Nighttime was often the most peaceful time in the valley where Camp Freedom dwelled in Jason's opinion. The stars were always out, the sound of rushing water from the river brought a certain calmness and the wind that offered a slight breeze cooled the skin. The camp's location couldn't have been more perfect for suitable living conditions. Not to mention Hazel's tree that acted like the golden fleece was just the cherry on top.

Tonight, however, was a little bit different from the usual. From where he stood on the porch of House Pine, the sound of demigods laughing, singing, conversing and the occasional drunken yell overshadowed all natural sounds of the valley. It seemed the Stolls had managed to organize some sort of get together which didn't surprise the son of Jupiter in the slightest. It seemed there was always some sort of party every weekend thanks to the Stolls and some other eager party makers. Only this time, there was alcohol involved. How they managed to get their hands on something that he didn't know or even want to know.

Back when he was at Camp Jupiter, he would've stopped something like that without a second thought but now, he wouldn't even if Percy had ordered him to. The demigods of Camp Freedom deserved those parties and yes even the alcohol. Every single one of them had been through so much to get here. Upended their life to start anew in a foreign land. Sacrificed seeing friends and family back at the old camps. Risked their lives all in the hopes of starting a new life free from the Gods. In Jason's eyes, partying with one another was probably the best thing that they could do at the moment. They deserved it after all the work they did to get where they were.

He would've joined in on the festivities too had it not been for a pair of slender arms wrapping around his stomach. Tearing his gaze from the singing demigods surrounding a fire, he turned to find himself staring into the most beautiful kaleidoscopic eyes he had ever seen.

"Wanna join them?" He murmured to Piper who shook her head in his chest.

"No, because I'll be tempted to drink. You know I can't do that especially with the little guy." The daughter of Aphrodite responded, softly tapping her stomach. No bump had begun to protrude yet since it was still too early in her pregnancy but that didn't stop her from acting like she did have one. Oftentimes she could be seen just resting her hand on her stomach which made Jason think she was trying to feel if the baby had begun to kick yet. It was still too early for that as well but he didn't have the heart to tell her that.

Piper was ecstatic now that they had both agreed upon keeping the baby. They had taken Percy's advice and had thought long and hard about it, discussing with one another for countless nights until eventually, one night where they were both sitting on the bed, they realized they wanted to start a family together. Jason would never be able to forget the joyous feeling in his heart when Piper had leapt into his arms after he had agreed to keep it.

"Little guy, you say?" Jason quirked an eyebrow, causing Piper's eyes to widen as she realized her slip up.

"…Surprise?!" She awkwardly laughed, which made Jason smile at her embarrassment. It seemed she had wanted to keep that secret until later but was just too excited not to mention it.

"We'll have to start thinking up some names." He said, hugging her as he rested his head atop of hers. Sighing in satisfaction, Piper leaned in closer as she closed her eyes. This was better than anything she could ever ask for. She, Jason and her friends were safe, a new home was built for them, and the Gods had absolutely no involvement with their lives whatsoever anymore. The thought of that brought pure bliss into her heart. And now that she and the love of her life were starting a family together, things would only get better from here on out.

"HEY LOVE BIRDS. GETTTT A ROOM. SOME OF US AREN'T SO LUCKY TO BE INNNNN A RELATIONSHIP!" Travis Stoll screamed out across the camp after seeing the two of them on the porch.

"Travis, we're dating! Remember?!" A less drunk Katie Gardner slapped the son of Hermes upside the head causing everyone to laugh at the pair. Jason and Piper laughed together at the scene before turning to one another once more.

"C'mon. Let's get some sleep." Jason slipped his hand into hers before leading her into the house. But as they were about to close the door, he could see a distant light off in the distance from the corner of his eye. Stopping, he craned his head upwards towards the cliff which was a mile off. Squinting his eyes, he confirmed that it was indeed a light of some sort. By the flickering he thought it to be a torch.

"Jason?" Piper asked, confused on why he had stopped walking.

"Pipes, do you see that light on the cliff?" He asked which made the daughter of Aphrodite step outside once more and mirror Jason's actions.

"I think-yeah it definitely is!" She exclaimed.

"I think it's the ninth's turn to guard the perimeter but why are they all the way out there? We never patrol the cliff." Jason wondered, remembering how Percy had ordered all cohorts to patrol the perimeter of camp nightly now. Could it be them or was it the unknown demigods Percy had told them about?

"Should we let Percy know about-BOOM!" As Piper was about to finish her sentence an explosion rang out throughout the camp, sending a powerful shockwave outward which made everyone nearly go deaf! The camp was lit up brightly by the explosion, a stark contrast from the night that surrounded them. Jason shielded Piper as dirt and debris flew down on them.

"What the hell was that?!" Jason yelled, looking up to see that the big house wasn't there anymore. Instead, all that remained was a burning pile of wooden foundations. His eyes glistened from the heat of the fire as he looked towards that direction. The only thought running through his head was that Percy was in there!

"Percy!" Piper horrifically screamed out as she realized the big house was the building that had exploded. She remembered that he had decided to stay in there after the council meeting. Slipping out of Jason's arms, the daughter of Aphrodite attempted to run over to the building to see if Percy had managed to survive but was stopped by Jason's hand.

"No!" He yelled over the sounds of the fire and the alerted demigod yells that attempted to go fill buckets of water from the river. "You stay here. I'll go look for him!" He said before running off. He didn't want Piper anywhere near the now destroyed building in case another explosion were to happen. It was already dangerous enough for her considering she was carrying a baby. The stress from this situation alone could endanger both her and the child's lives.

Jumping over pockets of isolated fire and burning wooden beams, he quickly arrived at the scene. What laid before him however was enough for him to throw his hands up to his head in pure fear. There was absolutely nothing that survived the blast. He could make out nothing that could possibly be Percy's body.

"Percy!" Jason yelled out as he moved through the debris. He had to be alive! He just had to be! He was Percy freaking Jackson. He survived Tartarus for fucks sake. An explosion, even of this magnitude, wasn't enough to take him out. But as he walked over the foundations with the rubber from his shoes beginning to melt, he slowly began to realize that Percy might not actually have survived.

"PERCY!" He screamed out once more, this time a more raw, guttural yell that echoed across the entire valley. Was this it? Was this how the man he considered a brother died? With tears in his eyes, he was about to run back to Piper but the sound of coughing to his right drew his attention. Thinking that it was the son of Poseidon, he immediately ran over to the sound but was shocked to see a cocoon of darkness surrounding a familiar face.

"Nico?!" Jason cried out as he assessed the poor boy's condition. With the cocoon of darkness around him, it has managed to save him from the explosion but that didn't mean he came out unharmed. A burning log was on top of him, his face had a nasty cut and some ribs had surely been broken from the sound of his wheezing. Perhaps a punctured lung. Without any hesitation, the Roman demigod picked up the burning piece of lumber, ignoring the sizzling sound of the skin on his hands being burnt off as he threw it off of Nico.

"I got you, buddy. Just stay with me!" He said before picking up his cousin. He needed to get Nico to a medic quickly which meant taking him back to House Pine where Piper was still standing on the porch, looking over at them with concern oozing out of her eyes. Will Solace also lived there and he was the best medic the camp had that could save Nico. Running over to the building with the younger boy groaning out in pain in his arms, Jason did his best to not injure him anymore. He could hear Nico cough up blood on his shirt, the warm liquid seeping through it and onto his skin.

"Fuck!" The son of Jupiter yelled as he looked down at Nico who only continued to cough in bloody fits. This wasn't good at all. If he didn't get medical quickly, he was a goner.

"Piper, get Will quickly!" He yelled to his girlfriend once arriving at the porch. Quickly running inside, the daughter of Aphrodite did as she was told. Jason softly set Nico down on the porch as he cut away Nico's bloodied and burnt shirt. He cringed at the sight of a rib poking out through the boy's skin, blood seeping out through the hole. There wasn't much he could do about that without killing him. If the punctured lung didn't kill Nico however, it would definitely be the blood but that was something Jason wouldn't let happen. Applying pressure on a gaping wound to his leg, he let his now bloody hands do the work as he awaited for Will. But when Piper came back out with a frightened look on her face, his hope diminished.

"I-I can't find him!" She said in exasperation.

"Shit!" Jason replied as he looked down at the son of Hades underneath him who only continued to cough and breathe erratically. "WILL! WILL! WE NEED YOU OVER HERE!" He screamed out, hoping that his yells would somehow reach the son of Apollo. But seeing the chaos that ran through camp, with demigods running back and forth to fetch water from the river, it'd be a miracle if Will could find them.

"I'll look through the house again. Maybe I missed him." Piper said, her voice shaking from the stress and fear. Without another word she ran back inside causing Jason to look back at her.

"Piper, wait. I might need-BOOM!" Were the only things he could say before his vision was filled with the bright, harsh glow of orange. Not a second later, the son of Jupiter could feel himself being thrown backwards at unimaginable speeds. After that he couldn't remember much besides the feeling of something heavy on him. It wasn't until what felt like an eternity later when he finally awoke.

"FUCKKK!" Jason coughed out, opening his eyes which still had debris in them. With his vision blurry and ears ringing, he could barely make out the sight of what looked to be demigods fighting. Once rubbing his eyes and being able to see, it seemed he was right. An uncountable force of demigods had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, tearing their way throughout camp with an unquenchable vengeance. The cries of wounded demigods and metal clashing against one another filled his ringing ears. But the thought of being attacked went out the window as he craned his head upwards and surveyed what little remained of House Pine. The entire building had been destroyed in the blast, leaving only a raging fire in its wake.

"P-PIPER!" He screamed out, blood and spit flying out vehemently. With the help of adrenaline and his unbounded demigod strength, he threw the wood log on top of him cleanly off, stumbling his way towards the building. It seemed in the attack that his ankle had broken but that was the least of his worries. He needed to find Piper. As he ran, he spotted Nico only a couple feet away with that cocoon of darkness once again wrapped around him. He could see that the boy was breathing but only barely. Deciding that he could survive long enough, the son of Jupiter carried on towards Piper.

"PIPER!" He yelled out once more as his shoes pushed through the burning ash and debris. Fearing that she had suffered the same fate as Percy, he erratically began to search through the area. Tears pricked his eyes as his hoarse breathing began to get louder and louder. No. No. No. No. He couldn't lose her too! Not after all they've been through. She just couldn't die like that. They had a baby on the way! They were about to start a family! Tripping over a burning piece of wood, he cursed aloud as the pain in his ankle flared.

-son…" A soft voice said to his right. Perking his head upwards, he almost couldn't hear it over the sounds of battle.

"J-Jason." The voice spoke up once more a little louder, causing the son of Jupiter to immediately jump to his feet. Where was she?! Her voice sounded close by but all the smoke and debris clouded his vision. Scrambling around like a chicken with its head cut off, he eventually spotted a slender handing beneath a pile of debris. With his breath catching in his throat, it took all his strength to not collapse from the exhaustion and pain as he began to quickly shift the weight off of Piper.

"I got you. I got you. You're gonna be ok!" He said not sure if he was reassuring her or himself. It felt like it took forever until everything was off of her but when it was and could have a good look at her, he couldn't help the sob that came out from the back of his throat.

"J-Jason?" Piper outstretched a hand towards him, feeling fear seep into her heart after seeing his reaction. Coughing up blood, she tried to lean her head downwards to see what he was looking at.

"Nonononno. Don't look. Don't look, Piper." Jason squatted down to her eye level, pushing her chin to look at him instead. He could see the confusion in her eyes towards his actions. He tried not to show any emotion in his features, doing his best to mirror what Lupa had taught him. It was the only thing he could do for his girlfriend at the moment. The couple stared at one another in silence, oblivious to all that was happening around them. More explosions ranged out through the camp, causing fire to dance in their eyes.

But they didn't care. They could be killed at any moment, but they didn't care. As long as they were together, nothing else mattered.

"Jason…w-what happe-" Piper tried to ask but was cut off by a demigod charging at them from a couple meters away, his war cry filling the air as he waved his blood-soaked sword. The son of Jupiter scowled as he tried to stand up, searching for his coin in his pocket. But luck wasn't on his side as his adrenaline began to wear off, making the pain in his foot become almost unbearable. To make matters worse, he couldn't feel his weapon either, which probably meant it was lost in the explosion.

Cursing, the son of Jupiter raised his fists as he prepared to go down swinging but right as the demigod, a son of Ares by the looks of it, was about to swing, a golden sword intercepted him which made sparks fly outwards. Letting out a breath of air he didn't realize he was holding; he looked to his right and recognized a familiar face. A face which held a mixture of emotions but most prominent was the look of shame and hesitation.

"Reyna?" Jason asked, almost not believing the daughter of Bellona was here.

"I will not allow a child of Rome, especially a son of Jupiter, be killed by a Graecus!" She said, ignoring him. The son of Ares tried to shift his weight downward in hopes that her hold on to him would break but the daughter of war didn't buckle in the slightest.

"We will have Jason and the other traitors of Rome in our custody before they are brought before the Gods. You deal with your people however you want but leave the Romans to the Romans!" Reyna said once more, even bringing her sword which was still clashing with the bronze one upwards towards the guy's neck.

Scowling in hate, the son of Ares spat at the ground beneath Reyna's feet before running away in hopes of quenching his bloodthirstiness. Silence enveloped the scene as an exhausted Jason and a now passed out Piper realized just who was attacking their camp.

"I-I don't understand!" Jason breathlessly yelled out, causing Reyna to flinch. "Why-Why are you attacking us! We've done nothing to anger Rome! Or the Greeks!"

"Jason, we can talk about this-"

"No! There's no need to talk! Just save her." He interrupted, pointing to Piper who had passed out. Reyna's eyes widened as she analyzed her injuries. Cuts and gashes littered her body, skin had been burnt on her legs and arms but the worst injury of all was the sharp piece of wood that had penetrated into her stomach.

"Save her, please!" Jason desperately pleaded. There wasn't much he could do in this situation except beg. He was far too injured and had no weapon to fight back. And the only thing he needed was to keep the love of his life alive. Without her, what was the point of living? Reyna had a moment of hesitation but when she looked to her side and saw Nico on the verge of death as well, her heart faltered just a little bit. These were her friends. Her quest mates. People she had loved and had grown up with. She couldn't simply turn off her emotions and let them suffer until their final moments.

"Medics tend to their wounds including the son of Hades and daughter of Aphrodite. Anyone that mistreats them will stand trial for war crimes in front of the senate." Reyna sheathed her sword, refusing to look Jason in the eye as he crawled over back to Piper. Gods, this was tearing her apart. She hadn't wanted to do this in the first place. She was content with letting Jason and the others live their lives in peace. Them leaving Rome and the Gods wasn't a shock to her at all. Matter of fact, she had thought about doing so numerous times now. But the reputation she had not only as Praetor but also a daughter of Bellona had duty bound her. So now here she was, standing in the blood of her friends.

Walking away because she couldn't bear to listen to Jason's agonizing cries any longer, she walked through the camp that was now just an former image of its true self. Every building had been destroyed either by explosions or being set on fire by demigods that threw blazing torches through the windows that quickly spread throughout the interior. The once pristine land was now burnt to ruins along with the river now an awful shade of red from the blood of the dead flowing into it.

Being the Praetor that she was, she had to put a blank face on as she watched both Greek and Romans round up the surviving traitors, roughly binding them in chains.

"This is what you get for destroying our camp!" A Greek said as he spat in the face of one of the prisoners. She could see the demigod gain an angry but confused look on his face at the mention of that which only added to her own confusion. It seemed the traitor didn't know what the Greek was talking about. She had her own suspicions about what happened that fateful night at Camp Half-Blood but for right now there were other matters to attend to.

Waking over to another destroyed building, she could see the backside of blonde hair, shimmering due to the fires that still burned throughout the darkness. The girl was standing in front of the fire, staring emptily into the burning abyss. A lone tear had steamed down her face as she stood silently, watching the flames burn the wood into ash. Reyna mirrored her Greek counterpart's actions as they both watched in silence.

"Everyone I interrogated said he was in here when the first explosion happened." Annabeth broke the quietness first. Reyna's heart once again sank at the mention of that. Turning her head, she read the emotions on the daughter of Athena's face. She hid it well, but Reyna could still see through her façade. She was ashamed. Scared. Exhausted. But the one emotion that was pretty prominent was doubt.

"You don't believe that though?" She simply replied.

"I refuse to." Annabeth said. She refused to believe that after almost a year of wanting to go after Percy, and finally getting the chance to, the first thing she did after finding him was lead an army to his new home which killed him in an explosion. She refused to believe that. Whether that was because it was out of shame and fear or actual doubtfulness, she didn't know. But if there was one thing she did know, it was that Percy couldn't have died just by a simple explosion. That was beneath him to die like that…she hoped. Gods she hoped. Because if he was actually dead, it was going to be her fault even if she didn't want to attack his camp or kill his people. Having his death on her hands would drive her to madness and before she knew it, she would kill herself out of shame. It was the only future she could see for herself if that was the case.

"I didn't want to do this, Reyna." She whispered, her voice coming out broken. "I didn't want it to come to this. These were our friends. Our family. Hades, I grew up with a lot of people here!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, tears now fully streaking out.

"But he just had to betray the Gods! He just had to attack camp for Gods know whatever reason! He just had to become Luke!" The daughter of Athena yelled, kicking up ash after every sentence. Breathing heavily, endless thoughts about what if Percy was actually dead raced through her mind. How could she ever face Sally again after tonight?! How could she ever face Chiron?! How could face herself when staring in a mirror?!

"Calm yourself, Annabeth. Your people still need you. You can grieve later." Reyna said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Besides I don't think Percy is dead and I think there is more to the story than what we are being told." She admitted, causing the girl to quickly turn towards her.

"What do you mean?"

"A conversation for another time. Right now, however, we need to gather our wounded and dead. Take the prisoners to the border and get out of here before monsters start tracking us. This many demigods in one location, especially Alaska, will draw many eyes."

Silently agreeing with the Roman, the two trekked their way back through the camp, refusing to look the prisoners, their friends, in the eyes. Although they were both ashamed of themselves, they thanked the Fates for not having to wet their blades with the blood of their family.

~X~

Fletcher gave short, terrified breaths as he darted through the woods, jumping over flames and fallen trees. He had no clue what was going on besides that there were multiple explosions inside of camp and an army of demigods that descended down the valley to kill them all. He had been practicing drills in the arena when it had happened but by the time he tried to run back to his cohort, the camp was practically taken over already.

He was ashamed that he couldn't join his friends and defend camp but sadly there was nothing left to defend. All the buildings were gone, the cohorts were all in disarray, and very outnumbered. Since it was nighttime, most of them weren't armed for battle which meant they got steamrolled when the army charged through. However, some had managed to gather some weapons and tried to fight back but it wasn't enough. They were instantly defeated, most being killed, the rest taken as prisoners. He could still see Frank's bloodied face as he ran through the enemy lines, taking out more demigods than he could count. It was awe inspiring to watch as he defended Hazel's tree from being burnt to the ground. But even the legendary son of Mars couldn't fight forever and eventually succumbed to his wounds and exhaustion before being bound to chains as well.

After seeing Frank down, he knew all hope was lost. Camp Freedom was no more, and any survivors were being taken to Olympus for execution. The thought of that spurred his legs to move faster as he ran through the woods, desperately hoping not to come across any search parties along the way. Fire and darkness covered his retreat which he was thankful for, but he didn't know where to go. The woods went on forever and he hadn't explored them enough to know the landscape. All he could was run but even that would eventually not be enough. He could die out here in the next twenty-four hours if he couldn't find a way to some type of civilization. That didn't include the chances of running into enemy demigods along the way.

Endless thoughts raced through his head as he ran, making him unaware of the flying fist that smacked him right in the face. He felt his body fly backwards, almost performing a backflip as he hit the ground with a hard thud!

"I got one!" A girl's voice said from above him.

"Good. Kill him before he can alert the others!" A boy's voice replied which instantly made Fletcher's eyes widen.

"Waitwaitwaitwait! I'm from Camp Freedom! It's me, Fletcher Mahomes!" He desperately screamed out, forgetting the sword he still carried could still be used to defend himself in case the duo didn't believe him. Luckily, that wouldn't have to happen.

"Fletcher! Holy shit, I'm so sorry!" The girl gasped as she helped him back up to his feet.

"Fletcher?!" The boy mirrored.

"Yeah, it's me. Who the fuck are you guys. I can't see shit out here." He replied, wiping the dirt off his clothes. The duo came closer in front of him, the moonlight shining just bright enough to reveal the faces of Ben and Emily. He didn't know them that well but Ben had been one of the people that saved him the first night he arrived at camp. That automatically made him high up on the list of Fletcher's favorite people. Emily was a cool person too from what he had seen when. A little on the authoritarian side like her sister Katie but that was ok.

"Glad to see you, Fletchy! Ben and I thought we were the only ones that escaped." Emily slapped his shoulder.

"Have you seen my sister? We were split up when the explosions started happening." Ben asked, desperation seeping into his voice.

"No." He replied, shaking his head. "I was at the arena when the explosions started happening. When I saw the army start appearing from the woodline, I tried to join ranks with my cohort but by the time I made it, the battle was already lost."

"Damnit!" Ben kicked up dirt, frustrated at his response. Fletcher didn't know his pain since he was an only child, but he imagined getting split up from a sibling and not knowing where they are must be eating at his heart.

"We'll find Ashley. I'm sure she escaped." Emily reassured before the sound of sticks snapping silenced them. Immediately, the trio hunkered down behind some trees as they tried to spot whatever was walking towards them in the darkness. Holding his breath, Fletcher squinted his eyes making out some sort of figure blindly running towards them.

"Get her!" A voice yelled out behind the running person before more sounds of sticks and leaves breaking filled the air. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Ben had brought out a bronze knife from his belt, gripping it tightly as he prepared for the worst. Fletcher decided to do the same, laying his hand on the handle of his sword as he prepared to defend himself. Watching the unknown girl run closer and closer at them, he was unprepared to watch her get blindsided by a man, bringing her down to the ground like a football player. The girl screamed her throat out as she was roughly handed by the man as other figures walked towards the scene, all enemies.

"Let me go!" She cried out.

"I fucking got her! She's a feisty one too." The man snarled in glee as he binded her with zip ties.

"Quit all that fucking yelling, bitch!" Another man walked towards them before roughly kicking her in the face.

"You'll pay for this! Percy and the others will fucking kill you!" She replied, not backing down in the slightest. Fletcher's eyes widened as she talked more and more. He recognized that voice! It was the very voice that first spoke to him when he had awoken in the infirmary. It was Abby! Immediately attempting to stand up and go help, he was held back by both Emily and Ben. Looking back at them with fury in his eyes, he struggled to escape their grip. This was Abby! The girl that had cared for him when he was on the verge of death. His first friend at camp! The girl he loved!

"We can't! We're outnumbered!" Emily whispered, gesturing over to even more enemy demigods coming over. It seemed this was an entire search party.

"We can't just leave her!" Fletcher replied, almost breaking their cover in anger. Once again Emily shook her head.

"We have to. I don't like it as much as you do but if we go out there guns blazing, we'll be killed instantly. And then we won't be able to save her. Staying back gives us that chance later down the road, understand?" She asked, causing the boy to bite his lip hard enough to draw blood. He hated not being able to do anything! It was just like last time when he watched his mother die at the hands of monsters! Even after being at camp and training under Frank, he still wasn't able to save anyone. Trying to not to scream out in anger, he crouched low once more, finally but reluctantly agreeing with Emily. He gripped his sword so tightly that his knuckles were white. He wanted to kill them. He needed to kill them all. How dare they do that to Abby. To his friends. To his home.

"Aww, you think Percy Jackson is gonna save you?" The man clicked his tongue mockingly. Flicking Abby's chins upwards to make her look at him, he gave a smile that screamed of joy.

"Percy Jackson is dead from what I hear. Died in the first explosion. So no, I don't think him or anyone else is saving you! You and all your traitorous friends are finished! Once we take you back to Olympus, your head will roll down the golden steps."

"No." Fletcher heard Emily horrifically whisper behind him. Tears streamed down her face when the man said that. He wanted to cry too. His heart ached and he felt lightheaded when it was revealed that Percy, the man he looked up to, was dead. It couldn't be true. Percy Jackson couldn't die just like that, right?

"We're wasting time. We need to get out of the woods with the prisoners. I'm sure Annabeth is rounding up the troops to march out.

"Understood. Alright bitch, up you go!" The man replied before roughly placing Abby upright on her feet before pushing her forwards back to camp. Fletcher watched as the love of his life slowly disappeared back into the darkness, the distant screams and sounds of battle echoing throughout the air before silence eventually enveloped them once more.

"P-Percy's dead." Ben leaned against his tree, pounding his fist onto the ground in anger.

"I don't want to believe it." Emily wept.

'Well, you're gonna have to!" Ben almost screamed out, startling the two. "We've lost everything now! There's no point in holding on to hope anymore!"

"Don't say that." Fletcher replied with an even tone. "Don't you dare fucking say that. I didn't travel all the way here, see my mother killed in front of my own eyes, and almost die from hellhounds and falling off a cliff to give up now!"

"What else are we supposed to do, Fletcher?! Because the way I see it, we're done! Sure, we can escape right now but we'll always be on the run from both the Gods, enemy camps and monsters! Eventually, our luck will run out! So, tell me, what the hell are we supposed to do!"

"That's enough you two." Emily interrupted, fire and tears dancing in her eyes. "We can grieve, argue, give up, I don't fucking care, later. Right now, we just need to survive the night."

"How? There's no town anywhere for miles and I don't know the land enough to find any sort of caves or anything like that for shelter." Fletcher replied.

"…I do." A soft, little girl's voice spoke up out of nowhere, starling the trio enough to raise their weapons. Forming a defensive circle, they tried to find the unknown assailant in the darkness but with no luck.

"Who's out there?!" Ben asked, his eyes darting back and forth to scan his surroundings. Their blood pumped heavily as they heard the sound of soft crunches of leaves getting closer and closer until revealing a small, hunched figure. Immediately, Emily gasped as she dropped her weapon before crouching down and hugging the small person.

"Lyah! I'm so glad you're alive!" She said. Ben released a sigh as he dropped his weapon, but Fletcher was still a little confused. Who was the small girl?

"She's a dryad. Lives in the woods with her parents but stops by camp to hang out with us every so often." Ben answered, seeing the confusion written on his face.

"W-Where's Percy?" The young dryad asked with a tone that absolutely crushed all of the demigod's hearts. "I heard loud booms and saw parts of the woods on fire. Mama and Papa said to hide and I haven't seen them since. I was hoping Percy would come get me."

The trio looked at another, silently contemplating telling her the news. But they couldn't do that to the girl. She was already scared as it is. They couldn't tell her that her hero had been killed. There were already too many broken hearts in the valley today.

"He'll be here soon. He actually told us to come find you while he takes care of some important stuff."

"Really?" The dryad asked with a smile causing Emily to nod her head with forced enthusiasm.

"You said you know where we could hide? Can you take us there?" Fletcher asked, ignoring the look Emily gave him for interrupting them.

"Sure. Follow me!" Lyah replied happily before running off into the darkness, spurring the demigods to run after her while making sure no enemies were following them.

~X~

"And that's about it. After she took us to the cave, we hid there until the enemies were gone."

Everyone in the hotel room watched the son of Poseidon silently stare out the window. He had been silent for a majority of the time which had worried them. He always asked questions, sometimes without even thinking, but now there was nothing. Poseidon watched his son's tense features, wondering what he could do in case things went south. Sadly, he had to admit that there was nothing that could be done if his son decided to destroy the entire town. Alaska has practically made him a demigod, stronger than most if not all but he second guessed himself when it came to Percy.

"…What did one of those guy's say when they captured Abby? Whose name did he say that was leading the troops out of the valley?"

"Oh…uh, what was her name?" Fletcher asked himself, snapping his fingers as his brain racked the question. "Ann…no…Anni maybe?"

"Annabeth?" Percy finished.

"Yeah, that's it!" Fletcher exclaimed in satisfaction. The room suddenly gained an ominous feeling with the air becoming denser, making everyone's shoulders begin to feel weighed down. Percy hands had become clenched deathly white and the window in front of him suddenly gained a heavy crack going across the panel.

"W-Why? Do you know her?" Fletcher asked, slightly scared of Percy's current demeanor.

"Percy, I need you to calm down! Even though I've lost most of my powers, I can still feel my domain. You're going to kill many mortals with those storms your brewing on the coastlines!" Poseidon warned with worry laced in his voice. The demigods couldn't believe the God's words. Was Percy truly that powerful to cause storms all around the world conjured merely by the influx of his emotions? Fletcher's mouth went dry at the thought of that. That was only something he thought a God like Poseidon could do but clearly Percy was something else entirely.

As soon as it started however, it stopped just as quickly. The gravity went back to normal in the room and the storms stopped. The crack on the window however, stayed, spitting Percy's face into two halves. They could see the reflection of his eyes which looked powerful but empty. The thought of Annabeth leading the attack on the camp had certainly caused something to snap inside of him.

"Yeah, I know her." The son of Poseidon finally responded but didn't elaborate any further. The other demigods didn't push the subject anymore, afraid of the consequences if they were to. Percy was on edge right now and even though he displayed a confident demeanor on the outside, inside was a totally different story. Poseidon could clearly see that despite his son trying to mentally wall himself off. It reminded him of himself.

"That's a story for another time. Right now, we need to worry about getting our people back." Percy changed the subject, walking over to his backpack at the corner of the room. Rummaging in it, he pulled out a pistol he had bought after they had arrived in Pine Woods. Well…he didn't really buy it. He just tricked the clerk with the mist to make him think he did. He didn't like to steal from mortals but these were desperate times. Beginning to load the clip, he continued speaking.

"You said that they were them back to Olympus?" He asked in which the trio of younger demigods nodded their heads. "What about you, dad? What do you know?"

"Zeus will probably imprison them at Olympus's prison. He'll keep them locked up in there for a few days for interrogation before executing them but seeing how he thinks you're dead, he might execute them earlier." Poseidon replied, causing everyone's anxiety to spike even more.

"I'm hoping that he'll want to publicly execute them. That'll cause at least a little bit of a delay considering all the immortals that will need to travel to Olympus."

"Perhaps." The sea God mused. "Maybe that along with Hecate and Artemis being imprisoned as well will cause him to delay even further."

"What? What do you mean Hecate and Artemis are in jail?!" Percy asked sharply.

"Their aid towards you and your group had been discovered. Zeus dealt punishment to them without any hesitation." Poseidon replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Percy internally groaned at that surprise. But it shouldn't cause too much of a hindrance in his plan. His people were first and foremost. If he had the chance to help the two Goddesses, he'd take it but that was only after he took care of his priorities. Attaching a silencer to the weapon, he set it down before bringing out Riptide. Making sure the blade was as sharp as the Nemean lion's claws, he set it down on the table as well.

"Poseidon and I will cross the border to regain his powers. Once that happens, we'll flash to Olympus. My plan is to have dad summon the rest of the Gods for a council meeting while I go down to prison. With them distracted, I'll break everyone out before mist traveling out of there. I can take everyone but not far away as that'll sap all my energy. That's why we'll go to the Atlantic where by then dad will flash us back to Alaska." Percy relayed his plan causing everyone to intently listen. It was a solid one albeit simple but that was ok. A simple plan was better than no plan.

"How will you avoid the Gods? Won't they feel your presence on Olympus?" Emily asked.

"You still got those pearls?" Percy tilted his head to the God.

"Yeah, I do." Poseidon nodded.

"That clears up that issue then." Percy stood up before shouldering his bag. He was ready to head out. This needed to be done fast. They had wasted too much time just standing here. The thought of his friends being interrogated irked him to no end. He's been trying to hold off the anger inside of him from exploding but it was getting really difficult. He needed to vent and what better way than to take it out on Olympus itself.

"What about us?" Ben asked. He was itching to come along too. He needed to avenge his sister's death. He needed to kill those that were responsible.

"You three will stay here at this hotel and wait till I'm back." Percy replied, already about to walk out the door with his father in tow.

"But Percy-"

"No buts!" The son of Poseidon snapped back, causing them to flinch. "I've already lost too many people. I can't lose you guys as well."

"Stay here children where you will be safe. There will soon come a time when you can avenge your friends." Poseidon gave a reassuring smile before closing the door to their room. The trio stood in silence, furious that they couldn't come along. They wanted to help their friends as well, not be stuck here in this small town. Percy has risked his life enough for their sake. It was time for them to repay the favor, but he wouldn't let them.

Walking out of the hotel, the father son duo made sure no one could see them before they mist traveled to the border of Alaska. Poseidon huffed as he felt his energy be taken away even more. He was thankful he was getting out of this godsforsaken land. Spending too much time here was certainly a strain on his health.

"Son, once you get to Olympus, there's no going back. You either succeed or die. You know that right?" Poseidon warned, looking over at his son who chambered a round in his pistol before holstering it.

"I know, dad. I'm prepared." Percy replied, giving a nod of affirmation. He knew he had to save his friends but what he didn't know was what he would do to the demigods from the other camps. His rage towards them was more than any type of anger he had ever felt before. They killed his mother, sister, friends, and family. They've done as much harm to him as Zeus has. In his eyes they were all guilty.

The question was, how should he enact justice. Should he be the judge or executioner? It was a tough call to make despite the rage he had inside of him. Although they had killed his people and destroyed Camp Freedom, these were still the people he had grown up with. Fought with. Bled with. It wasn't as simple to just turn off his brain and kill them all despite how much he wanted to. Killing demigods was something he had never done before besides at his mother's apartment and the only reason he was able to do that was because he had blacked out with uncontained rage.

"I can feel your conflict." Poseidon interrupted his inner turmoil.

"What do you think I should do?" Percy asked.

"Kill 'em all." The God replied back as if it was that simple. "Son, you are of the sea. It is a peaceful domain at times, but one simple thing can cause it to become the most dangerous force on Earth. You are the very personification of that phenomenon."

"I was just fighting for those people not even a year ago, dad. I stood alongside them as we fought against Gaea."

"That may be so, but I don't see them standing among you now. I didn't see them stand alongside you when you set on to Alaska. They were more than happy to stand alongside each other as they razed your home to the ground. They were more than happy to slaughter the people that did stand with you."

Percy remained silent as he took in his father's words. He knew it was true but that didn't make it any easier to hear. Killing monsters and even Gods were one thing. Killing people just like him was another.

"Percy." Poseidon said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "There's a reason you brought that pistol along with you. Even though it's not a weapon most often used in our world, in the mortal world however, it is a weapon that ensures death. I think you want that deep down. I think you are so mad, so angry, that you want to put a bullet in every single person's head that did you and your people harm. I think you want them to stay down and never get back up."

"So do that, son. Become death and enact its will upon those that wish you the same. Because I promise you, once Olympus knows that you're still alive, they'll come again. And this time, they'll make sure you stay dead."

"I-I understand." Percy replied, knowing that this needed to be done. Gone were the days of only killing monsters. Now, it was kill anyone that gets in his way of getting his family back. It was killed or be killed and by the River Styx he wasn't going to be the one dying. He'll kill them all, just like they had done to them.

"You're a part of House Poseidon, Percy. It's a house that has struck fear into many hearts. It's time for you to do the same. Kill them all, son. Kill them all."