Percy double checked his mist disguise for the third time before taking a deep breath and walking out of the ocean as confidently as he could. If his past quests had taught him anything, it was how to bluff his way through situations, and one of the best ways to do so was to act like he belonged wherever he was. He was still glad the girls on the island wouldn't be immortal like those in the Hunt. His mist manipulation had less chance of being noticed by people who hadn't been using it for centuries.

(See, I can be subtle, Wise Girl, he told his wife's memory silently. He could just imagine her rolling her eyes and shaking her head fondly. He wished just thinking about her like that didn't hurt so much still.)

The confident act and image of himself as a girl should be enough by themselves, but he'd added an element to the disguise that should help strangers trust him more to be safe. He didn't like using that aspect through the mist, but he didn't see another way to get onto the island safely, and he had to find Reyna and/or Hylla, if only to talk to them. To be fair, he had no intentions of fighting or hurting anyone, which did assuage his conscience. He still wasn't a fan of outright lying to the islanders.

Glancing around as he walked onto the sand, he only found an empty, desolate beach. He didn't let that fool him. It was being watched. He could sense it.

Once he'd moved past the waves, he paused to consider the growth of forest lining the beach in front of him. It looked tropical and dense, nothing like the deciduous trees and shrubs from the temperate climates he was used to. Although there were enough areas in the United States and other countries he'd been in as a god that he knew some things. Like how walking into dense growth like that was not a good idea. Of course, walking off of a path in temperate zones wasn't always either. Still…

It took him a moment to recognize two pathways leading into the forest near the rocks jutting into the air on either side of the beach. It seemed a little too deliberate to be natural, but he had to wonder exactly how Circe would have changed the landscape when it wasn't in her domains. Was she that powerful in her own territory? He'd have to assume so. Great.

He pondered the decision in front of him for a couple of minutes, wondering which side he should choose. He sensed demigods all over the island, and both paths seemed to have guards, from what he could tell, so he randomly picked right and walked over to it.

Three steps into the path, he found his way forward abruptly blocked by several women in Greek and Roman dress, with various weapons pointed at him: spears, swords, bows and arrows, even some slingshots. More than one had their hands up in a threatening motion, most likely sorceresses themselves. Suddenly far less sure, Percy swallowed and hoped his own control of the mist was as good as he needed it to be. He should have realized there would be sorceresses on the island. It was Circe's Island.

He'd classified the guards as 'women' initially, but as they all stood, facing off, he couldn't help but notice that many of them could have easily been high-school, or even middle-school age. He wasn't entirely sure what to think of that.

"Um… hi?" he said slowly.

"Who are you?" one of the women, probably the one in charge, asked. She had ash-blond hair tied into a braid behind her and cold, gray eyes. Athena eyes. Percy wondered if she was Annabeth's sister…

Then he told himself to focus.

He didn't want to lie to them. "You can call me Paisley. Paisley Jackson." He never said it was his name. "I'm a child of…" he paused, wondering if he should go Greek or Roman. Reyna and Hylla were Roman, but Circe herself was Greek, despite who she let onto the island. He wondered how she'd gotten around that. "The sea god," he finally settled on.

"What are you doing here?" the maybe-Athena child asked, eyes narrowed.

Percy didn't swallow, but it was a near thing. "A female demigod has a couple of choices when she comes of age. Camp," they could specify which one she meant on their own, "either on land or under the sea, the Hunt," a risk because that wasn't necessarily a Roman thing, "Amazons, or… well, here."

The girls all exchanged glances, except for the leader. She just focused more on Percy.

"I don't think your… father would approve of choosing here."

Percy outright laughed. "Absolutely not." He smiled, just a little sharply. "Though some might argue that's part of the appeal."

A twinge of amusement entered the girl's eyes and the side of her mouth twitched. "Well. We'll have to take you to our lady."

Percy tried not to let how he tensed at that declaration show, but she must have seen it anyway, because her eyes narrowed again and any mirth vanished.

"Why didn't you go to the docks? Why the beach?"

The time-traveler shrugged, hoping it looked nonchalant. "One, it's easier. Two… from what I could see, that was all about the face that's shown to everyone. I wanted to see what it was really like here before I made a decision."

Some of the girls shifted uncomfortably, but the gray-eyed girl nodded. "I can respect that. Also, you haven't lied this entire time."

That took him by surprise. "I… what?"

"There's a truth spell on the island. Or, well, it's obvious when someone lies, to anyone tied into the spell." Percy did gulp that time, glad he had decided to go the 'as truthful as possible' way. But this could also potentially help him if he had to reveal himself and/or his future knowledge.

"We still have to take you to Lady Circe, but… we can go the scenic route."

"Lyra," one of the other girls said quietly. She had dark eyes and hair as well as a tan complexion, but was not someone Percy had met before. "Is that...wise?"

Lyra was definitely a daughter of Athena. Especially with how she stiffened.

"I'm facilitating…" she paused, looking at Percy, "Paisley, was it?" He nodded. "Paisley's wisdom. Making an informed decision is wisdom in and of itself."

He smiled. "I appreciate it."

"This way," Lyra said, nodding towards the path he'd been taking anyway.

"So," he said after they'd been filing in a straight line for a little while, "tell me about life here. Do you like it?"

"Lady Circe keeps us safe from the outside world," Lyra said, not looking back at him.

Sirens started to go off in his mind when she fell silent after that. Not loudly, but still there.

"Yet there's your guard," he said slowly when it became obvious she wouldn't say anything more… or anything that actually answered his question.

She shrugged. "Nothing is impenetrable. We just prepare for anything we can."

He thought about that, then shrugged. "Point." Though that also didn't answer any of his questions. "But what's it like? Like daily life, expectations, training, etc."

"We're not allowed to use powers that don't deal with magic," one of the girls said.

Percy frowned. That didn't make sense. "Aren't… all divine powers magic?"

"Specifically sorceress magic," Lyra clarified.

"So, only the Mist?"

"Mainly, although there are other areas people can delve into with Lady Circe's permission." Percy frowned deeper. That didn't sit well with him. It felt… wrong in the parts of him that were explicitly Greek too. And Romans were all about procedure, sure, but that limited? Especially people like Reyna and Hylla….

"You already have some ability with the Mist," one of the entourage said. Percy didn't know who, but bet it was a sorceress. "I can sense it around you."

Percy nodded. "Yeah. It makes daily life a lot easier when on land."

No one disagreed with him, but the previous calm atmosphere seemed a little less welcoming now.

Time for a topic change. "So, where do you all live? Is there a main housing complex, or are there houses for everyone?"

"That depends," Lyra said. "For those who want to live in a community, there are complexes to choose from. For those who would like to live by themselves, we all come together and build a house for them."

Okay, that was something Percy could get behind.

"Nice. And how do you all spend your days?"

"You choose a profession, or are assigned one if you don't know a profession, and that is your job on the island," Lyra said. She ducked under a fallen tree that left some room under it for passage. Percy followed, as did everyone behind him. "You'll still have to work to help maintain the island, but at least it's safe. Lady Circe's magic keeps most monsters away unlike the outside world."

"What kinds of professions?" Because that sounded reasonable.

"Crafting and building, animal tending, farming, food preparation, and, of course, defense and policing." She gestured behind them, probably meaning their little group. "The crafting includes arts. Sorcery is taught on the side, as a hobby."

"People can also work at the spa," yet another girl from the group said.

Lyra glanced over her shoulder, eyes narrowed in a frown. "Yes, but only once someone has proved themselves outside of the spa."

"Unless you're pretty enough," someone muttered behind him.

That tone had Percy's stomach clenching. The silent sirens in his head started blaring again. That had sounded awfully bitter…. He hadn't expected anyone to say something like that. Not in front of a newcomer. Was it his mist manipulation at work? The trustworthiness aspect he'd added in? Or maybe tensions on the island had already built to a boiling point and Percy's spell had sent her over the edge. He winced.

"Maya," Lyra said coldly.

An uneasy shuffle went through the group around Percy.

"What?" the girl said again. Percy looked over his own shoulder at the girl speaking. She had pale skin and dark hair, but blue eyes that reminded him of Apollo. Huh. "It's true. Aurelia—"

"Was killed by an incoming man," Lyra said shortly. "Lady Circe told you that herself."

"Yeah? Well, why do all the Love Goddess girls get taken to the spa then? Doesn't that put them in more danger? And why are they the ones that always end up dying? Or conveniently leaving without telling anyone?"

Lyra's aura darkened, growing more menacing. Percy wasn't the only one who noticed. Still, when she spoke, she had an air of calmness he'd heard from many Athena children in the past.

"Of course, Lady Circe places us where our gifts can be most appreciated, so daughters of the Love Goddess are generally moved to the spa quickly. Some girls are hurt or even die, but that is simply the nature of being a demigod or legacy, even one under Circe's protection. Our lives here are still happier and longer than any Camp could provide, though maybe not so long as being a Hunter would. But I can't see many daughters of love finding that very fulfilling."

True, but something about that—

"They're not the only ones who die," yet another girl, this one with curly hair and dark skin, said angrily. "And not all deaths coincide with anyone new coming onto the isla—!"

"ENOUGH!" Lyra yelled, whipping around to face the girls, gray eyes flashing. So, not as patient as Annabeth, even though she seemed to have a good mind for politics. "How many of you were rescued by Lady Circe?" Awkward shuffling was her only answer. "She has kept many of us safe. That is something you cannot deny." Several girls looked down in shame. "But even she cannot save everyone. Pride, vanity, and resentment have no place on this island, and if you struggle with that, you may go to the temple to pray for improvement, right Maya?"

"And disappear ourselves?" Maya, a girl with a deep tan as well as dark hair and eyes, grumbled.

"Maya, you're relieved of duty," Lyra said. "You obviously have some things to work through. Go to the temple tonight and calm down. Think through everything clearly."

"Everyone who goes to the temple for something like that is… different when they come back!" she argued, blue eyes sparking. Either they'd forgotten Percy was there, or his disguise and mist manipulation was better than he could have hoped. To be fair, though, these were also mostly young teenagers who probably didn't grow up on the island and may have been fairly new to the idea of a professional guard. Still…

"Yes," Lyra said calmly. "That's the point."

"So we can sit here and be brainwashed and controlled—"

It was subtle, but Percy saw Lyra's hand wave by her side. The mist swirled and Maya stopped, blinking like she didn't know what she'd been about to say. Some of the girls, those who were obviously versed in magic, looked away.

"Maya, do you want to leave the island?" Lyra asked softly.

The dark-haired girl looked taken back and backed away, eyes shifting down to stare at her feet. "No. Of course not."

"Then you need to go to the temple tonight, and Lady Circe tomorrow. Talk it out with her."

Percy felt his breath freeze in his lungs as the girl, whose eyes had had so much fire in them before, now seemed dull and confused. She nodded.

"Yes. Of course. I'll… go home now."

The group let her through and Percy watched her walk by, his instincts screaming at him. The dark-skinned girl put a hand on Maya's shoulder, but the girl just shrugged it off. Percy saw the panic in the other girl's eyes, but she didn't make a move to go after Maya.

Percy's mouth had gone dry. He remembered Reyna talking about the island like it had been so good, but… this wasn't right.

"We are a peaceful island, Paisley," Lyra said quietly. "We don't tolerate fighting or dissent amongst each other. We are here to live peacefully. So any dissent is discussed openly. Those who cannot be mature are sent to Circe's temple to calm down and discuss their issues there. Only then can agreements and compromises be reached."

"Right. And… you can leave any time? The Island I mean," Percy asked, hoping his voice didn't sound rough or croaking. He knew Circe could be considered a minor goddess in her own right. Technically a nymph, but far more powerful than what most gods classified as 'nymphs'. Percy, himself, had never really understood the distinction and had simply avoided her like the plague once he'd ascended. Thankfully, she'd done the same.

Lyra's calm demeanor cooled significantly as she looked him up and down. He hoped she hadn't seen through his Mist-disguise yet. "Yes," she said. "Of course. Anyone can leave."

"They just have to know how to sail?" he asked, hoping that came off as lighter than he felt.

"Or they can ask Lady Circe to teleport them to the mainland."

Yeah. That, with the context of what just happened, wasn't suspicious at all. "Right," he said. "Okay then. Let's… keep going then?"

Lyra was looking Percy over again, eyes narrowed and distinctly unfriendly now. "You know, I think Cecilia was right. This is against protocol and we need to take you to see Lady Circe directly."

"But—" Percy started.

"Diane," she said loudly, cutting Percy off. Another girl with golden-blond hair and brown eyes nodded firmly. "I know everyone was curious, but we need to keep to our duties. Please head back to the beach." The girl nodded again as Percy thought through all his options.

"I will lead Paisley directly to the spa. Who would like to accompany me and our guest?"

Several girls raised their hands. Percy was glad to see the dark-skinned girl from earlier was one of them. Lyra nodded. "Very well. Everyone else, go back to the beach."

Great. They'd taken too much exception to the fact that he'd seen the not-so-great part of their little culture on accident. But Percy didn't protest more. It wouldn't do any good if he wanted to keep a low profile. He did, however, palm the jar of multi-vitamins from his pocket. That was the key to his best idea. At least some of these girls were being coerced—forced to remain here via magic. He didn't know how deep that went, but it wouldn't be the first time he'd come across a deity coercing people for their own ends. Even if there was nothing nefarious going on here, and Circe really did mean to protect them, well, the road to Tartarus was paved with good intentions… sometimes. Sometimes it was paved with betrayal and heartache. Other times with madness and sadism. And every now and then, a spider guarding a statue over a drop into the stupid pit. Still, the point stood.

The group walked on. Percy asked more questions, but no one answered. He swallowed. Not good. He still didn't want this to turn into a fight. Which it most likely would if he met Circe face-to-face.

They turned down the next path that intersected the one they'd been walking down and traipsed through the trees towards where Percy could see the top of Circe's spa in the distance.

"Can we take a bit of a break?" he asked, feigning tiredness.

"No," Lyra said shortly. If the trustworthy aspect of his disguise had worked before, it didn't seem to be now.

Well, so much for that plan.

Percy knew he had to stall. He couldn't afford to go head-to-head with a goddess. Not and keep his mortality… He would if it meant saving his friends, but he really, really didn't want to if he didn't have to. As much as he missed the power at his fingertips, if only for the sheer convenience, it wasn't worth immortality. It never could be to someone like him, who cared far more about the people in his life than any abilities he could ever gain.

A root he hadn't seen caught his foot and he stumbled forward. It took every ounce of will to keep the Mist illusion up as he fell.

"Are you alright?" the dark-skinned girl from earlier asked, reaching her hand out to help him back up. Percy took his chance and slipped her the bottle as he rose to his feet, grateful it was small enough for him to be able to do so.

"Yeah," he said. "But… um, what's your name?"

She blinked, surprised, but to her credit, didn't so much as flinch at him slipping her the bottle. "Ebele."

He shot her a wan smile. "Ebele. Thanks, but I think I've seen the truth of this place. I… hope you can too. And everyone." He stared pointedly at her, silently begging her to get his message.

The girl's dark eyes widened, but to her credit, she didn't so much as look down at where he'd slipped her the jar. Smart. Still, she nodded. "Indeed. Now get moving."

She nudged him, hard, and he turned to keep walking forward. Lyra was watching them suspiciously but didn't step in. Instead, the group just continued on.

After about fifteen or so minutes, they came to the base of C.C.'s Spa and Resort. It looked very much like he remembered, white-marble built in terraces around mountains and hills, some leaning out over the sea, with waterfalls and swimming pools and the underwater tubes he could sense…

He could also sense the Mist, but something about it felt off. Reaching out, it responded to his command sluggishly, like a pouting child grudgingly following their parent's order. Great. He still had hold of the Mist holding his illusion together, but he didn't know how long that would last within the spa itself.

"I'll lead Paisley from here," Lyra said. "Cecilia, follow me." The girl with dark hair and tanned skin from earlier stepped forward with a nod.

The girl who had helped him up looked worried, like she wanted to step in, but didn't think that would end well. Percy agreed, so he just nodded at her, then followed Lyra inside a pale archway leading up a stairway built into the side of the mountain.

Well, it looked like this would end in a fight, whether he liked it or not. Unless he could talk Circe down… Odysseus had been able to, but he'd also fathered multiple sons with her and Percy was most definitely not willing to go that far.

Should he take the vitamin he'd pocketed for himself now? He reached into the pocket of his jeans and found Riptide… but no vitamin. His heartbeat picked up. Styx. He pushed his hand down farther and found… a hole.

A. Hole. In. His. Pocket.

The words that went through his mind just then would have made Kym stop and stare. His plans had been entirely derailed because of a hole. Wait, did he constantly lose Riptide and it just came back because his sword was that awesome?

No, focus. What could he do now? Nothing less than his best, but… If he ended up being a guinea pig for the rest of his life, he was going to find a way to take that up with the Fates. See how they liked his small, furry self showing up everywhere, like a bad penny. (That was a current saying, right?)

Still, what was his other option? Knock the two girls out and run away? That would probably cause a fair amount of chaos… and in that chaos, he could find Reyna or Hylla, right? Well, he'd probably have to get out of the spa, unless he was incredibly lucky.

Almost as if in response to his thoughts, a group of girls in white togas and peplos were walking down the hall he and his entourage had just turned into. About half-way down, he saw a familiar, but much younger face of one Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. She was walking quietly, demurely and without the confidence he remembered from her, but it was definitely her.

"You know," he said as he passed them, eyes focused on Lyra, "I'm surprised a daughter of a war goddess would be content to stay here. It's not what I expected."

Was it just his imagination, or did Reyna flinch a little?

Lyra froze. Then she whirled on him, face stony.

"Why is that your business?" she asked. "And how did you know who my mother is?"

He shrugged. "I didn't. I just guessed. You just confirmed it. But I didn't specifically address any particular war goddess." He grinned.

The girls in white had glanced at him, but none had stopped or spoken. Lyra waited until they'd turned into another corridor Percy had noticed a couple of meters back.

"And you're not a simple daughter of the Sea God."

"Nope," he said, smirking. "Though I honestly have no ill will towards any of the demigods and mortals on this island."

"But nymphs and goddesses?" Cecilia asked from behind him.

"Only if they have a problem with me," he said, shrugging.

"You're here to destroy our home," Lyra hissed, fingering her sword.

"I'm not. But if you have to coerce people to stay here, then is it really a home? The sanctuary you claim it is?"

"It's the sacrifice we have to make to keep us safe!"

Percy's hands balled into fists. "Keep us safe? No, it keeps you safe! What about the other girls here! If they aren't making their own choice to stay, then how is that safety? It seems to me your 'lady' only wants a bunch of people around her to answer her beck and call—to make sure everything on the island runs somewhat smoothly! She wants slaves!"

"Well," a new voice said. He'd only really heard it at one time before in his life, but he still recognized it immediately. He also recognized the heaviness of the charmspeak, lower and deeper than Pipers, but just as mesmerizing for it. Percy grit his teeth and slowly turned to face a woman who looked to be in her twenties, wearing a black, Greek peplos under equally dark, silky hair and piercing green eyes. Not a sea-green like Percy's, but more a mix of toxic poison and growth at the same time.

A goddesses' eyes.

He swallowed and put his hand into his pocket again, fingering Riptide.

"What's this?" she asked, amused.

"This girl walked onto the beach, my Lady," Lyra said, bowing respectfully. "She says she's a daughter of the Sea God and wanted to see if this was a good place for her."

Circe looked somewhere between amused and infuriated. "Did she now?" Yeah, she could definitely see through his mist shroud. He gripped his pen tighter.

The goddess must have noticed. "Oh, come now," she said, her voice overflowing with charmspeak. "There is nothing to fear here. It is peaceful."

His head was starting to get light, but he fought off the charmspeak as best he could, pouring his own power into his efforts. After a couple of seconds, he managed to break through the haziness.

"If it's so peaceful, then why do girls go missing?" he asked angrily. "Do you take them as lovers? As slaves? As property you can sell to the highest bidder?" Okay, he may be jumping to the worst conclusions, but he hated people trying to charmspeak him! Aphrodite did it all the time, just to get a rise out of him. He was kind of glad for the practice at breaking out of it now, though. He wasn't sure he could if Aphrodite herself used it on him now.

That didn't sit well with him.

None of this did.

And he may or may not have directed some of his worry and anger about that to the woman in front of him.

"How dare you?!" Cecilia shrieked, not noticing Circe's darkening expression.

"Because that is his nature."

That seemed to take the girl back and it was Percy's turn to wince. Both girls looked between Percy and Circe for several seconds before Percy finally let his disguise drop with a sigh.

"A man?!" Cecilia shrieked. Lyra stepped away, disgusted.

"'Man'?" Percy asked with a scoff. "I'm twelve." Technically.

As if sensing something in his words, Circe pounced. Not literally, but that was what it felt like. One moment, they were standing in the white-marble hallway. The next, they were all in Circe's mirror room with the squealing guinea pigs who kicked up an enormous fuss the moment they appeared. Percy, himself, could only barely notice this as she had her hands on his cheeks, so gentle but firm, forcing him to look into her eyes. They were lovely and deep and soothing and…

And not the storm gray he was used to. There was something off about that…

He tried to shake his head, but her hands wouldn't let him.

"There's something about yourself that you don't like…" she said, sounding so reasonable.

"Not really," he muttered, "it's just different."

"But," she said calmly, pushing him in front of a very familiar mirror. "Isn't there something you'd like to change about yourself?"

Percy studied himself in that mirror, full length, for the first time since he'd come back. All he saw were scrawny arms and legs, wild, black hair, and sea-green eyes. He looked so much like his father and yet… The upturn of his nose just there, and the way his cheekbones sat, the shape of his eyes and how deeply they set into his face. That was all his mother. Sally Jackson.

The very thought almost made him smile. "No. I… wish I could stay just like this." Or at least in the body he saw.

A growling noise drew him away from his own reflection to the woman standing behind him. She looked famil—Oh.

Oh!

"Percy!" Annabeth suddenly came crashing into the room, looking as stunning as she had the first time. Well, for a twelve-year-old. She definitely didn't look twelve now and he could see the beginnings of the woman she would become.

"So, you defied us? Spit on our hospitality?" Circe growled at Annabeth. "And you're strangely resistant to my magic. I wonder why."

That was very obviously a rhetorical question. Or statement.

"No!" Annabeth said. "We're not here to hurt anyone!"

"Lies!" Lyra said from where she stood on the side of the room, already with her sword out to defend her mistress.

"You know it's not," Percy said tightly. "You said so yourself."

"Then why are you here?!" Cecilia shrieked.

"Right now, we just want to get a better boat," Percy responded with a shrug, forcing nonchalance. "The one we were on wouldn't have lasted much longer."

"Thieves!" Lyra said.

Percy rolled his eyes. "You actively take people from their transportation and then turn them into guinea pigs. You don't have the moral high ground here."

"Says the one who broke into our sanctuary," Lyra said.

"I literally walked up onto the beach! I didn't hide my presence at all! Just disguised myself so I had a chance at a peaceful talk!"

"Yes. You come here, to my home, knowing far too much, and think you can win here?" Circe asked, eyes gleaming mischievously.

"Lady, you're on an island. Child of Poseidon, remember!"

"Still mortal."

Percy didn't mean to wince at that… but he did.

"Look, we really met no harm and will leave if you really want us to," he finally said. "I know you don't like to do it, but just let us go! We won't even fight or anything if you don't hurt us."

"It's too late for that," Circe said, snapping her fingers. Out of a side door, another contingent of armed girls came in with Luke and Grover tied up in between them.

"Luke! Grover!" Annabeth shrieked, jumping forward. Several other girls caught and held her though. She didn't stop struggling, but it was obvious she wouldn't be breaking out any time soon. Knowing her, she'd get out eventually, but probably not fast enough.

Percy felt his insides drop as he looked between Annabeth and his other two questmates. How had Luke and Grover been caught? They hadn't even been on the island! They weren't supposed to even be in danger! He stepped forward, but stopped when Lyra and Cecilia's weapons came to his throat and stomach respectively.

"Well," Circe said calmly, withdrawing a dagger, bloodlust in her eyes.

No… no no no….

"I think I'll start with the Satyr. Despicable creatures," Circe said, a malicious smile on her dark red lips as she strode forward.

"Baa-ah-ah!" Grover said, trying to back away only to yelp at the spear points he ran into.

Come on, Jackson, think, Percy told himself. But nothing was coming. Except to draw attention.

"It wasn't their idea, it was mine!" he said. "Seriously, how much do you want for the boat? We'll pay for it!" He held up what was left of his drachma stash.

"Funny how this is the first time you mention it," Lyra hissed.

"You wouldn't let me!" he shot back.

The others dragged a struggling Grover forward. "Four on a quest! I knew this would be bad!" he was saying.

"No, Grover!" Luke shouted, shoving the girl at his side away and making a dash for the satyr.

"Luke!" Annabeth screamed. "No!"

Luke came to a stop in front of Grover, glaring hatefully at Circe. Behind him, Grover shook his head.

"Luke! You—" he started.

"Shut up," Luke hissed, and Percy didn't know whether that was aimed at Grover or Circe.

"Very well, if you're volunteering to die…" Circe said, snapping her fingers again. The girls stepped forward, holding Luke in place.

Any day, Percy! He thought desperately. Although, this was Luke… and while Percy didn't like the idea of him dying, if someone in their group had to…

His loyalty and demigod domain twisted and he grunted. Ugh. Loyal to demigods. All demigods. And—

Once again, he saw the fabric of the world—the ever changing weave of the Fates leading off in two directions. He had a choice here. If Luke died… he saw images of Annabeth angrily leaving camp, of her approaching Olympus with an army behind her… of her golden eyes.

NO! Percy didn't know if he just thought it, or if he yelled, but all of a sudden his gut hurt like nothing else. He grit his teeth, cradling his stomach out of sheer reflex.

Something cracked painfully. He tried not to, but couldn't withhold a scream.

Burning knives stabbing and shattering! Then the shards stabbing and shattering, spreading out to repeat the process.

"P...Percy?" Annabeth's quiet, shaky voice made him open his eyes.

He forced himself to look around, even as he dropped to his knees. Everyone around him stood frozen… except his allies. Up to and including a very shocked Circe herself.

"Why… can't I…" she said, though her jaw didn't seem to want to move.

And that was when Percy realized he could sense their blood, not just peripherally, but like it was his own.

Oh.

Well.

"I—I…" he managed to choke out, but it hurt too much to speak more than that.

"Are you doing this?" Annabeth asked, having carefully ducked under her captors. She was now making her way to Luke, who was trying to help Grover up without actually having any hands to do so.

"Y… yes…" he said, strangled.

"How is this… possible?" Circe asked, eyes wide in shock and horror.

The world was spinning around Percy now. He felt something inside him crack and panicked. He knew what that was.

His mortality.

No… he couldn't let… that break. But did he have a choice? Especially with someone fighting him so hard. Circe? Probably. He couldn't concentrate enough to really make sure, but it made sense.

He had to hold on… didn't he? The pain was making it hard to think.

And then she was there, blond hair in the most beautiful braid, curly wisps framing her delicate face that could also be so strong.

"Come on," she whispered.

"Heh… I really am… a Seaweed… Brain…" he huffed. She practically pulled him to his feet, draping an arm around her shoulder. He just reveled in her presence.

"Come on," she said again.

His mortality cracked further. He hated how he could feel that, despite it not being physical.

"No… I… can't keep… this up…" he whispered. He didn't want to let this all go—let his mortal life go. Not this soon. Not with everyone…

"Just until we get to the door," she said, ducking around some of the terrified looking girls frozen in place. Even the guinea pigs…

Oh. Right. Percy let those go. They all backed away, squealing in terror. He hated that, but the release helped… a little.

"Come on," Luke said, as he moved the girls out of the way, carefully by their arms, of course. Percy noted that somehow and appreciated it.

"I…" Percy said, "I'm trying…"

His legs wouldn't work, dragging across the tiled floor as he leaned heavily on Annabeth.

"How are you doing this?" Annabeth asked, grunting, as they reached the door. Luke practically picked Percy up and he whimpered as he curled into the warmth of the much larger body. He could only focus on the strain… as if his very being was tearing apart. Which… it kind of was.

"Liquid."

"What?" Luke asked as they started jogging down the hall.

"God… of liquid," Percy muttered.

"But you're a demigod right now!" Annabeth said.

"Have… my own… domains. Brought them… back… somehow."

The blood was getting harder to hold onto the farther away the four of them got from the mirror room. Grover was, again, muttering something about how this was why you never went on a quest with four people and why avoiding Circe's island was always a better idea.

Percy wanted to smile, but couldn't seem to bring himself to.

The metaphysical crack inside him split more, leaking energy out and into him. His skin felt hot. Too hot.

"No…" he whimpered, not caring how weak he sounded. "Can't… hold on…"

"Then don't!" Grover shouted. "You're in too much pain already! I can feel you tearing apart!"

Annabeth gasped and Luke gripped Percy tighter… which kind of did and didn't help at the same time.

"Can't… let go," Percy grunted, focusing on the familiar orange around him. He liked the color of the Camp Half-Blood shirts. He always had. Not as much as blue, but orange was blue's complimentary color and—

"Why can't you let it go?" Luke asked through gritted teeth. Oh… Percy could feel his anger. It was almost as bad as it had been when he'd met Luke the year before. Was he always just that angry?

"She'll… follow—"

"So what?! We'll deal!" Annabeth said, racing down more halls. She'd either memorized the place already, or was choosing halls at random. Which really didn't sound like his Wise Girl, so probably the former.

(Not his Wise Girl, a voice in his head whispered. He almost couldn't comprehend it.)

The crack widened. He cried out. The leaking power burned. So much…

No. He didn't want that…

But he had to keep them safe.

"Percy, let it go!" Annabeth shrieked.

He gasped, straining to hold onto the people he'd frozen in place. His connection to them stretched, more and more and more… until it finally snapped.

He screamed in torment as the backlash of power hit him. His hands curled into Luke's shirt, almost tearing the fabric in his agony. Thankfully, as if he'd been prying the crack open with his power, it snapped closed again. Mostly. Something (divinity?) was still seeping into him but… it would heal. He'd felt like that before, after… after Tartarus in the first timeline.

A shudder ran through his body at the memories he tried to push away.

And then he smelled the ocean air.

"This way!" Annabeth yelled. Percy could swear he heard girls cursing and yelling, but he couldn't focus on them, only on his breathing and the sheer torment still drowning his gut.

Then they stopped and he heard something.

"Which one?!" Annabeth yelled.

"Over there!" Grover said.

They kept running. The sound of their footfalls changed to something more wooden. Wooden? And water… the dock? Please let it be the dock.

He didn't even know who he was praying to at that point.

"Almost—" Annabeth started but then they all stopped, practically skidding to a halt.

"You! You dare challenge me? On my own island?!" Circe! Percy forced himself to turn and look at the goddess, practically glowing as she stood there. Wait, had she just let them go the first time? Or had there just been too much chaos? He couldn't remember. He hated how foggy his brain looked… er, felt.

"We didn't want to hurt anyone!" Grover shouted. "And we shouldn't be punished for something we can't control!"

"You were born male, you were born cursed," Circe hissed.

What about her own sons? Did she think that way about them? Percy wanted to ask, but the words wouldn't come to his mouth through his exhaustion.

"You will not leave this island alive!" the woman yelled.

"Just like… all the girls you killed?" Percy asked, more on a whim than anything, but partly because it helped him focus past his pain.

"Ha! Those girls—children of the Goddess of Love—could never truly fit in here! Not with their propensity to love men!"

"Not… all of them…" Percy said, forcing the words out. "How many… did you love?"

Circe's glare hardened even more, eyes definitely a toxic green.

She moved too quickly for Percy to see, but one second, her hand was by her side, the next it was in front of her, extended and empty. Hadn't she had a dagg—

Then he was falling as Luke shouted for Grover and Annabeth. Percy thumped painfully to the dock, gasping for breath, hearing more yells and splashes before he opened his eyes just in time to see Luke, with a dagger in his side, fall to the dock.

Annabeth, from the water beside them, screamed.

Annabeth was in pain. He had to—

The agony in Percy's gut almost faded for a moment as orange fell beside him, thumping dully onto the wood. The light of a demigod's (one of his demigods!) life flickered. For a moment, the world seemed to freeze in place.

Then the ocean exploded.

xXx

AN: Soooo yeah. That happened.

Super long chapter this week! There just wasn't a good place to stop. But this chapter has 7,000 words in it. O_o That's nearly double what I normally write for chapters. ^^;

Update on Hubby for those of you interested: He stood up on his own the other day. No one helping him. We're working on walking, but that's probably going to take much longer. Still. He's doing great considering. Still has a long way to go. Thank you all for your support and for asking after him. :)

Also, for those of you asking questions as guests, how do you expect me to answer? *is confused* I mean, I appreciate the reviews-seriously, thank you-but I can't really discuss or explain anything. I hate writing super long author's notes (this one is already bugging me), so yeah. Happy to answer questions if you're signed in though. :)

Anyway, thanks to my beta readers, discord helpers, and tier 3 and 4 readers: Berix, The Shadow Slayer, Asterius Daemon, Quathis, Harlequin, Speedster, Snow, Starlightl3, Squirps, and The Chronomancer! Also, all of my discord peeps and my readers here! Thank you! (If I've missed anyone, PLEASE let me know!

Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy