"If what they say is nothing is forever, then what makes love the exception?"

- Andre "Andre 3000" Benjamin

Birthday Wishes And Famines (Because Of Course It Was Too Easy)

? August 2010, Poseidon Cabin, Camp Half Blood, Long Island Sound, USA

Half an Hour Since Percy's Revival

IT DIDN'T MAKE A LICK OF SENSE.

How could she do this to him?

Yes, Percy could concede the point that they weren't doing too well.

Yes, he understood the need for space when a relationship was getting too stifling.

But to abandon someone you claimed to love on what may have their deathbed.

Someone who'd turned down godhood for you. Who'd suffered for you.

Who'd jumped down into Hell for you.

With a fucking letter?

Percy needed answers.

He needed answers fast, before he did something monumentally stupid.

Which was why he found himself, along with Nico and Rachel, in his cabin with his ass out to the whole world in a bloody hospital gown.

"At least put on a pair of briefs Percy." Nico bemoaned, "It's a wonder you didn't flash half the camp on the way here."

That...was an excellent point Percy conceded. The son of Poseidon had tuned out the trek from the infirmary to Cabin 3, far too infuriated to stop and make conversation, as such he knew next to nothing about what had happened in camp during his coma.

Yet, all of that was secondary to him at the moment.

He wasn't emotionally stable right now and it would only get worse if he didn't get a proper explanation from his now...ex-girlfriend.

But yes, a shower and a proper set of clothes would do wonders for his anxiety.

"You're...right, Annabeth isn't going to want to listen to me dressed like an idiot."

Nico opened his mouth to say something that would have likely had him forcibly ejected from the Poseidon cabin, but seemed to think better of it as he shook his head in annoyance and leaned against a wall.

Rachel spoke up finally from her perch on his messy bed. While Nico had been adamant in stopping Percy from trying to contact Annabeth, the Oracle of Delphi had chosen to remain uncharacteristically silent. The redhead was content with gazing in mesmerized wonder at the suspended bronze hippocampi his brother, Tyson, had crafted a few years back .

"Do what you have to do Percy, we're with you." She remarked absently.

"With the fishes more like." Percy muttered.

He withheld a sigh as he trudged to his indoor shower unhappily. His bathroom kept the same sophisticated abalone shell decor as the main room, but was still as chaotic as he'd left it since his kidnapping albeit with the addition of a moldy toothbrush and dried-out expired toothpaste.

Yuck.

Percy bent down to the cubby storage by the sink to retrieve one of Tyson's spares(love you baby bro) and screamed like a schoolgirl at his image in the mirror, all thoughts regarding Annabeth momentarily forgotten.

Percy's body was still concernedly underweight, his previously sleep-deprived, purple eyebags had dimmed some from his coma - from looking like he'd lost 7 rounds in a boxing ring to just 5 - allowing him to look at his deep sea-green eyes better. The son of Poseidon was still dressed in an ugly vomit-teal hospital gown

That wasn't what surprised him, no.

It was his hair.

His once unkempt midnight mop of hair had faded to the color of ash. A wild mane of platinum locks reaching down to his shoulders, with fading black tips at the ends like an albatross' wings. The bangs on his forehead were held back from his eyes with a tiny neon-green snap hair clip.

Percy gripped his blanched locks tightly, as if to rip them off at the seams. His pupils dilated and his breathing got shallow as his heart tried and failed to forcibly extricate itself from his chest cavity, he shook wildly with terror the longer the blight vehemently refused to leave his scalp in his reflection.

Was it a bit of an over exaggeration? Absolutely. It was hair. It would definitely raise some eyebrows here and there, but who really gave a shit about the opinions of random mortals.

No, Percy's crisis came with a much darker context.

He recalled a story his mother had told him way back when he'd first considered killing Gabe, the Christian story of the First Murder. It followed the paths of two siblings, Cain and Abel the sons of the First Man and Woman, trying to live their lives for their God after their parents had been banished from the Garden of Eden, by burning offerings for His favor.

Abel, a shepherd, offered the Lord the best cuts of meat from the firstborn of his flock, and received God's respect. While Cain, a crop farmer, offered only select parts of his harvest and received only apathy from God. Cain was angered by the perceived slight, and murdered his younger sibling in a fit of unfair jealousy.

God wasted no time punishing the murderer, casting the man away from his family and cursing him to never receive the fruits of his labor till the day he died.

Now you may be asking yourself what the hell Sally was thinking, telling this to a 12 year old victim of child abuse. And to that, Percy would tell you to kindly go fuck yourself.

No one dissed his Mother.

However, Percy's current issue was the final part of the lesson. After getting a frankly fitting punishment for his sin, Cain received a mark on his on flesh that stayed with him till the end of his days. The Mark of God served as a testament to the people of Cain's crime and warded away those who wished to walk with or harm him, lest they incur the Wrath of God.

Percy didn't believe for a second that his murder of Gaea, the arrival of her Mother and the subsequent bleaching of his hair were all a coincidence.

He'd had to have been marked, there was no other explanation he could see at the moment.

His sin had been laid bare for all the world to see.

Was that why Annabeth had left him? Would everybody else leave him once word got out that Chaos of all god's had placed a hit on him.

How long did he have before the camp chased him away? Would mortals understand the mark's significance too? Would they also cast him away from civilization? What about monsters? Would even monsters want nothing to do with the ground he walked on? What about-

Would even his mother abandon him too?

All these thoughts compounded on his fraying conscience and left Percy a sniveling mess on the pearlescent floor. He started to rock back and forth, clutching his head between his hands as a crazed look entered his eyes, a pitiful whine sounding out right from the back of his throat.

"...RCY! HEY PERCY! LOOK AT ME!"

Percy was driven out of his fit by Nico's rapid jostling, concern splayed all over the Son of Hades' face as he fussed over his friend.

"...Ni..co?" Percy asked brokenly, his red-rimmed eyes too unfocused to see him properly.

"What happened here Percy, talk to me."

The softness in his tone jarred him out of his blues, as he realized how pathetic he had to have looked for Nico of all people to be the picture of emotional stability.

He wouldn't cry. He wouldn't cry. He'd made a promise to be better. He couldn't afford to break here. She would make him suffer for such weakness the second she got the chance.

She is a Primordial you arrogant brat. If she wanted you, she'd have you...again

He got back to his feet and dusted off his gown, pointedly ignoring his reflection on the mirror.

He needed to take things one at a time. First he had to get Annabeth back.

Everything would make sense again once he had her with him.

"I'm fine. Just surprised is all, new hair color and everything." Percy finally responded to Nico's question with a half shrug.

"Yeah, and the Pit is family friendly, don't lie to me Jackson whatever happened here was enough for me to want to leave you in a straitjacket," Nico riposted as he gestured to the turned over bathroom, "A notion I'm still considering, mind you."

"It's nothing," He said in faux-exasperation, rolling his eyes for effect, "Really, its nothing. Or it will be nothing as soon as I sort this whole Annabeth business out. Now if you mind?"

Percy gestured towards to the wide open bathroom door, the dismissal clear. He spied Rachel pretending not to listen, yet her bone-white grip on his blue sheets contrasted with her nonchalant persona.

Nico glared at him hard, intent on badgering the son of Poseidon for more before finally scoffing in disappointment and taking his leave, slamming the wooden door behind him and muttering something about stubborn fish-kissers.

He would be fine. He just needed Annabeth.

Percy recited those words like a mantra, as the faucet of his shower burst to life over him.

The son of Poseidon noticed the water droplets did nothing to soothe or heal him like they always had before, but chalked it down to his weary nerves.

Y*C*O*Y*W

The Hero of Olympus stepped out of the bathroom in his classic garb.

An orange CHB tee, a light pair of loose blue jeans and a ratty pair of forest-green chucks. He fingered his clay beads as he pushed aside his ashen bangs.

'Gotta cut this down some soon, maybe some hair-dye too.'

Why? It's fitting for a barbaric monster such as yourself

"Use this." Rachel said as she tossed him a small blue ring of material.

It was a hair tie.

A blue hair tie, but still. A hair tie.

"I'd rather go into addictive depression than ever get a man bun." He responded bluntly, his deadpan expression deteriorating as the urge to vomit grew.

"Percy, you look like you just got kicked out from under a bridge, even after the shower. Stop being a baby and put on the dam hair tie." The redhead snapped as she reached for a hairbrush on his dresser.

Percy put on the dam hair tie.

He went to the saltwater fountain stashed at the back of his cabin, the already heated water forming a warm mist in the air. He opened the nearest window, and let the summery sunlight form a rainbow in the mist then fished a few drachmae out of the bottom.

"Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow," He said, "accept my offering."

He tossed the coin into the mist, locking in his call as it disappeared.

"Show me Annabeth Chase at her place in San Francisco."

The mist shimmered, and the image of the daughter of Athena's blonde curls appeared. Her back was turned to them as she continued to pack her bags, her room was disorganized and scattered with clothes, books, architectural plans and several versions of Celestial Bronze weapons. Percy wished her luck getting through TSA.

"Annabeth!"

His ex gave no reaction to his yell other than a tiny flinch and a low exhale as she twisted to face her voyeur. She had a thin white scar from the top-right side of her lips to her chin and a steel-grey cotton eyepatch over her left eye, yet Percy thought she'd never looked more beautiful.

His hormonal infatuation grew when her glossy caramel lips shifted into a duck pout.

"Pervert," She grumbled, and gods what he wouldn't give to hear that teasing lilt again, "How've ya been Seaweed Brain."

And like that the magic faded, as spite overcame the hurt son of Poseidon.

"Oh life's been a bed of freaking roses! Did you know there were talks of killing me in my sleep today?" Percy smiled with faux-glee, "Of course you didn't, you weren't with me."

Annabeth didn't so much as twitch at the venom in his voice instead bobbing her head in sage-like understanding, as if his likely death was just another checkbox in a bingo card. Percy moaned miserably as the odds of there actually being a "Percy Jackson Bingo Book" made itself known to him.

He beat back the thought as he brought out the stupid letter his ex had left for him and shook it at the mist screen.

"Why would you do this?"

"...It's complicated."

"Then un-complicate it. Tell me something. Anything at all that could walk me through this." Annabeth took a deep breath as she noticed the desperation in his voice.

"It happened about a week after Poseidon brought you back from the sea, Athena came up to me with an offer. Do you-do you remember any of the talks we ever had about a Ms. Zaha Hadid?"

"Zaha...Hadid? Uh, no...not really, she a demigod?"

He heard Nico and Rachel facepalming in the background at his ignorance, and Percy was very tempted to flip the nosy traitors the bird. He was dealing with a lot today okay?

Annabeth didn't seem to take much offense with it, in fact...she looked like she'd been hoping for his wilful ignorance to come into play.

"A demigod? No Ms. Hadid's a 100% human. She's an Iraqi-British architect. Arguably the best female architect in the world, might have been the greatest architect of her time period if the field wasn't such a sausage fest." Annabeth chuckled ruefully.

"Okay-okay, she sounds like a badass. Why do you have to leave."

"Like I said, Athena came up to me with an offer. Probably her parody of an apology for disowning me and sending on that quest under Rome, I didn't really care."

Annabeth shrugged her shoulders in a what it's the truth gesture as thunder rumbled over her house.

Were those schmucks listening to this?

"She told me she'd crossed paths with Ms. Hadid back in the 70s in London, apparently Athena was one of her lecturer's at the Architect's Association for a few years. You know how it goes: a drink here, a favor or 2 there and she was able to extort Ms. Hadid into mentoring me for a bit. She moves regularly between Baghdad and London, so I can't make any promises I'll ever be in the States for a few years."

The story was coming together all too clearly for Percy now, as he fought to steady himself.

This Zaha Hadid woman was a literal godsend to any young aspiring female architect, even more so for someone as ambitious as Annabeth . Percy could already see the conversation between Athena and Annabeth, he doubted the Wisdom goddess had even gotten the sentence out before Annabeth had said yes with a shining star in her lone eye, an uplifted clenched fist and steam puffing out of her nostrils.

This had been her dream since they were 12 for the gods' sake, architecture was already a difficult field to get into as a woman without spreading your legs. Let alone dominating it like Annabeth intended. The sheer well of knowledge, ideas, experience and connections she'd get from a week of working with the architectural Titan would be enough to set up a prodigy like her for generations.

This was the opportunity of a lifetime, if it were anyone else Percy would have cracked out the blue cokes and celebrated with them.

But, it was Annabeth. Annabeth wasn't just anyone else to him. They'd had each other's backs for years. Fought and bled for each other. Taken blades for each other.

Loved each other.

Annabeth was as much his missing half as he was to her.

.

.

.

Which was why he didn't for a second believe Annabeth was leaving him willingly.

He wasn't arrogant enough to think she'd ever spend her whole life waiting on him, but a week into his coma? No, something else had to be at play here. There had to be another reason why she was purposely trying to keep him at an arms length.

Why she never seemed to look at him directly, even from the safety of her own home. Why she moved like she was drowning in a tub of molasses. Why her excited smile at the prospect of a lifetime, looked so artificial.

Why her first reaction to seeing him alive wasn't relief or surprise...but a playful indifference.

"...Annabeth," Percy started slowly, "What aren't you telling me."

The daughter of Athena's response was a far too casual eyebrow raise. It was a practiced one.

"What do you mean."

"I mean why are you acting like this," He gestured at her wildly, like that was enough to explain the problem, "What stopped you from going at the end of the summer? Or staying at camp for a few more days? You're still in San Francisco even after this all this time, you wouldn't have missed a thing."

Annabeth's expression was one of genuine confusion this time as she digested his words, before brightening in answer as she struggled to hold in chuckles.

"I get it." She tittered in fondness, "You have no idea what today is do you? Well. Can't say I don't feel a little full of myself, that I was the first thing on your mind the second you woke up."

"What are you talking about." Percy asked despondently, prepping himself for pain.

"Wellll, Let's just say I didn't think your heart would take it so soon after a coma, if I broke up with you on your birthday."

"...Eh?"

"Mmhmm, so much for that idea, huh? Ahem, it was the officially the 18th of August 13 hours, 12 minutes and`26 seconds ago according to the Eastern Daylight Time standard," She rattled of mechanically with that same robotic smile on her face, "Happy Birthday Seaweed Brain!"

Percy probably should have been more upset at Annabeth taking the piss as she was, but that annoyance was directed to the now visibly uncomfortable forms of Nico and Rachel at his dirty look as his hands found purchase on his hips.

"What the Hades you guys? First the hair, now my birthday? Did you assholes tell me anything?!"

"We had more important things to worry about you ass! You know, like your euthanization?!" Nico rushed to answer, as Rachel's gaze went back to the fish ponies in earnest.

"You can just tell me you forgot dude. It's fine, it just hurts. Right here." Percy finished his sentence with a dramatic tapping where his heart would be, his face a perfect mask of dejection.

"You have a problem with your hair Percy? How come? I'd kill for white hair."

That stopped Percy's antics dead, his eyes widening momentarily as he mulled over Annabeth's words internally.

Did she know?

It shouldn't have been possible, he didn't think Chaos made a habit of breaking bread with mortals or demigods on a regular basis.

She barely made eons for her children.

But, the Creator did seem to crave entertainment...no. God gained nothing from interfering with his love life.

Percy doubted teenage angst was enough of a cure-all for immortal boredom, yet hadn't he questioned the purpose of his hair's bleaching earlier...

He pushed his thoughts aside as he tried to answer Annabeth's question casually.

"I don't think my mom'll be all too stoked that I'm going rebel so early."

"Oh definitely," the daughter of Athena giggled, as she put her hands on her cheeks and took on a horrified expression, "My boy, Oh Paul my poor baby's going punk. It's dyed hair now, but what if it's nose rings tomorrow. Noooo!"

"Sally SO sounds like that!" Rachel exclaimed through snickers, even Nico was failing to hold back a smirk, "Oh lighten up ya mama's boy, its true."

"Go back to counting the fishes Red. I know what you're doing Annabeth, stop dodging the question. What really happened while I was gone?"

Annabeth let out a disappointed sigh at his insistence. It only served to make Percy more determined to get answers, the last time she'd been this difficult he'd found out she still had feelings – well more of a brotherly fondness, but he may have been a tad biased – for Luke Castellan.

It had hurt then, but brought them so much closer eventually.

"You remember how I acted to you back on the Argo II right? Before everything went to hell?"

"I remember you feeling cornered. Like you had no one you could trust. Is that really what this is about? Annabeth. Babe, I told you it didn't matter to-"

"It should!" Annabeth yelled, her lone grey eye flashing in anger...before dulling in self-hatred, "It really should Percy. You jumped into Tartarus to be with me for a mistake I made. You suffered in that hellscape even worse than I did, I was just too selfish to see it. The river Cocytus, the Arai's curses, Gorgon's blood poisoning, Akhlys' poisoning and whatever the fuck that bitch did to you."

Annabeth took a pause to calm herself as her own experiences got the best of her. It was a look Percy'd gotten all too familiar with on the veterans of the Battle of Manhattan. On children fighting in a divine war.

It sickened him.

"And I treated you like a monster. Spent weeks avoiding you like the plague, like you weren't also hurting. Like you weren't pretending to be strong for all of us on that godsforsaken quest." Annabeth continued quietly her head in her hand as her body shook softly, "Di immortales, You still tried to get me out of there safely against Tartarus himself. You dropped Riptide. You were terrified, yet you were willing to die for me...and I actually considered it."

.

.

.

By all the elder Gods...

"I-it's okay, I'm okay with it, I love you Annabeth. More than anything, my life even more so. I'm more than happy to give it away if it means you get to keep on living. Please Annabeth, please just come back to me." He begged, a manic, desperate look entering his eyes.

Percy really didn't like the way Annabeth was looking at him. He didn't even like the way he sounded. Like an obsessive, broken child scared of abandonment.

The exact same way he'd been looking at Gaea during her 50,000 years of solitude.

His annoyance reached a simmering peak when Nico and Rachel came over to him to console him.

Why were they acting like he didn't have a chance? Like he couldn't make her listen?

Like he was a victim?

"No. It's not okay Percy, not even a little. You're a person, not some weapon the people you love get to use and and leave to rust when a fight's over. Not some monster parents tell their kids about at night to make them behave. I was the monster. I hated those powers. I hated what they did to you and how much they terrified me,yet I pushed you into using them when the going got tough. I manipulated you knowing what would happen afterwards, and you nearly died for it."

The shame in her voice was almost palpable. Annabeth had her fist scrunched around her shirt as tears ran down her face in unending rivulets.

Percy watched on all the same, shock plastered on his face as his heart urged him to console her in some way.

But, what the Hades could you say to that? It wasn't like her guilt was in anyway misplaced, everything she'd accused herself of rang true to a degree.

In spite of that, he loved her all the same. Percy already knew the daughter of Athena had issues, it was like asking if water was wet. The girl was prideful, cold, paranoid, prickly, annoyingly insufferable at the best of times along with a whole naughty list of unattended mental issues, yet he'd never set that as a standard for her character.

Annabeth was strong.

She was confident, intelligent, loving and respectful to those who reciprocated it...and his rock above all.

Everything he did tied to her in some way, shape or form. Percy loved her - he probably always would - to the point of self-destruction and he'd already more than accepted that. His love for her gave him strength in the most dire situations and suffused life into him in the most hopeful and quiet pasttimes. It was what made him want to push harder for her - regardless of how unhealthy the obsession was - the further Annabeth tried to keep him away.

Her feeble resistance did wonders for his confidence at least, Percy believed that she might not be as ready to leave him as she claimed.

"I don't care. Stop trying to make me look like some herded cattle." Percy said, "You may have been a-a motivation for what I did, but in the end I'm the one who did it. It was my choice, nobody else's, I alone carry the blame for my thoughts, actions and their consequences. And I choose to keep loving you all the same, I don't care if it makes me look stupid or thirsty or obsessive."

He freed himself from Nico and Rachel's grasp and advanced to the mist screen. The childhood lovers were close now, the mist image so vivid Percy could almost imagine his outstretched hand on the screen touching Annabeth's from thousand's of kilometers away.

"I love you Annabeth, every single facet of you. Don't leave me."

Percy took pride in the fact that whatever Annabeth had been expecting, it hadn't been that. Her mouth gaped like a fish as her tears subsided, her hold on her shirt softening as her body shuddered in trepidation.

A mournful frown overtook her surprise though, as she shook her head in the negative.

"I can't."

"You can't or you won't." Percy threw back.

"Alright, you mouthy smartass, I can't!" She snapped in frustration, "You don't get it Percy! You're a guy who could do so much more, who could be so much more. Even she had to have seen it. You're smart, you're courageous, you've got a good sense of humor, you're good looking...you could do better. You de-you deserve better than someone who insists on calling you stupid with love, than someone who takes it out on you when other girls find you attractive, than someone who hits you anytime something annoys them."

"And you're saying you can't be that person for me? That you aren't already the best I could be with? Get outta here, you're making excuses Annabeth. You act like you aren't worthy of me when in reality, you're too good for me."

Annabeth remained in silence at that, chewing over his words and visibly fighting herself before her head slumped downwards and cold acceptance claimed her form.

No

"No Percy, I'm really not." She said finally, "And I can't be with you anymore."

"Annabeth..."

"Goodbye Percy. Say hello to the stars, for Bob and I, from our spot."

"Annabeth please!"

That was the last word she heard from him for years before she swiped her mist screen away. Effectively cutting the call - and him - off.

He had failed.

Percy had failed.

He hadn't been enough for her. He couldn't be trusted anymore. He was too weak, too petulant, too selfish and impulsive. He had too much unresolved shit for Annabeth to want to deal with anymore.

Percy was too dirty.

'That's right,' Percy thought, 'I'm a faulty product – damaged goods – who'd ever want to love something like me?'

Enough...this is pathetic enough

The Poseidon cabin felt oddly washed out, as the clearing mists seemed to take all remaining life away from the building.

A dull thud rang out as its lone resident fell down to his knees in anguish, his friends ignored as his saline tears melded perfectly with the saltwater spring before him.

Y*C*O*Y*W

18 August 2010, Camp Half Blood, Long Island Sound, New York, USA

5 Hours Since Percy's Revival

THE SCENERY WAS JUST ADDED INSULT TO INJURY.

It really was.

Percy had needed some time to himself after his chat with his now ex, and ditched Nico and Rachel for a bit.

'A bit' progressed into 5 hours as the Son of Poseidon took in the state of his home away from home. What he saw, and felt more importantly, didn't do his foul mood any wonders. Quite the opposite in fact.

At first glance, Camp Half-Blood was more or less the same as it'd always been since Percy had stumbled down that hill with Grover's furry behind so many years ago, albeit with some small additions here and there.

Hidden by a far-reaching forest, the camp itself laid snugly in the middle of a forest of trees whose boughs curved over the contained area within. A modern marvel of Greek engineering and architecture, Doric-styled columns in groups of four or more reached up high into the sky, their great marble slab roofs brushing just a little past the tree canopies.

He spied a couple of Apollo kids no older than 8 - fucking Apollo man keep it in your chiton, there were about 10 of the poor bastards - showing off macaroni art in the open-air Arts and Crafts building to their older siblings, and a concernedly buff Hephaestus boy lugging a wheelbarrow of coal to the smoking Forge.

What were the nymphs feeding these kids? The boy couldn't be older than 10!

A winding, paved concrete road snaked through the camp from the central guidepost and connected all main points of interest.

A path to the raised stone theater platform facing the amphitheater branched to Ernő Rubik's roman empire.

The Volcanic Climbing wall, a constantly shifting monolith with busted-in indents, swords and daggers for handholds, with the addition of an ominous skeleton flailing uselessly in the wind at the very top. Lava poured forth in a deluge from cracks near the top, cascading down the sides of the rock.

...

This was a kids summer camp mind you.

Another path moved to the ring of columns shielding the sand-pit arena and a wide, freshly-washed path traversed up the land to a gigantic pine tree perched upon the cliff side of a hill.

Thalia's pine tree.

The legendary tree loomed over the camp majestically, the shining golden fleece and the dragon wrapped around it remained an afterthought, unable to take away from the great pines splendor. Years ago, before the distant daughter of Zeus had even been resurrected, he and Annabeth had decided to make a competition of climbing to the very top of the pine.

It had been Hades for their frail 12 year old bodies, but the climb had been worth it. Looking upon their little paradise from over 200 feet in the air, the vast sea of green stretching on for miles, the low tide of the Sound nibbling away at the white sandy beach...and his personal favorite memory, the view of Mr. D getting smacked like a redheaded stepchild by a stray divine bolt of lightning after pushing his luck with wine one time too many.

It had instilled a sense of belief in something greater than themselves.

To protect their tiny little Garden of Eden.

Styx, 90% of the reason he'd even stuck by the gods this long was because of that climb.

All of this was theirs. Every glimmering creek, every marble building, even the veritable poop mound they'd dubbed Zeus' Fist had carved it's own tiny niche in their hearts. Camp Half-Blood was their birthright and legacy. It was their Home.

However, the two of them had only stayed in the moment for about 5 minutes, before the night-patrol harpies and Chiron came down hard on their prepubescent bottoms.

.

.

.

He was getting off track here.

And he really needed to stop thinking about Annabeth for a while.

Which was why he pointedly moved past the imposing gold and ivory statue of her mother with nary a glance, the slightest smidge of pity all the acknowledgement he had for it. He gave that pity out to the poor bastard who'd been forced to drag it all the way to the center of the camp.

He swore he could feel the statues eyes following him with the same piercing glare of its flesh-sack counterpart.

Percy had unconsciously drifted to another circle of columns shrouding the large eating area, their collective mass half-shading a great number of tables. Several dozen dyed tablecloths of distinct colors and godly iconography dotted the Mess hall.

The mouthwatering aroma of lemon-dabbed Greek ribs cooking on a grill and roasted potatoes spiced just right as the cooking nymphs worked tirelessly for dinner, gave Percy something delicious to look forward to tonight.

From there, Percy's frontal view was obstructed by a literal town's worth of buildings.

'The kids have been busy these past few months.' He thought neutrally.

The oldest structures squatted in the heart of the valley, their age and importance denoted by the grand manner of their construction and taller rooflines. The cabins were arranged in an elongated U formation, similar to their patrons thrones up on Olympus, with dozens of smaller cabins bringing up the rear.

Far smaller.

"For fuck's sake."

The betrayals write themselves

The cabins-as usual- were an unnecessary statement piece, now if he could actually tell off the blithering imbeciles responsible for them without getting blasted to Cincinnati - or worse...Jersey - well a boy could only dream. The over-extravagant waste of resources, from Ares' war barracks to Zeus' grand temple to himself, served more as an unneeded message to other gods rather than a home to their own children.

Seriously, you're telling him Queen 'Snake in your Crib' Hera needed a 2-story Greek Revival, topped high and low with lotus flowers, peacock ornaments and what he'd just realized were several imperial golden bull horns in a camp for 'Demigod Bast-sorry Children', but Hermes and Apollos' godly daycare centers couldn't do with an expansion?

Or a better building budget for the nigh-microscopic cabins for the minor gods?

He ignored the gods and their piling baggage and ventured - seemingly without purpose - into the more peaceful camp woods. The long dark shadows cast from the tree canopies added to the ethereal atmosphere, simultaneously sheltering the rich undergrowth.

Something in his core hummed animatedly as Percy took a generous inhale of the crisp, resinous scent of the surrounding fir trees and he'd deny vehemently that he'd done a little princess-like twirl through the needle-covered path as a flight of birds twittered past him merrily - that dryad was seeing things - but there was something inexplicably magical about the woodland during twilight.

The rich, verdant undertone to the leaves and bushes stood in stark contrast to the washed, industrialized marble of the camp. Nature here had no rigid order or structure here, the parapets of green sprouted and flourished where they wished freely. Above him, he could hear more than see dryads and other nature spirits, leaping fervently from branch to branch in a feat of agility the Hunter's of Artemis themselves would be hard-pressed to match.

Percy could almost pretend they were playing a fun little game, rather than practicing how to evade the more 'persistent' deities.

They're like fucking animals the lot of them, by the Void

...

If you could bring yourself to ignore that dark 'little tidbit' of Greco-Roman godly culture...you'd agree the camp was more or less the same unsullied paradise it'd always been at first glance.

At the first glance.

Y*C*O*Y*W

Percy finally arrived at his destination, as the darkening forested area gave way to flattened and uprooted trees and the camps protective barrier thinned around his form. His footfalls halted as he stood atop a jagged cliff-drop, overlooking a barren devastated trench.

Earth's Lament.

That was the name the campers had ultimately given the war-torn battleground.

It was alarmingly accurate.

Back at Meriwether College Prep, Percy and his classmates had been given the 'pleasure' of watching a nuclear bomb documentary for Chemistry.

Don't ask. Those teachers were nuts.

Yet, this wasteland made the Nevada test site look formally acceptable in comparison.

Gaea's collision and subsequent death had taken out all life, plants and animals alike, for literal miles on end leaving only a wide, deep stretch of cursed poisonous-yellow glass and craters. A dark-grey cloud hung ominously over the badlands, randomly striking acid-green bolts of lightning at the uneven plain and anything foolish enough to descend upon the grave site.

The formerly fresh summer air had regressed to a moist acidic tang not too dissimilar from Tartarus' sulphuric atmosphere, and the malicious green fog blanketing the crater had to have been corrosive if the rapidly decaying carrion and bones were any indication.

Percy sat right at the crater's edge, his knees drawn up to his chest as he wrapped his arms around his shins. He ignored his reddening skin as he busied himself with his thoughts, if he lost a few more years of life or developed a genetic mutation later down the line that was Future-Percy's problem.

He had caused this.

His homicide had brought this blight to his home. Not Gaea.

The avid curse had spread further through the camps border's to the strawberry fields. Apparently, satyr's, nature spirits, the Demeter cabin and even Pollux of all demigods had been trying for weeks to save the poisonous-yellow crops till they could barely stand. Their main source of income may as well have been lost to them for good, yet he was the one who'd been living it up in an air-conditioned suite for weeks.

Yet, Percy was the camp's hero. The campers had called Gaea every single cursed name under the sun for their suffering, when the goddess in question had been too preoccupied with begging to die.

What a fucking joke.

Percy had all but salted their lands, yet he gave them hope. He was the camp's inspiration. The one who gave them purpose.

Their 'Golden Standard'.

"You shall come to regret your choice." Chaos had promised.

.

.

.

Percy laughed without humor, barely a day had passed and his personal promise was already biting him in the ass.

How the Hades did he fix this?

If even Annabeth hadn't been able to come up with a solution before bowing out, what shot did he have?

What was he good for if there wasn't an enemy for him to run Riptide through, he didn't know jack about cleansing curses.

Why hadn't the gods done a thing in all this time?

His own father had made the trip to drag his sorry ass out of the bottom of the Atlantic, yet he couldn't take a second to wipe this curse away?

And the camp's central hearth, Hestia of all goddesses had tucked her tail and ran the first chance she had. He wasn't stupid, he could tell the difference between the goddess hiding herself from the public and when she just wasn't there.

"I am here because when all else fails, when all the other mighty gods have gone off to war, I am all that's left. Home. Hearth. I am the last Olympian."

Those were her own words, so where the Hades was she? Did the squishy mortals not qualify as family to the goddess of family?

Come to think of it why hadn't she done a thing when the demigods had fought for their lives and died on the streets of Manhattan for her family?

I'd have thought that little excursion would have opened your mind further than your simpleminded box. Color me disappointed

'Like I give a shit!' Percy growled at the insult, 'Chiron's likely to close the camp down at this rate. The only way things could get any worse is if-wait a minute do the Fates take these types of provocative thoughts as a personal challenge?'

Like houseflies to fresh excrement

.

.

.

'Am I talking to myself?'

What do you think brat?

Percy wondered if this joker was the same voice that had helped him in Tartarus so long ago, but the voice's mental pitch was heaps stronger and a hell of a lot more scathing. It sounded a lot like-

He was interrupted before he had the chance to grill his new mental roommate for answers.

The air behind him shifted, the back of his neck stung and his breath's condensed into frigid mists as he felt the dead chill of his own shadow being used as a travel hub.

Nico.

"Thought I'd find you here."

The son of Hades chose to stay as far away from the trench as possible, a look of disgust painted on his features as he pointed a clawed hand outwards from his chest.

"..."

"We brought it up with Chiron."

Percy raised a brow in question as he finally looked at the relaxed form of the son of Hades, his call for Percy's attention obvious with his half statements.

"A relief team to help with Alaska. Rachel and I brought it up with the old horse."

"Oh?" Percy hated how scratchy his voice sounded there, how defeated it came across. "How'd that work out for you?"

"As good as could be I guess. We've spent the better part of 4 hours trying to walk him through it. He seemed a bit confused we actually gave a damn about the mortals, but he's got a 'plan' in motion at the moment."

Nico tossed him an oversized weighty coin. It was a medallion. A glowing-silver medallion with a masterfully engraved motif of a pale full moon, looming strikingly over a majestic silver-colored stag with massive golden tree roots for horns.

It was the seal of Artemis. Goddess of the Hunt, Moon and Maidens.

"We're in luck, the Hunters of Artemis themselves have decided to 'grace' us with an audience, whether or not the agree to move forward with it is anyone's guess, but they'll be here in a few days so we can work out a deal. I'll warn you now, it's already been decided that they're taking more than 70% of the spoils we get from the trip."

Percy grimaced, he didn't need to be Athena to tell you how that conversation would fly with the campers.

"Chiron couldn't work out a deal with anyone else?" He groaned, a headache with a big red HUNTER V CAMPER DRAMA stamped on it forming inside of him.

"Who can we ask? You and I both know the camp's never been known for its deep pockets, how valuable do you think strawberries are? We've always had to rely on each other for our problems. And it's worked for the most part."

"I get that, believe me I do, bu-"

"But nothing Percy, we had a little over 250 fully-operating campers at the start of this summer and it dropped down to less than half of that in just one battle. A third of that half's too busy healing the wounded, healing the valley or just burning shrouds for our family while the gods do fuck else. And the rest of us aren't even above 10 years old."

Percy didn't even get a word in before Nico steamrolled over him again.

"Chris, Clarisse, Connor, Travis, Annabeth and the rest of the Seven are all but retired, not to mention how hard it's going to be even get volunteers for such a lost cause - don't look at me like that Jackson, you know I'm right – it's too much, we need all the help we can get. You know this."

Nico took a second to catch his breath, as his shoulders sagged from invisible weights. Percy hadn't noticed how utterly done with it all the boy looked, how devoid of life his eyes seemed.

"And if all it takes are a couple of shiny toys to make sure I don't ever have to host funeral rites for another 6 year old ever again...then you better believe I'm more than willing to take that loss."

Percy gnawed at his lips in agitation at Nico's tongue-lashing, as his mind raced for any other alternative.

Don't get him wrong, Percy had his fair share of respect and appreciation for the Hunters...Huntresses? They were girls weren't they, like that was their whole M.O. The whole forswear the company of men accept the Sisterhood, wait was the term sisterhood a girl thing in general or a nun thing. Matter of fact had Artemis ever recruited nuns, how bizarre would that be? Warrior nuns handing out the Holy Ghost in barbed projectiles alongside a Pagan deity, wa-

Concentrate child

Demigod ADHD ladies and gents. A wandering affliction that only ever insisted on afflicting him at the most asinine moments.

Where was he again?

Right the Hunters.

They were undeniable badasses no doubt, easily the best organized fighting force in what he knew of the mythological world on their centuries of experience alone. But they were – and he was putting it in the best way he possibly could – very, very difficult to work with.

And he wasn't just talking about their...admittedly justified wariness of any and all beings with a functioning phallus. The amount of lives that'd been lost in the Titan war, because a hunter refused to listen to a look out from anyone not in their circle still enraged him to this day.

Their bullheadedness didn't only come from their disdain for males, they'd snubbed their noses plenty at Annabeth after word got out she'd rejected them for him – funny that eh. It was an arrogance borne from their decades of prevailing over so many towering foes. That the words of what they saw as children simply couldn't register with them.

It didn't help that they still chose to show off their immaturity over the stupidest things.

"Seriously Phoebe you've been alive longer than my mom's grandmother's grandmother, I'd be shocked if you couldn't beat a couple of inexperienced teenagers at Capture The Flag."

Those were Connor Stoll's famous last words before the redheaded gorilla pretzled him for his cheek, and for that alone the son of Hermes still didn't feel the least bit apologetic about that centaur blood – where the Hades did the guy snag that from? – prank.

The taste of copper slathered itself over his tongue as he was pulled out of his thoughts prematurely, his chewed-through lip sending pinpricks of pain through him as Nico snapped his fingers right in front of his face for attention.

He hadn't missed anything important had he? Lupa had warned him se-

Wait a dam minute.

"What about the Romans? We could ask them for help." Percy tried, yet his hopes hit a brick wall immediately at Nico's downcast expression.

"No. We can't."

"Why not? Organized expeditions like these are the legions bread and butter. They could build a support camp around the entirety of Alaska' borders from scratch in two months, why wouldn't we-"

"As of the 10th of August 2010, the denizens of New Rome and Camp Jupiter have formally cut any and all ties with their Greek counterparts. Failure to comply will result in a year of hard labor and incarceration."

"...You're joking, I hope?" Percy all but challenged the son of Hades, his ocean eyes probing the boys onyx orbs in hopes of any sign of deceit, as he clenched his cocked fist in prep for the gotcha sucker.

"I'm about as serious as an obituary here, Fishbreath. They want nothing to do with us for the foreseeable future."

.

.

.

CRACK

Percy sealed his eyes shut and took long deep breaths from pain, as his jaw clenched so hard it chipped a molar. The son of Poseidon shook with barely restrained anger while his fingers bit deeply into his palms at the wanton stupidity that seemed eager to implant itself into his life.

He counted to 37 before he finally opened his eyes again and voiced a question he'd been asking himself all day.

"Why would they do that?"

Nico looked about as joyous as a Mcdonalds cashier at the situation, but Percy swore he could see a hint of understanding in his onyx-black eyes.

"...It's not like it came out of nowhere Percy, we were already in open warfare with them for weeks before the final battle."

"You're defending them?! You and Reyna traveled halfway across the world to get that stupid fucking statue to the camp for peace!"

A clap of thunder rang out above the wasteland right on cue. Oh wait, the art model for the 'stupid fucking statue' could give a reaction to that, but couldn't be bothered to ask Apollo to give her wounded brain babies a checkup?

Typical.

"Listen man, I get where you're coming from, but you need to get your head out of your ass and stop acting like a brat."

"I'M THE BRAT HERE?!"

"Yes you're acting like a spoiled toddler. Throwing a tantrum because the other kids told you they didn't want to play house with you anymore. Bringing back the Parthenos had always been more of a peace offering to the Greeks, rather than the Romans. And that's ignoring the fact that there's no living legionnaire in New Rome that could possibly have sacked Old Athens in the first place. We provoked war, not them."

"I-I know that." Percy replied weakly, his resolve crumbling as the context revealed itself to him with Nico's second tongue-lashing.

"Really? I don't think you do and if you did you certainly didn't care. If you did you wouldn't have bothered suggesting we try to recruit their slaughtered forces, for what might as well be nothing. Did any of you on that boat ever stop to think about how your 'act of war' would translate after the battle? People died Percy and not just soldiers either." Nico licked his dry lips absently as he raised a hand to count, "Innocent kids, retired legionnaires going off to college, the elderly, nature spirits the list goes on. Did you really expect the families of the dead to forget about all that and come sing Kumbaya with us around a fire."

"We have proof that that was Gaea's fault, I can make an oath on the Styx for it. C'mon take us to 'Cisco."

Percy made to take Nico's hand in his, before the son of Hades smacked it away with a brutality that seemed extremely unnecessary in his humble opinion – hurtful too. His grim visage took on a scandalized expression as the tips of his ears pinked.

"Ok three things here. First, you're crazy if you think I'm going to shadow travel us all the way to the Bay of all places, just to get chased out with torches and pitchforks. Second, Oaths on the Styx don't work that way she's not some omniscient lie detector, she can't verify the validity of events prior to the swearing. There's a reason it's practically taboo to swear those sort of oaths unless you're an Immortal."

"You're gonna have to give me more to work with here buddy."

Nico rolled his eyes and took a seat on a decently mottled patch of discolored grass, he patted the space on his far right in invitation for a lengthy conversation. Percy obliged.

"Think of it this way," Nico started, "Imagine you're an accountant-"

"Yeahhh, not happening. Numbers give me the equivalent of seasickness, how about a-"

"I SAID WE'RE ACCOUNTANTS TODAY!"

The son of Hades – definitely Hades, no other gods kid could look this homicidal right off the bat – exploded in fury as his shaggy hair flared about him in the twilight like a halo.

"Um...sure dude, would you like your tax forms mailed or stored...sir?" Percy replied nervously, his Adam's apple bobbing repeatedly as Nico pinched his nose bridge in annoyance.

"That isn't how-you know what, I don't even care. Let's say you're an accountant, the best record keeper in the world, you maintain the records of thous-no hundreds of thousands of purchases, sales, statements and deals for even more thousands of clients. You've built your rep and connections enough for years as the go to guy for any and all things accounting, enough dirty laundry to put entire countries in the cleaners for years."

"To tear down anyone stupid enough to even look at you funny. And it's given you a very big head along with a whole slew of enemies. People would think someone with that sort of pull would be some kind of all-knowing boogeyman right? That a guy like you has all the facts and evidence for any sort of situation right at your fingertips?"

Percy nodded in answer, a network like that...it'd be hard to believe they didn't know everything.

"But that's the problem, for all your influence you're just an accountant. You can't see all things, you're not aware of every single event or deal taking place on the planet. You can't be everywhere at once, and even if you can be, you're likely to not even want to. Even someone like you has your limits and restrictions right? You're prone to accidents, or capable of missing the bigger picture."

"So imagine some random schmuck comes barging right into your house with a crowd of witnesses, swearing up and down that you have records validating some obscure offshore account in Sao Paulo or something that you lost a few years back."

Percy's lips thinned as he worked out Nico's angle.

"Mind you you're a famous accountant. You're THE accountant, you've forged your pride in platinum for years at this point and maintained your rep as a being that should never be crossed. That can't afford to be seen as weak or incompetent. Oh, maybe if this guy had chosen to be stupid privately, maybe if he hadn't invaded the privacy of your own home, maybe, maybe, maybe."

Nico twirled a hand nonchalantly through the air and rolled his eyes at the maybe's. Percy realized belatedly that the boy had never really taken kindly to excuses of ant sort. It was fitting in a way, considering his lineage, death and the ensuing judgment of the soul had no room for such a thing as pity.

"It doesn't matter to you, in your paranoid head this jackass brought a blight to your image – and you definitely care about something as stupid as that, because you're a crazy, arrogant asshole – and showed to an audience that you're not as all-knowing as they thought you were."

"You could probably find the document if you actually put in the effort to look for it. Probably lost it somewhere in your condo in Cabo or something, but you don't have that time with all those witnesses around you. Witnesses that would kill for any sort of drama for digital hugs. Very loud, very squishy witnesses that you'd rather not leave to chance or waste millions buying off while you search for answers. What do you do?"

Percy's head in dipped in resignation. Leave it to godly pride to shoot his eureka moment in the foot.

"If Styx doesn't have the specifics of an oath laid down before the events have transpired, she kills the oath maker and all bystanders rather than deal with the blow to her reputation. Probably their families too."

It wasn't phrased as a question, yet Nico answered it like one all the same.

"Dead men tell no tales."

Y*C*O*Y*W

18 August 2010, Earth's Lament, Long Island Sound, New York, USA

6 Hours Since Percy's Revival

FUCK.

Percy wanted so badly to dispute Nico's claims, even with the knowledge that the son of Hades would have more insight of the subjects of his fathers realm than he.

Yet he found that he couldn't.

And not because it would make him look unforgettably stupid, but because it made too much sense.

To him at least.

He'd always wondered why Chiron had never suggested him meeting with Zeus and just swearing an oath that he'd never stolen the stupid Bolt in the first place, but taking Nico's information as fact...

It was likely he'd have sworn the oath, gotten himself killed by Styx and started an all-out war with Poseidon, Zeus and Hades once word got out that he'd never actually stolen the damn thing.

'Damn it.'

"What was the third thing?" Percy questioned softly, his enthusiasm dulled.

"Hm?"

"You said there were three things I needed to know before we could ever go back to Camp Jupiter," He continued as he counted his fingers accordingly, "The first: time and energy wasting, the second: the Oathkeeper was petty to the point of insanity and the third..."

Nico grimaced – an expression that was becoming annoyingly familiar on the young teen's face as the hours passed – as he formed his answer.

"The Romans were pretty angry with you after that shitshow you guys pulled back in New Rome Percy, it's best you don't let them get a hold of you for a while."

Percy withheld a sigh, he didn't intend on getting too comfortable with the expression, but c'mon!

"Any particular reason they singled me out especially?" He asked instead.

"Don't be so dramatic you got off easy all things considered. I won't say they aren't acting a bit petty, but they're not a 100% out of line."

"...Is it because I ditched them after the bombings?"

Nico only nodded in approval, his features stoic while tension settled itself lazily across Percy's jaw, as more and more of his previous mistakes came to take their pound of flesh from him.

Because the kid was right. He really hadn't given his actions much of a thought, Hades he hadn't even considered people had even died in New Rome. The Twelfth Legion had raised him themselves on their shields and dubbed him Praetor.

A stranger – no, an outsider – they'd known about for only a week.

They'd entrusted their home and everything they stood for on his shoulders, yet Percy hadn't so much as looked back at them regretfully or at all during their departure.

He tried his best not to imagine the heartbroken expression on poor little Julia's face, as she heard her idol had abandoned them all at the drop of a hat.

If she was still alive...

"That and the fact Poseidon came all the way to help you out, while the gods left them to die. But that opinion was mostly a minority call, hopefully they'll move past it soon."

"You said I got off easy, how's that?"

"Well Leo's 'dead' for one, Annabeth lost an eye and Piper's...huh, actually I don't think anything too crazy really happened to her." Nico counted as he scratched at his chin absently.

"That's the Greek side of the Seven, then there's the Roman punishments too. Hazel and Frank were demoted to legionnaires again for one – yes we managed to patch her up well before the Legion left, keep your top on – and Jason got a damnatio memoriae."

Percy staggered backwards like he'd taken a shot to the chest, the news was delivered far too casually for all the weight attached to it.

Damnatio Memoriae.

He'd only ever heard the phrase used once from Lupa – something about a crazy son of Orcus, or something – and the palpable scorn attached to it'd had even amnesiac-Percy sneering in disgust.

Condemnation of Memory.

The most humiliating form of punishment for any true son of Rome. Your very identity as a person - as far as the goddess was concerned - thrown to the gutters, your birth-given name treated as taboo and your honor and contributions to the Legion as a whole revoked entirely.

Most recipients often chose to commit suicide rather than deal with the humiliation.

'Gods Jason.'

BA-THUMP

Too far.

BA-THUMP

The fools had gone too far.

BA-THUMP

"Who gave them the balls." Percy growled lowly, his vision faded to a blood-red hue and the sound of his drumming heartbeat boomed through the clearing.

The accursed land before him seemed to wail in haunted agony, as if it could somehow feel phantom pains from Gaea's ghastly end.

Stop it, your anger serves you no purpose here. What's done is done.

'Like hell it doesn't, who do they think they are.'

I wouldn't know, but you are frightening the one individual who does.

Percy swiveled his feral gaze back to Nico agitatedly as the chalice of power inside of him threatened to overflow.

His frustration was at an all time high as the news of what had befallen his estranged blonde friend gave him the sudden urge to make for the Bay Area, and drown that council of imbeciles with their own lifeblood.

And yet...

He sighed mentally.

What was it with Percy going 0 for 10 on rebuttals today?

The voice was right, a mere glimpse of the son of Hades' wide-eyed, terrified countenance was enough to extinguish his flames. The boys arms were wrapped around himself defensively while he shook wildly like a leaf from hyperventilation, the shadows around them reacting turbulently to their Prince's terror as the air hissed and crackled with the foreboding omen of death.

Yet all Percy could register was the boy before him.

He looked so tiny now, not too dissimilar from the little snot-nosed brat who'd been just told his sister – the light of his life – had died. No longer carrying the weary, intimidating presence of a seasoned war general he'd been showcasing earlier, but looking for all the world like he was struggling not to cry.

"...I'm sorry." Percy apologized sincerely, his head falling as his platinum bangs untangled themselves from his bun to cast their shadows over his eyes.

Nico gave him no reaction other than a terse nod as he took calming breath's while his tiny fingers made busy with twirling his skull ring. Percy decided to leave him to it, he knew all too well about compartmentalizing your fears.

Your methods have proven to be profoundly useless, all the same

'The balls on this freeloader, I already gave you your flowers. Don't make me put you on timeout.'

Mouthy little accident, very well then, live and die with your cheek

He let out a breathy exhale to expel the last vestiges of his anger as he turned to their surroundings, it seemed the sun had dipped a while ago to give pass to the night.

Artemis' great silver chariot streaked above them with Selene's legacy in hot pursuit, shining between rifts of ragged drifting clouds, the woodland behind them seemed almost magical as it was illuminated by dozens of little fireflies.

The glowing sheen created a contrasting gold-black chiaroscuro with their dark world, the audible energetic buzzing of the campers so far away from them performed like a bedtime lullaby to his ears, as if these tiny little glimmers of light had electrified the summer night.

A conch horn sounded through the valley clearly, cutting through his peace and rallying the denizens of Camp Half Blood for dinner.

Yet, Percy found he had long since lost his appetite for food.

His headspace was a veritable mindfuck of jumbled thoughts and unfinished ideas. His murder and enlightenment of Gaea, the bulky case file aptly titled Annabeth now, Alaska, the oncoming confrontation with the Hunters, the mounting problems with both of the camp's, Jason's sentence, his own personal oath, the freaking tea party inside his head, Tartarus and the not even fully compartmentalized bullshit he still had to deal with from Her.

He was likely still missing a few more story beats.

Too much shit was happening concurrently for his ADHD addled mind to keep up with, and it was leaking out in the form of anger to his loved ones – again. Sooner or later...something was going to give and he didn't fancy his own odds, all it really had to take now was for one tiny, minuscule nudge to send Percy tumbling over the edge of the Abyss.

And yes he was fully aware how needlessly dramatic it sounded.

It rang true all the same.

What would emerge though

'Hm?' He thought inwardly to the voice with a mental raised eyebrow.

From the abyss, what would emerge? Would you come out all the stronger...or would it allow all to bare witness to what you have always been?

'...And what exactly is that?'

The voice tittered amusedly in his head, all the divine power its owner had suffused to it previously lost completely.

Come now weak, little destroyer. Must we play these games?

His mental roommate faded from his subconscious before he had the chance to offer a riposte, full on laughing at him in condescension all the while.

Percy kicked at the lifeless dirt before him in hopelessness, his annoyance at an all-time high with his jaw clenched tight as the edges of his eyes watered. He sucked it up though, boys don't cry and all that jazz.

He'd bite his own tongue off before he ever showed that sort of weakness here, encapsulated in Her domain as he was.

"Percy..." A measured voice mumbled softly from his right .

Styx. He'd almost forgotten the little guy was still here.

"Nico...you okay buddy?" He tried for a reassuring smile, yet it came out as a weak grimace.

"I'm about as fine as I can hope to be," The son of Hades replied firmly, as he smoothed out the edges of his tee nonchalantly, "You?"

"I'll be alright."

Nico nodded as grim understanding washed over him with his rushed answer.

"I know that believe me. You always find someway to pull through, but that's not what I asked you. Are you okay now?"

"I'm fi-"

Percy's coming answer got a flat tire as he forced himself to mull over the question carefully. For as long as he'd remembered, he'd never once bothered with such a trivial thing as his own issues.

He and the very notion of concern for his own personal well-being had been steeped in a middling cold war since he could get his mother a glass of water, without falling on his face.

In many ways, Percy regarded it as one of his more better qualities, after all he'd gotten a better lot than the average demigod: his mother, his powers, his friends, a father who cared for him in his own way and he'd had a pretty hot, loving girlfriend.

Did he really have the right to be so selfish, and put his own issues ahead of others?

Ha-ha, you're not even joking, by Chaos. It's a psychiatrists candy land here, this little madhouse

Nico took his hesitation and subsequent silence as confirmation for his forming hypothesis, slamming a fist into his open palm for effect.

Percy had no idea where this was going, but he was willing to do anything if it could alleviate just a little of their problems. Nico was a pretty smart guy all things considered, he could come up with something good right?

"You gotta leave the camp."

Percy recalled with mind-numbing clarity, that the son of Hades had never gone to school a day in his life.

Never mind attending a Chem class.

"Are you nuts?" He asked, his mouth slack-jawed in mortification, "We still have campers on life support, no idea what we're gonna do about the strawberry fields, the Romans, the Alaska operation, Nagasaki 2 literally right behind us,"

Percy didn't so much as glance at the trench, simply waving a hand in its general direction was enough to prove his point.

"And you want me to abandon you guys? Again?!"

"...Yes."

.

.

.

Percy massaged his wrist tenderly as the urge to smack the son of Hades into the crater, and organize a tropical-themed funeral for him with some particularly exuberant Party Ponies stole over him with a fanatical prayer.

He turned around to leave, utterly done with Nico's nonsense, "Whatever this is, I'm not dealing with it. I can't leave the camp behind like this, I have a resp-"

"I had a crush on you." Nico blurted out.

Huh. Fool him once.

It seemed he was dealing with this tonight.

"You–"

"Yeah," Nico said. "For a while I was-yeah, but I'm over it now so..."

"You…so you mean –"

"Right."

"Wait," Percy said. "So you mean –"

"Right," Nico said again. "But it's cool. We're cool. I mean, I see now…you're cute, but you're not my type."

"I'm not your type…Wait. So –"

Nico rolled his eyes exaggeratedly at Percy's brain fog, his twitching lips gleaming softly in the moonlight.

"Yes Jackson, I'm into dudes – a category you just happened to fall into – s'not a big deal."

Not a big–wait was that why, and that time too and...oh Gods this freaking kid.

"Look I uh, I appreciate it, bu-"

The son of Hades let out a pig-like snort, "Dude, no you don't. Look you don't have to spare my feelings or anything, I meant what I said. We're cool. I've been over you for some time now."

"...Okie-dokie? No that's stupid," Percy said as he smacked his forehead cartoonishly, "Look not to be insensitive here, but I hope you don't mind if I box this...conversation in my goodwill bin? N-n-n-not that I actually have an issue with you being gay or anything, just...oh someone just please kill me already."

Nico chuckled from his chest as he patted his tongue-tied puppy love fondly on the shoulder.

"Believe it or not, I felt the exact same way when my dad called me out on it too."

"Hades knows!" Percy screeched in horror.

Well if he didn't before, he surely does now you imbecile. A little warning next time?

Percy ignored the bitchy voice as he chewed at his fingernails, trembling at the inky-black shadows he had just noticed were vibrating at an animated pace.

Was Hades...laughing at him.

The image of the Lord of the Dead in his dreary robes pointing and laughing at his dorkiness, while creeping on them from a crystal ball – shadow ball? – was enough to get him back on track. He ignored his flushed cheeks as he pressed on with the more important question.

"Why tell me this?"

Nico's amusement dimmed as his hold on Percy's shoulder slackened, before falling limply to his side.

"Because I get it Percy." Nico continued, when it didn't seem like Percy had gotten it, "Bottling up your emotions, the feelings of inadequacy, every little thing you see reminding you of him. Or in your case, her."

"Nico..."

Percy wanted so badly to tell the boy how mistaken he was. That his need to save the camp didn't stem from Annabeth dumping him, or some ridiculous need to win back her approval, but to properly explain the root cause of his problems...

To put to words the guilt and shame that seemed to want to claw its way out of his chest cavity, like that one movie with the black alien things.

The name of the movie eluded him for some reason, it was right at the tip of his tongue too. He remembered the name had something to do with aliens and yet-

Your wandering inner monologue is ruining the tone of the conversation

"There are too many ghosts in the camp for you to keep your head on straight, you just came fresh off of a coma and a back to back emotional rollercoaster. You need a break-and don't you dare try to call the coma a break, I'll kick you in the crotch."

"Fine," Percy huffed, "Maybe I'm not as well off as I thought, but you can't just tell me to up and ditch you guys all of a sudden."

"You're not going to. Just a few days of proper rest, surroundings that don't have you looking like you're about to cry. A conversation with your mom Percy, it's been more than half a year now."

Dazzling bright blue eyes and an even warmer smile, the smell of cookies left to cool by the window sill pirouetted through his peripheral.

.

.

.

'Momma.' He croaked mentally.

Nico, sensing that he was getting through his thick skull, continued to push.

"Just some time to get your shit together and heal, the Hunter's are still in Wyoming. You can get back here by Sunday just in time for the counselor meeting, is that okay?"

"You'll all be fine right? I won't come back and find the camper's bodies piled to the sky right? Right?!" Percy questioned hysterically.

"Relax Bilbo, you realize we held out on our own for more than 2 weeks without you, right? Get out of here, and give Sally my lo-tell her I said hi." Nico corrected bashfully.

Percy snorted at the softie's need to maintain his ridiculous bad boy persona, he'd gifted the little nerd an entire mythomagic set when his mom celebrated Nico's 14th birthday at their place a few month's back. His bulging cheeks as he shoveled blue birthday cake and lemonade irreverently, had all but ensured he was never outliving the munchkin allegations.

"I don't have money for a cab though."

Nico rolled his eyes as he let out a high-pitched New York cab whistle.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for an uncomfortably long 10 seconds, and Percy was ready to never let the son of Hades hear the end of it.

'I mean, can you believe it? A hellhound ignoring the summons of a-'

A wall of darkness slammed into him as a booming WOOF blared out through the clearing.

Percy found his ass at the mercy of a towering all-black St. Bernard, as Mrs. O'Leary pinned him to the ground with a paw – her glowing red eyes glinting with enthusiasm – and Nico snickered mischievously from the shadows.

Coward.

"N-now Mrs. O'Leary, I know we haven't seen each other for a-AACKPOOTOEYY" Percy's pleas were cut off as her oversized Brillo Pad of a tongue slobbered all over his face with gusto.

It took a few minutes for Mrs. O'Leary to calm down and get off of him. By then Percy was pretty much drenched in dog drool, yet he glomped his dog fiercely all the same.

Her thick groomed fur, smelling of cedar embers and spiced hot cocoa, reminded him of the...pleasant moment this exact same trio had spent with Hestia, just a year ago. The thought made him nostalgic and angry at the same time.

"How're ya doing girl?" His voice soft as he nuzzled her fondly.

Her answering bark had an edge to it, as if the hell-born doggo was telling him apologies not accepted.

"Give me a break girl, we didn't have the time or room to get you and Ty on the Argo II." Percy whined, "And I sure as Hades wasn't going to let you get hurt in the Pit."

"WOOF!"

"Yes, I know you ain't scared of no Primordial, but it's my job to keep you safe."

"WOOF!"

"Alright, alright," He conceded magnanimously, "I'll get you 6 of the best Drakon bones I can find the first chance I get, I'll even toss in 2 extra if you get me back home fast."

"WOOF! WOOF!"

The Hellhound reared herself in euphoria, as her shaggy chops watered at the thought of the venomously spicy bonne bouche. Her excited tail-wagging kicking up dust clouds and sending literal tailwinds around them.

Nico watched the byplay in amusement, doing his best to smother a childlike grin as his onyx eyes twinkled with the stars. Percy relinquished his hold on his dawg and made his way to his old friend, a hand extended towards him in a see you later gesture.

The Ghost King took one look at the appendage and smacked it away in disgust...before sweeping him off his feet with a crushing hug, his face hidden in Percy's bony chest. Percy hesitated momentarily, his eyes bugged out at the show of affection before he hugged his little brother figure just as fiercely.

They stayed that way for some time, holding onto each other like their lives depended on it, but relieved themselves all too soon.

"You be safe out there Jackson." He warned with little tears at the edges of his vision.

Percy grinned cheekily and flicked his nose upwards with faux-arrogance.

"Aren't I always?"

"If by always you mean never?" Nico riposted with a disbelieving laugh, "I'm serious here Perce. I'd hoped it was because you were half-dead when you came back...but even Grover agreed there was something really weird going on with you."

That got his attention. Hippocrates himself could tell him he had something terminal, and he'd laugh at his face if Grover told him he'd be good. Their empathy link didn't play.

"In what regard?"

"Honestly? I've seen ghosts with more lifeforce than you – close your mouth, I'm not joking here - whatever you did down there Percy, it changed something about you fundamentally and I'm not just talking about your hair...Percy, you're not supposed to be alive."

Percy's mouth snapped shut as he digested the information. He thought back to the soul-shredding agony he'd undergone when he overpowered Gaea's control of her body, the feeling of his guts and nerve endings forcefully rearranging themselves as his heart and vocal cords threatened to burst.

Yet, he felt fine all the same.

A bit of stiffness in his joints and a subtle lack of something, but that could all be accounted to his coma.

"AAAWOOOOOO!"

He was jolted out of his soliloquy at Mrs. O'Leary's impatient howling, it seemed her glee was beginning to dim with the tension in the air and she yearned to leave the dreary wasteland behind them.

"Just look out for yourself, okay? And try not to overdo it. We'll see each other in a few days." The son of Hades finished as he reached out to pat the Hellhound in comfort.

"Happy Birthday Seaweed Brain. Be seeing ya."

The shadows of the forest seemed to cling onto the son of Hades as he made his way back to the camp, a pale hand waving idly through the air in goodbye before Nico was swallowed fully by the darkness.

Drama King.

Percy stood alone in the clearing with a thoughtful demeanor, the moons rays on him a comforting blanket from the influence of the star-spangled Night. But, not even the Lunar Enchantress could ever hope to beat back the Night's divine authority.

Not on her best day.

"The strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must. Remember that the next time you ever dare to question me, miserable wretch." She had warned.

Mrs. O'Leary let out a low whine as she caught onto her master's despondence, nuzzling into him affectionately and flambeing him with gentle licks.

"Yeah, yeah, ya big softie. I'll be fine." Percy chuckled as he climbed onto her broad back, and patted the top of her head gently, "C'mon girl."

He stared resolutely at the ghastly looking deadland – the eerie-green fog giving it a haunted aura rivaling the wailing banks of the River Styx. He shifted his sights back to the direction of the camp, his Home, the muted melody of the demigods as they hummed and sang to their campfire songs reaching him even here.

He let out a whispered promise in his heart, 'I'm not running. I'll be back, I swear it. I love you.'

Percy could vividly picture a young, scrawny 12-year old brat with jet-black hair and sea-green eyes singing alongside a beautiful blonde girl before an ever-changing campfire, trying his best not to blush as red as a tomato at the girls close proximity and his undoubtedly funky breath.

Percy smiled wistfully to no one in particular.

"Take me home."

Y*C*O*Y*W

Reviews:

-Luq707: I don't know why, but I always feel a good bit of warmth when I look at your reviews. It's a nice feeling. On to it then:

1. Aight.

2. Oh definitely. I knew I had to put a stop to them in general once I used kerfloom as a sound effect for smashing into water.

3. It's to create a palpable distinction between a POV character and a voice in their head without giving the voice in particular a name yet. I'll do away with it soon.

4. Aight.

5. This was an intended choice, and one that I made sure to be very particular about the placing of the title. The character 'Marturia' is a boy from what may as well have been the peak of Pan-hellenism and the worship of the Greek gods, he's been raised entirely in worship of these deities without the influence of Christianity to a fanatical degree. To him there is no Almighty God, there are only 'his Gods'. It's why I maintained the distinction between him, Erebus and Percy's POV's.

Erebus only ever refers to Ouranos and him as Primordials, Deity's with a capital D or at the highest as Outer Entities because to him - loathe as he is to admit it - the only true being worthy of the title of 'God' is Chaos, as for Percy, he's more or less apathetic to the whole naming scheme as a whole, referring to the Olympians as nothing other than 'god's', the sisters of Fate as 'hags' or 'watery tarts' and only giving a begrudging respect to the primoridal's by capitalizing their 'P'. I think the only beings he's ever truly acknowledged as a God are Chaos and his mother.

I myself am a Christian, my faith and heart lies solely with Yahweh.

6. Thanks for that, I never even noticed it.

7. Bet.

8. The golden thing is going to come into play later on when Percy starts interacting with the gods again in Arc 2, it's something I put a lot of emphasis on because Apollo is canonically a man-whoring, narcissist and being the brightest and most dramatic in the room truly gives the golden boy life. I see your point all the same, I'll keep it short and sweet.

9. I'll work on that too, I was trying to stuff in as much titles as possible for her and I realized it just ended up bloated.

All in all I appreciate the advice, but next time slide me a PM so I can adjust details in other chapters concurrently and answer you faster. And I'd rather not have to overbloat a chapter with a long author's note.

I hope you guys enjoy the chapter late as it is, my job had me bent over by the waist all day yesterday that I didn't even bother opening my laptop till this morning.

The next chapter should come on the 31st of August, God willing.

Side note: pin/18577417207022680/ this is what I imagine to be Percy's appearance at the moment, copy that into your browser and leave your thoughts if you feel like it. See you guys next time.