Grover was cursed. That was the only thing that made sense to Percy.

No, seriously, after everything that had happened, how did the satyr still manage to find all of the big three kids? Admittedly he hadn't found Percy in this lifetime… except he just did…

"Di Immortales," the son of Poseidon muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Maybe Grover was just always meant to become the Lord of the Wild. It would be his luck. Not that he'd been a bad Lord of the Wild, quite the contrary. Or maybe it was his fate.

Yeah, Percy wasn't going to go there. Not right now.

Although, should he do something about Pan now that he thought about it? Sure, there weren't as many wild places in the world left, but there were still some. Canada had a lot of wild land, didn't it? And there were still some pretty amazing wild lands in the US too, from what he recalled.

It was something to think about. He'd have to convince Pan, obviously. But… yeah, later.

"Percy!" Grover said as he hurried up to the time-traveler, who stepped out of the way of the door leading onto the bus. It wouldn't leave for at least fifteen minutes, but enough people wanted to get on. He didn't want to block the entrance.

"Grover! Nice to see you, my dude!" he said. At least that was genuine. "Who are these two?" he asked, turning to Nico and Bianca. They both looked pale and worried, breathing heavily. Probably a monster then. Great.

"This is Bianca and Nico di Angelo," Grover said quickly. Then he paused and looked around. "They're demigods," he whispered. "We were on our way to camp, but a bunch of monsters chased us from the bus. We had to run!"

Percy's smile faded to a grim expression as he looked around for the oncoming monsters. Too bad his bus wouldn't leave in time either. Looked like he'd have to take care—

"I need you to take care of them."

Wait, "What?"

His sentiment was echoed by the Di Angelos.

"I'm going to try and lead the monsters away. You can get them to camp and—"

"Grover," Percy said loudly, stopping his friend's panicked rant. "You're worried and want to help them, I get it, but you're not thinking straight. How will you running off create a diversion? The monsters will follow our scent here."

"I should have enough lingering on me. If I get near the—"

"No," Percy said firmly. "How will sacrificing yourself get these two to camp?"

A frown. "I trust you."

That made Percy smile warmly. "Thanks, man. But if you trust me, then let me take care of the monsters."

"Baa-ah-ah!" Grover bleated. "I can't let you do that! It's my job to get you all safely to camp!"

"Then here," Percy said, shoving a bunch of bills in Grover's hands. "Go pay for tickets for the three of you on my bus, and let me lead the monsters away. I know what I'm doing."

"But…" he looked so worried.

Percy put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You said you trust me, so trust me. You know who my father is."

"Yeah… but…"

"I'll just lead the monsters away, okay? Maybe pick a few of them off if I get the chance, but that's it." Totally a lie, but Grover should feel how Percy was confident at least. "Now, what's following you."

"Dracaenae! They have the ability to call others to their cause! Half-snake, half human! Plus 50 for every Dracaena in play!"

Aaand there was Nico. Percy had forgotten how adorable he'd been as a kid.

"Dracaenae," the time-traveler nodded, then reached out and patted Nico's hair. It would be good to have his baby cousin back. "Thanks, Nico. I need you to stay with Grover and your sister, right? Then you're all coming to my house."

"What?" Bianca asked before anyone else could say anything. "How do we know that's safe?"

Wow, she'd been spooked. Which, fair.

"Do you guys trust Grover?" he asked her calmly. Frowning, she glanced uncertainly at their satyr guide, but nodded. Nico followed her lead. Good.

"Grover, do you trust me?"

"Definitely," he said again without even hesitating. Percy grinned.

"You're the best, man."

"Baa-ah-ah," Grover said, volume on that one much smaller as his face went bright red. "I'm really not…"

"You really are." He noted some strange movement in the crowd out of the corner of his eye. Yeah, they needed to split up now. "Now go ahead and get onto the bus. Be prepared in case any get by me, but I should be able to lead most of them off. And… I know it's unusual, but maybe explain everything to them? I know I appreciated that when my Mom told me."

Grover sighed. "Yeah. I… I don't like you just going off, though."

"I know. That's because you're a good guy," Percy said. "Now go ahead and protect these two until we can get them the training they need to protect themselves." He grinned at the very confused looking siblings, and then shot off into the crowd.

No sooner had he done so, than he saw his first monster. She looked directly at him. Which was fine. Reaching out to The Mist, he twisted it. That quickly, no one around them could see either one of them unless they could see through The Mist. They'd just avoid the general area, and probably not even realize it if he'd done it right. Of course it would take a couple of seconds for everyone to leave the area, but he was pretty confident in his skills. After 300 years of practice, he'd better be decent.

"Hi there!" he said, smile sharp as he reached out for the nearest source of water. A little ways away, a man with a water bottle exclaimed as it exploded and shot towards Percy. He didn't feel too bad. Not with his, Grover's, and his cousins' lives on the line. In seconds, he had a short sword in his hand once again. "Guessing you want to try your luck?"

She didn't even say anything as she lunged at him. It was almost too easy, especially with the space he needed to take her out. Of course, he almost immediately had to duck another one coming at him, and take her out before she ran into a mortal family just a couple of feet away. He managed, thankfully. They wouldn't have even seen it coming, and he wasn't about to let that happen.

Thankfully, no one even turned an eye at them. No, seriously, mist manipulation should be taught to every demigod. This would have made his life so much easier the first time around.

Even if it drained him faster.

He was still twelve, after all. Body wise.

He didn't know how many monsters he took care of, but after a couple of minutes, he realized his bus would be leaving soon. After taking out one last one, he turned and sprinted back to the bus, shoving his sword through the belt on his pants as he did. Then he dove into the crowd again.

He got there just in time to see two dracaenae who were trying to get onto the bus themselves. Narrowing his eyes, he melted the sword, separated the resulting water into two spheres, shaped them, and then shot ice spikes forward. Just before they hit, he reached out to The Mist again, showing the two walking hurriedly away for any mortals watching. The spikes did their job and killed the two monsters pretty easily, even if one of them managed to duck. That just meant the spike hit their head instead of their chest. Eh, not his favorite thing to do, but he'd take it.

He managed to get a hold of the falling spikes with his power and hurried onto the bus, showing the driver his bus pass.

She nodded, and he hurried back, keeping an eye out for any more monsters. Thankfully, he didn't see any. He did see Nico and Bianca on a seat towards the back. Grover sat in front of them, on the edge, ready to jump up and protect them. The moment he saw Percy, he almost melted in relief.

"Hey, G-man," Percy said.

"G-man?" the satyr asked.

Percy shrugged. "I won't call you that if you don't like it."

Grover blinked, but then smiled. "No, that's fine. I like it. G-man."

"So," Percy said as he collapsed into the seat as Grover scooted over. "I figure we get to my Mom's, and then she can get us to Camp." He frowned. "A little early, but it happens." He'd been looking forward to seeing her. But she'd be the first to admit that the Di Angelos' lives were more important. He'd just have to make it up to her.

"Anyway, how far did he get in the explanations?" the time-traveler asked, turning to the two kids behind him. They stared up at him with big, dark-brown eyes.

"Not far," Bianca said, obviously annoyed.

"We're the children of a Greek god?" Nico asked, looking a little star-struck. So different from the angry, grudge-holding man he'd grown into. Percy hoped his cousin could have a happier life this time around. Or at least, a happier first few years at Camp. Will wouldn't even be at Camp for another year or so, and Nico hadn't really taken to many others there. Of course, that could have had a lot to do with him running away and… well, his father.

Yeah, later. For now, he had some explaining to do. And apparently a lot more than he'd wanted. He shot a look at Grover, who held up his hands in defense.

"We were literally running for our lives!"

Percy rolled his eyes. "You're very lucky I'm good enough at mist manipulation that no one else can hear us.

"Alright," he turned back to the others. He… couldn't call them kids, could he? Well, Nico, maybe, but wasn't Bianca twelve? His current age? Weird.

(Also, way too young to die.

Later, brain!)

"Well, maybe I should introduce myself first," Percy decided to start with. "Hi, I'm Percy Jackson, son of Sally Jackson and Poseidon."

The other two stared at him in blatant shock.

"We're getting off the bus, Nico," he heard Bianca whisper to her brother, eyes never leaving the time-traveler. Nico looked torn between exclaiming how that was the coolest thing he'd ever heard and saying he didn't believe it.

Percy sighed and held up his hand. The sphere of water he'd used to kill the monsters (oh, it had some monster dust in it, he should probably do something about that) floated in front of them. They both stopped short, staring in awe.

"Wicked," Nico whispered.

"I don't like you using that word," Bianca said, but she never took her eyes off of the water.

"Billy used it."

Someone in the Lotus Hotel? Or maybe at whatever school they'd ended up in? Was that the slang term to use now? It seemed so old to Percy…

Then again, it would, wouldn't it.

After a moment, Bianca's expression firmed and she shook her head. "No, this has to be a trick."

Percy shrugged, split the water in two, and froze them into seperate shapes. Because it was Nico, he may have had death on the brain, and they suddenly held two 'Day of the Dead' skulls in their hands… because he wasn't about to freak them out with a replica of real human skulls.

"It's cold!" Nico yelped.

"Ice," Percy explained with another shrug. "Because of icebergs in the ocean." It was a simple explanation, even if not entirely true.

Bianca said something in Italian, then seemed surprised she'd done so. After a moment, she shook her head and looked up at him, eyes wide. "You're…. This is real."

Grimly, the son of Poseidon nodded. "Yeah. And… I'm going to say this right now: I'm sorry." He slumped a little. "The life of a demigod… isn't an easy one. And that's without figuring out who your godly parent is."

"This is all real…" Bianca muttered, eyes going distant.

"You know… how about you process that for a little bit," Percy said, recognizing when to back off. "You're welcome to ask questions any time, just let me know so I can manipulate The Mist so no one can hear us talking about it."

"The Mist?" Nico asked.

Percy opened his mouth to explain, but a hand on his arm and a look from Grover, whose eyes shot pointedly to Bianca, had him pausing. Right, processing.

"How about we talk about that later. For now, why don't you guys think about all of this?"

"Do you know who our godly parent is?" Nico asked.

Bianca stiffened.

"No one really knows until you're claimed," Grover said after an uncomfortable moment when Percy didn't know what to say. "And that happens at camp."

Nico opened his mouth to ask more questions, but Percy knew how to distract this young version of his cousin.

"Hey, what are those cards in your hand?" he asked, pointing to the Mythomagic cards.

Nico lit up. Again, it was adorable but Percy mentally braced himself and glanced over at Bianca. He wasn't used to a Nico this… open. And bright. And enthusiastic. But Bianca still needed time. Not an unusual response but Percy remembered being rather overwhelmed by Nico at this age. He really hoped his older cousin appreciated this.

And this time around, she'd be alive long enough to actually recognize it.

xXx

Percy spent the next forty five minutes trying not to dwell on how jarring it was to have a bright, social Nico yapping at him constantly while showing off his cards.

No. He wouldn't get over that.

He did inform Nico to not use a god's name once he started highlighting different cards. Thankfully, he started with Poseidon, so there was that. He didn't have to worry about Hades or Zeus showing up on the bus to wreak havoc in their godly wrath. Or 'stray' lightning bolts. Probably. Hopefully.

Nico was in the middle of explaining Mr. D's card when Bianca seemed to come to terms with everything and interrupted.

"Percy," she said, expression firm as she looked at him. He nodded, showing he was listening. "Okay. We're children of a Greek god. What, exactly, does that mean?"

He smiled softly at her. Just like he would one of his kids in the future.

"Exactly what it says on the tin. You are the child of a Greek god and a mortal.

"Yes, but what does that mean," she pushed. "How are Greek gods even here… in America?"

Well, at least that one, he could answer. "The Greeks were all about innovation. They had some of the most forward thinking ideas of their time. Now, the gods likely came from other places that the world doesn't know as much about because it's just been so long, but at some point, the entire pantheon existed in Greece. That was when it solidified. And because of their innovation and dedication, the gods became connected to that ideal. Today it's called 'The Heart of the West'.

"So, when the Romans came in and more or less adopted a lot of the Greek gods into their pantheon—albeit with some significant changes—they started a chain-reaction of those deities moving with that Heart—the innovation.

"As more and more countries encouraged innovation, the pantheon itself kept moving farther and farther west. Hence the name.

"Eventually, they came here, to America. It's uncertain as to when. The Pantheon can waffle back and forth between countries when there's competition. Aunt Hestia says some came over before the Civil War, but we also know the First and Second World Wars were directly related to demigods, and thus, the gods."

"How?" Nico asked, wide eyes fixed on Percy.

He. Would. Never. Get. Over. That.

Not as long as Nico looked so… innocent.

(He kind of hoped he didn't get over that for a long time.)

"Well, there were leaders on both sides from children of the big three, and they kind of dragged their countries into the wars." That was the simplest explanation. Grossly simple, but hey.

"Big three?" Bianca asked. Percy considered that for a moment. This was getting awfully close to dangerous territory considering their father (that he should not know)… but they needed answers, and it didn't actually give anything away.

"The King of the Gods, the Lord of the Dead, and my Dad. The three sons of the Crooked One. Because their domains encompass so much, their demigods tend to be a bit stronger—or at least flashier—than other demigods."

"Wait… do we get powers?!" Nico asked excitedly.

Percy remembered the literal army of skeletons this kid would be able to raise in just a few short years.

"Yeah," he said, hoping his voice didn't come out a little choked. "Depending on who your parent is. Like cabin eleven, children of the Messenger of the Gods, tend to have speed, thievery, jokes and pranks, among other things because their father has those domains. Cabin seven, children of the God of the Sun, tend to be very bright and outgoing, good at music, or healing, or shooting a bow and arrow for the same reason."

"And your Dad is the God of the Sea, so you can control water," Nico said.

"Among other things, yeah. Although, sometimes someone gets a bunch of domains from their parent, sometimes they only get one."

"Do you have more than just water as a domain then?"

This was just getting more uncomfortable. "Um, yeah. Though I'd kind of like to talk about that after we get to my home. Or camp."

Nico nodded, but Percy knew he wouldn't drop it. Bianca was just staring at him, but she seemed focused, at least.

"You said a name," she finally said quietly. "Earlier."

Percy blinked. "What?"

"You said Aunt…" she gestured with her hand. The time-traveler thought back.

"Oh. Oh! Aunt Hestia. Yeah. She's one of the few who don't worry me. She's amazing. As long as you say her name with respect, you have nothing to worry about." He grinned.

"So… some of them are… good?" Bianca asked.

Well, if that wasn't a loaded question.

"They're gods, Bianca," Nico said, rolling his eyes.

"That doesn't mean much," Percy heard himself say and internally winced. The other two were looking at him expectantly, though. Great. So was Grover. Grover who was just sitting back and studying him intently, and had been the entire time.

Even better.

Percy sighed. "Greek gods are not perfect. Far from it." Didn't he know it. "In some cases, I think they're more human than humans. They're used to always getting their way because of their innate power and… that has had some detrimental effects. They're also tied to the culture that's currently hosting them. They can be selfish, horrible people… but they're not inherently bad, for the most part. Don't expect perfection though. You'll only be disappointed."

He tried not to think of some of the darker stories about his father or the other gods. To his knowledge, of the Olympian men, only Ares had never forced himself on someone. And wasn't that a mind-screw. He liked Hermes most of the time, and Apollo a lot of the time. He loved his dad, but… he knew the myths.

There was a reason he never wanted to be like them.

"Hey, you okay, man?" Grover asked.

Percy blinked and looked around. Right. On a bus, to his house, with Grover, Nico, and Bianca. Distractions were so… distracting.

Grover's eyes narrowed. Grover who could sense emotions, and who would probably want answers at some point about Percy's strange ones.

Right. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Hopefully, much later.

"Yeah," he shook his head. "I'm fine. It's just… been an adjustment for me too."

The satyr nodded knowingly. Well, at least he bought that. "Yeah. You know a lot for only having been in the know for a year."

Or… maybe not.

"I spent a lot of time with Annabeth. And Aunt Hestia. And Luke."

Grover nodded, but Percy could tell he didn't quite buy it.

Thankfully, before they could say anything else, the bus came to their stop. "Right! Here's where we get off," he said as he stood up and got his bags. Nico and Bianca did the same with Grover's help. Within five minutes, they were walking along the familiar streets of New York, dodging people as they hurried forward.

"Wow," Nico said. "We've been to New York before, but it didn't look like this."

Percy winced at how drastically things could change in 70 or more years. But they didn't know about that yet. And he couldn't say anything about it. "Yeah, well, it's a big city. You probably were just at a different spot."

Grover was eyeing him again, but at least Nico and Bianca seemed too distracted to tell Percy was hiding something.

"So," Bianca finally said, "about this camp…"

"Camp Half-Blood," Percy said, nodding. "There are a bunch of kids like us who just need a safe place to stay and train. So there's a place just north of here, on Long Island, where a barrier stops monsters from getting in."

"Why don't we just go there when we're born, then?" Nico asked.

Percy smiled sadly. "Well, let's say you grew up and met someone. You had your whole life ahead of you, had just gotten out of school, were dating someone, and then a child comes along. Oh, surprise, that child is half-god. And your significant other? They're a god. They can't stick around for very long. And suddenly you're left with a child who will very much be in danger the moment they find out about their heritage—because the more they know, the more they stand out to monsters. Would you want to leave behind your entire life to move—sometimes across the country—to some place like that? Where you didn't really know anyone?"

The other two thought about that for a bit.

"No, I suppose not," Bianca finally said softly.

"I would," Nico muttered stubbornly, crossing his arms. Ah, there was a glimpse of the cousin Percy knew.

The time-traveler shook his head. "It's just not feasible for everyone. Besides, I don't think a lot of mortals really understand until the monsters start coming around. Half of them can't even see the monsters."

"What do they see instead?" Bianca asked.

Percy shrugged. "Depends. The Mist is what keeps most mortals safe. It's where most modern-day magic comes from, and it's everywhere—more or less. And what some people see because of it can be… pretty strange. I had a friend who was just attacked by harpies, but everyone just saw birds dive-bombing her." He cringed a little at the memory.

"What's the difference between that magic and our powers?" Nico asked. Percy resisted the urge to shake his head fondly.

"Mainly where it comes from. There is a Titaness—or a goddess—of magic, and she's directly tied to The Mist. But a lot of people can directly manipulate The Mist with enough practice. It's just easier for her children." Right, they were getting Alabaster this year. Percy made a mental note to get to know him and make him feel welcome.

"I want to learn that!" Nico pronounced.

Percy did smile at that. "It takes a lot of dedication and practice. And you'll probably have your own powers to learn to control."

The kid was practically bouncing at this point. "I'm gonna learn it all!"

Percy and Bianca traded a fondly exasperated look.

"Well, let's get you to camp alive, first," Percy said. "Speaking of, here we are!" he pointed to his mother's new apartment building.

"Oh, good," Grover muttered tiredly.

Percy just smiled. "Wait until you guys meet my mom. She's amazing."

With that, he hurried ahead. The others yelped and followed behind.

xXx

His mom had been… surprised.

And then she practically adopted all three of the other kids within minutes. Percy loved his mom. She was literally the best. He would not hear otherwise.

She insisted on making them dinner and setting them all up for the night. The next morning, they'd all get up and go to camp. Percy was glad they didn't go that night. Maybe it was a little more dangerous, but he'd really wanted to see his mom and spend time with her, even if it wasn't much.

They actually had a fun night watching some Disney movies neither Bianca or Nico had ever even heard of. Such a travesty. Percy made sure to stay away from Hercules and The Little Mermaid. Maybe when they had a little more of a grounding in reality first. Mulan was his first choice, actually. A person going to a camp to train for a war that isn't remotely her fault to keep her family safe? Yeah. That was good preparation.

The kids loved it. And the Lion King. Because the Lion King. These movies (unlike some of the later Disney stuff) were classics, and would last through the following decades… and centuries. In the future, he still had his original copy of The Lion King.

Then, after some more discussion and some hot chocolate with blue marshmallows (and Percy had to describe why blue food was the best), they turned in for the night. It was good to be home, and he fell asleep almost immediately.

Surprisingly, he didn't dream.

He also didn't expect to be woken up the next morning by pounding on the door.

Annoyed and wary, he made sure to turn on the water and form a sword before carefully approaching the door.

"Percy? Is that a monster?" His mother asked, coming out of her own room in her robe, also obviously having just woken up. The three guests in the front room were huddled behind the couch. Grover even had his panpipes out already, though he looked just about as pale as the other two.

"I don't know," Percy muttered.

Then, a familiar voice came from the other side. "Sally! Sally! Open this door! I know you're in there!"

Percy didn't often hear his mother swear, but it was more than deserved. His own eyes narrowed.

"Who is it?" Grover asked. "A monster?"

"Worse," Percy growled. "It's Gabe."

xXx

AN: So, well after I wrote this, I was informed that Nico and Bianca visited New York AFTER their stay in the Lotus hotel. I thought it was BEFORE, and I think that's more interesting, so it stays. ^^; Also, Sally adopted everyone in that group, even though they're all older than they look in some way or another, as Snow pointed out. Grover is 27-28 (maybe a year or two younger than Sally), the Di Angelos were born in the 40's, and even Percy's 300, give or take. LOL But it's Sally. She would definitely adopt all of them if she could, and practically do so if she couldn't.

Well, things are interesting this month. I started a patron (ad an e before the o-it was terrifying, don't even ask me why), hubby managed to stand (with help) for a full fifteen minutes the other day and has gotten through his speech therapy, found out a friend of mine has terminal cancer, and I'm getting my book back from the editor the week. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Can life slow down now? TT . TT

Oh, and ffnet is having issues with my e-mail again so I AM reading your reviews, but sometimes it's right before I post, or as I'm doing something else, and not in the normal format, so I may not be responding. I have issues responding sometimes anyways, but I do love your reviews! I've tried to fix it, but I suppose it'll just have to be fixed when ffnet fixes its issues. *shrug*

Thank you so much for reading and your support!

A special thanks to my beta readers, discord helpers, and tier 3 and 4 readers: Berix, The Shadow Slayer, Asterius Daemon, Quathis, Harlequin, Speedster, Snow, Starlightluv, Squirps, and The Chronomancer! Also, all of my discord peeps! Thank you!

Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)