Act I Chapter XXXI: Annabeth Has a Family Reunion

While Percy would say he had lived a relatively young life, he had plenty of awkward moments and situations along the way. Like the time that his mother tried to give him a talk about the birds and the bees. Or the one time the bathrooms at school exploded, covering him and Grover in dirt and grime. If only Lupa had been there to teach him how to keep himself dry.

None of those moments really matched the awkwardness of the walk from the airport entrance to the garage where Frederick's car was. Frederick kept looking back at them, specifically Luke. There was an uneasy look on the mortal's face. Not to mention the fact that Reyna was following pretty close to Percy, and he could see that her hands were shaking in rage.

It was probably a miracle that the two hadn't broken out into a fight on the plane. Though, Annabeth probably preferred that to what they were currently doing. Speaking of Annabeth, she was walking next to Luke, but anytime Frederick turned his eyes to them, she turned her head sharply and didn't meet his gaze.

"I guess you found the wolf in your dreams," Frederick said as they left behind the crowd of people waiting for a bus and made their way towards the garage stairs.

"I did," Annabeth replied stiffly. Her next words were under breath but were clearly meant to be heard. "No thanks to you."

"Did you find your mother?" Frederick asked after a few moments. Annabeth instantly stopped walking, and Percy halted before he could run into her. That didn't stop Reyna from walking into him and nearly knocking him forward.

"Sorry," Reyna muttered as she shot her hand out to grab Percy's arm and steady him.

"It's okay," Percy shrugged as he looked back at her. He then looked at Frederick, who turned to look at his daughter.

"I have not," Annabeth answered after a moment. Her eyes shot around. "We should talk about this in the car."

Frederick nodded and led them towards his vehicle. He opened the trunk and placed his luggage and briefcase inside. Percy stood there awkwardly waiting for Annabeth to give him some kind of clue on what to do. She just stared at her father.

"Go ahead and get in the car," Frederick said as he seemed to study all of them. "Are any of you hurt? Do you need food? Or anything else?"

"Food sounds-"

"We're good," Annabeth interrupted. Percy gave her a look. She glared at him, and he quickly backed down. Annabeth sat in the passenger's seat, and Percy slowly sat behind her, only to see one of the pair by his side waiting to sit in the car. Percy scooched to the middle of the backseat, and he hoped that Luke and Reyna wouldn't get into an argument of their own.

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself," Frederick began as he sat in the driver seat and started turning the ignition. He took the time to look back at them. "Frederick Chase: Annabeth's father. Who are all of you?"

"I'm Luke. I've known Annabeth since she… ran away," Luke said after a few moments.

"You kept her safe?" Frederick asked. Luke nodded at the question, and the look in Frederick's eyes softened. "Thank you."

"I'm Percy. I just joined everyone recently," Percy said after a few moments.

"Reyna," the Roman muttered as she didn't really look at them.

"We're going to Alcatraz," Annabeth announced as she looked at her father. It didn't look like she was exactly comfortable in the front seat so close to her father.

"Alcatraz," Frederick repeated. As Percy watched the two, he felt a pit form in his gut. His relationship with his mother was great, and while he didn't know his father, he didn't hate him. All of his friends just didn't seem to have a good relationship with their parents. The last thing he wanted was for something to happen that turned him against his mother. He loved her too much.

"Frederick, you know about the gods, right? How they just aren't all there? We're trying to bring them back, but to do that, we have to establish a safe place for demigods. One for them to be able to live and train," Luke explained. "We have a place to go. We just need protection, and the key to that is at Alcatraz."

"It's why we need a ride," Percy chimed in. "And um, Mr. Chase, did you know who Annabeth's mother was?"

"Not at first," Frederick answered with a tired exhale. Annabeth turned her head to look at Percy and gave him a harsh look that felt like lasers about to burn through him. "Athena was a professor who was wise beyond her years and seemed to know everything. I asked her for help on a few assignments, and we grew close."

"There were some days when she was so absorbed in her work that she wouldn't even look away from it," Frederick explained. "We met a few times a week. Then, she was just gone one day. I didn't see her for months. Until..."

"She showed up with me," Annabeth finished. "The daughter that you didn't want."

"Annabeth," Frederick began.

"You're saying that there were multiple days a week that Athena was there enough to pretend to be a mortal and interact with you?" Reyna questioned. Frederick turned his attention from his daughter to glance at Reyna. "She even came back months later. Do you know where she went?"

"No," Frederick replied. "She told me that she could not take care of Annabeth. That I needed to. She said that Annabeth would help us save the world. Before I could ask her what she meant, she told me to look away. Because looking at the goddess Athena in her true form could kill me."

"I would have thought she was crazy, but she spoke with such conviction that I looked away. When I looked back, she was gone. I was left with a baby girl in a basket and a note signed with an owl. No one else seemed to remember her, and any research she had done was left in my name. It made me realize that she was telling the truth."

"How could Athena be whole enough to pretend to be a mortal for that long?" Luke questioned.

"Maybe it was her last ditch effort," Percy suggested. "She knew that she was losing it, so she had a daughter that would be able to help save the gods. Maybe, we're all like that."

"No pressure or anything," Luke chuckled with a small smile. Percy glanced at him and grinned.

"Do you need any supplies?" Frederick offered.

"No," Annabeth declined immediately. "We have all the medicine and weapons that we need."

Annabeth grabbed the radio dial and turned up the volume. Percy looked at Luke, and his trainer looked out the window. There was a tired look in the older boy's eyes. Percy wasn't sure if Luke had even slept. Percy turned his gaze to his other side.

"You okay?" Percy whispered softly. Reyna slowly looked at him. There was a seemingly permanent scowl on her features. Reyna just nodded and focused on looking down at her legs. "You were right. About us not asking you about yourself. I'm sorry about that."

"It makes sense," Reyna muttered as she picked at the loose threads of her jacket. "Luke and Annabeth train demigods for months before never seeing them again. What's the point of getting close if you know what is going to happen?"

"That doesn't make it right," Percy said softly. He leaned back in the seat and studied Reyna. She met his gaze with her piercing black eyes. "So, where were you born?"

"Puerto Rico," Reyna answered after a moment. "You?"

"New York," Percy returned with a grin. "I've spent my whole life there even though we moved around a lot. It was easy to get lost in the crowd there. I didn't visit other places at all, so this is just one big field trip for me."

"Field trip," Reyna repeated, a small smirk splitting her lips. "With permission from our godly parents, right?"

"My mom gave me permission to come here too," Percy added cheekily. "I remember that you mentioned a sister before."

The smirk on Reyna's face instantly disappeared, and she stiffened. Percy winced, "Sore subject?"

"Very," Reyna answered after a few tense moments. "The two of us left Puerto Rico together after our father died. I started to have these dreams about finding a wolf goddess. My sister did as well. I guess she hates our Roman roots because of what my mother told my father. Hylla and I parted ways the second we stepped foot in America."

"Have you been on your own since?" Luke chimed in. Percy nearly jumped and realized that the rest of the car had fallen quiet. At some point, the radio had been turned down. Everyone was listening to Reyna talk. Even Frederick seemed to be glancing at them by using the rearview mirror. Unless he was just trying to make sure he could safely merge.

"Yeah," Reyna answered as she seemed to realize she was the center of attention. She looked down and sighed sadly. "Hylla and I had an argument, and it just... escalated. I haven't talked to her since we parted ways that day. From there, I stumbled all over America looking for Lupa."

"Which is how you stumbled upon Camp Half-Blood?" Annabeth asked. Reyna nodded.

"You're tough for surviving on your own like that," Luke complimented. "Not many demigods could do that."

Reyna shrugged and looked uncomfortable by the comment. She went back to picking the threads of her jacket. Annabeth nodded her agreement but otherwise remained silent.

Percy glanced over to Luke and spoke, "What about you? I know you found Annabeth, but what about before that?"

Luke looked away and focused out the window, a scowl infecting his face. He slowly spoke, "Sorry, Percy. It's not something I want to talk about."

Percy nodded and sat back awkwardly in the chair. Annabeth turned to look back at him and studied him quietly. Percy met her gaze but wasn't exactly sure what to say. Luke finally turned back around to them, "On second thought, do you mind if we get some food, Frederick?"