This is a very short chapter. Honestly, I've written everything such that I'm genuinely cringing at my work. I really think that once this is over, I should do a rewrite. What do you think? You can be honest with me and tell me that my story is shitty, I know it too.

Replies:
Guest (19th December): So, I actually made it that Saturn does care for Percy, at least more so than Hazel and Frank. We're not going to see Saturn being soft on Percy in this book, but the sequel. Which I should not have told you, and hence I'm not going to tell you more about it. I kinda understand why you would avoid spoilers. Wish I could relate but my curious mind can't help it, so that's that.

Guest (21st December): Can I be honest here? I haven't watched it, just short clips on Tiktok. I'm in love with how cute Percy is and how sassy he already is. (I'm Sally Jackson's son) However, I really hate how they didn't do the characters justice in terms of looks. Where's Luke's scar? The ginormous scar that was part of the reason he betrayed everyone? The physical reminder of his failed quest? Where's Annabeth's classic looks? Her blonde hair? Oh come on, I loved it and the show took it away! Percy is a blonde. Why is he a blonde? Will Poseidon be blonde? Rick literally said that Percy is a split image of Poseidon? What happened to that? Other than that, I love the rest. Grover is adorable, I love how they showed Dionysus, Sally Jackson is a goddess as always, Clarisse is unexpected but also awesome. The acting is good, I like how Percy was claimed, and like I mentioned, I love his sarcasm and his adorable personality. (Him doing the floss, oh gods I wanna die)

Hazel POV

The news came to us in a shocking way. Pegasus had died.

Percy was beyond surprised to the point she just stared into nothing for a complete ten minutes. The first thing that came from her mouth after that was, "my brother is dead?"

Frank had let out a dry laugh accompanied with an eye roll. "By the Fates," he shook his head, "took him long enough. Looked like someone wanted to create a look-alike but ran out of materials or something. I'm surprised he even lasted that long."

As for me, I'm still deciding. I have never met Pegasus. I do not know Pegasus. I have only known him from what Reyna tells us. The only thing the horse had ever done to impact me was when… nothing. My impression of him right now isn't great. So yeah. I wasn't as affected.

Brue was furious in her grief, often keeping us up at night. We eventually allowed Paelen to visit her if only to keep her calm. He did it without fail. We all knew what would happen if he didn't—Saturn's patience would run out. Frank would keep guard of them, seeing as he was the only one who could talk to both of them. Sometimes, rarely, Paelen would strike a conversation with him. He was old, but his soul was still young, and I like the boy under there.

Juno broke her silence. Awkwardly enough, Percy had been there. The two talked things out and although Percy wouldn't share with anyone what was going on, Juno was allowed out of the room as long as she was wearing her cuffs. Although the two never talked more than they had to, I could see Juno being slightly softer towards Percy and Percy being kinder, more open. There was only one possible reason—they bonded through grief. Percy could understand that, she understood that better than most.

What happened between them stayed in the room, but Percy did tell us some details.

"She told me I wasn't who she expected me to be."

"She said, compared to others, I was the nicest."

"She's upset. Grieving. Doesn't want to see anyone that could remind her of my brother, her nephew."

"We're not friends. Just two people who can understand each other's pain. Somewhat."

"There will never be a universe where the two of us are anything more than allies. She says that we can be acquaintances. I didn't disagree."

I couldn't really understand the dynamics of their relationship at the moment. Percy never really put a label on it either.

Maybe I should have been concerned by how Percy seemed to gravitate towards Juno these days since Pegasus died. In truth? I was relieved and proud of my cousin for taking the initiative to do these things.

Willingly talk to others besides Frank and I. Able to hold up a conversation and leave with a good-nature instead of breaking down immediately.

Am I happy that it was Juno of all people? No. Not one bit. I wished it was Vesta all over again. At least with Vesta I knew that Percy wasn't going to be heartbroken.

Am I going to express my concerns? Also no. I know Percy. If I made a single peep about how I was worried for her, Percy was going to shut down immediately and cease communication with Juno. Her one chance of opening up would be ruined. I had trust in Percy, she knew what she was doing, and that was enough.

We discussed things that night. The moon hung above us. "Our spies bring in new information." Percy rubbed her hands together, her face partially hidden in the darkness. "The Gods move to Delphi. I have double and triple checked the people there. Everything is set."

"Meanwhile we go check on the Hecatonchires." Frank added. Vesta moved her finger down my arm where a long sword scar had been. I was going to miss her healing abilities, it was awesome. Warm and comforting. Reminds me of home. Of Camp Jupiter, surrounded by friends and family. Of the nights with Nico, two children of the underworld enjoying each other's presence. "See if they have changed their minds. If not, we let them go. Letting them be imprisoned for as long as they have isn't excusable anymore. It's plain cruelty."

My hand moved to a scroll. The human who wrote it had good handwriting. But the scroll was not helpful. I set it aside, picking up the next one. "Vesta, are you sure you do not want to join your family for this last part? No one would judge you."

She smiled serenely. "At first, I may be tempted to. But after so long with you, no. The war has gone well without me, I would be a burden. Besides, it is much better to be here."

Here with us or here on Titus, that remains to be seen. For now, I'm just content to have her in our company. "What will you do?"

"Care for my sister." Came her immediate answer. "And for Paelen. Juno grows restless. Unlike me, she is a warrior at heart. You stole an important fighter, Ekdikó." There was no blame in her tone, there never was. Frank nodded.

Percy twisted her fingers. Streams of water followed her movement. "I will deal with Juno." She said. None of us did so much as a peep. We were all used to it. "A one-on-one combat between us will shake off her restlessness. Perhaps we can take a walk through one of the nearby villages on Earth, someplace no God will go to."

I arched an eyebrow. Sure, I knew that Percy and Juno were growing close.

I just didn't realise that Juno had managed to gain her trust as well.

Frank smiled adoringly. "Do what you want, Seph. We can take care of everything else. You should take some time off."

Clenching her fists, Percy nodded. The water faltered before falling down unceremoniously onto the ground, splashing everywhere. "Vesta? Would you like to come along?"

"Of course." Came Vesta's immediate answer.

"While you're gone, I will deal with Emily." Frank decided. "Although I doubt I will do much. She is still managing her grief and mourning for Pegasus."

The water splashed onto the ground suddenly leapt up again. Percy didn't do anything, just stared in the distance. "I pity Emily." She said idly. None of us missed the pain underneath the tone of indifference. "Pegasus, however trivial to us, was her best friend. And although she will see him again, it won't be for a long time and she will only have this war as a distraction from the grief. Not a very nice distraction."

Trust her to be thinking about that. "Emily will be fine, Sia." I said. Vesta removed her hand and I offered some ambrosia cake. She seems to like it so we order it but in truth, it tastes a bit dry. She took it with a murmur of thanks. "We focus on our missions."

"Will you be there for when the war is over?" Vesta asked politely, albeit curiously.

We share a look and Frank coughs a little. "We've been a little… inactive these days, I must admit. I think before the war is over, we may just exit it. There is nothing left for us to do. No. Regardless of the winner, I never want to see the end of a war. I've seen enough of those."

"We build on our power. For the bigger events. For our only goal." Percy says wistfully. Starved for revenge, she was so single-minded, nothing else mattered. We were single-minded. So much that this war didn't matter to us. Which felt wrong—deaths do matter—but that was the truth, deep down. "This is only the beginning. The base. The foundation of our plans. What we plan to do, no one has ever done it before."

"And we are determined to succeed." I finished for her before she delved too much into it. We all trust Vesta. The people eavesdropping not so much. Call us paranoid, but I didn't trust that Saturn would not bug our room without our knowledge.

Vesta nodded. We talked a bit more before it was time to leave. She first gave Frank a warm hug and I hid a smile at how uncomfortable my boyfriend was. After all this time, he still couldn't handle any physical contact, especially affection, from anyone but me and Percy. Then, she placed a kiss on Percy's crown in a sisterly way. "Take care of yourselves." She said to me, "Please, if you can avoid them, do."

"No one can win a war." I told her. "If they do not stand in our way, we do not go intentionally seeking them." She gave me a hug as well.

Percy turned to us. "Tartarus in this world will give you a shock." She said as we walked down the corridor. Frank morphed into a raven, perched on my shoulder, snapping at anyone who gave me a weird look. "It's nothing like our world's. He doesn't want to kill us for one. It's not designed with features to torture. It's just a prison."

"That's a relief. So what are we going to do?" I used the Mist to create a deck of cards to shuffle around with. I can't stand ADHD.

"Check in on the Hecatonchires. Beware though. Centuries locked away has made them especially keen and have a love of talking and poking their noses where they do not belong."

She had told us about her first visit and what they had spoken about. "That must have sucked."

"Vesta knows we are related. In a way we are if you count different pantheons."

I doubt she actually cares. Frank said from my shoulder, nuzzling me. I patted his head. You know her. A bit like Sally but missing the sarcastic and stubborn edge. Sally would've adopted all of us if she could.

"I don't know about stubborn." I mused. "But certainly sarcastic. That's something only the Jackson family has. No one can imitate that."

Percy flicked my forehead. "Don't be a brat now, Góissa. Hey guys do you-" her smile vanished. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" I waved my hand in front of her face. "Sia? Sia?"

She snapped back to the present. Her brows furrowed. "I thought I heard someone." She said, slightly dazed, checking over her shoulder. There was nothing but blue skies. "Never mind, I guess. The whole situation is getting to me. I'm becoming paranoid."

"As long as you don't become Zeus." I snorted. Frank cawed with laughter, morphing back into a human. "That was a good one."

Percy checked again. Nothing. "Let's get going." She said instead.

I sighed, mentally preparing myself. "Yeah. Let's do this."

Frank took Percy's hand and used his free hand to sling over my shoulder. Whatever happens, we do it together. That's how it was four years ago, that's how it will be forever.