He felt warm. Comfortable. Like he was lazily drifting through the open water. He could even feel the warmth of the sun gently caressing his cheeks. A contented sigh left his lips. When was the last time he'd felt this good? This relaxed? He didn't know. A gentle wave slapped playfully against his hip, dripping over his stomach. He considered getting up, leaving, but he was just too comfortable. He didn't have anything pressing he needed to get to. He could spare another couple of minutes. Right?

Almost as soon as the thought occurred to him, however, there was a shifting in the waves. The wind picked up. What had been a comforting, gentle, breeze turned into a ferocious gale. Through his closed eyes, the warm, orange glow of the sun disappeared; replaced by shadow and chilling winds. He tried to open his eyes, but his body refused his commands. Attempting to thrash around was met with similar futility. Abruptly, the sloshing waves disappeared beneath him, and he suddenly felt weightless. His stomach lurched into his throat, as he plummeted, but still, he was unable to move or even open his eyes.

His momentum increased, as he fell faster and faster and faster. In spite of his closed eyes, he could feel tears from the sheer speed leak from his eyes. But as he reached an untenable velocity, he stopped. No jerking. No ground. Just a full stop. He was breathing heavily, and tried to speak out, but no words escaped him.

An image sprang to the forefront of his mind's eye. A mountain. Mist winding around the tips of the peaks as lush, fluffy clouds kissed the jagged rock of the mountain's face. At the peak of the mountain, he could see tall spires and the shimmering of gold marking the roadways. The golden tops of marble buildings which speared into the heavens. Temples, and monuments, and statues.

Olympus.

He knew it immediately. Or, rather, his heart knew it immediately. Familiarity and a warmth associated with home washed over him. But…why? Was this Hestia's doing? Was she trying to speak to him like she had when….when…when had Hestia spoken to him? He hadn't seen her in years…right?

What was happening? Where was he? Better question…who was he? His mind was fogging over, as a searing pain shot through his temples. The pain spread from his temples to his chest. As though someone were reaching into his very soul and digging around with a jagged knife. A wordless scream tore through his lips. Lightning flashed overhead, briefly casting the mountain in shadow. When the image cleared, the mountain was…gone. The marble structures, ruined. The golden roads, destroyed. The mountain itself, crumbling and failing.

Something clawed at his chest, begging, praying to drag him downwards. The world around him shook, and it sounded as though something below him shattered. Long tendrilled fingers wrapped around his torso, dragging him downward. He tried to fight. Tried to move, but his body refused to listen. His chest erupted in a new wave of fresh agony, as something ethereal began to drift free from him. His skin felt clammy, cool. His body limp, and suddenly he was tired. So very tired. All he wanted was to sleep. He still couldn't see, but the image of Olympus' destroyed facade was growing fainter and fainter with each passing moment.

Then, light. Brilliant, warm, comforting light shot through the storm. Parting the clouds and cresting the peaks of the dilapidated mountain. He felt as the light slammed into his chest, and his body jerked. A faint, melodic chanting echoed around him. Softly at first, before crescendoing into a vibrant, earth-shaking melody. The fingers around his torso convulsed and writhed, as though the presence of the light and song were fire to the touch.

There was something…familiar about the voice. Comfortable and soft, yet he could not place from where he knew it. Or from whom. The intensity of the light grew, encompassing his chest before becoming so blinding that all his view of the world was lost to white.

His eyes opened. For a moment, he was unable to comprehend his surroundings. Too caught off guard by all that had been happening. His hand shot to his stomach, but to his relief, his finger met only flesh. Breathing heavily, he finally took in his surroundings. He was no longer as the peak of Mount Olympus, instead, he was somewhere far more familiar. He would recognize Camp Half-Blood anywhere.

But…something was wrong.

The Camp…it was gone. He knew this hilltop. He knew it well. He had spent the majority of his adolescence on this very hill, but where there had once been a camp…there was nothing. The trace of divine power that had protected the camp was gone. The cabins, the buildings, the people, satyrs, nymphs, everything…gone.

There was nothing. Once more the ground shook. Thunder crashed overhead as the hillside opened up like the gaping maw of a whale. Darkness spewed forth from the crevice, casting the land around him in shadow. Something rumbled from within the crevice. Something was coming. The earth shook, the soil shifted, and the trees shriveled and died around him. A large shadow amassed near the mouth of the crevice. Crawling closer and closer.

The sky above opened up, and the same beam of light from before shot down. Simultaneously, fire erupted from the mouth of the crevice. A deep, unearthly wail emanated from the chasm, as the shadow retreated. The strength of the light grew more intense, as a feeling of warmth, safety, and comfort covered him. Somebody was speaking to him, but their voice felt distant. Garbled. As though they were speaking through a poorly connected radio. His body jerked, as he began to rise into the air once more. The light became blinding, as his world became ensconced in white once again.

Percy Jackson's eyes shot open. The pungent scent of the sea wafted under his nose, as the comforting sound of waves lapping against the shore danced around his temples. For a few moments, his vision was obscured. Small stars erupting in his periphery. He shut his eyes again, his mind racing. Where was he? He was comfortable, and judging by the soft linens under his back, he was in a bed. Clearly, he was somewhere by the sea, but where? And how did he get there? He tried to remember what had happened to him. He remembered a volcano. He remembered fighting Orochi. He remembered…Rumi…Gods be good, he hoped she was okay. Guilt cascaded over him as he remembered their final moments together. The look of anger and betrayal in her blood-red eyes as she flew from the mountain. He reminded himself that he'd done what was necessary for her to live, but knew that what he'd done…it couldn't be so easily forgiven. Even still, his heart yearned for the possibility that she would be able to forgive him one day. But he needed to push that aside for the moment, he had more pressing concerns. Namely, where the hell he was, and how he'd gotten there.

Slowly, he opened his eyes again. This time, he could actually take in his surroundings. It felt less like a room and more like a well decorated cave. The dull glow of a pair of lit sconces illuminated the craggy rock that formed the walls of the cavern. It felt humid and moist in the room, which was oddly comfortable, given the circumstances.

It was a simple, relatively sparse room. Aside from the bed he was in, the only furnishings were a small nightstand to the side of the bed, and a thin bookshelf in the corner. There was an opening at the other end of the room, which was the only exit from the makeshift bedroom.

Slowly and with a slight shakiness, he rose from the bed. Breathing unsteadily, he ran a hand through his hair and checked over his body. He appeared unharmed. Aside from his missing arm, there weren't any odd abnormalities, and he couldn't feel any tenderness or discomfort. He noted that most of his uniform was gone. The protective torso armor had been removed, leaving him in just his boots and pants. His gaze rose once more to the room, his mind raced. What…what was this? It wasn't the underworld, at least he didn't think so. His hand rose to his chest, and felt the satisfying "thump-thump" of his heart beat. Granted, he'd never actually died…or rather had never stayed dead, but he was fairly certain he wouldn't have a heartbeat if he had truly gone.

He rose to his feet, his balance unsteady, and he was forced to steady himself on the nightstand. His legs felt…weak as his legs trembled. His fingers fumbled against something on the nightstand. To his surprise, he saw a familiar golden cube. His trembling fingers reached out and wrapped around the small cube. Instantly, a familiar scent wafted into his nostrils.

Chocolate chip.

He could hardly fathom it.

He hesitated.

Did he eat it? Did he dare that much? But the smell was…intoxicating. Calling to him in such a homely, familiar way. Before he was even aware of what he was doing, the cube was passing by his lips. Warmth blossomed in his chest as the familiar taste of chocolate chip exploded into life along his taste buds. Almost instantly, the trembling in his legs began to subside.

He composed himself for a few moments, sighing in relief, before taking a couple of hesitant steps forward. After the first couple of steps, he found himself more comfortable moving and stepped towards the opening. The opening led into a darkened hallway, with only the faint glow of more sconces to tentatively light the path. The hallway eventually opened up into another small room. Like the bedroom, this room was fairly minimalist, decorated only with a handful of shelves with a variety of odd-looking plants and herbs. There was a single small table, and single wooden stool in the far corner.

His attention wavered from the room as the sound of the sea once more danced over him. Turning in the direction of the noise, he walked into another darkened hallway. At the end of the hallway, bright sunlight cascaded into cave. Stepping free from the dark confines of the cave, he was temporarily blinded by the bright yellow glow of the mid-day sun. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he was greeted by one of the most picturesque scenes he'd ever laid eyes on. The bright, vibrant greens of a lush forest were laid out before him, with a small and well-worn trail meandering into the greenery. Over the tops of the tress, he could make out a spectacularly beautiful beach. Marble white sands leading out into the bright, pale-blue ocean. Twin, mountainous cliffsides acted as sentinels over the vibrant forests, their peaks spearing into the heavens like the great swords of a long-lost warrior.

But as he stared around him, he was overcome with a sense of familiarity. He just couldn't shake the feeling that he had been there before. Had seen this before. But for the life of him he couldn't remember where. With nothing left for him to do, he began walking down the trail. The trail wandered in and out of the trees, and as he walked, Percy was struck an odd sensation.

It was quiet.

Stopping his walk, he glanced around the surroundings but couldn't see any sign of life. He strained his ears, but further heard nothing. No birds, no insects, no signs of life. He felt himself tense. Something was wrong with this place, but he couldn't yet place why. Continuing forward, he maintained a cautious approach. The path wandered around a new set of large trees, which opened up into a large clearing. The clearing, from one side to the other, was subdivided into half a dozen large plowed fields, marked by stubby rock walls. Growing in each of the fields was a number of odd-looking plants, none of which he recognized.

What he did recognize, however, was the figure at the far end of the field. She was crouched on her knees, gently smoothing the soil. It had been, well, centuries since he'd last seen her, and yet she looked precisely as he remembered her. Caramel-blonde hair fluttered over one shoulder, twisted into a soft braid. Her pale toga fluttered shyly as a soft breeze wafted through the clearing.

"Calypso?"

The words tumbled from his mouth like a gasp. In the silence of the clearing, she heard him clearly. Her caramel braid twisting over her shoulder as she glanced at him. A complex hurricane of emotions swirled over her soft features, before finally settling on a soft, sad smile. Slowly, she rose to her feet and turned to him. She didn't speak, didn't move. She just stared at him, that soft smile ever-present.

"C-Calypso?" he whispered again, scarcely able to believe what he was seeing.

"Hello Perseus," her voice was like soft honey. The unsteadiness in his legs returned. He took a step forward and collapsed to knees. He noticed her rush forward to meet him on the ground, the grass soft against his knees, the soil grounding into his hands. She reached him and knelt slowly. He felt a hand on his face as he watched her settle in front of him and gently guide his eyes to meet hers.

"H-how?" He whispered. She smiled gently, melancholic. Percy leaned back on his heels and lifted his hand to hers. He held it gently, her skin unreasonably soft. "You shouldn't be here. You… I…" Percy looked around, the island looking exactly like he remembered, yet nothing like he imagined.

Calypso sighed and rubbed a thumb over his face. "I am precisely where you left me," Percy looked back at her as she edged closer. "You landed on my shores, your father carrying you here more than likely." She smiled at him, but Percy didn't meet it. Couldn't meet it. Frowning slightly, she continued. "Somehow, you were even worse off this time than the last. So, a Leviathan, perhaps? Or perhaps you chose to dance with Charybdis?" She tried lightening the mood, Percy couldn't quite enjoy the attempt and her smile faltered once more. "Your injuries were severe," she glanced at his arm and he held her tighter. "I can't do anything about that, I am sorry."

Percy blinked rapidly. "No, no, no- I…I'm sorry... you- this- I- none of this should be here. You-" Percy inhaled shakily. He needed to tell her. She shouldn't be there. Couldn't be there. He didn't even know how she could be there. But that didn't matter. She needed to know, and there was no kind way to say, so he simply said it.

"The gods… they're dead."

She scoffed. "You cannot kill a god, Perseus." She used his full name scoldingly, like a mother would their child. "Sure," she shrugged. "You may defeat them and send them to Tartarus, but they cannot die. Not truly."

"But they are. They have. They did!" Percy reached for his pocket quickly, his side ringing and his back firing up in pain. He let out a quick gasp.

"Careful, you know the consequences of moving when you should not."

"My- my stuff. My pants, and Riptide and the spork?!"

"Spork? What's a-"

"It's my dads trident. It's… if you truly don't believe me, then I wouldn't have it. But I do. Because they're all gone. Hestia's the only one left." The words tumbled forth like a waterfall. Collapsing over one another so rapidly that it was hardly even intelligible to him. Percy slumped down, hiding into himself. Calypso let go of his face, she squeezed his hand and stood, heading towards where he had just left. A few moments later she came back her hands full of familiar items. The pen, and the spork. Inhaling slowly, Percy reached out and turned the spork sideways, parallel to both of them, and activated the magic. Sprouting forward was his fathers rusted, barnacle-encrusted trident. Calypso gasped and brought her hands to her mouth.

"I am… I am so sorry." He gasped out. "I am so sorry that, that even in their death you're still here. You should've been freed. It should've happened when I asked. I should've checked in and made sure they did it. Leo would've been able to, but he couldn't- he can't! I… I am so sorry, Calypso." She didn't respond, too shocked to speak.

"You deserve the whole story" he said softly. She nodded, though she appeared as though she was barely hearing him. But Percy told her nonetheless. He spared nothing, telling her everything that happened from his father's summoning Percy to Atlantis, to his arrival in the future, his life at the school, and the battles led him to his arrival at her island. He told her everything that Hestia had reiterated to him about what had happened to the gods.

At some point during the story, she had managed to wrench he eyes from the sky, and were focused instead on him. Her expression growing more and more solemn the longer he spoke. When he finally stopped, she remained silent for some time. Allowing herself to digest all of the information Percy had given her. For his part, Percy allowed her that peace, he had his own thinking to do.

Absently scratching at his chin, he winced. His cheeks were thick with whiskers, and judging by the hair tickling at the underside of his ears, he was in desperate need of a cut. He clearly had been out of commission for some time. But for how long? A couple of days? Weeks? Months? He was fairly certain that time worked the same on the island, but he wasn't overly confident about that.

Gods…what would the others think? Once more, Rumi's face flashed to the forefront of his mind's eye. The woman might never speak to him again after what he'd done. Truth be told, he didn't know if he'd blame her for it. He'd betrayed her trust in a moment of absolute vulnerability. That being said, if put in the same position again, he would repeat his actions without hesitation. Regardless of whether or not she had been blessed by a god - a fact that he was still deeply uncomfortable with - she couldn't have survived that eruption.

But would she see it that way?

He doubted it.

"Are you okay?"

Calypso's voice pulled him from his thoughts. She was staring at him again. Concern evident on her young features. He heaved a heavy breath.

"I think so," he said, "just….just worried about the people I left behind."

She nodded, tilting her head and gazing at him intently. "Your new love?" She prompted.

Percy winced. That felt…wrong. Felt…weird. Whatever he and Rumi had, it was fresh. Young. They hadn't even had the time to figure it out for themselves before shit hit the fan.

"She's not my…love, or anything," he said, "at least, I don't think she would appreciate being called that."

"I was under the impression your prior paramour felt similarly,"

Percy snorted, "Might be underselling it a bit. I don't think anybody could ever claim ownership over Annabeth, not while she was still breathing anyways."

Calypso chuckled, then the somber expression returned. "But you did not answer my question. Not really. You have been through a horrible ordeal. Are you all right?"

"You're too nice, Calypso," he muttered. "And I think I should be asking you that, your entire world just came crashing down around you."

"Thank you for you the kind words and thoughts Percy, but please quit deflecting and just answer the questions."

No getting around her, he supposed.

"I'm doing okay," he said. "I'd be lying if I said things were good. Kind of feels like every other day there's some new crisis to deal with. But I've been dealing with it, and I've-I've got people in my life that care about me. I've been happy. Really happy. It's been nice."

Calypso smiled serenely at him, reaching out and grabbing his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers and gently squeezing.

"That makes me very happy to hear." She said, "I know well what that kind of isolation can do to a person. And you have already been through far too much to have to deal with loss like that."

He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Especially in light of her own situation, so he opted to smile thankfully at her.

"How are you holding up?" He asked, "I've, um, I've dropped a lot on you."

"I'm…managing," she admitted, her mouth contorting into a light grimace. "I'll admit to being more than a little overwhelmed. I've been told that one whom I held quite dearly is dead, that I've been essentially keeping myself prisoner for two-hundred years, the gods are dead, and now the boy I once loved has washed back up on my shores, and once more, his heart is not mine to capture."

Percy winced at that. He'd been hoping that they could avoid that particularly uncomfortable conversation.

"But all that being said," Percy turned to meet her eyes, and was shocked to see her smiling, in spite of the tears brimming in their corners.

"I'm happy." She gripped Percy's hand with her both hands, and squeezed even more tightly. "I'm happier than I've been in-in-in I don't even know how long. Percy…I can leave. I can leave this hell on earth, can finally live my life. Can finally see the world. Meet people. Do you know what it's like to only speak to someone once every couple hundred years?" She didn't give him an opportunity to speak.

"It sucks!" She released her grip on him and threw her hands in the air out of frustration. "Gods be good it's a miracle that I can even manage to still have a conversation these days. Did you know that I had to practice having conversations by speaking to my plants? I feel like a damned daughter of Demeter!" She fell back into the grass, laughing so brightly and happily that Percy couldn't quite stop the smile that spread across his face.

Percy watched her for a while, allowing her to memorialize the moment that she finally, after eons, was actually free of her prison. When the laughter subsided, he asked his most pressing question.

"What are you going to do?"

Calypso rolled over to look at him, tears of happiness still staining her cheeks. She sat up, dabbing at her cheeks.

"I don't know," she admitted, pulling her knees up to her chin to look at him. "I used to spend my days imagining what I would do if I ever were to be granted my freedom, but as the centuries went on, my hope for freedom just…disappeared. It's been so long that I don't know what I'll do. Where I'll go. It's not like there's an Olympus for me to find a home anymore. And from what you've described, the world has…changed rather drastically since the last time I walked amongst the mortals."

"Preaching to converted there," Percy chuckled. "It was a hell of a culture shock waking up and seeing literal superheroes flying around." The phrasing seemed to go over head, but Calypso appeared to understand what he was saying. A thought occurred to him.

"You know…you could always come with me." He offered tentatively. Her head snapped in his direction, her eyes wide.

"W-what?"

"Yeah," he said shyly, scratching behind his ear. "You could always come with me. Take it from me, it would have been nice to have a familiar face while I was acclimating and, well, the people I work with…they're good people. They'd be more than happy to help you out. To offer you a place to stay as you get adjusted…" He trailed off, "I also don't think you should be alone right now…I shouldn't have been when I came back into the world, and it was…not good." He glanced up at her, immensely regretting even opening his mouth. She was crying again. Tears streaming down her already stained cheeks as her shoulders heaved with each wracking sob.

Then, just as he was about to tell her to ignore him entirely, he grunted as Calypso shot forward. Colliding with his chest and toppling him to the ground. Her face was shoved into the crook of his neck as she wrapped herself around him in tight embrace.

"Thank you," she whispered into his neck. "Thank you, Percy."

Uncertain at first, he slowly wrapped his arm around her, and returned the embrace. Tucking her more gently against his torso.

"We're all the family we got left Calypso…you and me…I wasn't going to throw you out the wolves like that. I failed you once-" She made a noise of protest but Percy shut it down.

"I did," he insisted. "I might have told the gods to free you, but it was up to me make sure that they actually upheld their end of the bargain. I didn't and you suffered as a result."

She pulled back a little, and looked up at him.

"Percy, if you're only offering to help me out of pity-"

"This has nothing to do with pity," he said quickly. "And it has everything to do with the fact that you're my friend. You're my friend, and I have the opportunity to help you. To fix my mistake. Do I feel guilty? Yeah, but it doesn't take away from the fact that I want to help you because I care about you. I want to help you."

That seemed to assuage any concerns of hers, as she rested her head against him once more. They laid there for some time, both of them simply taking comfort in this sense of familiarity and safety that they hadn't felt in far too long. In a world that, for the longest time, had been so confusing, so different, Percy relished the fact that he had found someone that was familiar. Something that made sense to him. Best of all, it was his friend. Someone he had failed, and was now able to make amends to in a meaningful way.

It didn't take long for Calypso to gather the resources she needed in order to get off the island, or to gather what few possessions she had of hers that she wanted to bring with her. Everything was packed up neatly in a pair of small, black suitcases. The sun was just beginning to set over the horizon as Percy set foot on the raft. He gazed out to the horizon beyond, knowing instinctually which way he needed to sail in order to get home.

Home.

He didn't know when he'd started thinking of it as such, but it was certainly the truth. Rumi, the Cats, the Kids, the teachers….they were his home now. His new family.

He turned back to Calypso, she seemed almost hesitant to get on board. Staring at the raft in cautious suspicion. Percy chuckled to himself and walked over to her. He extended his hand out.

"Ready to head home?"

The smile that spread across her face could have lit up the horizon.

Gripping his hand tightly in hers, she allowed him to pull onto the raft. Then, with a small command, the ocean waters pulled at the raft.

Together, they sailed out into the setting sun.

AN: All right. I am alive and hopefully writing again. Sorry for the absence, but I was busy studying for and taking the Bar Exam (Lawyer licensing exam) but now its over and I feel like a human again. Hopefully going to be able to crank out some chapters before September. Thanks for the patience and for all your love. As alwaysShoutout to Double0Sxvxn for being an awesome Beta and dealing with my bullshit and as always if you enjoyed this but haven't checked out my other work, give them a try you never know you might find something else you like. I'm also on discord now, where I and a bunch of other writers hang out, chat and brainstorm ideas, you just have to copy the link that's in my profile bio if you want to come and hang out with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and have an awesome week

All My Love,

LilDB