A/N: Sorry, this chapter took forever. But it's here courtesy of the PJO television show teaser, which gave me the motivation to finish this. Also, the strength to murder my darlings (so many darlings were killed in making this chapter).

Also, I spent way too much time researching random beaches in California. If you have to blame anything for this taking forever to be written, blame that even though it was like five minutes and google maps (I'm bad at research, OK)

Chapter 8: We Go West and Meet the god who has- Oh It's Hermes

Our unexpected visitor smiled disarmingly. Unfortunately, he also appeared to expect us to actually know how to answer his question.

"So now, what's so important that your distress signal reached Olympus herself?"

My head started up its usual oh shoot we're in trouble mantra. At the very least, I stopped laughing though everything still felt so unrealistically much sharper.

"Uh... Distress signal?" I tried at the same time Noa asked "Wait? All of Olympus. Like with all the gods? You mean that's real too?"

"In the flesh," the god bowed and gave a twirl in the air. There was a sense of familiarity to him. In fact... The person floating to our right looked rather like Luke. Same hair, same smirk. Same eyes. Not to mention the wooden staff and the wings now sprouting from his sandals.

I made a guess.

"Are you Hermes or Mercury?"

"I can be either for you," the god winked. "But I'm Hermes today."

"Let's go with Hermes," Noa swallowed. "That's the version I'm familiar with."

"Easy enough," Hermes smiled.

I wracked my brain for what paltry bits of information I knew about Hermes. Awkwardly, I'd only figured out his identity because of his resemblance to Luke. Other than my mother's favorite bedtime story about him, I couldn't remember much. So, he was the god of travelers and thieves and messengers or was it just messages? My brain kept chugging along at a snail's pace.

"Anyhow," Hermes smiled warmly at us. "I was in the area and wanted to figure out who sent out that flare."

Robyn, now looking green and clutching the side of the boat, jutted her thumb at me.

"I could have guessed," Hermes grinned. "And what be your name, ahh, mortal?"

"Eleanor."

"And may I ask what the flare was about?"

I swallowed and did my best to answer tactfully.

"We met your son."

Hermes' eyes saddened. "I see. Are we still near them?"

He glanced around, eyes seemingly glossing over the enormous cruise ship still chasing us. For a moment I saw a shimmer.

I nodded.

Hermes froze, a look of longing passing over his face. Then it passed.

"Maybe, we should continue this a little bit farther away," he finally decided. "Martha and George, full size please."

He tapped his wooden staff and it seemed to melt into a massive caduceus (staff and two live snakes).

About time I was getting cramps, one of the snakes complained. I hate being wood.

George!

But I was. We can't even eat rats in this mode.

I decided not to think too hard about the talking snakes. That was normal. Definitely normal.

"Ahem," Hermes cleared his throat and put his hand out.

Oh, fine, George said. Then he started gagging. A thermos fell out of his mouth.

Hermes shook it hopefully and shrugged. "Mostly empty," he shrugged. "Hopefully Jackson left enough."

He narrowed his lips and twisted the cap. A little puff sound came from the inside. Then a rather weak wind came up. I could sort of feel it struggling to push us. I could almost make out the image of a woman shimmering in the air. I reached out towards her and suddenly the wind roared around us. Then just as suddenly, the wind was gone, flying away. The cruise ship was gone and there was something different about this sea.

This time Hermes was the one who looked startled. His hair was rather messy. The rest of the conscious crew didn't look much better. Robyn hurled over the side of boat. Of us mortals, Noa appeared the best off and he was clutching the side of the boat so tight that his fingers were turning white.

"Wasn't expecting that," Hermes magicked his hair back into place. "Next time give me a bit of warning before boosting us please."

"Oh, uh… did I do that?"

The woman in the air twirled in the air, yawned, and floated away.

Hermes blinked then seemed to recover.

"Well, shall we get you all off on dry land."

He steadily directed our lifeboat towards the conveniently placed beach.

Andy stirred.

"What?"

She blinked and then spat her hair out of her mouth.

"Where are we?"

"Ah, you're awake," Hermes chipperly greeted Andy. "We've just arrived at Wildcat beach in California."

Andy pushed herself up, noticed the endless spread of ocean, shuddered, and glanced toward the beach. In the center was a gorgeous waterfall.

"I know this place." She sounded like the beach was as appetizing as a desolate waste.

Then she looked back at Hermes.

"Wait, who are you?"

We disembarked, much to everyone's relief. Robyn leapt off first and ran, stumbling, to the waterfall. She looked rather green. Fynch hopped off and ran to help her.

Meanwhile, Noa shakily helped me off the boat. Once I landed safely on the ground, I returned the favor.

Andy stepped off after me, scowling.

"I know this place," Andy muttered under her breathe.

"That's fortunate," Hermes nodded, sounding pointedly oblivious. "I was concerned I might need to leave you all to scout ahead. However, if you know this area, how about I send you with my blessing to find us shelter."

He glanced towards the setting sun and the sea. "I don't think we want to be on this beach longer than necessary. In the meantime, let's try to lose the trail as best we can."

He snapped and our boat set off on its own.

It took off slowly and then steadily moved farther off, picking up speed as its motor kicked on. If I looked hard enough, I could almost see the divinity swirling around it and shielding it. It was so intriguing that I watched it until I heard a light cough right behind me.

Right, I also had a god to deal with. Unlike last time, there wasn't a clear goal. Like not getting murdered. Even worse, we didn't even have any food or anything to sacrifice. In my rush to go after Andy, I might have… forgotten our bags. (Thank you past me) We would just have to settle for manners and hope that was enough.

"Thank you for all the assistance," I curtsied. "We're a bit low on supplies but once we get something, I'm sure we can find some-"

"No need," Hermes cut me off. "I'm always happy to help half-bloods in need. I'm just grateful to have err... been in the area to spot you."

My wrist buzzed. For some reason I got a vague Luke shaped idea. I had no idea what it was in reference to. At least, I got the sense the happy to help was true. At the very least that hopefully meant we wouldn't need to worry about being fed to his snakes any time soon. Probably.

I hated not knowing what to do.

"Well, thanks anyway," I squeaked.

"Might I ask how you ended up so close to my son?"

"Er..." There couldn't be any harm in telling him. Could there? I'd thought I could trust Luke, and this was his father. But he'd been honest about wanting to help demigods... and he was also a god… Andy would be better at this. Either way, he'd gone out of his way to help us, surely, I could answer this question. How bad could it be? Between listening to the screaming voice that was yelling something about dying painful deaths and the other part that just wanted to trust and go along with things, I went along with the latter.

"A monster kidnapped most of us and the rest of us followed them to rescue them. Luke noticed me on the way in..."

"I see," Hermes frowned. "That would match the reports I've been getting about disappearing children on the east coast."

He pulled out a smart phone and began tapping rapidly at it. There were a few dings back.

"By the way, did anyone on the ship seem particularly interested in you?" His tone seemed completely casual, but I still got the sense he was on edge.

"Um..." I coherently answered. "Maybe? Does trying to get me to join count? But that was for everyone."

I got a glimpse of a concerned face before it faded to his usual calm demeanor. He tapped away.

"Is that something to worry about?"

"Likely no," he smiled. My wrist buzzed but rubbing it didn't offer many more answers. "Just try to stay away from them. The Crooked One has a way of getting into one's mind and corrupting their thoughts."

I thought about the screaming voice in my head. The one telling me everyone lied.

"Alright."

"I am assuming you turned them down?"

"Yes?"

"Excellent."

Hermes turned back to his phone.

I stood awkwardly until the question drilling a hole in my subconscious became too great to ignore.

"Mr. Hermes?" I asked.

He looked up with a smile. "You have a question?"

"Kro-"

"-The Crooked One." Hermes corrected.

"The Crooked One claimed that I had an Olympian parent. That my parents weren't my parents. Is that true?"

I don't know why I asked. I just knew that was the place where my entire brain was melting.

"I highly doubt it," he looked uncomfortable. "The flare you gave out, it was of a very specific goddess. Specifically, my aunt Hestia. She rarely gives out her protection like that or intervenes that directly. I wouldn't expect her to do something like that unless you mean something as important as a child to her. But she doesn't have any real children beyond the mortals she chooses to favor. Perhaps the Crooked One merely sensed that on you and was confused. Or perhaps there's more. Your father, given his history, would certainly know."

My bracelet pointedly told me nothing. I took that to mean he wasn't lying, but something told me there was more to the truth.

"Do you have any way for me to contact my father?"

Hermes looked exceptionally guilty and didn't answer.

"I'll send him your regards. The porta potties are that way," He returned to his phone.

I took that and the change of topic as a dismissal and a sign I wasn't going to get more information about my father. My full bladder was also a good enough reason to accept it.

I nodded my thanks and ran. I barely made it in time even then.

I returned feeling much lighter and less shaky.

Fynch looked like he was trying to question Hermes. Robyn had somehow gotten a massive floppy sunhat. Noa jumped when he saw me and immediately ran past me towards the porta potty.

Andy had returned and was carrying hand sanitizer that had either been conjured or she'd stolen. She tossed it to me. I took full advantage of its existence. When in the wild, you can't be too picky about hand sanitizer.

"I found us one of my old shelters," Andy told me as I rubbed my hands. "It's not too far from here. I'm a bit concerned about it being compromised but it's so out of the way, it's bound to be as safe as we can make it."

"You have shelters here?" Robyn asked, concerned.

Andy swallowed. For a moment she looked ready to snap. "Yeah, I grew up around here. Never dreamed I'd return."

My brain immediately turned to stereotypical California vibes. Epic surfers. Eats lots of ice cream. Romcoms. Beach parties. There was probably more to it, but... well, I'd grown up in New York. Everywhere else is farmland or beach in comparison. Besides, as much as I had known it probably wasn't true, Andy had always given off the proper Manhattan vibes.

Noa returned. I waved him over.

Hermes finally looked away from his phone.

"I just talked with Fynch, here. He filled in some of the missing gaps. Considering the trouble my son gave all of you, it seems the least amount of trouble I can do is walk you all safely to an old friend who should be able to give you all shelter."

Andy blinked. "The person who gutted me, was your son?" She went from relaxed to tense reaching her wrist. As if she considered fighting a god right after nearly dying a good idea.

I cautiously put my hand around her wrist. Andy wrapped her other hand softly around mine in response. My heart lurched for some reason. I tried not to think about how I could feel every callous and groove. Or how warm and soft her hand was nonetheless.

"We're going through a rough patch," Hermes admitted.

"Right..." Andy slowly noted. "Well, good to know anyway. So, who is this friend who you're looking to host us?"

Hermes brightened. "It's my girl, Iris. She's got a shop in the area. We're friends from work. She even said that she'd be more than happy for a few extra hands. So, are you in?"

Robyn and Fynch immediately agreed. We followed them.

"She's about a day of full walking away," Hermes admitted. "So, you will still need to find shelter for the evening. Andy, I believe you were on scouting duty?"

"You mentioned a safe house?" I turned towards Andy.

The 'shelter' was a small cave behind a waterfall that we had to squeeze to reach. It had a low roof and we all had to crouch. There was barely any room to fit all of us and a single alcove that looked like it would make a good fireplace, chimney and all.

We immediately started building a fire. Andy assured us the smoke would let out a decent distance away and revealed a stock of pre-gathered firewood.

Hermes had left. Once he'd heard about our 'missing' pack situation, he'd offered to look for it. In the meantime, he'd dropped off some water bottles and granola bars to munch on. They were delicious, though I probably would have said that even if they didn't taste like heaven. That's what happens when you're starving. I blamed it on not eating food for over an action-packed day.

Despite being safe for the moment, I couldn't help feeling tense. While Noa and the others fell asleep, I couldn't get myself to relax. Which sucked because I had ended up with the last watch.

I tried closing my eyes and relaxing. Every time I started drifting off, Luke swirled in my head. Kronos' cold voice. Memories of my head feeling like it was splitting in two. Andy's face as she fell overboard, and... Cold stone underneath me.

I was trapped in a never-ending horror. The world fading and coming back.

"Trouble sleeping?" Andy's voice softly asked.

My head felt like the horrible stuffed cloud. I couldn't move.

"You twitched; I'll take that as a yes. Want to join me for a bit?"

That sounded fun. Or at least better than being attacked by my mind.

I sat up and blinked. Everything still felt a bit hazy.

My mouth felt dry.

"Here," Andy passed me a water bottle.

I stared at it for a good eternity.

Then, I took a tiny sip.

I swallowed. My head didn't feel clearer. My throat didn't feel less dryer. I didn't stop feeling the normal nausea that comes from too little sleep. But I still felt a bit better. I crawled over to the entrance. I sat there, enjoying the cooler air on my face.

"You feeling alright?" Andy asked.

"I- I'm fine." I lied.

Andy raised an eyebrow.

"Fine typically doesn't involve nightmares."

I didn't have a response to that.

"Would it help to play with our fire?"

We both knew I normally felt better after playing with logs and flames. Still, I shook my head.

"Well, it's there if you change your mind."

I pushed out a smile and did my best to push out the visions of Andy gutted and falling overboard. It was easy with her right next to me. Even if she was threading the shirt back together with needle and thread she'd pulled from her pocket.

"It's not so bad," Andy told me once she caught me watching. "I've dealt with worse. There's not much I can do about the blood, but it should sew back together pretty easy. I can teach you if you want to. I find it relaxing."

The way she was gritting the needle and shaking slightly told me I wasn't the only person who'd been rattled by her death.

"Are you fine?" I asked.

Andy looked at me. "I'll be fine. I'll just train a whole lot more."

She bit her lip and then paused.

"I never did get to thank you for rescuing me. I… I genuinely didn't expect…"

Her voice trailed off.

"I barely did anything. I forgot our packs and an escape plan and-"

Andy flicked me on the forehead.

"How many rescue attempts have you don't before?"

"None."

"Then be nice to yourself. You got us all out and we're safer or safer now."

"Besides," Andy nudged me. "As you said, it was your first try, Hermes will fix the bag problem, and with any luck you'll have plenty of time to get better."

I perked up a bit.

"Or get us allies who can make up for it. This group seems, not terrible. I'd say you got an eye for it."

Visions of Luke swam through my head. I didn't have an eye for it. We'd just gotten lucky.

I swallowed.

"That's not what's bothering you, is it?" Andy asked.

I shook my head, then nodded.

"I didn't find us reliable allies. I still messed that up."

Maybe it was the late night, but I found myself telling her everything. About Luke about how… I thought he'd been reliable, too.

Andy listened silently. Her only reaction was to wrap her arms around herself when I mentioned Kronos.

"Ok, he sounds like a piece of work though I can't particularly blame him considering you were a stowaway. Trusting strangers is quite the rookie mistake, but like manipulation is all about using your enemies' minds against them. It's not your fault for being manipulated."

It sounded like she was talking about herself too.

"But if it makes you feel better, I can do my best to try and teach you the few tricks I picked up along the way."

I nodded

"But in the meantime, you should try and get some sleep. We've got a long way to go tomorrow."

I moved back into our cave and tried to get comfortable. Just as sleep started to loom over me, I saw Andy turn towards me. She was rubbing a golden locket around her neck. "For what it's worth, I promise not to lie to you… anymore."

Then Hypnos dragged me off to sleep. This time, when I dreamt of Andy, I saw her in the distance talking with a woman with dark brown hair and warm eyes. Andy's hair blew in the wind. She looked relaxed in a way I rarely saw. Then she turned towards me and smiled.

A/N: This whole chapter was a whole load of fun. In the time I got to finishing it, I actually got to reread Titan's Curse and The Battle of Labyrinth. So that was fun. Luke's ship is currently on the East Coast. The wind just kind of knocked them over to the West Coast. Why? Because magic.

Also, if anyone noticed a side character randomly vanishing. Yeah, they didn't quite fit the way the way I wanted. They still exist bc I'm loath to kill my darlings and they got a role to play in the HoO plotline. If you haven't noticed a side character vanishing, assume I already wrote them out.

Also, because of changes and general laziness, the next chapter might take a bit. I don't really feel bad because I'd probably be faster if I actually got audience interaction (I'm lazy, bad at social interaction, and I get it). Instead, I get imposter syndrome and lack of motivation. But I'm still writing this, so (gives thumbs up to self)