Chapter 8

The giant froze before bellowing in anger. "I know you, nobody! Show yourself!" Percy laughed as he moved around the room, forcing the giant to turn and search for him in the darkness. "Come find me then," Percy taunted.

Polyphemus bellowed in frustration before grabbing whatever was within arm's reach and started hurling objects around the room, hoping to hit Percy. His attempts were futile until Percy grew bored of taunting him.

Summoning his scythe, he shadow-traveled above the giant, before falling towards him, spinning in the air as he did. Once he got close, he quickly severed the giant's head from his body.

With Polyphemus incapacitated, Percy shadow-traveled out of the cave and back to the shore, where he could see his friends running towards him with the fleece in hand.

Once they reached him, Annabeth smiled before asking, "Where's Polyphemus?" Percy shrugged before replying, "His body is in the cave."

Theo looked at him wide-eyed before bursting into laughter and shaking his head. Percy grabbed hold of Annabeth and Theo, with Grover having a hand on his shoulder, and shadow-traveled them back onto the boat.

Once they were underway, they set a course for Miami. "Percy, how did you guys get a ship of this size for the trip?" Grover asked, clearly shocked by the vessel's grandeur.

Percy smiled before replying, "I did Hades a favor, and in return, he helped us on this trip."

Grover nodded, still marveling at the ship. As the day turned to evening, the boys settled in for the night below deck. Percy remained at the front of the bow as usual, lost in his thoughts until Annabeth approached him.

"Hey Percy, what are you thinking about?" Annabeth asked as she reached him. Percy shrugged before replying, "Just thinking about the quest and what I'm gonna do when we're home."

Annabeth nodded before smirking teasingly. "You gonna visit a certain someone?" she teased.

Percy rolled his eyes before replying, "Maybe, I'm not sure. She's very busy, and so am I, so I don't find much time to see her."

Annabeth nodded before replying, "I mean, if she lives where you do, you guys have all the time in the world to see each other, right?" Percy shook his head in response.

"I'm a demi-primordial Annabeth. She's a demigod. Our available time is vastly different," he explained.

Her eyes widened at his response. "You're a primordial?" Percy nodded in confirmation. "Why would you do that to yourself? Even if you get to see her, she's going to be gone so quickly in the grand scheme of time for you."

Percy shook his head again. "No, once this war is over, if things work out, I'm going to make her immortal as well." Annabeth's eyes widened further before she smiled warmly. "When will we get to meet her?"

Percy laughed before responding, "All in due time, Annabeth. Speaking of time, you should get some sleep. I'll remain on watch until you guys wake up."

Annabeth shook her head. "The skeletons will keep watch. Go see her. Any available time should be taken advantage of, especially with the war looming ahead."

Percy sighed before smiling and nodding. Annabeth happily nodded back and walked away, only to turn back and smile as she watched him melt into shadow.

Reappearing in her home, Percy grinned as he saw Reyna standing in her room in her pajamas, lost in thought at her desk. Quietly emerging from the shadows, he walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

Reyna jumped and turned her head, initially startled, until she visibly relaxed and smiled upon realizing it was Percy. Returning her smile, Percy gently leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, to which she softly responded.

Pulling back, she smiled at him before asking, "Percy? Shouldn't you be watching over the quest?" Percy smiled back before replying, "I was, but my friend on the quest told me to come see you instead."

Reyna smiled warmly before replying, "Remind me to thank your friend." Percy chuckled softly before nuzzling into her hair, eliciting a contented sigh from her. "What are you thinking about?" he asked gently.

"Just the war effort. With probably only a few years left, who knows what's going to happen. It's hard leading the Romans into a war, knowing that some won't come home to their loved ones. It never really bothered me before, but now that I have you, I'm scared," Reyna admitted, her voice tinged with concern and a bit of fear.

"Reyna, you will be fine. If I have to, I will be with you every step of the way to ensure you come back to me. Besides, my mother is one of the oldest and strongest primordials. Even if I lost you, she would find a way to bring you back to me," Percy reassured her with a determined tone.

Reyna nodded, finding solace in his words as she remained in his embrace, grateful for the comfort he provided. After a few minutes, Percy gently pulled away, turning her around so he could look into her eyes. Leaning down, he pressed their foreheads together as they stayed locked in each other's embrace, finding strength in each other's arms.

"We'll get through this. I promise," Percy reassured her softly. She nodded before gently pulling away. "I have a meeting in the morning. I need to get to bed," she explained.

Percy nodded, smiling down at her. "I'll be back okay?" he said softly. She returned the smile and nodded as Percy melted into shadows, heading back to the ship.

Once he arrived, for the first time during the trip, Percy decided to sleep. He found the captain's quarters and collapsed onto the bed, quickly succumbing to slumber. A few hours later, he was woken up by Annabeth.

"Percy, since when do you sleep?" she asked, surprised.

"When I feel like it," he replied with a grin.

She nodded before replying, "The ship has stopped. We can see Miami, but the ship doesn't appear to want to go any closer." Percy nodded as he got up and followed her out of the room. When he reached the top deck, he looked around before realization kicked in.

"This is as far as the ship can go. It needs to return to the depths," Percy explained. The group nodded in understanding before Percy turned to them.

"Wrap the golden fleece around me and hold on to it or me. Let go, and I can't promise I can save you from the void," he warned solemnly.

The group mates nodded before they grabbed hold of the fleece or Percy's clothes as Percy pulled them into a shadow. After a couple of hops over the water, they reached land, though Grover promptly threw up.

"Sorry, Grover, that tends to happen," Percy said, laughing. They turned and watched as the ship pulled back before descending below the water. "Come on, let's go home."

"Percy, isn't that Luke's cruise ship?" Annabeth questioned, pointing towards the horizon. Percy turned to look where she was pointing, and sure enough, Luke's cruise ship was slowly coming over the horizon.

"Shit, we gotta go," Percy said urgently as the group gathered around him again. "This jump is gonna be long since I'm taking all of you, so again, hold on." The group nodded as Percy pulled them into a shadow, headed for New York.

After what felt like an eternity, the group appeared on the hill overlooking camp. The boys all looked nauseated while Annabeth looked dazed, but Percy had fallen over from the effort it took to carry them that far.

Annabeth quickly wrapped the Fleece around his whole body, causing him to let out a relieved sigh as he felt his energy slowly return to him.

Once he was up and moving somewhat, Percy handed the fleece to Annabeth, who took it gingerly. "You guys head into camp and do whatever you have to do with that. I need to go home and rest."

Annabeth and Grover smiled as they pulled Percy into a hug before they released him and took off down the hill. Theo patted him on the back before following them, with Tyson waving goodbye as he followed Theo.

Percy smiled before he pulled himself into a shadow to return home. Landing in the throne room, he promptly fell over again, eliciting gasps of surprise from his parents as they jumped out of their thrones and came running over.

"Percy, are you okay?" he heard his mother frantically asking.

"I'm fine, Mom, I'm just tired. I carried three people and myself with the golden fleece from Miami to New York," he replied wearily from his spot on the floor.

Erebus quickly scooped him up in his arms and hurried to Percy's room, Nyx close behind. They quickly got him into bed when they arrived before summoning some nectar and ambrosia.

He took the food gratefully before laying back on his bed. "Percy, you're on bedrest until I say so. Is that clear?" his mother said firmly. Percy nodded before replying, "Fine by me, goodnight." With that, Percy closed his eyes and slipped into the realm of Morpheus.

In his dream, he found himself sitting on his throne, appearing noticeably older than his usual self. He observed as two small children came barreling into the room, joyfully running over to him. As he looked up, a woman followed them in, smiling warmly. However, before the kids had a chance to say anything, he was abruptly pulled from the dream.

When he opened his eyes, his mother was sitting at his bedside, reading a book. "Mom?" he said softly. Nyx jumped before turning and looking at him, smiling in relief as she put the book away.

"Jeez, Percy, you sure were exhausted. You slept for an entire month." Percy looked at her in shock before responding, "Why did I sleep that long? Normally shadow traveling doesn't affect me like that."

Nyx shook her head before replying, "You've never trained carrying groups of people that far. The fact you managed to make it at all is impressive in and of itself."

"Did I sleep for an Earth month or a Void month?" he asked. Nyx laughed before replying, "You slept for an Earth month. If I'm not mistaken, you have a worried girlfriend to visit. I've heard her for the last two weeks or so praying to me every night, asking if you're okay."

Percy's eyes widened before he slid out of bed, allowing his mother to stand up and leave the room before he got changed. Once he was ready, he slipped into the shadows.

Reappearing, he found Reyna in her home, this time in her dining room instead of her office. It was nighttime on Earth, and she was sitting alone at the table, staring into a mug. He started to smile upon seeing her until he noticed the bags under her eyes, likely from sleepless nights.

He quickly stepped out of a shadow close to the table, causing her to jump startled before looking at him with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry, Rey—" he didn't get to finish as Reyna had jumped up and tackled him in a hug, quietly sobbing into his chest.

"I thought something happened during the quest," she stammered out into his chest. Percy immediately wrapped his arms around her while she cried, letting out the stress of the last month of worry.

After a few minutes, he felt her sobs stop but she didn't let go of him. Percy smiled before shifting so Reyna was on his lap, looking at him with her eyes brimming with tears. Percy wiped them away softly before pulling her close, whispering,"Let's go to bed. I won't leave you this time." Reyna nodded into his shoulder as they were engulfed in shadow, headed to Reyna's room.