"Done with your talk?" Hades raised an eyebrow as I walked back to the table.

"Yeah, I think so, anyway," I sent a glance at my mom, who was still watching the cars pass with a small smile on her face. I turned back to the Olympians, who were looking at me expectantly. Figures. "What's up?"

"Well, we thought it would be prudent to update you on the Luke situation," Hades said, slurping some spaghetti. He pointed his fork at me. "You know, since you outed him and all."

"Yeah, I was kind of wondering about that," I admitted, settling back into my seat next to Aphrodite. I graciously accepted some more of the delicious garlic bread. Aphrodite passed me the chili flakes. "Did you find him?"

"Oh, yeah, finding him was easy as pie. We're gods, nephew. I'm pretty sure most of us knew where he was halfway through that council meeting on the solstice. Well, besides Dionysus, I think- the fat lard just lazes around, drunk. I don't even know what my little brother was thinking," Hades admonished, and we both laughed lightly. Hestia nudged him, shooting him a stern look. "Right, right. Back on track. What I mean is, we've always known his location. It's just a matter of what we wanted to do with that information."

"Which is…"

"Nothing," Hestia answered as my jaw dropped.

"Huh? How- why"- My incoherent rambling was cut off by Hades.

"Kid, let me give you a little history lesson. This isn't the first time my dear, chopped-up father has started stirring from the other side," Hades said seriously. It was kind of hard to focus on what he was saying with the meatball on his moving fork, but I managed. "He does this every couple of centuries. My father is the type of guy to whisper in the ears of mortals, driving them to him at risk of going mad, get them to do a thing or two, and voila! He kills them off. We're sort of used to it at this point. Now, in the past, we'd intercept these hosts and stop them, but it's becoming clear that doing this sort of thing is only helping my father get stronger. He feeds on their life force and whatnot. The poor mortals kick the bucket after, and he's that much closer to reforming as a result."

"So…"

"So," Hestia added, sipping from a glass of wine. "We aren't going to stop Luke from doing what he wants. In fact, we're going to turn a completely blind eye to it."

"Are you serious?" I said, a nervous laugh bubbling in my throat. "You want him to bring your dead dad back? Like, the crazy, killer one? The one that would instantly declare war on us? Am I missing something?"

"Yes. That way, we can put him away for good," Hades explained grimly. "This time, we'll scatter his remains in a way that he'll be dormant for centuries before even thinking about coming back. If we take out Luke, we lose all leads to him. It's a tactical move. If we keep going like this, he'll just prolong his return even more and cause destruction in the meantime. We agreed, as a council, that we need to let him rise so we can take him out."

"What about all of the problems this is going to cause?" I pointed out. Rightly so, I think. I can kind of concede about the tactical advantage, but there are too many variables here that we just can't always monitor. "You're turning a blind eye to someone who literally wants all of the Olympians dead! Uncle, you're underestimating him! We have absolutely no idea what he's capable of. Realistically speaking, he could do more damage than good! And let's say all of this works out, how confident are you guys? Do you really think you could take out that guy?"

"I understand that you're worried about us, so I won't take that as an insult," Hades warned. "But we know what we're doing. We wouldn't bring him back if we didn't. This is the best way to ensure peace later."

"What about now!" I snapped, slapping a hand on the table. "Luke is going to take the fight to everyone. Demigods and humans alike are going to get caught up in the crossfire of this! Can't you see? To potentially save lives later, you're risking hundreds, thousands, maybe millions right now!"

"Don't speak out of line," Hades said calmly, but I felt the release of mana into the air. His dark eyes darkened even more, and shadows started forming on the table. "Kid, I like you, but you can't be doubting your superiors like this. You're strong, yeah, but you can't fight a real god. You can't argue with us. Our word is absolute. Stop."

I groaned, rubbing my temples. I could feel the early signs of a tension headache make themselves known in my body. "You claim not to be as dramatic as my other uncle, but here you are, trying to convince me to let my friends walk to their deaths. This is bullshit."

"What friends?" Hades snarked back. "The ones you used to get stronger? If you're worried about us using demigods, maybe you should look in the mirror first, nephew. You did it first."

"Now, boys"- Hestia tried to interrupt, but a heavy pressure settled on the table. She got quiet.

Hades snarled from his seat. "And don't compare me to him ever again."

"So, this is it, then?" I said, still angry. How dare he compare me to the gods? They want us to march to their deaths! All I fucking did was read books and train! "You're going to risk our lives for a hunch. Everyone at camp, is what, just expendable to you?"

"Yes, goddamnit," Hades snapped. He stood up abruptly, his voice deepening. I started to hear whispers coming out of the ground. "They're fucking demigods. Demigods. Your parents poop you guys out like there's a conveyor belt in the bedroom. You're heroes in training- what else do you train for? Battles like this! Chances like this! You may think it's callous, but it's how the world works! Kronos is going to use demigods as fodder. We, as gods, can't just go in and massacre them. Other demigods, though? Free fucking range, Percy, free range. You can go fight and challenge whoever you want. Kill who you want! It's simple- the gods need demigods to fight for them!"

"So, we can die in return?" I roared, standing up as well. Pyrokinetic activated itself, and my body lit up in another pillar of green fire. "No! We aren't anyone's toy soldiers! If the Olympians want our help, they'll need to shape up! Why would the camp fight for people they haven't even seen or met before!"

"BECAUSE IT"S YOUR JOB!" Hades lost it, the table snapping and exploding as if it had been caught in a gigantic hydraulic press. "YOU DEMIGODS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE ONES TO DO IT!"

My aura roared even louder, pressing back against Hades' building power. I shook my head, "No. I refuse to let innocent lives get caught in the crossfire! You all have easily enough power to monitor him without putting everyone else in danger. This is selfish and you know it."

"Forget selfishness. This isn't about the gods," Hades groaned from his spot. "Percy, that isn't the point. You aren't understanding. Demigods have to be the ones to fight in this war. You're the only ones that can move so freely."

"Why can't it be like the Trojan War or something?" I fired back. "Why can't gods and humans fight side by side? You can't seriously expect me to sit back and watch you use us like puppets when half of those kids don't even know what they're fighting for!"

"You like chess, right? Think about it like chess! Demigods are all the pawns here," Hades urged, shadows pooling in his hands. "Even though I like you, even though you're strong, you're a rook at best. At the end of the day, though, we have to protect the top dog- the king. The gods. If the gods fall, Percy, forget just humans, the entire world will collapse into itself. It's a small price to pay to prevent the destruction of life as we know it."

I sighed, "How can you say that? How can you honestly say that? What if it were your children on the line?"

"They aren't," Hades said calmly. "I made sure of that."

"How selfish is that?" I reiterated, some fire dripping onto the ground. The green flame slowly sizzled a hole into the wooden floor. "How unfair is that?"

"Both of you," Hestia said, taking a deep breath. "SIT DOWN!"

FWOOOOOOM!

I gasped out as the flames left my body. It felt like my whole soul had been yanked out- the feeling of ice cold water being dunked on me filled my entire being as my teeth chattered together. The flames were yanked towards Hestia, twirling and churning like a fluorescent dragon in the middle of Chinatown. They swirled around Hestia as she clapped her hands loudly.

The fire exploded outward in a monstrous cloud, rushing towards Hades. Smoothly, Hades twirled his hand, and a pure black staff melted out of the shadows.

"Ha!" He spun his staff, and Hestia's flames bounced off of him, barrelling towards me with even more speed than before.

I raised a hand to block it, but before I could even react, my body was shielded by a pink screen. A warm feeling of love and adoration bloomed inside of my body- not my emotions, mind you- and the fire sizzled out around me, the pink shield not even budging.

Hades growled out from across the table, his torso dotted with tiny pink shards. They glinted in the sunlight like glass shards. No way…

"Don't touch him," Aphrodite said, deadly serious. Her outstretched hand was twitching, and her fingertips were covered by glowing balls of pink mana. "If you hurt him, I'll kill you."

"Let's all take a deep breath," Now it was my turn to try to play the peacemaker. It was all fun and games when just Hades and I were throwing our weight around, but an all-out brawl between three gods and a superpowered teen?

Yeah, we'd level Times Square. I'd hate explaining that one to my mom.

"We don't agree on this, uncle, but you'd have to be out of your mind to push this," I warned. "These innocent kids don't know what's going on. They don't understand. It isn't fair to them."

"Then, what do you propose, nephew?" Hades said tiredly, some ichor poking out of his shirt. "You don't like it, but it's true. One way or another, the fight will come to demigods. You know this."

I sighed, my mind racing through the possible solutions. "I won't let little kids fight until they have to. Their lives have already been turned upside down. They haven't even had time to learn and grow- we know they'd die instantly. What you're talking about, it's the equivalent of using us as cannon fodder."

"They may not have a choice, my champion," Hestia called out from her seat, her hands still raised. "Not if the fight comes to them. If a war truly erupts, there's no guarantee that anyone will be safe."

"That's different. Uncle is talking about forcing quests upon them, making them fight without reason-I won't let it happen," I repeated. I screwed my eyes shut- all I could think about was Malcolm being forced to fight a monster twice his size just because the gods wanted some intel. He'd get crushed. "No. Let me handle it."

"You?" All three Olympians said at once.

"Me. The Child of Prophecy," I said bitingly. "I'll carry out all of your dirty work, as long as you keep the camp out of this."

"Percy, we can't guarantee that the fight won't come to camp," Hestia warned me. Her fiery eyes looked at me pleadingly. "This sort of stress could ruin you."

"Then I'll tell Chiron to train them harder. If I let children die for me, I'm no hero," I said slowly. The finishing ideas started to connect in my head. "It'll be like I'm on call. The gods can give me quests related to my grandfather and I'll carry them out. That way, we both win."

[HIDDEN][SIDE] Quest Complete!

Mr. Worldwide!

You just couldn't help yourself, huh? In a last-ditch attempt to save your friends from the tide of war, you've offered yourself as an 'on-call' hero for the gods!

Rewards:

+1000 REP with anyone with the [GOD] title!

+100,000,000 EXP!

You've gained the title [DIVINE CONSULTANT]!

The title [DIVINE CONSULTANT] doubles the EXP gained by doing a quest given to you by any deity!

Damn…I'm definitely long overdue for a level-up and some point allocation. When I get a second to check my breath, I'll take care of that.

Hestia stared at me. "Percy…"

"It's okay," I assured her. "It won't change my plans too much. All I ask is that I will still be able to go to school in peace. I promised my mom I would. Other than that, I don't care."

"Still, doing it alone…"

An idea formed in my head. "Could I bring someone with me?"

"You're going to have to present your case to the big man," Hades said, completely calm now. "But I don't see why not. Who'd you have in mind?"

"Piper," I answered instantly. "Well, if she wants, I mean. The last time I talked to her, she was looking for a way out of camp, so I'll see if she's interested in helping out."

"Kid, you're going to be in some hairy situations," Hades pointed out, sighing. "You're sure you want her there?"

"I'll train her," I said offhandedly. I looked back to my mom, who was still frozen in the position she'd been before our little argument had started. "It'll help put my mom's mind to ease, too."

"Do you think she'll hear you out?" Aphrodite asked, logically a bit skeptical. "You guys kind of got off on the right foot, and then the wrong foot, and then the wrong foot again. She's stubborn."

"I'll talk to her before I go back to Atlantis," I said, glancing down at my empty plate again. "Which I should do right about now. I don't want to be gone for long with this whole traitor situation."

"Okay. Listen…sorry for losing my cool a bit," Hades rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a…touchy subject. I'll tell you more later, but I had kids of my own that got swept up in this whole mess, so I get pretty pissed off when other demigods don't get the same unfair treatment. It's kind of reminiscent of how I've been treated since I got to Olympus."

"I understand, uncle, but that sort of thinking is wrong," I said calmly. "I know bad things happened, but you can't keep taking them out on innocent people. I don't expect you to change overnight, but just think it through a couple of times."

Hades nodded, throwing up another lazy hand as he melted into the shadows behind him, disappearing instantly.

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. "That was….something."

Hestia sighed, "He's had a hatred of demigods ever since my little brother killed his own. You handled that situation very well, though, Percy."

"Thanks. I was trying to"- SLAP!

"Now, what the hell were you thinking?" Hestia seethed, the fire from her eyes growing brighter. "Squaring off against an Elder God, even in that capacity, was foolish. What would you have done if he truly decided to attack you?"

"I had faith," I said simply. My eyes met Aphrodite's. "In both of you. I knew if things got rough, I'd be fine with you here."

"Be that as it may," Hestia snapped her fingers, unfreezing my mom. "Do be careful in the future, my champion."

"I will," I said, lying straight through my teeth. I wouldn't go looking for fights, yeah, but there's no way in hell I'd let my friends and loved ones get caught in any sort of crossfire. "Don't you worry about me at all."

My mom, understandably, had been confused when she walked back to the table. The rather abrupt disappearance of Hades was pretty obvious, but we assured her that he just had some things to take care of.

I think that if we told her the truth, she would've honestly combusted on the spot. Her beloved son, taking on the Lord of the Dead? Yeah, she'd be torn between crying and reprimanding me for my stupidness.

Aphrodite and I left a few minutes later. She grabbed my shoulder, and one other squeezing feeling later, we appeared in front of camp.

"Well, it was nice seeing you," Aphrodite said brightly, her face still glowing with happiness. I could see a little bit of sadness work its way in as she realized this was it for now. "Make sure to let me know the next time you want to visit!"

"You don't have to go anywhere yet," I said, holding her hand. It felt weird to think that the last time we'd been in this position, all I'd wanted was for her to leave. Now, well, I actually kind of wanted her here. I shot her a smile. "I, Perseus Jackson, give Aphrodite permission to enter the camp."

"Thank you!" If I thought she was happy before, she was absolutely beaming now. She leaned forward and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

"It was no problem," I replied honestly, still grinning at the warm feeling of her lips on my cheek. "Let's go!"

Camp…well, the camp was the same as it had always been. The same fields, the same Big House, the same kids walking away from the dining pavilion. I took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the Long Island water mixing in with the fresh berries.

"I see why you like it so much here," Aphrodite said softly, looking around the camp. Her nose was cutely scrunched at the Big House. "What an odd shade for a house, though."

I could've sworn I saw a shadow dash across the attic of the Big House, but I put it out of mind for now. "Believe me, baby, that's the least odd thing about that house."

We walked toward my cabin, but we were cut off on our way there.

"Percy! Percy!" I heard a yell. I turned, and a gigantic grin broke out on my face. Malcolm was running at me, absolutely tearing down the big grassy field. "You're back!"

I felt a really warm feeling take over my body at his excited look. For some reason, I felt, oddly enough, like crying a bit. He was just so tiny and defenseless- if there was any lingering doubt in my mind about whether or not I'd make the right decision, it was gone now. I'd take on every quest in the world to protect the little guy.

"Malcolm!" I yelled back, jogging over to him. The tyke lunged at me, his tiny arms barely wrapping around my waist now. I picked him up, giving him a tight hug.

I know I haven't spent too much time doing stuff like relaxing or just lazing around, but some of the most fun times I had here were hanging around with Malcolm and Annabeth. I missed him more than I thought I was going to.

"Hey, kiddo," Malcolm squealed as I tickled his stomach a bit. I laughed as he jokingly hit my shoulder- well, uh, he wasn't joking, but I could barely feel the punches, so they were jokes to me. "Miss me?"

"Yeah! I did!" Malcolm settled into my arms. Did he get a haircut? I patted his head. "Anna's been sad since you've been gone! But she said if I was a good boy and did all my studies and ate good, you'd visit!"

"Well, did you?" I asked pointedly, ignoring Aphrodite's giggle. Malcolm wrinkled his nose at me, but I continued, "Veggies are very important."

"I did!" He said excitedly, hugging me again. His head perked up a bit on my shoulder, and I felt a little bit of his shyness return. "U-uh, who's that, Percy?"

"That's my girlfriend, Ally," I introduced Aphrodite to Malcolm, intentionally leaving out her true identity. Malcolm retreated a bit more into my arms, hiding from Aphrodite. "And, Ally, this is Malcolm! The smartest kid around!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Malcolm," Aphrodite said sincerely, giving him a warm smile. She held out her hand, and his tiny one reached out and grabbed a few of her fingers as a greeting.

"It's nice to meet you too," Malcolm replied quietly. I gently placed him down as Annabeth's screams became audible.

"Malcolm!" Annabeth was hollering. "Where did you- wait a minute!"

Damn, that girl's fast. Annabeth cleared the field in, like, two seconds.

"Seaweed Brain, you're back!" Annabeth said with a grin, giving me a quick hug. She scooped down and picked up Malcolm. "That's why Malcolm got so excited!"

"Come on, Annabeth, of course, he's going to run to his favorite person in the whole wide world!" I teased, enjoying the look of annoyance on her face.

"I can't believe I missed you," Annabeth complained as we all shared a laugh. She turned her attention to Aphrodite, giving her a suspicious glance. "I don't believe we've met."

"Ally," Aphrodite offered kindly, playing into the fake name I gave her. I'm just glad she didn't do what she did in that taxi…that was very weird the last time around. Maybe she had been trying to show off for me? "I'm Percy's girlfriend."

"Oh, wow," Annabeth looked a little shocked. She looked at Aphrodite critically."I don't think I've seen you around camp before."

"I'm a legacy," Aphrodite smiled. "I met Percy at school."

"Oh, that's pretty cool, actually," Annabeth said sincerely. I knew she wasn't lying- come on, we all know by now that she's a terrible liar. "We don't get many legacies around here."

Aphrodite placed a hand on my bicep. "Yeah. Most of us just kind of exist out in the world. Percy, here, offered to show me around camp."

"Yeah, as if Seaweed Brain could ever give anyone an accurate tour," Annabeth scoffed, patting Malcolm's head. "All the guy knows is training and reading."

"That's not true! Entirely!" I complained as Aphrodite giggled beside me.

"Would you like to give us the tour?" Aphrodite asked curiously a moment later. I smiled to myself- she was probably just trying to see more of Annabeth, one of my self-proclaimed two friends. I'm pretty glad they're hitting it off, though…

"Gladly," Annabeth replied with a pleasant smile. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear- one of her nervous ticks. "I don't have too much time today, but we can squeeze in a little tour."

I sized her up, "Everything okay, Annabeth?"

"Yeah, yeah," She waved off my concern. "One of the Hermes kids just came down with something last night, so we're a man down for Capture the Flag. I wouldn't normally care, but I bet Clarisse I'd win- I put up bathroom duty for a week this time."

I paused. Any other time, I would've just gone ahead and glossed over the topic.

I mean, come on. When you're focused on fighting a war deity and training under your superpowered dad, things like a camp Capture the Flag kind of fade away. It seems irrelevant, stupid.

This is the kind of thing my mom was so worried about, though. For good reason, too- I've been conditioned to think a fun game is useless! What kind of weirdo doesn't like a good game of Capture The Flag?

Damn, that also probably played into my relationship with Annabeth. Just because it doesn't matter to me doesn't mean it doesn't matter to her. From her point of view, this is probably the equivalent of a big fight for me, and I used to kind of invalidate that. Well, it's never too late to start doing the right thing, is it?

Ugh, looking back, though, I was probably like one of those stuck-up kids at school that tried to one-up everyone.

Oh, I got only like six hours of sleep last night!

Well, hey, I only got four hours of sleep, and I have to run a marathon later, so stop complaining.

Yep. It's official. I hate myself.

"Don't sweat it, Annabeth," I assured her with a grin. I pointed to myself. "The Poseidon cabin has graciously just agreed to help you out in your time of need."

"No way!" Annabeth basically yelled. "You're going to play? Percy, you're like one of the strongest demigods in camp, this is going to be a cakewalk!"

"I'll join too," Aphrodite offered, shocking the both of us even more. I'm already broken enough on my own, but now a goddess wants to tap in? I swear, Annabeth's the luckiest person alive… "If that's okay."

"Y-yeah, no, of course," Annabeth was beside herself. She bounced Malcolm on her hip. "You hear that, buddy? Anna's got no bathroom duty for a week!"

After our admittedly brief tour, Annabeth led the two of us into the dining pavilion, where the assorted campers were already standing, hyping each other up.

I took a small break in the tour when she got to the cabins to walk into the Poseidon cabin and change into a pair of jeans and a flannel.

Aphrodite came in to see my cabin and didn't exactly leave when I started changing. Well, not that I made her, of course. If we're doing this thing for real, now, this is the kind of closeness we're going to have, so...

Aphrodite's reaction to the closeness was adorable, though. After we walked out, she didn't stop blushing- a real red blush (to keep up the disguise, I'm guessing)- until we got to the pavilion. We settled into Athena's cabin table.

"Watch," Annabeth said slowly, drawing our attention to the entrance.

Campers started yelling and cheering as Gordon and two of Annabeth's other siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.

Clarisse saw me across the dining hall and grinned, a manic look taking shape on her face. She gestured toward me with her spear, sparks flying off of it. I could faintly hear her roar over the din of the campers, "I'm going to pulverize you, Jackson!"

"Look at that," I grinned, stretching my arms out and rolling my shoulder. "I'm itching for a fight, now."

Aphrodite shook her head, "Baby, didn't you just get out of a fight? I thought you'd take more of a backseat."

"Psh, with you by my side, I'm not too worried about it," Smooth, right? Well, in all honesty, I'm more or less healed up. My HP ticked all the way back up, but my SP has been refilling at a slower pace, so the only negative feeling in my body right now is the fact that I'm kind of sore at the moment.

The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, Annabeth wasn't the only one feeling a bit risky- all kinds of privileges had been put up for grabs. Shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities— all in order to win support.

Realistically speaking, I know a simple game of Capture the Flag isn't that deep, but to me, it kind of is. I'm a pretty competitive guy, and the only way I'll take this seriously is if I make it some sort of a training exercise. That, and I want to see what sort of stuff my wife can pull out in a real battle.

Before that, though, there's something interesting going on with the teams. I'll explain. Well, in a roundabout and preachy sort of way, that is. I wouldn't be me without my lectures!

Ernest Becker, one of those people I'd read up on to boost my INT, argues that our innate desire and want of heroes in life comes from our desire to transcend death- that we hide things from ourselves to shield our psyche from the slow march of time.

I know, I know, weird and macabre, but let me finish.

I think it's a load of bullshit.

Okay, maybe you can try to argue that people do that. I'm not saying they don't. I've seen people go to great lengths to preserve some sort of image of themselves, just to fall to pieces when that image is shattered over time. There's a reason there's such a big emphasis on mental health these days. For the vast majority of people, their lives are mundane, calm. The real fight goes on inside of their heads.

That's why, for normal mortals, sure, you can definitely make the argument that Becker hit the nail right on the head. In fact, sure, I'll even give you that one.

I'm not talking about them, though. I'm gearing this towards demigods. I'd argue that there are very few demigods who fit into this mold of thinking. The reason being, of course, that every demigod has the moment in their life when they fully consider their own morality- the ironic truth of their own existence. Usually, when you're fighting a monster, you don't have time to worry about all of that.

Not to mention, as a demigod, there's no sort of self-preservation or anything like that. You guys heard it straight from Hestia. You saw it with Piper on the banks of the Hudson during the search for the bolt. You heard my thoughts in the carriage ride with Amphitrite- hell, even Hades was spewing about this sort of thing a few hours ago. We all stare into that abyss at a very young age.

You don't get to choose the life you want. No demigod chooses their parent, their lives. A very lucky few even get to have lives. The rest of us are herded to this camp and told to train to survive.

Where am I going with this?

Don't laugh when I tell you. Hey! I mean it.

Being a demigod isn't about being better than everyone, or stronger than them. It isn't related to any of that at all.

It's about kindness.

No, not the dumb Disney version, where being nice makes your enemies bend over backward for you.

The real, unfiltered version. The one that's all about giving all of yourself with nothing in return- to look out for the ones in the same position as you.

Society, and to a lesser extent, the entire world of Greek mythology would crumble and burn if demigods ever truly gave in and realized how pointless everything was. If they ever really sat down and realized how dangerous everything was. How scary the world could be...and can you blame them? Who would willingly want a life like that when you could live a boring, suburban one?

That's why those old-timey heroes like the first Perseus and Jason, and I guess even newer ones like me keep things from spiraling- we embody what it really means to be a demigod.

We're like beacons of hope that shine- a sort of pillar of strength. I haven't done anything too insane yet, but my reasoning is that if a camper, say, Malcolm sees me fight and carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, he'll eventually think that he can too. He'll preserve in the face of that kind of adversity- and until he can, he'll be safe and sound. That's the best thing I could give him. That's what it's all about.

Maybe someday I'll make camp so safe that no one will have to worry about that stuff.

In this world, acts of love and sacrifice, and the relationships they develop instill meanings in our lives. That's why I offered myself up to the gods to keep everyone else safe when I've barely known them for a month or two, why I risked my life to fight a deity a mere week after I learned how to hold a sword. That's why people like Hestia gave up their power and prestige to save the state of their families.

We look out for each other. That's all we can do.

And that sort of behavior is reminiscent of everything demigods do, no matter how little it may seem like it. The Ares cabin, for example, is probably the closest thing to bullies that you'll find in camp. They constantly call people names, try to pick fights- Chiron once had to intervene when some guy called Clarisse fat and she threatened to run him through with her spear.

If you look closely, though, their cabin cares just as much about everyone else- they just don't know how to show it.

Just look at this dumb game!

The Ares cabin has allied themselves with everybody who can't fight: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.

From what I've seen so far, Dionysus's kids are surprisingly good athletes, but there are only two of them, and neither are particularly gifted on the offensive side of things.

Demeter's kids, while many and with the ability to control the field with nature skills and outdoor, just aren't very aggressive. They can't even stand up for themselves, and even worse, they can't defend themselves when the fight comes to them. They'd get hammered in a game like this if it wasn't for the Ares kids.

Aphrodite's sons and daughters are a whole different story. Other cabins bring some sort of advantage to the field, but they're utterly useless in this stuff.

What! I'm just trying to be honest…I've heard that they mostly sit out every activity and check their reflections in the lake. I think Annabeth was the one that told me that last time all they did was do their hair and gossip- I don't know how my wife is going to feel about that one. Still, though, the Ares cabin takes them in and lets them do that.

Hephaestus's kids aren't pretty, and there are only four of them, and they're big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. You'd think that's why they're with Ares, but the truth of the matter is, no one else wanted them. The Ares cabin, though, runs through more weapons and armor than anyone, so they're constantly working the Hephaestus kids to the bone with commissions. How do they repay them? You guessed it- they welcome them to the team.

Ares cabin, under Clarisse's guidance, takes in all these kids that wouldn't have had a shot in hell at winning and gives them a fighting chance at victory and glory.

It's good to see.

"You have that look on your face again," Aphrodite whispered in my ear. I turned and saw her smile prettily at me. "You're thinking about something."

"Just a little," I returned her smile. She laid her head on my shoulder as Chiron slammed his hoof against the table. He hadn't noticed Aphrodite yet, which is probably for the best. It could make things a bit awkward.

"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, ox hide shields coated in metal.

Not my style. I'm probably going to duel wield my sword and spear.

Gordon yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.

Aphrodite and I tore through the woods, Annabeth by our side. "What's the plan?"

She kept marching, her dagger glinting in the sunlight, "Wait until you hear the signal. I think Gordon said it's going to be a bird call."

"Then…"

"Then, Mr. Godslayer, you and your girlfriend are going to take out all of the campers so we can snag the banner," Annabeth said, pulling out a ratty hat. She put it on her head and vanished. "I'm going to play defense."

"Not bad, Wise Girl," I complimented as her footsteps sounded off toward our banner.

Aphrodite and I calmly walked through the forest for a while. Honestly, it was kind of a warm, sticky afternoon.

The woods were dark, the thick trees blocking out most of the sunlight with a gigantic canopy. A little creek gurgled over some rocks, and we could hear the noises of the rest of the team being scattered into the trees.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

The signal! I turned to Aphrodite. "So…what can you do? I'm trying to figure out how to play this."

"I have better reflexes and strength than anyone else here," Aphrodite said simply. No hesitation, no emotion- nothing. To her, it wasn't a boast or question, just a statement of fact. "That being said, I'd rather not fight with my fists. So, I'll just blast them and keep you safe."

That mean's she's long-range, huh? Good. I'll get in close.

Accelerate!

"Set your beams to stun," I reminded her, the words flowing out of my mouth as the ground around me cracked. Dirt kicked up around my sneakers. Thank Zeus I changed- if I got Triton's expensive shoes dirty, I'd feel like shit. I had a plan…

"Get on my back," I bent down slightly. "I can get us there fast, and you can take them out."

"Your back is nice," I was told for the second time today as Aphrodite settled onto my back. Her arms wrapped around my neck. "When are you- EEK!"

BOOM!

The dirt around me exploded as I went tearing down the woods. My eyes blurred from right to left, activating Observe every couple of seconds to make sure no one was hiding in the bushes.

Eventually, we ran into the two Dionysus kids I was talking about earlier- Castor and Pollux. Not too shabby in terms of levels, 20 and 21 each, but that isn't enough to hold me back alone, even, let alone with my superpowered wife.

"Damn it," Pollux swore. He held out his shield- a bronze, glinting, metal behemoth. It looked like the size of an NBA backboard. "We're the ones that have to fight you first?"

Castor groaned from behind him. "Come on, Perce! You're a monster. Can't you, just, like, let us go? This once?"

"Sorry, boys," I said sincerely as Aphrodite's hands lit up. "A game's a game."

SCHWING!

Both boys yelped as they were tossed backward by a beam of pink light. They slammed into the trees hard enough to put them out of commission.

Maybe it's sort of cheap to abuse your godly wife's power in a little Capture the Flag game, but hey! I want her to feel appreciated and useful, too, you know?

"Good?" She pressed her lips to my ear.

"Good," I replied, grinning. I enjoyed her shriek as I sped down the woods again.

Next up, the Demeter kids.

"Hey, guys!" I said brightly. "Any chance you want to let us through?"

"Honestly, I don't feel like getting knocked out," Katie Gardener, I think, spoke up. A few of her brothers and sisters nodded in assent. "But, we did put in some work to set up this obstacle thing. Can you at least, like…"

She gestured toward a wall of interlocking vines, leaves, and flowers. "It's all we could do in a couple of minutes."

"Of course," I said, my voice dropping for a moment as I focused. I lifted a hand.

-500 MP!

My hand lit up a bright green. I saw the other demigods stare at me in awe for a few moments before a plume of flame shot forward.

The mass of leaves was exenterated in mere moments, and I cut off the fire.

"Thanks for letting us through," I raised a still-smoking hand. "See you guys."

"Show-off," Katie said good-naturedly as we stepped through. "Good luck!"

We stepped out to a creek a few moments later, where everyone else seemed to be standing.

"Prissy!" Clarisse yelled, a wicked smile on her face. She unstrapped a spear from her back- a brand new weapon. It was the size of a baseball bat, with a sharp-looking tip. "How kind of you to come see your teacher!"

I gently lowered myself, allowing Aphrodite to hop off. A moment later, I took Malice off of my own back. "Of course. I hope, for your sake, that you've been practicing."

"Don't you worry about me, Jackson," Clarisse roared as she broke out in a run, hauling towards me. "I haven't skipped a beat!"

Honestly, she hadn't. I noticed that her level had jumped up by five- she was sitting around a level 35.

This is going to be fun.

I met her in the middle of the clearing, our spears colliding. Hers was flickering with red light- it meshed well against my own, which was glowing green.

"Good strength," Clarisse grunted, pulling her spear back. She twirled it around in her hand. "How's Atlantis been going? You better not be sitting around all day, eating fruit."

"Eh, same old," I shrugged, batting away her jab with ease. "Lots of training, though. You?"

We engaged in another evenly matched exchange- every jab I threw out there was smacked away, every slash she swung was deflected. "Mm. Same old. Luke left to go visit his mom, too, so I haven't had a good fight in a while."

Interesting. So that's why no one seems to be alarmed that he's gone. I mean, I'll keep it under wraps for now, but the truth will come out sooner or later. I don't love deferring to the gods on this, but they're pretty rigid on what they want. "Well, I'll give you one to remember. Also- so much for two guards. I swear I've seen like ten people just leading up to here."

"Technically, only two are really guarding it. The rest of us are here for emotional support," Clarisse barked out a gruff laugh, pushing forward with her spear. I vaguely noted behind me that Aphrodite was easily dismantling everyone else with her powers- I should get a move on. "Let's see about that fight, though."

Time to take the kiddie gloves off. "Let's."

Clarisse, for all of her flaws and drawbacks, is one hell of a fighter. Especially with a spear. Even with my boosted reflexes, the glinting tip of her spear just barely missed the base of my nose.

She isn't the fastest or most analytical, but her raw strength and scrapper style of fighting make her an absolute dog on the mats. I'm honestly kind of excited at the prospect of fighting her seriously, like right now.

I let the momentum push my body downwards, falling onto my back and spinning my legs in a sweeping motion. I kicked up some dirt at her face and aimed for her ankles- the weakest part of her body.

She told me a while back that she fractured it as a kid and believe me, I'm using everything I can on her. I owe her that much.

Clarisse hopped over the kick, growling in annoyance as she pawed at her face. "Still up to your tricks, Prissy?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets," I smirked, batting away a slash and landing one of my own on her. We danced around each other for a few moments, our spears clanging in the middle. "Where's Piper?"

"You didn't seriously think I'd leave all of my teammates on defense, did you?" Clarisse scoffed. "She's on offense. Shame, though. I would've paid to see her take you on. She's been training every day."

"Noted," I said neutrally. I went to open my mouth again, but Clarisse was suddenly lifted off of her feet by a pink hand and blasted into the creek.

"I got them all!" Aphrodite said cutely, landing back next to me as the hand retreated back into her outstretched palm. "She was heavy."

I blinked away some of my annoyance. Clarisse and I were just getting warmed up! That was going to be the best fight of my week! Ugh, now I'm getting battle withdrawals. I want to fight something!

I glanced over at Aphrodite, who was smiling brightly. She's just trying to help, Percy. She's just trying to help. She didn't know, she was just trying to help…

"Did we win?" Aphrodite wondered aloud a few moments later, pointing at the flag.

"Yeah," I grinned at her, walking toward the flag. "We did. Honestly, I"-

SKREEEEE!

My combat instincts triggered, and I rolled out of the way as the ground next to me was eviscerated by a column of blue-green light. The acrid smell of saltwater burned my nostrils.

"Shame," My attention was drawn to a man floating in the air above us, right outside of the camp barrier. To my shock and horror, his attack had ripped a hole through Thalia's dome of protection- there was a rip with steaming edges.

He was dressed in white robes and his face was covered by a weird white mask that only left his eyes open for us to see. The gemstones on his robe glowed with power as he raised his hands. The golden dome of Thalia's protection was slowly regenerating, but the man simply smiled as he raised his hand, more shining light flickering between his fingertips. The gems screeched. "Hold still this time."

I blasted backward again, the same pillar of light powering through the canopy with the force of an artillery shell. The land in front of me was forcibly excavated as a cacophony of light and sound lit up my senses like a Christmas tree.

I held up my arm to deflect the haphazard dirt as Aphrodite covered us both from the actual debris with a pink dome.

Observe activated almost instantly, the man's name knocking the air out of my lungs.

"Hello, little brother," The man said with a sarcastic drawl, his face twisting into a horrific smile. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. You see…I'm the real prince of the seas. The Salt Water Stallion, Freshwater Fumigator- nicknames, am I right? Can't live with them, can't live without them."

He bowed low as a rumble echoed off somewhere in the distance. "I'm here to bring you to my lord, Jackson. I suggest you come quietly."

My grip on Malice tightened. "I don't…I don't understand how this is possible."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll get around to explaining," The man cackled loudly, his hand closing around the ball of energy. He leaned back in a pitcher's stance, only pausing for a moment before turning back and hurling the ball of energy at me. "Of course, where are my manners? You were so nice to me earlier- it's only right that I give you the same courtesy. Dear brother, I am, of course, the one and only Triton- pleased to make your acquaintance for real this time. Let's dance."

AN: Plot twist, huh? Sorry, I meant to get this chappie out last week but I was on vacation! Not much to say here, just gearing up for the end of Atlantis! Got some exciting stuff planned…also! Now's when I'd start paying attention very closely.

Let me know what you think!

Mastersgtjames: Fair point! The toughest part of writing a Gamer-esque story (for me anyway) has been trying to keep all of that stuff balanced. It's becoming a bit easier so far, but I can only hope to keep getting better as time wears on!

The Ancient Irish Viking: Ya know, a lot of people think he's the leak. I didn't even mean for that to happen, but eh! Again, as Dwight said, it's always the person you medium suspect. Usually.

Crywolfseven: Completely understandable. I wanted to use the carriage scene to highlight how predatory and honestly crazy all-around deities can be, but I see how it comes off as creepy. Also, for the monster, I tried to think of it from the point of view of 'well, you can maybe start to see why he did the rest' in the sense that Carcinus could somewhat be understood for his hatred and actions, but feeding the queen to Percy would just be so out of the left field and weird that it would be the last straw.

Just-Another-Reader-1: Fair enough. At the start of the story, I definitely skimped on some of those details.

Ilayhyams: It used to say it, I may have accidentally taken it out. I'll see and add it back if that's the case.

Oghenevwogaga: Nope! No chicken here!

Guest: To me, Godslayer is more of a not-so-literal term. Yeah, gods can't die, but you can slay one if you beat them in combat. Well, that's how I'm looking at it, anyway.

Delta: Delta, my man, when you see it, you'll know. Trust me!

TheUnknowableOne: Right?

G silently: Yeah, I'm trying to write him as insanely smart and analytical, while also highlighting the rift that getting powers like the Gamer ones could cause between someone and reality, but I'll try to work more of the OG Percy's personality in there.

IhaekLag: I'm not a huge Dark!Percy guy, but my version of him will definitely be gray. I want to put him through the wringer, so to speak, mentally and physically so he won't be fully good but he definitely won't be fully bad. I'm planning on some cool, dark-ish scenes, for sure, though.

The Super Saiyan Fox: I appreciate that! Aphrodite is going to have some huge character arcs soon, as well.

Lackollie: Fixed! Thanks!

Talk to you guys soon! Let me know what you think of the chapter!

-Maroon!