Okay, so now you ask "Why on earth does Thalia have so many oneshots? Sixth chapter, and she's had, like, half.

Well, she doesn't get many more later on (actually, there's only one other and I'm considering changing the plot of that chapter), so be grateful. Because this is possibly the last time you see her.

Starring Thalia Grace
Guest Star of Ms. Grace

After Ms. Grace invited her over to her small party, Thalia hadn't needed to talk at all, really. She mentioned something, and her friend added something else, and they began to chat about something completely different. Thalia had no need to sit there and watch half her innocence fly out the window. But her mother kept her arm around her shoulders, and whenever she tried to squirm away she'd be pulled back.

One last lightning bolt illuminated the sky and both the lights and the TV blacked out. It took a few seconds for the house's implanted emergency lights to flicker back to life, but the TV remained dead.

"Hey!" shouted someone. "We were watching that game!"

No, you weren't, thought Thalia.

"Tanith, dear, fix it, please," said Ms. Grace.

"…Me?" Thalia asked. "How would I know how to fix it—?"

Her mother rolled her eyes. "Because you're the only one here who can fix the satellite without dying, dear. Remember your father?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I know how to fix it—"

"Thalia Grace!" she scolded. "Do not make me yell at you in front of our guests! Go fix that thingamajig this instant!"

Sure, NOW you get my name right.

Thalia simply nodded and stood, walking out of the room. She knew there was absolutely nothing she could do to fix the TV—a lightning bolt must have hit the ground too close to a power line and given everyone in the neighbourhood a blackout.

She was about to head back into the kitchen to check on Jason, who she'd noticed crawl away while she'd been imprisoned, and to finish her homework (she was certain the adults would forget the TV in seconds anyway), but Grace rushed out after her.

"Tana," she pleaded. "This game is really important. You need to fix the TV."

"I don't know how," Thalia told her, surprised but mildly pleased how sharp her voice sounded. "Get an electrician to come in tomorrow… maybe the day after."

"Please," Ms. Grace continued. "It's two countries facing each other. I don't know which countries, but I know they are countries, and country versus country games are really big. Plus, our food in the fridge could go spoiled, and the heating will go down, et cetera, et cetera."

"No," she said firmly. As she turned to walk away, Grace grabbed her arm.

"I would have thought a daughter of a god would have had more initiative," she started, hauling her toward the staircase.

Thalia knew it was mostly the alcohol causing her to do this, but still felt extremely mad. "What are you doing?" she demanded sharply, trying to pull away, but her mother had a vice grip.

"Teaching you a lesson," she replied. They reached the second story and made their way to the third. "I'm sick and tired of you being handed first world problems on platter and taking them as if they as big a deal like starving children in Europe!"

"Africa."

"Whatever!" They reached the fourth story. "You need to learn to be grateful for what you have, and to start earning some of your keep too. I work day and night to keep this family in one piece, and—"

"No, you don't!" Thalia shouted, pulling away, tears in her voice. They stopped walking. "You get drunk day and night and the only thing that has kept me from running away is Jason!" She hesitated. "You are a horrible mother!"

Ms. Grace sighed, closing her eyes. "Stubborn, stubborn little child," she said. "What am I going to do with you?" She reached up and pulled a rope that dropped a staircase to the attic. "TV, Thalia. Now. I am very disappointed in you."

Thalia only went so that her mother wouldn't see the tears streaming down her face. She had always been thinking what she meant, but by saying them out loud she realized just how horrible her life at home was. The staircase folded back behind her, and she heard her mother walk away. She sat down on the damp wooden floor and listened to the sounds of rain splattering onto the roof above. She knew that the electricity line connecting to the house reached a single point on the roof above, and that her mother wanted to realign the connection so that the TV would come back on.

Not in a million years.

-o-O-o-

Fifteen years later, Thalia visited her old home as the Hunters passed by town. She leaned against the gate and stared at the lawn. The large house was abandoned and considered haunted by a few superstitious folk in the neighbourhood. A sad smile on her face, she made her way to the front door.

She picked the lock easily and walked inside, going up the stairs to the fourth story. Lowering the wooden staircase, she climbed up to the attic. Thalia opened the window and crawled out onto the roof. It was a spectacularly sunny day out, and treading up to the TV satellite was easy.

"There," she whispered aloud, turning the dish toward the sun. "All fixed, Mom." A tear rolled down her cheek and splattered onto the roof, running downwards and falling five stories to the ground below. "And I'm sorry."

I don't know why, but I imagined that after Thalia met Jason after fourteen years she'd miss her mom. I dunno. Just wrote this because.

Disclaimer: I'm a troll. But not as troll as Rick.