Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a relatively normal day, which looking back should have been his first clue. But in true Percy fashion, he ignored it. Percy and Nico were catching up with Thalia. They were at a burger joint in New York making her do good on the promise she made them before the Battle of Manhattan. They were catching each other up on their latest shenanigans when a silvery light nearly blinded them, forcing them to look away. When the brightness subsided and Percy opened his eyes he saw the Fates.

The gods damned Moirai in their full bony glory. They were looking at us like we were the ones who interrupted them. Thalia recovered first, Nico close behind. Percy was still dazed.

“We have a request for you three,” Atropos states, her thin fingers brushing against the sky-blue thread, Clothos was still measuring.

“What do you want?” Thalia grumbled.

“Our request is simple,” Clothos replied. Not looking up from the thread

“We want to stir up some fun for once.” Atopos grinned, showing off her yellow, rotting teeth.

“Oh, great!” Percy yelled with fake enthusiasm.

“My sisters and I want to send you three back in time,” Clothos said, still knitting with her blue string.

“We want to give you another chance to better your past mistakes. Usually, we’re against meddling with your fate, but what’s the point in living forever and never breaking a few rules?” Lachesis smiled.

“Why now?” Nico spoke up. The other two demigods nod their heads in agreement.

“I’m not quite sure…” Lachesis frowned.

“Why can’t we just keep things as they are? I mean, everything is finally ok!” Percy remarked, angrily.

“He’s right!” Nico agrees. “My life finally isn’t a shit hole! I have a boyfriend and better friends than I could ever imagine!”

“I have my huntresses!” Thalia added. “I can’t leave them!”

“Sounds like a you problem,” Atropos uttered.

“You should be grateful we’re giving you another chance!” Clothos said.

“You guys of all beings should know how dangerous it is to mess with fate!” Percy argued.

“The three of us know about you and your little girlfriend, don't you want a chance to spare her the pain and misery?” retorted Lachesis. “Or all those who died in the wars? Wouldn't you like to improve the lives of your friends?” by the end of her rant, she looked a little smug. Percy thought back to all of those lives he affected. All of the lives he ruined.

“Percy, don’t listen to her!” Nico yelled, trying to wake him from his trance.

“Percy, you saved so many people! Don’t let their voices get in your head!” Thalia cut in.

Percy knew they were right, but he couldn’t stop that voice from edging him on. He thought of Annabeth. His girlfriend. His best friend. His partner in crime. He had royally fucked up her life countless times. He thought of how she couldn’t sleep at night because of her nightmares from Tartarus. She fell into that hell hole because of him! If she had never dated him she would have been fine. She would have lived her life normally (or as normal as a demigod could). He thought of how many times she had been held as bait for him. How many times she had been put in danger because of him. Before he knew it he was slipping out of consciousness. The last thing he could see was Thalia and Nico passing out and the fates surrounding them holding three threads, smiling creepily.

Chapter Text

Percy woke up to the feeling of falling and being covered in spider webs. Which was weird because he could have sworn he was with Thalia and Nico.

He fell and fell until there was only a black void. Seconds later, his eyes snapped open. He looked at Grover and was surprised when the face that met him was a lot younger than he was used to. Then he remembered it all. The fates. The falling. The future. “Grover, give me your mirror.” Percy knew that Grover used to carry a small mirror when they were at Yancy.

“Um, sure?” He handed Percy the mirror, confused. Percy thanked him and looked at himself. So it’s true. This wasn’t some fever dream. The face of his 12-year-old self was staring back at him.

“Um Grover what year is it,” Percy asked feeling a little pale

“2005, why? Are you feeling alright?” Grover responds, concerned.

“Yeah, haha.” Percy tried to brush it off as a joke. Turning to look out the window, watching the buildings of downtown Manhattan blur together, Percy tried to recall what happened that day. Something about a museum and demon math teachers? He couldn't remember what happened very clearly. Too much shit happened between then, well now apparently, and the present time. which was six years in the future now. He sighed, closing his eyes. This going to be too much work. The least he can do now is make the most of it

“Uh, Percy we’re here,” Grover says hesitantly. Looking between Percy and Mr. Brunner as if asking what he should do.

He turned to look at him, and then the window for the last time, and sure enough the same building where it all went downhill, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. he saw Mrs Dodds with her signature leather jacket standing off to the side as the rest of the class joined her on the sidewalk. By the time they stepped off the greyhound, she was staring right at Percy. Percy put his hand in his pocket to hold onto Riptide, only to pause when the only thing t was a click pen he hadn't lost yet. Shit. He’d forgotten that he got Riptide at the beginning of the first quest. Which was a still week away.

He followed the rest of the class into the building. Still a little out of it, he could almost see Grover's concerned expression out of the corner of his eye.

“Percy!” Mr. Brunner yelled from the wheelchair ramp he had just gotten off of. “Let’s go!” Percy hadn’t realized he had zoned out again and quickly ran to catch up with the rest of the group.

The gallery was still the same as he remembered it the years before when his mom brought him. Old, crumbling statues of famous Greek Heroes. were on display along with that forsaken mural of Kronos. just looking at had Percy feeling as if he had just taken a dip in the Cocytus. It was just a reminder of what was to come in the next four years.

When Nancy was laughing at the naked guy on the stele, I kept my mouth shut. But since when has luck ever been on his side. “Mr. Jackson, could you perhaps tell us what this mural depicts? ” Mr. Brunner asks, an eyebrow slightly raised. How he could talk about his father like that so casually, will forever be a mystery to me.

“That's Kronos eating his kids,” I said

“Yes and he did this, why?” The old teacher asked.

“Uh, when he overthrew his father he was cursed to have the same fate. so he got scared that when his wife gave birth he ate them until his wife, Rhea hid Zeus on Crete and gave Kronos a rock to eat.” he paused looking at Brunner to see if he wanted him to continue. When he saw his eyebrow raise and a look that he'd learned meant ‘well?’ he knew “ so after he grew up he tricked his father into throwing up his siblings where they fled to Mount Olympus. Where he led a ten-year war against the Titans, and the gods won and imprisoned the Titans.”

Chiron nodded “Very good Mr. Jackson, full credit” I gave him a small smile. When I turned to face Grover, I saw Mrs. Dodds or Alecto since she seemed to glare at me with more suspicion and hate, than before. he brushed it off, turning back to listen to Mr. Brunner ended his lecture and let us go for lunch. I trailed after Grover. walking outside to see Nancy try to pickpocket a guy talking on his phone.

We sat on the fountain somewhat peacefully, eating our lunch. I looked up at the sky. It was cloudy, borderline storming out. until Nancy waltzes over with her goons and dumps her half-eaten food in Grover's lap. I felt my anger rise. and before I could do anything to stop it, she was on her ass in the fountain.

“Percy pushed me!” she yelled. while she was shaking water off her and whining about how uncomfortable she was. Alecto appeared next to Grover, making him jump.

“I didn't touch her,” I protested. I figured it would be in vain anyway. My classmates were already whispering about how the water had grabbed her. Alecto smirked.

Though he didn't have a weapon, if things went the way they did last time. Which they should, considering Grover and Chiron both were side-eyeing him. Chirons are much more subtle than Grovers. Alecto turned towards me.

“Now honey-” she started but Grover cut her off.

“It was me, I pushed her” his chin quivering. Gods, Grover, this is why you're my best friend.

“No,” she said, turning her head to glare at Grover.”I very clearly saw him.” She looked a little smug like was waiting for me to mess this up badly, since the start of the semester. thinking back she probably was, the only evidence she probably had was my very limited understanding of Latin.

“Now honey, if you don't mind, follow me,” Alecto said, leaving no room to argue. Turning to walk back up the stairs.

“Only I do mind” I grumbled under my breath, trailing after her. When he was almost in the main hall he turned around to see Chiron and a very pale Grover whispering and looking his way. He put his hand in his pocket feeling for Riptide, only to come up short, not even the click pen from earlier. Dam, he thought old habits die hard.

When he caught up with his math teacher. Breathing heavily. Curse his weak body. He'll train with a stick in the forest or something. She was standing in front of a large marble frieze of the Gods. Her arms crossed staring at him.

“Did you really think you'd get away with it ?” Alecto growls glaring at Percy. The look she was giving him was evil but then again he's faced much worse.

“Get away with what?” he asked ” I've been at Yancy all year”

“Confess, less you want eternal torment” Alecto threatened. Tugging on the cuffs of her leather jacket.

“Confess to what? I didn't do anything” he stressed. His fingers playing with his shirt hem.

“Your times up” she snarled. Her leather jacket melted into a pair of bat wings and her face became more hideous. Which is surprising since she was pretty dam ugly, to begin with, her hands morphed into razor-sharp claws. All in all, she still looked like a hag. A shriveled one, like what you’d see in a cheap Halloween store.

“Time to die honey!” she lunged for me. A few beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. Any second now would be great Chiron. It's not like I'm about to face a Fury weaponless or anything.

“What ho, Percy!” Chiron shouted, tossing Riptide in pen form to me. I held out my hand and caught it. In the blink of an eye, the familiar weight of Riptide was resting in my palm.

Alecto hissed and lunged again. I swung Riptide. Catching her on the shoulder, cutting clean through. she hissed one final time before completely dissolving into golden dust which fell to collect in front of him. The room was left smelling like sulfur and rotting meat. He touched the pen cap to the end of the blade, and a ballpoint pen was left in his hand. He toed the pile of fading dust in front of him. Forbidden kitty litter indeed. lovely description Leo, I'm stealing it.

As he walked along the main hall back to the entrance he pocketed riptide. When he got there, A light rain had started. Walking over to where a smug, still-soaked Nancy and Grover who was using his copy of the museum map as a makeshift umbrella, were waiting. When Nancy noticed me walking towards them, she turned her head.

“I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt” she sneered, glaring at me. Then she turned her head looking for her posse, and promptly walked off to join them.

“Who's Mrs. Kerr?” I asked Grover. I knew the mist had covered it but it was a little funny to see Grover trying to lie. And besides what he won't know won’t hurt him.

“Our math teacher,” he said, a little unsure ” Are you sure you're alright?” he added.

“Just fine” I confirmed sitting back down next to Grover.

Chapter Text

Fortunately, the rest of the semester went roughly the same. The freak weather continued and he was still sent out into the hall twice a day. Mrs. Kerr was the same. Personally, he thought that she was a legacy of Athena, she had the iconic gray eyes. But her hair was a light brown. but hey at least he got a few B+s.

Another thing that was new was the monsters that came sniffing around. Luckily his smell was still muted by Gabe's nasty one and any that got too bold got an arrow to the face. (thanks Chiron).it was a real nasty ordeal, imagine waking up to a harpy’s dying screech in the middle of the night. He was only able to identify what was dying due to being woken up while living on the Argo ||, while it was being attacked. His uncle and father were still going at it if the 3 times his window was blown open was any indication.

When exams rolled around, he had to ‘study’ his mythology book. He doesn't know half of Greek Mythology but he was sure he had enough first-hand experience to at least not fail miserably. But knowing the material and spelling or reading it was a whole other thing. If only it was written in Greek he’d have no problem acing it.

In his experience of getting expelled from schools, he'd say that he was doing a wondrous job of not getting in fights or arguments with Nancy and Co. Usually, he was too busy selling candy for a little pocket money. so of course he had to ruin it all by calling Nancy an ‘unfortunate accident her parents made when they were young, and that they should have left her on the side of the road’ yeah. Not his best move. So he wasn't really surprised when he got the letter.

When he left the 3-hour Latin exam, his head spinning from the reading and writing he was called to stay back. Great a Chiron pep talk.

“Percy,” he said “don't be ashamed about you leaving Yancy it's...for the best,” I hid a wince, he really hasn't improved even with most of the camp helping it was difficult to help him improve.

“I know sir” I kept my head down. even after all these years it still stung.

“This just isn’t the right place for you,” he said. Moving his wheels up and down like he was thinking about what to say. At least he's making an effort. I realized he probably meant I belonged at camp, not here.

“Right,” I said. Turned to leave.

“Percy,” he said. And I turned my head to look at him.” you were meant for great things” his eyes twinkled. To a normal person, it would have been a trick of the light. but he had seen it way too often.

He walked the hall back to the dorm he and Grover had shared. And lay down on his bed. Just a few more weeks, then he could go home to his mom and Pa-. fuck. Gabe was still alive, wasn't he? Guess they'll have to swing by Auntie Ems again.

The rest of the semester came not long after and soon he found himself folding away his clothes to put back in an old suitcase. So when he found himself sitting in the same bus seat new to a nervous Grover he figured things were going the way they should. He got an idea. A bad one but hey if the fates can have some fun so can he.

“Looking for kindly ones?” I asked, a smirk found its way onto his face. Grover, on the other hand, didn't feel it was as funny and nearly fell out of his seat.

“Wha- what do you mean?” Grover said, looking a little pale. I raised an eyebrow.

“What about the winter solstice,” I said, staring at him. Grover was still a little shaken from my comment earlier if the look in his eyes was anything to go by. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a business card, and handed it over to me. I pocketed it.

“Look Perce” he started, his hands playing with his shirt hem.” the truth is I kinda have to protect you,” he said. My smile faded.

“Protect me from what?” I asked. Grover was about to answer but the bus just happened to break down. He followed Grover out of the bus. And they stood off to the side of the group. He looked around, seeing them, the fates for the first. Or would this count as the third? Whatever they still looked like the old, hideous hags from before. their old white cotton dresses stained light brown at the ends. They were knitting and staring straight at him. Again. Grover shook his arm.

“Please tell me they're not looking at you,” he said, fear creeping its way into his voice."they are aren't they?" His face seemed to get paler by the second

“Weird you think those socks would fit?” I asked. Grover somehow seemed to get paler.

“We're getting on the bus” he whisper-shouted. Dragging me back towards the bus. I turned to look at the Fates just as they cut a blue thread. Luke’s. So there was no way to save the asshole. As we climbed the steps and got back into our seats Grover was muttering something along the lines of ‘it's always sixth grade’ and ‘they never make it past twelve’. He turned to me.

“Let me walk you home,” he said desperately like I was about to kneel over dead any second.

“Sure Grover” Yeah no, he was still going to bolt when they got to the terminal.

As predicted Grover's bladder acted up, so when they got off, Grover had to run off to the bathroom. And I walked off to call a taxi.

“East One-hundred-and-fourth and first,” I told the driver.

When we pulled up to the apartment building.I paid with a twenty and told him to keep the change. I still had a five in my pocket, the rest was tucked away somewhere in the suitcase. I refuse to let that pig of a man get any more than that. I faced the door to the apartment, I could hear Gabe and his friends playing poker. I paused to take a few steadying breaths before turning the doorknob. The talking came to a stop.

The stench was worse than he remembered. There were empty beer bottles and chip bags on nearly every surface he could see. Gabe sat there at the head of the table staring at him, cards in one hand and a cigar in the other. At the sight of the cigar, the old cigar burns that littered his arm started to burn with phantom pain.

“So your back,” he said, pausing to take a drag of his cigar. ”You got any cash?” I took a breath.

“Only a five,” I said, trying to keep the fear out of my voice. Gabe put the cigar in his mouth and held his hand out expectantly. I handed it over.

“Where's my mom?” I asked. Shuffling my feet nervously. I mentally cursed myself. Why was I acting like this? I've faced worse before so why was seeing him again making him act like this?

“She’s out,” he sneered.” Now get outta my sight,” he added, glaring at me for good measure.

I practically ran to my ‘room’ which somehow smelled worse than the living room. I pushed his stuff off my bed to sit on the end corner. I shivered. I could almost feel Alectos glare. I turned to look out the fire escape window, just two weeks till he’s gone for good.

“Honey is that you?” he whipped his head towards the doorway. And saw his mother making her way into the room. Still in her uniform from the candy store. I stood up and ran to hug her, she smelled like sour candy dust.

“Oh, honey you've grown,” she said, combing her hands through his unruly hair. Tears pricked his eyes. He turned his head to look behind her, where Smelly Gabe was lumbering over to them. We broke away from the hug and she studied my face.

“Why don’t you pack for Montauk? You can tell me about school when we get there,” she said, patting my shoulder before turning to face her husband, who was blocking the hallway with his arms crossed.

“You guys were serious about that trip?” Gabe says chin raised. Or well at least what you can see of it. He narrows his eyes “And you'll take the car there and back?”

“Yes honey,” bless my mother and her patience.

“And this money comes out of your clothes budget?” He says one of his hands going to scratch where his chin should be.

“Yes, honey,” she responds, wrigging her hands together a few times.

“Maybe if you make some food to last me the weekend,” Gabe said. I snorted at the thought that any food would last more than a day, or two if we were lucky.

“Something funny brat?” he threatened. Turning his head to glare at me. I turned to look at him and shook my head. “That’s what I thought” he turned to leave. I went back to packing my clothes.

An hour later as I was loading the Camaro, and waiting for my mother, Gabe came over grabbed his arm, holding it so tight he was sure it would bruise, and whispered in my ear.

“If so much as a scratch is on here when you get back” I could smell the beer and Salt and vinegar chips from earlier. I had to stop myself from gagging.

“I know, I know I’ll live to regret it,” I muttered to him, yanking back my arm from his iron grip. And sure enough, a light bruise in the form of an obese hand was on his forearm. Gabe looked like he was about to blow a gasket, his face turning a pinkish shade if it was from the beer or anger he’d never know. Gabe was about to open his mouth to angrily say something. When his mom walked out in jeans and a blue long-sleeve shirt, with her purse and the car keys.

“Well see you when we get back honey,” she said, staring at Gabe as she motioned for me to get in.

I opened the passenger seat door nearly hitting the overweight man in the ass. And got in, and my mom followed suit pulling a bag of assorted blue candy out of her purse, reaching up to ruffle my hair. then started the car.

Chapter Text

As they drove to Montauk his mom's eyes faded into a darker blue. When they pulled up to the cabin on the beach the sun was starting to set. As they cleaned out the spiderwebs and aired the place out, Percy started a small campfire on the beach. They were roasting marshmallows for smores and Percy was telling her about the school year. He excluded the parts about Alecto but told her about Grover's freak-out on the bus. Her face got a little pale. But it could have been the firelight.

“Any new exhibits at the museum?” she asked. He thought back to the gallery he saw. He could have sworn there was a new add-on in the Roman section.

“I think they added on to the Roman section,” I said in between bites of his smore.” I didn't get a good look though,” I said, turning to stare into the ocean.

“Well we’ll just have to go soon,” she said. Her eyes stared into a distant place. What she meant was when Smelly Gabe would let us go. not like he’d be around much longer. He sighed.

“Would you like to try a summer camp?” she asks, I look back at my mom. And tilt my head.

“A summer camp? Do we even have the money?” I ask. I know what camp she is talking about. It's where I’ll wake up in the morning.

“It’s free,” she says, taking a stick to poke at the burnt wood, making sparks go in every direction. She sighs ” We’ll talk about it more in the morning” she adds. Looking at me like she's about to lose me forever.

“It's getting late, we should put this out and head inside,” she says, making a move to stand up. a sad look in her eyes. I went to follow her up the shallow dune, back to the porch of the cabin.

His dreams usually suck, but this was something else. And he was having it. It was the same stupid dream about his uncle the Drama King and his absentee father duking it out on a beach with Grandpa cheering them on from behind him somewhere. He was woken up by the sound of a very loud crack of thunder and just when he rolled back to go back to sleep he heard aggressive knocking on the cabin door. He got up putting on his jacket before walking past the kitchen. He spared a glance at the microwave clock on his way to the door. Two forty-four in the morning. right on time Grover.

When he stumbled over to the door and opened it just as Grover was about to knock again. Looking him up and down. His hat and pants were gone. His wet hair was plastered to his forehead.

“My best friend is a goat from the waist down?” I stated. Raising an eyebrow. He was about to answer when I cut him off again ” And dude, why are you here at like two in the morning?” Grover's cheeks flushed a light pink.

“Can I come in, it's really coming down out here” Grover asks looking down towards his hooves. I sigh, moving to the right and gesturing for him to come in.

“I’ll go wake my mother” I mutter, turning to go down the hallway towards her room. Flicking on the lights effectively woke her up, and simply said.

“Grovers here and apparently he’s half goat” She sat up surprised before realising and climbed out of bed. We met up with Grover in the kitchen. I figured he'd found us so easily because he had dropped hints to the ‘yearly’ trip to Montauk, right after the end of the school year.

“So there's something after him,” Grover said looking at my mother.” so we have about fifteen minutes,” he said, looking between me and mom.

“How bad,” she said, running a hand down her face.

“Uh, size of a van, can lift a van” he responds, “bull like” he adds wincing at his words. Mom's eyes widened.

“You two get in the car,” she said, moving to grab the car keys off the counter.

“Is my life in danger?” I asked. I figured it would be normal to be worried about these things.

“We’ll explain in the car,” she said, grabbing her jacket and rushing us out the door into the hurricane-level winds. Looks like Uncle Z found me. We got in the backseat just as we all heard it. A roar I hoped to never encounter again. This would be the third time he'd see the ugly beast. Third times the charm I guess. His mom tried the ignition and it stalled a few times. When she finally got it it was too late. Not only could you hear the thing but now you could see it half a half mile down the road but with every lightning flash, it seemed to get a little closer.

“We need to move!” Grover shouted nervously looking between his mom and the window. He started muttering prayers to the Gods. (mainly Pan) As his mom got the car to work, Grover turned to face me.

“I'm sure you have a lot of questions,” he starts. He cuts Grover off ”What exactly is chasing us? And why is there half a goat where your pants should be?” he pulls his best ‘im confused’ look and stares directly into Grover's eyes.

“Uh, well did your mom tell you anything?” he asked. I gave him a look that clearly said it all. His mom didn't tell him but he knows more than enough. “Well, your dad is a God-” The car jerked to the right, throwing Grover on top of him. When he recovered his vision and looked out the left window he saw it.

“Is that the Minot-” “PERSEUS JACKSON!” shit. That was his full name. ”That's Pasiphae’s son, names have power.” she shouted, swerving the car to the right, narrowly missing the ditch. I felt the hair on my arms stand up. Fuck. and the next thing he knew the car exploded, and he blacked out.

When we came to his senses, the car was on its side. He definitely had a concussion, his left shoulder had a small gash that was bleeding slowly. Grover was passed out next to him and his mom was bleeding from a small cut on her temple but other than that she was fine. He shook Grover's shoulder to try to get him to wake up. When that failed he tried to find a way out of the car. The roof was cracked open and still smoking from the lightning strike. He moved to open the busted door to drag Grover out onto the wet grass.

“Grover wake up” I whispered. When the only response he got was him moaning about tin cans and Pan, he figured to drop it. He blinked the water out of his eyes looking around for his mom. She was crawling her way out of the broken window. He ran to help her up.

“Mom! Are you alright?” He helped her over to where he propped Grover up against a tree.

“I’ll be fine,” she replied, her eyes looking me up and down before reaching her hand to touch his shoulder. She opened her mouth. “Oh honey, you're bleeding” Her eyes held concern. But before either of them could get another word in, the Bullman roared again. A little too close for comfort. His mom turned to him, putting both hands on his shoulders.

“You see that tree up there? Up on the hill” her eyes full of grief. I nodded “You're going to take Grover and go“ Her resolve was made there was no way she was going to back down.

“Not without you” I protested.

“I won't be able to go with you” She had already accepted her fate.

“No, Mom, come help me with Grover. We're going together.” I felt the adrenaline rush that only comes with an expected battle.

“I won't be able to cross the property line” She was talking about the barrier. I wanted to protest but the head start we had was long gone. The Minotaur had found us. The gas tank exploding is probably what gave them away.

“You take Grover and go. I’ll buy you some time” She kissed my forehead and got up. I felt my gut screaming at me. “Now go!” I grabbed Grover by the arm and slung him over my shoulder as I climbed the hill. Maybe she won't get kidnapped this time? I heard my mother scream. Dam, some things just have to happen. Looks like he’ll have to do some bullfighting again, at least this time he won't be weaponless.

He propped Grover against Thaila’s tree and pulled out Riptide. Sliding down the slick grass he landed about 30 feet from where the minotaur was standing. The Minotaur huffed and sniffed the air.

“Hey, you! With the ugly mug!” it turned its ugly head to look in his direction “Yeah I'm talking to you, you poor excuse of a cow!” That one must have really riled it up if the growling was any indication.

When the bull charged he moved to the right, slicing up. Right across his furry ribcage. Just deep enough to kill him. He stood there as the pile of dust from the Minotaur was fading. He hiked up the hill, retrieved Grover, and headed for the Big House. Collapsing on the porch his vision faded as he saw Annabeth and Chiron rush outside.

Chapter Text

When Percy woke up his mouth felt like it was made of sandpaper. He lifted his head to look around, and he saw Annabeth sitting there reading a book, probably on architecture. Grover was walking in with a glass of water and noticed I was waking up.

“Oh, good you're awake. How are you feeling?” He helped me sit up. Handing over the glass of water.

“What about my mom?” I asked, bring my hands to rest in my lap. Tears pricked my eyes. I lost her. Again.

“She-she didn't make it,” he said. It was so quiet I almost didn't hear him. “Oh, I'm the worst satyr ever!” he stomped his foot, or hoof on the ground.

“But she dissolved into golden dust?” I looked at him. Maybe this time he’ll give me a straight answer.

“Uh well-” he was sweating looking for an answer. I raised an eyebrow. “We should go see Mr. D” he took a small sigh of relief, clearly pleased he salvaged this conversation. Grover helped me get up. I looked around for Annabeth only to come short. She must have slipped on her cap and left already, though knowing her she was probably lingering in the corner.

Grover had stood next to him in case he needed extra support. He’d woken up earlier than last time. They rounded the corner to find Chiron and Mr. D playing pinochle. Grovers is the first to speak up.

“Uh Mr. D, this is the new camper, Percy Jackson,” he said shifting his weight from one hoof to the other. Chiron raised his head and nodded at us. Mr. D on the other hand didn't spare me a glance.

“Welcome to Camp Peter, don't expect me to be happy to see you anything.” he was staring at his cards. I side-eyed Grover. He smelled like wine. It hit a little too close to ‘home’.

“Why don't you two go sit down while I finish this game?” Chiron offered with an apologetic smile. We both nodded and walked off to find a place to sit.

“So what is this place?” I asked. Inclining my head to look at his face.

“It’s a safe place for people like you” he responded. “Half-bloods, Demigods”

“Like from Greek mythology?” Grover nodded “Does that mean the Gods are still around?” he nodded again. “Ok. Now what about Mrs. Dodds?” Grover’s face got a shade paler when he asked that.

“Well the monsters are still around,” he said. Then turning his head to face me he adds “You're taking this very well” he says a little suspiciously.

“Well we just got attacked by a Minotaur and you're a Satyr right?” he paled again then nodded. It was just then that Chiron walked over.

“Ah, there you two are. Percy, why don't we take a small walk.” I got up and Chrion addressed Grover.“Mr. D would like to see you” he seemed to pale even further. And scrambled past us in the direction of where Chrion had appeared.

“Now Percy, what has Grover told you about camp?” he asked looking down at him.

“Just that this place was for half-bloods. And that I’m a demigod?” he stared up at him blinking every now and then. They only broke eye contact when Percy Frog blinked.

“Well, we’ll put you in Cabin Eleven for now,” he said looking towards the cabins. I could see Hestia at the hearth gently tending to the flames. she stopped for a moment noticing his gaze, then looked in his direction. I offered a small smile that she inclined her head to before returning to the flames. Chiron broke the silence.

“I'll show you around then we’ll go to Cabin Eleven,” he commented, moving to walk down the path. I trailed after him. He pointed out the archery range and the forges he’ll probably get banned from the archery range again. They walked by the dining pavilion and finally made it down to the cabins. They walked the path to the courtyard in the middle, and as they walked past Chiron pointed out a few cabins. When they got to Cabin Three, I stopped for a moment looking at the faded design on the outside.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you” I nearly jumped in the air. some of the Gods won't like it if you wander into the place meant for their children,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. Yeah but would my father mind if I was his child? Probably not. But hey Chiron didn't didn't know, and frankly, he didn't want to be avoided like the plague.

“Come along now child. Time to see your cabin mates,” he said walking down the path towards the beat-up Hermes cabin. Don’t let appearances fool you. The outside and inside are rigged with traps and pranks. You never know which one you’ll find yourself in. truly the trickiest cabin to sneak into or out for that matter. He saw Annabeth reading a different book on the bench leading up to the cabin. He could feel her gaze following him as he passed her.

Following Chiron through the doorway he saw his cabinmates there were at least ten of them there present. He didn't have the minotaur horn like last time. It would have only caused more rumors. And Clarisse would have a valid reason to fight with him. Same with Annabeth at least now she won't look at him with the calculated look she gives new people it was her way of sizing people up. See how useful they could be. But now he’ll only be victim to it for only half the time.

“Everyone this is Percy Jackson, undetermined” The campers all groaned, some of them grumbling something along the lines of ‘Gods not another one' and 'do we even have room’. I felt bad, most of these campers either had sided with Gramps or died fighting in the Battle of Manhattan.

“Well, welcome to Cabin Eleven, my name's Luke” I froze. That was Luke's voice. He stuck his right hand out for a handshake, and I barely noticed my left hand going to shake his. My right gripping onto Riptide. “I think we have a spot on the floor over there,” he pointed to a small spot below the window.

“Um, thanks?” I looked over at the spot that would barely fit a twelve-year-old. Fortunately for Percy, he was built like a fourth-grader. We thank the ugly fatass pig for that one. Chiron decided this was a nice time to excuse himself.

“Well Luke if you have this handled I'll be leaving for masters archery with the Apollo cabin.” he backed around and trotted off. Thanks, Chiron for leaving me with Luke.

“Have you seen the canoe lake yet?” Shit. he was talking to me.

“Uh, I think so,” I said, my cheeks flushing a light pink.

“Well I’ll go steal a sleeping bag and some toiletries for you,” he said, a grin appearing on his face. I missed this version of Luke. he was nice, he actually cared for me. Like an older brother, I’ll never have. He reached up and ruffled my hair before walking out.

I left not long after that. I wandered around for the rest of the day. I spent most of my time at the lake. That was until Grover found me.

“Hey Grover” he jumped, caught off guard.

“How’d you know it's me?” he asked. He came to sit next to me.

“Just a hunch” I responded, staring into the waters.

“How are you holding up?” he said, staring at the forests across from where they sat.

“I’m fine, I was just wondering about the pine tree on the top of the hill, '' Grover looked away. I hated asking about this but, it will help the plot I swear.

“It was my fault,” he started. I turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow ” It was three years ago. My first time bringing demigods to camp. She was a daughter of Zeus. She was twelve, like you. She was being chased by all three Kindly Ones and a hoard of hellhounds, sent by Hades. We almost made it to camp. She made her final stand on that hill ” Grover paused, close to tears “Her father, Zeus took pity on her and turned her into the tree” Grover was sniffling. I was going to comfort him but the sun had almost set. It was nearly dinner.

They heard the conch shell signaling dinner. Percy made it back to where Cabin Eleven was doing headcount, with about two minutes to spare. They walked to the dining pavilion, the whole cabin sitting at the overcrowded table. Dinner went the same as it usually did, only he had Luke helping him. He said a quick prayer to Hestia and sat back down with half his scrawny ass hanging off the bench.

He survived his first day at camp. Again. He was not looking forward to that piece of the floor they labeled as his. He’d rather sleep in Atlantis when it was being attacked by leviathans or at the bottom of the lake. He’d take either over the hard floor. They all settled in for bed that night.

Chapter Text

The week went by without incident which is a new record for Percy. Capture the Flag was scheduled for the upcoming Friday. He’s only run into Clarisse three times and most of them were in the arena for sword practice. He was still built a twig and probably couldn't beat Clarisse in a fight. Not without the creek. So for now he practiced his agility.

Every time cabin eleven went to training he’d grab an unbalanced sword or a polearm. Gotta keep Luke on his toes, especially for doomsday. He’d purposely get beat up during the training sessions slowly improving. It was almost peaceful; get up, eat breakfast, do some activity with the cabin, eat lunch, then do another activity or climb the wall. He beat Grover up this time around. Then dinner, and finally go to bed. As much as he loved his cabin he was going to miss the overcrowded cabin. It had a touch of family to it. They had all bonded over being either ignored or unwanted. Always helping each other try and figure out whose child they were. They were surprisingly accurate, and if they guessed correctly a small symbol confirming their parentage would appear in their hand by the morning.

He’d seen them practically stalking him trying to figure out who his parent was. They supposedly enlisted help from Cabin Six. he’s heard them guessing Triton a few times. That thought made him physically sick. It was Wednesday when he was at the canoe lake absentmindedly playing with a handful of water when, Annabeth with her Yankees cap, scared the living shit out of him by poking his shoulder. He almost dosed her with the water. But she was laughing at his reaction. Making him blush. When she calmed down she stood off to his side, arms crossed, staring at him.

“You wanna explain what that was?” she asked, a hint of amusement found its way into her voice.

“Explain what?”

“The water. I've seen you do this all week” She had taken a few steps closer when she continued “You thought just because you came all the way out here no one would see you.” she narrowed her eyes. “And the way you don't block or dodge most attacks. I can see the way you’re holding back in the arena.” By the time Annabeth was done with her speech, I had turned around to face her still sitting, and I sighed. He seemed to do a lot of that lately. I looked up into her gray eyes.

“I grew up in a ‘happy house’” he said looking away from her piercing gaze. Careful there Annabeth, that glare could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship. “My stepfather was a little handsy and always drunk” I flipped my arm to show the inside of my forearm, hinting at the round, still shiny red circles from Gabe’s cigars. She seemed to go through the five stages of grief. He was assuming she was on the third. Probably hit a little too close with Thalia and her mom.“And all the swords are uneven for me.”

“That doesn't explain the water,” she asked. I shrugged.

“It just does that every now and then.” I could tell she didn't believe me completely when I was saved by the bell or horn. Whatever you call it, it was dinner. I started to get up. “We should probably go,” I walked past her.

“This isn't over!” she yelled after me.

“Believe me I know!”

The rest of the week went smoothly which didn’t sit right with me. I got closer to Annabeth and Grover, he didn't get beat up as much and he was decently good with a polearm. The last time this happened he got sent back to his twelve-year-old body to ‘help fix things’ he fully believed the fates just wanted to create more chaos than from the original timeline. So when it was time to capture the flag he fully expected the worst. Which if things repeated it would be a hellhound.

The Cabins were split the same, with Ares and Athena's cabins leading on either side. Chiron was standing off to the side to act as an on-field medic. Because that worked out nicely last time. I was still built like a scarecrow. I mean I had some muscle, not a whole lot but it was a start. I had an unbalanced sword in my right hand. And a shield the size of an NBA backboard in my left hand. I knew for a fact if I got ambushed by Clarisse I was done for. I put the last few straps on my armor together and waited. I got the creek or as Luke put it ‘border patrol’. Annabeth’s advice was ‘stay clear of Clarisse’s spear and Athena’s always got a plan’. Then she put on her Yankees cap and vanished.

When I got to the creek I stood on the edge of the water pacing about fifteen feet up and down the river bed. Any minute now. I heard some growling from the direction I took to get there. It was already here? I couldn't dwell on it for long, because Clarrise and Co. decided to show up. Just when I thought I had gotten out of the beatdown.

“Get the punk!” damn he forgot how loud she had been. Her stupid spear was sparking with electricity. Gods, I hate that spear. She only had two other people with her this time. I shifted my grip on the shitty sword. Clarisse had her two siblings attack him. I dodged but I didn't have an opening to counterattack. Eventually one of them hit my useless shield with the flat of their blade, sending me within inches of the creek. The other caught my arm slicing downwards leaving a shallow, but long cut along my forearm. I tried to stand up but they pushed me back, and this time I fell into the water. His strength returned and his cut started to heal. He backed up into the creek, the water going up to his shins. He raised his shield and sword. And like true children of Ares, they lunged for me.

I sidestepped one, tripping the other. They both fell flat into the water cursing. Clarisse was less than pleased by this and had jumped down on the semi muddy bank, to fight me herself. Gods, can't anything go my way?

“You're so dead Jackson” she growled out.

She lunged with her spear in hand giving off red sparks. I tried to raise my shield, but since it's the size of a billboard it was pretty heavy for my twig ass. Naturally, I couldn't get it up in time and she got my right shoulder. I fell back on my ass. The semi-oversized armor saved my life. I could feel the stinging pain in my good arm. It was giving me flashbacks to when Uncle Z struck me earlier. I groaned, abandoning the shield I sat up in the murky water. Clarisse was standing there looking smug, smirking and everything. She hadn't realized the water had healed his cut yet.

He stood up, on shaky legs but hey for a scrawny twelve-year-old he thought he was doing alright. Her arrogant glare would be scary if he was a regular demigod. She charged again. I sidestepped and tripped her, making her fall face-first into the muddy creek water. She got up when I heard a cheer from a little downstream. Must be Luke bringing back the flag.

“This is all your fault Jackson.” she sounded pissed but I didn't even break her spear this time.

“How is this my fault?” I was getting fed up with this. Her eyes narrowed, going to the place where the cut should have been. “What happened there?” she pointed to my right arm.

“A gift from your siblings” I retorted. Clarisse was going to open her mouth to argue but Annabeth beat her to it.

“No, it was. Look'' I whipped my head around to look at her. She was standing on the dry part of the river bed behind me. I flipped my arm to look at the freshly healed slash. Chiron had appeared, bow in hand.

I was going to respond but a growl cut me off. As Annabeth tried to jump in front of me, dagger in hand. Chiron had his bow drawn. The hellhound jumped over her. Slashing across my chest. I fell backward into the water and landed on my ass again. The cuts had begun to heal. Chiron had fired his arrow successfully killing the hound. Annabeth rushed over, kneeling in the murky water, calling for a healer. She stopped when she saw the wounds were stitching themselves back together. Her brows furrowed together, eyes searching for a reasonable answer.

“What?” she mumbled. Before she said anything else. The creek lit up with a sea green hue the same as my eyes. I looked up, and a sea-green, three-pronged trident was floating above my head. I heard the gasps and whispers of ‘he's a forbidden child’ and ’we weren't too far off’.

Clarisse helped- yanked me up onto my feet. Chiron cleared his throat.

“You have been claimed by Poseidon. Earth-shaker, Storm bringer, Father of horses. He paused for dramatic purposes. “Hail, Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon” The gurgle of the creek was the only thing you could hear for a solid ten seconds before someone cheered. Sending a chain reaction of cheers, I looked around at the campers seeing Luke looking downcast. And he could almost see the gears turning in Annabeth's mind.

The events after were the same, the victors were decided and I moved out of the lively and warm Cabin Eleven to the cold walls of Cabin Three. I was going to miss the found family vibe it had. Not the three-by-four space I was given. I couldn't wait for Nico to get out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Before Cabin Thirteen Nico would stay in Cabin Three. He always said it was because eleven was way too crowded. He put his belongings on the same bunk he’ll use for the next five years. He yawned. Who’s ready for a killer quest? Not this guy.

-----------------------------

His dreams usually suck but this was just an insult. He was standing on a beach in LA, the hurricane-level winds whipped around him. He was watching a Golden Eagle and a white stallion fight. Zeus and Poseidon. The eagle would swoop down, its claws outstretched aiming for the stallion who would duck out of the way in the nick of time. He heard Kronos encouraging them. Laughing and taunting him, Come down little hero, come down.

He woke to Grovers knocking. He rolled out of bed, going to answer the door just as Grover was about to knock again.

“Chiron wants to talk with you in the big house,” he said, shuffling from hoof to hoof. “Something about a quest,” he added.

“Let me get out of my pajamas alright” I closed the door. Moving to the backpack with all my clothes and found a somewhat clean shirt and jeans. I slipped them on and went to leave. I opened the door to find Grover nibbling on a can of Diet Coke. I sighed.

“Let's get this over with,” I said to Grover motioning for him to lead the way. The storm clouds peaked over the valley. We arrived at the big house ten minutes later, Chiron was waiting for us on the porch, a grim expression on his face.

“Ah Percy, so glad you could join us. Let's continue this inside." The storm clouds were nearly above us.

“Percy you do know that you are a forbidden demigod. Correct? ” I nodded.

“Well, I suppose I should start explaining some things.” I gave him a blank look.

“Something very important has been stolen from Olympus. A symbol of power belonging to one of the Big Three'' Chiron paused letting this information sink in. I suspected that Annabeth was hiding in the corner to his left. “Zeus blames your father Poseidon and has given him till the summer solstice to return the stolen item. But your father has denied stealing it” Chiron continued. He seemed to age 20 more years right then. “So a quest has been ordered. For the retrieval of Zeus’s Master Bolt.”

“So you want me, a basically untrained 12-year-old. To go on a quest to find a very important symbol of power within 12 days and return it to Olympus” I concluded

“Lest we want a war to break out” he nodded; like this happened every 100 years or something. “For a quest with the magnitude like this to be issued, you must consult the Oracle” he made his way to the door hiding the stairway to the dusty attic. He braced himself making a move to walk up the creaky steps.

Four stories later, he walked into the dusty attic. Making his way through the maze of old forgotten quest items with practiced steps. Every step he took seemed to dislodge more dust from the cross beams above him. He rounded the last stack/corner, and there below the window, laid the mummy of the late Oracle with a sheet covering her. He approached and took the sheet off her limp head. Her head snapped up. And he jumped back. Green mist poured out of her mouth as she spoke.

“Approach, child I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo. Approach, and face your destiny.”

“What is the fate of this quest?” the green mist began to glow a sickly green.

“You will go west and face the God who has turned. you shall retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned. You shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend. And you will fail to save what matters most, in the end.” she finished, her head going limp once again. Great same lines as before. He turned to walk back into the maze of items. Sending one glance back at the disappearing mist and the sunken eyes of the mummy. When he climbed the stairs back down, every other one creaked. Grover and Chrion were sitting in the living area talking about Grover's searcher's license. Chiron heard my creaky descent down the stairs.

“What did the Oracle say?”

“I’d go face the god who has turned, I will find what was stolen and see it returned” I gave the simplified version. It got the point across.

“Very good. Percy you must choose two others to accompany you on this quest.” I could tell he was running through the possible choices I would pick. Was a relatively quiet kid I didn't really talk to many people willingly just; Luke, Annabeth, and Grover.

“I'll take Grover and Annabeth.” Grover perked up. Chiron seemed surprised by the emendate response. “If they’ll go with me,” I added. I knew that Annabeth was to my left, Grover on my right.

“Of course, I'll go with you dude,” Grover said, his voice cracking.

“And someone has to keep you out of trouble, seaweed brain.” there's Annabeth who took off her cap appearing to Chiron and Grover. Chiron seemed resigned and simply nodded.

“Very well, go back to your cabins to pack. The camp store will give you Drachmas and Mortal money. Be back here before lunch.” he turned to walk deeper into the big house.

The three of us split our separate ways from the porch. It was lightly raining, by the time he got back to Cabin Three. Ignoring the curious looks sent his way he ducked into the cabin and grabbed his backpack he still had the two hundred he successfully hid from Gabe in his shoe. Other than that, he packed some clothes, a few water bottles, and a pack of beef jerky he had snagged from the kitchen back at the cabin.

They meet up right after lunch. Chiron had given them a gallon-size Ziploc bag of ambrosia and a handful of Drachmas. He then walked up the hill towards Thalia’s tree. Wishing us well as we were loading up onto the van. Luke came running up to us or me with the cursed shoes.

“Don't leave without these, they served me well on my quest and I can only hope they can help you” Luke smiled, causing both Annabeth and me to blush a little. I accepted the shoes and the minute he was out of hearing range I turned to Grover.

“You want a magic item, Grover?” he looked startled like I would never consider giving them to him.

“Uh sure if you're fine with giving them to me” he smiled sheepishly. Annabeth helped me lace them up on Grover's hoofs, and then we piled into the van. and Argus drove us towards the city

Chapter Text

They had gotten off at the bus terminal. They waved goodbye to Argus. And boarded the next bus that would hopefully take them across the country. That was unless the Kindly Ones show up again. He managed to talk them out of putting their packs in the compartment above them. He got a weird look from Grover and Annabeth but hey, At least this time they would still have the supplies. If only things were that easy.

The next stop they made, Alecto and her sisters got on. Grover flinched and started to fidget, he probably could smell them. He turned his head to face me and Annabeth.

“I smell monster” he whispered. Annabeth looked a little startled.

“It's only been 3 hours, and I already killed Mrs. Dodds,” I said, “and how’d she find me again?”

“It's your smell. All demigods have one. It's just children of the Big Three have stronger ones” Annabeth whispered back. Keeping the three demon grandmothers in her line of sight. “It makes us easier to track. That's why camp exists. We don't fit in the mortal world” she added bitterly.

"Well, we should probably start getting a ‘getaway plan’ together. They don't look too ‘kindly’ to me,” I say, hoping to change the direction of her rant. Gods know we don't need that on top of the corner they had backed themselves into. Literally, they had chosen to sit in the back next to the ’working’ emergency door, and the bathroom. Too late we were out of time

“I need to use the ladies' room,” Alecto announced. her sisters agreed. The diver was side-eyeing the three, but he obviously wasn't paid enough to care because he pointed toward the back. The three sisters started walking down the aisle.

“Hey Annabeth, got a plan for us? Really anything” he was a little worried. It was Annabeth's first time outside camp. And Grover… well he gets better.

“Try the window,” she replied.

“It won't open!” Grover moaned. I heard the panic there. The demon triplets were not slowing down, Grover was on the edge of a panic attack, and Annabeth was running different plans in her head at the speed of light.

“The back door,” she said, turning to try and open it. “It won't work either” She was panicking now. She paused for a moment, then dug in her bag pulling out her Yankees cap, pushing it into my hands.

“Here put this on and sneak off” Grover was on the verge of tears at this point, stress-eating a Coke can from God's knows where. I shook my head.

“What about you guys, I'm not leaving without you two” she was getting fed up with me.

“We’ll be fine. Just get off this bus” Grover made a sound like wanted to protest that first part but he was staring at Alecto. They were only six rows up trying to get someone's fat ass out of the aisle.

“Fine” I put the cap and my pack on and scaled the seat in front of me. I passed the three trying to wiggle past the fat man. Behind me, I heard glass break and Grover's distressed bleating. I landed in the aisle behind Alecto and her sisters and made a break for the front. I could hear them hissing at my friends asking ‘Where is it’ and ‘Where’d he put it’.

I got in front and with zero hesitation jerked the driving wheel to the right making us swerve into the edge of the woods. I heard the tumble of something. I could only hope it was the Furies and not Annabeth and Grover. I heard a hiss and whipped my head around to see one of the three sisters coming to investigate. I bolted out the limp door into the damp grass. I saw Annabeth jumping out the window just before it was struck with lightning, throwing her pack to Grover who was in the tree line stomping his hooves ready to bolt into deeper woods. Annabeth rolled to the side narrowly avoiding Alectos flaming whip. I ran over to them, pocketing Annabths cap.

Alecto was shrieking about torture and eternal damnation. I drew Riptide and put myself between my former math teacher and my friends. Alectos' eyes seemed to burn with more hate.

” You” she snarled. Raising her whip to strike. I raised Riptide but her flaming whip wrapped around my forearm. The more I tried to shake my arm free the more it would tighten. Alecto lunged and I held Riptide up for a strike. But Annabeth beat me to it. She had thrown her dagger and killed Alecto. She and her whip fell away to dust.

“I liked her better as a math teacher,” I commented.

“What's the plan now? Run?” Grover whimpered. I could hear the police sirens and the distant thunder.

“Yes, Go!” Annabeth was breathing heavily and her left arm had a few scratches from the glass. My right arm had a few minor burns But other than that we were fine. The police pulled up, and Annabeth was the first to make a run into the woods. Guess all time on the run kicked in. I shrugged at Grover and turned to catch up with her. I heard the heavy breathing and assumed it was Grover. We ran until we could no longer hear the city. We stopped to recover in a clearing.

------

We still had all three packs. So I figured we could avoid Auntie Ems. I was wrong. Looking back the first clue was probably Annabeth being the one pressing us to go in. Going by Grover's nervous fidgeting and Annabeth's far-away look, I figured we stumbled across Medusa's lair. again. I could smell the burgers before we could see the shop. I broke into a light jog. Breaking through the tree line I saw a garden shop with ‘Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium’ on the front sign. I was going to walk in when Grover grabbed my shoulder.

“Are you guys sure this is a good place to stop? I can smell monster.” he looked around uneasy. He was going to continue to warn me when Annabeth caught up with us. She stopped to sniff the air.

“Can you guys smell burgers?” her eyes were a little unfocused and her shoulders were a little slumped. “It's coming from the garden gnome shop over there” she pointed to the sign. Grover was fully sweating by now. Desperately trying to convince her to not go in.

“It can't be that bad. And besides it's probably just a single monster, nothing I can't handle” she retorted, and there's the fatal flaw. I decided it was probably a good idea to add my two cents.

“Well, there's something in there right?” Grover nodded and Annabeth tensed up a little. Good, she's noticing something's off. “I can hear thunder right now, so there's probably a storm on the way, and I don't know about you guys but I don't want to sleep in the mud.” Grover closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before speaking up.

“He's right besides it can't be that bad. And there's probably food, that way we can save the food from camp.” Grover was fidgeting with a strap from his backpack. “But I still don't like this”

“Thanks, G-man” Grover’s face flushed a little at the nickname. “Like Grover said there's probably food and water so we’ll just take care of the monster and then crash for the night” Annabeth seemed to mull it over then nodded to herself.

“Sounds like a decent plan. At least for a seaweed brain. Alright but stay on guard the last thing we need is for this to be a trap, I’ll go first." She started to walk towards the shop, a hand resting on her knife which was strapped to her thigh. My own hand went to wrap around Riptide. We walked through the winding stone brick path to the entrance. Annabeth took one last look at us nodding, her hand reached up to knock on the door but it swung open just before her hand reached the wood, and Medusa was standing there in a white dress. Thankfully her eyes and hair were covered. She had a pleasant smile.

“Oh you poor children, are you three lost?” her voice sounded sweet. But the 3-inch nails/claws she had kind of ruined it. “You don't you three come?” she had moved out of the doorway and waved towards the living space further in. Annabeth took a few reassuring breaths and casually walked in. I let Grover go before me, just before Medusa was out of my sight I saw the kind simile she had twisted into a cruel one.

“I’ll go make something for you three to eat” she had appeared at the end of the hall. I locked eyes with Annabeth and Grover and we silently agreed we all had to get out of here. We followed the hallway to the living room. It was styled in an 1800 vintage look with double-hung windows facing the road and if the petrified statues didn't look like they were seconds from running away, it would have been a very nice place to live.

“Here you guys there's some food in the kitchen” Medusa poked her head from behind the corner, somehow looking straight at Annabeth. Grover was sweating and Annabeth was uneasy. I went to walk into the kitchen when Grover caught my jacket sleeve and whispered.

“Are you sure about this? It's not too late to just leave.” his eyes were darting from behind me to literally anywhere in the room. “And I can hear the hissing of snakes”

“Dude it started to rain right after we got here. I'm not going back out there. If we do, we're going to catch a cold.” Grover let go of my arm to look at Annabeth trying to get to argue with me. Instead, she said;

“He's right there's food and water here, we’ll just take care of the lady and camp it out for the night.” She nodded her head but was looking for possible escape routes. She walked past me towards the kitchen. As we got closer we could smell the burgers and fries. Medusa was sitting at a six-chair table smiling creepily.

“Come and sit, we can't talk more on a full stomach.'' Both Annabeth and Grover sat close to the door. I sat one seat to her left. My right, just in case things got ugly. Annabeth and I both got half-pound burgers and fries while Grover had a salad. I took a small bite. It was definitely laced. Annabeth followed suit picking at some of her fries, which she split in half and pushed toward Grover. She stopped to ask Medusa a question.

“We never got your name did we?” she had swallowed her food and stared back at Medusa.

“You can call me Auntie Em or just Auntie if you prefer” She inclined her head still looking straight at Annabeth. Who was thinking about her name, she was probably running through all the stories that would match the clues they had currently found.

“Do you get any customers all the way out here?” I asked, in between bites of fries.

“I get a few, my colleague on the other hand, not so much” she replied, turning her head to face me slightly. Grover spoke up, still clearly distressed.

“What kind of business does your friend have?” Medusa turns to look in the direction of Annabeth and Grover.

“She makes silk tapestries.” Annabeth seemed to be missing a piece of information. I gave Grover a look telling him to get more clues.

“Well, what do you make?” Grover was obviously fishing for clues.

“Well I make garden statues,” Medusa responded. Annabeth, realizing who this was, or a close guess. Her eyes widened ever so slightly. It all happened in a split second, no time for Medusa to even realize something was wrong.

“Can we see any?” Annabeth asked, her innocent tone cutting the tension in the room like it was butter. Medusa seemed to think about this.

“Well since you children are done eating, I don't see why not.'' She stood up, smoothing out her white dress and walked around the other side leading them to a large staircase going to the basement.

It was a hollow cavern. It almost looked like the Underworld. The floor was filled with her victims. Medusa walked behind Annabeth and Grover as they wandered around the space. I’ve seen enough, lovely vacation but I’d like to make it back to camp. I lingered behind her as she was pointing out certain statutes. I took out my pen and in one fluid motion, I uncapped Riptide and slashed her torso. She obviously wasn't expecting this as she both screamed and hissed at the same time. Don't ask how she did but she did. She crumbled into dust hissing about ‘Athena's brats and their plans’. Grover and Annabeth just stood there in silence for a moment blinking at him. Medusa's last hiss echoed off the walls of the cavern.

“Well, that could have been ugly.” I commented, nudging her still-covered head with my foot.”Let's get ready for tomorrow?”

“Sure seaweed brain let's find a place to settle in for the night,” she smirked at me, and I smirked right back.

“Alright, wise girl,”

Chapter Text

His dreams were getting a bit repetitive as his favorite saying goes; same shit, different day. He was standing in front of the pit. Kronos was crooning his voice calling him down, giving the same overused speech about how he should land a blow against the gods and such. He woke to Annabeth standing over him, who was about to kick him in the forearm.

“Let's go look in the kitchen and figure out what we’re all going to eat,” she said. she turned to lean down next to Grover who was muttering something about cans.

He rolled over, successfully rolling off one of the couches onto the floor landing next to Grover who woke up with a loud bleat. We got all our things in order and raided the kitchen. In the cabinets, we found a bag of stale chips, a few bags of beef jerky, a few cans of chicken noodle soup, and a dusty unopened pack of canned Spam. and the fridge wasn’t much better. We found some hotdogs and half a dozen eggs.

“Guess she didn’t get around to the store often,” I muttered. Since neither Grover nor Annabeth knew how to cook, I just made scrambled eggs with hot dog slices for us all to eat. It was disgusting, yes. But we wanted to save the dried food for later.

I was washing the dishes- yes I was doing the dishes, My mother taught me well- when we heard some barking from the front of the yard. Annabeth ran into the kitchen and said Grover was outside with a pink poodle whose name was Gladiola—saying how he was lost and needed to go back home. When he asked how the poodle had known about the prize money Grover asked while he read the posters’ even Annabeth seemed a little off-put by that fact but did comment on it. he had snuck off to put Medusa's head in a box he still mailed it to Olympus. gotta start that streak early.

They turned Gladiola the pink poodle into a very rich family. They had gotten $270 out of it so it wasn't a total loss of time. They had swung by the subway to buy the tickets. Now they were sitting on said train, trying to make a plan while ignoring that bad gut feeling, buried deep in their stomachs. Annabeth was studying a small map that they’d picked up at the train station only minutes before. “If we follow this trail to St. Louis, we can stop for a small break and check out the arch. We’ll be able to jump on the connecting train a bit later.” Her eyes sparkled as she continued to drone on about the architecture of the arch. Percy inwardly cringed. The Annabeth he knew in the future didn’t look like this anymore. He was already mourning the girl he knew he’d lost. Maybe it was at that moment he had made the decision. He didn’t care how bad it hurt. He would not let his best friend go through that. Never again.

An hour later, their train pulled into the station. Percy nudged Annabeth who had nodded off to sleep. They had about an hour before the train to Los Angeles was leaving and Annabeth really wanted to see the St. Louis arch. As they were getting in the elevator he noticed the fat ugly middle-aged woman with her small angry Chihuahua. He didn’t know if a Chihuahua could even look that aggressive but it could. The lady took up most of the room so they were a little squished. The old lady had turned her head to face them.

“You poor dears, where are your parents?” her voice was uncaring and her little Chihuahua looked like it was fantasizing about how they would taste.

“Their waiting for us on the ground floor” I responded

“They're scared of heights” Annabeth tacked on.

“Oh, the poor things” she narrowed her eyes at us. The Chihuahua yipped something at her and she leaned to the right to respond with something in Greek.

The rest of the ride was in a tense silence. I had brought out Riptide to play with to help calm my nerves. It didn't. They had gotten off at that top and Annabeth had gone back to rambling facts like her life depended on it. To be honest he was pretty sure both him and Grover had turned her out. He stuck as far from the edge of the glass as he could.

“–And that's why it's one of the most revered man-made buildings. Hey are you guys even listening to me–” she was cut off by the tour guide loudly announcing that the observation deck was closing soon. He was ushering everybody but him, Echidna, and the Chimura out towards the elevator. Annabeth was still grumbling about how no one paid attention to her facts. When she stopped and looked over her shoulder back at him.

“Percy, are you coming?”

“He’ll have to catch the next one down” he snapped “There's no more room in there”

“But there's room in there” Bless you, Grover.

“He’ll get on the next one” he might as well have pushed them. They disappeared behind the doors with a final uneasy look back at him. He turned to face his current life-or-death situation which was just the Chimura which had begun to shed its disguise and was growling at him. He uncapped Riptide and slowly made his way to the glass wall closest to the river. It looked like a balding rat and a hippo had a torrid love affair. He suppressed a shiver. Not a thought he should be having in this current situation. Echidna was nodding approvingly at her child's attempt at intimidation.

“Well, what kind of mother would I be if I let my son play outside?”

“A bad one?”

“Exactly my point” she nodded. Her voice held fake kindness. ”Now I have permission from Zeus, so hold still honey, it will all be over in a minute.” That asshole he's on this stupid quest to retrieve his little toy and he's still trying to kill him.

“I’ll pass” Her eyes told me that wasn't the right answer and she muttered something the Chimura could understand. It growled and lunged to both try and blowtorch and bite him, which he stumbled to dodge, sliding to the left bringing Riptide to intercept the stinger aimed for his chest. Cutting it off makes it yelp in pain and fury. It came at him again this time with claws and teeth he lunged out of the way and brought Riptide up in a semi arc successfully cutting upwards through the Chimera's throat.

Apparently, he did enough damage because the Chimera began to crumble into dust. Echidna however wasn't too pleased with this. fortunately, the hole from when the Chimera had tried to roast him was still there. So like the very responsible individual he is, he turned and made a jump for it.

Chapter Text

Luckily, the fall this time was moderately pleasant. He wasn't partially on fire like last time and he wasn't thinking about how he was going to die the minute he hit the surface.

He hit the water in a flurry of bubbles and sank into the knee high muck that was on the bottom. He was grumbling about all the garbage while trying to pull his legs out, when he heard his moms voice behind him.

“You must go to the beach in Santa Monica,'' he turned around (well tried to since his leg was still stuck) to face a neraid who could've been his moms long lost sister. They were so similar. “Your father is waiting for you,” she continued. He nodded.

“Thank you.” he said, smiling at her as she melted into bubbles. He finally shook his leg free from the muck and swam up to the surface. He crawled up and out of the water, to a taped off area and cop cruisers. He spotted Annabeth and Grover in an alleyway not too far away and casually made his way over. Using the mist to hide his face.

“I swear I'm not seeing things! There was a lion and– it had a scorpion's tail! I'm Not going crazy–! ” So that's what happened with the woman. She was probably going to be medicated and locked away, painted as a lunatic. He would put it past the mist to blame her for the whole, blame it on the “hallucinations” she was having. He sighed. If only he wasn't the go-to scapegoat.

“Percy! Over here!” Grover bleated, gesturing for him to join them in the alleyway. He ducked in and Annabeth nearly floored him with a hug. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. Percy thought she was angry.

“That was so stupid of you– you Seaweed Brain!” she smiled a little, wiping the tears from her eyes. Before shoving him.

“Don't ever do that again you hear?” she released him, punching him lightly on the shoulder. “Seriously though don't, you could have gotten seriously hurt or killed” she huffed.

“No time to dwell on the past. you said your dad's waiting in Santa Monica?” she asked.

“Yeah” he responded.

“Well, we have plenty of time before the solstice— ” Annabeth began before Percy cut her off.

“Shouldn't we get this quest over with as soon as we can?“ he butted in, earning himself a slight glare, before she contemplated his words.

“Yeah actually we should, the sooner we get the Bolt from Hades the sooner we can start making the journey back across the country” she looked happy that she figured it out.

“We should probably find a way to get to Santa Monica first” he replied looking out of the alley seeing the scene had calmed down a little. He turned his head back to Annabeth and Grover, before Grover spoke up.

“We could take the train?” he suggested.

“They'd run background checks after this incident though” Annabeth quipped, ”this counts as a terrorist attack or a national incident and the government would want a name or names.” she added gesturing to the three of them.

“We could use the mist?” Grover seguested.

“Too risky” Percy responded.

“We don't know how to use the mist that well, Grover.” she added, pointing to herself and Percy, before muttering under her breath “Not like Thalia.”

Ignoring the sad topic she had reminded herself of, she continued to brainstorm ideas. Percy was pretty sure he could see the gears turning in her head.

“Why don't we walk and think about this?” Grover proposed. ”We have to get away from this area anyways.” he let out a nervous bleat.

“Grover’s right, if we stay here there's a chance the damage could be pinned on us. Or just me.” Percy sighed.

“Fair” Annabeth responded. “Let's go, the coast is clear,” she said.

They snuck out and Annabeth got lost in thought shortly after. This left Percy and Grover to steer her away from the light poles. They eventually entered a cheap diner where they could spend a few dollars on a quick meal.

After about fifteen minutes Percy heard the loud engine of a motorcycle pull up to the diner, a few moments later, a large buff man in what you would call “bikers clothing”; dark gray jeans, combat boots, a faded rock band shirt, a leather jacket, and sunglasses approach their table, he grabbed an extra chair and sat down at the head of the table.

The moment he did Percy felt a bit angry like Nancy was here and dumping food on Grover and Annabeth. This was Ares. he could never forget this aura. The God of War had cursed him to waiver when he needed his sword the most. This had led him to be unable to aid Artemis against Atlas, which led to Zoe's death.

“I heard you're the ones with the quest to find the bolt” Ares stated, grabbing a fry off Percy’s plate.

“Who are you?” Annabeth asked, a slight anger hinted in her voice. Ares scoffed

“Who am I? I’m Ares, The God of War you punk” he smiled showing off his teeth. Annabeth paled slightly.

“Anyways I need you guys to go get something for me” he said leaning back in the creaky chair. He grabbed a pocket knife and began to pick under his nails. ”There's this abandoned waterpark not too far from here. I took my date there earlier and forgot my shield there. I need you three to go get it.”

“Why would we do that?” Annabeth challenged. “We're already on a quest for your father’s bolt.” Ares looked up over his sunglasses.

“Because I have something this one might find helpful.” he grinned, jabbing his thumb in Percy's direction. Earning himself a scowl.

“And what would that be?” Annabeth was getting heated, probably an effect from Ares’s aura.

“A backpack, nothing special really, a few 20s, some clothes, a few Drachmas, you know the works” he leaned forward smiling like a cat who got the cream.

“Fine I’ll do your stupid side-quest” Percy said sarcastically, folding his arms across his chest.

“Good choice” Ares grinned further before disappearing in a showy bunch of flames.

“Well i'm going to finish eating then leave for this quest” Percy said before leaning forward to continue eating.