"Just one thing before we leave." Hades said. Everybody turned to look at him. "Can we do the fates' challenge after reading the book? I'd genuinely like to clear my head before doing the challenge." He said.

"That'd probably be better." Chiron nodded "There are anyways only a few chapters left and they're all pretty short." He said. Everybody agreed with that and left slowly.

Percy looked at Poseidon, deciding not to be the one who starts the conversation about whatever was going inside his head. He was going to leave it to him to decide whoever he wanted to talk to. He decided to go a bake. He rubbed his hands at the thought of it which had Amphitrite raise an eyebrow at him. Percy grinned at her when she noticed.

"I'm just going to and bake." He told her. Amphitrite's other eyebrow shot up as well.

"Cookies?" she asked. Percy nodded.

"Is there anything else that you'd like?" he asked. "I love baking so I'll make that as well." He said

"Well, there is one thing…" Amphitrite started. She took a hesitant look at Poseidon and reduced her voice to a whisper. "I don't have to tell you that Poseidon's going through something that none of us are privy to." She started. Percy nodded. "I think he'd be slightly cheered up by a lemon cake. He's really fond of those. If you could make one?" Amphitrite told Percy.

"Definitely. I'll get it done." Percy said without any hesitation and with a smile. Amphitrite smiled at her step son whom she had begun to see as a son and gave him a side hug before Percy ran excitedly to the kitchen and everybody else sat down in the picnic garden near the kitchen itself. They didn't want to eat anything but the garden was pretty huge and a good place to hang out.

Annabeth went into the kitchen only to be witness to the sight of Percy grinning from ear to ear, in an apron while he vibed to music as he took out the flour. Percy looked at Annabeth and his grin got impossibly wider. Annabeth chuckled and took a seat on the counter which was remarkably clean. Percy was singing 'The Other Side' by Jason Derulo while Annabeth just smiled as she looked at him. In the middle of the song, Percy caught Annabeth staring at him and he chuckled and kissed her. Just then, Thalia walked in, saw the scene and walked right out. Percy and Annabeth laughed and rested their foreheads against each other's. They stayed that way before Percy went back to adding food coloring.

Once he was done with the cookies, he kept them on the side and Annabeth stole one of them which Percy noticed and it made him burst out laughing.

"How are they?" he asked. Annabeth blushed and grinned at him.

"As good as always." She answered. Percy grinned at her. "I think you have a successful career as a housewife." She said

"As long as you're with me." Percy winked at her, making Annabeth turn a bright shade of red.

Percy got to baking the lemon cake. Man, was he glad that his mom taught him to make it over his summer vacations after he had asked her to after tasting it at his university. Annabeth got off and helped him pull out all the ingredients. An hour later, the duo walked out with two boxes stacked on top of each other and Percy covered in flour.

"Nice hair, Perce." Will said amusedly making Percy grin.

"Its covered in flour isn't it?" he asked and Will nodded.

"Eh, its fine." He said. Annabeth chuckled and dusted her boyfriend's hair making Percy protest half-heartedly. Percy went and plopped down on the ground next to the Poseidon gang while Annabeth went and sat with her mother. Nico came and took a few cookies.

"This is good." He groaned with a mouthful of cookie.

"I know." Percy smirked.

"Nico!" Hazel called out. Nico turned to her. "Get some for us!" she said. Everybody laughed and Percy gave Nico a few cookies and Nico grinned and went back.

"Well, this is just for us." Percy said, opening the lemon cake. He and Amphitrite exchanged a knowing look and they gave each other small smiles.

"You made lemon cake?" Triton asked Percy who shrugged and nodded.

"Its freaking delicious." Percy said as if it was obvious. Amphitrite nodded in agreement. Poseidon looked at her and raised an eyebrow, getting a better understanding of the situation. He gave a light chuckle and kiss to Amphitrite, both of them bursting out in laughter when they saw Percy, Triton and Tyson dramatically covering their eyes.

"Thanks, son." Poseidon said finally with a smile to Percy. Percy chuckled.

"Nah, don't even mention it." He said. "Anyways, lets eat." Percy said with a grin and clapping his hands. Oh, and yes, he was still covered in flour.

Thalia and Jason sat awkwardly with Zeus and Hera in absolute silence as they both fidgeted. Thalia looked at Jason, her will to leave clearly visible in her eyes. Jason gestured to Zeus and Hera with only his eyes and Thalia muttered something incoherent under her breath. Jason sighed. It looked like he was going to be the icebreaker.

"Soo, read any new books lately?" Jason asked. He grimaced internally at the question but kept a straight and gentle face nonetheless. Thalia helped matters by answering and making the whole 'Hera's staring into my soul' fact less awkward.

"I don't like reading." She snorted "I'm pretty sure the last thing I read was the Iliad." She said. Jason couldn't help but chuckle and apparently neither could Zeus.

"Well, I have to read. Now, I've developed a liking for it." Zeus said. Jason sighed in relief, glad that the silence that was permeating was not that awkward anymore. He looked at Hera next who sighed, knowing that even she would have to say something. And maybe…somewhere she wanted to. She wanted to do something that would not be taken negatively by the people around her.

"I read A Court of Thorns and Roses recently. Then I read Spanish Love Deception." She said finally. Zeus looked visibly relieved that at least Hera was answering. Thalia and Jason's eyebrows shot up.

"Like it?" Jason asked, fighting the amusement that was threatening to flood his voice.

"Spanish Love Deception was good." Hera admitted.

"I've heard of it and I've heard of the book you mentioned before as well. Annabeth hates the A court of thing." Thalia said. "Says there's too much romance." She said with a small smirk. Jason disguised his amusement in a cough because Piper would say the same thing but he was relieved that Thalia was trying.

Hera huffed. "The first one wasn't that bad." She said.

"Hey, I didn't read it." Thalia said, putting her hands up.

"What about you, dad? Which book did you read?" Jason asked Zeus, feeling much more comfortable now.

"Game of Thrones." Zeus answered with a shrug.

"You've read it before?" Hera said questioningly.

"I love reading it." Zeus shrugged, trying to hide his slight nervousness, glad that Hera was talking to him.

"Who's your favorite? Jaime and Cersei Lannister?" Thalia teased. Zeus laughed heartily at that, surprising Hera but she did like seeing him laugh. It reminded her of the many reasons that she loved him.

"Definitely." Zeus said with a grin.

"I mean, genuinely, they were the best." Jason admitted.

"I liked Daenerys." Thalia shrugged.

"She wasn't bad." Hera commented. Thalia controlled the surprise that was about to show on her face. It looked the other two were doing the same thing. Honestly, this was one conversation that they didn't think Hera would want to be a part of. But, apparently, even she was trying.

Hermes and Apollo were sitting together with their kids and talking about the majors that they all had picked out.

"Well, what kind of business did you want to do?" Hermes asked Travis and Connor.

"Something interesting actually. Not anything typical. Something that gives us excitement and stuff, I guess." Travis said. Hermes raised an eyebrow, amusement written on his face as he thought about how that they could be interpreted in all the wrong ways. Travis blushed as he realized it too.

"Not that kind of excitement. That's Mr.D's area." Travis said and everybody burst out laughing as they all thought of it that way.

"So, maybe like a night club?" Apollo wagged his eyebrows.

"Yeah." Connor said.

"Open a casino." Chris snorted. Everybody turned to look at him, their eyes alight.

"Seriously?" Chris asked with wide eyes.

"Why not?" Connor and Travis said with matching grins.

"We'll get around to planning it." Hermes grinned widely. He and Travis and Connor high fived.

"As for foreign trade...well, you can work with me. I could use some help and ideas." Hermes smiled at Chris who grinned from ear to ear and nodded. Travis and Connor cheered and high fived Chris.

"I'll figure out something for Katie related to law. I could use her help as well. I'll ask her if she wants to work together." Apollo said, thoughtfully.

"I think she's going to love to." Travis nodded.

"Lets hope so." Apollo smiled. Will was going to join him and Asclepius in healing and medicine. Michael and Lee were going to help out with hunting.

"This is gonna be fun." Chris grinned. Nobody disagreed.

The Poseidon gang was messing around as they all ganged up on Triton for some random thing. Triton pouted at Percy and got an evil smirk as he flicked Percy's cookie. Percy glared at him in such a way that would have made him drop the cookie and run a thousand miles but Triton was feeling rebellious.

Percy tackled Triton on the ground causing him to yell and curse. Poseidon, Amphitrite and Tyson did absolutely nothing as they watched the scene in amusement. Percy tickled Triton till Triton's stomach hurt and he returned the cookie.

"S-Sorry." Triton wheezed. Percy smirked.

"Nobody takes my cookie." He said.

"Lesson learnt, sire." Triton said with a salute.

"Well, this was highly interesting to watch-" Poseidon chuckled "-But do excuse me for a while." He said. Percy's eyebrows furrowed in worry but he said nothing.

"Percy, mind joining me?" Poseidon asked hesitantly as he was about to leave. Percy got up in one swift movement as he walked with Poseidon who took him to the beach. Percy resisted the urge to jump into the sea after so long and sat down on the sand with Poseidon.

There was silence hanging in the air for a while as they both were absorbed in their thoughts and were listening to the sound of the waves.

"What do I do, man?" Poseidon swallowed after a while.

"I don't really know exactly what happened, dad. I know some but if you're willing to tell me exactly what happened, I might be able to give better advice." Percy told him. Poseidon nodded. He touched Percy's forehead to his as he transferred memories of that day with his son. Percy's eyes widened and he gasped as he replayed what went into his head once he sat back. Poseidon's eyes were watery but that came with sharing a memory that was as personal as that with somebody else. There were few memories that meant that much to the sea king.

Percy took a few deep breaths as he tried to process everything that had just happened. Apart from the memories, he was also trying to process the fact that while Poseidon could have just told him what happened but instead he chose to show him. That was something that meant a lot to him. There was a certain amount of trust that was conveyed with that. He knew that there was no way that he was going to share any of the details with anybody without any consent.

"I don't know what to do." Poseidon said helplessly. "Hades used to be my best friend not just my elder brother." He sighed. "He never would have done what I did. I had the power to stop it." Poseidon said, painfully. He clenched his fist.

"What's done is done, dad. There's nothing that can stop what happened before. But, I can tell you one thing…Uncle Hades is still your brother and he's still your best friend because a bond like that can never be broken. You'd still walk through fire for him and he'd do the same for you without blinking an eye." Percy said. Poseidon closed his eyes and sighed.

"What happened all those years was wrong, no doubt. And what you did was wrong as well but the only difference is that you know that it was wrong. Don't beat yourself over what happened that day. Its not going to help nor is it going to change anything. I would normally say that you could talk to him but you know that Uncle H thinks that actions speak louder than words. Tell him you're sorry and make sure that he knows it. Be his brother and his best friend like you used to be." Percy told Poseidon gently who nodded slowly.

"And as for Zeus, he may be annoying but he is your annoying little brother." Percy chuckled.

"Oh definitely." Poseidon said with a light laugh.

"Yeah, I know how that feels." Percy laughed and so did Poseidon. The both stayed there in a much lighter atmosphere, staring at the sea for a while.

"Well, I think we should get going. Break's over." Percy sighed, looking at his watch after almost half an hour. Poseidon nodded. He looked at Percy gratefully, knowing that Percy wouldn't allow him to say 'thank you'.

The duo walked back to the hall. It started raining just as they reached the hall. Everybody turned to look at Zeus who shrugged.

"I felt like it." He said. Most of the people sat down while a few leaned against the walls. Artemis took the book and flipped to the correct page.

RIDING ARION, HAZEL…like to be a centaur

Everyone's gaze turned to Chiron who smiled.

"When you go for a run, it does." He answered.

The boat captains…to charge into battle.

"Well, you get along well with people related to Poseidon." Jason commented with a chuckle to Hazel who shrugged with a grin.

"They're pretty cool, if I'm being honest." She answered. The sea gang and Frank beamed.

"She's gone over to the dark side." Hades said dramatically but even he was smiling.

Frank and Percy didn't…fifty or sixty miles.

They all chortled at that.

"Gee, thanks." Percy grumbled. Hazel grinned at him sheepishly.

"It's the speed." She said.

"Get her a bike, somebody." Hermes said.

"Oh I'll handle that." Ares smirked.

They raced through icy…the sound barrier

A few people grimaced at the thought and image of that.

"Its going to be hard to get close to that thing." Katie said worriedly.

"Arion can manage it." Poseidon said, knowing just what he was capable of.

"We can't get close…watch his language.

Everybody snickered.

"This horse is iconic." Castor laughed.

"What did he say though? That's the more important question." Nico said, wagging his eyebrows.

"Lets see. I remember what he said word to word because it was too hilarious to not. I quote 'Ha! Sons of bitches, that's what I'm made for. Amateurs.'" Percy snorted. That made all of them roar with laughter.

"Honestly, this is one of them tamer things he's said." Percy informed.

"That's it. We got to meet this horse." Travis declared. Hazel winked at him.

"This is all your fault." Demeter complained to Poseidon.

"Mine? Mine? He gets your temper and attitude." He said to her.

"You're the earthshaker and you're telling me that I have a temper?" Demeter asked him dryly.

"She does have a point, dear." Amphitrite said, enjoying this too much. Poseidon pouted at her.

"I feel betrayed." He said dramatically.

"That's proof that he gets it from you." Demeter smirked at Poseidon.

"Well, you never stopped him from swearing!" Poseidon defended. Demeter raised her eyebrows at him.

"Who taught him to in the first place?" she said.

"Now now, we have to continue reading but could we please continue this later. Its too entertaining." Hades smirked at his siblings. Demeter and Poseidon both glared at him but it wasn't angry. Demeter flipped him off teasingly, making Hades chuckle.

"See!" Poseidon said, throwing his hands in the air and everybody burst out laughing.

Hazel tried not…saying less than that

That just made everyone laugh much harder.

"He really does not like you." Demeter told Frank amusedly.

"All the better. He scares me." Frank muttered.

"Now what did he say?" Chris grinned.

"Dude, if I say what he did, Amphitrite's going to kill me." Percy said theatrically. Amphitrite snorted at that.

"Tell us later then." Hermes winked at him.

"Deal." Percy grinned. Amphitrite face palmed.

He promises you'll…cussed like horses

That was the last straw before everybody was on the floor, laughing their heads off.

"That's a thing now. Cussed like horses." Nico applauded.

"I'm pretty sure we said much worse stuff than what even Arion says." Percy muttered, making everybody dissolve into uncontrollable laughter again. Arion really help lighten the mood as much as he did in helping to complete the quest.

And held on desperately…ya punks!

"That's what he said. Except the language was a bit more colorful." Percy nodded.

Then he turned and ran…the arctic sun.

"That's just trippy." Dakota muttered.

There was no sign…propped her up

Hades clenched his fist as his vision went dark and dizziness overtook him.

"That's a reaction that returned souls have with Thanatos. He is after all the one who guided them the first time around." Persephone said with a small sad smile. Hazel nodded and swallowed.

"We've got you…to be a trap."

"It definitely is. But you have to walk into it." Nico said grimly.

Before Hazel could…constructed by the gods.

"Okay. This is genuinely weird." Reyna shivered.

"I mean if they're against us then they could at least come up with designs that are different as well." Annabeth grumbled.

They stopped ten feet…"Mr. Death?"

Everybody chuckled lightly at that. Hazel blushed.

"How else was I supposed to address him?" she defended.

"Honestly, he did find that quite amusing." Hades said with a small smile and Hazel huffed.

The hooded figure…here's the trap.

"Here we go." Lee sighed.

"It's a cruel trap at that. Using shades of centurions against them. Ridiculous." Dakota scoffed.

"Well, chapter's over." Artemis said.

"I'll read." Chiron sighed.