alone at the edge of a universe

by Zaniey013

This is not my story. I'm only publishing this here for my own convenience. The sea is not unlike the abyss; it is deadly, destructive. It hides secrets in its depths and threatens even those that know it well. The sea easily swallows life with no trace left behind. See the rest of the summary inside! Check out the original story on AO3 by SarcasticMetaphor

23. jump(to end it all)

jump (to end it all)

Notes:

Title from Variations on a Cloud, Miracle Musical

Chapter Text

Sally had a bad feeling. Chiron warned her that the potion Percy drank was strong enough to keep him asleep for a full day. Since Percy's divinity was revealed, the sun rose two times and set once. He should've been awake by now. But he wasn't.

Percy hasn't responded to anyone's touch or voice. He didn't answer to the hellhounds howling for him and didn't even stir when she tried to pinch him. Sally didn't like how her son was so still. His chest barely moved at all. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought her eldest child was dead.

And yet, Chiron's medical knowledge spanned thousands of years. He knew exactly how strong to make Percy's drink. Which meant something else was wrong. A part of Sally pondered the possibility that Chiron willfully made the drink stronger than he said he would. But as soon as it came, she banished the thought. Chiron didn't seem like the kind to do such a thing. He himself already worried that maybe an ingredient of his reacted to Percy in an unexpected way. After all, he was not a mortal, demigod, or deity. He was all three at once.

Even after pressing a bundle of pungent herbs under Percy's tongue, an ancient, long forgotten remedy to wake someone from a deep sleep, his eyelids didn't so much as flicker.

It couldn't have been a curse cast by a camper, either. No one in Camp Half-Blood was strong enough to do such a thing to someone like Percy. It also couldn't have been the work of a minor god such as Hypos or Morpheus; Chiron, Kampê, or Argus would've detected them infiltrating the camp.

The only answer was that Percy's mind must have been held captive by a god of similar or greater power. As such, the only person who'd have been able to break him free was himself.

Sally knew Percy got himself out of many dangerous situations before. More than he'd ever be willing to tell her. As much as she hated it, all she could do was have faith. In the meantime, Percy was kept under guard as the camp hoped he woke up sometime soon.

Nico was not ashamed to admit he missed Percy. Which was ridiculous. Percy wasn't away on some deadly mission or in hiding. He was at home, at Camp Half-Blood. He was safe, physically. But Nico hated sleeping in the cabin alone.

Granted, he had Cass and Ruby while the others slept just outside the cabin in their 12XL custom doggy beds. And Nico was never really alone. The dead whispered in his ears while he was awake and guided him in his dreams.

But he wantedPercy.Another living, breathing person that was happy to share the same living space with him.

In early February, a few weeks after Percy's death-like sleep began, Nico took his supply of bedding and shadow-traveled to the Big House. It was past curfew, but he had better sight in the darkness than others.

Percy was asleep. As he had been for too long already. Someone changed his bedsheets from gray to white. Nico set down his blankets and unfurled his sleeping mat, usually something demigods only needed on missions or quests. He layered his bedroll over it so he could sleep on something a little softer than the hardwood floor. Nico made himself comfortable and buried himself beneath the blankets he brought with him.

After he made himself comfortable next to Percy's bed, Nico let out a soft whistle. Percy did it to get the hounds' attention. To Nico's surprise, it worked for him as well.

Ruby peeled from the darkness and gave Nico a curious sniff. He patted her side and she curled up against him. But the thing was, not even being next to Percy helped. The body in the bed was deathly silent. The Percy that Nico knew moved around a lot in his sleep. He also talked often.

More than once, Nico woke up from a nightmare trapped in a cold sweat and teary-eyed. To ease his fears, he'd whispered across the cabin, asking some kind of simple question. He'd ask what Percy was doing, or just say his name aloud. The other would usually answer with some kind of nonsense, like claiming he was busy with something else, but it was a marvel how he could answer at all.

"Percy?" Nico tried to ask. He waited. No response. "Percy? Can you hear me?"

Nothing.

Nico frowned and wrapped an arm around Ruby's midsection. He fell into a fitful sleep that night.

He didn't really have a plan for if anyone found him. But when Chiron woke him up in the morning, a sympathetic look on his face, Nico only felt more hollow. He slept in the cabin from then on.

Clarisse had seen dead bodies before. She used to hunt for sun-bleached skeletons of small animals near her childhood home in Arizona. As a child of Ares, she had dreams of blood soaked battlefields. And of course, the only good kind of monster was the one that wasn't breathing.

But Percy didn't look like those kinds of dead bodies. Clarisse, in her short lifetime, knew what a child looked like when they were no longer alive. Before they were wrapped up in funeral shrouds and set ablaze. In truth, demigods were horribly fragile. And Percy looked like Thanatos had already claimed him. He was quiet, pale from the lack of sun in his shaded room, andverystill.

Her nose wrinkled.

So Prissy Jackson was a god, huh? Or becoming one?

He didn't look very godly right now. In fact, she'd call him lame. Nevertheless, Clarisse knelt by his bedside.

"You need to wake up," she said, "and use those supposed god powers of yours to decimate the Titans. I'm not scared of you, Jackson. Not when you were a tiny runt, not when you went through that freaky phase where no one could look at you. I was up close and personal when you revealed your true nature. I watched you destroy my spear again… just by bleeding on it. Wherever you are, you have to find a way out."

Of course, Percy didn't wake up. Figures. If he didn't wake up for his own mother, what chance did she have?

"You're strong enough to wake up. I know you are. You're just being a coward. Get up."

Nothing.

Clarisse stood. She'd always been taller than Percy, but now she hated how small he felt.

"You want me to pray to you? Give you offerings off my plate? Slaughter in your name? What is it? People will die without you, Jackson.Ourpeople. You're something else, right? You're gonna be something we've never seen before. That's what Chiron said. So prove it."

She turned her back on him. "If nothing else, you owe me a new spear."

Nico slipped in and out of consciousness, the white wall next to him tilting from side to side. Despite the cloudy haze in his head, he still had a white-knuckled grip on the edges of the infirmary cot under his belly.

"We're almost done," Chiron said, the edge in his voice betraying his words.

Nico didn't answer. He couldn't, he was clenching his jaw so tightly. He would've ground his teeth to dust if it weren't for the bundle of Chiron's magic herbs wedged between his molars.

It was supposed to just be a normal reconnaissance mission. No fighting. What he didn't expect were the skeletal soldiers. They patrolled the monster camp in California he was seeking out. About a dozen in total, walking among cyclopes and manticores but not speaking to anyone else.

What had Nico on edge was the way he could tell these ghostly men weren't like the ordinary dead. Yes, they had gray, translucent skin and skeletal bones beneath, with pitch black eyes, but were justwrong.What's more, they did not respond to him or bend to his influence when he reached out to them with his senses.

Under the cover of night, Nico reached the heart of the encampment and watched a cyclops plant a strange, sharpened tooth in the ground. He then watered it with blood from a ceramic pitcher. Just like that, another of those skeletal warriors emerged from the ground. That was one of the last things he remembered from his mission.

Nico gasped and stifled a scream as a hand pressed down on the tender, torn flesh of his back. He half buried his face in the pillow under him and continued to scream. The lights flickered. The air dropped in temperature. He coughed and trembled.

"Wait-"

"Just hang on," another voice said. Silena was desperately trying to help Chiron heal Nico's wound. Even though she was the one doing the healing, she sounded like she might start crying.

Nico stumbled into camp just minutes ago, half-dead already from blood loss and shadow-travelling. A jagged gash cut across his back, from his left shoulder and almost straight down before ending shortly after crossing his spinal cord. Nico was lucky such a wound didn't outright kill him yet.

He shut his eyes but all he could see was the newest skeletal soldier free itself from the damp earth. That was when another one found him. Nico, thinking he could still sway them to his side, didn't immediately vanish into the shadows. He paid the price for his mistake.

"Stop," Nico had said, trying to keep his voice low. "I command you to stop."

The ghostly man in military fatigues acted like he didn't even hear him. He drew a dagger from his side and lunged. Nico blocked the strike with his bracer, the leather and bronze handmade by Tyson doing its job. If he hadn't moved to protect himself, that blade would've plunged into his heart.

Knowing he was about to be found out by the entire encampment, Nico made a mad dash for the wooden chest holding the rest of those strange fangs. Even if he couldn't destroy them now, he could steal one to bring back to Camp Half-Blood.

Just as he wrapped a hand around a serrated tooth, Nico couldn't breathe. An ice cold blade tore through his armor, his hoodie, his skin underneath. It shocked him, it drove the air from his lungs as blade struck bone.

He was brought to his knees with the force of the blow, the pain so terrible he couldn't even scream.

The only hellhound he took with him was Ruby, the smallest and most agile of them all. She was good for covert missions, but she never would've been able to fend off all those spectral men or the rest of the monsters. Nico heard rather than saw as she bit the ghoul where she could, tearing cloth and maybe even flesh.

The next thing Nico knew, he was falling through the front door of the Big House.

Chiron was the first to find him. He shouted for Argus to fetch Silena, the only available camper with a moderate understanding of magic, as he rushed Nico to the infirmary. He was laid down on his stomach, Chiron giving him a wad of pungent herbs to bite on. Whatever it was, it dulled his pain and made what came next almost bearable. He couldn't tell what Silena was doing, but she kept babbling softly to him. Her words had the strangest ability to take a little more of his pain away.

Distantly, he wondered what she must've been feeling. Helping to heal him after what he said to her…

When Nico woke up the next morning, he was still on his stomach. But his whole torso was wrapped in bandages. Magic and nectar were used to their fullest extent, but his wound was so severe that Chiron had to stitch him back together.

The centaur came trotting in sometime later to check on him.

"We did the best we could, but it will scar," Chiron said gently.

Nico nodded. He felt sick. He was hungry, but he didn't want to eat. He just wanted to fall asleep again. Chiron coaxed him into sipping some nectar, but that was about all he could handle.

Days passed. Nico was placed under full time care. Chiron used all sorts of magical remedies to keep him from experiencing permanent nerve loss, loss in range of motion, and more. If it wasn't Chiron by his side, it was Argus. And if it wasn't Argus, it was…

"You're looking much better, dear," she said.

Nico managed a smile. He was sitting upright basically since the night he was injured, though it made his back and shoulder ache. In truth, he knew he was lucky to be alive. At one point, Chiron asked him if he wanted to know the full extent of his injuries. Given how much it hurt, Nico almost didn't want to know. Instead, Chiron asked if it was okay for someone else to know. Someone close to Nico, who could care for him in Chiron's absence if need be.

And he said yes. A hand held his own and gave him an encouraging squeeze. Nico's smile widened. Never did he think he could have something like this, especially after Bianca died.

An older brother, a family. People who cared for him as he was. Who loved him, even.

The kindest, most amazing woman in the world handed him a cup half filled with nectar. His dosage of godly food and drink was steadily decreasing as well.

"Thank you," he said. Nico noted how his hands trembled just slightly. He tried to hide it, but healing was an exhausting process. A fingertip pressed against the bottom of the cup, steadying it.

The woman he saw as his mother said, "Chiron told me you have to drink it all."

"I know."

Nico drank in slow sips. The bandages made it hard to breathe, to hold his breath. He needed to stop between every drink just to catch his breath. As he fought his battle, a hand combed through his hair.

"It's really long now," Mom said.

"Mm."

Right now, Nico very much did not want any kind of small, sharp object being held near him. But his hair was a hazard at this point. It was so long, any enemy could grab it.

"When I'm healed," he said. She nodded.

"I'll make you look nice."

She was pressing three fingertips against his glass now. "What does it taste like?"

Nico paused as a blush crept onto his face. "It tastes sweet."

She smiled. "Is that so? Percy once told me that he tastes my cookies when he eats nectar or ambrosia."

"Funny."

Nico tasted freshly baked cupcakes and buttercream frosting.

When he was well enough to be discharged, stitches removed and skin healed over, Chiron told him what the tooth was. Nico didn't even know he was still holding onto it when Ruby transported them back to camp.

It was a dragon's tooth. Just as Cadmus grew the founders of Thebes from dragon's teeth, Kronos' forces must've been doing something similar. Nico shuddered, thinking back on the chest full of fangs he saw. Dozens, maybe even hundreds. Maybe to supplement his army, Kronos was choosing to simply grow a new one.

No one from camp had encountered these kinds of monsters before, though. So what changed? Were the Titans just waiting to have enough teeth before they started making soldiers? Or was it something else?

He should have come sooner. He didn't know if he could have prevented this from happening, but it would have been better than doing nothing for so long. Now, he felt utterly helpless. And it was a terrible feeling for someone like himself.

He could see the godly glow around Percy's body. It would be invisible to human eyes, but he could see it clearly. It bore the hum of the heavens compressed into a human shape, masked by the skin and eyes that allowed Percy to walk among mortals. It flickered minutely, as if he was dreaming.

With all the work to rebuild Atlantis, Poseidon was too busy to notice how his son had gone silent. He'd always been able to feel Percy's presence as he walked on Earth. If Poseidon was a vast ocean, Percy was the lighthouse. A beacon calling to him. So when he finally noticed that he couldn't feel his child's presence, especially since it'd only been growing stronger and stronger, Poseidon became besieged with dread. The only times he couldn't feel Percy were when the boy was either dead or missing.

This time, there was still a thread connecting him to Percy. Poseidon followed it, only to find his child in a death-like slumber.

He touched a finger to Percy's temple. No response. Not knowing what else he could do, Poseidon bent down and pressed his forehead against Percy's. He hoped to hear his son's dreams or sense his boy's consciousness far beneath the surface of his mind.

Nothing.

His boy was not here. His mind was elsewhere, likely taken away against his will. This was not part of Chaos' deal; though if his own experience was to judge by, their family was never known for its honesty.

Poseidon pulled away with a soft sigh. He fell into the vacant chair at his son's bedside. Being as ancient as he was, he watched the shadows glide across the walls as dawn approached. It felt like only seconds.

Percy did not stir as the light and birdsong grew stronger. If only he asked Percy to stay with him in order to train his godly side. If Poseidon kept Percy in Atlantis, the seat of his power, would that have been enough to protect his son from this spell?

Floorboards outside the room creaked. The sky outside was tinged with orange and blue. Poseidon felt his heart jump in his chest and almost smiled as the door opened.

"Hello, Sally."

Percy's mother stood in the doorway. He didn't need to turn around to know it was her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same. You're mortal, do you not have work?"

If only he convinced Sally to abandon her life as a mortal woman as well. She could've been a queen, a minor goddess even. Percy would've been born fully immortal, maybe making him safe from Chaos' interest.

"I do, I just wanted to say goodbye before I left," she said.

"Ah. I see."

Footsteps. Poseidon kept still, holding his breath. A warm hand fell on his shoulder. He exhaled and savored the stray memory of walking along the beach in Montauk with a young woman. He only got to have Sally for a single summer. He fell in love with her so quickly, but had no time at all with her before Percy came along.

Curse their ancient laws.

Knowing what would become of his child now, Poseidon would've done everything in his power to get Sally to accept his offer and raise their son in the safety of the seas.

"How long have you been here?" Sally asked.

"I'm not sure."

Sally pulled away from him and Poseidon very nearly asked her to stay. Amphitrite would always be his wife and he would always love her. But for a god like him, they both knew it was in his nature to occasionally seek out others. And Sally was so unlike him. She was patient and kindly, wise beyond her years.

But instead of leaving as he feared, Sally sat down on the edge of the bed. She was staring at Poseidon's hand. One rested on his knee, the other was holding Percy's own hand, thumb rubbing circles into their boy's palm.

How odd. When had he started doing that?

"How long has he been like this?" Poseidon asked.

Sally frowned. "Since January."

"Two months?"

Sally asked, "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

Poseidon shook his head. "Something powerful has infiltrated his mind. When I tried to search for his dreams, I found nothing. I've met Percy's other parent before, and didn't find traces of their power here. This was done by another. One of the other primordials, I think."

"Are they… would they keep him like this just so he loses his year?"

Percy only had about five months left. Then he would turn sixteen. And the day after his birthday would come. How awful of the primordials.

Instead of answering Sally, Poseidon said, "Don't underestimate Percy. He's a brave lad. And cunning when he needs to be."

With how much time he spent with Percy, another god was bound to notice Poseidon technically breaking one of their laws and complain to Zeus. He let go of his son's hand and rose.

"I have to go," he said. Not knowing what else to say, Poseidon added, "Thank you for taking care of him."

Sally gave him a wavering smile. "I'm his mother. It's what I'm supposed to do."

Poseidon gave her a nod. Mindful of her presence, he exited the room. With the hallway empty, he let out a bit of his true self and teleported to his domain under the sea.

Silena misted the small pot of silver flowers on Percy's windowsill. His mom brought it to liven up his room in the Big House. How she obtained such a rare and beautiful strain of Moonlace, Silena had no idea. But now the fresh blossoms could keep Percy company. As it was, he was so still his bedsheets almost never gained wrinkles in them.

Whenever she thought back to the day Percy found out she was the camp's traitor, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he was going to kill her. Anyone else might've hesitated, but Silena never doubted that he would ruin her without remorse.

Percy was not like any demigod she'd ever met. He was painful to look at. At first, it was because of that awful aura of dread he used to carry with him. In more recent days with his white hair and jaded eyes, he looked more like a tragedy that had already come to pass.

When he spared her life, Silena felt not relief but fear. If she had died, she knew exactly what would've happened to her. Charon, a ride across the Styx, possible damnation for eternity. It was life that was full of uncertainties.

Never did she think the camp would welcome her back with so few stipulations. Luke promised that they'd hate her if they ever found out. It was how he got her to send him information for years.

Now she hardly felt like watering his mom's plants was a fitting way to repay Percy for the debt she owed him.

Silena sat down in the chair by his bed.

"I report directly to the Titans, you know. In my latest report, I lied. I said you were fine and just staying within Camp Half-Blood. They don't know you're… not with us. Or that you're ascending. I won't tell them anything, not even if they ask."

Percy, of course, did not respond. Silena wished he would wake up. It was no exaggeration to say he was the single most powerful person at camp. Silena gazed at the Moonlace on his windowsill.

"Please come back soon."

Another plate of fine cuts and fresh grapes went unanswered. Not that many gods interacted with Camp Jupiter directly, but Perseus had been an exception to that standard since his very first encounter.

Octavian felt that something was awry.

They should've poured more time into building a proper temple, but for now the simple altar and brazier would have to suffice. His dagger stained with the god's blood hung in a glass box behind the altar, glinting in the sunlight. Once, the dried blood was something between mortal red and divine ichor. Over the past year or so, the blood turned more and more gold in hue. It was now almost indistinguishable from the golden blade it clung to.

Octavian sighed. Others had already come to leave offerings today. Food, candles, coins. A plushie of a black dog to reflect the hellhounds the god so adored. For months, the only sign of Perseus was the sudden vision he gave toJason.Had the rest of the camp offended Perseus somehow?

Jason claimed the god wanted no sacrifices or prayers.

How inconceivable. What god didn't want to be worshipped?

Especially after Perseus so firmly claimed a spot among them. Despite his Greek name, he fought with them and guided them. He saved them from Kampê and likely caused the collapse of the Labyrinth. He was a being worthy of their respect and loyalty.

Octavian dropped a stuffed bear on the altar and cut it open.

"You gift Jason, a nonbeliever, a vision but not me? Not someone who holds faith in you? Where are you now, Perseus? Our enemies loom nearer and nearer."

In a few short months, Camp Jupiter would mount one of the largest attacks in their history. New recruits, seasoned demigods, and nearly every fighter in reserve from New Rome would gather under one banner to storm Mount Othrys and topple the Titan king's throne. Many of their comrades were expected to die in the assault.

"We need your guidance, lord," Octavian said. "We needyou."

Yet there was nothing in the guts of his stuffed animal. No sign of Perseus.

Annabeth turned her back and ducked low. She felt something hit her square in the back but it did no more than push her forward. She grunted, prepared an arrow, and fired.

It soared through the air and made one of the skeleton soldiers jerk backward. His head was bent to the side as he staggered a few paces. To Annabeth's frustration, he didn't fall. The gray warrior in modern camo pulled her arrow shaft from its eye socket and advanced, handgun raised.

Her coat made from the Nemean Lion's pelt had come in handy as of late. While most of Kronos' army still fought with swords and shields, some adopted more modern means of warfare.

These men didn't speak. They didn't cry out in pain. They were nearly unstoppable. Annabeth hated them.

She raised one arm and absorbed another blow as a gunshot rang out. She lunged with her knife and the warrior dodged her with ease. Annabeth slipped under the fist that tried to strike her across the temple and drove her blade into the man's wrist, nearly severing his hand. Black blood splattered across her face.

A knee slammed into her ribcage, sending her gasping for air as she stumbled away.

From nearby, her sister Hunters were being beaten back. The woods concealed most of their locations but Annabeth could hear them. Thalia was shouting in the distance for them to regroup.

Annabeth never liked leaving a job unfinished, but it would take more than just herself to dispatch her opponent. She sheathed her knife and her bow manifested in her hand. Annabeth took cover behind a tree, flinching as another gunshot rang through the air, and let loose another arrow. She saw the gun go flying into the underbrush.

Taking her chance, Annabeth sprinted through the woods. From either side, she could see flashes of silver through the trees. Streaks of dark gray, as well. Annabeth heard footsteps behind her, crushing undergrowth beneath heavy boots.

The Hunters were some of the finest warriors in the pantheon. But for days on end, they'd been pursued by a group of one dozen unkillable men. The full force of Thalia's strongest lightning was only enough to destroy one when she burned the body to ash. The rest could survive blades, poisoned arrows, attacks by their wolves, and didn't even flinch at the sight of Greek fire. Some were missing arms or eyes by now but they couldn't even be bled to death.

Annabeth pressed onward.

Neverdid the Hunters think they'd be attacked in their own camp. Not in the middle of the day. But here they were, scattered and trying to regroup. Annabeth heard a scream, but the acoustics of the woods made it impossible to pinpoint the exact direction.

She risked a glance back. The man missing an eye was still after her. In the distance behind him was a massive plume of black smoke. It was the tents from their encampment being burned down.

Without Artemis, who was finally forced to rejoin her family on Olympus, they were on their own. Looking ahead, Annabeth saw Thalia through a break in the trees. She was on the other side of a shallow river. Thalia had her shield raised as she fought off two men at once.

Annabeth stopped on her heel just at the edge of the water.

Bow raised, sweat on her brow. She let out a frustrated cry and fired. An arrow shaft sprouted from the man's throat. It wouldn't be enough to stop him, but at least Thalia knew she was near.

She saw several of the Hunter's falcons overhead and whistled for one. It dived, dropped a leather pouch in her waiting hand, and took off. Annabeth reached for the inner pocket of her coat and pulled out her enchanted cap. She donned it and became reduced to a shadow.

The man stumbled onto the banks of the river. Annabeth watched him come closer and closer, eye methodically searching for her. She didn't even breathe in case the sound gave her away.

Twenty feet, fifteen, ten, nine, eight…

Annabeth plunged the leather pouch into the river water and threw it as quick as she could. Midair, the seeds inside burst open in a flourish of green. It landed at the man's feet and continued to grow and spread. Taking her cue, Annabeth began sprinting across the river to help Thalia. She glanced back to watch the snare made by another Hunter bloom. Fueled by the water from the river, tendrils as thick as her arm wrapped around the soldier and pinned him in place. The man drew another knife and began cutting away at them.

Annabeth believed the Hunters could defeat the warriors sent after them. It was only a matter of time. But this was still a worrying sign. Their enemies were getting bolder, more aggressive. If any part of fate was still intact, then it really did look like this war will be coming to a head sooner rather than later.

The Hunters would be ready, no matter how dire their situation would be when the time came. Annabeth fired an arrow and saw it lodge in the shoulder of one of Thalia's opponents.

Wherever they were, she prayed that whatever demigods were still on their side were faring better than the Hunters.

"Five months?" Percy asked, "They kept me asleep forfive months?"

"Percy-"

He stared at his mom. "Please, just tell me what happened while I was gone."

"Everyone is still here," she said. Which was the parental version of telling him no one got killed while he was comatose, "But it's been difficult without you."

All at once, Percy felt the need to do something. To make up for his lost time. Without thinking, Percy threw back his covers and tried to stand. His knees buckled and his mom caught him. They both nearly fell over, but Percy steadied himself.

A person in a coma for five months would probably have a lot of muscle atrophy, right?

After a few seconds, he was able to stand upright without much difficulty. In fact, Percy felt normal. He didn't lose a lot of weight from what he could tell. He could walk and move around the room without much trouble. It was just a matter of shaking off the heavy weight of a deep sleep.

This must've been due to his godly side preserving his body. It didn't change how pissed he was, or the words he'd like to have with his primordial family if he could.

Percy took deep, slow breaths to keep his powers from escaping him.

"Just stay here," Mom said, "I'm sure Nico will be thrilled to see you."

Nico.Gods, Percy didn't want to imagine what Nico went through all this time.

He did as his mom said and sat back down on the bed. He rolled his wrists and ankles, working the stiffness out of them. He still couldn't believe it was June. Percy had little over two months before his time was up. Just like that, almost half his remaining time with his loved ones was gone.

When Nico arrived, Percy hoped to have his mood lifted. Instead, he only felt worse.

Nico looked terrible. He was especially pale despite it being summer now. And he had bags under his eyes darker than what any kid should have. Regardless, Nico's eyes lit up at the sight of Percy. Like Mom, Nico's hair was a lot shorter than he remembered. The locks ended above his shoulders now.

The next thing he knew, Percy was having the wind knocked out of him as Nico tackled him with a hug. After he got over his shock, Percy hugged him back.

"Nico, you've gotten stronger. What've you been doing?"

"Training. Missions. Stuff." Nico pulled away and was smiling. The sight alone made Percy feel a little better. "I've also been keeping tabs on Camp Jupiter."

Right, the Romans. "How've they been?"

Nico pushed a stray lock of hair behind his ear. His smile became a little more pinched. "That knife of Octavian's isn't on his temple wall anymore. It's… uh… mounted in the shrine they made for you."

Right. The Romans. No matter what Percy said, they just kept doing things likethat.

"Of fucking course it is. Why not?"

Percy could remember telling Jason he was embarrassed to have a dagger with his blood on it mounted to a wall. He didn't think it would lead to it being placed in hisownshrine.

"It isn't a big one," Nico tried to say, "It's more like a brazier on a marble platform. I guess they don't have the time to make you a real temple."

"I don'twanta real one! Octavian's lucky I don't know how to smite people."

He didn't mean it, but after his time with Nyx, Percy immediately regretted saying it. He felt snide and arrogant, too much like a god for his own liking. Nico either didn't notice or didn't want to comment on it. He insisted Percy rejoin him in Cabin Three right away. When Percy asked if he'd even count as a demigod anymore, Nico told him they had Chiron's approval. It would be good for other campers to be reminded that Percy was still one of them.

"Besides, it's been too quiet without you," Nico said.

Secretly relieved, Percy followed Nico out of the room that served as his housing for the past five months. But when he was at the top of the stairs, Percy felt something strange. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

"Huh?" he asked, mostly to himself.

"What?" Nico asked.

Percy turned around and headed up the stairs at the other end of the hall. Nico followed, asking where he was going. In truth, he didn't know. He was only following a feeling. And on the third floor, it got a little stronger. Percy swore he could smell fresh dirt somewhere.

He pulled the cord to the attic's stairs.

Ignoring the Oracle, Percy found what he was after. Nestled among the decades worth of old war trophies and monster parts, Percy found a tooth. It was the length of his hand and serrated on one edge.

"Oh. That," Nico said. "I recovered that on a mission. It's a dragon tooth that the Titans were using to grow new soldiers."

Percy turned the fang over in his hands. He couldn't explain it, but there was a very powerful aura coming from the tooth. He held it close and smelled it. Up close, it didn't smell like dirt. But it somehow invoked the sensation of warm, damp earth and springy grass against his skin. It made him feel heavy in his bones.

Something like this was very dangerous, and not just because of what Nico said.

"I don't know how I know, but this was a gift.Tothe Titans. Someone else gave this to them," Percy said.

He set down the fang and backed away from it. It wouldn't come to life without being planted in the earth, but he just didn't want to be around it any longer than he had to.

Percy left the attic as quickly as he could.

In early June, the camp wasn't yet at full capacity. But there were about a dozen new campers who arrived earlier than the rest. Percy asked Nico if they knew he was mostly god.

Nico said, "I don't think something like that will stay a secret."

Percy groaned. Fine. He'll manage. He had plenty of experience being a social pariah, after all.

As he walked through camp for the first time in too long, no one stopped him. No one approached him. And thankfully, no one bowed. They just watched as he passed by. Except for most of the satyrs and nature spirits. They very pointedly refused to meet his eye. A couple of the younger campers skirted around him.

"Enjoy your beauty sleep?" Clarisse asked. She was at the archery range, a surprise to Percy. By the looks of it, it wasSilenagivingherpointers. He flipped her off, which made Clarisse laugh.

"Welcome back, Jackson!" she shouted as they left.

"At least some things stayed the same," he said.

Nico gave him a funny look.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Percy bumped his shoulder. Nico fessed up.

"Well… you weren't here for a while. A couple of months was enough for some people to get over it."

Percy shook his head. He asked, "What do you mean?"

He remembered how angry Nico looked before he went to sleep.

Nico said, "We're fighting a war. And… you know. We- they're desperate for help. With most of the gods on Olympus ignoring us, I think a lot of campers want a deity on our side. One who'sreallyon our side. So they might've been afraid, or angry that you kept it a secret. And no one liked that Chiron knew but didn't tell them. But five months was a long while, Percy."

Percy really didn't know what to say or think. The absolute last thing he wanted was to be worshipped here as well. He hoped that wasn't what Nico was implying. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was thinking he'd never belong at Camp Half-Blood again. He barely did before, but as a god? Who'd want the incarnation of destruction around?

Maybe the camp would wise up and begin fearing him again when they got a better understanding of what Percy was.

Once they were inside, Percy noticed one of Nico's bracers mounted on the wall. It was pretty heavily damaged, the side slashed open and a few leather straps cut off. But Nico still had both his hands.

"Did you do the plan?"

Nico seemed to know exactly what Percy meant. He noticed Percy looking at the bracer on the wall. "I've been meaning to ask Beckedorf to fix that. But no, I haven't. I was waiting for you. I didn't want to do it alone."

Percy didn't know how to answer to that. He still didn't think Nico's plan was a good idea. It could go wrong so easily, he was honestly glad Nico hadn't done it yet.

Since it was just Nico in Cabin Three for a few months, the laundry and old snack wrappers started to pile up. Plus a few skeletal mice scurrying around, which Nico promised to rehome soon. But it wasn't like he was mad, Percy was never much better. But when he had someone else to take care of, it helped him get around to doing his chores sooner. The two of them cleaned up the cabin in easy silence. It was mundane work. It made him feel human.

At dinner that night, Percy had to suffer through being the center of attention when Chiron formally welcomed him back to camp. A round of cheers went up, so jarring it made Percy's anxiety spike. He ate his first meal at camp with the constant feeling of eyes on his back.

He was just glad to shower and head to bed. Or just go back to the cabin. Percy wouldn't be surprised if he never fell asleep again.

He only wanted to be someplace quiet. Percy sat on his bunk, wondering if the harpies would bother him if he went for a late night training session at the arena. Meanwhile, Nico had his back to Percy.

He yawned and stretched his arms over his head. Percy caught the sight of a strange, reddish line from the corner of his eye.

"Nico, what's on your back?"

"Huh? It's nothing," Nico said, rather quickly. Percy definitely saw something.

"What is it?"

After some back and forth, Nico relented and showed Percy his back.His blood curdled at the sight of the red, jagged scar spanning Nico's torso. It washuge.

It cut nearly all the way down his body and Percy recognized the little cross sections that meant Nico needed stitches as well.

"How…" Percy couldn't even begin to imagine what did this. His fingertips hovered over Nico's shoulder, too afraid to touch it. Should he even be this close? He once reopened Luke's scar with just a look. If he lost even a bit of control, what would happen to Nico?

"It's not your fault, Percy," Nico said quietly. He shivered. "It happened while you were asleep. I was on a mission and got ambushed by one of the men made from dragon teeth."

Nico let his shirt fall back into place. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

He climbed into his bunk opposite to Percy, ending the conversation. Beneath his cold shock, something angry and hot and ugly boiled in his gut. HowdareNyx and Chaos keep him away when someone he cared for was hurt like this?

Percy never felt more helpless and yet so frustrated.

"Go to bed," Nico said. His silence must have given Percy away. He pulled back his sheets and climbed into his bunk.

By the time the sun rose, Percy didn't sleep even one bit.

Percy was glad his first mission since waking up was a solo one. Demigods tended to run into trouble when they went out alone, but not him. Not now. Not anymore. He'd been wanting to blow off steam; thank the gods, Chiron approved his solo mission when reports of enemy monsters moving along the coast came in. First spotted by a demigod finishing school in Florida, they received a second message from a satyr who saw the same fleet of monsters in South Carolina.

The full moon shone down on the Virginia docks he found himself in. It was a place built by mortals, but occupied entirely by monsters.

Percy drove his sword into the ground and cleaved the earth beneath him like wet clay. The ground trembled and split open, swallowing about a dozen monsters before resealing itself. The rest fled from him as he decimated their forces. Percy was almost disappointed. There were about a hundred of them left, along with a small fleet of armed ships. They could've tried taking him on.

He'd already sunk two of the five ships using Greek fire. The others would catch fire sooner or later.

What Percy really wanted was to see these dragon men in action.

His grip on Riptide tightened.

Walking toward him, ignoring the fleeing snake women and sphinxes, was a man with ashen skin and bones showing underneath. Just as Nico described. Complete with gray camo fatigues and empty eyes.

Percy whistled, calling off Andrea. She was low to the ground, body tensed as she prepared to pounce. When she heard Percy, Andrea backed away with some reluctance. She barked out a warning, which he ignored.

Riptide scratched the cement walkway below him, the grind of metal against stone lost to the cries of panicked monsters. The pack could have their pickings.

Percy raised his sword as the ghostly man charged. He lunged, saw a glint of silver, and dodged an attack from a knife. Percy didn't even see it get pulled, the monster moved so quickly. He spun the knife in his hand with practiced ease, side stepping Riptide and taking another swing at Percy. He hissed as blood bloomed from his upper arm. The knife corroded into rust but the monster only pulled another.

Percy blocked this one and with a twist of his wrist, sent the knife flying from the monster's hand. With no hesitation, his opponent drew a handgun from a holster on his side. Percy's eyes widened. He dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding getting a hole blown through his head. His ears rang. Gunshots were always so much louder than he expected them to be.

One arm under him, he twisted and swept the monster's legs out from under it. In one fluid motion, his opponent rolled and righted himself, gun aiming for Percy.

"Shit."

He ducked and dodged another bullet, bringing Riptide up in a clean arc. The handgun cleaved like butter.

Too late, Percy heard footsteps. Someone else grabbed him from behind. Percy stopped the knife blade angled for his jugular with a hand wrapped around his assailant's wrist. They were inhumanly cold. And Percy could see bones through translucent skin. Another dragon guy. Percy swung his head backward and headbutted the one behind him. He slipped out of their hold and slashed at the first one.

A skeletal arm fell to the ground and dissolved into smoke. But the monster only drew another knife and charged.

It was two on one now. No matter how many times they bled him, the dragon guys just pulled out new weapons. Blades, guns, brass knuckles, everything. Percy was suffering from cuts on his arms and legs, even though the sea called for him. From the corner of his eye, he saw Onyx battling another two guys in gray fatigues.

Fine. Percy was hoping he'd be good enough with just a sword to win.

With a faint tug in his gut, the water behind him rose twenty feet in the air. Two columns of saltwater smashed into his opponents. Percy held them long enough for him to lop the head off of one and run the other through with his blade. His powers from Chaos sang in his bones as their remains crumbled away into nothing.

He dropped his control over the water, thousands of gallons sloshing to the ground before washing away. Percy swallowed and held his breath, willing his powers to fade. Once he was sure he wouldn't hurt his own hellhound, he sprinted for Onyx.

He wasn't fast enough to save Onyx from some cuts on his sides and legs, but together they were enough to dispatch the last of the dragon teeth guys.

Now the harbor was silent. Monsters howled and roared but they sounded far away now. With just the ambient noise of the waves and wind, plus the burning fires, it was eerie. Onyx growled at nothing, hackles raised. He kept growling, pacing and scenting the ground.

Percy's head filled with the smell of dirt and wet grass.

From the quiet, a voice spoke out.

"What fun…"

Breathy and slow, the voice set Percy on edge. He recognized this one right away. He found the owner strange the first time they met, after all.

The cement under his feet cracked and parted. Fresh, wet dirt poured out like a leak in a pipe. A smile appeared out of the dirt. A whole face, even. One made of mud.

"Gaea," Percy said.

"Oh… my little brother sounds mad… whatever could it be?"

Her eyes were closed, which was the weirdest part. Her sleepy voice might've tricked Percy into thinking she was relatively harmless. But Gaea was just as powerful as Tartarus. As if to prove his point, Onyx forced himself between Percy and Gaea, snarling while trying to corral him away from her.

"Onyx, no."

Percy patted as high up Onyx's leg as he could reach. Keeping his hound to his back, Percy approached Gaea.

"Oh, no… have I upset your pet? Hm… how about a gift? A bone for a dog…"

There was something else in the dirt now. Near his feet, something white jutted out. Percy grabbed it and pulled. To his horror, he realized it was a dragon's tooth. It was covered in mud but it was the same as the one in the Big House's attic.

"What were you doing with this?" he asked.

Gaea smiled gently. "You don't like my little soldiers?"

Of course. She was literally the earth. The dragon teeth needed to be sewn into dirt to create the men.

"You've been helping Kronos make these guys?" Percy asked.

"Helping… giving…" Gaea laughed. "What does it matter?"

His fist closed around the tooth. He was tempted to decay it but didn't want to overuse his powers. Percy stuffed it into his pocket just so Gaea couldn't have it back.

"Mad?" she asked, "I only want to even things out… you help the gods… I help the Titans. It's only fair."

"This isn't a game! Real people I know are risking their lives for this war!" Percy said.

Gaea laughed. "Suchpettylives… Look at your father. He believes in a false victory. I told Kronos… sacrifice one ship… bloat your enemy's egos…"

Percy took a step back. "Are you talking about their cruise ship?"

Gaea didn't answer. She only smiled pleasantly before her dirt face melted away. "Goodnight, dear Perseus."

Percy snarled and turned away from the fissure in the ground.

He wasn't sure how many days he'd gone without sleeping now. At least a few weeks. Percy didn't want to tell anyone.

If he had a bit of ambrosia or nectar every day, Percy could power through the nights. Either he laid in bed without sleeping, or he was at the arena. Or in the ocean or wandering the woods with the hellhounds the way he used to do. Anything to keep him from closing his eyes for too long. He even started drinking a lot of black coffee at meals, just to help his mortal side cope. So what if Percy was pushing his body, even if he was mostly god?

Even immortals needed sleep, but Percy wasn't like an ordinary god. He didn't want to know what would happen to him if he did end up asleep again.

He wasn't hallucinating or lethargic or suffering from any horrible side effects, at least. And once he was fully immortal, he'd get all the time in the world to rest. For now, while there were still people who needed him, Percy refused to give the other primordials the chance to distract him again.

It was your fault, though,a little voice told him.You could've woken up sooner. But you were weak.

If Percy could take back the past five or so months, he would've. If he knew anything about the primordials, it was that they didn't give out things for free. How could he let Nyx distract him without thinking she had another motive?

Stupid, stupid, stupid…

Percy phased back into Cabin Three a little after sunrise. Cass yawned and stretched one hind leg after another. She trotted to the far corner of the cabin by the fountain and curled into a ball.

As expected, Nico was still asleep. Pretending that he just woke up, Percy didn't try to hide his movements. His clothes were dirty from hunting in the woods but he made a pit stop at the river to rinse himself off. Percy threw off his old clothes in exchange for a new outfit.

"Nico, it's time to get up," Percy said.

He heard bedsheets rustle. Ruby hopped out of Nico's bunk before the curtains parted. Nico climbed out, suffering from a severe case of bedhead.

"Morning, Percy."

Nico shucked off his pajama shirt and Percy turned away to avoid looking at that scar on his back. Just the sight of it always made him feel worse.

The two of them went to breakfast. Even though it was early, Percy hated how quiet the camp was. It was almost July and there were barely sixty campers this summer. In past years, their numbers reached almost a hundred. So how many of them were killed in the past year? Or worse, were tricked into serving Kronos?

The dining pavilion showed just how small their numbers were. For the demigods with lots of siblings, Percy wondered what it was like knowing one of their own had chosen to betray them.

As far as he understood it, Silena's siblings didn't know that she was a double agent. The Athena cabin was smaller than it was last summer, the same going for the Ares cabin. The Hermes cabin's table was basically barren. About a dozen of Hermes' kids ate without the familiar clutter that came with the unclaimed children and the offspring of minor gods.

"Percy, are you okay?" Nico asked.

He hummed and sipped his black coffee. Did the camp's traitors know they might end up killing their siblings some day soon? Kids they'd grown up with? And for those at Camp Half-Blood, was the feeling mutual?

After breakfast, Percy spent basically the entire day running drills in the arena.

He hated the fact that he was actually starting to contemplate Nico's plan. He could call it whatever he wanted, but it wasn't much worse than the other strategies Percy was seeing.

The gods, even Mr. D, had long since abandoned them. They were readying themselves on Olympus, yet gladly took the offerings their children gave them. Not that the Olympians ever really answered their kids' prayers. Percy was, unfortunately, an outlier when it came to things like that. The gods must've been scared of their enemies, more so than their pride would let them admit.

Kronos, Typhon, now Gaea.

Speaking of, even when he tried his best to fight for their side, Percy only made Kronos stronger. When he bargained for a little more time on earth, he didn't have the chance to think of any repercussions. Now Gaea was arming Kronos with nearly unkillable men.

It was his fault.

It was his fault Nico got hurt. That his mother had to risk her life on a deadly mission. That Annabeth joined the Hunters. That his allies were spread so thin.

Nico refused to talk about how he got hurt. Percy didn't blame him for not wanting to relive the experience, but a part of him suspected that Nico just didn't want him to know. And that only made him feel worse.

It was after dinner. The camp's curfew would be called in a few hours. The time to slip away was now. Percy pulled Nico into Cabin Three.

"Let's do it," he said.

"What?"

"Your plan. Let's do it. Let's go to the Underworld."

Nico let out a little gasp. "You want to?"

Percy nodded. "I don't think we've got much more of a choice. We need your dad's support in the war, but we don't have any way of winning him over yet. Besides," he hesitated. Percy almost felt embarrassed saying it, but he added, "I don't want to see you get hurt again."

He would've thought Nico would be excited. Or relieved. Instead, his gaze hardened into something somber and determined. It was an expression too old for a kid his age.

"Before we go, we're going to need something else," Nico said.

Using just Andrea to help them, they traveled to Percy's mom's apartment in the city. It was a good thing they didn't bring Onyx or Mrs. O'Leary, Andrea just barely fit inside the hallway. She whined as she tried to settle down, picture frames getting knocked off the walls and surely pissing off the people on the floor below.

He heard the clatter of pots and pans and a little,"Oh!"from the kitchen.

Percy found his mom by the stove, making herself dinner. She shut off the burner, eyes flickering from Percy to Nico and back again. Andrea poked her head into the kitchen and stared at the chicken on the stove.

"Mom," Percy said.

"Percy? Nico? What's the matter?"

He sighed. "We need a blessing."

She looked like she'd been hoping this day would never come.

"You've decided?" she asked.

"We'll be fine," Nico said. "I can guide us to the Styx without much trouble."

"That's not what I'm worried about," she said.

Percy pushed Nico a step closer. "Please."

Mom didn't look convinced. "Maybe I should go with you. Achilles received his curse with the help of his mother."

Nico shook his head, "You can't, you're mortal. I don't know how my father's domain would affect you. If you entered, seeing the afterlife might change you forever."

His mom buried her face in her hands. For a second, Percy was scared she'd start crying. But when she looked up, she only nodded.

"You two, promise me you'll watch out for each other."

"We will," Percy said.

"We'll come back," Nico added.

There wasn't much else they could say. It seemed like it was enough for Mom.

"Then… I give you my blessing."

Their next stopping point was Central Park, a huge sensory experience for Andrea. While she ran back and forth smelling the grass, Nico broke down how they were going to enter the world of the dead. According to him, they didn't have to go all the way to L.A. to enter the Underworld. There was an entrance closer to Olympus. It was made by Orpheus thousands of years ago; to use it, all they needed was music.

"You've heard me at the campfire singalongs," Percy said. He didn't exactly have the best voice around. Nico was much in the same boat.

As Nico was contemplating whether a magic opening to hell could tell the difference between live and recorded music, Percy felt a weird shiver go down his back. It was almost the same thing as when he sensed the presence of the dragon tooth in the Big House. He could just tell something powerful was nearby.

Percy scanned the area. At first, he thought it might've been a monster that was getting close. But he couldn't see anything. Not even something flying overhead.

"Do you feel that?" Percy asked.

"Feel what?"

It was familiar. Kind of. The more Percy tried to tune into whatever signal he was getting, the more antsy he felt. Like he shouldn't be here.

"I swear, there's something close. Something big."

Nico put his hand on his sword hilt. Andrea sensed their unease and scented the air. Percy wasn't scared of any mortal that might try to approach them, Nico and himself would be more than enough to fend them off. But it didn't feel like the kind of bad feeling he got from people, either. This one made it hard to think clearly, to focus on the task at hand.

A thought occurred to him. Percy asked, "Do you feel… panicked?"

"A little. I thought it was just nerves," Nico said.

So Percy was right. He thought he knew why this feeling felt familiar. He shut his eyes and concentrated. He didn't have his empathy link anymore, but he parsed out the direction of where his trace of panic was coming from. Nico went after him, asking where Percy was going. Andrea followed behind.

"I think Grover's nearby," Percy said. He hadn't seen Grover in so long. If his friend was close, Percy didn't want to just ignore them.

Leading Nico and Andrea, Percy wandered through Central Park away from the mortals and paths. There were a lot of nature spirits that lived in Central Park, urban dryads and naiads that hid out of sight as Percy and Nico approached.

Andrea wandered off in a different direction; she must've picked up on a scent. Figuring the nature spirits weren't going to be much help, Percy followed his hound.

He said, "Grover, find Grover."

"Percy-" Nico started.

He raised a hand. He knew what he was doing. The hellhounds were excellent trackers. Andrea led the way, bounding over uneven underbrush and between trees with practiced ease, leading them to a clearing where a massive bed of vines and leaves housed one sleeping satyr. Andrea gave him a curious sniff.

"Grover?" Percy asked, incredulous.

It looked like Grover had been sleeping for a long time. Vines curled over his body and wrapped around his horns. His clothes were sunbleached. Percy bent down and shook his shoulder.

"Grover?" he asked again. Percy snapped his fingers next to his friend's ear. When that didn't work, he used his last resort of cupping his mouth with his hands and shouting into Grover's ear,"Free enchiladas!"

He jerked awake so quickly, he almost poked one of Percy's eyes out with his horn. Unlike Percy, who walked away from an inhuman sleep looking fine, Grover had a kind of feral energy that was utterly alien to the satyr. His hair and beard were longer, as were his horns. He wasn't emaciated, but Grover let out a string of dismayed bleats when it turned out Percy didn't have any food with them.

"Grover, where have you been?" Nico asked.

"Here, I suppose. Why?"

"The last anyone's heard of you was months ago!"

Percy winced out of sympathy as the three of them tried to parse out what happened to Grover. The last thing he remembered was recruiting for their side of the war and spreading the news of Pan's death, which is what Percy assumed he'd still been doing. Satyrs weren't like demigods, after all. They could go long periods of time undiscovered in the mortal world. And with how seriously he took spreading the final words of Pan, Percy wanted to believe Grover was fine doing his rogue satyr thing.

"...that's when I wound up back in New York," Grover said. He rubbed his temples, "Yeah, I was here in Central Park. But then the weirdest thing started happening. Mortals just started falling asleep. I watched a lady jogging and all of a sudden, she was slowing down to nap on the pathway. The only person I saw not asleep was a man in a black coat."

Grover shivered. "I remember the way he walked. It was a sunny day but he had no shadow."

According to him, Grover approached said man and detected an inhuman smell coming off of him. Even worse, the man had no face. Or he did, but it kept shifting. Like sand.

The man had said,"You need not worry, little goat. I've only come to look around. You should always survey a battlefield beforehand."

And that was the last thing Grover saw before he was knocked out. For the nearby nymphs, who could live for hundreds of years, a handful of months were nothing. None of them probably even thought of waking him up until Percy came.

The last anyone saw of Grover was the previous September. It was almost July. And Percy thoughthehad it bad.

Nico, who was more familiar with the gods associated with darkness, said, "Grover, you must have met Morpheus, the god of dreams. You're lucky youeverwoke up."

Percy wondered how many of Nyx's descendants were sided with Kronos. But he shoved that thought to the side. He just wanted to get Grover to safety. He made a serious discovery, a hint at the Titan's big plans. Both Nico and Percy were willing to lose Andrea for the sake of delivering Grover to camp as quickly as possible.

"Hang on, hang on," Grover said. He grabbed Percy's wrist and turned it over. Percy gawked as Grover sniffed him.

"Dude-"

"Percy, what's wrong with you? You reek of divinity!"

He sighed. "It's a long story. I'll tell you more later but basically… I kind ofamturning divine."

Grover let go of him. Though he was confused, he also looked terribly sad. Just by reading the emotions on his face, Grover could understand that this was the last thing Percy wanted.

For a second, Percy was brought back to when he was twelve years old and on the cusp of learning that gods and monsters were real. The two of them saw three old ladies knitting by the side of the road while on a bus ride into the city. Percy remembered how they snipped a string with a pair of golden scissors.

Grover had said something like,"Sixth grade. They never get past the sixth grade…"

Percy didn't know it then, but those three old ladies were likely the Fates themselves back when they could still control him. As a satyr, Grover knew very well that demigods usually led short tragic lives.

Percy thought his friend was giving him the same look as he did back then. Like he was destined for a terrible ending.

But he couldn't afford to lose himself to his fears now. Percy still had a whole other mission to finish, one that might take all his willpower. The four of them returned to the big rock that Nico said was the Underworld entrance. Grover played a tune on his pan pipes that made the stone split in two.

A staircase made of black rock descended into the darkness. Percy tried to give Grover a reassuring grin.

"I'll see you back at camp, G-man."

Grover nodded, somber. "Good luck."

Percy waited until Grover and Andrea left before beginning their descent.

The stone steps beneath him were steep and slick. They spiraled into the earth with no end in sight, reminding him of the Labyrinth a little. Nico led the way while Percy followed behind. Though they both had unusually good vision in the dark, Percy uncapped Riptide just so his blade could give off a little more light.

They must've walked for over an hour, just going deeper and deeper. The entire time, Nico was oddly silent. There was still time for them to turn back if he really wanted to back out, but Nico must've known this.

"Are you still sure about doing this?" Percy asked.

"Yes. We have to," Nico said. "Besides, you heard Grover. Someone like Morpheus might not be threatening in the physical sense, but there's all sorts of tricks he can pull. Our side needs this."

Alright, then. They kept descending.

At long last, Percy emerged from a fissure at the base of a tall cliff. The ground beneath him was black volcanic sand. To his right, the River Styx roared and frothed. To his left, in the distance, was the hazy wall that marked the outer boundary to Hades' realm.

Nico said, "It won't be long before my father senses your presence. He'll be expecting me to take you to his palace."

"Then we better hurry."

Percy and Nico approached the Styx. Even though the Underworld was cold, the temperature only dropped the closer they got to the river.

"Not too close," Nico said, "The water from the Styx has the power to destroy living beings entirely."

"I don't think it can hurt me," Percy said.

Things like dollar bills in a dozen different currencies, old diplomas, crushed flowers, faded photos, and more littered the shore. Relics from mortals who gave up all they had upon death.

For a second, neither of them spoke. Even though time was of the essence, it really struck Percy that he was here. He was in the Underworld with the Styx just a few yards away from him. With Nico.

Gods, they were both insane for doing this.

Nico shuffled half a step closer to Percy. He inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, held his breath. Then he let it out.

"Alright, Percy. This is-"

The hairs on the back of his neck shot up. Percy spun on a heel and swung.

Nico shouted.

Whatever he tried to hit dodged his attack. Two clawed feet picked Percy up by the shoulders and dragged him into the air. It happened so fast, Percy dropped Riptide.

"Let me go! Nico!"

Percy twisted around. He caught sight of Nico struggling in the clutches of another monster. The way he was held, he couldn't reach for the handle of his sword. And it wasn't just any average harpy. It was one of the Furies.

Percy looked up. The gnarled face of his old middle school teacher smiled down at him.

"Hello, deary!"

Alecto and her sister carried Percy and Nico away from the Styx. They flew over a hundred feet above Cerberus and the judges of the dead. The fields of Asphodel sprawled beneath them.

"I command you to set us down!" Nico shouted. His Fury only cackled.

"Don't worry, sweetie. Your daddy wants you both alive and in one piece!"

Fuck.

Before Percy could even think of a plan, he and Nico were dropped onto the balcony of Hades' palace. It was some kind of garden overlooking Asphodel. There were raised beds glittering with jewels, trees that grew diamonds and rubies, sickly pale flowers, and a few of Persephone's famed pomegranate trees.

Down the main pathway ahead of them werethreethrones, not one or two. One was wrought iron and silver silk, occupied by none other than Hades himself. Another was a golden wicker chair with live roses and vines growing off of it. And the third was shaped like a big cornucopia. Skeletal guards in tattered US military fatigues and bearing automatic rifles guarded the exits.

"-sorry excuse of a garden!"

The woman sitting in the cornucopia throne threw her hands up in the air. She was apparently disappointed with the trees that grew gemstones.

"Mother!" Persephone said. She had tan skin and wore a flowing velvet dress. A crown of gold and lilies decorated her hair.

"Enough of this, Demeter. We have guests," Hades said.

The older woman, Demeter, squinted at Percy. "Hades, what's your son doing with Poseidon's spawn?"

The King of the Dead gave Percy a lazy look. He said, "Ah, yes. I asked the boy to bring me Poseidon's child quite some time ago."

Hades turned his attention to Nico. Percy didn't think it was possible, but his expression grew only more disappointed. "It's about time."

Percy's hackles raised. He knew he was unusual because his godly parents gave even half a shit about him. But what gave Hades' the right to look at Nico like that?

Nico said, "Father, I-"

Hades raised a hand and Percy heard Nico's teethclackas he shut his mouth. With some reluctance, Nico knelt for the gods. Percy refused. He glared at Hades head on until a hand reached for his wrist. Scowling every inch of the way, Percy knelt.

Hades said, "I almost thought you would fail. Your sister would have done amuchbetter job. Bianca was not nearly as dense, after all."

From the corner of his eye, Percy saw Nico flinch.

"I would kill you myself, Jackson. But Thanatos tells me you do not stay dead. And I can see why. You stink of divinity. Is it my foolish brother trying to save you from me?"

Percy didn't respond.

"Or is it someone else? I watched you die, you know. On Olympus about two years ago. Only for Thanatos to tell me later that he never even detected your death. Strange, yes?"

Percy bit his lip to keep from talking back.

Hades sighed. "Since you're immune to staying dead, I suppose I'll have to lock you up in the dungeons. Fear not, if I'm feeling charitable in fifty or sixty years, I may contemplate letting you out."

Nico's head whipped up. "Father! You promised me you only wanted to talk to Percy!"

Hades smiled. It was about as warm as the Underworld. "Yes, we're talking right now. I never said what would come after. If you were truly smart, you would have made me swear an oath upon the Styx."

Percy inched his hand toward his pocket. He felt Riptide return to him.

"M-my mother, you said you would tell me about my mother," Nico said. It was clear Nico was trying to buy time. Meanwhile, Percy tried to think of a way to escape. Even if he used his powers, Nico was too close.

Hades cleared his throat and glanced at Persephone. "So I did. Apologies, my sweet dove. But I needed to convince the boy with something."

He told them about Nico and Bianca's mother. How her name was Maria di Angelo and she was from Venice. During World War II, the children of the Big Three were either on the winning side… or being rounded up. To save their children from Zeus' wrath, Hades hid Nico and Bianca in the Lotus hotel for decades. Until now.

"But why? Why now?" Nico asked.

His father scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? This abomination here cannot be the subject of the prophecy or the hero of Olympus! No. It would have been preferable if Bianca lived, but you will do, boy. We'll just give you four more years to train. My domain will hold for that long. And as the other gods lay defeated, my armies will rise up to unseat Kronos while he is still weak from the war!Youwill be the child that makes the choice to save the world."

Hades shut his eyes and exhaled, already imagining his future victory. He said, "When all is said and done,Iwill finally become king of the gods."

"You're delusional!" Percy said. Hades' eyes snapped open. He was livid, the shadows of the palace undulating like tendrils around him.

But Percy refused to back down. He said, "You're not going to hold out for four more years. You have no idea who's backing Kronos right-"

His body seized. Percy thought it was his powers boiling to the surface. But when he saw Hades' outstretched hand, he figured the god was trying to curse him or something. Fighting Hades' hold, Percy struggled to his feet.

It felt like he was dragging a thousand pounds behind him, but he took a step forward. If he could survive the weight of the sky, he could outmatch Hades' hold.

Percy said, "You'll be cut into pieces like the rest of the gods."

Another step.

"There won't be anyone left to worship you."

Another step closer.

Percy was still too far away to do any damage with his sword, but he could see the rising shock in all three of the gods' expressions. He was only a few feet away from Hades' throne when it felt like he hit an invisible wall. Percy spit on the black marble pathway.

"You're an idiot, Uncle. Stay down here if you want. Just don't get in my way. And don't youevertreat Nico like this again!"

Percy almost raised his own hand. Just to see what he could do.

All of a sudden, Nico was at his side. Percy's world dipped into darkness before he was spit back out onto the banks of the Styx. As he willed the world to stop spinning, he heard Nico crying in dismay.

"Holy shit, Percy…oh, my gods!Why did you say all that?"

Percy steadied himself. "Because your dad's a dick."

Nico was caught halfway between mortification and admiration. From the distance, a wailing horn sounded off. Nico and Percy shared a look.

"We've got minutes, I'm guessing," Percy said. Nico nodded.

A pale glow made them both reach for their swords. For a second, Percy thought he was looking at Ares. The man hovering at the edge of the Styx was tall and muscular, dressed in a whitechitonand bronze armor. But this wasn't Ares. It must've been a ghost. He bore green eyes. Human eyes.

And an arrow jutted from one of his ankles. Despite his harsh face, he wore a look of great sadness.

"I warned the one who came before you to not follow my path. Now I offer you the same advice. Turn back, godlings."

He must have meant Luke. The Curse of Achilles was how he could survive hosting Kronos' being.

"We have no choice," Nico said.

Achilles shook his head. "He said the same thing. But I am here to warn you. You will be made strong, nearly undefeatable."

Achilles' expression hardened, hinting at the brutal warrior he once was. He continued, "But your weaknesses will be amplified. For me, it was not my wound that ended my days but my own arrogance. Turn back while you can."

It was kind of heartbreaking, hearing the greatest Greek hero of all time warn them to not take his curse. But since Percy very much botched his initial attempt at getting Hades' aid, they needed this.

Nico drew his sword. Percy wasn't sure if even Stygian iron could hurt a ghost but that didn't seem to be Nico's plan. He tapped the end of his sword against the sand. Nico said, "Thank you, Achilles. But we understand the risk and this is something that cannot be avoided. Rest, now."

Achilles shut his eyes and sighed as his image faded away.

A mash of roaring caught their attention. Percy turned around. Flooding from an exit in the massive wall of the Underworld was an entire army of ghostly warriors. Plus all three Furies. They'd be on Percy and Nico in sixty seconds.

Percy understood what he had to do. He drew Riptide and took a step toward the army just as Hades himself emerged, riding atop a black chariot.

He looked back.

"Nico!" Percy shouted,"Go!"

No time for any final words or even a goodbye. Nico nodded. Leaving his sword in the sand, Percy watched with both awe and horror as Nico sprinted toward a rock jutting over the river.

No hesitation. He ran, jumped, and was swallowed by the Styx.

Seconds later, the first few ghosts in Greek armor were on Percy. No time to think. He hacked and slashed, cutting through ancient Greek warriors, medieval knights, American Revolutionary soldiers, and more. Despite his strength, Percy doubted he'd last very long against a whole army. Not without using his powers.

There was also no way he could keep track of time. Percy had no idea how long Nico was in the river for. All the while, Hades surveyed the carnage from his chariot pulled by spectral horses.

"Where is that brat?"

Percy thought Hades meant him at first, but it was clear he was looking for Nico.

As an arrow flew inches from his head, something pulled at Percy from the back of his mind. Literally, it felt like someone was pulling a string tied to him. It was weak and frantic, searching for something.

Percy was so relieved that he almost let a ghost with a spear run him through. Then the terror struck him. He had no choice but to use his powers. Percy threw one hand behind him as the one still holding Riptide blocked a ghost wielding a bayonet. He felt the ruthless currents of the Styx and forced them to stop.

The next second, the Styx shot up like a geyser, spraying water everywhere. It couldn't hurt the ghosts or Hades, but all three Furies poofed into golden dust. The spirits nearest to Percy evaporated, their souls forever lost to his decay.

From the now exposed bottom of the river, Percy thought he saw something. He blinked and it vanished.

A war cry sounded from right next to him, startling him so badly he let go of the Styx.

"Huh-?"

It wasNico.His skin was bright red and smoke curled off his body. Faster than Percy could see, he'd emerged from the bottom of the river and was now picking up his sword. With speed that could've put the wind spirits to shame, Nico charged the army.

Some part of Percy registered that Nico very briefly resisted his power of destruction, but wasn't willing to testanytheories on that. Percy also intended on joining Nico in the fight, but it honestly looked like the other didn't need it.

Bullets and blades bounced off his skin. Nico cracked the earth open and swallowed dozens of warriors. Fire spit from the break in the ground as it sealed shut but Nico ran right through it. His clothes, including the aviator jacket his-theirmom got him, were getting torn up. But Nico himself was fine.

The battle ended when there wasn't a soul on the field other than Nico, Percy, and Hades. Nico was breathing hard, shoulders shaking as he heaved. In case he overexerted himself in the fight, Percy came up behind Nico. His skin was no longer red from his dip in the Styx but his face was flushed from exertion.

"How can this be?" Hades asked. He pointed at Nico, "Your mother is dead! You could not have received her blessing!"

Nico refused to back down from his dad. "Mybirthmother, Maria di Angelo, is dead. Andyoumade it so that I could not remember her.Youtook her from me! You also said I could never find acceptance among the living, but that was alie!"

Nico took a step closer to Percy. He pointed at his dad with his sword.

"I found people who love me, Father. More than you ever have or will. Idohave a mother, just not one tied by blood."

Hades was silent. He stared at his only living demigod child with an unreadable expression.

Nico said, "I will not be the child of the prophecy. Neither will Percy. The Fates don't have as much control over this war as you think, Father. Instead, we're going to fight for Olympus at each other's side."

Nico lowered his sword. He sounded genuine when he said, "I hope you'll join us."

The god said nothing. Without another word, he and his chariot melted into shadows. As soon as he was gone, Nico dropped his sword and staggered.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, hands hovering but hesitant to actually touch the other.

Nico nodded and swayed. "With great power… comes the great need to take a nap."

Moving on instinct, Percy wrapped one of Nico's arms over his shoulders before the other could collapse.

Percy held his breath. But he wasn't using his powers. Nico was safe.

As alright as he could be, that was. They still needed to get home.

"Come on, Nico. Mom's waiting for us."

Nico groaned and refused to open his eyes.

He wished he could sleep for a week straight after his dive in the Styx. As he opened his eyes to the gray morning light, Nico felt strange. It was like he hadn't changed, but he so clearly did. He was unfathomably stronger and faster. But that was only in the heat of battle. Nico still felt like a kid. And what's more, his body ached for rest.

"Hey, we gotta go soon. Okay?"

He let out another groan and rolled over.

After his father left, instead of carrying him hours up the stairs, Percy whistled for the pack. The two of them hitched a ride with Cass and Ruby back to Mom's apartment. They could've gone back to camp and messaged her from there, but they both knew she would want to know right away how things went.

The rest was honestly hard for Nico to remember. But he knew that Mom cried as soon as she saw them. She held Nico and kissed the top of his head, saying how happy she was to see him and promised that they'd get him a new jacket soon.

If Nico also sobbed into her cardigan, no one said a thing.

He was so scared he was going to die. He knew he had to prepare himself mentally for the Styx, but no amount of preparation in the world could have helped him once he was submerged. It was like his whole body was lit on fire; skin, guts, bones all alight. The feeling of the river deconstructing his body was inescapable, immeasurable.

Unbearable. It dashed him against the rocks while tearing apart his mind. For who knew how long, all Nico could feel was the panic in his chest as he was sure he would drown. In a blind grab for survival, Nico used what little of his consciousness that was still intact to pray to Percy for help.

Maybe it wasn't with words, but Nico thought of the person closest to him and clung to that image. He imagined a hand reaching for him and he reached back.

And it worked. The river parted around him, dumping him at the bottom of a basin. Nico could breathe again. He was alive. He gained the Curse of Achilles.

Now he was here. Percy shook his shoulder, speaking softly, "We need to get back to camp. Can you move?"

Nico slowly sat up. He'd spent the night in Percy's old bedroom. The bedsheets were patterned with blue flannel and the bookshelf in the corner brimmed with kids' books about Greek myths and heroes. There was an old skateboard in the corner of the room. It was all very Percy.

While Nico got the bed, Percy himself took the couch in the living room. He was sure he put up a fuss about it. But as soon as his head hit the pillow, Nico was out.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to blink the last traces of sleep away.

"You can sleep all day, just back at the cabin," Percy said. Nico nodded.

He reached for Percy and grabbed his arm. "Thank you, by the way."

"What for?"

Nico studied Percy's expression. Did he even realize Nico prayed to him?

He cleared his throat. "For everything."

Percy smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're still alive. Come on. Mom's making pancakes before we go."

Maybe Percy was just dancing around the subject. Nico couldn't tell. He asked, "Do you want to know where my mortal point is?"

Percy froze. His smile faded. "Only if you want me to."

"Of course I do. I want someone to know."

Percy sat down next to Nico. He held out his left arm. Nico pressed two fingers to the inside of his wrist where his pulse was. Percy's hand hovered over his.

Nico said, "It's okay."

He moved his fingers. Percy felt the inside of his wrist. When Nico touched his own mortal point, it didn't feel all that strange. When someone else did it, a shudder ran through his body.

Percy tore his hand away.

Nico said, "It doesn't hurt! It's just new, I have to get used to it."

Percy frowned. "That's a very… why'd you choose there?"

Nico wrapped his right hand around his wrist. "I'm not sure. When I was in the Styx, I reached out for help. And you answered."

Percy didn't say anything for a worrying amount of time.

"Boys! Breakfast is ready!" Mom called.

Percy got up. Nico followed. They were both in the old pajamas Percy kept in his bedroom. And Nico was very seriously considering stealing these blue and gray striped pajama pants he had on.

Before they got to the kitchen, Percy said, "I'll contact Tyson. We're getting you a new bracer as indestructible as possible."

Nico breathed a sigh of relief. He had the feeling he was going to need it.