Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

—

Percy was sure she was dying, she wasn’t sure what gave it away first, the gaping hole in her chest, or the amount of blood gushing across the floor of her home. Honestly, she wasn’t sure that it mattered anymore.

“I… don’t want… to die…” She found herself saying, rasping, the fact that she could still even speak was a miracle. In the end, she was still going to die, there was no way to heal a literal broken heart, and no way to replace the blood that she had lost.

Maybe she would be better off dead anyway, her mother was most certainly dead, and she wouldn’t have let her die alone if that wasn’t the case. She had just found out that Greek myths were real, all of them, gods, demigods, and monsters. That last little fact had come just a bit late , considering her current predicament.

She coughed, feeling even that little action sap away at what little life she had left. Percy was always one to say that death couldn’t be like people described it in the books, with the slow, creeping cold, and the declining vision. But now, as someone right at death’s, or Hades, doorstep, she couldn’t exactly argue with the description.

A blanket would have been nice.

“Do you wish to live?”

Percy couldn’t move to find the source of the small voice that spoke in her ears, not even her eyes wanted to move, and even then, her sight was steadily declining as the seconds ticked away. 

Percy grunted a wordless sound that failed to answer the question, and a soft sigh reached her ears. Not impatient sounding, but not lacking urgency either.

“You helped me once,” the voice continued, “Now, I would like to help you. So, I’ll ask again, do you wish to live?”

She struggled to answer, not because she was weighing her options, but rather due to the fact that her mother most likely no longer walked the earth and that she would continue to walk if she took this offer. For a moment, it made her want to say no , but in the end, she knew what her mother would say if she showed up with her before her time had come. If an offer like this was on the table, then her mother would tell her to take it.

‘You helped me once…’  

She had no idea who the voice belonged to, and from this moment onward, she would no longer care, not when she could feel the weight that was carried by those words. Not when she could live, and certainly not when she could still make her mother proud.

“...Yes.” Percy rasped, her voice and vision almost completely having left her now, now, on her way to the abyss of the afterlife, the voice spoke once more.

“Good, now, I’ll give you my heart,” her vision was completely gone now, yet she didn’t panic, not with the soft voice that spoke into her ear like an old friend, “and in exchange…”

“Show me your dreams.”

—

3 years later

—

“Duck!”

Percy didn’t hesitate, heeding the words that were directed toward her, and followed suit. Narrowly avoiding the spear that flew over her head, almost catching her hair as she moved, and scrambled back to a safe distance.

“Thanks for the save!” Percy called out to Zoe as she readied her sword once more, even if she knew blocking any attack from the titan with it was a futile effort.

“Just focus on the fight,” Zoe grunted from somewhere behind her, two more arrows whistling by her ear as Atlas made his advance, slowly, menacingly, like he knew that there was no way for them to beat him.

He swatted the arrows away, effortlessly, and laughed.

“If you have any more tricks, daughter of Poseidon, now would be the time to reveal them,” The hunter hissed at her, and for once, Percy wished she wasn’t hiding something up her sleeve. It would certainly make her job easier.

But you are… you are hiding something. Something that could save everyone’s life.

‘Or kill everyone around me’ she thought, a grimace emerging on her face in response. Maybe she had forgotten one small, little, tiny thing. 

But she knew what she could do, she knew what she might do, and she wanted no part of it. Percy never wanted to think back on that day, and the ones that followed, there were no good memories there, and even less good experiences. The only thing it had taught her was one thing; Gods and Monsters existed, that much was true.

But in turn, so did Devils.

If the cost of winning was to sink to those depths, then she wasn’t sure if she would, or even could , and even then… she wasn’t sure if such a thing was even within her control, now, or back then.

Her moment of thought distracted her long enough for Atlas to close the gap, and for just long enough that she couldn’t defend herself, and in that opening, Atlas struck at her like she was a baseball. Needless to say, she went flying through the air, only stopping when she hit a pillar that sat across the entire temple.

She was pretty sure she heard someone scream her name before she lost consciousness, but with Thalia occupied, and Zoe fighting Atlas, now one-on-one, she wasn’t sure who else would bother to call out for her.

The only thought she had following that, and before she lost consciousness, as if her life being saved all that time ago was just–

One.

Big.

Fluke.

Was she going to die?

…

No.

No, she wasn’t. 

She wasn’t going to let herself die, she didn’t go through two summers of hell, make new friends, find new family , and fight for her new life, just to throw it all away because she was afraid.  

To hell with that!

She made a promise, an exchange, a bargain. Percy would keep her end of the bargain, even if she didn't know who she made it with. She would keep the bargain, she would live, and fulfill her dreams.

That was her vow.

—

In the waking world, Artemis watched the losing battle from underneath the weight of the sky. Watching, because that was all she could do now, as her lieutenant lost ground against her father, and as Thalia went back and forth with the Son of Hermes. She should have been winning, easily, against him, but all her blows lacked conviction. The conviction to beat him, to kill him, and thus, her fangs fell short of taking his throat.

The worst of it all, however, was that the, possibly, strongest demigod there was now out of commission. She certainly wasn’t dead, no, getting flung into a pillar had to hurt, but she certainly wasn’t dead from that.

Her theory was only proved when the girl’s hand began to move toward her shoulder; the rest of her body, however, was still slack. Her head was not lifted, and it was almost like she wasn’t breathing either, that’s how still the rest of her body was. And for a moment, Artemis felt a chill roll down her spine, watching as the girl moved like a possessed marionette. 

Slowly, her hand pulled up the sleeve of her shirt, pushing it aside to reveal something rather peculiar. A cord, one that you would usually see on a piece of machinery, not on a person. In fact, she wasn’t sure what such a thing was even doing there.

But as two of her fingers wrapped around it, and her arm tensed, Artemis shivered. She could feel it before she knew what was coming. The feeling of bloodlust in the air, the feeling of ever-impending doom. And it seemed everyone else could feel it too, judging by the way all other noise seemed to cease.

For whatever reason, Atlas stopped fighting his daughter, and instead aimed himself at the daughter of Poseidon. His spear came dangerously close to her head as she pulled the cord to its full length.

And just like that, with a bloodcurdling scream, one that seemingly sent Atlas skidding away from her, they all knew something was coming. The scream itself had kicked up large amounts of debris, rocks and dirt, creating a veil between her and the rest of them.

For a moment, no one moved, and no sound was made. 

But then they heard it, the sound of machines whirring to life. The sounds of engines revving, and the sound of metallic teeth spinning to life. The dust was parted by a large gust of wind, and there, stood in the crater made by the roar, stood Percy Jackson.

But she was different, no, that wasn't an apt word.

She was terrifying.

A helmet was covering her head, rust red with blue motifs along the visor where her eyes should be, but was instead home to glowing yellow orbs. And from that, spun a chainsaw, emerging straight from her forehead. 

As if that wasn’t enough, her arms had split down the middle , revealing two more chainsaws that spun, sending blood and bits of flesh everywhere, with bits of machinery and iron covering the rest of her body.

For a moment, Percy, if that was even still her, didn’t move, only took in heavy breaths. Slowly, but surely, however, she turned to Atlas. Her yellow orbs seemed to burn brighter, and as she spoke, the roar of anger and blood spilled forth.

“I’m gonna tear you apart!”

With a single step, the ground beneath Percy cracked, and another cracked it even further. So on, and so forth, until her meager steps became wide strides, which quickly gave way to a stumbling run that eclipsed the demigods' earlier speed.

With one last roar, the girl jumped into the air, over the titan’s head, and cut through his shoulder with ease. Unluckily for Percy, however, was that the cut was extremely shallow, not even enough to expose the bone. It did, however, leave nasty chunks of flesh and blood hanging from the open cut.

The titan clutched at his shoulder, barely biting back a yowl of shock, this was the first time in… he couldn’t even remember how long since he had last been cut.  

Everyone was watching with rapt attention, none missing the way the chainsaws that emerged from her body began to increase their speed after the cut had been made. Percy herself was as still as a statue, despite the enemy in front of her.

“Don’t tell me you’re already scared,” Percy grumbled, the sound of grating metal mixing in with her normally softer voice, “I haven’t even begun to exert myself yet.”

Atlas, clutching at the wound dealt to his right shoulder, grimaced, “What kind of monster are you? I know you are of the sea, I can smell it! But this is no power that any demigod— no, a power no being should have!”

Percy cocked her head to the side, an odd look with her appearance being the way it was at the moment. When she spoke, with no idea what possessed her to say it, everyone could hear the anger tinging her words.

“I am what the Greek world made me to be!” she hefted her left arm level with the titan’s chest, “You call me a monster? No, I’m a devil!”

Percy stepped forward once more, blurring in an unnatural way that made following her with a human eye relatively impossible, but Artemis, and by extension, Atlas, were not limited to human senses. As such, Atlas was able to prepare a guard this time, his spear snapping to his defence as the ripping teeth were brought down upon it, grinding against the metal shaft with enough force to push him back a single step.

Such a thing would not do.

Pulling one arm back, and leaving the other in place, he rammed the butt of the spear into the stomach of the filthy mutation. While it elicited a quiet grunt from her, it did nothing to actually deter her, and Atlas once again found himself backpedaling.

It was a dance, a dance of blades and teeth. A tight dance that left no room for improv, no room for missteps, and certainly not any room for lost time. For each dodge was followed with a swift sweep of churning metal. Each sweep promised the stench of metal, rotting and overpowering, while it hung so close to his body.

All the while, no one else moved to interfere, whether this was due to fear of being caught up in the blades of this girl, or if it was due to their own adrenaline wearing off, Atlas didn’t care. But it did provide him with one insight:

No one would help her.

Just a few more seconds, a few more seconds was all he needed. He could see the blades slowing down, for what reason didn’t matter to him, but an advantage was always something he could–

There.

His calculating eyes, despite the situation, took note of her swings. Their basic form, the rage that simmered behind those glowing orbs, the oceans of hate that were withheld behind each strike.

And that was exactly why she would lose this fight.

With one last swing allowed to pass, Atlas stepped to the side and lifted his knee into her midsection. Fracturing what had to be multiple ribs, and knocking all of the wind out of her body, but she still didn’t go down.

“You damn cockroach!” He found himself bellowing as he brought a fist down on the back of her head, spear completely discarded at this point, and watching with twisted satisfaction as the girl finally went down.

There was a yell, and he was briefly aware of the godling and the child of Hermes resuming their own fight. At the moment, however, it mattered little to him. What mattered more was the one in front of him, the one he had driven to her knees, or rather, to death’s door.

“A pity,” he said as he crouched down by her limp form, careful to avoid the lazily spinning saws, ‘All this horrible power , but you use it to try and protect people? A waste of strength, especially one as devilish as this.”

The girl growled, trying to move her body, trying to rise, but it only took Atlas a single hand to push her back to the stone floor. 

“You wish to protect with something so violent? Do you understand how ironic that is? I would dare say you don’t even know how to use that power, do you?”

“I’ll… kill you…” 

“Hmm,” the titan hummed, “No, I don’t think you will, not with this paltry show of force. What happened to that devil from earlier? The anger? The Rage? What happened to all that bravado?!”

Atlas, despite his ‘victory’, felt cheated, the immense power he felt from this tiny girl was quickly overwhelmed with exhaustion and mistakes. The force of nature that manifested with teeth had failed to give him more than a minute's challenge.

“Your fangs , Demigod, if that’s even what you are, have failed to reach me. It was a disappointing display and after such lofty words… Well, I expected more. ”

Instinctively, Atlas’ hand flew up, catching an arrow that had been barreling straight for his eye. He sighed, seemingly unimpressed as he eyed the archer, “Come now, daughter, even you know that I wouldn’t be hit by something so simple.”

“I wasn’t trying to hit you,” came the smug reply, and for a moment, Atlas was confused. The confusion quickly disappeared, however, when the sound of something sloshing around caught his attention.

His eyes darted around.

Water and it was pooling rapidly around his feet.

“Thalia!” The girl shouted from underneath him, her voice strained, but just loud enough to get the message across to the daughter of Zeus. Atlas quickly caught on, and tried to move, but the girl stabbed one of her saws through his foot, earning a howl of pain from the titan. He tried to retaliate but had no time, not when the snap of Thalia’s fingers brought forth a storm, one that launched a large bolt of lightning toward the ground. Crossing the distance between heaven and earth with far less than a hundredth of a second, much faster than a normal bolt would dare to strike the earth.

The resounding blast, combined with the water amplifying its conductive nature, Atlas was stunned. Due to pain, literal shock, and partial anger. But despite that, he had to admit, even when they were overpowered, mortals were full of ingenuity.

He felt a smirk crawl across his face.

Interesting.

Percy, who had rooted herself in place with her other sawblade so she wouldn’t be pushed away by the blast like Atlas, began to heave. But nothing came up beside her own bile, she struggled to her feet, the chainsaws chewing at the stone, even as they spun slower.

“Jackson, what the hell have you done?” Zoe said, seemingly appearing at her side to help her to her feet, carefully avoiding the blades that had sprouted from her.

“It’s a bit of a long story, I don’t even fully know it myself,” she groaned, standing at her full height once more, just slightly shorter than the Hunter, “and one I would rather think about when we aren’t about to die. ”

“You need blood.”

“Excuse me?”

Zoe huffed, pointing at the blades, “Your saws began to spin faster when you cut Atlas, any blood that touched you or the blade shortly faded away. So, in theory, you're like a perpetual motion machine.”

Percy could only stare at her for a moment, which was slightly unnerving considering her altered ‘face’, “So,” Percy spoke slowly, “You’re saying that with enough blood, I’ll get stronger?”

“Yes,” she replied impatiently, they didn’t have all day before Atlas got back up.

“Right, of course,” Percy grumbled, “but in case you didn’t notice, I don’t have a supply of blood readily available to me. Not unless my own counts, and I seriously doubt that would work.”

Zoe bit her lip, looking away from the monstrous visage of Percy, briefly trying to reconcile this version of her with the one that had comforted her on the way to the dam. Comforting her over the fact of Phoebe’s, likely, death. It had brought her a brief respite. A sort of odd camaraderie with the daughter of Poseidon, something that set something burning within her, something familiar like a bond between friends, but different.

Maybe not stronger, but it was certainly different. In the end, this was still her Percy, even if she had briefly been unsure, what with all the murderous intent, and devilish composure.

“Take mine,” she said quickly before she could find some excuse to refuse.

“What? Zoe, no–”

She quickly grabbed Percy by the shoulder, still careful to avoid her blades, “This is our only chance, none of us can force him back under the sky on our own, not with you fighting like this. I’m his daughter, as much as I hate to admit it, so my blood should do more than a normal mortal's would.”

‘You don’t know that,” Percy spoke quickly, clanking metal becoming slower and slower as the conversation progressed. 

“Do you have another plan?”

While it was hard to discern facial indications while Percy was like this, Zoe could feel the palpable amount of reluctance that emanated from her.

“Fine, we’ll do it your way.”

“I wasn’t going to let you say no,” Zoe grunted, pulling out her knife and laying it against her palm, not the best place to cut, but she really didn’t have any more time to contemplate. So, quickly, she pulled the blade, sharply, and suppressed a wince. The blood began to flow, it was fast, pooling in her pal after just a few seconds.

“I’m only doing this once,” Zoe commented, lifting her hand to place on Percy’s forearm, receiving a curt nod in response.

“That’s all I’ll need.”

With a brief thought of  this better work , Zoe placed her bloodied hand on Percy, waiting for just a moment, and seemingly, nothing happened. She was about to curse herself and her stupid assumptions about something this unknown…

But she didn’t, because it became quickly apparent that it had worked.

The blades sputtered, and then began to rattle, before climbing in pace. Reaching speeds higher than when Percy had first transformed just a few minutes ago. Spinning so fast that her arms themselves seemed to rattle.

Atlas had stood by now, still twitching slightly from the aftereffects of the lightning strike. But even if that hadn’t been the case, he still wouldn’t have been able to react to the blow that was aimed his way, not even with the warning roar that shook the temple.

Over the sound of chains and metal, Percy screamed, “Round two, titan!”

—

“–And stay down!’” Percy roared as she flicked her wrists in a way that let the chains of the chainsaw snake sound Atlas, and with a mighty tug, she whipped him in the direction of Artemis, who was still holding up the sky.

With timing only possible by those with enhanced reaction speeds, Artemis quickly let go of the sky, letting herself be pushed out of the way by Atlas, who was immediately forced to take the sky upon his shoulders once more.

"No!" He bellowed, screaming with so much force that it shook the entire mountain. "Not again!" 

Impossibly, or rather improbably, Atlas was trapped back under his old burden once more.

Percy, whose adrenaline was now petering out as the battle came to a close, felt the blades sink back into her body. Leaving behind rough scars where the chainsaws had burst forth from her arms, and a smattering of blood across her face. Her concern for this was negligible, however, as she pitched forward. Almost hitting the ground, only for Zoe to catch her at the last possible moment.

“Gods,” Zoe sighed, no longer needing to worry about nicking herself on Percy’s blades, “You’d be useless without us.”

“Don’t remind me,” Percy groaned, bracing herself against Zoe, before tentatively balancing herself upright. The world seemed to swim for a moment, but eventually, it equalized enough for her to stand on her own.

Not that she minded Zoe holding her, but that was just a whole other bag of cats that didn’t need to be opened right now. Right now, she’d rather get out of this gods forsaken temple and back to some more equal ground.

Artemis was quick to lead Thalia, who had tears streaming down her face, away from the cliffs/ With Luke not being in sight, and the roars of monsters further down the cliff face, it wasn’t hard to tell that he was gone. 

“How’s Bianca?” Percy asked Zoe, who had made her way back over to the pillar that she had laid the unconscious girl against before the fight had begun, the whole quest would have been for nothing if she was dead.

“She’ll be fine, but it might be a while before she wakes,” Zoe responded, “Even for a child of the big three, one her age should never try to hold the sky.”

Percy nodded, glad that she would be alright, but wary of the aftereffects of such an ordeal. Briefly, she wished she could have taken the burden for herself. But it was a fleeting thought, one that passed quickly in the face of actual logic.

“I must return to Olympus immediately,” Artemis said suddenly, drawing each pair of eyes back to her, “I will not be able to take you, but I can send help–”

“Don’t worry about it,” Percy suddenly blurted out, now all eyes were on her, absently, some of them noticed how much paler she seemed now than before the battle, “I have someone who owes me some huge favors, I can cash a couple in now, it’ll be quicker.”

Artemis seemed to consider this, eventually, she nodded in agreement, but did not immediately turn away, “You know I must inform the council of your… mutation, correct?”

“I figured as much,” Percy shrugged, earning a curious glare from her two companions, “but I have no intention of dying just yet.”

Artemis huffed, seemingly amused, “You would make an excellent hunter, I don’t suppose…?”

Percy shrugged, “Maybe I’ll take you up on that in a few years, but I’m fine where I am… for now.”

Artemis nodded, partially disappointed, and partially satisfied, and flashed out of sight without any more words. Zoe looked like she had something to say to her, but the chance was long gone before she could even think of uttering a single word.

Thalia was the first to speak, turning to Percy with a quizzical look, and for a moment Percy thought she would ask about her mutation. Thankfully, she didn’t, instead seeking other answers.

“So,” she said slowly, “you said you have favors to cash in?”

“Yeah,” Percy sighed, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a flip phone, which earned her an indignant squawk from Thalia, “don’t worry, I haven’t used it, we were never being tracked by monsters because of it.”

Percy was holding up her hands in surrender, a lazy smile tugging at her lips, one that neither Thalia nor Zoe, could really be mad at, especially if she was telling the truth. So, Thalia dropped it, “Fine, just make it quick, I don’t want monsters–” A cough from Zoe reminded her of the monsters slowly climbing the cliffside, “I don’t want any more monsters showing up because of that thing.”

Percy nodded, walking away slowly as she dialed one of the few numbers she had ever had to call, Thalia and Zoe following behind shortly after as they descended the mountain, with the latter carrying Biance with little difficulty.

Once the number had been dialed, she held the phone up to her ear, listening to it ring three times before there was a soft click , followed by a quick; “ hello?”

“Hey, Aki, it’s me,” Percy said, and then went silent, with Thalia and Zoe being unable to hear one side of the conversation, and exchanged a glance. Neither knew who this Aki was, or how Percy knew them.

“No, I’m fine,” Percy responded to some unheard question, “A little anemic, but–” 

That seemed to elicit a reaction, based on the way Percy winced, but her face quickly shifted back to one of neutrality.

“Don’t worry about it– no, it’s not, I can fill you in later,” Percy paused, listening to something once more, “Is Nayuta…?”

Another name that the two didn’t know.

Percy sighed, as if receiving a good piece of news, “Good, thanks, by the way, I know it was short notice and that you’re busy running…” Percy glanced back at her companions, “...business.”

A moment of silence, one that stretched farther than the first few, and with each second passed, Percy’s face shifted through a myriad of emotions. Confusion, shock, anger, and resigned irritation. 

“Well, I can deal with that later, I don’t officially work for you, after all,” she said quickly, “but that’s not why I’m calling, I need a favor, a big one. ”

Thalia and Zoe were becoming more intrigued as they got closer to the bottom, skirting far around Ladon as they had done the first time. Even Percy dared not speak as they made their way around, and just like before, they made it through without issue.

“No,” she said once they had made it through, and down, the mountain, “it’s nothing illegal, trust me. I only want to know one thing… how fast can you get me a jet?”

—

Apparently, the answer to Percy’s question was fast.

They had less than twenty-four hours to reach New York before the winter solstice, but by the time they got to the nearest airport– which was a private one that Percy had led them to– a jet was already waiting with them. With a pilot and everything, they just boarded without a single question, the captain only nodded at Percy when she showed them the flip phone. They didn’t even question it when Zoe was seen carrying Bianca, nothing was questioned.

As they all settled in, with Bianca laid in a more comfortable position, questions from the two could no longer be held back. But as they turned to ask, the visage of a calm, collected demigod was replaced with that of a shivering child. Whatever Percy had done, whatever that power had done, was now beginning to take its toll on her now that the battle had passed.

“Hey, Percy, you okay?” Thalia quickly made her way to her friend's side, grabbing her hand, which she almost immediately dropped like she had been burned. Judging by her next words, however, it was quite the opposite.

“She’s freezing,” Thalia hissed, wary of touching the girl again.

“Move,” Zoe spoke up from behind her, when Thalia turned and moved out of her way, she saw the blankets that she was holding. The open cabinet behind the seats, coupled with the emptiness of them, told her exactly where they had come from.

As Zoe laid the blankets out across Percy’s shivering body, her unfocused eyes landed upon Zoe’s face, “You’re realllllllly pretty.”  

Percy giggled then, like a drunkard, and Thalia was sure that Zoe was going to throw her out of the plane. Honestly, it wouldn’t be out of character for the girl.

However, Thalia was proven wrong when the only reaction Percy received was a sigh, not of irritation, just a general exhale of breath, and backed away. Mumbling something along the lines of stupid girl , before sitting back down in her chair.

Thalia joined her, sitting in the chair that was across from her, with a table being the only thing between them. With Percy sleeping now, they were free to talk about whatever they wished until she woke up, or the plane touched down, whichever came first.

“I’m surprised you didn’t stab her or throw her out of the plane, seems like something you would do,” Thalia said suddenly, a teasing lilt present in her voice as she did so, even though she was somewhat serious. It wouldn’t have surprised her in the least if Zoe had tried such a thing, not that she would let her, of course.

“She’s obviously not thinking clearly,” Zoe answered plainly, quietly, almost like…

Thalia felt a smile sneak up on her face, “Oh. Does that make you sad? ”

“What? No– I–!” Zoe spluttered, trying to recover from Thalia’s teasing, clearly not used to it.

“Oh no, don’t deny it, I'd be happy to have someone like her think I’m pretty too,” Thalia continued to tease, once again being at least somewhat truthful. Truly, she wouldn’t mind, although they were all a bit young for her to really take interest in anything like that yet, she wouldn’t have minded either.

Zoe dropped her head into her hands, “Please, just… stop talking.”

Thalia, sensing the rising embarrassment and discomfort coming from the hunter, decided to drop it, for now.

There was a long stretch of silence, one filled with Thalia’s fiddling and Zoe staring out the window, briefly, Thalia wondered if Zoe had ever been in an airplane before. It didn’t really matter, but she did wonder.

“Are we going to talk about… you know?” Thalia eventually said, breaking the silence that stretched like a chasm between them.

Zoe, taking a moment to look away from the landscape below, turned to her with a raised eyebrow, “About Percy?”

Thalia nodded.

“I’d rather not talk about her behind her back, that’s not something that… friends do,” Zoe said, slowly, not reluctantly, Thalia knew the difference.

But, Zoe called Percy friend, she hadn’t called any of them that, but ever since they had sailed down that river, Zoe and Percy had been on much more amicable terms. It made her wonder what she had said during that short time.

“But…”

Zoe leaned forward, “I am just as curious as you, Thalia,” she said quietly, in a non-condescending way, “but just because Percy is… can do something like that , does nothing to change the fact that it’s still her. ”

“She protected us, and never once tried to harm us, and if not for her, we would be very much dead,” Zoe continued, “and I, for one, do not intend to dishonor those acts just because I am curious.”

Her answer made sense, and Thalia could tell she would not be swayed on the matter. That, however, did not mean they could completely drop it.

“Even if we don’t want to talk about it, I think we should discuss what might happen when we reach the council,” she countered, briefly glancing over at Percy to make sure she hadn’t woken up yet. She hadn’t, thank gods, the shivering seemed to be long gone too.

“Nothing is going to happen.”

It was her turn to raise a brow at Zoe, complete denial over something like this wasn’t her style. She was usually the blunt one, either right in front, or right behind Percy, in terms of how little she censored her own thoughts.

“Zoe–”

“ Nothing. will. happen.” She hissed at Thalia, “Artemis won’t let anything happen, I’m sure of it, she is always good to those who prove themselves worthy.”

“And if she can’t help us?”

Zoe shifted, “Then I will.”

She said it with so much conviction, with such fire in her eyes, that she actually believed her for a moment. But she just as quickly realized who was on the council, and that belief was almost sent crashing to the earth at mach speeds.

Hopefully, Zoe was right.

She couldn’t lose anyone else, not anymore.

—

Olympus might be even more amazing than the first time, Percy noted, and if such a thing was even possible. Music drifted across its great expanse as they walked toward the Olympian council chambers, a myriad of nature spirits and minor gods also appeared to be present. Even winter seemed to stop up in Olympus, the lack of snow and wind was a clear indication of that.

The walk from the elevator to their destination wasn’t long, not long enough in Zoe or Thalia’s mind. The latter had wanted to leave Bianca out of this meeting, but Percy had brought up that doing that would only raise more suspicion than it would alleviate. So, in the end, Bianca tagged along, with Zoe doing her best to fill her in while they walked.

Percy was calm, unnervingly so, and had been since they had touched down on the ground. After the call she had made, Zoe had almost expected to see this mysterious benefactor upon exiting the plane, but that hadn’t been the case. Instead, they had been met with a woman wearing an eyepatch, who had eyed them but smiled at Percy.

She had called her Himeno, so unless they were talking with codenames, which made no sense, or had been previously, then she was fairly certain this was someone entirely different.

They had been ushered into a car, and to the Empire State building, which Himeno didn’t seem the slightest bit confused by. In fact, she barely said a word the entire time, just wearing this knowing smirk as Percy whispered something to her from the seat next to her.

When they got there and exited the vehicle, Himeno caught her eye. The previous smirk settled into something more along the lines of a grimace as she looked at Zoe, and a simple, yet almost impossible question came out of her mouth.

“Keep her safe, please?”

Approaching the door to the council chambers drew her out of her thoughts, and away from that particular question. There was a brief pause, and for the first time since they had entered Olympus, Percy exhibited a feeling of hesitation.

But then, Percy shook her head and put her hand on the door. Beckoning them all forward to enter the room, side-by-side.

…

The room was as Percy remembered it, with twelve gigantic thrones making a ‘U’ shape around the room, with the hearth as the focal point of the room. The ceiling was open to the sky, showing the might of the constellations, and even the newest one, belonging to Phoebe.

Every single seat was occupied, and each set of eyes was focused on them as they entered, or rather, focused on the daughter of Poseidon.

“Welcome, heroes,” Artemis called.

The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward us, her silver robes shimmering. 

Her face was calm, devoid of emotion as she moved.

The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told us. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

Zoe noted the gods shuffling and moving, some of them certainly didn’t agree, that was for sure. But something told them all that this wasn’t the only reason for the unease.

And that was when the other shoe dropped.

“The fates paid us a visit before you arrived,” Artemis added, her eyes lingering a moment too long on Zoe and Percy, before continuing, “and they have provided some… interesting developments.”

“If interesting meant disastrous… ” Apollo whispered to himself, but it still wasn’t quiet enough to miss Artemis’ ears, and she sent a glare at her brother that made the sun chariot look like a candle.

“What kind of developments?” Percy asked quickly, not eager to watch the two gods get into another sibling debacle. 

“Oh, nothing much,” Dionysius said from his throne, seeming utterly bored out of his mind, which fit the god, “Just that these two should be very much dead,” he waved a hand in the direction of Bianca and Zoe, both of whom stiffened at his words, “she’s was supposed to join the Hunters of Artemis,” he pointed at Thalia, “and you… ”

He pointed at Percy, “Let’s not even get started with you, you are all wrong. You’re strings, both of them, the ones of fate and the red, are tangled, frayed. You yourself are completely wrong, and now you have something you were never meant to– ”

“That’s enough!” Poseidon roared, slamming his trident down on the marble beneath him, instantly quieting Dionysius’ blabbering, “I will not have you dispute these heroes' actions, or any of my daughter’s, because they have denied fate, through no fault of their own. ”

A few mumbles went around the council thrones, but Dionysius did not try to speak again.

“We will not punish my daughter for things out of her control,” Poseidon added, and for just a moment, Percy hoped they wouldn’t be asking any more questions.

“Nor my daughter,” Zeus rumbled, something unfamiliar in his eyes, “She has done well.”

For a moment, everyone thought they would get out, but then Athena decided to speak, “I believe we should more closely assess these four, any of them could quickly become a threat, especially the daughter of Poseidon.”

“Now wait just a moment–”

Athena cut Poseidon off with a look, “Both you and my father have, unfortunately, broken your oaths at least once. We know of the Great Prophecy, and of the ones who will fit its mold,” her eyes drifted to Thalia and Percy, and thankfully not Bianca, “and if what Artemis has told us is true, then Percy is even more dangerous. So, we should at least be considering it.”

“Can I be the one to do it?” Ares piped up from his throne, earning him a look of distaste from at least three of the Olympian gods.

“Please, save the fighting for after I’ve left,” Dionysius groaned.

“You want to protect these kids?” Ares scoffed, “That’s rich.”

“I could care less,” his gaze flickered over the demigods briefly, “Athena, is it wisest to destroy them?”

“I would not pass judgement,” she said, “That decision belongs with the council.”

“I will not have them punished,” Artemis said, her voice containing an edge, "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."

Apollo looked ready to speak but was cut off by Zeus, who rose in his seat, sitting straighter than he had been before.

“I think a compromise can be raised,” he said, sounding more like the king, and leader of the gods, that he was more than he ever had before, “If Zoe Nightshade was to die, and Thalia to replace her–” Thalia grunted, her decision on that was clear to everyone in the room, “than let Bianca be her replacement, and release Zoe Nightshade from the hunt.”

It was… not a bad idea, no one had to die– well, they hadn’t talked about Percy yet– but if that was a price that she had to pay to keep everyone else safe… gods , she sounded like a dramatic teenager, she couldn’t describe it, but she felt she had to do this. She was a lot of things but letting other people die because she was selfish would be something she could never forgive.

It would make her no better than those she despised.

“I accept,” Zoe said, and it hurt, by the gods it hurt , but she had no other choice. She wasn’t even sure she would take a different path if it was offered. This may have been the wrong choice, but it just felt right.

Artemis looked pained, but nodded, her acceptance of the matter came quicker than Zoe would have expected. Although, she assumed that was because she didn’t want Zeus to change his mind.

The goddess of the hunt mumbled something under her breath, and Zoe felt a slight tug, followed by the opening of a hole within her, as the silver glow associated with the hunt receded from her body. Drifting off her like fog and into the night sky.

Bianca, who had been silent until now, nodded in acceptance. The idea of the hunt itself was already enticing, but she could not refuse to pay back those who had saved her life, to refuse this offer would be to put them all in harm’s way.

So she accepted, took the oath, and felt the silver glow empower her body.

Now, every god turned to Percy, each and every one of them thinking a different thought.

“I would have us see this… mutation, daughter of Poseidon,” Zeus said, it wasn’t phrased as a question, but not as a demand either. His voice was tinged with vague curiosity, so she was sure that she was safe, for the moment.

Percy really didn’t want to do this so soon after last time, but she didn’t think she’d have much of a choice in the matter. Instead of sighing, she let out a long sigh, “Alright, but it's going to be pretty messy,” she said, reaching for the cord, “oh, and I’ll be pretty anemic afterward, so don’t mind anything I say.”

Without another word, Percy gripped the cord and pulled .

Immediately, the sound of chains snapping, roaring motors, and the smell of rust and burnt metal permeated the room. Percy herself, however, did not roar. She didn’t need to, her situation this time was completely different than it was with Atlas.

This was just to show off, to be studied, she had done it before, and she would do it again.

She stood, stock still and unmoving like a statue, the only indication that she was even conscious was the small twitch of her neck, and the cloudy breath that escaped past her sharp metal teeth.

The Olympians ignored the splatter of blood that now coated the throne room, many were interested in her new visage. Ares especially, was on the edge of his seat, but Athena wasn’t far behind.

“What caused this mutation?” Athena asked, stepping down from her own throne to view her, “and I’m not sure if it should even be called that…”

“I’ve had this power since the day my mother died,” Percy rumbled, the sound of tapping metal-on-metal mixed in with her words.

Several of the gods viewed her with pity, which was the last thing she wanted, no, she would rather have her father apologize for not being there. But that would never happen, and it made her sadannoyedangry feel stupid thinking that would happen.

The hearth flickered briefly.

“And you have no idea how you obtained this… power?”

“I almost died,” Percy snapped, but quickly reeled herself back in as much as she could, “I woke up in a pool of my own blood next to my mother’s corpse, and this cord was attached to my body. So no, I don’t have a single idea as to how I got this power. ”

If Athena was insulted by his anger, she didn’t voice it, instead, she backed away and returned to her throne. Zeus sent her a look, along with a raised brow, and Athena hummed for a moment before she spoke.

“It’s too early to tell, and this stumps even me,” Athena huffed, possibly disappointed, “so for now, I think it’s safe to let her live.”

Zeus nodded, glancing back at Percy, opening his mouth to speak…

“Oh come on!” Ares groaned, “Even if she’s safe, just look at her strings!” he waved wildly at her, “they're all tangled, that’s disastrous! You all can see them just as well as I ca–!”

“Enough!” Zeus roared, thunder rolling across the sky as he did so, “What fate has in store for any of them is not for us to meddle with! Or have you already forgotten the words of The Fates?”

Ares paled, sinking back into his seat without any further word.

“Since we are not destroying these heroes, I think a celebration is in order!”

—

The celebration was a good time, well, mostly a good time. It would have been better if Ares was trying to get her to fight him, with her chainsaws no less, she beat him once and she imagined she would do it better with them.

They all got to chat with Bianca, getting to know her better, talking through the night without a worry in the world. Every so often, Percy would spot the sadness that crept into Zoe’s eyes, so she did her best to alleviate that pain. Eventually, Bianca left with Artemis, the latter of whom congratulated them. Although she didn’t exactly tell them what for.

The remaining three quest members sat at the edge of the large garden, a bit away from the celebration, looking over the New York City skyline. Silence draped over them like a blanket, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad one.

“Are we going to talk about the ‘red strings’?” Thalia asked suddenly, not taking her eyes off the world below.

They all knew what the implication– hell, it wasn’t even an implication– meant, and none were extremely eager to speak about it. It would be a sore subject for any of them, Zoe especially.

“I’d rather discuss other things,” Percy shook her head, “let those things come when they will.”

Zoe nodded, “I’ll drink to that one,” she murmured.

Percy and Thalia laughed.

“You think I’m joking?”

“Anyway,” Percy said once she had stopped laughing, “Where are you going to go now, Zoe?”

She looked at Percy questioningly, “I figured I would just stay with you, even if you’re going back to that damned camp.”

“I’m not going back to camp.” 

“Percy?”

“Look, Thalia,” Percy sighed, running her hand through her hair, noting that she could need to cut its length soon, “They don’t trust me, Chiron especially, and if they ever find out what I am, or what I can do…”

The statement went unsaid, but they all got the big picture.

“Then where will you go?”

“I have another job that could use me more often, I get housing, and… I could see my little sister a lot more often.” Percy sighed, wistfully, as if thinking of a place far away.

“You have a sister?!” Thalia asked incredulously, “And you didn’t say this, why?!”

 “She’s not a demigod, and I didn’t want her to be involved,” Percy answered, “we’re related through my mother, but she does not have a godly parent.”

“So she’s mortal?” Zoe asked.

“No,” was her answer, and she said no more on the matter.

“You two could come with me,” Percy said after a moment, looking at the two, “Aki will probably have my ass for it, but you wouldn’t be required to stay if that’s what you’re worried about. I can vouch for you too.”

“Percy, I–”

“Thalia, you don’t owe that camp anything , Annabeth is long gone, and Luke is in a place even more unreachable, there’s nothing keeping you there,” Percy held out her hand, “So, the offer stands, do you want to come with me?”

It took a moment, a moment filled with a million questions, each of which only provided a million more dilemmas. She didn’t know what to think, she barely knew how to answer, but Percy was right– to a point– and she didn’t feel welcome there anymore. 

Not without Percy to laugh with and tease.

Not without Annabeth.

And certainly not when every other camper only saw her as something to put on a pedestal.

She was done with it.

And something within her crumbled.

“Okay,” she took her hand, “someone has to keep your ass out of the fire.”

She smirked, and Percy returned it, “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Sparkplug.”

The nickname was going to get Percy killed one of these days, but until then she’d keep using it.

“Zoe? You in?” Percy asked, turning to the former huntress, who was looking at him with a mixture of expressions that confused both of them.

“Just what is it that you do for this… job?”

Percy’s smile faltered slightly, but then she straightened, taking on a harder edge to her eyes as she spoke her next few words. She let out a shaky breath and said the words that would flip their view on the world for years to come.

“Monsters roam the world, this much is true and factual, but where there are monsters... there are also Devils."