Chapter 50

Pulling Back the Cloak

I found him in Pagomenos's treasure room, counting up golden coins.

It was a pretty little chamber, connected by a door to the main throne room. Chests had been stacked on shelves, full of money and goods. A fountain cascaded slowly in a corner. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, glittering, and one wall was covered by beautiful oil paintings.

With the mood I was in, it might as well have been a dump.

As soon as I entered I shut the door behind me. "Hey."

Prometheus turned. He had a clipboard out, and one of the chests was open in front of him to take inventory. When he saw me, he smiled. "Percy. That took longer than expected. Did you have fun catching up with Luke?"

"You knew."

His smile faded. "Pardon? Knew what?" He looked at me closer. "And… you look a bit dirty. Is everything alright?"

"Not even slightly. You have no idea how awful I feel right now. So just tell me. Why'd you do it?"

His face was the perfect picture of confusion. I didn't care. I'd known him too long to trust whatever emotion he'd picked to show.

"I can't believe I didn't see it earlier. I came to you for help. Did that crack you up? Were you trying not to laugh as I asked who the Cloaked Man could be?"

"I don't know what brought this on, but I assure you, Percy, I never once made light of your troubles."

I laughed bitterly. "How could you not, when it was you the whole time. I was asking the culprit who he thought could've done it."

Prometheus's confusion cleared up. It didn't turn to guilt like I expected. He tossed his clipboard aside, then walked right in front of me, completely serious.

"This is a misunderstanding," he said, "and we will get to the bottom of it, step by step. Explain it to me."

I tried to stay mad, and mostly I succeeded. But I couldn't deny his matter-of-fact tone calmed me down a little.

"There's only a few people it could've been," I said. "The Cloaked Man knew too much to be some grunt, or someone working for the gods. They knew exactly where we would be. Whenever we fell behind schedule, they knew that, too. Down to the day."

Prometheus nodded. "That's true. I qualify. Along with every commander in our army."

"They had to be able to appear in distant places, and hide their their identity."

"As could any immortal… or even many mortals, with the correct help. Magic items are not as rare as you might think."

"But most of all, they needed a motive."

Prometheus looked curious now, gray eyes eager. "Tell me, what would my motive be?"

Aelia morphed in my hand. Prometheus didn't flinch as Anfisa formed.

"You don't trust me," I said. "You think I'm unpredictable. For a planner like you, that's the worst thing possible. So you designed this whole feat to prop Bianca up. You couldn't just lie and say I failed as an excuse to kill me, because Coeus was watching you. That's what he meant when he said he'd already been protecting me. But that didn't stop you. You cut a deal making sure Bianca would survive. When she came back she would be the perfect tool: a demigod for the prophecy everyone would respect, who would hate the gods because their servant killed her brother. All you needed to do was nominate Bianca for the Feat—"

"But I didn't nominate Bianca."

"Exac— huh?" I pulled up short, my flow broken. "But then how—?"

Prometheus tilted his head. His scars caught the glow from my sword like sad, filled-in trenches. "I didn't nominate Bianca. I nominated you. So as wonderful as your reasoning is, you've got an error."

"How is Bianca here then? Who nominated her?"

Prometheus opened his mouth, then closed it. He considered carefully what to say next.

"I didn't want to say this until I was sure — if it was wrong, and I sowed distrust, I'd never forgive myself — but it seems things have reached that point. Percy, there is someone else that fits your criteria. The one who nominated Bianca was Luke Castellan."

"But why would Luke want Bianca alive and me dead?"

"That I don't know." Prometheus shook his head. "How that boy's mind works is a mystery to me. Surely you've seen it too. He's erratic. His hatred of the gods spurs him on, but it makes him unpredictable. Maybe he saw Bianca as less of a threat to the candidate he truly wants the Great Prophecy to be about."

He wasn't wrong. Luke had been strange since I reunited with him, even more chaotic than as a kid. Then I caught the last bit.

"Hold on. Another candidate? But me and Bianca are the only options!"

He hesitated. "Technically, you are not supposed to know this. What you hear now… don't let it pass from this room. There is another. Metamorphosis is not death. In this world, the right medicine can treat any ailment."

"You can't mean…"

He nodded. "Within days, if not already, Thalia Grace will return. Can you say from the bottom of your heart that Luke would not turn his back on you for her sake? You were a friend to him, but her… she was far more."

My head swam. Usually I was good at swimming, but right now it just made my world feel murky. I could see it. It wasn't impossible. And that hurt like a punch in the kidney.

"I tried to warn you," Prometheus said. "When you first came to me I said not to overlook even those closest to you— further evidence I am not who you're searching for. If it were me, I never would have given such a hint."

"Hold on. Just… Hold on." I ran a hand through my hair, grimacing. "This all sounds crazy. Thalia, back? That's impossible!"

"No, only improbable. Like I said, the right medicine can cure much. And our army has very deep reserves. She will return. If Luke has his way, she will lead our charge at his side. I worry for you, Percy. Even I can't predict whether he sees you as a part of that vision." Prometheus saw the look on my face and sighed sympathetically. "This must be hard, in more ways than one. I'll leave you alone now. But Percy, I do believe in you. I know you'll come to the right decision."

He slipped past me, opening the door and disappearing. I didn't stop him. The anger that had been pushing me forward since Minos's escape had been doused under a wave of confusion. About a dozen things I'd been sure of, suddenly I wasn't. And in their place were only more questions.

Could it have really been Luke? Was Prometheus tricking me? Could Thalia actually be back, or was I just wishing that were true? An urge to see her or Annabeth swept over me, to talk things out and remember simpler times when my only worry was avoiding hellhound fangs and Fury whips.

Then it hit me. Those two might be out of reach, but there was one who wasn't. I didn't know if I could trust him. Prometheus had seen to that. But since when did that matter? The fastest way to get to the bottom of things was to check for myself. That had always been how I worked.

I fished out the drachma Prometheus had given me earlier that night.

The fountain was running fast enough to create mist. So I tossed the Drachma in and said, "Arke, show me Luke Castellan."

There was a delay, like the signal was lagging. I guess service wasn't great outside of Western Civilization. Or Arke was as bad of a provider as she'd seemed the first time I used her. Either way, after a bit of waiting, a picture formed over the water molecules.

It was kind of blurry, and the feed kept stopping and starting, like I was watching a stop motion animation.

"Percy!" Luke was in the driver's seat of a moving car. Unlike the picture, his voice was only a little choppy. The car was a roomy four-seater with cushy leather seats, but the son of Hermes was alone in it, an empty carry case sitting open in the back. "I didn't expect to hear from you, but your timing is amazing. I just finished a job and I've got a minute. What is it?"

I didn't start shouting accusations. That wouldn't get us anywhere. "Hey, Luke. What was the job?"

He picked one hand off the wheel and waved it dismissively. "Just something that's been a long time coming. I'll tell you all about it, but you first. How's Alaska? You hanging in there alright?"

"You could say that." I told him about Pagomenos's task, betrayal, and death. I explained how Hector was in charge now, and the promise he'd made at the party. I didn't say a word about Nico. Not yet.

By the time I finished, Luke was beaming. "A-plus, Percy. Seriously. With results like that, nobody can doubt you now. This is perfect."

"If you're so happy that I got things right, why did you not want to send me in the first place?"

He looked confused at first. Then the realization dawned. He reached up and adjusted the sun visor to keep light out of his eyes. "I guess Prometheus told you that I nominated Bianca. Don't take it bad, Percy. To be honest, I thought this whole Feat might be impossible. Hyperborea has been neutral for a ridiculously long time. Whoever we sent, I saw it like pushing them off a cliff and telling them to fly."

"Then why did you nominate Bianca?"

Luke lost his smile. Maybe I was imagining things, but I could've sworn he pressed harder on the gas pedal. "Come on, Percy. You should understand that one. I was worried about this, both of you in the Bronze Regiment and together on the Feat. But you need to keep your priorities straight. She isn't your friend. She's a rival."

"A rival." My voice was tight. Luke and I may've gone way back, but Bianca had saved my life more times than I could count. Add in what she'd just gone through and I was especially sensitive to people talking bad about her. "You mean I should turn my back on her just because she's a prophecy candidate?"

"There's nothing 'just' about this, Percy. As long as she's on our side, you're expendable in Kronos's eyes."

"The way I'll be expendable once Thalia's back?"

Luke coughed, caught off guard. He swerved into the right lane to keep from crashing as his foot came off the gas.

"Prometheus really can't keep those lips closed, can he?" Luke shook his head. "You weren't supposed to find out like this. It wasn't a secret, it was a surprise. But whatever he's told you, that's wrong. You won't be expendable once Thalia's back, or anything else like that. Can't you see? It'll be perfect! You, me, and Thalia, tearing down the regime that destroyed our lives. And once she sees all of us together, Annabeth will get over that silly grudge—"

"What grudge?"

He waved me off. "That's not important. The point is the gang will be together again. It'll be exactly like the old days, but this time we won't be running. We'll be taking the fight to them!"

I gulped. Without realizing it, I took a step back. It wasn't that I didn't want a reunion. That was what made me call him in the first place. The problem was that I could see it. Luke wanted this in the way a heroin addict chases his next fix.

He didn't want a reunion. He wanted the past back. His drug was nostalgia, and that was dangerous, because it was a chase that wouldn't ever end.

"The past doesn't come back," I warned him. "I'm all for bringing Thalia back. I miss her too. But it won't really be the same."

"That's because you're still thinking too small." It didn't look like my words had gotten through at all. "Trust me. I'll make this happen. You don't realize how hard I've already worked. Things are in motion. Everything is under control."

"And if Thalia chooses the gods?"

"She won't?"

"Are you sure?"

"Completely sure."

"I don't know, Luke. She still hadn't given up on them before. If she comes back now—"

"SHE'LL SIDE WITH ME!"

The snarl cut me off, and I froze. On the call's other end, Luke seemed equally surprised. He tried to laugh it off.

"I mean, listen to me, Perce. Who knew her best? It was me. We talked about these things. If I say she'll pick our side, she'll pick our side. Have a little faith."

The thing was, I'd talked to her too. Our last conversation played through my head, her urging me not to give up on family. Whatever Luke insisted, this wasn't some obvious choice.

Besides, I hadn't missed his phrasing. He might've corrected himself to "our side," but when the outburst leaked out it had been him Thalia would be choosing. At its core, that was who this was all about.

"Alright," I said. "When she's back, she'll side with us. I won't argue it. But you don't have everything planned out. Nobody can. We don't even know how many prophecy candidates are out there!"

"Kids of the Big Three don't just show up, Percy."

"Thalia did. I did. Bianca is still around, and there was Nico too."

"Nico? Oh. You mean Bianca's brother." Luke frowned. "The gods killed him. I don't see how he matters."

"That's funny, because I talked with him earlier today."

"He was alive?"

"Yeah," I said, "he was."

Luke caught the tense I'd used. I guess he could tell there was a story, though, because he didn't pry. "What are you getting at?"

"You can't always make the future you want. Things you don't expect will get in the way. I'm just saying try to stay a little flexible. I think you'll end up disappointed if you don't."

Luke was silent for a minute. Through the window behind him, I saw a break in the trees. He was driving parallel with a river, skyscrapers rising in the background. I recognized those buildings. I'd lived between them. From the direction he was driving and the backdrop, I could guess exactly what the job he'd just finished had involved. However Thalia was being brought back, it was fully in motion now.

"Thanks," Luke finally said. He gave me a tired smile. "You're trying to look out for me. I get that. Just… don't try too hard." He checked his mirrors, changed lanes, and said, "Ooh, the connection's getting bad. Hey, we'll talk later."

Before I could get another word out he swiped through the image. I hadn't noticed a single stutter.

I wandered into the throne room but didn't make it any further. I wanted to be alone. Grief, confusion and questions spiraled through my head, leaving it a dizzy mess.

Prometheus was sure the Cloaked Man was Luke. I wasn't. Luke might've been erratic, unpredictable, all the other things Prometheus said about him, but I really believed he wanted to recreate the past. I'd known him long enough, seen enough in his face and voice, to believe he wasn't fooling me about that.

Which left me stuck. Was it someone else? Someone I'd never met? I guessed it could be, but couldn't shake the feeling I was close to an answer.

"I don't know!"

I kicked the sun shrine, discovered that twenty-foot metal statues are kind of hard, and hobbled away on one foot, my toes on fire.

"Hey, watch it!"

The sudden voice made me jump so high, I thought my head was going to char on the room's sun-like ceiling. I had been sure I was alone. But when I spun around a man was sprawled on the oversized recliner that had served as Pagomenos's throne.

I didn't recognize him. He looked as old as a Hyperborean, minus the eternal youth— his wrinkles had wrinkles, his back was bent like a walking cane, and he spoke with a creaky voice in need of an oil change. You would think someone like that wouldn't be intimidating, that they'd have one foot in the grave. You'd be wrong.

When he looked at me, his blue eyes beamed like headlights.

"Easy on the shrine," he said. "There aren't many of those left these days. Especially ones this nice."

"Sorry," I said, thinking that between my foot and the shrine, he was worried about the wrong one breaking. "I don't mean to be rude but, uh, who are you?"

It took him a second to answer, like he had to think about it. "You can call me… Owen. Yes, I like that. Very covert."

"Oookay, Owen. Can I help you with something?"

"In the future maybe. For now, I think I can be the one helping you."

"Look, if you're about to offer a training session on respecting altars, I appreciate it, but I'm not really in the mood."

He sniffed. "You probably could do with that, too. But it's not what I'm talking about. You have a problem, don't you? Let's hear it."

He squirmed in the chair to get comfortable, which showed off his clothes— a basic white t-shirt and skinny jeans that didn't match at all with his apparent age.

Taking in his expectant stare, I shifted. "I don't really make a habit of venting to strangers."

"Why not?"

The question caught me off-guard. It was one of those common sense things that take you a minute to actually put into words. "Because you don't know anything about them? It's the sort of stuff you keep between friends. People you can trust."

"But you already went to the ones close to you. And that didn't help, did it?"

I stiffened. Just as I was about to go into defense mode and whip out my weapon, the guy seemed to catch on.

"Hey, hey, my bad. I didn't mean it like that. It's just, you were talking so loud the whole time, and it was all so dramatic, I couldn't help but overhear. Especially when you were doing it in my temple."

"Your temple? This was Pagomenos's temple."

The guy chuckled like the idea was funny. "Sure, he and his brothers made it. But do you call the Vatican the pope's church? No, you call it a bunch of stuffy old men who don't know how to lighten up, even when you try and throw them a rock concert. Then they want to cut your head off for 'blasphemy' or something silly like that. Anyway, a temple is always to something bigger than itself. And this one? It's to me."

My eyes went to the shrine. A sun was built into the center, a massive snake curled around the middle. A python. It all clicked into place. The icy floor was the Hyperboreades, Pagomenos and his brothers, and the glowing ceiling represented the god they swore themselves to, the one who had blessed them with the gift of prophecy.

My palms were clammy. "Apollo?"

"Shhhh! Not so loud."

The god looked worriedly at the ceiling. After a second, he relaxed. That meant one of us. I was barely keeping my breathing measured, trying to decide if I was about to be immolated via sunbeam.

"Remember," he said. "I'm Owen for now."

"How are you here? This is outside of the West!"

"Exactly! Perfect for a rendezvous. I have some influence here because of this temple, but my family don't have that kind of luxury. They won't be able to eavesdrop. Good thing, too, because getting caught here would land me in some real hot water, and I don't mean the normal kind that gets hot just because I'm in it."

"You aren't here to kill me?"

Apollo looked surprised. "What? No, no! I told you, didn't I? I'm here to help."

"But the Olympians want me dead!"

"Not all of us." Apollo grimaced. "One thing about us, we almost never all agree. Dad? He definitely wants you to go kapoosh. But that's 'cause he's a scaredy cat. I work my butt off putting out prophecies, and then he goes and gets all chintzy when one talks about something he doesn't like. Who else tried to kill you? Hades, right? Don't mind him. He's always grouchy, his taste in music is terrible, and anything to do with his brothers drives him nuts. Not all of us want you to spout your final verse so soon. Besides, you dying now would make my favorite tree cry for sure, and I would just hate that."

"Why should I believe you?"

"I already saved you once. Isn't that enough?"

"When could you have…?" Suddenly it hit me. "The bag!"

Apollo snapped his fingers. "Yep. That was a close one, wasn't it? Big fall. All I did was give it a little nudge, nothing to be breaking the ancient laws or anything. Especially not if we don't get caught."

He gave an exaggerated wink, but I was hardly paying attention.

It was so much to take in. For years, all the way back to my introduction to this world, one thing had been constant: the Olympians being scared of me. And not the 'running away' type of scared but the 'vaporize him before he becomes a threat' type. Now, suddenly, one of them was in front of me poking all sorts of holes in that idea with one casual chat.

"You say you want to help me," I said, deciding to run with things because, if I didn't, I had a feeling my brain would face fault and leave me standing there drooling. "But help with what? The Cloaked man?"

"Bingo!" Apollo shot me with twin finger-guns. "You have all the clues, just need to put them together. It's like a riddle, which is basically a prophecy, which is my third favorite thing in this world behind my sister and sunflower flavored ice cream— in that order. So sound things out to me, and we'll get to the bottom of this."

"Do you already know the answer?" I asked.

He waggled his finger. "There's no fun in that! Tell me everything, step by step."

I thought about it. This was probably about seventy different intelligence leaks all at the same time. Then again, he already seemed to know plenty. And what we were talking about was someone on the titans' side trying to kill me…

That was what decided it. They hadn't shown me loyalty, so why should I spend my time worrying about giving it back to them?

"It all started a while back," I said. "Someone in a cloak went to this girl, Nera, and convinced her to attack us in a war game. She was after Bianca, but when I captured her, the magic didn't work and gave her a second shot at killing us."

"Interesting," Apollo said. "We'll chalk that one up as an attempt to kill each of you. What next?"

"We left on this mission. Luke picked Bianca because—" I hesitated, less because I wasn't sure and more because saying it out loud made me feel irritated all over again. "—because he wanted her dead. Prometheus nominated me. As soon as we were out in the world, the Cloaked Man started manipulating Bianca's brother. He always knew where we were, and he always wanted me dead. It was the same thing with Pagomenos and the Arimaspoi— a deal to keep her alive and kill me off. In the end, he pushed the ghost of Minos, convincing him to sacrifice Nico. If he had his way, Bianca would be the only prophecy candidate alive."

Apollo rolled over on his stomach, kicking his feet behind him like a schoolgirl at a sleepover. He looked ready to start giggling and tossing popcorn in his mouth. A little too gleeful, but I'd let it slide. He must have really liked riddles.

"Let's see," he said, counting off on his fingers. "We have two attempts to kill Bianca. The first is at the war game, and the second is sending her on this quest."

"It's not a quest. It's a Feat."

He waved me off. "Never mind that. The titans are just being contrarian. Anyway, moving on to attempts on your life, we have… a whole lot. There's the magic not working during the war game, and everything since. Was there anything else? Another hint, maybe?"

I blinked. With all that had happened since, I hadn't given it much thought. But there was.

"Coeus," I said. "He made me look at a skier, then pointed out that I mistook them for a different one because they'd worn… the same… clothes…"

I trailed off, and Apollo beamed. He was good at that, being the sun god and all. "You're basically there!"

The wheels in my brain spun into third gear. It was right in front of me the whole time, and now that I recognized it it seemed so simple.

Why had we assumed only one person could put on a cloak?

"Multiple people," I said breathlessly. "From the start there was more than one."

Apollo smiled in a way that said I'd gotten an answer right. "You gotta tell me more about this."

"When Kai said he saw someone in a cloak talking to Nera, I assumed it was the guy in my dreams. But it wasn't. It was someone that wanted Bianca out of the way. And when that didn't work, they moved on to sending her on a suicide mission as a way of 'testing her loyalty.' That was Luke."

"Shocking!" Apollo said with an impressive amount of surprise for a guy that I was pretty sure knew from the start. "Then who could the other be?"

"Someone taking advantage," I said. "When they saw how reckless Nera was, they freed her when she was close to me, hoping she would do their dirty work. When that didn't work, they went to Nico. Then they went to Pagomenos and the tribes. Someone that needed me away from Mt. Orthrys to get rid of me, so they nominated me themselves. It was Prometheus. That whole talk he gave me, turning it around on Luke… that was just another way of weaseling out of punishment. He was playing me. Again."

"He's very good at that," Apollo agreed. "Just ask my dad."

All the anger that had disappeared without a target was beginning to make a comeback. I had half a mind to stomp outside, find Prometheus, and show him I could be just as bad as any vulture. But Apollo said, "I wouldn't, if I were you."

I paused, pulled out of my planning session on methods of violence. "Wouldn't what?"

"Go attacking Prometheus. I know, I know, just about every immortal has felt how tempting that can be. But if you touch him now, you'll die."

It wasn't a question. There was no doubt. I gulped.

"I could take him," I said quietly.

"You probably could. What happens after?"

I didn't answer. Apollo pushed himself forward, rolling off the massive recliner with a summersault way too acrobatic for his senior citizen disguise.

"You're in a tricky spot," he told me, "and I hate to see that, because Daphne really likes you. You might not believe me, but I haven't forgotten her. Never. There's not a lot I can do for her, but keeping you kicking might be one of those things. So have some advice from the guy who advised all the best heroes."

"Chiron?"

"What? No, me! Prophecies are advice, and you're not really a hero unless you have a prediction in your back pocket that won't make sense until after the fact, that's what I always say. So, Percy, take this."

He reached out his hand, and just for a second I wondered if this had all been an elaborate ruse to make me let my guard down and now he was going to burn away one major thorn in Olympus's side.

Instead, three pendants appeared. Each was of a little metal sun, and they were identical in every way except for a blue dot at the center of the middle one.

"They aren't really my style," I said. "I'm not much of a jewelry guy."

He waved me off. "You'll get used to it. Besides, you'll only be wearing one."

"Then what are the others for?"

His face lit up. Literally. When he smiled, his skin glowed like one of those star stickers you see on the ceilings of children's rooms. "That's the neat bit. Watch!"

He tossed two of them to me, which I caught jerkily. Then he vanished. A moment later the middle charm, the one with the dot, lit up.

"Can you hear me?" Apollo's voice came from it, sounding clearer than an Arke message.

"I can. How's it doing that?"

Apollo appeared in front of me again, grinning even wider. "Amazing, isn't it? It's like a phone. Don't worry, though. You won't be summoning monsters by using these. They're untraceable, too. Of course, on the downside, they're limited. Choose carefully who you give these to. You only get two, so make them count."

He tossed the third to me and I snagged it, too. I placed them carefully in my pocket. Then I asked the question that had been bugging me for a while.

"Why are you helping me like this? I won't switch sides just because you gave me a neat necklace."

"Good," he said. "That would be a terrible idea. Changing sides, I mean, at least for now. If you showed up at Camp Half-Blood tomorrow we'd be scraping you off the welcome mat!"

That was a lovely image… "That doesn't really answer my question."

"Sure it does. Keep your head low for now. You don't trust the titans, especially not after they tried to kill you. But at least they aren't openly after your hide, and that's more than the other side. You need to bide your time. I'm sure a chance will come to do something you really want to do. Call that a prophecy. An off-the-books one."

He winked at me again, and I thought about what he was telling me.

It made sense, which I hated, because I wanted nothing more than to show Prometheus that words could have just as many consequences as actions. On the other hand, I very much liked myself not-dead. Not to mention the titans still had one massive bargaining chip.

I hated the feeling of being used. But there was a hell of a lot I would put up with for my mom's sake.

"Just because I'm taking this doesn't mean I'm changing sides," I said. "I appreciate the help, but there's more on the line than advice and a few necklaces can cover."

Apollo didn't look bothered. "Hey, if you were that cheap you wouldn't be interesting. Just keep an open mind. Not all of us are as against you as you think."

I nodded, then hesitated before asking, "You're really doing all this for Daphne?"

"Would you think better of me if I said I was? I hope not, because it isn't true." He grinned. I noticed he did a lot of that for a god talking about the fate of the world. "It isn't so simple. I love Daphne. No matter what it looked like."

The way he said it, I was suddenly sure he knew exactly what scene Kronos had used to prod me. He went on.

"Of course, I also loved Pagomenos and his brothers. In a different way. Like sons, or old friends, or something like that. I know Paggy went off the rails a bit at the end, but in his younger days he was a barrel of laughs. You should've heard his knock-knock jokes. And I also love my family. Maybe not all of them, and definitely all the time, but if we ended up sliced to pieces in Tartarus I'd definitely think, 'Dang!'"

"That's it? Only Dang?"

"I'm summarizing. Point is, I'd hate for the world to end. Do you see Atlas busting out a Haiku? I don't! And I think, if we keep on the way we've been going, that's how we'll end up. Every time a kid pops up that the Great Prophecy could be about, we try to kill them. So far we're 0 for 4 . What do you think, when one of you finally hits sixteen, they'll think of first?"

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe the attempts on their life?"

"You get me. So I'm protecting Olympus my own way… maybe. That's the noble answer. But I also don't want Daphne to be sad. I'd love to see my Oracle's best work come true. It sounds great to take personal credit for flipping the war around."

"You're doing it because you want to."

"Aha! You get it!" Abruptly, he blinked. He slapped his wrist, and a watch appeared on it. What he saw made his forehead crease. "We've talked this long already? I'm going to be late! Sorry, Percy, gotta jet!"

His form shimmered gold. The wrinkles melted. His spine straightened. By the end, a boy that looked strikingly similar to Luke stood in front of me. Only his eyes had stayed the same.

"If I don't get moving now," he said, "Maine is going to end up with an extra hour of nighttime, and Sis's head is big enough as is this time of year. She gets this way every Winter."

He levitated, feet leaving the ground. The edges of his form turned to whisps, preparing to flash out in his true form. I said, "Don't let me keep you."

"Well said, cuz. Don't be a stranger— unless it'll get you vaporized of course. And remember the pendants. Owen, out!"

I shut my eyes. Something happened bright enough to color my eyelids pink. When I could look again, I was alone in the room. For real this time.

I took a deep breath. I would need it to keep from punching Prometheus on sight. A lot had happened. I had found out tons about myself, the world, and those around me. Not all of it was for the better. If you told me before we left that Emmitt, Bianca, and I would be making it back to California in one piece, I would've danced a jig. Now I wondered if there was even any safer than here.

But I had this feeling I would put a million drachmas on that this was only the beginning.

Pausing in the doorway, I hesitated one final time on my way to track down Bianca and try to console her.

Then, with one deep breath, I stepped over the threshold, leaving the throne room behind me.

It was time to go home.

(-)

So, there it is, the ending to this arc. Since we've reached this point, I'm going to rant for a minute.

This was the first of three book-length arcs that will make up the rest of the story, with one or two shorter arcs mixed in between. When I'm back from my 3-4 week break, the second of the three will be starting, and I'm excited to dive in. As for this one, I'm happy with how it turned out, but also learned some key lessons I want to take into the next. For example, this is my first time working with basically a full novel, and I think I can get more efficient. The same amount of story, but covered in less words because it's condensed down to the essential bits. That should let me keep the story moving quicker and get this fic closer to completion. The next arc will also be completely original plot-wise (I don't see the point in writing cannon rehashes) but with waaay more characters from the original series appearing. It'll also dive into what's been going on on the other side of the war, and how Percy's absence has changed things around Camp. Very fun.

As for these chapters going up at the same time, I decided they worked better as three medium-length ones than one long one and one medium one. Took me slightly longer to get through them because of it, but I still stuck to the 2-week-max schedule I set out for myself. Also, I know I'm an asshole. Poor Nico. I tried to sort of tread the line with his characterization, putting him somewhere between how he acts in book 3 and how he acts in book 4. That seemed to make the most sense for a version that had been separated from Bianca, but wasn't totally pessimistic because he knew she was alive.

Anyway, I think that's about all I had to say. Will return with chapter 51 in the not-so-distant future. Until then, see ya.