Act II Chapter XXV: "I prayed to find someone who could protect me."

"O Iris, goddess of rainbows, show me Sally Jackson in New York at..." Percy trailed off and tried to remember his address. As he recited it, the slight mist that he had tossed the golden dracmae into shimmered. It turned into an image of his mother.

A grin came to Percy's face. His mother was sitting at the table and looking down at a notebook. Her lips were pursed, and she seemed focused. Percy slowly spoke, "Mom."

Sally jumped, and her gaze shot up. A wide smile came to her face, and she stood. Sally practically threw herself into the Iris message, "Percy! What is this?!"

"It's an Iris message," Percy began. "We can communicate this way. Um, I have to get you some golden drachmaes first, but at least I can see your face."

"You have to tell me everything, Percy. Okay?" Sally said.

"Yeah. Of course," Percy said quickly. "I went through a lot of training at first. Then, we went on a q...quest. Don't be worried! I'm fine. We found where Camp Half-Blood was before it was destroyed, and we're working on restoring it. Luke, the guy you met when you dropped me off, went with Will, this son of Apollo, and I to find the god that used to be there. I played him in Pac-Man!"

"We found the statue that used to protect Camp Jupiter, the camp for Roman demigods, and reattached his head to his body. Because he's a bust," Percy continued. Sally's eyes were wide as she listened. "I'm fine, though. I made new friends."

"Luke has been teaching me a lot about sword fighting, and Annabeth taught me a lot about mythology. I'm going to spar Reyna, the other person who went on the quest with us, today. Everything is going great. I want to visit soon. If I can," Percy finished.

"You are welcome any time," Sally promised. A small smile came to her face. "So... tell me about Annabeth. Or, who was the other one? Reyna?"

"Ew! Gross," Percy complained as his nose crinkled. "We are not going to talk about Annabeth or Reyna."

A smile rested on Sally's face. Percy couldn't help but smile back. He spoke, "I don't have much time, but I promise I'll message you for longer next week."

"I can't wait. And maybe, you can explain all that again with more details," Sally said with a smile. "I love you, Percy."

"I love you too, Mom. Tell Paul I said hi," Percy said. Sally nodded, and tears glistened in her eyes. "I'll see you next week. Promise."

Percy ran his hand through the message because he knew he was going to cry if he waited any longer. A sad sigh left him as he stood and made his way out of the small cabin. His gaze moved around the camp. The new arrivals looked to be standing around the middle of the fire, talking.

Silena Beauregard. Charles, but don't call him by his first name unless you were his girlfriend, Beckendorf. Miranda Gardiner. Lee Fletcher. Harley. Chris Rodriguez. Micheal Yew.

Hopefully, there would be more to come.

"Percy," Tyson said. Percy turned his head and smiled at his friend. It was still hard to look up at the eye, but other than Clarisse, the rest of the demigods seemed to treat Tyson well enough.

"Hey," Percy greeted. "How are you settling in?"

"Good," Tyson answered. He looked around and then moved his gaze to Percy. "But, that wolf is scary."

"Lupa looks scary and can act like it, but she isn't all that bad," Percy promised. Tyson nodded but didn't look too convinced. His eyes darted around. Percy looked around as well. Everyone seemed to be eating breakfast.

Percy had wolfed his plate down to be able to talk to his mom. He looked at Tyson and spoke, "Are you hungry?"

"I was eating," Tyson began. He wrung his hands together. "Until the wolf told me to come with her."

Percy's eyes shot all over Tyson, but he didn't have any new injuries on him. Would he bleed red like a demigod? Or would dust trickle out like a monster? Percy mentally slapped himself for the thought and instead focused on his friend.

"What did she say?" Percy questioned as the two walked further away from the others. Tyson looked around again like he was worried someone had followed them.

"That we... are... brothers," Tyson answered. A huge grin broke out on his face. "I always wanted a brother!"

Percy stared at his friend. Or... brother?

How could they be brothers? Percy knew his mom didn't have another kid, and his father... would his father give birth to a monster?

Tyson wrapped Percy in a hug, squeezing him. Percy gasped, "Tyson!"

"Sorry," Tyson said as he quickly released Percy. All Percy could do was find his footing and stare. Tyson was his brother. His brother was a monster.

No. Not a monster. Tyson was a Cyclops who already went out of his way to protect the demigods. Tyson looked Percy in the eyes. He spoke, "The scary wolf said no one can know."

"Yeah," Percy began. He cleared his throat. Percy was still reeling from Tyson being a mon... Cyclops. The brother bomb was a knockout punch. The demigod took a deep breath and tried to focus. "So, Poseidon..."

"Is my father," Tyson declared. "He led me to you."

"Led you to me?" Percy asked. Tyson nodded quickly, almost imitating a bobblehead.

"I prayed to find someone who could protect me," Tyson began. He swallowed painfully. His thumbs started to dig into his hands. "The other monsters didn't treat me nicely. They... hurt me."

"I'm sorry," Percy began. He grabbed Tyson's hands especially because he looked like he was going to start breaking skin. "I'm going to protect you the best I can, okay?"

"I know you will," Tyson said with a small smile.

"But big guy, I don't think Poseidon led you to me," Percy said.

"He did," Tyson insisted.

"Well, see. All of the gods are not themselves," Percy began. "There was another camp like this one: Camp Jupiter. That camp and this one was destroyed decades ago. Everyone will tell you a different story, and I don't know which one I believe. In fact, I think that no one has the exact story."

"The point is that there weren't many demigods left to keep the gods sane, and a lot of them have lost themselves. Poseidon has too, but I am going to bring him and the rest back."

"I'll help," Tyson proclaimed.

"I know you will," Percy grinned. "The reason no one can know we're related is because no one can know my dad is Poseidon. There's a prophecy about a child of the Big Three gods reaching a certain age, and they'll make a decision that will save or destroy the world. A lot of people would kill me if they knew who my father is. That's why no one can know."

Other than his mother, Lupa, Dionysus, Annabeth, and now Tyson.

"Lupa told me that no one could know," Tyson confirmed. "If I told someone, she would eat me."

"I'll make sure she doesn't," Percy promised. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Grover walking toward them, nervously playing with a reed pipe. Percy had seen him playing with it to regrow plants. Secretly, he thought the plants grew because they were trying to get away from the noise. "Hey, Grover!"

"Hey," Grover said with a small wave. His eyes shifted over to Tyson. "So, um, how are you fitting in?"

Grover looked ready to jump out of his skin, but Percy was proud of him for not running away. It seemed like everyone was keeping their distance. Tyson looked between them and answered, "I'm okay. No one seems to like me."

"That's not true," Percy began.

"They're just not used to a friendly... mo- Cyclops. Most that they meet try to kill them," Grover said. Tyson nodded.

"I understand," Tyson mumbled.

"No one talks to you?" Percy questioned.

"You do," Tyson said. He clamped a hand on Grover's shoulder, and Grover jumped. "And you. The one who smells weird said a few things to me."

"Smells weird?" Percy repeated.

"Smells different," Tyson decided.

"Must be Reyna," Grover guessed. "I can smell it too. She's a Roman."

"That gives her a different scent?" Percy questioned. Grover nodded. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Every demigod has a bit of a different scent," Grover began. "I can't pick out the differences, but Lady Artemis always told me that older, more powerful monsters can. She tried to train me, but that didn't work too well. The scent of a Roman is harsher."

"Really harsh," Tyson added. Grover nodded his agreement.

"Lady Artemis also said the new Romans carried the burden of guilt in their scent," Grover said. "I doubt that's true, but Lady Artemis thinks it is. And I'm not about to argue with her."

"She does not like Romans," Percy noted.

"That's an understatement," Grover commented. "Um, Tyson. Do you think you could help us move some wood? It's too heavy for us."

"Of course," Tyson said as a huge grin came to his face. Grover nodded and gave Percy a small wave. They walked away. Percy looked back at the other demigods. A grin came to his face.

"We're going to do this," Percy whispered to himself. "Train up and save the gods. I know we can do it."