Listening to: Dreaming On by NEFFEX

Warnings: Minor Character Death, Minor Character Missing, Reference to Implied Verbal Abuse

The cabin heads along with Jason and Leo quickly gathered in the Big House. They opened an Iris Message with Reyna and Octavian in Camp Jupiter. Harry and Rachel helped Piper get Tristan McLean settled in the infirmary before joining them.

"So you saved Hera and your Dad," Clarisse summarised. "But didn't find Zeus or the Master Bolt. 50 percent ain't so bad."

"Fifty is a failing grade, Thalia," Annabeth said, wide-eyed. "Especially if Zeus is still missing!"

Everyone began to murmur worriedly. Did the quest fail despite gaining some traction?

"Okay, okay! Guys!" Percy yelled, catching everyone's attention. "Let's start with the bad news. Zeus is still missing. His Master Bolt is also gone. His throne is rusting. He wasn't imprisoned with Hera. Ajax's daughter is in Camp Jupiter. Pandora is totally out of our reach. She's being protected by the 'Clay Masters'… anything else?"

Nico opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He leaned back in his chair. Thalia slapped his shoulder.

"Nico's cursed," she said, reminding everyone.

Nico groaned, "I'll handle it!"

"We'll handle it," Percy corrected him.

"And the Earth Goddess has opened the Doors of Death," Reyna said.

"Yes, that!" Percy said, pointing at her like she'd said the winning lottery numbers. "And the good news is that we found Hera. We have Tristan McLean who is a dreamer, so he can help us get closer to Pandora. We… er…"

"No one died on this quest," Leo suggested.

Percy clapped his hands. "Yes! No one died on this quest!"

"Destin is strong enough to fight Ajax," Jason added.

"Des…" Percy trailed off, wide-eyed. "What?"

"Destin," Coach Hedge said, his thumbs hooked in his waistband of his trousers. "He's real chill! He got the worst pizza on this side of the country and smashed Ajax's face into it!"

No one said a word. Their eyes were wide like saucers, gawking at Hedge.

Harry snorted.

They turned to him and he fell silent.

"Um," Harry said. "It's funny. I once shoved a plate of mac and cheese into his face."

Piper nodded slowly. "Did you also break his neck and throw him fifty miles away into the Pacific Ocean?"

"... no. Sounds fun, though."

Annabeth held out her hands. "Are you saying Destin appeared out of nowhere and helped you on the quest?"

"Is that even allowed?!" Octavian burst out, incredulous. "Who's this Destin?"

Nico shrugged. "He's this weird god-like dude who beat up Percy, Harry, and Rachel in the nicest way possible."

Reyna's jaw dropped. "All… all three of you?"

"Nicest way?" Harry asked in disbelief. "I was stabbed!"

"He stabbed you?" Hedge said, doubtfully. "He has a tiny knife, sure. But he barely uses it."

"You have iron skin!" Thalia spluttered at Harry.

"Riptide is sharp," was Harry's retort. "Not to mention, Destin bit Rachel!"

A few gasped. Rachel blushed but showed her arm where the teeth imprints were lightly visible.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Children, we're getting off track."

"What were we talking about?" Leo asked, trying to get a good look at Rachel's wrist.

"Your quest," Annabeth reminded him. "Okay, so Destin is kinda on our side. That's really good news! If he's willing to interfere and help us, we should use him."

Octavian leaned closer to the IM window. "I don't think a god would like being used."

Jason jumped in before Annabeth could retort. "Medea and my father told us a lot of things regarding Pandora. Let's discuss that."

They went over the good points. Clay Masters? Great, Prometheus and Epimetheus might be somewhere on the planet hiding Pandora. Medea working as a seer informant for Gaia? Bad news. Ajax's daughter? Neutral for now, until they find her.

"Wait, go back. What did Mom say?" Drew Tanaka asked Piper.

Piper gripped the ping-pong table hard as all eyes swivelled over to her.

"Aphrodite said something about objects of power and how Zeus's stuff are fading because he's so far away from Olympus," she said.

Percy shared a glance with Jason. "Like his throne? It's gone all flakey."

"Yeah," Piper said. "My mom thinks the Master Bolt is not with him either and that all four objects will disintegrate if we don't find him. But she doesn't think we would ever find him."

Worried whispers flew over the room. Octavian hissed something to Reyna who nodded and stepped away from the IM window momentarily.

"Four?" Annabeth blurted. "Four things of Zeus are missing?"

"I thought gods had like one or two?" Katie mumbled.

"The six elder Olympians have two each," Nico explained. "Their most important weapon and their seat of power. Like Hades has his Helm of Darkness and his throne down in the Underworld. Demeter has her scythe and her throne up in Olympus. Hestia is the only exception: she has just her hearth fire."

"And Zeus has four?" Travis said, incredulous, turning to Chiron. "How's that fair?"

The centaur frowned. "I believe it's a misnomer. The Master Bolt and throne are solely his… but the necklace belonged to Metis."

Annabeth sat up straight. "Metis?"

"What necklace?" Harry asked suspiciously. Rachel shared an alarmed look with him.

Chiron grimaced. "Zeus was married to Lady Metis once. Before Hera, of course."

"Of course," Thalia muttered.

"Metis was Athena's mother," Annabeth explained to the room.

Reyna reappeared beside Octavian. She'd brought Sky with her.

It was embarrassing how fast Harry's face lit up at the sight of him. Sky gawked at the open IM window with more than a dozen faces peering out at him.

"Um… hi?" he squeaked.

"Hi," Harry said.

"Hi," Sky said again.

Someone hastily coughed.

"Sky's pretty good with history," Reyna explained. "As we just discovered this week, he's been helping out the librarians with some of our older scrolls and stories."

Chiron smiled. "It's good to have you, my boy. I have heard much about you."

Sky's smile split his face so bright it lit up the room. "Hi, Chiron! I'm Sciron!"

Most of them burst into laughter. Rachel and Nico giggled. Harry hid his grin behind a fist. Percy and Octavian were the only ones who didn't find it amusing. Even Reyna cracked a smile.

"Hello to you too, Sciron," Chiron chuckled.

"You can call me Sky!"

"Finish up all the Hi's and Hellos," Percy said, tapping his fingers on the table. "We're talking about how Zeus is still missing and his stupid number of objects of power are in trouble."

Sky listened to a brief recap of their discussion.

"You're right," he said, nodding to Chiron. "When Jupiter absorbed Metis's essence, he took control of her domains. Minerva is the goddess of wisdom and arts, but the king took up the rest. One was her necklace, it held all her memories and knowledge, wits and strategy and stuff. But I can't be sure what the other was. I think Plutarch mentioned a scroll, but that could have been any ordinary thing… You're sure Metis had two? Non-Olympians generally have one."

"I believe Metis had two objects of power when she was queen," Chiron said. "This was before my time and all I know are the stories transferred from word of mouth. Hesiod and Plutarch did not have much to say about Metis, none of them did."

Annabeth exhaled, frustrated. Percy caught her hand and pulled it under the table to squeeze it reassuringly.

"So, you're both saying Zeus wore a necklace?" Nyssa asked skeptically. "Lots of artists have drawn him with jewellery, but none have really stood out, not even his crown. I can't recall seeing anything special in a necklace even with a sculptor or painter… or in any stories."

Thalia sat very still. Jason and Annabeth noticed her change in posture.

"He doesn't," Sky said. "As far as I know, he hid the necklace. It keeps him safe, knowing that his power will never fade as long as nobody can destroy or corrupt these objects. But two mortals found out and sort of… er, there's no nice way to say it. But they stole the necklace and ran."

Harry and Rachel winced. Everyone in the room and through the IM window turned to them.

"The necklace from Alexandria," Rachel whispered. "The one Lily and James stole, that belonged to Metis? To Zeus?!"

"What are the odds?" Lou Ellen chuckled. "Maybe Gaia wanted to collect all his objects to kill him and she gave your mom dreams about the necklace so they could steal it in the first place."

Harry and Rachel were incredibly silent. Percy exhaled. Sky stared at her wide-eyed.

"Oh, shit!" Lou Ellen choked. "Is that it?"

"It would make sense," Sky muttered. "You said the necklace was in Alexandria?"

"Egypt, yeah," Harry answered. "This was in 1995. Lily had strong visions about a temple there. She and James went to Cairo and spoke to some wizard museum curator. You mentioned an Auror arrested them in Cairo in 1997, Sky. The curator was the auror's sister."

"Damn," Sky whispered. "But Alexandria makes sense. It's at the edge of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian pantheons. Super dangerous but also no god could have ever tried to steal it for themselves. Even demigods and magicians would have avoided the place."

Harry frowned. "You mean wizards?"

"No, I mean magicians. But let's not go there."

"What?"

Sky overrode him. "So if Lily and James really got the necklace out of Egypt, they ought to have hidden it somewhere really well because my parents say Earth gal's still looking for it."

Annabeth sighed. "We've actually been over this. It was one of the things on the agenda we were gonna discuss when Harry would be coming over to Camp Jupiter."

"Well, that's not happening now," Percy said.

Harry was surprised. "I'm not going to the camp?"

"You're still invited," Jason assured him.

"I mean," Percy said carefully. "We were gonna ask you to talk to Petunia about the necklace."

To his credit, Harry didn't refuse right away. "You have a lot of faith in me. But you know she won't help us."

"Why not?" Octavian burst out, scowling. "Is she hiding something? What does she know? Did your mother tell her something about Jupiter? Terra? Pandora?"

Harry shook his head. "Nothing like that. She just doesn't like us."

Will look confused. "All of us? But we haven't even met her."

Clarisse folded her arms. "No, Will. That's the wonderful lady who shot Harry point-blank with an SA80, assault rifle with a 5.56 into 45 mm NATO cartridge. Used for military purposes. I'm guessing she was in the army at one point."

Harry stared. "No… wait, what?"

Clarisse shrugged. "I heard the shot from outside the house just before getting red-lasered by those Aurors. You're saying she wasn't in the armed forces?"

Harry had no answers. Imagining Aunt Petunia in any army was ridiculous! She was was more concerned about the state of her tiles than the state of the country at any rate.

"Dude," Percy said, shaking his head. "Petunia's the most WASPish Britisher you'll ever meet. She's about HOA regulations, not army regiments!"

Harry croaked, "No way was Petunia in the army! That's like saying you worked in an arts and crafts store full-time, Reese."

Clarisse scowled. "I could work in an arts and crafts store."

"You don't even attend our arts and crafts classes," Annabeth pointed out.

Travis sniggered quietly.

Harry said, "I was trying to say Petunia doesn't like magic. She hates our kind of people. Anything out of the ordinary is the devil for her. I can't imagine Lily giving her anything magical, let alone godly."

"You're sure?" Sky asked, concerned. "If your mom was okay with Petunia raising you, then maybe she did give the necklace for her to hide?"

"No, that wasn't Lily's choice, it was Dumbl…" Harry's voice trailed off. He shared a shocked look with Rachel.

"Did you ever ask?" she whispered and Harry dumbly shook his head.

Thalia suddenly stood up and walked out of the room. They stared at her and Annabeth even called out to her, but she didn't respond.

"I'll go," Jason said quickly, running out after his sister.

Piper cleared her throat. "Um… so, maybe you can ask whoever your parents trusted? I think those objects of power are really important if we need to track down Zeus."

Harry nodded stiffly, clearly not liking the idea. Rachel patted his shoulder.

"Okay!" Leo piped up. "Are we done? I feel like I need a reward for completing a quest with everyone alive!"

Will perked up as well. "A party?"

Hedge hooted.

"What?" Octavian spluttered. "Jupiter's still missing! You actually failed the quest!"

Piper scowled at him. Then she recited the prophecy that had kicked off their adventure in the first place.

Child of Lightning, beware the earth,
The giants' revenge, the heroes shall birth,
The forge and dove shall break the cage,
And death unleash through Hera's rage.

"Doesn't say anything about Zeus," Rachel noted. "This quest was a success."

"But—"

Rachel glared at him. Just a week ago, Octavian might have snapped back at her, but now, she stood with her head high, her body glinting with dull bite and scratch marks peeking from underneath her clothes. She was not an Oracle anyone would want to mess with.

Jason flew over to where Thalia was marching fast across camp grounds. She was heading to Cabin One.

"What's wrong?" he asked, landing lightly beside her, keeping up on foot.

"Four objects of power," Thalia said, her feet moving faster. "Nyssa's right someone did portray him with them."

Jason nodded, excited. "You mean, with the necklace and a fourth thing? Where's it drawn? On the cabin walls?"

Thalia chuckled. "I wish!"

She opened the door to the cabin and jogged inside, leaving Jason standing at the entrance, slack jawed.

Cabin One was made of cold stone and even colder floors. Jason stepped inside and craned his neck up at the tall statue of their father sitting on a stone throne a top a cube pedestal that rose three feet off the ground. The whole structure sat smack dab in the middle of the cabin cemented to the floor and extending all the way up to the ceiling.

"Nothing says home like Dad's stony face glaring at you while you sleep," Thalia announced, standing beside the statue. The top of her head barely reached his knees.

"Uhuh," Jason said, still gobsmacked.

Then he paused when he caught sight of what Jupiter was holding in his left hand.

"Wait… is that the necklace?"

Thalia nodded. Jason joined her and they peered up at the large muscled hand of Zeus with his elbow resting on the throne's arm, and his forearm dangled carelessly over the side. Clearly the strong point of the statue was the Master Bolt in the right arm ready to aim at the door to scare away intruders. The left arm was understated with his palm closed around the stone necklace that was tucked inside uncomfortably.

It was amazing to think it was all carved out of a single piece of rock.

"Three objects here," Thalia pointed out. "He's sitting on the throne with the bolt in the right arm and Metis's necklace in the left."

"But maybe that's how Dad wanted it," Jason suggested. "He wouldn't want to advertise he had four objects. If everyone knew about it, then they could use it against him."

"Dad's nothing if not paranoid," she agreed. "So, if you were a sculptor chosen to design the likeness of the the most powerful and trigger-happy god on the planet, where would you hide information you didn't want him to know?"

Jason breathed out in a laugh. "If I wasn't worried for my life or sanity? I'd use a distraction."

Thalia nodded, listening.

"Something too subtle that would draw his attention," Jason explained. "So he'd think I was trying to add only that but really, I'm trying to hide the real details somewhere else."

Thalia shrugged. "Could work. But Zeus isn't stupid. No matter what you try, he'll see through it."

Jason stepped back to examine the statue again. Zeus wore a gold shoulder armor with intricate filigree design. His abs were on display, just above the gold metal belt. Every limb had detailed musclework that made the stone look like paint over the actual god. His knuckles were prominent and veined like a healer's dream. His face was hard to describe because it was equally terrifying and difficult to look at. Jason could just imagine his father scowling down at him for not finding the king.

He walked around the pedestal, running his eyes over the crevices and corners meticulously carved and shaped. The throne was a large and uncomfortable-looking thing with designs of lightning bolts zig-zagged unbelievably elegantly. Obvious, much?

The statue had passed Zeus's inspection. Which meant there could be nothing on it that had displeased him in any way.

"What about the pedestal?" Jason asked. "Maybe whoever made this showed just the statue for Dad to approve? The pedestal could have been shipped directly to the cabin."

"Good thinking," Thalia said, checking out the base. It was just a squarish block of stone, strangely plain compared to who sat on top.

Jason leaned down. "It's not hollow, is it?"

She rapped her knuckles hard on the left wall of the pedestal. No dice. It was solid through and through.

"Maybe we need to do something that Zeus won't do," Thalia said.

Not can't, but won't.

What do gods refuse to do that mortals don't mind?

"Dying," Jason said. "Being humble, apologizing, accepting that they're wrong, genuinely regretting mistakes…"

"Humble," Thalia said suddenly, her eyes sparking in delight.

She knelt on the ground, facing the back of the pedestal. Jason joined her. The four sides of the stone cube were unremarkable except for faded carvings. Jason blew hard on the surface, displacing the dust and revealing a shallow design of a necklace.

Thalia grinned. "You're right! If this side has the necklace, then the right must have the bolt!"

She scooted around the pedestal and confirmed it.

"The front has the throne," Jason said, grinning at the stone surface facing the cabin door.

They scrambled across the floor to scrutinize the back wall of the pedestal. It was unfortunately smooth.

Jason smashed the side of his fist against it. The slab moved as dust erupted from the sides. Using their swords, they dug into the edges, releasing the slab from the pedestal's back frame.

THUD!

Jason and Thalia dropped the heavy stone slab onto the ping-pong table of the war room. Everyone jumped and gawped at the 200-pound slab that made the poor table wobble.

"Everything we need is here," Thalia said cracking her knuckles. "But that's not Ancient Greek. It's gotta be at least Mycenean."

"Certainly hieroglyphic," Chiron mused, intrigued.

Everyone eagerly peered over the slab. The carvings were on the side of the slab that had been where the sculptor had thought to rightly hide it. The letters were faded but visible enough to understand the dirt and pebbles caked into the carved lines of each character.

"Older than Linear A?" Sky gasped through the IM window.

Chiron nodded, putting on his reading glasses to examine the slab. "Not syllabic."

Sky grinned and bounced on his feet. "Holy frick, can you read it?! I just know how to sound some of the characters! But if we're talking about hieroglyphic writing, this might be legit!"

Leo made a popping sound. "Did you get any of that?"

"No," Piper and Jason muttered.

Chiron leaned back, impressed. "If the Roman Senate and Praetors will allow it, I'd like to invite Sky to Camp Half-Blood so he can help me decode this slab."

Sky's eyes popped out. Harry stood up straight. Percy grimaced but Jason and Reyna seemed to consider it.

To everyone's surprise, Octavian said, "That's very kind of you, Chiron. I shall speak to the Senate members tomorrow and let you know."

Percy immediately figured it was some kind of ploy, but Octavian just stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He didn't add anything else and Chiron accepted his word. Annabeth patted Percy's arm.

"Alright then," Reyna said. "So Harry and Rachel can speak to their aunt while Sciron can visit your camp."

"And…" Percy added, nodding towards Piper. "Your dad can stay at our place in Scotland for a few days till we figure out what to do with his dreams."

Piper nodded, wide-eyed. "If that's okay with you, sure. My Dad's new to the whole demigod thing. And the magic thing. Wait, did you say Scotland?"

"Sure," Harry reassured her. "Mum can actually help him out."

Octavian folded his arms. "I thought you said your mother was dead."

Harry didn't know if he was trying to bait him, but he just scowled. "I meant Percy's mother."

"Did she adopt you?"

"Sort of. Not officially."

Octavian shrugged. "Just wondering why you call his mother 'Mum' when you call your own mother 'Lily'?"

Harry glared. Rachel wasn't pleased either, "That's out of line, dude."

Sky looked like he wanted to football tackle Octavian. Reyna quickly spoke up. "We'll get back to you about Sky's invitation. Thank you! By the way, Harry, you haven't RSVP'd yet."

Harry exhaled. "Oh, right… So I'm still on for Camp Jupiter? Do I just send an owl?"

The Romans were confused. "A what?"

"I'll just write you," he said hastily.

Percy slapped his hands on the already wobbling table. "Okay! I think we covered everything. Are we forgetting anything?"

The sun had already set by the time Jane reached her designated safe house.

It had been a bad idea. The entire thing had been her worst moment of judgment. Jane should have refused Medea the moment she'd stopped by the office and offered a too-good-to-be-true deal. Being Tristan McLean's secretary had been no walk in the park, especially thanks to the PR fires, crazed fans, and his kid's kleptomaniac tendencies.

The same kid who had battled a Giant… with two boys of lightning and fire. Jane hadn't wanted to know what kind of power Piper wielded to fit into that trio.

She barricaded the door, grabbed her phone, and dialled furiously. Medea didn't pick up her calls, so Jane was left with the only other option.

The ringing barely started when Beatrice Dare picked up the phone. "What went wrong?"

"Everything!" Jane wailed. "The goddess, the giant, they're both out and Ajax was killed. Oh my god, he snapped his neck just like that, I don't know what to do—"

"Who killed Ajax?" Beatrice barked. Jane trembled but recounted everything she'd seen especially Destin, the pizza delivery killer.

Beatrice muttered something unintelligible. "Can you describe this Destin?"

Jane stumbled over her words as she recalled the uniform and cavalier attitude that had fooled her completely. She was usually such a good character of judgment. She could tell Medea had an unhinged quality from her tone alone (but her monetary compensation had been worth it.) She had sensed Ajax's murderous intentions towards the kids, but had brushed it away because his ire had never been directed at her.

But she never expected a pale young man, perhaps a teenager even, to catch Ajax off guard enough to snap his neck and bodily throw him miles away.

"Damn it!" Beatrice muttered. Her voice lowered as she moved away from the phone to speak to someone in the room with her. Jane focused her ears but couldn't gather the words clearly.

All she'd heard were Beatrice's whisper, "He's back, then?"

Perhaps this Destin was an old enemy? As old as the goddess they'd imprisoned?

"Your services are no longer needed," Beatrice announced over the call and Jane stiffened.

"What—"

Click.

Jane stood in the small room, watching as the light of the surrounding towns popped up against the darkness setting in. She held her phone loosely, unable to comprehend the words.

She needed to get away. She needed to disappear before they-

SNAP!

Jane flinched, head turning to catch Ajax, soaking wet, dripping sea water everywhere. He had a small crossbow aimed at her.

"Wait, wait!" Jane screeched, dropping her phone and stumbling back. "I can still help?"

Ajax's eyes were wild with bright, furious energy. He grinned too wide for her to feel comfortable. "You do? Well then, Janie. You have a minute to convince me you're still useful."

Jane froze. Thoughts and plans, all her strategies fled her mind.

"Tick tock," Ajax reminded her like he was perfectly content to wait out 60 seconds.

"I saw his face!" Jane hollered. "I can spot him in a crowd!"

"And if he changed his face?" Ajax shrugged. His wet hair fell in clumps over her head making him seem ungainly and that much more deadly.

"If… if he slips up, we'll know," Jane pleaded. Tears leaked from her eyes and her hands trembled heavily.

"Only an idiot would wander around with the same face," Ajax reminded her. "He's probably discarded it."

"Probably! Doesn't mean for sure—"

"Don't argue semantics with me," he warned Jane.

She began to cry. "Please, please. I have a family—"

"Yeah, two nephews in Wisconsin. You haven't spoken to them in six years. They'll have no problem mourning you."

The arrow bolt let out a FOOP and Jane was stumbling back. Her head slammed against the wall and she slumped to the floor, stunned and impaled in the chest.

She'd never been attacked or injured like this. Her silk shirt quickly soaked up the blood from the short arrow, leaving her breathless and struggling for air. Her airway filled up with blood and she coughed painfully, her entire chest wracked in agony.

Ajax didn't bother finishing the job, leaving Jane there to bleed out.

Percy and Rachel visited Petunia the next day.

Harry had been reluctant enough to even talk about her, let alone to her. For good reason, they were charging her with assault and battery and it was for the best that Harry didn't have to be around her at all.

Percy and Rachel walked up to the door now. Privet Drive was covered with a light layer of snow. Frigid breeze blew through from the forest chilling everything in its path. But they wore summer clothes; Percy in a tee and shorts, Rachel in her tank top and caprice.

Rachel exhaled for the umpteenth time.

"What?" Percy finally asked.

"I have mixed feelings okay," she sighed as they came to a stop outside the front door. "Petunia's my aunt too, remember?"

"I remember," Percy said. "Just so you know, she might scream in your face and shut the door."

"Why?"

" 'Cause you look like Lily," he pointed out. "Also, she's probably panicking about the assault charges."

"You think so?" Rachel asked. "Harry said she might not be so bothered with it."

"She is," Percy said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "The front yard's not shoveled. If there's one thing the world knows about Petunia Dursley, she's a super neat freak who keeps everything in check."

"Everything?" Rachel questioned, disbelievingly,

"And everyone," Percy added. "This one time, she made Harry rearrange the photographs on the mantel place like fifty times just because Dudley lost five pounds and Petunia couldn't decide how to show the family frames in ascending order or something. Harry was convinced Dudley lost the weight just to make his life miserable."

He made it sound like an obsessive compulsion.

"Well, remember what Clarisse said," Rachel remarked. "Maybe Petunia really was in the army, so she still follows her routines."

Percy scowled. "And what army routine demands says it's okay to scream at kids for sneezing at a dust bunny?"

She held her tongue. She didn't know why she was defending Petunia. Rachel had heard enough from Harry and the Jacksons to know the kind of inflexible character she was.

Rachel instead turned around and checked out their footprints on the path. The snow fluttered, dispersing around and naturally settling in the depressions, covering their tracks.

"Mist?" she wondered, staring at the undisturbed snow.

"Bracelet," Percy guessed.

He rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" a high and sweet voice sang out. Rachel frowned. It didn't sound like the voice of a crazed and abusive woman.

"It's Jackson, your neighbour!" Percy answered, speaking just as sweetly. Rachel practically saw musical notes dance around him.

The locks clicked open the the door swung inside. Petunia appeared in the gap glancing at Percy with a frown before her eyes slid over to Rachel.

It happened fast. Her face went pale and her thin lips disappeared as shock overtook her features. A high-pitched shriek echoed from Petunia's throat and she slammed the door in their faces.

Percy massaged both ears. "Told ya. You look enough like Lily."

"Shall I break down the door?" Rachel asked.

"You can try. I don't know if Harry's wards can allow it."

They didn't. Rachel punched and kicked the door, using all her strength. The most she managed was to rattle it in its frame. She slammed her fists into the windows but that yielded no results either.

"GO AWAY!" Petunia roared. Her voice was no longer inviting and gentle.

"I'm Rachel!" Rachel shouted. "I'm Lily's daughter! Harry's sister! His twin!"

"ARE YOU DEAF? GET LOST!"

Percy sighed. "Step back, please."

Rachel stood aside and Percy wielded his sword. Riptide gleamed bronze and blue as he sliced the door into shards of wood.

The wards shimmered in protest, but they held fairly well. Percy kicked through the remaining wood and walked into the house.

"Hi, Mrs. Dursley," Percy greeted her and recapped Riptide. "You owe us some answers."

He ducked to the side as a frying pan came hurtling his way. Rachel snatched it out of the air, scowling at the woman.

"Is this how you greet your guests?" she chastised Petunia.

The woman glowered at them. "I don't know what freakish trick this is, but leave! You have no business with me! I'm not involved with Harry's life and I certainly don't owe you ANY answers!"

She grabbed a picture frame off the wall and threw it at them. Percy caught it like she'd tossed a baseball in slow motion.

"You killed Harry," Percy warned, his voice growing dangerous. "The least you can do is listen to us."

"Your people gave me a subpoena!" Petunia hissed, backing away. "How dare you think you can drag me into your affairs! And get her out of my house!"

Rachel raised the frying pan like she was at an auction. "Would you chill, Auntie? We wanted to ask if Lily and James ever left an ancient gold carved box with you. Preferably with a key? And a nice long explanation of the whole story behind it."

Percy side-eyed her. "We already got the story, remember?"

Rachel shrugged. "Yeah, but it's all so non-linear. I think the readers should get a summary of the full thing, you know."

"You're undermining them," Percy assured her. "They're following the narrative fine."

Petunia stared at the two of them. "You're worse than the boy!"

"You're so sweet, Mrs. Dursley!" Percy crowed. "So… the box. Where is it?"

She glared at him. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Percy nodded solemnly. "Ah, of course."

He wandered over to her mantel place where, true to his word, all the family photographs were arranged methodically with equal space between individual frames… except for Petunia and Vernon's tall wedding photo which was pushed to the back.

Percy frowned at the tall frame and picked it up and placing it in front of Dudley's baby photo.

Petunia twitched. "Put it back."

"Okay," Percy piped up and shoved both frames back. They scratched the dust on the wooden surface.

Petunia shuddered. "It's so typical of you, Jackson! This is why no one expects anything from you or your mother!"

It was Percy's turn to wince. His cavalier attitude disappeared and his eyes glinted in that malicious blue glow.

Rachel slapped a heavy hand on his shoulder and stepped forwards.

"Can I call you Aunt Petunia?" Rachel asked, trying for a gentler way.

"No!"

"Okay, Mrs. Dursley," Rachel improvised. "Like I was saying earlier, I really am Lily and James's daughter. Their first born. They named me Rosalie, but I go by Rachel now."

Petunia narrowed her eyes. "That old man said you were dead."

Rachel nodded. "He thought I was. They all did. But I met Harry through Percy. Total coincidence. Probably."

Percy blinked in that way like he was trying to telepathically communicate with Harry. Except Harry was back at Frost.

Oh! Was he trying to talk to Rachel?!

No such thing as a coincidence, his eyes seemed to say.

Exception to every rule, Rachel quietly reminded him.

Petunia scowled. "You're just like them. You are doing that peculiar thing with your eyes!"

A realisation struck Rachel. That's why Petunia had always hated Harry!

"Actually, I'm not a witch," Rachel said, schooling her expression. "That's the reason it took so long for Harry and I to find each other. I just don't have wand magic."

Petunia was taken aback. "You don't?"

"I swear on my paints," Rachel promised. "Never got on a magic train and never went to a magic school. I was actually at a high school in New York till all the godly magic stuff dropped into my life. Regular high school."

The tense measure in Petunia's posture relaxed by a degree. She scrutinised Rachel's face closely.

"In America?" Petunia asked.

"Yes," Rachel said. "A Mu—a regular couple adopted me as a toddler. They don't even know I'm here visiting you."

Petunia was much less threatening now. She stepped closer. "You look a lot like Lily."

"Yeah?" Rachel smiled.

"Except the hair. Her husband had those messy curls. They suit you better than your brother."

Rachel grinned, brushing her heavy braid over her shoulder. "I think the length helps maintain it better."

"It does," Petunia sighed. Then she jerked her chin at Percy. "Did he drag you here?"

"Kinda," Rachel said, placing her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes at Percy. "You know how these magic types are. Always wanting something."

Percy gave the perfect look of surprise.

Petunia clicked her tongue in agreement. "True."

Rachel smiled at her. "Honestly, if you could help me out, I could get back to my regular life. See, Harry didn't want to come today, that's why Jackson brought me here."

Petunia glared at Percy. "They have no concern for others."

"Tell me about it!" Rachel groaned. "So, the sooner you give us the box, the sooner we can all get back to our lanes."

Petunia frowned at Rachel. She pursed her lips like she was sucking on a slice of lemon, probably trying to detect some kind of insincerity in Rachel's words.

"On one condition," Petunia said.

"Yes?"

"Stop the charges against me."

Percy blanched. "Excuse me! You mean your arrest warrant?!"

"Those policemen have been congregating around my house every morning and evening!" Petunia complained. "I haven't been able to leave the house in days!"

"Again. You murdered Harry!"

Petunia made a face at him. "Where's your proof?"

"PROOF?!"

Rachel caught Percy's arm just as he advanced onto Petunia. "Whoa, dude! My darling, level-headed friend from another mother. Let's chill, huh?"

Percy spun around and folded his arms, glaring at the stairs and showing his back to them.

Petunia tilted her face up, unbothered by Percy's rage. Rachel had seen real demons and monsters run away from an angry Percy Jackson. Petunia was a whole other beast, able to instill fear into Harry and scoff at Percy. Their enemies had nothing on her.

"Mrs. Dursley," Rachel called her attention.

"You can call me Auntie," Petunia smiled. She seemed far sweeter and kinder when she smiled so genuinely like that. Rachel almost fell for it before recalling the kind of person she was.

"Auntie," Rachel simpered. "I can talk to Harry about reducing the charges, but I can't promise anything. But I'll try my best, though."

Petunia didn't like the sound of that. She tapped her kitten heels on the beautiful wooden floor. The sound was not so flat, reminding Rachel that there was a cellar below them. Could Petunia have hidden the box there?

"Lily did leave a box with me," Petunia admitted, letting out a gush of air. "It was dated, heavy, and metal. Gold carvings all over it. Egyptian. But I could never open it. There was something in it, though."

"An old necklace," Rachel said. "It's important to Percy and his friends. Once you give it to them, we'll get more free time. How do you take your tea? I have it without milk."

Aunt Petunia smiled. "Me as well. It's stronger that way."

"I know, the milk totally dilutes it!" Rachel exclaimed.

She looked like she was actually coming around. Aunt Petunia sighed, "If you can't do anything about the charges, maybe you can help me another way. Dudley."

"Dudley?" Rachel and Percy asked.

Petunia's iron visage crumpled like paper. She sobbed, "My baby! He ran away!"

Percy's jaw fell open. Rachel stammered, "Oh… oh, no! That's terrible."

"My sweet child!" Petunia wailed, throwing her arms around Rachel and crying into her shoulder. "Last week, Vernon and I woke up one morning and found a note on the table! Diddy had packed all his clothes and left the house! He didn't even say goodbye!"

Percy widened his eyes and clamped his mouth shut. Rachel could just imagine him saying, 'He probably said good riddance in the note.'

"And you don't know where he went?" Rachel asked gently, ignoring Percy rolling his eyes.

"No!" Petunia wailed. "I phoned all his friends and their parents. He's still going to school, but Vernon can never catch him leaving the building. The principal promised Dudley isn't staying on campus overnight, but where is he living? I just don't know!"

"And he isn't picking up his cell?" Rachel asked, patting her back.

Petunia sniffed. "He left his sim cards here. I just don't understand what happened? Why did he leave? Did someone kidnap him? But they let him go to school, so what went wrong?!"

Percy had to physically hold a hand over his mouth. Rachel signalled him to step outside the house.

"Okay, Auntie," Rachel said softly. "I'll get Percy and Harry to find Dudley. We'll make sure he's safe and sound. And then will you give us the box?"

Petunia wiped her eyes. "Of course! The box isn't here in the house, I'll need time to get it back. But I have to leave the house to get to it. It'll be easier if you can get those police to lift the charges on me."

Rachel bit the inside of her cheek. This felt like a ploy. But holding a crying woman in her arms—especially someone who was freaking out about their only son—made her put things into perspective.

"I'll talk to Harry," Rachel said. "And we'll check on Dudley."

Petunia sniffled. "Bring my baby boy back to me and I'll give you anything!"

Harry dropped the two-way mirror on his lap and groaned.

"Bad news?" Sally asked. Tristan, Piper's father, looked up from his steaming mug of tea.

They sat around the island in the kitchen in Frost mansion. Piper was in the living room with Hermione, who'd dropped by again. The witch would be leaving for Beauxbatons the next day and wanted to visit him and Ron before she took her portkey.

Harry had left the girls at it when Percy and Rachel called him from their Surrey visit.

"Definitely not good," Harry said, responding to Sally's question. "I guess we don't need to ask Dumbledore anyway, since Petunia does have it. She wants the charges dropped in exchange for the box. And something about finding Dudley."

Sally set her mug of tea down hard on the coaster. "Absolutely not!"

"We need that box, Sally," Harry said, leaning back in his chair.

"She attacked you, Harry!" Sally said firmly. "She'll face justice. I'll speak to her if it comes to that!"

Harry frowned at his reflection in the mirror. "Ajax managed to trick Zeus and steal the Master Bolt. The throne is breaking apart. We need to get to the necklace before he and his Locrians realise Petunia has it. I'm actually worried about Dudley, what if Ajax kidnapped him?"

Sally grimaced. "Where are Percy and Rachel going? To find him?"

"Yeah. They went up to London to check his boarding school. Apparently, he has full attendance… who knew?"

Sally didn't smile. "And if Dudley is fine?"

Harry shrugged. "Then I can threaten Petunia with a little house demolishment."

Tristan choked on his tea. Harry quickly added, "I'm kidding!"

"Er," Tristan said, "Not that this is any of my business… but when you say Master Bolt, do you mean the king's lightning strikes?"

Harry and Sally sat up in unison. She asked, "Do you know anything about it? Did you dream about it?"

Tristan stared. "I just know that Mrs. Dare is going after his things. His lightning bolt, a necklace, and a baton."

Harry gripped the island hard enough to crack it. The marble crumbled in his arms. Harry blurted, "Reparo!"

The rock fixed itself, all debris disappearing in an instant.

Tristan was speechless and Sally poured more tea for him.

"A baton!" Harry said, leaping to his feet. "That's the fourth object? Metis had a baton?"

Tristan was still staring at the marble top, utterly baffled.

Sally commented, "I didn't know Ancient Greeks had batons."

Tristan gulped down more tea. "It could be a translation error. Mrs. Dare did mention something like a collapsible scroll… or I'm misremembering the dream."

"You're honestly one of the closest sources of information for this," Harry admitted. "Can you recall anything else? Maybe something about Pandora?"

Tristan flinched. They'd healed the wounds he'd gotten from Enceladus when the Giant had tortured him. But his memory hadn't failed him during the incident.

"Tristan," Sally said gently. "I know it's not easy. The Mist will always work against you even though you dream about all this. It will cause you pain even. But you can help Piper so much if you choose to do this."

Tristan inhaled a shaky gulp of air. Harry hadn't been present for the man's conversation with his daughter, but Piper had shown him a vial of glowing pink potion that genuinely looked like straight-up poison. A gift from Aphrodite, apparently.

Tristan could either help himself and be a fully mortal connection for Piper. Or he could refuse the potion and be subjected to the painful memories and dreams, but still helping them all.

"It's always a sacrifice, isn't it," Tristan muttered unhappily. "I can either choose to be a happy person or a helpful father."

Harry's eyes widened. He watched Sally nod sadly.

"It feels like that," she said. "But you can find happiness whatever path you decide. It might just take more time. And effort."

Tristan tilted his head, listening to Piper and Hermione's conversation from the living room.

Hermione was currently fascinated by Piper's ability to speak in most French dialects simply by virtue of her mother. They were having some intense discussions of the origin of magic, one of Hermione's favourite topics. Since Piper could read older versions of French, it made translating some of France's ancient tomes easier for Hermione.

Piper sounded giddy and intrigued with the new information and a new friend. It struck a chord in Tristan.

"Thank you for the tea, Ms. Jackson," Tristan whispered. "I think I'll catch a nap now… and find out everything I can about Pandora and Zeus."

Stay tuned for more!

Take a guess, is Dudley missing or a runaway?

Cabba K.