Hey guys! Someone pointed out to me that I'd gotten Thalia's age wrong in the last chapter, so I've adjusted that. It doesn't change anything story-wise I've just fixed it for accuracy reasons, so going forward she was twelve when she died.

Also, this story is now available in Latin Spanish! Check out the translated version by Ayerdehoy: s/14228107/1/El-primo-Winchester-y-El-ladr%C3%B3n-del-rayo

The camp had seemed…quiet, ever since Percy had left. Almost like it was missing something. It was a ridiculous sentiment considering the camp was never quiet. The very concept was anathema to the reality of a camp filled with teens and preteens who had nothing better to do than cause mayhem. Even at night when almost everyone was sound asleep, the strange noises that echoed from the forest ensured the camp never truly fell silent.

The truth was, there was a Percy-sized hole in every interaction Luke had. He'd gotten used to the kid hanging around. Everyone had.

He'd only known Percy for a week, if that. As counsellor of the Hermes cabin he had so many kids to look out for and look after that it was impossible for the kid to have made such an impact. It should've been impossible. Kids came and went in his cabin so often that he didn't often bother reporting disappearances to Chiron anymore. Not when he knew they'd left in search of their parent. It seemed like every few months he had a new camper he had to introduce to the shitty Demigod life, that he had to explain 'no we don't know who your godly parent is, but maybe you'll get lucky and they'll tell you.' Percy shouldn't have been able to affect him this much, not when Luke'd been doing this job for years.

Somehow the kid had managed it, and not just on Luke. He'd been worried about having to deal with the rumour mill once the kid had left on his quest, worried about having to quash stupid rumours that kids came up with because they were bored and a little too young to fully understand how far was too far. When gossip tipped from curiosity into cruelty. It turned out that was the least of his worries.

Someone had put two and two together and, for once, wound up with four. They'd linked the shitty weather to Zeus' ire, and Percy's quest to godly interference, and figured out he was being used by one of the gods to sooth Zeus' anger. The camp was imploding. He'd had orders from Kronos to sow seeds of mistrust against the gods but Luke hadn't had to lift a finger. The Council was doing it all for him. Cabins were taking sides, but where the usual argument would be 'which god should we back' instead there were fights of 'why should we support the gods, what have they ever done for us?' against 'they're our parents of course I stand with them.'

Every time a negative rumour about Percy started circulating, Clarisse was there. Her or one of her cabinmates. No matter what anyone thought of the girl, everyone had to admit that she ran a tight ship in the Ares cabin. Her word was law. It had only taken a few campers winding up in the infirmary for the whole camp to get the message. Percy Jackson was off limits. A full week hadn't yet passed but the rumour mill had shut down after two days. Two days.

Well, it had shut down regarding Percy. Everything else was still fair game.

The Ares cabin was firmly on Percy's side. Clarisse had been furious when she'd realised Percy wasn't at camp. Thankfully, Chiron had been the one to explain where he was, because Luke was certain she'd have decked him if he'd had to tell her. She couldn't hit Chiron. Or, well…she hadn't been angry enough that the satisfaction outweighed the consequences. Yet.

The Athena cabin had almost completely shut down, and there were rumours about that circulating. If they were to be believed, and they usually were, Annabeth hadn't told any of her siblings she was leaving. They'd woken up to find her and some of her things just…gone. No note explaining where she was going or what her plan was, just gone. It had taken Chiron assuring them that he'd personally seen her off to get them to accept the truth. Then they'd dissolved into worry over little Annabeth going on a treacherous quest after the last one had–

Well. After his quest had happened.

They had remained completely out of the arguments going around the camp. No one could get any of them to pick a side. They'd completely closed ranks, seemingly caught up in internal debates over what Annabeth had been thinking and was Percy at fault or had Annabeth seen something they'd all ignored simply because he was Poseidon's spawn.

He knew he should be concerned that Annabeth hadn't told any of her siblings she was leaving, but it was the first time he'd seen even a hint of the strong-minded rebellious girl he'd met out on the streets. She'd been stubborn while at camp, sure, but it had been a while since he'd seen her form an opinion and damn the consequences while sticking to it. He also couldn't help the sliver of warmth that shot through him at the knowledge she hadn't tried to hide her departure from him. Of course, they'd known each other for longer than all of her half-siblings and he'd looked after her a lot more than a sibling usually had to, but still. She'd let him know. The action of leaving-without-warning itself also wasn't as concerning considering he'd woken up to find her missing several times when they were still on the streets. She seemed to have an inability to pause for long enough to impart that kind of warning when she had something she just had to do. Truthfully, it was a behaviour he'd hoped would stay gone, even if he longed for a hint of the precocious girl who'd idolised…

Anyway.

He'd never seen the Athena cabin as confused and subdued as they were now. They'd completely stopped badmouthing Percy while they worked out what had happened. Well, that and because Clarisse had personally put two of their campers in the infirmary for an overnight stay in the space of about four hours. Those two hadn't realised Percy had fostered some impressive allies in the camp. As far as Chiron knew, Luke hadn't seen anything and so while he knew that Clarisse had been the one to do it, he didn;t have any proof. She'd been let off scot-free. The amusement still hadn't worn off.

At some point Percy had even managed to win over Beckendorf, who always stayed out of the camp's politics. Except this time, apparently. When he wasn't in the forge he was glaring at everyone who said anything derogatory about Percy. On one memorable occasion he'd even backed up an Ares camper who was intimidating an Aphrodite kid that had started another rumour about Percy. Luke wasn't even sure when Percy had found the time to meet Beckendorf, let alone befriend him as thoroughly as he had.

The camp was making a real return to the 'Demigods first and foremost' mindset that was usually only present in the older campers. The younger Demigods were usually still caught up in the idea that maybe, just maybe being the best would warrant a visit from their parent. Maybe they'd finally get proof that the gods cared. Maybe they'd finally be claimed. It seemed that Percy's situation had forced the jaded outlook of older campers to start forming sooner so even without meaning to, Percy was bringing the camp together. Mostly. The Aphrodite cabin was pretty divided, and the Demeter and Apollo cabins were still striving for their parents' attention. Still, it was nice to see Demigods supporting Demigods.

It was also probably something that Kronos would want to know. The beginnings of a shift away from blind devotion to the Council. The potential to sway a large number of Demigods to Kronos' side was at an all time high. It was information Kronos would expect Luke to pass on unprompted too, and he wasn't stupid enough to think Kronos wasn't working on getting other spies situated inside the camp. Assuming he didn't have some already.

But…Kronos was all about the big picture. Overthrowing the gods. He didn't care about the collateral damage and that's all the campers would be. All his family would be. Kronos would expect him to betray them all in the end. When he did, Luke would have to be ready.

But the future wasn't now, and he could keep the current mindset of the camp to himself. At least until Kronos got another spy situated, anyway.

Keeping the camp's standing from Kronos didn't mean he was going to ignore his orders though. He'd start spreading discontent regarding the Council, just like Kronos had told him to. With the current climate there were a lot of campers who would be receptive to the idea that the Council didn't care about them. To the truth that their parents didn't care. There were a lot of kids in his cabin. All the unclaimed, really. It wasn't like he had to offer them proof. They were already well aware of how little the gods cared. Of their unfeeling nature. There were a lot of claimed campers who were starting to understand, too. Percy's compulsory quest had proven that.

Jackson's compulsory quest had proven that. He had to start distancing himself from the kid or the inevitable conclusion of this quest would kill him. He'd known someone was going to have to 'retrieve the bolt' by why Poseidon had seen it fit to send a twelve year old, why Kronos had deemed it acceptable to use him…

He'd known he was potentially saying goodbye to one of his family members but he hadn't realised they were going to be so young. Percy was the same age Thalia had been.

Only Annabeth had held Luke together after Thalia… After Zeus and Hades had taken Thalia from them. She'd been a wreck and he'd had to pull himself together for her. If she'd lost them both one right after the other…well. As it was, only the arrival of Perc– Jackson had really pulled her out of her shell. Had gotten past the removed persona she'd donned since that night.

If he went through with Kronos' plan then he'd probably have to do it all over again. Hold the fragments of her together while she shattered. He didn't know if she'd be able to deal with another loss so soon after finally opening herself up to the world again. After daring to form another proper connection with someone. He knew Grover would never recover. Not when he'd never let go of his misplaced guilt from his retrieval of Thalia.

Kronos' methods were cruel. He'd never hidden that from Luke. He was of the opinion that the ends justified the means and he didn't care what happened in between. He'd also been there for Luke when the gods had deserted him. He'd been there every night while Luke shattered and couldn't tell anyone. He was the only being with the power and the determination to stand against the Council and come out the other side in one piece. It was time for the era of the gods to end. The Demigods deserved better. Thalia had deserved better. Percy deserved better.

Maybe Kronos was right not to care. Luke's heart would only stand in the way of his goals. It would stop him from following through with Kronos' plans. Change was radical. It was always radical, whether it started as a whisper or not, it always ended as a roar. He had to move past his ridiculous sentimentality or he'd never be able to stop what happened to Thalia from happening again. He had to toughen up.

He wasn't sure whether that was a good sign or a bad sign.