Here's the thing about prophecies. They often have double meanings. If the Oracle told me that I was going to "cut the cheese", I wouldn't really know if it meant that in the figurative sense or if I'd really be slicing up wheels of cheddar with Riptide. Ok, weird example, but the point is you can never be 100% sure if a line in the prophecy has come to pass.

As I walked away from the Big House, I glanced up at the attic window, where I knew that mummy was just laying there amongst all the knick knacks and spoils of war, rotting away. Shivers ran up my spine as I remembered how it sat up, green smoke billowing out of its mouth, and spoke to me.

'You will go west and face the god who has turned.'

Been there, done that. Although, the god in question turned out not to be Hades as we originally thought, but Ares, the god of war.

'You will find what was stolen and see it safely returned.'

Check, although it would have made more sense to say "them" instead of "it". On top of Zeus's bolt, we also discovered Hades' helm was missing as well. In the end, we returned both to their rightful owners.

'You will be betrayed by one that calls you a friend,'

This line still bothered me. Even though I never liked the guy, Ares tried to act like he was my friend, offering us transportation and supplies. Still, I was uneasy about letting this one go. And seriously, how many friends did I even have? Grover? Annabeth? Luke? One of them went away on a quest of his own, another went home for the year, and the other would be going off to college soon, I presumed. How exactly would any of them betray me?

'And you will fail to save what matters most in the end.'

I dreamt of her sometimes. I'd see my mom's kind smile, remember her warm greetings when I came home, and blue cakes she'd bake for my birthdays. But sometimes I would also see her in the grasp of the Minotaur, or her beautiful face morphed in pain as she was cooked alive. On more than one occasion, I dreamt of giving her my pearl and saving her instead of myself. Would Hades have killed me if I had stayed behind? I didn't think so, but his Furies might have made me wish I were dead.

And every time I failed to save her in my dreams, I would hear that menacing voice urging me to give the gods a taste of their own medicine. He said that if I helped him rise, he would help me take revenge. I was never able to speak in the dreams, but if I could, I would have told him off, let him know that he was every bit as responsible for her death as the gods were.

The corners of my mouth grew heavy. It'd been months since I lost her, but the hole that opened in my chest when I heard she was dead remained. Some days it wasn't so bad, but on days like today when everyone was heading home to be with their families, I found I couldn't think. My mind was scattered, thoughts drifting from how much I missed her to how angry I was at the gods for causing her death over what amounted to a misunderstanding.

So I did what I always do when I don't want to use my brain. Beat the stuffing out of some dummies at the arena.

Luke was already there when I walked through the archway. He didn't see me enter, so I decided to watch him for a bit. He was absolutely going to town on the dummies, every slash of his sword sending straw and potato sack fabric to the ground. I'd sparred with him plenty of times, but taking a step back and observing his attacks reminded me just how good Luke was at sword fighting. Not a single movement was wasted as he effortlessly demolished each one. Finally, the last dummy's head went crashing into the dirt, along with any plans I had for destressing.

"You sure showed them who's boss," I called to him.

Luke spun around, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. He saw me and smiled. "Percy," he greeted. "Hey, I'm glad you're here. I was just about to come looking for you. I wanted to ask you what your plans are for the rest of the year."

"Funny, I wanted to ask you the same thing," I responded. "You going off to college?"

Luke laughed as if I'd made a funny joke. I guess it was kind of hard to picture him trying to crack open a textbook to study. "No, I'm not really the scholarly type like Annabeth," he said. He grabbed a water bottle off the floor and took a swig. "I actually managed to snag a job as a crew member on a cruise ship."

My jaw dropped. "You're kidding," I said. That was, like, my dream job. Cruising around on the open ocean 24/7, visiting all sorts of tropical places, and getting paid to do it? Sign me up! "Would they hire a 12 year old?" I asked, half jokingly.

Luke looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, I think they could find a job for you. But don't you think you should get a little more hero training in before you try to stick it out in the real world?"

"Why?" I asked. "You're the best swordsman in the camp. I'd have you to teach me."

"I suppose that's true," he said pensively. "Tell you what, I'll put in a good word for you with the boss and see what I can do."

He drained the water bottle in a few thirsty swigs, sheathing his sword and gathering up his belongings. It was only then that I noticed the discoloration on Luke's blade. It was double-edged, one side a gleaming bronze, and the other a dull gray.

"New toy?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to show you." He redrew it halfway out of its sheath. "One side is celestial bronze, the other tempered steel. Works on monsters and mortals both. It's called Backbiter."

"Wow," I said. I remembered what Chiron told me before my quest started, that I should never, ever hurt mortals. "I didn't know they could make weapons like that."

"They probably can't. This sword is one of a kind," he said, letting it slide back down into the scabbard. He gave me a tiny smile. "Anyways, I'm probably going to be heading out today. Why don't we go down to the forest one last time and poke around for something to fight?"

From his bag, Luke produced a six pack of Coke, and my mouth immediately started to water. I hadn't gotten the opportunity to vent my frustrations on the dummies, and sugar and caffeine were my Achilles heel, so to speak, so of course I agreed to go.

We kicked around in the woods for an hour or so but didn't run into any monsters. It was so hot outside, I figured any monster with a shred of common sense would be holed up in their nice cool caves. Luke and I found a shady spot near the creek where we'd lost the boar a couple months back. We took a seat at the side of the stream, drank our Cokes, and watched the sunlight beaming through the trees.

After a while, Luke asked, "You miss being on a quest?"

"With monsters attacking us every three feet? You kidding?"

Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I miss it," I admitted. "You?"

Apparently that was the wrong question to ask. A shadow passed over Luke's face, making his scar ripple. I was used to hearing from the girls how good-looking Luke was, but at that moment, he looked weary, and angry, and not at all handsome. His blonde hair looked gray in the sunlight. His scar looked deeper. I could imagine him as an old man.

"I've lived at camp year-round ever since Thalia died. For years, I trained and trained and trained, and I never got to go to school or be a normal teenager. Then, a couple years ago, the gods finally bestowed me with a quest, and when I got back it was like, 'Ok, ride's over, have a nice life.'"

He crumpled up his Coke can and threw it in the creek, which really shocked me. One of the first things we're taught at camp is not to litter. The naiads and dryads will get even with you. They'll sneak into your cabin in the middle of the night and you'll wake up covered in worms and centipedes.

Luke sighed. "I need to level with you, Percy. I'm the one who stole the master bolt."

My eyes went wide as plates. There was silence, save for the babbling of the creek, as I tried several times to form a response. He had to be joking, right? "You—"

"Do you want to know what my quest was two years ago? I had to steal a Golden Apple from the Garden of the Hesperides. You know, like Hercules did millenia ago. Now where's the glory in repeating a quest someone else has already done? I failed. The dragon gave me this scar, and when I got back, all I got was pity. Well, the hell with laurel wreaths. The titan lord spoke to me in my dreams, and convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something nobody's ever stolen before."

My head was spinning. Luke was the thief. It hit me at that moment. You will be betrayed by one that calls you a friend.

Blood roared in my ears, and the next thing I knew, Luke was pinned under me, the water of the creek rushing past us. I was so mad I could barely see. He struggled and fought, but I'd gotten stronger since the last time we'd wrestled like this. How easy it would've been to just force his head under the water and hold it there.

"Percy—" Luke gasped, gripping at my arms.

"It was you," I spat. "You're the one who started this whole mess. You pretended to be my friend, and you lied. Because of you, Zeus tried to have me killed, Hades sent his worst monsters after me, and my mom is dead!"

Beneath me, Luke's struggling began to lessen. He looked up at me, shocked. Without thinking, I pulled my fist back and struck him across the jaw. Over the summer, I'd been shredded by a hellhound, whipped by a Fury, and poisoned by the Chimera, but nothing hurt worse than the betrayal I felt at that moment. Luke had been one of my only friends, maybe even my best friend. We shared a special connection that few others at camp possessed, and now I was beginning to realize it was fake. It hurt maybe just as much as when I was told my mom was gone.

"I didn't know it'd be you," Luke said sincerely. He was no longer trying to force me off of him. His hands relaxed at his sides, and he strained his neck to keep his face above the water. Blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth and disappeared into the stream. Pained eyes bored into mine. "We didn't even know each other at the time that I stole the bolt. It was the gods who passed the blame onto you. The titan lord is powerful, but even he can't see the future. Only the Fates can do that. I'm sorry that this all ended up on your shoulders."

Despite still being in the water, I could feel my strength beginning to leave me. The blind rage that had overtaken me moments ago faded, and I was left with a hollow pit in my stomach. I sat back in the water. My face was wet, I realized, and it wasn't from the stream. In front of me, Luke sat up slowly so that we were at eye level, except I couldn't bring myself to meet his gaze.

"And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," he continued. "I wanted to, but… I guess I was afraid you'd hate me. Because, Percy, the time we spent together this summer—that was real. All of it. We're…" He trailed off, his face uncertain as he seemed to search for the right word. Finally, he said, "We're family, and I care about you."

I looked up at him, stunned, because his voice had sounded so honest. Having lived in the Hermes cabin for a short while, I had gotten a little better at telling when someone was trying to play a trick on me, and at that moment I knew with certainty that Luke was telling the truth.

With a sad smile, he stood up and approached me. He extended a hand, and after a moment of hesitation, I took it. He pulled me straight into a hug. His shirt was soaking wet. For a while, we stood there, the creek rushing past our feet. I could feel the pain of betrayal starting to wash away with it, but it didn't fade completely. It ran deep, and I knew it would take a long time before it was completely cleansed, and even longer before I forgave him. But it was a start.

Luke's words echoed in my head. Family, he had said. For the first time, I felt like I had a big brother. Maybe Ares had been right. Family fights were the best kind. Because once they were over, you ended up closer for it.

After a while, Luke pulled away. He brushed past me and walked back up onto the bank of the creek. When he got there, he stopped.

"I take it by now you've figured out what my job on the cruise ship really is. Like I said, I'm sure we could use an extra hand. If you're still interested, that is. My boss doesn't punish those who are loyal to him. He rewards them."

My eyes widened, because I knew exactly what he was asking. Luke wanted me to join him in working for Kronos. The titan lord had been trying to get me to enlist for months now, his voice invading my dreams and beckoning me to join him in the pit. I had always brushed him off because I thought he was mostly to blame for what happened this summer, but Luke made me realize something. I was far angrier at the gods than I was at Kronos.

When I thought about it, Kronos hadn't actually done me any harm. It was the gods that rejected, threatened, and attacked me all summer, and it was the gods who took my mom from me.

A way to hold the gods accountable. That's what I had wanted, wasn't it? But still. To overthrow the Olympians… Was that the right answer? And was such a thing even possible? I'd be helping to start a war even larger than the one I just prevented, and there was no telling who would get caught up in the mix.

Annabeth… I knew at that moment that she'd never join Luke. She was far too proud of her mother to ever oppose the gods. Wouldn't I be putting her and everyone else at camp in danger by helping Kronos?

And Chiron. He'd been nothing but a great teacher to me. I hated to disappoint him. It had always tore me up inside seeing his face whenever I got a bad grade in his class, or missed a target entirely in archery, so how would I ever be able to look him in the eyes again after betraying him like this? And even if we succeeded in dethroning the gods, what would happen to him? They had been the ones who granted him immortality, so what would become of him if they lost their power?

Still though, I knew something had to be done. If the gods were left unchecked, the pain and suffering they caused on a regular basis would only continue. Luke was doing everything he could to take a stand against them, and I couldn't let him do it alone. Releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding, I knew what I wanted to do.

"Decide quickly, Percy. The tree nymphs are listening, and it's only a matter of time before they report back to Mr. D about what they've heard."

I didn't need to be told twice. "I'll go with you," I told him, a newfound determination welling up within me. "Let's make the gods pay."

Luke grinned at me, and for the first time in, well, as long as I knew him, he looked happy. His scar didn't stand out so much, and his elvish features softened considerably. Even with his split lip, his smile was contagious.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he said. He drew his sword, Backbiter, and slashed it down in a vertical arc. Where the tip cut through the air, a shimmering rift of black and red energy appeared. A portal, I realized. How did he do that? I moved towards it, staring in awe.

"Um, Percy? Would you mind…?" Luke asked, holding out the sleeve of his drenched shirt.

"Oh, yeah."

I grabbed it, and within a second Luke's clothes were completely dry.

"Thanks," he said.

"Don't mention it."

With that, Luke stepped forward and through the portal where he disappeared with a flash. I was right behind him, tracing his footsteps and moving through the gate of energy—

—only to trip and fall right into the creek. After getting over my initial surprise, I turned to look at where the swirling mass had just been. All I saw was sunlight filtering through the trees. Confusion overtook me. Had Luke closed the portal? Did something go wrong? Or had this all been some kind of twisted trick?

Just when my panic was threatening to spill out, another portal appeared. Luke's disembodied head poked its way through the darkness.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "Guess I should've mentioned that only one of us can use the portals at a time. Here, use this one."

I watched his face disappear again. Shaking my head, I got up from the creek and made a mad dash for the new portal. I moved through all at once, not wanting to find out what happens when it closes while I'm still in it.

And that's how I found myself on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic.

And there we go. Luke saw the bitterness in Percy and offered for him to join Kronos rather than try to kill him. This is where the story will really start to branch out from canon.