God Ten was Percy's first non-main-twelve god (because the naiad and primordials didn't count on account of them being mainly legacy ideas, and no one really believed the Oceanus theory… he hoped). The funniest part about number ten? He didn't even plan it. Not that he'd planned Zeus or Apollo, but he'd at least considered what he would have to do to convince the camp that either one was his parent before.

Percy had been released in time for dinner earlier and had made his way to the pavilion after Erin had practically kicked him out. He'd been given the best spot on the table (the center, squished as it tended to be) and had endured more than one ribbing comment from his cabinmates. He'd half expected Mr. D to yell at them or make snide remarks while they ate about them leaving camp or not doing their camp duties. Apparently, they'd all agreed and gotten permission from Chiron to take the rest of the day after their impromptu trip outside the boundaries. Instead of anger or annoyance though, the god had just sort of stared at Percy throughout most of the dinner, when he wasn't speaking with his sons, of course.

He'd finished his dinner quickly and gratefully followed the rest of the Hermes and non-main kids away from Mr. D's harsh gaze and back to the cabin for the rest of the night. As much as he hated just sitting around, he knew he needed some rest. So did the others. They all just hoped the cabin would survive a bunch of bored, half-healing demigods. There was doubt.

About an hour before curfew, a daughter of Athena Percy barely knew—a girl in her mid-teen range—burst through the door, drawing everyone's attention.

"I've got it!" she said, a manic gleam in her eye and blond hair poofing out around her head, making her look a little unhinged. "Yes, I still think he's a legacy, but I've figured out his main parent!" She cackled. It took the cabin a moment to realize who she was talking about, he thought, but no one actually said anything, probably a little too scared of a daughter of Athena who looked like that.

Percy could relate.

He could also only stare at the girl and wasn't entirely sure what to think of her actions and their implications. He… hadn't meant to make people that obsessed… Sure Annabeth would worry an idea like a dog with a bone, and he knew Athena kids could be a little… nuts.

But…

This was just supposed to be a little fun. At his own expense even. As an original eleven or twelve-year-old, he would have hated this kind of attention, but he could put up with it now if it gave him a way to bring the camp together. Now he was thinking he may have gone too far…

"Okay, who is it?" Amy finally asked, bringing out her notebook and the single box in the entire cabin that could not be stolen—a gift from her father that only she or someone she gave permission to could carry. She had all the money from the bets in there.

"Hecate!" the girl pronounced proudly.

Percy felt his eyebrows raise in surprise. He hadn't expected that.

"It explains so much! The versatility, and the mist can be similar to water vapor, so liquids can come from that! Or, if nothing else, illusions can make it look like so much is happening!" She suddenly turned to him, making him back away a little. Apparently the whole intensity thing was a child of Athena trait, not just an Annabeth trait. Which… fair. "I still think you're a legacy, and can't decide between Hermes or Apollo, maybe even one of the water gods, but I think she's your main parent!"

He plastered a smile on his face, nodding along just to keep things relatively calm. "Although, that would mean you're pranking the camp and using illusions and magic to fake some things, hence Hermes." Then she grinned. "Well played, kid. Well played.

"Anyway," she turned and thrust her hand with a wad of bills (mostly ones from what he could see) to Amy, who had finished writing the new name down in her notebook.

"Alright. Here are the odds I'll give on that off the top of my head, but the final numbers should be pretty close," Amy replied, handing the notebook to the girl, who nodded and handed the notebook, along with the money, back a second later. "Thank you for your business."

The girl left looking more than a little smug. She politely closed the door behind her, leaving the cabin in complete silence.

"Percy," Johan said slowly, "did you plan that?"

Percy didn't take his eyes off the door, then shook his head slowly.

"We haven't had a child of Hecate in a while," one of the other kids—he didn't know who—said. Percy had to blink again because he remembered at least two children of Hecate here before… Alabaster and Lou Ellen. He was pretty sure Alabaster would be here next year… but he'd left with Luke the first time. And Lou Ellen came in the year of the Labyrinth, he was pretty sure. He supposed it could have been the year of the Sea of Monsters though.

"I mean, it would make some sense," Mara said thoughtfully.

While the rest of the cabin fell into discussion, Percy sighed and decided he needed to go to bed early, still recovering from exerting his power.

Still, God Ten, check.

xXx

God Eleven was the first one Percy outright denied.

The Athena cabin taught a class on myths that had apparently just started that year. Percy remembered it being offered the years he first came to camp, but he'd simply studied Greek with Annabeth and hadn't really wanted to study more until their third year… with the Labyrinth. Needless to say, that hadn't lasted too long.

Now, though, he decided to take the class, get to know Annabeth's brothers and sisters more. She'd grown up with these people after all, and just meeting them gave him a better picture of her life. Plus, it was interesting to see what each person focused on when it came to the myths.

"As you can see," the girl who had burst into their cabin, Meghan, said as she put the book she'd been reading from down, "almost every demigod has a fatal flaw. To survive some trials, you need to know yours. Now, different gods are prone to children with different vulnerabilities. To pick on someone who we know doesn't have a demigod here, Hades' children tend to hold grudges, be particularly cynical, or focused to a point of exclusion on their goals. Other flaws include hubris, ambition, inferiority, vanity, recklessness, lack of self-worth, etc. Sometimes, people have two or three, even.

"I've discovered my own main fatal flaw is my tendency to over-focus to a point of exclusion. So when I get focused on something, if someone points out my fatal flaw I know to take a step back and look at what I've probably missed. It's very difficult for me to see even then, but it's something I can work on now, and an area I know to focus on, especially during quests.

"Does anyone know their own fatal flaw? If so, would you like to share?"

After a moment of heavy silence, a Hephaestus boy raised his hand. "I was told by my father in a dream that my flaw was the inability to resist a challenge. I've been working on it, too."

Another Athena kid sighed. "Hubris. That's pretty common among kids coming from knowledge and wisdom gods, though," she said, bumping an Apollo kid sitting next to her. He smiled dopily at her. If they weren't together, they would probably be getting together soon. How adorable.

"Yeah," the boy agreed.

Eh, why not? Percy raised his hand. Meghan looked a little taken back. "Percy? You know your fatal flaw?"

"Yup!" he said with a bright smile. "Loyalty. I am literally loyal to a fault."

Silence.

"Who… told you that?" Meghan asked slowly.

Now to really screw with them. "I think it was your mother. At least, she had your eyes. I was at the Hoover Dam, and there were monsters chasing me and she told me there's always a way out, too."

More silence.

Okay, he really had hung around Hermes too much. Messing with people was just too much fun… as long as it was harmless. Besides, it had technically been the truth, even if that wasn't when Athena had told him about his fatal flaw.

"Hey!" the Apollo kid from before said suddenly, eyes bright, "Isn't the god of loyalty Heracles?"

Wait… what?

"Well," Annabeth said as she stared right at Percy, unblinking, "there is a daimon—or guiding spirit—of loyalty known as eusebeia, but Heracles does have a domain of loyalty according to some more obscure myths, though he's usually known for being the god of strength, bravery, and heroes. There isn't a god of loyalty to my knowledge." She raised a pointed eyebrow.

Oh, she did not.

"He was a pretty great fighter too…" Amy said from his left. He looked to see her smiling at the Apollo kid, positively savagely.

Percy just stared at her. Traitor.

"No!" he said, glancing at Annabeth with narrowed eyes as a warning (not that he'd do anything, but still) before looking around at the rest of the group. "This has gone far enough. Di immortales! I am not Heracles' son! He's off over in the Mediterranean anyway!"

"How would you know that?" Annabeth asked innocently.

"And even if that were true, gods can split themselves," Mara said, matching Annabeth's tone.

He hated that they had a point. The lot of them were traitors! He had to nip this in the bud.

"Okay, first, Heracles was known for his super strength. Which I do not have—not more than your average demigod."

"You can fight really well though," one of the Ares kids said. Percy shot them a glare, but they just smirked.

"Second," he emphasized the word, "isn't Zeus the god of the skies? So I'll bet Heracles could fly and shoot lighting and stuff. Things I can't do, mind you." Not without help from water or by him actively utilizing the mist or one of his storms, and even then, he rarely had lightning or thunder in his storms. He wasn't—and never had been—affiliated with lightning, storm or no. He went on. "Sure, I'm a good fighter. I'll give you that. Although to be fair, I practice. And, yes, Heracles is a good fighter, but so are dozens of other gods, up to and including both Athena and Ares!

"Conclusion, Heracles is not my father."

Silence.

"You know, that's the first one you've ever denied," Luke said thoughtfully. Percy turned an incredulous look on him. He held up his hands. "I'm just saying. Do you actually know who your parent is?"

Okay, he was done with this, not because they were ganging up on him (he could hold his own, thank you) or any anger and rage (he was mildly upset, at worst), but because this was just getting too close to any discussion he did not want to have.

Just, no.

So he did the only thing he could. He turned and walked to the door, made a show of throwing it open, and went to step out.

Before he closed the door behind him, he heard someone say, "You know, he could be a legacy of Heracles instead."

"Aarg!" he yelled, throwing his hands in the air and slamming the door (not too hard, just enough to send a message). Then he went and sat at the edge of the lake with the naiads for the rest of the hour. One even kept watch to see if anyone else would see him as they invited him under the lake. He really wanted someone to vent to, so he accepted.

"My Lord, are you well?" one asked once he'd settled in.

He sighed. "I started a bit of a prank to hide my parentage and mess with people, but I think it's gotten out of hand. People seem to be pranking me back."

"Oh, that was the whole 'turning into a liquid' thing?" another naiad asked. Percy nodded.

"And controlling liquids. If I didn't include Poseidon in the list, it would be suspicious, you know?"

"Wise, if reckless," an older-sounding naiad said.

He sighed. "Story of my life. I'm not mad—not really—but I just… really wanted to be around people who know who I am right now, at least a little."

"I see," the same naiad said, nodding. "You are welcome to stay here, lord." He liked her. She sounded calm and experienced. Something he needed just then. The naiads, unlike the nymphs, tended to rotate through Camp Half-Blood a lot, coming here after their lake or river had dried up or been destroyed by other means. They rarely stayed for more than a decade or two, and he would have liked to have known these naiads in the future.

"I'm a son of Poseidon," he said with a smile. "You don't have to call me 'lord'. I thought naiads weren't in my father's court."

The naiads were quiet for several seconds.

"No… there's something more about you. I do not know what, but there is. Therefore, we will show you the respect you deserve."

"And if I ask to just be called Percy?" he asked, feeling his stomach tighten at her words.

She regarded him for several seconds, before a sly grin crossed her face. "Very well, Lord Percy."

He groaned. The other naiads laughed, and then they fell into chatter. Naiads were, as usual, terrible gossips. But hearing about everything going on on Olympus (supposedly) highly amused him nonetheless.

He didn't know how long he stayed there before one of the naiads told him someone was coming and he had to bid them goodbye. They assured him, once again, that he was welcome any time, which he greatly appreciated.

"Thanks," he told them and pushed to the surface, glancing towards camp. If he came up from under the dock, he should be able to trick whoever—

"Percy?" a familiar voice called. He blinked. Annabeth? Great, she'd be too smart to realize he wasn't just sitting on the side of the lake where she hadn't seen. Which meant he'd just have to roll with it. So he made sure to stay wet when he once again ducked back under the water, before pushing himself onto the dock with his hands.

"I'm here," he said.

She looked surprised, rushing over from the path to camp. "Percy? What were you doing in the lake?"

He shrugged. "Talking to naiads."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, once again pointed, but didn't say anything. Instead, she decided to take a seat next to him.

"Hey, sorry if I let too much slip. I can get… a little over-involved myself sometimes, like Meghan."

He shrugged. "Thanks. I really don't want your theory getting around."

"Is there a reason you don't want anyone to know about your background?" she asked carefully.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What makes you say that?"

She scoffed. "The prank." His eyebrows rose in surprise. She rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows about it, you know."

"Everyone?"

She shrugged. "Most people, I guess. I'm pretty sure they've figured you're messing with them."

He snorted at her comment, then shook his head "I have a lot of reasons I don't want people to know exactly what's going on. One deals with how I saw the Fates on the way to camp."

Annabeth gasped, taken aback. "What?"

He went on as if he hadn't heard her. "I'm in a unique situation where I know a lot of things I shouldn't, and… I want to try and save people. I don't know what will happen when I do, though. I know every action I make has an equal and opposite reaction—or at least unforeseen consequences. If I help people, who will I condemn in the process? And if I make certain choices, I'll change things and will lose a large advantage. Trying to strike a balance there is… difficult."

She didn't answer for several seconds, probably working through what he said, breaking it down and coming to conclusions he just couldn't. Even as a god. She'd always been so good at that.

"Who are you loyal to?" she asked suddenly.

He blinked, a little taken back at her question. "What?"

"You said your fatal flaw is loyalty. Who are you loyal to?"

Should he tell her? Looking into her eyes, he got the sense that if he lied and she found out, she would lose any trust she had in him, and he couldn't risk that.

"The camp. Demigods in general. My friends and family. I swear it on the Styx." Thunder rumbled and she looked surprised. "Personal loyalty is my flaw, I suppose. Not just loyalty." Then he smiled at her. "I'm trusting you to not spread that around."

She watched him with those (gorgeous) calculating, gray eyes for several seconds before nodding. "Then I don't care."

He blinked. "What?"

"I don't care who you are, which god you are, what is going on. If you're truly here to help us, then you can keep your secrets. But," her gaze narrowed, "if you even think about betraying us or hurting us in any way, I don't care who you are or were or whatever, I will make sure you do not become them again. I will find a way to kill you, permanently."

His mind went into blue-screen-of-death mode for a moment. Did she just…?

"Did you just threaten someone you think is a god with death? For the camp?" Yeah, he could definitely sense her loyalty at that moment. It made his domains very, very happy.

She shrugged. "This is my home—my family. I… just came back from my father's, you know. I…" she sighed and told him the whole story, about how her parents met, how her father hadn't wanted her and her stepmother was scared of her, especially for her other children.

"They don't want me," she said. "Camp does. That seems like something worth fighting for."

"It seems you're pretty loyal yourself," he said, making a mental note to talk with her about her family and father later. Much later. Like next year later.

She regarded him again. "That's one of your domains, isn't it. Loyalty. Not just a fatal flaw."

He didn't snort, but it was a close thing. "Maybe," was all he said, as nonchalantly as he could.

She did snort. "You're an awful liar."

He grinned. "Only to some people."

They sat there in a surprisingly comfortable silence for several seconds before she spoke again.

"Are you really mortal?"

"Yup," he said. "One hundred percent able to die." Although when he died, he'd most likely ascend instead of going onto the underworld, but hey. At the moment, he had mortal blood and could theoretically die. So, not a lie.

"Did you do something…" she hesitated. "Not… good?" she finally finished, shrinking back a little and finally looking and sounding like the eleven-year-old she was.

He shook his head. "Being here is not some sort of punishment. It is a bit of an accident, really."

"I see…" She tipped her head to one side. "I'm guessing you won't tell me how."

"I'm pretty sure I know what you're asking, and even if I knew how this all happened, I wouldn't tell you. Not until I'm positive the benefits would outweigh the consequences."

She scowled.

"Annabeth, this is serious. People could die. People you know and care about. I'm trying to prevent that, I promise. And I know you want to know—that it's a sort of need many Athena, Apollo, and Hephaestus children have, just to name a few. Sometimes, you just have to accept that there are things you won't know… and things that you can't know. At least not now."

More silence fell between them, broken only by the distant lapping of waves on the beach and the various noises around the lake.

"I… um… if you can tell me at some point… um…" she spoke softly again, "would you?"

He smiled sadly. "I don't know if I can. But if I can, and there aren't special circumstances requiring someone else to know first, you'll be the first to know. Promise."

She grinned at him. "Thank you. I'm glad you came to camp."

With that she got up, brushing her shorts off. "I think everyone will start looking for you soon. They were all afraid they made you really mad."

"Nah," he said, waving his hand. "Although I don't like being compared to Heracles." He stood as well, looking down at the puddle of water that had dripped from him onto the dock. "And maybe everyone here should think about how the new guy feels before they gang up on them again."

Annabeth thought about that for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, we probably should."

They turned and began their trek back to the cabins.

"If you don't like being compared to Heracles, then what about the other demigods of lore?" Then she froze. "Wait… Percy… as in Perseus?! I mean he was supposed to die at the end of his life, but that didn't mean he did so are you—?"

He held up his hands. "My Mom named me Perseus after the Perseus in the myths because she wanted me to have a happy ending. But no, I am not that Perseus. Or any of the other demigods from myth. I was born Perseus Achilles Jackson in a hospital in New York City eleven years ago."

She slumped. "Oh."

"Are you really that upset that I'm not him?" he asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I just thought I'd figured it out, is all."

He grinned at her. "Nah, I'm nowhere near that easy to figure out."

She snorted. "And so humble too."

"Annabeth Chase, calling me humble? Why, thank you!"

"In your dreams you…" she paused and seemed to realize who she was talking to. "I mean… um…"

Percy smiled. "I'm glad you see me as a camper. That's what I want to be. Part of all this."

She still eyed him with suspicion, but her eyes were no longer hard. Instead she just nodded, and they continued back to camp in silence.

Turned out, the Hermes cabin (traitors) still put Heracles on the list for betting, much to Percy's consternation. With very high odds, but still.

Annabeth just laughed.

xXx

Roxanne opened her eyes slowly. She hurt all over, but it was mainly a dull ache, except for her shoulder and her stomach. Those stung a little. But otherwise she felt so warm and comfortable. And it was light out… her father should be coming to….

Wait… that… wasn't a bedroom or any hotel room or even the stupid half-broken RV her father had 'acquired' recently. It looked more like… a cabin? Who had her father tricked this time to—

It all came back. Oscar, who had shown up way too many times to not be following her, had told her about a camp where she'd be safe, said he could get her out of there… away from her father. It had taken far too many 'accidental' meetings to convince her. He told Roxanne about how her mother would help guide her.

So she'd run. It hadn't been easy, but they'd managed… until the weird half-snake ladies and their monster-dogs the size of cars. They'd run faster. She remembered the one snake-lady slashing at her and getting her across the stomach, before a different one stabbed her in the shoulder and… well, it got fuzzy after that. She remembered starting to feel raindrops and cackling and barking and yelling… and then nothing.

"Hey," someone said. She looked over to see a boy there, a little older than her, with blond hair and a blinding smile. "Don't worry. You're safe here."

Safe? Like she was supposed to be once she ran away from the world she'd hated since she was old enough to understand the word? Like her father promised her every time he managed to pull off a job? Like her father's friends had said before…?

She wasn't sure she believed in 'safe' anymore.

"Where am I?" she asked, hoping she sounded more stable than she felt.

"Camp Half-Blood. You made it here with your Satyr, Oscar I think?"

She relaxed a little at his name and nodded. "Is he okay?"

"He got a pretty torn-up leg, but he'll recover soon. Said to tell you he'd come talk to you once he can walk again."

Why couldn't he just use crutches? Or was she just being harsh? Maybe because of how his goat leg was, he couldn't walk on it at all when it was broken or something? She still felt a little miffed that he'd leave her alone with a bunch of strangers.

Or… one stranger as the case may be.

"I'm Jared Meyers. What's your name?"

Yeah, she probably couldn't get away with not introducing herself. Fine.

"Roxanne. Roxanne Belmont." She put on a nice smile, melting it subtly so it matched his. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," he said, shaking the hand she held out. "So, how are you feeling?"

Almost as if in response, her stomach growled. She withheld a blush out of sheer will, but Jared grinned anyway. "Hungry, huh? I can get you some food in a mo, but how are your wounds? Do they hurt?"

Weren't they supposed to? How long had she been out? "Um… a little," she finally said, truthfully. She didn't see a reason to lie. If he did anything, she'd attack him right back—see how he liked being a pincushion. Lying had nothing to do with that.

"Here's something for you to drink, then," he said, pointing to a glass next to her bedside filled with what looked like apple juice. "It'll help you feel better. Meanwhile, I'll get you some food." With that, he stood and walked to the door. "Any allergies I should know about?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, I'll be right back!"

With that, he walked out of the room with so many cots. A medical room of some kind? Then she poked at the glass. Something to drink sounded really good just then. Her throat felt itchy, even with the modifications she could do. She sniffed the liquid, but couldn't smell anything. Should she drink it? Well, if they wanted to poison her, they'd have had a chance already.

So she sipped it and tasted the best thing she'd ever imagined. Like that steak her father had been able to wrangle out of a steakhouse that one time, and a chocolate shake all rolled into one but good instead of gross.

For the first time in years, she allowed herself to hope that maybe this time, it would be different.

She should have known better.

xXx

AN: So, still not super happy with this chpater, it feels clunky, but I have a headache and it's after 2 AM so screw it. Hope you like it anyway.

Hubby has reached a plateau. He's still improving but minimally. I think we just need to work through it, but man it's frustrating. For both of us.

BTW, if I started a youtube channel where I can read all the fics aloud, would people be interested?

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)