Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.

Consul of the Underworld: Grinding Phase

Chapter Nine: Matriarchy and Boy!

Beta: ShadowofAxios

Alkaid had found some free time in her busy schedule and had thus decided to make arrangements with her cousin Percy to meet up so she could check up on him. As such, it was on a windy Fall day that she pulled up in front of Meriwether College Prep in a brand new Chevrolet Corvette that she'd rented for the occasion. She'd have used one of her own cars but the maintenance and storage costs of keeping one in New York when she lived in California meant it made little sense to have one in the city.

The fact that she didn't own the flashy sports car didn't detract from the impression she was aiming to make though, as the majority of the teenagers that had been trickling out of the building stopped to stare.

Percy was no exception.

"Hello Percy. Done staring?" She teased with a playful smile.

"H-huh. Yeah. Where did you get the car?"

"My credit card." Alkaid said airily. "Now get in would you? I don't want to get a ticket."

"S-Sure." Percy nodded and entered the amazing looking car. He stared out the window at the kids in his school as they looked back enviously. A small smile came to his face as he buckled up.

"So how have you been?" Alkaid asked, pretending to be oblivious to how she'd just elevated Percy's social status in his school by several notches.

"I've been good. No monster attacks. Math's a nightmare though." The green eyed boy told her with a shrug. "Mom's been doing great at college. So how are you? Haven't seen you since last Fall."

"Busy." Alkaid confessed. "School takes up a lot of time, then there's taking care of Mina. I love both but it does leave me with very little free time."

"Right. I heard about that. Um, congrats?" He said, clearly unsure what to say about the fact that a goddess had demanded she adopt her.

"Thank you." Alkaid replied with a smile, ignoring his hesitance. "Having Mina in our lives has been absolutely wonderful for Pyrrha and I."

"That's great. How's she doing? I mean, Pyrrha. She's doing okay, right?"

"She's doing well." Alkaid said as she came to a stop at a red light. "She goes to Camp with Mina regularly. I go when I'm not too tired from classes but when you have cross state transportation magic, why not abuse it?"

"Magic is bullshit, you know that right?" The son of Poseidon whined. "I mean you guys live on the opposite side of the country and use it to commute to Camp everyday? That's totally bullshit."

"Are you just realizing this?" Alkaid giggled, causing the boy's cheeks to go pink. "Besides, you could go to Camp on the weekends too. I don't see why you're complaining."

"Well, magic is spoiling you it seems if you think that's a good idea." Percy shot back. "Monsters lurk around Camp all the time. They're attracted to it like moths to a flame. If I made such regular trips, I'm just asking them to turn me into a snack sooner or later."

"So? Just kill them. You're stronger than you think, Percy." She told him as she continued to drive down West 48th.

Percy just shook his head.

"It only takes one time Alkaid. I don't know what it's like for you growing up in the Underworld, but for the rest of us? Chiron always says we shouldn't take unnecessary risks. And I've gotta agree with him."

Alkaid blinked. That actually made a great deal of sense. Heck, it even sounded almost wise.

"Mm, true. My upbringing was different. Still, Father made me do all sorts of tasks when I was your age."

Her cousin shrugged.

"Were those things that your dad needed you to do?"

"He needed someone to do it at least." Alkaid said with a chuckle. "He didn't have many agents though, so I suppose so?"

Percy shot her a triumphant look.

"Alright, you win. I can see where you're coming from though. I guess I didn't consider how things would be like for a normal demigod."

"Thank you."

The brunette smirked at his cheek. Why couldn't he be like this all the time? Oh, right. It's because he had been beaten down and told he'd never amount to anything by almost every adult his whole life until he discovered his heritage. Just like most demigods.

Was it any wonder their divine sire was so important to them? For good or ill?

"We're here." Percy declared as Alkaid turned onto his block. "Wait for me a bit and I'll be right back. I just need to drop my school stuff off and we can head off somewhere to hang out."

"Do you have any homework?"

"Um, yeah? But I can do it tonight."

Alkaid shot him a disapproving look out of the corner of her eye even as she looked around for a place to park.

"We can hang out after you finish your homework."

"But-"

"You're not weaseling out of this, Perseus Jackson. Your school work is important." Alkaid insisted, even as she relented a little at seeing her cousin's pout. "If it'll make you feel better I'll help you with it."

Sighing in defeat, the son of Poseidon just nodded.

When they entered their apartment, Mom freaked out when she met Alkaid. His cousin was confused as well until his Mom reminded her of how they had first met.

Alkaid looked a shade embarrassed, admitting she thought his Mom was just a regular mortal. Still, he was thankful for Alkaid saving his Mom from becoming a zombie of all things. He could not believe there was almost a zombie apocalypse here in New York.

Man things were so much easier when I didn't know I was a half-blood. Percy sighed.

Still, his Mom was very nervous around Alkaid, even when his cousin acted as polite as could be. Even going as far as to use her magic to spruce up the apartment as an apology for scaring the frazzled woman.

His Mom had calmed down after that thankfully and served them some of her cookies as they worked on Percy's homework. Surprisingly the homework wasn't anywhere as tedious as it usually was when Alkaid was there to help him with it.

Or maybe that was because she'd decided to reward him with dinner at some fancy restaurant for finishing it. They'd invited Mum to come along, but she'd refused saying she needed to work on a project for one of her college classes.

Deciding to make it a family outing, Alkaid waved her hand in the air and conjured a rainbow. Tossing a drachma in, she called her girlfriend.

"Hey Py, want to join Percy and I for dinner?"

"Sounds good. I'll bring Mina along, that okay?"

Alkaid shot him a look and Percy just nodded. He wasn't entirely sure if he was comfortable with having dinner with the crazy goddess but he didn't want to offend Alkaid.

"It's fine, Py. I'll meet Mina and you at the restaurant we went to last time."

"Alright. LaPiazza?"

"Yes."

"See you in fifteen."

Dismissing the rainbow, Alkaid turned to him with a chipper look. "Now let's go."

Percy nodded as they headed downstairs to her car. Once buckled up, they headed towards the restaurant.

The drive there was largely uneventful with them chatting about mundane topics like how he was doing in school. Namely terribly, though that wasn't anything new. Thanks to the dyslexia and ADHD he had for being a demigod, school had always been tough for him.

Curious about whether she had the some trouble, he had asked her how she was doing in college.

"It's going well, my classes aren't too difficult but there are a few times I had to study harder than usual."

"Must be nice to be smart." He said, sounding more bitter than he thought he'd be.

Alkaid looked at him with a frown.

"Percy, everyone has their own strengths. You might not be good at academics, but you're a great fighter."

Percy just snorted.

"Yeah, and thanks to your magic you're better."

"And that's my skill. You can swing a blade better than I ever could. If I'd been forced to fight Ares like you did, he probably would have killed me. Even though he was holding back more than I thought he needed to."

"Holding back!?"

Alkaid sighed as she made a left turn.

"I've explained this before, Percy. Gods are bound by Ancient Laws to hold back when they're challenged by mortals, even demigods. They peg the power they use to how powerful their challenger is so that they actually have a chance."

Percy just looked at her with wide eyes. "Why would they do that?"

"Mainly so they can say everything was fair when they end up killing another god's favorite."

Percy's shoulders slumped.

"You still won, so take that away at least." Alkaid said consolingly.

It was a good attempt, but his throat felt dry as he thought back to the fight on Santa Monica beach.

They drove in silence for a few minutes. He was busy processing the fact that what he'd accomplished in L.A. wasn't as impressive as he'd thought it had been. It was sobering. But at the same time tore at his fragile self-esteem, reminding him like so many people had over the years that he wasn't really as great as he thought he was. Not that he'd ever really believed he was all that grand. Still, after defeating a god…

He'd thought he'd finally achieved something cool. But now...

The son of Poseidon couldn't help but feel like he'd been behaving like an upstart all along and that made him feel terrible.

"This is getting ridiculous." Alkaid noted with an annoyed sigh as they circled the block a third time. "Percy, know any places to park around here?"

Pulled away from his self-deprecating thoughts, Percy thought about the question for a bit.

"Um, there should be a parking lot a couple of blocks away. We can walk from there?" He suggested to her after a moment. "It's a pretty nice walk around here."

"Mm, very well." Alkaid pouted as she turned the wheel and they backtracked a few blocks.

Once parked, they headed towards their desired location. Percy, being the resident New Yorker, decided to play tour guide.

"So this street is pretty famous for its shops. Mum says there's loads of pretty good clothing shops here." He said while gesturing grandly towards the row of boutiques they were walking past.

Giggling, Alkaid sent him a small smile that made her look very pretty. "I've come here often, Percy. I drag Py here all the time when we have a break. LaPiazza is our favourite restaurant."

"Oh." Percy said dumbly as he blushed in embarrassment.

He was thankfully saved from making more of a fool of himself when a sudden roar resounded through the air around them.

Both demigods spun in the direction of the gods awful screech and spotted a large dragon diving towards them in an attack run.

The flying lizard was a behemoth that was bigger than a greyhound bus. Its scales were emerald green, with a few bronze scales on the underside of his neck, a yellow-orange colored tail and wings, and was covered in black frills and spikes.

Percy felt his heart skip a beat at the awe inspiring monster.

Sure, he'd heard about them while in Camp. Still, what kid wouldn't be awed by seeing one of the formerly - in his mind - fable reptiles. Though in an ADHD moment, he wondered what the Mist was making the mortals see? An airplane coming down? A falling water tower?

It was then that his instincts kicked him in the butt and told him to move.

Percy darted backwards, getting some space from the direct path of dragon's strafing run. Its maw opened to reveal a faint glow that quickly grew in intensity as a prelude to the gout of flames that it spewed out at them.

Percy looked for a fire hydrant to use, but his cousin just walked in front of him.

Sighing in irritation, Alkaid raised a hand and incanted a spell, "Mirror Alice."

Suddenly a massive two storey mirror materialized in between the dragon's fire and them. As the breath weapon hit the looking glass, it was reflected back at the monster. Well, most of it anyways, as some of the flames were instead deflected and washed over the corner store.

"I really have to work on that spell's problem with deflections." Alkaid muttered as she eyed the overpriced clothing boutique go up in flames. "I liked that store."

"Um, Alkaid? Maybe worry about that later?" Percy said nervously as he pointed at the dragon which was now circling around to make another pass.

"Yes. I must make its death painful now." The tall woman sighed. "Hmm… I've got it. It can be my demonstration dummy for a lesson I've been meaning to teach you. Percy!"

"Yes?" The boy startled at suddenly being addressed.

"You're not really familiar with fighting magicians are you?"

"Not really. Why?" Percy asked as the dragon let out a roar as it came by for another run. Seeing it coming closer, Alkaid raised her hand in the air as it began glowing with green energy.

"Then let me teach you some of the basics. There are generally speaking only two types of magical combat: direct and subtle. Direct magic is like this. Divine Buster."

To the son of Poseidon's awe, a massive beam of green energy shot from a magic circle that materialized in front of his cousin and sent the dragon crashing into the side of a nearby skyscraper.

He winced at the sight. Percy prayed the Mist didn't do something crazy to explain that away.

"See, a more direct means of combat is simply throwing spells like that around." Alkaid explained in a lecturing fashion, as if they were back in Yancy. "Now, the second form is a more subtle means of using magic. A good example would be curses or hexes and weaving them into or immediately after other spells."

A roar signaled that the dragon had recovered from its abrupt meeting with the side of a building. Turning towards it, Percy saw that it was clinging to the side of the skyscraper and was taking a deep breath. With its long serpentine neck bent back and its throat swollen and glowing red, it didn't take a genius to guess what it had planned.

"Here let me give you a practical demonstration. Frost Nova." Alkaid finished chanting just as the dragon breathed out a river of fire. Her spell unleashed winter onto the city months ahead of schedule in the form of a wave of white light. The spell briefly battled with the monster's inferno before smothering it.

The freezing attack washed over the dragon too but it just roared and a fiery aura seemed to enshroud it for a moment that fought off the cold. That did nothing for the sickly blue aura that had been hidden within the cold spell's own light show and it settled on the flying lizard even as it tried to lash out at it.

The moment that it did, the dragon roared in agony and fell from the building. It landed with a thud, luckily avoiding crushing any mortals in the process. It writhed in clear pain and let out tormented bellows.

Percy was confused. How in the world does ice make a dragon act like that?

"I embedded my spell with a curse. The dragon countered the Frost Nova with its own aura of heat but the curse still managed to hit its target." The sorceress explained with a pleasant smile that did not match with the dark satisfaction in her tone.

It was kind of worrying. Was she honestly getting a kick out of torturing the poor monster?

With a simple flick of her wrist, a bolt of darkness lanced from her hand. It pierced the dragon's skull with a sickening crack and it stopped moving. As it turned to dust, Alkaid continued her explanation as if her brutal kill was inconsequential.

"The former is a lot simpler and more common. I could have killed the dragon with a single powerful attack spell. That's what I usually would have done."

"Why?" Percy found himself asking despite his growing discomfort with the whole situation.

"Simple. If I focused on more subtle magicks I would have had to use twice as many spells, twice the magical energy, and thrice the effort."

Knitting his brow, he processed the words.

"So it's like just hitting it with a big stick instead of trying to take it down with… um… What's the saying? Oh right! Instead of taking it down with a thousand cuts?" Percy asked, inwardly beaming with pride at having remembered one of the sayings Annabeth was so fond of using whenever she tried to teach him tactics. Unlike his cousin, the daughter of Athena was quite a fan of the tactic associated with the saying.

"A magical stick, but a big stick nonetheless." She nodded, a proud smile on her face directed at him. "So any questions?"

The son of the seas would really have preferred to just leave, he was getting really uneasy about standing there next to the site of a brutally one sided killing of a monster, but the expectant look on Alkaid's face had him scrambling for something halfway intelligent to ask.

"Well, uh, which type of magic do you like to use more?" He asked, unsure what else he was supposed to do.

"Like I say, I tend to favour direct magic." Alkaid said with a proud smile. "I've experimented with using subtle magic in battle and still do sometimes, but overall like most magic users I can't keep it up. Only supremely powerful casters with absolutely no consideration for stamina and magical reserves can possibly use it as their main mode of combat."

"So like gods?"

"Pretty much. Though there are other beings who fit the bill. Beings like them are why I chose to focus on direct magic actually."

Percy just shot her a confused look, even as she waved her hand distractedly and unleashed a wave of heat that eliminated every trace of the winterscape she'd created earlier.

"Unfortunately I deal with them a lot more often than I'd like and they would just shrug off any attempts at subtle magic I could use. Relying on it would be a waste of time and magic while in combat."

The daughter of Hades paused to observe her handiwork and after nodding in satisfaction, began to walk towards the restaurant even as she picked up on her explanation once more.

"One of my acquaintances has encouraged and tried to teach me to use more subtle magic. At her urging, I've incorporated it more into my repertoire. I even tried to emulate her and her subtle magic based style for a time. Though considering who my opponents are, it doesn't feature much. Plus trying to learn more subtle magic and working it into my skillset would take too much time away from my studies into the types of magic I usually prefer and are most useful to me."

"I see." The boy said nervously even as he imagined how much scarier Alkaid could be if she learned even more devastating spells. She was terrifying enough as is, thank you very much!

Oblivious to his thoughts, the walking magical artillery battery offered him a pleasant smile. "So any other questions?"

"Not really…"

"Very good. Hm, as homework, think on this little nugget. How would you go about fighting a spellcaster of either type? I'm most eager to hear what you come up with." She said with a gentle giggle.

Percy just swallowed nervously and nodded.

Unbeknownst to the then still young son of Poseidon, Alkaid would be the least of the terrifying beings he'd meet in the coming years. In fact, in a matter of years he'd look back on how nervous he had been on this day with fond exasperation at just how naive he had been. That was however still in the future and for now at least, he tried his best holding himself together as he headed off to dinner with what he believed might be the most unnerving member of his family.

Watching from a nearby rooftop as the two children of the Big Three headed off for dinner, the strongest demigod son of Hecate, Alabaster Torrington, frowned.

"She toyed with it." He hissed incredulously. "That was one of our strongest dragons and she just treated it like a dummy to teach Jackson how magicians fight."

He'd known the daughter of Hades was a powerful sorceress. His mother had told him as much, but he'd never imagined she was this powerful. This was insane and bordering on the things he'd believed were reserved for the realm of legends like the fabled Sorcerers Supreme.

"Now how are we going to get rid of her?"

The need to remove her from the equation had never been in doubt, not when the mere presence of that accursed daughter of hers tipped the balance of any attack they could launch on Camp Half-Blood completely in the Olympians' favour. But with how powerful the damnable woman herself was, that was going to be no easy feat.

"I've got to rethink this." Alabaster conceded with a frown. "The direct approach isn't going to work. It's time to be subtle."

Fortunately Hecate and her children were masters of being subtle.

It was Halloween night and Alkaid had been invited by Percy and his mum to visit and spend the night watching horror movies.

"Mel, why are you being a tagalong? You weren't invited." Alkaid asked in exasperation as her godly sister smirked back at her.

"I'm a goddess. I don't need an invitation." The goddess of ghosts replied easily. "Besides, this holiday is practically in my name. So I should get to do what I want, so why not hang out with my widdle baby sis?"

At the cutesy voice, Alkaid rolled her eyes.

"Does that mean I don't need invitations before I visit people?" Mina asked her mothers, her head tilted to the side curiously.

"No. You should still be invited. Don't be rude like your auntie." Alkaid told her daughter.

Melinoe huffed. "Whatever. I'm just the fun one here."

"That's your opinion and yours alone." Pyrrha said as she walked into the living room of their home that they were all gathered in. The redhead was dressed up as Xena, Warrior Princess, complete with the oversexualized armor that made her look absolutely delectable.

We are having some fun in that later. Alkaid smiled as she drank in the sight.

"Man, all of you are being so boring. Where's the Halloween spirit? Where's your fun?"

"Mama! You look so pretty!" Mina declared as she spun around her mother to look at Pyrrha's costume from every angle.

"You look very pretty too, squirt."

Alkaid couldn't agree more. Mina was dressed up like Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty complete with magically dyed golden blonde hair and a fancy ball gown.

"Hehe~!" Mina spun around, looking at her costume as if it were made of gold.

"I still think she'd look better as a ghost." Melinoe snorted.

"Cliche much?" Alkaid teased her sister. "Then again, considered you're dressed up as yourself, it might actually be an improvement."

"Hey, you can't mess with perfection." The goddess of ghosts said with a proud smirk as she gestured at her translucent ethereal Greek armor.

"And you're so much better, Alkaid?" Pyrrha teased. "I mean, Zatanna? Really?"

Tipping her top hat, Alkaid smirked. "I'm a nerd at heart. Besides, it's sexy. You can't deny that."

Alkaid had indeed chosen to dress up as DC's famous magician superheroine. She was dressed in a what could be described as a sexy Las Vegas magician. Her curvaceous frame was sheathed in a white dress shirt, bow tie and gloves, a low cut yellow vest, a black blazer, black shorts, gray stockings and black boots reaching midway up her calves.

"She loved dressing up as her when she was little too." Melinoe grinned. "That or fantasy elves."

"Tell me more." Pyrrha said with a teasing wink at the demigoddess of Hades.

"Me too! Me too!" Mina added in, jumping up and down excitedly.

"We don't want to be late." Alkaid said in a serious tone, though her cheeks were dusted pink.

The goddess' eyes lit up with mischief and nodded. "Another day perhaps. For now, let's get going."

"Aw~!" Mina whined in disappointment even as Melinoe built up her power and summoned the shadows to cover all of them.

"One Melinoe Express trip coming right up!" Alkaid's sister declared as the shadows took hold of them and carried them across the country and to the Jacksons' apartment in New York City.

"Oh, Mina's tummy feels weird." The little goddess moaned as they walked up the stairs of the Jacksons' building and headed towards their apartment.

Alkaid rubbed her daughter's back, "That's just you getting used to Shadow Travel. It passes."

"If it's still feeling rumbly, we can ask Miss Jackson for some antacids." Pyrrha suggested.

Melinoe snorted at the suggestion.

"Did you two forget that she's a goddess? Sheesh." Turning to her niece, the goddess of ghosts continued. "Just use your powers to settle your stomach. I'm sure Dionysus has taught you how to do something as simple as that already."

The little serial killer blinked for a moment before nodding. A dirty grey glow surrounded her for a moment before she gave a relieved sigh.

"All better!" The young goddess declared. "Thanks Auntie Mel!"

The older divinity was startled for a moment at the girl's enthusiasm but seemed to roll with it as she nodded dismissively.

Well, at least she's trying. Alkaid noted. Ever since she'd adopted Mina, her sisters had been uncomfortable with her. For very good reasons considering her history, she admitted. That said, in the interest of not creating a rift between them both Melinoe and Makaria had been doing their best lately to not be so antagonistic to her daughter. Or her lover for that matter. Though considering Makaria was still banning Mina from visiting Elysium, it was still a work in progress.

Pyrrha walked up to the apartment entrance and pressed the button labeled Jackson. "Trick or treat, ya little swimmer."

Melinoe snickered at the 'playful' insult while Alkaid sighed. Mina just looked confused but her eyes widened in amused realization as Mel leaned down to whisper into her ears, much to Alkaid's displeasure.

Great. I'll bet that it's going to be something I'll need to explain to her at bedtime again.

"Yeah yeah, come on in."

The door buzzed open and the small family headed inside. They were greeted by a sulking Jackson dressed up as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. Alkaid could understand his displeasure, he looked ridiculous. Wherever he'd gotten the costume from had likely ripped him off. While it made him look recognizably like Johnny Depp's famous character, it also made him look terrible.

"Please. No comments." There was a twinge of pain in his tone.

"Hush, Percy. It's your own fault for trying to get it on discount." The boy's mother chided as she came over to offer her greetings.

As they all exchanged pleasantries, Alkaid noted that unlike her son, her costume was much more flattering. She'd chosen to dress up as Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Swann. The elaborate Victorian style ball gown she wore to impersonate the fictional Governor's daughter left no doubt as to why she'd garnered her uncle's romantic attentions.

"Hello Alkaid, and company…" She trailed off as she looked at Melinoe and Mina. She was clearly nervous at the presence of the two goddesses, which caused the ghost of the evening to grin.

"I get why Uncle likes her. Clear Sights are getting rarer and rarer nowadays." Melinoe stated, looking the woman up and down.

Alkaid nudged her shoulder. "Behave. Please?"

Mina held up a large pillowcase, "Treat or die!"

"Trick or treat." Pyrrha corrected their daughter.

"But it's more fun to kill!" The goddess of serial killers whined.

"Gotta agree with ya there, tyke." Mel chimed in unhelpfully. "Then you can loot all their treats too."

Alkaid swatted her sister's arm. "Mel!"

"Fine. Be a party pooper." The goddess pouted as her bangles jingled when she crossed her arms.

"I'll make it up to you later?"

"Oh. I got a whole bunch of after hour stuff for us." The goddess smiled lecherously. "The amazon here can join too."

Pyrrha looked somewhat peeved at the suggestion, making Alkaid rub her forehead in annoyance.

"Can I join in too?" Mina asked. "I like parties."

"When you're older, maybe." Mel said hastily, as she eyed her sister warily.

"So it's that kinda party." Mina said with a pout as Miss Jackson led them to the living room. "I thought it was actually gonna be something fun."

"Hey! I'll have you know it's plenty fun."

"Mel!"

"Right. Sorry." The goddess said abashed.

"Percy, stop staring." Alkaid heard Miss Jackson whisper to her son, causing the daughter of Hades to turn to her former student curiously.

He was busily wiping his hand over his mouth and looking away, his cheeks burning brilliantly with a blush. He was also quite insistently looking away from her. It seemed someone had been a little too appreciative of her costume.

Considering this was the effect she'd been aiming for, Alkaid was quite pleased with his reaction.

"Sorry about them, Miss Jackson." Pyrrha said with a strained smile. "They always get like this."

"It's fine, Pyrrha." The beautiful older woman replied with a rueful smile at Pyrrha's insistence at addressing her so formally. The mortal had tried to get them both to call her by name when they'd first set up this get together but they had both insisted that it was impolite. Alkaid was actually quite impressed that her lover managed to hold true to that. There was hope for her as a diplomat after all.

"Percy isn't much better. Why don't we all sit down and get started? We won't get through all the movies we have planned if we don't hurry."

"Sounds like a good idea." Alkaid said, guiding Mina to the couch. Her daughter poutily waved her empty pillow sheet. "We'll have lots of candy. Don't worry."

"I want caramels. No, no butterscotch! Or, er, um." Mina looked confused as Alkaid sat down and she scurried onto her mother's lap. "Oh! Something with nuts."

"Nothing with nuts. Sorry." Miss Jackson said as she produced a large bowl of candy. "Just in case someone has an allergy to nuts."

"Aw. Okay. Cupcake?" Mina offered the woman, as she pulled the pastry out of nowhere.

"Why thank you."

As the group settled down for a marathon of horror movies, Alkaid cuddled with her daughter and surveyed the group. Melinoe was getting on surprisingly well with Miss Jackson, the two chatting amiably as the opening of John Carpenter's original Halloween played on the mortal's TV. Meanwhile, Pyrrha and Percy were kicking back some soda as they chatted about Camp.

Seeing everything going so smoothly, the daughter of Hades smiled happily as she ate a Milky Way. It was wonderful that her family and friends were getting along so well.

"What am I even watching?" Alabaster frowned from a nearby rooftop.

He had been doing his best to tail the daughter of Hades for the past few weeks. Attempting to see how exactly he'd be able to complete his mission and drag her away from Camp so that she wouldn't interfere with their plans.

"Such a waste of time. How carefree is this woman?"

It boggled his mind how a woman with her responsibilities could find the time to waste having a movie marathon. Especially considering how he, with only a fraction of the pressures on his time, was running himself ragged just keeping himself afloat.

I'm not jealous. Not at the fact that she's a better magician than I am, nor that she somehow manages her time better than I can. Not that she has a loving family. None of that. There's absolutely nothing for me to be jealous of. Nothing at all.

Continuing to look on as the woman enjoyed herself, his hand unconsciously tightened into a fist.

Winter was just around the corner when Pyrrha informed Alkaid that her mother had finally insisted that her daughter bring her lover and daughter to visit her for introductions. The daughter of Hades had been unaware but apparently Pyrrha's mum had been trying to convince her to do so for months and in the case of introducing Alkaid for years. The daughter of war however had been hesitant to do so for some reason.

"So I'm meeting Mama's Mama?" Mina asked as she held both her mothers' hands and they strolled up the suburban Cardiff street to Pyrrha's childhood home.

"Yep. Be sure to call her Granny a lot alright?" Pyrrha asked with a smirk.

"Mm!" Mina nodded happily.

Alkaid giggled a bit, though she was feeling a little nervous herself.

"So why haven't we met her yet?" The daughter of Hades asked teasingly, knowing the answer well. It was after all not the first time that she'd asked this question.

"Mum's, well, how can I put this?" Pyrrha said with an ashamed blush on her face. "She's weird. She's like so totally not like me at all. I honestly dunno what dad sees in her."

Mina blinked in confusion.

"She's not nice?"

"No, no." Pyrrha said with a shake of her head. "She's really nice. Like super nice! Which is why she's weird. I mean you know how I am. How the hell is she my mum?"

"That is weird." Alkaid commented. As far as she knew, Ares loved the rough and tough woman that was as crass as himself. At least when it came to his mortal lovers anyway.

"Then she'll like muffins." Mina giggled excitedly as she made a basket appear out of nowhere.

"What are you? The little goddess of baked goods?" Pyrrha teased, ruffling Mina's silvery hair.

"Nah. That's Betty 'Petty' Crocker. She's a meanie. Always says my pastries smell of blood." Mina said with a pout. "She doesn't even try them."

"Her loss then." Alkaid reassured her daughter even as she briefly boggled at the idea that there really was a goddess of baked goods. Seriously? Betty Crocker? Next thing I know there'll be an Internet god.

"Yeah, screw her." Pyrrha said with an aggressive snarl. "The next time you meet her, let me know and I'll punch her teeth in."

"No! She has cupcakes of doom! They make you super fat!" Mina hissed like a serpent.

"Sounds scary, but I'll just blow them up." Alkaid reassured her daughter. "She won't be able to take us on."

"Then stabby stab." The little killer said as she flashed one of her many, many knives.

Knives that Alkaid had come to learn after consulting a visibly disturbed Baba Yaga about them held within them the concept of death itself, thus giving them the ability to make sure anything they killed stayed dead. At least for a while. Immortals like the old witch would get better eventually, but even the prospect of a short time dead scared the hell out of her and according to her most immortals too.

Learning that had elicited odd feelings from Alkaid. On one hand, it made her irrationally proud of how powerful her daughter was despite having no part in that strength. On the other hand, it terrified her that she had once been on the verge of being killed with something that powerful.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as they finally arrived at Pyrrha's mum's house. It had a gated driveway and was set back from the road by a substantial lawned frontage. The property also included a detached triple garage.

Alkaid fixed her hair a bit with a quick glance into her compact.

"Babe, you're fine."

"I'm just checking. First impressions are important."

Her redhead lover sighed as she rang the bell. "She physically cannot not like you. Like I said, she's too nice."

"Just a minute!" A voice called from the intercom. A moment later, the gate opened up.

"Granny's house is so big and fancy. Just like ours. Is she filthy rich like the Stolls say we are?"

"Yeah. Mum runs a gun manufacturing company. She makes some of the best stuff around. We've also got some kind of magical lineage but it skipped us the last few generations or something."

"And we inherited this house from our ancestors." A tall and graceful woman with high cheekbones, vivid blue eyes, and thick auburn hair said as she walked over to the opening gate. "Or did you forget that Pyrrha?"

"Granny?" Mina asked uncertainly.

"I'm Pyrrha's mum, yes. And you must be Mi-" The older woman never got the chance to finish her sentence before the excitable goddess tackled her in a fierce hug.

"Granny!" The little girl shouted enthusiastically. The older woman giggled and lifted the tiny goddess into the air.

"Hello to you too! Aren't you just a peach. Pyrrha, I should have met her ASAP."

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry." Her lover replied insincerely.

Shaking her head at Pyrrha's foolishness, Alkaid stepped forward to greet the older woman.

"Hello, Miss Branwen. I'm-"

"Alkaid Potter. The girl my Pyrrha was lovestruck over for years. I could've recognized you a mile away with how she used to go on and on about how you looked." The older woman said as she put her granddaughter down and allowed Mina to run over to press herself into Alkaid's side.

"Mum!" Pyrrha whined in the background, but no one paid her any attention.

"All flattering I hope?"

"About you? Definitely. For her? Well, I'm sure it'll leave her mortally embarrassed once I tell you all about it."

Alkaid and the woman shared a laugh at Pyrrha's expense.

"And please, call me Jane." Pyrrha's mother asked as she recomposed herself. "Now how about we go inside? I have to get to know you two more."

"I made muffins!" Mina offered, holding up the basket.

Jane happily took it. "Mm, let's have some brunch. It's the best meal to chat over after all."

"Sounds good. Lead the way, Jane."

With Pyrrha sulking and hanging back, the family headed into the house wholly unaware of their unhappy observer watching them through a set of binoculars from atop a floating staff some distance away.

The women settled themselves in Jane's living room as she served herself and the adults coffee while Mina had some hot chocolate, all while they enjoyed the muffins that the little baker had brought along.

"I have to say," Jane giggled. "I was wondering when Pyrrha was going to bring you here. I think she might have been scared."

"Mum!" Pyrrha whined, her cheeks pink.

"I have wanted to meet you for a while to be honest." Alkaid teasingly smiled at her lover. "I'm glad we could finally do this."

"No, I don't think you understand." Jane said with a teasing smirk. "Before I'd heard about the two of you, I'd almost despaired of Pyrrha ever finding someone. I'm honestly surprised and immensely glad that you've managed to tame my barbarian of a daughter."

"Come on, Mum, seriously?" Pyrrha sunk into her seat. Looking like she wanted to be swallowed by the cushions.

"Who was the one who decided to forget their mother existed for the better part of a year again?"

"I-I was busy!"

"Not even an letter?"

Pyrrha looked away in embarrassment.

"Mama was a bad girl?" Mina asked looking between Pyrrha and Jane in confusion.

"Yes," Jane said before Alkaid could cut in to save her lover some pride. "So don't follow her example, okay Mina? Be a good girl and keep in touch with your mothers. At least talk to them once a week."

The little goddess nodded.

"We apologize for not visiting sooner." Alkaid cut in before Pyrrha's mother could embarrass her daughter any further. "But we've been busy."

"Nonsense. It's because Pyrrha didn't want to come, wasn't it?"

"No. We had some serious business with the gods lately. It's been taxing to say the least." Alkaid carefully specified.

"Oh?" Jane asked and took a small sip of her coffee. Her eyes turned towards her daughter. "I see. Well, I'm sure Pyrrha is perfectly fine staying here with you two for...hm, a week? Yes. That sounds like a good idea."

Alkaid blinked. It wasn't a problem for her. If she made use of magical transportation, she could easily make her classes. It would still be awkward considering the time zones but not unmanageably so.

"Y-Yes Mum." Pyrrha agreed.

"Excellent! Now, I have a few things to finish up, but give me a couple hours and then I'll have plenty of time to get to know my granddaughter." Jane smiled beautifully. "And Alkaid, I love those shoes. Mm, yes, this is going to be a great week."

"Yay!" Mina cheered, her lips covered in crumbs. "Granny time!"

"Yes, Granny time."

"Nothing but these pathetic wizarding wards?" Alabaster said incredulously as he gripped a flimsy looking net of energy that formed a dome over Jane's house. "Are they serious?"

"I did say this would be a soft target, didn't I?" A dusky skinned woman with hair that seemed to fly everywhere on some ethereal breeze who floated unsupported in the air next to him replied. "Are you doubting me, son of Hecate?"

"Of course not, My Lady." The sorcerer backtracked quickly, knowing that offending this woman would be very detrimental to his health. "Merely surprised is all."

She eyed him teasingly with her odd eyes with their red pupils and yellow cornea.

"Do not look a gift horse in the mouth." She advised him. "Just be happy and enjoy the show as chaos erupts."

"Wise counsel indeed," The demigod agreed with a nod. "Then let's head back to base and inform the Mare-Do-Wells that everything is proceeding as planned."

The woman just smiled and with a snap of her fingers teleported the duo away in a pool of black.

Omake: Magic Lessons with Mina

"Try it again." Baba Yaga demanded for what must have been the tenth time.

With a tired sigh, Alkaid obliged and sent a mild itching curse flying at her daughter.

Said goddess just looked up from her coloring before shaking her head and returned to ignoring the adults in the room. Alkaid couldn't blame her, it wasn't terribly interesting to just sit there and be a target for her spells.

Not that either of them had much choice in the matter. Not at least without offending Baba Yaga. The folk hero had apparently heard that Alkaid had scaled back on using subtle magic and had been incensed. Understandable since she'd been the one to encourage the sorceress to incorporate it more into her style. That said, Alkaid felt she had very firm grounds to justify her decision to do so. Now if only she could convince the old witch.

"Do you see what I mean, Baba?" The demigoddess asked. "Subtle magics just don't work against gods."

"Alright, I'm convinced girlie. You've got a case of Stupid Fingers." Baba Yaga frowned to the daughter of Hades.

"I'm sorry?" Alkaid asked, looking offended by the term.

"We all run into it at some time or another." The old witch waved off. "I remember when I first started out, my fingers were too stupid to try and bring the dead back to life. I try not to anymore, but I still did it to prove I could."

"What does that have to do with using subtle magic against gods?"

"Nothing. Just saying you aren't that good at it."

Alkaid threw her arms in the air. "Gods have absurd levels of natural resistance to magic. You know this."

The slavic hag snorted. "Please. You know that little harlot goddess of yours? Her Charm Speak works on gods."

"That's her doing it." The demigoddess rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"So? Even lesser versions of it works on some deities."

Alkaid looked ready to test some of her blasting spells on the immortal witch.

"Maybe I should get a second opinion." The brunette said between gritted teeth.

"Or you could- What do you kids say again? Oh right! Git gud!"

Oh she did not just say that.

"Look Baba, I understand that subtle magic has its place. Sadly, in the middle of a pitched battle against a god that can casually level cities like Zahhāk, isn't it. Not for me. You know what happened to L.A. correct?"

"Mmgh." The hag grumbled, her face twisted in annoyance.

"If I had relied on subtle magic, do you think I would survived that?"

The witch's face softened though she refused to say anything.

"Listen. You have specialized in such magic for countless centuries. In contrast, I'm not even twenty years old yet." Alkaid expressed with a tired sigh. "Furthermore, I'm not a goddess nor a folk hero such as yourself. I would need another decade to meet your level evenly."

"Ha! Only a decade? You think highly of yourself." Baba Yaga cackled. "Ah, that's what I like about you, girlie. Still, I see your point. I guess it's not fair to hold a mortal like you up to my standards."

Alkaid breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed she'd finally managed to convince the Slavic immortal, which was a good thing. She really did not want to lose her friendship and the often sage advice she gave. That and a potential baby sitter for her little girl.

Those tended to be in short supply. Who knew people would be leery of babysitting the goddess of serial killers?

Done and done!

Thanks to the great team of Nameless and Axios as always.

CelestialGodSlayer16: We don't usually respond to guest reviews but you raise a point worth addressing. First and foremost, any expys that do appear in our fics are just that, expys. They are not the same characters from the canon we originally drew inspiration from. This neatly dovetails into the fact that as a goddess Mina would be considered by the Nasuverse's standards to be a divine spirit which the Holy Grail explicitly cannot summon. Furthermore, the Holy Grail only ever summons copies of the Heroic Spirits it summons, so Mina won't ever be summoned. Just because she is inspired by one of the Nasuverse's versions of Jack the Ripper doesn't mean she is that character. She is her own character, just like, I repeat, all our other expies unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Nameless: On another note, please do not expect us to reply to guest reviews like this regularly. We greatly prefer discussing things like this via PMs, which mean we would appreciate it if reviewers sign in when they leave reviews. If not, well then unless your review is particularly pertinent or interests us, then don't expect a reply.

Now, we had a lot of stuff in this chapter and I really enjoyed the down time parts of our fics. Ah, slice of life. Still, I enjoyed Percy and Alkaid's entertaining interactions. Can't wait to have more of them.

Nameless: I liked the foreshadowing bits most myself. So how do you folks like our interpretation of Alabaster? He's kinda a jealous prick, no? Well, we're basing that off his canon pride which is now being seriously challenged by Alkaid so totally outshining him. Also, anyone want to guess who that woman with him was at the end?

Now we have someone keeping recon on Al and family. I wonder what he could be possibly thinking of doing to try and keep her away from Granddaddy Bits' plans.

You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!