Fourteen years ago…
Thalia stared at her lady, unable to conjure anything but blankness and shock.
"I believe I misheard that, My Lady," she said slowly, forcing the words out as formally as possible, because she couldn't have heard correctly. Next to her, Renya—their newest, and oldest-looking recruit—apparently needed to sit down, because she lowered herself in a daze onto a nearby fallen tree. So she must have heard wrong too.
They had to have heard wrong…
Please let them have heard wrong…
"You heard right," Artemis snapped, beyond livid herself. "I never thought I would find myself so incensed on behalf of a male but…"
That… still didn't make sense. They weren't that stupid, were they?
"Let me get this straight," Thalia heard herself say, "The Council of gods—the original Council of twelve, not the full Council—voted to throw the demigod who has saved Olympus a minimum of two times into literal Hell."
"Yes," the auburn-haired goddess said, continuing to pace.
"Did… did you vote in favor?" Reyna asked, her voice so soft Thalia almost didn't hear it. Artemis did, though, and she turned sad eyes on both of them.
"No. I swear it on the Styx."
Thunder rumbled, but nothing happened to Artemis. Thalia felt herself relax the slightest bit. At least Percy hadn't been betrayed by their goddess. Well… not to the extent… this was getting so messy.
"We have to do something!" she said suddenly. Because she was, and always had been, a woman of action.
Artemis drew in a heavy breath, putting her hand to the bridge of her nose. "What, exactly, can we do? If we go against the council, there will be war, Thalia. This won't be a war like the last civil war either. This won't be between camps. This will be between cabins." She turned to Reyna. "Those who belong to the same cohort will turn on each other. It will be chaos."
"Not if all the demigods are on the same side," Thalia argued back, her hand tightening into a white-knuckled fist around her bow.
The leader of the Hunt turned on them so quickly, Thalia almost thought she'd flashed from one position to another. "Do you think our father will stand for that?" she asked angrily. "A rebellion? The gods will be ordered to take their own children down."
"And actually interfere for once?" Thalia snapped back at her half-sister.
"For a rebellion? Yes. He will break his own rules and laws. You know this."
Thalia would have unleashed a string of curse words, but knowing very well that her father could be listening in made her bite her tongue, hard. He could kill her. Even she couldn't withstand a direct hit from the Maste Bolt.
"Convenient that he can break them whenever he wishes," she had to say. She couldn't stop herself.
Overhead, lightning cracked across the sky in warning.
Artemis sighed. "I don't necessarily disagree—" more lightning that made all three girls wince— "but the fact of the matter is, if we take any action, that will undermine Perseus' reasons for jumping."
"He was pushed—" Thalia started, because he had to have been.
"No," Artemis said, suddenly looking so tired, "he jumped. So he could give us the chance to prevent war."
Thalia did curse that time. "That kelp-headed, self-sacrificing," she started before degrading into a combination of Latin, Greek, and English vulgarities. Both because she could and because the situation warranted it.
"What do we do?" Reyna asked finally, drawing both Thalia's and Artemis' attention.
"We hunt," the goddess said. Thalia opened her mouth to protest, but Artemis held up her hand. "But first, Thalia, please call Annabeth."
That drew the youngest daughter of Zeus up short. "Um… not that that isn't a good idea, but why do you want me to?"
Artemis studied her lieutenant for several seconds before she spoke, very carefully. "Athena voted for sending him into the Pit."
Thalia felt herself pale and heard Reyna gasp. Then the lightning-user knew her cheeks flushed in anger. "She. Did. What?!"
Artemis nodded. "You should see what mindset your sister is in right now. Maybe talk her down from doing something," she cleared her throat, "unwise."
Wait… the way she said that… her pointed look. Was she asking Thalia to ask Annabeth what the plan was? Because Annabeth was the daughter of the strategist on the opposing side?
A large amount of Thalia's anger dissipated. Not all of it, but… knowing that Artemis was willing to do something helped.
So, finally, she nodded.
"Fine. I'll go check on her."
Artemis smiled sadly. "Thank you, Thalia."
xXx
Thalia let the flap of her tent fall closed and pulled out a drachma, a flashlight, and a prism. Once she had a rainbow on the wall and had thrown her drachma in, she took a deep breath. She was prepared for Annabeth crying, ranting, screaming, and making plans at a feverish pace.
She wasn't prepared for an Annabeth that looked… blank.
"Hello, Thalia." No smile, no frown, no… nothing. That was… unsettling.
Annabeth wasn't one to get over emotional, of course, but when she did get emotional, it ran deep. Percy tended to bring that side of her out—one reason Thalia approved of their relationship—and that was why she'd been prepared to calm her friend down.
Maybe she hadn't heard yet? Artemis did tell her and Reyna right after she'd gotten back. Would she have to tell her sister about her boyfriend being thrown into Tartarus again?
"I… just heard about Percy," she said hesitantly, testing the waters.
No response.
That… kind of scared Thalia more than hissing and spitting anger.
"Yes," Annabeth finally said, face still emotionless.
"And your mother?"
There was a twitch. And the skin around her eyes looked tight and… oh. Oh. This was her purposefully not letting herself go, likely for the sake (and potentially the lives) of the people around her.
"I'm so sorry, Annabeth," Thalia said then, her heart reaching out. The girl she'd helped raise nodded. "I wanted to check on you. So did Artemis…. How are you holding up?"
"As well as can be expected."
Thalia raised an uncertain eyebrow. "Um… do you have any plans going forward?"
Annabeth's gray eyes seemed to cool another degree. "What kind of plan, Thalia?"
Wait… what?
"To get Percy back?" Wasn't that obvious?
"And then what, Thalia?" The dark-haired girl snapped her mouth closed because she didn't have an answer. "Let's say we can get him back. We research ways to go in and get him out, or somehow get a message to him to help him get out himself. Then what? We run to Alaska? If we can get him there before the gods find out. They still operate in Canada, you know. We drop him in the Ocean? I'm sure his father would love us putting him in the position of either going to war for his single, demigod son or the lives of his people. And how well do you think our pantheon would be accepted in other countries, under other pantheons?"
Thalia couldn't believe she was hearing this. "So what? You're just going to give up on him? Just like that?"
Finally, a reaction. Annabeth's eyes narrowed threateningly. "We have to bring him back legally, Thalia. As in with the gods' full knowledge."
Silence. Then:
"That's your plan?"
"To do what I can to change the pantheon so I can get my boyfriend back?"
Well… that did sound like something Annabeth would be proud enough and ambitious enough to try.
"And what if it doesn't work?" Because she had an entire spiel she would unleash on her friend if she wanted to play the calm, easy way of not rocking the boat. (Which didn't make sense, this was Annabeth…)
"Then we figure something else out. But Thalia, doing something about it transparently is the only way to keep everyone involved safe."
"Except Percy, who's in Tartarus, may I remind you."
"Thalia!"
The daughter of Zeus took a deep breath and paused, hating how defensive she was towards her family—her first real family (Jason didn't quite count because as much as she loved him, she'd barely known him).
Then Annabeth sighed, and it was like her entire front—her whole mask—came down. "I love Percy. I love you. And I have a plan. It's a bit out of my norm, but I do have one. All I need is your support right now. Yours and Artemis'." She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Can you trust me?"
They studied each other for several seconds, and Thalia forced herself to mentally take a step back. She knew she could be reckless, so she tried to look at everything from Annabeth's point of view. Were she in the younger girl's shoes, she would be livid, probably taking up Luke's cause and trying to tear down Olympus herself.
So why wasn't Annabeth?
Because she's not you. The thought struck her like one of her lightning bolts and made her freeze. Annabeth wasn't her, and that was… okay. But Annabeth always had a plan.
Percy had fallen into Tartarus for Annabeth.
The Annabeth she thought she knew would march onto Olympus for Percy. So why wasn't she?
Because she had something else planned. Something more permanent. Annabeth was willing to set aside her usual methods for Percy, to make sure once they got him back that he'd stay safe. Now that she looked, she could see something in the daughter of Athena's eye. She hadn't given up. She had something in mind… something she couldn't say in any other words. Not where other gods—like Iris—could hear.
It still bothered Thalia.
"You'd better be willing to explain the next time I see you," she finally said. "But yes, I trust you."
A smile tugged at the corners of Annabeth's mouth, and she looked more relaxed, relieved.
"I will change things. For Percy," Annabeth said.
Thalia nodded. "For Percy."
She didn't want to talk anymore, she was just too… tired from everything. "Look, I gotta go. Dunno when we'll stop by camp, but I'll talk to My Lady about it."
"Thank you, Thalia."
They stared at each other for several seconds. It struck Thalia that they looked about the same age. Thalia eternally sixteen (well, a day short, but it still counted in her opinion) and Annabeth now physically a couple of months to a year older than her. It was surreal. But they had an understanding. They'd always had that understanding, from the moment they met.
"Take care of yourself, Annabeth," she whispered, then clicked her flashlight off.
For several seconds, she sat there in the relative dark, just staring at where the face of her friend—her sister—had been.
She had a plan. Right. Okay then. Now she just needed to report that to Artemis.
xXx
It probably said a lot about how things had changed in the Hunt when Nico Di Angelo appeared right in the center of their camp, shadows melting off of him, before he looked around determinedly. His eyes fell on Thalia and he marched right up to her without even pausing, then past her and into her tent. He also grabbed her arm and dragged her with him.
She could tell several of the older hunters weren't happy, but no one said anything. They knew nothing would happen, and if she really hadn't wanted to go, she would have let Nico know. Via punches. And maybe a knife wound.
"I've researched every single way into and out of Tartarus that I can," he said shortly once they were alone, laying down several old documents that looked like they might fall apart any second, on the light-weight desk every tent had.
Thalia sighed. "Hello, Nico. It's nice to see you too. How's Will?"
"We don't have time for that!" the Son of Hades practically growled. "We need to get him out of there, now!"
What she said next hurt all the more because she agreed with him.
"And then what?" she asked tiredly, repeating Annabeth's argument. Nico stopped short, and blinked. Well, at least she wasn't the only one who didn't necessarily think things through. "He spends the rest of his life running away from whatever the gods send after him? Maybe even me because I can see daddy dearest ordering Lady Artemis and the Hunt after him.
The other demigod just stared at Thalia like he couldn't process her words.
Thalia sighed. "Have you talked to Annabeth?"
"No," he said, his face falling into a scowl. "She's in New Rome, taking classes. Apparently both in person and… online, whatever that means." He threw his hands up. "She's given up!"
"Has she?" Thalia asked quietly. "Since when have you ever known Annabeth Chase to give up?"
That shut him up, but his scowl just deepened.
"If you have a second Fatal Flaw, Son of Hades," a new voice had them turning to the door to see Artemis there, glowing silver in the darkness of the tent. Neither of them had even noticed her entering. "It would be that you jump to conclusions. You assume you know everything, and then you hold a grudge for whatever conclusion you come to. A rather brutal combination."
Nico stiffened. "My Lady," he said through gritted teeth. Thalia rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"I only know the barest basics of what the daughter of Athena is planning," the goddess said, stepping forward and holding her hand out to Nico. In it, sat a rock. A smooth, river-stone.
Cautiously, Nico reached out and took the stone from her hand, careful not to touch her (smart kid) before studying the stone, confused.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Tap it twice to create a barrier that lasts five minutes, one use only. No god will be able to listen in, though a Primordial will have no problem and anyone within the room will be able to hear. Go to Camp Jupiter and speak with the Daughter of Athena. Then draw your conclusions.
"Also, please inform me before you drag one of my huntresses into any tent in the future. It sets a bad precedent for the new hunters."
Nico blushed, and Thalia had to stifle a laugh.
"I cannot say you are welcome here, but we will not chase you away, Son of Hades. This is not something I normally extend to males. Do not make me regret it."
The younger boy nodded, still looking down at the stone in his hand. Then Artemis left in a shower of silver sparks.
"I wonder where she got that stone," Thalia said into the awkward silence left behind. "She's never given us those. It could be a new thing." Which was strange in and of itself. Gods didn't often do 'new'. Except for maybe Hephaestus or Hermes.
Nico didn't say anything for several seconds. Finally, when he did, he sighed. "You won't do anything until I talk to Annabeth, will you." He didn't say it as a question. Thalia still shook her head.
"If it's any consolation, I'm all for storming the Underworld and then Tartarus itself. I just think we should plan things out first."
He grumbled. "Since when did you start making sense?"
Faster than he could blink, Thalia had his head under one arm. Noogie time! Not a nice, fun one either.
"Hey! What! Thalia! You… let go!"
"What was that?" she asked sweetly.
"Fine! I'll go talk to Annabeth!" he said instead of answering her question. She rolled her eyes at the obvious distraction, but let him go anyway.
Then she leaned close. "I don't think she's given up. But if she has, come back. We'll get him out and then to Alaska or something."
A stiffness she hadn't noticed left her younger cousin's shoulders, and he nodded firmly. Then, without another word, he went over, grabbed the documents he'd left, and disappeared into the shadows. Thalia just shook her head and walked back out, ready to reassure the other girls that everything was fine. Not that they didn't know, after all, she wouldn't be walking out covered in blood, but still. Leadership and all.
xXx
She didn't see Nico again for over a year, when she finally got to head to camp after practically begging Artemis to let her go for months. She showed up at the borders, passing the tree that used to be hers—it always made her uncomfortable to look at, so she tended not to—and headed directly for the Big House.
Chiron greeted her happily and welcomed her in. She declined, saying she was there to talk to Annabeth. He nodded in quiet understanding and informed her that her adopted sister wasn't there.
Thalia cursed. She knew she should have gone to Camp Jupiter first.
"But Nico is here, if you would like to see him."
That, at least, made Thalia feel better. She nodded, informed him that she'd stay in the cabin for the night and maybe a couple more to come, depending on what Nico said. Chiron nodded tiredly, told her she was more than welcome to stay, and sent her off.
She hurried across camp towards the Hades cabin, avoiding most of the campers and any Satyrs she saw (though she wouldn't have avoided Grover, but apparently he had duties elsewhere too, because of course). Once she got to the cabin, a black-painted, spooky thing that fit Nico to a T, she sighed and knocked on the door.
He opened it a crack after a minute, but then his eyes widened and he opened it farther.
"Thalia? What are you doing here?"
She sighed. "I came to talk to Annabeth. She usually apologizes and tells me she's busy when I try to IM her, so I thought I'd come and talk to her myself. It's summer, so I thought she'd be here."
Nico groaned. "No, she's taking extra classes at Camp Jupiter, though she does spend most weekends here."
Thalia perked up. "Really?"
"Yeah. She's been sticking to the brazier in the pavilion like glue, in case Percy sends a message."
"Wait, Percy can send messages?!"
Nico shrugged. "There's a Hermes' shrine down there that can connect with our camp. Dunno why us specifically—must be a messenger thing—but it does."
Thalia thought about that for a bit. She could probably stay until the weekend, she'd just have to tell Artemis. Which should be easy enough. Okay then.
"I'll probably stay until I can talk to her, then," Thalia said. "When's the next weekend?"
Nico blinked. "It's Tuesday right now, Thalia… did you not know that?"
She shook her head. "Days run together in the Hunt."
He accepted that readily enough.
"I'll see you around then," she said after a moment. He nodded and went to close the door.
"Oh, Nico!" she said suddenly, not knowing how else to ask what she wanted. He paused. "Do you know what she's planning?"
He blinked, and then sighed. "Yeah. She told me."
Silence.
"And…" Thalia encouraged.
"And she's absolutely insane. She thinks she can change Olympus from the inside out and this is going to take years to implement."
"Years?" she asked, feeling her heart stop. "Nico, we can't leave him down there that long!"
He shook his head. "Unless we get him out, and all move to Alaska, managing to get there without getting ourselves killed via the gods, I don't think we have much of a choice."
"But—" she started, well aware of how their positions had switched from their last discussion, and more than a little annoyed at it.
"Thalia, I'm not happy about it either," he interrupted. "And we have contingencies. But anything we do right now will probably land us in Tartarus ourselves, and please trust me when I say you do not want that."
"I don't want him down there either!" she shot back, but even she could tell she felt more desperate and guilty than anything.
"And you think I do?" he snapped. "I wish I didn't remember that place. I wish I didn't know exactly what he's going through. I wish there was some way to contact him. I wish the gods were actually half-decent beings who actually cared about us!"
Thunder flashing overhead made them both look up and scowl.
"I wish… but I promised Annabeth I'd let her do her thing, even if I think she's utterly crazy for it. And… if she succeeds, it'll be better for all of us." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I have to believe that."
Thalia bit her lip. "Do you… think it will work? What she's planning…"
He shook his head. "If anyone can pull it off, it'll be Annabeth Chase."
Thalia sighed, and nodded. "I'll be in the Artemis cabin if you need to talk to me."
He returned the nod. "Yeah. See you later, then."
"Later, Nico."
xXx
Annabeth couldn't tell her anything real. Not without some guarantee that they couldn't be overheard. Thalia didn't have one of those stones, so she'd left camp feeling more annoyed than before she'd gotten there.
At least she had something to tell Artemis.
xXx
The next time she heard about Percy, Annabeth was IM-ing her, telling her they'd gotten in contact with Percy, and if she had anything to say, she should write a letter.
Thalia sent several pages.
She was proud of the fact only one of them was cussing at him.
Over the coming years, she would send letters to camp to pass on to Percy, and he would send some back, telling her he was fine.
She called him out every time.
He didn't change his tune.
There were a couple of periods of over a year when they didn't hear from him—she sent several pages those times too, but then, several years in, he stopped responding altogether.
By that point, Annabeth had established herself as a well-renowned architect, designing several buildings and a couple of bridges. She was also still taking classes.
(Right around that time, Thalia realized it had been almost a decade, and made a mental note to talk to Nico about heading back into Tartarus.)
Then, one day, Annabeth appeared in her tent. Like, flashed in. Just like that.
For several seconds, Thalia just stared. Then she pinched herself, to make sure it wasn't a particularly weird dream. Annabeth chuckled. Thalia sat down on her bed and very calmly crossed her legs before fixing her eyes on her friend.
"Explain."
"Well, you know how I had a plan?"
"For Percy?"
"Yes."
Silence.
"That included you becoming a goddess?"
"Yes."
More silence.
"You're taking over, aren't you."
Annabeth grinned and winked. "I'd like to talk to Artemis, but if I do so right now, it might draw too much attention. I've already spoken with Poseidon, and that was dangerous enough. She already knows about me, but… could you let her know this is still part of the plan?"
Thalia sighed again.
"You're going to have to let me know every detail once this is done and over with."
"Of course," Annabeth said. Then she winked and vanished.
Huh. Gods could vanish without being all dramatic. Go figure.
xXx
The day her father fell didn't feel any different than normal. She'd been leading a group on a particularly difficult hunt under a clear moon when Artemis had appeared in their midst, looking dazed.
"My Lady?" Thalia asked worriedly.
"Zeus… has been defeated."
Several shouts sounded throughout the group. Thalia, herself, could only stare in shock.
"She did it then?"
Artemis looked up at her and nodded. "She did it."
So many questions ran through Thalia's head, chief among them being, 'How?!' but she also couldn't seem to bring herself to care about that more than she was just… relieved.
"It's finally over?" she asked.
Artemis nodded. "It's finally over. My Lady Emma and Poseidon are making arrangements to go down to Tartarus themselves as we speak."
Thalia wanted to go too, she did, but… she wasn't a goddess. And honestly, she didn't want to be. Not anymore. Not knowing how susceptible she was to ambition and power. She'd probably just hold them back. Still…
"We're getting him back?" Reyna asked quietly, relief lightening her eyes.
Artemis nodded. "Yes. Oh!" She turned to the other girl. "My Lady Emma would like to speak with you, Reyna."
The dark-haired girl blinked. "Me?"
Artemis nodded. "I'll take you to her immediately."
"Wait, isn't she getting ready to go after Percy?" Thalia asked.
Artemis looked amused. "She's a goddess. She can split herself into different aspects."
Oh. Right.
That would take some getting used to.
"Tell Kelp Head he'd better drop by and visit, or I'll find him and make him regret it."
Both Artemis and Reyna smiled and nodded, then they vanished.
xXx
When Reyna came back, she just popped in like Annabeth had. Without Artemis.
Thalia stared at her.
"Are all my friends just going to ascend?"
Reyna shrugged. Which was so like her.
Then the new goddess fixed her gaze on Thalia. "Lady Emma said you wouldn't be interested in ascending yourself, but we wanted to give you the option. We need good people on Olympus right now."
Thalia stared at her for several seconds and seriously considered it.
Eventually, she shook her head. "I'm good where I am. I don't think giving me more power is a good idea. Not after everything I've learned about myself and… my heritage." Besides, she'd gotten to where she really liked the Hunt.
Reyna smiled. "Very well. Thank you for everything, Thalia."
"You're welcome," the Daughter of Zeus replied, "but don't think this doesn't mean you can't visit. If you don't, I'll find you on Olympus myself."
Reyna laughed and vanished.
Thalia shook her head and went to inform the Hunters.
xXx
When Thalia saw Percy, he was following Artemis, and being followed by Annabeth in turn as they picked their way through the forest leisurely.
The first thing she thought when she saw him was that he looked… old. Almost the spitting image of his father, at least from what she could remember when meeting the Sea God the couple of times she did. The thin but still very much there scars didn't help.
There was also something… off about him. Both more powerful, but more fragile; darker and lighter simultaneously.
She suspected then that something drastic had happened to her friend (other than living over a decade in Tartarus), and part of her wanted to run away from it, but part of her knew she wasn't the only one who sensed it. The two goddesses didn't seem fazed, but she doubted other demigods would be so nonchalant.
And he looked so sad, too, when his eyes weren't darting around as if he didn't believe where he was.
Oh.
She wasn't entirely sure what she realized right then, but she didn't care enough to look deeper. She only reacted to it.
"Perseus Jackson," she growled, striding up to them. "You self-sacrificing, hard-headed, son of a—" she cut off there because A. she didn't know how he would react to that particular insult and B. she really liked Sally and didn't want to get on Poseidon's bad side, so yeah. Stopping there was a good idea.
Besides, calming herself down would also probably be beneficial due to how he reacted to her outburst, stepping back with wide eyes and looking like he was about ready to start slinging water everywhere, but also so… grateful.
And right then, she knew she'd made the right choice.
"You idiot of a Kelp Head," she hissed as she came up to him. "You… you… " funny, nothing both harsh enough and fond enough came to mind. So she did the next best thing. She punched him in the arm. Hard. Admittedly, she made sure to advertise it, was positive he knew it was coming, and he didn't dodge or attack back so that was good. From what she'd heard… yeah.
PTSD sucked.
And she was pretty sure this either had or would be complex PTSD too.
Then, almost immediately, she once again advertised her moves as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. He'd lifted one hand to rub at his arm where she'd punched it, but froze when she hugged him, hiding her face in his chest.
He'd grown way too tall.
And if she could kick her father all over again, she would.
"If you ever do anything like that again, I will follow you and kill you myself. Then Nico will bring you back and kill you himself."
For a moment, no one said anything, probably because they both knew the two cousins would attempt and maybe even pull off such a thing.
It took a moment, but her cousin finally slumped.
"Sorry," he said. His voice sounded scratchy and deep, like he either hadn't used it for a very long time, or had smoked his entire life. It both did and didn't sound like him and her heart ached for what had caused that.
"No, you're not," she whispered. "You'd do it again."
He laughed a little, then coughed. Thalia smelled something at that moment… a whiff of… monster? She stiffened, but Percy must have taken it for her hugging him tighter because he wrapped his arms around her.
Just what had happened to her cousin?
Whatever it was just added to his aura and made it all the more intimidating. Styx.
She knew what she had to say next, but it still took her far too long to force the words out so they sounded natural.
"I don't care what happened to you, or how much more power you got, you'll always be that dumb, fourteen-year-old Kelp Head to me. I'm not changing anything about how I treat you. And I'll gladly beat you into the ground every time you get a big head to prove it." She wasn't sure she could anymore. She wasn't sure all of the Hunt together (without Artemis) could. And even with Artemis…
He just seemed so much… more somehow. Not a god… not a monster… not human… and yet, somehow all three.
Seriously, what had Tartarus done to him?!
His arms tightened around her and she could swear she heard him sniff. Okay, yeah… more powerful but more fragile… and that just made the whole situation worse.
Styx.
For a moment, she didn't know what to do except keep hugging him, but then she saw a flash of yellow-gold out of the corner of her eye, and turned her head just enough to see Annabeth. She looked on with that determined expression Thalia had grown so used to. For a moment, it just struck her how ethereal her friend (sister) looked, shining in the moonlight like the sun was out. It spoke of her own power now. Thalia thought of Annabeth's (Emma's?) domains, and those thoughts reassured her more than anything else could at that moment.
He was in good hands.
She stepped back. "One thing, though: if you need anything, call me. I'll help you hide bodies if I need to, but just… you're my cousin. More, you're my friend. You always have been. Even when you're wrong and an idiot who really should listen to me more often."
Percy laughed again. "You never change, do you."
She shrugged casually. "I'm eternally sixteen and in the Hunt. I don't think change is high on my list."
His grin widened. "Good." It sounded like he needed a little bit of stability. Which… fair.
"You've been back for what, a week now?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Good. Tell me what you've done so far. Have you seen Nico yet?"
Percy shook his head. "No. I think he's avoiding me."
She snorted. "Probably waiting to cool down enough so when he sees you, he doesn't attack."
A pause. "Attack?"
"He was ready to march into Tartarus to find you, Percy. Had multiple plans. But I've also never seen him so livid. I think he's upset at the entire situation more than you, but you also know how he likes to hold grudges."
"Oh, yeah," her cousin muttered. "That's fair."
Thalia snorted. "Not really, but it is Nico. Twenty bucks he punches you when he sees you."
Percy thought about that. "I'll take that bet," he said, holding out his hand. She took it and shook firmly.
"Good. Now come shoot some arrows with me. Let's see if you've gotten any better at that."
He snorted, but he didn't flinch so she mentally patted herself on the back. It looked like her little gamble of getting him to do something more physical to distract him had paid off. So she carefully reached for his arm, took his wrist, and began to drag him away. She saw Annabeth watching on, amused, as they went, and winked. The King of the Gods (and that would never not be weird) seemed surprised for a bit before shaking her head, a fond smile on her face.
"Good," she called after them, "I need to talk to Artemis anyway."
"Okay…" Percy said, a little reluctantly.
"Come on," Thalia urged. "I have to show you how much I've improved at least."
Her cousin let out another deep, scratchy laugh and Thalia smiled. It was good to have him back. He'd changed, and that new darkness bothered her, but it was still Percy. Older, and more tired, but still Percy.
And that… that was all she needed to know.
xXx
Nico: Imma go dive back into Hell!
Thalia: Why am I the voice of reason here? This is not right!
AN: And there you have chapter three! :) A lot of people wanted to know what happened with the demigods up top. I hope this answers questions. :)
I will probably be going to every other week posting this fic, and posting my Naruto fic the other weeks. Next chapter of Advanced Release (for you ffvii fans) will hopefully be up this week. Sorry, kind of sick, so this was late.
Anyway, thanks to my beta readers! Berix, The Shadow Slayer, Asterius Daemon, Quathis, and the Chronomancer!
Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)
(Also, fanfiction is being weird, so I really hope if you've signed up for this fic, you receive it).
