This scene originally comes from The Titan's Curse. All characters belong to Rick Riordan.

"Join you?" Percy asked.

Thalia shrugged, which he accepted as a reluctant invitation to sit shotgun.

"Didn't want to play speed racer with Grover?" she asked.

Percy chuckled. "I didn't want my glum mood to ruin his fun."

"So you decided to ruin mine instead?"

"Listening to the White Stripes in a hot-wired car on a train is your idea of fun?"

Thalia shrugged again. "I guess my standards have just been changed."

Percy couldn't blame her. Having what would typically be considered "fun" for teenagers their age would be pretty much anything but their current experience. He did the best he could by playing sports and video games, but you can never be relaxed as a half-blood. That type of ease that normal kids can get in their everyday lives just wasn't obtainable for him and Thalia. Percy was even luckier than his cousin because he hadn't died in the middle of trying to figure out his new normal. Coming back from the dead had to impact a person's perspective on life.

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a while until a song by the Black Keys started playing and Thalia suddenly changed the channel on the radio.

"Not a fan?" Percy asked.

Thalia shook her head. "Luke liked that song. It was the only one in my entire music collection that he actually enjoyed listening to."

Thalia said it with a delicacy Percy hadn't heard before from anyone. It was like the memory Thalia had in her mind was so fragile that if she spoke of it too recklessly it would shatter.

Percy and Thalia had never really talked about Luke since her return a few months earlier. Annabeth and Chiron had taken point on bringing her up to speed with the events that had transpired since her untimely demise. For a while, Percy didn't want to talk about Luke with Thalia, worried that she may send a lightning bolt through his skull if he did. But now things were different. Luke had Annabeth, and they needed to get her back.

"We're going to have to fight him," Percy said. "You know that right?"

Thalia stayed silent. Percy decided to ask her a question he'd wanted to hear the answer to for a long time.

"What was he like?"

"What?" Thalia replied, confused.

"Luke. I've got the story from Annabeth but you knew him better than anyone. I'd like to hear your side."

Thalia straightened her back and tucked her hands in her coat pockets. She was trying to look tough, Percy thought. But the tone she carried in her voice broke the illusion.

"He was brave, Percy," she said. "Sweet and loyal. Confident, too, or at least acting like it. Now that I think about it, you kind of remind me of him."

That comparison did not sit well with Percy. He decided to change the subject before Thalia drew any more connections between him and the guy torturing his best friend. That desire gave Percy the inclination to ask another question he'd been aching to ask for a while.

"Annabeth thinks he can be...I don't know, saved maybe?"

"She's attached to him, Percy," Thalia replied. "You need to respect that fact."

These were not the answers that Percy had been wanting to hear. His anger was starting to build and he couldn't help but incorporate some of that frustration into his body language. Thalia picked up on his unintentional signals and scoffed in reply.

"Not attached like that."

"What?" Percy responded.

"I can tell what you're thinking. You think Annabeth has a crush on Luke or something like that?"

Percy felt flustered. He also wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the tone that Thalia had used when she asked him.

"Well, yeah," he responded quickly. "I saw the way she looked at him right before our first quest. I'm pretty sure she was hyperventilating when he hugged her goodbye."

"Percy," Thalia sighed, "I can't speak for how Annabeth felt about Luke then but I can tell you that her feelings aren't from a romantic place now. You need to understand that, for Annabeth, Luke was more than just a friend or a big brother figure. He was her protector. Her image of safety is Luke."

"You make it sound like he's not a bad guy."

Thalia snapped her head and looked at Percy with a look that would have intimidated Medusa as electricity sparked in her eyes.

"It's complicated, Percy," she said, coldly. "For me and Annabeth."

Percy thought about that for a while in silence. He didn't know everything about the years that Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth had spent together but he did know that for much of that time they were all each other had and they forged what in any other case would have been an unbreakable bond. But that just made him an even more dangerous enemy in Percy's eyes.

Percy didn't like it, but he knew he could kill Luke if given the chance. Luke had tried to kill Percy several times already and having seen what he was doing to Annabeth, Percy was beginning to wonder if he wanted to kill Luke. But Annabeth was so committed to bringing him home, to saving him from Kronos, that he worried killing Luke would kill a part of her too.

"Is that why she contradicts herself?" Percy said.

"What are you talking about?" Thalia asked. Percy could tell she was starting to become annoyed.

"The first time we encountered Luke after he left camp, on our way to the Sea of Monsters, Annabeth said she wanted to drag him to Olympus herself. She sounds so dedicated to punishing him sometimes but then she'll talk about how he's a victim to Kronos or whatever."

Thalia turned off the radio.

"Luke is a victim of Kronos, Percy," she said.

"But-"

"Have you ever really considered why Luke decided to betray everything he had?" Thalia asked.

"I'm not all that interested in his motivations for hurting my friends."

Thalia chuckled briefly. "Fair enough," she said, "but Luke wasn't random. Neither were his motives."

"You're making it sound like you know where he's coming from."

"I do know where he's coming from, Percy. And so do you. You just don't want to think about it."

"What are you talking about?" he asked defensively.

Thalia let an exasperated sigh escape her mouth and she looked at the ceiling of the car.

"You know look hates his father."

"Yeah, sure he mentions pretty much every time I see him."

Thalia rolled her eyes before continuing.

"The gods aren't good parents, Percy. That's just the truth."

"Okay but that's hardly motivation enough to start the apocalypse!"

"That's what you're missing, Percy. It's enough for him."

Percy was still confused and started to get frustrated with Thalia's lecture.

"I don't see how this has anything to do with Annabeth thinking she can save him," he said curtly.

Thalia only replied by shaking her head while through the windshield. Percy could tell she was tired, but it wasn't physical. They weren't exactly inseparable, but Percy knew Thalia well enough that this quest was taking an emotional toll. First, she's brought back from the dead only to find out that her first friend is trying to destroy the world by fulfilling a prophecy in which she could be the being that upends Western civilization. Then, in just the past few days her closest friend is kidnapped by the previously mentioned first friend, and the only way to save her is to go on a quest with the person who seems to be her arch-rival. Percy thought about having Clarisse on the trip and didn't think he would be quite as mentally, or verbally, stable as Thalia was being with Zoë.

Percy still needed answers though. He needed to understand how he could defeat Luke without hurting Annabeth. Chiron always seemed to speak in riddles and Poseidon hadn't been much help. Percy was running out of time and he knew it. So, he kept prying.

"You said Luke wasn't random," Percy began, "what did you mean by that?"

Thalia folded her arms and sighed again before answering.

"Kronos chose him specifically. Groomed him to become a traitor."

She paused before continuing.

"Luke's hatred for Hermes, for all the gods, consumed him from what it sounds like. That hatred made him vulnerable and Kronos is known for his mastery of manipulation."

"He did convince Ares to steal the Master Bolt," Percy remembered.

"Exactly," Thalia responded while nodding, "And Luke confessed to you that Kronos had been entering his dreams, promising vengeance and power against the gods."

Percy remembered that day when Luke admitted he had been the culprit for almost starting a civil war between the Olympians two years earlier. Percy particularly recalled how after his confession, Luke attempted to murder him on the spot without a moment's hesitation. Reflecting on that moment made Percy feel the pain of betrayal all over again.

Suddenly, another question entered Percy's mind.

"Vengeance for what?" he asked.

Thalia seemed confused by his question and just stared at him with her eyebrows scrunched together.

"Kronos promised Luke vengeance, but for what?"

Thalia looked out of the windshield yet again and Percy could tell she was seriously considering kicking him out of the car. But for whatever reason, she decided to keep going.

"Chiron didn't tell you about Luke's mom, did he?" she asked.

"No," Percy said. "I always thought his mom was dead."

"She's alive," Thalia began, "but…" Thalia took a deep breath, steadying herself before continuing. "Luke's mom has the ability to gaze through the Mist. It's rare, but some mortals have that ability. I don't know exactly what happened, but Luke's mom attempted to become the next Oracle. For whatever reason, the spirit of the Oracle refused her and drove her insane. Luke was just a baby."

Thalia took another pause, giving Percy time to process the information she had just relayed.

"The only family Luke had was his mom," Thalia began again, "but she terrified him. There were brief moments of peace where she was calm enough that he could feel safe around her, but most of the time he didn't feel comfortable outside his closet. At least, that's what he told me."

She blinked back tears.

"He knew about his lineage. He prayed for Hermes to help him. But no help ever came. Eventually, he ran away and found me."

Percy didn't want to admit it, but for the first time, he was starting to understand why Luke was so focused on the destruction of Olympus. Every half-blood had a bit of spite towards their godly parent, especially when you go years without knowing who they are or what they're doing. Percy held so much anger towards his father before he knew who he actually was. He felt abandoned. His mom married a monster. Even after Percy had met Poseidon, he couldn't bring himself to forgive him completely. Sometimes the pain just goes too deep.

But as Percy sat there, he realized he still had it luckier than Luke did. Percy at least grew up thinking he was a normal kid and his dad had just been a terrible guy who didn't want the responsibility of raising a child. For Luke, it was different. Luke knew that his father, someone who could make everything better, could come and help him at any moment. Ignorance was a bliss that Percy hadn't yet been thankful for. And the longer Percy thought about it, the more he began to question if he would be so different than Luke if he had gone through the same experience.

Percy looked over at Thalia, who had folded herself in the chair so that she was hugging her knees as close to her chest as possible. Percy could tell she was thinking about the years she had spent with Luke in the wilderness with only each other for comfort and survival. No doubt most of those memories were filled with terror, Percy thought, but there had to be a few happy ones in there too. And those probably hurt her the most.

With Thalia looking like she was on the brink of tears, Percy decided now was a good time to leave.

"Thanks for telling me all of this," he said, "I'll let you get some sleep." But as his hand went to the door handle, Thalia grabbed his shoulder.

"There's more you need to know," she told him.

"Thalia," Percy responded, "I can tell this bothers you. I don't want to make things any more painful than they already are."

"Percy-", she stopped to control a sob. "If you want to help Annabeth, you need to hear more of what happened."

Percy sat back in his chair and looked at Thalia, trying to convince himself that he was ready for whatever came next.

"We met Annabeth in Richmond after another...unfortunate experience", Thalia explained. Percy took notice of how she didn't seem to want to go into detail about whatever that encounter was, but let her continue without interruption.

"She was so scared, Percy. Scared and alone. She was just like us. All she had to defend herself was a hammer but she nearly cracked Luke's skull with it." She started wiping tears away as she continued her recanting. "We figured out pretty much immediately that Annabeth was a half-blood and Luke never once considered leaving her behind. That's how we became a family. It went on like that for a while but after an ambush on the Appalachian Trail I was hurt and Annabeth, strong as she may have been, was still a little kid. We needed rest. So, Luke decided our best bet was to go to his home in Connecticut."

"You met his mom?" Percy asked with surprise.

"Yes," Thalia responded. "She bandaged my leg but I could tell right away why Luke ran away from home. She really is sick, Percy. She gave Annabeth and me cookies that were burnt to a cinder and kept telling us about Luke's childhood. It was heartbreaking; she wanted to be a good mom so desperately but she couldn't realize that what she was doing had the opposite effect on him."

Percy continued to shutter at the images he imagined and thought about how his own mother, Sally Jackson, had been the brightest beacon of joy and optimism he had ever known. Percy wondered: if Luke had had even a fraction of the love Percy experienced from his mother, would these events even be taking place right now? The thought almost brought a tear to his eye.

"Hermes was there, too," Thalia said, bringing Percy back to reality.

"Wait, what? He showed up at Luke's house?"

Thalia nodded. "When we first got there. He told Luke he shouldn't have returned and they spent the next few minutes arguing. Luke said Hermes couldn't have loved him if he had left him alone for all those years. He also demanded to know about his future but Hermes wouldn't tell him anything. Luke decided he had had enough and took Annabeth and me away from the house. His mom screamed that he was going towards a terrible fate as we walked away. After that, Grover found us and you know the rest."

When Thalia was finished, everything she had been holding in came crashing out and she began crying silently in the driver's seat. Percy would have hugged her if there wasn't a center console in between them. Instead, he did his best to put his arm around her while trying to process what Thalia had told him.

Everything made so much more sense now, he thought. Luke's motivations, Annabeth's desire to bring him home, all of it.

"I think I get it now", Percy said after a while. "Or, I'm at least starting to."

Thalia took a deep breath and wiped her face before responding.

"He's family to us, Percy," she said. "You can't just give up on family."

Percy remembered Hermes using those exact words only a few months earlier.

"But what if he's really gone, Thalia?" Percy asked. "What if some people just can't be saved?"

Thalia looked at Percy and he couldn't help but feel terrible pity for his friend. Out of all the half-bloods he knew, Thalia had to be the most unfortunate of all.

"I don't know if I can kill him, Percy," she said, "And I know Annabeth can't."

"Are you saying…" Percy trailed off, allowing Thalia to finish his thought.

"You can't kill him," she responded without hesitation, gripping his jacket tightly as she did so.

"But you just said-"

"I know what I said, Percy!" Thalia screamed, causing volts of electricity to come off her body. Even with the Neaman Lion's jacket on, Percy could feel Thalia's power.

"You can't be the one to kill him," she continued. "It'll crush Annabeth completely. It's not like she has many positive male figures in her life, Percy. To have one kill the other...she would never recover."

Percy couldn't help but feel like he was in an impossible position as he slumped back in his chair.

"I somehow feel considerably worse than before I got in this car," he said in the most joking manner he could muster.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Thalia replied. "Children of the most powerful beings on the planet, but at the end of the day we're still just two depressed teenagers mad at the world."

He wanted to laugh, but at that moment Percy still didn't feel anything like a normal teenager. Must be nice to be a mortal, he thought. Percy had read-up on his Greek mythology and history at Annabeth's behesting, but he never managed to find situations like this that he and Thalia were experiencing. He couldn't think of any text that mentioned Hercules feeling lonely or Odysseus grappling with insecurities. Percy wondered if those heroes of old Greece were actually everything they were written up to be, or if they really were just like any other half-blood and just happened to be lucky in their lives. Percy remembered asking how Theseus dealt with acne and how hard she was trying not to laugh.

Thinking about Annabeth made Percy feel even worse. It was times like these that he needed her company the most. For all his determination and ambition, Percy did seem to stumble his way through their adventures while Annabeth could at least act like she knew what was going on. No doubt she would be rolling her eyes at him if she were on this quest, he admitted to himself silently. But then she would explain everything to him in her special way that always made it clear. And then she would smile to herself with so much pride that it caused her to glow to the point where Percy could swear she was glowing.

Percy didn't realize how much he liked seeing Annabeth smile until he worried he might never see it again. At that moment, Percy would have given up everything blue for all eternity if it meant he could go back to being scolded by her for confusing Sophocles with Socrates again. But the more he thought about Annabeth, the more a particular question clawed at his mind. Percy knew he had been testing his luck with Thalia tonight, but he decided to throw one last hail mary.

"Thalia, can I ask you one more question?" Percy dared.

"It's late, Percy", she responded with exhaustion coating her tone.

"I know. Just one more, I promise."

She looked over at him, eyes red and puffy."I'm not exactly emotionally stable right now so you ask at your own risk. Haven't quite mastered the whole controlling electricity thing yet," she said.

"Grover and I found a Hunters brochure in Annabeth's backpack. Did she talk to you about joining them?"

Thalia's eyes shifted to the car where Bianca and Zoë were sleeping in.

"Men have disappointed Annabeth for a long time, Percy. The chance of a family where a man's decisions can't hurt her anymore? You can't blame her for at least considering it," she said. Thalia then made eye contact with her cousin again with the smallest of smirks. "Then again, I'm sure there's still time to convince her that some men are worth keeping around."

Percy couldn't tell if Thalia had intended to give him some confidence with her last comment, but he did feel a little better. Annabeth hadn't made up her mind regarding a life with the Hunters, meaning he still had a chance to convince her to choose otherwise. He just had to figure out what he would say to do it.

"We should get some sleep. It's a long way to go," he told Thalia.

"You mind if I ask you a question?" Thalia asked.

"Seems only fair given the past hour" Percy replied.

"How far were you ready to follow us?"

"What do you mean?"

"You weren't supposed to come on the quest, Percy, but you did anyway. Zoe let you stay, but I'm asking what you would have done if she hadn't?"

Percy honestly hadn't really planned out his whole excursion beyond catching up with the questing party. If he had somehow lost track of their van in between Long Island Sound and Washington DC, he wasn't sure what his backup plan would have been. He knew he had to go West, sure, but that's a pretty vague instruction when trying to rescue your best friend from the lord of all evil. Percy hadn't even bothered to prep so far as to bring a change of clothes, a choice he knew he would regret later. But deep down, Percy knew that planning with foresight was never quite his style. If he had to improvise and crawl to wherever Annabeth was being held, that's what he was going to do. After all, he thought, she would do the same for me.

"Annabeth threw herself off a cliff for us," he answered Thalia. "If I stayed at camp I'd be a coward at the very least. And if something happened to her I would never…"

He paused for a moment to look at his cousin again. And suddenly, at that moment, Percy finally understood what Thalia had been trying to tell him the entire night.

"She's out there, Thalia. She needs help and I need to bring her home. I guess it's kind of like how you feel about Luke."

Thalia seemed satisfied enough with the answer that she gave Percy a genuine smile, something he wasn't used to seeing from her.

"In that case, Aqua Lad, I think you'll do just fine getting Annabeth to stay with you."

Percy felt himself beginning to blush.

"Well, I didn't mean that I want her to stay with me-"

"Yeah, sure you didn't" Thalia interrupted as she began putting her seat into a position she could lay flat in. "Now get out of my car."