Did you miss me, little brother?" She asked aloud, deliberately.

"A bit." I admitted. But one thing I wouldn't admit was how nice it felt being held like this. It had been sixteen years or something from the last time. Back when we were in our original world and I was twelve for the first time and she was sixteen.

"WHO ARE YOU TO TRESSPASS HERE?!" Zeus's voice boomed and entire room burst into a flurry of action. Some gods seemed to summon weapons (Athena, Artemis, Ares) while some simply left (Hera, Demeter). Demigods simply stared at the thief dumbfounded. After all they'd only heard of her via news and seen that one heist via screen.

"I'm simply picking up my brother so we can celebrate Christmas together." Luna stated idly, arms tightening around me minutely. I noted that she was wearing her vambrace openly now, with Hecate's Eye, Moon Guard and Pathway of Spring on it. Lady Sky was on her finger as well. And I'd bet she had the rest of her stones on her belt, including Wave Cutter. "And delivering a present to him."

She tugged at my's sleeve, exposing the bracelet with its obsidian stone – drawing shocked breaths from some of the audience – and then inserting the beryl next to it. I was glad for her keeping her promise but wished she'd resorted to less drama and showmanship. And preferably left my involvement out. Even if at least Hermes and possibly Apollo and Hephaestus already knew.

"There." I couldn't see her face but her smile was unmistakable in her voice.

"Tsuki…" I whined, lapsing to her previous name since not really knowing what else to call her right now. Thalassa was a title and cover name and wouldn't convey our closeness as that's how she was playing this situation. Her current name I refused to use as Chiron was present and could maybe connect it to Luna Cykes at school. So Tsuki it was.

There was smell of ozone and crackle of lighting in the air. Luna looked up.

"Keep that sparkler in check, Lord of Sky, lest it wreaks havoc and destruction out of your sight." She said in calm voice. It wasn't a threat though, just an idle remark. Moon Guard was shining, ready to shield us just in case but I was not sure if that'd be enough either. "Come on, Clay. Percival and Sandra are waiting."

Snazzy cover names.

"Merry Christmas, I guess." I shrugged and smiled at the campers. "See you after new year's."

And Luna whisked us away.

Still on Olympus

There was a pandemonium in the hall. Zeus was demanding answers from everyone present. Campers were being herded out of the hall by Chiron and Hestia.

Then…

"Could any of us sense the stones in this room?" Athena asked. "All five stones she's stolen in this year are all from us. Not to mention my stone from last year."

There were negative murmurs from other gathered gods remaining in the room.

"I could." Hades spoke up. "Before she showed up, I could sense my stone in this room. I could not pinpoint its location thought and thus opted to observe the situation."

"So as long as your stone was the only one present, it was detectable?" Artemis asked.

"I suppose so. Once the girl appeared, it was gone and only after she revealed the boy in possession of it, I found out why."

"'One stone can be tracked soon. Two stones interfereth. Thrice them and thou aren't seen. Dividing hidest one best'." Hephaestus recited while fiddling with spare parts, creating something like a toy boat… that would fly.

"That's from Astraeus's texts." Apollo noted.

"When the girl came quite literally crashing to my workshop from the Labyrinth last month, I decided to see if there were any sources talking about the stones." The smith replied.

"Last month? When Moon Guard was taken?" Athena asked sharply. "The thief escaped to Labyrinth then."

"I suppose so."

"So that means as long as there are more than two stones in one place, especially divided between two people, they can't be tracked down." Poseidon mused.

"That does not count the fact that she has been trespassing, straight through the wards of Olympus! She is a thief and possibly mortal even!" Zeus blustered.

"Ah, that'd probably be another one of her stones." Hades stated. "The light green one. It flashed before they left."

Athena pursed her lips. "I think I know that one. Pathway of Spring. Persephone's stone." She sighed then. "I probably should start research on just how many other stones she has in addition to the ones we know she has stolen."

"…One of them is Aphrodite's." Hephaestus told them after a moment of deliberation.

"Mine?" Aphrodite gasped. "I didn't even know I had one."

"Yes. It allows her to change her appearance." Her husband stated. He felt a bit bad to tell Athena about it since he enjoyed the girl's presence and insight but… The girl was mortal. What if someone else got their hands on her and the stones she had? And Athena would be reasonable about this matter.

A bit aside from the conversation, Hermes turned to address Ares.

"I'm surprised you are not in there stirring them up."

"Are you kidding? This is the most progress they've done in the matter since starting the chase her. And even then, only on her allowance." The God of War grinned. "She is amusing to have around."

"Huh? You know her then?"

"As do you. As does the cripple." Ares muttered. "She must be tiring of her game if she is giving such blatant hints."

"She really does walk her own route on her own pace." Hermes agreed. "I hope that once she is caught, they will be merciful on her. After all, those stones – while derived from out power – are not anymore fully ours."

"Pops and featherbrain don't seem to remember that." Ares scoffed.

"True…"

House of Dusk, 20th December

Sally Jackson was quite happy woman. Wary, but happy woman. When Percy's friend Luna Cykes from Yancy had extended an invitation for her and Percy to spend Christmas with her family, she'd been surprised. That the invitation deliberately excluded Gabe… Well, she could take a break but she dreaded to know what the apartment would look like after they came back. Not to mention what concessions Gabe would require out of them.

Fortunately, it seemed that Gabe would be going drinking with his… friends and thus had no intention of demanding Christmas feast from her like on previous years.

It was such a relief. And after talking directly with Luna and her aunt Lena, agreements were made and Sally had promised to help making the food as well. It had been a while since Sally had celebrated a family Christmas… actually not since she had been a girl.

Then she and Percy had arrived to the house. The preparations were already in full swing and Luna roped Percy to help cleaning the place. The house was quite interesting. Lena called it the House of Dusk but didn't explain why. But the split architecture implied that it was probably meant for two different people or groups of people to reside in.

Then other people started to trickle in. Lena's brother Lewis and his daughter Lila. And Lila's son Henry.

"He had his first birthday last week." Lila smiled happily when introducing the baby boy to Sally and Percy.

"Oh, I remember when Percy was that age. Quite the handful he was." Sally reminisced.

"Mom!" Came the protest.

"Hush, let me have this. You were very precious boy for me."

"Mom…" The said precious boy whined but didn't fight the sideways hug Sally gave him.

"You are very close." Lila observed. "It's nice to see."

"Thank you." Sally beamed. Then, she wasn't sure what prompted her to ask but… "What about Henry's father? Is he in the picture?"

Lila faltered visibly for a moment but smiled then, if in a strained manner. Sally let Percy escape and find Luna once more.

"He… He is a good friend of mine but I haven't told him about Henry yet. We live different lives and he currently is going through difficult time."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"It's alright…" Lila shrugged and then leant over Henry to make faces at him. The one-year-old squealed and tried to grab at her braids. "I'll tell him eventually."

The sentence struck odd to Sally and then, like someone had shattered glass, a realization came to her. Henry was a demigod like Percy. Lila's situation mirrored Sally's but from the other side. Lila – or whatever her real name was – was immortal and didn't want burden Henry's mortal parent with the boy just yet because of his living situation. Lila was breaking law in order to ensure happiness of her son and her lover both.

Sally looked around in the room, mentally searching for Lena and Lewis… If Lila was immortal, then who were those two? Who was Luna? Were they after Percy?

Panic was rising in Sally when a hand settled on her forearm.

"Calm, Sally Jackson. We wish no harm to you or your son regardless of who his father is." Lila smiled, this time fully.

"Who… Who are you, milady?" Sally breathed.

"I'm Autere, goddess of Dusk. The creator and owner of this house. My father is the titan Lelantos and my aunt is titaness Leto. Luna is half-sister to Leto's grandson and clear-sighted but as she and her brother have no parents, we stepped in to protect them from well-meaning but interfering mortals."

"That's…" Sally was speechless. Titans. There wasn't much about them in mythology, not like about Olympians and other gods in conjunction to them.

"We only wish for a joyful Christmas." Lena – Leto – had arrived to room as well. "Sally, would you join me in the kitchen? I think Lila needs to put Henry on his nap."

The baby was indeed starting to fuzz on his mother's arms.

"Sure…" Sally hoped she'd get more answers soon. But thankfully it seemed for now that they wished no harm to Percy.

At some point of evening Luna was sent on errands as she knew the nearby stores the best. She came back with very satisfied smile on her face and one hand constantly fiddling with something. Leto and Lelantos only exchanged long-suffering glances but Autere smiled serenely at her… cousin? Cousin seemed appropriate.

Sally and Percy slept in a guest room in the European half of the house while the titans were on Japanese half. Next day the preparations continued. Lelantos brought a Christmas tree that he and the kids decorated with red and cream-colored balls as well some golden pearl strings. It was… not muted but had less different colors than what Sally had seen on trees and remembered herself. And none of the decorations were plastic and were obviously meant to last several years. Very un-American.

"I'm Finnish." Luna had retorted when Sally had voiced the thought.

"Luna… Shouldn't you go pick up Clay?" Lelantos then suggested, stopping Luna from continuing whatever train of thought she obviously had that probably would've led to inconsistency in the cover story around the girl and her brother.

"Ah, yes." And the girl dashed out of the room.

"Why is Lune picking up her brother? Shouldn't you do that?" Percy asked Lelantos. Sally was about to apologize for the boy's disrespect but Lelantos just gave an indulgent smile.

"They haven't seen in months. I rather have her and Clay get a few moments alone before being forced to socialize. They are both solitary people but very attached to each other." The titan explained.

"Ah, Luna does have her dorm room all to herself." Percy nodded. "And she doesn't really talk to anyone else but me and Grover. And even then she and Grover don't like each other much."

That sounded difficult. Sally hadn't heard of this before but she really hoped Luna and Grover wouldn't try to make Percy choose between them.

"Percy… Does Luna have difficulties at school?" Lelantos asked then. "I get some reports but…" There was a wave of hand that seemed to encompass everything possible about the teachers at Yancy.

"She… does well with school work. Though some teachers thought she was cheating because last year she did poorly. But Lune helps me with my subjects and makes me notes that are easier to read. Some teachers tried to get on her case when she started showing late in the mornings and missed the Pledge but it wasn't like she'd ever actually said it before."

"I see…" Lelantos nodded. "Thank you for telling me Percy."

Luna's brother Clay was just two years older than Percy but seemed much more mature than that. He was polite and Percy was quickly taken by him. He didn't share much what he did while Luna was at school but Sally guessed he was at Camp Half-Blood. While Sally dreaded the day, she'd have to sent Percy there as well, it comforted her that once the day would arrive, there'd be at least one person that Percy already knew.

The evening of Winter Solstice was nice and sometimes Sally caught herself wondering how Poseidon was doing. The Olympians were holding council tonight after all.

The children were playing outside in the snow with Autere overseeing them. Meanwhile Lelantos and Leto shared centuries old gossip with Sally. Eventually Sally couldn't help but ask a question that had been bothering her ever since she'd been let in to the secrets.

"How is Autere getting away with looking after Henry? Poseidon told me that laws forbid gods taking care of their offspring."

"That is mainly to avoid favoritism as well as avoid heartbreak once demigods eventually die away." Leto explained. "We immortals love fiercely but after ancient times, we had to start limiting our interactions with mortals. Time for quests is over but we are still the same. The gods can't interfere with the way mortals live their lives, it would bring unbalance and eventually strife between us and between humans. We still extend influence where our domains lie but…"

"Autere can get away with this because Henry is her firstborn." Lelantos continued. "And she is unknown goddess for mortals and doesn't influence them directly."

"She mainly deals with demigods."

"And Henry's existence is to be remain secret for a few more years."

"Why?" Sally frowned.

"Things are stirring… A Prophecy has been foretold… And Autere doesn't want Henry getting in the middle of everything considering how young he is." Leto smiled sadly.

"Not to mention that it's soon the time for her to sleep once more." Lelantos sighed, looking burdened.

"Sleep?"

"Autere is known as the sleeping goddess among us. She spends most of her time asleep and doing her work through dreams. For the last two years she has been awake because of her pregnancy and Henry's first year but soon she needs to sleep again. It's important." The last statement was said in a manner that conveyed to Sally that she'd better not pry.

"I see…"

"No, you really don't. But thank you anyways." Leto sighed.

Next few days passed too quickly in Sally's opinion. They ate good rice porridge for lunch on Christmas Eve and every one of them got an almond and thus a wish. On the evening they had a three-course meal after which they settled on watching television and then sharing and opening the presents placed beneath the Christmas tree on the day before, as if to add to decoration.

"Luna, that's a nice hairband you have. Is it a Christmas present as well?" Sally noted when the children were engrossed in ripping the wrapping paper open. Said girl looked up from an art history book she'd received from Lelantos. She seemed to ponder her answer for a moment before shrugging.

"Of sorts. Met a friend. Got the hairband." She replied.

"It's a very nice hairband." Sally smiled to the girl. The hair band looked antique. It was made of some dark metal or then painted black and had decorative roses in it. It suited Luna and her blonde hair.

"Thank you." Luna muttered but then quickly engaged in conversation with Percy about some Lego set Clay had received. Apparently, the siblings shared a love for them even if building was more interesting than actually playing with them.

Clay was playing Christmas carols on the background with the grand piano in the room. It was such a nice Christmas.

A/N: Whops my hand slipped and Sally became narrator. I think next chapter will be about Luna after all... Considering that plot important stuff happens mostly with her for now...

Some of you readers might've noticed that I've started to answer to reviews with PMs on my other fics. This shall apply to this fic as well and thus this will be the last time I dedicate this bottom note for logged in commenters. Guests will still be answered here.

Replies to reviews:

-Tsuki(guest):
I think Clear-sighted mortals can enter the camp, especially if they are Oracle canditates like May Castellan and Rachel Dare. The permission will me more of a courtesy thing as Luna could technically enter through the Labyrinth. But yeah, I think regular mortals can't enter. And in this my canon Sally would be able to enter the camp as well - I don't count movies as canon because they got so much stuff wrong no matter how engaging they were to watch.

-Shayla(guest): (chapter 1)
I'll update that fic when I have inspiration to write it further. It takes more effort than my other fics to write though so I don't dare to promise anything.

-LimeBun: (chapter 2&7)
It's okay. I'm bit sporadic when it comes to addressing the mythology characters by their Finnish names. But mostly those will appear in Luna and Clay's speech while English versions will be in narration.

-FuckTartarus: (chapter 5)
Yes, the prophecy is indeed bad news.