Chapter thirteen boys! This story is still going on strong, despite my earlier disbelief about it. Sorry if this chapter is around a day late or so, I was in Georgia and couldn't write for a couple of days, so if this comes out seven or eight days after the previous chapter, now you know why. Anyway, let's get on to some reviews.

Born In The Second Generation: "Hello, sorry if I couldn't review again. Anyways, I think this chapter is great for showing Zane's flaws. That being he can be too reckless and a brute sometimes. I was hoping that Zane and company could have brought Reyna and Hylla with them, but I'm content with their role here. I'm also very interested with current status of Zane's and Annabeth's relationship, with them clashing and having some sort of rivalry. (Regarding the last response to my review. Yes, the ending of AoT sucks big time. Isayama said that the relationship between Eren and Mikasa was only fraternal. Somehow he changed it out of nowhere to Eren being romantically possessive of Mikasa, even though prior to chapter 139 Eren show no romantic feelings for Mikasa nor he returned Mikasa's feelings even though it was obvious even to blind people. This is just one of the many plotholes in chapter 139. I swear that AoT got ruined because of Wattpad-tier romance.)"

Response: Thanks for the review. Yes, that was what I was trying to convey, that he's super reckless and a major brute when things don't really go his way. It's all part of his character development. So Reyna and Hylla wouldn't, in my opinion, go with the team that just brutally killed almost all of their fellow sorceresses, but don't worry, like in Son of Neptune, they won't be gone. Shadowhunter2077 asked if they were dead, and to answer his and probably your question, they're still alive. Before Zane's recent murder and recklessness spree, he and Annabeth were friends, but right now, I wouldn't say Annabeth hates Zane, but she definitely is not his friend at the moment. You'll see in this chapter. And yeah, you're totally right about the AoT shit. Isayama either really dropped the ball at the end or his editors cucked him and forced his ass to write a new chapter different from the original ending. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Echoxenvy: "Nice chapter man, really delivered with this one. I really like Zane's development and him finally starting to realize how destructive he can be. Arthur Wayne's powers are cool, and I liked the Clashing Rocks idea, I always wondered what that would've been like in the books. As for the resort, I thought it was good and the fight was awesome. However if it were me I would have allowed Percy and Zane to become Guinea pigs, opening an opportunity for Taylor and Annabeth to help out with Hermes multivitamins, showing Zane that he needs his friends after all. I feel like their getting really op and that takes away the tension of scenes man. I mean, by the time Zane fights Kronos, he'll be so OP that it won't be a challenge. I love this story, and it's yours, so you don't have to listen to anything I say, and that's fine. I'm not saying nerf Zane, all I'm saying is don't sacrifice good writing for him to be some kind of Saitama figure. That's just my take, and I only say that with good intentions, because I really do think this story is amazing. All in all, great chapter, can't wait for the next.

P.S. First chapter of Storm Bringers should be out soon."

Response: I answered most of this over Snapchat, but I'll touch on it here so people out of the loop, literally anyone except me or Echoxenvy, can understand. So about Arthur, thank Shadowhunter2077, because he gave me that idea in a review or a PM, can't remember which. Your idea on the guinea pigs sounds awesome, but it would have raised some weird continuity issues if Zane and Percy both could be turned at this point. Zane, when he was weaker, resisted Medusa and completely overcame her petrification and he and Percy both can resist the transfiguration abilities of the gods, so it wouldn't make much sense for Circe to just be able to turn them into guinea pigs. Zane will realize he needs his friends, don't you worry, but the scene when he does is going to be a little...different. I already said to Echoxenvy that I will make sure Zane doesn't get too op, as I will continue to give him new and unique challenges to face throughout this story. Power creep shouldn't become an issue, if I handle it correctly. Anyway, Echoxenvy, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Guest: "Zane. A name fit for the son of Zeus!"

Response: Lol, it's literally my favorite name ever. If I have kids, and if one of them is male, I'm naming them Zane.

Shadowhunter2077: "Dude I impressed that Circe managed to last this long on a fight against Zane, I though he would just one-shot her in his base form, I also understand why the potion didn't work on Zane this kid just fought Ares, Hyperion and resisted being turnig into stone by medusa so I don't think Circe could s*t against Zane even if she turned him into a guinea pig Zane would just turn into his thunder form and comes back to human form again, also what happened to Reyna and Hylla they are dead or they are survived Zane destroying the island?

Also a character that I think Zane would get along very well would be Sadie Kane both lack the respect about the gods unless they are related to said god, and it would be nice to see how the Egyptians gods would react if Sadie had a friend how could single handedly take them on, if of course you do the chronicles of the kanes trilogy in your story

And will we have some father and son moments between Zeus and Zane, because I think this would be good as to explore both Zane feelings and Zeus as a caracther.

And if it don't take to much of your time could you do like a tier level of the caracthers like:

Solar System Level:

A caracther

Large Star Level:

B caracthers

And for last there is children of the Great Old Ones in this story, if yes how powerful would they be, because to me the Great Old Ones are almost as powerful as the Big Three.

PS: Sorry for the long review

Response: So, in the original book, Circe couldn't fight, at all, which didn't make sense as Hylla became queen of the Amazons and Reyna became Praetor of New Rome. Yeah, I know they could learn how later, but them both being the heads of large fighting forces like that at sixteen with only normal training is a little off to me. So, as I answered in Born In The Second Generation's review, Hylla and Reyna are in fact alive, and we will see them later. Much later. Zane and Sadie being friends and the Egyptian gods being utterly terrified of Zane sounds hilarious. Trust me, eventually, the two will meet at some point. I just need to figure out when the crossover books happen in the timeline and I'll make it happen. So right now, say Solar System level would be: Zane in Thunder Form right now, along with Percy in his respective form, probably Apollo and Artemis, and maybe the strongest of the Giants of the Gigantomachy. Large Star would be most titans, including weakened Hyperion, most Olympians, and every other Giant. Only The Big Three, Kronos, Atlas, full power Hyperion, and all the primordials rank at Large Universe level. About the Great Old Ones, no, there won't be any children of them, since their usually giant, evil and mindless monsters hell bent on the destruction of all life. I'm not sure how strong the other Great Old Ones are compared to Cthulhu, and Cthulhu is around Large Star level, so until I'm correct in my probably wrong assumption, I'll consider them around at that level. The Ultimate Gods, however, is a completely different story.

Jay: "Fuck the Feminazis. I hope the Hunters get a rude awakening. I cringe at the sight of how many guardian of the Hunt fics are out there"

Response: I agree with you right there lol. I can't wait to write Titan's Curse and have Zane completely shut them down. I dare you to go on the PJO tab and try to count every Hunt fic you can find and tell me in the next chapter.

Anyway, enough with reviews. Let's blow this pop-stand.

(Disclaimer: I don't own anything here (Except the OCs). If the fact that this is on a fanfiction site didn't tip you off, you're fucking retarded.)

(000)

Taking in the last bits of feeling of the wind blowing the hair out of my face, I spotted the pirate ship, which said, 'Queen Ann's Revenge' on the side, I hovered down from the sky onto the ship. My shoes touched down on the ship and I breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Well, that went rather well if I do say so myself."

The deadpan look of literally everyone on the ship brought down my feelings of satisfaction to a quick halt. I felt the eyes of everyone baring into my flesh and I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "Oh, come on. That whole thing was unavoidable. Circe tried to turn both me and Percy into guinea pigs and was going to probably kill us or something. I just blew up the island so I could kill any of her apprentices that were left. Don't get mad at me."

Everyone just rolled their eyes and continued to work on the ship, not paying more attention to me. I shrugged and walked up to the wheel of the ship where Taylor was. "So...did I overdo it?" I asked the son of Ares, who was looking at the wheel that Percy was currently operating.

Taylor looked like he was contemplating his answer. "Well...normally I'd say blowing up an island is kind of overdoing it, but..." Taylor trailed off. "It was an island filled with evil sorceresses who tried to kill us, so I would say that you're good." Taylor signed and put his hand to his head, which I now noticed his nails were painted differently.

His normal, blood red nails, were now a bright fiery right that in my opinion looked better. Hell, now that I looked at the son of Ares, despite the blood that was covering him, he looked way different. His hair was more wavy than it normally was, and looked even smoother, despite the blood. His outfit, which was also caked in blood and a bit of gore, looked amazing. His Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt was gone, replaced by a different version of his red undershirt which had line throughout it like a sweater.

His short khaki shorts were gone, now replaced by a blood soaked pair of black hotpants, or tight fitting short shorts. It was incredibly form fitting, and I found I could barely take my eyes away from them. "What do you think, Zane?" Taylor's voice broke me out of my, admittedly weird thoughts.

I shook my head, getting the weird thoughts out of my mind. What did Taylor say? "Huh? Can you repeat that?" I didn't want to admit to myself that I was staring at Taylor's...uh, you know.

Taylor shook his head with a chuckle. "You're such an airhead, Zane." His eyes widened, before he grinned. "Airhead! I found the perfect nickname for you!" I groaned as the son of Ares laughed. His grin faded and the stress of the entire quest came upon his face once more."Anyway, what I asked was: Do you ever feel like these quests are even worth it?"

Huh? Taylor noticed the confused look on my face and he elaborated. "That's not quite what I meant. Of course this quest matters, as if we didn't undertake it, the entire camp would be destroyed. But is the pain and hardship really worth it if the gods don't acknowledge you? My father doesn't really care about me, just this stupid quest and some idiotic glory."

I contemplated my answer, humming as i did so. "Well, I think you really shouldn't care what your father or the other gods think of you. In the end, you're your own person and you don't have to prove yourself to anyone if you don't want to." Taylor was silent. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't step up to the plate if you need to, but doing so with no reason unless you want to is something you don't have to do. Basically, don't allow the last of acknowledgement from the gods define or change you, Taylor. That's what happened to Luke."

The son of Ares nodded at my answer with a slight smile. I didn't notice it before, but Taylor had some sort of oil or something on that made his already near perfect skin even more perfect. His smile was absolutely breathe taking and made me miss a breath. "Thanks, Zane" Taylor leaned up against the railing overlooking the ship to the left of Percy, who was silently steering the ship. Taylor turned his head to the son of Poseidon. "Well, where to next, Percy?"

The son of Poseidon stared intently at the horizon, which currently had the sun setting on it. "To Polyphemus' island. I know where it is." Both me and Taylor looked at the son of Poseidon in shock, about to ask him why we even went to Circe's island if he knew where Polyphemus' island was in the first place.

Percy expected this however, as he answered before we could ask. "I didn't know where it was before because my connection to the sea was...well, weakened. I couldn't control my senses as well as I normally could. Maybe because the whole thing with Luke. But I can see where we're going now. First, we'll be passing some kind of island before Polyphemus', I don't know which one, though. I'll ask Annabeth about it." Percy let go of the wheel, although the ship didn't turn of it's course. It's as if Percy could control it.

I was silent after the son of Poseidon left, leaning on the railing of the ship alongside Taylor. I spotted Nico on the bow of the ship, sitting in the corner on a barrel that was probably filled with rum. My mind flashed back to how Nico flinched when I was about to touch him on the shoulder, right after the Clashing Rocks.

My fists tightened, angry at my lack of control over my power and my lack of foresight for consequences. Eventually, I spoke to Taylor. "I think Nico is afraid of me." Taylor turned his head from the sky and looked at me. "After the whole Clashing Rocks incident, he's been anxious around me, and even flinched whenever I touched his shoulder."

Taylor was silent for a couple of seconds. "Everyone here is afraid of you to some extent here, Zane. Even me." I looked at Taylor, trying to hide the hurt that threatened to come on to my face. Did Taylor not know that I would never hurt him? Taylor continued. "Well, at least afraid of what you could do. I mean, Zane, you fought a titan and a god, and killed both of them. Anyone in their right mind would be afraid of what you could do, even Percy, whose done the same thing. But I guess it just gives you the chance to prove people wrong, to prove that you and your power can be trusted and that people have nothing to fear from you." Taylor had a reassuring, gentle smile on his face.

Taylor's words reassured my worries, or at least, reassured me in the fact that I could solve my problems. "You're right, Taylor. Thank you." We stood in comfortable silence at the railing, looking up at the sky to the stars that were coming into view in the early night. I sighed contently. Just because we were on a quest that could decide the fate of camp and all demigods doesn't mean I couldn't relax and enjoy myself.

"So, what do you think of the team Tantalus gave you at camp? How have they been performing during the quest?" I knew a good bit about Beckendorf, as I had talked to the guy a few times over the last two and a half years, but I kinda knew jack shit about Arthur, as I didn't even know the guy existed until a couple of days ago. All I knew was that he could shoot light out of his hands and he was terrified of my power, gauging his reaction after the Clashing Rocks.

Taylor tapped his long, delicate looking fingers on the railings. "Well, you know Beckendorf is reliable, bot in combat and in anything to do with maintenance. He's just an all around nice and trustworthy person. But you probably already knew that, since I think you've interacted with him more than I have before the quest."

Taylor's eyes shifted to the blonde son of Helios who was had walked up to Nico and began talking to him. I felt a spike of irritation, but I forced it down. "Arthur, though, he's kind of a handful if I'm being honest, but not in a bad way. He's like most children of Helios, good-natured, warm, fun loving, nice. You know how they are, Zane. They're like Apollo kids but without the whole arrogance thing a lot of them seem to have. I knew him a good bit from before the quest, as he talks to me sometimes after combat classes." I never knew that, if I can remember correctly. I wonder why Taylor never told me about him.

I looked at the son of Helios and a slightly bitter chuckle escaped my lips as he talked to the son of Hades. "Remember how I said Nico might be afraid of me? Arthur is downright pissed-his-pants terrified of me. It's kind of funny, since we had a good start." Taylor cringed a bit at my brutal words, but did not try to deny them. It was obvious that Arthur was terrified of me. "So aside from his fear of me, what do you think about the son of Helios over there?"

Taylor was silent for a second before answering in a inaudible voice. I didn't hear him obviously, so I prodded the son of Ares and asked him what he said. After a few seconds, he finally answered. "I think...he's kind of cute." Huh? Taylor continued, not allowing my mind to process that nugget of information. "I mean, he's so good looking, and he's nice, and he helps me out with some of my cabin duties and chores. His powers are so cool and his personality is so warm and inviting." Taylor realized he went on a little bit of a rant, plus revealing his or at least part of his sexuality. "Oh. Um..."

I stood in silence for a few seconds, my brain trying to compute what I just heard. "Uh...that's...er, nice, Taylor." Taylor swung that way? I mean, I have nothing against it at all, but it kind of surprises me. But now that I think about it, no it doesn't. I mean, he looks like a girl and kind of sounds like a girl, especially since he stopped trying to hide how soft his voice was over a false gruff tone.

Thinking about his appearance and his lack of observing or talking about the females of camp and their appearances, it made sense. I mean, I didn't think or talk about girls, but that's because I know that anyone at camp is too far beneath me to even consider doing anything with. It's not because I'm...well, you know, right? Yeah, right. So Taylor...uh, likes Arthur? A bit of irritation filled my person and I furrowed my brow a bit, not exactly knowing why. "So...how long have you known you've been like...you know?" I tried to make my words gentle and not sound harsh or judging. Hopefully I succeeded.

Taylor looked for an answer in his head. "I'm not too sure, if I'm being honest. I think since I met him a few months ago. I think I found him good looking right from the get-go. I think I only started liking him whenever I started to hang out with him." Taylor looked at the son of Helios a little dreamily, who was talking to Nico with a charming smile that made Nico feel at ease.

All of those factors at once made me a little angry, but I did my best to keep it down. I admit, I felt a little jealous of the son of Helios, not because Taylor liked him mind you, but because he could talk to Nico without the son of Hades flinching or being anxious about the fact you could accidentally turn him to ash.

Taylor broke me out of my slightly angry thoughts. "At first, I didn't want to tell you, in case you would have made fun of me for it, or worse, stopped being my friend because I like a guy, but you have been understanding about it. Thanks." I guess no problem, Taylor, even though I haven't said too much about it. I wasn't going to try and correct him on anything, though. "So, Zane. Who in the camp do you like?" Taylor asked with a gentle smile.

I was still a little irritable, so my tone in my response probably sounded a little haughty or a little bitter, I don't which. "I don't like anyone in the camp in that way. Everyone there is beneath me in that regard. I would never lower myself to anyone's level like that." Did I say it sounded a little haughty? I meant I sounded really haughty. Taylor's smile fell a bit as I continued on my little rant.

"All the women at the camp are not worthy of me, especially since none of them even have the courage to speak to me, like most of the people at the camp. The only one I have talked to in recent memory is Annabeth, and, well, we know how we think of each other at the moment." I scoffed a little. "So no, I don't like anyone at the camp. Everyone's too pathetic. I don't even know any girl's name besides Annabeth and Clarisse's."

Taylor's smile was a little strained by the end of my outburst, but it still kept up. "Uh...well, you said you don't like any women at the camp, so what about guys?" A couple of people flashed into my mind, but I immediately disregarded the thoughts. I shook my head at Taylor's words, saying that I didn't swing that way.

Taylor's smile faded a little more at my words, and he nodded. "Well, It's getting late and we have a long day tomorrow. I suggest you get some sleep." Taylor stopped leaning on the railing and walked into what was probably the captain's quarters. I noticed he didn't invite me to go with him, which was weird for him. I not certain that I would have even accepted the offer, not because I thought it would be gross or disgusting or anything, but because it would probably be weird between us now after Taylor's reveal. Maybe that's why he didn't offer. (AN: Three guesses why Taylor is upset.)

I walked off of the captain's deck to the bow, only to find two groups still left on it. Percy and Annabeth, talking about my dead half-sister, and Nico and Arthur, who were talking about something I couldn't hear. I decided to leave Percy and Annabeth alone and I walked over to Nico and the son of Helios, who I decided I didn't really like at the moment. Whenever I arrived behind Arthur, he turned around and paled.

That was a weird sight, as his tan basically disappeared from his skin and he turned around as white as Nico. Arthur turned back to Nico quickly and ended their conversation. "Well, It's getting late and I need to get some sleep. Apollo has the chariot tomorrow and I'll need all the energy I can get to use my powers at anywhere near the capability I normally use them. Nice talking to you, Nico." Arthur walked away and went down below deck, not before looking at me with a slightly fearful look. I sent him a deadpan expression as he walked down the stairs under the deck.

I turned back to the son of Hades, hoping to not see an anxious, or gods forbid, a fearful expression from him, but luckily for my mental health, his expression was normal. Time to break the ice with a vengeance. "So is that the first time you've talked to that guy, or have you met him before?" Thinking about the son of Helios was for some reason, irritating. I don't know why, but I seriously didn't like that guy. Maybe it's because he was scared of me and won't talk to me directly anymore, but I just don't like him.

The son of Hades blinked at my answer, but quickly answered with no awkwardness. "Uh, no, I haven't talked to him before. It's the first time he's made any effort to talk to me at all on this quest." Nico sighed. "It's understandable, since we're on a quest of all things with eight people, but it kind of reminds me of how I'm treated at camp."

If I didn't mention it before, like me, people didn't talk to Nico at camp all that much, even in classes. It wasn't just because he was a Big Three kid, which was a prominent reason, but it was also that he was the son of Hades. People tended to steer clear of him, probably because of something stupid like how people find him creepy or they think he can influence their afterlife due to his relationship with Hades or something. Yeah, it's as dumb as it sounds.

I pulled up an old box from the side of the ship to Nico's barrel and rested upon it, sitting beside the son of Hades. "Well, what do you think of Arthur, Nico?" I was being honest, I was kind of anxious of Nico's answer. If both of my best friends liked Arthur, who I personally didn't like, I don't know what I will do. I wasn't sure about Nico' sexuality like I wasn't sure about Taylor's earlier, but if Nico ended up swinging that way, I wasn't going to judge him for it. I was going to judge him for seeing something in Arthur, however, as like I've said, I don't like that guy.

Nico wasn't suspiciously silent like Taylor earlier and answered my question almost immediately. "I mean, I guess he's a nice guy and all, but I just don't really like him all that much. It's not because of some dumb 'I have a bad feeling about him' thing, but I guess we just don't really click.

Plus, he kept trying to find things to talk about with me, but he obviously wasn't trying all that hard at it. It was kind of awkward." Nico put a hand to his chin and held an inquisitive expression. "Maybe someone put him up to talking to me? I don't think so, honestly. I mean, who here would want to get Arthur to talk to me of all people. It doesn't make sense. I'm not really anything special.

Did Nico, the son of motherfucking Hades, just say he wasn't special? Oh no, we can't be having that. "Nico, are you serious? You're one of the most special people I know. You're one of the strongest demigods in the entire camp, your father is one of the strongest beings in the universe, you're damn good with your sword, you're the best Myth-O-Magic player I've ever met and..."

I trailed off, giving the son of Hades a small smile. "...and you're my friend. That makes you more special than anyone else I know. And don't you ever tell yourself that you are not, understand?" Nico was silent after my words, his long black hair obscuring his eyes and most of his face as well. Looking at his hair, despite it being caked in blood, it looked smooth and silky, almost perfect. "Nico?"

Nico finally raised his head, and I could see his face. He had a big grin etched across his mouth and tears trailing down his cheeks. "Thank you." He jumped up from the barrel and wrapped around me in a big hug, which I obviously returned. I chuckled and sat my head atop his head.

We stood on the deck of the ship hugging, just the two of us as Percy and Annabeth had gone under the deck for the night. I looked up at the zodiacs in the sky, the son of Hades in my arms, content with what I had. I knew I had to make sure Luke died on this quest, as he threatened to take away everything I cared for with his stupid vengeance for being 'neglected' or something else just as stupid. Just stop caring about what the gods think about you or stop craving their attention and just be content with what you have.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, I felt an aura spike after those thoughts ran through my head. I felt the aura came from the captain's deck of the ship, although I didn't bother to check it out with a turn. It didn't feel like a monster, more like a demigod, and if it was an attack, I would deal with it when it did attack.

No need to ruin the moment between me and Nico for something that probably wasn't even all that serious in the first place. Soon enough, as quickly at the aura came, it vanished into nothing and did not return, It seems it wasn't an attack then. Eventually I felt the stress of the day and all the slightly horrific bloodshed weigh upon my mind and I broke my hug with the son of Hades.

"Anyway, it's pretty late now, Nico. Percy said we had some kind of island coming up before Polyphemus' island, and we should go get some sleep before we confront it." I started to walk towards the stairs to under the deck and turned back to Nico, outstretching my hand. "Care to join me?" Please say yes, since I will look and feel stupid if you said no.

Nico nodded at my words with a smile. "Sure." The son of Hades took my hand, which for some reason made my heart flutter a little bit. I didn't say anything about it or think on it any more and I led Nico down to the rooms under the deck. The rooms were small, cramped, and generally uncomfortable. Most of the cots on the ground of the ship were taken by our fellow demigods and friends, so me and Nico had to make a makeshift hammock out of parts of some kind of spare linen sails.

After assembling the hammock, which hopefully wouldn't break when we laid down in it, I plopped right down into the linen sheet hanging over the floor. The hammock luckily didn't rip, and not long after, Nico laid down in the hammock right with me. The hammock was no bed, and there was literally no extra room for either of us, so we were basically pressed together the entire time. It didn't take Nico very long to fall asleep, which was weird, as his cheek was basically pressed up against mine. I felt my face turn a little red and my thoughts became a little muddled, but I forced them down and eventually fell asleep myself.

(000)

I woke up to a sensation on my side, and I shot my hand out to grab whatever was touching me and opened my eyes. I looked up and saw Annabeth, who had a deadpan expression on her face as my hand wrapped around her outstretched ankle. "We're coming up on the Island of the Sirens right now. Better get up and bring your boyfriend with you." She motioned to Nico, who was basically draped across my left side. "We're probably going to need you."

Her tone was disgruntled and bitter, but because I'm so nice, I will chalk that up to it being so early in the morning and not blame her for it. I realized I didn't even flinch at Annabeth's 'boyfriend' comment, mainly because I've heard that fucking joke so many damn times now, I was sick of it.

I shook the son of Hades awake, who grunted in protest of having his beauty sleep interrupted. "Come on, Nico. We're coming up on the Sirens now. We gotta get up and get to the deck." Nico murmured into the cot, words I didn't bother to try and hear. I finally noticed the hammock had fallen to the floor while we sleep. Weird that it didn't wake us. I stood up and left Nico on the sheet on the ground and walked up to the deck above.

The first thing I realized was that the sky was completely gray and overcast, a contrast to how it was yesterday, where it was only slightly cloudy and sunny as well. I looked down the bow of the ship across the water and found what was the Siren's island, or at least what I thought it was. The Island's features from this distance were unrecognizable at the moment, but I could see a deep fog surrounding the island. Oh yeah, that was the Sirens alright.

I found that me and Nico were the last ones to get up, as everyone else was up here on the deck. I found Percy and Tyson talking to each other by one of the ship's masts and Annabeth was fiddling with some rope she had pulled out of her bag. Beckendorf was in the corner of the bow, messing with his staff-hammer thingie. I found Arthur, who I still didn't really like all that much, leaning on the railing of the left of the ship trying to get one of his light orbs to form fully. I guess Apollo really was a dick about Helios' kids' powers. I found Taylor up on the captain's deck steering the wheel, looking ahead at the island.

"Everyone gather around!" Taylor's voice sounded throughout the deck. I noticed Taylor didn't meet my eyes as he surveyed everyone on the deck. The last one to come up from the stairs was Nico, his hair hastily brushed. I did catch the glare the son of Ares sent Nico, but chalked it up to his bad hairbrushing skills. "Alright. If you don't know already, we're about to pass by the island of the Sirens. There is some barrels of wax down in under the deck, so when we get in range, we're going to use that to plug our ears and go right on by the ugly bird bitches. Any questions?" I felt like he channeled his inner Clarisse with that speech.

Annabeth raised her hand. "Yeah, I have one." We all turned to her, and immediately her confidence dimmed. She paused a bit before awkwardly continuing. "Well, it's less of a question and more of a request but..." She trailed off, trying to formulate the words in her head. "When we get into range and plug our ears, I don't want to plug mine."

Everyone looked at her like she was stupid. She looked at everyone else before continuing. "I want to be able to hear them when we go past." Taylor looked at the daughter of Athena like she had grown three extra arms, two legs, a new nose, and fourteen extra fingers. Taylor asked Annabeth why she wanted to do this, and Annabeth sighed. "They say the Sirens tell you the truth about what you desire the most. They say they tell you things about yourself that you didn't even realize. If you survive, you become wiser. I want to hear them. How often will I get the chance to do so?"

I know I'm going to sound dumb, but I'm with her on this one. "I agree with her." Everyone, including Annabeth, took a double take on my answer. "Not for her reasons, of course. I don't care about discovering some things about myself or any of that stupid shit. I just want to hear them so I can tell the tale. I want to be able to resist their temptations and throw their song into their face. If I'm able to keep my reason, and I expect that I will, I'll blow their island sky high with my lightning. I'll make sure that no one will have to deal with the Sirens ever again."

Taylor and everyone else were silent at my declaration, but eventually, he answered. "Whatever, I guess. But we'll have Percy restrain the both of you with his powers just in the event that you go crazy and try to go to the Siren's island to see them instead of destroying them." I nodded at Taylor's decision, it seeming fair and a reasonable compromise in my opinion.

"Arthur, go under deck and grab the wax. We're coming up on the island very shortly and I want to be prepared for it." The son of Helios nodded at Taylor's order and went underneath the deck. Taylor turned back to me and Annabeth and pointed at the mast. "Lean up against that and Percy will restrain you with his water or something."

I did as Taylor asked, as did Annabeth. Me and Annabeth leaned up against both sides of the mast and Percy held out his hand. Water seemingly was ripped from the air and surrounded both me and the daughter of Athena. The water shifted into some kind of chain-like construct and confined both me and Annabeth to the mast. Percy shifted into his Earthshaker Form, making his water the strongest he possibly could.

Arthur returned from the deck with a bucket of wax and began to pass it around to everyone, complete with ear plugs as well. Everyone on the ship besides me and Annabeth proceeded to plug their ears and we approached the island. The approach was quiet, too quiet. My heart pounded in anticipation as we approached the shoreline of the island. Weren't the Sirens supposed to sing?

But all of a sudden, I heard it. It was faint, but I heard the singing of the Sirens. I can't exactly describe the sound or the feeling, but the closest I could get to describing it would be the underwater bath scene in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, the scene where Harry opens the golden egg underwater.

I knew exactly where the sound was coming from and I had to get to it. I had to get to it right now! I struggled against the water chains both around me and Annabeth, not bothering to note that Annabeth was trying to do the same. My muscles strained against the chains of Percy, the chains not budging an inch, thanks to Percy being in his Earthshaker Form.

"Let me out! Let me out now! I have to go see them! I must see them!" Lightning burst from my hands thanks to my desperation as I tried to break out of the chains. "Percy! Please! Let me go! I have to see them! I have to see them now! Let me out!" Percy saw the anguish and desperation that was no doubt on both mine and Annabeth's faces as we tried to escape and he looked away.

Annabeth took out her knife and tried to cut through Percy's water chains, to no avail. Percy's chains in his Earthshaker Form were too strong for both me and Annabeth to break through. I finally realized that Percy wasn't going to let me go, so I knew I had to get out myself. "LET ME GO!"

I entered my Thunder Form, destroying Percy's chains almost immediately. The mast I was tied to was destroyed as well, blowing Annabeth away from the ship and out into the water. I tried to lift out the ground with the wind and fly straight to the island, but a whip made from water wrapped around my leg and stopped me mid-flight. I turned back and saw Percy, a tense expression on his watery face as he tried to restrain me.

I growled in irritation. How dare he try to stop me!? I outstretched my hand, sending a lightning bolt strong enough to level the eastern seaboard at the son of Poseidon, who's eyes widened. Percy let go of my leg with his whip and formed a barrier around the entire ship, protecting it from harm. I took off like a lightning bolt at the island, intent on reaching the Sirens to hear their wisdom. Before I could touch down on the ground, A waterspout from the sea formed and surrounded me.

I tried to thunderclap it away in an instant, but the water was made of sterner stuff than the chains Percy had created earlier. I roared in rage, commanding the wind to unravel to water tornado. The waterspout dispersed from the power of my wind, but before I could reach the island once more, a rocky fist planted itself into my cheek.

I slammed into the sea below, and as soon as I touched the water, the ocean basically tried to eat me. The water attacked me and tried to rip at my skin. Small spike of water tried to piece me and a whirlpool formed around my location. "Fuck off, Poseidon!" I yelled underwater, my words garbled.

I slammed my hands together, created a burst of power strong enough to part the sea. The water blew away from me as if I was Tantalus, and I was free. I rushed to the island, only to find Percy in my path, his sword Riptide drawn. I drew Keravnos from my back, and charged at the son of Poseidon. "Get out of my way!" Keravnos slammed against Riptide, causing the force of the attack to create a shockwave that resonated across the sky.

The overcast clouds were instantly dispersed, allowing the morning sun to shine through. I didn't care about the change of scenery, as I savagely attacked Percy with my axe, my powerful blows raining against his strong defense. Eventually, my axe knocked his sword to the side and I slammed a lightning encased fist against Percy's watery face, sending him flying the sky and out of view. I rushed towards the island, and slammed down like a meteor on the shore.

I ran up the beach, up towards a large rock that was in the center. I moved so fast that the lightning that trickled off my form seemed as if it was flowing at a snails pace. Once I reached the base of the rock, I looked up upon it and saw three figures. The first was my mother. I saw that she was in perfect health, her limbs not eaten and most importantly, alive. She was smiling at me gently, a loving gesture. As I looked at her, a vision of an older version of me was at the park with her, eating ice cream as we stood on a bridge overlooking a small pond flowing with fish.

The second figure I saw was my father, Zeus. He stood tall and strong, not wearing his stormy grey business suit, but a white gilded toga that did nothing to hide his muscular form. His beard was black, with specks of grey throughout it like small amounts of lightning. His electric blue eyes looked upon me warmly and he smiled proudly at me, as if to say 'That's my son.'

I saw a vision of my father and me, a much older and far more powerful looking version, standing in the throne room on Olympus. A fourteenth throne formed alongside my fathers, seeming made from silver and pure lightning. All the other Olympians in the room bowed their heads as I sat on the throne, my form melding away into a bipedal being made of pure lightning, illuminating the entire room.

The final figure seemed to switch between two different people, their forms flickering in and out, replacing one another. One of them looked like an older version of Taylor and the other an older version of a certain son of Hades. The older Taylor looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. His hair was much longer, down past his waist. It wasn't just brushed completely straight anymore, now being held together with braids and one long braided ponytail in the back.

His freckles were even more prominent, not being splotchy whatsoever. He was wearing a pair of small reading glasses, something that looked more cosmetic than anything. He was wearing his outfit that he had been wearing earlier on the ship, just larger and not covered in blood. He smiled down on me as well, his smile almost...seductive.

The other figure flickering in and out, replacing Taylor's form, was an older version of Nico. He also looked to be sixteen, maybe a little younger. His hair was as long as mine was currently, down to his upper back, and wavy. It looked even better than it did at the moment, which in my opinion, was saying something. He wore a black shirt with a white skull planted in the middle, along with his Aviator jacket that he was fond of. He also seemed to be wearing some kind of skull ring on his left finger and his Stygian Iron sword rested at his side. He smiled down on me as well, his smile almost like Taylor's was, seductive.

I had my sight overtaken by a vision, one were the older Taylor and a teenage looking version of me were looking at the stars at the Bonfire at Camp Half-Blood. He was in my arms, very much like how Nico had been last night in the hammock. As the the songs in the background were being finished by the Apollo cabin, Taylor lifted his head up from where it had been buried in my chest and pressed his soft, smooth looking lips against mine. My eyes in real life widened.

What? My older self didn't pull back or wasn't weirded out in the slightest, as he deepened the kiss. The vision faded away and was replaced by a scene of both the older me and older Nico playing a game of Myth-O-Magic in my cabin. The two of us were playing on a table that currently wasn't in my cabin. Now that I mention it, the entire cabin looked decorated and far superior to my own cabin. The game me and Nico were playing looked heated, the both of us pulling out our trump cards to try and win the game.

Nico, like a Yu-Gi-Oh protagonist, managed to clutch the one move he needed to win. He shouted as he won the game, which caused me to playfully tackle him to the ground in false anger. He wrestled on the ground like children, laughing and giggling the entire time. We came face to face for a moment, paused, and then our lips met with no hesitation. Double huh? The vision, unlike the last one had got way more heated, with articles of both me and Nico's clothes starting to come off as the vision faded away.

I approached the figures standing on the rock, confused by the visions, but not rejecting them. I was about to touch the rock, before a loud rumbling sound broke out across the entire island. The island shook and the song of the Sirens stopped and I finally saw the three figures for what they truly were.

Hideous naked bird women, who had dried blood covering their mouth and looking like they had never had a bath in their entire lives. My eyes widened and I was broken from their enchantment. Before they could start singing again, I let a small bolt of lightning escape from my hand and touch the ground. The island exploded in a bright flash of light, incinerating the entire island in an instant, the Sirens along with it. I sighed, breathing a sigh of relief.

What the hell had I just seen? Before I could dwell on it anymore, Percy, in his Earthshaker Form, shot from the water like a bullet from a railgun at me. Before he could reach me, I threw out my arms. "Wait! I'm back! I'm free from the spell!" Percy didn't hear a word I said, but the fact I wasn't trying to reach an island that no longer existed stopped him in his tracks. He looked around realized there was no island, and looked at me and took the wax out of his ears.

Percy looked at me cautiously. "Zane, you're back to normal, right?" I nodded, dropping my Thunder Form but still remaining in the air over the water below. Percy breathed out a sigh of relief and dropped his own form. "That was really fucking scary, Zane. You just went complete apeshit on the boat and blew the mast away, along with Annabeth."

Before I could ask if the duaghter of Athena was okay, Percy interrupted me. "She's fine, don't you worry. She got knocked into the water and the Siren's song was interrupted. Weird that it didn't work for you when I knocked you in." Percy paused, a slight blush appearing on his face and he tried to continue what he was saying awkwardly. "Uh...When I punched you earlier, I kind of saw what you saw the Sirens as, and all the visions and shit."

Oh. Both me and Percy were quite, me floating above the water and him standing on the water as if he was Jesus or something. "Well, if it means anything to you, know that I don't judge." Percy couldn't look me in the eye and turned around on the water in the direction of the ship. "The ship's waiting for us, so let's just...come on."

I didn't say anything to the son of Poseidon as I followed him in the air while he plowed through the water like a missile. I was going to pretend he didn't say that, and if he said anything else, I was going to play dumb. I don't even know what I saw in those visions. I saw my mother alive, my father and him making me a god, and...er, other stuff.

I need time to process what the fuck the Sirens just showed me. After a few seconds of flying above the sea, I reached the damaged ship and touched down on the deck and Percy jumped up from the water and landed beside me, not a drop of water on him. I saw the facial expression of everyone on board, which either ranged from disappointed to fearful. The only expression that was different from that category was Annabeth, as she looked like she was a little guilty. I wonder why that was.

I cleared my throat awkwardly while putting up my hands. "For those who are angry about my most recent actions, all I can say is that I am sorry. I overestimated my willpower and I put everyone in danger...again." Everyone looked at me with a deadpan expression, which made me shrink a little. "Okay, well, I'm just going to go under deck now so I'm not a danger to everyone and everything with my presence." I finished that sentence a little bitterly and stormed underneath the deck, not caring to look at anyone anymore.

Underneath the deck, I moved towards a corner in one of the rooms and plopped down on a nearby crate, feeling like shit. At least Annabeth didn't slap me this time, since she probably had no room to talk and maybe could even understand why I had freaked out. But I won't lament any further, being down here gives me plenty of time to process what the Sirens had shown me.

The first two visions made sense, as seeing my mother again and my father crowning me a god was two things I could honestly say I wanted to happen. Being a god and having my mother alive once more would be everything I could ever wish for. But the last two visions were...er, questionable. Firstly, why had I had them? I didn't like either Nico or Taylor like that, at least I think I didn't like them like that. I wasn't gay as far as I knew.

But now that I think about it, when was the last time I felt like a female was hot? Well, there was...shit, I can't recall the last time. Maybe like Medusa or a monster chick or something? I'm not sure. Also, the weird feeling in my chest and how my heart skips a beat whenever I interact with either Nico or Taylor. No. I am not gay. I swear, I am not.

I only just find both of their hair really good looking, their faces really cute, their...shit, I am gay, am I? Shit. Unless the Sirens were just fucking with me, they showed me my deepest desire in my heart. Having my mother return, being a god and my father being proud of me, and apparently being gay. Huh.

That left my options apparently very limited when it comes to the future, huh? Cut out half of camp to account for the girls, since you know. I knew Taylor liked guys thanks to our conversation last night on the captain's deck, but apparently, he's got the hots for Arthur, the blond perfect looking prick. Maybe I now know why I don't like him.

So anyway, Taylor's out. I wouldn't lower myself to dating anyone outside of people I know, since I'm a little babyback bitch who thinks talking with people with the sole intent to to the dirty with them is kind of weird, so no one outside my friend group. I didn't know Nico's sexuality, and since he's from the 1930s, he'll probably not be very open to that kind of thing.

Percy, despite his good looks and cool personality, was too much like a brother or something for me to even consider. Plus, it was plain as day that he liked Annabeth, and I'm too much of a bro to even try to get in between those two. Dammit, this leaves me with virtually no options, huh? Well, I'm only thirteen now, and I should have plenty of time to find someone, I guess.

I don't know how long I spent under the deck thinking about all this weird crap, but it had to have been at least a couple of hours, or it at least felt like it. I was brought out of my thoughts by a tap on my shoulder, which was from Percy. "Hey, dude, we're coming up on Polyphemus' island in a couple of minutes. I suggest you get ready." I nodded my head, before resuming my gaze at the floor.

"Uh, are you okay, man?" Percy's voice was concerned. I looked back up at the son of Poseidon to see an expression on his face that matched his tone of voice. Now that I really looked at him, he was really good looking. His black hair with a green shine looked amazing, his near perfect Mediterranean tan almost glowed of his skin and his bright sea green eyes glowed at me brightly. Okay, I think I really am gay.

I didn't pay any attention to my stupid thoughts and answered the son of Poseidon. "Yeah, I'm good, man. Just thinking. Thanks for asking, though." Percy nodded at my answer and walked up the stair to the top deck. I stood up from my crate and sighed. The rest of this quest was going to be so awkward in my mind that I think I'm just going to kill myself. I joined the rest of my fellow demigods on the deck, ignoring their stares and looks and choosing to look out in the distance at what I assumed was Polyphemus' island.

The island was a green blotch of land in the middle of the sea, far larger than the Siren's island had been. White sandy beaches hugged the island along the coast, with forested hills and green meadows dotting the rest of the island. As we sailed towards the shoreline of the island, the smell of pure nature entered my nose. Everyone on the boat visibly reacted to the smell positively and I even felt much better. It must be the aura of the Golden Fleece. Annabeth did say it basically made the land thrive where it was located, so the idea made sense to me.

When we made landfall on the island, we docked the ship along the shoreline and all of us jumped out to hike towards the middle of the island. Taylor, as the leader of the quest, led our party as he was being advised by Annabeth where to go. Flashes of my visions on the island of the Sirens went through my mind and I remember the one with both me and Taylor. A red flush came up upon my face and I quickly shook the blood from my face.

We hiked for a few minutes through this island paradise that was the Isle of the Cyclops, and eventually camp upon a forest that surrounded a ravine. On the other side was a massive oak tree sitting in the middle of a clearing. On the branches of the tree was a golden shimmer. That was our target. "There!" Taylor shouted out, running to the edge of the ravine. In the middle of the chasm was an old stereotypical rope bridge, one that looked like it would collapse if any of us tried to step foot on it.

On the other side of the ravine was also dozens of hippo-sized sheep with razor sharp, giant evil looking teeth. The huge sheep things were probably the guardians of the Golden Fleece. They wouldn't be any problem. Taylor turned to me of all people in the group, trying his best to not look awkward. Why did he look like that? He's not the one who saw a vision of me kissing him. "Uh, Zane? Can you fly us across this gap?"

I nodded and floated in the air. I was about to reach Taylor to lift him off the ground and bring him to the other side, but I heard a slight shift behind a tree to our left. I turned my head towards the noise, alerting everyone else of it's source. I looked at Taylor while I conjured a little bit of lightning in my right hand, and the son of Ares nodded.

I nodded myself and shot the tree with a bolt of lightning, blasting it in two like a toothpick and sending a figure from behind the tree flying. The figure yelped in surprise and they slammed against the ground. Before they could recover, I vanished from my current location and appeared in front of them. I picked the person up by the collar of their shirt and lifted them above my head while floating in the air.

My eyes narrowed at the person. "Chris Rodriguez." The son of Hermes looked at me in fear while he tried his best to escape my grasp, to no avail. "What are you doing here, traitor?" I threw the son of Hermes to the ground, creating a small dent.

The son of Hermes hit the ground and groaned in pain. He tried to stand up, but I landed on the ground and placed my foot on his chest. Chris struggled and tried to escape, before finally realizing it was futile and giving up. He smirked at me, an expression to hide his fear. "Wouldn't you like to know, Mr. Second Coming of Heracles?"

I brought out a finger and shot a small bolt of lightning at him. The lightning collided with his face and he grunted in pain. My friends and other acquaintances surrounded the two of us, making it to where Chris absolutely had no chance to escape. I picked Chris up and slammed him against a tree, my friends making room for me as I walked through them with the traitor in my hands.

I got in Chris' face, and did my best to look threatening. I think it worked, with the way the son of Hermes cringed when I did so. "I'll give you one more chance before I really start hurting you. Why are you here and what are you and Luke planning!?"

I commanded the wind around me to shift a bit for dramatic effect, and lightning to spark from my hands, shocking the traitor a bit. "If you don't talk, I'll make sure you get an painful experience that you will never forget." I felt the auras of my allies become uneasy at my words, but I didn't care. You couldn't get info from an interrogation if you were too much of a bitch to get violent.

Chris spit in my face. "Go fuck yourself, Zane. I will never betray my brother." I wiped off the spit from my face with my left hand and looked at it with a contemplative look on my face. I then moved my hand to Chris' arm and twisted it, savagely breaking it like a Kit-Kat bar.

The son of Hermes screamed in pain and I threw him on the ground to the left a the tree he had been placed against. Chris tried to crawl away from me, before getting up and trying to run away. He was about to run smack right into Tyson, but I launched a bolt of lightning that collided with him and stopped him in his tracks. Chris fell back down to the floor, yelling in pain and I slowly approached the son of Hermes with a slow walk.

I lifted my hand and a small smile came upon my face. "I gave you a fair warning, Rodriguez. I asked one simple question and you spat in my face, literally. Now, then fun part begins." I left lightning come forth from my hand and the screaming begun. Chris convulsed on the ground as lightning left my hand and went towards him.

I felt like Emperor Palpatine, lightning flowing from my hand in waves and torturing the traitor before me. the smell of burnt flesh reached my nose and I smiled sadistically. "Ready to talk yet?" Chris opened his mouth to probably beg for mercy, but more lightning from me silenced him. Or I should say, made him even louder. I saw my allies look at me in fear and disgust as I tortured our prisoner, but I didn't care. I let the lightning up and asked, "How about now?"

Again I interrupted what the traitor was trying to say, having a hard time to not break out in laughter at the hilarity of the situation. Lightning scars started to form on Chris and his skin started to wrinkle slightly. Smoke was coming from his body and filling my nose. A hand came upon my shoulder. I turned back to see Annabeth with an angry look on her face. "What?"

Annabeth's face turned livid. "What do you mean 'What?'"Annabeth shouted, her voice struggling to be louder than my lightning. "Your torturing him! Not even for information, but for fun! Stop electrocuting him and just ask him the question again, you sadistic bastard!" I huffed, but did as she said.

A smile came upon my face and I grabbed Chris' hair, which had turned from sandy blonde to black from my lightning, and pulled his head up to my waist in my squatted position. He looked like he had aged forty years and had been branded by a weird ass brand across his entire body. His clothes were burning slightly, and his teeth were starting to melt a bit.

I chuckled a bit, not caring about the brutal sight. "Well, Chris. Maybe you'll be more inclined to answer now. Tell me, why are you here and what is Luke planning for us?" My tone was carefree and lighthearted.

It took the traitor a bit, as his tongue must have been really burned but eventually he croaked out, "L-Luke...se-sent me to s-spy on you...I w-was the s-scout for the o-operation. When y-you bring the F-Fleece back to y-your ship, we p-plan to ambush...y-you..." Chris' voice was raspy and croaking, thanks to the healthy does of lightning that he had absorbed for his insolence earlier.

I smiled cruelly. "You see, that wasn't so hard, was it, Chris? All you had to do was give me what I wanted and you wouldn't have ended up like...well...this." I gestured to his burnt, charred form that smelled like you put bacon in the microwave for way too long. Chris whimpered and probably would have started crying if his tear ducks hadn't been fried. I patted him on the head and chuckled softly. "Aw, don't worry, Chris. I'll do something that will make the pain all go away in an instant."

Chris looked up from the ground with his irritated eyes with a hopeful expression, but the expression turned into one of pain and fear when my hand grabbed his neck. His arm nerves were too damaged to even get his arms to even try to fight against mine. I pulled up in one swift move, removing Chris' head from his shoulders, along with his spine as well. Boiling, bubbled blood spewed from his head wound and his burnt, tortured corpse slumped against the ground, unmoving. "There you go. Simple as that."

I slammed his head in between my hands and smashed it like a water melon, spewing fried brain and blood all over them. I dusted the blood off my hands as I looked around at my group, horrified and wide-eyed expressions on their faces. I looked around, confused. "What?"

All was silent for a few seconds, with no one saying a word as they looked at the dead corpse that used to be Chris Rodriguez and me. "Are you serious?" I expected Annabeth to be the one to say something like that, but surprisingly, it was Percy. The son of Poseidon looked utterly furious and was shaking with rage. "You know, over the course of this quest, I've been turning a blind eye to your actions and even been giving you the benefit of the doubt. I thought you may end up changing your ways."

Percy's sea green eyes blazed with angry and stared directly into my electric blue ones. "But you just proved me wrong. You just proved to me that you're nothing but a murderer. You're a monster. You're nothing but a cold blooded killer and you're a threat to everyone around you." I could hardly believe these words were coming out of Percy's mouth. "I turned a blind eye when you killed that bus full of people last year, I turned a blind eye when you killed those tourists on the Princess Andromeda, I turned a blind eye when you killed that worker in the Monster Donut, I won't turn a blind eye here and now. You are nothing but a sadistic freak who hurts others for his own pleasure and you need to be put down before you end up killing us all."

Rage poured through my veins as I heard Percy verbally berate me for my past. How dare he question me and what I do? I entered my Thunder Form, blowing everyone around me away except for Percy, who enter his Earthshaker Form. I threw a lightning encased fist at the son of Poseidon, who met my attack with a rocky fist of his own.

Our colliding attack caused the trees around us the shake and the ground to crack. "You're attacking me now!?" Percy asked, a snarl on his watery face. "Go on then." He dropped his fist and held his arms out to his side. "Try to kill me then. Prove me right about how you're a murderer!"

I pulled my axe Keravnos from it's sheathe and charged it with lightning. I swung my axe in a wild arc towards Percy's torso, before stopping a few inches away. He wanted me to hurt him. He wanted to prove that I was a killer. The anger in my veins washed away as I truly absorbed Percy's words. I looked around at the expressions of my friends, who probably didn't want to be my friends at the moment. Nico and Taylor wouldn't meet my gaze, expressions of fear clear on their faces.

I felt like the biggest piece of shit in the entire universe. Anger rose, mostly at myself. I had to leave before I put anyone else in danger or I went berserk and killed someone. I dropped my Thunder Form and put Keravnos back in it's sheathe on my back. I looked up at the clear sky and commanded the wind to take me up there. I launched off the ground, creating a small shockwave among the crowd.

I didn't see the outcome of the wave as I was thousands of feet in the sky within seconds. I blasted through the air, creating sonic blasts as the anger towards myself increased exponentially. I eventually stopped tens of thousands of feet in the air, Polyphemus' lush, green island a small blip to me down below.

I racked my brain, trying to find out where I went wrong. When had I become such a monster? Maybe it began when those Laestrygonians killed and ate my mother. I think that's where everything went to shit. Before that happened, I was just a normal kid who went to school like everyone else.

When both Jacob and my mother died, That's when I felt less...stable or grounded to reality. Maybe I was always fucked up from the get-go? Maybe all the power and fame of being a son of Zeus went to my head and I've grown arrogant and murderous? Even if it's any of those, it can't be my fault, though! If I was born this way, it's just genetics!

If I got messed up from those Laestrygonians, then it's those fucking monster's fault, not mine! And If it's from getting big-headed from all the power and glory, it's still not my fault then! Everyone, even gods get big-headed from power and glory, yet nobody blames then for anything.

But I'm not responsible for their actions. I'm responsible for my own. If I was born messed up, it's still my fault for surrendering to my nature instead of striving to be better. If my mother's death caused my mental problems, I am still at fault for not seeking help and trying to control my impulses. And so what if the gods and other heroes got big headed thanks to power? I should strive to be better than them and not allow myself to fall to hubris and arrogance.

What happened to the normal boy that was Zane Williams? Why did I allow myself to become so...evil, if I must say it. How could I just brutally torture and kill someone like that? I thought about all the people I've murdered in the past year. The people on the bus, possibly some people in the Lotus Hotel, that bellhop, those mind controlled guards and tourists on the Princess Andromeda, that worker in the Monster Donut and finally Chris Rodriguez.

Perhaps some of them deserved to die, but why had I killed them so callously and brutally, without a care in the world? Was I truly becoming like the gods back in Ancient Greece? The gods who would casually ruin and destroy the lives of mortals for their own petty enjoyment and games. How was I supposed to get better and change my ways after all I've done? How was I supposed to face the people I cared about?

How was I supposed to look Taylor in the eye and say I'm truly sorry about the death and destruction I've caused? How was I supposed to say I'm sorry for constantly putting him in danger? How was I supposed to say I'm sorry for being a murderous, arrogant asshole? According to my visions from the Sirens, if they were accurate, I apparently like Taylor, in a non-platonic way if I'm saying that right. I still don't even know how to feel about that, but right now Taylor is probably feeling nothing for me at the moment.

Taylor didn't even like me anyway, since he had eyes for that Arthur dude, who even while reflecting on myself, I can confidently say I don't like. Anyway, how am I supposed to apologize to the son of Ares for crimes most people would get chills just for repeating? I've probably killed more than one hundred and fifty innocent people doing shit that could have easily been avoided.

How was I supposed to tell Nico I'm sorry? Hell, I've been telling him sorry for this entire quest for my brutal actions. Was I supposed to go, 'Hey Nico. I know I've been saying I'm sorry for the past two days because I keep fucking up and not changing, but I'm really, really sorry this time. I promise I'll definitely change my ways after this most recent murder.'

That sounds pathetic in my head, so no doubt it will sound pathetic out loud as well. Nico was also some I apparently liked as well, thanks to the Siren's visions. I could go into the fact how Nico would probably hate me thanks to his 1930s upbringing in Italy, but now I know he'll hate me for constantly breaking my promises to be better and murdering people with no remorse. How am I supposed to fix this? Will I eventually lose my shit and kill him, too?

The worst one was how I was supposed to apologize to Percy. I cringed just thinking about how that would go. Percy lost his shit whenever I killed Chris Rodriguez, having enough of my shit after putting up with my homicidal tendencies for the entire quest. While Annabeth had called me out whenever I committed an atrocity, Percy had stayed silent, letting his annoyance and outrage at my actions fester.

Apologizing to him would probably be the hardest thing to do in my entire life and I've fought both Hyperion and Ares up front. Trust me, I'd rather fight both of them at the same time with no Thunder Form than have to confront Percy once more after he blew up on me. How was I supposed to apologize to Percy who, up until about five minutes ago, was my best friend?

I basically almost cut him in half after he called me out in a rage, so I don't think I could face him. I couldn't work this shit out on my own. "Father..." I spoke aloud in the sky, which was now a raging thunderstorm in every direction as far as the eye could see. I could feel the thunderstorm rage across the entire planet. This is shit that Percy was just yelling at me for.

I created a thunderstorm on complete accident while ranting at myself. I closed my eyes and breathed in and out. I needed help at the moment. "What should I do right now? How can I prove to them that I will change? How can I prove to myself that I will change?"

I wasn't exactly expecting a response to my question, as my father was a god, but to my incredible surprise, I actually got one. "Well first, my son, is that you need to understand that change is not easy." I turned my head to the left and found the source of the voice. My father, in all his glory, floated alongside me in the clouds.

He wore a white and gold toga with his golden sandals. His hair was long and pulled back down to his shoulders, very similar to mine. His beard was black with grey streaks resembling lightning bolts throughout it. He looked very similar to how he did in my vision with the Sirens several hours prior, only now he held the Master Bolt in his right hand.

The blazing cylinder of power incarnate sparkled with lightning, illuminating the clouds around us. Zeus was looking off in the distance at the raging storm clouds as if he was looking at a peaceful meadow in the sunlight. "I would know that better than most."

What the hell? "Father!? You're actually here? How are you here?" I thought there was some sort of Ancient Laws or Rule that forced the gods to not interact with their children for some stupid, retarded reason like The Fates throwing a hissy fit or something. How was my father, the king of Olympus and all the gods, here talking to me? Didn't he have a lot more important things to do that talk to his arrogant, murderous son?

Zeus turned his gaze from the clouds to me, a proud smile upon his face. It was weird looking at his face, as he looked not a day over the age of thirty. Most statues and art depicted the king of the gods as an older or even elderly man, but my father looked much younger than he did in those. His electric blues eyes twinkled. "Hello there, my son."

He chuckled at my previous words. "Yes, I am here. Normally the Ancient Laws would prohibit most gods from seeing their demigod children, but I am quite a bit above most gods wouldn't you say?" His face became serious as his eyes focused on me. "You are troubled, my son. Tell me the source of your woes." I'm pretty sure he knew why I was so troubled, but I decided to tell him anyway.

I told him about how much of an asshole I had been, how I had been a brutal murderer with no regret for my actions, and how I constantly broke my promise on how I would change after I was called out for my brutal actions. I told my father that I wanted to change, and I wanted to apologize. I asked him how to do these things after everything I've done.

Zeus was quiet for a bit, mulling over my words. Finally, my father spoke. "I've been in your position before, Zane. I've done things I'm not proud of. I had no idea how to apologize and right my wrongs. But after everything I've learned over the years, the most important thing to do is to be consistent."

I shook my head. "But that's the problem with everything, father. I constantly keep going back on my word. I keep saying I'll change to my friends and that I'll do better, but I always fail them and myself." What was my father talking about when he said he was in my position before? When had he ever done any wrong?

Zeus smiled, like one would smile at a child doing something wrong. "My son, tell me, have you truthfully tried to change your ways when you made those promises?" My silence was a better answer than any words would have been. "See? That's one of the roots of your problem. You are stubborn and do not wish to change your ways, even if they would benefit you."

Zeus' face turned somber and he looked away, as if remembering something. "That's a problem I had long ago. It was something that cause much pain and suffering to mortals. You must learn to adapt and to change with the rest of the world. Thanks to my pig-headedness, I cost our entire pantheon the position of the most powerful pantheon in the universe."

Zeus' somber expression faded, and he turned back to me. "That's a story for another day, however. What you must learn now, my son, is putting effort into changing your ways. It's not easy, as even beings like you and me tend to become comfortable with their way and don't like to change it. It's even harder to stay on the path of change. You will feel the temptation to slide back into your old ways more than anything else, to give in to your nature and hurt everything around you. You must control your impulses in order to get a grip on yourself and better yourself for the well being of other. It's a hard path, trust me. But it is rewarding. It will bring benefits to not just you, but to everyone around you. The question is, are you ready to embark on this personal journey?" My father finished with a question.

I was silent for a bit, pondering my answer. I want to say yes, as I didn't want to destroy things with my friends and allow my bonds I've forged to wither and die. But was I ready or even able to undertake the task of changing who I am for everyone around me. A flash of both Nico and Taylor entered my mind, their smiles burned into my memory. I nodded at my father's question. "Yes. I'm ready to do it."

My father smiled and his electric blue eyes flashed a bit. "Good. Remember, the hardest part is sticking with the decision to change your ways. But if you can do this, you can do anything." An aura flashing down from Polyphemus' island caught both of our attention. The aura felt like Hyperion's, just less...fiery. Another aura flared, feeling very similar.

There had to be at least two Titans down there then, and all my friend's had down there was Percy to defend them. I needed to get down there and help out right away. Zeus smirked down at the island and gestured to it. "I suppose you can start right away. Go help your friends and change your ways, my son." I nodded at my father and drew Keravnos from my back.

Before I could charge down at the island, my father spoke. "Before you go, I want you to understand this, Zane. I'm proud of you and you are my son. Never forget that." After saying those words, Zeus dissolved into a burst of wind, disappearing from view. I couldn't stop a wide grin from coming up onto my face and I could feel my eyes sting a bit.

"Thanks, dad." With those words, I dropped from the sky down towards the ground. I felt the wind shoot past my face as the island came closer and closer to me. I hit around three thousand feet in altitude and I noticed dozens of monsters flying in the air.

Griffons, Hippogriffs, Harpies, Stymphalian Birds and even a medieval style giant dragon charged me in the air. I smirked. This was going to be fun. I slashed Griffons and Harpies to bits as I flew from the sky. I dodge a swarm of murder birds that rushed me, before turning around an incinerating them with a burst of lightning.

A Hippgriff tried to gore me as it flew directly in my path, but I caught the monster by it's beak and crushed it's head in one movement. A harpy came out of nowhere and tried to claw my eyes out, but a slash directly into it's forehead from Keravnos stopped it in it's flight and turned it to golden dust in an instant.

Another swarm of Stymphalian Birds tried to swarm me, but I let a burst of lightning out in every direction, killing the birds instantly. I finally reached the dragon, which tried to incinerate me with it's fire breath. I barreled through the fire like it was nothing and slammed Kervanos into it's neck. I continued to fall, dragging my axe through it's body and splitting it open like a Thanksgiving turkey. I saw the ground rapidly approaching, and I prepared to land.

I saw Percy fighting two beings who seemed to be made completely out of stardust. One of them was made entirely out of glowing yellow stardust and purple space-like void stuff. They stood at least ten feet tall and were shooting pure starlight energy from their hands at Percy, who was in his Earthshaker Form with a water shield around our entire group.

The other being to the first one's right was also seemingly made out of stardust, but instead, this one was more purple and black rather than gold and yellow like the first one. Instead of shooting energy, this being was creating massive boulders from seemingly nothing and flinging them at Percy's shield. Percy was sweating, which was weird to see in his Earthshaker Form.

He was struggling to hold back the might of both of these beings, and his knees were shaking almost to the point of buckling. All of my other demigod friends were looking like they were about to prepare for their final breathe. Behind both of the ten feet tall space like beings, was the traitor son of Hermes, Luke Castellan. He had his blade Backbitter drawn, but he was just standing there watching the fight, a stupid fucking grin on his face. Percy's shield eventually shattered, and a beam of light energy and spikes made from metal flew at him and our group. Time to stop this.

I transformed directly into my Thunder Form right as I was about to touched the ground, creating the signature Boom! sound. The ground underneath my person cracked, and I smashed into the ground of the island, creating a massive crater. I immediately pushed up both of my arms, creating a barrier made out of both wind and lightning.

The attacks of both of the beings slammed into my shield, making me tense a bit in exertion, but otherwise doing nothing to it. I swung Keravnos towards the massive space guys, creating a powerful wall of lightning and wind, blowing both them back. Luke saw the attack coming and predictably vanished into thin air, reappearing behind the attack in front of the two beings. The son of Hermes snarled at my entrance. "Zane." (End Song)

I threw my axe up on my shoulder, the lightning of my form sparkling. I grinned at the son of Hermes. "Miss me?"

(000)

And done. That's chapter thirteen y'all. Anyway, be prepared for a long author's note, because I got a good bit to talk about. First off, to anyone who thought this chapter was a little wack, I agree with you in my opinion. I feel like my tone was a little all over the place and the whole Taylor being revealed as gay this early came out of left field, even to me. I don't even know where it came from, it just happened lol. Same thing with the whole Sirens thing, too. It just happened, completely improvised. That's my own personal problem with the chapter, as I don't like to improvise important plot points. I usually have a general basis on what I'm doing and just improvise the non important shit, like cutting Procrustes out of Lightning Thief because Zane and Percy beat the shit out of those teenagers who were trying to mug them. Both the Siren scene and Taylor pretending to like Arthur in order to make Zane jealous literally just came to me and I wrote them down. So if this chapter is a little wack, that's probably the reason. Also, I noticed a problem with my own dialogue, where I'll say something in one sentence, and then say something not exactly related in another. Anyway, if this chapter is kinda shit, I'm sorry. This whole story is a journey and my journey is to get better. Also, about Luke and his company being on Polyphemus' island, if you read the book you know that only happened in the movie lol. I didn't bother having the team go to the mainland just to run into them. As Chris Rodriguez said, or at least I think he said, Luke followed them somehow to the Sea of Monsters and ambushed them on the island with his company.

Also, try to guess who the titans are. Anyway, if you'll keep reading after this, I'll see you in the next chapter. Bye!