Luke plummeted over the edge, arms flailing. There was a boot print in fine granite dust on his chest. He looked enraged.

Percy didn't care.

What mattered more was the girl with blonde curls plunging after him towards the sharp boulders at the bottom of the cliff. She pitched end over end over end, because of the way that Luke had pulled her over with him, and in the brief glimpse Percy caught of her face the panic in her eyes was tangible.

Then she tumbled over once more and he couldn't see her face.

Percy tried the first thing that came into his mind. He reached out for the water surrounding them. The sea responded to his call. A pillar of saltwater rushed up, a dozen feet in diameter, racing towards the daughter of Athena like a javelin launched from some godly hand. But it was more than a mile away still, and Percy knew somehow that it wouldn't make it. That there would be no way his water could reach from the sea to the summit in the seconds that Annabeth had remaining. It dissolved into a fine mist, still a half a mile from the

Thalia reacted next. She thrust her fist forwards and Percy could feel the air around them lose pressure, a column of air rising to meet Annabeth. The girl began to slow, buying her precious seconds - but Thalia and Percy both could see that it wasn't enough. She was still going too fast. Thalia's knees buckled under the strain of the new sky she was lifting, so close on the heels of the old.

Annabeth kept falling. Only seconds had passed. She pitched again onto her back, a hundred feet further away, slowly riding down Thalia's pillar of air towards a horrific jumble of sharp edges and lichen-encrusted rocks.

The monster army columns watched in shock as their leader, unassisted by Thalia's jet of air, crashed onto the spine of a rock.

His back arched until he looked as though he had doubled over in reverse, his head making heavy contact with the boulder. Limbs flailed and splayed out awkwardly. Luke tumbled onto the ground and lay still, silent.

Annabeth was maybe fifty feet above him.

In one last desperate attempt, Percy thrust out a hand. He didn't know what he was going to do. All he knew was that he was damn sure going to do it.

A small doorway opened in front of Annabeth as she fell. She plunged through it.

Annabeth's screams disappeared from over the cliff and reappeared a dozen or so feet in the air behind Percy, plunging into the pool that Luke had summoned for the Ophiotaurus. As she crashed down into the glass-like surface, Percy could hear bones snapping, hear her screams gurgle into silence as she sank down further. She passed out instantly from the pain, and Percy and Thalia simultaneously launched their exhausted bodies towards the pool, running and stumbling on the way to the pool. Annabeth had maybe seconds before she drowned, given her exhaustion and the unavoidable injuries of a fall from that height.

Then, Percy ran into a massive tree trunk of flesh.

Poseidon was stepping out of the sacrificial pool, Annabeth's limp body in his arms. He was enormous, easily as large as Atlas, though Atlas now appeared significantly smaller as his posture was crushed beneath the weight of the sky. Percy stumbled forward to kneel to his father but the god's rumbling voice stopped him.

"Do not kneel, Perseus. Now is not the time to stand on ceremony. You must help me heal your friend."

Any objections Percy might have made were drowned out in the sheer cacophony of a rotary airplane engine roaring overhead, spraying castor oil and noise behind it. A Sopwith Camel turned a lazy barrel roll over their heads, then dove towards the still-immobilized columns of monsters with a rapidfire barking. Two machine guns spat celestial bronze ammunition in curtains that swept through waves of creatures. A small bomb was flung over the side, detonating and sending shrapnel scything into the flank of the line.

At once, the monsters' order crumbled and they disintegrated, some popping into dust as they were struck while others ran in a panic towards or away from any shelter they could find.

"Dad," Annabeth murmured, briefly awoken from her slumber. Poseidon waved his hand over her eyes and she returned to sleep.

"Dr. Chase?" Thalia shouted to Percy over the roaring engine. He nodded. Artemis and Zoe appeared next to them, and between them all, Poseidon laid down Annabeth's sleeping body, her magically-induced coma leaving her serene despite an arm bent very nearly backwards and a massive gash across her forehead. "Oh my gods, Annabeth," Thalia gasped. Percy nodded and wrapped one arm around her shoulders in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

The monsters were well and truly in disarray now, and the Camel took one final strafing pass over their ranks before it bobbled to a landing next to the motley group atop the mountain. The goggle-wearing historian vaulted over the side of the cockpit with a surprising athleticism and sprinted to his daughter's side. "Annabeth," he said, voice quivering. He turned to Poseidon, eyes steely. "Can you… Can you help her? Is she going to be okay?"

Poseidon nodded softly. When Percy hadn't been looking, he had gone from twenty feet tall to just slightly taller than Percy. "She will recover, with the help of Apollo," Poseidon said gently. "But it will be long and difficult. She will need to spend much time resting on Olympus. I have done what I can to ease her pain for now."

Artemis nodded and placed her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. A soft silver sheen passed over the girl, who began to glow in the light of the rising moon. "I have given her my blessing, temporarily," she explained to Frederick Chase. "This will help her heal faster - but she has undergone more than any mortal should endure."

Percy and Thalia exchanged a glance. Annabeth hadn't held the sky for much longer than either of them - they could tell from the gray streak in her hair, just slightly wider than Percy's own - but clearly it had impacted her significantly more than it had impacted them. Noticing this interaction, Poseidon muttered an explanation in an aside. "The curse weighs more heavily upon those with a conflicted spirit. Annabeth was… truly conflicted… when she took the weight."

Zoe stepped up next to her mistress. "The monsters are regrouping. We should go."

Artemis and Poseidon nodded in unison. With a wave of Artemis's hand, her chariot appeared - silver and long, almost a sleigh.

Dr. Chase gently picked up his daughter's unconscious body and laid her down on a cushioned seat. Then, he stepped back and turned to Thalia. "I suppose I can't come with you," he said regretfully. "But tell Annabeth… tell her she can always come home to me. Tell her I tried to help."

"I will," Thalia promised. "Percy will help me tell her, too."

Annabeth's father turned to Percy with an uneasy look. "I appreciate that, Percy. I don't know how you feel about Annabeth, but… she cares for you. I hope I can trust you to protect her."

Percy shifted uncomfortably. Was Frederick saying that Annabeth had a crush on him? What the hell was he trying to say? Percy tried hard not to look at Thalia. "I'll do my best, sir. She's a great friend."

Atlas bellowed impotently under his burden.

That settled, the historian climbed into his vintage airplane and pointed it into the wind, taking off deftly and pirouetting overhead before roaring off southward. The monsters, who had begun reassembling, quickly lost order once more as they dashed to take cover from the biplane. As the others piled into her chariot, Artemis followed afterwards. Beneath them, what monsters remained made a halfhearted attempt to regain order once more, some launching javelins skywards feebly. Still atop the mountain, Poseidon waved a hand, and an enormous wave rocketed across the surface, rocking the Princess Andromeda heavily side to side and collapsing the still-crowded pontoon dock that the monsters had used to reach shore before the wave crashed onto the rocks of the seaside, drowning still more monsters. Then, Poseidon simply disappeared into the sea breeze.

Thalia leaned heavily against Percy's shoulder as they watched the sunset over a fading army.

As they passed over Crissy Field, Dr. Chase dropped back and waggled his wings in the customary flier's goodbye. Then, he peeled away for his landing approach, and Artemis put on the gas. Percy recognized Nevada passing underneath them, and caught the Rockies, but shortly thereafter it all became a blur of shapes and colors and lights in the night. The moon was half-full, but its light seemed to catch particularly heavily on the sleeping form of Annabeth and the slumped form of Zoe, who was clutching to her wounded side.

Thalia had drifted off to sleep somehow, head laying on his shoulder as she snored quietly.

Life was strange.

Ahead, Olympus drew into view, glistening with torchlight and starlight. It was beautiful in an entirely different way to Othrys - where the Titan's city had been imposing, resolute in its beauty, Olympus was warm and tight, like a Mediterranean village nestled into a hillside above a bay. It seemed warm, welcoming, cozy - despite the grandiose columns and glimmering marble, the olive trees and gentle curving pathways lined with wildflowers made the city feel like people really lived there. Percy felt like he had been there for decades. He felt like he knew every corner and could tell you where the best cheesesteak was, the back alley shortcuts, and more besides.

Both Othrys and Olympus were shining cities on the hill, beautiful aspirational cities which really made you believe that all-powerful beings lived there. But Olympus made you believe that you could live there too, one day - and that was important, to Percy. He nudged Thalia awake and pointed out the gleaming city on its hill, resplendant. She nodded appreciatively.

Zoe turned to Thalia, and from the grimace on her face, Percy could tell her side was bothering her - but she shook her head when he gave her a concerned glance. "I am sorry… that we fought, Thalia," said the Huntress. "I fear that I was so set in my ways when we met that I lost the chance to have a friend, or even a comrade. Perhaps had I not been so rash, we could have been sisters."

"No," Thalia said, waving aside Zoe's apologies. "You were right. I was just… being foolish. I was confused. But you were right." Thalia's voice quavered for a moment, and then she swallowed. "You were right about heroes, about Luke… well, about everything, really."

Zoe grimaced. "Perhaps not everything," the Huntress said, then turned to Percy. "Do you still have the sword, Percy?" She coughed, and Percy could've sworn he saw blood - but he wisely chose not to comment on that, considering the glare she sent him when he opened his mouth to ask. Instead, he pulled Riptide from his pocket and handed it to her. She wrapped her hands around it and smiled.

Then, she handed it back to Percy. Too shocked to do anything else, he simply took back the blade. It had been uncomfortable to be without it, and he relaxed down into his seat when he felt its familiar weight. Zoe noticed, and smiled softly.

"You wield this blade well, Perseus. You were not lying - you truly are not like Hercules. And I am glad for it. Take care of the blade, young hero - I look forward to seeing how you wield it in the future."

Percy nodded wordlessly.

Then the sled landed gently in a small field of grass on Olympus. Despite the speed of the sleigh, it was just the break of dawn on Olympus.

The Winter Solstice had begun.

The group walked on unsteady legs through the various bustling streets and courtyards of the gods, Artemis leading and breaking a path in the crowd for those following her - Zoe with a limp and Thalia helping carry her, Percy carrying Annabeth's still-comatose body. Quickly, a group of healing nymphs arrived to take Annabeth away on a stretcher - they explained quickly that they were in the service of Apollo and needed to look after Annabeth immediately, and Artemis begrudgingly released the young daughter of Athena into their care. Somehow, they managed to drag Zoe away with them as well, insisting that she needed medical care desperately.

When they arrived at a grand set of silver-trimmed oak doors, Artemis gestured for the demigods to wait outside, then strode through. The doors slammed shut behind her with an intimidating thud. Each was nearly sixty feet tall and laden with beautiful carvings of various mythological scenes. One square depicted a battle with Typhon, the enormous serpentine storm beast. Another showed the birth of Athena.

"So, uh," Percy said. Nearby, a nymph band was being led by a muse - playing something that Percy couldn't quite place, but it was very good. He trailed off awkwardly.

"You happy to be back in the land of the living?" Thalia said with a sly grin.

Percy punched her shoulder, but gently. They both snickered.

"Yeah, it's nice," Percy said after a moment. "But there's this one girl I went on a quest with? Super annoying. Always starting fights and shouting at me and shit." He smiled at her to show that he was joking, and she smiled back.

"Wow, that sounds awful. I know this one guy… super rude, thinks he's hot shit, you know? I had to lead a Capture the Flag team with him recently. Honestly, it was hard not to kill the guy."

Percy grinned. "But you did win, right?"

Thalia punched Percy - and it wasn't nearly as gently as he had punched her. Rubbing his shoulder ruefully, he leaned against her. They'd been awake for damn near three days essentially, with the occasional catnap here and there, and Percy was feeling it.

Did being dead count as being asleep?

The oak doors swung open silently, a sterile invitation for the demigods to enter.

Twelve massive thrones, sized for people three times Percy's size at least, were arranged in a horseshoe shape around a massive central hearth fire. Each throne matched the position of its god's Camp cabin - indeed, the entire layout mimicked the camp setup, or more likely, Camp mirrored the true layout of Olympus.

All of the seated gods turned their gazes upon Thalia and Percy. It was an intimidating experience, certainly. Twelve pairs of glowing eyes were locked onto the two demigods.

It felt like twenty-four drillbits boring into Percy's skull.

"Welcome, heroes," said Apollo.

"Mooo!" Said Bessie, turning over happily at the sight of Percy. She floated in a ball of water maybe six feet across, clearly summoned by Poseidon to sustain the creature. Grover, beside her, ran over and embraced Percy and Thalia in turn.

"You made it!" the satyr said. "But… you have to convince them. They can't do it!"

Percy and Thalia looked uneasily at each other. "Can't do what, Grove?" Percy asked.

"Heroes," called Artemis.

The goddess stepped down from her throne and approached the group. As she walked, each step shrank her down from twenty feet tall to a mere six feet by the time she had reached them. She seemed to walk as though bathed in moonlight which leaked in from the windows of the throne room, her stride easy and purposeful. Quietly, she spoke to them almost as equals. "You have done well for yourselves. Even you, Perseus… at least, for a man. The Council has been informed of the events of your quest, and we have voted to act."

Thalia spoke up. "By act, you mean… fight Kronos? Fight Luke?"

Artemis nodded. Behind her, the gods shuffled uneasily. Percy got the vague sense that it hadn't been a unanimous decision - but the moon goddess pressed on anyways. "At my Lord Zeus's command," she explained, "My brother and I will hunt down the most dangerous monsters to prevent them from joining Kronos. Lord Poseidon will unleash his full fury on the Princess Andromeda and destroy her completely. Lady Athena and Lord Ares will personally visit each Titan, to ensure they do not escape as Atlas did.

"And as for you, my young heroes…"

She turned to face the Council of immortals. "Would any amongst us deny that these demigods have done us a great service?"

More awkward shuffling. Zeus smiled at Thalia, but quickly dropped it when Hera shot him a look. Poseidon had no such problem, and sent Percy one of those smiles that only fathers can give. The kind that tells you they're proud of you and that you're safe there. Faintly, he could smell a sea breeze. Further down the line, Hermes seemed hopeful, flipping Percy a quick thumbs up - Percy couldn't bear the thought of telling him what had happened to Luke. Aphrodite, for whatever reason, was glaring daggers at Thalia, but when she caught Percy watching her her expression quickly changed to a sickly sweet smile.

Ultimately, none of the gods challenged Artemis.

"Yes, well," Dionysus said with affected disinterest. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?"

"Wait just a minute," Ares said. "Those two could have destroyed us yesterday. Hell, they still could now. And Thalia is pretty close to eighteen, right? We should just blow them apart here and now and save us all the trouble."

Percy and Thalia both bristled, Percy stepping angrily towards Ares, but Thalia snagged his hand. When he turned to look at her, Thalia shook her head softly. Slowly, Percy forced himself to relax.

"I will not have you cast aspersions on my son, Ares," Poseidon spoke, deep voice gravely and threatening. "He will not be blown apart today or any day."

"Nor my daughter," Zeus added. "She has done well."

"We will not blast these worthy heroes to bits," Poseidon finished. There was an air of finality in his statement, and nobody else dared to challenge the strongly expressed opinion of two of the strongest gods on Olympus. The silence hung thick and awkward in the air.

"I am concerned for my daughter, Annabeth," Athena said, changing the subject. "Apollo, how does she fare?"

The God of the Sun turned to one of the nymphs kneeling next to his throne and had a whispered conversation. Nodding somberly, he straightened. "Annabeth is still in the coma Lord Poseidon placed her under. She wi-"

"Poseidon put my daughter in a coma?" Athena thundered. "Not only is his son a security risk, but so is the god himself!"

"Be quiet and fucking listen to me," Apollo said. Percy was stunned at the strength in the god's voice, and clearly, so was Athena - she sat down heavily from where she had started to rise in anger. "Poseidon putting her in a coma is probably the only thing keeping her alive. Annabeth suffered heavily under the sky. She spent nearly ten minutes under it. The tax that puts on a mortal body…" Apollo trailed off, breathing heavily to calm himself. "She is very lucky to be alive and I am doing everything I can to keep her that way. Poseidon acted quickly and correctly. We can heal her physical wounds, and we have been, but the Titan's Curse applied to the soul as well - and that, she has to heal on her own."

Athena slouched into her throne. "So… will she be okay?"

Apollo looked at her warily. "I can't tell. She could just… give up and die. Or she might survive and come back just as strong as she ever was. Time will tell."

Artemis coughed. "And what of my Lieutenant, brother?"

"She is making a strong recovery and should be back in the hunt within the week. Ladon's poison reached far, but she is formidable," Apollo answered.

Artemis seemed happy with that and turned her attention back to the council. "I will not have these heroes punished for doing only what was asked of them," she said firmly. "If this is Olympian justice, to destroy those who have aided us, then we are no better than the Titans. No better than common thugs. I will not hear of it. They shall be rewarded handsomely."

"However," said Athena, still visibly disturbed by the thought of Annabeth's state, "Ares does make a point. Thalia Grace could be the child of the prophecy - we hardly even know her true age - and the prophecy itself is dangerous. As are these children, and the Ophiotaurus."

Bessie mooed unhappily, and Percy's heart sank. That's what Grover had meant.

"You guys want to destroy Bessie? You can't do that."

Poseidon frowned. "You have named the Ophiotaurus… Bessie? Son, it is a male."

Percy rubbed his neck awkwardly. "That's beside the point. Dad... Bessie, the Ophiotaurus, they're a sea creature. You can't destroy her, er, him. He's innocent. Like Artemis said, if you destroy an innocent who has done nothing to hurt you, you're just a tyrant and a killer. No better than the Titans. And anyways - controlling prophecies never works."

Thalia nodded and stepped forwards to stand next to Percy again. "Killing the Ophiotaurus only shows that you won't trust even the most innocent. Plenty of the demigods who have turned - Luke especially - did so because they feel that the gods view them as playthings, things of no value. So what kind of message would you be sending them if you killed Bessie just for existing?"

Percy gave her an appreciative smile before delivering the next part of his idea. "Why not keep the Ophiotaurus alive, maybe here on Olympus? That way he's less of a threat to you. He can be protected here, in an aquarium, and watched over."

Poseidon nodded. "This is satisfactory to me. I will not have a sea creature destroyed needlessly."

Zeus growled, but Athena spoke over him. "Father, this is a good idea, loathe as I am to admit it. The boy is right. It is best - morally, ideologically, strategically - to keep the creature alive. Perhaps similarly, we must keep him alive as well." Zeus glared, but rubbed his forehead and sighed.

Poseidon spoke up again. "The creature will be safe. My son will not betray us. I vouch for this on my honor."

Apollo spoke up again. "I can't explain how I know this, but Thalia is not the child of the Great Prophecy. I believe that she had only been alive for sixteen years come tomorrow - even if she was born more than twenty years ago. Percy is already over sixteen - he will reach the true age of eighteen before Thalia will."

"Clearly we cannot destroy Thalia, then - the poor girl won't even get the chance to destroy us in the future." Surprisingly enough, it was Dionysus who had come to Thalia's aid, though he was affecting disinterest, peeling a grape with a nail. "So why not leave the children alive? And the cow thing too. Better to keep them alive and allied to us, surely."

"Well, I suppose, this is an acceptable proposition. We shall put it to a vote. All in favor?" Zeus scanned the room and tallied the votes.

There was a majority. Percy was unsurprised to see that Athena and Ares didn't vote - but incredibly surprised to see Dionysus vote in favor of protecting him.

"The matter is settled, then," Zeus said with a sigh. "They shall remain alive. And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes, I imagine we should celebrate them instead. Let the triumph celebrations begin!"

Percy had been to parties. He wasn't big on them, really, but he'd been to a few - family members graduating, friends having parties, the usual. There were, to Percy, a few kinds of parties. The "a couple friends" party, which was pretty normal, the "big" party, and the "blowout" party. All pretty self-explanatory.

Now he was experiencing an Olympian party.

It kind of ruined all other parties, to be honest.

The Nine Muses were playing music. At first, Percy heard the Clash. But when he got bored of that it switched instantly to what he wanted next. Beside him, a couple was dancing the tango, and somebody else was acting like they were at a metal concert. Maybe everybody had whatever they wanted playing at the perfect volume in their ears.

Dionysus and his beautiful wife Ariadne waltzed around, sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively. All the gods were in their normal mortal size, which meant that it was far less terrifying to see - no twenty-foot waltzing giants to crush you, and instead simply a happy couple. The Camp director occasionally summoned refreshment tables and looked genuinely happy for the first time Percy could recall. Grover was hunched over a double espresso, muttering and chanting "Pan!" as though the nature god would spring from the cup at Grover's call.

Percy wandered around in a daze for a while, with various gods coming up and congratulating him. Apollo offered archery lessons. Hermes just chilled for a minute before getting a call (and George asked for a rat until Martha threatened to eat him). Demeter, strangely, offered him some cereal. He managed to escape that and then realized what he was looking for, or rather, who he was looking for.

Thalia.

Before he could find her, though, a deep voice spoke from behind him. The voice was soft, smooth, like small rolling breakers on a shallow beach shore. Poseidon.

"I do hope you won't let me down."

Percy stiffened. "Dad. Hi."

"Hello, Percy. You have done well."

Shuffling from foot to foot, the demigod let the praise percolate through his brain. Percy wasn't entirely sure he'd done that well overall, and further - he knew exactly how much Poseidon had put on the line to stick up for him in front of the Council. Most anyone would probably have taken the easy path and just let the others disintegrate Percy.

"I won't let you down," Percy promised, hoping that his voice sounded more confident than he felt. Poseidon nodded slowly, and Percy couldn't help but wonder whether the god had some doubts.

"Your former friend Luke once made his own father the same promise. Even the bravest and strongest can fall, my son. You would do well to remember that and take caution."

"Luke fell pretty hard," the demigod pointed out. "I think he died."

Poseidon shook his head. "I have seen it myself, Percy - he survives. Even now, his ship sails, Kronos gathering strength each day - and with him, Luke. He is retreating, regrouping - but he will attack us again. I will do my best to destroy his boat, but Kronos is making allies with my old enemies, the old gods of the sea. They will try to protect him, and it is likely they will succeed."

"That fall should have killed him," Percy insisted. "I did everything I could to help Annabeth, and the fall nearly killed her - it still might. Luke should have died."

"Perhaps, Perseus. But it did not - he remains, and he brings with him the golden sarcophagus. He is strong, unfortunately, and he and Kronos both grow stronger."

"And what about Atlas? What's to stop him from just breaking out again?" Percy asked.

"It is unlikely that Kronos will make such an attempt again - at least with Atlas." Poseidon looked troubled for a moment. "Atlas cannot escape on his own, as the burden can only be forced upon Titans specifically, upon a child of the Earth and Sky. Anyone else must choose to take on the burden, as you and all the rest did so recently. To do so, of your own free will, one must be true of heart, great in strength, and hold genuine courage. No one else in Kronos's army could take such a burden freely."

"Except Luke," Percy pointed out.

"Except Luke," acknowledged Poseidon, "but he is a… special case."

Off in the crowd, a group of demigods had picked up the Ophiotaurus's water ball and were tossing it around like a beach ball. Bessie, inside it, mooed happily and spun around within it. "I should go sort that out," Poseidon grumbled. "Be good, my son. It may be some time before we speak again - but know that I am proud of you."

Percy blinked quickly a few times, wondering when it had started raining on Olympus and why it was directly in his eyes. By the time he had cleared his eyes, Poseidon was gone, replaced with a statuesque blonde in businesslike clothing.

"Your father takes a great risk, you know," Athena said. "I spoke the truth, as we both know. You are dangerous. Keeping you alive is risky."

"And you never take risks?" Percy challenged. "Sometimes the wisest course of action entails risk. Avoiding risk at every turn is just idiotic."

Athena conceded the point with a nod. "You may yet be correct and prove yourself useful. Or you could bring about the end of us all with your fatal flaw. We cannot know." Those words sent a cold chill through Percy's blood. It had been some time since he'd thought about fatal flaws. Hecate had said his was loyalty to his friends. How could that be used to destroy Olympus?

As though she were sensing his thoughts, the wisdom goddess cast a pitying glance on Percy. "Think, Perseus. At every turn Kronos has manipulated you through your friends. First, your mother. Then Grover, and now my daughter. What might you do to Olympus if we had destroyed Thalia earlier?" At Percy's noncommittal shrug, she snorted. "We both know you would rip this place apart inch by inch until nothing remained but rubble and memories. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world - even perhaps destroy it yourself. This will be used against you."

Percy tried hard to find a flaw in the logic of what she was saying. "I wouldn't destroy the world," he began weakly. "Just because I want to help my friends-"

But the goddess cut him off early. "The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation, Perseus." She rubbed her hands together. "Consider my daughter's flaw, or my own - pride. She and I often believe that we can do anything, and be the best at it. This is not a bad thing - until you are tearing down those around you because they do not conform to your vision of perfection. Loyalty is similar, in its own way. Evil is easy to fight - but lack of wisdom is very hard indeed."

Percy stood silently, unable to reply.

"But now I shall leave you, Perseus," Athena said. "I hope the Council has made the right decision. And be careful - I hope you will not harm my daughter. I am not blind to how she sees you."

With that ominous warning, she drifted off through the crowd. People parted for her as though she were carrying Aegis.

Percy was staring off after her when someone draped their arms around his neck and whispered into his ear. "She giving you a hard time, Kelp Head?"

He nearly jumped. Behind him was Thalia, who had somehow changed from her previous ragged outfit of jeans and leather jacket into a long flowing black ballgown, complete with leg slit and matching choker. A silver accent on the dress matched the gray streak in her hair. Percy wondered how the hell she had managed to pull that outfit out. The tail of the dress floated around her ankles, revealing tall black stilettos that Percy couldn't comprehend standing in, much less dancing.

Noticing his gaze, she snorted and twirled sarcastically. "My father insisted that I clean up a little, and, well… Silena found me and got some of the nymphs to make this up for me. I gotta say, I kind of like it."

Percy's throat was dry, and he cleared it twice. "Yeah," he said, tongue feeling a few sizes too large. "You like nice."

Thalia's smile made his throat close up entirely as his heart beat a mile a minute.

"I think you owe me a dance," she said. "You kind of ran out on me last time."

Percy wasn't going to complain about that one. Thalia took his hand and dragged him into the crowd. Somehow he knew the steps and the party faded into the background as they spun and laughed and danced. Eventually, they took a break, sitting on the very edge of a balcony, legs dangling off the side.

The rising sun tinged the sky orange. Percy placed his hand on Thalia's. She leaned her head onto his shoulder.

Just for a minute, everything felt alright.

Howdy all. Another chapter. Pretty long chapter (~5500 words) but super long wait - sorry about that. Lots going on and a hard chapter to get into - partly issues with writing the Percy perspective in an interesting way, partly just not a lot going on after a point. As you can probably tell, I'm not sure what to do about Annabeth - I've got an idea I like, but that might change. Also, I've decided that this fic is going to continue into the other books. It's not going to be fast, but I'll do my best to keep updating and try to do at least once a month at minimum (but I'm not going to promise that, because I'd rather be slower than write worse chapters, and I do still have to go back and fix the early ones where I was finding a voice for the fic eventually).

Anyways - thanks again for all the support and reviews. Kind of crazy to think of the number of people that have seen or read (and hopefully enjoyed) this not-amazing little thing of mine. Really appreciate it. Hope y'all have been doing well - see you whenever I get around to the next chapter.