I do not own Percy Jackson nor Heroes of Olympus, they belong to Rick Riordan.

Chapter Thirty-Seven - Isaac

Liam carried Carlos on his back, despite his protesting. Whatever Akira did to him, it left his legs numb. Rei helped Alyx walk after finding out she sprained her ankle during the fight, her arm around his neck and his arm around her waist. She seemed in pain as they walked. Thankfully, no one else had been injured and Bianca had healed from the wound she had received. Isaac couldn't get the fight out of his head. She was not the same Alyx that was bubbly and asked annoying questions anymore. She had stripped off that personality and put on a new defined one with knowledge and power.

He watched Alyx limp along, hissing if she misstepped.

"You need to rest, Highness." Rei quietly said. "You can't overexert yourself…"

"I'm fine, Rei, I promise." She reassured.

"Stubborn." Bianca said, picking up her pace to walk next to her. "You were insane back there. I thought you were going to surrender." Alyx laughed, patting her arm.

"Did you guys seriously doubt me?"

"Well we don't know what you'll pull." Fiona said.

"Yeah." Phillip raised his eyebrow. "You're extremely mysterious." She sniffed, covering her heart.

"So mean, Phillip. Seventeen years and you're still mean."

"Hey!" Jasper laughed, putting her hands in Alyx's and Bianca's and swinging them, Alyx trying her best not to wince. Isaac smiled softly.

"You guys are like a big family." Harper said quietly. He nodded.

"Yeah."

"Hey, grumpy face is actually smiling!" Wally said.

"Excuse me?!" Harper laughed and his heart skipped a beat. Her laugh was sweet and gentle, like music. Her pretty blue eyes like a summer day at camp, beautiful chocolate colored hair tied in a messy braid, and dark luscious skin. The beauty mark under her eye looked like a diamond. Alyx gave him a smirk, to which he glared.

They arrived in a round room with multiple doors.

"This is as far as you all can go. Only Alyx is allowed to go through the doors." Rei said.

"Um, why?"

"Since she is the rightful heir, only she can pass through."

They all rose their eyebrows and tilted their heads.

"No way. We're going with." Fiona said.

"Hey, if this something only she can do, let her do it." Harper said, gently pushing Liam over to the wall. "We'll wait for you. Release the gods and let's go home."

"Thanks, Harper. Be back in a few."

They waited for an hour. Harper's and his bags appeared out of nowhere and landed on their laps during their waiting time, so they handed out water and food. He pulled off his jacket and put it over Carlos, who gratefully thanked him. He huddled close to Liam, not acknowledging Harper at all. Liam kept his arms around him protectively.

It was quiet until Liam spoke.

"She never gave me my bow back." Leon perked up at the mention of the bow.

"What kind of technology is that? And your masks?"

"My dad made the masks." Carlos said softly. "He's a really good inventor."

"My mom made my bow." Liam said. "She hunts a lot, so when I was old enough, she gave it to me. It had already been premade before I was born, but she gave it to me when I was old enough to handle the draw back."

"Oh, so a total mama's boy, eh?" Harper teased.

"Pfft, no."

"What about your dad?" He looked uncomfortable at the question.

"Uh… He died before I was born…" It got quiet, everyone quieting and looking guilty.

"Damn, hard life."

"Not really." He said, shrugging. "My mom was always there for me when I needed her and took time off from her hunting job to care for me if I got sick."

"Where do you live?"

"Banff." Fiona and Hank perked up.

"Fellow Canadian?"

"Uh, yeah…?"

"Cool!" They high-fived him, making him jump a bit, startled.

"Y-You guys are Canadian?"

"Yeah. Our dad is anyway."

"But you're Chinese." Carlos pinched him.

"Don't be rude."

"I-I wasn't!" Fiona shrugged.

"Don't worry. My dad is Chinese, lived in Canada, can speak French, son of a Roman god but with Greek ancestry." Both stared at her with wide eyes.

"We're pretty much related to Alyx." Hank groaned.

"Don't say that, please. I'm in love with her, I don't need our weird ancestry ruining it." Fiona snickered.

"Highness!" They turned their heads to see Alyx collapsing, Rei trying to hold her weight. Hank ran over, as well as Wally.

"What's wrong?"

"Her energy is depleted. She can't last much longer."

"We got here through a portal that she made. How are we going to get her back?" Harper asked. Rei gently handed her over to Hank, going over to a wall and pressing his hands to it, closing his eyes. The area underneath lit up to be a bright golden light, before a swirling portal opened up.

"Uh…" Isaac said. "That works too." Hank stood, carrying her bridal style. She looked awful. She was pale and sweaty, her lips parted for ragged breathing.

"Go." Rei said. Hank hopped through, followed by Fiona and Liam and Carlos. Then it was just him and Rei.

"Go ahead." Isaac said, gesturing to the portal, but Rei shook his head.

"I am not worthy to go through. I helped out the enemy."

"Oh for the love of- Look, if you don't go through, I'm going to get an earful from Alyx about how I left you behind. So go through."

"B-But-"

"Go. Through." Rei made a noise that sounded like a cat being startled, and hopped through. He followed, stepping out into grass.

"She's getting weaker." Hank said as soon as he stepped through.

"Then what are you waiting for?" He picked Alyx up, since Hank was baffled by his response and hiked up the hill. Ashe caught sight and gasped, running to Piper and tugging on her shirt.

"Mama! They're back!"

They were taken to the infirmary to be checked over for wounds and he and Rei were placed in the same room, yet Rei kept insisting that he was fine, despite his dried bloody nose, his bruised cheek and gash on his forehead.

"Dude, just take the treatment." Isaac said, making Rei make that same noise again and nod.

"Please strip." Lyra said. She was a daughter of Apollo, trained perfectly in medicine with Roman and Greek training.

"S-Strip?" Rei asked.

"Yes. I need to do a full examine of your body." Isaac snickered at his flushed face, pulling off his shirt and unbuckling his belt. Rei fidgeted before unbuttoning his shirt. He'd discarded his jacket at the ruined ceremony before he had tackled Akira. He pulled it off, his chest wrapped with white wrap.

"What's that?" He asked.

"U-Um…" He looked down. "My kind is called 'Alran'. We are half human, half cat."

"So…?" Rei unwrapped his bandages, a matching tail popping up. Lyra and Ren's eyes widened, and if that wasn't surprising enough, he ruffled his hair, ears popping up.

"How can you hear?" Ren asked. "You know, if they were pushed down like that."

"I can hear fine. It's only if they're plugged where I can't hear."

"Can you move them?" Lyra asked. He blushed, looking away as his ears flattened against his head. "Cute!"

After being washed down, checked for wounds and given fresh clothes, they went to the waiting room, where the others were. Carlos was missing, as well as Alyx.

Rei looked around. "W-Where is Highness?" He'd wrapped his tail to his back again and put down his ears so he didn't alert anyone. He looked deeply worried, and Isaac was pretty sure if his ears were out they'd be twitching.

"She's getting checked over." Wally replied. "Carlos can't move his legs so he's being treated for that. They're running tests to see what sort of toxin made him go numb. If my brother was here, I'm sure he could quickly figure it out."

"Where is Gray?" Robin asked.

"He's in New Rome, remember? Helping out the infirmary there." Ryan sniffed. Rei looked down.

"I'm sorry for all of the trouble I have caused you…" He softly said.

"This again? Shut up. It's not your fault, it's Akira's. The only reason you were under his command was to save your kind and yourself. Don't blame yourself." He let out another squeak and nodded.

They headed out to the Mess Hall and introduced Rei to everyone, before Lyra came and informed them of Alyx's and Carlos's conditions. They told the story of arriving, then introduced Harper, who bowed in greeting. Isaac introduced her to Percy and Annabeth and the Seven, and she looked overwhelmed at Percy.

"Everything okay?" Percy asked when he noticed her fidgeting. She squeaked and nodded.

"Y-Yes!" She stood up. "I'm going to see Carlos!" And left, Rei getting up and following.

"She's a bit weird." Annabeth commented, adjusting Ebony's blanket.

"Little bit." Percy replied.

"No, she's just had a rough couple of days." Bianca replied, sipping her tea. "She's a demigod, but she's never fought before."

"Do you know her?"

"She's my classmate at Uni."

"Really?"

"Yup. Was really surprised to see her there, but I had my concerns. She'd always act weird."

"You're weird." Percy said, poking her arm.

"Yeah." Isaac was glad that she was feeling better, thanks to Rei's healing ability. She was back to her perky self.

"So, my daughter competed in gladiator games?" Annabeth said, making Reyna snort, taking a sip from her drink. Isaac nodded.

"You'd be proud if you saw her. She held up against even the top gladiators." He leaned back, nibbling on a fry.

"Really?" Frank asked.

"It's to be expected. She is Poseidon and Athena's granddaughter. So ironic that she has that blood in her." Jason said, smirking at Percy. "To think that a water boy and wise girl would get together." Piper pinched his arm. Isaac smiled, looking at his lap.

"She was amazing."

"Hm? What was that?" Hazel asked.

"N-Nothing!" He squeaked. Lyra suddenly ran up, looking frightened to her core.

"Lyra, what's wrong?" Calypso asked.

"Um…" She fidgeted, looking down.

"Alyx is missing…"

To Be Continued...