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.

27. The Prophecy Comes True

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven.

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

---

"That is the last of this chapter." Hades announced. "The next one is also the last one of the book."

"Let's read this last one, then, and go to bed." Hestia reminded, and Looked at the children when they tried to protest going to bed. Sally laughed softly beside her when they all calmed down very quickly.

"I'll read it, then!" Apollo announced, and collected the book from his uncle.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Prophecy Comes True

"Wait, I thought the prophecy was already complete, it had already come true." Travis protested, confused.

"No... there's still one line left that never happened. 'You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend'." Apollo quoted before he started reading without letting anybody else interrupt.

(We were the... since Luke,)

"But we were also the first quest to be approved since Luke's, so..." Percy cut in quickly, eyeing his mother who's eyes had widened in shock and horror.

She leaned back and sighed in relief.

(so of course... in our honor,)

"That's more then we ever do." Reyna muttered. Then again, the Roman way was... not necessarily harsher, but many Romans would consider the Greeks to be weak and coddled. In Camp Jupiter, you either came back alive or you didn't come back at all.

"The Greeks are more of a family, while we are more of a military." Jason reminded her. She frowned, but nodded. Not to mention the... competitiveness between the Cohorts.

(then led a... in our absence.)

"That's... nice." Sally said slowly, hesitantly. She sounded suitably horrified. She knew that demigods had a short life-expectancy, but... it was one thing to know about it and rarely hear about it, and another to hear something like that.

"It's just a precaution, so that they can be given their Rites appropriately." Chiron said softly. "It's not because we don't expect them to come back." In fact, he loved it when they got to burn an empty shroud.

She didn't look very reassured.

(Annabeth's shroud... embroidered owls-)

"That sounds more like something you hang on the wall, not burn." Sally admitted. It sounded beautiful.

"We do have a similar tapestry hanging in our cabin." Annabeth shrugged.

(I told her it... to shut up.)

"That happens a lot." Thalia muttered, watching as Annabeth did the same thing to a comment Percy had just muttered in her ear.

"I think that sums up the majority of their relationship." Clarisse snorted, watching the same thing happen.

(Being the son... make my shroud.)

Luke snorted. "More like strong-armed their way into it." He rolled his eyes. "It was going to be us, but Clarisse... insisted." He shot her a look, while she shrugged.

"I think it turned out rather well." She said smugly.

Percy snorted. "It was... interesting." He smirked.

(They'd taken an... in the middle.)

"That's..." Reyna started, amazing and horrified at the disrespect. Even the Romans, with their attitude towards death and all that, knew to respect it. They were going to bury one of their heroes in that? She'd thought the Greeks were better than that.

Percy snorted. "It was the Ares cabin, there's never been much love lost between me and them. It's really just a few of them that I somewhat get along with." He shook his head. He wasn't surprised by what they had come up with. He chose not to mention that since then, he'd had a shroud made, a proper one, for them to use if they ever needed it.

"Plus, what he did to our dad." Clarisse shrugged. At least, that was before she knew the full story. Now, she was of the opinion that her dad got off lightly considering what he was trying to do.

Sally just gave Clarisse a disappointed look, that caused Clarisse to squirm uncomfortably, before turning her attention back to the book.

(It was fun to burn.)

"I bet it was." Chris muttered, rolling his eyes. He was having a hard time understanding how he and Clarisse could start dating. Hopefully it would be explained in the books at some point.

(As Apollo's... out s'mores,)

"Now that's how you celebrate a successful quest." Leo cheered. He loved s'mores nights.

(I was surrounded... satyr buddies,)

"Not the outcast anymore, huh?" Annabeth muttered to him. After all, after he was claimed, everybody distanced themselves from him. They came back, and he was popular again.

"Nope. It's a lot less lonely in my cabin when I know that I have friends outside of it." He grinned at her.

(who were... of Cloven Elders.)

There were cheers for Grover while his younger self looked stunned. Sure, Grover knew that he had to have gotten it eventually, but...

Slowly, a grin spread across his face, he was finally going to be able to get out there and search!

(The council had... seen in the past'.)

Everybody snorted at that.

"Well, they certainly have a way with words." Hermes muttered with a laugh. What Percy had said about them earlier disturbed him, though. He was going to have to keep a closer eye on them for a bit.

(The only ones... their dad.)

"We didn't know the full story." Clarisse said, frowning. "He already disgraced himself when he tried to start a war just for the sake of it, instead of any real reason or cause." She said, causing her younger self to gape in shock. She was going against their father!

Ares sighed. "She's right." He finally muttered after a few minutes. "War without cause is just... everybody needs something to fight for. Take that away, what do we have?" He asked himself while everyone stared at him in shock, even Clarisse. She hadn't expected her father to agree with her.

He may live for a good fight, but... even he knew where to draw the line. Sometimes...

(That was okay with me.)

Clarisse just shot him an annoyed glare. He wasn't concerned that the children of Ares were after him now?

Percy grinned at her, even less concerned now than he had been back then.

(Even Dionysus's... bigger head.)

"Wow. Could you sound anymore thrilled that three of your charges came back safely?" Apollo asked dryly.

Dionysus looked at him, blinked, shrugged, and went back to his magazine. Everybody else just rolled their eyes, knowing that was the best they were going to get from the god of wine.

(Well, huzzah for... lonely anymore.)

"Because you're not so isolated from the rest of the camp anymore." Sally reasoned with a relieved smile. She'd been worried about that after hearing how they isolated him when he was first claimed.

"It was nice." Percy grinned while the others looked suitably guilty about how they first treated him.

(I had my friends... wanted me born,)

Poseidon looked pained again. "That's not true." He muttered, looking at his son.

"I know." Percy grinned at him.

(but he was... what I'd done.)

"I've always been proud, always will be." Poseidon declared.

The demigods were back to being jealous of Percy for his relationships with his parents. Even if their first conversation hadn't exactly gone well...

(As for my... a new life.)

Everyone sat forward, eager to hear what happened to Gabe, and if Sally was alright.

(Her letter arrived... planet, in fact.)

There were a few snickers.

"Yeah, it's a mystery alright." Clarisse said with relish.

"That's a much kinder end then I would have chosen for him." Chris muttered darkly, glaring at nothing.

Percy shrugged. "He got what he had coming." He said simply. Besides, being turned to stone was quick and (maybe) relatively painless. Most would be bothered enough that his mother essentially killed him at all, so this was for the best.

"When did you show him the head?" Luke asked, curious.

"That same night, about an hour after Percy and his poker buddies left." She shrugged. She'd finished making dinner at least, turned them to stone, ate, and went out to figure out how to get rid of the new statues gracing her living room. She'd just had to wait a couple of days before selling them and reporting him missing. She was pretty sure that the Mist may have been used at some point to keep the police from looking too closely at their family.

(She'd reported... find him.)

"Imagine that." Poseidon said, grinning smugly at Sally, proud of her for standing up for herself.

(On a completely... concrete sculpture,)

"Oh, yes. Completely unrelated." Clarisse scoffed, grinning at Sally while Paul looked at her in shock, but also with a bit of pride.

He was actually surprised by how proud of her he was, considering she more-or-less killed somebody.

"But it was. The disappearance of my husband, and the sale of a statue were two completely unrelated incidents." Sally shrugged, the most innocent look on her face.

"Oh, she is definitely your mother." Annabeth turned to Percy and deadpanned. He just grinned and nodded in pride. Hermes grinned at her, too, pleased.

(entitled The Poker... tuition at NYU.)

"Whoa, all that money for one statue?" Travis demanded, shocked.

"I was surprised, too." Sally admitted. She hadn't thought she could find a buyer at all, given how ugly Gabe was, she certainly hadn't thought she could get that much money for him. "That's not all, though, I also put a deposit down for a school for Percy, if he came back for the school year."

She got a few impressed whistles. "Who would pay that much money for Gabe?" Thalia asked, bewildered.

"Somebody who really likes ugly art." Percy muttered.

(The Soho gallery... ugly neorealism'.)

That got some laughs. "Well, they got the 'super-ugly' part right." Jason chuckled. That certainly described Gabe.

"Neorealism?" Leo asked. "What even is that?"

"It's um... it's basically just a more realistic and real-life representation, instead of abstract or anything like that." Piper tried to describe, with Will nodding in agreement. Piper had started spending more and more time in high-end art galleries since her father's acting career really took off. Will was just a son of Apollo, they tended to know about stuff like that.

(But don't worry... you left me.)

"What did you do with it?" Percy asked.

She hesitated. "I sent it back to your father to be disposed of. I figured that if anybody could do it safely, it was him. I didn't have any means of doing it short of throwing it in a fire, and I didn't know if that would work, I didn't want to risk it not working, and the eyes being uncovered when I checked it." She shrugged.

Of course, she'd used one of the few Drachma she still had left to send it, but it was worth it. Especially since Percy started going to camp, and she had means of getting more.

"Smart." Nearly the entire council said at the same time.

(It's time for... I'll understand.)

Everyone was quiet, thinking of the beginning of the book. Sally hadn't told him much about his father growing up, because she knew that him knowing would strengthen his scent. That would lead to monsters showing up, which would mean going to camp.

She didn't want him to leave her, so she kept quiet. But now...

(I folded the... to answer her.)

"What's the issue? Gabe is gone, go home to your mother." Connor asked, confused.

"Yeah... but would me going home have brought the monsters straight to her door?" He asked. That was his main concern, not attracting monsters.

(On the Fourth... by cabin nine.)

Beckendorf and Leo grinned in anticipation. "I love those shows." Chris muttered.

"They're the best!" The Stolls cheered in unison.

"We gotta start planning for next year... make them extra special..." Beckendorf muttered, starting to think.

"Aren't they special every year?" Annabeth asked, amused. He just shrugged.

"Do you guys do anything for Fourth of July?" Thalia asked the Romans, who shook their heads. New Rome and Camp Jupiter were both pretty isolated compared to Camp Half-Blood. There were people living in New Rome that had lived there for their entire lives and never left, not even for a day in the city.

Sure, they knew about America and stuff, but they'd never left their safe little valley to actually see any of it.

(Being Hephaestus's... blue explosions.)

"Of course they won't." Hephaestus exclaimed, insulted by the mere idea.

"We're better then that." Beckendorf scoffed, equally insulted.

(They'd anchored... Patriot missiles.)

"Where did the barge come from?" Sally asked, confused.

"We keep it in storage until we ever need it." Percy shrugged. They had a dock, hidden by Mist, a few miles away from Camp where they kept their bigger boats and things. They didn't really see a lot of use, except for the Fourth of July.

(According to Annabeth... a million colors.)

"That's got to take skill and coordination." Reyna commented, impressed.

"Especially since they can't exactly practice it beforehand to make sure they have it right." Dakota blinked.

"It's fun, though." Leo grinned.

(As Annabeth... picnic blanket,)

"Oh? Already going to the Fourth of July fireworks together?" Will perked up and started teasing.

Percy and Annabeth turned red. "Shut up, it wasn't like that back then!" Annabeth protested.

"What?" Reyna asked, confused about why this was apparently a big deal.

Jason chuckled. "There isn't exactly much dating opportunity at the Greek camp, not like there is at Camp Jupiter with New Rome nearby. The fireworks are basically the only chance somebody has to take their significant other on a romantic date unless they want to travel hours into the city." He explained.

"We were just there as friends." Percy said again, more firmly. They didn't start dating until after the war, for good reason.

(Grover showed... high-school age.)

"Yes!" Grover exclaimed, thrilled with the idea of not looking like a sixth-grader any more.

"Finally hit a growth spurt, huh?" Luke asked, teasing lightly.

"Yeah, it was great!" Grover said happily.

"Heading out for the search?" Beckendorf asked. Grover just nodded and glanced at Percy, who grinned back at him.

(His goatee... as human.)

"Nice." Annabeth muttered, happy that her best friend was finally growing up. Looking at his older self, she could tell her grew up nicely.

("I'm off," He... you know.")

"You are awful with good-byes." Annabeth rolled her eyes fondly.

Grover shrugged helplessly. They'd all known that his chances of coming back alive were slim, so so. He hadn't wanted to actually say good-bye, because it would have felt permanent.

(I tried to feel... great god Pan.)

"So why aren't you happier for him?" Clarisse asked, confused.

"Because no satyr had ever come back alive." Percy commented dryly. "I had hope that he would, of course, but I knew the odds." And Grover almost didn't come back, if it weren't for him forging that connection between them, he wouldn't have had the information he needed to come to the rescue, finding the Fleece in the process.

(But it was... oldest friend.)

"Before going to camp, I would have said my only friend." Percy added.

"Which is kind of sad." Katie muttered, and Will shrugged.

(Annabeth gave... to search first.)

"Not allowed to share." Grover immediately said. "This is something we're supposed to do alone."

"Which I hated." Annabeth muttered. "Just letting him go like that without knowing where he was even going to start?" She shuddered at the memory.

Every demigod knows that there is safety in numbers, even though more demigods means a stronger scent for monsters to track. It was her opinion that the Council's practice of sending them alone was part of the reason for no satyr coming back.

("Kind of a... humans and Pan...")

"He was pretty ok with the rest of us there." Percy muttered.

Grover shrugged. "I was surprised when he was alright with you guys, though. Especially after what Rachel told us about her family. But... if he was alright with you guys, what can I really say about it?" He asked. Hermes perked up at the mention of his son, and hoped that they found him soon.

Maybe it would be in the next book? Grover was just leaving for his search, after all.

("We understand."... for the trip?")

"Annabeth!" Grover complained, face red.

"What?" She asked. She was just concerned for him, knowing that satyr's didn't come back from the search he was going on.

("Yeah."

"And you... your reed pipes?")

"What are you, a mama goat?" Grover complained.

Annabeth, Percy, and Grover snorted while Grover turned red. "Well, we are the same person, technically." He muttered.

("Jeez, Annabeth,"... mama goat.")

"Hey, there are worse things to be compared to." Annabeth pointed out when everyone else laughed. Mostly, though, they were chuckling at Grover and his older self being so similar.

"You are the mom of Athena cabin." Will pointed out, having heard it enough around camp.

She shrugged. "I care." She said simply.

(But he didn't... sound annoyed.)

"How could I be? I like that she cares." Grover shrugged.

Annabeth reached over and dragged him into a side-hug, which he barely resisted.

(He gripped his... at Yancy Academy.)

"I would resent that, but..." He eyed his younger self, who was still just as scrawny.

"It's my job to protect you, not the other way around." Grover muttered petulantly.

"Yeah, from monsters. Not from other kids. Besides, I wasn't getting picked on like you were." Percy rolled his eyes. Most of the bullies had learned early on that he wasn't one to be picked on, he fought back. Grover hadn't.

Both Grover's made a face, but didn't bother to refute his statement.

("Well," he said. "wish me luck.")

"Good luck." Everybody said at once.

Grover snorted. "Thanks, guys." He said, only being slightly sarcastic.

(He gave Annabeth... through the dunes.)

"Wow, what a good-bye." Piper muttered sarcastically. "Boys." She rolled her eyes.

"We'd said all we needed to say." Percy shrugged, overhearing her.

(Fireworks exploded... the Nemean lion,)

There were some growls from Artemis, Zoe, and Percy at mention of him. Thalia merely scowled.

"Ok, seriously. What do they have against him?" Leo asked Piper quietly. She shrugged, not having any idea.

"I'll probably be in a later book." She suggested. Piper gagged, hoping that he never came up in any of these books. Meeting him once was more then enough for her, she didn't need to go reading about him, too.

(Artemis chasing... a son of Athena))

"Really?" Paul asked, awed.

"Yup. A lot of famous names in history are probably demigods or legacies." Percy said. Before, he never would have assumed they were legacies, would have never imagined that a demigod could live long enough to have children, but after going to New Rome, meeting legacies...

"Not all of them, mind." Annabeth added. "But quite a few of them."

"Huh." Paul sat back, mind churning. He wondered if he could pick a few brains while he was here, and even when they went back, about demigod history, which he suspected was going to parallel the history he grew up with, but with some very key differences.

Maybe he could write a book, even if it would never be available to the general public, but he supposed that Chiron wouldn't mind.

(crossing the Delaware... good enchiladas.")

"They didn't, by the way." Grover deadpanned.

"I imagine not." Percy made a face thinking of where they'd been.

(Grover grinned... Annabeth said.)

"You bet! You're not going to get rid of me that easily!" Grover smirked.

The other demigods cheered and hollered.

(I tried to believe... thousand years...)

"Not something to think about. You'll drive yourself crazy like that." Will immediately said.

Percy sighed. "I tried not to." It had been hard, though, but he was at least able to keep busy with school and Tyson.

(well, I decided... He had to be.)

"And he was." Pride was in every word Annabeth uttered.

"He opened the doors for others to come back alive, too." Percy grinned at his friend.

"If it wasn't for you guys..." He trailed off.

"You would have figured something else out." Percy said with a shrug.

(July passed... of Ares's hands.)

"Most of the time allying with Athena." Clarisse groused.

"The games of Poseidon versus Athena were the best, even then." Katie claimed.

"They were fun." Percy's grin was wild. "We should have a game while we're here."

The Greeks were all down for that, while the Romans were interested, too. It was even more clear to Hazel and Frank how much Percy loved capture-the-flag.

"How would we split the teams up?" Annabeth wondered. They couldn't exactly go by cabin here, not like they could at home.

"We'll figure it out later." Clarisse waved it off.

"How many times did you win, anyway?" Gwen asked.

"We won seven out of ten." Percy said after a moment, making Clarisse scowl.

(I got to the... scorched by lava.)

There were more cheers, as that was a big accomplishment.

"Good job." Chiron complimented with a proud smile. "It usually takes somebody at least to the end of summer, provided they don't have to leave for a quest, to achieve that."

Percy grinned. "It was fun, too." Sally shuddered again at the thought of her son on something like that, but knew it was good training.

(From time to... about the Oracle.)

"Best not to try and overthink it." Apollo said softly, guessing what Percy was thinking about.

"Overthink what?" Percy asked.

"The prophecy. What's left of it. Don't overthink it, just enjoy yourself, and keep an eye out, but don't think about it too much. You'll just drive yourself nuts." Rachel explained, guessing what her patron was going to say.

"Exactly." He nodded at his Oracle, pleased.

"What's left?" Annabeth asked, thinking through the prophecy, and running through the events of the quest in her head.

"Being betrayed by a friend." Clarisse muttered, and none of the future Greeks would look at Luke, who shifted uncomfortably. He had a feeling he was about to be outed as the traitor.

(I tried to convince... who has turned.)

"Ares." A few people muttered, running through the events in their heads just like Annabeth was.

They didn't like the thought that it wasn't over yet, even though the quest was complete. This was the last chapter, hopefully the traitor was revealed soon, or they might have to wait a few books.

(Been there, done... it safe returned.)

Hades and Zeus laid possessive hands on their Symbols of Power, as if they might disappear on them at the mention of them being stolen.

"Done that." Luke muttered with a scowl. He was going to have to rethink this.

(Check. One... Hades's oily head.)

"Hey!" Hades protested the oily comment.

"Sorry." Percy simply said, although he didn't sound very sorry.

(You shall be... you a friend.)

There was silence for a few moments. "But who?" Annabeth asked, trying to figure it out. She just could not think of anybody willing to betray them like that.

"It should be in this chapter." Percy said after a moment, quiet. After all, it was kind of a big event, finding out who the traitor was and being poisoned like that.

(This line still... Oracle meant...)

"No. He didn't pretend to be your friend." Hermes denied. "Sure, he was fairly friendly, by his standards, but..." He shrugged.

"This is why you shouldn't overthink it. Because you will start trying to force something to fit the situation, and then when the real event happens, you'll be blindsided." Rachel warned again. Apollo nodded in agreement and started reading again.

(And you shall... in the end.)

"Done." Sally said softly. In a manner of speaking, anyway.

(I had failed... the right thing.)

"Yes, it was. And it's a choice that I am very proud of you for." Poseidon smiled at his son. He'd made a very difficult decision, and Poseidon could not have been more proud at this moment that he'd made it.

(So why was I still uneasy?)

"Because you know something is yet to come, you just don't know where it's coming from." Apollo muttered before he kept reading, not letting anybody else say anything.

Privately, though, Annabeth thought it was because Percy's instincts were so amazing.

(The last night... all too quickly.)

"It always does." The Greeks grumbled. Even though most of those that were present were year-rounders, it was still jarring for the summer session to end, the camp to empty, and for their classes to start.

(The campers had... summer beads.)

The Romans perked up a little, curious about just how they chose the beads. Well, Annabeth had already mentioned that they chose a significant event for it, but...

(I got my own... covered my blushing.)

There were some laughs from those that were there. "Can't hide it now, can you, Prissy?" Clarisse laughed.

"Shut up." Percy scowled, trying to control the blush that crept up on him.

"Which one is the first one?" Hazel asked, running through what she remembered of the necklace when she looked at it before the Senate meeting the day they came here.

"The trident." Annabeth answered.

The Romans nodded in understanding. It didn't take much thought to realize why that was the first one Percy got, not with everything that had happened in this book.

(The design was... in the center.)

"Nice." Travis commented, studying the necklace in question.

Katie's hands flew to her throat, and her eyes widened. "Hey! Give that back!" She punched him and took it back from him, sitting back down in her seat with a glare. "Ask next time." She hissed.

Connor whistled. "Dude, I thought you knew better." He deadpanned to his brother, who groaned. It was one of the taboo things of Cabin Eleven. Everything was mostly fair game, except for personal weapons, gifts from godly parents, and camp necklaces.

You did not steal another camper's necklace.

You just didn't.

"I just wanted to look at the new beads again." Travis grunted while everyone else glared.

"Then ask." Luke glared at his younger brother, daring him to 'forget' this again. The boy nodded, grimacing.

("The choice was... at this camp,)

"You do know that there have been plenty of my children at camp in the past, right?" Poseidon asked, amused.

"Well, yeah... but not in at least sixty years." Luke shrugged, not really caring.

(and the quest... stop a war!")

"Good choice." Sally grinned at her son, and laughed at the red coating his cheeks.

"Mom!" He whined lightly, making her laugh again.

(The entire camp... obliged to stand.)

"Not that we were happy about it." Clarisse grumbled. They just hadn't wanted to deal with the other campers glares and hisses the next day.

They were already dealing with enough when their father's involvement came out.

(Athena's cabin steered... for the year.)

"Does that mean you decided to stay?" Reyna asked, curious.

"Ah... no." Percy rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I actually hadn't decided yet."

"But if the next day was the day everyone left..." She trailed off.

"Yeah..." Percy chuckled and ignored his mothers exasperated sigh and Annabeth's amusement.

(The next morning... my name wrong:)

"Even on letters?" Reyna deadpanned.

"Oh yeah, if it involves your name at all, he will get it wrong on purpose." Percy shrugged cheerfully. Honestly, though, he'd missed even that part of living at camp.

"That can't be pleasant." She muttered, and the Greeks shrugged. They were used to it and didn't let it bother them.

(Dear Peter Johnson,... Olympian Council #12)

"Do they really eat people?" Gwen asked, alarmed. Yes, the Romans had harsh punishments, but nobody was killed during them! Otherwise, it would defeat the purpose of assigning a punishment in the first place.

"No, they haven't actually eaten anybody." Percy assured. "They just like to talk about it a lot, to scare us into behaving, I think." He shrugged. That, and he felt like the constant talk of their own deaths like that helped to keep them grounded, and from panicking whenever they were in a situation like that where they might actually die.

"What about personal belongings?" Hazel asked with a frown.

Percy shrugged. "Don't think so, at least, not from my cabin. I've left stuff behind all the time, but they were always still there whenever I came back." He looked at Annabeth.

"I've heard of them actually doing that. I think they leave your stuff alone because your the only one there?" She questioned and shrugged.

(That's another thing... in the face.)

"That's true." Every single ADHD demigod in the room snorted in agreement.

It happened to all of them at some point, some more often than others.

(Summer was over... a classroom- duh.)

"We have classroom work, too, you know." Clarisse muttered, rolling her eyes. They were listed in the school system as being homeschooled, and the camp had to send in standardized test scores and such at the appropriate times. Otherwise it would be very difficult for them to get into college if they wanted, assuming they lived that long, of course. Not to mention, Athena would never let Dionysus get away with not providing a proper education to those that lived there permanently.

"I know that now. I didn't even think of it back then." Percy shrugged.

(But there was... without Gabe.)

"You should go." Reyna decided. "You have a chance most demigods would kill for, have a relationship with your parent that most only dream of, and you're more than capable of dealing with monsters that come."

"Thanks." Percy grinned slightly. He was going to let the books tell him what he decided to do.

(I had a chance... good or not.)

"That's all well and good, but that's generally only helpful when you've had more training." Thalia cautioned.

Otherwise, you were just going to get yourself in trouble that you might not be able to get out of.

(I thought about... daughter of Zeus.)

"How often is this going to be brought up?" Thalia asked, glaring at Percy.

"I don't know... probably for most of the next book..." Percy shrugged. If they were right about these going in order of his major quests, then the second book would be retrieving the Fleece after her tree was poisoned, so they were pretty sure that she would play a major role in the next one. "But it was honestly a concern for me, and something to look up to, so..." He shrugged again, self-conscious.

"Look up to?" Katie asked, confused about what he meant by that.

"Yeah, just... the way it happened. Not that it happened at all! But just..." He shifted, uncomfortable.

Finally, Annabeth took pity on him and asked if they could just keep reading. Thankfully, Apollo agreed.

(I wondered... Half-Blood Hill.)

"Surprisingly, none." Percy commented. He wasn't about to tell them why that was, though. They could find that out in the next book.

"Really?" Thalia asked, surprised.

"It might be in the next book." Annabeth shrugged. At least, it should.

(If I stayed in... didn't kill me.)

Annabeth just rolled her eyes while Sally laughed fondly.

"Lazy." Athena muttered, glaring at the demigod.

"Mother. Dyslexia, remember?" Annabeth reminded her mother again. She thought they'd solved this problem at the beginning of the book. Athena blinked and looked suitably sheepish for a moment before turning her attention back to the book.

(I decided I'd... clear my head.)

"I would have thought it would be the ocean." Chris muttered.

Percy overheard, and shrugged. "Sometimes I do go down to the beach. Sometimes I just need to do something, though." He explained.

(The campgrounds... for final inspection.)

"Which was mostly the Hermes and Ares cabin's, actually." Percy helpfully provided. The rest of the cabins were ready for it, having known it was coming for several weeks.

"Sounds about right." Luke muttered. He hadn't been there, he'd actually left Travis and Connor in charge of making sure everybody got their things around and the cabin was cleaned. He hadn't planned on going back there after his time in the arena, after all.

Clarisse glared at him. The Ares cabin had better things to do then run around cleaning things, like training and hunting in the woods.

(Argus was helping... over the hill,)

Piper made a face at that, but didn't say anything. Honestly, they were going to camp to learn how to fight and survive, and they packed enough clothes and makeup for a year at a first-class resort. If they couldn't even carry their own stuff, she didn't see why they bothered to bring it.

(where the camp's... I told myself.)

"You better start thinking about it, you have a deadline of a few hours." Gwen warned, trying not to start laughing.

Percy shrugged. "I didn't know what I was doing yet, I just needed to get away for a bit." He was too jittery from the stress of trying to make a decision that he wasn't getting anywhere with it.

(Just train... the same idea.)

For some reason that most of the room couldn't figure out, Annabeth paled and hissed something to Clarisse, who sat up as if she'd been electrocuted with a curse. The others quickly seemed to realize something, too, and started giving each other significant looks while Luke started avoiding everyone's gaze.

Annabeth had just remembered that this was the day Percy was poisoned, that this was the day Luke officially abandoned Camp to serve his new master openly. She didn't know when, but she knew that at some point, they ended up in the woods, and Percy was fatally poisoned.

It was a good thing the spirits of the forest had been so quick in getting Percy to Chiron, or that Chiron was walking along the forest edge at the time, or Percy would have been dead.

No matter that the younger kids didn't know what happened, it wasn't hard to figure out that something had happened. Something big.

(His gym bag... regular steel blade,)

Chiron frowned, wondering why he had something like that. It wouldn't work on monsters, only mortals and other demigods. There was no point in having it, unless he got it just for the extra weight a steel blade offered? It would make for good strength training, he supposed.

"Why do you say that?" Connor asked. The younger kids were confused about why the older ones had suddenly gotten quiet, and got all tense and stuff, but they figured they would read about whatever it was that had them worked up now.

"It'll probably have it in the book, most of my observations seem to be." Percy muttered.

(because he was... straw-stuffed guts.)

"I wondered what happened to them." Clarisse muttered darkly. She'd gone down to get some training in before dinner, and to blow off steam after Percy stumbled back into camp half-dead, only to find that all the dummies were destroyed. Which was odd, because they didn't replace them until the beginning of the next summer, leaving the old ones for the year-rounders to use during the school year.

"Sorry." Luke muttered quietly, not looking at anybody.

(His orange... with sweat.)

"How long were you out there?" Chris asked.

"About an hour or so." Luke shrugged, tensing and looking around at those on the Council who weren't already aware of his betrayal warily.

(His expression was... straw and armor.)

They may have only been hearing about it, but they still couldn't help but be awed by the skill being described.

Hermes beamed with pride for his son and the skill he held. His sons weren't usually big sword-fighters. They were typically the scouts that snuck in to find out information, or steal the things they needed or wanted. For one of his sons to be so good with a blade was rare.

(They were only... at his quest.)

"Easily." Luke muttered bitterly, thinking back on that quest. He didn't say anything else about it, though, knowing that he'd 'discussed' it with Percy before...

(Finally, he saw... swing. "Percy.")

"I wasn't expecting to see him there." He muttered again.

"Well, at least he didn't mistake Percy for a dummy." Beckendorf commented with a laugh that died when he saw the older ones flinch. He eyed them in confusion and apprehension. Just what had Luke done...?

("Um, sorry," I... minute practice.")

"Were you going somewhere?" Travis asked, confused. Yeah, he was pretty sure he remembered the books mentioning that Luke was going to college in the fall, but he was already leaving.

"Yeah, something like that." Luke tried to smile at his younger brother, but it died quickly. Still, none of the futures would look at him or anybody else. They were too busy glaring at nothing.

("Those dummies... anybody anymore.")

"We couldn't use them, either." Clarisse muttered with a scowl. She had not been happy to go to the arena only to find that somebody had already destroyed the dummies, months early.

"Sorry."

(Luke shrugged... the other steel.)

Chiron sat up in alarm while the rest of the council paused. There was only one blade in history made like that. Since then, it was forbidden to make other blades like it, only the Telkhines still possessed the knowledge of how to do it as a result.

"Luke..." Chiron said slowly, and turned to eye his prized pupil. "Where did you get that blade?" He asked, trying to sound calm. Trying to convince himself that Percy must be mistaken about what he'd just seen wasn't working, not when another part of him reminded the hopefully optimistic side about just how observant Percy was. Combined with all the looks Luke had been getting since he arrived, and some of the things said by them during the reading...

He didn't like the conclusion he was coming to.

Luke wouldn't look at anybody. "A, ah- friend of mine." He muttered.

"A friend?" Chiron tried to press more. He noticed that all the older demigods were scowling and not looking at either him or Luke, either.

Percy cleared his throat. "Why don't we keep reading? It'll be answered in the rest of this chapter." He said quietly.

They could tell that their mentor didn't like it, but Chiron let it drop for now.

(Luke noticed me... is Backbiter.")

Clarisse snorted. "Fitting name." She sneered. Luke flinched.

("Backbiter?"

Luke turned... is tempered steel.)

"Such a blade is forbidden to be created." Zeus growled lowly. He'd forbidden it shortly after casting Kronos' remains in Tartarus, and for good reason. Weapons like that had no business existing, especially considering what must be done during the forging process in order for the metals to properly bind together.

"Where did you get it?" Chiron asked again, not liking this at all.

"It will be covered later." Percy interrupted.

"Why is it forbidden?" Leo asked his brother, confused.

Beckendorf hesitated briefly. "Celestial bronze and mortal metals don't mix well... there is a method used to bind them that isn't very... it's not something any hero would ever contemplate." He finally said after a moment. "Silver is the only exception, it has divine properties to it that means we can use it without problem." He was surprised that Leo hadn't been informed of this yet.

Leo frowned, but went back to what he was doing before.

(Works on... immortals both.")

"Luke... we must never harm the mortals, not unless it is absolutely necessary for your survival." Chiron lectured, not liking the way that was said at all.

Luke scowled and looked away, while Luke just pursed his lips and looked down.

(I thought about... absolutely necessary.)

"That's true. It should only be in self-defense, or in defense of innocents." Chiron murmured, frowning. But that new sword of his... that wasn't good.

("I didn't know... one of a kind.")

Luke winced when two of the Seven got up and calmly moved between him and the rest of the council, even going so far as to back him up closer to a wall, and the door. Luke was given the same treatment with two others.

"One of a kind...?" Zeus muttered, eyeing the young man while Hermes closed his eyes in horror at hearing of his son holding that kind of weapon.

(He gave me... something to fight?")

"Somewhere isolated, where he would never be found, or if he was..." Annabeth murmured.

"Spur of the moment, or planned?" Clarisse wondered.

"Both." Luke answered shortly, still not looking at any of them.

(I don't know why I hesitated.)

"Your instincts, trying to tell you that something is wrong." Thalia realized.

"He ignores them far too much." Nico deadpanned, to everybodies agreement.

"I do not." Percy muttered.

"Yes, you do." All his friends returned, dryly.

The younger crowd was wondering just what was going on, what were they talking about? Were they finally going to find out why Luke was greeted the way he was?

(I should've felt... I'd gotten.)

"That wasn't it, at all." Luke grimaced. "He... wasn't happy with me for you not falling into Tartarus." He said, quiet enough that only the other futures heard him. So, he'd avoided Percy when he came back.

"How bad?" Percy asked, curious.

"Bad." If it weren't for his frequent midnight wanderings, he might have woken up all of his siblings, causing them to worry and pay extra attention to him. That wouldn't have gone well with his plans, which was another reason why he'd had that six-pack. He'd actually had several stashed away.

("You think it's... six-pack of Cokes.)

Annabeth and Clarisse groaned. "Of course he would be lured in with sugar." Annabeth complained, looking at the ceiling and contemplating whether or not it would be worth it to strangle Percy.

He shrank down in his seat. "Sorry." He muttered.

("Drinks are on me."... he'd gotten them.)

"Probably stole them from the nearest convenience store." Chris shrugged. He was a son of Hermes, after all.

Luke smirked briefly.

(There were no... a satyr, maybe.)

"Have you forgotten who's child Luke is?" Annabeth asked with a small, strained smile. "I'm pretty sure he snuck out and went to the nearest convenience store to rob it." So she repeated what Chris just said, oh well.

Percy laughed. "Yeah, probably, I don't know why I didn't even consider it." He admitted, but his laugh was quiet and forced.

Everyone frowned when they noticed how fidgety the future Greeks were being. What was wrong? Luke was just inviting Percy to go hunting, right?

(Of course, the... of the can.)

"Of course not, Peter. That would defeat the purpose of a healthy meal." Dionysus announced, still nose-deep in his magazine.

"Ok, is he actually paying attention and pretending to read, or..." Hermes wondered, eyeing his brother curiously. Apollo shrugged and started reading again before Demeter could start complaining about the camp meals again.

(Sugar and... willpower crumbled.)

"That would be a terrible thing to put on your headstone. Death by sugar and caffeine." Annabeth informed her boyfriend acidly.

"Com'on, why wouldn't I have gone with him, anyway? It's not like I knew he was a traitor." Percy asked quietly. She just looked at him and sighed. He was right, after all.

("Sure," I decided... it was too hot.)

"Were you even in the right places? There are some areas of the woods that monsters don't typically go to." Connor pointed out.

Luke shrugged. "We were actually looking for them." He informed the room. He'd wanted to fight something with Percy before... well. He hadn't expected Percy to survive.

"One last hunt?" Annabeth asked with a glare. Luke shrugged, uncomfortable.

(All the monsters... nice cool caves.)

"How many cave systems are in the woods?" Paul asked, wondering how many monsters were in there.

"Quite a few. There's a pretty large underground cavern system." Percy said, shuddering at the memory. They had the woods pretty well mapped out, mostly with areas to avoid because the monster population was too dense, or the monsters were too strong.

(We found a... the flag game.)

He got a half-hearted glare for the reminder, but otherwise didn't say anything. They had a feeling that it was coming soon.

The final betrayal...

(We sat on a... in the woods.)

"It was nice." Percy muttered. Until the whole 'trying to kill him' thing happened.

It was quiet, It was just the two of them, they were near water, and they had coke. What more could he have wanted back then?

(After a while... Are you kidding?")

"It wasn't every three feet, it was every few hundred miles." Annabeth reasoned out, knowing that was a gross exaggeration even by Percy's standards.

(Luke raised an... admitted. "You?")

"Not particularly." Luke muttered. He was too angry to miss it.

(A shadow passed... at all handsome.)

Hermes sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. He'd known Luke hadn't been happy with the quest the council had decided to give him, but... he hadn't expected this. Could this have been what got him listening to Kronos?

The futures shuddered, not knowing what to think of this version of Luke. Truthfully, throughout the entire war, Percy and Annabeth were the only ones that ever really came face-to-face with Luke, even before Kronos returned using his body. The others were able to keep picturing him as the Luke they knew, but now they were wondering if they ever really knew him at all. Admittedly, that wasn't a new thought, but...

Normally, Clarisse would have teased him mercilessly for noticing Luke's looks. In this case, though, knowing what was coming, she wasn't in the mood to even notice the potential teasing material.

(His blonde hair... the real world.)

"Neither do the rest of us." Chris said quietly. It was part of what drew him in, that they never got to experience normal life, only for the gods to throw their lives away without care.

But... to hear Luke talking now, as if he were the only one... frankly it just made him angry.

"Try being a Big 3 kid." Jason muttered, bitter. They had more expectations heaped on them because their fathers were the three most powerful. They were given more responsibility, other campers looked to them for leadership whether they wanted it, or were ready for it. Thankfully, Jason had been able and willing, if only so he could drag the Fifth Cohort out of the pit they'd had dug beneath them back in the eighties.

(Then they threw... really shocked me.)

"That explains that." Connor muttered to his brother, who nodded with a glare at Luke.

"What do you mean?" Piper asked, confused.

"Number two rule at Camp Half-Blood. Don't litter. The Naiads will make you regret it." Travis answered for his brother. He was kind of surprised she hadn't heard about that yet.

(One of the first... is: Don't litter.)

"And it's not just for the purpose of keeping things neat and tidy." Annabeth pointed out with a shudder. One of her brothers had accidentally forgotten to pick up a candy wrapper out in the woods once, his bed was filled with insects, mud, and spiders. It had been horrible, none of them could sleep in their cabin for a week before Mr. D had to step in, if only to get them out of the Big House and back in their own beds, away from him.

(You'll hear from... They'll get even.)

The Romans scoffed quietly. What could a bunch of nature spirits do?

Clearly, the Romans didn't think very highly of non-humans or demigods. Not like the Greeks did, at any rate. Then again, the best examples they had in their everyday lives were Fawns constantly begging in the streets and making general nuisances of themselves.

(You'll crawl into... centipedes and mud.)

The Romans blinked. Ok, that sounded horrible and disgusting. Reyna made a mental note not to anger the Naiads or Nymphs if she was ever at Camp Half-Blood.

("The heck with... Big House attic.")

The demigods were all silent. How many times had they feared the same thing happening to them? How many old, dusty, and forgotten relics were even up there, anyway? That hydra head was from the forties, wasn't it? Who knew what else was up there, forgotten. Even they had things up there that they'd forgotten about, just from the last five years.

"This is what happens when children are treated the way ours have been." Hestia murmured, looking around at the worst culprits. Ultimately, they were all to blame to some degree, even those like Hermes and Poseidon, who did everything they could. From the children's perspective their best just wasn't good enough, after all.

("You make it... to say good-bye.")

"Why does that sound so..." Gwen trailed off, unable to voice it.

"Final?" Dakota asked, draining his flask of Kool-Aid.

"Yeah..." She answered, uneasy about what was about to happen.

(He snapped his... hand. A scorpion.)

Chiron sucked in a breath. "Pit scorpion." He breathed. "The deadliest scorpion in the world."* So deadly, in fact, that they'd been wiped out in the mortal world long ago. Now, they were just one of the many forgotten sources of poison in Tartarus.

"How do you know how to summon that?" Hera asked slowly, she was starting to put pieces together.

Luke just shifted, uncomfortable.

The younger demigods were horrified, easily connecting the dots. The older kids reactions to Luke arriving, some of the strange and random comments overheard throughout the book, the dark looks whenever a traitor was mentioned and they thought nobody was looking... Connor, Travis, and Chris stared at their older brother in shock and horror. Luke could only look back at them, knowing that they wouldn't understand why it had to be done, and hoping that they would thank him later.

(I started to go for my pen.)

"Don't, it could attack at any moment, and they can jump very, very far." Chiron cautioned, tail swishing nervously. He eyed Percy up and down, searching for any scar, any sign that he'd been stung.

Percy noticed the way Chiron was looking at him and sighed, holding his hand up to reveal the scar. His hand was seized and examined closely, "I'm alright. I had a very good healer." He smiled slightly at Chiron, who relaxed minutely and went back to his spot near his younger students.

("I wouldn't," Luke... in sixty seconds.")

"That's why." Gwen breathed, answering her own question.

"Traitor." Some of the gods hissed once their brains finished catching up to what was happening, and what it meant.

("Luke, what-"... calls you a friend.)

Luke sat down heavily, and ignored one of his new guards' attempts to get back on his feet in case they needed to get him out of there, for his own safety. He just sat there, head in his hands, shaking it.

Everyone else was silent, shocked, and horrified. Athena's first thought was that he was no longer worthy of her daughter's attentions, while everyone else was staring at the two boys. Hermes collapsed in his throne, watching his boys sadly. He was determined to fix this, he was determined that his son would return to him.

Zeus clenched his fist around his Bolt and glared at the boys in question.

("You," I said... onto my shoe.)

A few girls shuddered at the thought, while Sally whimpered.

She hadn't known about this, she just knew that Percy's coming home was delayed by something. Knowing now that he was stung by one of the most deadly poisonous creatures in the world... she was almost glad Percy kept so much from her now, she didn't think she could have taken it, knowing just what happened to him. She certainly wouldn't have allowed him to go back to camp the next summer.

The tension in the room was thick, most were holding their breath, wanting to hear what happened next.

("I saw a lot... useless it all is?)

"It's only useless when we stop fighting." Chiron said, hearing an argument that he'd heard many, many times over the years.

(All the heroics- being pawns of the gods.)

"Why do they keep referring to it as them being pawns?" Aphrodite asked crossly, becoming very annoyed with that analogy.

Percy snorted. "Isn't that what we are?" He asked, staring at her, almost daring her to actually try to deny it.

"To many of them perhaps, but not to all of us." Poseidon said firmly, gazing at the children while Hermes and Apollo nodded their agreement.

"That may be, but you can't deny being outnumbered." Annabeth said quietly.

"Most of you treat your children deplorably, ignoring them unless you have need of them, and then ignoring them again once they've served their usefulness." Hestia supported the children, eyeing the gods she was talking about in distaste. Nothing any of them said did anything to 'cure' the demigods of their opinion.

They were the only ones that didn't see it for what it was, it seemed. Even several monsters had commented on it to Percy over the years. He'd received multiple offers to join them, or to just let them give him a painless death.

(They should've... to us half-bloods.")

"And what's the thanks we get?" Luke asked, not trying to hide his anger anymore now that he was effectively caught.

"You might want to keep quiet." Jason informed him dryly before going back to studying the Council for any attacks to his current charge.

"Tell me I'm wrong!" Luke protested.

"You're not wrong, but please be quiet." Hazel reiterated with a huff. The last thing they needed while trying to shield him, was for him to be shooting his mouth off right now, when tempers were already starting to flare from what his book self was saying.

Luke just sat there, not paying any attention to what was going on around him.

(I couldn't believe... our parents." I said.)

"Is that supposed to mean something?" Luke scoffed bitterly, thinking back to his childhood, to the quest, to watching Thalia die.

"Quiet!" Jason barked, not looking at him.

The gods were watching the young man in shocked surprise. A few of them even forgot to be angry. Not five minutes ago, he'd been well-mannered and respectful.

(He laughed... more honest.")

"And you thought the Titans were capable of that?" Clarisse asked Luke, incredulous. She'd never been treated to his rants on the subject before, not like Percy had been.

Luke shrugged half-heartedly, not saying anything.

("You're as crazy as Ares.")

"Excuse me?" Ares demanded, glaring.

"It's the truth." Percy said calmly, glaring right back. Ares quailed for a moment before he visibly gathered himself to tell the young demigod off, but Apollo kept reading before he could say a word, not in the mood for one of his rants.

(His eyes flared... he was serving.)

Hera relaxed slightly after hearing that Ares hadn't truly meant any of it.

"Just because he was initially tricked into it, doesn't mean he wasn't perfectly aware of what he was doing." Poseidon muttered, glaring at Ares for his part in all this, and for trying to kill Percy after the fight was over, and Percy won.

(If I had time... my pants leg.)

If it was possible, everyone tensed even more at the fact the creature was in an even better position to sting and poison Percy.

(There had to... time to think.)

"Is that what you were doing?" Luke wondered quietly, not looking up. "I'd wondered."

("Kronos," I said... Luke warned.)

"Even Luke was cautioning you!" Annabeth burst out in disbelief, staring at Percy in shock.

Percy shrugged. "Yeah, well. Given what happened after that caution..." He shrugged again. Annabeth scowled, but wasn't quite sure who she even directed the scowl towards.

Zeus gritted his teeth against what he wanted to say when the Traitor didn't deny who he worked for. He refused to believe it, until Kronos was described as returning somehow, he refused to believe it.

("Kronos got... and the helm.)

BOOM!

Everybody jumped and took cover reflexively when there was a flash of light followed by the loud crack of thunder from a close lightning strike. "Is everybody alright?" Annabeth called frantically, finding Percy and running her hands over him when he just groaned and rolled over sluggishly, holding his face. He'd been staring right at Luke when the flash came. One by one, calls came back from the other demigods that they were alright. Will and Apollo were already moving among them to check, with Apollo coming straight for Percy, who's vision wasn't clearing up. Hestia, luckily, had shielded Sally, Paul, and Rachel.

They ignored the commotion they could hear coming from the Council, the yelling and arguing.

"What happe- oh." Chris started to ask. They all looked towards Luke. He'd been blasted back into the wall, but appeared to be alright, just slightly dazed.

Piper and Percy were in front of him, Percy on his knees panting, while Piper stood in front of them both with her knife out. The other three were joining them, while Luke was already being pulled out of the room so he couldn't inflame the situation further, either by his mouth or his presence.

"You alright?" Annabeth asked urgently, dropping to her knees beside her boyfriend while Frank checked on Luke. He gave her a thumbs up before accepting the water bottle gratefully, drinking half before pouring the rest of it over his head, thankfully his hood had already fallen from the force of the blast. To say the demigods and Sally were shocked and horrified to see the collection of scars on his face was... an understatement.

"I'm fine, just wasn't quite expecting that. I mean, I was, but not like that..." He shrugged and got to his feet. He'd been caught off guard, and barely got a water barrier up in time. The bolt had still broken through, but a lot of it's power was taken by the barrier, and he was able to deflect it upwards. Thankfully, the ceiling had been made to be durable.

"I don't think anybody was." She commented dryly, studying the younger demigods with a critical eye. The only one who'd been affected too badly had been Percy, but that seemed to be mostly because he'd been looking right at the blast site and had been momentarily blinded. Apollo was already fixing the damage to his eyesight. After ensuring they were alright, she turned to the argument among the council. As usual, they were divided, with half supporting Zeus in his efforts to kill the traitor here and now, and the other half not happy with him for trying it.

"Get him out of here." She told Frank, unsure if Luke staying here would make things worse or not.

"No, no." Luke fought when the son of Mars went to pull him up and drag him out. "I'm staying right here." He stared at the one he knew to be Annabeth, pleading to be allowed to stay. He needed to stay, he needed to see... She studied him for a moment before she sighed, and nodded.

A loud, piercing whistle broke through the gods argument, drawing their attention to the five remaining guards with Luke behind them. "Are you all finished?" Percy asked sarcastically. "Because I'd like to go to bed at some point tonight. Please keep in mind the Fates left instructions that there was to be no killing, no matter what was heard in this reading." He reminded, glaring at Zeus. Even Percy shivered at the promise in those eyes of what would happen should Zeus 'forget' again.

"You can't stop me from killing the Traitor. Step aside, now." Zeus tried to command.

"No." All five of them said at the same time. "Put your weapon down, and sit down, before we are forced to remove you from the room." Percy continued after a moment, still glaring.

"We are here on the Fates orders, to reinforce their instructions. You do not order us." Annabeth's voice was just as icy.

It took another moment of Zeus glaring at them before he slowly sat down, not taking his eyes off the Traitor for a moment. None of the five moved, they merely watched as the demigods got themselves sorted out, and the gods slowly drifted back to their thrones after seeing Zeus seemingly calm down for now. After a nod from Poseidon, Triton left Percy with Sally before moving to stand beside Percy in a visible show of support.

(He spoke to... You should've listened.")

"Telling a son of Poseidon to listen to somebody like that... yeah right." Clarisse muttered. Percy was stubborn at the best of times. Somebody trying to accuse him of something he didn't do, while also using him to deliver said stolen items would not have been one of those best times.

"Especially after what Kronos had already done." Annabeth agreed, rolling her eyes. They were quieter, still in shock over what had just happened.

("He's brainwashing...

"You're wrong.)

"No, he was right." Luke said quietly, sitting slouched over and subdued. "I should have listened to him."

Triton shushed him when he saw Zeus's glare deepen at Luke's voice.

(He showed me... it to Olympus.)

"That wasn't my idea." Hermes said quietly, still shaken. "I was going to send you to investigate rumors of monster attacks targeting mortals in Montana." It would have been a good test of his skills. But Zeus had ordered him to the Garden, and instructed Artemis to call off her current Hunt to go to Montana instead.

Needless to say, neither Hermes or Artemis had been happy about it.

"I thought monsters ignored mortals." Paul frowned.

"They usually do. Once in a while, though..." Apollo shrugged. "Like with Medusa, most of her victims were most likely mortals that stumbled across her place." He pointed. Obviously not all her victims, since she'd had a few gnomes and a Satyr, and was trying to 'collect' two demigods and another Satyr.

(After all the... think up.")

"No, it wasn't. What I had in mind was perfect for you." Hermes shook his head and gazed longingly at the door, wishing his younger son was still here to hear this. He was going to have to have a long sit down with him after this was over, clearly this couldn't necessarily wait.

("That's not an... "Hercules did it.")

Zoe growled. "That... he did not complete that quest without help." She scowled.

"Monster." Artemis growled out at the mention of Hercules' doing this.

("Exactly," Luke... replay their past.)

"That's true." All the demigods muttered at the same time, rolling their eyes.

Most of them, anyway. There were a few of them that weren't like that.

"It's not all about the glory." Chiron said again.

(My heart wasn't... at his scar-)

"You should consider yourself lucky, that is all you walked away with." Zoe declared, narrowing her eyes at Luke, who looked away.

She should try telling that to the ones who were on the quest with him.

("and when I... courage to take.)

"Because it's a stupid idea." Connor deadpanned. Even they knew that.

"A suicidal one, even." Travis agreed. Their younger selves were too shocked to say anything.

Luke hung his head further.

(When we went... from his chair.)

Hermes face-palmed. That wasn't even remotely a challenge!

"Pathetic." Most of the demigods muttered, glancing around at the gods.

"I could have tried to the Trident, too, but Poseidon took it with him when they broke up the meeting for the night." Luke muttered. Although, two of the three items going missing was what caused the confusion and in-fighting in the first place, so he probably wouldn't have bothered even if it was right there.

"Of course not." Poseidon sniffed. "I know better then to leave something like this unattended in a room with no security precautions in place." He just couldn't resist. Both Zeus and Hades scowled at him.

(Hades's helm of... steal from them.)

Every single immortal eye in the room went straight to Zeus, who had insisted, for years, that they didn't need security like that in the Throne room.

(Their security is horrible.)

"More like non-existent." Hephaestus grumbled to himself.

(I was halfway... discovered my theft.")

"I told you, we need better security." Hephaestus muttered, rolling his eyes. Actually, they needed security period. The only security Olympus had was a doorman in the Empire State Building. And his only job was to make sure visiting demigods reached the 600th floor.

Zeus grunted, but grudgingly agreed to finally let Hephaestus install a proper security system for the Palace. After all, if his precious Bolt could be stolen right off his Throne...

"How did something like that not get noticed?" Clarisse deadpanned. "And how did we not even notice he was gone?" She asked the others quietly. The others who had been there shrugged, not sure. The only reason they could think back and not question their judgement or observational skill, was the fact that Luke waited until they were asleep.

(The scorpion was... items to Kronos?")

"If Ares had the items instead, Luke must have been caught. But then why didn't... unless Kronos intervened and that's when he started manipulating Ares." Hermes reasoned, trying to take his mind busy with other thoughts.

"Sounds about right. Zeus would have sent us out as soon as he noticed it was missing." Apollo shrugged. "He may be good, but not even he would have been able to avoid all of us." Luke grimaced.

(Luke's smile... who caught me.)

Hermes and Apollo nodded in satisfaction at being right, although Hermes was kicking himself for not being the one to find his son.

"We didn't even think to make sure all the kids were still there, did we?" Ares sighed. "We just took off."

"Apparently." Artemis scowled.

"We didn't even think that one of them could possibly turn against us." Apollo shrugged before he kept reading, not giving the others time to do more then scowl at Luke.

(I could have... burn me alive.)

"You take too much time to stand and gloat." Hermes informed Ares dryly. Although, in this case perhaps that habit was a bit of a mixed blessing... He could only imagine what Zeus would have done to Luke if he were actually returned with the stolen items in tow. On the other hand, they would have learned about Kronos plans and would have been able to stop them before anything ever reached this point.

(Then Kronos's... what to say.)

The gods' blood ran cold when they realized just how much strength Kronos had regained if he could talk to people when they were awake now, instead of just invading their dreams.

"He's been lulling us into a false sense of security." Poseidon mumbled, remembering what his book self had said to Percy, about how he stirred once in a while and invaded dreams, but nothing ever came of it as he wasn't strong enough for that. "He's been planning this for a very long time." He pursed his lips, already making plans and additions to the kids current plans.

(I put the idea... he was hooked.)

Ares frowned, knowing that there had to be more to it then that to make him do something so out of character. Kronos must have been whispering in his ear at the same time.

Everyone else privately thought that it probably didn't take as much convincing as Ares was probably imagining it would have.

(He let me go... with nightmares.)

"He punished your failure. How could you serve a master like that?" Clarisse asked in disgust.

"He was angry, and he'd been brainwashed in a time when he wasn't in the best place mentally, anyway." Annabeth muttered, still trying to defend Luke even now, after all these years. During the war, she'd had to keep quiet on her opinions, else she be called a spy and traitor, but now... besides, they were learning more information that they hadn't known at the time, anyway.

A few people just wondered what exactly was in those nightmares to make Luke hesitant to talk about them like that. The way Luke stuttered made them seem it was worse then the usual hesitancy to talk about nightmares with somebody else.

(I swore not... hero would arrive,)

"He was already planning for Percy to be discovered and taken to Camp." Travis realized.

"He must have planted the suspicions about Percy into Zeus and Hades' heads." Connor reasoned.

"Zeus was blaming my father almost immediately, remember?" Percy pointed out.

"Yeah... but then Zeus must have heard about you through Mr. D, since Chiron was making a house-call, and immediately suspected you." Travis shrugged.

Percy was silent for a moment. "Maybe."

(one who could... to Tartarus.")

Everyone was quiet as they realized just how close that plan had come to being successful.

"So close... if it weren't for those shoes..." Poseidon breathed. He didn't think he would ever be grateful for Zeus' habit of knocking his children out of the sky if they were ever in the air without a Pegasus. Not that he'd ever be telling Zeus that.

("You summoned... in the forest.")

"I thought we'd already established that Luke was responsible for everything." Athena pointed out, confused and impatient with them rehashing all this.

Percy rolled his eyes. "We did. I was trying to keep him talking while I tried to figure out how to get rid of the scorpion without getting stung, and still keep him from leaving." He deadpanned. "I thought we already established that?" He asked Annabeth, not even trying to keep his voice down while he mocked her mother.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "When are you going to learn to play nice with my mother?" She asked quietly. He shrugged.

"Maybe when she treats me with basic common courtesy." He deadpanned. Not even knowing her story would make him just back down. She sighed again, knowing that would probably never happen.

"Somebody could have been killed." Chiron said softly, looking at Luke with disappointment and a quiet rage in his ancient eyes. Luke looked away, ashamed.

("We had to make... And it worked.")

"And the newspaper article? What was that?" Thalia demanded, glaring at Luke.

He grimaced. "He... wanted to ensure that Percy was angry enough to accept, and angry enough to rush down to the Underworld as fast as he could." That was one part of the plan he'd been the most hesitant about.

"Well... that worked." Percy muttered, shrugging.

("The flying shoes... into Tartarus.")

"Thank goodness you dare not fly, or you would have been wearing them." Poseidon muttered, glaring at Luke for his actions against Percy. Did he already know about them? Yes. Was it different to hear it from Luke's own proverbial mouth? Oh, yes.

Had he asked Triton to stand beside the five of them as a statement, and to help protect the boy should Zeus decide to ignore their presence and strike again anyway? Yes.

("And they would... wearing them.)

"Bad plan, giving a son of Poseidon something that would require him taking to the air, and then expecting him to use them when he already had a perfectly good pair of shoes on his feet." Annabeth deadpanned while Luke turned red and everyone else snorted.

At the time, he hadn't even considered that part!

(But you gave... everything he touches.)

"You did blame me." Grover sighed quietly, not looking at Luke.

Luke looked away, not willing to admit it, even to himself. Grover was their guide, he was supposed to get them all there safely. Instead, by taking so many wrong turns and getting them lost so many times, the monsters chasing them had time to catch up, and Thalia stayed behind to give the three of them time to cross the boundaries and reach the Big House. The camps borders weren't as powerfully enforced before Thalia died, after all. Her spirit boosted the power behind them.

(He even confused... set things right.")

"Don't let him leave..." Thalia muttered, frantically thinking up ways Percy might have gotten out of this. Percy hadn't thought of a way out of this yet, once Luke left, he was dead.

"Wasn't exactly much I could do about it if he decided he'd hung around long enough." Percy pointed out, rolling his eyes.

("Thalia gave her... gritting my teeth.)

The demigods all winced. "That might have been the wrong way to go about it." Thalia grimaced.

"Yeah... I might have been able to keep him talking longer if I hadn't brought you into it." Percy agreed sheepishly. He'd been trying to make Luke angry enough to call off the bug and fight him himself, but... Unfortunately, Luke didn't like hearing himself talk as much as Ares did.

("And this is... let her die!)

"I didn't let anything happen!" Zeus said hotly, glaring at the upstart for daring to insinuate he would just let his youngest daughter die, just like that.

"You didn't exactly go out of your way to stop it, either." Percy muttered. He knew how Zeus worked, he would have said that they couldn't interfere, he would have hid behind the old laws. Others on the council found ways around those laws, they found ways to help their children however they could. Even Athena made the effort to direct Annabeth towards people who could help her, protect her, and teach her.

"Of course he didn't. It's the law." Luke sneered bitterly.

(That's one of... listen to Kronos.")

"It's useless, he was too far gone." Annabeth muttered, finally realizing why Percy took it so hard that she was constantly after him for not trying to talk to Luke on the few times they'd faced him.

He'd already tried to talk to him, and he hadn't gotten anywhere except fatally poisoned.

("I've been used?"... done for you?)

"He protected us on the quest, giving us a way out of the Underworld. He gave advice, however indirectly." Percy shrugged. "And I may not have known it then, but he sent child-support, and Cyclops to watch me and my mom." That was far, far more then most gods ever considered doing for their children.

Luke looked away again. He hadn't even considered that maybe Poseidon would handle his son differently then how he thought Hermes had handled him. Since he died, though, he'd been able to see what was really happening more clearly, and the fact Hermes 'snuck' down to see him a few times helped.

(Kronos will rise... to their caves.)

"How is that supposed to be a 'Golden Age'?" Frank asked quietly. "Nobody prospers except for those in charge. Aren't Golden Ages supposed to be times of enlightenment and progress, or whatever?" He asked Annabeth, who was pretty smart about things like this.

She nodded. "Yeah... there's a reason why our history teaches how that was all a lie." She shrugged. Well, mostly Chiron since he was there, he could relate historical events more clearly than mortal sources ever could, all of their history from the ancient times relied on translated documents that may or may not have been fully preserved so that they were still legible enough to be accurately translated.

(All except the... fight me yourself.")

"He's not going to go for that, he knows he would lose." Clarisse sneered. Especially since they were right next to a creek.

"No... he was too experienced." Percy denied. "It would delay him, though, and probably attract attention from the camp, which would mean Chiron or Mr. D would come to investigate."

"True." She muttered after a moment.

(Luke smiled... can't bait me.)

"Excuse me?" Ares demanded again, glaring at the little punk.

Luke actually snorted. "You make it easy." He said dryly, then went quiet again at a quelling look from Percy, who looked more exasperated then anything.

(My lord is waiting... be part of it.")

'Well, I do agree with a new Golden Age approaching, just maybe not the way Luke thought.' Annabeth thought privately, looking at Percy, who was still standing between Luke and the rest of the Council. She knew that the Fates had something in mind with this, she also knew that they had not intervened like this for thousands of years, despite the rapidly deteriorating relationships among the Greek and Roman Pantheon. She didn't know what might be coming for them to try something like this, but she knew it had to involve Percy somehow.

(He slashed... ripple of darkness.)

"I don't remember that being a skill sons of Hermes possess." Zeus frowned, still glaring at Luke.

Hermes winced. "It's not... not exactly." Some of his more powerful sons had, in the past, had a skill similar to that, but this wasn't it. As far as he knew, Luke had the skill, but hadn't discovered it or really trained it before.

"Been taking lessons from your new master?" Reyna sneered, glaring. Romans took a very, very dim view to traitors.

Luke grimaced. "Something like that." He muttered.

(The scorpion... with my hand)

Everyone winced. "Bad move, you should have just dodged to the side."

"It was already on me, where was I supposed to dodge?" Percy asked dryly. It wasn't like it jumped on him the first time, it didn't need to move when it stung, it just needed to sit there.

(and uncapped... half in midair.)

The cheers were subdued, but they were pleased the thing was dead now. That way, there was no chance of an unsuspecting camper coming across it, or it making it's way to the cabins and stinging somebody else there.

Everyone was tense, though, waiting to hear that he made it to camp, and was healed.

(I was about to... yellow guck.)

"Ew." Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. That was all she said, though, knowing that this wasn't the kind of situation to get all grossed out about and start making a fuss. She was sure that more then one person would want to hurt her if she did, the tension in the room was quite thick after all.

"So fast..." Katie breathed in shock.

"Sixty seconds to kill. It caused quite a bit of damage before Chiron could get it out of him, and then heal said damage." Annabeth reminded the room grimly.

Clarisse grimaced. "He didn't look good." She shook her head.

(The thing had... healed me before.)

"The creek isn't going to work." Annabeth realized, having wondered why he looked so bad when he stumbled back into camp, if he had a water source nearby.

"Not for Pit scorpion venom." Chiron agreed grimly. It would take all his skill and knowledge to heal, and even then he might need to call upon Apollo for help, he didn't know. It would depend on how quickly Percy could reach help, and how much he moved around before that, since moving around would 'encourage' blood flow and let the poison spread quicker. On the plus side, since he clearly survived, he could safely say that Percy would have a measure of immunity against most poisons now.

(I stumbled to... seemed to happen.)

"The poison is too strong for a small body of water like that, a fresh one at that... it might even be too strong to just jump in the ocean. You need something else." Poseidon said urgently, sitting on the edge of his throne and staring at his son in worry.

"Don't worry, dad. I'm here, aren't I?" He asked with a small smile, rubbing his hand.

(The poison was... barely stand up.)

"How did you make it back to camp?" Thalia wondered. He had to have, otherwise how would he still be alive? He already couldn't walk, and it had only been a few seconds?

Percy grimaced. "Good question. I think I had help?" He shrugged. He honestly didn't remember it clearly.

"It was one of the tree nymphs that got our attention." Annabeth explained, almost completely cutting off circulation from Percy's arm.

(Sixty seconds, Luke... what happened.)

Percy looked up in alarm when Paul had to gently pull his mother out of the room, she'd made a loud whimpering noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob a few moments before.

She didn't know what came over her. She'd known for years that he was out there risking his life, and that everytime she sent him to camp, he might not come back to her. But when he was in camp, he was supposed to be safe! Stuff like this wasn't supposed to happen within the Camp's boundary line! For a moment there, though, she'd imagined getting a phone call from Chiron, saying that they had no idea what happened to him, that he'd just disappeared.

"Let him take care of her, she'll be alright." Annabeth stopped him from following, and he sat back reluctantly, still staring after them and letting Annabeth lean into him.

(My legs felt... their trees.)

The demigods were relieved. "He has their interest now. They'll get him back to camp." Nico explained to the Romans, who were confused about why their Greek counterparts were relieved to hear about nature spirits.

"If they were there the entire time, why didn't they try to interfere when Luke first summoned the scorpion?" Reyna asked, even more confused. She'd already been accepting that maybe they weren't useless after all, now...

"They don't always know when something is obviously wrong. The ones in camp are better about it, because they see and interact with us almost daily, but it takes a lot to alert them to the fact." Annabeth rolled her eyes. If they were already starting to stir, then it meant that even they could see that something was seriously wrong here. "They probably just saw two people talking, they most likely didn't see anything wrong with the scorpion being summoned."

("Help," I croaked... a conch horn.)

"What was that for?" Dakota asked, confused.

"Probably a call-to-arms." Annabeth reasoned.

Her older self nodded. "We had no idea what happened. Was he attacked, did he just stumble across something while in the woods? Who or what attacked him? Did it follow him? Were we about to be attacked? As soon as the calls for help were heard, Chiron called all of us to arms and had us year-rounders on a patrol schedule until Percy woke up and could tell us what happened, or until it was determined whether or not there was still a threat." She explained.

Clarisse snorted. "I had to trek through the woods for hours until we finally found where Percy had been poisoned, and it was determined the threat was gone. Then I had to take the remains back to Chiron to study, without touching it myself, of course." She shrugged.

(Then everything... in my mouth.)

There was a breath of relief that he woke up at all, even though they all knew he must have in order to be here with his impressive list of accomplishments.

"Doesn't this seem familiar?" Apollo asked with a grin, reading ahead a little bit before grinning at Percy and Annabeth, who both gave him dry stares.

(I was sipping... -chip cookies.)

"That doesn't sound like it would taste very good. I mean, the cookie part, sure. But liquid? That does not sound like it would work." Katie grimaced at the thought.

Percy shrugged. "Works just fine for me." He dismissed.

(Nectar.

I opened my eyes... guard in the corner.)

"As always." The Greeks muttered.

A lot of them had woken up in the Infirmary after a bad injury or training accident to find Argus in the corner.

Hera grinned in pride again at the thought of him, and was pleased to know he took his current job so seriously.

(Annabeth sat next... my forehead.)

"Ah, another familiar scene." Thalia teased lightly, pleased that the tension was starting to bleed out of the room, even if she didn't think anybody was going to be going near Luke for a while, not even the futures who had started to warm up to him again during the reading.

The Seven had only just now deemed it safe enough for the other three to go back to their seats, while Percy and the other one stayed between him and the rest of the room, and Triton went back to his seat, taking Percy back from Hestia, where Paul and Sally had left him when he had to take her out of the room. She noted with amusement that Percy hadn't even bothered raising his hood again after it fell off, and was disturbed by all the scars she could see.

("Here we are... see me conscious.)

"You know, most people would just say that they were happy or something to see the other person awake." Thalia informed Annabeth dryly.

She blinked. "And...?" She asked, wondering where Thalia was going with this.

Thalia just sighed and shook her head, rolling her eyes. Sometimes she really wondered about those two.

"How do you get that from being called an idiot?" Travis wondered, tilting his head. Percy and Annabeth just rolled their eyes at him and didn't answer.

("You were green... of the credit.")

"Indeed, anybody else would have likely succumbed before they reached camp, even with the nymphs help." Chiron shook his head, amazed and grateful the boy survived.

"The creek might have bought him a few seconds, at least, even if it wasn't going to do anything else." Poseidon reasoned, mind racing.

"How long was he out?" Apollo asked, staring at Annabeth."

She winced. "Five days. The venom did a lot of damage, after it was gone, most of the problem was making sure his body didn't quit." She answered, since she was there, she'd refused to leave Percy's side. Chiron had needed her to hand him things, anyway. All the children of Apollo had already left for the school year.

"Treatment probably included a few salt-water baths, as well as the traditional medicine, I expect..." Chiron muttered thoughtfully, already making plans to create something like that in another room beside the Infirmary, otherwise they would have to haul the water up from the ocean, or risk carrying him down to the beach.

(He was sitting... grading Latin papers.)

"I can imagine I would." Chiron muttered with a grimace, especially if he'd been working for five days to keep Percy alive.

("How are you feeling?" He asked.)

"Probably not the best." Chiron muttered.

"Why do they always have to ask that?" Percy grumbled, making Will hide his grin. "I almost died, how do they think I'm feeling?"

"We gotta ask." Will shrugged, unrepentant.

("Like my insides... then microwaved.")

"Where do you get these descriptions from? How would you even know what that felt like?" Jason demanded, disturbed by the analogy.

Percy shrugged. "It sounded about right for what I felt at that moment."

("Apt, considering... me, if you can,)

"'If you can'?" Thalia parroted, confused by the way Chiron worded that.

"Often with an ordeal like that, the mind will shut out the trauma of what happened. It's not uncommon for people who have been attacked to not remember much about it, whether they took a head injury or not." Apollo explained.

"I wish my brain would shut it out sometimes." Percy grumbled.

(exactly what... them the story.)

"Not the entire thing." Annabeth corrected with a glare. "Not how they got out there, what they were doing out there, or even the entire conversation."

"I didn't want it to be harder on you then it already was." Percy muttered, looking down.

(The room was quiet... after his quest.")

"No he wasn't, but none of us saw something like that coming, either." Clarisse sighed, trying to comfort Annabeth without seeming like it.

"We still should have looked deeper." Annabeth countered, scowling.

("This must be... go after him.")

"You will not!" Chiron, Poseidon, and a few demigods barked out, startled.

"I didn't, I didn't." Percy sat back, eyes wide, hands out in front of him in surrender.

"You were not ready for such a thing, you didn't even know where to start looking. That portal he used could have taken him anywhere, and he had a five day head start." Hermes said quietly, slumping down.

Percy sighed. "I know, I just didn't want to sit around doing nothing." He slouched back, while Annabeth rolled her eyes.

(Chiron shook his... the matter closed!")

Poseidon growled and glared at Zeus. "Just because the matter has been declared closed, does not stop us from preparing, anyway." He declared, making it clear what he intended to do.

The oceans, at least, would not be caught off guard should any of the old monsters stir because Kronos was trying to make a come-back.

("Percy, I know... aren't ready.")

"With that way of thinking, is anybody ready?" Hestia muttered.

Sally and Paul finally came back in at that moment, and were quickly caught up on what little they'd missed.

(I didn't like it... any time soon.)

"I told you to work on both your hands." Luke shook his head. Well, Percy had worked on it, but not as much as Luke had wanted him to.

Percy just scowled. He'd worked on becoming more ambidextrous the next summer, at least, once he got back from the Sea of Monsters, anyway.

("Chiron... your prophecy... isn't my place-")

"You're not allowed to talk about it." Reyna realized blankly.

"Why? If it's happening..."

"I can only prepare my students as best as I possibly can for what may or may not be coming." Chiron cut in, not letting the demigods speculate further. No matter how much he agreed with them. Besides, it was his experience that children usually did better when they had all the information.

("You've been... haven't you?")

"Understatement." Hermes muttered, while Apollo just kept reading.

(His eyes were... great hero, child.)

"He is." All the demigods agreed.

Percy just turned bright red, but was stopped by saying anything when Annabeth grabbed his arm and squeezed it with a look.

(I will do my... rattling the windows.)

"That's really, really annoying." The demigods grumbled. They could be going about their business, and then suddenly thunder starts rolling because they said something, and they don't even know what it was they said, halting all conversation.

Of course, everybody across the camp knew every time somebody said something, it wasn't hard to miss it, after all.

("All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!")

Somebody whistled. "I don't think I've ever seen Chiron lose it like that." They muttered.

"He wants to say something, he wants to be able to prepare his students for what he knows to be coming, but he's not allowed to." Hermes muttered, glancing at Apollo. They'd both been there when Zeus forbade Chiron from ever speaking of that prophecy. In fact, Zeus more or less ordered Chiron to forget he'd ever heard it, as if that would somehow stop it from happening. After Chiron left, he'd yelled at Apollo for his Oracle's prophecies, forgetting that it was through the Fates will that the Oracle received her prophecies in the first place.

(He sighed in... reasons, Percy.)

"Stupid reasons." Most of the demigods grumbled, wishing that the gods would just be straight with them most of the time.

Chiron just sighed, not in the mood to try and explain this again.

(Knowing too... a good thing.")

"That doesn't stop people from trying." Apollo grumbled with a glare at his father, who was determined that Apollo had to tell them everything that might ever happen in advance, or that if they were caught unawares then it was his fault for not telling them. No matter how many times he tried to explain that it wasn't his call.

("We can't just... nothing," I said.)

"You won't be. You will be resting and healing from almost dying, and then you will train more and gain more experience. Most importantly, you will be living your life." Poseidon almost lectured his son, not wanting him to just go running off to find Luke.

He only had one summer of training, versus Luke's seven years.

("We will not... fear and anger.)

"People do such stupid things in the heat of the moment, or through fear." Luke commented idly. That was something he had capitalized on often when he led the Titan army, before Kronos returned.

"He'll never unravel Percy!" Thalia proclaimed, to the Greeks enthusiastic agreement.

Percy grimaced, hoping that they weren't disappointed when they read of some of his bad moments.

(Do not give... time will come.")

"Ugh... waiting." Connor sneered while the rest of the demigods shuddered at the thought. They couldn't just sit around and wait like that, they got too worked up and had to move around to unleash pent up energy.

Percy grumbled. He'd never been good at the 'wait patiently' bit. Which meant it was even better that he'd gone home for the year, he could distract himself with school.

"You should listen to Chiron more often, you know." Annabeth grinned at him.

"But finding the loopholes is so much more fun!" He poked her side with an eye roll. Chiron just sighed and shook his head fondly.

Children.

("Assuming I live that long.")

"Love the optimism." Annabeth rolled her eyes. He was usually the optimistic one of the two of them, while she was the realist. He said that it was too depressing to think like that all the time, so he chose to have fun, go with the flow, and be optimistic that things would work out in the end.

He grinned while Sally shuddered.

She was hearing about a part of her sons life that she knew about, but that he mostly hid from her.

(Chiron put his... the right choice...")

"But you would prefer it if he stayed at camp." Nico finished the last of his sentence.

Chiron sighed. "I admit, it would be best if he stayed at camp, where he would be safe from monsters and could get some more training. However, as my book self said, the decision is his."

They all knew what Percy chose in the end, he would have gone home to live with his mother.

(I got the... much as he could.)

"You are very good at reading people, you know that?" Reyna asked. At the beginning, she'd thought that he was so good at reading Sally because it was his mother. But he just did the same thing with Chiron.

"I had to be, growing up." Percy shrugged. He never knew when Gabe might go off, or what might set him off. He had to be able to read him, to know when he needed to avoid him and when it just wouldn't be possible.

("I'll be back... watch over you.")

"Of course he will." Hera said with a proud grin for her creation.

"Argus is always there for us." Percy grinned, for once agreeing with Hera about something, much to his horror and Clarisse's amusement.

(He glanced at... they're here.")

"Who's there?" The Stolls asked, curious. Then they blinked.

"Wait, wasn't this the year you..." He trailed off when Annabeth nodded, and the year-round futures suddenly understood who was there. If they remembered right, Annabeth left with her dad shortly before they saw Percy stumbling towards his cabin. Luckily, Beckendorf had been close enough to catch him before he fell on his face, and then helped him pack.

"Who is it?" Now Reyna was curious.

"I'm sure it will be in the next few sentences, if you would let Apollo read?" Annabeth asked dryly.

("Who's here?" I asked.

Nobody answered.)

"Annoying." Percy muttered. Sadly, he was used to his questions going unanswered, partially answered, or outright ignored.

(Chiron rolled himself... about something.)

"His advice is generally pretty good." Nico admitted with a shrug, a little embarrassed about all the times he didn't want to listen.

The rest of the demigods agreed, much to Percy's embarrassment.

"What was the advice, and when?" Piper asked, trying to think back through the book, but coming up blank. So much had happened in the book, it was probably during one of the speaking chapters, followed by an action chapter.

"It'll probably be mentioned in a bit." Annabeth groaned. Honestly, some patience would be nice.

(You... um... need... to go outside.")

"Absolutely not!" Will and Apollo immediately denied while Chiron sighed and ran a hand down his face in exasperation.

That was another thing. The stronger they were, the more stubborn they were about things like resting after a serious injury or (in this case) poisoning. They didn't seem capable of staying in bed to rest and recover. He found it to be very annoying, needless to say.

"You almost died! Another few seconds and you would have been dead! You shouldn't be going anywhere except back to sleep to let your body recover." Apollo glared at Percy, as if that alone would prove his point and make the stubborn son of Poseidon listen to him.

Percy sighed and fidgeted uncomfortably. "I can't... I can't stay in a hospital environment. I just... I'm so vulnerable in there. It's safer in my cabin..." He trailed off and shrugged. Especially since he was alone in his cabin, and Will or one of the other Healers had made it a point of moving into his cabin more then once when they felt it necessary because of the severity of his injury and how much it restricted his movement or mobility. Of course, considering that just being in water could heal his injuries, the fact he was injured that badly was perhaps a sign that he needed to stay in bed and rest, but he just couldn't do it. "Not to mention it's so boring in there!" He groaned.

"Then ask for a book or a puzzle to do. But when you have been near fatally poisoned, and by a pit scorpion at that, the last thing you should be doing is getting up and moving around!" Apollo barked, glaring harder before going back to the book.

Most were shocked at his attitude. Apollo was a pretty laid-back, fun loving god. But he took his responsibilities as a Healer/doctor very seriously, and he absolutely hated it when a patient thought that just because they were awake, they were perfectly fine to move about as they pleased.

("Percy, that isn't... rolled over me.)

"Now would be a good time to get back into bed." Will deadpanned, even though he knew Percy wouldn't do it.

He was incredibly stubborn that way...

Apollo glared and grumbled about stupid patients thinking they knew better then the doctors or Healers.

(Annabeth said, "I... the Western world.)

"That's actually a good point, but I highly doubt that he was able to do that much in five days." Will pointed out.

"Um... actually I had the entire army gathered and on the ship by the second day since I left camp." Luke shrugged. "By this point, I was just reaching out to unclaimed demigods from cabin eleven, as well as sending out monsters to find and recruit other demigods that camp didn't know about yet." They didn't think he'd just been sitting around at camp before this, doing nothing, did they?

"Seriously?" Will deadpanned. Luke nodded.

"What about the passengers on the ship, surly if they'd been there for over a year, somebody would have noticed their absence?" Annabeth asked. She didn't remember hearing or reading about a lost cruise ship, or lost passengers, either.

"That was our second ship... don't ask about the first one." He shuddered and tried to block out the memory.

"Wow, you move fast." Nico muttered, staring at him. He just shrugged again.

(I managed to... beaded with sweat.)

"It's too soon, your body isn't ready for you to be up and moving around." Will muttered, worried. He didn't bother trying to lecture Percy on the dangers of pushing his body too hard during recovery, though, knowing that Percy hadn't listened the first dozen times he'd lectured, and he wasn't going to start now. He caught his father's eye and shook his head when it looked like Apollo was going to start the same lecture, knowing that hearing it from a different source wouldn't help anything.

Percy just brushed him off, like usual. He knew his body, he knew his limits.

Sally frowned at her son, not at all happy. She would discuss this with him in private, though.

(My stomach had... completely deserted.)

"Because it was." Clarisse shrugged. "Except for the seven of us, six once Luke left, everyone else went home or to college." She said, referring to the older campers that didn't get as much attention from monsters.

"Five once I left." Annabeth said quietly.

(The cabins were... of the lake.)

"It was strange." Percy deadpanned.

"You get used to it after a while. Personally, I think it's strange when everyone starts coming back and the place gets loud again." Connor piped up.

Reyna had a brief thought, wondering if that was what Camp Jupiter would be like if they ran on a summer camp program. But then, with New Rome nearby, they didn't need to. It would still be interesting, though. She also wondered how they Greeks could have such strong fighters if the majority of them went home to their parents for a year, and only received serious training and instruction in the summer.

(Beyond the woods... of the sun.)

"It still sounds beautiful, even with the deserted feel it probably has." Gwen commented with a sigh. She was looking forward to seeing it sometime, it sounded nice.

"You should see it in the winter. They raise the weather barrier just enough to get some snow, but not enough to get swamped in it." Percy informed her.

"Oh, I love snow!" She grinned. Not that she saw much of it, living in southern California. Nobody noticed Frank make a face at the thought of snow. Growing up in Canada, he saw enough snow to not really care one way or the other.

("What are you... Annabeth asked me.)

"Go home to his mother, of course." Nico said with a shrug.

"The smart thing would be to stay and train some more." Reyna countered.

"This is Percy." Jason deadpanned to her, making her stop and purse her lips. That was true, even with their limited knowledge and exposure, they knew that to be true.

Percy squinted at him. "And what is that supposed to mean?" He demanded.

"That you don't always do what is smart." Jason answered promptly.

("I don't know."... Clarisse for company...)

"Hey!" Clarisse complained.

"It wouldn't have been just her and Clarisse." Beckendorf muttered, frowning. Annabeth had to stifle her laugh while Percy smirked briefly.

He'd suddenly gone limp and relaxed, eyes half-closed. She knew from experience that he was coming down from an adrenaline high, even though they hadn't really been doing much except sitting around, but reading about his poisoning probably got his adrenaline pumping a little bit, plus all the drama with Zeus trying to blast Luke. Some of it was probably also how late it was, most of the younger kids should have been in bed by now.

In fact, most of the demigods looked like they might start falling asleep then and there.

(Annabeth pursed... the year, Percy.")

"I thought you and your dad didn't..." Leo trailed off, knowing it was none of his business. He'd spent enough time on the streets to know not to ask other kids about their home and family situations. Other street kids didn't really respond well to those kinds of questions.

"I wrote to him... we decided to try again." Annabeth shrugged. She was glad she did, too. It took some work, especially when she left again like she did at the end of the school year, but they had some of the closeness they used to have back.

"That advice!" Piper exclaimed, finally remembering just what advice it was that Percy gave her. It was while they were heading to Vegas, and then everything the Lotus Casino happened.

(I stared at her... your dad's?")

"Where else would she go?" Thalia asked Percy sarcastically.

He shrugged and had to suppress a yawn. "I was just asking to be sure." He muttered.

(She pointed toward... Waterland in Denver.)

"That's a lot of detail to notice from so far away." Katie muttered, surprised.

"I just saw the color, and it wasn't like she had another backpack, anyway." Percy shrugged.

"My original one was kind of destroyed by a lightning bolt..." Annabeth reminded the room, trailing off at the end with a shrug. There were some glares at Zeus for the reminder.

("I wrote him... wanted me.)

"Of course he still wants you." Sally said quietly. "He's always wanted you." She and Fredrick had enough conversations to that effect.

Absently she wondered if she shouldn't start trying to get in contact with more mortal parents to make sure they were aware what was happening with their children, or to act as a go-between with them and Camp if needed.

(He wrote back...

"That took guts.")

"Especially how it ended last time." Luke agreed with book-Percy. He remembered how quiet Annabeth was after she returned to camp the first time.

She had not been in a good place mentally, it took him a while to snap out of the funk she'd fallen into.

(She pursed her... year, will you?)

"You're asking Percy not to do anything stupid?" Rachel asked her, emphasizing Percy's name.

"Hey!" Percy protested while everyone else agreed with Rachel. He stared at her in betrayal when she just grinned at her. "I am not the one that flew a helicopter into a war zone." He turned it back around onto her.

"Wait, what?" Apollo asked his Oracle with a growing grin, especially when she turned bright red.

"I had information that Percy needed to know, I didn't know how else to contact him except by going where I knew he was." She defended herself.

(At least... not... Iris-message?")

"So... he can do something stupid as long as he lets you know first?" Paul asked with a laugh.

Annabeth shrugged. "At least that way I know what's happening, and I can be ready to come help or bail him out." She pointed out.

(I managed a... don't have to.")

"Oh, really?" Sally asked her half-asleep son, lips twitching as she tried to contain her amusement.

He yawned, unable to suppress it again. "Yup." He nodded once as if that settled it.

"I find that very hard to believe." She challenged him with a raised eyebrow, causing him to squirm.

"Well... not that kind of trouble... I don't go looking for demigod trouble." He clarified under her gaze. She just hummed, before turning back to give Apollo her attention as he finished the book.

("When I get... down Luke.)

"Wasn't much of a hunt." Luke muttered quietly in amusement. They'd just shown up on his ship when he was passing by Camp one night.

(We'll ask for... anyway. Agreed?")

"Oh, so it wasn't just to crash my quest?" Clarisse asked sarcastically.

"Nope!" Percy chirped, he sat up a bit and grinned at her. "We were already planning on sneaking out, my dreams and the problems at camp just provided a legitimate excuse." Those who weren't there were curious about what he was talking about.

"If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have had to sneak out at all." Annabeth shrugged. Although... could it be called sneaking out if they were told by a god to go?

"I think he's a bad influence on her." Chris muttered to Beckendorf, who snorted and nodded in agreement.

("Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena.")

"Of course it is, Annabeth is the one to make it." Athena said pompously, although she was a little concerned with how reckless this plan seemed to be, and how little planning was actually involved. She comforted herself, though, by reasoning that they had a year to work out details, and hopefully by then they would know where the boy was, anyway.

(She held out her... your eyes open.")

"Always." The demigods all said at the same time, knowing that to do anything less was practically a death sentence.

("You too, Wise Girl."... I felt truly alone.)

"Oh?" Aphrodite perked up and smirked, eyes gleaming. "Only after Annabeth left, hmm?" She asked, smirking.

Percy narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes, what of it? She was the last of my friends that was left behind for the year, and now even she was gone." He informed her icily, not at all appreciating the look in her eye, and warning her to stay out of his love life with his own eyes. He didn't appreciate her interference the first time around, and he wasn't going to appreciate it happening again.

She held up her hands in surrender, but her smirk didn't go anywhere.

"You will leave my son alone." Poseidon warned her, and got the same reaction.

She smelled a juicy love life, and she wasn't to give up the potential it had for drama!

(I looked out... to be restrained.)

"Indeed, it does not." Poseidon smirked.

"Ugh, that gets annoying sometimes." Clarisse muttered, rolling her eyes. Percy just cracked an eye open and grinned at her.

(I made my decision... of my choice?)

"If it is what I think it is, then yes. I do approve." Poseidon said simply, knowing that it would perhaps be best if Percy stayed at camp, or even came down to his palace for training, but in the end, it was Percy's choice. Not to mention, it had been so long since he and his mother could truly interact without Gabe looming over them.

"All that agonizing over it, and just like that?" Chris snorted with an eyeroll. "Figures." He muttered when Percy smirked.

("I'll be back... I am your son.")

"That you are." Poseidon said, proudly.

Amphitrite rolled her eyes. "It's a wonder he managed to stay quiet about the boy all these years." She muttered to Artemis, who hid her sudden grin.

(I asked Argus... bags for home.)

"That is the end of the chapter, and the first book." Apollo said quietly, closing the book with a gentle snap.

"Children, to bed." Hestia immediately said, eying the younger (by age, not timelines) ones who were starting to droop tiredly.

The older ones looked like they were about to start protesting, but one Look from her had them gathering up the younger ones and herding them towards the rooms they'd been given, although a few of them were staying in their parents' rooms. (Like Percy, Hazel, and Nico. Thalia was staying in Artemis' rooms with Zoe.). She was sure that the Seven would have both Luke's with them for the night, just to make sure nothing happened to either of them, or that the younger one didn't try anything.

Hermes was gone from the room before Zeus could try to demand he stay so they could discuss his sons punishment.

"I think... it would best if we discussed this in the morning. After everybody has had a chance to sleep on it, and cooler heads will prevail." Hestia stared at her younger brother until he was forced to agree with her before flashing out abruptly.

Poseidon sighed. "He's going to be a bear with this, isn't he?" He grumbled before walking out with his wife.

"That's what he does." She reminded him with a small laugh. He just sighed and scooped Percy up, landing the boy on his hip as he went past where he and Triton were still sitting. He just yawned and slumped down against his dad's shoulder. Sally had to hide her smile at the sight, wishing for a camera.

Everybody else flashed out, or otherwise scattered, choosing to take Hestia's advice before he could return and demand that they stay and discuss this now.

"Good-night!" Was heard from the demigods rooms, and then everything was silent.

---

*According to some research I did on this, the deadliest scorpion in the world will take upwards of 72 hours for the victim to die. The Pit scorpion used in this series, however, will kill in 60 seconds. That's a huge difference.