Chapter Text
His Dad finds him as soon as things calm down even a little.
Most of the Olympians hadn’t stayed after seeing the situation. Athena had taken a moment to glare at him briefly before vanishing. Which told him she probably knew of his involvement in Annabeth’s death. Hermes had only stayed long enough to see the fates take Luke’s body away, and then he had been gone too. Hephaestus had grumbled something about having to rebuild and time crunches.
But no one had exactly lingered until his Dad had shown up.
“Are you alright? Are you injured at all?”
Percy shook his head quickly at the question. “No, I’m fine.”
Well, emotionally spent and wanted to sleep for a week. But other than that, fine. Though that might be the adrenaline talking since he's sure the emotional crash is going to come later. The benefit of having the Achilles curse means he can't get injured. But that doesn't protect him from, well... everything else.
“I would rather have you looked over by a healer when we have a moment, considering I am learning how much was kept from me.”
Percy would retort that he didn’t do that on purpose. But he actually kind of did? Years of hiding Gabe’s abuse meant he knew better than to tell people when he was injured or in pain. So even before he had the curse, he had learned to patch himself up.
So his Dad did have a point even if he didn’t want to entirely admit it. Since he didn’t think a trip to the healers was going to be all that simple.
“I do have the Achilles curse now.” He reminded him. So it was technically not possible to get hurt unless someone found his mortal point.
“I know, and I know that means you cannot be armed, but I still would like to check for what was missed before. Since some questions are now arising about how Chiron’s been behaving apparently. This isn’t just about these past few days.” Oh. “But for now go rest up in my temple. If my brother decides to push for anything to be done sooner for some reason, I will deal with him.”
“Am I even allowed in there?” He muttered.
Arguably the last time he had been in his Dad’s private space. He had yelled at Triton (even if he didn’t regret that. The comments from the God had been uncalled for.). And he hadn’t even technically met Amphitrite, but he doubted he had left a good impression on his stepmother by yelling at her son on their first meeting.
And then he had helped blow up the entrance to Olympus. And while that was an unfortunate necessary cost to save the war.
He doesn’t think he’s any Gods favorite person right now, considering what he had helped plan with the Empire State Building. Except for maybe Hades since he had lowered the potential death count.
But he also beat Hades in a one-on-one fight. And the last time that happened, the God ended up hating him. So probably not his favorite person either.
He wouldn’t be surprised if he was banned from both Atlantis and any place associated with that after the stunt. He had been banned arguably for less.
“You are. Your…speech to Triton brought to light some issues we were not made aware of. That we should have been aware of even with us being occupied with the war.”
“Then why weren’t you?” He’s too tired after several days of fighting to go off a second time. But he really doesn’t understand how caught off guard they had been by the rant. Some of it he got since he definitely had let slip some things he hadn’t meant to.
But others?
The amount of missions he had been running the past year, his involvement in the Battle of the Labyrinth- just how did they seem to have so much wrong?
“Because I was relying on someone who apparently should not be trusted. To keep me apprised of what was going on with you. And for that I do owe you an apology for many things, but allowing that situation to stew is one of them.”
His Dad gives him a pat on the shoulder, but Percy notices he’s not really looking at him but someone behind him. Following his Dad’s gaze, he realizes he’s staring at Chiron?
Chiron wouldn’t have withheld information from his Dad, would he?
It’s one thing with him; he’s just a demigod. He’s used to Chiron not telling him things. It happens all the time. He’s pretty sure Chiron only told him the Great Prophecy finally because they were out of time.
But his Dad’s a God; that is a totally different thing, right?
Except…there were things that only made a bit of sense if Chiron never said something. His Dad still thinking Luke was his friend after at least two different attempted murders being one. Because if Chiron had never told him about that…
Then that would explain the comment.
But that wasn’t the only thing he had to worry about.
“The dead-” He couldn’t just quite go back to his Dad’s temple yet.
There were still bodies that needed to be found. Campers who needed funerals. Annabeth, he knows that it's not impossible to survive a building collapse. But he doesn’t think his odds will be quite in their favor. He needs to help look.
“There is currently an active mission to recover the bodies and start their rite preparations.”
Something about the way his Dad said that confused him. It sounded like there was more to it than what Chiron had them doing. But why would Chiron do something like that?
It was one thing to play favorites. It was one thing to have dangerous ideas on how mortals were like in the modern age.
It was another thing entirely to mess with someone’s funeral.
His Dad gave his shoulder a squeeze. “You’ve done more than enough, Perseus. Let others handle the rest for once. This should not be your responsibility.”
The first time he is awake again. His dad, as promised, drags him to see Apollo in his temple.
Percy tries to protest the whole thing a second time. Since there definitely had to be other people who needed to be looked at. And he really was fine thanks to the Achilles curse.
He didn’t need to be seen by Apollo.
There’s nothing that the God could actually heal him of. This feels way over the top in his opinion.
But his Dad wasn’t taking no for an answer. Telling him that there were questions that could only be answered by seeing the other God. Questions about how Chiron handled things before the war had gone into full swing.
Which didn’t make much sense to Percy at this point. He had taken care of him when he needed to, right? So there wasn’t much to be really concerned about there, right?
Chiron's teaching was a problem, admittedly. And had definitely played a role in Annabeth losing her life. But he didn't understand why they needed to understand what Chiron had been doing with him. Weren't there others who were more important to talk to about this?
(Never mind the time he had been left on the ground after the hellhound attack. And it had only been Annabeth intervening that probably had saved his life.
Or any other number of times Chiron probably should have done something and never said anything.
The Apollo kids he could kind of understand. They didn’t know how he worked. They probably just assumed that the water fixed everything. So he never had been mad at them for maybe taking a second look.
Chiron, though, as much as he wants to deny it…would have known better after the pit scorpion. That he probably should be looked at after certain incidents, like with Thalia’s spear. But he never had.
He only intervened when absolutely necessary.
And that had been rare.
Which wasn't great, but it wasn't like he hadn't been doing that from the minute Gabe had shown his true colors.)
And truthfully, it's not entirely about everything with Chiron that makes him want to protest the whole thing. It’s also that he really would rather not have people find out what happened with Gabe.
He’s not even sure why at this point, to be honest. The man is dead and can’t do anything to him or his Mom.
Maybe it was just a habit at this point?
He wasn’t used to asking for help. He knew how to ask for it with others. With his Mom or friends especially? That was easy.
But him, personally?
He had always struggled with that. Growing up with Gabe meant if you tried to ask for anything, it would end in pain. And his teachers most of the time couldn’t be bothered to give him the time of day, let alone help.
Paul had been the exception to the rule so far. And some days, even after his Mom had married him, he still worried that something might change.
Because while Gabe had never been this good of an actor. He had managed to act like a much better person for a while before the mask had dropped.
So Percy had just learned to keep quiet about it. Because he knew better than to tell anyone.
And that had carried over to everything with camp. Because he had been patching himself up for so long. He didn’t know how to ask for help when something happened.
“I was never told what to do. I just kinda learned to patch myself up after first with everything with Gabe. And it just carried over since Chiron never said anything. And I wasn’t sure what to say to you, kids.”
Apollo frowned at that. “You shouldn’t have had to say anything. Chiron should have been teaching my children to check regardless.”
Percy just shrugged at that. “I don’t know what to say. I think someone took one look at my water healing powers and assumed things. I was always either only treated by Chiron or not at all in my experience.”
“Apollo-” His Dad begins with a growl.
“I will be having a conversation with them later after things have calmed down. I am blaming Chiron, at least in part, for this since this is not how you are supposed to handle fellow demigods, regardless of their powers. But that can only account for part of this. Though it needs to be addressed since this foolishness could have cost other demigods their lives.”
“How do we know it didn’t?” Percy asks. He hates to ask the question, but it’s a real one now that it’s in his head. “‘Cause like who knows how long Chiron’s been teaching like that. I might not be the only one who suffered that choice.”
He couldn’t be the first kid to have weird healing powers at camp right? So logically…you had to think if Chiron was teaching this way for maybe a while…
Then he wasn’t the first victim of the mentality.
“Chiron’s mentality definitely cost Annabeth hers.”
“Because the idea of ‘do not hurt mortals’ was the reason she went into a live-wired zone,” Apollo said.
“Yeah, at least in part. I know some part of her was still hoping to save Luke, though I don’t understand how.”
“Even if somehow he had managed to regain control for periods. It was only a matter of time before Father got complete control of the situation, and it led to the loss of Olympus. Her final choices were…questionable at best.”
He’s got a feeling that his Dad is curbing his words to be more polite. Since she was his friend. But had some more colorful words about what Annabeth chose to do.
Which he got.
Realizing Annabeth was willing to go so far to try and save Luke. To try and save some mortals, possibly. That she was willing to possibly sacrifice everything else, including the lives of everyone around her. Was hard to deal with.
Percy running into the rest of his Dad’s family in his temple. Just made him nervous, even if he knew it was probably going to happen.
Just because apparently he wasn’t in trouble with his Dad for his rant several days ago. Didn’t mean he wasn’t in trouble with the rest of his Dad’s family.
And after just having survived a battle. He wasn’t ready to deal with whatever extra spicy Triton had for him about how he had dealt with the battle. Especially when he knew some of it would involve how he roped their Dad in for the battle for the city.
Which he didn’t regret. It was the right choice. They had to stop Typhon somehow before he got near Olympus or even near Kronos. And they had even more problems.
But he’s not sure if the God will see it that way.
After all, it was his home that he had probably cost in the battle. He would probably be mad if the situation was reversed, if he was honest.
“I need to apologize for my comments a few days ago. While the extent of how much we were lied to is still unclear. It is clear that someone was intentionally keeping vital information from us about the goings-on of camp during the war.”
“It’s fine.”
It’s not entirely really, but at this point he’s too exhausted to drag this out. At least Triton had decided to apologize. Which was a lot more than what he had been expecting from the God.
He and Annabeth had never once addressed that comment before he had left to bathe in the Styx. They hadn’t talked at all until right before the battle had started.
And now she was dead, so unless he took a trip to the Underworld. He wouldn’t be having any more conversations with her.
“Besides, it's not like you were the only one to call me names that day.”
At least Triton was a stranger to him. He couldn’t give the same label to Annabeth. Who he had a couple of ideas about where that had come from. And some of them had nothing to do with fighting.
“Who else called you a coward?” There is a sharpness to Amphitrite’s tone that surprises him. He wasn’t expecting anyone else to take issue with it. He guesses this might have something to do with the fact that Chiron lied to them.
But he doesn’t have enough information really to know for sure. He certainly doesn’t know enough about them to know just how much they care.
Because sure, his Dad cared that Chiron had lied. But that doesn’t mean everyone else was going to care.
So he guesses that could be an indication of Chiron lying to more people. Except in the case of Annabeth, he is pretty sure that had nothing to do with it. She was probably the one who got told the most by Chiron.
“One of my friends, it doesn’t really matter anymore since she’s now a casualty of the war. We’ve been butting heads for a while now about things, and it came to a head. I don’t think it was entirely about the war.” Though it might have been. “Because Chiron actually likes her, so he does tell her stuff.”
Amphitrite pursed her lips. “...that is honestly a whole other concern. Since that implies he’s telling the truth to a demigod and lying to Gods.”
Which he was sorta suspecting already after the conversation with his Dad in the throne room. But something about hearing someone else say it brought the reality home.
“Besides, as weird as this probably is going to sound, I think I should be saying thank you.”
Triton just stares at him for a moment before saying. “I am afraid you completely lost me.”
Yeah, he kinda figured that might happen. Since Triton probably only knew a fraction of what had happened. And that was even before factoring in the thing that was Chiron apparently not telling everyone everything.
“Don’t get me wrong, some of the things said during your rant were uncalled for, and I do appreciate that apology. But after I left Atlantis, I started thinking about what happened and eventually realized that if we went into the battle Chiron had been teaching us, we weren’t going to make it very far.”
The Williamsburg Bridge had been a near disaster. And had only been contained because they had been nearby. He doesn’t want to think about what would have happened if they had kept the plan going.
If they had followed Chiron.
Everything with Annabeth…he hadn’t even tried to process yet. He couldn’t even begin to try and process yet. He knew they made the right choice. There was no other option. But when he had expected to lose Annabeth. He had never expected it to be like this.
“We were originally fighting by cabin because that’s how we were taught at camp, because that was what Chiron taught us. And just something about your comment made me think about the plans that Chiron was most involved in didn’t always go well. So I decided to regroup, which led to the actual plans that won us the war.”
There’s a slight pause after that before Amphitrite speaks. “There are multiple concerning things in that statement.”
“I am more trying to understand that choice in strategy. Athena is certainly known for making questionable choices at times. But even she would have realized the problems that would arise with putting all the long-range fighters together. I guess her daughter didn't inherit as much strategy as she thought she had.” Triton pointed out with a frown.
Percy blinked a bit, confused at the comment. Wondering, apparently, just what other history he’s missed between his immortal family and Athena. Since he doesn’t remember hearing anything that would allude to knowing how Athena planned.
But then again maybe his Dad told his family about these kinds of things? At the very least, he would think keeping Amphitrite appraised about this kind of thing would make sense.
But he also doesn’t know the inner workings of the council of the Gods. Let alone how his Dad functions at times.
It takes a minute before his Dad lets him out of the temple on his own to wander around. He’s not allowed to leave Olympus quite yet because there were some matters to attend to first.
But at least he was finally allowed some freedom to move around on his own.
Percy had been careful about where he went in Olympus. While he wanted to explore. He had a feeling a certain Goddess was out for blood over Annabeth’s death. So he had been actively avoiding going anywhere in Olympus that might be associated with her. Since he expected her to be upset over what had happened with Annabeth.
And he might have the curse of Achilles. But he wasn’t sure if that would actually protect him from a smiting if she was angry enough.
Unfortunately for him, Athena still manages to find him.
Most of the rant he doesn’t even really hear. He’s still not really processing Annabeth’s death if he’s being honest. It doesn’t feel real. And probably won’t until they eventually find her body. Probably won’t feel real until they light the funeral pyre.
It’s like when he thought his Mom was dead a few years ago. All he can feel right now is numb.
That is until Athena makes a comment that breaks through. “-of course I can’t expect a seachild to be able to come up with a plan that doesn’t-”
Percy doesn’t hear what else she says at that point since he has a strange roar in his ears. It was like a dam breaking. One minute he couldn’t feel anything about the situation. The next all he could feel was anger.
Clarisse had to make him press the button because he couldn’t do it. And she dared accuse him of wanting Annabeth dead?
“Do you think I wanted this?” Maybe snapping at the Goddess who can smite him is a bad idea. But he’s past the point of caring. “Do you think I wanted one of my only friends dead?”
“I-”
“I had people to lead, and I turned away because I couldn’t constantly look after her. Especially when she was already angry about the plan and that would have just made things worse. The next thing I know is that she’s on the radio and I can hear her begging Luke again to come back to her.”
He can’t even begin to describe the sheer horror he had felt hearing her voice over the radio. Knowing where she was and why she had to be doing it. And not being able to do anything without risking everything else.
“She was my best friend. If you want to blame someone, blame Luke. Blame Chiron for a lot of things, but starting with the whole thing of ‘don’t kill mortals’. Because that definitely made things worse. But me? I did everything I could to protect her, and I still failed because I was put in an impossible position.”
“Which is something that you were already told earlier.” Percy blinked in surprise, having not heard Triton arrive. Before the God walks up to the two of them, purposely placing himself slightly in front of Percy. “I would recommend you step away from my brother before I inform father that you are threatening him over a choice your daughter made.”
“Triton.” Was Percy imagining things, or did Athena seem weirdly nervous about Triton being here? Maybe it was because Triton was his Dad’s heir?
But then again, she was supposed to be an Olympian and one of Zeus’ favorites? So why would she be nervous about a supposedly minor god?
“We’ve already heard the testimony from the Ares girl about what actually happened that night. So you know exactly who is responsible here.” Huh, hadn’t known they had talked to Clarisse. But that made sense considering she was just as involved with what had happened. Though that made her comment about choosing to do it…interesting to say the least. “You can deny it all you want, but you have been told what happened. What your daughter chose to do.”
“I just do not understand why one of my children would choose to do this.”
“Because you weren’t there, you never saw what she was like. Annabeth was always in denial about how far Luke was gone after that winter solstice. I tried talking to her. I know Thalia tried talking to her about it. But she never accepted it.”
It had been the source of more than a few arguments between them over the last year and a half. He wasn’t sure what had happened in that week when she had been trapped on the mountain.
But it had been like a switch flipping. Before then she had thought Luke was gone and couldn’t be saved. After that? She constantly talked about it.
“I tried. I tried so hard to get her to see sense. Because I was terrified of what would happen when the war started to peak. I thought that she might get herself hurt. Though this was not what I imagined happening. Not in a million years.”
He would have figured out how to lock her in some room. Maybe somewhere up here on Olympus. If he had any clue that she was about to pull that stunt. Because an angry Annabeth he can deal with as long as she was alive.
He never thought she would put all of their lives and Olympus on the line. Because she had never accepted that Luke was gone.
“I think at this point my brother has given you more than a needed explanation on how he is not responsible for your daughter’s death. Since aren’t you supposed to be in a council meeting?”
Athena glares at him for a solid minute. Before she finally flashes away in a burst of flame.
“Thanks.” He says after a minute.
Triton shrugs his shoulders. “Father was worried about how she might react to her daughter’s death. So he had me watching you.”
“Yeah. I would say I could handle myself. But between the winter solstice first. And now what happened with Annabeth…”
It was obvious Athena hated him. Which he could live with, but he was tired of being the metaphorical punching bag for a God. Who wanted to blame him or go after him over things he couldn’t entirely control.
And he could understand that with Annabeth’s death. But it seemed like she had just hated him for existing and being around her even before then. Since seriously, he had helped save the bane of Olympus. Brought it to Olympus to make sure Bessie was protected. And her first thought was to threaten him?
It felt like there were ulterior motives here. But he honestly couldn’t think what the Goddess could have to gain from him dying. Since the war was happening no matter what happened.
Triton cringed at that before saying. “That might have had something to do with what information Chiron was giving us. Since I doubt we were the only ones who were given it.”
Oh right, because whatever bad information his Dad was given. Probably just hadn’t been limited to Atlantis, had it?
He doesn’t get why Chiron did it to begin with. But he guesses hopefully the Gods will figure it out.
Because he would really like some answers.
He hasn’t wandered far from the confrontation with Athena. Before he runs into Thalia.
"Haven't seen you in a hot minute."
“Dad’s been keeping me in the temple. Because he was worried about how Athena might react to Annabeth’s death.”
After all, while it hadn’t been him who had been able to fully press the button. Not after hearing Annabeth’s voice. It still had been his plan that had gotten her killed.
Guess he actually was a coward in the end. Because if he wasn’t, he would have never landed them in this situation. Annabeth would still be alive.
“You saved millions of lives.”
“You’re not angry with me?” He thought for sure if anyone besides Athena would be. It would be Thalia, considering how close the two had been.
“I’m upset. I’m upset at Chiron for getting that stupid idea in her head. I’m upset at Chiron for still thinking Luke could be saved and thus encouraging her. Since that definitely had a hand in what happened. But angry at you? No. I know after talking to Clarisse you didn’t even want to do it after you heard her on the radio.”
“No, I didn’t.” Which made him feel like a coward in a different fashion. He had been fine with it until suddenly it would kill someone he actually cared about.
He still felt like he should have found a way to save her. But he knew they had no time. And if he had sent someone else in, they risked losing two people to Kronos.
It had been an impossible choice to try and rescue her. It had physically hurt him in a way not to do anything. But if he had, then it would blow the top off their best plan to keep Olympus from being razed.
“Do we know why Chiron did all of that anyway?”
“No, but we’ll know the answer to that question soon enough, hopefully with that council meeting.
Poseidon had definitely been tempted to just take matters into their own hands at the start of this. After all, it was arguably his child who had been wronged the most by Chiron, based on what they knew.
It was his child that had been required to make an impossible choice. To kill an untold number of mortals to save more in the process. And had lost his friend because of said centaur’s choices.
(Since just because he was not a fan of Athena and her children. Did not mean that his child wasn’t allowed room to grieve that loss.
Even if he would never tell Perseus of the hidden relief over the connection being cut. Relationships of any kind between their children tended not to always end well for either party.
It was tragic that his son had been forced to lose a friend like this. That the girl had attempted to force the situation in such a manner.
He would need to make sure the girl was rewarded in some manner. Maybe some armor, or if she possibly connected with a Pegasus from his stable? A pegasus would be a personal choice, and if all else fails, there was the armor choice he supposed. Ares might have a better idea, and at the very least he most likely had his own idea for a gift that needed to be cross-referenced.
Since if the girl had actually been able to go through with the plan…well, he doesn’t want to think about how the story might have ended.)
Amphitrite had talked him down. Pointing out that the rest of the council needed to hear this. And that if other children had been harmed by the centaur. They deserved justice.
Not just his son.
(Even if he was the prophecy child and thus at the center of all of this.
Even if Poseidon felt his son’s justice was paramount compared to the others at the moment.)
But if Chiron’s punishment was not adequate enough. Then Poseidon would be taking matters into his own hands.
“Why did you tell my son that ‘heroes don’t kill mortals’?” He wanted to understand just where that attitude had come from. They had been talking about a few things so far that were highly questionable.
(The first test was supposed to have been banned. Since it was completely pointless and defeated the point of the camp, since how can you make sure it wasn’t applied again and again? How close had he been to losing his son because the centaur was stuck in his ways and didn’t seem to truly care about the children outside of a select few at this point.)
Mortals even in ancient times could be dangerous. But they usually had a more even playing field with their abilities.
Now in modern times? Poseidon had heard about modern weaponry. Telling the children to take a step back and not use their abilities to defend themselves out of some kind of self-righteousness would just get them killed if they hadn’t already.
Ares gives an amused snort. “Mortals aren’t like they were in ancient times. Where the worst weapon you could come up with was a sharpened sword. The right mortal with the right power can level a city block. And while most demigods will never encounter a mortal with that level of power. The point stands that this idea that they needed to be treated as some kind of innocent creature just puts demigods in harm's way.”
Ares would know more than anyone. That what mortals had come up to combat war had evolved over time. And he would have thought Chiron would have at least tried to keep up with it for his pupils' sake.
But apparently the children surviving dangerous mortals was in spite of the hero trainer. Not because of anything helpful he was doing that was part of his job.
“The kid made the hard call.” And as much as he still was salty over the fight. Doing so had earned him an iota of respect. Being raised around mortals and that kind of ideal from Chiron couldn’t have made the choice an easy one.
And yet he had still made it. Because contrary to what Chiron apparently thought. It was the right one.
Lives lost in war were always tragic. Especially innocent ones like the ones that had been killed during the bombings.
But anyone with actual common sense would have realized that he had saved more lives with that difficult decision. Then holding back like Chiron had apparently instructed the children to do.
“And the situation wasn’t even my son’s fault,” Poseidon said. “Father was the one who forced the situation with the time spell and the battle being in the city.”
As far as he felt, Chiron was responsible for the deaths here. Not his own child. And that was definitely some of his bias speaking. But he also felt that he was not the only person in the room who had to know that was true.
Chiron apparently, rather than respond to him, turns to another council member to try and get some support. “Lady Athena, I thought you would agree with me on this considering the loss-”
“Do not bring my daughter into this, Chiron. I hold you at least partly responsible for her death since you were the one to instill those values into her to begin with. And the other partly on the boy for getting her into that position to begin with.”
Oh, time had not tempered her anger. It had just redirected it away from the boy and to Chiron. Since she knew she would never be able to touch either of the children. Not when they had collectively saved Olympus and had people watching them like a hawk.
The best she could get was making sure the hero trainer who had done the damage was actually held to justice.
“But my lady, you said-”
“I meant grandfather's host. If you had treated the situation properly, then she would not have walked to her death out of an illusion that she could still save that boy. I have talked to my other children. I know what you were saying about him.”
“Though probably more mortals would have died if the mortals had been awake.”
Since more mortals would have been caught in the cross-fire. At least with them asleep, the casualties had been somewhat limited. The fight in terms of mortal losses could have been much, much worse.
“It might not meet your definition of saving lives. Since it's through such a narrow frame of viewing how the battle affected others.” Apollo decided to add. “But sometimes in order to save more, you have to ignore the ones that are already doomed to die anyway.”
“And it was a choice that ultimately preserved Olympus. Since Father could not reach the city with his actions. He was doing his part of the prophecy. Something that is important not just to us but to the world at large. And yet you seem to have taken issue with it, why?” Zeus asked.
It takes time for word to spread about what had happened with the council.
The ‘don’t kill mortals’ problem had, as it turned out, had just been the tip of the iceberg of problems Chiron had intentionally been causing. He still would have been in trouble if that was just what he had been doing.
After all, his advice had sent many abused children home to their deaths.
Percy could have easily been one of them if he had known Chiron for longer while Gabe was still alive. Instead, Percy, while he had always been careful about how he handled Gabe because fighting back meant more pain.
Had known from a very young age how dangerous mortals could be.
It was something before all of this he thought Annabeth understood at least to a degree. Since her home had been far from perfect and she had been a runaway before she had come to camp.
But if she had ever understood it, she had still managed to fall for Chiron’s teachings. The teachings meant to make them easier targets for Kronos, as it turned out.
Though technically Chiron had never answered when he had started following the Lord of Time. So it was impossible to know for sure that this had all been started just because of the fact that he had apparently grown resentful of his job.
And rather than ask to be returned to the stars. Had turned on the very students he had been supposed to be teaching.
Percy had never really felt like he understood adults. But now, after the war, after losing someone they were supposed to be able to trust. Someone who was supposed to train them (and yet had only done that to a handful of people)
Whose teachings had ultimately led to his friend’s death.
He feels like he understands them even less. Especially the immortal variety.
But the whole ‘mortals are innocent’ thing, as it turns out, wasn’t the only thing they had to unpack. Turns out Chiron had also been teaching a lot of things incorrectly about Ancient Greek culture.
Percy’s not surprised to find out they haven’t entirely been doing offerings wrong. That there were technically more to it. But the Gods hadn’t apparently pushed the topic since it had been like that for a while.
What does turn out to be an issue. Is the handling of the dead.
Percy’s known for a while that Chiron is no fan of Hades and the Underworld in general. That first summer at camp had shown that to him pretty clearly when he had jumped to the Hades is guilty conclusion first. And then the thing he had said about Nico that first winter…
In hindsight, considering how much Nico looked like his Dad. Chiron had definitely known who his Godly parent was and just not said anything.
But his beef with Hades didn’t turn out to be the biggest issue with the Underworld.
Turns out they had also been taught a lot incorrectly about funerals. What they had known about a funeral had been grossly simplified from what it was supposed to be. And certain key details had been left out.
(And not just minor details. Finding out their shroud is what would become their chiton in Elysium had caused some interesting reactions.
Clarisse had actually apologized to him about the shroud thing after they had found that out. He had honestly forgotten about the bedsheet shroud incident since it had been so long ago. And it hadn’t happened since.)
The funeral revelation had sparked a hunt to try and recover more bodies from their side. They had always been hunting before. But this had definitely driven the hunt further. And made Percy question again his choice to blow up the building and the bridges/tunnels.
He knows it's the right choice. That more people would have died if he hadn’t done that. But it’s also hard when he worries about those in the afterlife. Even if that wasn’t his responsibility.
But it had really hit home when they had eventually found Annabeth’s body. The war had cost him someone near and close to him, and that, along with the decision to set the bombs, would be something that would follow him for eternity.
It wasn’t just strangers who had died. It was friends, a very close one with Annabeth. All because of decisions made long before the war had ever begun.
All because Chiron had turned against the children he had said he would teach for immortality.
Percy hadn’t been sure what to expect when they got to him in terms of prizes. Really, he had no expectations about what might end up happening. He was so used to not being compensated for doing things.
The fact that they were being compensated for fighting in the war was actually an entirely new concept for him. It was nice to finally get some pay for all of the work they had done these past three years.
But how do you even respond to prizes for leading an army?
How do you respond for having to make the most difficult calls in your life?
Especially when it turns out for him the prize is immortality, or rather Godhood. Which was not something he had considered might be offered to anyone, let alone him.
It’s a great honor to be offered immortality. He realizes that much. But…he’s not anywhere near ready to accept this kind of gift.
But when he had been thinking what he might be offered when he had first heard about the prizes. A few different things had come to mind. But immortality had not been one of them.
So now he’s grappling with an idea he had never even considered. Because he never had considered he might be worthy of such a thing.
And then there was the issue of spending the last few years assuming he was going to die. He was just feeling like he might get to actually live. And he hadn’t even experienced that as a mortal.
Did he want that entire experience to be as a God?
No, he realizes. Or at the very least not yet.
He just hopes his rejection doesn’t earn him a smiting outright. Since he doesn’t think the Gods had probably considered him saying no to the offer. “I think right now I have to say no. Not that I’m not honored by the offer. But…I don’t think that this is a choice I can make quite yet. I need some time to process things after the battle before I make that kind of decision.”
Not a no, not a yes. Just a he needs to think about it. Because this was a lot to be asked at the age of 16.
Zeus frowns at him. But doesn’t outright smite him for saying no. So he takes that as a win. “What do you mean?”
Well, to him it was pretty simple. This was the kind of decision that was life-altering and permanent. And even if he hadn’t spent the last few years thinking he was going to die. He was still being asked to make it at 16.
That was a lot.
But he doesn’t think a God will understand that if he uses those words. So he’s going to have to try a different approach.
“I spent years thinking I saw my cord snipped by the fates. I only realized after the battle whose it actually was.” Luke’s. “Between that and the war, I haven’t really had a chance to just experience life as a mortal. If I am to become a God either by just ascending on my own or accepting the offer. I want a chance to live a little first.”
He doesn’t exactly expect the God King to understand. Even with Gods turned mortal it wasn’t the same thing. They had never been born mortal.
The closest to understanding he might get is from Dionysus. And he isn’t entirely sure the God will still understand. Because he also never saw his thread snipped.
He had spent the last four years living through a very unique set of circumstances. One that he is pretty sure most wouldn’t understand.
“I am not going to even try to understand those thoughts. But I will respect the choice.”
“Thank you.” And now for the request that could just about break all of the good faith he had managed to build in preserving Olympus. “That being said, there is one thing I would like to make a request of regardless of whatever happens with Godhood.”
Because it wouldn’t matter if he eventually became a God. If all of this just ended up happening a second time.
They needed to put preventative measures into place to make sure there would be no second demigod uprising. He needed to make sure that all the choices and sacrifices that were made in the last few days.
So his best friend’s death wasn’t completely for nothing.
So all of this meant something.
Returning to camp felt…weird.
With Chiron being returned to Khaos as punishment for what he had done over the years, let alone over the war. There had been a noticeable absence in the spot. And a noticeable absence in figuring out who to fill it.
Rumors were flying that it could be an old hero. Maybe one of the Gods that actually had an affiliation with demigods anyway. But nothing had actually been confirmed yet.
In the meantime, things moved on.
His Dad had insisted that he start seeing a therapist as soon as things calmed down even a bit. While the moments leading up to the crashout in Atlantis had been caused by Chiron not giving information. It also had been fed into by the fact he had never felt he could talk to anyone.
Any time he had tried it tended to end in disaster. Even when he was trying to just ask for help with something, as seen by his and Ananbeth’s last argument at camp.
For the first time, he was able to actually talk to someone. Without really having to worry about having to hold something back because it might end badly.
It feels good.
He can talk about everything that happened with Chiron and Annabeth without worrying about being judged. Which, after everything that happened with Annabeth by the Gods, he needs more than anything.
Even if he hadn’t fully realized it at first.
And because the therapist his Dad had found was based out of Atlantis. Since that was one of the few people his Dad trusted entirely with all of this. He was spending more time in Atlantis.
And less time with his Mom.
He…doesn’t know how to handle being around her after the war. She doesn’t know what happened in the war. She can never know what happened in the war. She can never know the choices he had to make because he knows if she does.
She’ll think he’s some kind of monster.
His Mom can never know what happened.
He had told her Annabeth had died in the war. But hadn’t told her exactly how she had died. Let her think whatever excuse she had come up with in her mind since no one outside the fight knew about the collapse of the bridges and the Empire State Building.
(He hadn’t spent time figuring out what excuse the Mist had come up with this time for the loss of life. Knowing his luck, it would somehow be tied to him since the Mist hated him that much.)
Or how he had asked the council to just not label her either way. Annabeth not dying as a hero would be a punishment in its own knowing her. And he hates to admit it, but what she had done was somewhat traitorous, even if it was pushed a lot by Chiron.
And he can only protect her so much even in death. She had nearly cost them the war. And that had to be acknowledged, as much as it pained him, that she still thought that way up to her death.
And because of everything with the war and Annabeth a gap between him and his Mom had been steadily growing since his 16th birthday had been slowly growing. He doesn’t exactly feel unwelcome in the apartment. But with everything that had happened- going on life-changing quests, fighting in a war.
Things just weren’t the same anymore.
Part of him feels guilty. But he is starting to feel more comfortable in Atlantis than at his Mom’s. Because at least there, while there are still things he hasn’t talked about. Partly out of just not wanting to talk about it. It doesn’t feel like he’s keeping something that, if someone finds out about it, will cause the entire situation to implode.
(Or at least he doesn’t think so. Things are…still awkward with the majority of his immortal family. Though there seems to be an effort being made to fix the mistakes and assumptions made during the war.
So things seem to be getting better at least.)
The good news is if things do end up imploding. The ‘must leave at 18’ rule has been lifted from camp as part of the post war/post Chiron being sentenced to Khaos changes. So he at least has somewhere to go that isn’t his Mom’s or Atlantis. Since that feels like a ticking time bomb there.
(Because when was she just going to end up asking the wrong question?
When was she going to end up asking about the missing people?
None of them wanted to bring it up. But she had to know either their side was behind it somehow. Or the other side was behind it. Or it was some combination of both.
And when that happened…)
And in the meantime he’s trying to figure out how living a somewhat normal life works. Which is hard because even when he had been away from camp things had never really been ‘normal’. Even now things weren’t really normal.
It just felt like he had a life ahead of himself. That didn’t involve a war for the first time in four years.
And Percy wanted to experience it as much as possible. Before something inevitably happened again, as it probably would.