Annabeth's brain was short-circuiting. It was hard to believe that the last thirty minutes or so had actually happened.

First, she'd been held hostage by a cyclops and figured she was going to die along with the rest of humanity. Then the guy she liked showed up to save the day despite everything she'd said to him. Then said guy forgave her and confessed his feelings for her back and then he'd kissed her.

Gods of Olympus, he'd actually kissed her.

And on top of that, he'd immediately backed away after the kiss and realized he'd acted impulsively. (Not that Annabeth was sad about his move, given what she'd done afterward. But still. Consent was an important thing. Forget about green flag, this man was a green forest).

Every time she thought about that moment, she started grinning like a idiot. She didn't care that the sun was beating down on her and she was sweating profusely as she sprinted through the woods because Leo was about to tell all her friends that she and Percy had gone way beyond just kissing (She could already picture Hazel's traumatized face). Piper had explained to her what her first kiss with Jason had felt like, and how magical it had been, but Annabeth had never imagined it feeling like this.

Percy ran beside her, scrambling over bushes. She looked at him and smiled. He did the same back.

Eventually, Annabeth burst through the trees. The beach lay before her, waves lapping up on the shore. The little rowboat they'd used to get from the Argo II to the island waited for them.

As did everybody else.

Leo was just climbing in. He smirked when he noticed Percy and Annabeth, "Well, well, well, the lovebirds have returned."

Annabeth laughed awkwardly and began walking toward the boat. Percy didn't follow at first–Annabeth had no clue why, probably just nerves or something— so she ended up having to grab his hand and drag him across the sand, which didn't help with the awkwardness of the situation.

The boat was a little crowded with eight people. Annabeth couldn't help but notice how all her friends were staring at her and Percy. Piper nudged Annabeth's arm and smirked at her. Hazel's eyebrows were higher than the Empire State Building.

Just what did Leo tell them?

Annabeth quickly decided she didn't want to know. It was probably better to remain ignorant.

Silence flooded the group as Jason and Frank started rowing the boat back out to sea. Nico held the lyre tightly; the last thing they needed was for it to fall into the ocean. Annabeth laughed nervously a couple of times, as did Percy. Jason opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it instead. Nico was the one to break the awkward spell after several minutes.

"Gods, it's like you guys haven't ever seen a couple wander off to the woods together," He said, "What are you all, thirteen?"

Annabeth found it ironic that he was the one telling them all this, considering he was the youngest one there. Although he was technically the oldest, if you went by birthdates…

"I ship it," Piper said, still giving Annabeth a knowing smile.

That helped ease the tension a little, but things still felt off.

"Okay, whatever Leo told you we did didn't happen," Annabeth blurted out.

"Mhmmm, sure," Leo said offhandedly.

Piper frowned, "So does that mean you're not-"

Annabeth looked at Percy, who rubbed the back of his neck and started to explain, "No! Well, kinda? Maybe? I don't know, we sorta…uh…"

"We told each other how we felt about each other and kissed," Annabeth finally said because he was taking way too long, "That's it, nothing more." She pointed at Leo, "This idiot here just likes to blow things way out of proportion."

Leo shrugged, "What can I say, it makes things more interesting."

Hazel looked at Annabeth, "So you guys didn't actually…you know…"

"No!" Annabeth said.

Hazel sighed with relief. Annabeth knew she'd mostly gotten acclimated to the modern world, but big things, such as the views on what was proper in a relationship, didn't just go away after living in a completely different century.

Besides, Annabeth wasn't the type to jump that far into a relationship with someone so quickly. She wasn't completely sure, but she didn't think Percy was either.

Leo tsked, "You guys are boring."

Suddenly a large wave threatened to overtake their little boat. Everyone grabbed onto the edges to keep from flying out. Annabeth glanced around to see the waves getting stronger. It grew dark, and she noticed black clouds blocking out the sun.

"What's going on?" Piper asked.

"Freak storm, maybe?" Frank suggested hopefully.

"There were no clouds a minute ago," Leo said.

"PERCY JACKSON!" A booming voice ran over the waves.

Uh-oh.

"Something tells me whoever said that is not a happy camper," Leo glanced up at the darkening clouds as rain started pittering down on them.

A wave nearly threatened to overtake them. As it rose up, someone came with it. A thirty foot tall man in a Hawaiian shirt. It was almost funny, until he raised his massive trident and pointed it right at the small rowboat.

"I warned you not to interfere," Poseidon said, green eyes glowing.

Annabeth glanced at Percy. She expected him to be freaking out, but really, he just looked more annoyed than anything.

"Are you kidding? You can't even leave us alone for ten freaking minutes, can you?" Percy retorted.

"Give me the lyre," Poseidon bellowed.

"Like hell," Percy grinned.

"Hey Percy, I know this sounds weird coming from me," Leo said, "But maybe don't aggravate the scary sea god even more than he already is? I dunno, just a thought."

Annabeth agreed. Percy's confidence was inspiring, really, but it wouldn't do any of them much good if they all died.

"You killed my son," Poseidon said, as if Percy wasn't also his own son, "I didn't know you had it in you, Percy. Unlike some I've faced in past years, you understand the true meaning of ruthlessness. But your time ends now. You may have been able to defeat Triton, but you cannot defeat me. Triton was weak from the start, a power-hungry dimwit who only sought revenge. I will not be shaken so easily."

Annabeth looked at Percy, then at her friends, then at the worsening weather conditions around the boat. If they gave up the lyre, then they'd die, but if they didn't give it up, they'd die as well.

Was this really game over? After everything they'd been through? Annabeth figured she'd thought that about on about ten separate occasions now, but even with the monotony, the worry didn't go away.

"POSEIDON!" A different booming voice shouted from the clouds.

Poseidon looked up in shock, "Brother? What are you doing here?"

Huh?

Suddenly, Zeus came flying out of the storm clouds in a giant golden chariot. With him were three others. Annabeth immediately recognized one as Apollo, one was most likely Hermes, and the other-

Gods, it was her mother.

Annabeth guessed that Apollo had finally cracked, or Zeus had found out about his incompetence from some third-party source. Maybe that was Hermes. Annabeth wasn't sure. Either way, Hermes was probably along for the ride to see how everything ended.

But what in Hades was Athena doing here?

"LOWER YOUR TRIDENT!" Zeus called as the chariot swung around and landed on the water and floated on top of it. How it did that, Annabeth didn't know.

Leo shook his head, "Two recreations of biblical miracles in one trip. What are the chances?" Everyone ignored him. Annabeth felt dwarfed by the sheer size of what was going on around her.

"Brother, I can't say it's a pleasure to see you." Poseidon said, crossing his arms.

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual," Zeus told him, "But sometimes interventions like this are necessary."

Poseidon scoffed, "You dare accuse me of needing such a thing?"

Zeus pointed at Apollo, who shrunk back in his seat as far as he could, "My incompetent son here has lost a very important artifact, and I have begrudgingly come to retrieve it on his behalf, due to the perilous circumstances the world could find itself in were it to fall into the wrong hands."

Leo leaned over and whispered to Annabeth, "That was a lot of four-dollar words."

Piper whacked him upside the head, "Shut up."

Poseidon waved his trident. The rain subsided, but the dark clouds remained, "And you'd go so low to come to the conclusion that I have stolen it?"

"I never said anything about stealing, but here you have, condemning yourself." Lightning flashed across the sky, "But I don't believe you have it yet. Otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation." He nodded toward the small rowboat, "They still have the lyre."

Poseidon rolled his eyes, "Yes, your son sent these demigods to do his dirty work. That's very in character for you Olympians."

"As if you don't do the exact same thing!" Percy shouted from next to Annabeth. She immediately clamped a hand over his mouth. They did not need him making the situation worse.

Poseidon turned to the boat again, eyes glowing with fury, "What?"

Percy pushed Annabeth's hand away and kept talking. So much for that idea, "Ask Triton about it. Or, you know, the son you sent to kill a man and betray an entire crew for your own pleasure."

The tips of Poseidon's trident started to spark, "Why you little-"

"Poseidon! Ignore the insolent child. As much as I too wish this boy would be turned into a piece of seaweed or something," Zeus said. Annabeth really hoped Zeus wouldn't pull something like that. She didn't want her "Seaweed Brain" to become his nickname literally, but she wouldn't put it past Zeus,"You keep diverting the conversation away from the problem at hand. These demigods are apparently somewhat capable–news to me– given they've kept the lyre from you this long, but we must take it from here."

"Hypocrite's not a great look, you know," Hermes mentioned offhand. Annabeth had nearly forgotten he was here.

Poseidon glared at him, "What are you even doing here?"

Hermes looked at his nails, seemingly unconcerned by Poseidon's rage, "I'm the one who convinced Apollo to come clean to Father. Without me, we wouldn't be here. I just figured I'd come along for the ride and see how things played out."

"As if you ever do anything else," Poseidon grumbled.

Zeus shrunk down to the size of a normal human, floated above the water over to the rowboat like some kind of ghost, plucked the lyre out of Nico's hands, then returned to the golden chariot. He shoved it at Apollo, "Lose this again and I will make you mortal permanently."

Apollo nodded vigorously and began caressing the lyre.

"Oh, sweet lyre of mine, you have been returned to me!" He said, hugging it tightly and kissing it.

"Is that a violation of the lyre's rights?" Leo asked.

"Not if it's consensual." Percy said back, grinning. Annabeth gave him a look.

"I didn't know lyres could speak!" Leo said.

"That is all, Poseidon." Zeus waved his hand, the two boys going silent, "Your attempt to overtake us has failed. You may return home."

Poseidon laughed, "Just like old times. It's always the same old story with you. Someone does something to disrupt your happy little world, you get pissed off and force everyone else to suffocate under your hand. I tried to take back what is rightfully mine, but here you are walking me back to prison."

"Rightfully yours?" Zeus blinked, "Prison? You are one of the three most powerful gods in existence, second only to myself. I have given you the ability to rule over all the oceans. That's 71 percent of the world, you know."

Rain started falling again as Poseidon muttered, "Can't even give a complement without giving yourself a put-up. Talk about youngest child syndrome."

Thunder boomed. Zeus was clearly getting more and more annoyed with the situation, "If anything, you should be grateful to me for all I've given you. I was your savior, after all. If not for my ingenuity, you would be rotting in father's stomach."

The rain came down sideways now. This wasn't looking good. Annabeth just hoped their measly little rowboat could hold on. The Argo ll as well. If Leo was correct about the severity of its condition, it wouldn't be able to hold much more water.

Poseidon continued, "If it hadn't been for mother you would be in the exact same place."

"Talk about a god complex," Leo said. Percy snickered.

"Leo!" Nico hissed.

Leo's face turned red, "Sorry."

"You just think you're so great and that because of it, everyone must bow down to you!" Poseidon said.

Zeus gasped, "Now that is simply not true-"

"Why do you think I left all those years ago?" Poseidon cut Zeus off, "I deserted Olympus, warning I'd be back to take you off your high horse. This is all your fault. Maybe if your ego had been smaller than the weight of the universe, we could have avoided this," He raised his trident, "It's time for your reign to end, brother. A new era is about to begin. I will have that lyre if it's the last thing I do."

Zeus's master bolt appeared in his hand as a blinding flash a light shone across the sky. The thunder that followed it was powerful enough to create an earthquake, "As if I will go down that easily."

This was bad. This was very, very, very bad. The last time the gods had gone to war, they'd ended up causing WW2. There was no way a battle to this extent would end well.

"Stop this!" Annabeth looked to her mother, the one who had spoken, "The last time you two fought you nearly brought about the end of the world. If that were to happen, then neither of you would have anything to rule! Do you want that?"

Zeus and Poseidon froze mid lunge. Annabeth realized this was why Athena had come along. It was to be the voice of reason.

Athena continued as she grabbed the lyre from Apollo and held it up, "This power belongs to Apollo." She looked at Zeus, "Not you," Then at Poseidon, "And certainly not you. Don't think I've forgotten about what you've done, uncle."

Annabeth recalled the myth of Medusa, the one where Posiedon had assaulted one of Athena's worshippers. That was most likely what she was referencing.

"Point taken," Poseidon added sheepishly, but then hardened his expression again, "But what else are we supposed to do? We kind of both want the same thing."

Athena handed Apollo the lyre, ignoring Poseidon. Apollo seemed all too eager to get it back, "Thank you for letting me use that for a demonstration."

"Thank you for giving it back," Apollo said, then thoughtfully added, "You know, I should write a song to celebrate."

"That's okay, Apollo," Hermes said.

"We're kind of in the middle of something here-" Athena started.

Apollo strummed the lyre once, checking to make sure it was in tune, then he began to play, cutting Athena off.

"Oh, my dear

You were no longer here

Lost to the world below

I worried I'd forever be…uh…alone

But! The fates have returned you to me

A modern retelling of Homer's Odyssey

And now all my days

I shall sing for you, praise

As we are reunited as one"

"So I think there's one thing we can agree on," Hermes said after no one spoke.

"Which is?" Zeus asked. Annabeth noticed that the storm had calmed slightly. Hopefully that was a good sign.

"That was absolutely terrible," Hermes said.

Zeus nodded, "Definitely."

Poseidon uncovered his ears, "Is it over yet?" When he didn't hear music he continued, "Good. Worst thing I've heard this century."

Apollo pouted and slumped back in his seat, "None of you understand true poetry."

Zeus rolled his eyes, "Hermes, take Apollo home. Athena and I can handle this."

"Of course," Hermes said, then vanished with Apollo into thing air.

Poseidon looked around, "So…now what?"

Athena rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Perhaps we can all come to a compromise."

Now it was Poseidon's turn to roll hus eyes, "As if I'd ever compromise with this ignorant self-absorbed asshole."

A lone streak of lightning flashed above, "I'll have you know that this 'ignorant self-absorbed asshole' is the one ruling the world. So I'd watch your tongue."

Poseidon laughed, "See my point? He literally admits it. I don't make deals with people like that."

"Well I don't make deals with people who undermine my authority!" Zeus shouted back, "This position was granted to me as a gift and here you are stomping all over it. Besides, it's not like you care about democracy. You just want the power for yourself."

"Why in all my immortal years I-"

"Boys!" Athena yelled. Annabeth flinched. Even though she was used to her mother's intensity at this point, it never failed to scare her.

It made Annabeth wonder if other people saw her like that. She was very much her mother's daughter, after all, even if she'd never admit it.

"Do either of you want to end up like your father?" She called, gray eyes glowing. Annabeth winced.

Both Zeus and Poseidon shook their heads, obviously not wanting to be cut into little pieces and thrown into the pits of Tartarus.

"Then you two can't keep bickering like this." Athena said, "I don't know if either of you've noticed, but this planet is getting worse by the day. Storms have grown more and more unpredictable. The ice caps are melting and it's going to wreck havoc if something doesn't happen. Part of it is humans and their lack of situational awareness, but it sure doesn't help that the two of you argue like toddlers over a toy every time you see each other. I don't even want to know how many hurricanes you two just spawned across the globe. The fact that something as simple as a lost musical instrument spiraled into this just shows that change is necessary."

Poseidon and Zeus went silent. A wave rocked the boat heavily. Annabeth gripped the sides tighter, knuckles white, to keep from falling overboard.

"Fine." Zeus finally said, voice like acid, "If you promise not to take over the world, we'll let you back into Olympus. How's that sound?"

"Let me back in?!" Poseidon said, incredulous, "I left! Do you think I want to return to that hellhole! I'll take my underwater palace any day, thank you very much."

"Weren't you the one who claimed it was a prison just moments ago?" Zeus countered.

Poseidon opened his mouth to speak, but promptly shut it.

For once, Annabeth thought, Zeus makes a logical point.

Athena turned to her uncle, "Okay. That was good father. Finally making some progress. Maybe not the best approach, but at least you're trying. Poseidon, what do you want?"

"I think we all know what I want," Poseidon muttered.

Athen nodded, "Yes, but considering that would kill billions of mortals, we're not going to do that, unfortunately. Is there anything else?"

Poseidon thought long and hard about his answer. Annabeht wondered what he was going to say. Maybe he was just going to go ballistic and kill all of them.

Finally he sighed, "Zeus needs to give up his official title as king of the gods."

Zeus gasped, "You dare-!"

Poseidon held up a hand, "I'm not taking it from you. How about we compromise by declaring ourselves co-rulers. Hades can join in too, if he wants," Poseidon shrugged at that, "I don't like the idea of sharing power any more than you do, but we're known as the 'Big Three' for a reason. I think it makes more sense for us to be equal to each other. That way we can both keep some of what we want. And if we keep to our own domains, then we don't have to see each other. If you agree to divide your power more evenly, I swear on the River Styx to never try and take your position again."

Athen began clapping, "That was very good, Uncle!" She turned to her father, "And Father? What do you say?"

Another long bout of silence. Zeus eventually nodded, though the action appeared painful.

"Alright," The words sounded incredibly forced coming from him, "I will…attempt to be more inclusive when it comes to ruling this planet. Perhaps follow what the mortals have done and move toward democracy."

"Swear it," Poseidon pointed his trident at his brother.

"I…" Zeus paused, and Annabeth almost didn't think he was going to say it, "swear on the River Styx."

The storm intensified briefly before coming to a calm for good. The clouds began to drift away. Neither god looked happy about the outcome, but at least they weren't still fighting.

Was that it? Had Athena really just helped dissolve one of the biggest conflicts in history? It almost seemed to good to be true.

"Well, as fun as this has been," Poseidon said, "Now that everything's unfortunately been settled, I should be getting back. I'm in the middle of renovating my master suite, and those good-for-nothing construction workers are going to mess it up if I'm not there to help them."

"You won't be missed," Zeus said, but there was less venom in his voice than before.

"Wait!"

All heads swung toward Percy. Annabeth elbowed him, "What are you doing?"

"What makes you think you have the right to speak, demigod?" Zeus asked, the intensity have suddenly reappeared.

"I have one request I'd like to add. Specifically to my dad. While we're negotiating." He hesitated, "Actually, a request and a question."

Zeus raised an eyebrow at Poseidon, but Poseidon raised his hand.

"I'll allow it." Poseidon said, though his expression was dark. Yikes. He was definitely still pretty mad with Percy, "What is it, boy?"

"You said you two will keep to your own domains, but what does that mean for me?"

The two gods looked at each other. Annabeth tried to read their expressions. She hadn't thought of that. Percy was technically of both worlds. What would happen to him?

Fortunately, they both just shrugged.

"I don't like you," Zeus said, "Any of you, really." Annabeth thought of Jason and knew that had to hurt, "But as long as you aren't bothering me I don't care where you are."

"Agreed," Poseidon added, "Though I'd say don't come back to Atlantis for a long time."

Percy nodded. Annabeth sighed with relief.

"And the request?" Poseidon said.

"I know you're upset with me," Percy began. Understatement of the century, "But this isn't about me. I want you to release Tyson so he can come back to Long Island with the rest of us. I know you don't care for him and I know you probably locked him up after you found out he helped me escape. Just let him out of your hair and none of us will bother you again."

"Whatever." Poseidon said, "Don't really care at this point. I just want to leave. Yes, your brother will be free to go. He will be waiting for you at the shore of Long Island."

Percy smiled, "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Poseidon said without a hint of sincerity, "And now I'm leaving."

He sank beneath the waves. Annabeth watched until he was completely out of sight.

Athena and Zeus' attention returned to the boat.

"I would be disposing of you all right now," Zeus said, "But Hermes told me not to, so I guess we'll just leave you here to board your boat and return home."

Leo laughed nervously, "Thanks. But… about that…"

Zeus raised an eyebrow.

"The boat is…well…kinda…broken? And we aren't going to be able to go anywhere in it."

Zeus sighed an astoundingly long sigh before snapping his fingers, "There. I'm no Hephestaus, but it should get you home just fine."

Leo's eyes widened, "Really? Thanks for real Mr. Scary Lightning Dude!"

"Please never call me that again," Zeus said. "And as long as there are no more "requests", we really should be going."

Annabeth suddenly thought of something that would probably be worth mentioning. It still pained her to think about it, but it needed to be said.

"Not a request, just something to look into," She said.

"What now? I was kidding about more requests, by the way," Zeus said, exasperated.

"There's this guy somewhere in the middle of the Sea of Monsters who really wants to take you guys down? Or something? We're not really sure, but he was also trying to get the lyre. And he might be trying to bring back some of your enemies," Annabeth said, not waiting for Zeus to give her the go ahead.

Athena and Zeus exchanged a look.

"I'll have someone look into it," Zeus said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Well, that wasn't the answer Annabeth had wanted, but it was better than noting.

With that, Zeus gestured for the chariot to begin moving. As they turned to fly off into the clouds, Athena locked eyes with Annabeth. They trailed to Percy next to her, then back to Annabeth. Athena gave her an inquisitive look.

Then the two gods disappeared into the sky. The rowboat was silent.

"Well, despite everything we've been through in the last little while, this was definitely the scariest." Frank said.

"For real," Jason said.

"We should get back to the Argo II before something else tries to kill us," Leo said, "Given our current track record, that could be anywhere between ten minutes and thirty seconds."

Oooooooooooooooooooo

The crew made it back onto the ship without any hiccups. Percy didn't really know what he was supposed to do, given everything that had happened, so he just stood awkwardly on the deck as Leo went to talk to Festus at the front of the ship and everyone else went downstairs.

"Dude, you coming?" Leo told him as he finished up his chat with Festus and also began making his way down below deck.

Percy blinked, "Oh, uh, yeah."

Leo gave him a soft smile, "It's okay, Percy. I know you think that we're all going to leave you behind. I get it, because I was there too at one point, but everything's going to be okay, man. We're still your friends. And I'll tell you that as many times as I need to in order to knock it into that head of yours, alright?"

Percy nodded, "Alright."

He followed Leo down the ladder, forcing the depressing thoughts away. It was going to be awhile before he would get rid of them completely, but that didn't mean he had to dwell on them now.

That night everyone went to bed early, exhausted from the stress of the day. Percy shut the door to his cabin and rested his head against it. He couldn't believe he was back here. After everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, it seemed impossible that everything had actually turned out fine.

Well, almost fine, Percy realized with sudden alarm.

Athena stood by his bed, arms crossed.

She did not look happy.

Percy scrambled back, "What are you doing here?"

His dad hadn't even pulled something like this. Why in Hades had Athena decided to appear in his room? It was a good thing he wasn't sleeping or like, getting changed, because he really did not want his private parts exposed to a goddess-

"I saw the way you looked at my daughter," Athena said, "And the way she looked at you. Don't think I'm so dense as to not understand the connection you two have."

Oh. That's what this was about.

Percy frowned. Why would Athena care so much? Relationships between demigods happened all the time, and it wasn't like the gods had a huge regard for their kids in general.

Wait. Didn't Athena hate Poseidon?

"As you know, I'm not fond of your father," Athena said, "Which means I'm also not fond of you."

Yep, so she hated him. Great. Percy didn't really care about being liked by higher beings, especially ones like Zeus or his dad, but he didn't really want to piss of his significant other's mom.

Why did his dad always have to mess things up?

"Athena," Percy began, "I swear I have no ill intentions. I'm nothing like my father."

Athena's expression lightened, but only slightly, "Yes, you've made that quite clear. However, as much as Annabeth disappoints me…" Ouch. Even if Percy and his dad weren't on great terms, at least he still tried to make it clear he cared. Was this what it was like for all the other demigods? Were they just insects in the eyes of their parents?

Athena continued, "I also want her to do well in life. And I don't want some sea scum hurting her and ruining that. I do trust her judgment, but I also want to make myself clear to you." She stepped closer to Percy. Wow, she was tall, "If you do anything to her, I swear on the Styx that you will wish you couldn't feel pain." She paused, "Understand?"

Percy nodded.

Athena loomed over him for a moment, as if trying to read his face. Finally, she pulled away.

"You seem honest enough. You came back and saved her after being given the chance to run away, multiple times. I don't like it, but I can't control my daughter." She narrowed her eyes, "But I'll be watching you. One foot out of line, Perseus Jackson, and you will feel the wrath of a war goddess."

Percy gulped, "Understood."

Athena evaporated in a shimmer of gold.

Percy let out a huge sigh of relief. That woman was scary. He'd thought for sure he was going to be turned into an owl or something. At least now he knew where Annabeth got her intensity from.

But he knew he had nothing to worry about. Percy knew his dad had done some…questionable things when it came to relationships, and Athena was probably right to be wary of one of his kids. However, he'd grown up with Gabe for most of his childhood. He'd seen firsthand what not to do to someone you love (although it should've been common sense, really). He even had the scars on his hands to prove it. If he ever started acting like either of them, he hoped Athena would smite him. He'd deserve it.

Still, it wasn't a very pleasant note to end the day on. Athena's terrifying gray eyes bored into his mind as he lay down and tried to fall asleep.

Instead, he opened them and stared up at the ceiling, reminiscing everything.

He was with his friends again, after he'd thought he'd never see them. He and Annabeth felt the same way about each other. Tyson was going to be coming along for this new adventure too. And he never had to step foot in Atlantis again.

Some nerves definitely accompanied his feelings of excitement. He was going to see where his friends lived. He was going to see this Camp Half-Blood place they all kept mentioning. Was he going to meet that centaur, Chiron? Or the red-head girl who'd spouted the prophecy?

Those thoughts were followed by new worries. The crew of the Argo II had accepted him, but would others? Would he still be an outcast there? What if they didn't even let him into camp?

No, Percy told himself, You can't think like that.

It didn't help much.

He thought of his mom, too. She was out there, somewhere. Would he be able to find her? He hadn't talked to her in years, hadn't seen her in person in nearly a decade. What if she had moved away? Percy hoped she'd at least gotten away from Gabe.

He told himself it would be alright. He'd find her. Someday.

Eventually, even with Athena's scary eyes deterring him from resting, fatigue took over,and the gentle creaking of the boat allowed Percy to drift off to sleep.

And this time, he dreamed of sunny summer days, warm blue cookies, and laughing with his new friends.

His new family.