AN: The harem pairing is sounding really good to me right now...no, it won't include Annabeth or Artemis if I do decide for a harem. The two are far too overused in stories. I can't NOT find a PercyxAnnabeth story or a PercyxArtemis story.

Chapter 3: Should Have Listened In Class

Percy would admit that it was a dick move later, but he ditched Grover as soon as they got to the bus terminal.

Yes, it was incredibly rude of him to do so, but Grover was creeping Percy and Willow out. And Willow was insane! That said something about how much they were creeped out. He kept looking at Percy as if he were a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"

Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so Percy wasn't surprised when, as soon as they got off the bus, he made Percy promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, he grabbed his suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.

"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," he told the driver.

As they drove, he thought about his mother.

Her name was Sally Jackson and she- to Percy- was best person in the world, which just proved his theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

The only good break that happened after that was meeting Percy's dad.

Percy didn't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. His mom didn't like talking about him because it made her upset. She didn't have any pictures.

See, they weren't married. She told Percy he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he led an exploration into a cave abroad, and he never came back.

Lost in darkness, Sally always told him. Not dead. Lost in darkness.

But sometimes, she told him that his dad set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back. Lost at sea, she'd tell him when it came to that story. Not dead. Lost at sea.

It confused Percy a great deal. His mother seemed almost...confused when it came to telling the story. Sometimes it was lost in darkness, other times it was lost at sea. It confused him so much...he really just wanted to know who the hell his father was.

Sally used to work odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raise him on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But Percy knew full well he wasn't an easy kid.

'That's an understatement,' Willow snorted.

'Shut up,' Percy told him before he got his train of thought back on track.

Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds the two knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. Percy appropriately nicknamed him Smelly Gabe when he was a child. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.

Of course, Percy didn't have to deal with Gabe once he'd vanished...

'No, once he was killed,' he thought to himself. 'By my hand...'

'Actually it was my hand,' Willow cut in.

Percy quipped, 'But it's my body.' Willow grumbled, knowing Percy had him on that one.

After Gabe had been killed, things had gotten better for his mom. Since he hadn't written a will, and he had no other living relatives, she got all of his money and possessions, and was finally able to finish her night classes and get her high school diploma. She wrote a book called 'The Adventures of Orion Jameson'. Percy had no clue where his mom got the inspiration for the story, but it was about a young boy who was the reincarnation of Orion, who was allegedly a son of Poseidon. It went through how he got back all his memories after being attacked by a monster, and started to train himself up to hunt down monster's and find the woman he'd fallen in love with: The Moon Goddess Artemis.

The story became a New York times best seller within a matter of months. But his mom never wasted the money, instead keeping it all saved up and continuing to live in the small apartment where Gabe had been killed.

Percy nor Willow could wait to see their mom again.

Percy walked into the little apartment, and gave a small smile as he looked around. It was clean and styled just the way his mom had always wanted before Gabe died. He looked around, smiling softly. It was just like he remembered it being the last time he was here.

He gave the house a quick look around, before deciding his mother was out, possibly doing the groceries. He headed to his room and dropped his suitcase on his bed. Home sweet home.

It brought a small smile to his lips, the smell here was far better than the nightmares of Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, his legs felt weak. He remembered Grover's look of panic-how he'd made Percy promise that he wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled up his spine. He felt like someone- something-was looking for him right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.

Then he heard Sally's voice. "Percy?" She opened the bedroom door, and his fears melted.

Sally could make anyone feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but nobody could ever really think of her as old. When she looked at Percy, it's like she's seeing all the good things about him, none of the bad. Not once in his life had he heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone.

It's what made Percy believe his bad behaviour came from his dad.

"Oh, Percy." She hugged him tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!" She was dressed in an apron, which meant she'd probably just put it on before realizing that he might be home. It was the one she wore when she made sweets for him, so it smelled like a lot of great things: chocolate, licorice, and all the other delicious sweets she made for him.

The two sat together on the edge of the bed. While Percy attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through his hair and demanded to know everything that he hadn't put in his letters. She didn't mention anything about his getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was he okay? Was her little boy doing all right?

He told her she was smothering him, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, Percy and Willow was really, really glad to see her.

That thought made Percy stop dead in his tracks. Willow. That was something he needed to talk about with his mom. "Hey...mom?" he said softly.

"Yes Percy?"

"What happened to Gabe?"

Sally froze, but it was only for a second. "I told you Percy. He vanished. He decided to leave us."

Percy frowned and looked down, before he looked up at her and looked her dead in the eyes, "Mom...I know about Willow."

Her eyes widened, "Y-you do?"

He nodded mutely. "He...woke up a little while after Christmas, on a trip to the museum..."

"What happened Percy?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing a little.

"I..." Percy looked down. He didn't want to tell her, he was afraid she'd send him away again. Percy didn't want that. He wanted to stay with his mom.

'Tell her...' Willow spoke up. 'We...we should not lie to mother...'

Percy knew Willow was right. Sighing, he looked into her eyes and spoke, "It started when Mr. Brunner was leading us through the Greek and Roman section of the museum..."

Once he was done, Sally had fallen into silence. Her gaze became distant, as if she were reliving a memory. Percy sat there quietly, waiting for her to respond. It felt like an eternity to him, not knowing how she would respond.

Finally, Sally sighed, "I hoped you wouldn't find out so soon...I was thinking we had maybe another year..."

He blinked, "Huh? What are you talking about mom?"

"Percy...you aren't normal. No, I'm not talking about your dyslexia or your ADHD," she said quickly, before Percy could complain. "Percy it...it has to do with your father..."

He froze instantly, Willow's eyes widening within his mind. "My...father?"

Sally nodded and opened her mouth to talk, before she closed it and shook her head. "This isn't the place to talk about this," she decided, and then she gave Percy a smile. "But I know the perfect place we can speak of it. I've been planning it since Christmas."

"What is it mom?" he asked anxiously.

Her smile grew wider, "We're going to the beach."

His eyes widened. "Montauk?"

"Three nights- same cabin."

"When?"

She smiled. "As soon as you get packed for it."

Percy immediately set to work packing. He could hardly believe it. He and his mother hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers because she'd just been swamped with work for her 'Orion Jameson' series. And now that they could, Percy was very excited. Willow was excited as well. He hadn't been awake each time they'd been to Montauk, but he saw Percy's memories of it, and was looking forward to going there.

An hour later, the two were all ready to leave.

Percy lugged their suitcases into the car while Sally grabbed three keys. One for her, one for Percy, and one in case a key was lost, which she hid under the doormat- because where else would you hide it? The car they would be driving was Gabe's '78 Camaro. It was one of many great things Gabe's death had given to the two of them. A ride. The car was Sally's legal property since Gabe was dead, meaning they could use it whenever they so pleased.

He was smiling, but Percy got a bad feeling. He made the hand gesture he had seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over his heart. Not feeling any safer, Percy got in the car with Sally, and asked her to step on it.

The rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.

Percy adored the place.

They'd been going there since he was a baby. His mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but he knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met his father.

Again, the story always differed. Sometimes, she'd say that his father hated the sea, but other times, she'd say that he absolutely loved it. It was one of those things that confused Percy, and Sally. She always looked so frustrated when she was trying to think of which one was true, and which one was false, as if she couldn't tell the difference.

As they got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes seemed to change though. Her right eye turned to the colour of the sea, while the left eye turned to a coal black.

They got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through their usual cleaning routine. They walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other treats that Sally had bought from a sweet shop she used to work at.

There was a reason for the blue food. Once, Gabe told Sally there was no such thing as blue food. They had a fight, which had seemed minor at the time, but Sally wanted to spite Gabe. She went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This- along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano- was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. Percy got his rebellious streak from her.

When it got dark, they made a fire. The two roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Sally told Percy stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She spoke about how great her 'Orion Jameson' book series was going.

Eventually, Percy got up the nerve to ask about what was always on his mind whenever they went to Montauk- his father. Sally's eyes went all misty. He figured she would tell him the same things she always did, but Percy never got tired of hearing them. It was especially exciting for Willow, who had been asleep and never heard a word about it.

"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his black eyes." She fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."

Percy blinked. 'Black eyes?' he thought to himself. 'My eyes are sea green...this is the first time mom's said that...'

'Something is wrong!' Willow hissed. 'Look at her eyes! They seem so confused at her own words!'

"Mom..." Percy took a breath. "What is my father's name? All this time, I've heard stories about how dad is gone, but you keep changing between two stories. One says he's lost as sea. The other says he is lost in darkness. Which is it mom? What is his name?"

Sally hesitated, and she visibly looked conflicted, as if trying to find the truth, before she finally spoke. "Your father's name, Percy, is Hades. The Greek God of the Underworld."

Percy froze. Had he just misheard her? Did she...just say that his father was the Greek God of Hell? Willow himself was also speechless. However Willow thought of it though, it made a lot of sense. His strange power to control the darkness...it was clear why now. Their father was related to darkness, through the underworld.

"Mom...what did you just..." he breathed out, unable to believe it.

"It was strange," she said softly. "Meeting the God of the Underworld. I was here, at this cabin, by myself and enjoying the quiet, when I heard a knock on the door. I opened it, and I saw him. He was...so handsome, and so kind, despite his moniker as God of the Underworld. I was able to see him for who he was right away, he mentioned something about me being 'a clear sighted mortal'...I fell in love, Percy, in only a few minutes. We spent time together here, before he had to leave. He told me that he probably wouldn't see me again, but I was okay with it. He never offered me anything, and I wouldn't have accepted it, which he knew. We parted ways after the Summer, and I had you the next year. He knew I was expecting you, but he was never able to see you..."

Percy's head was spinning. "B-but wait...why is it you always said he was lost at sea or lost in darkness?"

At the first saying, Sally grew bitter. "That...would be because of your uncle...Poseidon, the Greek God of the Seas...he came not long after your father left, and he was...let's say annoyed that his brother had such a beautiful woman all to himself on a place near his domain, the sea. I woke up in the middle of the night, and there he was, standing above me with anger in his eyes...he said to me 'I will make sure your son shall never be known as a child of the Underworld' and then he used a Greek spell on me. It altered my memories to make it seem as if I'd met Poseidon here for the Summer instead, and as he did that he claimed you as his adoptive child whilst you were still in my womb...it caused you to take on some of his traits...when you were first born, you didn't have green eyes, they were black. But they changed over the years to green.

"But," she continued, "Poseidon didn't realise that I was a clear sighted mortal. I can see through the veil that separates the Supernatural from the Natural. It is called 'The Mist'."

Percy's eyes widened. "I heard Mr. Brunner and Grover talking about that," he told his mother. "They were talking about me seeing Mrs. Dodds in that weird form, and Mr. Brunner said the Mist would be enough to trick me!"

She nodded, "Yes, the Mist is powerful magic...it was because I can see through it that instead of losing my memories of your true father, Poseidon just layered them on top of the memories I already had, making it like I lived two different Summer's in the same year. It has been...dreadfully confusing for me, which is why my stories always varied about that Summer."

Silence descended between them as Percy lost himself in his thoughts, as did Willow. Willow saw how much it made sense, and Percy was beginning to understand the whispers he'd heard after Nancy had ended up in the water...'like the water grabbed her'...it's because it had. It had reacted to his anger, and pulled Nancy into the water.

"So where does that leave us?" he finally found his voice. "Are...are you going to send me to another boarding school?"

Sally looked down and shook her head. "No...I've been sending you to boarding schools because I have been foolish...there is a place where children like you can be safe...children of the gods..."

Percy looked at her in surprise. "A place? Why haven't I been sent there?"

She bit her lip, "Because...I was afraid once you'd been there, you'd never want to come home...I sent you to all those boarding schools to drown you in human stench, to keep monsters away-"

"They exist?!"

"Yes," she nodded, "monsters exist. They don't bother humans though, only half-bloods...there is a Summer Camp, but you are able to stay there year round...I've been afraid to send you there because I'm worried once you've been there, you won't want to come back..."

Percy looked at his mother in concern, before he gripped her hand, "I'll always come back to you mom...you're the only family I have...I love you..."

That was all it took for the water works to start. Sally broke down crying as she hugged Percy tightly. She gripped tight and refused to let go, and Percy didn't try to stop her. One of his sea green eyes turned amber as he shared his body with Willow. They returned their mother's embrace and shut their eyes tight as a few tears leaked out of their eyes.

It was at that time, Percy made a vow. He wouldn't let his mother cry ever again. And Willow made a similar vow. He would destroy anyone, or anything, that harmed their mother.

Nobody would lie in Willow's way and live.

Willow smiled softly. 'Yes...' he thought. 'A wonderful name for my power...'Willow's Way'...'

That night, Percy had a vivid dream.

It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.

He ran toward them, knowing he had to stop them from killing each other, but he was running in slow motion. Percy knew he would be too late. He watched as the eagle dived down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and Percy screamed, 'NO!'

Percy woke with a start.

Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.

With the next thunderclap, Sally's eyes shot open. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."

Percy knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. Over the roar of the wind, he heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made his hair stand on end. Willow's eyes narrowed on the other hand.

'A monster...' Willow whispered. 'One that mother told us about...'

Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice-someone yelling, pounding on their cabin door.

Sally sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.

Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.

"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"

Sally looked at Percy in terror- not scared of Grover, but the reason he'd come. Sally had told Percy she'd take him to the safe place after their trip. They didn't have enough time.

"Percy!" she shouted, to be heard over the rain. "Grab your things! We're leaving!"

Percy on the other hand was frozen, looking at Grover. Seeing at how he wouldn't be moving any time soon, Willow took over- green shifting to amber- and he grabbed his things. They ran to the car.

Willow ignored the fact that Grover had yelled in Ancient Greek, and yet he and Percy had understood him perfectly. He ignored thoughts on how Grover had gotten there by himself in the middle of the night. But what he didn't ignore was the fact Grover wasn't wearing pants, and where his legs should have been...

Grover ran for the Camaro- but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense. Willow and Percy understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.

Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.

As they jumped into the car, Willow muttered, "I KNEW we should have paid more attention in class.."