Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Sir, the sun is setting. I can take over the rest from here for the night."

Perseus Jackson stood from his crouch as he wiped his dirt-stained hands on his jeans. It did little to remove all of the soil that had caked itself into the grooves of his skin. He would need to wash them once he was inside.

With a sigh from the depths of his soul, his gaze drifted to the darkening sky, where two stars blinked at him, watching him.

"We are almost done here, Olive," he told the tree nymph, his companion, as he squatted back down to continue weeding his garden. "Just a few more weeds to pull for today."

"And I assure you, I can take care of it myself," she responded. It was always the same cat and dance when it came to closing out the day. She would insist that she could bear the workload and that he could rest, but rest didn't suit him, no matter how hard he tried.

"I know you can, but I didn't ask for a farm in the middle of nowhere to sit on my porch like an old man all day and night," he told her. "It was supposed to be a labor to keep me busy and safe."

"Yet, you spend much time on your porch not laboring."

Right, his guilty pleasure: watching the sky from his favorite chair…

"What can I say? I like my rocking chair. It is soothing."

Olive giggled, "Perhaps you are an old man in an eighteen-year-olds body."

"Yeah, yeah," he smiled. "Let's just finish this. The old man has to go to the farmers' market in the morning. "

"This Sunday," she corrected him. "We have two nights before then. We need not rush the harvest."

"Right," he looked out to the greater portion of his farm, where olive trees grew like grass and where other summer crops budded around their bases. "The days are starting to blur together now," he looked at his friend. "Y'know?"

"I do not."

"Well, I guess it is just me. I haven't been sleeping well and all that. Something has just been…" he hesitated. His shoulders slumped as he relived his dreams. A flash of green, and someone was always yelling, begging someone to wake up. "I don't know. I just- I just feel like something is coming, you know?"

The tree nymph paused for a moment as she stared at him. Her green eyes, like the color of light that had plagued his nightmares, met his cold ones as she quirked her head to the side, confused.

"No, I do not," she shrugged and turned back to picking weeds. "The summer air still is strong. The winds gentle upon my leaves. Autumn will not come for weeks if that is what you mean."

"I don't know. Maybe it's a demigod thing," Percy tucked his head and joined Olive back at work. "There is just something happening. I can feel it."

He ripped a young thistle weed out, and dirt fell from the roots like blood from a severed head. He blinked away the vision and threw the weed as far away as possible.

"I think I understand. Do you think it has to do with the Gods?"

"Maybe? I just know that I don't want to go back, Olive," his voice trembled as he yanked at another plant and threw it behind him.

"But the Gods would not make you," she carefully uprooted a dandelion and placed it to the side to be replanted elsewhere. "That was part of the deal: your freedom, your peace. Was it not?"

"It was, and they have been honoring that. It is just that I know me."

"You would fight for them, your friends," she told him as he watched her carefully dig out another weed. "It is what makes you great. Your compassion and loyalty. That you would be there for them. That you are afraid for your friends who did not seek their peace as you did."

Friends? He snorted and stood, "Are they my friends still?"

"Do not say that!" she rounded on him, almost meeting his height in a flash. "They still care for you. It is you, "she jabbed a finger into his chest, "who pushed away."

He flinched back, "Look, Oli, let's just not get into this again," he sighed. He really didn't want this argument tonight, "Do whatever for the night. I am going to go clean myself up and make dinner."

She held his gaze for a moment before frowning, "Of course, sir." Her stature shrunk as she lowered her head and shoulders, "Do not forget to check on Blu in the morning."

"Blackjack would kill me if I didn't check on his baby momma," a weak laugh escaped from his lips as he walked away towards his farmhouse–away from the conversation.

Life had changed dramatically in the year that had passed since the Giant War. They had won. Everyone survived and walked away—no small thanks to Percy. However, he would never accept the praise Olympus and her denizens wished to lavish him with. What he did… what he did in the final days of that nightmare…. It was nothing people should worship, but it was what needed to be done–to see his friends delivered safely from the bloodshed.

The blood he had spilled and the blood that stained his very hands was for them. It was always for them, for her.

The gods recognized it. He recognized it.

Annabeth rejected it, and he rejected himself.

"The world does not need to accept you. You need only to accept yourself in the world."

His Father had told him that the last time he was on Olympus. When he pleaded for an escape, a break. That he was no longer willing to fight for them and that he was tired. Poseidon and the Gods had been compassionate and understanding. They had looked into his broken eyes and granted him his rest.

What a loser, quitting at seventeen. Percy had seen the looks his friends had given him. The haunted looks upon the monster he had become to survive. What he became to tear his way through Tartarus and drown Gaia. He had accepted that of himself, but they could not.

None of them would understand—none of them but Annabeth.

He had forgotten the shade of her grey eyes, for she had neglected to let him meet her gaze since they limped away from Akhlys. Her words had been short, and her heart was fractured. He knew the scar that wept from the left end of his eye did not help his image in her mind.

That he had become corrupted like Luke.

Yet, here he was, liberated from tragedy, from the Greek Tale, on a farm raising pegasi and growing a harvest with an olive tree named Olive. It was simple, easy, and boring. It was enough. It had to be, or else what was?

He put his hands under the kitchen sink. The cold water was refreshing as it soaked into his sore digits and eased away the pain. The runoff turned brown as the soil was banished from the callouses of his palm. Any dirt from under his nails fled, but his thumbs would never come clean. The green ichor of Gaia would not part from his being. Just as the black blood of Tartarus and Akhyls lived under the nails on his right hand. That was the cost of his victory.

He dried his hands on a rag as he opened his fridge. A long day's work in the fields worked up an appetite. Nothing caught his eye. He crossed over to his pantry and searched there to no avail, but he was low on potatoes. He would need to pick up some more in town at the Sunday Market—another thing to add to the list. Hopefully, Henry would have some fresh meat, too. A steak would be amazing…. Just not tonight, tonight he would order in.

That was one of the few perks of being who he was and his reputation, his scent went from being a tasty delight to a warning, or at least nine months without a monster attack, and blatant usage of phones had led him to believe. His scent did not pull monsters in anymore, and Grover was sure to tell him that his scent was ever so present, if not more noticeable than before. All in all, it made calling up the pizza guy a worry-free affair.

Life had become simpler in the last year.

In no time, he was on his couch with a full stomach, the tv playing something mindless as he closed his eyes. It was quiet, the farm life where he found himself. No gods demanded tributes or tasks. No primordial beings tried to make him suffer and beg at their feet. He could afford to doze off on his couch.

:P LINEBREAK d:

"Perseus," the blonde in his dream called for him. "Wake up, Perseus!" a violent green light flashed across his eyes, and he woke.

He rolled off the couch into a crouch, his right hand hovering over his pocket's entry. As he stared up at his intruder. A woman with purple eyes, curly black hair, and tall.

"Took you long enough to wake up. Victory has made you lax."

Good odds she was a goddess.

"Out of my house," he stood to match her height as his fingertips dipped into the denim of his pockets. Don't make me do it.

"Cannot. I have business to attend to," she sighed, crossing the room to his window. "Debts to settle and all that."

"That is cool and all, but I don't remember caring, so get out!" he growled. Please.

"Mortals," she rolled her eyes and stared out the window. "I am not leaving till we handle our business."

"What business do we even have?"

"Ah-ha!" she turned with a predatory grin. "So you will hear me out!"

"By the Gods," Percy groaned. "Look, two options. One, you leave through the front door. Two, you can spend some time reforming. Let's make this easy for the both of us, yeah?"

"Please," she scoffed, looking him over. Her eyes stayed on his pocket momentarily, "You touch me, and the Greek world crumbles as the Mist falls."

"Not my problem. I'm retired."

"Oh, but it will be," the Goddess purred as she approached Percy. "Your mortal government is controlling. If they found demigods existed, do you think you'd be safe? That they wouldn't subject you and weaponize you?"

"Sounds familiar." Will you leave now?

"Yes, I'm sure it does. The Olympians were never the best rulers," she shrugged and pulled away. "It was why I fought for Kronos' return," Percy clenched his hand around Anaklumos. "He wasn't better, but I knew he would never win. The Gods just needed a reality check. To wake up and realize their inaction was squandering things."

"So, you never supported Kronos' rule?" he tracked her as she poked around his living room. "Just wanted to kick the Gods in gear?"

"More or less," she shrugged once more as she pulled a book down from his shelf. "Why do you have books in English if you cannot read?"

"They are for someone else," he told her as she returned the book and grabbed a new one. "Now, how do I tie in?"

She flipped through the pages before stopping on one and nodding contently before placing the book back.

Don't make this any harder.

Sweat crept down his spine like a spider dangling from a web.

She turned on him and studied him for a moment. Her eyes flickered silver for a moment before going back to purple, "You ordered the Sky God to pardon me and my children," again, her eyes twinkled as she frowned and lowered her chin. "You see, I had made the choice to condemn my blood for the next generations to correct the pecking order. Do you know what that would have meant?"

He didn't respond.

"Death, if they were lucky. Servants to the gods for my daughters. I would've likely been bound as something foul ate out my organs day after day, probably an owl," she paused and closed her eyes as a shudder ran through her body before opening them and meeting his gaze. "Yet, I was willing to damn them and me to this fate if it meant things would be fixed.

"And then you won. You beat the Titan-Lord. Slaughtered his armies and all. You became the Hero of Olympus. Then, you saved my children and me. You gave the gods a check when you declined godhood. You gave them a metaphorical middle finger and told them to fix their mistakes. To become better."

Percy stayed silent. The proper words evaded him as he digested the extent of what the woman before him did, what she was willing to do, and what he did for her by extension, "I think you'll find how much I care outside if you want to go look."

She frowned, "Hmm. I see," she approached him. "You are not ready to listen to the gift I wish to give you. The happiness I wish to expose you to," her hand graced his chin as her thumb tracked over his scar. "You are drowning in a false sense of control in this house. A shame, really."

He flinched away and finally brought his right arm up. His thumb twitched along the edges of the pen cap; with a flick, the cursed blade could be summoned. The very blade that slew monsters and titans alike. That had cut down anyone or thing that had tried to kill him or his friends.

That did the trick. Now leave.

The goddess went quiet, her face blank as her eyes honed in on his twitching thumb.

Neither said a word as knuckles went white around the pen.

LEAVE!

Her gaze remained resolute as she stepped away slowly, showing she did not pose a threat.

Then she twirled away, vanishing with a small pop.

Immediately, Percy's shoulder slumped as he dropped the pen entirely. Air could not reach his lungs fast enough as he fell onto his couch. He strangled his right wrist as he tried to still the trembles that ran through his blood.

He could hear her screams, her garbled choking as she struggled to breathe through the blood in her lungs. He could see her screaming as she was being dissolved. He could hear him panting as he watched his legs join his torso on the ground. He could feel the course dust like sand on his lips and in his mouth as he slumped on his couch, trying to breathe.

He could see all their faces as they realized they were dying.

"Sir!" hands cradled his face. They were warm, comforting like his mother's own as they pulled him close, "Breathe, Percy. Breathe," and he tried. He really tried as he followed her counting, "Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven-"

Olive, she had continued counting all the way to thirty before he calmed and found his own breath once more. His mind cleared from the haze it plunged itself into.

"You are getting better, sir. Last time, it took us till forty-four."

"There is nothing better about this," he sulked in her arms.

"There is always something positive to be gained from any situation. You just need to find it. Find the silver lining in the clouds."

"I'm weak."

"Never, sir."

"I can't even hold my pen anymore."

"You no longer need to draw it," she countered.

"What about when something comes back, and they need me? And, then, I can't even fight."

"You've beaten all there is to rise, and the rest will not dare challenge you."

"But, I'm becoming an immortal. Ever so slowly, I can feel my blood thicken every week. I feel stronger every time I open my eyes. And the Gods themselves know this. It's why they let me rest because soon they know I will be theirs forever," hot tears bit at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall and instead suffered their heat. "I-I don't want this."

She cupped his face, "Why? Why do you refuse immortality?"

"I don't want to live forever trapped in this endless nightmare, Oli," he turned from her comfort. "I can't."

"Then live now," she pulled his face back to meet hers. "Worry not about what tomorrow brings or the days after. Live your life now, and when forever comes, you can grow your farm then. You can forever pick Demeter damned weeds from sunup to sundown," she huffed. "Lady Hekate was right. This place is drowning you. You are a son of the sea. You were never meant to sit still in land-locked Kansas. All this soil is clogging your veins. That is what you feel thickening."

"That was Hekate?"

Olive gave a soft pitiful laugh as she mumbled words to the heavens before looking back at him, "That is what you take from my words? You ask about the goddess in your house… How did you not know that the Goddess of Magik was in your home?"

Percy could only shrug as he forced himself to sit and escape the nymph's arms, who refused to let him go and instead helped him get comfortable on the couch they occupied. Her touch ghosted his hands but never entirely left.

"After a while, they all start blending together. The Gods become just another being who ruin things."

"They don't always ruin things, Percy. The Gods have blessed the lands with great riches and wonders."

"Right, then they strike down anyone who dares do something that doesn't praise them. I've read about the Silver Age."

"Yes, well, maybe once, but times have changed. The Gods have changed. You've made them change."

Percy scoffed, "Gods don't change, Oli. Immortality blinds you to change when you remain forever."

"That is what you fear… What you refuse: Stagnation, but yet you chose it when you chose this farm."

"An attempt at control. That is all this farm really is," he frowned. "Hekate was right."

"What did she even want with you?"

"I don't know. A gift or something. I didn't care to listen."

"Don't tell me you threatened her."

"She wouldn't leave. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Violence isn't the solution to all your problems, Percy."

"Yet, it is the only answer the world accepts."

"Then maybe you should change the world. Learn another way, teach another way. You'll have forever to do this."

Forever….

"My mom is going to love you, Oli."

"Perhaps. When does she come to visit again?"

"Sunday. Everything is happening on Sunday."

"Then we shall have a feast for her."

"Suck up," laughed Percy.

"Of course."

They sat there a moment, lingering in thoughts of Sunday.

Percy's eyes flickered briefly, eyelids like lead, "I think I want to go to my own bed now and just sleep."

"Do you need help? A lullaby to help calm you to sleep?"

"No, Mother," he chided. "But, thank you. You truly have been a gift in all of this."

"You never need to thank me. The world owes you."

"Thank you, regardless."

"You're welcome, Percy."

:P LINEBREAK d:

Sleep came easy, all things considered. Yeah, there was a period of running rampant thoughts and overthinking, but at the end of the day, that was how he knew he was still mortal and human. That he still worried about how his house looked for when his mother would come by, what he needed to gather at the farmers market, and what he should have said to Hekate. Would a monster worry? Would a god?

It didn't matter. She left. It was Saturday. He had things to prepare for tomorrow.

Bzzzzz.

What the Hades was that noise? Was that a giant bug buzzing around in his kitchen? What is going on out there?

Throwing on a plain white shirt, Percy stepped out from his room, crossed the hall, and into the main living room, where a golden ball buzzed around his kitchen on wings, not unlike a hummingbird. He followed it through the air, jittering around his bookshelf and in the morning light that streamed through his windows.

"It's called a snitch," the woman from yesterday spoke as she appeared from around a corner. Her arm reached out and snatched the snitch from the air. The insect-like wings fluttered a moment between her black-painted nails. "Some would call it a toy, and others would call it their dream."

"Hekate," he stared her down.

"Perseus."

"You are back, uninvited, I might add."

"I was hoping to talk properly."

"That's a shame. I don't have much time. I have a busy day cleaning up this place and picking crops."

"I need only ten minutes of your time," she insisted.

Percy stared her down as he tried to think of a better reason to kick her out, but nothing came to mind.

"Five, and I'm counting."

"Seven."

"Already counting."

She raised a single eyebrow before exhaling, "Fine. As I mentioned yesterday, I owe you. As friends with Nemesis, it is important to me to repay back deeds done with kindness or harshness. That said, I wish to take you to the United Kingdom. Experience a new culture, sports events, and overall fun, worry-free adventures."

Bull. There was always a catch.

"The catch?"

She faltered a moment, "It will be with wizards."

Wizards? What the Hades does that mean?

"No thanks," he turned away. "I don't want to deal with Circe's brothers."

"Hear me out," she reappeared right before him.

"I did, and I don't want to deal with some blindsided quest you are trying to force me on."

"Never," she hissed. "The last threat that the wizarding world faced was thirteen years ago, a civil war that almost killed off the society. It was what made me realize that we, the Gods, could be doing more to aid the world. It was the reason I helped Kronos. That things need to be fixed. So, in honesty, our excursion would be for us to immerse ourselves in that world for a single school year-"

"School?" he whined.

"Yes. Hogwarts. A fine establishment. One of the best."

"I'm not going back to school, Hekate. It never worked out for the teachers or the building."

"Well, worry not, we are only there in charade. I could care less for your grades or attendance. I just wish to see the youth and where they stand. To see what is being done for future generations so that I can help them become better than the last generation. Does that appease you? It would be no different than visiting camp for a summer."

Not really. Summer was only a few months, and there wasn't homework.

"Two minutes."

"Plus, there is a great event happening at this school this upcoming year. It will be games that will keep you entertained and such. It is a rare opportunity to see this event as it has not been around for some centuries."

"So, let me just make sure. School. Sports. Limited Event. Cultural shock and worry-free adventures. That is what you are selling me?"

She rocked her head side to side as she processed his oversimplification, "More or less."

"And if I don't want to do this?"

"Look, I'm not taking no for an answer here."

"Yikes, bit rapey."

"Perseus. I will literally bend over backward for you on this trip. The debt you have accumulated with me is the happiness and free living of my children and me. The least I can do to pay you back is to provide you with a level of happiness in your life. Hell, I'll take you to a veela enclave and leave you with enough stamina potions to make Apollo jealous."

"What is a veela?"

"A creation between Aphrodite and I. Beautiful women who can become birds but are also witches."

"See, you say stuff like that, and I think of a harpy who would try to eat me, but she looks hot while doing it because of Aphrodite and all. Not really that enticing."

"I assure you, Percy. While there, I will not let any danger befall your person or being. I swear."

But not on the Styx.

"The Ancient Laws?" he asked next.

"Do not apply to you due to your unique status."

"Right, because I'm losing my mortality?"

"Precisely. Just like Hercules was before he died and was reborn a god. You are now a grey area in the laws that were never accounted for."

Hercules…

Zoe…

"This happened to Hercules too?"

"The greatest demigod to exist, did you think his journey was unfollowable? I do believe you have completed many of his labors yourself already."

Stars. I can see the Stars again, m'lady.

"I just-I just promised a friend I wouldn't turn out like him," his tone fell.

"Was this before or after you gouged out Gaia's eyes?"

No. Shut up. Not this. Leave.

"Your time is up," he growled as his hand dropped to his pocket.

She held her hands up in surrender, "Still a sensitive topic. I guess I apologize."

"Leave," he bit out once more.

"I'm going," she began to walk to the front door. "When you are ready to travel over the pond, just pray to me and do it before Thursday. Friday is the World Cup, and we will want to be there before sundown."

Why won't she leave?

"Out already!"

"Ok, ok, I am going sourpuss."

He heard her huff as she closed the door behind him, and he heard the same small pop he heard the day before when she left. She was gone, and he once more let out a deep sigh.

Wizard school…He'd end up turned into a guinea pig again. Like he would ever take that offer.

"You should take it," Olive appeared, peaking around a corner, her drab green hair hung down like a curtain. "I can take care of this place for a year for you. We both know I can."

"What if I don't want her favor? To be a travel buddy because she wants somebody to be with her as she plays human?"

"She feels indebted, Percy," Olive began. "If she is such friends with Nemesis as she says, she will pay you back regardless. It is either here, now, where you can influence control over it, or one day she will appear and force it upon you."

Nemesis… Ethan's mother, the one who took his eye. The goddess of balance.

"I need to think on it."

"Please do."

"In the meantime," he approached his hall closet full of supplies, "I need to clean this place up, and that isn't even talking about the crop picking we have to do."

"Actually, it is all done."

He turned to face her, "What? When?"

"When she came by before you were awake. Lady Hekate used her powers. The crops are already in the bed of the truck and charmed to be preserved. That and she cleaned the house for you, again with her powers."

He looked around the living room and the house overall. It was clean, all the way down to the baseboards, as clean as the day he moved in, if not cleaner.

"Hmm."

"I do believe she means well, Percy," Olive laid a hand on his shoulder. "It would be just a year, like a vacation."

He patted her hand, "I'll think about it, Olive. I just want to see my family first before I go and decide to take a vacation for a year. That isn't even considering the possibilities of what could go wrong."

"You could even find someone over there to make you happy," she hoped.

"No, I don't think that's on the table for me," he forced a smile as he winked at her. "I'd have a better shot with Artemis than some mortal girl."

"You never know where you will end up in life, but you just have to find yourself in it."

Chapter Text

"Percy!"

The young demigod in question jumped into his mother's arms. She had barely taken a step out of the rental car her husband, Paul, had driven from the airport, but that didn't matter as Percy swept her into his arms.

Percy held her tightly as he always did, for in her arms, he was safe.

"How are you, my boy?" she whispered in his ear.

Happy beyond belief.

"Good." He nodded into her shoulder. "Busy, y'know? Running a farm and all," he laughed. "I'm glad you came."

"I still cannot believe you decided to move out to live on a farm of all places."

"Yeah. You're telling me, Mom."

"Sally, you aren't the only one that wants to hug the boy." Paul rounded the front of the car and closed in on them.

Yet, Sally did not pull away but held Percy tighter. Percy, for his efforts, looked to the man and gave him a small wave of his hand while his arms remained firm around his mother.

"Hi, Paul. How are you?" he spoke, meeting the man's eye.

"Doing fine, kid. We had an easy drive over here. It is really flat here." He slapped Percy on the shoulder as he passed the mother and son. He approached the back car door and opened it. "We sure aren't in New York anymore."

"Yeah, it is the Midwest," Percy laughed. "Not much to it until you hit the mountains or the Mississippi. Just depends on which direction you go."

"They could work on their roads some more, lot of potholes. Was worried they'd wake Estelle." The English teacher pulled away from the car with a one-year-old cradled in his gasp. Only then did his mother disentangle from him. First, she held Percy at arm's length as she studied him before nodding to herself and taking Estelle from Paul.

"Yeah, the roads are always rough," Percy told Paul. "After a while, you become familiar with where to veer the car to avoid them."

"That's how it always is. Wish they would just fix them." The older man took his turn and brought him in for a hug.

Percy held him for a moment before he pulled away, "That's how they get you, though. Ruins our car, so you have to keep paying to fix it."

"Is that so? Where is that coming from?" Paul laughed.

"Old Man Gary in town. He has quite a few sayings like that. Some of them make sense sometimes, and it scares me." Percy shuddered. "You'll meet him today. That is, if you are still open to coming to town with me after I take care of Blu?"

"Of course, we are, sweetie." His mother approached him. Her other child rested on her hip, and her left arm held the child close.

"Hi, lil sis." Percy booped her nose. Her brown eyes followed his finger as he danced it around her face. "You causing trouble with me out of the house?"

"Loads," his mother sighed. "She figured out how to walk way faster than you did. Yet, she is very picky with what she eats."

"Well, let's just make sure she doesn't wander to the barn then, eh? I don't want her thinking she can ride Blu or Blackjack if he is around."

Sally nodded, "Probably best not to show her where it is, then. She loves horses. I blame your father for that too. He came by with a stuffed animal, and she takes it everywhere. Had to hold onto it the whole flight here." She turned to the said child, who was sucking on her thumb and gripping a black stuffed horse in the other. "Isn't that right, 'Stel?"

Estelle didn't respond as she just stared at Percy.

"She hasn't started talking yet, but me and Paul –"

"Paul and I," Paul corrected as he pulled out his luggage from the trunk.

"Right. Paul and I," she tossed her husband a look, "expect it to happen any day now. Maybe she'll do it in front of her big brother? Won't you, baby girl?"

The small child did not respond once again. She was clearly far too busy sucking her thumb and watching Percy.

"Hopefully, she doesn't pick a colorful New Yorker word as her first," Paul added as he opened the trunk of the rented vehicle.

"I call those sailor words, Captain."

"Of course you do, Seaboy," Paul said as he began to pull out a large suitcase. He groaned as he pulled it past the lip of the car and dropped it on the ground. "What did you pack in here, honey? Half the closet?"

"No. Only what we needed and some other things I wasn't sure if Percy would have for a one-year-old."

"I got this, Paul." Percy rushed over to help. "Let me take care of your luggage. You guys can head inside. Olive can show you your room."

"I got this," Paul counterclaimed as he tried to separate Percy from the luggage with his body.

At the same time, his mother asked, "Who's Olive?"

"Olive is a nymph that helps me manage the property, and trust me, Paul, I can carry all this."

"Are you sure? Your mother didn't forget a thing, it seems."

Percy simply hauled the suitcase Paul struggled with onto his shoulder without any strain.

"You do got this." Paul smiled as he made to grab a small suitcase.

"It is lighter than a car," Percy shrugged as he reached for another suitcase.

"Do we even want to know?"

I was holding on with one hand over a hell pit while doing so with the weight of another person, a giant spider lady, and a car. I don't think you would ever want to know how I got there.

Percy didn't say that, though; instead, he led his mother and stepfather into his house. The front door creaked as it swung inwards and echoed throughout the house. Just inside, Olive stood, a beaming smile on her face as she held her arms down in front of her.

"Olive." Percy sidestepped her. "Meet my Mom and Paul."

"Hello, Mom and Paul." She approached them. "Oh, hello, little one without a name."

"Her name is Estelle," Sally supplied.

"A very pretty name for a pretty young girl," Olive cooed.

"Let them into the house, Oli," Percy hollered back at her as he journeyed into his house to set down the luggage he carried.

"Yes." The nymph blushed and stepped back and out of the doorway, leading them deeper into the house.

"So, Olive," Sally began as she carried Estelle forward, "tell us a little about yourself?"

"Me? Oh, my story is pretty simple. I was a transplant here on these grounds. A groundskeeper, you could say, for Percy as a reward for his efforts in the war."

Skatá. Oli, they didn't know…

"War? I thought it was just a quest?" Sally frowned as she turned on Percy, who winced. "Perseus. You said it wasn't anything like Manhattan."

"I didn't lie. It was nothing like Manhattan."

It was worse. You don't need to know.

The glare Percy received could melt the ice caps.

"Paul, take Estelle. Me and Percy need to talk."

Double skatá.

"Percy and I, honey."

"Paul," she warned.

"Sorry, honey. I'm taking Estelle now. Olive, where is our room?" Paul hurried off to join the nymph.

"Follow me, sir."

"Of course."

Percy watched the three trail off. His gaze fell back to his mother, the person he lied to about the extent of what all happened. The person who cared and loved him unconditionally. He couldn't let her know what her son had done.

He didn't want her to look at him differently. Not like the others. Not like Annabeth.

"Can we step outside for this?" Percy asked. "Away from them."

"Will you tell me the truth? All of it?"

"It is a long story, and I have to be at the town square in an hour or so."

His mother didn't budge, "Then let's get to the point, Percy."

"The barn?" he tried.

Thankfully, she relented, "Lead the way, mister."

How do I tell her?

Percy exhaled as he led her out the back door, holding it open for her to follow. He gently shut it behind her and led her to where the pegasi roosted. Gravel crunched under their feet, and Percy took another deep breath as he gathered his thoughts.

Watered-down version and hope for the best. She doesn't need the whole story.

"Well, you know how the Peacock took my memories and kidnapped me for a while." Sally nodded along. "Then, I ended up on the West Coast. Did the whole New Rome thing. Went to Alaska. Destroyed part of the glacier-"

"Still cannot believe you did that. The news did a whole special on it and how global warming was the cause, but no. It was my son all along."

He pulled the red barn doors apart. Inside he could see the single black mare who was in foal.

"Well, to be fair, you named me Perseus—the Destroyer," he told his mother as he approached the pegasus inside. "Hello, Blu."

"He had a happy story," his mother told him from her spot near the doors. "The only one that wasn't a tragedy. I had thought it would bring you luck."

"Well, I guess I have more of a story to get through if I want that ending." He snarked and regretted it the moment it left his mouth.

"What do you mean?" She crossed the barn and grabbed his shoulders. "Are you all right?" She inspected every inch of him that she could see. Her eyes lingered on the scar that trailed down his face.

"Never better, Mom," he lied through a forced smile. He hated doing it, and his gut rolled because of it—gods, he wanted to puke for lying to her about this.

"Percy… You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" She held him in place. "Anything."

He swallowed the lump in his throat, nodded, and pulled away.

"Yeah, of course…." he hesitated, stepped away, and returned to caring for Blu. "So, anyways, after the whole Rome thing, I got on a literal flying boat."

He unlatched and opened a door where all the hay was stored, safe from being a buffet for the unending hunger of Blackjack.

"Where you traveled to Greece?"

"More or less." He grabbed two squares of hay onto his shoulders. "Can you shut that door behind me?"

His mother nodded and latched the door, "More or less?"

"Well, I took another trip into the underworld of sorts in Rome. I then made it to Greece."

"Did you have to talk to Nico's father?"

I wish.

"Something like that. A bit of the 'swish-swish stab' kind of talking. But I made it out all the same."

"I don't like this glossing over you are doing."

"Yeah, well, you really wouldn't like the explicit details."

"Maybe not, but I want to know. I want to understand what my baby boy has been through." She paused and looked down before she gazed up at him. "What can I do to help you?"

"Help me?" He threw the hay down for Blu, who thanked him as she started to munch.

You can't help me. It's too late.

"Percy, you put yourself in the middle of a continent, and there isn't a single pond or lake anywhere near your home. I already checked Google Maps. A son of the Sea would not pick up from the coast and move to this place without reason."

"Mom…"

Let it go.

"Please, Percy, let me in."

I can't. Not anymore.

"Mom."

"Annabeth IM'ed me. She was asking about you."

Annabeth?

"What?"

"She was worried about you. Said you stopped talking to everyone. Fell off their radar completely."

"Well, I didn't want to be around all that stuff anymore."

"And your friends? The ones you would always tell me stories about after each summer. You just left them?"

I didn't leave them.

"They got busy with being a demigod."

"Why did you and Annabeth split?"

She saw me as the monster I am—the corruption I had to become.

"We lost our spark."

"How?"

Let it go.

"I don't know."

"Percy. Please, tell me. She called me crying, asking about you. She never cries."

She does cry. Only when she thinks no one is watching her and that she is safe.

"I won, Mom. That's what happened."

"What does that mean?"

"I won!" he shouted and threw his arms out. "We were at the base of Mount Olympus, the actual mountain. The 'prophesized seven' stood before Mother Earth as the gods watched from above, and I did what no one else could and won."

"They didn't help?" she mumbled before her eyes hardened. "I swear I will slap your father the next time I see him."

"They did help, but not at first," he placated her. "The Giants, big lizard-looking hybrids, attacked us. We did the whole 'swish-swish stab' thing all over again. The gods smote the remains, so they couldn't reform. We did the hard part."

"And is that all?" she probed as she stepped into his personal bubble.

Stop asking for more.

"More or less." He looked at the dirt below their feet.

She arched an eyebrow at him, "Perseus."

"We won. Simple as that, honestly. That is where the story ends."

"And if I called up Annabeth right now, she would confirm that?"

No.

"Don't call her."

"Then tell me everything."

"You'll look at me differently."

"I won't, baby. You know I won't."

"You will. I know you will."

"Percy." She pulled him into a hug. "I am your mother. I will only ever love you."

"I know," he whispered.

"You can tell me anything."

"I killed them all." He pulled away and stared her down. Her warm brown eyes, which he had always known, met his. They were a reminder of his childhood before the nightmare it had become. That everything would be fine.

"The Giants?" she probed softly.

"No, the primordials."

"The primordials?"

"The embodiments of the mythological world. Where Dad has the power to control earthquakes, Mother Earth was the very Earth."

"How? How did you do it?"

I slit the throats of beings taller than buildings. I poisoned the poison. I held the giants' blood in their body hostage as I brought down my blade onto each and every one of them. And I gouged her eyes out and strangled her while I held her under the waves so the ground could not save her.

"They tried to kill me," he told her.

"How many tried?"

"Three, almost four."

"Three? Who were the other two?"

You don't need to know of that hell. You'll never know of it.

"You wouldn't know them. Just small background individuals."

"Embodiments of the world are not small figures, Percy."

"Mom, please, can we just drop it?"

"Percy–"

"Please."

"Okay," she relented. "I'll drop it as long as you know you can talk to me at any time—no matter what day or hour. I love you, and I am here for you."

"I love you too."

"Plus, I think it is close to the time you need to get to town anyways."

:P LINEBREAK d:

Percy parked his truck and stepped out. He reached into the truck's bed and grabbed a white folding table he always used. Without any effort, he assembled it in mere moments under the shade of a tree in the town square. He did it all just before Paul brought over a basket of tomatoes.

"Thank you," Percy told him as he pulled the tomatoes to the far edge. He looked up to see his mom and sister leaning against the truck as the two men worked. "Give me a moment, Mom, and I can set you up a folding chair."

"I can help, mister. Stel can sit in the car for a moment. Just tell me what I need to do."

"Carrots next."

She nodded and carried over a crate of carrots. Of course, Percy took those from her and set them down on his table as he hurried over, pulled out his lawn chair, and set it up in the shade of a tree next to his table for her.

"Thank you, son."

Percy hurried back to grab more of his small crops, and he and Paul placed them on the scraped-up table. Falling into a familiar routine, he organized them for everyone in the square to see what he had brought. The occasional townie called out to him and waved. He politely waved back as he finished setting up.

"This is nice," his mom said. She now had Estelle on her knee, staring at everyone who wandered by, "Does this happen every Sunday?"

"Yeah, but I only come down every second Sunday or so," he told her. "The other I go on a ride with Blackjack."

"Sounds like you have your life all under control here," Paul chimed in. "Maybe me and your mom should move out here too? Sounds simpler than the city life."

"Probably healthier too. Fresh vegetables that we can steal from Percy. It would beat the countless ordering in that we do. Better than what the bodega and markets would have too."

Estelle babbled as she joined the conversation in her own way.

"She's asking for a discount," Paul joked.

"I don't do family discounts, sorry," Percy winked at his little sister. Of course, she just continued to babble incoherently. "Not even for my adorable little sister."

"Percy!" a man hollered, and Percy turned as he watched a man near his table from the far side of the square.

"Gary," Percy shook his hand. "Here I was, thinking I'd be lucky enough to miss out on your company today."

"Bah, you little Yankee. I'm the reason you come back."

"That's true. You pay my bills."

"You grow the best in town. I'd say it is blessed by God himself if I didn't know any better," Gary praised before he started to side-eye some of the other farmers. "Plus, I know you don't put any of them chemicals in your crops."

"Too lazy try." The two laughed.

"Ah, I'm being rude," Old Man Gary sobered up as he turned to face the others. "Who are these people with ya? Ma and Pa?"

"Sally and Paul Blofis, and this is our daughter Estelle," Percy's stepfather said as he stepped forward to shake the man's hand.

"Pleasure to meet ya. You raised a good chap here." Gary returned the shake and nodded to Sally.

"Should have known him a few years ago. Straight trouble."

"I bet he was. He's got that look in his eye."

"It was mostly not my fault."

"Mostly?" Percy's mom raised an eyebrow at him.

"Half?" he tried.

"We'll go with that, Percy," Sally said.

"Anyways, I just wanted to buy out your son's supply before Davis could beat me to it. Y'all have a blessed day." Gary waved as he gave Percy a stack of bills and stepped away with bags bursting with crops.

"You too," the three chorused back.

"He seems nice," Sally offered.

"Yeah. He just can be a bit much. He was restrained today."

Paul nodded, "I can see it."

The three adults descended into silence as they all watched locals rotate from stall to stall, striking up conversations and laughing with the locals. The ambient noise of the town square soaked the air, and the two New York residents took it all in.

For Percy, this was nothing new as he had grown accustomed to setting up in the same place and watching the same people shuffle about. This repeated cycle he had invested himself in was perfect. Why would I want to go to wizard school and upset that? Why am I even giving it thought?

"What's bothering you, Percy?" his mother spoke up.

"Nothing. Just something stupid."

"When has that ever stopped you from sharing?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, Mom?"

"Nothing, sweetie. Now, what's bothering you?"

Do I tell her this? It's not like I am going anyways.

"One of father's colleagues approached me with an offer."

"Oh," her face fell, "what did they want?"

"Boarding school, if I can even call it that."

"I'm not paying the clean-up bill," Paul jabbed in as he took Estelle onto his knee.

"I don't even know if they take American dollars anyways, Paul. It's a special school in England or something, if you catch my drift," Percy explained.

"England?" he asked.

"Or something."

"Why is it all the way over there if your father is here now?"

"Well, it is more of an old off-shoot school or something. I don't know much. I drove the person out before they could give me all the details. I don't plan on going."

"Yet, here you are thinking about it," Paul added. "You wouldn't be letting it bug you if you weren't thinking about it."

"Back up, Percy. You drove one of them out? I taught you better manners than that when you have guests."

"She was trespassing, and I gave her plenty of warnings."

"I was not trespassing, Perseus."

"What the fuck!" Percy shot to his feet like a compressed spring expanding. He watched as Hekate picked up a tomato and tossed it into the air before catching it. Her gaze fell upon his own. "Hekate, what are you doing here?"

"I've come to talk," she said before tilting her head to the others. "You must be the mother. Charmed to meet you. I am Hekate, goddess of magik and other such occultist ideas."

"Oh, um. Yes, a pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Hekate-"

"Just Hekate. Your son has earned your family and its legacies the honor to forgo titles outside of formal appearances."

"Of course, Hekate. I am Sally Blofis, and this is my husband, Percy's stepfather, Paul. Then this is our daughter, Estelle." She motioned to the girl who stared up at Hekate.

"Fuck."

Eyes widened at the baby, who smiled before everyone slowly shifted to look at Percy.

"I'm grounded, aren't I?"

:P LINEBREAK d:

"I blame her."

"Percy, you cannot blame a goddess for all your problems."

"Yeah, I can, Mom," Percy scoffed like a child. "Have you met my Uncle in the sky? Actually, it's probably better that you don't."

"I can erase the memory of her learning that word from her head if you wish me to," Hekate offered as she glanced at Estelle outside in Olive's arms. Paul stood with her, watching as the nymph cooed over the child.

"Ha, no." Percy stepped in-between Hekate and her gaze. "Why are you even here again? You told me to get back to you."

"I am here to speak of my request once more. I felt that our last conversation could've gone better."

"I thought I had some time to think on it," he rephrased.

The goddess of magic shrugged, "I changed my mind. Hence why I have come before you now."

Percy took a long breath as he centered himself. His mother was in the room after all. He turned his gaze to the Witch, "That is not how things work, goddess."

"Perhaps not for mortals, but we are beyond that point, aren't we, Perseus?" she purred.

Remain calm. Mom is here.

"Percy, what is she talking about," Sally asked as she glanced between the two.

Don't make me tell you this too.

"You don't want to know, Mom. It is stupid."

"Percy, we've been through this already today. If something is going on, as your mother, I want to know."

Mom, I love you, but please… Please don't keep digging into these things.

"Should I tell her about your condition?" The goddess poked the metaphorical embers.

"Percy?"

I'm not getting out of this, am I?

"You piss me off," Percy bit at the smirking goddess. "My condition is stupid and is at no risk to my health. However, the thing we talked about in the barn this morning, Mom, well, it changed me. Ichor is overtaking my blood."

He held up his wrists for her to see where the usual blue veins would be were now a soft golden flow.

"Oh," she whimpered as she took his arm in her own. She studied it momentarily before her gaze tried to meet his, but he stared stubbornly at the Witch. "Percy, what does that mean for you?" She reached a hand to his cheek, and he couldn't help but turn into her touch.

I'm such a sucker.

"I'm slowly becoming an immortal," he whispered, his eyes closed. He couldn't meet her eyes. He couldn't…

"Oh…" She glanced at her husband and child outside and chewed on her thoughts. "Immortal?"

Why do you sound so disappointed? I hate it enough already. Don't hate me too.

"Yeah," he croaked.

"As in not dying?" she whispered to herself.

I'm still your son.

You can't turn your back on me like Annabeth.

I just wanted to live.

Don't leave me.

He crashed into her arms, "I didn't want this, Mom. You have to believe me!" He grappled his arms around her.

"I do, honey. I do." She returned his hug. "I remember the Manhattan affair; you told me you denied it once before. You don't want it. I know."

He choked back a sob.

"I know, my boy," she whispered into his ear. "However, it just means you have a whole life to live now."

"But I don't want it," he whined.

"Percy," she said as she pulled herself to arm's length, "life blesses us with gifts and opportunities we never want, but when we look back on them, we never regret them. Do you think I wanted to be hit on by a man in a Hawaiian shirt while I sunbathed? No, I didn't, but I also don't regret you. I would take your father and his horrid pickup lines every day for the rest of my life if it meant you could be my son forever."

… my son forever.

"Ahem." Hekate cleared her throat. "If it helps, Perseus, you'll find immortality gives you time to experience the best the world has to offer."

He turned on her, breaking free from his mother's grasp, "I don't want the best. I want what I wished for. My peace."

"And it has been granted, child." She splayed her arms out. His anger today unphased her, unlike it did previously.

"Don't you 'child,' my child," Sally snapped.

The goddess gave her a once-over before nodding slightly, "Apologies. I merely wish to convey, once more, to Perseus that I am offering him one of the best experiences that life can give him. Despite his unending mortality, this will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime offer."

"Schooling in England? That was your offer?" Sally accused.

"For wizards and in Scotland, but yes, schooling amongst other celebrated activities that have all aligned for the first time in centuries."

"You know Percy has a bad history with schools. Yes?"

Hekate waved it off, "Unimportant when I have magic. His attendance and grades would be irrelevant also."

"Then why take him to a school if the things that make a school do not matter?"

"I owe your son a debt, Mrs. Blofis. Truthfully, I wish to repay him and be the one to show him the ropes of what it means to be a being of superior power. It is his crux now. The very reason he is ascending is because he has broken past his own limits to something akin to a god's own. He needs to find proper control and not the illusion of it he tries to maintain now."

It is not an illusion…

"And, Percy," his mother turned to him, "why do you not want this?"

"It always goes wrong. These things always have a catch."

Sally turned back to the goddess with a raised brow, "The catch?"

"Insignificant in the face of my divine power. This I can assure you as a mother speaking to another mother."

Sally hardened her gaze and stared her down like a mother bear.

At that moment, Percy wished he could read her mind. To understand why the goddess's words seemed to come to completion within his mother's mind.

Sally slowly nodded, "He'll do it."

"What? Mom!" Percy cried out as he turned to face her.

"Consider it a punishment for your sister's first word."

"This isn't fair!" he complained. "You cannot make me do this."

"No, I cannot. However, we both know you will because I said so, and I am your mother."

"I hate this." He pouted like a child.

"You hate it now, Percy. You hate it now. Yet, this could be where you find your happy ending." She rubbed his back.

"If I had known it was this simple, Mrs. Blofis, I would've approached you first to speak with him. He was rather testy the last time I was here."

"Was he? I am sure he will apologize."

"I am not apologizing to her."

"Perseus," his mother warned.

"Sorry," Percy pouted,

"For?" Sally probed.

"Drawing my blade and telling you to leave my private property."

Hekate beamed, "Accepted, and while yes, you live here, this property is owned by Olympus. Its ownership is not yours. You are merely a tenant. Your claim for this being private property is invalid."

Whatever.

"I can't believe you are making me do this, Mom."

"Stop being a child. She has promised your safe return. All will go smoothly; if not, I am sure neither your father nor I will let her off the hook if something goes wrong. So, you'll enjoy your trip. Promise me that."

"I promise I will try." I'll try not to kill this Witch.

"Good. Now, let's go back to family time. We can tell Paul over dinner tonight. That sweetie, Olive, told me she would be preparing a feast for us."

Chapter Text

"Right," Percy drawled as he looked around his picked-over room. He had spent the morning packing away clothes, shampoo, toiletries, and anything else he might have needed for his forced vacation. "Olive, do you think they'll have wash machines where I am going?"

The tree spirit in question poked her head into his room, "Perhaps. However, you should expect not. Therefore, you can not be disappointed when they do not."

"So, no?" His eyebrows furrowed as his lips dipped.

"No," she confirmed as she stepped into the doorway. The first hints of the rising sun struck her back through the windows on the far side of the house.

Percy threw another four shirts and pants into his second suitcase, forced it shut, zipped it closed, and leaned against it. He paused, his hands resting on the shell cover. The dark blue glossy paint job stared up at him. It did not look too far off from the night sky with its speckles. He turned away.

"I really don't want to do this." He looked to Olive. "Find me a reason to stay. Will you?"

"I cannot. You promised your mother that you would take this journey before she left. That you would try to find happiness on this trip. And I will not break my promise to her. That I will force you to go no matter what."

So Mother has ensnared you as well, Olive?

Percy sighed, "Yeah. I know." His head fell.

The floorboards could use a polish. Maybe I take another day before I leave to do that. No. Hekate wouldn't accept that. He needed a better excuse.

"She'll be here soon. Are you sure you have everything?" Olive stepped closer and began to look over his room. Her gaze traveled to his bathroom as she checked to ensure he didn't forget anything. "Toothbrush and toothpaste?"

"Got it. Suitcase number one."

"Rain jacket?" She poked her head into his closet.

"I don't even get wet, but yes, I have a jacke-"

"What of a wand?" Hekate bursted into his room. The door slammed into the wall as she flung it open. Even though it was already open, she just pushed it further for effect.

Percy jumped as he turned to the goddess who had just appeared.

Great. You're here already.

"You need a bell around your neck!" he bit out. "You could have at least knocked or done anything but shout and slam the door."

"Nonsense. I enter as I please." She sauntered into the room, a hand perched over her lips. "However, do you think I should wear a choker, Perseus? With a little bell as well? My, I didn't think that was your type."

Please just be quiet. Is that so hard?

It took too much restraint and mental willpower not to smack the smug smirk off her face.

Hitting a woman was wrong, and Mom would not be happy.

He unclenched his hand and pulled away from his pocket as he massaged his forehead. She was going to give him a headache before they even left.

He took a deep breath and composed himself before he looked at her, "Why are you in my bedroom, Hekate? I have a whole living room you could have waited in for me to be ready. Even better yet, you could just call this all off and leave."

"Never. I am here for you," she said, glancing between him and the tree spirit with a grin. "Did you forget the arrangement you so happily agreed to? The time and place we were set to meet?"

"Please do not antagonize him," Olive whispered, not meeting the goddess' eyes.

"He's a big boy. Isn't that right, Perseus?"

"It's Percy," he corrected. "She's right. I would prefer it if you listened to Olive. I would like to try and start this adventure on a good foot."

Hekate frowned momentarily before she forced a smile, "Of course. Speaking of, we should be leaving soon. It is half past the first light, as we agreed. Have you said your goodbyes?"

No. I'm trying to find an excuse to say instead of a goodbye.

"Not yet."

"Best get to it." Hekate gestured at the two. "We have to do some shopping for the school year before we can head to the World Cup."

Hekate turned and left the room with a swish of her purple dress, whistling growing faint as she left the area. Percy turned to his companion of the last year.

"Say there is an emergency in a few hours that I need to be here to help. Say it's a primordial for all I care."

"Percy," Olive reached out, her arms wrapped around him. "Breathe in and out." He did as she said. "Your fear of leaving will lead you to a darker place than you are. A more harmful place."

"You don't know that."

"It is only a year. Three hundred sixty-five days at most. You have fought more monsters than that in a single battle. If you can conquer them, you can conquer each day. Do you hear me?" She pulled his face to meet her stare.

"Yes," he whispered.

"Will you seize the days and conquer each of them?" she asked. No, it wasn't an ask. It was a demand.

"You'll be fine without me here?" He gave in.

"Of course." She pulled him in for a hug. Her arms wrapped around him, holding him up as he leaned into her.

"You'll IM me when the foal is coming, right?" he whispered. "So that I can be here to help deliver it."

"Yes, Percy. You do not need to worry about this place or me. We shall be taken care of."

He pulled back, "I know. I know. I just…"

I cannot lose anymore…

"You are trying to stall." Olive stepped back closer to him. Her hand came forward and rested on his cheek. "Do not be afraid of the next great adventure, Hero. Go forth and conquer."

He smiled, hugged her, and held her close.

Conquer the world… Seize the day. You could inspire a man to rule the world with those words.

"Conquer, huh?" he teased. "Storm the gates and all?"

"You are stalling." She pulled away and softly tapped his chest with a smile. "Scram, before I drag you out with some roots."

Percy let his head fall as he looked at his suitcases. Effortlessly, he shouldered their weight as he listened to the whistling from the living room.

Seize the day. One at a time. They are all just another monster I have to beat.

He stepped into his living room.

Once again, Hekate was enthralled in his bookshelf. Her hand traced over the spines of leather as she bobbed her head back and forth. Her black hair was that of silk with how perfect it looked.

"Have you steeled your soul and found the path you shall take?" she asked without facing him.

"I did." He stepped closer to her.

She turned to face him, her eyes a dull purple. The two locked eyes, neither moving as they sized the other up.

She didn't have any make-up on, Percy noticed. That her divine beauty was begrudgingly natural. Even the tiny dimples that formed as she smiled were perfect on her.

She snapped her fingers, and his suitcase vanished.

"They'll find us at our destination," she answered his unasked question.

He nodded and lowered his arms that ghosted the air from where they held his luggage on his shoulders.

"Take my hand," she purred.

Her right arm was outstretched and faced down. Her knuckles faced him with only a singular ring adorned on her fingers. A beautiful sea-green jewel surrounded by a black band that kept it locked in place.

His vision flicked back and forth between her eyes and her ring.

He felt like he was about to kiss a princess' hand.

He would have to bow to do that, however.

He reached out with his blood-stained nails and took her by her forearm above her ornate golden bracelets and jewel-filled bands.

She smirked, and her eyes sparkled, "We should link arms properly then, for this next part, of course."

"Why's that?" He held firm to where he was at.

"We'll be traveling between here and London in under a second." She forced her arm to loop with his, beating his inhuman strength. A smirk spread across her face, "You don't wish to fall off. Who knows where you would land?"

Percy pulled her tighter to him, "Don't mistake this for me trying to make a move on you. I'd rather not be stranded in Europe."

"Never," she leaned in closer, her perfume on his lips: vanilla. "It would be a shame to have someone of my beauty latched to your arm as you debut in the magical world. Why, little old me, is but a humble peasant to them."

He leaned back, "Just transport us, Witch."

She huffed and rolled her eyes, "Please?"

He raised his chin and glared down at her.

Then the world collapsed inwards and spun.

:P LINEBREAK d:

"Oh, gods. That was horrible." Percy fell to the ground when his feet finally connected to a solid construct.

What had been a mere moment of reality had felt like a strenuous minute of contortion of the mind and body, and Percy's body was far from sorted. He sat on his hands and knees as his body searched for equilibrium now that the world was still. Yet, he couldn't find it as he stayed down, panting.

"Stop being dramatic," Hekate sighed. "I did the soft version."

"The soft version?" Percy looked up at her from the ground. "There's a worse version?"

"No. It just gets easier to deal with overtime."

"Or we just don't deal with it." His head fell once more as he rested his forehead upon the stone ground. "I have a pegasus. My father has those pearls. You gods can flash around too. Why did we have to become beyblades compressed through a strainer?"

"Authenticity of the experience." Hekate shrugged. "I used the magical world's primary form of transport. We are blending in."

"I think I'm going to puke," Percy wheezed.

Hekate rolled her eyes and stepped away, "Well, hurry up, then. I'd like to move on before the next group lands atop us."

A few minutes later, Percy found his footing and lost his lower jaw as he stared at the world before him.

"What in the world am I looking at, Hekate?"

"This is Diagon Alley." The goddess splayed her hands out as the two looked down the street before them. "The central wizarding of England. Well, at least it was the last time I was here."

Before the two Greek travelers, a stone-laden path traced through crooked and misshaped buildings that looked more like poorly stacked boxes as they shadowed over the people below. Garrish splashes of muted purple and drab greens clashed with splotches of orange accents across the buildings as if a child had taken their crayons to the wall and unleashed all Hades of a mess. Of course, then, the cleanup crew had taken to partially scraping away said crayons leaving a ruined mess.

"This is chaos," Percy affirmed. His wide-eyed gaze met the goddess' who shrugged.

"This is magic, actually," Hekate countered with another shrug.

"These buildings are one Jenga brick pull away from collapsing."

The goddess looked at Percy, her brows knitted in annoyance, "Actually, the layers and interwoven magic are far superior than you give them credit for. Despite its abstract construction, nothing will come tumbling down unless someone acts to pull them down with superior magic. Which would be quite a show of power."

"If you show any Athena-kid this, they'll lynch the town. Then rebuild the town while they are at it."

One of her perfect eyebrows rose as she deadpanned at him, "Are you done yet?"

"Should I start with what I think of the people walking by?" Percy pointed at a tall man whom the crowd parted for as he marched down the central street. His cape-like robes billowed in his wake. "I'm pretty sure that guy over there hasn't seen a shower once in his life."

"What happened to the man in the farmhouse I just saddled myself to? We are moving, you child." She pulled his arm down and forced him forward into the mosh of wizards and witches that crowded the main street like rats in a pipe. "We need to head to the bank first so I can get us some money."

Percy freed himself of Hekate's grasp after a forceful tug, and she whipped back to stare. The purple in her eyes had begun to shimmer as she stared into his soul. Then, she turned away, and he fell into her shadow, "Why do you need money if you own all of this?"

A few people glanced at him as he said that. He gave them a good glare in return. The strangers' lips fell into frowns before they stuck their chins in the air and moved on.

"I don't own any of it, actually. I just created their ability to use magik on a very diluted and more or less controlled scale. I gave them magic and let them play."

"Right, Miss Magic," Percy drawled. "So, why do you need money then? Just create it with, you guessed it, magic." He rolled his eyes, sarcastically threw his hands up, and wiggled his fingers.

Hekate sighed and rounded on him, her eyes sharpening as she stared into him, "Do you understand nothing of trying to blend in and immerse yourself in the local culture?"

"No. I was usually too busy dealing with yours and the other gods' messes when I went on my 'trips.'"

Hekate jabbed a finger into his chest, "You cannot use that with me. You have not had to clean any of my messes."

"So? You gods are all the same." Percy swatted her hand away from his chest. "Who cares if it is you or the War One? I was the one who had to fix things for all of you. I guarantee by the end of this, I will be the one cleaning up whatever mess that is happening here that you haven't told me about. It is just how these things work, and you are lucky my mother doesn't realize that. This place will give me a monster a day."

"I'm not the other gods that you know. I care, Perseus. I make an effort to correct mistakes and make things right. I didn't bring you here to sort out my problems. I brought you here for an experience, a gift, a way to help you, and by Khaos, I will be damned if I do something right by you. So stop complaining and just humor me." The two faced off, unwavering in their glares. "Now, we need to get to the bank so I can get us money to blend in and buy our wands. Is that something you would like to complain about as well?"

Piss off.

Percy glared at her as he shrugged.

"Good boy." Hekate smirked, spun on her heel, and marched towards what Percy assumed was the bank.

It was a tall white building that looked normal amongst the madness of the misshapen construction beyond it. However, the marble steps and walls were too clean and pristine for the Disney Channel Halloween movie reject that was the main street. Thankfully, the sun wasn't shining as it hid behind a floor of clouds, or else, the white walls would only reflect Apollo's might and would have blinded anyone in the vicinity.

The goddess and demigod climbed the entrance steps, past two horrific-looking armored guards that watched their every movement. Their mushed helmeted faces snapped back to the street once they crossed the doorway into the bank.

Creeps.

The guards totally weren't human or even tall, for that matter.

He suppressed the urge to reach for his blade. The piece of metal wouldn't lead to anything good anyways.

I just need to breathe. To relax. I've been off since we landed. Just find my center. Gods, I wish Olive was here.

He inhaled and began to count to ten in his head, holding the air in his chest.

"They are goblins," Hekate supplied as she led him inwards to the most decadent place Percy had seen outside Olympus. "Best not to stare at them. Prideful beings and such."

He exhaled. Calmer than before but still on edge as his fingers tapped at his hips. A steady pattern mimicking a song he heard on his truck radio.

A goblin met Percy's gaze and barred its teeth. Heeding Hekate's advice, Percy averted his gaze away from the sharp-fanged thing-goblin who sat on top of a stack of gold bars to see over a table. Instead, he looked up at the glimmering crystal chandelier as large as a truck hanging over the center of the bank hall. It even glimmered in its reflection upon the perfect floors.

"Yeah. I am picking up on that," he mumbled to himself.

Percy looked back up and saw Hekate across the room conversing with a goblin in a three-piece suit on top of a high-standing pedestal. Percy closed the gap to her just in time to see the little mushed-faced creature hand the goddess a black bag with an embroidered "G" in gold.

Hekate nodded to the goblin and turned to Percy, "Come. We have our money."

"Wands next, right?" He looked at the bag. It was tiny. There was no way it fit anything more than twenty quarters. However, this was magic….

"Careful, Perseus. You almost sound interested." She led him to the doors.

"Why do I need a wand when I have my own powers? I am not your child, nor am I a warlock."

"Correction, you are not a wizard. Warlock was a title earned by high masters of Magik back in the day. If I remember correctly, it fell out of popularity a century or two ago."

Percy stepped up and opened the door, and held it for her to pass him.

"How long have you been out of touch with these people again?" Percy asked. The two stepped out of the bank and back into the outside chaos.

People meandered, moving with disorganized paths. Vendors yelled, advertising products from the sides as green and silver scarfs floated above their heads. Other vendors showcased similar things, like miniature figurines on brooms adorning maroon outfits.

"Some time," the goddess answered as she shouldered into the crowd. "Britain has long since been the central gathering of my wizards after the Roman Empire collapsed. However, they are very self-contained and governed. I imagine it was some time close to then. I did not feel the need to overlook their lives anymore, and before I knew it, the Flame of the West had moved to America. From there, I oversaw the American wizards' rise to their own power and control."

"So sometime after the fall of Rome?" he quirked his head at her. "That's vague,"

"I officially stopped influencing things after Napoleon died. 1800s."

"Right. Ok then, because using the collapse of the Roman Empire as a 'close' time period to Napoleon makes sense."

Hekate rolled her eyes, "You'll learn, Perseus. That a century from now, you'll see how much time begins to blend together when a year begins to feel like a day and then an hour. When a mortal's life is nothing but a blink of your eyes, that one day, you'll see the end, and yesterday will only feel like the beginning."

"I think I'll just find Bessie before then and solve the never-ending thing then and there."

Hekate turned to him, eyebrows furrowed. She waved her hand, and the clamoring crowds he had filtered out became fell deathly silent as they mindlessly passed the two in the middle of the street. Parting around them like a rock in a stream, mouths moving but making no noise.

Magic…

"You truly hate your divinity," she whispered as if it was a horrible story to share. "Your gift…"

"I hate the idea of living to see everyone I know and love die."

"The wounds they will leave in your life will always heal in time," she countered easily as if she had spoken that statement a million times before.

"Why would I ever want wounds in the first place?"

She stepped closer to him, consuming his personal space, but not aggressively as she had earlier in the morning.

"We bleed for what we care for." She reached out slowly and gently touched his chest, over his heart. He felt it hammer away under her touch. "Our hearts must pump for our passions and our desires." Her hands moved to bare his arm. She traced her finger down his forearm, and her nail bit into his skin, drawing a drop of polluted gold and maroon blood. "To be wounded is to feel and to know that things truly matter. That time will pass, may even blur, and you may forget it exists, but the scars of our love remind us what is real." She retraced her scratch in his skin. The blood vanished and left a small white line.

A scar that no one would ever notice unless they really searched for it.

"Are you done marking up my arm?" he huffed and pulled his arm away.

She scoffed, "You are a child. Unwilling to let others help you."

She waved her hand, and the noise of the alley resumed. The hollering of vendors, parents who barked at their children to come back, and even the occasional foreigner with broken English. The noise flooded back and crashed onto Percy as people bumped his shoulder as they passed by.

Percy didn't care, though. His eyes lingered on the white scar on his arm.

I'm not a child.

The demigod looked up to see his guide enter a storefront with a large glass window that hid little inside, mostly shelves. He watched as an older man with whimsical hair, not unlike Einstein, bowed to the goddess who had entered. The man nodded to whatever Hekate said before his gaze locked with Perseus' own. The man nodded once more before he motioned for Percy to come inside.

Percy sighed and shouldered his way through the crowd earning himself a couple of remarks from a French man. Percy didn't care to apologize. His gaze remained locked on the old man inside the shop. The old crazed-looking man who had tilted his head and watched as Percy entered through the front door with a ding.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon. I am Ollivander, crafter of the finest wands this side of the Isle." The Old Man offered his arm out to shake.

Percy took it, and he shook it once.

"Right." Percy glanced at Hekate, browsing the bookshelves of boxes that made up the entire store. "Glad to know I'm known all the way even here."

"But of course, young man. Anyone who still knows of the Old Ways knows of you." Olivander clapped Percy on the shoulder. "To think, at your age, you have already bested Gods, Titans, and Primordials alike. If I didn't know any better, I would say you were The King reborn."

"The King?" Percy raised his eyebrow.

Did he mean Zeus? Or the British King? Wait, or was it a queen? Doesn't matter. I'm not British.

"Yes, the Father of Olympus has many claims of victory. Have you never read your history, Hero?"

"Uh, no, actually," Percy stuttered as he looked to Hekate, who floated off the floor as she browsed the higher levels of the shelves. "History just found its way into my life in other ways."

"I wouldn't worry about what has been said about our history, Percy," Hekate called out as she met his gaze. "The victor writes the narrative, and the victor can never be seen doing anything truly horrendous. You are not nearly as close to The King as one might perceive." She descended to the floor and offered him a box. "Try this. If what you spoke of earlier is how you feel. This will be the one."

Percy stared at the box for a moment before meeting her eye. Her gaze flickered to the box and to him, and he hesitantly took it from her. His fingers met dust and the box's old wood as he slowly opened the contraption to reveal a silk lining surrounding a singular stick of wood. The brown wand was streaked with tiny black lines. It reminded Percy of a tiger's print, just less abundant.

"Palmwood!" Olivander noted. "Why an exceptional first choice, My Lady. Give it a whirl, lad."

Palmwood? Like a palm tree?

Percy looked at the man and then back at the wooden stick.

This sure won't go wrong.

He twirled the wand.

A fountain of water spewed from the end.

The rush of water peaked into the air and hovered a moment independent of gravity before dissipating and falling into a mist that fell softly to the floor. From the scattered light outside, a rainbow formed within the wand-created waterfall.

Water magic… Bit redundant.

"For a son of the Sea, I do believe that would be a match, Mr. Ollivander." Hekate smiled at the old man. "First try, too."

"I expected nothing less from you, My Lady." The wandmaker bowed before he turned to Percy. "May I see the wand? I wish to see how the core sings now that it has bonded."

Percy looked up, "The core?"

"Why yes, the most crucial part of the wand. The core channels the magic we have been blessed with from the world and bends it to our will. Then, the wood is there to connect the caster to the core. The two factors dictate much about what you can infer about a witch or wizard."

Percy handed it over, "What does mine say of me?"

Olivander delicately pulled the wand close to his eye as he slowly pulled the rod across his vision.

"A perfect match. The palm wood indicates your resilience in the face of the strongest storms or, more aptly, the world's problems. You can weather anything that comes your way, bending and shaping yourself to withstand but never breaking." He shifted the wand to look down its length. "The core, on the other hand, comes from my earliest attempts at wand-making. When I was trying to find the best wand cores. I had written this core off as incompatible and undesirable."

The man returned the wand to Percy before he spoke again, "I can almost hear it singing. You see, you have a siren's hair for your core. And correct me if I am wrong, My Lady, but the story goes that the original sirens were cursed by the Harvest Mother. She had thought them compliant in the abduction of her daughter, and she cursed them to live forever until a mortal could sail past them while listening to their songs.

"As you know, however, when they hear a siren, mortals tend to be drawn in and unable to move along. The Olympian in question had practically cursed them to live eternally, singing forever on their rocks in the sea, waiting for them to be ignored and allowed to die."

Percy peaked at Hekate, who was inspecting her nails in front of her, but he didn't miss how her eyes flicked to his momentarily.

I get why it works for me then.

"What does that mean for me, then? Magically speaking." Percy asked.

"A many things, young man. A many things."

Percy waited for him to elaborate, but the wandcrafter did not as he turned away to his shelves. Percy looked to Hekate, who had put down her hand and now stared into him and caused his skin to goosebump.

"Hekate?"

The goddess blinked. Her eyes glowed even more than before. "Your wand core, the siren," she spoke, "it was one of your father's creations when I came to him looking to mix my magic with his powers. He had remolded what had initially been a veela into the first siren. A beautiful woman with wings, a fish's tail, and an enchanting voice. He had called it a man's dream wife that she could take him to the furthest reaches of the sky and to the deepest lows of the sea.

"That she could sing him to comfort, day and night. He had deemed it the perfect woman. Then, of course, his sister came along and cursed them. Mr. Olivander was not wrong with his story. The perfect wife was cursed to live on, undying, as their mate passed on, but the sirens could not join them."

She stopped as she watched the storekeeper come back with leather sleeves in each hand.

"Black or brown, hero?" The man held up each sleeve.

"Uh, black, I guess. What is that, sir?"

Olivander held up the leather for Percy to see, "A wand holster. Strap it to your forearm, your thigh, or your leg. Wherever you wish, and it will store your wand safely and protect it no matter which way the limb bends," Olivander explained as he showcased where the back leather sleeve could go. "I suggest the forearm, though, as it makes drawing from within the robes easier."

Percy reached out and took hold of the black holster.

It didn't feel like atypical leather, and the print reminded him more of an alligator or crocodile. It was soft, though, on the inside. Too soft.

Percy strapped it to the outside of his right arm. The holster glowed momentarily before it tightened around and conformed to his arm. It felt like the bracers he would wear with his full armor, just sleeker and lighter.

"It looks to be a fine quality of dragon leather." Hekate stepped forward to inspect the sleeve. Her fingers traced over the grooves. "How much do we owe you for all of this?"

"Nothing." The wandmaker clapped his hands together and bowed at the waist. "It is a gift, as your presence here is payment enough."

Hekate reached out and touched his shoulder to drag the bowed man to face them, "I insist. We came here as mortals. We wish to pay as mortals."

"Then it is free. A special by-the-hour sale that you have magically walked in during."

Hekate turned to Percy with her purple eyes. She turned to back the wandmaker and then Percy once more.

Does she expect me to convince him?

Percy shrugged.

"You are no help, Perseus," she sighed and returned to the wandmaker. "Please let me pay you, Garrick Ollivander. Your family has done my world a service for centuries. Accept this from me."

The old man shook his head and held his hands before him, blocking any offer, saying, "I will accept no tribute from The Goddess of Magic. It would be ill to charge you of all beings to help someone connect with their inner magic."

"You leave few choices then. I will have to speak to the goblins about transferring some funds to your account later. Who knows how much I might overpay when I do that." Hekate shrugged.

Ollivander frowned as he locked eyes with Hekate.

The man sighed, and his head fell. His silver hair cascaded down around his face as he looked at the brown holster in his clutches. He sat there mulling over his situation, and then on a flip, he smiled once more as he looked up. His hair flicked back out of the way as his silver eyes locked on the goddess' purple eyes.

"Fine. I charge seven galleons a wand, but the holster is on the house." He turned to Percy. His silver eyes glimmered behind his glasses. "A thank you to the Hero of the World and defeater of all evil."

"Okay," Percy replied before he shook his head at himself. "I mean, thank you. I appreciate your gift."

"You are quite generous," Hekate intervened. "I know your work is worth far more than what you ask."

"The real payment I receive is watching a wand pair with its intended. That and my shelves become less cluttered," Olivander laughed.

"Thank you, all the same," she told the wandmaker.

"Thank you," Percy added as well.

"Use your wand wisely, young man."

"I'll try."

Percy slid the wand into his holster as Hekate gave him a once-over and nodded before she began to march out the front door. The bell above the door twinkled as it shut behind them, and they were on the street once more. Throngs of people passed by.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Hekate asked him as she looked over the crowd and closer her eyes, and inhaled. She held it a moment, standing taller before she exhaled and met his gaze. Her eyes glowed purple as her divinity bled through. "All this magik."

"Your eyes." Percy pointed at her. "Might want to cut that out if you don't want to give it away that we don't belong here."

"That is where you are wrong. We do belong here, I more than anyone," Hekate started. "All of this before you, every single person that crowds this alley has traveled from across the world for the World Cup here in the coming days. Each and every one of them uses magic in their daily life, and it is all because of me. Why should I not take pride in it?"

Pride kills.

"How many have died because of your magic?" he asked her.

"What?"

"You heard me? How many have died or killed another with your magic? Do you take pride in that as well?"

"Of course not, but this is different. This is my community. My creation, my gift, blossomed into a working civilization. Should an architect not be proud of their design?"

"When the buildings make the leaning tower of Piza look straight, I don't think you should be happy with the result."

"That's where you are wrong, Perseus. This is chaos, yes, but it's controlled. Its harnassed. To think, I did this all and created it. You cannot shame me for enjoying it."

"Okay. At least stop making your eyes glow."

"I cannot." She blinked. "I am absorbing the ambient power here."

"And that makes your eyes glow?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, just as yours did when you fought Gaia. Power is more than a concept. It is tangible. It is sometimes the only thing people will ever accept."

Power is uncontrollable no matter how hard you try.

"Right… and you said your absorbing power here? What do you mean by that?" Percy looked around for a clue as to what would feed her power.

"When your divinity consumes you, I may be able to teach you to see, but for now, do you know of Leylines?"

He frowned and looked around, "Wouldn't happen to be where you lay down in a line, would it?"

"Not at all. Leylines are where the natural energies of Khaos have collected."

"Chaos?"

"With a ''K''. Khaos was or rather is creation. They go by many identities across the world's mythos, but for the most part, the idea is relatively the same no matter how fragmented others see it. Khaos was everything and nothing coalesced into existence. Born from the chasm of nonexistence, they created the universe.

"From it, the first beings were created. The primordials became manifestations of the Khaos energy that saturated the natural world. Their sentience birthed the sentience of the first beings like The Night and Earth Mother. From there, things trickled down to me, a Titan blessed with understanding the Khaos Essence that saturated the world like never seen before. We never could not use it, mind you. It is how, we, the divine, use our powers. We interact with the ambient Essence and mold it to our desires. I call it magik, with a ''K''. You call it our divinity.

"Consequently, your demigod powers are nothing more than you utilizing Magik. It is you funneling the latent Khaos Essence that has oversaturated the world to your will. It is also why you are turning divine. You have drawn on so much, especially so close to Khaos, themself, while you were in The Pit that it is only natural you are ascending."

What…?

"That's a lot to process…" Percy exhaled with a frown. "But how does all this differ from magic with a 'c'? Or is that a spelling error?"

"That is my creation for the clear-sighted to use. It is an application of the mortals interweaving with the Mist. Which that is my weave of magik that separates the divine from the mortal. They tap into that well of magik, runes, and power to replicate what you or other demigods can do on their own scale. It was largely more important for the cults that held worship for us back in the day. However, that faded and changed to what you see before you."

Percy let his gaze roam.

Owls flew above the people. Children stacked themselves around store windows. Adults came and went out of stores, arms bundled with purchases that vanished into their pockets. Cauldrons bubbled and fizzed inside shop windows.

This was magic.

It was chaos compared to his farm.

This alley was the evolution of the gods' cults. Well, the cults that survived and harnessed magic that evolved with man.

And it was the Mist? Could his mother use it then?

He turned to Hekate, "So, is the Mist a form of the Essence as well?"

"More or less. It is woven from similar threads but mixed with other pantheon iterations of Magik. The Egyptians, for example, have a more in-depth culture surrounding sorcery and rely heavily on their runes. From there, it was a matter of learning their ways to intertwine what they could do with what I could do and so on with any pantheon willing to let me study their divinity.

"In the end, the Mist is my creation. An amalgamation of magik and magics that can be tapped into on a small scale at large. For instance, a hundred of these wizards and witches would still be only a fraction of what you are because of your access to pure magik and Khaos Essence. For any wizard to be close to your level, they must either carry divine blood or have spent a century basking in leylines."

Percy felt as if his head was going to explode. She had created discount demigod powers for mortals to use.

These people in this alley could do what he did…

"The coin bag you have. It is bottomless or something, right? I saw you reach half your arm into it earlier. That's mortal magic, and I have never seen a demigod do that with their own powers."

"Demigods are byproducts of parental affinities. When you become a full-divine, pocket dimensions will be a snap of your finger. This small bag is a byproduct of thousands of years of studying, and only the most talented wizards can cast the enchantment needed. Even then, it is limited and imperfect."

"You really gave them divine power on a lesser scale." He swallowed the lump in his throat that had just formed.

She smiled, teeth and everything, "Yes, just as Khaos had done, I bestowed the Mist directly into people. I gave them their magic, tied to their bloodline, and from it blossomed this." She gestured to the alley once more. "How can I not take pride? How can I not want them to see me for who I am? That I am the goddess who gifted them their powers. That is why I won't stop my eyes."

He looked at her. Not her radiating eyes but her exuberant smile. Her proud smile.

Your divine pride…

He looked into her glowing eyes and couldn't stop the realization that rolled off his tongue, "This isn't about me. This is a power trip for you. This was never about my vacation."

She rolled her eyes as her smile fell, "As if you care for that. You are only here because your mother made you. If you had your wish, you would be no one. To be faded from minds and shy away on that farmland you called home." She huffed and stepped into the street.

People parted around her effortlessly, not even giving her a second glance.

"Abolish such thoughts, Perseus. Let yourself shine here." She threw her hands to the sky. "They do not know who you are or what you have done, whether you deem it good or bad. These people see you as another kid. They will see me as another powerful witch and nothing more. Here we are, no one despite it all." Her hands fell from the sky and landed on his shoulders as she consumed his vision with herself.

"Start your life over," she whispered. Her eyes zigged back and forth between each of his own. "Build yourself back to the person you wish to be in the world. Here in my creation, you can be whoever you want to be, but I forbid you from being a sour child any longer. Or else I will leave you stranded here."

Chapter Text

"Are we in a better mood today, Perseus?"

"Let me sleep, Witch," sleeping beauty groaned. He pulled the sheets over his head to shield himself from the witch's words. He had been dreaming of the blonde woman again without the screaming she had done the previous time.

"We have a big day ahead of us." Hekate tugged at the sheets with no success. "The final match starts tonight, and we need to get there early." She tugged harder. "Come on. You'll love the atmosphere."

Annoyed, he threw the sheet from his head. His iris glowed as he hissed at her, "I will rain it out if you don't let me sleep."

Hekate huffed, her hands falling to her hips with a jingle from her bracelets, "They play through the weather and have wards to shield the rain from the camping grounds. Your storm is ineffectual."

Percy shrugged as he let his head fall back onto the pillow, muttering as he did so, "Camping grounds? I'm not camping. I am sleeping on an actual bed. I'm not questing and hitching rides in train carts anymore."

The goddess rolled her eyes as she grabbed at his sheets again with a touch of divine strength, "You act like I cannot just summon a water bed for you to sleep on at any moment."

The sheets gave way, revealing the teen.

"A water bed?" he snarked. "Profiling much?"

She tilted her head to the side and gave him a deadpan stare, "Don't give me that, Perseus. I am trying to make this pleasant for you. You are a son of the sea. A water bed makes sense."

He turned his nose up at her with a hand over his heart, "That's called profiling, and I don't stand for it."

"Well, good thing you are still lying in bed. A water bed, I might add."

"Can you leave already?" he flopped back. "You didn't even knock."

"Knock?" she frowned, puzzled over what apparently she did wrong. "Fine." She turned away. "When you decide to be mature, breakfast will be ready in less than ten minutes."

Eyes open, he perked up, "Breakfast?"

"Yes, child." She rolled her eyes. "Chop, chop."

Percy watched her leave. The wood door creaked as it swung shut behind her. The door was aggressively annoying with the way it screamed close, like listening to a frog croak outside your window when all you wanted to do was sleep while battling a migraine.

Hekate had brought him to what she called her "fifth home." It was a moderate-sized house if you compare it to the White House back in the States.

The mansion, as that was what it really was, had been a tad run down. Dust and cobwebs had covered everything in the absence of life within the halls, but with a clap of Hekate's hands, a visible ripple of power transformed the house. Not even the smallest of grime was left behind as the cracked wallpaper was restored to brand new. The metal in the chandelier over the central atrium shined almost as bright as the candles it held. The marble floors reflected the very ceiling like a mirror.

It was opulent and overboard in Percy's eyes. A show of pride and extravagance he expected from a god.

The only thing that made it feel somewhat not extravagant was the fact the room he had chosen for himself had the creakiest door ever known to man. Hekate had tried to voodoo it away, but Percy had stopped her before she could.

She had asked why he wanted it to creak, and he shrugged it off. He liked the imperfection, and she rolled her eyes, mumbled something about mortals, and walked away.

He didn't feel like mentioning that it reminded him of his farmhouse or that it was a good way to tell if someone was trying to sneak into his room. She probably would have called him paranoid or crazy, and she would be right.

However, he didn't even hear her enter the room through the door… Did she teleport in? Did he not hear it? Was he getting rusty?

He didn't have Olive here to watch his back and the grounds while he slept, and he didn't trust Hekate to have his interests in mind either. She was a god, after all. He would have to be more vigilant himself.

"Come on, fish!" Hekate shouted throughout the halls. "We have a great day ahead of us."

Percy threw his feet off the side of his bed and stood. Arms reached for the sky as he groaned and stretched before finding suitable clothes in his trunk.

His trunk… That was a new purchase by Hekate. It was not a suitcase or a backpack but an actual trunk designed to hold all of his wizarding school supplies. He wasn't too sure about lugging that thing around. It looked like something he would find in someone's grandparents' attic from when they traveled the Oregon Trail.

Hekate did say she expanded upon the base magics on the trunk, however. All the packing he did for the year-long trip was nestled away in a compartment no bigger than a lunchbox. Then, all the school supplies and books she dumped in there fit into an even smaller portion of the compartment. Dimensional expansion magic was nifty like that. Not that he would praise Hekate aloud, though. Gods do not need more of an ego.

"You are testing my patience, Perseus!"

Percy yanked open the door and stepped out of his room.

"I'm literally walking to you now," he growled back, his voice bouncing around the bend of the hallway to where Hekate was. "And, I will have you know, it has not even been close to ten minutes. It has been like three at most."

Percy turned the corner.

Food… food was everywhere.

He could see why she was so impatient to start eating. There was quite literally everything on the table. From Demeter-approved wheat cereal to steak and eggs, the white tablecloth was barely visible beneath plates and plates of food.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I did some of everything." Hekate smiled at him. "I want today to be a good day for us. What better way to start than your favorite breakfast?"

"Blue foods are my go-to," he spoke, his eyes still lingering on the food. He slowly pulled out a chair and took his seat.

"Blue? Like blueberries?"

A plate of blueberries rose from the table's far side and floated towards him.

"Sure." he grabbed the floating plate. "I like them. But, I was more getting at the idea of food being dyed blue. I don't do it often anymore, but my mother, when she was mixing up a batter or anything, would add food coloring to it. It is our thing. She's done it for as long as I can remember."

Hekate smiled even wider, "Your mother is a lovely woman. I see why your father strayed from his vows."

Her hand swiped over the table spread, and the batter-based foods turned blue.

Magic was nifty.

He speared a stack of blue pancakes and grabbed some sausage patties. He grabbed another plate to load up with steak and eggs.

Food coma, here I come.

"Did you cook all this?" he asked, his fork finding purchase in a sausage pattie. "Like, this is a lot of food to make, and I usually wake up when bacon starts to sizzle."

She rolled her eyes, "Of course not. I don't know my way around mortal cookware anymore." She nodded her head to where he could see the stove. It was an electric one. "That thing doesn't even have a flame to cook on. Do mortals cook on wireless heat or something now? I recall the Forge God saying something about using waves to cook, but nobody ever cared to listen to him. I mean, using water and the tide to cook food seems impractical."

Percy paused before taking a bite as he slowly turned to Hekate, "I'm astounded at what I just heard."

"Don't give me that." She flicked her black hair to the side without a care. "I'm a goddess. I need not consumption to sustain myself as your body does. Food is not a need as it is for you."

"And the table spread?" Percy gestured to the expansive breakfast banquet.

"For you. We have a long day, and your body must sustain itself as long as needed. A quidditch match could take all night to finish."

"Right..." Percy nodded. He totally understood quidditch and how it worked, not. "Well, this conversation has been enlightening." Percy took a bite of the sausage. It tasted great, truly a divine meal and not a microwaved one. "So, I'll start by saying the waves and cooking bit isn't actually about using water. It is more about using micro-waves. Don't ask me how it works. I never cared to find out. It can heat up my food in thirty seconds, and that's enough for me." He shrugged and reached for another bite. "Many people still use gas stoves, the ones with the flames, but this place seems to have relatively new features, hence the electric stove. That is odd, considering it still uses candles in the chandeliers.

"Next, if gods do not need food, then why did we sacrifice part of our food to you if you didn't like, eat it? Third, I assumed you made this food with magic, so does that mean this food is actually safe to eat?"

Hekate nodded, "The food was made with the divine magik. It is edible and good for you. However, mortal magic can not naturally create food with a wave of their wand, so it is best not to eat any apples offered to you."

Percy shrugged, "Didn't plan on it."

"Now, the food you sacrifice to us, or the food that you once offered to likely your father, is more of a show of faith and an offering. Did you think we gathered the smoke and ash from the burnt food to digest?"

Percy hesitated. Had he ever thought about how the sacrificing to the gods worked back at camp? He hadn't scraped his plate into a fire for some time now, not since leaving New Rome on the Argo II.

"I mean, I never really thought about it." Percy frowned as he turned to his companion. "I just assumed if I threw in a glob of mashed potatoes, a glob of mashed potatoes would appear for my father to eat or like it absorbed into his being or some weird thing. Food burns, and then, he receives food."

"It would be impractical if food appeared every time it was sacrificed. Messy as well. And the wine?" She feigned a hand over her heart. "The stains would be unbearable."

"Yeah, I guess it would be…" he trailed off as he turned to his food.

The two trailed off into silence as Percy picked at the food. Hekate occasionally stole a fruit to plop in her mouth, but silence reigned.

Percy tried to savor every bite that crossed his lips while he still could. This food, this mortal food, would be pointless to him one day as he changed. Would it lose its flavor and luster? Would blue cookies be no different than just a cookie as his blood turned gold?

He didn't like such a notion.

He hated it, as a matter of fact.

Resented it.

A consequence of being the hero…. Such a small detail in the scheme of life and immortality, but it hurt on a level Percy could not put into words.

"Whenever you finish up eating, go get ready for the day. We will take a portkey to the edge of the ward line for the grounds. From there, we will go with the flow of things till the stadium opens for us to take our seats."

"Right." Percy nodded as he pulled himself from the darkening thoughts of his mind. "I'll just follow your lead then. Do we have good seats?"

Hekates scoffed, "Good? I got us in the world leader's box. They will have one of the best views."

You really don't understand what just being any other person is? You just have to stand out.

"Oh, I'm sure we will blend right in next to the president of Britain." He rolled his eyes until they fell onto Hekate.

"Minister, actually."

"Yeah, because that's what's important. Was there no other prime seating? Maybe front-row seats? How are we going to blend in with world leaders? I'm not exactly the leader type."

"Front-row seats are overrated." She waved the notion away. "But, you are right. We won't look like world leaders. They are old men with grey hair, wrinkles, and ill-kept mustaches. No, we will blend in with the beautiful guests they bring. The eye candy that they will flaunt as a show of position to the other leaders. Nobody will look twice at us. We can say we are from the Greek delegation. I'm sure the Greeks still respect the old ways, or at least will accept us for our looks alone." She shrugged. "You look a lot like your father, and well, I am me."

"If the Greeks still respect the old ways? It worries me that you no longer know what your people think of the world. What if they are like extreme racists and want to purge society or something, and that we join them and are labeled as one of them extremists for the rest of the year?"

"Worry less, Persues. I will have things managed and running smoothly for us. We will not have to deal with any radicals. The Wizarding World knows peace. This I promise you with all the power I hold."

"Right." He stabbed his fork into his steak, ignoring Hekate's pleading look. "Power does not fix everything, you know?"

"Only when the power does not quell the minds to follow and listen."

"And every wizard is going to follow and listen to you?" He cut into his steak. The knife screeched as it dragged across the plate. "After all, we are here not as who we are in America but as who we wish to be here."

"You twist my words against me. Some gods would kill you for less."

He snorted, a soft laugh leaving his lips in a crooked smile, "I sent Medusa's head to the council, and I'm still alive. I don't know what is less after that."

"Yes, I think I recall something like that." Hekate turned to the table, hands ghosted over the table spread of food. "Perhaps you should have been punished then, and you would be less confrontational now."

He shrugged as he brought the cut of meat to his lips, "Probably not. I have a knack for pissing people off."

"I've noticed." She plucked an apple from the table and turned to the side. Percy chewed on his food and watched as the blood-red fruit met glossy black lipstick as she bit into it. Percy adverted his gaze back to his food as Hekate resumed speaking. "However, getting back to your earlier point, people will listen to me. Regardless of subduing my aura, divinity is still observed by even the blandest of mortals. They will see I am above them and will seek to appease me. If I say we are from the Greek delegation, they will nod their heads and allow it. They will do the same for you as well. That is if you care to try and influence them."

"I think you underestimate how wrong things can go when I get involved. Even the simplest affairs can go to Hades quickly when I start intervening. Strife follows me."

"Well, you can always nag some more. I am sure it will benefit us both," she bit back.

Percy sighed, "Look, Hekate, what I'm trying to say is, I don't think your plan to just slip in with some foreign party is a good plan or even one I want to do. Why can't we pretend to be normal?"

She turned on him with an arm crossed to support her other arm. She pointed at him with the shiny red apple still in her hand, "Is that what this is about?"

"What?"

"Pretending to be normal? Is that what you have decided to fashion yourself as in this world? Normal?" she hissed, offended that someone would settle for so little in her creation.

"Is that wrong of me? To want to be normal for once?" His grip tightened on his fork. The metal bent under his strength as his eyes locked onto what was left of his steak and eggs. "I've never been normal in my whole life. I cannot read with my dyslexia like normal kids could. I couldn't sit still and listen to the teachers. I couldn't have a normal field trip." He turned to face the goddess. "I couldn't even be a normal demigod who floated aimlessly about camp. I had to be the one to stand above the rest. So, yeah, if I can be anyone, I want to be someone who is normal."

Hekate's black lips fell into a disappointed frown. She was silent as she stared at Percy. He could tell that he wounded her ego or the sorts. That his wish to be normal was the greatest insult he could have spoken. He should have led with it.

Finally, she crossed her arms and spoke, "You will never be normal, Perseus Jackson. Take that not as an insult or compliment. It is only the truth. Even as a no-one, you will be above your peers. Your actions, your will, and your fate have ensured that truth. When I spoke to you in the Alley saying you could be anyone, I meant it. You can be whoever you want to be, but normal does not exist in the world. Take that from a deity who has lived longer than you can fathom. The only thing normal is the cycles of nature that the primordials enforce."

"Well, that's just lovely, isn't it? Maybe I will find a way to swish my wand around and turn myself into a puddle of water. Maybe I will even let the primordial of the water cycle carry me off into the sky to rain down on your parade later." Percy stabbed his fork into the last bit of his steak. The plate cracked beneath as the yolk of an egg broke and leaked onto the placemat.

"As if you could figure out how to even use your wand," she mockingly laughed. "I saw you last night. Deny it all you want, but you are interested in my magic. You stayed up tapping your wand to random furniture, hoping for a transfiguration, I assume?"

Yes.

Percy pushed his chair away from the table as he stood, "To set it ablaze, actually, so I could watch this temple you call a home burn down."

"I'm starting to think I should have left you to sit on your farm."

He threw his arms to the side, "You should've."

"I could have watched as your will to live withered away. Would have been far more entertaining than dealing with you now. Here lies the Tale of Perseus: The hero who let himself die."

"By all means, send me back. I will not stop you. I'll even go grab my trunk."

"Never." She leaned forward into his face. "You are never going back."

He could feel her breath on his skin. He could see the emotion in her eyes as the edges of her iris pulsed with restrained power.

"Never?" he stared down at her. "Then why lord it over me? Why keep me here if I am no longer an entertainment to you, huh?"

She pulled away, her back to him as she took a deep breath, "Because I promised your mother to keep you safe. This opportunity to explore and meet fresh faces will give you just that."

"What kind of answer is that?"

She spun around, a frown upon her lips, "It is that of someone who cares too much to watch someone die."

"You keep thinking I am going to die. What makes you think that, huh?"

Hekate's eyes fell as she took a seat at the table.

"Death is more than a physical thing. The mind and soul are just as alive as the body, and you need every part of you to be alive."

"Where did you learn that? Spying on Athena or something like you did to me last night?"

"A poor attempt to redirect your anger," she softly spoke at the table before turning to look up at him. "And I learned much from the Egyptians. A very practiced nation that has done well to change with the times. If you are curious, I am sure we can find a magician to explain more to you about your soul in particular. They can tell us exactly where we need to heal you."

"I don't need healing. I'm fine as I am."

Hekate gave him a sad smile, "Of course. I apologize." She stood and turned her back to him and faced the window to the gardens. Fountains with statues of herself rocketed water into the sky before it collected into a pool below. Petals floated in the water from where they fell from nearby blossoms. "We seem only ever to argue. I would like to change that, Perseus. I really do. How about we step back from where we are now? We can reconvene in a few hours in better spirits and head to the game then?"

He frowned, "Thought you wanted to be there early?"

"No. I want to enjoy my time more than anything else, and the game won't start till sundown. We have time to let cooler heads prevail."

"Alright," Percy whispered, finding his feet interesting. "I'll be in my room. If you need me, that is."

Hekate just nodded, her gaze on the horizon.

Percy backed away. A weight on his stomach and not from the food he had consumed. He turned slowly, sparing the goddess one last glance as he went around the bend in the hallway and to his own door.

It creaked close with a soft click, and he was alone.

His hand fell into his left pocket as his hands closed around the spare drachmae he kept on him.

He ignored the slight tremble in his bloodied fingers as he summoned a small spray of mist into the sunlight that streamed in through a window. A small rainbow formed, and he stared at the ancient coin in his hand.

He could call either of them. They would tell him what to do.

His mother would admonish him for starting a fight with a woman, a goddess even. She'd tell him to apologize and do what was right. Be a good kid.

Olive would tell him that he should apologize to the goddess. Just because he did not know what the day would bring, it did not give him the right to hide from it. That he should be water and go with the flow.

He pocketed the coin and sighed.

His gaze met his own reflection in the highly polished floors. It was too perfect and too clean to be normal. Yet, what was normal if Hekate claimed nothing was but the cycles of nature?

He broke his staring contest and fell into his bed.

The day had only just started, and he was already tired. He would have to apologize to Hekate. She only wanted to make him breakfast. Yet, he only pushed back at her…

I'm such a fuck up.

Feathers rained down around him. The wounded pillow could only bleed out as his fist rested on its corpse.

:P LINEBREAK d:

Percy's feet landed on solid ground as the golden amulet he had just let go of clattered to the ground.

The amulet, or the portkey as it was, had been imbued with magic to transverse great distances in mere moments. It also was the most sickening carousel Percy had ever touched. He could still feel his breakfast rotating like a washing machine in his body.

"First time, lad?" a distinctly British man spoke. Percy could sense the man's hand approaching his back before it hit. Three relatively soft pats as if the man was burping a baby. "You'll get used to the feeling."

"I fear the day," Percy coughed out before standing tall.

"Ah, Americans!" the man smiled from beneath a greying mustache that matched the hair beneath his cap. "New York, I assume?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Percy offered his hand.

The man shook Percy's hand, "The accent, lad. Very different from the Irish and the French. Now, what is the name you have booked space and tickets under?"

Hekate stepped forward, "The Jacksons. Should be in the minister's box as well."

The man, however, was frozen. His eyes were wide, and his mouth hung low as he looked into Hekate's eyes. Of course, they were softly glowing with power.

Percy took pity on the man and patted him on the back to snap him out of his trance.

"My apologies. I've embarrassed myself. I-I…" the man stuttered. His cheeks were all but bursting with blood under his blush. His gaze still only locked on Hekate. "You are as beautiful as a goddess."

"Thank you." She tossed Percy a smirk. "I wish my boyfriend were as sweet as you are, but he seems to be in a grumpy mood today."

Percy shot her a glare in return.

Don't start this here.

The man's eye went wide as he snapped to Percy, "Young man! You best shape up now. A woman like her is a once-in-a-lifetime catch. I will not hand over your tickets till you compliment her."

Percy raised a brow to the man and then to the goddess, who sat there with an evil smirk upon her black lips.

"Yes, Perseus. Do give me one?" Hekate purred. "It would make my day."

Percy sighed and paid the witch attention for once since breakfast.

She wore all black with a few silver accents across her dress. Was that a dress? Or did the corset hide the separation of a skirt from the top half? The witch's hat was neat with its floral pattern that hung down over the edges of the brim like a thin curtain.

"Your corset looks extra full today." Percy rolled his eyes and turned from her and back to the man. "Tickets, please?"

The blushing man handed them over silently, and Percy was quick to blindly walk away. He wasn't too sure where he was going beyond the vast sea of tents. The constructs of canvas, while some were exotic and towering over the rest, reminded him a great deal of the camping situation warriors did as they marched to war like when they had set up around Manhattan for the Titan War and even at times for the Giant one.

He felt Hekate stand next to him. Her aura naturally turned a few heads, men and women. Yet, he kept his blank face and looked forward at the horizon where he could see a stadium that made the ones back in New York look small.

"So you like my corset?" She purred in his ear. Her finger ghosted over his arm.

"Where's our tent?" he tried to ignore her.

"Want to have your wicked way with me in my corset, is it?"

"Please. Where is our tent? I want to lie down. My stomach is still spinning from the wash cycle you call a portkey."

Hekate slouched away and sighed, "You are no fun, Perseus. Just when I thought you were showing interest in the flesh, you hide away back to this dull man you insist on being."

"Hekate…"

"Call me Kate while we are here."

"Only if it is with a 'c'."

"A 'c'?"

"Magic and magik." He shrugged. "Leave the divinity at the door. Embrace the 'c'."

She nodded with a small smile, "Of course, the son of Poseidon would tell me to embrace the 'c'."

"So, Cate? Where is our tent?"

"Tickets, please?" she extended her hand out. "It will have our location on there."

Percy handed them over, and he watched as her black-tipped nails snatched the tickets from his grasp.

"Follow me." She stepped forward and led Percy into the mess of tents. "We are close to the stadium. So, we have a small walk ahead of us."

Percy nodded, uncaring if she saw him acknowledge her. Instead, he scanned everyone who stopped to stare at the two of them.

They passed a gaggle of redheads and even some people yelling in German who stuttered as they saw Percy and Hekate pass by. Everyone stared. It was unsettling. It made the hairs on his spine stand at attention.

This many eyes on him… something wasn't right with this place. Or was it the people?

These people, any one of them could be a monster in disguise…

His gut was warning him. He could feel it. Something or someone wasn't human around him. He just didn't know who.

His gut was never wrong.

Together, he and Hekate went deeper into the grounds.

He kept his head on a swivel as he searched each face they passed. They all had two eyes, so there were no cyclopes in the immediate area.

But a monster was in the area, and the deeper he went into this labyrinth of tents, the more his gut twisted. The more he wanted to preemptively sweep away all the tents with a wave of water and be done with whatever creature that was lurking.

He wasn't prey. He wasn't going to let himself die in Britain, of all places, either.

He glanced at Hekate. She was unbothered, whistling as she waved at people too starstruck to wave back. The wizards, as powerful as they could be, were mentally weak, and that scared Percy. The weak were easy to manipulate and cause problems.

They were potential threats along with the monster.

What if the monster was using the mist or was enthralling the wizards? This could be some grand ambush…

His right hand fell into his pocket.

The metal pen was warm, comforting to touch, like a fire in the winter.

Many threats surrounded him. Yet, he knew they were not the ones triggering his fight-or-flight instincts.

Something else was here.

"Bloody hell, you two are hot," a girl spoke.

Percy bumped into Hekate's back. He had been too transfixed on the people to his sides and had forgone watching his guide.

"Tracy, you cannot just say that to people," another girl admonished the first. "I'm sorry for her. Her parents didn't teach her the importance of biting her tongue."

Percy stepped to the side of Hekate and stood with her as they looked down at the two teens who had spoken. The first girl had glossy black hair, and the second was an almost snow-white blonde. They looked to be a few years his junior.

"Worry not, darling. To hear praise is something I will never not allow." Hekate smiled down at them from behind her shawl. "I am Cate, and you two lovely ladies are?"

"I'm Tracy. She's Daphne," the black-haired one blabbed. She turned to Percy, "What's your name, babes?"

Percy gave Hekate an unimpressed look. He didn't want to deal with children right now, not with something in the area. They could be a casualty or worst a pawn.

"He is Perseus," Hekate answered for him.

"Like the myth?" Daphne turned to him.

"Is yours like the myth?" Percy returned, not meeting her eyes as he kept his head on a swivel.

"It is. Mother thought it would mean I would be the most desirable heiress of my year."

"Just cause you have the name doesn't mean you get their happy ending."

Daphne frowned, "Glass half empty, huh?"

Now, Percy frowned at her.

"Ignore him," Hekate cut in as she placed a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Portkey travel doesn't agree with him. We are on our way to settle him in for a little nap."

Percy sighed as Hekate treated him like a baby, but he dared not to rebuke her. He did not want to have another argument, especially if they were being tailed. This was supposed to be a vacation, after all. Arguing in front of some tweens wouldn't make for the best vacation experience.

"Don't feel too bad, my Amercian model," Tracy flirted. "Portkeys put me in a right state as well. There was this one time where-"

"Trace," Daphne cut her friend off. "Can you please not hit on the people who are old enough to have graduated from Hogwarts."

"Actually, we are transfer-ins," Hekate assured. "A tad unorthodox, but Perseus here needs to take his NEWTS, I believe they are called. The government here did not approve of his or my degree from the States and wanted us to sit a year to ensure we were up to their academic standards."

Daphne frowned while Tracy grinned.

"I have never heard of such a situation before," the blonde said. "That is most unusual. Could you not just sit a test?"

"We tried, but we found little success in getting permissions," Hekate continued to lie. "It matters not. We are fine with taking a year to settle ourselves in this country before heading out into our career fields."

A shiver ran down Percy's spine.

Even closer.

His fingers loosely touched his pen as he scanned the nearby tents. People were still looking at them, entranced, but no one was blatantly stalking them.

He turned in place and stood on his tippy toes as he tried to peak over the heads and tents in his way.

He couldn't see anyone.

"Perseus?" Hekate touched his arm.

His vision snapped to her, and his hand seized his pen.

"What is it?" she whispered and spared a glance at the two confused girls. "What is wrong?"

"Something isn't human near us." He continued his search. "I think there are a few of them. They are close. Getting closer, too."

"I can think of many answers to what that could be, many harmless." Hekate frowned. "A few less so."

"Our tent, can you shield it?" Percy pushed.

"Of course. Do I need to remind you who I am?"

"Then let's hurry up. I don't want there to be a problem, especially around so many people who will only make it worse."

Hekate glanced around, herself, seeing nothing, "You could just be overreacting. It could be a harmless half-breed."

"Please. I don't want to draw Anaklusmos. Nothing good happens," he spoke, but in Greek, so the two girls could not understand. "The blade will not sheathe again till blood has been spilled."

Hekate nodded and gave the girls a tight grin, "I am sorry, ladies. We must get going. We hope to see you at Hogwarts and that you enjoy the game tonight."

"Yeah. You too," the girls replied as they shared a look with one another.

Hekate bowed her head and stepped away. Percy was hot on her heels as the two paced to their tent. The whole time, Percy clutched the pen in his pocket. His breathing labored as he scanned the blank faces of everyone they passed in their fast-walk.

Eventually, they arrived at a dull, nondescript tent. Hekate began to mumble under her breath as she swung her hands to and fro as if leading an orchestra. Pulses of purple and gold came from the tent as she cast her powers onto it.

Percy turned his back to her.

His vision instead was once again hunting for the hunters.

The two may have moved fast, but they were still being followed.

What monster was after them? What could blend in with a wizarding crowd, move in a pack, and track so well?

Then he saw her.

Not just one, either.

Four, no, seven beautiful women. All were dressed in red tracksuits, proudly declaring Bulgaria across them. He could feel a presence come from them. It tickled at his ears like a calming wave to lax his mind, but he fought it off. Piper and Aphrodite had more potent charms.

These women… were cheerleaders, and the only beautiful cheerleaders who could hypnotize that he had encountered were bad news.

Empousai.

He brought his pen out of his pocket and to his waist. His thumb dug itself under the cap, and in one flip, it would transform.

I can do this.

He took a deep breath as he widened his stance.

I can do this.

He tried to steady his arm as he gripped the pen shaft tighter.

I can do this.

He exhaled.

There were only a few of them. He could take them easily. The onlookers, though... Hekate would have to wipe their minds or something.

I can do this.

The women continued to stare at him and Hekate. They were silent as some even held hands to their lips. Others bore a blush across their cheeks as they stared him down. The blonde-haired one even had hunger in her eyes as he challenged her gaze.

I'm not dying in Britain, of all places.

One stepped forward slowly. The cheerleader's hands came together over her chest as she bowed.

She bowed?

"My lady! My lord!" she praised before falling to a kneel.

Chapter Text

Percy stared at the kneeling empousai.

"They the good empousai, or do I need to start stabbing?" Percy side-eyed Hekate.

The women frowned at him, and he felt his stomach twist as hesitance and fear flashed in their gaze. Even the monsters feared him.

"They are not empousai, Perseus. They are veela," Hekate corrected, stepping forward and blocking the women from his blade. "A melting pot of daughters of my world." Her eyes traced over the different heads that stared back. "Oh my, even a red one. What a rare daughter."

Percy frowned as he followed Hekate's gaze. What was so rare about a redhead?

"My lady," the redhead stiffly bowed her head. "It is an honor to meet you, Great One." She turned to Percy, "And to meet you as well, Savior."

Percy's frown deepened.

"Cheerleaders of Bulgaria." Hekate traced her finger over a blonde veela's outfit. "I made you to be more than sex, you know."

The veela skittishly glanced at another.

A different blonde veela spoke up, "What if we chose this?"

Hekate shrugged, "We live our lives and choose our fates." She sauntered back to Perseus' side, her arm linking with his blade arm. He pulled away from Hekate, freeing his arm from her grasp. For good measure, he stepped away from her as well.

"Can we just get to our tent?" he asked to her pout.

"You could join us?" the same Veela that was eyeing him up offered.

"No."

"Wonderful," Hekate answered at the same time.

Percy glared at the witch goddess, "No."

"Stop being a sourpuss. No one turns down the offer to be surrounded by a squad of veela. Not even the gays."

"Is it just all about sex and power with you gods?" he spat.

Hekate snorted with laughter, "Honey." She patted his arms as if talking to a child. "That is life. Now stop bickering and fall in line."

"I'll pass," Percy countered.

"You don't even know where our tent is."

"So, I'll head to the nearest shore and swim back to the States," he bluffed.

"Sure you will, Perseus," she laughed. "You know, I've been watching you since the war ended." She sauntered close to him. "Don't think it hasn't escaped my notice that you don't use your powers. You don't even touch any water but what you have to drink. You make the dryad water the pegasus." She stepped into his space, locking her black-painted nails behind his head while her forearms rested on his shoulder. From the outside, one might mistake them for a couple.

"You are so afraid of yourself, you won't leave me. While you still just haven't realized it yet, in this land, so far removed from your life, I'm your only tether. So, you will stick with me and do as I say. That is unless you want to find some friends. Then, you would have to lie to them and hide away yourself for fear of them not accepting you for who you are. But me? I accept you. Even if you are such a priss."

He hated her. Percy loathed Hekate.

He pushed her hands away from him with more force than needed, and he turned to the veela pack, "Where to?"

"I knew you would come around, love." Hekate bumped his shoulder as she stepped next to him.

Percy ignored her, mumbling a foul insult as he stepped away from her again.

Hekate sent him a withering glare before it melted away as she turned to the cheerleaders, "Lead the way, girls."

And they did. Past rows of maroon and emerald tents, they approached the stadium before curving to the right just outside its main entrance. The tent of the Bulgarian cheerleaders was nothing short of perfect. There wasn't a wrinkle in the maroon and gold canvas or a speck of dust upon the courtyard that awaited inside.

Surrounding an extravagant fountain of Hekate herself, flowers of all hues and petals blossomed inside the tent. Vines of flowers dangled from a nonexistent ceiling where rays of light descended across the stone floor. It reminded Percy of botanical gardens he had seen advertised in New York. However, what before him wasn't man-made or planted.

Immersed in the atmosphere of the tent, he could feel a tangible presence begin to weigh upon his shoulders. It felt akin to a wave of water sliding past his ankles, but the feeling surrounded his body entirely. It took the wrath that boiled in his lungs and eased the burning hate from his heart.

In the void it left, the desire to surrender to bliss blossomed.

He stumbled forward toward the love seats and cushioned couches that surrounded a fire in the corner of the room, far removed from the indoor courtyard. The blood-red cushions called to him, begging him to sit as the world faded into silence.

So, he sat, entangled in a peaceful silence.

His head fell back against the top of the loveseat, too heavy to hold up, and he stared at the ceiling. He felt so warm and fuzzy.

So enthralled by the lure of his mind, he never even felt the woman saddle herself to his side. Her chest pushed into him as her finger traced his jaw and its stubble. Her tongue dragged itself across his neck, hot and moist.

He did not like that.

He forced his eyes to open, but they were so heavy. The weight of the world felt lighter than his eyelids did, but just like the sky, he forced his eyes to bend to his strength.

He blinked. The weight upon his eyelids was upon his body in full like a weighted blanket. It was comfortable, all things considered. His shoulder sagged once more, the fight dissipating from his body. The unfathomable weight pulled his chin down as he stared at the blonde cheerleader, lust the only thing in her eyes.

"Hello, sexy," she purred, sliding her hand under his shirt. He could barely feel it. His vision dimmed as a vignette began to darken reality. "Who knew the Savior was such a hunk of a man? Our Hero deserves a reward."

Hero?

"Get off me," he hissed as he stood, lighter than he had ever felt as the world sharpened into focus.

The blonde hurried away without a word or a look back.

There he stood, alone, in a room some would call paradise. Red crescent moons upon his palms as he forced his breathing to slow. He glared at the witch who dragged him along to hell. Hekate was tongue-deep in another blonde as she carelessly spilled nectar from the glass in her hand. Ultimately, she dropped the glass, shattering it on the floor, in favor of pulling the woman closer.

"One could argue the sins of humanity are proof that they descended from the hands of gods."

Percy spun to the familiar speaker.

"Aunt Hestia."

Just seeing Hestia, he could feel his heart slow faster than any breathing exercise could ever do.

"Nephew Percy," she parroted from the fire he had sat near. "It has been some time since you have found yourself before a fire. It has made it hard to speak to you."

Percy scratched the back of his head, "You don't need an open flame to come find me. You are one of the few I do like."

Hestia gave him a blinding smile, and he felt warm but not lotus eater warm or whatever the veela did to him. The child goddess reached out to him, her warm hand taking his own as she pulled him to sit down. He, of course, allowed himself to be led about.

"I must forever watch over the Flame of Civilization. A moment without it under my gaze could be the moment humanity collapses."

"Huh."

"Enough of me, Percy. How are you, my child?" she pushed a log over inside the flames. Ash and embers flew into the air, swirling before fading away.

"I'm fine."

"Hmm."

"Just out here, doing wizard things and such."

"Oh?"

"Hekate kind of dragged me here. My mom was in on it, too."

"Was she now?"

"Yeah."

"How do you feel about it? Doing wizard things with Hekate, that is?"

Percy frowned, "I hate it."

"Why?"

"I-I don't want this."

"Don't want or fear?"

Percy groaned, "I'm not talking about it."

"Speaking of what troubles us and acknowledging how we feel about it is the first step to resolving our plights."

"I'm not in a plight. I am in another country."

"Far from home and out of your lifestyle. I imagine this chaotic world Hekate loves is a lot to handle upon first introduction."

"You have no idea. I mean, even the mortals are crazy. They drive on the wrong side of the road. Why would Hekate ever do such a thing? It is like she is just wanting to spread chaos and problems."

"Percy, dear, the mortals chose which side of the road to drive on."

"Oh. Really?" Hestia nodded. "Then these people are stupid."

"To them, Americans are stupid."

"They are. Have you met us?" Percy smiled, bumping her shoulder.

"Yes, I have. I have found some of the brightest people amongst you as well."

"I think you are looking at the Ph.D. students then. Might want to look elsewhere that isn't the one percent."

Hestia sighed, "Perseus, I know what you are trying to do."

"Oh yeah?"

"You are deflecting and avoiding."

"I call it parrying and dodging."

"Perseus," she mothered.

"Sorry."

"It is alright. Mortals tend to evade—or rather dodge topics they do not wish to address."

"And the gods smite anyone who mentions their problems."

Hesita shrugged, a blush on her cheeks, "Nobody is perfect."

"Ain't that the truth," Percy laughed as he finally fell back into his seat. His head rested upon the top of the chair once more. The crackling of the flames and poking of the logs within them whispered in his ears. "Huh, Hannah Montanna was right."

"Tonight, the red-headed veela, seek her out. She is of my creation in this world, Hekate has fashioned. Her name is Annaki. She will not try to seduce you. You'll find she is much like Olive."

"So you have at least been watching over my place even without me having a bonfire out back."

"You are family, Percy. I will always look out for you. You are one of my favorite nephews."

"Well, you only have three, so not much of a list."

"A favorite all the same."

"Thank you, Auntie."

"You deserve help." She smiled back.

As she turned back to the flame, his smile fell away.

"You deserve help," echoed in his ears as his gut twisted.

He turned to Hekate as she licked nectar off another blonde's chest. The first blonde nibbled on the goddess' ear.

He looked back to Hestia, but she was gone—a flame poker left in her absence that he took in hand. Someone had to keep the fire burning, and he had nothing better to do before the match started.

:P LINE BREAK d:

Perks of getting in the good graces of the cheerleaders, Percy and Hekate, were personally invited to join them in the veela viewing box. Apparently, they had their own area, like the tent that was shrouded in magic that would obscure and dilute their allure, a presence about them that could sway the passive mind.

The seats the two Greeks found themselves in were nice, all things considered. They were near the crown of the stadium. Hekate had insisted that was where the best seats were and that they were not too far from the original seats they had held.

Percy filtered her out after that. He had silently taken to following the posse of veela. Most of them were cheerleaders, but others just wore the Bulgarian fashion proudly as they watched their brethren take to the air on brooms and dance for the crowd. The only one Percy cared to really pay attention to was Annaki.

She had stolen a few glances back at him, but none of them held a smolder or suggestive undertone like the other veela tossed his way. Instead, he found a warmth not unlike Hestia's own flame. A soft smile adorned her face at every moment, even when only he was watching.

Was it true happiness that burned within her? Was it a content soul resting beneath ruby hair and firelight eyes?

A cheer rose across the stadium as players in red showboated across the pitch.

"Krum! Krum! Krum!" the people shouted, their words shaking the metal beneath them.

"Excuse me." An older French woman tapped his shoulder. "You wouldn't happen to be Perseus Jackson, would you?"

She had barely a wrinkle upon her besides the ones at the edges of her eyes and lips. Her platinum hair trailed well past her chest and almost to her waist. She was enshrouded in a blue cloak that hid a red dress below.

"I'm sorry. Where are my manners? My name is Victoria Delacour."

He offered his hand, "Percy Jackson."

She shook it with hesitant grace.

"Grandmother," a younger woman approached. "Who is this?"

"Manners, young lady. Introduce yourself first to someone like him."

The girl rolled her eyes as she turned to Percy and offered her arm forward, backside up, "Fleur Delacour."

Percy shook it as he did with the grandmother's hand, but the daughter stared as her limp arm was manipulated. The young platinum-haired girl turned to her elder with a raised brow.

"My dearie, mask your thoughts. This is a man you should feel honored to even know of." Victoria turned to Percy, "I apologize for her. She did not take to the lessons of our ways as her younger sister did. Nor did her mother care to correct it."

"They are tall tales, mother. Cautionary ones at best."

"And yet, they breathe before us now."

Fleur arched a brow now to Percy, "Is that so?"

Percy forced a fake smile, "Percy Jackson."

No recognition fired in Fleur's eyes as she turned questioning to her grandmother. The fake smile on Percy's face shrunk to a real one.

"It is fine if you don't know who I am," he insisted. "I prefer it."

Grandmother frowned, "But you are Hercules reborn!"

The fake smile returned with a twist in his gut, "I assure you, I am not."

"You are nothing short of a legend," she insisted.

"Now I am curious," Fleur intervened. "What is your legend that is so great to be as famous as Hercules?"

"I won."

Fleur frowned, confused, "You won?"

"As you breathe."

She sighed, "Well, Monsieur Winner, I bid you a lovely evening with your party. I think I am going to go find more interesting conversations."

"Take care," Percy offered, watching her turn away as she gravitated towards Hekate, who was not yet busy with her arm candy.

"I apologize once more, Hero." Victoria bowed her head.

"Never bow to me again, and I will call us even."

She looked uncertain and uncomfortable with such a notion but agreed all the same.

"What brings you to our side of the world, Hero?" she asked as the two watched men fly around on brooms chasing balls. "I have not known many demigods who venture back to the lands of magic."

Percy nodded over to the goddess, "Against my will."

"Oh."

"She's making me go to school as well."

"Beauxbaton?"

"Hogwarts, I think it was called."

"That is not so bad. Hogwarts is a fine school with a remarkable staff."

"I burnt down the last school I was in."

She giggled, "The ancient wards that support the school will protect the premises from your pyrotechnics."

"They better hope the magics around the place are good enough."

"Yes, they better hope," she continued to laugh. "Your generation is such troublemakers. I fear what a demigod will do to those ancient halls."

"Drinks?" a waitress intruded, a feather and parchment following in her wake.

"No thanks." Percy politely smiled. He turned to Victoria, awaiting her response.

"White wine. The oldest you have."

"Of course." The waitress nodded and walked away.

Percy raised an eyebrow at the older woman, "The oldest? Isn't that the expensive stuff that tastes the same as box wine?"

A symphonic laugh rang out into the cacophony of the stadium. A few veelas side-eyed Percy, even Fleur, who stood just out of reach of Hekate's debauchery.

"Honey," – she patted his shoulder —"there is a distinct difference. As for the cost, what is the point of having money if you do not spend it?"

Percy frowned, "I don't really know. Growing up, my mom worked a couple jobs to keep the lights on."

"Only the greatest heroes come from humble beginnings."

Percy frowned. There it was again: Hero. The single word everyone who is blind calls him.

The waitress returned and placed a bottle on a table that suddenly appeared near Victoria's seat. Then, a wine glass appeared to accompany the ornate bottle glittered with jewels.

"Thank you, dearie," Victoria dismissed the waitress and reached for the bottle. She brought it in hand, closer to her cerulean eyes. "A bottle from Napoleon's reign."

"Have you had it before?" Percy asked, his eyes following the refracting light upon the rubies in the bottle's neck.

"Surprisingly not. The Roman demigods were quick to take advantage of Napoloen's downfall. They amassed in the shadows, stealing anything and everything that they could."

"The Romans?"

"Yes. Napoleon was a son of Athena—a child born to wage her desire to attack Rome. Which was England, mind you. The Romans who lived amongst the English took great offense, and well, a bottle from his reign is rare."

"That's… that's interesting."

"To think these British wizards are serving up such a commodity. I cannot tell if they are disregarding the value of the bottle or taking pride in having such a wine." She tapped a painted nail against the cork, and it popped off. The glass upon the table floated to her other waiting hand, and she carefully poured herself a glass. "Do you think they laugh as they serve what they stole?"

"If it makes you feel any better, the Greeks who started America beat them."

She gave him a wry smile and tipped her glass to him, "To the Greeks."

"To the ones who made a difference."

Another glass materialized, and magic poured it full of Napoleon wine. Percy watched the glass float to his hand, and he took it as he watched Victoria smile.

"You cannot toast without a drink in hand."

He nodded in thanks, swirled his newfound drink, and raised it back to her, "To the real heroes of the world."

"To you, Perseus Jackson."

She clinked her glass against his and took a pull from it. Feeling the pressure to match for the sake of the toast, he took a sip as well.

He hid his distaste as he stared down into the glass. The scar on his face stared back through the rippling reflection in the wine.

"Tastes like box wine."

"You Americans have no taste."

:P LINE BREAK d:

He was back in the loveseat of the veela tent.

Flames swirled and danced before him as he watched the wood within turn to ash.

"Drink! Drink! Drink!" Hekate shouted as she fountained alcohol into a brunette's mouth.

Percy turned back to the flames. He didn't want to party and had already drunk one glass of wine more than he thought he would for the night. He didn't need to kegstand whatever Hekate had been summoning for the cheerleaders.

The cheerleaders…. You would have thought Bulgaria had won the way they screamed and cheered for Hekate to rain alcohol down their bodies.

They were loud, annoyingly loud—a far contrast from the quiet nights he and Olive would have. The only noise he had to deal with was her humming as she pushed him out of the kitchen so she could make him dinner.

He reached for the metal poker.

His hand met not the rough metal but soft skin.

"Sorry." He looked up to the woman who had already grabbed the poker. Her hair caught his eye, "Annaki, right?"

The redhead tilted her head to the side questioningly as she nodded.

He winced, "Sorry. I'm Percy." He offered his hand.

She took it silently with a gentle shake before turning away to sit across from him on a different loveseat. He continued to watch her as she quietly poked the wood inside the fire pit. Logs shifted, puffing up plumes of ember that faded to nothing. He watched her eyes track each speck of flame fade in the air.

She met his gaze with a small smile. He nodded, unsure what to say to the quiet lady.

She returned to poking about the pit, and he let himself follow the end of the metal rod shuffle about inside the flames.

It was hypnotizing if he could put a label on it. His eyes remained locked upon Annaki as he slowly fell back into his seat. The chaos of Hekate and cheerleaders became dull notes as he heard the crackling and popping of the wood.

"Would you mind if I hummed?"

Percy blinked.

He looked at the redhead, confused. She had barely spoken aloud, and while he was sure he heard her correctly, he wasn't too sure.

"Sorry, what?"

"Would you mind if I hummed to myself? I know you do not wish to be disturbed and seek tranquility. I do not wish to cross your desires," she elaborated.

"Go for it. I like listening to humming."

She smiled a wide one that showed a perfect smile.

"Thank you."

Percy just nodded before he leaned back once more. His eyes fell back to the flames as he forced himself to relax.

An angelic tune joined the crackles and pops, and he felt his eyes travel to her ruby lips from where the noise was coming from. His eyes trekked further upwards, finding ember-colored eyes staring into the flame before them.

Her eyes were beautiful. Her tune was beautiful. She was beautiful.

He continued to watch as her eyes began to grow into flames. He smiled softly each time they met each other's gaze. And every time, they held it for a few seconds. He could feel a comforting phantom hand stroke his hair.

Eventually, under her calm, he felt his eyes drift and close. However, he refused to fall asleep and would force them open once more to watch her. He didn't want to lose the serenity she brought to his mind. Yet, it was a losing battle as darkness consumed him once more.

.

.

.

BOOM!

Percy jolted awake, his trusty pen in hand.

He looked around the tent he was in. The cheerleaders were hurriedly packing things that were strewn about. The drunkness and lust had fled them as it was replaced by urgency and panic. He looked to the empty loveseat before him, finding no Annaki.

"It is okay." A soft voice whispered from his side. He turned to find the redhead sharing his seat. Her arm ghosted his shoulder. "Hekate has warded the tent from being touched while she stepped outside."

"What's going on?" he glanced to the tent entrance. A flash of light and an explosion happened on the other side. A familiar flash of green he had seen in his dreams lit up the canvas. "Are we under attack?"

"Shhh," Annaki reached out to him with her other arm. Both of her warm hands pulled him back into her embrace. "We are safe."

Her voice was so soft, so enticing, so captivating.

Another explosion happened, and the tent shook.

He could do something about this. He had to. People could be in danger.

He tried to move, but then he felt the warm caressing of his hair, and his body melted back. He lulled back onto Annaki's shoulder. He couldn't move. His body felt heavy, like it was asleep still.

He looked into her coal-black eyes, tears welling in them.

"I am so sorry," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his chest.

He tried to shift.

She was holding him down.

He now tried to buck out of her grasp. He needed to do something. Someone could be dying right now. He could help.

He had to help.

It is what heroes do!

Another explosion and women screaming registered in his brain, but this time, he barely reacted. His mind had hit a wall as it began to shut down.

Darkness took over as his eyes closed. Soft humming, not unlike Olive's, filled his ears.

He felt so tired. He could just sleep for eternity.

Was this how a bear felt when it went to hibernate?

Did they also feel so warm under their thick coat of fur?

Percy succumbed to the hands of Morpheus.

Chapter Text

The air was acrid. It burned its way down Percy's throat, boiling in his stomach, spewing fury and hate into his blood.

He would not let Annabeth or himself die down here in this hellhole.

He would not. He could not.

His friends, his family, the world, they all waited on him to save them.

He was the child born of the Great Prophecy and subjugated to all that ensued. He was one of the chosen seven for the next Great Prophecy.

He was the son of Poseidon. The earth quaked at his Father's feet. The sea moved at his words. The storms crashed ashore by his will.

His blood felt like lava; heat rushed from his heart to his fingers and toes.

For a moment, Percy felt clarity. His mind was unplagued from the hell of Tartarus. He could hear the crashing of waves and rumbling of moving earth. He could hear the roll of thunder and whipping winds that trudged across the Atlantic. He could feel the world above so far below.

He opened his eyes to the blackened sand and obsidian glass that littered the ground around him. A green goo sizzled as it crept his way. The hysterical sobbing of Akhyls sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

He was the son of Poseidon, and he would make Tartarus bend to his will just as the sea bends to his Father's.

Percy clenched his hand, and the poison that had dared to move his way halted.

"What are you doing?" the hag moaned. "How are you doing this?"

Percy pointed to the embodiment of misery, "I'm not dying down here."

And the poison moved at his words, retreating from where it came towards the miserable goddess that dared to try and kill him and Annabeth. The ground it had once covered had corroded to an even fouler state than it had been previously.

The poison rose, forming an oversized hand reaching for the primordial. The hag tried to scramble away, but they were at the edge of Tartarus, the void of Khaos behind her. Akhyls had nowhere to go but forward into his poisonous hand.

"Please," she begged. "Spare me. Have mercy!"

The poison lurched forward, and she tried to scramble out of its grasp. Yet, Percy's control of the liquid was as strong as his willpower and as fast as his desire.

It grabbed her, and she screamed.

The hand had seized her by the waist and instantly begun to eat away at the flesh of the goddess.

Misery wept.

She fell, powerless, as she reached into the poison to fling it away, but only for it to eat away at her fingers.

"Let me go!" she screamed. "I repent!"

Percy could feel the poison try to fight back against his will, yet he refused to budge. His life and Annabeth's were on the line.

The closer you are to death, the more the human body can do to try and find a way to live. However, the same applied to the divine. In the face of mortality, the primordial fought once more for control of the liquid death.

The poison peeled away from the hag, and she tried to cast it at Percy and Annabeth. Yet, he refused to let it ever touch him. He extended both of his cloud-like arms forward and mimed tearing the poison away as if he were tearing a hole in reality.

The green liquid scattered everywhere around him into droplets that hissed upon where they landed.

Akhyls' lower half was disgusting. Flesh and bone were unveiled for all of Tartarus to see from where he had held her down. Her legs twitched idly, spasming uncontrollably.

Percy closed his hands into knuckles and scrunched his eyes.

He could not interact beyond power without a tangible form. The Death Mist had to be undone. So, he tapped into that well of lava that had controlled the poison. He forced the misty clouds that were his body to condense into normality by his will alone. It was all too easy.

Now solid once more, he turned to the weeping primordial.

Akhyls gasped as she laid on her back, one arm holding her up and the other outstretched to him for mercy.

Percy reached into his pocket, wherein his faithful pen lay.

He waited to hear Annabeth beg him to stop, but she didn't. She remained silent and out of the way.

The blade cursed by Ares all those years ago glowed in the hellfire light of Tartarus.

"You will not stop me," Percy hissed, stomping forward.

"Mercy!" the goddess cried.

"Mercy?" he laughed. "Where is the mercy you tried to give us?" He swung his blade at her outstretched hand.

Black ichor splattered across him from where it gushed from the severed arm. He could sense the liquid run down his blade length as it wept upon his hands and under his nails.

Akhyls cried out upon her back as she clutched her stump.

Again, Annabeth remained silent as he stepped closer to the ruined monster on the ground.

The primordial goddess screeched as Percy dropped on top of her. One of his knees pinned her chest to the black sand and brought his blade slowly to her jugular. The tip of the blade pushed firmly into the first layer of skin, drawing a single drop of black blood.

Annabeth remained silent. Why wasn't she saying anything?

"RAH!" Akhlys roared and swept her only arm at him.

He flinched back and slashed at the offending appendage. The moment of resistance on his blade earned him a squelch and spray of more blood.

Akhyls roared in pain once more.

Yet, Percy ignored her misery as he brought his free hand to his face. A stinging sensation wept from his left eye and down his cheek. He touched it and was rewarded with a warm, wet texture.

Red blood with flecks of gold.

His eyes stared at the monster that cut him.

His knee remained firm on her struggling armless form. Her head flailed back and forth as her partly dissolved legs kicked helplessly behind him.

Perseus burrowed Anaklusmos into her neck and forced the blade out the other end.

Her head remained moving as it rolled away from her body.

He stood, picking up the severed head with him.

It dripped blackened blood like dirt from an uprooted plant's roots.

He threw the head into the void of Khaos.

"You saved us!" Annabeth finally spoke up, surprising Percy.

He turned to her as a smile was plastered across her face. He smiled back as he stepped forward into her embrace. Together, the two held each other as Percy felt the magma in his veins cool. Yet, the warmth never entirely left.

"Yeah… yeah, I did." He kissed her forehead. "I saved us. I will always save you."

"I love you," she declared into his chest just above his heart. "Forever and always, and nothing will ever change that. Nothing you could ever do would change that."

"I love you, Annabeth. So much."

She pulled away with a dazzling smile.

"Look me in the eye and say it."

He grabbed her hands and brought them to his heart as he met her dull grey eyes.

"I love you, Annabeth. So much that words will never match the fury in which my heart beats for you."

"Becoming a poet, are you, Seaweed Brain?" she laughed as she pulled herself back into his arms. He couldn't help but wrap his arms around her. She was safe. He looked over her to the corpse of Akhyls. Her lower half had been eaten away by her own poison. Her hands were separated from their arms, and black ooze stained the soil of hell. "You are my hero, Perseus Jackson."

My hero?

Hero….

I'm not a hero.

Percy pulled away from Annabeth and met her eyes again. She smiled, even if there was a note of confusion in her gaze as she stared back at him.

He let his arms fall away from her.

"You couldn't even look at me after what I did," he whispered.

"What?" she frowned. Her hand caressed his cheek, her thumb brushing against the weeping cut. "I love you. Of course, I can look at you."

He shook his head.

"This isn't real," he choked out. "This isn't how this happened."

"What are you talking about?" she pulled his head to face hers, but he pulled away.

He couldn't meet her gaze. This wasn't her. This wasn't the Annabeth he fought for. Whatever she was, she was a mirage of his desires. She was a ghost of what he wanted.

"You aren't real. You aren't my Annabeth."

She tried to force him to meet her lifeless grey eyes once more, but he couldn't, no matter how much she tried to convince him that she was his.

He closed his eyes and his ears to her.

And he closed his heart to his desires.

She went silent, but a hand remained ghosting his scarred cheek.

Percy opened his eyes to see the tear-filled ones of Annaki.

Percy threw himself away from her. He tumbled out of the loveseat and knocked into the small fireplace before scurrying even further away. He had to get away from whatever magic she used on him.

"What did you do to me?" he panted. "What did you just show me?" this time, he shouted.

Tears ran from her coal-colored eyes, "I'm so sorry. I thought I was helping. Hekate told me I was helping."

It was always Hekate.

His hand fell into his pocket, "I asked, what did you do to me?"

She sniffled and raised her arms in surrender, but he flinched away when he saw her move them. He was not going to allow her to touch him ever again. She began to cry again, harder than before.

"I just"— she choked on her sobs –" I just increased your desires."

"You knocked me out and poisoned my mind!"

"I know!" she bawled. "It isn't a one-way connection."

His stomach lurched into his throat, "You saw?"

"Everything," she whispered between sobs.

"You had no right! You had no right enchanting me!

"I know! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Her sobs and whimpering echoed across the empty tent. As he watched her break down, his heart strained in his chest. He could see Olive react similarly if she were in Annaki's shoes.

Percy clenched his hands, forming red crescents into his palms, "How?"

"I am so sorry. I thought you would just drift to sleep like you had been before."

"How do I stop you from doing this again?" he ignored her excuse.

"I thought you would just sleep. I wouldn't have done it if I knew. Please, you have to believe me! Please! I thought I was doing the right thing!"

"Just stop!" he shouted, causing her to go still. "How do I stop you and any of the other veela from torturing me?"

She shook her head frantically. Yet, she did not say a word. The only thing that escaped from her were tears, and he could feel every tear that left her eyes. There was almost enough to fill a glass or two.

"How?" Percy pushed, regardless of her distraught. He was never going to let that happen again to him. He had been burying those memories for some time now. She or any other veela was not going to dig them up willy-nilly.

"You cannot, Perseus." Percy jumped as he turned to Hekate, who appeared beside Annaki. "I created the veela to link to anyone and draw out what they desire the most. The allure they possess is just an aura version of that, and anyone can fight back against that." Hekate stroked the redhead's hair like a mother would comfort their child. "But, for her to take your mind into her hands, like I asked her to, no mortal can fight that. Not even you, who is stuck between mortal and immortal."

"Why do it?"

"Do what, Perseus?"

"Why do this to me? Why did you make me relive that moment?"

"I made promises." Hekate pulled away from Annaki and turned to Percy. "One is to keep you safe. If I had left you capable, you would've stormed out of the tent. From there, I could not ensure your safety or that of anyone else. As for what you saw, that was your own subconscious manifesting your desires."

Percy shook his head in denial, "People were screaming for help. I should've helped."

They needed me!

"You are a son of Poseidon. Your powers are destructive, and you have not honed them since the war. It was a risk I could not take," Hekate shut him down.

And he could not refute that. His very powers had been the key to tearing away at the form of Gaia. The destruction he had wrought was only matched by his Father's that day.

"I could have used my blade!"

"You trembled at its touch."

"I have the wand."

"Yet, you know not a spell."

"I could have helped," he begged. "I could have done something!"

"It is not your fight," she sympathized. "This is not your burden to bear, Perseus. You do not owe the world anymore."

Percy shook his head, refusing to meet her mournful eyes, "How many died?"

"No one." She stepped towards him, reaching for his shoulder. "I made sure of that."

Percy groaned, moving away from Hekate and Annaki, "What even happened? What bullshit have you dragged me into?"

"It is not a matter for you to concern yourself with. I did not bring you here to fix the problems of my world."

"Right, you just brought me here for the debauchery and mind-fuckery," he scoffed. "That is why you so willingly introduced me to the veela, huh?"

"Perseus, this is not true. If I had known how this unfolded, we never would have been here."

"But the screaming would still have happened? Wouldn't it have? You still would've let them explode whatever they were blowing up?" he glared.

"I am bound by laws not to interfere," she deadpanned, an answer she had used for millenniums.

"No! That's a load of pegasus shit, and we both know it! You gods hide behind these 'ancient laws' but never say what they are. They are words only applicable when they suit you. That isn't good enough!"

"I assure you, that isn't what they are." Hekate tittered. "They are the divine laws of existence, Perseus. They are governed by Primordials who maintain the Cycles of All. Yes, we can find loopholes and lapses in the laws, but invoking an act against the Cycle of All is a crime no divine can be immune to."

"So, how did you not interfere then?"

"I safeguarded our tent and influenced the acts of those I could. Which, mind you, was many of those here tonight. While this attack was a fixed path in the road, it is not something I could not mitigate.

"What does that even mean?"

"This is the powers of the Crossroad. I see threads of futures that have yet to be decided and woven into the plans of Fate. Only now, after a choice has been made, I know which future we will unravel. Yet, even then, I know only to the next crossroad."

"So how did you not see this attack or whatever happened, then?"

"The road did not lead me to see the acts beyond our tent walls until the next choice had to be made, and by then, I could not stop what was going on outside. I could only offer the choice to enable or to subdue you."

"So, sedating me into my nightmares, who's choice was that? Because I never would have picked that one myself," Percy huffed.

Hekate nodded to the shaken veela, "It was hers."

Annaki glanced up momentarily, tears still in her eyes. She looked to Hekate and then glanced at Percy before she tucked her head to her knees that were pulled into her chest.

"If she hadn't stopped you, who knows what future we would have been in store for. For as the moment you stepped out of the tent, I knew no more. Each step you would have taken would have changed the future. However, I have seen up till this conversation now with her chosen path. The path where everyone was guaranteed to live."

Percy looked from the whimpering veela to her master, "So, that means we are at another crossroads now?"

"Yes, Perseus, we are."

"It's mine, isn't it?" Hekate nodded as he clenched his fist. "I don't even know what the choices are."

"You have every choice you could think of right now," Hekate offered. "From here, you decide whatever you wish."

His brows furrowed, "So I could go home, and you wouldn't stop me?"

"If that is your choice, but may I warn you first? If you leave, you will live a stale life filled with little choice or action till you eventually succumb to the growing divinity in your blood." She waved her hand, and an image floated into existence beside her. It was of himself in his favorite chair on his porch, watching as the sun set and his hair turned grey.

"And if we continue upon this?" he gestured to himself and Hekate. "If we continue this 'vacation'?"

"We shall find ourselves at Hogwarts before you know it. From there, I know not more."

"What if I go to Atlantis?"

"You would struggle to enter the water, afraid of the influx of power it gives you, but ultimately, you would find your resolve and journey to the lost city." Again, a new image appeared of him, but this time, a seashell crown adorned his head, marking him as a prince of the sea. His eyes were blank, emotionless, just as the woman beside him was. The back of their hands touched, but neither held the other. "You would have a loveless marriage forced upon you to settle a matter of debt your Father owes."

He didn't want that….

"Is there a wrong choice?"

"There are less desirable choices, yes."

"Like what?"

She motioned to the first image, "You going back to that farm."

"You really don't want me to go back, do you?"

She frowned as she turned to look at the image as well, "No, you'll likely become the worst god to ever exist when you ascend. You would be the wine god reborn. After all, he was very much like you at one point." She turned back to face him, concern in her eyes. "You deserve better than that."

He sighed and brought a hand to his forehead, "My choice doesn't change the fact I'm really pissed at you." Gods, he hated himself for this. It would just be easier to go back to the farm.

Hekate cracked a smile, "I would expect nothing less of you, Perseus."

"Nor does it change the fact I really want to leave all of this behind," he continued.

"it is your choice. You may leave."

He dropped his hand, "I'm going to regret this."

"You have made your choice, then?"

"I'm not going to become Mr. D Jr."

She swiped her hand through the version of him on his homestead, "Not back to your farm then."

He stared at the version of himself in Atlantis. He looked no better than the man in the mirror, and nobody liked that person.

"Olive told me I need to look to the silver linings of things, and I've been forced along this far, so I guess what I am saying is that I'll come to this Hogwarts with you… willingly."

A genuine toothy smile crossed Hekate's lips, "In kind, I shall seek to provide you with all that I can to ensure you have the greatest silver lining you can have."

Percy offered his hand to shake, "Just one promise." Hekate hesitated before grabbing his hand, eyebrow raised. "Don't ever touch my mind again or try to have anyone mess with me like that again."

"I promise," she took his hand.

The two shook hands.

"Now, before we depart to our next stop upon our odyssey, Annaki and you need to make amends."

"After what she did to me?" Percy mock-laughed. "I refuse."

"Does it make you feel better if I already know you will accept her apology?" Hekate smirked.

Percy groaned and turned to the red-headed veela. Uncertain eyes refused to meet his as she mumbled to herself.

If I already agreed….

"I'm willing to listen to why you did what you did."

"I thought I was saving everyone. She told me no one would die, and I thought it was the correct choice." Teary eyes met his hardened gaze as an ember glowed behind her waterworks. "I did not know the impact this would have on you or even me, but I am sorry. I did not mean to make us experience that."

Percy made an effort of a long sigh.

Hekate had already said he would forgive her, so there was no point holding a grudge over someone doing what they thought was right. Plus, he had done way worse in the efforts to save everyone. Akhyls' massacred corpse was proof of that.

"Don't ever do that to me again, alright?" Percy relented.

"I promise!" she surged forward for a hug, but he stepped back and put his hand in front of her.

"No hugs." She deflated. "But I can forgive you. I would have saved as many lives as I could as well. Plus, Aunt Hestia vouched for you. It has to mean something, right?"

Annaki nodded furiously, stuffing her sniffles as her hair danced about her like a dancing flame.

"Yay! You two made up." Hekate clapped. "I wasn't sure you would've."

"I thought you said we would?" Annaki frowned.

Percy turned on the goddess, "You didn't even know."

Hekate threw her hands up in surrender, "Perseus, you don't understand the importance of having a veela like her on your side."

"You only made us resolve our issues for what Hestia created me as?" Annaki muttered, staring at Hekate. The girl shrunk in on herself.

"Hekate?"

"I told you, Perseus. Veela are a mix of birds meeting witch in one form. The hair color defines the type of veela they are. Blondes are of Aphrodite's doves. Black are crows from Apollo's own design. But her fiery red hair is the telltale of Hestia's creation. She seeks only the good in others, so she used the like bird who only tethers themselves to individuals of good hearts. Annaki is a veela of Phoenix descent."

Chapter Text

"Don't even say a word."

"Perseus—"

"Not a word. I don't want to hear a peep out of you for however long this gods-forbidden ride is."

"Perse—"

"No."

"Per—"

"Shut up."

Hekate crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh. Percy just kept his gaze locked on the train platform outside. Parents hugged and waved goodbye to their children as the Hogwarts train let out a long, bellowing whistle. Percy watched as the parents quickly pushed their children towards the red locomotive, and a series of hisses escaped from it.

Outside the door to Percy and Hekate's small room, students milled about talking as they meandered to find compartments to wait out their ride to the wizarding school of Hogwarts. Their silhouettes passed the duo's room, and not a single one paused to check the compartment for availability. Percy chalked their dismission up to whatever light Hekate flicked at the door the moment they entered the small sitting area.

The train blew one last whistle, then shifted, causing a shake to everything within the transport as it began to set off. The parents outside waved and called out to their children as they slowly faded into the distance. The green countryside of England began to dominate his vision, and already Percy was getting bored of the train ride.

"Why can we not just appear at the school?" he turned to Hekate, who was inspecting her black nails. "Like we did for the World Cup?"

She peeked an eye at him, "We are speaking now?"

"Why are we waiting on this train?" he asked again. "Like, is this necessary?"

"Immersing ourselves in the culture, remember?"

"Yeah," Percy remembered. He also remembered that this train ride would take close to eight hours. "Is this needed, though?"

"You are only going to attend one year here, and that means you only get to ride the train for your first time once. So yes. It is needed."

"It is boring already."

"What would you have me do, Perseus?" she sighed, dropping her hands into her lap.

"Can't you see the future? Shouldn't you already know what to do?"

"Doesn't work exactly like that. I don't know every detail along a path. I just know what the Fates allow me to know."

"Convenient, huh?" he snorted.

"Unbearably so." She rolled her eyes. "You know, while we are talking—"

"Oh great, here we go."

"—I just want to say how proud of you I am."

Percy cocked his head, confused, "What?"

"The other night. At the World Cup." Hekate took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say. "I know that we are struggling to find common ground and that this is all new and uncomfortable for you. I-I just want to say I'm proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone. That you finally accepted to come with me on your own terms."

Percy shrugged, "Well, the versions of me you showed me didn't look all that desirable to live as for the rest of eternity."

"Then do you finally understand what I am trying to do for you?"

"Trying to get me to have fun?"

Hekate bobbed her head to the sides, back and forth, as she chewed on the proper words to say, "Not exactly, but I think it is apt enough."

"Just don't make me actually have to treat this place like a school, alright? You said some fun things were happening here. Let's just be watchers and not participants or students."

"Okay."

"On the Styx," Percy added.

Hekate frowned, "Do you not trust my intentions?"

"No. You are a goddess. I don't trust you at all. So far on this trip, you have shown a narcissistic complex that makes me fear I will be a whim of amusement for you. On the other hand, when you didn't want me to do anything, you had someone subdue me. I don't trust you at all. So, on the Styx. You will not take action to make me entertainment for yourself."

"I swear on the Styx."

"Good, now, are you sure you cannot make this train ride faster?"

She sighed, "No, Perseus. I will not."

"Why not? You are the literal goddess of this stuff." He gestured to the room around them. "I do not want to sit here for the rest of the day."

"Would you like me to tell you what you are supposed to be doing for this ride, then?"

"Oh, so you do know something of the future," Percy snarked.

"Would you like me to tell you what you should be doing here soon?"

"No. Keep your future." Percy stood up. "Don't tell me what I need to make happen, alright? Let me live this how I want to. Keep your crossroadian powers to yourself."

"As you wish." Hekate bowed her head while peeking at him from under the brim of her black oversized sun hat. "I will only inform you if the choice leads to you finding your fate locked as the wine-man's Jr."

"Okay. I think I can accept that then."

"I am happy for you, Perseus. I want you to know that. That these are not words I speak carelessly. I am happy for you. We have begun the first step of you becoming the person you once were before Tartarus and Gaia."

"Mercy!"

Percy's face darkened as he ignored the pleas of his memories, "And on that note, I am leaving you behind to go busy myself with something other than sentimental speeches from a being who doesn't know me."

Hekate frowned but didn't say a thing as Percy stormed off. She only stared at the door as it slid shut. A long sigh escaped her as she fell back into the seat.

"Baby steps," she muttered to no one.

Meanwhile, Percy put the goddess behind him as he aimlessly put distance between himself and Hekate. One door after another, he changed train carts, subtly hoping to find somewhere to eat.

He did pass more than a few individuals who gave him a weird glance, likely because they had never seen him before. A few gave him other stares that he quickly dismissed.

Percy kept walking until he hit what he presumed to be the front of the train, as there was no door forward when he gave the room a glance. Plus, the assembled kids inside gave him a weird look as he interrupted whatever meeting they were having. One about-face later, he was lunging into the next train cart to be out of sight of whoever would call out to him. He then kept the pace going, breezing back through carts with no destination. That was until three people blocked his path.

They looked like middle schoolers, somewhere in the awkward beginnings of puberty and dressed in the result of overindulgent spending. Two of the boys resembled more that of baby cyclopes than kids, but who knows how this wizarding world worked? Maybe half-breeds were common?

Percy really didn't care what the blonde child was prattling on about. He just wanted past them.

"Excuse me," Percy tried. The two baby cyclopes turned to him, showing their pairs of eyes off, but the other kid gave him half a glance before he resumed his tirade to whoever was in the cabin. "Just trying to get through here, kid."

The blonde boy turned on him, sneering, "Who are you calling a kid, you yank?"

Percy raised an eyebrow, "Dude, I am just trying to get by you. Just step inside with your friends for a moment and let me pass."

"They aren't my friends," the boy whined.

"We aren't his friends," echoed out of the compartment.

"Okay, my bad." Percy put his hands up in surrender. "Just let me by, and you can continue your talk with your acquaintances."

The blonde boy turned on Percy in full, "Who do you think you are ordering me around? Who even are you?"

"Someone getting fed up with all the schist in the world and trying not to take it out on a kid standing in my way."

"Are you threatening me?" the boy puffed out his chest.

Percy looked up, shaking his head, exasperated, "Please just move."

"I don't think I will."

"Right, last time. You move on your own will, or I will make you."

The blonde pulled his wand, "I'd like to see you try."

Children….

Percy lunged faster than the kid could cast and smacked his hand with minimal force. The wand clattered to the ground as the boy cried out in pain. Percy grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him away from blocking the hall. The kid stumbled as he was thrown to the side. He tried to catch his balance before falling onto the carpeted walkway.

"I warned you," Percy spoke down to him. He turned to the other two boys, the quiet beefcakes. "We good?"

They looked at each other before nodding and hurrying off to scoop up their friend.

Percy shook his head, exasperated. He just wanted to walk by, honest. Now, he had to bully a kid to move.

"Wicked," one of the boys from inside the compartment cheered.

Percy turned to the children inside. The trio of two boys and a girl looked the same age as the kid he manhandled.

"Sorry for bothering you," Percy addressed them. He made to step away, but a "Wait!" from the girl inside pulled him back to the door. "What's up?" he asked her.

"I've never seen you before, and you are American," the girl asked. "Are you a transfer from Illvermory?"

"Uh, no."

"Then what magical institution were you at in America?"

"Uh, a special one," he tried to lie. "It isn't popular. You wouldn't know it."

"Salem?"

"No."

"Southern State Spells?"

"Is that even a school, Hermione?" the smallest boy asked.

"Yes, it is." She gave him a half glance.

"Look, no. I didn't go to Southern State Spells or whatever you'll guess next. There is, um, a special clause in our school charter, right? Like we aren't allowed to mention it to anyone but Alumni."

"Well, that just sounds stupid."

"It's a very private school in just about every matter."

"So you're rich?" the tall redhead asked.

"No."

"What does your family do?"

"Uh…. Boats?" he shrugged while leaning against the door.

"Boats?" Hermione frowned.

"Yeah, you know. Like boats and water, or at least my dad does. My mom, she's an author."

"Oh, Merlin, he mentioned books."

"Prepare yourself, mate."

"Oh my! What does she write? I probably have read it, and now I might be meeting one of my favorite author's kid. That would be amazing. What's her pen name?"

"Sally Jackson. She's writing The Perry Chronicles."

Hermione's face lit up, "That's your mother?

Percy blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah. She's great."

"In an interview, she said the story was based on her son, the bedtime tales she told you. So you are Perry?"

Percy laughed softly, "Yeah. Something like that."

"Can I have your autograph?"

"What?"

"What is 'Mione so on about, mate?" the ginger asked the smaller kid.

"Couldn't tell ya."

"Harry, do you not know about the most sensational book on the market right now?"

"I, uh, don't read like you do."

"I think you would like the book. The protagonist is a lot like you in a way, Harry."

"You mean, the bloke before us now is a lot like Harry?" Ginger observed.

The trio of kids looked at Percy and studied him before Ginger and Hermione looked at Harry.

"I mean, you both have black hair and green eyes. He could pass as your older brother if he tried."

"Or he could pass as my little brother," Percy countered. "I am the older one here unless he's secretly like twenty or something."

"I'm not."

"So what does bring an American to Hogwarts, especially as you don't appear a first year?"

"Well, it's complicated, really," Percy finished. He had hoped they would accept the answer, but the girl only leaned in closer. "I guess the short answer is that people think it will be good for me to change my scenery and try something new."

"Oh," Hermione frowned. "Well, the mountains around the school are breathtaking, and the Black Lake is nice to read a book by if that's your thing. Or the top of the astronomy tower, that is a really nice view."

"Did you just invite him to a snog in the astronomy tower?" the redhead recoiled, and Percy faltered. "We've only just met the man, and he's obviously older than us."

"No, Ronald," Hermione groaned. "I was saying that place is a good part of the castle to clear your mind and breathe fresh air."

"I'll keep those places in mind," Percy cut off the argument that was about to take place. "Thank you, but if you guys don't mind, I think I'm going to go find my friend. I'll see you guys around. Let me know if I need to toss that kid around again."

:P LINE BREAK d:

"So, since we are transfers, do we go where the big man is telling first years to go?"

"Yes. That is the route across the Black Lake. It has been ceremonial for new students to experience since the opening of the school," Hekate answered, stepping off the Hogwarts Train just behind Percy.

"We have to cross the water?" he followed up nervously.

She shrugged, "On a boat, obviously."

"Right." He nodded to himself. "You sure there is no other way? Like with the other kids?"

"Immersion, Perseus."

"Right…." He trailed off as he wiped his palms on his robes.

"Firs' years! This way!" the big bearded man yelled once more, waving a lantern above his head.

"Ladies first," Percy urged the goddess.

She shrugged and smoothed the invisible wrinkles on her black robes before marching forward. Percy sighed and adjusted his own black robes. The school outfit was one of the worst uniforms he had ever had to wear. It was way too baggy and heavy to be ever considered a quality getup.

The duo approached the big man and started down the path that the small children nervously began to take. The trail wove back and forth between trees and floating lanterns as they finally made it to the shoreline of the Black Lake. The black and grey stones crunched under his feet as Percy let his eyes drift across the water. He couldn't see the castle just yet as a thicket of trees covered much visibility from the cove where the small dingy boats awaited.

"Four to a boat. No more than that," the big man ordered.

The children quickly hopped to. They all found their boats and started conversations with those they found themselves in company with. In the end, only one boat remained, empty and waiting for Percy and Hekate. She easily stepped into the wooden raft and sat down without a problem, but Percy hadn't budged.

The water lapped near his feet, deftly avoiding his boots as if it avoided him of its own will. Percy could only stare at the pitch-black water…. He knew what would happen the moment he touched that boat. It would bend to his power. The lake would heel to his presence alone. All the power he feared would be closer than ever to his complete control.

"Young man!" the oversized man hollered from his own boat, where he sat alone. "It's not gonna 'urt ya. In you go."

Hekate looked to Percy at the man's words.

"Percy?" she asked in a softer tone than she had ever spoken to him before.

"Hmm?" he asked, never taking his eyes away from the water that lapped at the side of the boat.

"Will you join me?" she asked carefully.

"I think I want to walk around."

"Do you trust me?" Hekate stood from the boat as she stepped towards him. Her hands carefully took his.

"No. No, I don't."

"I made a promise to your mother that you would be fine. I did it on the Styx as well. Can you trust that?" she tried.

"Come on, you two! We are on a schedule," the big man boomed once more. Hekate gave him half a look as her eyes pulsed purple. Suddenly, all the first years and the man looked anywhere but at Percy and Hekate.

"It is just you and me, Percy," she tried again, filling his vision. "I know what you are fearing, but it will be fine. I swear."

"I haven't touched that power since that day."

"That's okay. This journey is all about this moment. These small moments are what I brought you here for. Out of your comfort zone, we shall step into your life once more so you can live again." One of her hands ghosted his cheek, her thumb wiping over his scar. "This is the first baby step to becoming yourself again. The fool who sent the gods Medusa's head. The man who befriended a hunter and earned the Huntress' respect. The young man who saved everyone."

"Can you stop me if the water changes me?" he met her stare. "Will you stop me if I have that episode again? I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Put your faith in me, Percy. Cross this lake with me and heal."

"But will you stop me?"

"Yes, Perseus. I will if I need to."

"Don't hesitate."

"Never."

"Baby steps… that is what you called it, right?" Percy looked down at the water that avoided his feet but lapped at the boat and Hekate's boots.

"One small step into this boat, one baby step at a time."

Percy gripped her hands a little tighter and nodded. Hekate rewarded him with a smile as she backstepped further into the water before pivoting to step into the boat. Their joined arms stretched to their furthest reach as he hesitated once last time before he stepped forward.

The water pushed away from his foot as he planted it to lift his other leg into the boat. Then that foot came down onto the wooden boards, and he felt it. He felt it all.

The lake was massive. It was deep and filled with underwater caverns and even a civilization. Within the water, there were creatures he had never felt the presence of ever before. There even was a squid as giant as a three-story house. Almost like magnets, he could feel every single molecule click together into one mass that heeded his mind, albeit it felt heavy.

The Black Lake was listening, waiting…. But the water wasn't bowing to him like the sea did. There was something more….

"Percy?" Hekate whispered.

Percy opened his eyes. He didn't even remember closing them.

"Your eyes, they glow so beautifully," she whispered in awe.

He looked at his reflection in the water and saw his divinity stare back. He tried to blink it away, but the glow refused to leave him.

"It is okay. We can sit down now. Magic will do the rest," Hekate tried to distract him as she pulled him down to sit. "Once we get around this bend, we'll see the castle in full, and she's beautiful." Hekate squeezed his hands once. "You here with me, Percy?"

He turned to her, "The water is wrong."

"What?" she frowned and threw a glance at the water.

"It feels wrong. It's water, but it feels thick. Like soup."

One of her hands left his as she carefully dangled her finger over the edge of the boat. She sent him a hesitant glance, and he nodded. Her black nail touched the water and a ripple of purple energy shot across it. He could feel her magik coat the surface of the entire lake as it slowly began to seep down. However, it only made it so many feet before it dissipated.

Hekate frowned as she shifted herself back to the center of her bench, "Do not touch the water, Perseus. Some other deity has polluted this water with their magik. I fear they would think you are trying to usurp them if you interact with this water any more than you have to."

"I think I already usurped them the moment I touched the boat. This water wants to be mine. I can feel it, but something is trying to hold onto it nonetheless."

"Then we best get to the other shore." Hekate snapped her finger, and the boat's magic headed her call. The small fleet of rafts accelerated as they safely but quickly rushed to the other end of the lake.

All the while, Percy kept one free hand on his pen and the other loosely holding Hekate's.

Chapter Text

"Olive makes better food than this," Percy grunted, eyeing the slop on his fork. The greyish-tan mush plopped back into his bowl. Percy frowned and turned to Hekate. "Remind me again, Cate. How is this place magical besides Starry Night above us and the stupid hat that tried to read my mind?"

"Do you have an off switch? Or a way to turn off your complaints?" Hekate grumbled, holding a piece of bread. "I didn't make this food. Complaining to me won't change how it tastes. Plus, it doesn't taste bad."

Percy shrugged, lowering his fork back into the rest of his food as he met her annoyed look from across the table. "Your world. Your blame."

"Just grab some mashed potatoes and meat. I don't want to hear you nitpick and complain about everything when if you just opened your eyes, you'd see other choices you could make. And I say this for more than just food."

Percy ignored her, "I could blame the deity in the lake if you'd prefer that, but I don't think they are responsible for magical cooking either. Although I don't even know the first thing about them, so I can't really say. If only I had a goddess who could know these things."

Hekate rolled her eyes, "Oh, just be quiet, Percy. I'm not omnipotent, despite what you might think. It has been many, many years since the family has cared about Europe and its happenings. In our absence, any number of things could have taken up shelter in the Black Lake."

"Yeah, that seals it. This is going to end disastrously, isn't it?" Percy groaned, pushing his food away so he could drop his head on the table. "Can I drop out?" he mumbled against the wood. "I got plants to grow."

"Percy, this is the opening feast for the year, and you've only just been sorted into your house," Hekate sighed, her hand reaching across the table, but she stopped short, ghosting over his. She carefully pulled back, "It isn't the one I expected, but that is beside the point. You haven't even started classes. You cannot drop out, nor will I let you."

"I thought you were using magical powers to cover my academics," he mumbled.

"I am. You'll pass every test and every assignment with no problem, but you still have to show up. More importantly, you need to socialize. You are like a wild hound right now."

"I feel like there has been a great miscommunication about what was expected of me, Cate."

"Percy, there has been little to no positive communication with you since I first spoke to you on your farm."

"You should be nicer then."

"I should be nicer?"

Percy shrugged, "Please and thank you go a long way."

"I want to smack you over the head." Hekate sighed. "I want you to know that, but I also know restraint."

"You smack me, and I stab you."

"Don't get your panties in a twist. I'm not going to stoop to your level."

Percy raised his head from the table, frowning, "My level?"

"Please." She rolled her eyes. "You've drawn your blade on me, and we both know what threat that implies. A smack is far less than what you stand behind."

"You touch me, I draw."

"So you've said. But here's my counter to you thinking you can threaten me, Perseus. You draw, I leave. And I make sure to cast a spell to lock you inside the wards of Hogwarts as well, so you'll have nothing to do but be stuck here till I care enough to see you kiss my feet and say sorry."

Percy narrowed his eyes, "You wouldn't dare."

"Please. Us gods have done worse for less."

An understatement, Percy thought.

"So, a truce?" he asked.

"It feels so immature to have to make a truce to agree to not harm the other, but yes. Call it a truce," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean, if it makes you two feel better, I've heard some other students make stupider deals," an older teen laughed, sitting down next to Percy. "Roger Davies. Seventh-year prefect. I thought I'd introduce myself to you two. It isn't often we get exchange students. Honestly, I don't recall a time we have."

"Oh, you are cute," Hekate purred, switching up her tone as she straightened her back. "I'm Cate, Cate Brimo. Grumpy beside you is Percy Jacks—"

"I can introduce myself, Cate," Percy raised his voice, straightening his back as well. He shot Hekate a glare.

"Don't mind him. He isn't socialized," Hecate teased, causing the prefect to laugh.

"Don't sweat it. It's chill." Roger smacked Percy on the back, lingering. "Lot of introverts in Ravenclaw. Though, I've never seen a 'Claw throw the hat off their head and then choose their own house. Thought you'd be a Gryf for sure, but hey, here you are."

Roger looked to Percy, waiting for a response. Yet, none came. His hand fell away.

"So, uh, what made you throw the hat off anyway?" Roger asked, glancing at Cate and then back to Percy.

Percy shrugged, "Didn't want it in my head."

"Oh, yeah, sure. I can see that," Roger nodded. "What, you got the secrets to the arcane up there and don't want to share?"

Percy frowned at the kid before turning to Hekate, who was eyeing up the teen, "Does the truce extend to everyone?"

Roger frowned, too, turning to Cate, who shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Roger. As I said, he isn't socialized," Hekate teased. "Sometimes, I think he was raised in a cave."

"Yeah, all good," Roger forced out, turning his attention fully to Hekate. "So, how does a pretty American like you get to a place like this anyway?"

"I'll tell you only if you tell me something."

"Sure, anything you'd like to know."

Hekate smirked, leaning forward, "What's going on in the Wizardry World on this side of the Atlantic?"

"Merlin, where do I even begin?" Roger laughed, showing his pearly whites.

"Like all good stories, the start preferably."

Percy rolled his eyes. Poor kid didn't even know he had become prey to the goddess. He'd have to bail him out if Hekate found the chase worth it.

:P LINE BREAK d:

"Gross, seven flights of stairs. Now a riddle, too, from a talking door knob?" Percy groaned from beside Hekate at the back of the group of first-year students, who were also receiving a succinct tour of the Hogwarts castle. "If I knew that was part of the deal, I would've never picked the blue house."

Hekate frowned, slowly turning on her companion. "Wait," she trailed off, pressing her hand into her forehead. "After throwing the hat off and refusing to put it on, and then given the choice to pick whichever house, you picked Ravenclaw because it was blue?"

Percy shrugged, "I like blue. I don't look that good in red or yellow, and that shade of green doesn't go well with my eyes as much as you'd think."

"You picked off colors?" Hekate repeated, exasperated. "Colors?"

"How else was I supposed to pick?" Percy threw his hands up. "Was I supposed to pick the house with the least kids in it? Is everything a magic riddle here?"

"Percy, have you ever looked at anything about Hogwarts?"

"I haven't even used my wand since we bought it, much less opened a book."

"By Khaos." Hekate facepalmed. "How did you ever complete your quests?"

"Luck, skill, and some brute force." Percy shrugged. "Like, does it really matter? It's just an animal emblem and a color-coding system, right?"

"Come on, you two," Roger, the prefect, called from ahead of them.

She sighed, taking his upper arm, dragging at first, before leading him through the opened doorway into their common room. The two stepped through the doorway of riddles and into a tunnel of stone.

"The houses are personality tests," Hekate explained. "The hat is the test. It 'scans' you for a lack of better terms and selects the best place for you to grow as a person. This isn't correlated to what best suits you but what will develop you into the best you can be. It is why I thought you would go to Gryffindor or Hufflepuff."

"The red and yellow ones?" Percy asked, looking ahead to where the small children were exiting the tunnel into a larger room.

"Yes. Bravery and loyalty are key factors in those houses. Fitting attributes for a hero like you."

Percy frowned, "Right. What is blue, then?"

Hekate smiled, taking him the last step through the small passage between outside the common room and into the room proper.

Moonlight streamed in through grand mosaic windows with colored glass of wizards and witches standing in poses of power. A fire crackled from the center of the room, like a hearth, where an assortment of chairs and couches extended out from it, reminding Percy somewhat of an amphitheater. On the other half of the circular area were rows of tables and chairs that looked like they had been pulled from a library. Against the far walls, bookshelves lined each available inch. The occasional globe or knick-knack littered itself amongst the organized mess.

"Ravenclaw, or the blue house, is about the pursuit of knowledge."

Percy paled, "Well, that's not me at all."

Hekate shrugged, her eyes roaming across the many kids inside the common room, "Yes, but here we are."

"Here we are," Percy grimaced. "I'm not participating in any AR projects. Never worked as a kid, and it isn't going to work now."

Hekate turned to him, her eyebrows knitted, "What is AR?"

"Accelerated reading. It was a thing to make children read back when I was a kid."

"And you have dyslexia like all your kin."

"Yup." He popped the 'p.'

"Well, worry not. Even if there was such a task here, you do not have to do it. This is supposed to be your vacation, after all. Just try and take some time to meet some new people and have some fun. Think of it as a cruise."

"Who vacations to a school?" Percy huffed.

"Magical school, Percy. Here, things going weird are normal. You'll fit in."

"Right, totally. Do these kids also blow up school buses with canons?"

"No," Hekate laughed. "They use their wands, not canons."

"Hey, Percy," Roger Davies showed up out of nowhere, slicking his brown hair back as he smiled at Hekate. "Why don't I show you around the rooms and where we will sleep for the year? The other idiots on our floor always have a little first-night party."

Percy frowned.

"Go on, Percy." Hekate pushed him forward into the devil's arms. "Go have fun. I'll see you two in the morning, okay?"

"You're the best, Cate. I'll make sure to have him up and about by eight for breakie," Roger laughed, throwing his arm around an uncomfortable Percy, who glared at the goddess.

"Just remember, he's all bark, no bite," she added.

"I'm contemplating violating our truce already!" Percy called out to her, allowing himself to be dragged away.

But really, a part of Percy was happy to be dragged along. As Roger droned on about how much he would love the other guys in their year and how they were all super cool, Percy couldn't help but let a small smile cross his lips as a small spark of hope ignited in his heart.

Maybe Hekate was really right about this. Maybe he could start over. Maybe he could find some people who see him just as Percy and not as the child of Poseidon or the monster he had become to save everyone.

So, as Roger pushed open the final door on the steps, Percy entered voluntarily.

The first thing he noticed was the curved back wall of glass. The dark expanse of the world was just beyond his window. The moon shone down upon distant mountains as it reflected upon the lake below the castle grounds. Countless stars littered across the darkness above, staring back at him. He could even see the Huntress at the moon's side.

"You can spell it to look like a normal wall if you don't want the sun streaming in during the day. That or a partial transformation of it. It really is just customizable, but the magic it was built with only really allows you to change it from wall to glass and back again. When I was a first year, some kid in the year above tried to change it to something other than glass, and the best he could do was to change the color of the glass."

"Can people see through the glass? Like from outside?"

"Nah. One way. A Gryffindor heard about these windows once and tried to spy on some seventh-year girls. He couldn't see a thing, no matter how close he got. He ended up in detention for quite a while, too. But yeah, you could be a centimeter from the glass and still not be able to see through it from the outside."

"Neat."

"Perks of being in the Roost," Roger smirked, walking to the glass. "It has the best view in all of the castles." He turned back to Percy. "Highest as well."

Percy nodded, his gaze falling to the ground below. They really were high up. Almost too high. If Zeus was ever in a bad mood.

"Huh. That's neat."

"Best house in the school."

"Well, it is blue, which is the best color." Percy turned from the window, a small smile on his lips.

"It is indeed." Roger shared his smile. "Anyways. You got your bed, and it is a bunk bed. There used to be more students before the last Blood War, so you've got that all to yourself." The younger boy pointed to a door on the opposite wall of the bed, "Through that door is your washroom and toiletries. I think most else is self-explanatory with a bedroom."

"They are pretty straightforward," Percy nodded. His gaze roamed over the blue-accented room. It was simple and nice. It wasn't too far off from his own room on his farm.

"The day a bedroom changes and has to be explained is when I start asking if mankind has gone too far."

The two shared a small laugh before Roger continued on further. "Anyways, are you still interested in hanging out with the other idiots in our year? They should be busting out the exploding snap right now in my room."

"Exploding snap?" Percy frowned. "What is that?"

"Oh, my American friend, you are going to learn today," the brown-haired teen laughed, dragging Percy out the door.

:P LINE BREAK d:

"Is everything in order?" a weak voice rasped from the darkness.

A fireplace emerged from the vast darkness that was Percy's dream, and slowly, the world built itself around the flames. The fire light expanded outward, revealing more and more of a darkened room. A tall padded chair was turned to the flame, a chair Percy would imagine every grandparent owned. While Percy could only see the back of the chair, a dehydrated skeletal baby hand of nightmares emerged over the armrest, grasping for someone unveiled to the light.

"Yes, milord," the man in the shadows whimpered. "He has reported already that he has arrived despite being later than anticipated."

"How late?" came the weak hiss in response.

"Missed the feast, milord."

"Not good enough. Dumbledore will know if he does not suspect already."

"Milord! He is certain he has gone unnoticed. The Headmaster welcomed him as an old friend."

"The old fool could be putting up just as much as a front as Crouch! But we shall see. If he fails, it will be you who will have to bring me the boy."

The fire crackled, its flame growing brighter once more, basking the walls in its heat. Yet, the second figure remained out of sight, and Percy watched a snake emerge from the darkness. What appeared to be some bastardized anaconda slithered up the chair. Its tongue tasted the dust that floated aimlessly as hisses left its mouth.

If Percy was tangible and present in this room, he wouldn't have hesitated to chop the snake's head off. Something about it felt foul, like a monster.

Then the being in the chair hissed back, and the light from the fire blasted outwards, smashing into Percy and sending him stumbling back into a white void. His eyes snapped open, the blinding light of the morning sun driving through his window and into his very soul.

Percy's hands came to his face, shielding himself from the morning rays of Apollo.

"What in the Gods was that about? And what in the Hades have I been dragged into?" he mumbled to the empty room. "Hekate, you better have answers. This wasn't part of the plan."

Chapter Text

Percy had not had a demigod dream in some time.

He had honestly hoped they had gone away with what he had become as a demi-immortal. He had thought they did, in fact. His dreams of late had been pretty repetitive and vague, but last night felt way more real. There was no layer of disconnect between himself and his dream like there was in any other dream. He was there, in the room with the chair with the snake, just like he had been there to spy on Kronos and the Titans while he slept.

Percy knew what a demigod dream meant in the broadest sense. While he didn't understand how it happened, he knew what it would lead to. He now only had to wait for reality to catch up and come for him, and hopefully, the snake was less important than the one he knew of in the myths. If it was, though….

The son of Poseidon reached into his pocket and pulled out his familiar pen-sword.

Anaklusmos, a cursed blade by the words of Ares, was blessed into his hands by its creator, Zoe Nightshade, by her final breaths. By his hand, it had reaped its fair share. Every time the celestial bronze had tasted the air, it had been sheathed, quenched of its thirst for death.

His thumb traced over the Greek letters inscribed on the side of the pen. His brain auto-translated the characters, leaving him with the unexpected tide staring up at him.

He was going to have to uncap this blade soon. It was inevitable. If he was experiencing demigod dreams again. Now, he would only have to stop his hand from shaking and his heart from racing whenever that moment came.

Was it so hard for the Fates to bestow someone else with hardships?

But would he allow someone else to suffer if he could spare them?

Whatever Hekate had dragged him into, did she expect Percy to handle it? And whatever thing that had sat in that chair, declaring itself a lord, it wasn't ever going to be good for Percy's life.

Percy stood out of bed, rolling his neck and shoulders, hearing them pop and crack like a snare drum. Sluggishly, he made his way to his bathroom, where the cold stone floor of the castle awoke him more than any coffee could. Despite that, he would take Olive's coffee over the cold stone any day. The rich taste mixed with the sight of the rising sun…. He was going to miss it, seeing the golden rays dance across the morning dew that dripped from the leaves of his crop.

Perhaps he could find something similar here. It was a castle, after all, surrounded by mountains, trees, and a giant lake. There had to be somewhere worth watching the sunrise from.

Maybe Roger knew a spot?

Percy blinked, opening his eyes to the world and free from the clutches of Morpheus. He stood before the mirror, staring at the shadow of the man who once was while he brushed his teeth. The scar down the side of his face stood back.

"Mercy!"

Percy flinched away from the mirror. He only turned back, avoiding his own gaze, to spit the toothpaste out of his mouth and into the sink before quickly stepping out of the bathroom and towards the exit of his room.

Slowly, he trudged to his door, where he slipped on an outfit for the day, along with some socks and shoes to protect himself from the cold. He felt a weight settle on his being, stopping him from moving towards the door. The pen in his pocket, slowing him like an anchor.

This was all supposed to be a new start.

The troubled teen stood at the threshold of the door, his hand ghosting the metal of the knob. He turned his head over his shoulder, his eyes falling up where his wand lay forgotten.

He was supposed to be a wizard now, a new person. Wizards did not brandish fists and swords….

He eyed the length of palm wood on his desk. He could almost hear the siren within the wand calling to him, begging to be heard.

This is a new start.

The wand was lighter than the sword in his pocket.

Wand in hand, he opened the door, nearly colliding with Roger, who had one hand up to knock.

"Just the bloke I was on my way to wake," the teen smiled.

Percy gave him a forced smile, "Morning."

"Morning to you, too. Ready to eat? Breakfast at Hogwarts is some of the best. Just don't let my mom know I said that."

"I won't," Percy replied, taking the lead down the steps. He needed to find Hekate and talk with her, away from unindoctrinated ears.

"You sleep good? I know first nights can be rough in a new place," Roger asked before quickly adding on. "I mean, my family moved around a bunch when I was a kid. Never slept well the first week at a new home."

"It was fine." Percy shrugged, lying. "It was sleep."

"I bet you slept like a baby after beating all of us at exploding snap." The brown-haired boy grinned. "I don't buy it that you've never played before."

Percy shrugged again, "Beginners luck, I suppose."

"Aye, that's what we'll call it. Next time, we won't take it easy on you."

Percy knew it would not matter. His demigod reflexes were too ingrained into him for him not to win. He'd have to be intentionally sabotaging himself if a card ever popped in his hand.

The two boys exited the stairwell into the common room. Once more, Percy had to take the room in, but this time, it was glowing by the light of the morning sun that streamed in through the mosaic windows where baby blue curtains adored with various stars and constellations were pulled to the side to make way for Apollo's rays. Percy couldn't help but wonder if The Huntress could be found upon the delicate silk. His eyes drifted away from the windows to the amphitheater-like room. The fire was not burning. It wasn't even there. Instead, he was met by the familiar trickle of water as it fell from a fountain into a small pool. Various colored flowers grew from the base of the stone fountain.

While he didn't spy any dirt, he was sure that magic must have fed the plants enough nutrition to grow and blossom as they did. Perhaps he should learn how to do that for back home. It would allow him to grow something interesting throughout the cold winter months when the skies froze and the ground hardened.

"I'll be back in a minute." Roger broke Percy from his thoughts, stepping away. Percy nodded, watching him go for a moment before he let his eyes look across the room for Hekate.

Children, younger and older, littered about the room, forming small groups that slowly migrated out. Other groups lingered, their eyes casting back towards the stairs from which the rooms lay.

Hekate immediately met Percy's gaze as he closed the gap between the two, leaving behind the group of girls that had been at her side.

"Morning, Perseus." She smiled, pushing back her dark hair.

"We have a problem," Percy mumbled under his breath, his eyes casting to Roger, who was busy conversing with one of his friends from last night.

Hekate sighed, rolling her eyes and keeping the smile across her black-glossed lips, "Of course you do. You never stop. Wait for later. We are having fun today, and I'm not compromising."

The goddess made to turn away, but he quickly snatched her elbow, forcing her back to the conversation.

"No, this is serious."

Her eyes lingered on where his hand gripped her arm before she slowly raised her head, a brow raised.

"Was there a pea under your bed last night, Princess?" Hekate joked, a teasing smile dominating her face. Yet, he could see the restrained emotions bubbling in her eyes. "I am sure whatever you want to complain about is something you can fix yourself. You are a capable young man. Now," her smile fell away, "let go of me."

He gripped her arm tighter, even as she tried to pull away.

"So you two ready for brekkie?" Roger asked from the side.

Percy let go of her arm and gave Hekate a slight shake of his head.

Don't push me aside.

Hekate turned to Roger with a forced smile, "Lead the way, honey."

"Cate…." This is serious.

"Yes, Perseus?"

Percy glanced at Roger, who was awkwardly looking between the two.

"I had a dream."

Hekate hesitated, her face furrowing, concerned, and just as quickly, she plastered a smile over her face, "So did Martin Luther. Now hurry up, and let us get to breakfast. Classes don't start till Monday. You have two days to tell me all about your dream. Today, we are focusing on why we came here and not what we left behind." She turned and began walking away, offering her arm to Roger, who hesitated before meeting Hekate's eyes and quickly took it. "You can tell me all about it later, Percy. I swear, let's just be for now, like we planned."

Roger tossed him a sympathetic look over his shoulder with a shrug.

Percy sucked in air between gritted teeth and forced out a lengthy breath.

"Gods," he hissed under his breath. "The world would be better without you."

Percy followed after Hekate, and his hand fell into his pocket where Anaklusmos awaited. The pen warmed beneath his touch, begging to be set free, and he quickly let go.

Now wasn't the time. Hekate was not his enemy, as far as he knew.

Yet, it would be only a matter of time before the bronze cleaved once more.

Down the moving and ever-changing steps of the castle, Percy glared as he watched Hekate flirt with the teen.

Percy had no qualms saying he didn't like her.

She preached altruism and how she plans to help him just to turn around and push him away when he comes to her with a problem. She speaks of taking part in the world as passengers only to turn and bask in the addled minds of those succumbing to her divinity.

Did she even care about him like she wanted him to believe? Was this trip to help him, or was it for her? She swore on the Styx he wasn't a means to entertain her, but that isn't an ironclad swear for the gods….

The gods…. For the most part, they were problematic, to say the least.

Yet, Hekate, was she flawed as a being, or was her state of being the flaw?

He'd like to think it was just her, yet many of the other gods suffered the same sickness that ran through her veins and now grew in his.

Immortality.

Was he doomed to such a fate? Would he ascend and lose awareness of other's plights and care for only his own pleasures as she did? Would he be no better than the other gods?

He'd rather be the monster than the lost.

:P LINE BREAK d:

"Last night, this guy" – Roger pointed his thumb at Percy, who was sat beside him –"says he's never played exploding snap before. So, being the amazing person I am, I introduce him to it with my mates, and I don't just say this simply, but the kid wipes the floor with us. Not one card explodes in his hand. It was like he was born to win."

"Who would have thought that, Percy? Sounds like you have a new calling," Hekate added, giggling to Roger's commentary.

"How great." Percy rolled his eyes, pushing his focus back to his breakfast. Thankfully the British had enough talent not to make piss-poor eggs.

"So, what are your plans for today, Cate?" Roger asked.

Interested, Percy looked to her. After all, she would more than likely drag him along to whatever it was.

"I'm not really sure where to begin, actually. I had thought it would be the Black Lake, but something about it felt off when we came across it last night on the boats. But I'm going to find something fun all the same for Percy and me."

Roger nodded, chewing on his food.

"Probably the curse," he said, pointing his fork at her. "The lake, I mean."

"Oh?" She leaned forward. "I haven't heard of that before."

"Well, it's not called the Black Lake for nothing. Know what I'm saying?"

"Of course, but not at all."

"Right, so, while most people think it has to do with the lake's color, it actually has to do with the Black family way back before the lake even existed. You see, my mum is big into her history and stuff, right? She does a lot of magical archeology, and her dream project is actually about the town that sits at the depths of the lake. I can't remember her lectures on it perfectly, but it used to be a small place. Home to more than a few wizarding families. Importantly, the Blacks were the ruling family of the settlement. One day, for some reason or another, what was once a small town in the valley of the mountains became a lake. They say the blood of the Blacks caught in the flood stained the lake, turning it to the dark color it is now, cursing and corrupting anything that sinks beneath the surface."

"That is…." Hekate frowned, eyebrows scrunching as she looked down. "That is weird."

Roger shrugged. "It's magic. Atlantis disappeared overnight. A valley filling with water overnight feels much easier to accept than a supposedly advanced civilization that had mastered magics beyond the bounds of wizards today being lost forever with zero trace."

"Is the lake protected by any water spirits?" Percy asked. "You know, like the Lady of the Lake or something?"

Roger shrugged, "Don't think so. It's got mermaids, though. There's the giant squid and a few other notable fellas in there before you get down to the more nitty and gritty busy bees."

Percy frowned, "How did a giant squid get in there? If it is a lake, I assume it isn't saltwater."

Roger shrugged, "Magic is the easy answer. Sadly, I don't have the answer you probably wanted to know. I could owl my mum. She might have an idea."

"No. It's fine. It isn't that big of a concern anyways," Percy said before taking the last forkful of food from his plate.

"Aye. Offer stands."

"Thanks."

"Roger!" a teen sank down next to him.

Percy recognized him from last night. He had been one of the other boys playing the card game. He was, in fact, the one who ended up in second.

"Duncan." Roger slapped him on the shoulder, gripping the boy's collarbone and shaking him. Roger turned to Hekate, "Cate, meet Duncan Inglebee. One of the beaters for the Claws."

Hekate smiled, "Nice to meet you."

"You as well, Cate. I like that name." Duncan winked at her before turning to Roger and Percy. "And there's the champ from last night, mate. How are you feeling today? Up for some more fun?"

More fun? Percy hesitated. What do wizards find fun?

"I'm not sure," Percy replied.

"Not sure, eh? It's a good thing I've got you covered, then. Despite the teachers canceling the season for the tournament, I've already heard the Gryfs trying to throw together some casual matches for the day," Duncan explained. "It is open rosters for anyone to play. Roger, I already signed you up with me and Jason. I was going to talk to Cho next, but either she is still in bed or off in a broom closet with Ced."

"Broom closet, for sure. Saw her leave the common room before we came down," Roger provided. "Percy, have you ever played seeker?"

"What's that?"

"' What's that', he says. Do you hear this guy, Rog? Mate, you live under a rock back in the States? Didn't know snap and now quidditch."

"Take it easy on him. They joke about the American education system for a reason."

"True," Duncan conceded. "Either way, Percy, you want in? You could also probably be a chaser or even a beater if you want. I wouldn't mind swapping things up for some fun."

Percy frowned, "I don't think I should."

"Nonsense. You'll be fine if you can fly half as good as you played snap last night."

Percy shook his head, "No, like, I don't fly at all. It doesn't go well for me. I'll end up crashing and burning."

"Actually," Hekate budged in. "You can here, Percy."

"Uh, no, Cate. Are we forgetting that one guy we know?"

"I know exactly what you are worried about. It won't happen. It's like when you fly back home. Remember how your father made your ride? Similar thing here, but well, magical and me."

"I don't know what she means by that," Duncan cut in. "But, it sounds like you are in, to me."

Percy sighed. He had seen the sport of quidditch before at the World Cup, but back then, it was merely a distraction of the eyes as he didn't fully grasp what they were doing. Plus, he had been rather involved in his conversation with Victoria.

Although the game had seemed a bit like basketball or soccer but on a broom. And growing up in New York and camp, he had become really good at basketball.

He glanced at Hekate once more.

"He'll get back to you, gentleman," she answered for him. "He won't admit it, but he doesn't know how to fly on a broom, so I'll give him a quick lesson, and I'm sure he will be right as rain."

"Sounds good," Duncan said, slapping Roger's shoulder as he stood. "I'm off to find some others. The plan is to meet on the pitch after lunch. I'll see you guys later." He bade them a nod, his eyes lingering on Hekate before he turned away, further down the table.

Roger pushed his plate forward, "Sounds like we have a plan for the day. I'm off to pop by and say hello to some more people before the morning gets busy. I'll see you two at the pitch then. At least in the stands?"

"Of course," Hekate answered quickly. "We will see you later."

Roger nodded, "Cheers."

The two Greeks watched the teen wizard leave through the grand doors of the Great Hall before they turned to each other.

"I had hoped they would've left the season to be played out. Yet, I understand why they canceled it for the tournament," Hekate said, grabbing a grape from her plate and tossing it into her mouth.

Percy frowned. He recalled Hekate mentioning the tournament before. She had made some remarks in passing that he didn't care enough to listen to in full, but once more, it appeared in conversation. Maybe it would be best to know.

"The tournament, what was that again?"

"Triwizard Tournament. Weren't you listening last night after you were sorted?"

"Honestly? It went from the ordeal on the water to laying in bed for me last night. I didn't really listen to the singing hat and the grand speech."

"That grand speech was the opening announcement. That is important to know of."

"I have ADHD. If it doesn't interest me, it is in one ear and out the other."

Hekate nodded, conceding the point, "Right, well, listen this time, will you?"

"I'll try."

"The Triwizard tournament is happening this year. It is a big event that spans the year in full. A lot of production and organization on not just the staff but even the country itself as it is hosting schools from other regions as well. In short, balancing that with a school sports league isn't worth the effort, especially when the other two schools would likely be left out."

"Right, I understand that, but what actually is the tournament beyond a gauntlet of challenges? What's the big deal?"

"It is like the Olympics but for up-and-coming wizards. Previous winners were known to go on and become quite famous in their day. To win is a very prestigious award for a wizard or witch coming of age."

"Ok. Is this the part where you tell me you are forcing me to compete? Will throwing my hat back in the action make me feel better?"

"Didn't we go over this already?" Hekate groaned.

"Say we didn't. I have trust issues with immortals."

"I will not force you to compete at all, Perseus. I planned for it to be something for you to watch as a spectator, like the gladiatorial games of Rome. If you wish to compete, I won't stop you, but honestly, I doubt you would care to."

"I don't, so I don't want to be blindsided by you making me."

"Worry not. If you haven't noticed by now, Perseus. I have been trying to do what I can to make this the best it can be for you."

Percy couldn't stop the snort and eyebrow that rose.

"While it wasn't what I had planned for us today, let me teach you how to ride a broom so you can play quidditch with your new friends."

"They aren't my new friends," Percy mumbled, looking away.

Hekate let out a barking laugh and quickly wrangled herself in at Percy's glare, "Aww. Is wittle Perseus embarrassed to admit he has friends?"

"Piss off, Witch."

"No thanks." She stood. "Now, chop-chop. Let's have some fun now."

:P LINEBREAK d:

Percy really was stupid.

It's not that he really thought himself dumb or any such notion, but yet, here he was, standing beside Hekate, who had a wide grin on her face. She had just gotten done flying an example pattern on a broom and was now waiting for him to swing his leg over the piece of wood so he could fly himself.

"He's going to smite me," Percy insisted.

"Stop worrying. Just get on."

"I'm of the sea. I don't fly."

"The ocean evaporates into clouds all the time. Stop stalling."

"This is a broom, not a sea storm."

"It's just like a pegasus but less meat on the spine to cushion you."

"My gut is telling me this is wrong. My gut is never wrong."

"Such a baby. How did you save the world if you are too afraid to hover about the air?"

"Using a sword is vastly different than whatever you want to call this."

"You are leaving me with less and less chances to be nice about this."

"Why are you so insistent anyway?" Percy threw his hands up.

"So you can make more happy memories."

"What?"

"It's like I'm beating a dead horse over and over again. How often do I have to say this for you to believe me? I'm not trying to be evil or manipulate you into some nefarious plot. This is a vacation of healing. Now, you don't heal by staying in the blankets of comfort, so saddle up, horseboy. Don't make me ask again."

"Horse boy?" Percy frowned. He had heard worse. "This is more than blankets of comfort. This is me going into Thunderthigh's domain. The same one who has a hate boner for me."

Hekate sighed, "Fine. We'll do this the easy way then if it makes you feel better."

"The easy way?" he asked, watching Hekate saddle the broom.

"Get on."

"You are already on it."

She gave him a flat stare, "Don't be dumb. Use your brain, Perseus. Behind me."

"But what about him?"

"He cannot strike me down as well. You'll be safe with me, and then once you are over your fear. You will fly solo."

Percy stared at the spot behind her. It was just big enough for him to squeeze on before it went to the bristles of the broom. He glanced up to the goddess atop it already, who was watching him, waiting on him.

Would Zeus attempt to strike down Hekate if he was with her? Did Zeus even look to Europe anymore? She had mentioned that most of the gods didn't look back to Europe after they moved to the Heart of the West in America.

"You sure?" he asked, contemplating that it might actually be safe.

"Like riding a pegasus."

"Positive?"

"Percy," she said softly. "You have to trust me for all of this to work. This is just like the boat at the edge of the lake. A baby step to a leap later. I want to help you with your problems, not leave you to struggle."

But what of my dream? You don't care to listen and brushed me off even when I tried to bring it up again on the way here.

"Please, Percy."

You are double-sided for sure, Percy thought, meeting her eyes. Why do you treat me this way? What do you truly gain from helping me as you do? There is no way to know but to find out, is there?

Percy sighed and threw his leg over the bristles of the broom as he sat down on the thin wood. It was not as comfortable as a pegasus. It felt more like a bike seat, but somehow, it was an even skinnier seat. He also wished he had somewhere for his legs to saddle onto like he could with a horse of pegasus. Instead, he just had a stick to sit on and wherever he would put his hands….

"Hold on tight."

Percy frowned as he rushed to look for where he should place his hands. He was already practically straddling Hekate. It wasn't like he could hold onto the broom directly before him. Was he to reach around her?

"Hey, where am I supposed to hold onto?"

Hekate looked back at him and smiled.

It sent a chill down his spine, and his hands surged forward, wrapping around the goddess as the earth below became but a blur of green. The whipping winds tore into his eyes, forming water at the edges of them as he was forced to tuck his head down into the back of Hekate.

He clung to her like a lifeline as he peeked below them.

They had only been off the ground for moments, yet they were so far from the ground. This was no simple float and hover pattern like she had shown him. She had gone into the clouds, challenging Zeus's domain, to prove her claim.

He gripped her tighter.

They were so high in the sky that the castle of Hogwarts was a model figure beneath them, and the Black Lake was but a puddle.

He would never make it anywhere close to the ground before Zeus got the final laugh. Hekate was going to make him wind up dead. Of all the things in the world, he was going to die on a broom, flying into the heavens.

"You can stop gripping my breast so tightly, Perseus."

What….

Percy quickly moved his hands lower to her navel before ultimately switching to ghosting her sides.

"Sorry," he mumbled, cheeks burning hotter than ever, even more so than when he was inside a volcano. He could even feel his body start to sweat a bit at the rush of heat.

Gods…. She was going to think I was trying to grope her. Mom would beat me.

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he tried to lean away from Hekate.

"I don't mind, Perseus," she chuckled, leaning back into him as she brought the broom to a hover in the clouds. "If you think it would make you feel better, just let me know. I'm here for you."

Did she just…?

"What?" he stumbled out.

"This journey is to span a year, Perseus," she said while gently overlapping one of her hands with his own. "The goal is to make it a fun year, and I am not one to judge."

He stared at where her hand sat atop his, and he tried not to think about whether his hands were clammy or not, "I got that. I just… I don't know how to respond."

She laughed, leaning forward and away from him as she steadied herself on the broom, "Don't. I'd rather you not put your foot in your mouth. I might be too tempted to push you off the broom if you did." She winked at him over her shoulder.

"Right," Percy gulped, the heat lingering on his skin. Maybe it was because they were closer to the sun? Right? They were pretty high up, after all. And on top of that, the sky wasn't cracking open. Was she right? Was he genuinely safe on a broom? "Well, I don't think you were wrong."

"About?"

"We are flying with no thunderclouds, but I wouldn't say it is like a Pegasus. Maybe on a flying bicycle with how small the seating is."

"I have never ridden a bicycle before, and for assurance's sake, you have my blessings to use a broom and fly as you please. That will ensure protection over you from the King even when I am not on the broom with you."

She really meant it. It really was safe to fly on a broom then.

"T-thank you," he forced out between the frog in his throat.

"You are welcome, Perseus. I do hope you understand that I do not have ill intent for you despite not doing things that you agree with. We clash often, and I wish we did not. I merely wish to give you these small moments, these baby steps, as I have come to call them. I want to see you back to what you once were."

Back to what I once was…. Do you want the old Percy who could look himself in the mirror or the Percy who could stare down his enemy?

"I…."Percy frowned and turned his head to the side. The lump in his throat clogged his words, but he had to know.

"Yes, Perseus?"

He had to ask. He had to swallow his nerves. He had to know.

"Do you… do you…." He groaned, resting his head against her back. He couldn't.

"Never mind," he mumbled.

"I see…." She trailed off. "Shall I show you where the real fun is at on a broom, then? If you have no questions to ask."

"Sure," he mumbled, gently moving his hands to grab her waist.

"Hold on, then."

They nosedived.

Spiraling towards the earth below.

It was terrifying. It stole the worries of his mind.

It was exhilarating. It stole away the lump in his throat as he screamed as if he was a kid on a roller coaster.

It was a rush that he didn't know he needed it, a distraction from reality….

At that moment, he knew. He'd rather look like a witch from a fairy tale, riding around on a broom, than the thing that left the Pit.