Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any related characters! Please, please, PLEASE review if you read; all feedback is greatly appreciated. You all are awesome, and thank you for reading my story!

The sun was starting to hide beneath the hills, creating a beautiful orange, red, and purple sky. The beautiful colors made Percy think of Iris. The breeze blew gently and reassuringly through Camp Half-Blood, just warm enough so people wouldn't shiver or get goosebumps, but just cool enough to refresh the campers. The leaves rustled rhythmically to the breeze, blowing back and forth at a steady pace.

Percy was jogging to the Argo III. As he was taking in the scenery, his petal on his bracelet glowed a light purple. He was thinking to himself how beautiful Camp Half-Blood was when it wasn't being ravaged by monsters or death. The gentle breeze was now a wind that whipped his hair back as he ran. He had informed Grover about the destination that they were going, and the satyr had gone off to update Juniper. Thalia was gone from the amphitheater by the time Percy had gotten to Grover, so he assumed that she had gone to prepare for the quest.

He entered the huge ship and went to his informal room. Sure enough, his duffel bag filled with his weapons, armor, and artifacts was sitting at the foot of the bed. However, instead of being tousled by sleep, the bed looked to be uncharacteristically neat. Percy caught a faint scent of candy canes and incense and looked over to the corner of the room.

I slept with Thalia last night, he thought. The hairs on his arm went up and his body temperature started to rise. Heat ran to his face, and he had to think of the ocean to cool himself down. The petal glowed a deep yellow. He repeated to himself that it was just sleep and it wasn't a big deal, but it seemed like his mind had other plans. It kept replaying Thalia taking his arm, putting it around her and laying her head on his chest as she hummed her song to him. Percy was convinced that the song she hummed to get him to sleep was some type of magical enchantment, because every time she did it, Percy felt like he was ten years old in his mother's arms. His muscles would relax, he would smell his mother's freshly baked cookies that she made on Christmas, and he would feel begin to feel tired, knocking out promptly after that.

Percy pushed thoughts of Thalia out his mind and bent down to retrieve his duffel bag. His Minotaur horn fell out of the bag and Percy stared at it for a second. He had kept it all this time as a reminder of where he came from; a souvenir from scarier, more uncertain times. He was twelve back then, ignorant of the world of the gods and disbelieving of anything that seemed unnatural to him. Now, six years and countless adventures later, Percy felt most at home in a military-based camp that trains children to become brutal warriors. He couldn't believe how far he'd come. Suddenly, Percy got an idea. He took the horn and took a pen and a piece of paper from on top of the dresser by his bed (Leo probably provided paper to allow people to write notes or draw, whatever they needed to engage in self-care). Percy wrote a note to one of his new favorite demigods.

"Kofi,

Thank you for letting me use your phone to call my mother. She would have walked up to Camp Half-Blood and physically extracted my soul if I hadn't gotten in contact with her. Sometimes, she can be scarier than any monster, god or Titan I've faced. Whether it's by blood, marriage, or friendship, always remember that family is important. It keeps a demigod humbled and gives them a support system that they can draw upon.

Here's your phone that I almost forgot to give back, sorry for having it for so long. Along with your phone is the horn of the Minotaur. I've had it since I was 12 and now I want you to have it. I had kept it as a reminder of more uncertain and confusing times. I hope that it will continue to give you strength and encourage you to make your mark in this world. Remember; this is a big, crazy world of gods and monsters, but that's not always a bad thing. It just gives you more opportunities to do good.

Percy

P.S. The real purpose of this letter is to tell you that you have won a free batch of homemade Sally Jackson-edition chocolate-chip cookies. You are able to cash this in whenever you want."

Percy folded up the note and grabbed a gray plastic bag from the dresser cabinet doors (Leo had everything). He put the Minotaur's horn in the bag, as well as Kofi's cell phone and the note. He tied it up and slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. Holding the gray plastic bag, he started to walk down the hall of temporary rooms. After three steps, Percy froze. He realized he had no idea where Kofi was, nor did he know who his parent was.

Chiron. Chiron would know. Percy leapt out of the Argo and tuned out all the noise as he jogged to the new Big House. He had gotten used to focusing on certain senses at certain times. If he didn't, his enhanced senses would have driven him crazy if he was constantly hearing everyone's breathing, conversation and bodily noises all at once. A rush of Camp Half-Blood related scents blew against Percy's face, allowing him to pinpoint exactly what scent it was and who it came from. The sun was now almost underneath the hills as Percy arrived at the steps of the Big House. He stopped and turned, looking around the new Camp Half-Blood. He had the familiar feeling that he wasn't going to be back here in a very long time.

Percy saw the usual activities going on such as campers sparring, hanging out, climbing the wall as lava poured down it, jousting, and Pegasus riding lessons. To Percy's left, he saw Grover walking with Juniper, holding hands. Juniper seemed to be telling a joke, prompting Grover to throw his head back and laugh. It warmed Percy's hear to see how happy his best friend was. To Percy's right, he saw an odd sight; Thalia talking to Piper. Thalia seemed to be on edge, uncomfortable even, as she leaned against the Zeus cabin and listened to the daughter of Aphrodite. Piper was talking meaningfully, as if she was trying to teach Thalia a lesson that needed to be learned. Thalia looked up and caught Percy looking at her, prompting her to bashfully end her conversation with Piper. She awkwardly offered a handshake to Piper, but she sprung up and hugged Thalia. To his left, Grover was running up, calling his name. Percy gave him a fist bump and turned to his right to see Thalia jogging up to him.

Past her shoulder, Piper was crossing her arms and shaking her head at Thalia's back. Once she caught Percy looking at her, she began to gaze at him. It made him uncomfortable. Percy was used to having eyes on him, but it was the way that Piper stares. She stared at him with her kaleidoscope eyes, but was focused on him as if his eyes had changed colors and she was subsequently trying to both see how that was possible and how it looked on him.

Percy didn't have much time to think about how weird that was because Chiron swung open the doors to see the three of them standing there. He invited them in, and Percy realized that though he was here to find out what Kofi's godly parentage was, Grover and Thalia were here to brief Chiron on the next stop of the mission; Belvedere Castle in Central Park.

Chiron clopped to the center of the room and faced the three adventurers. "Where is the next stop in your mission?"

Percy couldn't help but notice how much more hands-off Chiron has gotten over the years, but he reasoned that he was getting less and less involved as the demigods he trained got older and more independent. Thalia stepped forward. "Percy had a…vision where he was able to talk with Annabeth. He heard that she was at the Asopio Pool, which is a body of-"

"A body of Underworld liquid that serves as a sacrificial pool, unique because it is the only place in existence that allows trades of any kind. Any sacrifices made there go straight to Tartarus, exchanging places with a pre-determined monster from Tartarus, bringing the latter to life in this plane of reality," Chiron interrupted. "Yes, I know. What happened with Annabeth? Why did she attack Camp?"

Percy realized that Chiron cared about Annabeth a lot; over her multiple years of Camp Half-Blood, she has found his favor through her intelligence, caring, fighting skills, and strategic prowess. Percy didn't want to, but he informed Chiron. "When Annabeth was seven, she was tricked into an oath on the River Styx to serve Arachne. Arachne had eaten one of her younger siblings alive-"

Thalia looked away and Grover looked queasy.

"-and Annabeth agreed to the terms in order to protect her brothers. Throughout the majority of her life, Arachne has been whispering in her ear, telling Annabeth to do certain things that were in Arachne's own interest."

Thalia interrupted, this time with malice in her voice. "Percy's holding back. This included her giving Luke the scorpion he tried to kill Percy with, providing Luke with the poison for my tree, unleashing the Colchis Bulls, releasing the Nemean Lion, leading Grover to Polyphemus' lair-"

Grover shivered at the thought and began to eat a few cans lying around on the Ping-Pong table.

"-and not to mention, she was under orders to kill me, Luke, and Percy at different times. Though she was preparing to, she couldn't kill Luke and I, which resulted in a broken oath. The broken oath led to our fates as dead trees and Titan hosts…respectively. She was ready to kill Percy though, but Hera had taken him before she was able to."

Thalia finished with, "And now, she was told to kidnap Cyrene and take her to the Asopio Pool to bring Arachne back from Tartarus. She refused at first, ready to break her oath again, but Arachne said that she has Annabeth's brothers' lives in her hands. All she has to do is use Cyrene to bring her back. Once she does that, Matthew and Bobby are free and Annabeth's oath is dissolved. She must've known that Percy would have stopped her, because she did everything in her power to create diversions to distract Percy from getting close to her. We need to stop her."

Thalia injected so much venom into that last statement, that it made Percy's blood turn to ice. Chiron kneeled, which looked strange due to his four legs. His face looked pale in the setting sunlight that came through the window. "I see…I see. Arachne has done what was only theoretically explored; tricked a person into an oath on the River Styx by prompting them to take the oath in ignorance of its actual power. You two need to stop her. The Asopio Pool is located-"

"On the very bottom floor of the Belvedere Castle in Central Park, New York. Yeah, I know," Thalia interjected in turn. Percy couldn't believe how contesting and off-kilter Thalia was being.

However, Chiron nodded gravely; his mind seemed to be somewhere else. "A word of advice for you all, though. At the Belvedere Castle is the being Mormo. Mormo is a gender-changing monster, known for appearing as male, female, and androgynous across the centuries. It changes genders based upon the sexual preferences of those in its presence and prefers the pronoun of they when people refer to her, so I will be using that to describe her to you."

Percy, Grover and Thalia nodded.

Chiron nodded and continued. "Mormo is vampiric demon who was once the consort of Hecate herself. They are very formidable and also…supernaturally gifted in bringing out…ahem…libido in any individual who is in their presence."

Percy blanched; he had never faced a monster who had a sexual component to them before. Especially not a monster who is simultaneously a vampire and a demon. His mind went through all the different ways that the encounter with Mormo may go, each of them being that Mormo makes a move on Thalia and Percy and Grover are forced to get creative with how they kill them. But what Percy was really interested in was how Chiron managed to use his vocabulary and pacing to deliver hat statement in his usual classy manner. Somehow, he told them what Mormo can do without having to say it out loud.

Grover chewed on a can, but had a confused expression on his face. "What's libido?"

That was exactly what Percy, Thalia, and Chiron wanted to avoid explaining. Percy ran his fingers through his hair as Chiron's tail skittered nervously. Percy put his finger on his nose, followed by Chiron, then Thalia a split-second behind. Thalia groaned, face-palmed herself and sighed. "She makes anyone around her horny, Grover. Sexually aroused."

Grover yelped and the can dropped. "Yikes…I can sit this one out if you all need me to. I don't need Juniper coming to the castle, chasing after this monster with a stick."

Chiron shook his head. "All of you must go through that Castle in order for all of you to go through the Asopio Pool. You would at least have to be in the Castle with them."

Grover gulped and Percy was about to think how he could get away from encountering Mormo directly. He then realized that he was thinking as if he still had Annabeth as a girlfriend, which he did not. Percy's heart suddenly fluttered and his petal glowed blue. He had the craziest thought; he wondered if he and Annabeth were still together, especially since they never officially broke up.

Sure, she kidnapped Cyrene and plans to sacrifice her to bring a large evil spider back to life. Every couple goes through that strain, Percy thought to himself. He then shook his head at how dumb that thought was.

It made Percy wish that Annabeth was here; he felt at his best whenever he was with her. He thought about how exciting and fun missions were with her, and the petal on his wrist turned a deep violet.

Chiron looked at the petal on Percy's wrist with curiosity. He was probably glad to change the subject. "Percy, what is that on your wrist?"

Grover and Thalia both trained their attention onto his wrist, which made Percy feel under the spotlight. He held his wrist out. "I would tell you if I remembered the name, but it is a petal from one of the flowers that I planted on Ogygia, and the petal glows or burns a specific color based on how I'm feeling at that moment."

Thalia interjected. "And what does deep violet mean?"

Grover regarded him and Percy realized that the petal kind of did what Grover could do via their empathy link and his satyr emotion-reading abilities. Though Grover and Chiron could probably guess the answer, Percy answered, "Heartache."

Thalia's eyes shook a bit, then she looked to the floor. Chiron and Grover glanced at each other. The air got a bit warmer and more uncomfortable. Percy sighed and realized that he was still holding the bag with the note, phone, and Minotaur's horn. Now it was his turn to be grateful to have a change in subject.

"Chiron, do you know a demigod who goes here named Kofi?"

Chiron nodded, and a ghost of a smile flickered on his face. "Kofi Ekuban. His father lives and is from the West African Country of Ghana, and his mother is the goddess Tyche, the goddess of fortune, luck, and chance. He is one of two people in Tyche, along with Chiara Benvenuti. Have you met him yet? He reminds me a lot of you."

Percy nodded, barely containing his smile. He thought that it was really cool how big Camp Half-Blood has expanded; there were people coming from far and wide to train there. He held the bag out to Chiron. "Did you mind putting this on his bed for when he comes back? I saw him outside scaling the climbing wall, and I would like him to come back to that on his bed."

Chiron took it and nodded. "I will do so. My stealth skills are unparalleled."

Percy stared at the centaur. He couldn't tell if it was a joke or not because his face was deadly serious and the delivery was deadpan. Percy turned his attention to the silver and black ring with the obsidian jewel on it. It glowed with pale white energy, as if it knew it was about to get used. Grover stepped towards a shadow in the Big House and Thalia and Percy followed.

Thalia told them, "All right, think of the Belvedere Castle in Central Park, New York."

They did so, and together, they melted into the darkness.