The Rising Dawn

by Demititan28

Percy didn't just survive after his sacrifice, he thrived. Locked in ice for over 20 years the world he comes back to is not the one he left behind. But he doesn't have time to mourn his missed years, a threat is rising in the east and the survival of humanity is on the line. If Olympus has any hope of survival, it rests on his shoulders. Eventual Pertemis

29. I Become Supreme Allied Commander

Chapter 29: I Become Supreme Allied Commander

Percy sighed in contentment as the summer sun warmed his face. The gentle sounds of the waves crashing onto Montauk Beach were a melody soothing him to sleep. The only break in the noise was the sound of Estelle turning a page in her textbook or his mum frantically scribbling something down at the nearby table.

He took another sip of his fruity drink. He wasn't sure what was in it, but Estelle had kept handing them to him and told him not to ask questions. Judging by the slight burn in the back of his throat as it went down, and the distinct sense of dizziness and silliness that had overcome him, there was certainly some alcohol in it. Not that he minded, on his license he was technically 38.

He couldn't remember the last time such a sense of calm had settled over him. Certainly not since he had gotten out of the ice, and a long time before he went into it. Sure there was a cult actively working to overthrow the Olympian regime and bring back a known perpetrator of genocide to replace them, and yes there was a son of Zeus who had been converted to join them and had gotten superpowers from that genocidal maniac, and yes the relationship between Egypt and Greece had been destroyed-

Percy groaned in frustration. Just as he thought he was able to escape it the weight on his mind came back with force. When Artemis had dropped him off at his mother's, Sally hadn't wasted a moment getting them in the car on their way to the beach house on Montauk. Estelle had decided to join them, taking her classes remotely for a few days. The only person who hadn't joined them was Paul, who was running some sort of summer camp at the high school and couldn't take the time off. His mum and sister hadn't asked him any questions, they'd been content just to spend time with him and give him his space. But based on their worried looks they shot him as he groaned, he was fairly certain that they had questions on the tips of their tongues.

He arose from his beach chair with another groan, downing his blue drink as he did so. He staggered over to the table in the sand and plopped down next to Sally, his head swimming. Sally ran her fingers through his hair as he lay his head on the table, and Percy felt the stress melt away from his shoulders almost as soon as it had arisen.

"We're ready to talk when you are, but no rush," his mother whispered softly, and Percy appreciated that she wasn't trying to force anything out of him. His first night at Montauk he had sat by the shore and cried. The tears had come from a mixture of emotions: stress and frustration at the weight of the destiny that seemed to lie in front of him, grief at the death of Amara and the tarnishing of his relationship with Carter, and anger at his inability to beat Jett when it mattered most. He had been in his element, surrounded by ice, and still, he hadn't managed to crush Jett. He was supposed to be stronger than that. It was a missed opportunity.

"Mm, hey Mom," he asked slowly, "Yknow how being a demigod like totally sucks ass?"

"Langauge, Perseus!" she replied sternly, and Percy could feel her narrowed eyes on the back of his head, "But yes."

"So…what if like…they all went away. Like there were no more demigods y'know?"

"Is someone feeling a little dizzy?" Estelle giggled from the other side of the table.

"Shudup," Percy grunted, waving his hand dismissively at his little sister.

"I would say," Sally interrupted, "That you would lose a lot of friends. And I think that would be really sad."

"No, silly," Percy chided sluggishly, "When we die of old age or summin'. No more sexy times with mortals after us."

There was silence as Sally stewed over the question for a minute. The sound of Estelle turning her book pages had stopped as well, and without looking up Percy could tell her eyes were on their mum.

"That doesn't seem very realistic," she said quietly.

"So? Answer the question," Percy grunted.

"Don't be short with your mother," Sally scolded, and Percy tensed as his mother tightened her grip on his hair.

"Sowwy," Percy muttered, cowering.

"Why are you asking me this?" She inquired.

"Somebuddy told me they thought that demigods suffer too much," Percy sighed, "And I kinda agree."

Sally took a deep breath, running her hands once again through her son's hair, "Percy, maybe this is selfish of me, but I wouldn't change a thing about having you. You were the greatest gift your father gave me, and I have had the privilege of watching you grow into one of the greatest heroes of all time. I know you've hurt a lot, and I know you've seen far more death and suffering than anyone should have to…but you're also my greatest achievement, and I love you more than you could ever understand."

Percy straightened up, his drunkenness dissipating in a moment of clarity and he pulled his mother into a hug. They held each other in a comfortable silence for a minute. Estelle was smiling at the duo, getting to see the relationship between her mother and brother that she had heard so much about but hadn't had the opportunity to see for herself.

"What happened Percy?" Sally asked softly.

"People died," Percy choked out, "I keep getting people killed Mom. I keep putting them in harm's way and am punished for it every time."

Sally held her son closer, "You live a dangerous life, and so do they. It's not like they don't know the risks."

"But I don't want people to keep dying around me. If I just went away all these innocent people would stop dying."

"Percy-"

"No Mom, it's not okay," Percy cried out, "When I lost Beckendorf, when I lost Silena, when I lost Michael, I just kept telling myself it's war, people die. But people keep dying, and the wars don't end, they just roll over into the next one. Everybody got twenty years of peace except me…everybody got twenty years to be happy except me."

He looked up into his mother's eyes, tears rolling down his face. Sally looked defeated, unable to find the words to comfort her son.

"Bad time?" A voice interrupted them, and the three turned to see Piper McLean standing on the sand behind them. Her chocolate brown hair was tied into a ponytail and her eyes were covered by sunglasses.

"Piper?" Percy asked, "What in Hades' name are you doing here?"

"Coming to get your help, but it looks like you need more help than me right now."

Percy wiped the tears away from his face, "I'm just tired Pipes, I just don't know if I have the will to fight anymore. Sitting back and doing nothing doesn't seem as bad anymore."

Piper covered the distance between them in a heartbeat and before Percy could react he felt a warm harsh sting on his cheek as Piper smacked him across the face.

"Don't say that to me, Percy Jackson," Piper warned, "I've lost too much for you to just throw in the towel and go crying to your mom. No offense Mrs. Jackson."

"Blofis," Sally corrected, "But no worries dear, I think it would be better for you two to have this conversation in private."

Sally stood and beckoned Estelle to do the same. Percy's sister pouted at being forced to leave but nonetheless followed her mother inside the condo. Piper took Estelle's spot, glaring at Percy from across the table.

"I don't care what you think you've lost," Piper hissed, "Because I've lost everything. My dad is dead, my first love is dead, my wife is dead, and my daughter is dead. You want to talk loss, Percy, how about you try that on for size."

"It's not a competition," Percy muttered quietly.

"Grow the fuck up," Piper spat at him, "People talk about you like you're a god. A semi-mythical being seemingly incapable of failure. Gods respect you, monsters fear you. And you're sitting here crying to your mom like a pussy."

Percy felt anger rise up in his chest, "You got twenty years with your wife and daughter," he spat back, "I got twenty years in a coma, so don't lecture me on loss."

"Oh boo hoo," Piper said, rolling her eyes behind the glasses, "So you lost out on time with Annabeth, at least she's alive. You claim some sort of holy self-righteousness, that your fatal flaw is loyalty and all you want to do is protect the people you love. You won the people you love that twenty years of happiness. You sound pretty selfish right now to me, standing by while Enlil and the Annunaki murder the Olympians. They're your family too. I lost everything, and I'm fighting to honour their memory. By giving up you're disgracing their sacrifice."

Percy opened his mouth to fire back a retort, but paused before he spoke, "Wait a minute, how do you know about Enlil murdering the Olympians?"

"You're not the only one tracking them," Piper replied, reaching into a satchel she had with her and throwing a thick file onto the table in front of them, "I did some research of my own. I've learnt a lot."

Percy grappled with the files and began flipping through some of the documents. What shocked him was how official-looking they all were, and even more so that they were stamped at the bottom with the seal of the United States.

"Piper, where did you get these?"

"The Pentagon," she replied matter-of-factly, "It's not just the Annunaki I learnt about. We've got a lot to discuss. We can do that on the car ride over to Camp."

"We're going to camp?" Percy asked in surprise.

"Duh," Piper said, "We need somewhere safe to plan out our next move…and to pick up our third questmate."

"Questmate?" Percy asked in shock, his head reeling with questions.

"Just pack and meet me out front," she told him, standing up and collecting the files, "And tell your mom I'm sorry for stealing you away."

Percy sat in stunned silence as the daughter of Aphrodite sauntered off towards the front of the condo. Ten minutes ago he had been relaxing on the beach, and now he had been forcefully recruited into another quest against his will. With a heavy sigh, he reached to down the rest of his drink, before disappointingly finding that it was already empty.

His mum took the news better than he expected her to, it seemed like she was just happy that there was something to take his mind off of the guilt he had been festering in. Estelle was less thrilled. She asked him to bring her along but he swiftly refused. If something were to happen to her there would be no way he would be able to forgive himself or look his mother or Paul in the eyes again. His mum packed him a backpack of essentials, and in a whirlwind he found himself sitting in the passenger seat of a bright red Ferrari as they sped down the country lanes.

"So where'd you get this?" he asked nervously, already knowing the answer to the question.

"I asked nicely," Piper replied, raising an eyebrow from underneath her sunglasses, "Now how about you get your head in the game and start asking some real questions."

Percy laughed as he began to scan the pile of files in his lap. The letters swam off the page and were pretty difficult to get through thanks to his dyslexia, but he was able to make out keywords, "Fair enough, for starters, how did you get these files?"

"I went into the Pentagon and asked them for everything they knew about the Annunaki."

"And what did they know?"

"They have them labelled as a terrorist organisation, apparently they launched an attack on Stonehenge in England a few years ago. It was all very hush-hush until I asked the right people."

"And who are the right people?"

"Check the bottom of the report on the Stonehenge attack."

Percy flipped through a couple of papers before he found the one she was referring to. He went straight to the bottom of the page and found four bolded letters: DESA.

"What is DESA?"

"I have no idea," Piper replied, "Even the Pentagon had very little information on them, and trust me, I asked a lot of high-ranking people."

"You just walked in and started asking questions?"

"I can be very persuasive."

Percy paused for a moment, "Did you charmspeak me into coming on this quest with you?"

"No," Piper grinned, "You wanted to come anyway."

"Umm, I'm pretty sure I didn't. I thought I was pretty clear on that," Percy countered with a frown.

"Oh, you preferred moping about asking mommy for cuddles and sissy for a drink?"

"Y'know, you had a lot less attitude last time I spoke to you."

Piper's face softened, "Thank you for that Percy, truly. You got me out of a dark place, but looking at how things were going back there, I just got you out of one."

Percy sighed, "I just want to live a normal life, is that too much to ask?"

"No," Piper replied, "But let's be honest Percy, you'd be bored out of your mind living a normal life."

Percy pondered that for a second, and he had to agree, outside of the almost dying and his friends dying and the fate of the world usually being at state, he did live a pretty cool life. "So cut to the chase, why did you need me so bad?"

Piper took a deep breath, "I think Leo has been kidnapped by the United States government."

Percy couldn't help the giggle that snuck out at her statement, "You think Leo's been kidnapped by the government? Do you have some tin foil hats for us in the back of the car?"

"I'm serious Percy, I spoke to Calypso-"

"Calypso?" Percy asked, surprised, "Why were you talking to Calypso?"

"Because she and Leo are married dummy."

"Woah, woah, woah," Percy stammered, "Leo married Calypso…like the Titan Calypso?"

"Yeah, the same Calypso who you hit it and quit it on."

Percy blushed, "That's not what happened. I had to save the world."

"Well, they got married eleven years ago. They have a little girl who goes to camp."

"They have a daughter?"

Piper turned to Percy and frowned, "Did you not wonder what happened to everyone after you got out of the ice? You just figured, eh fuck it, and went about your day?"

"Five minutes after I got out of the ice I was told the Annunaki were coming," Percy shot back, "I'm sorry if I was more preoccupied with that than Leo's marital status."

Piper smiled, "I was just teasing you. But yeah, they got married. Anyway, I got an Iris Message from Calypso a few days ago, and she said that Leo had a meeting with a big-time government weapons contractor. She said he went to the meeting and she hasn't heard from him since."

"How long ago was the meeting?"

"Over a week ago."

Percy's eyes widened, "He's been missing a week and she didn't think to call anyone?"

"He's a demigod, Percy, shit happens. Besides, who was she going to contact? You?"

Percy sighed and sunk into the leather seat, "So why does she think the government took him instead of monsters getting him or something?"

"She answers his calls when he's not at home. In the weeks leading up to the meeting, he was getting regular calls from the weapons contractor. After the meeting, the calls stopped. If it had been monsters-"

"-she would have kept getting the calls," Percy finished, "Did you ask your friends at the Pentagon about him?"

"Of course, but the only thing I could get was the address of where the weapons contractor is based."

"And that is?"

"Groom Lake, Nevada."

"Is that near Vegas?" Percy asked, remembering his one experience of going there being his time at the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

"Not exactly," Piper replied cautiously, "It's better known as Area 51."

Percy's jaw slackened. He looked over at Piper to see if she was serious, and based on the fact that she seemed completely unperturbed by what she had said he got the sinking feeling in his chest that she was.

"Listen, Piper, I've gotten into spats with the authorities before…but attacking a military base is a completely different thing."

"If they have Leo, we need to get him out."

"Piper, you're talking about Area 51. Jokes and aliens aside, this is the United States military you're messing around with, and I would prefer that neither of us ends up riddled with bullets."

"Look, when you went into the ice, and we thought you'd died, everything changed. Monster attacks weren't as frequent so demigods could leave camp for summers and not have to worry about being hunted down. Some of them left permanently, even adults. But Leo never trusted that they were gone. He was paranoid constantly. He kept developing weapons systems and defences to protect his family, and he built some scary stuff, Percy. If the government found out what he was able to build in his garage they would do anything to get their hands on it, and if the government has what he built that's terrifying."

"Stop beating around the bush, Piper. What in Hades did he build?"

Piper went silent, her knuckles turning white as her grip around the steering wheel tightened. "We need to get him back," she restated, refusing to look at him.

"Piper!"

"Nuclear energy!" she yelled out, rubbing her forehead in frustration, "He was working with nuclear energy."

"You're telling me Leo built a nuke in his garage? All of a sudden I see why the government arrested him."

Piper sighed, "He didn't build a nuke, he was experimenting with new forms of nuclear energy, and he made a breakthrough."

"What kind of breakthrough?"

Piper paused for a moment, furrowing her brow, "How much do you know about nuclear energy Percy?"

"Well y'know I'm something of a rocket scientist myself. Piper, I barely graduated high school, I don't know anything about nuclear weapons. Other than Zeus' Master Bolt supposedly makes them look like firecrackers."

"Percy modern nuclear energy runs off a process called nuclear fission. It's where you split the atom and splitting the atom causes the release of massive amounts of energy. Are you with me so far?"

"I didn't realise this was turning into Mrs. Brown's 10th-grade science class but I get it so far."
"Well, the energy the sun produces is fusion. Atoms combine and their centres, their nuclei, combine and form a single heavier one. The thing is though, the total mass of the combined nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei. That extra mass becomes energy. And then you can use that energy."

"Okay, and so why does that matter? What's wrong with what you've got now?"

"Because fission produces waste and can be incredibly dangerous. Fusion is safer and cleaner and the ceiling for energy produced is much higher."

"And so Leo figured out how to make nuclear fusion?"

"He figured out how to replicate it with an order of magnitude more energy and then he miniaturised it."

"Ummm…say that again…slower," Percy muttered, scratching his head.

"He made it create way more energy in a much smaller space."

"How small?" Percy asked, his mind drifting back to his conversation with Leo's half-brother, Mason, back at camp in Bunker 9.

"Small enough to carry it with you."

"I'm guessing that's a crazy breakthrough?"

"Based on what little I know about nuclear science, yes."

"Piper…I'm not gonna lie it sounds like you know a lot about nuclear fusion."

Piper's cheeks reddened slightly, and Percy couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Since he had found her in the asylum she had looked broken, and a shell of her former self. Even when she had shown up on the beach earlier, her personality was different. She seemed more single-minded, driven by the death of her family in a way that scared him a little. Seeing her blush was a nice reminder of her old self.

"We used to go for family vacations," Piper whispered, a tear rolling down from under her sunglasses as her blush faded, "He and Calypso lived just over the border in Texas. Shel and I were in Oklahoma and we were all just happy to be in the middle of nowhere. Away from all the craziness of the wars and Greek and Roman worlds. We could just be normal. We would go and stay in a cabin for a few days in the mountains, or we would travel to the beach for the week. My daughter…Abigail…she and Leo would get up the craziest shenanigans. She would ask me every day when our next trip with Uncle Leo and Aunty Cal was. I would get so up in my head, thinking over the past. Over losing you and Jason. And then he would pull up to the farmhouse in his giant truck, towing Festus so he could come along. And he would step out of the car and smile at me and all the anger, and all the guilt, and all the pain…it would just melt away."

Silence settled over the car. Percy found himself staring at his hands, wanting to give Piper as much privacy as he could as tears rolled steadily down her cheeks.

After a minute or two Piper finally spoke, taking off her sunglasses as she did so, "He's family Percy. I don't care if he's in Tartarus, I'm going to get him back. I'm not losing another member of my family."

Percy lifted his gaze to meet hers. Her eyes were puffy and red, not just from the tears of right now but from what looked like a whole night spent crying. She looked like she was barely holding it together, but in her eyes, Percy saw a steely determination mixed with desperation that almost took his breath away.

"He's my family too, Pipes," he told her, "Let's go get our family back."

Piper's face cracked into a smile, and as she turned her attention back to the road she grabbed Percy's hand and squeezed it. They drove in a comfortable silence for a while, the trees blurring together as they got closer to camp. Percy thought back to the first time he had made this drive, his mother behind the wheel of Smelly Gabe's Camaro as the Minotaur hunted him down. He had just found out Grover had goat legs and his world had felt like it was spinning out of control. He had come a long way from the little boy accused of being the lightning thief, but that feeling of being in a race against time never seemed to really go away. There was always something looming, something scheming. That sense of peace in the ice suddenly felt very inviting.

Piper pulled onto the side of the road and drew to a stop at the foot of Half-Blood Hill, stepping out of the car and grabbing her backpack of files.

"You're just gonna leave it here?" Percy asked incredulously.

"It's not like we have a parking lot to leave it in," Piper replied, "Besides, it's not exactly the busiest road. I can't imagine I'm going to be towed in the next few hours."

Percy didn't feel comfortable just leaving the car there, maybe it was the New Yorker in him, but he reasoned that Piper had a point. He stepped out with her and together they made their way up to Thalia's tree. Peleus opened an eye as they approached, and nudged his head against Percy's hand when they were close enough, encouraging him to scratch behind his enormous ear.

As they stood there a familiar face trotted up to them, his face awash with concern.

"I sent him an Iris Message ahead of time," Piper told Percy, "I wanted to make sure counsellors were gathered."

"I'm glad you arrived safely," Chiron said as he reached them, "But more than that I'm glad you decided to return, Percy. I'm sorry about how we left things."

Percy smiled up at his teacher, "It's okay Chiron, I understand. Lady Artemis explained everything."

The centaur breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm glad, I just wish we could have cleared things up before you left. And as for Artemis, I had no idea the two of you were on such good terms."

"We have similar values," Percy told him, turning to Piper with a smile, "We both want to protect our family."

Chiron laughed, "Not often a demigod compares himself with the Goddess of the Hunt, you continue to defy expectations."

"Doesn't Artemis typically turn men she meets with into animals?" Piper inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"She just loves my company," Percy shrugged, "Even tried to turn me into a girl so I would join the hunt and hang out with her more."

A sudden breeze buffeted the three of them out of nowhere, carrying with it the scent of the woods.

"I think Lady Artemis disagrees," Chiron noted with a smirk.

Percy grinned, "She's probably just embarrassed. She doesn't want anyone to know."

A second breeze came by, but this time it just hit Percy.

"Okay, okay, forget I said anything," Percy laughed.

Percy was too busy fighting against the winds to see Piper and Chiron exchange raised eyebrows.

"Only you could become 'frenemies', shall we say, with the goddess of the hunt who has sworn off the company of men," Chiron sighed, shaking his head in disbelief at his pupil, "But alas, we have more pressing issues to attend to. I've already summoned the council. They're waiting for us in the Big House."

It had been a long time since Percy had stepped foot in the rec room of the Big House. The last time had been to read the Great Prophecy in front of the camp counsellors right before the Second Titan War. Very few of the people that had been there for that meeting were here now, and as Percy took the seat reserved for the Poseidon cabin next to the ping-pong table as he took stock of who the new faces were.

Three seats, Zeus, Hera and Artemis sat empty. The Zeus seat was another reminder of Jetts betrayal, but Percy couldn't help but lament that Thalia or Artemis, even Reyna, weren't there to support him from the Artemis seat. Across from him sat Olive. Her brown hair was done up in a ponytail and her face, typically warm and inviting, was covered in frown lines as she appeared deep in conversation with the girl sitting next to her. The girl she was talking to Percy recognised instantly as Chloe, daughter of Athena, not least of all because of the unpleasant reminders of Annabeth everytime he looked at her.

Next to Percy was a familiar face. "Good to see you're alive, Frosty," Axel grunted.

Percy smiled, "How are the arms?"

Axel shifted slightly to show Percy the baby hands that were sprouting from his shoulders, "They're coming along, gonna take a couple weeks for them to be back to full size though."

"That's so cool."

"Not as cool as you," Axel noted, "You fought like a god out there in Antarctica. It was impressive."

Percy shook his head, "We didn't win though,"

"Didn't lose either," Axel noted, "And at least now we have a better idea of who our friends are."

"How are you taking it?"

Axel shrugged, "Right now I'm just angry. I'm worried about Alice though, she's barely left her cabin since we got back. I was surprised she showed up."

Percy looked across the table to see Alice sitting quietly, fiddling with something in her hands. She was almost unrecognisable from the extroverted ball of energy and attitude that he had come to know. Next to her sat a young girl who appeared to be dozing off, and Percy guessed that it was Drew or Jordan, one of Hypnos' kids. He realised there were a lot more kids here than there had been during the war, likely due to the extra cabins.

The next counsellor his gaze fell on was Scarlett, and she shot him a reassuring smile. He had felt like he was abandoning them by getting Artemis to drop him off at his mums, but he had needed the break for his mental well-being. Usually he got entire school semesters before the next world-ending threat, with the Annunaki the downtime felt like it was a couple of days at best.

The rest of the assembled demigods were Kai, son of Apollo, Mason, son of Hephaestus, Sophia, daughter of Aphrodite, Benjamin, son of Hermes, Max, son of Dionysus, Stella, daughter of Iris, Ace, son of Tyche, and Quinn, daughter of Hebe. The other Percy, Chiron, Clarisse, Grover, Apollo and Mr. D were all present as well, causing the room to feel very crowded as Piper stood and called them to attention.

"Good afternoon everyone, for those of you who may not know me my name is-"

"Piper McLean," Ace interrupted, "Daughter of Aphrodite. One of the Seven. We know who you are."

"Oh," Piper muttered, "I actually wasn't expecting that."

"You're one of the Seven," Chloe noted, "Everyone here knows who the Seven are. It's like asking if we know who Dora the Explorer is."

"You guys had Dora too?" Percy asked, and the daughter of Athena nodded in response.

"Why are we here?" Mason asked.

"Because a war is coming," Piper sighed, "And we need to act before our enemy does."

"Who are we at war with?" Stella asked, her kaleidoscope eyes meeting Piper's kaleidoscope eyes.

"Jett," Alice growled.

"Woah," Sophia interrupted, "I know you guys fought occasionally but you seemed to be pretty happy together up until the quest."

"You mean the quest where he betrayed us and then chopped off Axel's arms?" Alice asked, glaring at the daughter of Aphrodite who sunk into her chair sheepishly.

"Betrayed us for who?" Chloe asked.

"The Annunaki," Percy answered, "The gods of Babylon are returning."

Mr. D chuckled at the far end of the table, "It appears you've been rummaging around Grovers psychedelic stash Peter. The Annunaki are a bedtime story."

"You want to tell him Apollo? Or should I?" Percy asked the god of the sun.

Apollo sighed, "They're not just stories D, they're real. They got to my Oracle."

"Woah, woah, woah, what happened to Rachel?" Piper inquired.

Apollo turned to Percy, "You didn't tell her about the prophecy?"

Percy scowled, "I've been a little busy fighting a war,"

"I thought she said the war was coming?" Mason wondered, "Are you saying it's already arrived?"

"Why are we fighting other gods?" Benjamin groaned, "That's so dumb."

The rec room erupted as everyone began yelling their questions and slinging accusations at each other. In all the commotion the daughter of Hypnos' woke up, and with a heavy yawn took in her surroundings. She took a deep breath and brought her fingers to her lips, letting out an ear-splitting whistle that silenced the room.

"What in the fuck are you losers yelling about?" She yawned.

Percy stood up, gesturing for Piper to take a seat. He had been in this situation plenty of times before, rallying demigods to the call. Now it was a new generation, and if anyone had the experience to lead them against the greatest threat yet, it was going to have to be him.

"Let's get a few things straight. What happened to me twenty years ago?" he asked, looking around the table for one of the assembled to answer.

Scarlett raised her hand excitedly. "You got trapped in ice," she answered when he pointed at her.

"Correct. But who here knows why?" he pressed

The gods and demigods he had spent time with raised their hands, but most of them looked at him in confusion.

Chloe raised her hand cautiously, "I'm guessing it had something to do with the Babylonian gods?"

Percy nodded solemnly, "One of them, the god Hadad, was preparing to rise. His return would have heralded the beginning of their plan to overthrow Olympus and restore their king, Enlil, to the throne."

"You beat him?" Ace asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No," Percy sighed, "But I acted fast enough to collapse the prison he was in and keep him from rising. I bought us twenty years, but that time is running out."

"Peter," Mr D. chuckled, "I love this story you're telling us, but why couldn't you save it until we were all gathered round the campfire with smores."

"This isn't a joke Dionysus," Percy glowered.

Mr. D's face changed, his eyes darkening and sending a reminder to Percy and the rest of the table that the fat, lazy camp director was still a god. "Need I remind you who you're talking to, Johnson."

Percy slammed his fist onto the table, "We are heading to war!" he roared, "And your father is too stupid to accept reality!" Thunder boomed overhead but Percy wasn't about to stop now, "My father is in Atlantis, rallying his forces because he knows an enemy the likes of which you have never faced before is looming on the horizon. He is giving himself and his family a snowball's chance in hell of surviving what is to come. Meanwhile you sit here, drinking diet coke and playing cards, completely ignorant of the fact that if you don't change something people are going to start dying, and that lack of preparation is going to be on your head. Do you understand me?"

Mr. D shot up from his chair and glared at Percy, the room suddenly thick with the scent of sour grapes. "How dare you," he growled.

"No!" Percy fired back, "How dare you. How dare you sit back and ignore the signs. People have already died for this, and more will continue to die, especially if you and your moron father continue to sit on your asses!"

Silence settled over the room, and the tension could have been split with a knife. Mr. D's eyes glowed purple, swirling with madness and anger. Percy's eyes glowed an icy blue, cold and unrelenting. The soft rustle of the breeze outside offered a strangely calm backdrop to the tense silence within. A couple of the demigods shifted uncomfortably in their seats, the creaking of the chairs suddenly deafening. Then Apollo stood.

He put a hand on Mr. D's shoulder, "Sit brother. He speaks out of place, but he speaks the truth."

Mr. D looked at Apollo in disbelief, slowly looking back and forth between Percy and the sun god. "He's just a demigod," Mr. D growled, "And I demand respect."

"He's not just a demigod," Apollo warned, "And you and I have both known that for a long time. If you demand his respect…he will demand yours."

"I am a god!"

"I don't care," Percy sighed under his breath, but it was loud enough that when he looked up everyone's eyes were on him. Grover and Piper were looking at him with concern but it was the look in the demigod's eyes that shocked him the most. They were looking at him in awe. This was someone they had been told stories about since the moment they had arrived at camp. A demigod whose legend surpassed Heracles, and whose legacy was one of acceptance and family and had laid the foundation for the camp they lived in today and the relationships they had with their godly parents. They had all watched him first hand fight Jett, Alice, and Axel, some of the strongest demigods they had ever seen, and win one versus three. Now here he was, standing toe-to-toe against Dionysus, an Olympian god, and refusing to back down.

"What do you need from us?" Mason asked.

Percy frowned, "What do you mean?"

"You said war is coming," Chloe said, "What do you need us to do?"

Mr. D slammed his fist against the table in frustration, "Why are you asking him?"

"Because he is our leader," Grover spoke up, turning to look at the god who had once terrified him, "And I will follow him to Hades and back if he asks. I've already done it once."

Mr. D looked around the room in confusion and disbelief, "And is this how you all feel?"

The silence was the strongest affirmation Percy could have asked for. Even Sophia and the other Percy didn't speak up against him.

"I don't believe it," the god of wine growled, turning on his heel and stalking out of the room.

The demigods watched him leave, and then turned their focus back to Percy.

"Umm…thanks guys," he murmured.

"Don't thank us," Ace said, "Tell us what we need to do. You've done this twice before, you're the most experienced demigod on the planet. Give us an order."

Percy took a deep breath, "We need to prepare camp for an attack. Its defences have been breached before, I expect they'll be breached again."

"My cabin's old counsellor left some ideas and plans for defences that she never implemented," Chloe mused, "I'll see what I can find to help prepare."

"Annabeth?" Percy asked, and the daughter of Athena nodded in affirmation. Percy was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "There's another thing we need to do." He looked across the table at Annabeth's stormy grey eyes, except they belonged to his namesake, "We need a quest party to go to Boston, to see if they can recruit the forces of the Norse gods to fight alongside us."

"Like Thor and shit?" Benjamin asked.

Percy nodded, "Like Thor and shit."

Apollo grinned, "Ah I hope I get to see my bestie Loki, we get up to the wildest stuff when we're together with Hermes."

"Who should go?" Clarisse asked.

"Are you volunteering?" Grover questioned, looking over at the older daughter of Ares.

"Hades no," Clarisse scoffed, "But this is an important mission. Especially since our Egyptian peace mission didn't go too hot."

Axel sunk into his chair but Alice appeared unfazed by the comment.

"We need someone with a connection to them," Percy asserted, "Someone who isn't going to be considered a stranger."

"Sounds like you're nominating yourself," Grover mused.

Percy turned his gaze to Piper, "I'm already booked. But I know just the person for the mission."

The whole table seemed to lean in in earnest.

"Oh my gods Percy, who?"

"The cousin of an einherjar!"

The announcement was met with silence, and everyone was looking at him in confusion, except for the stormy grey eyes looking at him in shock.

"Magnus Chase…" the other Percy muttered.

"He's your mom's cousin…that makes him your cousin. You need to be the one to go to Boston and convince them to join the fight." Percy confirmed.

"I…I don't…are you sure?" he asked.

"I'm certain," Percy promised, "But you need to pick your quest-mates."

"Sophia," he said immediately, and the daughter of Aphrodite grinned at her boyfriend.

"That's one," Chiron chimed in, "You need one other."

"The Annunaki know we're going to go after the Norse next," Percy stated, "We need someone powerful and with experience to be your third questmate."

Alice rose from her chair and turned to the grey-eyed Percy, "We've never been friends. And I don't care what you think of me, but I'm the most powerful witch in a generation and if we run into anyone aligned with the Annunaki I promise I will tear them to pieces."

The other Percy looked at Sophia and they shared a moment of understanding. He turned back to Alice and grinned, "It would be a privilege to have you."

Alice nodded and sat back in her seat. She and Axel exchanged a look, and he gave her an encouraging smile.

Percy breathed a sigh of relief. He had been hoping Alice would step up. Just like how he had needed a quest from Piper to get him out of his slump, he had a sneaking suspicion that Alice was feeling the same way.

"Okay, so now that that quest is sorted, there is one more thing on the agenda," his eyes met Pipers and she gave him a nod, "We need a third questmate to join Piper and I as we rescue Leo Valdez."

"What happened to Leo?" Mason asked, and Percy was reminded of the fact that he was waiting on Leo to provide him the energy source for the machine in Bunker 9.

"We believe he was kidnapped by the United States government."

Clarisse snorted, "There ain't no way that dumbass got himself abducted by the government."

"Oh you'll like this part even better," Percy continued, "We believe he is being held at Area 51."

Now Clarisse burst into a bout of laughter. Piper shot her a glare but the daughter of Ares was too busy chuckling to notice.

"The United States government is dangerous, Percy," Chiron warned, "There are those within the belly of that beast that could do us a great deal of harm."

Percy wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, but it didn't matter, "They have Leo, Chiron. He's family."

"Ohana," Kai muttered, and the whole room turned to look at him. The son of Apollo glanced up and blushed, "Sorry."

"What did you say?" Grover asked.

"Um…Ohana,"

"What does that mean?" Piper asked.

"It means family," a voice interrupted, stepping through the door, "And family means no one gets left behind or forgotten."

Percy turned to see a green-skinned figure with long black hair tied back into a ponytail.

"Triton," he acknowledged his half-brother, who strode across the room until he was standing next to him, "What are you doing here?"

"Recruiting you," the sea god replied.

"I'm sorry Triton, I hate to say no but I promised Piper-"

Triton held up his hand, cutting him off. "It's the Annunaki. Tyson is in trouble."

Percy felt a lump form in the pit of his stomach, "Oh shit, how bad is it?"

Triton didn't need to use words, the look on his face told him everything he needed to know. He looked back at Piper defeated, but the daughter of Aphrodite was smiling.

"Your brother is in danger Percy, you can't say no,"

"But Leo-"

"I'll get Leo back," Piper promised, "I'll go to Camp Jupiter and we'll plan it from there. If you're done before we're ready you can come join us."

Percy scanned her face, looking for any sign that she was just putting on a brave face for him.

"Don't worry, Percy," Mason said, standing up, "She'll have me with her. You need to save your brother, I need to save mine."

Percy smiled, he had been hoping Mason was going to be the third questmate anyway.

"Two cannot go on a quest," Chiron warned from across the room.

"They need a powerful demigod with experience in the field," Scarlett added, "Hmm if only we knew someone in this room like that."

Chiron frowned at her, "Going on that quest with Percy and Thalia was dangerous. I will not have you put your life on the line again so soon."

"No, Chiron, let her go," Percy intervened, "She's a powerful demigod. If she hadn't been on that quest we would have failed ten times over. She is a force to be reckoned with."

Scarlett beamed at him, and there was a twinkle of respect in Chiron's eye when he held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, so it's decided," Percy announced, the room turning its collective attention towards him, "Percy, Sophia, and Alice will go to Boston to rally the Norse to our cause. Piper, Mason, and Scarlett will go to Camp Jupiter and plan Leo's rescue. The rest of you need to prepare camp for an attack. Rally any allies you can find and build whatever defences you can get your hands on. Jett knows how to find us, which means the Annunaki know how to find us. We're family, this is our home, let's defend it."

Ace stood up and put his hand in the middle of the pingpong table, "Ohana on three?"

The counsellors rose, each putting their hands in the middle of the table. Apollo, Clarisse, Grover, Piper, Chiron and Triton all joined them.

"One…two…three…OHANA!"

Authors Note: Hey guys, it's been a while. I did warn that school would cause me to take time away from writing, I just didn't realise how much. Couple that with the fact that this chapter is going to serve as a jumping-off point for a massive chunk of the story (which meant I kept changing the direction I wanted to go in) and you get an extended break from the last chapter. I can't promise the next chapter will be out quickly, but I promise I have no intention of abandoning it. I have a vision for the story that I want to see through to the end.

As always please review. I introduced a lot of characters in this chapter so let me know who you liked and who you didn't. We'll see if you'll have changed your minds by the end of the story. Hope you liked the Lilo and Stitch reference. I'll see you next time!