Chapter 6
Percy examined the girl, Elizabeth. The resemblance was striking. She looked to be around 16 and she wore a blue and green wave-patterned t-shirt under a silver jacket. Her skin seemed to have a luminescent glow in the darkness. A bow was sitting on her bed next to her. She studied Percy just as intently as he studied her.
"Dad told me I had a sister." Percy finally said.
"He told me I had a brother. Then I found out he was a coward." She replied, harshly.
"I didn't have a choice." Percy stated, his words gaining a bit of venom. "Either way, I need to speak to our father. Can you call him?"
"Why should I?"
"Because if you don't, then you're the one who's going to be punished for not doing so immediately."
Elizabeth scowled and moved to the water fountain. She picked up a drachma and the mist from the fountain seemed to grow thicker. While she did this, Percy examined the cabin.
It was largely unchanged from when he was last here, three years previously. His minotaur horn still adorned the wall, along with the damaged shield Tyson had made for him. On the wall by his bunk, there were still pictures of him and Annabeth, him and Thalia, and him and Tyson, and of course, him and Grover at various places and moments.
Percy picked a photo of him, Annabeth, and Thalia at a Green Day concert in the city off the wall and examined it. It had been taken after the battle of the Labyrinth. They (Annabeth) managed to persuade Artemis to let them take Thalia for her birthday that year. It felt like a lifetime ago, being 15, before the final battle with Kronos, before Percy actually knew what it was like to fight in a war.
Percy was brought out of his reminiscing by the sudden flash of Poseidon appearing in the cabin. He had been so distracted, he had missed Elizabeth calling their dad. Poseidon immediately moved to hug Percy, who moved back from his dad without a second's hesitation. Poseidon froze, seeming to be suddenly unsure of himself.
"Percy— "Poseidon started.
"—Don't." Percy cut off. "I'm back because I need a prophecy, but that seems to be impossible without the Oracle able to predict the future. If you want to start making things up to me, start by calling the Olympians and convincing Zeus to allow Apollo back onto the council."
Poseidon looked pained, but finally nodded. "It won't be easy, convincing Zeus to allow Apollo back solely for your needs, but I will find a way."
Percy nodded, and turned to leave the cabin.
"Are you well, Percy?" Poseidon asked to his back. Percy half-turned and looked at his father. "I didn't intend to cut you out of camp. Only to keep you out of the ocean. If I had known…I just need to know that you were ok."
"I lived." Percy said, leaving the cabin.
Percy saw a flash of light come out the windows and knew his father had gone. He looked out around the camp, and finally settled his eyes on the campfire, which had a sole silhouette sitting by it. Percy made his way over and found himself sitting next to a young girl, appearing to be around 13, with strawberry-blonde hair that reached half-way down her back. Her eyes were brown, like a piece of pale firewood, and they reflected the light of the campfire so that Percy felt warm and comforted. He knew it was his Aunt Hestia, but she looked different than the way she used to appear.
"My lady." Percy said, playfully.
She nudged him with her shoulder. "Welcome home, Percy." She said, kindly.
They sat silently for a minute or two, and found themselves watching the sunrise come over the strawberry fields. "Piper is here." Hestia said, simply. Causing Percy to freeze up. He hadn't counted on that; he didn't know how she would react to seeing him again. The last time they had seen each other hadn't gone so well. "You aren't happy about that fact?" Hestia inquired.
"We didn't exactly part on the best terms." Percy answered, vaguely.
Hestia nodded, as though expecting his answer.
"I asked my dad to call the Olympians. There will probably be a meeting in an hour or two." Percy informed her. "I asked him to get Apollo his throne back."
Hestia raised an eyebrow, but ultimately settled into a kind smile. "As happy as I have been to have a throne on the council again, having Apollo off of it was the wrong choice by my brother. It is beyond time for Apollo to be restored."
"Zeus won't make it easy." Percy stated.
"No he won't, but that doesn't make it less true or necessary."
The two of them sat silently for a minute as the sun began to rise further.
"You haven't aged much." Hestia observed. Percy remained silent. She was right, of course. Percy had become immortal about a year after he left camp. It wasn't what he wanted, of course, he had told the Olympian council as much. However, being eternally 18 wasn't too bad a compromise.
Slowly, campers began to move out of their cabins and make their way bleary-eyed towards the dining pavilion. Percy saw Piper move out of her cabin and make her way towards the pavilion alongside all of her siblings, oblivious to his presence. Percy turned to speak to Hestia and saw she had vanished silently. Sighing, he stood and made his way to the Big House.
O.o.O.o.O
Percy waited and waited. Finally, after an hour or so Mr D had come through the Big House from his bedroom upstairs, taken a moment to look at Percy, an eyebrow raised, before he simply said "Peter." And left the Big House. He hadn't changed.
About 5 minutes after Mr D left, Chiron wheeled himself into the lounge of the Big House and froze, seeing Percy standing there.
O.o.O.o.O
Chiron POV
I was sitting at the head table in the pavilion overlooking his charges when Dionysus sat down alongside him. "Peter is here." He said, simply. I frowned, and stood from the table, cantering to the Big House. I quickly collapsed into my magic wheelchair, and wheeled myself into the lounge area, freezing when I saw who was standing before me.
Percy.
His hair was cropped shorter than it had been before he left, and now stood up a bit in small black curls. His eyes were still sea-green, but lacked the warmth that they used to carry so easily. He had a small scar across his left eye which gave his face a graver look than I had seen him wear in his entire time at camp. He wore most of a suit, black pants, with a white tucked-in shirt and a red tie. His jacket was thrown over the couch. A beige trench-coat. I could see he had grown an inch or so, and stood with an apprehension that I hadn't seen in him before.
"Percy." I breathed.
"Hey Chiron," He replied.
Before either of them said anything else they moved towards each other and were giving each other a hug. Both pulling away, I smiled at him. "It is good to see you, my boy. We've been looking a long time."
"I know. I've seen a couple of the search parties. I didn't want to be found." He explained.
"I understand. After what happened it was more than warranted. Most of the issue is that you were unreachable to even the best of us."
"You aren't mad, then?" Percy said, perplexed.
"No, Percy. I'm not mad." I said simply.
It seemed like a weight lifted off Percy's shoulders. He visibly relaxed and sat down on the couch. "Just because I'm not mad, doesn't mean you're in the clear, you know? Your mother will be on the warpath." I informed him.
Percy smiled, eyes twinkling a little bit, which warmed my heart. "She won't be. I've been seeing her regularly for the past couple years."
That shocked me. Poseidon had been having meetings with Sally Jackson at regular intervals in the time that Percy was missing. She had even agreed to let him sift through her memories of Percy and there had been none since their meeting at the end of the Giant War. "How?" I asked.
"I've been spending time with other pantheons, the gods naturally avoid each other, so I met up with her in Brooklyn, where the Egyptians are strongest. Dad naturally left those memories alone, whether he knew it or not." Percy explained.
"When we last spoke, you said you were being careful of other pantheons." I responded sternly.
Percy mulled over the thought. "That was when I had my power. As a mortal, it was less of a risk."
I couldn't argue with that logic. "Have you spent the entire time in Brooklyn?" I asked, curious to know where he had been.
"No, I've been moving around a lot. Interstate, internationally…wherever." The pause towards the end of that statement didn't get past me, but I overlooked it for now.
"Piper is here. She'll want to see you." I said.
"No she won't. We didn't part on good terms." He replied.
I frowned at that. Piper had given no indication that she and Percy were at odds with each other when they left camp 3 years previously. She had seemed quite depressed when she returned to camp after she was found in Japan just after finishing her senior year, but that was put down to her father's passing of an overdose in Los Angeles. But perhaps there was more to that story.
"What brings you back?" I finally asked, and waited patiently as Percy began to explain how he needed a prophecy and so is seeking to return Apollo to Olympus.
O.o.O.o.O
Percy returned to the Poseidon cabin, awaiting the return of his father. Elizabeth was waiting there too, and they sat in an uncomfortable and unhappy silence until Percy finally broke the tension. "I was told you were a Hunter." Percy said.
"I was. I am. I will be. It's complicated." She replied.
"You just gave every explanation possible. It didn't clarify it at all."
She scowled at him. "I don't have to explain myself to you."
Percy shrugged, reached into his jacket pocket and got a cigarette out. He lit it with a flame on his finger, deciding not to waste the magic he had in his lighter just yet.
Elizabeth looked appalled, which Percy took delight in, blowing smoke her way, much to her disgust. Gagging, Elizabeth stormed out of the cabin, just as a horn blew. It was one that Percy was familiar with, it signalled the arrival of the Hunters.
Making his way out after Elizabeth, who was walking up to Thalia's pine tree, Percy leaned against the door of his cabin and finished his cigarette. Looking up at the top of the hill, he saw Artemis. She was looking at him while Elizabeth spoke to her at her side. Even from a distance, he could see Artemis narrow her eyes at him and start to make her way down the hill.
Next, was Thalia, who spotted him and took off running, quickly overtaking Artemis. When she was about 20 feet from him, she stopped, and they stared at each other, until Thalia narrowed her eyes, pulled her bow, and sent an arrow into the door just to the right of his head. Percy didn't flinch, he knew she wouldn't actually try to kill him. Unfortunately, the theatrics she was displaying led to a few campers coming to investigate, including some who recognised Percy, leading them to go and tell other campers what was happening. Percy and Thalia continued to stare at each other, before finally Thalia tackled him in a hug, before pulling away and slapping him, hard, across the face, with an added electric shock, for good measure.
"Mixed signals." Percy said, earning a punch to the shoulder.
"Where were you?" Thalia asked, eyes wet.
Percy enveloped her in a hug again, "I'm so sorry, Thals." He said in response.
The hug was interrupted by the clearing of a throat, the two separated to reveal Artemis, eyes like slits.
"Perseus Jackson." Was all she said.
Percy bowed; not breaking eye-contact. "My lady."
"We've been looking for you. For a long time." She said.
"Would it make you feel better if I said you came closer than I would have liked a couple of times?" Percy tried, in an effort to appease her.
"No." She answered.
"Probably for the best, it wouldn't have been true…" Percy laughed, before catching the glare being sent by the moon goddess.
Percy looked away, only to catch sight of Piper, who had frozen in the crowd and was giving him a death stare that would rival that of a child of Hades. Turning back to the moon goddess, who was seething, Percy tried a friendly smile. The next thing he knew, he was falling to the ground, unconscious.
O.o.O.o.O
Percy awoke in the infirmary. He looked around and saw Thalia sitting next to his bed, along with, surprisingly, Elizabeth. He moaned, getting their attention. "You drool when you sleep." Elizabeth said, causing Percy to flinch.
"Why are you here?" Percy asked.
"Milady's command. She thought because we're brother and sister I should stay."
"Please go."
"Gladly. Now you're awake my duty is done."
Elizabeth wasted no time. She got up and left swiftly. Thalia watched the interaction with interest. "I don't like her." Percy said in explanation.
"Really?" Thalia asked sarcastically. "Are you alright?"
"Not really." Percy touched his head and felt a lump. "Who hit me?"
"Katie Gardner." Thalia said with a grin.
"Katie?!"
"She was mad. You disappear on your friends for three years, you're surprised?"
"Not really, just who did it. She was always more non-combative."
The two sat in a comfortably awkward silence for a minute, before Percy decided to break it. "Is Elizabeth a hunter? She wasn't clear."
Thalia had to think a minute before answering. "It's complicated. Yes, and no."
"Same answer she gave, more or less." Percy said.
Thalia shrugged, giving a small "what-can-you-do?" smile. Before her eyes saddened. "Where were you?"
Percy's eyes became downcast. "Sort of all over the place. Never stayed in one spot too long. I was kept busy."
"That isn't what I meant." Thalia said seriously.
Percy met her eyes, which were shedding silent tears. "You know I couldn't stay."
"You didn't have to leave."
"My dad— "
"—would have fixed the mistake immediately, had you given him the chance."
"I needed time."
"I needed my brother. I lost my brother and sister Perce."
That shut Percy up. Brother wasn't a word that Thalia threw around lightly, aside from with Jason. Jason was a good guy, he and Percy had gotten along well (mostly), and Percy hadn't taken into consideration that Thalia had lost both her younger brother and her sister in Annabeth. She needed him and he had abandoned her. His fatal flaw was loyalty, and he'd abandoned his friend. His cousin. His sister.
"There's nothing I can say that will make this right." He said quietly.
"No, we can't change what's happened." She said before standing over him, and leaning in, kissing his cheek. "I'm glad you're home, Percy." She stood and walked out the door, leaving Percy alone.
