The titan Prometheus had a soft spot for heroes. Or so he claimed.

He, Ethan Nakamura, an empousa, and a large blue giant came under a flag of truce. The deal: surrender, and the city would be spared—Kronos would spare the survivors… all he wanted was Olympus.

Percy, Thalia, and Grover sat on the other side of the table. Grover was clenching his hands around the edge, resisting the urge to start chewing on it.

"More than this guarantee, I can sweeten the deal… If you give up this war, I will bring humanity another advance. Fire was only the beginning… I can usher you into a golden age—without the gods."

"Not likely…" Percy held firm.

"You don't trust me at all, do you?"

"Why should I?"

"You know that the titans and their offspring are not all bad…"

Percy looked at him carefully. "You mean Chiron…" He got a little defensive when his teacher was given attention for being Kronos's child.

Prometheus smiled. "I mean Calypso."

Percy immediately turned bright red.

"She did nothing wrong. And yet she was exiled forever because of her parentage. I did nothing wrong… and yet…" he gestured to the marks on his face, scars from his punishment. "And Chiron, if you want to bring him up… well, we all know what happened when your tree was poisoned, Thalia Grace."

Thalia tensed. "I don't go by that surname," she stated evenly. He had struck a nerve.

Grover looked over at her, loosening his grip on the table. Then, he quickly said, "You're the titan of crafty counsel." He turned to Percy. "Be careful." He could already sense Prometheus was getting under both Percy and Thalia's skin. He had to keep his friends calm, or all hope would be lost.

Speaking of… Prometheus put a large vessel on the table in front of them. Grover whimpered at the sight of it. Pandora's pithos… "A gift… for you," Prometheus pushed it forward. "The gift of time. I'm giving you time to decide to accept my offer. When you do, give up hope, give up Elpis, and I'll know you surrendered."

"If," Percy said firmly.

Prometheus shrugged. "If. Sure. But I have one more thing… one more argument… one more chance that you would surrender and spare your city…" He reached forward, and before Thalia or Grover could cry out, touched Percy's forehead.

His sight tunneled. He was thrown into visions—

The first was a vision of Hades arguing desperately with a woman of Italian descent—Nico and Bianca's mother. He was begging her to come to the Underworld, saying that he had to protect her and the children. They were in a hotel, a luxurious one. Then came the blast. Hades barely had time to protect the children when the hotel exploded with the power of Zeus's master bolt. …Zeus destroyed an entire hotel just to kill two children.

The second was Hades again, this time talking to a young girl—the ancient Oracle as she used to be. She told him that he was warned. She reminded him that she was protected by the spirit of Delphi within her. But she was cursed by the god to wither and suffer while he remained unwanted and his children rejected. …Hades cursed an innocent girl because of his own fate.

Then the last vision was a continuation of what he saw from Hestia—Hermes talking to Luke at May Castellan's house while Thalia and Annabeth stood nearby. Luke accused his father of abandoning him, of not caring when his mother was in the "fits" she had, of doing too little too late by contacting the camp and sending a satyr to get them. He wanted nothing to do with his father unless he would tell him one thing—what was the fate May kept crying and shaking him about? What was his fate that she feared? He begged and pleaded for an answer, and when Hermes would not tell him, he turned his back and left the house with Thalia and Annabeth close behind. Hermes was left with May, whose eyes were glowing, speaking of Luke's fate again. …Hermes knew what would happen to Luke and said nothing.

.

I shake Percy from his stupor. "Percy!" I bleat. "Are you alright?"

Thalia has her spear in her grip, but I had stopped her from attacking the titan right there. He hadn't hurt Percy… he is just using a mind trick to show him something. But what? Percy is feeling all sorts of emotions… and all bad. First I feel empathy, sorrow, mourning… then terror, frustration, anger… then suspicion, horror, rage.

His eyes refocus.

"There you are… You alright?"

Prometheus lost no time. "Can you blame your friend Luke? The gods are petty, rage-filled, and uncaring. They only care about themselves. They know what's to come, and yet they never step in to stop it… not for their children least of all… You should know as well as anyone, Percy Jackson… For you, too, have a prophecy. Don't you think your father knows what will happen to you?"

Percy's rage hasn't subsided from when he saw the vision. "Percy…" I warn. "He's trying to make you angry. Don't let him get in your head."

My pleas aren't helping. Percy's rage remains.

"Do you want to be controlled by that fate?" Prometheus continues. "Kronos can stop it. He can give you a better deal."

Percy clenches his fists, then I sense a new surge of anger and hate. Not for the gods, but for Kronos, for everything that he has done and continues to plan to do.

"You want a better deal?" he asks. "How about Kronos calls off his attack, gets out of Luke's body, and returns to Tartarus where he belongs? In return, I don't destroy him."

I have to hand it to him. He sure knows how to keep a brave face. I actually think he's convinced himself we stand a chance.

Prometheus sighs.

Percy pushes back Pandora's pithos. "I don't want it."

Prometheus just stands. "You may change your mind," he says. Then, he leaves with his group, back to Kronos's forces.

The three of us stare at the jar, holding onto hope.

.

Percy resigned himself to the fact that he would be faced with a lot of visions in the coming nights. Rest was good during the war, but he couldn't get in even a nap without seeing something happening somewhere. The more dire the situation, the more demigods dreamed, and the more intense, terrifying, and unwanted those dreams were.

This time, he dreamed that his brother, Tyson, had been swept up in the fighting. He hated to see the young Cyclops in any danger, but he seemed to be leading the others in Poseidon's forges into a pretty decent fight.

When their battle cries faded, a vision of Kronos appeared. He was interrogating Ethan about what happened on the bridge—asking him why Annabeth would have protected her invulnerable friend. Ethan couldn't tell him where he was aiming, but Kronos was certain wherever it was, it was Percy's weak spot.

Then there was another vision of May Castellan. Percy barely recognized her, for she was young, happy, even beautiful. She was at Camp Half-Blood, which was odd for a mortal to manage. Hermes was trying to convince her not to do something. Chiron's horse half looked a bit skittish. But May kept up an optimistic attitude. She eventually convinced them to let her go to the attic… to take on the spirit of the Oracle. But they didn't know… They didn't know Hades had cursed the spirit. Percy did. He knew what was about to happen.

So he wasn't exactly upset to leave the dream when he woke up.

He blinked. It was so odd to sleep at noon and wake in the evening. The sun would set soon. He had to get his troops ready.

"Percy," the voice startled him.

"Thalia, what in the name of—"

"Sorry." She looked over her shoulder. There was no one else there. "Look. I need to talk to you."

Percy furrowed his brow. "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Annabeth."

"Why? Did something happen with the poison?"

"No… Not like that." She shook her head and approached him. "It's just… Prometheus… he asked if you could blame Luke. He showed you something about him, didn't he?"

Percy nodded. "You and Annabeth were in the vision, too. It was… Luke meeting Hermes for the first time…"

Thalia looked like her worst fears were confirmed. "You can't feel sorry for him, Percy," she said. "Demigods have it hard, sure, and our parents aren't usually great to deal with. But Luke made bad choices. HE made those choices. And you need to see that clearly."

"You think Annabeth can't…" Percy's blood started to boil.

"She never could. Luke was her hero. But… after that day with his dad… that's when it started."

Percy looked at her questioningly.

"Luke became reckless from that moment on. When Grover got to us… we had so much trouble getting to camp because Luke was picking fights with every monster he could."

"What?" Percy asked.

"I'm sure you heard about everything from Grover… but he blames himself for everything that went wrong, doesn't he?"

"He said he was supposed to protect you. And that he failed."

Thalia bit her lip. "That wasn't his fault. He did the best with what he had. Of course, Annabeth never saw Luke's behavior as a problem… She just saw our trouble as bad luck. And maybe that was part of it. But I could just as easily blame the bigger scent I gave off as a daughter of one of the Big Three." She clenched her fists. "The point is, we can't make excuses. We can't feel sorry for Luke. We can't be soft."

Percy nodded. "I know."

"Good."

Silence for a moment.

"Come on, we've got a war to fight…"

.

Athena's cabin—which includes Annabeth, who has mostly recovered—Thalia and the Hunters, and my nature spirits will be fighting in Central Park with Percy. The other cabins manage to organize themselves at the bridges and tunnels again.

"Have no fear! Now that I've arrived, we can knock those titans down to size!" Leneus calls out from behind my ranks. I plant my face in my palm.

"Leneus?" Percy says, not bothering to hide his surprise.

"Of course. I am a lord of the Wild. You told me to find Grover, and I did! And I will be leading the satyrs as a proper leader in this battle!"

Percy looks at me.

I roll my eyes but say, "Humor him so he stays. If he thinks he's all that, at least he's helping."

"He still calling you a liar?"

"I think he's upgraded me to just plain 'outcast' now."

Percy scowls. I have a feeling that he wants to shish-kabob the old satyr.

He'd have to get in line, though, because the monsters are coming, and it's quite a crowd. Worst of all, they're led by the titan Hyperion, the titan of light, titan of the east.

Percy, of course, runs at him with no fear. Must be nice to be invulnerable. I can't help but worry about his weak point, though. I don't know where it is, but I just hope it's somewhere safely covered by his armor.

I adjust my own and lead my troops into battle. The dryads start throwing acorns like buckshot, and Leneus and the other satyrs take up some shrill war tunes to trip up the monsters with roots, grasses, and any other piece of nature that flows to our design.

That's when I feel a rainstorm, but when I look up, there aren't any clouds. But there is a small, personal hurricane centered on Percy. "Percy!" I shout. "How are you doing that?!"

"Not sure, but I'm rolling with it!" he shouts back, excitement in his voice. He's managing to douse the flames of Hyperion, knocking him down time and again.

Knocking him down… keeping his flames quenched… I have an idea. "Percy! Over here!" I start playing… It was a slow, somber—some would say creepy—tune, like the melody at the credits of a scary movie. Leneus sees what I'm doing and joins in, as do the other satyrs. That's a good thing. If my plan works, it will take a LOT of energy.

Hyperion's feet knit with wood, like the roots of a tree.

We keep playing. Percy keeps shoving him down, quieting his flames, and staring.

Hyperion's belt melts into a wooden texture, like a tree trunk.

I'm feeling a little dizzy, but I have to keep going. Already, another satyr beside me passes out. Power of Pan, give me strength…

Hyperion's arms sprout branches, which sprout more branches, ending in the wide leaves of a maple tree.

I keep playing. Two more satyrs fall unconscious with the effort. Percy's storm starts to quiet.

Hyperion shouts at us, but he is cut short as the bark closes over his face.

A few more satyrs pass out. I try to keep steady as I play the final note.

I take a breath, unable to focus on my surroundings for a moment. "You good, G?" Percy's voice asks beside me.

"Yeah…" I huff. "I think so."

"I take it all back. I love your music."

I smirk. "I'll put on a concert for you after we survive this war."

"Kronos is coming!" Annabeth calls.

I sense Percy's mood tense. I'm right there with him.

"Any chance you can turn him into a tree?"

"If time wasn't on his side…" I mumble.

Then, hunting horns ring out, echoing off the buildings. It's enough to make us all stop in our tracks, confused. Out of nowhere, an arrow with a boxing glove on the end of it nails a giant in the face, making him fall backwards on the titan lord. "Sorry we're late!" a familiar voice calls.

"Chiron!" Percy and I shout.

He waves, then unleashes his more classic arrows at the monsters. His brethren have arrows of their own, less orthodox, but they do the job. A few more boxing gloves hit their mark, and pinwheel arrows manage to distract the hounds as they careen toward their snouts.

Soon enough, the enemy is retreating, and we head to Chiron for a proper greeting.

Annabeth gives him a big hug, and Percy clasps his arm. "You saved the day, Chiron."

Chiron shrugs modestly. "Nothing like that. You seem to be holding your own." He nods at me. "Was that a new tree I noticed growing there?"

"That was a group effort," I assure him.

"But Grover's plan!" Annabeth wraps her good arm around me.

I'm surprised. I hadn't really talked to her since the argument in the van. I checked on her when she was sleeping off her shoulder wound, but I hadn't dared enter when she was awake. Then again, I guess she knows about Percy's dip in the Styx now.

I chuckle, pretty certain I'm blushing. "Well, if I have any good strategy, I learned from the best," I tell her.

She grins at me and squeezes me into a side hug. I hug back, careful of her shoulder.

"We can only hold for so long…" Percy tells him. I can sense the weariness as well as the wariness. After every battle, our spirit has been breaking a little. Bit by bit, our morale is affected by the people we lose and the damage that is done. I can sense it in everyone around me.

Chiron nods grimly. "The same is true of the gods, unfortunately. Dionysus and Hephaestus have been shot down. Typhon will be here by this time tomorrow."

"Got any good news?" Percy asks.

"Root beer is good news!" one of Chiron's brothers says, galloping by with a six-pack.

"I had better make sure they don't go overboard with that…" Chiron says, and he canters off behind him.

I look between Annabeth and Percy. It's only fair to give them some time alone. I, of course, know how they feel about each other, after all. No need for me to be a third wheel. "I'll go take stock of the nature spirits…" I say, slipping away from them.

At a distance out of earshot, I look back at them. It seems that they aren't exactly in a happy conversation, but at least they're talking and not biting each other's heads off. I smile and turn back to my squad.

.

Percy told Annabeth about the visions he had, even the ones about Luke… even the one about Luke possibly fighting back against Kronos. He didn't like it, but Annabeth's eyes filled with hope. He remembered what Thalia said. "We can't be soft, Annabeth," he told her.

Annabeth frowned.

"I was talking to Thalia, and—"

"Oh. That's where that came from. Yeah, that sounds like something she'd say."

"She's worried about you."

Annabeth didn't meet his gaze.

"She's worried that you won't be able to face Luke when it comes to that."

"But Luke is fighting back…"

Percy shrugged. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do." She looked at him. "You saw it."

Percy sighed. "I didn't want to tell you. I don't want you to…"

Annabeth was the one to sigh this time. "I was seven years old when I ran away, Percy. Seven."

"I know."

"Because I didn't have anyone I could rely on."

Percy nodded. The curse of a demigod…

"Then, I found a family in Thalia and Luke. They were people I could look up to and count on." She lowered her head. "And then that family fell apart."

Percy looked at her carefully.

"I hate it when I can't count on someone. I hate it when people let me down… when things don't last…"

"Luke was evil before Kronos."

"Do you really believe that?" Annabeth looked at him. "You don't know him like I did."

Percy tensed. He tried to control his anger, for Annabeth's sake. "Yes. I believe it." He held her gaze. "I don't want him to hurt you anymore."

Annabeth looked back up at the Empire State Building. "I will keep hoping there's a chance you're wrong."

.

I didn't mean to eavesdrop. Honest, I didn't. I even intended to give them their space, to get out of there. The only reason I came back was to let them know that Thalia and Chiron had finished setting up a perimeter around the Empire State Building.

But then I heard it: "That family fell apart… I hate it when people let me down…" I haven't moved since.

They can't see me. I'm behind our new maple tree. Leaning against it, I can't help but get flashes of Thalia being turned into a tree. I slide down to a sitting position. I couldn't protect them. Years ago, forgiven, and yet I can't get it out of my head. It was my first big failure. I'm not likely to forget it. Annabeth was so young… so impressionable. And I let her down. I was one of the long line of people that let her down.

I hear them moving, making their way to check on the rest of us. I get up quickly, wiping my eyes and standing up straight like the lord of the Wild I'm supposed to be. I hurry over to them. "Thalia and Chiron set up a perimeter. They say we should all get some rest." I shrug. "You know them. They'll keep worrying." I look at Percy. "Especially about you. Invulnerable doesn't mean inexhaustible."

"Agreed," he admits. "But still, wake me up if something's happening."

"Of course."

He heads off for the Empire State Building to get some rest. I'm sure it will be a nightmare-filled rest for him.

"Grover…" Annabeth starts.

I turn to look at her. For a moment, she looks like that scared, scrappy seven-year-old I met what seems like ages ago.

Her eyes are wet as she looks at me. "Do you think Luke is evil?"

Her question takes me by surprise.

"Don't spare my feelings, Grover. Percy already said as much."

I frown. "I think…" I actually don't know what I think. I try to think back to when I was leading them to camp. He was protective of Annabeth, always had been. He worked well with Thalia. Even after everything went down leading to camp, he was good to his cabinmates. The only one he wasn't at least a little civil to was… me.

And now, he's hosting Kronos. Kronos is evil. No question there.

"I think… I think he's made choices that are evil." I look at her carefully, reading her emotions just as easily from the outside as from my powers. She's distressed, but she's holding onto something. Maybe her own piece of Elpis is held for him.

"What kind of half-way answer is that?!" she asks, annoyed.

I wince. "I'm sorry."

"I said don't spare my feelings! If you want to say he's evil, then say it!"

"B-But… But I don't. Because he's made good choices, too!"

Her anger quiets for a moment, and she sniffs.

"Right now… maybe he is. Because he's hosting Kronos and he made that decision…" I finally collect my thoughts. "I don't know whether he's still in there. I don't know whether he's watching with glee at everything Kronos is doing, and I don't know if he's still got the will to protect you." I stop and look at her, worried I may have said too much. But she's just watching me, listening to what I have to say. "Is he evil? If you had asked me that when I first found you guys, my answer would have been no. If you had asked me that when he attacked Percy four years ago, my answer would have been yes."

"And now?"

"Now…" I hesitate, but she wanted it straight. "His last decision was to take Kronos in. If that killed him, then that's an evil choice that brings judgment at death. But… if he's still in there… and if he protects you… I can hardly call that evil. Just… angry and misguided."

She wipes her nose on her wrist and looks away. "How do you always manage to figure out the complicated emotions you sense, Grover?"

I shrug. "I don't know."

She turns and forces a smile. "You promise you're not just trying to spare my feelings? Like, if Percy asked you the same thing, that's what you'd say?"

I shrug again. "I guess so."

She tilts her head at me. "But… you didn't exactly know Luke very well at all, did you? Luke… didn't really talk to you after we got to camp…"

I shuffle my hooves.

"What do you call that decision?"

I scratch my neck.

"Is that one of his evil choices?"

I shake my head. "No… I call that warranted."

She crosses her arms, I can see it in my peripheral. "Grover."

I look up. I know she won't loosen her glare until I do.

"Look at you. You're Pan's heir. Whatever mistakes were made in your past, they made you the goat you are today."

I hang my head again. "Sure."

"AND," she says loudly.

I look at her again.

"There was a lot working against you back then. Just like there's a lot working against us now. You can't hold onto this regret for the rest of your life."

I shuffle awkwardly.

"I'm learning there are some things that are out of our control. Maybe it's fate… maybe it's luck… maybe it's the will of the gods… But whatever it is, I know one thing for certain."

"What?" I ask, knowing she wants me to.

"I can always count on you to do everything you can to keep us safe."

I freeze, then swallow. "But… I let you down…"

She shakes her head. "No, you never did that, Grover. You stuck by even after Thalia was lost and Luke grew distant. You and Chiron were there for me when I needed a new family. And you've never let me down."

"Then who…"

"What?"

I turn away, ashamed. "You told Percy… that when your new family fell apart…"

Annabeth frowns. "I wasn't talking about you, Grover. If anyone, I was talking about my dad and my stepmom… and my mom for that matter… and the gods in general…"

I look at her nervously.

"Don't worry, I'm not about to switch sides. I know we can't count on the gods. That's why we have each other. That's why Camp Half-Blood exists. The gods may have created it as a place to send us off so they didn't have to worry about us, but think about what that meant. We met family there. We formed bonds and relationships that will last forever, no matter how many funeral shrouds are burned. Camp Half-Blood is my family, Grover, and you led me to it. Besides that, have we mentioned that you're the one who found the Fleece that woke Thalia? …and you helped keep Percy alive on multiple quests! Are you really still doubting yourself? You should have learned by now: You're the greatest satyr the world has ever known! And if you can't take our word for it, Pan himself called to you and set you apart. How about that!"

I'm pretty sure I'm blushing now. "Annabeth…"

She smiles at me. Her tears are gone. I actually sense the happier emotion in her. She's proud of me. And I'm proud of her, too. Demigods go through so much. She's been through a lot in the past year, herself, let alone the years since she ran away from home. I think we've all grown a lot these last four years. Annabeth has grown wiser, and not just because she's a daughter of Athena. Percy has grown stronger, and I don't mean his invulnerability. And me? I think I may have grown a little in my capability… or at least my confidence.

Let's hope that this growth keeps us alive during this war.