Bringing along the mother of the guy who is trying to take over the world, on your quest to stop him, is not the ideal situation to be in. Unfortunately, Thalia didn't have a choice. Let's recap.

Percy Jackson, the original prophecy child, decided that the Gods didn't deserve to rule and joined Luke and Kronos. Camp Half Blood was out of hope, Grover was missing, and Thalia's tree was poisoned. Annabeth was all alone. Then she had an idea. The Golden fleece could save Thalia, and the borders. Unfortunately, the quest was given to Clarisse, but fortunately, Clarisse had a heart and invited Annabeth on the quest. They got the fleece, saved Grover, and returned Thalia's tree to its former glory. And then resorted Thalia, making her the Prophecy Child, and giving Camp Half Blood a chance.

It's been an exhausting year for Thalia, between learning she's been a tree for 6 years, her best friend is evil, she has the power to save the world, and she became a teenager without knowing! The last one really took the cake.

Anyway, Thalia really did not want to involve Sally in this quest, but they were desperate. They had to find Tyson and Grover. Plus, they didn't know anymore clear-sighted mortals. Briefly, Thalia wondered about the red-headed girl who saw her sword. She wonders what happened to her.

But Thalia didn't have time to wonder about that girl. She and Annabeth were currently standing in front of a boy that tried to kill her about 10 minutes ago, while Sally was sitting on the ground with a sad look on her face. Seeing her son and not being able to run to him must have felt awful. Percy doesn't deserve her.

Ethan pulled off his helmet, his face slicked with sweat. "You people are crazy."
"Hey! I know you!" Annabeth exclaimed. "You were one of the unclaimed Hermes kids, years ago."
"Yeah." Ethan looked at her with surprise. "And you're Annabeth. I'm surprised you remember me."
Annabeth tilted her head, trying to place him in her mind. "I helped show you around camp when you first arrived."

Ethan blushed a bit. "Yeah." Weird

"You must have been the demigod from my dreams," I interrupted them. "It wasn't Nico after all." I said to Annabeth.

"Who's Nico," Ethan asked.

"No one." Annabeth said quickly and changed the subject. "Why are you trying to join the wrong side?"

Ethan stood up to face her. "There is no wrong or right side. The Gods don't care about us! Why shouldn't I-"
"Sign up for an army that makes you fight to the death for their entertainment. Gee, I wonder." She put a finger to her chin and made a face like she was thinking.

"I'm not going to argue with you. Thanks for everything, but I'm out." He walked past us.
"No." Sally got to her feet and stood in front of Ethan. "You are coming with us."
Ethan looked at her weirdly. "Thanks lady, but I'm good."
Sally shook her head. "I am not letting a child go back to that horrible place."
"I'm not a child." He retorted.

She glared at him. "You are coming with us and that is final."

They had a staring contest for a while, as me and Annabeth watched. As nice as Sally was, her glare was terrifying. After about 30 seconds, Ethan sighed.

"Fine."

A smug smile appeared on Sally's face. "Good. Let's go." She started to walk forward, but stopped and looked back. "Annabeth, grab his arm so he doesn't run off."
Annabeth and Ethan looked at each other cautiously as Annabeth moved to hold his arm. Ethan stared at her as she did it, but looked forward once she looked at him. There seemed to be an untold story there. If they ever make it out of this maze, Annabeth and Thalia need a serious girl talk.