Hello there, gods, half-bloods and friends, welcome to the next chapter of The God Hunter and the first update of 2025.

So about we start the new year with ending a book?

Hope you enjoy and now to the review.

Guest: Well the original Avatar Heroes has ended, and I got kind of stuck on a sequel. But I have something planned this year for Avatar Heroes. Got to explain somehow how Jason is still running around when he died at the end.

And now story time.

The group arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs travel powers. The centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius. The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid.

Everybody looked weary and battered as they crowded around Thalia's tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus, the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.

Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.

Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt that the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.

Chiron ordered a twenty-four seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.

In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.

Nobody gave Percy, Matt or Annabeth a second look. It was as if none of them had ever left but that was good in its own way.

It felt good to be just one of the campers for once.

Later that night, as they were roasting s'mores and listening to the Stoll brothers tell a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries, Clarisse shoved Matt from behind and whispered in his ear, "Just because you were cool one time, Hauer, don't think you're off the hook with Ares. I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to pulverize you."

"Clarisse, we can't keep doing this, people will start talking." Matt whispered back, "But if you want to pulverize my pelvis, I'll leave my cabin door open tonight."

"Gods I hate you!" she snarled.

"Love you too, Clarisse." Matt said with a wink.

The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. Everyone had figured they were history now that Tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that Chiron was back and the camp was safe.

"Lu Lu Lu, I've got some apples. Lu Lu Lu, you got some too." Matt hummed to himself as he was sweeping the Hera cabin clean with a broom, "Lu Lu Lu..."

But it was then that his eye fell on a knife, one he use to open boxes, laying in the window, and events of the previous day came back to his mind.

He had been ran through with a sword, he had felt and seen his blood spilled and yet he was still standing, the only evidence of that ever happening was a shirt with a large tear in the chest area. He took the knife in hand, looking at the palm of his hand. But before he could do anything he was startled when he turned around to see Asherah standing there, looking out the window.

"The feck!" Matt said as he dropped the knife, having only seen her between his dreams and he was certain to be awake.

"This is unexpected." Asherah said, turning from the window to Matt, "And I'm not referring to the face that for once, you are actually cleaning your room."

"What? How..." Matt said utterly confused, "How are you here?"

"You don't have to talk for me to hear you, remember?" Asherah said, using her index finger to gestured to the side of her head, "And I'm not here. Not really. I am still very much stuck in, for a lack of a better term, in my prison. It would seem that me lending a fraction of my power had some... unintended side effects."

"Lend some of your power?" Matt thought, "Wait, that spectral being, healing my wounds. That was you?"

"Like I already told you, I only advice you and occasionally give the power inside you a jumpstart." Asherah pointed out, "While my power activated them, the entity and healing was all you."

"But... why did it look so much like you?" Matt thought.

"A most curious thing, which surprised even I." she said, "The Entity is the ultimate expression of the Doppelganger ability. It's both an offensive and a defensive technique. Though it's usually an image of it's user, but it can take the form of something you trust or feels save with."

"That must be why it looks like you." Matt thought with a smile, "Despise you being a sarcasm at times, I do trust you."

"I'm glad to hear it..." Asherah said with a small smile of her own, "There is someone at the door for you. And I..."

A second later, he heard a clopping sound at the door. "Come in." Matt said, as he picked up the broom, "Unless your Clarisse, then please kindly feck off."

The door opened, revealing it was Annabeth, who seemed a weird sort of distressed. "Annabeth? What's wrong?" Matt said worried.

"Mr. D wants to see you." she told him, "We have a... a guest."

"Must be serious." Matt said.

As they left the cabin, out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Asherah had disappeared.

When Matt and Annabeth approached the porch, where he saw Percy waiting for them, who looked just as distressed as Annabeth. Voices came from the porch, one he recognized as Chiron and Dionysus. The third one he didn't know, but it was deep, smooth, charming and British.

"...There are some fetishes that even I find disgusting." the British voice said, "But this wasn't one of them."

It was the voice of Mr. D that put Matt on edge, more specifically what he had said, "Lucifer, you racist!"

"Dio, I'm married to a human." Lucifer laughed, "I can't be racist."

"Speaking of the wife." Mr. D said, "Why hasn't Hell's Queen blessed us with her presence?"

"Oh, Cirilla is handling a situation down below." Lucifer said, "It's her week to deal with Hell's politics."

Chiron sat at the pinochle table in his fake wheelchair. Dionysus sat there as well, but he was playing a different game with a familiar face.

Sitting across from him was a handsome, tall man. He had swept back platinum blonde hair and intense amber eyes. He was wearing an unbuttoned white blazer over a tucked in dark purple dress shirt, black dress pants and brown-black dress shoes.

Matt stood there stunned as the man turned his attention to them. "Greetings Perseus Jackson." Lucifer said with a wave, "How's it going?"

"Everything is fine, Mr. Lux." Percy said.

"Mr. Lux? Lucifer is just fine." Lucifer said as he stood up, "I came to inform you that I retrieve Queen Anne's Revenge. And with that, your debt has been paid in full. See? My word is just as good as those on Olympus, maybe even a little bit better. Food for thought. While it's not my place, I would advice against making deals with beings of the infernal persuasion a habit. Especially with Asmodeus."

"Thank you, I'll think about it." Percy said, "I am curious, why would you even want that ship? Are you a collector?"

"There is something to that, I suppose." Lucifer said with a nod, "But I guess you could best describe me as a wonder seeker."

"Wonder seeker?" Percy said.

"Well, also drugs, debauchery and certain extinct whiskeys." Lucifer said with a shrug, "The Queen Anne's Revenge is one of the three most sought after ships. The other two being the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl. Though I guess the Jackdaw is up there."

"Hold on... Are they playing gwent?" Matt muttered, having recovered from seeing how he might look like as an adult.

But it seemed this hadn't gone unnoticed by the tall blonde. "Oh, it seems this one has taste." Lucifer said approvingly, ignoring the glare he was getting from Matt, "Can I assume Perseus has told you who I am?"

"Yes, it's just..." Annabeth said looking between Matt and Lucifer, "I never imagined the Devil would have a British accent."

"I had a few accents over the years, my dear. But this one is the most successful." Lucifer said with smug smile, "But honestly, I don't have an accent. This is just how words are properly pronounced."

"I thought you would have had horns." Matt said with a raised eyebrow.

"Perhaps I had mine filled off." Lucifer joked with a chuckle before turning to Chiron, "How about you let these three give the usual tour of the camp. I'm curious if their their point of view reveals some new insights."

"Yes, that might be a good idea." Chiron said, "If they are willing."

"But if course! I'm the biggest supporter of free will, it was my gift to humanity after all." Lucifer said before turning to the three, "How about it? Would you be willing to give me a tour around camp and share your thoughts?"

"I mean, I guess." Percy said with a shrug.

"Percy!" Annabeth whispered, "Do we really want to show around Olympus's own Sauron?"

"He's not so bad. He might be a bad guy, but he not a bad guy." Percy said, "Besides, wouldn't it be better to keep him in a good mood."

"Excellent argument, Perseus." Lucifer said cheerfully, "Also, Olympus very own Sauron? I thought the other Dark Lord would be more appropriate, but I guess that's a bit on the nose. Now then, shall we get going?"

And so they did, Percy and Annabeth did most of the talking while Matt just strode after Lucifer and Chiron. During the tour they showed off the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables, the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.

"...Ugh, satyrs." Lucifer said with a hint of distaste when he spotted a few satyrs before turning to Annabeth, "Something on your mind, Lady Chase?"

"You have something against satyrs?" she said.

"What? Oh no, I might not be overly fond of certain individual satyrs, but I have nothing against their race as a whole. I'm just not that fond of goats." Lucifer said with a bit of distaste, "It has been puzzling me for centuries, aside from that one goat-fetish demon girl, Baphomet, I have no idea why people have made the connection between goats and myself. I hate goats. I don't even like their cheese!"

"A riddle for the ages." Chiron said, " I forgot to ask, old friend. Have you been to any of the other pantheons?"

"Not really. I mean, the Shinto's are still sour over being outplayed. Odin is too weary of me since that Wild Hunt thing, and Cthulhu is just weird. Though I seriously considered visiting Ra." Lucifer said, "I wonder if he is still in Sunny Acres. He still owes me a favor, though I doubt he can even remember it... Lady Chase, I have a question for you."

"Yes, Lord Lucifer." Annabeth said.

"Like I said to Perseus, Lucifer is just fine." he said casually, "While I am known by many names and titles, I am curious as to why I'm referred to as Olympus's Sauron? That is a new one for me."

"We are familiar with the tale of how your name became feared by the Olympians. And it's because of the myth that invoking your name makes you able to track that person." Annabeth said, "Olympus Sauron is something a friend came up with."

"It's a myth that is actually true. As for the story, let me guess, Zeus vilified me into the aggressor and the villain of the tale? Wouldn't be the first time it happened to me." Lucifer scoffed, "I'll have you know that Zeus was the one who tried to go back on our agreement after I took care of Kratos. He was the one who thought he could just not hold up his end. The other Olympians are smarter in that regard that going back on a deal with me is a very dumb idea, and Ares was arrogant enough to go deliver that message."

"When I arrived at Olympus for clarification, because obviously it was all one big misunderstanding. Instead of holding up his end of the deal, Zeus tried to force me to join his team."

"Zeus wanted you to become an Olympian?" Percy said surprised.

"I know, right? Why would I take a demotion!" Lucifer said, "But Zeus isn't nearly as mighty as he thinks he is. Most of his power comes from his support, he would be powerless without the other Olympians. When I refused, Zeus in his endless arrogance tried to strike me down and forced the other Olympian gods to help him get rid of me. The only reason they still exist at all to mess around with humans and creating bastard children is because of my mercy."

"Of course, you don't have to believe me." Lucifer said with a shrug, "But you should know I never lie."

Finally, they showed the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door, odds on the left side, evens on the right, they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory.

Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops.

In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered.

Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.

"Ah, I see Hades still doesn't have a cabin." Lucifer noted as he looked at the cabins, "A bit disrespectful if you ask me, but you do you. Speaking of cabin's, I have heard Hera's isn't so empty anymore."

The name of his mother caught Matt's attention, as he had retreated inside his own head as a thousand thoughts went through his head upon seeing Lucifer, and how right Percy might be.

"How much have you heard?" Chiron said.

"Only what I heard through the grapevines, as the saying goes." Lucifer said, "Apparently they ran into my sister in L.A. last year. Of course, being the Angel of Gossip, word spread around fast up there in the Silver City, and Uri told me about it."

"Wait, we ran into your sister?" Percy said.

"Yes, though I'm not particularly close to Gabriel." Lucifer said with a smile.

"...Okay, lot to take in." Annabeth said.

"Is Cabin Eleven still over crowded?" Lucifer said, turning to Chiron who gave a brief explanation, "Typical of your gods to parent so many children only to end up neglecting them."

"Excuse you." Matt said, "But what gives you the right to judge?"

"Well my son Vergil wished to spend a week at this camp, for study purposes of course. But seeing as he doesn't have an Olympian parent, he would have to sleep on the floor in Cabin Eleven." Lucifer explained, "But from the first evening, he ended up sleeping in Aphrodite Cabin for that entire week. Had he stayed any longer and he would have gotten all of Aphrodite Cabin pregnant, including Aphrodite herself! See? I look after my children, unlike your gods."

"Y-You... You have a son?" Matt said, feeling the anger boiling up inside of himself, "You have a child!?"

"Indeed I do." Lucifer said rather proudly, "A set of twin sons and a daughter."

Matt no!

Anger overtook Matt as he went to throw a punch aimed at Lucifer's face, who seemed distracted for a second, only for it to be caught on an invisible field and being held in place.

"There it is." Lucifer said with a smirk as he slowly turned around, "I knew you desired to attack me the moment you laid eyes on me."

With a simple push from his index finger, Matt was send flying backwards a few feet.

Matt looked up just fast enough to see Lucifer coming barreling out of nowhere and grabs him by the face before he proceeds to drag Matt by the face into the sky then drops him into the training ground from a few feet up.

The commotion had drawn the attention of other campers, who came over to see what was up.

"Probably wanting to avenge dear old mum for Olympus's betrayal." Lucifer mused as he landed across from a recovering Matt, "Don't be your mum's pawn, Matthew. It has nothing to do with you."

"Nothing to do with me?" Matt said as his hair and eyes began to glow, "It has everything to do with me!"

Calling his sword to his hand and he charged forward.

Bringing his sword down, but his attack was blocked by a golden ornate cane that suddenly appeared in Lucifer's hand. He easily overpower Matt in the blade-lock before knocking him back with a single strike.

Watching Matt slide back over the ground, Lucifer was approaching but stopped in his tracks when Percy and Annabeth, both with their weapons, stood in his way.

But all this earned was an rather amused smirk on his face.

"You know, it's really cute coming to your friend's defense and thinking that you're going to defeat me with the power of friendship." Lucifer said rather casually, "But again, I am the Devil from the Bible. So I don't know how that's going to work."

"Perhaps not. Maybe you are too much." Annabeth said, trying to sound a lot braver than she was feeling as she stared down the root of all evil, "Even if we can't defeat you, you'll be damn..."

"Shut up, I don't care." Lucifer said annoyed, leaning on his cane as he held up a hand, "I do not care!"

Percy charged at Lucifer, he swung his sword down diagonally only to have Riptide bounce off Lucifer's cane. Knocked off balance, Percy was thrown off his feet with a swipe from the cane, before he was send flying through the air with a simple gesture.

"I can see you." Lucifer said, lazily reaching around and grabbing something out of the air. He raised his arm before using his cane to flick Annabeth's invisibility cap off, revealing the blonde girl being lifted by her sword arm.

Annabeth was then casually thrown aside, where she landed next to Percy, who had came down close to Matt. The trio sat back up, as the Devil turned around to face them.

"Back off!" Matt growled as he was the first to his feet, "He's mine."

His tone of voice startled both Percy and Annabeth, but before they could react, Lucifer send them back to the crowd that started to gather with a simple gesture of his hand.

"You heard the boy." Lucifer said turning to the centaur, "No worries, Chiron. I won't inflict any harm to your student that he won't recover from."

With him distracted, Matt charged back in only to have Lucifer simply not be there when he struck. With one quick and powerful strike, Matt's weapon was knocked out of his hand, before he was send into the ground by a powerful kick.

While Matt laid doubled-over from the impact, Lucifer lazily walked over to him, "Let this be a lesson for you boy." the Devil said.

Transforming his sword into his Gauntlets, Matt went back in for a strike only to have it bounce off the cane.

Dropping into his fighting stance, Matt went for his preferred quick and powerful strikes, switching from Gauntlets to his sword to mix it up and maybe trip Lucifer up, but the Devil had returned to easily side-step each of his strikes.

"Feeling accepting yet?" Matt said as his sword clashed against Lucifer's cane as he struggled to overpower his opponent, who seemed to be exerting no effort at all.

"Of your strength?" Lucifer said casually, "Or your existence?"

"Both, you asshole!" Matt shouted.

"Ah, I knew it. Daddy issues! Why didn't you say so!" Lucifer said with a smirk, "I invented them!" before taking the blow and riposted.

Lucifer twirled his cane and blocked a slash, and side-stepping another strike. Matt attacked once more and unleashing a sudden flurry of attacks. Matt battled with a combination of weapon swings and blows from his fists and feet. But Lucifer was putting no effort into the fight and he was still dominating.

"You leave yourself open with every swing. You fight like someone unafraid of harm, thinking yourself invincible." Lucifer noted, "Stop holding back, or you will get yourself killed."

"I'm not holding back!" Matt shouted just before his fist was caught in Lucifer's outstretched hand.

"Yes, you are." Lucifer told him, throwing him up in the air.

The Devil used his overbearing strength and speed to unsheath a long, thin, blue bladed sword hidden in his cane, stabbing Matt through the side, left chest and left tight before resheath it again, looking as if this movement took him less than a fraction of a second.

Had he not stayed his hand and had his intention been to kill, had he gone any deeper than just the tip of his sword to inflict superficial wounds, Matt would have been finished.

"If you don't stop holding back, your going to die. Don't think, act. If you don't, you will be nothing but deadweight." Lucifer told him as Matt laid on the ground, "All you have is anger and hate, which are great motivators, but they are a double edge sword. You need a different type of motivation."

"What are you doing, Hauer!?" Clarisse shouted from the crowd, "You killed Ares! Only I am allowed to defeat you! So you better not lose to this posh prick!"

"If your so powerful..." Matt growled, forcing the pain aside, "Then why aren't you stopping Kronos and his forces?"

"I could easily do that, yes. But my question is, what's in it for me?" Lucifer said, "Honestly what would I get if I marched up to the Princess Andromeda and wipe if off the face of existence?"

"You never done anything out of the sheer generosity?" Matt said.

"I have done favors on the house before. Like how I helped my father-in-law out of his predicament with Gaunter O'Dimm." Lucifer said casually, "Though my wife wouldn't have appreciated if I had let her dad's soul be taken. So you could argue that was also self-serving."

"Okay then, how about you help out not because it's the right thing to do." Matt said, "But because if Luke succeeds, the world will end."

"A World will end." Lucifer corrected him, "But perhaps its a good thing, that this sorry excuse for a civilization finally ends."

Anger rising at the attitude Lucifer took, especially since he had all the power needed to help solve the current crisis and instead of helping, he did nothing. Matt charged forward and dives to end the battle, he send a large burst of white flames towards Lucifer who counters with a stream of his own flames but his where black in color with traces of silver intertwined.

"Tell me, Matthew." Lucifer said, "Why do you even want to save the world?"

"Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it!" Matt shouted as he sends two more blasts but Lucifer evades each before he slash Matt's weapon out of his hand and knocking him to the ground.

Before Matt could recover, he felt a leather shoe pressing on his back, pinning him down.

"Currently your not even a quarter of the God Hunter Kassandra was. I know you're thirsting for vengeance, Matthew. But you'll only stand a chance if you're out for love." Lucifer told him, "Think of who you care about, of who's your reason to live. Then fuel yourself with the fear of losing that somebody. Harness your heart, turn it into power and you might actually survive."

Laying down on the ground, when Lucifer removed his shoe from his chest, it was then that Matt realized, this had not been a real fight, but an effortless display of skill on Lucifer's part. He had been fighting against an opponent he had no chance of winning against, against someone who hadn't put any effort in and still stomped him.

Lucifer producing a card out of thin air before handing it to Matt, who saw that it had an address written on it. The blonde Devil didn't explain further before turning to Chiron, "It was good seeing you again, old friend." he said honestly, "But unfortunately the time of farewells has arrived."

Matt sat up as he watched Lucifer exchange a few more words with Chiron, shaking hands with him before he turned back to give Matt one last look.

"I will be watching your career with great interest." Lucifer told him before he stood back and a pair of long beautiful white feathered wings spread from his back, there seemed to be some ethereal glow coming from them, "Oh and Matthew, you might want to be careful with those flames. Because it's not fire. It's actually a force of pure destruction, which happens to look like flames."

Finally he turned to Percy and Annabeth, who where standing at the edge of the circle of campers. "Be well heroes, because it isn't going to get easier." Lucifer said, to those of who gave him a tour, "You have my thanks... and my sympathies."

And just like that, Lucifer had disappeared as if he had never been there.

"Matt?"

Percy and Annabeth were kneeling next to him, looking if he was okay. While Lucifer hadn't inflicted any lasting wounds, what he did was give Matt a mental beatdown. He shook his head before standing up and heading back to Cabin Two as he realized the gods had a good reason to be afraid of the Devil.

For the next few days, Matt wasn't in the zone, so he opted to sit out the chariot race, but he was happy Annabeth to have team up with Percy.

The morning after the chariot race, which had been won by the team of Percy and Annabeth, Grover announced that he'd be able to spend the rest of the summer with them before resuming his quest for Pan.

His bosses at the Council of Cloven Elders were so impressed that he hadn't gotten himself killed and had cleared the way for future searchers, that they granted him a two-month furlough and a new set of reed pipes.

The only bad news: Grover insisted on playing those pipes all afternoon long, and his musical skills hadn't improved much. He played 'YMCA', and the strawberry plants started going crazy, wrapping around their feet like they were trying to strangle them.

One couldn't blame them.

Later on during archery class, Chiron pulled Percy aside and told him the problems with Midtown. The school no longer blamed him for destroying their gymnasium. The police were no longer looking for him.

"How did you manage that?" he asked.

Chiron's eyes twinkled. "Jack Hauer convinced them they saw something different." he said, "A simple furnace explosion that was not your fault."

"And they just bought it?"

"Jack is a very convincing man." Chiron said, "I might also manipulated the Mist a bit."

As for Tyson, the campers treated him like a hero, but that evening, as they were sitting on a sand dune overlooking the Long Island Sound, he made an announcement that completely took everyone by surprise.

He had received a dream from Poseidon, asking him to visit for the rest of summer and learn to work at Cyclopes' forges for an internship.

He left the very same day he had announced it. Percy and Matt saw their friend off, Rainbow, the hippocampus, came out of the waves and the two rode off together into the realm of Poseidon.

"Hey, Matt?"

"Hey, Percy."

"How are you doing?" Percy said, "I mean, lately you haven't really been... Well you."

"I don't know. I feel angry, sad, but mostly I feel disappointed." Matt admitted, "When your adopted, you always look for people who look similar to you... Hera knew I existed but made no attempt to contact me. I thought maybe my bio dad just didn't know he got her pregnant, I had hoped he would be different from her... But then I found out he has a family of his own, one without me... He wouldn't even recognize me as his child, at least Hera did claim me."

As he let out a mirthless laugh, he turned around to head back to camp, "I guess it's true what they say, there are times a birth parent is a dud." Matt muttered, "The family you choose is better."

A storm raged that night, but it parted around Camp Half-Blood as storms usually did. Lightning flashed against the horizon, waves pounded the shore, but not a drop fell in the valley.

Matt was woken roughly from his sleep, there was a banging on the door. Percy flew inside without waiting for permission.

"Matt!" he said, "On the hill... Grover said..."

The look in his eyes told him something was terribly wrong. Annabeth had been on guard duty that night, protecting the Fleece. If something had happened.

He might have lost to the Devil, but even that wouldn't hold him back from protecting his friends.

Matt ripped off the covers, not bothering to put on a shirt, wearing only a pair of black sweat pants as he sprint past Percy and Grover.

He ran outside and raced across the central yard, Percy and Grover right behind him. Dawn was just breaking, but the whole camp seemed to be stirring. Word was spreading. Something huge had happened. A few campers were already making their way toward the hill, satyrs and nymphs and heroes in a weird mix of armor and pajamas.

In no time at all, Matt ran up Half-Blood Hill, where a small crowd had started to gather.

The Fleece wasn't missing from the pine tree, but it was still there, glittering in the first light of dawn. The storm had broken and the sky was blood red.

Matt pushed everyone out of his way. There at the base of the tree, a girl was lying unconscious. Another girl in Greek armor was kneeling next to her.

The tree itself looked perfectly fine, whole and healthy, suffused with the essence of the Golden Fleece.

Matt let out a sigh of relieve when he realized Annabeth wasn't the one lying on the ground. She was the one in armor, kneeling next to the unconscious girl. When Annabeth saw him, she ran up to him. "It... She... just suddenly there..."

Her eyes were streaming with tears, but Matt still didn't understand. He pulled her into an embrace, patting her on the back before he walked towards the unconscious girl.

Matt knelt by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth. A black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands, none of which he had ever heard of.

He didn't recognize her from any of the cabins, and yet he had the strangest feeling they had met somewhere before.

Very clever of Kronos.

"What are you talking about, Ash?" Matt thought with a side glance.

Do you need me to explain? Fine then.

Kronos got Luke to poison Thalia's tree, which protects Camp Half-Blood and can only be cured by the Golden Fleece. There are three possible outcome for this plan, and all of these Scenario's help Kronos in some way.

Scenario one, the heroes fail to find the Fleece. Then the barrier is gone and Kronos' forces are free to raid Camp Half-Blood, killing many of his enemies.

Scenario two, the heroes find the Fleece and then Luke steals it. Then he can use it to bring back Kronos, allowing him to destroy the Olympus and Western civilization.

Scenario three, the heroes find the Fleece and Luke fails to steal it, so they bring it to Camp Half-Blood and cure the tree. Then they also accidentally resurrect a possible pawn for him, making Kronos' win more likely.

"You sound like your almost admiring him."

What can I say? I can appreciate the genius of a gambit like this.

Nobody else came close to the girl. Matt put a hand on her forehead, her skin was cold, but his fingertips tingled as if they were burning. She was clearly a half-blood, whether she was a camper or not. He could sense the raw power in her. What he didn't understand was why everyone was acting so scared.

Matt took her by the shoulders and lifted her into sitting position, resting her head on his shoulder.

No one moved, they were all too stunned.

Then the girl took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes, her irises were startlingly electric blue.

The girl stared at Matt's intense amber eyes, she seemed captivated by them. "Who..."

"The name is Matt." he said with a reassuring smile, "Your safe."

"I've seen you... in my dreams." she muttered, "You had more clothes on..." tracing a hand over his abs.

"R-Right..." Matt said, feeling his cheeks heat up, "W-What's your name?"

At this point, Percy and Grover had caught up along with Chiron, each were too shocked, thinking about what it might mean for the future.

"I am Thalia." the girl said, "Daughter of Zeus."

Jack was standing in the kitchen of his house, he filled two mugs with Corsican pear spice tea as he watched Sally Jackson, who was on the phone with her son.

"Don't promise me that, Percy!" Sally said, "You know very well it will only get worse."

She tried to sound casual about it, but it was easy to tell, even to those without detective intuition that she was pretty shaken up.

"No, no. Stay at camp. Train. Do what you need to do." Sally said, "But you will come home for the next school year? Great. I'll see you soon."

She hung up and she let out a relieved sigh, before Jack came out of the kitchen with the two mugs as he joined her in the living room.

"What did I tell you?" Jack said with a smile, "Things will work out, they always do." putting the two mugs on the coffee table.

"I know, I know." Sally said as the two sat down.

Just when the two got comfortable on the sofa and enjoy the fresh made tea, the door bell rang.

"There is always something." Jack muttered. Getting up, he went to answer it and when he opened the front door, he was in for quite a surprise.

Standing on his porch, a tall man, finely dressed, stood with his back to the door.

"It seems I owe you an apology." the man spoke with his signature British accent, "I've always heard it impolite to keep one's friends waiting."

Jack got a smile on his face when the visitor turned around and revealed himself to be the old family friend.

"Well look who decided to show up." Jack said as the two shook hands, "It's good to see you, Lucifer."

"Same to you, Jack." Lucifer said as he followed him inside. The tall blonde came to a stop when he spotted Sally sitting on the couch, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not interrupting, am I?" he added with a knowing smirk.

"What? Oh no." Jack said gesturing to his visitor, "Sally, this is Lucifer Lux. The old family friend I mentioned."

"Oh, so this is him." Sally said as she introduced herself, "It's nice to put a face to the stories Jack told me about you."

"Only positive things, I hope." Lucifer said with a laugh, "Is that Corsican pear spice tea I'm smelling?"

"Just made a fresh batch." Jack said, "Want a mug?"

"If your offering." Lucifer said as he studied the living room, seeing how it had changed since the last time he had visited.

The photographs on the mantelpiece showed a younger Matt Hauer riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a video game with his father, and being hugged by his dad after he won his first kickboxing tournament.

"Interesting." Lucifer noted.

"So... Lucifer Lux." Sally said suddenly, getting his attention, "Is that something of a stage name?"

"If only." Lucifer said amused, "It's God given, I'm afraid."

A few big reveals in this chapter, along with some ship teasing, hope you enjoyed.

And another book down, many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite, or follows this story.

Take care of yourself, get some rest, drink plenty of water, and I will see you people next time when we enter Book 3.