"Um… hey." A quiet voice had Percy turning to see a girl with long, silky-black hair and startlingly blue eyes standing behind him. He only saw a glimpse of those eyes before she looked down shyly. He knew who she was immediately—the demigod from the other night—and was glad to see her looking better. "Um… they said you… um… you saved my life the other night."

Percy smiled warmly at her. "I just had a dream." Okay, so maybe it was a little more than that, but a little humility never hurt in Percy's opinion.

"Thank you," she said, meeting his eyes and looking so sincere, his domains may have melted a little.

"You're welcome," he replied warmly, and held out his hand. "I'm Percy Jackson, unclaimed. And you are?"

"Roxanne Belmont," she returned, taking his hand and shaking it. He tried not to wilt a little. So she'd been killed in their previous life because he certainly didn't remember her. Or she'd joined Luke, but he had a feeling it was the former. He'd also never met a satyr named Oscar before. But then, that meant he was able to save lives. Already. That certainly boosted his mood again.

"Welcome to Camp Half-blood," he said, gesturing around them. "I hope you like it here."

He had a feeling she didn't give the small but real smile he saw from her often. "Yeah, me too."

xXx

The end of June brought a pleasant surprise in the form of Aunt Hestia appearing (in a much older form than usual) at dinner and informing Dionysus that the children had permission to make the Hermes cabin bigger. They couldn't make it larger than Zeus' cabin, and some of the other gods may want to expand on their own cabins in response, but she had advocated for how badly the Hermes cabin in particular needed to be worked on.

The children would have to build it themselves though. They would be given basic tools and materials. All they needed to do was tell Chiron what was needed. The centaur looked relieved. Dionysus said he didn't care. Because of course.

Percy grinned as he looked over at Annabeth, who seemed to have stars in her eyes as she watched the head table and the gods discussing everything. Then he glanced up at Luke, who looked troubled. He wasn't sure what was going through the older demigod's head, but he had a couple of ideas. He was tempted to check on the other's emotions, but ultimately decided against it. If they weren't enemies yet, he deserved his privacy.

Still…

"Hey, Luke!" he said, drawing the older boy out of his reverie. Luke blinked and glanced down at Percy, face once again back to something friendlier. "Doesn't Annabeth like architecture?"

Luke pondered that thoughtfully, nodding as Percy grinned.

Annabeth had a plan drawn up the next day. Well, she actually had five, but she presented the one she liked best. After everyone had a chance to look over it and add their own suggestions, she went back to the old drawing board to have another design made.

By the end of the week, it had been approved and she began to draw up what they'd need.

The entire camp came together to dig out the new area she marked and everyone learned more about setting a foundation than they'd probably like, but Annabeth was in heaven.

It was hard work, even with the Hephaestus and Athena cabins taking their turns in construction. The Hermes kids did have to sleep in the under-construction cabin, but to be honest, no one had an issue with that. Not even Roxanne, who quietly took one wall on the floor and helped where she could during the weeks everyone built the cabin.

She was a strange daughter of Aphrodite. Quiet and sharp, rarely speaking unless spoken to, and highly suspicious of more or less everyone. Percy recognized the symptoms of a bad home life and his heart went out to her. He did his best to befriend her, and she did warm up to him a little, but she and Annabeth did not get along. Which he hated, but… fair.

Aphrodite and Athena cabins did get together on the one thing they could agree on later that month—fabric—to help decorate cabin 11 itself. By the time they finished, the Hermes cabin had more blankets, pillows, throw pillows, and curtains of just about every kind than anyone thought was truly needed.

The original part of the cabin got a very thorough cleaning and touch-up as well. It took them over a month, with each cabin working on the Hermes cabin two to four hours a day, to get the whole thing done, but once they were finished, they had a new, clean, and very nicely extended cabin with extra storage space and beds if necessary (which Percy knew would be needed next year).

By the time they finished, Percy couldn't have been more proud of the camp, and was even pleased with the gods. Hey, it happened every now and then.

Oh, and he'd tackled God Twelve by picking up some surprisingly hot metal in front of the Hephaestus kids, without getting burned of course, and had taken to forging some of the screws and nails they needed for the build. Several people had him down as a Hephaestus legacy by the end of it.

God Twelve, check.

xXx

July (and the Hermes Cabin expansion) had gotten well underway when Percy finally worked up the courage to approach Luke. It bothered him that he felt so nervous about it. Some of that came from the memory of Luke's lifeless body on the floor of the Olympus throne room. Some of that came from his encounters with the older demigod over those first four years. A lot of it came from Thalia's tight-lipped stiffness, the obvious sadness and pain in her eyes even centuries later, or Annabeth's distant, sad look and how her fists clenched whenever he was brought up.

Kronos would still rise. Percy was pretty sure that was inevitable. He would find another demigod, likely from Camp Jupiter, to manipulate. But he could also still approach Luke. Maybe he already had. Percy didn't know, but the future would ride on the decisions both he and Luke made now. And honestly, he'd like to fight by Luke's side, or well, have Luke fight by his against the guy who wanted to wipe out all life on Earth and remake the world.

No, really, shouldn't that be a given? He supposed not, with how many people had joined Kronos but, honestly…

Still, Percy knew he had his work cut out for him. From the older boy's actions (not to mention that rage Percy had sensed that first day) he could tell where Luke stood when it came to the gods. He'd seen it before from other kids. In the future… (still surreal) children would come to camp who didn't care. They'd seen too much and moved past the capacity to care. If he couldn't help them, they tended to leave the country for higher education the moment they could, hoping to leave anything demigod behind, or they did something reckless against the gods. A couple of them would do something reckless against themselves… and those were the worst in Percy's opinion. He could sense when every one of them died.

He didn't want to sense that with Luke. Not like that. And he may have a chance because Luke still cared at this point. He cared about the demigods at camp. And that… that might be just enough.

"Hey, Luke. Can we talk?" Percy asked one day during their afternoon free time.

Blinking, the eighteen-year-old regarded his youngest camper for several seconds before shrugging. "Sure. We can get a drink even. Let me grab some cokes."

Percy tried not to flinch. Even after 300 years he remembered Luke taking him into the woods to hunt and for a drink of soda, followed by an attack from a pit scorpion that nearly took his life. They were not going into the woods this time though.

He'd even asked Aunt Hestia to help, so they could talk in private. Well, mostly in private, Aunt Hestia could listen in, but even if she did, she wouldn't snitch.

"You want to sit by the fire? In this heat?" Luke asked when Percy led them in that direction after Luke grabbed the six-pack he'd probably gotten from the Stolls when they'd come back just before work started on the Hermes cabin.

Every time Percy saw the younger version of a camper he knew, it felt like a Titan socked him in the gut. A feeling he was sadly knowledgeable about. Even Luke looked so much younger and freer, like he had less weight on his shoulders, even if Percy could already see that weight increasing.

They sat down across from Aunt Hestia, who just smiled up at them as they each claimed a stone.

"I like it here," Percy says. "It's actually not too hot, and it's cozy."

Luke shrugged and handed him a coke. "Okay. So what did you want to talk about?"

He popped the tab on his can and took a long swig.

"You don't like the gods, do you," Percy said, watching Luke carefully. He didn't say it as a question.

Apparently, Luke wasn't expecting that, because he spit his cola out onto the fire. Aunt Hestia didn't look entirely impressed, but she also didn't say anything. Luke wiped his mouth as he hissed at the younger camper. "Percy! You can't just say things like that around here! Anyone could be listening in!"

Percy raised an eyebrow.

Obviously uncomfortable, Luke wiped his hands on his pants and looked away. "Besides, what makes you say that?"

"I've seen you when you don't think anyone's looking. The other night, with Ethan—he was so upset about the minor gods not getting recognition. You were smiling. Then, when he calmed down, you weren't happy." That sounded childish enough, right? He hoped so.

"I was just thinking about other things."

"The way you avoid talking about them."

"That's just smart, Percy."

The time-traveler took a deep breath. "The way you look whenever your dad comes up."

Luke's face went blank, no doubt surprised that anyone had noticed, let alone that someone had brought it up. He shot a glance at the girl across the fire from them. Aunt Hestia looked to be very deep in a book that had appeared in her hands out of nowhere, though Percy only noticed that because he'd paid attention to her before.

"Gods are selfish, Percy. That's a lesson to learn as a whole. They don't care about their children beyond what we can do for them. They don't care to be parents… actually, they don't care for anyone outside of themselves. They think humans are their playthings, not caring how much they get hurt in the process. That's…" a sour look fell over his face as he stared into the flames.

"That's just how they are."

Percy frowned, hoping he looked innocent. "But what about the rule that they can't be around demigods? Even their children."

Luke snorted. "That's just an excuse."

No, it wasn't. Percy should know. He'd had the rule quoted at him at least once a year, every year for nearly his first century. His defense had always been his demigod domain. Zeus would freak out like the drama queen he was, Hera would back him up, and depending on who Percy had ticked off that year, various gods would support him or not. He'd give them all the middle finger anyway, say he'd fulfill his duties for his own domains whether they did or not, and walk away.

That had stopped when he'd finally snapped, told them all that they were terrible parents and if they continued as they were, they'd have more Lukes on their hands once every decade or so until they got their acts together. He may or may not have used language that would have had his mother in near tears, but then, she hadn't been there. Besides, his dad found that particular part of his argument amusing. Then he told them that if they wouldn't be decent parents, the least he could do was try to be a decent uncle/cousin/friend/mentor because Chiron could only do so much. The least he could do was prove that not every god wasn't a deadbeat who only cared about themselves. And maybe if he could help them by showing them that someone on Olympus cared, they wouldn't lose half of their camp to completely unnecessary wars.

He may or may not have gone on about how gods didn't understand human lives, and never would, but if they dedicated some time to even showing up once every couple of months, it would mean the world to their kids. That was all it would take in most cases. And just because mortal lives were fleeting didn't mean they were worthless. They shouldn't have to earn their parents' love because their parents were too self-absorbed to actually care.

He'd been punished for that. Zeus forbade him from going near the sea for a decade. His father had been furious. The whole situation had sucked, but it was worth it, because they'd changed the rules. A god could see their child up to once a month if said child didn't know about their godly status, fewer times if they did know, but that would mostly be for their safety. The various gods could also all visit the camp once a month. Percy had been thrilled. The children had been thrilled. Most gods had been thrilled.

But that had been an actual rule they had to change.

Percy regarded Luke with a frown. "Why do you think that?"

Luke sighed and took a drink of his soda. "It's an excuse, Percy, that's all."

"Are you sure?"

"In for a penny," the older boy grumbled to himself. Then he shook his head. "What else could it be? Why would there be a reason except for lazy gods to have an excuse? It fits so well with them."

"All of them?" Percy asked.

Luke snorted. "Every god I've met. You're going to get me killed just talking about it, you just watch." He sounded so… resigned. At least that meant Kronos probably hadn't contacted him yet. Or if he had, he hadn't told Luke who he was. "They hate criticism, and hate change even more than they hate taking responsibility."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Hestia said before Percy could say anything. He blinked. He hadn't expected her to jump in. Both demigods shot her a questioning look. Percy saw Luke's face pale as he cursed under his breath.

"My Lady," Luke said, putting on his mask, "I didn't mean—"

She held up her hand. "Luke Castellan, son of Hermes and May Castellan. I think I have a couple of things to clear up.

"First, no other god was listening in. I made sure of that. Young Percy here said my fire felt safe, undoubtedly why he brought you here despite the time of day and heat."

Well, that should help to take some suspicion off of him from Luke. He nodded emphatically at her, both grateful and hoping to convince Luke it hadn't been a set up. Mainly because it hadn't been. He really hadn't expected his aunt to say anything.

"Second, that rule is, indeed, an actual rule set down by the King of the Gods after he saw how

Kronos treated the mortals he'd created." She sighed and shook her head. "He did not give them any choice or freedom. They were mere slaves at best, there to serve my father's whims, and nothing else. He mainly created them because they were easier to control than even nymphs or other nature spirits. However, he didn't notice how they changed and grew. Many other gods saw potential there, and wanted to see what mere mortals could do. It has been something that has fascinated my siblings and I for millennia. I find it inspiring, personally.

"By tying ourselves to mortal worship, it allowed us to change—both for better and worse—so we could avoid becoming like Kronos and Ouranos before him." She sighed. "It seems we have failed, though. Despite that, my youngest brother still enforces the rule, likely out of paranoia. I believe mortals and half-mortals scare my brother. They aren't supposed to be as knowledgeable or powerful as they tend to become these days." She chuckled sadly. "It seems we all underestimated them… underestimated you. What brother does now seems more like damage control." She said that last part more to herself.

"Damage for what?" Luke couldn't seem to help but venture slowly, carefully.

She sighed. "I am not sure I can explain it."

So Percy tried. "My mom says that a lot of people—including Poseidon, Athena, and Hera—have tried to take his throne at some point. He fights so hard for it, maybe he thinks he'll be useless if he isn't king? My mom says that people who have power usually grow afraid of losing it, but that it isn't always as simple as greed."

Hestia smiled, amused at his attempt… or perhaps at his own assessment. "I believe it may also have something to do with how the previous kings were dethroned."

Well… fair. "Yeah, that would be scary," Percy said, nodding solemnly.

Luke seemed to grow more puzzled as the conversation went on. "Wait," he held up his hand, "why are Percy and I still alive? We spoke against the gods… in front of a goddess."

Hestia shrugged and poked the fire again. "You may find that we have mellowed out in some areas and become more strict in others. We tend to reflect traits of the society we find ourselves tied to. I would not encourage bad-mouthing my brother, but your grievances are understandable, if limited in scope. I cannot punish you for that, and I am not the only one."

"That's why I want to change it!" Percy said, pumping as much excitement into that as he could. Then, just to hopefully sell it more, he cocked his head to one side. "Um… who are you…" he paused and glanced at Luke out of the corner of his eye before adding on, "My Lady?"

Her amusement grew. "Hestia. Goddess of Hearth and Home."

"Oh!" Percy said excitedly. Maybe he should jump into something? Babble or pull a young Nico? But he wanted to keep addressing this too, and that could get them sidetracked…

Seeming to sense his dilemma, Hestia held up a hand to him, then fixed her gaze on Luke. "I do have some more things I would like to say, if you would hear them."

Frowning, Luke nodded slowly.

"I remember your father and his brother, Apollo, getting into a large fight because of what happened to your mother. Your father blamed Apollo, and Apollo claimed—still claims—he had nothing to do with it. No one knows who cursed the current Oracle, and accusations could start a war. However, your mother was informed of that before she went in to claim the Oracle's position."

Luke looked some impossible shade of pale, green, and red at the same time—a tad on the 'zombie' side. Percy couldn't help but be a little worried. That… shouldn't be possible. Yet, he was doing an impressive job of pulling it off.

"You're saying it's my mother's fault?"

Hestia sighed. "Not at all. I am saying no one knows whose fault it is, that there is a curse there, and your mother knew that. She wanted to be part of your life so much, she was willing to risk her life to be so."

Luke clenched his teeth. "Then… why didn't she say anything to me?! One day we went on a trip, came here, I think, and then…"

The goddess nodded sadly. "I believe she didn't want to burden you. Your father didn't know her plans, as far as I know."

"We were happy, though," Luke said angrily. "I remember my fa—Hermes being there before…. After, he just left. Mom and I needed him more than ever and he left."

"What he did brought attention to him and he was punished, by my brother," Hestia said softly. "He left for your safety—to save your lives."

Luke looked stricken. "What?"

She shook her head before fixing her ember-warm gaze on the son of Hermes. "Luke, don't you see it? Your father broke the rules to be with your mother and you. He broke the rules and was punished for it. What that punishment was is not my place to say, but it hurt him too, though I think the worse punishment was having to leave you. He spoke with me about it and…

"The thing about my nephew is that he tries. He loves his children. He wants to be with them and their parents. He has such a large heart and so much room in it for love, despite watching those people he loves die again and again, he's never given up on that. Perhaps that is why he and Aphrodite get along so well. I know he doesn't always succeed, but he does try. He looks for loopholes and sneaks by on the down low until he gets caught and punished." She sighed, shaking her head fondly, gaze growing distant. "He's under a lot of scrutiny right now and likely will be for a couple of decades at least."

Luke just stared at her, blinking rapidly as he tried to compute that. No matter how cut off he was, Percy could still sense this new information battling with what he'd come to accept as truth before. He'd accepted his world-view as an absolute, which was a mistake… but Percy could understand. And that didn't mean he was entirely wrong.

"Au… My Lady, Hestia," the time-traveler said slowly, "I… don't know everything that is going on, but… despite Luke's father trying, the fact of the matter is that as things are now, demigods are still hurt, including his siblings." He gestured to Luke. "Some people thrive under a hands-off way of being raised, but so many others don't. And that isn't their fault. They shouldn't be punished for it."

The older camper and goddess had both turned their attention on Percy, Luke looking a little blank, like he couldn't comprehend what was going on, but slightly relieved that not everything he'd taken for truth had been thrown out the window.

Aunt Hestia nodded. "You aren't wrong, Percy. Perhaps we should brainstorm some things that should change?"

"Why do you care?" Luke blurted suddenly. Both Hestia and Percy focused on him, his incredulous gaze fixed on the form of the little girl in front of them. "The other gods don't, so why do you?"

She smiled. "Partially because you are my family. I do not have—will likely never have—children of my own. That doesn't mean I cannot love my nieces, nephews, and in some cases, cousins. Partially because my main domains are hearth and home, which deals with family. Partially because I was there when my father made his own mortals. I saw how they were treated—albeit through dreams and visions. I don't want to see that repeated. But I also don't want us to go so far in the opposite direction that we've essentially reached the same level of wrong." She sighed. "It's hard to remember that my father wasn't always…" she faded off, looking for the right word.

"Evil?" Percy asked, probably a touch more sardonically than the situation called for, but he knew Kronos.

Hestia deflated, looking suddenly tired and very old, even in her nine-year-old body. "Yes. He… didn't used to be. And I think even that is too… simple to just label him."

Percy sighed and got up, walking over to her and taking her hand. "Au… My Lady Hestia, he ate you. And you did not deserve that."

"He was scared," she whispered.

"He was," Percy nodded. "But that doesn't give him an excuse."

"Even then he wasn't bad," she said, eyes boring into his. "He just kept…"

"Getting worse?"

She nodded sadly. "Much like we have, I think. Even me."

"You're nothing like him," Percy said. "You can change. He had to be stopped."

She nodded again.

"That doesn't mean it didn't hurt," he finished.

After a moment, she put her hand on his cheek. "You are far too empathetic for your own good, I think."

Percy looked down. "Thank you." He didn't agree, but he appreciated that.

They stayed like that for a moment before Percy remembered why they were there to begin with. He looked over at Luke, who stared at the two of them, blank faced. Hestia followed his gaze.

"I'm sorry, Luke," she said softly. "I'm sorry you weren't given this information sooner. It has hurt us in the past to just give information like that away, and we react just like any other sapient being when we are hurt."

"So you're saying you gods are a bunch of far-too-powerful, way-too-traumatized people?"

Hestia sighed and shook her head. "You're not… wrong."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "What am I even supposed to think about this? It doesn't make anything that happened any better."

Percy disagreed, but he could see why Luke thought that.

"Perhaps," Hestia said. "Even we can't change the past," she glanced at Percy, "except on very rare occasions." He shot a dry look at her before looking down, wondering what Luke thought of that exchange. "What we can do is learn. You may take from this what you will. That is not something I can or want to change. It is your choice and yours alone. All I can do is give you enough information to make an informed decision. More knowledge means more understanding… and isn't that what true family is all about?"

She smiled. "Perhaps that is something my brothers and sisters could use a refresher on. I know I did."

"Besides," Percy piped up, "now that we know, we can make things better!"

"Knowing is half the battle," Hestia said, amused.

They sat in silence for several seconds. In the distance, Percy could hear the other camp members at their own activities. He could also sense them. And he was pretty sure he could sense the nature spirits too, at least a little. None were nearby. Whatever Hestia had done to keep the other gods from listening in seemed to encourage more or less everyone to avoid the fire for now, something he was immensely grateful for. He didn't think this was a conversation just anyone should overhear.

"I… need to think about this," Luke finally said, standing up.

"Of course," Hestia said, magnanimously.

"You should probably go back to the cabin, Percy," the older boy muttered, running a hand through his hair and not meeting anyone's eyes.

"I'll be fine, Luke. Sorry this got so…" it was his turn to search for a word. "Weird," he finally finished lamely.

Luke's only reply was a snort and a nod before he turned to leave, what was left of the six-pack in hand.

"Oh, Luke," Hestia called. He paused and glanced back at her, still suspicious, but the goddess just grinned. "You are always welcome at my hearth, although next time, I would appreciate a more appropriate offering of a drink."

He just stared at her while Percy tried to hide a snicker. Then, the corners of his mouth twitched for just a moment before he turned and walked towards the beach.

The goddess and the former god watched him go.

"Well," Percy said, forcing as much positivity into his voice as he could, "I think that went well."

Hestia just shook her head and smiled fondly.

xXx

Luke didn't know what to think about everything he'd just heard. For so long he'd hated and blamed the gods for so much… but he'd never thought they would be just as restricted in their own ways. They were gods. And yet…

Hermes had broken rules to be with his mother and him. His father had been punished for it. Hermes had known he would likely be caught and/or punished because it had happened before…

Did that make him hate his father more or sympathize?

(He had a funny feeling it was somehow both, even if that didn't make any sense.)

He lay there on his bunk in the old part of the cabin, tossing and turning, trying to sleep and failing.

He almost felt like he'd been tricked into speaking. In front of a goddess. He'd spoken truthfully and from the heart about his hatred and anger… and she'd just accepted them. Validated them, even. He'd been expected to be zapped out of existence if that had ever happened.

It just… didn't make sense with what he knew of every other god…

But how much did he know the gods? Beings that were and weren't like their myths. Beings that were both more and less than humans somehow: both worse and better depending on the area.

He didn't know what to think, and he hadn't been this confused since he'd run away from home.

That brought something else up. His mother. Maybe he should try and go back to see her?

The thought made him long for the memories of his childhood and shudder at the same time. He wished there was something he could do to help her… Would him visiting help her more? At all? Make her worse? He remembered before he'd run, she'd just degraded… And he couldn't expose himself to that again… could he?

He didn't know how long he lay there awake, but eventually he must have fallen asleep because he suddenly found himself in the same dream as before. A vast, black throne room, although he could barely see more than the throne itself. Even now, it looked vague and wrong, like it didn't really have much of a shape, but it should.

Normally the throne sat empty. Now, though, a large, shadowy figure occupied it. Luke didn't know how he could see a shadow in the darkened room, but he did. The gold eyes fixed on him didn't help.

Hello, demigod, a voice—one that sounded all too familiar—said. The presence that had been haunting his dreams for so long. The one that had freaked him out about Percy. With everything that had happened, he was more inclined to believe those visions. And yet… I've been watching you the most. You have so much potential… and I have a proposition for you.

Luke gulped.

xXx

AN: I had way too much fun with this chapter. LOL It was hard to write, but still fun. :)

For those of you who want updates on Hubby (some have asked, and thank you), we found out that he may never walk again this last week. It was... really hard to hear. Hubby didn't take it well (I didn't either), but once he processed it, he just looked at me and said: "I will walk again." So, we're going to be training for a half-marathon next year. When he can barely sit up on his own now. Prayers, thoughts, and vibes welcome. He's been working hard ever since and is considering becoming a personal trainer at the end of this. We'll see.

As for the youtube channel, I looked into it and if I make money off of something that was originally not mine (IE, the fandom) then I could get sued. So I don't think it will be viable rn. At some point, though, I'd really like to make a non-profit youtube to read stuff like that, but I'll have to have a bit more time on my hands.

Thank you all for your comments and wishes. You don't know how much it helps.

Also, thank you to my beta readers and discord mods: Berix, The Shadow Slayer, Asterius Daemon, Quathis, Harlequin, Speedster, Snow, and The Chronomancer! Also, than you to the rest of my Discord

Discord: www. discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces) It's a little dead there except for the memes and the occasional poll, but when I do original stuff, I will announce it there first. :)