Ch10
For Percy the trip back home to New York was a tense one. From taking an airplane to going to the Empire State building he felt apprehension every step of the way. Once he got to Olympus he was face to face with Zeus and his father. The meeting was going well more or less so far, he had given Zeus the bolt after which he recounted his journey with his friends leaving out some personal bits. After he mentioned the thing about Tartarus his father and Zeus exchanged a serious look and a conversation before Zeus declared the meeting over and left.
He had a good conversation with his father and he thought everything was done when he asked him a question. "Percy may I ask you about your friend, the one who traveled and fought with you against Ares?"
"You mean Magnus? What about him?" He asked in surprise. He felt his father's calm eyes on him, they were peaceful yet for some reason, Percy could feel something else, apprehension.
"Did something happen with him in the underworld?" his father asked calmly.
Percy bit his lip and looked away, he had left that part out since he thought it was of no importance and personal, "Yeah but it was weird," he said as he told him about Magnus's exchange with Hades. When he was finished his father's eyes were expressionless though for a moment he saw shock. "Do you know what it was about? What did Lord Hades do to him?" He asked his father.
His father sighed, "I am not sure myself but since he is here it means he is safe. By chance do you know of his parentage?" His voice was calm though Percy noticed a bit of apprehension in it.
Percy shook his head, "No, he has been in camp for a while but he has never been claimed. Do you think his father will claim him since he did this important quest?" He asked hopefully.
For a second he saw a sad look in his father's eyes which was quickly replaced by a look of calm. "I wouldn't count on it, but you never know."
Percy looked down, "But that's not fair, why won't his dad recognize him? He is a good person and he helped me a lot on this quest and he still has to stay in the Hermes cabin unclaimed?" he said trying to be calm but on the inside, he felt his anger rise a bit. How could his dad just abandon him like that? Magnus is a good guy.
He feared his dad would be upset with him for raising his voice and questioning him but instead he looked at him with a sad look and sighed, "The fates are odd Percy. Tell me is this Magnus is he a good friend of yours?"
Percy nodded, "Yes, he has helped me a lot since I arrived at camp and helped me fight even though he knew sometimes he could get hurt. He stood by me all the way even though fighting is not his strength"
His father nodded, "I am glad you have found someone who is a good friend. I hope you will find more of them in your life. How about this, since he performed well during this quest I shall write to Chiron and allow Magnus Chase to stay in the Poseidon Cabin with you. I won't claim him as my own child but I will allow him to be a part of the Poseidon cabin and enjoy all the privileges of being a member of my cabin until he is claimed."
Percy felt his eyes widen, "Really? Thanks dad," he said as his father smiled at him.
"You are welcome son, your friend deserved it. He has proven his loyalty to Olympus and to his friends. You will need all of the friends and allies you can get prepare well for the future my son," Poseidon said with a smile.
"I will dad thank you for everything."
He did a small bow and turned around and was about to head out when his father called him again, "Oh and Percy if anything like what has happened with Hades happens again with your friend let me know please."
He turned around and saw that his father's eyes were serious. "Sure I'll let you know."
"Thank you, now why don't you head back now I believe you have an important decision to make," his father said. Percy smiled at his father and nodded as he headed back to meet his mother.
Magnus was exhausted from the whole trip from the plane ride to New York to the trip back to camp he felt thoroughly exhausted. However, when he and his cousin returned to camp and were greeted by Chiron he was told that he wouldn't be going back to the Hermes cabin. "What do you mean?" He asked as Chiron explained that he will be staying in the Poseidon Cabin with Percy.
Chiron smiled at him, "Lord Poseidon sent me a letter saying he commends your bravery on this quest and as a reward, he will allow you to be a member of the Poseidon Cabin. You will be able to stay sleep there and eat at the Poseidon table; you may move there immediately."
Magnus couldn't believe what he had been told, "Wow I'll go thank him when I can," he said. Chiron smiled at him and he saw a look of relief in his eyes as he went to go move his stuff. Annabeth on the other hand had to talk with Chiron. He wished his cousin luck as he saw that she was very much afraid of being punished.
When he got to the Hermes Cabin he was greeted by some friends and noticed that Luke wasn't there, he moved his stuff to Poseidon's cabin and chose a bed right across from Percy's and immediately fell on it. This is so nice he thought as he let out a sigh and felt his body go to sleep.
This time the dream was different, he was riding away on a horse while a pair of wolves tried to chase him. He didn't feel afraid this time as the horse carried him to the safety of a large mountain. While in the sky two black ravens kept their distance from a large owl and an eagle.
As he looked back at the wolves he noticed them glare at him as their pace slowed down. Deserter traitor, they growled in a low voice as they slowly fell from his view their voices getting farther and farther away. He felt safe this time as the horse carried him to the safety of the mountain. However, as the wolves turned away he saw something, it appeared to be a golden boar in the distance. The boar did not appear to be with the wolves as it stood far away from them but he could tell it was different. The boar stared at him and let out a sad sound almost as if it had lost someone important, for a second he felt sad about the boar it felt familiar to him for some reason. But the dream soon ended before he could get a better look at it.
When Percy got back there was a big celebration as everyone was excited for them and cheered for them (minus the Ares cabin who were pissed at both of them for humiliating their dad). Annabeth got a minor punishment for leaving the camp and joining their quest but Chiron wasn't too hard on her and just had her help clean the Big House.
Percy was excited to have him in his cabin and the two divided up the room between them. This place is still huge he thought as he placed his books on a bookshelf which he got from the Athena Cabin, he didn't care for blue but he wasn't complaining he was glad to have his own space for once. Percy was currently resting on his bed as he talked about his meeting with his father.
"Oh Magnus what will you do over the year?" Percy asked as he rested on his bed.
"Well me and Annabeth will probably visit her dad's family," he said with a nervous laugh. I hope it goes well at least he thought as he picked up a book, he turned and saw his mother's bookmark with that weird rune on it and he smiled at it. Mom I hope you are alright wherever you are he thought as he closed it.
"Are you going back to your mom?" He asked Percy.
"Yeah especially since my stepfather may not be in the picture anymore," Percy said with a sly smile. The two laughed as they continued their day and rested after they cleaned up the cabin.
During dinner while he sat with Percy he offered a sacrifice to Poseidon thanking him for letting him use his cabin, "Thank you for everything Lord Poseidon, Percy is a good friend to me and I promise that I will protect and standby him," he said as he dumped some food in. He also dumped some food in for Athena and thanked her for her help and for keeping both him and Annabeth safe. He didn't like giving up food but Athena was important to his cousin and she had helped him and now Poseidon was also important to him.
While he and Percy were eating dinner he looked at the Hermes cabin and tried to find Luke, the guy had been acting weirder than normal and he couldn't and avoiding him.
"Hey Magnus what are you looking at?" Percy asked looking up from his blue food.
"Luke have you seen him?" he asked
Percy shook his head, "No why? I thought you two didn't get along."
"We don't just curious," he said looking at the Hermes table, something did not feel right and he knew it but he could not put his finger on it. He gave Percy those shoes and they nearly dragged Grover to Tartarus he thought as he gripped his fork, something is definitely not right, there is no way he wouldn't have known about those shoes.
He looked at Percy as he ate his food could he have wanted to kill Percy? But why? Nothing made sense, yeah he didn't like Luke but still why would want to kill Percy? He ate his dinner in silence as he looked around and kept an eye on things, he did not see Luke at all and he felt as if something were about to happen.
Later that night after he had talked with his cousin before he went to the Poseidon Cabin and noticed Percy was not there this is not right he thought. He immediately ran out of the cabin and ran through the camp. When he heard from someone that they had seen Percy with Luke he swore as he ran to find them.
He ran to the river where he heard Luke's voice, "Don't worry Percy soon the Gods will fall," he jumped through the trees as he saw a scorpion stab, Percy. Percy let out a loud scream as the creature stabbed him.
"Percy!" He yelled as he glared at Luke with his sword drawn. "So it was you huh?"
"Little Magnus your cousin isn't here to help you," he said with a sneer. Magnus looked at Peter who was on the ground and back at Luke. He charged at him with his sword but was easily blocked and disarmed by Luke. "You were always such a pest, Annabeth would have had it much easier if you weren't around. You should probably see the light too since your father never bothered to claim you," he said with a sigh. His eyes were cold as he glared at him.
"Oh fuck off," he spat as he tried to attack Luke with a dagger but he easily blocked his attack and kicked him to the ground.
"I would help Percy he doesn't have much time left. So long Magnus hopefully you and your cousin see the light too," he said as he disappeared into a black portal.
"Shit," he swore as he turned to Percy to was being dragged by a Naiad to the river. "Percy!" He yelled as he went and helped them bring him to the water. Percy was knocked out, "Crap go call for help," he said. The Naiad nodded and ran to get help while he held Percy in his arms. He ignored the wetness as he hopped the water would heal him. Strangely though he felt as if his body were glowing with energy, he didn't feel cold but he felt as if he held Percy close enough to him while in the water he would get better and fight off the poison.
Fortunately for him, help came quickly in the form of various campers. They quickly brought him to the hospital and they called Chiron who was able to help heal him. "He will be alright Magnus for now can you tell me what happened?" He asked as they watched Percy sleep.
"Percy!" Annabeth yelled as she entered the tent and saw him on the bed. "What happened? I heard he was attacked." She looked at them and Magnus explained what had happened, how Luke had attacked Percy. There was a silence as when he finished, both Chiron and Annabeth appeared shocked. "Luke no," Annabeth whispered. "This must be a mistake he wouldn't do this."
Magnus gripped his fist as he looked at Percy. He nearly killed Grover and Percy and you still are defending him? He didn't say anything to her since he knew that she was close to Luke, even if he didn't like the guy personally.
Percy took a few days to recover, during that time word spread around the camp of Luke's betrayal. Both him and Annabeth were so anxious about Percy that they visited him every day and in the meantime, he sacrificed his food to Poseidon asking him to help Percy. When he and Annabeth found out that Percy had awakened they both immediately ran over there. "Percy how are you?" Annabeth asked when they saw him.
Percy rubbed his head, "I am ok how long have I been out?"
"A few days," he said as he told him about how he found and fought Luke. When Chiron came Percy retold his story of Luke and Chiron sighed when it was done.
"Well the only thing we can do is prepare," Chiron said with a sigh. "Stay here as long as you need Percy."
Percy nodded and when Chiron left the room he turned to them, "Oh Magnus thanks for helping me," he said with a smile.
"No problem, I suspected something was up I'm just glad I got there in time," he said with a smile. "Luke defeated me though when I tried to stop him."
"Don't worry, Luke is a tough opponent," Percy said reassuringly. "So are you guys are leaving?" Percy asked
Annabeth nodded, "Yeah we decided to contact my dad, he will visit us soon. What about you?"
"I think I'll return home," Percy said with a smile.
"Well I guess we will see you next year at camp then," Magnus said as Annabeth nodded.
"Yeah but hey maybe you guys could visit me if you are free," Percy said.
"I don't know we can't just leave camp without permission," Annabeth said which made Percy roll his eyes. Magnus winked at him and Percy winked back, who knows maybe he will visit Percy if he has the time. After all, he did want to see the city once in a while.
"Well either way stay safe Percy," Annabeth said with a smile.
"Don't worry I will. Try not to sneak out of camp again wise girl," Percy said causing both of them to laugh while Annabeth's face turned red and she punched both of them in the arm.
I am actually enjoying it here I am glad we are safe he thought as he looked out at the sun in the window. Magnus felt strangely at ease as he joked and talked with Percy and his cousin. He couldn't explain it but for some reason, he no longer felt like an outsider, even though he wasn't claimed and he still didn't care about getting claimed. He felt more at home here than ever and he hoped that he could continue to have fun here with Percy and his cousin.
Poseidon sighed as he headed back to his domain. This whole deal is turning out more and more complicated by the day he thought. He was glad that this entire ordeal over that stupid lighting bolt was done. He will never understand his brother's ego and was just glad that war did not start.
"Poseidon may I have a word," Athena asked appearing behind him.
He sighed as he turned to face the goddess who he didn't really get along with, "What is it?" He asked in the politest way possible.
Athena looked to the side as if verifying that they were not being watched. "You took into your cabin the boy Magnus Chase right?" She asked in a low tone.
Poseidon raised an eyebrow, he could tell by her demeanor that she was not picking a fight or make a snide remark; in fact, her eyes appeared to be concerned. "Yes I did, I didn't adopt him or anything but he helped my son, twice already so I decided to let him stay there as a member of my cabin," Poseidon said. He was furious when he found out Percy got hurt and was glad that the boy Magnus had helped him. "Is he of relation to your daughter Annabeth?" His son mentioned that they were cousins and at first he had assumed that he was Athena's child as well.
Athena looked around again, her eyes apparently making sure no one was watching them, "Yes he is her cousin on her father's side of the family. Poseidon I appreciate your efforts to take the boy under your wing, he means a lot to my former love and my daughter. I imagine you felt a bit of who he really is?"
Poseidon felt his eyes widen as he nodded slowly, he felt the boy's presence a little when he was in the water, and from what Percy had told him about what had happened with Hades verified his suspicions. That boy was not born Greek. "I have my suspicions," he said in a low careful tone not wanting to admit or deny anything. The boy looked like an ordinary demigod but if one looked closely they could notice that he was different. He himself wasn't sure about until the boy used the pearl to escape into his domain from Hades.
Athena nodded, "He has loyalty to Olympus now. He apparently never knew about his father and neither does my former lover." Athena then viewed him with a serious look. "Poseidon I ask that you not tell him or Percy of his lineage for now. In exchange, if Zeus or the other Olympians try to use him against you or accuse you of disloyalty I will stand up for you."
Poseidon raised an eyebrow, Athena and him almost always butted heads so for her to offer work with him on something meant that this was serious. The boy should be safe but it would be better to have insurance just in case Zeus or the others try to use him against me. It was almost unheard of for an Olympian to side with a God of another pantheon over Olympus, but it has happened in the past due to civil strife. With things being as delicate as they are his brother could level any kind of accusation at him. After this whole fiasco it won't hurt to have an ally if my brother throughs another fit.
Poseidon nodded, "Sounds fair, though lets just keep this between us." Athena nodded and before he knew it she was gone.
This is getting stranger by the day me cooperate with Athena things are getting stranger by the day he thought as he entered his domain. He headed to a bar in New England, he needed a drink badly. The bar was in Boston, a place he frequented when he was pissed at members of his family, mainly his brothers. Even though he shared this realm with another deity he still enjoyed being here.
"Hello Poseidon fancy meeting you here," said a gruff voice. Poseidon turned around and to see a stout man in his late fifties who appeared sunburned. He wore a light blue polo shirt and cargo shorts and had a short beard and he wore flip flops.
"Hello Njord," he said greeting the Norse sea god. "How are things with you?"
"Oh the usual, Valhalla can be a party at times," Njord said with a laugh. "So I take it that you Greeks aren't going to war?"
"No my son managed to find my brother's stupid bolt," he snorted as he drank some of his beer.
"Son? Well aren't we a rule-breaker," Njord said with a laugh. "Well us sea gods don't take well to rules do we."
"No we do not," Poseidon said with a smile. He and Njord used to not get along that well back and the day and despite the guy being a bit of a narcissist he still found him more tolerable than other deities. "How are things in Innsmouth?" He asked, Innsmouth was a small town in the state of Massachusetts. In the past, he had to work with Njord to keep out a certain creature in check over there.
"Quiet as usual, those fanatics have learned their lesson," Njord said with a grim smile as a shadow passed over his face.
The worshipers of Dagon were definitely crazy he thought as he remembered their many fights that happened not too long ago. Njord had so much trouble that he had to ask him for help and he decided to help him since the creature Dagon and its followers was getting a little too powerful.
He and the Norse god used to have a tense relationship back in the Middle Ages fighting over who got control of what oceans that and he helped the Slavic Gods kick his son's descendants out of Eastern Europe. He still remembered those days, their god Frey was associated with the royal family of Sweden a country that ruled the Baltic and bits of Eastern Europe. The Slavid Gods of Eastern Europe were sick of Asgard ruling over them and asked him (as Neptune) to help them out so he hooked up with the wife of the Russian Tsar and helped give birth to an heir.
This aura of his, it is stronger but it definitely reminds me of that Magnus child he thought as his Norse counterpart talked about the various feasts and parties he attended. They looked nothing alike but he may be a descendant of one of their minor Gods. He most likely is a child of the North then, it doesn't surprise me since a lot of the descendants of the Norse Gods sometimes assimilated into our pantheon and vice versa.
"Oh Poseidon so how are things going on with your brother now," Njord asked as he got another beer.
"Same as usual now. I may have to watch my back for a bit though. Oh you Norse don't have a training camp like us right?" He asked.
Njord shook his head, "No, though there has always been talk about making one but we never get around to doing it." He said with a sigh, "I mean our children still get kicked out of their homes too and attacked by monsters but Odin's logic is that they will make it to Valhalla," he said in a sarcastic tone. "Though some still make it to your camp right?"
Poseidon nodded trying to appear as normal as possible, "Yeah every once in a while, demigods from other pantheons joins too."
"That's good, though that is also a part of Odin's logic for not opening a camp," Njord said with a laugh. Poseidon laughed with him and the two continued to share their stories about the good old days. Magnus Chase what is your fate among us Olympians he thought as he drank another glass of beer and chatted with Njord.