It turned out that losing a part of himself in his fight with Ares was the least of it; there was so much more to lose.

Annabeth, for one. Grover, on his own journey to search for Pan. Luke, to Kronos.

The day summer ended was one of the strangest in Percy's life. Most of the campers exited the magic border, some alone and others in groups, in a mass exodus that made Percy's stomach churn. He wanted to be one of them. He wanted to be the Stoll brothers heading for their shared flight home. He wanted to be the Aphrodite kids with luxury suitcases being loaded onto a van by Argus. He wanted to be one of the campers with mortal parents who came to pick them up. He wanted to be Annabeth, whose family was waiting for her just outside the magic border.

But here he was. Alone and sitting against the side of his cabin as he watched the stragglers leaving. The sun was low in the sky, and the harpies were soon going to be free to eat the unauthorized kids who remained. If there even were any.

"Percy?"

He startled, surprised to find Silena Beauregard standing off to the side. She was a year or two older than him, and had the same sort of prettiness as her siblings with a kind face and eyes that changed color.

"Hi, Silena."

Some kids still tried to avoid Percy, making him wonder if it was his eyes orhimthat gave off the unnerving aura, but Silena had always been nice to him. Or perhaps just too scared to be mean.

"Are you staying for the year?" she asked. Percy nodded. Feeling awkward, he stood up so they could be eye to eye.

"You're also one of the kids that stays?" Percy asked. For some reason, he found it hard to believe.

Silena nodded. "My dad died a few years ago, so I've been staying year round since then."

"Oh- uh, sorry," Percy said, kicking himself for his eloquence.

Silena seemed to take it in stride, "It's alright. I just didn't expect you to also be staying."

She seemed to hesitate before saying, "It's not bad, you know. Sometimes it can feel lonely, but it's also a lot of fun to stay year round."

"Who else will be here?" Percy suddenly wanted to know. This wasn't like boarding school, this year was just going to be him and a literal handful of other campers.

"Clarisse stays year round, and I think she's been here for almost as long as Annabeth," Silena said, counting on her fingers, "there's also some other Ares kids, me and Charlie, the Stolls don't have the most consistent home life, but it looks like they've gone back this year… Castor and Pollux stay because of their dad, and a few newer campers."

"And me," Percy said.

"And you."

There were less than a dozen campers left. Camp Half-Blood was already so quiet. No distant shouts from the arena, no reed pipe songs from the strawberry field, no whinnying pegasi gliding overhead.

"We year-rounders have a bonfire party that lasts until curfew the day everyone else goes home," Silena said, "you should join us."

Percy stared at her. Then he realized with a start that he was actively being given the choice to join in with the others. Not because they felt obligated to, not because they had to, but because they wanted him around?

But Percy's head was still reeling from Luke's revelation, from being poisoned by a scorpion, from watching his two closest friends leave camp, and a part of him just wanted to keep being alone.

"I'll see," he said, "I'm just tired, you know?"

Silena didn't seem to take it personally. "No problem. See you around, Percy."

"Right," he said. "See you."

Silena left with a shy smile. Percy retreated to his cabin, but stopped in the doorway.

He didn't want to hide from the others and mope all night. His fingers itched for his sword. Percy felt mad at himself for being so easily caught off guard by a scorpion of all things. Not even a man-sized, acid spitting one. Just a tiny bug that nearly got the best of him.

Percy recalled that dizzying sensation between when he was stung and when he sprinted to find Chiron to tell him about Luke. Like he passed out, but worse. His whole body had felt weightless for a second, and he couldn't believe he lucked out by surviving.

Percy left his cabin, his pen in his hand as he headed for the arena. He grabbed some armor and found with complete relief that the arena was empty. Live opponents were better for testing his skill, but Percy didn't come for training. He came to hack some straw dummies apart.

The first few flew apart in flurries of stuffing and burlap. Percy moved on to some armored ones that were tougher to take apart. For a long while, all he could hear was the deafening grind of bronze blade on bronze armor. That, and the blood roaring in his ears.

"Percy?"

He paused. Chiron was standing at the entrance to the arena, looking pensive. Percy pulled his helmet off, grimacing at the sensation of his sweat-matted hair being grazed by the wind.

"Chiron?"

His teacher seemed upset by something.

"You may have recovered from your scorpion sting, but you shouldn't push yourself."

Percy couldn't stop the wave of anger that washed over him. He waved his sword at his side, gesturing at nothing but imagining Luke's stupid face.

"But it's my fault Luke got away!"

"Percy-"

"A stupid scorpion nearly killed me too, and there was nothing I could do about it!"

His anger gave way to something else. Discontentment? Hurt? Fear?

Longing?

"I…" Percy paused and turned away from Chiron.

He was not going to do this. He was not going to cry in front of his teacher. After twelve years of surviving shit hole public schools, prison-like boarding schools, and even more prison-like military schools, he was not going to cry in front of Chiron.

"Percy?" Chiron asked softly.

He lowered his sword. Percy said, in a quiet voice, "I just want..."

I want to go home.

Two hands fell upon his shoulders. "It's alright, Percy. There is nothing you cannot tell me."

But it was stupid. Percy knew why his mom sent him to live at camp year-round. He knew it was for the best, but it didn't change anything.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I- I want you to train me so good that I wipe the floor with Luke the next time I see him."

Chiron gave him that pensive stare again. "If that's what you desire."

But his teacher didn't look very convinced. Percy thought that Chiron would leave him alone after that. Instead, the centaur said, "But remember this well, Percy. You and your namesake, the original Perseus, were given a name that meansdestroyer.And your father is lord of both storms and earthquakes."

Chiron gently squeezed his shoulders, his brown eyes piercing Percy to his core. In that instant, Percy saw the thousands of years Chiron had taught heroes. Thousands of years worth of seeing them die before their time, either killed by enemies or their own recklessness. And Percy almost felt bad for yelling at him.

"It is no secret you've been blessed with immense power yet to be, but you cannot become your own ruining, Percy.Please."

His sword suddenly felt heavy in his hand. Percy capped Riptide and he lowered his head. He lifted his sunglasses just enough to wipe his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Chiron, I-" Percy shook his head. A part of him suspected he didn't survive his scorpion sting. Or being gouged by the minotaur early in the summer. A part of him suspected his dreams weren't just hallucinations, and that there was a voice who really did speak to him between his moments of being alive and dead.

But then that would mean he was much less human than he first thought. Far less human than the other half-bloods. More like a monster than anything.

"Chiron, I just want to know what I am."

Percy received the answer he least wanted.

"You will figure it out in due time, Percy. But you must be patient first."

Thanks for reading! Up next, I have an idea about how to bring Tyson into the story.