AN: As always thank you for reading, following, and favoriting. It makes me smile every time I see a notification from here. I do apologize for the odd hour this is being posted if you are from the US. I have had a bit of writer's block this week and only now managed to get it done to even close to my satisfaction (it is approaching one am as I write this).

As always I own nothing that you recognize from officially published/licensed works, only my imagination.

Chapter 12: Will You Run?

The gods were anything but content. Well, most of them that is, even Zeus seemed on edge because his daughter was of the number beyond their reach. Since the quest had passed beyond the northern borders there had been many rumors and much speculation amongst the minor gods and other inhabitants of Olympus as to what was going on. The sky and sea both seemed to be more chaotic than usual and the weather was worsening by the day. The only news they had of the quest was when Artemis returned after sending Calypso north and a few surges of power that both Zeus and Poseidon were able to detect even from so far outside their realm. These gave the gods hope as there was only one god they knew of that could affect both their domains like that.

Artemis grew more worried for her lieutenant as well as for Percy. It was a strange feeling for her to find that she was genuinely worried about a male who was not her brother. She had thrown herself into hunting anything, any trace of Moros and his allies. With her Hunt, she had already freed a half dozen dead from Moros' clutches. At first, she had been confused as to why Moros would have left them here and not recalled them to the north. However as they felled dark slave after dark slave, the answer became clear. Moros had chosen these not for their strength, not for their prowess in battle, he had chosen these individuals for the devastation they would bring to Percy. Recently fallen demigods, satyrs, and even May Castellen. Apollo had to help her restrain Hermes when she informed the council of that information. The pain in Hermes' face had been hidden only by the mask of rage that had taken its place. The only thing that had eventually calmed him was Hades assuring him that even now she was being returned to her proper place in the underworld.

As time continued to roll on Hades grew more and more frustrated with his inability to locate the flaw in his defenses. While a small part of him remained on Olympus waiting for news, the majority of him was in the underworld. Hades had all of his forces searching as well, Thanatos, the Furies, Charon, and even the goddesses of the rivers had joined the hunt for the hole in the defenses. Cerberus was also on high alert, and more often than not accompanied by Nico as they too sought any sign of how it had continued to happen even after Hades had promised Percy it would be taken care of.

Poseidon could only be described as, stormy and gray. He spent most of his time in Atlantis or so most of the other gods believed, in reality, a significant portion of him could be found waiting as far north as their territory extended. He wanted to be ready in case when they reentered friendly territory there would be help for them as soon as they crossed. He was worried that they may be pursued through Canada, and he very much doubted whether anything incredibly stupid enough to chase Percy, to begin with, would ever consider the danger it was running into. Poseidon felt his pulse quicken at the thought of being able to unleash his elemental fury on all enemies of Olympus that might seek to follow his son and those accompanying him across the border.

Aphrodite hid her feelings better than the others but below the surface, she feared for the newest Olympian and his beloved. She bitterly regretted the fact that fate had intervened in the beautiful love story she had spent so long crafting. Additionally, she was overjoyed that Calypso had finally found someone who truly loved her, and she did not want that to be torn away from the titaness. She had always hated that the council had used love as a weapon against the poor girl, it wasn't right. She had gotten to know Calypso over the past decade and she genuinely wanted the best for her though she doubted they would ever see eye to eye on most things.

Hephaestus had disappeared into his work, hiding from the world to give himself something to do besides wait. Unfortunately for him, he was a god, and no matter how much work he threw himself into there was always a part of himself perfectly capable of fearing for his friend and his son. He felt it when the arms he had gifted Harley for his fifteenth birthday were sacrificed though he didn't learn why until the meeting the next day. His concern had grown even further then, his son was seemingly unarmed due to their desperation to get a message to Artemis. A desperation that surrounded Percy as the only viable solution had been to send Calypso. Hephaestus didn't like any of it, the situation, the plan, the lack of communication. Not only that but Percy's words to him still rang in his mind and refused to fade from his conscious thought. He had said that Viva was still... alive. That was impossible but the idea had kindled a long-forgotten and desperate hope deep in his heart that had never truly gone away and never would no matter how many centuries passed. He couldnt bring himself to go, to see for himself if what Percy had told him was true.

Thalia wasn't sure what she felt. Looking down into the low-lying area below gave her such a confused jumble of emotions. Worst of all was the sickening and terrible feeling of fear that gripped her. 'What if that was just a body hanging down there? What if Percy was... Gone?' It was a question she had never even considered before, not with any depth. Even in the battle of Manhattan, there had been a strength, an indescribable endurance to Percy. Deep in her heart, Thalia had always believed that he would outlive her. When he had been made a god it had been all but guaranteed, but what if it wasn't? She was shaken out of her dark musings by the voice of one of the five others with her. He was the youngest of them and had never known the mythological world without Percy in it. Even as he spoke she could see the same fear in his eyes that threatened to break her resolve.

"Is he... Is that even...possible?"

Before Thalia could respond Sam stepped toward him. She towered above him and Thalia saw a brief flare of fear in his eyes followed by surprise.

"Lord Perseus wouldn't go down that easy. Have faith in him."

Her voice was surprisingly soft and sincere. It belied a gentleness and emotional complexity that Thalia had not expected from the daughter of Hercules. It was her turn to talk now and Thalia got to her feet brushing dirt from her clothes. She looked around at each demigod, meeting their eyes to see what she could glean. She saw determination, fear, pain, grief, and hopelessness.

"You have already given enough. I won't ask you to go down there with me."

Silence weighed heavily on their group of six as her words hung in the air.

"I don't want to go down there but if we don't, if I don't, no one else will, no one else can. There is at least one god down there who is more monster than god, and Doom. This is a fight I can't win, not on my own. The only chance I have is to get to Percy and get those cuffs off before someone or something stops me."

The shaking that had run subtly through Thalia's body seemed to calm as she spoke those final words.

"If you want to go back to the others and try to start for Olympian territory I won't stop you. I'd go with you if I could, but I can't. I need to go down there for Percy and for... For the ones who can't."

Everyone present knew the stories and knew who she was talking about. A shiver seemed to run through the group at the thought of the Seven standing where they were now looking down over the small stream and Percy bound in chains. Thalia felt her years more than usual at that moment because no matter what she looked like she had seen almost as much as Percy. She would never admit it but she thought of him like a little brother despite everything. He was always the protector, the hero, but she refused to let him down.

"So... Will you run?"

It was as simple a question as a leader could ask yet it was the hardest question to answer. Sam was the first to answer not surprising anyone at that. Despite Percy's rather public disdain for her father, Sam was everything her father should have been. Loyal, a decent person if a bit prickly, and honest to a fault.

"You're not going alone. That's for damn sure."

Had the situation not been so dire, Thalia may have found it in her to smile at the comment. She was sure Percy would have but he had always been better than her at not just leading people but inspiring them and giving them hope. One after another the other four stepped forward and joined Sam at her back as she studied the lay of the land. Soft muddy shores edged the stream meaning any passage would be all too obvious to anyone watching. The mud gave way to grassy ground that filled the open area around this relatively wide and shallow section of the stream. Her eyes flickered from place to place as detail after detail jumped out at her. She saw no movement in the clear area itself but the longer she watched the more anomalies she began to pick out. Small patches of pure black against the gray-brown of the trunks of trees, dappled shadows that extended farther than they ought near the edges, and more.

The clearing was ringed with unseen watchers, she was sure they were the small monsters that had harassed them before and had been guarding the demigods. Then she saw something between the trees that sent a thrill of fear down her spine. A massive lupine silhouette that seemed to ghost between the trees using the shadows and foliage to hide from all but the most practiced of eyes. Even with her skill and the enhanced perception Artemis' blessing granted she only caught glimpses of its outline. She couldnt make out any details other than that it was big and shaped like a wolf. Then she saw the signs of another and another. Widening her area of search she began to spot more shapes moving in the shadows, but none so large as the first.

"Okay I wanted to wait for nightfall but we need to go before the sun sets. There's..."

Her whispered words were interrupted by voices below. Two figures were approaching the place where Percy was chained. One figure was hulking and yet he moved with a wild animal's grace. The other was small and pale though cloaked in black. He reminded Thalia of Nico in the way he moved, even the way he held himself as he stood facing Percy's unconscious body. None of them could hear what was said but they could see when Percy looked up at his visitors. It wasn't long before she watched Percy's body stiffen unnaturally. As the sun continued toward the horizon they were forced to watch as Percy's torture continued. More than once Thalia had to throw an arm out to stop Sam from engaging their foes directly. Eventually, Percy went completely limp whether from exhaustion or something more sinister they couldn't tell. As the two figures retreated into the trees they all felt the moment approaching. They waited for what felt like an hour and just before the sun finally set Thalia moved first.

Ghosting down the rise she used every ounce of her skill as a hunter to remain unnoticed. The others she knew were spreading out in the trees around her and to their credit she still couldn't hear them. No sooner had she thought it than the crack of long dead wood breaking in two shot through the air. She was out of time and the growls, that rivaled even Mrs. O'Leary for menace at least, filled the air. Throwing all caution to the wind she threw herself forward moving as fast as she could across the space that separated her from Percy. She heard the pounding of paws then an angry yell and a yelp. Glancing back she saw that one of the massive wolflike creatures had pursued her only for Sam to collide with it moments later. Thalia didn't have time to dwell on it as she slipped in the mud and came to a slippery halt before Percy. She cursed and stuck one of her daggers deep into the wood as a step and used it to reach the manacles around Percy's wrists.

Thalia was more thankful than ever for the blades that Artemis gave them. It sliced through the Celestial Bronze like butter and Percy fell heavily to the muddy shore. She knew there was nothing she could do for him except do her best to keep the monsters off of him, the water would do the rest, she hoped. She ripped her second dagger from the wood and bounded toward the pair locked in combat in her trail. Sam was now on the wolf's back but her arms didn't reach all the way around its neck or Thalia was sure she would have made quick work of it. Without breaking stride Thalia threw one of her blades with deadly accuracy. It struck just behind one of the beast's ears and buried itself to the hilt. The beast's chest carved a trench into the earth as its legs gave way from under it. Even as it was skidding forward it was beginning to dissolve into ash that swirled in the wind.

Thalia nodded at Sam and they ran side by side to face a pair of the beasts that were attacking Morgan the son of Hermes. He was fast enough to evade them but he was only just barely able to keep them busy. Extending a hand Thalia smote one with a massive arcing bolt of lightning even as Sam struck the other like a freight train. From there the combat dissolved into mayhem. Once more electricity began to arc off of her skin and she felt as though there was nothing that could stand against her. However even as she was fighting she felt a severe drop in air pressure and the wind began to pick up. 'About time Kelp Head' she thought even as relief flooded her system. She tried to turn and see what was happening but a massive blow threw her against a tree. She was dazed, in pain, and incredibly annoyed.

She drew upon the energy around her in the storm that Percy was beginning to call and her lightning began to arc faster and farther. Soon she was surrounded by ash and little else. Staggering to her feet she felt as though a cold hand was running its fingers down her back. She turned away from the brutality she saw and rejoined the others. They fought but soon enough the forest around them was filled only with the howling wind.

"You need to get out of here. Get back to the others and protect them. Start moving south but don't wait for me or anyone else."

The others scrambled to follow her instructions as the trees began to sway and loud cracks were beginning to be heard. She saw reluctance, confusion, fear, and a whole host of other emotions on their faces as they turned. Two of their number were injured enough that they were being helped along by the others. Sam was the last to leave and Thalia shouted at her.

"Get moving! They need you more than I do!"

Sam appeared skeptical but she turned and followed the others back toward the others, easily hoisting the injured pair onto her shoulders. When she finally disappeared between the shifting trees Thalia felt more than heard the snick of a blade sliding from an oiled sheathe. She turned and saw a strange man drawing an equally strange blade from its sheathe. He wore little more than a loincloth, his eyes were yellow, and he was massive. A sense of horror filled her as she realized that his massive canines extended past his lips in a wolfish grin. A scar across the bridge of his nose was identical to the one the largest wolf had too. A growl reverberated through the air and she saw the man's lip curled in a snarl. The only explanation she could think of was that like his master he sometimes walked on four legs and sometimes on two.

Percy felt empty and alone. It was not a new feeling for him, but it was a feeling that for a fleeting time, he had thought he might be rid of. The storm around him faltered somewhat but the clouds remained and the wind grew aimless. It still blew but this way and that, almost as if it was unsure where to blow. The rain now grew heavier as the wind no longer kept it aloft. Huge icy drops pummeled the world and soaked everything for miles. As he watched the downpour pounding the surface of the water words came to him. They were an idea that he couldnt shake no matter how hard he tried.

Why am I never enough?

He wanted to say the words aloud to a world he knew wasn't listening, but he couldnt force the words out of his throat. A thousand and one hurts, losses, scars... None of it mattered at the end of the day because he just wasn't enough. No matter how many times he saved the day there would always be the ones he didn't save. He felt them, each and every one of them like weights seeking to drag him down into the depths. He had tried, tried so hard to just be happy with what he had but even that wasn't enough for the world. It wanted more from him, always more. He needed to be exactly what everyone needed him to be and be what they wanted him to be too. Then, even when he did, he still failed them eventually.

It was wearing him down. He had been so low so many times, but he had clawed his way back every time because everyone needed him. He hadn't wanted any of it, not really, but he knew that it was his job, his fate. He wouldn't have been able to look at himself in the mirror if he hadn't done it. If he had just finally given up, finally passed, then at least his deeds would be remembered fondly, the person he was, the person they had all needed.

He shook his head again and he noticed that despite his powers he was soaked to the bone. The icy rain pounded down all around him and thunder boomed far overhead. As it seemed was always inevitable for him the world around him was a shattered husk. A ring of destruction stretched for nearly a quarter mile in every direction around the spot where he knelt. Trees lay shattered into innumerable pieces, the boulders that had lined the shore were riven into gravel, and he was broken. Every inch of his body ached like he had just bourne the sky once more. The final remnants of his two foes being washed from the earth as he watched. All that remained that the rain could not wash away was a set of antlers and the shredded remains of Moros' robes.

His hands were bruised and torn. Splattered with golden and black ichor, his and his foes. He was alone. He would always be alone. He needed to be alone. How many was it now? How many had he failed to save?

Calypso felt the winds die and the rain intensify. She didn't know what it meant but she was running now, a desperate hope in her heart. If the storm was still going then that meant Percy was still alive. She refused to believe anything else, even as the dark thoughts began to creep in at the edges of her consciousness she refused them. She ran on through the pounding rain even as the ground below her became sodden and slick. More than once she stumbled and had to catch herself on a tree or even a stiff bush, but she kept running. Then she found the first of the fallen branches. With every step forward she took the debris grew thicker on the ground, at first small branches and other detritus but it soon grew. She jumped over a shattered tree and in front of her she could see a clearing, a place where the trees no longer stood.

She stepped over a tangle of trunk and broken branches into the open area, if you could call it that. It was a disaster and a shiver that had little to do with the temperature ran through her. She needed to find him, and she prayed that she was not too late. Her eyes struggled to focus through the sheets of driving rain, and it was nearly impossible to see more than a few feet even as she used her hands to keep the water off of her face. Then a flash of lightning far above revealed the small stream that cut through the clearing, almost choked with the remains of trees and swollen from the deluge. On the bank, she saw a hunched, dark shape, and her breath caught in her chest. She stumbled through the rain as fast as she could and as she drew closer she was able to make out more detail. His clothes were torn and dirty, he was bent and kneeling, and the strength and resilience that she normally saw in him seemed gone. She splashed through the water, heedless of the cold that was filling her and she dropped to her knees in front of him. He didn't react to her arrival.

"PERCY! Percy. I need you. Listen to me I need you!"

Calypso's hands shook even as she laid them on his shoulders. The light in his eyes was so dim that was it not for the terrible rasp of each breath and the fact that he was kneeling, she might have thought he was dead. Even as his head moved his eyes were unseeing and they passed over her as though she wasn't even there. She took his face in her hands and forced his face to stay still. Still in the sea green that she loved so much there was nothing, no light of recognition, nothing.

Calypso didn't know what to do anymore. They were so far from anyone that could help them. Despite that, she began to hum, it was all she could manage as she poured her strength into the magic of her voice. Her throat was hoarse and her mind felt slow but she could feel the dark power that had been laid on Percy's mind and she pushed against it. Her magic against the last remains of the Spirit of Doom, and try as she might she couldnt break it, it refused to budge no matter how hard she tried. She didn't know what else to do so she did the one thing she could think of, she kissed him. Her fingers threaded into his hair as she desperately sought a reaction from him, anything. His lips were cold and she felt nothing from him.

Percy's howling pain wasn't growing quieter, if anything it was only intensifying. He could feel the earth beginning to shake beneath him but he couldnt find it within him to care. What did it matter anymore? He certainly didn't care, so what if he burnt through the last of his power, he almost welcomed the idea that the earth might split open and swallow him whole. They were gone, She was gone. He was alone, again. He felt something against his face, a featherlight sensation. The wind was picking up again, though that too did not matter. He didn't care what it had thrown momentarily against his face.

Then he heard her voice calling his name and it was all he could do to keep from howling at the sky. He was going to be tortured by the memory forever. The sound of her voice, the smell of her hair, the feel of her skin against his. She had been his world, his reason for living. No matter how many times he had tried to find something, anything within himself to live for he had always come back to her. After everything he had lost, he had been shattered into an uncountable number of pieces. He had tried so hard to put himself back together, he had even had help. Hermes, Apollo, and his Father had all done their best but it had been Calypso that had helped him move on from his loss. She had given him the piece he had been missing since he had lost the others before.

He heard her again, this time even clearer than before. Calling his name, asking, no begging him to look at her. Then came fragments of her song but they sounded just as broken and lost as he felt. Then he remembered that there was one weapon that could bring an end to his pain. A summoning away and he would never hurt again, he would never be tortured by the memory of everything he had lost. Was he ready to give up?

Before he could answer his question, heat poured into his lips and scalp. He felt he fingers in his hair and her lips on his as though she was there. Then he smelled her, but it wasn't the perfect scent of his memory it was tainted by the smell of ichor, dirt, and fear. Heat bloomed in his chest and he felt her body pressed against his chest. This wasn't a memory, he could still feel the gritty dirt on his skin, and feel the cuts and scrapes he had acquired in the battle. Then heat bloomed in his fingers, beginning to spread up his arms, and to his mind's eye, it was as when the dawn comes and burns away the final shadows of the night. He could see her before him, tear tracks cut into the grime that coated her face, but at that moment he did not think she had ever been more beautiful.

Her lips were still so close but her forehead now rested against his and new tears ran down her cheeks from closed eyes. For a moment he could only stare in disbelief. She was here, in his arms, he could feel her, see her.

"C...Ca...lyp...so?"

His voice was ruined, he could barely force her name out. Every syllable sent lances of pain through his throat. He had screamed so loud and so long that he had tasted ichor and felt his vocal cords tear. At the sound of his voice, her eyes flew open and for a heartbeat, neither of them breathed. Then with a strangled exclamation, Calypso threw herself at him again her lips smashing into his with desperate force. Her momentum carried them backward and Percy found himself flat on his back too tired to do anything but hold her close to him.

Then she started to hum and this time he didn't only catch fragments. Quiet and slightly rough at first but soon enough he recognized the tune. It was the first song he could ever remember her singing to him all those years ago. Even as he listened to her humming he began to relax, the tightness in his chest began to ease, and darkness claimed him.

Calypso had done her best to heal Percy. She had bandaged what she could and gotten him off the ground onto a bed of branches. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing especially given how far from their realm they were. As a minor goddess, she didn't have the same unbreakable link with her power that Percy had with his domains. Here she may as well be a demigod at best for how little power she could wield. What she did have however she continued to pour into the one thing she could still use, her voice. In the aftermath of everything that had occurred, she hadn't been able to calm herself enough to sing. Now that she had time she had been able to calm herself at least enough for this. As the words finally began to float on the air instead of merely the melodic vibration of her humming, she laid her fingers on Percy's right hand.

More so than ever before she felt the uncountable scars that covered every square inch of his body. So small as to be invisible she could feel them beneath her fingers as she traced her way up his arm and shoulder. Broken only by the occasional larger scar whose story she also knew she continued her finger's journey along with her song. For what felt like hours she knelt beside him pouring everything she could into her song of healing. She feared it wouldn't be enough, what would happen if he didn't wake up? Would returning him to America help? What if... Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle touch on her shoulder. Flinching away contact she placed herself between Percy and whatever was behind her. Refusing to let whatever it was attack him in this vulnerable state.

When she finally refocused and saw that Thalia, wet and bedraggled, but very much alive was there she sagged with relief. Thalia stumbled forward and caught her but she was nearly as exhausted as Calypso it seemed as their combined weight fell to the branches beside Percy. Calypso held onto Thalia unwilling to let her go. She was one of the few people still in Percy's life from before, and she had become like another sister to Calypso over the years.

"Hey, need to breathe here."

Thalia's voice was tired but strong. Calypso relented somewhat and Thalia gently removed herself from Calypso's grip.

"We need to move. Who knows if they're truly gone? For all we know those could have been more of Cernunos' experiments."

"How are we going to move him?"

She gestured to unconscious Percy.

"I know you're strong Thalia but even you can't carry him to the border."

Thalia's hand drifted toward her pack, but the movement was hesitant and almost seemed subconscious. She bit her lip then swore and tore off the pack.

"Nico gave me this years ago, said Quintus gave Percy one way back. I've been saving it for a rainy day but I don't know if it will work this far north."

Gingerly, Thalia extracted a small metal tube from her pack. Unscrewing it she tipped it over and a whistle made of what looked like...Ice? Calypso sucked in a breath between her teeth. Percy had told her about the whistle that had allowed him to call his Hellhound friend one time. She prayed it would work, prayed to every god that she could, even Percy, that the whistle would work.

"Here goes nothing I guess."

The icy instrument to her lips and blew. No sound came from the whistle but all around them, animals reacted. Birds took flight from the trees, and the sounds of fleeing ground animals reached their ears as well. Then the whistle shattered and the pieces melted in mid-air smoking and sizzling wherever they landed. Silence surrounded them and they both began to lose hope that the whistle would work. Then they heard a familiar, artillery gun rivaling bark from the trees. Then another and they could tell it was getting closer. From the trees, no out of the shadows of the trees burst a massive hellhound. It was by far the largest hellhound Calypso or Thalia had ever seen and they couldn't have been happier.

"Mrs. O'Leary!"

The massive dog skidded to a halt beside them and started whining as she saw Percy lying on the ground. Thalia snapped her fingers and laid a hand on the dog's snout.

"He's in bad shape girl. Can you take us south? No shadow traveling girl. We can't risk it."

Mrs. O'Leary flattened herself as low as she could go. They spent the next few minutes struggling to get Percy on her back but they finally managed it. They tied Percy in place using the massive dog collar as an anchor point before climbing up themselves. Calypso sat immediately behind Percy and Thalia behind her. As soon as they were ready to go Thalia yelled to Mrs. O'Leary.

"Come on girl! Take us south!"

With another of her barks that probably showed up on the Richter scale, she clambered to her feet and began to move south. She moved with surprising care given her bulk but then again she wasn't stupid, she knew she didn't want to hurt her best friend. Calypso took a look back over her shoulder and knew that the image would be burned into her brain for as long as she lived. A vast circle of destruction that stretched across the small stream. She could still see it as she had first seen it, with Percy kneeling at the very center of the destruction. She shivered even as she turned back to face the direction they were moving, once more circling Percy's waist with her arms.

"I love you, Percy. Wake up, for us. Please, We need you."

Percy was lying on the mirrored surface that represented his domain of weaponry. He sat up and looked around him but to his surprise the usually glass-like surface was anything but. He couldnt even see his reflection on the surface and he couldnt feel any of the weapons he had collected over the years. It felt wrong, and he felt out of place. Then memories came racing back to him, Calypso's death, the chase, capture, torture, and finally the impossible. The memory of the torture he had endured seemed to drown out all the others even as he fought them. He knew it could only have been a day, perhaps two at most that he had been captive. Or did he? He had thought that was all the time that had truly passed but as the memories of the torture continued to rip through him he began to doubt. It had felt like months, every single moment felt like it lasted forever. Then voices began to come echoing over his memories of pain, familiar voices, voices praying for him.

He gasped as he forced himself back to consciousness. His eyes flew open and he took in his surroundings, his eyes searching for the ones speaking, and the only one he truly cared about in that moment. He found her almost instantly, she knelt beside him below an outcropping of rock that seemed like an odd cross between cave and cliff. Then he saw the others, the missing demigods and he understood the whispered prayers. They had all been praying for him to return, for him to come back to the world and them. For the briefest instant, he felt a flash of anger deep in the darkest part of himself but he squashed it instantly. He was not going to give in to the dark thoughts, he had promised himself and Calypso that he wouldnt do that.

He turned and met her eyes again and saw that there was a trace of tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. He reached up and brushed them away with the pad of his thumb, the gentle action at such odds with all of his recent memories that it made him pause. She caught his hand and he returned his attention to her and watched as she gently kissed his fingers. Just over her shoulder, he caught a glimpse of a familiar curly-haired demigod leaning on someone beside him. With a surge of relief he realized it was Harley, and looking beside the younger man, he realized that he was leaning on Sera. Then he looked around at the others, taking a count of everyone present. He counted only seventeen and a familiar ache filled his heart.

"How many are..."

Thalia's voice sounded from his left.

"Four. They died heroes deaths."

Percy was glad for that at least. As much as he wanted them all to have the chance to grow up, to live full lives, if they had to die young at least it was on their own two feet. It was one of the great ironies of a demigod's life, that while they all dreaded falling in battle, in many ways it was not even close to the worst fate they could suffer. He moved stiffly to get to his feet, he needed to see them, though he didn't know how long it had been since they had fallen he wanted to bless them. Calypso moved forward almost as if to stop him but she came up short. Glancing in the direction of her eyes he saw Thalia shaking her head at Calypso. The two women stepped forward together to help him. After a handful of steps, however, it became obvious that no matter how tired he was he was determined to walk on his own. He limped out of the covered area and found four shrouded bodies lying unmoving and cold. He approached each of them and gently pulled back the shroud enough to see their faces. Over each a spoke a blessing that he had given each and every demigod to fall since he had taken over as Camp Director.

"In battles fought, your courage burned bright, A fallen comrade in the shadows of the fight. Now rest in Elysium's eternal light, Your memory in our hearts, a beacon in the night."

At first, he had felt silly because of the rhyme and strange formality. However, as the years passed and the fallen demigods seemed to grow younger and younger though he knew that was not the case, it took on a very different feeling for Percy. Only Nico and the dead ever heard his blessing, not even Calypso had heard it. It was the last gift he could give those fallen heroes that even he could not protect. He knew that every soul was judged on their merit, but Nico had assured him that while it would not heavily influence their judgment, his blessing would aid those fallen heroes. He didn't think he would ever find out if Nico had lied to him about that but something told him that Nico had not.

Despite the danger, Percy insisted that they build and light the funeral pyres there and then. He didn't care if monsters, or even mortals came upon them now, he would honor the fallen as they should be as he saw fit. If anything tried to interrupt them then he would ensure that nothing remained of them to marr the occasion further. Though he knew Calypso at least would see through the front of strength and determination he was putting up for the demigods. Doubt still gnawed at his mind whenever Calypso left his sight, and a feeling of unrightness lingered in his bones. Something was still wrong but he didn't know what. It felt as though he were walking around with a great unseen weight bearing down on him.

He did his best to hide it but he had always been a terrible liar. What the others knew or guessed he didn't know but his vision flickered even as the flames began to lick the timbers of the funeral pyres. For a moment, just a moment, Percy thought the bout of whatever it was would pass, but this time it didn't. He felt his knees hit the forest floor and he fell back blinking, trying to clear his vision. As if through amber he could see the others reacting to his collapse, he could see the worry on Calypso's face, and that hit him the hardest. He fought, he refused to give up, whatever was wrong with him he wasn't going to let it win. He had survived countless dangers, more quests than any demigod save perhaps Heracles, and he had even survived Tartarus. He refused to fall now, to a cowardly spirit and a twisted abomination who wasn't even from the same pantheon.

Using a nearby tree for support he sat back against it and closed his eyes, searching deep within himself and his domains to find the source of his condition. Through his eyelids, he began to see a reddish almost pink light that he tried to dismiss. Then he felt the ribbons of power around him and his eyes flew open. Though his sight was still dimmed even he recognized that the Aias now rested on his forearm, gossamer strands of power curling from the metal around him like lines of neon afterglow in the air. Wherever a strand touched it buzzed like the spot was coming back from being asleep and even as he watched it began to draw tendrils of dark power from his flesh. Tendrils that Percy knew all too well, it was the same power that had dripped from cursed arrows and swords all those years ago when he had been helping Apollo to complete his mission. Wherever the dark strands were drawn out of him he felt more comfortable, as though he was beginning to settle back into his own body again. What he noticed only too late was that everywhere the strands of dark power were drawn from him the traces of power from the Aias began to fade. With horrified certainty he realized that there would be almost nothing left, if any, of the power that had aided heroes for well over two millennia, shaping the heroes of every age that the Greek gods had called home.

More importantly, what would that mean for Lady Viva? A line of fire ignited in his mind at that thought, a string of loyalty began to burn in a reminder of the words he had spoken to Lady Viva before he had departed for the north. 'All I ask is that you find your hope.' He had asked her to hope because he wanted more than anything to find a way to return her to the world, but now here he was as her power drained away saving his essence from Moros' poison. Even utterly obliterated Percy realized that Moros was getting the last laugh, because he would eventually far in the future reform, but Viva was too close to the edge. He began to pull at the straps, desperate to throw the shield from his arm, anything to save as much of her essence as he could but they would not budge. Then even here so far away he thought he heard her voice in his ear.

"This is my choice... You are worthy of saving..."

"NO! NO! NO! Stop!"

He fought harder to rip the shield from his arm but in his weakened state he may as well have been a small child trying to get out of the safety harness in his car seat. Then he felt slightly chilled but familiar fingers gripped his and he looked up to see Calypso kneeling in front of him. He felt the tears beginning to gather in the corners of his eyes again but he fought them, 'not here, not now.' He had to stop this he had to... The curls of power wrapping around him began to fade, no longer did he see the strands of dark power being drawn from him. He still felt weak, but just as he had all those years ago, he felt that he was free from the poison. He dropped his face into his hands even as the straps of the shield fell away from his arm and landed on the ground with a muted metallic thud.

"My Lady! We need you!"

Artemis heard the prayer and was moving faster than even a demigod could comprehend. Her form blurred as she moved northeast toward the call of one of her hunters. She could see the chaos of battle as she approached and without breaking stride she raised her bow and began to rain her fury down upon the monster attacking like streaks of molten silver. There were too many to be a random attack and she cursed her foolishness. They had been in one place too long and this close to the border the monsters were far bolder. She saw Laestrygonians as well as their giant icy cousins on the battlefield but the bigger problem was the sea of small humanoid monsters that moved like blurs of shadow. They flew from trees, shadows, and even the earth itself in a seemingly unending stream of dark violence.

Not for the first time she fervently thanked Percy for his insistence that he train her hunters in close combat. She was an expert with her blades but almost none of her hunters save Zoë and Thalia had been or were fast and strong enough to be effective with the long knives. If it weren't for his training she was sure that she would have lost several hunters already. Then a massive hellhound broke through the lines of the battle and made directionly for her. Half a dozen silver arrows were in the air in the span of a breath but to her astonishment, they were shattered by what looked like weapons fired to intercept them. Her astonishment turned immediately to a mixture of elation and concern. There was only one being capable of what she had just seen, but why couldn't she sense him?

The hellhound bounded past her and she saw Percy, Calypso, and Thalia on its back. Thalia jumped to the ground and rolled to dissipate the impact before leaping to her feet.

"Good to see you, my lady. No time now, let's get to it."

Without waiting for a response Thalia took off for the fighting and Artemis saw no reason to question her lieutenant. With Percy back in home territory he should recover quickly from whatever was wrong with him. Still, a small part of her wondered why she had not been able to sense Percy amongst the monsters and her hunters. A massive roar distracted her from her thoughts as a wall of water swept across the battlefield and as it began to break she saw her uncle riding its crest. His Trident held in one hand as he stood upon the wave like any surfer might on a beach somewhere far to the south. The water alone would have been enough to sweep the battlefield clean but it seemed that Poseidon was feeling particularly annoyed as he leaped down from the wave to land amongst the monsters. The earth shook below them and even the largest of the hyperborean giants struggled to maintain their footing. Her hunters however stood unaffected even as the water and her uncle began to decimate the remaining monsters. Artemis had seen her uncle roused before but she could tell that he was not even close to trying as he wiped out a legion of monsters. While she felt a brief surge of annoyance at his interference she controlled the impulse as at least this meant that she would lose no hunters today.

Turning to face the way Percy and Calypso had gone she returned to wondering where they were going. For now, she would deal with her charges and ensure they were taken care of, especially Thalia. After that, she would have time to investigate further.

AN: I do apologize for the strange jumping around in time happening with the last chapter and this chapter. Unfortunately, there will be a bit more of that going into the next chapter as well but after that, it should be back to a fairly linear timeline.