He fidgeted nervously outside the Hermes cabin, alone in the dead of night. There was something strange about the silence around him, as opposed to the constant rumble of the Manhattan city. He didn't know if he liked it.

Percy's hand paused just outside the door, knocking quickly before his courage could recede back into the corners of his mind. He stayed outside for while after that, praying to the gods that it wouldn't be one of the other Hermes kids who answered, and found himself in luck.

Luke Castellan opened the door with a creak, looking too awake for the time. He blinked as his eyes met with Percy, aiming a smile at the other boy.

"Hey, Perce," he greeted, leaning against the doorway. "What's up?"

"Uh, well," he started, unsure. "I was kind of offered this quest." Luke didn't seem surprised, so he continued. "And Grover is already going on it, but we need another person, so maybe you would like to come?" He let the question hang, looking at the older hopefully.

Truthfully, Annabeth had already offered- or, rather, insisted- to go with him and Grover. He didn't really want to accept, though. Yes, she was experienced, but he wanted to bring along someone that he knew better. And, well, Luke was right up there, next to Grover and Chiron. The guy had nursed him back to health, after all. That certainly seemed to qualify enough.

Luke seemed to consider for a moment, before giving a shrug. "Sure."

Percy stared at him. He had expected it to be harder, honestly, but Luke hadn't even bothered to ask what they were doing; in fact, the son of Hermes almost seemed relieved.

"Okay, well," he stumbled, searching for the words. "We leave early tomorrow morning."

Luke nodded at the information, smile growing. "Meet you then." He closed the door in Percy's face, leaving the boy staring at the wall with a confused expression. And when he headed back to the Zeus cabin, still in a daze, he started to wonder just exactly what he had gotten himself into.

He gazed at the highway outside, at all the billboards and supermarkets, feeling strange and out of place. The real world seemed like a fantasy now, something he could never look at the same way again, and the thought was almost nostalgic in his mind.

Percy spied the son of Hermes in his peripheral vision, being reminded of his first night at Camp Half-Blood. He had seen an honest friend in Luke, needing somewhere to fit in and something to believe in. He didn't know if he had found those things yet, not really, but Luke at least appeared to be a friend worth keeping.

His hands nervously toyed with Chiron's pen, a gift the centaur had given him before he left. He was insanely thankful, Anaklusmos being the only weapon that felt truly comfortable to him. He recalled Chiron's thoughtful look as he handed it over, eyes flickering with mild doubt, and a part of him wondered what had been going through the centaur's head.

Percy was the first to speak, voice nervous. "So far, so good," he remarked. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

Luke nodded, sparing a look to the other. "That is something to look forward to," he agreed, sounding solemn.

He smiled softly. "Thanks for coming with us."

Luke bumped their shoulders, eyes sparkling. "It's no problem. Besides, Camp was pretty boring until you showed. Getting out of there, well," he considered. "Let's just say it was an easy choice on my part."

"It's hard to imagine that place being boring," Percy admitted. "Still, thanks. If you said no, I would have had to accept Annabeth's offer."

Luke thought about that. "What's wrong with Annabeth?"

"Nothing, nothing really," he said, slipping the pen back into his pocket. "She's pretty cool. She just kind of hates me."

"I don't think she hates you," he consoled. "She just doesn't think you guys are supposed to get along."

"Why?"

He sighed. "Well, it's a huge possibility that you are the son of Poseidon. And Athena and Poseidon hate each other. Annabeth just wouldn't feel comfortable knowing she was friends with the spawn of one of her mother's enemies."

"Why do they hate each other?"

Luke had to think on that before answering. "Well, there was this one time where Athena caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in her own temple, which is pretty disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be a patron god for the city of Athens. Poseidon created a salt water spring and Athena created the olive tree, which the town preferred."

"They must've really liked olives," he mused, and Luke snorted.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Now, if she invented pizza-"

"-that I could understand," he finished, both laughing. "Still," he finally said. "It's kind of weird to think that way."

"A little," Luke agreed. "But it is a possibility." He turned his head to look at Percy, starting to frown slightly. "You know, it's also possible that you're the son of Zeus, considering that you were allowed into his cabin."

"I was also allowed into Poseidon's cabin," he reminded Luke, thinking back. "And Hades, too. I think Chiron was too scared to let me try another one, though."

"Yeah, it was pretty freaky," Luke said. "You should've been dead." He went quiet for a while, before continuing. "I've also never seen anyone with powers like you had back at the forest, assuming that you were the one doing it. Either way, it was a sign from the gods, and, well, there's been rumors."

Percy raised his eyebrow at that. "Rumors?"

Luke shrugged. "Well, there's this talk about a thing that happened at a museum. With a girl..." He trailed off, eyeing Percy, who suddenly felt sick.

"What does that have to do with anything?" He had been trying to convince himself that it wasn't him, trying to forget. He couldn't have done that, right? And even if he had, it was an accident, wasn't it?

Luke bit his lip, considering, as the talk turned sour. "Well, the way she died," he decided. "It was with the combined power of gods. The kind of thing that takes an extreme amount of Mist to cover up, the kind of thing that's supposed to be impossible." He paused. "The kind of things that you've been doing since you arrived here, actually."

He looked like he wanted to say more but didn't, shutting his mouth at Percy's grimace. They continued in silence for the rest of the ride, tension thick. Traffic slowed them down in the Queens, and it was sunset by the time they reached Manhattan. They grabbed their bags and bus tickets, watching as the car drove off, becoming another one of the stream of vehicles along the roads.

Percy's eyes caught onto a flyer taped to a ratty mailbox, displaying his face. It took him a while to read the bold words, and when they registered in his mind he hurried over to tear it off.

He turned to the others, rain starting to come down on their heads. Luke was looking around, taking in the city, Grover staring at him with sad eyes. The satyr came over, shouldering his backpack, looking at the remains of the poster.

"You want to know why she married him, Percy?" He asked, tone soft and reassuring, and it was the first time he spoke since they left Camp Half-Blood. Percy looked at him warily.

"Were you reading my mind or something?" Grover considered the question.

"Just your emotions," he admitted, giving a smile. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that." He looked down, head bowed slightly. "You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

He nodded, watching Luke glance over to them in the corner of his eye. He was kind of grateful the son of Hermes kept his distance, unable to decide if he should tell Grover they could talk later.

"Your mom married Gabe for you," he said, and Percy latched on to the conversation. "You call him 'Smelley,' but you have no idea. The guy has this aura, and, well," he wrinkled his nose. "I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."

"Thanks," he told his friend, pulling a face. "Where's the nearest shower?"

"You should be thankful, Percy," Grover admonished, but they both heard Luke snort from where he was. "Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady," he remarked. "She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy- if that makes you feel any better."

It didn't.

He looked at Grover and Luke, feeling guilty. He hadn't been honest with them, when he had explained the quest to Luke, when he had given Grover his false motivations. Sure, the end of the world wasn't an option, and he was curious as to who was his father, but it didn't matter as much as it should have. The thought of his mom, trapped in hell, was the only reason he had needed to agree to this.

You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, the Oracle's voice reminded him, whispering in his mind. You will fail to save what matters most, in the end.

Shut up, he told it, and they started to walk the sidewalks of the bustling city, rain coming down in sheets.