"Percy? Are you alright?"

Percy mumbled a halfhearted response and played with his eggs.

"You're not eating," Kylie pressed, concerned. Percy barely heard her.

He was supposed to talk about Luke's death today, which meant talking about everything leading up to it – the battle to hold Manhattan, the journey up Olympus, his fear, his grief- the fight- the choice-

"I'll get Raine," Eliza said quietly, and pushed herself away from the table.

"Raine is Percy's therapist as well as the CBT teacher," Kiana explained to the two newcomers. Cody and Bryce had arrived only a day apart, and both of them were still withdrawn from the group, unsure of their place. Ruefully, Kiana added, "You kinda get a feel for who's paired with who after a while."

"Why's Eliza going to get her?" Cody asked in an undertone.

"Look at him," Kiana said. "We're talking about him and he hasn't even looked up. I'm not sure he can hear us." She twirled her fork in her fingers. "Um, Lucas says his trauma is extra complicated, so he's more likely to dissociate or have a flashback than most of us."

"Uh, should we try and snap him out of it?" Bryce asked warily.

"Let's wait for Raine," Kylie said, though she'd scooted a little closer to Percy all the same. "I don't wanna invite anything we're not prepared for, and Raine will know what to do."

Percy swallowed with difficulty, closing his eyes, and tried to shake himself out of it. "'M fine," he muttered. "I can hear you."

"That's good," Kylie said encouragingly. "You heard that Raine's on her way?"

"...Yeah." Percy didn't want to admit that it was a relief.

"Can you eat some food?" she pushed, even nudging his plate toward him. He looked at it, then put his fork down, shook his head, and put his head in his hands.

"Sorry," he croaked. He wanted to explain that he was supposed to talk about something especially hard today, that he'd been thinking about it all night and had barely slept, but the words got tangled on the way to his mouth, and he gave up.

"It's alright," Kylie said anyway, reassuring.

It was only a few minutes later that Eliza returned with Raine in tow. Raine grabbed two wrapped muffins from the basket, and then gently guided Percy to his feet and down the hall. A few minutes later, they were in her office, and Percy was able to retreat to a corner and sit on the floor. Raine knelt down beside him, shielding him from the rest of the room.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Percy tried to speak, hiccupped twice, and started crying. He hugged his knees to his chest, and leaned in when Raine put an arm around him, humming soothingly. A whine worked its way out of his chest, low and pained, and held for a minute before petering out.

Raine held him until the tears started to slow, and then reached down and squeezed his hand. He took a breath and managed to hold it this time, let it out, and then took another.

"It's too much," he said at last, miserable and choked. "I, I can't."

"Today's topic?" Raine asked. Percy nodded furiously, and Raine softened, forehead creasing in thought. "Even if we focus only on Luke?" He nodded again, rubbing tears out of his eyes. She rubbed his palm with her thumb, slow and soothing. "We'll tackle it as slowly as you need. You've been working through trauma at an extraordinarily fast pace, but we can go much slower. We'll do this one slowly, okay?"

"Okay," Percy managed, breath still hitching and catching.

"What do you need to be ready to get up?" Raine asked.

Percy pressed his forehead to his knees.

"...Tell me I did the right thing," he begged at last. "Tell me it's over and I did okay."

"You did the right thing," Raine said instantly, firm and certain. "Everything turned out for the best, and you were extraordinary. You did it."

Percy shuddered, but most of the tension unwound from him.

"How slow?" he asked without looking up.

"As slow as you want, in whatever way works best," Raine said reassuringly. "We could start with naming your feelings like when we started in on Luke, or you could tell me just one thing that happened. You could tell me what happened after instead of what happened during it. Whatever works for you." Pause. "If you want, I can give you a pocket notebook, and you can script out part of what you want to say. As much or as little as you're comfortable with." Softer, "You could even write something down and not say it yet. Whatever's bothering you."

"I hate writing," he mumbled, but he looked at the basket of tiny notebooks on her desk, and she picked one up and offered it to him, a mottled blue composition book. He accepted it and took a pencil from the jar. "Th-thanks. Sorry for breaking down before we even started."

"Nothing to be ashamed of," Raine said firmly, and he kind of believed she meant it.

I was so scared, he wrote while they were supposed to be doing classwork. Then again, later in the hour, and again during lunch.

He ripped them apart, he wrote when he sat at the table.

I wanted to be somewhere else.

I can't do anything why did they think I could do anything?

Luke had nothing to say to me.

The world was ending.

I can still see his face.

Nothing I did mattered.

It wasn't much, just a fraction of the thoughts bouncing around inside his head, but it was something. He held out the notebook for Raine when he walked in, and she accepted it with a serious nod.

"If you'd like," she said quietly, "we can start with this. I can read each line, and you can say something or pass."

Percy took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."

"I was so scared," Raine read out loud, still soft and even. Percy closed his eyes and nodded, crossing his arms against his chest. He felt tense still, throat tight with the threat of tears.

"I didn't realize it until last night," he admitted. "Kinda like with the Minotaur. Adrenaline and determination got me through it, but shit. Shit. It was- it was a nightmare. It was horrible." When he opened his eyes, Raine gestured slightly, and he swallowed. "Olympus was in ruins. Manhattan was overrun with monsters, people were running around screaming. Typhon had reached the city. It was, it was..." Breath. "Mà tòn Poseidôna, mà tḕn Artémida, Hestia, Hêphaistos..." It was probably a bad idea to start hysterically rattling off gods like a prayer. He cut himself off. "The world was ending. It, it wasn't a question anymore. And I was scared."

"I believe you," Raine said quietly, and until she said that Percy wouldn't have guessed it was what he needed to hear. He dropped his head and nodded stiffly. "He ripped them apart."

Percy swallowed a whimper. "Pass." The images of torn clothing and smears of ichor and chlorophyll were burned into his eyes, and he thought they'd choke him if he tried to explain. Except- "Wait. H-how little?"

"As little as you want," Raine said, "even if it's not enough for me to understand."

Percy exhaled, long and shuddering. The words burned his tongue. "I, I didn't know chlorophyll could look so much like blood."

He didn't look up, but he caught the pregnant pause before Raine took a breath and decided to continue on. "I wanted to be somewhere else."

"Grover was playing music," Percy said, softer. It was somehow both easier and more melancholy. "I mean- magic music, for like, satyr magic. But. It- it sounded like, like a stream in the woods, o-or a park on a clear day." He wiped his eyes. "It made me feel better, then. I don't know why I'm sad now."

"You don't need the courage to fight right now," Raine pointed out gently. "You're processing the violence you went through. The contrast between the good times and the bad can be... difficult."

Percy nodded distractedly, and then gave a vague wave, glancing at the notebook. Raine smiled and looked back down.

"I can't do anything, why did they think I can do anything?" Raine read out.

Percy shuddered again and clenched and unclenched his fists, struggling to weather the tide of emotion while Raine waited patiently. He swallowed and scuffed the floor, struggling to even out his breath.

"Do you want to pass?" Raine asked after a while, unbearably soft. Percy shook his head.

"N-no. One thing. I can say one thing." He grit his teeth, and it was a few more minutes before he finally managed it. "They made me promise. Ethan and Luke. They both told me to fix it."

Raine made a note before she moved on, steady and even. "Luke had nothing to say to me."

Percy bit his lip. "That one's-" Stupid. "Uh, bad? Selfish? It's a selfish thought. I don't want to explain it."

"You don't have to," Raine said quietly, "but I don't believe there's anything you could feel in this situation that I would disapprove of."

Percy clenched and unclenched his fists again, nervous and unhappy, but after a minute he surrendered. "While he was dying... Luke talked to us a little. He was happy Annabeth knew he'd do the right thing. He told her he'd try for the Isles of the Blest. He asked her if she loved him." Percy swallowed again. His throat hurt. "He told Grover he was the bravest satyr he ever knew. And... then he looked at me. And he told me, Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it happen again."

There was a beat of silence. Percy scoffed, reached up, and angrily tried to scrub the tears away.

"We weren't friends," he said. "We were never friends, I hated him, he did nothing but try to kill me- I don't know why I'm upset. I don't want to feel this way."

Raine considered him for a moment, eyes solemn. "Percy, may I set the notebook aside for a minute so we can talk about this?" Percy hesitated, then nodded stiffly. Raine set the notebook aside. "Does it upset you more that he asked you for a favor, or that he had nothing personal to say to you?"

Percy flinched, because apparently both those points hit the nail on the head. "They both hurt," he mumbled, avoiding her eye like that would conceal his shame. "It wasn't really a favor though, I mean-"

He faltered, and Raine picked up.

"It was a favor," Raine disagreed. "True, it was a noble request, made on the heels of a noble sacrifice, and that gave it a particular weight. But it was a favor, and quite an enormous one at that."

Percy stared at the bookshelf, then pulled his knees to his chest without looking at Raine, bracing his heels on the chair. "He saved the world," he said to the shelf. "It shouldn't matter what he did to me."

"And what did he do?"

To his embarrassment, his lower lip trembled, and he bit his cheek hard. "He's been nothing but awful to me," he said. "I, I've been trying to look back, and, and find reasons to like him, to forgive him. But there's nothing. H-he was good to Annabeth, but he was never good to me." He clenched his fists. "It shouldn't matter. It shouldn't matter. I'm being dumb."

"You're processing your emotions," Raine corrected softly. "It would be unfair to ask you to let go of your resentment when Luke never made any attempt to mend your relationship. He hurt you deeply, and he never made up for it."

"He gave me one really, really big reason to forgive him," Percy said, frustrated.

"You owe him a debt," Raine countered. "That's very different from him having made personal amends. It's admirable that you can see his noble qualities despite the grudge, but it doesn't give you an obligation to forgive him." She tapped her pen on the desk a couple of times, then added, "He was a hero, but he was never your friend, and you don't need to think of him as such."

Percy relaxed, weight he hadn't noticed falling away. "I can respect him, but I don't have to like him?"

Raine granted him a small smile. "That would be a good way of looking at it."

Percy closed his eyes and nodded, letting out a breath. "Okay. I, I think I can talk about what happened now. Um, at tomorrow's session, maybe."

"That's perfect," Raine said reassuringly.

"Forty demigods isn't really enough to hold Manhattan, you know?" Percy said quietly, curled up on his chair with the shark back in his arms. "We did our best, but we were losing ground constantly." He exhaled, slow and careful. "Even when Hades arrived- it was too late. Kronos had gotten through." He hid his face, grimaced, and looked back up at Raine. "It didn't matter that my parents were awake and fighting monsters now, or that my campers still needed help, or that Chiron was buried under rubble. I had to go. It... it was time."

"How did you feel about that?" Raine asked.

Percy grimaced, hugged the shark, and searched his memory, touching gingerly on the sparkle-bright memories. "I was... frantic," he said. "If I'd been any less focused on getting to the throne room, I would have been panicking. But my friends were there, and we knew where to go, so I guess it all got channeled into moving and keeping track of everything." He took a breath. "But I was scared."

"And you went in," Raine murmured. Percy nodded.

"The bridge was falling apart," he said, eyes unfocused and far away. "I mean, it was crumbling while we crossed it, we had to jump. Annabeth was still hurt, and she nearly didn't make it. We had to pull her up on the other side, and then we were stuck, because we had no way of getting back without help." He took a deep breath. "Olympus was... destroyed. Like..." His face twisted into a sour scowl. "Like some maniac with a scythe had marched in and started slashing at everything."

"How do you feel about that now?" Raine asked. Percy exhaled.

"Olympus was such a beautiful city," he said. "I mean, I haven't been there much, but it's beautiful, it was awful to see it so broken. But... I dunno, with so much else to grieve, it kind of gets lost." He shrugged helplessly. "Annabeth is rebuilding it, and she's really happy about that. It's not the worst thing in the world."

Raine gave him a small smile, then gestured silently for him to continue. Percy tentatively pushed through the memory and winced.

"There were... scraps of clothing laying around," he said, almost in a whisper. He cleared his throat as a lump grew in it. "Shattered armor. Broken weapons." He swallowed thickly, remembered he was holding something, and hugged it. "There wasn't any blood, because there weren't any mortals, any demigods on Olympus. There was just... ichor, and chlorophyll. Some of the minor gods and nature spirits must have tried to stop Kronos, or at least slow him down." His eyes wouldn't focus. "I don't know who. Can a Titan kill a minor god? Can Backbiter? W-what happened to those spirits?"

"Breathe," Raine murmured. "Five things you can see..."

Percy nodded stiffly, and followed along until he remembered where he was. He shook himself and flipped the shark over to play with the tail.

"The mountain shook while we were passing under the archway," he said, "and the statue of Hera fell down. It, it fell toward Annabeth, but Thalia pushed her out of the way." He looked at Raine, feeling helpless and betrayed again. "Hera never forgave Annabeth for insulting her after our quest in the Labyrinth. I- we were on our way to save Olympus, and she tried to kill Annabeth." His breath hitched, and he curled up tighter to hug his knees with the toy. "I hate them. I fucking hate them. Why would she do that? Why couldn't she lay off her grudge long enough for us to..." He sucked in a sharp breath and rubbed his cheek on the shark, dimly aware of tears tracking down it. "Thalia pushed Annabeth out of the way, and the statue fell on her instead. Broke one of her legs and pinned her down."

"How did you feel about that?" Raine asked.

"I didn't really process the Hera thing until later," he admitted. "I was too worried about Kronos. I... didn't want to leave Thalia behind. I mean, partly 'cause she was really vulnerable like that, but she's also one of the best fighters I know. I, I wanted her with me when I faced Kronos. I didn't want to do it alone." He started to crumple and shrink, and then forced himself to take a deep breath and unwind again. "And I didn't. Annabeth and Grover were there."

Raine nodded. He met her eyes for a brief moment, sympathetic and attentive, and exhaled, trying to relax.

"Kronos was laughing," he said. "We could hear him from pretty far away. He was breaking things and laughing, and when we caught up to him in the throne room, he was still laughing. I don't know why he was laughing." He rocked on his heels, took a breath, and tried to relax again, even forcing his muscles to tense and unwind like they'd been trying to get him to do. "Hestia and Rachel were gone. I think maybe Hestia took Rachel somewhere safe when she heard Kronos coming." He hid his face.

"How do you feel about that?" Raine asked, and then, quieter, "May I see your face?"

Percy sighed and looked back up, giving her a sullen look.

"I don't understand why Hestia left," he admitted. "I mean, I'm glad she got Rachel out of there. But..." A lump swelled in his throat, and he swallowed. "S-she's a goddess. She's Kronos' oldest child. W-why didn't she help?" He took a harsh breath. "I mean- I trust Hestia, and I, I think she had a good reason. But I don't know what it is. I wasn't expecting her to leave."

"You felt abandoned," Raine noted quietly. Percy swallowed again.

"C-can we take a break?" he asked, glancing at the clock. "Just, like, ten minutes? Please?"

"Of course," Raine agreed instantly. "What do you want to do?"

Percy bit his lip. "...Can I run a lap around campus and come back?"

"That's an excellent idea."

It felt good, working the tension out of his muscles and the heat out of his skin. The winter breeze rolled over him, and his stride was quick and sure. By the time he circled around back to the building, he was barely breathing hard, but he'd relaxed, feeling more comfortable in his skin.

He knocked on Raine's door and then went in, just in time to see her start a little and look up from her phone. She smiled at him. "Better?"

"Yeah," he said, dropping back into his seat. "Thanks." He cleared his throat, leaning down to grab the shark from the floor. "Um, it had been a really shitty week, and things kept getting worse. I was upset and anxious even before Kronos broke through our line." He rolled his shoulders and grabbed Riptide to spin it in his fingers. "Ethan was with him – Kronos asked him along, because he'd accidentally found my weak spot, and Kronos knew that. Kronos... asked me if my choice was to fight him and die, instead of bowing down. And I challenged him to a sword fight, because like, the hell else could I have done at that point."

"How did you feel about that?" Raine asked. Percy hesitated.

"Nothing," he said at last, quietly. "I think, at that point, the anticipation had worked me up so much that as far as I was concerned, we were already fighting." He scuffed his shoes on the floor. "Uh, what I actually said was like, Luke would fight with a sword, but you probably don't have his skill, or something." He shrugged. "I just wanted to bait him into using a weapon he didn't favor. I'm lucky it worked. Immortals are so fucking arrogant." Raine just nodded, so Percy continued, "Annabeth figured out what to do then, but all she did at first was quote the line at me, the hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap." Percy wrinkled his nose. "I wasn't thrilled about that, since I was like, thanks for reminding me that I'm about to die."

"How sure were you that you would die?" Raine asked, soft.

"I was pretty much certain," he admitted, rocking a little with discomfort. "I didn't see what else the prophecy could mean. Hadn't figured it out yet. But I had to try. I had to face the prophecy head-on, no matter what it meant." He dropped his gaze to the floor, leaning against the chair back to look. "Can't run from a prophecy."

"And then?"

"We fought," Percy said quietly, staring at the carpet. "It was the most intense swordfight I've ever been in, and I could barely keep up. But looking back, it wasn't unwinnable – not compared to, like, Scylla and Charybdis. It was a hard fight, but it was still a swordfight." He exhaled. "Annabeth started trying to talk to Luke. I was frustrated with her – it was probably unfair of me, and I think it was maybe the stress making me angry." He shuffled in discomfort, and his breath hitched. "There was, um, there was a lot going on. I don't know..."

"Why don't you explain one thing at a time," Raine said gently. "We'll get around to all of them."

Percy nodded, quick and stiff, without looking up.

"Grover was playing his reed pipes by then," he said. "That was the song that I told you about, the nice one. It... reminded me of what I was fighting for, I guess. Not what was at stake, exactly, just... that there were better times ahead." He softened at the memory, though the contrast between the song and the battle still wrought a tearing pain in his chest. "Kronos threw Annabeth across the room, and Grover went to help her up and give her some nectar." He hugged the toy. "Annabeth took a lot of hits during that week. Fighting that long, that hard with only a knife... no one else could've done it."

Something else, he needed something else, something faster. He pocketed Riptide and glanced around, and then grabbed the iridescent metal fidget spinner from the box on Raine's desk. It was a comforting weight in his hand, and he spun it for a minute to watch it shine in the light, working his fingers to keep it going.

He exhaled.

"And while he was doing that," Percy said at last, "Kronos called on Ethan. He told Ethan to strike my weak spot. Ethan looked at... at where it was, so I knew for sure he knew it. I tried one last time to appeal to him, and... it worked. He charged at Kronos instead of me, and broke his blade on Kronos' skin." He closed his eyes, the awful vision burned into his eyelids like so many others. "Ethan wanted better for the minor gods. That was all. And that was the last thing he said to me. Then Kronos stomped his foot, and the floor cracked open, and Ethan fell through, straight into the open air beneath Olympus." He swallowed. "Six hundred stories. How long does it take to fall six hundred stories? What an awful way to die." He clenched his fists, fighting tears. "There are so many awful ways to die."

"Look at me, Percy."

Percy looked up in a daze, but was still startled when Raine grasped his hand, squeezing gently as she reclaimed it from the stuffed toy.

"Even the worst things pass," she said, meeting his eyes with certainty. "Anyone who died in pain will never hurt again, and anyone who died afraid will never have anything to fear." Percy stared at her, and Raine gave him a minute or two before she prompted, "Five things you can see..."

He accepted the gum when they reached the end, but even the sharp taste of mint couldn't bring him back to a comfortable place. He felt like he would float away and fall into the memory, and not remember how to get back.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "Can we finish this tomorrow? I, it's just..."

"Of course," Raine said instantly, firm and reassuring. "I promised, as slow as you want."

"I needed to keep him away from Annabeth," Percy said. They were in the woods, this time, Percy feeling itchy and restless and needing to pace. "We were kind of stuck at an impasse, to be honest. Both of us had the Curse of Achilles. He didn't know my weak spot, and I didn't know his, so neither of us could strike a real blow. But I knew I'd wear out first. He could slow down time, take a break whenever he wanted. I'd burn out before he did." He brushed his hair out of his face, jittery and unhappy. "I... think he wanted to make me give up, because he showed me things then. Used the fire like an Iris message and looked..." He trailed off.

"Looked at what?" Raine prompted.

"Manhattan, first," Percy said softly, fidgeting nervously with Riptide as he paced the length of the stream, back and forth, over and over. "I could see Nico and my parents fighting on Fifth Avenue. People were running and screaming. Hades' army was huge, but so was Kronos'. It looked endless. It looked hopeless, and I was scared." He took a breath. "Then... then it was Typhon. He'd reached the Hudson River, and the gods were still fighting him, but nothing they did affected him." His breath hitched. "I saw his face. It kept changing, like it was a different monster every time I understood what I was seeing, quicker than I could blink. And they were all horrible. Remembering it makes me feel sick."

He shook himself before Raine could get his attention this time, blinking and forcing himself to look around. The trees, the stream, the bridge, the sky, the fallen leaves. Riptide, the bridge, the breeze, the bark. The wind, the stream, the rustling leaves. The leaf litter, the water.

"Kronos' control over time, over me slipped while he was watching the gods fight," Percy said at last, resuming his steady walk. Back and forth. "And Dad arrived with reinforcements while he was still watching." Percy smiled faintly. "I'd talked to Dad earlier that day, like, maybe an hour before at most. He'd promised to help. And him showing up turned the tide, like I'd hoped it would." He glanced at Raine. "I was... happy, and relieved. It was the best thing that had happened all day, seeing Dad charge at Typhon, and the cyclops wrap him in chains and bring him down. And I was happy that Dad had kept his promise. That he'd trusted me."

Raine smiled at him, keeping attentive eyes on his pacing form, and he twirled Riptide and refocused, feeling a little better.

"I... think we've passed the low point now," he said suddenly, eyes on the bank. "That moment when Kronos showed me Manhattan being destroyed, I think that was the worst moment of the entire fight. I felt horrible. I felt like we'd lost." He flashed Raine a relieved smile. "But we hadn't." Raine nodded. "Kronos got mad and swiped away the message, and we started fighting again. Grover... tried to protect me, to help, but Kronos threw him aside. And- and then Annabeth stepped in."

"What did she do?"

"She caught his sword on the hilt of her knife," Percy said softly. "I don't know how she did it. It's a tricky move, and she was exhausted and hurt. I was amazed even then. But she talked to Luke again, kept pushing for him to take control. She reminded him of his promise- um, a promise he'd made to her while they were on the run, that he'd always protect her." He turned, pacing the other way, fiddling with his pen. "Kronos threw her aside, but it was too late." He smiled a little. "Luke woke up and took control. Annabeth was right. The promise- the promise did it. Half-bloods meant more to Luke than Kronos ever did." Percy took a breath. "It was almost too late. I mean, I took the opening to disarm him anyway, but it didn't matter at that point. Kronos was starting to burn away Luke's body so he could take his true form again. If he'd done that, we would have lost. Period."

"How did you feel then?"

"I was desperate," Percy said. He turned. He walked the other way down the bank. "It was now or never, and I didn't know what Annabeth was talking about. I... think I was too scared to think clearly, and so full of adrenaline that I didn't notice." He took a breath, and it rasped in his ears. "Annabeth gave me her knife – her arm was broken, and she couldn't hold it. But her knife was the cursed blade. She knew it. It had to be her knife." Clench, unclench. "Luke told me it had to be his own hand, that Kronos would break his control if I tried to do it."

He turned. He walked the other way.

"You are not the hero," Percy quoted quietly. "It will affect what you do. I'd spent so much time trying to figure out what the hell that was supposed to mean." He took a breath. "But then I understood, and I gave Luke the knife."

"How did you feel then?"

"...Calm," Percy decided, soft. "I mean- I thought I was crazy, and it was a crazy choice. But as soon as I realized what Annabeth meant, I was just as sure that this was what the prophecy was leading us to. This was the right thing to do. I had to give Luke the knife." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, watching the stream. "Luke stabbed himself in his weak spot – clever place, I never would've thought to target his underarm. And he screamed." He scuffed the ground, watching his foot carve into the dirt and leaf litter. "It felt like a nuclear explosion, hot as a bonfire. And then it was over. When I finally looked up, Luke was dying on the ground. Not Kronos. Just Luke."

"How did you feel about that?" Raine asked. Percy pulled his hands back out, turned to pace the other way, and rubbed them together unhappily before he retrieved Riptide again. He made a mental note to get a fidget spinner.

"I was confused," he admitted. "I... felt like I should be grieving, like I should be horrified, but I was too relieved. All of us went to kneel by Luke, and he talked to Annabeth and Grover. Then to me, to make me promise." He closed his eyes, turned, walked the other way. "And then he died."

"How did you feel then?" Raine asked again, just as soft and even.

"...I felt like garbage," Percy admitted, eyes on the ground again. "I, I don't know why. We'd won. We'd saved Olympus. But I was- I was confused, I guess. It didn't feel over yet. The ending was too unexpected. I..." He kicked the ground. "It wasn't that I felt robbed, exactly. But that day, that choice was supposed to be my destiny. I'd been panicking about it for years by that point. And in the end, I didn't really do anything." He bumped a tree irritably with his elbow. "I... gave Luke the knife. Half an hour of the toughest sword fight I've ever fought, at the end of the worst and most violent week of my life, and all I did was give Luke the knife." He swallowed, staring into the trees. "Years of debate, and fighting between the gods, and telling me that they should kill me before I became too dangerous... and all I did was give Luke the knife."

"Can you break down what you were feeling?" Raine prompted quietly. "What you're feeling now?"

Percy took a deep breath. "I'm... embarrassed, that there was such a big deal about what turned out to be nothing. I'm angry, because that prophecy screwed over my whole life and it turned out not to even matter. Guilty, because I got credit for something I had nothing to do with. And hurt, because I went through a whole lot for... for this. For nothing."

"Was it nothing?" Raine asked him. "What makes it nothing?"

Percy huffed in frustration. "I didn't make any difference, in the end," he said, and sat down to lean against a tree. Raine crossed the bridge to sit closer to him, and he grabbed his ankles and scowled at the ground. "Anyone could have given Luke that knife. I wasn't even the one who figured it out. Annabeth figured it out. Annabeth woke Luke up and got him to listen, and it was the promise to Annabeth that made her knife a cursed blade. I didn't matter at all." He reached up and scrubbed at his eyes. "And I don't know why I'm so mad about it. It's, it's weird and self-centered. It shouldn't matter that I wasn't a big part of it."

"It's as you said," Raine reminded him. "You were told that you would be the center of it, and you went through a lot of hardship because of that expectation. It makes perfect sense for you to be disoriented by the perceived loss." She paused, and when Percy didn't reply, she continued, "Can you think of any ways in which you were vital in those last moments?"

"...No one else could have held Kronos off," he admitted. "I mean- it took Annabeth a lot of effort and a couple of tries to get through to Luke, and I was fighting Kronos that whole time. He would've torn right through the throne room and broken everything if I hadn't."

"Why didn't you keep fighting after Annabeth asked you to give Luke the knife?" Raine asked. "You said that you were desperate, frantic. Why try?"

Percy blinked at her, then looked at the river. "It made sense, what she was saying," he said quietly. "I knew that Luke cared about her more than anything. I... trusted her."

"What would have happened if you hadn't done that?" Raine prompted softly. "If, in your panic, you had attacked him yourself instead?"

"Kronos would have won," Percy said, staring at the stream. "He would've broken Luke's control, blocked me, and burned through his body to take his true form. It would have been over."

"In that case," Raine said, "I think that your choice to trust Annabeth's judgement made quite a bit of difference, don't you?"

Percy's breath caught, and he chanced a glance at her, nervous and unsure. "I always trust Annabeth," he argued.

"Really?" Raine pushed. "You don't think that your fear and panic could have driven you to act recklessly? That you could have adhered to your original conviction and tried to destroy Kronos by yourself?"

Percy watched the stream without seeing it. "I... guess. I guess that could have happened." He clenched and unclenched his fists nervously. "I... did make a choice? I did something right?"

"You did this right," Raine agreed. Percy's breath hitched, and he closed his eyes and scrubbed at them again while they burned with tears.

"I did it," he repeated. "I did it, I did it."

Raine let him cry for a few minutes, releasing months of built-up tension, and waited until he finally slowed down again to speak.

"What happened next?"

Percy took a deep breath, centering himself. "The gods came back, and we... celebrated, I guess. I mean, I was tired and upset and overwhelmed, and I wanted to go home. To camp, maybe, to be with the other campers and rest and eat. Or to Mom." He shrugged. "But everyone was so happy, and we did kind of need the cheer. So we had a party."

"How did you feel during that?" Raine asked. Percy exhaled.

"We were on Olympus for hours, 'cause we had to talk about everything and do celebration stuff. It was really nice, I guess, but... weird." He shrugged helplessly. "I wasn't exactly in a headspace to party, or even just talk to the gods without crying. I mean, I did it. But it was... it felt weird." He reached up and scrubbed at his eyes. "Hera and Dionysus both went out of their way to be jerks – like, threatening-not-threatening me. I mean, Dionysus was kind of playing, but..." He took a breath. "After all of that. Right after all of that, and I still had to watch my tongue." Before Raine could ask, he tacked on, "I didn't think anything of it then. The gods are just like that. But it makes me mad now."

"And Luke?" Raine asked softly.

"Luke was carried away by the Fates," Percy said. "Hermes said goodbye before they took him away. He was Hermes' favorite son, before everything. Maybe even after." He exhaled. "That's... that's it. That's all of it."

"You've made amazing progress speaking about your feelings, Percy," Raine said, making him start and look at her. She looked dead serious. "I'm proud of you." A weary but pleased smile broke out across Percy's face, and Raine smiled briefly back before continuing, "Now, regarding Luke..."