Son of the sea foam

by Master of thr forgotten

Not my story it is on ao3 I place it hear for my convinces if u don’t like that deal with it

4. 4

Son of Sea Foam

CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

After taking one of the boats on Circe's island (the one Silena had sailed up on was too small for all of them), they were off again - this time heading towards the Sirens' Island, which Percy was decidedly not thrilled about. Annabeth, on the other hand, was.

"Don't untie me," she reminded him and Silena as Percy grumbled over how much he detested this plan. "No matter how much I plead or beg," she said. Percy scowled at her. "If I do, I'll go straight over the edge and drown myself."

"...great," Percy muttered, and grabbed more rope. "You don't want to hear them, do you?" he asked Silena. She gave a bright smile.

"I'm okay," she said, absently tugging at a strand of her hair. "You know, Annabeth. I can just tell you your desires. You don't have to do this," she said. Percy gave her a startled look. "Well, I can try," Silena grimaced. It was then Percy remembered Rhode had taught him to do something similar... though he wasn't very good with it. Though perhaps with seawater... his eyes drifted towards the waves, then to Annabeth.

"Thanks, Silena," she said, and shook her head. "But it's more than my desires. It's...the music and wisdom," she tried to explain. Percy raised his hand.

"I am very wise."

"Hm," Silena frowned and then turned to Annabeth. "I see your point. The sirens are your best bet."

"Hey!" Percy objected and tossed the rope over. "Whatever, let's just get this over with." Silena scoffed before holding out her hand. Annabeth blinked.

"Your knife," Silena said. "You're still armed, right? Wouldn't you be able to cut yourself free with it?" she asked, and Annabeth's eyes widened before scrambling to grab it. Percy blinked a few times.

"That could have been very bad," he said, a little stressed. What else were they forgetting? He didn't have much time to object, however, because the island was coming up fast. "Annabeth, are you sure?" he asked but already knew the answer.

Groaning, he felt himself relent as Silena lightly gave him a firm look with a muttered warning to be supportive. Supportive. Right. Sure. Supportive of his friend listening to a bunch of monsters who made you want to kill yourself? He was being an absolute winner over here.

Bitterly, he handed Silena a pair of earplugs before putting in his own as the boat moved closer. He could vaguely see the outline of an island with three winged forms sitting on top of it off in the distance. His skin prickled at the sight of them. Cautiously, he glanced back at Annabeth, who had suddenly stiffened back where she was tied against the mast. Her eyes glazed over. Silena grimaced as she also looked back, giving Annabeth a pitying look when she started to jerk against the bindings. Gods, he couldn't watch.

He went to perhaps gesture for Silena to get ready for him to move the boat faster when he paused - eying the spot she had been seconds earlier. His heart dropped. Where? Where was she? Was-? His mind began to panic when he suddenly noticed her on the ground, completely still. Percy felt his eyes widened as he looked up at Annabeth only to see she had also gone limp against the mast, head drooping low.

What in the name of Hades-?

"Hello, there."

Percy jumped. How? His earplugs were gone. Quickly, he brought his hands to his ears to confirm that indeed nothing was there. Strangely enough, he didn't hear any singing. There was only the sound of waves and amused laughter from beside him. He turned.

"Rhode?"

"You look surprised to see me," Rhode smiled warmly. She was wearing a white cloak, of all things, with a sea-green dress underneath and eyes that intense shade of blue once more. "I was hoping you might think to pay me a visit, brother," she said, perched herself on one of the railings of the ship. "I've been getting your offerings, by the way. Thank you for that," she added. Percy offered an uncertain smile in return. He had gone out of his way to thank Rhode for all her help last year in getting him more comfortable with his powers. However, he wasn't... thrilled with her appearance. Mainly because he didn't know what it meant.

"What happened to the sirens?" he asked. Rhode's smile widened.

"Oh, them? Peisinoe is an old friend of mine," she said with a wave of her hand. "They've agreed to help me with a fun little favor," she said and gestured him to follow. It was then that Percy realized the boat had floated up to a beach - somehow planting itself on the shore without so much as shuddering the frame. Percy paused. He wasn't sure he trusted this... even if it was Rhode.

"Peisinoe?"

"One of the sirens," Rhode told him and reached over to grab his hand. "Come on. I've decided to reward you for your chivalry," she said and pulled him. "Your friends will be perfectly safe here." Her eyes drifted to Silena thoughtfully. Percy hesitated. Well... it was Rhode. He stepped after her off of the boat.

"Are you going to teach me some of Poseidon's powers now?"

Rhode laughed.

"As if he'd let you use them," she said, and Percy bristled. "In time, you will learn that as well. For now, just resist anything that comes naturally to you," she said and brought him up past the sandy shores towards the front of the island where jagged rocks were standing tall among the water splashing high into the air. It was then that Percy noticed the three figures lounging in front, glowing eyes fixed on them.

"The sirens," he breathed out. Rhode smiled. "What... are we doing?" He asked, a little nervous. Rhode hummed and then pinched his cheek.

"Learning."

Not really an answer, but sure. Rhode skipped up over the rocks - practically floating as she danced over the sharp edges right up to the sirens. Percy scrambled after her with... mediocre grace. When he finally caught up, Rhode was sitting cross-legged in front of one, laughing about something as she patted the space next to her. Tripping a few times, he managed to collapse next to her.

"Hi," he greeted and glanced nervously at the sirens. "Are you going to try and kill me?"

One licked her lips, which didn't elicit a stunning vote of confidence from Percy, but sure.

"The sirens are fairly resistant to magic," Rhode said. "It makes them good practice for stubborn enemies."

"Of course, how silly of me. What are we practicing again?" he asked. Rhode lifted her hand in front of a siren. Instantly the glowing eyes dimmed, shoulders slumping as it stared into a mist Rhode had summoned. "Are you... hypnotizing her?" he asked.

Rhode nodded. "Think of it as a combination of what we've already done. You use your siren voice to get your enemy to focus on what you what, let them see their desire, and create it from the mist. They get locked in easily after that."

"I can barely do any of those things individually - let alone together. Besides, it'll never work outside of an ocean for me."

"Good thing we're in an ocean," Rhode told him, which was a pretty solid argument. "Peisinoe? Any advice?" she asked, and Percy cringed away when one of the sirens looked at him again, feathers ruffling.

"Look them in the eyes," she said, voice soft and honeyed. Percy suddenly could understand how their singing could drive you mad. "It is where your power comes from."

Sure. Okay. Why not?

Percy ended up practicing for an hour. He could...sort of do it. According to Rhode, if the sirens were even a little affected, then he might be able to entrance a demigod or mortal with no problem. It was also kind of cool to get some glimpses into the desires of people he never considered having desires.

"Who is that?" Percy asked Peisinoe when his blurry image faded away. She squawked before quelling under Rhode's stern look. Percy went to apologize for crossing whatever line he had crossed, but she had already spoken.

"Persephone," Peisinoe said. Percy tilted his head. "My mistress before that evil god took her from this world," she said darkly. "We were her handmaidens before. When she went missing, Lady Demeter gave us wings to search for her. When we could not find her, we settled here," she said with a sigh.

Percy bit his lip. "Well... Flying is cool, right?"

"If we enjoyed it, do you think we would stay on this rock?" Peisinoe asked. A solid point. Percy grimaced. "We were naiads of the sea. It is where we belong, and now we are forced to the shores with these horrible wings and to amuse ourselves by watching greedy humans drown in waters we cannot enter," she said with a long sigh. "I dearly wish our mistress might come and free us from this curse."

Huh. Percy didn't think he would be feeling sorry for the sirens of all beings today, but sure. Rhode gave Peisinoe a sympathetic smile before putting her hand on Percy's shoulder. Had they practiced enough? He really didn't feel like he had made much progress. Granted, the sirens had been pretty helpful - squawking orders and bits of advice as Percy struggled to hold illusions or delve into desires. It left him drained and exhausted, so he had no real complaints about being done.

"It isn't the most natural of your powers," Rhode admitted when she watched him tiredly lug himself back to the ship where Silena and Annabeth were still knocked out. "The fact you can do it at all is impressive. Don't be too discouraged. You must have a strong connection to the sea to be able to tap into Thalassa's magic like that," she said. Thalassa. That was Aphrodite's mother, wasn't it? She was lumped in with Oceanus and Tethys for his father and Amphitrite's predecessors. Silena had told him that will Poseidon encompassed all aspects of the sea, Thalassa mainly was aligned with the magic and whimsical components of it... thus, Aphrodite.

"Thanks... and tell your friends thank you," he added with a glance towards the sirens. They hadn't been thrilled with him being there, but they had taught him some stuff. That was something. Rhode smiled before taking out a drachma to place in his hand. "Ah, an allowance," he said stoically. Rhode rolled her eyes.

"To call your mortal mother with," she said and patted his cheeks. "You've been sweet to me. I would like to see you live a bit of life with joy," she told him. Percy nodded, looking down a little at that.

"You've been... really nice too," he told her. "I know it must be dangerous to help me," he told her.

Rhode chuckled. "Perhaps," she said thoughtfully. "Though, in truth, when you've seen what I've seen and lived all I've lived... there is nothing left to fear," she shrugged.

That was a little concerning, but Percy didn't have a chance to ask, considering the ship was magically pushed out back into the water. Silena and Annabeth didn't even stir at the commotion.

"Oh, and you should take these," Rhode added with a wave of her hand. Two yellow bags appeared. Percy straightened up. He thought they had lost them in the explosion. "You should be careful. There's some valuable stuff in there," she told him. Percy opened his mouth to thank her - again - but she had already disappeared into mist.

Percy glanced down at Silena's sleeping form.

"As far as sisters go, she doesn't annoy me nearly as much as you do," he told her, but his voice softened as he went over to Hermes' bags to grab a blanket and toss it over her. Heading towards the edge of the boat, he gave a wary look around before summoning some mist and tossing his drachma into the rainbow forming.

"Sally Jackson, Manhattan."

The mist swirled into a whirl of color before it began to focus into a flat-screen. When it finally formed a complete picture, Percy saw what could be the most frightening thing the world had to offer.

"Sally, this is just amazing! You can feel the chemistry-" Aphrodite was saying as she flicked through some pages of a manilla folder while his mother turned bright red. "You do know how to write a good love story," she said and leaned over the table, fluttering her eyelashes. "Is it based on anything?"

Percy cleared his throat.

"Percy!" his mother jumped. Aphrodite didn't even bother to glance at him, eyes still fixed on Sally with a smile that Percy did not approve of.

"Hello, my darling," she said, leaning back in her chair. "How are you? Enjoying your quest?" she asked. Percy pasted on a fake smile.

"So much fun! I got to see the sirens!"

"Oh, that is fun," Aphrodite agreed as if they were discussing his day at the zoo rather than him getting mercilessly murdered by various monsters. "Be careful, alright? Polyphemus is no easy fool. Perhaps use the gift I gave you," she said, finally pulling her eyes away from his mom to wink at him. Percy nodded, though it felt fake. "Well, I better get going. A goddess' work is never done!" she sighed, placing a hand over her heart. "Goodbye, Perseus. Sally," she added with another dashing smile. There was a burst of light, and she was gone.

Silence followed for a few minutes.

"Percy..." his mom finally said, and Percy pointed an accusing finger at her. "I can explain-"

"You promised!" Percy whispered. "You promised you wouldn't! We agreed! I love you, and you can be gay, but no being gay with her! You be gay with anyone else! Mom!" he practically whispered-screeched.

"Sweetheart, nothing is going to happen."

"With the love goddess?!?"

"Believe it or not, I have self-control," she said dryly. Percy shook his head stubbornly. "Percy," she said and pinched the bridge of his nose but relented. "I was writing and thought it would be helpful to pray to her to help with a scene. I didn't expect her to come in person again," she said.

Percy narrowed his eyes. "...how many times has she come in person? Just the one where she gave you Medusa's head, right?" His mother bit her lip. "Right?"

"Don't worry about me," she said and her lips twitched. "You know, you've gotten a little more dramatic since hanging out with those Aphrodite kids," she told him. Percy gasped.

"How could you say that? Oh my God! Gods," he corrected himself with a shake of his head. "I - okay, actually, I kind of hear it," he muttered and took a deep breath. "Let me just..." he nodded. This was his mom. In his eyes, she could do no wrong... but damnit, Aphrodite could. Then again, he did trust his mom's judgment above literally everyone else's. He sighed. "Okay. I'm good," he decided. His mom gave him a fond smile before nodding.

"Hm, and how is your quest going?" she asked him. Percy was about to answer when he saw a bit of movement from behind her. Sally followed his gaze to look over her shoulder at the couch behind him. "I - where did you come from?" she asked, sounding bewildered. Percy felt his exasperation shoot up.

"Hello, Sally," Poseidon greeted. "Perseus."

"Hi," Percy said and held out a hand. "Is Zeus scheduled for two o'clock?" Sally raised an eyebrow. "Sorry," he sighed and decided to redirect his annoyance to Poseidon. "Should you be here?"

"I'm only here because Aphrodite has taken to visiting," Poseidon said, standing up to move next to his mom. "And despite popular belief, she is no fool. We need to keep this charade going as diligently as possible."

"And where do you come in with that?" his mom asked carefully. She seemed a little shocked by Poseidon's presence but was adjusting well. A light blush touched her cheeks, but other than that, she was focused on the conversation at hand. Poseidon glanced at her, expression softening by a fraction.

"Aphrodite isn't simply visiting because she finds you charming - though it is becoming clear, she does think that," he said, sounding marginally annoyed. His mom shrugged. "She is looking for any holes. Things that don't line up. Perseus has... made the decision to go on a sea-faring adventure," Poseidon added, eyes flicking to him with wariness. Percy scowled back. Oh, come on. It wasn't all his fault. Hermes told him to. "There are some things he knows that he shouldn't. We'll have to say he learned them from you," he said. Ah. Percy nodded.

"I did tell Annabeth you taught me how to sail," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

Poseidon gestured to him. "Exactly. I can see Aphrodite asking to sail with you in order to catch one of you in a lie."

"We don't even have a boat," his mom frowned, biting her lip. Poseidon placed a hand on her arm.

"I can get you one - and teach you whatever there is to know. It will be hard, though. It wouldn't be wise to be seen spending time with you," he sighed. "Perhaps I can send Rhode to you as well..." he mused and ran a hand through his hair. Then looked at Percy. "Perhaps try to make this the last quest you go on," he added. Percy's mouth dropped. It was like that, was it?

"I - okay," Percy sniffed, a little offended. "I would like to remind everyone here that out of the three of us? This is the least my fault. I would also argue it is mostly your fault," he said with a gesture towards Poseidon. The god looked at him. Right. "And I am sorry I said it like that," he added unapologetically. Poseidon only raised an eyebrow. "...sorry, Mom," he added to her with much more sincerity.

"Have you done something to him?" his mom murmured to Poseidon - as if Percy couldn't hear them.

"Won't let him use his powers."

"Ah."

Never in a million years - after an entire childhood of wishing his parents stayed together - did Percy ever consider how annoying they might be when united against him. He was about to ask if they could end this conversation when a thought struck him. He straightened up.

"Lord Poseidon?" he asked, unable to call him anything else even within the privacy of the three of them. Poseidon turned to him. "I... wanted to ask about Elliott Parker," he said. "I know you said he wasn't your son, but...?" he trailed off. Poseidon's jaw clenched.

"That was no child of mine," he said, voice cold enough that Percy almost stepped back in alarm. "He came simply to tarnish my name. The names of my children. Aphrodite was right to kill him," he snapped out, world momentarily rumbling with ire. "I believe Zeus sent him as vengeance of some sort. A lying demigod trying to win his praise," he said darkly. "Though he refuses to admit it."

Interesting. So that definitely wasn't a kátara who killed those people then... interesting.

"And Evelyn?" he asked. Poseidon's anger froze - then wavered.

"Evelyn?"

"I found her journal," Percy said, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I... don't understand what happened to her. She seemed... nice."

Poseidon didn't answer. He looked too deep in thought. After a couple minutes, he spoke again, voice low and measured.

"What of her?" he finally asked. His voice had softened. "She became as they all did. The last I saw of her... I couldn't even recognize my own daughter," he said, bitterness lacing his own tone. "I did what I could for her. Zeus fought me on it, but... I did what I could," he said. Percy blinked. He wasn't sure what that meant. There wasn't time to ask, though. He saw Silena twitch in her sleep. They would be waking up any second. "Be safe, Perseus," Poseidon finally said, perhaps reading his mind.

Percy grimaced.

"I'll try."

"Reassuring," Poseidon muttered, and Percy couldn't help but grin at that before swiping the message away. Silena moved again, groaning as she propped herself up.

"Good morning," Percy greeted, holding out a hand. "Have a nice nap?" Silena blinked a few times - looking around bewildered.

"What... what happened?" she asked, voice rising in confusion. "Where? Annabeth!" she called, sitting up sharply. From the mast, Annabeth groaned. Percy walked over to untie her.

"We were attacked by some sea monster. It knocked you both out, but I stabbed it," he said proudly. Annabeth blinked at him. "Did you at least hear the sirens for a bit?" he asked, feeling a little guilty at the idea that she didn't get to do the one thing she wanted to do on that island. She nodded slowly, eyes glazed over with wonder. Percy smiled. "How was it?"

"I... I'll tell you about it later," she murmured, eyes flicking to Silena. Then frowned. "You killed a sea monster all by yourself?"

"I killed monsters by myself before," he said. Annabeth shrugged. "The Minotaur and enchilada or whatever," he said. Annabeth opened her mouth - probably to correct him on that last one, but must have decided it wasn't worth it because she only gave a slight him of acceptance before collapsing onto the floor of the boat. Percy lightly nudged her with his foot. "You okay?"

"Yeah-" she began and then jerked up. "Silena, wait!" she yelped, and Percy's hand flew to Riptide - fully expecting another monster - only to find Silena going through the yellow duffel bags. "Didn't we lose those?" Annabeth muttered to herself. Oh. Damn. Percy ignored her in favor of panicking when Silena brought out a familiar leather journal.

"Um," he said when she turned to him. "So... we found that in Tyson's cabin," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And, um, Annabeth and I were thinking we could read it for... investigative purposes," he said. Silena closed her eyes. Then looked down at the book. Then at Percy. Then at the book. Then at Annabeth.

"Well?" she finally asked. "Anything interesting?"

Annabeth and Percy looked at one another. She was on the titan's side... not that Annabeth knew that, but still. If anyone could be trusted, it was Silena.

"Not much," Annabeth finally said. "She seemed... normal," she explained, and Silena flipped past the bookmark of where they had read towards the very back. "I- what are you doing? Don't do that!" Annabeth said indignantly. "You can't skip to the end!"

"Why not? That's where the good stuff probably is," Silena reasoned. Percy hummed. That was a good point. Though, admittedly, he had been enjoying the novel-like picture Evelyn's story had been providing them. "Um, are you sure she was normal?" Silena suddenly asked. Percy paused. "Because it's all... gibberish," Silena said and shook her head. "My gods," she muttered and flipped through a few more pages. "I... this is written in blood," she said slowly. Annabeth sat up.

"What?"

"It's written in blood," Silena repeated, sounding shaken. "And none of it makes any sense. It's just drawings and symbols," she said, flipping back even more as she held out the book to show them. Percy leaned forward, feeling a sense of horror fall over him as he looked down at the last of the entries. There were some words written in the midst of the chaos. One page just had the word 'help' written over and over again. One was just a list of names. Finally, Silena went back far enough to find a few more comprehensible entries.

"Hugo is said to have killed a hundred men," Silena read out, voice quiet and solemn. "They said he did it while laughing and with a scythe. I refuse to believe it. Not my sweet Hugo, who held my hand for so many years. He would never do such a thing. These lies are venom in the mouths of the gods. There's a strangeness here. We are all afraid. Our friends won't look at us. There are enemies in our midst, but day by day, I only see them in loved ones. Someone has spoken of a prophecy. I do not know what it is or what it means for my family. All I truly know is that our father has stopped answering our prayers. Julia is still nowhere to be found, but there are awful rumors that she has drowned boats of innocent families. I do not know what evil has settled among us, but I pray to whatever god can still hear me that it is purged. Yours truly, Evelyn," she read and turned the page.

"Is there more?"

"This one is dated three days later," Silena said slowly before clearing her throat to read. "They're dead. They're all dead. I've seen their bodies. It feels as though I've screamed for hours now. I write knowing that it is the only thing I can do. My family is dead. My friends are dead. We have been abandoned and now are hunted. For what? I cannot even remember my own last name. I hear they have caught Hugo. My sweet, sweet Hugo. Gods, please mercy on his soul. I've left camp to run. Who knows what might become of me if I stay? I plan to go to the place Clarence spoke of. If it is not too late. Please, don't let it be too late."

Silence. Percy felt cold. Silena swallowed.

"There is only one more entry before it... yeah," she said uncomfortably. "It doesn't have a date or anything. It just says: They wanted this. They killed them all, so they wanted this. I will find every demigod alive and drown them until they become the ocean. I am not one to be hunted. I am the ocean. If they choose to go against me, then I will crush them like the cowards they are. Gods or not, I will see blood spill in the name of those I have lost," she finished and closed the book.

"...great," Percy said. Annabeth paced back and forth. "That's... reassuring."

"It does prove something happened, though. You can clearly see some sort of weird descent into... whatever that was," she said slowly. "We just have to figure out what it is. They weren't like that in the beginning-"

"Yeah, but it still isn't a good look," Silena pointed out. "In fact, it's scarier. Who is to say when a kátara might crack?" Percy stiffened. "I mean," Silena quickly backtracked. "There is still a good chance it's an external factor. Maybe they were targeted?"

"But why?"

"I don't know. They are powerful."

"Except we don't know who they were even fighting. There was no enemy they were pitted against," Percy said with a frustrated sigh. "It sounds like they were just killing random people," he said and bit his lip. It was a scary thought. That a switch could flip so suddenly, and they went from normal kids into something else entirely. "There has to be more," he decided, wringing his hands. "Maybe we can figure out those symbols?" he tried with a nod at the journal. Annabeth nodded and held out her hands.

"Might give me something to do until we find Grover," she said quietly. Silena paused but slowly handed it to her. "Um," she added and looked at Silena. "I... we're just curious. It doesn't mean anything," she added to her. Silena smiled before giving a curt nod.

"I won't tell anyone," she said. "I know how much Thalia's death hurt you. If this helps you understand it..." she gestured. Percy didn't respond. It was interesting. Knowing where true allegiances lied and watching the front both had put up. Right alongside his own. Annabeth gave a nervous smile before tucking the journal under her arm. Percy watched her go. Then turned to Silena.

Silence.

"I'm sorry," Silena finally said. "I didn't mean it like that," she told him. Percy shrugged. "You would never hurt anyone."

"It didn't sound like Evelyn would either... up until that last entry," he sighed. Silena pursed her lips.

"We'll figure it out. Once we know what's going on, then we can fix it," she reasoned. Percy stared at her. She was going to help? "Come on," she said and grabbed his hand. "I want to go through the stuff I got from Circe's resort," she said and walked over to the plastic bag she had brought and dumped it all out. "I figured I would give Drew the concealer and Lacy the lip gloss," she said as Percy picked up a tube of blue dye.

"How long do you think we have until we get to Polyphemus?" he asked. Silena shrugged. "Do we have developer? Maybe I am digging those blue tips," he told her wryly. Silena closed her eyes. For a second, he thought she was upset. "Silena? Are you okay?"

"You know to use developer," she whispered. "I am so fucking proud of you."

Percy rolled his eyes and threw a tube of foundation at her.

"Shut up. Are we doing this or not?"

Percy actually really liked the blue tips.

It was also a good distraction from the fact they were rolling up to their deaths as they approached Polyphemus' island. The island itself was actually quite beautiful. Percy was reminded of a postcard of sorts with the endless plant life, a waterfall, and pristine beaches. Still, there was an eerie silence to it.

However, their spirits were raised by the appearance of none other than - guess who? Clarisse! It looked as if she had been caught, considering Clarisse was tied up next to Grover when Percy and Silena snuck in under some sheep (Annabeth had her hat). Percy's heart sank at the lack of Tyson, but tried not to focus on it too much. Annabeth decided to go ahead and piss Polyphemus off immediately by distracting him and yelling 'nobody' was here so that Silena could free them both.

"Hi!" Silena whispered as she untied them. Clarisse blinked a few times, looking shell-shocked. Grover beamed in return as he fixed his wedding dress. Percy reached into the bag Hermes had given them and brought out Aphrodite's cologne before giving them all a good spray. Grover blinked at him.

"Did... did you just spray me with perfume?" he whispered. "Percy, now isn't the time-"

"Yeah, fuck you," Clarisse sneered as Silena curiously grabbed the bottle from Percy to examine it.

"It masks demigod smell! Maybe it'll mask yours," he said, and Grover blinked before leaning over to sniff Percy.

"Huh. That works."

"Uh-huh. Polyphemus is pretty much blind, right? If he can't smell us, then we only have to worry about him hearing us-"

"And yet you're still talking," Clarisse muttered. Percy made a face at her. "What are you doing here? And I thought you and the princess were dead?" she whispered. "What-? Stop that!" she yelped when Silena hugged her.

"I had to come to get my brother," Silena shrugged and put her sword over her shoulder. "Look! We did his hair!"

"I don't know how to respond to that," Clarisse said as Percy looked around for Tyson in hopes of finding some trace of him. Nothing. It didn't look as if he had survived the explosion after all. Sighing, Percy glanced to where Annabeth's voice was still calling out taunts. Percy should go help her. He was just about to head over that way when a scream echoed through the cave.

That wasn't good.

Racing over, he practically flung himself into the back part of the cave where Annabeth was squirming in Polyphemus' hold, hat on the ground beneath her. Percy yanked out his pen before rushing over.

Think, think, think, think, think - was he close enough to the water to use siren speak? His heart thudded louder before an idea occurred to him.

"OVER HERE!" he shouted. Polyphemus froze. He reached out to grab Silena's arm as she approached with Clarisse and Grover flanking her. "Charmspeak him to the water," he whispered. Silena frowned.

"Why? What are you going to do?"

"Just trust me."

"Percy, you can't-"

"Please trust me," he said slowly - panic swelling at Annabeth still struggling in his grip. "Please," he said, and Silena looked at him before turning her gaze to Polyphemus. She sighed and cleared her throat.

"Put her down," she ordered, and Percy prayed her voice was strong enough. Polyphemus paused as Percy grabbed Clarisse and Grover. "Walk towards the sea."

"Get the fleece and go on the ship," he told them both. Grover opened his mouth. "No, you need to trust me, and you need to get that back to camp," he added with a nod towards the fleece still hanging on a branch. "We'll meet up with you. Just be prepared to move fast," he said and gave a light shove. Both looked like they wanted to argue but rushed out as Silena took a step back. Polyphemus hadn't completely released Annabeth yet, but his grip had loosened, and he was stumbling towards Silena in a daze.

"Keep coming this way," Silena said and grabbed Percy's arm. "I don't know how much this is going to work," she whispered, voice going high. "I can barely get him out of the cave-"

"Keep going!" Percy said and felt a surge of relief as Annabeth slipped out of his grasp and collapsed into a heap below. When she got back up, Percy gave her a thumbs up before pointing in the direction Clarisse and Grover had gone before slipping down the rocks. The ground shuddered with every step Polyphemus took. He sent a silent thanks to Aphrodite - with the cyclops unable to see or smell them, hearing was the only thing he could rely on, which meant Silena's voice was probably more potent than usual to him.

Please, please, please...

Percy got into some water. It wasn't the shore - he wouldn't be able to reach the beach quickly without throwing himself off a cliff - but he prayed that the island's waterfall was close enough to oceanwater to work. He took a long breath and joined in Silena's chant to coax him closer to the water. Then bit his lip. The sirens had said to make eye contact... which was a little challenging to do given that, well, Polyphemus could barely see.

"Okay," Percy muttered and stepped farther into the water. "This is under control."

"You sure?" Silena whispered as Polyphemus stumbled into the water. His face froze - the dreamy look snapping into something more focused.

"Nope," Percy said and clapped his hands together. "Look at me," he ordered, raising the water's mist around him. It swirled for a moment, forming a ball of white around them. Polyphemus roared. "I said look at me," Percy repeated, and an eye snapped onto him. It was strange to think that this was his brother. Such an odd juxtaposition to Silena and Rhode... Even Tyson. If there was one thing he had lucked out on so far - it was kind family members. Percy took a deep breath and stepped closer. "Look into the water," he instructed. Polyphemus growled - clearly fighting it - but his eye slipped down into the pool below. Percy followed his gaze, drinking into the reflection.

All at once, images danced in front of him. A thousand different lives and people dancing in front of him until it focused on one man with a beard creeping over with a wooden stake in hand. Odysseus. Percy placed his hands into the water, searching. Searching... searching...

"You just want to see, don't you?" Percy mumbled when the image of Odysseus returned to the surface. "That and revenge."

Well, he could arrange that. Percy lifted his hands again - forming the mist into a cave with Odysseus tied and helpless on the ground in front of him. Polyphemus licked his lips. Percy threw both his hands out, confining it all into a flattened sphere in front of him. Almost like a television screen. Polyphemus stared - entranced by the image. Letting out a breath of relief, he quietly moved back to where Silena was gaping by the shore.

"How-?"

"Shh... I'll explain later. We need to go. I don't know how long it will hold," he whispered and grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

"You just hypnotized a cyclops."

"Wasn't it cool?" Percy grinned as they ducked under some rocks, sprinting towards the rickety wooden bridge by Polyphemus' cave. A roar followed - shaking the entire island with its rage. "Ah, well, it worked kind of well," Percy said. "Might need to practice more," he said as Silena yanked his arm so they could sprint across. He could see the boat below with Clarisse, Annabeth, and Grover all onboard below. Percy felt his hope raise - they could make it!

At least he had thought so before he was slapped into the air like a volleyball. A Percyball, if you will.

"LIAR!" Polyphemus shrieked and hit the ground so that the earth shuddered. Percy sat up and grabbed his ribs with a wince. Silena pulled out her sword, readying herself into a fighting stance.

"WAIT! Silena - no!" he shouted as he stumbled up. "Just run! I - ANNABETH, NO!" he shouted when he looked over the side of the cliff to where Annabeth was trying to make her way back to them. Clarisse was cursing loudly as she brought the boat closer. "NO! KEEP GOING!"

"FUCK YOU, JACKSON!" Clarisse's voice echoed as she continued bringing the boat closer.

"Silena, he's like Tyson," Percy said as he got up. "He's like me. We're both sons of Poseidon. We can't kill him!"

"I don't think he's received that memo," Silena said as she dove away and lifted her sword to defend another hit. "Percy - look out!" she screamed when Polyphemus somehow managed to cross the chasm towards where Percy was lying. He swore, scrambling back as he reached for his sword. At once, his body seemed to react without thought, and a wave of water rose from the ravine and knocked him off balance. Just as Percy got up, Polyphemus was knocked over again. Except this time, it was a rock that hit him.

"DO NOT HURT MY FRIENDS!"

...Tyson?

Percy looked up - amazed to find that it was indeed Tyson at the top of the cave, throwing rocks down at Polyphemus with a feral glint in his eye. Polyphemus stumbled again as Tyson continued, sending him toppling back. Growling, he swung around.

"What is this?!" Polyphemus boomed. "A youngling attacking me?" he shouted and let out a feral noise at the back of his throat. "You disgrace our kind!"

"You are bad!" Tyson said stubbornly and threw another rock. "BAD CYCLOPS!" he yelled, and Polyphemus edged nearer to the precipice. He gripped a large boulder - eying Tyson with clear distaste before lifting it. At first, Percy thought he would use it to ward off Tyson's attack, but suddenly it became very clear that wasn't the case. Instead, he held it back over his shoulder with it aimed directly at Tyson.

"No!" Percy shouted and thrust his hand forward to push Polyphemus. Only... he didn't push him. Another wave of water rose and slammed against him, sending the cyclops tumbling into a ravine below, screeching. Percy blinked. Oh. Well... that worked. He stepped back, looking over his shoulder to the boat. Clarisse had pulled it in directly under them. He let out a slow breath. Good, they couldn't have possibly seen. Tyson, on the other hand...

"Water powers," he said, jumping down from the cave in front of Percy.

"Tyson, you're alive," Percy smiled and went to hug him. Tyson stepped back. "I- Tyson?"

"Water powers," he repeated. The smile slipped off Percy's face. "I saw," he said, and Percy shook his head. "I saw you."

"I- you... That was- that was you, wasn't it?" Percy asked. "I thought you did that," he laughed. Tyson kept staring. "Right? You did that thing with the water? That was awesome, man."

Tyson frowned. Then looked at where Silena was stood frozen. Then back at Percy.

"Me?" he repeated, then looked at Silena. A couple of seconds passed. "Right," he finally said. "Me. I have water powers," he said slowly. Percy blinked a few times before watching Tyson glance again at Silena. He was covering for him. Guilt swirled in Percy's stomach.

"Wait," Percy said when Tyson turned away. "No. No, it wasn't you," he said and took a long breath. Tyson blinked. "Silena knows the truth. You should too," he said and swallowed. "I'm... I'm like you," he explained, and looked down for a second before gathering his courage. "I'm a son of Poseidon. You're my brother, Tyson. And I'm lying about it, but that's only because it's dangerous for people to know. I'm keeping it a secret, and I shouldn't have lied to you-"

"Brother?" Tyson repeated. Percy bit his lip and nodded. "My brother?" Percy nodded again. Tyson looked at him for a few seconds as Percy held his breath. Please. Slowly, Tyson's face broke into a huge smile. "My brother!" he gasped and rushed over, pulling Percy into a bone-crushing hug. Relief coursed through him - only for a few seconds before. "Percy is my brother!" he said, overjoyed, then froze. "...sister?" he asked Silena.

"Oh, um, well... my dad isn't Poseidon, but... sure!" she said. Tyson squealed and dragged her into the hug, too. Percy laughed.

"I'm excited too, buddy! But you can't tell anyone, okay? Nobody can know - Tyson," he said and grabbed his arm (you know, after he caught his breath again). "You have to understand. This is a secret. If anyone finds out, they could kill me. If anyone asks, I don't have a dad. I have two moms. No dad. Definitely not Poseidon," he said. Tyson nodded a few times.

"No dad. Secret... I will kill them first," he added.

"You got it! Except maybe no killing," Percy tacked on. "So... we're secret brothers, okay? We can't tell anyone else," he said. Tyson mimicked zipping his lips. Good. Right. Maybe this would work. "But - Tyson?" he added and felt himself soften when he was met with an eager smile. "I'm proud to be related to you," he said softly. Tyson beamed. "Come on. Let's go see the others," he said, and together they made their way down the cliff to where the others were waiting.

"You're alive!"

"We're alive!" Silena agreed as they got onboard. Clarisse gave a shout of alarm upon seeing Tyson (who received a hug from Annabeth, much to his delight). Grover raced over to launch himself at Percy, hugging tightly.

"I can't believe you came after me!"

"I can't believe you thought we wouldn't!" Percy grinned and put his hands on his shoulders. "How are you? Hurt?" he asked, looking him up and down. Grover shook his head. "Thank the gods," he muttered. "You had me worried there with those dreams," he said with a shudder. Grover gave a bleat in agreement.

"Can you all save the gross stuff for later, please?" Clarisse drawled from where she was pulling the ship back away from the shore. Silena grinned and walked over to her, placing a light hand on her arm.

"Thank you for coming back for us," she said. Clarisse glanced at her and shrugged. "And thanks for being patient with everyone. I know this was your quest, and we just came and made it harder," she added. Percy watched, a little amused at how taken aback Clarisse seemed. "But, hey, you managed to get the fleece even with us causing all of that," she said with a gesture of where the blanket was sitting. "I guess that makes you a true hero."

Clarisse blinked.

"Um, thanks... I guess."

Silena looked her over for a moment. It was the same look Aphrodite gave him when Percy talked about Gabe.

"And if your dad tries to give you any shit over it... let me know. My mother knows how to handle him when he's being stupid," she said. Clarisse jumped - looking at Silena with alarm as the boat jerked to the side suddenly at her sudden movement.

"I - what? I wasn't-"

"I'm more observant than people give me credit for," Silena winked. "And he doesn't give you enough credit. You're amazing. Don't let him convince you otherwise," she said and gave a warm smile before walking to where Percy was still watching.

"Laying it on thick, aren't you?"

"I meant it!" Silena objected as she perched herself on the edge of the boat's railing. "She did a great job with all of this," she gestured. Percy shrugged. Sure. Clarisse had done a good job, he supposed. He hadn't thought she needed to hear it, but based on the expression on her face... well, maybe Silena was right. Percy was considering throwing her a congratulations of his own when the boat gave a wail.

Damnit. They never caught a break, could they?

"YOU!" Polyphemus' voice echoed, and a rock soared into the air, hitting the back of the ship, so they all went tumbling. "YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE ME!"

They had been doing just fine up until this second, but sure. Percy went to get up, but another rock broke through the wood next to him.

"A boat!" Clarisse shouted, and Percy looked up to see that a large white boat was coming full speed towards them. Loud cracks of canons followed, and Polyphemus stumbled back as he was struck. "WE'RE OVER HERE!" Clarisse shouted, diving for the fleece. Percy tried to get up, but... his energy suddenly was zapped. His earlier use of powers had drained him, and now... he blinked away the pain as wood splintered - cutting open his arms as they were dragged into the water.

"Wait - Clarisse, no!" Annabeth's voice called. "No, don't call them over here!"

Why not? It looked like their current boat wasn't in good shape. Plus, these strangers had saved them. His mind already seemed to accept the help as he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw as he let his head fall forward was a flash of white, and then the face of Luke Castellan.

When Percy opened his eyes, he was in a garden. No. No, wait. He glanced around and - yes. He could see just outside where the gates stood high above. It wasn't a garden. It was the garden next to Olympus. He had seen it last year when returning Zeus' bolt. Only now, he was inside, surrounded by the trees stretched high into the sky alongside masses of flowers and other plants all neatly placed along a cobbled path. He got up, looking around.

"Hello?" he called. Was nobody else here? He opened his mouth to call again when he noticed a movement a few feet to his left. Cautiously, he moved forward to find a girl sprawled out in the grass, fast asleep. He frowned. "Hello?" he tried again and knelt next to her. She looked young - older than him, but still young. Maybe sixteen? Seventeen? He couldn't be sure. There was a sense of familiarity to her, though he couldn't quite pin it down. "Um, are you okay?" he asked, shaking her shoulder.

At this, her eyes fluttered open, and Percy almost jumped back as she shot up.

"Hugo?" she asked. Then looked around. Oh. Of course. Percy reached out.

"Evelyn?" he tried, but she appeared not to have heard him as she looked wildly around the garden - eyes wide and wild with fear. "Hey, you're safe-" he tried to reassure her, but Evelyn had scrambled to her feet as she spun around. It was then that Percy realized they were no longer in the garden. In fact, he had no idea where they were. When he stood up, the plants were all gone. Olympus was gone. They were in a field of some sort. Smoke was in the air with wisps of ash around them. Charred remains of various debris were scattered around them alongside cracked rocks and remnants of buildings.

"Hugo!" Evelyn called, and her voice cracked towards the end. "HUGO!"

Her voice was the only sound in the surrounding space. There was an eerie silence amongst the destruction that twisted Percy's stomach uncomfortably. He felt a surge of panic of his own rise as Evelyn continued looking around. She had changed too. Blood was running down the side of her face, dress torn and covered in something black and sticky. Her hands were covered in dirt.

"HUGO!" she screamed and gripped her hair. "HUGO, ANSWER ME!"

Percy was going to try to talk to her again when there was a bright light beside him, shuddering the ground. Evelyn spun around, raising a celestial bronze pole from seemingly nowhere. There was a loud clang that shook the ground around them, and suddenly there was another person among them. Evelyn's eyes widened for a moment before her lip curled.

"You," she spat, and shoved the newcomer away. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same, you fool," the girl responded. "I thought you were going with Clarence! What happened?"

"As if I answer to you," Evelyn glowered and looked around. "Clarence is gone. I can't find him. I can't find any of them," she said and fixed her with a glower. Curiously, Percy studied the new girl. She wasn't dressed in the typical 1940s dress that Evelyn was, but instead high-waisted pants with a button-up shirt tucked into them. Though, in fairness, she also looked just as much of a mess as Evelyn, with rips and stains in all of her clothes. Her hair was piled up on the back of her head in a bun, long brown strands falling out to reveal it went way past her shoulders. "I need to find Hugo," Evelyn continued. "He has to be here."

"He was," the other girl said and raised her sword. "Evelyn, you need to leave. We need to leave. There isn't much time."

"Time for what?"

"They got him," the girl said, and Evelyn's brows came together. "I don't know what happened. They say he did this," she said with a gesture around them. Evelyn's lips pursed. "They couldn't stop him. The gods had to..." she began and trailed off. She only had a second to hesitate because Evelyn launched at her. Percy stumbled back in alarm. The hit was so fast that he almost couldn't see it. Somehow the other girl blocked it and struck back.

"The gods had to what? What?!" Evelyn hissed and kicked out. The girl caught her foot, and Evelyn twisted, jumping up so she could kick her in the head with her other foot.

"Stop - Evelyn! This is what they want!"

"Who?!" Evelyn hissed, but didn't attack after deflecting her hit. "Tell me where Hugo is, you useless bitch," she growled. Nothing. "Vera..."

Vera. Of course. Percy glanced at the other girl. Right. Evelyn's journal mentioned her. He wasn't sure this was the relationship he had envisioned, though. He knew they didn't like each other, but Evelyn made it sound like Vera was the instigator for these disagreements. It didn't look that way here. Perhaps the desperation of whatever was happening was cracking them. Vera shoved Evelyn away.

"He killed people. Evelyn, they say he killed James," she said. Evelyn shook her head. "It's true. Something is happening to us, okay? We need to find somewhere safe to go. It's a... a disease or mind control or - something!" she said. Evelyn didn't respond. She was studying her over with cautious eyes. "You and I are more powerful than the rest. We always have been. If we try to escape, then we can make it-"

"To where?" Evelyn interrupted. "You think we can hide from the gods?" she asked and shook her head. "Why aren't they helping, anyhow? We are to be executed for false crimes? Hugo wouldn't do this!" she shouted, gesturing around them. "He's framed. I won't stand for it. If they cannot see clearly, then I will make them," she gritted out, and the world seemed to tremble at her voice. Vera sighed.

"I-" she began, but fell silent when a rumbling interrupted them both. Evelyn tensed, raising her pole once again so that a net glimmered to life at the end of it. She grabbed it and put it over her shoulder. Vera brought out her sword, looking warily around them as the smoke cleared a little. "Who is there?" she called. "We have done nothing wrong," she added cautiously. The temperature around them seemed to drop. Percy stepped back.

"Is that so?" a new voice said, and from the debris, he could make out one more form. Vera's eyes widened. "Hello, friends," the person said. Evelyn hesitated - pole lowering slightly.

"Hugo?"

"I thought they caught you," Vera said lowly, and grabbed Evelyn's arm. She shrugged it off. "Hugo, what happened to you? Why are they saying you...?" Vera began but fell silent when he stepped out. Even Evelyn paused. He was covered in ichor.

"The gods tried to kill me," he said, and smiled. It was probably the scariest thing Percy had ever seen. "I tried to kill them back," he shrugged and wiped his lip. "And you?" he asked, looking between them. "Are you real?"

Evelyn swallowed. "Yes, we are," she said carefully. "Hugo? Come on. We're going to all leave, okay? We're going to fix this," she told him and reached out. Hugo stepped back. "It's okay. It's okay, it's just me," she whispered. Hugo tilted his head at her. There was something in his eyes... something that Percy knew wasn't quite right. Tension was rising. He couldn't determine where it was coming from.

Suddenly Evelyn froze.

"What... what is that?" she asked. Vera inched forward, looking down at whatever Evelyn had spotted on Hugo. She grabbed his wrist. "This is James' watch," she said. "Why are you wearing my brother's watch?" Hugo only looked at her. Then turned to Vera, silently holding up his other hand to show a glittering ring on his pinky finger. Vera's eyes widened. "What is that?" Evelyn asked, snatching her own hand back. Vera swallowed. She looked as if she had been punched in the face.

"You," she whispered. Evelyn glanced over at her. "You were the one who killed my sister, weren't you?" she asked, and held out her sword.

"Wait-" Evelyn began but a strike of lightning burst next to her, sending a small explosion so that she tripped backward on the ground. Hugo smiled.

"Don't worry," he and reached into the shadows, pulling a scythe out of seemingly nowhere. "She didn't die alone. I gave her lots of company. That Demeter girl you liked so much? I got her too," he grinned. Vera's breath caught. A crack of thunder sounded over them - sending Evelyn back to the ground when she tried to get up again.

"I'm going to tear your throat out," Vera whispered. "And send your head to the gods as appeasement."

Hugo laughed.

"Try."

With a jolt, Percy was thrown back into the real world. Except the real world was being equally as obnoxious given that Luke had made a re-entrance with his new, fancy cruise ship that was spilling with random monsters and - was that a pegasus? His interest piqued as he saw the horse walking around, looking nervously at the water. A few crew members tried to tame him, but the pegasus resisted with a string of curses that were rather impressive to Percy's thirteen-year-old ears.

Was that normal? Hearing horses? The fish he had expected. Horses? Not so much. He supposed Poseidon had created them...

"Don't look so annoyed," Luke said as Percy snapped his eyes back to him. "You guys are free to go. We just want the fleece," he said with a nod towards where Clarisse was clutching it tightly to her chest. "We went through a lot of effort to make sure it ended up off of Polyphemus' island," he said. Percy opened his mouth to ask what for when a thought occurred to him. He looked at Luke with furrowed brows.

"You did it," he said. "You poisoned Thalia's tree. Not Chiron."

Luke looked at him.

"Yes..." he said slowly. "It was me."

The way he said it was weird. Percy frowned. Why would he admit to that when-? His heart stopped. He turned to where Silena was silently standing, eyes on the ground. No. No, no, no, no. It hadn't been Luke. His blood went cold.

"Why?" Annabeth said - either not realizing or ignoring the revelation. "Why would you hurt Thalia?"

"Hurt her?" Luke repeated, and his eyes darkened. "Hurt her? They hurt her! How can you even say that?" he demanded as he pushed aside some boxes of cargo. Percy shook his head.

"But you were sneaking kids out! Unclaimed kids! To keep them safe - why would you put them in more danger?" There was a note of trepidation in his voice. He wasn't just asking Luke, after all.

"I will bring every camper that feels unsafe with me," Luke said. "They have ways to get to safety, but they are not allowed to kill my friend and then use her corpse to protect themselves," he said. Annabeth flinched. "That's all that is. They killed her and used her to protect the camp! How is that okay?" he asked and turned his gaze onto Annabeth. "You know that isn't okay," he said softly. Her eyes studied him. "She was already dead. It wasn't fair to trap her in that thing. I'm doing her a favor - Thalia wouldn't want to be used like that!"

"You're insane," Clarisse said. Nobody else spoke. He wasn't insane. He made sense. At least to Percy.

I need to get out of here, the pegasus was saying as it looked around. All of you people are insane.

"You don't have to go back. None of you have to. Stay with me. Stay safe," Luke said, voice softening. "Annabeth, you know what they're like."

Are they crazy too? Percy resisted the urge to snort. Especially given Annabeth's thoughtful look as she answered.

"I... I do..." she breathed out. Clarisse whipped towards her.

"Then come with me."

Annabeth glanced at Percy. He pictured them on the boat - night hanging over them as they whispered their treason into the winds.

"What's stopping you?"

"I don't know. What's stopping you?"

"How do we know Kronos is any better?" Annabeth finally asked. Clarisse made a choking noise. "That is what you want the fleece for, isn't it? To bring him back," she said and swallowed. Percy bit his lip. "How do we know he is any better?" She asked.

"He wouldn't let Thalia die-"

"How do you know, Luke?" Annabeth said. "This is the guy who ate his own children-"

"Zeus ate your grandmother!" Luke said, throwing up his hands. "Every crime that the titans committed has been committed by the gods," he said. Annabeth bit her lip. "The reason we think of them as evil is because they said so. The reason why we think of kátaras as evil is because they said so. Maybe the real evil is them," he said. Percy glanced over. Maybe...

"But," he found himself speaking despite himself. "All of them can't be evil," he said. Not his father. Not Rhode. Maybe not even Aphrodite. Luke sighed. "And maybe some of the titans are exactly the same," he reasoned. "And it'll be the same thing, but with different people-"

"And how will we ever know if we don't try for change?" Luke asked and shook his head. "I won't force any of you. In fact," he said suddenly and stepped away. "To show my goodwill... take the Golden Fleece with you," he said and waved his hand. "And supplies to last you back home. If you think this is the right thing to do... go." Luke stepped back. Clarisse snorted.

"Yeah, right. Your reverse psychology won't work on us," she sniffed, and held the fleece closer to her chest. "Let's go."

"Take one of our spare boats," Luke said easily. Why? Why was he letting them go? He clearly wanted the fleece. Annabeth looked just as confused.

"I also want the pegasus," Percy jumped in. The entire ship turned towards him. What? "He looks upset," Percy said defensively. The pegasus looked at him.

Ayyyy! You're a son of Poseidon, it said with a snort, and trotted towards him. Percy shook his head. Yes, you are.

Nope. Son of Aphrodite.

Liar. Sons of Aphrodite wouldn't be able to talk to me.

...damnit. Percy had gotten outwitted by a horse.

Don't worry, boss. Who am I going to tell? The horse sniffed, and Percy let himself smile a bit at that.

"Sure," Luke said with a laugh and nodded for the crew member to hand the rope tied to him over. "I should have known. Aphrodite and pegasuses, right?" he asked with a nod towards Silena. She gave a tight smile. Wait. Just as Percy led the horse to the boat, it hit him. The reason why Luke had made all this effort from poisoning the tree to getting the Golden Fleece - and was still giving up so easily.

Silena.

"Are you going to take it?" he breathed as Clarisse suspiciously got onto the boat offered to them - protectively keeping all their things in place. Percy didn't blame her for being vigilant. Even though he knew Luke's plan, it felt like a trap. Silena looked around before throwing one of their bags onboard. "Silena!"

"I'll let it heal the tree," she whispered. "I didn't agree with that-"

"You still poisoned it!"

"I'm still figuring this out, Percy!" she whispered back fiercely. "I... just give me some time, okay? He's right. I thought..." Her voice trailed off, guilt lacing the tone. "If you want the tree healed, then I'll wait for that to happen and take it later."

"And I'm supposed to just let that happened?"

"Are you going to try and stop me?"

No. No, he wasn't. Percy knew that. Silena knew that. Maybe because he thought she was on the right side of all this. Maybe Kronos was the way to go. It should be obvious, right? Choose the side that didn't want him dead. Why was he hesitating so much?

Nobody spoke the entire way back.

Clarisse was, of course, celebrated for returning the fleece. They all went to Mr. D afterward to appeal to Chiron and say Luke confessed to poisoning Thalia's tree, and after some discussion, Mr. D said Chiron would be back allowed at camp.

"Where is Tantalus?" Percy asked after the news was delivered and properly celebrated. Mr. D's lip curled as he looked at Percy for a few moments. There was a glint of something he definitely didn't like.

"Oh, he was personally sent back to the Underworld by some fellow campers," he drawled. Percy tilted his head. "Your accusation of him being a Big Three child... well, it stuck," he said. Percy stared. Tantalus was... gone? He was already a spirit. He couldn't be killed again. And yet they had found a way to send him back? It was chilling. All because Percy had made one comment. It had been so easy, too. All he had done was say the word and the campers...

Maybe Luke had been right to think they didn't deserve Thalia's protection after all.

"You seem troubled."

Well, at least one good thing came out of all of this.

"You're back," Percy smiled, turning to look at where Chiron had appeared - face soft and exhausted. "I hope you were given a proper and lengthy apology," he said and watched as the centaur laughed, hoofs clicking as he walked a bit closer to Percy and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm afraid I was not, though, I believe I owe you a proper and lengthy thanks," he said. Percy shook his head. "I do thank you, Perseus. This has been my life for many years. I was unsure of how to proceed without it," he admitted and squeezed tightly. "And now the camp's barriers are stronger than ever!" he added brightly with a nod towards Thalia's tree.

"Is the tree healed?"

"Not completely, but close," he said. "I think it should be fine within a few days."

"She."

"Hm?"

"She should be fine in a few days," Percy corrected, and put his hands in his pockets. "I... It's Thalia, right? The tree?" he asked. Chiron paused before giving a slow nod.

"Yes, I suppose you are right," he mused and gave a weary sigh. "A dark thought," he murmured. Percy wasn't sure how to take that. "Percy?" he asked and let his hand slide off of Percy's shoulder. "May I ask you something?"

"You tend to know more than me, but go ahead," Percy said lightly. Chiron's lips twitched, but his expression remained stoic as he looked out over the camp.

"Did Luke have any help?" he asked. Percy blinked. "I only ask because... I believe I would have noticed if I saw him. I've been looking ever since he left," he frowned. "Hoping he may come back and we could reason with him..." he trailed off and shook his head. "It worries me that I may have missed him."

Percy tilted his head. Then looked at the ground. He liked Chiron. A lot. However, in truth, he didn't know what side of this war he truly belonged on. If he agreed with the titans... or had hope for the gods. There didn't feel like enough information for him to swear allegiance to anyone. Well, anyone... outside of Silena.

"I don't know, sir," he answered with a shake of his head. Chiron nodded, seemingly accepting this as an answer. "Could I... also ask you something?" he asked and then shook his head. "Or, just show you, I guess," he said and then pulled out the photo that had fallen from Evelyn's journal. "I found it while visiting Tyson," he said. Chiron took it with nimble fingers - brows bunched together as he examined the fading ink with a frown.

"Ah, yes," Chiron mused, looking at the photo with saddened eyes. "I remember them all well." His finger drifted over Evelyn's face. "She was a favorite of Poseidon." Percy blinked. Was she? Her journal never mentioned that. Poseidon hadn't mentioned that. "He was against any of his children being executed, but he fought the hardest for that one."

"What happened to her?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I know the gods found her on a ship. She had apparently killed everyone onboard. Poseidon was distraught," he sighed and shook his head. "There was another girl. Vera. She was a daughter of Zeus." Percy nodded. He remembered that name. The other one from the dream. "She went after her. Defended her from the gods. It was..." he trailed off. Then sighed. "It was all a tragedy," he decided, and handed the photo back. "I only hope their souls have found peace. Wherever they may be."

"Doesn't Hades know?" he asked. Chiron chuckled.

"He could find them, perhaps, but you met him last year, did you not? He has too much on his plate to track them all down," he said. Percy blinked. That was... a lazy excuse. If it was true, anyway. "But perhaps now is not the best time to discuss the past." Chiron gave him a wary smile. "You should train - for whatever next illegal quest you choose," he said lightly. Percy laughed.

"Yeah... I think I'm done with quests for now."

"We will see how that works out," Chiron said, and Percy chuckled before bidding him one final goodbye and heading off to where he still needed to say goodbye to Tyson. Apparently, their father had offered him the chance to stay in Atlantis.

"It is because he thinks I will tell," Tyson said with a roll of his eye - which was decidedly funny when it was just one eye in Percy's opinion.

"Nah, he just knows you'd be good in the forges."

"He thinks I'm a tattletale."

"He doesn't think that," Percy laughed. Then smiled. "I'll miss you, though," he said, glancing out towards the waves of the beach they were standing on. "Atlantis is going to be awesome," he said wistfully. He wondered if Poseidon would ever let him hide out there... you know, if someone found him out and chased him out of camp. The thought was a present one as he spent the next few days watching Thalia's tree grow stronger and stronger. His thoughts almost always drifted to Luke. Then Silena... Always Silena. Did Annabeth suspect she was in on it? It was so hard to know what she did and didn't know. It felt like even though their friendship was still strong that he didn't fully understand her. It made him nervous.

And speaking of things making him nervous.

"Oh, calm down," Silena said when she dragged him out to the lake for a 'surprise'. "I just have a present for you," she added. Percy raised an eyebrow. "I'm hoping it will distract you from that whole piercing-after-a-quest agreement we had," she said. Percy grinned. "If you agree not to be a thirteen-year-old with a lip piercing, then I am willing to give you this," she said and brought something out from behind her back.

Percy's mouth dropped. "No way!" he breathed out as he stared at the skateboard in her hands. It was... probably more expensive than anything else he owned (excluding godly gifts, of course). The bottom was filled with graffiti-like images of color. Selena laughed.

"I got it customized," she said, looking amused as Percy tried to figure out how to speak again. "See? I got Medusa's head on her along with Zeus' master bolt for your first quest and a hydra here - Clarisse told me about that - and here there's a shell for mom-" she said, but was cut off by Percy hugging her. "I thought you might like it," she laughed.

"Silena, I..." Percy managed and took the skateboard from her. "I don't understand. Didn't you say it was too risky?"

"Well," Silena sighed. "Jaime has been eying it for a bit now. I thought she was getting suspicious, but now I think she just wants some lessons. Maybe you can give her your old one," she shrugged. Percy was going to cry. Instead, he nodded, trying not to look too overwhelmed. Then paused. He had to give her something back, right? Of course, he did. Without thinking, he placed the board down and went into the bag Hermes gave him before handing over Aphrodite's cologne.

"For you," he decided. Silena blinked. "Sorry, I know it isn't super thoughtful-"

"No, I... Percy, Mom gave you this. I can't take it."

"I want you to have it. If you're going to go around doing... stuff," he said with a sigh. "Then this can make sure nobody can track your scent. It's safer," he said and held out. Silena bit her lip.

"You want to help me with that stuff?"

"I don't know," Percy admitted. "I just know I want you safe if you're going to do it," he said with a shrug. "Chiron already thinks someone in camp may be helping Luke. If they get a satyr or something on the case..." he trailed off. Silena nodded and accepted the bottle. "Whatever you choose, I know you're trying to do the right thing. That's more than pretty much anyone else here can say," he sighed. Silena's eyes softened.

"Thanks, Percy," she said and squeezed his arm. He grinned in return.

Then, naturally, someone screamed. Because that's what happens when nice things happen in Percy's life. People start screaming.

"KÁTARA!" someone screamed. Percy tensed. "SHE'S BACK! SHE'S BACK!"

Fun fact: If someone yells 'kátara' at Camp Half-Blood, the reaction is very similar to if someone yelled 'bomb' at the White House.

Not that Percy had any personal experience with the latter, but he digressed.

The whole place went wild. People grabbed younger campers to stuff them in cabins while the older ones went for weapons. Percy yanked someone running by and barked at them to get Chiron before following Silena towards where the mass of angry teens seemed to be navigating. Percy's pulse was rising. How did they know? Did someone just say it was a kátara, or was it actually a Big Three kid? Just as he was mulling over the potential scenarios, he saw precisely what the problem was... and... yeah, okay, maybe he understood the minor freak out. It still wasn't a good situation, though.

Thalia Grace stood by her newly healed tree - spear out and lightning crackling around her.

Percy swore. "Silena-?" he started, but she was already ahead of him. She shoved a few more people out of the way before climbing on top of a rock and cupping her hands around her mouth.

"STOP!" she shouted - voice echoing around the camp. The mob rippled. Some people tripped over themselves, while others froze altogether. A few people managed to keep moving - with angry whispers following them. "WE NEED TO WAIT!" Silena told them all. "THE FATES MAY HAVE BROUGHT HER BACK ON PURPOSE!" she shouted as Percy started weaving his way towards the front of the crowd. Thalia was looking around - eyes wild and hands shaking.

"Who cares?!" someone yelled. A few people shouted their agreement.

"THE GODS NEED TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH HER! THEY ARE THE ONES WHO SHOULD KILL HER! CLEARLY, NONE OF YOU DID A GOOD ENOUGH JOB!" Silena continued. Percy pushed one last person to the side before racing up to the tree. Thalia's eyes locked with his. She got into a defensive stance.

"I'm here to help you," he said, raising his hands. "I want to help you. Trust me."

"Who the Hell are you?"

"My name is Percy," he said and kept his hands up. "Son of Aphrodite. I know this is confusing. Please. Keep calm so that they don't attack," he said, voice low and reassuring. Thalia's eyes narrowed.

"I'm Thalia," she greeted. "Daughter of Zeus. The last thing I remember was being murdered, so I'm struggling to be calm," she said and then looked down, brows furrowing. "I... I feel... different. Weird," she muttered to herself. "Why am I taller?" she added, and Percy blinked. Wait. What? That was a good point. Hadn't Grover said she was twelve when she came to camp? She looked... older. Not as old as she should be, but - nevermind. He would worry about that later.

"Annabeth is here," he said instead. "Annabeth Chase? She's here." That made her pause. Thalia's lightning dwindled for a moment as her eyes momentarily went to where Silena was still slowing the rest of the camp down. "Put down the weapons. I won't let them hurt you," he promised. How? He wasn't really sure. There were a bunch of angry demigods with weapons. He could figure something else out... right?

"ENOUGH!" someone shouted, and Percy felt his shoulders drop in relief. Chiron. Thank the gods. He didn't dare take his eyes off of Thalia as he spoke - galloping over to them. "Miss. Beauregard is right. This is a matter for the gods-"

"The unclaimed are a matter for the gods," someone else shouted. "We know what she is!"

"Personally," Castor's voice said, and Percy jumped at how close he was. "I would prefer for the gods to handle the kátara than fight her myself," he said - his sword drawn but lowered. Percy pursed his lips, but nodded in agreement. Thalia's lip curled.

"Don't," he whispered to her. Though, without the ocean or any bottles of seawater to dump on him, his voice didn't hold nearly enough conviction. Thalia looked ready to start stabbing when suddenly she went completely still before stepping back with large eyes. Percy turned to find Annabeth on his other side.

"Hi, Thalia," she breathed out and looked over her shoulder at where the others were all still arguing. "It's been a while."

"Impossible..." Thalia murmured. "You're only seven."

"It's been six years," Annabeth told her. Thalia stared. "I know it's - Chiron said no," she hissed when a Hephaestus kid pushed forward. Without a second of hesitation, she judo flipped him to the ground. A few people shouted their disapproval.

"SYMPATHIZER!"

"HEY!" Percy shouted. "She's trying to keep you all from getting killed! Silena is right - none of you killed her right last time, did you?!" he hissed and brought out Riptide. "Let the gods handle this."

"And where are they?"

"Well, we have to take her to Olympus-"

"Ha!"

"That's a good one. Do we have an iron cage?"

"Fuck off, Sherman," Silena muttered as she marched up next to Percy. "None of you are in charge. Drew, get them away," she ordered. Drew hesitated - looking between Thalia and the campers uncertainly.

"Silena... maybe we should just kill her."

"The last kátara killed a child of Aphrodite," Silena shouted, and at that, the crowd finally went silent. "Or have you forgotten?" Percy looked over to see Annabeth slowly approaching Thalia like you would a startled horse. Thalia didn't attack, but she did step away - face set into something between stony apprehension and confusion. "I will not have a repeat of that situation. We take her to the gods, so she is properly killed."

"Zeus was the one who turned her into a tree-"

"I'm sorry, are you questioning Zeus' judgment?" Silena asked. The sky let out a crack of thunder. "I invite you to continue doing so. Let's see what happens."

That seemed to do it. There was still wariness. Percy could feel it pulsating around as everyone's eyes fell to Thalia, while Chiron joined in the small gathering with Annabeth and Thalia. Hushed whispers followed. Chiron turned to Percy - his hand was out - keeping Percy a reasonable distance away, but lowered when Percy capped Riptide.

"We need to get her out of here fast," Percy said. "They won't stay like this for long."

"You... you're my age. Older," Thalia was mumbling as she stared at my age. "Younger? How old am I?" she asked, staring at her hands. "Where's Luke?"

"I'm not giving her to the gods," Annabeth whispered to him. He nodded. That was fine. They just needed her out of camp. To Luke, preferably. Silena could do it. He turned to her, but she was too busy studying the fleece closely. Percy bit his lip and looked back at Thalia.

Good news: It was agreed Thalia would be escorted to Olympus immediately.

More good news: Annabeth vouched for Percy, and he was allowed to escort her along with her.

Bad news: Annabeth and Percy had played their parts a little too well. Mr. D would also be joining to ensure they didn't kill her on the way over... and to make sure Thalia didn't kill them and escape. Typical.

Needless to say, it was an awkward drive to Manhattan. Thalia's weapons were taken and hands chained. Percy couldn't help but feel like she looked like some kind of animal as they stuffed her into the car.

"I'll sit next to her," he muttered when someone suggested throwing her in the trunk. "Annabeth?"

"I don't mind. It's... safer that way," she said, voice tight. Percy wanted to hug her... though she might judo flip him too if he tried. Thalia said nothing. It was hard to read her as she seemed to completely shut down - observing with startling blue eyes. Percy followed her into the backseat. Part of him wanted to say something, but... what could you really say in a situation like this? Annabeth tried starting a conversation a few times, but Thalia seemed too shocked to really engaged.

"They killed me," she murmured at one point. "They... they killed me."

Yeah... Percy would be shocked too. Maybe not now, but he could only imagine Thalia's confusion.

"You're staying here," Mr. D told Annabeth when they finally arrived at the Empire State Building. She bristled. "I'm not stupid, Annabelle. I know you were friends with Thea. If anyone is foolish enough to let a Big Three child escape, it would be you." Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Stay here to guard the elevator. The last thing we need is that Hermes' boy coming up to grab her," he muttered and shoved Percy into the elevator next to Thalia. "Do you two think you can make it a hundred feet without screwing up?"

"You're not coming?" Percy asked, a little surprised. If he was worried about an escape, then leaving them alone was stupid.

"I need to alert my father to get the rest of the council. Ah, sorry. Our father," he rectified with a nod towards Thalia. "And I don't quite care if she kills you."

"I could kill her."

"No," Mr. D laughed and punched the button to Olympus. "You can't."

Percy wanted to be a little indignant at that, but Mr. D had already disappeared. Percy shook his head. Cocky fool. He punched the first floor.

"What are you doing?" Thalia asked.

"We're going back down after this," he said. "We can run. Annabeth and I know a place you can go-"

"No," Thalia said. Percy paused. Wait. No? He turned to her. The elevator was still moving up - zipping, so that elevator music played softly in the background with slight whirring from the gears. "They'll know it was you and Annabeth. I'm not putting her in danger," she said. Oh.

"Annabeth can stay too. It's with Luke. You three can-"

"I said no," Thalia snapped at him. Percy stared at her. Was she stupid or something? "My father... he saved me once, didn't he? Sort of," she muttered, sounding unconvinced. "Maybe we can work something out."

"You're forgiving."

"Yeah, I'm a real Mother Teresa," Thalia muttered and went quiet for a moment. "Why do you want to help?" she asked suspiciously. "We don't know one another."

Oh. Uh. That. Percy shrugged.

"I'm Annabeth's friend," he said. Thalia raised an eyebrow. A ding sounded - somehow daunting, and the doors to the elevator slid open. Thalia stepped out. "Are you sure?" he asked her, scurrying after her. "You already died. There's no reason for you to play hero," he said. Thalia snorted.

"Trust me," she said - eyes flicking around Olympus curiously. "I have no intention of making it easy on anyone here," she told him. Percy helplessly followed her. Her hands were still bound, but that didn't impact her speed as she crossed the pathway to Olympus.

Percy stopped. Once again, he found himself looking at the doors and then off to the side, towards the garden next to them. He turned to Thalia.

"Want to at least take a walk first?" he asked with a nod. Thalia tilted her head. "I'm in no hurry to see any god and... I thought you might need a second? You know, to digest. This is all happening pretty fast," he shrugged, jamming his hands into his pockets. Slowly, Thalia nodded. Giving a weak smile, he turned towards the stone pathway that led into what looked to be a fenced-in arboretum. Trees stood high into the sky while bushes and flowers all sprouted in majestic beauty down below. Gold placards glittered on almost all of them - identifying the type of plant like you would find at a zoo or museum. It looked just like it did in his dream with Evelyn.

Thalia lightly let her cuffed hands awkwardly run over the nearest bush. "You okay?" he asked her.

Thalia's eyes snapped to him. "I would prefer it if we didn't talk," she said. Oh. Well, then. Okay. Percy merely shrugged before turning back to the bushel of pretty purple flowers. He leaned over. Iris, 14. He frowned. 14? Fourteen what? He counted the flowers in the bunch. There were only nine. Had someone stolen some? Was that even what the fourteen meant? He wasn't sure. A hand touched his shoulder.

"Um, hi?" he said, turning to find Thalia beside him. She gave him a long, serious look.

"I didn't mean to be..." she began and trailed off. "I'm processing a lot of stuff," she said. Percy gave her a warm smile.

"I know. I didn't mean to push. We can still run."

"No, but, um, thanks," she said and shifted her jacket. "You're nice... for a camper," she said. Percy grimaced. He wished he could tell her he understood the wariness perfectly. Instead, he merely nodded as she stood next to him, eying another group of flowers.

"Pretty, uh, petunias," she said awkwardly. Percy followed her gaze.

"Those are actually tulips," he said and pointed a finger to his temple. "Aphrodite knowledge," he told her wisely. "We are the best at picking out flowers."

"Well, your skills are weak because that definitely says petunia," she told him. Percy frowned. Sure enough, the placard read 'Petunia, 12' in bolded letters. Percy blinked... no. No, he was right. Silena had trained him well enough for him to be sure of that. Why would...? He paused. A slow, horrible thought occurred to him. Awful and terrifying. Wordlessly, he moved to the next set of flowers. Dawson, 14. His heart got louder. "Percy?"

"What does that tree say?" he asked, and Thalia turned with a slight squint of her eyes.

"Riley - and has the number fifteen by it," she said. Percy was going to be sick. "Are you okay?" She asked, and Percy dared a look at a bush bursting with small, blue flowers. Clara, 13.

Clara. His mind flicked towards a volleyball court with a girl a little older than him crawling away. Clara. Aphrodite's voice echoed in his head:

She is very much alive and safe. We just have to keep her somewhere else. When you're older, I'll show you.

"Oh... my gods," he whispered. "Thalia, we need to get out of here," he said and stumbled back. "We need to leave. You need to leave. You need to get out of here now-"

"What? Why?" Thalia asked sharply. Her hand jerked to her bracelet. "What's going on?"

"These aren't plants," he said and grabbed her elbow to pull her away - back towards where they had entered. "They're unclaimed demigods."

ps

not my story