Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any other franchise in the Riordanverse. I do not own any of the characters from the Riordanverse or Greek Mythology. All bolded text is from the book and I do not own that either. I just own my writing and some of the reactions.

Please don't take down my story.


i am so sorry for not updating in like 4 months :( life has been super hectic

thank you to everyone who have left nice reviews and favourited and followed you guys are so awesome!

i thought since it was nearing percys birthday i should do another chapter (sry!)

TW: Panic attack, indirect mention of selfharm (i think that's it but this chapter gets *heavy* so warning but it does get better i promise)

yeah this chapter got away from me


"8 - WE CAPTURE A FLAG" Dionysus read out clearly.

Ares sat up straighter and turned to his daughter. "Fight?"

Percy winced. "I suppose it's time for me to apologise again?" He asked Future-Annabeth, who grimaced.

"What?" Clarisse barked.

"Just, whatever happens in the book, don't take it out on me. I don't want to hurt you," Percy admitted sheepishly.

Clarisse's eye twitched. Ares growled deeply before Aphrodite touched his hand, calming him. Artemis scowled at him. Athena leaned forward on the couch to study him with scrunched eyebrows. The other demigods looked between each other in excitement.

"The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal,"

Future-Annabeth sighed heavily, turning to her boyfriend with a dubious expression, clipping him over the head.

Percy rubbed his face. "I know, I know. This won't be the last time I jinx myself."

"if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur."

"And demigods," Future-Annabeth reminded him.

"Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird."

Apollo turned to the demigods. "Is it hard to get used to?"

"I mean, at first," Percy shrugged. "and then they all started trying to kill me. It got easier then."

Poseidon turned to Percy incredulously before his eyes darkened. "Which ones, son?"

"Olympian-level or minor?" Percy replied.

"Uh, Olympian-level?" Poseidon said, but it came out more like a question.

Percy rubbed his chin, counting them off on his fingers. It might be easier to say which ones hadn't. Hestia, obviously. Percy had saved Hephaestus' ass, and while he was a bit annoyed with Percy, after the whole 'pay your gods-be-damned child support', but never plotted his murder. He earned Artemis' respect and she stood up for him, even though he was a man. Apollo nearly indirectly murdered him through his sun car and asking for a quest, but the god was as scared as he was, especially when Thalia was driving. Aphrodite sure made his love life fun, especially when the summer when he was fourteen, but did she have a hand in his questings? Maybe she twisted fate a little, putting Annabeth to the edge of the cliff for Percy to help, the ultimate test. The thought made Percy's eyes darken with a scowl. But she didn't know what she was meddling in, so he supposed he wouldn't count that. While Percy actively avoided talking to Hermes after Luke's death, they weren't on bad terms, and Hermes never tried to kill him. Zeus, definitely tried many-a-time. Hades had also tried at least twice. Hera sent him to the Labyrinth and switched him and Jason. Ares and him battled it out when he was twelve, and Ares cursed him. Percy couldn't count how many times Mr. D nearly turned him into a dolphin. Athena voted for his death a lot, because it was the 'wisest choice of action'. Hell, even his dad nearly killed him when he was sitting on his throne. Seven gods out of fourteen. Half

"About half," Percy decided.

"Half?" His dad repeated, making a strangled sound deep in his throat.

"Seven out of fourteen. I'm including Hestia and Hades," He added as an afterthought in explanation.

"Who-who tried to-" His dad couldn't seem to get the words out.

Percy grinned wickedly. "How about you guess?"

"Zeus," Poseidon muttered bitterly. "Of course. Probably Hades, if we're including him. Athena possibly plotted your murder through a council decision. Maybe Ares got too hot-headed? Did you accidently dishonour Artemis? No, then you'd actually be dead. Hermes and Apollo aren't into killing. Murder isn't Hephaestus' style. Obviously not Hestia. What would Hera have to gain off your death, other than stress relief I suppose. Who hasn't Dionysus plotted the death of, I mean, honestly? Aphrodite doesn't plot murder...did she do it indirectly while trying to make your love life 'interesting'? But that's only six."

Percy turned to Future-Annabeth in confusion. "Should I count Aphrodite?"

"Uhm, are you counting it being indirectly?" Future-Annabeth wondered.

Percy thought about it. "I guess I am. I am counting my dad. Athena hates my dad, but I don't think it was personal. Besides, she was right. I am too powerful."

Both he and his Annabeth bow their heads, eyes dark, and their memories flicker to the pit.

"Then you are counting Aphrodite," Future-Annabeth cleared her throat. Percy hummed in agreement quickly, turning to his dad.

"Eight out of fourteen, then," Percy told him cheerfully.

Poseidon stared at his son. "Just read on," He told Dionysus tiredly after a minute.

"I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English."

"Still hard," Percy muttered.

"Until you get the hang of it." Luke pointed out.

"After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache."

"'Too much'," Silena mumbled, annoyed.

"The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at."

"Must be hard," Clarisse sniggered. Percy made a face at her.

"Chiron tried to teach me archery,"

Future-Annabeth snorted. "Tried, being the key word."

"but we found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. He didn't complain, even when he had to de-snag a stray arrow out of his tail."

The demigods snickered. Chiron shook his head fondly. Apollo was determinedly not meeting Artemis' eyes until she cleared her throat, and gestured for him to speak.

Apollo sighed, shifting slightly on his throne. "I cursed sons of Poseidon with all of them failing with the ability of archery after Orion."

"What did Orion have to do with my dad?" Percy asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Not the son of Gaia," Future-Annabeth explained.

Percy blinked at her. "You're saying there's two Orions, both of which joined the hunt, both of which Apollo was wary of, both were put in the stars, and both of which Artemis...I don't want to say fell for, but..."

"I think it also had to do with the name," Artemis sighed. "The son of Poseidon was first, he was closer to having me break my oath than the son of Gaia. I was less convinced to run off with him after I felt the after effects of love. When Orion, son of Gaia, died, the constellation was altered slightly to honour them both," Artemis fixed Percy with a look. "I have always had a soft spot for sons of Poseidon, Perseus. Don't make me regret it."

"Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the dust. They told me not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods."

Hera stared at Zeus accusingly, and Artemis huffed something unflattering to men irritably.

"But still, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree."

"If you want to see it like that," Hermes chuckled.

"And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize me."

Clarisse's face seemed to grow a smirk, temporarily forgetting about what Percy said earlier.

"There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in my ear."

Clarisse nodded confidently.

"The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur."

"All hail the mighty canoer!" Travis called, snickering.

Poseidon grimaced slightly at his son. "Yeah, sorry son. My children usually have to garner their own skills if they want to be able to do more than just water activities."

"You are a bit talentless," Zeus sniggered. Poseidon glared at him.

"Yeah, says you!" Poseidon protested. Hestia smiled sadly at the brothers bickering like a family, she was disappointed it took a book reading for this to happen, it had been far too long since they acted like a real family.

Percy paused. "Am I good at surfing? Asking for a friend."

"I don't know...why?" Poseidon eyed his son weirdly.

Future-Annabeth sighed at her boyfriend. "You are three years in for getting a degree in oceanography, Percy."

"No, no, I'm literally asking for a friend," Percy chuckled to himself. He waved off Future-Annabeth stare. "You'll see."

"I knew the senior campers and counsellors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was,"

"We usually do," Luke agreed, shrugging slightly sheepishly.

"Everyone does," Past-Annabeth nodded, without an ounce of shame.

"Mr. D and I place bets," Chiron rubbed the back of his neck.

"but they weren't having an easy time of it. I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids,"

"Thank the gods," Clarisse mumbled.

"or as good at archery as the Apollo kids."

"The opposite," Apollo snickered.

Artemis glared at him. He was oh-so petty about Artemis' love life. While, she had to admit, she wasn't supposed to have one, it was none of Apollo's business.

"I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork"

Hephaestus looked up at his name before going back to sketching in his notebook.

"or-gods forbid- Dionysus's way with vine plants."

Dionysus snorted. The only heroes he could tolerate were his own children. Certainly not sons of Poseidon.

"Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none."

"Calling you a nobody again," Future-Annabeth chuckled softly.

"Hey, now," Percy put a hand over his heart, mock offended. "We'd be dead without Nobody."

"But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either."

"I should work on that," Luke muttered. Whilst sometimes he resented it, Luke liked being Camp's older brother figure. He loved all the demigods, just didn't like their parents. He wanted to be approachable and he wanted to help all of the kids. He knew what it was like to not have parents or a parental figure and he didn't want any other children to struggle with the same thing. He thought Thalia would be proud of that.

"Despite all that, I liked camp."

"Who doesn't?" Katie sighed happily.

"I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad."

"I love camp," Silena smiled dreamily.

"I think we've all been in that position," Connor agreed with the book.

"Unless you already know your goldly parent," Luke pointed out. Beckendorf, Clarisse, and Past-Annabeth nodded.

Nothing came."

"Sorry son," Poseidon tried to smile at his son, but it came out as more of a grimace. He put an arm around Percy's shoulders. "I will not want to drag you to in between me and Zeus."

"Just that warm feeling I'd always had, like the memory of his smile. I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back..."

Poseidon dropped his arm and put his face in his hands, groaning. "I love Sally, Percy. And she won't be dead. But the only way is literally getting her in person..." Poseidon trailed off, seeing Percy's sheepish expression. "...and that's exactly what you did."

"In my defence, it was a personal side-quest while I was on my own," Percy admitted, to the growing confusion of Athena, the eavesdropping Goddess.

"I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes."

Hermes shook his head sadly. Luke was determinedly not looking at anyone. Past-Annabeth leaned into him.

"So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?"

"Because of the stupid ancient laws!" Poseidon snapped, glaring fiercely at Zeus.

"Brother-" Zeus tried to placate but was cut off.

"No! Just because you have a heart of stone and don't care-" Poseidon interrupted, but his voice was soon taken over.

"You don't get to say that," Zeus thundered. "You don't get to say I don't care. Of course I care! I care too much! If I spend my days watching how my very presence tore Beryl Grace up, making her turn to partying and drinking and drugs, got Jason kidnapped and got him raised like a child-soldier, splitting their family, made Thalia run away, straight into the hands of monsters that murdered her, I'd drive myself mad! You can call me selfish, call me unfair, but don't ever say that I don't care." Zeus settled back in his throne, panting for breath heavily. The other gods stared at their king in shock and confusion, other than Hestia, who patted her brother on the shoulder consolingly.

"But demigods don't feel that way, brother," Hades sighed. "Their rage, it's fuelling father." Luke shifted uncomfortably.

"Why didn't you mention this before?!" Artemis demanded, fear shining in her eyes. She had not been alive when Kronos ruled the earth, but she knew enough horror stories that it was not pretty.

"Why would I?" Hades sneered. "If anything, Kronos taking over would help me. I am not welcome in Olympus, and, despite death being another part of life, I am feared by mortals too. Why would I stop father?"

"If you think he would ignore you, brother, when you helped us overthrow him, your more stupid than Zeus," Poseidon told him.

But Hades shook his head. "He knows what a pain in the ass this job is, he'd just demand for freedom for his brethren, the mortal world would have havoc reeked upon it, and I would remain as I did before."

"The King of the Titans is rising?" Beckendorf whispered in horror. Silena avoided looking at him.

"He rises every few centuries and goes back to sleep just as easy," Zeus dismissed.

Percy shook his head. "A mindset like that nearly caused our death."

The throne room was dead silent until...

"Who's Jason?" Past-Annabeth asked hesitantly, her eyes burning with curiosity. Luke looked up in confusion too. Zeus looked like a deer in headlights.

"He's my bro, and another child of Zeus," Percy sighed. "You'll find out about him later, probably." Future-Annabeth nodded.

Athena turned to stare at her daughter. It was shocking her how much her child associated with Romans, it shocked her to the point where she wanted to distance herself from Future-Annabeth for it, but she remained close. If Future-Annabeth was any ounce her daughter, there would be reasoning and wisdom behind it.

Zeus stared at Percy in shook. Not only was the sea-spawn dating one of Athena's brain-children, was fond of a daughter of Ares, and he was 'bros' with one of his sons?! He seemed to have his fingers in all of the cookie jars. That influence would serve him greatly in the future. Zeus should keep a closer eye on this boy in the future.

"Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson."

Poseidon sat up a little straighter. He hoped Percy was a good sword-fighter and was excited to see him fight properly.

Future-Annabeth smirked. She knew Percy did not like flaunting his abilities, nor did he think he was anything special, but that was exactly why Future-Annabeth continued to be imposingly proud of him.

"Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor."

Luke sat forward. He was excited to go up against another child of the big three, maybe this would be a real challenge, like Thalia had always been.

"We started with basic stabbing and slashing,"

"Greeks go slashy slashy, Romans go stabby stabby," Percy recited.

"You're spending far too much time with Leo," Future-Annabeth huffed.

The past demigods exchanged much confused glances. They didn't know what to make of all the references to Romans and hoped it was just joking around. They remembered the ancient wars against Romans, and they didn't sound nice.

"using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armour. I guess I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good."

"Having good reflexes will serve you well in battle," Luke agreed.

"The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long. Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me."

"Your blade has to draw power from the ocean," Poseidon admitted. "Most of your equipment does. Shields and armour are also easier for you to use if made in the ocean. Why do you think we have underwater forges, if we had the god of metalwork?"

Hephaestus grunted in agreement. "Can't do nothin' with sea blades. None of us can without explicit permission from the owner or if it is passed to you."

Percy's mouth formed an 'o'. "That's why Tyson's shield and Riptide work better for me."

"When do you get a proper sword?" Poseidon asked, almost giddy.

"When I get off on my quest!" Percy exclaimed cheerfully, making his dad's mood sour.

"We moved on to duelling in pairs. Luke announced he would be my partner, since this was my first time."

"As always," Connor nodded.

""Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years.""

Hermes puffed up proudly.

""Maybe he'll go easy on me," I said.

The camper snorted."

The rest of the demigods nodded in agreement.

"Luke isn't exactly known for holding back when it comes to training," Katie mumbled, rubbing a purple bruise on her thigh absent-mindedly.

"Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way."

"Tough love's gonna keep you alive," Luke smirked. The demigods groaned. Chiron smiled proudly at his star pupil.

"With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Percy," he'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of his blade. "No, not that far up!" Whap! "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!" Whap!"

"Whap! Whap! Whap!" Travis mocked, getting an elbow to the ribs by Silena.

"By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea, I did the same."

A smirk grew on Poseidon's face. Hermes moaned in annoyance.

Luke sat up a little straighter. While he and Thalia had duelled often, he had never faced a big three kid while they were in their element. Maybe his title would be taken away from him.

"Instantly, I felt better. Strength surged back into my arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward."

Poseidon cheered happily. Zeus and Hades were grumbling in annoyance, as they didn't have anything that powers them as much as Poseidon with water.

The past campers exchanged excited glances.

""Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo.""

Poseidon sat even further forward on his seat. Now he could see Percy really fight.

Percy chuckled self-depreciatingly. It really wasn't going to be anything big.

Future-Annabeth, sensing his thoughts, pressed herself further into Percy side, with a grin on her face that read clearly 'yes, Percy. It is a big deal'.

"Great, I thought. Let's all watch Percy get pounded."

"I doubt that," Future-Annabeth snickered. Luke shrugged, unbothered.

"The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in my shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used me for a punching bag."

Connor nodded. "I think I still have my bruise's bruise."

"Bet we were so shocked," Travis laughed.

"He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon."

"Not 'he', they," Artemis stressed. "'So that they had no choice but to drop their weapon.'"

Percy held his hands up in surrender. "I didn't write it. Plus, if this is from my thoughts, I'll be thinking about myself. I can't be hanging around with Annabeth and Thalia and think that a girl can't swordfight." Percy paused. "Neither of them fight with swords, that was a bad analogy. Let me try that again. I can't be hanging around with Hazel and...uh..." He turned to Future-Annabeth.

"I use a dagger," Future-Annabeth counted off. "Thalia uses a spear and a bow. Piper uses a dagger. Reyna uses a spear. Clarisse uses a spear. Hazel uses a sword. All of the huntresses use bows. Hylla uses a spear. Great Zeus, what other women that we know use a sword?!"

Percy snapped his fingers. "Reyna's spear alternates between spear and sword!" He turned back to Artemis. "I can't be hanging around with Hazel and Reyna and think that a woman can't swordfight. I was raised by the strongest person I know, who happens to be a woman."

Artemis studied him.

""This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique.""

Future-Annabeth looked ready to grinned widely and shook her head fondly, Percy exchanged an amused look with her, ignoring Luke's curious gaze.

"He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand."

"How long did it take you?" Ares asked the son of Hermes, interested.

"Years," Luke reiterated sarcastically.

Ares scowled at him darkly, eyes flashing, and turned to Hermes. "Watch your kid's attitude, or I might not be so accommodating in the future."

Hermes sighed and looked pleadingly to his son, who was pointedly avoiding his stare.

""Now in real time," he said, after I'd retrieved my weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?""

Poseidon leaned forward again, excited for his son to fight for real.

"I nodded, and Luke came after me. Somehow, I kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of my sword. My senses opened up. I saw his attacks coming. I countered. I stepped forward and tried a thrust of my own. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press me with more force."

Luke was pleased with the idea of a challenge. While it was great to have such a title like 'best swordsman in three-hundred years', it did get boring quickly.

Poseidon was grinning from ear-to-ear as he heard of his son fight, slinging hand around his shoulders.

"The sword grew heavy in my hand. The balance wasn't right. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before Luke took me down, so I figured, What the heck?"

Ares leaned forward. He always liked new potential fighters.

Poseidon huffed something about getting him a better sword.

"I tried the disarming manoeuvre."

Even Dionysus and Hephaestus looked interested with hearing what happened.

"My blade hit the base of Luke's and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust."

Luke nodded. That was the trick, putting all your weight into your moves. You weren't going to get this thrust half-assed.

"Clang."

Everyone turned to openly gape at the son of Poseidon. Percy hid his red face in Future-Annabeth's hair, glaring as she laughed against his chest at his discomfort.

"Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of my blade was an inch from his undefended chest."

Luke's face grew a grin

"The other campers were silent."

"Our expressions were probably gold," Travis snickered.

"You say that like we they aren't right now," Connor pointed out.

"I lowered my sword. "Um, sorry.""

"Why are you apologising?!" Apollo yelped. "That was awesome!"

Hermes, who was sulking in his throne because his son was beaten, huffed something unflattering about Poseidon's water abilities.

"I wonder what you could do with a balanced sword," Ares wondered excitedly. "Or in the real heat of battle!"

"For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak."

"I'm not used to losing, but when I do, by the gods, I am happy!" Luke laughed giddily, his mind running with ideas for the sparrings that he and Percy could do.

Percy smiled sadly. Unfortunately, after his quest, him and Luke never got to spar again without it being heated and to-the-death.

""Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!""

Poseidon shook his head. "Sorry, son. It's not gonna work twice."

Luke pouted. If he could find a way to extend those abilities, and teach Percy more one-on-one, Percy could be a worthy opponent. And this was when Percy was twelve. Granted, Luke did underestimate him, but he was going off other demigods on their first day of his training! Just imagine the opponent Percy could be as Luke's age.

Luke's eyes drifted to Percy. He would have to ask to spar later.

"I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted."

Percy waved off Luke's "Sorry, man,".

"This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor."

Hermes cheered happily.

Luke shook his head, almost fondly, before stopping himself. His father was not his friend, nor his family. But without the feeling of Kronos in the back of his mind, Luke felt lighter. He couldn't begin to think up the dark thoughts he had when Kronos haunted his dreams.

"After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?""

"More like cheating," Hades muttered bitterly. Poseidon flashed him a crooked grin.

"Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword...""

Luke and Ares nodded in unison, wide grins spread across their faces.

"Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall."

Poseidon glared accusingly at Chiron, who shrank back and mumbled something about keeping a closer eye on campers.

"Who hasn't done that once?" Katie sighed, but she was grinning.

"I love camp," Silena repeated. Aphrodite and Demeter stared at their daughters in concern.

"Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, but the lava had almost gotten me. My shirt had smoking holes in it. The hairs had been singed off my forearms."

Apollo winced. Chiron was pointedly not looking at Poseidon.

Katie whistled. "Lucky! I basically burned all my hair off and nearly lost an arm!" Demeter gasped dramatically.

"We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until I got up the nerve to ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D."

Dionysus looked slightly more interested, the far-off look in his eyes clearing to hear about his future self.

"His face turned a sickly shade of yellow."

"Dionysus!" Demeter scolded. "Don't scare them!"

""Fine," he said. "Just great."

"So your career's still on track?"

He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?""

Dionysus shook his head, almost mournfully. "They never come back."

"I want my son back as much as anyone," Hermes sighed, forehead crinkled with pain. "but the deaths millions of satyrs isn't worth it. It pains me to admit it, but it's a fool's errand."

""Well... no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was,"

Dionysus growled. Ignorant heroes, he thought viciously. Not understanding the weight of Pan and satyrs.

"but it didn't seem like the right time to ask. "He just said you had big plans, you know...and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?""

"I doubt it," Dionysus huffed. "You took him up the hill, not the other way around. You should've waited!"

But Percy shook his head. "While it would've been much easier, we would've been dead without Grover. Grover would've been lead to his death, like he nearly was without me there to save him. It was better this way."

"Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete.""

"I would," Dionysus agreed. He cast a look at Percy and Future-Annabeth. "It seems I did."

"My spirits lifted. "Well, that's not so bad, right?""

"Nobody ever gets quests anymore," Clarisse sighed.

"The chance of you getting one is slim-to-none," Past-Annabeth agreed with a huff.

""Blaa-ha-ha!"

"Blaa-ha-ha!" Travis mocked again.

"He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty."

Percy shook his head. "Ouch, stable-cleanings are rough."

"Not for you," Future-Annabeth pointed out.

"The chances of you getting a quest..."

"Slim-to-none," Past-Annabeth repeated.

Luke shifted. He knew that it was his fault Chiron didn't issue more quests. Part of him was relieved, though, that none of his extended family would get hurt, much less his Annabeth.

"and even if you did, why would you want me along?""

"Yes," Zeus sneered viciously. "Why would you?"

"Because he's the best Olympus-be-damned satyr ever!" Percy declared, glaring at Zeus.

""Of course I'd want you along!"

Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving... Must be nice to have a useful skill.""

Dionysus frowned. He hated how useless all satyrs felt, especially when demigods use them for quests, as if satyr lives are worth less.

"I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. We talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods."

"What did you land on?" Apollo asked innocently.

Percy mentally cursed the god, but couldn't get out of it, what with the other gods and goddesses sitting up to study him.

"Hera and Artemis have no kids," Percy sighed as he began. "Hermes would've good, but the cabin's too crowded," Hermes nodded slowly, conceding to that. "I didn't want to be siblings with Clarisse, so Ares was out," Clarisse scowled at him, Ares shrugged, looking unbothered. "Sorry Hephaestus, but I have no talent for metal work," Hephaestus grunted. "I suck at archery, no Apollo," Apollo stifled a snicker. "I don't have the looks for Aphrodite, to put it plainly," The goddess shook her head in disagreement. "I wasn't too fond of Annabeth, nor am I smart, Athena's out," Athena grimaced at the thought of he being her kid. Past-Annabeth scowled at him, Future-Annabeth made a face at the idea of him being her brother. "Me and Dionysus will always have a mutual relationship of hatred, so definitely not," Said god grunted in agreement. "I said 'Poseidon and Zeus would be cool', having a powerful parent and all that, but Grover changed the subject as fast as he could, so we didn't really discuss it," Zeus and Poseidon glared at each other, like it was a competition.

"Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins.

"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids."

"Like the marriages should be," Hera grumbled.

"The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad.""

"A monument," Artemis agreed. "For respect."

Hades' expression darkened. He didn't have a cabin. He wasn't respected.

Hestia didn't get angry, like her younger brother. She didn't need to be respected and feared by mortals. Her self-value wasn't as fragile as her brother and sisters and nieces and nephews and cousins and aunts and uncles. She knew her value, anyone else's opinion didn't really matter.

""Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?""

Hera snorted. "Like I'd want to be."

"No, because, apparently, I am not worth the bare minimum," Hades sneered.

"Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals."

"Like the rest of you should be," Hera snapped.

"That's her husband's job."

Luke's face grew a smirk. Most of the demigods hid their snickers behind their hands.

Zeus glared at the book fiercely. Hera glared at her husband.

"When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."

"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades.""

"Names have power!" Zeus snapped.

""Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what.""

"So did you, like, draw straws?" Percy asked.

"It was based off our powers," Poseidon explained. "I draw power from the sea, Zeus from the sky, Hades from the underworld."

""Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."

"Uh-huh."

"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here.""

"Of course not!" Hades growled. Hestia patted her brother's shoulder consolingly. The other gods looked down, ashamed.

""No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that.""

"To be fair," Percy said to Future-Annabeth nonchalantly. "the cabin was pretty awful until Nico redesigned it."

The air stilled.

"I have a cabin?" Hades croaked.

"Spoilers!" Future-Annabeth told them, glaring slightly at Percy for dropping that.

""But Zeus and Poseidon, they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?""

"As it should be!" Hera repeated forcefully.

"Fear," Luke mumbled.

"Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx.""

Percy snorted. "That's not the reason."

The gods shifted uncomfortably. Chiron looked very grave. The demigods exchanged confused glances.

Future-Annabeth, sensing the confusion, gave a slight huff at her boyfriend. "Spoilers. You'll have to wait for the fifth book," She clipped Percy on the back of his head.

"Thunder boomed."

"Like always," Percy almost whined. "Can I have one conversation without the gods stalking up on my business?"

"I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make."

Grover nodded.

"And the brothers kept their word, no kids?""

Artemis snorted. "Of course not. That would be respectful to their significant others."

The gods and goddesses shifted uneasily.

"Grover's face darkened."

"Here we go," Travis huffed slightly.

"It's story time," Hermes agreed.

""Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo-he just couldn't help himself."

"'He just couldn't help himself'," Hera sneered, her eyes shining with hurt. Zeus directed his eyes away from her.

"When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia .. . well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter.""

"And that's the problem," Percy stated, completely clear and simple, like many of the gods weren't going to smite him for his opinion.

Future-Annabeth didn't even try to fight him on this one, seemingly agreeing or just letting her boyfriend go at it when she slumped in the sofa. Her calculating grey eyes were lit with a new fire.

Percy glared at the gods, ocean eyes churning like waves. "None of you ever accept responsibility! The reason for the prophecy was stupid and made out of fear, but none of you should've been cheating in the first place! And then children are blamed for existing?! Demigods have it hard enough with the monsters and the mortals, we do not need the gods to come fuck things up further, thank you very much!"

Percy took a breath and rolled his shoulders, trying to rid the tension. He did not need a break down in the middle of this, nor did he need to loose control.

"You know, I barely realised that this wasn't normal until I got a therapist," Percy laughed, short and brittle. "Can you imagine? Brainwashing kids into itty-bitty child-soldiers by leeching of them being desperate to please?"

The gods shifted in their thrones, but didn't comment. Some gods, like Hephaestus and Hades, looked vindicated, glad to not be the only ones experiencing the toxic side of their 'family'. Others gods, like Dionysus and Apollo, looked confused, like what was happening was normal. Some gods, like Poseidon and Hermes, had their eyes narrows in thought, wondering how this slipped their radars. Some gods, like Artemis and Hestia, glared similarly to Percy, having found problems with the hierarchy centuries ago. Some gods, like Zeus and Hera, avoided the stares of other gods, uncomfortable with the truth.

The demigods' mouths fell open. Not only were they shocked that a demigod could go out and say it without being blasted to the Underworld, they generally hadn't seen the subtle manipulation radiating of the gods. Luke glared similarly to Percy, glad the truth was finally coming to light.

"Chiron plays a part in it too, whether he knows about it or not," Percy accused, the centaur looking increasingly sad and shocked.

"And you wonder," Future-Annabeth smiled bitterly. "you wonder why so many kids joined Kronos. Other than Kronos being no better than you batch of bitches, give me one good reason why all demigods shouldn't have."

"So yes, my king," Percy mocked, staring at Zeus. His eyes were cold and unforgiving. "Yes, the life of a demigod is hard. We are the link that grounds the gods to the mortal world, but we have no place among either side. I'm sorry we weren't swallowed by our father or hidden away and raised comfortably by nine nymphs and a goat. But that doesn't make any of our problems less than. Just because you had no help, other than your fuckin' godly powers, overthrowing a titan lord, means we should be able to do the same, mind you, without the fuckin' godly powers."

"Why should you have won, if you don't change anything?" Future-Annabeth asked, narrowing her eyes, twirling a golden strand. "Architecture isn't about living in the past, it's also about adapting new designs and techniques and flows. A lot of ancient Greek buildings were destroyed or decayed over time, so shouldn't we take the methods of the past and improve them for the future, so what's left behind isn't ruins for the next generation to overcome? And if they end up like that, do you think anyone in life isn't bullshitting themselves that 'everything is going to be okay'? Trial and error, right? So if you continue your rule like this, do you truly think you're better than your father?"

"And don't you think," Percy began, adrenaline spiking with the battle of words. "that maybe the reason the Fates called for change, was your rule? Maybe instead of turning another blind eye, Mister 'Nice-Guy', totally just god of justice, you should get off your godly behind?! Maybe we should make some real changes and laws that benefit society instead of hurting you feelings?! Maybe the reason the system's fucked, could be because of the creator of said system?! Maybe, if you're just such a great ruler, you'll at least change the fucked up system you put in place?!"

The room fell into silence as the throne room mulled over Percy's words, the only noise being Percy trying to slow his ragged breathing.

"Percy-" Poseidon tried after a moment.

"Just, don't. Let's continue," Percy sighed, rubbing his fingers over his eyelids tiredly.

""But that isn't fair. It wasn't the little girl's fault.""

Luke nodded in agreement, his mind caught up with what Percy and Future-Annabeth had said as he had been thinking it since his quest.

"Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."

He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill.""

Most of the throne room bowed their heads in remembrance, not saying a word as a moment of silence passed for Thalia Grace.

"I stared at the pine in the distance.

The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur didn't seem like much. I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?"

The world seemed to pause again, as the gravity of what the half-blood was thinking sunk in.

"You defeated the minotaur, at age twelve, and were angry at yourself about not being better?! For not sacrificing yourself?! For not giving yourself a death sentence?!" Hermes demanded.

"Pretty natural," Luke muttered, loud enough for the throne room to hear him, looking his father in the eye for the first time. "I felt-feel the same way about Thalia."

"As do I," Past-Annabeth whispered. "It's a guilt complex. I read about it in a psychology book."

Hermes stared at his son in horror while Athena reached over to whisper in Past-Annabeth's ear.

Future-Annabeth clipped him over the head harshly, angry tears spewing into her eyes. "Never say that, Seaweed Brain," She hissed.

"Didn't say it," Percy pointed out. He ducked away from his girlfriend's expression.

"You say, or think Percy, that again and I'll make Mount Saint Helens feel like a wet dream," His Annabeth ground out, wrapping her scarred arms around his scarred arms protectively.

""Grover," I said, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?""

"No," Poseidon warned, coming out of his stupor at the display of affection from his son's romance.

""Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."

"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?""

"No," Poseidon groaned. Percy grinned sheepishly at him.

""No. Never. Orpheus came close... . Percy, you're not seriously thinking-"

"No," I lied."

"No!" Hades snapped. Poseidon huffed and sighed.

""I was just wondering. So...a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"

Grover studied me warily. I hadn't persuaded him that I'd really dropped the Underworld idea. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."

"And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special.""

"You're special," Poseidon whispered. He didn't say it like it was a good thing.

"Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were-you know-you'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?""

"Oh, I had to worry," Percy murmured bitterly.

"I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me.

That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual."

"There always is when there's capture the flag!" Travis cheered, trying to lift the souring mood. Connor harrumphed in agreement.

"At last, it was time for capture the flag."

Most of the demigods cheered.

"What are the teams?" Clarisse asked, a grin spread on her face.

"When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables.

Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening grey, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree."

Ares and Clarisse booed.

"From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head."

Past and Future-Annabeth booed.

The other campers remained silent, wondering which teams they were on. Percy was drowning in the guilt that he was gonna make Clarisse look like a fool in front of her father.

"I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"

"Yeah."

"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"

"Not always," he said. "But often.""

"The war gods," Athena explained.

""So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do-repaint the flag?"

He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."

"Whose side are we on?"

He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't."

"Doesn't everyone," Past-Annabeth said under her breath. It wasn't quite enough.

Percy turned to her incredulously. "This is corruption! You Annabeths are just all evil!"

Athena chuckled quietly next to her daughter, making Past-Annabeth's face turn bright red. Luke pulled her in closer to his chest in a brotherly fashion, laughing at his little sister figure's predicament. If anything, this just made Past-Annabeth go even redder.

The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight."

"Foreshadowing," Percy muttered lightly.

"There's another one," Future-Annabeth agreed.

""We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help.""

"Uh huh," Percy levelled Future-Annabeth with an unimpressed look, who just smiled not-so apologetically at him.

"Oh c'mon. I was twelve. Besides, it worked. You were a good diversion," Her grin widened.

"No spoilers!" Apollo huffed. "I'm getting invested."

"The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins."

Artemis sighed and muttered. "Figures. My brother is a man-whore."

"Older brother," Apollo mumbled.

Artemis' head turned rapidly. Her eyes narrows into slits. "I helped mother give birth you little-"

Dionysus forcefully continued reading with a loud clear of his throat.

"Apparently, privileges had been traded-shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities-in order to win support."

"Plus, a truck load of marshmallows for the next three campfires for each cabin," Percy snickered.

"Oh, crappy deal then," Connor frowned. "We usually get at least two trucks, plus chocolate, for the next five, and only for our cabin. Can't have the show-offs baking in our glory." Apollo scoffed dramatically, Hermes grinned.

"Yeah, who made it? Luke's not loosing his touch, is he?" Travis questioned, eyes narrowing playfully at his older half-brother. Luke just shook his head, a small smile at his lips.

"Cecil," Percy told them mournfully.

"Ah, that explains it," Connor nodded along, like it was a full explanation.

"Yeah, Cecil excels at messing things up," Travis agreed.

Luke threw a pillow at him. "Be nice!"

Travis raised his hands in surrender. "I am! I never said it was a bad thing! I admire the guy."

"Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus."

"Ever heard of quality over quantity?" Ares grinned.

Hermes and Apollo immediately began yelling, along with Connor and Travis, Clarisse yelling in agreement of her father. Silena and Katie soon joined her. The rest of the demigods and most of the other gods watched in amusement.

"Why not have both?" Past-Annabeth challenged. Future-Annabeth bit her lip to stop the blossoming smile as Ares spluttered. She never would have dreamed of saying that to gods. It seems the past was already changing.

"From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them."

"Well, excuse me for trying to remain faithful," Dionysus muttered. He seemed pleased by the 'good athletes' comment though.

"Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive."

Demeter harrumphed in agreement. "As it should be."

"Bull. I saw Katie after the easter-bunnies prank," Travis shook his head.

"Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped."

Silena turned to glare at Percy angrily. "I-"

"I don't feel the same way anymore!" Percy rushed to assure her. "I can't hang with Piper's reformed cabin, or you for that matter, without knowing how badass Aphrodite's kids can be."

"Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty,"

Hephaestus looked up to glare at Percy, but Beckendorf only snorted. It was a running joke in their cabin, and after a lifetime of trauma about his appearance, it was good to laugh about it with people who had gone through the same.

"and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem."

"Doesn't have to look appealing to run like a well-oiled machine," Hephaestus' teeth seemed remarkably sharp, spread into a wicked smile.

"That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet."

"What he said," Ares grunted. Hephaestus chuckled, making Ares stutter.

"Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.

"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal."

"Sweet," Ares mumbled.

""Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?""

"Poor, innocent, baby me," Percy sighed.

"Luke looked at me as if I were crazy. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five."

Clarisse smirked confidently, but the slight eye twitch gave away her real feelings.

"Here, Chiron thought these would fit."

Future-Annabeth put a hand to her mouth to smother her laughter. "Try harder next time, Chiron."

Percy rolled his eyes.

"You'll be on border patrol."

My shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. It weighed about a million pounds. I could have snowboarded on it fine, but I hoped nobody seriously expected me to run fast. My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes."

"Would be fine if it was just connected to water," Poseidon muttered.

"Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.

I managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over my equipment."

"I struggled," Percy said.

""Hey."

She kept marching."

"'Was doing my impression of your New York walk," Future-Annabeth teased.

"I couldn't do any walking in that armour," Percy grumbled.

""So what's the plan?" I asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"

Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something."

Future-Annabeth shrugged unapologetically. "You could've been Hermes', for all I knew."

""Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"

"Border patrol, whatever that means."

"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."

She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.

"Okay," I mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team.""

"Sorry," Future-Annabeth whispered in Percy's ear. Percy just shook his head and pressed a kiss to his Annabeth's jawline.

"It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.

Standing there alone, with my big blue-feathered helmet and my huge shield, I felt like an idiot. The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong. The leather grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball."

"Connect it to the ocean," Poseidon muttered bitterly again, giving Chiron a dirty look.

"There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right?"

"Wishful thinking," Clarisse snorted. "What? You scared, Prissy?"

"More like untrained," Percy retorted.

"Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.

Great, I thought. I'll miss all the fun, as usual."

Future-Annabeth cast a look over at her boyfriend guiltily, until he bumped her shoulder playfully and smiled reassuringly.

"Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by."

"Monster?" Katie asked.

"'Canine'?" Athena whispered to herself.

"I raised my shield instinctively; I had the feeling something was stalking me.

Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating."

"'Felt'?" Zeus demanded.

Poseidon was watching Percy closely. "Percy, can you feel water molecules? Or blood?"

Percy avoided looking at the others in the throne room, all of which were looking at him. His hands scratched over each other and flexed lightly as he stared down at them. He dug his nails into his palm into shaking fists. The conversation was bringing up unpleasant thoughts from the pit. Of monsters and titans and giants and the motherfucking primordial himself.

A slight white noise was chafing on Percy's eyedrums. The room was silent. They were probably waiting for an answer.

"-ercy! PERCY!"

People were talking. Percy felt like he was being dragged underwater. The room was too bright. A liquid was filling his lungs and he couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He was drowning. He was-

A warm hand eased it's way over Percy's, gently taking his fingers off his blood-splattered fingernails. Another hand rested on his shoulder reassuringly. The first hand moved to stroke his face softly. A heartbeat pressed up against his, a slow breathing chest was heaving. Another person's breathing pushed against his back, matching the other's perfectly. Percy focused on that, slowing his breath until he matched with the two pairs.

Percy looked up to see concerned grey eyes searching his face, his Annabeth's chest pressed against his, strands of blonde hair falling from her face, dangling against his shoulder, half in his lap. Percy turned to see worried sea green eyes, so like his, with his father's body hugging him from behind.

Percy tried to speak. Answer the question, apologise, anything, but all that came out was a broken half-sob.

"Shh," His Annabeth soothed. She pushed a hair behind her ear. Her stroking hand paused, cradling Percy's cheek gently. "We're not there. You're alright, Perce. Just...cut yourself some slack."

Percy nodded slowly. He didn't try to work the thump in his throat into real words again. His dad's hands eased over Percy's shoulders, slowly working away his shoulder muscles. His Annabeth shifted, letting Percy's head fall into her waiting hands to stroke through the sweaty nest.

After a few minutes, Percy nodded again. He silently thanked his Annabeth and his dad for putting up with him.

Poseidon moved back to next to Percy, but not without a concerned glance. His Annabeth didn't move, continuing to stroke Percy's hair. She nodded to Dionysus.

"On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark."

No one said a word, struggling to pay attention to the book after Percy's panic attack.

""Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.

Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords-not that that made me feel any better.

They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin."

"Unfair," Hestia muttered, his lips pulled into a disapproving frown.

"I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. They surrounded me, and Clarisse thrust at me with her spear. My shield deflected the point, but I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb, and the air burned.

Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric. I fell back."

"Guess you're used to it now," Future-Annabeth quipped. "What with all the time Thalia spends zapping you."

Percy's lips pulled into a amused half-smile.

"Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt.

They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing.

"Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair."

I managed to get to my feet. I raised my sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now both my arms felt numb.

"Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared.""

Clarisse stared at her future self in the book. Did she really come off as this much of a bully? Especially to the guy that had a panic attack five seconds ago. She felt ashamed of her actions.

""The flag is that way,""

"Percy!" Future-Annabeth chided.

"Oi! Don't tell her!" Past-Annabeth protested.

Percy just shook his head.

"I told her. I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid it didn't come out that way.

"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."

"You do that without my help,""

Ares growled under his breath.

"Stop pissing people off!" Future-Annabeth slapped Percy on the shoulder lightly.

"I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say."

"No shit," Travis mumbled.

"Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armoured breastplate, I would've been shish-kebabbed."

Some of the demigods snickered quietly.

Clarisse didn't. She couldn't believe she would've been this mean. She knew she had a temper (no one ever let her forget it), but this was childish, and stupid. She could've seriously hurt Percy, and for what? Her pride? The man who came around every never?

Luke also wasn't laughing. He saw the scared kid look on Percy's face, he saw it in the mirror a lot. But the real horror to Luke was that it was directed at himself. Percy. Did other campers feel the same way? Did Thalia? And, the worst of all, did Percy ever do anything about it?

"As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut."

Chiron stared angrily at the book, looking more livid than most demigods had ever seen him. "We never injure each other. I would've expected better of my campers."

"Seeing my own blood made me dizzy-warm and cold at the same time.

"No maiming," I managed to say.

"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege.""

"There will be a much worst punishment for those who do, believe me," Chiron muttered angrily. Was his rules really that soft?! For maiming?! Maybe he should talk a revised look at his camp.

"He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash."

Ares mumbled something unflattering about Poseidon's powers. He was a surprised his kids would do this, there was no honour in killing the defenceless, after all. It wasn't a fair fight, and therefore not a good or fun one. He wanted to talk to his daughter about it, stop her from acting this way in the future, but Ares knew he had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. Maybe he could talk to Aphrodite about it.

"They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die. But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up my senses, as if I'd just had a bag of my mom's double-espresso jelly beans."

The demigods leaned forward, interested in seeing Clarisse get put in her place. Even Clarisse was looking forward to Percy's new attack.

"Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water."

"Still maiming, but self-defence, so less punishment," Luke whispered.

Chiron turned to look at, who he would consider to be, his best student. It seems Luke had been running this camp better than he had for a while. Maybe Chiron could coordinate with him about this.

"Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig."

Clarisse's mouth fell open. She wanted herself to be shut down, stopped from bullying, but snapping a gift from her dad?! She supposed she deserved it. A flood of tears filled Clarisse's eyes that she blinked away hastily.

Percy winced guiltily, and tried to convey how sorry he was to Clarisse, but she was focusing on blinking away what looked like tears.

"I'm sorry," He managed to whisper, his voice scratching at his mouth. Clarisse looked at him in shock and opened her mouth to argue, but Percy shook his head.

""Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!""

"Worm," Percy mumbled, nearly silently, a crooked grin spread out on his face.

"She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek."

Travis cheered quietly, until Connor elbowed him sharply. He saw Hestia's eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.

"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick.""

"A diversion," Past-Annabeth smiled.

"So, you're using him," Travis pointed out.

"Rude," Connor murmured.

"They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.

The game was over. We'd won."

Athena nodded approvingly. The Stolls and Past-Annabeth cheered. Luke shook his head amusedly. Silena and Beckendorf shared annoyed glances, Katie just pouted. Apollo and Hermes whooped together. Ares grumbled, Aphrodite and Hephaestus were barely paying attention.

"I was about to join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero."

I looked, but she wasn't there."

"My Yankees cap," Past-Annabeth smiled.

""Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.

I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."

Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan.""

Athena smiled at her past daughter proudly, before turning to smile at her future daughter.

""A plan to get me pulverized."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help."

Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?"

"Sword cut," I said. "What do you think?"

"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it."

The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared."

"You got, not only the energising, but the healing," Poseidon noted.

Hades and Zeus mumbled bitterly about unfairness.

""I-I don't get it," I said.

Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy.""

"Don't! You aren't properly healed yet!" Poseidon snapped.

""What-"

"Just do it."

I came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. My arms started to go numb again. My adrenaline rush left me. I almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied me."

"Told ya," Poseidon shook his head.

""Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus...""

"Of course you would," Hera sniffed. She glared at her husband.

"Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.

The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "Stand ready! My bow!"

Annabeth drew her sword.

There, on the rocks just above us, was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers."

"Hellhound," Katie breathed.

Everyone leaned forward again.

"It was looking straight at me."

"Always is," Percy muttered, voice still scratchy.

"Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"

She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her-an enormous shadow with teeth-and just as it hit me,"

Poseidon covered his mouth with his hand in shock and horror for his fragile mortal son.

"as I stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armour,"

A sound broke through Poseidon's hand, a cross between a yelp and a whimper. Percy put a hand on his wrist reassuringly.

"there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.

By some miracle, I was still alive. I didn't want to look underneath the ruins of my shredded armour. My chest felt warm and wet, and I knew I was badly cut. Another second, and the monster would've turned me into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat."

"Don't-don't joke about it yet," Poseidon said shakily. Percy looked away sheepishly.

"Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim.

"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't...they're not supposed to..."

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp.""

Luke turned to stare at Percy, guilt flooding his features. He hurt one of his own. A demigod. Percy. Someone Annabeth (even in the future) cared for. Someone that was becoming a real part of his family. One of those he swore to protect. One of those he was doing this for. If this was what Kronos wanted him to do, Luke wanted no part of it. And by the looks of it, neither did Silena.

The gods eyed the demigods and each other distrustfully. The demigods didn't bother, choosing to trust themselves and go closer to one another.

Silena whimpered and buried her head in Beckendorf's shoulder, much to his surprise.

Percy and Future-Annabeth bowed their heads, letting anyone think what they wanted to think.

"Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone."

"I don't care about that," Luke snapped, wringing his wrists.

"Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!""

"To attack himself?" Beckendorf scoffed. Clarisse flushed red in shame.

""Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.

We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.

"You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."

"I'm okay.""

"Liar," Future-Annabeth commented.

""No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."

I was too tired to argue. I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around me.

Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.

"Look, I-I don't know why," I said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry...""

"You need to stop apologising," Poseidon sighed.

"But they weren't watching my wounds heal. They were staring at something above my head."

"That's how you were claimed?" Hestia asked gently. Percy nodded.

"Ouch," Travis muttered.

""Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um..."

By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.

"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good.""

Zeus seemed to agree, shifting in his throne, muttering.

""It is determined," Chiron announced.

All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.

"My father?" I asked, completely bewildered.

"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God.""

"His rightful title," Poseidon smiled lightly.

"Got more to add to that list now," Percy whispered, coughing slightly. "Spoilers," He smirked before anyone could ask questions. The whole group groaned, completely used to the demigods by now.

"One more chapter, then we'll have another break," Hestia announced, eyeing Percy concernedly.

"Cool," Percy coughed again.

"Corona," Future-Annabeth snickered. Percy rolled his eyes.

Dionysus waved the book around, before deciding to throw it to Apollo.

The god pouted before clearing his throat loudly, doing a few vocal excercises, and read out.

"9 - I Am Offered A Quest"