When will it stop

by Jokiba

Probably the last reaction I’ll find from Percy Jackson

The Fates Want Change

FMPtrumpets

Summary:

The Fates are tired of watching it. There is a storm coming, and if they want to survive... so they force them to read what they're actions are doing to themselves and their children.

And they pull Percy and a few others along for the ride.

Chapter 1: The Arrival

Notes:

Rewrite 4-21-23

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underlined)

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Jason's POV

It was surprisingly difficult, Jason reflected, to learn more about a person that everybody seemed to love.

He, Piper, and Leo had been trying to learn more about the famous Percy Jackson since soon after they started building the Argo II, but all anyone would tell them was that if they really wanted to know about him, they needed to ask Annabeth or some fa- Satyr named Grover. Or Percy Jackson himself. Percy wasn't here. Annabeth was busy with either the Argo II, helping Chiron run the camp (being the acknowledged leader of the campers and all, and with her partner being gone), and going back and forth between camp, school, and Percy's mother. (Who was apparently an amazing woman that everybody absolutely loved and adored. They'd never even met Grover, he was off doing 'Lord of the Wild' things and was rarely in Camp anymore.

The three were starting to think that Percy was being more than a little exaggerated, especially Jason. Everybody was always comparing the two... and Jason seemingly just couldn't quite compare. He was getting tired of feeling like he was failing to match up to somebody he hadn't even met, especially since he was Jason Grace, Praetor of New Rome and Camp Jupiter, Son of Jupiter! All his life he was looked up to, he set the standard! Now he was the one failing to meet the standard it seemed like.

They were currently trying to find Annabeth, hoping to get more information out of her about Percy. They were supposed to leave in a few days to go get him (and hopefully the other two members of their quest-party), and they knew nothing about him. They knew nothing about his character, nothing about his fighting style. All they knew were his many, many, many accomplishments and titles, which didn't actually tell them that much beyond that he had a habit of winning fights against some big names. If they were going to live with and travel with the guy, they wanted to know more than that.

They had just caught a glimpse of her coming from the Big House, when the camp disappeared from around them, and they were suddenly in a very large room with equally large people yelling at each other. Against the wall was a group of demigods and Chiron, all of them staring at Jason and his group in confusion.

Wait... did that other group have a younger looking Clarisse and Annabeth? And was that Reyna?

Percy's POV

He paused at the top of a road and looked around with a sigh.

He was on his way to meet Frank and Hazel so they could leave and get this quest over with. The sooner they left, the sooner he got back, and they sooner he could work on getting his memory back and finding Annabeth. By this point, it was more than obvious that she wasn't here. Nobody knew anything about her when he described what little he remembered of her.

He snorted. Well, at least there was one thing about this whole situation that seemed familiar, even if nothing about this camp did. This... leaving on a seemingly impossible quest, going to fight monsters and bring back something that could help the camp, he was fairly certain he'd done this before. And he didn't know why he felt like that. He wished he knew what he'd done before, and if he succeeded or not. Frank and Hazel looked so worried that it would be nice to be able to reassure them and have his experiences to fall back on.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice when the road, the shops, and the demigods around him disappeared, and were replaced by a massive room, full of giant people who were currently busy yelling, and two groups of kids. One group looked about his age or older, the others looked about four years younger. All the kids were clearly confused about what was happening.

And they all looked familiar.

Why did the room look familiar? Why did everyone else look familiar? Did he know them? Why do those two look kind of like Annabeth...

Hestia's POV

She had been hoping that the presence of the campers would mean that the council meeting didn't devolve into an argument over who Mother loves best. She supposed that it was too much to hope for when her brothers were involved, even though she was fairly certain that Poseidon only kept up the argument for the sake of having a seemingly normal(ish) familial interaction with their youngest brother. She was about to interrupt and get the meeting back on track, they still had some things to talk about that were actually relevant to them being here after all, when a group of people showed up. They seemed to be mostly made up of demigods, with a couple of mortals thrown in the mix, and they looked very confused.

She was going to greet them and ask after their presence, when Zeus spotted them.

She sighed.

"WHO ARE YOU AND HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT THIS MEETING!" He thundered, lightning flashed around him and everything.

The demigods turned to look at him instead of each other, before they glanced around, clearly wanting somebody else to be the one to answer.

Finally, the older-looking Annabeth Chase sighed and stepped forward. "You mean you do not recognize us, sir?" She asked carefully, glancing at the younger campers in worry. "I don't know how we came to be here. I was just leaving the Big House when..." She trailed off.

Poseidon cleared his throat. "I believe I have an answer to that." He said, studying a piece of paper in his hand. He held it up and started reading before Zeus could say anything else.

Dear demigods and annoying gods and goddesses,

We have sent you these demigods from the future so that you may know what your arguing, ignorance, and arrogance causes. Also, some of the demigods wanted to know more about the strongest hero to live. We are hoping to teach you a lesson with this, so no killing any of the demigods, no fighting amongst yourselves, and be nice to the mortals. Demigods, you are to give your full titles, Percy will return your memories to you momentarily.

"Yes!" Poseidon was interrupted by one of the demigods.

"Percy." Annabeth breathed when she saw him, and ran to him, ramming into him with a massive hug. His arms came up around her hesitantly, clearly not sure what to do with the hug he'd just been attacked with. She felt his hesitance and pulled back. "Jason was right, you don't remember." She said sadly.

"No." Percy admitted. "All I remember is the name Annabeth." He looked at her hopefully. She just closed her eyes in grief and squeezed his hand.

"Well, whoever brought us here said they would give your memories back, so..." She said to herself. He nodded in agreement. The older mortals had joined Percy and Annabeth while this was happening, although the man looked like he was holding the woman back from giving the amnesiac demigod a similar attack.

Poseidon swallowed when he saw his son, but didn't say anything, merely kept reading the letter they'd been left with.

Don't react negatively to some of the demigods' lineage, either. The future is messed up. We have decided to give you books to read, they are about the future and they follow Percy Jackson's life and career as a demigod so far. Don't worry about your duties, time is now frozen outside the palace. Read and enjoy. And remember, no killing the demigods no matter what happens in the books, yes all of it really happened, just no killing anyone.

The Fates

Poseidon looked up and looked around. "Well. Perhaps if our visitors could introduce themselves first." He suggested, nodding for the group from the future to start. His gaze lingered on his son and the boys' mother for a moment before he glanced at his brother and looked away again. Hestia watched it all with sorrow.

"Um- I'll start I guess." Annabeth grumbled. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, sailor of the Sea of Monsters, walker of the Labyrinth, bearer of the sky, Savior of Olympus and official Architect of Olympus. At least I was..." She grumbled to herself. Athena looked startled by her various titles, but didn't say anything. Her younger self just stared in shock.

Piper McClean, daughter of Aphrodite, charmspeaker."

"Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, Supreme Commander of Argo II, and fire user." As if to prove his point, he set his hair on fire.

"Clarisse LaRue, daughter of Ares, drakon slayer, Hero of Olympus." The younger Clarisse paled while still looking smug somehow while Ares smirked in pride.

"Chris Rodriguez, son of Hermes." His own younger self looked up, shocked before his eyes flew to Hermes, who was looking back in shock. This was the first time Hermes had looked up from his phone since the meeting began several hours ago, he probably hadn't even glanced at the demigods, more concerned with not drowning in emails and missed calls.

"Oh, sh- Chris, I am so sorry. I didn't- Oh, my-" Hermes stammered for a few moments before snapping his fingers and Claiming Chris right there. Chris had to be held up by Luke beside him, bracketed by Travis and Connor, his three new brothers.

"Er- I still don't-" Percy was cut off with a groan as he doubled over holding his head. "Ugh. Never mind." He blinked and looked around, eyes widening when he saw the woman beside him and Annabeth. "Mom." He breathed, and attacked her with a hug.

"Percy." She choked off a sob and held him to her desperately now that the man with her was no longer holding her back because of his memory issues. Annabeth joined the hug quickly.

"Don't you ever scare us like that again." Annabeth muttered. Sally agreed with her future daughter-in-law, rather enthusiastically.

"I'll try not to." Percy said quietly, to both his girlfriend and his mother. They all knew that some things were just out of his control, like being kidnapped by goddesses with an agenda.

Zeus cleared his throat impatiently, breaking up the touching reunion. (Watching them made Hestia smile, for this was how a family should be, not like her brothers with their constant fighting. Or her nieces and nephews with theirs.)

Percy actually glared at him with a growl before grudgingly introducing himself. "Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, slayer of Medusa, the Furies, the Minotaur... a bunch of other monsters. Sailor of the Sea of Monsters, traveler of the Labyrinth, the Underworld... Bane of Hyperion, defeater of Kronos, Savior of Olympus. Er- did I leave anything out? Oh bearer of the sky, as well."

"You didn't tell me all of that!" Percy's mother said, eyes wide.

Percy grimaced, but wasn't able to say anything before Zeus rounded on his brother. "Poseidon! You broke the oath!" He growled.

"Need I remind you who broke it first?" Poseidon asked, bored. He did spare a quick smile for his son and former lover, though.

"Enough. Continue with the introductions." Hestia instructed the demigods gently after breaking up her brothers before they could start fighting again.

"Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades, traveler of the Labyrinth, Ghost King, heir to the Underworld, and..." He paused and glanced towards those that Hestia could tell were Roman, who were looking at him in absolute shock. "Ambassador of Pluto to the Twelfth Legion and city of New Rome." The entire council stared at him in shock, while some of the Greek demigods whipped around.

"You mean you knew Percy was there the entire time?" Annabeth demanded of him, interrupting Zeus's explosion at Hades.

"Uh, no. He only stumbled into Camp Jupiter what- two days ago?" He glanced between Percy and one of the Roman girls.

"Why didn't you say anything when Hazel introduced us the other day? You knew me, I knew you knew me. You didn't say anything!" Percy sounded hurt.

"I'm sorry, Percy. I wanted to. I swore on the River Styx that I wouldn't say anything to reveal the existence of the other camp to either of them, and after I saw you, Hera made it clear that I was to say nothing." Nico tried to explain. Hera had access to the records of the living, which included those that chose rebirth, which meant Hera knew who Bianca had been reborn as and where she was. Nico could not say anything unless he wanted to put her in danger.

"Hades!" Zeus finally burst out at the lull in the demigods' conversation.

"I never broke the Oath." Hades said, bored, rolling his eyes.

"Then what do you call that!" Zeus pointed accusingly at Nico, eliciting protests from the demigods at the younger demigod being called 'that'.

"Nico and his sister were born before WWII even broke out." Hades dismissed.

"Wait, what?" Most of the demigods asked at once.

"Long story, I'm sure it will be covered in those books." Nico waved them off.

"Continue with introducing yourselves." Hestia again broke in before a fight could break out.

"Travis-"

"And Connor-"

"Stoll, sons of Hermes and pranksters extraordinaire." Two of the boys stated proudly, giving exaggerated bows at the end. Hermes was unsurprisingly proud of their pranking 'title'.

"Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter."

"Will Solace, son of Apollo and top healer at camp."

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, Lieutenant of Artemis and savior of Olympus." Artemis and Zoe were shocked and startled that this girl was the lieutenant, but they didn't ask what happened to Zoe. They could guess the most likely cause of her having to be replaced.

"Frank Zhang, son of Mars, Centurion of the Fifth Cohort, Twelfth Legion Fulminata Rome."

"Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, Fifth Cohort, Twelfth Legion Fulminata Rome." Hades swallowed heavily, knowing full well what happened to her, and wondering how it was that she was here. Unlike Nico, she'd actually been killed and was currently sitting in the Fields of Asphodel after refusing Elysium if it meant her mother recieving punishment.

"Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, Praetor Twelfth Legion Fulminata Rome, defeater of Krios and toppler of the Titan Throne."

"Touch him, Hera, and you will regret it very much." Thalia warned suddenly, growling as she glared at her step-mother, who had just been about to say something. Reyna kept going with the introductions quickly, despite her confusion about Thalia's protectiveness and their similar last names.

"Reyna Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona, Praetor Twelfth Legion Fulminata Rome."

"Dakota, son of Bacchus, Centurion of the Fifth Cohort, Twelfth Legion Fulminata Rome."

"And no, he is not drinking wine. That is very sugared Kool-aid." Reyna quickly pointed out, glancing between a few of the gods.

"Gwendolyn, Roman Senator and former Centurion of the Fifth Cohort, Twelfth Legion Fulminata Rome."

"I'd ask what Romans and Greeks are doing together, but I believe the Fates already said things in the future were messed up." Poseidon said dryly.

"Who are these others? They are not demigods." Zeus questioned, gesturing to the four in question.

Percy's mother stepped away for a moment and curtsied, prompting several raised eyebrows at the woman's show of manners. "Sally Blofis, Percy's mother. Lord Zeus, if I ever hear that you threatened my son ever again, you will wish I killed you." She threatened pleasantly, with a smile on her face, making Zeus shift uncomfortably.

Poseidon cleared his throat suddenly and looked away to hide his wide grin. Hestia was beaming. This was what a family should be! Hera decided right then that she liked this woman, she was protective of her child, as any mother should be. Artemis lamented that the woman could have made a good hunter if Poseidon hadn't gotten to her first.

"Uh- Paul Blofis, Sally's husband and Percy's stepfather." Paul bowed slightly, clearly nervous to be addressing the council, but not letting it stop him.

"Grover Underwood, Lord of the Wild." The satyr said, standing proudly.

"What?" Hermes asked blankly. Grover glanced at him and grimaced, but didn't elaborate on anything. Apollo reached over and squeezed his shoulder solemnly.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Oracle of Delphi, at your service." Rachel smirked slightly.

"I got a new oracle? YES!" Apollo cheered in relief before he proceeded to start dancing around the room, catching his surprised oracle and twirling her around in a celebratory dance while the demigods scrambled to get out of the way.

Artemis allowed it to continue for several minutes before finally sighing and freeing the poor girl by grabbing Apollo by the ear on his next pass by her throne and practically throwing him in his seat. Rachel shot her a thankful smile before joining the demigods in the middle of the room. With them finished introducing themselves, Zeus turned his attention to the demigods who had been present for the meeting, and it was then that the Ladies Amphitrite and Persephone were noticed by the rest of the room, along with Triton. Poseidon and Hades quickly introduced their wives (and son) to the demigods who would not know them, before letting the younger demigods formally introduce themselves to the council and the older group.

Chiron's POV

This had not exactly been what Chiron had in mind when he arranged for this little field trip. He'd mostly hoped to give his charges a chance to at least see their parents, maybe after the meeting they would be able to speak with their parents, they would at least have more of an idea of what happened at these meetings, even if he'd hoped to avoid yet another argument about who their mother loved best. If he had to guess, he would say Rhea loved Hestia the best, but he knew better than to stir up that whirlpool by adding his opinion. If he didn't also know that Rhea actually tried to not play favorites among her six children.

And the boy, Percy... when he'd first met the demigod at Yancy at the beginning of the school year, he'd thought the boy had great potential, he was obviously the son of one of the more powerful of the gods, although he honestly could not say with certainty which one (he had his suspicions, Percy looked remarkably like his father). He never would have expected the short list of accomplishments and titles the boy rattled off. Defeating Kronos? Being named a 'savior' of Olympus? And to bear the sky... He despaired for whatever it was that caused both Percy and young Annabeth to have to bear that burden for even a second.

He was very proud of his other students and their accomplishments as well, they'd all grown very skilled and he was assured that they could handle themselves, whatever may happen.

And Thalia... He was very pleased to finally get to meet the girl he'd heard so much about from Luke and Annabeth, even if her presence as a person and not a tree did worry him slightly. What would that mean for the prophecy? What did this mean for Camp that circumstances led to her somehow coming back to life? What did the future look like that necessitated the Romans and Greeks once again coming together, despite their history together.

He decided to go first, and introduce himself to the Roman legionnaires. "I am Chiron, I am the Activities Director of Camp Half-Blood and the main trainer instructor of the Greek heroes. I must say, Praetor, it will be good to see cooperation between our camps again after all the fighting between us." He bowed slightly, not sharing his reservations about why they needed to be brought together in the first place.

"Thank you, I just wish it was under more- pleasant circumstances." Reyna said with a nod. Chiron smiled warmly, pleased with her answer. He then nodded to his charges to start introducing themselves to their Roman counterparts and the rest of the council who would not know them.

"Grover Underwood. Protector." Grover said quietly, glancing at Percy several times.

"Luke Castellan, Son of Hermes." Chiron couldn't help but notice some of the glares leveled in his direction from the older Greeks, or that some of them put hands to weapons when he first spoke. He frowned, but decided that he would find out what happened.

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

"Travis-"

"and Connor-"

"Stoll, sons of Hermes." Several of the demigods cast looks at the two sets of Stoll brothers and collectively shuddered. Percy actually groaned, knowing that he was the one who was going to have to keep them in line.

"Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares."

"Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus." Chiron got a bad feeling when he saw the looks the burly blacksmith was recieving from their older visitors.

"Chris Rodriguez, unc- er, son of Hermes."

"That's everyone, correct? Good. Where are these books?" Zeus demanded, looking around irritably. Chiron hid a laugh with a cough when the box of books was dropped on his head. The older demigods were not so composed or restrained as the younger group and the Romans. They joined Apollo and Hermes in laughing at the expression on the King's face.

"How could you be so disrespectful?" Reyna demanded of them when they finally composed themselves.

"Reyna, when you've seen and done what we have, laughing at Uncle is nothing. Besides, he wouldn't dare do anything to us with our parents watching." Percy informed her. Everyone else stared at them in shock.

What could they possibly have gone through that would be worse than insulting the King of Olympus by laughing at him to his face? Finally, Zeus regained his composure to throw the book to Athena, ordering her to read.

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief. Chapter one, I accidentally vaporize my pre-algebra teacher" she began.

Notes:

This chapter has been rewritten almost completely, I tried to keep most elements the same, though. Read and enjoy writing that doesn't make me cringe at how I could have possibly written something so bad. :)

Chapter 2: I Accidentally Vaporize my Math Teacher

Notes:

rewrite done: 7-8-23

So far, support for bringing in several people, I will decide who I want based on who has the most support and who I feel is easiest to work in

And if your going to write a review as a Guest telling me you hate me, just, why? I prefer knowing what I did to people. And for those who want really cute fluffy Percy and Annabeth moments, I'm not good at that stuff, nor am I really comfortable writing those, so... but I will do what I can.

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underline).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

No one's POV

"Chapter one: I accidentally vaporize my Pre-algebra teacher. "

Annabeth turned to stare at Percy, "Do I even want to know?" She asked warily. She didn't remember hearing about this.

"Er, remember that Fury on the bus? That I told you I liked better as a math teacher?" Percy asked his girlfriend. There was silence for a moment as they processed that he told a Fury of all things something like that.

"How are you still alive?" Persephone asked him bluntly. She didn't know what Fury he was talking about, but she knew that none of them would have taken that lightly. She did, however, send her husband a suspicious glare, wondering what he did this time.

Annabeth thought for a moment, then remembered. "Oh yeah, you did tell me about that." She muttered, and leaned back into his side while he put his arms around her. Athena frowned at this action, but didn't get a chance to say anything as Percy's words caught up with Poseidon.

"Hades... If your servants harm my son..." A few of those sitting nearby scooted away from him, he sounded way too calm. There was a reason why completely calm seas made sailors nervous, it was usually a sign that a terrible storm was on its way.

(Look, I didn't... one, my advice is:)

"Uh, Percy's giving advice!" Thalia said jokingly, smirking slightly.

"Run!" Grover joined in, laughing. Nico smirked and leaned back.

"Name one time I gave really bad advice." Percy demanded with a death glare.

"Well that was that time when, oh, wait... No that worked out. Um... how about- no that worked out, too..." Thalia muttered.

Percy hummed knowingly, and turned to Athena, waiting for her to continue reading.

(Close this book... to lead a normal life.)

"Sadly Percy, that would only work for a weaker demigod." Reyna spoke up, glancing at Percy.

"Yeah, I know that now." Percy huffed after giving Annabeth a look as though daring her to comment. So, she did the mature thing and stuck her tongue out at him.

He shook his head and kissed her on the cheek, making several people smile while Athena growled.

Piper thought about how perfect they looked together, and started to realize something. "Oh, no!" She groaned, face screwing up in horror.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked, concerned.

"Nothing." She shook her head, not wanting to admit how much she just started to sound like her mother in her thoughts.

Poseidon was just surprised that one of his children could get a child of Athena to like them, let alone act like that around them. Most demigods had a habit of taking their parents' rivalries as their own, with Athena's children being the worst about it. He himself wasn't sure how he felt about it yet, but Percy looked happy, so he would withhold judgement.

(Being a half-blood is dangerous.)

Check.

(It's scary.)

Double check.

(Most of the time... nasty ways.)

And triple check.

The future demigods all sighed thinking of those lost in the war. Annabeth glanced over at Chiron and he was looking just as depressed.

She will never understand how he does it, he watches so many demigods, kids fall and yet...

Sally was watching them, and she knew that the life of a demigod was dangerous, but... She knew that Percy had a habit of not telling her everything. She was about to hear all of it without his censoring.

(If you're a normal kid, reading this)

"Why would normal people be reading this, I thought we didn't want them to know?" Connor asked.

Paul shrugged. "They might think it was fiction." He suggested.

"But who would be reading this? This was written by the Fates for us, wasn't it?" Travis asked, just as confused.

"That... I do not know." Paul frowned.

(because you think it's fiction,)

"Again... Who and why?"

(great. Read on... ever happened.)

"So do we." Most of the demigods chorused, concerning most of the parents. Even Paul and Sally looked like they agreed with the teens.

Meanwhile, some of the gods started wondering...

(But if you... something stirring inside-)

Yelps were heard as Katie and Luke each preemptively smacked their respective set of Stolls, making them regret opening their mouths.

Everyone else snickered, they saw it coming a mile away.

"Thank you." Percy said with a smirk, he carefully avoided lingering on Luke for too long.

(stop reading immediately... they'll come for you.)

Percy got a dark look on his face as all the other demigods just shuddered.

"That's not ominous at all." Frank muttered to Hazel, who grimaced, but nodded her agreement.

(Don't say I didn't warn you.)

"But you didn't- "

"Nico, I knew you all of two seconds before the blasted Manticore showed up, so I don't want to hear it." Percy informed his cousin, who sat back with a sour look on his face.

The council looked around at each other in alarm, with Poseidon panicking a little at the thought of his son facing a Manticore.

(My name is Percy Jackson.)

"I thought it was Athena." This came from Apollo, who promptly got a book, not the one being read, thrown at his head.

"Rude." Hermes informed her bluntly, and ducked another book.

"Enough!" Hestia put a stop to it before it could devolve into a full on fight. "Keep reading." She instructed her niece sternly.

(I'm twelve years old... in upstate New York.)

"Percy. Do I even want to know what happened this time?" Poseidon asked in dread.

"Uh... Probably not actually... I think everybody is about to find out, though... Wait, you know about all the other stuff?" Percy asked his father, somewhat surprised. Although he really shouldn't be, he knew that his father watched out for them as much as he was able to without drawing attention from Zeus.

"Of course. I may have missed something here and there, but I've always kept an eye on you as much as I was able without drawing attention." Poseidon unknowingly repeated what Percy had been thinking. "I loved the stunt with the shark tank, that was pure gold." Poseidon grinned wildly while Percy's expression was a mix between joy and disbelief.

Hestia gave Zeus a warning look when she saw him opening his mouth, she didn't want to hear an argument right now about Poseidon watching over his son. Amphitrite just gave Poseidon a Look before going back to her study of Sally, trying to see what Poseidon had obviously seen in her.

(Am I a troubled kid?)

"YES!"

"Is that even a question worth answering?"

"Why do you even need to ask?"

"Wow guys, your faith in me is so inspiring."

"Is it weird that I missed his sarcasm?" Travis asked Connor quietly. His brother shrugged.

(Yeah. You could say that.)

"He admits it!" Travis cried, pretending to weep with joy.

"We can cancel his therapy session now, at least." Connor told his brother.

"Really?" Percy asked them dryly.

"You've missed almost six months of sessions." Travis informed him seriously. Percy rolled his eyes.

(I could start at any point in my short miserable)

"Miserable? What does he mean by that" Poseidon muttered, probably louder than he intended.

"There's a lot it could mean." Percy sighed.

(life to prove it... Greek and Roman stuff.)

"Chiron, please tell me that you were not the one to propose that trip, it was awful!" Surprisingly, it was Grover to speak up, not Percy. Percy nodded in agreement, though.

Chiron looked at Grover in surprise. "I would not know, this has not happened yet. Was I the one leading it?" He asked.

"Forget that, how could you not enjoy such a trip! Do you not want to learn?" Athena demanded. The screech her sentence turned into nearly put those with more sensitive hearing on the ground in pain.

She paused for a moment before she continued. If she was going to give a lecture, then they were going to hear it! She'd been quiet for long enough! "I expect it from the stupid sea spawn, but-" She was cut off.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" All the futures who knew Percy jumped up to defend him, startling everyone else.

This made Leo and Piper think, while Jason frowned. He was struggling to see what was so special about Percy so far. As far as he could tell, there wasn't anything that made Percy more special than he was. He seemed smarter, more powerful.

Athena was taken aback, and settled for glaring at Percy after realizing that Annabeth had yelled the loudest. It took Hestia clearing her throat to get her reading again.

(I know- it sounds like torture.)

"It was torture." Percy muttered. "But not necessarily because of where we were or how boring it was." He admitted. It was more because of everyone else there with them.

Athena growled, thinking about stupid sea spawns and plotting ways of getting Annabeth away from him. That Luke boy looked much more respectable in her eyes, even if he was an unfortunate child of that thief Hermes.

(Most Yancy field... trip, so I had hopes.)

"Ahh, yes, Grover, I believe I was the one to plan this trip." Chiron said. Both Percy and Grover groaned.

"How did I guess." Grover muttered.

"Sir, come up with something better this time." Percy suggested to his teacher, not wanting his younger self to suffer through the same trip. "At least something where we don't have to stay with the group at all times." He requested quietly. Chiron grimaced, he had a feeling he knew who Percy was thinking about.

Athena spoke up through clenched teeth, scandalized. "You should never shirk away from an opportunity to learn!" She glared.

Annabeth spoke up. "Mother? For a demigod, street smarts are often more important than book smarts. I'm not saying it's not important to learn, but when ADHD and dyslexia are thrown into the mix... Even my siblings and I have trouble learning in a classroom."

To say Athena was shocked was an understatement, but then all the demigods started nodding in agreement, Annabeth looked at her past self in surprise. That was nothing she wouldn't have said herself... Now. She wouldn't have spoken up to her mother at that age, though.

Athena sat back with a frown. If even her own children had trouble... She shook herself and went back to the book.

(Mr. Brunner was... didn't put me to sleep.)

"Oh Percy," Sally sighed.

"It's ok mom, I know." He looked away. "There's the disappointed look I hate." He muttered to Annabeth.

(I hoped the... wouldn't get in trouble.)

"Wait, we are talking about Prissy here, right? 'Cause he's never NOT in trouble." Clarisse asked, clearly amused at the thought of PRISSY not getting in trouble.

"It's nice to see you again too, Clarisse." Percy said dryly, a little disappointed that none of them had had a chance yet to sit and talk about what happened or to catch up yet. "But you do know that it's not always my fault? Charybdis? That was your idea." He raised an eyebrow at her.

Poseidon's eyes widened as he wondered when his son had gone anywhere near Charybdis... And the Sea of Monsters. He was not looking forward to the rest of these books, not at all.

Annabeth was amused, and most of the rest were confused. Most of the futures had no clue what he was talking about, but Clarisse was indignant. "It's not my fault the cannons didn't work!" She protested, glaring. Now the futures were really confused. What on earth were they talking about?

"No, but it was your idea to put a beaten, rundown old confederate ironclad in that position in the first place." He shot back, referring to how the engines really weren't equipped to handle the strain.

"Ok!" Annabeth cut in, putting her hands up facing the two fighting demigods. "You two have been arguing about this for years, shut up about it already! We're never going to get there in the books otherwise."

"Yes, ma'am." Percy and Clarisse both grumbled, but they sat back and let Athena keep reading, with Percy hugging Annabeth tighter. Grover was relieved that the argument had been averted, he'd heard it so often he could probably recite the entire argument in his sleep.

(Boy, was I wrong.)

Most of the demigods gave Percy a 'ya think?' look.

Jason took a moment to consider that perhaps all the Greeks were simply insane to follow the lead of somebody that couldn't even stay out of trouble on a simple school trip.

(See, bad things... a Revolutionary War cannon.)

"Uh, Percy... What-" Grover started to ask, confused.

"I maintain that they should not have had a working, loaded cannon near a bunch of elementary school kids." Percy deadpanned, still hugging Annabeth. Athena was read and obviously seething at the sight, but glanced at Hestia and kept reading.

(I wasn't aiming... expelled anyway.)

"Story of my life." Percy sighed, but anybody who knew him saw the look in his eyes, although they decided not to comment.

"What were you even aiming at? And why were you messing with it in the first place?" Jason demanded, somewhat snidely. Piper and Leo looked at him, startled.

"I thought I saw something." Percy shrugged, ignoring the tone.

(And before that, at... an unexpected swim.)

"Hah! That story is still flying around the oceans from when those sharks were released back into the wild!" Poseidon almost fell from his throne laughing. He'd enjoyed hearing the tale later.

"Poseidon, please don't encourage him." Sally groaned in exasperation.

Both sets of Stolls looked like they might explode from excitement.

"Percy, why didn't you..." Travis started.

"Ever tell us any of this..."

"Stuff, man?"

"I thought we were bros." They finished together.

"Oh, please. Like the pranking menaces of Camp Half-Blood need any more ideas." Percy scoffed, and rolled his eyes at the high fives the four gave each other. "Besides, remember the syrup fiasco?" He gave the older set a pointed look.

All the futures who were there either groaned, cracked up laughing, or started giving the Stolls the Death Glare of all death glares.

"Do I-" Chiron started before being cut off by Clarisse.

"You don't want to know." She glared at the Stolls , almost daring them to get ideas from this. That was the last thing they wanted right now, the younger demigods would thank them later. Percy gave the older Stolls a similar look that dared them to say anything about it to their younger counterparts.

(And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.)

"No, we require more!" cried all the Hermes children, even Luke, Leo, Hermes, Apollo, and even Ares.

"Not happening." Percy deadpanned.

(This trip, I was determined to be good.)

"How'd that work for ya?" Annabeth questioned. She just knew that something must have happened.

"Shut up, you guys are mean." Percy complained as everyone laughed, although he cheered up when Annabeth pecked him on the cheek, Annabeth looked like she was trying to figure this out, and Athena like she was ignoring them in the hopes that them being together would all turn out to be a bad dream.

(All the way into... kleptomaniac girl)

"Not one of mine!" Hermes defended when Percy, the Grovers, and even Chiron looked at him questioningly.

Their stares were even slightly accusatory.

"Thank goodness." Hermes' sons muttered.

(hitting my best... ketchup sandwich.)

"I'm sorry, but did you just..." Aphrodite couldn't bring herself to continue, that and she was trying not to lose her lunch at the thought.

Percy shot her a sympathetic look, "Yes, unfortunately."

"That's disgusting." Rachel said seriously, making a face.

"Try having it in your hair." Grover told her, just as seriously.

(Grover was an easy... wispy beard on his chin.)

Throughout this, both Grover's were glaring at Percy, who was trying very hard to ignore them. Finally, he couldn't take it. "What?! Its the truth and besides that, your still my best friend no matter what, right?" They relented and let the reading continue.

"That was close." Annabeth muttered, amused. Percy sighed.

(On top of all... enchilada day in the cafeteria.)

"Grover!" Annabeth, Chiron, Poseidon, Mr. D, even Hera, all groaned. Everyone else who knew Grover just found it hilarious, because that was just like their friend.

"Wait a minute, what is a Faun doing in a school? And what did you mean earlier when you called yourself a protector?" Reyna spoke up for the first time in a long time. The Greeks were confused, wondering why she was asking such a thing.

"I forgot about that." Percy muttered. "First off, he is a Satyr , not a Faun. There is a huge difference. Satyr's actually help out around camp, part of their job is to find and protect demigods while leading them to camp. They don't beg for money and food on the streets." Percy explained. "Sometimes they'll even be assigned to go with a demigod on a quest." The Romans were slack-jawed at the thought of a helpful Fa- Satyr. Because there clearly was a difference between the two if the Satyr's actually made themselves useful.

All the Greeks were indignant and horrified at the thought of Satyr's begging in the streets, while both Grovers were incensed at their Roman cousins doing such a thing. Hermes scowled, but didn't say anything.

(Anyway, Nancy Bobofit... threatened me with death)

"What?!"

"How dare they!"

"Please tell me you're joking."

(by in-school suspension)

"Oh"

"That's not as bad."

"Just extremely boring."

"And tedious." Connor added.

Percy rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything.

(if anything bad... happened on this trip.)

"Awww, but where's the fun in that? Piper, where's the fun in that?!" Leo demanded, grinning mischievously. Piper rolled her eyes and slapped him lightly upside the head.

Percy grinned and told him, very seriously, "No fun at all." He had a feeling he and Leo were going to get along great.

"This could either be very good, or very bad." Thalia muttered to herself, looking between her cousin and the kid who kept trying to flirt with her.

("I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.)

"Please do! This is getting boring!" Ares burst out.

Frank looked disturbed at his (Greek) father's words, even both Clarisse's looked a little unsure.

"Is he serious?" Katie asked, looking a little scared and a lot bothered by that.

"Hard to tell with him." Percy said thoughtfully. He was the only mortal that did not look bothered in the slightest by Ares' casually advocating that he murder somebody. He'd dealt with Ares enough to not let it bother him.

"He is not killing her!" Artemis cut in, glaring between Ares and Percy. "Even if her behavior does leave much to be desired." She muttered to Zoe, who hid her smile.

(Grover tried to... peanut butter.")

"Granted, not in my hair." Grover admitted when he saw a few of the looks he was getting. "I just didn't want him to get in trouble before we even arrived." He shrugged.

(He dodged..."That's it.")

"YES!"

"Get her!"

"Go!"

(I started to get... back to my seat.)

"Awww man!"

"That sucks."

"So close!"

("You're already on... anything happens.")

"Psh, I've been blamed for worse" Percy said. Those who knew what he was talking about nodded in agreement, some even shot Sally sad looks, which left those who didn't know wondering what happened.

Poseidon frowned, worried for what Sally may have gone through that he did not know about. Triton and Amphitrite noticed and promised themselves to learn more about this woman, and maybe have a talk with Poseidon about it.

(Looking back on it... to get myself into.)

"Percy, you never told me about any problems in a museum BEFORE camp." Percy suddenly looked nervous as he glanced at his girlfriend, his girlfriend who was very skilled with a knife.

He leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

She looked angry for a moment, then resigned, then amused. As if she could clearly picture whatever he had just told her and couldn't imagine anything else.

(Mr. Brunner led... through the big echoey)

Athena twitched at this word, but somehow managed to restrain herself, although she promised to have a long talk with her daughter when they took a break.

"Is that even a word?"

"Close enough." Percy shrugged.

(galleries, past marble... three thousand years.)

"I know, I know, longer, right?" Percy asked with a smirk in Annabeth's direction. She just rolled her eyes and kissed him.

(He gathered us... for a girl about our age.)

"Chiron, was that-?" Hermes started to ask but couldn't seem to bring himself to continue.

"I do not know, perhaps the book will describe the carvings." Chiron responded thoughtfully.

(He told us about... me the evil eye.)

"Mrs. Dodds?" Persephone asked her husband quietly. "You sent Alecto after the boy?" She hissed with a glare.

Hades looked warily at his brother, but didn't say anything. He knew that he would be lucky to survive once Poseidon found out. When he glanced at Percy, he was startled to find a knowing smirk on the demigods' face.

"That's where she's been for the last few months, isn't it?" Persephone demanded to know. "When we get back, you are calling her home." She glared at him until he nodded his agreement.

(Mrs. Dodds was this... had a nervous breakdown.)

'I should probably say something now...' Hades thought, and glanced towards Percy again to find him watching with amusement and pity .

Before Hades could speak up, Percy opened his mouth. "Hey, dad. Mrs. Dodds is actually Alecto. Don't kill Hades." He said firmly, giving his dad a look .

Poseidon stopped getting out of his seat at the look on Percy's face, a look that clearly told him to stay . He paused and slowly sank back down into his seat, trusting his son. Triton watched with an odd look on his face.

Jason, on the other hand, was wondering how somebody could be stuck with a Fury for a teacher and live.

(From her first day... I was devil spawn.)

"Hey Nico, I thought you said she was your lawyer." Thalia questioned.

"Yes... why." Nico hesitantly answered, not sure he wanted to know what she was thinking about right now.

"Well, then how is it that she's getting you and Percy mixed up? Shouldn't she know her own Lords kid?" Nico glared while Percy smirked and fist-bumped Thalia.

"At least I didn't... you know what, I got nothin'." Nico said before sitting back and sulking. This set most of the demigods off laughing, especially the futures after they recovered from their shock of seeing him act his age for once.

The gods, especially Hades, watched all this in amazement.

Children of Poseidon and Zeus were getting along with a son of Hades, no, not just getting along with him.

Treating him like a brother.

Hades was so used to his children being treated like a disease that he didn't know what to do with this scene in front of him. Hestia saw it all and smiled softly, happy that her family was getting along and was not using their parents' rivalries to fight amongst themselves.

(She would point... "Now, honey,")

"Ugh, why does she have to call me that?!" Percy groaned.

"Don't worry, she calls me that too, its so annoying!" Nico exclaimed, completely agreeing with the Son of Poseidon.

Poseidon started to laugh before he realized what Percy had just implied. "Ummm, Percy, you make it sound like you've seen her multiple times, even after she was no longer your teacher."

Percy looked at his father and seemed to consider what to say. Finally, he decided to keep it simple. "We've met several times over the years." He didn't get into detail about the circumstances behind those meetings, he was sure it would all be covered in the books.

(real sweet,)

"Ugh!"

"I hate that!"

"That tone of voice..."

"Not five-"

"Not a little kid..."

"I hated that tone when I was a kid..."

(and I knew... workbooks until midnight)

"That's horrible!"

"That's... actually not that bad." Paul glanced over. "Tedious in the extreme, maybe, and your arm might feel like it's about to fall off, but..." He trailed off.

"You don't have ADHD." Percy deadpanned at his step-father.

"... Good point." Paul admitted.

(I told Grover... "You're absolutely right.")

Nobody bothered to say anything, although many foreheads met many palms throughout the room.

Chiron privately thought that he needed to have a word with the Satyr later on.

(Mr. Brunner kept... said, "Will you shut up ?")

"She was laughing about you." Grover informed Percy with a suggestive smirk.

A pin could be heard dropping in the room. Percy blinked for a moment before he realized what Grover was implying and he turned green.

"Not the first time." Grover muttered to himself, thinking about everything he'd heard from Nancy over the past several months.

Annabeth turned red and glared at the book, while everyone else tried to hold in their laughter before Percy buried his face in Annabeth's hair to try and get that thought out of his head.

A moment later Grover yelped as Riptide and a knife lodged themselves into the couch next to him. Riptide disappeared back to Percy's pocket a moment later, while he had to pull the knife and throw it back to its owner.

"Never bring that up again." Percy 'requested'. Grover shrugged, smirking slightly.

(It came out louder than I meant it to.)

Percy just sighed.

"Naturally."

"Sounds about right."

"This should be interesting."

(The whole group... have a comment?")

Nearly all the demigods groaned. They'd had enough experience with being called out in front of the class to know what was coming.

Chiron looked around, confused by their reactions. "What?" He asked. Surely they knew that Percy was much smarter than he sometimes acted?

Clarisse sighed. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it can be to be put on the spot like that? Especially when you're already picked on by everybody else." She asked.

Chiron blinked at them, but didn't really answer, just looked away thoughtfully. Truthfully, he'd never considered it.

(My face was totally red.)

Most of the demigods gave Chiron a look, clearly wondering if he understood now.

Chiron pointedly ignored them, still thoughtful.

(I said, "No, sir.")

His friends snickered while Athena snorted and Jason frowned.

(Mr. Brunner pointed... picture represents?")

"If he knows that, I'll eat my favorite book." Athena muttered to herself, rolling her eyes.

Jason narrowed his eyes and looked at Percy in thought, wondering if he would really know.

(I looked at... eating his kids, right?")

Athena's jaw dropped. "He knew that?" She asked nobody in particular, genuinely shocked. He was a Son of Poseidon! There was only one of them that she'd ever tolerated.

"Of course he did, he's not stupid!" Annabeth glared at her mother.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gods or goddesses grumbled about the statue. "Of all the images, did it have to be that one?" Hades muttered to his wife.

"Why is that still around?"

"Can we burn that?"

"No! That's on a stele!" Chiron glared at the offending sibling who suggested that, glancing at Hermes in worry. Hermes was sitting with his head in his hands while Apollo placed a hand on his shoulder.

The stele of Hermes' daughter. The one he failed.

("Yes," Mr. Brunner... was the king god, and-")

"EXCUSE ME?!" Zeus roared, "HE IS NOT ONE OF US!"

Percy quirked an eyebrow. "I'm well aware of that." He said dryly. Kronos was far, far more powerful after all.

Some were confused by that, until they remembered one of his titles was the 'Defeater of Kronos'. Did that really mean Kronos came back? And so soon? Most refused to believe it, it was impossible. Others felt that it would be best to be prepared.

("God?" Mr. Brunner asked... rock to eat instead.)

"Told you, Zeus!" Poseidon smirked at his brother, who glared, but didn't say anything at a warning look from both Hestia and Hera.

(And later, when... girls behind me.)

"You said it girls, not that they have any room to be talking..." the goddesses who'd been eaten said.

"That was wholly disgusting." Hestia grimaced at the memory.

"So glad I didn't have to go through that." Aphrodite muttered to Artemis, who nodded in agreement.

("-and so there... "and the gods won.")

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Piper tentatively spoke up, "Did you just describe a world changing conflict of divine proportions as a 'big fight'?" She asked, trying to make sure she understood that correctly.

"Yup." Percy shrugged, grinning.

Athena kept reading before anything else could be said.

(Some snickers from the group.)

"There is nothing funny about war!" Nearly all those connected with the war domain said at once, glaring at the book.

Even Frank and Reyna were offended by this.

"That's not what they were actually laughing about." Grover said, shrugging. "I don't remember what it was, though."

(Behind me, Nancy... Kronos ate his kids'.")

All those who fought in the Titan war, even the Romans, snorted.

If only she knew... If only she knew.

("And why, Mr. Jackson,... matter in real life?")

"Busted..." Grover sang.

"It's a good question, though."

"Yeah, for mortals, maybe." Travis shrugged.

("Busted," Grover muttered.)

Everyone laughed while the two Grover's turned tomato red.

"Great minds..." Grover muttered, shrugging with a grin.

"Way to compliment yourself." Percy deadpanned. Grover's grin widened.

("Shut up,"... than her hair.)

"That doesn't sound too flattering." Aphrodite muttered.

"If I hadn't been there to see it for myself, I wouldn't believe that that was possible." Grover grumbled.

(At least Nancy... He had radar ears.)

"Horse ears." Hermes corrected, shaking off his earlier sorrow.

"So many pranks spoiled." Travis muttered, to the agreement of all his brothers.

Chiron hid a smirk, rather proud of himself at that moment.

Of course, if he hadn't been dealing with children of Hermes for so many years, his hearing and ability to sense trouble probably wouldn't be quite so finely tuned.

(I thought... "I don't know, sir.")

"Typical." Athena said to herself, not surprised in the least by that answer.

"I know now." Percy said darkly.

"But it is a good question for a non-demigod." Paul muttered to Sally, who shrugged, but nodded.

("I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed.)

Percy sighed, looking away.

"I hate that look."

"That's the worse."

("Well , half credit... us back outside?")

People looked at Chiron, all with incredulous looks on their faces.

"You call that a happy note?" Poseidon asked dryly.

Chiron shrugged, but didn't say anything.

(The class drifted off... acting like doofuses.)

Thalia smirked at Percy and Nico, who both pointedly ignored her.

Artemis noticed the interaction and frowned. She wasn't too thrilled about her future lieutenant having such a close relationship with two boys, but she wasn't going to say anything as long as it remained a sibling relationship.

Zoe merely frowned at her successor, but followed her mistress's lead.

(Grover and I... said, "Mr. Jackson.")

The futures groaned, exasperated. "Chiron, how could you think keeping Percy Jackson from his food was a good idea?" Thalia asked the trainer, partly amused. Everyone who was familiar with Perry's appetite agreed with her, while Chiron just flushed red.

Even the Romans knew how Percy ate and they had only known him for a day and a bit.

Annabeth saw the look on Hazel's face and laughed with a grin. "How long was he with you?" She asked, grinning at Percy's pout.

"He arrived just in time for dinner yesterday, we ate lunch just before coming here." Reyna answered. Percy had only been with them for three meals and they already knew his eating habits.

The rest of the Greeks started laughing at that, increasing Percy's pout.

(I knew what... Mr. Brunner. "Sir?")

"Wait, Prissy can be polite?" Clarisse inquired in an innocent voice that nobody was buying.

"Ha, ha." Percy said dryly, glaring slightly.

Annabeth had to try and stifle her laughter in Percy's shoulder.

(Mr. Brunner had... apply to it." "Oh.")

"There's a typical answer for Percy." Nico said with a smirk. "We should really make that his last name." He dodged Percy's swipe while the others snickered.

Hades was floored, trying to understand the dynamics of this group and his sons' place in it. Aside from the Romans, Leo, and Piper, the futures were all very close. They acted more like a family than the gods themselves did, that was for sure.

And they included his son in their family.

Ares also noticed the group dynamic with the future Greeks, but unlike Hades, he realized that the ease among them only came from fighting side by side together through some of the most horrific battles. Through situations where you had to trust the person beside you with your life.

His thoughts turned to the demigods titles-

His daughter slayed the Drakon.

Uncle P's kid beat a bunch of monsters, Titans who had long since been defeated or locked away. Several of them journeyed through the Sea of Monsters and the Labyrinth with Uncle P's kid. He could smell the Achilles Curse on the boy, although it was faint, like it was no longer there.

All of this pointed to a war within the next four years. And then there were his dreams...

He mentally shared his concerns with the rest of the council, sparking a fierce debate among his relatives. Zeus of course denied and possibility, Poseidon had a moment of panic when he finally realized the full implications of his sons' various titles, and the others were cautious.

The pause as the gods digested this information and debated this information was long enough to make the demigods antsy and a little nervous, until Percy finally had enough. "Hey, can we get some food sometime soon, I'm hungry."

It broke the tension, at least. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You're always hungry." She said fondly.

Hestia considered the time, then announced that they would eat after this chapter. "And then time for bed." She announced in a voice that left no room for argument. "It is past midnight, the children need their sleep." She glared the protesters into submission.

The futures decided not to say that it was still early afternoon for them.

("What you learn... you, Percy Jackson.")

"Ask for the best and the best you shall receive." Annabeth said with a smile. The others that fought alongside Percy agreed very enthusiastically.

Jason, Leo, and Piper glanced at each other, still not sure about Percy Jackson.

"If the war game was him not at his best, I'm not sure I want to see his best." Frank muttered to Hazel, who agreed thoughtfully. After all, how could somebody be at their best when they couldn't even remember what they were capable of? And to single-handedly destroy three Cohorts when not at his best?

Percy blushed, but smiled at Annabeth before kissing her quickly and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Athena was red from her efforts of not commenting, still hoping that her daughter being involved with a son of Poseidon would turn out to be a bad dream.

Annabeth was still trying to figure it out. How on earth did she, the daughter of Athena, fall for a son of Poseidon?! They shouldn't get along at all, let alone be together!

(I wanted to... me so hard.)

"And yet, if he hadn't, we would all be dead." Nico stated. The seriousness in his voice freaked out all the parents in the room, even Amphitrite and Persephone. They might not like their step-sons on principle, after all, they were by another woman, but it was also clear that their husbands cared.

Besides, they were mothers, of course they would care for children.

Jason frowned, but said nothing about what he was thinking. So far they hadn't heard anything to point towards any kind of greatness on Percy's part, although he would have to be blind to not notice how the Greeks looked to him.

(I mean, sure... suit of Roman armor)

The Romans in the room started, and Hazel asked, "Why Roman when you're Greek, sir?"

"Because I knew Percy was a powerful demigod, and I didn't want to draw attention to him or make him start realizing his heritage by having Greek items nearby." Chiron answered calmly. "Although I can assume that didn't work."

Both Percy and Grover were making faces and grumbling about how Chiron could have ever thought that would have worked.

(and shouted: "What ho!")

"'What ho'?" Thalia asked, eyebrow raised.

"What?" Chiron asked innocently.

"Where did that even come from?" Nico asked, frowning.

"Does it have to come from anywhere?" Chiron shrugged.

(and challenged us... less spell them correctly.)

Athena's derisive snort didn't go unnoticed, but before Poseidon could comment, Sally spoke up.

"Need I remind you, Lady Athena, that A) my son is dyslexic, and B) his mother is sitting right here, and she is not happy with your attitude towards him. And you do not want to see a MOTHER unhappy where her son is concerned." All this was said in a sweet tone that honestly scared people more than Hades Helm or Hermes signature smirk that made everyone want to run and hide until whatever he had planned was over.

Those demigods that knew and loved Sally were unsurprised, and were smirking in pride for the woman.

Percy, while he'd never heard his mother like that, was very proud of her. Paul rolled his eyes, but smiled, knowing how protective she was of her family.

Amphitrite looked at Sally with new eyes. She had a feeling she knew why Poseidon was drawn to her now.

(I mumbled something... this girl's funeral.)

Hermes flinched and looked away while Chiron sighed sadly. Most of the Council looked at Hermes sympathetically.

It was because of this girl that Zeus came up with the laws saying they couldn't get too involved with their own children. It was to keep a similar situation from happening by keeping the parents from becoming attached, of course that didn't mean anything to the children involved.

It was probably the most paternal thing Zeus had ever done for any of his sons. But it had taken Hermes years to recover from her loss, so nobody blamed Zeus for actually showing concern for once.

(He told me to... hurricane blowing in.)

"Weird weather, huh? So Father and Uncle P are mad about something and it happened around Christmas. Which is in a few days... Which means it had to have happened here. At our meeting, this is the only big thing in town right now." Apollo reasoned, surprising most of the room with his deductions.

It was Athena who answered him, still shocked. "Yes, but what could it have been to raise Poseidon's ire?" Even she, who hated Poseidon and was well known to, knew that Poseidon was normally slow to wrath, for all that he had a quick temper. This was a little... More, though, than just a quick temper.

She looked at the futures, hoping she could figure it out from them, but they were avoiding everybodies gaze. She did notice a few of them glance at Luke, though. She sat back, wondering how he was involved.

Luke was avoiding everybodies gaze, not wanting to give himself away. He'd seen the looks on the futures faces when they first arrived, and the ones they were giving him now. Which meant that he did it. He struck back, he started the fall of the gods. Then he remembered Percy's titles, his claim to have defeated Kronos, and his hopes deflated. He wasn't looking forward to one of them spilling his involvement with Kronos.

Hestia then requested that they continue reading, for as she said, "It's late enough and I want to get the kids to bed sometime this century."

(Nobody else seemed... from a lady's purse,)

"Lord Hermes, are you sure she is not yours?" Piper asked nervously, not quite comfortable speaking with them, let alone asking something like this.

"Don't even joke about that." Percy muttered, horrified. Grover mirrored his expression.

Hermes himself gagged at the thought while his sons looked just as horrified as Percy. "Absolutely sure. For one, I would remember that. And my children wouldn't be trying to get into her purse. They would have already taken everything from it." He said flatly.

His children sat up straighter at the compliment, even Luke although the futures noticed the grimace on his face when he realized what he'd done.

(and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.)

Both Grovers and Percy grumbled something that apparently only the three of them knew about, because after a few seconds, they looked at each other and nodded like a decision had just been made.

Frankly, this scared some people.

They didn't say anything loudly enough for each other to hear, nor did they debate whatever decision had just been reached. They just knew.

Hades had a bad feeling that this decision had something to do with him and/or his Fury.

(Grover and I sat... make it elsewhere.)

"How'd that work for ya?" Clarisse asked, smirking.

Percy was mature and stuck his tongue out before pulling Annabeth closer. He knew what was coming and he didn't like it, he also didn't want to deal with everyone else's reactions, especially his parents. He never did tell his mother exactly what happened, and it wouldn't have happened yet for his father. He didn't look forward to keeping his father from killing Hades, either.

"I thought we managed." Grover said to himself.

("Detention?" Grover... I mean- I'm not a genius.")

At this Athena gave Sally a pointed look, as if Percy saying it himself justified her opinion of him.

"There are different kinds of genius." Annabeth informed Percy quietly, and pointedly.

Sally agreed with her future daughter-in-law and leaned over to whisper in Percy's ear. Only Annabeth heard what she said, and she agreed one hundred percent.

(Grover didn't say...said, "Can I have your apple?")

The demigods couldn't avoid it, they burst out laughing. If anybody had been outside they might have thought a bomb had gone off, the explosion of noise from the demigods was so loud.

Both Grover's sat there, their faces far past tomato red and turning darker.

It took a good twenty minutes for the demigods to calm down enough for them to keep reading, especially when Annabeth called out something about apples and a hackey sack, which set Percy and herself off again.

(I didn't have...him take it.)

"Percy? Were you feeling alright? Because you've never not had an appetite." Annabeth looked at him in concern.

Percy was about to answer when Thalia spoke up, "You should have seen him after the... er, Maine fiasco. I had to force him to eat from the moment we got back to camp up until after the solstice meeting."

All the futures who had been there when they got back from Maine nodded, they remembered that. In fact, they had been surprised that Thalia was still concerned enough to make him eat after the business by the creek after Capture the Flag.

The parents were concerned about what might have happened in Maine, and why Thalia would have to force him to eat. Sally was the only one who had some idea of what Thalia was talking about.

"I had a lot on my mind." Percy finally said before they could keep reading.

(I watched the...look she'd give me.)

Sally looked proud of this statement. Paul looked proud of his wife. Personally, he thought that to disappoint Sally might be the end of the world in some respects.

Percy was embarrassed by his private thoughts being read for everyone to hear. Until...

"Mama's boy!" Ares coughed. He officially earned himself a death glare from both Percy and Hera.

"And proud of it." Percy growled.

Hera sort of wished that she had that kind of relationship with her sons, they never respected her or listened to anything she said, ever.

(Mr. Brunner parked...motorized café table.)

Leo bounced a little in his seat at the brief description, interested in getting his hands on it and taking it apart, whether to just tinker with it or to... Improve it, Leo style.

Hephaestus noticed his sons excitement and smile. Maybe he should show him around the shop sometime. Beckendorf glanced at Leo, too, and thought that he and his newest brother would get along fabulously.

(I was about to...lunch in Grover's lap.)

"That sounds disgusting." both Clarisse's said in unison, shocking everybody there. It wasn't so much that they said in unison, as much as that Clarisse La Rue found something disgusting.

"It was." Grover deadpanned.

("Oops." She...with liquid Cheetos.)

"Oh dear, I don't think there is anything I can do for her." Aphrodite said faintly, now that the others looked at her, she looked a little green.

"I don't think there is, no." Piper agreed with her mother, grimacing.

"Not mine." Hermes said again.

(I tried to stay cool...A wave roared in my ears.)

At this, all those from the Sea perked up, eager to hear what this boy could do. Poseidon already had an idea after the little he was able to see as his son grew up, but he still enjoyed hearing about it right now. Amphitrite and Triton were just interested in whether or not Percy would be worth the trouble. The boy was starting to grow on them, however reluctant it might be.

"This should be good." Katie murmured to the others, all of them were well acquainted with Percy's temper.

Annabeth tilted her head at the word 'wave', but otherwise didn't react.

(I don't remember... "Percy pushed me!")

The Sea people's curiosity grew, wondering what happened here.

Percy smirked, while Grover shook his head. This was when he'd started to think that maybe Percy's parentage was a little more powerful than he'd first thought, despite Percy's stronger than normal scent, even while unaware.

A few people were more concerned with Nancy's sanity after Percy was done with her, but not too concerned because so far she was nothing but a little bully.

(Mrs. Dodds materialized... it grabbed her-")

The Sea people laughed, Poseidon beaming in pride. Triton and Amphitrite were what had most people shocked, though, especially when they refused to share what they found so funny.

They were laughing at the fact that the water responded in such a way, an almost instinctive way. Percy truly was powerful.

Percy smiled slightly as he saw Triton and Amphitrite react in such a way. They were definitely more open now than they were last time he saw them just after the war.

(I didn't know... in trouble again.)

Sally grumbled something that nobody else could hear, but Paul thought he caught something about manhunts and innocence. The futures just looked at Sally sympathetically.

Percy got no sympathy, ok, maybe a little, but he was the one always getting into trouble, whether it be with the police for something or with the school (usually for the same thing), while poor Sally worried or tried to clean the mess somehow.

(As soon as Mrs. Dodds... "Now, honey-")

Nico and Percy shuddered at that. "I hate that." Nico muttered in revulsion.

Grover grimaced at the memories, period.

"If I never get called that by her again, it will be too soon." Percy deadpanned.

"You don't have to live with her." Nico informed him dryly.

"Thank goodness." Percy sighed in relief.

("I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks.")

"That is cruel and unusual punishment." Travis said deadpanned.

"We should report her." Connor decided, his brothers, Hermes, and Apollo agreed.

"Good luck with that." Grover informed them.

"And Percy? You should know better than to guess a punishment like that." Hermes informed the demigod sternly.

"Yeah, I know." Percy sighed.

(That wasn't the right thing to say.)

Percy ignored the pointed glance from Hermes.

"You don't say." Leo grumbled.

("Come with me... scared Grover to death.)

"For good reason," Grover defended himself, to Nico and Percy's agreement. Grover nodded frantically. He wasn't sure what she was, but she wasn't anything good, that was for sure.

"She is not somebody you want to cross." Hades admitted, making the other parents freak out a little.

Just how many times did these kids run into Furies? Nico they could understand, but Percy and Grover weren't children of the Underworld, they should never have met her even once after her stint as a math teacher was over.

(She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.)

"Don't even think about it." Katie cut in suddenly, glaring at all four of the Stolls, who were giving each other looks with mischief in their eyes.

The look she gave them made her mother proud while Hades cringed a little, thinking about how much she looked like Demeter when she was on another rant about how he stole her precious daughter. By now, he was immune to the Look, but that didn't mean he liked her going off on him.

The Stolls were about to complain that Katie sucked all the joy out of life sometimes, but Athena kept reading. She was getting very annoyed by all the interruptions and wanted to get this chapter over with.

She made a mental note to herself to not volunteer to read again.

("I don't think so... "Thanks for trying.")

Percy and Grover grinned at each other, thinking of all the times over the years they had each others backs.

Grover's grin faded a little when he remembered where Percy was in their time, and how he couldn't help this time. He had finally managed to break through whatever was blocking their empathy link, but from all appearances when Percy first appeared in the throne room, he was also starting another quest. Without him.

Sure, if anybody knew just how well he could handle himself it was him and Annabeth, but...

Percy noticed the look on his face change, grinned, and said, "Hey, don't worry man, I'll come back. You honestly think I would let something happen to me out there? Annabeth would kill me!"

"I don't suppose there is any way you will sit this one quest out? For us?" Grover asked tentatively, sure this was Percy he was talking to, and he knew that. But he also knew Percy would do almost anything his friends asked of him if he had a say in it.

Percy sighed, "'Fraid not man, my presence on this one is ordered by Mars, and as much as I hate following his orders... besides, Juno promised me my memories back if I behaved."

If looks could kill, both Ares and Hera would have been fried by the future Greeks, none of which appreciated their Percy being sent on a Roman quest with his memories being dangled in front of him like bait.

Needless to say, Poseidon and Sally were not happy either.

("Honey," Mrs... Bobofit smirked.)

Demigods and gods alike quietly plotted her demise, especially Dionysus and Hermes.

If the two gods had their way, she would die slowly and painfully for how she was treating one of their Satyrs.

(I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.)

Those who had ever had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of that stare shuddered and actively tried to forget all about it. Percy noticed and smirked, getting a disgruntled stare from several of his friends.

Then Percy remembered what happened next, and his grip on Annabeth's hand tightened while he frowned. She glanced at him, concerned, but didn't say anything. She didn't remember him saying anything about being attacked in a museum, but then she also knew that he didn't tell her everything that happened when she wasn't with him.

(Then I turned to... How'd she get there so fast?)

What little light atmosphere was in the room disappeared, all of them on edge waiting for what happened next. They already knew she was a Fury, but she was starting to let go of her disguise, and she was taking a Son of Poseidon off on his own right after he outed himself in front of her. This could not be good, not at all.

Jason leaned forward, wondering if he was finally going to hear something interesting about Percy Jackson. Either he was going to escape the encounter, or somebody was going to come save him. His money was on somebody coming and saving him, especially since at this point Percy was completely untrained. The thought crossed his mind that he would have been able to handle the Fury just fine... Most likely.

(I have moments like... misinterpreting things.)

"Yeah, I don't think so." Reyna said dryly.

Athena looked at Percy like he was an absolute idiot, to which Percy just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

(I wasn't so sure.)

Percy gave Athena a pointed look that she just as pointedly ignored.

(I went after Mrs... absorbed in his novel.)

"Really, Chiron?"

"Is now really the time to be distracted?"

"I'm sure I wasn't as absorbed as I appeared." Chiron tried to reassure everyone, but even he was skeptical, it all depended on what book he was reading to be honest.

"I think he was paying attention to what was happening, he went after them before I could say anything about it to him, at least." Grover shrugged.

That didn't stop Sally and Poseidon from glaring at the centaur, or Sally from muttering some very unflattering things towards him that shocked Percy.

(I looked back up... at the gift shop.)

"That would be a suitable punishment, assuming you have money to buy one with." Paul said, glancing at Percy. He was well aware of the financial issues Sally was having before getting rid of Gabe, so it was a valid question.

"Mom sent me something when the school sent the permission paperwork for the field trip." Percy shrugged.

"Somehow I don't think this will be as simple as that." Hades said slowly. Alecto had just had confirmation that Percy was indeed a child of Poseidon, she would want to get him alone to question him about... why ever it was she was there in the first place. He doubted that he would have put her there just for being his brothers son.

"She's getting him alone." Thalia said, reminding everyone that Mrs. Dodds wasn't some harmless lady.

(But apparently that... Greek and Roman section.)

Everybody sat on the edge of their seats, curious. The Greeks were trying to remember if Percy had ever mentioned anything like this before, but couldn't remember hearing anything about a museum. But then, Percy didn't talk about his time before coming to Camp Half-Blood much.

Percy just held Annabeth tighter, trying to avoid his parents' reactions. Sally knew some of the story, but not all of it. Poseidon was glaring at Hades, promising death if anything happened to his son by her hands. The only reassurance he took was that Percy was here, and his long list of accomplishments could not have happened if he was killed in this museum.

(Except for us, the... wanted to pulverize it...)

"Oh, she'd better not." Hermes growled, glaring at the thought of his daughter's Stele being destroyed.

"She won't." Hades assured him quickly, not wanting to get on the messengers bad side. He quite liked having delivery service, no need to get it revoked somehow, or worse. All his glass orders coming in pieces.

("You've been giving... I said, "Yes, ma'am.")

"Were you feeling alright?" Thalia asked, she even went so far as to try and feel his forehead.

"I was fine." He shoved her hand away and glared.

"You're not normally so respectful. Or safe." Nico pointed out, equally concerned. Percy shrugged.

(She tugged on the cuffs... mad. It was evil.)

The tension in the room was so thick by this point, not even Percy's random humor could help ease it.

"She is not evil." Hades muttered sourly, quietly so that Poseidon did not hear and take it as a challenge of some sort.

"Not the time." Persephone whispered pointedly.

"What is he supposed to have gotten away with?" Athena wondered to herself, confused. Apollo sat back and hummed, thinking back to his earlier assessment, idly his eyes scanned the demigods who were here for the meeting, wondering just what one of them had done.

(She's a teacher... shook the building.)

"Whatever is going on, that was not the kind of answer Father wanted to hear." Artemis muttered to her brother, who nodded in agreement while quite a few people glared at the King.

("We are not... will suffer less pain.")

'Confess to what?' Most of the people wondered.

"Oh, Percy is not going to take well to being blamed." Nico and Thalia muttered at the same time.

"He didn't." Grover assured them.

"Oh, is this about the... Thing? That you had to handle that summer?" Clarisse asked Percy, realizing that this would be the first confrontation Percy had about the Bolt.

"Yup." Percy sighed, glaring at the wall like it personally offended him. Luke perked up and glanced between the future Greeks.

"Ouch." Was all Clarisse said.

"Why do they always threaten 'less pain'? Why can't they promise 'no pain'?" Travis asked his brother, rolling his eyes. Connor shrugged, not sure.

(I didn't know... make me read the book.)

"Percy!" Sally sighed, exasperated. Paul gave him an unimpressed look, but didn't say anything.

"Sorry, mom." Percy mumbled. The Stolls looked like Christmas had come early, thrilled to learn this about their friend and leader.

Athena looked murderous, until Annabeth looked at her and just said, "Dyslexia."

("Well?" she demanded... to slice me to ribbons.)

The tension in the room skyrocketed when Alecto finally shed her disguise.

"She's not hiding anymore." Persephone swallowed, having seen Alecto in action.

"She's done pretending." Hades agreed grimly.

Jason glanced at Percy, wondering who saved Percy, because there was no way a kid with absolutely no training was going to defeat or escape from a Fury by himself. Not even he could have done this at twelve, and he'd trained all his life.

Poseidon was so angry, and so worried, that he actually started to hyperventilate, to the point where Percy and Triton accidentally worked together to wrap their father in a cocoon of salt-water.

(Then things got even stranger.)

"Is that even possible?" Rachel snorted while she drew random things on a pad she'd gotten from somewhere. She knew what Percy would have gone through, having gone through it herself when Percy first swung a sword through her body.

"How could this get any stranger?"

"You'll see." Percy snorted. Knowing Mr. Brunner, he really shouldn't have been so surprised, though.

(Mr. Brunner, who'd... a pen in his hand.)

"A pen?" Gwen asked, confused.

"Probably his sword." Reyna mused thoughtfully, eyeing Chiron. Most of the Romans had seen him use Riptide, both during the fight with the Gorgons when he first arrived, and during the War Games when he destroyed the First and Second Cohorts.

"What's a pen going to do?" Travis scoffed. Everyone else who did not know nodded in agreement.

"You'll see." Percy said mysteriously, grinning slightly. Zoe frowned at him, but didn't say anything.

("What ho... through the air.)

"Ok, seriously. What is with the pen?" Connor asked, very confused about what a pen was going to do in this situation. This was one case where the pen was not mightier than the sword.

"You'll see." Percy said again, while everyone else that knew what it was smirked and leaned forward in anticipation.

This was going to be good.

(Mrs. Dodds lunged at me... on tournament day.)

The younger demigod's jaws dropped. "The pen is a sword?" Chris demanded of nobody in particular.

"An awesome sword!" Connor grinned.

"I wish my spear was enchanted like Riptide is." Clarisse muttered to herself, not for the first time.

Percy smirked and pulled the pen out of his pocket, flicking off the cap. He and Thalia were the only ones that took note of Zoe's gasp, or Artemis reaching out to comfort her Huntress. Percy withheld a sigh, knowing he was going to have to talk to her later.

Jason caught himself reaching into his pocket to pull out his coin, but stopped. He once again wished that his weapon hadn't been destroyed.

(Mrs. Dodds spun... dropped the sword.)

Ares couldn't help himself. "How weak can you be?" He barked, glaring. "Shaky hands? Jelly legs? And you never drop your sword!"

"Don't you dare talk to my son that way!" Sally glared, proving who Percy had inherited his famous Death Glare from. Ares fell silent, and sat back, eyeing her warily with one eye while the other watched Poseidon, who was currently fingering his Trident while glaring at his nephew.

Percy snorted. "I'd like to see you in this situation, with absolutely no clue what was going on, see how you handle it." He muttered. He liked to think that he handled it perfectly well, thank you very much.

"Not to worry, I think I would be concerned if you were not scared in this situation." Chiron assured Percy, earning a smile from Sally before she returned to glaring at Ares.

(She snarled, "Die honey!")

At that, the Stolls burst out laughing, making a few people jump.

"What is so funny?" Thalia demanded, confused at what they could possibly find amusing when Percy is currently being attacked by a Fury.

"I just got the image of a Fury attacking honey." Travis shrugged, calming down slightly.

"Your brain is a scary place." Luke deadpanned, shaking his head in amusement despite himself. Everyone else laughed at the four of them, and if it was a little hysterical, nobody was going to hold it against them given the current situation in the book.

Connor and Travis paused for a second before beaming a grin at their older brother, not letting their emotions towards him show.

(And she flew straight at me.)

The light mood that Stoll brothers' laughter caused evaporated and everyone was back to sitting at the edge of their seats in nervous anticipation. (Sally was being held together by Paul, and Poseidon was gripping the arm rests of his throne so hard they were starting to crack).

How did Percy get out of this one?

(Absolute terror ran... swung the sword.)

"Naturally?"

"Most people's natural reaction to having something fly at them is to drop whatever they are holding and try to shield their face." Athena muttered to herself, eyeing Percy with narrowed eyes.

The futures just smirked, having expected nothing less from the best swordsman in centuries. They were, however, concerned that he didn't have the strength, stamina, or muscle memory to truly fight her off.

Jason narrowed his eyes, thinking that that didn't really tell him anything just yet other than that he had a lot of potential as a swordsman.

(The metal blade... of water. Hisss!)

Everyone stared at Percy in shock, while his parents started to relax. He had done it, she was gone, he was safe.

"Holy..."

"How in the name of all that is holy..."

"Is this the first time he's held a sword?" Dakota asked quietly, eyes wide in surprise. The rest of the Romans were just as shocked. Yes, they knew he was powerful. He'd proven that beyond a doubt in the few days he was with them. But defeating a Fury when he had zero training?! Even if it sounded like a lucky shot, that was still quite the feat.

Percy heard him and glanced over, smirking slightly.

Jason stared in shock. Not even he could have accomplished this at that age, after all. He thought that they were finally getting into a little of Percy in these books. This, while impressive, still wasn't enough to tell him what he really wanted to know, though.

Finally, Athena kept reading, breaking the shocked silence.

(Mrs. Dodds was a... still watching me.)

Everyone shuddered, except Hades and Persephone, who were used to Alecto's ways.

The Lord and Lady of the Underworld instead watched Percy thoughtfully.

"Creepy." Travis muttered to his brothers, who agreed.

"Try living with her." Nico deadpanned. She creeped him out sometimes, and she actually kind of liked him.

(I was alone... mushrooms or something.)

Hera raised an eyebrow and glanced at Chiron. "I think you overdid it with the Mist." She commented.

"That might actually be my influence as well." Poseidon offered, shrugging. Now that she was gone, he was much more relaxed. Her retribution, if she was ever in a position to carry it out, was for the future to worry about.

"I would have probably put more power into it because of that." Chiron agreed with Poseidon. "I knew he was a Child of the Sea, I guessed that he was yours, but I wasn't sure..." Percy glared at Chiron for deliberately overpowering his Mist manipulation.

(Had I imagined the whole thing?)

"It's a valid question." Rachel defended Percy when she noticed the looks he was getting from the others.

"You do have a very vivid imagination sometimes." Annabeth said after a moment.

Percy shrugged.

(I went back outside... whipped your butt.")

"Woah, woah, woah, hold it. Chiron, are you telling me that you found a teacher to replace Mrs. Dodds in less then maybe 10 minutes?!" Apollo was a little freaked (but mostly awed) at how sneaky the old horse could be.

Chiron chuckled. "Angelina Kerr is a daughter of Athena who I contacted when I first went to Yancy. I asked if she could be ready to step in if I needed to return to camp, but needed somebody to stay and keep an eye on the young demigod I was there to see. I imagine that Mrs. Dodds revealing herself to be Alecto would qualify as the kind of situation I asked her to be ready for."

"I wondered where Angie went." Annabeth muttered. She'd just graduated college and started working last she heard. "Remind her to visit Camp more often." She requested of Chiron, who smiled and promised that he would.

(I said, "Who?"

"Our teacher . Duh!")

Nico snorted. "Yeah! Duh! How could you forget who your math teacher was?" He asked with a smirk.

"Quite easily, I think." Percy rolled his eyes. "There are some things I don't want to remember." He muttered.

(I blinked. We... and turned away.)

"That was mild for her." Grover commented.

"Tell me about it." Percy said.

Their comments didn't stop Poseidon from thinking about cursing her.

(I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was. He said, "Who?")

"That's not bad, simple." Hermes said, although there was one little fact about Satyrs...

"Grover..." Percy sighed. "We gotta work on that." He commented.

"Although you did get better." Annabeth told the younger Grover reassuringly.

(But he paused... messing with me.)

They couldn't lie to save their furry butts. Hermes sighed.

"We're going to have to work on that." Travis told his brothers, who smirked and nodded.

Grover shuddered.

("Not funny, man,... Thunder boomed overhead.)

"What was that all about?" Hera questioned her husband quietly.

"How am I supposed to know?" Zeus asked defensively. These events hadn't happened yet. But whatever was going on, he had no doubt that he was watching everything very closely.

(I saw Mr... he'd never moved.)

"You moved fast." Apollo snorted.

"Practice." Chiron deadpanned.

(I went over to... the future, Mr. Jackson.")

"I think I'll stick with mine." Percy said dryly. "You can't have it!" He warned Chiron, clutching his pen to his chest protectively.

His antics made the demigods start laughing, while the more immature gods fought not to do the same.

The only one not amused was Athena. But she also really did not like Percy.

(I handed Mr... me blankly. "Who?")

"That's how you lie." Hermes said, smirking.

Chiron sighed. "That's not necessarily a good thing to do." He reminded his nephew. Hermes shrugged.

"I thought I was going nuts." Percy informed Chiron frostily. He was still a little sour over those last few months at Yancy, he'd honestly had no idea what was going on.

"Sorry, Percy." Chiron sighed again. He trusted that the deception had been necessary to try and protect Percy from the Divine world for just that little bit longer, even if he knew it was a fools hope now that Percy had the attention from the Fury's, and therefore Hades himself.

("The other chaperone... Are you feeling alright?")

Percy glared at Chiron with a slight growl. Chiron at least had the decency to look sheepish.

Hermes smirked again, but didn't say anything this time, not wanting to get his uncle after him.

Hestia glanced at time again, declared a short snack, then bed. Those who complained that they weren't tired (Hermes, Apollo, Ares, and the younger demigods) got treated to that glare that only mothers can pull off.

After seeing the Look, the futures quietly decided not to inform her that it was early afternoon for them, and they were actually not tired.

She made food appear, which didn't last long before the demigods had it demolished. Thalia, Percy, and Nico ate the most, being three of the most powerful demigods in the room, and the biggest eaters as a result.

"We will have breakfast at ten, and will resume reading at ten thirty." Zeus declared, glancing at Hestia, who approved of him taking the late hour into account for the children's sake.

"Alright, I'll send you to your rooms. I will be in in ten minutes to check that you are all in bed." She warned, and flashed them to the rooms she'd taken a moment to prepare for them. "Chiron, you have your usual room, of course. I put them right down the hall from you." She informed the Centaur, who merely smiled and left the Throne room.

"Goodnight." Poseidon told his siblings, nieces, and nephews before he strolled out with his wife and son.

Chapter 3: Bedtime

Notes:

Rewrite done: 7-14-23 Some content added, grammar and such fixed, etc.

New chapter! Ok, so no new people this chapter, just some random stuff, but enjoy it anyway!

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underline).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

"We will have breakfast at ten, and will resume reading at ten thirty." Zeus declared, glancing at Hestia, who approved of him taking the late hour into account for the children's sake.

"Alright, I'll send you to your rooms. I will be in in ten minutes to check that you are all in bed." She warned, and flashed them to the rooms she'd taken a moment to prepare for them. "Chiron, you have your usual room, of course. I put them right down the hall from you." She informed the Centaur, who merely smiled and left the Throne room.

"Goodnight." Poseidon told his siblings, nieces, and nephews before he strolled out with his wife and son.

While the younger demigods went straight to bed, the futures stayed up a while longer and talked.

"I said in bed." Hestia told them sternly, raising an eyebrow.

"It was early afternoon for us when we were brought here. It's really only dinnertime for us right now." Percy told her, shrugging.

"Hmm. Alright, but only another hour. Zeus gets cranky when his schedules are not followed sometimes." She warned them, rolling her eyes as she thought of her brother and his reactions sometimes.

"Yes, ma'am." They chorused. She shook her head and left them to it, resolving to check back to make sure they listened, but knowing that she could trust them to obey.

"So what's been up with you the last few months?" Clarisse asked Percy when she was gone.

Percy shrugged. "Well, I only woke up a couple of months ago. Hera had me asleep or something for a while before that."

"What?" Annabeth asked dangerously, and looked ready to go hunt Hera down. Percy patiently pulled her back to her seat and gave her a Look that made her back down with a grumble.

"Anyway, I trained with Lupa at the Wolf House for a couple of months, and then made my way to Camp Jupiter. I arrived the day before yesterday and was accepted into the Fifth Cohort. We were just leaving for our quest when we were pulled here." He gestured towards Frank and Hazel. He didn't elaborate because he didn't want Annabeth to worry. She'd worried enough over the last few months, in his opinion.

Frank snorted. "He's leaving out that he was chased by Gorgons almost the entire way." He rolled his eyes.

"And then fought and finally killed them at the banks of the Little Tiber." Gwen added, shaking her head. Percy groaned when he saw Annabeth's eyes widen and her head whip around to stare at him.

He could really kill Frank and Gwen right now.

Percy's POV

Annabeth freaked out a little, which he knew she would. Especially after everything with Medusa during the first quest. Plus how worried she would have been after he disappeared for so many months... Sure, she knows he can take care of himself, but they can both be... Protective of each other.

Percy sighed and glared at Frank, who looked back innocently. He glared harder, even though he was a little impressed, who knew the guy had a devious streak in him.

Finally, he faced Annabeth again with a grimace while making a mental note to make everybody regret laughing later. Percy was sure he could get everybody into a training arena at some point while they were on Olympus. In the meantime, Annabeth had her 'Perseus Jackson, you tell me what happened right now' look.

It didn't help that she was fingering her knife for some reason.

Percy was sure he did not want to find out that reason.

He sighed again. "I stopped at a Bargain Mart somewhere in California after I left the Wolf House, the Gorgons were... I think they were actual employees and not just hanging out there for Demigods to come along. It was close to the Wolf House, anybody heading to Camp Jupiter would have to pass by the town it was in." He glanced at Reyna, who frowned and didn't say anything. "Well, they decided to chase me in revenge for their sister... Apparently they could smell her on me."

"That's not good." Annabeth and Grover both said at once.

"Why? What's so special about-" Thalia started to ask, confused.

"It should be in the books. Don't want to spoil everything." Percy cut her off, smiling mysteriously.

"They chased the entire way to Camp Jupiter. I must have killed them over a dozen times, they just kept coming. I dropped bowling balls on them, I ran them over in a police car, I cut their heads off..." He threw his hands up in frustration at the memory of his failure to kill the two of them. He decided not to mention that the only reason he survived them was because of the Curse. "They would. Not. Die." He said again.

"We've been noticing that problem." Clarisse said dryly.

"Because the Doors of Death are open. And Thanatos is chained." Nico guessed, sighing and running a hand over his face.

"Yeah, well. I fought and strangled a sea snake a few days ago, stole a couple of cars, a lot of food and random supplies, and mostly ran from the Gorgons for the last two weeks." Percy shrugged. That was fairly normal for his life, as sad as that was to say.

"Did you say you ran her over with a police car?" Travis asked with a wicked grin.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yes..." He said slowly, sure he knew what they were going to say. "And no, we are not going carjacking together." He rolled his eyes. He only stole when he had to, as any demigod who was not a child of Hermes did.

"Aww!" The Stolls pouted with a whine.

"When I finally reached the entrance to camp, I had to carry Juno across the highway. Frank and Hazel were on sentry duty and helped hold the Gorgons off long enough for the three of us to reach the Little Tiber, and I used the river to kill the Gorgons. The current was enough to keep them from immediately reforming again, and they flowed away." He shook his head, then hesitated. "The Little Tiber washed away my curse." He informed his Greek friends grimly.

"That would have been handy in the coming fights." Clarisse cursed quietly. The Romans were very obviously confused, but didn't ask about it just yet.

"Yeah... But it always left me so exhausted afterward. It was a double edged sword." Percy shook his head. Annabeth squeezed his hand in comfort.

"You're better off without it." Nico announced. "I only suggested it in the first place because we were desperate." He shook his head while the rest of the Greeks agreed.

"What he didn't say was that they'd caught me and were going to rip me in half before Percy made the water turn into two giant hands and ripped them apart!" Frank informed the Greeks in awe, making Percy squirm a little at the way he put that.

Annabeth smiled slightly. "That's a son of Poseidon thing. Just wait until we read about the first time Percy controlled water at our camp." Her eyes sparkled mischievously when Clarisse growled.

"You know, I think that's the last time Clarisse tried to initiate newbies..." Connor said thoughtfully with a laugh, which only confused the Romans more.

"I don't think she's over that yet." Percy quietly pointed out to Annabeth when he saw the scowl on Clarisse's face. Annabeth shook her head with a smile.

"Alright, bed." Hestia came back, this time with Sally and Paul behind her.

The Greeks protested some more, but Sally grinned. "I'll have cookies waiting for you in the morning if you go to bed now." She dangled in front of them.

The Greeks might as well have teleported to their rooms in the suite.

Meanwhile, with the gods...

The gods had all drifted to their own areas of the Palace, some of them may have their own palaces elsewhere, like Poseidon and Hades, but they all had rooms in Zeus's palace just in case they needed to stay over for something.

When Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Triton got to their rooms, Poseidon tried to get away from the talk he was sure was coming, but didn't move fast enough.

Amphitrite grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the couch, then she and Triton stood in front of him, watching and waiting for him to crack under the pressure of an "angry" wife and annoyed son.

She wasn't really angry, not anymore. She had been watching Sally, saw how the mortal interacted with her son and the other demigods, saw the looks Percy gave her; it was quite clear to her how Sally had caught Poseidon's eye and honestly, she didn't blame him. She just wanted him to think she was still angry. Call it the wife's prerogative.

Triton, on the other hand (although yeah, he was kinda annoyed that his father had cheated on Mother, again) thought Percy was a pretty cool guy. Everyone from the future certainly seemed to look up to him, even the Romans. And Rome never liked his father, in fact, he would have to say they only tolerated him slightly better than they did Minerva. And to say they didn't like her was the understatement of the century. Only that Jupiter kid seemed to be a little... Wary of Percy. There didn't seem to be anything to really worry about there, though.

Finally, Poseidon couldn't stand the two of them standing there staring at him and nervously demanded Amphitrite to say something.

"You know, I was angry, I'm still annoyed by this all, but... I think I can understand what attracted you to this mortal. That doesn't mean I'm happy about it, and I realize it will happen again, as much I will not be pleased. But..." Amphitrite trailed off. Poseidon just stared at her. She... understood? He wasn't expecting that, he was expecting a lecture and shouting, not... understanding. It didn't surprise him that she wasn't happy, but he was not expecting her to say she understood. Nervously he looked at his oldest son.

Triton caught his look and said, "I think Percy is pretty cool, of course, I'm not too happy either that you cheated on Mother again, but I like him. He seems like a cool little bro."

Poseidon was floored. They weren't nearly as angry as he thought they would be, they were way too understanding.

But, isn't this what he wanted for Percy? For his immortal family to accept him? Poseidon never expected them to like him of course, he was the product of two broken oaths, the oath to never have children again and his marriage oaths... ok yeah, maybe being with Sally wasn't using his best judgement. But, they were understanding! This was more than he could have ever imagined. Maybe this whole reading thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

He didn't let any of his excitement show through though, instead he just grinned and suggested they all go to bed.

Hera and Zeus...

Hera didn't speak to Zeus all night. While she could admit that it was not the children's fault their father couldn't control himself, the fact of the matter was that she was not as accepting of them.

She was the goddess of marriage, and the man she was MARRIED to, couldn't keep his own MARRIAGE vows for anything. Plus there was the oath to not have anymore demigod children after WWII. An oath which, by the way, was his idea in the first place!

She didn't like demigod children on principle, especially those from gods that were already married, and she disliked her husband's demigod children even more. She could, however, admit that if she let herself forget for a bit that they belonged to Zeus, she could see herself liking them, but she had an image and principles to uphold.

To make matters worse, they were both by the same woman! He didn't even have the guts to come to her in one form, he came to her in both forms!

Zeus took his wife's fuming silence in stride. He knew he should probably say something, but he knew better. This was Hera here. His wife. He may be the king, but saying 'don't poke the sleeping tiger' was very, very accurate and a good life rule. It didn't matter who you were.

He was just glad that her silence meant his ears would be intact the next morning. His wife could yell when she was worked up.

Hades and Persephone...

Persephone could care less about Hazel and Nico being here. They were nothing new to her, they'd been around a while. She'd known about them for years.

She knew for a fact that a lot of the other Olympians would be surprised that her husband kept the Oath, and was the only one to do so. And he was the one who wanted to take it the least, it had only taken Zeus threatening to literally tie him down and leave him for the crows that he reluctantly gave it.

And besides, while she hated that they were a product of her husbands cheating, she was game enough to admit that they were possibly the favorite of all her demigod stepchildren.

"I don't understand it." Hades muttered. "How are they here?" He asked his wife.

"Hazel should be in the Fields of Asphodel. Nico should still be in the Casino." She said, understanding what he was talking about. "Something must have happened for you to decide it was safe to bring Nico and Bianca out. Hazel... that I do not know how to explain, but that the future must be a dark place." She offered. She would say that the Fates brought the girl here from the Underworld, but the Roman's interactions with her suggested otherwise.

"If Nico is here, then where is Bianca?" Hades said quietly, looking at her.

She hesitated. "You know the life of a demigod better than I, husband." She murmured. He interacted with the dead more than she, and tried to oversee the demigods' journeys to his realm.

He swallowed. "Yeah." He said even more quietly than before.

"I'm not saying that is what happened, but..." She hurried to say before trailing off.

"I know." He smiled slightly. "I'll ask Nico in the morning." He sighed.

He wasn't about to complain that his daughter was alive, of course not! But there were rules. Laws older than he governing life and death. Her presence here made him truly fear for the future.

By the time 10 o'clock rolled around, all the demigods were up except for the older Greeks, even Leo and Piper were up. The Romans were up at their usual six a.m., despite being up late talking, purely because of their training. They had to learn quickly when joining the legion to get up or face the consequences. Laziness or oversleeping was not tolerated, the only way you could get away with not getting up was if you were ill or recovering from injury.

The older Greeks, on the other hand, were very adept at being wide awake in seconds. But they'd learned over the years that if you could sleep, you sleep.

It was a lesson the younger Greeks had yet to learn.

For those futures that had a younger counterpart at the reading, said counterpart was given the task of waking up their older self. This was done under the assumption that they would know best how to accomplish the task. Needless to say, they all failed. (Annabeth flushed very red at the discovery of Annabeth and Percy sharing a bed (fully clothed!) and couldn't focus on her task).

Nothing any of them did worked, not even when Luke tried the one thing that could get Connor and Travis up in the mornings.

Sally watched in amusement. Finally, she took pity and walked into the middle of the common area. "Alright, kids. Move out the way, get out of any doorways, get out of any potential paths between them and the door to the hall." She warned them, and waited until they were out of the way. Then she held up the bag in her hand, opened it, and yelled, "COOKIES! COME AND GET THEM!"

They shot out of bed, wide awake as if the younger kids had not been trying to get them up for the past ten minutes, and ran out of the room to the kitchens, not even bothering to change into day clothes.

"I have them on me!" Sally called after them, rolling her eyes.

Several of them pulled a one-eighty so fast they were tripping over themselves, meaning Percy was the first to reach his mother. He grabbed the bag, kissed her cheek and raced back out of the room with the other demigods in hot pursuit.

"Give me those!"

"Share!"

"Don't hog them all, pig!"

"Give me cookies or give me death!"

Those left behind could only stare in shock as the group disappeared around a corner (leading towards the gardens, they thought).

"What just happened?" Annabeth asked slowly, shocked at the display her, her! older self just gave.

Sally merely smiled mysteriously and pulled out another bag, handing out cookies.

"Did I hear somebody yell cookies?" Poseidon poked his head into the room hopefully, homing in on the bag in Sally's hands.

She rolled her eyes fondly and held one out for him, making him flash to her side quickly. "Hmm." He hummed in appreciation at his first bite. "If you were a goddess, your domain would be cookies." He decided (ignoring her blush), and snitched a few more. "Hera sent me to find out what was taking so long, she and Zeus are impatient to start the reading for the day, and Hestia refuses to start until after all of you had eaten." He informed the demigods, kissing Sally on the cheek absently in thanks for the cookies before he went to find his son and the rest of the older group.

"These are so good!" Several of the kids said at once, awed.

"You would make an amazing goddess of cookies." Chris agreed with Poseidon.

Sally blushed harder. "Come on, breakfast!" She declared, and herded the group towards the kitchens.

Poseidon had somehow found and herded the 'cookie hoard' towards the kitchens before Sally and Paul got their group there, and everyone started eating.

"Hey, mom! Make more next time, please!" Percy asked his mother with a small grin.

"No need to start another Great Cookie War!" Annabeth joked slightly.

Sally didn't say anything, merely winked at the younger kids.

"Are we ready to start reading finally?" Zeus asked impatiently, looking at his sister in annoyance.

She raised an eyebrow, glanced around at the demigods to see if they were done eating, and nodded her head for everybody to head back to the Throne room.

Before they could start reading, though, two more readers appeared.

A boy and a Hellhound.

Chapter 4: Three Old Ladies Knit Socks of Doom

Notes:

Rewrite done: 11-7-23 Some content added or expanded upon, grammar and such fixed, etc.

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underline).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

"Are we ready to start reading finally?" Zeus asked impatiently, looking at his sister in annoyance.

She raised an eyebrow, glanced around at the demigods to see if they were done eating, and nodded her head for everybody to head back to the Throne room.

Before they could start reading, though, two more readers appeared.

A boy and a Hellhound.

Everyone went still at the sight of the hellhound, until the silence was broken by Percy shouting, "Mrs. O'Leary! Hey girl, come here!" Nobody noticed Hephaestus' eyes widen as he recognized the dogs name.

The dog woofed and bounded towards Percy and Annabeth, who were both thrilled to see her while the rest of the futures stopped the rest of the room's inhabitants from attacking.

"She's tame!" Clarisse stopped Clarisse and the Stolls. "She's actually Percy's pet." She shrugged.

"How did that happen?" Luke asked, blinking in shock at the thought.

"That... we don't know. She did belong to an instructor Chiron found, then he was gone, and she just kind of stayed? She only really listens to Percy." Katie said.

"We'll probably find out now." Travis piped in, hopeful.

"That should be interesting." Percy muttered to Annabeth, overhearing them. Especially when they got to the part about Pan.

The boy who came with the hellhound was mostly forgotten by everybody, except for Sally, who wasn't concerned by the hellhound. She was just glad that the dog wasn't currently destroying her living room again... or covering her in saliva like she was Percy. Besides, the boy looked scared to death.

Poseidon was the first to break the silence. "Percy, why do you have a Hellhound?"

"She was a gift from somebody." Percy shrugged, rubbing said Hellhound's ears fondly.

"That doesn't explain much." Rachel said, amused. She knew the story, having been there herself, but if she wasn't there, she would be just as confused as everybody else in the room.

"It's a long story. We'll probably read about it." He offered after a moment.

"That being said, she is friendly and we would appreciate it if you did not try to kill or hurt her." Annabeth said, staring around at the younger group while the older ones came to greet the dog themselves now that they were sure nobody would try to attack.

"So... now that my dog is safe from impalement, didn't somebody come with her?" Percy wondered, looking around.

Everyone turned around as one to see who it was, and were surprised to see a very young Percy Jackson, probably around eight years old. Percy took one look at him and cursed softly under his breath. The kid was wearing jeans and a jacket, which meant he was home from school and Sally must not have been there when he arrived to keep Gabe from giving him a 'lesson'.

That was the last thing he wanted anybody to know about.

Annabeth heard him curse and looked at him questioningly, wondering what was wrong. She didn't ask, though, knowing that Percy probably wouldn't tell her where so many people could hear if he told her at all. She knew there were a lot of things he didn't tell her about, mostly to do with his childhood. In fact, he didn't talk about his childhood at all except for the occasional tale about something he did with his mom. All she knew about Gabe was what little she'd seen or heard during their first quest.

Sally heard the room go silent and looked up from the younger version of her son. "I've already explained some of what is happening. Why don't you all introduce yourselves." She suggested, and waited patiently while everyone did so, most of them smiling at the little boy in encouragement.

"I'm Paul Blofis, er- your new stepdad." Paul introduced nervously. Somehow he was more nervous now than when Sally first introduced him to her teenaged son. But then again, they weren't married yet at that time and Gabe had already been out of the picture for a while.

The boy blinked at him. "No more Gabe?!" He yelled, almost excitedly while Sally and Percy winced slightly. More than one of the future demigods was slightly confused about who Gabe was, but they didn't ask just yet. They knew that Paul hadn't always been in the picture, but they didn't know much about Percy and Sally's life before Paul came into the picture.

Paul bit his lip, but nodded with a somewhat forced smile. "No more Gabe." He promised. Sally hadn't told him much, but she'd told him enough about her ex-husband. And to think she only married him because his stench was enough to cover up the scent of an extremely powerful demigod son of the Big 3.

Both versions of Annabeth and Athena were the only ones to notice Sally and Percy wince, which sent Annabeth's mind racing. She took what little she knew, which was all bad, and combined it with the new information that Sally and Percy were apparently still scared of him on some level years after his death. Her conclusions were not pretty.

Grover knew something had happened with Gabe, besides the obvious that he was just a jerk. Whenever he was mentioned, Percy's emotions would completely close off and he would change the subject quickly. He was hard enough to read, even with the Empathy Link they had now, but he was absolutely impossible to read when he closed himself off. As a usually pretty friendly and open guy, anything that could make him shut down like that could not be good.

When it was finally Poseidon's turn, he bit his lip nervously before introducing himself as Percy's father. Percy studied him for a moment before running to hug him. He didn't entirely understand his mother's explanation of what was happening, but he did know this. His father and new step-father could make Smelly-Gabe go away. And if this was his future, then when he got to know his father now, he could go find him easier when he got back home.

After introductions, Triton monopolized Percy by claiming big brother rights in getting to know the boy first. (He had also noticed the older Jackson's reactions to Gabe and went into full protective big brother mode).

Zeus glanced around to see that everyone had finally settled down, and frowned at Percy and Annabeth leaning against the large hellhound before throwing the book at Poseidon. "Read." He ordered. Poseidon raised an eyebrow, but started reading.

Chapter two, Three old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death

Poseidon paused, already feeling like something bad was going to happen. In their world, three old ladies could mean anything, none of it necessarily good for a demigod. And there were only three ladies that might have anything to do with 'knitting'.

Percy paled slightly and glanced at Annabeth nervously, he'd never told her about this. Quickly he leaned over and whispered something in her ear. At first, whatever he told her terrified her, then she looked worried and confused, then mournful.

Percy saw her face, sighed, and pulled her closer so he could whisper something in her ear again before planting a kiss on her cheek.

Annabeth watched the exchange, glanced at eight year old Percy, and looked away again just as quickly. She was having a hard time imagining herself being in a relationship at all, let alone with an older version of this kid.

Aphrodite, Athena, and Poseidon were the only ones to notice the look.

While Aphrodite was busy internally squealing over the fun she could have with this couple, Athena and Poseidon glanced at each other and realized that they needed to talk with their children about this. Poseidon had no issue with who his son chose to date, not even a daughter of Athena.

Athena, on the other hand, had plenty of issues with it.

(I was used to... were over quickly.)

"What happened this time?" Percy asked his older self, sounding oddly resigned.

The others were a little shocked and surprised at his tone. Just what had happened to the kid in his eight years of life?

Percy grinned slightly and gave a short summary of the first chapter, including everything about Mrs. Dodds. Well, the child-friendly version.

Percy nodded in understanding before turning to his mother. "I told you math teachers were evil!" He informed her with all the imperiousness of an eight year old. Sally just shook her head in resignation at the old argument.

Everyone else chuckled.

Poseidon had to shake his head in amusement, although he was just as concerned. He'd been able to watch over his son sometimes, but not as much as he would have liked. There was much he might have missed over the years.

(This twenty-four... some kind of trick on me.)

"Don't even think about it." Percy warned all the Stolls and Leo.

He may have just met Leo, but he knew that look from dealing with the Stolls for so long. Travis and Connor slumped in disappointment while their older selves rolled their eyes.

(The students acted... at me like I was psycho.)

"Wow." Piper muttered. "I will never underestimate the Mist again." She informed Jason, who nodded.

"That's a little disturbing that you can just..." Paul trailed off, looking troubled by the way Chiron manipulated everyone's memories.

Sally pursed her lips, but said nothing. On the one hand, normal people didn't want to see the world that the Mist kept hidden. On the other, her childhood would have been much easier growing up if such things were the norm and everybody could see what she'd always seen.

Percy scowled at the looks he was getting. "Percy... You are psycho." Thalia said bluntly.

"Pretty sure we all are." Rachel muttered to herself, doodling on her pant leg absently.

"Traitors." Percy grumbled with a scowl, making Annabeth chuckle and kiss him on the cheek to cheer him up again, causing her younger self to blush and look away while his younger self eyed them curiously.

(It got so I... never existed.)

"He said 'almost'." Clarisse noted.

"How much do you want to bet?" Chris asked her while every single Greek demigod turned to look at the two Satyrs in the room.

"No bet." Connor and Travis informed their brother at the same time.

The Romans were very confused about what they were talking about now.

(Almost.)

"Oh, Grover." Chiron sighed, shaking his head fondly.

Grover grumbled while Grover turned red and wouldn't look at anybody.

The Romans were even more confused. What did the Fa- Satyr have to do with anything? For that matter, they were still kind of confused about why the half-goat was here. Sure, they'd already been told that Satyrs went out and found Demigods to bring to camp, but that didn't necessitate him being here, did it?

(But Grover couldn't... But I knew he was lying.)

Clarisse snorted. "That's a Satyr thing in general. Hedge is the same way." She shook her head.

"Gleeson Hedge? The crazy one?" Percy asked, frowning.

"Crazy sounds about right." Leo muttered.

"I think that's a bit of an understatement." Piper agreed.

"He's coming with us on our trip." Annabeth informed Percy with a raised eyebrow.

"... What?" He asked after a moment, looking at her in horror.

"Apparently since it's such a long trip and at least four of us are couples, we need a chaperone." Annabeth said dryly. Percy just stared at her, blinking in shocked surprise.

(Something was... the museum.)

"That's an understatement." Clarisse muttered, eyeing Percy.

Percy shrugged and ignored the looks he was getting.

(I didn't have much... wake me up in a cold sweat.)

All the demigods shuddered. Even Percy and Rachel.

"That's the worst." Katie said sympathetically. Nearly all the futures and a few of the younger ones nodded their agreement.

The younger ones were a little more sheltered, not having seen as much as the older ones had, but they saw their share of bad stuff and monsters just in getting to camp. And those were just the regular nightmares, that wasn't counting the demigod dreams.

The gods eyed them in interest, while only Apollo seemed completely unsurprised.

Were demigod dreams really this bad?

(The freak weather... in my dorm room.)

Poseidon glared at Zeus, who frowned in thought. If that was because Perseus had been revealed as a Son of Poseidon, then he wouldn't have just blown out some windows. He would have vaporized the boy and been done with it.

Percy noticed Poseidon's looks, sighed, and said, "As much as I hate how he went about it, Zeus did have a good reason for being angry." He warned his father. "Besides, you weren't blameless in the 'freak weather' department either." He reminded his father, who finally looked away from Zeus with a grimace.

The futures nodded, they knew most of what happened after all.

Luke just looked worried, he had a feeling he knew what Zeus's good reasons were. It sounds like they blamed Percy, which meant that Percy would have gone to investigate or something, which meant... he was going to be found out. Great.

The gods also looked worried. What could have possibly happened for this big of a reaction from Zeus?

"This is going to be a long book if he gets like that every time something happens." Annabeth murmured to Percy, who agreed with a sigh.

(A few days later... in the Atlantic that year.)

"Whatever this is, you two aren't just mad. You're fighting." Artemis said slowly, worried.

All the futures looked at her, then at each other before Percy looked back at the Huntress and nodded.

All the gods paled.

It sounded like they were really going at it. And when Zeus and Poseidon started going at it, everyone needed to duck and cover and pray it was enough.

"Did you have to drag innocent mortals into it, though?" Paul complained to nobody in particular, frowning at the gods in question.

(I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time.)

Sally just sighed, used to her sons mood swings. She always knew when there was some kind of ocean-related storm or disaster by her Percy's mood. Poseidon and Amphitrite glanced at each other warily.

The kid had a very, very strong connection to the ocean for his mood to be affected like that while so far away and still unaware of his heritage.

Maybe they should bring him undersea for some special training, if there was really a war brewing he would need it. At the very least it would help him understand his powers better, and hopefully prevent him from hurting somebody by losing control.

(My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.)

Sally sighed again, not surprised but still a little disappointed.

Athena would have opened her mouth to go on a loud rant about stupid sea-spawn, but Poseidon didn't give her the chance and kept reading.

(I got into more... almost every class.)

All the demigods were sympathetic. They'd all had those times at school. They'd all had to deal with that one person in their class. Thankfully most of them were now home-schooled through the Camp, so their learning could actually be more tailored to fit them and they were surrounded by other kids who knew what they were going through.

(Finally, when our... for spelling tests,)

"Lazy?!" Sally burst out. "He's dyslexic, which every teacher at that school knew full well!" She glared at the book so hard several of the demigods were surprised it didn't burst into flames. She'd even had to go to some fancy doctor with money she didn't have to get the official diagnoses before the school would agree to work with Percy on it!

"He didn't like me very much, anyway." Percy shrugged.

"I don't think he liked anybody." Grover agreed.

(I snapped. I called him an old sot.)

Giggling swept through the hall while several glanced at Mr. D, who rolled his eyes and ignored them.

"That wasn't too far off." Grover muttered to Chiron and his older self. He did smell alcohol on the English teacher quite a bit, a lot more than the other teachers at any rate.

( I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.)

"Of course." Athena scoffed to herself, quietly so as not to get yelled at again. It was strange... Being yelled at in such a manner. Normally nobody was stupid enough to do so...

The giggling continued among the demigods, with Mr. D's continued indifference.

"I still don't know what it means." Percy admitted.

"You called him an old drunk." Annabeth informed her boyfriend.

"Oh. Oops." He shrugged.

(The headmaster sent... to Yancy Academy.)

All three of the Jackson's glanced at each other and shrugged. Wasn't the first time, wouldn't be (in Percy's case), and wasn't (Sally and Percy) the last.

"What number was that?"

"Six." Sally sighed. She wished she could say that she was surprised to have gotten that letter, but she was proud of Percy for making it as long as he did. Her main concern had been finding somewhere willing to take him for the next year with six expulsions under his belt.

"Wow." Travis whistled. "Not even we were that bad." He gestured between himself and his brother, who nodded.

The other mother's in the room were shocked at Sally's reaction. She couldn't really be ok with her son getting kicked out of school, or maybe she was just resigned to it at this point? Either way, this didn't seem like a normal reaction.

"I'm surprised they didn't tell you to pack your bags and get out." Annabeth said, looking at Percy.

"That late in the year?" He shrugged. "Exams were in, what, two weeks? Nah, best to just finish out and know that I wasn't invited back."

(Fine, I told myself. Just fine.

I was homesick.)

Those who knew Sally smiled. Of course. With a mom like that waiting at home for him, who wouldn't be homesick?

Even those who just met her were already jealous of Percy for having her.

Sally just sighed.

(I wanted to be... his stupid poker parties.)

Nico looked confused, "I didn't know you played poker, Paul." Yes, Percy had referenced a 'Gabe' earlier, but he'd only ever known Paul, Percy never even mentioned any 'Gabe'. "And you're not obnoxious." He was the Ghost Prince and he dealt with Octavian on a semi-regular basis. He knew obnoxious.

The futures glanced at him, wondering if he'd already forgotten about this 'Gabe' person. Those who'd been at camp that year vaguely remembered newspaper articles referencing a stepfather of Percy's named Gabe, but they didn't remember what it said, they'd been a little more occupied with drawing battle lines.

Triton frowned and studied his brothers. He wanted to do something to help them, but didn't know what or how. He didn't even know what the problem was yet.

"Not Paul. This is my old step-father, Gabe." The sheer venom in his voice shocked some people, as did the mild earthquake that hit the throne room until Percy visibly calmed himself.

Everyone glanced around at each other, wondering just what this person did to warrant such a strong reaction from Percy.

(And yet... there... the smell of pine trees.)

"Aw, that's so sweet." Thalia cooed jokingly, making those who knew laugh while everybody else was confused by the obvious inside joke.

Percy went red and hid his face in Annabeth's shoulder. "Nope, nope, nope, not happening." He muttered, shaking his head.

(I'd miss Grover,... next year without me.)

"Well, I'm going to ignore the 'strange' part and go with it." Grover grinned, he knew what Percy meant.

"Good thing Grover won't be there next year, either." Beckendorf grunted, quirking a small grin.

"How was I supposed to know that?" Percy shrugged.

(I'd miss Latin class... that I could do well.)

Chiron smiled, happy that Percy liked his class despite his obvious classroom problems.

Then again, he was used to teaching ADHD demigods, so his classes were actually dyslexic and ADHD friendly. It made sense that this was the class Percy actually paid attention in and did well.

(As exam week got... but I'd started to believe him.)

"That, and Latin was the only class I wasn't already failing in." Percy muttered quietly to Annabeth. He hadn't really seen the point in studying for the others when he'd already failed them.

All the demigods nodded in approval. 'Always listen to the centaur, you might live longer,' was a common saying at CHB.

(The evening before... across my dorm room.)

Poseidon started to read faster hoping to cut Athena off. Even both Annabeth's were glaring at Percy.

Not that he really blamed them, Athena hadn't shut up for weeks when her daughter wrote that book.

(Words had started... were riding skateboards.)

"Understandable, I suppose." Annabeth grumbled while her younger self just stopped glaring with an eyeroll.

"Sounds about right." Clarisse muttered, rubbing her head as she remembered the headache that was trying to read anything other than Greek.

Athena looked at them in alarm.

(There was no way... Chiron and Charon,)

Annabeth and Grover started laughing while Percy pouted beside them.

At first Nico looked very confused, but then a look of understanding passed his face as he asked, "He didn't? Tell me he didn't." And then all the Underworld people understood.

"Charon hates being confused with Chiron." Persephone laughed quietly.

"He would not have been happy." Hades agreed.

Although when Percy had to go to the Underworld and why was beyond them.

Annabeth couldn't speak for laughing too hard, so she just nodded.

Hades chuckled. "Nephew, you have a death wish." He informed Percy with a smirk.

Percy sighed and shrugged before he grinned and leaned over to Frank and Hazel so he could whisper something in their ear.

(or Polydictes and... Forget it.)

"But you were doing just fine with them yesterday." Hazel said, slightly confused.

Percy just shrugged. "I've gotten better with them over the years." He didn't understand it, he just went with it.

The gods glanced at him in confusion, but didn't say anything.

(I paced the room... inside my shirt.)

"And how do you know what that one feels like?" Chiron asked, wondering if he really wanted to know the answer to that.

In answer, all the futures just pointed to the Stolls, who had the decency to look scared for their lives that the others clearly weren't over THAT fiasco.

Everyone else just simply understood that if the demigods weren't telling, they didn't want to know.

(I remembered... you, Percy Jackson.)

"On the bright side, if he didn't push you so hard, we would all be dead." Nico said, somewhat cheerfully for him.

"I don't think I want to know." Poseidon declared while a few demigods gave Nico funny looks or shifted away from the sometimes creepy Son of Hades.

Some of the readers looked at Percy in awe, making him shift uncomfortably.

(I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.)

Sally, Paul, and Annabeth froze. Was he...?

It wasn't that Percy didn't care about school, but to actively go and ask a teacher for help...?

(I'd never asked... I hadn't tried.)

The jaws of Paul, Sally, and Annabeth hit the floor. As did Athena's and Thalia's while Chiron blinked and smiled fondly at the Son of Poseidon.

"You asked for help?" Annabeth asked Percy quietly.

Percy sighed and shrugged. "Mr. Brunner was the only one that had any kind of faith that I could do well, I didn't want to disappoint him too much."

"Percy, why?" Connor whined, looking comically heartbroken.

"He's gone dark!" Travis agreed with a grimace. Percy rolled his eyes.

(I walked downstairs... stretching across the hallway floor.)

Grover groaned, "How much did you hear, anyway?" He asked, almost dreading the answer. He'd always wondered...

Percy shrugged.

Everyone nearby looked at the two curiously.

(I was three steps"...worried about Percy, sir.")

"Ugh, you would hear the whole conversation except for five words!" Grover groaned out. He sighed, "No wonder you were so curious on the bus."

"Oh, Percy." Annabeth sighed, shaking her head.

He raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Like you haven't done the same thing." He challenged. She just shrugged unrepentantly.

Everyone now understood what the problem was. And they were curious about what the two could possibly talk about.

(I froze.)

Sally and many of the other mothers in the room looked reprimanding.

The Percy's saw this and gulped. Luckily for Percy, he had Annabeth to hide behind, although she wasn't exactly the best shield, she kept moving. Percy ended up diving behind Triton.

Poseidon finally took pity on his sons and kept reading while Athena muttered about rude boys and eavesdropping.

(I'm not usually... about you to an adult.)

"That's true."

"So annoying."

"And then they yell at us for being curious? So unfair!" All the demigods grumbled some form of agreement with book-Percy.

Sally and Hestia shared an exasperated look, but didn't say anything while Hera glared at the demigods in disapproval. Poseidon kept reading before she could try to say anything.

There was no point in lecturing them, anyway. Not when eavesdropping may have saved all their lives at some point or other.

(I inched closer... and they know too-")

"They?" asked Percy.

"Monsters, gods, other enemies." Annabeth said casually.

"Annabeth!" Sally reprimanded.

Annabeth looked up, "Huh?" then she realized that it had been Percy to ask that, not her Seaweed Brain. Whoops. She was so used to answering Percy's dumb questions without thinking too much about it that it hadn't occurred to her to check which Percy was asking the question.

She was saved by Triton being a big brother and whispering something in his ear that calmed him down.

Poseidon looked very proud at that scene.

"And just think, this is before I was even Claimed." Percy muttered to her.

"You kinda gave yourself away with the fountain." She reminded him. He shrugged. Details.

("We would only... to mature more.")

The futures couldn't help it, the thought of a mature Percy was just too funny.

"Sparring ring. All of you." Percy just announced, glaring at all of them. They shut up while Annabeth snorted in amusement.

"That's just mean." Travis whined after a moment. Percy raised an eyebrow smugly and didn't say anything. Nico and Thalia glanced at each other, but didn't comment. It wasn't worth it, and it wasn't like he could order the two of them into the ring, anyway. They weren't actually campers, Nico came and went on a whim too often while she led the Hunt.

The Romans, Leo and Piper watched in interest while Jason compared methods.

("But he may... solstice deadline-")

"Ok, a deadline? Just what happened?" Athena questioned incredulously, almost demanding answers of the demigods. She hated not knowing what was going on.

"Whatever happened at the meeting, it was huge." Apollo muttered to himself. The only thing he could think was that something was stolen... something big. His mind drifted to the title of the book, and he froze.

Percy resisted the urge to glance at Luke, before he informed Athena that they were just going to have to keep reading if she wanted to know.

Athena just growled but didn't say anything else.

("Will have to be... while he still can.")

Percy spluttered for a moment, having forgotten all about that part of this conversation. Now that he wasn't hiding or worried about being caught, he could express his displeasure over that. "Ignorance? Enjoy it? You're crazy if you think I was enjoying those last few weeks of thinking I was going nuts!" He glared at the old trainer.

Chiron sighed. "I believe I was going off the adage of 'ignorance is bliss'." He said apologetically.

"Not always." Percy shot back with a glare.

("Sir, he saw her..." to convince him of that.")

Percy settled for merely glaring at the centaur, who had the decency to look ashamed.

Even Sally glared. If she'd known about this... Oh, Chiron would have regretted it.

("Sir, I... I can't fail in my duties again.")

Thalia growled at Grover. "You. Did. Not. Fail." She hissed, ignoring the confused looks from the Romans, Jason, Leo, and Piper.

(Grover's voice... would mean.")

Thalia growled, "It was my choice. You did what you could, you got the others to safety, that was more than enough!" She exclaimed, glaring at Grover and trying to will him to believe her. "My choice." She repeated, shifting her glare to her father, who looked like he wanted to fry Grover.

Both Grover's flinched at the glares they were currently under from two people that they did not want to make angry.

All the Romans looked between the Greeks, confused.

What was going on?

("You haven't failed, Grover,")

Thalia grunted, but didn't say anything else.

"Agreed." Chiron said softly, thinking rapidly again about what it could mean for Thalia to be alive again.

( Mr. Brunner said... alive until next fall-")

Grover and Annabeth sighed, they, better than most, knew just how big a job that was. Despite his skill and strength, he got into more deadly situations than they had ever thought possible.

Grover looked over at Frank and Hazel and told them, "Good luck."

They paled, wondering just what they were being thrown into. Frank had been ordered this quest, and he had been ordered to take Percy along. It had been a no-brainer for him to bring Hazel along too, now they were starting to wonder if they were going to survive being thrown into Percy's life.

Because if his best friend was wishing them luck on keeping him alive... and Grover didn't even know where they were going! It could just be down the road for a massive shopping expedition for all he knew!

"That doesn't sound ominous at all." Clarisse muttered to Beckendorf, referring both to Grover's comment and book-Chiron's sentiment. He nodded in agreement.

(The mythology book... floor with a thud.)

"NO!" All the Hermes crew (including Apollo and Leo) screamed, making everybody jump or yelp in alarm at the sudden noise.

"Rule number 100, never give yourself away!" Luke said sternly, glaring slightly. He may be angry, and a (not-quite-yet) traitor, but when it came to mischief and trickery he is still a son of Hermes after all.

"What's rule-" Hazel started to ask hesitantly, confused but at the same time she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

Travis huffed and pulled a massive book out of his pocket before throwing it at her. "Read that." He said simply.

Percy intercepted the book quickly, before it could hit her. It was very heavy, and thick, and he didn't want her getting hurt if she missed the catch or dropped it because she wasn't expecting the weight.

"Oof, that's heavy." She grunted when he handed it off to her, almost dropping it on Frank's foot. She paused for a moment. "You made it seem light." She commented, blinking. She was a little disappointed. She'd thought she was stronger than that.

"We're used to those books being thrown at us." Clarisse was designated to explain after a series of gestures and eyerolls among the future Greeks. "We also have our own, ah- special weight training." She smirked while the rest grinned evilly at the thought.

"Special weight training?" Chiron asked, confused. He didn't know anything about this, he had to approve all training activities! His students merely looked at him and grinned. They refused to tell him what they meant.

"Prissy." Clarisse said suddenly, turning to Percy with an evil smirk on her face.

He grinned wildly. "Tonight?" He asked. She nodded, and the others cheered in excitement. The Stolls immediately took silent bets on the outcome of the night's match-up.

Not even Leo, Piper, or Jason knew what she was talking about. Only those that fought in New York had any idea what she was talking about.

Hazel ignored this in favor of looking at how many rules there were. Over 1000! And here she thought the Mercury kids were bad, they at least had Roman discipline it seemed.

(Mr. Brunner went silent... backed down the hall.)

"Good! Rule number-" Luke was cut off.

"We know! Rule number 101!" The Greeks all yelled, some rolling their eyes.

They'd heard it so many times, they practically had the entire rule-book memorized. The Hermes campers, both determined and not, shouted the various rules at other campers so often it was ridiculous.

Various children of Hermes smirked, proud of themselves for the rest of the campers having it memorized. The rest of the room's occupants were mildly terrified.

(A shadow slid... an archer's bow.)

Athena was miffed that Chiron of all people was out in the open like that, seemingly not caring about the need for secrecy. There was only so much the Mist could hide after all, and the last thing they needed if they were already dealing with Zeus and Poseidon, was a bunch of mortals panicking. "Chiron, why were you in the open like that?"

Chiron didn't know, this was the future for him, so he looked to Grover to answer.

Grover shrugged and said, "His legs were falling asleep, besides, all the students were supposed to either be asleep or studying." He turned to glare at Percy, who just shrugged innocently.

(I opened the... glass, then moved on.)

"Well that's not going to confuse him even more." Thalia muttered to herself.

"Woah, woah, woah! Are you seriously telling me that with your nose, you didn't smell him?!" To say Leo was a little mad about this was an understatement. The number of times Chiron stopped a prank or something just by smelling him nearby when he had said he would be in the Bunker...

Chiron looked thoughtful, "I believe that due to him living there for so long, his scent was all over the place, that and the fact that he had not been around his step-father for so long, that stench was wearing off, so he no longer smelled so... Awful."

Leo still looked a little annoyed, but he accepted the explanation. Although he did have to wonder just how bad this Gabe guy smelled.

Again, only Annabeth and Triton noticed the Jackson's slight reaction to hearing about Gabe.

Just what had that man done to them? Now they really wanted to know, they couldn't help if they didn't know the problem.

Triton also started to notice that whenever he touched Percy on the back, he flinched. Just barely, almost like he was trying not to, but it was there.

Mrs. O'Leary was also showing concern for her human, she nuzzled him when she felt him wince that time. He was usually so strong, what was wrong with her human?

(A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.)

Everyone waited for the moment where Percy was caught and everything was finally explained, thinking that Chiron and Grover would tell him what was going on, all of it.

After the conversation he just heard, there was no longer any reason to hide anything from him.

(Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing,")

Everybody groaned, he was so close to being caught and them getting their answers!

(he murmured... the winter solstice.")

Athena grumbled about not getting the answers she wanted but thought it best not to say anything. They weren't going to tell her anyway, so why bother wasting time. She figured the quicker they read, the quicker she got her answers.

("Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn...")

Grover sighed and finished his statement, "I felt Percy's messed up emotions."

Percy grinned. He liked it that he wasn't easy to read. Let him keep some secrets.

Grover nodded, Percy's emotions were crazy. He almost missed when Grover muttered that not even having an Empathy Link with the guy made it any easier.

He paled slightly. Those things were dangerous, and if Percy was really in as much danger all the time as everyone kept implying...

He liked Percy, sure. Percy was the only friend he had at Yancy and he knew that Percy would continue to be friends with him long after the big reveal that he was a demigod. But to go so far as to form an Empathy Link with him? Was he nuts?

("Go back to... of exams tomorrow.")

All the demigods groaned. Athena refrained herself from reprimanding them on the importance of exams by reminding herself of their ADHD and dyslexia. Those couldn't have made exams anything but a headache, especially if it really felt like the letters were doing 180's on skateboards.

She started going over and revising her plans from last night to make schooling easier for demigods. Although, maybe she should extend that to all ADHD and/or dyslexic children, afterall, not all of them were demigods.

("Don't remind me."... seemed like forever.)

Percy muttered about stupid ADHD. All those who heard him that had ADHD agreed. In battle, it was very useful. In everyday life, not so much.

"It was probably more like a few minutes." Annabeth murmured in agreement with some of the muttering she heard.

(Finally, I... he'd been there all night.)

Percy muttered something unflattering about goats and sudden abilities to lie.

Grover just grinned, thank goodness he had been able to pull that lie off. Otherwise Percy would have found an opening to question him. Since Percy didn't want him knowing he had eavesdropped, he couldn't have asked anything unless Grover had made it obvious he had been up to something earlier.

"Not bad, not bad." Connor said slowly, nodding.

"Maybe he won't need as many sessions." Travis nodded in agreement.

Grover sighed and looked like he regretted his life choices in that moment.

("Hey," he... for this test?")

"When is anybody ever ready for a test?" Nico asked.

Everyone just nodded in agreement, even the Annabeth's. And her mother was Athena. She was naturally smart.

(I didn't answer... started getting ready for bed.)

Athena couldn't take it anymore. "Please tell me that you now know that satyrs can read emotions."

Percy grinned, she finally realized that at this point in the book, he hadn't known any of this was real. He hadn't missed the looks she sent him whenever his "stupidity" was evident.

Grover was the one to answer, though. "Percy's emotions are such a jumbled, crazy whirlwind that I can't read them. Even with the Empathy Link. No satyr can read him, not even the Elders. Nobody knows why."

Athena blinked, trying to wrap her head around the concept of an empathic race like the Satyrs being unable to read someone's emotions.

Poseidon hummed. "That's my fault. The sea, you know. Doesn't like to be contained, always changing." He said with a smirk. He thought they would have known that, but he supposed that Percy was the first child of his in several decades, so the information might have been forgotten.

Suddenly a lot of how Percy acted made much more sense to everybody. Grover was just glad to have the mystery cleared up. The Elders would be glad to learn about this, too.

Poseidon continued reading before anybody could ask about the Empathy Link.

(I didn't understand... the whole thing.)

Clarisse snorted, "Please, as much as I don't want to admit it, even you're not that crazy." Everyone who knew how their relationship worked was shocked.

None of them knew about the Chariot incident. And if either of them had their way, they never would. But the Fates were probably going to have it brought up somehow at some point, unfortunately.

Annabeth sighed and shook her head, well aware of how they sometimes acted with each other.

(But one thing was... some kind of danger.)

Nico snorted. "When are you not in danger?" He asked with an innocent look on his face that nobody bought.

Percy knew he was asking in hopes that he could later convince Hazel to not go on this quest with him. He didn't really trust Percy with his sisters. Not that Percy blamed him, of course...

He pretended to think about it, then he answered, "When I'm with people I trust." He sounded casual enough, but Nico got the message, 'drop it.'

Thalia glanced at Percy, but said nothing.

(The next...-hour Latin exam,)

"WHAT?!" All the demigods started glaring at Chiron mutinously.

"Three hours?!"

"Cruel and inhumane."

"Thought better of him."

"How dare he..."

Chiron heard their mutinous muttering and rolled his eyes, but didn't comment.

( my eyes swimming... called me back inside.)

"Oh this can't end well." Came from most of the demigods. They figured they knew what Chiron was up to, and it wouldn't end well.

Chiron wasn't exactly the best at cheering people up.

Chiron was just confused, what was wrong with him wanting to talk to Percy about leaving? For he was pretty sure that's what he wanted.

(For a moment,.. . It's... it's for the best.")

Everybody groaned.

"Oh boy."

"This is not going to end well."

"Chiron, we gotta teach you how to cheer somebody up, when's free Trav?"

"Put him down for Monday at 7 O'clock, Connor."

"You got it Bro."

"How many other students were still in the room at the time?" Paul groaned softly to himself, well aware of how kids that age could be towards each other. And Percy already had a bully in this class with him.

Mrs. O'Leary wrapped her body around Percy and growled at Chiron. She did not appreciate the old trainer talking to her human like that, not at all. Percy smiled fondly at her and scratched her head while murmuring to her in an attempt to keep her from trying to attack Chiron.

Chiron was confused and worried. He had no idea why everyone was reacting this way, but he was more concerned with keeping an eye on the hellhound in the room than he was about getting out of 'lessons' with the Stolls right now. Hellhounds were notorious fighters with a reputation to attack first and question later, and their loyalty was difficult, almost impossible to earn (especially for a demigod who was usually considered food by the Underworld hounds). But they protected those that did earn their loyalty fiercely. If she was annoyed enough to attack, he was going to have to hope that Percy could get her to stop, because the only way he could save himself was by killing her, and he really didn't want to do that.

Annabeth saw his confusion and sighed. "Chiron, nobody wants to hear that they aren't good enough. And if there are others in the room, you just opened him up to teasing." She informed her mentor dryly. He tore his gaze away from Mrs. O'Leary and blinked at her.

(Everybody ignored the sudden coughing from Annabeth and Percy at the word 'nobody'. They didn't think they wanted to know.)

(His tone was kind... with her lips.)

"There's an image I didn't need." Chris muttered with a grimace.

Annabeth blinked. "Wow, didn't even wait until they were out of the room and away from the teacher." She said while giving Chiron a Look.

"Nancy was like that." Percy shrugged.

"I will need to have conversations like this in private in the future." Chiron muttered to himself.

(I mumbled, "Okay, sir.. . It was only a matter of time.")

"Oh, ouch."

"Maybe a weekly session." Travis muttered to himself, glancing at the calendar.

"Yikes."

"Are all his pep talks like this?" Reyna asked the closest Greek, who grimaced but didn't answer.

Mrs. O'Leary growled louder and started to inch to her feet in a stalking position, to Chiron's alarm. "It's alright, girl." Percy whispered in her ear, hand on her head. Annabeth patted her shoulder on the other side of him with an understanding look, even if she would really rather her mentor not be killed by her favorite hellhound.

Triton pulled Percy closer to him protectively, glaring at his old friend for speaking like this. When Poseidon noticed he just grinned slightly and kept reading, glad that his oldest son accepted his youngest brother. He loved it when all his children got along.

(My eyes stung... destined to get kicked out.)

By this point, Sally was shaking in anger, but she didn't move. She could control herself. She could! (She was making mental plans to make Chiron miserable during their next meal break). It wouldn't do much good to go off considering that this happened years ago for her, and hadn't even happened yet for Chiron. (She could start her plans by...)

Chiron grimaced at hearing how Percy took his attempts at being comforting while trying to shove down the pride he felt at hearing that the boy considered him to be his favorite teacher. "I could have worded that differently." He said apologetically, eyeing Mrs. O'Leary cautiously.

"Just a bit." Paul informed him dryly.

("Right," I said.. . That's nothing to be-")

Chiron winced. "That's not coming out right at all!" He groaned to himself.

"Were you trying to tell him about being a demigod without actually telling him? Because I don't think it worked." Katie pointed out.

"While it is a good thing that Percy is not normal, no one likes hearing about it Chiron." Annabeth groaned while holding Mrs. O'Leary back.

("Thanks," I blurted... was already gone.)

By about the middle of that whole exchange, Paul had to put his hand on Sally's shoulder, she was so angry he was scared she might fly at Chiron and attack.

She refrained herself only by reminding herself that Percy was capable of taking care of himself and didn't like her fighting his battles. (She started modifying and discarding her plans to make him miserable come the next break.)

(On the last day... my suitcase.)

Sally muttered, "And out comes the ironing board."

Which both Percy's heard. "Sorry mom."

"Yeah, sorry." They both said while Percy scratched the back of his head sheepishly. She sighed and shook her head. Oh well. It wasn't like she'd ever had a chance to actually iron anything, anyway.

(The other guys were... juvenile delinquents.)

"You are not a juvenile delinquent." Sally sighed, feeling slightly guilty. She had always wanted to take Percy to those places, do those things with him, but... There was just never enough money, and the fact that they couldn't fly there, which only left a special favor from Poseidon, which could have drawn attention and only put Percy in more danger. And, of course, no money.

That and Gabe would have never let them go even if there was money. Oh, how she regretted marrying that man. She had to keep reminding herself that Percy was safe with him around. She was the only one being hit. At least, that's what she thought anyway.

"That's not what the court said." Percy muttered under his breath. "Or most of my teachers. Or my stepfather of the time." Annabeth winced and patted him on the shoulder as best she could since she had to reach over the still-agitated hellhound.

(Their daddies were... of nobodies.)

Annabeth smirked at Percy. "Nobody." Percy smirked back with a laugh while Clarisse and Grover laughed along with him. They weren't there for that part of their rescue, but they'd heard the tale during the trip to Florida.

"I still can't believe that worked." Grover laughed out, shaking his head.

"I still can't believe you tried to get him to make mango chutney." Clarisse deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

"I don't think I want to know." Poseidon muttered, eyeing his son and possibly future daughter-in-law. He wasn't sure he'd heard such a strange inside joke in a long time.

"Think they're talking about how they got the Fleece?" Connor asked his brother quietly.

"Only thing I can think of to explain why those four have such an odd inside joke." Katie was the one to answer.

"Anyway... I'm not sure we can consider this to be a family of 'nobodies'." Hermes said in amusement.

"If we're a bunch of nobodies, I would hate to see a 'somebody'." Apollo agreed with a smirk.

Athena watched with a scowl as Percy leaned over to whisper something in Annabeth's ear that made her blush and kiss him on the cheek. Oh, she really needed to have a talk with her daughter.

(They asked me what I'd be doing this summer)

"Hm, that was nice of them." Sally muttered to herself. She didn't remember Percy saying anything nice about any of the other boys in his grade when he was home that Christmas.

'That was nice, for a bunch of boys.' Artemis and Zoe thought, glancing at the mother.

(and I told them... to school in the fall.)

'Is that really what he did while I was working?' Sally thought, this was the first she was hearing about any summer jobs. 'But I thought he said he hung out in the park or his room most of the time.' Out loud, she said, "Percy, you didn't have to do all that, we were never that bad off." For that matter, just who was he finding that would be willing to employ such a young boy?

The Percy's just looked at each other and silently agreed to tell her later if the books didn't bring it up. If they did, then they would tell her sooner. Percy highly doubted that he was going to ever tell her that it started when he was seven, at first he was mostly doing chores and such for the neighbors, but eventually he had to leave the apartment building to run errands to earn his money.

Percy was tired of hiding things like this from his mother, although it had been many years since he'd thought of it.

Sally didn't miss the exchange, and wondered if she was really so blind that she never saw any of this happening. Just what else had she missed?

("Oh," one of the... I'd never existed.)

Sally sighed. "Of course." She said, shaking her head.

'Nevermind,' Neither Artemis or Zoe were at all surprised to have their already low expectations met.

(The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover,)

"Somehow I don't think you're going to get rid of him that easily." Rachel commented wryly.

"No, I don't think so either." Percy smirked at Grover, who raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

(but as it turned... into the city.)

"Stalker alert!" Nico called with a smirk. Everyone laughed, for three reasons.

One, because it was funny and very random.

Two, because now both Grover's were being held back from killing Nico.

Three, nobody expected it from Nico.

(During the whole... something bad to happen.)

"Good. Vigilance will save your life." Ares said absently.

"And now?" Percy asked innocently. Obviously, nobody bought his innocent act.

"I no longer expect stuff to happen. I KNOW stuff will happen."

Frank and Hazel paled while Gwen patted them both on the shoulder sympathetically. They felt like they'd just been thrown on the roller coaster that was Percy's life without being asked if it was alright with them, being told what the ride would entail, or even being provided safety bars and harnesses.

Percy smirked, patted Grover on the head, and said, "Good boy. You're now ready for life."

The futures watched, bored at their antics. Everyone else was confused about what was happening.

(Before, I'd always... him on the Greyhound.)

"He's worried about monsters." Artemis said, tilting her head.

"Among other things." Grover agreed with a shrug. The teasing was just annoying, really. And nothing he hadn't dealt with before.

"The only person that might tease him is sitting beside him." Nico suggested with a smirk. A few people snickered.

"Hey!" Percy protested, glaring before he started chasing Nico with a bucket of water in his hand, earning more laughter. Those who looked more closely were somehow surprised to notice that the bucket itself was just a glob of water shaped like a bucket.

When Percy finally caught up to his intended victim, Nico was soaked with a lot more water than the 'bucket' looked capable of holding.

Poseidon and Amphitrite raised an eyebrow and hummed. The boy's control over his water powers was quite impressive. They didn't say anything, though, it would just set off Zeus's paranoia, and then Hestia would have to get after him to sit down and shut up, and they knew that it would come up again later on.

Zeus was already looking at Percy suspiciously.

Nico looked to Triton, hoping the god would help him dry off, but he refused to help. They had a standing rule when it came to other people's work.

Never undo it.

(Finally I couldn't... for Kindly Ones?")

Grover looked indignant, "You gave me a heart attack!"

Percy just grinned innocently.

(Grover nearly... night before the exam.)

All the Hermes crew groaned, "Rule number-"

"WE KNOW!"

Percy rolled his eyes and shook his head.

(Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?")

Grover remembered what Percy had told him, "Oh not much, yeah right." He was grumbling for a while.

"Just about everything." Thalia snorted with a smirk.

("Oh... not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?")

"Not much, just all of it." Clarisse said sarcastically in agreement.

"I still want to know what that is, too." Athena grumbled with a frown.

(He winced. "Look... demon math teachers...")

"Seriously? You were still trying that?" Jason snorted. He was starting to see why everyone liked Percy so much. They still hadn't really gotten to see much of his power, though. Sure he killed a Fury with no training. There was such a thing as getting lucky. And with an untrained swordsman, it was more likely that the Fury in question seriously underestimated him. That, and he and Thalia had talked the night before about some 'child of Zeus/Jupiter' related stuff, and he was trying to keep his pride in check. It had been trying to make an appearance a few times.

"So that's where it came from..." Annabeth said thoughtfully while Nico nodded in agreement.

"Huh?" A few people asked, only to be waved off by Annabeth.

("Grover-" "And I... person as Mrs. Dodds, and...")

"Aww, come on, man! Just give it up, your covers been blown sky high!" Said the ever hyper Leo.

Both Grover's just turned very, very pink. "How was I supposed to know he'd heard everything?" Grover muttered in his defense.

("Grover, you're a really, really bad liar.")

Everybody nodded.

"It's not just him, I'm afraid. It's all of them. Pan was the worst." Hermes groaned. Apollo nodded in agreement.

Grover turned a very dark pink. Just a little more and he would be a strawberry red.

(His ears turned pink.)

Grover now bypassed strawberries and threatened to become a color that not even Aphrodite could name. (And she knew her colors, being somebody who obsessed slightly over appearance and loved her wardrobe).

"That is not healthy." Apollo eyed him in concern.

(From his shirt... out something like:)

"Dionysus." Zeus warned. He seemed to remember having a discussion with him about making the campers' lives harder.

He looked up innocently. "What? Just because they can't read it doesn't mean anything, besides, it's funny watching them try."

Piper, Leo, and the Romans were confused. What did Dionysus have to do with camp business cards?

"What does Lord Dionysus have to do with it?" Piper asked Percy quietly, making him look at her funny.

"What?" He asked Annabeth simply.

She chuckled. "Dionysus is our camp director. He was recalled a few days after Percy went missing and hasn't been back since." She explained to everyone else who didn't know before turning to Percy. "Zeus is having a... moment." She said simply.

"Ah..." Percy nodded in understanding. So the King's paranoia was making a come-back. "Be lucky you have Praetors and don't have to deal with having him around." He commented to Reyna with an eyeroll, leaving all of the Romans very confused.

"I heard that Perry!" Dionysus snapped, glaring. Percy shrugged while the rest of the Greeks snickered or rolled their eyes fondly.

Grover Underwood

Keeper

Half-Blood Hill

Long Island, New York

(800) 009-0009

"Huh, what would happen if the wrong person got a hold of those cards? That so conveniently has your address right there?" Reyna asked. It was a fair question in her mind, those cards seemed like a security risk to her.

Chiron smiled. "If any but a half-blood or a satyr were to touch them, they disappear, that is part of their magic."

That got Reyna's attention, maybe they could get something like that for Camp Jupiter...

("What's Half-" ... summer address.")

"Grover! Did you or did you not just spend the entire school year surrounded by rich kids and one kid struggling with money." Annabeth demanded. "You know he's going to take that the wrong way!"

Grover just looked at her like he hadn't thought of that. Percy just looked amused.

"It's fine, man. I know better now." Percy shrugged.

(My heart sank... the others at Yancy.)

"I wouldn't say rich, exactly." Grover muttered to himself. While he did get paid, and paid decently, for his protecting work it wasn't really a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. And not even being a Lord of the Wild paid any better. Especially not when you considered that he had to spend quite a bit of time in the mortal communities and there wasn't exactly a set currency exchange rate.

Everyone else sighed and shook their heads at Grover. They didn't even bother to point out to Percy that it wasn't like that, he hadn't known any better at this point in the books.

("Okay," I said... your mansion.")

A few people face-palmed.

"I'm so glad we got rid of that habit." Annabeth muttered to Katie, who grunted in agreement.

"Habit?" Percy questioned, confused. Annabeth hummed in confirmation but didn't say anything.

(He nodded. "Or... or if you need me.")

"Really, Grover?" Rachel groaned. This conversation wasn't going well.

Several more foreheads met palms in exasperation.

"How can you be friends with somebody for so long and not know that this was how he was going to take the comment of 'summer address'?" Katie questioned.

Grover was bright red again.

("Why would I need you?")

"Percy." Sally said, giving him a Look, even Paul looked disapproving.

Percy would forever deny squeaking when his mother gave him that Look combined with that Tone. "Sorry. That wasn't- ah..." He gulped and hid behind Mrs. O'Leary a bit.

(It came out harsher than I meant it to.)

Sally sighed and shook her head, but didn't say anything else. At least he didn't mean it, but he needed to be more careful about how he said things sometimes.

Percy sighed in relief when the Look disappeared and stopped trying to hide behind his giant dog.

(Grover blushed right... defended me.)

Grover looked touched that Percy had lost sleep over him.

Percy grinned at him, but said nothing.

"Well, there are worse things than bullies out there." Clarisse said, shrugging.

("Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?")

"There are so many things he could be protecting you from, it's not even funny." Katie said bitterly, thinking about the life of a demigod in general, never mind the last five years.

Percy grumbled about why he couldn't have a normal life, but didn't otherwise react.

Grover and Annabeth sighed, they were also starting to wonder what a normal life was, especially after so many years of hanging out with and fighting alongside Percy.

The most normal thing they ever did together was hang out at camp and help him sort out whatever fiasco the Stolls had started that time. But even then, there was nothing normal about Camp. Normal summer camps did not have Pegasi, or campers leaving to fight for their lives, being accused of stealing things, or racing to keep others from stealing something.

In just five years they had halted the end of the world as mortals knew it at least three times.

What was it like to be a normal teenager?

(There was a huge... side of the highway.)

Immediately, the light mood in the throne room vanished. Percy and Grover glanced at each other while Annabeth tensed, knowing what was about to happen since Percy told her at the beginning of the chapter.

Percy had never told anybody about this, not even his mother. He knew Sally would react poorly to not having been told about this. Poseidon would probably have a freak-out moment. Percy and Triton would probably have to do something to calm him down before he went all 'overprotective parent' on them.

Annabeth knew what Percy told her, but she also knew that the Fates were tricky. With everything currently going on in their time, Percy being missing and about to go on a quest to Alaska of all places without her... She worried. She knew what Percy said, but she worried that he may have read the situation wrong with this thing with the string.

"Nothing ever good happens at the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere." Leo muttered with a frown.

"Especially to a demigod." Gwen agreed.

(After a few minutes... old-fashioned fruit stand.)

Several of the readers froze. An old fruit stand in the middle of nowhere that just happens to be near one of the most powerful demigods ever?

They had a feeling that there was more to this than it appeared.

"Was that highway very busy?" Travis asked, frowning.

"Nope. It was pretty dead, actually." Percy shrugged after a moment's thought.

"This seems like an odd place for a fruit stand..."

"And this early in the summer? This far north? No way." Katie denied, frowning.

"This can't be a coincidence."

(The stuff on sale... tub full of ice.)

"The cherries and apricots, ok. Those are in season, I guess. Although maybe a tad bit early. But the apples and walnuts? I guess if they had a few greenhouses..." Katie reasoned.

"The walnuts could be leftover if they were stored right." Demeter reminded her daughter, who hummed and nodded in agreement.

"There's still something not right about this." Rachel countered.

"That sounds so delicious..." Some of the bigger appetites in the room groaned... All at the same time.

"We just ate!" Katie yelled at them, annoyed.

Hestia chuckled, amused, and considered the time. "We can take a lunch break after the next chapter." She said. If they were already hungry, and they were taking a while per chapter, then they might as well.

(There were no customers... of socks I'd ever seen.)

All the gods froze and turned to stare at Percy. How was this kid still alive?

Three old ladies knitting? In the middle of nowhere near one of the most powerful demigods of his age? They could only be...

A few of the demigods who didn't fully understand what was going on, they just knew that this stand was strange, noticed the gods reaction and stared to get worried about just what this stand was, or who those ladies might be.

(I mean these... were clearly socks.)

"What are they planning to do with socks that big?"

"Depends on if they're normal ladies or not." Piper said with a frown.

"There are a lot of things out there that could fit those socks." Jason agreed.

These ladies were making everyone more and more on edge.

(The lady on the right... electric-blue yarn.)

Percy glanced towards his mother in worry.

So far she looked just as confused and worried as everyone else, but he knew that would change once everyone realized who these little old ladies were. Once they learned that though...

Funny thing about Sally Jackson, she only got mad and yelled when she was very, very worried.

(All three women... bleached cotton dresses.)

Nearly everyone shivered at the description.

"They sound like mummies." Dakota muttered.

"That doesn't sound nearly lifeless enough to be a mummy." Thalia grimaced.

(The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.)

... The Fates.

Shock ran through the room as if Thalia had electrocuted everyone as the demigods realized who these ladies were and the gods' thoughts were confirmed.

Frank and Hazel stared at Percy in horror. He saw the Fates when he was younger and yet he still went on dangerous quests? He was fine going to Alaska with them?! (Granted, he hadn't remembered, but still.)

If one looked at the complexion of Sally or Poseidon, one would see that they looked paler than ghosts. Everybody else was too busy staring at Percy with gaping or horrified expressions on their faces, though.

Sally, Poseidon, and Percy all muttered some very unflattering things about the Fates that resulted in them suddenly being buried alive under a massive pile of books each.

"Percy/Sally/dad/Poseidon!" Various people exclaimed in shock, and hurried to try and dig them out. Mrs. O'Leary whined and barked in alarm, standing up and dislodging the books that landed on her. Despite how close Percy had been sitting to his dog, he was still buried towards the middle of the pile even though Mrs. O'Leary was shielding him on one side.

"Are you alright?" Apollo and Will fussed over the three of them when they were finally dug out, several minutes later.

"Yeah..." Percy said, rubbing his head.

"I'm fine." Sally assured her worried husband, rubbing her shoulder where a spine had hit her wrong.

"I'll be alright, dear." Poseidon told his wife with a sigh, holding up the note that showed up in his hand after the books buried him.

Dear Jackson's and Poseidon,

Continue to speak like that about us and we will not send you our surprise at the end of this chapter. You may not appreciate it at first, but we believe it will make for... Good anger management. Something to take your frustrations out on without having to worry about breaking the Throne Room.

The Fates

PS. It's never a good idea to say such things about the beings that control whether you live or die.

Everyone was confused. Surprise?

What surprise?

Percy and Poseidon perked up at the thought of some kind of stress relief. They couldn't really do that in here without risking everybody in the room. But now they could!

Percy didn't know about his dad, but he himself had had to hold back a hurricane several times when Gabe was mentioned. He was just glad nobody had noticed his reactions. (No, somebody noticed.)

Poseidon decided to just keep reading. The sooner they finished this chapter, the sooner he could vent properly about what little they'd already read. It was only the second chapter in and he already wanted to vent!

As he did, the tension that had disappeared when the three became buried in books came back.

(I looked over at... His nose was twitching.)

Percy frowned and used his control over water to make sure everyone in the room was still breathing, they were so still. For a second they looked like Medusa had snuck in and turned everyone to stone.

Thankfully they were.

He also had to get Triton to loosen his grip on Percy. The kid was starting to turn blue, not that the kid complained, he had always wanted an older brother.

(Percy was honestly a little jealous, his younger self was getting the brothering he never got.)

The farther along this went, the more and more tense everybody became.

("Grover?" I said.. . Not funny at all.")

Although, it did get a few tense chuckles out of the listening crowd.

"It actually kind of is." Leo muttered.

(The old lady in... Grover catch his breath.)

Along with everyone else in the room.

Percy was starting to get very uncomfortable with the looks he was getting from everyone else, but he understood the need to remind themselves that he was there, especially since it was well known that the Fates did not show themselves to a demigod without very good reason, usually to signal them that their end was coming in some way.

Thankfully everyone was staying mostly calm (except for his father, of course) and not panicking over this.

That didn't mean he was going to stop monitoring their breathing, though. They still looked too much like statues in some cases.

It wouldn't be until later that Poseidon would realize what Percy was doing, and decide that he was going to have to see just how far Percy had come with his powers. His control was impressive, but it wasn't quite where it could be considering how destructive they could also be.

("We're getting on... but I stayed back.)

"Percy!"

"Just once couldn't you listen?!"

"Although I don't think that getting on the bus would really do anything in this case..."

"Maybe not, but he wouldn't have had to see it, and maybe they would have just left if he wasn't there to see what they want to show him..."

"You don't believe that."

"... No."

"Of all the reckless things to do!"

"Listen to the Satyr!"

Mrs. O'Leary growled in agreement with all the demigods. Her human had no thought for his own safety. Percy, meanwhile, was bright red.

(Across the road... four lanes of traffic.)

Everyone froze.

Well, almost everyone. "I thought you said the road was empty." Rachel said, tilting her head to the side.

"It was until right that moment." Percy shrugged, glad that at least somebody here wasn't freaking out over something that happened years ago. Then he went back to making sure everyone else was still breathing.

He paid special attention to his father, who he was fairly certain had actually stopped breathing for a moment.

It was just lucky for him that they were too absorbed in the book to demand why he'd never told them about it (the future Greeks he'd fought along side), why he kept doing dangerous things after seeing the Fates of all beings (the Romans and futures), or try to wrap him in a bubble for the rest of his life. (Poseidon, his mother, and Mrs. O'Leary.)

(Her two friends...- Sasquatch or Godzilla.)

"That's not as funny anymore." Leo said quietly, shivering. Even he knew all the tales of the Fates and what happens when the string was cut.

"No, it's not." Thalia glared at Percy reproachfully, and he winced.

"It's not like I was ever expecting my private thoughts to be read out loud. Or even knew what I was seeing there." Percy muttered to himself.

"And now that you do know what you were seeing?" Chiron asked with a raised eyebrow.

Percy thought for a moment. "There was more to that scene than I knew at the time." He said slowly. "I didn't learn the significance of this meeting until shortly after the war ended." He carefully revealed, not sure if he should say anything more or not.

(At the rear of... roared back to life.)

Hephaestus, Beckendorf, and Leo lost all tension from the Fates' visit to protest the driver's actions. "That is not how that works!" Beckendorf actually looked highly offended.

"You don't just pull out a chunk of metal and it suddenly works again! You gotta actually replace that part!" Leo exclaimed.

"I'm not sure that it was a part that burnt out, or whatever." Percy muttered, eyeing them. He snorted suddenly. "For all we know, that hunk of metal was probably a fabrication of the Mist to make the driver think he found the solution, or something." He shook his head, then stopped to blink at everybody.

"What?" He asked, confused by the looks he was getting.

Annabeth laughed, a touch hysterically, but she laughed. "Don't worry about it, Percy." She shook her head fondly. Maybe now everybody else could see the side of Percy that wasn't really seen too often.

The interaction, combined with the Fates' disappearance from the book, served to break the tension in the room, much to Percy's relief. He was a laid back guy, and he just did not appreciate long-term tension like that. He'd been considering how to break it, like he'd done during the war when things started to get too tense, but hadn't thought of anything to say that wouldn't get him skewered by worried and protective friends and family. (During the war he would crack a joke, play a quick prank, something to make them smile and forget just for a little bit that they were in the middle of a potentially world-ending disaster.)

(The passengers cheered... I'd caught the flu.)

Percy sighed when he noticed that a few looks were being directed his way, as if they thought he was going to die right in front of them. He realized that he was going to have to say something else about this, or they would just keep being freaked out.

"It wasn't my string, ok? It belonged to- to a friend." He said quietly, shaking his head as if trying to shake out the memories.

He hadn't wanted to say anything about this because he wasn't sure if wouldn't spoil too much later on, or if some of his friends might not figure it out. Either that or think something entirely different. (They remembered how he acted after Beckendorf died). He also didn't want to get the younger kids depressed or freaked out at the thought of one of them dying, even though as demigods they all knew the possibility was more than real.

But, the year-rounders were more sheltered than the rest of the campers were, they didn't leave camp, didn't face the possibility just so they could go to school and be with their mortal family. There were many demigods that didn't return to camp at the end of the school year, and not just because they decided not to return.

The future Greeks were confused, but a few of their eyes darted between Luke and Beckendorf, obviously coming to the correct conclusion that it was one of the two councilors. Percy had been fairly close to both of them, even if one had turned traitor and tried to kill him multiple times.

Mrs. O'Leary whined softly and licked him on the head before curling around him some more to try and comfort her human.

(Grover didn't look... were chattering.)

Hermes hummed and eyed Grover in consideration for a moment. "Grover." He said, catching the Satyr's attention. "Could you have been projecting?" He asked, eyes narrowed in thought.

Grover froze for a second, blinking. "I... Maybe?" He questioned, uncertain. "It was a shock to see them there." He admitted.

"Projecting? Where did you get that?" Dionysus asked, looking at his brother in confusion before glancing between the two boys in question.

"Percy said he suddenly started to feel feverish after sitting back down next to Grover. Grover, even at this stage of the books, clearly has some kind of emotional bond with Percy as a friend. And Grover is currently very emotionally compromised after the sudden appearance of the Fates near his charge, including them cutting a string right in front of said charge." Hermes explained his reasons.

"What do you mean, 'projecting'?" Reyna asked, frowning.

"Satyr's- Fawns too, for that matter- are empathic beings. Not only can they sense emotions in those around them, but the more skilled of them can also project their own emotions on another." Hermes explained.

"I'd done it before this, but I usually have to focus. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I lost control..." Grover muttered to himself in disgust. He tried very hard not to do that. Hermes hummed, watching him and making a mental note to speak with the Satyr.

Zeus frowned at Grover, but didn't say anything. Regardless of his daughter's clear opinion on the matter (and her presence here, very much alive and not a tree), he was still angry with the goat's failure in protecting his daughter. For once, though, he did the smart thing and kept his mouth shut on the matter. Even though the evidence of the goats cowardice was clearly being read for all to hear, he knew that saying anything would not earn him any points.

How his nephew still lived with Grover as a Protector was beyond him, though.

Speaking of his nephew, he still needs to speak with his brothers about that... He's still surprised that Hades is the only one to have kept the Oath, actually, considering it was forced on him like that.

("Grover?"... telling me?")

"So, so much."

"Oh, not much, just the truth of your entire existence..."

"So much important information."

Percy wasn't paying much attention right, too busy talking softly to Annabeth, grinning slightly, but he glanced at the ones who talked in annoyance.

Athena noticed the interaction between her daughter and the sea-spawn and growled. She was going to have to have a little chat with her daughter during the next break, it seemed.

"This chapter is almost done." Poseidon said after a moment, and kept reading.

(He dabbed his... the fruit stand?")

"Huh?"

"Didn't you see it, too?" Clarisse glanced at Grover.

"No... I had already gotten back on the bus, remember?" He reminded everyone.

("You mean the... Mrs. Dodds, are they?")

"Observant." Somebody commented.

"Way to put the dots together."

Percy scowled. "It wasn't hard. He was freaking out about both of them in some way." He muttered.

(His expression was... worse than Mrs. Dodds.)

"That depends on your perspective." Nico chimed in. "Alecto will not hesitate to disembowel you and will probably laugh while she does. The Fates just know when it's your time and will act accordingly." He shrugged.

"They aren't uncaring, but..." Hades continued before he trailed off, unsure how to explain this to a group that probably thought the Fates enjoyed playing with their lives.

"They are much more focused on the bigger picture than they are the people who make up that picture." Persephone added.

The demigods sat back in thought, having never really considered that before.

(He said, "Just tell... and she cut the yarn.")

"You make it sound like it's no big deal." Thalia snorted, amused by how casually Percy had a habit of putting things.

"It wasn't at the time." Percy shrugged. He'd had absolutely no idea why Grover was freaking out about all this. "It was just a little old lady cutting a string of yarn while her friends knit a giant... Thing."

(He closed his eyes... something almost- older.)

"Very perceptive." Aphrodite smirked slightly. "It's older even than us." She gestured around at the Council. As the oldest one in the room, she was also including herself in that statement.

"It's very difficult to hide anything from him, including surprises for his birthday." Sally sighed, rolling her eyes. The only reason she had any success was because he was gone for most of the year at school.

(He said, "You... it was a big deal.)

"A very big deal." Reyna said grimly. The cord, in the hands of the Fates, meant somebodies life. For them to cut it...

"I don't understand, though. Why would they show you this? They've never shown somebody else's string being cut, have they?" Thalia asked, glancing around.

The gods looked at each other, but nobody answered.

Percy very determinedly avoided looking at Luke.

("This is not happening," Grover mumbled.)

Thalia narrowed her eyes and glanced at Grover. "He's going to start, isn't he?" She asked Percy suspiciously.

"Yup."

She groaned and muttered something about goats and pity parties. "He has way too many of them." She mumbled.

(He started chewing... the last time.")

Thalia didn't even bother saying anything. She just glared hard enough for Grover to start shaking.

"What 'last time'?" Dakota asked, frowning. This was not the first time this had been brought up, and he was really confused. Whatever it was, though, it was clearly a touchy subject for some of them.

The Greeks glanced at each other, with a few lingering on Thalia. "I'm sure it will come up in the book." Percy said, not really wanting to get into it right now.

"And it was my choice." Thalia finally said, renewing her glare at Grover.

("What last time?"... get past sixth.")

"Plenty of us get past sixth grade." Jason said, giving Grover a strange look.

Grover turned red. "Maybe in your hidden city, or whatever it is you have." He shot at the Roman. "But the more powerful the demigod, the less chance they have of surviving past their twelfth birthday out there in the real world. And as a Protector, I'm the one that's trying to keep them alive!" He glared around at all three Big 3 children he'd personally found and tried to bring to camp in the last ten years. Not one of them made his job very easy, and none of them were older than twelve at the time he found them.

Said Big 3 cousins glanced at each other, knowing exactly how difficult they made their Protector's job. "Sorry?" Nico tried. Grover just rolled his eyes.

"That being said, Grover, right now in the book, you're just going to scare him." Katie pointed out after a moment, trying to get them back on track. A few people glanced at her in surprise, having forgotten she was even in the room, she was so quiet.

Grover winced, but didn't say anything. Maybe if he hadn't gotten Percy so freaked out, he wouldn't have skipped out on him...

("Grover," I said... to scare me.)

"Which is not something you really expect Percy to admit." Connor muttered.

"Not that we blame you at all." Travis defended himself and his brother when Percy shot them an exasperated look.

Katie looked pointedly at Grover, which he just rolled his eyes to.

("What are you.. . Promise me.")

"Well that's a promise that won't be kept." Annabeth muttered. She knew Percy. Generally he was good about keeping his promises. But in this case, Grover had freaked him out by acting so weird and not explaining anything. Percy was going to make the promise just to get Grover to hopefully drop the subject entirely and then find somewhere to ditch Grover once they reached their final stop.

Grover sighed. "Should have seen that coming." He mumbled.

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" Clarisse asked nobody in particular.

Percy shrugged. He wasn't sorry.

(This seemed like... he could.)

People sighed, Mrs. O'Leary whimpered. "Somehow I don't think he kept this promise." Reyna said to Jason, quietly.

"Yup." Jason agreed, shaking his head.

"How is he still alive?" Gwen asked Dakota, just as quietly. If he couldn't even keep such a simple promise when Grover obviously felt so strongly about it... She understood that Percy had no clue what was happening in this stage of the books, but still.

Percy wasn't paying attention to any of this. He was thinking about how the next chapter would probably have him in it.

("Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.)

"Let's go with 'or something'." Rachel suggested seriously. "I think I prefer my introduction to the divine over this." She muttered to herself.

"Didn't Percy stab you with Riptide?" Annabeth overheard her, and just had to ask.

"Yup. And there were walking skeletons involved. But he still explained a heck of a lot more than Grover is right now." Rachel said cheerfully.

"Yeah, and the next time they met, they blew up the band room of my school." Paul muttered under his breath.

Everyone was staring at Rachel in shock, blinking.

"It should come up in the books." She said, noticing the looks she was getting.

(No answer.)

"Grover!"

"Man, you are handling this all wrong."

"Way to make it worse."

"If he wasn't going to ditch before, he sure is now."

Grover turned red. He knew he could have handled that better, but he hadn't thought he was this bad. Hindsight. It's a thing.

("Grover- that... is going to die?")

"Normally I would say yes, but if this was really somebody else's string, and if they kept living long enough for you to meet them and consider them to be a friend, then clearly it was more symbolic than anything. Normally once the string is cut, that's it." Apollo said slowly, frowning. He could not see whose fate this ultimately was. His vision was being clouded on the matter.

"... In this case, I would say symbolic. And maybe a bit of a warning, that the person's fate was already sealed..." Percy trailed off, not sure how he should feel about that. If they were here, than there had to be a way of fixing it, right? That's what the Fates brought them here for, wasn't it? For them all to do better?

(He looked at me... best on my coffin.)

"So, what did you pick?" Percy asked Grover.

He thought about it, "You know, I was thinking some nice water-lilies, or even-"

Annabeth cut him off and asked in her best innocent voice, "How about some moon-lace?"

Percy froze, and his face went blank, which told the futures that he was either wildly trying to come up with a response that would let him keep his head, or fighting off a painful memory. "Moon-lace? What made you think of that?" He finally asked after a moment. "I came back, didn't I?" He asked under his breath, not thrilled that she'd brought it up.

"What's moon-lace?" Gwen asked nobody in particular.

"It's a flower that only grows on one island in the entire world. Not many manage to visit this place, although all usually find their way back..." Chiron answered, watching Percy sadly. He'd seen many demigods return from Ogygia with moon-lace in their pocket. He smirked briefly as he noticed the look on Annabeth's face, this would be interesting when they finally made it that far.

Poseidon cut in before Annabeth could answer Percy. "That's the end of the chapter. And Annabeth, Percy is correct. He came back, he didn't choose to stay." He ignored the confusion from the demigods and glanced around before smirking again. "Hades, here." He said simply, and threw the book at his other brother.

After a brief glare, Hades sighed and opened the book, eager to get this over with.

Before he could start though, 2 more people appeared. One mortal, bound and gagged, that made the Jackson's eyes widen in apprehension, and a demigod with a scar on his face.

Chapter 5: Gabe

Notes:

Rewrite done: 3-04-24 Some content added or expanded upon, grammar and such fixed, etc. Major change in one of my characters going forward.

... I had some reviews on this and other chapters that... well, lets just say they didn't like what I tried to do with the Jackson's original reactions to seeing Gabe again for the first time in years. In the edits I've actually toned it down? Slightly? They are still reacting, but not as strongly. I feel like it's important, though, that they not be indifferent to him for several reasons. 1) He abused them for years. It's never outright stated just how bad it really got for Percy, but it's certainly implied that Percy was struck more than once, at least that's how I read it, and we know he hit Sally more than once going off her reaction to his raising his fist at the end of the book. But I think it's safe to say there was abuse going on in that apartment towards both Sally and Percy. 2) It doesn't matter how strong you are. The fear from living that kind of life doesn't just leave you. Maybe if they had had longer than the four/five years I'm giving them to truly 'get over it' they could control themselves a bit more. But, they would still have that fear from seeing him again.

Granted, I personally have never dealt with abuse, so I do not know first hand any of this. But I feel like this is a more realistic path to take.

I'm trying here.

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underlined).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Also, if it feels like a lot of people haven't been talking much, that's mostly because either I forgot they were there, or I just couldn't think of what their reactions would be. Yes, I know, I'm a terrible person. On with the story!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Poseidon cut in before Annabeth could answer Percy. "That's the end of the chapter. And Annabeth, Percy is correct. He came back, he didn't choose to stay." He ignored the confusion from the demigods and glanced around before smirking again. "Hades, here." He said simply, and threw the book at his other brother.

After a brief glare, Hades sighed and opened the book, eager to get this over with.

Before he could start though, 2 more people appeared. One mortal, bound and gagged, that made the Jackson's eyes widen in apprehension, and a demigod with a scar on his face.

Again, only a few people noticed the slight reaction of the Jacksons. Annabeth's eyes widened when she recognized Gabe from the news during the first quest they'd gone on. The futures ignored the mortal and stared at the demigod in apprehension, while he stared back nervously.

At first, nobody moved, but then Annabeth and Thalia were out of their seats and across the room. "Anna-" Luke started to say, only to get punched, hard. Twice.

He was fairly certain he felt as least two ribs crack.

Luke flinched back in shock, along with all the other younger Greek demigods. The other futures smirked or nodded in approval.

"What the-" Travis muttered in shock, glancing between the two Luke's.

"At least it wasn't the face." Luke muttered, grimacing.

"I'm not healing that." Will muttered to nobody in particular, earning shocked looks from the younger ones.

"What did you do?" Connor burst out, looking at his brother in shock. He shook his head, but he had a fairly decent idea of just what it was the two girls were angry about.

He had hoped, though, that Thalia at least would understand a bit more why he was doing it. Apparently not.

Luke glanced at the girls, then looked at Percy. "How much have you told them? And what time is this, exactly? The Fates didn't tell me much, just that they were trying to fix something and needed me here." Well, he could guess when they were just by seeing who the younger campers in the room were. If he was right...

Percy studied him for a moment before he sighed. "We haven't told them anything, we were letting the books do it. As for when we are... yesterday was the Winter Solstice meeting you year-rounders attended as a field trip."

Luke swallowed and glanced at his younger self for a moment. "Did anything-"

"No." Everyone else looked confused by the small exchange.

Luke nodded in understanding and glanced at his younger self again, resolving to changing the younger boys mind, knowing that it wouldn't be easy. But this one hadn't taken those steps yet. He was angry, but there was still a chance... "Can I see the book? Just to catch up on what you've already read." He requested, and retreated to a corner when Hades handed the book over.

What none of the younger kids or Romans missed was that the futures were all watching him, most with a hand on their weapons. Apollo was still staring at his son, shocked that the healer would refuse to treat a potential patient. He was so shocked that he himself had yet to see to Luke's cracked ribs.

Luke glanced around quickly before forcibly taking everyone's attention off of himself and onto the other man that came with his older self.

Grover glared with his hand over his nose, mirrored by his younger self beside him. "I don't see how this is supposed to be a good surprise." He grumbled. He'd only ever seen Gabe briefly in the newspapers he'd caught glimpses of while they traveled west, or in that news interview. And that was years and one war ago.

However, there was no forgetting that stench. It had covered his best friend for a year, after all. And lingered for some time afterward, at that.

Percy grunted with a conflicted look on his face, while Percy was merely staring blankly at his tormentor. Sally was having a hard time even looking in his direction, but she was managing, even if her hand had Paul's in a death grip.

It had been many years since Percy and Sally had seen Gabe. They'd had those years to heal and move on from what he put them through... or so they thought. His sudden appearance was throwing them both off emotionally.

"Who are you?" Reyna asked him suspiciously, eyeing him. Only a few had noticed how the Jackson's acted since he came.

"This is Gabe Ugliano." Paul introduced the room to his wife's ex-husband, eyes narrowed. Sally had told him a lot of things about this man. For the longest time he'd been confused about why a woman like Sally would put up with a man like this, it wasn't until he'd been told the truth about Percy's heritage and life that his questions had been answered regarding this man.

Gabe was still gagged, but he was openly glaring at Sally and Percy. At first he'd been too shocked by suddenly being here to notice anything, but the moment he saw Sally and that brat, he was enraged. That was the brat that destroyed his car!

"Oh, what is that smell?" Hazel asked suddenly, holding her nose and wondering where it was coming from suddenly.

"Well, guess now we know why Percy calls him 'Smelly Gabe'." Frank said with a grimace.

Gabe heard and his glare turned on the two of them, which was the moment the Fates saw fit to remove the gag. He felt it leave, and decided to deal with those two brats later. "Sally! What is going on here?!" He barked, glaring at her again.

Sally cringed slightly at hearing that voice again after so many years. She shook it off, though, quickly looking between Paul and Poseidon. Then she stood and walked towards him, schooling her features. She was strong, she was the one to end his miserable existence in the first place! She could do this. "Gabriel," She started in that light tone she used with him when she wanted him to know that she was not happy about something. It was the only thing she could do against him. "We're here to, well, read about some of Percy's adventures over the years. I'm not quite sure why you were brought here, but..." She trailed off at his furious look.

"And I would care about that brat because?" He spat dangerously.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself." Poseidon appeared between Sally's ex and his former lover suddenly. "Poseidon, Percy's birth father." He glared.

Gabe almost snarled. "So you're the one that ran off and left me with your brat." He sneered. Sally sucked in a breath and quickly pulled Poseidon away, glancing at Hades as she did. Hades raised an eyebrow, wondering what she wanted him to do, but her glance turned pleading.

He sighed and flashed himself and Gabe out of the room to explain things somewhere where tempers weren't liable to flare up. Especially with Poseidon involved. He suspected that was part of why Sally asked him to do it, well, that and he suspected something about the mortals' fate after these books. There was this look about Gabe... (He suspected another part of it was that he was the one uncle that didn't constantly threaten to kill Percy.)

Once Gabe was gone, Demeter and Persephone immediately cleared the air and made the room smell like flowers. "How your noses survived living with him is a miracle." Demeter muttered sourly, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Sally smiled weakly, but didn't say anything in the awkward silence that followed while everyone looked between the three Jacksons.

Nobody was quite sure how to react to the silent conversation they could see being exchanged between the three, but couldn't understand. They knew that something was wrong, but had no idea what, and didn't know where to begin asking.

Those few who had been realizing something was wrong weren't sure how to voice their suspicions.

Sally was the first to look away, emotions showing on her face before she hid them quickly enough that nobody could decide what they'd seen.

She couldn't believe it, she was angry, she felt guilty. Percy assured her that nothing really bad happened, but the mere fact that she'd brought that man into the house at all, putting him in the position that something could happen, 'not that bad or not', really got to her. She brought him into the picture to protect Percy from the monsters outside, not knowing that she'd let a monster inside.

She endured it for her sons sake, thinking that Gabe wouldn't dare touch him, only to now know otherwise.

Both Percy's were beside her in an instant, trying to reassure her.

Percy glanced up and looked around at everyone else and sighed. "Stay with her." He said quietly. Everyone else deserved some kind of explanation for the family drama they were sure to witness or read about soon. He stepped back and formed a bubble around the two of them so that Sally wouldn't have to hear anything.

"Are you alright?" Nico asked him quietly.

He sighed again. "Personally, I'd rather be facing your father down again on the River Styx." He said dryly.

Nico grimaced. "That wasn't fun." He muttered with a shudder. Percy shrugged.

"Did he just say 'again'?" Reyna asked nobody in particular. The Romans exchanged concerned looks, but didn't say anything.

"He never actually told me the details of that trip." Annabeth said mildly, but all the future Greeks knew roughly what Percy was referring to.

Finally, Percy sighed and glanced around again. "Gabe... liked to smack me around when mom wasn't there. He usually kept from going too far, except for the one time..." He trailed off. "Well, that was a long time ago. The point is, living with him could be a nightmare and it's been a while since we've seen him." He said simply, downplaying everything as much as possible. In reality, he went too far more than once, but Percy wasn't about to say that. He wasn't comfortable telling them as much as he had.

"School became something of a haven actually, because it got me away from him. As much as I hated being away from mom..." He shrugged. "I didn't know that he was hitting mom, too. I thought it was just me. Apparently he was really careful to not let on to either of us what he was doing to the other. And I can't prove anything, but I know he did something to a few of the girls in the building."

"Your friend, Lily." Sally said suddenly, as the bubble dropped. "I think... something he said once. I wonder..." She looked troubled as both her sons trapped her in their arms, with Paul coming up and wrapping all three in a hug.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Percy mumbled bitterly while Percy's eyes widened at the thought.

Luke shook his head and walked over to them, pulled Percy out of the pile, and dragged him into his own hug.

"Well, I can certainly confirm that Mr. Ugliano is indeed excellent for anger management." Hades said, flashing back into the room with Gabe. Gabe's face was bruised and he was leaning like his ribs were hurting him, which everybody pretended not to notice. Persephone raised an eyebrow, wondering just what the mortal had said or done in one conversation to make Hades angry enough to rough him up. All Hades was doing was explaining what was going on, nothing else. So why...

That's when Sally attacked.

She punched, clawed, kicked, and pummeled the man she'd married to keep her son safe. She never would have let him into her home if she thought for one moment that he was going to end up being the one to hurt her son the most! She punched out of anger and self-hatred, hatred that she'd never noticed- never even suspected- that he'd ever laid a hand on her child.

"Sally! That's enough for now." Poseidon whispered in her ear as both he and Ares worked to pull her off of her ex-husband. Poseidon was just as enraged as she was, but he was saving it for later. When he could have as much uninterrupted time as possible with the man.

"Uh- we got another note." Annabeth suddenly announced from where she was standing beside Percy and Luke, one hand rubbing up and down Percy's back while she held up said note with her other.

You now know why the Jackson's... don't like him so much. We've made it so that no matter what you do to him, you will not kill him or permanently damage him. He will heal on his own in time. Pity, I know. But if you just up and kill him you won't have anything to take your anger out on for the rest of the book.

Everyone smiled evilly in Gabe's direction, and everyone pretended not to notice when Riptide found it's way lodged in the floor between Gabe's legs.

Don't worry about those girls. They have all been rescued and are safe now. They are in a program to help get their lives together again after all they've been through.

The Fates.

"He did do it." Sally muttered darkly, eyes closed in grief. She was glad those girls were safe now, but she was angry at the thought of what they must have gone through.

"I would like to speak with my family. Alone." Poseidon suddenly announced.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Percy said slowly, and everyone else nodded. Poseidon flashed them away before Sally and Percy could take more than two steps towards the door. Paul frowned, but didn't say anything about being left behind, this Poseidon didn't know anything about him, he'd at least managed something of a conversation with the Poseidon of his time, that sort-of-conversation had yet to happen here at all.

"Why don't we go ahead and take our break now instead of later. Meet back here in... three hours." Hestia decided, and everyone dispersed. Most of the group, especially the demigods, made their way to the kitchens, leaving Gabe in the throne room with Mrs. O'Leary standing guard. The very protective Mrs. O'Leary who now knew that this human had hurt her boy...

"Come on Annie." Thalia said quietly, coming up to stand beside her sister while Luke did the same with Grover. Catching Luke's eyes, Thalia silently warned him against any funny business and promised a later conversation would be happening. Luke merely grimaced, but nodded in understanding. Hopefully they could change things. Hopefully Luke could still be talked around. Hopefully they could stop all of his mistakes.

Annabeth and Grover were shocked and worried. Sure, they'd known that Percy's life with Gabe wasn't the best, and they knew that he hadn't told them everything, but they hadn't known that Gabe was that bad! It was small comfort that apparently Sally hadn't even known the extent of things, and she lived in the same apartment as everything that was happening.

By some unspoken decision, most of the demigods gathered in the dining room, snacks quickly appearing on the tables in front of them, not that all of them picked at the selection.

"Here." Thalia said quietly, grabbing a random piece of fruit and shoving it in Annabeth's hands. "Eat." She demanded, barely registering Luke doing the same with Grover on the other side of the table. For a moment, if she closed her eyes she could almost forget the last three, almost four years and imagine themselves back on the road so many years ago. It wasn't that she wasn't just as surprised and shocked by the new information as everyone else was, she liked Percy, too. He was like her annoying younger brother. But Annabeth needed her attention right here and now.

Luke glanced around and snorted quietly. "I don't think I've ever seen this group so subdued around a dinner table before." He said quietly. Thalia looked up and sighed.

"Percy is the big brother of camp. He's the leader, the one everyone looks to. Learning this about him is a shock." She said, just as quietly. "Although some things make so much more sense now." She muttered. Like how protective he could get when a friend was threatened. Like his rage when someone's sibling was threatened. His reluctance to talk about his life before camp, his understanding when a new camper arrived after having left a bad home situation.

"I hate this." Annabeth said suddenly. "Not even Sally knew about any of that, and now, because of these stupid books, Percy's been forced to tell everyone. He didn't want to, but..." With Gabe's presence he must have felt like he had no choice to tell them up front or risk them finding out on their own later on.

"This isn't how I wanted to learn more about him." Clarisse muttered in agreement. She suddenly snorted in disgust, threw the remains of her sandwich back on the table, and stalked out. Eventually her wandering feet led her back to the throne room, where she smirked at the sight of Mrs. O'Leary having some fun with Gabe.

"Hey, girl." She greeted the large dog. "Why don't you go find something to eat and stretch your legs?" She whispered in the dogs' ear, glancing at Gabe as she did. "I'll... keep an eye on him for you." She smirked slightly.

Her and Percy may not always get along, especially not in public. But in private, he was her brother.

And nobody hurt her siblings.

No. One.

Meanwhile, with the Jackson's and Seafolk...

"Sally, why don't we go and talk?" Amphitrite asked the mortal woman, knowing Poseidon wanted to talk to his sons alone. And she decided that Sally could use a mother-mother talk. Sally glanced back at her boys, but let the goddess pull her into another room.

Once the women were gone, Poseidon pulled both of his boys into his arms, trembling slightly with rage at the thought of that mortal hurting them and the fact that he hadn't noticed. He'd tried to keep an eye on them, but obviously he'd missed a very key part of their lives. The worst part was, that even if he had noticed what was happening, he still wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. Not without running the risk of exposing Percy to something far worse than Gabe before he was ready.

If Percy noticed his father shaking, he didn't comment on it. "I'm fine. I made it through. It's alright." He said softly instead, trying to reassure the Lord of the Oceans. He vaguely registered Triton easing Percy out of Poseidon's arms and clinging to him while quietly asking questions about Gabe.

Finally, Poseidon spoke. "I'm sorry, Percy. I thought I did a better job keeping an eye on you and your mother. But I never even knew. If I had... I don't know, maybe I could have helped somehow." He said, frustrated. Even though he knew just as well as Percy that he couldn't have acted on any of it.

"That would have just drawn Zeus's attention." Percy said what they all knew to be the reality of the situation. "I couldn't have dealt with him. Not then. The only reason..." He trailed off, not wanting to reveal the encounter he had with the Olympian King at the end of the first quest just yet. They would get there soon enough in the book.

"That doesn't change that I should have known something was going on." Poseidon insisted, frustration in his voice. "I knew Gabe was a piece of trash, but it never even occurred to me that he might actually be hurting you or your mother."

"It's fine. It happened, we moved on... Mostly. It's in the past." Percy insisted, eager to get away from this topic now.

Poseidon sighed and closed his eyes, but instead of trying to say anything else on the subject, he turned to Percy. "I want to look you over." He said simply.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked. Both boys exchanged a glance, confused.

"I want to check that you're not hurt." Poseidon explained. "Now, I may be no Healer like Apollo, or even one of his children, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve." He smirked slightly. And he'd picked up enough knowledge about medicine from his many, many years of life to be a passable doctor or medic even without those 'tricks'.

"Just him?" Percy clarified.

"I assume you've seen one of Apollo's bunch at some point in the last few years, they should have picked up on and fixed any lingering issues." Poseidon challenged with a raised eyebrow. Percy turned red, but didn't comment on how much time he may or may not have spent in the Infirmary tent. Poseidon might decide to follow through on checking him over as well if he did.

He had to resist the urge to flash straight to that piece of trash's side and inflict proper punishment right then and there at what he found on his eight year old sons body. There was bruising all along his torso, a fractured rib, and his ankle was still swollen from a recent sprain. Instead, he formed a sphere of salt water and held it in place against his sons torso, making it seep into the boys skin and directing it to the problem areas before he did the same thing with his ankle. He nodded in satisfaction when another scan revealed the injuries to be healed now.

Percy sighed in relief as all his aches disappeared, even the one in his ankle that he hadn't even noticed was still around. Triton frowned at his reaction, but said nothing.

The child was only eight. He should not be so good at hiding something like this.

"Finished what you needed?" Amphitrite asked, leading Sally back into the room. Sally went straight to her boys and tugged them both into her arms, clenching her teeth as she tried to rein in her emotions.

"Yes." Poseidon said simply, and didn't go into any details about what he found or anything they might have talked about. He would tell her later if she asked, but he didn't think she would.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Sally demanded of her sons, but it was mostly directed at Percy. Percy was still young enough that he wouldn't have dared go against Gabe. Not like that. Percy, on the other hand...

Percy looked down for a moment. "At first, I was scared of what he would do. He told me that if I ever said anything, he would... well, that's not important now." He cut himself off and muttered. "And it wasn't that bad when I started going to boarding schools because I wasn't there, I never thought that he was-" He cut himself off again and glanced at their audience, not sure how much his mother would want him to reveal.

"You didn't think he was hitting me, too." Sally said quietly, drawing Percy closer when he gasped with wide eyes. She didn't think that whatever Gabe said to threaten Percy with was not important, but she didn't push. She knew Percy would tell her, but she didn't want to drag it out right now.

Percy nodded, rage drifting through his eyes again before he controlled himself. "And when I was home for the summers I was able to find some kind of job to get away from him, and he mostly left me alone if I could provide for his poker games. The more I could give him, the less attention he paid me." He shrugged. "Lily usually joined me whenever I left the house, as much as her parents let her, anyway. She disappeared when I was... almost ten." He said, glancing at Percy and thinking back. Percy gasped with wide eyes.

"I felt so bad for her poor parents, what they went through..." Sally drifted off, biting her lip in remembrance. "It never even crossed my mind that Gabe might have had something to do with it until not long before you came home from Yancy." She shook her head, disappointed with herself.

Everyone fell silent for a few moments, thinking about what had been revealed. Poseidon sat there with his hands in a fist, absolutely livid and promising himself that he would spend some quality time with Gabriel Ugliano later. Right now he was going to be here for his family.

"Mom? You're not mad, are you? You know it wasn't your fault, you were trying to protect me, you had no way of knowing he would turn out like that." Percy said quietly, watching his mother carefully for any sign of tears. Truthfully, he was surprised she hadn't started crying by now. But then, maybe she didn't have any tears left to shed over this particular subject.

"Protect you?" Percy asked, confused.

Percy sighed. "Gabe smells so bad that he managed to cover up our demigod scent so that monsters wouldn't find us. As children of Poseidon, we're stronger than most, which makes our scent stronger, too. If Gabe hadn't been there, we probably would have had monster attacks every time we turned around growing up." Percy explained with a huff.

"Of course I'm mad. It- I brought him into our home, into our lives, to keep you safe! Instead he was the one- And I should have noticed that something was off, I should have realized... Just how many times did I walk in and interrupt a beating? How many times did-" She cut herself off again, looking away, and now the tears came. Not sad tears, no. These were angry tears. She was mad. Mad at herself, mad at Gabe, mad at Poseidon (don't ask her about that one, even she knows that that one is irrational.) The only person involved in this whole thing that she wasn't angry with was Percy, who'd been a child at the time and couldn't have known better.

"You couldn't have known just how he would turn out." Percy reiterated. "And I went to some lengths to hide things, anyway." Percy was actually a little proud of how well he was able to do that. He knew that nobody else here (except his younger self) would share that pride.

"You shouldn't have had to." Sally snapped a little. Percy had nothing to say to that, he just held onto his mother tighter.

Amphitrite gave them a few moments before quietly saying that they should be getting back to the others. "We've been here nearly two hours." She added.

"Really?" Triton asked, checking the time for himself. "Huh." He muttered, and exchanged a look with his father, one that promised that they would be making that mortal pay for daring to touch Percy and Sally. Poseidon himself made a mental note to find out just what happened with those girls, but he trusted the Fates when they said that the girls in question were safe now and recovering.

Grooowwl.

"Maybe a quick trip past the kitchens first." Amphitrite snorted as three stomachs growled loudly, making both Percy's flush red while Sally merely bit her lip and looked away.

"Come on." Triton picked up Percy and made for the door, intent on walking and drawing out their return for as long as possible.

"Hey!" Thalia called when she spotted them. "Lady Hestia called for a three hour break, you still have an hour if you want to eat something." Most of the demigods were still in the dining room, but only Apollo, Hermes, and Hestia were still there. Poseidon gave Hestia a grateful nod, and took a seat with most of his family while Percy broke off from the group to join Annabeth and Thalia.

"I ask that none of you bother Percy about this. It should go without saying, but..." Poseidon announced to the demigods, looking sternly at those he'd decided were the most likely to try and pester for details. Everyone nodded their understanding, and small talk picked back up.

Nobody told him that the demigods had already talked about that very thing and decided to let Percy talk about it in his own time.

Looking around, Percy smiled. This was just like that first dinner he'd had back at camp after that first quest all over again. The only difference was Thalia and Nico being here. But Annabeth, Grover, Luke, and himself. They'd been a fairly tight group after they returned from L.A. until Grover left for his search. And then Luke... He shoved the memories away, sure that they would read all about it later.

"That... might be a disaster." Thalia muttered suddenly.

"What?" Annabeth asked, following her gaze. "Uh-oh." She said when she saw Percy sitting with the Stolls. "That can't be good." Percy was bad enough without having had the Stoll brother influence during his younger years.

"Yeah... He does not need their help. He gets enough ideas on his own." Nico agreed.

"I'm not that bad." Percy deadpanned. Although even he could agree that the sight was somewhat unnerving.

"I'll mention something to my younger self." Luke promised. Percy was the only one, next to himself, that could keep Travis and Connor under something resembling control. Having a version of Percy that joined them more often then he tried to stop them... Well, Camp might actually burn to the ground. Without Kronos or any monsters helping it along.

"We should return before Zeus or Hera start to get impatient. That's three hours." Hestia finally announced after a while, standing and looking around at the demigods.

"Joy." Percy deadpanned, but he stood up. If this next chapter involved what he thought it might involve... This was going to be fun.

It wasn't until they got back to the throne room and saw her there that they realized- Clarisse hadn't been seen in hours. More then that, the futures realized that she'd probably been in this room the entire time...

With Gabe.

Alone.

"Alright, Clarisse?" Percy asked her quietly, studying her.

"Fine." She said shortly, and nothing more was said on the subject.

"Hey, girl. Where have you been?" Percy greeted Mrs. O'Leary when she came in and immediately reclaimed her spot behind her human, almost wrapped around him protectively while she eyed the mortal that her boy used to live with. The only one she allowed close was her human's mate while everyone else was warned away.

"Well, I don't think anything is ever getting at him again with her around." Paul muttered to Sally, holding her tightly. She snorted and leaned into him some more.

"Everyone here?" Hades asked, holding the book open. "Good." He muttered when nobody piped up that anybody was missing.

"Chapter three, Grover unexpectedly loses his pants?"

Notes:

edits: Lily has been removed as the twin sister and downgraded to being a friend. Gabe is still a bag of scum, though. I honestly don't even remember where I was going to go with having her as the sister, so decided to simplify things.

So far, Sally, Clarisse, Hades, and Mrs. O'Leary have let Gabe have it, and Poseidon only restrained himself in favor of helping his son.

Next chapter coming ASAP.

Chapter 6: Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

" Chapter three, Grover unexpectedly loses his pants?"

Hades asked in confusion. As the Grover's blush, everyone else starts rolling on the floor laughing. This is just what they needed after events of the past couple of hours.

(Confession time... bus terminal.)

Everyone else grumbled, but knew there was nothing they could do about it at the moment. It was done, that didn't mean they could be happy about it though.

Grover just glared at Percy, although if anybody had been paying attention, they would have noticed that there wasn't any real heat to it. Grover knew he'd been freaking Percy out. Well, he knew now. At the time...

(I know, I know. It was rude.)

Sally gave him The Look. The one all mothers have perfected to make their kid uncomfortable enough to try and defend themselves.

Hades kept reading though, so he didn't get the chance to.

(Grover was freaking me out,)

Sally conceded the point and instead started quietly lecturing Percy on why he should never do that no matter how freaked out he was.

(looking at me like... have to be sixth grade?")

Thalia, both Annabeth's, and both Luke's growled.

(Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up,)

Grover huffed.

(so I wasn't surprised... and First," I told the driver.)

"Cool! We know where... wait a minute, we already know where you live! And that isn't it!" The Stolls said together, earning weird looks from those not as used to them, and blank looks from those that were.

(A work about my mother, before you meet her.)

"Amazing!"

"Supercallifragilicousexpialidotious!" (is this how you spell it? Eh, close enough)

Everybody turned to stare at Nico.

"What? It fits." He defended. Everyone shook their heads at him, Hades wondered how much time that the kid spent in the Underworld and whether or not being in the Lotus for so long did something to him. Or maybe he'd just been hanging around Percy too long... He'd have Apollo check his head later, he decided.

(Her name is... died in a plane crash)

Everyone turned to glare at Zeus, who ignored them, even whistling innocently.

(when she was five... no family, and no diploma.)

Athena sat up and glanced at Sally, asking a silent question. Sally grinned and nodded, yes, she had gone back and gotten it. She even nodded towards her husband the English teacher.

(The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.)

Poseidon looked somewhat proud... Amphitrite looked miffed. Just because she liked Sally and Percy didn't mean she liked being reminded that Poseidon had cheated on her.

(I don't have any... She has no pictures.)

All the demigods sighed. Most of their mortal parents were the same way. Those that did have pictures never showed them, more often than not, the god/goddess just leaving them hurt too much.

(See, they weren't married.)

Hera and Amphitrite both gave Poseidon a look. He shrunk back on his throne.

(She told me he... Not dead. Lost at sea.)

Hermes whistled. "Not a lie, and not the truth either. I approve." He said, flashing Sally the thumbs up and a goofy grin.

(She worked odd jobs... But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.)

The futures looked at each other, then at Percy, then they all screamed, "YA THINK?!"

Those not expecting it (all those not from the future and not from CHB) jumped a few feet in the air, Clarisse even reached for her spear.

(Finally, she married... as a world-class jerk.)

Quite a few of the demigods hissed at him, but made no move towards him, they figured that they might as well save their strength for the bad parts. That and they were too lazy at the moment.

(When I was young... wrapped in gym shorts.)

Several people gagged, Percy sure had a way of describing things. That was pretty accurate, of course, actually having him near you and smelling like that was another story...

While Gabe struggled against his ropes and yelled stuff at Percy until Poseidon gifted him with a seaweed gag, Amphitrite made the room smell like the ocean, the problem was that she had to make it pretty strong in an effort of completely covering up Gabe's smell.

They would have to think up another solution later, she knew that not everybody could handle ocean smell for too long, especially at that intensity.

(Between the two of... all over the carpet.)

Percy grumbled something that nobody could quite guess, although the look on Percy's face told people that he was having the same thoughts.

(Hardly looking up... the last six months?)

Both Percy's cracked up, "Dude, if he actually said that I think I would have a heart-attack!" Percy exclaimed.

"I know, right! Remember when we came home that first summer he was with us?" Percy asked.

"Dude! That was priceless! The look on her face!" Percy yelled, and they both dissolved into loud, long laughter.

When people looked at Sally for an answer, she just smiled and shook her head.

(Gabe had put on weight... handsome or something.)

People looked over at Gabe and gagged. That was a pretty accurate description.

(He managed the... course. Always beer.)

Eyebrows rose, Dionysus was not happy

(Whenever I was... punch my lights out.)

Sally snapped. She didn't know what happened, all she knew was that one second she's sitting next to Paul glaring at the thing she called an ex-husband, the next, she's being dragged away from the thing by Paul and Poseidon.

The thing was rolling on the ground moaning around the gag, it looked like his nose was broken...

Several of the younger demigods looked at Sally like she was from another planet or something, while the older ones looked admiring and jealous.

Admiring that Sally was so awesome, and jealous that she was Percy's. But, they supposed that Percy of all people deserved her most...

("I don't have... up everything else.)

Athena raised an eyebrow. Don't ask why, but she had just now caught on to why Sally married this guy.

"You married him to cover Percy's scent?" She asked Sally. Sally looked around from where Paul was still trying to calm her down and nodded, looking confused. Had she really just figured it out?

Everyone else was confused too, they figured it out almost as soon as Gabe showed up. Athena was losing her touch.

Of course, if any of the demigods said that, they would be dead. The rest of the council on the other hand...

"Did you just figure that out Athena? We've all known since that thing showed up here." Hermes said. He couldn't believe that the oh-so-smart Athena took so long to realize something.

Hades quickly kept reading before Hermes could be skewered.

("You took a taxi... Am I right, Eddie?")

Annabeth whistled, "The walrus can do math... I'm impressed." This was said as sarcastically as is humanly possible. Or as demigodly as possible, whatever.

Percy smirked from his spot by Mrs. O'Leary. He had long since given up on trying to get out of the ball she had curled herself into around him and his younger self. He knew she was protective and all but, sheesh. This was a whole new level.

(Eddie, the super... "The kid just got here.)

Sally grumbled that at least Eddie tried.

("Am I right? "... passed gas in harmony.)

Some girls (some guys too, don't let them tell you any different) just scrunched up their faces and turned green, a couple didn't care, and the rest passed out. It took about a half hour for them to bring Aphrodite around, everyone else woke up when Percy splashed water on them, but Aphrodite was another matter.

Hephaestus tried everything he knew that would wake his wife up, nothing worked, not even threatening to dismantle her shoe closet that held who knows how many shoes.

Then Poseidon tried dumping water on her, Percy estimated about half the ocean. Finally, Apollo tried with some doctor thing. She finally woke up when Hestia got annoyed with it all and set her hair on fire.

Hey, peaceful does not mean a perfect angel. She can be quite devious when she wants to be. Everyone else thought it was hilarious that it was finally her hair that woke her up.

("Fine," I said... "I hope you lose.")

Dionysus grinned evilly, which surprised people because they thought he was sleeping again.

("Your report card... act so snotty!")

Demigods from the future grumbled furiously, a couple even got up to go beat some respect into the walrus.

As they walked away, they felt tremors under their feet that seemed strongest where Gabe was, but when they looked back, all they could see was Gabe screaming through his gag about an earthquake.

When they looked back at Percy, he just smiled innocently back, not that anyone bought that. The Sea people were impressed. To display that much control over an earthquake...

They needed to get him under the sea for a while.

(I slammed the... cigars and stale beer.)

A few more people started to go after Gabe, but before they could he was surrounded in a small hurricane to replace the earthquake.

While those who did not know Percy's abilities stared at him, Poseidon now realized just how much his son had been holding it in earlier. Now that he finally had a way of letting his anger out, he was still holding back so as to not destroy everything.

Zeus was also starting to be his paranoid self. Not that anyone was surprised by this...

Several people took the hint to leave Gabe to Percy for a while and took their seats again. Sally was just sad that she had ever thought that man would help protect Percy, even if he didn't know what he was doing.

(I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.)

Everyone chuckled at his sarcasm. Oh, how they missed it.

(Gabe's smell was... snipping the yarn.)

Several eyebrows rose. Jason was the only one to voice what everyone was thinking though.

"Wow, I know that he's bad and all, but..."

Percy smirked. "Yup." And left it at that.

(But as soon as I... go home without him.)

Percy looked surprisingly dejected by this, he muttered something that only Annabeth caught. She looked ticked. She would have gone over to beat some sense into him for that except for the fact that he still had an overprotective hell-hound curled around him not letting anybody close. Not even her!

Hades kept going before she had a chance to say anything, she decided to bring it up when that part came up. Sally being taken was not his fault blast it!

(A sudden chill... horrible talons.)

Everyone's eyebrows shot up, except for Annabeth and Sally's. Those two were the only ones who knew just how bad his nightmares were.

Everyone else was just wondering how wild his imagination could really run.

(Then I heard... my fears melted.)

Percy spoke before Ares could, staring at the war god as he opened his mouth. "Proud of it, remember?"

Ares sat back sulking. It was no fun making fun of somebody if they were proud of what you were going to make fun of them for.

Sally just smiled. Remembering all those times before Gabe came into the picture of going to wake up her boy from his nightmares before he woke up his sister and then she would've had to deal with getting both of them back to sleep. She was happy that even now, a war and so many years later, she could still chase those away.

(My mother can... into the room.)

If it was possible, Sally's smile grew bigger. Others looked between her and Percy in envy. Poseidon looked proud of her too.

Gabe would have said something nobody wanted to hear, but before he could make a sound the gag tightened and the hurricane around him sped back up.

(Her eyes sparkle... not even me or Gabe.)

Now everyone looked very impressed. Now that they knew what the walrus had done, for her to never raise her voice... although now that they saw how she reacted to him, they knew part of that had been fear, but they also knew Sally. They knew the lengths she would go to protect Percy or even just to make her point clear.

They had a feeling that her never yelling at Gabe was more to self-control than anything else.

("Oh, Percy."... since Christmas!")

"Ok, can one of you adults please explain to us kids why that is always, without fail, one of the first things out of any adults mouth when they see you?" Luke asked this one.

The other demigods nodded, they also wanted to know.

The gods looked startled, but thinking back on what they had observed or even what they themselves had done in the past, they realized that the demigods were right.

Sally just smiled conspiratorially and replied that they would understand someday.

All the demigods just groaned and would have said something unflattering towards Jackson mothers had it not been for the look the Percy's were giving them, daring them to say anything about his mother, despite the fact that they themselves wanted to know the same thing.

(Her red-white-and... when I came home.)

"Wait, what?! Hey Perce..." From all the futures. Percy just looked at them and grinned, while Percy put a finger to his lips as though to indicate that they weren't telling.

Sally laughed at their antics, yup, they were her sons alright. Never willing to share their candy.

Others were still a little shocked at how... alike these two were. I mean, yeah they know that they are the same person and all, but there was also a major age difference. They should not still be this similar!

(We sat together... sour strings,)

A few of the Greek futures groaned at the mention of blue food.

The Percy's just grinned again. Percy was just happy that it seemed like that habit of theirs never went away.

The past people and the Romans were a little confused, although Hazel did remember Percy having his pop blue the night before...

At their confused looks, Annabeth decided to explain that Percy was obsessed with blue food. He never explained why, he just ate nothing but blue food if he could help it. Now everyone understood that part, but now they were wondering what was up with the obsession. They had a feeling that only the three Jackson's knew, judging by the understanding on Percy 's face.

(she ran her hand... doing all right?)

People smiled at Sally. She was a good mother, they had a good relationship. Hera once again wondered why she didn't have that kind of relationship with her sons. Why she doesn't seem to understand is anybodies best guess.

(I told her she... glad to see her.)

Sally and the Percy's smiled at each other. They didn't need words, they knew.

(From the other... I gritted my teeth.)

As did everyone else in the room.

The hurricane around Gabe increased again, although this time Percy looked at Poseidon shocked. He shrugged before telling the room that he couldn't let Percy have all the fun.

This time the hurricane was so huge that Triton and Percy had to work together to form a water barrier to keep it contained, people were really glad that Gabe was gagged, otherwise his screams would be much, much louder.

(My mom is the... jerk like Gabe.)

"You know, I think I'll settle for a really nice English teacher..." Percy said thoughtfully while looking at the ceiling. Paul beamed at him before pulling Sally in for a hug.

Percy just smiled at the ceiling.

(For her sake, I... convinced myself.)

Hermes whistled, "The mark of a good actor and/or liar. To be able to put yourself in the role so well that you convince yourself."

Sally looked troubled while the Percy's just smiled at each other. If it looked a little sad, nobody commented.

The Stolls were actually looking a little cheated that they hadn't known that Percy was such a good actor, in fact if they had him on their side they could get away with anything, even blame... it... on somebody... else...

Their eyes widened, they suddenly shot up and glared at Percy before shouting, "It was you!"

Percy looked over confused. "What was me?" Only Percy, who knew the guy so well since he was the guy (?) , saw the signs that showed he was in full acting mode.

He smiled inwardly, another mark of a good actor was when nobody could tell you were acting.

The Stolls faltered for a moment before continuing. "All those pranks we got blamed for, the ones we didn't claim but nobody would believe us, that was you! We got blamed and punished for YOUR pranks!" Normally they speak in turns, but when they get mad like this... they tend to speak in unison the whole time. The futures were a little taken back. They had never seen the Stolls this angry before.

Then again, some of those punishments they were talking about had been kind of harsh... and if the Stolls hadn't pulled the pranks... but were still punished... and the whole time it had been Percy?!

Before Percy could say anything to get himself out of his newest mess, Clarisse spoke up. "Wait a minute, are you telling me that the guy who can't pull a successful prank to save his life actually out pranks the Stolls, and then pins it on the Stolls?! Without ever getting caught?!" The futures were starting to look like their world was ending. Truths that they knew, were no longer truths. What was next, was Artemis secretly married?!

Now everybody was staring at Percy in shock. Percy realized that he was caught, did it seriously take them four years to figure out that he was a master prankster? Of course, he was nothing alone, but when he was with Lily...

The Percy's just grinned, but there was something different to it. Now, his usual mischievous grin surpassed Hermes by far. They thought his troublemaker grin spelled trouble before, but now...

Percy stood up and bowed, "Allow me to reintroduce myself. Percy Jackson, part of the Twin Pranking Terrors of Manhattan." Here he grinned again. "If you thought those were good, you should see what I can do with my sister, honestly, pranking just isn't the same without her. Most of my pranks were actually designed and thought up with two people in mind, I just modified them a bit."

The futures just stared at him. Sally was trying to hold it in, oh yes, she remembered their pranks. Honestly though, she doubts that she even knows of half of them.

Suddenly Percy turned to Percy. "Remember that one time when we went to the station?"

Percy grinned and laughed, "Oh, man. Their faces!"

Now both Percy's were gone. Everyone just continued to watch as they lost it. Every so often one of them managed to choke out some detail of a prank that seemed absolutely meaningless out of context, but apparently was the best part.

The rest of the Seven froze as they thought of something. They were going to be on a ship for who knows how long. A small ship with only so much room to move around and release excess energy, with a cooped up Leo and Percy. Two devoted pranksters, two highly hyperactive boys who couldn't sit still to save their lives, one of whom could prank circles around the Stoll brothers and not get caught. They. Were. Doomed. (Hazel and Frank were already informed about the trip to Rome that was being planned. The four working on the Argo II already figured that if Percy was going to Alaska with them, then they were probably the 'missing' two members of the crew)

Judging by the Greeks reactions, the Romans were suddenly very glad that Percy was leaving for Alaska. Hopefully he didn't manage a prank on his way out the door...

The futures were a little floored that all those pranks that they thought had been the Stolls, weren't. They had been brilliant, and at the time the Stolls had insisted that not even they could dream up something like this, that this was way beyond them, how insulted they had looked at the thought that somebody could out-prank the pranking menaces of Camp Half-Blood... and all this time it had been Percy. The Stolls suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of some very apologetic demigods.

The guy they would have sworn up and down that he couldn't prank somebody to save his life.

When they finally calmed down, Hades decided to just keep reading at Sally's request. She really didn't want her boys to start sharing their pranking stories. Those could go on for hours and that was only the pranks she knew about. She also didn't want any of the Stolls to get any more ideas than they already had. Nor did she want the futures to take revenge for those pranks at the moment.

She just hoped and prayed that the demigods never fell victim to Lily's pranks...

(I started choking... didn't seem so bad.)

The Stolls grumbled at the reminder of Percy's acting skills. It just wasn't fair!

(Until that trip to... scare you?" "No, Mom.")

Sally raised an eyebrow. Now that she knew the full story, she knew that wasn't true. Why was he lying and how had she not caught that? Of course, she still felt that something was up, but... to just miss an outright lie like that... for that matter, why was he lying about it?

Others in the room were wondering the same thing, while others felt like they knew the answer to that one. He didn't want to worry her, nor did he know that she would know what he was talking about.

(I felt bad lying... would sound stupid.)

Sally bit back a groan. Seriously, that's why he was outright lying about this? She understood why he had been lying about how Gabe treated them, she wished that that hadn't been needed, but he had a better reason there. This was no reason! She would have said something, but Percy caught her eye and she decided to settle for later.

The demigods who had been wondering why too now understood. They'd all been there before.

(She pursed her lips... didn't push me.)

Sally muttered something that nobody caught, but her sons felt like they knew anyway.

Percy was a little surprised, either his older self hadn't quite lied as well as normal, or she was getting better at catching him in a lie. He was going to go with her getting better.

("I have a surprise... nights- same cabin.")

All three Jackson's and Poseidon grinned at the mention of that beach. They loved that place.

("When?" She smiled... wasn't enough money.)

Percy shuffled into a more comfortable position against Mrs. O'Leary before stating softly that another reason was that it just wasn't the same there without Lily.

Very few heard him, though those that did pretended they hadn't.

(Gabe appeared... you hear me?")

Poseidon appeared near Gabe within the hurricane that was still going on. Luckily for the younger kids, they couldn't see what he did.

He came out and announced that from now on, anyone who wanted to beat up Gabe need only signal and he would let them in. The hurricane would not hurt them and would provide some cover since the younger kids didn't necessarily need to see that.

(I wanted to... get out of here.)

Percy gritted his teeth. If the hurricane got a little stronger under the influence of two powerful people, nobody said anything. It was now at a level that could rival Hurricane Katrina. Luckily for the throne room, the two were demonstrating a surprising amount of control over it.

It was only worse now that he knew the full story behind why his mom had not wanted to anger him, why she had cared.

("I was on my... serious about that?")

Several people disappeared inside the hurricane. They looked much calmer when they came back out. That was when Poseidon and Percy made the executive decision of ending the hurricane. They were getting tired, it was getting harder and harder to control the hurricane.

Poseidon still told them to ask when they wanted at him, he would send them somewhere until they were done.

People were just going to have to wait. The rest of the council could easily take him somewhere else if they wanted to no problem.

("I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go.")

A lot of the demigods grumbled, which Percy grinned at. Honestly, he was a little surprised by their support of him against Gabe. He had been scared that they would start thinking he was weak, that they couldn't trust him to fight alongside them, now he knew that that was stupid.

("Of course he will,"... Sour cream. The works.")

Hermes whistled again. He was really liking this mortal. Now he had an idea of where Percy got his apparent mischievousness that rivaled his sons. Percy and his missing sister were master pranksters and actors, and Sally was sneaky with getting what she needed. He needed to go through their ancestry, they had to be distant legacies of himself or something, there was no other explanation.

(Gabe softened a bit... clothes budget, right?")

Aphrodite screeched. Those who hadn't been prepared for it themselves felt their ears ringing for hours.

She turned to Sally and told her in no uncertain terms that they were going shopping. Sally looked a little shocked and apprehensive, but when she looked to Percy for help, he just shrugged, resigned. She then looked to Amphitrite, who just smiled sympathetically.

Piper joined her in asking others for help when her mother demanded that she accompany them, she too got no help. All the other futures knew that there was no getting out of this one. Those who didn't have personal experience with Aphrodite had heard the stories from those that did.

("Yes, honey," my... but there and back.")

At mention of the car, Percy, Sally, and Grover grinned. Percy's grin scared some people. A lot of them felt that they were going to have nightmares for a while.

Gabe also started struggling against the ropes. Apparently, all his beatings hadn't gotten through his thick skull. Oh well, people were too tired right now to bother.

They did have to wonder about the car though. Only Annabeth seemed to know everything that happened, having been the one to help Chiron bring the boys into the Big House.

The rest of the futures just knew it was destroyed somehow, although they had a feeling it had something to do with Percy's Minotaur horn.

("We'll be very careful.")

They just grinned again. Careful didn't take an angry Minotaur into account. Gabe started struggling harder against the ropes.

Finally, Poseidon set off a small earthquake under him in warning. He would have gotten worse, but Poseidon didn't have the energy to deal with him at the moment.

(Gabe scratched his... my poker game.")

A few people turned towards him in disbelief. He didn't interrupt it, he funded it for crying out loud!

A couple of the older kids who didn't really care about the younger kids in the room cursed a bit before the women stopped them with a look. But seriously, lets face it. They're demigods. If none of those kids have never heard the same or worse then it would have been a miracle.

Sally in particular was looking at Percy when she scolded the older kids for their mouths.

Jaws dropped when the kid, the 8 year old, nonchalantly informed her that he'd heard worse. When Sally made to demand who from, he just looked at Gabe. Percy nodded beside him.

The next thing everybody knew, they were waiting for Sally and Gabe to be brought back.

(Maybe if I kick... soprano for a week.)

"Please tell me-" Percy started but was cut off by Percy shaking his head sadly and looking at Sally.

Percy would've gone off with the colorful words Gabe taught him, but Percy felt that something like that wouldn't be good for his hearing later, so he stopped him.

A few of the demigods had a feeling they knew what Percy had stopped and looked a little shocked. They were learning all kinds of new things today.

(But my mom's... what he thought?)

Sally and Percy all sighed and grumbled something. The select few that hadn't caught on yet (and hadn't been paying attention earlier when Athena figured it out) what that reason was were excited thinking they were finally going to figure it out.

("I'm sorry," I muttered... go back to it right now.")

Nico sighed. "You know, is it sad that I missed his sarcasm? 'Cuz it's the best."

Future demigods in the room nodded. They had all been at the receiving end of Percy's sarcasm, and yet... they missed it. It was annoying when he was obvious about it, and now they wanted it back.

Percy just grinned. Leo narrowed his eyes. Did they just imply that Percy was better with sarcasm than he was?

Dude, he INVENTED sarcasm!

(Gabe's eyes narrowed... whatever," he decided.)

Everyone burst out laughing. It took them a while to stop.

While they couldn't really say they were surprised the walrus was too stupid to detect obvious sarcasm, they still found it hilarious.

(He went back... to tell me, okay?")

Percy raised his eyebrows and looked at his mom from the future warily. Percy caught the look and silently reassured him that he was just off his game that day. Now that he knew their secrets were safe, not that they had that many left anymore at this point, he leaned back against the giant dog still curled around them to continue listening.

(For a moment, I... odd chill in the air.)

A few people tensed slightly. Chill in the air that was in no way related to the weather was not good near a demigod.

(But then her... been mistaken.)

Nobody else thought he was mistaken. They all glanced at him wondering how he made it camp alive when stuff was happening around him and he didn't even know that it was real and couldn't protect himself.

(She ruffled my...- for the whole weekend.)

Hera started grumbling about idiots who don't care for their wives. Her and Gabe disappeared for a bit.

("Not a scratch on... "Not one little scratch.")

Gabe saying that in the book for some odd reason made the futures fall out of their seats laughing, and Gabe started struggling against his ropes, trying to break free so he could presumably strangle Percy.

In answer to the looks Percy was getting from the rest of the room, he just grinned mischievously and told them they would find out in the book.

That's about when Hermes started the betting pool on how the car ended up being destroyed. He also mentally asked Athena to look up Percy's mortal ancestry. Sally had to be one of his legacies.

(Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve.)

Percy glanced at Percy and muttered so that only he could hear. "Like that's ever stopped us before..."

Percy glanced down at him and grinned. Good times, good times.

(But that didn't... find a way to blame me.)

Percy grinned. "Technically..."

"Technicalities don't count." Percy countered. "Besides, that was Lily."

Percy paused, then shrugged. "So?"

The future demigods were thanking everybody they could think of that they had survived four years of knowing Percy, a few of them were also grateful that Lily wasn't around. Camp would've probably burned within the week. Now that they thought about it, camp was pretty quiet and prank less since Percy disappeared. Huh, and here they thought the Stolls were finally out of ideas.

(Watching him... movement toward Gabe.)

"That's not going to..." But Athena was cut off by Hades who kept reading.

(The screen door... shot from a cannon.)

Athena slowly turned her head to stare at Percy, who was engrossed in coming up with prank ideas with Percy to use while they were here.

The others suddenly didn't want to be in the same room as them.

The council struck up a quick mental conversation that involved Zeus being paranoid and ended with Poseidon warning the others what would happen if they touched a hair on his sons head.

He also instructed that they were to leave his son alone and leave talking to him about his abilities to him.

The conversation ended when Hades noticed that the Percy's had finished planning and the demigods were getting antsy waiting for them to keep reading.

(Maybe it was... enough to find out.)

The Hermes crew raised their eyebrows. Maybe they didn't need to bother forcing Percy to memorize the rule book over the years... he obviously knew what he was doing...

(I got in the... too cold to swim in.)

Annabeth looked over at Percy. "Minus the spiders, sounds like a really good place."

He grinned over at her, "After we get back from our quests." He promised. She grinned, Athena twitched, Percy and Annabeth looked like they were still trying to figure this out.

Aphrodite snorted, don't let her tell you any different, "Considering your father, somehow I doubt that the cold water bothered you."

(I loved the place.)

Aphrodite looked around like, 'See?'

Everyone else just rolled their eyes, like they needed her to state the obvious here. Some were more discreet with their eye-rolling than others. Those that weren't got the 'Pink Treatment.'

In other words, they, their clothes, and their hair were now covered in pink. Several of the guys yelled and ran for the nearest bathroom (led by Ares), but no matter what they did it wouldn't come off.

Those who had avoided the Pink Treatment, (Percy, Nico, all the girls except for the Clarisse's, Poseidon, and Hades) were busting a gut laughing before they came back and it was learned that the pink wasn't coming off for a while. Percy was laughing at his younger self so hard that Mrs. O'Leary started growling softly, all his laughing was vibrating her side and it tickled. It took a while for Hades to stop laughing so he could keep reading. Persephone was smiling, it had been a while since he laughed like that.

(We'd been going... where she'd met my dad.)

All the Jackson's and Poseidon grinned. Amphitrite raised an eyebrow at him, so that's where he had been disappearing off to... well, it was quite the beautiful stretch of beach for it being so close to the city.

(As we got... brought from work.)

"Awww, man. I love that cleaning routine! Why can't cleaning always be that much fun?" Complained the Hermes crew and all the other demigods that were not Katie, Annabeth, Piper, or Roman.

Sally and the other mothers were not happy if their faces were anything to go by.

"And what's-"

"With all the-"

"Free candy all the time?" The Stolls inquired.

The Percy's just grinned.

(I guess I should explain the blue food.)

"YES PLEASE!" Shouted everybody who did not know. Which was, everybody.

(See, Gabe had... streak, like me.)

"I'm sorry, streak? Percy Jackson you do not have a rebellious STREAK. You have a rebellious HIGHWAY. Like, at least 6 lanes wide." Nico said, with Thalia nodding along beside. The other futures nodded too once they thought about it, even Chiron once he thought back to the past year of teaching him. Luke especially had been on the other end of that rebellious side, now, several duals to the death later, he fully understood and appreciated what Percy meant when he said 'the sea does not like to be contained.'

Percy just shrugged. They were getting tired of him shrugging everything off.

Sally groaned and muttered to Paul that it was a good thing Lily was the calm one of the two. Just the more devious.

"Seriously though, your obsession with blue food started because of an argument over whether or not blue food existed." Annabeth asked incredulously.

Percy grinned. "Yup."

"But you forget, it was an argument with Gabe." Percy tacked on.

"So, it only makes sense that it stuck. Rebellious highway, remember?" Percy finished.

For some reason people started looking between the two of them and the Stolls.

(When it got dark... the candy shop.)

"Oh! That reminds me," Percy turned to Sally. "How's it going, your still working on it right?"

She smiled and said that yes, writing was how she coped. Percy breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't want his mom to just waste away or something because of him.

(Eventually, I got... of hearing them.)

Beckendorf smiled. "None of us do." It was said so softly the gods almost missed it. It made a few of them feel bad about never getting in touch, but they only had to think about what happened to Hermes to know that it was for everyone's own good.

The demigods all nodded in agreement. Even the Romans, and they were all about discipline, but at the same time the Roman versions kept their distance even more than the Greek versions did.

("He was kind... and his green eyes.")

The Percy's, Poseidon, and Triton grinned. Yup, that was them.

(Mom fished a blue... would be so proud.")

Poseidon smiled again before nodding his head at the Percy's when they glanced over. They both looked away again hiding smiles of their own.

(I wondered how... sixth time in six years.)

Leo whistled. "Wow, you beat my record. I wasn't kicked out, I usually just stopped going, cuz, you know. Stuff." Only Piper, Jason, and his dad had any idea what he was talking about.

Percy just scratched the back of his head a little awkwardly as he looked over at his dad's unreadable expression.

Finally Poseidon said that he wanted to talk to both Percy's later that night, after they were done reading for the day and before whatever it was the futures were up to later that night.

("How old was I?"... you were born.")

"Wait, what? But..." Percy trailed off confused. Percy nodded, he knew exactly what was going through his younger self's mind.

Poseidon frowned, he had a feeling he knew what was coming, he'd seen it so many times between other children and their mortal parents. This was not going to be fun.

(I tried to square... never even seen me...)

"I did." Poseidon stated softly. "Your mother wasn't home and the sitter was in the living room not doing her job. Zeus was busy somewhere else, so..." He trailed off at the expression on Percy's face. Pure joy.

Hades decided to keep reading before Zeus could get on his high horse.

(I felt angry at... stuck with Smelly Gabe.)

"Believe me, if I had known what was really going on there..." He finished with a threatening look towards Gabe, adding a mini-quake just to prove his point.

At this point, Gabe didn't even try to rise to the bait.

Percy just smiled softly. "I know, dad. I know."

("Are you going... want me around?")

Percy closed his eyes as he listened to the sharp breath intakes around the room. Mrs. O'Leary whimpered and nudged him with her nose, she didn't like seeing him like this. He was supposed to be strong and reckless, not... this.

He sighed and found an interesting spot on the floor to stare at while silently praying that Hades just keep reading and not give people time to badger him about it. Either Hades got the message or he was feeling merciful today, because he kept reading.

(I regretted the words as soon as they were out.)

Any protests anybody had over what Percy said earlier to his mother stopped at that. A few of the demigods even felt like they knew where something like this was coming from.

Percy laid a hand on his older versions self, he kind of knew where it had come from too, even if the book Percy had four extra years of dealing with it.

(My mom's eyes... me to leave Yancy.)

At this reminder, a few people turned to glare at Mr. Brunner/Chiron for this reminder. They figured that it was good that he at least had the decency to look sheepish about it.

Mrs. O'Leary somehow managed to curl herself tighter around her humans.

("Because I'm not normal," I said.)

Nico, Thalia, and Luke snorted. "You bet your not." They all said this in unison, which kind of creeped some of the futures who fought Luke in the war out. They had actually forgotten he was there, he had been quiet just so they wouldn't get uncomfortable around him, after all, he did betray them and try to kill them... nothing to be uncomfortable about here, nope. Nothing at all.

Luke rolled his eyes and stated, "Perce, if you were normal, I- your enemies would have killed you a long time ago. Instead, you gave them the headache of all headaches trying to figure out how to take you down or get you to join m- them." Here's hoping none of the past people who didn't know about his betrayal caught his slip-ups.

The futures all raised an eyebrow at him. At least Percy gave him a headache while Luke was trying to kill him, that was something at least. They just weren't expecting Luke to sound... apologetic. It was official, they needed to talk later. Traitor to betrayed.

Those from the past who did catch his slip-ups had a bad feeling about Luke's involvement in all this. They decided not to say anything though, they didn't want to start something with no proof, besides, it seemed like whatever issues there were got dealt with when Luke first arrived.

Everyone else just felt inclined to agree that Percy was anything but normal.

("You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy.)

Some shot pointed looks Percy's way, others decided that it wasn't worth the effort, Percy was just as pointedly ignoring them.

(But you don't realize how important you are.)

More pointed glares that he was still just as dutifully ignoring.

(I thought Yancy... "Safe from what?")

This time it was Katie. "Just about anything and everything that ever lived."

The younger people laughed. Until they realized Katie and the rest of the futures were absolutely serious.

Percy was even grumbling something about Poodles and English exams for some reason. Whatever that was about, Mrs. O'Leary seemed to find it amusing. Thalia and Nico did not. Was it everybody else's imagination, or did the three of them turn to glare at Persephone?

(She met my eyes... the middle of his head.)

People started to turn to Poseidon before Percy interrupted them by saying yes, Poseidon sent him. End of story.

(Before that- a... my meaty toddler hands.)

Leo whistled, "Just like Hercules."

Next thing Leo knew, Percy was standing over him with Riptide embedded in the couch by his throat.

"Do. Not. Compare me to Jerkules. Ever." He growled. Everybody except Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover were shocked. One, what did he have against Hercules. Two, why did it require such a reaction?

If Zeus was offended by Percy's name for his son, he didn't show it. Even he had to admit that Herc's attitude could get a little annoying. Part of the reason he shipped him off to guard the entrance to the Ancient Lands. Far away him.

Zoe and Artemis were just floored. They thought everybody wanted to be like him. Percy put Riptide away when Leo frantically nodded his head and promised never to do that again.

Then, Percy looked to Zoe and told her in no uncertain terms that he was nothing like Jerkules.

Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia nodded in agreement to that. What he said next really floored Zoe, "I don't make promises I don't intend on keeping at somebody else's expense." To say that Zoe's jaw hit the floor is an understatement.

It wasn't until Percy calmly returned to his 'seat' that Hades seemed to pull his own jaw off the floor and cleared his throat before continuing the chapter, after checking that they were almost done.

(In every single... I didn't want that.)

Percy started grumbling something again, to which Sally replied that if they had left right then, it could have caught them on the road in the middle of nowhere instead of right by camp. Percy was going to argue but Sally signaled Hades to keep reading before he could.

All the futures had a feeling they knew what the next chapter would be about.

("I've tried to... stand to do it.")

Dionysus sighed. "That's how most of them get killed you know." He pointed out.

As the rest of the council turned to yell at him, Sally stopped them. "He's right. Percy and I almost died before I could get him to camp... not to mention all the other times over the years Percy was in danger."

Dionysus stared at Sally and blinked. A mortal honest about her failures? A modest demigod? What was happening to his world?

The others looked at her to protest, but she politely asked Hades to finish out the chapter.

("My father wanted...mentioned it before?)

"He has a point there, Sally. Why-" Annabeth started before being cut off by her older self stating that she didn't need to know everything, some things were private.

Sally sent a grateful look Annabeth's way, while Percy grumbled about books and privacy. Those that overheard him couldn't decide whether to be sympathetic or amused. Some went for a mix and ended up with some very interesting facial expressions.

Athena raised an eyebrow Annabeth's way. It sounded like she was speaking from experience.

("I'm sorry, Percy,"... a summer camp...")

"You know, when you don't know what the place is like and what it's for, I can see why you'd be confused about not being able to see her again." Rachel said softly. Again, surprising everyone because they forgot she was there.

(She turned toward... she would start to cry.)

Nearly all the males in the room started grumbling about women and tears. Seriously, why were those things so powerful?!

(That night I had a vivid dream.)

"Hear we go..." grumbled all the Big Three kids in the room.

At the confused looks from those that had no experience in being around a Big Three kid, Thalia decided to explain that the five of them were more powerful than the average demigod. So, their dreams tended to be worse than the average demigods. It didn't help that every time something happened Big Three kids tended to be thrown into the front lines and expected to deal with it first, so they tended to see more stuff that they really rather they didn't.

At the dark looks on the Big Three kids' faces, those that had been slightly offended by Thalia just calling them more powerful, they decided that maybe not being that powerful wasn't such a bad thing. They didn't want to fight the battles these guys fought.

For some reason, Percy, Thalia, and Nico all glared at Persephone again. Even Mrs. O'Leary growled softly at her.

(It was storming... at the edge of the surf.)

All the gods froze. This sounded serious, they couldn't remember the two of them ever fighting THIS bad before. Sure, they fought all the time, but...

(The eagle swooped... animals to fight harder.)

The future demigods gasped. He was dreaming about it even before he reached camp!

The gods threw looks Hades way, but Percy loudly and clearly stated that it wasn't him. Zeus tried to say that there was no one else it could be until Percy gave him a look that had Zeus outright forbidding the topic, still insisting that there was nobody else it could be. At this point, Luke was ticked that his plans were so easy because the one time he needed the paranoid idiot to be a paranoid idiot, he wasn't. Luke was actually feeling a little hopeful that this might be easier than he thought.

So Percy singsonged, "Destroyer of Kronos..." When Zeus still refused to believe it, Percy looked him dead in the eye with the most seriousness anyone had even seen on his face and told him very bluntly that that kind of attitude was going to get everyone killed and Olympus destroyed.

Luke felt all hope that had appeared at Zeus's outright denial disappear when Percy reminded the room of his titles. This was not going to be as easy as he thought.

Finally Hades decided to keep reading before the future demigods decided to mutiny. They did not look happy with Zeus right now.

(I ran toward them... woke with a start.)

All the demigods looked shaken except for the Big Three kids. They've all had worse.

When a few of the others looked at Percy in concern, he shrugged and said as much. Then he looked at Nico and Thalia and silently communicated that they needed to find a spot to train while they were here. That's how they coped, they trained instead of sleeping.

(Outside, it really... said, "Hurricane.")

Now the gods were really concerned. That wasn't just any vision, that was live. What on earth happened at the winter solstice? Surprisingly, it was Apollo who remembered the book's title.

He abruptly stood up and stared at the demigods in horror. Whispering, "It was stolen?"

Percy raised an eyebrow in his direction before glancing at Athena, only to see her looking as confused as the rest of the council. He looked back at Apollo before saying yes, and there was more going on here than what appeared. He refused to say anymore.

Meanwhile, Annabeth was staring at her mom with her jaw on the ground. First, Athena is the last one on the council to realize why Sally married Gabe, and now she can't even remember back to the book's title to figure out what's going on? What's more, Apollo beat her to it!

Seeing the look on Annabeth's face and the rest of the futures looks made Athena feel like she was seriously missing something here.

(I knew that was... to have forgotten.)

Everybody turned to glance at Zeus and Poseidon again, all of them except for Apollo wondering what on earth happened.

Apollo had already figured out that for some reason Zeus was blaming Poseidon but couldn't figure out why until he looked at Percy. So, he mused. It's not Poseidon getting blamed so much as it is Percy, Zeus must be thinking that Poseidon put him up to it or something though...

(Over the roar... hair stand on end.)

For some odd reason that only Annabeth, Nico, Grover, and Thalia seemed to understand, Percy suddenly yelled out, "Hamburger! It's been so long!"

Now everybody knew he was insane. Especially when he turned to Annabeth and reminded him to pay Hamburger back next time for hurting Blackjack.

Luke raised an eyebrow, he had a feeling he knew what Hamburger was.

(Then a much... he wasn't exactly Grover.)

"Really? then-"

"What, pray-"

"Tell, is he?" All four Stolls asked. Travis paired with Travis and Connor paired with Connor . The others found it a little creepy.

Percy just raised an eyebrow before he mouthed something that had the older Stolls jaws on the ground with them drooling. Percy smirked, that trick works every time on small time pranksters like them.

Everyone else in the room slowly backed away from the crazy demigod. Whatever he just told the Stolls, they didn't want to know.

("Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?")

"I was thinking that my friend was acting weird and was seriously starting to creep me out." Percy replied.

Grover just shrunk back in his seat, beet red.

(My mother looked... didn't you tell me?")

"A lot apparently." Sally grumbled.

Percy just looked sheepish and called out, "Love ya mom!"

She just sighed and smiled. Yup, that was her boy.

(I was frozen... theoi!" he yelled.)

"Language, Underhill!" Dionysus snapped. Both Grover's jumped about a foot in the air before yelping out a 'yes, sir!'

The rest of the Greeks just snickered while the Romans looked confused, they thought his name was Underwood?

("It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?")

Percy just sheepishly scratched the back of his neck again.

(I was too shocked... where his legs should be...)

People's eyebrows rose. Ok... the futures had a feeling they knew where this was going.

(My mom looked... " Percy. Tell me now!")

Percy 's eyebrows shot up. His mom just... did she just... that was new.

(I stammered something... flashes of lightning.)

Sally sighed, "Your stammered answer didn't even begin to cover what all happened."

(She grabbed her... Both of you. Go !")

At the mention of the car, Gabe started thrashing around again. Everyone stared at him, to be honest, they forgot their anger relief was there. They just got so caught up in the story. Poseidon set off another earthquake under him as a reminder to keep quiet, then Hades continued reading like nothing happened.

(Grover ran for the Camaro... when he walked.)

Now his shock made sense to so many more people. Seeing a satyr for the first time would be a bit of a shock.

(Because where... were cloven hooves.)

"Done." Hades announced before tossing the book to Triton.

Hestia glanced at the time and announced two more chapters before dinner, then a couple more before bed and whatever talks or competitions were scheduled to happen.

"Chapter four. My Mother Teaches me Bullfighting."

Notes:

Ok, my reasons behind making Athena into an idiot are as follows. I feel like she would be very analytical and statistical. People like that tend to miss what's right in front of them and the most obvious. Also, I just don't really don't like her all that much, she just seems way too proud and set in her ways to ever really change 'for the better.'

I'm having Apollo be all smart and stuff because he strikes me as the exact opposite of Athena and the most underestimated aside from Hermes. He sees what's right in front of him because he seems to live more for the here and now, while Athena is always making plans for tomorrow.

So yeah, there's that explanation.

Chapter 7: My Mother Teaches me Bullfighting

Chapter Text

Chapter four, My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting

Triton read. Everyone turned to look at Sally at the same time, almost like it was planned.

Those who knew looked at both Percy and Sally in sympathy, not pity... they knew what Percy would do to them if he thought they pitied him, and those who didn't know were looking at her in confusion, especially Poseidon.

He didn't remember her saying anything about bullfighting nor could he think of any reason for her to have ever learned how to bullfight.

(We tore through... kept her foot on the gas.)

Ares grinned, but before he could say anything, Hephaestus spoke up. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Best way to drive, blah, blah blah. And I'm the one left to clean up the mess that used to be called a bike." He finished bitterly.

He may be a mechanic, and he may love his job and machines, but fixing the same thing over and over again, and for no other reason than the fact that his brother was just being an idiot was just annoying.

Hera, Aphrodite, and even Apollo nodded in agreement. Hera because she's his mother, even if she isn't the most motherly, Aphrodite because this is her boyfriend and husband involved, and Apollo because, well, Apollo.

Everyone on the council and most of the future Greeks agreed that Ares was an idiot.

(Every time there... if I'd gone insane,)

"Percy, you've always been insane." Nico said seriously. Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth nodded in agreement. The rest of the futures just watched.

None of them came to Percy's defense when he protested and looked to them for help. "You guys are no help, see if I ever do you anymore favors," he grumbled.

All the past people watching were unsure of how serious they were actually being right now, and whether or not they should laugh or back away from Percy. Percy just watched. He knew perfectly well that the two of them fit into the 'insane' category.

Not even Sally, Paul, or Poseidon came to his defense. The Lost Hero trio were really starting to wonder, and Jason was starting to feel that all Greeks were insane just for following a guy they called insane. Of course, he already thought they were insane just from watching them fight and live with no discipline whatsoever, but now...

(or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.)

Aphrodite shuddered, even Piper looked a little sick at the thought, Leo and Jason were both starting to wonder if her mother had finally corrupted her when they saw her face.

(But, no, the smell... of a wet barnyard animal.)

The Grovers turned to glare at Percy. They were not barnyard animals! They were only half goat!

Percy decided that staying out of the woods for a while would be ideal for his health once he got back to camp.

(All I could think... know each other?")

"Not like that!" Percy yelled when he looked over at the Stolls. He knew by the looks on their faces what they were about to say. Once everyone else figured out what was going on, the Stolls were getting looks, groans, and everybody looked a little green.

They hid once they caught Poseidon and Sally's eye.

(Grover's eyes... no cars behind us.)

Percy shrugged, "Actually, there was something worse back there." Those who didn't know the full story, (basically everybody except Annabeth, Grover, and Sally) started to get nervous for what was coming.

("Not exactly," he... was watching you.")

"STALKER!" Nico yelled again. Grover turned to glare at him while slowly taking his panpipes out and raising them to his lips.

Next thing any of them knew, Nico was twisted up in a tree, yelling, "Ok, ok! I'm sorry, your not a stalker! Let me down you crazy goat!"

He should have left off the 'crazy goat' bit.

Next thing he knew, he was laying at Hades feet with twigs in his hair, Grover having turned him into a lovely oak tree. Because, hey, he did it before. Hades had of course stepped in to reverse it. Hades may not be the best of parents, but he still preferred his children to be children and not trees thank you very much.

("Watching me?" "Keeping... "I am your friend.")

Percy smiled softly, but he didn't say anything. Nothing really needed to be said, and for the first time since meeting him, some of Percy's emotions were clear to Grover.

("Um... what are you, exactly?")

Katie muttered "Wow, rude much?"

Either Percy didn't hear her or he was just getting really good at ignoring them when he wanted to.

("That doesn't matter... friend is a donkey-")

All the Greek demigods burst out laughing, some of the futures choking out reminders of when so-and-so back at camp called a satyr a 'donkey'. Even Chiron and Dionysus looked amused, it was after all very funny to see a camper running for their life from an angry peace loving half-goat.

Needless to say, both Grover's were indignant, and the Romans were very confused.

The Fauns could care less if they were called donkeys... at least they never said anything about it... then again if the Fauns did do anything about it they would be kicked out of New Rome and would have to take their begging somewhere else...

Triton decided to wait for the Greeks to calm down a little before continuing, and hoped he didn't regret that decision if the topic came up again.

(Grover let out... of an irritated bleat.)

"I don't know," Annabeth started teasingly, "he does do that a lot... maybe he's just a scaredy-goat."

While the other Greeks laughed, Grover sputtered out what might have been excuses or insults back, who knows. Grover just watched, he knew he wasn't the best protector.

("Goat!" he cried. "What?"... it didn't matter.")

Katie nodded, "You kind of did Grover. Sorry."

"Hey! Whose side are you on?!" Grover bleated angrily.

(" Blaa-ha-ha !... for such an insult!")

"Yes, yes they would." Both Clarisses said appreciatively. Clarisse continued, "Hey Stolls, remember that one time..."

Before she could continue, Connor had his hand covering her mouth, while Travis yelled something about what happens at camp staying at camp. The other future Greeks were too far gone at the reminder to care.

Nico and Thalia were the only Futures not too busy laughing, they weren't there. They had heard enough rumors to have an idea of what happened though.

"Sooooo," Thalia asked with a smirk, "Would this happen to be the time the two of you were chased into the..." The rest was reduced to mumbles as Travis slapped his hand over her mouth, demanding to know how she knew about it. Nico just smirked, stating that you could hear all kinds of rumors if you knew where to look. Most of the futures paled at that, they all had something that happened in camp that they really didn't want the rest of the world to know. Even Piper, Leo, and Jason.

The Romans all raised an eyebrow, turns out the Greeks got into some pretty interesting stuff at that camp of theirs. Perfect blackmail material if they could just figure out what it was.

Triton decided to keep reading before Travis Stoll got fried crispy by an angry daughter of Zeus, and Connor Stoll got impaled by an angry daughter of Ares.

("Whoa. Wait. Satyrs... Mrs. Dodds a myth?")

Both Percy and Nico muttered that they wished she was. Hades twitched and narrowed his eyes at the two but decided not to comment on it for now.

("So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!")

Hazel raised an eyebrow, "You were stuck on that?"

"Well, yeah, I mean... I did just spend the last few months thinking I was crazy for thinking she ever existed, so... you know... when somebody finally admitted that she did... I just..." The last part trailed off into mumbles that nobody could understand. A few people turned to glare at Chiron, still not happy that he hadn't just explained after the museum. It was kind of obvious that at that point, hiding his scent behind ignorance wasn't going to work, they already found him.

("Of course." "Then... you'd attract,")

Jason decided to point out the obvious, "Unless the monsters already knew where he was, which they obviously did, in which case the less he knew, the faster he would be dead."

Both Grovers and Chiron opened their mouths to say something, but then just as quickly shut them again. They hadn't thought of that...

Nico, Thalia, and Luke chuckled about something the three of them had just thought of. "Besides, have you met this guy? He attracts trouble left and right." Luke said.

Percy grinned, "And duels to the death, right Luke?" The futures just raised their eyebrows at the two of them, they knew about the one... just how many times had the two of them actually fought?

Luke chuckled nervously while glancing at Annabeth, "Yeah, those too."

The past people were also giving the two of them weird looks. Just what happened in the future?

(Grover said, like that should have been perfectly obvious.)

Percy muttered something about people who won't give straight answers and smarty-pants friends.

("We put Mist... was a hallucination.")

Percy growled and muttered something else under his breath. Those who hadn't ever really seen Percy ticked about something (the past kids, gods, and Romans) jumped and stared at him worried.

(But it was no good..., what do you mean?")

"Again with not getting a straight answer!" Percy burst out. Even he was starting to get annoyed by that and it hadn't happened to him yet.

(The weird bellowing... was still on our trail.)

Some people shifted uncomfortably, they really didn't think they wanted to know what was following them. Those who had heard the rumors started to get excited, they could see for themselves how much of those rumors were true!

("Percy," my mom... Who's after me?")

"Do you want that list alphabetically or chronologically?" Annabeth asked. Before Percy could say anything, Thalia got up and brandished a medium sized notebook (that looked well used) triumphantly, before reading the title out loud.

THE ENEMIES OF PERCY JACKSON

(That We Know Of)

Percy just sat there and stared, trying to find his voice. "How on earth did you keep track over the years?" He finally demanded. Nico just smirked. "We have our ways, cousin. We have our ways."

If anybody looked, they would have noticed that Hazel and Frank were a little pale, as were Percy's parents. They knew his life was... rough... but for all his enemies to be listed in a notebook of that size and for said notebook to look so worn... Hazel and Frank started thinking about their quest and what they were going to do if any of Percy's old enemies showed up, one's that he probably wouldn't remember if they went back not remembering that this ever happened. From what they had seen so far from the war games, they didn't think they'd be able to fight any of Percy Jackson's enemies, they would probably just get in his way.

Even with everything going through his head, it still didn't escape Hades attention that Nico had just referred to Percy as 'cousin'. Triton finally snapped himself out of the daze he'd fallen into after seeing a notebook full of his brothers enemies and decided to just keep reading, he suddenly wanted this chapter over with.

While he did that, Percy quietly retrieved the book from Thalia without anybody noticing, (not even Hermes and his children) and started adding to it, all the monsters he fought on his way from the Wolf House to Camp Jupiter.

("Oh, nobody much,... blood-thirstiest minions.")

Percy shrugged, "I have worse enemies than Uncle. He's not my favorite uncle for nothing you know. Besides, all that was one huge misunderstanding."

Annabeth frowned before asking Thalia if it was sad that they considered events that led to one of the biggest wars in history to be a simple misunderstanding. Thalia just shrugged while everyone not from the future and not Greek stared at the three of them. Especially when the other future Greeks and Sally started nodding in agreement.

Hades even forgot about the 'blood-thirstiest minions' comment. Zeus even forgot about the 'favorite uncle' comment.

("Grover!" "Sorry,... something this weird.)

Percy groaned. "I take that comment back. I've dreamed up some weird stuff since then."

Grover snickered until Percy pinned him with a glare and stated that Grover was the reason for most of those weird dreams. Grover was about to protest this until Percy said, "Wedding dress" and raised his eyebrows. Clarisse and Annabeth snickered, they were the only ones to have seen Grover in a wedding dress after all. Grover sputtered out some sort of excuse before turning to Triton pleadingly.

Everyone else just stared trying to figure out what Grover had to do with wedding dresses and Percy's dreams.

(My mom made a... white picket fences.)

Unsurprisingly, all the Greek demigods went nuts at the mention of their camp's signs.

("Where are we going... want me to go.")

Poseidon and Sally both sighed, that had been their biggest argument ever, unless you counted the one a few days before she married Gabe to hide Percy... although those arguments were intertwined, to an extent.

("Please, dear,"... You're in danger.")

"Aren't I always?" Percy grumbled. Hardly anyone heard him though, he was too quiet. Mrs. O'Leary whined softly and nudged him.

("Because some old ladies cut yarn.")

"When you put it like that, it does seem kinda... harmless." Piper said.

Gwen stated softly that sometimes the most harmless seeming things seemed the most deadly.

("Those weren't old... when someone's about to die.")

"Oh, here we go." Sally grumbled, remembering the argument that was about to happen. Grover and Percy just smiled innocently at her, both stating that she knew she loved them. What most of the others found creepy was the fact that they said it in unison.

("Whoa. You said...' Not you, you .")

Most people's jaws dropped. None of them, except Percy and Grover , had been able to follow that, what really floored them, though, was the fact that Percy and Grover had started to silently mimic what Triton was reading, complete with hand motions.

Finally, Athena said what was on everybodies mind. "What on earth...?" Percy just grinned before motioning Triton to keep reading.

("Boys!" my mom said... us in the storm.)

Percy, Grover, and Sally's faces all darkened at mention of that figure. Grover was thinking about how close the Minotaur was by the time he had finally found Percy, if only he had found Percy sooner... He stopped that line of thought before Percy caught on to it, Percy didn't like him blaming himself for that whole mess. Percy was thinking that if only he had actually waited for Grover at the bus station instead of ditching him, and Sally just really hated that bull for being there in the first place.

Everybody else decided not to ask what was wrong. They figured they probably didn't want to know if it could make someone like Sally look like that. Percy was starting to get a bad feeling about that thing following them.

("What was that?"... wanting us to arrive.)

All the Greeks suddenly smirked. They knew what that was about, and they were proud of their camp, besides, they all had been there and done that.

(Outside, nothing but... She'd meant to kill me.)

A couple of face-palms, a small earthquake and death glares later, and everybody decided not to comment.

Then I thought about... our car exploded.)

A lot of people went still, Poseidon tensed up, wanting to know what happened to his son. Even Amphitrite looked tense at the thought of something happening to her step-son, although she was being nicer to him.

(I remember feeling... the same time.)

"How would you even know what each of those feel like?" Poseidon asked suspiciously. Sure, he had the results of the "physical" but...

All the demigods who had any idea of Percy's full adventures suddenly became very interested in the floor. Those who had been there for any of the events that would make him know those sensations were looking like deer caught in the headlights. They didn't want to be the ones to tell Percy's father, arguably the most powerful god on the council, what had happened to his son, or that they were there and hadn't been able to prevent it. They all made the conscious effort not to look or glare in Luke's direction.

"Umm, well, you know... life of a demigod?" Percy squeaked, sinking down lower in an effort to hide himself.

Poseidon stared suspiciously before slowly waving Triton on, noticing the demigods sag in relief that he didn't push it and thinking to himself that his son clearly had a harder life than most demigods.

(I peeled my... and said, "Ow.")

"Seriously dude, you just described what it felt like and all you have to say is 'ow'?" Jason asked confused. Percy just shrugged. "High pain tolerance." He didn't say any more, although a few of them turned to glare at the corner Gabe was sitting in, half-forgotten by the crowd.

("Percy!" my mom... rain was pouring in.)

"Ah, that would explain why you weren't in more pain." Somebody mused out loud. Nobody was sure who said it, the person who said it wasn't even aware they said anything out loud, although they were pretty sure it was an Athena person.

(Lightning.)

"He had his reasons!" Percy shouted as Poseidon made to lunge at his brother, who as soon as it was said had jumped to hide behind Hera's throne. His shout stopped Poseidon in his tracks, and he remembered Percy's earlier comment on Zeus and Hades had their reasons for going after him and to not be too mad. He grumbled the whole time it took him to slowly sit back down, glaring at Zeus the whole time.

Nobody noticed the Hephaestus bunch glaring at Zeus over the ruining of a perfectly good Camaro over what was, according to Percy anyway, a huge misunderstanding.

(That was the only... I don't want you to die!)

Some girls cooed over how sweet it was, everyone else snickered at the looks on the Percy's and the Grover's faces. They all knew that Percy meant every word of that, but that didn't mean he wanted it spoken out loud like that.

(Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.)

The Grover's should really have Apollo take a look at them, being that shade of red could not be good for their health.

("Percy," my mother... look like he had horns.)

"Hamburger!" Percy yelled again. Maybe there was some merit to Nico's statement about his sanity after all... whatever. His yell did its job and broke the rising tension in the room.

Although Poseidon and a few of the others were thinking about who this could be based off the description.

(I swallowed hard... sizzling and smoking.)

"Yeah, don't go that way." Leo said very seriously. Percy just looked at him like, 'no, ya think?'

("Climb out the... see that big tree?")

"Me!" Thalia crowed. Those who didn't know that story were, well... confused.

(" What?" Another flash... crest of the nearest hill.)

"I'm sorry, but you could not catch me dead in the White House Perce. Not even as the Christmas Tree." Some weren't sure whether or not she was being serious, others chose not to take her seriously, and others caught on to another meaning behind her words. A veiled threat of what would happen if she did ever find herself in the White House.

For reasons that some of them couldn't figure out, the Stolls took out their prank book and crossed something off the list.

("That's the property... looked at the ocean.)

Annabeth got up to go and hug Sally, Percy would have joined her, but... you know. Mrs. O'Leary.

Some of the other Greeks were a little confused, they knew Sally couldn't cross the property line, whatever was following them should leave her alone once Percy was gone, but knowing Percy... all of the futures knew the rumors of when he first got to camp, they all knew he had the Minotaur horn hanging in his cabin, but... some of them couldn't remember hearing anything about his mother being there or if she was alright or not. Of course, there was the newspaper article some of the Hermes kids told them about after a 'supply run'.

("No!" I shouted... looked like horns...)

Some of them finally realized what the thing was. "The Minotaur." Annabeth breathed. Some of the futures looked excited again. Now to see how much of the rumors were true.

Poseidon looked tense and pale, Percy and Triton were wondering if they would have to wrap him up again.

("He doesn't want... the property line.")

"You guys should change that for clear-sighted mortals." Percy said suddenly, staring at Chiron as he said it, while glancing at Luke. He at no doubt that if May Castellen had been allowed to stay and live at camp after that whole Oracle business, maybe then Luke wouldn't have felt like he needed to do what he did, of course, Percy wasn't stupid. He knew that if it hadn't been Luke it would've been somebody else, that whole mess couldn't have been avoided completely after all.

Chiron looked thoughtful as he mentally reviewed the wards around camp and decided that the idea held merit.

Luke looked at Percy, he figured when Percy glanced at him that he was probably thinking about his own mom, May.

("But..." "We don't have... Come on, Mom.")

Annabeth muttered about stubborn idiots who couldn't do as they were told just once. Percy just grinned at her.

("I told you-"... hadn't come to my aid.)

Before Ares could comment on him being weak, Percy 'politely' reminded him that this was before camp and training, now he could easily carry at least 3 satyrs up the hill no problem. None of the future Greeks looked surprised by this of course, with their 'special training', they could all do it. The only reason they couldn't carry more was because they didn't have enough hands.

The past people on the other hand, were staring open mouthed, and those that were thinking Percy was bragging stopped when they realized that he was just stating a fact, and the others were nodding in agreement.

(Together, we draped... Fruit of the Looms-)

Those who started to shake at the description started laughing at the fact that the Minotaur was only in his underwear. Of course, that was still kind of disgusting, but at the same time it was just so unexpected...

(which would've looked... an electric sharpener.)

"You have the weirdest analogies." Annabeth grumbled. Percy just chuckled and they had a silent conversation about how much she loved his analogies. He would have whispered it and kissed her on the cheek, but... Mrs. O'Leary still had him and his younger self held hostage.

(I recognized the... But he couldn't be real.)

"Λοιπόν, ξέρετε καλύτερα τώρα, έτσι δεν είναι; Μετά από όλα, έχετε τον αγωνιστεί μόνο δύο φορές." Annabeth grumbled. ( Well, you know better now, right? After all, you've only fought him twice. )

Those who didn't understand her were confused, while those who did just answered back in Greek, they talked for about 5 minutes, with the gods in the room just watching on wondering what they were going on about now. Finally, Percy ended the conversation by saying in English that they were being rude to the Romans and that they should keep reading. Mostly though, he just didn't want to continue this conversation.

(I blinked the rain... want to kill you.")

Athena just had her eyebrows raised, this mortal really was smart.

("But he's the Min-"... "Names have power.")

At that, all the futures turned to glare at Percy, mostly Annabeth. How many times had each of them told him the same thing, and yet he still just threw those names around like nothing. Percy just shrugged.

(The pine tree was still way too far- a hundred yards uphill at least.)

Poseidon started to look more and more tense. Percy and Triton were about to help him out, but Amphitrite threw them a look that let them know that she would handle it.

(I glanced behind me..."Food?" Grover moaned.)

The tension was gone again, to the Percy's relief. They had been trying to figure out how to ease it without getting any of the demigods with special abilities or weapons on hand using them. Both Grover's were just embarrassed.

("Shhh," I told him... The gas tank exploded.)

While the Hephaestus bunch moaned over the cars destruction, others celebrated the fact that it was Gabe's car. They felt like it was some small bit of justice for how he treated Percy. Either none of them heard or none of them cared about the noises coming from the corner where Gabe still went relatively forgotten.

(Not a scratch , I remembered Gabe saying.

Oops.)

That just sent the demigods off again, shaking his head, Leo went and asked his father if they couldn't build Percy a new car. It was more the fact that such a fine piece of machinery had been destroyed like that then anything else, but...

("Percy," my mom said... keeping you near me.")

"Not a word." Percy warned, staring at Dionysus, before turning and having another three way silent 'Jackson conversation'.

("Keeping me near you?...He'd smelled us.)

Everybody sat holding their breath, not wanting to interrupt.

(The pine tree was... like rotten meat.)

"Between him and those stupid horses..." Percy trailed off muttering about never getting that smell out of his nose. Which of course left everyone wondering what horses had to do with rotten meat smell, well, everybody except those who had been there.

(He lowered his head... Grover down in the grass.)

While Percy and Sally just sat there, resigned to the fact that they would have to hear about this all over again, the rest of the room sat there and stared at Sally like they couldn't believe or figure out how she was sitting here alive. Finally she got tired of them looking at her like that and snapped that if they would just read the book they would know sooner. Ignoring the shocked looks she got from that one, she leaned into Paul when he put his arm around her shoulders.

(We'd reached the... and pummeling the air.)

At this point, everybody who knew better was forcing themselves to look away so that none of the Jackson's would see the pity in their eyes. They all knew what would happen to them if Percy saw it. None of them saw Mrs. O'Leary nudge him, or Percy put his arms around his older self, trying not to cry, reminding himself that she was right there. None of them noticed Amphitrite holding Poseidon in place so he would let Paul do his job as Sally's husband.

("Mom!" She caught... was simply... gone.)

Nobody dared to speak, all of them were shooting little glances at Sally, trying to figure out how she was still here, none of the futures remembered Percy ever saying anything about this, all they had to go on was a newspaper article some of the Hermes kids said they had read about Percy and his missing mother, but since it had been the Hermes kids, nobody had taken it seriously. Now, they were wishing they had at least listened to the details.

Poseidon muttered under his breath that flash of light indicated a god took her, glaring suspiciously at Hades and Zeus as he did.

("No!" Anger replaced... Mrs. Dodds grew talons.)

The futures slowly started to smirk, they knew what was coming. Percy was mad. When Percy was mad... stuff tended to go down.

(The bull-man bore... couldn't allow that.)

By this point, all the futures smirks were starting to freak people out. Especially since they didn't know Percy that well, so they didn't know what the futures were waiting to hear.

(I stripped off my... stupid! Ground beef!")

"Oh, so THAT'S where the nickname came from..." Thalia mumbled in sudden understanding. She'd heard Percy call him hamburger or something related before, she just didn't know there was a history to it before now.

("Raaaarrrrr!" The monster... idea- a stupid idea,)

"Man, your ideas are always better when they're on the spot like this." Thalia said appreciatively. Percy just shrugged while the rest of the futures nodded in agreement.

(but better than no... at the last moment.)

A few of the futures raised their eyebrows in his direction, he just waved his hand dismissively, like saying, 'yeah, yeah. I know.'

Those not from the future just watched, wondering how on earth they could communicate silently so well. Not even the Romans, who prided themselves on teamwork, were this good. And Greeks were known among the Romans for kind of being a bunch of lone wolf types.

Ares was feeling like his theories were right on this groups close ties with each other.

(But it didn't happen like that.)

"It never does." All the future Greeks said at once. While they turned to stare at each other, the Romans and past Greeks were all looking at them and thinking, 'Creepy...'

(The bull-man charged... and landing on his neck.)

Everyone, even Ares was impressed. All the futures knew Percy would find some way to defeat it, but everyone also knew that despite his victory with Alecto, Percy still had zero training. Also, at least with Alecto he had a sword, here he had nothing, AND he was a twelve year old who just watched his mother vanish. Percy just sat there, thinking about this quest and what happened after.

(How did I do that?... knocked my teeth out.)

"Hey!" Thalia yelled, holding her side, "That hurt you know!" All the futures went still, all thinking about the times over the years she had been a tree when they had knocked into her or when a monster they were fighting slammed into her... or even when Luke poisoned her. Percy looked scratched the back of his neck and apologized.

"You can remember stuff from being a tree Thals?" Luke asked softly, thinking about how dead he was if she actually felt it when he poisoned her tree. "Yes, and yes I felt every minute of it." She snapped back. While he went pale, those who knew what they were talking about started planning Luke's second funeral while those who had no clue just decided that these futures were weird and that they should just ignore their strange comments. Ignoring the fact that these futures were actually them...

(The bull-man staggered ... only one gear: forward.)

"Thankfully." Percy muttered. The others decided to just ignore him, thinking that he deserved at least this one little detail to go right in his life for once.

(Meanwhile, Grover... my own tongue off.)

"Yeah, please don't do that." Annabeth requested lightly. Afterall, it would be hard for him to be his usual sarcastic self if he couldn't talk, and that was one of the things she loved about him.

Percy just said that he could make no promises.

("Food!" Grover moaned... with all my might.)

"HA! I get that your insanely lucky and powerful kid, but not even you..." Ares was cut off when Triton kept reading over him, having read a little ahead.

(The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then- snap!)

Unsurprisingly, Ares stopped talking and just gaped at Percy. The futures were nodding as they now understood how Percy got the horn off the Minotaur when monsters disintegrate too fast to get something like that before there gone.

(The bull-man screamed... under his furry rib cage.)

Now it was the rest of the rooms turn to gape at Percy, with no training, this guy killed a Minotaur at age twelve, using it's own horn like a knife. Percy being the modest guy he is, ducked down so that they couldn't see him. This didn't work entirely though, since even his younger self was gaping at him like an idiot.

"Keep looking like that, that will be you fighting it in four years." He hissed under his breath, turning Percy 's face white.

(The bull-man roared... The monster was gone.)

Everybody released a breath they didn't know they had been holding. The younger kids were thinking how much they wished they had seen that, while the future kids were thinking that the rumors were pretty accurate, for once. Percy really killed the Minotaur with its own horn.

(The rain had stopped... going to let him go.)

Some of the girls were about to comment on how sweet that was, but one look from Percy and they all shut their mouths pretty quick.

(The last thing I... one. He must be.")

A few of the futures looked at Annabeth, and it was Nico who said that yes, yes he was 'the one.'

Annabeth sputtered while everyone else laughed. "That's not... I mean... At the time... Oh, would you guys just shut up already!" She finally snapped, throwing a pillow at Thalia, Nico, and Percy each. Percy caught his pillow while Nico and Thalia got it to the face, they went down still laughing. At this point the other futures were just laughing at the sight of one of their leaders so flustered and scrambling to think of something to say.

Hades was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that the Greeks treated his son like he was family.

("Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside.")

"That's the end of the chapter. Who wants it?" Triton said, holding the book up. Sally raised her hand and he tossed it over.

"How about two more chapters, then dinner, then another chapter before bed and/or whatever talks or competitions are planned for tonight?" Hestia suggested brightly. She was enjoying seeing her family get along so well for once, even if it was mostly just everyone watching the demigods interact with each other.

After everyone agreed, Sally found the right page and read, " Chapter five, I Play Pinochle with a Horse "

Chapter 8: I Play Pinochle with a Horse

Chapter Text

Chapter five, I Play Pinochle with a Horse

When Sally paused, most of the Greeks started glancing between Mr. D and Chiron.

Leo, Piper, and the Romans looked confused when they asked what pinochle was. Now the past Greeks were confused on why Leo and Piper didn't know what it was, the Romans they could understand. But weren't Leo and Piper Greek? How could they have gone any amount of time at camp without being taught how to play pinochle? It was practically a requirement that they learn it after all.

Percy noticed their confusion and simply told them it was a long story, but Mr. D wasn't actually at camp at the moment, reminding those who had been paying attention to what Annabeth said earlier about him being recalled. He decided to ignore the looks from the council demanding that he explain and simply asked his mother to keep reading.

(I had weird dreams... The rest wanted food.)

"You know... that's actually probably the most normal dream I've had since arriving at camp..." Percy said thoughtfully.

The rest of the kids looked at him weird, if he considered that normal... just how crazy did his dreams get? Grover just turned red. He was part of the reason behind that dream afterall... and the other stranger ones Percy had over the years.

(I must've woken... passed out again.)

Zoe snorted. That sounded about right to her for a boy. A few of the demigods snickered, and the Stolls were about to say something but decided it would be best for their health if they didn't. The look Percy was giving them...

A few of the gods even shivered and had to resist the urge to hide at the look Percy was giving the Stolls.

(I remember lying... with the spoon.)

While Percy promptly disappeared behind Mrs. O'Leary's paw, face beet red, Annabeth had nowhere to hide. She settled for leaning over with her face between her knees while the rest of the room cat-called or chuckled at the couple. A few comments on how cute they were was heard from the females.

Piper would forever deny thinking such things. Thank goodness she resisted the urge to say it out loud. She did not need to turn into her mother blast it!

It didn't help anyone that Aphrodite was practically hyperventilating with how cute the scene was.

(When she saw... summer solstice?")

At this, several gods, Athena included, leaned forward expectantly. The demigods who noticed this watched in amusement, did they seriously not figure anything out yet? And did they realize that at this point in the book, Percy still hadn't even been told about the Greek gods and all that, meaning that he obviously knew nothing about the solstice.

Apollo and Hermes were the only ones from the council to figure anything out at this point, and they both figured that if somebody was being blamed for stealing something on the winter solstice, then the summer solstice was the most likely deadline to be set for apologies before war broke out. Both of them glanced towards Percy, who simply nodded, knowing that the two of them were smarter than they sometimes appeared and had likely already figured it all out. Well, most of it.

(I managed to croak,... got a few weeks!")

Those closest could hear Athena muttering to herself. "Stolen?... important... fighting... who... what...?" To say that those who knew- the future Greeks, Apollo and Hermes- were a little confused that she hadn't figured it out yet was an understatement.

"You seriously haven't figured it out yet, Athena? I thought you were supposed to be smart...?" Hermes asked. His face was scrunched up a little as he tried to figure out this newest puzzle. While she started bickering with him, the demigods discussed this newest phenomena in their lives.

"Maybe its because she's so smart and strategic...?" Clarisse suggested hesitantly, glancing over at Annabeth for her opinion. "I mean, maybe she's just overthinking it because she's, well..."

"That could be... that could also be how Apollo and Hermes figured it out... Those two and Athena are polar opposites. I mean, we all know the two of them are smarter than they act." Percy said. The others nodded in agreement. All the demigods looked up to find all the gods watching them, Apollo and Hermes were just surprised while Athena was looking like she might vaporize Percy then and there for daring to suggest that those two idiots could ever be smarter than her.

("I'm sorry," I... mouth with pudding.)

Thalia and Nico found this even funnier than the others for some reason. While the others snickered and teased Percy about it a bit, Thalia and Nico were too busy rolling on the floor laughing to even breath.

Finally Thalia managed to choke out that that was probably the most fool-proof way of shutting him up. Percy started sputtering out an excuse, but nobody could really hear him over Thalia and Nico's laughter. Finally, he just dumped a few gallons of seawater on them to get them to shut up.

While they sputtered, Percy calmly asked his mother to keep reading.

(The next time I woke up, the girl was gone.)

"Percy..." Thalia started, but she didn't get very far before finding Riptide stuck in the couch on one side of her head, while Nico found Annabeth's knife stuck in the couch on the opposite side of his.

Neither of them spoke, just glared at anyone who looked like they dared say anything. It didn't take long for Sally to take pity on the demigods and keep reading, chuckling as she did so.

(A husky blond dude... the backs of his hands.)

Hera beamed with pride over hearing about Argus. When Ares and Hephaestus saw this, they both turned to each other and started muttering that she never looked at them like that. Instead it was always nagging over every little thing. Needless to say, their mothers treatment of them was the only thing those two could really agree on.

Percy smiled thinking about their camps security guard and how much he preferred Argus over Terminus any day.

Annabeth noticed the Romans confusion over who the surfer dude with all the eyes was, so she explained that he was their head of security. Which prompted Frank and Dakota to start grumbling about OCD border gods. A few of the other Romans looked like they agreed, but didn't really want to say anything that would be disrespectful. He was still a god after all.

(When I finally... about my surroundings,)

"For the first and only time." Percy grumbled. After that he went on a rant that nobody could quite follow since it seemed to be in a mix of Latin, Greek, and English. Even the immortals had a hard time following, he switched languages so randomly. And they were the only other ones in there who spoke all three!

(except that they were... smelled like strawberries.)

The Greeks were proud as they watched the Romans jaws drop at the description of the view. It sounded amazing, and Percy hadn't even finished describing it yet. Percy was looking wistful. He hadn't seen his home in so long...

(There was a blanket... it for a nest.)

"Percy... how do you know what that feels like?" Sally asked slowly, looking over at her son, who had sunk low behind Mrs. O'Leary's paws in an attempt to avoid his parents.

Nobody missed how angry the future Greeks looked, or how Luke was avoiding looking at anyone. Or when the futures started muttering stuff that sounded really random and strange out of context, but apparently Sally got to some extent, because now she looked angry.

Apollo and Hermes were getting a bad feeling that Luke was involved in the bolt being stolen, as well as whatever bad things happened in the future that caused these books to be written.

Luke was starting to look apprehensive. He didn't know what his older self did after stealing the bolt, but it looked bad.

It didn't take long for Sally to notice how uncomfortable the younger kids looked with the looks on the olders faces, so she decided to keep reading. She had a feeling that a description of their home would cheer everybody up.

(My tongue was dry... a maraschino cherry.)

"I'm hungry now... some nectar sounds good..." Apollo whined.

"One more chapter after this then we eat, remember?" Hestia reminded everyone what she had decided earlier. Apollo and Percy looked about ready to protest, they were hungry now! but decided not to when they glanced her way. She had that mothers look that said, don't argue.

The Romans looked a little put-out that the Greeks had such easy access to nectar.

(My hand was so weak... familiar voice said.)

"Ah, she only spoke once and you already remember what she sounded like." Thalia tried to tease, until...

"Dude! It was Grover. She was off with Chiron and Mr. D." Percy said. Everyone started looking between the annoyed Percy and the red faced goat. Sally decided to keep reading.

(Grover was leaning... Not the goat boy.)

While Grover started grumbling, Percy, Thalia, and Nico high-fived before Percy and Thalia started debating who started calling him that first.

It didn't take much for everyone else who didn't already know what the cousins liked to call the satyr. The cousins were so engrossed in their debate that they didn't notice Grover get the Stolls' attention and gave them the sign. Sometime during the war, the demigods had come up with various hand signs to use for various situations, this particular one was to signal that a prank was needed. Those that noticed had a feeling that Percy, Thalia, and Nico were the next victims.

The Stolls were slightly excited to have a chance to prank the one who was now revealed to be a master prankster.

(So maybe I'd... some reason. And...)

The light mood was gone as everyone remembered what happened to Sally and again had to avoid looking towards the Percy's. Luke was suddenly feeling a little guilty about what happened, it was his fault to an extent after all. He was the one to steal the Helm and Bolt, although he hadn't expected Percy to get blamed for that and the Minotaur to be sent after him as a result.

("You saved my life,... with dried blood.)

A few demigods looked slightly impressed, although they felt they could have gone without the dried blood part.

"You've cleaned that thing off right?" Katie asked hesitantly.

"No, I never got around to it... Tyson did though. He had that thing shining last I saw it. He seemed to like cleaning... for some odd reason. And for somebody who was living in a cardboard box when I met him, he was pretty good at it too." Poseidon looked at him thoughtfully when he mentioned Tyson. He only knew of one boy by that name, and he was already making plans to bring his two sons together, looked like it worked and they got to know each other.

Katie and the other futures 'ahh'd' and nodded, smiling, at the thought of Tyson. They liked the big guy, he was pretty cool for a cyclops.

(It hadn't been... isn't a good idea-")

"Nice try Grover, nice try." Annabeth said as she patted the satyr on the head softly. The other futures looked at him sympathetically. "I'm afraid that its just a lost cause. He just won't get it."

Percy raised an eyebrow, "You know I'm right here, right?"

"Yeah, we know." Thalia answered. "We also know the success rate of getting you to stop blurting out names every two seconds is currently stuck at 0%, despite the whole camps best efforts. I mean, we consented to the Stoll brothers giving you lessons on why, as a demigod, blurting out names is a bad thing. They had you for three hours before admitting defeat. They had to run off to go rob a convenience store blind just to work off their frustration."

Poseidon whistled, Sally dropped her head into her hands, the past people looked impressed, and the Stolls were now staring at Percy in fear.

Percy shrugged. "I've never really had a problem with it. Besides, its not like any of them can actually come into camp unless directly summoned anyway." He answered.

Jaws dropped. Several of the futures yelled, "Never had a problem with it?!"

Clarisse continued, "What about the Fourth of July incident? How was that not a problem?" The other futures shuddered. That had not been a fun Fourth of July.

"Ok, one time where something happened, that wasn't really that big a problem, we handled it just fine..."

"I don't call a giant sea snake showing up out of nowhere and tilting the barge so all the fireworks fired AT US to be a 'not a big problem', Percy. In fact, I call that a very big problem, especially when said sea snake proceeded to attack us on the beach."

"Technically that wasn't my fault. Triton was the one leading the hunting party that chased it our way... so... yeah." Triton raised his hands in the surrender position while he stared at his half-brother, trying to figure out just how on earth something like that could happen from a snake getting away from the hunt.

"Regardless, you were the one talking about sea snakes minutes before it showed up." Katie finished the argument by gesturing for Sally to keep reading, all the futures expertly ignoring the looks on the others faces.

You could practically see the question on everyone's minds, 'how are they all still alive?'

("That's what they..." He looked down.)

And so did several of the other demigods, although they were also wondering how she was here reading this if she was dead. Not to mention the fact that all the futures knew her, most of them had stayed at the Jackson apartment at some point when they were in New York and just needed a place to crash for a bit. Either for a mission back during the war, or, more recently, them just finding an excuse to go be with her while her son was missing.

The only way they could think of for her to still be alive would be if... but, nah. Percy was crazy, but not even he would... wait. Yes. Yes, he would.

(I stared across... huge pine tree on top.)

A few of the Romans whistled at the description. They may be surrounded by hills and mountains out in California, but... this sounded amazing. They all vowed that Octavian was never learning where this place was. And they had a feeling they hadn't even heard of all of it yet. They also noticed that the Greeks looked distinctly proud of their reactions to hearing about the Greek camp.

'They are very proud of their home.' Reyna thought. This was something she could relate to.

(Even that looked... should look beautiful.)

Now Hades was starting to look uncomfortable. All the gods knew that Sally didn't die, she had been taken, but that didn't stop Hades from being uncomfortable and slightly guilty at the 'death' of this boys mother. He was kind of starting to like the brat after all. His mother kind of reminded him of Maria in some ways. That and he supposed that the boy was family...

("I'm sorry,"... satyr in the world.")

As one, Thalia, both Annabeth's, and both Luke's either facepalmed or started banging the backs of their heads against the couch they were sitting on. Grover looked apologetic while Grover had a look on his face like he was agreeing with his book self.

(He moaned, stomping... across the clear sky.)

"Is that you or the Styx itself? Because..." Annabeth trailed off as she looked at Zeus, waiting to see if he would answer.

Instead, it was Hades who answered. "That is the Styx, she's very old, and she doesn't really like it when she's referred to in that manner... something I can relate to." He said that last part almost as an afterthought, as though warning the demigods to stop doing it.

While Annabeth nodded thoughtfully, Annabeth looked intrigued and that's when Percy begged his mother to keep reading.

(As he struggled to... tiny horns on his head.)

Both Grovers grabbed their heads and stared at their respective set of Stolls. Daring them to do it. When that didn't seem to deter the pranksters from their plans, Percy cleared his throat while looking at the ceiling. When the four looked at him, he said one word, "Dolphins."

The older Stolls paled and the futures that weren't already trying not to laugh joined those who were now laughing on the floor. The younger Stolls took one look at their older selves and decided that whatever they were planning just wasn't worth it.

(But I was too... dissolved into yellow light.)

"She wouldn't have been gone permanently then... obviously you found a way to get her back... but the fact that she was dissolved means she was taken. But why..." Athena was still struggling to figure out what on earth was going on. This was so frustrating! She was Athena! The goddess of knowledge and wisdom! She was smart, and great with strategy! This shouldn't be such a mystery!

She only became even more frustrated when she noticed how Apollo and Hermes were staring at her, they looked smug, with that look that clearly said, 'I know something you don't know, I know something you don't know.' The future demigods that knew about the theft, too, were staring at her like, 'when is she going to figure this out?' She briefly debated vaporizing all of them then and there... but sadly the fates themselves forbade such actions against them... not to mention how protective Poseidon could be where his children were concerned.

Poseidon, while Athena had her meltdown, was glancing between his brothers suspiciously, trying to figure out which one of them would have the nerve to kidnap Sally. It's kind of a given by the fact that she was Percy's mother that she had his favor and protection, so... Percy caught his eye and shook his head, clearly telling him to drop it. He frowned for a moment, before deciding to trust his sons judgement on this, afterall, Percy was the one who lived this whole mess... and he said that there was a lot going on here than what he could tell in the moment.

(I was alone. An orphan... I'd do something.)

Many eyebrows went up, but nobody said anything. Luckily for them, they all realized that Percy had just woken up and had yet to have ANYTHING explained about what was going on and just where he was. Although many would have said something about the living with Gabe comment if not for Sally just reading on through and not letting anyone say anything.

Nobody except Poseidon noticed a couple of the future Greeks disappear for a bit with Gabe into another room. Poseidon had almost forgotten the stupid mortal was there until the two of them mentally requested stress relief with him.

(Grover was still... wasn't your fault.")

Thalia threw a look at the Grover's that both of them expertly ignored.

("Yes, it was. I... At least... I was.")

"And you still are." Percy said before nodding like the matter was settled.

"Ummm, technically, Perce..." Grover started.

"Nobody cares about technicalities anymore G-man. You may be the Lord of the Wild, but you still protect stuff. Therefore you are still a protector. Besides, aren't you also technically still assigned to me?" Percy asked with a smirk. Grover opened and closed his mouth a few more times before he realized that, yeah, he was technically still assigned to Percy.

("But why..." I... expecting apple juice.)

"Everyone always expects apple juice. Why is that I wonder..." Athena said softly.

Annabeth just looked at her mother like she had grown another head. "Umm, mother... that may be because it LOOKS like apple juice." While Athena blushed at missing such an obvious fact, Annabeth and the other futures looked over at Apollo, silently begging him to please look at Athena later, something was clearly wrong with her if she was starting to space out and miss the simple facts like that.

(It wasn't that... was going to be okay.)

Sally paused in her reading to smile softly at her sons. They both looked a little red in the face, but they smiled back. After all, this was their mother, what was there to be embarrassed about?

(Before I knew it... wistful, I felt guilty.)

"You feel guilty about the strangest things sometimes..." Thalia muttered.

The Romans and past people just figured it must've been some kind of inside joke because all the future Greeks started snickering.

Percy just scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

("Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste.")

Both Dionysus and Hermes looked about ready to explode with that statement, but Percy just waved his hand like, 'yeah, yeah, I know' while Sally just kept reading.

(His eyes got wide... Bobofit a hundred yards.")

Artemis and Zoe narrowed their eyes, but looking back on the girl's behavior they figured that she would have deserved it... to an extent. Girl needed to be brought down a notch. That and by now they knew that he hadn't been raised that way.

Sally just raised an eyebrow in his direction, proving the Huntress's theory, and kept reading when he quickly shook his head at her, as if to say that he wouldn't have really done it.

("That's good," he said... more of that stuff.")

"Yeah, please don't." Was heard from several people scattered through the throne room.

("What do you mean?"... D are waiting.")

All the Greek demigods sighed and sat back to get comfortable, they had heard all this before, some of them more then once depending on how often they helped Chiron with the newbies, and they kind of found it to be a boring conversation. It was all second nature stuff to them by now after all.

A few of them actually looked like they were about to take a nap. They were certainly considering it. The Roman's actually looked interested in how they were going to tell Percy his heritage. As Romans, they never had that problem. All Romans to come to camp had already had training with Lupa after all, so they came already knowing this stuff if they hadn't grown up in New Rome.

(The porch wrapped all... I caught my breath.)

All the Greeks who had been about to take a nap perked up and turned towards the Romans, eager to see their reactions to hearing about their home. In all the Greeks minds, there was nowhere more beautiful on the planet.

(We must've been... their horses had wings.)

Throughout the whole description of the camp, the Greeks' grins only got wider as they watched the Romans jaws get closer and closer to the ground. None of the Romans missed the fact that this sounded like an actual camp rather than the military post that their own camp was, and yet the Greeks were still amazing fighters, as evidenced by the way Percy tore through the First and Second Cohorts the other night during the War Games.

Reyna was also hung up on the fact that the Greeks seemed to have so many Pegasi around. She happened to own the only Pegasi in Camp Jupiter after all. And here the Greeks had Pegasi everywhere.

They all wished they could see this place sometime, although they didn't really see how they could without Octavian finding out and destroying the place. Maybe they could find a way to get rid of him during the war or something.

It took them a minute to notice the Greeks staring at them with huge, proud grins on their faces. Happy that the Romans looked impressed with their home, and proud at the thought of maybe showing it to their new friends someday.

(Down at the end... rail next to them.)

Before the Greeks went back to sleep, they heard Percy groan as he remembered what his first impression of Dionysus was. They looked over at him only to see him starting to shrink back down against Mrs. O'Leary while staring at Dionysus in something that almost looked like... fear? No, he looked like he didn't want to be here for whatever they were about to hear. The Greeks suddenly felt wide awake.

They wanted to hear this.

(The man facing... in a trailer park.)

There were a few minutes where nobody said anything, instead just staring between Percy and Dionysus while Dionysus glared at Percy. Clearly wishing he could incinerate the boy where he was trying to melt into Mrs. O'Leary's side to escape.

All it took was a snicker. Unsurprisingly it came from Dakota.

The only thing keeping Dionysus from striking Dakota down for starting the others twenty plus minute laughing session was the fact that Dakota was his son on the Roman side. All the same, he promised that Dakota was grounded when this was over. That shut the boy up. It still took the rest of them a while to calm down though.

In fact it wasn't until Sally decided that it would be in all the demigods best interest if they calm down, so she started reading loud enough to get their attention. They gradually calmed down as she read.

(He wore a tiger... even my step-father.)

"Of course I could, idiot." Dionysus muttered. To suggest he couldn't was possibly the most insulting thing. Right after how his little cousin described his appearance.

("That's Mr. D,"... just about anybody.)

"How long have you been at camp, Annabeth?" Reyna asked, interested in how their Greek counterparts came to camp. The Annabeth's just looked at each other as if trying to decide who would answer.

"Uh, I've been at camp since I was seven. At this point, that was only five years and I had already been there longer then just about everybody. Especially after..." She glanced meaningfully at the other futures.

"Huh. I think its pretty safe to say that Jason is the one to claim that title at Camp Jupiter. You've been there, what, 12 years? Since you were, like, 4?" Reyna asked Jason.

"Uh, yeah... Mom gave me to Lupa when I was 3ish and she sent me to camp not long after. And I've been in the Legion ever since." Jason said. He was trying to ignore Thalia growling from where she was sitting by Nico. She would never forgive their mother for that one it seemed.

Reyna looked like she wanted to keep asking about how they got to camp, but Sally suggested that they should keep reading, and Chiron said they could discuss it later.

(And you already... choice answers B .)

"Woah, woah, woah. How could the guy who constantly interrupts our pranks have a sense of humor like that? Come on!" Connor said, frustrated. The rest of the Hermes crew nodded in agreement while everyone else just stared at them.

Grover looked over and commented that that had been just the week before, the last thing they did in class before Winter break. Chiron just nodded before informing the Hermes crew that their pranks weren't quite as harmless to personal property and dignity as one concerning the answers to a quiz.

Connor just pouted while Sally decided to keep reading.

("Ah, good, Percy,... for pinochle.")

"Ok, what is pinochle? Is this some camp thing we missed out on with Mr. D not being around?" Leo asked. "Or is it something I missed out on because I was in the bunker all the time?"

Chiron looked worried when the bunker was mentioned, he locked it up for a reason after all, while Percy could be seen whispering to Annabeth, probably about since when they had a bunker.

"No, it's mostly a Mr. D thing. Before he was recalled, it wasn't uncommon for him to randomly call entire cabins up to the Big House for a pinochle tournament. Regardless of what we were doing before being called. Even if we were in the arena practicing out swordsmanship. Actually, the only time anybody was safe from being called while in the arena was if they were in the middle of class with me." Percy answered when Annabeth was done explaining where the bunker came from.

"Why would he spare your classes? And why are you even teaching? Swordsmanship classes are reserved for only the strongest retired legionnaire fighters to teach, not campers. Fewer accidents and such that way." Reyna asked, somewhat surprised. She knew Percy was strong, but for him to be in charge of teaching too…

"As for his classes being safe... he got tired of constantly being interrupted by satyr's asking that his students report to Mr. D in the Big House, so he made a bet with Mr. D." All the Greeks who were there smirked as they remembered what happened. "Basically, they had a competition, whoever won got to make one request, and the loser had to comply without question or fail, they swore on the River Styx and everything. Well, Percy won. So, he requested that Mr. D stop interrupting his classes for his, and I'm quoting here, 'pointless and time-wasting tournaments'. As for him teaching, why shouldn't he? He's the strongest in camp." Clarisse, surprisingly, said.

While the younger kids looked impressed that Percy had beaten the god at something, Dakota wanted to know what his dad had been beaten in.

"Um, ok, so... mom, don't freak out, it was his idea, not mine and well... he was the one being challenged, so he got to pick the challenge... nothing I could do about it... it was a drinking contest." Percy finally got out. While everyone stared at him, wondering how a simple demigod could beat the god of wine, the guy who practically invented drinking contests, in a drinking contest, Sally calmly handed the book to Paul, and just as calmly stalked towards Dionysus.

Everyone who tried to stop her was stopped by Hera and Poseidon. Hera because she was never going to get in the way of a mother protecting her son, and Poseidon because he was just as angry. As a result, everyone had to watch and listen for a half-hour to an angry mother beat and yell at the wine god for forcing her underage son who'd already been through enough into a drinking contest.

When she was done, it was time for Zeus to lay into his son about pulling an underage demigod into a drinking contest, AND for doing it despite his restrictions. To which Annabeth answered that there was actually a loophole that they probably found to let this happen. Annabeth agreed and said that they would tell him what it was later in private, to prevent Mr. D from taking advantage of it as much as possible.

Finally, the big question was asked. How did Percy Jackson beat Dionysus the god of wine, in a drinking contest. Percy just smirked and said that everybody had their secrets. Which just made all the futures smirk. They had an idea how he did it, since they knew his abilities with water, even if they didn't know the full extent of it. Regardless, anybody who can out-drink the eternally drunk wine dude was impressive.

Only Poseidon had a feeling he did it by using his control over water to repeatedly purge the alcohol from his system. Ensuring that the entire time they were having their contest, Percy never once felt the slightest effect of the alcohol. And then of course he would have known exactly how he was supposed to act from watching Gabe for years.

(He offered me... glad to see you.")

Several of the gods raised their eyebrows, they were really questioning the wisdom of sending Dionysus to watch their children as his punishment. First the drinking contest, now his obvious uncaring attitude.

("Uh, thanks." I... I was a satyr.)

A few people laughed nervously while looking towards Sally as if she might attack them next. It seemed that alcohol would be a touchy subject for a while.

("Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner... ruined the image.)

All the gray eyed people in the room started slowly turning towards Percy threateningly, but stopped when Sally kept going and they heard the rest of Percy's description, after which they looked smug.

(They were startling... down in a fight.)

"I was, by the way."

"I know."

(She glanced at the... something like that.)

While everyone turned to Percy, most of them thinking that he really didn't know Annabeth very well at that time, Artemis and Zoe were both thinking that the boy had been doing so well so far.

Percy had slowly been endearing himself to the two of them, both of them starting to think there was something different about this boy, and then something like this came up in the book. With that comment they started to think of him like any other boy again.

(Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep.")

Over the sounds of the demigods laughter Sally was heard informing Annabeth that she didn't know the half of it. She should have seen him when he was younger. That just made those who could hear her laugh harder.

(Then she sprinted... You may call me Chiron.)

The Greeks decided that the interesting parts of this chapter were probably done at this point and went back to their various nap positions. Hoping that they wouldn't be roused again until this chapter was over.

Several of the parents found this amusing, especially when Percy actually fell asleep almost as soon as he got comfortable against Mrs. O'Leary's side. The Romans were actually interested to see what the Greek teacher would say, so they were a little offended by the Greeks falling asleep at this part until they remembered that some of these kids probably gave this same speech several times and could probably quote parts of it in their sleep.

Even the Grovers got comfortable for a nap!

("Okay." Totally confused... them for no reason.")

"Didn't the others yell at Percy earlier for constantly saying the names?" Dakota asked Gwen.

"Yup, apparently he even ignored the advice when a god gave it to him." Reyna answered first. All of the Romans looked at Percy amused.

("Oh. Right. Sorry.")

"Yeah, because that totally made an impact." Rachel said as she rolled her eyes. She had never gotten the full explanation, her introduction into the demigod world had come in the form of Percy swinging a sword through her torso. So she felt the need to hear this conversation despite her current position in the camp.

("I must say, Percy... wasted my time.")

Sally stopped reading to turn to stare at Chiron, wondering if she shouldn't invest in some videos on positive speaking or something and donate them to Camp Half-Blood.

("House call?" "My... a leave of absence.")

"What did you do to him?" Paul asked, wondering if maybe he shouldn't find another job. He didn't want something happening to him just because a powerful demigod happened to pass through his classroom!

"Don't worry, we simply moved him to Hawaii." Chiron said calmly. Now Paul was wishing a really powerful demigod happened to pass through his classroom. He wouldn't mind moving to Hawaii with Sally.

(I tried to remember... always the first test.")

Thalia muttered something, and the others understood that maybe she wasn't quite asleep yet. Neither were the Annabeth's or Luke's either when they all muttered something back before shifting to get more comfortable.

("Grover," Mr. D... tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.)

A few on the council sniggered appreciatively while Mr. D fumed. Unfortunately, he couldn't take it out on the boy, because A) he was asleep and didn't even know what was going on, and B) his mother was there. He honestly didn't know who he was scared of more. Sally Jackson or Poseidon. Both were scary when their children were involved.

("You do know... me suspiciously.)

"Is pinochle like, a requirement? Other than the fact that he sprung surprise tournaments on you guys all the time." Leo asked. Despite them telling all about it earlier, he was still a little confused about why pinochle was mentioned so much.

"Yes." Practically all the Greeks that were still awake enough to have an idea what was going on grumbled. The number of half-conscious demigods in the room was decreasing as they all fell asleep though.

("I'm afraid not," I... director less and less.)

"Feeling is mutual." Dionysus grumbled. Sadly, the boy was sound asleep, so he couldn't actually tell him anything.

("Well," he told me,... landed in his pile.)

Hermes frowned. He did not like the fact that the satyr's were so afraid of Dionysus. He knew that his son would never stand for it either. He glared at Dionysus to let him know that they would be talking about this later.

(Chiron smiled at me... bidding or not?")

While Sally frowned, she didn't bother saying anything about Mr. D's assessment. Instead, she kept reading, not giving anyone else a chance to say anything either. In a way, she knew it was true and that she had been lucky to keep him to herself as long as she did without anything major happening.

("What?" I asked. He... won't be sufficient.")

"Oh, that explains so much." Rachel said softly. When the Romans and council members looked confused, she said, "Annabeth is always telling me stories about how clueless he was when he first came to camp. Of course, he still is kind of clueless with some stuff... but him not seeing the orientation film actually does explain a lot. If he's literally just learning as he goes for the most part... its really a miracle he's still alive."

("Orientation film?" I asked... are very much alive.")

"You know, I think it's much more believable to be trained by an immortal wolf for a while than just told, 'oh, hey, by they way. The gods are real, enjoy your life'." Frank grumbled.

Hazel laughed. "I would have preferred the wolves to what I got..." When she noticed the other Romans looking at her weird, she just waved them off.

(I stared at the... tallied up his points.)

"Is it just me, or is that a disturbing image? No? Not just me? Ok, I'll stop now." Hermes tried, it didn't work. What he got were a few goddesses giving him a dirty look.

("Mr. D," Grover asked... chewed it mournfully.)

Hazel had a feeling that if the Greeks were awake they would be teasing and laughing at their satyr friend.

("Wait," I told Chiron... That's a smaller matter.")

"Chiron..." Zeus said warningly.

"Yes, brother?" Chiron answered back innocently. Whatever Zeus was about to say he clearly wasn't going to say it anymore. He hated it when Chiron pulled the brother card!

("Smaller?" "Yes, quite... You mean them.")

"He didn't say your name, Uncle P." Apollo was barely staying in his throne, he was laughing so hard at his uncle's misfortune of his son not even mentioning him.

Apollo and Hermes both got several hundred gallons of seawater, complete with random bits of seaweed somewhere in the mix, and a crab, dumped on them. With Hermes being the lucky new owner of one annoyed crab. Hanging on his nose.

(And there it was... there was science.")

Nearly all the gods flinched back. They hated it when science was brought up. They had lost so many believers because of it and had run the risk of fading for a while, and would have if not for constantly having children with mortals.

Sally looked up at them and smiled softly, whether in apology or in pity was hard to tell. All they knew is they preferred to think of it as an apology.

("Science!" Mr. D scoffed... I never told anybody-)

"Wait, what's wrong with his name? I like it." Poseidon said. Ignoring the smug look on Zeus's face when he said that he liked the name Perseus. They had had many arguments in the past over what a stupid name it was.

"I'm not sure... he would never tell me what happened, but I think there was an incident when he was younger with some of the other children in our apartment building..." Sally said with a frown. Something that the others decided did not belong on her face. She knew it was an unusual name for kids these days, but she still couldn't believe that other children could be so mean over a name of all things. Sure, kids could be pretty mean to each other, but...

Both parents turned and watched Percy slide down so that only some of his hair was visible.

("What will people... boy and tell me.")

"Actually, I think mortals have come very far, considering there was a time when we didn't even know fire existed. Look at everything we have created now." Sally said with a frown towards Dionysus. Paul and Rachel joined her as the only other mortals in the room.

It was Hestia who stepped in and saved the council from a lecture on mortals and whatnot by suggesting that perhaps they should keep reading, they could have this discussion later.

(I wasn't liking Mr. D... made me hesitate.)

Sally, Paul, and Rachel all grinned at that. They all knew that Percy had been offered immortality after the Battle, and they had been a little confused when Percy thought it sounded like a good deal.

Jason, Leo, and Piper were a little confused too, they had heard rumors around camp that Percy had been offered immortality and rejected it. And they said as much to the council and Romans. The looks on the Romans faces were priceless, as were the gods when Sally confirmed the rumors.

Percy was also slowly working himself back into Artemis and Zoe's favor.

("You mean, whether... call you a myth,)

"Actually, some of the younger campers do kind of see him as a myth. Not the ones who were there and fought with him, obviously, but the ones who came after he disappeared." Rachel said, shrugging as if she hadn't just revealed that Percy was on the same level as the gods in the eyes of those just hearing about the Greek world.

While the Romans and gods stared at her, Jason, Leo, and Piper coughed, knowing they were kind of guilty of the same thing. And they said as much.

(just created to... losing their mothers?")

"CHIRON!" Both Sally and Paul were angry. Sally even more than Paul, at what they just read. "That was just completely uncalled for."

"My dear, please remember that none of this has happened yet, Percy and I have yet to have this conversation, for me, anyway..." Chiron muttered the last part as though hoping that if she didn't hear it, she wouldn't remember the time difference between the two.

"Maybe it hasn't happened for you, but it has certainly happened for MY SON!" Sally yelled before grabbing the book again and starting to read, angrily.

(My heart pounded... incinerates you.")

A sleepy voice cut Sally off, "Ooooh, there's one we missed, add it to the tally, Thals." Nico mumbled sleepily.

"Yo, Roman guys, remind me to do that when I wake up." Thalia answered just as sleepily, waving a hand lazily through the air. Then going back to sleep.

"It would appear that the two of them woke up just enough to hear D threaten to incinerate Percy." Apollo said, amused.

"Although, I don't think Uncle P and Sally are going to like this tally they mentioned." Hermes said with a frown.

Sally glanced between the cousins with a worried frown on her face before sighing and going back to the book, deciding that she really didn't want to know.

(Grover said, "P-please, sir... itself with red wine.)

Zeus raised his eyebrows, looking towards Dionysus, who glared back. He really didn't care what his Father thought about that right now, after all... how can he be the god of wine, WHEN HE'S NOT ALLOWED ANY WINE!

(My jaw dropped... "Old habits! Sorry!")

"Old habits, yeah right, more like just trying to see if Chiron or myself noticed." Zeus scowled at him. Why couldn't his son just do as he's told?!

"Are you kidding me?! I'm the GOD OF WINE! You taking my wine away from me like that is like, like, taking Apollo's music away from him! Or us taking away your lightning! It's who and WHAT we are! You can't just say, 'oh, yeah. Your not allowed to have this for blank amount of time,' and then expect it to just happen!" Dionysus had stood up at some point while yelling at his father. It was clear he had been wanting to say this for years. "It's bad enough you stuck me babysitting YOUR brats," He pointed at the council who had kids at camp, "But then you just had to take away my wine, too!"

He sat back down with a huff, and Apollo and Hermes looked suspiciously proud as they applauded their half brother. They'd been wondering when the explosion would happen for a while now. In fact, so had everyone else. None of them agreed with Zeus putting Dionysus on probation and taking away his 'aspect'.

"YOU..." Zeus started standing.

The Romans, Leo, Piper, Rachel, Paul, Sally, and Percy were watching all this happen with wide eyes. Even Gabe over in his corner.

"ENOUGH!" Hestia shouted, standing up. "Brother, I told you then, and I'll tell you again now. In fact, I think it safe to say everyone agrees with me. You have always punished Dionysus unfairly, but this one was taking it too far. However, this is a discussion best for the privacy of our chambers, away from mortal eyes. And those of our children's." She said, gesturing towards the demigods and mortals still awake in the room.

A few of them noticed that some of the sleeping Greeks were giving them a one-eyed glare for interrupting their naps. They didn't care who they were with, you don't interrupt a demigods nap!

(More thunder... can of Diet Coke.)

Dionysus curled his lip in disgust. He hated that stuff. Whoever invented it clearly had no sense of taste.

(He sighed unhappily... been declared off-limits.")

Hera turned to glare at her husband, knowing full well why that nymph was off-limits, but glanced at Hestia without interrupting Sally.

("A wood nymph," I...' Ha! Absolutely unfair.")

"At this point, I don't know who it was more unfair to... you for being sent there in the first place, or the children who have to deal with you and your attitude." Sally said scathingly. "But I guess I can understand why you would be bitter, although that doesn't mean you have to take it out on the children. It's not there fault you are there." She finished her lecture and started reading again before Dionysus could respond.

Not that he would, he and the rest of the council were too busy staring at her, shocked. They now had an even better idea why Poseidon had fallen for her.

(Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.)

Chiron facepalmed. He had been trying to get Mr. D to start acting his age around the campers for years. He had even pulled the Uncle card!

("And..." I stammered... is Zeus, of course.")

"How is he supposed to know that when he doesn't even know your name yet? Mr. D, you know full well that I am teaching him everything he well need to know, but if he wasn't even told something, how's he supposed to figure the rest out?" Chiron asked. He was not happy with the slight on his teaching. He'd been teaching for thousands of years, he knows what he's doing, blast it!

(I ran through D... Mr. D were his master.)

Hermes frowned at the last bit, but was overall pretty impressed with how Percy figured it out on so little information.

Sally noticed most of the council's surprised expressions and sighed. She hated that everybody always failed to realize that her son was much smarter than anybody ever gave him credit for. After all, there was more to life than sitting in a classroom learning facts that you would probably never use again, or need to survive on the streets. Naturally, he was the one to teach Annabeth that.

("You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine.")

Dionysus grumbled again about not being allowed to have any. Zeus sighed and waved his hand in his sons direction, causing a goblet of wine to appear in his hand.

Dionysus's eyes widened as he spent a couple minutes staring from the wine in his hand to Zeus, before finally taking the first sip he had in years and practically passing out in joy.

(Mr. D rolled his eyes... Aphrodite perhaps?")

"Ummm, please, don't joke about that." Dakota said. Mr. D switched forms for a moment for Bacchus to apologize to his son before switching back, holding his head and groaning from the headache that caused.

"I agree with Dakota. That is not something to joke about." Aphrodite said, eyeing him in concern. He was usually the least affected by the headaches...

("You're a god."... for the rest of my life.)

"Dionysus..." Pretty much all the parents with kids at camp warned.

He simply held his hands up in surrender before going back to enjoying his wine. Which seemed to keep magically refilling itself...

("Would you like... "No. No, sir.")

"Smart boy." Was all Mr. D said about the matter.

(The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win.")

Mr. D looked up with hope in his eyes, that was crushed as Sally kept reading.

("Not quite, Mr. D,"... "The game goes to me.")

Mr. D sat back in his seat and sulked. He never won... how was it that the old centaur always won? It wasn't fair!

Chiron just smirked. Something the Stolls would be freaking out about if they were awake. As it was, he felt safe doing it. He also had a feeling Mr. D was questioning the fairness of always losing to him. Oh well, let the guy wonder for eternity how he always won.

(I thought Mr. D... "Y-yes, sir.")

"D, I really don't like the way my nephews are so scared of you. When you took over my sons duties, nowhere in that job description did it say to terrify the hooves off your new subjects." Hermes said. For once very serious and very angry.

Mr. D's eyes widened as he realized that he now had half of Olympus's pranking menaces after his head. If he got Percy to help him... or even just those Stoll menaces...

(Mr. D turned to me... your manners.")

"Umm, so I thought they said that he always says their names wrong on purpose? Because I didn't hear his name said wrong once that whole conversation, and Mr. D said it, like, three times." Piper said, confused.

"Oh, he does. Its just with the new campers that he makes the effort to be nice enough to say their names right." Rachel explained. "Once you've been there for a few hours, he figures your acquainted enough with the camp that he doesn't need to bother."

(He swept into the... go back to Olympus.")

Dionysus muttered again about how unfair that was, but couldn't really find it in himself to get worked up again, must be the wine talking. It always did have a way of calming him down. Which makes sense considering he's the WINE GOD.

("Mount Olympus," I... the West."

"The what?")

"Chiron, not to question your teaching methods, but... I'm kinda with the kid on this one. How's he supposed to just know what your talking about when you start talking about the heart of the West?" Hermes asked hesitantly. He knew exactly how the old centaur reacted to how he taught being questioned.

Chiron just shrugged. He had an idea why his book self was distracted. He, like Apollo and Hermes, had figured it out a few chapters ago. "My, ah, book self sounds a little distracted right now. This is not the usual speech I give... plus I usually have them watch the film." He answered.

("Come now, Percy... forces, the same gods.")

"You forgot to mention the different personalities, Chiron. Remember, they were stricter as Romans. Why do you think Camp Jupiter is so militaristic?" Reyna said.

"Again, I would like to point out that all of this is in the future for me. That being said, I imagine my future self felt that too much information at that moment would be... counterproductive."

("And then they died.")

"Does anybody else like the way he words things? 'A big fight and the gods won'. 'And then they died.' He almost sounds like a kid who's very used to either dumbing things down so others can understand and get the point, or dumbing them down so others underestimate him." Apollo said.

Sally looked up at him with a beaming smile on her face. Happy that somebody finally recognized her sons intelligence.

Percy looked a little put out that somebody had noticed, and now they would stop underestimating him. Something that Poseidon and Triton noticed.

The others were just thinking about what he said. While only a couple of them actually recognized Apollo's intelligence for what it was, they all had to admit that he was good at reading people. They all resolved to pay better attention to what Percy said and how he said it.

("Died? No. Did the... And we are here.")

"What happened to too much information at once?" Reyna grumbled.

(It was all too much,... from the waist down.)

"Fortunately not." Chiron said with a smile.

("Who are you?" he... simply adore chocolate.")

"Understatement!" Was sing-songed by all the gods at the same time. Plus Sally, Rachel, Piper, Leo, and Jason.

"I think obsessed would be a better way of putting it, dear Chiron." Hestia followed her family in stating.

Chiron turned the deepest shade of red that any of them had ever seen.

(And then he did... human legs attached.)

"You know, Chiron, that is actually a little creepy to watch the first time. Especially with no warning at all." Leo said, with Jason and Piper nodding beside him. Chiron just raised an eyebrow and looked away.

But everybody he was facing could see the smirk on his face.

(I stared at the horse... meet the other campers.")

"That's the chapter! Umm, who wants to read next and who wants to wake up the demigods?" Sally asked, staring at the kids in amusement. Honestly, only these kids could just conk out like this.

Percy suddenly shot up and happily said that he would do it.

Chapter 9: I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underlined)

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

"That's the chapter! Umm, who wants to read next and who wants to wake up the demigods?" Sally asked, staring at the kids in amusement. Honestly, only these kids could just conk out like this.

Percy suddenly shot up and happily said that he would do it.

Percy ran out of the room really quick before anybody could say anything. Those left in the room were left to look at each other in confusion, wondering what on earth the boy was up to. The Hermes crew found themselves kind of looking forward to whatever it was.

When he came back, he had an air-horn. Sally groaned and Rachel motioned for the Romans to cover their ears.

Percy smirked before putting the horn right by Percy's ear. Those awake cringed at what was about to happen.

Percy pulled the trigger on the horn, and those closest to it were suddenly covered in bright pink paint, along with getting their ears blown out.

Everyone stared for a few minutes while the victims sat there and just stared at everyone and each other.

In those few minutes, the Hermes crew decided that they never wanted to get on Percy's bad side, because if this was what little Percy could come up with on the spot like that... and how did he even get bright pink paint in an air-horn in the first place?

Once everyone's brains caught up with their eyes, everyone, even the more serious gods, were either on the floor laughing or barely staying in their thrones.

Once everyone calmed down, which took a while because one look at the victims and they would be off again, the Stolls demanded to know if that was the best he could do at this age.

"Oh, no," Percy said, grinning. "I wanted to do something else, but I didn't have the time or resources. Plus, I don't like setting up in front of a crowd."

"Ok, but how did you get the paint in the air-horn?" Luke demanded.

"Sorry, Jackson family secret. It goes to the grave." Both Percy's said solemnly.

Hestia sighed before looking at the time and announcing dinner. She also (rather sweetly too) suggested that the victims go cleaned up first. To which Percy grinned and Percy groaned. Stating that this stuff didn't come off the normal way, there was a very specific way to get it off. He refused to tell anyone what it was though.

Sure enough, when he came back, he was the only victim that was clean. Well, him and Annabeth. He had told her how to get rid of it in the interest of not having an angry girlfriend to deal with. He had made her promise not to tell anyone else though. That would just ruin future pranks for both him and Percy if everyone in camp knew how to clean themselves and his prank area up.

When they came back from dinner, which was surprisingly uneventful, Sally tossed the book to Paul, silently demanding he read next.

Chapter six: I become supreme Lord of the Bathroom.

A few eyebrows rose around the room. Meanwhile, both Percy and Clarisse hid behind Annabeth and Chris respectively. Percy out of a sense of self-preservation and not wanting Clarisse to kill him, and Clarisse out of embarrassment for this happening in the first place.

The others who had been there thought back and remembered what happened on Percy's first day there, and they were gone. Clarisse came out from behind her boyfriend enough to glare, but it didn't help much that Chris himself was also chuckling as he remembered what happened that day.

(Once I got over the... Another said, "That's him .")

"I think that was me actually." Connor said.

"Yeah, I was too busy thinking up ways of getting that horn off him. Guy is really good at knowing when his stuff is stolen and who stole it." Travis said.

Both Percy's just shrugged. Luke and Chris snickered thinking of the short time when they still shared a cabin with Percy. The Stoll brothers had snatched the horn while Percy was in the shower, only for Percy to shut off the water, come storming out still wearing a towel, and start chewing the Stolls out for touching his stuff while grabbing the horn back from them.

Nobody knew how he did it.

(Most of the campers... do a flip or something.)

"Ooo, can-"

"No."

A few people started grumbling about stingy sons of Poseidon.

(I looked back at... brass eagle weathervane)

Percy grumbled something about it not being a Pegasus, a few demigods laughed thinking about that time he went up, took down the eagle, and had Blackjack stand up there in its place. It took days for people to notice that the weather vane had been replaced.

What was even funnier was watching Blackjack follow Percy everywhere he went for the next two weeks, bugging him about when he was going to go get his doughnuts.

Everyone ignored Zeus's boasting to Poseidon about his son admiring the eagle. They all, except Zeus it seemed, heard Percy's Pegasus remark.

(on top when something... I was being watched.)

Chiron sat up. The Oracle moved? She hadn't moved in...

Everyone else who had ever seen that mummy shivered. She gave them the creeps. The future Greeks who had all turned to Rachel and thanked her over and over again for coming into their lives. The Romans looked at them all like they were idiots. Rachel really didn't see the problem. Personally, she didn't think the old Oracle was as creepy as everyone else found it to be.

("What's up there?"... "Not a single living thing.")

"He wasn't wrong there." Percy mumbled, playing with Annabeth's hair and only half paying attention to what was going on.

(I got the feeling... take almost no effort.")

"It would be better with grapes." Mr. D mumbled.

That's when everyone who had been sleeping noticed the wine in his hands and got a quick explanation.

(He said Mr. D had this... they grew strawberries instead.)

Mr. D glared at Zeus, who just reminded him that this was his punishment. To which Mr. D pulled his goblet closer to him and threatened to take away his lightning, call it a punishment, see how he would like it. All under his breath, of course.

He didn't want to risk the first bit of wine he'd been allowed in years to be taken away so soon.

Hestia sighed. Mentally cursing her little brother's stupidity.

(I watched the satyr... kind of magic with music.)

"No/Yes." Grover muttered sadly while Grover stated it proudly. Grover whipped around to stare at his older counterpart. Grover grinned.

(I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D.)

"No, actually, he sent me straight to the council." Grover muttered. Percy and those lucky few who had ever met the Council of Cloven Elders winced. Those old goats were not nice to their satyr.

Despite his new status as Lord of the Wild.

Even Mr. D looked apologetic about it!

("Grover won't get... protector. Really.")

Grover made a sound of disbelief while Grover shot Percy a look of gratitude. He knew Percy had always believed in him, but it was good to hear it sometimes.

(Chiron sighed. He..."But he did that!")

Percy nodded along with his book self. Grover looked at him in disbelief. Getting the mother of his protectee kidnapped while being unconscious during a fight between said protectee and the Minotaur of all monsters was NOT what he called bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill.

Grover saw his look and smirked his way. One would think that knowing Percy for the half year so far at school, he would realize by now what kind of friend Percy was.

("I might agree with you,"... on Grover's part.")

Percy rolled his eyes. "It's not his fault we got blasted off the side of the road and he happened to hit his head a little too hard." He grumbled. Everyone heard him though. He really didn't like those old goats.

Grover nodded firmly while a few others looked like they were trying not to laugh. They could see his point though, a couple people glanced at Zeus, it was his fault that Grover was unconscious when they arrived after all.

(I wanted to protest... second chance, won't he?")

Grover winced. This was his second chance.

(Chiron winced. "I'm... "Oh, twenty-eight.")

"Dude, that sucks."

"And still in sixth grade? Ouch."

("What! And he's in sixth grade?")

Frank got a few strange looks and a few chuckled at the look on his face.

("Satyrs mature half... "That's horrible.")

All the other demigods, even Paul for some reason, nodded their heads in agreement.

("Quite," Chiron agreed... Was it really so bad?")

Thalia turned to Grover and stared him down as if daring him to start thinking bad things about himself again. Honestly, that Satyr!

Grover caught her stare and burrowed himself into the couch cushions as best as he could. Beside him, Luke chuckled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He decided to ignore the way some of the other futures stiffened at his contact, mentally rolling his eyes.

Although, he supposed that with everything he did to them, they were a little justified in being a little suspicious.

(Chiron looked away... forming in my mind.)

Hades suddenly started chanting, 'please don't think about it, please don't think about it...' over and over again.

While Percy winced and looked apologetic, Hazel turned to Nico to question him about what their Father was going on about.

"Every once in a while somebody gets it into their thick skulls to go to the Underworld and confront dad to give them their loved ones back. Which, obviously, he can't do. However, whenever somebody manages to get down there, it means more paperwork, completely reviewing and redoing the security, going through and making sure nothing important was messed with and whoever came through didn't go somewhere they shouldn't have. Stuff like that. Overall, its a massive headache for dad." Nico explained for the room.

The other Olympians winced in sympathy for Hades. Maybe they should find some way to help him out?

Percy shrunk down in his seat, mouthing 'sorry' towards his uncle. Hades just glared before glancing at Sally and thinking that it was a good thing for the boy that she apparently never actually died. Although he still couldn't figure out why he would have taken her hostage.

He would think that his book self would be wanting to stay out of he brothers fight, let them find the stupid bolt on their own. Unless something of his got stolen as well...

("Chiron," I said. "If... Underworld is real, too?")

Hades started banging his head against the back of his chair. So much paperwork!

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover looked really guilty as they all remembered how they shoved past the security point. Yeah, that had to mean a lot more paperwork then normal.

(Chiron's expression darkened... Let's see the woods.")

"Way to change the subject Chiron." Hermes moaned.

Chiron looked at him apprehensively, he did not want to know what his nephew might do if he felt like he might need some lessons in diverting people's attention. The last time that happened...

(As we got closer, I... luck, but go armed.")

All of a sudden, Percy gasped. "Clarisse!" He called, looking over towards the daughter of war. The rest of the future Greeks groaned. Here they go.

"Yeah, man! As soon as you get back and everything has calmed down, yeah?" She said, excited.

"Yes!" Percy cheered.

Annabeth noticed everyone else looked confused and just told them not to ask.

("Stocked with what?"... sword and shield?")

"Why would he already...?"

"My book-self sounds a little distracted for some reason."

"Ah."

Everyone who had already figured it out (everyone except Athena and a few of the more clueless ones like Zeus and some of the younger demigods) privately thought that book-Chiron had every right to be a little distracted.

"My own-?" "No,"... camp had an armory,)

"The kind that's interested in keeping the campers alive." All the future Greeks said at once. Leo and Piper raised an eyebrow and thought back to when they asked the same thing. Now that they thought about it, it made sense.

(but there was too... seem to like very much),)

"Nope." Chiron muttered.

"It's ok, the Pegasi don't really like it either, they tolerate it at best." Percy said absently.

The past campers looked disbelieving, while the futures didn't react to him talking like he could speak with them.

"That's right, we were working on fixing it up more how they wanted it when you disappeared, weren't we?" Annabeth asked.

"You didn't finish?" Percy looked surprised.

"Well, we finished what was already drawn up and approved, but we couldn't ask them about the rest of it. Besides that, I mentioned that you were missing to Blackjack and next thing I knew, all the Pegasi were taking to the air and flying in all directions, we assume they took off to find you." Annabeth said.

Percy nodded, looking thoughtful.

(the javelin range, the... sword and spear fights.)

"And the fights with Percy and Clarisse are the best. Those two, well, and Thalia when she's in camp, don't seem to understand the concept of holding back when they go against each other." Connor said excitedly. All the other future Greeks were looking excited too, they couldn't wait for those two to challenge each other formally later.

Everyone else just looked at each other, wondering what was up with those two. Were they friends, enemies, sibling relationship? They couldn't tell.

("Sword and spear... "Not lethal. Usually.)

"Unless its Percy and Clarisse in the ring." Rachel muttered. The others nodded in agreement. Percy and Clarisse shrugged, so they liked going all out once in a while, so what?

Clarisse looked over the two Percy's thoughtfully, the younger one didn't look like much, but the older one looked like he could put up a good fight...

(Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall.")

"That's it, we're teaching you." Hermes decided suddenly.

Chiron groaned, wondering if he could use the 'I'm your Uncle you will stop this foolish nonsense' card to get out of this. It worked in the past when they were younger and he was on godsitting duty.

(Chiron pointed to... to drop the subject.)

"What on earth is with everybody? They keep on looking at you as if you're asking dumb questions with really obvious answers!" Jason burst out. Annabeth shifted, thinking about how she reacted when Percy asked where Mt. Olympus was.

"Wow, my future self is VERY distracted right now... has the fight really gotten that bad?" Chiron murmured quietly.

(Finally, he showed... buildings I'd ever seen.)

"What's that supposed to mean?" Athena demanded. It had been her children, after all, who designed them. With her approval of course. (Which meant that some of her children came up with designs, brought them to her, and by the time the rest of the gods were done with adding what they wanted, none of her children's designs had come out in the final product.)

Percy just grinned and gestured for Paul to keep reading.

(Except for the fact... nothing alike.)

"Oh." Athena sat back on her throne. Trying to act like she had not just completely jumped to conclusions.

Percy just smirked.

(Number nine had... impossible to look at.)

Each god smirked proudly as their cabin was mentioned, while those who didn't get mentioned scowled.

Percy saw this, "It's not like I knew what they really were. Besides, I named off the more... interesting ones." He did not feel like insulting them today.

He was in a good mood, it had been a pretty good day, he really didn't want to ruin that by insulting someone, again. Even if they didn't know about the first few times he insulted them.

(They all faced a... were more my speed).)

"We should take some time, play a game while we're here. I mean, it's not like it'll really affect anything. Times frozen until the Fates decide we've read everything they want us to after all. What's a day off of reading here and there, be with the kids?" Hermes said.

While everyone ages five and under (in personality anyway) agreed whole-heartedly, Hera was very much against this. She, personally, just wanted to finish reading these books and get out of here. A few people also couldn't stop staring at Hermes for saying something so smart sounding. Something that really ticked off those who liked Hermes the most once they noticed. (AKA Percy, Hermes kids, Apollo, etc.)

(In the center of... the coals with a stick.)

The gods started, glancing over at Hestia. It had been a while since they had heard about anyone seeing her.

"Ooh, only those with a really strong sense of family can see me." Hestia said softly, smiling over at the Jackson's.

Sally just smiled. Of course they had a sense of family. Nobody would be anything without their family behind them.

(The pair of cabins... images of peacocks.)

The Greeks all snorted. One of them whispered 'peacocks'. There was a running joke at camp about peacocks, being the vainest and not so bright birds around, were perfect for Hera to decorate with.

In their minds, the peacock suited her perfectly.

When Hera looked at them suspiciously they simply smiled innocently back.

Chiron was trying not to laugh. He wasn't about to admit it to anyone, well, except maybe Hades, Poseidon, and Hestia (there was a reason why they were regarded as the cool siblings), but he was actually the one to start the joke. He took it as his prerogative as the oldest sibling.

("Zeus and Hera?"... stays in one or two.")

"For good reason." Thalia and Jason grumbled.

"So cold..."

"Stupid statue stares..."

A few people stared at the Grace siblings while Poseidon and Hades stared triumphantly at Zeus. They told him not to put in the statue.

Did he listen? Nope.

(Okay. So each cabin... left, cabin three.)

Again, people were trying to figure out how on earth they missed who his godly parent was. Some of them had even watched him stop outside cabin three! That on top of his 'issues' with water should have been a dead give away.

Percy smirked at his cousins. At least his cabin was warm and inviting. The only issues he had with it was that he was the only one in there.

Thalia and Jason glared. Why couldn't THERE dad care about his kids comfort more than his own ego like Percy's dad?

Percy turned to grin at his dad, telling him silently that he loved the place.

(It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one,)

"Sometimes, it's the lowest of the low that can bring down the high and mighty." Percy whispered.

Poseidon heard it and beamed proudly at his son. That was a good way to live. He usually taught that to all his children at some point or another, somehow. He had found that his children tended to live longer if they didn't let their status as a Big 3 kid go to there heads. So, by teaching them that, there is less of a chance of them underestimating there enemies and therefore dying. His children had the longest life expectancy out of all the demigods for a reason.

In his experience, the bigger the head, the quicker and harder the fall.

A few demigods heard what Percy said too and asked him about it, he just smiled and said maybe he'd tell them someday. Before smiling at his father and step-mother.

(but long and low... sheets turned down.)

"That place sounds nice." Hazel said.

Percy grinned. "It is. The only problem I really have with it is when Tyson is away at the forges and I'm the only one there."

Poseidon frowned. When did Tyson and Percy meet up? Sure, he was already thinking about introducing them, but... he also wished Percy wouldn't be lonely in there. Of course if his wife heard him say that he would be dead.

(But there was no..., and brown instead of red.)

All the demigods got really quiet as both Clarisse's turned to Percy at the same time. Chiron could be heard muttering in the background, 'oh dear.'

"Did you seriously just compare me to that... that... that... thing who calls herself a human being?" Clarisse demanded in a soft tone. Clarisse just glared and let her older self do the talking. After all, her older self knew Percy much better than she did.

"Um, well, ah... how about we keep reading and we can settle this tonight?" He asked hopefully.

"Don't think you're getting out of it, Prissy." She warned.

Everyone felt like they could breathe again, crisis averted. Although the older demigods had a feeling that their match tonight was going to get uglier than normal.

(I kept walking, trying... won't see any here.")

"PARTY PONIES! YEAH!" Was heard from all of the Hermes crew who had met the ponies. So, pretty much those who fought in Manhattan. Everyone else who heard who had met them groaned and started questioning their life choices, especially when they overheard Apollo and Hermes start to quietly plan their next party with them.

"You should invite them over more often Chiron." Percy said with a grin.

Chiron looked horrified. "And see my camp burned to the ground? I think not."

Jason and Piper had to grab Leo and hold him to his chair to keep him from setting himself on fire and start dancing across the room.

("You said your... Yes, Percy, I am.")

"Who cares about him? Now some of the other guys..." Percy muttered. Thalia and Grover nodded. They really did not like Hercules.

Zoe stared at him. Until this reading, she had thought all boys wanted to be just like Hercules.

Chiron smiled bitterly. Hercules had been his greatest achievement, and his greatest disappointment.

("But, shouldn't you be dead?")

"I suppose that's one way to have a conversation..." Katie said.

(Chiron paused, as if... that I'm still needed.")

"You are." Was echoed through the room. Chiron smiled around at them all.

(I thought about being... to Wish For list.)

Athena gave him a huffy look while most of the other guys muttered in agreement. They wouldn't want to teach for three thousand years either.

Now though, Percy was also thinking about those they lost in the Titan War. He'd been the one to teach them. And then he'd been the one to watch them die. He just couldn't imagine watching that happen over and over for three thousand years. It was hard enough watching it once when he'd only been teaching for a couple of years.

("Doesn't it ever get... boring."

"Why depressing?")

Percy shook his head and muttered something that nobody caught, but they didn't quite like the look on his face.

(Chiron seemed to turn... is waiting for us."

The blond girl)

"How long in this book am I going to be 'the blond girl'?"

"Er... Paul read!"

(I'd met at the... about how much I drooled.)

"Actually, I was debating whether or not you would actually be my ticket out of there." Annabeth admitted softly.

(I tried to see... mean, literally Greek.)

"No duh it is Greek, stupid, brainless..." She dissolved into random mutters. It would seem she had already forgotten the simple fact that in this point of the book, Percy was still very much in the dark about all things demigod.

"Either she's just this worked up about not being to figure out what's going on when Hermes and Apollo clearly can, or your mother has finally gone off the deep end of the pier, Wisegirl." Percy said, just loud enough for the other demigods and Chiron to hear.

Annabeth nodded mutely while staring at her mother in confusion before glancing over at her younger self, they caught each others gaze and nodded to each other.

They would have to keep an eye on their mother during this reading.

(There were pictures..."Make yourself at home.")

"Make yourselves at home."

"More like pull up whatever..."

"...bit of floor you found..."

"... that happened to be enough room..."

"...for you to sleep on." All four Stolls grumbled in turns.

"Why can't you guys all be the responsible thousand some year old beings that you are and just claim your kids already?!" ALL of Hermes children turned to the council.

A few of the gods jumped, not quite expecting that, while the Greek demigods all raised an eyebrow.

They'd been expecting a Hermes child to say something at this point, but they hadn't expected them to say it all at the same time.

Hermes snorted and looked up at the ceiling when people looked over at him. "I've been trying to get them to claim their kids for centuries. What I find ironic, is that you all claim Apollo and I to be the most immature and irresponsible ones here, yet when it comes to our kids, we are the only ones responsible enough to actually pay any attention to them. Well, besides Uncle P and Uncle H, but they also didn't get many kids to take care of even before this stupid oath of Father's. Well, at least not without Zeus striking them down as soon as they showed any sign of power." He frowned. "For that matter, why is it that Uncle P is the only one not petty enough to kill Uncle H and Father's children? And even then, Uncle H only goes around killing them if they seriously did something to offend them. With one exception."

On the last bit he glanced at Thalia, although she just shrugged and said that Hades had already apologized to her for that and explained why. And really, that was Zeus's fault.

Everyone stared at Hermes outburst. They knew he'd been asking them to claim their kids, but they didn't know that he was this bent up about it...

Hestia smiled at the sons of Hermes and suggested to the disgruntled boys and their father that perhaps these books would show them just how wrong they really were in ignoring their children. She couldn't quite explain it, but she had a feeling that the over-crowded nature of cabin 11 seemed to have made a very large impact towards causing these books to be here.

(Out of all the cabins... the emphasis on old .)

All the Hermes kids shrugged. "We try to keep it as fixed up as possible, but with all those kids in there..." Connor said.

"The more kids there are, the harder it is to keep track of them, which means its harder to find time to do anything other than making sure everyone is where they should be for training and the like." Luke said.

Hermes glared at the other gods, the ones who currently had multiple unclaimed children in his cabin. Maybe now they would see how much not bothering to claim their kids hurt everyone. And not just their kid. It hurt his too, because his kids were the ones taking care of them, trying to tell them that their parent does care, their just busy... trying to find time to be with everybody in an overcrowded cabin where there was barely any room to walk, let alone sleep.

(The threshold was...? A caduceus.)

"Wow, he knows something." Athena muttered. Whether or not she meant for that to be heard was a mystery.

All the Sea people and Annabeth turned to glare at her, she ignored them and pretended she hadn't said anything. Everyone else just glanced around at each other before turning to their respective set of Stolls. Giving them the look.

(Inside, it was packed... up an evacuation center.)

"Is it really that bad right now?" Apollo asked softly.

Hermes nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak. Luckily, Apollo was the only other one who claimed his kids on a regular basis. Sure, a couple of them slipped through the cracks, so to speak, on occasion. But he claimed them.

(Chiron didn't go in... it at enough schools.)

Sally sighed sadly. She really wished her boy had been able to stay at one school. Well, at least he wasn't kicked out of Goode. No, instead he was kidnapped. She turned to glare at Hera.

The one who claimed motherhood to be her domain, yet she took away a mothers boy without even considering how it would effect the mother. What she had been told of Jason, she wasn't the only one to have her baby boy taken either. How ironic.

("Well?" Annabeth prompted... "Undetermined."

Everybody groaned.)

Hermes and sons sighed sadly before fixing those with kids with looks that made them think a prank storm was coming on. Hermes gestured for his sons to come over to his corner and they started whispering to each other.

Everyone else watched in fear before Paul hesitantly started reading again when it was obvious they were going to take a while.

(A guy who was..., right over there.")

"How big was the space Percy?" Apollo called. He wanted the others to see just how bad it was in that cabin space wise. Since Hermes was too busy at that moment to ask.

Percy shrugged. "It was just big enough to curl up if I didn't want to be sticking an elbow in my neighbors sides."

"Oh, thanks for that, by the way." Chris piped in from the Hermes Planning Corner. He had been one of Percy's floor neighbors. He'd already had to deal with the person on his other side constantly invading his space at night, and had been using the space they gave Percy to sort of escape. He had been expecting to have it coming from both sides until that first night when he saw Percy curl up as tight as he could and leave as much space between himself and the two on either side as he could.

"No problem. You looked like you were having enough problems with Michael on your other side."

"Yeah, waking up with somebodies elbow in your face every morning is not fun. Not to mention just plain uncomfortable." Chris nodded in agreement. Summer ending was one thing he looked forward to for that reason alone.

While those who had unclaimed kids in that cabin looked horrified, Apollo grinned. He couldn't tell if Percy and Chris caught onto what he was doing or if they were just talking about it, but they did it all the same.

It was then that Hermes asked the Percy's to join them in the corner. Their grins as they walked over made many in the room cower in fear and start praying with all their might that they weren't the targets.

(The guy was about... an old knife slash.)

Both Luke's looked over and winced, along with Hermes. "More like a claw." Luke beckoned for Paul to keep reading.

("This is Luke,"... she was blushing.)

Both Lukes looked over again and raised an eyebrow at their respective Annabeth. Neither of them were meeting anybody's gaze and stared at the ground. Athena revisited her earlier thoughts that Luke would be a much better match for her Annabeth.

(She saw me looking... the god of travelers.")

"And you all abuse that generosity way too much." Apollo said. He had sat with Hermes through many rampages after he visited camp to check in and saw how crowded the cabin was. He really didn't appreciate being used and taken for granted like that.

(I looked at the... Minotaur's horn.)

Everyone was suddenly reminded of what happened to Sally and how Percy, like so many others, came stumbling into camp with nothing but the clothes on his back. Unlike the other kids though, he had to watch his mother 'die' right in front of him.

(I thought about... the god of thieves.)

'And yet, he's the only person we've never managed to steal from.' All of the future Hermes kids thought.

And it was true. Somehow, Percy always knew if any of his stuff went 'missing' and conveniently had ways of getting it back within the hour. They didn't know how he did it.

(I looked around... and suspicious,)

"Those are the Unclaimed." Katie said sadly. None of the Claimed kids at camp liked watching it happen.

A kid comes in, they are told that they are the children of the gods, they hope to meet their other parent, and then... that other parent never even acknowledges that they exist.

It was also the reason why so many of them joined Kronos. Kronos offered them something their own parent never gave them. A chance to prove to the gods that they existed. That they weren't about to be forgotten.

Chris and Luke glanced at each other. They had both joined Kronos because both felt that the gods just didn't care and felt the world would be better without them.

(some grinning stupidly... pick my

pockets.)

Hermes looked over from the planning corner. "My kids! You better believe they're just waiting for the chance."

("How long will I be here?" I asked.)

"Not long." Most of the futures chorused.

"Your's was actually the fastest claiming I had ever seen. Well, outside of Hermes and Apollo, but those two are different. Even I took a couple of months and I already knew who my mom was. However, because she hadn't officially claimed me I had to stay in cabin 11 anyway." Annabeth said.

Hermes was livid that Athena had quite literally abandoned her daughter for those few months. In not claiming her, Athena sent a message to everyone else that she didn't care. Her daughter knew and told everyone else who her mother was, her mother still refused to claim her. That was unacceptable.

("Good question," Luke..."I've already seen it.")

All the girls shook their heads at the cluelessness of the male gender.

("Come on." She... than that." "What?")

Thalia muttered, "Boys." All the boys shot her mock wounded looks.

(She rolled her... some bull guy-")

"Kid, I love how you put things sometimes. You just make things that were huge out to not be a big deal at all." Hades said, shaking his head.

Amphitrite spoke up then, "I think that's actually a Poseidon thing. Both he and Triton do the same thing sometimes, it drives Delphin insane." The four of them (Poseidon and his three children in the room) looked at each other sheepishly while everyone else laughed. They didn't think they were that bad.

("Don't talk like that!..."To get killed?")

"Guys got a point there." Most of the demigods in the room muttered.

("To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?")

"To survive." Thalia and both Luke's said, all staring at Annabeth with blank looks on their faces. Both Annabeth's made a face at them.

"Don't look at us like that, we taught you better than that. It doesn't matter how good you think you are if you don't live to see tomorrow." Luke scolded. Luke was giving Annabeth a similar one across the room.

Annabeth bit her lip and looked down at the ground. Even now, years later and after everything that happened, she still hated disappointing those two.

(I shook my head... But they don't die.")

"That clears the whole thing up." Grover muttered.

("Oh, thanks. That clears it up.")

Grover blinked while the others around him laughed.

("They don't have..., they re-form.")

"Unfortunately." All the demigods muttered. They really wished the monsters would stay dead.

Especially since at the moment, with the Doors being open and all, they had a habit of coming back almost immediately after killing them. It was very annoying.

(I thought about... with a sword-")

"Prissy, only you could 'accidentally' kill something." Clarisse said, shaking her head.

"Thanks, its a talent of mine." He grinned.

"The Fur... I mean... very, very mad.")

"Made her more than mad, I'd say. She keeps a training dummy in Percy's likeness in her room. She destroys it about twice a day, if she's in a good mood." Nico said cheerfully.

Percy groaned and put his head in his hands saying, "Thanks Neeks, I really wanted to know that."

"You're welcome." Nico chirped. A few people looked at him weird, he was in an oddly good mood today... in fact, he was almost acting his age for once... then some of them noticed the blue cake in his hands and the futures remembered how Percy had gotten him hooked on his mom's baking sometime after the Labyrinth fiasco. Kid took to it like junkies took to drugs.

Sally and Poseidon had gone pale when Nico said just how much Alecto really hated Percy, and Poseidon promised himself to get Percy under the Sea as soon as possible for higher quality training than Chiron could really provide for a demigod with Percy's quality and quantity of enemies. What had before been a passing thought was now a plan.

("How did you... Hades' torturers, right?")

Hades shifted a little in his seat. "Yes and no. While their main duties technically are in the fields of punishment, they actually spend very little time there these days, only really paying attention to the special cases." He refused to elaborate on what they did for him if they weren't in the fields.

He wasn't about to tell them that they now did the majority of the paperwork so he could have time to actually oversee his kingdom, or that he suspected them to be in charge of Nico's schooling in the future.

Nico grimaced and shifted when his father mentioned the Furies having duties outside the fields. The main one being his schooling when they weren't helping keep the paperwork to a manageable level.

(Annabeth glanced... and swallow her.)

Hades suddenly facepalmed, muttering about trusting the magical border and over superstitious demigods.

The others looked amused. You would think that she would have more faith in the barrier considering her friend was the one maintaining it.

("You shouldn't call them by name,)

Everyone glanced at Percy before deciding that it wasn't even worth it anymore. At this point, everyone decided to just let him get eaten because he happened to use a name and was hit when his back was turned.

(even here. We... bunks right over there.")

"There's an idea... if I can't get them all to claim their kids, then maybe we can move most of the kids to the empty cabins... free up space and then those who like their cabins empty would be the ones getting on their case about claiming their kids..." Hermes muttered running his hand over his face.

Those with an empty cabin did not like this idea and got very vocal about it. Hermes was not happy.

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID PROUD EGOS! Having that many kids in that small space is a health and safety risk for one thing, for another they are just kids who don't deserve to be crowded together like that just because their parent can't be bothered to have anything to do with them. The only one of you who has a legitimate excuse to keep their cabin empty is Artemis, and that's only so its ready for when the Hunters come around! CLAIM YOUR KIDS!"

"As for the health and safety risks, I believe we've told you all this before. The more crowded the living conditions get, the more chance the kids have to get sick and the faster it will spread to the others. And if there were ever a fire, its more than likely that not all the kids will make it out. There will be too many other kids running for the door at the same time, with too much stuff spread out on the ground for them to trip on and then potentially get trampled. But, hey. If you want your kids dying because you couldn't take two blasted seconds out of your day to snap your fingers and claim them, go right ahead." Apollo added.

He remembered the epidemic that swept through camp a few years ago, a few kids got fevers so high they didn't make it. That epidemic happened to start in the Hermes cabin. One kid got really sick, it wasn't caught in time, and all his floor neighbors got sick too. From there, it was a wildfire. Since then, the Hermes cabin went through weekly health checks to make sure nobody even had a cold. He knew for a fact that Luke did his best to make sure that, except for at night, not more than half the cabin was in there at the same time. It wasn't always possible though.

The others pointed out that there were measures in place to reduce the risk, all the demigods shouted, "THOSE MEASURES SHOULDN'T BE NEEDED!"

Paul finally shook his head in disgust at how these gods were treating their kids and started reading again.

(I pointed to the... for me to get it.)

"Wow, she didn't know that you didn't watch the video, did she?" Jason asked, amused. She was treating him like he was really slow.

Annabeth blushed, no she really hadn't. She thought he was particularly dumb for not remembering this stuff so soon after watching the video.

("My mom is Sally... other parent. Your dad.")

"Oh boy, this is going to be a confusing conversation for a while, huh?"

("He's dead. I never knew him.")

Poseidon winced. That's not what any caring parent wants to hear.

(Annabeth sighed... You know him?")

"No/Yes." Annabeth and Annabeth said at the same time.

Everyone turned to Annabeth in surprise. Including Percy, he didn't remember her being so close to his dad before he disappeared. Annabeth just shrugged and smiled over at Sally.

She wasn't about to tell the room that Poseidon had disobeyed Zeus's orders after shutting down Olympus to come out and visit Sally, it was just coincidence if she happened to be visiting that day too.

("No, of course not."... you weren't one of us.")

"The way you put that could actually make it sound like a cult or something." Somebody noted.

("You don't know... Probably ADHD, too.")

"You know, Annabeth, those are things that people don't like just having thrown in their face by a total stranger. Especially these days when most kids will bully for those kinds of things."

Annabeth made a face and looked away, unfortunately, she looked towards Percy, who's eyes were shining with amusement.

(I tried to swallow... through the same thing?")

"Not me, everybody else." Annabeth muttered. Luke reached over and clapped her on the shoulder.

("Most of the kids... didn't know where to start.)

"Starting with, 'what's a half-blood'." Percy muttered. Those who heard him snickered. They all found it ironic how the guy who really had absolutely no idea what was going on more than half the time was the strongest of them and the one that everyone looked up to the most.

(Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!")

Clarisse groaned. This was possibly the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to her in a very long time.

A few others snickered.

(I looked over. The... or something?")

"For the third time that day..." Several people muttered. Both Clarisses shrugged, so what if they liked to take care of their weapons. It was good practice.

("Sure, Miss Princess,"... with it Friday night.")

The Romans, Percy, and Nico all glanced over to see Gwen pale. Percy leaned towards her and said, "Nobody actually got ran through. We just like to talk a lot sometimes."

Gwen shot him a grateful look while the Greeks looked at him in confusion. He just waved them off and looked to Paul to keep reading.

(" Erre es korakas!")

A few of the council's eyebrows rose, that was not usually a curse used very casually, Annabeth must have been either really annoyed that day, or she and Clarisse really just didn't like each other.

(Annabeth said, which... through on the threat.)

Clarisse muttered something about over observant younger brothers. Those few who heard exactly what she said decided it would be wise not to say anything.

Sometimes, they still couldn't figure out their relationship, sometimes they acted like friends, sometimes enemies, sometimes argumentative siblings.

(She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?")

"Hey!" Percy said.

They all looked at him, "It's true!" They all said.

"You were kinda runty when you first got to camp." Luke said. Percy gave him a dirty look.

("Percy Jackson," Annabeth... the bad smell.")

Ares slowly turned to Percy, wondering if the kid had a death wish. Percy looked over at him and smirked, along with Grover and Annabeth. They were both thinking about a certain fight on the beach in Los Angeles.

A few people looked at their smirks after they were done getting themselves under control and wondered if all three of them had death wishes. Then they thought about it some more and decided that yes, yes they did have death wishes.

(Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy.")

"That's where the nickname came from? The Toilet Disaster? Are you kidding me?" Travis asked. Clarisse and Percy shrugged.

("Percy." "Whatever... of it, wise girl.")

"And that's where Wise Girl came from. At least Prissy was original." Connor said. Percy, Clarisse, and Annabeth gave him a dirty look.

(Annabeth looked pained... I had to earn my own rep.)

"That didn't exactly go so well in the beginning, did it?" Percy mused. Annabeth and the other future Greeks shook their heads no.

"You looked kind of pathetic struggling there." Katie offered. Percy just gave her a look.

(I handed Annabeth my... had hands like iron.")

"Like we said, looked kind of pathetic." Percy gave them all a dirty look.

(She dragged me into... to afford classier johns.)

"I'm so glad you fixed that when we started redesigning the new cabins." Katie said.

Annabeth smirked. "Your welcome."

(Clarisse's friends were... 'Big Three' material,")

Poseidon sat back in his throne and cleared his throat, looking absently at the ceiling. Clarisse glanced over and paled while the Sea people tried and almost failed to hold in their snickers.

They could see the amusement shining and the twitching lips as Poseidon messed with the daughter of Ares. Most of the people in the room missed it though and wondered how much Poseidon was really offended.

(Clarisse said as she... It reeked like rusted pipes)

"Huh, you know, I forgot how out of shape the plumbing used to be." Annabeth muttered.

"You mean, we finally got to replace those old pipes?" Chiron asked. He had been asking for the funds for basic maintenance like that for years.

"Well, lets just say, that, when you have a son of Poseidon in camp who tends to blow up the plumbing whenever he gets mad... yeah the pipes have been replaced. At least five times since Percy came to camp." Annabeth smirked while Percy groaned and hid his head.

"I said I was sorry for that!"

"You blew up the camp!"

"Besides," Percy continued as if no one said anything. "The first time was before my claiming while the other was when I was still getting used to my water powers. How was I supposed to know they would react to my emotions like that!"

A few of the futures once again wondered why they had problems placing him into a cabin. Seriously; water powers, losing control of said powers when angry, the Pegasi almost starting to worship him when he went anywhere near them... now that they thought about it, they were idiots.

Poseidon shook his head and started watching Ares for his reaction to what was happening. He was oddly silent about his daughter's seemingly overpowering Percy... although by the look on his face, he had already realized that this wasn't about to end well for his daughter considering all the water in those pipes.

Everyone from the past stared at him. Paul decided to keep reading.

(and, well, like what goes... go into that. I won't.)

The Sea people started leaning forward in their seats in anticipation. Clarisse shrunk further into her seat while Ares collapsed muttering something about upstart sons of Poseidon who can control water.

(Then something happened... screaming behind me.)

While the Sea people were quietly discussing his power and extent of his abilities, everyone else who couldn't control themselves were dying laughing.

Poseidon was also keeping an eye on Zeus to make sure he didn't start acting like his paranoid self again, he really didn't want to have to warn his brother, AGAIN, to stay away from his family.

(I turned just as... into a shower stall.)

Clarisse was rubbing her chest, remembering how much that hurt. She'd gone to Apollo's cabin later and was told she had some bruises and a cracked rib from that. Will saw her and winced, he remembered helping Lee patch her up later this day, he just hadn't known what it was from.

What nobody else knew was that Percy had come to find her later on when he managed to get away from the Hermes cabin to make sure she wasn't too badly hurt from that.

(She struggled, gasping,... being washed away.)

"I'm so glad we caught that on camera."

"I know, right!" Travis and Connor high fived.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Clarisse screamed. The Stoll brothers looked up and remembered just who was in the room with them, they got up and ran to hide behind their fathers throne while Clarisse demanded to know who else had known about this.

All the future Greeks who had been there hesitantly raised their hands, Clarisse looked at them like they just signed their own death warrants.

The Romans looked on amazed, the Greeks were very... close, with each other. After all this time, not one of them ratted the Stoll brothers out for that video, they all kept quiet, even Percy who at this point in the book had just met everyone. They also all seemed to be constantly aware of where each other was, of what they were all doing. They didn't need to fully explain what they were thinking to each other, just make a random vague comment and everyone else immediately understood. Looking around at each other, they realized that they could only wish that the Romans became that close with each other.

Paul laughed softly, shaking his head before he found his spot and started reading again.

(As soon as they... as it had started.)

Percy's eyes glazed over slightly and he shuddered a little as he remembered, outside a corral full of carnivorous horses, inside Mt. St. Helens. Two very disastrous times where the water hadn't shut off when he wanted it to. He again promised to himself that he would never lose control like that again.

"Perce?" Percy looked up to see the rest of his friends looking at him in concern, he smiled and waved them off, saying it was nothing.

None of them missed how hollow that smile looked.

(The entire bathroom... water on my clothes. Nothing.)

Those Greeks who had spent the week and a half between the Bathroom Incident and the game trying to figure out Percy's parentage started banging their heads against their couches. They could not see how they could have possibly been so blind as to not see his parentage.

(I stood up, my... she smelled like sewage.)

Clarisse winced, "Yeah, my siblings were not happy about that, the smell wouldn't come out for a week." She grumbled.

Leo winced, he could relate to smelling like sewage for a while. Piper, Jason, and Hephaestus glanced at him, concerned.

(She gave me a..., Clarisse? Close your mouth.")

Jason whistled, "You do have a death wish, this is going to be an interesting trip, isn't it?" He asked those who would be going to Rome. Everyone else besides Percy nodded, Percy just pouted and muttered something about not knowing him for two days and he's already a traitor.

Hazel paled a little, she wasn't too sure about how helpful she could be, after all, physically she was the youngest. She wasn't counting the time she spent dead.

(Her friends had to... for dousing her.)

"A bit of both, that and I was thinking about something." Annabeth said. Percy rolled his eyes, he knew what she was thinking about. He still wasn't quite sure if he should like that first game or absolutely hate it.

("What?" I demanded... capture the flag.")

Percy suddenly leaned over to whisper into Annabeth's ear. Whatever he told her, she paled and looked over at Poseidon before glancing away again.

Why wouldn't she be nervous about that game being read? She had literally used Percy as live, human bait for a bunch of Ares kids who had already decided he was the enemy!

While this was happening, a few futures glanced over at Luke , remembering the Hellhound, and wondering just how long he'd been with Kronos before this Winter Solstice meeting.

"Alright, who's reading next?" Paul called, holding up the book.

Leo immediately jumped up to grab it, but Piper got there first, she didn't even want to know how much of the story Leo would 'improve' as he went.

Hestia shook her head before announcing this next to be the last chapter for the night.

Chapter seven: My Dinner Goes up in Smoke

Chapter 10: My Dinner Goes up in Smoke

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underlined).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

Leo immediately jumped up to grab it, but Piper got there first, she didn't even want to know how much of the story Leo would 'improve' as he went.

Hestia shook her head before announcing this next to be the last chapter for the night.

Chapter seven: My Dinner Goes up in Smoke

There was a sneeze from the corner, and when people turned to see who it was, they were shocked to see seven people sitting in the corner. All of them were wearing hoods, so you couldn't see their faces, but they were sitting in a way similar to the other future kids, like they were relaxed, but would be in action within a second if need be.

"WHO ARE YOU?" Zeus thundered. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE!"

"You didn't know?" Percy asked shocked.

"Yeah, they've been there the whole time." Percy continued. Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Triton all nodded in agreement.

"Why didn't they say anything when we first got here? And why didn't any of you say anything?" Athena asked, confused.

They all shrugged. "We saw them get a separate note from the rest of us, when they didn't say anything, we figured they were ordered to hide their identities." Percy said. The others nodded.

When everyone turned to the Mysterious Seven (MS), they nodded and indicated that Percy was correct. They didn't speak though, if they spoke, they ran the risk of their voices being recognized, and the Fates told them to keep their identities hidden for as long as possible. The Fates wanted the people in the throne room to focus on the books about the Titan War right now. They would reveal who they were when they started the books about the Giant War. When they got to that point, the Fates would send the Seven who had yet to fight the Giant War back to their times, leaving the Argo II crew to explain stuff like the Seven were now.

(Word of the bathroom... much dripping wet.)

"Sorry about that... again..." Percy said.

Annabeth smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek.

Aphrodite squealed in joy at the sight.

She showed me a... the top fast enough.)

The Romans and Percy looked impressed with the climbing wall. Percy was actually bouncing in excitement at the thought of climbing that thing. Percy had his hand on his mother's arm in an effort to keep her calm so she didn't freak out over how dangerous the wall sounded.

"It's either we learn how to dodge and stuff on the wall or we learn how to dodge in the middle of a fight against a monster." He whispered in her ear.

(Finally we returned to... "It wasn't my fault.")

A few people snorted. "It's always your fault, Prissy."

Percy pouted.

(She looked at me... with the plumbing.)

Everyone burst out laughing. Several of the more immature readers fell out of their seats and onto the floor. Everyone who wasn't too far gone noticed that the MS had fists stuffed in mouths to keep themselves from joining them all on the floor. Percy's face was slightly red.

"You, good sir, have..."

"...an amazing way with words." The Stolls said when everyone calmed down a little.

The Percy's both stood up and took a bow.

("You need to talk... I'll ask Chiron.")

Leo frowned. "I'm sorry, did you just call Rachel a 'what'?"

"This all was before me. Percy doesn't even meet me until the... third book?" Rachel asked.

Percy thought about how the books would go if it was one quest per book, and nodded. That would be the third book.

(I stared into the... answer for once.)

Percy sighed. "Story of my life." He grumbled.

(I wasn't expecting... a long-lost friend.)

"You are kind of like a long-lost friend with them... I always knew every year when you and your mother went to Montauk Beach because the naiads and fish in that area would go crazy spreading the word that they saw the 'young Lord and Lady'." Poseidon said, shaking his head.

"Ah, I was wondering where those rumors were coming from..." Triton said. "If you didn't want his scent to grow, or monsters to be attracted, then why...?"

"Because the longer I kept them away from the sea, the more restless they got. Obviously I limited it to once a year, that was all I could afford too, but... they were always calmer after a trip to the ocean." Sally explained.

Amphitrite nodded. "That would be the Sea in their veins calling to them. I don't know how everybody else's domains work with their children, but children of the Sea are always called to it."

Poseidon nodded in agreement. "It can also affect my children's moods."

"Yes, I always knew when there was a hurricane somewhere before they had it on the news because the children would be especially cranky." Sally sighed.

"Sorry mom."

"Not your fault dear. Its his." She said, glaring lightly at Poseidon. He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. Everybody noticed that they saw Percy doing the same thing.

(I didn't know what... are terrible flirts.")

Poseidon, Triton, and Percy snorted. "You got that right." They all grumbled.

Amphitrite and Annabeth both narrowed their eyes at their respective male, "Don't worry, Wisegirl, I let them down easy." Percy said when he caught her look, kissing her on the cheek.

Poseidon shrunk into his throne, looking like he was wishing he could disappear into it, when he saw the look on his wife's face. He knew that just because she seemed to have accepted Percy and Sally, didn't mean she was happy.

("Naiads," I repeated... I want to go home now.")

"All that, and its the Naiads that make you want to go home?" Katie asked.

Percy shrugged. "It was all kind of getting to me, this was just the tip of the iceberg."

(Annabeth frowned. "Don't..., mentally disturbed kids?")

All the Greek Demigods looked at each other before they shrugged.

"We do all have issues."

"I think being mentally disturbed is a requirement for being a demigod."

All the parents stared at the kids for a moment before they quietly turned to stare at Piper and wait for her to continue to read. They weren't even going to ask.

("I mean not human ... Olympians."

"That's... crazy.")

"It kind of is when you think about it. When you don't grow up knowing about this like some of us did." Annabeth said, gesturing around the room.

Those who didn't grow up knowing about the gods; the Percy's, Rachel, Nico, Leo, and Piper- all nodded in agreement. It was very crazy hearing about this the first time.

("Is it? What's the... the last few millennia?")

"No." Artemis said, glaring at the gods. Hera, Persephone, and Amphitrite nodded in agreement with her, all of them glaring at their husbands. Zeus and Poseidon shrunk down into their thrones at their wives looks, while Hades reached out and hugged his wife instead. Sally looked like she wanted to disappear.

Aphrodite just shrugged, she didn't really care what her husband did. How could she when she was usually hanging off her boyfriend's arm when he was around?

("But those are just-"... "Then who's your dad?")

"Oh, you do not want to ask her about her dad." Luke whispered.

Athena looked at her daughter, concerned. She knew Annabeth ran away from home when she was young, but she never found out why. Her daughter never talked about it, at least, not that she'd heard.

Annabeth looked at the floor, she really didn't want to discuss her dad, but she had a feeling that it would come up at some point.

(Her hands tightened... How sexist is that?")

"Considering you said that it was the gods who ran around having kids with mortals..." Piper said, emphasizing the 'gods' part.

"I think he had every reason to think your godly parent was your dad considering the way you worded your sentence earlier." Rachel finished.

Annabeth nodded slowly. Now that they mentioned it, she did kind of lead Percy to the conclusion it was her dad who was godly, "Sorry, about that, Perce." She said quietly.

He kissed the side of her head, "It's alright."

("Who's your mom, then?"

"Cabin six.")

"You really expected him to know what that meant?" Jason asked. "The guy just got there!"

"OK!" Percy suddenly yelled. He looked annoyed now. "Let's stop yelling at Annabeth for all of this. She lived there for so long without leaving camp, that she forgot that what seems obvious and what's common knowledge to her about the gods and camp isn't going to be known by a newbie who just learned the gods were real not two hours before."

Annabeth looked at him, and everyone else looked at each other before they realized he had a point. She had been stating stuff as fact that she viewed as common knowledge without realizing that all this was too new to Percy.

("Meaning?"

Annabeth straightened... thought. Why not?)

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annabeth asked her boyfriend with narrowed eyes.

He shrugged, "You seemed like the smart type, so it made sense that your mother was smart."

Athena nodded, then she frowned, she wasn't sure how she should feel about a son of Poseidon being the one to give the compliment.

("And my dad?"

"Undetermined,"... He loved her.")

"That I do." Poseidon said quietly. Amphitrite and Triton glanced at him, and a moment later Poseidon pulled Amphitrite into a side hug, "I love you too, though." She smiled and just let him hold her.

She could see what drew her husband to Sally Jackson. Sally was a fierce protector, she wasn't afraid to voice her opinion, and she did anything and everything she could to protect her loved ones. She just wished that her husband had spoken with her or told her about Sally and Percy before all this happened. She hadn't wanted to find out she had a step-son here, in front of all these others.

(Annabeth gave me... sometimes it doesn't?")

A few of the gods shifted uncomfortably at the looks the demigods were aiming their way.

(Annabeth ran her..., Percy. They ignore us.")

"Hey, that's not..." Ares started.

"Yes, yes it is." Hermes said. Staring at him. He still couldn't believe that they used what happened to him after his daughter died as an excuse to completely ignore their children. Sure, he was devastated, but that was no excuse for them to stop being parents!

(I thought about... But gods should behave better.)

"Yes, yes they should." A few demigods muttered. Hermes nodded along with him.

("So I'm stuck here,"... not a real powerful force.)

"Hey!" Katie, Demeter, Piper, and Aphrodite all yelled, turning to glare at Annabeth.

"I meant in terms of your godly scent. Believe me, I know that some of your children, and siblings, can be quite the force when they have a reason to be." Annabeth said, holding her hands up in a surrender position and hurriedly explaining.

"Well, with my siblings, your statement in the book is actually pretty true, but..." Piper said. "And I wouldn't exactly call make-up a reason." A few demigods snickered at that.

"I know, your one of the ones who doesn't need a reason to fight and be a force." Annabeth grinned at her, she remembered some of what Thalia and Jason told her about their quest. From what they said, Piper fought extremely well and wasn't afraid to get dirty. Unlike her siblings would have been.

(The monsters might... fights. Practical jokes.")

"Um, I'm sorry, did you just say, 'practical jokes'?" Reyna asked. Sally looked like she agreed with Reyna. Monsters should never be anywhere near the children when they weren't on a quest or the Camp being invaded.

"If a monster is summoned for a practical joke, Chiron is always informed ahead of time, and the summoner always makes sure its a monster their target can handle. Besides, not only is it kind of funny to watch the target go off on whoever summoned it later, its also good training." Annabeth explained. The other Greeks nodded.

"Keeps people from getting complacent in camp, too." Percy added. He noticed everyone giving him weird looks, "What? I know big words!"

("Practical jokes?" "The... beads of different colors.)

"Wait," Hazel said suddenly. "Are those a Greek thing?"

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"Percy's necklace, he was staring at it his first night at Camp Jupiter, especially the bead with the Empire State building. We asked him where he got it, but obviously he didn't remember."

Percy stared at the opposite wall with a stony look on his face, but all the Greeks knew he was just trying to get his emotions under control again. All the Greeks pulled out their necklaces, and after a moment, Percy pulled out his. The only difference between his and theirs, was the probatio tablet on it. Jason, Leo, and Piper stared at them all, they hadn't been there a summer yet, so they didn't have their necklaces yet.

One of the younger kids grabbed the necklace of an older one and started looking at the new beads. "Let's see, there's a trident, is that the Golden Fleece?!" All the futures grinned. "Let's see, a maze... and the Empire State building, with names around it." Connor said, looking up at all the futures.

"That's a lot of names. Those kids... they're dead in your time, aren't they?"

All the future Greeks looked at each other before Clarisse grabbed her necklace back and put it back on without a word.

Travis leaned over to Connor and asked, "Did you get a look at any of those names?" Connor nodded, "Well?!" Travis hissed.

Connor looked at him and shook his head. He wasn't going to say any of those names. Especially since Beckendorf's name was on it.

(It was just like... it, like a college ring.)

Annabeth smiled sadly. "My dad's."

("I've been here... come so young?")

"Wow, pushy much there, cuz?" Thalia asked, raising her eyebrows in Percy's direction.

Percy went red, "I was just trying to make conversation."

(She twisted the... now if I wanted to?")

A few of the Greeks waved their hands in a 'so-so' motion.

"Depends on who you are talking to." Luke said.

"If it's a..."

"...son of Hermes..."

"...Then sure, no prob." The Stolls said.

"If it's a rule follower from another cabin, then no, you can't leave." Luke said.

"But if it's...

"...A rebel from another cabin..."

"...Then it's only a slightly bigger..."

"...Problem than if its one of ours." The Stolls finished.

Everyone stared at the Luke's and Stolls. Before slowly turning to face Piper again, all of them thinking, 'creepy'.

("It would be suicide... hadn't gone well.)

Both Luke's winced and shook their heads as they reached up to finger their scar. No, last time hadn't gone well at all.

("Back in the sick... do know something?")

Athena leaned forward, eager to learn what was going on. Everyone who had already figured out the Bolt had been stolen (Everyone except Zeus and Athena) stared at her and shook their heads. She needed to get her head out of her plans and strategies and he needed to start using his brain more often and stop relying on hers so much.

So far, though, the only ones who had figured out about Percy being blamed for it were the Sea Folk, the ones who were there, obviously, and Apollo. Although Hermes had an idea.

("Well... no. Back at... seemed so normal .")

Athena's eyes narrowed, her daughter was talking about this solstice. The meeting the future kids interrupted. This just confirmed everyone else's thoughts that the Bolt was stolen shortly after the meeting.

("You've been to Olympus?")

"What? You guys are allowed on Olympus?" Reyna asked, shocked.

Percy and the Greeks nodded. All the Romans shrunk back into their seats muttering about how unfair that was.

("Some of us year-rounders...a New Yorker, right?")

"Annabeth, dear, that's one of those things you see as common knowledge that he won't know about because he didn't grow up with it." Sally told her gently. Annabeth blushed when she thought about that, she hadn't thought about it that way, she guessed that she forgot that mortals didn't know how to get to Olympus.

("Oh, sure." As far... not to point that out.)

"Good idea." A few of the guys told Percy.

Annabeth blushed again at the reminder that Percy hadn't known, even when she expected him to.

("Right after we visited,"... something important was stolen.)

Athena growled softly in frustration, "But what was stolen?!" She muttered quietly to herself. If she had thought back to the book title, she would have figured it out, but she didn't. And because she figured nobody would be stupid enough to steal from the gods, she never even considered that it could be one of their symbols of power. She was too proud to admit that something like that could even happen.

Zeus frowned her way, he'd been hoping Athena would figure it out and tell him.

Everyone else who heard her gaped. Wasn't she supposed to be the smart one?

(And if it isn't returned... the rivalry with Poseidon.)

When Book Annabeth mentioned Athena getting along with everyone, most of the council looked at each other and had to look away again before they started laughing. Mostly, they tolerated her.

She tended to be the 'I-know-everything-so-you-will-listen' sort. Just last week she started lecturing Apollo on the latest medical procedure, a medical procedure that he and his son invented together! It had been a father-son bonding project, and Athena for some reason saw fit to lecture Apollo on the purpose of it, the circumstances in which it could be authorized, and how it was supposed to be performed. So, yes. Everyone mostly just tolerated her. She even tried to tell Hephaestus how to put an engine together.

She had her moments where they honestly enjoyed her company, but those moments were few and far between. Poseidon just happened to be the one who tolerated her the least, and he was the most vocal about it.

(But, I mean, aside... ask any more questions.)

"I bet you were overloaded." Sally muttered.

"I honestly think I prefer the way I found out about the Greek world." Rachel said. "Being stabbed with a sword and all. At least I got straight answers."

Everyone stared at her, Percy went red. That had not been his finest moment. Rachel noticed everyone looking, "What?" They turned back to Piper without a word and waited for her to find her place again.

("I've got to get a... tell me the problem...")

Chiron sighed. "Child, I'm certain that if we haven't told you anything by this point, then there is a good reason. Likely, there is nothing you can do about it."

Annabeth blushed and looked down. Annabeth looked away with a stubborn look on her face. Luke and Thalia looked at each other before shaking their heads and looking at Annabeth again. Luke had his head in his hands and was shaking it, mumbling something that nobody could quite make out.

If anyone were to look, they would see one of the MS banging their head against their hands muttering quietly to themselves while the other six watched, amused.

(I could smell barbecue... if drawing a battle plan.)

Annabeth smirked. "I was."

Her siblings and mother smirked too. They practically lived by the saying, 'Athena always has a plan', after all.

(Back at cabin eleven,... peg as troublemakers.)

"Ah," Percy said.

"But it's the ones that..."

"...don't look like troublemakers..."

"...that cause the most trouble." Percy finished. Both Percy's had a smirk on their faces.

The Stolls and other future Greeks all glared at Percy and grumbled about the pranks he pulled. The ones that the Stolls got blamed for.

Luke sighed. "That's true. And its because those are the ones the teachers never watch because they don't seem like a threat." The other Hermes people nodded in agreement. So many pranks and stuff in school ruined because the teachers kept an extra close eye on them because of their looks.

(Thankfully, nobody paid... about the stealing part.)

"Hey, we never kid about stealing." All the Hermes kids and Hermes told him seriously, at the same time.

"Creepy..." Leo muttered. A few others nodded in agreement.

Nobody noticed Percy's face going stony once Luke walked over to him in the book. Both him and Annabeth had agreed later, it was a toss-up over which of them had been betrayed by Luke the worst. Sure, Annabeth had been closer to him and had known him longer, but she had told him later in private that she had known something was up with him for a while, she just hadn't let herself consider what it could be. She'd had a feeling, deep down, that he was going to do something, act on his anger... the one thing she just never imagined was that he would join Kronos.

Percy, on the other hand... Luke had been the first person in a long time, aside from Grover, that Percy let himself open up to. That Percy had given his trust to.

(I said, "Thanks."... wall. "Tough first day?")

"You could say that." Percy grumbled quietly. Annabeth sighed beside him and hugged him from the side.

Luke glanced at him, worried. He knew he kind of hurt Percy, he really didn't want to find out how much. He already knew exactly how much he hurt Annabeth and Thalia. 'Besides,' he decided, 'it's different hearing about the betrayal directly from that person's point of view like this.'

("I don't belong here,"... doesn't get any easier.")

"Well, he was right about that." Percy muttered. Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"Your life was much simpler back then, wasn't it?" She murmured quietly in agreement. Percy nodded.

(The bitterness in his... just about anything.)

Luke looked a little disturbed by something, while Luke buried his face in his hands. Percy stared straight ahead at the wall.

("So your dad is Hermes?"... was going to gut me,)

A few of the futures tensed at that, not that many people noticed. Those that did, narrowed their eyes, but dismissed it as them simply being protective. Only Hermes thought there was more to it, and resolved to speak with his son later.

(but he just scraped...-footed messenger guy.")

Hermes raised an eyebrow while the Romans looked horrified at how Percy just described him. "I think that's the first time I've been called that. And I've been called a lot of things over the centuries." He informed the room.

Percy just shrugged.

("That's him. Messengers... to call me a nobody.)

"What's wrong with being Nobody?" Annabeth asked with a glint in her eye.

Percy and Grover grinned, "Nothing, unless you're Polyphemus." Percy said mysteriously. Clarisse snorted. "I still say you two are insane for doing that." She grumbled.

Annabeth and Percy shrugged while everyone stared at them, while Sally groaned and put her head in her hands. She didn't know what happened that summer, and she didn't want to know. Now it looked like she wouldn't have a choice.

(He just had a lot on his mind.)

Luke flinched. "Yeah, I did." He muttered.

("You ever meet your... with how he got his scar.)

Both Luke's sighed. "Nope, different story." Luke said bitterly. Luke just stared at the floor. Hermes was concerned, he had a bad feeling that Luke did something very, very bad. The feeling started when his older son arrived and the other futures reacted so violently to his presence, but now... he was almost certain.

(Luke looked up and... care of each other.")

"Take care of each other, yeah right. Hypocrite." Clarisse muttered. A few others muttered in agreement. Only Chris stayed silent, but that was mostly because he used to be on Luke's side, until he was sent into the Labyrinth and not expected to come back alive, that is.

Hermes frowned. Yeah, he was definitely talking to his son later.

(He seemed to understand... had done for me all day.)

The other Greeks realized why Percy seemed to have taken Luke's betrayal so hard, while all Annabeth seemed to do had been to deny that he'd been doing all that of his own free will. While Annabeth denied, Percy was obsessed with stopping him.

(I decided to ask... knife. "I hate prophecies.")

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Especially when Octavian is involved." Percy muttered.

Hazel looked over at him. "You're still going on about that?!" She exclaimed.

"He killed my panda! I worked hard to st- er... find that thing!" He yelled, changing his words and hoping his mother didn't notice his slip-up. Sure, she knew that Demigods sometimes stole to survive, but she still didn't like it.

Everyone who was Greek looked at him like he was crazy while the Romans nodded in agreement. "He is a menace to teddy bears everywhere." Reyna said grimly.

Jason nodded. "He destroyed my toy penguin when we were younger, according to Lupa, I had that with me when my mother left me with her." Thalia looked angry at hearing the penguins fate.

"I gave you that penguin for your birthday! How dare he!" Jason smiled at her.

Everyone just stared at the Romans and Percy for a moment while Apollo could be heard muttering the name Octavian, trying to remember where he heard it. "Oh! Octavian, my descendant and camp Augur. Yes, I don't know why he uses stuffed animals instead of chicken liver. I really don't."

Now it was his turn to be stared at like he was crazy.

("What do you mean?"... come on, it's dinnertime.")

"Wow, that is the second time in one conversation you have been called a nobody. You are a real inspiration, aren't you?" Rachel asked Luke sarcastically.

Luke went red and muttered something about Percy being a good kid and not wanting it to be him.

The Future Greeks (FG) all narrowed their eyes at that.

(The moment he said... never heard one before.)

"Your my son." Poseidon said, as if that was the only explanation needed.

Which, when they all thought about it, it kinda was.

(Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"... as the sun went down.)

Artemis looked proud of her cabin's description, as did Zoe and Thalia.

(We marched up the... come skipping up the hill.)

"Yeah, that was kinda weird to see the first time." Katie said softly. Chris and a few others nodded in agreement.

(In all, there were maybe... wood nymphs and naiads.)

Piper whistled. "So few? Man."

Annabeth smiled, "This is before Percy made that deal with Zeus, before they even knew that when Percy Jackson wants them to do something, they better do it."

A few gods looked over at Percy, a little interested, while Zeus looked annoyed and slightly more paranoid.

(At the pavilion, torches... half my butt hanging off.)

Hermes started muttering again about how the others needed to claim their kids already. The demigods nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

(I saw Grover sitting... who looked just like Mr. D.)

Everyone who fought the Battle of the Labyrinth looked down in grief, "He smiled the other day. Its the first time he's smiled since..." Chris said quietly.

Mr. D slowly sat up and stared at the futures, silently demanding they tell him what happened to his sons.

None of the FG's would look at him though.

(Chiron stood to one... right alongside her friends.)

"Oh, trust me Prissy. I was in no way over it. Not until Capture the Flag anyway..." She grinned, and it was not a nice grin.

The younger kids remembered the view they walked in on when Gabe first arrived and she'd ended up alone with the thing for almost two hours. They all shivered and resolved never to make Clarisse angry.

A few of them even backed away from Clarisse.

(Finally, Chiron pounded his... want- nonalcoholic, of course.")

A few campers growled at that, they wished they could...

Oh well, the Hermes cabin was more than willing to obtain alcohol if any of them wanted it. As long as they kept it away from the younger kids, Mr. D looked the other way about there being alcohol around.

They stopped groaning when Mr. D gave them a warning look before Demeter or Hera started lecturing all of them. After lecturing the kids, they would then get on his case about influencing the children into drinking.

Honestly, like he would care. He was the god of wine. Parties and alcohol were his thing.

(I said, "Cherry Coke."... " Blue Cherry Coke.")

Hazel huffed, "More blue, seriously?" The Jackson's grinned unrepentant.

(The soda turned a... drank a toast to my mother.)

A couple of girls cooed, Percy buried his face in Annabeth's hair at their reactions. Yes, he loved his mother to death, and yes he was probably the world's biggest mama's boy, but that had been a private moment!

(She's not gone, I... place, then someday...)

Hades groaned. "Every generation. Every generation I have to deal with demigods coming to my realm demanding their loved ones back. It's not that I enjoy keeping people's loved ones from them, there are laws. Laws older than Gaia and the Giants, governing life and death. Once you are dead, you are dead. There is nothing I can do. Why can none of them ever understand this?" He mumbled.

Hazel and Nico heard him, and they glanced at each other. Nico technically brought Hazel back to life... his dad wouldn't have to take her back to the Underworld, would he? Hades saw them looking at each other and caught their eyes, before he signaled that he wanted to speak with them after this chapter.

He needed to know how Hazel was here, how she was alive and part of the Fifth Cohort and not in the Fields of Asphodel.

("Here you go, Percy,"... for dessert or something.)

"Nope, sorry." A few Greeks muttered. They had all thought that when they first arrived. Most of them were just a little more vocal in asking their questions.

A few gods looked slightly offended that Percy thought they were getting dessert instead of making sacrifices.

("Come on," Luke told me... the warmest, most buttery roll.)

The Romans looked confused. Why were they wasting perfectly good food like that?

(Luke murmured in my ear,... They like the smell.")

The Romans raised an eyebrow. They didn't do that. Huh, they wondered why the Greeks still did that.

("You're kidding.".. not to take this lightly,)

"Yes, don't." A few of the gods muttered.

(but I couldn't help wondering... smell of burning food.)

"Not quite." Apollo said with a grin.

A few demigods rolled their eyes at him.

(Luke approached the... fat red grapes. "Hermes.")

Hermes smiled softly. Even if he had a feeling the sacrifice was just to keep up appearances.

(I was next... what god's name to say.)

"Don't worry, I'm sure you will be claimed soon. I tend to give my children about a week before claiming them, give them a chance to settle in, let people get to know them before they suddenly turn out to be a Big 3 child." Poseidon explained to the room.

Chiron nodded in agreement. He remembered that.

"Ah, I was wondering." Annabeth said softly while Percy smiled at his dad.

(Finally, I made a silent plea. Whoever you are, tell me. Please.)

"I will. Soon, when you've had a chance to settle in, get to know a bit more of what is going on." Poseidon reassured the room.

"Brother..." Zeus warned.

Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "What's done is done. I'm not going to deny my son just because you don't like that I have one. Besides, as I recall, you broke the oath first. Twice." Snickers broke out throughout the room as everybody tried not to laugh at the look on Zeus's face.

Only the Romans succeeded.

(I scraped a big slice... smoke, I didn't gag.)

The Romans were really confused. Who wouldn't gag at the smell of burning food?

(It smelled nothing like burning food.)

"Huh?" All the Romans were heard asking. The Greeks snickered at them, only to be glared at in annoyance.

(It smelled of hot chocolate... could live off that smoke.)

"We can't. Not that that stops some of us from trying..." Artemis said, glaring at Hermes and Apollo as she did.

They just shrugged. "It was a dare!"

Poseidon smirked. "Yup, and you happened to be the ones to lose the dare." The Percy's looked at their dad, then suddenly burst out laughing. A snort of laughter was heard from the corner the MS were sitting in, and they looked over to see one of them with a fist stuffed in their mouth, stopping themselves from laughing along with the two sons of Poseidon and giving themselves away.

"So that's where he gets it from." A few of the demigods muttered. The Romans were trying to remember why they were afraid of the sea and why they didn't like Poseidon again.

(When everybody had... for our attention.)

Percy and his father winced. They often had to suffer through listening to horses and pegasi complaining over how much concrete and pavement hurt their hooves.

(Mr. D got up with... holds the laurels.")

"YES! That's what I'm talking about!" Ares yelled. The others with children started groaning and grumbling about why it was always Ares and Athena.

"Wait, capture the flag?" Hazel asked Percy.

He nodded eagerly. Then he gasped. "We should have a game while we're here. Say, Future Greeks versus younger Greeks and Romans?" He suggested, bouncing up and down excited. "Oh, but little me has to be on my team though. You know, since he's not a camper yet and all..."

"Wait, since he's not a camper, then he shouldn't play at all. Kid's never even touched a sword before." Clarisse protested.

"I'll give him some training before the game, he'll be in the same boat I was, playing a game with barely any training. Besides, when Nico arrived, we played a game not two hours later, you didn't complain about his lack of training then." Percy pointed out.

Clarisse narrowed her eyes, but was forced to let it go as everyone else around her agreed to Percy's proposition. "Hold up though, why do we have to be with the Romans while you all get to be on your own? There's more of us this way." Annabeth pointed out.

"Because, Annabeth, the Romans will tell you, they do not know how to fight our style very well. And, us older Greeks are more experienced than you. Fortunately for you." Percy answered.

When Percy mentioned the Romans not knowing how to fight the Greek fighting style, Nico started laughing while the Romans grumbled a bit before Frank shrugged.

"Well, your crazy fighting style won us the game, so... and made the First Cohort look like a bunch of newbies... along with the Second and Third Cohorts... Yeah, we had no idea how to fight you." The other Romans nodded.

"That game was basically us getting Percy over the wall and staying out of his way..." Hazel said.

"Is that what happened behind the walls? None of you said." Gwen asked. The two who were with Percy on his rampage nodded. Percy had a smug smirk on his face. The other Greeks didn't know what game they were talking about, but they could guess how it went for the Romans from the look on Percy's face.

Sally sighed. "Just make sure Percy doesn't get hurt when you play. He is younger than all of you." She warned before gesturing for Piper to continue. The entire conversation, the gods just sat and stared.

This kid made the First, Second, and Third Cohorts look like a bunch of newbies? That was different.

(A bunch of ugly... camper today, Peter Johnson.")

The Romans were slightly surprised when the Greeks all shared exasperated, yet slightly fond looks. Especially Percy.

It was strange the things you missed when you were forced away from home.

(Chiron murmured something... I felt that I was home.)

"Camp is home. Home is where the people you care about are." Percy said firmly with a soft smile on his face.

The other Greeks nodded along with him. The MS were seen nodding with him in their corner too.

"Even if you fight all the time?" Jason asked carefully, looking between Percy and Clarisse.

"Somebody once told me that, families are messy, and immortal families even more so." He shrugged. "We may not be immortal," He gestured to his fellow Greeks, "But..." He shrugged again. "He also said you can never give up on your family no matter how messy it got."

Hermes looked up, surprised at hearing Percy say that. That was pretty much his view on his Olympian family, after all. He said that all the time. From the corner, he saw Hestia beaming at the demigod.

(Later in the evening,... borrowed sleeping bag.)

The Hermes children snorted. "Borrowed." A couple of them muttered.

"Yeah right." Muttered another.

Sally pretended not to hear them.

(My fingers curled around... let the bedbugs bite.)

Sally sighed. She wished she could have still been there for her boy, she wished he never had to go through watching his mother be 'killed' right in front of him.

Hera was once again wondering why on earth her relationship with her two sons wasn't this good.

Hestia was smiling at the family.

(When I closed my... enjoy my new home.)

"Well, that's not ominous at all. That's the end of the chapter." Piper informed them all, closing the book.

Poseidon and Hades stood up, intent on speaking with their children. Nico, Hazel, and the Percy's were flashed by their father's to their respective rooms before anybody could say anything.

"Luke." Hermes called softly. He waited until he had the older boys attention before saying, "Walk with me. I think we have much to talk about." His other sons reflected that their usually joking and cheerful father looked old right then.

Luke looked nervous but followed his father. He'd had some time to think while he waited for his judgement... he had decided he was tired of being angry.

Chapter 11: Talks and Training

Chapter Text

"Well, that's not ominous at all. That's the end of the chapter." Piper informed them all, closing the book.

Poseidon and Hades stood up, intent on speaking with their children. Nico, Hazel, and the Percy's were flashed by their father's to their respective rooms before anybody could say anything.

"Luke." Hermes called softly. He waited until he had the older boys attention before saying, "Walk with me. I think we have much to talk about." His other sons reflected that their usually joking and cheerful father looked old right then.

Luke looked nervous but followed his father. He'd had some time to think while he waited for his judgement... he had decided he was tired of being angry.

With Poseidon and the Percy's...

"Percy," Poseidon started, "I don't care how many schools you've been to, I want you to know that I am very proud, no matter what. I always have been. Sure, an education is important, but... when it comes to being a demigod, being street-smart is even more important. And I wish I could have been around more when you were growing up." Poseidon said, watching his sons carefully.

Percy smiled at him before coming to give him a side-hug where he sat on the edge of his bed. "I know dad. I wish you could have been around more too, but I understand there are laws, and you are very busy."

Percy came and sat on his other side. "You watched when you could, you did what you could." He said as he hugged his dad from the other side.

They were all silent for a while, before Percy asked, "What do I do when we are done here, and I go back to my time? What am I supposed to tell mom and Lily?"

"I don't know, son. I guess, we will just have to figure that out later, towards the end of the books." Poseidon said with a sigh. There was also the fact that Percy would be going back to Gabe when they were done here. Maybe the Fates would let him write a letter or something and let Percy take it with him?

They all groaned when Amphitrite came in to inform Poseidon that Zeus was demanding a council meeting right now. Poseidon had a feeling that this would be about Percy's power and Percy's insistence that Father was a threat and would threaten Olympus. He stood up and sighed before kissing Amphitrite on the cheek and hugging the boys before flashing back to the throne room, where he settled back into his throne and braced himself for a long 'discussion', he started thinking up ways of threatening Zeus so Zeus wouldn't immediately jump to the ridiculous conclusion that he was trying to use his sons to take over Olympus.

How did his younger brother become the ruler again? Last he checked, Hades was the oldest brother and he Poseidon was the strongest brother.

Not Zeus.

With Luke and Hermes...

Hermes led Luke out of the throne room and towards the gardens. They walked in silence for a while while Hermes gathered his thoughts.

Finally, he had enough of the silence, "How deep in were you?" He asked.

Luke looked down. "I, umm, gave him my body to inhabit. Before that, I led his armies and recruited demigods. When the time was right, I swam in the Styx so my body would be capable of handling his spirit until he was back at full strength. I gave him everything I was. I was never going to survive, and I knew that. Once he was back at full strength, his power would have blown my body apart. I did everything so he could come back and tear Olympus apart. And I didn't care. I just wanted the gods gone, I thought if they were gone, that demigods would have an easier life, that we would finally get some recognition. That Kronos actually cared where our parents didn't." Luke said.

By now, they had stopped by a fountain, and Hermes watched as some of the other Future Greeks walked past, going deeper into the gardens.

Luke watched them go too, his eyes on Chris. "Chris was one of my first recruits. The summer Kronos rose, I sent him into the Labyrinth. Alone. Without the String. Without any other way to navigate. It was a suicide mission, and I just, sent him in. I never ever expected to see him again. And I. Didn't. Care. My own brother, and I didn't care that I sent him on a suicide mission. We had a spy in camp, and later on she told me that when Clarisse brought him back to camp, raving mad, she kept him as healthy as she could while they waited for Mr. D to come back from seeing about the minor gods loyalties so Mr. D could restore his sanity. The 'enemy' treated him better than we did." He sighed.

"I told myself that it was a sacrifice we were all willing to take for the good of the rest of the world. That it was for demigods everywhere. For Percy's first quest, I set him up for a one way trip to Tartarus, the plan was for him to take the Lightning Bolt to Kronos, unknowingly. I have dueled Percy so many times, but the end of his first summer at Camp? I summoned a pit scorpion and set it on him. I'm told the nature spirits in the forest barely got him to Chiron on time, not even putting his hand in the water was enough. The next summer, I poisoned Thalia's tree. My older sister, that tree was made of her spirit, and I poisoned it." He looked like he was about to break down.

Hermes reached and put a hand on his shoulder, not quite sure if the hug he wanted to give him would be welcome.

"You made a mistake. A big one, but... Kronos is known for being persuasive, and I can only guess that he started talking to you shortly after you came to camp? I remember you were in a very bad way back then, after everything that happened with Thalia." Hermes started slowly. Luke looked up at him. "To him, you would have been easy prey. How long did it take you to really start listening to him?"

"A couple of years." Luke whispered. "After my quest to the Garden, everything he was saying started making so much more sense."

"See? You held out for close to three years. That's longer than anyone I have heard ever holding out and not listening to him. Luke, this is Kronos we are talking about. He has persuaded and tricked us gods into doing his bidding more than once. Zeus will never admit it, he forbade us from talking about it, but World War Two? You know that was mostly children of Hades versus children of Zeus and Poseidon? Well, Zeus denies it, but Kronos was pretty much helping tensions on both sides grow. He didn't start anything, but he sure didn't help it end either." Hermes said, squeezing Luke on the shoulder.

Luke smiled slightly, then sighed. "I'm worried about my younger self. He was supposed to steal the Bolt at the end of that meeting, get the Bolt somewhere safe, then be back on Olympus before anyone even realized the Bolt was gone. I've realized my mistakes, I've lived them, but he'll just be reading about it. And he'll be reading about it from Percy's and the Olympians point of view. The very ones he sees as his enemies. He's not going to want to back down just from this reading. And when Zeus finds out? Oh, man." He turned away and ran a hand down his face. "The only thing keeping him from killing us then and there will be the fact the Fates forbade it."

"He'll have to go through me and your brothers too. Don't forget that." Hermes said, turning him around and holding his chin so Luke couldn't look away. "You made a mistake. One that almost destroyed the world, but it was a mistake. Those happen. And you are still my son. No matter how many mistakes you make. We will make your younger self see that. And we will make the others see how wrong we are in keeping so much distance from our children." He said, making sure Luke understood. Only then, did Hermes allow himself to hug his son.

A few minutes later, Demeter found them. She watched for a few minutes before she cleared her throat, when Hermes looked up, she started, "Zeus is calling a quick meeting. I think it's about all the Big Three children running around right now." Hermes growled a little at that before he sighed and nodded.

"I'll be right there." She nodded and walked away, back towards the throne room. "We will talk to your younger self, and don't worry about Zeus. I'll handle him if he starts to get ideas. Why don't you go find the younger kids? See what they're up to? I don't think anybody is watching them right now, and you know how Travis and Connor can be."

Luke smiled at that and walked away, Hermes watched him go, for once feeling every bit of his several thousand years. He couldn't help but feel he failed somewhere.

With Hades, Nico, and Hazel...

Hades sat on his bed, watching his two children in front of him. One of whom he knew was supposed to be dead and in the Fields of Asphodel. As much as he really didn't want her there.

"Well? One of you want to explain to me how Hazel is here, alive and well? Not that I'm complaining, dear. It's just... you both know the laws." Hades said tiredly, running a hand down his face.

Nico glanced at Hazel, who was standing there staring at the floor, she didn't want her father to tell her that she had to go back. She had nightmares of that place... and then there were her flashbacks...

"Um, well... the future is pretty bad. They captured Thanatos, and have gained control of the Doors. Monsters aren't dying, they just reform faster than we can kill them. I, um, well... I took advantage of the fact Thanatos was gone, and the doors were wide open... and I went looking for Bianca. But Bianca had already gone for rebirth... and then I found Hazel, decided to give her another chance." Nico said, a little nervously. He had broken the very law of nature after all.

Hades stared at his son for a moment. Then he sighed and ran a hand down his face again. The future sounded like a lot of paperwork. Great.

He thought for a moment. "Future me might be able to turn a blind eye... but... it will mean not acknowledging you exist. Ever. If I do, I will have no choice but to bring you right back to the Underworld." He informed his children grimly. He was rewarded with blinding smiles and... hugs.

Well, blinding smiles by their standards. Which basically meant Nico smiled period.

They all hugged for a little bit before Persephone came in to tell Hades that Zeus was calling a meeting. He was even being so kind as to include Hades in it.

Joy.

"I'll go take care of this, I'll probably be questioned to Tartarus and back about the two of you. How is it, again, that I'm the one Zeus trusts the least, and yet I'm the one who kept that blasted Oath of his? For that matter, how did he become the king again? I'm the oldest brother." He grumbled on his way out the door. He decided to walk, instead of flashing.

Just to make Zeus wait.

After leaving Percy with Sally, Percy found Clarisse and the other futures he fought with in the Battle of Manhattan during the Titan war in the very back gardens, the MS were standing off to the side.

"Hey guys, shall we get started?" He asked Clarisse. "Hey, you guys have somewhere to sleep, right?" He suddenly asked the MS. When they all nodded, Percy said 'good' and left it that, instead turning his attention back to the challenge at hand.

"Rules?" He asked Annabeth as he and Clarisse stretched.

She nodded, "Alright, we don't have any of our usual equipment, but we got Beckendorf and Leo to throw something together similar to what we usually use. You will both be taking this," She pointed to an awkward shape that would be difficult to get and keep a good grip on, "500 lb. weight from here, across the river," she pointed to the river separating the back gardens from the side of the floating mountain they were on, "Where you will then leave it as you run back here. After you return here, you will both do a series of sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, and pull-ups. 50 each. For the pull-ups, you will use that tree branch." She pointed to a low-hanging branch near where they stood. "After the exercises, you will then re-cross the river and retrieve the weight. You will then bring it back across the river, first one to do so wins."

"Who are our spotters?"

"The Stolls can do it, Travis, you have Percy and Connor can spot Clarisse." Katie chimed in.

"Agreed. Now, Percy, no using your water powers, no weapons to delay the other person, the only diversionary tactics allowed will be taunting." Annabeth said, looking at both competitors sternly, she knew how the two of them could get and didn't want another incident like the last time they challenged each other. Both of them were in the infirmary for days, and everybody refused to tell Chiron what they had been up to. The special training the demigods put themselves through shortly after Luke deserted camp and tried to kill Percy with the scorpion was the best kept secret of Camp Half-Blood. The nature spirits in the woods only knew about it because they helped with the training.

Percy and Clarisse nodded quickly. They didn't want to have to deal with the awkward questions again.

"Hey, where's Nico?" Percy suddenly asked. He didn't see the kid, Nico usually tried to make it to their challenges or training sessions, whichever they happened to be doing that night.

"I think he's still talking to his dad with Hazel..." Rachel said.

"Ah. Ok." Percy said as he and Clarisse got into position.

"Ready?" Annabeth called, standing in front of and between the challengers with her arm in the air.

"Set!" She waited for a moment to make sure they were really settled.

"GO!" She yelled, dropping her arm and making herself as small as possible so she didn't get run over.

She turned to watch and cheer Percy on as he ran to grab his weight and start across the river with it.

"You are late." Zeus bellowed when Hades finally made his way into the throne room. He looked around, he was the last here, and he noticed that Hermes looked older and even more tired than he did when he asked his oldest to take a walk with him.

"I don't recall Persephone telling me a time I had to be here by, younger brother." Hades replied with an eyebrow raised. Beside him, Hades could see Poseidon trying, and failing, to contain his laughter.

"You had that thought earlier too?" Hades asked Poseidon mentally.

" Yup." The two brothers smirked at each other again. They actually missed the days when the youngest would come to his older brothers for advice. Now, the youngest was constantly trying to accuse them of trying to steal his power. While forgetting the fact that if they really wanted it, they wouldn't have to try . They could just take it.

Even Aphrodite could just take it. Her and Poseidon were the strongest here, after all. Perhaps even Hestia, but nobody really knew just how strong she was, she never showed it.

Zeus fumed at the reminder that he was the youngest, while everyone else stared at the three with raised eyebrows. It wasn't often that Hades or Poseidon pulled the older brother card. Usually only when they were really annoyed with him, but they also tended to avoid Zeus when they could.

"Let's get this meeting started." Zeus finally called. He had a bad feeling about this though... Hades and Poseidon looked like they were agreeing on something... He glared at his older brothers, who both smirked back.

"First off, why do you two have children?!" He yelled.

Hades and Poseidon each raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"First off, brother, have you forgotten the two children you currently have here? Just because one is Greek and the other Roman means nothing, they still exist despite the Oath. Which means YOU broke it twice." Poseidon started.

"Secondly, neither of us wanted to take that Oath in the first place." Hades continued.

"And thirdly, Hades did not break his Oath. He hid his children when YOU tried to kill them and their mother. Hazel is another story entirely, but she was also born before the Oath." Poseidon finished. Both brothers stared at Zeus.

" How did you know about Hazel? And what exactly do you know?" Hades asked Poseidon mentally.

"I know all of it, about her going to Alaska, and dying there. I'm not even going to ask how she is alive again. Congratulations on that, by the way."

"Thank you. But how do you know?"

"Simple, I keep track of my family. And that includes my brother's children"

"Thank you."

Zeus sat on his throne wondering what to do. It had been a few centuries since Hades and Poseidon teamed up against him like this. He never seemed to know what to do when it happened either. The two of them together were kind of like Hestia in that regard. But then she was the oldest sibling...

When he looked to Hera for help, she just raised her eyebrow, as if saying, 'what are you looking at me for? Your the one in trouble.'

Finally, he huffed, "Fine, whatever, then let's talk about how powerful your children are, what that means for the prophecy, and how your boy, Poseidon, seems to think Father will be coming back."

Poseidon narrowed his eyes. "Are you calling MY son a liar?" He asked dangerously.

Zeus floundered for a moment. He hadn't heard that tone of voice directed at him in a long time.

"And our children? Because they are all backing young Perseus in his claims." Demeter asked, her own voice promising danger.

"I... well... I mean... He can't be coming back!" Zeus burst out finally. He knew this meeting would not go well.

Poseidon narrowed his eyes at his brother and stood up, "Know this, and know this now, Zeus. My patience is growing thin with your constantly accusing us or constantly ignoring threats when they come until it is too late. If you dare bury your head in the sand and insist there is not a problem in these books, then I will consider declaring you unfit to rule for the duration of the emergency." He said with authority. With that he flashed out.

Apollo whistled lowly. "I never thought I would see him snap like that. He's usually so laid back."

"He has a point though. You do tend to ignore problems until it is too late and you can no longer say there is nothing wrong." Hestia said from her corner by the fire.

"Indeed. Get your act together Zeus. These kids are showing that we have grown too complacent and apathetic over the centuries. That could very well be our undoing." Hades said before he, too, flashed out.

Everyone was silent for a moment before they started to talk amongst themselves a bit before they all flashed out twenty minutes later.

The whole time, Zeus was sitting there in shock. He didn't move.

When he finally snapped out of it, he was the only one in the room except for Mrs. O'Leary and Gabe. Mrs. O'Leary shadow-traveled out as soon as his eyes landed on her. He was in a bad mood and she didn't want to be anywhere near that. When she left, he turned his gaze to Gabe, Gabe just stared back for a minute before he, too, tried to inch his way backwards as best he could while still being tied up.

Zeus's eyes narrowed before a lightning bolt appeared in his hand and went flying towards Gabe. It was a really good thing the Fates weren't letting him die while he was here.

For the next hour, all people could hear coming from the throne room was the sound of thunder rolling and shouts of outrage.

Poseidon raised an eyebrow and continued his conversation with Sally and Paul.

The Greeks out in the back gardens all paused in what they were doing to look towards the throne room before they all shrugged and went back to the race. Which Percy was currently winning.

Depending on who you asked, it was no contest. If you were to ask Clarisse though, he was barely winning.

About an hour and a half after the failed council meeting, Hestia was very annoyed with herself. She meant to get dinner inside the kids before their parents talked to them and before they went off on their challenge.

So, here she was, calling all the council back together for dinner and having Poseidon blow a conch horn to call the demigods. Only the Greeks would automatically answer its call, although she hoped the Romans would put it together, having already read that part. If they didn't come, she would send the Grovers out to smell them out.

Surprisingly, the Future Greeks, except for Piper and Leo, and the MS were the last ones back. Clarisse and Percy were dirty, sweaty, and still breathing hard like they'd just run a marathon. Percy was also getting his shoulder checked out by Will.

"I won!" Percy called happily in between pants. When everybody who didn't come in with them asked what he won, all the futures put a finger to their lips in a 'I'm not telling' gesture. It was actually really creepy the way they all did it at the same time.

"Hold still! Man, you tore your shoulder again. You really need to stop doing that." Will complained as he kept working. "Aw man, I can't get it to go back together. Hey, Dad! Can you give me a hand with this? His shoulder muscles just won't go together."

"Have you tried just throwing some water on him?" Apollo asked as he came over.

"This injury was sustained in the river out back. By all rights, it should have healed as soon as he got it, but noooo. That just happens to be the one body of water in the world that doesn't heal him." Will complained. The whole time, Percy was sitting there on his bench, eating his pizza with his other hand, watching them with his head cocked.

"Well, have you tried water since he got out of the river?" Poseidon asked as he came over, concerned about why the river out back didn't heal his son.

"First thing I tried. Didn't work. It's like his healing abilities are blocked or something since he got out of that river." Will huffed, frustrated while Apollo took over with Percy's shoulder. By now, everyone was really wanting to know what on earth they had been up to.

Annabeth sighed. "And this is exactly why I said no weapons tonight. Although, you didn't have to throw the dumb thing."

"Hey! I got a little excited, ok? Sue me." Percy defended. Annabeth just sighed again and kissed him on the cheek before turning around and putting more pizza on his plate.

"Huh. I can't get it to heal either. That's odd. Uncle P? You want to see if you can do anything?" Apollo said, surprised.

Poseidon frowned before he summoned up some salt water and put it on Percy's shoulder, holding it there like someone would an ice-pack. Apollo ran some scans while it was on.

"Oh, yeah. Now it's healing. Slowly though. It should be healing much faster. Hm, at this rate, if we keep the, er- water-press on it overnight, it should be fine by morning." He told Percy, Will, and Poseidon. Poseidon nodded before he frowned and motioned for Triton to keep the water in place, then he walked out, saying he would be right back.

When he came back, he had a worried frown on his face. "How many of you went into that river?" He asked. Clarisse and Percy were the only ones that raised their hands. He nodded. "Alright, I want all of you to stay away from it from now on, something wasn't right about that water. The two of you should be fine, Percy, you should be back in full control of your power over water in a few hours, so your shoulder probably won't take until morning. I'll go out and take a more detailed look at it later. It should be nothing though." He said, smiling reassuringly at everyone.

Mentally, he was telling the other gods what he found, " I found trace amounts of Father's time-sand in that river. It won't hurt them, and it's only causing a slight interference with Percy's connection to the water, but all the same. I don't want them near it."

" Do you need help cleaning it out later?" Triton asked.

" If you would please."

The gods could all see Zeus practically biting his tongue so he didn't provoke Poseidon into carrying out his threat earlier. That, and, he was really disturbed with the fact that some of his father's time-sand would be in a river on Mt. Olympus.

" Hold on, what if that time-sand was put there by the Fates? As part of them freezing time in the palace for this reading?" Apollo asked.

" It is possible. But then if that is the boundary, then the children shouldn't have been able to cross it at all." Hestia said.

" I'll go out there to clean it out later on anyway. If the Fates put it there, then they will let me know somehow, or just keep putting it there until I get the hint and leave it be." Poseidon finally said.

Everyone else murmured in agreement before they turned their attention back to their meal and the children. Hermes smiled when he saw Luke start to herd the younger kids to bed when a few of them started yawning. Eventually, they were followed by the older kids, with Triton following Percy to make sure the water-press stayed on until Percy was able to control it again and keep it there himself. Apollo promised to check on it again in a few hours, whether Percy was awake or not.

The next morning, the future Greeks were all woke up much the same as the day before. With Sally waving a bag of blue chocolate-chip cookies through the air and yelling that she had cookies. Then, there was another chase through the palace between the older kids for the bag of cookies Percy snatched from his mother on his way past her.

Once they were gone, Sally once again pulled another bag out from seemingly nowhere to give everyone else who didn't go running off after Percy. Then she herded them to where Hestia had breakfast set up outside today. When asked where she got the cookies from, she just smiled mysteriously and refused to say anything.

When the older kids finally came out, followed by the MS, who were still kind of stumbling around like they were half-asleep, Hestia finally served the food.

"Hey, Apollo, you come in last night to check my shoulder? Because it feels good as new." Percy said, rolling said shoulder a bit.

Apollo nodded. "Yes, it was healed nicely." Percy just nodded.

After they were done eating, Hestia simply conjured up chairs around the area they were in, and then passed the book off to Will.

Chapter eight: We capture a flag

Chapter 12: We Capture a Flag

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underlined).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

After they were done eating, Hestia simply conjured up chairs around the area they were in, and then passed the book off to Will.

Chapter eight: We capture a flag

"Aw man." Ares moaned, slumping back into his throne. Percy, Annabeth, and the rest of their team for that game smirked at him.

(The next few days... nymphs, and a centaur.)

Nearly everybody who didn't know about their parentage before coming to camp nodded. It did take a lot to get used to.

(Each morning I took... too much headache.)

"And that headache is now gone." Percy said, jerking his head down in a half nod. He was quite proud of it, too. "I can even read Latin fairly well..." He said with a shrug.

(The rest of the day,... arrow out of his tail.)

"Um, where was he standing?" Apollo asked.

Percy turned bright red and sank down in his chair while the Hermes children laughed.

"Chiron was standing..."

"... behind us."

"It was quite... ah, interesting to watch." Chris added in.

"Yeah, I'd never seen anyone that bad at archery." Luke said, trying to smother his grin.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." Percy grumbled.

"You got to admit, Prissy. That shot was legendary, I think the Apollo cabin still tells that story..."

Clarisse trailed off, glancing at Will, who nodded with a grin.

Percy slumped even further in his seat when everyone in the throne room started laughing, even Annabeth and his mom were laughing at him. The only one not laughing was Percy. But that was probably only because he figured that if Percy was that bad at Archery, then he was too.

Chiron was too busy being pale and grumbling about them laughing until it was them with arrows stuck in their tails.

(Foot racing? No good... slower than a tree.)

"Truth."

"Preach it."

"Tell me about it."

"Not just lovesick gods, either..." (Grover blushed when somebody said that.)

(And wrestling?... mumble in my ear.)

"You bet there was." Clarisse muttered.

Percy smirked at her.

(The only thing I... beaten the Minotaur.)

"No, not really. But how on earth did we not suspect that his father had something to do with the ocean, or at least water?" Luke asked. Clarisse and Annabeth just shrugged. They and Luke were three of the counselor's who'd been trying to figure him out. They never would have thought of it being Poseidon, even with all the little clues everywhere.

The bathroom incident, being good on the water... his looks. "Maybe we were just trying not to see what was right in front of us? You know, because of the Oath? We didn't think he could be because Lord Poseidon wasn't supposed to have any more kids, so we didn't even consider it." Annabeth suggested with a shrug. The others frowned and nodded with a shrug. Made sense.

Zeus frowned when the Oath was mentioned, but he didn't say anything. Mostly because he'd caught Hestia's eye.

(I knew the senior... as the Ares kids,)

"Got that right." Clarisse mumbled. Clarisse and Frank just blinked. He seemed plenty strong to them.

"I meant back then." Clarisse said with a shrug when she caught them looking at her in confusion.

(or as good at archery as the Apollo kids.)

"No, no you were and are still not." Will said, shaking his head. Then he started muttering about Percy with a bow and arrow in his hand was a threat to the very existence of camp. Percy shot him a look like somebody just kicked Mrs. O'Leary.

(I didn't have... way with vine plants.)

"Don't worry, Johnson, nothing to worry about there." Mr. D said over the top of his latest wine magazine. People shot him surprised looks. They didn't think he was listening, although a couple of them actually forgot he was even there.

(Luke told me I... to make of me either.)

"Nope. I didn't have a clue." He said. Then he whispered so that only the Future Greeks sitting close by could hear him. "All I knew was that you were wanted alive for some reason, Kronos thought you would be special." Percy made a face at that. Oh yes, he knew exactly why Kronos would have wanted him alive. The Titan had only tried to recruit him often enough.

(Despite all that, I... to bring her back...)

Hades groaned again and banged his head back, muttering about foolish demigods and paperwork. Redoing the security network, more paperwork, hiring new guards at the gates, more paperwork. He muttered that he used to be rich.

Nico and Hazel winced in sympathy for their father. Hazel remembered quite well just how crowded the Fields were, and Nico just wandered around a lot, so he knew the Underworld pretty well.

(I started to understand... resent his father, Hermes.)

Percy suddenly found his shoes to be very interesting. The other Future Greeks looked at him, slightly startled, while Luke looked pained. They all wondered just how easy it was for all the other demigods who actually did defect, if Percy was so understanding.

You know, the guy with personal loyalty as his fatal flaw...

(So okay, maybe gods... a phone appear?)

Hermes and Apollo both said, "Exactly. Our. Point."

The rest of the council either shifted uncomfortably, or glared at them. Only Poseidon, Hades, Aphrodite, and Dionysus agreed with them. They were the ones that actually made an effort with their kids.

"You know, I can't decide which set of parents is worse. I mean, my parents don't really care about me beyond that I don't damage their reputation... but at least they are THERE. You guys never really are there..." Rachel said thoughtfully.

(Thursday afternoon, three... my reflexes were good.)

"Dude, your reflexes were amazing. I'd never seen someone like that their first time ever holding a blade. The only way you would have looked more comfortable with it was if it was actually balanced." Luke said. Poseidon looked proud, while Triton muttered that he wondered how Percy would do with a trident.

(The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands.)

"Because none of them came from the sea. I don't know why, but my children have always had a hard time finding a land-forged blade that worked for them, unless they had it specially made just for them, but even then, they rarely balance right." Poseidon said with a shrug.

"But... Lord Poseidon, Riptide wasn't forged in the sea..." Zoe spoke up hesitantly.

"Maybe not... but it was still created by a daughter of the sea. And the form it was originally in, was forged in the sea as a gift." Amphitrite said gently to the girl.

(Either they were too... this was my first time.)

All those who had ever trained with Luke groaned. They hated being a brand new camper, especially when Luke was the instructor. It was actually even worse now that Percy was the one in charge of the arena.

Both Percy and Luke smirked. They actually enjoyed being hard on the newbies.

("Good luck," one... on me," I said.)

"Percy, I don't go easy on anyone." Luke said seriously.

"Neither does Percy." Everyone else muttered.

(The camper snorted... idea, I did the same.)

"Oh." Luke groaned. "That's where it came from..."

Everybody else who was there to see this nodded in understanding too. Poseidon smirked.

(Instantly, I felt better... feel so awkward.)

Poseidon nodded, that was about right. It still wasn't as good as if he had a sea-forged weapon, but it was a good temporary fix.

("Okay, everybody circle... Percy get pounded.)

"Oh come on, like you don't do the same with us." Will complained. Percy shrugged.

"Yeah man, I don't know who was worse, you or Luke." Chris grumbled. Percy smirked at Luke, who raised an eyebrow.

Poseidon and Sally looked distinctly proud while Paul looked like he was fighting a mix between a grin and a grimace. He had, after all, asked Percy to teach him to use a sword. So... he felt their pain.

(The Hermes guys... for a punching bag.)

Said Hermes guys shrugged unrelentingly. Because they had all been in Percy's shoes.

"Not a punching bag. More like a training dummy." Luke said with a shrug.

(He told everybody he... to drop his weapon.)

Ares nodded approvingly. "That's a difficult maneuver. Also a good thing to teach." He said. Luke smirked a little.

("This is difficult,"... to master this technique.")

"Very true." Ares said.

Percy and the others hid smirks while Poseidon narrowed his eyes.

Book-Percy was currently in the middle of a water-induced energy and sensory boost. Which meant that he should have absolutely no problem getting this maneuver right the first time. Once the water he splashed over himself dried off though... then he wouldn't be able to do anything anymore.

If he came down from his 'water-high' in the middle of the fight and Luke wasn't expecting it... he might not have enough time to stop his strike before injuring Percy.

(He demonstrated the... hilt of my sword.)

"Surprised me." Luke declared.

(My senses opened up... with more force.)

"Because I really was not expecting him to suddenly be fighting like that. I wanted to know just how far he could go before he couldn't do it anymore." Luke said with a shrug.

Ares was looking thoughtful as he analyzed what he was hearing of this fight.

(The sword grew... the disarming maneuver.)

"Not going to work. This is the first time you've held a blade. There is not way..."

Will cut him off when he kept reading.

(My blade hit the... downward thrust.

Clang.)

Ares sat there, stunned. "Yeah, that was pretty much what the rest of us looked like, too." Luke said somewhat sympathetically.

Poseidon laughed, he looked decidedly proud.

(Luke's sword rattled... my sword. "Um, sorry.")

"What are you apologizing for?" Reyna demanded to know.

Percy shrugged. "Usually when everybody around me was so quiet, it meant that I'd done something so wrong they had no words."

(For a moment, Luke... completely abandoned me.)

"Yup. That's what happens when the energy burst wears off." Amphitrite said softly.

"I'm just glad he managed to stop the fight before it wore off completely. If it wore off in the middle and Luke wasn't expecting it while he was fighting as hard as he was..."

Luke paled slightly. "I probably wouldn't have been able to stop my swing before I did damage." He said faintly. Poseidon nodded.

(But Luke insisted... skidding across the floor.)

"Made me really curious." Luke said with a shrug.

(After a long pause,... with a balanced sword...")

"Unfortunately, that wasn't what I was really wondering, mostly. Because that wasn't all I was curious about." He said with a sigh.

(Friday afternoon, I was... on the climbing wall.)

Sally's eyes widened, and she squeaked out a "What?"

Percy and Grover both glanced at each other before Percy said he was exaggerating. Which Grover quickly backed up, a little too quickly.

(Grover had scampered... singed off my forearms.)

"Why do you even have that thing?! It is way too dangerous!" Sally cried with her eyes wide.

"No, that thing is awesome!" All the demigods yelled, except for the Romans, and Reyna was debating getting one of those for themselves.

"And that is why we still have that thing." Poseidon said with a chuckle.

"It also teaches them how to be quick on their feet. If they stop moving, they're dead. It teaches them to think fast, it's good to teach them how to dodge, and it's fun for them." Hermes said with a shrug.

Sally looked at all of them in disbelief.

(We sat on the pier,... sickly shade of yellow.)

A few people winced. "Not good, huh?" Clarisse asked. Grover shook his head.

("Fine," he said. "Just... a searcher's license?")

"Searcher's license? What are you searching for?" Gwen asked.

"The god Pan. He disappeared millennia ago, and since then, humans have been destroying this planet. If we can find him..." Grover said feverishly.

Rachel, Nico, Percy, and Annabeth all looked at each other and decided not to say anything. They would let Grover handle his younger self. When they looked over at him, he widened his eyes and shook his head, he wasn't handling this right now.

("Well... no." I had... the job complete.")

"Harsh." Jason muttered.

"Yeah, I mean, there's no guarantee that Percy would ever get a quest." Piper said.

"Except I'm pretty sure Mr. D knew exactly who my father was as soon as he laid eyes on me." Percy muttered.

"Of course I did, Peter Johnson, you look remarkably like your father." Mr. D said lazily.

"And since he knew what was going on, he was probably already arguing with my dad over just claiming me and getting me out of his camp already." Percy said with a shrug. Annabeth nodded beside him.

(My spirits lifted... you want me along?")

"Why wouldn't I want you along? You're a pretty cool guy." Percy said. Percy nodded in agreement.

Grover smirked. "Yeah, I seem to always go where you go. To the detriment of my health and sanity." He said as he shook his head with a rueful grin.

Percy smirked too, "Sorry man, I could always leave you home where its boring and nothing ever happens.

"Nah... I think I've gotten too used to action." Grover said. Grover looked at Percy with hope in his eyes.

("Of course I'd want... have a useful skill.")

"You do have a useful skill!" Thalia protested. Grover smiled at her.

(I tried to reassure him... have one, she'd be mad.")

"That, and, we kind of stay there, every once in a while." Thalia said with a shrug.

"So, it's not completely honorary, as much as it is to house Milady's followers." Zoe said. "Something that I would think you, as a satyr, would know." She looked an interesting mix between annoyed and amused. Both Grover's blushed as they thought of all the times they spent sleeping outside the cabin, often with other satyr's, whenever the Hunters were in camp.

Grover was also remembering how Percy once called him a stalker with hooves.

"In my defense, my head wasn't completely in the conversation by this point..." Grover said weakly.

("Yeah, okay. But... That's her husband's job.)

"Hey!" Zeus protested, finally getting out of his brooding over the failed meeting the night before.

"You know it's true, dear." Hera said with a stony face. She hated it when her husband cheated. The others in the room decided to avoid looking in their direction for a while.

(When we say the... Hades the Underworld.")

"How exactly did that happen?" Reyna asked curiously.

"Simple. I've always had an affinity with water, Zeus always had an affinity with air and the weather, while Hades was always a little... darker." Poseidon said with a shrug.

"Seriously, that's it? No epic duel over who got who?" Leo asked, disappointed. Jason patted him on the back consolingly.

The Big 3 shrugged again.

("Uh-huh."

"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here.")

"There's a lot that I seem not to have." Hades said with a scowl.

("No. He doesn't have... Let's leave it at that.")

"Hey! My cabin is pretty cool, thank you very much." Nico protested. "Although it would be even better if I could have security out front." He muttered.

"Yeah, the last thing we need is your undead security team giving little kids nightmares." Annabeth deadpanned.

"Yeah, and why do you need a security team? You never would say." Percy asked.

Nico shrugged and mumbled something that nobody quite caught.

Percy suddenly frowned in suspicion. "This wouldn't have anything to do with that ghost you used to hang around with, would it?" He asked. Nico shrugged again. Hades seemed to be torn between concern and amusement. He decided he would find out later what ghost was bothering his son.

("But Zeus and Poseidon-... their cabins empty?")

"Because somebody is too paranoid." Poseidon muttered. Amphitrite reached over and slapped him upside the head. He gave her a sheepish look, "Sorry dear."

(Grover shifted his hooves... on the River Styx.")

"An oath the three of us were happy about." Amphitrite and Hera muttered. Persephone nodded, although she hadn't cared as much if her husband went off. She knew he would always come home, and that his heart always belonged to her.

She knew any marriage counselor would probably tell her that they had an unhealthy relationship, but it worked for them.

(Thunder boomed. I said,... their word- no kids?")

"Well..." The five Big Three kids said.

"Not quite." Thalia said with a smirk.

"These three wouldn't be here otherwise." Nico said, motioning towards the Grace siblings and Percy.

"What about you and Hazel?" Reyna asked in confusion.

"We were born before the oath was made, back during World War II." Hazel said with a shrug. "Its a long story."

(Grover's face darkened... couldn't help himself.)

"When can he ever help himself?" Hera muttered angrily.

(When their child was... the little girl's fault.")

"Tell that to the monsters." The older demigods muttered. "Its not our fault who our parents are, yet they come after us because of who our are."

A few parents shifted uncomfortably.

(Grover hesitated. "Percy... Tartarus to torment Thalia.)

Those that didn't know the story started. They had been confused earlier by the Greeks reactions to the pine tree, especially Thalia's.

Hades frowned. "That was not one of my brightest moments, I was not really thinking. I knew of her existence almost as soon as she was born. At first, I was content to just keep an eye on her, but then...

"I knew of her existence as well. I have never believed in punishing the child for their father's doings though." Poseidon said with a shrug.

"There is a reason why I hid Nico and Bianca, why Poseidon couldn't draw attention to Percy. If Zeus knew about them, he would have killed them, despite having two children himself." Hades murmured.

Zeus looked sour but didn't dare say anything. Not with both Hera and Hestia in the room. Luckily for him, Demeter was the gentler of the three sisters. Well, unless it came to Persephone.

(A satyr was assigned... a hoard of hellhounds.)

Hades frowned. "I really should have just let it go." He muttered.

(They were about to... is called Half-Blood Hill.")

Those few who had yet to hear the story were staring at Thalia in awe and a little bit of fear. That was quite impressive. Jason looked upset, and was soon hugging his sister, as though to make sure she was really still here and not about to turn into a tree again.

"I see now why I would have made you my Lieutenant. Despite being so new to my Hunt." Artemis murmured. Zoe nodded in agreement.

(I stared at the... have saved my mother?)

Sally sighed sadly. "Percy, you did all you could. You were untrained, and unarmed. It's amazing enough that you managed what you did. Me disappearing like that was not your fault." She scolded lightly, going to give her oldest a hug.

"Yeah, Perce. You forget, at the time of that, I'd been living on the streets and fighting monsters for years. I was experienced, and I still fell. Don't go comparing yourself to me." Thalia said. Percy was quiet but nodded.

("Grover," I said, "have... "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini.")

Hades growled. He really didn't like Houdini. Orpheus was annoying too come to think of it... especially all the paperwork his little stunt caused him.

("And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?")

Nico was making a hard effort not to look at Hazel or his father, and Hazel was trying really hard not to fidget. One of the MS reached over and clapped the smaller figure on the shoulder.

Poseidon and Hades were both gazing around the room, both trying not to glance at Hazel or Nico.

("No. Never. Orpheus... the Underworld idea.)

"Not at all." Grover said, shaking his head. Sally and a few others groaned.

Percy smirked at him.

("Not always. We go... makings of great heroes.)

"Huh, interesting..." Reyna muttered. She was currently thinking that maybe if they could try and make the Fawns that liked to hang around useful, they would certainly be less annoying.

(If we find one... really huge problems.")

"Not our fault." Thalia and Percy both claimed loudly and firmly. Nico nodded along with them, while Jason and Hazel blinked at them. From what the two Romans had heard and seen, their three Greek cousins (and siblings) were much more reckless, which led them into getting themselves into more trouble than they had to.

Jason and Hazel got themselves into their fair bit of trouble of course, but they didn't get into nearly as much. Their Roman training prevented much of it.

Everybody else who were close to the three cousins, just raised their eyebrows disbelievingly. Like they really believed that. Those three lived for getting in trouble.

("And you found me...be allowed a quest,)

"An oracle you, Grover Underwood, are not." Rachel told him, amused. He turned red with slight embarrassment.

(and I'd never get... Don't worry, okay?")

The Council frowned. "Grover... you realize that Nemesis is a goddess, right?" Apollo asked the satyr slowly.

Grover froze, before he started shaking slightly and muttering about how that explained so much. Apparently, he had a run of bad luck over the years. This explained so much of that. Nemesis was getting her revenge.

(I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me.)

"I kinda was." Grover muttered. Then he turned to his younger self and started whispering quietly to him after he sensed the turmoil in his emotions.

(That night after dinner,... for capture the flag.)

"Capture the flag is mentioned a lot." Hazel murmured to Frank.

"Remember, Percy asked if the war games were like Capture the Flag? That was one of the few things he had some memory about." Frank said, amused.

The Greeks that overheard him shook their heads in amusement, Percy did love his Capture the flag.

(When the plates were... above an olive tree.)

"That sounds pretty." Hazel murmured. The Athena crew smiled proudly at the girl. Their banner was very pretty.

(From the opposite... and a boar's head.)

"Typical sounding for Ares." Aphrodite muttered.

"Hey!"

(I turned to Luke... he said. "But often.")

Percy smirked. "And when its not Ares versus Athena, its usually me versus Athena."

"Those games..."

"...are legendary."

"Especially when Percy and Annabeth end up having a stare off, usually followed by a duel over the creek over who gets to pass and therefore, win."

"Yeah, but those only happen when they both reach each others flags, and then make it to the creek at the same spot, at the same time. Honestly, its almost like the two of them plan it or something." Clarisse said.

Everyone froze, then turned slowly towards Annabeth and Percy, both of whom were studying the ceiling. "Actually, only the first two times that happened were planned." Rachel said, amused.

"How do you know?" Travis challenged her.

She raised an eyebrow, "Because Annabeth told me. She spent a lot of time in my cave the first couple of weeks." Percy reached over and pulled Annabeth towards him, giving her the security of his presence. A few of the other Future Greeks raised and eyebrow and made various noises of agreement.

("So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?")

"Good question. Or do you just have a bunch of other flags laying around for all the cabins?" Reyna asked.

The Legion didn't have separate cabins based on parentage. So, they had just the one set of standards, and she was the one to decide who was defending and who was attacking when they played war games.

"No, we just have the two flags. You'll see when the game is over." Percy said with a small smile. Then he sighed. "The Poseidon symbol on those flags looks amazing." He said quietly.

(He grinned. "You'll see... knew something I didn't.)

Percy scowled and muttered something that nobody caught, but those who played this game and had been in on the plan, grimaced and exchanged glances.

Sally caught their looks and got worried.

(The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight.)

Luke winced, and even Luke looked a little uneasy. Hermes frowned in concern when the younger boy seemed to shrug it off as unimportant.

("We've made a... And you are going to help.")

Percy hummed and shot a narrow-eyed look at Annabeth and Luke. "Hm, yes... help ." The two of them looked at each other, at least they had the grace to look sheepish. Those who were there for this match snorted in laughter. At least Percy didn't seem to actually be angry about it...

(The teams were announced... traded- shower times,)

Percy hummed again. "Its a really good thing that both I and the Aphrodite cabin have our own showers." He muttered. "Although that doesn't really do much for capture the flag alliances."

A few other people glared at him and Piper jealously.

(chore schedules, the... actually good athletes,)

Dionysus raised an eyebrow, but anyone who looked carefully could detect the proud glint in his eyes.

(but there were only... weren't very aggressive.)

Demeter, too, had a proud glint in her eyes. Even absentee parents like them liked it when their children were complimented. Katie grinned at Percy's compliment.

(Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about.)

"Hey!" Piper and Aphrodite protested.

"Let's keep reading, I'm sure it'll explain." Percy said absently. He seemed to be thinking about something.

(They mostly sat out... hair and gossiped,)

Piper groaned in frustration, "Oh. That makes more sense now." She muttered. Louder, she said, "You'll be pleased to know that they no longer get away with any of that crap." She said with a slightly sadistic gleam to her eyes. She had fun whipping her siblings into shape. She didn't care if they broke a nail during training, monsters weren't going to care, after all, if their nails were perfect or not.

Aphrodite, too, frowned when she heard how her children were. She may be one of the more active ones when it came to claiming her kids, but she still didn't really pay them a lot of attention. She trusted their fathers to teach them better values then just their looks. None of their fathers were like that, after all. All of them knew the value of hard work. She wondered if they were like this at home, or if they just acted like airheads at camp.

While she was all for them looking good, she also knew that training to stay alive came first.

(Hephaestus's kids weren't... They might be a problem.)

Hephaestus grunted when he heard Percy's assessment of his kids, while his kids grinned at Percy.

"Heck yeah! And that's without the McSchizzel being in the house!" Leo celebrated.

Beckendorf raised an eyebrow at his younger (in years) brother. "I have a feeling things got interesting in Cabin Nine when you showed up..." He said with amusement.

Percy winced. Beckendorf wouldn't live to see just how interesting. Not that Percy knew himself, he wasn't there after all.

Then Leo frowned. "But there's a lot more then four of us in there." He said.

"That has to do with a deal Percy made with the Council." Annabeth said softly. "I'm sure its been mentioned at some point?" She asked. The trio thought for a moment before they nodded in realization. They remembered now.

(That, of course, left... else on the planet.")

Clarisse snorted. "Gee, love you too, Prissy." She muttered. Percy just grinned at her, while a few other people were once again left to figure out just what their relationship was.

A few people wondered how she didn't seem to be very offended by Percy calling her and all her siblings ugly. Clarisse herself only seemed vaguely offended.

(Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.)

Percy winced. "How on earth do you stand doing that? You should hear how much Blackjack complains about landing on pavement." He asked Chiron.

He shrugged. "I guess I'm just used to it."

("Heroes!" he announced... if I were crazy.")

"It was a valid question." They all heard a voice mutter childishly from the corner where the MS were sitting. One of them reached out and patted the arm of the one they were assuming spoke.

Unfortunately, the voice was low enough that they couldn't recognize it.

A few people had the sneaking suspicion they knew who it was, though.

("Unless you want... snowboarded on it fine,)

"Are you kidding me?! That was something you always wanted to do?" Thalia yelled, glaring daggers at her idiot cousin. She had NOT enjoyed that.

"He did that with you too?" Hazel asked.

"He did it again?" Thalia asked incredulously.

"In my defense, a couple of days ago, I didn't have my memories, so I didn't know I was repeating something from that quest." Percy said slowly. "Also, both times I did that, I happened to be trying to get away from an enemy that just WOULD NOT die. Seriously though, what was with her and Bargain Mart?" He muttered. He turned to Annabeth. "If you thought Medusa was crazy, wait till you meet her sisters." He said this so seriously that several of them worried for his sanity, and then they were left wondering when on earth he ran into the other two Gorgons.

(but I hoped nobody... off toward the north.)

"Not very creative ones either." Percy said, amused.

"Hey!" Clarisse protested. That was her team after all.

"Please, I could come up with more creative insults in my sleep, and you all know it." Percy scoffed.

(I managed to catch... I'd stolen something.)

She shrugged. "For all I knew, you really were a Hermes kid."

("Just watch Clarisse's... thing touching you.)

"You know, I probably should have wondered then. I mean, why warn me about something so specific?" Percy mused. Annabeth cleared her throat and looked at the ceiling.

Clarisse smirked. She liked her electric spear.

(Otherwise, don't worry... Athena always has a plan.")

"Hmmm. Easy, she says. Stand by the creek, she says. You know, when you said to keep the reds away, I really should have guessed what you really meant." Percy grumbled.

"We won, didn't we?" Annabeth muttered.

Percy just shrugged.

(She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.)

"Ouch." A few people muttered.

"That's cold." Reyna said with a raised eyebrow. She did not like him in the beginning, did she?

Annabeth blushed, "In my defense, I was focused on the game." She muttered.

("Okay," I mumbled... scattered into the trees.)

"Your gonna just leave him there? He has barely a week of training!" Sally protested.

"I didn't leave him alone!" Annabeth defended herself. "I was there almost the whole time. As soon as I got the rest of our team in position, I went back to keep an eye on him."

Sally frowned, but she seemed to accept that.

(Standing there alone..., I felt like an idiot.)

"Everyone does their first time wearing it." Luke assured him, then he looked at Percy. "I think your father might have other plans for you though..." He said as he eyed Poseidon and Triton in the corner, it looked like they were planning a suit of armor, judging by the shapes made out of water floating in the air in front of them.

Zeus frowned at Poseidon, but he didn't say anything. He didn't know if he was still mad or not, and he really didn't feel like getting yelled at again today.

(The bronze sword, like... hand like a bowling ball.)

The Luke's and Ares grimaced. That sword was so bad for him it wasn't even funny.

"That was actually the best I could fit him with, the rest all balanced even worse." Luke informed the room. Percy went red.

"How on earth can anybody be that picky about swords. I mean, I know what they said about it needing to be forged in the sea and all, but..." Jason muttered to Piper, who nodded.

(There was no way... have liability issues, right?)

"Uh..."

"Well..."

"About that..." A few of the Olympians muttered.

Hermes facepalmed. "I told them we needed to go into that, did they listen, noooo..." He muttered.

Sally and Paul narrowed their eyes. They did not like that they were so casual about their children getting hurt. Or worse.

(Far away, the conch... all the fun, as usual.)

"Actually, not really. For this game, I think I would have preferred to miss the fun." Percy said somewhat cheerfully. Annabeth and Luke grimaced.

Annabeth because it was her plan, and Luke because he summoned the Hellhound.

(Then I heard a sound... somewhere close by.)

"What?" Sally yelped. She hadn't thought of it earlier, but didn't they say there were monsters in those woods?

"Don't worry, mom, I was fine." Percy tried to reassure his mother. It wasn't working. He used that excuse a little too often for her tastes.

(I raised my shield... something was stalking me.)

"Good, those instincts will keep you alive longer." Dionysus muttered. People looked at him, shocked. It sounded like he almost cared...

"The less you die, the less paperwork father makes me do, and the less letters to mortal parents I have to write." He finished.

Or not.

(Then the growling... screaming out of the dark.)

Ares facepalmed and groaned. He knew what happened now. Annabeth used the fact that Percy humiliated Clarisse against the red team. She knew that the Ares cabin would never just let something like that go, so she set a trap.

Clarisse winced at her father's expression. "Sorry dad." She said in a small voice. He sighed and waved it off. It was a good strategy, and he supposed it was a weakness all his children shared, which only made it his fault, as much as he hated admitting he was ever wrong.

Sally was looking nervously at her oldest. She knew he could handle this, NOW anyway. Back then, not so much. Plus, she would always worry when it came to him fighting. So much could go wrong... one lucky hit could end even the strongest of warriors.

("Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.)

"No, don't cream the punk." Percy muttered. Then he looked towards Leo and blinked. "What are you making?"

Everyone turned towards Leo, who was currently surrounded by a bunch of parts that only Beckendorf and Hephaestus had a hope of naming, and he was building... something. "It's gonna be a taco machine! Or a cappuccino machine... I don't really know yet... depends on if I can get the configurement right..." He trailed off and went back to his pile of parts. Lighting his hand on fire so he could light the inside of one of said parts so he could see what he was doing with his other hand.

"I was wondering why he's been so quiet lately..." Piper said, looking at Leo with fond exasperation. Beckendorf and Hephaestus looking interested in what he was building, and Hephaestus spotted several design flaws that could affect the machines performance, but didn't say anything. He let his kids figure this stuff out on their own. How would they learn otherwise? It only made the achievement that much sweeter when you figured it out on your own, after all.

(Her ugly pig eyes... tip flickering with red light.)

"That's because it was a gift." Ares said with a shrug.

(Her siblings had only... against half the Ares cabin.)

"Personally, I would run." Half the demigods offered up. Percy shrugged while his mother buried her face in her hands with a groan.

(I managed to sidestep... stupid as the Minotaur.)

"Hey!" The Clarisse's protested. Even Frank looked like he wanted to say something. But he didn't, he hadn't known his father was Mars for very long after all. And certainly not long enough to defend his Greek half-siblings against a guy like Percy.

(They surrounded me,... numb, and the air burned.)

"Are you kidding me?" Sally cried when she realized what that meant. Faster than anybody knew she could move, she was beside Percy, hugging him to her like he would disappear if she let go. People blinked, but didn't say anything. Percy shrunk back against Triton, since his half-brother sat down after he and his father were finished designing Percy's armor. Personally, Triton thought it would look amazing on Percy. Triton chuckled softly and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

He kinda liked being an older brother again.

(Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric.)

"Hey! That spear was NOT stupid!" Ares protested with a glare. Percy just raised an eyebrow in his direction.

(I fell back.)

"Good choice." Some people muttered.

(Another Ares guy... were too busy laughing.)

Ares frowned. "And that is where I draw the line. There are things that are acceptable in a fight, and, besides being extremely foolish and stupid to act like that in a fight, it is also unacceptable and disrespectful to your opponent." Ares scolded his daughters.

They both shrank down in their seats. He sat back in his throne muttering something about paying his kids a visit. Sure, he may at times act like a bully, but he had a thing for finishing his opponents quickly. For one, it was the smart thing to do. And, like he said, it was also the respectful thing to do.

He didn't care about honor, he didn't really see where mortals got the concept of there being honor in war. The only honor he could see was in protecting ones family, but that was about it.

("Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair.")

Ares glared at his girls again.

(I managed to get... Now both my arms felt numb.)

"I hate that feeling." Everybody who ever dealt with Clarisse's spear muttered. Both girls just smirked at everybody, but it seemed half-hearted.

("Oh, wow," Clarisse said... come out that way.)

"No, it really didn't." Both Annabeth and Clarisse said. Then Annabeth turned to Percy.

"And you are just lucky you pointed in the opposite direction of where the flag really was, or I would have made your life miserable." She said warningly. Percy gave her a crooked grin, but made no attempt to pull her closer to plant a kiss on the top of her head like he wanted to, he was still trapped by his mother. Absently, he wondered what she would do when they read about stuff that happened on this quest. He never did tell her about everything that happened.

("Yeah," one of her... made our cabin look stupid.")

"That's another thing I need to talk to them about... losing sight of the objective for petty revenge..." Ares muttered.

("You do that without my help,")

People groaned and facepalmed. "That is the same attitude that has you making enemies with half the gods in Olympus." Annabeth muttered.

"Hey! It's not half..."

"Close enough." People muttered.

(I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.)

"Ya think?"

(Two of them came at... me straight in the ribs.)

Sally gave a little scream and held Percy tighter. She really did not like hearing about his fights. She barely made it through the Minotaur attack as it was.

"Mom, can't breathe!" Percy gasped. Paul grimaced and came to pry Sally off him. He led her back to their original seat and sat with her wrapped up in a hug, whispering in her ear.

(If I hadn't been wearing... my teeth out of my mouth.)

People grimaced. That wasn't a good feeling either.

(One of her cabinmates... cold at the same time.)

"And now I don't even flinch." Percy muttered.

"What?!" Sally asked, alarmed. She knew he was a demigod, and that came with its share of injuries and fights, but... just how often did he get hurt, and how bad? Paul barely restrained her from going back over to hug her boy.

("No maiming," I... my dessert privilege.")

"What?!" Sally yelled, getting up and glaring at Poseidon.

"They would be in more trouble than simply losing dessert privileges, Mrs. Blofis." Chiron said, slowly backing away while Poseidon too shrank away, wondering what he did wrong.

"Yeah, mom. He got KP duty for the next three weeks. And stable cleaning duty on top of it. Apparently, the pegasi weren't too happy when they found out he was in there for harming ME." Percy said, calming his mother down. Everyone who'd been there shuddered. Those pegasi really knew how to make a mess when it was somebody they were mad with doing the cleaning up.

(He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash.)

Ares groaned. This fight just ended. And not favorably for his children.

(They all laughed. I figured... double-espresso jelly beans.)

"Dude! Can I have some?!" Leo yelled excitedly, looking up from his building project.

"NO!" Everybody yelled at once. They knew that Leo with caffeine was not going to be a good thing.

(Clarisse and her... creek to get me,)

"Bad idea." Ares and a few others muttered.

Clarisse grimaced. "In our defense, we didn't know who his parent was at that point." She defended herself and her siblings.

(but I stood to meet them... he crumpled into the water.)

Apollo winced. "That's hard."

"That had to have felt strange." Someone else muttered.

(Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me.)

Again, Clarisse was oddly calm about her siblings being called ugly.

(I slammed one in the... Both of them backed up quick.)

"Go Percy!" Was the general cheer, while Hazel and Frank muttered that they would have backed up too. They saw Percy during the war games, after all.

Clarisse scowled.

(Ugly Number Four didn't... snapped it like a twig.)

Ares shot out of his seat and looked like he wanted to strangle Percy, that was a gift from him after all! He didn't give gifts like that lightly.

Poseidon suddenly appeared between him and his son, making him stumble to a stop, when he looked over his uncle's shoulder, he saw Percy standing with his sword drawn and the beginnings of a small hurricane at his feet. He looked ready for anything. He didn't notice the other demigods, especially the Romans looking at him with awe at the way he was so willing to stand up to a god with no fear or hesitation in his face.

"You will remember yourself, Ares, and you will remember where we are. If you touch my son..." Poseidon warned lowly. Ares looked like he was about to attack Poseidon for a moment, before he suddenly scoffed and slouched back to his throne. He would deny ever pouting. He did, however, summon another electric spear and make it appear in front of Clarisse, glaring at Percy to warn him against breaking this one too.

Clarisse's eyes lit up, and she took it carefully with a soft 'thank you, father'. She then proceeded to inspect it before carefully strapping it over her back. He wasn't offended by her inspecting it, after all, it was only smart practice to inspect your weapons.

("Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!")

Hades cleared his throat. He wasn't too thrilled with all the death-related insults the demigods seemed to like throwing around. She looked at him with wide eyes. He didn't say anything though.

(She probably would've said... banner lifted high.)

"That's my son!" Hermes yelled happily. Luke grinned shyly, while Luke looked at him almost like he grew a second head, before hiding his expression and grinning too, like his older self.

Luke didn't know why his father was acting like he really cared, or why he was acting like a proud father. In fact, he actually had a bad feeling that his older self might have told Hermes everything when they went to talk the night before. He would keep an eye out.

(He was flanked by a... shouted. "It was a trick.")

"A trick you walked right into." Ares sighed. He wasn't mad, ok, he was. But he could recognize a good strategy when he saw one. War and strategy was his domain, after all. Even if his father tended to use Athena as his top strategist for some reason.

(They staggered after Luke,... and turned to silver.)

The Romans looked stunned. They didn't have anything like that, they weren't even sure how they could make something like that... well, they could probably find a child or Legacy of Trivia (Hecate in Greece). Reyna was sure there was at least one of them in New Rome somewhere. Percy smirked.

(The boar and spear... blew the conch horn.)

"What is with you guys and conch horns?" Reyna wondered out loud.

"I think they were a gift from Lord Poseidon to the camp." Annabeth said, looking at Poseidon in question to make sure she had her facts straight. He nodded and shook his hand in a 'sort of' gesture.

"One of my children started it, I just decided to give him a new horn once his old one broke. I also made this one so it wouldn't break as easily if somebody was foolish enough to make him angry." Poseidon explained.

(The game was over... she wasn't there.)

A few people groaned. "Hate it when she does that." Both Annabeth's had satisfied looks on their faces. The Romans just looked confused.

Annabeth's face fell after a moment when she remembered that her beloved hat hadn't worked in months. Percy looked at her in concern, but she waved him off. She'd tell him later if she remembered.

("Where the heck did... taken it off her head.)

"I did." Both Annabeth's chorused.

(I felt myself getting... just been invisible.)

"There's a lot that you seem to be unfazed by when you get angry." Will noted. Percy shrugged.

Amphitrite sighed, "Another Poseidon thing." She muttered.

("You set me up," I... it all figured out.")

"Of course I did." Annabeth shrugged. She carefully avoided looking at Sally, knowing the woman would not be happy about it.

Athena nodded. "It was a good plan. Ares children are always well known for holding grudges, and Percy did humiliate one of their own." Ares winced, but nodded in agreement.

(Annabeth shrugged. "I... "You didn't need help.")

"No you did not." Annabeth said proudly. Her boyfriend was powerful even with barely a week of training. True, he was also in the water at the time, but all the water really did was momentarily give him an energy boost and make his sword less awkward for the moment. At least, that she could tell.

(Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?")

"Um, he got cut by a sword." Gwen said slowly, looking at Annabeth oddly.

"I know that, that wasn't what I was asking." She huffed. Percy chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer.

("Sword cut," I said... scar, and disappeared.)

Gwen's eyes went wide. "Oh."

Reyna looked interested too. "Is that another Poseidon thing?" Hazel asked. That could come in handy on the Alaska trip... Percy nodded.

("I- I don't get it," I said.)

Percy shook his head. "I really didn't."

(Annabeth was thinking hard... out of the water, Percy.")

"Finally! Somebody figures it out!" Triton cried, throwing his hands in the air. Honestly, Percy had unknowingly been dropping hints for the entire week between when he finally woke up and this game. The older kids had the grace to look ashamed.

("What-" "Just do it."..., but Annabeth steadied me.)

"Holy... Do your powers really affect you that much?" Luke asked incredulously.

Percy shrugged. "Only when I haven't used them in a while. It's like a muscle, you know? Or a sword-skill. You don't use it, your going to be out of shape and rusty. This was kind of the first I'd used them with two exceptions before this. And fresh water is the worse." He got a mischievous smirk on his face. "A little emo kid I know once told me, 'with great power, comes great need to take a nap. Wake me when we get there.'"

Everybody blinked and the Future Greeks all turned to Nico, he just blinked at them, like 'what?' As soon as they looked away though, he shot Percy a look that promised retribution. Percy smiled back innocently and then made the universal sign for, 'bring it on.'

("Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus...")

"Why would you just assume it was me?" Zeus asked, curious, but also a little offended.

She shrugged without really caring. "You already broke the oath twice, even if I only knew about the once with Thalia. And he was too nice to what I imagined a child of Hades would be... no offense, sir." She said to Hades. "This was before I actually met any of your children, and all I had to go on were stories. And I was just hoping it wasn't Poseidon because I honestly liked Percy as a potential friend, but with the rivalry between Poseidon and my mother..." She trailed off and shrugged again.

(Before I could ask... ripped through the forest.)

"That's not good." A few who weren't there muttered. Luke paled and muttered something that nobody could quite catch, except for Hermes since it was meant as a prayer to him, sort of.

(The campers' cheering died... Annabeth drew her sword.)

"Not her knife?"

She shrugged. "It was in Cabin Nines workshop, I gave it to Beckendorf to look over." Some people nodded in understanding.

They weren't too trusting when it came to their weapons. Beckendorf was the only one any of them had trusted with them. It's not that they thought anybody at camp would deliberately sabotage them... they were just paranoid.

(There on the rocks... and fangs like daggers.)

Percy grimaced. "And it definitely wasn't Mrs. O'Leary." Said Hellhound padded back over to her human, and laid down behind him, resting her head on the back of his couch, whining at the thought of him being in danger from another of her kind.

He smiled and reached up to scratch her neck.

(It was looking straight at me.)

Sally squeaked a little again, but Paul continued holding her and keeping her from smothering the boy. She wasn't usually like this, but then again, Percy never went into detail about his fights or his life as a demigod in general.

A few people muttered, "That's not good."

(Nobody moved except Annabeth,... shadow with teeth-)

"You have the strangest descriptions." Dakota muttered suddenly before drinking more Kool-Aid. Honestly, people were surprised he was so calm and quiet right now compared to how he usually was.

"But strangely accurate." Jason added on, looking at Percy oddly. "You also seem to only really make them when you're in danger. Why?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Percy just shrugged. Honestly, it just seemed like a default mode or something when his mind couldn't handle the stress. But, as far as coping mechanisms went... he'd seen worse.

(and just as it hit... ripping through my armor,)

Sally gave a jerk, she was trying really hard to gain control of herself and not start smothering her son. She wasn't that kind of parent before, she wasn't going to be that kind of parent now.

Besides, he was standing next to a creek, and Chiron was right there.

(there was a cascade... dead at my feet.)

Mrs. O'Leary whimpered at hearing of the death of another Hellhound. Even if the Hellhound died while attacking her human.

Percy reached back and hugged her.

(By some miracle,... pounds of delicatessen meat.)

"You also need to stop joking about your own possible death like that." Apollo said with a frown. Poseidon and Sally nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

That would be good.

(Chiron trotted up next... they're not supposed to...")

"No there not." Hades muttered with a grim smile on his face. "I can accept monsters being summoned as practical jokes as long as they are within the targets ability level to defeat and Chiron knows about it, as seems to happen already. Besides, it's good practice. But this was no joke."

Hermes discreetly sought out Luke, who caught his gaze and grimaced. The other Future Greeks seemed to either be glaring at him, or staring at a wall while gripping their weapons or clenching their fists like they were trying really hard not to punch him.

Annabeth seemed like she was running through possibilities in her head, and not finding the answer she wanted. Maybe because she wasn't looking at the boy next to her. Luke, for his part, looked horrified. And it was easy to guess why if you noticed his eyes darting to Annabeth next to him. She almost got injured!

("Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp.")

"Which only makes it worse." Percy murmured.

(Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten,)

Luke snorted quietly so only the other futures could really hear. "I was too shocked at seeing Annabeth almost be taken out by the Hellhound I summoned. Of course I forgot about the banner." He muttered.

(his moment of glory... Percy summoned it!")

"Why on earth would Percy have summoned something to almost kill him? Not to mention, he'd been there for a week at this point! How would he even know how to summon it?" Annabeth asked somewhat scornfully.

"He'd also been staying in Cabin Eleven for a week. Who knows what they taught him." Clarisse said just as scornfully.

Percy smirked and the Stoll brothers grinned evilly. Suddenly, nobody wanted to know what the Stoll brothers could have possibly taught somebody who was already the king of pranks before he ever arrived at camp.

Annabeth opened her mouth to retort, but Chiron stepped in. Honestly, why were these two always fighting? "That's enough. We all know Percy didn't summon it." He said firmly.

Percy whispered in Annabeth's ear that he forgot how much the two of them used to fight. Annabeth sighed.

("Be quiet, child,"... get in the water.")

"Finally." Poseidon and Sally breathed a sigh of relief. The only reason they didn't start yelling for people to stop standing there and heal their boy was because it was a book.

("I'm okay." "No,... of the campers gasped.)

"Ah, this, I believe, would be his claiming. Either I was getting desperate because of what was going on, since I normally wait a few weeks to allow my children to settle in and meet the other campers without the stigma that comes with being a Big 3 kid, or I felt he'd built up sufficient relationships with the other campers." He hoped it was the latter.

Percy winced. "Unfortunately, you were getting desperate." He paused, "And I apologize now for everything I might have said in upcoming chapters." Poseidon looked confused, but nodded.

("Look, I- I don't... apologize. "I'm sorry...")

"You apologize for the strangest things sometimes." Luke muttered, shaking his head. Honestly, he thought Percy might have apologized for Luke always trying to fight and kill him if he could.

Percy, both Percy's, shrugged and Sally sighed, turning to glare at the corner where Gabe was sitting.

(But they weren't watching... above my head.)

"I've been wondering, how DO you claim kids? Because we usually find out when they get their first service stripe, if Lupa doesn't tell them during their time with her." Reyna said.

"Service stripe? You mean that tattoo Jason has?" Annabeth asked curiously. The Romans all nodded and held out their arms, revealing said tattoos.

Percy winced. He remembered how painful it looked when Frank got it. "Not looking forward to that." He muttered.

"I think we will read about the Claiming itself in a moment." Annabeth said. She looked disturbed when she saw the Roman tattoos. She would stick with beads on a necklace, thank you very much.

("Percy," Annabeth said,... spear: a trident.)

"Whoa. Much more dramatic, depending on how we find out their parentage." Reyna muttered. Many in the Legion would say these Greeks were a bunch of wimps who couldn't handle a bit of pain or discipline considering the way they acted, or even the way they were claimed.

But Reyna had also seen them fight. Just look at what Percy did during the War Games. She had a feeling their lack of discipline was what made them so good. They were naturals.

("Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good.")

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Poseidon asked, slightly offended.

Annabeth blushed. "I was kinda hoping Percy would be my ticket to getting out of there, and going on a quest. I figured he would never be let out now that he was a Big 3 kid." She said, looking down at her feet. She shrugged then, "That, and I was starting to consider him as my friend, and I thought we wouldn't be able to be friends anymore."

Percy didn't know whether to be hurt or amused that she was going to use him to get out of camp like that. Apparently, Poseidon couldn't decide either.

("It is determined,"... look happy about it.

Clarisse scowled. "We weren't."

"Many of Cabin Eleven weren't..."

"... either. Us claimed kids..."

"...were cool with it,..."

"...it meant more space..."

"...was freed up, but..."

"...the unclaimed kids..." Travis and Connor said sadly.

Luke nodded. "As soon as we were back at the cabin, we nearly had a riot on our hands. Many of them were angry over the fact that Percy was only there a week, and he got claimed, while some of them had been at camp for years without a word from their parent."

Dionysus sighed. "The worse part is, I know exactly who the parent of the unclaimed is." He murmured. "Most of them are minor gods or goddesses, but some of them are on this council."

"Why don't..." Luke started.

"I can't. For one, I'm forbidden. For another... which is worse, not knowing who your parent is, and hoping? Or knowing who they are, but they still refuse to acknowledge you?" Dionysus asked.

"The former." Both Annabeth's said. They went through that.

("My father?" I asked,... of the Sea God.")

Will closed the book with a snap. "That's the end of the chapter. Who wants to read next?" He asked, holding the book up.

Poseidon raised his hand, and Will walked over to hand him the book. He quickly found the right chapter and cleared his throat, Chapter nine. I Am Offered a Quest.

Chapter 13: I Am Offered a Quest

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underlined).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

("My father?" I asked,... of the Sea God.")

Will closed the book with a snap. "That's the end of the chapter. Who wants to read next?" He asked, holding the book up.

Poseidon raised his hand, and Will walked over to hand him the book. He quickly found the right chapter and cleared his throat, Chapter nine. I Am Offered a Quest.

"Uh, oh" Hermes and Apollo muttered. They had a feeling they knew what this quest would be. And considering that both Zeus and Hades were after the boy over this... yeah, this wasn't going to be good.

(The next morning,... and a toiletry bag.)

"That's not a lot of stuff." Rachel noted. Percy shrugged. It was what the camp gave him when he arrived. He wasn't the only one, either. He heard from some of the other campers in Hermes cabin that they arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs too.

(I got to sit at... listen to anybody else.)

"Cool." Most of the Hermes crew breathed. The other four Big 3 children all winced. This was not cool, Percy was probably miserable. If there was one thing all of them could agree on, it was that they hated being singled out for being a Big 3 kid.

Poseidon shook his head at them, he knew Percy would not like it either. His son liked his space, yes, but he didn't like being singled out.

(And I was absolutely miserable.)

"What? Why?" All the Hermes crew cried, looking at Percy like he grew a second head. He raised an eyebrow, but it was Nico who answered.

"How would you like it if you were just singled out and separated like that?" He asked.

"Being alone sucks." Thalia agreed.

"It makes it even harder to connect with your peers." Jason said.

"You are the first to be blamed when something happens, because you are more powerful than the others." Hazel tacked on the end.

Percy nodded, "I had just started to feel like I was accepted."

Everyone looked at the Big 3 kids in shock. You knew it was serious when all five of them were in complete agreement. Especially Thalia and Percy, those two fought like cats and dogs. Sure, they were family and they loved each other to death, but they could rarely carry on a conversation without insulting each other or bickering.

Poseidon sighed, "And that is why I try to give my kids a few weeks without the camp knowing who their father is, so they can make those connections, so people can see the real person without being in my shadow. Unfortunately, it would appear that circumstances were not in our favor this time." He said regretfully. "There is a reason why my children are historically the most well liked in camp, because people know them before they learn their parentage, and then after they learn their parentage, they realize that the only thing that changed regarding my child is that they now know who their father is. Of course, there have been a few that let the knowledge go to their heads and are generally the most hated in camp, but that is rare."

"It helps that our father doesn't have a massive ego that rubs off on us." Percy said with an impish grin. Poseidon nodded his head, laughing while Jason and Thalia glared at him. He noticed their glares and said, "I didn't say it was you two." He pointed out.

"You may not have mentioned us, but everyone knows our Father has an ego the size of Mount Everest." Thalia said with narrowed eyes.

"Hey!" Zeus protested, but Poseidon got his laughter under control and started reading again before he could go any further.

(Just when I'd started... some rare disease.)

The Hermes crew winced at the thought. Ok, yeah, maybe they all had a point. That would make anyone miserable.

(Nobody mentioned the... been considered safe.)

"Most of us were wondering who could have summoned it. Sure, we summon monsters all the time, for training and hunting mostly, and the occasional prank, but nobody there would ever summon a Hellhound." Clarisse said, "But, yeah. We were also kind of scared of what it could mean that a Hellhound showed up moments before you were claimed.

(The other campers steered... the Ares folks in the woods,)

"We also didn't want your dad to get mad at one of us for hurting you in training." Connor said with a shrug. The other campers who had been there looked ashamed of how they avoided him, especially after hearing how miserable it made him. And he was right, he was accepted in cabin eleven before this, and they honestly really liked him. Then they had to go and let finding his parentage change how they saw him.

Poseidon put the book down and stared at him blankly, Triton and Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at the campers. All three of them were wondering where on earth they got that idea, it was well known that, while Poseidon was one of the more caring parents, he also let his children fight their own battles, kind of like Ares. Of course, he also stepped in if he could if it was clear the fight was too much, unlike Ares.

And besides, if you didn't get hurt a little in training, then how were you going to learn the moves so you could avoid getting hurt during a real fight?

Connor started to squirm under Poseidon's stare, so he slowly raised the book, still staring, and didn't take his eyes away until he started reading again. Inwardly, he was laughing his head off, but outwardly, his face was blank. Percy hid his smirk in Annabeth's hair, he knew what his father was doing.

(so my lessons with... up in the process.)

Poseidon looked up again and nodded his thanks to Luke for not treating his son any differently, other than pushing him harder. But that was a different he could live with.

("You're going to need all the training you can get,")

Hermes sighed softly and looked at his son with a sense of pride, that right there showed him that Luke was fighting Kronos in some small way.

Poseidon nodded in agreement to what Luke said, that was exactly why he was going to take Percy under the sea for a while.

(he promised, as we... Fifty more repetitions.")

Ares nodded in approval.

(Annabeth still taught... Got to make a plan...")

"Wow, you really did not like him in the beginning, did you?" Will asked in amusement.

Annabeth shook her head, even while Athena nodded, that was how it should be between a Sea-spawn and one of her daughters.

Percy grinned and pulled Annabeth closer, kissing the top of her head. Sure, they got off to a bad start, but they learned to work together for the sake of the quest. And then, they became rather close friends, then they started dating while ignoring all the bets that exchanged hands afterwards.

(Even Clarisse kept her... every day than be ignored.)

"Then you should have said something!" Clarisse exclaimed. "I'd have challenged you every chance I got if I knew." She grumbled. Percy shrugged. He probably would have, eventually, if it weren't for the simple fact that she, like everyone else, had been avoiding him like the plague.

(I knew somebody at... floated around on the page.)

Poseidon stopped reading out loud to read the article to himself first. His face darkened with anger as he read. How. Dare. They accuse his son of harming Sally, the boys own mother. He turned to glare at Gabe in his corner, and started up a new mini-hurricane that was restricted to that corner before he forced himself to read the article out loud.

BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER

FREAK CAR ACCIDENT

By Eileen Smythe

Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78 Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploding.

Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time of the accident.

Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed violent tendencies in the past.

Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play. Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline.

People were shocked. Luke lowered his head in shame. He had been the one to place that paper, he hadn't wanted to, but Kronos thought it would make good motivation for them to send Percy on the quest already. They had thought the Hellhound and Percy being claimed would have been enough, but for some reason it wasn't.

(The phone number was circled in black marker.)

A few people sucked in a breath as they recognized the threat for what it was. This was either a prank done in extremely poor taste, or somebody wanted him out of camp.

(I wadded up the... had my worst dream yet.)

"Of the time, anyway." Percy muttered.

(I was running along... hills in the distance.)

"Los Angeles." Nico and Hades said. Poseidon did not look happy as he continued.

(About a hundred yards... darker, and the wind rose.)

The council looked like they had all seen a ghost. None of them could remember those two ever fighting this bad before.

(I had to stop them... fighting over a toy.)

This time, not even the Romans could keep themselves from laughing out of respect to the King. They were laughing just as hard as everyone else while Zeus sat there and scowled at everyone. He barely refrained from using his lighting on any of the laughing demigods, especially his brat of a nephew, who was the one to dream this up in the first place.

Poseidon chuckled, this did sound remarkably like Zeus, just an overgrown kindergartner. Especially in the beginning, after they defeated Kronos. None of them knew Zeus, they had all grown up together, just the five of them within their fathers stomach for years. It took a while for them to warm up to him, and he was a whiny brat the entire time.

(The waves got..., Stop it! Stop fighting!)

Apollo snorted. "Hate to tell you this, kid, but once those two start, nothing will stop them short of victory or for the both of them to lose interest in whatever they are fighting for. Once in a while, Hera or Aunt Hestia can get them to stop, with Amphitrite's help, but..." He shook his head. Percy sighed and nodded while Triton scowled. His father wouldn't even listen to him.

(The ground shook... it turned my blood to ice.)

The gods sat up, alert. Who was this... this didn't sound like Hades, which is what they normally thought when thinking of anything underground.

But at the same time, the only one they could possibly think of that would match that description was Kronos. Of course, Zeus was still denying the possibility, but the others were thinking of ways they can counter his rise or fight him if it actually happened.

(Come down, little hero, the voice crooned. Come down!)

Poseidon stopped reading and exchanged concerned looks with Sally and Amphitrite. He was definitely bringing his son under the sea. If not for extra training, then at the very least so he could protect him. He was rather protective of his children. And he could easily say that Percy was his favorite demigod child by far.

(The sand split beneath... darkness swallowed me.)

Poseidon paused again. Demigod dreams were usually prophetic to something that was going to happen, or a warning to what could happen if the demigod wasn't careful. He was going to have a hard time getting Zeus to leave his son alone if Zeus decided that this was a warning that Percy could fall and turn on them.

He met Apollo's eyes and he shrugged and shook his head. He didn't know which it was, and even if he did, he wouldn't say. Or rather couldn't. Poseidon was one of the few who knew that the Fates themselves dictated what Apollo could and could not say when it came to his prophecies. Which was why Poseidon was the only one aside from Artemis and Hestia that ever defended him when something happened and the rest of the council got on Apollo's case about not warning them.

(I woke up, sure I was falling.)

"I hate it when that happens." Pretty much everyone muttered. That was the worst feeling.

(I was still in bed in... "Mr. D wants to see you.")

"Oh this is going to be good." Poseidon muttered with a suspicious glare at the camp director, who just blinked innocently at him. The man was already acting more like his old self since Zeus let him have wine again. Of course, whether or not his wine ban would still be lifted after the reading was anybodies guess.

("Why?"

"He wants to kill...)

Poseidon growled, but kept reading.

(I mean, I'd better... to deliver their verdict.)

"They wouldn't dare harm you." Poseidon assured his son, both of them, while glaring at those on the council that would be pushing for the boy to be killed before he got too powerful. Namely, Zeus, Ares, Athena, and Hera. Dionysus might, and potentially Artemis. Although Artemis would probably simply be because Percy was a boy. He chose to ignore the fact that Percy said it was a crime for him to be alive. Because it kind of was... but it wasn't his crime, it was Poseidon's. And his son would not be punished for his father's actions. Not if he could help it.

(Over Long Island Sound,... coming in our direction.)

A few people frowned, and some glanced at Zeus. He was the only one they could think of that would send a storm to the camp. Although they really wished he would keep their children out of this.

(I asked Grover if... weather always does.")

"Really?" Reyna asked in interest. That would certainly be interesting and beneficial... Not that Camp Jupiter got much bad weather, being out in California and all that, but still. Maybe if they had some way of keeping wildfires away from New Rome...

(I realized he was... this one was huge.)

"It was." Chris muttered. Percy shifted somewhat guiltily. Technically, it was his fault. Zeus was kind of punishing the whole camp because of him. Despite the fact that he didn't actually do anything.

(At the volleyball pit, the... their eyes on the storm.)

Everyone who was there nodded in agreement. Of course they kept an eye on it, normally all clouds that appeared on their horizon would dissipate before ever developing into storms that big.

(Grover and I walked up... shirt with his Diet Coke,)

Dionysus grimaced and tightened his grip on the wine he still held in his hand. He despised Diet Coke. The stuff was disgusting.

(just as he had on...-Beard is your father.")

Poseidon scowled, but didn't say anything. He didn't really care what everyone else called him, unless they called him that.

(A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house.)

"I thought influencing the weather was a Zeus thing." Frank muttered.

Poseidon, Percy, Triton, and Amphitrite blinked at the boy and they all gestured towards the corner where the mini hurricane was still going on. Frank looked over there and blinked before he blushed in embarrassment. Oh, right.

("Blah, blah, blah,"... clopping back and forth.)

Hermes clenched his teeth and glared at Dionysus, not happy at all with how his sons subjects were terrified of the wine god.

("If I had my way,"... with a lot of trouble.)

"Dionysus." Poseidon warned. Dionysus frowned and shrugged while inwardly he cringed. He wouldn't have actually done it. He didn't feel like spending time in the dungeons of Atlantis. In his opinion, that place rivaled the Fields of Punishment, especially when Poseidon was mad at you.

Zeus, though, looked like he approved of the plan to combust Percy.

(But Chiron seems to... back to your father.")

There was a short, disbelieving laugh from the corner the MS were sitting in. The bigger figure turned to one of the others and leaned in to whisper quickly. Whatever the other figure said, the bigger one's shoulders shook with laughter as he slapped a hand to his forehead and shook his head in disbelief.

The other figures were also shaking in their efforts not to laugh. Two of the figures looked at each other and shrugged.

They either didn't know what their companions found so funny, or this involved some kind of inside joke at their expense.

("Mr. D-" Chiron warned... But it's deadly foolishness.")

Poseidon frowned, but inwardly sighed. As much as Dionysus pretended he didn't care about the kids, he really did. Him warning Percy against this quest was proof enough. Of course, he would never stop a demigod from going on a quest, but that didn't stop him from trying to warn them away. Not that they could refuse... well, they could. But the gods didn't exactly take that very well.

(Dionysus rose, and... an Atlantic bottlenose.)

Percy and Poseidon shrugged. "Could be worse." Poseidon said.

"Yeah, I like Atlantic bottlenose's. They provide surprisingly good conversation. If you can get past their... flightiness, anyway." Percy agreed. Poseidon nodded wisely. Everyone else either stared at them in disbelief or facepalmed. That was so not the point.

Nobody saw some of the MS turn to the one who was being questioned earlier in disbelief. Not that anybody could see their expressions, but they could read their body language.

(Do you understand?... feels you must do.")

"He said your name." Will said quietly. "He only does that with the new kids and the ones he doesn't think he will ever see alive again."

Percy shrugged. That quest had been a little... intense. Especially for a first quest.

"I think I know what this quest will entail." Poseidon muttered quietly. He thought about what he knew so far and what he had guessed. Zeus's Bolt had been stolen, and Percy was being blamed, which meant that he, Poseidon, was being blamed. Then, Hades sends his Furies after Percy, searching for something. Then, to top it all off, Hades takes Sally, presumably as leverage of some kind.

He had a feeling he knew exactly what this quest would entail. And he didn't like it. Not. One. Bit.

(Dionysus picked up..., please. And Grover.")

"At least he was polite about it." Percy grumbled, shooting a glare at Dionysus. Who ignored him while continuing to enjoy his wine.

(We did. Chiron laid... he hadn't gotten to use.)

Dionysus hit the arm of his throne and cursed. Even when he wasn't there, he still couldn't win.

Chiron grinned smugly.

("Tell me, Percy," he... hellhounds for breakfast.)

"I could. They are kind of easy to fight." Percy muttered, reaching behind him and patting Mrs. O'Leary reassuringly on the side. He hated having to fight Hellhounds. He could take them out easily, that wasn't the problem. It was the fact that he had one for a pet. And he loved his dog. Every time he fought a Hellhound and killed it, he felt like he was betraying Mrs. O'Leary somehow.

Artemis frowned. This sounded like something any boy would say.

( But I didn't feel... shot it, I'd be dead.")

Artemis frowned while the Future Greeks nodded. This boy was very humble for a male. He was different. And that made her curious.

("You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done.")

Sally frowned. She didn't like the sound of that.

("Done... with what?"

"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?")

"You haven't even told him what it is yet." Poseidon said with a raised eyebrow.

Chiron shrugged. His book self seemed rather distracted nearly every time he came up in this book so far.

"The way he worded it sounds kind of like Mission Impossible." Leo whispered to Jason and Piper.

"Just, you know, less dramatic." He said. Piper raised an eyebrow but shrugged. It kind of did. Jason, though, had no clue what they were talking about.

But then, he was raised in Camp Jupiter, and only really left for a quest. So... he didn't really spend a whole lot of time in the mortal world, which meant he didn't know what movies and such were out there. Leo and Piper had been trying to educate him, but they didn't have a lot of time between defending the camp, training, building the Argo, and planning the trip to Rome.

(I glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers.)

"That's right. You had to go on a successful quest and bring Percy back from it safely in order to get your license." Will suddenly remembered.

Grover grimaced. He still wished this quest never happened. Along with that Polyphemus' Island fiasco. Honestly, most demigods' first quest was to go find something that another god 'stole' and hid from its owner, or to defeat a certain monster, or even simply running errands. No... Percy's first quest is to break into the Underworld and talk Hades into just handing over the Bolt.

Only to find out when they get there that, Surprise! Hades never had the stupid thing in the first place.

("Um, sir," I said... sea were boiling together.)

Amphitrite reached out and took her husband's hand. The rest of the gods all frowned again at hearing how bad the fight was.

("Poseidon and Zeus,"... stolen, aren't they?")

Athena leaned forward in her throne. Maybe now they would finally find out what was going on. It made her really mad that everyone else had it figured out but she kept coming up blank.

(Chiron and Grover... excitement. "It must be!")

Grover sighed, "This was before I knew what this quest would actually involve." He said in despair. Grover looked more than a little scared by this.

("Only the Oracle can determine.")

"Sadly, it wasn't Rachel. At least she isn't nearly as creepy." Percy muttered to Annabeth. She nodded in agreement.

(Chiron stroked his bristly... precise: a lightning bolt.")

Zeus slowly sat up in his throne. His hand went to the Master Bolt at his side. He narrowed his gaze at Poseidon, who noticed and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

(I laughed nervously... god-level explosives.")

Jason and Piper glanced at Leo on the floor between them when they heard a whimper. He had looked up from the machine he was still building to gaze longingly at the weapon Zeus was still clutching protectively while staring at Poseidon suspiciously.

Uh-oh.

They each grabbed a shoulder and held on to keep him in place. The last thing they needed was for Leo to try and 'study' the master bolt.

("Oh." "Zeus's master bolt,"... bombs look like firecrackers.")

"Whoa." A few people muttered. Piper and Jason looked around and noticed that both Hephaestus and Beckendorf were looking at the master bolt just as longingly as Leo. They figured it must be a Hephaestus thing, Hephaestus must have been wanting to get his hands on it for centuries. Study the craftsmanship. Although the other two looked more controlled than Leo did.

("And it's missing?")

Zeus held onto his bolt even tighter and started glaring at Poseidon. He had finally figured out why the boy was here, and he finally remembered the title of the book. He opened his mouth to accuse Poseidon, when Percy spoke up, glaring at him.

Nobody saw Athena's slack jaw throughout this entire conversation between Percy and Chiron. How on earth had she missed this? It seemed so obvious now!

"Neither I, nor my father had anything to do with this. So, don't you dare accuse us without proof." He said icily. Some people looked at him and shivered, scooting farther away from him, they had never seen him like this. When they looked though, they saw Poseidon and Triton staring at him with the same icy looks on their faces.

("Stolen," Chiron said.)

Zeus growled and held his bolt closer, but didn't say anything. Poseidon and his sons were still giving him that look.

("By who?" "By whom ,"... teacher. "By you.")

"POSEIDON!" Zeus boomed, standing up and aiming his lightning bolt at him.

"SIT DOWN!" Hestia's sharp reprimand cut across him like a torpedo. She glared at him, she was getting tired of him always being so quick to blame. "Now, I would thank you to remember that the boy has already denied all involvement, not to mention the fact that at this point in the books, he has only known of our world for a little over a week. He could not have taken anything." She continued, staring at her youngest sibling. Honestly, why did she have to be the oldest again? It was so exhausting.

"Whoa." Several of the demigods said, eyeing Hestia carefully. She raised an eyebrow and mentally smirked.

Percy, who had been quiet for a while now, muttered that he couldn't even steal from Gabe, Lily was the klepto of the two.

(My mouth fell open... had an argument.)

Everyone could guess what the argument was. The younger, past demigods, had a pretty good idea that they were now discussing the same argument the future Greeks had interrupted when they first appeared.

(The usual nonsense... disasters,' et cetera.)

Poseidon sighed, bored and annoyed. Truthfully, he only got into those arguments to humor Zeus. They got old centuries ago, but he humored his brother, like any good older brother would. Even if Zeus was a whiny little brat sometimes, and didn't treat his siblings at all like how he should treat them. The one's he treated decently were Hera and Hestia. For one thing, he married Hera, and for another... who didn't like Hestia?

Of course, it was also a matter of pride, especially when he brought up the air/sea disaster argument. He already knew who Rhea liked best, she admitted it to him in private. She couldn't stand Zeus's attitude.

(Afterward, Zeus realized... under his very nose.)

Hephaestus sighed, "How many times have I mentioned upgrading the security on this place? And how many times have you ignored my suggestions?" He muttered to himself.

(He immediately blamed Poseidon.)

Poseidon stopped reading to sigh, "Of course he blamed me, something goes wrong, it's Poseidon's fault. A prophecy was made that he doesn't like, it's Apollo's fault. Forgetting the fact that he can't control the Oracle." He muttered.

(Now, a god cannot... human hero to take it.")

Poseidon sighed again as he watched Zeus nodding along with Chiron's explanation. Naturally, the first person Zeus would blame would be Percy. He would probably use the fact that Percy was in New York over Christmas as his proof. Forgetting the fact that the present time's Percy knew nothing of the Greek world even existing.

"Ten bucks says he blames Percy." Leo whispered to the closest demigods. He forgot the part where Chiron already claimed Zeus was blaming Percy.

They all looked like he was crazy. "Suckers bet." Thalia whispered back with a smirk.

("But I didn't-")

"Exactly." Percy muttered. He was still sore about this.

("Patience and listen, child,"... his brother's lightning.)

"Influence I have only used twice, and both times because you were throwing a temper tantrum and would have destroyed half the world in your childish fit if I didn't take away your ammunition." Poseidon said with a hard stare at his brother.

Zeus glared at him, ignoring the snickering demigods. They never really heard people calling Zeus childish before, and now both Percy and his father called him childish to his face.

(Zeus believes Poseidon... Zeus from his throne.)

The sound of many palms being slapped across people's foreheads, and then dragged down their faces in exasperation was heard. Zeus's older siblings were wondering when on earth their youngest became so paranoid. 1) Poseidon never once made an legitimate attempt at getting the throne. 2) Poseidon already had a kingdom to run. One that was actually more extensive than Zeus's was, along with Hades, since those two actually had subjects and a city. Or, multiple cities, in Poseidon's case.

Well... technically, Zeus had subjects... but all of those subjects happened to fall under everyone else's domains or answered to somebody else pretty much all the time.

(The only thing Zeus... has found his thief.")

"I didn't even know Olympus existed when I was in New York over the winter holidays." Percy deadpanned. Everyone else snickered. Zeus glared.

("But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!")

Percy nodded. Back then, he didn't know Zeus, had never seen him before. Now that he had, he could honestly say that he underestimated just how crazy.

Zeus glared at him for daring to call him crazy, but he couldn't do anything, not with both Hestia and Poseidon in the room watching. (Not to mention Sally, but he wasn't about to admit the mortal woman scared him.)

(Chiron and Grover... like a coffin lid.)

"That was terrifying." Will said quietly.

"The barrier kept bad weather out, but now... we didn't know if we were being punished for something or if the barrier fell." Clarisse said in agreement.

The Romans looked at their Greek counterparts thoughtfully. They may get more attention from the Olympians, but at the same time... they also seemed to get more trouble.

("Er, Percy...?"... the Lord of the Sky.")

"Thank you, satyr." Zeus said stiffly. He never forgave Grover for Thalia dying.

("Perhaps paranoid, " Chiron suggested.)

Zeus glared at Chiron, who just looked back innocently.

("Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before.)

Poseidon frowned and tried to remember when he ever tried to unseat Zeus. The only thing he could think of was... Oh come on! That whole thing was Hera's idea! He banged his head with the book a few times, grumbling under his breath before he started to read again.

Zeus was still nodding in agreement with what Chiron was saying in the book.

(I believe that was... question thirty-eight.)

A few (Athena and Artemis) nodded in agreement. They didn't expect anything either.

(How could anyone accuse... without getting busted.)

Everyone looked at Percy in surprise. Considering how many pranks he got away with over the years with nobody being any the wiser, this was surprising. They didn't say anything though, they didn't want to remind Percy of some of his... more elaborate pranks and potentially ask for a repeat.

(Chiron was waiting... ruler, right?"

"Correct,")

Athena and Artemis's jaws dropped. They really weren't expecting him to remember.

(Chiron said. "And... Poseidon since.)

"Oh brother," Poseidon muttered before he continued louder, "And I don't know how often we have to tell you, that whole thing was Hera's idea." He said tiredly.

(Of course, Poseidon... at the accusation.)

"Of course I would/I hate being accused of something I didn't do." Poseidon and Percy muttered.

(The two have been... after World War II,)

Percy furrowed his eyebrows and said slowly, "Which Zeus had already done... twice..." He said, twisting around to look at Triton, who grinned at him.

"Exactly, but... Uncle Zeus doesn't usually see things that way." He said, ignoring said uncle's glare.

Percy frowned, but only muttered, "Hypocrite." And left it at that.

(that he's fathered a... bolt stolen, did he?")

"Of course not!" Poseidon said, offended that his own son would even ask such a thing. Although... he was also proud, this was the first time that book Percy called him dad.

(Chiron sighed. "Most... Poseidon's style.)

"And I think we all know that Zeus rarely thinks things through." Hades said dryly. Transferring the glare from Percy and Triton to himself.

(But the Sea God is... the summer solstice.)

"Kind of hard to do when I don't have it." Poseidon growled, not at all happy.

(That's June twenty-first, ten days from now.)

"Ten days? That's plenty of time." Leo said. They had much less time when they had to save Hera.

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all looked at each other. "Ten days is really not. Especially not on a quest like this." Grover said.

"Never. NEVER assume you have plenty of time." Annabeth said in a serious voice. Percy nodded in agreement with them.

(Poseidon wants an apology... two brothers see sense.)

The three women sighed and thanked Chiron for their faith in them, but apologized for not being able to stop them this time.

There were just some cases where the boys were too far gone for them to stop the fighting and force them to get along.

(But your arrival has... would like, Percy?")

Even Ares looked apprehensive about what a war of that scale would look like. Sure, he liked war and all, after all, he was the god of war. But something of that magnitude...

("Bad?" I guessed.

"That's one way of putting it..." Ares said slowly.

"Bit of an understatement though." Athena muttered. Percy shrugged.

("Imagine the world in... a water-balloon fight.")

"Whoa." Leo said, his face was sheet white just thinking about it.

"Sounds pretty accurate." Hera muttered, glaring at her brothers.

("Bad," I repeated.)

"How on earth do you keep defining stuff like that in such simple terms?!" Annabeth was very confused and just a little angry about it. It wasn't a laughing matter, yet she felt like he was making it seem like less of a big deal than it really was.

Percy shrugged, "Guess that's just how my brain works." He said.

("And you, Percy... feel Zeus's wrath.")

Percy sighed. "Story of my life, right there." He muttered. The other four grimaced and nodded in agreement. They were pretty much the same way.

(It started to rain... silence at the sky.)

"It was a shock. It had never rained before unless we wanted it too, and usually Chiron would tell us ahead of time so we could plan accordingly." Luke said. Even he had not been expecting the rain. And he had this huge plan to get Percy to leave camp and go on a quest already.

( I had brought this... camp because of me.)

"Hey, Luke." Percy said quietly. "Was this...?"

Luke frowned, but shook his head slowly. "Not that I know of... but he also didn't share every single plan with me." He said apologetically. Percy frowned, but nodded.

(I was furious.)

Most people flinched. That was never a good thing. When he was annoyed, it was a good time to duck and cover. The only ones who could really deal with him then were Annabeth, Grover, and for some odd reason, Clarisse. Not Thalia, she usually only made the problem worse.

When he was angry, that was when they found an enemy and pointed him at it, letting him go. When he was furious... well... they learned to stay out of his way. And on occasion they pitied the poor soul that earned his fury.

("So I have to... it to Zeus.")

"It's not stupid! And yes! You do need to return it!" Zeus raged. How dare this sea-spawn upstart call his lightning bolt stupid!

Percy raised an eyebrow, but it was Percy that answered him. "Kind of hard to return something that you don't have."

("What better peace... return Zeus's property?")

"Never going to work." Hera, Poseidon, and Hestia all muttered. Who knows what Zeus would try to accuse Poseidon for instead.

Chiron sighed. He could hope, though, couldn't he?

("If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?")

"It's not a thing." Both Ares and Zeus muttered. Ares was slightly insulted because it was a very powerful weapon, and he loved powerful weapons.

("I believe I know."... counsel of the Oracle.")

All the futures grimaced. They had almost forgotten, but this was the time when they still had the mummy. They really weren't looking forward to getting a description of that, especially given how detailed Percy was so far with his descriptions.

Apollo looked down at mention of his Oracle, he never did find out what happened to her. Hades was making a point of not looking towards Apollo or Rachel, while Nico and Percy weren't looking at Hades.

("Why can't you... is beforehand?")

"Very good question." Zeus said, now he was looking at Chiron suspiciously, Chiron just rolled his eyes.

("Because if I... accept the challenge.")

"Good reason." Percy muttered.

(I swallowed. "Good reason.")

Percy blinked, while his older self smirked at him and a few others snickered.

("You agree then?"... nodded encouragingly.)

Grover shuddered. He hated this quest, he should have never gone on this quest. "Big mistake." He muttered.

(Easy for him. I was the one Zeus wanted to kill.)

"Actually, Zeus wanted to kill me too. After everything that happened with Thalia, yeah..." Grover said with a shrug. Grover nodded, but he was also staring at his older self in awe. How was he not worried about that?

("All right," I said... turned into a dolphin.")

"On second thought, I'll take the dolphin." Percy said, raising his hand like he would in class.

Dionysus smirked at him.

("Then it's time you... sane, we will talk more.")

"Wait..." Reyna said. " Assuming you are still sane?" She repeated incredulously. All the Greeks shrugged.

"Personally, I prefer the old Oracle to Octavian any day." Percy grumbled.

"Oh yeah, didn't he destroy your panda?" Hazel asked.

Percy's eyes narrowed and he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, 'worked hard to steal that thing with Gorgons on my tail.' Sally narrowed her eyes, but decided that she would ask later. In private.

(Four flights up, the stairs... my breath and climbed.)

"I held my breath, too." Clarisse and Luke both assured Percy. Beckendorf nodded in agreement. The smell was a little strong when the door was first opened.

(The attic was filled... shields pitted with rust;)

"Wow, you don't go up there much, do you?" Gwen asked quietly. The Greeks noticed that the Romans were pretty quiet unless they were directly spoken to or had something they were wondering about in regards to their camp. Reyna in particular seemed to be comparing.

(old leather steamer... ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE,)

"Hate that place." Reyna muttered.

Percy winced. Now that he actually remembered that incident... "Sorry, about that, by the way." He told the Praetor. She shrugged.

(and LAND OF THE AMAZONS.)

"My sister is the Amazon Queen." Reyna piped up again. When people looked at her incredulously, she shrugged and said it was a long story.

"That's why you told me to seek her out!" Percy realized. "So she could send aid." Reyna winced, but nodded.

"Aid?" Jason asked, worried. "What's happening in my camp?"

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it. You just focus on the Argo." Percy reassured him. He didn't look reassured though.

(One long table was... WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969.)

"Why would you keep some of that stuff?" Hazel asked, a little disturbed.

Percy shrugged. "They used to be battle trophies, but the demigod they belonged to died at some point, and they were moved up there. Either that, or they belong to one of us," He gestured to all the demigods he fought with, "and we just didn't want to keep it in our cabins. I keep my horn in my cabin, but I've stored a few other battle trophies up there over the years." He said.

"So have I." Annabeth said.

(By the window, sitting... dead a long, long time.)

"What is that?" Reyna asked, looking green. Most of the people who never saw the mummy Oracle were currently looking a little green.

"That, is/was the Oracle." Chiron and Percy both answered her. Apollo looked a little down again at the thought of what his Oracle currently was, but then he looked at Rachel and reminded himself that the problem fixed itself, whatever was wrong, it righted itself and he got a new Oracle. Hades winced again at the description, and he caught Percy and Nico eyeing him. Great, so the two of them knew. Perfect. Leo was apologizing to every remark he ever made to Rachel about her being the Oracle.

"You preferred a dead mummy to Octavian?" Hazel asked him with a weird look on her face. Percy shrugged. The Romans looked at each other and figured it must be a Greek thing or something.

(Looking at her sent... and opened her mouth.)

"You gotta be kidding me!" Leo yelped, he was officially freaked out now, and very grateful that they had Rachel.

(A green mist poured... get to the trap-door,)

A few people nodded, yup, they all made that move too. A few shuddered at hearing about it.

(but it slammed shut.. . Approach, seeker, and ask.)

Some shuddered. That was creepy. Sally in particular looked disturbed, while Paul looked like he might run out of the room, especially if the way he was eyeing Apollo indicated.

(I wanted to say... for the bathroom.)

People chuckled, trust Percy to come up with a suggestion like that.

(But I forced myself... Dodds or the Minotaur.)

"Of course it's not! Its just my Oracle." Apollo said, slightly offended that his Oracle could be considered evil.

"I don't know..." Percy said, and Apollo looked at him sharply. "You've clearly never seen Rachel in a bad mood." He finished with a smirk.

Rachel glared at him and threw a hairbrush at him, which he barely dodged. "Where did you get a hairbrush?" Jason asked slowly.

"And why do you have a hairbrush?" Piper asked.

Rachel shrugged. "You never know when I need to throw something at a titan as a distraction." She answered cryptically. Nico, Annabeth, and Percy found this extremely funny for some odd reason. Everybody else just decided not to ask. They didn't want to know.

(It felt more like... in killing me, either.)

"One of the few." Percy deadpanned. Hazel and Frank winced again, again thinking about the trip to Alaska they were about to go on with him. Sally and Paul in particular looked uneasy.

(I got up the courage to ask, "What is my destiny?")

"Because that's not dramatic at all." Grover muttered to his friend, who just grinned at him.

"And he is just like his father in that regard." Amphitrite muttered. Poseidon grinned at his wife, much like Percy was now grinning at Grover.

(The mist swirled more... Gabe and his buddies.)

Growls were heard throughout the room at the thought of the Oracle using them in her vision. Gabe and a few of the demigods just happened to be transported to the other room not a few moments later.

Chiron frowned in disapproval, but still made absolutely no move to stop or scold them. He actually wished he could be doing the same, but that wouldn't be setting a very good example for all of his students. Present or future.

(My fists clenched, though... god who has turned.)

"The west?" Athena murmured. "But only one of us lives in the west."

Hades narrowed his eyes. He didn't like where this was going. "Last I checked, my address doesn't make me guilty of anything. It said he would face a god in the west. Not that the god lived in the west. For all we know, it could mean Apollo towards sunset." He said with narrow eyes, ignoring the protest from Apollo.

"Prophecies often have double meanings. They are very rarely straightforward," Apollo said after a few seconds of pouting. He sounded strained, and he avoided looking at Zeus. Something that only Poseidon, both Percy's, Will, and Hermes picked up on. Which was understandable, his prophecies got him in a lot of trouble with Zeus for some odd reason.

(His buddy on the right)

"Wait, do you even know the names of his poker buddies?" Annabeth asked suddenly. It was so random everybody turned and blinked at the girl for a few moments before both Percy's finally shook their heads no. They only really knew Eddie because he also happened to be the building super.

(looked up and... it safely returned.)

"Yes!" Zeus yelled, happy and relieved that it would be found. Everybody else rolled their eyes.

(The guy on the... who calls you a friend.)

Everyone went silent. Luke practically froze, he did not see that one coming. Was this why Percy took his betrayal so hard? Because he considered them to be friends? As for everyone else, particularly Annabeth, they finally understood some of why Percy was so insistent on Luke being evil and beyond saving after he came back from the Sea of Monsters. For a guy with a fatal flaw like loyalty to be betrayed like that...

(Finally, Eddie, our... matters most, in the end.)

Sally sighed and looked at her son sadly.

Zeus frowned, "It said the bolt was found and returned, what else matters?" He asked. A few glared at him, but nobody bothered reminding him that Sally was also stolen.

Percy frowned and cocked his head to the side, he hadn't thought about this prophecy in years. "You know... now that I think about it... I think only the first two lines had anything to do with the bolt. The second line, that could refer to all three of the stolen 'items', the third one is obvious... but I think the last one might actually be referring to the friend who betrayed me. And I don't think that line was limited to just this quest, either." He said, being careful not to mention Luke by name.

Annabeth frowned too, "You mean, the soul of the traitor is the thing you would fail to save in the end? Because in the end, he died after giving his body, mind, and soul to Kronos, and then fighting back at the very end. And the Fates did carry his body away themselves." Nobody noticed Hermes lean over and put his head in his hands or Luke frowning and looking at his older self in question.

Percy nodded. "Think about it, if I'd managed to turn him away from that path before Kronos fully rose, then the whole war would have never happened. Either that or we would have had a valuable information resource on our side. So many lives wouldn't have been lost." He said. "But I also don't think its just talking about the original traitor. Remember? The spy?" He said. All the other demigods nodded in agreement now, this did make perfect sense now that they thought about it.

Apollo looked thoughtful too, but without knowing what exactly they were talking about, he couldn't confirm or deny what they were talking about. Of course, he had a pretty good idea from his visions of the future what was going to happen, but the future was becoming more and more blurry the more they read of this book.

(The figures began... will I fail to save?")

"Sorry, but once she's said her bit, that's all your going to get from her." Apollo said quietly. Percy shrugged. He was still thinking about the revelation he had earlier.

(The tail of the mist... room full of mementos.)

"Creepy mementos." Hazel muttered, and everyone else nodded in agreement, although the Greeks shrugged. So what if some of that stuff was a little creepy, they worked hard to defeat those monsters, those were their battle trophies.

Chiron winced though, "We should probably go up there and clean some of that stuff out. Some of it has been in the camps possession for centuries. I can contact some of those that accepted immortality and see what they want done with their trophies, but some of the other stuff... I will have to think about it. I did not know that it was so cluttered up there though." He said. He looked at his current students. "Which means that if you have stuff up there and you want to keep it, you better go up to the attic when we get back and retrieve it." They nodded. The Romans gave them strange looks.

Sure, they understood the concept of taking battle trophies, but... body parts?

(I got the feeling that... pressed. "This is important.")

"Yes, it is, but also vague and its not a good idea to try and interpret in your own way." Apollo said, "especially as I have a feeling you are about to let your current knowledge and prejudice cloud you interpretation." Chiron raised an eyebrow, what was wrong with him trying to help out one of his students? Especially with that students first prophecy.

(My ears were still... I didn't have that many.)

Sally winced and hung her head slightly. She had always wished her boy could have more friends growing up, but with how often he switched schools, and then their money situation... nobody really wanted anything to do with him. Until Grover, but even then Grover was there on orders, especially in the beginning.

Luke grimaced, yet another reason why Percy took his betrayal so harshly. Even if he did try to be nice and kill the boy so he wouldn't suffer...

(And the last line-... the way, you'll fail.)

"Double meanings." Apollo practically sing-songed, and then chuckled when Percy made a face at him.

(How could I confess... events come to pass.")

"Ain't that the truth." Several demigods muttered. Those closest to the MS's corner thought they could hear the seven muttering their own agreement.

(I got the feeling he... make me feel better.)

Chiron chuckled. "When you have been teaching children and teenagers for as long as I have, young Percy, you do tend to tell when they aren't telling you something." Percy smiled slightly at him.

"You also hesitated too long." Hermes muttered, which all his children nodded in agreement with.

("Okay," I said,... god in the west?")

"Could be any of us. It's not like we're restricted from going west. It would actually make Apollo's job difficult if he can't go west." Artemis said. "Besides that, all the best hunting is in the west."

"New Rome is also in the west, and we have Terminus guarding the city." Reyna said with a shrug. Percy shrugged and muttered something about OCD border gods, which made the Romans all chuckle.

"Yeah, he does take some, uh, getting used to." Jason said. "But Julia is a sweetheart." All the Romans nodded in agreement again.

"Julia?" Piper asked, some of her old insecurities of Jason having a girl back in New Rome that he didn't remember coming back to her.

"Yeah, she's, what, six? Seven? Her parents live in the city, and she helps Terminus out. She's a cutie." Hazel said with a small smile. Piper sat back, somewhat relieved. She glanced at her mother, who was giving her a knowing look, and looked away again with a scowl.

("Ah, think, Percy,"... who stands to gain?")

"Not me." Hades protested immediately, he really hated being the one blamed. Well, him, Poseidon and Apollo were the ones blamed, but still.

("Somebody else who... was divided eons ago,)

"That rumor started from Zeus's paranoia. I'm quite happy where I am, thank you very much." Hades said, slightly offended. "Of course, if I was allowed to actually come visit my family more often..." He trailed off with a shrug.

Persephone put a hand on his arm and rubbed, trying to give him some sort of comfort. She knew how much he disliked being banished from Olympus. He wasn't even sure why he was banished.

(whose kingdom would... deaths of millions.)

"Whoa, hey. The last thing I need right now is millions more flocking to the Underworld. Do you have any idea how many souls I am already looking after? The commute time? I'm currently in the process of trying to figure out how to expand the Fields of Asphodel because I'm running out of room to put them all. And the expenses that keep piling up!" Hades protested. "You have no idea the chaos the Underworld gets thrown into every time the mortals have a genocide or major war. The Holocaust was a nightmare! And not just for the Jews!"

Nico and Hazel nodded in agreement. Nico often helped his father with the paperwork, and Hazel remembered the crowds from her time as one of those spirits in the Fields of Asphodel.

(Someone who hates... the ground. "Hades.")

Hades groaned and banged his head back while Nico and Hazel glared at Percy for automatically thinking of their father. Percy just sighed, he really should have known better than to automatically assume like that. He used to get after Lily for doing the same thing.

Everybody ignored Zeus muttering to himself, glaring between Hades and Poseidon suspiciously, and clutching his master bolt protectively.

(Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility.")

"No, I'm just the only possibility that you want to consider." Hades muttered.

(A scrap of aluminum... wait. Wh-what?")

Grover sighed, and Annabeth reached over to pat him sympathetically on the back. They were both kind of thrown in to the ride on this one with barely a clue of where they were going. All they knew was to head west. Honestly, they should have asked Chiron where the entrance to the Underworld was before they left. Among other things.

Everyone else was just chuckling at the picture of Aluminum falling out of Grover's mouth like that.

("A Fury came after... only one lord: Hades.")

Hades frowned suddenly. "Wait a minute, earlier you made reference to three stolen 'objects'. One is obviously the bolt, and then your mother... what is the third object? And why am I sending Furies after you, if neither of us has the bolt?" He asked Percy suspiciously, his hands were curling around his Helm of Darkness at his side.

When he saw his nephew's eyes flick over the Helm, and then flick back to his face, he groaned and started plotting the painful afterlife of whoever had the gall to steal his Helm. He didn't say anything though, he knew that very few would have caught onto what he was talking about and then the boys glance at his symbol of power. And those few were Hermes, Apollo, and Poseidon. Plus maybe a few others. They wouldn't say anything.

("Yes, but-but Hades hates all heroes,")

Hades held up his hands and moved it side to side in a 'sort-of' motion. "It depends on how much that particular demigod has ticked me off and lived to tell the tale. Honestly, it's there fault if they decide to be annoying." He said with a shrug.

"That explains a lot." Percy muttered.

(Grover protested... son of Poseidon...")

"Now that, I could care less about. Well, I care in the sense that he's my nephew, but beyond that..." Hades shrugged again. "I'm not mad at either Poseidon or the boy. At the moment, anyway."

Percy shrugged too, his uncle was actually pretty cool, when he was in a good mood. Zeus on the other hand... enough said.

("A hellhound got into... can take on the quest.")

"Right scenario, wrong culprit." Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all said at once.

"Besides that, the hellhound was so they WOULD send you on a quest." Luke muttered under his breath.

("Great," I muttered... want to kill me.")

"Oh, the good old days. I only had two major enemies." Percy said dreamily. Several of the other demigods who had ever fought alongside Percy or happened to be there when he was attacked nodded in agreement. He did have a lot of enemies.

Once again, Sally and Poseidon looked worried for their sons safety and sanity.

("But a quest to..." Grover... nice this time of year.")

Thalia, Grover, Percy, and Annabeth all shivered. "I hate Maine." They all muttered. Percy's protective grip around Annabeth got even tighter. Not that she was complaining.

("Hades sent a minion... Zeus would blame Poseidon.)

"Again, right scenario, wrong culprit. Although this time, the one who 'hid' it isn't the same person who stole it." Percy said with a shrug. "Well, sort of." He avoided glancing at Luke, he didn't want to give him away too soon, although he had a feeling that Hermes and maybe Apollo already knew.

(I don't pretend to... and reveal the truth.")

"Oh, the truth was revealed alright." Annabeth muttered.

"And it was not what we were expecting," Percy said, shaking his head.

"Not at all." Grover finished with a scoff. They were really lucky Zeus decided to be nice and not knock the plane they were sitting in out of the sky. Although he doubted it had anything to do with Zeus being nice and everything to do with the fact that they were carrying his master bolt. But, who was keeping track of that stuff.

(A strange fire burned... and the hellhound.)

"Ok, the hellhound was definitely not me. That one, I can say with certainty. The Minotaur, who knows." Hades said with another shrug. He was doing that a lot lately. "And please, stay out of my Underworld." He practically begged/demanded of everyone in the room.

(It was his fault... a flash of light.)

"Uh-oh." Hades muttered, and started muttering 'please don't do it, please don't do it...' under his breath. Persephone heard him and grimaced. Because, honestly, they all knew by now that the boy was going to do it.

(Now he was trying... to take him on.)

Hades groaned and banged his head against the back of his throne, and just kept it there, muttering about which duties he was going to have to assign the Furies so he could oversee the new security measures, and get the fresh stack of paperwork done.

(Besides, if my mother was in the Underworld...)

Hades paused in his planning long enough to mutter that the boy should be lucky she was merely being held hostage and not actually dead.

(Whoa, boy, said... was still sane.)

"That exists?" All his friends asked in shock. With Clarisse, Annabeth, his dear cousins, and Grover being the loudest. Percy rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at them all.

(You're a kid... cards like potato chips.)

Dionysus groaned. "Chiron! How many times do I have to ask you to keep the pinochle cards out of reach when the satyr's get worked up?! Do you have any idea how many packs of cards I have to replace every month?!"

"You could always, oh, I don't know, not replace them." Several demigods muttered. They were sick and tired of the game.

(The poor guy needed... fail? This was suicide.)

"Most quests are. But demigods are remarkably brilliant at finding ways out of the bad situations." Artemis murmured. How many quests had she watched from her chariot at night? How many demigods had she seen in a desperate situation that she was positive was about to kill them, only for them to defeat their opponent, then get up and walk away like nothing happened?

("Look, if we know... are not the same,")

"Exactly." Apollo, Poseidon, and Hermes all muttered.

(Chiron said. "Besides,... operate through humans?")

Zeus scowled. He hated that they had to rely on demigods so much. In his mind, it pointed out a glaring weakness and security risk to his rule. If he could get away with destroying all of them (except for his own children, of course) he would. But, if he did that, they would probably all fade away, that was, if the others didn't kill him first.

"You know... I don't really get that. We can't be held accountable for a hero's actions, and yet... most if not all of the time, we are the ones who send hero's to do this or that in the first place. Doesn't that make us accountable, since they were only doing what we asked of them?" Hermes asked, looking around. Everyone else blinked at him, while Athena gaped and Zeus was too busy thinking about what he would like to do with everybody else's brats sometimes if he didn't think it would make their parents start a revolt.

("You're saying I'm being used.")

"Uh-oh." Annabeth and Sally muttered. They didn't like where this conversation just went.

("I'm saying it's no... situation. He needs you.")

Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Triton all groaned, and Sally informed Chiron that he worded that in the worse possible way. "That will only make him think that Poseidon only claimed him now because he could be useful, and not that Poseidon actually cares." Everyone turned to look at Percy, but he refused to meet anyone's gaze, same with Percy from his spot encased in Triton's protective grip.

(My dad needs me... Now suddenly he needed me.)

"I didn't ignore you. I just couldn't let you know I was around." Poseidon said quietly. Percy smiled at his father reassuringly.

"I know, dad."

(I looked at Chiron... haven't you?")

"Yes." All the Greeks muttered.

Chiron and Dionysus both shrugged. It wasn't there fault they weren't allowed to say anything until the child was claimed.

("I had my suspicions... the Lord of the Dead.")

Hades sighed and started writing down his tentative plans for delegating duties and tightening security down. He was going to need the list.

"When you put it that way... how did you survive this quest?" Clarisse asked Percy with a raised eyebrow. Percy just shrugged and laid his head on Annabeth's shoulder.

("Check." Chiron said... weapon in the universe.")

"Better believe its the most powerful." Zeus muttered.

("Check." "And get... solstice, in ten days.")

"Plenty of time." Leo said again. He clearly either forgot or just hadn't listened when Annabeth said earlier that you never assume you have plenty of time on a quest.

("That's about right."... time of year?" he asked weakly.)

"I'll pass on Maine." Grover said. "And Florida. And California. Hmmm... I've never been to Hawaii..." He said.

"Sure, we could use a vacation when all this is over." Percy said. He was all for going to Hawaii with Grover and the others.

("You don't have to... underground places... well...")

Grover shuddered and nodded. He hated the underground.

Grover sighed and started banging his head on the back of the couch. Percy grimaced beside him. "Stupid, of all the places to hide, that was the perfect one..." Grover muttered. "Satyr's are so stupid."

Annabeth reached around Percy to pat him on the shoulder. She knew that none of the satyr's ever thought to search underground because none of them really agreed with the underground, it made them extremely nervous. For Grover to have found Pan underground... to him it made the entire satyr race seem like a bunch of idiots. Instead of continuing to search above ground, they should have been searching in the underground, where their lord would have known they would never go and would have therefore thought it was the perfect place to hide.

(He took a deep breath,... I won't let you down.")

Grover's eyes widened. He was really going to willingly go underground? Sure, he liked Percy and wanted to keep him safe, but...

Chiron smiled, he knew there was more to that satyr than Grover ever let himself believe. Maybe this would prove everything he'd ever been telling Grover .

(I felt so relieved... than a few months.)

Sally let out an explosive sigh and leaned forward with her head in her hands while Paul wrapped an arm around her.

"Mom?" Both Percy's asked, worried. The two of them started to get up to see what was wrong, but Paul waved them off.

"She's fine, just mad about... something. Don't worry, boys." He said reassuringly. He had a feeling he knew what she was mad about, but he also didn't want his step-son to think it was his fault. The boys sank back down in their seats, but kept shooting their mother worried looks.

Hera smiled at seeing yet another example of the relationship that mothers and their children should have. Regardless of the boys father, this was fast becoming her favorite family just for how Sally and Percy treated each other.

(I wasn't sure what good a satyr could do)

"Hey!" Both Grover's protested. Grover took it one step further and hit his friend over the back of his head, causing Percy to lean away from him and raise his hands, either in surrender or defense. Who knew.

"I'm not that hopeless," Grover muttered with a scowl.

(against the forces of the dead,)

"Oh, ok. Yeah, not much." Both Grover's conceded with a grimace.

"Well, I can do more now than I could back then, but..." Grover continued with a shrug. Percy smirked at him.

Hades just smirked at the satyr's.

(but I felt better knowing he'd be with me.)

"Aw, thanks buddy."

"No problem, man."

("All the way, G-man."... it's in America.")

Percy sighed explosively, "WHERE in America?" He asked, exasperated. Honestly, what was with people and not answering his older self questions properly?

Chiron gave him a funny look.

("Where?")

Faces met palms all over the room as Percy crossed his arms across his chest and nodded imperiously.

(Chiron looked surprised... is in Los Angeles.")

"Chiron, he has only known about the Greek world for a week, and you never showed him the video! How on earth would that be obvious?" Sally asked, exasperated with the centaur's seeming memory lapses where her son was concerned.

Chiron turned a bright red as he realized. "My apologies, I fear I might have become a little too, ah, accustomed to what I would consider facts of life to consider sometimes that others won't always have the same information." He said softly, mentally reviewing his behavior with new campers and seeing if he did the same thing to them, too.

("Oh," I said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane-")

"No!" Poseidon, his wife and Triton, Sally, and most of the demigods yelled.

Percy got a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face as he said quickly, "I know! I know, flying is bad, I am aware of that now."

Poseidon breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. My brother does not show the same restraint that I show my nieces and nephews when it comes to them being in his territory." Everyone who had been confused about why Percy shouldn't fly, now understood.

("No!" Grover shrieked... died in a plane crash.)

"While those are both true and valid reasons, they were not my only reasons." Sally said with a slight glare towards Zeus. She determinedly avoided looking in Gabe's direction.

("Percy, think," Chiron... come down again alive.")

"Just to make this clear now, all of you are welcome to spend time in the sea as often as you like." Poseidon said, looking at the sons and daughters of Zeus and Hades. The fact that half of said pair was Roman the other was Greek made it slightly ironic to his mind, especially considering they were opposites. The son and daughter of Hades and Zeus, versus the daughter and son of Pluto and Jupiter. The Greek pair were also the oldest, which also represented the Greek/Roman mess pretty well. Their Greek halves were older than their Roman halves, not to mention slightly... wilder. Certainly less disciplined.

The four demigods, especially the two Romans, looked startled before they smiled at him. He could understand Hazel and Jason's reaction though, the Romans always feared the sea. He wasn't quite sure why, it wasn't like he couldn't cause just as much, if not more, damage on dry land. He wasn't called the Earthshaker for nothing. But then again... they did live in California... but those quakes were mostly Hades fault. He was quicker to lash out than Poseidon.

(Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.)

Several people rolled their eyes at the dramatics. He was such a drama-queen!

("Okay," I said, determined... if you will accept her help.")

"Gee, I wonder who that would have been." Thalia drawled sarcastically, looking towards her 'younger sister'.

Annabeth smirked at her while Percy, for some reason, groaned and hit his head on the back of the couch. Athena was already resolving to lecture her daughter's on the dangers of sea-spawn and why they were to not hang out with them. She didn't like how close her daughter and this one were, and she would not have her younger Annabeth falling for his charms too. The fact that her daughter was apparently going on a quest with this sea-spawn only made her resolve to speak with the girls sooner.

("Gee," I said, feigning... for a quest like this?")

Thalia blinked once, and then bashed her head against the back of her own couch (that was happening a lot, wasn't it?) before muttering about how she thought like Kelp-for-Brains.

She ignored Percy and Annabeth smirking at her or the soft snickers that came from Nico (everyone else decided long ago to stay out of any potential fight the three cousins might have, their fights were legendary in camp, like the one between Percy and Thalia during Capture the Flag after the Maine fiasco), who once again held a plate with some blue birthday cake on it. Seriously, where was that coming from?

(The air shimmered behind... into her back pocket.)

Annabeth became wistful again, thinking of her beloved Yankees cap. She wished she knew why it no longer worked.

("I've been waiting a... from messing up.")

Athena nodded in agreement to that. A child of hers was the best when it came to keeping others from messing up. Although, Annabeth was going to have her hands full keeping the sea-spawn in line.

("If you do say... a plan, wise girl?")

"Always." Both Annabeth's crowed. Percy smirked at his girlfriend proudly.

(Her cheeks colored... all the help I could get.)

"Very true. Boys do need all the help they can get." Artemis said quietly with a raised eyebrow. She was, against her better judgement perhaps, starting to like this boy. He didn't have the arrogance or views on women that she found most males to possess.

("A trio," I said. "That'll work.")

"A trio is how it always works because that is usually what is safest." Apollo murmured.

Athena nodded, although she gave Apollo a dark look. "Three is a powerful number." She agreed simply.

("Excellent," Chiron said... supposed to have violent weather.)

"That was terrifying." Will whispered. The others who were there, including Luke, grimaced in agreement. They had no clue what was going on.

The other gods were angry that Zeus was punishing their children like that when nobody had done anything wrong. No matter what he seemed to think Percy had done.

("No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing.")

Poseidon closed the book with a soft snap. "That's the chapter. Who wants to read next?" He asked. He was torn, on the one hand, he wanted to hear about his sons quest, on the other hand, he really didn't want to read about his son venturing down to the Underworld. Oh, he really hoped Percy could keep his 'act first, think later' tendencies under control when speaking with Hades. Hades was the opposite of him, it didn't take much for him to get annoyed, and he could hold grudges for centuries.

After a moment, he was surprised when Zoe raised her hand and said she would read. She would never admit this to anyone, but she was becoming intrigued by this male hero.

Once she opened the book and found the right chapter, she raised an eyebrow and read... Chapter ten: I ruin a perfectly good bus"

She looked at Percy, who shifted while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly while avoiding Annabeth's slight glare. After a moment, he shot a glare at Hades before settling back down and asking that she read, her question wasn't going to be answered by staring at him.

Chapter 14: I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underlined).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

Once she opened the book and found the right chapter, she raised an eyebrow and read... Chapter ten: I ruin a perfectly good bus"

She looked at Percy, who shifted while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly while avoiding Annabeth's slight glare. After a moment, he shot a glare at Hades before settling back down and asking that she read, her question wasn't going to be answered by staring at him.

Zoe raised an eyebrow, but read anyway.

(It didn't take me... had found for me.)

"That was all he owned, and then we lost it not even five hours into the quest." Grover said, ignoring Percy's muttering about stupid, evil math teachers and lightning happy uncles.

Everyone else looked at Percy like he was finally losing it.

(The camp store... golden drachmas.)

"It wasn't a loan, we don't expect to be paid back. Just the fact that you came back at all would be good enough." Chiron said absently.

Sally's eyes widened. Does he have to say it like that?! Seriously!

(These coins were... than pure gold.)

"Of course we don't. Why would we?" Athena sniffed.

(Chiron said the coins... whatever that meant.)

Sally sighed. She really hoped Annabeth at least answered his questions. If not, then it was a good thing her son was good at figuring things out on the fly and making up workable plans as he went.

(He gave Annabeth and... lethal to us mortals.)

"Which is part of why it's so hard for the Romans to get. Our healers have such a limited amount, its used in only the strictest of emergencies where there is still a chance to save them, but not by normal healing means." Reyna said with a frown. "Meanwhile, you Greeks are handing it out like candy."

"Maybe because we are closer to Olympus?" Percy suggested. "Or, the Greek counterparts are less disciplined and closer to their kids..." He said hesitantly.

"Let's go with the second part." Poseidon said with a shrug. He personally didn't care. In the past few centuries, he'd only had one child as Neptune. The Romans were just that terrified of him, for reasons he still couldn't quite figure out. No, the only presence he'd really had in New Rome in a long time was Frank's family. And he still found that lineage to be both amusing and slightly confusing. The boy was a Greek-Chinese-Canadian Roman. To top it off, they were also blessed by him and often had Hestia's attention over the centuries. If that wasn't a combination...

(Too much of it... us up, literally.)

Sally shuddered. She did not want to hear about her baby burning up.

"One of the reasons why only the healers are allowed to handle either substance. I can't believe you just hand it around like candy." Reyna said in disbelief.

"Our campers are heavily warned of the risks. They are also highly trained so that hopefully such an emergency doesn't arise." Chiron said a little sternly. He didn't like her suggesting that he was lax in training his campers. He knew that he wasn't nearly as strict as Lupa was... but he also knew that some of his average skilled campers could take out one of Lupa's best any day of the week, purely because the Greek fighting style was so chaotic and unpredictable compared to the Romans.

Reyna shrunk back in her seat, she had a bad feeling she just insulted the old teacher.

(Annabeth was bringing... when she got bored,)

A bunch of the demigods found that to be highly amusing, to the confusion of the younger ones, Sally, and Paul.

"Be quiet, all of you! I was young, and naïve. I know the truth of the matter now. Besides, the book was left behind on the bus when we had to abandon it, and I don't want to lose another perfectly good book like that again." Annabeth said, pulling her knife out threateningly when they wouldn't stop laughing at her.

They stopped pretty quick. But the younger ones and the two mortals were still confused.

(and a long bronze... a metal detector.)

Sally snorted. "Like that ever stopped you before..." She muttered. And ignored the grins sent her way by the boys.

Poseidon frowned towards Hermes. "Are you sure that Sally isn't one of yours? At least somewhere down the line... grandparents? Something? Because I know he didn't get ALL this from me."

"I don't know... I'll look into it tonight." Hermes said, looking at Sally thoughtfully. Mentally, he told the others that he had already asked Athena to look into it, and that she could also be descended from another pantheon.

"At any rate, Celestial Bronze doesn't show up on mortal equipment. At least, not as a metal. It might show up as an energy source, or on infrared, but not on metal detectors. Another part of the Mist." Annabeth explained.

(Grover wore his fake... apples to snack on.)

Grover groaned again about perfectly good tin cans being wasted and glared at Zeus for a bit.

(In his pocket was... "So Yesterday,")

"Thank goodness he learned more songs over the years." Most of the Greeks muttered. Grover turned red, but didn't say anything. A few people were confused on who Hilary Duff was. Mostly those (Reyna, Hazel, and Jason, for example) who had either been raised in the legion, or were more busy with demigod stuff to pay attention. Hazel, of course, was dead and had no idea what kind of music or technology was around these days.

(In his pocket was... "So Yesterday,")

"Thank goodness he learned more songs over the years." Most of the Greeks muttered. Grover turned red, but didn't say anything. A few people were confused on who Hilary Duff was. Mostly those (Reyna, Hazel, and Jason, for example) who had either been raised in the legion, or were more busy with demigod stuff to pay attention. Hazel, of course, was dead and had no idea what kind of music or technology was around these days.

(both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.)

Grover turned red and muttered something about not having much time. Grover just said that they may not sound good, but they had their own uses.

(We waved good-bye... daughter of Zeus.)

"Ugh, how long are you going to describe it like that?" Thalia groaned, slumping back into her chair. She really didn't like it when they said it like that, especially since she was here now. Alive, and most certainly not a tree.

(Chiron was waiting... face, and neck.)

Hera smiled proudly. He was her greatest creation. Hephaestus and Ares saw her look and grumbled to each other about how they never got looks like that. All she did was nag and nag about who even knew what half the time.

If there was one thing those two could and would agree on, it was how much they disliked their mother sometimes.

("This is Argus,"... an eye on things.")

All the Greeks groaned. "Enough with the bad Argus puns."

"Yeah, those weren't even funny the first time we heard them."

"He really needs to come up with something new." Was heard all around the room. Even Hermes and Apollo joined in. Hera shot them all dark looks, this was her Argus they were talking about. (She thought anyway.)

(I heard footsteps... of basketball shoes.)

"Were you in such a hurry to catch them, that you forgot your shoes?" Thalia asked him with a weird look on her face.

"Not exactly." Luke told her with a scowl. Those shoes almost killed Grover and Percy. He hadn't known why exactly he was told to give the shoes to Percy, he was just told to make sure Percy got the quest, and give him the shoes. Kronos would take care of the rest.

("Hey!" he panted... Luke was around.)

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Annabeth asked Percy. He just shrugged. Because, honestly, probably not.

Athena narrowed her eyes again and started thinking of ways again to get her Annabeth and the son of Hermes together. She may not approve of some of Hermes' ways (theft and pranking and the like), but it was better than the Seaspawn.

("Just wanted to... kind of normal.)

"Seriously, you smelled them?" Thalia asked her cousin incredulously.

"What? If they smelled weird, then that meant he wore them a lot, and I didn't want any of that touching my feet! I can't stand wearing other people's worn out shoes." Percy defended himself. "I mean, I will if I have to, but..."

Sally sighed. That is probably left over from all the times they had to get clothes and shoes from consignment shops or Goodwill. Most of those stores had a policy of making sure clothing was clean and in good condition. Others... not so much.

(Luke said, " Maia!")

"Ah." Hermes said. "Are you trying to help, or..." He trailed off as he looked at his older son. Luke grimaced, which told Hermes all he needed to know. Those shoes were a trap. Luke frowned at both his older self and his father.

(White bird's wings... "Awesome!" Grover said.)

"They are, aren't they?" Hermes said, activating the wings on his own shoes. Just because.

(Luke smiled. "Those... as much as Annabeth.)

"Oh?" Thalia said teasingly.

"Not like that." Percy growled. To prove his point, he put his arm around Annabeth, you know, his girlfriend. Thalia just raised her arms in surrender.

But her smirk got bigger.

("Hey, man," I said... for me, okay?")

Hermes leaned towards his older son, and murmured, "You wanted to warn him, didn't you?"

Luke sighed, "Yeah, but..." He paused and shook his head, Hermes gave him a look and sighed before patting his shoulder. Luke's frown deepened and he started wondering if his older self hadn't told their father everything, and why. He also started panicking slightly at the thought of them knowing now, he wasn't expecting to leave the throne room alive anymore.

(We shook hands... between his horns,)

"I'm not a dog." Grover grumbled. If anybody asked, he did not enjoy that, at all. His goat half did not momentarily take over and cause him to enjoy it. Nope. Did not happen.

(then gave a... might pass out.)

Athena nodded. Yup, the son of Hermes would be a much better partner for her daughter.

(After Luke was... you, didn't you?")

A few people laughed. "Yeah right, like Annabeth would ever..." They trailed off when they noticed

Annabeth's red face and the fact that she was not looking at any of them.

"What? You did?"

No comment.

("Oh... why do... with you, Percy?")

"Because I'm a lovable, cute, daring son of Poseidon." Percy quipped. A few snickered, Athena glared again, and Poseidon added under his breath that he also had a natural leadership quality that drew people to him.

Percy reached over to high-five his older self, and Annabeth went back to curiously studying the older couple. They seemed quite close despite being children of Athena and Poseidon.

(She stomped down... jingling his car keys.)

"Huh, you use white, we use black." Reyna muttered, for some strange reason picking up on that one fact.

"Well, our camps are kind of opposites..." Percy said with a shrug.

"My grandmother would be able to spout so many Chinese proverbs just from what color of SUV we use. Just the fact that they are black and white would probably have her lecturing us on the principles of Ying and Yang." Frank muttered.

Percy frowned. "Well, if you think about it, that actually fits us perfectly. We are both different sides of the coin, and we might be stronger together." He said.

"Hmm, maybe. We'll see." Reyna said. Gwen nodded beside her. She was being really quiet.

(I picked up the... use these, will I?")

"No, no you would not." Annabeth muttered.

"Why not?" Luke asked.

"Because those are flying shoes." Percy reminded him. Luke looked like they just explained the answers to the universe to him.

He had wondered about that. After all, Percy had seemed to love the shoes, but then gave them to Grover. He never even considered that Percy couldn't use them for fear of being struck down by Zeus.

(He shook his head... then I got an idea.)

"Uh-oh."

"Hey!"

("Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?")

"Hey, I just realized, you never mentioned having a weapon with you." Dakota suddenly said. He'd been surprisingly quiet... the Romans were beginning to suspect that his sugar-induced craziness wasn't all quite real.

"That's because I didn't have a weapon at this point. Don't worry, I got one before I left." Percy said. Sally was relieved.

Seriously, though, what was Chiron thinking, letting him run off on a quest without a weapon?

(His eyes lit up... ready for launch.)

A few people chuckled at Percy's unique way of putting things. Grover got a bad feeling that he was forgetting something about this...

("Maia!" he shouted.)

"Oh no. Oh, please no." Grover said. He had forgotten about this... somehow. How did he forget about this? Oh, wait, evil demon grandmothers blowing up the bus he was on.

That's how he forgot about this.

A few people looked at him curiously, while a few others looked at him as if he was crazy. The rest were leaning forward in anticipation wanting to know what had Grover so worried. They were just shoes... right?

(He got off the... through the grass.)

People started snickering as they somewhat started to realize what was happening here. Grover's face was starting to get dangerously red with embarrassment.

(The winged shoes... like tiny broncos.)

Hermes winced. "Those shoes can be... temperamental, at first. They will settle down, though." He said with an apologetic shrug in Grover's direction.

("Practice," Chiron... need practice!")

"I'm afraid it's not that simple with those shoes." Hermes said again. Luke looked slightly horrified.

He completely forgot to warn Percy about this! Grover could have gotten seriously injured while the shoes had their little tantrum.

("Aaaaa!" Grover went... heading toward the van.)

A few people laughed at the mental image Percy provided, a few more were too horrified and worried for Grover, and a couple were looking at Percy like he suddenly developed two heads.

Grover himself got into a whispered argument with Percy about whether or not he really looked like a possessed lawn mower. Grover lost.

(Before I could follow... all got more training.")

"Yes, they all got several years more training before they were sent out on actual quests. You, however, only had, what, a week? Maybe two?" Poseidon asked, worried.

"Not to mention, he doesn't have a weapon on him." Sally muttered. She was amazed that she was staying so calm right now. But, she figured she would freak out again later. Like, when her son faced Medusa. She knew it happened, how else would he have been able to give her the head to get rid of Gabe. She had just avoided asking for details.

Percy smiled at him, "It's ok, we all made it back safely. I had Annabeth and Grover with me." He said. Zoe said nothing, just looked at him for a moment before she turned back to the book.

She still hated men, and thought they would all be better served as Jackalopes, but... maybe Jackson wasn't so bad. His mother certainly raised him well.

("That's okay. I just... Annabeth's invisible cap.)

"Eh, I got something much cooler." Percy said, smirking.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him. "Just because your sword comes back to you whenever you lose it..." She started.

"It's also collapsible. AND, I bet that I could write with it if I need to. I haven't tried it yet though..." Percy interrupted, and then promptly got Riptide out so he could test his new theory. Once he had it out, he examined it for a moment, before putting the cap to the end to the hilt, like you would put the cap of a pen on the end so it didn't get lost. Sure enough, the sword shrunk back down to pen form, except now there was a tip to write with. "Cool!" He said.

Nobody noticed some of the MS shaking their heads and looking at another one who had his arms around one of the girls. (They could tell from the blue and pink trim in the hoods, they just noticed it.) The one the were all looking at shrugged.

Annabeth stared at him for a moment, before she huffed and decided to drop her argument for this new discovery. "You don't even know if there's ink in it." She pointed out.

"Anybody have any paper on them?" He asked, only for a notebook to show up in front of him. "Thank you!" And then, he just started writing in it. "Sweet! I never have to carry a pen in school ever again! Although I will have to be careful about people seeing me pull out a sword in the middle of class..." He mumbled while everyone stared at him.

A sword that collapsed into pen form, and still wrote. Who knew?

"Chiron..." Poseidon started. "Should you not have given him the sword by now? In the book?" He looked at Chiron, wondering if perhaps they shouldn't give him a vacation. He seemed to be getting rather absent-minded. He would still be a trainer, but maybe a fifty year vacation would do him some good. Get away for a while.

Chiron frowned. "I hope I didn't..." He trailed off.

("What am I thinking?"... away without this.")

"Ah, there we go." Chiron said in relief. Maybe he needed a vacation. He hadn't had one in three thousand years after all...

(He pulled a pen from his coat pocket)

"I carry it on me at all times." Chiron declared. To prove his point, he pulled another Riptide out of his pocket. Poseidon nodded in approval.

(and handed it to... Probably cost thirty cents.)

"Not quite." Everyone who had ever seen Percy whip that pen out and take out monsters like he was taking a stroll in the park said. The Romans shivered just thinking about the war games. That had been equal parts awe-inspiring and terrifying. They just hadn't known how to deal with Percy on the battlefield.

Percy smirked.

("Gee," I said. "Thanks."... who I was waiting for.)

Percy cocked his head to the side, and turned to look at his father. Everybody could read the question in his eyes.

Poseidon shrugged. "I gave it to Chiron when you were born. I knew, despite your mothers protests, that you would eventually find your way to camp. Honestly, I'm surprised it took you as long as it did... but, I suppose I underestimated the stubborn nature of Sally Jackson. I left a necklace with him too..." He said, and turned to face Chiron.

Chiron reached into his bag, and pulled said necklace out. It, like Riptide in pen form, didn't look like much. There were two small, gold charms on it. One, in the shape of a sword, the other, a shield. Poseidon reached out and took it from him, staring at it with a frown.

Percy, wisely, figured out that it was supposed to be Lily's, but since nobody knew where she was...

(But the prophecy... You are the one.")

Percy groaned in frustration. "Maybe I don't want to be the one." He muttered petulantly. Chiron just smiled sadly at him.

(I remembered the... sword. Could this be...?)

"You know, Perce, when Chiron covered you with the Mist, you weren't supposed to remember any of these details. Or that Mrs. Dodds even existed." Grover said bluntly. Percy just shrugged while Poseidon coughed and looked at his wife innocently.

"Its the ocean's essence. It makes it difficult for the Mist to be effectively manipulated around children of the Sea. Depending on how powerful the child is and how strong their connection to the Sea is, the Mist will either have absolutely no effect at all, or the Mist will do more than it was supposed to." Amphitrite said after glaring at her husband.

"I didn't know that." Chiron said, staring at his half-brother.

Poseidon shrugged. "None of us keep it secret exactly, we just don't make it known."

"It's all part of the oceans, and Poseidon's, unpredictable nature." Triton said with a shrug.

The more Percy and Annabeth heard, the more they felt it explained some of, if not all of, Percy's behavior over the years.

(I took off the cap... balanced in my hand.)

"Made from the ocean." Poseidon murmured.

"And he'd been fighting pretty well up to that point using the swords in the armory that weren't balanced for him. Once he did have a balanced sword in hand..." Luke said, somewhat proudly. They may have been enemies, but Luke still taught Percy everything he could and he'd been quite proud of his student, even while trying to kill him.

("The sword has... "Its name is Anaklusmos.")

Zoe paused and Artemis touched her arm, silently asking if she was alright. She nodded and kept reading. She had a feeling that her history would come up eventually. After all, that girl, Thalia, said she was the new Lieutenant of the Hunt, so something obviously happened to her.

("Riptide," I translated... came so easily.)

"It should. I wouldn't be surprised if Latin came easily to you as well. As is often the case with some of the more powerful demigods." Chiron said.

Percy coughed. "It actually has been coming pretty easily to me while I was in the Roman camp. It never came that easily before though..." He said with a frown.

"Hm, I imagine that to be because outside of class at Yancy, you never really had anything to do with Latin, at Camp we always speak Greek or English. But, now that you are in the Roman camp, and being exposed to more Latin then Greek..." Chiron trailed off thoughtfully.

Hermes thought back to his thought earlier about Sally being descended from either himself or another Pantheon's version of himself. Now he was thinking maybe his Roman half...

("Use it only for... absolutely necessary,)

"Yeah, Percy. What were you thinking?" Rachel taunted suddenly.

"I was being chased by skeletons who wouldn't die and you surprised me! What was I supposed to do?" Percy exclaimed, surprised that she brought this up now. He thought they buried this hatchet years ago.

"Skeletons?" Hades demanded. Percy waved him off with a mumbled, "It's a long story."

Thalia and Grover grimaced and started grumbling about how much they hated those things. Luke shrunk down on himself and smiled sheepishly when they both turned to glare at him.

(of course, but this... wickedly sharp blade.)

"Yeah, it looked like it could do plenty of damage to me." Percy explained.

("What do you mean... mortals like an illusion.)

"It does provide a good momentary distraction though if your cornered and need to escape." Annabeth admitted, thinking about the gang in Los Angeles. Percy shrugged. That hadn't been what he really meant to happen, but... hey, it worked.

(They simply are... the blade to kill.)

"Hey!" Paul complained. Rachel just glared at the old centaur and huffed.

(And I should warn... twice as vulnerable.")

"That doesn't mean what I think it does, does it?" Paul muttered.

"Yup, I can be killed with a steel bullet just as easily as with a celestial bronze blade. Unlike monsters that can only be harmed with celestial bronze." Percy said cheerfully. The others snorted in amusement, but grinned just as cheerfully and nodded in agreement.

Paul just stared at them, wondering how on earth they could be so cheerful discussing their own deaths.

What he didn't know was that they weren't cheerful at all. They were actually kind of scared of dying, they quite liked living, thank you very much. But, they pretended it didn't bother them so much because, during the war, they kind of had to have that attitude to try and keep the younger campers somewhat calm. Over time, the cheerful mask just stuck.

That, and they were demigods. This was their life. It was dangerous, and once you made it to camp, you got used to the idea of dying pretty quick. Especially after a session of sword training with Percy.

It also helped that they all knew where they were going when they died, as demigods they had several options. Elysium, rebirth and trying for the Isles of the Blest, or hoping their parent steps in and offers them immortality. That last one was probably never going to happen, but they could always dream.

Of course, there was always the fear that they would have a repeat of what happened with Thalia and they would end up as trees or something for the rest of the world's existence.

("Good to know."... ballpoint pen again.)

"That is seriously cool though." Leo muttered while his hands fiddled with some parts. His cappuccino machine lay forgotten behind them all while he put together some bits and pieces he needed to finish it. He paused and wondered if he could figure out how to make something like Riptide. Not exactly like that, obviously. Like Chiron said, the sword had a long history, that, and it was made in the sea. But maybe...

(I tucked it in... losing pens at school.)

"Yes, you were/are." Both Grover's muttered. He'd gone through a lot of pens giving them to Percy. And he knew that Chiron had lent him a lot of pens during the year too.

"Yes, I know." Chiron informed Percy with a small smile. How many times just in the first semester had Percy needed a pen because he lost his, yet he swore up and down that it was in his pocket when he left the dorm.

"Well, luckily Riptide is not an ordinary pen." Percy said sheepishly.

("You can't," Chiron said.

"Can't what?"

"Lose the pen,")

"Can he read minds?" Percy whispered to Triton.

Triton grinned and whispered back, "No, but he was Percy's teacher in school, so he would know of his habit of losing pens, so he probably figured out what he was worried about from the look on his face."

"Oh."

(he said. "It is... your pocket. Try it.")

"The only downside is if I'm not wearing anything with pockets in them." Percy complained, thinking of the incident in the gym during the dodgeball game. Those monsters took the game a little too seriously.

"I so need to recreate that." Leo muttered absently as he put some more parts together. Some of them did not want to go together. Beckendorf and Hephaestus watched in interest, but otherwise let him be.

(I was wary, but... in the grass.)

"It would have been such a pain to find it again if it didn't come back." Percy muttered. He was so glad the pen came back and Chiron's little demonstration with his sword didn't fail. That would have been really bad.

("It may take a... the pen was there.)

"I have to get something like that." Jason muttered. He would be perfectly happy with the sword/spear coin he used to have though. Stupid giant.

("Okay, that's extremely... powerful thing, Percy.")

"Only if used correctly and on the right people..." Thalia said, thinking about what Poseidon and his family said earlier about it not affecting those from the sea as much as others. Plus, mortals like Sally and Rachel, who just weren't affected by it at all.

("Mist?"

"Yes. Read The Iliad... version of reality.")

Sally and Rachel both sighed. "Chiron, you forgot to mention that some of us mortals can see through the Mist." Sally said. She was starting to get frustrated with how much information the teacher was forgetting to tell her boy.

Chiron inclined his head in agreement, but didn't say anything, merely looked apologetic.

"And that's a very simple explanation." Athena murmured.

(I put Riptide back... the Land of the Dead.)

"A good sword is all you really need most of the time." Ares muttered.

"Provided, of course, that you actually know how to use that good sword." Athena added with a raised eyebrow in his direction. He waved her off impatiently.

("Chiron..." I said... before them, right?")

Zeus scowled. He didn't like acknowledging that.

A few others frowned, they couldn't figure out where Percy was going with this.

("Four ages before... before the gods?")

"Not good." Aphrodite muttered. As the only one there who lived through it... there were a few other minor gods, well... technically Zoe was there too, but she was isolated in her garden with her sisters.

When the demigods looked at her curiously, she sighed, "I'm the oldest one here, I was born not long after Kronos took control. You forget, he's something like my older half-brother. So, I was around then. Trust me, it was not a good time for anyone who wasn't a Titan, a sibling, or one of their children." She said, glancing at Zoe, who frowned, but shrugged and nodded. She didn't mention Chiron. He didn't like advertising who his father was, and he was born towards the end of Kronos reign anyway, he was practically still a foal when Zeus took over.

(Chiron pursed his lips... of cheap entertainment.)

A few of the older Greeks glanced towards Luke and Chris, remembering what Chris told them they were promised. Luke and Chris exchanged looks, hindsight was, as they say, twenty-twenty.

(It was only in the... up everything, right?")

"Oh." That was where he was going with it. Chiron smiled sadly at Percy. Yet another child who was burdened with the fate of the known world. Sometimes he really hated his relatives. Especially when their kids had to go through the hard times while pondering if their parents really cared.

Sally frowned. This was part of why she didn't want her son going to that camp, they would train him, then expect him to go fight and, because of his parentage, they would expect him to fight the big fights that no child should ever be burdened with.

(Chiron gave me a... suffer such a doom,)

Zeus scowled, he did not like thinking about this, he did his best not to acknowledge the fact that if the Fates decided, his rule would come to an end, and there was nothing he could do about it.

(or that we should... war in human history.")

"So, no pressure or anything." Will muttered. Percy overheard and just snorted.

"Chiron, maybe you should have just left it at telling him to keep a clear head." Paul said, putting a comforting arm around Sally when she groaned, worried.

("Relax," I said. "I'm very relaxed.")

Annabeth turned and raised an eyebrow in his direction, which he just shrugged at.

(When I got to... Thalia, daughter of Zeus,)

"How many times are you going to comment on that?" Thalia grumbled, annoyed with the constant reminders that she used to be a tree.

(Chiron was now... your typical centaur.)

"I love your sarcasm, sometimes, Prissy." Clarisse said. Percy shrugged. A few people just chuckled.

(Argus drove us out... were normal carpoolers.)

A few Greeks nodded, it did feel really strange to be out and about in the mortal world again after a couple weeks in camp. Watching all those people who had no idea that there was this whole other world right under their noses that they weren't aware of, and never would be if they had any say in it.

(After two weeks at... not a single monster.")

One of the MS, the one that the others seemed to be paying the most attention to during all this, leaned forward and slapped his hand against his forehead, repeatedly.

"No!" Everyone moaned.

"Percy, why would you say that?" Nico demanded.

"This was my first quest! I didn't know any better yet!"

"Don't worry, he learned." Annabeth assured everyone.

(She gave me an... way, seaweed brain.")

Several nodded in agreement. That was very bad luck to talk that way.

("Remind me again-... "I don't hate you.")

"Could've fooled us." Clarisse muttered. Annabeth shot her a look, which she ignored. Rachel watched in interest, she didn't know that Annabeth used to hate Percy, you would have never guessed from how they acted now.

("Could've fooled me.")

"See, Prissy agrees."

(She folded her cap... parents are rivals.")

"What does how your mother and I act around each have anything to do with you?" Poseidon asked Annabeth seriously. She turned red, because, honestly, it didn't. Her mother and Poseidon may not get along, but that didn't mean she couldn't get along with children of Poseidon.

("Why?"

She sighed. "How... is hugely disrespectful.)

"Oh, for crying out loud." Poseidon muttered. "For the last time, she wasn't my girlfriend. I only went in there because I thought that she wouldn't dare try anything in somebodies temple, I was wrong. I was trying to get away from her. I couldn't go home, because Amphitrite was having her sisters over, and my palace was over-run by females!"

"Oh, please, you really expect any of us to believe that? Why won't you just admit it already?" Athena scoffed.

Amphitrite frowned at her. "Maybe because he has been telling the truth. A truth you refuse to believe because then it would mean admitting you were wrong about something. We had been having problems with Medusa stalking Poseidon for months before that incident, no matter how many times we had her arrested, or escorted off Olympus or out of Atlantis. We had seven different restraining orders out on her. As I have told you before. Poseidon would never disrespect one of his family like that."

All the demigods blinked, and the Athena kids frowned. The history books all had Athena's version of events in them. There had been nothing about Medusa stalking Poseidon. So, which version did they trust? They didn't know what to think right now. They knew that history tended to be written by the winners, but...

Athena narrowed her eyes at Amphitrite, but Zoe decided it would be best if they kept reading. They could continue this argument when the children weren't in the room. No doubt it would get messy, again. Personally though, she was on Poseidon's side, she was one of those who was asked several times to escort Medusa off Olympus because she was getting too bold with the Lord of the Seas.

(Another time, Athena... saltwater spring for his gift.)

Poseidon sighed. "I honestly wasn't trying. This was right after the fiasco with Medusa, I was trying to not rile her up anymore than she already was. My original plan for my gift was this very rare, very delicious herb that only grows in the deepest parts of the ocean. It's so rare we never even bothered to name it. But, it is delicious. I was going to give them some, along with a way to grow it themselves. I've found that it can be grown above sea in the right conditions." He said with a shrug. Athena narrowed her eyes.

"That's why you had our divers searching for it, and then suddenly called them off right after everything with Medusa." Amphitrite said in understanding. He never told her what his idea for the competition for the city would be until the day of. He had wanted to surprise her with it, to say she had been less than impressed and confused at the 'big reveal' had been an understatement. Poseidon shrugged.

(My mom created... really like olives.")

"Well, they did use olive oil for everything." Hermes said.

"Including medicine." Apollo added.

"Or to show off their wealth." Demeter said.

("Oh, forget it."...I could understand.")

Athena scowled.

"What is with you and pizza?" Clarisse asked fondly, although to those who did not know the true extent of hers and Percy's relationship, she just seemed to be annoyed.

"Pizza is delicious. Almost as good as my moms cookies." Percy proclaimed, staring at her as if she grew another head. Clarisse rolled her eyes and shook her head. She knew there was more to it, but she didn't push. Sally smiled sadly. They couldn't often afford much by way of food when the kids were younger, especially before she met Gabe. Pizza was always a rare treat, so the kids always enjoyed it when they could get it. She tried to always set some money aside so they could at least go for their birthdays.

("I said, forget it!"... his neck winked at me.)

"You think he knew?" Annabeth whispered to Percy, who just grinned and shrugged.

"He might have guessed. He has been around fo a long time, he's probably seen other couples that fight like we used to before getting together." He whispered back.

(Traffic slowed us down... mom and Gabe's apartment.)

Annabeth wrapped an arm around him, and he looked towards his mom, as if to reassure himself that they got her out. She was home, safe, and away from Gabe.

(Taped to a mailbox... YOU SEEN THIS BOY?)

"Honestly, though. Did he have to use that picture? It was one of those horrible school pictures, you know, the ones where you stand there and the photographer has you make this weird face that is supposed to be a smile?" Percy ranted.

Annabeth looked amused as she patted him on the arm consolingly. Inwardly, she was laughing her head off as he continued grumbling about stupid school photographers and Yancy Academy.

(I ripped it down... Grover could notice.)

"Oh, we noticed it." Annabeth and Grover both chimed in, Percy just groaned and said that of course they did.

(Argus unloaded our... then drove away,)

Sally blinked. That was... he honestly just left a couple of kids and a satyr standing there at the bus station? In New York?! Where anything could happen? Sure, it was pretty safe if you knew what to watch out for and where not to go, but... still. He just left them there.

(the eye on the back... poker, not even missing her.)

There were a few growls coming from the older demigods. In there not-so-humble opinions, it was impossible not to miss Sally. Sally was amazing. And no, the fact that she opened up her home to any demigod that needed a place to crash for the night or medical care had little to nothing to do with it. She was the kind of person that just drew you in, and made you want to never let her go.

(Grover shouldered his... something?"

"Just your emotions.")

"I thought you said he was almost impossible to read?" Rachel said, confused.

"He is." Grover said. "The key word there being almost. There are times when some of his emotions are strong enough that I can pick them out of the jumbled mess his emotions generally are. In that case, it didn't take much to realize what he was thinking or feeling when I noticed where he was looking." He said with a shrug. Percy smiled slightly in Grover's direction.

(He shrugged. "Guess... forgotten to tell me.)

"I think I told you everything relevant..." Grover muttered.

Percy narrowed his eyes at him. "You never told me about the Empathy link, you just did it." He said deadpan. Grover blinked at him, then turned red. Oh, yeah...

He quickly recovered, ignoring his younger self staring at him in disbelief. "That was an emergency! And besides, I offered to dissolve it once we were back at camp and safe. You're the one who decided to keep it." He grumbled.

("Your mom married... him for a week.")

A few people, particularly the girls, were disgusted. Of course, they had already smelled Gabe for themselves, but to hear that Percy still smelled like him even after a week of being at Camp, surrounded by other demigods, and the woods... the fact that Percy still smelled like that a week later... that was truly disgusting.

They were also suddenly grateful that they didn't have the enhanced sense of smell that Satyrs did.

("Thanks," I said. "Where's the nearest shower?")

"Said sarcastically as he possibly could." Grover muttered. Seriously though, was it weird that one of the things he missed the most about his friend was his sarcasm?

Percy heard him and grinned.

("You should be grateful... of any demigod.)

"A good solution, unfortunately, you brought the monster right into your home." Poseidon muttered with a frown. He wasn't trying to blame her or anything, she wasn't exactly safe there either, but still! Sally frowned too and looked ashamed.

Ashamed that she had no idea what was going on in her own home, to her children.

(As soon as I took... you feel any better.")

While Sally nodded her head with a sad smile, because she did love her kids, Percy shook his head. "Thanks for trying, Grover." He whispered. He didn't like all this talk of his mother being gone.

Honestly, the older kids were actually getting a little worried, he was being a little too quiet on the subject for their liking.

Triton frowned down at the boy beside him, he then nudged him to sit over with his mother. Honestly, there was only so much a brother could do, sometimes, and he was not admitting to anything, a little boy just needed his mother.

(It didn't, but I... thought. She isn't gone.)

"While you aren't wrong in her not being gone, this much denial is not healthy. If she had actually been gone, you would have only been hurting yourself." Hades said with a frown. As somebody who ruled the dead, he knew how some people could react to the deaths of their loved ones, he'd seen it all.

"I was determined to get her back any way possible. Even if she was really dead, I would have figured something out." Percy said with a shrug.

"Yes, and I would have killed you for it." Hades deadpanned.

"Yes, but my mom would have been alive." Percy said back.

"Yes, until I sent Thanatos to bring her back to the Underworld, where she would have belonged." Hades said with a sigh. This made Percy go quiet. He hadn't considered that part...

Poseidon and Hestia, while proud and happy for how much Percy cared for his mother, were worried about how he didn't seem to care for himself all that much.

(I wondered if... up as they were.)

"Nope, my moment of clarity into them had disappeared." Grover grumbled.

"Moment of clarity?" Will asked.

Grover grumbled for another moment before he answered. "Whenever the jumbled mess straightens out enough to read, I only get a moment before it goes back to being all jumbled up and crazy." He explained.

Poseidon nodded, "The sea is ever changing. It is never the same from one moment to the next." He murmured.

(I was glad he and... to this crazy quest.)

"Don't worry, we knew the whole time what you were really after." Annabeth said with a grin.

Percy shrugged, while they all ignored Zeus's complaining about what could possibly be more important than his lightning bolt, and what other reason he'd be on this quest. Those who knew that Percy's real reason was his mother scowled at him.

(The truth was, I... Zeus's lightning bolt,)

Everyone ignored Zeus demanding to know why not, in favor of Zoe continuing to read.

(or saving the world,... I resented Poseidon)

Poseidon winced, but didn't say anything. He knew Percy no longer felt this way, but it was still hard to hear. Especially one who had always been more emotionally invested in his children than most of the others. He knew it was dangerous, but he also knew Percy would earn immortality many times over, the only question was if Percy would take it or not. He figured he probably would... eventually. After he lived a little first, and especially if Annabeth was offered immortality with him...

He wasn't the type to leave those he loved behind like that.

(for never visiting me,... child-support check.)

Poseidon was startled out of his thoughts. "I sent checks. I sent you a check every Friday if I could. Those days I couldn't were mostly because of Zeus, but I would always send double the next week." He said to Sally. He had been startled earlier when the apartment they lived in was described, but figured that that had been Gabe's doing, or that she had been hiding the money from him while spending it on herself and the kids discreetly, even setting some aside for school and stuff. Amphitrite nodded in agreement. Poseidon always tried his best to take care of his children, even if he couldn't be there. No matter how much she didn't really approve.

Now it was Sally's turn to look startled. "We never got any checks. At least..." She said, slowly turning towards Gabe. "Not that I knew of." She said angrily.

Paul frowned. "When we get out of here, I'm going to go to the bank or find a lawyer or something, see if he didn't have any bank accounts set up separate from yours that never got handed over to you after his disappearance." He said soothingly. Sally nodded, but she was still shaking in anger.

So, Percy did what he needed to calm her down. He plopped himself right down on her lap and leaned back with his head on her shoulder.

(He'd only claimed me because he needed a job done.)

"That's not true." Poseidon whispered. Percy smiled over at him.

(All I cared about... going to give her back.)

Hades groaned and mumbled something about demigods who loved to give him headaches. Seriously, why did they always think that he would, or for that matter, COULD just give them their loved ones back after they were dead? It was a good thing for Perseus that his mother wasn't actually dead.

(You will be betrayed by... Shut up, I told it.)

"Hearing voices in your head is the first sign of madness!" Thalia sang out teasingly.

"No, I'm pretty sure its when you talk back to them." Will muttered to his seat-mates. Then he checked to make sure Thalia hadn't heard him, he didn't feel like getting into an argument with her over it. Honestly, its not like he was a Healer or a son of Apollo or anything... Nope, not like that at all.

"Aren't we all mad?" Rachel asked cheerfully.

The other demigods paused a moment, before they snickered as nodded in agreement. It was true, after all. They were all just a little insane (more like a lot, but who's really keeping track?). Their parents just shook their heads.

(The rain kept coming down.)

Poseidon frowned. "It keeps mentioning the rain a lot." He muttered.

"Which means it must be important later on in some way..." Paul said in agreement. Hey, he was an English teacher. He knew a lot about foreshadowing.

(We got restless waiting... one of Grover's apples.)

A few people tilted their heads curiously. Didn't they mention something about hackey sack apples earlier when they were having one of their 'inside joke moments'? Were they actually going to find out what that was all about now?

Percy moaned as he realized something. When Annabeth glanced at him curiously, he leaned over to whisper, "We're not going to have very many inside jokes left after these books." He said.

Her eyes widened. "Aw man! But it's so much fun watching them try to figure out what we're talking about!" She whined. Percy nodded mournfully.

(Annabeth was unbelievable.)

"Why thank you." Annabeth said in a snobby accent with her nose turned up in the air. She only held it for a moment before her, Percy, and Grover started laughing, making the parents look at them strangely before shaking their heads at the teenagers.

Chiron just smiled, he loved watching his students have fun, and act their ages. They trained so long and so much, Capture the Flag was really his way of just letting the teenagers be teenagers, but even that was another training method. All of his students, no matter how young, were really too mature for their ages. Something he attributed to knowing who their parents were, and their combat training.

(She could bounce... shoulder, whatever.)

Annabeth smiled slightly in pride at the compliment.

(I wasn't too bad myself.)

Artemis narrowed her eyes slightly. That had been the first real example of male egotism from Percy so far. She decided to withhold judgement until they read more.

"Yeah, you did pretty good too. Of course, you haven't been trained nearly as long... you could probably do what I was doing now that you've had a few years training." Annabeth said, looking at Percy thoughtfully.

Percy raised an eyebrow and said, "We'll see."

(The game ended when... close to his mouth.)

A few people guessed what was about to happen to the apple and were already laughing.

(In one mega goat... stem, and all.)

Zoe had to stop reading for a few minutes to let everyone stop laughing enough for her to be heard. Both Grovers just sat there, tomato red. A quick glance towards the MS showed that they, two were trying not to laugh, or at least, to laugh quietly.

(Grover blushed. He tried... busy cracking up.)

As was the rest of the throne room. Still...

(Finally the bus came... cafeteria delicacy- enchiladas.)

Poseidon frowned. He really wished that it was food he smelled and not something else...

Unfortunately, this was his demigod son he was talking about.

A few of the kids muttered about how on earth he could eat those, school food was disgusting.

("What is it?" I asked... "Maybe it's nothing.")

"No!" Several of the gods and demigods yelled. Zeus growled, he really didn't like Grover. Was it this kind of thinking that almost got his Thalia killed?

"You never think it's nothing." Poseidon said sternly while Dionysus frowned at the younger satyr.

Grover grimaced while Grover cowered a bit at Dionysus' frown, but they both nodded that they understood.

(But I could tell it... my shoulder, too.)

A few people nodded in approval. You should always heed the satyr's advice, if they started getting jumpy about something but didn't know what was wrong, then something was probably stalking you.

(I was relieved when... in the back of the bus.)

"Lesson one," Percy started telling the younger kids. "Never, NEVER sit in the back. It makes for very poor escapes." He lectured. Annabeth and Grover nodded in agreement, while a few of the older kids grimaced in remembrance.

"While it is good to keep an eye on the whole bus for monsters, you can do that just as easily by sitting sideways in your seat with your back against the window." Clarisse added.

(We stowed our backpacks.)

"Lesson two," Annabeth said this time. "Never stow your bags. Keep them in hand or on your back at ALL times." She said.

(Annabeth kept slapping... my knee. "Percy.")

A few people glanced over at them, worried. At that point in their relationship, Annabeth went out of her way to avoid any kind of physical contact with the Seaspawn, not even tapping him on the shoulder if she could help it. For her to grab his knee like that...

This couldn't be good.

(An old lady had just boarded the bus.)

A few were confused. What was wrong with a little old lady? A few who lived by the words 'do not judge by the appearance', knew differently. That little old lady was a monster. A bad one.

One that Annabeth recognized from somewhere. Those were always the worst ones, because they seemed to think it to be their life mission to get revenge on you for the first time you killed them. Annoyingly enough.

(She wore a crumpled... carried a big paisley purse.)

Throughout this description, Hades sank back into his throne while glancing at Poseidon, whose eyes were narrowing as he found the description to be familiar and didn't like it.

A few of the girls made faces at the description of the ladies outfit.

(When she tilted... eyes glittered,)

A few people gulped, those who had yet to figure that this old lady had to be a monster finally figured it out, and they started reassuring themselves that Percy and the other two obviously made it out alright. But still, the monsters whose eyes glittered, were usually the cruelest of the bunch.

(and my heart skipped a beat.

It was Mrs. Dodds.)

Poseidon glared at Hades quickly, which made Hades gulp and start to pray that Alecto didn't harm Percy, before glancing worriedly at his son.

A few people's eyes widened. That wasn't good.

Ares leaned forward. "Finally, some action coming up." He said gleefully. It had been getting boring. A few people gave him dark looks.

(Older, more withered, but... two more old ladies:)

Hades eyes widened, he wasn't expecting all three of the Furies to be there. He was expecting just Alecto, since that was who he'd already sent. Poseidon was going to kill him if Perseus got hurt, and dying hurt!

"What?" Sally croaked. She had stayed silent when hearing about Mrs. Dodds being back, because, ok, she may have been holding back last time, but Percy still dealt with her. And now he had training. But all three of them at once?

"Don't worry, mom. I'm right here, we made it out alright." Percy said, trying to reassure his mother. But, like all times when a parent is told not to worry, it only made her worry more.

Everyone else was staring at the book wide-eyed. A few were muttering, 'not good, not good,' over and over again. Especially the futures. Percy had never really shared what happened on his quests. They knew what the quest was, they knew he accomplished his goals, and they knew whatever the three let slip, but they never actually just sat and talked about it. For him to face all three Furies the first day out... it didn't bode well for the rest of the trip.

The Romans' eyes widened. He faced all three Furies when he was younger and lived? With barely any training? Suddenly, they wanted to see him in action when he had his memories.

Yes, they'd seen him fight at the war games, but that was without his memories, without him knowing the extent of what he himself could do. They all wondered just what he could do now that he had his memories back... Hazel and Frank were just wondering about the trip to Alaska, and how it was going to go.

Ares was getting even more excited now, all three of them? Oh man! Now he could see some more of what the kid could do.

(one in a green hat... wrinkled velvet dresses.)

The girls turned green when they heard that they were all wearing the same disgusting sounding outfits.

(Triplet demon grandmothers.)

Hades cracked a small smile while trying to avoid Poseidon's glare. They could be rather grandmotherly... when they wanted to be. Honestly, they may be his main torturers, but when they were off duty, they were kind of like everyone's favorite grandmother.

(They sat in the front row, right behind the driver.)

"Yet another reason why you should never sit in the back. It gives potential enemies a chance to block your escape." Thalia said with a raised eyebrow at Annabeth. Luke, too, was watching Annabeth, while Luke was waiting for Annabeth to indicate that she heard them. Thalia and Luke had taught Annabeth that very thing back towards the beginning when they first found her.

Annabeth grimaced. She had done a lot of things she had been taught never to do on this quest. Stuff that, if it weren't for Percy and his crazy, bipolar luck, she probably wouldn't have survived the consequences of.

(The two on the aisle... message: nobody leaves.)

The worry levels spiked. How did they get out of this?

They were trapped.

"That's not ominous at all." Nico muttered.

(The bus pulled out... didn't stay dead long,")

"Well of course not." Hades said, annoyed. "After all, I need her in the Fields of Punishment. She can't do her job when she's dead." It would have taken quite a bit of his power to speed up the reforming process and then to bring her back out of the Pit. He hated doing that, too. Although, why he would do that just to send her right back out to find that boy... it was looking more and more like his Helm got stolen along with Zeus's Bolt.

Poseidon shot a glare at him, which effectively shut him up, although he did continue to grumble quietly. Persephone laid a hand on his arm in comfort. She had figured out already that the Helm was taken, and she had already worked out that Hades wouldn't have said anything about it to the rest of their family. The only ones he would have gone to for help, were Poseidon and Hestia. And they both had there own issues with the Bolt having been stolen.

(I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering.)

"You were only marginally successful." Annabeth kindly informed her boyfriend. Percy scowled for a moment before he stuck his tongue out at her. She just quirked an eyebrow.

("I thought you said... "You're obviously not.")

"No, no you're not." A few people muttered.

"Yeah, we figured that out years ago, but I don't think we realized just how bad your luck really is, Perce." Thalia informed her cousin. Percy stuck his tongue out at her while Annabeth and Grover grumbled that you would have to actually be there to truly understand.

"Actually, his luck is more unreliable." Grover said to the room. "One minute, he'll be the luckiest guy on earth, the next, he's the unluckiest guy on earth and we're almost dead before his luck kicks in again and we somehow escape." He finished with a sigh. A sigh echoed by Annabeth.

"How have you two survived this long?" Nico asked, ignoring Percy's yell of 'Hey!'

"Believe me, Nico, we ask ourselves that all the time." The two answer mournfully, ignoring Percy's look of betrayal. Sally just shook her head at her sons antics while Percy shook with laughter in her lap.

She hugged him closer to her, it had been a while since her boy was small enough for them to do this.

Nobody noticed Athena glaring at Percy and going over her plans for getting him away from her daughter. That Luke boy looked so much better for her.

("All three of them," Grover whimpered.)

Thalia winced. The last time Grover would have seen the Furies together would have been the night she died and turned into a tree. Before that, they had been chasing the four of them all through the countryside while Grover tried to get them to Camp Half-Blood before they caught up. Grover had been terrified out of his mind during that, but had somehow managed to push his terror to the side for Annabeth's sake, but she had no doubt that he had a severe nervous breakdown afterward.

Probably nightmares, too. She was pretty sure that Annabeth would have suffered the same, she didn't know about Luke, he was tough, but he probably would have had nightmares too for a bit.

( "Di immortales!"... obviously thinking hard.)

"If I stopped thinking about a way out, I would have probably broken down. The last time I had seen them..." She said, and shuddered, glancing at Thalia, who looked deep in thought about something. Everyone understood though, the last time she had seen the Furies, Thalia had died.

("The Furies. The three... No problem. No problem.)

"I was trying to stay calm and reassure the boys." She said.

(We'll just slip out... suggested.

There wasn't one.)

For some, the worry and fear was replaced by confusion.

"Ok, talk about a massive safety violation." Beckendorf muttered with a frown. "There should be a way out other than the door, in case the bus catches fire or some other emergency, right?" He said louder. Even if there wasn't a back exit, it was probably taken up by seats or something, there should have been emergency exits in the windows, the windows should have been able to pop open.

Sally nodded. "How on earth did this company stay in business? Wouldn't they have failed their Department of Transportation inspections?" She questioned. Her worry for her son was put on temporary hold in her confusion.

Hermes frowned. "Unless some of the company big-shots bribed the inspector. Which, sadly, does happen sometimes." He said, his disgust clear.

Sally made a noise of disgust. "Wouldn't it be cheaper just to buy new buses?" She asked, exasperated. "Ones that would pass inspection?"

"Sure, but the fact that they got called out on an inspection also looks bad to potential customers. Even if they did fix the problem." Poseidon said with a frown of his own. He was just mad that this company put his son in danger like that.

Hermes frowned again. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. The Department of Transportation is part of my domain after all... Unfortunately, I don't always catch problems like this." He said with a nod to everybody.

(Even if there had... for the Lincoln Tunnel.)

"What does that matter?" One of the Romans asked.

"Too much traffic and too little stop lights." Percy said.

("They won't attack... said. "Will they?")

"Yes." Hades said bluntly. "If anything, they might actually attack because there are witnesses around." Percy's eyes widened.

"They don't care for witnesses, as far as Monsters are concerned, that's what the Mist is there for, so they can do what they want to us demigods no matter where we are." Thalia grumbled.

Hades tilted his head in agreement with what she said, even though that wasn't quite what he meant. When the Furies got into a mood to hunt, like they were doing with Perseus and his friends, then they reveled in the panic and confusion they caused the mortals around them.

("Mortals don't have... see through the Mist.")

"Some mortals, anyway." Sally said, gesturing between herself and Rachel.

Annabeth's face went slightly red. "I wasn't thinking about those who could see through the Mist." She muttered.

("They'll see three... us, won't they?")

"That... would actually be kind of hilarious." Thalia said thoughtfully. Percy glared at her and Annabeth threw her dagger, which Thalia caught and tossed back without blinking. Paul watched this happen with wide eyes, slightly horrified when he saw the sharp weapon being tossed around.

Leo, still working on his cappuccino machine, raised an eyebrow and decided that he really liked Percy. They seemed to have a similar sense of humor, and were both sarcastic like nobody's business when they wanted to be. Jason and Piper could also see the similarities and were thinking that the trip to Rome would be interesting.

Ares spoke up then, "If three little old ladies could kill you, kid, then you obviously aren't as good as everyone around you is saying you are. Besides, Little Cuz is right, that would be hilarious to see!" He said with a grin. None of them found his grin at all creepy. At all.

(She thought about it... exit in the roof...?")

Annabeth made a face. "Although the question of how we would have reached it before being attacked once they noticed what we doing and then got off the top of the bus..." She muttered.

"Especially while the bus was moving." Grover muttered too.

(We hit the Lincoln Tunnel... the sounds of the rain.)

Poseidon narrowed his eyes at his younger brother. 'Again, the rain is being mentioned. And there is only one who can control the weather like that, and have a REASON to at this point in the book.' He thought. He was worried. Percy had two powerful gods coming after him right now... both at the same time. The Furies on behalf of Hades, and he had a feeling that the storm caused by Zeus was going to have its own impact.

(Mrs. Dodds got up... said the third sister.)

"Well, that's not suspicious or strange at all." Will muttered sarcastically.

"Not to mention, too much information." Chris said in agreement with a frown. Most everybody else nodded in agreement.

"Why would you announce something like that? Especially to a bus full of strangers." A few people grumbled.

Ares ignored the comments and leaned forward again. Honestly, the action was taking too long to get here.

(They all started coming... "Percy, take my hat.")

Clarisse frowned. "Are you sure that would have worked, Annabeth?" She asked.

Annabeth grimaced, but didn't say anything. She had known it would be a long shot, but she had also felt it was the best chance they had at the time. Especially since she thought they were after Percy.

("What?"

"You're the one... front and get away.")

Zoe frowned and stopped reading to ask, "But, what about the two of you?" Annabeth looked uncomfortable for a moment and looked away. Sally made a worried noise.

Annabeth and Grover had been planning to sacrifice themselves if necessary so Percy could get away and hopefully either get back to camp, or go on and complete the quest. What kind of twelve year old makes choices like that? A small voice in her head reminded her that demigods were not normal people. Even without their training to make those same kinds of choices.

("But you guys-"

"There's an... not notice us,")

"I don't like outside chances." Athena said, with a hint of worry in her voice. Yes, she didn't exactly care as much as some of the others, but she did still care, to a point.

(Annabeth said. "You're... might be overpowering.")

"Which also means they'll be able to smell him when they go past and know exactly where he is anyway." Hades pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Annabeth sighed. "I know, I was hoping that since it was such a confined space, it would make it more difficult to pinpoint where exactly the smell was coming from, his scent would have spread out a little more evenly throughout the bus enough to cover the whole area." She explained. Hades nodded thoughtfully, that was true... but his Furies were too good for that.

He didn't say anything else though, it was obvious they made it off the bus in one piece, so he decided to let it go. He also decided not to mention that the Furies would have heard their entire conversation, their hearing was very sharp. So... they would have known the demigods plan the whole time.

("I can't just leave you.")

Zoe stopped reading again to glance at her Lady. Artemis was sitting back in her throne, with her arms crossed over her chest, clearly deep in thought. Probably thinking about the few male heroes she had met over the years that had an attitude and personality similar to Percy's. Some of those, eventually, became cocky and arrogant. They gave into the fame and cheering crowds. Others kept to their ideals and actually tried to avoid the cheering crowds. Artemis was probably wondering which of those categories Percy would fall under.

("Don't worry about us,"... wasn't there anymore.)

"It does take some getting used to." Annabeth said quietly. She had only recently gotten her hat from her mother, so she was still getting used to it.

The older Greeks all frowned at the kids for a minute. They had been pretty quiet the past few chapters... they wondered what was wrong. Especially considering they were in a room with two sets of Stoll brothers.

Come to think of it... why were the Stoll brothers so quiet right now...? When they looked around to find them, they saw them sitting in the corner, writing something down in a notebook. At first, they were terrified, wondering what they were doing... but then they noticed that the brothers were occasionally glancing at either the MS, or Gabe. When they glanced at the MS, their faces turned thoughtful, like they were trying to figure something out.

They were probably trying to figure out who they were. Although, a few people had the idea that they might be the Argo crew from even further into the future. Who knew.

When they looked at Gabe, their expressions were... actually pretty close to the mischievous expression Percy got on his face earlier when he revealed himself to be the true Pranking King of Camp Half-Blood.

As long as they didn't get caught up in whatever they were planning for Gabe, they could care less what the boys had planned for him.

(I started creeping... looked straight at me.)

A few people held their breath, wanting to hear what happened next and if Percy was alright. Well, obviously he was, he was HERE, but he might not have been alright at the time.

"Yes, she knew exactly where he was." Hades muttered, and Annabeth turned white. She hadn't realized that.

When the Fury stopped, she hadn't known that Percy had been RIGHT there.

(My heart was pounding... her sisters kept going.)

A few people sighed in relief. Then frowned in confusion. Why did they just keep going?

Hades frowned. "They would only do that if Perseus wasn't what they were looking for. When they smelled Perseus there, they didn't sense whatever it is on him, so they decided to look for it with his companions..." He muttered. "But what could they be looking for?" He asked, he hoped it wasn't his Helm. That would be bad. Sadly, he had a bad feeling that that was exactly what it was.

(I was free. I made... from the back row.)

Everyone tensed again, what was happening with Annabeth and Grover? Were they alright?

Thalia got up and went to pull Annabeth into her arms, just to reassure herself that her little sister was alright, while Luke pulled Annabeth into a hug as well. Annabeth rolled her eyes, but accepted it, and Annabeth curled deeper into her hug for comfort.

Ares was practically bouncing in his seat from anticipation of the fight coming up.

(The old ladies were... get any uglier-)

"Hey!" Hades said, annoyed. Percy looked at him and blinked. Then he shrugged and went back to looking around at everyone while they read the book. Hades narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything when he heard Persephone trying to muffle her giggles beside him.

He sighed and sat back again, putting an arm around his wife.

(but their bodies had... feet like gargoyle claws.)

A couple of girls shuddered at the description. Hades gave them a dark look before turning away and muttering something to Persephone about girls putting too much stock in appearance.

(Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.)

Leo looked up in interest, and tilted his head to the side. Now there was an idea... If he could get a hold of a whip that could withstand his flames... he would probably have to craft it himself... he wouldn't have to search through his tool belt every time something happened and he needed a weapon, hoping to find something he could use. Sure, he could make stuff for basically any situation... if he had the right tools and it wasn't too complicated for the belt, not to mention if he could get the others around him to stall for enough time.

Otherwise, he was stuck flinging fireballs everywhere, and with that there was always the risk of hitting his comrades or catching his surroundings on fire... which was bad. The Great London Fire, that was probably from a Son of Hephaestus flinging a fireball in the wrong direction during a fight with a monster.

But a whip... that didn't run as much of a risk of going somewhere he didn't want it to, or missing his target and hitting something way behind them that it wasn't supposed to hit. And if it did look like it was going to hit something it shouldn't, then he could just extinguish the flame before it hit...

It would take a while to train with it of course, after he made it... but...

A massive grin took over his face as he abandoned his mostly finished cappuccino machine for now and chose to instead take out his sketchbook so he could plan out his new toy- er... weapon. Yeah, weapon.

Hephaestus and Beckendorf noticed what he was doing, and looked at each other curiously, wondering what their son/brother was up to now. Obviously something about that last sentence caught his attention for him to abandon his current project. People of the Forge didn't tend to abandon projects until they were either finished or it was clear that it would never work. Either because they just didn't have the right knowledge, yet, or they didn't have the right materials to finish and didn't know where to get those materials.

Jason and Piper watched Leo with a little bit of worry. They knew the look in his eye. It meant he had an idea and they probably wouldn't be seeing much of him until it was completed. They hated it when he did that. But, how were you going to keep a Son of Hephaestus away from a workshop?

"Finally! Some action!" Ares yelled. "This was getting way too boring." He informed everyone else, cheerfully ignoring the glares from Poseidon and Sally. Although they did scare him a bit, (a lot), not that he would ever admit it, of course.

(The Furies surrounded... "Where is it? Where?")

"It? You are sure they were asking about it? " Athena asked curiously. When the trio nodded, she sat back into her throne with a frown, what on earth could they be looking for? Why would Hades send them after Percy if they didn't want him? While it was true that some monsters would refer to demigods as 'it', and considered them to be playthings, a lot of them still referred to demigods as being part human, they at least respected the power wielded by demigods and the might backing them through their parents. But... the Furies were some of those that referred to demigods as people.

Apollo and Hermes looked at each other. The only thing they could think of was if something of Hades also got stolen, and he was blaming Percy for it as well as Zeus. The only thing they could think of that would be stolen and for him to send the Furies to find would be his Helm. And, sadly, they didn't see any of their family aside from Poseidon and Hestia helping their uncle out if he mentioned it. Poseidon had other problems on his hands right now with Zeus threatening him with war to be able to help out, and Hestia would be trying to mediate and calm the two brothers down... which meant Hades wouldn't have seen the point in mentioning it.

Which meant Percy would now have two gods on his tail, either trying to capture him or kill him. And all this while on a deadline to return a stolen item while trying to prevent a civil war on Olympus.

A civil war that could tear the world apart. If they didn't know that even Ares wouldn't orchestrate something of that level, they would suspect him to be behind all this.

(The other people on... something, all right.)

"Hm... I've always wondered just what mortals see sometimes. I mean, I know they see Mrs. O'Leary as a poodle for some reason, but..." Percy said thoughtfully as he got the notebook and Riptide out in pen form and started setting it up to play Hangman with Annabeth (in Ancient Greek, of course).

Annabeth shrugged. "Who knows. You could always ask Paul. He's the only one here who's affected by the Mist." She said as she started to think about what to guess first. Percy paused and said that was true.

He then looked at Paul and said he would ask later, as he drew the head of the person after Annabeth guessed wrong. They both ignored everyone staring at them incredulously. Finally, Zoe shook her head and decided to ignore the two of them, they obviously had a screw loose somewhere.

("He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!")

"Uh, Annabeth?" Rachel asked.

Annabeth paused her guessing for a second and blushed. "I guess I missed what she said in the heat of the moment." She said, embarrassed. Everyone nodded in understanding though, that had happened to everybody at some point.

(The Furies raised their whips.)

People tensed back up and Luke and Thalia tightened their holds on their respective Annabeth's. Percy ignored how Thalia also whispered a letter in her ear. Since Thalia had already guessed the word, somehow... He did give her a dirty look first though, before ignoring it.

Ares leaned forward.

(Annabeth drew her... prepared to throw it.)

Reyna blinked. "Why a tin can?" She asked. Fa- Satyr's were so strange...

Grover blushed. "I meant to grab my reed pipes out of my pocket, but I still had my hand in my bag from earlier, and I was already holding the can. So, I just went with it." He said with a shrug, turning red when people laughed. Even Percy.

"Well, your acting is very good, I thought you did it on purpose." Percy said, looking up from where he was drawing the first foot on his hangman. Grover smiled at him.

(What I did next... poster child of the year.)

"WHAT?! No, that's me!" Leo yelled in indignation after he shook himself out of his planning haze. He stared at Percy, unblinking.

Percy looked up from his hangman and blinked at him. "I'm pretty sure my mom would claim otherwise." He said and went back to his game.

Annabeth laughed, then cocked her head to the side. "Actually, just from what I've seen of Leo the past few months, I would actually say the two of you are about tied for the position." She said seriously.

Hazel and Frank looked horrified, they were going to be in close quarters with these two for how long now? Jason noticed their looks and leaned over. "Don't worry, I made sure there was space on the ship for the rest of us to go get some time to ourselves, and be away from Leo, and I guess Percy too." He whispered.

They sighed in relief. "Thank you, Jason." Hazel breathed. He quirked a grin at her.

(The bus driver was... his rearview mirror.)

Hermes winced, he was going to have to spend some time toughening up the requirements for getting a CDL license. Or, at least get some training requirements changed up a bit. The driver should have found a spot to pull over before turning his attention to the fight. Otherwise, he risked getting into a wreck and injuring his passengers. Hopefully it was just this one driver, but... well, it bore going over anyway, he had been putting it off for a couple of years now... busy doing other things, like keeping the US postal service in business...

(Still invisible, I... jerked it to the left.)

"Percy! What if you had crashed into another car?!" Sally scolded.

"I let the driver keep THAT much control." Percy defended himself, honestly, he wasn't that much of an idiot. Besides, even at that age, he knew enough about driving to not let that happen. Sally frowned, but let it go.

"Now, THAT'S how you cause a distraction." Ares said in approval.

(Everybody howled as... against the windows.)

"It was," Annabeth said.

"Oh, good. I was worried it was actually one of you guys..."

("Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey- whoa!")

Percy decided not to mention that the 'whoa' from the driver was because he had to swerve to avoid another car. See, he let the driver have THAT much control of the bus.

(We wrestled for... a mile behind us.)

Sally squeaked and tightened her grip on the son on her lap. Mrs. O'Leary whimpered a little and put her head down beside her human. She knew he would be fine against the Furies, he was strong, but a crash was out of his control if it happened. And she didn't like hearing about him being hurt.

Percy looked beside him and patted his dog on the nose, smiling at her softly. Some of the younger kids once again wondered how on earth he got a Hellhound for a pet.

(We careened out... aside like bowling pins.)

"You said-" Sally started sternly.

"We didn't actually hit any of them! They were swerving to avoid us too!"

(Somehow the driver... veering toward the river.)

A few people sighed in relief. There was water nearby, Percy would be safe. They conveniently forgot the part where he still didn't really know how to use his powers on command. And the fact that water might mean safety for Percy, but not necessarily for Annabeth and Grover. Or the part where, if they went into the river, the other passengers wouldn't be as safe. Especially from drowning.

So far, him using his powers seemed to consist of his emotions getting away from him... not a good thing, especially when he needed them in a situation like this.

(Another great idea: I hit the emergency brake.)

Sally sighed in relief. Percy could get off the bus and they could take the fight out into the open, or, better yet, get to the river.

(The bus wailed,... was the first one out,)

Thalia tilted her head to the side, *"Shouldn't he have been the last one off?" She asked. A few people muttered things like, 'coward,' and 'can't even do that much.'

Zoe and Artemis both muttered something about disgusting males. For once, none of the males nearby protested.

Hermes frowned. He would have to check the regulations of the company, and probably double check the DOT regulations. Because Thalia had a point. Although, he supposed the driver couldn't be blamed for panicking... Hermes probably would have too in this situation... if he weren't a god and all that...

Ares ignored them, now that the bus was stopped and the mortals were out of the way, Percy had some more room to actually fight.

(the passengers... after him.)

"That's why the driver needed to be the last one out. So the other passengers didn't potentially trample each other." Thalia said.

(I stepped into... let them pass.)

Sally nodded in relief, that was good. She didn't want her boy getting trampled. Especially when there were still enemies nearby.

(The Furies regained their... Grover threw tin cans.)

The two of them got strange looks, but they just ignored everyone else, although their faces were rather red.

They kind of froze up, not that they would actually ever admit it. It was just... the last time they had been faced with all three Furies...

Ares blinked at that one, but shrugged. Whatever worked. Although, given their training, the fact they seemed to freeze like that was a little embarrassing...

(I looked at the open doorway. I was free to go,)

Zoe and Artemis narrowed their eyes. If he left right then, left Grover and Annabeth to fend for themselves, then he would lose every ounce of respect they had for him. Which, while not a lot by virtue of his male gender, was quite a bit considering where it came from.

(but I couldn't leave my friends.)

The Hunters' eyes stayed narrowed, but instead of suspicion, it was in thought. Ares nodded in approval too.

You never left one of yours behind unless there was absolutely no other choice. Now, if it was a choice between risking everyone to save the one, or getting everyone else home, then you still did what you could to save the one, but if there was nothing to be done... then sometimes it was best to get everyone home that you could. That was just the way it sometimes was in fights, or war in general. Otherwise, leave no man behind.

(I took off the... seemed like an excellent idea.)

There was some nervous laughter at that. Ares raised an eyebrow, he knew the boy wouldn't leave though. Especially since Ares had already worked out the kids fatal flaw to be loyalty. He just had to watch the kid interact with the people around him to know that. Plus, the fact that he was so determined to save his mother, showing her a loyalty rarely seen anymore.

(Mrs. Dodds stalked... my F- math test.)

"F-? How do you get an F-? I didn't even know they did F-." Thalia said incredulously.

"It was Mrs. Dodds." Was all Percy said.

(Every time she flicked... the barbed leather.)

Leo's eyes gleamed at hearing another description of the whip. Unfortunately, he didn't think leather would work for him. He would either be constantly oiling it and never doing anything else, or it would burn up after the first few times of use. The Furies whips were obviously magical, and the fire was an internal source. The fire for his whips would be external. Plus, he would need to have some Celestial Bronze at least in the tip... he went back to planning. He made a note off to the side of his plans to ask Hades or Ares for more information regarding the Furies whips. Ares knew weapons, and Hades knew the Furies, so.

Piper and Jason saw the gleam and scooted away from him.

(Her two ugly sisters... like huge nasty lizards.)

"They are not lizards!" Hades protested. Internally, he was smirking. Oh, he liked his nephew's sense of humor, even if he would never show it.

"They crawled like them!"

("Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds... south than Georgia.)

"Although, she does have a strange fondness for Georgia. She's always coming back with peaches for some reason." Hades said with a shrug. Everyone decided not to comment.

("You have offended... math teacher," I told her.)

"I'll agree with that." Both Grovers and Nico muttered.

"She's pretty good as a lawyer and she doesn't do a bad job teaching history, either." Nico offered up.

"Just who does your dad have teaching you down there?" Percy asked, curious.

"Well... Alecto for history; both mortal and otherwise, Perseus and Jason for swordplay and/or fighting in general, Isaac Newton and Einstein take turns for anything involving numbers and science... there are a few others in there too for English, Greek, Latin, French for some strange reason..." He said with a shrug. As if it was everyday that you get taught by some of the greatest minds in history, plus the fact that they were dead.

Both Annabeth's eyes widened at the fact that Nico was being taught by these people, two of them were sons of Athena, but they were geniuses of their time! Their ideas were still being used today despite the fact that mortals were constantly changing their views and making new discoveries.

Persephone blinked and turned to her husband, who was nodded in satisfaction at the list Nico just reeled off. "Didn't Einstein swear he would never teach again?" She asked.

He nodded, but shrugged. "Obviously, I convinced him somehow." He said, not worried about it. He knew what Einstein said, but he also knew that the man had a firm belief that knowledge was made to be shared. He must have seen something in Nico, either that or Hades had said something that convinced him.

(She growled.)

"That's because she hates math. She loves history though." Nico said with a shrug.

"Hippocampi!" Annabeth said triumphantly, out of nowhere.

They turned just in time to see Percy hanging his head grumbling about only having two more parts to go to the hangman and he would have won. When they realized that Hippocampi was the word Annabeth had been trying to guess, they rolled their eyes and turned back to the book.

Percy handed the notebook to Annabeth for her turn, although she had to find her own pen.

(Annabeth and Grover... looking for an opening.)

Ares nodded in approval. The two of them had their wits about them again. That was good. Although he did wish the Satyr had something other than a tin can.

(I took the ballpoint... double-edged sword.)

Ares leaned forward again, eager to hear just how much better the kid was with some actual training under his belt.

(The Furies hesitated.)

"Most monsters do when they see a blade appear out of nowhere." Percy said matter-of-factly.

"They can also sense Riptide's long history. Those that are old enough have probably also been killed by the same blade many times, from several different heroes." Poseidon said. "I rarely gift it to one of my children, it has only had seven owners since Hercules lost it, but each of them put it to good use." He said, satisfied. Percy looked awed, and he smiled at his father.

(Mrs. Dodds had felt... like seeing it again.)

"No, she has often ranted about how much she wants to melt the blade down and scatter its remains in Tartarus." Nico told Percy.

Percy blinked at him, then he held his blade protectively to his chest, his expression turning into one of horror. Poseidon chuckled. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to Riptide." He assured his son. Zoe looked on, quietly hoping the blade would be destroyed, but at the same time, knowing that it was in good hands with Perseus Jackson. At least for now.

("Submit now,")

"Percy, submit? Yeah, that's never going to happen." The Stoll brothers chimed in from their corner of the room, where they were still planning.

Everyone else laughed and agreed. Poseidon looked decidedly smug. The sea bowed to no one.

(she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment.")

Hades tilted his head to the side for a moment. "She doesn't get to decide that." He said mildly, wondering just how mad Alecto was with Perseus and why she thought they would fall for it when one of them was a daughter of Athena.

("Nice try," I told her... side lunged at me.)

Everyone either winced in sympathy at the tight spot Percy was in at the moment (the Titan War veterans), cried out in worry (Sally, Paul, and a few of the younger kids), or leaned forward in either worry or anticipation (Ares and Poseidon).

Apollo and Will started muttering about how to treat burn wounds.

(My hand felt like it was wrapped in molten lead,)

"How would you know what that one felt like?!" Sally demanded. Percy jumped and muttered something about Mt. St. Helens and Telkhines. Sally's eyes got wide, nobody ever told her that Percy was there when the volcano erupted a few years ago! (Of course, what she didn't know, yet, was that he was the one to set it off...)

Annabeth's eyes narrowed at her boyfriend. She did not like talking about that particular adventure. Not only because of Calypso, but because she thought Percy had died! For two weeks! She had been speaking at his funeral service when he suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

(but I managed not to drop Riptide.)

"Good!" Ares shouted. "That's the most rookie mistake to make, the fact that your already not making it is a good thing." He said.

(I stuck the Fury... exploded into dust.)

Hades winced, he would have just used a lot of energy to bring Alecto back, now he would have to bring back one of her sisters, possibly both or even all three of them.

Terrific.

This was why he rarely let all three of them out of the Underworld at the same time. So he didn't have to deal with bringing all three of them back at once, it was difficult enough bringing one of them back early.

Ares nodded in approval at the way the fight was going so far. He got one out of the way before he turned to another, he didn't try and take them both on at once. That was good. Considering the close quarters they were fighting in, fighting them both at once would have been tantamount to suicide. He was also enjoying the action in the book. Listening to them talk and plan all the time was so boring. Sure, there were the funny moments, but nothing beat a good, old fashioned fight.

(Annabeth got Mrs. Dodds... out of her hands.)

"Oh, yeah, you don't want to do that. Even the handle will burn you. They burn everyone who touches them that is not their owner." Hades informed the room. Ares hummed, it was still a good tactic. Also practical to disarm your opponent.

Leo tilted his head to the side. Now that would be handy... and a good safety mechanism. The problem would be how to get his to do that... He would have to possibly consult with Beckendorf on that one. He had heard how his older half-brother was a genius with crafting after all. He would be able to help Leo with the enchanting part, since that was probably what it would take. The children of Hephaestus had their own magic (not that they advertised it), but, unlike children of Hecate, their magic could only work when crafting. Unfortunately, that part of his talent had always been harder for Leo to grasp than the rest of it.

Jake and Nyssa had theorized that it was because he was a Fire-user. They also said that, since he had such a hard time grasping his forge-magic, as they called it, that it was why he wasn't affected by the curse. The curse was a real thing that affected their projects through their magic. They weren't sure if, when Beckendorf died, that they weren't too depressed and downhearted for their magic to work properly anymore, or if some children of Hecate on the Titan's side of the war hadn't actually cursed them. And of course, none of Hecate's children in camp would tell them anything.

("Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!")

Hades nodded. Yup, that was about right. Not even he could touch them without feeling a little uncomfortable. Not that it could actually hurt him.

(The Fury I'd hilt-slammed... open like a piñata.)

Hades winced, there was at least two he would have to bring back from Tartarus. Oh man, he was going to be in a really bad mood in these books by the time Perseus and his companions reached his palace. Because, he had no doubt that they would.

Ares nodded in approval again, he didn't allow himself to be distracted by the pain his friend was in. That was good, too.

(Mrs. Dodds was trying... Annabeth held on)

"Huh. I don't think anyone has ever managed to stay on before. At least, not for this long." Hades said, blinking out of his thoughts.

Annabeth shrugged while she filled in the letters Percy had correctly guessed. "I'm stubborn." She said smugly. Ares was starting to consider asking Percy and Annabeth for a spar. He liked what he was hearing so far. The Furies may have been holding back due to close quarters and the fact that it wasn't really the demigods they were after and they wanted answers, but the fact two of them were taken out by a barely trained demigod was still impressive. Annabeth was doing a very good job with Alecto as well.

(while Grover got... in her own whip.)

Everyone blinked for a moment until they processed what they just heard. Then, all it took was a snort, before some were rolling around on the ground, all tension gone as they pictured a Fury getting hogtied with her own whip.

After Leo let himself laugh about it, he started jotting notes down on ideas to make sure that didn't happen to him when he had his whip.

(Finally they shoved... so she kept falling down.)

"You know, at the time I was still too terrified, but now, that was hilarious." Percy said to Annabeth. She nodded, laughter in her eyes and a smile on her face.

"I still can't believe I did that." Grover mumbled.

Nico finally calmed down enough to inform the room that this was one story that he had never heard. Usually, he heard every story that existed about Percy and his friends getting the better of her, mainly because she was ranting about how she would destroy him because of it. This one, she must have really not wanted to share. It was pretty embarrassing for her, he supposed.

("Zeus will destroy you!")

"That's not her choice either." Zeus said. "How dare she go around telling people what I will and will not do. I don't want her speaking for me." He grumbled.

(she promised. "Hades will have your soul!")

"Hmm, no, I think I'll pass. You are much too amusing alive, after all." Hades said thoughtfully, while ignoring Sally and Poseidon's glares. He was rewarded, though, with a snort from Perseus.

("Braccas meas vescimini!" I yelled.)

All the Romans started laughing at what he said, and the fact he said it to the Furies, which just made Percy go red and the Greeks to stare at them in confusion. What did he say?

The gods, though, were wondering why he just randomly yelled Latin, and not Greek. Either Percy learned more than he thought he did in Latin with Mr. Brunner, or... could Sally be a Roman legacy...?

Hermes nodded. Her being a legacy of Mercury was looking more likely. Although, that was assuming she was a legacy at all.

(I wasn't sure where... "Eat my pants!")

Hazel nodded, "It did!" Before she started laughing again, which of course set off all the Greeks now that they knew what was said.

Ares snorted, trash talk during fights never failed to be amusing. Some of the stupidest insults could be thrown in tense situations.

(Thunder shook the... back of my neck.)

Poseidon narrowed his eyes at Zeus. If what happened next was what he think was going to happen...

Thalia narrowed her eyes too. She knew what was going to happen. They had the same feeling back in California before their car was blasted off the side of the road when they going to the Garden of Hesperides. No wonder Percy had known what was going to happen before even she did. It had happened to him before.

("Get out!" Annabeth... "We're going to die!")

A few people snorted in amusement at the dramatics. Mortals could be kind of pathetic sometimes in how they dealt with issues. Not all, mind, but a lot of them.

"That's pretty hilarious in hindsight, too." Percy said thoughtfully as he watched Annabeth draw an arm.

(A Hawaiian-shirted tourist... I could recap my sword.)

"That's not good." Everyone said. Who knew what the picture would show his sword as being, and considering he was just involved in that fight, and the newspapers (through Gabe) were blaming him for his mother's disappearance...

"No it was not." Percy said. "Well, I suppose we made it work in our favor later on." He said to Annabeth, who shrugged.

"Later, maybe, but it was really annoying to deal with the entire trip to California." She said.

("Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our-"

BOOOOOM!)

"Exactly why you should keep your bags in hand at all times." Annabeth said sagely to the younger kids.

Poseidon sat up quickly, glaring at Zeus. "Brother..." He warned.

Zeus looked at his brother, hiding his slight fear, "I thought he had stolen my Master Bolt! Would you not deal with a thief the same way?" He demanded.

"No, I would capture them and make them tell me where they hid whatever they stole from me. Not just blow them up! Especially not when I knew perfectly well that if anything happened to that person, then that person's parents would get extremely... upset ." Poseidon hissed. Reminding his brother that he was extremely protective of his children. Especially when they were younger. As they got older and could handle themselves more, he started watching them a little less. He had learned the hard way with Triton, some kids did not appreciate parents hanging over them once they got to a certain age. At all. Although he still let them fight their own battles no matter their age.

Zeus paled slightly.

"Brothers." Hestia said quietly, causing Poseidon to back down slightly, but he still glared at Zeus.

(The windows of the... was not yet dead.)

"How?" A few people yelled, dumbfounded. How on earth did she survive that?

Hades sighed in relief. At least he wouldn't have to bring all three of them back. One was bad enough, let alone two. Especially so soon after already bringing one back.

("Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements!)

"I don't think it was reinforcements as much as she was just angry." Hades said with a shrug.

(We have to get... nothing but darkness ahead.)

Zoe put the book down. "That's the end of the chapter." She said, still slightly stunned that a demigod with barely two weeks training was able to take out two Furies. Whether those Furies were hindered by the battleground or not, that was still quite the accomplishment.

Everyone else was silent for a moment as they processed what just happened, Percy and Annabeth quietly continued their game of Hangman.

"Well, that ending wasn't ominous for the rest of the book at all." Paul said, trying to be cheerful. Sally just patted him on the back consolingly when it didn't work.

That was when both Sally and Hestia noticed a few of the younger kids yawning, especially now that the excitement in this chapter was over with. They both stood up at the same time, after Sally put Percy down, of course, and announced it was time for bed. They both looked at each other, slightly surprised, but pleased. Everyone else grumbled, but between the two of them, they got everyone shuffled off to their rooms.

Chapter 15: We Visit a Garden Gnome Emporium

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underlined).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Well, that ending wasn't ominous for the rest of the book at all." Paul said, trying to be cheerful. Sally just patted him on the back consolingly when it didn't work.

That was when both Sally and Hestia noticed a few of the younger kids yawning, especially now that the excitement in this chapter was over with. They both stood up at the same time, after Sally put Percy down, of course, and announced it was time for bed. They both looked at each other, slightly surprised, but pleased. Everyone else grumbled, but between the two of them, they got everyone shuffled off to their rooms.

The next morning, the younger demigods got to watch the same show as the day before, the older Greeks just would not wake up until Sally stood in the middle of the room and announced she had cookies and to get them while they were still warm. Thus started the chase through the palace with Percy trying to keep his beloved cookies away from the others. Unlike yesterday though, he actually managed to get away and keep the bag to himself this time.

It was a laughing Sally who handed the defeated demigods a few cookies each along with a pat on the back for their efforts. When they got into the breakfast room, it was to find the MS, gods, and younger demigods already there. When she saw the MS, she went over to speak with the one she knew to be her son. "You missed the chase this morning." She said with a smile, holding out yet another bag of cookies baked fresh this morning. Percy reached out to take the bag, nodding his head in thanks, but she pulled it back, "Not without a hug, young man." She said mock-sternly. They looked at her before Percy huffed a laugh and gave her the requested hug after making sure nobody was watching.

"Should have known you would know." He muttered. There was a smile on what she could see of his face though, even as he handed the demanding demigods around him a cookie each and kept the rest to himself, although he did give Annabeth a second one when she asked. That's when she knew that whatever happened in the coming months, brought them all close. Percy never willingly shared his cookies like that.

She didn't say anything about it though, "Of course I know, I'm your mother." She countered instead as she watched. She sat next to him. "Everyone came home safe, I hope?" She asked, she was slightly worried by how hoarse his voice sounded.

Of course, he'd had another nightmare the night before and had, as was usual, screamed himself hoarse before Annabeth finally got to him and managed to wake him up. She was the only one who could do it safely after all, the others all risked loss of limb if they tried, or worse. There was a pause, which Sally did not like, "Yeah, everyone came home." He left out the part where they thought that Leo sacrificed himself was and thought to be dead for the longest time, only for him to come back long enough to go off on a quest with a suddenly mortal Apollo to hopefully stop another war, or at least to get their Oracle back before the other war started. He also left out that both he and Annabeth sometimes felt like they were still there.

She frowned, she knew there was much he wasn't telling her, which was normal when it came to his demigod life since he didn't want her worrying, but she didn't pry. It would be hard enough on him when they got that far in the books. "Well, the important part is that you are home. Any- issues resulting from the trip can be taken care of in time." She said she knew that there would be bad nights, he had them all the time left over from the Titan war, she could only imagine the Giant war would be worse. He smiled in relief that she wasn't pushing it, not that he thought for a moment that she would.

She stayed over in their corner through breakfast, talking with her son, getting to know the demigods her Percy would be going to Rome with once they finally got the ship built and sailed to the Roman camp. When Poseidon looked around for her, not spotting her with the others, he smiled when he saw her with the oldest Percy and his friends, and went back to his conversation with Hades and Hermes.

While Sally was with the MS, the future Greeks grabbed Luke and went into a relatively private corner for that talk they'd been wanting to have. When he realized what was going on, he sighed in resignation and sat in the middle of the group. This wasn't really a safe place for him to be, but it was where they wanted him, so he went with it, if only to keep the peace and because he knew that they needed to be able to hit him if they wished. They would need some way to vent, and if that was through a punch to the face over something he said, then so be it. After all the pain he caused them...

He was surprised, though, when Chris sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder in support. Chris... he had hurt Chris too. He sent Chris into that Maze, knowing he would probably never come out again. And if he did, he wouldn't be anywhere close to sane. He was only here because of Clarisse. But, maybe Chris could also sympathize with him the most, after all, Chris had been in Kronos' army, he had been a traitor too.

"So," Percy started. "I know you kind of changed your mind there at the very end and helped us, but there's still the fact that you betrayed us and helped him rise in the first place." Percy started. He left out the part about the pit scorpion, they would find out in the books, besides, Annabeth would probably bring it up at some point. And Thalia's tree...

"And led other demigods to their deaths by recruiting them." Clarisse added, glancing at Chris, if Mr. D hadn't come back and agreed to heal his mind when he did... Nobody noticed Percy flinch at that, he had never told anyone about that young demigod he saw on the cruise ship, the night they went to blow it up. The kid couldn't have been older than thirteen... Percy didn't even know if the kid made it out, or if he took the other demigods with him. Somehow, he doubted it.

Luke winced at Clarisse's tone, and waited a moment to see if they had anything else to add before he spoke. "I won't offer excuses, I have none. You all had dreams, the same as me, and yet none of you listened. I could say that he got me at my weakest, but that would only be partially true. I could say that I didn't know what I was doing, that I was confused, but that wouldn't be true at all. I knew exactly what I was doing." Luke said, his voice strained. It wasn't reassuring when some of their faces darkened further. "I truly believed in what I was doing, up until I gave him my body and saw what he was really like and what he really wanted to do."

Everyone looked at him for a moment. "And after you realized what he really wanted to do?" Thalia asked.

"I tried to fight him. But, after I gave him my body, there wasn't much I could do. He's a Titan, and I'm just a demigod son of Hermes. The only reason I was doing as well as I could is because he underestimated me... he thought he had entirely crushed my consciousness, and he was still weakened from his time in the Pit. So, I was able to fight back a little. But, by the time I was able to fight back with enough strength, it was too late. We were already in the throne room of Olympus." Luke said. "All I can do is apologize, and ask you to help me make sure my younger self doesn't make the same mistakes." He finished, and looked down.

They were all silent for a moment, considering what he said. When he finally looked up, he saw them looking at Percy. Which made sense, he was their leader. After a minute, Percy and Annabeth looked at each other and started having a silent conversation. Finally, Annabeth nodded and Percy turned to look at them. "We will help with your younger self. However, our main concern is that... if it's not Luke , then we won't know when Kronos will start his war. At least with you we had an idea what was going on, because we knew who it was and it wasn't hard to keep an eye on you. Especially when you were in the cruise ship."

Luke looked at him, confused, for a second before he understood. "You mean using him as a spy, to control the situation."

Annabeth spoke up. "If we have to. We won't if there is any other choice. That will depend on what happens during these books. But, Kronos will rise, it is only a matter of who helps him and when. If we can control the who and when... I don't know, it will depend on what is read and what is decided before we leave."

None of them looked happy, but they accepted the decision of their leaders. Luke nodded slowly. "I can speak with my father, he's already guessed everything. He could help, he might have an idea of how to do this."

They all nodded. "If the younger kids do end up doing this, though, then how on earth would Luke hide what's really going on? 'Cuz, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not putting him in this position without telling him. And, you all know how Kronos gets in your head. He has ways of learning your deepest secrets and fears." Clarisse said.

"I don't know." Annabeth admitted. "But, that's where the gods would come in. Luke, Chris, you two talk to Hermes. The rest of us... we'll have to get our parents alone at some point, preferably after the first book, and discuss this with them. They've been around a long time, they should have an idea."

"Why both me and Chris? And what about Travis and Connor?" Luke asked.

Annabeth hesitated and glanced at Clarisse. "Out of all of us, you two probably know Kronos the best. You two know how his army actually operated, you led it," She gestured towards Luke, "And you were in it." She gestured towards Chris. "You could give Hermes insight that Travis and Connor couldn't." Clarisse scowled at her for bringing that up with Chris, but she didn't say anything, because Annabeth was right.

Chris and Luke looked at each other, before they nodded at her. After that, they all finished their breakfast in silence, with Percy being the only one to notice Poseidon, Hades, and Hermes eating their own breakfast close enough to have heard the conversation. Poseidon looked at Hermes in concern.

"Are you going to be alright, reading these books?" He asked his nephew quietly. They knew what he was really asking, would he be alright with hearing how his son, his favorite son, betrayed them all. Having to hear some of the stuff that Luke probably said about Hermes himself. They would be hearing a lot of details that Luke hadn't told him the night before.

Hermes looked at his future sons, all four of them, before looking at his favorite uncle and nodding. "I have to know," He said, turning to look at Luke . "How am I going to be able to help my son if I don't." He looked down at his food. "I don't like what they are proposing though, Uncle."

Poseidon said nothing, only watched him.

Hermes sighed and looked down at his food. "I don't like it at all, but at the same time I can't deny the kids have a point. This way we can at least control the situation somewhat. Kronos is going to rise again sooner or later, we have always known it... even if some of us live in denial." He muttered, thinking of his father.

Poseidon chuckled. "Your father... he is very proud. I can only be grateful that Athena seems to be the only one to have really inherited his pride to quite the extent that he takes it." Hermes flushed red while Poseidon chuckled again. "But, you know he doesn't react well to any perceived threats to his rule. His response has always been to either make something out of nothing and blow it out of proportion, bury his head and pretend there is no threat until he has to acknowledge it, or to over-react and make it worse than it really is. It's been like that since long before you were born." He sighed. "Some of that is probably mine and Hades fault." Hermes looked startled, he had never heard any of this before. "After we were freed from our father's stomach... well, we didn't know what to do with this new brother, always boasting about how he freed us, how he was so great, and... well, we might have indulged him a little too much in the beginning."

"It didn't help any when we gave him the throne." Hades grumbled.

"If I remember right, that was mother's idea... I forget what her reasons were though." Poseidon said quietly.

He was silent for a moment. "If the Fates will it, we may have to go with the kids' plan." He fixed his nephew with a warm look. "At least this time he will have you there to support him. I don't know the full circumstances of his betrayal, and I don't know the details of what you two discussed last night, but I can already tell just by watching the younger one that he, like so many other demigods, feels abandoned, and angry with us, their parents. These books will hopefully help many of the others see what we see. This could be what brings us together again. The kids were right, if it isn't Luke , then who knows who it will be?"

Hermes smiled briefly before it disappeared. "I worry, Luke isn't the only one of my children that turned. And, from what I've heard, he caused much pain to both those at camp, and those who followed him. If we can't get Luke to see, then he will join Kronos, and not as a spy for us. But, this time he will know of the future events that are in the books. If we cannot get him to see... then the upcoming war could be much worse for us than it was for them." He glanced at the future Greek demigods, gaze resting on his four children, before he turned to watch his younger four children. "I don't know what the older ones went through, but I don't want that for the younger ones."

"I know, I don't either." Poseidon himself glanced at his eight year old Percy . He was still so young, he wouldn't have even known about the Greek world for another four years if it weren't for the Fates. And even then, he would have been thrown into a war where the fate of the known world rested on his shoulders even before he learned of it. Zeus put that burden on his shoulders the moment he accused Percy of stealing the bolt for him, Poseidon.

He would never regret being with Sally (as unhappy as his wife would be hearing that), or having Percy and Lily. But... that didn't mean he didn't regret placing such burdens on their shoulders. Burdens that just seemed to come with the territory of being a child of him, Zeus, or Hades.

Hermes sighed. "I guess we just have to finish these books if we truly want to know what we can change." He muttered and Poseidon nodded in agreement.

It was at that moment that Zeus stood up and looked around. "Well, if everyone is finished eating, then we should keep reading, the sooner we do, the sooner we can find out who took the Bolt." Nobody saw either Luke flinch.

When they made their way to the throne room, Annabeth raised her hand and asked if she could read next. Annabeth frowned, "Um, can I see the chapter title first?" She asked. When she had the book in her hands and saw the title, she turned to Percy and Grover. "It's the emporium." They glanced at each other and had a silent debate.

"It should be alright for her to read... I don't think any of us got seriously injured in this one." Percy said slowly. "Are you going to be alright with this?" He asked Grover, quietly. He was thinking about his uncle, who got turned into a statue. Grover nodded while Annabeth handed the book off to her younger self. All the adults looked worried. What was so bad about this emporium?

Annabeth read, " Chapter eleven: We visit the Garden Gnome Emporium"

Annabeth paused, and glanced at her older self and the son of Poseidon. "A garden gnome emporium?" She asked. The trio glanced at each other again, before nodding. It honestly didn't sound all that dangerous, until you learned who was in charge...

Hades cocked his head to the side. "The only gnome emporium that I can think of being in New Jersey is the one you use, dear." He said, turning to Persephone.

She frowned, but nodded. "Yes, the statue work is quite good, although for some reason the faces don't quite come out..."

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all looked at each other again. There was a reason for that. Did Persephone not even know who she was buying statues from?

(In a way, it's... gods out there,)

"So you have somebody to blame, right?" All the other futures asked him. He nodded, and the gods tried to decide if they should be insulted or disappointed.

Leo was too busy checking over what he had built of his machine, to see what he still had to do since he was so rudely interrupted the night before and shuffled off to bed. His train of thought had been broken, and he was quite pleased to see it was almost done, just a few more parts...

Not much longer before he had a cappuccino machine that could double as a rocket launcher.

It would be awesome.

(because you have... things go wrong.)

"Yeah, it is really nice. To know that there is actually someone out there messing with you, and you're not just having a bad day." Thalia said.

"Yeah, because in our case, we can usually go and beat them up to get them to stop." Percy agreed.

"Or find something to blackmail them with." Nico added.

Hazel and Jason looked at their siblings and cousin like they were all crazy, while the other Future Greeks looked like they were either in agreement or remembering one of the times the three were talking about. The past Greeks and Romans were wondering if they were going to be safe around these three. Frank and Hazel were wondering (again) if going to Alaska with this guy was a good idea after all.

The gods just looked like they weren't sure whether they should be scared or not.

(For instance, when... attacked by monster hags)

Hades frowned at hearing how his Furies were described. They weren't hags. Sure, they hadn't exactly aged well, but...

"I've walked away from several buses, and a few cars, after being attacked by monster hags now. Especially the last few weeks." Percy said with a shrug. Those Gorgons had not given up. Of course, now he actually remembered what they had been talking about whenever they accused him of killing their sister.

(and blown up by... just really bad luck;)

"Most people don't have gods looking over their shoulders making assumptions and getting offended over the smallest things." Percy muttered just loud enough for the other demigods to hear him.

Dakota snorted and took another sip of his Kool-Aid. "I think that just comes with the territory of being a demigod, man." He said, somewhat bitterly, making the Romans and Percy (except Reyna and Jason) look at him, surprised. First off, he was being really calm, second, they'd never heard him sound like that before. He usually had a sugar-high way of speaking. What they didn't know was that he drank so much sugar on a regular basis, that it had almost no affect on him anymore, but he still acted like it did to throw them off. Also, Reyna and Jason only knew the extent of his past because they were his Praetor's. It was their job to know when something happened in the past that still affected their soldiers.

(when you're a half-blood,... mess up your day.)

"Not always when you're a half-blood, though." Jason muttered to Leo and Piper, he was thinking of the mess they walked into at Aeolus's castle. How he changed the weather on the others whims because so-and-so was mad at this region, or they didn't want that region to have nice weather just because they were mad at the one requesting it. It had been madness. They nodded in agreement, knowing what he was thinking about.

(So there we were... reeking in our noses.)

Percy muttered something about giving the Hudson another sand-dollar, a whole one this time. Grover muttered something back about being grateful he was human and didn't have as good a nose.

Grover was grimacing, he had been by the Hudson before, it was both disgusting and sickening just how much the humans polluted it. Not to mention the smell!

(Grover was shivering... and full of terror.)

A few people winced. They didn't usually see Grover like that. Since meeting Percy, he had found a confidence that many had no idea he could be capable of. How did the goat go from this, to the person who turned a Titan into an Oak tree? Just what did they get up to on their quests?

Grover turned red when everyone heard about his older self's breakdown. He may not think very highly of himself or be very strong, but he was still male and he didn't want people seeing him this weak. Grover just grimaced at hearing how he used to be.

("Three Kindly Ones. All three at once.")

"You really don't have the best of luck, do you?" Katie and Gwen both asked. Katie had been suspiciously observing the Stoll brothers, but now she looked over at Percy in amazement.

"No, not really. It mostly depends on the circumstances, though." Percy answered with a shrug. The others looked at him while Annabeth laughed.

(I was pretty much... still rang in my ears.)

"Yeah, that was painful." Grover muttered.

Percy and Annabeth looked sympathetic, they were glad they didn't have his sense of hearing sometimes, while other times they wished they did.

(But Annabeth kept... we get, the better.")

"Good thinking." The Hermes crew said.

"Yeah, except they still have to worry about Zeus zapping them." Somebody muttered. Zeus sent a minor glare at them.

"Yeah, but they're away from the site of the monster attack. And with the rain, it will make it harder for any backup to track their scents." Thalia said to the group. Zoe, Artemis, and Apollo nodded in agreement. Since they were the hunters in the group, they were good at tracking.

("All our money was back there,")

"Which can be problematic when it comes to finding a new way west." Will said.

"Well, they could always hitch-hike if they have to."

"Not with Gabe plastering Percy's picture all over New York. Maybe if they were further away from the city... Either way, they are going to have to either, ah, borrow , some transportation, or find a way to get new bus tickets or even find a train station." Jason disagreed.

"Don't worry, we found a way." Percy said, with a grimace. He still couldn't believe they had to rely on a poodle of all things, not only that, but a pink poodle. That had to be a crime against canine's, having a pink, male dog... and the dogs name! What were those owners thinking?

Grover smirked at him, remembering how he made Percy say hi to Gladiola.

(I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything.")

"Which is why you don't ever take your bags off your person. And you don't leave your money in your bag, either." Annabeth said, adding the last part as an afterthought.

"Yeah, keep your money in your pocket if you have one, if not... then hide it in your shoe if you have to." Percy said in agreement. He was thinking of a movie he'd seen when he said that, if he remembered right, it was called... The Polar Express. Yeah, that was it, he used to watch it all the time on Christmas with his mom and sister, until Gabe came into their lives.

"Eew, but then it would get all sweaty and gross." Annabeth said with a grimace.

"Yeah, but at least you would still have it." Clarisse said with a shrug. Annabeth grimaced again, but nodded her agreement.

("Well, maybe if... into the fight-")

"What was he supposed to do?"

"Watch you get yourself killed?" The Stolls piped in from where they had been sitting quietly (which was setting a few people on edge).

Katie and both Lukes had been seen eyeing both sets of Stolls suspiciously, trying to figure out what they were up to.

Annabeth blushed, since that was the almost the exact same thing Percy had asked her at the time.

("What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?")

The Stolls high-fived each other with stupid grins on their faces.

"Hey, guys," Percy finally called over to them.

"Yes?" They asked.

Percy hesitated for a moment, studying their faces, before he spoke. "Don't cause damage and nothing that lasts too long." He finally said, warning them with his eyes not to try and disobey him on this.

They pouted for a moment, before they reluctantly promised not to, Percy was really the only one they would listen to, after all. Percy nodded and turned his attention back to the book, already knowing to keep an eye out for whenever they unleashed their idea. Everyone else started twitching with nerves, something which made the Percy's, and Stoll brothers eyes gleam. They could taste the fear...

("You didn't need to protect me, Percy.)

"Maybe I didn't need to, but I did anyway." Percy said quietly to Annabeth, who smiled and leaned into him more.

"Thank you." She said just as quietly. He grinned down at her.

Sally smiled softly as she watched their interactions. This is what she'd been missing for the past few months. She missed her son.

(I would've been fine.")

"You would have been taking the shortcut to the Underworld, but fine." Nico corrected. Grover and Percy snorted while Annabeth turned a little red again.

("Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine.")

Nico cocked his head, "Close enough." He said with a shrug. Everybody laughed.

("Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.)

"'M not a goat boy." Grover grumbled half-heartedly. It had been Thalia that started calling him that, back when he first found them on the streets. At first, he really hated being called that, but after she was turned into a tree, he wished she was still around to call him that, and when Annabeth called him that, he remembered how that was Thalia's name for him. When she came back and started calling him that again, his usual reminders that he wasn't a goat-boy were half-hearted at best.

He'd been too happy to have her back.

(Grover brayed mournfully... bag of tin cans.")

Percy reached over to give Grover a sympathetic pat on the back, while both Grovers looked like they were taking a moment of silence for the sacrificed tin cans.

"The food will always be mourned."

"And appreciated for its noble sacrifice." The Stolls said solemnly. The Grovers graciously thanked them for their kind words.

Everyone else either stared at the five of them like they were growing extra heads, or started laughing at them.

(We sloshed across... like sour laundry.)

"And that's only what my human nose can smell..." Percy muttered, glancing at Grover sympathetically. Grover huffed, but rubbed his nose, he swore he could smell it again.

(After a few minutes, Annabeth... That was really brave.")

Poseidon and a few others nodded in approval. She could swallow her pride, good. Not many demigods could do that, especially not children of Athena or Zeus. Plus a few others, but those two were the main ones.

Despite what many might think, pride was actually the number one demigod killer, not monsters. When a demigod was too proud to ask for help when they needed, or too proud to thank somebody for their help afterwards, resulting in the other demigod eventually having the attitude of 'if they don't want help, then I won't give it to them.'

Of course, demigods always stuck together. But there were times when they just wanted nothing to do with each other. And being ungrateful would get you on that list of people nobody wanted anything to do with.

"I wasn't trying to be brave, I was trying to help my friends out." Percy muttered.

("We're a team, right?")

"Dang right we're a team." Percy and Annabeth said proudly.

"You're the best team." Thalia said, with a slight grin.

"There isn't anything the two of them can't come out of."

"As long as they are together." Travis and Connor said cheerfully.

Nobody noticed two of the MS wince in their corner. Except for Sally, anyway. She narrowed her eyes, worried, when she saw the two she knew to be Annabeth and Percy wince. What happened? The one she knew to be Frank reached over and clapped the two of them on the shoulder gently in support. Whatever the Stolls said, brought up bad memories. She decided to wait until they actually got that far in the books, where she knew what happened, before she got too concerned.

(She was silent for... to see the real world.")

Everyone was silent. "You know, Annabeth..." Thalia started, trying to hide her amusement.

"You should have stuck with the 'thank you'." Luke finished, he wasn't even trying to hide it.

Annabeth turned red. "I... you guys know how I can be... I wasn't using him, honestly." She hurried to reassure the parents.

"Yeah, you kind of were." Percy said, trying not to laugh. "But that's ok, I can understand going cabin-crazy." He assured her. She smiled sheepishly at him. Poseidon just raised an eyebrow at her. He wasn't so sure he liked her using his son like that. He didn't say anything though, he knew there were plenty of times where Amphitrite used him in almost the exact same way Annabeth was using Percy at the beginning of this quest.

(The thunderstorm had finally let up.)

Poseidon nodded absently. That meant Zeus's attention had finally gone somewhere else for the time being. Either that, or Hestia had finally gotten him to knock it off before he flooded Hudson and killed a lot of people. Either way, he wasn't focused on Percy anymore.

That was a good thing.

Right?

(The city glow faded... almost total darkness.)

"It was strange. I'd never been without the lights of the city before. I'd never seen such darkness." Percy said. "Even in camp, there were still the lights from the court's fire pit, and the porch lights from all the cabins plus the Big House."

A few of the others who grew up in the city nodded in agreement with him. While those who grew up out in the countryside, where there were no city lights, looked at them in amusement. They had been unable to sleep for a while when they first arrived, because of the constant lights.

(I couldn't see... of her blond hair.)

"Couldn't see anything." Percy grumbled, rubbing his nose as he remembered that tree he ran into. It was very dark out... he wasn't used to such darkness! Annabeth tried to hide a smile while she patted him on the shoulder, but everyone except Percy noticed it.

("You haven't left... seven?" I asked her.)

Sally frowned. She knew the story behind Annabeth leaving home, and, while she was angry at Annabeth's father and step-mother, she also knew that things were better between them. But still, to run away when your only seven...

There's also the fact that there wouldn't have been very many other children her age around camp. If she remembered right, the youngest they usually got was around ten to twelve. That was when the demigod's scent started becoming strong enough for monsters to find them. Usually, it depended on the demigod, and who their parent was. But, ten to twelve year olds don't usually want to hang around with a seven year old. She wouldn't have had anybody to play with when she wasn't training.

She sighed and waved off her men when the five of them (three Percy's, one Paul, and one Poseidon) looked at her in concern. Mentally, though, she was thinking of starting some kind of program for the younger demigods who lived at camp... she already offered her home as a safe-house whenever a demigod was in New York and needed somewhere to stay the night or medical attention and couldn't wait until they made it to camp. Why not offer her home to the younger ones who had nowhere else to go too? At least during the school year, that way they wouldn't be stuck in camp all the time... and have a chance to make some friends outside the Greek world.

("No... only short field... "The history professor.")

"What kind of history?" Frank asked, "Like, what's the time period he focuses on, or topic... whatever." His face was slightly red.

Annabeth smiled at him, though. "Well, mostly military history, he's been kind of obsessed with World War two for a while now, though. I think he used to teach a class at West Point, but..." She shrugged. "He said that when I showed up on his doorstep, he didn't have time for both West Point and me, so..."

"So he stopped teaching there to raise you." Hestia finished with a small smile. She knew what happened between Annabeth and her father, and she hated it. The two had been very close, once Frederick accepted that he had a daughter and figured out what he was supposed to do with her. But, they were talking now, so that was good. This was further proof in her mind that Fredrick loved Annabeth more than anything else, which is what a family should do. West Point was a very good job, for him to give that up...

Annabeth smiled at her and nodded.

("Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home.)

"Unfortunately, it doesn't work out at home for far too many of our children." Hestia murmured, moving to sit next to Sally. She wanted to run a few ideas past the mortal, she was also considering giving Sally her blessing, this woman knew what the home really was. It wasn't just a house. Hestia was the goddess of the Home and Hearth. The home, where families lived, where children grew up; and the hearth, where families gathered around to enjoy each others company.

Many people tended to forget that, through her two domains, she was also the goddess of family. Hera could brag about it all she wanted, her domain was marriage, not the family itself. Sally Jackson (Blofis, now) embodied everything Hestia prized most. That was very rare in the world now.

Sally nodded and turned to her. "I wish there was something more that could be done, aside from sending out a satyr and hoping they make it to camp in one piece." She said. Hestia smiled at her.

"We'll have to discuss ideas later on, my dear." She said.

(I mean, Camp Half-Blood... camp you train and train.)

"What about being a child?" Sally asked quietly, and sadly. She knew that these kids had to be trained in order to survive, but to do nothing but train since you were seven? That wasn't a proper childhood. Paul clearly shared her concern.

Chiron shifted on his hooves. "I do try to give the younger children as much free time as possible, where they can just be children, but that is not always possible, they do need to know how to fight and defend themselves if they want to survive outside of camp." He reassured Sally and Paul, who also looked concerned.

Hestia spoke up quietly. "Every once in a while, I will join some of the children in a game of tag around the cabins. Or, some of the naiad's invite them for a game of hide-and-seek. We try to let them be children as well." The demigods looked at her, they hadn't known that she joined in their games. Although... they supposed that there were a few times where one of the players seemed a little too wise to be a kid like they were.

(And that's all cool... any good or not.")

Annabeth sighed. "I take it back, I would much rather stay at camp and forget about the real world outside." She said. The other future Greeks all nodded in agreement. That sounded like a good plan. Even Luke looked like he agreed.

At camp, all they had to worry about was the occasional monster that didn't feel like staying in the woods, but they didn't usually get very far before the wood nymphs and spirits dragged them back in.

"Although, you are definitely good enough." Clarisse grunted. Percy smirked at her, and she snapped. "Even I can recognize and compliment skill, Prissy!" Percy's smirk changed into a smile and she narrowed her eyes.

(If I didn't know any... doubt in her voice.)

Annabeth sighed again and grumbled about observant sons of Poseidon. Percy smirked while Grover laughed.

Amphitrite rolled her eyes to the side to look at her husband, she remembered saying something similar back when she first met him, before they got married.

("You're pretty good with that knife," I said.)

Everybody who ever sparred with her in the sword ring grimaced and nodded their agreement. When fighting her, one did not, under any circumstances let her get closer than their arms could reach. Reyna saw it and looked at Annabeth thoughtfully. Maybe the girl would be a good spar partner while they were here.

("You think so?")

"I know so." Percy whispered in Annabeth's ear before kissing her temple. Percy made a face behind his back, which made Annabeth laugh.

("Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me.")

Everyone groaned. There it was again.

"There you go again, saying the name. You do realize that if two of them weren't dead and the third probably in the middle of reporting back, you would have just told them exactly where we were and they would have come after us again. Without having to really search." Annabeth said, glaring slightly at her boyfriend.

Who just blinked at her slowly before he shrugged and pulled her into his side in a hug. She shook her head and silently asked Poseidon why she put up with him, only to hear a deep chuckle in her head. When she glanced up at the sea god, she saw him smiling at her. That same warm smile that Percy had. She smiled slightly back, feeling like she had just been accepted and approved.

"That was pretty cool though, seeing you on her back like that." Grover said with a smirk. She looked away from Poseidon to turn to the Satyr.

"Well of course it was, I was the one doing it." She said in the snobbiest voice she could muster.

Everyone laughed, dispelling the tension that had been building because of their current situation in the book.

(I couldn't really... she might've smiled.)

"Smirked, more like." Both Lukes and Thalia muttered. Both Annabeths smiled innocently. They did not fall for it at all.

Percy tilted his head to the side and considered, before he nodded in agreement. He knew Annabeth better now, and now he could say that she would have been smirking.

("You know," she said... an owl being tortured.)

Percy and Grover both froze, and glanced at Athena, who looked murderous. Then they frantically gestured for Annabeth to keep reading, but before she could, Amphitrite asked Annabeth if she remembered what she had been about to say. The boys groaned silently and tried to pretend Athena wasn't trying to glare them to death. (It was actually kind of easy to do, Grover had seen worse glares when Percy was annoyed with somebody and Percy had seen worse from the Titans he'd fought.)

She blinked for a moment, trying to remember, then she said, "I think I was going to point out what Alecto had said about finding it. Not him ." Amphitrite nodded, and gestured Annabeth to keep reading before Athena tried to kill her stepson and his Satyr friend.

("Hey, my reed pipes still work!")

Athena looked slightly mollified, she stopped glaring straight at them at least, when she heard that there were no owls involved in the making of that sound.

She was still glaring though.

(Grover cried. "If I... suspiciously like Hilary Duff.)

"A lot of his songs sound like that, for some reason." Thalia muttered. Grover turned bright red.

"He went through a Hilary Duff phase after you turned into a tree. For a while, it was all he would play." Clarisse growled, glaring at Grover. She hated Hilary Duff! It had been so annoying. Clarisse was glaring at Grover, and both satyr's were cowering away from the girls.

Everyone else was trying not to laugh.

(Instead of finding a... knot on my head.)

Percy grimaced and rubbed his head where he hit it all those years ago while everybody else laughed or winced in sympathy. They'd all done that at some point, mostly during Capture the Flag games when they were in a dark part of the woods.

(Add to the list of... have: infrared vision.)

"No..." Percy started lowly, not that everyone knew who he was, "But... you can sense things, kinda like a bat does, using the water in the air." A few people started, they hadn't been expecting any of the MS to speak.

"How do you know that?" Athena asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

He shrugged. "I know a few sons of Poseidon..." He said cryptically. Not telling the others that he was the son of Poseidon. Poseidon himself and Sally smirked slightly, while Percy looked considering. He hadn't even thought of trying that... he'd use a break or something and experiment with his powers.

Zeus got a worried look on his face, his paranoia rearing up. Just how powerful would this boy get? He had to make plans... the boy couldn't be allowed to get too powerful. He glanced towards his older brother, only to find Poseidon glaring at him, daring him to follow through on his thoughts. He narrowed his eyes and turned back to Annabeth.

(After tripping and cursing... nymph-prepared barbecue.)

"Perfect for the kind of training you have." Demeter said with a nod. "Although it could use more grains..." She said suggestively, looking at Dionysus with a small glare.

He sighed, annoyed. "I told you, their meals are fine as they are. The nymphs know what they are doing, and they all said that too many grains and not enough protein would not be good for the brats level of activity. Their words, not mine." He told her, not happy that she was bringing this up again . "The nymphs have their meals balanced as they should be."

Demeter started to speak again, when Hestia spoke up. "Demeter, leave it. Dionysus is in charge of the camp, which includes the meals. His decision is final." She, too, was tired of Demeter trying to force everyone to eat more grains. Demeter pouted at her older sister, but didn't say anything else.

"There is more variety than that though, isn't there?" Sally asked. Children needed variety in their lives, in her opinion it encouraged their imagination and creativity.

"Yes, there is some variety, but that is the main meal." Dionysus said, bored, while he sipped at his wine.

(This boy needed a double cheeseburger.)

"That's another reason why I didn't really stick around camp for the year, and went to school instead. They don't have cheeseburgers!" Thalia said. She required her cheeseburgers.

"Yeah, you wouldn't survive long without a cheeseburger." Percy agreed. She nodded, very seriously, in agreement. The parents all looked at the two of them like they were growing extra heads while the demigods were trying not to laugh.

Everyone knew that when Thalia, Nico, and Percy got together, you could expect to find them at the closest restaurant that sold cheeseburgers.

They all had their different food obsessions; Percy was anything baked by his mother (mostly her cookies) and pizza, Thalia was cheeseburgers, while Nico was Happy Meals from McDonald's and Sally's cake. They all learned years ago not to question it. They just knew that if they were together, to look in Sally's kitchen or the places that sold those foods first. If they were not there, then they had to wait for them to show up again, because they wouldn't be found.

(We kept walking... through the trees.)

"Don't go there. It's a trap." Most of the demigods immediately said.

"Guys, this already happened."

They all looked at each other and sighed in defeat, before bracing themselves for what was about to happen, whatever that was.

(On the other side was a closed-down gas station,)

"Trap." Percy raised an eyebrow at everybody.

(a tattered billboard... and one open business,)

"Trap." Was said again. Percy and Annabeth blinked at everyone.

(which was the... the good smell.)

"We know, its a trap." Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all chimed when those who spoke earlier went to open their mouths again.

"It did smell good, though." Percy muttered to Annabeth. She nodded in agreement.

(It wasn't a fast-food... and stuff like that.)

"Those places still exist?" Sally asked, blinking in shock. Those were the kinds of places her uncle would always stop at the few times they went somewhere when she was younger. She never knew why, either, until one day he told her that whenever he would travel as a kid with his family, his parents always stopped there, and his sister (her mother) would always get a small carved grizzly.

Ever since then, he would stop and she would get a small carved grizzly of her own. She could barely remember her parents, but she still missed them.

"There are still a few around." Hermes said with a shrug. "Especially out west and around the Reserves."

(The main building... cursive neon English.)

All the dyslexic demigods in the room groaned and nodded in agreement, a few of them muttering curses to the headache inducing letters, while a few others muttered about inconsiderate jerks. The parents looked at them wide-eyed. Was it really that bad for them?

"Just thinking about it gives me a headache." Clarisse said to her fellow dyslexic Greeks. They nodded in agreement. For some reason, none of the Romans seemed to have the same problem that the Greeks did. And it actually kind of ticked the Greeks off, if they really thought about it.

(To me, it looked... GOMEN MEPROUIM.)

All the adults looked at Annabeth with wide eyes. What on earth did she just say? Athena came over to see it and was alarmed, was this really what they saw when they tried to read? This was worse than she thought... she always thought that they could get it if they just tried harder... she knew that dyslexia was a problem for them, but she never really thought it was this bad.

She resolved to review the programs in place and different tools and methods that were out there for making it easier for dyslexic kids to read. This was horrible.

("What the heck does... she was dyslexic, too.)

"Most of the books I read, though, are in Ancient Greek." Annabeth explained to the room with a shrug.

Thalia nodded, "It is much easier to read." She said in agreement.

(Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium.")

Triton paled. "Aunty Em? Oh no, leave. Leave that place right now and don't look back." He instructed with wide eyes. He knew exactly who that was.

"Triton? What's wrong?" Poseidon asked, concerned.

"Aunty Em is what she wanted me to call her, before she started getting all creepy and stalker on you." Triton told his father. "They're walking right into her trap."

"Oh no." Poseidon said, and looked at his son, concerned. He hadn't done enough back then to keep her away from him and his family, and then the whole thing with Athena turning her into what she was now...

Everyone was looking at the trio concerned, until Persephone gasped as she understood who they were talking about. "But that's where we get our statues from..." She said to Hades. She had always hated Medusa, and now that she knew Medusa was the one she was getting statues from... well, she would not be getting anymore of them.

(Flanking the entrance... cement garden gnomes,)

"Ugh, nasty little creatures." Demeter and Persephone both muttered. They absolutely destroyed the garden if you didn't keep them out, they liked to tunnel underneath the soil, which could mess with the root systems of the plants depending on where they went. They also had a habit of taking off with gardening tools.

"Serves them right being statues." Demeter said louder.

Amphitrite hid a smile, she didn't have to deal with those things, her garden was under the sea, gnomes couldn't swim.

(ugly bearded little runts... smell of the hamburgers.)

Poseidon groaned quietly, he was already under her spell. It would be difficult for him to get away now. He would say impossible, except that Percy looked so much like him, that it should give them a chance to get away. Annabeth was the only one he worried about making it out, she would not be merciful to the daughter of Athena.

("Hey..." Grover warned.)

"You know, you two should really listen to me more often." Grover said with a slight pout. The two of them pouted (Percy) and scowled (Annabeth) before they sheepishly grinned at him, but neither said a word.

Everyone else happened to agree with the satyr though. They really didn't listen to him, ever.

("The lights are on... "Maybe it's open.")

"Just what time was this?" Gwen suddenly asked. Percy and Annabeth shrugged. They didn't have a watch or something on them at the time.

"Well, it's dark, and its summer, so I would say it was after ten at least." Luke said out loud.

"Right, what kind of place that isn't a fast food restaurant would be open after ten?" Gwen asked the trio who were on this quest.

"We were twelve, I hadn't been outside camp much since I was seven, and it had been a long day." Annabeth defended, Percy nodded beside her.

Gwen stared at them for a second before she said anything. "I will accept the excuse that you hadn't been out in the real world in a while before this, but not your age. Your training instructors would have taught you to be more careful about this kind of place, at least I hope they did," She said, pointing to Annabeth, "And your mother is amazing and would have taught you to be more careful than this." She said, pointing to Percy.

Everyone looked at Sally. She shrugged and nodded in agreement, that yes, she had taught him to be more careful than this.

("Snack bar," I said wistfully.

"Snack bar," she agreed.)

"And... those two are already under her spell." Poseidon muttered to Amphitrite. She looked at him in sympathy, he knew what it felt like to be under her spell, and not even remember what happened afterwards.

("Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird.")

"Yeah, it kind of was..." Percy muttered.

"Yup, when Medusa was gone and we weren't under her influence anymore." Annabeth agreed.

(We ignored him.)

"Isn't that one of the camp motto's?" Leo asked.

"Yup, listening to the satyr's..."

"...and the centaur are basic..."

"... for survival." The Stolls chimed in, finally coming out of their corner to join everyone else. Everyone else eyed them suspiciously.

Annabeth and Percy decided to ignore them and Grover's smug 'I told you so' look.

(The front lot was... cement children,)

Sally gasped quietly, she had just started to realize who this was, but she was going to wait until it was confirmed, but if she was right... she even got children? She prayed that none of those children suffered at least, but still! To target children! Hestia glanced over and put a comforting hand on her knee.

"I hope that you didn't buy the children statues." She said sharply to her niece/sister-in-law.

Persephone looked at her for a second before slowly shaking her head, she hadn't bought any of the children statues, she hadn't liked how they looked so afraid, children should never look like that, she preferred watching children playing in the meadows during spring.

(even a cement satyr playing the pipes,)

Hermes and Dionysus both stiffened. She had a Satyr? "Would you be able to do something about speeding up her 'rebirth', if something were to happen to her?" Hermes asked Hades. He was going to make sure she learned, you do not mess with his satyr's.

"I could... it would take some effort and quite a bit of power, but I could do it. Why?" Hades asked, watching his nephew carefully.

"She is going to learn that you don't mess with Satyr's, and I want to make sure that if I go too far then I can get her back quickly to start over again." Hermes said with a hard look.

"I will help you in that endeavor, brother." Dionysus raised his wine glass to his half-sibling, those were his satyrs, she wasn't going to ever touch them again.

(which gave Grover... my Uncle Ferdinand!")

Chiron and Dionysus flinched slightly, they liked Ferdinand, he'd been one of the best protectors they had. He had his searcher's license, of course, but he didn't go off on a search like most did. He still Searched, but he decided to search around his time when he was finding and protecting demigods. He was one of the best trainers they had back then, they had never found out what happened to him.

That was one of the reasons why the Council of Cloven Elders was so hard on him, they were expecting him to be just as great as his uncle, and then it never happened. Well, not yet... And now that they knew what happened to him, they were going to make her pay. They were going to make it very painful for her.

(We stopped at the... "I smell monsters.")

"Listen to Grover." Almost all the demigods yelled.

"Guys, years ago." Percy grumbled, but otherwise neither he nor Annabeth reacted.

("Your nose is clogged... Annabeth told him.)

"They're never going to listen to him, are they?" Thalia asked rhetorically, they never listened to Grover, never. It was a wonder they were still alive, the number of times Grover warned them and they didn't listen, leading to them walking right into a trap of some kind.

"In this case, I'm afraid that it's not completely their fault." Apollo said to his half-sister.

"Yes, Medusa is almost as good as Circe when it comes to ensnaring people." Amphitrite said sourly. She really didn't like Medusa, what with all the trouble she caused them, not to mention all the stalking she did on Amphitrite's husband.

("All I smell is burgers.)

"Some sorceress's use song, some use their looks, others use food." Amphitrite muttered.

(Aren't you hungry?"... "I'm a vegetarian.")

"Preach it!" Piper called out. The Grover's grinned at her.

("You eat cheese enchiladas... I reminded him.)

"Those are vegetables!" Both Grovers defended themselves. Piper made a face, those weren't exactly what she would consider vegetables.

("Those are vegetables.)

"See." The Grovers said, nodding importantly. He got a few laughs.

(Come on. Let's leave. These statues are... looking at me.")

"It was very creepy." Percy agreed.

"Once we noticed them, anyway." Annabeth added.

(Then the door creaked... she was Middle Eastern,)

"Close to that region, but try Greek." Annabeth muttered. She had an idea of what was going on, based on all the statues and comments made by Poseidon.

Percy just raised his eyebrows at her, he was feeling oddly sentimental hearing her talk like that, his Annabeth still gave information out like that, but her tone no longer held that air of, 'you are an absolute idiot, why am I even bothering, your never going to understand it'. Annabeth 's had.

(because she wore a... been a beautiful lady.)

"Oh, she was very beautiful once upon a time." Poseidon said to his wife in agreement. "She was also very creepy and dangerous to underwater security." She nodded in agreement.

"Hey, if she was really beautiful once, then why did both her sisters say she was the ugliest of them?" Percy questioned Annabeth quietly, confused. He'd actually been wondering this since the chapter began.

"That was her true appearance, she used to have the ability to change her appearance at will, and she used to be able to control her powers to turn people to stone. It wasn't until after Athena cursed her, that she lost the ability to change her appearance, and to control her power." Annabeth answered just as quietly.

"So... basically, her powers were locked away, making her an even bigger monster than before." Percy deadpanned.

"...Yeah." Annabeth said, looking at him.

"... Do you think the Fates would mind if I attacked your mom right now?" Percy asked, staring at Athena.

(Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too.)

"Greek." Annabeth muttered.

(She said, "Children, it is...

"We're orphans," I said.)

"You came up with that one pretty quick..." Sally said.

Both Percy's turned red. "We, ah... that was a favorite excuse of Lily's, whenever some adult wanted to call our parents to complain about us. Say we were orphans, and then when they were distracted with that, make a run for it." Percy muttered.

"Really? And just what would they be wanting to call to complain about?" Sally asked lightly.

"Our latest prank." Both boys said, unashamed. Their mother looked at them and sighed.

The Stolls looked at each other and grinned before they went back to planning. What they were planning, nobody wanted to know.

"It was kind of true for him, though, at the moment." Percy muttered to Triton, laying down so his head was in his brother's lap and he was curled against his leg. A few of the girls 'awed' over how adorable it was. It was true though, Percy's father may have been alive, but it wasn't like he could really be with him, and he had just watched his mother die not a week earlier.

("Orphans?" the woman said... from our caravan,")

People looked around and blinked in confusion, what caravan?

(I said. "Our circus caravan.)

There was silence for a moment while people blinked at each other before slowly turning to look at Percy in confusion.

"Circus caravan?" Annabeth muttered. Percy just looked at her, but didn't say anything. Triton looked at Percy in concern when he tensed, and started running his fingers through his hair comfortingly.

(The ringmaster told us... Is that food I smell?")

"Typical childish ramblings..."

"...of a lost...,

"...scared and lonely...,"

"...twelve year old, check." The Stolls said with a nod.

"Although, you almost blew it asking about food so abruptly at the end, there." Luke added in.

The three got a pillow thrown at their heads for their troubles.

("Oh, my dears," the woman... please. There is a dining area.")

"You gotta admit though, until she started with insisting on a picture, she played the part of an old granny pretty well." Percy said with a shrug. The others either looked at him like he was growing another head, or looked thoughtful while they tried to figure out who this was. Annabeth and Grover considered for a moment before they nodded in agreement.

(We thanked her and went inside.

Annabeth muttered to me, "Circus caravan?")

"Yeah, where did that one come from?" Annabeth finally asked. Everyone else perked up, they wanted to know, and Percy so far wasn't talking, but he never could deny Annabeth an answer unless it wasn't his secret to share.

Percy looked around before he sighed and shrugged. "Gabe used to threaten to sell us to the circus all the time. I think he had some connections somewhere... Anyway, he was always saying we would be the main attraction for the magicians show where they saw people in half. I think I had Gabe on my mind, because of that poster we saw, so..." He shrugged again, trying to sound nonchalant, like Gabe's threats hadn't terrified him and his sister.

And promptly ignored how Gabe disappeared along with Poseidon and Sally.

This surprised those who didn't really know Sally. Yes, they saw her attack him earlier, but that was when he said something he really shouldn't have, they would have never thought that she would have it in her. But those people hadn't seen her at the Battle of Manhattan, fighting monsters. Those people didn't know that she would take on Kronos and Gaea together if it meant keeping her loved ones safe.

("Always have a strategy, right?"

"Your head is full of kelp.")

"No." Thalia suddenly yelled, pointing a finger at Annabeth. "That is my nickname for him, you have your own." She said seriously. Annabeth held her hands up in surrender, but smiled innocently.

"I don't know what your talking about, Thalia. I didn't say anything."

Thalia narrowed her eyes, "You came close enough. Like I said, you have your own nickname for him. He is my Kelp Headed cousin, while he is your Seaweed Brain."

"Wow, I'm feeling the love right now." Percy said dryly.

(The warehouse was filled with more statues-)

"Just how many victims has she had over the years?" Rachel breathed in disbelief.

"I don't know how many were there, plus the ones she had sold off, but I bet the police would have a field day with that place, it would close so many missing persons cases." Annabeth said just as quietly.

(people in all different... expressions on their faces.)

"The ones who didn't look afraid must have been mortals without the Sight. Those who were afraid are the ones who could see her true appearance. Demigods and mortals like Sally and Rachel, who can see through the Mist." Annabeth mused thoughtfully. Percy blinked at her, wondering where this was coming from. Grover shrugged.

(I was thinking you'd... even one of these statues,)

Persephone scowled. Pretty huge just about described her garden, she had dozens of those statues. No more. She wasn't doing any more business with Medusa . She hated that woman.

(because they were all... was thinking about food.)

Most of the girls groaned while the boys all looked at each other and shrugged, because that was actually perfectly understandable.

" Males . They are such pigs." Zoe said in disgust. Artemis and Thalia nodded their agreement while some of the males in the room looked at her, offended, but not really willing to get into it with the immortal Huntress.

(Go ahead, call me an idiot)

"You're an idiot." Everyone turned to him and said.

Percy pouted. "I didn't mean literally..." He muttered. Annabeth smiled at him and kissed him before leaning against him again and ignoring her mothers glare (directed solely at him). Poseidon and Sally returned just in time to hear them and they both hid grins.

(for walking into a... do impulsive stuff sometimes.)

"Sometimes?" All the Greeks asked dryly.

"Cousin, try all the time." Thalia said, moving behind him and draping herself over his back.

"Oh, come on, like none of you ever do stupid stuff on impulse. Especially you, Thals." Percy scoffed, moving forward to dislodge his cousin, especially once he saw Artemis and Zoe glaring at him for her touching him like this.

"I am not nearly as impulsive as you are." Thalia retorted, moving forward with him to stay draped, he wasn't dislodging her that easily.

"Oh, so joining the Hunters as the lieutenant wasn't impulsive?" Percy asked, giving up on getting her off him so easily and working on moving her arms from around his neck.

"No, I'd been thinking about joining them during the entire flight to Olympus..."

"That wasn't very long to make such a big decision." Annabeth pointed out through her laughter.

"... and it wasn't like I was expecting her to just make me the lieutenant, I was expecting Phoebe or something to be put in charge." Thalia said with a shrug, ignoring Annabeth and everyone else who was laughing at the two of them.

"Nico, help me out here!" Percy whined to his younger cousin when he couldn't remove Thalia's arms. Nico shook his head, but shadow-traveled behind Thalia and grabbed her before shadow-traveling back to his seat, being careful to only take her with him. She pouted at him, but sat down without too much problems.

Zoe and Artemis seemed like they couldn't decide who to glare at the most for touching a Sister, Nico or Percy. They ignored the part where the three were cousins who acted more like siblings.

(Plus, you've never smelled... gas in the dentist's chair-)

Sally started laughing about something while all three Percy's started grumbling and pouting, not that everyone could see the oldest Percy's reaction. Nobody could get her to calm down enough to tell them what was so funny, although they could guess it had to do with Percy's reaction to laughing gas during a dental visit.

(it made everything else go away.)

"He's under a spell. Or drugged, either way, he's not getting out of there easily." Poseidon said with a sigh. That was how she got him into her bed that one time, he had wanted nothing to do with her before that. Sure, she was beautiful, but she was also really creepy. Luckily it never happened again, but it was enough for the twins to be born. Pegasus and Chrysaor. He never did find out how she found something that would influence him so completely.

Sally, who had calmed down by now, whimpered in worry and leaned into Paul when he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's not a spell through the Mist or anything, though, because you said the Mist either wouldn't affect him at all, or would do more than intended." Annabeth asked with a slight frown.

"No, if I'm right about who this is... it's not through the Mist. Never through the Mist." Hermes said, seriously.

(I barely noticed Grover's... locked the door behind us.)

"Oh, no." Sally whispered, Paul's arms were all that was keeping her seated, and not running over to grab her son and never let go. Mrs. O'Leary whined and licked her human on the head, putting her big head as close to being in his lap as possible.

Percy made a disgusted face before using his power over water to clean the slobber out of his hair before he started petting Mrs. O'Leary's head comfortingly.

(All I cared about was finding the dining area.)

Artemis and Zoe snorted quietly. Of course, ignoring the knowledge of who this is and that the male was currently being controlled, that was so like men.

(And sure enough, there... a nacho cheese dispenser.)

"Hmm, that sounds good." A few of the guys muttered.

Zoe looked at them incredulously, "We just ate breakfast! Males!" She grumbled.

Sally laughed good-naturedly, and a little hysterically, but this was a good distraction. Hestia shook her head, too, but made a table with snacks appear nearby. She knew that the boys would be fine, they would be more than able to eat a full lunch later on. They were teenage boys, after all.

Not only that, but they were DEMIGOD teenage boys.

(Everything you could... picnic tables out front.)

"Those tables looked so good" Grover grumbled longingly. Percy and Annabeth gave him a strange look.

"I don't think you would want to eat those, Man, you don't know how many years worth of dirt, grease, and dust were on those things. They would have given you food poisoning." Percy told his friend, very seriously.

"I would have cleaned them off first." Grover defended himself.

("Please, sit down," Aunty Em... have any money, ma'am.")

"You tried, dear." Hestia said with a slight smile. Poseidon grimaced, he tried, but unfortunately it wouldn't have worked. Grover sighed, he couldn't get Percy and Annabeth to listen to him and leave, so he tried to get the lady to kick them out since they couldn't pay.

It might have worked if it had been a mortal woman, in theory, she wouldn't have been able to afford to feed them, since she hadn't had business in a while. Hey, you never know with mortals sometimes, most of the ones he had seen would have kicked them out if they couldn't pay for the help in some way, it was rare for people to just do things out of the goodness of their hearts anymore.

(Before I could jab him... This is a special case, yes?)

"Yeah, it's special alright, you have a child of Athena and Poseidon together." Gwen muttered, she was remembering how Percy was chased into Camp Jupiter by two Gorgons, and now they were in a warehouse surrounded by statues, one of which was a satyr.

Although, from what little she knew of the Greek side of things, to say Poseidon and Athena didn't get along was an understatement, and that generally bled down to their children. But, from what had been said in the reading, it sounded like the cause of that was a misunderstanding on Athena's part, and then her holding a grudge and refusing to let it go. There was probably other stuff that added to it, though, over the years.

(It is my treat, for... done something wrong,)

"She did, she spoke." Poseidon muttered. Medusa certainly hated anything to do with Athena, and those grey eyes of Annabeth's would have told her everything she needed to know about Annabeth's parentage.

(but then the old woman... been my imagination.)

"You are very observant." Ares said with a tilt to his head. "You shouldn't dismiss your observations so easily." He lectured.

Percy blinked at him, but nodded his agreement.

("Quite all right, Annabeth," she said.)

Annabeth went silent and quickly reread some of the chapter. "You never gave her your names or said them within earshot of her." She said quietly, and everyone who had not yet guessed who this was based on Triton's conversation with Poseidon, paled.

Only the most dangerous of monsters usually knew your name like that. They had already guessed that this was a trap, and this woman a monster, but now...

("You have such beautiful... XXL servings of French Fries.)

"It was so good." Percy moaned, slumping back in his seat dramatically.

Demeter looked disgusted. "All that fat! Grease! How can you eat something so unhealthy?!" She demanded.

"That's part of what..."

"...makes it so good!"

"All that greasy goodness!" The Stolls chimed in. She looked even more disgusted.

"It was the first thing I'd eaten in years that was so unhealthy." Annabeth confessed. "Yeah, there was the stuff Hermes cabin can bring in, but anything you ask them for has to be something easily hidden, you know?"

"Stuff the Hermes cabin brings in?" Demeter asked suspiciously. The Hermes kids all gave Annabeth a dirty look.

She saw them and glared back, "Oh, come on, it's not like Mr. D doesn't already know everytime you leave camp." They looked at their camp director warily, but he just raised his wine glass in a toast before looking at Demeter, challenging.

"I-" She started to scold, but was cut off.

"Demeter, let the children of Hermes be children of Hermes. We don't make your children stop being themselves, and stop gardening. Just leave them be." Hestia said firmly. Demeter opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again in a huff when Hestia raised an eyebrow. It wasn't often that Hestia used her authority over them as the eldest, but she was using it a lot since this reading began.

The children of Hermes sighed, relieved, when Demeter stopped trying to scold them.

(I was halfway through... I remembered to breathe.)

A few of the girls looked disgusted, and Percy's eyes glazed over as he remembered that burger. It was honestly, at the time, the best thing he'd eaten in weeks.

(Annabeth slurped her shake.)

"I hadn't had a shake in a while." Annabeth said, with a slightly dreamy look. She loved shakes, her and her father used to go out all the time and get shakes, those were some of her favorite memories, memories of a time before her stepmother came into the picture.

"You do love shakes." Percy said, slightly amused. Whenever they went out, she always got a shake, and it was always amusing to see how she could put those shakes away. He got a fist to his shoulder for his troubles.

(Grover picked at the... he might go for that,)

Grover grumbled, "Perfectly good wax paper, and I was too nervous to properly enjoy it." He had eaten it, but he was too nervous to taste it properly.

Grover blinked, before his eyes glazed over at the thought of good quality wax paper. It was hard to come by, you could find wax paper anywhere, but some of it you wouldn't want to eat. It was kind of the difference between good milk, and sour milk. You really didn't want to drink/eat the bad stuff.

(but he still looked too... have keen ears, Grover.")

Percy leaned over towards Luke. "Did you or him happen to let any monsters on our route know we were coming? 'Cuz, I can understand her knowing Annabeth's name, that whole thing with Athena, but Grovers...?" He asked lowly.

Luke frowned, "I didn't contact any monsters, either on my own, or on his orders. I did inform him when you set out and who went with you, he may have kept some of the more powerful monsters on your most likely route informed of your progress. I do know he wasn't happy when you killed Medusa. He had plans for her." He finished with a slight smirk. He had been worried sick when he found out that Annabeth and Grover had been anywhere near a monster like Medusa. He worried about Percy too... somewhat. He didn't know the kid long enough to really care that much, not over Grover and Annabeth.

Percy sat back, his face a strange mix of smug smirk, and troubled frown.

("I take vitamins. For my ears.")

All the Hermes crew groaned. That excuse was terrible! "Are vitamin for ears even a thing?" Rachel asked Katie.

Katie just shrugged. "It wouldn't surprise me, they have stuff for just about anything these days." She said.

"Grover, I think you need..."

"... to learn the finer points of..."

"... excuse making."

"Just stick with us, we'll help you out." The Stolls were telling Grover.

"We expect to see you..."

"... every evening after reading..."

"... and before we get sent to bed." The Stolls told Grover. They didn't even give him the 'option' that their older pair gave the older satyr. Both Grovers looked suitably scared.

("That's admirable," she said... her fingers and watched us eat.)

"Creepy." Dakota singsonged a bit.

"Tell me about it." Grover, Percy, and Annabeth muttered.

(It was a little unsettling,)

"At least you were still somewhat aware of what was going on." Grover muttered to himself. It frustrated him that they never listened to him when it really counted, and then asked his advice the rest of the time.

(having someone stare at... burger, and a little sleepy,)

"She probably had something else in the food." Poseidon muttered to Amphitrite.

"She always was fairly close to Circe, dear." She reminded her husband.

He grimaced, "That is true."

(and I figured the least I... small talk with our hostess.)

"Well, at least you remembered your manners." Sally mumbled, slumping against Paul. She knew something was wrong, and she thought she knew what, but she was denying it. Denial didn't stop her from being worried, though.

"Only Percy could be in a dangerous situation, and still remember his manners." Thalia said, exasperated (and a touch fondly, not that she would ever admit it).

"It's not like I was completely aware, or that I knew it was a dangerous situation yet." Percy muttered.

("So, you sell... sound interested.)

"You failed." Annabeth informed him. He gave her a dark look.

("Oh, yes," Aunty Em said... is very popular, you know.")

"Hmm, I don't think it's actually that popular... is it?" Will asked Katie. He wasn't big on gardening, not like she was.

"Well, full sized like those would be... those can get pretty expensive, and you'd have to actually have the space for it. Small, animal statues, those can fit pretty much anywhere and they aren't too horribly expensive. So those do sell pretty well." Katie said with a shrug.

"It depends on what kind of garden you have. Flower gardens, statues would be welcome in them, if it was a vegetable garden, they might not be the best addition." Persephone added. "Of course, a mixed garden, further decorations would need to be done right so they're not overwhelming."

("A lot of business on this road?")

"The amount of statues would suggest there was at some point, but the closed down gas station would suggest that the traffic is long since gone." Hermes muttered, to Athena's shock, since he just said something smart sounding. Hermes noticed her shock and scowled, when talking about traveling and the like, that was his area of expertise, of course he would know what he was talking about.

"Hm, it makes you wonder where most of her victims came from, that gas station looked like it had been closed for a while." Annabeth muttered to Percy.

"Well, she has been stationed there for a long time, and if she doesn't get many buyers, then it makes sense that they would all just sit there and collect." Percy said back, she tilted her head and considered before she nodded, he had a point.

("Not so much, no. Since... but it was just a statue)

Hades and Persephone frowned. They were going to have to check the records, but... was there a possibility that her statues were still alive? They had never considered the possibility before... or course, it could also just be Percy's instincts trying to tell him that something was wrong.

Of course, there was also the fact that even if they were alive, they would have to figure out how to change them back from being statues. And, if they even should with some of them, they'd been statues for a long time, it might be kinder to let them stay statues than try to introduce them to a new time period.

"I hate that feeling." Most of the demigods muttered. The feeling that you were being watched was a demigod's nightmare, most of the time they really were being watched, they just couldn't see the person, or in their case, monster. It only served to make them more paranoid than usual about being attacked.

(of a young girl holding an Easter basket.)

"She must have been in the area with her family, celebrating Easter, and then stumbled on the warehouse during an egg hunt or something, only to be turned into a statue." Sally said, sad for the girl and for what her family must have gone through when she went missing (unless her family joined her as statues). She vaguely remembered going on Easter egg hunts with her own parents when she was younger.

Hestia reached over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder while Paul pulled her into a hug.

(The detail was incredible... most garden statues.)

"Most garden statues weren't living, breathing people at one point in time." Percy muttered.

(But something was wrong... startled, or even terrified.)

"She must have been able to see through the Mist, even just a little bit," Athena said thoughtfully. "Otherwise she would not be so terrified, she would have seen what Medusa really looks like."

"And whose fault is that?" Percy muttered to Annabeth, who hid her smile. Percy tried to get along with Athena, for her sake, but that didn't change the fact that he did NOT like her mother, not that she really blamed him, considering how Athena treated him.

("Ah," Aunty Em said sadly... to get right. Always the face.")

"That's because the last thing they see is her ugly face." Percy muttered to Grover and Annabeth.

"When did you see her face?" Annabeth asked.

"Her sisters. While they were chasing me, they were always going on about how their mother always compared her to them, about how she could turn people to stone while they couldn't. That's when they told me they were the pretty ones in their family. If she was more hideous than her sisters, then I don't want to know what she looked like, her sisters were ugly enough." He said quietly. Both Annabeth and Grover made a face. "Although it makes a lot more sense now that I know her beauty was a cover."

"Either way, seeing something like that would be pretty terrifying. Especially if your not expecting it."

("You make these statues yourself?" I asked.)

"I was actually pretty impressed, there were a lot of statues, and the thought that she made them all by herself... and the detail was amazing." Percy said with a shrug.

"Yeah, and then you learned how the statues were made." Annabeth challenged.

"Yeah, after that, the impressed thoughts turned into disgust and revulsion." Percy agreed with a nod.

("Oh, yes. Once upon a... help me in the business,)

"She must have been production while they were management and customer service." Annabeth quipped, earning a laugh, at least.

(but they have passed on... help feeling sorry for her.)

"And now?" Thalia asked, curious.

"Now, I could care less." Percy said with a shrug. Those who figured it out already smirked, while those who had no clue looked at Percy shocked.

Sure, they already knew that this was a monster, but that seemed cold-hearted, especially for Percy.

(Annabeth had stopped eating... and said, "Two sisters?")

"I'd already suspected something was wrong, but that's when I started to realize who she was. Two sisters, statues, it started to click. How she knew my name..." Annabeth said with a shrug.

"And it's a good thing you did, too." Percy muttered. He couldn't understand why his older self was acting this way, he never took food from strangers, he knew better, he never even took food from Gabe (the occasional stolen piece of pizza didn't count). His older self was acting strangely trusting. He knew that his father said it was some kind of spell, but he couldn't understand how any spell could be this strong that it would cause such a personality switch.

("It's a terrible story,"... I had a... a boyfriend,)

Poseidon shuddered at being called that woman's boyfriend. "I was not her boyfriend, more like her victim." He muttered, and Amphitrite patted his arm reassuringly.

(you know, and this... caused a terrible accident.)

"It wasn't an accident," Athena said primly, she was actually quite proud of her punishment for Medusa. Although, she hadn't anticipated also 'turning off' her statue making ability. That part had caused a problem. She tried to ignore the part where she had just figured out who this could be, where others figured out a long time.

(My sisters stayed by me... passed on. They faded away.)

"No they didn't. If they had faded, they wouldn't have been chasing me through California. I wonder why she thought they faded." Percy said, he was honestly confused about that.

"She must have thought they did." Annabeth said with a shrug. "Either she just hadn't heard from them in a while, or hadn't heard of them being killed. They were probably slow reformers." She finished reasonably. A few others nodded in agreement.

(I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price.")

Those demigods who were there at the end of the Titan War, when Percy rejected the gods offer of immortality, all turned to him. He hadn't said it, but right before he refused their offer, he had looked at them, and looked thoughtful. Had he been imagining what it would be like to continue on while everyone he knew died? Knowing him, he'd probably been more affected by what all the immortal monsters/enemies over the years had said than any of them realized.

Hermes sat back in his throne and sighed. "It can be a burden sometimes, especially when you are a father and have to watch your children live and die." He murmured.

"We know where they go though, and we can always visit if we want, and if Hades allows it." Apollo said quietly in comfort. Hermes flashed a grateful smile at him.

"Is that why you turned down immortality?" Clarisse finally asked. She'd been wondering. The gods looked at him in shock, why would somebody turn down immortality?

Percy was quiet for a moment. "Mostly, partly... I had other reasons though." He said finally. The gods kept looking at him in shock, although Poseidon also looked proud. Sure, he was a little disappointed that he wouldn't have one of his sons with him over the centuries, but... then again, he could always keep the offer open, and hope Percy took it when he was older or something, or extend it to Annabeth... He thought he knew why Percy turned it down.

(I wasn't sure what she meant, but I felt bad for her.)

"That's your heart, speaking." Annabeth said with a small smile.

"Maybe, but I don't feel sorry for her anymore. I stopped feeling sorry for her when we started fighting her and realized where the statues came from." Percy answered with a shrug.

(My eyelids kept getting... stomach making me sleepy.)

"That's not good." Katie muttered.

"Yeah, the only time a demigod should ever really feel like that is in the safety of camp or their homes." Jason said in agreement. Others nodded in agreement with them.

(Poor old lady. Who would want to hurt somebody so nice?)

"And now it's starting to be her influence speaking, along with Percy's heart." Poseidon grumbled. Angry that yet another of his sons was having to deal with her.

"Dear, it's alright. He's safe now." Amphitrite told him quietly.

"I should have hunted her down as soon as rumors started that she had reformed." He shot back, hearing about her was putting him in a bad mood, along with his worry for Percy.

"Well, you know where she is now, once this reading is done, we can go take care of it." She said.

"Done!" Leo exclaimed, completely missing the tension in the room. Eyes swung to him, where he stood proudly beside his creation. "A cappuccino machine that's also a rocket launcher." He smirked. Beckendorf and Hephaestus both raised their eyebrows at it and got up to go inspect it. Leo's eyes went wide when he saw THE Charles Beckendorf inspecting his creation and nodding in approval. All he ever heard about the guy was good, he was a living legend in Cabin Nine (well, dead legend now). According to his siblings, give Beckendorf a hunk of steel, and he could create a masterpiece. And that legend, plus his dad, were approving of his machine.

"This is pretty good... the drink comes out of here, until this button is pushed... perfect for both pranks and defense. Well, as long as its a prank rocket and not an actual one..." Beckendorf muttered to himself.

"It is very well made." Hephaestus said in agreement. Leo beamed and his machine was moved into a corner, where Hestia provided cups and everything else needed for drinks. She also made sure that none of it was going to make the demigods start bouncing off the walls of the palace... too much anyway. Although she also knew that some hyperactive kids actually calmed down with sugar.

("Percy?" Annabeth was shaking me to get my attention.)

"Yes, try and keep his attention on you, it should help fight her influence." Poseidon said with a nod. Sally whimpered slightly, and Triton held onto his younger brother tighter.

("Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting.")

"Yeah, get out of there!" Nearly everybody yelled. Percy leaned back and raised his hands slightly in defense. Annabeth and Grover looked at him pointedly, since it was kind of him keeping them there by this point.

(She sounded tense.)

"I was starting to put the pieces together and working out who this could be. By this point, I knew she was a monster, I was just going through everything I knew before saying for sure that it was her. I wasn't quite sure at this point that it was her." Annabeth explained with a shrug.

(I wasn't sure why... paper off the tray now,)

"By then, I was too nervous NOT to eat, but I was still nervous, so it didn't even taste right." Grover explained. He had always been a nervous eater.

"Well, it turned out alright." Annabeth said with a sigh.

"Yeah, somehow."

(but if Aunty Em found... Annabeth stood up abruptly.)

"That's when I knew for sure who it was." Annabeth informed the room

Athena's eyes gleamed in anger that Medusa would dare try to touch one of her children. "Don't let her lay her filthy hands on you." She sternly informed Annabeth , who nodded her obedience.

("We really should go."... "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!")

"I'm surprised that you both remembered your cover story like that." Clarisse said suddenly.

Annabeth and Grover looked at her, confused and a little insulted. When she noticed, she rolled her eyes and explained impatiently. "It's your first quest, and your first time really being in this kind of situation. Any situation you got into with Luke and Thalia when you were younger doesn't count." She said when she noticed Annabeth opening her mouth, she shut it with a click. "As I was saying, this is your first time really being in a situation like this, most people wouldn't remember the cover story they gave, and get all flustered, I'm surprised you kept your heads." She shrugged.

(I didn't want to leave... get to be with children.)

"That makes her sound like a pedophile." Leo said with a raised eyebrow. When everyone gave him strange looks, he shrugged. "I used to live on the streets, you learn pretty quick how to spot that kind of person and avoid them." He ignored everyone's pitying looks and how his father frowned with a look of regret passing through his eyes, instead choosing to pull parts out of his tool belt and start building his next project.

He didn't know what he had in mind yet, his hands would make something. He absently set his hand on fire to weld some pieces together.

(Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?")

"DON'T!" People yelled.

"Again, you people realize that this already happened?" Percy asked, holding his hands out. Everyone who yelled, looked at each other before shrugging.

("A pose?" Annabeth asked warily... see. Everyone loves children.")

"Pedophile." Leo muttered. The way she was currently talking, was exactly the kind of talk he and the other street kids avoided like the plague. Well... except for the really desperate kids.

(Annabeth shifted her weight... who'd just fed us for free.)

"Well, he has a point about the 'fed for free' bit." Grover muttered to Annabeth.

Poseidon sighed, "He is under her complete control right now. It'll take a lot to get him out."

"If Annabeth and Grover can get his attention and keep it, he'll be fine." Amphitrite said.

"Besides, dad, he's right here." Triton reminded his dad. Poseidon frowned, but nodded.

("It's just a photo, Annabeth... woman purred. "No harm.")

Leo shivered, bad memories coming up. He shoved them aside. Like he always did.

"When a monster tells you that there's 'no harm', you know that nothing good is going to happen." Piper said.

(I could tell Annabeth didn't... into the garden of statues.)

"I only allowed it because I figured that it would be easier to escape once we were outside, and not locked in the warehouse with her." Annabeth said with a shrug.

Athena nodded. "Very good thinking. Always get to where you can retreat safely."

"You don't need to retreat, you need to kill her!" Ares exclaimed.

"This one is no normal monster. There is only one hero in all of history who has managed to defeat her, and even then, that was only because she was asleep!" Aphrodite reminded him. He just shrugged.

(Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr.)

Hermes and Dionysus scowled, while Chiron frowned.

("Now," she said, "I'll... gentlemen on either side.")

"She's putting the strategist in the middle, and the fighters on the outside. Not exactly the best choice. I would have put the boy on the inside, with Annabeth and the satyr on the outside. It would be harder for him to maneuver." Athena said with a frown. Sally turned to glare at her, this was not the time to be poking holes in this monster's strategy!

"I don't think she really cared at the moment about that. She was probably thinking more about making it easier on herself later on when she went to move them." Aphrodite said with a small frown and a shrug.

"Whatever she was thinking, can we keep reading? We're getting so close to the action!" Ares exclaimed. And then promptly cowered back into his throne when Sally's glare turned on him. That woman could be scary...

("Not much light for... camera?" Grover asked.)

"Yes, get his attention off of her..." Poseidon muttered. Sally leaned more into Paul and went back to what she was doing before Athena and Ares decided to open their big mouths, and that was to watch Percy like a hawk to reassure herself that he was indeed all right.

Although it was kind of hard to see him with Mrs. O'Leary's head in the way.

"He's asking all the right questions." Will nodded in approval.

(Aunty Em stepped back,... look like Uncle Ferdinand.")

Chiron's and Dionysus's eyes darkened, and Hermes scowl deepened at the reminder, then he started writing up a list of everything he wanted to do to her. He would coordinate with Dionysus and Poseidon later.

("Grover," Aunty Em chastised,... her hands.

"Percy-" Annabeth said.)

"Hurry up, get his attention..." Triton muttered under his breath while his arms tightened around his little brother. He loosened his arms, apologizing, a moment later when Percy gasped and hit his forearm a few times. They didn't have much time left to get away before Medusa lifted that veil of hers.

(Some instinct warned me to listen to Annabeth,)

"YES!" A few people yelled out.

"That's good, do what you always do." Thalia encouraged.

"And follow your instincts." Nico followed up. He hadn't known any of this stuff.

(but I was fighting the... and the old lady's voice.)

Poseidon groaned. "Her hold on him is still too strong." He said, shaking his head. The tension rocketed up even more.

Luke had a feeling that if he hadn't already seen Iris-Message recordings of this, he would be losing it right now. He tilted his head to the side, and glanced at his younger self, his face was 'I've just seen a ghost' white and he was staring at Annabeth in horror. He pursed his lips, maybe there was hope yet.

He had never intended for Annabeth to be put in so much danger. He hadn't known they would be facing Medusa, or Echidna, or anything else they faced on this quest. He had never wanted Annabeth hurt. Naïve thinking, maybe, considering they were on opposite sides of a war and all...

("I will just be a moment,"... wrong," Annabeth insisted.)

"Come on, come on." Poseidon muttered, wishing that Percy would snap out of it already. He was grateful for Annabeth for trying though. But, children of his were stubborn and strong willed.

Which made it even more amazing that she could affect him like this.

("Wrong?" Aunty Em said... What could be wrong?")

"Everything."

"Especially the 'noble company' part. Annabeth I could understand, but Percy?" Percy glared at his cousins.

("That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.)

Piper reached over and squeezed his shoulder. He gave her a grateful smile.

Sally bit her lip so hard that Paul had to reach over and pry her mouth open slightly so she wouldn't bite through it.

("Look away from her!" Annabeth... me both off the bench.)

Artemis, Zoe, and Athena nodded in approval of her rough treatment, while both boys grumbled and mock glared

She looked back at them innocently, "You weren't moving fast enough." She said simply.

"Of course not. He was probably staring at her with a stupid look on his sea spawn face." Athena grumbled.

(I was on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet.)

"On the one hand, you are in a position where you can't see her, therefore can't be turned into a statue, on the other hand... that's not exactly out of the danger-zone." Clarisse said thoughtfully. The danger-zone was what the demigods termed as the area within the monsters immediate reach, where you had better have a weapon in your hand if you want to survive being there. Being right at the monsters feet on the ground was definitely within the zone.

Annabeth shrugged. "I was more concerned at that second about making sure the boys didn't look into her eyes. I didn't really pay much attention to where they fell when I pushed them." She said somewhat embarrassed.

"Situational awareness." Luke muttered somewhat sternly, eyeing both Annabeth's. He knew that he and Thalia had taught her that. Both girls blushed slightly.

(I could hear Grover scrambling... I was too dazed to move.)

"Get it together! There's an enemy there!" Ares yelled in disbelief, staring at Percy.

"It's a combination of being pushed by Annabeth, and fighting her influence." Jason said thoughtfully, because from what he'd seen so far, Percy didn't stay down for long, and there didn't seem to be a whole lot that could daze him.

Ares shot his younger Roman half-brother a glare, but didn't say anything when he caught Poseidon's glare.

(Then I heard a strange... bronze talons for fingernails.)

"Don't look higher... Don't look higher..." Poseidon and Sally both chanted under their breaths. Sally was beginning to get out of her denial, but it was still holding strong. She would wait until she knew for POSITIVE, before she really lost it.

Ares was practically vibrating in his seat, it had taken so long for them to get in a bit of action in these books.

(I almost looked higher,... screamed, "No! Don't!")

"Thank you." Poseidon breathed. Sally nodded from her spot wedged between Hestia and Paul.

(More rasping- the sound... -start his flying sneakers.)

"What are you planning, goat boy?" Thalia asked him, curiously.

He just grinned at her and put his finger to his lips. She pouted at him, (and if anybody ever said that she did, she would electrocute them) but he didn't say anything.

(I couldn't move. I stared... old woman had put me in.)

"Good, he's strong willed." Poseidon muttered.

("Such a pity to destroy... have to do is look up.")

"DON'T!"

"Guys, sitting right here, so clearly I didn't." Percy said with a wave to the rest of the room. The tension was so thick he was starting to doubt whether or not Riptide could even cut through it.

(I fought the urge to obey... moving, writhing like serpents.)

Percy shuddered at the memory of what she looked like. What little he had seen of her had been truly hideous.

A few others shuddered too, and a few finally figured out who this was. They all looked at Percy in horror, all of them wondering how on earth he survived this.

(Aunty Em.

Aunty "M.")

"Yes, we got that part, stop repeating yourself, girl." Zeus snapped impatiently.

Annabeth looked up, startled. "Um, that's what is written. Um, the first time it's written, 'E, M'. The second is just the letter 'm' in quotation marks." She explained, eyeing the King wearily.

He frowned and sat back, trying to think of who on earth this could be. The description sounded familiar, especially if the first letter of her name was 'm'. He motioned impatiently for Annabeth to start reading again, ignoring everyone's glares for being so rude to the girl.

(How could I have been so stupid?)

"Don't. You. Dare. Answer that." Percy said slowly, glaring at his cousins. Both Nico and Thalia closed their mouths with a snap and tried to look innocent. Needless to say, it didn't work.

(Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?)

"MEDUSA?! YOU HAD TO FIGHT HER RIGHT AWAY?!" Sally yelled, finally coming out of her denial. She hadn't known how or when he came into possession of Medusa's head, she only knew he got it. But she had always thought, hoped really, that he faced Medusa later on in the quest, after he got a chance to figure out what was going on. After he had a chance to find his feet. She'd been denying her own thoughts this whole time about who Aunty Em was.

Percy looked at her in concern, biting his lip.

Athena scoffed, of course he didn't even know this.

(But I couldn't think... attacked by my namesake, Perseus.)

Athena would have gaped if it wasn't so undignified. Then again, it was his namesake, his mother probably made sure he knew his stories. She reassured herself that he was still a sea-spawn and therefore stupid on principle.

Sally sucked in a breath, but then started shaking her head, she did not want her son facing Medusa, not this soon in the quest, and not so soon after being attacked by the three Furies! Paul pulled her tighter against him and started whispering in her ear.

(She wasn't anywhere near... now and rake open my face.)

"She won't." Poseidon said quietly. "You look too much like me for her to do that. She's never gotten over her obsession with me."

"As much as I hate it, that obsession seems to be a good thing right now, it is keeping your son alive." Amphitrite said just as quietly. Percy flashed his father and step-mother a quick smile before going back to looking at his mother with concern and apprehension.

("The Gray-Eyed One did... a beautiful woman into this.")

"Not according to your sisters." Percy muttered, before he shuddered again remembering what they looked like.

A few people turned to glare at Athena when they were reminded that she was the one responsible for the creation of Medusa. She may have been born with her powers, but she at least used to be able to turn it off.

When Athena noticed, she sniffed, "Then she should have thought twice before meeting up with HIM," She pointed to Poseidon. "In MY temple."

"Oh my..." Poseidon groaned. "Again, we did not meet up there! I ducked in there to get away from her!" He exclaimed. She just narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a look that clearly said she did not believe him. Which only made him angrier, he'd been trying to tell her this for centuries, he was honestly proud of himself for not killing her and forcing her to spend the next few centuries reforming, years ago. He was certainly mad enough to 'accidentally' do it.

Aphrodite, Amphitrite, and Persephone stared at her in disbelief. Did she not feel the slightest bit guilty that her actions were now putting her daughter in danger?

("Don't listen to her!"... the statuary. "Run, Percy!")

"Yes, run."

"Guys, already happened." Percy wondered how much he would have to remind them of that fact during these books.

("Silence!" Medusa snarled... must destroy the girl, Percy.)

Athena stiffened. What?

(She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust.)

"No!" Athena burst out, her eyes slightly wide.

"I think she's finally starting to get it." Apollo muttered to Hermes. Maybe now Athena would be knocked down a few pegs when she heard first hand, from her own kids (sort of), how some of her rash actions affected them. Now, if Annabeth and Percy ended up fighting Arachne at some point, it might really get it through to her.

They'd been trying to get it in her head for centuries that she was not always right, and that many of the actions she took out of pride would have large negative impacts on the world.

Hermes glanced at her, considered for a moment, and turned back to Apollo, "I'll reserve judgement."

(But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer.")

Percy made a face. He'd heard that too many times.

("No." I muttered. I tried... this foolish quest, Percy?)

"Not a clue." Percy muttered.

(What will happen if you reach the Underworld?)

"Not what we were expecting." Annabeth shook her head. Grover nodded in agreement to the both of them. Some of the adults looked concerned, although Zeus was more concerned for the safety of his Bolt.

"Enough talking, get to the action already." Ares groused. He got a few glares for his trouble.

(Do not be a pawn of... Less pain. Less pain.")

"What is with monsters or other gods and offering me a way out that would be less painful?" Percy muttered. He was always getting that offer. From Medusa, from countless other monsters over the years, Calypso, the Gorgons, Juno the hippie lady... Did they all know something about his future? Or were they just trying to get him out of the way because they knew he would mess up his plans?

Or was he thinking about this too much?

("Percy!" Behind me, I... hummingbird in a nosedive.)

"You are very descriptive, you know that?" Piper asked Percy randomly. He raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"Although I didn't write this, the Fates did. I think..." He reminded everyone.

She shrugged. "Maybe so, but they used your thoughts at the time and your memories." Percy scowled, but nodded to show that she had a point.

"That is a very big hummingbird, though." Apollo muttered to Hermes, who raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Any distraction and attempt at lightening the tension was welcome, after all.

(Grover yelled, "Duck!"... the size of a baseball bat.)

Thalia's eyes widened when she figured out Grover's plan. "Oh yeah!" She cheered. "And this, right here, is why you are our favorite goat boy." She said happily, patting Grover on the back. Grover could only stare at his older self in shock as everyone else congratulated him on both coming up with such an idea and being brave enough to carry it out.

"Where did such a big branch even come from?" A random person muttered, but nobody could tell who exactly said it.

Grover shrugged though, "I found it among the statues."

(His eyes were shut tight... by ears and nose alone.)

Apollo whistled lowly. "That would take some serious skill." He commented. Artemis reluctantly agreed.

She was reluctant because she knew full well about the blatant hero worship the Satyr's all had for her, and she did NOT want to encourage them. At all. Ever. The less encouragement the Satyr's received, the better.

("Duck!" he yelled again... miss Medusa and nail me.)

"Hey!" Both Grovers protested.

Percy gave them an innocent look and shrugged apologetically. "Remember that time we were outside playing baseball at Yancy? When you sent me to the nurse's office with a bad concussion?" He reminded his friend.

Grover looked slightly confused. "I'm guessing this happened after we came back from Christmas break..." He said, while sinking down into his seat slightly while the others laughed. Percy glanced at him and nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, though. I healed up quick enough." He told Grover dismissively, still looking at Grover, who was redder than a strawberry.

"You said you were never going to bring that up again!" Grover hissed.

Percy tilted his head innocently. "I don't remember saying that." Grover narrowed his eyes at his best friend, but didn't say anything else.

(I dove to one side.

Thwack!)

"Wha-" People started to ask, but Annabeth shushed them with a glare, having read a little bit ahead, she wanted them to hear all about how amazing her satyr friend could be. They shot her a dirty look, they'd just been concerned about whether or not Grover actually got her, or if something else happened.

(At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree.)

People were concerned, was it? Was Grover ok?

(Then Medusa roared with rage.)

People cheered. "That's my goat boy!" Thalia called, proud of Grover, who turned red. Grover stared at his older self in amazement. Was he really capable of that?

Zeus scowled, he hated that useless Satyr, about the only thing he was good for at the moment, in Zeus's mind, was keeping Percy alive so they could find his precious Bolt.

("You miserable satyr,"... Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back.)

"You tell her, Grover!" Thalia cheered again, followed by everybody else. Grover just turned even redder, and Percy reached over and lightly punched him on the shoulder, grinning at him. Even Mrs. O'Leary barked happily and treated him to a short tongue bath.

(I scrambled away and... for another pass.

Ker-whack!)

There was some more cheering when Annabeth read out, proudly, the sound effects of Grover hitting her again. Although people were wondering when Percy was going to step in, if they were going to step in, or if they were going to use this as a chance to get away.

After all, Medusa was powerful, they would not blame the questers for just getting out of there.

("Arrgh!" Medusa… and spitting.)

"Oh, she's angry now." Poseidon muttered, worried. Triton and Percy both eyed him, they didn't want him panicking on them like he did the first day they read.

Percy glanced around with a worried frown, and then started monitoring everyone's breathing again, especially his mom's.

(Right next to me, Annabeth's... gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!")

That got a few chuckles out of the listening crowd, mostly from those who'd watched her do that on a regular basis to nearly everyone and anyone, but the tension was too thick for anything else.

(Annabeth took off her... have to cut her head off.")

"Wait, why him? You're there, you have a blade, why can't you do it?" Poseidon burst out, wondering why it always had to be his sons. Whenever a situation came up, and one of his sons was nearby, they were the ones who had to deal with it, even if there were others capable of handling it nearby. That, and he really didn't want any of his family going anywhere near Medusa.

Never again.

Annabeth looked at him slightly apologetically, "I explained that to Percy at the time, sir." Poseidon frowned, but accepted it for now.

("What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here.")

"That might be easier said than done." Reyna said with a wince. She knew from experience that monsters who have shown an interest in you, or that it's personal for, they never let you go.

You have to either kill or be killed in those situations, and Medusa has made this personal.

("Medusa is a menace... make a difficult admission.)

Poseidon tilted his head to the side, was a daughter of Athena about to swallow her pride? He sat forward in his throne, maybe this one would be worthy of his son, after all.

Not that he would try and scare her off, it was obvious she made Percy happy after all, but still. He was allowed to have standards for his son.

("But you've got the better... You- you've got a chance.")

"Good, you know when to swallow your pride. That's a good thing, it just might help you live longer." Triton said softly, before shooting a small glare at Athena, who winced when she caught his look. She never had learned, had she?

Poseidon sat back again and nodded, his approval for her just went up a little. He also accepted her explanation for why it had to be Percy. He had the better weapon, and he stood a better chance of getting closer without being shredded. That didn't mean he had to like it, though.

Athena sat back, thinking. How much had her past actions hurt her children?

("What? I can't-"

"Look, do you... innocent people into statues?")

"That was a low blow, Annabeth. You know how Percy can be, even at this point, you should have known." Thalia told her reproachfully. Poseidon looked stony for a second, while Annabeth turned red, but didn't say anything.

Percy put his arms around her and whispered something in her ear, that seemed to cheer her up, if the small kiss she gave him was any indication.

(She pointed to a pair of... stone by the monster.)

Aphrodite turned red with anger, even as she inwardly mourned the lost love. Ares carefully put a hand on her arm, but she ignored him, instead turning to Percy and Annabeth. "I hope you destroyed her." She snapped, causing everyone to stare at her, wide-eyed.

She stared back at them defiantly before quoting what the book said about this latest statue, and they suddenly all understood.

(Annabeth grabbed a green... shield would be better.")

Athena understood what she was talking about, even while most of the rest of the room was confused. "Yes, it would, but you have to use what's available sometimes." She assured her daughter, who smiled slightly.

(She studied the sphere critically... should be off by a factor of-")

"What?"

Annabeth, her younger self, Athena, and the Hephaestus crowd all sighed. They would never be able to make these people understand the beauty of calculations and putting stuff together.

("Would you speak English?")

"Yes, please."

Annabeth glared, making a few of the younger kids squeak. Which caused both Luke's to give her the look.

("I am! " She tossed me... Never look at her directly.")

A few of the gods frowned slightly. Even looking at her in the glass held a risk of being turned to stone.

"You don't want to risk looking at her indirectly, either." Apollo muttered, worried.

("Hey, guys!" Grover... think she's unconscious!")

"Yeah!"

"Go Grover!" The room cheered. Grover grinned, somewhat proudly, before he gestured for Annabeth to keep reading.

(" Roooaaarrr!")

"Aww."

"Hit her again!" The demigods all cheered while the gods slumped (not that most of them will admit to doing something so undignified) in disappointment.

If she'd been knocked out, she would have so much easier to kill, which meant the kids would be safe. Well, about as safe as two demigods and a Satyr could be when on a quest, and while one of them was being accused of theft from the King of the gods...

("Maybe not," Grover corrected... pass with the tree branch.)

"Yeah! Get her!"

("Hurry," Annabeth told me... he'll eventually crash.")

"Yes, hurrying would be good." Grover said with a grimace. This next bit had not been fun.

Artemis and Apollo nodded in agreement with Annabeth, fighting while relying solely on hearing and smell, was NOT easy. Not even for them. And, on top of that, Grover was doing this while using a magical item that he was not used to, and doing all this while in flight, among a bunch of statues that didn't make sound, they just stood there.

(I took out my pen and... elongated in my hand.)

"Here we go." Several people leaned forward in their seats. Especially Ares. He was loving this, finally some action!

(I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair.)

"Well, one thing is for sure, she's not the best at stealth." Hermes said with a shrug. Honestly, if he or any of his kids were that loud, they would not be nearly as good at theft and such as they were.

(I kept my eyes locked... reflection, not the real thing.)

Percy grimaced and muttered something to Annabeth about wanting to bleach his eyes, and then his brain. She was truly hideous.

"Um, Percy? You do know that bleach is..."

"Eh, I'll do it near a large body of water, I'll be fine." She didn't look convinced.

(Then, in the green tinted... he flew a little too low.)

The Twins winced. Yeah, that was where him being unfamiliar with the flying shoes would come into play. If he was a little more familiar with using them... he might have been able to judge his altitude a little better even with his eyes closed.

(Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course.)

A few people groaned, some gasped, and a few others looked at Grover, worried.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm ok, I was just dazed." When they looked a little confused, he pointed to Annabeth to get her to keep reading.

(He tumbled through the air... with a painful "Ummphh!")

"Ouch."

"That had to hurt."

"Being thrown into stone objects? NOT fun."

'On the bright side,' Percy thought, 'Grover is providing some pretty good tension relief for the others. It's not quite so suffocating in here anymore.'

(Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!")

"Thank you for that."

"No problem."

(I advanced on her,... a sword and a glass ball.)

"Hmm, how big was that glass ball?" Ares asked, and Annabeth used her arms to indicate what she remembered of the size. "If you'd had more training before this quest, you wouldn't have had a problem with that, but... as it is, that ball is just big enough to be in the way, but at the same time, could make a good shield if you can maneuver it properly." He said with a shrug.

"That sounded smart." Athena said, shocked.

He scowled. "I'm the god of WAR. I'd be pretty bad at my job if I didn't know anything about fighting or the slightest bit of battle strategy." He snapped at her.

(If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself.)

"Hard, yes. Doable, also yes." Ares said, still annoyed.

(But she let me approach- twenty feet, ten feet.)

"She's grown cocky. She thinks too highly of her own skill, and she underestimates you too much." Ares said with a nod.

"That, and he looks so much like Poseidon." Sally said faintly, still within Paul and Hestia's grips.

(I could see the reflection... it wasn't really that ugly.)

Percy gagged. "She is. She most certainly is." He announced.

"How do you know that?" Poseidon asked suspiciously.

"I met her sisters." Percy answered gravely.

(The green swirls of the... making my arms go weak.)

Poseidon paled slightly. "That's what I was afraid of, even in a reflection, she could still turn you to stone. The process is just slowed down significantly. If you had kept staring at her eyes in the reflection, you would have eventually been turned into a statue."

Annabeth's eyes widened, she hadn't thought of that, she just knew that they would be safe as long as they didn't look her directly in the eyes.

(From the cement grizzly... "Percy, don't listen to her!")

"Listen to him!" A few people yelled.

"For once on this insane quest." Grover muttered in agreement.

(Medusa cackled. "Too late."

She lunged at me with her talons.)

Sally gasped and held on tighter to Paul, who grunted. This woman was deceptively strong.

Everyone else held their breath, waiting to hear what happened next.

(I slashed up with my... of a monster disintegrating.)

Everybody cheered, and Percy's parents breathed a sigh of relief. "Absolutely amazing, next to no training, and yet still able to fight so well." Ares muttered, eyeing Percy and wondering just how much better he would be now, with training. Maybe he should ask for a spar later.

(Something fell to the ground... heads tugging at my shoelaces.)

Piper made a face. "Do you have to be so descriptive?" She asked. A few of the other girls, and even a couple of the guys, were grimacing in disgust with green faces, too.

"Sorry. But you know I didn't write this, the Fates did... technically." Percy pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's from your point of view," Thalia countered. Percy just shrugged.

Then he paused. "Yes, it is my point of view..." He turned to Piper, "So what are you complaining about for? I'm the one who actually felt it! The description doesn't do it justice at all!" He exclaimed.

("Oh, yuck," Grover said... and steaming. "Mega-yuck.")

"Again, you didn't feel it, you just heard it." Percy said with a shiver, remembering how disgusting that felt.

(Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky.)

"Yeah, don't look at it. Don't look at it." Athena said softly.

(She was holding Medusa's... monster's head in black cloth,)

"Good thinking. It can still petrify, but not if the eyes are covered." Somebody said in relief.

Annabeth and Percy exchanged a small smirk, thinking about what that was used for.

(then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.)

"Eww."

"Gross."

"That's disgusting." Was proclaimed throughout the room.

("Are you okay?" she asked me, her voice trembling.)

"Adrenaline." Apollo said immediately.

"Plus relief that it was over." Hermes added.

("Yeah," I decided, though... didn't the head evaporate?")

"Spoil of war." Several people said somewhat proudly. To get a spoil of war was a mark of skill, to get one from THIS particular monster, if he went back and displayed that, it would really send a message.

("Once you sever it, it... "Same as your minotaur horn.)

"Except the horn is just a tad bit easier to display without grossing everyone out or petrifying them." Piper pointed out to the room. Annabeth shrugged.

"Have you seen some of the spoils we have stored up in the attic?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Believe me, Medusa's head would have fit right in."

(But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you.")

People nodded in agreement.

(Grover moaned as he climbed... had a big welt on his forehead.)

Will winced. As a Healer, he wanted to go over and check that Grover was ok, even though he knew that this was years ago.

(His green rasta cap hung... been knocked off his hooves.)

"It actually looked kind of cute." Annabeth whispered to Percy, who grinned. Grover heard what she said, bleated in anger, and GLARED.

She just raised an eyebrow at him in challenge.

(The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head.

"The Red Baron,")

"Oh." A few futures said in unison. It actually creeped some of the younger kids out, the way they did that.

"So that's where that nickname comes from. I wondered." Thalia said with a shrug.

(I said. "Good job, man.")

A few more cheers went up for Grover, making him turn red.

(He managed a bashful... really was not fun, though.)

"Which part?" Thalia asked curiously. Grover pointed at the book.

(Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun.)

He got a couple more cheers. He had a feeling that this group would be talking about that one for a while.

"I wish I could have been there. Man, that sounds like it was a blast." Thalia grumbled good-naturedly.

(But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun.")

"Amen to that, brother." Some of the demigods grumbled. Several of them who fought in the war, they had their fair share of experience being thrown into concrete. Mostly when a monster managed to hit them and send them flying into the side of the building. Luckily, they all had their brothers and sisters nearby to cover them until they got back on their feet.

(He snatched his shoes out... too exhausted to speak.)

"Aaannndd the adrenaline has worn off." Apollo and Will both announced.

(Finally I said, "So... for this monster?")

"Yes." Poseidon, Amphitrite, and Triton all muttered. After Athena cursed her, they had had a bit of a crisis under the sea, a lot of their mer-soldiers and what would have constituted as police kept turning up as statues. Which was not good for national security. Or public safety.

"Hey!" Athena protested, glaring at Percy. "Do not blame me for your father's actions, boy." She growled. She may be somewhat willing to accept her part in this, but she wouldn't have done it if Poseidon hadn't been with that woman in her temple.

Percy glared right back. "First of all, even if my dad was being disrespectful and making out with her in your temple, YOU are still the one who turned her into that . Don't blame him for YOUR actions. Second of all, both dad and several others in this room have said he wasn't in a relationship with Medusa, and was only in your temple in the first place to hide from her. SO GET OVER IT ALREADY AND ACCEPT THAT YOU WERE WRONG!" He yelled.

Athena stared at him for a second in shock, before her brain caught up with what just happened, and she moved to get up with a murderous expression on her face. She didn't go much further though. Since as soon as she started moving, the MS moved too.

People blinked and they were in place. One of them was standing back, in front of Percy and Annabeth, with an arrow cocked and pointed right at Athena's head. Two more were standing on either side of her, with their swords crossed at her throat, one of them was Imperial Gold, while the other looked like some kind of bone. Another was in front and slightly crouched so he was out of the archer's way. His sword was distorted slightly so nobody could get a good look at it, but it was pointed upward, right at her chin. One of the girls snapped her fingers and chains materialized out of the Mist around Athena, holding her to her throne, while the last two stood back, clearly ready to move, but not needed yet. (Frank is in back with the bow; Percy, Annabeth, and Jason are holding her at sword-point; Hazel conjured up the chains; and Piper and Leo can't really draw weapons or do anything else without being obvious about who they were.)

Even Mrs. O'Leary was on her feet and growling at Athena.

"We are growing tired of your attitude. Sit. Down." One of the girls whispered. Despite how low she was speaking, her voice still carried, although it was low enough that none of them could recognize it. Athena slowly sat, watching them with wide eyes. Just as quick as they moved into position, they moved again, this time to stand in the middle of the room.

"Besides, the Fates left specific instructions that this whole thing was so you could learn to get along with the demigods and each other. As such, I think it's time we tell you why we are here before our part in these books." The archer whispered.

"The time we come from is roughly one year plus a few months after the end of the Titan War. We have seen and done much in that one year, we have learned much. And we are tired of the bickering and fighting that goes on in this room. As such, the Fates sent us here, to enforce their rules of not harming each other." The swords-woman said softly.

"We will allow some arguing, some dispute. Sometimes nothing gets accomplished without a little argument. We will let Lady Hestia handle most of it, she is good at it, and you all listen to her, sometimes. But, if we feel it is getting out of hand, and is about to get physical, we will step in and stop it." The girl who conjured the chains said simply.

While many of them wondered just how strong these seven were, the ones who had already figured out who they were wondered just what happened and how they got so fast, one of them turned to Athena and spoke. "Your pride has continued to rule your actions for too long. Admit when you are wrong about something for once and move on." With that said, they retreated back to their corner, hooded faces turned expectantly towards Annabeth , who just sat there and stared at them for a few minutes before a cleared throat brought her attention back to the book.

(Annabeth flashed me an... Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend.)

"She was not." Poseidon protested again, glaring at Athena. She glared back, but didn't do anything else. Not with the MS there, they were strong, and fast. Very fast. They were also here with orders given to them by the Fates themselves.

When the Fates gave you an order, you carried it out.

By any means necessary.

She also needed time to think over what she'd learned earlier, that her children would be targeted solely because they were her children. She may not be the most caring of mothers, but she was still a mother.

(They decided to meet in my mother's temple.)

"Not true." Poseidon said again, vehemently.

(That's why Athena turned her... her get into the temple,)

"THAT part is true." Poseidon said with a nod.

"She was already a monster way before Athena cursed her, though. Just, a different kind." Amphitrite said stiffly.

(they became the three... She's still sweet on your dad.)

Poseidon shuddered. "Yeah, because that's not creepy at all." Percy and Triton both said at the same time. They blinked at each other, and a few others snickered.

(You probably reminded her... my fault we met Medusa.")

"Actually, it could be argued that it's Hades and the Kindly Ones' faults. After all, if they hadn't attacked the bus..." Annabeth interrupted herself, shrugging her shoulders. Hades glared at her, but Percy cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at the Lord of the Underworld.

"My Furies may have attacked the bus, but it was YOU three who went towards Medusa's lair afterwards, and not in another direction." He said with a frown and a glare for his nephew.

"True... but if they hadn't attacked the bus, then we wouldn't have needed to go anywhere. We would have just driven right on by." Percy pointed out. "But, at any rate, let's not play the blame game. I hate that game."

(Annabeth straightened. In a... said. "You're impossible.")

"You also reminded me a lot of Lily right then. I wanted it to stop," Percy murmured to Annabeth. She looked at him guiltily.

("You're insufferable."

"You're-"

"Hey!" Grover interrupted.)

"THANK YOU!" The futures said, relieved that Grover stepped in and stopped the argument. Those two bickered way too much for everyone else's sanity.

It was amazing that they could fit so well together considering how much they bickered.

("You two are giving me a migraine,)

A few people whistled, impressed. Satyrs were physically incapable of getting migraines, or headaches in general.

(and satyrs don't even... do with the head?")

"That's... a good question, actually. None of you have a bag to carry it in, not to mention you are only in the beginning of your trip, and it will only get in the way if you get in another fight." Athena mused.

"Well, I suppose you could always use it to petrify any monsters you run into, but..." She shrugged.

"And, there's no telling what the mortals would see of it through the Mist. The Mist can be rather unpredictable sometimes." Apollo added.

"Oh, don't worry. It got put to good use." Percy said mysteriously, Sally hid a smile in Paul's shoulder.

(I stared at the thing... YOUR BUSINESS!

I was angry,)

"Oh, that's not good."

"For anybody, really."

"His enemies, though, are in even more trouble." Thalia told the rest of the demigods who spoke up, a raised eyebrow daring them to contradict her.

"Why is that?" Poseidon asked, curious. Although Triton and Amphitrite shook their heads, amused. This boy was a lot like his father.

"Well, when he gets angry, he gets even more reckless. Of course, it's very bad for his enemies, because when he's angry, nothing is going to stop him from taking them down. But, at the same time, his friends are usually stuck trying to keep up or trying to run damage control, depending on what he did." Grover explained.

Annabeth nodded. "We have had to try and run damage control a lot over the years, from Percy's recklessness when he's angry." She explained with a fond sigh. Percy just shrugged, although he was a little red.

"Sounds like someone else I know." Amphitrite said, looking between her husband and son. They both gave her a look like, 'Who, me?'

(not just with Annabeth or her... very first day out from camp.)

"That's a good reason to be angry." Nico said.

"Especially since his moods have already been crazier than usual." Thalia said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"Don't you remember?" Annabeth asked her. When she and several others shook their heads, she rolled her eyes and reminded them. "Percy's mood has been worsening since the Winter Solstice, since the storms started, since the oceans started acting strange because of his father's anger."

"Oh, yeah..." Rachel said in realization. "His moods are largely affected by the ocean."

Percy shook his head, "Just when something big is going on in Dad's domain. Then it starts to affect me more than usual."

(At this rate, we'd never... before the summer solstice.)

"Wow, way to be positive." Thalia said, giving her a cousin an odd look. He just shrugged, Annabeth sighed.

(What had Medusa said?... be better off as a statue.)

The Greek demigods all scowled, they hated being the gods pawns, but, what were they going to do about it? Mostly, they could just do their own thing, so unless something was going on, like the war, it wasn't usually too bad. The Romans weren't too worried about it. They rarely, if ever, saw the gods or received communication from them. So, they just did their own thing anyway.

Poseidon frowned, his son was not a pawn. Never was, never would be. The rest of the Olympians stirred, this wasn't the first time in this book that they'd been accused of using their children like that.

(I got up. "I'll be back.")

"This is gonna be good." The Stolls both muttered. They just knew Percy had to be up to something.

He usually was, even if they didn't know the half of it until just recently.

Percy heard them and smirked.

("Percy," Annabeth called after... Hades and Persephone's garden.)

"I didn't know it was her, if it was, I would have dealt with it myself. Laws or not laws." Persephone said with her eyes narrowed. She had never liked Medusa, and she was horrified to learn that she'd been supporting that woman's business all these years.

"I know dear, I know." Hades said quietly, patting his wife on the arm, which earned him a glare from his sister/mother-in-law. She didn't say anything though, she had noticed Hestia watching her, and she knew that her older sister would not stand for it today. "And it's not my garden, I'm not allowed in it." He said, louder, so the rest of the room could hear.

"Well, dear, death and gardening don't really mix." Persephone said primly. Hades actually turned a little red when he remembered the last time he had some free time (centuries ago) and tried to help her in her garden. He almost killed all the plants when he got excited about something they were talking about.

(According to one freight bill... Studios, West Hollywood, California.)

Hades groaned and eyed the Stoll brothers. The last thing he needed was for those four to get bright ideas about sneaking into his realm and 'having fun'. Which would only cause problems for him. He was relieved when Percy gave them a stern look. From what he'd seen so far, Percy was the only being in the universe that they would listen to.

Now that that crisis was averted, he could focus on the part where book-Percy now knew where to go to get to the Underworld. Which was just perfect, because he could already feel the headache this godling was about to cause him.

(I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket.)

Hermes nodded in approval.

(In the cash register I... a few golden drachmas,)

"Nice." All the Hermes crew said at once.

"Course, it's not that big of a haul, but..." Travis said.

"Considering the circumstances, I suppose it's better than nothing." Connor finished.

(and some packing slips... until I found the right-size box.)

"You're not." Travis breathed reverently.

"Oh, if you do this..." Connor trailed off, awed. Percy smirked at them. Everyone else started giving Percy strange looks.

(I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head,)

Everyone started to look warily at Percy, some of them were starting to get a bad feeling about where this was going. The Stolls were looking more and more awed the more Annabeth read.

(and filled out the delivery slip:

The Gods

Mount Olympus

600th Floor,

Empire State Building

New York, NY

With best wishes,

PERCY JACKSON)

The Stolls, all four of them, looked at Percy in awe. "We are not worthy." They breathed.

"Not worthy to stand in his presence," Connor said.

"Not worthy to think he doesn't know the Arts." Travis followed.

"Not even worthy to breathe the same air." The Stolls finished in unison. When they said it was going to be good, they couldn't have imagined this in their wildest dreams.

Percy smirked at the four while everyone else slowly edged away from the five boys.

("They're not going to like... think you're impertinent.")

"He is impertinent." Sally muttered fondly, glancing at her three boys. And wasn't that just weird for her to say? She had three different versions, from three different times, of her son all in one place.

(I poured some golden drachmas... table and disappeared with a pop !)

Amphitrite's forehead met the palm of her hand, and she shook her head back and forth. This boy... he was definitely Poseidon's son. There was no doubt about it.

The Stolls were still staring at Percy as if they might start making their burnt offerings to him now, instead of their father. Hermes himself was staring at the one who seemed to be more mischievous than even his own sons, and then his gaze swung thoughtfully to Sally. Athena still had yet to run a history check on her...

Poseidon was proud of his son. Worried, but proud. He knew that there were some on the council who would not take kindly to this...

When Jason glanced over at Leo, he'd been pretty quiet, it was to see him staring at Percy, with his mouth wide open, clearly he was still trying to process.

("I am impertinent," I said.)

"No..." Amphitrite said slowly. "What you are is a son of Poseidon. Although, I can't remember any of my other step-children being this... troublesome." She said, still shaking her head, and wondering how on earth Sally did it.

Percy grinned impishly.

(I looked at Annabeth, daring... talent for ticking off the gods.)

"I think it's less of a talent, and more of an art form." Thalia said, slightly in awe of her cousins tendency to tick them off, and still be alive and in one piece. Even after all these years.

Percy grinned proudly while those around him grumbled.

("Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan.")

"Done." Annabeth announced. A few people were still staring at Percy, hardly able to believe he had just done that.

"You," Reyna finally said, pointing at him. "Are one crazy Graecus. "

"Why thank you." Percy said with a grin.

She glared. "That wasn't a compliment." His grin just widened.

"I will read." Hestia said, stopping the argument between the two camp leaders. Annabeth handed off the book to her, and went back to sit with Luke. " Chapter twelve: We get Advice from a Poodle."

Notes:

For those who don't remember, the MS are the mysterious seven demigods that the Fates don't want revealing themselves yet. (More like I want them here right now and just don't feel like having to write the parts for three Percy's and three Annabeth's, so they are staying 'hidden' for now.) They will play a part later on.

Chapter 16: We Get Advice from a Poodle

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underline).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

"Done." Annabeth announced. A few people were still staring at Percy, hardly able to believe he had just done that.

"You," Reyna finally said, pointing at him. "Are one crazy Graecus ."

"Why thank you." Percy said with a grin.

She glared. "That wasn't a compliment." His grin just widened.

"I will read." Hestia said, stopping the argument between the two camp leaders. Annabeth handed off the book to her, and went back to sit with Luke . " Chapter twelve: We get Advice from a Poodle."

"A poodle?" Thalia asked, clearly questioning what was left of their sanity.

"It was Grover's idea." Percy grumbled, while Grover glared slightly. He happened to like Gladiola, he was a very smart dog.

(We were pretty miserable that night.)

"That's a good way to start a chapter." Somebody grumbled.

(We camped out in the woods... obviously been using for parties.)

Dionysus and Artemis frowned, and she shot a quick glare at him. After all, parties were his domain, and kids tended to leave a mess behind for her to try and clean up. Apollo frowned too.

"Why didn't you just stay at the warehouse?" Leo asked, if it was him, he would have stayed. He knew that if you had a chance for a roof over your head, you had to take it. Because you never knew when you would get another chance for it.

"Creepy statues." They said, as if that explained everything. And for many, it did. But Leo just frowned again, who cares about the creepy statues. A roof is a roof.

(The ground was littered... cans and fast-food wrappers.)

Apollo and Artemis both growled, startling everyone there.

Grover sighed. "Don't worry, I have the nature spirits keeping and eye out and cleaning up where they can." He placated. "It shouldn't be our job to clean up after the humans, but there we go." He grumbled. Honestly, they should learn how to pick up after themselves, at least.

"I'm surprised the place isn't covered with beer cans or bottles." Dionysus muttered, sipping at his wine and leaning back.

(We'd taken some food and... a fire to dry our damp clothes.)

Leo grumbled. At least they had the brains to gather some supplies from the place. Although, it would have been better if they just stayed there the night.

Poseidon frowned. "If you had more time to train and get to know your abilities, then you could have dried all your clothes off." He said. He didn't hold it against them though, Percy had only known that he was his son for maybe a week. And it didn't sound like he'd really had a chance, between training and camp activities (not to mention worrying about the part where he wasn't technically supposed to exist) to really see what he could do. Not to mention, there was no older sibling to show him the ropes like some of the other cabins had. And, if he could, Poseidon would have sent somebody to at least get him started, but if he was on the verge of war...

Percy and Annabeth froze, staring at him. Then, both facepalmed and started muttering about how they were idiots for not thinking of that sooner.

Grover muttered something about not finding bags or something and bringing more food with them. Sure, they cleaned out the cash register (of both mortal and godly currency), but they only took enough food for that night. Even for breakfast, they had to go find something else. But, they could have fried up some burgers, brought some wax paper, and maybe some buns for later. And whatever else they could find in there. Her fridge had been full. Could have brought more than some bags of chips... they really should have planned ahead better. By the time they got to Colorado, they were hungry.

Percy and Annabeth glanced at him and agreed. That first day had not gone well, at all. On so many levels.

(The Furies and Medusa had... want to attract anything else.)

"That's true."

"There would have been less risk of that from inside the warehouse, though." Leo muttered. The quest trio blinked at him. He wasn't going to let that go, was he?

(We decided to sleep in shifts... as her head hit the ground.)

Annabeth snorted. That was the last time she ever fell asleep so easily outside the safety of camp or her bedroom at her dads. Although, even her bedroom was iffy sometimes considering there was no magic boundary keeping things out. And the spiders...

(Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree,)

Hermes nodded approvingly. "You got the hang of those shoes fairly quickly. Impressive." He complimented.

Grover flushed red, "Considering the circumstances..." Hermes just quirked a grin and left it at that. He would give him that one.

There was a momentary distraction when Leo got up to sit with Beckendorf and showed him what he was sketching earlier. When Beckendorf saw the blueprints for a whip, made of a mix of Celestial Bronze, silver, and Imperial Gold, his eyebrows rose. Two of those were difficult metals to work with on there own, let alone getting them to bond together. Adding silver into the mix... well, it was a mortal metal, which was technically forbidden, but... it might be allowed in this case because silver was also used by the Huntresses. (And it was the only thing that could affect they Lycan's, and since they themselves were considered monsters…) He read the notes off to the side about it being able to withstand heat, and whistled.

Depending on how hot he wanted to go, that wouldn't be a problem, none of those metals melted easily. It would have to be enchanted, though, just to be on the safe side, wouldn't want him accidentally going hotter than the metals could handle in the middle of a fight. Plus, the repeated exposure to extreme heat could compromise the metals integrity. And, of course, it would have to still be flexible enough to use as a whip. The enchantments that would need to go into this was probably the only reason his little brother was showing him before even getting started on it. Fire-users couldn't enchant things, they didn't have the right magic for it. Because, Leo certainly didn't show him it to check for design flaws, he was better than that.

"Yeah, this can work. You want to start working tonight? I can take care of the enchanting while you do the rest?" He asked, thinking they could use the palace forge. This was Leo's project though, the only thing here that Leo couldn't do himself was the enchantments needed. Of course, when he said that, he wasn't taking into account that Leo could provide all the heat and fire they needed to shape the metals.

Leo just grinned and held up his hand, lighting it on fire. Beckendorf grinned back and Hephaestus, who had been watching them, waved his hand and provided the materials they needed.

The two of them grinned at their dad, then found a corner and got to work.

"Why didn't I think of that?!" Leo asked the others, almost whining. Frank reached over to pat him on the back consolingly.

(put his back to the trunk... signed up for this stupid quest?")

"Nah, that was more terrifying than anything else." Grover said, watching as Percy and Annabeth started another game of hangman, while some of the MS pulled out a deck of cards and started a game with Clarisse and the Stolls. They did a pretty good job of it, what with limiting their speech and all that.

"I don't think the quest is what he's talking about, either." Artemis said quietly, watching all the demigods finding various activities to hold their attention while they listened. She was glad they could find things to amuse themselves so easily, she really didn't want to deal with hyperactive demigods. Which is what would have happened if they tried to focus on just the reading for a long time. She was surprised they managed it this long.

("No. This makes me sad."... They've polluted the sky.)

"Men." Zoe and Artemis said in disgust.

Rachel cleared her throat. "It's not just men that mess things up." She said, thinking of her mother and some of her father's business partners. Artemis looked at her, about to shoot her down, but stopped when she saw the look on her face.

"You've never seen the night sky how it used to be, Satyr, but yes, it was beautiful." Artemis said instead.

(This is a terrible time to... be an environmentalist.")

His comment got him glared at by Artemis, Zoe, Apollo, and Thalia. Hermes' glare was more half-hearted than anything else, but he still took offense. After all, the wild was his sons domain.

Percy gave them a look, asking 'what?'

(He glared at me. "Only a... It's useless to lecture a human.)

"Hey!" Rachel glared. Not all humans were hopeless, thank you very much.

"Rachel, you are one of the rare few." Grover said quickly, he didn't want to get the hairbrush thrown at him. She was deadly with that thing. Especially since she got one made special with Celestial Bronze along the edges, so she could actually take monsters out with it if need be.

(At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan.")

"Pam?" Percy asked, confused. Why was he looking for cooking spray? It wasn't that hard to find, just go to the store.

The Grover's and Hermes glared, while Percy was trying really hard not to laugh.

("Pam? Like the cooking spray?")

Several palms met foreheads and sighs of either exasperated fondness, or just exasperation swept the room. Hermes and Grover looked highly offended, while Poseidon and Triton looked like they were trying not to laugh. Too hard, anyway.

A couple of people absently wondered how many bruises Percy had the next morning.

Both Percy's ignored everyone else to smirk at each other.

("Pan!" he cried indignantly.)

"I would be indignant too." Somebody muttered.

("P-A-N. The great god Pan!... been in these woods.)

All the gods sat on the edge of their thrones in shock, staring at Grover.

"That's the most anybody has heard from Pan in 2,000 years." Hermes whispered faintly, watching Grover in interest. 2,000 years of searching, on both his and the satyrs part, and the first sign that he was even still alive was made to this satyr.

This was proof, proof that his son was still out there and this satyr was the one to find him. His son was waiting for someone like this satyr to come along...

"If all the nature spirits work together, than maybe we can restore places like this clearing to what they used to be." Grover murmured, making mental plans and ignoring the stares of the Olympian council and their spouses.

(Suddenly I was nostalgic for something I'd never known.)

"You'll know it soon enough, Alaska is full of places that have never been touched by human beings." Hazel murmured.

"Especially since we have no idea where in Alaska we're going." Percy snorted in agreement when Frank dryly pointed that out.

"Why are you going to Alaska?" Poseidon asked carefully.

"Searching for the Legions standard. Among other things." Percy told his father cheerfully.

Alcyoneus... Hades shivered. That old giant was the only thing in Alaska that the Legion could possibly be after. The reason they had lost their standard in the first place. He had interrogated some of Michael Varus's men back when they came to the Underworld. Purely because they had died in Alaska. Considering what happened to Hazel in Alaska... He knew exactly where it was that Hazel, Frank, and Percy were going. It wasn't good, but if they could pull this off... well, maybe he should give them a few hints to help their way while they were here. Increase their chances of survival if nothing else.

("Tell me about the search," I said... I was just making fun.)

"I would never do that." Percy said, honestly offended that Grover would think that.

"I know you wouldn't." Grover said with a small smile. Percy gave him a quick look, trying to figure out what the caution was for in the book then, before smiling back.

("The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago,")

Hermes slumped down in his throne and ran a hand over his face. He would find out what happened to his son in these books. He was almost afraid to know. For now, though, he resigned himself to hearing the painful story. Hopefully it would be the short version.

(he told me. "A sailor off the... the great god Pan has died!')

The Romans frowned. "We've never heard this story." Reyna murmured.

"Pan disappeared a couple of centuries before the Roman empire came into being. So, I'm not surprised if you never heard about it. As far as Roman history is concerned, Pan never really existed. The Satyrs and nature spirits are the only ones besides his friends who seemed to really care and showed any concern at the time." Hermes said, somewhat bitterly. He had honestly not been happy when some humans 'celebrated' Pans' disappearance and started pillaging from nature as they pleased without him there to stop them.

Reyna frowned, and decided that she should probably study Greek history closer than before, considering the Greek's history was much more extensive and ancient than the Roman one. It seemed like it would be a very good thing to know, especially since they were reading these books about the Greeks. Even if it was from Percy's point of view.

"I thought gods were immortal, that you couldn't die." Paul said, a little confused on that point.

"We are, and we can't. Well, if we take too much damage, then we might for a while. But we will return. We can, however, fade. Permanently. We won't, though, as long as there are still people who 'acknowledge' us." Poseidon answered. Paul frowned, but nodded his thanks for the explanation.

(When humans heard the... pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since.)

The Hunters in the room all scowled, while Hermes glared at the wall. Dionysus sighed. He tried, he really tried to keep Pan's domain safe while he was gone, but he was afraid that he had his own domain to worry about, and lately he had camp as well to take care of.

(But for the satyrs, Pan... and wake him from his sleep.")

"Wow." Was the general comment from those who hadn't already known about this. Being the Romans and trio. They were a little amazed at the dedication the Satyrs showed, while the Romans were wondering why the Fawns didn't do anything like this.

"I bet none of them thought of looking in Alaska though." Hazel said, somewhat dryly. "It's the perfect place to hide, and it's pretty wild up there. Being away from the gods' influence and all that." She shrugged when the satyrs looked at her in shock.

"You know, I don't think Alaska was ever searched." Grover said thoughtfully. He was trying to shore up some courage to go there himself, once he got his license. Hopefully, that wouldn't be necessary after these books.

"How do you know so much about Alaska?" Artemis finally asked Hazel. She herself had been to Alaska several times, there was good hunting there, even if she could never stay long before starting to get tired from being out of the sphere for so long. Alaska was something of neutral territory between all the Pantheons, nobody could really stay there for long, think of it like the eye of a storm, with all the action happening around it, but not touching it.

"I used to live there." Hazel said blankly. Then she cheered up a little. Despite everything, she had made a little home for herself, roaming the countryside as she did. "It's beautiful countryside, there's a lot of gold laying around under the grounds' surface too..." She shrugged. The gods were looking at her like they couldn't quite decide what to think.

Before Hestia could continue though, Hermes thanked the satyrs in the room for their long dedication to finding his son.

("And you want to be a searcher."... the first searcher to return alive.")

"Whoa, wait, what?" All the Romans asked, shocked. Did he just say the first? Grover crooked a bittersweet grin.

"And you were." Percy said with a sad, but proud grin. Proud of his best friend for everything he accomplished, but sad that so many satyrs died over the years, sacrificing so much... just to be the next meal. Why was it the only half-siblings he had that were decent were Tyson and Triton? The rest of his siblings were all a bunch of jerks who wanted to either kill him, or aid the enemy. What was up with that?

Grover looked at his older self in amazement, with a little bit of hero worship in his eyes.

("Hang on-the first?")

"Yeah, answers, please." Gwen called. She had to know about this one.

(Grover took his reed pipes... two thousand years?"

"No.")

A few people whistled. "Now, that right there is dedication." Piper voiced what they were all thinking for a bit now. She was slightly impressed, but also a little disturbed. That was a lot of satyrs going out, a lot of families left behind.

"How come we never heard of this before?" Jason asked, he would have thought that they would have heard about it, it seemed to be common knowledge for the others.

"There's no need to continue the search." Grover said sadly. "Pan was found." He didn't give any details, though. He kept saying that it would be in one of the books, and he didn't want to go over it. Hermes had looked hopeful, but... at the tone Grover used, was now slumped over in his throne, mourning a loss that he'd known was coming, but still hoping wouldn't happen. Apollo was doing his best to comfort him, but he didn't really know what to do.

"But... what is killing the satyrs?" Reyna asked, disturbed.

"At the time, we didn't know. We found out the summer after this, so it should be the next book...?" Percy asked Annabeth, who confirmed that the next book should be the quest to the Sea of Monsters.

("And your dad?... to him?"

"None.")

Those who had a loving parent (both Percy's, Leo, Frank, Piper, etc.) winced and looked at Grover in sympathy, and those who had lost that loving parent understood exactly where he was coming from. Even Percy, even though he was lucky, he got his mom back. And he was never letting her go again.

Those who didn't have the best home lives before camp, they didn't really know what to feel about it. Sure, they didn't want something to happen to their mortal parent, but at the same time... they weren't sure how they would feel if something did happen.

("But you still want to... be the one to find Pan?")

"I know you will be." Percy said quietly, looking at Grover . The two satyrs and Chiron were the only ones to really hear him, aside from those sitting next to him. Grover looked startled, like he couldn't believe Percy had that much faith in him, while Chiron looked at both his future/current student in pride, and started thinking about how sending Grover to Yancy was the best decision he ever made.

And he had absolutely no doubt that Grover really succeeded.

("I have to believe that... Pan can still be awakened.")

"Although, I think... in the last few centuries or so, the Council has started sending satyrs more for... personal or political reasons then out of any hope of them finding Pan." Percy said. When everyone turned questioning looks at him, he huffed and turned to his people, "You all remember how the Council was treating Grover after New Mexico. He found a sign, and what did they do? They tried to banish him. Because it 'was impossible that Pan would show himself to someone like you.'" He said it as sarcastically as possible, showing exactly how he felt about the Council of Cloven Elders.

"Therefore, they choose Satyrs based a little on politics, and a lot on who they want to be rid of."

And really, it was perfect when he thought about. After all, what better way to get rid of somebody without being blamed, than to send them on a search that everybody knew they weren't going to come back from, and just hoped that they would be the one to come back?

Grover, Hermes, and Dionysus frowned, but had to admit the boy had a point. Dionysus had needed to step in and stop the Council several times when they tried to do exactly that. Of course, there were probably cases that slipped by him, he had many responsibilities, after all.

Hermes resolved to pay more attention to the Council of Cloven Elders.

(I stared at the orange haze)

Only the rest of the MS noticed Percy and Annabeth shiver at hearing that. Since they came out of Tartarus, they had problems seeing darker shades of orange, they couldn't even bear to look at the sunset anymore because of the orange streaks in the sky. Reddish colors could be a problem sometimes, too, mostly if they were paired up with the orange, though.

(of the sky and tried... do we have against a god?")

"None."

"Absolutely none."

"Che, don't flatter yourself, kid."

All the Titan War veterans grinned secretively at each other while Percy's family watched the room and muttering gods with raised eyebrows.

" Are we the only ones who remember Percy's titles?" Poseidon asked his wife and son mentally. They both gave a mental shrug back, since it appeared to them that they were.

"I can't wait 'till the chapter where you fight Ares." Annabeth muttered to Percy, who grinned ferally. He had honestly enjoyed that fight, which he hadn't realized until the fight was over and he realized that he was still alive, but hey. Those gods that were watching the demigods shivered at the look on Percy's face, they weren't sure what to make of it.

Nobody watched Hades watching Percy thoughtfully. So far, this kid seemed capable of doing the impossible. Could he be the one... he glanced at Apollo, who shrugged. He didn't know.

("I don't know," he admitted... a plan all figured out.")

"Wow, you guys did not like each other much back then, did you?" Piper muttered, watching the couple.

Percy hesitated, trying to figure out how to word his somewhat complicated feelings for Annabeth back then. "It wasn't so much that I didn't like her... it was more that I was frustrated. We'd been getting along well enough, and then she found out who my father was, and she became condescending, and almost outright hostile. And then there was how she blamed me entirely for the fight with Medusa, as if it were my fault just for simply being a son of Poseidon. It was just starting to get to me, being blamed for something out of my control. Especially when, at this point, I'd never even met my father."

He shrugged.

It didn't bother him anymore, he and Annabeth had worked past this years ago. She'd warmed up to him through this quest, and their relationship got better from there.

Through his entire explanation, Annabeth went a little red, and the seafolk stared at her a little blankly. Poseidon was thinking that he may approve of her now, after observing her with his son, but if he'd heard this information a couple of days ago, he would have outright forbidden her from seeing his son, no matter Percy's thoughts on the matter. She was lucky her attitude had clearly improved over the years.

("Don't be so hard on her... "Forgave you for what?")

Zeus snarled, scaring a few of the younger kids. His grand-daughter may have forgiven the Satyr, but he wouldn't. He wasn't anywhere close to forgiving him. He glanced at his youngest daughter and mentally grimaced when he noticed the look on her face, she glared at him a little, probably for his attitude towards Grover, before she started whispering harshly into Grover 's ear.

Thalia was not happy that Grover seemed to blame himself so heavily for what happened to her. She chose to stay behind, nothing that happened to her was in any way, shape, or form his fault.

(Suddenly, Grover seemed... playing notes on his pipes.)

"It was a bit of a sensitive topic." Annabeth said, "For both of us." Percy nodded, he understood that, and he honestly hadn't meant to bring up bad memories, it was just... he had finally realized something.

("Wait a minute," I said... first assignment that went wrong-")

A few people who didn't know the full story blinked and suddenly remembered a random bit of information from earlier in the story. Annabeth was at camp for five years... Thalia was twelve when she was turned into a tree, and if she hadn't been turned into a tree, she would be seventeen right now in the book. That was a five year difference...

They were shocked when they put it together that Grover was the Satyr sent out to lead Thalia to camp.

That was what he was blaming himself for the entire time in these books. They glanced at him in shocked amazement.

This also explained why Zeus seemed to especially hate him so much.

("I can't talk about it,"... start crying if I pressed him.)

"Huh." Annabeth muttered. "Were you really about to start crying, or..." She asked Grover.

"A bit of both, actually. I noticed a long time ago, that if it looks like him pressing the subject is going to make you emotional, he'll usually back off. Usually, mind." Grover said, and Grover nodded. He had noticed that at Yancy with his Percy. That was part of what made their friendship real. It didn't take long before the job, was no longer a job for Grover. Where he genuinely enjoyed being with Percy, and protecting him.

Especially in moments like this where Percy was 'pouting' at him amid everyone else's laughter. He looked like somebody kicked his baby seal, and it was honestly a little adorable. Something he would never admit. Not for all the cheese enchiladas in the world.

Sally was privately thinking that Lily abused that tactic to get anything and everything from her brother that she was able to get. He'd always been a bit of a sucker for tears. Real or pretend. Which basically meant that his future wife (most likely Annabeth) was going to end up being the one to discipline the kids.

Especially if said kids found out what a sucker he was for those tears.

("But as I was saying, back at... Something isn't what it seems.")

"Hopefully you figure it out in time." Reyna murmured. "You only have ten days, if you go all that way only to have it confirmed that Hades doesn't have it, will you still have enough time to find out who does?" She asked.

"No, we didn't." Annabeth answered bitterly.

"Luckily, we had been given the right clues along the way." Percy said, tiredly. This whole quest had been exhausting. "It was just a matter of putting it all together once we got to the Underworld, after we spoke with Uncle. But, yeah. It wasn't until after the attack on the bus that we really started to worry about our deadline." He shrugged.

"Well, at least you realized something wasn't right, way before it was too late to realize. It gave you time as you traveled to think of other options." Luke said with what was supposed to be a smile, although it turned out to be more of a grimace. Annabeth had been in so much danger on this quest. This quest that never would have happened if he hadn't stolen the Bolt and Helm.

("Well, duh. I'm getting... were sort of holding back.)

Hades grimaced. "Even with them holding back, you killing them is still an amazing feat." He said with gritted teeth. He hated admitting that, hated complimenting them on their defeat of his Furies, but it was a huge feat. An amazing accomplishment, as much as he hated it. Persephone gave him a small, proud smile and patted his arm.

Percy and the other demigods looked at him in shock. Percy recovered the quickest and gave him a small 'thank-you' for the compliment, then made sure the other demigods stopped staring at him. Which Hades was grateful for.

(Like Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy... at us: 'Where is it? Where?'")

Athena frowned, trying to think what could they possibly be wanting. The only thing she could think of, was if Hades thought Percy had the Bolt too, and wanted it as a bargaining chip for something.

Hades scowled. So, he thought as Zeus did in this instance? That the boy had to have stolen his Helm, or at least had an idea where it was. But that didn't make any sense. He knew that the boy didn't know about Olympus, so why was he going after him as Zeus was? He was usually more level headed than that. Unless... his dreams were being manipulated too. He lived practically right next to the pit. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for Father to do that without him even noticing.

("Asking about me," I said... person. They said 'Where is it?')

"Yes, but what are they looking for?" Ares asked, somewhat bored, but also wanting to know. After all, maybe they could get back to the action faster that way. Athena was frustrated that she couldn't figure it out, while a few others started to get a feeling that they knew. They glanced at Hades and decided that they were on the right track when they saw the expression on his face. They were pretty sure that meant he'd already figured it out and wasn't happy.

He also seemed to be clutching at his Helm kind of like how Zeus was clutching at his Bolt earlier in the book, when they first read about it being stolen.

(They seemed to be asking about an object."

"That doesn't make sense.")

"At the time, it really didn't." Annabeth agreed. She hadn't known that they stayed up talking, luckily she'd learned over time not to be such a deep sleeper outside of camp.

("I know. But if we've misunderstood... days to find the master bolt...")

"That won't be much time." Somebody said.

"Hopefully, if they can find enough physical evidence that neither Hades nor Poseidon were the ones to take the Bolt, it will be enough for Aunt's Hestia, Demeter, and Mother to calm down Father long enough to buy time. And not declare war with Uncle Poseidon." Hephaestus said with a shrug. Athena turned to him, shocked, because that sounded intelligent. Hephaestus and his sons noticed her look and scowled. He was very intelligent, thank you very much. He wouldn't be nearly as good at inventing things or new engineering and mechanical concepts if he wasn't.

"Yes, hopefully that will be enough to buy them a little more time." Demeter said, agreeing with her nephew. She didn't hold out much hope of them talking Zeus down even then, though. Amphitrite should be able to calm Poseidon's temper if the event Hephaestus just described played out, but at the same time... Poseidon's temper happened because he'd been called a thief and wanted an apology. Something that Zeus wasn't likely to give.

"You know, I think I prefer the time constraints on this quest," Percy said, gesturing to the book. "over the time constraints we had after Maine, or the current one to get to Alaska. At least here we had more than an idea of where to go, we have no real idea where to even begin looking in Alaska."

"Didn't I tell you where we were going to start?" Hazel asked, frowning.

Percy looked at her and frowned. "I know you said you think you know where the giant is, but we don't know for sure if the giant has the legions stuff, or if that's even where they're keeping Thanatos. And we have a lot less than nine days to figure it out if we get there and he's not." He pointed out.

Hazel and Frank frowned then while Reyna looked worried. They hadn't even thought of that... although they supposed that the smartest thing for the enemy to do, would be to lure them to one location, while keeping Thanatos somewhere else. Keeping Thanatos where the giant was, was really kind of foolish.

(He looked at me like he... was worse than petrification.)

Percy made a face. "Just to be clear, never listen to the monster. Even if what they are saying is the honest truth. Don't listen." He said to the younger kids.

Poseidon looked disheartened that Percy thought that he, Poseidon, was just using him. Poseidon was pretty sure that he would be watching every step of this quest, was pretty sure that he'd argued with Chiron against his son going, especially so soon after he got to camp in the first place. His son wouldn't be on this quest if there was ANY other choice. Not when he was still so untrained...

("I haven't been straight... so I could bring back my mother.")

"I think both he and Annabeth knew that." Thalia muttered to Luke beside her.

He huffed a laugh. "I think we ALL knew that. Well," He amended. "Those of us who knew something happened to her, anyway."

"Why would you not care about my Bolt?! That is the only thing you should be caring about!" Zeus yelled, glaring at Percy. Percy glared back.

Zeus tried not to show how terrified Percy's glare was and how sure he was that Percy was going to kill him right that minute.

"The only thing I cared about on this quest was my mother and making sure the world didn't explode because of your temper tantrums." Percy hissed coldly. Everyone shivered and swore the temperature dropped to Arctic levels. They'd never heard Percy like that before. The only ones to be unaffected were Percy, Annabeth, and Sally. They knew that Percy would never hurt them no matter how angry he got, the others weren't so sure. They'd never seen him like this. Even five of the MS in their corner were affected, Gabe was whimpering quietly to himself, hoping that he wouldn't be noticed. Poseidon was shocked, and a little scared.

Percy got his temper, combined with his mothers. That wasn't good. Luckily for the world, it took quite a bit to get them worked up to this point normally.

Zeus gulped and licked his lips nervously. Swallowed a couple more times, and then finally nodded and squeaked (he did, don't let him say differently) that he understood, Sally Jackson came first.

Percy glared at him for another moment before Percy finally came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "He got the point, your scaring everybody." He whispered in Percy's ear. Percy glanced around, saw the looks on everybodies faces, and visibly calmed himself down. After a moment, he said, "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later." And walked out, restoring the temperature in the Hall to normal levels and letting everyone breathe again. Sally stared at the door for a moment, worried, but knew that he would be alright, and he just needed a moment alone. Annabeth stayed for the same reason.

"I've never seen Kelp-head like that before." Thalia whispered.

"I have, once." Annabeth said. "It takes a lot to get him like that. And I mean, A LOT. Don't worry though, unless you're the one who made him mad, you're perfectly safe." She reassured everyone, Sally nodded in agreement, with Percy joining in.

Annabeth leaned into Percy's side. "That reminded me of down there. " She whispered. "I haven't seen that temper in a while."

He smiled tightly at her. "The reason I took so long to get his attention. I was trying not to think about it." She gave him a searching look, and then nodded to herself when she was sure he was really alright.

"We're going to be hearing about it a lot from this point. You had a few dreams on this quest, didn't you? Of that place?" She asked. He hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Ok." She breathed out. "We'll get through this. And when it's over, we'll be stronger than ever." She murmured to him, trying to convince herself as much as him. He nodded in agreement anyway.

(Grover blew a soft note on... I don't care about him.")

Poseidon made a soft sound, and Amphitrite put her arm around his waist, "Remember, this was before the two of you really spent time together. Give him time in these books. He's obviously come around and doesn't think this way anymore." She murmured. He sighed, but nodded. He knew that, he did. It was just hard to hear one of his children say things like that about it.

"He was in hard denial up until St. Louis." Annabeth murmured. Grover winced.

"I was trying to forget St. Louis happened." He complained, glaring at Annabeth. She shrugged and said she was sorry, but everybody knew she wasn't the least bit sorry.

Everybody was wondering if they wanted to know what happened in St. Louis, or if they would be happier not knowing. A few that hadn't been at camp then (Piper and Jason on an outing to the Mortal world, plus Frank) remembered hearing news reports about a crazy kid that torched the Arch and started wondering...

(Grover gazed down from... not as smart as Annabeth.)

"You're still pretty smart." Grover turned a little red at the unexpected compliment from most of the room.

(I'm not as brave as you.)

"You're a very brave Satyr."

"I'm happy to fight beside you any day." Grover turned a little redder.

(But I'm pretty good at reading emotions.)

"There were moments where I got a pretty good idea on them since we got to camp. Most of the time, though, they were more chaotic than ever." Grover said, shaking his head. "It would have helped us figure out his parentage if we knew that before this reading, though." He complained grumpily.

"Hmm. I don't think so," Chiron disagreed. "I already figured that his father was a sea deity. The only question I really had was, which one? It stands to reason that the turbulent emotions the satyrs sense is true for ALL children of the Sea, and not just children of Poseidon." He reasoned out.

Poseidon smirked at him and confirmed. It was that way with all children of the sea, his children were just harder to read at times because of their stronger parentage.

(You're glad your dad is alive... to notice what you'd done.")

Annabeth sighed. "While all that is true, it's not something Percy was necessarily ready to hear." She said with a grimace. Poseidon had looked proud and vaguely hopeful, but when she said that, he grimaced too. Percy was stubborn, so he'd likely be hearing all about how much Percy didn't like him and didn't want him for a long time yet, in this book.

Grover sighed, too. "Yeah, well. He needed to hear it, anyway. Give him a good kick in the right direction." He grumbled. Honestly, Percy's emotions whenever his dad was brought up had actually been giving him a headache. And, like he told them in the warehouse, Satyrs couldn't even get headaches!

("Yeah? Well maybe satyr... I don't care what he thinks.")

"Wow. Somebody was in denial." Was muttered.

Jason glanced over at Percy , wondering on how on earth it was that the guy with the most envied relationship with his father, at one point tried denying his father existed. Clearly some effort was made on both sides at some point, but wow. That had to have quite some effort.

Jason was thinking that he completely understood where Percy was coming from, having gone through it several times growing up, just wanting Jupiter to acknowledge his efforts in some way... and then it never happened. Instead, Juno gave him his old coin, and said to become Praetor. To work harder to make her proud. When she wasn't the one he wanted acknowledgement from.

(Grover pulled his feet... "Okay, Percy. Whatever.")

Grover sighed. "I was not awake enough to argue about it with him." He muttered. Annabeth looked sympathetic. She'd been there before. Once Percy got in the mood to argue about everything, it was best to just end the conversation there and try to continue it later, when he was in a better mood to listen to their side and actually think, and reason.

("Besides, I haven't done anything worth bragging about.)

"Are you...?" Several people tried to ask Percy at once, before remembering that he wasn't in here right now. "Is he serious?" They asked Annabeth and Grover instead.

They grimaced, and after a short debate, Annabeth answered. "Percy has some... issues, when it comes to acknowledging his accomplishments. Personally, I think it's left over from the years of living with Gabe constantly tearing him down and all that. He doesn't really think he's all that powerful, either, he's always saying that he's just been lucky all these years, or that he only got through it because of the people with him at the time. There will be moments, when he'll actually acknowledge that he has plenty of bragging rights over something or someone, or say something arrogant that he has every hard-earned right to say, but those moments are rare." She said.

Grover picked it up then, "He has a habit of focusing more on his perceived failures than any of his accomplishments." He finished. Annabeth nodded in agreement. A few of the other Titan veterans nodded their own agreement, they'd noticed a bit of this over the years, too. Obviously not to the extent Grover and Annabeth had, but still.

The MS were trying to ignore how Annabeth was staring Percy down, with a well practiced look on her face that proclaimed him to be an idiot. They knew that if they looked, they would start laughing, or telling Percy off for those ideas again. They'd noticed those habits of his not long after they left America. He'd mostly been sulking about the whole 'getting trapped and not being able to get out' thing, but there had been a few other times when he thought he failed everyone.

Hades snorted. "That kid probably has the most bragging rights in the world at this point." He muttered. A humble demigod... who knew it was possible.

Hazel heard his comment and snorted to herself. Oh, yeah. He had bragging rights, alright, she thought bitterly. He could brag all about how he survived the Pit and now could barely sleep at night because of it. Some bragging rights.

(We barely got out of New... money and no way west.")

"He's got a point with that one."

"Like I said, he focuses on his perceived failures and ignores his accomplishments." Grover said again.

"Besides, we found a way west." Annabeth murmured, scratching Mrs. O'Leary and making her whine in pleasure when her humans mate hit a sweet spot. Annabeth smiled fondly at the hellhound.

The youngers stared at the girl and hellhound in silent shock and awe. They never would have imagined that one of the most dangerous monsters could act so much like a normal dog. Just how on earth did Percy get her, and where?

(Grover looked at the night... huh? You get some sleep.")

"I thought you said you were too tired?" Clarisse asked deadpan.

"I wasn't about to deal with Percy in that mood. I never said I was too tired. Besides, I needed some time alone to think about a few things." Grover shrugged. He was watching Annabeth rope Percy into continuing to play Hangman with her, she said it would help him practice his Ancient Greek. She promised to use English for him, and write the Greek equivalent underneath it, while if he knew some Greek, to go ahead and use it on her all she liked, as long as he told her which language he was using.

The card game in the corner with some of the MS and others was still going strong.

(I wanted to protest, but he... Concerto no. 12, I was asleep.)

"How did he know what I was playing?" Grover asked, surprised. He'd never pegged Percy as a classical listener.

"Lily loves Mozart. You could almost say she's obsessed. She'll buy anything with his music on it that she can, we're even setting aside money that we're supposed to be giving to Gabe, from our summer jobs, so she can start piano lessons." Percy explained. He didn't mind, either. He had fun keeping it from Gabe, even if he was terrified of what would happen if Gabe ever found out about it. Especially with Gabe in his corner, trying to get loose so he could go and strangle the 'little thief'. He got blasted with ice-cold sea water.

"Ah, yes. I remember the look on her face when I had to tell her that she couldn't have piano lessons." Sally said softly. She could have taught her, herself, of course. Except it had been years since she played, and even longer since she had a piano of her own to play on. She'd had to sell her uncle's piano when he got sick, in an effort to have that little bit of extra money. After that, she'd go over to a school friend's house to use theirs. And, then, once she'd found out she was pregnant and not even married, that friend wanted nothing more to do with her.

(In my dreams, I stood in a dark cavern before a gaping pit.)

There was a whimper from the MS that they couldn't hold in this time. When they looked, they noticed it came from the girl with the Drakon bone sword, and the one with his sword fuzzed out was trying to comfort her, although a few of them could see by how tense his shoulders were that he was trying to hold it together himself.

Sally sucked in a breath, the only reason her boy and Annabeth would be acting this way... was if they went to Tartarus themselves. And survived. And she did not want to think about her boy being anywhere near there.

The other five MS were looking helplessly on as the two tried to keep it together. They knew that if any of them tried to help, if the two of them were touched while they were like this, they could make it worse.

Zeus was heard muttering denials that this had anything to do with Kronos, and seemed to have decided that Percy's demigod dreams were just stranger than most.

(Gray mist creatures churned... were the spirits of the dead.)

Hades looked worried. "He's dreaming about the entrance in the Underworld."

"Which means that, either way, the answers to this whole quest lie in the Underworld somewhere." Amphitrite said with a sigh, while watching Percy and Annabeth struggle to calm down.

Eventually, the two of them just got up quietly and left.

In the Gardens:

"Well, it's clear that it will take a while before we can just hear about it out of nowhere." Annabeth said after they sat for a few minutes out in one of the gardens.

"Yeah. Well, we knew that it would be a long time, if ever, before we were back to normal." Percy said, mostly repeating what his mom told him when he completely lost it about feeling so weak because he couldn't handle a few memories even weeks after it happened, when everyone else needed him to be strong.

"True." She said, and left it like that.

"You calmer, now?" Percy called, and Percy's head slowly came up out of the water in the fountain.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good now." He said. "I'm just not sure if I should go in just yet... I forgot the kids were in there... and I know that they are us, but-" He finished helplessly.

"But they haven't gone through the same experiences, they are still so young and relatively innocent. Naïve." Percy finished for him.

"Well, as young innocent and naïve as a demigod can ever be." Annabeth muttered beside him, pulling a grin and agreeing chuckle out of her Seaweed Brain's.

Percy sighed. "Where are they in the book?" He asked, and then frowned in worry when they froze and had to pull themselves together, looking frustrated with themselves while they did.

"They just got to the part with your dream, in the Underworld."

Percy frowned in thought, having to search his memory to figure out which dream they were talking about, he'd had a lot of dreams during the quest of the Pit. "Before we met Gladiola?" He asked to be sure. He didn't even stop to think that they might not know what he was talking about, these two knew who Gladiola were, they were there just like he was.

"Yeah, before Gladiola." Percy snorted a laugh, wondering what the point had been in the Fates telling them not to say who they were. Anybody with a brain would have it figured out by now. Unless, they were just messing with those who hadn't figured it out...? That was possible, after all, the Fates had to have some fun too. Hopefully that fun just didn't involve bringing about the Apocalypse or something similar. That would be bad... for obvious reasons.

Percy frowned. "I'll go back later, for now I'm just gonna stay here." He quirked a grin and disappeared back under the water, leaving Annabeth to huff a laugh at her boyfriend while Percy looked like he wanted to join him.

Back in the Throne room:

"I hope those two are alright." Sally whispered the Hestia beside her.

"They will be." She reassured. "They just need time."

(They tugged at my clothes, trying to pull me back,)

Hades actually sat back a little and breathed in relief. Sometimes the spirits could be tricky near the pit. He tried to keep them away and usually they were too afraid of it, but sometimes... These must be some of the guards he had in place to keep the others back.

The last thing he needed was for one of the Ancient ones within the Pit to set a spirit on the rampage. Which could sometimes happen when they were grabbed and twisted. The mortal tales of Poltergeists had nothing on what they turned into. He did not want that happening again. No, sir.

He also didn't want Percy getting pulled in there, even if it was in his dreams. He'd had to go down there once... he never wanted to go back. And he was a god, he could handle it a lot better than Percy's mortal mind could. He glanced at the door where Percy and Annabeth had disappeared. He would have to ask them, later on when he was sure they wouldn't freak out on him, how they survived it and escaped.

(but I felt compelled to... very edge of the chasm.)

"Oh no." Was the general consensus. Annabeth and Grover looked a bit pale. If Percy had been drawn into the Pit, even in his dreams... well, there was a reason why the Beings in the Pit only drew mortals' dreams to the edge, and not down there with them.

Mortals were no use to them when their bodies were lying in a hospital, brain-dead, after all.

They were so lucky Percy hadn't been pulled in.

(Looking down made me... it must be bottomless.)

"Yes and no." Hades muttered.

(Yet I had a feeling that... something huge and evil.)

"Oh, it was evil alright." A few of those who fought him muttered. The faces of all those who fell fighting him flashed through their minds.

Zeus frowned. He really didn't like where this was going. He didn't like it at all.

(The little hero, an amused... but perhaps you will do.)

"Do for what?" Clarisse asked suspiciously. Whenever something very old and very powerful told you that you would do, it wasn't usually a good sign. AT ALL.

Annabeth grimaced. "I think I know what he was talking about." She glanced at Luke, and he grimaced. If Kronos had been able to turn Percy to his side, then it would have been Percy's body he inhabited. It would have been Percy's body with Kronos in command of it that would have led the armies aga inst Olympus. Luke himself had been the secondary choice.

A few of the older kids caught on to what Annabeth was saying, and they weren't sure whether to be horrified for Percy, or sympathetic for Luke. Nobody likes being the backup plan, after all. But at the same time, in cases like this... nobody really liked being part of the plan at all.

(The voice felt ancient-cold... me like sheets of lead.)

Both Lukes shivered at hearing it described this way. It never felt this way in their dreams, it was usually, well... not really warm and inviting. But it didn't feel oppressive like it did for Percy.

Luke wondered if it would have been easier to resist if he had felt like it was oppressive, and not neutral like Kronos was when whispering to him. Because dream-Percy was describing his real aura to a T, and the real aura spoke at odds with what Kronos said he wanted to do.

(They have misled you... dissolved in a shower of gold.)

"Clever." Hades murmured with a grimace. Then again, this was Kronos they were talking about here. "Pretending that he took the boys mother, and saying he can give her back. He was probably going to have Percy challenge me or something after telling him that I was the one who actually had her.

"Don't listen to him." A few of the younger demigods muttered, to the older ones amusement. Percy wouldn't listen to him, if anything he might make a direct challenge to him. I'll beat you, and you'll give her back. Or something like that.

"Also cruel." Poseidon whispered, watching Sally almost collapse at hearing that her 'death' was being thrown in her sons face as a bargaining chip. She, of course, remembered none of this.

(Her face was distorted with... directly at me, pleading: Go!)

"Were you aware?" Somebody asked Sally, timidly.

She smiled softly at him, but shook her head no. "I think I was frozen. I don't remember anything after being picked up." She answered, making a few people sigh in relief. It was good that she didn't remember. Being able to see through the Mist or not, there were some sights that a mortal brain just could not handle, and seeing the Underworld would be one of them.

They only got around that because of the godly blood in their veins. It buffered them from a lot of things that would turn ordinary mortals insane.

(I tried to cry out, but... force pulled me forward.)

A few people gasped, worried. Once again, they forgot that he was here, well, not in the room at the moment, but he was here . He was safe, he didn't get pulled in. (This time, anyway.)

The MS exchanged looks, if they were reacting to him almost being pulled in, then how would they react when he was pulled in?

(It would drag me into... against the treacherous gods!)

The gods all sucked in a breath. There was no doubt to their minds what was going on now. Most of them knew who it was, A couple were in denial still, but knew that there was a threat coming. Hades frowned in concern, trying to think how he could convince Zeus that the threat was real, and they needed to act now. Zeus had always been so difficult to convince in times like this...

Right now, they were all just hoping Percy didn't listen, especially with the promise right in front of him, the promise of getting his mother back.

(The spirits of the dead... using me to pull itself out.)

A few of the gods started muttering amongst themselves. Only the strongest residents of Tartarus would be able to do that.

The demigods were pale, this was horrible! They had bad dreams, sure, but nothing like this! When they looked at the other Big 3 kids, they noticed that none of them looked particularly disturbed, as if they were used to this sort of thing. Well, they probably were being Big 3 kids themselves, but still! Was this really an every night occurrence for them? They couldn't imagine being able to sleep knowing that you might have dreams like this one. It gave them a new understanding of what it meant to be a Big 3 kid, and made them understand that it wasn't always the envied position that some of them thought it was.

When they looked at Poseidon, they noticed him frowning in concern, but he was acting like the other kids, like this was only marginally worse than usual for a Big 3 demigod.

(Good, it murmured. Good... Annabeth said, "the zombie lives.")

"We'd been trying to wake him up for ages." Annabeth explained while everyone else sighed in relief that it was over. They were worried, though, about just what this meant, especially that this being seemed so interested in Percy.

It was then that Annabeth and Percy came back in from wherever they were hiding during the dream. How they managed to time it so well... What they didn't know was that Percy had been using his control over water to sort of hear what was happening. Not even to hear what was being said, but enough to know when it was safe.

The gods didn't care about that, though, they were arguing with Zeus over what that dream meant. Zeus was positive it was nothing, Beings within the Pit stirred every now and then, nothing had ever come of it. It most certainly WASN'T Kronos. The others were trying to convince that it was, and even if it wasn't, they should prepare so they could be ready if it WAS. Numerous attempts were made to remind him of what Percy's titles were, what the young demigod had said when they first arrived. Ares repeated his observations that the kids went through war, but nothing would get through to him.

He absolutely refused to believe that Kronos was rising, was even capable of rising.

Finally, to his relief, Hestia called a stop to the argument so they could continue reading and hear for positive. Even though she agreed with everyone else...

Zeus was terrified of what it meant, that Father could come back. It meant that all their old enemies could come back. First the Titans, then what next? The Giants? The Primordials themselves, deciding that they'd slept long enough? They'd won the first Titan War by the skin of their teeth last time, and then barely beat back the Giants once they appeared. No, he refused to believe that they were really rising. He refused to believe that this little dream was anything but a false alarm.

He was terrified that it wasn't, and they wouldn't be strong enough to win this time.

(I was trembling from the dream... from Aunty Em's snack bar.)

A few people snorted while Annabeth shrugged. "Nice cooking skills." Rachel teased as the last of the tension from the dream faded.

Annabeth grinned at her. "I thought so." She said brightly.

("And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend.")

"A friend?" Katie asked curiously.

"Eh, kind of." Annabeth said with a shrug.

(My eyes had trouble focusing... It was a pink poodle.)

Piper cocked her head to the side, as a half-formed memory came to mind. Why did something about this sound familiar?

"That's just cruel. Turning a dog pink. That poor thing better at least be female." Somebody muttered. Grover and Annabeth had a sudden coughing fit.

"Percy couldn't even tell it was a dog because of it at first."

Nobody saw Percy's face turn red underneath his hood at the fact he thought it was a stuffed animal. In his defense, though, the thing was pink, dirty, and a little ragged looking, like a little girls favorite toy would be.

(The poodle yapped at me... said, "No, he's not.")

"Hey, what was he saying, anyway?" Annabeth asked, curious. She never asked before, she'd kind of half-forgotten this conversation, actually.

Grover cleared his throat. "You don't want to know." He said, uncomfortable. And really, where on earth did dogs even begin to get ideas like that? He and Percy were NOT mates!

(I blinked. "Are you ... talking to that thing?")

"Something else you forgot to tell him." Annabeth told Grover dryly.

"Oops?" He said sheepishly. "I think I've told him the important stuff by now though..." He said cheerfully. At least, he was pretty sure he had by now. But, one never knows, they had kind of been going from one fight to the next for years now. And, it wasn't anywhere close to calming down yet. Not by a long-shot, they still had to start the Giant war, despite the attacks they'd been enduring for months now. All of them without half of their leadership at camp... and soon both of their leaders would be gone on yet another important, fate-of-the-world-in-their-hands, quest. He still wasn't sure why they'd asked Hedge to go with them, and not him. But, he was pretty sure his duties as Lord of the Wild had something to do with it.

Hopefully things would calm down after the war with the Giants was over.

(The poodle growled.)

"I'd be offended if I was called a thing, too." Somebody muttered, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

("This thing," Grover warned, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him.")

A bunch of people groaned at hearing that it was, indeed, a MALE pink poodle.

("You can talk to animals?"... Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy.")

Piper gasped as she suddenly remembered. Then she started laughing, because that dog hadn't stayed put for very long after being returned. Not that she blamed the poor thing... with an owner like that? When she calmed down, Jason was watching her with a raised eyebrow, "Care to share?" He asked, amused.

"Gladiola belonged to a work friend of my fathers. They were in Jersey for a shooting, and Gladiola got out of the trailer, took off. A couple of days later, he was returned, and didn't even make it three hours before he was gone again. And to my knowledge, he was never found a second time. To think that you guys were the ones who found him..." She snorted.

"Were you there?" Annabeth asked, curious.

"Yup, school was out, so I could go with dad on his trips." She made a face. "Oh, I wasn't there that day, though. I was in the city with dad, he wasn't scheduled for anything that day with the film, so he took me sight-seeing. It was one of the few days I got to really spend with him." Until, of course, the paparazzi (she preferred to think of them as paid stalkers) showed up about halfway through visiting the Statue of Liberty. They always showed up and ruined everything.

"Where all in the city did you guys go?" Percy asked, curious.

"The usual spots for New York. Statue of Liberty, Broadway, Central Park. Those places. We couldn't get to everything we had planned though." She made a face again. "Stupid photographers thinking they can have a right to other people's privacy." She grumbled.

Percy crooked a grin, "You and your dad come back, and you can go on a Tour A la Percy." He said, volunteering his older self. Annabeth snorted. Piper looked amused, but accepted his offer. After all, he was the New Yorker, he would know all the best places, right? Percy snorted at his younger self, and shook his head.

(I stared at Annabeth, figuring... but she looked deadly serious.)

"I was. We needed that dog to get west." She said with a shrug.

"It's even funnier now that Percy is known at his school as 'the poodle guy'." Thalia said with a grin.

"Wait, what?" Annabeth and Grover asked. "I've never heard about this." They glanced at each other, startled before they focused back on Thalia.

"He never told you?" Nico asked, surprised. When they shook their heads 'no', he and Thalia glanced at each other, surprised. Then they glanced at Persephone, before Nico started a heavily edited version. No need to get her in trouble over something she hadn't done yet, after all. "Persephone was having something made, sort of as a surprise, you know? Well, Iapetus" He ignored how Percy and Annabeth gasped and almost lost it again, "had stolen it and was trying to get out of the Underworld with it, so she sent us after him to stop him. The way she summoned us, well, she just kinda... reverse shadow-walked me there. I don't know, she waited until Thalia was on her own, hunting a stag or something and summoned her, but Percy was in the middle of an exam at school."

"So, she sent Mrs. O'Leary to get him out." Thalia said cheerfully. "And since mortals can't see through the Mist very well..." She trailed off suggestively.

"The mortals saw a Poodle in place of a hellhound." Thalia nodded.

"And since Percy is kind of the school troublemaker, the fact that he has a poodle was great teasing material for the other students." Paul said ruefully. "The students were expecting him to have a tougher looking dog, not a poodle."

"What happened to Iapetus? Did you guys get it back?" Travis asked.

Nico and Thalia glanced at each other again. "We ended up chasing him to the edge of the River Lethe. Well, Percy decided to be, well, Percy, and pull off a stupidly reckless move that should never have worked, but somehow did."

"Wait, I think I know where this is going." Annabeth interrupted, with a long-suffering look on her face. "He shoved both himself and Iapetus in the River Lethe and then managed to control the river so he didn't get wet, therefore keeping his memories intact."

They nodded. "Turns out that the River Lethe is too strong for even a Titan. His name is now Bob, and he works in Fathers palace as a janitor."

Percy gave a choked sounding sob before he managed to rein it in, Annabeth was beside him, trying to hold it together herself, and the other MS were rallied around the two trying to offer some comfort. Once they came out of the Pit, they'd managed to share with the rest of the group how they escaped, particularly the part Damasen and Bob played in it.

Nico heard the sob, and flinched. He glanced towards Thalia, "I'm guessing things didn't end well for Bob." He murmured. But, he supposed that they would find out eventually. He only hoped that he would get to stay to hear it.

Hestia waited for a few of the demigods to finish congratulating Thalia and Nico (Percy wasn't there) on getting the stolen object back before she continued. The chapter was almost over, thank goodness. Luckily, the others managed to rein in Zeus before he could go on another paranoid rant about how the boy was too powerful and needed to be destroyed.

("I'm not saying hello...

I said hello to the poodle.)

There were a few chuckles, and teasing comments made towards Percy that probably would have been funnier if he were here to hear them and defend himself, but he wasn't so they moved on pretty quickly.

(Grover explained that he'd... away from a rich local family,)

"I thought you said..." Leo started.

"I did, and they are. Not all actors and actresses live in California, you know." She said wryly.

(who'd posted a 200 reward for his return.)

"200? That's it? That's all their dog is worth to them?" Rachel asked, incredulous. She knew that if it was her dog, she'd be paying a lot more than 200.

"Yeah, well." Piper said with a sigh. "They weren't the most attentive owners anyway. Like I said, Gladiola was gone again three hours after he was returned. Never to be seen again." She shrugged. She honestly hoped the dog was alright, it wasn't fault he had the owners that he did.

Rachel scowled.

(Gladiola didn't really want... it meant helping Grover.)

There were a few wolf-whistles and catcalls that had Grover flushing bright red and glaring before playing a quick tune on his pipes and making the floor rise up to encase those who whistled or called. Then he put his pipes away calmly like nothing ever happened, leaving only their eyes, ears, and nose free so they could still listen to the story and breathe.

He got a few people moving away from him slowly when they noticed the satisfied glint in his eyes. Grover stared at him in amazement while Chiron looked particularly proud.

It seemed that Grover had finally come into his own. He always knew the satyr was particularly powerful, Grover and even the Council just could never see it themselves.

("How does Gladiola know..." Grover said. "Duh.")

"Dogs can read?" Was quietly asked.

"Some dogs, the more intelligent breeds. There are others though..." Grover shook his head, he honestly wondered about some dogs.

("Of course," I said. "Silly me.")

"I think he was starting to get overwhelmed with the order of the world again." Katie said sympathetically.

"Yeah, he was probably waiting for up to become down and right to become left." Piper said in agreement. Grover and Annabeth glanced at each other. They had really not done a very good job of making sure Percy knew some of what to expect when they first introduced him to the Greek world.

("So we turn in Gladiola,... to Los Angeles. Simple.")

"And hope nothing else happens on the way." Clarisse added on.

"Yeah, like another monster attacking the bus,"

"Or whatever mode of transport you chose this time." The Stolls chimed in from where they were still playing cards with Frank and Piper .

"How about hoping they have enough money to get them as far as they need to go first." Jason said dryly. That was a pretty big concern. Would they be able to make it all the way with the 200? Especially if they planned to eat at all during the trip.

Annabeth and Grover grimaced. Yeah, the 200 wasn't enough to get them all the way, but it got them most of the way and they then found a way from there. In that case, the casino was a mixed blessing. Grover wondered idly if Percy still had his card from that place... and if it would still work. Because if it did, then the Argo could stop near Vegas after picking up the three from the Roman camp, and get some money for the trip. The camp would only be able to provide so much for such a long trip, after all. They would have all the food they needed, but they might need to purchase other supplies.

(I thought about my dream-the... warily.

"No," Annabeth agreed.)

"Oh, good." Was muttered.

(She pointed downhill, toward... train leaves at noon.")

"Well, at least the train would actually get you there faster than the bus." Clarisse said with a shrug.

"Yes, but if the train was attacked, there are way more mortals that could get hurt or in the way on a train." Chris pointed out.

"Yeah, but they also have more room to maneuver. And, they could just lock the mortals in one car while they deal with the monster in another. Built in containment system." She argued back.

"That's the end of that chapter." Hestia broke in, shaking her head. "Who wants to read next?" She asked, glancing at the chapter title and getting worried. It wasn't really to the boys death... after all, he was out wandering the palace right now... the boy would be fine, right?

"I guess I will." Rachel said, looking up from where she was drawing something on a sketchpad.

After she got the book, she glanced over at the doors, wondering when Percy was going to come back, when she decided to just start reading. He would come in when he cooled off. " Chapter thirteen: I Plunge to My Death

Chapter 17: I Plunge to my Death

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underlined).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"That's the end of that chapter." Hestia broke in, shaking her head. "Who wants to read next?" She asked, glancing at the chapter title and getting worried. It wasn't really to the boys death... after all, he was out wandering the palace right now... the boy would be fine, right?

"I guess I will." Rachel said, looking up from where she was drawing something on a sketchpad.

After she got the book, she glanced over at the doors, wondering when Percy was going to come back, when she decided to just start reading. He would come in when he cooled off. " Chapter thirteen: I Plunge to My Death

"That doesn't sound good." Was said in the silence that followed the chapter title. And really, it didn't.

Annabeth and Grover looked grim as they remembered seeing a flaming figure falling off the Arch following an explosion just as they got off the elevator. They never should have left him up there, never should have separated. It was a rookie mistake that they never made again.

(We spent two days on the... amber waves of grain.)

"That just leaves seven days left." Leo said with a grimace as he realized just how badly he overestimated their time limit. All of their time was going to be spent just getting out west, forget actually retrieving the Bolt.

"That is why you never assume you have time. There is never time. No matter what is going on." Annabeth declared to the younger kids.

"Although that scenery sounds nice." Demeter said, relaxing back, she particularly liked how the fields were described.

Annabeth and Grover shrugged, they supposed it was. They were more worried about not being noticed, and how they were going to get from Denver, the rest of the way.

(We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax.)

"Good." A few of the council nodded in approval. He wasn't just assuming they were safe like he did on the bus. He learned from his mistake.

Although, they realized that there were going to be many mistakes made on this quest, but that was to expected, it was their first one and Percy had only been at camp for two weeks, at the most. Although, Annabeth was making mistakes that she should know better, some of the older campers would have passed on advice to the younger ones, surely? Although... the last quest had been a little over two years ago. The only time anybody really left anymore (if it wasn't to go home for the school year) was if a Satyr called for an extraction, which was rare.

(I felt that we were traveling... and maybe from below,)

"Probably were." Aphrodite said with a delicate shrug. There was a lot riding on this quest, if it failed... yeah, this quest was being watched, carefully, by everyone . Minor gods and Olympian's alike.

Annabeth and Grover grimaced at the reminder of just how much pressure they were under to succeed. It had been very nerve-racking, starting out knowing that failure could mean the biggest war in history. Of course, once they got going, they kind of forgot about consequences for failure and focused on survival and getting where they needed to go.

However, they also flinched at the reminder of that 'being watched' feeling that they felt this entire quest. It had made all three of them pretty jumpy, going around for days feeling like they were being watched but unable to see anybody nearby who it could be.

Poseidon winced as he thought about watching his inexperienced son go through this quest.

(that something was waiting... several East Coast newspapers.)

"Oh, that's really not good. Not good at all." Leo said with a wince. That was going to make it twice as hard to stay off the radar, with even the general public keeping their eyes out.

Annabeth and Grover sighed. They hadn't seen those, in fact, Percy had seemed to be trying the entire trip, to make sure they didn't see the papers. They had no idea why, knowing something like that would have been good, that way they would know to keep an eye out for mortals, as well as monsters.

(The Trenton Register-News... I had a wild look in my eyes.)

"Hmm... he gets that look a lot, especially when he's fighting." Rachel muttered, cutting herself off, and thinking of the painting she'd done that one time of Percy.

Annabeth snorted. "Don't tell him that." She cautioned. She knew that Percy struggled with his power, she had a feeling that his greatest fear was losing control... he never said anything to her, but whenever his power was mentioned, he would have a strange look on his face.

(My sword was a metallic... leading to his capture.)

"And... they have now decided that Percy is a criminal. That's just great." Leo said, it was going to be even harder now. Because the police and public were no longer looking for a young man who just lost his mother. Now, they were looking for a criminal. They were going to be harder on him if they did find him than they would have been before. "They're not going to look into other possibilities, anymore. And if they do, it'll be dismissed pretty quick unless you do something dramatic to make them believe it."

"Cash reward..." Katie said, worried.

"Nothing gets people moving faster than a chance to get some money." Rachel said in agreement.

Grover and Annabeth looked at each other. They wished they'd known about this, they would have tried to disguise Percy instead of just letting him walk around.

("Don't worry," Annabeth told me... she didn't sound so sure.)

Percy snorted. "Oh, believe me, mortal police are very good at finding demigods if they want to." He whispered, thinking of his time getting to Camp Jupiter. Although, he supposed he did give them the proper motivation, stealing those two police cruisers along the way like he did. They seemed to have taken that personally for some reason...

The rest of the room stared at him with strange looks on their faces, clearly wondering why he seemed so sure about himself there. Just how much experience did he have with mortal police being after him...? Leo and Leo were nodding in agreement, though. Being a demigod made absolutely no difference when it came to the police finding them.

"I thought he hid the newspapers from you?" Luke asked.

"He did. He just asked what we were going to do if the police found us." Annabeth said. "He never said anything about the news article."

(The rest of the day I spent... really hard time sitting still))

"Preach it." All the ADHD demigods in the room muttered. The hardest part of quests that involved taking public transport like this... was the fact that you just sat there. And did nothing. For days . It was torture!

Sally shook her head in amusement, while Paul and Chiron shared looks. They knew exactly how hard it was to get kids like them to sit still, Paul honestly didn't know how Chiron did it with so many of them all at once. Although, he supposed that Chiron had been doing it for several thousand years, and probably picked up more than a few tricks. Not to mention, most of the activities and such at camp, were outside, and they were physically doing something.

(or looking out the windows... The little boy centaur,)

"Ah." Chiron said softly. "It must have been a first hunt, for the whole family to be there." He said with a smile on his face. "It's impressive that you saw them, when with their foals, most centaurs will weave the Mist around them thickly, so not even demigods can see them. We are very protective of our young, after all."

Annabeth sighed, "I didn't see them, I must have been looking at something else."

Poseidon coughed. "This would be one of those times where the Mist didn't even affect him due to being a Child of the Sea." He said, looking at Annabeth apologetically.

"I saw them." Grover said, somewhat smugly. Annabeth glared. He was a satyr, the Mist they wove wouldn't have affected him.

(who was the size of a second-grader on a pony,)

"Yes, a first hunt. A very big deal." Chiron said, with a nod.

(caught my eye and waved... laptop computers or magazines.)

A few gods snorted and shook their heads. The mortals weren't even paying attention around them, to what was around them, to the beauty that was right beside them.

(Another time, toward evening... through the trees and was gone.)

"You guys saw the... You saw the Nemean Lion?" Artemis started to ask Grover and Annabeth, but switched targets when she noticed that the two of them were just as startled as the rest of them, and Percy walked in the door just in time for her to ask him. The other two had clearly either been asleep, or just not paying attention to outside the windows.

He blinked at her before going over to the book to read the description real quick, it was also to buy a bit of time to search through his memories of the train ride. Finally, he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I did. It was beautiful, too. It was a shame we had to kill it..." He honestly looked regretful as he said that, but it was either it or them, personally, he preferred it to be the Lion. Thalia nodded mournfully beside him. It had been a shame.

Artemis's face went blank while everyone else gaped. "You killed the Nemean Lion?" She asked. The Nemean Lion was one of her Hunter's favorite hunts. Also one of their more challenging ones, they didn't hunt it often. And they weren't allowed to unless she was there.

"Well, it was a group effort." He explained, gesturing between himself, Thalia, and Grover before making a motion to include Zoe as part of the group.

Thalia quirked a sad grin, then quoted. "I think it was thy ice-cream sandwich that killed it." Percy gave her a sad smile while everyone else looked confused before deciding they'd find out later. Nobody noticed Percy and Annabeth flinch slightly, thinking of Zoe made them think of the stars, and thinking of the stars made them think of there . Of them .

While Rachel kept reading, Percy glanced around the room, trying to gauge everyone's reactions. Zeus was looking at him suspiciously, nothing new there, but nobody looked afraid of him... He didn't like scaring kids, it made him feel like a monster.

(Our reward money for... tickets as far as Denver.)

Everybody winced. While that would get them a long way, Denver was still a very long ways off from Los Angeles. Not to mention, how were they going to get from Denver to Los Angeles? They had no money, they spent it all to get to Denver.

(We couldn't get berths... we dozed in our seats.)

There was grumbling from all the demigods. They knew what it was like to endure long train rides in those uncomfortable seats. They were not made for sleeping in, that was for sure.

(My neck got stiff.)

Percy sighed, and everyone else winced in sympathy.

"Can't you do something to make those more comfortable?" Rachel asked Hermes.

He shrugged. "I could, but it wouldn't be as cost efficient. Besides, all seats on public transportation are more comfortable when they're newer. It's when they're used for a long time that they start becoming uncomfortable like that." He quirked a sympathetic grin when all he got was grumbles and glares.

Apollo held his hand over his mouth to hide his grin.

(I tried not to drool in... sitting right next to me.)

"You failed, by the way." Annabeth helpfully informed him, he glared lightly.

She mentally sighed, it seemed he was going to be stepping carefully for a while. She wasn't surprised, she knew that he hated scaring people, especially the younger kids. Earlier, he'd forgotten about them being there in his anger, until he was reminded by his older self that he was scaring them. Now... well, it was going to be hard for anybody to get much of a real reaction from him for a while, he was too busy controlling his emotions to keep from losing his temper.

Not that making him lose his temper was easy in the first place. He was a very laid back guy. His mother just happened to be one of the few buttons he had that could really set him off. And boy, did Zeus set him off earlier by implying that his mother wasn't in any way important. Especially since Percy hadn't seen his mother in so long because of Hera.

(Grover kept snoring and... the other passengers noticed.)

There were a few chuckles, but nothing too bad. And Grover only turned a little red.

Honest, it was just a little...

("So," Annabeth asked me, once... "Who wants your help?")

"Huh?" Where did that question come from? Percy blinked, thinking back and trying to remember just what they talked about on this train-ride.

("What do you mean?"... were you dreaming about?")

Percy sighed, one of these days, his sleep talking was going to get him in serious trouble because he said something he shouldn't have. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to break the habit short of duct taping his mouth shut every night, but that would be a little, er... painful.

Sally shook her head. "He's always talked in his sleep, drove us mad sometimes." She informed the room.

(I was reluctant to say... evil voice from the pit.)

Everyone froze. Annabeth and Percy were carefully watched by the rest of their group, but they just tensed so far.

More dreams about that pit? Ok, it was official, Percy's dreams were bad . Also, that pit was very important to this quest. The gods were hoping that it wasn't who they were thinking doing all this.

(But it bothered me so much I finally told her.)

"There's not much that you don't eventually tell me." Annabeth murmured to Percy. He just grinned at her. She knew everything.

(Annabeth was quiet for a... and he never laughs.")

"I do too laugh." Hades said, mildly offended. Well, he supposed that his wife was really the only one who could really get him to laugh, mostly... but he laughed!

Persephone looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that was the point." She said, amused. Then she glanced suspiciously at her mother, who hadn't said a word the whole they'd been here, comments like the one in the book would have normally had her saying something about him 'laughing in the face of a mother's pain', or something like that. But she was being very quiet.

To her surprise, her mother didn't even look at them, she was pretty intently studying something in her hand. She resolved to figure out what that was all about later.

("He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?")

"Well, he does have a point there." Hades acknowledged with a cough. "However, I am not the only immortal resident of the Underworld with some measure of power over the dead." He continued.

"There's Thanatos." Percy said in agreement. Hades just raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed." He said, and left it at that.

("I guess ... if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.')

"I don't need 'help rising from the Underworld'." Hades said in distaste. "It's not like I can't leave whenever I want, I'm not stuck there."

Annabeth turned red. "I didn't want to think about other possibilities." She muttered. Hades paused to consider that, before he nodded in reluctant agreement. Yes, he supposed that compared to the other possibilities it could be, he was the more favorable outcome...

(If he wants war with the Olympians.)

"War is the last thing I need!" Hades exclaimed. "The mortals are coming to the Underworld in droves, and for every million souls, only one of them opts for rebirth, and that's if they even get to Elysium in the first place! The lines, the expenses, the paperwork!" He moaned, sinking down in his throne as he considered the paperwork that would have been piled up on his desk. Thank goodness the Fates had frozen time outside the Palace. Persephone patted his arm consolingly. She tried to help out, but there was only so much she could do when she was only there in the winter months.

"I still need to go over the remodeling and expansion of Asphodel with the Roman engineers we have down there." Persephone said quietly. He groaned, although he was thankful that she'd offered to handle it. He had to deal with the Winter Solstice meeting that he didn't have time for, plus all the rest of the day to day business.

"I don't even want to see the lines of dead the other Pantheon's have to deal with." He grumbled quietly so the demigods couldn't hear. The Pantheon's were kept separate by the Fates for a reason, after all. The last time the Greeks and Norse clashed...

The rest of the Council was looking at the eldest brother like they'd never seen him before. Except for Poseidon and Hestia, they'd always thought that all the dead was good for him, a big kingdom meant a big army. Poseidon was the only one who understood that, when you have an actual kingdom, constant expansion, with nowhere to expand to, was not a good thing. His main problem right now, was the mortals who were overfishing his oceans, and being greedy, trying to drive some of his subjects to extinction. Honestly, some fishing was fine. They had to eat, and an over-populated ocean was an unhealthy ocean.

But there were limits, a line where they needed to stop before it just became greed.

(But why ask you to... been looking for something.)

"He's starting to put the pieces together that something isn't as it seems." Amphitrite said.

Poseidon nodded, proud. "He just needs a few more pieces to the puzzle and he'll have the answer." His son was so much smarter than he really let people believe sometimes. Oh, people knew he was smart. He just acted otherwise so much, that people tended to forget or underestimate just how smart.

Sally smiled at her son in pride, too.

(Where is it? Where?... and turned his head.)

He got a few chuckles, and turned red himself.

(Annabeth readjusted his cap... deceitful, heartless, and greedy.)

"Hey!" Hades protested. "I am not any of those things! Just because I can't give people their loved ones back because they asked, does not make me heartless! And do I even want to know where deceitful and greedy came from?" He asked indignantly. Why was he not surprised that very few of the council refused to meet his eyes. Now, if she had said sadistic... yeah, he would readily admit that he had more than a bit of a sadistic streak to him.

But come on, he had an entire field devoted, just for torture and eternal punishment. Sadistic was part of his job description.

Annabeth at least had the decency to sheepishly apologize, especially when she met Nico's hurt-filled gaze. Percy wrapped an arm around her and whispered something that made her nod and go over to sit next to the young Ghost King and wrap an arm around his shoulders. He blinked in surprise, but didn't try to push her off.

(I don't care if his... as aggressive this time-")

"This time?" Those who didn't know the full story asked, concerned about when she would have met the Furies when they were being aggressive.

Thalia was a little pale, thinking about it, and Luke wrapped an arm around her carefully, not wanting to get electrocuted should she not want it there and he didn't give her enough time to say so. She let him, though. Although she did stiffen up at the contact for a bit before relaxing slightly.

None of the seven who had been there that night when Thalia died offered up any explanation.

Hades just shifted uncomfortably when Zeus glared at him. Nico looked just as uncomfortable.

("This time?" I asked.)

A few snickers when it was revealed they echoed Percy. Percy just rolled his eyes.

("You mean you've run... the image of a pine tree,)

Everyone understood like lightning. It was the Furies that almost killed Thalia, before Zeus turned her into a tree.

No wonder Annabeth didn't like any mention of them.

(one of her clay end-of-summer... a deal for your mom.")

Annabeth snorted at her own words. "I said that then, but now that I've met Sally..." She shrugged. The rest of the older Greeks nodded in agreement. Even Luke, and he hadn't even really met her, but he had seen her around.

(You didn't think he'd just let her and Percy roam unwatched? Percy was one of the biggest threats to the Titan Army, after all. Plus, she'd opened her home to demigods needing medical care or a place to sleep for the night, even some of those in his army took advantage of that from time to time. They'd all brought back nothing but good things to say about her. One of the kids let slip once which side of the war he was on, she didn't do anything aside from ask him about his reasons, and try and explain the god's point of view. Of course, that didn't work because Kronos had well and truly brain-washed all of them by that point. He was still amazed that Chris managed to get away like he did... Luke's abandoning him to the Labyrinth probably helped, of course.)

Percy grinned at her. Yeah, his mom was awesome. That was a fact of life.

Sally smiled at the two and shook her head fondly.

("What would you do... "I'd leave him to rot.")

Athena frowned. She knew things between Frederick and Annabeth hadn't been the greatest when Annabeth left, but to leave him to rot in the Underworld... did she miss something?

Nico pushed Annabeth to go back to Percy, he was fine.

("You're not serious?")

"I couldn't imagine why somebody would hate their mortal parent. I didn't have that problem growing up." Percy said with a shrug.

"No, you just had the evil stepfather to deal with." Clarisse muttered, old jealously rearing up again. Prissy was the subject of much jealousy in camp, because he had somebody like Sally for his mortal parent, and she was amazing. The jealousy had abated a little with time because he was willing to share her, and because she gladly opened up her home as a demigod safehouse, but still. There wasn't a Satyr protector who didn't make it a point of stopping at her apartment overnight when escorting a new demigod to camp.

Percy just smiled sadly at them, he knew now that not all demigods had a loving parent like he did. He was a little naive back then.

(Annabeth's gray eyes fixed... was born, Percy," she said.)

"Not really." She murmured. Her younger self looked at her in confusion. "It wasn't until he met her and they got married that he started acting like it." She reminded Annabeth . She knew that, after coming to camp, she'd done her best to convince herself that he'd always been like that, done her best to forget the good times. Because remembering them only made the bad times even more painful.

Because they used to be close. He used to always have time for her, no matter what was going on at work.

("He never wanted a baby... too busy with his work.)

"Not quite." Athena murmured. When Annabeth looked at her, she sighed and shrugged. "It had nothing to do with his work, he was terrified at the thought of raising a child on his own. He felt like he could barely take care of himself, so how was he supposed to take care of you? Of course, he was also terrified of being able to work and provide, while still being able to be a parent, but that played a small role in it." Both Annabeth's blinked.

They hadn't known that. They thought it was because he had just gotten a new job and didn't want to make time for her, but then over time came to actually care.

(She wasn't happy about that... by their mortal parent.")

"That part is true." Athena added in with a shrug.

("But how ... I mean, I guess... had ever happened to him.)

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that." Sally said softly. Annabeth shrugged.

"That's how it always sounded. I mean, we were close, and he was always there for me until he got married, but he always made it sound like he never wanted me in the first place. But, then over time he just fell into the role." Annabeth said with a shrug.

Sally looked at her sadly. Frederick had actually gotten ahold of her, somehow. They talked on the phone or IM all the time, and most of their conversations revolved around their children. How he was proud of his daughter, and how he worried about her, leading the life of a demigod. Constantly being hunted by monsters and sent out to do the gods bidding despite her young age. Fighting in the war... He'd mentioned once how he never knew how he was supposed to raise a daughter, how he was supposed to protect her when she had this entire world after her that he wasn't part of. Sally knew that her father loved her, there was no part of him that didn't want her. But how do you tell an intelligent seven year old that when they are hearing something else.

(When I was five he... to pretend I didn't exist.")

"That's not what happened." Sally said quietly to Paul, not sure how to bring this up in this room. The other demigods were looking at Annabeth sympathetically, they knew how that felt. He smiled grimly and kissed her on the top of her head.

"They patched their relationship up, but we can talk to her later about what you know." He said reassuringly.

(I stared out the train... but I didn't know how.)

"The woe's of every male when faced with a girl's problems." Leo said dramatically. The guys all snorted in agreement. Paul nodded.

Honestly, you say something, trying to help, but they take it completely different to what you said, and then it gets blown all out of proportion. Women. Nobody understands them.*

("My mom married a really awful guy," I told her.)

Some more glares were directed Gabe's way, but nobody moved. They wanted to get to the part of the chapter where Percy apparently plunged to his death, because that didn't sound good. At. All.

("Grover said she did it... your dad was thinking.")

"It was, dear." Sally said softly, looking at Annabeth. "Your father and I have been in contact a few times." Both Annabeth's looked down at the ground in thought, while Percy wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed in support.

(Annabeth kept worrying at... she hated him so much.)

Both Annabeth's turned slightly red. Trust Percy to wonder about that. Everyone else looked understanding, though. Many of them had been abandoned by their mortal parent in some way. Most of them could care less about their mortal parent because of it, but a few still hoped that things would someday change.

("He doesn't care about me," she said.)

"Who are you trying to convince here?" Hestia suddenly asked, watching Annabeth knowingly. "Yourself, or young Perseus?" She turned her gaze on Annabeth. Annabeth blushed.

"I was kind of trying to convince myself, I suppose." She muttered.

("His wife-my stepmom-treated... I wasn't wanted. I ran away.")

Sally and Hestia frowned, but didn't say anything else. Annabeth had already mostly mended her relationship with her father, and Annabeth had enough to think about for one day.

("How old were you?"

"Same age as when I started camp. Seven.")

Hestia sighed. So young... too young to be without her family, to be so far away from anywhere to call home. The demigods looked sympathetic. Leo especially, after all, he was eight when he ran away from his first foster home, and he'd been terrified.

He couldn't imagine being younger. He sighed and turned back to his project.

("But ... you couldn't have gotten... guided me toward help.)

Athena nodded proudly to herself, although a few others remembered that it still took her forever to claim Annabeth once she reached camp.

(I made a couple of... a short time, anyway.")

Thalia and Luke smiled at her, they were both proud of how she turned out. Luke's smile was bitter though, he hadn't been part of it like he should have, instead he was leading the opposing side in a war.

"Well, it's not like we expected to find a seven year old trying to bash us with a hammer." Thalia said, teasing.

"Aw, but she was such a cute seven year old with that hammer." Luke added on, falling back into an old rhythm. All three Annabeth's in the room scowled at them, although you could only see two.

(I wanted to ask what... lost in sad memories.)

"Thanks for not pushing." Annabeth said quietly. Percy just smiled softly and kissed her temple before leaning back in his seat, with an arm wrapped around her shoulders. Aphrodite squealed in her head, they were such a cute couple! They hadn't been doing much coupley stuff lately, though...

Maybe she should work a little of her magic...

Her thoughts were cut off by Percy's glare. On second thought... maybe she should leave them alone while here. Yes, that might be best.

(So I listened to the sound... before the summer solstice,)

"Ooh." A few people groaned. That wasn't good, they were still in the Midwest, with a mystery like this on their hands. They weren't going to have much time to figure it out by the time they made it to the Underworld. And, of course, once they got there, they were going to have to somehow escape or talk their way out if they wanted the chance to solve this whole mess.

(we passed through some golden... handle stuck on the city.)

A few demigods snickered while Annabeth and Athena looked offended. That was an amazing piece of architecture! Percy just raised an eyebrow at their offense and shrugged.

"Well, at least our trip won't be boring." Frank murmured to Hazel, she nodded in agreement. There was that.

Percy had an interesting mind, that was for sure.

("I want to do that," she... see the Parthenon, Percy?")

The MS shivered at mention of that place. The place of their most difficult battle to date, possibly the most difficult battle fought by Demigods in history. Especially since the gods didn't come until it was almost too late. The place where the world almost ended... all because of a nosebleed.

Yeah... it wasn't their favorite place in the world.

("Only in pictures."

"Someday, I'm going to see it in person.)

The MS shifted again, and looked at Annabeth in amusement. She saw it alright... as it was being destroyed as a casualty of war. (Last they heard there were tentative plans to rebuild it, for now they just wove the Mist tighter to keep the Mortals from panicking about what happened to it.) She just scowled back.

(I'm going to build the... laughed. "You? An architect?")

"What's that supposed to mean?" Athena yelled, glaring at him angrily. Annabeth looked a little hurt and sat up, to where she wasn't leaning into his side.

Percy blinked, alarmed, then quickly asked Rachel to keep reading, "If I don't explain in the book than I will." He eyed his girlfriend warily.

(I don't know why, but... quietly and draw all day.)

"There, see? I mean, ADHD, demigods, us and sitting still for long periods don't really mix." Percy said, "It was nothing against your abilities." Annabeth sighed before leaning back into his side again in silent apology. Athena continued to watch him somewhat suspiciously.

"I guess I overreacted then, huh?" She asked quietly.

"Don't worry about it." Percy assured her.

(Her cheeks flushed. "Yes, an... earthquakes I could mention.")

Poseidon sighed, how long was the girl going to let his relationship with her mother get in the way of having a friendship with his son? Honestly, the relationships of the parents should have no bearing on the relationships of the children. And yet... he hoped she hurried up and realized that.

Sally couldn't help but notice how Annabeth kept saying Athena, and not calling her any variant of 'mother'. That made her sad, because she had heard other demigods refer to their parent as some variation of 'mother' or 'father'. Percy himself called Poseidon 'dad'. It also made her angry, that the gods were so distant from their children that the children didn't even really consider them their parent, they just knew that so-and-so was their godly parent. There was no connection. Not like there should be between parent and child.

Hestia sensed her thoughts and shot her a knowing look. She hated it, too. Hopefully this reading could fix her family.

(I watched the churning... the Mississippi below.)

All of the Seafolk winced at hearing that. No matter the efforts Poseidon put into, the work he and his men put into helping the Mississippi spirit out, they just could not make much of a dent in it. The mortals had it so polluted...

Poseidon frowned and made a mental note to speak with his advisers about coming up with a new plan for cleaning up water pollution. Because what they were doing was helping, but it wasn't enough. There was only so much they could do from their end...

("Sorry," Annabeth said... Poseidon ever cooperate?")

"No." Athena spat, and Poseidon sighed.

"Yes, and no. On occasion, we've sort of helped each other out without really meaning to or realizing it until later." He corrected her, earning himself a glare. The rest of the council sighed. And to think, they used to get along...

(Annabeth had to think about... to make it complete.")

"That's one occasion where we helped without really meaning to." Poseidon said with a shrug. Athena had honestly been tempted to destroy her invention when she realized that the horses created by Poseidon would be perfect to pull it, but didn't because the practical uses were too numerous.

("Then we can cooperate, too... suppose," she said at last.)

"Our arguments shouldn't be your arguments." Hestia murmured, loud enough for all the demigods to hear her. The Greeks looked at her for a moment before looking around at each other and nodding at her with a smile. Most of the group, they argued. A lot.

But some of them honestly couldn't remember the last time they argued with each other based off an argument their parents were having.

(We pulled into the Amtrak... before departing for Denver.)

Some groans sounded again. "More time you guys don't really have." Reyna muttered. She idly wondered just how many times over the years since the camps were separated and forced to forget about each other, how many times had the world almost ended on the Greek side of things? That the Romans weren't aware of?

Now that it looked like at least the camp leaderships were going to know about each other, her and Jason would have to get with Annabeth and Percy later on and work out a communication system between the two camps. Well, assuming Jason came back to his position at Camp Jupiter when this whole thing with the Giants was over with... She glanced sideways at Jason and Piper sitting together, Piper leaning comfortably against the boys side with his arm wrapped around her and sighed mentally. Yet another chance, gone.

(Grover stretched. Before... awake, he said, "Food.")

A few people still snickered a bit, but otherwise were used to the Satyr's love of food.

("Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said. "Sightseeing.")

"What?" Zeus yelped. "You don't have time for sightseeing, you need to find my bolt!" He exclaimed, glaring at them.

Hera and Poseidon sighed. "They are still in St. Louis. Still in the Midwest, there is nothing they can do until they reach the West. It's either sightseeing, or continue sitting in a metal box on wheels for hours when they don't have to. They are two ADHD demigods and a Satyr. Do you really think they're going to choose sitting on a train versus getting out and about? Moving and stretching their legs?" Poseidon asked his younger sibling. Who just glared resentfully because he knew Poseidon had a point and didn't want to admit it.

"Besides, it's your fault the boy can't just fly out west and save time." Hera said primly. Zeus just looked at her, betrayed.

("Sightseeing?"

"The Gateway Arch," she said... Are you coming or not?")

Rachel paused and blinked a bit. Finally, she looked up and at Annabeth. "You really thought cramming Percy in a small space during that ride to the top was a good idea? Not to mention having him that high up off the ground?" She asked, gesturing towards Zeus.

Annabeth blinked, and glanced between Percy and his uncle. "I... didn't even think about that..." She said slowly. Percy just cleared his throat and looked down, finding the ground to be very interesting. Sally looked away, too, to hide her amusement.

(Grover and I exchanged looks... very well let her go alone.)

"Very smart."

(Grover shrugged. "As... bar without monsters.")

Thalia and Percy both grinned and looked at him, but Annabeth intervened before they could say anything. Honestly, the day she learned what that joke was, the better. Maybe then it wouldn't be quite so annoying everytime she heard it.

Percy gave her his 'baby-seal pouting' face, but she resisted it by looking away as soon as she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye. Percy just pouted some more, but got over it pretty quickly.

Everyone who wasn't watching the by-play going on between the four of them, groaned. Grover just jinxed it, now there were going to be monsters at the Arch.

(The Arch was about a mile… get in weren't that long.)

"Thankfully, we only had three hours before the train left again." Percy said with a shrug.

Grover nodded. "Thankfully we only had three hours, or we wouldn't have been able to hurry her along through the museum as quick as we did." He said.

Annabeth just looked at them, confused. She hadn't noticed them hurrying her anywhere… her boys just grinned innocently at her while everyone else snickered.

"Nice, you wo." Hermes said in appreciation. They switched their innocent looks to him.

"I don't know what your talking about, sir." They said. Everyone shivered in dread and hoped that never happened again.

(We threaded our way… me jelly beans, so I was okay.)

A few snorted. The easiest way to Percy Jackson, through his stomach. Or, in this case, candy and sugar. Although that described half the demigod population of the Greek/Roman world…

"What is with you and jelly beans? Whenever I see you with candy, you almost always have jelly beans in your hand." Katie asked suddenly.

Percy blinked at her. "Why not jelly beans?" He asked, honestly confused. What was wrong with jelly beans? His younger self copied his expression.

(I kept looking around… always smells like monsters.)

"That's very, very true." Grover said in distaste. Grover nodded in agreement, Hermes snorted fondly. Pan never had much fondness for the underground, either. It was honestly sort of amusing.

(Probably doesn't mean anything")

"Never assume it means nothing." Grover quickly lectured. "Underground is when you need to be the most vigilant, because it always smells of monsters and you won't be able to smell if there is an actual monster nearby posing a threat." His younger self nodded with wide eyes.

Grover greatly regretted not being more concerned while at the monument. Maybe if they had been more vigilant… maybe Percy wouldn't have been so badly hurt, and the manhunt for him wouldn't have intensified.

(But something felt wrong… we shouldn't be here.)

"Good, listen to your instincts." Poseidon muttered. His children usually had pretty good instincts about danger being nearby. It was just a question of whether they listened to those instincts or not.

("Guys," I said. "You know the gods' symbol of power?")

Said gods looked up in interest, wondering where he was going with this.

(Annabeth had been in… You mean, our friend downstairs?")

"Seriously?" Hades asked, deadpan. "Your 'friend downstairs'? That could mean anybody, not the least that I'm not your friend ." He sneered a little. He had very few friends. A few demigods he was currently blaming for the theft of his Helm (at least he was assuming that to be what was going on), were not on that list.

Grover just cleared his throat. "I didn't want him to just go blurting your name out. We were in enough trouble without him drawing more attention to us." He explained quickly.

("Um, right," I said. "Our… a hat like Annabeth's?")

Athena's and Hades' interests both peaked with this topic. "That is actually where I got the idea for her hat. Except, obviously, for the fear element."

Hades looked at her, annoyed, but didn't say anything. Since when was he ever asked before they went ahead and did what they wanted?

He didn't see the others look at her, shocked and annoyed when she admitted to this. After all, taking ideas from another's symbol of power, and not even asking… if she wasn't careful, she could be accused of trying to recreate it with the intention of stealing it.

("You mean the Helm… he's allowed to visit Olympus-)

Hades glared around the room. It wasn't his fault death happened, it was a fact of life. He still didn't understand why they banished him over it. It was a fact of life, it happened. What was the big deal?

"And why sound so surprised?" Poseidon questioned his son, curious.

Percy shrugged. "I was being accused of taking the stupid Bolt when I wasn't there, I just happened to be in the city on that day. Uncle Hades was here, and yet the only person accusing him was Chiron." He shrugged again, still finding it extremely unfair he was being accused of doing something when he hadn't even known the thing existed. Poseidon nodded in understanding.

Hades just scowled again.

(the darkest day of the year… become darkness," Grover confirmed.)

A few demigods glanced at Hades a little uneasily at this point, but he merely smirked at them. Now, if it was because his abilities made them uneasy when he used them, then he was fine with that. That was an actual reason.

Nico, smirked alongside him. He knew his father didn't need the Helm to become darkness. The Helm just magnified his natural abilities. Much like he could become part of the shadows for a short time, and travel through them.

All the gods shared this trait, the others just seemed to forget this about Hades. It wasn't the symbol of power that let the god do what they did. The symbol/weapon just magnified their natural ability.

That was why they were a symbol of power. The power was theirs.

("He can melt into shadow or pass through walls.)

Percy blinked and suddenly asked Rachel to repeat that sentence. "So… sort of like Nico, just on a larger scale." Nico smirked at him. Percy rolled his eyes and distracted him with blue birthday cake, courtesy of Sally. Where she pulled it from, who knows.

Nico immediately looked his age when he started in on it.

(He can't be touched, or seen… creatures fear the dark?")

"Hey!" Hades protested. "That's not all me! A lot of that is Nyx!" Persephone sighed and patted his arm while some of the demigods shifted a little.

They supposed shifting all blame for some things was unfair...

Immediately at mention of Nyx, five out of seven pairs of eyes shot to carefully watch the other two. Annabeth and Percy started hyperventilating a little at mention of Nyx, but looked like they were doing pretty good in keeping it together. They were mostly holding onto each other, but they were holding it together. To their companions' relief.

"Keep in mind, if you two need to step out for a bit…" Jason whispered to them in concern. They flashed him shaky smiles, but stayed in their seats.

("But then… how do we… watching us?" I asked.)

"I could, but I have better things to do than watch you three when you're coming straight to me, anyway." Hades said, shrugging. He didn't mention that he probably wasn't going to be able to use it to watch them, anyway, because it was probably missing.

Besides, he didn't need his Helm to be invisible to those around him. It was just a great tool to have in that aspect. Not to mention the fear that it naturally spread.

(Annabeth and Grover exchanged… any blue jelly beans left?")

A few people cracked up laughing. "Nice priorities." Thalia snorted.

Percy shrugged. "I figured there was nothing I could do about it either way, so might as well not dwell on it, right?" He asked rhetorically. The Stoll brothers answered anyway.

And were promptly hit upside the head by Luke and Katie for being idiots.

(I'd almost mastered my... tiny little elevator car)

Percy and Annabeth let out a tiny whimper at the thought of such a space, but otherwise managed to remain silent. They had never been able to look at elevator's the same way since the Door's. They refused to go anywhere near the one in the Empire State building, if they needed to go to Olympus for any reason, they had Blackjack or Porkpie fly them up.

When it came to the elevator in Percy's apartment building, they took the stairs, even though Percy's apartment was closer to the top floor than the bottom.

The rest of their group looked at them in worry, but they waved them off. They would be fine, they could get through this.

(we were going to ride... I knew I was in trouble.)

Rachel shot Annabeth a look, and she at least had the decency to look sheepish. She hadn't known that he had issues with small spaces before this. Well, it wasn't like he was claustrophobic, it wasn't that bad. He just couldn't stand small spaces, his ADHD couldn't handle it. She didn't know that locking him in small spaces was also a favorite punishment of Gabe's.

Percy just shook his head and squeezed her shoulder for a moment.

(I hate confined places. They make me nuts.)

Annabeth winced. "Sorry, Perce. I didn't even stop to think about you and Grover." She said apologetically.

He shrugged, but didn't say anything. Just held her closer.

(We got shoehorned into... with a rhinestone collar.)

"Oh, that's even worse than small spaces." Percy moaned.

"Huh?"

"Being in a small space, with bigger people. That just makes the space even smaller, and you have to deal with them moving around, too." The boy explained with a grimace.

"I don't remember a dog." Annabeth said, confused. The tension in the room immediately sky-rocketed. That wasn't good. "Is that what you were talking about when you asked for a name?" She asked, curious. He nodded. Grover frowned.

(I figured maybe the dog... said a word about it.)

"That would be the Mist, because not even I noticed the dog." Annabeth muttered to him. He grimaced.

(We started going up, inside... wasn't too happy about it.)

Annabeth winced, she'd been so excited to be there, she hadn't even considered her companions. The fact that they might be uncomfortable, and yet they both went along with it, without complaint. She knew Grover was uncomfortable being underground, and yet she forced them underground with her in that museum.

She knew that, as a Son of Poseidon, Percy wouldn't be comfortable in the air, but she wanted to go up and he followed without complaint because it wasn't a good idea for any of them to be alone when on a quest. She hadn't even considered that him and small spaces might not mix, especially since his ADHD was worse than most demigods.

How did she end up with two amazing friends like them? They went along with her wishes without complaint. Despite how she'd been treating Percy so far.

Percy noticed how miserable his accounting of the trip to the Arch was making her and sighed. He pulled her closer, "Don't worry about it. We didn't say anything because we saw how you were enjoying yourself, and the break from worrying about the quest was nice."

She bit her lip. "We could have still done something else during the layover. I hear St. Louis has a nice zoo, we could have found a cab or something. You two would have probably been more comfortable with that. I should have at least asked if you guys were alright with the Arch."

Percy shrugged. "Don't worry about it." He repeated.

("No parents?" the fat lady asked... looked like a blue-jean blimp.)

Piper (and the rest of the girls, too) grimaced while her mother shrieked in horror.

Some people just should not wear denim, beyond maybe jeans.

Percy grimaced. That actually sounded worse now that he knew who she was.

("They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights.")

"That's a much better excuse than a circus caravan." Thalia teased. Everyone else laughed while Percy pouted playfully.

Sally shook her head. Percy could come up with some very good excuses when the situation called for it, sometimes.

("Oh, the poor darlings."... owner, intelligent and vicious.)

A few of the demigods shivered at the description. That didn't sound like a normal dog. They would wait, though, and hear what happened later. They were still worried about the chapter title, though. Those that thought about it, were glad the Mississippi was nearby.

(I said, "Sonny. Is that his... cleared everything up.)

"Yeah, no." Travis muttered.

"That didn't do anything to clear anything up." Connor agreed.

Percy shuddered. "That comment was explained in a bit more detail later on." He said with a grimace. He still didn't understand how her and the Chimera were mother and son, but that was the Greek/Roman world for ya. They had strange familial relationships.

(At the top of the Arch... tin can with carpeting.)

Athena and both Annabeths looked offended again. He was insulting the architecture, again!

A few others snickered at hearing how Percy viewed things, he had a very interesting mind, that was for sure.

(Rows of tiny windows... The view was okay,)

Percy nodded in agreement with himself, "Ok, the view was more than ok, but I still didn't want to stay there long." He admitted when he saw Annabeth's look. She smiled slightly. At least he wasn't completely miserable, he found something enjoyable about the trip.

(but if there's anything I like... hundred feet in the air.)

Annabeth sighed at the reminder. She had been really careless with her companions, hadn't she? Percy just shot her a look, reminding her that he didn't think she should worry about it.

Poseidon and Triton grimaced and nodded in agreement. Being that high up, they weren't too fond of it, either. Their place was beneath the waves, not high in the sky.

Nico and Hazel nodded in agreement, too. While Thalia turned a little green at the thought. So far, she'd done a good job not thinking about it, until Percy mentioned just how high it was.

(I was ready to go pretty quick.)

"Do not blame you, at all." Those Big 3 kids that weren't Jason muttered in agreement. As did Hazel and Percy . None of them liked being up off the ground very much. Annabeth turned red when she realized that all the Big 3 kids were in agreement about this. Well, except Jason, but he didn't count. He was a son of Jupiter, he was made to be in the air. So was Thalia, but...

Poseidon quirked a grin. "Sorry, Annabeth. But... mine and Hades children aren't meant to be in the air. My children's place is underneath the waves, while Hades is beneath the ground." He said, somewhat apologetically. Because he could tell that she had really enjoyed herself, and wasn't too happy to hear that Percy had been miserable and she hadn't paid any attention. She grimaced, but nodded.

Zeus nodded in agreement with what his older brother said, he didn't want their children in his territory, either.

"It doesn't help that Zeus kills any of our children who are in the air." Hades grumbled. It was a very good thing that his and Poseidon's children had other ways of getting around other than flying. Or it would take them forever to ever get anywhere. Although, he had a feeling that it would be a while before young Perseus ever found out about that particular ability. Without older siblings to show him his powers, and with Poseidon not able to interact with him much... he had a feeling that if Nico knew, it was only because he was told about it by Hades.

(Annabeth kept talking about... designed a see-through floor.)

The non-child-of-Jupiter Big 3 demigods actually whimpered a bit at that. Thalia was scared of heights, and the others... well, it wasn't a fear of heights, per-say... it was more like a knowledge of what Zeus would do to them if they were ever at a certain height and not on a Pegasus or touching any part of the ground at the time...

Annabeth looked at them, and then blushed as she realized that saying all that about a see-through floor with Percy right there probably wasn't a good idea.

(She probably could've stayed... closing in a few minutes.)

Thalia actually looked relieved. He would be getting down soon, and they wouldn't be hearing anymore about how high up they were. Percy, who had been very quiet so far, sighed in relief too. He'd been tense the whole time they were in the Arch, despite Triton's attempts to get him to relax.

(I steered Grover and Annabeth toward the exit,)

"Quite eagerly, too." Grover pointed out. Annabeth groaned and nodded. She should have guessed how much Percy didn't want to be up there by how eager he was to leave.

(loaded them into the elevator... inside. No room for me.)

"Uh-oh." Was muttered. They were going to have to stay longer, and risk something happening, or missing the train. That wasn't good.

(The park ranger said... "We'll wait with you.")

"Good idea." Piper said, nodding. And it was.

Annabeth and Grover turned red in embarrassment. If only they had actually done that.

(But that was going to mess... see you guys at the bottom.")

"Don't separate!" A few people yelled. They couldn't believe the risks Percy had already taken on this quest, and now they were separating?!

Were they insane?

Annabeth blushed. "Grover didn't indicate that he smelled any monsters, and I hadn't seen anything to indicate monsters, either. I figured, there was only one way up, and we would be watching from the bottom to make sure nothing snuck on the elevator when we got off. He wasn't going to go anywhere without us, except straight down to join us..." She shrugged sheepishly. Grover nodded with a grimace. They hadn't expected the monster to be there with him.

Sally just sighed. That was her boy, trying to make things easier for everybody else despite his discomfort with the situation.

(Grover and Annabeth both... disappeared down the ramp.)

Grover hit himself on the head. "Stupid, stupid move." He muttered. Grover looked worried. Why was his older self reacting like this? Just what happened in the time they were all separated?

Annabeth was mentally berating herself, she should have known better, she did know better! Luke and Thalia had always drilled it into her head, the whole time they were together before Grover found them, to never, never go off on your own or leave anybody behind on their own. Especially if it was another demigod. One of the biggest rules at camp, was to never leave a demigod behind. If in a group, stay together. Safety in numbers, and all that. It had been drilled into her head for five years.

Percy sighed again, kissed Annabeth on the temple and glanced nervously at his mother. He never told her about this part... He tended to leave out a lot of his more... dangerous stunts.

(Now the only people left... lady with her Chihuahua.)

"Not good, if anything does happen, you'll have the mortals to worry about." Clarisse said, worried for her sort-of kid brother. "Monsters might not care to go after them, but they could still get hurt from debris or something." She explained quickly to the idiots who looked confused about why Percy would have to worry about the mortals when the monsters wouldn't care about them.

"Or, they could start running around in a panic and run right into an attack." Travis muttered. He'd seen it happen. And, it wasn't even his or Connors fault! Not at all. His brother nodded in agreement. Grover did too, thinking about the museum while they were trying to track Artemis after hers and Annabeth's kidnapping.

"Not to mention, if something does happen, the mortals aren't going to know what happened. And, when it's all over and they're being questioned by police..." Percy started and trailed off.

"All they're going to remember is you. And what they saw of the conflict on your part." Connor realized quickly.

"And when they give your description to police..." Travis said.

"They're going to know your traveling West, and your face is going to be all over the place even more." Connor finished.

"Not good!" All four of them said at once. Everyone else just stared at them uneasily. It seemed like whatever had been holding their attention for so long was finished.

Nobody was sure how to feel about that...

(I smiled uneasily at the... flickering between her teeth.)

"Forked tongue?" Reyna asked, eyebrows raised.

"Monster." Everyone said at once.

Annabeth and Grover blinked. "I didn't see that." Annabeth said, looking shocked. "I had a small conversation with her about the architecture, and I didn't see anything like that." How did she miss that?

"She could have been hiding it behind the Mist." Her mother said, mind racing with possibilities. "And if the Sea-spawn is semi-immune to the Mist, then it makes sense that he saw through it." She reasoned.

"I didn't smell anything, either." Grover said. "And we weren't underground anymore, so I should have smelled her." He was honestly shocked. Athena didn't know what to say about that. Except that she could have been covering it up with something else. Which was worrying to the demigods.

"I don't think she was necessarily a monster herself." Percy said slowly. "Just based on something she said. Her dog on the other hand..." He grimaced. If he never saw that thing again, it would be too soon.

(Wait a minute.

Forked tongue?)

There were a few snickers that Reyna and Percy said the same thing, with the more mature demigods staring at those snickering like they were idiots.

(Before I could decide if... and started yapping at me.)

A couple of people grimaced. Mostly those who preferred big dogs. Not the little yappers.

"And, of course the thing is fixed on the only demigod left in the room." Annabeth muttered.

("Now, now, sonny," the lady... these nice people here.")

"Wow, did she just say something in consideration for the mortals nearby?" Apollo muttered, honestly shocked. A few others looked at him, confused, but he just waved them off. Hermes looked at him, concerned. He had realized who it was soon as they described her. He was surprised Artemis didn't seem to have. After all, the two of them were the Hunters in the room... they dealt with her and her children constantly. Even though he didn't hunt nearly as much as she did...

That, and he did have a limited ability to see the future. Comes with the territory of being the god of prophecy. He'd been cheating a little and using it to have some idea of what was coming. Naturally, he wouldn't say anything. The Fates would have his hide if they did. And he quite liked his hide intact.

Much less painful.

("Doggie!" said the little boy... parents pulled him back.)

"Smart parents." Artemis said, trying to figure out why this sounded familiar. Everyone else in the room was getting the same feeling that they should know this, but couldn't think of it. All they did know right now, was that she was not human, and that dog was no dog.

(The Chihuahua bared his... from his black lips.)

"Somebody should have called animal control." Travis said, trying to break the growing tension.

"That thing is obviously rabid, no matter what else it is." Connor nodded in agreement. There were a few nervous chuckles, but otherwise the joke fell flat on its face and died.

("Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist.")

"And why, does she keep talking to it like it really is her son?" Katie burst out, it was starting to get to her, like she should know her based on that or something, but she could not think of a name.

Most of the room shrugged, not sure. While several others gasped and stared at Percy, having just finally figured it out and wondering how he got out of that one. Poseidon started eyeing his little brother, while the hand gripping his Trident turned white.

(Ice started forming in my stomach.)

"I already knew something was wrong with her, but when she kept talking to the dog like she was..." Percy shrugged. At this point, he was purposely ignoring the tension in the room and all of his attention was split between his mother and his girlfriend. He may have... glossed over the details about this incident to Annabeth and Grover. While he never told his mother about any of this at all.

"You have the most descriptive thoughts." Thalia muttered to herself, glancing at her cousin.

("Urn, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"

"Chimera, dear,")

"That's not good." Was the general consensus as everybody froze and stared at Percy, wondering how on earth he got out of this one. And protected the mortals from the monster. Because the Chimera was known for not caring who it went after. Mortal and demigod alike. Not to mention that with it's breath, collateral damage was next to impossible to avoid. At all. And they were in a very small space.

Percy grimaced, remembering the pain he was in, and thanking the Fates over and over again that he wasn't going to have to relive the pain because of these books.

The gods were staring at him, wondering how on earth he got her on his tail. That was actually quite the feat, right there. Poseidon was still eyeing Zeus suspiciously. He was the only one who had any measure of control over her... She was basically his personal attack dog.

Annabeth was crushing his hand at this point, he was going to have to soak it later on if he wanted to be able to use it in the coming weeks. Otherwise it was going to a bruised up, possibly deformed mess.

(the fat lady corrected... easy mistake to make.")

"Right, easy." Travis said faintly. A few of the younger kids actually looked like they might pass out just from the thought of facing the Chimera. Percy cocked his head and wondered if he could defeat it now. After the Titans, the Chimera shouldn't be too much trouble... if he played his cards right. Starting with fighting it somewhere away from enclosed spaces and tourists.

Especially the enclosed space. That was a must.

Of course, he was also still firmly of the opinion that if he never saw her and her Chimera again, it would be too soon.

Ares lit up. Finally, some action!

(She rolled up her denim... arms was scaly and green.)

Aphrodite made a disgusted face and turned a little green herself. Denim with that skin? Even worse than her just wearing denim.

(When she smiled, I saw... sideways slits, like a reptile's.)

"Yeah, she was definitely hiding herself with the Mist. It must have worked off and on with you. But everytime you could have seen her as she really is, you weren't paying attention to her until now." Athena speculated. She was interested in the fact that the Mist was so unreliable against Sea-spawn.

(The Chihuahua barked louder... a Doberman, then to a lion.)

"Whoa." Everyone said after a moment of silence.

"That thing might have been easier to deal with when it was Chihuahua sized." Thalia muttered, eyeing her cousin in concern. This would be one of those situations where she would be ordering a retreat and regroup. There wasn't enough space to really fight, and there were mortals nearby. While the monster should ignore them, that didn't mean they couldn't still get injured or caught in the cross-fire. Unknown to her, Zoe was thinking the same thing.

(Although, Thalia wouldn't have taken the Hunters there in the first place to be honest, too high up off the ground.)

(The bark became a roar.

The little boy screamed.)

"Oh." Everybody blinked.

"That's right, kids have an easier time seeing through the Mist than adults." Sally murmured in dread. She wanted to help that boy, but knew she couldn't. He was going to be traumatized for the rest of his life unless somebody made him forget it.

(His parents pulled him... gaping at the monster.)

"She's not even hiding herself in the Mist at all." Sally gasped. That was even worse. The parents and the park ranger weren't going to be able to handle this at all, they might end up needing psychiatric help for the rest of their lives. The boy, at least, would be brushed off as having an overactive imagination.

"Oh, boy." A few of the council murmured.

"This is going to require some clean up." Dionysus muttered into his wine glass, happy that it wouldn't be him in charge of that since he was technically still 'banished' to Camp Half-Blood. Apollo and Hermes glared at him, the three of them were usually the ones put in charge of clean-up for things like this. But with him unable to do it, it would be down to the two of them.

Oh, it wasn't hard. It wasn't difficult. But they did have to be careful with it, they didn't want to accidentally create new problems where none existed. The mortal mind could work in strange ways.

(The Chimera was now so... out of its shaggy behind.)

The demigods shuddered in horror at the description. "Is there any kind of monster that isn't made up of bits and pieces from normal animals?" Travis complained.

"Yeah, it seems like most monsters are a bunch of Frankenstein monsters." Connor agreed. All they got in answer were shrugs and head shakes.

"I never really thought about it, but they are right." Hermes said to his half-siblings, aunts and uncles. They nodded in agreement.

"That's just how they were all born. Many of them were born from Echidna, some of them are born that way because their mothers were cursed into conceiving with a certain animal... a few were born from different Titans and the like. Occasionally it was because two different monsters got together." Athena said after a moment.

The demigods all grimaced. Especially when she mentioned the monsters being born because the gods cursed the mother. Of course.

(The rhinestone dog collar... now easy to read:

CHIMERA-RABID,)

"See?" Connor said, with a smug look on his face. "Rabid." He nodded once, in emphasis. He got a few more chuckles, but everybody was mostly at the edge of their seats in anticipation and worry.

(FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS-IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS-EXT. 954.)

Besides a shudder, Annabeth and Percy managed not to visibly react. It was only a brief mention of the place's name this time, it wasn't a description of anything they saw down there. Like the pit, the color orange, and elevators... those brought back memories. They were fine with the name... as long as they didn't keep talking about it and just moved on.

"Hey, did you ever call the extension?" Leo tried to joke.

Percy shook his head, with a strange look on his face. "How would that place even have a phone line?" He asked the council.

Athena frowned. "I don't actually know..." She said thoughtfully. "I've never thought about it before." She admitted. She resolved to look into it later, when the Fates let time resume after the readings.

"Can we keep reading, please?" Jason called. Not wanting his cousin and his girlfriend to have a relapse or something. They'd been doing pretty good so far, but there was only so much they could take sometimes. He just knew the nightmares were going to be bad enough tonight, with all the mention of that place here in this reading. The two of them already had a hard enough time sleeping as it was, without hearing about it all the time.

Rachel glanced over and nodded, so she kept going. Percy and Annabeth shot him grateful looks.

(I realized I hadn't even... My hands were numb.)

Ares made a noise of disgust, earning himself glares from all around the room. The boy should not freeze up like that, it was so disgusting. And he called himself a fighter? Percy just ignored him, and watched Rachel, willing her to keep reading and get this chapter finished already.

Zoe made a noise, to indicate that his reaction was perfectly understandable. The new hunters always froze their first time seeing some monsters, depending on what they already had experience fighting as demigods, or the occasional mortal girl that joined them (if they were able to see through the Mist, that was.)

(I was ten feet away from... the creature would lunge.)

Sally whimpered, and Paul pulled her into his side and held her tightly. Everyone else sat on the edges of their seats in anticipation.

Everyone could feel the temperature and air pressure change, and one look at Poseidon showed he was barely holding it together and keeping himself from attacking his younger brother. He kept himself back because he didn't have proof that he sent her, this could be a random meet up, they happened.

(The snake lady made a... with one of my brood.)

Poseidon growled and would have attacked, except Percy appeared between the two before he could, absently playing with a pen in his hand. Of course, the only one to really notice the pen were those who were looking for it, and those were the ones who had actually made the connection with who they were.

He shot his father a warning look, reminding him of why he was there. He was there to enforce the rules of no fighting or attacking each other.

Poseidon stared balefully back, before sitting back with a huff after shooting one last venomous glare at Zeus. Nothing was said in the entire exchange. A part of him absently wondered if and where his son discovered his Mist-travel. Or if he was just simply that fast.

Everyone else watched the exchange with wide eyes. None of them had seen or heard him move. The air pressure didn't go back to normal, and neither did the temperature though.

"Oh, yeah. A real honor." Percy grumbled, and Annabeth gave a small grin before loosening up her grip on his hand and hugging him instead.

(For I am the Mother of... that a kind of anteater?")

"Oh, that's the worst thing you could have possibly said to her." Poseidon groaned, becoming distracted from wanting to kill his younger brother and covering his face with one hand, while he gripped his trident with white knuckles in the other.

"How many times has she asked you to flood and destroy Australia?" Apollo asked, chuckling nervously. He was trying to bring some humor into the room and disperse some of the tension that appeared. His efforts were not appreciated, judging by the scowls he received.

"Daily." Amphitrite informed the room with a scowl.

"Multiple times, a day." Triton added on with another scowl, holding his brother closer in an attempt to shield him from everything his older self had gone through.

(She howled, her reptilian... and green with rage.)

"Eew." Most of the girls complained. That did not sound pleasant to look at.

("I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia!)

"Understatement." Poseidon and Triton both muttered absently. They were sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting to hear what happened to Percy during this confrontation.

Percy , sure that his fathers attention was effectively diverted from Zeus, went back to his seat in the corner with the rest of his group.

(Naming that ridiculous animal... shall destroy you!")

Percy sighed. "They all want to kill me for the strangest reasons. I mean, some of them I get, they just want to say that they were the ones to kill 'Perseus Jackson'," He said sarcastically. "Or the ones who come to kill me just because they want to kill a demigod. I get that, but then there are the ones like her, who want me dead just because of something I said." He pouted. He was honestly offended by that!

Everyone else was looking at him like he suddenly grew three more heads. Of all the things to be angry over, and he was angry because they only wanted to kill him because of something he said?

Thalia and Nico looked like they understood. They would much rather the monsters wanting them dead because they were considered a threat, or because of something they'd done in the past.

(The Chimera charged, its... aside and dodge the bite.)

Sighs of relief went around the room, after everybody held their breaths at the charge. Percy looked mildly offended at the lack of faith in his abilities. Dodging wasn't the difficult part. It was finding an opening to kill it before it killed him.

A part of this fight that he kind of failed at.

(I ended up next to the... the emergency exit doors.)

"Why couldn't they open it?" Sally asked, worried.

"Echidna might have blocked it or something." Hermes answered, concerned. That would keep Percy's attention divided as he tried to fight while also keeping it away from the mortals as best as he could in the confined space.

Percy grimaced. "I'm just glad they all made it out safely... somehow." He said, reassuring everyone that the family was alright. There were sighs of relief all around.

(I couldn't let them get hurt.)

"Spoken like a true hero." Somebody murmured, and the others nodded in agreement, but also concern. Only Percy would worry more about the family than himself, despite the fact that he was the one the monster was after. Meaning it should leave the family alone once he was gone. His concern for them over himself was also an attitude that, while good to have in small doses, would also get him killed pretty quick.

Zoe and Artemis studied Percy in interest. It was rare they saw males with that kind of attitude. Most males they met would save the family, sure, no problem. But their attitude while doing it...

(I uncapped my sword, ran... I would've thought possible.)

"Don't underestimate your opponent based on size, boy." Ares snarled. That was the number one rule of combat! To not underestimate your opponent. Percy winced, but didn't say anything.

(Before I could swing my... world's largest barbecue pit,)

"Change that to a BBQ pit where all the meat has been burnt, and that would actually be more accurate." Percy cut in, making everyone wince. They all loved BBQ, and for something to smell like that...

"No wonder you refused to eat BBQ for a month after this quest." Annabeth said, blinking in surprise. Percy grimaced, but nodded.

"Do you have to be so descriptive?" Thalia asked in disgust. Percy just smirked before reminding everyone that these may be his thoughts, but he was not the one to write them down. That was the Fates.

(and shot a column of flame straight at me.)

"Holy...!" Quite a few demigods exclaimed, not really expecting that.

"Oh, yeah. So, the Chimera is wicked fast, can breathe fire, and is poisonous." Percy said, as if he were speaking about the weather. He earned a few wide eyed looks.

(I dove through the explosion... seared off my eyebrows.)

Percy just sighed. He never could keep his eyebrows for long. He often went to school after a summer of camp and quests with kids asking what happened to them.

(Where I had been standing a... steaming around the edges.)

Athena and her daughters all groaned, almost in agony at the thought of the architectural marvel being damaged like that.

"Sorry, guys." Percy said, and he kind of honestly was. As much as he didn't care much for architecture, Annabeth did. One of her goals in life was to visit all the best architectural history sites. Like the St. Louis Arch. And then, the first one she visited, he kind of destroyed it.

Athena and Annabeth glared at him, but Annabeth sighed after a moment. "Not your fault. Zeus is the one who sent Echidna and the Chimera is the one who went breathing fire at it." She grumbled. Percy quirked a grin and kissed her temple.

(Great, I thought. We just blowtorched a national monument.)

"And fanned the flames of the manhunt that was already started by the mortal authorities." Hermes noted.

Percy just sighed. "I am the subject of way too many manhunts." He complained. Annabeth, Grover, Sally, and Paul all nodded in agreement. It was a sad fact.

(Riptide was now a shining...

That was my fatal mistake.)

Sally let out a half-screech before she managed to hold it in, and Paul held her tighter. It was clear to everybody that Percy had not shared this part of his quest with her. Or, if he did, he severely edited it.

"Oh, boy." Percy muttered, eyeing his mother and knowing he was going to get the lecture of a lifetime. Mrs. O'Leary whined and pushed her snout against his chest pleadingly, she didn't like hearing about her human being in danger like this, and she wasn't around to protect him. He obliged and started scratching her under the jaw soothingly.

(The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar.)

"Oh, not good." All the demigods muttered as one.

"He doesn't have the experience or training to keep his balance right here. He only has a couple of weeks sword training with Luke, I don't think he really got around to doing much else besides that and the climbing wall." Clarisse muttered to those around her. Worried about Prissy, even though she knew that he would be fine. He went on to fight against her dad during this same quest!

(I tried to regain my balance,)

"Tried being the key phrase." Percy muttered, reaching down to rub the bite marks on his legs. They'd healed up well enough in the water, the poison had been purged and all. But the scars remained, which was unusual for injuries healed in the water. Just like the scars remained from the pit scorpion.

A few people glanced at him, worried, while Triton and Percy disappeared in a bubble that nobody could see through, giving them privacy.

Annabeth was currently keeping herself relatively calm by cutting off circulation in his arm while burying her head in his shoulder. It was a bit difficult to keep reassuring Mrs. O'Leary and try to comfort her at the same time with one hand.

Just saying.

(but I was so worried about... and sank its fangs into my calf.)

Everyone sucked in a breath. "The Chimera is one of the most poisonous creatures outside of the Pit." Apollo breathed. Sally and Mrs. O'Leary both sucked in a breath and whimpered or whined. Poseidon looked like he was going to pass out from shock and worry.

Percy winced. He really had not wanted his mother to find out about any of this. Mentally, he started cursing the Fates while he glared at Apollo for opening his big mouth.

(My whole leg was on fire... the Chimera's mouth,)

"Good, that's a weak point for virtually anything and everything." Ares noted with satisfaction. Although he, too, was wondering how Percy would have gotten out of this alive, he'd already been poisoned.

(but the serpent tail wrapped... pulled me off balance,)

"Of course, you should also be more alert to your surroundings." He deadpanned with a small glare. This was the second time he forgot about that serpent. Percy glared back, getting tired of the commentary. Some of it was helpful, some of it wasn't.

(and my blade flew out of... toward the Mississippi River.)

"NO!" Everyone cried in horror. They didn't let themselves start panicking yet though, Riptide would come back. Riptide always came back. Poseidon was now sitting at the very edge of his seat, anxiously watching his son try to calm his girlfriend and dog down. Losing his weapon when fighting the Chimera, while poisoned...

How did his son survive this one?

And, Riptide may always return, but that would take a few seconds. Seconds that were critical for his survival.

And here he didn't have the room to play an evasion game to gain those few seconds.

(I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost.)

Ares nodded in approval. It was always good to know when to admit defeat instead of constantly charging forward needlessly.

(I was weaponless. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest.)

Mrs. O'Leary whined again and Sally held onto Paul tighter at the reminder while Percy grimaced at the memory.

(I remembered Chiron saying... was no pen in my pocket.)

Poseidon sat up further, alarmed. That shouldn't happen, unless... unless he was withholding it for some reason, but why would he do that? And why now? Why when his son needed it the most?

Chiron was also alarmed. The magic of the sword shouldn't be wearing off, it was enchanted to always return by Poseidon himself. It contained the immortal life force of Zoe Nightshade, the magic should be working just fine...

Everyone else was now officially terrified for Percy. He was unarmed, against the Chimera. Arguably the most dangerous and deadliest monsters out there. There were few that they had knowledge of that were deadlier.

Annabeth herself was almost guaranteed to have broken Percy's hand by now, but he didn't make a sound, letting her grip as hard as she wanted. He'd felt worse pain than this, anyway.

(Maybe it had fallen too far away.)

"There is no distance limit." Poseidon immediately denied. He shook his head and started muttering to himself, trying to figure out why he would keep the sword from returning. Unless it was the river spirit? But why?

(Maybe it only returned when it was in pen form.)

"No, it will return to you, in your pocket no matter what form it was in when it was lost." Chiron also denied.

Leo whistled from the corner where he and his brother had been working in silence this whole chapter, except for the occasional comment. "That is one handy sword." He muttered, "Hey, could you enchant this to do something similar?" He asked, curiously.

Beckendorf looked at it thoughtfully. "That particular brand of weapons enchantment is Nyssa's area of expertise." He said slowly. "I could do it, but it wouldn't be as strong or powerful as what she could, and it would need to be cast as we make it. I would need to start weaving the enchantments now." He warned. "Or we could ask Father to do it." He finished.

Leo looked at his unfinished weapon and agreed to asking their father to enchant it. No sooner had he agreed, then Hephaestus joined them in their corner and began to assist with the enchantments. He just stuck with the ones to make it return to the holster strap Leo was fashioning for it, to attack to his belt loops, and let Beckendorf do the rest.

There was no point in letting them learn and grow if he did everything for them. According to the parenting books he'd read over the years, anyway. Besides, it wasn't like him to do his children's work... that would just take away from the pleasure of making something yourself.

(I didn't know, and I wasn't going to live long enough to figure it out.)

Sally groaned before she snapped at her son not to say stuff like that. A few people blinked at her in shock, they'd never heard Sally snap at anybody like that. Percy's face turned red, his mother only ever snapped like when he'd done something that scared her, or worried her enough to be terrified.

"Yes, mom." He muttered.

(I backed into the hole in the wall.)

"Jump." Poseidon said suddenly. When everyone looked at him like he was crazy, he looked at them like they were crazy. "There's a river down there. He needs to jump." He said pointedly. Percy turned a little red. He really shouldn't have waited so long...

(The Chimera advanced, growling... they used to, eh, son?")

The heroes in the room growled at the insult. Implying that they were substandard or something, who did she think she was?! The gods all glanced at each other and then looked away quickly to hide their chuckles.

Nothing could get a demigods hackles raised faster than implying they weren't skilled.

"Give the guy a break, he doesn't even have two weeks worth of training yet." Grover grumbled, offended for his friend. Percy quirked a grin at him.

(The monster growled. It... now that I was beaten.)

"Ugh. I hate it when they do that." The future Greeks whined.

"On the one hand, it's nice because it gives you a chance to find a way out, or think of something else to beat it." Thalia said, actually holding up one hand, palm up.

"But on the other, you just want them to get it over with." Clarisse scowled. Paul looked more than a little disturbed hearing the kids talking like that.

(I glanced at the park ranger... people. I couldn't just ... die.)

Zoe and Artemis narrowed their eyes at Percy. Dying, and still thinking about those around him? He was a very unusual male.

Sally looked at her son with some pride, despite her internal panic at the thought of her baby dying.

Poseidon looked down at his lap and ran a hand through his hair. Sally raised him well.

The Greeks rolled their eyes, that was Percy alright.

(I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire.)

"Not a pleasant feeling, I will tell you that, right now." Percy pointed, shaking his head.

"How do you know what it feels like to be on fire?" Sally whispered.

Percy flinched. "Ah... about that..." He chuckled nervously. "Remember when Mt. St. Helens erupted a few years ago...?" He asked his mother, half scared.

"Yes." She said slowly. "But you already told me about that... While leaving out the part where you were almost burned alive, I'm guessing." She said in horrified realization.

Percy winced, but nodded. "Yeah... good thing I'm naturally semi-fire-resistant!" He tried to be cheerful about it, it didn't work. Everyone else was staring at him in horror. Just what on earth did he get up to when he left camp?!

Chiron was wondering if tying him to his bed in Cabin 3 and wrapping him in bubble wrap for the rest of his life might not be the safest course of action.

Whether it was safest for Percy, the camp, the world, or his sanity was debatable.

(My head felt dizzy.)

Apollo winced. "The poison has reached his heart. It's already starting to stop." He said quietly.

"Jump already." Poseidon implored quietly, leaning forward in his seat again as if he could physically push Percy off the dumb arch and into the water.

Everyone could only listen in horrified silence.

(I had no sword. I was... monster and its mother.)

Hermes snorted. "I wouldn't worry about Echidna. She won't attack, she's too much of a coward to do anything herself, if she shows up, it's always with one of her monster children in tow to do all the fighting for her." He informed the demigods. Who just blinked in slight shock at the information, but moved on relatively quickly. Especially when the others nodded in agreement.

(And I was scared.)

The demigods froze as they realized just how terrified Percy must have really been to admit even that much. He was the type to say he was fine, it didn't hurt, even after his arm being shattered, or almost getting a leg torn off. If he said anything, no matter how mild, then you knew it was pretty bad.

Sally finally had enough and Percy found himself sitting on the couch between her and Paul faster than he could blink, while Annabeth blinked at where he had been for a moment, wondering what just happened and where Percy just went.

The others blinked at her in shock, trying to figure out how she moved that fast. Hermes mentally added it to his list of likely immortals she could be descended from. He still needed to get around to checking her ancestry. He'd already mentally run through all the family lines of his children (and their children and so on down the line), for both himself and his Roman side, and he was pretty sure it wasn't him.

(There was no place else... below, the river glittered.)

"Yes, just one more step..." Poseidon said, fiddling with his Trident as if he could blast Echidna and her Chimera apart with it from where he was sitting. Amphitrite put a hand on his arm again, to try and calm him down. Everyone else was silently making the same plea.

(If I died, would the... leave the humans alone?)

"Yes, they would. But it doesn't require you dying, so stop talking about it!" Annabeth scolded her boyfriend. Honestly, she loved him, but sometimes this thing he had really drove her nuts. He really needed to show some more self-preservation once in a while, and a little less concern for everyone else around him. Not that said concern was a bad thing, but a little less of it would be good for her sanity and chances of not suddenly becoming single.

Percy just sent her a sheepish smile.

("If you are the son of... would not fear water.)

Percy grumbled about everything he'd ever been told about falling into water, especially from a certain height... Not to mention the height itself.

(Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me... sword. Prove your bloodline.")

Poseidon grumbled about not needing to prove anything to anyone. The boy being claimed was enough proof as it was.

"I can't believe I'm saying this." Will suddenly grumbled. "Perce. Man, listen to the monster. In this case, she actually has your best interests at heart." He said, turning to Percy and stating this very seriously.

"Yes, after putting him in the position where he needs to jump in the first place." Reyna mumbled to the Romans around her. She was thankful that Camp Jupiter was still standing, even though Percy had only been there for the one night. The monsters he had attracted so far...

(Yeah, right, I thought... I'd splatter on impact.)

"Yes, you would." Poseidon said in agreement. "Were you not my son and immune to little annoyances like that." He said with a shrug. He ignored Sally's groan and instead just listened to his sons chuckling along with everyone else. The tension had been lessened, but it was still tense.

(The Chimera's mouth glowed red, heating up for another blast.)

"Jump. Just jump already." People said, holding their breath.

Now, normally... telling somebody to jump from that height was highly frowned upon, even in the world of being a demigod. But Percy was a son of Poseidon, and that was water down there. It was the only chance he had of surviving.

Percy wasn't even visible anymore, crushed between his mom and step-dad like he was.

("You have no faith,"... "You do not trust the gods.)

The gods shifted, slightly offended. How could he not trust them? Percy noticed and narrowed his eyes.

"How could I trust somebody I'd never met, and only found out about two weeks before this?" Percy asked, frowning. The gods shifted some more and glanced at each other, before they admitted that he had a point.

As much as they didn't like it.

(I cannot blame you... The gods are faithless.)

A few of the older demigods nodded in agreement. Especially Luke . While Luke was stone faced.

These may be their parents, but that didn't mean the demigods weren't fully aware of their faults. The gods glanced around at each other again.

(The poison is in your heart.")

Sally shuddered at the books confirmation of Apollo's diagnosis.

(She was right: I was dying.)

The horrified silence was back.

(I could feel my breath... me, not even the gods.)

"If you would just jump already, you won't need saving." Apollo snapped. Poseidon nodded in agreement. Yes, the boy needed to jump already.

(I backed up and looked... me when I was in my cradle.)

"I did." Poseidon said softly. Zeus scowled, but didn't dare say anything while Percy just smiled against his mothers shoulder.

After all, it wouldn't be a good idea right now for Zeus to remind Poseidon that he was still furious with his little brother.

The other demigods all glanced at Percy in jealousy. Especially the younger ones.

(I remembered the swirling... had claimed me as his son.)

"Stop remembering things and just jump already." Jason deadpanned.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I was psyching myself up to actually jump by trying to keep in mind that he must care in some way because of everything I'd already listed." He said, mulish. Everybody blinked at him.

Oh, this memory-lane trip actually had a purpose behind it?

(But this wasn't the sea... There was no Sea God here.)

"Eh, dad may not be there, but rivers connect to the sea. All rivers flow into the ocean eventually." Triton said, helpfully, dropping the bubble he and Percy had been in. "Plus, water is water. Salt will always be better for us, but fresh can do just fine in a pinch." He shrugged. Percy quirked a grin.

("Die, faithless one," Echidna... of flame toward my face.)

Sally didn't make any noise, merely held her son tighter. Paul held onto the both of them.

("Father, help me," I prayed.)

"Always, as much as I can." Poseidon murmured. Zeus glared, but didn't say anything, not wanting to spark the sea gods temper towards himself again.

(I turned and jumped.)

Everyone cheered or let out relieved sighs. At this point, it was a race. Gravity versus Chimera poison and fire. Hopefully gravity would win and the water would heal him... considering he was sitting right here, they were pretty sure gravity won.

"That's what you meant." Hazel murmured to Percy . When he turned to her, confused, she elaborated.

"In Alaska. After we asked how you survived the fall from the top of the glacier to the waters below, you said that the St. Louis Arch was twice that height. I thought you were joking." She said, honestly a little angry with herself for taking a comment like that lightly.

He quirked a grin. "Nope, no joke. Sorry." He shrugged, not looking sorry in the least. The others looked at them, slightly confused since they hadn't heard this story, while Annabeth looked exasperated.

"What is with you and jumping off of things? Honestly, if it weren't for Blackjack and water, you would be long dead by now." She said, scolding. He shrugged and she sighed.

(My clothes on fire, poison... I plummeted toward the river.)

Poseidon sighed in relief. If he could fall fast enough, he would be ok, the river would heal him. Despite being so polluted, it was still water. Although, he would need to jump in the ocean at the first opportunity to... cleanse- himself of all that pollution. No offense meant to the Mississippi river spirits, of course.

He should really look into better ways of cleaning those rivers... and getting the mortals to stop polluting them faster than they could be cleaned. That would help.

After all, rivers may not be under his authority directly, but they all flowed into the ocean. Meaning all that pollution that was in them, flowed into the ocean. And the ocean was under his direct rule.

After a few moments of silence, Hestia quietly spoke up. "How about we break for fifteen minutes?" She asked, eyeing Percy and Paul trying to calm Sally down. It was just hitting her, at the end of the chapter, how close she had come to losing her son.

Everyone agreed and everyone moved out of the throne room except for Annabeth and Poseidon. The rest went out to stretch their legs, while the sons of Hephaestus and their father merely put up a barrier to block out sound, that way the family could have privacy. They couldn't leave now, the whip was in a delicate stage of the enchanting.

Triton even dragged Gabe out of the room by the back of the ropes he was still bound with.

Fifteen minutes, when everyone came back, they were relieved to see that Sally was calm and laughing quietly with her family. "How about I read?" Katie volunteered once everyone was seated again, after a few of them got drinks from the cappuccino machine still in the corner. When everyone agreed, she retrieved the book from where Rachel left it and opened up to read. " I Become a Known Fugitive."

Notes:

I'm a girl, and I don't understand girls. Seriously, everything seems to be complicated when it really shouldn't be. Everything is always blown out of proportion.

Chapter 18: I Become a Fugitive

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underline).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

After a few moments of silence, Hestia quietly spoke up. "How about we break for fifteen minutes?" She asked, eyeing Percy and Paul trying to calm Sally down. It was just hitting her, at the end of the chapter, how close she had come to losing her son.

Everyone agreed and everyone moved out of the throne room except for Annabeth and Poseidon. The rest went out to stretch their legs, while the sons of Hephaestus and their father merely put up a barrier to block out sound, that way the family could have privacy. They couldn't leave now, the whip was in a delicate stage of the enchanting.

Triton even dragged Gabe out of the room by the back of the ropes he was still bound with.

Fifteen minutes, when everyone came back, they were relieved to see that Sally was calm and laughing quietly with her family.

"How about I read?" Katie volunteered once everyone was seated again, after a few of them got drinks from the cappuccino machine still in the corner. When everyone agreed, she retrieved the book from where Rachel left it and opened up to read. " I Become a Known Fugitive."

Sally could only sigh. Why was it always her son?

Katie looked at her in sympathy before all the older demigods shot Percy a glare for making his mother worry so much. He just sighed when he noticed their looks. It wasn't his fault that the mortals that were nearby always saw the bits and pieces that painted him in the worst light possible!

It was the stupid Mist! He swears Hecate has it out for him.

(I'd love to tell you I... face of death, et cetera.)

All the older, more experienced demigods snorted. Yeah, right. Whatever mortal came up with all that, was a moron. And those that laugh in the face of death, well...

Let's just say they didn't stay laughing for long once Thanatos got ahold of them.

(The truth? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!)

The demigods started laughing. That was more like it.

(The river raced toward... in and out of my vision.)

Percy winced as he remembered this. He couldn't tell which was up and which was down, he was just tumbling. "On the bright side, the wind was enough to put out most of the fire!" He said, trying to sound upbeat. If he tried for cheerful, he was liable to be burned at the stake or something.

Going off the dirty looks, that might happen anyway.

(And then: Flaaa-boooom!)

Katie said that as dramatically and loudly as she could, trying to imitate the sound. She grinned at the looks she got from the others, while Travis just looked proud.

(A whiteout of bubbles... of mud and lost forever.)

"No. I don't think the mud goes that far down..." Poseidon said. He was enjoying teasing his son regarding learning more about his abilities and just what being a Son of Poseidon meant. He considered taking all three of his demigod sons that were present for this reading and working with them on their abilities as his son. Maybe tonight or something? He could see what the two older ones had figured out over the years and start instructing them on what they hadn't yet.

And start instructing the younger one period. Maybe give him instructions on how to get a hold of his times Poseidon without alerting Zeus or something... he should probably write a letter and have the boy hang onto it. Just in case he wasn't here for the entire reading.

It seemed like the Fates were just going to have people coming and going.

Percy just scowled at his father's teasing, but didn't say anything.

(But my impact with the water hadn't hurt.)

"Didn't feel a thing, actually." Percy shrugged. It hadn't felt the least bit uncomfortable, and he didn't feel it afterward, either. Poseidon smirked slightly.

(I was falling slowly now... A catfish the size of my stepfather)

A few people blinked. "That's a big catfish." Leo commented, glancing at Gabe, who glared back.

"Yes, they can get big. That one sounds about average for a wild fish." Amphitrite commented, looking at Gabe and comparing his bulk to what she knew catfish could get to.

"You're not going to find any that big in the pet store though, there's not enough room in the tanks for one thing. For another, they stock varieties that naturally shouldn't get too big." Poseidon said in agreement. All the other sea-dwellers and the Percy's nodded in agreement.

(lurched away into the gloom... bags-swirled up all around me.)

Rachel and Grover growled, angry at hearing about such a thing. Poseidon and his family glared at nothing, with both Poseidon and Triton gripping their main weapons so hard their knuckles turned white.

"Disgusting." Katie spat.

"Mortals. They do not care about the planet they live on. They make no effort to keep it clean or take care of it in any way. No respect for their home." Demeter said in agreement with her daughter.

"Why haven't you done something about this, Uncle P?" Apollo asked, surprised at how bad it was. He didn't pay much attention to stuff like this, wasn't his territory.

Poseidon's glare spun and focused on him, making him gulp slightly. "Why do you think it looks as clean as it has been described? The mortals are fouling up the waterways faster than the river spirits can clean them. I have measures in place to help... those that will accept my help. But unless the mortals start cleaning up after themselves, there is only so much we can do. Now, if the rivers were part of my jurisdiction... I could do more. But they are not. I do what I can." He said, icily.

Apollo realized he had overstepped, big time, and apologized if it sounded like he was blaming his uncle. Before his uncle decided to feed him to a shark.

"I gave the Hudson and East River spirits half a sand dollar each, it seemed to really help." Percy cut in, looking at his father.

Poseidon sighed. "Sand dollar's, huh?" He leaned back and thought about it for a minute. "I'll think about it. But that won't solve the problem, it will just be a temporary solution. A small rock, stopping a tidal wave." He said, shaking his head. He motioned for Katie to keep reading.

"If how it was described is clean..." Piper whispered to Jason, who nodded in agreement. He wondered if part of the reasons the gods were weakened compared to back in ancient times, wasn't just the lack of acknowledgement or worshipers, but because of the loss or pollution to their domains. All their power was going towards maintaining what was left, instead of being available for when it was needed.

(At that point, I realized... in my veins anymore.)

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, while Luke frowned slightly. Chimera poison wasn't that far behind pit scorpion venom on the scale of deadliness. So, why had the water healed Percy this time, but not then? Unless Percy just hadn't immersed himself in the water enough?

(I was alive, which was good.)

"Yes, yes it is." Sally said in relief.

"That's also a very good observation." Thalia said, being sarcastic. Percy just grinned at her.

(Second realization: I wasn't... clothes had been quenched.)

Percy sighed, thinking about how lucky they were that nobody had noticed the fact that all his clothes were practically hanging on by threads, not to mention all the burn marks on what was left of the fabric.

(But when I touched my... an old cigarette lighter.)

"Not gonna happen." Leo immediately said. Percy and the other sea-dwellers smirked.

"I beg to differ." Triton murmured to Percy , grinning mischievously. It was an expression that had many doing double takes and glancing between Percy and his half-brother. Only to find that Percy had the same expression on his face while he watched Leo.

(No way, I thought.)

Poseidon grinned as his face turned to watch his son. He loved hearing about his reactions to learning more about his abilities.

(I flicked the lighter. It sparked.)

Leo's eyes widened and he stared at them all. "Flame at the bottom of the river." He muttered in disbelief. That shouldn't even be possible, only Greek fire could burn under water, and even that would go out before too long. Beckendorf watched Percy curiously, too.

"Put us in the water, and there's not a whole lot we can't do when it comes to stuff that shouldn't be possible." Percy murmured. They were still smirking at Leo.

"Whoa." A few others murmured, honestly shocked. They hadn't expected that.

(A tiny flame appeared, right there at the bottom of the Mississippi.)

Leo shook his head. As a fire user, he knew about fire. And he knew that that shouldn't be possible.

(I grabbed a soggy hamburger... into a slimy rag. Weird.)

"Ah, you should have let it burn itself out. One less piece of trash in the water." Poseidon said, making a face.

Percy blinked. "I didn't even think about it." He said sheepishly. "I think I still have that lighter, though. I keep it in my quest bag." He offered. Then he frowned. "The bag that is sitting back in my cabin while I'm about to go on a quest without it." He muttered, not happy about that. Hera couldn't have given him his bag before she kidnapped him? He had nectar, ambrosia, basic survival gear, clothes, Drachma, some food that could store for a long time, a few pictures of his friends and the camp...that bag could really come in handy on the trip to Alaska. Poseidon sighed.

"Pack for quests?" Annabeth asked, speaking up for the first time in a long time.

"Yeah, most of us keep a bag packed at all times, just for being called for a quest." Clarisse said with a shrug.

"It's from during the war, we were going out on combat missions all the time. It wasn't too unusual for the stronger fighters to come back, get a shower and food, and be sent right back out again. Often our siblings would repack our bag for us while we were in the shower because of the chances of that happening." Chris added.

"Not even we'll prank somebody's quest bag." Travis said, gesturing between him and his brother.

"Yeah, messing with somebodies bag when they needed to be able to grab-and-go?" Connor shook his head. "Not cool man. Every second counted sometimes."

That's when all the younger demigods realized just how serious the war that they kept talking about was. If Connor and Travis Stoll passed up the chance to prank somebody, it must have been really serious. And really bad.

That's also when an old, battered bag appeared at Percy's feet, to his joy. When he dove in to check his supplies, he was surprised to find that the food was still good, even though it had been in there for about a year now. None of it stored that good. "Did you repack it?" He asked Annabeth, she nodded.

"I was getting supplies around for the Argo II, so I grabbed your quest bag. It seemed fitting." Percy just grinned and kept going through it. This thing was coming to Alaska with him, whether Hera liked it or not.

(But the strangest thought... I was breathing normally.)

"You know, most people would have drowned already by the time you realized you were breathing normally." Triton said in amusement. Percy was mature, and stuck his tongue out in answer, while a few others snickered. Poseidon barely concealed his grin.

Perhaps he should have let more of his children figure out their abilities on their own, his reactions to discovering something new were amusing.

(I stood up, thigh-deep... My hands trembled.)

Ares nodded. "Combination of adrenaline and fear." He said, leaning back. Now that the action was over, he was already bored again.

"Probably the last of the poison leaving your system, as well." Apollo added.

Percy just blinked at him, although it was odd that he was healed so quickly... with that much potent poison in him, it should have taken a few minutes for it to have been purged. Especially since it had already reached his heart and was doing its damage there. He didn't know that Poseidon was having the same thoughts, while internally hoping that he'd had something to do with that.

(I should've been dead.)

Sally paled and made a choked noise at this reminder that he barely survived. Paul grimaced and just held onto her.

(The fact that I wasn't seemed like ... well, a miracle.)

"Sadly, miracles like this are something you get used to in our lives." Chris said, looking around at his half-siblings and cousins. They grimaced, but nodded, while Paul looked horrified at the reminder of how much death and danger these kids were exposed to. Almost daily, especially those who lived outside of camp.

(I imagined a woman's voice... Percy, what do you say?)

"I don't think you would be imagining it..." Poseidon said, leaning forward in interest. He got a few startled and confused looks.

"If this is a Naiad messenger, then whoever she is should take this as a compliment." Amphitrite whispered to her husband. He quirked a quick grin at her in response.

("Um ... thanks." Underwater... "Thank you ... Father.")

"It wasn't me, so much as it was your own natural ability, but you're welcome, son." Poseidon said, slightly amused. Percy gave him a small smile, happy to be called 'son'.

(No response. Just the dark drift of garbage downriver,)

Poseidon scowled. Downriver and straight into the ocean. He also winced at the 'no response' comment. He was really hoping that he took this chance to at least send a messenger. Something... this would be a perfect chance for a messenger.

(the enormous catfish gliding... the color of butterscotch.)

"It would have been beautiful if it was cleaner." Percy said wistfully. He earned a few strange looks, but he ignored them. So what if he appreciated the beauty of anything aquatic, he was the son of Poseidon, he was allowed that.

Triton smirked. "It was. Way back before industry started to kick off. I'll have to show it to you sometime." He said with a grin, making everybody look confused except for his mother and father. None of them offered to explain, either.

(Why had Poseidon saved... the more ashamed I felt.)

"Ashamed of what? There's nothing about this situation to be ashamed about." Poseidon said, confused. Percy didn't answer, instead he watched Katie as she kept reading after a moment of silence, when it became clear he wasn't answering.

(So I'd gotten lucky a... never stood a chance.)

"That's nothing to be ashamed over. You only had two, three weeks of solid training, if that. There was nothing wrong with your performance on the Arch." Poseidon said, shaking his head, to much agreement from those Percy fought beside. Annabeth just sighed and rubbed his hand between hers in silent support. She knew how he could get sometimes.

(Those poor people in the Arch were probably toast.)

"No." Poseidon and Annabeth immediately denied. They both glanced towards the younger Percy. His eyes were wide, he didn't know what to think in this instance, where he might be responsible for somebodies death.

"As soon as you jumped, the Chimera and Echidna would have left. They have no interest in mortals, especially if they're there to hunt a specific demigod." Poseidon said, reassuring his youngest, who still looked a little unsure.

(I couldn't protect them... join the bottom feeders.)

Annabeth sighed. "Do you have to be so dramatic sometimes?" She asked, shaking her head. Percy just grinned sheepishly while Sally and Amphitrite shook their heads.

"Don't worry dear, his father is the same way." Amphitrite informed, looking at her husband fondly. He didn't even pretend to be sheepish about it.

Everyone else was staring at Percy like they'd never seen him before.

(Fump-fump-fump. A riverboat's... hilt sticking up in the mud.)

"Whoa. You're lucky it didn't sink in all the way. Especially since it didn't come back to your pocket immediately like it normally does." Leo commented from his corner, looking up from where he was still putting pieces of his whip together.

(I heard that woman's... father believes in you.")

"Yes, I do." Poseidon murmured quietly.

(This time, I knew the... water like dolphin sonar.)

"How would you know what that sounds like?" Piper asked, cocking her head.

"Instinct." Percy said, shrugging. "Same way I knew it was a conch shell my first night at camp, despite never hearing one before." She nodded in understanding.

("Where are you?" I called... the color of the water,)

"If it wasn't for all the dirt and trash, I never would have seen her." Percy said, shaking his head.

(a ghost in the current, floating just above the sword.)

Poseidon's eyes narrowed. Now why would she be holding onto the sword, and keeping it from returning to Percy's pocket?

(She had long billowing... my throat. I said, "Mom?")

Sally and Amphitrite both winced. "No, dear. That's probably one of my sisters." Amphitrite said softly. Annabeth looked at Percy in concern when he looked down, while Triton pulled Percy closer to him when the boy looked down at the reminder that his mother had disappeared.

Hera smiled, here was what a mother-child relationship should be like... she looked towards her sons and frowned. Why couldn't they be like that with her? Ares and Hephaestus noticed her looking and glanced at each other, rolling their eyes. They knew what she was thinking about.

She would never get it, would she? She was never a mother to them, so they were never the sons she wanted them to be. She never made any effort towards having any kind of meaningful relationship with them, and eventually they just gave up trying to have one with her. That was the only thing the brothers agreed on, and that was that she was a terrible mother. Aunt Amphitrite was more a mother to them. (That, and she threw Hephaestus off the mountain side because he didn't look like her vision of perfect. Of course, that didn't help his looks at all...)

The other demigods looked at Percy in concern, too. And, of course, the usual jealousy about having such a good relationship with his mortal parent. But, still. He thought his mom was dead at this point. And then for somebody who resembled her so much to suddenly appear...

This was going to be cruel when the messenger left.

("No, child, only a messenger... hopeless as you believe.)

"I imagine that knowing she was still alive is the only reason I wasn't marching my own armies down to the Underworld by now." Poseidon mused thoughtfully. Nico and Hazel blanched at the thought of that happening while Hades scowled.

Oh, he better not do that, ever.

(Go to the beach in Santa Monica.")

"She won't be able to stay there for much longer. Too much pollution. But, she would be able to hold a longer conversation with him at Santa Monica, and it's in LA, which is where he's going anyway." Poseidon said in satisfaction. He was also a little frustrated, knowing that he wouldn't be able to meet with his son himself. Zeus would be watching him too closely, and he would be overseeing war preparations and trying to keep tempers cooled so that nobody did anything rash.

Including his own temper...

He could only hope that Percy succeeded and those war preparations wouldn't be needed.

("What?"

"It is your father's will... is too foul for my presence.")

Amphitrite nodded. "She is a Naiad from the ocean, she cannot survive in fresh water. Especially fresh water as polluted and filthy as that river is." She said, worried about her kin. Either way, she would be a member of Poseidon's court, whether she was one of Amphitrite's own sisters or cousins was another question. The description Percy gave was not enough to tell who she was, they all had similar green eyes.

("But ..." I was sure this... or a vision of her, anyway.)

Sally and Amphitrite winced again. This was going to be torture on the boy, this messenger wouldn't be able to stay long, not in this river.

("Who-how did you-"... jammed up in my throat.)

Nobody said anything. Sally suddenly leaned over and murmured something to Hestia, who nodded and Sally disappeared off to somewhere. When Katie looked at her uncertainly, Hestia smiled and urged her to keep reading. Sally was going to keep herself busy in the kitchens for a bit. She would be back when she was ready to be.

Everybody glanced towards the doors in concern, but let Katie continue.

("I cannot stay, brave one,"... gifts..." Her voice faded.)

"Oh!" Annabeth suddenly gasped, grabbing Percy's arm in a death grip.

"What?" Percy yelped, startled and in a little bit of pain.

"The gifts." She hissed. "What if she was talking about the shoes? Or the bag of supplies and transport we got from Ares?" She asked quietly. They all ignored the questioning glances, or the fact that Percy and Annabeth were having a similar conversation in the corner.

"How would she have known about the supplies and transportation?" Grover asked, having heard her.

"Ares didn't show up until we were in Denver the next day."

"Ok, then, maybe not the supplies and transport. But the shoes?" She asked.

"You think maybe my father knew something was wrong with them? And sent her to warn me about them?" He asked.

"Maybe, unless she was talking about something else entirely. And obviously he didn't know what was wrong with them." She said, shrugging, and finally releasing his arm. She turned to Katie expectantly, waiting for her to keep reading as if she never interrupted.

("Gifts?" I asked. "What gifts? Wait!")

"The only gifts you've received so far... is Riptide and the shoes from Luke..." Apollo said thoughtfully. "Why would she be telling you not to trust them?" He knew that Luke had something to do with what was going on, he just didn't know how deep over his head the son of Hermes was.

"One of them might be tampered with in some way." Poseidon offered. And he knew it wasn't Riptide. Which meant the shoes... he knew that Luke was the one who stole the Bolt, question was, why would he curse the shoes? Athena scowled in frustration, not knowing what was going on and not liking it at all.

(She made one more attempt... but the sound was gone.)

"She was there too long as it was, the river spirits had to get her out of there before the pollution and freshwater started affecting her health in the long term." Amphitrite said, grimacing. "She probably still had to spend a day or so with the Healers." She explained.

"I thought you said earlier that water was water." Annabeth said, tilting her head.

"It is... but you can't take a freshwater fish and expect it to survive in salt water. Naiads are the same way. Some can survive in both salt and fresh, but some can only live for so long in one or the other. Besides, most of the problem here would be the pollution." Percy was the one that answered her. When she still looked like she didn't quite get it, Poseidon picked it up.

"Say, you go from living at Camp, where the air and water are clean. Then, you go somewhere like... say Delhi, India. One of the most polluted cities in the world. You would have quite the hard time breathing for a while. It might even make you sick because you're not used to it and your body won't know how to handle the contaminants your suddenly breathing in." He explained. "It's the same principle." Now she understood.

(Her image melted away... I had lost her again.)

"Oh, Percy." Sally suddenly sighed, she came back just in time to hear that. With a batch of cookies in one hand. How on earth could she make them so fast?

(I felt like drowning myself... was immune to drowning.)

"I wouldn't call that a problem." Sally deadpanned, while looking at her son in worry.

"At that moment it seemed like one." Percy muttered, munching on his cookie with less enthusiasm that usual. He looked up and sighed. "This is the only time I've felt like it, don't worry." He reassured.

A few still didn't look convinced, but they let Katie keep reading.

(Your father believes in... was talking to the catfish.)

Everybody laughed, grateful that at least Percy's humor didn't take long to come back. After that last chapter, they needed something to laugh about that wasn't somebody trying to break tension, however momentary it was.

(I waded toward Riptide and... waiting to finish me off.)

"No, they would have left as soon as you entered the water. The rivers may be outside my jurisdiction, but the water itself is still technically my territory." Poseidon instantly denied.

"And I just love the descriptions he comes up with." Travis muttered to his brother, who nodded. Only Percy would dare call one of the most feared monsters a 'snaky, fat mother'.

(At the very least, the... they'd have some questions.)

"Oh, yeah." A few people blinked. In all the excitement about the Chimera, they'd forgotten that Percy also happened to be in trouble with the mortal authorities.

"You might want to stay away from the police." Luke advised. It was the first he'd spoken in a while.

"No kidding." Percy grumbled. Annabeth hid a smile and patted him on the shoulder consolingly.

(I capped my sword, stuck... again to the dark water.)

Poseidon smiled again. Again, it wasn't him as much as it was his sons own natural abilities as his son. Percy was very powerful, possibly the most powerful of his sons that he ever had.

(Then I kicked up... a floating McDonald's.)

Nico immediately moaned and started drooling with his eyes glazed over just thinking about it. Everyone looked at him sideways and started inching away. The Romans in particular, although Hazel looked more embarrassed than anything, she'd already been exposed to her brothers, ah... habits.

"I knew the kid liked McDonald's, but..." Percy muttered to nobody in particular.

"Give him a cookie, maybe that will snap him out of it." Annabeth suggested. Sally slowly got up and approached him as if she would a wild animal, cookie in hand. She held it up, and, sure enough, Nico snapped out of it, giving her a polite thank you as if he didn't just go off into dreamworld over McDonald's.

"Ok, then." Clarisse breathed. "Moving on." She turned to stare at Katie, who took the hint and started reading.

(A block away, every emergency... surrounding the Arch.)

"Yeah, I bet." Travis muttered, shaking his head.

"You really know how to stir up trouble, Perce!" Connor said cheerfully. Percy just gave him a dry look and acted like they never said anything.

(Police helicopters circled... Square on New Year's Eve.)

"It's amazing how fast a crowd will gather." Will said, whistling. "I mean, it can't have been, five to ten minutes, tops, since the Chimera blew up the Arch? And a crowd that large has already gathered?" He shook his head in amazement.

"What I find amazing, is how mortals will always run towards the danger, instead of away from it." Was Persephone's response. "You ever notice that? Something happens, and a crowd gathers, instead of getting as far away as possible in case it happens again." The mortals and half-mortals in the room looked at each other before they admitted she had a point.

Sally and Paul just shrugged. "Don't ask me, I teach ninth graders, who knows why they do anything." Paul muttered.

(A little girl said, "Mama!... out of the river.")

"Huh." Annabeth said, tilting her head to the side. "Either she was just watching the river instead of all the action, or she's clear-sighted."

"Well, obviously she was watching the river. She saw me walk out of it." Percy said, confused.

"No, but the Mist would have shielded you leaving the river. Now, most kids are clear-sighted, but the Mist will affect them as they grow up, and it's put down to having an active imagination. Not all kids grow up to be affected by the Mist." She gestured towards Sally and Rachel as her examples. "So, either she was just paying more attention to the river, or she's going to grow up to be clear-sighted." She explained more.

"Interesting." He muttered.

("That's nice, dear,"... watch the ambulances.)

Hera narrowed her eyes. "She should pay more attention to her child." She said, crossly.

"While I do agree, in this instance, her inattention is a good thing." Sally pointed out. Hera narrowed her eyes, but huffed in agreement and waved Katie on.

("But he's dry!"

"That's nice, dear.")

Sally, Hera, and Hestia sighed. Of course.

(A news lady was talking... early in the investigation.)

A few people winced. "Yeah, I can see how the first thing they would jump to was terrorists." Clarisse said quietly.

"A National Monument, a big city..." Chris agreed. They glanced around at each other. Sally and Paul were silent, they were remembering the last big attack, when the Towers fell... Sally had a few friends who lost somebody that day. Paul was lucky, his school was supposed to take a field trip there that day, but it got cancelled last minute, they ended up having too few chaperones after a few of them got sick.

Hades tilted his head towards the two mortals when he got their prayers for those lost to that attack.

(The damage, as you can... some of the survivors,)

Everyone who cared breathed a sigh of relief. It was one thing to know that the Chimera should leave the people alone, and another to know that it actually did leave the people alone.

(to question them about... falling from the Arch.")

"I don't think it was hard to miss, unless they thought you were just another piece of flaming debris." Clarisse said, tilting her head to the side in thought. Percy just shrugged.

(Survivors. I felt a surge of... Annabeth and Grover were okay.)

Annabeth slapped his arm. "Of course we were ok, we had just stepped out of the elevator when we heard the explosions. You should worry more about yourself sometimes." She scolded him, while Grover nodded in agreement.

He wished Percy had more self-preservation. He got lucky a lot, and his luck wouldn't hold out forever.

Sally grimaced, but nodded too. She didn't want to lose her son anymore than those two wanted to lose him.

A few of the gods looked thoughtful, his concern for others was what made him a true hero, not like some others. Not like Hercules.

Zeus could be as proud of his son as he wanted, even he couldn't stand the boys attitude and pride. That boy was so full of it... yes he was strong, and yes there was very little he hadn't done. But, at the end of the day, his attitude... He had ended up being somewhat of a disappointment.

So far in the books, Percy was everything Hercules had promised to be, he just needed to training to get there.

(I tried to push through... inside the police line.)

"Don't do that!" Percy was the one to speak this time. He was staring at his older self incredulously.

"They'll know you were up there as soon as they spot your burned up clothes!" Sally just sighed and muttered something about not wanting to know how much experience her son had with remaining unseen by the police.

Percy sighed. "I had to know what happened to everybody else that was up there. This reporter seemed to have answers, so." He shrugged. "And I was being inconspicuous." He defended, although he still didn't know how on earth nobody noticed the state of his clothes from this point, up until he replaced them at Waterland. Percy narrowed his eyes, but admitted that his older self had a point about the people.

"I thought the Mist was covering him." Rachel spoke up.

"It wore off by the time we found him." Annabeth shrugged. "It would have just covered him leaving the river so nobody thought it strange."

("... an adolescent boy," another... on the observation deck,)

"Ah, any chance those cameras missed your face?" Nico asked hopefully. He didn't remember this, this was when he and Bianca were still in the Casino.

"Sorry, man. Not how things work around me." Percy said, shaking his head. Sally sighed.

"I love how one reporter said they had no idea who could have caused the explosion, while another one has access to the security tapes from the observation deck." Chris muttered to his girlfriend. She raised an eyebrow and nodded.

(somehow setting off this... Again, no confirmed fatalities ...")

"No fatalities, period. Luckily." Percy muttered. They had been lucky that none of the mortals got caught up in the explosion or fire. A few heard what he said and nodded in agreement.

(I backed away, trying to keep my head down.)

"And, no. I was not obvious about it." Percy but in while looking at his younger self, who blinked at him innocently. Percy just rolled his eyes and started petting Mrs. O'Leary when she laid her massive head down beside him and whined. All he needed now was Blackjack. He... actually, kind of, missed his Pegasus right now. As much as he didn't want to admit how fond of him he really was.

(I had to go a long way... reporters were everywhere.)

"Ugh, I hate that." All the children of Hermes exclaimed. They then started sharing times when they were trying to get away but the police were all over the place. Chiron just looked at them in exasperation.

He couldn't stop them, not entirely. It was in their natures as children of Hermes, all he could do was try to limit them and make sure they didn't get caught by the mortals. If they started causing too many problems, though... then it was his job to drag them before the Council for punishment.

He was here to limit and teach them to control their impulse so they didn't go on sprees.

He must be doing something right, because there were fewer children of Hermes in prison than one would think.

Sally just gave them all strange looks while Paul looked like he was wondering if he should be hearing any of this, because his first instinct right now was to be calling the police. Sally noticed and whispered in his ear. He looked pained, but he nodded his understanding.

(I'd almost lost hope... Annabeth and Grover)

"I wasn't kidding when I said it was crowded." Percy grumbled. "How did you find me, anyway?" He asked, honestly somewhat confused.

Grover simply tapped his nose, and Percy scowled while Annabeth laughed at him. Grover never would tell him just what he was supposed to smell like, hopefully he didn't smell bad.

(when a familiar voice bleated,... to Hades the hard way!")

"Actually, that would have been the easy, if not more permanent way." Hades helpfully informed the room... and promptly tried to ignore Sally's glare.

That mortal was scary...

(Annabeth stood behind... seemed relieved to see me.)

Annabeth turned red while everyone else laughed. She grumbled something that nobody quite caught, but were pretty sure they knew what it was about.

("We can't leave you alone for five minutes!)

"No, you really can't." Grover informed the group, smiling apologetically at Hazel and Frank, who just sighed. She was already going over their planned route so they could hopefully make it to Alaska in one piece and come back. She had a general idea that Thanatos was being held nearby where she raised him, but she didn't know for sure. There were so many glaciers just in that area alone... let alone the rest of Alaska that he could have moved to.

Apparently, the trick wasn't going to be finding him, it was going to be getting there in one piece with Percy Jackson on their side attracting trouble.

(What happened?"

"I sort of fell.")

"That's one way of putting it." Reyna mumbled, torn between being unimpressed and amusement.

("Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet?")

"That's far." Somebody said. They hadn't known the exact height, until Annabeth mentioned it. They hadn't wanted to know the exact height. Jason had to put his arm around Thalia when she whimpered just thinking about that height.

(Behind us, a cop shouted... a woman on a stretcher.)

"What? Did somebody get caught up in it after all?" Will asked, concerned. His Healers nature was making an appearance.

Percy bit his lip as he tried to remember. "She didn't look hurt..." His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember why she was on a stretcher and not walking.

(I recognized her immediately... fire-breathing Chihuahua-")

"Oh, yeah." He remembered now. "Physically, she was fine. But the memory of what happened sent her into shock." Percy said. When everyone looked at him, he held his hands up in defense. "I overheard one of the medics muttering about it." He said with a shrug.

"The Mist wasn't keeping any of the fight hidden?" Annabeth muttered, shocked. She hadn't picked up on that part earlier. She thought they were scared because the Mist was showing Percy with a weapon or something. Not that they actually saw the Chimera for what it was.

("Okay, ma'am," the... is starting to kick in.")

Sally flinched, thinking back to when she was younger, before she finally figured out that she shouldn't talk about the monsters she saw. Before she met Poseidon. Back then, every teacher, doctor, even her uncle. They were all shoving medication down her throat, convinced she was crazy.

She was convinced she was crazy.

Until she met Poseidon. She'd made the mistake of mentioning the monsters she thought she saw sometimes, but instead of calling her crazy or playing along like he thought she was but he was going to play along anyway, he'd revealed the truth to her. No, she was not crazy. They were really there, hidden behind the Mist. Although, when he told her that he was a god, she was convinced that he was the crazy one.

Well, after she got over her anger and hurt that she'd let herself be strung along like that.

It didn't take long after that to convince her, especially since they were at the beach...

Rachel noticed her flinch. "You, too, huh?" She asked the older woman. Sally just nodded. Poseidon shot her a concerned look, he knew her past with doctors just like this paramedic. She waved him off. She was fine.

She just didn't like doctors trying to medicate her all the time, and then later on when teachers tried to demand her son be medicated... and the school's kept bringing in doctors to make that call, no matter how many times she had to tell those doctors they brought in, 'no'. She refused to let them medicate her son for being different. Refused to have him medicated for something that was his nature as a demigod.

("I'm not crazy! This boy... is! That's the boy!")

"Good thing for you they think everything she's saying is the ramblings of a crazy person." Rachel said with a wince. She felt sorry for the poor woman. She would be lucky if the doctor's didn't try to put her in a mental institute for this. If they didn't, then they would try to have her on medication for the rest of her life.

Hopefully Apollo and Dionysus would step in so that didn't happen. This was their area, after all.

Everyone else grimaced, too. This woman should never have been in this position. Wrong place, wrong time.

(I turned quickly and pulled... on?" Annabeth demanded.)

"I had no idea what had happened. All I knew was that there was an explosion at the top of the Arch right when the elevator reached the bottom. I thought maybe Zeus had used how high up Percy was as an excuse to try and throw another lightning bolt at him." She said with a shrug. She'd really been beating herself up over it, too. She hadn't even thought about how high up they were going and that Percy, as a son of Poseidon, really shouldn't be that high off the ground when Zeus already wanted him dead.

Percy wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

("Was she talking about... the underwater lady's message.)

"While leaving a lot out." Annabeth gave him a reproachful look, to which he cringed at.

("Whoa," said Grover. "We've... a summons from your dad.")

"Well, I could..." Percy said with a small grin. "He would be a little annoyed for a few days before using me ignoring him as an excuse to come find me anyway... maybe spend the day together." He shrugged. Poseidon had done that a few times. Sent him a 'summons' that Percy would then ignore, and then a few days later, they were in New York spending time together as father and son. Everyone caught the jealousy that the other demigods were trying to hide.

Jealousy at the kind of relationship Percy had with both his parents. The kind of relationship every demigod wished they had.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Hermes asked, stunned. Well, besides the fact that he didn't have time to do that... he was lucky if he could take thirty seconds in a day to just sit and do nothing without his phone blowing up with at least a hundred emails or phone calls all at once. As it was, he'd managed to use the time-bubble the Fates had put them inside to finish up the paperwork and delivery orders that he was behind on. As well as go through the fifty thousand emails he'd had cluttering up his inbox, they had all piled up because he just didn't have time to read his emails, especially since they all came in all at once and he had other things to be doing.

This way, once these book readings were done, he could leave the palace with everything caught up and hopefully be more on top of everything for at least a week before things started getting away from him again.

He needed an assistant or something... that way he could spend some time with his children.

(Before Annabeth could respond... he said, "Percy Jackson.)

"Oh, that's not good." Everyone said. Percy winced, before shaking his head.

(That's right, Dan. Channel... is a photo of Percy Jackson.")

"That's even worse!" Thalia groaned.

"Well, that explains the 'wanted fugitive' bit. His name and face just got plastered all over national television. It's not just the east coast that's looking for him, now." Rachel said, then she tilted her head. "Actually, I think I remember this now." She thought for a few minutes. Then her face cleared up and she snapped her fingers. "Yeah! Dad was going on and on about how no child of his would ever be pulling stunts like that... and how Clarion's was going to be a good school for making sure I didn't follow your example." She finished with a glare.

Percy went wide-eyed. "How is that my fault?" He yelped. "You said Clarion's was your mothers old school, and your dad wanted you there because of that!" He exclaimed.

She shrugged. "True, but he didn't become so insistent about it until after hearing about you on the news." Percy groaned.

(We ducked around the... to get out of town!")

"That's a good start." Nico agreed while munching on cookies, content. He'd been quiet so far.

Percy shook his head fondly, give the guy some of Sally's baked goods or McDonald's, and he was like a whole other person sometimes. He was actually acting his age, for the most part. It was amazing, really.

(Somehow, we made it... without getting spotted.)

"Which was a miracle of its own." Annabeth grumbled.

"Not really, I knew what I was doing." Percy said with a frown. She just tilted her head at him while Sally planted her face in her hands and shook her head. She really did not want to know.

(We got on board the... the St. Louis skyline behind us.)

"Huh." Leo said from his corner. "You would think that, after a national monument got blown up, that they would shut down the train and bus stations." His head was cocked to the side.

"They did... after our train left. They didn't get the call out fast enough to keep us in the city. I found out later that Hermes temporarily cut communications and such, between the train station and the police." Percy said. "On dad's orders." He clarified.

Poseidon grinned.

Hestia looked at the time. "How long is the next chapter?" She asked Katie.

"Umm... it's fairly long." She frowned at the chapter title. "A god buys us cheeseburgers, what kind of chapter is that?"

"Um, the kind that Ares is going to read." Percy immediately said.

"Wha- I'm not reading that thing!" Ares insisted. "How is there any action in buying cheeseburgers?"

"Well, those were pretty good burgers..." Percy said fondly. Despite where the burgers came from... Next thing Ares knew, the book was in his hand and Percy was glaring at him from underneath his hood, silently making it clear that he was reading.

"This should be an interesting chapter..." Dionysus drawled, finding himself interested despite himself.

Ares glared around the room one more time before starting to read after Hestia announced lunch and some free time after this chapter. Chapter fifteen: A God Buys us Cheeseburgers

Notes:

Despite how strongly I am coming on about these topics, I am not an environmental activist. I do believe strongly that people should take better care of our planet and the environment around us, however. It is our home, you wouldn't leave trash and such laying around your house, why do people think it's ok to leave trash and such laying around our planet? That just doesn't make sense to me.

Wrong month, wrong day. But, that doesn't matter when it comes to honoring fallen heroes or victims to an attack like that. Take a moment and just think about them. I myself was too young at the time to know what was going on on 9/11. Most of the country now, is too young to really understand, but that doesn't mean we can forget.

Chapter 19: A god Buy's us Cheeseburgers

Notes:

Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven (underline).

Normal talking, telepathy

Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.

Chapter Text

Hestia looked at the time. "How long is the next chapter?" She asked Katie.

"Umm... it's fairly long." She frowned at the chapter title. "A god buys us cheeseburgers, what kind of chapter is that?"

"Um, the kind that Ares is going to read." Percy immediately said.

"Wha- I'm not reading that thing!" Ares insisted. "How is there any action in buying cheeseburgers?"

"Well, those were pretty good burgers..." Percy said fondly. Despite where the burgers came from... Next thing Ares knew, the book was in his hand and Percy was glaring at him from underneath his hood, silently making it clear that he was reading.

"This should be an interesting chapter..." Dionysus drawled, finding himself interested despite himself.

Ares glared around the room one more time before starting to read after Hestia announced lunch and some free time after this chapter. Chapter fifteen: A God Buys us Cheeseburgers

(The next afternoon,... days before the solstice,)

Everyone winced when they heard the date, and how much time they had left. Well, at least they were out west now...? That was the longest part, although they still had to find a way to get the rest of the way to California.

(our train rolled into Denver... car, somewhere in Kansas.)

A few demigods winced. "Out of money?" Katie asked, ignoring Ares glare for interrupting a chapter that he didn't want to read in the first place. Percy and Annabeth just nodded. That was a fairly common problem for demigods. Especially considering that sometimes all their supplies get destroyed in a fight.

"We went as cheap as we could with the food, while still getting a decent amount, but..." Percy shrugged. Sally frowned in concern.

(We hadn't taken... sure that was obvious.)

"At least you got to clean off in the Mississippi." Annabeth grumbled.

"Clea- Did you not hear the description of how dirty the Mississippi was?" Percy asked, surprised and shocked.

"Yes, I did. Fact remains, you are a son of Poseidon and you took a swim. That always cleans you off, no matter how dirty you or the water seem to be. I'm just surprised that nobody ever commented on the state of your clothes. As burnt up as they were." She answered. He blinked at her before deciding to sit back and shut up.

("Let's try to contact... talk with the river spirit.")

Percy and Annabeth shared a glance before Percy glared briefly at Luke, who winced. He had, maybe, kind of... held back most of the information Percy gave him to pass on to Chiron. Chiron had been under the impression that things were going well, and they were doing better than they actually were.

Of course, it wasn't until he had already left before Percy and Chiron themselves realized that , but…

("We can't use... talking about phones.")

"I really wish you would be explaining things a bit more, instead of just expecting him to know what you're talking about." Sally sighed. Annabeth turned a little pink.

(We wandered through... Annabeth was looking for.)

Grover huffed out a laugh. "Neither did I, and I actually knew what we were doing." He informed the room, which laughed. Annabeth scowled playfully at him, and he stuck out his tongue.

(The air was dry and... do-it-yourself car wash.)

"What?" Reyna asked, very confused. A few others were as well, while most of the Greeks now understood.

She was looking for somewhere to make a mist, so she could create a rainbow. A car wash would be perfect, the only problem would be if somebody came in to use it while they were trying to talk to Chiron.

"I was looking for somewhere to send a message. That car wash was perfect." Annabeth explained, giving Reyna and the other confused Romans a strange look. The other Greeks were giving the same look, as a matter of fact. Chiron chuckled, but didn't say anything.

(We veered toward the... were up to no good.)

"Especially if one of them happens to recognize Percy from the newspapers." Leo pointed out, Percy shot him a mild glare for reminding them all of that, since Sally looked at him in worry again. He just shrugged, unrepentant. It needed to be said, and he would keep pointing it out until the authorities stopped looking for him.

("What exactly are... the spray gun.)

"That's a good question." Even Jason was confused. He couldn't think why they needed to be there.

("It's seventy-five... from Medusa's place.)

"What would you have done if you didn't have that last Drachma?" Piper asked, curious.

Annabeth made a face. "I would have figured something out. Probably tried to call collect or something." She said quietly. She hadn't even thought of that until they were right there fishing in their pockets for quarters.

"Does she even do collect calls?" Clarisse wondered out loud.

"Yes." Nico and Percy said immediately, they looked at each other before quickly looking away. Annabeth looked at them sadly, were they ever going to clear the air between them?

Sure, they were better than they were right after Bianca died and Nico ran, but still...

Everyone else blinked, slightly confused about why those two would know that, but not everybody else, before they let it go. They would find out eventually.

("Excellent," Grover said... gets tired of pumping.")

"Uh, huh?" Gwen asked, severely confused now.

Greeks were strange, she knew that, but this was another level of strange completely.

Ares was currently cursing his existence, wondering why on earth he was having to read this, there was no fighting going on at all!

("What are you talking about?")

"That's what I want to know." The Romans all muttered, along with Percy . They were extremely confused. They should be finding a way to get further west, and instead they were spending what little money they had left at a car wash.

(He fed in the quarters... messaging?"

"Iris-messaging,")

"Oh." Reyna said, suddenly understanding. She had heard about that, it was an old Greek practice, she didn't think it would still be used anymore, honestly. She knew the Romans didn't, but she didn't think the Greeks themselves still did. Jason looked like he understood now, too. As Praetor, the two of them did have access to information the rest of the Legion didn't have.

"What?" Frank asked, somewhat confused now. Reyna and Jason may have an idea of what was going on, but that didn't mean the rest of them had any idea.

"Hold on, I think I explained." Annabeth said, tilting her head to the side, trying to remember back. A lot had happened between this call from the car wash and now, after all.

(Annabeth corrected. "The... the same for half-bloods.")

Hazel , Percy , and Frank all glanced at each other before they had to look away or risk rolling on the floor laughing. They were the only ones who knew the truth, after all. She may be in charge, but she only carried the occasional message if it was really important. Fleecy, though... Fleecy was pretty cool.

They liked the phrase for getting her attention a lot better than they liked the one for getting Iris' attention. Iris didn't even pay attention anyway, so…

("You summon the... a spray gun?")

The Greeks suddenly found themselves having coughing fits, while the Romans looked scandalized at the disrespect implied in the question. Although they didn't say anything once they noticed the amusement in most of the Olympians' expressions, while Hermes, Apollo, and Poseidon had no problem laughing outright.

"Not with a spray gun, no. But it was needed this time." Annabeth said, amused. She hadn't given his comment the proper attention she should have the first time, now that she knew him better, she could find proper amusement out of it.

(Grover pointed the nozzle... to make a rainbow.")

"That makes much more sense." Reyna said, talking solely to her legionnaires. They nodded.

"Greeks are weird, though." Gwen said simply. Jason nodded his agreement.

"You haven't lived with them for the past few months. Percy may have been asleep, and then with Lupa for a few months, but I've been awake and with them the whole time." He informed his people. Although, he wasn't quite sure about that, anymore. His time with the Greeks had changed him... he wouldn't go so far as to call himself Greek, but no longer could he call himself completely Roman. Whereas before going to Camp Half-Blood, he was often told that he was the model Roman soldier...

"If they are anything like what we saw from the one day he was with us, I believe it." Frank muttered.

"Well, Percy is considered their camp leader..." Jason trailed off with a shrug.

"If you had had time before going on this quest to develop and train your powers, you could have done this without using what little money you had left." Poseidon told the rest of the room with a frown, while the Romans had their conversation separately. He didn't like that the boy was out here, on a quest, without even knowing the most basic of his abilities. So far, all he really knew was that he could breathe underwater and that water healed him. That wasn't really helpful in a combat situation. Percy blinked at him before groaning. Annabeth and Grover made faces of their own.

(Sure enough, late... accept our offering.")

Frank , Hazel , and Percy glanced at each other again, before whispering something to the rest of their companions. The rest of the throne room was very curious about what they found so funny.

(She threw the drachma... a golden shimmer.)

The more observant demigods realized that this was exactly what happened with Sally. Did this mean she was never dead... she was taken instead? But who? And why?

The Romans were just listening in interest.

("Half-Blood Hill,"... moment, nothing happened.)

"Ah, perhaps if you had been more specific?" Chiron suggested. "And requested myself, instead of just using the destination?" Annabeth flushed a slight red, that would have probably helped.

Only three people in the room knew that it wasn't a matter of not being specific enough, more likely Fleecy was busy in the shop and had to take a minute to reach the set up in back so she could put the call through. She didn't have the control over rainbows and such that Iris did, so she had some equipment that gave her that control.

(Then I was looking... porch of the Big House.)

Chiron tilted his head, but didn't say anything. That was where he could usually be found. When not dealing with problems or teaching a class, that was.

(Standing with his back... down in the meadow.)

"What were you watching, anyway?" Percy asked curiously. Luke blinked at him for a moment, trying to remember back. Surprisingly, it was Clarisse that answered.

"Ares and Athena cabins were probably going at it again." Clarisse shrugged. Luke turned to her in surprise. "What? It happened often enough while those three were gone, it's not much of a guess." She asked defensively.

Chiron groaned and hid his head in his hands, his tail flicking in agitation. Those two fighting was always the worst to deal with. Athena campers may value smarts more than they did physical prowess, but they were still the most war-like campers aside from Ares. And they were always going at it. Annabeth and Clarisse both looked at him apologetically, but didn't say anything. They did their best to mediate so he didn't have to get involved, but that didn't always happen.

Of course, there were the times when those two were the ones starting the worst of the fights... especially back then.

Annabeth and Clarisse just glanced at each other before glancing away just as quickly, not wanting Chiron to start lecturing them right now.

("Luke!" I called... a screen of mist,)

"It was very surprising the first time." Percy said with a shrug.

"Hmm. Would Iris do the same for Romans, or is it just Greeks?" Reyna asked after a moment. "Because something like this would be extremely helpful." Mostly, she was thinking about the times they got a message from a legionnaire out in the field requesting backup, only to get there and find out they were already gone. If they could have a faster messaging system, they could get to them quicker. Yes, Romans were all about having an honorable death, and going out fighting while doing their jobs and all that, but that didn't mean she liked reading the casualty reports.

Every name on those reports was one less able fighter they had available when something happened. One more friend that they had to prepare funeral rites for.

Jason gave her a glance, he knew what she was thinking about. They had many, many late night discussions talking about ways they could communicate with those sent out on quests or missions. They couldn't use mortal cell phones, monsters would just sense them. The postal system was too slow, and sometimes even the eagles weren't fast enough. If they were even sent with an eagle at all. They weren't usually.

"I don't know." Percy said, in answer to Reyna's question. He raised an eyebrow at Chiron, who shrugged. He didn't know, either. IM'ing had always been a Greek thing, and Romans didn't like Greeks enough to copy or adapt any of their methods. At least, they never had in the past.

Reyna frowned and made a mental note to look into it when they got back.

(except I could only see... Are you guys okay?")

"We saw the newspapers about the bus accident and the St. Louis Arch. Of course, none of us had any idea what happened exactly, we only knew what little the mortals knew." Luke said with a shrug when everyone looked at him odd. They were trying to figure out why that statement sounded almost desperate.

"We never would have guessed at the, ah... extent, of what really happened during those events." Clarisse said, nodding in agreement. Although she grimaced at agreeing with Luke about anything. Despite the conversations the demigods had, she highly doubted if she could ever trust him. Not again.

("We're... uh... fine," Annabeth stammered.)

Thalia sighed and glanced at Annabeth, deadpan. Seriously?

Annabeth was avoiding looking at either Luke, red-faced. When Annabeth looked at Percy, he was too busy finding the wall interesting and having a stony expression on his face. She sighed, thinking about how much her and Percy fought about Luke, especially while they were down in the Labyrinth, before Kronos rose...

Athena looked between Luke and Annabeth again and returned to her plans on separating her daughter from that sea-spawn. The Luke boy looked much more respectable, and much better for her Annabeth... although she never thought she would think that of any son of that thief.

(She was madly straightening... out of her face.)

Luke chuckled, not even trying to hide the amusement this time. "Hate to say it Annabeth, but that was about how I expected you to look. You were on a quest, and after the bus incident... I was expecting you to look pretty rough." Annabeth turned red.

It didn't help that the other demigods were snickering, especially those who had gone on long quests before, not just combat missions during the war. Unfortunately, that number wasn't that large, Annabeth and Percy were the ones who were assigned the big quests, while everyone else was sent out on missions. However, they were all well aware of just what a demigoddess could look like after a few days away from camp, after a few days of sleeping in train cars, buses, or out in the open.

Aphrodite frowned. Just because they were on a quest, that was no excuse for the girl to not take better care of her appearance, or for her to not try to fix it when faced with the boy she obviously, at the time, liked.

Percy frowned at all the snickering demigods and gave a perfect New York taxi-cab whistle to get their attention. The demigods quickly got the message and shut up.

("We thought-Chiron-I mean-")

Chiron nodded. "Yes, I believe if you had been more specific." He said again. "But, otherwise, the porch of the Big House is where I can usually be found if I'm not teaching a class or settling a dispute." Not that the latter happened often. The children were fairly good about settling things themselves. Most of the time.

When Apollo's cabin was involved, though... that's when he usually had to step in just to save them all from Dionysus' annoyance. He never appreciated it when the Apollo cabin cursed another cabin, especially when they used the one that forced them to speak in rhymes. Or limerick's. That one was the worst. If there were three cabins that he hated having to break up from a fight, it was Ares, Athena, and Apollo.

("He's down at... with the campers.)

"Like what? Everyone usually gets along pretty well." Beckendorf said, slightly confused. It had to be serious if Chiron had to go settle it.

The older ones just glared at a wall while Luke shifted, uncomfortable. Hermes blinked at him and sighed.

Issues that he caused…

(Listen, is everythin... Is Grover all right?")

Thalia frowned. "Way to redirect the conversation." She grumbled.

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to know more about what was going on at camp while we were gone." Annabeth said with a frown. Luke quirked a grin, but didn't say anything. He had been more concerned with Annabeth on this quest. Also, he had his orders to make sure they stayed on track to go to the Underworld. He had been worried that Ares wouldn't perform as he was supposed to, but he supposed he shouldn't have underestimated Kronos.

Luke glanced around, but decided to keep quiet and keep listening. After all, if he was going to carry out his orders, he needed to know everything that happened and went wrong so he could make sure it didn't go wrong again.

He just hoped that he wasn't revealed in these books. Fates orders and older demigods there to keep the fighting to a minimum or not, he had no doubt that Zeus would have a lightning bolt with his name on it if he was revealed to be an agent of Kronos.

("I'm right here," Grover... "What kind of issues?")

"Like Beckendorf said, the campers usually get along pretty easily." Grover said with a shrug. Besides, he was a Satyr, knowing what was going on around camp was part of his job. Well, when he was in camp and not out scouting for more demigods.

Ares growled, getting annoyed that he could barely get a sentence out before being interrupted. He was wondering why those brats of Uncle Poseidon's were so insistent that he read this chapter. There was no action.

(Just then a big Lincoln... to maximum hip-hop.)

Even Apollo grimaced at the music choice. He regretted ever coming up with hip-hop, and then letting it continue to exist. It had come about when he was having a bad time with something, it had been a phase he went through, one that everyone else was grateful he snapped out of relatively quickly, but the music had unfortunately stayed.

(As the car slid into... vibrated so much,)

Grover and his younger self both shook their heads, holding their ears. One as he remembered that, the other in pain just thinking about it.

Piper grimaced, thinking about all the business associates and colleagues of her fathers that she interacted with, and how they were the types of people to be blaring the music like this without any regard for the people around them. Rich people who thought they could do anything they wanted just because they were rich.

(it shook the pavement.)

"Wow." Apollo said in surprise. "How does that person have any eardrums? That is loud, far louder than the human ear can handle, especially if he does that all the time."

"He did seem pretty hard of hearing when we went to talk to him, about turning it down." Annabeth said in agreement after a moment. Apollo frowned.

"And how would you know what the human ear can handle?" Athena scoffed.

Apollo's frown turned into a scowl when he turned to glare at her. "I do happen to be the god of healing. I know everything there is to know about medicine and the human body. Most medical techniques used today were invented by either myself, or by one of my children, or by both. Don't you dare say that I know nothing of my own domains, I am sick and tired of you doing that." He hissed.

There was silence for a moment, as Athena gaped at him, mouth hanging open like a fish. They had never seen Apollo lose it like that, but most of them knew that the normally laid back god was finally having enough of her high-minded ways, and how she was always trying to tell them all facts and such about their domains, as if they didn't already know everything there was to know about those subjects.

It was highly insulting.

Ares cleared his throat, eyeing his half-brother in concern, before he kept reading.

("Chiron had to- what's... to get out of sight.)

Which naturally brought another round of snickering until they caught sight of Percy's glare and shut up.

("Grover, come on!")

"Wait, you wanted the Satyr with sensitive hearing, to go closer to the very loud noise that was probably already hurting his ears." Clarisse said, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

Annabeth blinked at her in surprise before her eyes widened in horror. "Oh, my gods. Grover! I'm so sorry, I didn't think about..."

"Don't worry about it." Grover cut her off with a small smile.

"But..." He just waved her off again, while his younger self did the same with Annabeth when she tried to apologize for not considering that, even though she hadn't been the one to do that.

("What?" Grover said... the Oracle at Delphi,)

"Hey!" Most of the girls protested while the guys nodded in agreement.

"My Oracle isn't that hard to understand." Apollo grumbled, frowning.

"Yes, yes she is." All the demigod said at once. Even Chiron! Apollo sank down in his seat, pouting.

(then he handed me... and still see Luke.)

Poseidon sighed again and glanced at his wife, "We are bringing him to the Palace, and teaching him about his abilities. BEFORE this quest happens." He said, she nodded in agreement.

"Poseidon..." Zeus said in warning.

"And you cannot stop me, if I want to teach my only demigod son about his abilities, then that is exactly what I will do." Poseidon rumbled, turning to his brother with a glare. "All my other demigod children had their older siblings to teach them, all the other demigods at camp have older siblings to teach them what they are capable of, my son is the only one that doesn't. Well... mostly." He amended, glancing at Thalia and Nico. Jason and Hazel to a lesser extent, since they were Roman, and Jason probably had a few Legacies around to show him the ropes. Nico would have taught Hazel all he could.

The demigods all blinked at Poseidon, and then glanced at their respective parents, wondering why none of them ever paid them half the attention that Poseidon tried to pay Percy. They knew it could be just because Percy had no siblings to watch over him like they did.

("Chiron had to break... Zeus- Poseidon standoff.)

"I wonder who leaked it." Clarisse muttered with a glare. Luke laughed nervously, edging away from her subtly. He didn't want to be anywhere near her or her spear. Which she just happened to be polishing at that very moment.

He remembered how much that thing hurt. And he had no intention of being on the other end of it right now.

In fact, most of the demigods had their weapons out at that moment and were doing maintenance, it was something to do with their hands, especially since the poker games had been temporarily banned when it became a little too competitive.

Even Rachel had taken out a small blade, enchanted to turn into a necklace and made just for her so that she could still use it despite not having godly blood powering the magic needed to turn it back and forth between being a charm and being a blade. But then, she was the Oracle. So, she did have some innate magic...

Beckendorf and Leo were still in the corner making Leo's new whip, and Hephaestus had sat down nearby the other demigods, having spotted a few nicks in their blades from a distance, and was waiting for them to bring them to him for him to fix. His sons had reached the point where they could finish on their own, he was really only needed to do a few of the enchantments over the materials and help provide what Leo's tool belt couldn't.

Taking a chance, Jason had already spoken to him about his lost coin/sword/spear, and the blacksmith had promised to see what he could later that night. Of course, he wasn't going to make it exactly like it had been. It had been a great creation, though, so he was just going to add a few enchantments to make it harder to lose (kind of like Riptide) and harder to break.

Ares was watching the demigods taking care of their weapons in approval, while some of the other parents were wondering why some of the weapons looked like they had been taken from a monster as spoils and made their own. The younger demigods just blinked at their older selves.

Chiron was just surprised they were managing to sit still for so long, and was glad they were finding things to do. Although the fact that Percy and Annabeth were staring at Ares while running a stone over their blades probably didn't bode well for the war god...

(We're still not sure... summoned the hellhound.)

"At least you admitted it." Travis muttered, and Luke flinched slightly. He deserved that, Annabeth had been right there . Not to mention, he had come to like Percy. Although, that hadn't stopped him from summoning the thing and setting it on him to begin with...

(Now the campers are... Poseidon, more or less.)

"More or less?" Clarisse asked, confused. "There was no 'more or less' about it. We were backing Poseidon, end of story." She scowled.

"What about the other cabins? You only named three." Athena said, she already knew who her children would be backing.

"Wimps were trying to stay out of it." Clarisse's scowl deepened, and Frank frowned at his Greek sister. There was nothing wrong with staying out of something that wasn't your fight, maybe those others were just more willing to admit that Poseidon had nothing to do with the theft and were trying to figure out what really happened.

(Athena is backing Zeus.")

"Of course I was." Athena sniffed. Then glanced at her daughter, wondering again why the girl was going out with the sea-spawn. Didn't she know better?

(I shuddered to think... volume decreased drastically.)

"You know, you never did tell me what you guys did over there." Percy said, tilting his head to the side. Annabeth immediately turned a bright red and glared at Grover when he opened his mouth to answer. Percy blinked and looked at her, shocked, along with everyone else. Just what on earth happened to cause this kind of reaction?

Unfortunately, no amount of begging could get her to talk. When he tried to break out what she dubbed the 'baby seal' eyes, she just looked away biting her lip. If she couldn't see them, then he couldn't use them to get her to cave. It wouldn't happen. Finally, he huffed and admitted defeat.

Although, now he was really curious. Whereas before, it was just a passing thought.

("So what's your... including my dreams.)

"Trusting. Especially after that prophecy." Apollo muttered with a frown. The future demigods frowned, too. They hadn't realized just how much Percy trusted Luke.

Percy had had doubts about Grover, and even Annabeth. Briefly, but they had been there. But... he didn't hesitate in the slightest to trust Luke, there had been no doubts here.

Percy just looked mad at himself, for just trusting the older boy like that. He hadn't even shown Grover this kind of trust until it was almost winter break.

(It felt so good to... for a few minutes,)

"Things were so much simpler at camp. Out there, everything was complicated, and I had no idea what on earth was going on. There was just so much we didn't know about the situation." Percy trailed off grumbling while Annabeth patted his back in commiseration. A few people frowned, but agreed that he had a point.

Luke's appearance offered a small sliver of familiarity.

(that I didn't realize... took the master bolt.)

"Even that boy agrees it had to be you." Zeus said, glaring at Hades, his paranoia making an appearance again. Hades glared back, making most demigods shiver in fear.

Percy sighed in annoyance. "I've already said, it wasn't him. Don't go blaming others just because you don't want to admit something." They already knew that Kronos was making a comeback, and he knew Zeus was likely already denying anything was wrong.

The older demigods all cast long looks at Luke, they knew why he was pointing fingers in one direction. Only five other people in the room knew why exactly he wanted them in the Underworld so badly. Both of the older versions of both Percy and Annabeth, and Grover. Luke just glanced at them, but didn't say anything.

(He was there at... and we saw him.")

"That's right, everyone seemed to have forgotten that the campers were there at the time, while they're all pointing fingers at each other." Percy muttered. He actually found it somewhat insulting that the gods never once considered that the demigods could have acted on their own. That the demigods couldn't have done it at all. They badly underestimated the demigods, and they paid the price, never even considering that the demigods could be anything but loyal.

They had become dangerously complacent.

"Especially since Zeus was so busy blaming somebody that wasn't even here." Annabeth gestured towards the rest of the throne room, reminding those from the future that they had interrupted the same meeting that book-Luke was currently talking about.

Everyone that was already here for the meeting blinked at the two, but didn't say anything, especially since Poseidon was glaring at Zeus for the reminder that he, Poseidon, was being blamed along with his son.

("But Chiron said the... magic items directly.")

"We can't." Hermes said with a shrug.

"But, I suppose there is nothing stopping us from having somebody else steal it and bring it to us." Apollo added with another shrug.

"That may be, but there are more gods than those in this room. There are plenty of other immortal beings in the world who aren't happy with Zeus's rule or the way the Olympians in general run things." Percy said, again proving his point that the Olympians underestimated everybody else, and how complacent they had become.

Said gods in the room fell silent, thinking about what he said.

("That's true," Luke said... have to be invisible.")

"Oh." Many of the older demigods said in sudden understanding.

"That's how you did it so easily. You stole Annabeth's hat." Thalia was not happy, Luke flinched slightly. The gods looked up, alarmed. Those who already knew it was Luke, were silent, while those who didn't yet know, started scanning the demigods, now that they knew the thief was in the room at this moment.

Luckily, they missed Luke's flinch.

Unfortunately, a few of them remembered the future demigods reactions towards Luke when he showed up, and were now suspicious.

(We were both silent... didn't mean Annabeth.)

"You better not." Thalia muttered darkly, giving him a look that promised pain if he ever did. He flinched again, he had hoped to never end up on the other side of that look again. Once was more than enough for him.

"I'd wondered why you seemed so withdrawn when you came back." Annabeth said, frowning. "You could have told me about this."

Percy shrugged. "How was I supposed to open up that conversation? Besides, I was still thinking about that stupid prophecy."

"You didn't seem to be thinking about that during your conversation with Luke." She answered dryly.

(She and I have... little sister to me.")

Annabeth looked disappointed, while Annabeth raised an eyebrow and leaned over to kiss her Seaweed Brain on the cheek. Luke sighed before reaching over to give Annabeth a side hug before he started whispering in her ear.

Athena narrowed her eyes. Luke seeing her as a sibling changed nothing. After all, they were Greek. Hades was married to his niece, Hera and Zeus were married despite being brother and sister, and she was pretty sure Demeter and Poseidon had a few children running around despite being siblings themselves. She should have no problem getting those two together despite what Luke just said in the book.

(I wondered if Annabeth... the car wash.)

"Whoa."

"Just what did you do?" The Stoll brothers asked in shock as everyone else stared at the girl.

Her face was bright red, and she wasn't meeting anybodies gaze, while Grover was keeping quiet by virtue of the bronze knife sticking out of the couch cushions... right between his legs.

"It's no use." Percy said sadly. "She won't even tell me, and I've asked." Everyone frowned, but the futures knew that if she wouldn't even tell Percy, then they were never going to hear the story. Not even Percy knew...

("You'd better go see... done you some good.")

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover glared at a wall while Luke shifted. He didn't know at the time who was really wearing those shoes, so he'd been surprised when he was punished for not making sure the right person was wearing them. Instead, it was the Satyr.

("Oh ... uh, yeah!"... like a guilty liar.)

"You were somewhat successful." Luke informed him. "Although, now that I know you can do better than that..." He looked at Percy questioningly.

Percy shrugged. "I was tired and hungry." As if that explained everything. And to most of the demigods, it did. It explained everything perfectly.

("Yeah, they've come in handy.")

"That part wasn't even a lie. They really had come in handy." Percy grinned, thinking back to the mental image of Grover whacking Medusa with a stick. He wished he could have seen it, but it was too dangerous at the time to open his eyes. With his luck, he would have looked right into her eyes and been turned to stone the second he glanced up.

Grover figured out what he was thinking about and grinned fondly at the memory.

("Really?" He grinned. "They fit and everything?")

"Surprisingly, yes." Grover answered this time with a shrug. He at least got a few laughs.

(The water shut off... a pine tree if he just-")

Thalia's eyes went wide while Grover cringed. Luke blanched before gulping. He'd forgotten all about that conversation. "Excuse me?" She whispered dangerously, slowly turning to glare at Luke. "What did you just say?" When Luke didn't answer, she growled before getting up and dragging him out the door, sparking electricity as she went. Everyone could see everytime it touched Luke because he would grit his teeth in pain.

Once they were gone, it was a few minutes before everyone heard her starting to yell, followed by cries of pain. Eyes flicked towards the MS.

"What?" Jason asked when they noticed the looks they were getting.

"Aren't you here to stop something like that?" Katie asked.

They were silent for a moment, before Piper spoke up. "He asked for this one." They left it at that.

When Thalia returned, still dragging Luke behind her, she let Apollo give him a square of Ambrosia, just enough to boost healing a bit. She wouldn't let the god of healing do anything else.

Those who didn't know the full story of what happened, or Grover's involvement in getting Thalia to camp, looked confused while it was obvious none of those who knew were going to say anything.

(But the mist was... they saw my face.)

"He looked like somebody kicked his Pegasus while he was down." Annabeth said, amused. Percy grumbled while everyone else either laughed at the description or looked confused.

"Pegasus?" Hazel asked, slightly confused. Horses were only for officers, especially Pegasi. Scipio was the only Pegasus in the Roman camp.

Percy lit up a little. "Yeah, Blackjack. Has an unhealthy obsession with donuts, but he's loyal. He's also one of the fastest Pegasi around and makes a good war-horse." He shrugged.

"Where exactly did he come from again?" Katie asked. She didn't think anybody back in camp had any clue where the black Pegasus came from. Blackjack had just shown up one day, seemed to have some kind of argument with Percy (which was strange to watch), and stayed while letting nobody but Percy ride him. Anybody else who tried could be guaranteed a three day, all expense paid trip to the Infirmary tent.

"He was on the Princess Andromeda, a fight broke out between us, the Party Ponies, and the Titans army that was there, and he managed to escape in the confusion. Since then, he seems determined that I saved him so I am therefore the boss." Percy was resigned. He had become resigned to it years ago, for some reason he found it hard to truly say 'no' to Blackjack. His eyes darkened when he thought about watching the Minotaur throwing a car at his horse. It just clipped them, but it still broke a wing.

Blackjack had just been deemed fit enough to fly with a rider again when he was kidnapped by Hera, and Percy had promised a flight down the East Coast to his favorite donut shop. He was going to have to make it up to the black horse later, although Blackjack would probably complain endlessly about the missed trip.

Most just blinked at the explanation before shrugging it off and labeling it as a 'Percy-thing' and moving on. Others continued to look at him strangely. Poseidon hid his smirk.

(Annabeth's smile faded... say?"

"Not much,")

"Oh, he said a lot more than that." Annabeth grumbled, giving Percy a look, but she didn't really blame him. Luke had given him a lot to think about, not all of it good or true.

(I lied, my stomach... find some dinner.")

"Oh, dear. How will you pay for it?" Sally asked, concerned. They may not have had a lot of money when Percy was younger, but she always managed to put food on the table, and food was usually also included in tuition in some way at his schools.

"We managed." Was all Percy said, giving her a reassuring smile. For some reason it didn't work... not even when she remembered the chapter title.

(A few minutes later... to order dinner.")

"Why else would you be in the diner?" Katie asked rhetorically. Percy shrugged while Thalia and Nico snickered a little.

("You kids have money to pay for it?")

Sally bit her lip, worried, but knew from the chapter title that they got fed, somehow.

She also knew that the gods didn't generally help you out without expecting something in return.

(Grover's lower lip... eating the linoleum.)

"That would be interesting to try and explain." Thalia said after a moment, tilting her head to the side while Grover turned beet red and his younger self looked down.

"Finding food for you would have been the easiest part." Percy said with a frown. "We could have had Annabeth sneak in back and nick a few clean forks or something." Grover blinked, before a slightly dreamy look crossed his face at the thought of good quality forks.

Everyone else just laughed.

(Annabeth looked ready... story for the waitress)

"Hopefully it would have been better than what you thought up for Medusa. That was pathetic." Nico chimed in. Percy glared, but Ares didn't give him a chance to respond.

Nico wondered if he was going to regret that comment later on.

(when a rumble shook... pulled up to the curb.)

Hephaestus raised an eyebrow at his brother, but said nothing. How many times had he worked on that bike? Of course he would recognize it just from that short description alone.

(All conversation in the... headlight glared red.)

Ares paused and quickly read ahead a bit before reading the full description out loud, a sinking feeling in his stomach making itself known. Why would he be there right now? There was nothing of any interest to him on this quest... was there? Well... at least now he knew why the kid wanted him to read, although he hoped he was there to make himself helpful and to not hinder the quest in any way.

Zeus would go ballistic if that happened.

(Its gas tank had... Caucasian human skin.)

"That bike is the form his war chariot is in the most often. It probably is human skin." Hephaestus muttered, examining the Drakon bone sword one of the MS had brought to him. She wanted to know if he would build a scabbard for it or enchant it somehow for her. Make it easier to carry around. She said that she had asked his children, but whenever they got around to seeing what they could do, something would come up and they didn't have time.

She didn't tell him that most of the time, that something was their latest project for finding their missing brother. Since Nico had told them that he didn't sense Leo's death, they never gave up trying to find him. Of course, that didn't stop Nyssa or Harley from punching him unconscious for disappearing on them like that.

Plus, none of them had ever had a reason or chance to work with Drakon bone before. Her sword was sharp, there was very little in the world that it couldn't cut through. And she would never have to sharpen it, either. It was similar to Riptide in that case... which made finding a proper sheath very difficult.

Unfortunately for Ares, most people heard his brothers comment, and were now watching him suspiciously, wondering why on earth he was there.

(The guy on the... wrestlers run for Mama.)

Ares smirked, but kept reading while several others rolled their eyes at him.

(He was dressed in... handsome, I guess,)

Ares smirked, which quickly changed into a glare when he watched Percy's exaggerated gagging (while the other demigods snickered). He brightened up slightly when Aphrodite winked at him while rubbing her hand on his arm. (Her husband glared).

He would have said something, anything, but Zeus cleared his throat and glared. He wasn't thrilled about the possibilities running through his head about why his son was there. All he knew, was that if Ares did anything to distract the demigods from finding his Bolt...

(but wicked- with an... face somewhere before.)

Clarisse cleared her throat and looked at him pointedly. He mouthed, 'what?' while shrugging and looked at her innocently.

(As he walked into... they all sat down again.)

"Ares!" Hera snapped. She didn't care one bit for mortals, but she also didn't find this to be acceptable behavior. Not in this day and age, anyway.

"What? Why shouldn't I demand respect? Country is the best place since Sparta." Ares said, shrugging. He kept reading before she could go off on him again. He did not feel like listening to another lecture, not that he ever listened anyway, but still.

(Everybody went back... money to pay for it?")

Percy sighed. "Why couldn't she have just taken one look at us and not asked that? Honestly, it's like she doesn't have a heart for three starving kids." He grumbled, to Annabeth's amusement.

"Because if she fed every kid that looked as pathetic as we did, she would probably be broke and homeless herself. " She reminded him, he just grumbled some more.

(The biker said, "It's on me.")

"What are you up to? Why are you there buying questing demigods food, you've never shown any interest in a quest before." Apollo asked his half brother suspiciously.

"I show interest in quests." Ares protested. "And I don't know what I'm doing there yet." He scowled before turning to the book. He hated this chapter, there was no action.

(He slid into our booth... against the window.)

Annabeth grimaced. "That was cramped." She said, and the other demigods nearby nodded in agreement. They hated confined spaces.

They were amazed as it was that the three of them went up the elevator in the Arch.

Athena shot a small glare at Ares for crowding her daughter, but didn't say anything.

(He looked up at the... "Are you still here?")

"She was probably waiting for them to give her their order, dear." Aphrodite said with a delicate shrug. Ares just blinked at her.

"Eh, I'm sure she'll just bring something." He waved off.

"And if it wasn't something the kids wanted?" Sally muttered, not pleased with his presence. This story, her son told her. This was one of the few tales of his quests that her son didn't leave out in his telling afterward. He had been... annoyed, to put it lightly.

(He pointed at her, and... back toward the kitchen.)

Hera narrowed her eyes at her son, but he kept reading, not wanting to let her start.

(The biker looked at... Anger, resentment, bitterness.)

"Uh-oh." Poseidon, Sally, and Amphitrite all said at once, while Triton grimaced. Annabeth and her older counterpart both flinched, the older one more violently than the younger one. Annabeth looked at her older self in confusion.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Percy is a very laid back guy. It takes a lot to get him angry, and that is a very good thing." Annabeth said. "When he gets angry... stuff tends to start exploding. At the very least. Him being angry is not something you want to be around." She warned. They suddenly remembered the episode earlier where Percy lost it against Zeus.

Percy got a few sideways looks, as well as one very paranoid look from Zeus.

"And he is currently sitting in front of somebody who is very good at making people angry..." Sally said, sighing softly. Ares shot Percy a look, wondering just what he could do. Well, he knew what Poseidon could do...

(I wanted to hit... fight with somebody.)

Sally grimaced. There had been several times over the years where she had seen Percy in that mood. The only thing that worked to calm his temper was a long trip to the pool. If it was close to their yearly trips to the beach, then that worked even better.

(Who did this guy... old Seaweed's kid, huh?")

"Excuse me?" Poseidon asked, incredulous at the disrespect from his nephew. Considering how both Zeus and Poseidon could so easily hinder war efforts, he usually respected them more. After all, air and naval forces couldn't go anywhere if the sky and seas didn't cooperate. And if they could, they were severely hampered in what they could do. Even ground forces had to get where they were going somehow, usually by air.

"Sorry, Uncle Poseidon." Ares muttered before he kept reading, wondering why on earth he would be like that.

(I should've been... at my stepdad, Gabe.)

"Whoa, that is not a compliment towards you, brother." Hephaestus smirked when he saw Ares fingers twitch in annoyance. Ares shot him a glare and kept reading.

(I wanted to rip this... "Percy, this is-")

Thalia barked out a short laugh. "Telling him who is sitting in front of you would just make him want to talk back even more."

Annabeth just sighed. Everyone else shot Percy a few wide-eyed looks.

(The biker raised his... mind a little attitude.)

The Romans' jaws dropped. They remembered the interactions between Mars and Percy after the games, and they now wondered just how much of what was said by Mars when he was talking to Percy was the truth, and how much he really remembered as Ares, when he was Mars.

Frank glanced over at Percy, who was smirking at the Romans while he whispered to Annabeth, who looked resigned.

"Only you, Percy, would make enemies of a gods Roman form when you're already enemies with his Greek form." She deadpanned, to the Romans shock and horror. Percy just grinned while the future Greeks looked just as resigned as she did.

"Should we add him to the list?" Nico asked Thalia, already knowing what she was talking about. She sighed and pulled it out.

"Didn't Mars assign Percy to the Alaska quest so that he would learn to respect Mars?" Hazel asked rhetorically. The Romans all grimaced. Yeah, that was never happening. Everyone looked at Percy in curiosity while Percy grinned.

Sally sighed. "I blame you." She said simply, pointing at Poseidon, whose grin mirrored his sons. Amphitrite sighed as well, she knew Sally's pain, she knew it well.

(Long as you remember who's the boss.)

Poseidon snorted. Like he could ever hope to control a child of the sea.

(You know who I am, little cousin?")

Percy made a face at the reminder that he was related to the war god. There were just some people on his dad's side of the family he tried to forget about, or deny if he couldn't just forget them. He'd denied being related at all to Zeus, even, a few times. And he outright refused to even consider acknowledging Hera as his Aunt.

Apollo and Hermes, now they were pretty cool. He enjoyed hanging out with them on occasion.

(Then it struck me... "You're Clarisse's dad,")

"What is with you and identifying the gods by who their kid is? Not their domains, by who their kids are?" Annabeth wondered out loud. He'd done it before, she'd seen him do it numerous times, who knew how often he did it when she wasn't around. Percy just shrugged while everyone else looked at her curiously.

"He does do that a lot." Nico whispered to Thalia, who nodded in agreement.

(I said. "Ares, god of war."... miniature nuclear explosions.)

"Whoa." A few kids blinked, glancing at Ares in surprise.

He grinned and went to take off the shades he was currently wearing, even now, but a pointedly cleared throat from Hera stopped him and he glared before he continued reading.

Poseidon's glare never left him. If his nephew dared show his son any visions...

("That's right, punk... Clarisse's spear.")

Clarisse grumbled and glared, but didn't say anything. She merely reached out and grabbed the spear that her father gifted her with after they read that part of the story. She'd already spent the past chapter polishing it (again), but now she just held it.

("She was asking for... fights, you know?)

"Well of course not, how else would they learn to fight for themselves?" Ares interrupted himself to mutter. He was the god of war, if his children couldn't fight for themselves, that would be a disgrace.

Both Clarisse's nodded in agreement, looking offended that it would ever be insinuated that they would ever need their battles to be fought for them. Even Frank looked a little offended at the insinuation, although he still wasn't sure how he felt about being a son of Mars. But, he was a Roman soldier.

The only time they needed or wanted someone to fight their battles, was if they were dead or dying.

(What I'm here for... proposition for you.")

Zeus narrowed his eyes while a few others glanced at Ares suspiciously. Annabeth, Percy, and Grover scowled at the wall while Annabeth curled in on herself at the memory of that park ride.

She was terrified of spiders before Tartarus, just like any child of Athena, after...

Percy glanced over, concerned, but she waved him off.

(The waitress came back... and chocolate shakes.)

Most of the demigods were very close to drooling at that moment as stomachs growled.

Hestia rolled her eyes fondly and reminded the group of teenagers and younger that they would be eating after this chapter.

They all glanced at her before turning to watch Ares intently. All those demigods staring at him like that actually made him fidgety.

(Ares handed her a few gold drachmas.)

"Well, you just made her and the diner very rich." Sally said, blinking. She knew how much those could sell for in a mortal shop, she'd been desperate not long after the Twins were born. She refused to go to their father for help, so she used one of the Drachma he had left her for if she ever wanted/needed to contact him or Chiron.

She received a good sum for it, and it lasted them for a long time, especially when she stretched it out. Which wasn't easy with two children, especially ones who had the typical demigod appetite.

She didn't know why she was even surprised, they were pure gold, after all. With no other metals mixed in.

"Assuming they can find someone who will buy those off a fair price, or that the owners will let them do that." Athena pointed out. Sally shrugged. Either way, that diner had received a very large tip right there.

(She looked nervously... "But, these aren't...")

"Yes, those are not exactly standard currency." Athena said dryly, eyeing Ares, who shrugged, unconcerned.

(Ares pulled out his... "Problem, sweetheart?")

Hera glared again, that was not how he was taught to treat women growing up!

(Considering she was never really a mother to him, whenever she lectured, he never listened. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. Whatever he knew about how to properly treat women, he knew from Aphrodite, Amphitrite, Persephone, and Hestia. Those four were too scary sometimes to not learn a thing or two when they decided they didn't like how he behaved.)

(The waitress swallowed... people with a knife.")

Ares looked up with a smirk, and would have said something, but Hera didn't want to hear it.

All the children of War in the room looked uncomfortable at their fathers behavior.

(Ares laughed. "Are... place since Sparta.)

"Da- er." He cut himself off when Hera loudly and pointedly cleared her throat. "Yes, yes it is." He finished lamely.

"Watch your language around the children." Hestia warned, before Hera could. She knew that Ares would never listen if Hera told him.

Ares looked sullen, but nodded his assent before he kept reading.

(Don't you carry a weapon, punk?)

"Of course I do. Although I have been looking for a proper back-up." Percy mused.

"That's good, back-ups are always good, even with a weapon enchanted like the Riptide that is difficult to lose." Ares said absently before he continued reading.

"What were you thinking for a backup?" Leo asked. "It would have to be something forged from the sea so you could wield it effectively..." Beckendorf looked interested as well.

(You should. Dangerous... do me a favor.")

"Some favor." Percy muttered.

"Hey. With the way he worded that, you could call it in whenever you want. He asked for a favor , after all." Poseidon said, sitting back with a grin.

Ares froze, then silently read through that again. Crap, they were right.

By wording it as a favor, he opened himself up to owing the little brat later on down the road. As a rule, the Olympians were very conscious about what they said, and how they said it. If they owed somebody something, they generally tried to even the 'score' as soon as possible. Now, if it was given as an order, then there was no problem. Quests generally fell under this category. But, favors? Oh, boy.

The two older Percy's and Annabeth's all stared at Poseidon in shock.

"Why didn't I realize that?" Annabeth finally exclaimed after a moment, and Annabeth just slapped her forehead. Both Percy's just sighed in defeat. Such a missed opportunity.

("What favor could I do for a god?")

"Apparently a lot of them." Percy mused, thinking about how many 'favors' he'd done for various gods over the years. "At least Hermes repays his favors, though." He grinned at Annabeth, thinking about the trip to Paris Hermes gave them after doing him a favor and fighting a cyclops for him.

She flushed slightly, thinking about it. "Did we ever thank him for such a nice evening? He didn't have to go to the lengths he did for that trip." She pointed out.

Percy shrugged. "You really think the god of travelers is going to arrange a substandard trip? Or not put all the effort into it that he could?" He pointed out.

"Good point."

"What trip was this?" Hermes asked, curious. And, admittedly a little smug.

"You asked for a favor about a month after Annabeth and I got together, so I agreed, if you could arrange a trip for us. We had a nice dinner in Paris, and did a little sightseeing." Percy explained with a shrug. He didn't bother explaining the favor.

"You even took care of the bill at the restaurant, and provided suitable clothes for the night. You didn't have to go that far, but..." She shrugged. Percy had been perfectly capable of paying for it himself, apparently without Gabe in their lives and with Paul bringing in a steady paycheck, Sally was able to give Percy a decent sized allowance, and he didn't spend it on much. Poseidon also gave him some money after the war was over, but she didn't remember what Percy said the money was for. She'd enjoyed herself that night, though, no matter who footed the bill.

"Ah. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves." Hermes said, pleased. Trips were meant to be enjoyed, he took it as a bit of an insult when trips were poorly planned, and thus weren't enjoyed as much as they should be because of it.

Ares scowled, and hoped that the boy never came to call in this favor that his book self just asked. He had no interest in arranging a date night, unless it was with Aphrodite, of course.

("Something a god... time to do himself.)

Hephaestus snorted. "All you have is time." He grumbled. Maybe if Ares had less time on his hands, there would be less wars in the world. Maybe Uncle Hades could think of something. He would benefit the most from less wars. Well, the mortals would certainly benefit as well.

(It's nothing much... park here in town.)

" Left it, huh?" Hephaestus grunted, a gleam in his eye. He knew, from experience, there was only one (maybe two) things that could get Ares to leave his shield behind. And Hephaestus happened to be it.

Percy and Annabeth both glared at him, along with their older selves in the corner. Grover just shook his head and decided not to say anything.

(I was going on a little... date with my girlfriend.)

Hephaestus actually growled at that while Aphrodite giggled. Sally glanced at them and frowned, but didn't say anything. Hera looked disapproving, but didn't say anything.

Yet.

(We were interrupted... fetch it for me.")

"Why not go back and get it for yourself?" Jason wondered quietly, he liked living too much to say it out loud where Ares could overhear. The demigods that were closest to him heard, though, and nodded in agreement.

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other, amused, when they heard the question. Because Ares was too scared of his brother, (that was Percy's theory, anyway).

("Why don't you... get it yourself?")

Percy chuckled and glanced at Jason, amusement still dancing in his eyes. Jason merely narrowed his eyes and didn't say anything.

(The fire in his... a little hotter.)

"Ares, don't you. DARE." Poseidon warned with a growl. Mrs. O'Leary added a growl of her own; long, deep, and dark enough to send shivers down everyone's spines. Except for Percy, of course. She was his dog, after all. He knew that no matter how threatening she sounded, she would never hurt him.

Ares sunk back into his throne, and lifted the book in front of his face in a vain attempt at shielding himself from his uncle's wrath. And the wrath of the Hellhound beside his cousin.

("Why don't I turn... with my Harley?)

Percy sighed in annoyance. "You know, that threat gets really old after a while. You guys really need to come up with some new material." He complained. Poseidon looked concerned, and Amphitrite had to lay a hand on his arm to get him to calm down.

Annabeth sighed, "I think they are too used to that being a useful threat, and never bothered to find anything more original." She theorized. Percy grunted.

(Because I don't feel like it.)

"Lame excuse." All the older Greeks said at the same time. They knew that he was scared of something, and now they really wanted to know what.

Ares glared at them, wanting to blast them all right now, but a cleared throat and a pointed glare from Zeus made him keep reading.

The younger demigods and the Romans looked at their older Greek counterparts in shock. They didn't think they would ever get used to them showing the gods such disrespect, and right to their faces, no less.

(A god is giving... Percy Jackson.)

"What is retrieving a shield supposed to prove?" Reyna asked Jason quietly, he shrugged.

(Will you prove yourself a coward?")

"If anything, I think he proved himself a coward. When he ran and sent us, instead of facing his brothers trap himself." Percy muttered to those around him, many tried to stifle their laughs, while Clarisse looked like she didn't know whether to be amused, or highly offended.

"He clearly doesn't know me very well, if he thinks that a comment like that will get me to do anything. I grew up with that ." Percy pointed at Gabe, still in his corner.

Annabeth chuckled again. "That is true, the best way to offend and goad you into doing something, is to threaten those around you, not by calling you a coward or weak." Percy's fatal flaw was loyalty, after all.

Not hubris. No, hubris was hers. Percy was the one who kept her grounded, kept her from giving into her pride all the time. She still had her moments, but... if it weren't for him, it would have long ago proven why they were called 'fatal flaws'.

Poseidon frowned at hearing about Percy's lack of self-preservation. As pleased as he was, that Percy showed himself to be a true hero, with his concern for others... as a father he would rather that his son worried about himself just a little more. He really hoped that Annabeth managed to keep his fatal flaw in check.

(He leaned forward... can protect you.")

The reminder of the attack on the Arch and Percy's high-dive act made Poseidon clench his fists and resist the urge to punch his little brother. Whether or not he stopped punching, well... that was up for debate.

"I don't need a river. Or to be near the ocean. Not anymore, at least." Percy said with a shrug. And it was true, ever since the Triple G Ranch, when he realized that the ocean was all around... Of course, it was more exhausting the further away from the water he was. Or, the hotter and dryer it was. For example, one should never try to summon the ocean in the middle of the desert.

Just... no.

Poseidon smiled proudly at his son. He was glad that Percy had managed to find that out on his own, he had figured quite a few things out on his own, actually. That showed that he was smart, resourceful, and cunning. When he wanted to be, of course.

(I wanted to punch this guy,)

"I should have just done it." Percy grumbled. Annabeth frowned and quickly reminded him why that would have been a bad idea.

(but somehow, I knew... love it if I attacked.)

"Yes, he would." Most of them agreed.

(I didn't want to... got a quest.")

"Yes! Yes!" Zeus suddenly said. "Exactly, they are already on a quest to retrieve my Bolt. Therefore, nothing will happen to delay them, because your shield can either wait, or you can just go get it yourself." He snapped at his son, annoyed that he was taking the children away from their quest to find His Lightning Bolt!

Ares blinked at him and sunk down slightly down in his throne, but didn't feel like getting into it with his old man right then, so wisely kept reading.

"I'm sure they don't get delayed too much. Besides, Ares asked for a favor . If they think about it, he can use the favor to either get transportation, or to get Ares to just take them straight to the entrance." Athena said, tilting her head to the side as she thought.

The three on this quest froze, they hadn't even thought of that. Although, they supposed that Ares had sort of provided transport. It took them further west and closer to where they needed to be, after all. Even if they did land in the Lotus Hotel for most of the precious time they had left.

"We... are idiots." Grover said, slamming his head back into the couch behind him. Percy and Annabeth sighed and nodded in agreement.

(Ares's fiery eyes... want to see-)

"ARES!" Poseidon yelled, standing up from his throne, enraged. Ares gulped slightly and hoped that his book-self didn't show the brat too much. Otherwise, his uncle was likely to take him outside.

Amphitrite and Triton hurried to stand up as well, with Amphitrite standing in front of him, placing a hand on his chest in an attempt to keep him there. Triton stood behind her, as an extra barrier between his father and cousin.

"Read." Aphrodite urged her boyfriend quickly, eyeing the King of the Seas carefully.

For once, he listened to her.

(blood and smoke... on the battlefield.)

Poseidon growled, low and deep, alongside Mrs. O'Leary, but Ares just kept reading.

Although, he did speed up slightly. Hopefully, his book-self would quit while he was ahead.

He was having a hard time shaking off the death glare he was receiving from Sally, though. Now, he knew where Percy got it from.

("I know all about... made him hungry.)

Zeus, and several others, looked at him suspiciously, but didn't say anything. They let him keep reading.

Ares would have stopped reading to daydream about what he could do with a weapon like that at his disposal, but one quick glance at Zeus showed that that wasn't a good idea.

("Well... if I couldn't... old Corpse Breath.")

" What ." Hades asked, low and dangerous He looked like a panther, about to pounce at any moment. Mrs. O'Leary whimpered when she felt his anger, and curled up tighter around her human.

Ares gulped again. His book-self was going to get him killed!

Persephone put a hand on his chest, to restrain him much like Amphitrite was still doing with her husband (Hazel looked unsettled, seeing her father this angry, Nico didn't really care). At this point, Ares would be very lucky if the two brothers didn't pull him aside for a little... chat.

"Twenty bucks, says that Ares doesn't make it to the reading tomorrow." Luke whispered among the demigods, eyeing the two elder gods.

"Suckers bet." Katie replied. Especially, if they got far enough today, that they knew Ares' part in the theft.

By this point, both Clarisse's were getting concerned for their fathers safety. He could take care of himself just fine, they knew that. But... he was making the wrong people, very, very angry.

("You told him Hades stole the bolt?")

Hades growled again, and Persephone increased the pressure of her hand on his chest, in an effort to warn him to stay put.

Ares sped up in his reading.

("Sure. Framing somebody... recognized it immediately.)

"Naturally, you would have also told me about your suspicions of Poseidon being framed as well, right ?" Zeus asked with gritted teeth. He was glaring at his son.

"Uh, well... sure. You would have been the first I told." Ares said quickly before continuing to read.

Funny how nobody believed him.

(In a way, you... your little quest.")

"Gee, thanks." Several demigods said sarcastically. Percy and Annabeth laughed, everyone else looked at them in confusion.

("Thanks," I grumbled.)

Now they understood, and merely exchanged looks with each other.

("Hey, I'm a generous guy.)

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover scoffed. "You call that generous?" Percy muttered incredulously. Ares glared at him over the top of the book, but didn't stop reading.

The duel pointed coughs and glares may have helped with that.

His Aunt and the mortal woman were terrifying.

(If anybody ever asked, he denied ever thinking those thoughts.)

(Just do my little... and your friends.")

"Just like that?" Katie asked, surprised.

"Yup. Just like that. Hey, since he offered it, would that count as paying the favor?" Percy asked, curious. After all, he offered. And when Hermes asked for that favor, the trip to Paris was what he asked for in return. "Or would he still owe me one?"

"No, that would count as you two being even." Athena said, shaking her head. Ares sighed in relief. Good, he hated owing favors. Especially to demigods.

They could be arrogant little brats at times, especially the more powerful ones.

Percy wilted in his seat. He'd been hoping that Ares still owed him. Annabeth laughed softly and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey, at least it solves the transportation problem." Hazel pointed out.

Grover grimaced. "Sort of. It also, kind of, caused another problem on its own." He said darkly, remembering the conditions they found those animals in.

Everyone looked confused by Grover's comment, but decided they would find out later in the book. Artemis, in particular, would not be happy.

("We're doing fine on our own.")

Everyone scoffed, or looked at the son of Poseidon incredulously. Did he really just say that? Percy turned red and cleared his throat, looking at the ceiling.

"None of us really wanted to accept anything from Ares." Annabeth said softly. "Not even this side-quest."

"Unfortunately, we didn't have much choice." Grover said with a grimace. Percy and Annabeth scowled at the reminder.

("Yeah, right. No... you're up against.)

"And you do?" Poseidon asked, skeptically. "After all, you're assuming, as if everybody else it seems, that it was Hades. Assuming ." Ares looked at his uncle and blinked.

"Oh, no. He knew exactly what was really going on." Percy muttered to Annabeth. "He was one of three that did."

Annabeth hummed. "I'm not sure if he really knew about Kronos' involvement." She said, quietly.

"He knew enough." She looked at him, and dropped it.

(Help me out, and... about your mom.")

"ARES!" Several of the women yelled at the now cowering war god.

"How dare you use his mother against him!" Hestia exclaimed before Hera could start on him. He never listened to Hera, he barely listened to her most of the time, and she was the only one he did listen to with any kind of regularity.

Sally glared, and promised retribution for him putting her son through what it was he was planning.

She hoped she could get some kind of reimbursement out of him for all the repairs that they had needed to do on the plumbing in their apartment. Every single time Percy got annoyed enough, just thinking about this whole thing, something would usually burst. He managed to control it, eventually... but it still happened way too often for her liking.

("My mom?"

He grinned... The water park)

"Why would you have left your shield in a water park?" Hephaestus asked, incredulous.

"How am I supposed to know that?" Ares asked, this hadn't happened for him, yet.

"Well, at least there will be plenty of water around if something goes wrong." Triton said, trying to reassure his father that Percy would be near a source of some of their power. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover exchanged looks.

Triton was assuming that the water park was still in operation.

(is a mile west on... Tunnel of Love ride.")

There was silence for a moment while Ares stared at the words he just read, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to be disgusted by the fact he would go somewhere called that. Aphrodite beamed, and put her hand on his knee, causing her husband to gag, and Ares decided that maybe this ride wouldn't be so bad... if it scored some points for him with his girlfriend.

The trio on this quest, exchanged looks while Percy remembered what he thought about this ride when he first saw it.

"That is obviously a trap." Jason said, but he knew that they were still going to go. After all, Ares himself had sought them out to give them the job. No matter how much they may want to, or how crunched for time they were, they had no choice if they wanted to stay on the god of war's good side. (If he even had one...)

"Yup."

"Definitely."

"Without a doubt." Several other demigods chimed in all at once.

"Oh, we knew it probably would be. Didn't have much choice." Annabeth said with a sigh.

"Most of the situations we get in, end up being traps somehow..." Percy said with a scowl. "It's really, really annoying." He added. Annabeth nodded in agreement, she always somehow ended up getting dragged into it, too.

("What interrupted... scare you off?")

"Excuse me?" Ares demanded, cutting himself off. "I don't get scared off!" He protested hotly. Clarisse nodded with a smirk.

Percy only raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

(Ares bared his teeth... before on Clarisse.)

Clarisse smirked slightly at being like her father, while Clarisse smiled somewhat shyly.

(There was something... he was nervous.)

Ares cut himself off. "Excuse me? I don't get nervous, either, punk." He retorted, threateningly. Percy wasn't intimidated, he just raised an eyebrow.

Both of Ares daughters in the room scowled at Percy, for daring to insinuate that their father had anything at all to be nervous about.

("You're lucky you... of rudeness as I am.)

"That's true, but it also depends on which one you are talking to, and how easy it is to show them respect." Percy said with a raised eyebrow. "I will show respect, if you are at least polite, or show me some respect in turn. Some of you, I have absolutely no respect for." He informed the council. His group of demigods nodded their agreement.

They felt the same way about respect, but they at least had more self-preservation to keep those opinions to themselves when actually face-to-face with a god that they didn't respect a whole lot.

The Romans gazed at them in horror. You didn't need to like or agree with the god, you should respect them regardless of your personal feelings on the matter, they were the gods! That alone demanded that you respect them.

Jason merely closed his eyes and sighed. He'd gotten used to the Greeks attitude towards the gods when he was with them for the past few months. Frank and Hazel exchanged a horrified look, the chances of their coming back from Alaska in one piece, were becoming more and more slim.

(I'll meet you back... told me otherwise.)

Percy sighed. "I wish I really had imagined it." He mumbled. Annabeth grimaced, but nodded in agreement.

("Not good," Grover... This is not good.")

"Not good at all. You don't have time to run his errand, but you also have no choice but to run his errand." Reyna said with a frown. "Not if you want to stay on his good side."

Annabeth snorted. "The day Percy Jackson is on Ares good side, would probably be the day the world ends." She said dryly. Percy just shrugged beside her. Honestly, he had no real interest to be on Ares good side.

The only gods whose good side he did want to be on, were those he respected. Like Hestia, Artemis, his dad, and a few others. Hermes and Apollo had his respect, but not in the way that they were powerful and therefore demanded it. No, they were fun to hang around, sometimes.

But, as he already explained, they had to earn his respect, and very few of them had ever done that.

(I stared out the... playing with me?)

"Hmm, my guess is, both. He is definitely just messing with you, but he might also know something." Chiron said, thoughtfully.

Mrs. O'Leary growled at him, angry that this god dared mess with her human like that. Grover's eyebrows shot up when he mentally translated what she was saying, and whistled.

"If I were you, I would avoid dark alleys for a while." He told the war god, who glanced at the tame Hellhound.

The highly protective , tame Hellhound.

(Now that he was... drained out of me.)

Sally unconsciously relaxed once she heard that Percy's temper was no longer being manipulated.

(I realized Ares... people's emotions.)

"Oh, he does. And one of these days, he's going to mess with the emotions of the wrong person." Hera said, glaring slightly at her son. If what they were saying was true, and based off what happened earlier when Zeus went a little too far with one of his comments (honestly, trying to tell somebody to abandon their mother , what was her husband thinking?), then young Perseus was the wrong person to mess with.

Ares blinked at his mother, and turned considering eyes on the Son of Poseidon. Yeah, maybe he should avoid manipulating the boys emotions in the future.

In the interest of self-preservation.

(That was his power... Let's just go.")

"You better not." Ares cut himself off to growl.

"You will do nothing if they do. And they better forget you because they already have a quest, to find MY BOLT!" Zeus growled back, his voice rose to a thundering war at the end. He gave the questing trio a short glare to emphasize his point, which they all ignored because they knew what was going to happen next, he didn't.

("We can't," Annabeth... much as anybody,)

Ares looked conflicted, not sure whether he should threaten the upstart for that comment, or preen.

Both Clarisse's glared, while Frank was conflicted, as well. On the one hand, this was his father's Greek form. On the other, he still wasn't sure how he felt about being a son of Mars.

(but you don't ignore... you into a rodent.")

"He wouldn't dare." Poseidon growled. He was not happy with the reminder of that threat. Ares tried to act nonchalant, as if he didn't care that he was being threatened by his uncle, but the gulping and sweating gave him away.

"Eh, I get threatened with that all the time." Percy said with a nonchalant shrug that Poseidon did not at all appreciate. "It's very old... unoriginal... uninspired. And annoying. Very, very annoying."

"What have you been threatened with over the years? To be turned into?" Nico asked, curious. He knew it had happened, but he didn't know it was really that often. And here he thought being turned into dandelions every so often was bad. At least his step-mother was consistent, and only did it as 'grounding'.

"Various rodents. Groundhog once. Jackalope, jack rabbit... Dolphin several times. Different species of dolphin every time, mind you. I think one time somebody threatened to turn me into a catfish and leave me at a fish farm. I have been turned into a guinea pig once." He admitted the last one reluctantly with a grimace.

Poseidon looked like heads were going to roll, and roll quickly.

Everyone else was very, very confused when the MS found the dolphin comment to be particularly amusing. The one that several knew to be Percy just crossed his arms and muttered about something working and them all escaping, so why were they laughing so hard about it.

While Ares kept reading, Percy and Annabeth had their own, quiet conversation.

"That curse is pretty inconvenient, though." He muttered. "Although, now that I think about it, it's also pretty easy to get around." He tilted his head, trying to remember the exact wording Ares used when he cursed the Son of Poseidon.

"Hmm, yeah, good point." Annabeth said with a grimace. Unlike him, she actually remembered what he said, verbatim. She especially remembered the look of rage on his face when he said it. That had been terrifying. She hadn't wanted to lose her new friend, especially not so soon after settling their differences and learning to work together.

Triton shot them a suspicious look, but decided not to say anything when it looked like their father hadn't caught what they were muttering about. The other demigods, edged away slowly. If he really was cursed...

(I looked down at... seem so appetizing.)

"Whoa." A few people said, shocked and a little scared. Anything that could Percy Jackson off his food, was cause for serious concern.

"Were you that worried about what he wanted?" Katie asked him.

He tilted his head to the side, and shook his head. "No, I think it was more the fact that I was worried about the time constraints, and the fact he was the one to get it for us." He shrugged.

A few people snickered at the thought that he was that repulsed by Ares, that he didn't want to touch any food provided by the war god. Both Clarisses' looked like they wanted to strangle him for the implied insult, while Ares was gritting his teeth in an attempt to not strike the half-blood down then and there.

("Why does he need us?")

"Why do they ever need us?" Luke muttered, bitter. Hermes frowned, concerned when he heard the tone his son used. He'd never heard such bitterness from his son before. Not even when the boy ended up stopping at his mother's house, that one time Hermes happened to also be visiting.

"Well, not much we can do about it, but make the most of it sometimes." Thalia said, almost as bitterly.

("Maybe it's a problem... That's all he has.)

Ares snorted, annoyed and angry. "Spoken like a true daughter of Athena." He said, giving the girl a scathing glare. The younger girl shrank back in her seat, with the son of Hermes putting an arm around her in comfort and leveling his own glare. "Thinking that your the only one in the room that can think things through. Just because I happen to prefer fighting, doesn't mean I can't think or strategize. It's part of my domain." He groused before going back to the book after glaring for a few more minutes.

While Annabeth cowered, Annabeth merely met his glare with a level, cool look. Percy, for his part, leveled a mild, warning glare of his own, but stayed out of it. He knew that Annabeth didn't like it when he fought her battles for her, as hard as it was sometimes to just sit and watch.

Athena glared at him for his comments, and the slight against her.

Annabeth, despite her outward appearance, was thinking about what Ares had said, and realized that he had a point. She did tend to, sometimes, look down on others as unintelligent when something came up, or try to inject her opinion where it wasn't needed or wanted. As if she knew better, or they couldn't think for themselves. In fact, all her siblings tended to do it.

The Romans and daughters of Ares glared as well, equally as insulted as the war god. The children of Mars were the legions top strategists. Mars was also their main patron god, and insulting him was... well, it just wasn't done.

(Even strength has... acted almost scared.)

Ares growled, but kept reading anyway. He didn't feel like repeating himself. That would make it seem like he was only denying it to save himself the embarrassment, and take away from the validity of the denial.

Hephaestus frowned at him, he knew full well that Ares could get scared, he was usually the one who managed to scare him.

(What would make... away like that?")

"Something set up by me, to trap him and my wife. " Hephaestus finally said, shrugging with a small smirk. Aphrodite only glanced at him when he emphasized the last two words.

"Yeah, a trap set up with a god in mind. We weren't gods." Percy groused, a little bitter about Ares sending them there, for his entertainment. They could have been killed, and Ares just wanted a laugh.

Hephaestus frowned, concerned at the reminder. Yes, that would be a problem for those three. Anything trap he came up with was liable to have automatons included, and his automatons were not known for being benign.

(Annabeth and Grover... found the water park.)

"That wasted so much time." Sally murmured, worried. Zeus glared at his son, angry that the boy was having the demigods take precious time to run an errand that he was more than capable of doing himself!

"When demigods are already on a quest, it is hereby forbidden for other gods to send them off on personal errands!" He proclaimed. "Anything you want them to do, can wait until after their quest, or get somebody else to do it!" Honestly, finding his Bolt was far more important than getting Ares shield, when Ares was the one stupid enough to leave it behind in the first place.

Hestia smiled at her brother. In her opinion, he should have said something about it years ago. "Even if you get sought out personally, just ignore it if you're already on a quest. If they try to do anything to punish you, I'll deal with it." She assured the demigods, who looked unsure about ignoring a god asking for a 'favor'.

(Judging from the sign... it read WAT R A D.)

"What?" Aphrodite asked, blankly. Why on earth would Ares take her somewhere like that? When she heard it was a water park, she'd been excited, because she actually really liked water parks.

But an abandoned water park?

Ares took one look at his girlfriend's face, and immediately gulped before crossing this place off his list of potential date locations. He quite liked being intact, thank you very much. Regrowing, ah… important body parts after his girlfriend got especially angry or annoyed… well, let's just say it was painful.

Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other when they saw Aphrodite's reaction. Percy really hoped that she didn't try to kill him when they read about some of the comments he made.

(The main gate was... with barbed wire.)

"Oh, that's even better." Aphrodite said, even more sarcastically. She did still have her hand on his arm, but now she pulled away completely, and leaned against the other arm of her throne, with her arms crossed over her chest. Ares looked at her mournfully, but knew that there was nothing he could do right now, but wait for her to calm down. He knew from experience, that trying to apologize or make excuses would only make it worse. Although, chocolate sometimes helped...

"Somebodies in trouble." Sally sing-songed quietly. Hestia chuckled beside her.

(Inside, huge dry... leading to empty pools.)

"Oh, that's not good." Triton said. A dry water park, with Percy's still developing abilities, was not a good thing. If there was still plenty of water around, then Percy's inexperience wouldn't be as much of an issue, but... with no water to directly use, he would have to take it out of the air if he needed it for whatever reason. And he wasn't experienced enough for that.

"Hopefully, there will still be water in the pipes that he can use. It would depend on how long the park has been abandoned, and how they got their water supply in the first place." Poseidon reasoned, just as concerned as his son.

(Old tickets and... looked sad and creepy.)

Aphrodite leveled another glare at her boyfriend. He really expected to take her somewhere like that?

("If Ares brings his... what she looks like.")

"Excuse me?!" Aphrodite demanded, switching the target of her ire. Sally clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. Percy froze and stared at her in shock and horror.

"I didn't know it was you." He exclaimed hurriedly. He didn't have a whole lot of respect for her, not as much as he respected a few of the others, mostly because of how tended to play with others' love lives.

Mostly his.

However, he most certainly did not want her on his bad side.

Mainly because she insisted on interfering with his love life. Honestly, those few months where he had both Annabeth and Rachel practically fighting over him were some of the worst in his life... Especially since he was actually interested in both of them.

("Percy," Annabeth warned... you hated Ares.")

"Oh, I do." Annabeth said, cheerfully. "And that feeling has not changed over the years."

Percy snorted. "Tell me about it."

("He's still a god... Grover added.)

"Thank you, Satyr. At least one of you knows how to treat a lady." She muttered, coldly. Percy cleared his throat, uncomfortable.

He didn't know who Ares girlfriend was, come on.

Percy froze in horror as he remembered who he guessed the girlfriend was. He was pretty sure he was about to die.

("Who is she? Echidna?")

Everyone froze in horror (and amusement). Did they just hear that? The silence was broken by a very angry goddess.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Aphrodite screeched, bursting out of her throne and glaring at the upstart son of Poseidon.

"I didn't know it was you." He repeated himself, almost desperate. The last thing he needed was another Aphrodite induced 'love-triangle'.

Five out of the Seven, as one, face-palmed. Hard. Only Percy Jackson would compare Aphrodite, to Echidna. Piper was clearly trying not to laugh, because this was her mother! She found it very funny. Aphrodite shot her older daughter a dirty look before sitting down and fuming with a glare towards Percy.

("No, Aphrodite,"... a little dreamily.)

Grover coughed, while Grover turned bright red.

Percy chuckled, remembering how Grover used to be with goddesses like Artemis and Aphrodite... until he started going out with Juniper, anyway. "You should be glad Juniper isn't here right now." He said with a grin.

Grover's eyes widened in horror at the thought. His Juniper would skin him alive and use his fur for a throw rug!

("Goddess of love."... I said. "Hephaestus.")

"Exactly." Hera said, glaring at her son's wife. Aphrodite merely raised an eyebrow and ignored her mother in law, while Hephaestus got a sour look on his face, but didn't say anything.

"What's your point?" Annabeth asked Percy, and he sighed before shaking his head.

"Apparently, with this group, I don't have one." He muttered. Sally frowned, and looked at the gods with a strange expression on her face, although she also reached out to take Paul's hand, squeezing it tightly.

("What's your point?" he asked.)

Annabeth turned slightly red, but smiled at her half-goat friend. Percy sighed.

"I agree, though. What was your point? You already know that we are known for seeking relationships outside our marriages. After all, if we did not, none of you would be here." Aphrodite said with a shrug.

Reyna looked at them in slight distaste. While she knew that the Romans were much the same way, she also knew that most of the reason there were as many soldiers in the Legion as there were, was because most of them were Legacies. While the Greeks seemed to have the same numbers as the Twelfth Legion did... and none of them were Legacies.

("Oh." I suddenly... do we get in?")

"By climbing." Most of the room's occupants said in deadpan, all at the same time. Percy blinked at them, surprised.

"Did you all miss the part, where there was barbed wire over the fence?" He asked, frowning.

A few of them looked at each other, "Well, there are three of you. As long as you don't touch the barbed areas, you should be fine." Luke finally said after a few minutes.

"Well, yeah. But I wasn't really thinking that far at that moment." Percy frowned at him. Besides, he missed those (first) two lessons before this quest, while Annabeth caught him up on Ancient Greek, and history.

"Only a son of Hermes, would think of making a suggestion like that." Athena muttered in distaste. None of the demigods overheard her, but the gods and Chiron did. Those that didn't agree with her assessment all shot her reproachful looks.

Did she not know that the Hermes cabin held weekly seminars about how to safely escape or break into places with barbed or electric wiring? All the demigods knew how to get around barbed wiring.

(Sometimes, they were sent somewhere for a quest that involved breaking into places like that. Like this little side-quest they were currently on in the books.)

("Maia!" Grover's shoes sprouted wings.)

"Well, that's one way of doing it." Hermes said, amused.

"Too bad we only had one pair, and one of us can't use them without being blasted out of the air." Annabeth said, grimacing. She'd happened to put her hand right on a barb.

(He flew over the... somersault in midair,)

"Hey! That was totally intended." Grover protested, turning slightly red.

Percy snorted. "Sure, it was. And your look of panic when it happened was...?" He asked. Grover pouted, but didn't say anything else as everyone else laughed.

Annabeth took pity on her old friend. "Don't worry, it still looked awesome." She consoled the half-goat. He perked up slightly.

(then stumbled to... the opposite side.)

"It would have looked even cooler if you had stuck the landing, though." Percy couldn't help picking at him a little more. A few people chuckled while Grover scowled.

(He dusted off... the whole thing.)

This earned a few more snorts, and Grover turned slightly red.

("You guys coming?"... old-fashioned way,)

"Having flying shoes would have been really helpful." Annabeth grumbled again. Percy blinked at her, was she still on that?

(holding down the... crawled over the top.)

"Those things are sharper than they look." Annabeth grumbled with a scowl.

"You stick yourself?" Hermes asked, amused. Her dark look darkened even more.

(The shadows grew... through the park,)

"Creepy." Leo sing-songed, along with both sets of Stoll brothers. Most of the rest of the room looked like they completely agreed with the boys.

"Try being there." Percy deadpanned. Annabeth and Grover shuddered, and nodded in agreement.

Ares growled at the near constant interruptions at the moment. He wanted to get this chapter over with, or at least skip to the action! He just knew there was going to be some, why else would he send those three here, if not for some entertainment?

(checking out the... Where's My Swimsuit?)

"Yikes. No wonder the park closed down. With attractions named like that?" Apollo asked, shuddering. Those were awful! He could come up with some much, much cooler names for rides at a waterpark.

Everybody nodded in complete agreement. They couldn't imagine that the park was ever open that long, before closing and being abandoned. Not with names like that.

Aphrodite shuddered, what was she thinking, letting Ares take her to a place like this? Sure, it was out of the way, and less likely for Hephaestus to trap, but this just sounded awful!

(No monsters came... lined the shelves:)

"Really? How long had that place been abandoned?" Hermes asked, wondering why the park owners hadn't even bothered to grab the merchandise at least. Leaving stuff behind, and leaving it open like that... that was just asking for everything to be stolen. Unless they honestly didn't care...

"Don't know, we weren't complaining, though." Percy said, shrugging. A few of the adults frowned at what that implied.

(snow globes, pencils... "Fresh clothes.")

"Oh, yeah. That is what I'm talking about." Hermes said, grinning. He already knew where this was going.

"My daughter is not stealing those clothes." Athena snapped at him. "She's better than that." She looked proudly at her daughter, only for her proud smile to slip when Annabeth wouldn't meet her gaze.

"It wasn't like anybody else was going to be coming in, the place was abandoned for years. And we were desperate for some clean clothes." She mumbled. Athena blinked several times, looking at her daughter as if she'd never seen the girl before.

"We've all had to help ourselves sometimes, when it was necessary to survive, or at least not draw attention to ourselves with our appearance and we had no other way of getting the materials we needed." Clarisse said after a moment, shrugging.

"Yeah, sometimes we have to help ourselves to a little more than just clothes or food, though." Percy said, with a sheepish shrug. "Just recently, I was trying to escape the Gorgon sisters. They would not stop coming. And every time I killed them..." He stared off into space for a moment before shuddering. Sally merely sighed heavily.

She tried to ignore that part of her sons life, where he sometimes had to steal to survive. She was pretty sure that if the mortal police ever figured it out, most, if not all, of the demigods that fought in the Titan War would be imprisoned for grand larceny.

Thank the gods, for the Mist.

("Yeah," I said. "But you can't just-")

Percy sighed. "Oh, the days where I worried about such little things like this." He said, sadly. A few of the demigods nodded in complete agreement.

There was a time when most of them would never dream of walking off with stuff like this. But, when the money ran out or was destroyed on a quest... one had to do, what one had to do. Sally and Paul frowned, concerned about the casual attitude towards theft, but didn't say anything. Sally knew full well about the life of a demigod, as much as she could when she knew that both Percy and Poseidon had left details out so she didn't worry. Paul...

Sally and Percy had both explained just what it meant to be a demigod, and he'd seen the kids that sometimes crashed on his couch before, after, or during a quest. He'd become almost more paranoid than Sally about keeping an eye on the first aid kit, and making sure it was well stocked. He'd almost gone into a panic that one time they ran out of Ambrosia and nectar. And beef jerky was kept in good supply as well, because it was both healthy, and something that they could take with them and not worry about the bag breaking, or it spoiling somehow.

("Watch me."

She... Waterland surf shoes.)

Aphrodite gagged. "Oh, you poor dear, that sounds awful!" She said.

Annabeth shrugged. "As long as they were clean, I didn't really care all that much." She informed the love goddess.

"Well, the clean part, I suppose... but the design! Oh, couldn't you at least have found some shorts with a better design on them? That outfit does not sound like it goes well together." Aphrodite shook her head.

"Can I keep reading? I'm going to keep reading." Ares said quickly, he did not want to sit here forever while the girls talked about fashion. He wanted to get to the action! Aphrodite shot him a dark look, and leaned further away from him, like she'd been doing ever since the park was first described.

(A Waterland backpack... with more goodies.)

"What else did you grab?" Poseidon asked, vaguely curious, but also just to frustrate Ares with yet another delay towards getting to the action.

"A deck of cards, a bouncy ball, a pad of paper and some pencils. A Rubik's cube. Just... small stuff to keep our hands occupied while we traveled. Assuming, of course, that Ares version of getting us a way west would leave our hands free. And a water bottle that I could fill up somewhere. I think I still have everything from that park, actually." She said, shrugging. Well, except for the ball. That received death-by-Cerberus.

"Same." Grover and Percy both said. "I would have grabbed a few snacks off the shelf, but I wasn't sure how long the park had been abandoned, and really didn't want to poison myself or something." Percy added. He, however, had also gotten a snow-globe along with everything Annabeth had just mentioned. Amazingly, the snow-globe had survived the trip. Probably because it was wrapped up in his dirty clothes.

("What the heck."... defunct theme park.)

Aphrodite shuddered in horror at the thought and resolved to get the three of them a new wardrobe.

"I don't remember ever seeing those clothes." Sally said, tilting her head.

"We left them behind in Vegas." Percy said, not mentioning the casino. Although, he was pretty sure they would read all about it.

(We continued searching... the growing dark,)

"It was very creepy." Percy said matter-of-factly.

("they have a thing... about Aphrodite's husband?")

"Yeah, what about him?" Beckendorf and Hephaestus both muttered, barely loud enough for those closest to them to hear.

("Well, you know," she... Mount Olympus by Zeus.)

"Wrong." Hephaestus coughed out. "Dad wasn't the one to throw me off. She was." He said bitterly, pointing at his mother, who narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't say anything.

Zeus licked his lips and found the floor interesting. He hadn't even known she was doing it until a few of the wind spirits came and reported seeing a baby falling off the mountain. They'd tried to catch him, but were unable to. They put him in the Healing Rooms once they realized who it was that fell.

He had not been happy with his wife when he found out she threw his son off a mountain and crippled him for life. Considering they were immortal... yeah.

(So he isn't exactly... talent, you know?")

Piper looked torn between agreeing with the assessment, and defending her mother. She knew that Aphrodite could be pretty shallow, but not all the time. Most of her half-siblings mortal parent was actually pretty hard-working and intelligent. As well as successful in their chosen careers.

"Hey, brains and talent can be highly attractive." Aphrodite sniffed. "Look at Piper's father, oh, now there was talent." She smirked, and Ares scowled. Annabeth thought about that one for a second, but had to concede that point.

That didn't change the fact, though, that Aphrodite didn't care much for her husband, instead going out with Ares. Or the fact that her children were... well, let's just say they could stand to learn some work ethic from their fathers.

("She likes bikers."

"Whatever."

"Hephaestus knows?")

"Yup." Hephaestus muttered with a scowl. Leo and Beckendorf scowled as well. There was a very good reason why children of Hephaestus avoided their step-siblings in the Aphrodite cabin if they could. (With the exception of Piper, of course). They hated how their step-mother treated their father.

Sure, it wasn't like their father was exactly faithful to his marriage either, they wouldn't be there if he was, but at least he didn't flaunt his other relationships for the world to know. He didn't go out of his way to taunt his wife with them like she seemed to go out of hers to taunt him.

("Oh sure," Annabeth... them together once.)

"More than once." Hephaestus said with a smirk. The others smirked too, remembering those times.

Percy and Annabeth grumbled, they didn't care about those other times, they only cared about this time, when they were the ones caught in the net.

(I mean, literally caught... to embarrass them.)

"He does that a lot." Poseidon muttered, wondering how they were going to handle this one. He was also curious how Hephaestus was going to spring the trap this time. It was always interesting to see what he did, although he did wish his son wasn't caught up in it this time.

Aphrodite shot her husband a disgruntled look, not at all happy about those times, but didn't say anything. It had sort of become a game between the two of them.

(That's why they... ahead. "Like that.")

"Which is very predictable. You should mix it up sometimes." Athena advised. Ares and Aphrodite both shot her annoyed looks, while everyone else wondered why she would try to get them to pick new places.

She enjoyed watching them get humiliated just as much as the rest of them.

They dismissed it, used to her spouting random tactical advice sometimes. Didn't make it any less annoying.

(In front of us was... awesome for skateboarding.)

Several of the girls snorted. "Boys." They muttered. The boys looked vaguely offended by this, along with both Clarisses'. They happened to like skateboarding, too.

"We should go there sometime, if it's a good spot." Travis suggested.

"And it would be empty, we would have it all to ourselves." Connor agreed. The rest of the boys (and Clarisse) in the room made various noises, and plans were already being made to go back to that park when this whole thing with the Giants was over.

(It was at least... shaped like a bowl.)

The guys made appreciative noises, and the girls rolled their eyes.

Sally and Paul managed to hide their grins, knowing how much the boys liked skateboarding from how often Percy met up with some of them during the school year to go to the park.

(Around the rim, a... bows ready to fire.)

"Talk about cliché." Piper muttered in disgust.

Aphrodite frowned at her daughter. "Your brother would be pleased that he is being honored like this. Although... perhaps without the bow and arrows." She admitted the last part quietly to herself. Jason winced, remembering the encounter he had with Piper's older brother, Piper made a face that nobody but her companions noticed.

Ares frowned, too. Where did the bow and arrow thing even come from? Sure, Eros was very handy with them, but he was Ares son, so... that was a given.

Piper didn't say anything else, feeling that her point stood. It was so cliché, no matter how her older half-brother would feel about it.

Annabeth, Percy, and Grover were silent. They were the only ones who didn't think it was merely 'cliché'.

(On the opposite side... PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!)

"That sounds so corny." Katie said, with a frown and a shake of her head.

"Sometimes, love is corny." Aphrodite said primly, still miffed about her daughter's comment regarding her half-brother. Piper looked at her in disbelief. Did her mother really just say that?

(Grover crept toward... painted all over it.)

Aphrodite tilted her head to the side thinking that, while the rest of the park left much to be desired, this didn't sound too bad. Piper gagged while the boys made faces. A few of the girls just tilted their heads in consideration, some of them nodded while others made a face of their own.

(In the left seat...

"This is too easy,")

"Agreed." Nearly every demigod in the room said at once. They were pretty sure, by now, that this was most certainly a trap.

Although they were interested in hearing what was going on, Percy and Annabeth's comments about this 'adventure' had peaked their interest. This was sounding to be very interesting.

(I said. "So we... there and get it?")

"No, that's way too easy." Thalia muttered.

"How else were we supposed to retrieve it?" Annabeth asked, slightly bitter. She really, really didn't want to read about this next part. She actively tried to forget about it. What little she could even remember through the terror that was clouding her mind, anyway.

(Annabeth ran her... here," she said. "Eta.)

Hephaestus winced and looked at his uncle, who was already eyeing him suspiciously. "In my future self's defense, I was not planning on Ares passing it on to a trio of demigods." He defended himself. He did not want some of his forge's demolished sometime in the near future. One good earthquake from his uncle... and bye-bye volcano forge.

Poseidon merely narrowed his eyes at his nephew.

Percy narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend. "Should have wondered faster." He grumbled, referring to what she said while looking at the statue. She winced, but apologized quietly, again.

(I wonder..."... "you smell any monsters?")

Everyone relaxed slightly. At least they wouldn't have to deal with that, not on top of whatever it was Ares had sent them into.

Ares was the only one vaguely disappointed by that.

(He sniffed the wind... or really nothing?")

"Come on, man." Grover said, holding out his hand with a pained look on his face. Grover looked down, knowing that what happened on the arch was mostly his fault, despite what his older self told him.

Hermes shot Percy a dark look at that.

"I said I was sorry." Percy grumbled out, but did still look genuinely apologetic. Grover sighed, but nodded his acceptance of the apology.

(Grover looked hurt... was underground.")

Grover sighed in frustration. "Which is what made it the perfect place." He muttered. He was still miffed about that.

"Are you going to bring that up everytime the Satyr's hatred of the underground is mentioned?" Percy asked, wanting to know now before it started happening.

Grover merely shrugged, and Percy grimaced while everyone looked at the two of them in confusion. Except, of course, for those that were there that day.

("Okay, I'm sorry."...

"I'll go with you.")

"No, you should stay up top, since you have the flying shoes, you can move quicker to help if needed." Athena immediately denied. The demigods all looked at her while the three on this quest exchanged smirks, they couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she heard that Percy had the exact same idea.

(Grover didn't sound... happened in St. Louis.)

Grover, not for the first time and certainly not for the last, cursed his friends perceptiveness. Why, why did he have to be so observant?

Of course, there were also times where that observance did him no good and actually got him into even more trouble, because he had no idea how to really talk to people about whatever it was that he noticed in their behavior or attitude.

("No," I told him... something goes wrong.")

Athena looked horrified, and her mouth moved like she wanted to say something, but couldn't. Most of the rest of the room chuckled while a demigod snapped a picture of the look on her face.

Where the camera came from, was anybodies guess.

(Grover puffed up... could go wrong?")

"Never ask that!" All the demigods suddenly cried at once, looking at both satyrs incredulously.

All the gods jumped and stared at the demigods, wondering where that reaction came from.

Grover flinched so hard, his whole body moved. "Sorry, I should have known better." He muttered.

Percy sighed. "Nah, everything would have still happened, that trap was laid." He muttered in response. Grover shrugged. His saying that might have made his companions slightly complacent.

("I don't know... come with me-")

Aphrodite squealed, and Percy shot her a glare, not appreciating her opinion or input into his love life.

Most of the girls snickered while Percy glared around at them, and a few of the other guys looked confused about what was so funny. Those men that understood, just shook their heads in amusement.

He still didn't understand what the problem had been, or why Annabeth made such a big deal out of it.

Honestly, girls.

("Are you kidding?" She... were bright red.)

"What's wrong with that? It's a quest, it's also obviously a trap." Luke said, confused. "It's not a good idea to go alone." The other confused boys all nodded while some of the girls sighed.

Boys.

The adults were amused.

("What's the problem now?" I demanded.)

The ones who were still confused nodded their agreement, while Percy grumbled about girls making everything complicated.

He still didn't understand, and didn't think he ever would.

The girls looked at each other and sighed, exasperated. Of course, he wouldn't understand, he had just asked Annabeth to go with him on the Thrill Ride of Love ride. How did he not see the issue?

("Me, go with you... somebody saw me?")

"Nobody is there. Besides, you're there to retrieve something, not do anything." Thalia said, exasperated. Honestly, this girl. The guys in general were still very confused about what her problem was, because they completely agreed with Thalia.

"Thank you!" Percy exclaimed, pointing at his cousin.

The Romans were looking at Annabeth like they'd never seen her before. They were militaristic, they didn't let little things like embarrassment get in the way of getting the job done. Although Gwen and Hazel understood most of what the problem here was. They just hadn't ever imagined that somebody like Annabeth would let such a little thing get in the way of the job at hand.

Annabeth flushed red, she knew that. But still... besides, what happened next was much, much worse anyway.

("Who's going to... make everything complicated.)

"Exactly." Most of those who didn't understand the problem muttered. The girls looked affronted, while the rest of the men nodded. They did tend to make things out to be more complicated than they really were.*

"We do not make things complicated, if you men weren't such idiots all the time..." Katie said hotly.

Hestia cleared her throat before the demigods could start arguing, and Ares glared at them angrily before he kept reading without giving them a chance to say anything else.

("Fine," I told her... messed things up.)

The girls nodded in agreement, while the boys growled. They didn't say anything though, not wanting to make Hestia angry with them.

(We reached the boat... lady's silk scarf.)

"Ok, if you just pick the thing up, then you are clearly stupid." Beckendorf deadpanned, that was way too easy, and way too obviously a trap.

Percy just sighed, while Annabeth buried her face in Percy's shoulder. A few of the others groaned and face-palmed.

(I tried to imagine... park ride. Why?)

"Good question." Aphrodite growled, glaring at the wall. Ares swallowed and kept reading, hoping that Percy figured out the reason and that his girlfriend would approve. Even if she didn't approve of the park yet...

(Then I noticed something... direction we looked.)

"Ah." Most of the council said at once, leaning back in their seats as they understood all at once.

Percy nodded while Ares and Aphrodite's children looked confused. Piper had a feeling she knew where this was going, though.

(That must be it... people: themselves.)

"Yup." Most of the gods said at once. That sounded about right.

Aphrodite pursed her lips, but finally nodded in satisfaction. She supposed that that would be one positive feature of this park. She still wasn't thrilled about the location, though.

Piper scowled. How was she supposed to get her siblings to pay more attention to something other than their looks, when their mother pulled stunts like this?

(I picked up the scarf.)

"Oh, this should be good." Piper muttered to Jason. He merely raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was talking about. "That's my mothers scarf. In the hands of a boy."

Now, those who heard her understood, and they looked at Percy in interest. He could guess what they were talking about, and turned bright red. He didn't even know exactly how he acted here.

(It shimmered pink... Something good.)

Sally chuckled, enjoying this small section of the book after everything else that had already happened in the books. Aphrodite hid a small smile, and Poseidon smirked at his son.

Percy scowled while his face turned even more red.

(I smiled, a little... against my cheek)

Aphrodite squealed, while those nearby covered their ears or made a face at her. Most of the guys snickered, until a few gallons of water dumped on their heads abruptly. They looked at Percy in disbelief, but he was staring at the wall. His face was beet red.

"Remind me to get this on tape when or if it still happens." Hermes muttered to Apollo.

Apollo laughed. "Knowing Hephaestus, he'll have gotten the whole thing on film, anyway. What comes is probably even better than this right here." He reminded, and Hermes merely tilted his head with a smirk.

Percy shuddered while Triton laughed at him, and Sally smirked playfully at her son, who shot her a betrayed look. His eyes gleamed mischievously, though.

(when Annabeth ripped... from that love magic.")

"And it joins the trophy collection." Percy said with a smirk.

"What else was I going to do with it? I wasn't going to leave it in my cabin for somebody else to find. Or, gods forbid, give it to the Aphrodite cabin to do whatever with. Can you imagine the kind of love-sick chaos some of them would have caused? I mean, Silena wouldn't have done anything like that, but her siblings..." Annabeth shuddered, Piper shuddered too at the thought of Drew getting her hands on a scarf with their mothers love magic all over it. "And it's not like Aphrodite doesn't have a million other scarves."

"True." Percy shrugged.

("What?"

"Just get the... get out of here.")

"Slow down, don't be so hasty." Luke muttered. Seriously, they knew this was probably a trap, didn't they? Surely they could have figured it out on their own.

"We didn't think about it being a trap." Percy muttered. "I just figured he was being a lazy jerk, just to be a lazy jerk." He shrugged now. A few of the gods chuckled at his description of Ares while he and his children glared.

Luke blinked. Did he say that out loud?

(The moment I touched... dashboard. A cobweb,)

Annabeth shuddered at the thought, while her two older counterparts winced at the vague memory of what came next. They didn't even hardly remember much of this through the terror.

"And, here's the trap." Gwen muttered to Dakota, who nodded in agreement, his hands were fiddling with a small puzzle that he kept on hand for when he had to sit through long, boring meetings between the Centurions and the Praetors.

(I thought, but then... invisible. A trip wire.)

"Oh, come on. That's the oldest trick in the book." Connor groused. He would know, his father basically wrote the book, they had a copy of the original in their cabin under layers of enchantments. All the children of Hermes, and even Leo, gave Hephaestus a dark look about it.

"Ah, but the old tricks are still used because they still work." Hephaestus said with a smirk.

"...True." Travis said, looking at his siblings. They made faces, but quieted down.

("Wait," Annabeth said.)

"Ooo." Almost everyone cringed back.

"Bad timing." Luke muttered. He'd seen the footage from this later on, Kronos had shown him. He hadn't known anything that happened before the camera's started recording, though.

("Too late."... This is a trap.")

"You need to be more observant." Poseidon said, shaking his head. He turned to Percy. "You shouldn't have been so hasty to grab the shield, either. Whether you considered it being a trap or not."

Percy grimaced, but didn't say anything about it. He just wanted to get out of that creepy park.

(Noise erupted all... into one giant machine.)

"Oh, this can't be good. This can't be good at all." Beckendorf said, glancing at his father in concern.

"What?" Clarisse asked.

"Whatever trap they just set off, is designed with Ares and Aphrodite in mind. Not two demigods." Leo said, glancing at Percy.

"Ah, don't worry about us. It takes more than one of Hephaestus' traps to take us down." Percy said, Annabeth smiled weakly beside him. The worry and tension in the room ratcheted up several levels.

(Grover yelled, "Guys!"... into firing position.)

Everyone froze, eyes wide, while Sally squeaked in shock and reached for Paul's hand.

That was a very sudden spike in the worry that was already there. They didn't know what exactly they expected with this trap, but it wasn't that. Aphrodite blinked at her husband, his traps had never been the point of serious bodily harm before.

(Before I could... shot, but not at us.)

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, but the tension didn't lessen any, because they were definitely in the trap now. A trap that, as the sons of Hephaestus pointed out, was made with two immortals in mind. Not two demigods who were definitely mortal.

(They fired at each... a huge golden asterisk.)

"A net." Jason deadpanned. "That cannot be all there is." He muttered with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, it wasn't." Percy said, darkly. Those who didn't know him looked startled when they turned to face him. Those who did know him, knew that he only got into dark moods like that when those he cared about were put in unnecessary harm or emotional trauma.

As one, they all glanced at Annabeth, who was already looking slightly pale just from the memory.

(Then smaller metallic... to get out," I said.)

"No, what gave it away?" Nico asked sarcastically. Percy just gave him a bland look, and didn't bother dignifying that with a response. Annabeth patted him on the arm, and he huffed before slipping his arm around her shoulders in support.

("Duh!" Annabeth said... as going down.)

By this point, everyone who cared was at the edge of their seats, silently cheering the two of them on. Ares was the only one happy that they had finally gotten to some action, the rest were worried.

Somehow though, they didn't think that it would be as easy as simply escaping the net.

("Come on!" Grover shouted... wrap around his hands.)

"Ah." Hephaestus said, leaning back. He went all out for this one, it seemed. There was a way to escape it, but he didn't think that the next part of the trap would give them time to figure it out. That, and, the escape route would be something only he and Aphrodite would really know.

He tried not to shift uncomfortably at the glare Perseus was aiming at him. That boy was not happy about whatever came next.

"Of course it does." Thalia and some of the demigods grumbled, not hearing Hephaestus.

"It would be way too easy if you could just hold the net apart and escape."

(The Cupids' heads... came video cameras.)

The demigods jaws dropped. "Aw, come on!" Travis and Connor both whined.

"It was taped, and we never got to see it? That would have been golden blackmail material!" Clarisse grumbled.

"Yeah, no. Sorry." Percy said, not at all sorry. What they didn't know, was that Chiron did have a copy of the tape, courtesy of Dionysus, but Percy found out about it and, well... lets just say the shark who accidentally ate it had a hard time properly digesting anything for the next few weeks until he went to a mer-camp to find out what was wrong with him. (Percy was apologizing to the local marine-life for weeks). Annabeth looked at him, amused. Grover coughed, he was the only one who knew that Percy had destroyed the available copy of this video, or that he did it because he didn't want anybody else seeing Annabeth in that state.

He said that enough people had seen it already, there was no need to pass it around.

(Spotlights rose up all... "Live to Olympus)

"Aw, man. I would have loved to see that." Travis whined again. Connor nodded, pouting. Hermes and Apollo glanced at each other, excited and hopeful.

This should be good.

Poseidon was the only one on the council who frowned, even Athena looked interested. He didn't know how he felt about everybody seeing this, granted most of the time on a quest, you know that somebody is watching. But, this was...

Aphrodite shot her husband a glare. He might not have invited everybody to come and laugh this time, but this wasn't any better.

(in one minute... "I'm so stupid. Eta is 'H.')

Athena pursed her lips together in disapproval. Her daughter should have realized all that earlier, before they even went down into the pool. "You should have realized that sooner." She rebuked, Annabeth deflated slightly, but didn't let it get her down.

(He made this trap... like absolute fools!")

"Yes, you are." Apollo said gleefully. He couldn't wait until they got to see this, if that even happened anymore.

Annabeth and Percy shot him a deadpanned glare, while Grover glared at the wall.

(We'd almost made...

Annabeth screamed.)

A few people started and glanced at Annabeth in concern.

What was it that crawled out of those mirrors?

Annabeth swallowed and leaned into Percy's side. She was not looking forward to reading about the parts she couldn't even remember.

Apollo's eyes widened in shock.

(It was an army of... whirring metal.

"Spiders!")

Those who knew Annabeth the best, jerked around to watch her in concern, eyes wide. They all knew that she had a particularly strong reaction to spiders, even for a child of Athena. Now, they were all terrified of spiders, and all had strong reactions, but Annabeth was the only one who became absolutely paralyzed with terror.

(Annabeth said. "Sp-sp-aaaah!")

Annabeth gave a full body shudder and huddled into herself, closing her eyes. Annabeth whimpered quietly enough that her companions were the only ones to hear her, and Annabeth shuddered along with her older counterpart. Luke, Percy, and Percy all grabbed their respective daughter of Athena and tried to comfort them.

Everyone else watched the two younger Annabeth's in shock, surprised that she was showing such a reaction. All the book did was mention spiders. Of course, the older ones also remembered what happened the one time Travis and Conner thought that filling the Athena cabin with plastic spiders was a good idea for a prank. They had come spilling out of the door the moment somebody opened it, none of the cabin sixes occupants had been able to even look at their home for weeks without cringing in terror, and the nightmares some of them had...

Athena frowned in concern at her daughters having such a strong reaction to a spider. She missed the demigods and mortals glaring at her, since they were well aware of just why she was reacting this way. All of her children reacted this way.

(I'd never seen her like this before.)

The younger demigods shook their heads and glanced at their Annabeth . "None of us have." Clarisse muttered.

"I have." Luke said darkly, thinking about the one time before they got to camp. One of the abandoned houses they'd stayed the night in had suddenly become infested with spiders overnight, he didn't think there was a single surface that wasn't covered in them. Annabeth herself had been covered in cobwebs, and there had been spiders all over her, while he and Thalia had been left alone for the most part. He'd had to carry her out, and she'd been nearly catatonic for the next two days. That was after Thalia had to take her behind some trees to undress the girl and shake her clothes out to make sure she didn't have any still on her, and helped wash out her hair.

Thalia and his older self glanced at each other darkly, remembering the same incident. It had been horrible, and they would freely admit to raiding a hardware store afterward and carrying off as much bug spray as they could carry.

Those who had been wishing they could have seen the recording of this, were now glad they hadn't. They didn't want to see Annabeth in this kind of state, this wasn't who she was.

(She fell backward in... back toward the boat.)

"Well, that is the high ground, but there is nothing to stop them from crawling up into the boat with you, and you are now completely surrounded with no way of getting to the net should the Satyr manage to create a hole in it." Athena mused, although she was still rattled about how her daughter froze at the sight of a spider. She didn't exactly like the things either, being spawn of that woman Arachne, but she didn't freeze like that!

"All I was thinking of was to get off the ground. The boat was more easily defended than the flat ground. Sort of." Percy shrugged. He did what he could to keep the spiders away while trying to think of a way out of that mess.

(The things were coming... And we weren't gods.)

"No, you most certainly are not." Poseidon breathed, sitting at the edge of his throne, where he had shot as soon as the spiders appeared. He was glaring at Hephaestus and strangling the pole on his trident with both hands. For a second, Percy was afraid that he would blast his nephew like he had that giant squid during the war, but his father seemed to be controlling himself. Hephaestus glanced at his uncle and swallowed before deliberately turning his attention back to the project in his hands.

How was his future self supposed to know that Ares would send the demigods to get his shield instead of going to get it himself? For all he knew, Ares could have set this whole thing up on purpose, knowing that if he knew where the date was, he wouldn't be able to resist trapping them. Then, he sent the demigods once he was sure the trap was already laid.

This wasn't his fault!

He hoped.

(Annabeth and I climbed... more than scream.)

Thalia and both Luke's winced, while both of the older Annabeth's turned a slight red.

"I don't remember any of this." Annabeth muttered, barely loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"Well, you were pretty out of it until the spiders were gone." Percy tried to reassure, rubbing a hand up and down her back.

("Thirty, twenty-nine,"... were so many of them,)

"Yes, that would get hard to get out of." Poseidon said with a frown.

Percy nodded. "The threads were actually very weak. But there were thousands of them." He said with a frown. Hephaestus frowned at hearing something he built described as weak, but didn't say anything because he knew that Poseidon would probably kill him if he said the wrong thing.

(and the spiders just... of my new surf shoe.)

Everyone flinched in horror. If that spider got a hold of their skin... those things were deadly, there were too many of them for Percy to effectively fight off, especially while protecting Annabeth.

Grover and Annabeth looked at him in question, they didn't remember seeing that when this was over. "I slipped back to the gift shop and grabbed a new pair of shoes. And a few more things to do with my hands." Percy said with a shrug. They turned their attention back to Ares.

(Grover hovered above... it wouldn't budge.)

"You're better off trying to find something else out. Because that clearly isn't going to work." Athena said in disapproval. Ares shot her an annoyed look, but kept reading without letting anybody else comment.

(Think, I told myself. Think.)

"Don't hurt yourself." Thalia teased with a smirk.

Percy narrowed his eyes at his cousin. "If anybody was going to hurt themselves thinking, it would be you." He deadpanned.

(The Tunnel of Love... million robot spiders.)

"Good plan. Now, how do you get rid of the spiders." Athena said reluctantly, leaning forward in her throne.

"Will you let me read?!" Ares demanded, annoyed with her constant interruptions about what the three had planned. She fell silent and turned to glare at him, opening her mouth to start an argument, but Ares kept reading in annoyance.

("Fifteen, fourteen," the...

Water, I thought.)

"Yes!" Poseidon and Triton both called.

There should be some water still there somewhere, right? It was a water park, even if the water was shut off, there would still be some in the pipes that he could draw on.

Percy smirked minutely.

"That would work. But there's no water." Athena said, smirking at Ares. He narrowed his eyes and kept reading. He decided that ignoring her was the best way to go at the moment.

(Where does the ride's... behind the mirrors,)

"Where they were kind of well hidden." Thalia said, tilting her head to the side.

"Luckily, they weren't that well hidden." Percy pointed out with a shudder. That would have been bad, it would have taken him even longer to think of something.

(where the spiders had... the controller's station.)

"Yes, that could work." Athena said again. Amphitrite rolled her eyes and gagged her, although it was a single piece of clean seaweed, and not a clump of dirty seaweed like they used with Gabe.

("Grover!" I yelled... the 'on' switch!")

"Did that place even still have electricity being run to it?" Reyna asked, doubtfully.

"I don't think so, but I was desperate for something, and in a bit of a tight spot." Percy said, still holding Annabeth tightly to his side. Her eyes were still shut tightly.

"True." She said, and eyed Annabeth in concern. The daughter of Athena was not somebody that the Praetor could imagine would ever have a breakdown like this, but she supposed that everybody had something they just could not handle.

("But-")

"I was trying to point out that there probably wasn't any electricity. And the fact that I wouldn't have even known what buttons to push." Grover shook his head.

("Do it!" It was a... our only chance.)

"Not quite." The sea-folk all muttered. All it would take, was Percy reaching for whatever water was still in those pipes...

By this point, the tension in the room was almost suffocating.

(The spiders were all... at the buttons.)

"I had no idea what I was doing." Grover shrugged. And he really hadn't.

"It's not every quest that takes you to an abandoned water park." Thalia said with a grimace. "Although, those places are popular monster hangouts." Zoe and Artemis nodded their agreement.

"Ares, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus' presence in the park earlier would have scared them away." Artemis pondered. Her two Hunters agreed.

"Thank goodness." Percy muttered. He was really glad that they hadn't had to fight off hoards of monsters on top of everything else they had to deal with in that park.

"At least one thing went right in that stupid park." Annabeth agreed.

The tension was going up the longer they read with the three of them still in the park.

("Five, four-"

Grover looked up... nothing was happening.)

"The only electricity is probably the security lights, if those were even on." Hestia quietly mused to herself, ignoring the tension in the air.

"The only lights on were the ones by the front gates." Percy shrugged.

"If anything happens to those three that affects the search for my Bolt..." Zeus threatened lowly. Sally looked at him in disgust, he didn't even care about the two twelve-year olds themselves. (Grover was almost thirty years old, she wasn't as worried about him.)

All he cared about was his precious lightning bolt.

(I closed my eyes... the Mississippi River.)

"There we go." Poseidon murmured. "The first conscious use of his powers. He'll start figuring them out quickly enough, now."

"Not as fast as if he had somebody to teach him." Triton reminded his father. Poseidon nodded and reminded his son of their plans to bring Percy to Atlantis for a bit.

Zeus could do nothing but grit his teeth.

(I felt a familiar tug... out of the pipes.)

Poseidon smirked, pleased with his sons progress. All three of them, plus the demigods that knew Percy visibly relaxed. Percy was in the water, he was going to be fine. Annabeth would come back to her senses now that the water was going to wash the spiders away, so she would be alright as well.

"That's good timing, though. Right when the camera starts rolling..." Apollo commented to Hermes happily. He was looking forward to seeing this video again, now that Annabeth wouldn't be a terrified wreck during it.

The demigods all cheered. Percy and Annabeth were safe now, they just needed to ride the flood to the exit.

(It roared into the... slammed into our boat,)

"She almost went over the side when it did." Percy informed them. He'd been more steady on his feet, because he'd been aware enough to brace himself, and it was water.

(over the top, whisking... dousing us completely,)

"I remember everything that happened from this point on." Annabeth informed. The water to her face was enough to snap her out of it.

"Good thing, too. I needed you aware or we would have been dead." Percy said with a shudder at the thought of what could have happened otherwise.

(but not capsizing us... force they burst.)

More cheers broke out among the demigods, and Hephaestus scowled when his creations were destroyed.

He knew better than to complain about it, though. Not with Poseidon still glaring at him in between looking at his son in pride.

(Spotlights glared down... live to Olympus.)

"Straight to our eyes for viewing." Apollo said with a smirk, and Hermes rubbed his hands together.

The demigods all narrowed their eyes at the two gods. They absolutely hated being used for the gods personal entertainment.

(But I could only... seemed to respond.)

"Not your imagination." Triton said with a smirk. Percy smirked back.

Ares shot them both a very annoyed look. He was getting annoyed with all the comments about the brats abilities.

(At least, it didn't... the metal net.)

"It was a good thing the water didn't go any higher. We would have been screwed." Annabeth murmured when the tension rose slightly again.

Those who thought the worst, relaxed slightly again.

(Then the boat's nose... both of us screaming)

"I was not!" Percy protested. He wasn't screaming!

Everyone laughed. "Percy, the Fates wrote these, remember?" Thalia reminded him, laughing harder when he pouted. (Not that he would ever admit it).

"Well, the Fates have a bad sense of humor." Percy grumbled, and looked up cautiously to make sure nothing was going to fall on top of him for talking bad about the Fates. When nothing did, he sighed in relief before scowling at everyone who was still laughing. He pouted when he realized that Annabeth and his mother were both laughing just as hard.

At least Poseidon was trying to hide his grin.

(as the boat shot... Valentine's Day stuff.)

Aphrodite perked up in interest. This ride was looking more and more interesting. And... "Oh, I loved Romeo and Juliet. They were such a lovely couple, it was such a shame what happened to them, I had so many plans for those two." She sighed dramatically while everyone else made a face.

Artemis looked at her in disgust. "Messing with mortals love lives, disgusting." She muttered to Zoe. Most of her Hunters were with her because of something Aphrodite did, mostly to their chosen partner. The heartbreak drove them straight to her.

Piper looked uncomfortable, that sounded so much like the behavior she'd been working out of her siblings.

Ares eyed her hopefully. She was no longer sitting on the far side of her throne from him, and no longer looking in the other direction or holding her arms crossed over her chest.

(Then we were out... there was a problem.)

There was a stream of curses (under their breath in an attempt to keep Sally and Paul from hearing what they said) from the demigods. The good mood they'd been in while they thought the other two were safe now, disappeared faster than a donut spotted by Blackjack.

"Of course there was a problem. It would have been too easy otherwise." Nico grumbled as he played with a bone in his hands. A few people did a double-take when they saw it, wondering where it came from. The younger demigods inched away from him, unsettled.

So far, they had been pretty good about his presence, despite everything they'd ever heard about Hades and his children. The bone, though, was testing their limits. Just a bit.

"I wish it was easier." Grover huffed while rubbing his shoulder in remembered pain. He hadn't dislocated it, but he had torn a muscle, and it was sore for weeks after , since he waited so long to have it looked at .

(The Gates of Love were chained.)

"Oh, that is not good." Was the general comment.

"The water is moving too fast. If the water was flowing at a normal speed for this ride, then you would safely bump into it. But the waters are moving at high speeds, and taking you with it." Poseidon mumbled.

"He can either try to slow the boat down, or they can try to jump over the gate and into the exit pool. If they time it right, they could even just jump onto the gate itself, depending on its design." Triton muttered to himself. Percy looked up at him and blinked while his older self and Annabeth stared in shock.

"I didn't even think of trying to slow us down." Percy said.

"Or just grabbing hold of the gate." Annabeth blinked in surprise. They looked at each other and sighed. Poor Grover, that could have been avoided.

"Wouldn't it be safer if they just stay in the boat? It should be enough to protect them from the impact." Katie asked. The three who were there shook their heads.

"Lets keep reading." Percy leaned his head back to look at Mrs. O'Leary, who had been content to sit quietly and listen for the past few chapters.

(Two boats that had... other cracked in half.)

"Oh." Katie said blankly. "Don't stay in the boat. Definitely do not stay in the boat." Percy smirked wryly.

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Running into those other boats, you would run the risk of being skewered." Athena murmured with a hint of worry in her voice. She'd been silently sitting on the edge of her throne for a while now, having forgotten that she was keeping up a strategy commentary just to annoy Ares.

Sally gritted her teeth. This part, he'd left out.

("Unfasten your seat belt," I yelled to Annabeth.)

"I'm not sure if that is a good idea or a bad one in this case." Sally made a face, already knowing just what happened during all this. Percy hadn't meant to tell her this part, but had let it slip on accident.

"I'm going to guess, both." Paul said with a grimace. They couldn't stay on the boat, it would be crushed and they could get severely injured in the wreck. But, at the same time, where else were they going to go? Leaving the seat belt might at least help minimize any injury, since it could at least keep them from flying head first into the gate itself.

("Are you crazy?")

"Yes." Everyone said as one, making Percy pout, while Annabeth laughed softly.

"That's alright, though. I like a little crazy." She whispered to him, making him grin and kiss the side of her head.

Sally was laughing softly, while Paul watched in amusement.

("Unless you want... was simple and insane.)

"As they usually are." Luke snorted in amusement. He'd honestly enjoyed going up against Percy for mostly this reason, it was very entertaining to watch what he did next to get out of a tight spot.

"They work, don't they?." Percy shrugged, unrepentant. Honestly, why go for complicated plans and ideas, when keeping it simple often worked best? Annabeth rolled her eyes. Percy may come up with the idea, but it was often her making sure that it worked and didn't blow up on them, or thinking everything through and being ready with a back-up plan if the original one didn't work.

Which actually wasn't that often.

Everyone else simply shook their heads in amusement.

(As the boat struck... to jump the gate.)

Poseidon and a few others relaxed, while most didn't care, or they were already relaxed just from the knowledge that Percy had a plan and Annabeth was there to see it carried through safely.

(I'd heard of people... land in the pool.)

The demigods and mortals all groaned. "Well, that guarantees that they won't land in the pool." Will deadpanned. Percy scowled at him, but didn't say anything.

"Hey! I'm not that bad." Percy grumbled to Frank .

He snorted. "Yes, yes you are. Your luck is very unpredictable, unless you actually say things like that, then your luck won't hold out."

"You must have done something to make Fortuna mad." Hazel pondered. "Or, I suppose it would be Tyche, since your Greek." She tilted her head.

Percy shrugged. "I don't think so, I think she's one of the few that I haven't offended in some way."

"That we know of." Annabeth muttered.

They didn't know it, but Hazel and Frank were having a similar conversation with Reyna and Jason about Percy.

(Annabeth seemed to...

"On my mark," I said.)

"No, I would go on her mark." Thalia and Luke both said. Percy shot Thalia a betrayed look, and they both snorted.

"Face it Perce, you know the streets, not books." Luke said, shaking his head. Percy just glared at him.

("No! On my mark!"... the trajectory angle-")

"Speak English. Or Greek, that's good too." Thalia informed her little sister.

"That was English. Not my fault you don't understand it." Annabeth shrugged smoothly with a grin. The demigods all laughed.

("Fine.'" I shouted... then yelled, "Now!"

Crack!)

A few people jumped when Ares smacked the arm of his throne with a smirk, making a loud crack echo through the throne room. He smirked and went back to the chapter without giving them a chance to comment. He wanted this to be done with. He read ahead a little bit and was relieved that it was almost over.

(Annabeth was right.)

"I'm always right." Annabeth informed with a deadpan and a raised eyebrow.

Percy blinked at her, but decided that it was better for his health in the long run, to just agree. As soon as she wasn't looking, he looked at the Stolls and tilted his head side-to-side in a 'sort of' gesture. "Ah!" He doubled over when a well-aimed elbow found itself planted in his gut. "Right, sorry. You are always right." He eyed the knife being held deceptively loosely in her hand. It was pointed at his privates...

She smiled angelically and put it away, while everyone else laughed at them or smiled indulgently.

Athena smiled in amused approval of her daughter's actions. She still needed to find a few moments to get that sea-spawn away from her daughter, and get her daughter with that son of Hermes. Maybe Aphrodite would be willing to help with that.

(If we'd jumped when... got us maximum lift.)

They both grimaced, confusing Athena who had looked at her daughter with pride. What was wrong with that, they were going to clear the gates and land safely in the water, weren't they?

She had clearly missed both conversations among the demigods, just minutes ago.

(Unfortunately, that... more than we needed.)

Athena's face cleared up and now she understood. They were going to miss the pool, weren't they?

Most of the worry was back, and Poseidon was once again cursing the fact that his son hadn't had as much time to train, or even to explore his powers over water, before coming on this quest. It would have been a simple matter to bring the water up to catch them before overshooting it.

(Our boat smashed into... toward solid asphalt.)

Breaths were sucked in as a few people gasped.

"A fall like that..." Athena murmured, now a little scared for her daughter.

"I'm sure they were alright, they're here now." Poseidon said, eyeing his son and (maybe) someday daughter-in-law. Percy caught his eye and grinned in Grover's direction. Poseidon visibly relaxed.

(Something grabbed me... yelled, "Ouch!"

Grover!)

There were cheers and Grover got slaps on the back. Grover himself turned a bright red.

"Good job, man. You have earned your title of 'the Red Baron'." Beckendorf said, clapping him on the shoulder and referring to what Percy called him after Medusa was killed.

Grover stared at his older self with awe. This was the second time he'd ended up saving Percy and Annabeth. He honestly didn't know what to think about it, he knew that he would never manage it. '

Chiron nudged him. "You know that you can and will do the same if given the chance. Don't put yourself down so much." He told the young satyr quietly. The council put too much pressure on him, and didn't let him know often enough when he did something right. They deliberately set him up to fail most of the time, and it tore through the satyr's confidence like a hurricane.

(In midair, he had... all the momentum.)

"That really hurt, by the way." Grover informed the room. Annabeth and Percy grimaced, remembering how much it hurt Grover to continue the quest.

"Sorry about that, and thanks again." Percy said apologetically to one of his best friends. Grover just waved it off.

The parents looked worried again while the demigods relaxed. They knew that Grover had the two of them, and he wouldn't let anything happen.

("You're too heavy!")

Out of nowhere, Annabeth punched Grover in the shoulder. Hard. "OW!" He protested, holding his arm and staring at her in betrayal.

"Be lucky punching is all I did. I considered using my knife." She threatened with narrowed eyes. He shrank back in fear and turned pleading eyes on Percy, who sighed.

"Annabeth, he was carrying two of us. And he caught us suddenly, he wasn't making comments about your weight." Percy tried to placate her. She just huffed and sat back.

Sally and a few of the other adults chuckled at the typical reaction, pleased that they could still have normal teenage reactions despite being demigods and all the training that came with it.

(Grover said. "We're going... into a photo-board,)

The demigods sent out some more cheers. "Better that than the pavement." Thalia grinned. The three nodded in complete agreement.

Sally sat back again, once again relaxing at the news that the danger had passed. For now, anyway.

(Grover's head going... the Friendly Whale.)

There was some slightly hysterical laughter coming from the demigods, who had been tense once the solid asphalt became known.

"Noo-Noo the Friendly Whale?" Will snorted, and Grover turned even redder.

"I didn't care what it was, I was just glad it was there." Grover retorted. He wasn't exactly in full control of his flight after catching his two best friends. "That landing would have hurt."

"True." Thalia shrugged, even though she was still snickering.

(Annabeth and I tumbled... on my arm.)

Ares didn't even realize it, but as soon as he read that his shield was unscratched, he relaxed. He hadn't even realized he was tense from it.

"Good, now you can get back to the original quest, and find my Bolt." Zeus said, satisfied. He merely got disgusted looks for his comment.

(Once we caught our... against the gates.)

There were a few winces and covert glances to make sure Percy and Annabeth really were alright (they weren't actually that subtle, Percy and Annabeth just rolled their eyes).

"Honestly, guys. This was years ago. I'm just glad we weren't still in it when the boat crashed." Percy shrugged with a smirk.

(A hundred yards away... were still filming.)

Everyone laughed. "I forgot about those!" Travis cried gleefully.

"Don't bother asking Chiron for a copy. I destroyed it." Percy warned them.

"Aw." Connor pouted. Then he brightened up. "We can just ask dad if he has a copy." The Stolls high-fived while the younger pair looked at each other in excitement.

"Don't." Percy snapped, scowling. Then he glanced towards Annabeth, and the two of them dropped it, knowing how he got when it came to Annabeth.

(The statues had swiveled... spotlights in our faces.)

"Huh." Luke muttered suddenly.

"What?" Thalia asked, blinking at him.

"Found out where the ride's power supply was going." He answered dryly.

"Not necessarily." Beckendorf waved off. "Dad could have easily enough powered them with magic, or otherwise created his own power supply. He didn't have to route mortal power supplies to the lights." He explained dismissively.

("Show's over!" I... you! Good night!")

Everyone chuckled at the response. "Perce, have I told you yet that I love your brand of humor?" Thalia asked her cousin. Jason frowned at her, but didn't say anything.

From his experience since reuniting with his sister (what little he'd seen of her in the last several months), and what he'd seen and heard of Percy, they both had a very similar sense of humor.

He didn't say anything about it, though, because he'd also heard that the fights between those two were legendary and created several new clearings in the forest.

Hermes and Apollo grinned at each other again. They really, really liked this kid. Once again, Hermes glanced towards Sally, considering. He was going to take the next break to research her family lines. No excuses, he really wanted to know.

(The Cupids turned... and dark again,)

"As if nothing ever happened." Poseidon muttered.

"Except for all the water everywhere, now." Triton smirked.

"The park was still just as creepy as it was before that incident." Percy shook his head with a sigh.

"If anything, it was creepier." Annabeth deadpanned.

(except for the gentle... had been any good.)

"Oh, I would imagine they were very good. All that we usually have on these days is stupid reality T.V. Your show would have been much more interesting than that." Hermes said with a snort. Honestly, mortal television programs were much more interesting.

Percy made a face. "You guys need some better entertainment, if I'm the best you got." He deadpanned.

"Yes, we do." Poseidon muttered. He didn't even have Hephaestus television, precisely because nothing good was on. The only thing he really watched was the news, and even then it changed every five minutes.

(I hated being... hated being tricked.)

"Oo. Yeah. You messed up." Nico informed Ares. He knew first hand that one did not trick Percy. He still had nightmares about the time he tricked Percy into going to the Underworld, only for his father to take Percy prisoner. He hadn't even known it was possible for somebody to tear his fathers army apart like that, and he never wanted to see anything like that again.

And what Percy did to his father...

Ares merely raised an eyebrow at the boy, not believing that Percy could do anything about it.

(And I had plenty... little talk with Ares.")

"Uh-oh. Somebody isn't happy." Will said, snorting and shaking his head. The other (older demigods) all chuckled and settled in to listen to the show.

Clarisse scowled and gave Percy a Look, knowing about the fight after Percy returned from the Underworld. While the Ares cabin highly respected him and would follow him into battle anytime for any reason, (and most of the older ones had mostly forgotten that incident even happened by now, with everything that happened), there were some that had yet to forgive him for humiliating their dad like he did. Although, there were also some who weren't sure whether or not to be ashamed that their father, the god of war, was beaten by a barely trained demigod.

"Eh, I was only mildly annoyed at that point." Percy said, waving his hand dismissively. The other demigods only looked slightly relieved at that fact. An annoyed Percy still tended to cause plenty of damage, after all.

"That is the chapter." Ares said, closing the book with a snap and tossing it towards somebody, not even paying attention to who caught it. Athena gave him a dirty look for throwing a book.

"Why don't we take a lunch break? Everyone take your time, and get some air, stretch your legs. Burn off some energy." Hestia suggested, eyeing the (slightly) vibrating demigods warily. She had a feeling that they wouldn't be sitting still much longer, and preferred to let them move around and use some of that energy before they reached the point of no return and they started driving the gods crazy.

The other gods, and Chiron's, attention snapped towards the demigods, and Chiron's eyes widened when he saw how they were fidgeting with suppressed energy. There was a reason why the activities at camp were so physical, and he was frankly astonished that they had managed to sit still for so long.

Before anybody could react, the demigods cheered and charged out of the room, heading straight towards the palace dining room.

Sally laughed at the reaction, letting go of the remaining tension from the trap Hephaestus set for Ares. "Shall we?" She asked Paul, who grinned and held out his arm for her to take his elbow. She took it with another laugh before the two followed the stampede of hungry demigods. Percy took Triton's hand and practically dragged him behind his mother and new step-father.

The rest of the gods and goddesses blinked at where the children used to be sitting, while Chiron merely chuckled. "We should probably go while there is still food left."

Hestia giggled and got up to join the centaur in following the demigods and mortals.