The Fates Want Change

by FMPtrumpets

The Fates are tired of watching it. There is a storm coming, and if they want to survive... so they force them to read what they're actions are doing to themselves and their children. And they pull Percy and a few others along for the ride.

15. We Visit a Garden Gnome Emporium

For those who don't remember, the MS are the mysterious seven demigods that the Fates don't want revealing themselves yet. (More like I want them here right now and just don't feel like having to write the parts for three Percy's and three Annabeth's, so they are staying 'hidden' for now.) They will play a part later on.

past demigods who have an older self, the future demigods, the mysterious seven demigods, since they all have a younger counterpart.

And it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that, I've been working and getting ready to go back to college after taking the past year off. For a bit there I also decided to focus on my other story, To Live a Life, and then I hit a bit of writers block with this story.

I'm back now though! Here is the next chapter, thank you for your patience.

---

"Well, that ending wasn't ominous for the rest of the book at all." Paul said, trying to be cheerful. Sally just patted him on the back consolingly when it didn't work.

That was when both Sally and Hestia noticed a few of the younger kids yawning, especially now that the excitement in this chapter was over with. They both stood up at the same time, after Sally put Percy down, of course, and announced it was time for bed. They both looked at each other, slightly surprised, but pleased. Everyone else grumbled, but between the two of them, they got everyone shuffled off to their rooms.

The next morning, the younger demigods got to watch the same show as the day before, the older Greeks just would not wake up until Sally stood in the middle of the room and announced she had cookies and to get them while they were still warm. Thus started the chase through the palace with Percy trying to keep his beloved cookies away from the others. Unlike yesterday though, he actually managed to get away and keep the bag to himself this time.

It was a laughing Sally who handed the defeated demigods a few cookies each along with a pat on the back for their efforts. When they got into the breakfast room, it was to find the MS, gods, and younger demigods already there. When she saw the MS, she went over to speak with the one she knew to be her son. "You missed the chase this morning." She said with a smile, holding out yet another bag of cookies baked fresh this morning. Percy reached out to take the bag, nodding his head in thanks, but she pulled it back, "Not without a hug, young man." She said mock-sternly. They looked at her before Percy huffed a laugh and gave her the requested hug after making sure nobody was watching.

"Should have known you would know." He muttered. There was a smile on what she could see of his face though, even as he handed the demanding demigods around him a cookie each and kept the rest to himself, although he did give Annabeth a second one when she asked. That's when she knew that whatever happened in the coming months, brought them all close. Percy never willingly shared his cookies like that.

She didn't say anything about it though, "Of course I know, I'm your mother." She countered instead as she watched. She sat next to him. "Everyone came home safe, I hope?" She asked, she was slightly worried by how hoarse his voice sounded.

Of course, he'd had another nightmare the night before and had, as was usual, screamed himself hoarse before Annabeth finally got to him and managed to wake him up. She was the only one who could do it safely after all, the others all risked loss of limb if they tried, or worse. There was a pause, which Sally did not like, "Yeah, everyone came home." He left out the part where they thought that Leo sacrificed himself was thought to be dead for the longest time, only for him to come back long enough to go off on a quest with a suddenly mortal Apollo to hopefully stop another war, or at least to get their Oracle back before the other war started. He also left out that both he and Annabeth sometimes felt like they were still there.

She frowned, she knew there was much he wasn't telling her, which was normal when it came to his demigod life since he didn't want her worrying, but she didn't pry. It would be hard enough on him when they got that far in the books. "Well, the important part is that you are home. Any, issues, resulting from the trip can be taken care of in time." She said, she knew that there would be bad nights, he had them all the time left over from the Titan war, she could only imagine the Giant war would be worse. He smiled in relief that she wasn't pushing it, not that he thought for a moment that she would.

She stayed over in their corner through breakfast, talking with her son, getting to know the demigods her Percy would be going to Rome with once they finally got the ship built and sailed to the Roman camp. When Poseidon looked around for her, not spotting her with the others, he smiled when he saw her with the oldest Percy and his friends, and went back to his conversation with Hades and Hermes.

While Sally was with the MS, the future Greeks grabbed Luke and went into a relatively private corner for that talk they'd been wanting to have. When he realized what was going on, he sighed in resignation and sat in the middle of the group. This wasn't really a safe place for him to be, but it was where they wanted him, so he went with it, if only to keep the peace and because he knew that they needed to be able to hit him if they wished. They would need some way to vent, and if that was through a punch to the face over something he said, then so be it. After all the pain he caused them...

He was surprised, though, when Chris sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder in support. Chris... he had hurt Chris too. He sent Chris into that Maze, knowing he would probably never come out again. And if he did, he wouldn't be anywhere close to sane. He was only here because of Clarisse. But, maybe Chris could also sympathize with him the most, after all, Chris had been in Kronos' army, he had been a traitor too.

"So," Percy started. "I know you kind of changed your mind there at the very end and helped us, but there's still the fact that you betrayed us and helped him rise in the first place." Percy started. He left out the part about the pit scorpion, they would find out in the books, besides, Annabeth would probably bring it up at some point. And Thalia's tree...

"And led other demigods to their deaths by recruiting them." Clarisse added, glancing at Chris, if Mr. D hadn't come back and agreed to heal his mind when he did... Nobody noticed Percy flinch at that, he had never told anyone about that young demigod he saw on the cruise ship, the night they went to blow it up. The kid couldn't have been older than thirteen... Percy didn't even know if the kid made it out, or if he took the other demigods with him. Somehow, he doubted it.

Luke winced at Clarisse's tone, and waited a moment to see if they had anything else to add before he spoke. "I won't offer excuses, I have none. You all had dreams, the same as me, and yet none of you listened. I could say that he got me at my weakest, but that would only be partially true. I could say that I didn't know what I was doing, that I was confused, but that wouldn't be true at all. I knew exactly what I was doing." Luke said, his voice strained. It wasn't reassuring when some of their faces darkened further. "I truly believed in what I was doing, up until I gave him my body and saw what he was really like and what he really wanted to do."

Everyone looked at him for a moment. "And after you realized what he really wanted to do?" Thalia asked.

"I tried to fight him. But, after I gave him my body, there wasn't much I could do. He's a Titan, and I'm just a demigod son of Hermes. The only reason I was doing as well as I could is because he underestimated me... he thought he had entirely crushed my consciousness, and he was still weakened from his time in the Pit. So, I was able to fight back a little. But, by the time I was able to fight back with enough strength, it was too late. We were already in the throne room of Olympus." Luke said. "All I can do is apologize, and ask you to help me make sure my younger self doesn't make the same mistakes." He finished, and looked down.

They were all silent for a moment, considering what he said. When he finally looked up, he saw them looking at Percy. Which made sense, he was their leader. After a minute, Percy and Annabeth looked at each other and started having a silent conversation. Finally, Annabeth nodded and Percy turned to look at them. "We will help with your younger self. However, our main concern is that... if it's not Luke, then we won't know when Kronos will start his war. At least with you we had an idea what was going on, because we knew who it was and it wasn't hard to keep an eye on you. Especially when you were in the cruise ship."

Luke looked at him, confused, for a second before he understood. "You mean using him as a spy, to control the situation."

Annabeth spoke up. "If we have to. We won't if there is any other choice. That will depend on what happens during these books. But, Kronos will rise, it is only a matter of who helps him and when. If we can control the who and when... I don't know, it will depend on what is read and what is decided before we leave."

None of them looked happy, but they accepted the decision of their leaders. Luke nodded slowly. "I can speak with my father, he's already guessed everything. He could help, he might have an idea of how to do this."

They all nodded. "If the younger kids do end up doing this, though, then how on earth would Luke hide what's really going on? 'Cuz, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not putting him in this position without telling him. And, you all know how Kronos gets in your head. He has ways of learning your deepest secrets and fears." Clarisse said.

"I don't know." Annabeth admitted. "But, that's where the gods would come in. Luke, Chris, you two talk to Hermes. The rest of us... we'll have to get our parents alone at some point, preferably after the first book, and discuss this with them. They've been around a long time, they should have an idea."

"Why both me and Chris? And what about Travis and Connor?" Luke asked.

Annabeth hesitated and glanced at Clarisse. "Out of all of us, you two probably know Kronos the best. You two know how his army actually operated, you led it," She gestured towards Luke, "And you were in it." She gestured towards Chris. "You could give Hermes insight that Travis and Connor couldn't." Clarisse scowled at her for bringing that up with Chris, but she didn't say anything, because Annabeth was right.

Chris and Luke looked at each other, before they nodded at her. After that, they all finished their breakfast in silence, with Percy being the only one to notice Poseidon, Hades, and Hermes eating their own breakfast's close enough to have heard the conversation. Poseidon looked at Hermes in concern.

"Are you going to be alright, reading these books?" He asked his nephew quietly. They knew what he was really asking, would he be alright with hearing how his son, his favorite son, betrayed them all. Having to hear some of the stuff that Luke probably said about Hermes himself. They would be hearing a lot of details that Luke hadn't told him the night before.

Hermes looked at his future sons, all four of them, before looking at his favorite uncle and nodding. "I have to know," He said, turning to look at Luke. "How am I going to be able to help my son if I don't." He looked down at his food. "I don't like what they are proposing though, Uncle."

Poseidon said nothing, only watched him.

Hermes sighed and looked down at his food. "I don't like it at all, but at the same time I can't deny the kids have a point. This way we can at least control the situation somewhat. Kronos is going to rise again sooner or later, we have always known it... even if some of us live in denial." He muttered, thinking of his father.

Poseidon chuckled. "Your father... he is very proud. I can only be grateful that Athena seems to be the only one to have really inherited his pride to quite the extent that he takes it." Hermes flushed red while Poseidon chuckled again. "But, you know he doesn't react well to any perceived threats to his rule. His response has always been to either make something out of nothing and blow it out of proportion, bury his head and pretend there is no threat until he has to acknowledge it, or to over-react and make it worse than it really is. It's been like that since long before you were born." He sighed. "Some of that is probably mine and Hades fault." Hermes looked startled, he had never heard any of this before. "After we were freed from our father's stomach... well, we didn't know what to do with this new brother, always boasting about how he freed us, how he was so great, and... well, we might have indulged him a little too much in the beginning."

"It didn't help any when we gave him the throne." Hades grumbled.

"If I remember right, that was mother's idea... I forget what her reasons were though." Poseidon said quietly.

He was silent for a moment. "If the Fates will it, we may have to go with the kids plan." He fixed his nephew with a warm look. "At least this time he will have you there to support him. I don't know the full circumstances of his betrayal, and I don't know the details of what you two discussed last night, but I can already tell just by watching the younger one that he, like so many other demigods, feels abandoned, and angry with us, their parents. These books will hopefully help many of the others see what we see. This could be what brings us together again. The kids were right, if it isn't Luke, then who knows who it will be?"

Hermes smiled briefly before it disappeared. "I worry, Luke isn't the only one of my children that turned. And, from what I've heard, he caused much pain to both those at camp, and those who followed him. If we can't get Luke to see, then he will join Kronos, and not as a spy for us. But, this time he will know of the future events that are in the books. If we cannot get him to see... then the upcoming war could be much worse for us than it was for them." He glanced at the future Greek demigods, gaze resting on his four children, before he turned to watch his younger four children. "I don't know what the older ones went through, but I don't want that for the younger ones."

"I know, I don't either." Poseidon himself glanced at his eight year old Percy. He was still so young, he wouldn't have even known about the Greek world for another four years if it weren't for the Fates. And even then, he would have been thrown into a war where the fate of the known world rested on his shoulders even before he learned of it. Zeus put that burden on his shoulders the moment he accused Percy of stealing the bolt for him, Poseidon.

He would never regret being with Sally (as unhappy as his wife would be hearing that), or having Percy and Lily. But... that didn't mean he didn't regret placing such burdens on their shoulders. Burdens that just seemed to come with the territory of being a child of him, Zeus, or Hades.

Hermes sighed. "I guess we just have to finish these books if we truly want to know what we can change." He muttered and Poseidon nodded in agreement.

It was at that moment that Zeus stood up and looked around. "Well, if everyone is finished eating, then we should keep reading, the sooner we do, the sooner we can find out who took the Bolt." Nobody saw either Luke flinch.

When they made their way to the throne room, Annabeth raised her hand and asked if she could read next. Annabeth frowned, "Um, can I see the chapter title first?" She asked. When she had the book in her hands and saw the title, she turned to Percy and Grover. "It's the emporium." They glanced at each other and had a silent debate.

"It should be alright for her to read... I don't think any of us got seriously injured in this one." Percy said slowly. "Are you going to be alright with this?" He asked Grover, quietly. He was thinking about his uncle, who got turned into a statue. Grover nodded while Annabeth handed the book off to her younger self. All the adults looked worried. What was so bad about this emporium?

Annabeth read, "Chapter eleven: We visit the Garden Gnome Emporium"

Annabeth paused, and glanced at her older self and the son of Poseidon. "A garden gnome emporium?" She asked. The trio glanced at each other again, before nodding. It honestly didn't sound all that dangerous, until you learned who was in charge...

Hades cocked his head to the side. "The only gnome emporium that I can think of being in New Jersey is the one you use, dear." He said, turning to Persephone.

She frowned, but nodded. "Yes, the statue work is quite good, although for some reason the faces don't quite come out..."

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all looked at each other again. There was a reason for that. Did Persephone not even know who she was buying statues from?

(In a way, it's... gods out there,)

"So you have somebody to blame, right?" All the other futures asked him. He nodded, and the gods tried to decide if they should be insulted or disappointed.

Leo was too busy checking over what he had built of his machine, to see what he still had to do since he was so rudely interrupted the night before and shuffled off to bed. His train of thought had been broken, and he was quite pleased to see it was almost done, just a few more parts...

Not much longer before he had a cappuccino machine that could double as a rocket launcher.

It would be awesome.

(because you have... things go wrong.)

"Yeah, it is really nice. To know that there is actually someone out there messing with you, and you're not just having a bad day." Thalia said.

"Yeah, because in our case, we can usually go and beat them up to get them to stop." Percy agreed.

"Or find something to blackmail them with." Nico added.

Hazel and Jason looked at their siblings and cousin like they were all crazy, while the other Future Greeks looked like they were either in agreement or remembering one of the times the three were talking about. The past Greeks and Romans were wondering if they were going to be safe around these three. Frank and Hazel were wondering (again) if going to Alaska with this guy was a good idea after all.

The gods just looked like they weren't sure whether they should be scared or not.

(For instance, when... attacked by monster hags)

Hades frowned at hearing how his Furies were described. They weren't hags. Sure, they hadn't exactly aged well, but...

"I've walked away from several buses, and a few cars, after being attacked by monster hags now. Especially the last few weeks." Percy said with a shrug. Those Gorgons had not given up. Of course, now he actually remembered what they had been talking about whenever they accused him of killing their sister.

(and blown up by... just really bad luck;)

"Most people don't have gods looking over their shoulders making assumptions and getting offended over the smallest things." Percy muttered just loud enough for the other demigods to hear him.

Dakota snorted and took another sip of his kool-aid. "I think that just comes with the territory of being a demigod, man." He said, somewhat bitterly, making the Romans and Percy (except Reyna and Jason) look at him, surprised. First off, he was being really calm, second, they'd never heard him sound like that before. He usually had a sugar-high way of speaking. What they didn't know, was that he drank so much sugar on a regular basis, that it had almost no affect on him anymore, but he still acted like it did to throw them off. Also, Reyna and Jason only knew the extent of his past because they were his Praetor's. It was their job to know when something happened in the past that still affected their soldiers.

(when you're a half-blood,... mess up your day.)

"Not always when your a half-blood, though." Jason muttered to Leo and Piper, he was thinking of the mess they walked into at Aeolus's castle. How he changed the weather on the others whims because so-and-so was mad at this region, or they didn't want that region to have nice weather just because they were mad at the one requesting it. It had been madness. They nodded in agreement, knowing what he was thinking about.

(So there we were... reeking in our noses.)

Percy muttered something about giving the Hudson another sand-dollar, a whole one this time. Grover muttered something back about being grateful he was human and didn't have as good a nose.

Grover was grimacing, he had been by the Hudson before, it was both disgusting and sickening just how much the humans polluted it. Not to mention the smell!

(Grover was shivering... and full of terror.)

A few people winced. They didn't usually see Grover like that. Since meeting Percy, he had found a confidence that many had no idea he could be capable of. How did the goat go from this, to the person who turned a Titan into an Oak tree? Just what did they get up to on their quests?

Grover turned red when everyone heard about his older self's breakdown. He may not think very highly of himself or be very strong, but he was still male and he didn't want people seeing him this weak. Grover just grimaced at hearing how he used to be.

("Three Kindly Ones. All three at once.")

"You really don't have the best of luck, do you?" Katie and Gwen both asked. Katie had been suspiciously observing the Stoll brothers, but now she looked over at Percy in amazement.

"No, not really. It mostly depends on the circumstances, though." Percy answered with a shrug. The others looked at him while Annabeth laughed.

(I was pretty much... still rang in my ears.)

"Yeah, that was painful." Grover muttered.

Percy and Annabeth looked sympathetic, they were glad they didn't have his sense of hearing sometimes, while other times they wished they did.

(But Annabeth kept... we get, the better.")

"Good thinking." The Hermes crew said.

"Yeah, except they still have to worry about Zeus zapping them." Somebody muttered. Zeus sent a minor glare at them.

"Yeah, but they're away from the site of the monster attack. And with the rain, it will make it harder for any backup to track their scents." Thalia said to the group. Zoe, Artemis, and Apollo nodded in agreement. Since they were the hunters in the group, they were good at tracking.

("All our money was back there,")

"Which can be problematic when it comes to finding a new way west." Will said.

"Well, they could always hitch-hike if they have to."

"Not with Gabe plastering Percy's picture all over New York. Maybe if they were further away from the city... Either way, they are going to have to either, ah, borrow, some transportation, or find a way to get new bus tickets or even find a train station." Jason disagreed.

"Don't worry, we found a way." Percy said, with a grimace. He still couldn't believe they had to rely on a poodle of all things, not only that, but a pink poodle. That had to be a crime against canine's, having a pink, male dog... and the dogs name! What were those owners thinking?

Grover smirked at him, remembering how he made Percy say hi to Gladiola.

(I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything.")

"Which is why you don't ever take your bags off your person. And you don't leave your money in your bag, either." Annabeth said, adding the last part as an afterthought.

"Yeah, keep your money in your pocket if you have one, if not... then hide it in your shoe if you have to." Percy said in agreement. He was thinking of a movie he'd seen when he said that, if he remembered right, it was called... The Polar Express. Yeah, that was it, he used to watch it all the time on Christmas with his mom and sister, until Gabe came into their lives.

"Eew, but then it would get all sweaty and gross." Annabeth said with a grimace.

"Yeah, but at least you would still have it." Clarisse said with a shrug. Annabeth grimaced again, but nodded her agreement.

("Well, maybe if... into the fight-")

"What was he supposed to do?"

"Watch you get yourself killed?" The Stolls piped in from where they had been sitting quietly (which was setting a few people on edge).

Katie and both Lukes had been seen eyeing both sets of Stolls suspiciously, trying to figure out what they were up to.

Annabeth blushed, since that was the almost the exact same thing Percy had asked her at the time.

("What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?")

The Stolls high-fived each other with stupid grins on their faces.

"Hey, guys," Percy finally called over to them.

"Yes?" They asked.

Percy hesitated for a moment, studying their faces, before he spoke. "Don't cause damage and nothing that lasts too long." He finally said, warning them with his eyes not to try and disobey him on this.

They pouted for a moment, before they reluctantly promised not to, Percy was really the only one they would listen to, after all. Percy nodded and turned his attention back to the book, already knowing to keep an eye out for whenever they unleashed their idea. Everyone else started twitching with nerves, something which made the Percy's, and Stoll brothers eyes gleam. They could taste the fear...

("You didn't need to protect me, Percy.)

"Maybe I didn't need to, but I did anyway." Percy said quietly to Annabeth, who smiled and leaned into him more.

"Thank you." She said just as quietly. He grinned down at her.

Sally smiled softly as she watched their interactions. This is what she'd been missing for the past few months. She missed her son.

(I would've been fine.")

"You would have been taking the shortcut to the Underworld, but fine." Nico corrected. Grover and Percy snorted while Annabeth turned a little red again.

("Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine.")

Nico cocked his head, "Close enough." He said with a shrug. Everybody laughed.

("Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.)

"'M not a goat boy." Grover grumbled half-heartedly. It had been Thalia that started calling him that, back when he first found them on the streets. At first, he really hated being called that, but after she was turned into a tree, he wished she was still around to call him that, and when Annabeth called him that, he remembered how that was Thalia's name for him. When she came back and started calling him that again, his usual reminders that he wasn't a goat-boy were half-hearted at best.

He'd been too happy to have her back.

(Grover brayed mournfully... bag of tin cans.")

Percy reached over to give Grover a sympathetic pat on the back, while both Grovers looked like they were taking a moment of silence for the sacrificed tin cans.

"The food will always be mourned."

"And appreciated for its noble sacrifice." The Stolls said solemnly. The Grovers graciously thanked them for their kind words.

Everyone else either stared at the five of them like they were growing extra heads, or started laughing at them.

(We sloshed across... like sour laundry.)

"And that's only what my human nose can smell..." Percy muttered, glancing at Grover sympathetically. Grover huffed, but rubbed his nose, he swore he could smell it again.

(After a few minutes, Annabeth... That was really brave.")

Poseidon and a few others nodded in approval. She could swallow her pride, good. Not many demigods could do that, especially not children of Athena or Zeus. Plus a few others, but those two were the main ones.

Despite what many might think, pride was actually the number one demigod killer, not monsters. When a demigod was too proud to ask for help when they needed, or too proud to thank somebody for their help afterwards, resulting in the other demigod eventually having the attitude of 'if they don't want help, then I won't give it to them.'

Of course, demigods always stuck together. But there were times when they just wanted nothing to do with each other. And being ungrateful would get you on that list of people nobody wanted anything to do with.

"I wasn't trying to be brave, I was trying to help my friends out." Percy muttered.

("We're a team, right?")

"Dang right we're a team." Percy and Annabeth said proudly.

"You're the best team." Thalia said, with a slight grin.

"There isn't anything the two of them can't come out of."

"As long as they are together." Travis and Connor said cheerfully.

Nobody noticed two of the MS wince in their corner. Except for Sally, anyway. She narrowed her eyes, worried, when she saw the two she knew to be Annabeth and Percy wince. What happened? The one she knew to be Frank reached over and clapped the two of them on the shoulder gently in support. Whatever the Stolls said, brought up bad memories. She decided to wait until they actually got that far in the books, where she knew what happened, before she got too concerned.

(She was silent for... to see the real world.")

Everyone was silent. "You know, Annabeth..." Thalia started, trying to hide her amusement.

"You should have stuck with the 'thank you'." Luke finished, he wasn't even trying to hide it.

Annabeth turned red. "I... you guys know how I can be... I wasn't using him, honestly." She hurried to reassure the parents.

"Yeah, you kind of were." Percy said, trying not to laugh. "But that's ok, I can understand going cabin-crazy." He assured her. She smiled sheepishly at him. Poseidon just raised an eyebrow at her. He wasn't so sure he liked her using his son like that. He didn't say anything though, he knew there were plenty of times where Amphitrite used him in almost the exact same way Annabeth was using Percy at the beginning of this quest.

(The thunderstorm had finally let up.)

Poseidon nodded absently. That meant Zeus's attention had finally gone somewhere else for the time being. Either that, or Hestia had finally gotten him to knock it off before he flooded Hudson and killed a lot of people. Either way, he wasn't focused on Percy anymore.

That was a good thing.

Right?

(The city glow faded... almost total darkness.)

"It was strange. I'd never been without the lights of the city before. I'd never seen such darkness." Percy said. "Even in camp, there were still the lights from the court's fire pit, and the porch lights from all the cabins plus the Big House."

A few of the others who grew up in the city nodded in agreement with him. While those who grew up out in the countryside, where there were no city lights, looked at them in amusement. They had been unable to sleep for a while when they first arrived, because of the constant lights.

(I couldn't see... of her blond hair.)

"Couldn't see anything." Percy grumbled, rubbing his nose as he remembered that tree he ran into. It was very dark out... he wasn't used to such darkness! Annabeth tried to hide a smile while she patted him on the shoulder, but everyone except Percy noticed it.

("You haven't left... seven?" I asked her.)

Sally frowned. She knew the story behind Annabeth leaving home, and, while she was angry at Annabeth's father and step-mother, she also knew that things were better between them. But still, to run away when your only seven...

There's also the fact that there wouldn't have been very many other children her age around camp. If she remembered right, the youngest they usually got was around ten to twelve. That was when the demigods scent started becoming strong enough for monsters to find them. Usually, it depended on the demigod, and who their parent was. But, ten to twelve year olds don't usually want to hang around with a seven year old. She wouldn't have had anybody to play with when she wasn't training.

She sighed and waved off her men when the five of them (three Percy's, one Paul, and one Poseidon) looked at her in concern. Mentally, though, she was thinking of starting some kind of program for the younger demigods who lived at camp... she already offered her home as a safe-house whenever a demigod was in New York and needed somewhere to stay the night or medical attention and couldn't wait until they made it to camp. Why not offer her home to the younger ones who had nowhere else to go too? At least during the school year, that way they wouldn't be stuck in camp all the time... and have a chance to make some friends outside the Greek world.

("No... only short field... "The history professor.")

"What kind of history?" Frank asked, "Like, what's the time period he focuses on, or topic... whatever." His face was slightly red.

Annabeth smiled at him, though. "Well, mostly military history, he's been kind of obsessed with World War two for a while now, though. I think he used to teach a class at West Point, but..." She shrugged. "He said that when I showed up on his doorstep, he didn't have time for both West Point and me, so..."

"So he stopped teaching there to raise you." Hestia finished with a small smile. She knew what happened between Annabeth and her father, and she hated it. The two had been very close, once Frederick accepted that he had a daughter and figured out what he was supposed to do with her. But, they were talking now, so that was good. This was further proof in her mind that, Fredrick loved Annabeth more than anything else, which is what a family should do. West Point was a very good job, for him to give that up...

Annabeth smiled at her and nodded.

("Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home.)

"Unfortunately, it doesn't work out at home for far too many of our children." Hestia murmured, moving to sit next to Sally. She wanted to run a few ideas past the mortal, she was also considering giving Sally her blessing, this woman knew what the home really was. It wasn't just a house. Hestia was the goddess of the Home and Hearth. The home, where families lived, where children grew up; and the hearth, where families gathered around to enjoy each others company.

Many people tended to forget that, through her two domains, she was also the goddess of family. Hera could brag about it all she wanted, her domain was marriage, not the family itself. Sally Jackson (Blofis, now) embodied everything Hestia prized most. That was very rare in the world now.

Sally nodded and turned to her. "I wish there was something more that could be done, aside from sending out a satyr and hoping they make it to camp in one piece." She said. Hestia smiled at her.

"We'll have to discuss ideas later on, my dear." She said.

(I mean, Camp Half-Blood... camp you train and train.)

"What about being a child?" Sally asked quietly, and sadly. She knew that these kids had to be trained in order to survive, but to do nothing but train since you were seven? That wasn't a proper childhood. Paul clearly shared her concern.

Chiron shifted on his hooves. "I do try to give the younger children as much free time as possible, where they can just be children, but that is not always possible, they do need to know how to fight and defend themselves if they want to survive outside of camp." He reassured Sally and Paul, who also looked concerned.

Hestia spoke up quietly. "Every once in a while, I will join some of the children in a game of tag around the cabins. Or, some of the naiad's invite them for a game of hide-and-seek. We try to let them be children as well." The demigods looked at her, they hadn't known that she joined in their games. Although... they supposed that there were a few times where one of the players seemed a little too wise to be a kid like they were.

(And that's all cool... any good or not.")

Annabeth sighed. "I take it back, I would much rather stay at camp and forget about the real world outside." She said. The other future Greeks all nodded in agreement. That sounded like a good plan. Even Luke looked like he agreed.

At camp, all they had to worry about was the occasional monster that didn't feel like staying in the woods, but they didn't usually get very far before the wood nymphs and spirits dragged them back in.

"Although, you are definitely good enough." Clarisse grunted. Percy smirked at her, and she snapped. "Even I can recognize and compliment skill, Prissy!" Percy's smirk changed into a smile and she narrowed her eyes.

(If I didn't know any... doubt in her voice.)

Annabeth sighed again and grumbled about observant sons of Poseidon. Percy smirked while Grover laughed.

Amphitrite rolled her eyes to the side to look at her husband, she remembered saying something similar back when she first met him, before they got married.

("You're pretty good with that knife," I said.)

Everybody who ever sparred with her in the sword ring grimaced and nodded their agreement. When fighting her, one did not, under any circumstances let her get closer than their arms could reach. Reyna saw it and looked at Annabeth thoughtfully. Maybe the girl would be a good spar partner while they were here.

("You think so?")

"I know so." Percy whispered in Annabeth's ear before kissing her temple. Percy made a face behind his back, which made Annabeth laugh.

("Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me.")

Everyone groaned. There it was again.

"There you go again, saying the name. You do realize that if two of them weren't dead and the third probably in the middle of reporting back, you would have just told them exactly where we were and they would have come after us again. Without having to really search." Annabeth said, glaring slightly at her boyfriend.

Who just blinked at her slowly before he shrugged and pulled her into his side in a hug. She shook her head and silently asked Poseidon why she put up with him, only to hear a deep chuckle in her head. When she glanced up at the sea god, she saw him smiling at her. That same warm smile that Percy had. She smiled slightly back, feeling like she had just been accepted and approved.

"That was pretty cool though, seeing you on her back like that." Grover said with a smirk. She looked away from Poseidon to turn to the Satyr.

"Well of course it was, I was the one doing it." She said in the snobbiest voice she could muster.

Everyone laughed, dispelling the tension that had been building because of their current situation in the book.

(I couldn't really... she might've smiled.)

"Smirked, more like." Both Lukes and Thalia muttered. Both Annabeths smiled innocently. They did not fall for it at all.

Percy tilted his head to the side and considered, before he nodded in agreement. He knew Annabeth better now, and now he could say that she would have been smirking.

("You know," she said... an owl being tortured.)

Percy and Grover both froze, and glanced at Athena, who looked murderous. Then they frantically gestured for Annabeth to keep reading, but before she could, Amphitrite asked Annabeth if she remembered what she had been about to say. The boys groaned silently and tried to pretend Athena wasn't trying to glare them to death. (It was actually kind of easy to do, Grover had seen worse glares when Percy was annoyed with somebody and Percy had seen worse from the Titans he'd fought.)

She blinked for a moment, trying to remember, then she said, "I think I was going to point out what Alecto had said about finding it. Not him." Amphitrite nodded, and gestured Annabeth to keep reading before Athena tried to kill her stepson and his Satyr friend.

("Hey, my reed pipes still work!")

Athena looked slightly mollified, she stopped glaring straight at them at least, when she heard that there were no owls involved in the making of that sound.

She was still glaring though.

(Grover cried. "If I... suspiciously like Hilary Duff.)

"A lot of his songs sound like that, for some reason." Thalia muttered. Grover turned bright red.

"He went through a Hilary Duff phase after you turned into a tree. For a while, it was all he would play." Clarisse growled, glaring at Grover. She hated Hilary Duff! It had been so annoying. Clarisse was glaring at Grover, and both satyr's were cowering away from the girls.

Everyone else was trying not to laugh.

(Instead of finding a... knot on my head.)

Percy grimaced and rubbed his head where he hit it all those years ago while everybody else laughed or winced in sympathy. They'd all done that at some point, mostly during Capture the Flag games when they were in a dark part of the woods.

(Add to the list of...have: infrared vision.)

"No..." Percy started lowly, not that everyone knew who he was, "But... you can sense things, kinda like a bat does, using the water in the air." A few people started, they hadn't been expecting any of the MS to speak.

"How do you know that?" Athena asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

He shrugged. "I know a few sons of Poseidon..." He said cryptically. Not telling the others that he was the son of Poseidon. Poseidon himself and Sally smirked slightly, while Percy looked considering. He hadn't even thought of trying that... he'd use a break or something and experiment with his powers.

Zeus got a worried look on his face, his paranoia rearing up. Just how powerful would this boy get? He had to make plans... the boy couldn't be allowed to get too powerful. He glanced towards his older brother, only to find Poseidon glaring at him, daring him to follow through on his thoughts. He narrowed his eyes and turned back to Annabeth.

(After tripping and cursing... nymph-prepared barbecue.)

"Perfect for the kind of training you have." Demeter said with a nod. "Although it could use more grains..." She said suggestively, looking at Dionysus with a small glare.

He sighed, annoyed. "I told you, their meals are fine as they are. The nymphs know what they are doing, and they all said that too many grains and not enough protein would not be good for the brats level of activity. Their words, not mine." He told her, not happy that she was bringing this up again. "The nymphs have their meals balanced as they should be."

Demeter started to speak again, when Hestia spoke up. "Demeter, leave it. Dionysus is in charge of the camp, which includes the meals. His decision is final." She, too, was tired of Demeter trying to force everyone to eat more grains. Demeter pouted at her older sister, but didn't say anything else.

"There is more variety than that though, isn't there?" Sally asked. Children needed variety in their lives, in her opinion it encouraged their imagination and creativity.

"Yes, there is some variety, but that is the main meal." Dionysus said, bored, while he sipped at his wine.

(This boy needed a double cheeseburger.)

"That's another reason why I didn't really stick around camp for the year, and went to school instead. They don't have cheeseburgers!" Thalia said. She required her cheeseburgers.

"Yeah, you wouldn't survive long without a cheeseburger." Percy agreed. She nodded, very seriously, in agreement. The parents all looked at the two of them like they were growing extra heads while the demigods were trying not to laugh.

Everyone knew, that when Thalia, Nico, and Percy got together, you could expect to find them at the closest restaurant that sold cheeseburgers.

They all had their different food obsessions; Percy was anything baked by his mother (mostly her cookies) and pizza, Thalia was cheeseburgers, while Nico was Happy Meals from McDonald's and Sally's cake. They all learned years ago not to question it. They just knew that if they were together, to look in Sally's kitchen or the places that sold those foods first. If they were not there, then they had to wait for them to show up again, because they wouldn't be found.

(We kept walking... through the trees.)

"Don't go there. It's a trap." Most of the demigods immediately said.

"Guys, this already happened."

They all looked at each other and sighed in defeat, before bracing themselves for what was about to happen, whatever that was.

(On the other side was a closed-down gas station,)

"Trap." Percy raised an eyebrow at everybody.

(a tattered billboard... and one open business,)

"Trap." Was said again. Percy and Annabeth blinked at everyone.

(which was the... the good smell.)

"We know, its a trap." Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all chimed when those who spoke earlier went to open their mouths again.

"It did smell good, though." Percy muttered to Annabeth. She nodded in agreement.

(It wasn't a fast-food... and stuff like that.)

"Those places still exist?" Sally asked, blinking in shock. Those were the kinds of places her uncle would always stop at the few times they went somewhere when she was younger. She never knew why, either, until one day he told her that whenever he would travel as a kid with his family, his parents always stopped there, and his sister (her mother) would always get a small carved grizzly.

Ever since then, he would stop and she would get a small carved grizzly of her own. She could barely remember her parents, but she still missed them.

"There are still a few around." Hermes said with a shrug. "Especially out west and around the Reserves."

(The main building... cursive neon English.)

All the dyslexic demigods in the room groaned and nodded in agreement, a few of them muttering curses to the headache inducing letters, while a few others muttered about inconsiderate jerks. The parents looked at them wide-eyed. Was it really that bad for them?

"Just thinking about it gives me a headache." Clarisse said to her fellow dyslexic Greeks. They nodded in agreement. For some reason, none of the Romans seemed to have the same problem that the Greeks did. And it actually kind of ticked the Greeks off, if they really thought about it.

(To me, it looked... GOMEN MEPROUIM.)

All the adults looked at Annabeth with wide eyes. What on earth did she just say? Athena came over to see it and was alarmed, was this really what they saw when they tried to read? This was worse than she thought... she always thought that they could get it if they just tried harder... she knew that dyslexia was a problem for them, but she never really thought it was this bad.

She resolved to review the programs in place and different tools and methods that were out there for making it easier for dyslexic kids to read. This was horrible.

("What the heck does... she was dyslexic, too.)

"Most of the books I read, though, are in Ancient Greek." Annabeth explained to the room with a shrug.

Thalia nodded, "It's much easier to read." She said in agreement.

(Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium.")

Triton paled. "Aunty Em? Oh no, leave. Leave that place right now and don't look back." He instructed with wide eyes. He knew exactly who that was.

"Triton? What's wrong?" Poseidon asked, concerned.

"Aunty Em is what she wanted me to call her, before she started getting all creepy and stalker on you." Triton told his father. "They're walking right into her trap."

"Oh no." Poseidon said, and looked at his son, concerned. He hadn't done enough back then to keep her away from him and his family, and then the whole thing with Athena turning her into what she was now...

Everyone was looking at the trio concerned, until Persephone gasped as she understood who they were talking about. "But that's where we get our statues from..." She said to Hades. She had always hated Medusa, and now that she knew Medusa was the one she was getting statues from... well, she would not be getting anymore of them.

(Flanking the entrance... cement garden gnomes,)

"Ugh, nasty little creatures." Demeter and Persephone both muttered. They absolutely destroyed the garden if you didn't keep them out, they liked to tunnel underneath the soil, which could mess with the root systems of the plants depending on where they went. They also had a habit of taking off with gardening tools.

"Serves them right being statues." Demeter said louder.

Amphitrite hid a smile, she didn't have to deal with those things, her garden was under the sea, gnomes couldn't swim.

(ugly bearded little runts... smell of the hamburgers.)

Poseidon groaned quietly, he was already under her spell. It would be difficult for him to get away now. He would say impossible, except that Percy looked so much like him, that it should give them a chance to get away. Annabeth was the only one he worried about making it out, she would not be merciful to the daughter of Athena.

("Hey..." Grover warned.)

"You know, you two should really listen to me more often." Grover said with a slight pout. The two of them pouted (Percy) and scowled (Annabeth) before they sheepishly grinned at him, but neither said a word.

Everyone else happened to agree with the satyr though. They really didn't listen to him, ever.

("The lights are on... "Maybe it's open.")

"Just what time was this?" Gwen suddenly asked. Percy and Annabeth shrugged. They didn't have a watch or something on them at the time.

"Well, it's dark, and its summer, so I would say it was after ten at least." Luke said out loud.

"Right, what kind of place that isn't a fast food restaurant would be open after ten?" Gwen asked the trio who were on this quest.

"We were twelve, I hadn't been outside camp much since I was seven, and it had been a long day." Annabeth defended, Percy nodded beside her.

Gwen stared at them for a second before she said anything. "I will accept the excuse that you hadn't been out in the real world in a while before this, but not your age. Your training instructors would have taught you to be more careful about this kind of place, at least I hope they did," She said, pointing to Annabeth, "And your mother is amazing and would have taught you to be more careful than this." She said, pointing to Percy.

Everyone looked at Sally. She shrugged and nodded in agreement, that yes, she had taught him to be more careful than this.

("Snack bar," I said wistfully.

"Snack bar," she agreed.)

"And... those two are already under her spell." Poseidon muttered to Amphitrite. She looked at him in sympathy, he knew what it felt like to be under her spell, and even not remember what happened afterwards.

("Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird.")

"Yeah, it kind of was..." Percy muttered.

"Yup, when Medusa was gone and we weren't under her influence anymore." Annabeth agreed.

(We ignored him.)

"Isn't that one of the camp motto's?" Leo asked.

"Yup, listening to the satyr's..."

"...and the centaur are basic..."

"... for survival." The Stolls chimed in, finally coming out of their corner to join everyone else. Everyone else eyed them suspiciously.

Annabeth and Percy decided to ignore them and Grover's smug 'I told you so' look.

(The front lot was... cement children,)

Sally gasped quietly, she had just started to realize who this was, but she was going to wait until it was confirmed, but if she was right... she even got children? She prayed that none of those children suffered at least, but still! To target children! Hestia glanced over and put a comforting hand on her knee.

"I hope that you didn't buy the children statues." She said sharply to her niece/sister-in-law.

Persephone looked at her for a second before slowly shaking her head, she hadn't bought any of the children statues, she hadn't liked how they looked so afraid, children should never look like that, she preferred watching children playing in the meadows during spring.

(even a cement satyr playing the pipes,)

Hermes and Dionysus both stiffened. She had a Satyr? "Would you be able to do something about speeding up her 'rebirth', if something were to happen to her?" Hermes asked Hades. He was going to make sure she learned, you do not mess with his satyr's.

"I could... it would take some effort and quite a bit of power, but I could do it. Why?" Hades asked, watching his nephew carefully.

"She is going to learn that you don't mess with Satyr's, and I want to make sure that if I go too far then I can get her back quickly to start over again." Hermes said with a hard look.

"I will help you in that endeavor, brother." Dionysus raised his wine glass to his half-sibling, those were his satyrs, she wasn't going to ever touch them again.

(which gave Grover... my Uncle Ferdinand!")

Chiron and Dionysus flinched slightly, they liked Ferdinand, he'd been one of the best protectors they had. He had his searcher's license, of course, but he didn't go off on a search like most did. He still Searched, but he decided to search around his time when he was finding and protecting demigods. He was one of the best trainers they had back then, they had never found out what happened to him.

That was one of the reasons why the Council of Cloven Elders was so hard on him, they were expecting him to be just as great as his uncle, and then it never happened. Well, not yet... And now that they knew what happened to him, they were going to make her pay. They were going to make it very painful for her.

(We stopped at the... "I smell monsters.")

"Listen to Grover." Almost all the demigods yelled.

"Guys, years ago." Percy grumbled, but otherwise neither he nor Annabeth reacted.

("Your nose is clogged... Annabeth told him.)

"They're never going to listen to him, are they?" Thalia asked rhetorically, they never listened to Grover, never. It was a wonder they were still alive, the number of times Grover warned them and they didn't listen, leading to them walking right into a trap of some kind.

"In this case, I'm afraid that it's not completely their fault." Apollo said to his half-sister.

"Yes, Medusa is almost as good as Circe when it comes to ensnaring people." Amphitrite said sourly. She really didn't like Medusa, what with all the trouble she caused them, not to mention all the stalking she did on Amphitrite's husband.

("All I smell is burgers.)

"Some sorceress's use song, some use their looks, others use food." Amphitrite muttered.

(Aren't you hungry?"... "I'm a vegetarian.")

"Preach it!" Piper called out. The Grover's grinned at her.

("You eat cheese enchiladas... I reminded him.)

"Those are vegetables!" Both Grovers defended themselves. Piper made a face, those weren't exactly what she would consider vegetables.

("Those are vegetables.)

"See." The Grovers said, nodding importantly. He got a few laughs.

(Come on. Let's leave. These statues are... looking at me.")

"It was very creepy." Percy agreed.

"Once we noticed them, anyway." Annabeth added.

(Then the door creaked... she was Middle Eastern,)

"Close to that region, but try Greek." Annabeth muttered. She had an idea of what was going on, based on all the statues and comments made by Poseidon.

Percy just raised his eyebrows at her, he was feeling oddly sentimental hearing her talk like that, his Annabeth still gave information out like that, but her tone no longer held that air of, 'you are an absolute idiot, why am I even bothering, your never going to understand it'. Annabeth's had.

(because she wore a... been a beautiful lady.)

"Oh, she was very beautiful once upon a time." Poseidon said to his wife in agreement. "She was also very creepy and dangerous to underwater security." She nodded in agreement.

"Hey, if she was really beautiful once, then why did both her sisters say she was the ugliest of them?" Percy questioned Annabeth quietly, confused. He'd actually been wondering this since the chapter began.

"That was her true appearance, she used to have the ability to change her appearance at will, and she used to be able to control her powers to turn people to stone. It wasn't until after Athena cursed her, that she lost the ability to change her appearance, and to control her power." Annabeth answered just as quietly.

"So... basically, her powers were locked away, making her an even bigger monster than before." Percy deadpanned.

"...Yeah." Annabeth said, looking at him.

"... Do you think the Fates would mind if I attacked your mom right now?" Percy asked, staring at Athena.

(Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too.)

"Greek." Annabeth muttered.

(She said, "Children, it is...

"We're orphans," I said.)

"You came up with that one pretty quick..." Sally said.

Both Percy's turned red. "We, ah... that was a favorite excuse of Lily's, whenever some adult wanted to call our parents to complain about us. Say we were orphans, and then when they were distracted with that, make a run for it." Percy muttered.

"Really? And just what would they be wanting to call to complain about?" Sally asked lightly.

"Our latest prank." Both boys said, unashamed. Their mother looked at them and sighed.

The Stolls looked at each other and grinned before they went back to planning. What they were planning, nobody wanted to know.

"It was kind of true for him, though, at the moment." Percy muttered to Triton, laying down so his head was in his brothers lap and he was curled against his leg. A few of the girls 'awed' over how adorable it was. It was true though, Percy's father may have been alive, but it wasn't like he could really be with him, and he had just watched his mother die not a week earlier.

("Orphans?" the woman said... from our caravan,")

People looked around and blinked in confusion, what caravan?

(I said. "Our circus caravan.)

There was silence for a moment while people blinked at each other before slowly turning to look at Percy in confusion.

"Circus caravan?" Annabeth muttered. Percy just looked at her, but didn't say anything. Triton looked at Percy in concern when he tensed, and started running his fingers through his hair comfortingly.

(The ringmaster told us... Is that food I smell?")

"Typical childish ramblings..."

"...of a lost...,

"...scared and lonely...,"

"...twelve year old, check." The Stolls said with a nod.

"Although, you almost blew it asking about food so abruptly at the end, there." Luke added in.

The three got a pillow thrown at their heads for their troubles.

("Oh, my dears," the woman... please. There is a dining area.")

"You gotta admit though, until she started with insisting on a picture, she played the part of an old granny pretty well." Percy said with a shrug. The others either looked at him like he was growing another head, or looked thoughtful while they tried to figure out who this was. Annabeth and Grover considered for a moment before they nodded in agreement.

(We thanked her and went inside.

Annabeth muttered to me, "Circus caravan?")

"Yeah, where did that one come from?" Annabeth finally asked. Everyone else perked up, they wanted to know, and Percy so far wasn't talking, but he never could deny Annabeth an answer unless it wasn't his secret to share.

Percy looked around before he sighed and shrugged. "Gabe used to threaten to sell us to the circus all the time. I think he had some connections somewhere... anyway, he was always saying we would be the main attraction for the magicians show where they saw people in half. I think I had Gabe on my mind, because of that poster we saw, so..." He shrugged again, trying to sound nonchalant, like Gabe's threats hadn't terrified him and his sister.

And promptly ignored how Gabe disappeared along with Poseidon and Sally.

This surprised those who didn't really know Sally. Yes, they saw her attack him earlier, but that was when he said something he really shouldn't have, they would have never thought that she would have it in her. But those people hadn't seen her at the Battle of Manhattan, fighting monsters. Those people didn't know that she would take on Kronos and Gaea together if it meant keeping her loved ones safe.

("Always have a strategy, right?"

"Your head is full of kelp.")

"No." Thalia suddenly yelled, pointing a finger at Annabeth. "That is my nickname for him, you have your own." She said seriously. Annabeth held her hands up in surrender, but smiled innocently.

"I don't know what your talking about, Thalia. I didn't say anything."

Thalia narrowed her eyes, "You came close enough. Like I said, you have your own nickname for him. He is my Kelp Headed cousin, while he is your Seaweed Brain."

"Wow, I'm feeling the love right now." Percy said dryly.

(The warehouse was filled with more statues-)

"Just how many victims has she had over the years?" Rachel breathed in disbelief.

"I don't know how many were there, plus the ones she had sold off, but I bet the police would have a field day with that place, it would close so many missing persons cases." Annabeth said just as quietly.

(people in all different... expressions on their faces.)

"The ones who didn't look afraid must have been mortals without the Sight. Those who were afraid are the ones who could see her true appearance. Demigods and mortals like Sally and Rachel, who can see through the Mist." Annabeth mused thoughtfully. Percy blinked at her, wondering where this was coming from. Grover shrugged.

(I was thinking you'd... even one of these statues,)

Persephone scowled. Pretty huge just about described her garden, she had dozens of those statues. No more. She wasn't doing anymore business with Medusa. She hated that woman.

(because they were all... was thinking about food.)

Most of the girls groaned while the boys all looked at each other and shrugged, because that was actually perfectly understandable.

"Males. They are such pigs." Zoe said in disgust. Artemis and Thalia nodded their agreement while some of the males in the room looked at her, offended, but not really willing to get into it with the immortal Huntress.

(Go ahead, call me an idiot)

"You're an idiot." Everyone turned to him and said.

Percy pouted. "I didn't mean literally..." He muttered. Annabeth smiled at him and kissed him before leaning against him again and ignoring her mothers glare (directed solely at him). Poseidon and Sally returned just in time to hear them and they both hid grins.

(for walking into a... do impulsive stuff sometimes.)

"Sometimes?" All the Greeks asked dryly.

"Cousin, try all the time." Thalia said, moving behind him and draping herself over his back.

"Oh, come on, like none of you ever do stupid stuff on impulse. Especially you, Thals." Percy scoffed, moving forward to dislodge his cousin, especially once he saw Artemis and Zoe glaring at him for her touching him like this.

"I am not nearly as impulsive as you are." Thalia retorted, moving forward with him to stay draped, he wasn't dislodging her that easily.

"Oh, so joining the Hunters as the lieutenant wasn't impulsive?" Percy asked, giving up on getting her off him so easily and working on moving her arms from around his neck.

"No, I'd been thinking about joining them during the entire flight to Olympus..."

"That wasn't very long to make such a big decision." Annabeth pointed out through her laughter.

"... and it wasn't like I was expecting her to just make me the lieutenant, I was expecting Phoebe or something to be put in charge." Thalia said with a shrug, ignoring Annabeth and everyone else who was laughing at the two of them.

"Nico, help me out here!" Percy whined to his younger cousin when he couldn't remove Thalia's arms. Nico shook his head, but shadow-traveled behind Thalia and grabbed her before shadow-traveling back to his seat, being careful to only take her with him. She pouted at him, but sat down without too much problems.

Zoe and Artemis seemed like they couldn't decide who to glare at the most for touching a Sister, Nico or Percy. They ignored the part where the three were cousins who acted more like siblings.

(Plus, you've never smelled... gas in the dentist's chair-)

Sally started laughing about something while all three Percy's started grumbling and pouting, not that everyone could see the oldest Percy's reaction. Nobody could get her to calm down enough to tell them what was so funny, although they could guess it had to do with Percy's reaction to laughing gas during a dental visit.

(it made everything else go away.)

"He's under a spell. Or drugged, either way, he's not getting out of there easily." Poseidon said with a sigh. That was how she got him into her bed that one time, he had wanted nothing to do with her before that. Sure, she was beautiful, but she was also really creepy. Luckily it never happened again, but it was enough for the twins to be born. Pegasus and Chrysaor. He never did find out how she found something that would influence him so completely.

Sally, who had calmed down by now, whimpered in worry and leaned into Paul when he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's not a spell through the Mist or anything, though, because you said the Mist either wouldn't affect him at all, or would do more than intended." Annabeth asked with a slight frown.

"No, if I'm right about who this is... it's not through the Mist. Never through the Mist." Hermes said, seriously.

(I barely noticed Grover's... locked the door behind us.)

"Oh, no." Sally whispered, Paul's arms were all that was keeping her seated, and not running over to grab her son and never let go. Mrs. O'Leary whined and licked her human on the head, putting her big head as close to being in his lap as possible.

Percy made a disgusted face before using his power over water to clean the slobber out of his hair before he started petting Mrs. O'Leary's head comfortingly.

(All I cared about was finding the dining area.)

Artemis and Zoe snorted quietly. Of course, ignoring the knowledge of who this is and that the male was currently being controlled, that was so like men.

(And sure enough, there... a nacho cheese dispenser.)

"Hmm, that sounds good." A few of the guys muttered.

Zoe looked at them incredulously, "We just ate breakfast! Males!" She grumbled.

Sally laughed good-naturedly, and a little hysterically, but this was a good distraction. Hestia shook her head, too, but made a table with snacks appear nearby. She knew that the boys would be fine, they would be more than able to eat a full lunch later on. They were teenage boys, after all.

Not only that, but they were DEMIGOD teenage boys.

(Everything you could... picnic tables out front.)

"Those tables looked so good" Grover grumbled longingly. Percy and Annabeth gave him a strange look.

"I don't think you would want to eat those, Man, you don't know how many years worth of dirt, grease, and dust were on those things. They would have given you food poisoning." Percy told his friend, very seriously.

"I would have cleaned them off first." Grover defended himself.

("Please, sit down," Aunty Em... have any money, ma'am.")

"You tried, dear." Hestia said with a slight smile. Poseidon grimaced, he tried, but unfortunately it wouldn't have worked. Grover sighed, he couldn't get Percy and Annabeth to listen to him and leave, so he tried to get the lady to kick them out since they couldn't pay.

It might have worked if it had been a mortal woman, in theory, she wouldn't have been able to afford to feed them, since she hadn't had business in a while. Hey, you never know with mortals sometimes, most of the ones he had seen would have kicked them out if they couldn't pay for the help in some way, it was rare for people to just do things out of the goodness of their hearts anymore.

(Before I could jab him... This is a special case, yes?)

"Yeah, it's special alright, you have a child of Athena and Poseidon together." Gwen muttered, she was remembering how Percy was chased into Camp Jupiter by two Gorgons, and now they were in a warehouse surrounded by statues, one of which was a satyr.

Although, from what little she knew of the Greek side of things, to say Poseidon and Athena didn't get along was an understatement, and that generally bled down to their children. But, from what had been said in the reading, it sounded like the cause of that was a misunderstanding on Athena's part, and then her holding a grudge and refusing to let it go. There was probably other stuff that added to it, though, over the years.

(It is my treat, for... done something wrong,)

"She did, she spoke." Poseidon muttered. Medusa certainly hated anything to do with Athena, and those grey eyes of Annabeth's would have told her everything she needed to know about Annabeth's parentage.

(but then the old woman... been my imagination.)

"You are very observant." Ares said with a tilt to his head. "You shouldn't dismiss your observations so easily." He lectured.

Percy blinked at him, but nodded his agreement.

("Quite all right, Annabeth," she said.)

Annabeth went silent and quickly reread some of the chapter. "You never gave her your names or said them within earshot of her." She said quietly, and everyone who had not yet guessed who this was based on Triton's conversation with Poseidon, paled.

Only the most dangerous of monsters usually knew your name like that. They had already guessed that this was a trap, and this woman a monster, but now...

("You have such beautiful... XXL servings of French Fries.)

"It was so good." Percy moaned, slumping back in his seat dramatically.

Demeter looked disgusted. "All that fat! Grease! How can you eat something so unhealthy?!" She demanded.

"That's part of what..."

"...makes it so good!"

"All that greasy goodness!" The Stolls chimed in. She looked even more disgusted.

"It was the first thing I'd eaten in years that was so unhealthy." Annabeth confessed. "Yeah, there was the stuff Hermes cabin can bring in, but anything you ask them for has to be something easily hidden, you know?"

"Stuff the Hermes cabin brings in?" Demeter asked suspiciously. The Hermes kids all gave Annabeth a dirty look.

She saw them and glared back, "Oh, come on, it's not like Mr. D doesn't already know everytime you leave camp." They looked at their camp director warily, but he just raised his wine glass in a toast before looking at Demeter, challenging.

"I-" She started to scold, but was cut off.

"Demeter, let the children of Hermes be children of Hermes. We don't make your children stop being themselves, and stop gardening. Just leave them be." Hestia said firmly. Demeter opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again in a huff when Hestia raised an eyebrow. It wasn't often that Hestia used her authority over them as the eldest, but she was using it a lot since this reading began.

The children of Hermes sighed, relieved, when Demeter stopped trying to scold them.

(I was halfway through... I remembered to breathe.)

A few of the girls looked disgusted, and Percy's eyes glazed over as he remembered that burger. It was honestly, at the time, the best thing he'd eaten in weeks.

(Annabeth slurped her shake.)

"I hadn't had a shake in a while." Annabeth said, with a slightly dreamy look. She loved shakes, her and her father used to go out all the time and get shakes, those were some of her favorite memories, memories of a time before her stepmother came into the picture.

"You do love shakes." Percy said, slightly amused. Whenever they went out, she always got a shake, and it was always amusing to see how she could put those shakes away. He got a fist to his shoulder for his troubles.

(Grover picked at the... he might go for that,)

Grover grumbled, "Perfectly good wax paper, and I was too nervous to properly enjoy it." He had eaten it, but he was too nervous to taste it properly.

Grover blinked, before his eyes glazed over at the thought of good quality wax paper. It was hard to come by, you could find wax paper anywhere, but some of it you wouldn't want to eat. It was kind of the difference between good milk, and sour milk. You really didn't want to drink/eat the bad stuff.

(but he still looked too... have keen ears, Grover.")

Percy leaned over towards Luke. "Did you or him happen to let any monsters on our route know we were coming? 'Cuz, I can understand her knowing Annabeth's name, that whole thing with Athena, but Grovers...?" He asked lowly.

Luke frowned, "I didn't contact any monsters, either on my own, or on his orders. I did inform him when you set out and who went with you, he may have kept some of the more powerful monsters on your most likely route informed of your progress. I do know he wasn't happy when you killed Medusa. He had plans for her." He finished with a slight smirk. He had been worried sick when he found out that Annabeth and Grover had been anywhere near a monster like Medusa. He worried about Percy too... somewhat. He didn't know the kid long enough to really care that much, not over Grover and Annabeth.

Percy sat back, his face a strange mix of smug smirk, and troubled frown.

("I take vitamins. For my ears.")

All the Hermes crew groaned. That excuse was terrible! "Are vitamin for ears even a thing?" Rachel asked Katie.

Katie just shrugged. "It wouldn't surprise me, they have stuff for just about anything these days." She said.

"Grover, I think you need..."

"... to learn the finer points of..."

"... excuse making."

"Just stick with us, we'll help you out." The Stolls were telling Grover.

"We expect to see you..."

"... every evening after reading..."

"... and before we get sent to bed." The Stolls told Grover. They didn't even give him the 'option' that their older pair gave the older satyr. Both Grovers looked suitably scared.

("That's admirable," she said... her fingers and watched us eat.)

"Creepy." Dakota singsonged a bit.

"Tell me about it." Grover, Percy, and Annabeth muttered.

(It was a little unsettling,)

"At least you were still somewhat aware of what was going on." Grover muttered to himself. It frustrated him that they never listened to him when it really counted, and then asked his advice the rest of the time.

(having someone stare at... burger, and a little sleepy,)

"She probably had something else in the food." Poseidon muttered to Amphitrite.

"She always was fairly close to Circe, dear." She reminded her husband.

He grimaced, "That is true."

(and I figured the least I... small talk with our hostess.)

"Well, at least you remembered your manners." Sally mumbled, slumping against Paul. She knew something was wrong, and she thought she knew what, but she was denying it. Denial didn't stop her from being worried, though.

"Only Percy, could be in a dangerous situation, and still remember his manners." Thalia said, exasperated (and a touch fondly, not that she would ever admit it).

"It's not like I was completely aware, or that I knew it was a dangerous situation yet." Percy muttered.

("So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested.)

"You failed." Annabeth informed him. He gave her a dark look.

("Oh, yes," Aunty Em said... is very popular, you know.")

"Hmm, I don't think it's actually that popular... is it?" Will asked Katie. He wasn't big on gardening, not like she was.

"Well, full sized like those would be... those can get pretty expensive, and you'd have to actually have the space for it. Small, animal statues, those can fit pretty much anywhere and they aren't too horribly expensive. So those do sell pretty well." Katie said with a shrug.

"It depends on what kind of garden you have. Flower gardens, statues would be welcome in them, if it was a vegetable garden, they might not be the best addition." Persephone added. "Of course, a mixed garden, further decorations would need to be done right so they're not overwhelming."

("A lot of business on this road?")

"The amount of statues would suggest there was at some point, but the closed down gas station would suggest that the traffic is long since gone." Hermes muttered, to Athena's shock, since he just said something smart sounding. Hermes noticed her shock and scowled, when talking about traveling and the like, that was his area of expertise, of course he would know what he was talking about.

"Hm, it makes you wonder where most of her victims came from, that gas station looked like it had been closed for a while." Annabeth muttered to Percy.

"Well, she has been stationed there for a long time, and if she doesn't get many buyers, then it makes sense that they would all just sit there and collect." Percy said back, she tilted her head and considered before she nodded, he had a point.

("Not so much, no. Since... but it was just a statue)

Hades and Persephone frowned. They were going to have to check the records, but... was there a possibility that her statues were still alive? They had never considered the possibility before... or course, it could also just be Percy's instincts trying to tell him that something was wrong.

Of course, there was also the fact that even if they were alive, they would have to figure out how to change them back from being statues. And, if they even should with some of them, they'd been statues for a long time, it might be kinder to let them stay statues than try to introduce them to a new time period.

"I hate that feeling." Most of the demigods muttered. The feeling that you were being watched was a demigods nightmare, most of the time they really were being watched, they just couldn't see the person, or in their case, monster. It only served to make them more paranoid than usual about being attacked.

(of a young girl holding an Easter basket.)

"She must have been in the area with her family, celebrating Easter, and then stumbled on the warehouse during an egg hunt or something, only to be turned into a statue." Sally said, sad for the girl and for what her family must have gone through when she went missing (unless her family joined her as statues). She vaguely remembered going on Easter egg hunts with her own parents when she was younger.

Hestia reached over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder while Paul pulled her into a hug.

(The detail was incredible... most garden statues.)

"Most garden statues weren't living, breathing people at one point in time." Percy muttered.

(But something was wrong... startled, or even terrified.)

"She must have been able to see through the Mist, even just a little bit," Athena said thoughtfully. "Otherwise she would not be so terrified, she would have seen what Medusa really looks like."

"And whose fault is that?" Percy muttered to Annabeth, who hid her smile. Percy tried to get along with Athena, for her sake, but that didn't change the fact that he did NOT like her mother, not that she really blamed him, considering how Athena treated him.

("Ah," Aunty Em said sadly... to get right. Always the face.")

"That's because the last thing they see is her ugly face." Percy muttered to Grover and Annabeth.

"When did you see her face?" Annabeth asked.

"Her sisters. While they were chasing me, they were always going on about how their mother always compared her to them, about how she could turn people to stone while they couldn't. That's when they told me they were the pretty ones in their family. If she was more hideous than her sisters, then I don't want to know what she looked like, her sisters were ugly enough." He said quietly. Both Annabeth and Grover made a face. "Although it makes a lot more sense now that I know her beauty was a cover."

"Either way, seeing something like that would be pretty terrifying. Especially if your not expecting it."

("You make these statues yourself?" I asked.)

"I was actually pretty impressed, there were a lot of statues, and the thought that she made them all by herself... and the detail was amazing." Percy said with a shrug.

"Yeah, and then you learned how the statues were made." Annabeth challenged.

"Yeah, after that, the impressed thoughts turned into disgust and revulsion." Percy agreed with a nod.

("Oh, yes. Once upon a... help me in the business,)

"She must have been production while they were management and customer service." Annabeth quipped, earning a laugh, at least.

(but they have passed on... help feeling sorry for her.)

"And now?" Thalia asked, curious.

"Now, I could care less." Percy said with a shrug. Those who figured it out already smirked, while those who had no clue looked at Percy shocked.

Sure, they already knew that this was a monster, but that seemed cold-hearted, especially for Percy.

(Annabeth had stopped eating... and said, "Two sisters?")

"I'd already suspected something was wrong, but that's when I started to realize who she was. Two sisters, statues, it started to click. How she knew my name..." Annabeth said with a shrug.

"And it's a good thing you did, too." Percy muttered. He couldn't understand why his older self was acting this way, he never took food from strangers, he knew better, he never even took food from Gabe (the occasional stolen piece of pizza didn't count). His older self was acting strangely trusting. He knew that his father said it was some kind of spell, but he couldn't understand how any spell could be this strong that it would cause such a personality switch.

("It's a terrible story,"... I had a... a boyfriend,)

Poseidon shuddered at being called that woman's boyfriend. "I was not her boyfriend, more like her victim." He muttered, and Amphitrite patted his arm reassuringly.

(you know, and this... caused a terrible accident.)

"It wasn't an accident," Athena said primly, she was actually quite proud of her punishment for Medusa. Although, she hadn't anticipated also 'turning off' her statue making ability. That part had caused a problem. She tried to ignore the part where she had just figured out who this could be, where others figured out a long time.

(My sisters stayed by me... passed on. They faded away.)

"No they didn't. If they had faded, they wouldn't have been chasing me through California. I wonder why she thought they faded." Percy said, he was honestly confused about that.

"She must have thought they did." Annabeth said with a shrug. "Either she just hadn't heard from them in a while, or hadn't heard of them being killed. They were probably slow reformers." She finished reasonably. A few others nodded in agreement.

(I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price.")

Those demigods who were there at the end of the Titan War, when Percy rejected the gods offer of immortality, all turned to him. He hadn't said it, but right before he refused their offer, he had looked at them, and looked thoughtful. Had he been imagining what it would be like to continue on while everyone he knew died? Knowing him, he'd probably been more affected by what all the immortal monsters/enemies over the years had said than any of them realized.

Hermes sat back in his throne and sighed. "It can be a burden sometimes, especially when you are a father and have to watch your children live and die." He murmured.

"We know where they go though, and we can always visit if we want, and if Hades allows it." Apollo said quietly in comfort. Hermes flashed a grateful smile at him.

"Is that why you turned down immortality?" Clarisse finally asked. She'd been wondering. The gods looked at him in shock, why would somebody turn down immortality?

Percy was quiet for a moment. "Mostly, partly... I had other reasons though." He said finally. The gods kept looking at him in shock, although Poseidon also looked proud. Sure, he was a little disappointed that he wouldn't have one of his sons with him over the centuries, but... then again, he could always keep the offer open, and hope Percy took it when he was older or something, or extend it to Annabeth... He thought he knew why Percy turned it down.

(I wasn't sure what she meant, but I felt bad for her.)

"That's your heart, speaking." Annabeth said with a small smile.

"Maybe, but I don't feel sorry for her anymore. I stopped feeling sorry for her when we started fighting her and realized where the statues came from." Percy answered with a shrug.

(My eyelids kept getting... stomach making me sleepy.)

"That's not good." Katie muttered.

"Yeah, the only time a demigod should ever really feel like that is in the safety of camp or their homes." Jason said in agreement. Others nodded in agreement with them.

(Poor old lady. Who would want to hurt somebody so nice?)

"And now it's starting to be her influence speaking, along with Percy's heart." Poseidon grumbled. Angry that yet another of his sons was having to deal with her.

"Dear, it's alright. He's safe now." Amphitrite told him quietly.

"I should have hunted her down as soon as rumors started that she had reformed." He shot back, hearing about her was putting him in a bad mood, along with his worry for Percy.

"Well, you know where she is now, once this reading is done, we can go take care of it." She said.

"Done!" Leo exclaimed, completely missing the tension in the room. Eyes swung to him, where he stood proudly beside his creation. "A cappuccino machine that's also a rocket launcher." He smirked. Beckendorf and Hephaestus both raised their eyebrows at it and got up to go inspect it. Leo's eyes went wide when he saw THE Charles Beckendorf inspecting his creation and nodding in approval. All he ever heard about the guy was good, he was a living legend in Cabin Nine (well, dead legend now). According to his siblings, give Beckendorf a hunk of steel, and he could create a masterpiece. And that legend, plus his dad, were approving of his machine.

"This is pretty good... the drink comes out of here, until this button is pushed... perfect for both pranks and defense. Well, as long as its a prank rocket and not an actual one..." Beckendorf muttered to himself.

"It is very well made." Hephaestus said in agreement. Leo beamed and his machine was moved into a corner, where Hestia provided cups and everything else needed for drinks. She also made sure that none of it was going to make the demigods start bouncing off the walls of the palace... too much anyway. Although she also knew that some hyperactive kids actually calmed down with sugar.

("Percy?" Annabeth was shaking me to get my attention.)

"Yes, try and keep his attention on you, it should help fight her influence." Poseidon said with a nod. Sally whimpered slightly, and Triton held onto his younger brother tighter.

("Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting.")

"Yeah, get out of there!" Nearly everybody yelled. Percy leaned back and raised his hands slightly in defense. Annabeth and Grover looked at him pointedly, since it was kind of him keeping them there by this point.

(She sounded tense.)

"I was starting to put the pieces together and working out who this could be. By this point, I knew she was a monster, I was just going through everything I knew before saying for sure that it was her. I wasn't quite sure at this point that it was her." Annabeth explained with a shrug.

(I wasn't sure why... paper off the tray now,)

"By then, I was too nervous NOT to eat, but I was still nervous, so it didn't even taste right." Grover explained. He had always been a nervous eater.

"Well, it turned out alright." Annabeth said with a sigh.

"Yeah, somehow."

(but if Aunty Em found... Annabeth stood up abruptly.)

"That's when I knew for sure who it was." Annabeth informed the room.

Athena's eyes gleamed in anger that Medusa would dare try to touch one of her children. "Don't let her lay her filthy hands on you." She sternly informed Annabeth, who nodded her obedience.

("We really should go."... "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!")

"I'm surprised that you both remembered your cover story like that." Clarisse said suddenly.

Annabeth and Grover looked at her, confused and a little insulted. When she noticed, she rolled her eyes and explained impatiently. "It's your first quest, and your first time really being in this kind of situation. Any situation you got into with Luke and Thalia when you were younger doesn't count." She said when she noticed Annabeth opening her mouth, she shut it with a click. "As I was saying, this is your first time really being in a situation like this, most people wouldn't remember the cover story they gave, and get all flustered, I'm surprised you kept your heads." She shrugged.

(I didn't want to leave... get to be with children.)

"That makes her sound like a pedophile." Leo said with a raised eyebrow. When everyone gave him strange looks, he shrugged. "I used to live on the streets, you learn pretty quick how to spot that kind of person and avoid them." He ignored everyone's pitying looks and how his father frowned with a look of regret passing through his eyes, instead choosing to pull parts out of his tool belt and start building his next project.

He didn't know what he had in mind yet, his hands would make something. He absently set his hand on fire to weld some pieces together.

(Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?")

"DON'T!" People yelled.

"Again, you people realize that this already happened?" Percy asked, holding his hands out. Everyone who yelled, looked at each other before shrugging.

("A pose?" Annabeth asked warily... see. Everyone loves children.")

"Pedophile." Leo muttered. The way she was currently talking, was exactly the kind of talk he and the other street kids avoided like the plague. Well... except for the really desperate kids.

(Annabeth shifted her weight... who'd just fed us for free.)

"Well, he has a point about the 'fed for free' bit." Grover muttered to Annabeth.

Poseidon sighed, "He is under her complete control right now. It'll take a lot to get him out."

"If Annabeth and Grover can get his attention and keep it, he'll be fine." Amphitrite said.

"Besides, dad, he's right here." Triton reminded his dad. Poseidon frowned, but nodded.

("It's just a photo, Annabeth... woman purred. "No harm.")

Leo shivered, bad memories coming up. He shoved them aside. Like he always did.

"When a monster tells you that there's 'no harm', you know that nothing good is going to happen." Piper said.

(I could tell Annabeth didn't... into the garden of statues.)

"I only allowed it because I figured that it would be easier to escape once we were outside, and not locked in the warehouse with her." Annabeth said with a shrug.

Athena nodded. "Very good thinking. Always get to where you can retreat safely."

"You don't need to retreat, you need to kill her!" Ares exclaimed.

"This one is no normal monster. There is only one hero in all of history who has managed to defeat her, and even then, that was only because she was asleep!" Aphrodite reminded him. He just shrugged.

(Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr.)

Hermes and Dionysus scowled, while Chiron frowned.

("Now," she said, "I'll... gentlemen on either side.")

"She's putting the strategist in the middle, and the fighters on the outside. Not exactly the best choice. I would have put the boy on the inside, with Annabeth and the satyr on the outside. It would be harder for him to maneuver." Athena said with a frown. Sally turned to glare at her, this was not the time to be poking holes in this monsters strategy!

"I don't think she really cared at the moment about that. She was probably thinking more about making it easier on herself later on when she went to move them." Aphrodite said with a small frown and a shrug.

"Whatever she was thinking, can we keep reading? We're getting so close to the action!" Ares exclaimed. And then promptly cowered back into his throne when Sally's glare turned on him. That woman could be scary...

("Not much light for... camera?" Grover asked.)

"Yes, get his attention off of her..." Poseidon muttered. Sally leaned more into Paul and went back to what she was doing before Athena and Ares decided to open their big mouths, and that was to watch Percy like a hawk to reassure herself that he was indeed all right.

Although it was kind of hard to see him with Mrs. O'Leary's head in the way.

"He's asking all the right questions." Will nodded in approval.

(Aunty Em stepped back,... look like Uncle Ferdinand.")

Chiron's and Dionysus's eyes darkened, and Hermes scowl deepened at the reminder, then he started writing up a list of everything he wanted to do to her. He would coordinate with Dionysus and Poseidon later.

("Grover," Aunty Em chastised,... her hands.

"Percy-" Annabeth said.)

"Hurry up, get his attention..." Triton muttered under his breath while his arms tightened around his little brother. He loosened his arms, apologizing, a moment later when Percy gasped and hit his forearm a few times. They didn't have much time left to get away before Medusa lifted that veil of hers.

(Some instinct warned me to listen to Annabeth,)

"YES!" A few people yelled out.

"That's good, do what you always do." Thalia encouraged.

"And follow your instincts." Nico followed up. He hadn't known any of this stuff.

(but I was fighting the... and the old lady's voice.)

Poseidon groaned. "Her hold on him is still too strong." He said, shaking his head. The tension rocketed up even more.

Luke had a feeling, that if he hadn't already seen Iris-Message recordings of this, he would be losing it right now. He tilted his head to the side, and glanced at his younger self, his face was 'I've just seen a ghost' white and he was staring at Annabeth in horror. He pursed his lips, maybe there was hope yet.

He had never intended for Annabeth to be put in so much danger. He hadn't known they would be facing Medusa, or Echidna, or anything else they faced on this quest. He had never wanted Annabeth hurt. Naive thinking, maybe, considering they were on opposite sides of a war and all...

("I will just be a moment,"... wrong," Annabeth insisted.)

"Come on, come on." Poseidon muttered, wishing that Percy would snap out of it already. He was grateful for Annabeth for trying though. But, children of his were stubborn and strong willed.

Which made it even more amazing that she could affect him like this.

("Wrong?" Aunty Em said... What could be wrong?")

"Everything."

"Especially the 'noble company' part. Annabeth I could understand, but Percy?" Percy glared at his cousins.

("That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.)

Piper reached over and squeezed his shoulder. He gave her a grateful smile.

Sally bit her lip so hard that Paul had to reach over and pry her mouth open slightly so she wouldn't bite through it.

("Look away from her!" Annabeth... me both off the bench.)

Artemis, Zoe, and Athena nodded in approval of her rough treatment, while both boys grumbled and mock glared.

She looked back at them innocently, "You weren't moving fast enough." She said simply.

"Of course not. He was probably staring at her with a stupid look on his sea spawn face." Athena grumbled.

(I was on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet.)

"On the one hand, you are in a position where you can't see her, therefore can't be turned into a statue, on the other hand... that's not exactly out of the danger-zone." Clarisse said thoughtfully. The danger-zone was what the demigods termed as the area within the monsters immediate reach, where you had better have a weapon in your hand if you want to survive being there. Being right at the monsters feet on the ground was definitely within the zone.

Annabeth shrugged. "I was more concerned at that second about making sure the boys didn't look into her eyes. I didn't really pay much attention to where they fell when I pushed them." She said somewhat embarrassed.

"Situational awareness." Luke muttered somewhat sternly, eyeing both Annabeth's. He knew that he and Thalia had taught her that. Both girls blushed slightly.

(I could hear Grover scrambling... I was too dazed to move.)

"Get it together! There's an enemy there!" Ares yelled in disbelief, staring at Percy.

"It's a combination of being pushed by Annabeth, and fighting her influence." Jason said thoughtfully, because from what he'd seen so far, Percy didn't stay down for long, and there didn't seem to be a whole lot that could daze him.

Ares shot his younger Roman half-brother a glare, but didn't say anything when he caught Poseidon's glare.

(Then I heard a strange... bronze talons for fingernails.)

"Don't look higher... Don't look higher..." Poseidon and Sally both chanted under their breaths. Sally was beginning to get out of her denial, but it was still holding strong. She would wait until she knew for POSITIVE, before she really lost it.

Ares was practically vibrating in his seat, it had taken so long for them to get in a bit of action in these books.

(I almost looked higher,... screamed, "No! Don't!")

"Thank you." Poseidon breathed. Sally nodded from her spot wedged between Hestia and Paul.

(More rasping- the sound... -start his flying sneakers.)

"What are you planning, goat boy?" Thalia asked him, curiously.

He just grinned at her and put his finger to his lips. She pouted at him, (and if anybody ever said that she did, she would electrocute them) but he didn't say anything.

(I couldn't move. I stared... old woman had put me in.)

"Good, he's strong willed." Poseidon muttered.

("Such a pity to destroy... have to do is look up.")

"DON'T!"

"Guys, sitting right here, so clearly I didn't." Percy said with a wave to the rest of the room. The tension was so thick he was starting to doubt whether or not Riptide could even cut through it.

(I fought the urge to obey... moving, writhing like serpents.)

Percy shuddered at the memory of what she looked like. What little he had seen of her had been truly hideous.

A few others shuddered too, and a few finally figured out who this was. They all looked at Percy in horror, all of them wondering how on earth he survived this.

(Aunty Em.

Aunty "M.")

"Yes, we got that part, stop repeating yourself, girl." Zeus snapped impatiently.

Annabeth looked up, startled. "Um, that's what is written. Um, the first time it's written, 'E, M'. The second is just the letter 'm' in quotation marks." She explained, eyeing the King wearily.

He frowned and sat back, trying to think of who on earth this could be. The description sounded familiar, especially if the first letter of her name was 'm'. He motioned impatiently for Annabeth to start reading again, ignoring everyone's glares for being so rude to the girl.

(How could I have been so stupid?)

"Don't. You. Dare. Answer that." Percy said slowly, glaring at his cousins. Both Nico and Thalia closed their mouths with a snap and tried to look innocent. Needless to say, it didn't work.

(Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?)

"MEDUSA?! YOU HAD TO FIGHT HER RIGHT AWAY?!" Sally yelled, finally coming out of her denial. She hadn't known how or when he came into possession of Medusa's head, she only knew he got it. But she had always thought, hoped really, that he faced Medusa later on in the quest, after he got a chance to figure out what was going on. After he had a chance to find his feet. She'd been denying her own thoughts this whole time about who Aunty Em was.

Percy looked at her in concern, biting his lip.

Athena scoffed, of course he didn't even know this.

(But I couldn't think... attacked by my namesake, Perseus.)

Athena would have gaped if it wasn't so undignified. Then again, it was his namesake, his mother probably made sure he knew his stories. She reassured herself that he was still a sea-spawn and therefore stupid on principle.

Sally sucked in a breath, but then started shaking her head, she did not want her son facing Medusa, not this soon in the quest, and not so soon after being attacked by the three Furies! Paul pulled her tighter against him and started whispering in her ear.

(She wasn't anywhere near... now and rake open my face.)

"She won't." Poseidon said quietly. "You look too much like me for her to do that. She's never gotten over her obsession with me."

"As much as I hate it, that obsession seems to be a good thing right now, it is keeping your son alive." Amphitrite said just as quietly. Percy flashed his father and step-mother a quick smile before going back to looking at his mother with concern and apprehension.

("The Gray-Eyed One did... a beautiful woman into this.")

"Not according to your sisters." Percy muttered, before he shuddered again remembering what they looked like.

A few people turned to glare at Athena when they were reminded that she was the one responsible for the creation of Medusa. She may have been born with her powers, but she at least used to be able to turn it off.

When Athena noticed, she sniffed, "Then she should have thought twice before meeting up with HIM," She pointed to Poseidon. "In MY temple."

"Oh my..." Poseidon groaned. "Again, we did not meet up there! I ducked in there to get away from her!" He exclaimed. She just narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a look that clearly said she did not believe him. Which only made him angrier, he'd been trying to tell her this for centuries, he was honestly proud of himself for not killing her and forcing her spend the next few centuries reforming, years ago. He was certainly mad enough to 'accidentally' do it.

Aphrodite, Amphitrite, and Persephone stared at her in disbelief. Did she not feel the slightest bit guilty that her actions were now putting her daughter in danger?

("Don't listen to her!"... the statuary. "Run, Percy!")

"Yes, run."

"Guys, already happened.' Percy wondered how much he would have to remind them of that fact during these books.

("Silence!" Medusa snarled... must destroy the girl, Percy.)

Athena stiffened. What?

(She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust.)

"No!" Athena burst out, her eyes slightly wide.

"I think she's finally starting to get it." Apollo muttered to Hermes. Maybe now Athena would be knocked down a few pegs when she heard first hand, from her own kids (sort of), how some of her rash actions affected them. Now, if Annabeth and Percy ended up fighting Arachne at some point, it might really get it through to her.

They'd been trying to get it in her head for centuries that she was not always right, and that many of the actions she took out of pride would have large negative impacts on the world.

Hermes glanced at her, considered for a moment, and turned back to Apollo, "I'll reserve judgement."

(But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer.")

Percy made a face. He'd heard that too many times.

("No." I muttered. I tried... this foolish quest, Percy?)

"Not a clue." Percy muttered.

(What will happen if you reach the Underworld?)

"Not what we were expecting." Annabeth shook her head. Grover nodded in agreement to the both of them. Some of the adults looked concerned, although Zeus was more concerned for the safety of his Bolt.

"Enough talking, get to the action already." Ares groused. He got a few glares for his trouble.

(Do not be a pawn of... Less pain. Less pain.")

"What is with monsters or other gods and offering me a way out that would be less painful?" Percy muttered. He was always getting that offer. From Medusa, from countless other monsters over the years, Calypso, the Gorgons, Juno the hippie lady... Did they all know something about his future? Or were they just trying to get him out of the way because they knew he would mess up his plans?

Or was he thinking about this too much?

("Percy!" Behind me, I... hummingbird in a nosedive.)

"You are very descriptive, you know that?" Piper asked Percy randomly. He raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"Although, I didn't write this, the Fates did. I think..." He reminded everyone.

She shrugged. "Maybe so, but they used your thoughts at the time and your memories." Percy scowled, but nodded to show that she had a point.

"That is a very big hummingbird, though." Apollo muttered to Hermes, who raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Any distraction and attempt at lightening the tension was welcome, after all.

(Grover yelled, "Duck!"... the size of a baseball bat.)

Thalia's eyes widened when she figured out Grover's plan. "Oh yeah!" She cheered. "And this, right here, is why you are our favorite goat boy." She said happily, patting Grover on the back. Grover could only stare at his older self in shock as everyone else congratulated him on both coming up with such an idea and being brave enough to carry it out.

"Where did such a big branch even come from?" A random person muttered, but nobody could tell who exactly said it.

Grover shrugged though, "I found it among the statues."

(His eyes were shut tight... by ears and nose alone.)

Apollo whistled lowly. "That would take some serious skill." He commented. Artemis reluctantly agreed.

She was reluctant because she knew full well about the blatant hero worship the Satyr's all had for her, and she did NOT want to encourage them. At all. Ever. The less encouragement the Satyr's received, the better.

("Duck!" he yelled again... miss Medusa and nail me.)

"Hey!" Both Grovers protested.

Percy gave them an innocent look and shrugged apologetically. "Remember that time we were outside playing baseball at Yancy? When you sent me to the nurse's office with a bad concussion?" He reminded his friend.

Grover looked slightly confused. "I'm guessing this happened after we came back from Christmas break..." He said, while sinking down into his seat slightly while the others laughed. Percy glanced at him and nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, though. I healed up quick enough." He told Grover dismissively, still looking at Grover, who was redder than a strawberry.

"You said you were never going to bring that up again!" Grover hissed.

Percy tilted his head innocently. "I don't remember saying that." Grover narrowed his eyes at his best friend, but didn't say anything else.

(I dove to one side.

Thwack!)

"Wha-" People started to ask, but Annabeth shushed them with a glare, having read a little bit ahead, she wanted them to hear all about how amazing her satyr friend could be. They shot her a dirty look, they'd just been concerned about whether or not Grover actually got her, or if something else happened.

(At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree.)

People were concerned, was it? Was Grover ok?

(Then Medusa roared with rage.)

People cheered. "That's my goat boy!" Thalia called, proud of Grover, who turned red. Grover stared at his older self in amazement. Was he really capable of that?

Zeus scowled, he hated that useless Satyr, about the only thing he was good for at the moment, in Zeus's mind, was keeping Percy alive so they could find his precious Bolt.

("You miserable satyr,"... Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back.)

"You tell her, Grover!" Thalia cheered again, followed by everybody else. Grover just turned even redder, and Percy reached over and lightly punched him on the shoulder, grinning at him. Even Mrs. O'Leary barked happily and treated him to a short tongue bath.

(I scrambled away and... for another pass.

Ker-whack!)

There was some more cheering when Annabeth read out, proudly, the sound affects of Grover hitting her again. Although people were wondering when Percy was going to step in, if they were going to step in, or if they were going to use this as a chance to get away.

After all, Medusa was powerful, they would not blame the questers for just getting out of there.

("Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting.)

"Oh, she's angry now." Poseidon muttered, worried. Triton and Percy both eyed him, they didn't want him panicking on them like he did the first day they read.

Percy glanced around with a worried frown, and then started monitoring everyone's breathing again, especially his mom's.

(Right next to me, Annabeth's... gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!")

That got a few chuckles out of the listening crowd, mostly from those who'd watched her do that on a regular basis to nearly everyone and anyone, but the tension was too thick for anything else.

(Annabeth took off her... have to cut her head off.")

"Wait, why him? You're there, you have a blade, why can't you do it?" Poseidon burst out, wondering why it always had to be his sons. Whenever a situation came up, and one of his sons was nearby, they were the ones who had to deal with it, even if there were others capable of handling it nearby. That, and he really didn't want any of his family going anywhere near Medusa.

Never again.

Annabeth looked at him slightly apologetically, "I explained that to Percy at the time, sir." Poseidon frowned, but accepted it for now.

("What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here.")

"That might be easier said than done." Reyna said with a wince. She knew from experience that monsters who have shown an interest in you, or that it's personal for, they never let you go.

You have to either kill or be killed in those situations, and Medusa has made this personal.

("Medusa is a menace... make a difficult admission.)

Poseidon tilted his head to the side, was a daughter of Athena about to swallow her pride? He sat forward in his throne, maybe this one would be worthy of his son, after all.

Not that he would try and scare her off, it was obvious she made Percy happy after all, but still. He was allowed to have standards for his son.

("But you've got the better... You- you've got a chance.")

"Good, you know when to swallow your pride. That's a good thing, it just might help you live longer." Triton said softly, before shooting a small glare at Athena, who winced when she caught his look. She never had learned, had she?

Poseidon sat back again and nodded, his approval for her just went up a little. He also accepted her explanation for why it had to be Percy. He had the better weapon, and he stood a better chance of getting closer without being shredded. That didn't mean he had to like it, though.

Athena sat back, thinking. How much had her past actions hurt her children?

("What? I can't-"

"Look, do you... innocent people into statues?")

"That was a low blow, Annabeth. You know how Percy can be, even at this point, you should have known." Thalia told her reproachfully. Poseidon looked stony for a second, while Annabeth turned red, but didn't say anything.

Percy put his arms around her and whispered something in her ear, that seemed to cheer her up, if the small kiss she gave him was any indication.

(She pointed to a pair of... stone by the monster.)

Aphrodite turned red with anger, even as she inwardly mourned the lost love. Ares carefully put a hand on her arm, but she ignored him, instead turning to Percy and Annabeth. "I hope you destroyed her." She snapped, causing everyone to stare at her, wide-eyed.

She stared back at them defiantly before quoting what the book said about this latest statue, and they suddenly all understood.

(Annabeth grabbed a green... shield would be better.")

Athena understood what she was talking about, even while most of the rest of the room was confused. "Yes, it would, but you have to use what's available sometimes." She assured her daughter, who smiled slightly.

(She studied the sphere critically... should be off by a factor of-")

"What?"

Annabeth, her younger self, Athena, and the Hephaestus crowd all sighed. They would never be able to make these people understand the beauty of calculations and putting stuff together.

("Would you speak English?")

"Yes, please."

Annabeth glared, making a few of the younger kids squeak. Which caused both Luke's to give her the look.

("I am!" She tossed me... Never look at her directly.")

A few of the gods frowned slightly. Even looking at her in the glass held a risk of being turned to stone.

"You don't want to risk looking at her indirectly, either." Apollo muttered, worried.

("Hey, guys!" Grover... think she's unconscious!")

"Yeah!"

"Go Grover!" The room cheered. Grover grinned, somewhat proudly, before he gestured for Annabeth to keep reading.

("Roooaaarrr!")

"Aww."

"Hit her again!" The demigods all cheered while the gods slumped (not that most of them will admit to doing something so undignified) in disappointment.

If she'd been knocked out, she would have so much easier to kill, which meant the kids would be safe. Well, about as safe as two demigods and a Satyr could be when on a quest, and while one of them was being accused to theft from the King of the gods...

("Maybe not," Grover corrected... pass with the tree branch.)

"Yeah! Get her!"

("Hurry," Annabeth told me... he'll eventually crash.")

"Yes, hurrying would be good." Grover said with a grimace. This next bit had not been fun.

Artemis and Apollo nodded in agreement with Annabeth, fighting while relying solely on hearing and smell, was NOT easy. Not even for them. And, on top of that, Grover was doing this while using a magical item that he was not used to, and doing all this while in flight, among a bunch of statues that didn't make sound, they just stood there.

(I took out my pen and... elongated in my hand.)

"Here we go." Several people leaned forward in their seats. Especially Ares. He was loving this, finally some action!

(I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair.)

"Well, one thing is for sure, she's not the best at stealth." Hermes said with a shrug. Honestly, if he or any of his kids were that loud, they would not be nearly as good at theft and such as they were.

(I kept my eyes locked... reflection, not the real thing.)

Percy grimaced and muttered something to Annabeth about wanting to bleach his eyes, and then his brain. She was truly hideous.

"Um, Percy? You do know that bleach is..."

"Eh, I'll do it near a large body of water, I'll be fine." She didn't look convinced.

(Then, in the green tinted... he flew a little too low.)

The Twins winced. Yeah, that was where him being unfamiliar with the flying shoes would come into play. If he was a little more familiar with using them... he might have been able to judge his altitude a little better even with his eyes closed.

(Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course.)

A few people groaned, some gasped, and a few others looked at Grover, worried.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm ok, I was just dazed." When they looked a little confused, he pointed to Annabeth to get her to keep reading.

(He tumbled through the air... with a painful "Ummphh!")

"Ouch."

"That had to hurt."

"Being thrown into stone objects? NOT fun."

'On the bright side,' Percy thought, 'Grover is providing some pretty good tension relief for the others. It's not quite so suffocating in here anymore.'

(Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!")

"Thank you for that."

"No problem."

(I advanced on her,... a sword and a glass ball.)

"Hmm, how big was that glass ball?" Ares asked, and Annabeth used her arms to indicate what she remembered of the size. "If you'd had more training before this quest, you wouldn't have had a problem with that, but... as it is, that ball is just big enough to be in the way, but at the same time, could make a good shield if you can maneuver it properly." He said with a shrug.

"That sounded smart." Athena said, shocked.

He scowled. "I'm the god of WAR. I'd be pretty bad at my job if I didn't know anything about fighting or the slightest bit of battle strategy." He snapped at her.

(If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself.)

"Hard, yes. Doable, also yes." Ares said, still annoyed.

(But she let me approach- twenty feet, ten feet.)

"She's grown cocky. She thinks too highly of her own skill, and she underestimates you too much." Ares said with a nod.

"That, and he looks so much like Poseidon." Sally said faintly, still within Paul and Hestia's grips.

(I could see the reflection... it wasn't really that ugly.)

Percy gagged. "She is. She most certainly is." He announced.

"How do you know that?" Poseidon asked suspiciously.

"I met her sisters." Percy answered gravely.

(The green swirls of the... making my arms go weak.)

Poseidon paled slightly. "That's what I was afraid of, even in a reflection, she could still turn you to stone. The process is just slowed down significantly. If you had kept staring at her eyes in the reflection, you would have eventually been turned into a statue."

Annabeth's eyes widened, she hadn't thought of that, she just knew that they would be safe as long as they didn't look her directly in the eyes.

(From the cement grizzly... "Percy, don't listen to her!")

"Listen to him!" A few people yelled.

"For once on this insane quest." Grover muttered in agreement.

(Medusa cackled. "Too late."

She lunged at me with her talons.)

Sally gasped and held on tighter to Paul, who grunted. This woman was deceptively strong.

Everyone else held their breath, waiting to hear what happened next.

(I slashed up with my... of a monster disintegrating.)

Everybody cheered, and Percy's parents breathed a sigh of relief. "Absolutely amazing, next to no training, and yet still able to fight so well." Ares muttered, eyeing Percy and wondering just how much better he would be now, with training. Maybe he should ask for a spar later.

(Something fell to the ground... heads tugging at my shoelaces.)

Piper made a face. "Do you have to be so descriptive?" She asked. A few of the other girls, and even a couple of the guys, were grimacing in disgust with green faces, too.

"Sorry. But you know I didn't write this, the Fates did... technically." Percy pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's from your point of view," Thalia countered. Percy just shrugged.

Then he paused. "Yes, it is my point of view..." He turned to Piper, "So what are you complaining about for? I'm the one who actually felt it! The description doesn't do it justice at all!" He exclaimed.

("Oh, yuck," Grover said... and steaming. "Mega-yuck.")

"Again, you didn't feel it, you just heard it." Percy said with a shiver, remembering how disgusting that felt.

(Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky.)

"Yeah, don't look at it. Don't look at it." Athena said softly.

(She was holding Medusa's... monster's head in black cloth,)

"Good thinking. It can still petrify, but not if the eyes are covered." Somebody said in relief.

Annabeth and Percy exchanged a small smirk, thinking about what that was used for.

(then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.)

"Eww."

"Gross."

"That's disgusting." Was proclaimed throughout the room.

("Are you okay?" she asked me, her voice trembling.)

"Adrenaline." Apollo said immediately.

"Plus relief that it was over." Hermes added.

("Yeah," I decided, though... didn't the head evaporate?")

"Spoil of war." Several people said somewhat proudly. To get a spoil of war was a mark of skill, to get one from THIS particular monster, if he went back and displayed that, it would really send a message.

("Once you sever it, it... "Same as your minotaur horn.)

"Except the horn is just a tad bit easier to display without grossing everyone out or petrifying them." Piper pointed out to the room. Annabeth shrugged.

"Have you seen some of the spoils we have stored up in the attic?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "Believe me, Medusa's head would have fit right in."

(But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you.")

People nodded in agreement.

(Grover moaned as he climbed... had a big welt on his forehead.)

Will winced. As a Healer, he wanted to go over and check that Grover was ok, even though he knew that this was years ago.

(His green rasta cap hung... been knocked off his hooves.)

"It actually looked kind of cute." Annabeth whispered to Percy, who grinned. Grover heard what she said, bleated in anger, and GLARED.

She just raised an eyebrow at him in challenge.

(The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head.

"The Red Baron,")

"Oh." A few futures said in unison. It actually creeped some of the younger kids out, the way they did that.

"So that's where that nickname comes from. I wondered." Thalia said with a shrug.

(I said. "Good job, man.")

A few more cheers went up for Grover, making him turn red.

(He managed a bashful... really was not fun, though.)

"Which part?" Thalia asked curiously. Grover pointed at the book.

(Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun.)

He got a couple more cheers. He had a feeling that this group would be talking about that one for a while.

"I wish I could have been there. Man, that sounds like it was a blast." Thalia grumbled good-naturedly.

(But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun.")

"Amen to that, brother." Some of the demigods grumbled. Several of them who fought in the war, they had their fair share of experience being thrown into concrete. Mostly when a monster managed to hit them and send them flying into the side of the building. Luckily, they all had their brothers and sisters nearby to cover them until they got back on their feet.

(He snatched his shoes out... too exhausted to speak.)

"Aaannndd the adrenaline has worn off." Apollo and Will both announced.

(Finally I said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?")

"Yes." Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Triton all muttered. After Athena cursed her, they had had a bit of a crisis under the sea, a lot of their mer-soldiers and what would have constituted as police kept turning up as statues. Which, was not good for national security. Or public safety.

"Hey!" Athena protested, glaring at Percy. "Do not blame me for your father's actions, boy." She growled. She may be somewhat willing to accept her part in this, but she wouldn't have done it if Poseidon hadn't been with that woman in her temple.

Percy glared right back. "First of all, even if my dad was being disrespectful and making out with her in your temple, YOU are still the one who turned her into that. Don't blame him for YOUR actions. Second of all, both dad and several others in this room have said he wasn't in a relationship with Medusa, and was only in your temple in the first place to hide from her. SO GET OVER IT ALREADY AND ACCEPT THAT YOU WERE WRONG!" He yelled.

Athena stared at him for a second in shock, before her brain caught up with what just happened, and she moved to get up with a murderous expression on her face. She didn't much farther though. Since as soon as she started moving, the MS moved too.

People blinked and they were in place. One of them was standing back, in front of Percy and Annabeth, with an arrow cocked and pointed right at Athena's head. Two more were standing on either side of her, with their swords crossed at her throat, one of them was Imperial Gold, while the other looked like some kind of bone. Another was in front and slightly crouched so he was out of the archer's way. His sword was distorted slightly so nobody could get a good look at it, but it was pointed upward, right at her chin. One of the girls snapped her fingers and chains materialized out of the Mist around Athena, holding her to her throne, while the last two stood back, clearly ready to move, but not needed yet. (Frank is in back with the bow; Percy, Annabeth, and Jason are holding her at sword-point; Hazel conjured up the chains; and Piper and Leo can't really draw weapons or do anything else without being obvious about who they were.)

Even Mrs. O'Leary was on her feet and growling at Athena.

"We are growing tired of your attitude. Sit. Down." One of the girls whispered. Despite how low she was speaking, her voice still carried, although it was low enough that none of them could recognize it. Athena slowly sat, watching them with wide eyes. Just as quick as they moved into position, they moved again, this time to stand in the middle of the room.

"Besides, the Fates left specific instructions that this whole thing was so you could learn to get along with the demigods and each other. As such, I think it's time we tell you why we are here before our part in these books." The archer whispered.

"The time we come from is roughly one year plus a few months after the end of the Titan War. We have seen and done much in that one year, we have learned much. And we are tired of the bickering and fighting that goes on in this room. As such, the Fates sent us here, to enforce their rules of not harming each other." The swords-woman said softly.

"We will allow some arguing, some dispute. Sometimes nothing gets accomplished without a little argument. We will let Lady Hestia handle most of it, she is good at it, and you all listen to her, sometimes. But, if we feel it is getting out of hand, and is about to get physical, we will step in and stop it." The girl who conjured the chains said simply.

While many of them wondered just how strong these seven were, the ones who had already figured out who they were wondered just what happened and how they got so fast, one of them turned to Athena and spoke. "Your pride has continued to rule your actions for too long. Admit when you are wrong about something for once and move on." With that said, they retreated back to their corner, hooded faces turned expectantly towards Annabeth, who just sat there and stared at them for a few minutes before a cleared throat brought her attention back to the book.

(Annabeth flashed me an... Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend.)

"She was not." Poseidon protested again, glaring at Athena. She glared back, but didn't do anything else. Not with the MS there, they were strong, and fast. Very fast. They were also here with orders given to them by the Fates themselves.

When the Fates gave you an order, you carried it out.

By any means necessary.

She also needed time to think over what she'd learned earlier, that her children would be targeted solely because they were her children. She may not be the most caring of mothers, but she was still a mother.

(They decided to meet in my mother's temple.)

"Not true." Poseidon said again, vehemently.

(That's why Athena turned her... her get into the temple,)

"THAT part is true." Poseidon said with a nod.

"She was already a monster way before Athena cursed her, though. Just, a different kind." Amphitrite said stiffly.

(they became the three... She's still sweet on your dad.)

Poseidon shuddered. "Yeah, because that's not creepy at all." Percy and Triton both said at the same time. They blinked at each other, and a few others snickered.

(You probably reminded her... my fault we met Medusa.")

"Actually, it could be argued that it's Hades and the Kindly Ones faults. After all, if they hadn't attacked the bus..." Annabeth interrupted herself, shrugging her shoulders. Hades glared at her, but she Percy cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at the Lord of the Underworld.

"My Furies may have attacked the bus, but it was YOU three who went towards Medusa's lair afterwards, and not in another direction." He said with a frown and a glare for his nephew.

"True... but if they hadn't attacked the bus, then we wouldn't have needed to go anywhere. We would have just driven right on by." Percy pointed out. "But, at any rate, let's not play the blame game. I hate that game."

(Annabeth straightened. In a... said. "You're impossible.")

"You also reminded me a lot of Lily right then. I wanted it to stop," Percy murmured to Annabeth. She looked at him guiltily.

("You're insufferable."

"You're-"

"Hey!" Grover interrupted.)

"THANK YOU!" The futures said, relieved that Grover stepped in and stopped the argument. Those two bickered way too much for everyone else's sanity.

It was amazing that they could fit so well together considering how much they bickered.

("You two are giving me a migraine,)

A few people whistled, impressed. Satyrs were physically incapable of getting migraines, or headaches in general.

(and satyrs don't even... do with the head?")

"That's... a good question, actually. None of you have a bag to carry it in, not to mention you are only in the beginning of your trip, and it will only get in the way if you get in another fight." Athena mused. "Well, I suppose you could always use it to petrify any monsters you run into, but..." She shrugged.

"And, there's no telling what the mortals would see of it through the Mist. The Mist can be rather unpredictable sometimes." Apollo added.

"Oh, don't worry. It got put to good use." Percy said mysteriously, Sally hid a smile in Paul's shoulder.

(I stared at the thing... YOUR BUSINESS!

I was angry,)

"Oh, that's not good."

"For anybody, really."

"His enemies, though, are in even more trouble." Thalia told the rest of the demigods who spoke up, a raised eyebrow daring them to contradict her.

"Why is that?" Poseidon asked, curious. Although Triton and Amphitrite shook their heads, amused. This boy was a lot like his father.

"Well, when he gets angry, he gets even more reckless. Of course, it's very bad for his enemies, because when he's angry, nothing is going to stop him from taking them down. But, at the same time, his friends are usually stuck trying to keep up or trying to run damage control, depending on what he did." Grover explained.

Annabeth nodded. "We have had to try and run damage control a lot over the years, from Percy's recklessness when he's angry." She explained with a fond sigh. Percy just shrugged, although he was a little red.

"Sounds like someone else I know." Amphitrite said, looking between her husband and son. They both gave her a look like, 'Who, me?'

(not just with Annabeth or her... very first day out from camp.)

"That's a good reason to be angry." Nico said.

"Especially since his moods have already been crazier than usual." Thalia said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"Don't you remember?" Annabeth asked her. When she and several others shook their heads, she rolled her eyes and reminded them. "Percy's mood has been worsening since the Winter Solstice, since the storms started, since the oceans started acting strange because of his father's anger."

"Oh, yeah..." Rachel said in realization. "His moods are largely affected by the ocean."

Percy shook his head, "Just when something big is going on in Dad's domain. Then it starts to affect me more than usual."

(At this rate, we'd never... before the summer solstice.)

"Wow, way to be positive." Thalia said, giving her a cousin an odd look. He just shrugged, Annabeth sighed.

(What had Medusa said?... be better off as a statue.)

The Greek demigods all scowled, they hated being the gods pawns, but, what were they going to do about it? Mostly, they could just do their own thing, so unless something was going on, like the war, it wasn't usually too bad. The Romans weren't too worried about it. They rarely, if ever, saw the gods or received communication from them. So, they just did their own thing anyway.

Poseidon frowned, his son was not a pawn. Never was, never would be. The rest of the Olympians stirred, this wasn't the first time in this book that they'd been accused of using their children like that.

(I got up. "I'll be back.")

"This is gonna be good." The Stolls both muttered. They just knew Percy had to be up to something.

He usually was, even if they didn't know the half of it until just recently.

Percy heard them and smirked.

("Percy," Annabeth called after... Hades and Persephone's garden.)

"I didn't know it was her, if it was, I would have dealt with it myself. Laws or not laws." Persephone said with her eyes narrowed. She had never liked Medusa, and she was horrified to learn that she'd been supporting that woman's business all these years.

"I know dear, I know." Hades said quietly, patting his wife on the arm, which earned him a glare from his sister/mother-in-law. She didn't say anything though, she had noticed Hestia watching her, and she knew that her older sister would not stand for it today. "And it's not my garden, I'm not allowed in it." He said, louder, so the rest of the room could hear.

"Well, dear, death and gardening don't really mix." Persephone said primly. Hades actually turned a little red when he remembered the last time he had some free time (centuries ago) and tried to help her in her garden. He almost killed all the plants when he got excited about something they were talking about.

(According to one freight bill... Studios, West Hollywood, California.)

Hades groaned and eyed the Stoll brothers. The last thing he needed was for those four to get bright ideas about sneaking into his realm and 'having fun'. Which would only cause problems for him. He was relieved when Percy gave them a stern look. From what he'd seen so far, Percy was the only being in the universe that they would listen to.

Now that that crisis was averted, he could focus on the part where book-Percy now knew where to go to get to the Underworld. Which was just perfect, because he could already feel the headache this godling was about to cause him.

(I folding up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket.)

Hermes nodded in approval.

(In the cash register I... a few golden drachmas,)

"Nice." All the Hermes crew said at once.

"Course, it's not that big of a haul, but..." Travis said.

"Considering the circumstances, I suppose it's better than nothing." Connor finished.

(and some packing slips... until I found the right-size box.)

"You're not." Travis breathed reverently.

"Oh, if you do this..." Connor trailed off, awed. Percy smirked at them. Everyone else started giving Percy strange looks.

(I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head,)

Everyone started to look warily at Percy, some of them were starting to get a bad feeling about where this was going. The Stolls were looking more and more awed the more Annabeth read.

(and filled out the delivery slip:

The Gods

Mount Olympus

600th Floor,

Empire State Building

New York, NY

With best wishes,

PERCY JACKSON)

The Stolls, all four of them, looked at Percy in awe. "We are not worthy." They breathed.

"Not worthy to stand in his presence," Connor said.

"Not worthy to think he doesn't know the Arts." Travis followed.

"Not even worthy to breathe the same air." The Stolls finished in unison. When they said it was going to be good, they couldn't have imagined this in their wildest dreams.

Percy smirked at the four while everyone else slowly edged away from the five boys.

("They're not going to like... think you're impertinent.")

"He is impertinent." Sally muttered fondly, glancing at her three boys. And wasn't that just weird for her to say? She had three different versions, from three different times, of her son all in one place.

(I poured some golden drachmas... table and disappeared with a pop!)

Amphitrite's forehead met the palm of her hand, and she shook her head back and forth. This boy... he was definitely Poseidon's son. There was no doubt about it.

The Stolls were still staring at Percy as if they might start making their burnt offerings to him now, instead of their father. Hermes himself was staring at the one who seemed to be more mischievous than even his own sons, and then his gaze swung thoughtfully to Sally. Athena still had yet to run a history check on her...

Poseidon was proud of his son. Worried, but proud. He knew that there were some on the council who would not take kindly to this...

When Jason glanced over at Leo, he'd been pretty quiet, it was to see him staring at Percy, with his mouth wide open, clearly he was still trying to process.

("I am impertinent," I said.)

"No..." Amphitrite said slowly. "What you are is a son of Poseidon. Although, I can't remember any of my other step-children being this... troublesome." She said, still shaking her head, and wondering how on earth Sally did it.

Percy grinned impishly.

(I looked at Annabeth, daring... talent for ticking off the gods.)

"I think it's less of a talent, and more of an art form." Thalia said, slightly in awe of her cousins tendency to tick them off, and still be alive and in one piece. Even after all these years.

Percy grinned proudly while those around him grumbled.

("Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan.")

"Done." Annabeth announced. A few people were still staring at Percy, hardly able to believe he had just done that.

"You," Reyna finally said, pointing at him. "Are one crazy Graecus."

"Why thank you." Percy said with a grin.

She glared. "That wasn't a compliment." His grin just widened.

"I will read." Hestia said, stopping the argument between the two camp leaders. Annabeth handed off the book to her, and went back to sit with Luke. "Chapter twelve: We get Advice from a Poodle."

---

I had a question about what the MS were doing in the story if all they do is sit in the corner and listen. They are there as the Fates enforcers.