Thank you guys for all your support and positivity during my break week-it means a lot. More than y'all know.

And, yes. I just said y'all. Get over it. :)

Responding to reviews is starting to become a real pain in my arse-it takes almost a whole fudging hour to type all my responses before posting the new chapter. Don't worry, though, I'll still do it, just maybe not to as many each chapter, and any things that have been repeated will all be responded to in the same part.

So, anyhoo, a great resounding THANKS to all of you, I love you, you're all awesome, blah, blah, blah. If that's not satisfying, well...go chase a donut, or something. :)

I did get one request to actually continue doing the whole writing prompt thing, like, every other chapter or so, which surprised me, since I didn't think my prompts were all that good...but okay! I won't do it today, but I will do it tomorrow. Every other chapter, right? And I'll put the original ones here, since I deleted the author's note.

Percy, Jason, Frank, Leo, and Nico are all trapped in a teensy tiny cell together. What happens?

Annabeth, Percy, Rachel, and Calypso are locked in the backseat of the Chariot of Damnation. What happens?

Write a Cerberus and Mrs. O'Leary love story.

There you go. If you try them, you should send me a link, or something, so I can see them...that'd be cool. ;)

Oh, one more thing: I posted a new story-it's actually a series of one-shots, and I have the first two up already. It's called Five Ways To Die, although that might change at a later date, and DO NOT read it unless you are prepared to cry. I was in a rather melancholy mood when I wrote them, so bring a tissue. Or a whole box.

Chapter LXXI

Frank

Okay, so, creepy voice that comes from everywhere: Check. But, honestly, Frank doesn't care. His mind is still reeling in horror from the terrors of the last tunnel.

He resists the urge to fall to his knees and sob until he can't cry anymore-something similar to what he desperately wanted to do when he heard about his mother's death. His heart feels like it's been savagely ripped open and is now bleeding out.

The images assault his mind relentlessly. His mother, Hazel-their desperate faces swirl through his head like a demented cyclone made of memories.

Eat bitter, taste sweet...His mother's voice speaks in his head, and he sees her standing over him, offering him her hand with a warm, gentle smile.

You can trust me...Hazel whispers softly.

Frank wrestles his mind back into order, trying to shove all the images the tunnels have tormented him with into some dark corner where they won't bother him. He's only partially successful-but at least it's better.

He takes a deep breath. They weren't real. Remember that. They weren't real.

He straightens and looks around, finally taking in his surroundings.

He's in a large room with a low ceiling he could easily touch if he reached up. The walls are covered with pictures, scenes, stories, just like the tunnels, but are somehow even more lifelike and colored instead of just gold. The floor is made of a dazzling blue-green stone that looks like waves trapped under glass. Dazzling white columns line the long sides of the rectangular room, supporting the ceiling, which is a replica of the night sky so realistic that Frank could almost believe he's looking at the real thing. At the far end, there's a raised dais with three stairs leading up to it. The stairs are made of a stone more green than the rest of the floor, and the dais itself looks like the ocean at night, reflecting a starry night sky. There's a shallow alcove in the wall behind it, with a beautifully curved arch over it that's carved with unfamiliar symbols that look more Egyptian than Greek. Frank can't see anything that's in the alcove, though, because two navy blue curtains are draped across it, leaving just enough of a gap at the bottom that he can tell there is an alcove there.

Periclymenus is sitting cross-legged on a silver cushion in front of the alcove, watching Frank study the room. His eyes send a jolt through Frank-they're extraordinarily similar to Percy's, except with a bit of blue, and are extremely intense. They look like the sea itself-and they're constantly swirling, so more of a stormy sea than anything. But they don't look quite human.

Other than that, Periclymenus looks like a normal teenager, with olive-toned skin and dark hair that's cut short. If he was to stand, Frank would guess his height to be about the same as his-and their builds are kind of similar too; Periclymenus has broad shoulders and muscular arms and legs.

His youth is kind of disorienting to Frank. As is the fact that he looks like flesh and blood-not at all ghostly.

"You were expecting a ghost." Periclymenus states perceptively. His voice is rich and deep, with a strange, lilting accent that Frank can't placek, but that sounds oddly familiar. It doesn't really sound Greek-but that's what it has to be, right? Periclymenus is obviously Greek, in looks as well as lineage.

Frank realizes that he still hasn't replied, and stumbles over his tongue in his haste not to seem rude. "No-well, yes-maybe. You were the one that spoke to me in Epirus, right?"

Periclymenus inclines his head in a nod. "Yes. It was I who spoke to you."

Slightly suspicious, Frank steps forward, tightly gripping the strap to his quiver. "If it was you, what did you say to me?"

"I said, 'Pylos. I await you in Pylos.' I would have said more, but my contact with you was mediocre, at best, and that was all I was able to tell you before the connection was lost." Periclymenus replies.

Okay, obviously the right guy. Frank looks around again, unsure of what to say, and his tongue forms his next question without conscious thought. "What is this place?"

Periclymenus looks up at the ceiling and smiles. "My home, now. My palace was destroyed long ago, after my death, and even if it hadn't been, it would no longer have been a suitable place for me."

"If you died..." Frank starts, unsure how to phrase it without sounding rude, "how are you here now?"

Periclymenus smiles again, not at all offended. "My soul is tied to this place. It is my home, now and forever-and I had unfinished business. The gods told me I was still needed-but not for many, many centuries. They said a descendant would need my help-and that he would also be the one to help me."

"What do you mean, help you?" Frank asks. "There's nothing I can do for you."

"You've already done it." Periclymenus says simply. "You are the first to ever make it all the way to my sanctuary, through all of the tunnels, facing challenge after challenge and yet continuing on. Many have tried, and they all failed. Until you." Periclymenus looks Frank up and down, as if to commit every part of him to memory. "You have passed the tests, and so are the one I've waited so long for.

"You are cursed, Frank Zhang." Periclymenus continues, making Frank flinch at the blunt words. "You were born with too much power, and so the Fates bestowed upon you the ultimate weakness. But I am cursed as well. Centuries ago, I made a choice, and that choice was that I would stay here, immortal, alone, until my duty was fulfilled. I am alive, Frank Zhang, but I am not truly living. I have sat here, in this room, for countless decades, watching my descendants fight numerous battles," He gestures to the pictures on the wall, which Frank realizes with some surprise must be of his other ancestors-is he there somehwere? "Waiting for you to come along. My loved ones, my family, they have long since passed on, allowed to rest, finally, and I am still here, watching, waiting. But now, after you leave here today, I will finally be released. So, Frank Zhang, I thank you, for you have finally broken my curse."

Periclymenus bows his head deeply, respectfully, but Frank's mind is reeling. He's overwhelmed, mostly with the sheer amount of information.

"Do you know how to break mine?" Frank asks, before he knows what he's saying. "Do you know how to break my curse?"

Periclymenus raises his head and looks at him sympathetically. "I am sorry, Frank Zhang. Your curse is not one that can be broken. It can be taken away-but that is different."

Frank shuts his eyes briefly in an attempt to hide his disappointment, but Periclymenus starts talking again.

"However, there is something you might want to know." He says.

"What?" Frank asks, eager and wary at the same time.

"You cannot break your own curse." Periclymenus repeats. "But you will break another's."

Frank furrows his brow, confused. "Who's?"

"That is for you to figure out yourself." His ancestor replies, frustrating Frank even more.

Frank forces down his irritation, though, and turns his attention to more important things-like the reason he's here.

"What did you want to tell me? Why did you call me here?" He asks.

"Ah, and now we get to it." Periclymenus says, rocking back. "Well, Frank Zhang, there are many reasons. But first things first-you need to know a little more about your ancestry."

Frank isn't really in the mood for a history lesson, but when Periclymenus waves his hand towards a second silver cushion he swears wasn't there a second ago, he walks over to it and reluctantly sits down.

"You've been told you have ancient roots-Greek as well as Roman. And while that's true, our ancestry goes back even farther than that." Periclymenus starts.

That piques Frank's interest. What more could there be?

"Before Rome, before Greece, there was another empire, one to rival both of them." Periclymenus continues in a slightly hushed tone.

Wow, this guy really loves building the suspense, doesn't he? Frank thinks.

"This empire was Egypt."

Frank reels backwards and almost falls off his cushion. Egypt? Really? He's Egyptian?

Periclymenus smiles in amusement at Frank's reaction. "Yes, Frank Zhang, Egypt. Before our more famous ancestor, Poseidon, we were the descendants of the pharaoh Ramses the Great.

"Now, Egypt has its own gods, its own problems, and their world is different. They aren't the children of gods, they're descendants of pharaohs-magicians. They can do very powerful magic.

"Our Egyptian blood, sadly, has been much diluted by our Greek and Roman heritage, but it's still there. It's part of what makes you so powerful, Frank Zhang. Our roots are far more ancient than many know."

Periclymenus squints at Frank, measuring, calculating. "I do not know if you have the power of your relatives-cousins, actually-but you may be able to do simple magics. It all depends. But I don't believe it's something you'll need to know in the final battle against Gaea, so you don't have to worry about whether or not you're a magician as well as a demigod and shape-shifter."

"That's a relief." Frank says sarcastically. Then he glances worriedly at Periclymenus to see if he's offended.

He shouldn't have been worried, Periclymenus looks more amused than anything. He seems very laid back. "Nevertheless, it is important for you to know your history. Our history is an integral part of us; it is a piece of what makes us who we are."

He pauses to let Frank think about that for a second, then continues briskly. "Now, to business. I have advice for you, and a warning. The advice is the easy part."

Frank gestures for him to go on, and he does so. "Your friend, Percy Jackson-he will need your sense of duty to keep him on track. I understand you've been told this before, but he has a choice coming up-a sacrifice-one the gods aren't sure he'll be able to make. You have to be there to help him.

"Also, should you wish to know more about your Egyptian cousins, ask Percy, he's met one of them. I'm sure he'll know what you're talking about." He tells Frank. "Now, the warning...Ah, yes. You have quite a hard time ahead of you in Athens-and eventually Mount Olympus. And not just you, but all of your companions as well, none so much as Percy Jackson. Brace yourself."

Really? Brace yourself? That was his warning? Anyone could have told Frank he has a hard time ahead, he knows that already.

"Oh, yes. One more thing." Periclymenus says, standing for the first time, and Frank follows suit. Just as Frank thought, they're almost exactly the same height.

He turns to the alcove and sweeps the curtains aside, revealing a small shrine to Poseidon, upon which rests a beautifully carved rectangular mahogany box. Periclymenus undoes the simple latch, and Frank's breath catches in amazement.

Inside the case, nestled in satiny blue velvet, lies a bow. It's simple in shape, without all the fancy attachments it could have, but is made completely of gold, with intricate designs carved into it.

"This was my bow. It never misses-and it's indestructable. It can't be broken, or burned, and time has no affect on it, as you can see." Periclymenus explains, reaching in and lifting it out.

"It's beautiful." Frank says, a little embarassed by his word choice-but there's no other word to describe it.

"It is yours, by right and as a gift." Periclymenus tells him, offering it to him.

Gingerly, Frank takes it, and finds that it's a lot lighter than he expected. It fits perfectly in his hands-it feels like a part of him. An electric charge thrums through it at his touch, and Periclymenus smiles.

"You are the bow's rightful owner. It will never fail you, as long as you live, but should someone else try to take it from you or use it for themselves to harm you or your friends in any way, it will not work for them. And if someone tries to wrestle it from you..." He touches the bow lightly with his index finger and whispers something under his breath.

All along its length except where his hands are, the bow glows white hot, and Frank can feel the heat radiating from it.

"That will happen." Periclymenus finishes. "Use it well, Frank Zhang. And take these as well, they go with it. You can't lose them; they will always return to your quiver." He promises, handing Frank a simple quiver filled with gold and silver-tipped arrows, separated neatly into different sections. There are fewer silver than gold, most likely because silver is only required to kill werewolves, or so Frank's been told.

"Thank you, Periclymenus. They're beautiful." Frank tells his ancestor, bowing his head respectfully.

"They are yours." Is Periclymenus' reply. "You will need them in the final battle."

Frank doesn't particularly like being reminded of the war with Gaea-and he definitely doesn't like the way Periclymenus refers to it as 'the final battle,' especially after the images he saw in the tunnels. But he pushes away his uncertainty and fear and stands tall, determined to push on no matter what. He glances reluctantly at the way back up to the surface-he definitely doesn't want to go through all that again. But Periclymenus waves his hand dismissively.

"You don't have to use the tunnels. There's a much faster way." He tells Frank. Frank almost sighs out loud in relief. "It might be a little disorienting, but I will send you back up."

"Okay." Frank says. "Was there anything else you needed to tell me?"

"Needed? No. But there's much more I want to tell you, yes. We don't have time for all of it, though, so I'll just say this: The second chance you and Hazel Levesque were both given will not be wasted. Your destiny is great." Periclymenus says, and Frank can see ancient wisdom in his eyes.

Periclymenus makes a weird gesture with his hand, and light starts to dart around Frank, blurring the room. Periclymenus himself starts to glow with a brilliant, radiant light, and his form starts to fade.

"Thank you, Periclymenus." Frank says with genuine gratitude.

Periclymenus smiles gently-and it's identical to Frank's mom's smile. He blinks once, slowly, and inclines his head. "No, Frank Zhang. Thank you." His voice whispers. And then the room disappears in one radiant burst of light that shatters in front of Frank like radioactive fireworks.

That cliffy wasn't as bad as last time, right? :D

This chapter was waaaaaaay longer than usual (maybe I'm exaggerating a tiny bit) but you should all be super happy. And a few of the others on the way are pretty dang long too, so...yeah. Happiness. Rainbows and unicorns and chocolate. All that. ;P