"Brace Yourself." It was just a two word letter from his father, but it still made Percy's heart sink. Nothing about their quest to retrieve the fleece made sense. Luke letting them go, the fact that he was going to give it to them after he used it. Sure, he was going to use it on Kronos, but why would he just give it to them after the fact? It had been a couple weeks now, and Thalia's tree was as healthy as it had ever been. Still, his father wouldn't have sent him a letter if it wasn't important.
The other strange detail was the absence of Thalia in his dreams. Ever since he started to get more comfortable with some of his weird underworld powers, such as sensing souls, he began to talk with her in dreams. Sure, maybe it was because it was really his father who had saved her and not Zeus, but that didn't make sense either. He had spent many nights since retrieving the bolt having relaxing dreams for once, the black haired, stormy blue-eyed girl making an appearance in most of them. Usually, that meant his nights would finally be peaceful. Every night like that was a luxury most demigods never could indulge in, and the tension that normally flooded his body would melt away, at least for a moment.
Her short hair, cut in a punk style, was definitely strange compared to what he usually saw at camp, but he had spent enough time skating in New York that it wasn't completely foreign. Add in their shared love for punk and alternative music, and their dream sessions quickly became quite enjoyable. Sometimes Morpheus had even been kind enough to send them playing cards so they could play silly card games. They had truly become friends. She mentioned how it wasn't until Percy sensed her soul that she would even wake up at all. It was funny, her only time of being 'awake' was when Percy was asleep.
So, the fact that since returning with the fleece, Thalia had been absent, was mildly alarming to say the least. His soul felt as though it was missing a piece. She had become someone he could rely on with his whole heart, and maybe that was because she couldn't spill his secrets, even if she wanted to. Not that Percy thought she would, but she had had a tough life. He still couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth about Luke. Not when it was the only time she could have any semblance of a normal existence. Besides, he didn't feel as if it was his place to do so, or his responsibility.
Plus, it was nice to not have to worry about all the stress of being a demigod. Sure, Thalia was part of that world, but in the dreamscape, real life was little more than an afterthought. It was a nice escape for the two of them. For him, a place he could let his mind rest with the girl who was quickly becoming his best friend. For her, it was a place she could be conscious again, and have some semblance of living. A place where harm, bad news, and all the other concerns of normal life just didn't exist.
He had come to rely on these brief moments of respite, and Thalia seemed to appreciate them as well. He felt a little bad. He didn't want to be malicious or anything, but having that complete monopoly on manipulation made him feel a little guilty. Almost as if he had complete control over what they talked about and when. So, most of their meetings were usually spent talking about their favorite bands. Most things about the general state of the world were ignored.
Besides, in their discussions, those were the only moments she had any semblance of normalcy. To ruin it with depressing things just seemed…a little off. Similar to old folks in the nursing home who are trying to hold onto their own minds. He knew that Thalia was more than that, but he had never been great at the whole truth versus feelings type of thing. He still felt like he made the right choice. She got to be a normal girl again without needing to worry about the world, and Percy got to pretend, even just for a night.
It wasn't his night for guard duty, but he insisted on taking watch alone. Normally, two campers would be on guard at all times, rotating through the cabins. For special cases like the Poseidon cabin, another camper would usually volunteer. Annabeth was usually the one to stay with him, but she had been forced to stay up the previous night on guard duty for her cabin, so he told her she could go ahead and take the night off. Was it against the rules? Sure.
But even Chiron knew that telling Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase what to do was a fruitless endeavor.
Besides, the borders had been restored, so no monsters dared to attack camp again. The only concern would be Luke and his spies returning to steal the Fleece, but Percy was skeptical of that too. For one thing, he had let them escape, or at least it seemed like it. If he truly wanted them, he would've set sail and pursued them immediately. It was still possible, but Percy's instincts told him that he had more important things to worry about at the moment.
A slight movement flickered at the edge of his vision. it had come from Thalia's pine, as if the roots themselves had become animated, but that couldn't be right.
Brace Yourself. His dad's warning echoed in his mind once more. The dark of the night permeated the landscape, forcing his eyes to pinpoint the source. It was nearly impossible to make out, but he would recognize those black, punk jeans anywhere. He had seen them countless times in his dreams. Thalia, she wasn't a tree anymore.
She was just like he had remembered. She had short black hair, a green day t-shirt, and black jeans ripped at the thighs and the knees. Her eyes were still closed, as if she was taking the most pleasant nap possible. Percy had to admit, she looked cute without all the worry that usually graced her features, even in his dreamscape. Then, his heart dropped. He was going to have to tell her, or at least someone was. She still didn't know the truth about Luke, and everything that was going on.
Her eyes fluttered open as she began to wake. Her body tensed in a familiar show that Percy had seen countless times. Every time it was time to leave the dreamscape she'd react this way, as if she was afraid of the unknown and the darkness. Meeting Death was not an experience one was supposed to come back from, and even his own trek through the Underworld didn't really count considering his weird heritage. Grover had said it best. 'Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?'
Percy did what he always did as she was entering her panic mode, he placed his hand gently on her thigh, right where the fabric was torn. A gentle touch to keep her grounded. It was kind of funny, that was what she had taught him when he just couldn't handle the stress anymore. The grounding touch and making him name five things he could see. He bore his green eyes into her electric blue ones, silently asking for her permission.
"Welcome back," was all Percy could say.
Thalia opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come. This was a fairly common occurrence. When she would get overwhelmed her ability to speak was greatly diminished. It took a little while, even in the dreamscape, to learn enough sign language for the barriers of communication to be overcome.
"Hey, it's okay," Percy said soothingly. "It's just me Thals."
Where am I? Thalia signed.
Here at C-A-M-P Percy signed back. He couldn't remember the word, so he just used the letters. Sure, he could have spoken, but as Thalia began to physically relax at his reciprocity, he knew he had made the right choice.
I don't like it here. It's cold out today, Thalia signed.
It's okay. I'll go get you some blankets. I'll take you to the big house and we can get you looked at.
In a minute, please. I don't think I can walk yet. Just…stay with me a while. I don't know what's wrong with me.
Her breathing hadn't really slowed, and her face was pale. Every sign she made was trembling and brittle, as if her fingers were still fragile branches that could break with the softest of winds.
Name five things you see, Percy urged.
You, the night sky, stars, the grass, and the lights of the house.
Four things you can hear?
The soft wind, the call of a crow, the rustling of tree branches, and the shifting of the dirt.
Three things you can touch?
Your hand, the dirt, the fabric on my jeans.
Two things you can smell?
The humid night air and a…cheeseburger?
Percy handed her a cheeseburger he had smuggled out of the mess hall. Normally he didn't steal food, but with his father's warning bouncing around his head he couldn't shake the idea that he might need it later. He had assumed it might be because he'd need to sneak out again, but this purpose was even better.
One more thing, one thing you can taste, Percy said.
Thalia took the cheeseburger, which admittedly wasn't as great now that it was lukewarm, and sank her teeth into it. Normally, she might've complained, but she hadn't eaten any real food in five years, so she wasn't feeling particularly picky.
This cheeseburger.
"There you go," Percy said, using his voice to ease her back into the world. "It's just like you taught me."
Thalia just shrugged as she devoured her meal.
"T-thank y-you." Thalia managed to stutter out. "I-it's j-just hard to s-speak s-sometimes."
"Don't worry about it," Percy said. "I get it. Besides, it just gave me an excuse to learn sign language so I could still talk with you."
Thalia just nodded. "How long has it been? I remember getting sick, but the world still feels like it's spinning."
"We haven't had a dream together in four weeks," Percy said. "That's when the fleece brought you back. For what it's worth, I'm very glad to see you outside of my own head. You're the only thing I like in there."
"Oh?" Thalia said. "I'm in your head a lot?"
"Come off it," Percy replied. "You know what I meant. You're lucky I'm glad to see you. In fact, as a peace offering, I'll even give you this."
Percy took off the blue sweatshirt he had donned for his patrol duties. It didn't usually get cold, but he had decided to put it on before he left. He pulled it over his head and gave it to the still shivering Thalia.
"Thanks," she said. The tension was slowly leaving her body and the chattering of her teeth had finally ceased. "Was it like this for you too?"
"Like what?"
"Coming to camp for the first time. I mean, I guess this is my second time, but you know what I mean."
"I mean it was an adjustment, and I also fought the Minotaur."
"You fought the Minotaur?"
"I didn't tell you that?"
"You never told me anything of substance, or you'd just brush over it. You can't escape me."
"It's not really that important."
"Oh look, the great Percy Jackson is too important to talk about slaying only the most famous monster in all of Greek mythology." Thalia smirked.
"It's not like that, Thals." Percy protested. "It just wasn't that important in the long run. Besides, it's not fair to dump everything on you."
"I'll just ask Annabeth, then. I'll find out the truth eventually."
"I can assure you, it's not very cool." Percy argued.
"Whatever. If I think it's cool, you owe me another cheeseburger."
"Fine," he agreed.
"I'm more perceptive than you think. You used to be able to escape my questions by waking up. Now, you're gonna have to tell me everything. It's really not fair to you." She said with a smirk.
"It's not a big deal." Percy said. "Just drop it please."
"Whatever you say." Thalia said, rolling her eyes. "Thanks for the hoodie by the way. I'm not giving it back."
"Hey, wait a minute. That's my favorite one." Percy protested.
Thalia stuck her tongue out. "Too bad, it's only fitting that you give your favorite hoodie to your favorite person."
His heart began to race and he felt a bit of heat in his cheeks. That couldn't be right. Sure, he spent maybe more time than he should have thinking about how beautiful her black hair looked, or how the corners of her eyes would crinkle whenever he told a funny joke. Or noticing her mannerisms whenever she began talking about her favorite bands and watching her electric blue eyes crackle with joy over the simplest of things. He shook his head. It didn't mean anything. She was just his best friend after all.
"Since you're feeling so well, I'm gonna take you to Chiron. And to see everyone else at camp. Annabeth especially." He said, eager to change the topic from how beautiful he thought she looked.
"Fine, but just a couple more minutes. I'm finally warm, and it feels nice to not rely on sunlight as my primary source of food." Then she yawned and her eyes focused on a point in the distance, like they always did whenever she was thinking about something perplexing. "We're finding Luke too, right?"
Percy froze. Shit, he still hadn't told her about Luke, and he would've rather done anything else at the moment. In fact, he realized he might've not told her enough about anything or anyone. His own refusal to give away details about himself might come back to bite him. It wasn't his fault he didn't want anyone to worry, not even his friend who was formerly a tree.
"Er, let's go see Annabeth and Chiron first." Percy said. Not technically a lie, but not a direct answer.
Thalia narrowed her eyes. Damn, she was perceptive. "He is still alive, right?"
"Of course he is. You don't need to worry about that. He just isn't really at camp very much anymore. We don't really have any campers over eighteen. After that, most of them strike out on their own."
Thalia seemed to buy that reason why Luke wouldn't be included in her welcome party. Still, she looked disappointed. "I see. Well, we should go see him soon too."
"We will, soon." Percy assured. "Are you ready to head? Your teeth stopped chattering."
Thalia pondered a moment. "If we had some playing cards I'd stick around, but alas, this is real life, and we can't summon them out of thin air. So I guess now's as good a time as any."
"Great," Percy stood, pulling her to her feet. "Let's go."
"Thalia!" Annabeth squeezed her friend in a bone crushing hug, as if she had just been brought back from the dead. Well, that was probably an accurate description.
"Hey Annie! It's great to see you too!" Thalia responded with enthusiasm. "I came as soon as I could. Not being a tree anymore is almost as weird as being turned into one in the first place."
"I get that." Annabeth responded. "I see you've already met Percy."
"Sorry about that," Percy said sheepishly. "If I had known this was going to happen I would've had you take watch with me."
"Don't worry about it," Annabeth said. "I was the one who wanted to get some sleep anyway. I figure you're probably tired, so I'll save all my questions for the morning. We'll walk you to your cabin."
"I'd actually rather not." Thalia protested. "Percy kind of explained things. I don't really want to sleep alone, I've done enough of that. Second, I'm not a very big fan of my dad right now. Can I sleep anywhere else? I'll sleep here tonight if I have to."
For a brief moment, Percy considered volunteering his cabin, but figured that gesture would not be appreciated, nor permitted.
"Well, it is certainly unorthodox to not sleep in your own cabin." Chiron said. "Regardless, I think we can make an exception for tonight. We can set up a room here in the Big House for you until further notice. I'd even be willing to allow you to stay in the Athena cabin with Annabeth given your past history, but I would need express permission from Athena to do that."
"That works." Thalia said. "Just anywhere but the Zeus cabin." Then, her voice got quiet, barely more than a whisper. "Please."
Chiron put his hand on her shoulder. "Do not worry, my dear. We will make you as comfortable as possible. You have protected our camp with your very life for over six years. It is the least we can do."
"Does Luke come by often?" Thalia asked. "Percy said he isn't really around anymore, but I'd still like to see him soon if it's possible."
An uncomfortable silence came over the room. Clearly, no one wanted to speak. The truth hanging over those who knew the truth acting like the pressure at the bottom of the sea. Chiron was the first to raise his voice.
"Perhaps it would be better if we discussed this in the morning, my dear," he began. "Much has happened already today, and much needs to be said."
"No, you're going to tell me what happened to my best friend." Thalia shot in, trying to keep her voice level. For some reason that designation hurt Percy a little bit, hearing Luke be referred to like that. It was going about as well as he figured. "I don't want you guys to think I'm too fragile for the truth."
Chiron just sighed. "I can see that you will be restless until we give you the truth. I believe Percy is the best person to deliver the news. After all, he was the only one of us to actually experience it firsthand."
"Chiron I don't-"
"Please?" Thalia was practically on the verge of begging, which threw Percy off guard considering her usually stoic and carefree demeanor. He just sighed. Well, now was as good a time as any.
"Thalia….Luke…he defected. He's helping Kronos rise against the gods…against us… I'm sorry." Short and sweet. That was probably the best way to deliver the news. Still, he would've rather given it another time. Annabeth hadn't taken it very well, and it was slowly becoming a point of contention between them, a fact that was becoming more apparent by the day. He wanted to avoid that happening again this time with Thalia.
The hope she had in her eyes completely shattered, slowly becoming replaced with a steely expression. She was entering shutdown mode. Percy had seen this happen whenever she was getting overwhelmed from bad news, or any other unpleasant memories. The face of hidden pain churned Percy's soul as he realized what was about to happen.
"No…he wouldn't. I mean. He wouldn't be willing to do that. He couldn't." She stared down at her hands, trying to calm their resumed shaking.
"I'm sorry, but he would. He tried to kill me firsthand." Percy said, brushing his hand against hers. He rolled up his sleeve and showed Thalia the scar on his palm. "He tried to kill me with a Pit Scorpion from Tartarus itself. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just wasn't sure how."
Thalia kept her eyes trained on her hands, trying to digest the new information. Percy could hear the gears of denial turning within her mind, searching for any reason to reject the truth. Then, she slowly turned her gaze to Annabeth.
"Annabeth? Is this true?" Thalia asked, grasping for a thread of hope.
Annabeth shifted foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable with the question. "Look, I don't want to pick sides, but it isn't as bad as Percy's saying. I don't know what's wrong with Luke, but we'll get him back. Somehow."
"Annabeth, that isn't possible." Percy cut in. "He poisoned Thalia. He tried to kill us multiple times. He has nothing but hatred in his heart. We can't just let him keep hurting the campers. We can't fight a war if we're trying to save our enemy."
"He's not an enemy." Annabeth fired back. "He clearly knew the Fleece would save Thalia. That's why he gave it to us. He only wanted to bring her back, like all of us did. We'll find a way." She glared at Percy, daring him to take the bait. Unfortunately for all involved, he did.
"You're not thinking clearly." Percy protested.
"You just want him to be evil? Is that it?" Annabeth shot back, her voice becoming watery. "He's not all evil. I can promise you that." Then she turned to Thalia. "We can make him see reason. I promise we can."
Chiron stepped into the middle of the argument, cutting their line of sight in an attempt to defuse tensions. "Okay, I think that's enough for now." Then he turned to Thalia. "Many of the specifics are still up for debate, but right now, Luke stands against camp and Olympus. That will suffice for now." After another moment, he let out a sigh. "For what it's worth, I am sorry. I do not know the specifics of your relationship, but I can tell you were close. We will do what we can."
Thalia just sat in her newly made cot, trying to process the information. No, it couldn't be. He wouldn't. Sure, Luke sometimes had a couple screws loose, and sometimes he went a little too far when they were on the run, but it was always only in emergency situations. Her mind just went blank. A deathly calm before the storm.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered, trying to keep her voice steady. When no one answered she shouted, her voice a mixture of grief and anger. "Why didn't you tell me!?"
"I didn't-I didn't think it was important." Percy began.
"Important!" Thalia said. "You didn't think it was important that my best friend is working for the Titans!? You had over a year. Hell, you didn't think it was important to tell me that my best friend was the one who poisoned me!?"
"I-"
"Thalia," Chiron cut in. "I'm sure Percy meant no harm. No one could have known you were coming back."
"So you were willing to let me languish in my existence as a tree without knowing the truth? Why? You were my only contact with the outside world. I taught you sign language. You wouldn't even tell me any details about your quest. Why? Why? Why?" Each successive word getting caught in the lump she was desperately trying to swallow.
When no one answered, she steeled herself. "I'm not a child, Perseus Jackson. I hope you can trust me with the truth next time. I had hoped my one line of communication could be trusted, but I guess not. Luke was the one who brought me back. He knew I could come back."
Percy wanted to protest that no one knew it was possible, and that they had trekked through the Sea of Monsters just to save her life, but any retort was caught in his throat as he saw her electric blue eyes, once so filled with hope, now completely shattered with unshed tears. The dagger that was her expression had lodged itself in his heart.
Then, she took off the blue sweatshirt Percy had given her, and threw it at him. Her first gift after returning from being a tree. "And you can have this back. I'm not cold anymore."
The second knife hurt almost as bad as the first. Chiron just gave him a sad look of understanding. He had seen many grieving heroes in his time. Annabeth looked conflicted, sympathizing with Thalia's frustration, but at the same time not wanting to see her two friends fight. So instead, she just opted for a third approach.
"What do you mean he had over a year to tell you? You just came back." She asked, with her eyebrows raised inquisitively.
"He didn't even mention me?" Thalia said. "We've been meeting in his dreams fairly frequently for over a year. He didn't even tell you guys that I was alive? Or at least that I still had consciousness?"
"Er–no. He didn't..." Annabeth said. "I thought you were dead. I didn't see what happened on that night six years ago…"
Chiron patted Percy on the shoulder, which he took as a cue to leave. He had dug himself a deep enough hole for one night.
"Do not worry, child." Chiron said. "I know you had your reasons. She is just grieving. Hindsight is always 20/20. I think we should just give the girls their space for now."
Percy wasn't sure. At the moment, his mind was drowning in the sea of regret. He didn't want it to go this way. The only thing that he could make sense of was that Thalia was hurting, and he was at least partially responsible. He'd rather go to Tartarus than let that happen again. The only sound that could be heard that night was a soft whisper.
"I'm sorry Thals."