Hello guys! Lots of angst in this chapter- all I can say is poor poor Luke. Some things are better not known- but hey, he supported Thalia last chapter and this time it's Thalia's turn to step up and be a good friend.

It took them three more weeks before they reached Connecticut. When they reached the house- which was even larger than Thalia's old home Luke paused, just staring for a long moment and swallowing hard as he did.

It was just like he remembered from his last visit- which had been maybe five, six years ago. He'd lost track over the years. He didn't go there often. He did notice that the garden was more wilderness than a lawn now- though his eyes were drawn to the rusty old swing set under the apple tree. He closed his eyes, swallowing hard and shaking
his head before he let out a slow even breath.

"Oh wow." Thalia breathed the words, "You used to live here?"

"Yeah. Until I was seven." Luke's smile was incredibly sad. "I used to go and sit on that swing when I was upset or scared-"

"It looks sad." Thalia whispered, "What- what is wrong with your mom?"

"I don't know. I know when she was younger she was clear sighted."

"Like Sally right?" Thalia kept her voice soft. "I guess something changed."

"Yeah. I just don't know what." then Luke was straightening his shoulders and strolling forward, a determined gleam in his eyes as he did.

And as they made their way up the path they saw that it was lined with little stuffed beanbag animals. Those hadn't been there for Luke's last visit, so they must be newer additions, and he smiled sadly at them. There were miniature lions, pigs, dragons, hydras, even a teeny Minotaur in a little Minotaur diaper. Judging from their sad shape, the beanbag creatures had been sitting out there a long time. One of the hydras had a tree sapling sprouting between its necks. He saw Thalia's uneasy expression and he could hardly blame her- it did look weird he had to admit.

Then he reached the porch- and that was like he remembered, it was infested with wind chimes. Shiny bits of glass and metal clinked in the breeze. Brass ribbons tinkled like water. The front door was painted turquoise. The name CASTELLAN was written in English, and below in Greek: Διοικητής φρουρίου.

Thalia stared at it, looking around with wide eyes, "This is all weird- Castellan- was that-"

"My last name before I changed it when I got adopted, yeah." Luke gave a tight smile, pushing his hair out of his face, combing his fingers through it. "Listen... Thalia she- just try not to freak out okay."

"I can handle it." Thalia looked worried, "Are you okay-"

"My mom's... it's... you'll see." he knocked on the door, and it was swung open barely seconds later.

"Luke!" And Luke forced back the urge to cry at the sight of his mother, blocking out Thalia's stunned gasp.

The woman was a mess, even more than when he'd last seen her. Her white hair stuck out in tufts all over her head. Her pink housedress was covered in scorch marks and smears of ash. When she smiled, her face looked unnaturally stretched, and the high-voltage light in her eyes almost made her look blind. And when she pulled him into a tight hug Luke hugged her back just as tightly, closing his eyes.

She was so frail, all skin and bone and she smelled of burnt cookies- it brought back vivid memories of his childhood.

"Hey mom." he opened his eyes, taking a moment before pulling back to take in her features. It was painfully clear that nothing had changed since he'd last seen her. Not really.

"My beautiful boy! I knew you'd come home to me. Oh just look at you. It's been so long-"

"I know mom." Luke gripped her hands gently, "Too long. I should have visited sooner- and I brought a friend."

"A friend." May turned her head, eyes focusing on Thalia as she tilted her head slightly, "The daughter of Zeus-"

"Yeah mom." Luke had long ago stopped questioning how his mother seemed to sometimes know things that she shouldn't have any way to know.

May shook herself slightly, "Come inside, come inside my little darling, your lunch is ready."

She pulled him into the house, and Luke looked around as he made his way inside.

The living room was even weirder than the front lawn. Mirrors and candles filled every available space. Above the mantel, a little bronze Hermes flew around the second hand of a ticking clock. It made Luke sad to see it. His mom had loved Hermes so much. He just wished he knew what had gone wrong.

He glanced to the side when he felt Thalia shifting so that she was as close to him as she reasonably could be, she looked uncomfortable- and Luke didn't blame her for that.

It was uncomfortable, there was a reason he'd been so willing to leave when he was seven.

"This way my dear." May's voice was bright and happy, "I knew you'd come back I knew you would. So grown up now- I was right. I was right, she saved you."

"Yeah mom." They reached the kitchen and Luke winced as he stepped inside.

Stacked on the counter were hundreds, quite literally hundreds of Tupperware boxes with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches inside. The ones on the bottom were green and fuzzy, like they'd been there for a long time.

On top of the oven was a stack of cookie sheets. Each one had a dozen burned cookies on it. In the sink was a mountain of empty plastic Kool-Aid pitchers. A beanbag Medusa sat by the faucet like she was guarding the mess.

Thalia pressed closer, a stunned look on her face as she stared at the mess while Luke dragged her to the table and sat down with her, watching his mom as she out out peanut butter and jelly and started to make some new sandwiches. And he could smell something burning in the oven, presumably cookies based on the stacks of sheets.

Luke found his gaze drawn to the area above the sink. Taped all around the window, were dozens of little pictures cut from magazines and newspaper ads—pictures of Hermes from the FTD Flowers logo and Quickie Cleaners, pictures of the caduceus from medical ads.

Luke felt like he had a lump in his throat and he swallowed hard again, hands shaking as he laid them flat on the table, "You don't have to worry about giving us food mom-"

"Don't be silly. I have to look after my little boy." May gave him a wide smile "So handsome now. So grown up. I told them you'd come and see me again you know-"

"I know mom."

"You have your fathers eyes." Luke felt like he wanted to cry- he always did when he saw his mom. There was something just so tragic about her condition.

She turned toward the pictures of Hermes above the sink. "Now, there's a good man. Yes, indeed. He comes to visit me, you know."

"I bet he does. He loves us both-"

"Oh he really does- he was so proud of you." May moved towards them and patted Luke's cheek gently, smearing peanut butter on his face.

"I know."

"He was so sad you know- when he saw me after you left with Sally. So sad. But I told him-I told him it was the only way. I saw it. I told him." her voice was desperate,

"You'd have left me no matter what my brave boy. And then look what would have happened to you." she shook her head- "But then Sally came and I saw. I saw it so clearly,
the fates gave you a chance my baby boy. They gave you a chance so I had to take it. I didn't want to send you away-"

"Mom-"

"But you were better off. I saw it." May said it so very seriously, as if it was an irrefutable fact- and Luke was sure it was, but still it wasn't nice to be reminded of that.

"What do you mean you saw it mom?" his voice was soft. "You always used to say stuff like that but I don't understand-"

"It's a gift." May declared, "My gift- I always had a gift- even more than Sally. I saw things you know." she almost whispered the words, "I saw things, I knew, I knew I was special. Your father tried to convince me not to but I knew it was my destiny I saw it-" and Luke felt a dawning sense of horror.

She was talking about whatever had made her like this, he was sure of it. He'd always thought that she'd just lost her mind over the years, he hadn't thought there was some special event that had led to this- now he was torn. A part of him wanted to know more, to understand but another part of him was terrified of what he might find out.

He couldn't bring himself to speak, but luckily for him Thalia managed to speak up, her voice still uneasy as she did.

"What happened Ms Castellan?"

May frowned, . Her knife hovered over the sandwich bread. "Dear me, it didn't work out, did it? Your father warned me not to try. He said it was too dangerous. But I had to. It was my destiny! And now . . . I still can't get the images out of my head. They make everything seem so fuzzy. Would you like some cookies?"

"What images?" Luke managed to ask, his voice desperate, "Mom- please what happened to you?"

"Horrible- so horrible-" May was dropping the knife and rushing to his side gripping his arms, "My boy- my boy it wasn't- such horrible images- you're good you're my good boy that wasn't you it wasn't-" her eyes were frantic- like they had been when he'd been a little kid and Luke let out a panicked noise- he'd have tried to rip himself free if he wasn't worried about hurting her, and he could see the terror in Thalia's eyes.

May's grip was too tight, nails digging into his arms as she shook him. "My boy wouldn't do those things he wouldn't! You wouldn't would you? You wouldn't listen to that monster you wouldn't do those things! You're not bad you're not! You're good you're so good-" she was crying, and it made her eyes gleam even brighter with madness.

"Mom! Mom please stop it!" and suddenly he felt like he was seven years old again, scared and trapped.

"I couldn't- I couldn't. Those eyes, gold eyes... dying a hero doesn't- no no no-" she was still shaking him and Thalia was lunging, grabbing one of May's hands and trying to pry them away from Luke's arms.

"Stop it!"

"I had to! I had to give you to Sally! I saw her and I saw, I saw it change I saw it- you and little Percy. Little Persephone, tied together by the fates from the start-"

"Stop it-"

"Friends or foe. Brother and sister or enemies. I saw, I saw your fate could change. I saw it I saw it! I didn't want to send you away-"

"Mom! Mom please!"

"I had to-" and Luke managed to make himself move, ripping himself free from May's grip.

And then he was sprinting out of the house even as May fell to the ground and started to convulse- just like she had all those years ago, and tears were pouring down his cheeks by the time he was out of the door and racing down the path away from the house, head spinning.

And he didn't stop running until he was in a small park and he dropped down onto the bench, shoulders hunched as he curled in on himself, holding his head in his hands as sobs wracked his body, a mix of terror and pain, almost overwhelming as they flooded over him.

He wasn't sure how long it was before he felt someone sitting next to him, but he didn't look up until a very soft voice spoke up.

"Luke... gods I am so sorry." when he didn't respond Thalia spoke again, "I- I can't imagine growing up like that- those things she said-"

"I don't-" Luke's voice cracked, "She's been like this for as long as I can remember." he managed. "I- sometimes she had good days. Most days were bad."

"Did she always say stuff like that."

"Sometimes... I- I never understood any of it as a kid. I don't understand any of it now-"

"I know one thing." Thalia's voice was soft, "Whatever she was saying about... what she saw... whatever it was... she must have been wrong. Or it changed, she said it right? When Sally took you it changed- whatever it was-"

"I don't want to know." Luke whispered, "I don't- I can't think about it I don't want to know what she was talking about." had she seen the future? She'd known Percy's name before Sally had even chosen it he remembered, had she seen his future- what could have been so bad that it would have driver her insane- because it had, that was painfully clear? And he felt sick because deep down a part of him was pretty sure he knew.

Because if his fate had been tied with Percy's before she'd even been born, before they became siblings, and his fate had been enough to drive his mother mad then there was only thing he could think of.

It wouldn't have been Alabaster who was causing the trouble.

It would have been him.