Annabeth had changed a lot in six years. The long blonde hair, curled like a princess's that Persie had once been so envious of had been cut short, barely reaching her shoulders and she had several more scars to add to her collection, a slim white scar running down her cheek particularly reminiscent of Luke. Her face had lost what little youth it possessed and she was now, at twenty four, both as beautiful as she had been at seventeen and painfully adult, the shadows in her grey eyes larger and darker than Persie could remember, her face so serious the expression looked permanently etched there and aged her by decades.

Chiron was beside her in his wheelchair, not looking at all different from the last time she had seen him. He probably hadn't changed much over the last millennia. Persie hated the look in his eyes. The large brown eyes of her old teacher so filled with pity and sympathy would once have made her feel small and her shoulders would hunch as she waited for the coming speech. Now however, she was a different person. Gripping Wally's hand she stood tall and firm, looking apathetically at the two once most trusted people in her world.

"Persephone." Chiron said, looking a bit uncertain as he looked from her stern expression to Wally's mix of irritation and anger and Dick's . "It is good to see you again."

Persie bristled. "Is it?" She asked snidely. "You look exactly the same." she turned her scorching gaze from Chiron to Annabeth. "You don't." she continued, looking Annabeth up and down with a little sneer.

Annabeth shifted and had the nerve to smile at Persie. "You look different too." she said. "You look well. I'm glad, Seaweed Brain."

She had made a monumental mistake. Ever since Wally had begun his little speech Persie's emotions had been on edge and then when two faces from her past had been rudely shoved into her face they were teetering on the edge. That name. The old nickname that had once been a good one, a teasing joke between best friends. Now it was one step too far. Persie stepped threateningly forward, letting go of Wally's hand and the look on her face was downright homicidal. "How dare you." she snarled. "How fucking dare you!" Wally and Dick exchanged a look as Annabeth and Chiron moved back slightly and they crept closer to Persie, ready to restrain her if needed.

"You were ready to throw me out after an oracle that had spent decades in a dead host spouted a prophecy even though the last prophecy that dictated my life turned out to not be about me at all and now you show up here, with no warning after six, gods-damned years!"

Chiron clasped his hands together in his lap. "Persie-" he began. "Persephone to you." Persie snarled.

"Persephone." he corrected. "There has been...new light shed on the terms of your banishment."

Persie let out an ugly bark of laughter. "Really?" she scoffed. "And it took six whole years? Three years of no friends, little family and the knowledge that nearly everyone who I thought I could trust abandoned me on the word of a spirit who was notoriously unreliable."

There was a ringing silence after Persie's speech which had risen to a screech. When her tirade ended she was panting heavily her glare dark enough to rival that of the son of Hades. "Three years?" Annabeth asked slowly.

Persie snorted. "For a daughter of Athena, you sure are thick." she replied venomously. "Obviously I made some new friends." she grabbed at Wally's hand and seized Dick's arm, both grimacing at her strong grip. "And you no longer have a place in my life." she ended firmly and when neither Annabeth nor Chiron moved she jerked forward, dragging Wally and Dick with her. "Leave. I will die happy, knowing I will never see you again."

With that she turned on her heel, Wally and Dick pulled with her and stalked away, leaving her once best friend and mentor staring after her with wide disbelieving eyes. Suddenly Wally was right in front of them. "You destroyed her life." he said in a deadly soft voice. "You will not do so again so I fully expect to never see you again." he turned around and ran at a normal pace back to where he had left Persie and Dick. They had moved out of sight behind a large tree and now Annabeth and Chiron were a mere black smudge in the distance. Persie was leaning into Dick's side as he rubbed a hand comfortingly up and down her arm and when Wally took her into his arms she threw her arms around his neck and cried sounding part grief-stricken and part furious. What was supposed to be their day, the day he would ask the girl of his dreams to...well it was ruined, now.

oOo

Wally allowed Persie to crush his hand as they waited at the waited at the top of Half-Blood Hill and watched the golden dragon feign sleep wrapped around a large pine tree. "That's Thalia's tree." Persie explained softly.

"The daughter of Zeus?"

Persie nodded. "Yes. She had a last stand here and her father turned her into a tree to save her. She stayed like that until myself and...Grover and Annabeth went on a quest for the Golden Fleece." she indicated the shimmery golden fleece slung ove the lower boughs of the tree. "In the end though-"

"-I brought it home, Prissy." A voice interrupted and Wally and Persie looked up to see an extremely well-built woman with her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and a spear strapped to her back. "It's good to see you again, Fish Breath."

Persie let out a genuine smile and let the other woman pull her into what must have been a bone- crushing hug, complete with a back pounding that made Wally wince in sympathy. "Thank you, Clarisse." she murmured. "Wally." she said as she pulled back from Clarisse. "This is Clarisse, daughter of Ares." Clarisse looked Wally up and down and must have found him satisfactory because she nodded and thrust her hand out. "Clarisse, this is my boyfriend, Wally." Wally took her hand and was suddenly glad for all those years as Connor's friend before he learned how to properly control his powers.

"Red!" Clarisse yelled over her shoulder as she released Wally's hand and Wally blinked, confused until a girl with a shock of red curls appeared over the crest of the hill, panting, her freckled face

flushed and scowling

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she looked up and downright beamed at them. "Persephone and Wallace!" she frowned slightly and then shook her head. "Persie and Wally." she pulled them both into a firm hug and Wally heard her whisper, "I'm so sorry Persie, I'm so, so sorry."

Persie shook her head, pulling back and holding the green-eyed girl by the shoulders. "It wasn't your fault, Rach." she said earnestly. "You're just the host and had no say in what happened. "I don't blame you." she smiled, only a little brokenly and pulled away to re-take Wally's hand. "It's nice to see you again but can we just get this over with. We may have been summoned by the Olympians but they just said that I had to show up. Not how long I had to stay.

Clarisse and Rachel, the oracle if Wally remembered correctly, both nodded and stepped back, a shimmery shield Wally hadn't previously noticed, flickered momentarily to let them through. They were led silently through the camp and Wally found he couldn't appreciate the idyllic paradise when it made Persie look so devastatingly sad ad when all the campers stopped to stare, whisper and point at his girlfriend when they passed, drawing away and glaring fiercely. Wally wrapped an arm around her shoulders and glared right back, finding his worth in his somewhat petty actions when Persie sank into his embrace and smiled fondly up at him.

They came to a halt at the base of a set of stairs leading up to a wrap-around porch of an old farm house, it's blue paint fading in the hot sun. A dark haired girl stood at the peak of the stairs, a silver circlet holding back her choppy locks from her striking and heavily lined electric blue eyes. She leapt down the stairs in one go, her heavy black combat boots thudding on the ground and silver jacket shining in the sun. She stomped towards them, silver bracelets clinking together and if he didn't know she would cause him severe bodily harm, Wally would have stepped in front of Persie. As it was, he couldn't stop his arm from tightening around her waist. He needn't have worried for all the other, rather menacing girl did was pause before them for a moment as Clarisse and Rachel exchanged looks before darting up the stairs and into the house. The girl then took another step into Persie's space and pulled her into a long hug. Wally waited patiently after having removed his arm before it got stuck. When the two girls pulled apart, Persie had tears on her cheeks and the other girl was blinking furiously. "Thalia." Persie muttered thickly. "This is-this is Wally."

Thalia's scrutiny was far more intense than Clarisse's but Wally held his ground, searching for any sign within the other that meant she could harm Persie. Finally Thalia nodded but turned back to Persie, face turning serious. "I tried to stop this meeting." she said. "It's cruel and not at all fair but you know how they are."

Persie nodded. "Yes, Father visited. He hasn't changed." she huffed out an odd laugh. "Thank you for trying though."

Thalia shrugged. "What are cousin's for?" She and Persie shared a smile and then Thalia turned and led the way into the house, which, despite its charming image still felt imposing and almost frightening. He nearly jumped when Persie's fingers brushed against his wrist but one look at her apprehensive face and he seized them tightly and welcomed the time smile it received.

oOo

What Wally was expecting, he didn't know but a council of demigods and a centaur crowded into a gaming room around the billiards table definitely wasn't it. More than a few hostile looks were thrown their way but they made their way to the three empty seats without incident, Annabeth glowering at them from her position opposite the,.

Chiron cleared his throat and all attention snapped to him. "we are here to discuss our latest

prophecy and to express our formal apologies to Persephone Jackson whom we exiled unjustly." Wally snorted and instead of chastising him as Annabeth clearly wanted to, Persie smirked. "The prophecy." Chiron continued as if there had been no interruption. "Regarding the daughter of Poseidon was a repeat and as such Miss Jackson was exiled. I would also like to express my own sincere apologies to you, Persephone for not being more vigilant. The recent battle clouded my senses." Persie nodded regally, accepting the apology. It was obvious from the regret and guilt emanating from the elderly centaur that he was genuine.

"What is the new prophecy?" Persie asked instead of replying and several people around the table looked outraged. Chiron however, looked unsurprised and merely nodded.

"It goes;

Seven Half-bloods shall answer the call To storm or fire, the world must fall

An oath to keep with a final breath.

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death"

Persie nodded slowly once Chiron's voice had stopped echoing through the room. "I still don't see how this involves me."

Chiron nodded understanding and gestured to a mocha-skinned boy who bore the appearance of one who had had far too much coffee. His hands were twitching in his lap and his head jerked up when he sensed all the eyes on him revealing dark expressive eyes and mischievous features. "Leo, son of Hephaestus." Chiron introduced. "If you would explain to Miss Jackson."

Leo gulped but nodded a bit twitchily and Persie found herself smiling at him. He reminded her of Bart. Judging by Wally's slightly constipated expression as he fought to hold off laughter he thought so too. "Right. Well. We need to get to Greece, right?" he didn't wait for a reply, steaming on. "So I'm building a boat, the Argo II and well, she'll be able to fly so we've got Jason but we need someone who can control waves..." he trailed off looking thoughtful but then he guy beside him, Jason kicked him under the table and he jumped muttering under his breath at the blonde.

"But why me? Nico told me I have a brother, Aaron, I think?" Thalia nodded from beside Annabeth so Persie continued. "Why can't he go?"

"He has no experience." Annabeth said. "He's only been here a month."

"A lovely month, I bet." Persie snapped back. "Remember what I did on our first quest? I fought Ares. And won. Give the kid a chance. It's not his fault he has us for a family." she stood suddenly and Wally scrambled to his feet, not at all willing to stay behind with the demigods all on his own. "I will not go on that quest and nothing you can say will change my mind. You lot just need to get over yourselves and fix your own gods-damned problems for once."

She turned on her heel and stalked out of the room. Wally admired the impression she left for a moment before he sped after her, not bothering to hide his own powers. "Where are we going?" he asked, catching up to Persie. It was obvious she had a destination in mind and she stormed right through the middle of a volleyball game without a second glance.

"To my old cabin." She replied shortly coming to a stop in front of a slightly weather-beaten beach cabin with the number three written on the wall in sea shells. Persie stared at the cabin for a few long moments before she shook her head and stepped carefully up the stairs and knocked on the half open door. "Hello? Aaron?"

She pushed the door the rest of the way open and it revealed a boy of about fourteen or fifteen

years old with the same dark hair and a mix of rebellious and regal features. It was easy to see that he was Persie's brother even though he had warm brown eyes instead of Persie's odd eyes that cycled through blues, greens and purples. "Hi." Aaron said softly, fiddling with a short dagger in his hands. "Are-are you my sister?"

Persie nodded and they sat down together, leaning up against the outside of the cabin. "It's good to meet you, kid." Persie murmured, nudging the boy beside her.

"People think we're cursed." Aaron muttered. "Not just the kids of the Big Three but the children of Poseidon."

Persie sighed and wrapped her arms around her knees. "I'm sorry, Aaron. I doubt my...reputation has helped you here."

Aaron snorted and Wally grinned as he took his phone out as he sprawled on the steps below them, keeping enough distance to not eavesdrop but close enough to keep an eye out for any danger. "People talk. They avoid me, that Annabeth chick hates me."

Persie grinned slightly. "She would. Bitch." she looked over at her brother. "We used to be best friends and then well, there was the prophecy and she decided that all those years of friendship and battles wasn't worth it. Then I was exiled." she smiled slightly at Aaron who returned the gesture. "People talked and whispered about me when I was here too. I was a breach of the Oath of the Big Three. Myself, Thalia and Nico were not supposed to exist. Nico should have died long ago and Thalia and I should never have been born. We did manage to build ourselves a reputation and respect but all that shattered with the prophecy. I was exiled, Nico left them but he had still been an outcast even before, and Thalia had joined the hunters of Artemis. I'm sorry you have to live up to that."

Aaron shrugged slightly. "Not your fault. What was the prophecy? What did it say?"

Persie sighed. "It was the first prophecy that the oracle made after taking a new host and those are usually taken more seriously. It was unusually clear for a prophecy and basically said that a daughter of Poseidon would unleash lightning upon the earth."

"What does that mean?"

"The gods all took it to mean that I, a daughter of Poseidon, would destroy the world, just after we saved it. It was me that gave Luke the knife and then he saved us. How could I then destroy the world?" Aaron shrugged and Persie nodded at him. "Exactly. I didn't get it either. But a week later I was told to pack my bags and never set foot on demigod territory ever again."

"That's it?"

"That's it. I was left alone, no communication no nothing."

"So what happened with the prophecy? Was it really just a coincidence?"

Persie smirked. "They think so. You wanna know why there's this new one all of a sudden? Because the last big one was fulfilled."

"How did you do it?"

"The lightning thing?" Aaron nodded and Persie smirked. "Wally." he said indicating her boyfriend sprawled on the steps. "Do you know who he is? I'm sure that enough talk has gone around."

"Kid Flash?"

Persie nodded. "He was. His Uncle was the Flash and he was injured. His leg bones were shattered from the knee to ankle and in order to fix them metal had to hold them together. He was healing too fast to heal properly and as a result, his leg was fixed but he will never run as fast as the Flash ever again."

Wally looked up from his phone and grinned at them. "My Uncle wanted me to take up the Flash but I didn't think I was ready, didn't think I'd be good enough. I wasn't going to do it until Persie encouraged me to go for it. It's only thanks to her that I went out as the Flash."

"What is the symbol the Flashes use, Aaron?" Persie said with a smile.

"A lightning bolt." Aaron breathed. "You made him go out again. You 'unleashed' him on the wold."

Persie nodded with a wide grin. "Exactly."

"Are you going to tell them that?" Aaron asked gesturing across the field to the big house.

Persie shook her head. "I don't think they deserve to know. And then they'll believe that they were right in exiling me and they also don't deserve the satisfaction."

Aaron nodded. "Fair enough. But why are you telling me?"

"Because, you're my brother and I take great value in family. I think you deserve to know why people are going to whisper and judge. You need to live your own life, Aaron. You need to know that your life is your own and you don't need to put any stock in what others say. Ok?"

"Ok." Persie grinned again and patted him on the shoulder. "One more thing. I know he's our father but he's not perfect. I used to idolise him, thought he was the best father in the world and in a way he was. He paid me more attention than the other gods did but then again I was his only demigod child and he is a more rebellious god. He may love us but he was awfully quick to believe that I would kill everyone and turn his back on me." she pulled the boy into a quick one armed hug. "I know you love him, I still love him, he's our father." she paused. "I just want you to remember that he's not...perfect."

Aaron nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." she smiled kindly. "I don't think I'll ever come back to camp but if you need me, for whatever reason, send me an Iris Message." Aaron nodded and waved as she stood and jumped down the stairs to join Wally at the bottom. They walked hand-in hand out of the camp, ignoring the stares and the whispers it was only at the top of the hill that they stopped.

"What were you telling Aaron?" Annabeth called as she followed them. "What the hell did you tell him?"

"What's it to you?" Persie retorted. "I thought my innocence was proven, what have you still got against me?"

"That prophecy repeated for a reason, Jackson. The fates wouldn't have allowed an accident. There's still something you're not telling us."

"You lost the right to know my secrets when you left me alone, let me be exiled on the word of a prophecy which we all know are very open to interpretation. You still hate me after six years after

it was proven that the prophecy was a repeat and my exile revoked."

"It was not an accident!" she shrieked. "The fates don't-"

"-What? Allow accidents?" Persie laughed cruelly. "Well, you might be right." she stalked forward until they were almost nose to nose. "You see, the prophecy has already been fulfilled." she stepped back and waved her arms around, gesturing at their surroundings. "And look at that, the world's still here. So maybe I wasn't the total psychopath you were willing to see me as and maybe I didn't betray you as deeply as you thought but well-" Persie leaned forward menacingly with an evil look on her face. "You betrayed me and I will never forgive you for that. You will just have to live with the knowledge that you were wrong, colossally wrong and we will never see each other ever again. Bitch."

With that she turned on her heel and stormed back to Wally's side. "That was strangely hot." he muttered against her lips. Persie grinned and kissed him roughly. "I think we've got an audience though." Persie looked around and saw several people had meandered up the hill to see what all the yelling way about and she glared and hissed at them.

"Piss off!" they scattered and Annabeth left last, a dark scowl firmly imprinted on her face.

"I love you." Wally said, stepping back a little, holding both her hands in one of his and rummaging in his pocket with the other. "I was going to do this at the park, had it all planned out but well, we were interrupted and I've been waiting for the right moment." he sank down to one knee and pulled a small blue box out of his pocket, flicking it open to reveal a simple gold band with a small circular diamond in the centre and then a dark blue stone that changed colour in the light on either side in tiny lightning bolts nestled in the black velvet. "Persephone Jackson. Will you marry me?"

Persie smiled and blinked, not realising that she had tears in her eyes until they trickled down her cheeks. Wally looked up her, fear beginning to overtake the hope shining in his beautiful green eyes. She pulled one hand from his and cupped his cheek, pulling him to his feet. "Yes." she whispered. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Wally beamed and pressed a searing kiss to her mouth before pulling back and fumbling with the ring in its box. Once he managed to get it out, he gently took Persie's left hand and slid it on her ring finger. They both admired it for a while and then Wally scooped her up in his arms, kissing her again, looking almost euphoric. "Let's go home." he murmured in her ear.

Persie just wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest as he took off, laughing at the speed and the incredible happiness bubbling inside her. She was free. Finally free of all her past, her hair streaming behind them in the wind as Wally ran she could finally let go of the past and look to the future. It looked bright. Like a bolt of lightning.