This chapter kind of jumps around a bit timing-wise. Nothing major, and it should still be easy enough to follow

Before anybody could react, the demigods cheered and charged out of the room, heading straight towards the palace dining room.

Sally laughed at the reaction, letting go of the remaining tension from the trap Hephaestus set for Ares. "Shall we?" She asked Paul, who grinned and held out his arm for her to take his elbow. She took it with another laugh before the two followed the stampede of hungry demigods. Percy took Triton's hand and practically dragged him behind his mother and new step-father.

The rest of the gods and goddesses blinked at where the children used to be sitting, while Chiron merely chuckled. "We should probably go while there is still food left."

Hestia giggled and got up to join the centaur in following the demigods and mortals.

Once everyone reached the dining hall, it was to find the demigods already eating. The kids were in good spirits, laughing and joking around. The older demigods were regaling the younger ones with stories and jokes from over the years and events that wouldn't have happened yet. (It was noted that none of the stories were of pranks either Percy or the Stolls pulled on the camp).

Nico and Thalia were teasing Percy as he enjoyed his pizza, and Reyna was telling Piper and Leo some stories about Jason and their early days as Praetors.

Sally was sitting in the corner with the Seven, talking quietly with them and laughing about some of the antics of the younger demigods. From what Poseidon could tell, it looked like Percy had been the one to start the food fight between the sons of Hermes and Leo.

Somehow, though, he was pretty sure that he was the only one to have noticed that, despite only just arriving in the room and the fact the fight had obviously been quite heavy before he arrived. Percy smirked when he caught his father's eye, and Poseidon merely shook his head, he wasn't going to bother letting the fighting demigods know who really started the fight.

Of course, it didn't take long for the more immature gods, Hermes and Apollo, to join the fight, either. It soon devolved when somebody (Percy) hit Annabeth with some food, and she joined in retaliation against the Stoll brother she thought was the one to throw it.

Once the Romans started joining in, most of the gods and goddesses fled the room, choosing to finish their meals in the relative peace and quiet of their rooms or the gardens. They had no interest in joining in the demigods antics, or otherwise getting caught up in it.

"Those kids are crazy." Amphitrite chuckled to Persephone, who nodded while Hestia laughed. The three of them had decided to eat in the gardens, by the fountain.

"It is good that they still know how to be children. Despite everything they go through as demigods. Often at the hands of the Council." Hestia agreed.

"Maybe it is not 'despite everything', but rather, because of everything." Persephone said softly with a smile. "They have reason to know the importance of having fun like they do."

"Yes, it is not a life children should lead." Hestia said sadly. "There is nothing we can do about it, though, besides show that we do care."

Persephone snorted. "Try telling that to my father." Zeus was adamant that they shouldn't get attached, he got angry whenever any of them showed even the bare minimum amount of care required as parents. If any of them showed that care simply because they cared, and not because they thought it was some sort of requirement, he got really mad.

"Hmm?" Amphitrite hummed suddenly, looking up. "It's good to see him with a younger sibling to look after again." She smiled softly, prompting the other two to look at what she was seeing. Hestia smiled softly when she saw Percy and Triton walking through the gardens together.

Percy must have gotten away from the food fight, he didn't look very messy at any rate.

She chuckled and turned the conversation to happenings and gossip throughout Olympus or their respective kingdoms.

"Hey, Triton?" Percy asked suddenly while they walked. Surprisingly, he hadn't really felt like getting involved in the food fight going on right now. He'd spotted his half-brother sitting in the corner with some of the other gods, and decided he wanted to talk to him.

"Yes?"

"What's the real reason behind Athena's hatred for dad? I mean, I know everyone says its because of that deal with Medusa, but everyone is backing up dads side of the story on that. And, I mean, Athena is never exactly going to my favorite, but she's the Wisdom goddess. Surely she knows there's no gain from holding onto that." Percy said as they came to a stop by a fountain. It was something that had been bothering him for a while now.

Triton watched him for a moment before sighing. Percy once again proved that he was quite intelligent and observant, despite what he let others believe.

"And, I noticed that in all the arguments, she's not once looked at you. And when she does, she looked sad." Percy finished.

Triton sat down at the edge of the fountain and stared at the ground in thought for a moment before he looked up again and patted the seat beside him. Once Percy sat down, he started slowly. "You're right. The thing between us and Athena is a bit more complicated than that. See, something most don't know, is that when Athena was born, I was more or less tasked with raising her. Now, she may have been born fully grown, ready to fight and all that, but she was still a newborn. So, I took her in and raised her as mine alongside my daughter Pallas."

"You're her foster father?" Percy asked, surprised, and he nodded. "But then, why all the arguing, the animosity between her and dad?"

Triton looked at the fountain and sighed when he noticed Poseidon laying at the bottom, listening. "Dad was never happy that Uncle Zeus just handed his daughter off to me, but he never said anything because I didn't mind, and he tried to leave her out of his fights with Uncle Zeus, but... then the Incident happened." He took another moment to collect his thoughts. "Pallas and Athena were sparring in the courtyard. Nothing new, they trained together all the time. Everyday, all day if I let them. This time, though... Athena said it was an accident. I don't know what happened. Whether Pallas saw something and was distracted at a crucial moment, or what. But whatever happened, Pallas was dead, killed by Athena's sword."

"It was an accident, though." Percy said, slowly as he started to understand where it all started. He didn't even bother asking how on earth it was possible that an immortal being was killed (and not faded). He figured that the godly side of his family was complicated enough.

"Yes, from what we could tell. And from what Athena said and several nearby mermen said. I was inclined to believe them. Those two were close, from the second I brought Athena home. Athena would never hurt Pallas, she was incapable of it."

"You may have believed her, but dad didn't. He blamed her entirely."

"Yes... and no." Triton said with a grimace. Percy looked at him in confusion. "You know what dad's temper is like, and how protective he can be." He said. Percy nodded. "Well, his granddaughter was just killed. He went nuts, said a bunch of things that he later regretted once he'd had time to calm down and think, but the damage was done. Athena was forever banned from her home, from Atlantis. The only reason he didn't execute her on the spot was because I got between them right as he was raising his Trident. Because I wouldn't let him." Triton smiled sadly.

Percy was silent for a few moments.

"I think she's still bitter over that. Not necessarily angry, but... She's just using the Medusa incident as an excuse to be more vocal about it. He's tried to apologize for what he said and did many times, but... She has Uncle Zeus's proud nature. And her pride was hurt badly when he kicked her out of her home." Triton sighed again. "We still meet up every now and then, talk, spend time together like we used to before that, but... its stilted now. She knows I don't blame her, but at the same time I stayed at dads side after she was banished."

"She's not mad at you, too, is she?"

"I think..." Triton said slowly. "A part of her is. The argument I got into with dad over her banishment is the biggest argument we've ever had. Before or since. But, I think a part of her is angry that I didn't fight him harder over it. Best I could do for her was banishment, his alternative when I refused to let him kill her was the Atlantean Dungeons for the rest of her natural life. And, given she's immortal..." Triton grimaced.

Percy winced. He'd heard about the Atlantean Dungeons. They sounded worse than Hades dungeons, in some cases they sounded worse than the Fields of Punishment. He should know, he'd experienced both. Once as a prisoner, and once because he'd had to temporarily take a prisoners punishment while Thalia tried to to get information.

"So, the real fight is because of some stuff said by a grieving, temperamental, protective grandfather in the heat of the moment after his granddaughter had just been killed?" Percy summed up. Triton nodded to indicate that was more or less correct.

"Dad has tried to apologize and make it up to her, but like I said. She's proud." Triton said.

"That sucks." Percy simply said, and left it at that.

"Yes, yes it does." Triton said quietly. He clapped Percy on the shoulder. "Come on, the others should be finished eating soon. Why don't we go find the other demigods?" He suggested, and they stood. Percy walked a little ways, then stopped and turned when Triton didn't move to follow. "I'll catch up." Percy looked concerned, but kept walking.

"Are you alright, son? I know its not an easy topic for you." Poseidon asked behind him, uncomfortably. This wasn't a comfortable topic for him, either.

"Yeah, I still get to see her, and check up on her, so its not like we're completely cut off from each other."

Poseidon nodded. "I've not said this often, but you raised a good one. Well," He amended slightly. "She still needs to work on her pride ruling her decisions, but she's good kid."

Triton smiled. "I know she is." After a few minutes of standing there in companionable silence he sighed. "We should get back." He said. Poseidon nodded in agreement and they started walking.

Poseidon hummed. "I think Hestia wanted us to take a long break. The children have a lot of energy to burn before they start getting too fidgety and driving us all crazy. I'm surprised that they have managed to sit relatively still for as long as they have been." He admitted with a smirk.

Triton chuckled. "Well, they are really good at finding ways of keeping themselves occupied." He shook his head. He wasn't normally too fond of demigods, but these ones were actually growing on him. Maybe it was more because of their friendship with Percy, and how much they clearly cared about his brother.

"Indeed. They are a lively bunch, though. I think spending time with them will be good for us. They are reminding us what it is we have lost over the years." Poseidon murmured, looking over the gardens at where the demigods were gathering, with Percy in the center of the crowd. He chuckled. "It looks like they are having a quick swordsmanship lesson."

He tilted his head while he watched Percy and Luke team together to hold a short lesson for the younger kids, while the older ones watched from the sidelines. "Those two are good." He said in approval.

"Not to mention patient." Triton said dryly, watching as the Stoll brothers messed around. Neither Luke or Percy got impatient or yelled, they calmly brought them back to the lesson. "It's good that Percy is being included in this. We will need to find a suitable weapon for him, though. At least while he's here, he will eventually be given Riptide."

"Hmm, I think that whatever we give him here, will be taken back to his own time with him. It won't hurt for him to have multiple weapons, though." Poseidon murmured absently as he watched Annabeth lend his youngest son her knife so he could follow along with the lesson. Riptide was just a little too big for him to handle, and heavy. He was only eight, after all.

"It would have to be something that wouldn't become too small for him to effectively use as he ages and grows. We can't give him a bow, the curse Artemis placed on your line would never allow it." He smirked slightly, although it was soured when he remembered the reason behind the curse in the first place. He mentally cursed his half-brother for his actions, his anger towards him was only slightly assuaged by the fact his actions were enough to be disowned and thrown in the Dungeons.

Who could have guessed that the softly-spoken, well-mannered, gentlemen Orion could have turned out to be a rapist? Well, who besides Apollo.

"You could give him the necklace to take with him, too. I don't think it will ever go to it's intended wielder otherwise." He said, looking at his father's front pocket, where the enchanted necklace was currently sitting.

"I will think about it." Was all that was said as he watched his son teach those around him. He couldn't have more proud right then. "Hephaestus should be able to come up with something for him, if not then I might have something laying around our rooms." He said suddenly, turning and walking back to the palace, intent on finding his nephew. Triton watched him go, amused, before he settled back to watch.

"Travis, Connor!" Luke called, exasperated. Percy glanced at him, amused. It was clear to those that knew what to look for, that he was getting annoyed with his half-brothers antics. Percy had certainly annoyed him enough over the years of confrontations and duels to know what it looked like. The younger Stolls took one look at their older brother and suddenly grew serious again while focusing on the lesson. Even they knew when to stop, and when Big Brother started getting really annoyed, that was the time. Even Travis and Connor looked at him, worried.

Percy merely slapped him on the shoulder before walking through the sparring demigods again, watching and occasionally stopping a spar to guide them through the motions of what they were doing wrong. Swordsmanship was more than swinging a sword around, after all. There was muscle control and discipline that went into it. Incorrect body movements could put you off balance, leaving holes for your opponent to take advantage of, or make your strikes not as effective or as powerful as they could be.

Of course, there were times when those incorrect movements could also be done on purpose and to your own advantage, like when you need to lull your opponent into a false sense of security and confidence. Percy had done that a few times over the years, but that was also risky as it opened you up to taking damage that you might not afford to take. Even more so if you miscalculated.

"No, like this." He said, stopping by where his younger self was sparring lightly with Nico, who was coaching him through some moves to make with a knife. He gently corrected his grip, knowing from Annabeth that holding it like that was a good way to get some broken fingers. Holding it tightly was good for not losing it, but if you held it too tight, then the finger bones probably wouldn't hold up too well to the strain of the blade knocking against something. It was best to hold it firmly, but loosely, that way the fingers had some 'give' and 'cushion'. After he finished explaining this, he stood back and watched a little, pleased when his younger self didn't have to stop and flex his fingers in pain again afterward.

Giving the kid a grin (he had long since put this whole book-reading thing under the 'strange things that happened to me' category in his head, teaching himself how to sword fight was just another thing) he moved on to somebody else.

The lesson took up the entire break time until Apollo ambled out to find them and bring them back to the throne room, with a few of the older kids watching from the side-lines and calling out suggestions now and again to somebody.

As soon as Hermes finished eating, he clapped Apollo on the shoulder and went straight to the Records Room, where they had the personal information of every single being within their Pantheon's main territory, including family trees.

It was a pretty efficient, and self-updating system.

He bypassed the front section where the mortals information was filed (it was by far the biggest section, no wonder), went past the satyrs and other magical beings section (like the various nature spirits and Pegasi), past the small section Artemis kept with her Hunting records (mostly so they could pretend to be keeping track of monsters, like which ones were reformed and where they might be found), and straight to the back where the demigods were listed. Every demigod currently living, Greek and Roman (including the Legacies), were listed here... it was probably a good thing for Percy and Nico that Zeus never bothered to keep an eye on the Records to see if any children belonging to his brothers showed up. Once a demigod died, then their records were transferred to the Underworld, while their names went up on the small Memorial Plaque Hestia had installed in here.

Briefly, his eyes flickered up to the plaque and easily picked out the names of all his children who'd died over the centuries.

With a sigh, he turned to the 'J' section, and easily found the file belonging to, Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon. He glanced through it briefly, noting with some amusement that all that was really in here were his school records, including the paperwork for his expulsions, which listed the reasons for the expulsion. Some of those reasons were pretty amusing, actually.

He could only guess at what the sixteen year old Percy's file would look like, his twelve year old self's file was pretty... dull.

Shaking his head, he flipped to the back of the file and snapped his fingers to enlarge the small sheet that held his family tree, so that he could actually read it. Quickly, he went to the bottom of the page, and found his and Sally's names before he started to trace up.

His eyebrows jumped to the top of his skull in shock. "Well, what do you know?" He huffed out a laugh. "Who would have guessed?" Quickly, he put Percy's file back before going to find his mothers file in the relevant section to see what her's said about her life, he already knew that the family trees between the two files would be exactly the same.

Letting out a low whistle, he carefully replaced her file (they weren't allowed to leave the Records Room) and went to go find Sally. He absently wondered if she'd ever told anybody.

Hera finished eating and went back to the Throne Room, assuming that they would keep reading right away. Looking around, she frowned. "Hestia, where is everybody?" She asked her older sister impatiently.

"It was decided to take a break and let the demigods burn off some energy. You know, that with their ADHD and battle reflexes, that it is difficult for them to sit still for long." Hestia reminded, absently tending the fire. She was pleased with the way things had been going over the past several days. Her hearth was burning brighter than ever right now. She only hoped that it kept up when the books were read and the demigods sent back to their correct times.

Hera frowned, but didn't say anything. Instead, she sat back in her throne and decided to enjoy some peace and quiet, but when people didn't start trickling back in until two hours later, she started to get impatient. Finally, the Greeks demigods were the only ones not there yet. Looking around, she sighed. "Apollo, go and find the rest of the demigods so we can get started." She ordered, slightly annoyed. Her step-son raised an eyebrow at her, glanced around at the others, waited for them to all nod their agreement with the plan, and then got up to amble off instead of flashing out.

He grinned when he heard her growl in annoyance behind him.

After they ate, Percy suggested they disappear for a while and spend some time to themselves. The seven of them, even after all this time after the war, still struggled sometimes with being surrounded by other people. It had been just them for so long while on the Argo II... so long of just each other to watch their backs... especially Percy and Annabeth. They went through Tarturus together, alone. They could only rely on each other, and after they came back, the other five had to be careful with what they said or did. Leo especially, had to be careful that what his projects didn't let off certain smells, especially sulfur or burning. Those two scents could send the two into an episode.

One time, Festus had started 'coughing' up a cloud of smoke that was orange, and smelled like sulfur, Annabeth went crazy. Nobody knew what to do, she started attacking everything that moved. Eventually they managed to get her in a room with Piper trying to talk to her through the door while Leo monitored her through a small screen he'd set up while everyone else worked to distract her and get her in there. Later, they all thanked their parents that Percy had been off the ship gathering supplies with Frank during the episode. They barely managed to contain her, they couldn't imagine trying to contain Percy too. Afterward, after everyone calmed down and the two of them had gone to bed early (together since Coach Hedge wasn't around to try and (stupidly) separate them), the other five sat down and went over what happened.

Since that day, Piper promised to watch them more carefully and report on their reactions to certain things so they didn't have a repeat event.

So, when they left the Hall and went walking, they talked about everything and nothing while Percy and Annabeth simply walked together while watching everyone else. Normally, Percy would be in the middle of the conversation and laughter, but he'd been a little more of a loner since getting back, (starting the food fight was honestly the most mischief they'd seen out of him in a while).

Eventually they came across a giant pool room, which had Percy grin while Annabeth groaned. She shook her head fondly when he sent her a pleading expression and gestured for him to go ahead. He cheered and ran for a door leading off the room, opening it to find a locker room, which he started tearing through to find something acceptable to swim in. While he could more than easily keep himself dry, the others weren't quite so lucky. Everyone else entered the locker room just in time to have swimwear thrown at their heads, which they caught by reflex and with raised eyebrows. Naturally, Percy was already dressed.

Annabeth was just happy to see him so excited about something, she hadn't seen him look this carefree since before Hera took him over a year ago. "Come on, you guys! Hurry up!" He called while he ran out and cannon-balled into the pool, using his powers to cause a bigger splash than should have really been possible for somebody his size and weight.

Piper laughed while she led Hazel away to change behind some of the lockers while the guys started changing where they were. The girl had gone bright red when she realized there was no separate room for the girls to change. While she was much less shy around her group compared to before spending so long in close quarters, it was still evident sometimes that she grew up in the WWII era, with how she viewed some things. Annabeth followed them, although she wasn't shy like Hazel was. Sometimes, she forgot the girl was only thirteen...

"That's really pretty, Haze" Piper complimented once Hazel was dressed. Percy had tossed her a black one piece bathing suit with purple accents on the trim and a flower design in the middle of the chest, also a dark purple. She blushed slightly and tugged on the bottom section, wishing it covered more of her legs.

"Are you sure this is alright?" She asked. She felt almost naked, despite the fabric covering her. She didn't think she could go out there with the boys, not wearing this.

"It's fine. They won't be looking, I promise. You look beautiful." Annabeth reassured her, and both of the other girls knew that any of the boys who did look at her in any way not deemed appropriate, would have to deal with her. She was just as deadly with Drakon-bone sword as she had been with her knife.

Piper grinned and draped her arms around their shoulders so she could steer them outside now that they could hear that the guys had already left. "Come on, we need this chance to relax and be on our own. Some of us are liable to go stir-crazy soon." She carefully did not mention names. Annabeth scowled and she stuck her tongue out. She laughed took off, jumping in the pool and swimming beneath the water for a few moments to sneak up on Jason from below.

Everyone else laughed when Jason screamed like a little girl when Piper burst out of the water in front of him and tackled him below the surface. They came up a moment later gasping and laughing.

They played in the water for hours before Apollo came and got them, smiling in relief at seeing them so carefree right now. As the god of prophecy, it didn't take much for him to glimpse into to the future, Fates permitting of course. He'd seen the Giant War, he'd seen what these seven would go through. The Fates forbade him from saying anything or doing anything to interfere, or he would have kidnapped young Percy and Annabeth by now to hide them away before they would have to go through all that.

Of course, he also knew that mortals could not grow without facing their own problems and challenges. That didn't mean he had to like letting children face what they went through.

After a few minutes of watching, and he knew that all seven of them knew he was there, he whistled loudly. "Hera is getting impatient to finish these books, so we best get back to reading." He called out to the swimmers. Immediately, Percy and Annabeth scowled at mention of Hera. Apollo had to bite back a laugh, he'd also seen their individual problems with Hera in their futures, personally he thought Hera was simply being extremely petty when it came to Annabeth, and Hera really should have consulted with somebody instead of doing her own thing when she kidnapped Percy and traded him with Jason.

Yes, it worked out and it was exactly what was needed to be done, but... she kind of left everyone scrambling when she did it. Especially when Percy's presence inflamed Octavius' hatred for Greeks, causing him to go to war on Camp Half-Blood despite the fact that they had bigger problems to worry about, and he didn't have the authority to mobilize the Romans for war. He went behind Reyna's back to do it. End of story.

He laughed when Percy was shoved back in the pool by Annabeth after he said something, only to come up sputtering in surprise. She merely walked back to the locker room to change with her nose in the air, looking for all the world like a stuck-up. Her amused smile and sparkling eyes gave her away, though.

He pulled himself out of the pool, perfectly dry, and raced into the locker to change. When they emerged, six out of seven were working towels through their hair in an attempt to dry it before they had to put their hoods back up. They didn't know why the Fates insisted on them wearing hoods, even though most had already guessed at who they were, and they didn't really care, either.

When everyone was finally gathered in the Throne room and settled, Thalia took the book from where Ares had left it at the floor by his throne and started reading before anybody could say anything about it. "Chapter sixteen: We Take a Zebra to Vegas"