He promised.

He swore to her that it would never happen again. That he would never do it again.

Annabeth's eyes were glued to Theseus' body, prone on the ground in the middle of the crowd, blood smeared on his face, pooled on the grass beneath him. He stared back at her – unblinking, unseeing, his body absolutely exhausted, wrecked by Percy's weakness.

She felt the other campers stirring around her, but she was frozen. She could accept Percy losing control, and she had come to expect it from him, but this time, he had hurt someone. Badly.

How far would he have gone? If she hadn't called his name, would Percy have killed Theseus? Percy had killed monsters. Everyone here had killed monsters before, but this was different. Was he okay with being a murderer? He was supposed to be the hero.

A hand on her shoulder roused her from her thoughts. Her brother Malcolm was kneeling down beside her. Her eyes flickered to Percy and found him staring at her without emotion. His eyes conveyed the same chilling blank intensity that Theseus' had.

Did he realize his mistake? Did he regret what he'd done? Would he do it again?

Percy took a hesitant step toward her with those cold empty eyes, and she flinched away into Malcolm. Percy stopped immediately but furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Back off, Percy." Malcolm stood up, positioning himself protectively in front of Annabeth. "You've done enough."

Percy took a step back from them, his face impassive again. After a moment, he turned on his heel and walked away. From behind Malcolm, Annabeth heard the quiet shuffles of footsteps. When she peered around Malcolm's legs, all she saw was Percy's retreating back.

Nico stood away from the others, watching raptly with a look of awe. He had heard of Percy controlling the poison in Tartarus, but it was another experience to see the power himself. He knew he should find the gory scene in front of him terrifying, but he couldn't help but feel impressed by the show of strength. When he saw Percy leave, he didn't have to think twice about figuring out where he was headed.

Nico watched Percy throw open the door to his cabin and snatch his backpack up before moving around the cabin and methodically collecting his belongings.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Nico asked urgently from the shadows.

Percy was unfazed by the interruption and continued packing. "I'm leaving."

"Why?"

This time, Percy paused and threw his backpack on the bed to look at Nico. "What do you mean, why? You saw what I did back there. There's no going back from that. The camp would be better off if I left."

Nico wanted to say more, to push back, to prove him wrong, but he didn't get the chance. The cabin door slammed open again, and Jason stormed in, wild eyes scanning the room for Percy. Nico took the opportunity to step back into the shadows.

"I knew you could lose your temper, but I never expected this. It took four campers to drag Theseus to the infirmary. I've never seen anyone do what you did back there, mortal or god. All that unchecked power – you're just like one of them."

Percy's jaw clenched, but he didn't respond. He picked his backpack up again and resumed his packing.

Jason watched him move around the room for a few seconds. "What's going on?"

"What does it look like? I'm giving you what you want."

"And what is that?"

Percy shoved the backpack into Jason's chest and went to collect his clothes from the dresser. "I'm too dangerous, right? That's what you said, right?" He returned with a stack of clothes and roughly opened the backpack Jason was still holding in front of him. He shoved the clothes in, staring intensely at Jason. "I'm leaving."

The tension dissolved from Jason's shoulders. "Where are you gonna go?"

Percy took the backpack and threw it over his shoulder, brushing past Jason to leave. "Home."

Most of the camp was still assembled by the remains of the Big House when Percy got there. He could feel the stares on him as he passed, but he kept his eyes firmly ahead of him. It wasn't until he reached the gate that he turned, and his gaze fell on Annabeth again. She stared back stone-faced.

Jason jogged up behind him. "So you're just gonna leave?" He was angry. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

"What am I supposed to do?" Percy snapped at him. "Look at what I've done. You were right, Jason. I am dangerous." He looked over to Annabeth again, hoping she would do or say something to make him stay, but she gave him nothing. He gave her a firm nod and turned.

"So you're giving up," Jason growled. It wasn't a question this time. When Percy didn't respond, Jason roughly grabbed his shoulder and forcibly turned him around. "Answer me!"

"I've made up my mind," Percy said calmly.

"You're a coward, Jackson!" Jason spat. His eyes flickered down to Percy's beaded camp necklace, which was back around his neck. In a swift motion, he snatched the necklace and pulled it. The leather cord snapped. "You aren't worthy of this anymore."

Percy furrowed his brow. The back of his neck burned where the leather had bitten into his skin. After a few moments of tense silence, he shook his head solemnly. Without another word, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the night.

Jason watched in stunned silence. He'd expected more from Percy. Taking the necklace had been the final tactic to get him to stay, and it had failed. Jason gripped the necklace tighter, angry at every part of this situation: at Percy for leaving and himself for letting things get out of control. In one last fit of anger, he hurled the necklace at Percy's retreating back, and it fell short into the dirt. He turned on his heel and stormed away.

Jason's departure seemed to signal finality to the other campers, who left the scene to return to their own cabins. Just a few minutes after the woods swallowed Percy up, the crowd had nearly dispersed, leaving Annabeth staring at the empty space where Percy had disappeared. Malcolm cautiously approached her again when she was the only person left at the edge of the woods.

"Does this mean you guys are over?" he asked quietly.

Annabeth clenched her jaw, still staring ahead of her.

Percy could see Nico waiting for him at the bottom of the hill before he reached him. The trees around here were so dense that the moonlight barely reached the forest floor, almost hiding Nico's silhouette by the road. Percy kept walking past him. He knew Nico would follow him regardless, and he wasn't really in the mood to discuss what had just happened yet. As he expected, Nico silently fell into step beside him. They walked together for a while. There was so much that Percy should have been thinking about, but the best he could do right now was to not think at all. He just had to get home. Then he would figure everything out.

Nico cleared his throat. "So, where are we going?" He was testing the waters, seeing if Percy was willing to talk.

Percy didn't look at him and kept walking as he responded. "I'm going home."

Nico stayed silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was tentative. "Have you considered asking for help?"

Percy stopped in his tracks. "Help?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "I'm flattered you'd ask for my help, but I was referring to your dad."

"My dad?"

"Yeah, or someone else who could actually fix this mess. From where I'm standing, it looks like you could use some divine intervention."

"I'm not asking Poseidon for help," Percy said firmly and started walking again.

Nico stood still, the gears in his head turning. "Why not?"

"It's complicated."

Nico jogged to catch up with Percy. "I understand, but I'm not sure you have a choice now."

"I'll find another way. I'm not asking him for help. End of story."

"Fine," Nico huffed. After a few more seconds of silence, he said, "How do you plan on getting home then? There's nothing for miles."

Percy shrugged. "I'm gonna walk to a bus station."

"It was in the other direction. You do know that, right?"

Without a word, Percy turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.

Nico turned to follow him, getting more frustrated. "Not to mention, it's the middle of the night. And we don't have any money."

"So what? I'll figure something out. I just need to get out of here as fast as possible."

Nico stopped walking. "Hey, dumbass! Your ticket home is standing right in front of you!" He gestured wildly at himself. "If you would just stop and think for one second, you would have figured that out sooner."

Percy stopped but didn't turn around right away. Then, with a big sigh of resignation, he turned around and held his hand out to Nico. "Fine, you win this one, di Angelo."

Nico grinned and clapped his hand over Percy's, dragging them both into the darkness.

Nico shadow-traveled them to a dark alleyway near Percy's home.

"You couldn't have taken us inside?"

Nico stared at him blankly. "You were going to wait all night at the bus station, Percy, and you want to complain about my methods?"

"Whatever," Percy grumbled, brushing past Nico to the front door. He unlocked the heavy door and attempted to push it open, but it wouldn't budge. "Great." He braced his shoulder against the door and shoved again, this time dislodging the door with a loud crack. Percy froze in the open doorway as the crack echoed.

"Wow," Nico whispered. "Could you have been a little louder?"

Percy turned to Nico, ready to make a snappy comeback, when the entry light turned on abruptly. Sally Jackson was illuminated at the end of the foyer, wearing a nightgown and wielding a baseball bat.

"Not in my house!" she shouted threateningly at the intruders.

"Mom?! Mom, it's me, Percy! Stop, stop!" Percy shrieked, disoriented and blinking against the bright light. He stepped in front of Nico, throwing up his arms in a defensive position.

Sally lowered the bat slightly as she sized them up. "Percy?" As recognition dawned on her face, she dropped her arm entirely. "Percy, don't sneak up on me like that. You scared me half to death." She leaned the bat against the wall and hugged her son. "You're always welcome here, but what are you doing here?"

Before Percy could answer, Nico stepped out from behind him, and Sally caught sight of him.

"Nico!" She gave him a big hug too, and Nico smiled. "Look at you! How are you?" She pinched his cheeks playfully.

Nico shrugged, blushing but trying to play off his embarrassment. He wasn't about to unload the whole story on her right now, especially considering how cagey Percy had been about the entire night. "I'm good," he said simply. "Nice choice of weapon, Sally."

Sally chuckled, "It does its job." After returning the bat to its rightful place in a cabinet, she led the boys into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "So, are you two going to tell me what's going on?"

Percy laughed nervously. "What, I can't just come to visit my mom?"

"In the middle of the night, Percy?" Sally raised an eyebrow. "Should I be worried?"

"No, what? Mom! I just wanted to come see you."

Sally nodded slowly. Her eyes were narrowed, focused on reading Percy. Something seemed off, but she decided not to press him on it. "Okay." She pointedly turned to stare at Nico. "Nico?"

Nico raised his hands defensively. "Don't look at me! I was just his ride here."

"If you say so," Sally said, dropping the conversation for now. "Well, I'm glad you're both here, but it's pretty late, and I work in the morning. Nico, honey, you're welcome to stay the night." She stood from the table and walked to the doorway, where she paused. "Good night, boys." She gave one last knowing glance at Percy before retreating to her bedroom.

When Sally had gone, Nico stood up too. "I'll be on the couch. Goodnight, Percy."

Percy walked robotically to his bedroom and shut the door. His mind was swimming with thoughts, all the events of the couple weeks that led to tonight. He sank onto the edge of his bed, his eyes trained on the floorboards at his feet. Then he was finally able to reflect.

He thought about camp. How everyone there probably hated him now. They'd wanted him gone, called for his banishment, and now they had gotten what they wanted. He'd lost their trust sometime in the last few weeks. But they didn't really matter. Annabeth was the only person he'd needed on his side, but even she had abandoned him. He couldn't really blame her. He had broken her trust for sure. But he could sense that her confidence in him had started waning as soon as Theseus arrived at camp.

Theseus. That bastard. He'd waltzed into camp, turned everyone against Percy, and ruined his reputation.

I'm the victim here, Percy thought. The one who suffered and lost everything. Theseus was the mastermind, the persecutor, the tyrant intent on torturing Percy. I'm the victim, he thought, desperate. I'm the victim. It's me. Maybe if he repeated it enough times, it would become the truth.

Because Percy wasn't the victim, was he?

He slumped forward, his forehead resting in the palms of his hands.

I hurt him. Badly. I could have killed him.

I wanted to kill him.

He's the victim. I'm the monster.

Theseus was sprawled in the grass, a fallen statue, unmoving, his teeth painted red with his own blood. His face was cold, frozen in abject horror. His skin, ashy white marble, asphyxiated and bleeding, his chiseled face stony and staring through eyes stained red with blood. Theseus had been powerful. And Percy had stripped him of it.

Annabeth was on her knees, tears trailing down her cheeks as she begged Percy to stop. Her voice was terrified. Her eyes were wide with horror. He couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop. His power was intoxicating. Why would he want to let it go? And he knew that she knew.

Sitting on his bed, he tensed up in discomfort, trying to push the memories away from him.

I'm the one who hurt him.

And the worst part about it was that he'd loved doing it.

He threw himself back on the bed, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. Stars blossomed behind his eyelids, and he felt lightheaded, dizzy. He didn't notice he'd been holding his breath until his lungs started to burn. He let the air out in a long shaky breath caught in his throat, snagged on the sobs assembled there. They came tumbling out silently so as not to disturb his parents in the other room. He threw both arms over his face and sobbed into the crook of his elbows.

Percy was no hero anymore.

Nico stared at the ceiling above the couch and listened to Percy's breathing. In the silent house, it was easy for him to recognize his turmoil. He didn't have to hear the crying to know he was suffering. After all that Percy had been through, Nico knew this would happen eventually and that there was nothing he could do to help. So he did nothing at all.

Percy could hear soft voices coming from the kitchen when he woke up in the morning. He barely opened his eyes, squinting up at the ceiling, but when he tried to glance toward the door, he was met with a sharp ache behind his eyes. With a groan, he pulled himself into a sitting position and pressed one of his palms against his eye socket to relieve some pressure. Trying to remember the previous night's events just made his head hurt more. He was sitting on his bed at his mom's, and now he could recognize her voice in the kitchen. And the smell of pancakes.

He hovered in the doorway of the kitchen. Nico and Sally seemed to be in the middle of a friendly conversation. Nico had a plate of blue pancakes in front of him, and Sally was leaning over the counter toward him, drinking a cup of coffee. Neither of them seemed to notice Percy until he fully entered the room.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Sally greeted him warmly. "How did you sleep?"

"Good, fine," Percy muttered as he sat down next to Nico.

"You look a little pale, Percy. Are you sure you're okay?" Sally leaned further over the counter and placed the back of her hand over his forehead.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine," he said quickly. From his peripheral, he noticed Nico side-eye him.

Sally stared at Percy for a few seconds, considering whether or not to push the subject. She would be within her rights to ask more questions, Percy thought. He and Nico had appeared on her doorstep in the middle of the night with no warning. After a few moments, though, she smiled, clearly deciding to let it go for the moment. "Okay, sweetie. Here, eat up." She slid a plate of blue pancakes across to him. "I have to be at work soon, but you boys, make yourselves comfortable." She rounded the countertop and gave Percy a little kiss on the head. "Stay out of trouble, okay?"

Right before she left the room, she stopped in the doorway. "And I want to hear more about this "afterlife" later, Nico," she said and winked.

Nico chuckled. "You got it."

"Dude, are you putting the moves on my mom?" Percy smirked at Nico, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. He hoped it was enough to convince Nico not to press him, although he suspected that Nico was smarter than that.

Nico eyed him, unconvinced, but returned the smirk, playing along for the moment. "Yeah, I'm taking the Jackson family tour."

"I guess you've got a type," Percy played along.

"You think she'll start giving me kisses on the head?" Nico leaned over toward Percy, making kissy faces at him.

"Yeah, right," Percy scoffed good-naturedly and shoved Nico away. They both went silently back to their breakfasts, but the more time passed, the tenser the silence became until Nico cleared his throat.

"So, do you want to talk about it now?"

Percy froze, staring at his plate. So much had happened in the last few days he wasn't even sure what Nico was referring to anymore. Rather than figure out which great tragedy he was supposed to be addressing, he waved Nico off. "There's nothing to talk about." His head was still hurting.

They both went silent again. Nico hesitantly sipped his orange juice. The empty air stretched between them.

Finally, the tension peaked, and Nico slammed his glass down on the counter, sloshing juice onto the granite. "Okay, maybe you don't want to discuss any of it, but I sure do."

Percy rubbed his temples. "Nico, please–"

"No! Percy, you've had a crazy stalker terrorizing you for the past two months. You just left camp in disgrace. Your girlfriend broke up with you. You almost killed a man. Dude. You literally invented blood-bending. And you're gonna sit here and act like none of it happened?!" Nico was on his feet.

"I know, Nico! I was there!" Percy shot back.

"So what are you gonna do about it?" Nico was still yelling.

Percy paused and stared at Nico as his anger dissipated. "I don't know." He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. "I don't know." The words felt good to admit after so long, even if he felt terrible. He didn't know what to do about any of it, and hearing Nico dredge every piece of it back up was bringing back some of the desperation he'd felt the night before.

Nico sat back down with a heavy sigh. "Look, I've been thinking." He stared intently at Percy again, but the anger was out of his eyes. "I understand you don't want to think about this right now. Honestly, I can't blame you." Percy snorted. "But! If you insist on ignoring the problems, let's take a step back so we can look at it with clearer eyes later."

"What are you talking about?" Percy rolled his eyes.

"Forget about everything for now. I'm taking you on a field trip."