With the help of the Apollo campers, Percy slowly started to regain his weight and strength over the course of the next few weeks. His pale skin turned from ghostly white to red (sunscreen couldn't even help him) to a light tan, making his time in the sun a little more comfortable. His eyes, adapted to the darkness of the underground, were still sensitive to the sun, but he no longer needed to wear sunglasses on a cloudy day. He also no longer needed to use a cane to walk, which was amazing considering the damage done to his legs after walking miles on broken bones. His clothes were fitting him better every day as he readily sent food to the deep abyss of his stomach. He was going to need to go up a size in clothes soon, his face no longer appearing as gaunt. In the Apollo camper's opinions, he was having a near perfect recovery considering what he had gone through.
However, the trauma Percy had experienced was still evident, no matter how much he tried to pretend it wasn't. The tanning of his skin showed how he was speckled with pale white scars. He often sought shade after being in the sun for a while as not even sunglasses could stop the headaches he would get. Loud noises left him shaken. And only him and Annabeth knew just how bad his sleeping problems were.
However, the biggest change that occurred with the return of Alex's father was her mother. While Percy was still recovering in the infirmary during his first week back, stricken with illness since his immune system was not used to the germs of camp, her mother never left his side. She missed Council meetings, training sessions, and even Capture the Flag. It was uncharacteristic of her, of course, but Alex knew this was the side of her mother she had missed for twelve years. For so long, discipline and punctuality was the foundation of Annabeth's teachings to her daughter, of which Annabeth always exemplified to the greatest degree.
Now, Alex had felt something in her mother change.
In simple terms, her mom did not seem to care. When Alex had brought up her mother's absences to her over dinner, she simply shrugged and said, "It's not important right now."
Alex felt like she was talking to a new person when she said that.
But, despite all of these changes, Alex was really happy for her mom.
She smiled more. Her already intimidating eyes were not as hard. She did not seem as tired as she usually was at night. She even looked younger.
Alex had spotted the two of them one day sitting on the Big House's porch.
Alex was walking from a campfire when she saw them. It was nighttime, but a full moon cast enough light to make them visible.
They were sitting on a couch on the porch. Her father had a blanket around his shoulders, still too thin to fight off the cold. He was without sunglasses, the night giving him some relief. He was staring up at the night sky, likely for the first time since he had gotten back. He had finally gotten permission from the Apollo campers to leave the Big House that morning, but the sun made it difficult for him to leave during the day.
Her mother was next to him. Her head was on his shoulder, her eyes closed in peaceful rest. She was not asleep, as her father would occasionally whisper something to her, and she would smile and laugh before returning to their tranquility.
Their hands were clasped tightly together between them.
Alex felt like she had gone back in time when watching the calm scene. Her mother looked like a teenager again, not the woman who had gone through years of pain and suffering. Her father, while still in the infancy of his recovery, seemed relaxed and the hard lines of his gaunt frame were not apparent in the moonlight. He, despite everything he had gone through, looked younger as well.
That night, Alex saw a new side of her mother, one that was free from her demons. While she had lots to learn about her father, she would be forever grateful for the change he sparked in her mother.
/
One morning, Alex was heading to the Big House to ask her mother a question only to find her father sitting on the porch. He seemed to be in deep thought (which, according to Annabeth, did not occur often), but he perked up when she came into view. He stood, sunglasses on, when she walked up the stairs.
He cleared his throat. "I need to stretch my legs." He nodded towards the strawberry fields. "Come with me?"
Figuring her question could wait, she nodded, and they headed off towards the fields.
The walk over was quiet. Alex figured he had a topic in mind, so she decided to let him speak first. He led her to an area of the fields that was out of earshot of any Demeter kids who were tending to the strawberries. He sat down on the grass, with surprising ease, and plucked a fresh strawberry from a bush.
"I think it's time we talked, without your mom listening," he said, "I love her, but she can be scary when I say dumb stuff."
Alex sat down across from him. She started playing with the grass, a nervous fidget she had. "Well, what do you want to know? My favorite color is blue, unsurprisingly. I don't like peanut butter. Oh, I can solve a Rubik's Cube," she said, not making eye contact with him. While they had talked more since the reveal, it was still nerve-wracking to be with him one-on-one.
He let out a chuckle at her obvious sarcasm, knowing where it came from. "I want to know what has happened in the past twelve years-" He took a deep breath. "-what I've missed."
She finally looked up at him. He was looking intently at her, his eyebrows scrunched together.
Well shit, here we go.
She ran a hand through her hair, which was down and blowing in a gentle breeze.
She was not going to lie. She was not going to hide anything. He deserved to know everything. Hiding the truth would hurt him more than revealing it.
She sighed. "Well, get comfortable because this will take a while."
/
She started from the beginning, what she remembered from the day he left. She talked about that month where they had no idea where he or Able was, and if they were ever going to return, the talk she had with Grover once Able did finally return.
The first year was the hardest. Alex felt like she didn't have a mother. Annabeth was constantly either on a quest to find Percy or trying to get approval for another. She barely ate or slept, much less gave time to her daughter. Her free time was spent looking at maps or training.
Their little time together was usually spent sleeping, cuddled up together in the Poseidon cabin. However, little Alex usually woke up alone, waiting for Grover or Juniper to bring her to breakfast.
Her mother had also been getting physically ill often, running to the bathroom while they were sleeping. Little Alex attributed it to her missing dad, but one day she woke up to her mother crying out in pain and she knew it was much worse than her young mind could imagine.
That was the day Alex learned what a miscarriage.
Percy looked lost when she told him this, but he remained silent.
She told him how her mother somehow convinced Chiron to let her continue her quests. Week after week, she was somewhere else in the world, searching for any sign of him. During her last quest, her reckless acts caught up to her.
"Finally, Aunt Thalia dragged her half-dead body into Camp. She had been ambushed by a minor god, and nearly killed. Aunt Thalia and the Hunters had been tracking her movements because she knew Mom didn't have any backup. When Mom didn't come out, they went in. They had to resuscitate her before they headed back to Camp," Alex said. "Chiron finally had enough and banned her from taking part in anymore quests. She tried to sneak out that night, half of her body covered in bandages. She would have done it too, had she not tried to hide in the one tree a look-out camper was perched in." Alex shook her head. "Thalia had enough with her. I wasn't allowed to go into the Poseidon cabin that night. There was a lot of yelling coming from it. Next day, mom slept for sixteen hours straight, moved into the Athena Cabin, and she never left for a quest again."
"Thalia saved her life," her dad said softly.
Alex nodded.
"After that point, she seemed to realize that she had a kid and a camp to take care of so she put all of her energy into being a mom and leader. Things got better between us, we moved out of camp into an apartment in New York City near Grandma, Mom got a real job as an architect, and I started kindergarten the next year. Ever since then, we spend the school year in NYC and the summers here." Alex paused before continuing. "Mom has obviously gotten better, but there was always something missing, like a part of her wasn't there. Every milestone we had was somber because she was always thinking about how you were missing it." She looked at her dad. "Then you decided to pop out of a rock, and now we're here."
He chuckled at her attempt to lighten the mood, but she could tell her story drained him. He obviously knew he caused his family lots of pain over the years, but to hear it can be overwhelming.
"No wonder your mom wouldn't tell me," he finally said. He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know what I would have done if I were her."
Alex spoke softly. "That's why the gods sent you on the quest. They knew you would be strong enough to survive, and she would be wise enough to wait. All we needed was time."
Her father smiled at her. "Damn, you definitely got the wisdom genes from your mom." He suddenly straightened and winced in pain. "Maybe, I'm not quite ready for sitting this long on the ground yet."
Alex started to stand and said, "You should get some rest. Let's head back before mom worries."
She helped him stand, and they started a slow trek back to the Big House. The more steps he took, the more evident his limp became, no matter how much he tried to hide it.
"It usually doesn't hurt this bad, this quick." He sounded out of breath. "Maybe we can grab some chairs next time we want to talk."
Alex took hold of his free arm to help him and teased, "Come on, old man. Don't give up on me yet."
He scoffed, muttering the insult under his breath. "I should ground you for that."
They were just a few yards from the porch when the horn sounded.
Every camper knows that the horn signals company. There was an unspoken rule of camp, however, that if sounds of battle are not heard within thirty seconds of the horn, that usually means the visitors are friendly. As a result, everyone holds their breath and waits, listening, counting the seconds as they go by. Alex and Percy looked at each other, thinking the same thing. They counted in their heads.
At the 27th second, a distant roar could be heard, and the camp suddenly sprang into action. Armed campers bolted to the sounds while others rushed to their cabins to find their weapons. Alex and Percy stumbled the rest of the way to the porch stairs, and she helped him sit.
Alex swayed on her feet, unsure of where to go. Part of her wanted to rush to the battle, but another part knew she should protect her father.
Percy seemed to understand the look on her face. He pulled a pen from his pants pocket.
Riptide. Alex had only heard stories of the famed sword.
"Go," he said, "I'll be okay. Find your mother."
Alex nodded and took off towards the Athena Cabin since she was not armed. Dashing into the cabin, she nearly knocked over her mother who was just leaving. She had a chest plate on and her knife in hand.
"Get your armor on and stay behind me," she commanded.
Alex quickly slipped her chest plate and bracers on, before grabbing her own knife and following her mom out the door. At this point, most campers were armed and heading towards the danger, which seemed to be ongoing. Alex could see the Big House in the distance as she ran, praying that her father would remain safe.
As they got closer, the sounds of battle got louder. They ran past one camper who was holding a bloody t-shirt to a head wound he had.
"The labyrinth is open!" he yelled.
Alex heard her mom curse under her breath.
Finally, the fighting and Zeus' Fist came into view. A fleet of armed dracaenae were using spears and shields to attack the demigods. While the campers were not losing the battle, it certainly was not an easy one. Alex noticed the monster's weapons and armor strangely appeared almost new and unused, making it difficult for the campers to find an obvious weakness. However, she tucked this observation away as her mother and her jumped into battle.
The two fought graciously together, all of their training paying off. When one held the defensive, the other attacked. When one found a vulnerability, the other seemed to know without a second thought. If one made a mistake (usually Alex, but she wouldn't admit it), the other pulled them out of it. The duo fought like they came from the same brain.
Finally, the last standing dracaenae realized her position. She hissed at the demigods and swiped a spear at them to get space. Her poison green eyes scanned the crowd before falling directly onto Alex. She felt paralyzed.
"Possseidon blood is here," she said, almost happily. She quickly turned and went back into the cave of the Labyrinth, getting lost in the darkness.
All of the campers stood in silence at the monster's words, unable to look at Alex for the second time at Zeus' Fist.
Alex turned to say something to her mom, only to find her already talking to Chiron. They were talking in hushed whispers.
"Mom." Her voice came out as a squeak. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "Mom."
The two stopped to look at Alex. She couldn't read her mother's expression.
"Apollo Cabin, tend to the wounded. Ares Cabin, check the weapons stock at the armory and report back to the Council. Hephaestus and Athena, I want motion sensors deployed by the Fist and around the perimeter of camp by the end of the hour, so we know if anything tries to come back, and report to me when it is finished. I want a guard unit patrolling this area at all times. Post lookouts on the perimeter of camp so every single inch can be seen by a camper." Annabeth broke eye contact to look around at the remaining campers. "At this moment, this is purely precautionary. However, remain alert and armed. If you see anything unusual, report it. Get to work."
Her mother's commanding words sent all of the campers into action, sparking an organized chaos.
Alex managed to reach her mother despite it. "What is going on?" she asked.
Annabeth sheathed her knife and shook her head. "I don't know yet."
/
That night, the motion sensor alarms blared throughout Camp, sending campers flying out of their beds and straight towards the woods. If it weren't for the situation, the sight of an Ares camper in rubber duck pajamas and armor would have had the camp rolling in laughter.
This time, it was hell hounds.
Alex fought side by side with an Ares camper, who she ended up having to tend to after the Ares kid got swiped by claws to the abdomen. The infirmary continued to fill.
The next evening, during dinner, it was a group of cyclops. With firebombs, they killed their first victim: a fifteen year-old from Hermes. She was honored that night after the fight with a hero's burial. Alex spent the night comforting a distraught Sierra, who was friends with the fallen. Alex heard her parents arguing that night about "Poseidon's blood."
The day after that, a Wednesday, was a day of peace which almost felt worse than a day of battle. Daily activities had been cancelled by that point, so most campers who were not on guard remained tense in their cabins, waiting for the horn that would not come. Alex felt that even the smallest of sudden sounds was enough to set her off. She tried to remain by Sierra's side the whole day, but even Sierra eventually pushed her away for a little bit of peace after she couldn't handle Alex's constant fidgeting. That night, Alex overheard her parents arguing about a quest.
That Thursday morning, Alex strapped her knife to her thigh and set off to the Poseidon Cabin early, knowing her mother would already be there. Her father had just started sleeping there the week prior, but her mother had yet to move back in.
Sure enough, as soon as Alex walked up to the cabin, she could hear her parents' muffled talking from behind the door. She walked around the corner of the cabin to better hide herself from those passing by and crouched near a window. While closed, she could still clearly hear them talking.
Her father sounded urgent. "Annabeth, you know we need to send a quest. They will keep coming until the prophecy is completed, or they kill Alex or I. We both know one of those options is off the table."
"I can't send you back in there, Percy," her mother paused before speaking so quietly that Alex could barely hear it. "I can't make that mistake again."
Then, the peace ended with a horn, and they were back into battle again. While Percy was still sidelined with recovery, Alex and Annabeth ran straight to the Fist.
That day was pit scorpions. The next, a hydra. Then, kampês, telekhines, and more.
For nine days straight, the demigods fought battle after battle. The infirmary spread to the entirety of the Big House, and then some. Hephaestus and Ares campers worked around the clock to build new weapons and armor. Apollo campers were ordered to work on six-hour shifts after they started to pass out from exhaustion.
Day after day, Alex saw her mom's face grow more and more stressed. She had the feeling her mother knew exactly what was going on.
/
This chapter came out in one day like word vomit. It's super long so I decided to split it in half. Part Two will be out soon. Sorry for spelling errors, and all that. See y'all soon.