(Welcome to the follow up to "Gifted and Rewound- A time travel surprise." Quick warning, this story will focus on more heavy themes as you progress, including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, PTSD and slight sexual themes. You have been warned.)

Okay, maybe third wheeling on date when I knew one person didn't want me there was an ass thing to do, but then again, only she thought it was a date, so I didn't feel too badly about it. Besides, my mom would never forgive me if I just let someone else seduce my dad. It didn't help that I was the oldest in the car either.

"Give it up, Rach, he's a married man. Or, he will be, at least. Besides, all the genders, all the options, and you're stuck on a quirked up white boy? Talk about vanilla." I teased her, even if i knew that she'd move on from him soon enough.

"Why do I put up with you?" She shot back, clearly not amused, but i found that I didn't really give a shit. I was only here because even though my friend Luke and I had taken down the monster infested cruise ship, the Princess Andromeda, and sent it to Poseidon, there were still thousands of monsters out there, with more reforming everyday to kill people like my family and friends.

"Yo, there's something coming." I told my dad, the air currents changing near us. I looked around, finding a black pegasus coming toward us.

"On the sand! Don't walk on my grandpa's car!" I yelled, and the Pegasus, Blackjack, snorted loudly before hovering above the car, a single hoove on the car, neighing in a way that reminded me of laughing

"Don't be so uptight, little boss, it ain't good to get worked up over nothin'" He told me, and I rolled my eyes. Oh yeah, my both of my grandfathers are gods, and since my dad was a son of Poseidon, I could speak to equine. It didn't mean they respected me as much as my dad, but that was life.

I turned my gaze up to the large person on Blackjacks back, Beckendorf, son of Hephestus, and head head councilor for his cabin.

"It's time?" My father, Percy, asked, Beckendorf nodding.

"Yeah. It's getting bad, and the sooner we take out some of these nests, the fewer monsters we'll have to deal later. What better way than testing out these new weapons?" He asked, holding up a bronze weapon that looked like a potato launcher, but i knew better. I'd watch Beckendorf and Annabeth make them after all.

Blackjack landed on the sand so Percy could climb up.

"Oh, don't mind us. We'll just have a lovely, awkward time taking the car back to Grandpa." I told them, turning the car off and unbuckling as Rachel glared at me angrily. My bad, I guess I shouldn't have cockblocked her.

"On second thought, I should go with you guys, keep you out of trouble." I told them, getting laughed at by my friend, my father, and a horse with wings.

You might be thinking, how could I be the oldest in a car with my dad? Time travel. Don't think too much about it. It hurts my head too.

"Laugh all you want, but I'm not riding back with my number two hater." I told them, Rachel raising her eyebrows to look at me as she got out to get in the drivers seat.

"Who's number one?" She asked me, as if I'd made some kind of mistake.

"Myself." I calmly replied, lifting off the ground and flying next to Blackjack. Oh yeah, my mom is the daughter of Zeus, so, i could do that. I wondered if she could too, or if her fear of heights meant she'd never tried.

"Makes sense. Go on then and leave a poor, defenseless girl to drive back by herself.

"You're not poor or defenseless. You hit a Titan in the eye last summer and kicked me in the nuts when I accidentally startled you earlier." I reminded her, wincing as I thought about it.

"Yeah, well, don't scare me next time." She told me, as we flipped each other the bird before she started driving away.

"Dude, what is your problem with her?" Percy asked, and I was confused for a moment. Did he think I disliked her?

"Well, I don't like the fact she flirts with you so much, but aside from that, I like hanging with Aunt Rachel. She's cool, plus she appreciates that we're broke, so she pays for hangouts." I told him the three of us flying over New York, my home state, and bombing select fast food restaurants. Those places tended to be spawning grounds for monsters, and any mortals became monster chow.

"So, is that something I shouldn't tell Annabeth, or what?" Beckendorf joked, and my eyes rolled so far that they felt like they'd reach the back of my head.

"Please, like I'd cheat on Annabeth. The last time I pissed her off, she managed to break my nose." I replied, and i did deserve it. I'd been an absolute jerk when she did it. Although, how was still a mystery since I'm invulnerable, minus a spot over my heart, but I had my theories.

"And that's why I don't argue with Annabeth." Beckendorf told me, Percy just rubbing his neck. He'd been on her bad side before, but as far as i knew, she'd never just decked him.

"Not because of her scary boyfriend?" I asked, throwing a small jar of Greek fire onto a roof, watching a group of harpies try to fly away, and turn to dust as the fire consumed them.

"Haha! Good one, Alex. Maybe after the war, you can try stand-up comedy." He joked, ducking as I threw my shield and hit a stray harpy that had managed to escape the blaze, stunning it long enough Percy could kill it.

I pressed a button on my wrist, calling my shield back into my hand after it fell to the ground. A modification Beckendorf made to it before last summer.

"That thing come in handy often? It's a little tricky to make, but I think our archers could use something like that." He asked, and I thought about it. I spent weeks training to use it, and it had saved a life twice. That was worth it to me.

"I think it is. It doesn't kill often, but when it does, that's just a little perk." I told him, silence falling over us as a formidable group of monsters formed below us, the three of us hacking and slashing our way through them fairly easily, but was starting to get tired. The downside to my invulnerability was that my energy was spent more quickly, leaving me to nap more than I fought since I'd dunked myself in the styx.

"Just a couple more, and then we can go to camp." Percy told me, offering me a sip of necter, the drink of the gods, and I perked up a bit.

"Yeah, I know, but that's a couple that I'm not looking forward to." I told him, feeling the currents behind me shift quickly, my body becoming electrified, the energy passing to my gear as i threw my shield and hit a cyclops in the eye before It bounced off the sides of a building, right back to me.

While it was stunned, I rushed it, slicing its ankle and bringing it to its knees before plunging my sword into the back of its head, the monster returning to Tartarus as dust, at least for now.

A few more restaurants, and we were going back to camp half-blood, one of the only places where people like us were really safe, and I felt my energy crash as just as we crossed the border, so I aimed for the lake, making a big splash and closing my eyes, before my lungs felt like they were burning, and I began to panic, rushing to the surface as quickly as I could.

Last summer, during a battle where I thought my girlfriend had been killed, I pulled the half-blood who'd shot her into the water and drowned him.

Since then, I had been having trouble breathing under the water, brought back to the moment every time I was in anything deeper than a tub. At least the water revitalized me, and i could walk out dry. Yay for Poseidon powers.

"Are you alright, Alex?" A wise, knowledgeable voice asked, and I looked up at the centaur Chiron, who looked at me with understanding in his aged eyes.

"I-I don't know." I admitted, my voice cracking. I still saw his face, the nameless warrior I'd so brutally killed.

"Come with me, dear boy. I'll make some tea, and once Percy and Beckendorf have briefed me, we'll discuss this matter further." He told me, so kind and calm, even when I'd been a complete and total asshole.

"Thank you." I managed to get out, following him into the big house and laying my head on the table

"Mission success, Chiron. We took out over forty different nests, and our fire launcher works wonders." Beckendorf told the half man-horse.

"Excellent. Did you manage to get all of the ones we marked?" Chiron asked, and I zoned out, their voices fuzzy as I thought about the battle last summer, those we lost, the hard won victory right here, defending our home, the chaos, the violence.

I looked down, an arrow in her heart, my hands bloodied as I hunted down and dragged her would be murderer to the lake, and then, taking glee in his murder.

I panic, all of it's too much, and suddenly I can't breathe, the world is spinning, and then there's something against my chest, just the small touch, but I begin to calm down, and I'm back in the big house, a head of blonde hair on my chest, an ear against my chest

"I'm sorry." I choke out, crying into her shoulder.

"You're okay. You don't have to be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. Just let it all out." My girlfriend, Annabeth, told me softly, waiting until I stopped crying and let go before she let go too.

It's getting worse, happening more often, but don't tell her that, unsure of how to feel in the moment.

"Here you are." Chiron told me gently, sliding a cup of tea in front of me, and I took it, savoring the warmth it brought me.

"That's the third time this week. It's becoming more frequent, and quite frankly, I'm worried about you. I've spoken to Lee about upping your weekly appointments to twice weekly again. Not only that, but he's looking into a mortal treatment he believes may yield more positive results than just therapy." He told me, and I opened my mouth to argue, but I couldn't get the words out, gripping the cup tight. I knew they only wanted the best for me.

"I can't forget it. I don't want to forget or get used to killing, but this pain, when does it stop?" I asked, the cup shattering in my hand, and I checked Annabeth for burns or cuts, finding that I'd just gotten her shoe and part of her orange camp shirt wet.

"There's no one way to cope. You're doing everything right. Just give it time." Chiron told me, a cleaning harpy already taking care of the mess I'd made.

"I know, but I'm afraid of what happens if I'm not strong enough. What happens when my grief consumes me?" I asked, getting no answer in return before I stood, my sword and shield left on the table.

"Thank you, but this feels awful. I'm going to archery practice. Maybe I'll get lucky and hit a target for once." I told them both, giving Annabeth a small peck on the cheek and leaving. This was my burden. They had supported and helped me carry it this far, but I would overcome myself.