Stalker.

"Percy."

Percy's eyes slowly opened up. The room was impossibly white, to the point where he could not tell where the walls turned into a ceiling.

Or maybe it was because the walls were curved. That too.

"Percy."

His eyes gradually focused on the figure in front of him, but eventually closed them to block the light. Despite how painful the lighting was, he didn't need to see who spoke to know who she was.

"Hestia? Where are we?"

He felt a hand on his forehead. "You are in one of Apollo's temples. Between all the stress of fighting Ares and repairing those memories of yours, you need rest."

"After..."

Hestia's silence was all the confirmation he needed that he had beat Ares. That his quest to find the bolt happened.

That his mom was dead.

"I'm sorry, Percy," she whispered. "But she was gone long before you were brought here."

His lip trembled. "Who brought me?"

"Poseidon."

Poseidon. God of the seas. His father.

"It's a miracle you're alive," continued Hestia. She placed some glass shards in his right palm.

"What's this?"

"A broken vial of Gorgon blood. Whatever attack tore a clean hole through your clothes also broke this. Gorgon blood can heal anything. How you managed to obtain some is beyond me."

Percy said nothing, before forcing his eyes open again. Wincing against the bright lights, he turned to face his palm.

Slowly he rolled his fingers over the broken glass shards. Medusa's final gift to him, before she was torn apart by Echidna.

Alecto. Medusa. Megaera. Tisiphone. Sally.

All people who had tossed their lives away for him to survive one week.

He gripped the glass shards harder, drawing blood from his palm. Hestia was startled and prepared to tend to the wound, but held back when she saw him shaking.

"Can..." whispered Percy, swallowing. "Can I see dad?"


Poseidon was a fisherman.

Fitting for the god of the sea, he supposed.

The two sat in silence for several minutes after the god walked in, unsure of what to say first. Nevertheless, it was Percy who broke the ice.

"Why?"

Poseidon said nothing.

Percy looked directly at him. "Why didn't you step in to save me or mom? Why didn't you tell me about who I was all my life? Why didn't you get us out of our tiny apartment in Manhattan?"

"Percy-"

"Why did you pick me up but not mom?" Percy sat up, agitated. "Why are you in a war with Zeus but can't save your own damn son from him? Why is all this happening to me? Why was I, was mom and I, alone?!"

Poseidon closed his eyes. His chest rose and fell as he took deep breaths. When his eyes opened again, he just spoke three words.

"I failed you."

Just three words, and the god spoke no more. No act of comfort, no apology.

Just three words made Percy's blood boil more than Ares himself.

"'Failed me?'" he hissed. "What does that mean?

"Your mother was a queen among women. I wanted to take her to the safety of my kingdom, but she refused. She said she wanted a normal life. For her. For you."

Percy gave a bitter laugh. "Oh, so now you're blaming mom. Who died protecting me. That's rich. Screw you!"

"That's not what-"

"What you meant? What the hell do you mean then?" demanded Percy. "You didn't step into my life because my life should be normal. What were you doing then when my life stopped being normal?"

"I-"

"You knew," spat the demigod. "I gave up my damn dinners to you. You claimed me. And for what? Why is Zeus allowed to mess with me and send a goddess on my butt, but my own dad can't do so much as give me a free cab ride? Freaking monsters did more for me than you!"

The god locked eyes with Percy, and for a moment, Percy felt himself falling backwards, as though he was back in that fountain - floating down amidst rushing water, submerged but still breathing. Above the surface of the water, he saw storms, waves dozens of feet tall, lightning crackling against the masts of hapless ships.

And then, he was back in his room.

"Zeus has been aggrieved," Poseidon responded quietly. "It is his stage to set. I did not want to give him any more reason to consider killing you."

"Even after he tried to do so?"

A weak smile tugged at the edge of Poseidon's lips. "Yes, I suppose so. Not my best moment."

Percy stared at him in disbelief. Rage boiled within him at how light the god seemed to be taking the situation. His mom was dead. He had a scar the size of Ares's fist through his stomach.

And all his dad could say was it wasn't his best moment?

A storm of thoughts screamed through his head, all screaming to lash out against Poseidon. Begging to vent out, to bury the god under a hurricane of words.

But a hand on his left wrist, on the bracelet he received before he left camp, washed them all away.

He looked up at the culprit - Hestia. Her eyes were now clearly more than just fiery red - they were fire itself. Though she still looked like a young girl, her face had more mature contours to it, so much so that he swore if he stared hard enough, he could see the outline of his mom's face.

Despite not saying a word, he could tell what Hestia wanted. And so he took a deep breath.

Right. There was a promise to keep.

"Medusa says hello."

Poseidon gave him a confused look. "Sorry?"

"Medusa," repeated Percy, frowning. "Says hello."

The god blinked. "I... see?"

Something snapped inside Percy. All the anger that Hestia managed to dispel came roaring back in full force, and hatred dripped from his next words.

"'I see,' he says. Tell me, dad, what the fuck do you see?"

Poseidon shook his head. "I don't understand what you mean. You said Medusa said hello."

"And that's all?" he exploded. "That's all you respond with? You don't care! You never did!"

"Percy, I do-"

"No, you don't," accused the demigod. "If you did, you would have helped me. Helped mom, when stupid Ares buried a knife in her chest! Helped Medusa, who died saving me from Chimera! "

The god tried to protest but Percy ignored him. "You care, you care! Fine! Tell me what you DO care about!"

Poseidon tensed up, and for a moment, Percy could see his knuckles harden. "My family, Percy. My wife, my-"

"I see," sneered Percy. "'Family.' Then what was mom or Medusa to you? Just a snack? What, was your family not enough for you? Triton not a good enough kid for you?"

"Enough," warned Poseidon. Despite his anger, Percy held his tongue at the god's tone. "I can tolerate your rage directed at me, but do not bring my wife or my son into this."

Against his better judgment, the demigod scoffed. "I see. You'll protect a god from your mistake of a kid, but not a demigod from your brother."

Poseidon's voice lost the bite in it. "Percy, you're not a mistake."

"Go away." Without letting his dad get another word in, he turned around and pulled the covers over his head.

He felt the two's stares lingering on him, before he heard a sigh and one left. A warm hand rested on his head. Just like-

Mom.

He closed his eyes and for the first time in what felt like forever, the son of Poseidon cried.


One week. He had one week to recover.

Almost ten percent of his summer vacation. Time he could have spent on the beach, or doing a summer job, or shoplifting.

Normal kid stuff.

But what was a week to a god? The time it took for a party to end? How long they slept? The time between every blink?

What did seven days mean to a god that was thousands and thousands of years old, if not older?

"That is what the gods want you to believe. That your life is meaningless before them, that you are but a speck of dust. You are not worthy of their disgust, let alone their respect. You are nothing."

The voice had slipped into his dreams while he had been resting on Olympus, and as much as he'd wanted to get rid of it... it wasn't wrong.

Ares had toyed with them. Artemis had barely been scathed against two Furies. Zeus gave him conflicting demands and expected both to be fulfilled. Poseidon didn't bother to step in for him but stepped in when he had mocked the god's son.

Even Hades, maybe the one Olympian that had treated him with respect, was an impossibly different being from him. He'd felt a world of difference between the two of them, that of a god and a demigod, when Hades had bowed his head in respect.

It had felt less like a businessman bowing down and more like a mountain.

And so many of these mountains wanted him dead.

"Percy."

The demigod was brought out of his thoughts by the gentle voice of Hestia. He'd grown accustomed to her help, having given up so much of his memories to fuel the Lethe.

Maybe the memory of his first steps wasn't such a good idea.

"Hestia."

"Hmm?"

He turned to face her directly, but her head was still down as she folded his clothes. "Who... are you?"

She paused briefly before resuming. "I help."

And that was the end of that conversation. He'd tried a few more times to get her to open up, but the mysterious woman remained tight-lipped, settling for short answers to avoid giving away too much information.

"Do you hate me?"

She looked at him and blinked. "What gives you that idea?"

"You don't seem like you trust me." She pursed her lips.

"I do trust you," she conceded. "But I am not important, least of all to someone like you. We should prepare you for your visit with Zeus."

Zeus. No title, no honorific. Just Zeus.

From what he could remember, almost everyone referred to the Olympians with titles. The only ones he remembered that didn't were Styx and-

"-Hades," he breathed out.

Hestia gave him a curious look. "Hmm?"

He stared at her for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Nevermind, let's just get this over with."


Walking through Olympus was nerve-wracking.

Every denizen should have been a god or otherwise mythological figure, and he could feel it.

Stalkers.

His senses screamed at him that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of beings living on Olympus.

And he could feel every pair of eyes that stared at him.

There were no friends with him. Grover, Katie, Annabeth - all of them had been taken back to camp, according to Hestia.

There was only him, his sword, whoever Hestia really was, and the stupid bolt-in-a-bag.

The streets of Olympus were lively once, he could tell. Stalls and buildings filled the domain with such an aura of wealth, that he could have sworn that a simple altar would have cost more to make than an entire year's worth of rent back at home.

Here was the disparity of splendor between god and mankind. That even the simplest table could house someone for a month, to say less of buildings like Apollo's temple, chiseled out of marble and so, so much gold.

While his mom was struggling to support him in Manhattan, married to Gabe, here were buildings that a queen among women like her should have lived in.

And they were empty.

The shops and meeting areas may have had scores of gods just staring at him, but the temples and houses they passed by were deserted. No one was watching from within.

Nobody was inside them.

It sickened him.

"It's beautiful," he sighed. Hestia glanced at him.

"You don't seem very impressed, Percy."

"How... often do the gods live in their mansions and temples?"

She tilted her head. "These are just for decoration. Gods go as they please. You'd be more likely to find them in your world, experiencing what cultures humans have developed."

Decoration.

He clenched his teeth but said nothing. Perhaps the voice in his head was right.

That they, that he meant nothing to the gods.

So why was he still alive?

Soon, they came across the doors to the largest building, surrounded by walls that shimmered like the night sky and doors that dwarfed the two.

"The Olympian Council lies beyond here," said Hestia. She laid a hand on the doors and, slowly, they swung open.

Hestia offered Percy a hand. Without a second thought, he grabbed it, and the two walked in.

It was... a throne room. One with a big fire in the center, but a throne room.

Twelve thrones, lined up in a reverse U shape, and nothing else.

Percy wanted to laugh at how absurd it was that such a massive building was there to just hold twelve glorified chairs.

Every seat had someone on it, save one. Each one was impossibly radiant, some shining with so many jewels that Percy wasn't sure he could earn in entire lifetimes, and others with materials he was pretty sure didn't exist on Earth.

And in the middle of the U shape, right next to Poseidon, was an imposing man, easily over a dozen feet tall, looming over them on a throne made of platinum. Clad in a business suit and sporting a beard that flickered every so often, Percy knew in his gut who it was.

Zeus.

Anger. Confusion. Frustration. Hatred. Fear.

All these and more flooded Percy's head as he looked up at the king of the gods, who was staring down with a scowl that threatened to turn the demigod into a pile of dust just for standing in front of him.

And yet, he stayed standing. And kept looking up.

The two remained at their stalemate for a few minutes, before Zeus broke the silence.

"So," he said. "You do not bow."

Percy opened his mouth but found he could not speak while under Zeus's glare.

"Well? Kneel."

An immense pressure slammed down on Percy's shoulder, making him stumble. Gritting his teeth, he caught his balance and forced himself back up, glaring back at the god.

Lightning flashed through Zeus's eyes. "I said kneel."

The pressure grew heavier, but this time, he was prepared. Percy squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and remained standing.

"No," he spat out.

Thunder boomed in the distance, and the air grew tense as the gods muttered among themselves, eyes darting between Percy and Zeus.

"You steal my weapon," whispered Zeus, getting off the throne. "Defy my orders, kill my son, and disrespect me in my own home?"

"I didn't take your stupid bolt!" yelled Percy. He unslung his bag and tossed it at the base of Zeus's throne. "Here!"

A few gasps escaped the surrounding gods at his action, but Zeus ignored them. Instead, he bent down, gently picking up the bag between two fingers, before crushing it, causing a violent boom. He opened his hand, and a blue lightning bolt crackled into existence, easily dwarfing Percy in size.

Zeus looked at it for a second before walking up to Percy. "Give me your blood."

The demigod stared for a second before taking out Anaklusmos. He glanced at Zeus. He thought about stabbing the god, to get revenge for every single miserable day the god had put him through, the person who caused the events that lead to his mom dying-

-but he stopped as Hestia's bracelet gave off a warm sensation. It calmed him, pushing back against the waves of hatred threatening to spill out of his mind.

And so he brought down the blade, gently, nicking his palm, and offering the beads of blood to Zeus.

Zeus shrunk down to a little over six feet tall and touched Percy's blood almost reverently - Percy swore he could see the god's finger shaking as it neared it. Upon touching it, the god's eyes flashed blue and his face hardened.

After a few moments of silence, Zeus finally spoke. "So. It is not your essence that taints my weapon."


"It would appear I am in the wrong this time," sighed Zeus, once the ruckus had died down. "Let us see..."

He sat back on his throne, and a scale appeared in his palm.

"The offenses levied against you are the following: theft of a symbol of power, ignoring the demands of a god, killed a god, entered my domain without permission, and violating hospitality."

With each accusation, the scale tipped more towards the left with invisible weight, ending with it nearly touching Zeus's hand.

Percy opened his mouth to protest but-

Stalker.

A wave of anxiety washed over him as an intense gaze focused on him. His eyes darted towards the source.

Artemis.

Chills ran down Percy's spine. The memory of how she trounced him was still fresh in his mind. He remembered how her knife slid smoothly into Megaera's body, how she detonated Tisiphone right on top of him, of how he could barely touch her.

And yet, Percy felt a rush of excitement. He knew how to hurt gods now, and he was itching to fight the goddess again.

Zeus's voice distracted him from his thoughts. "However, it is apparent that several of these charges should be dropped.

"First," he declared. "You have not stolen the bolt." The left side of the scale rose up slightly.

"Second, I have been informed that you were not informed of my demands in a reasonable timeframe. I shall deal with this personally, but you are not the party at fault here.

"Third," continue Zeus. "You killed Ares. However, I have been told that you fought in self-defense. We shall strike this charge.

"Fourth, given the circumstances, I will remove the next charge as you were found in a critical condition and may not have survived long enough to petition for permission.

"And finally, the last charge," declared the god. He locked eyes with Percy.

"In light of new evidence, your behavior is entirely justifiable. For that, I shall pardon you."

Percy blinked. The scale had slowly righted itself up, balancing without a single tremble on Zeus's hand. He'd proven his innocence.

He'd wo-

"However," said Zeus."There is one final thing that you are most certainly guilty of."

Blue lightning flashed in his eyes again and the bolt replaced the scale in his right hand. "Child of Poseidon, a broken oath. Your very existence is a threat to us all. I see no reason not to strike you down right here and now."

A few gasps rang out among the council, though fewer than Percy would have liked. A quick scan of the gods showed that a few Olympians weren't even paying attention - some yellow dude had earbuds plugged in, a silver guy was fooling around with a phone, and yet another was just... reading a book.

"You are nothing."

Percy moved to retort but then-

"Enough, brother."

All eyes turned to the speaker. The man who sat next to Zeus.

Poseidon.

"You broke the oath," accused the god. "And yet, you still think you have a right to speak on the matter?"

Poseidon made eye contact with Percy for a split second before staring back at Zeus. "I do."

Zeus's nostrils flared. He opened his mouth as if to yell, but a touch of the hand from the woman sitting next to him cut him off. He took a deep breath.

"Speak then."

"I stood silent when you sent Pallas to attack my son and his wife," began Poseidon. He stood up and walked towards Percy. "I stood silent when you declared war on my house and made us Olympians draw factions. I stood silent as you sent the Echidna and her spawn after him. I stood silent as he fought one of our number and lived to tell the tale."

The god stopped right behind Percy and glared defiantly at Zeus. "And yet, despite accomplishing everything you have demanded, you want to kill my son? Do you expect me to stand silent now?"

Zeus's face hardened. "Watch your tone, Poseidon."

Poseidon's eyes gained a murky hue. "I. Think. Not."

The throne room shook with an earthquake, and while Percy and several gods lost their balance, bother Poseidon and Zeus remained still, watching each other's moves.

And then... Percy saw it.

Poseidon's right side... wasn't Poseidon. It looked like Hades, but it wasn't him either.

It was both. It was neither.

It was the Poseidon that he'd seen through Hades's eyes.

Zeus's lips curled into a sneer. "So. Even a fool king like you can still wake up."

He stood up, blinding white light spilling out of his eyes. "Po-se-da-o! Shall I take this as your own declaration of war?"

Poseidon/Po-se-da-o just nodded. A trident appeared in his right hand, a simple iron weapon.

The two walked towards each other, weapons at the ready. The air grew thick with tension, ozone smothering Percy's nose as Zeus's bolt crackled in a multitude of energy.

And then Artemis jumped down.

"That's enough!" she barked, holding the two back with outstretched palms. "You both are talking about this as though you own his life!"

"He is my/this-one's son," said Poseidon/Po-se-da-o. His voice sounded as though two people were speaking, Poseidon and a much older version of himself. "Do I/this-one not have authority here?"

The goddess shook her head. "Not anymore. His life is in the hands of another now."

Her gaze swiveled to Zeus. "Isn't that right, father?"

Zeus stared at her, raw power still leaking from his eyes, before the light dimmed. "Ah. Yes. Collateral."

The god turned to Poseidon/Po-se-da-o. "His life is Styx's."

The stoic face of the god (gods?) cracked. "You sold my/this-one's son to her?!"

"You broke the oath," reminded Zeus. The edge left his eyes and suddenly, Percy saw him not as a dignified god-

-but a very tired dad.

"And the debt must be repaid."

He looked up and raised his left hand. With a snap of his fingers, an Iris Message appeared.

"Ask Styx to visit the throne room. Permission granted for her to enter," he said.

Not a moment after he cut off the connection, the doors to the throne room blasted open. A wave of hatred and fury washed over Percy and his heart began pounding. Sweat began forming almost instantly, his breathing became panicked, and he forced himself to gulp.

A hand touched his again. Hestia's. Though the act helped lighten the stress, she continued and squeezed his hand gently, allowing him to clear his thoughts up.

"Styx-" began Zeus, but the Titaness cut him off.

"How dare thee," she hissed. "How dare thee take what is rightfully mine."

Black liquid began pooling up from the cracks in the ground. "This child is mine thrice over. And thee dares to take his life in front of me!"

Thunder boomed right above them, and Percy noted that even Zeus seemed to wince a little. "I had forgotten. Rest assured we will not kill him."

"No, Zeus," spat Styx. "Far too long, have I endured thy arrogance. Far too long have I allowed thee to renege on thy promises. Twice over thee has broken thy oath, thrice now thee has failed to maintain thy promises sworn upon me."

Zeus failed to come up with a response, so she continued. "I was thy first follower, thy most loyal of them all. It was I who convinced countless other Titans to not get involved. Had it not for me, thy rebellion would have been doomed from the start. And yet thee treats me an excuse.

"No more," she declared. "No more shall the House of Styx endure such humiliation. I shall see to it that we will never lend aid to Olympus's banner again."

She gave a knowing look at Artemis, then at Hestia. Her eyes darted down to Hestia's hand on Percy's for a moment before pulling him away from the goddess.

"Come, godling."

Black water began to immerse the two. As it rose, Poseidon/Po-se-da-o walked up to the duo.

"Styx/Titan-"

"Silence," interrupted the Titaness. "You above all know the consequences of breaking my oaths. I will deal with you personally on another date."

Before the god could get another word in, the black water of the Styx fully engulfed him and the Titaness, and dragged him below the ground.


It was cold. And hot. And cold. And painful. And dark.

And the only other thing he could feel was Styx's cold, death-like hand grasping his wrist.

And yet, despite all this, he could tell, from a very familiar explosion of anxiety, that they were far from alone in those murky waters.

Stalkers.

Thousands of eyes, hidden in the polluted Styx River, were watching him, behind wreckages, scattered diplomas, and all sorts of unfulfilled dreams.

And then, they were all gone, as the river dropped the two of them at its Underworld shores.

"Forgive me, demigod," started Styx, dipping her feet in her waters. "I have shown you something... unpleasant."

Percy shook his head. "You saved me from being executed by Zeus. Thank you. Even though you've only known me for a little bit, you've done so much for me."

Styx tilted her head slightly. Without warning, her left hand gripped Percy's neck.

"I did not help you out of sentimental value, boy," she cautioned. "I helped you because you are my property. My prize. It would be a permanent stain on my honor if I could not protect my most recent possession from those upstart Olympians."

"But you did help," countered Percy, unconcerned with the divine hand around his throat. "And that's more than what even dad did for me. Thank you."

The Titaness studied his face for a few seconds, before she released him, opting to retreat back into her waters.

"I'm serious," continued Percy. "I would have died a lot of times if it wasn't for you. Thank you. Really."

Styx paused, before submerging up to her head in the river.

"From this day forward, you will no longer be a child of the living, but a child of the house of Styx. I will permit you 24 hours to settle your affairs in the mortal world. Make it count."

Percy thought for a bit before snapping his finger. He knew what he had to do first.

"Bring me to Luke Castellan."


That should wrap up some loose ends for now. Now excuse me as I quietly dip out for a week or so to go back to uni and maybe restart genshin for the eleventh billion time.

On a side note, happy Percy's birthday, August 18th, from me and the rest of the Emerald Library.