Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Okay, I get Percy used it. Twice. And it's overused. But is it iconic?

Yes, and I have every right to exploit it. So, look.. I didn't wanna be a half-blood. Okay, maybe I did, but you realise how much it sucks after the first monster or two. Then, after the third, you realize you had no. Dam. Idea.

Yes, the Titan's Curse reference was intentional. 

Seriously, one day, you're just doodling your little fan art, the next, you're running for your life. I'd say I'm lucky to be alive, but we all know no one should say that. We learnt that with The Dark Prophecy.

And so, I, Kodi Jupps, present to you my story as a half-blood. Please don't follow my lead. You will die along the way. 

I sat in the corner of the assembly hall, which higher-ups, for some reason, decided could double as a gym, flicking through the pages of Son Of Neptune for what might've been the third time. Apparently, we had a new gym teacher. What was also apparent was the fact that he clearly knew the depths of Tartarus better than the school, because he was at least 10 minutes late. The kids around me were talking, borderline shouting, and of course doing the 'We can leave after 15 minutes!' trick. Didn't everyone know at this point that it was a bunch of centaur poop?

And, just then, was the moment my jaw dropped. Not literally, and I prefer it that way. I like my speech privileges. 

A short, beady-eyed man walked in, his expression almost bitter, like he'd been told some people have a personal vendetta against Percabeth. 

(No offense, you don't need to love it - just don't murder people over it.)

He had a baseball cap pulled over his head, Gleeson style, and a megaphone strapped to his belt, again, in Hedge fashion. You know what? Just call him Gleeson 2.0. He's close. Eerily close. Same goatee, suspiciously white Nike shoes, and a whistle hung around his neck like it had something to prove besides the quality of noise it makes. The only thing that didn't scream 'THIS IS GLEESON HEDGE!' is the black backpack swung over only one shoulder.

"Alright, cupcakes, shut yourselves up!"

You know what? Maybe he was actually Gleeson. He threw a glare in my direction, his gaze faltering for a split moment as he looked at the cover of my book. Either Rick Riordan scares him, or he's Gleeson. And I'd prefer the second option over anything ever. He averted his gaze, trodding further inside the hall before yelling again. 

"I am your substitute, Coach Hedge!"

I dropped the book. 

Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking...

How could you even do that? Especially on the 'I wish I had ADHD or dyslexia' page?? It's a work of art! But this was basically meeting Hedge in real life, okay?

I scrambled to pick up the book, hoping the mixture of utter shock and awe on my face wasn't too noticeable, even if it felt like my eyes were so wide they would bulge out of my head. 

Within a few minutes, we were doing.. you guessed it! Push-ups. Usually, I'd be annoyed. But, again, usually, Gleeson Hedge himself isn't standing in front of me, as short as ever. In Jason's words, "He would've looked pretty scary if he hadn't been 5'0."

I glanced over to my side, noticing a blonde girl to my side. You know those stereotypical popular girls; blonde, skinny, blue eyes? Think that, but thirteen years old. Her head turned towards me, giving me a honeyed smile, though it felt off; like it had some sour undertones.  Maybe I was paranoid, maybe the books caught up to me. 

(Thanks a ton, Percy.) 

I looked up to Hedge 2.0. He seemed as Gleeson-y as ever, so I assumed it was just me. Dam, it's easy to forget he's like.. what, 108 by now? And no, I'm not joking.

The girl was new, only have had joined a month ago. I still didn't know her name, and I doubted she knew mine. I liked it that way; I didn't really trust her. 

Oh, Kodi!! You should know how hard it is to move schools, why-

No. Okay, look, I get it, it seems bad, but you'll understand soon, okay? I have a perfectly good reason. 

Then the coach's eyes widened, and his hands clenched, as if grabbing something. Then he glared down and realized he was missing something: his bat. His scowl etched itself deeper into his features. Then he seemed to remember something, of what I'm unsure, and swung his backpack off. Hesitantly, I followed his gaze.. and my jaw fell. Again. 

Note: this happens a lot. You better not make this a meme, like Lester Pis- Papadopoulos. Do not make me Apollo 2.0.

The girl wasn't a kid. No, she was an empousa. Her form flickered, almost like a faulty camera. Her hair burst into piles of flames, and her legs seemed shifted, giving into the illusion of an almost melting transition, into ones that were mismatched: a one bronze, or maybe copper, leg accompanied by a donkey's. Her smile turned into a grin, though vicious and hungry. 

"Oh gods, gods, gods! Wrong universe, lady; this isn't the first chapter of Battle of The Labyrinth, so scram!"

I dashed, nearly tumbling over as I got up mid-run, cursing before tightly grasping onto the copy of SoN that had been sitting atop a table, placed there before we began the push-ups. I raised it high above my head, as if it would actually do something. I couldn't tell if Gleeson was more shocked about the fandom references or the empousa. Though, I suppose they weren't fandom references to him - it was just the way demigods talk, and I didn't even know I was one until maybe a second ago. 

Okay, maybe they were badly timed, but priorities, people! All you fan boys, girls, and fellow fan enbys understand, right? 

Fine, maybe it wasn't a good idea, but let me have this moment.

Gleeson kicked off his shoes, revealing what could only be goat hooves. I would've been shocked, but, I mean..

He has the spotless Nikes. Literally who else has spotless, white Nikes? No one but Gleeson-Freaking-Hedge.

The actual one, not scarily-close people.

He pulled his hands out the bag and let it fall to the floor, whatever contents that were left making a flattering sound. In his grasp was his club. His grip tightened, eyes narrowing. But it was no longer a typical club; it looked like it was ripped from a tree, twigs and leaves still hanging from its sides. 

How he never got any splinters is beyond me. 

Chapter Text

Okay, when they were talking about Gleeson's goat-fu, they did not miss a beat.
He raised his club above his head, his iconic war-cry of 'DIEE!' echoing through the hall.
It was sick as Hades, and within what seemed like a few kicks and whacks, the empousa was crumbling to dust, and groups of kids were screaming - more in amusement than panic. Clearly, an empousa was much easier to deal with than a ventus.

Whatever they saw through the mist was much better than what I did, but I guess that's not really a surprise. Nothing from the mortal world could be worse than a Greek monster if not a human.
Woah, did I just say something deep there? Don't let me do it again. It was awful.

Maybe they thought it was a dodgeball game? It checked out, because with all the laughter and chaos, Gleeson and I were able to just trot out of there - pun unintended (even if pun-unintenders are cowards) - without being caught. Like, at all. The most questioning we got was some quick glances, and they didn't seem sketchy after all, just typical mortals noticing typical mortals. After we were a few feet away from the hall, his scowl had melted into more-so confusion, though still harsh. He cocked his head a little.

"You said 'oh my gods.' Plural. And mentioned the Battle of the Labyrinth. How'd you know about that, kid?"
His tone was, as expected, skeptical, with a sharp edge to it.
I nodded. I wanted to point out that it was obvious, or make a snarky remark, and say that all demigods used language like that, but then I remembered that, firstly, I was talking to Gleeson Hedge, from Heroes Of Olympus. I had to make a good impression.
Also, I learnt I was a demigod two seconds ago, basically, and Hedge didn't even know I knew, so I went with the faintly safer option.

"Picked it up from, uh, some books I like. 3 series and a few side books," I responded, holding up my copy of Son Of Neptune.

Hey, it was too good to leave behind, okay?

He seemed to be confused for a moment, before a look of realisation spread across his face, only faintly softening his expression. Then his gaze narrowed. He snatched the book from my grasp, which I would've minded, except 8 or so months of his life was shoved into those pages, even if he wasn't the focus. I couldn't blame him. Plus, he was awesome in the books.

"Books? What 'books?' This-"
He flipped the book around, skimming through the blurb.
"Percy... Nep- Percy Jackson?"
I nodded, giving him a hum of acknowledgement. He raised his voice at Percy's name, before glaring at me like I mauled the kid alive and tore apart his girlfriend with my bare hands.

Now, usually, I wasn't nervous, - and no, I'm not going to go into Apollo-in-Hidden-Oracle levels of denial. Gleeson made me a little nervous. He's an epic, funny, round-house kicking goat man with a bat and strangely clean Nikes, what'd you expect? To be fair, he would've made me more than a little nervous if he wasn't so short.

Also, yes, I will be mentioning his Nikes until they're no longer clean. I piped up again.
"Yeah, uh.. the first series' books are written from his perspective. This series is just the quest on the Argo-"

His head snapped towards me, eyes as wide as saucers. I messed up. Seriously, I love Gleeson, but couldn't it be Grover or something? He was less likely to kill me over this. He was gripping the book so hard, he looked like he was ready to snap the spine in half; the book's, not mine, but I couldn't tell which I'd hate more.

"What? The Argo II- How many people know about this?"
We were walking down the stairs now, me leading the way more than Hedge was at this point - and I prefered it that way. He seemed to know the building's layout as well as he knew how to, I don't know, knit.

Hey, he doesn't seem to be the kind of person to knit, okay?

"Mostly queer kids, like 10-16, who get drawn into Greek mythology over it or Greek mythology concept albums."
Gleeson just stared at me for a moment. I stared back at him. For a moment, our pace slowed down.

"Anyways, were you given a key or something?" I piped up. We were outside the building now, blocked only by metallic black gates, which gave off a sort of shine in the sunlight. It made me think of Apollo, and all his trials.
With the amount of jokes I've made at his, or more-so Lester's, expense, I sure hope that character development played out the same way in real life the way it did in the books. Wait, I made a Lester joke last chapter, didn't I? Yeah, I did.

Apollo, don't come for me, okay? You were the one who wet his pants every book! But, I'll grant you a deal so you don't smite me - a gift from you and a gift from me.
(The epic reference was purposeful. Appreciate it.)

Gleeson - you know what? I'm just calling the dude Coach Hedge - opened his mouth to protest, raising the hand grasping the book for some sort of emphasis for the point he was about to make. I swiftly spoke up before he could.

"We can talk about this when we get out.'
It felt a little odd saying this as if I was the adult here - I'm just a 13-year-old kid who obsesses a little too much over Percy Jackson. But, hey, he did listen, even if he did so begrudgingly. He let out a sigh, digging in his pockets for a moment. He got out a small, copper key, then shoved it in my hand, crossing his arms and letting out an annoyed huff. Honestly, I was surprised the old goat didn't murder me. I decided not to question it. If it went well, don't ask

Chapter Text

Long story short?
I was sitting on the right window seat of a taxi, looking out the window and processing the chaotic and less-than desirable route my life was taking. Gleeson didn't seem to be doing much better, glaring at the ground outside as different textures of concrete dashed past us almost teasingly, reminding me of how Aeolus was represented in Epic - that one animatic by Gigi, you know? Gives very that vibes, for some reason.

Dude, I'm saying this about concrete. Might be even worse than saying all that deep stuff from before!

I glanced over to Gleeson, who had his nearly iconic bitter expression plastered over his face. Dam, Percy did a good job at describing him in the series. I brushed that thought aside, scouring my brain soon after for something to say. Looking back at the Gleeson scenes, he was nearly more like comic-relief.

Hey, I was a Hedge fan since the Lost Hero, okay? I loved his 'gruff exterior, caring interior' energy, and now seeing him in real life felt more like a weird dream. I decided to go for the first thing I could think of, - as usual - turning to face him. I tried not to think of the possibility of this ending with me doubled over in my seat puking.

"You didn't know about the whole.. book thing?" I spoke up, a faint hesitance intertwining itself with my tone - but maybe it just sounded like that because I had to keep my voice low, ensuring the driver didn't hear. Hedge's gaze narrowed, letting out another huff.

"Kid, if I'd known..." His voice didn't trail off, but more so cut off abruptly by himself. My gaze softened, though I hoped he didn't notice - Gleeson didn't strike me as the type of person to accept pity as a good thing. I covered it up quickly, but he wasn't looking - he avoided eye contact, his gaze fixed on the road. I wasn't really sure what to say, deciding to just let the time go by for a while - maybe the silence would do him some good.

All I hoped was that he didn't ask me how many books there are. I think that'd be the final straw until he crashes out and resorts to creating the first and last Percecake - and I'm not talking about blue pancakes here.

I guess Rick Riordan was just a cover-up name; if Gleeson's name was the same, then surely everyone else's was. I remembered all the times I stopped reading just to stare at my book and mentally throw it against the wall, or in Meg McCaffery's words, let it 'commit suicide against the wall', and half-jokingly yelling at the author for killing yet another kid.

No, it wasn't the author who was 'cruel' towards his characters. He didn't exist. The world was cruel, and it was very much real.

You know what? Just put a gag on me or something, we can't have me saying all this deep stuff, okay? And again, what grudge does the universe have against blonde men? Jason, Octavian, Luke.. At this point, they should make a dedicated section for just sending off blonde, white guys.

Okay, maybe that joke was unnecessary.

I only partially apologize.

You remember how I said the only thing I didn't want Hedge to ask me was how many books there are? Yeah, remind me not to say things like that ever again; it's as bad as 'that was easy!'

I don't really know how long we were staring out the window for, but after a while, Gleeson spoke up.

"How many are there, exactly?" It was more of a mutter, really, but loud enough for me to hear and clearly not rhetorical.
I blinked, before tilting my head. I might've looked confused, but I knew what he meant - I was just praying to all the gods that he didn't mean what he meant.
"How many.. books?"

He slowly nodded, arms crossed. We paused at a red light, earning a slight bump as we stopped, and I had to scramble just to stop our bags from falling off the middle seat. Piping up before he could, - Piper McLean, this you? - I pushed the bags back into the seat, leaving one arm hovering above them just in case.

"Uh, there's 5 in the first 2 spin-offs, and 5 in the original, so 15, there's the Camp Half-blood confidential, Demigod Diaries.."
My talking trailed off more into a low murmur, audible, but unintelligible.
"Uh.. 25, including-"

I was immediately cut off - which, to be fair, isn't surprising.
"Twenty-five?"
Now, for all my dear readers, Percy is not beaten into non-existance, okay? No need for Percy x baseball bat ship art, we have enough of Jason x brick. If anything, I was more likely to be ended by Hedge's club more than anyone else.

(I had to fight the urge to put a making-out joke here. Be grateful I held back.)

"Yup.. Twenty-five. I- I mean, most characters aren't even mentioned in the first series, you know? Like, the whole of Camp Jupiter and Argo II, apart from Percy and Annabeth." My voice seemed frantic, even to me. You know how people say stuff like 'Her voice drifted in the air-?'

Yeah, for me, it would've been much more like: 'Their voice was running faster than the switch-up from 'names hold power, Percy,' to 'Gaia this, Gaia that.' With the speed words rolled off my tongue, you'd think my vocal cords were first-place in a marathon.

For some reason, Gleeson didn't feel the need to comment on my pace - or at all. I tried to process the fact that I was on my way to the Camp Half-Blood, but with Scylla from Epic the Musical stuck in my head, I found it hard to, as 'DROWN IN YOUR SORROWS AND FEARS!' and 'the la-a-air of Scylla..' had been repeating itself in my head for the last hour.

Then the taxi halted, and I heard the click of a car door being unlocked from Gleeson's side. He was about to start digging in his pockets to pay the driver, but I had some spare money on me I was planning to use for some candy on the way hone, and simply paid the driver with it.

(Yes, of course it was gonna be blue, what physco do you think I am?)

(Oh, and ignore me saying I was going to call him Coach Hedge, I've gotten used to Gleeson at this point.)

I scooped up our bags, putting strap of mine around my wrist so it'd be easier to hand Gleeson his. His eyes seemed to hold some faint form of gratitude, but he remained silent. I didn't push for a thanks.

I turned, hearing the sound of the car retreating behind me shortly after. My gaze darted to the strawberry fields, the cabins, 12 of them significantly older than the rest and aligned in a U shape, the Big House..

Camp. Camp Half-Blood.
I was here. Really.

And I tried, I did, but hiding my own grin was hard when I could tell the excitement was radiating off of me - it almost felt like the sun was beaming with me.

Chapter Text

Okay, okay, look..
It sounds awesome.
And it kinda was.

Gleeson noticed my anticipation, and the corners of his lips faintly
curved into a suppressed smirk, raising an eyebrow in amusement, despite his attempts to keep a stern expression.

For his sake, I pretended not to notice, swinging my bag on my back. I was unable to hold back a quiet giggle, though - partially from actually being at Camp Half-Blood, partially from Gleeson's nearly-there grin.

"Welcome to camp, kid." He said, a hand resting on his hip. He then beckoned me over with a 'follow me' gesture, and we made our way to Thalia's pine tree, the Golden Fleece lazily draped over the lowest branch. Peleus laid curled up under the tree, his chest rising and falling.

Up closer, on Half-Blood Hill, everything looked even better - Better than the movies ever portrayed them.
(To be fair, that's a low bar. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, CENTURY FOX.)

It was the beginning of summer, early enough to even be considered early, but late enough for most, if not all, campers to be here. The scent of strawberries was whisked in our direction by the wind, making me look at the strawberry fields, a couple satyrs sitting nearby, one of which were playing the reed pipes. They were accompanied by a handful of campers picking strawberries, seemingly laughing and joking around with each other.

Somewhere around the right of them was the Big House, with none other than Chiron himself sitting on the porch, centaur legs concealed inside the wheelchair.

Oh gods, looking back, I was probably bouncing off and on my heels with such energy that I could rival Leo Valdez himself, and I was well aware; did I really care though? No, not really.

Then, I saw him. Now, now, don't act like you don't who I'm talking about;
Oh, Kodi, plenty of people at Camp Half-Blood use he/him!
You know the guy, don't lie to me here. Dark, slightly unkempt hair framing watercolor, sea-green eyes. Yeah, now try acting like you don't know.

Seaweed brain himself.
Captain Salt-water.
Perry Johnson.
Aquaman.
The Persassy himsf- okay, okay, I'll get to the point.

It was Percy Jackson.

He glanced over to Gleeson, before giving him a welcoming grin and a wave. The coach didn't seem to know whether or not to be faintly amused, annoyed or in an inconsolable, baseball bat-waving rage. He settled for a look somehow bitter than described in The Lost Hero.

Percy's head cocked at the look, a puzzled frown replacing his greeting, though he climbed up Half-Blood Hill until he was face-to-face with us. His gaze drifted to me for a moment, and gave me a somewhat comforting smile. He probably mistook my eagerness for nervousness.

"Hey, coach,"
Gleeson didn't respond. Instead, he outstretched a hand in my direction, as if expecting something. I understood immediately.

I kneeled down for a moment, taking everything out of my bag - at least everything until I saw the copy of Son of Neptune. I handed it to Gleeson, and he snatched it with such force I had to duck in order to avoid being hit.
While already on the floor, mind you!
"Jackson, when were you going to mention this?" He snapped, waving the book in the poor dude's face. Percy put his hands up, backing away to avoid being smacked in the head, before taking the book from the satyr's hands. I still can't tell who I should've felt worse for.

Percy squinted for a moment, skimming through the blurb, before his shoulder slumped and his eyes widened. Then he flipped it over to the front cover so fast, Sonic would've been offended. His eyes darted from me to Hedge, as if it was our fault the book was here.

I mean, I guess it was my fault, but you know what I mean.

Percy's face went slack, but he covered it with a sheepish smile, looking like he was about to make a foolish attempt at mansplaining his way out of this that was going to be so bad, Apollo himself, as the inventor of mansplaining, would have to come down and incinerate him into a pile of dust by hand.

And there would've gone Percy's streak of pissing off Olympian gods and not being blasted to bits. Honestly, I think that's his life mission: annoy every major god, don't get incinerated, repeat.

As he was scouring his brain for some sort of Persassy way to talk his way out of it, Hedge's eyes widened and he called out to someone behind the teen, one hand raised above his head to point at someone.

A blonde girl, her hair let down behind her. Her stormy-gray gaze darted towards us, halting as the words left Gleeson's mouth.

Wise girl herself? 100%.

"Hey, cupcake?! Yeah, c'mere, Chase. Did you know about this?"

Usually, I'd be hyped as Hades to be meeting an icon like Annabeth and the main character of the entire franchise I've been fan-girling.. Isn't there a gender neutral term for that? Fanning.. No, that's.. You get the point.

But then again, they could get in major trouble for this, and it'd sorta, indirectly be my fault. I began muttering 'Pupeteer' from Epic the Musical under my breath, and by the time I got to Circe's 'come inside,' Annabeth was standing beside Percy.

Obviously, it was inaudibly. I might've panicked, but I wasn't
stupid. Okay, that's a lie, I am  pretty stupid, but you get the point.

Annabeth's pointed glare yelled 'do I want to know what's happening?'

The answer is no, Wise girl. Run and don't look back.

Chapter Text

I mean.. they didn't blame me for it, so I guess we're good?

Annabeth's gaze followed Gleeson's, and when she saw what was in Percy's hand, her eyes also widened; her eyebrows were raised so high, I assumed they were trying to ascend to Olympus with nothing but pure will. She then looked back at Coach Hedge, and then me, like she just noticed me standing there - which she probably did.
"This is exactly what I think it is, right?" She turned back to Percy for a moment, her tone betraying her exasperation.

Percy gave her a hesitant nod.

"You knew about this?" Gleeson retorted, looking like he was about to go into a manic episode of bat-waving and death threats. Annabeth basically did the same as Percy, just much less hesitant, though her eyes were still narrowed. I wasn't sure who I should've been more scared of, Annabeth or Hedge, or if I should be running for my slightly pathetic life.

Just then, Percy spoke up, that nervous grin plastered on his face again.
"Hey, hey, new camper! She need a tour, right? Can't just leave her hanging here because of one, small-"
"It's a whole book." Annabeth interrupted.

Correct him on the pronouns later was the first thing that came to mind, and not OH MY GODS, PERCY JACKSON IS SHOWING ME AROUND CAMP?

So, yes, I have some sanity left..

But it was my second thought.

I was now at the part of 'Puppeteer' where Odysseus and Eurylochus were arguing over saving the surviving crew. Maybe I was muttering a little too fast.

"Okay, okay, but it's only about Camp Jupiter, when Hera-."
Annabeth's glare was so heated, she could've used it to set Leo Valdez ablaze.
"The first one was about Leo, Jason and Piper! At Camp Half-Blood."

I wasn't sure whether or not to ask, but I had a strong feeling Leo was the one who handed over the details for The Lost Hero. Me and Percy made eye contact for a moment, and we both understood each other's messages:
Get me out of here! - Me
Yeah, that was what I was going for. - Percy

Percy began making his totally-super-discreet way to me, but Annabeth stood in front of me, hands on her hips like a mother telling off a kid. I sidestepped so she wasn't in Percy's way.

He grabbed my wrist, uttered an apology too quick to understand and began walking away a little too quickly for comfort.
"We'll be talking about this, Seaweed brain!" Annabeth yelled behind us, with Gleeson giving his ultimate unapproving coach look.
"Yup, wouldn't miss it, Wise girl!"

I yelled back a 'SORRY!' before turning, matching Percy's rapid pace. I don't think this is going to get me any good points with Annabeth.

When we were a good way away from Thalia's pine tree, enough to drown out Gleeson's shouts, Percy slowed down. I turned to Percy, unsure if I should laugh or sigh. I settled for neither, and asked him what I was thinking of earlier. And corrected the pronouns, that's always a must.

"I'm guessing Leo handed over the details for The Lost Hero and the end of Mark Of Athena?" I spoke in between slightly laboured breaths, in a hands-on-knees position. Don't judge me here, okay? We ran a long way. Well, long for still-in-Camp territory.

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

I shrugged, a grin now on my face.
"I read the books. Also, they/them, if that's fine," I responded, standing up straight. Percy, on the other hand, looked a little confused. He cocked his head, and spoke up.

"Aren't.. Aren't you, like, twelve?"

Not in a judgmental way, okay? Not at all. Just confused in a very Percy fashion. That didn't stop me from reporting back, though.
"Aren't you supposed to be a guinea pig?"

Percy paused.
He blinked.

"That's.. fair. Well, uh, this is the armoury which- actually, that's convenient. Well, come on!"

We stood in front of what seemed to be a gardening shed - if you remember page 50 of The Lost Hero, you'd know that it was not a gardening shed, unless, in Piper's words, you'd wanna wage war on your tomatoe plants. The walls were plastered with weapons - celestial bronze daggers, swords, even clubs and shotguns.

I muttered a 'wow' under my breath.

Percy walked in first, putting his hands on his hips and beaming like a proud mother, as if he made each by hand. "And this is the Camp Half-Blood armoury! You've read the books, so I'm assuming you have something in mind?"
I nodded.
Look, my first choice was a shot gun. I know what you're thinking: Kodi! The bullets are finite, they disappear after shot!

And my answer to that is: back-up bow.

"Maybe a gun? Like.." I scanned the weapons for a moment, before my gaze drifted over to a pistol. Portable and helpful. Bingo! "I know the bullets dissapear or something after they're shot, mentioned in one of the books, but I could have, like, a bow for back-up?" I looked up at Percy, who seemed, for some reason, hesitant, like every new camper got an ESSA to cope with demigod-hood instead of a sword that weighed more than the burden of their divorced parents.

"I don't know how I feel giving a shotgun to a kid."

I turned to him with what was probably the most deadpan look you could get from a 13-year-old holding a pistol.

"Isn't that what you give every new camper? A new 12 year old comes along and you hand over a 10-inch sword that can kill you with one slip-up!"

He winced a little, before scratching the back of his neck a little.
"Well, yeah, but when you say it's a shotgun, it sounds worse."

I sighed like I was the one who later had to explain a whole franchise built off mine and my friends' trauma.

"A 10-inch, celestial bronze or imperial gold word, Percy, sounds better than a gun?"

He gave a shrug that read: Fair enough, You do you, kid. He looked around for a moment, for what, I was unsure, until he spotted something - a gorgeous, gorgeous bow, sharply curved at the upper and lower bow limbs. It seemed to be made of some dark type of wood - perhaps spruce - with a gold riser, likely Imperial gold.

"This looks good, doesn't it?"

I must've looked utterly awestruck, because he chuckled and handed it over, opening his mouth to speak.

Until he was interrupted by the icon herself - Wise girl.

"Seaweed brain! Thalia and the Hunters are here! At her pine tree-"

She seemed out of breath, like she ran a mile or something - which is fair, because the armoury and Half-Blood hill is pretty far away. Then it hit me..

Wait. They don't come over. like ever. Last time was when...

Artemis was kidnapped.

Oh gods.

Chapter Text

We ran all the way back to Half-Blood Hill, which was rather annoying. My mind glazed over Titan's Curse, and what happened when the hunters came over. Actually, they didn't really mention the begining, only Grover returning with a mad grin and a black eye.

I gotta ask how that happened.

Later, of course. Maybe Percy knew?

Before I even realised, we were at Thalia's tree, and I nearly head-butted Annabeth, stumbling over my own feet before halting.

Great impression, Kodi. was what went through my head. Then, I realised that Thalia and Reyna would be there and I perked up. I noticed Thalia straight away, standing at the side of her tree. Her narrowed eyes were a startling blue, a slight, yet defiant shimmer in them. Her parka hood was pulled down to reveal short, black hair and, just as described in The Lost Hero, a silver tiara across her brow. I couldn't spot Reyna, though - maybe hidden amongst the other hunters.

I bit down a comment on how she didn't, in fact, meet a pinecone's fate. Sometimes, fandom references aren't necessary.

(Hypocritical, and sketchy advice, I know.)

Annabeth and Percy had reactions that couldn't be described as anything but polar opposites.

(Shocker, Seaweed brain and Wise girl react differently to things! Oh my gods, local demigod learns there's 12 Olympians! More at 6!)

Annabeth and Thalia shared a look of mutual understanding, like grave danger was coming. And trust me when I saw that it sure as Hades was.

Percy, though? He grinned like she brought pepperoni pizza and some friends. I guess only one of those were true, even if only partially, but still. He walked over to her, waving, before speaking.

"Hey, Pinecone face! What's up?" He called out, though not long after, we were right in front of her. I still had both the pistol and bow in hand, and my bag was thrown around near Annabeth's feet, flopped down there like it was personally thrown down from Olympus by Zeus himself.

(Apollo, dude, this you?)

I decided it'd just be better to snatch it and shove the gun in - worry later, okay? You're meeting Thalia Grace herself. I gave her a nervous smile, which I hoped read more like 'I know somethings wrong, but, like, I'm also friendly, m'kay?' and not 'Yeah, I'm 13-year-old nearly as clueless as Percy right now with not one, but two weapons.'

Thalia's head tilted a little, like she was about to ask who I was, but Annabeth beat her to it.
"Thalia, meet.." Her voice trailed off, targeting a glance in my direction.

"Kodi. Kodi Jupps."

Annabeth's expression was like my thought process that time I bitterly realised that The Challenge's 'TIME IS FLEETING, IT'S RUNNING OUT!' was blaring in my mind during an important test I didn't even study for. In other words, it read 'Jupps? Really?'

Luckily for me, she didn't comment on my stupid name.

"Meet Kodi."

Thalia nodded, the slight curves of a grin playing on her lips.
"Nice to meet you, Jupps."

I hoped I wasn't going to be known by strictly Jupps from now on.

Several hours passed, and the Hunters had all of their things packed in the Artemis cabin.
It was - for lack of better words, I'll be quoting Rachel - time for the campfire. I sat next to Percy, who was wedged between me and Annabeth, while Thalia seemed to be in serious conversation with none other than Chiron himself, now full horse form.

Is that the right word? Whatever.

Either way, unless he was cursed to express joy with a grimace etching itself into his features and eyes narrowed in both thought and what seemed to be heavy concern, he didn't look happy. At all. They shared a grave nod, before Thalia went to join the other hunters, and Chiron trotted up.

(Before you ask about the campfire song, they were conversing during it, okay? Don't come for me.)

"I hear we have a new camper, Kodi Jupps. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, I am the camp activities director, Chiron, and I'm rather glad you've come with all parts attached. We'll get to s'mores in a moment, but first of all-"

Thalia cut him off.

"Easing them into it won't work. We don't even have time. Look, Apollo is gone. Artemis sent us here to find help."

She stood up, the light of the now-purple fire illuminating her figure. Her eyes shone in the flames, a contrasting mixture of confidence and worry.

"The Oracle hasn't been working, right?"

A kid called out. His voice was followed by a teenager's, probably female, but was more on the androgynous side.

"Wasn't he just a mortal, like a year ago? Lester Pisspants or something?"

A slight bit of chuckling broke out in between the worried murmurs, but the campfire stayed the same ominous shade of purple.

Then, a figure stood up - a curly, red-headed girl, her green eyes tinted by the flames. The kid who hit Kronos in the eye with a blue hairbrush, the Oracle of Delphi, Percy's first kiss.. The one, the only-

Okay, I'll get to the point.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

(Yes, I'm referring to her by either her full name, the Oracle, or her full name. Give me a reason not to.)

"Yes, it's true the Oracle hasn't been exactly.. working, but-"

She abruptly stopped.
Her eyes rolled to the back far enough to reach Aeolus' island.
She doubled over as if someone had punched her, and suddenly stood up straight.
Her eyes glowed a brilliant green, like the Sea Of Monsters cover.

Okay, that was a bad comparison, I'm sorry.

The person beside her bolted up as well, ready to catch her when she fell. When she spoke, her voice really was tripled, and when I saw they downplayed his scary it was, I mean it, because what the Hades?

"Truth whisked away to the land beyond the gods,
Yet the poet's child claimed against all odds;
Tis 'till the sky siblings reunite
That he shall truly begin to jive;
But the Storm and Sea, combined with wit,
Aid the effort to finding him."

I was already doing the mental maths before she even collapsed, but my mind immediately halted once she began faintly stirring in the person's arms, muttering what seemed to be like gibberish. Was this supposed to happen? My mind raced over all the books with her speaking prophecies..

Basically only two.

And this wasn't mentioned.

"Solstice.... Summer sol-" She gasped, before spouting what seemed to be random things, like 'Hotel', and stood straight again, eyes wide.

She spoke far, far too soon.

Then a yelp arose from the person in front of me, and suddenly all eyes were on
me.

Really?

Chiron paused for a moment, like he was rebooting, unsure whether to address the prophecy or whatever just happened.

"Hail Kodi Jupps," he announced. The centaur didn't really sound too cheery, like he was speaking at a funeral of a person he didn't even know. Not upset, but not.. You get the point. "Daughter of the Lord of the Lyre, the god of the sun."

Daughter? Really? Couldn't just say child, or something?

Chapter Text

Long story short, - yes, second time I've used this starter - I was at the war council discussing the prophecy. The only reason I was here was because I was mentioned, but I couldn't tell if The Lost Hero downplayed or overhyped the utter chaos of it all.

Clarisse convinced Connor to see who could shove the most Doritos in their mouths, the time limit being how long it took for Travis' ping-pong ball to be set ablaze. A girl who I assumed was Lou Ellen sat in the corner. Why did I think it was Lou Ellen, you ask?

Because she was magically de-attaching and re-attaching her fingers from her hands like fidget toys, but at some point, she tried to snatch Nico's ears, only to be shooed away and narrowly miss a smack on the hand from the Ghost King himself.

Speaking of Nico Di Angelo...

He had one of those plastic bags of frozen food, except it was only partially-cooled; he was chucking snausages in Seymour's direction to see how many he could give the leopard before he refused them.

His boyfriend, Will Solace, - who, very fun fact here, is my half-brother - would occasionally mutter a comment like 'Nico, he's not gonna stop.' Despite this, he was watching with the type of amusement you only get after pulling an all-nighter finishing Tower of Nero.

(Dad's a better narrator than I could ever be, m'kay? I'll fight you on it if I gotta.)

Annabeth sat next to Percy, who had his feet on the table, skimming over what was probably some too-thick book about architecture. When I walked in, her grey eyes were narrowed like she was trying to leech the information out of me with nothing but a sharp glare and wit.

Remember the wit part, it'll be important later.

I greeted her with a toothy, sheepish grin - way to go, Kodi, look nervous. That'll help your case - and a wave. Percy returned it, except much less hesitant.

"Hey Kodi!"
He welcomed me to sit next to him, thankfully not next to Annabeth. Don't get me wrong, she's awesome, but dam, she's scary in real life. Like, seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if she gave me the Gleeson treatment and whacked me into Tartarus with her book. It was hardcover, too!

Chiron walked in not long after, and I'm surprised he didn't just call up the Party Ponies there and then to annihilate all of us, even if he was as eerily calm about it in The Lost Hero. With how unreactive he was, I could tell this happened one too many times for him to still give a dam.

(Fine, yes, I already used my one Hoover Dam joke for this chapter, just let me have this.)

"Nico, please put the snausages away - personally, I believe a 20-pack is too much for any leopard all at once. Clarisse, Connor, kindly put the chips away, and Travis, we've already talked about this - ping-pong balls and lighters are fire hazards. Percy, feet off the table; thank you."

Somehow? They obliged.

Pretty soon afterwards, the sound of a door creaking and rhythmic thump of boots on the ground arose from the entrance.

Thalia had walked in, raising an eyebrow in Nico's direction. I couldn't tell if she was upset she didn't see the chaos, or was confused about the half-empty bag of snausages.

Within a few minutes, perhaps one or two, it was like everyone turned into suspiciously well-behaved dolls. Apart from Lou Ellen, though, who was still treating her fingers like a fidget.
If Chiron noticed, he either didn't care enough or didn't have enough energy to tell her to stop before she dropped one, let it roll away and have someone step on it.

Chiron began talking about the prophecy, etcetera, etcetera. Basically doom-and-gloom premium demigod camp-size package.

I had done Hades-ton of mental gymnastics over it, including references to previous prophecies, like the first Great Prophecy, and the Dark Prophecy. See, mom? Hyperfixation on what was basically Greek mythology fan fiction was worth it!

I wasn't sure whether to put my hand up, wait for him to say something, or just call out, which was basically camp etiquette. I went for both.

"Sorry, but I think I have a pretty good idea of the prophecy. Could I..?" My voice trailed off a little, but I hoped Chiron got my point - and that he ignored the skeptical looks, especially from Clarisse. Gods, that woman could glare.

(Ha! You probably thought I was going to squeeze in a 'dam joke. Jokes on you!)

(No offence, dear reader. Love ya.)

His head cocked a little, but he nodded. I decided that going on a fully-fledged tangent wasn't a good idea, so I picked the best option:

A fully-fledged tangent with slight formalities, so it doesn't look like I'm an obsessed fan.

'Kodi, isn't that exactly what you are?'

Well, yes, but I can't act like it, can I?

"I think we all know the prophecy is about Apollo, and where he is: Alaska. It is the land beyond the gods, isn't it? Just like mentioned in the prophecy. Also, who's going is clear - 'The storm and Sea, combined with Wit,' is obviously talking about Thalia, Percy and Annabeth. Thalia is the storm, Percy is the sea, and Annabeth is the wit, being Athena's child. Also, they rhymed 'gods' and 'odds.' It was done in the first Great Prophecy too, the one about Percy."

I stopped for a breath, and also for a slower pace, because I realised I was talking a little too fast for comfort.

"And, if I do say so myself, I think I might be involved. The prophecy wouldn't have mentioned a random child just because they got claimed by a kidnapped god. Also, more proof it's about Apollo is the 'jive' comment. It was in the Dark Prophecy, just rephrased. I guess he didn't get enough time for it to count as jiving. We have the summer solstice until.. Well, something happens. Nothing good, probably. And can I just say, why does everything bad happen on the hottest days of the year? Can't the Fates let it be Tuesday, or something?"

Everyone just stared at me. Chiron's expression was a mixture of suppressed shock and curiosity, maybe a bit of approval too, if I'm not imagining things. Annabeth's glare now not only seemed to be trying to will information out of me, but widened like I cussed out her mother.

Nico's eyes widened like he just realized over-feeding Seymour was a bad idea, and Clarisse's mouth hung open.

Then she spoke up.

"How the Hades do you know all that?" She turned to everyone else, splaying her arms in my direction like some sort of performer. "Didn't she just come here? Like yesterday?"
Dude, what's with the she/her?? It's not that hard to say 'they', I assure you. Zeus will not send the furies after you.

Percy got up, slamming his hands on the table with a grin on his face that was so fearful it seemed nearly manic. He definitely did not want to explain the books to Clarisse, especially the part in The Lightning Thief where he called her ugly.

"Okay, okay! Soo, we know who's going. When are we leaving? Tomorrow? Sounds good, let's go aboard Quest Express, c'mon!'

Chapter Text

Okay, before you start going all:

'Oh, let me guess, Kodi's gonna start with 'Long story short..''

You're right.

So, long story short, I was in the Apollo cabin packing my things. By the way, with packing, I mean organising.

(Can't just be me who thought of that one 'by the way, everything's a PJO reference' meme there.)

I had a ziplock bag of ambrosia, and a securely-shut vial of nectar, both given to me by Chiron. My copy of Son of Neptune was thrown somewhere on my bed, now signed by Percy - don't ask why, when, or where I got him to do it. It took a lot of begging.

Not like I had much in there anyway: a pencil case, sketchbook, a two-day-old Caesar salad I was supposed to have for lunch, and some money given to me for the quest. Like, 100 dollars and 50 golden drachmas. My quiver and bow was beside the whole mess, with everything splayed over the bed like a messy, but well-meaning garage sale.

I prioritized the salad.

'Kodi! That's disgu-'

You don't know good food when you see it. I'll die on that hill.

I was debating on whether or not I should snag the blankets and pillow from my bed, just incase, but right when I was about to grab the blanket, a hand tapped my shoulder.

I turned, half-expecting a lecture on temporary theft, even if it's not technically theft.

Instead, I saw a blonde-headed dude, with shining blue eyes; much softer than Thalia's shade.

Will Solace.

I've been wanting to talk to him since I stepped foot in the cabin - which was, like, yesterday, but still - despite not knowing what to say.

"Hey, Kodi, right?" He asked. He had a hand behind his back; if he was holding something, I was unsure, but at least he isn't the kind of person to stab me 47 times in the collar bone if I dare look away, so, you know.

I gave him a nod, then flashed a smile that I hoped came off more 'gentle and kind' than 'nervous and kind of well-meaning.'

He removed his hand from behind him to reveal none other than..

A sloth plushie.

"Take him with you." He handed me the plush. "We don't really know each other, but.. you're my younger sibling. He's kind of a good luck symbol."

I was both touched and confused. The fur on its eyes made them look narrowed, like it was judging you. One of its paws - is that what you call sloth hands? - were heavily smudged with what looked to be suspiciously like ink. A tag on his butt had the words:
'SUPPORT CHILD RIGHTS. EQUALITY FOR GIRlS.'

(We love, we love.)

Another one was supposed to have said something about fire hazards, but the word 'Styx' was stitched onto the tag.

Because names for emotionless plushies are more important than fires.

I looked down at it for a moment. it was a little heavier than I thought it'd be - like those well-stuffed ones. Also softer. Best of both worlds.

I kept thinking about that one line in The Horse and The Infant when Zeus said 'a foe who won't run, unlike anyone you have faced before.' I mean, it is true for the plushie, apparently called Styx. I doubt anyone was ever told to chop up some naughty plushie, and it can't run, so, you know.

Helpful.

I looked up at Will.

"Thank you," I was hoping I didn't stutter, but I might've done. Maybe. Just don't ask Will about it.

Seriously, don't.

He smiled in response, before adding onto that with, you know, words.

(Wow!! Shocker! What's next?)

"Yeah, no problem. Good luck on the whole quest,"

And he walked off like he didn't let me take a sloth on a suicide mission.

'SHE DID THE THING, SHE-'

First of all, yes. Second of all, PRONOUNS.

I took a look at my bag, with, like, a measly 10 badges on and a tiny purse charm that looked like it belonged on one of those tiny, purse-shaped bags you keep money in.

Why not? I thought.

Within a few minutes - and way too much struggle - I had it decked out in pride pins, a random star badge, and one reading 'SATAN LOVES ME.'

Look, when you're named after Styx, someone's gotta love you, and it sure as Hades isn't your parents.

I also found a bracelet in the deepest depths of my bag and decided to put it on the plush, like a necklace. Also convenient for adding that too-small trinket. Hey, why not? If it's gonna be murdered in the span of 3 weeks, why not let it be pretty while doing it?

I thought about adding a star badge to it's nose.

I reconsidered after remembering its namesake.

Long-

Okay, okay, I've do something else, I'll used this too many times.

(It's already become a meme, hasn't it? Gods, help me.)

Once I finished with packing - again, more-so organizing - my things, I ended up waiting for Thalia and Percy on Half-Blood hill. Annabeth was already there, leaning on Thalia's tree, and gave me a wave.

"Hey, you ready?" She asked, pushing herself off.

Before Thalia became, you know, un-treeified in Sea Of Monsters, I wasn't sure if I should've called the tree 'she,' since it's sort of, literally Thalia. Luckily, I didn't need to question it anymore.

"Nope, but I'm at least hiding it well, right?" I replied, a teasing grin on my face.

I wasn't bluffing, I totally wasn't ready.

She laughed, walking towards me. Her gaze drifted over my holster, holding the gun. She probably wanted to comment on how the bullets aren't exactly reusable, but then saw my quiver and nodded approvingly.

Her eyes landed over to my plushie, though, earning a skeptical eyebrow raise.

Before she could pipe up, I did.

(Piper Mclean, thi- Okay, fine, I already used that joke.)

"Uh, Will gave it to me; it's a good luck symbol or something."

She let out another chuckle before shrugging.
"That checks out, then. Good choice with the bow, by the way. Nice back-up for the gun."

I nodded. I tried not to let my grin turn into a full on 'beaming so bright, it's basically copying Apollo' sort of thing.

In the distance, I saw two figures walking towards us; a girl with jet-black hair and a shape around her that seemed suspiciously like a parka hood, and a dude with nothing if not a stupid grin on his face.

Thalia and Percy. I guess the Quest Express is departing.

Chapter Text

Okay, so-

(Ody, this you bro?)

Fine, sorry for adding a fandom reference literally in the first two words.

I will be doing it again.

Hey, at least I didn't burst into song!

Anyway, so, we were on a train.

That's the whole chapter.

Not my fault we don't get into Cyclops-killing frenzies within the first chapter, okay? Sorry!

I called dibs on a window seat, Percy sitting next to me. Thalia and Annabeth sat in front of us, Thalia taking the other window.

As in the seat, she didn't yank it off its hinges or something.

I was fiddling with Styx's toes, - Dam, that sounded weird without context - humming 'Keep Your Friends Close' under my breath. I just made an Odysseus reference, what else do you think I'd be doing? Percy occasionally threw a glance in my direction, probably wondering 'What the Hades is this kid doing to that poor sloth's toes? Let it be!'

After a while, - yes, I used this last chapter, be quiet - he questioned me. Not with what I was doing to Styx, but with the song.

"What're you humming?"

I shrugged, like I had no idea.

Then I info-dumped, not even facing him - like, you know, a normal kid.

"Keep Your Friends Close from Epic the musical. It's a Greek mythology concept album surrounding the Odyssey. It's in the Ocean Saga; it's called the Ocean Saga, but Poseidon is only mentioned in, like, one song. But 'Keep Your Friends Close' is basically Aeolus giving Odysseus the windbag and Eurylochus opening it while he was asleep, but that's only revealed in Puppeteer, the first song of the Circe Saga."

I couldn't see him clearly from the reflection of the window, but he stayed dead still for a hot second, like he needed time for the gears to start turning and allow him to think.

Can't blame him, doing anything for the first time is hard!

Then he nodded - a hesitant one, the type you give when you were trying to listen but just couldn't. He let out a 'mh-hm' sound like he actually understood.

I doubted it; heavily.

Thalia arched an eyebrow, and allowed her gaze to drift over to me for a moment.

"Did you just info-dump on music? I.. honestly didn't think that was even possible. Congrats, I guess. Should we make an award for this?"

Her tone wasn't mean, more-so amused but also, like, very confused.

Like, normal people watching Disney's Hercules, for example!

(The amount of inaccuracies makes me surprised the gods themselves didn't just come down and blast Walt Disney's employees into dust.)

Annabeth snorted, an amused grin on her face.

"The Jupps awards?"

I had to be honest..

It had a nice ring to it.

I let out a slight chuckle, while Percy now had the iconic Persassy smirkᵀᴹ on his face.

"It does have a ring to it, but for info-dumping on music? Really?" Percy retorted.

I gave a slight hum before speaking, my head now cocked towards the trio.

"We can always just throw a fancy title to it - they do that for every award, don't they? Like.. I dunno, 'Immense Knowledge of Musical Content.'"

That got a laugh out of them.

I got bored maybe half an hour later, once the chatter died down. And so, I raided my own bag as if I didn't know everything that was inside it. I found a crumpled-up page of biology notes on the respiratory system. There were drawings of faces in the corners, ranging from actually detailed to doodles of sunglasses, cartoon skulls, references to Epic, such as Thunderbringer lyrics in the corner, and even a reference to Will.

(His name means comfort for the bereaved.. AND HE'S A MEDIC.)

Okay, okay, maybe I overreacted, but still.

There might've been more doodles than actual work, but it was still useful, okay..?

Anyways, I began drawing the sloth's face in the top corner. It was very drawable, and I was bored.

Percy peered over my shoulder, stifling yet another chuckle at the very professional study paper - obviously at peak condition. Not crumpled up at least 20 different times.

"Hey, that looks pretty good." He pointed at one of the nose drawings. I looked up for a moment, following his gaze.

"Oh, thanks! Used my teacher as a reference; got kinda bored, you know? Plus, it's some nice anatomy study."

He let out a short bark of laughter, leaning back against his seat.
"Studying anatomy instead of biology. Checks out."

I simply shrugged, a smile on my face.
"What can I say? Mocking sky-granddaddy with low-effort doodles is funner than learning about respiration."

I get 'funner' isn't a word, but if Meg gets to make up 'goddy', I get to make up 'funner.'

This time, Thalia was the one to snort, covering her mouth with a hand as she laughed.
"Did you just call my father 'sky-granddaddy?'"
Annabeth nodded, a similar, amused sort of feel to her features as she spoke.

"Yeah, I was about to ask myself,"

"Look, if I can't say the Olympians' names because they 'have power,' I should be able to make up nicknames like sky-granddaddy and Ocean Pope."

I was tempted to add that I'd never say them to their faces in fear of being incinerated, but I decided against it. They probably already knew I wasn't that stupid.

At least I hoped.

Just then, the train halted, and for a moment, a surge of panic ran through me; I have to say.. yes, this did happen at every stop. Then I looked out the window and realized we were simply at our stop - Pennsylvania.

Annabeth spoke up, grabbing her bag with one hand and swinging it over a shoulder, grasping her dagger with the other.
"Well, we're at Pennsylvania. Everyone ready?"

Thalia nodded, a graver expression now taking over her previous light-heartedness. Percy simply shrugged, his grin still plastered all over his face.
"Honestly, I was starting to think the quest was just sitting on the train,"

Annabeth chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up, Seaweed-brain. Now c'mon."

SHE DID THE THING! SHE DID THE THI-

Chapter Text

So-

No, I am not going to say 'long story short,' I'm not going to use it that often.

Okay, maybe I will, but, like, later. Probably next chapter.

After we all got off the train, literally the first obstacle we had stumped us. The first. Annabeth was the one who spoke up and pointed it out.

"We might need a place to bunk for the night, until we can get on another train or something. Anyone know a cheap hotel?"

Silence.
Well, apart from me - I was humming 'Storm' from Epic the Musical under my breath. A huff arose from Thalia as she scanned the surroundings for a moment, before she spoke up.

"I mean, there's a map right over there."

She pointed to one of those corridors in trains that seem too small to really count as corridors; on the left wall, though, was a massive map of Pennsylvania, and a small rack of, obviously, much more portable maps. Percy, I and Annabeth followed her gaze for a moment. Then Annabeth trudged over like it missed 4 months worth of rent, the rest of us trailing behind her.

I had my bag straps hanging on my wrist so I didn't have have told hold it, nor my quiver, and my pistol in hand. I hoped the mist covered it up, or we'd have many questions incoming.

Also, let's hope no one asks why a sloth is decked out in pride pins, a bracelet used as a necklace and a purse charm, of all things.

Annabeth glared at the map like it told her murder is ethical, while Thalia snagged 4 of the smaller maps, one for each of us, and passed them out like candy. I was about to look, when I found a vending machine with those named Coca-Cola bottles. I walked over to it, scanning to check for anything Percy Jackson related.

Nothing, of course.

I sighed like someone just told me their mother died, grumbled something I don't even remember, and I walked back over to the others.

(Map killed the vending machine's mother, confirmed??)

Thalia had her nose in one of the maps, Percy peering over her shoulder to glance at it despite the fact that his own map was open, in slightly-better condition than hers and not at all damaged. Annabeth was still glaring at the bigger map on the wall like her life depended on it.

"Hey, that one sounds cool." Percy piped up. His finger hovered over something on the map - something probably ridiculous, because Thalia arched an eyebrow.
"Really? The 'Coral Inn?' Percy, not only does it sound bad, but there's literally only one reason why you chose it."

He just shrugged.

"You got something closer?"

She paused, then let out another irritated huff. Annabeth received an expectant look from her, which she simply responded to with:
"We're only staying for a day or so, we'll be fine."

And, that, dear readers, is how Annabeth betrayed Demigod 101:
Never, ever say 'that was easy..' or 'we'll be fine.'

I assure you, whatever comes next will not be easy, and you will not be fine.

But, long story short - yes, I know I said I'd only use it next chapter. Go on, laugh - we were at the doorsteps of this 'Coral Inn' place. It looked pretty close to the buildings around it, really; nothing apart from the wave art surrounding the doors and the trident beside the name of the place on the sign.

"Never too late to turn back, you know?" Thalia spoke, a skeptical tone lacing her words. I gave her a look of understanding, being suspicious myself, but everyone else brushed her off.

Percy was the first one to walk in, Annabeth following after him, and Thalia coming in last behind me. The inside was a mixture of clashing, too-bright ocean blues, sea greens and coral pinks. It hurt my eyes a little, but it was also a little hard to look away from.

I shifted my gaze to the woman at the front desk - who wore one of those smiles that told you either she was trying to be seductive or something bad was gonna happen. Maybe both.

Like, maybe Circe in the beginning of 'There Are Other Ways,' or the end of 'Puppeteer.'

Her smile faintly widened at our entrance, and called us over. We all, non-verbally, yet unanimously, decided that Annabeth should do most of the talking.

She apparently agreed, because she stood directly in front of the desk, the rest of us behind her like a herd of sheep.

I was fiddling with the sloth's hands - paws? Whatever, just be grateful it wasn't the feet again- as the two conversed. I whispered over to Percy and Thalia, keeping my voice low so the lady at the counter wouldn't hear.

"This room is so bright, it's basically copying Apollo,"
Thalia snickered a little, while Percy scrambled for a defense for the whole.. overstimulating vibrant energy of the place.

After half-way through the 5 minutes of conversation between Annabeth and the lady, I began singing 'Storm' under my breath.

I got to the 'everyone grab a harpoon and shoot for the sky!' part before they finished.

So, lo-

FINE. I'll do something else, okay??

Thou shalt hear that cursed phrase no more, for I hath sworn it upo-!

Actually, not a good idea.

I take it back before it's official, not becoming Lester 2.0

Also, yes, I pulled an arrow of Dodona there. Yes, it was only so I could make that reference.

Chapter Text

So, long story short, it was night. We skipped dinner. We were at the hotel room. I was sleeping.

Was. Keyword.

I woke up with a slight groan, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. A faint pain ached in my hips, and I shifted myself up on the bed a little. The sloth plush was sprawled on the bedside table face-down, a shine reflecting on beads of its bracelet, light coming from the moon light peeping through the gaps in the blinds.

I pulled the blanket off, glancing down to look at something that made me legitimately want to jump out the dam window.

(Look, I haven't used that joke in a while okay?)

A slight pool of recently-dried red at my thighs.

C'mon, dude! I was about to thank Artemis for the gift of infertility! Really?

I sighed, getting up with my legs spread apart like a cartoon character. I whined when I saw the state of the sheets.

I'll spare you the details of 'not good.'

I weighed up my options, glancing over at each person as I did so.

Annabeth was curled up beside Percy on a double bed.

We decided to buy a room with two beds, with Percy and Annabeth in the same bed and either me or Thalia taking a chair.

Hey, we gotta save money, okay?

Normally, I'd go for Annabeth, but she's.. terrifying when mad, in other words. I did not wanna risk pissing her off.

Thalia?

My gaze drifted to her, head thrown back against a not-very comfortable looking chair, with the same disgustingly bright color scheme. Did Hunters of Artemis even have periods?

It's not like they need them; they're on a vow to never enter a relationship, so kids aren't in the equation. Lady Artemis has the power to stop their cycles, doesn't she? She should if she can make them immortal, for the gods' sake!

Anyways, the last option was Percy.

I know what you're thinking, both irritated and irritating reader:

'Gods, Kodi! You think he would have pads on him?'

And my answer there is that he's the least likely to kick a uterus into submission.

I decided he'd be safer. I fought the urge to him 'The Horse and The Infant' for comfort.

Also, in case you just had to know..
Yes, he drools in his sleep. Wise girl was right.

So, obviously, I made a reference to his own fandom.

I loomed over him, giving him a nudge on the shoulder. When he stirred and looked like he was about to sit up, I spoke.

"You drool in your sleep."

He blinked a few times, letting out a groan not-so different from mine.

"I- What?"

My hand drifted over to his wrist, before tugging lightly, accompanying my words with a light hum before I piped up.

"I started my first period."

(Gods, I can already smell the 'Percy, I started my period ahh stance' memes coming...)

He looked like he was performing a system reboot.

(Call back?)

Then, though I could barely see, I could tell the shape of eyes widened. His next were really smart, like a flurry of spluttered, half-understandable sentences uttered in nothing but a state of, not necessarily shock, just being very caught off-guard; it was something along these lines:

"I- Kodi? What? Per.. Why didn't you tell, I don't know, Thalia? Or Annabeth, even?"

"Annabeth is scary. Also, Thalia probably doesn't even have periods."

He paused.

"That's.. actually fair. Wait. Why wouldn't she-"

"Because she's a hunter! Now, help." I whisper-yelled over to him, yanking him out the bed. Nearly let out a yelp, but I plastered my hand over his mouth, so it came out as a weird sort of whine.

He did not help.

"Why would that mean she doesn't have periods..?"

I mentally face-palmed, though let out a sigh instead of shaking him on the shoulder, screaming at full volume how stupid that question was.

"Ideally, they aren't going to give birth because, you know, they're on an oath. Plus, Artemis has the power to make the immortal, and she's the goddess of childbirth. If she can't make it happen, then I doubt anyone else could."

The next sound he made was one of those 'ohhh...'s that are usually only reserved for dumb characters in satirical comedies. Then my plan went south.

(Luck Runs Out reference? Epic the musical, this you?)

Annabeth had sat up in her bed, head cocked like an owl.

I guess, seeing her mother, that made sense.

"What are you two doing? Kodi, you're, like, thirteen. it's 3AM."

State of the Annabeth stats:

Danger level: 60%

Cons - conscious, weapon under pillow
Pros - confused, half-asleep, might forget weapon, maybe lenient
Attack Damage - 45% of pride; left battered and bruised.
Power - stabby-stab, very smart. Wit. Whatever, you get the point.
Weakness - Seaweed brain, fleshy body.
Chance of survival - 2.7%

She got up, letting out a sigh like she was the one whose hopes of infertility were absolutely and utterly crushed by a pool of blood on her bed.
"What the Hades is going on here? Seaweed brain?" Percy scratched the back of his neck in typical, awkward fashion. After a back and forth with him saying smart stuff like, 'uhm..' and 'I mean..' Annabeth turned to me.

"We can just say my 'thank you' offering to Artemis for infertility has been canceled. The sheets are red. Like, brighter than the Ares cabin."

And, trust me, that says a lot.

Annabeth groaned like she was punched in the gut or something, rubbing her temples.

"Oh gods.. okay. First time?"

I nodded, my legs still spread apart so I looked like a godsdamn idiot. Percy, on the other hand, looked like an idiot for a different reason; he was staring like a deer in headlights, his gaze ping-pong balling from me to his girlfriend.

I was considering how she'd either murder us or deal with us, depending on mood, when Thalia was suddenly behind her, hand on a hip.
"What the Hades is going on?" She retorted.
"That's what I said." Annabeth said. She gave Thalia a crash course, and when she finished, the hunter wrinkled her nose like a foul smell was brought over by the wind.
"Gross." She piped up, finally.
I immediately got defensive. Hey, hey, you can't blame me here, m'kay?
"What? I- you've had periods before, Thalia! You're a girl!"
She shook her head, then shot a glare in Percy's direction of exaggerated disapproval.

"Not you, Jupps. Percy. He hasn't showered since Tuesday."

I must admit, I had to hold back a cackle. Percy opened his mouth, about to protest, but Annabeth turned to him, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the door.
"Find a vending machine."

Somehow, he managed to look even more confused, sleep-deprived and caught off guard.
"What? Don't you have-?"
"Just go, Seaweed brain."

He obliged. I was also a little confused, since I was on the assumption that they had pads, but maybe they just didn't want him there since.. Y'know. Either way, I shrugged it off when Thalia urged me over to the bathroom.

Chapter Text

Yes, the chapter name was a call back to Sea Of Monsters.

Anyway, it was the next day.

(I apologize for the timeskips, but I don't think you want a description of everything I was doing for the 3 hours I slept.)

It was around lunch time, and we were sat around a table, surrounding by a few other guests, though not much. The eerily bright colours of earlier almost seemed to haunt this place, the vibrancy sending a light pain inside my skull.

I was working down a plate of fries, the other 3 demigods having some things that I couldn't quite remember. Maybe someone had a salad? I'm not sure; you can't blame me after what happened. That was much more important.

See, this sketchy hotel was the type of place to host those weird little concerts during meals. This is an important detail, don't forget it, m'kay?

The people behind it, mostly consisting of younger women, were preparing.

'Probably just preparing the mic,' Said stupid Kodi.
'Then why do we feel so weird about it?' Said less-stupid Kodi.

Yes, that was another callback. The Burning Maze.

Annabeth had gone out earlier in the morning in hopes of booking a train to somewhere like Iowa. Lucky for us four, she succeeded, and was planning to book a flight to somewhere in Alberta.

Okay, maybe that wasn't necessarily good for Percy, but I doubted Zeus would kill him. It would cause outrage within demigods. Maybe a civil war against the Olympians. I don't doubt that some of the minor gods, such as Hecate, would get involved if that was the case.

No, Zeus may be paranoid, but he just stupid.

Back to the point, we convinced Percy to go on the flight.

I brought everything with me, as did the others. Yes, everything includes the sloth. I didn't want to upset Will by coming back to camp without the plush, and there might've been a monster amongst the guests.

Three women came onto a wooden stage in the middle of the room. It stood out like a suspiciously hard sore thumb, a light shade of brown against the aching colours of coral. One stood in the middle, the only one with a microphone. She wore one of those smiles you'd expect Circe to have during the beginning of 'There Are Other Ways', you know?

A slight chuckle arose from the middle woman, her hair cascading down her back, stopping down at her waist. The  they began singing.

Then the problem started.

Nothing seemed amiss at first, and I know what some of you are thinking:

Kodi? What do you mean? It's just some conventionally attractive women in an ocean-related place singing to people!

If you're this reader, as much as I love you, you're as dense as Percy.

(Note on the attractive part - I am aroace, but that does not mean I cant tell if someone fits societal standards that are slapped in your face every few seconds. don't come for me. In both ways. I'm 13, dude.)

At first, everything seemed fine - more than fine actually. The food was good, the singing was better, and, for a while, we almost forgot about the dangers of the quest, lost in our own playful banter.

But, slowly, the others seemed to become a little more.. Weird?

In less than a few minutes, the talking stopped. Annabeth's eyes locked on the singers with a strange sort of longing - subtle, but surely there. Something about it made me think it was familiar to her.

Thalia and Percy had similar reactions.

I wasn't sure what was wrong at first, but after maybe 2 minutes, I sensed something.

Something off in their music.

Nothing 'off', like bad, no. 'Off' like something was stirred into the mix - something that never belonged. Like cauliflower in macaroni, for example.

In the singers' eyes, something flashed like hunger whenever their gaze focused on someone. Whenever it did, they seemed to subtly lean towards them. It got more and more intense the longer it went on, like whatever was at work was getting stronger.

Maybe 'stronger' is the wrong word; it implies they might be regaining strength. No, this was purposeful.

I mulled over the idea of them being sirens. I mean, it sounds wrong - they aren't even in the sea, for the gods' sakes! But then again, the Grey Sisters Taxi debacle...

When Percy pushed back his chair like he was about to get up, I decided I couldn't wait. No, I don't care if I would embarrass myself if it wasn't anything off.

This was musical charm, increasing in strength each passing second.

How was I resisting? I don't know. The music was soothing to the ear, yes, maybe even alluring to me, but not to the degree it was affecting these people. It worried me, if I'm honest. I was scared, seeing three strong demigods, ones much older than me on top of that, be affected by music like this.

So what did I do? Well..

I considered singing Charybdis while shooting down sirens.

Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking..

Kodi! 'Charybdis?' You know 'Different Beast' would've been so much better!

Look, Charybdis is about Odysseus killing the last monster before he gets home, and Different Beast is specific to him.

Also, has much less background singers, or whatever the Hades they're called.

(Also, may or may not have been thinking about adjusting Charybdis to different monsters more than I'd care to admit. Soo..)

I yanked my pistol out its holster, pointing it in the direction of the middle woman. She paused, her eyes wide.

I swallowed down a whimper, my heartbeat quickening slightly. I was more nervous for my friends than myself. What if it didn't work? What if it wasn't a siren? If I'm just paranoid?

Bang.

The monster stopped singing, in case you didn't want details.

It doubled over to the floor, a horrendous shriek rising from its throat.

It almost made me feel bad.

Then, as the song stopped, the other two frantically began to start their own, the charm becoming stronger and stronger faster.

I disguised my panic over a pair of narrowed eyes and a scowl.

For a second, my friends were snapped out of it, looking at me with a mixture of shock and gratitude.

When the others started singing, that was gone in an instant. The one on the left stalled its way towards me, disguising it as dance.

The right one threw the dead one's microphone. I sidestepped to avoid being hit in the face, then aimed my pistol at the one walking - or more so, poorly dancing - it's way towards me.

Bang.

And, of course, I missed. Then I realized that if I actually did begin singing, it could throw off the sirens and therefore snap my friends out of it. Probably should've done that early.

Within the first few verses, the sirens were, in fact, thrown off. The right one's voice faltered for a moment, allowing my friends to..

I don't know the word for it, really. They were conscious, yes, but.. the spell made them focus on the sirens, blocking out most of what was happening.

Either way, after a recovering from confused states - which, surprisngy varied in intensity - and some angry, one handed signs from me, they understood my point.

Go, I can take care of this.

In response, Thalia simply shot down one siren, an arrow sprouting from its head. Blood trickled down from the wound before the monster fell.

"You're a kid. We aren't leaving you here with a bunch of sirens while we run."

Chapter Text

Woah, did I just run out of syllables?
Whatever.

My first thought was gratitude.

My second thought was 'OH MY GODS, THALIA LIKES ME?'

Luckily, I didn't show it. A determined grin spread across my face, giving them a firm nod.

And, I know what you're thinking, dear reader:

'Oh my gods, Kodi! there's no timeskip this chapter?'

My answer to that is: jokes on you, amazing, amazing person; there IS!

I didn't notice my hands began trembling, which was probably the reason I missed that shot at the second siren. I scowled at my hands as if they were the sirens.

I went through the same thought process as my father in The Burning Maze:
If I made humans, I wouldn't make them tremble when scared. I'd give them superhuman powers and steely determination. Not this.

I quickly snapped out of it when another silvery arrow punctured the chest of the last siren, a gut-wrenching scream rising from it as it fell to its knees, blood now blemishing its dress.

"C'mon, it's not a good idea to hang around." Annabeth spoke, her stormy eyes narrowed, glaring at the area. I let out a shaky sigh, followed by a nod.
We all followed her out, me holding plush with one hand, making it dangle by my side.

With the same utter horror Lester -Apollo, whatever- had when he looked at his supposed-to-be flabby, mortal body, I realized I was holding back tears. I mean, I get why; my friends were nearly lured to their deaths by sirens.

But really?

I couldn't wait to breakdown, maybe, I don't know, in the bathroom?

My bottom lip trembled slightly, and my grip on that stupid plushie tightened. The fur on it gave me a strange sense of comfort.

I looked down at its face for a moment; the fur had slightly moved away from its eyes, so it was almost like it was giving me a sympathetic stare, rather than the judgmental-looking glare it had with the fur faintly over its eyes.

I felt stupid - really stupid. We were walking on the sidewalk, and no one else seemed to be as fazed.
'Yeah, but they're used to it, Kodi. You're not.' said maybe dumb, maybe kinda smart Kodi.
'Its childish.'

A faint whimper interrupted my thoughts, and I was nearly embarrassed as it left me.
Then Percy put a hand on my shoulder, leaning down slightly as we went on. He wasn't eye-level, but he was sort of close, a soft, almost comforting smile on his face.

"Hey, you're okay. You did good, Kodi. It's fine to be a kid, you can cry if you have to."

I didn't respond. I didn't want to. I didn't even trust myself not to sob.

I kept my gaze low, my eyes tracing my feet's motions across the pavement like it meant something. My thumb brushed against Styx's fur, and I kind of relished in its warmth. Percy uttered something I didn't quite catch, and walked off beside Annabeth, who threw a slightly worried glance in my direction.

Percy said something to her, which I, again, couldn't catch, pointing at something I wasn't quite paying attention to. Might've been a building.

All I wanted to do was scream and sob, throw something, anything.
It was horrifying. It really was. Seeing the 'characters' you looked up to be nearly killed by something, so easily too.. In real time? Something you have to beat? I don't want this. I never did. I only wanted the idealized version:
Camp, training, Cabin 7...

My thoughts were interrupted again, though, this time, it was just by my own realisation.

No, I didn't have some heroic 'oh my gods, I'm just dramatic!' thought. I was allowed to be upset by something upsetting. It's in the word, idiot.
(For all of you non-idiots, I slightly-sincerely apologize.)

The three were walking into the building Percy pointed to, and within a few minutes, we were sat at one of those tables with a couch at one end and chairs on the other, which I often didn't get. What, where the measly peasants of the group going to sit down on the chairs?

Long story short, -told you there'd be a time skip, fool!-  me and Thalia took the couch, and Percy and Annabeth took the chairs. When Percy tried to comfort me, I didn't look up. I just curled up into a ball, Styx against my chest. I guess he got a 'not the time' glance from Annabeth and/or Thalia, because he didn't try again.

The fur brushed against my chin a little, which I surprisingly didn't mind. Styx was warm. He was a sort of solace. Everything I learnt was real was really just terrible, apart from him. He was real, but he wasn't bad - not at all. He was one of the little comforts I had.

Thalia put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a look similar to Annabeth's worried glance, but didn't say anything, and looked away after a second or two.

"I cried the first time too. You're doing good, Jupps."

I didn't even notice the tears until she pointed them out. I was thinking about 'My Goodbye' from Epic the musical; specifically the part where Athena says 'You're just a man,' backed up by a chorus or something. It kind of echoed in my mind. Basically just how I felt - just a kid. A stupid one at that.

Apparently, someone had ordered food much earlier, which I didn't even remember, because a dude came over, dressed in poorly cared for uniform, the one the servers were wearing, and plopped down a trat of food. He looked off, but I don't know what was weird.

You know what? Scratch it. His shoulders were strangely wide, now that I think about it. His chest and stomach looked like it was stuffed with something, like in a lumpy mass.

It was something, and my x x

The other three didn't question it - they probably ordered the food and I wasn't paying attention, being too busy sulking like a child.

Shut up, Kodi, you are a child. Said annoying me.
That doesn't mean I can act like it! Said also annoying me.

To be fair, I think every version is annoying, but we'll ignore that.

I brushed off my feelings of suspicion - I probably was thrown off by the sirens!

Yeah, no. I'd come to regret that choice.

Chapter Text

Once the waiter shuffled away, leaving a tray of food, Annabeth gave Thalia a 'what the Hades?' look, which was swiftly returned. Percy also was a little on edge, though less tense than them two, throwing a glance back to the server.

He was nowhere to be seen.

Fun! Okay, so not only have I found sirens, not only am I on a quest to save the sun god - my father - from who knows what, but now I have another suspicious thing!

Look, even if I'm thinking through everything happening and wanting to throw something over it, I can still think rationally.

A little. Sort of. Whatever.

I could - for this.

I recognised that sort of look, I know I did. Top of my head...

Wide shoulders.. Weird, lumpy chest and stomach..

Nanette.

What was she again? Gods, why's it so hard to think when you're crying? Isn't there an 'off' button for these things?

I might've been human my whole life, but 90% of the time, I'm as miserably clueless as Lester.

A blemmyae!

Ugh, that took embarrassingly long.

Like, thirty seconds? Probably less, but... Embarrassing seeing as I've read The Dark Prophecy at least 20,000 times. I looked over to the three to check if anyone was going to say something.

Annabeth's eyes held their usual, stormy look - the same she had with the sirens, and probably the same countless monsters ago. Thalia's gaze was sharp, scanning the shop like it was a crime scene, probably looking for the blemmyae.

Percy would've looked skeptical, like out of a movie or something, but the blue cupcake in his hand and the icing smudging his face ruined the whole McLean effect.

(Tristan McLean reference? Piper reference? This you?)

"It's a blemmyae." I spoke up, keeping my eyes locked on Styx. Or the floor. One of those. Hard to tell - I was more focused on forgetting the sirens, or pushing back the tears.

"What?" Percy spoke up, wiping his face with the back of his hand. I'm so proud of him. Peak table manners, honestly. I always knew my sort-of-brother-figure would go places!

Thalia arched an eyebrow; Annabeth turned for a moment to check for the monster, before glancing back at me.

"Blemmyae? How'd you know?"
I spoke carefully, with Thalia right next to me being blissfully unaware of the whole.. Percy Jackson franchise.

"Apollo... wrote a book series about his trials.. about himself, in Apollo fashion. Published under a fake name, obviously. In the second book, page 5 in the pirated eBook I read, and page 8 in the UK paperback. Basically very early on when he comes across these, but they reappear alot. Automaton heads so they don't look, you know, headless. Hard to blend in if you look like you shouldn't function."

I paused, mostly for a breath, but I like to imagine it was for dramatic effect.

"Their shoulders are too wide, and the head on their chests makes their bodies look lumpy in clothes."

Percy, obviously, wasn't fazed by Trials Of Apollo. He just nodded and went back to eating his cupcake. Annabeth's head cocked, though I suppose she wasn't too shocked with the whole Heroes Of Olympus and Percy Jacksonᵀᴹ situation. Thalia, though?

"Apollo what?" She looked like she nearly choked on the cookie she was eating. Her gaze ping-pong balled from Annabeth, to Percy, to me.

(Callback?)

"Five book long series. You were mentioned." I responded, digging through my backpack for a moment. I managed to snag a few napkins, a knife and fork, and a few ziplock bags from the sketchy sea place.

Don't ask how I found the ziplock bags.

"We should take the food and go. Staying here with a monster isn't a good idea." I knew that they could easily beat one, if there was just a single one, but I think they could tell I was tired with it all. "I have bags for the food, we can take it, leave the money, and go."

I also decided that, if we have time, we should buy some duct tape. Heroes always had duct tape, for some reason - it was mentioned in Trials of Apollo too, Burning Maze, so I assumed it was important. I handed around the ziplock bags, and within a few minutes, we had maybe 5 of them with cupcakes in, and one with maybe 10 cookies.

I held the bag of cookies in one hand, Styx in the other, and my bag slung over my shoulder. Annabeth, Percy and Thalia all looked ready to go as well. I probably looked as grim as I felt, because Thalia put a hand on my shoulder. She gave me a reassuring smile, and passed me a piece of paper - no, not paper.. It was a pamphlet.

"You're the kind of kid Artemis keeps an eye on. That's something. Just.. think about it." She said.

The words echoed in my head for a long time, even after this. Even after I had made my choice. I still have the pamphlet, the same exact one I had held in my hands that day. I think back to this moment a lot: Thalia's smile, offering me some solace, the glint in her eyes as she gave me another option, and the paper in my hands, brushing against my skin, holding a promise of a new beginning.

I don't regret my choice - never. But you won't get to know about it. Not yet.

(Hey, sorry, but it's a book for a reason! Read!)
(Or, you know, just find spoilers. You do you.)

Annabeth and Percy didn't seem to notice, being in quick conversation before turning to us. Thalia met their gaze first, while mine was still locked on the pamphlet.

"We should stop by a supermarket. Get some food. Duct tape."

I knew it! Why's it always the duct tape?

Percy nodded, and so did Thalia. I looked up, giving them a similar response.

The waiter walked out again.

Holy Hephaestus.

Chapter Text

His eyes widened upon seeing us leave. Then narrowed.
Before you judge me, dear reader, I panicked.

So, I might've thrown the cookies at him.

Yes, yes, I know..
'But- Kodi! The cookies! You aren't worthy of their greatness, let al-'
In my defense, the blemmyae's hands were hovering over his top, like he was about to take it off.

The cookies didn't do much besides crack, then face-plant to the floor.

(Crumb-plant?)

Oh, also knock the monster's fake head off.

I was still grieving for those cookies, even after he trampled them. I did the first thing I could think of, which was, you know, get out my gun. At least that made sense.

By this point, most of the store was staring, wide-eyed. I think someone was calling the police; I don't blame them, seeing as there's a kid with a gun aimed at an employee. I'm not sure what they saw through the mist, but it couldn't have been any good.

A few other people stepped up, with similar anatomy to the waiter - utterly messed up. Annabeth and Percy stood shoulder to shoulder, me and Thalia slightly behind them due to the placement of the table and all.

Why couldn't they make tables help to make monster-fighting more efficient? I didn't want to stand on the table to get to my target!
(Or away, we don't judge here.)

"Good weather, isn't it? But, threatening people with guns isn't very polite, dear." were the muffled words that came out the first blemmyae's mouth. Chest. Whatever - point being that he spoke, and it was muffled by his clothes.

"Not a threat if I didn't talk!" I yelled back.

Then I shot him.

I think a threat would've been more polite - he probably would've likes it if I did give him a heads-up.

The probably-blemmyaes turned towards me, their faces holding varying amounts of anger. One of them looked like I just robbed an orphanage. Another looked like I was a kid who spilled juice on the couch.

A couple took off their shirts to reveal the heads on their chests - one with obnoxiously bright red shoes, and another with suspiciously square glasses on its automaton head. The others didn't follow their lead, which I couldn't tell if I was grateful for.

"Is running an option, or has the door left the room before us?" I tried to get the nervousness out of my tone. We already saw the sirens today; this quest isn't meant to be a museum tour of monsters. Couldn't the gods just hand out some mercy? Didn't they get enough amusement out of giving Odysseus enough character development to beat Apollo's?

Lester, whatever.

Annabeth nodded, checking for the others' reactions. Percy and Thalia did the same.

Annabeth, being closest, bolted for the door, keeping one hand on it as she passed so it remained open for Percy.

I used to complain about doing cross-country at school: 'we're not demigods, what the Hades are we supposed to be running from? The homework?'

Yeah, no, I should've kept my mouth shut - might've jinxed it.

Back to the point - I regret complaining. Seriously. It was rather helpful when running from a horde of monsters balancing metal heads on top of their own, probably seeking revenge for their fallen friend. Is friend the right word? Fellow polite monster. Sure.

"That wasn't very polite, to run off in the middle of a conversation, dear!"

At least she didn't seem to be annoyed about the other blemmyae.

"Kodi, shoot them while running - don't forget to follow us, we're heading to the Target down the road, okay?"
Thalia half-yelled at me.

I was slightly surprised she wasn't tiring slightly, but I suppose being a tree for years on end hadn't taken much out of her.

I wasn't sure where I'd go if I wasn't following her, but I didn't comment.

I faced the group behind us, though occasionally cocked my head in order to check where my friends were going. I managed to shoot down, what, 4 out of 20?

Before you, once again, judge me, I was running backwards. My hands were shaky. I had to follow people behind me, who could run really fast, mind you!

The only thing that made sure I didn't completely suck at aiming was my heritage as an Apollo kid.

We barged into a poor, unsuspecting Target maybe two minutes after, in which I had shot down 3 more blemmyae.

Annabeth pulled me in the store, seeing as I was trailing behind. 'Cause, you know, I was shooting monsters. Unless my target was one of my fellow demigods, it'd be better to stay behind slightly.

(Pun unintended, by the way.)

"Scatter! They won't be able to get us all, and we won't all be kicked out before buying extra supplies! Go!"
She bolted to the left, Percy went to one of the aisles straight ahead - closer to the left- and Thalia went right. That gave me the option of the aisle in front, closer to the right.

Why not? Looks like it has duct tape.

I ran like my life depended on it - which it did.

It was the stationary aisle.

Someone had thrown a roll of the stuff next to some sticky notes, which I assumed was not where it was supposed to be. Either way, I grabbed it, shoving it in my guns holster so I could shoot with two hands. I muttered a thank-you prayer to whoever is the god of unorganization as I shot one of three blemmyae that followed me.

Hey, maybe they'd see it as an offering!

There were 8 blemmyae down, two following me. There were 10 left, and three demigods. So, around 3 per demigod. Okay.

Don't ask when I turned into a half-blooded calculator.

I thought about adding a snarky comment about how duct tape was apparently 'oh so powerful,' but then decided that powerful was a boring word, which then made me think about words meaning powerful.

That then made me think of puissant, which made me think of chapter 38, page 346 of 'The Burning Maze', where Meg said it sounded like an insult, and Apollo said it wasn't.

I agreed with her, honestly. 'Puissant?' How do you even say that? Is it like 'Po-si-ant', like 'Posiden', or 'Pus-ant?'

Oh, and incase you wanted to know, I was in the book aisle now.

I assumed you were here for my story, not my inner monologue, and were sadly getting an uneven mixture of both.

Chapter Text

Yes, the chapter name was a call back. Anyways-

I would've been tempted to look for any books written by Uncle Ri- Percy, had it not been for the blemmyaes chasing after me.

I had to ask if I could call him Uncle Percy as a play on 'Uncle Rick.

Also, yes, he's my cousin once removed, or something. But, you know, it's close enough anyways.

Lucky for me, I managed to bump into one of the shelves, knocking down half it's contents. I snatched a copy of 'Titan's Curse' as it plummeted mid-air, then sprinted faster than before, as if the sun itself would die if they caught me.

Which, again, could happen, since we're supposed to be saving Apollo.

(Also, sorry to the minimum-wage teenage worker who had to clean up my mess, but my life -and the sun- sort of depended on it. I'll pay you 10 bucks if I see you.)

Okay, so I had an unnecessary book, a roll of duct tape that was apparently useful, and a pistol.

I spun around, aiming my gun at the blemmyae with the suspiciously square glasses that made him look like he was about to offer me a taste of the power.

Bang.

Two down, one to go. I felt a slight grin tug at my lips.

Maybe this whole business isn't terrible.

I shoved that thought aside before I could get too confident over it, and veered over to the end of the aisle, then went into the stationary one once again, since, you know.. scissors.

The monster likely assumed I wouldn't go in the same place twice, but either way, I probably didn't need to worry - those things were slow as Hades.

(Hades like the underworld - as in the demigod play on 'slow as hell.' Don't come for me, Hades. Don't blast me either. Please and thanks, Kodi Jupps.)

I paused for a moment, allowing myself to catch a fleeting breath. I scanned the area for a moment, smiling at the sight of scissors. At least I didn't need to go on a goose chase for those.

I grabbed a pair of right-handed ones, shoving them in the holster, beside my tape, with way too much effort than what should've been necessary.

I thought about sticky notes, but I wasn't sure how they'd be useful.

A noise behind me made me instinctively spin on my heel, before shooting. Luckily for me, it was the last blemmyae on my trail, so you, dear reader, do not have to yell at me for killing one of my fellow demigods.

I let out a sigh of relief, but didn't dare say anything like 'well, that was easy!' or something along those lines - that's the easiest way to make something go very, very bad.

I scoured my brain for anything else we might need: Pen? Nah, we got Riptide. Post-its? Probably not. Plus, I brought a sketchpad. I doubted blankets would've been necessary - I can't remember a time where demigods have had to sleep on the streets or something. We should be fine.

I swung my bag off my shoulders for a moment, putting the copy of 'Titan's Curse' down. I assumed it'd be best to put the gun in my bag, since 13-year-olds carrying guns isn't often an expected sight. Also, I don't like talking to the police when I'm supposed to be saving my godly father.

I pulled out a 20 dollar note. Probably enough.

After putting my bag back on, I scrambled to the check-out, muttering 'Survive' from Epic the Musical partially for morale, partially as a stim, partially because 'why not?'

I could've sworn I saw a head of spiky, black hair much reminiscent of Thalia avert from my direction, but I decided against making sure if it was her or not.

Fortunately, I found a free till. Phew.

"Hey, just this please!" I ran up to a worker - a girl, maybe around 19, with a septum piercing and short, bright pink hair.

Tell-tale signs you're talking to someone who is actually worthwhile. Basically, the good people.

She nodded, giving me that customer-service smile as I plopped the things down. Though, she arched an eyebrow at Styx.

"Is that a sloth?" She asked, a slight bit if amusement lacing her tone.

"Yeah," I responded. Poetic as always, obviously.

"He looks cool," she chuckled a little. If Styx could speak, he'd probably be agreeing; he is the superior plushie. Any competitors can fight the wall.

I heard a shout from my right, and within a few seconds, saw Percy running with maybe 5 blemmyae behind him. Annabeth and Thalia came out a few aisles behind, their gazes drifting towards him.

The teenager sighed - she probably thought he was a kid messing around, and not a demigod hero, descended from the earth-shaker himself. She muttered something along the lines of 'deal with it later..'

"That's.. 19.78. Cash or card?"

I handed her the cash, uttered a quick 'don't mind the change' and apologized. I hoped she wasn't the one who had to clean up the mess of books, but knowing the universe, she probably would've. I was tempted to give her the 10 bucks compensation right then, but Thalia and Annabeth had noticed me.

Within a minute, -it was a long way, m'kay?- they were by my side.

"Thalia! Annabeth!" I grinned, giving them a wave.

"Jupps! What'd you get?" Thalia asked, though I thought it seemed pretty obvious with the duct tape, scissors and book sitting in peak condition at the till counter. "Why'd you get a book-? Didn't you bring one from Camp already?"

A silence filled the air for a moment. Then another.

Luckily for me, uncle Percy emerged from behind me, a slight bit of monster dust inhabiting Riptide. I guessed the one blemmyae weren't much of a problem for him. Unluckily for Percy, though, the teen girl had kicked him out of the store.

At least we were done.

I apologized again, and soon we were out of the store, on our way to the train station. Again.

I've had enough of trains and quests, and I've only been on one quest and one train. Imagine how Percy feels!

Chapter Text

So, long story short, we're at the train station.

(Hooray for the return of the 'long story short!' You once again have something to yell at me for!)

Honestly, I forgot where we were even going. We were sitting on some benches, me sitting between Percy and Thalia - I'm pretty sure Annabeth went to the bathroom or something.

I was hungry, but after the blemmyae place? Yeah, no, I don't wanna touch cupcakes again. I ended up offering mine to Percy, who still looked very much annoyed over the fact that he was kicked out of Target.

"Wait, where are we going again?" I asked. In my defense, Annabeth said it, like, a day ago. Okay, maybe it was a few hours ago in the sea place. Shush.

"Iowa." He paused, his arms crossed. This time, the cupcake's blue icing was on the palm of his hand, and seeing as he was crossing his arms, probably on his shirt too. "We better not be going to Target in Iowa."

I laughed. Thalia just looked tired of it.

'Percy- the mist made them think the blemmyae were dogs. Five of them. You were shouting around the store, running full speed and apparently knocked over the books." She was counting each thing she named, her eyes narrowed as if she had to clean up Percy's mess. My mess.

"The books weren't even me!" He put his icing-stained hands up defensively, revealing that, yes, his shirt was smudged with it.

"Then who?" Thalia retorted, her stare sharp.

Sorry for the books, Target.

"I don't know, the blemmyae?"
"You would've been the one who lead them there!"
"I'll throw you into the sea, pinecone-face!"

Thalia looked like she was about to shout every single mistake Percy ever made in his face, starting from smallest to biggest, but I interrupted.

"Don't argue in front of the supreme, stuffed overlord." I gestured towards Styx, who was sitting on my lap like a truly distinguished supreme, stuffed overlord.

"What did you just call that plush?" Thalia asked.
"Yeah, no, I second that."

Annabeth emerged from the bathroom, and even from a distance, I could almost feel the sigh that came from her when she looked at Percy.

She could tell him and Thalia weren't agreeing with something.

I raised my arm to get her attention, though, from the look on her face, I could tell she spotted the feud from there.
"Hey, storm-eyes!" I called out. Annabeth waved, and within a few seconds she was looming over us. Okay, looming over me.  But that's because I was sitting, m'kay!?

'But, Kodi, weren't you all-'

Okay, fine, I'm short!

"What's happening?" Annabeth asked, her tone reminding me of my mother glaring down at me screaming at Apollo in The Hidden Oracle for swearing you-know-what.

Hey, I'm not handing out spoilers here. If you wanna know, search it up!

"He's refusing to admit he knocked over the books."
"She won't believe me when I say I didn't!"
"They're refusing to stop arguing in front of the supreme stuffed overlord!"

Annabeth just stared at us like a disappointed teacher.

I'm surprised Chiron doesn't have that look on his face when he walks into the chaos of the war council.

"Just shut up." She decided, after a 5-second silence in which she was questioning her life choices.

We obliged, though Percy would occasionally mutter things like 'damn Target..'

Whenever he included the word 'damn', I whispered 'Hoover Dam', earning barks of laughter from both Thalia and Percy, while Annabeth just stared in confusion.

The tension eased pretty quickly.

Within a few minutes, we heard the noise of the train arriving.

As we got on, within the suffocating crowd of people, I saw.. someone. Square glasses. Brown fur coat. Black trousers.

Neither of my friends sened to pay him any attention, but dude..

"Why does he look like he's about to give me a taste of the power..?" I muttered, a hand limply pointing at him.

He looked like the EPIC the musical interpretation of Hermes. I'm not even joking - I couldn't tell whether to laugh or be shocked.

I could've sworn he heard.

The bastard winked at me before disappearing in the group.

I'm not crazy. I swear to the gods.

'Either that was one EPIC cosplay, or one clueless individual.' Said stupid Kodi.

And yes, that was a call-back, a Burning Maze reference, and a bad pun, all in one sentence. Go on, boo. As much as I love you, beautiful reader, I doubt you could do better.

(I'm joking, that was as bad as the haikus.)

"What?" Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You realize this is the second out-of-pocket thing you've said today? One more strike and you've run out for the week."

"What? Why do I get the weird statement warning? Percy was cussing out Target like it killed his mother!" I gestured dramatically to Percy, who just finished saying something about shoving 47 seashells in Target's place where the sun doesn't shine.

She ignored me.

Annabeth found seats for us.

I took the window seat, again, earning protests from Percy. Annabeth let him take the window seat, and sat next to him, leaving Thalia beside me. Within
an hour, Percy was asleep and Annabeth was reading some book on scarily complicated architecture that even Odysseus would've been scared of.

His head was leaned against her shoulder, which I thought was pretty sweet.

I fought the urge to yell 'PERCABETH' so loud, it would summon Hermes, allow him to find the person who looked suspiciously like the EPIC interpretation of him and fight it out because 'there can only be one.'

My mind raced through what happened this past.. Wait. Day?

Gods, quests really are fast-paced. Don't they usually get less monsters in the spam of a few hours?

'That's unless someone is pulling strings.' Said my last braincell.
'What, like a puppeteer? Is that an EPIC reference?' Said the rest of my brain.
'Shut up.'

Chapter Text

I thought about the hunters.

(No, this is not a Grover situation, and no, we won't be getting off the train this chapter.)

Looking back, the choice is easy. I've made it, and I'd do it a hundred times over. I wouldn't think. I didn't have to. I found a home - family, even. One I didn't have to lose.

But younger me? They were still considering. They weren't sure what was even ahead for them.

To be fair, it's been maybe two days since I found out I was a demigod.

You gotta give me some grace.

Camp Half-Blood seemed awesome - archery practice, that climbing wall, the strawberry fields... Did I mention archery practice? I was really excited about archery practice.

I didn't even know what the hunters were like. Percy hadn't written about them, or anyone else who got published under the 'Rick Riordan' alias.

'It'd be a risk.'

Something distinct told me no. Faint like a blur, monster dust swept by the winds of Aeolus himself. The type of faint you'd get when you know something is stirring below, - Tartarus - but you can't tell if you're just going mad.

It felt tempting.

'The hunters go to camp, though.'

'Not that often. The last time before this week was years ago, Kodi.'

A voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Jupps? You've been staring out the window for a while." Thalia spoke up, tilting her head so she could see my face.

That was okay. I made up my choice. I wouldn't regret it, and I feel something in the depths of my soul knew that too.

"Oh- yeah, yeah, I'm good!"

Apparently, that didn't fall under the Thalia Approvedᵀᴹ criteria of 'I'm good' response, because she looked uncertain. She didn't push it, though.

She gestured towards my pile of things - 2 day old Caesar salad, Styx, Titan's Curse and Son Of Neptune, duct tape, scissors, sketch book and a pencil case.

"Mind if I read one of those? Kinda boring here."

First thing that went through my mind?

'What the Hades- what the Hades- what the Hades- What the Ha-'

'If you're saying 'Hades' this many times, you're gonna end up summoning the guy!'

'Hadestown reference?"

'Shut up before I get Nobody judeoflip you.'

'Annabeth reference?'

Also, yes, I do listen to Hadestown, I just prefer Epic.

Then I saw him. The dude. Again.

Square glasses, fur coat, mostly unbuttoned shirt, the same. dam. trousers.

Ha, haven't heard that joke in awhile, haven't you??

(Sarcasm, by the way. It's all over the place - both the joke and the sarcasm.)

He gave me a smug smirk, like he was expecting me to beg him to let me use more than words.

- Epic reference, again. Sorry to all my non-winion readers, but, you know. -

My grip on Styx tightened. My eyes widened.

Wait, that rhymed.

Imma write that down for a poetry draft later.

I swear on Apollo's bows that he whispered 'good luck.' I swear on Artemis' chastity that he winked at me.

I'm not going mad.

"Earth to Mx. Haikus? You good?"

I paused.

"Percy told you about those poems for the books?"

"Yes."

That- that wasn't fair. I'm good at poetry, okay? Those were one time things! Well, technically..

No- no, don't you start laughing at me, reader! I can write good poems, okay? You'll see in a few hours!

-Or in your case, chapters-

The ToA haikus are for the vibes, m'kay? Don't judge me here.

No, seriously, please don't-

"I can write good poems, okay?' I snapped - to no insult in particular, besides having my lofty work overshadowed.

It was nearly as poised as Styx, the supreme stuffed overlord!

"Sure. What were you staring at? You looked like a monster to the arrow."

That's a new one. Better than 'Poseidon's underpants,' though. Still don't know where Percy got that one from.

"Nothing."

That, once again, did not pass the Thalia Approvedᵀᴹ criteria of 'I'm good' response.

"I'm serious!"

So, she didn't believe me.

"So, can I read one of the books?"

I panicked again.

"Like- these? Or..?" I nodded towards my stuff.

It was stupid, yeah, but.. I don't want to be there when she finds out about the books.

We all saw Gleeson's reaction.

(Might be a little late for a chapter two callback, but still.)

Her expression was deadpan. She gave a sharp nod.

"They're.. signed. They're signed, I'm planning to bring it back home sometime - I'm just scared of them getting damaged." It shouldn't have taken me that long for me to think of, but it convinced Thalia.

"Is the sketchbook fair play?" She asked.

I shrugged, handing it over. I half-hoped she'd come across my poetry - you know, so I could actually redeem myself. I write more than bad haikus, okay? We don't judge!

Plus, all the haikus were scribbled on one page - to the point where you could just barely read them.

She opened it, flicking over a few pages. Occasionally, she'd say a compliment like 'that's good,' or 'nice.'

Basically, the types of compliments that are often said with such little enthusiasm that it feels forced.

So, long story short, Annabeth woke up.

Me, Thalia and Annabeth were having a debate over food. Me and Thalia shared the 2-day-old salad. Styx got a fork.

The supreme stuffed overlord deserves food too. Don't question him, nor his authority over everyday cutlery. He is superior.

"Why does the sloth get a fork? What about when Percy wakes up?" Annabeth scoffed.

How could she even say that? I mean there are plenty of reasons! Like... uhm..

Be quiet, stop laughing.

"He- He's the supreme stuffed overlord! He deserves dignity."

"When did cutlery portray dignity?"

"Imagine you're dining with the gods. They hand you a spork. A spork, like you're a 5 year old who can't tell the difference between a spoon and a fork, and therefore need them combined into one. You would walk out. You should walk out, Annabeth!"

Styx agreed. He probably would've slammed his fork against the table in approval if he could. After all, he's very authoritative.

Chapter Text

So, we got off the train.

And the trouble began.

(Wowzers, really? It's not like you're reading about a demigod!)

I walked out first this ltime, glaring at the train platform like it owed me money, mentally harnessing 'important person's energy.

Okay, maybe I had 'Odysseus' - the song, obviously - stuck in my head.

Anyway-

Yeah, so, we were attacked almost immediately.

Something flashed above, rushing - no, gliding - past, with such swiftness Hermes himself would've been jealous.

Something metallic glinted as it went past; maybe it was made of metal?

Later, I learned it was made of metal.

My grip on Styx tightened.

"What the Hades was that..?" Thaila muttered.

Too late.

It swooped down, it's talons aiming for Annabeth. She instinctively grabbed her dagger, slashing it with a loud clink.

It backed off, though hovered high above us still. A flock's worth had soon arrived, almost as if in response to the first one's distressed sqwak.

"Gods!" She yelped. Percy uncapped Riptide, while Thalia got her bow. "Oh gods.. Stymphalian birds."

I recognized the name from somewhere, though from where I was unsure.

What the mortals saw through the mist, I was also unsure of, but it couldn't have been any good. They were panicked.

And that was an understatement by far.

"Those don't sound any better than they look." Percy muttered, taking a step back for a faintly better view.

That made me look at them for a moment. Annabeth was explaining how Heracles killed them with poison-tipped arrows.

That made me remember.

So did the shine of their feathers - they were, in fact, metal.

"Artemis' pets, right? Raised by, uh.. Ares! Ares." I butted in, snacking one with my pistol.

Don't ask why I didn't, I don't know, shoot.

Instinct, m'kay?

I wasn't looking, - since.. You know - but, telling from the silence, I could tell they were caught off guard by something other than flesh-eating birds. "I read, okay?"

I tried shooting, but despite hitting my target, it didn't do much against the bronze feathers lining them. We went on for a while, - for how long, though, I couldn't tell - hitting the birds with nothing much except the stubborn sound of metal against metal as a result.

"Noise! They hate noise, right?" Annabeth half asked, half called out, dodging a strike from our not-so polite, not-so friendly friends. "Will had a nasty taxi-cab whistle! Kodi, you got something similar?"

Percy muttered something suspiciously like a complaint about said whistle, but was much more focused on.. Surviving. Obviously.

"I- Not really. I have a good shout? I can sing?" My tone sounded more like a question than a certain statement, but apparently, they trusted me.

"Shout!" Thalia spoke up, attempting to shoot one of the birds. Her long-sleeve shirt was becoming so teared, it might've been mistaken for fishnet gloves and a short-sleeve top.

The others weren't in much better condition.

Percy had several cuts on his wrist, Annabeth even had a slash across her face, and new wounds had now accompanied the old scars on my arm from..

Whatever.

Anyway.. On with.. Yeah.

So.. I obliged, I did. I don't know what to say, really.

I wasn't paying attention, but apparently it was bad. In a good way, of course.

Several pedestrians covered their ears, and I could've sworn I heard a few cries. Some screams from babies, some from actual grown adults. A few heads snapped towards us, wide-eyed, almost offended.

But most importantly, the birds.

Several shrieks arose from their beaks as they retreated, wings flapping like they had something to prove.

(Chapter one call back?)

A few went in for a round two, but I showed no hesitation in letting out another yell.

Safe to say, they got out of our way. I think one landed in the bins - may or may not have passed out.

I shoved my gun in its holster, before checking my bag was still on - I felt it, sure, but I'm paranoid - and held Styx with both hands.

Supreme stuffed overlords deserve respect. Being held with both hands? Ultimate respect. Nothing less than what he deserves. All arguments will be categorized into 'spam.'

"Ouch-" Percy groaned, tapping the tip of his sword's blade, forcing it back into a ballpoint pen.

Just then, the suspiciously-like Hermes man spotted us from a distance. He seemed unfazed. Also suspiciously. He had the same smug grin, which widened upon the sight of us. He gave me a wave. The wave. Those waves where they wobble their fingers. You know the ones.

Also smug.

I gave him a hesitant gesture of acknowledgement.

"Wait, so when are we supposed to go on the plane? You said same day we arrived, right?"

I turned to Annabeth, though a sense of foreboding made me feel like Lady Artemis' birds were still pecking and clawing at my skin, ripping me to shreds with such hunger...

"Yeah, it was.." Her gaze flickered over to the clock - the big sort of clocks, you get what I'm saying? - and her face fell.

She looked like she had to choke back either a sob or a scream, or maybe both at the same time.

"We have 20 minutes. It's a 40 minute walk." She muttered.

"Hey, we can just book a new flight, right?" Percy spoke up, trying for his Persassyᵀᴹ grin. "We should-"

"We don't have enough money for four people, Percy." Annabeth retorted. Her tone was sharp. She glared daggers into the floor. She looked stubbornly defeated.

"How are we supposed to.." Thalia's voice trailed off, but we all knew her point - and we had no clue. We couldn't just.. give up, right? The sun was at stake. The god of music! Light!

I could've shared and compared haikus with my dad!

'There are more important things than bad haikus, Kodi.'

'Be closed, other Kodi.'

We'd need a miracle. Divine intervention. We'd need-

"All you have to do is open this bag."

Hermes.

Chapter Text

I spun around, raising Styx up to my chest like he was some sort of shield, and not easily shreddable.

The guy chuckled, taking a slight step back. Yup, the dude we've been - I've been - suspicious about for the last day.

(Train rides are long. And painful. I puked.)

"Hermes?" I muttered - partially in awe, partially from my obligation to make fandom references when possible.

Percy, Thalia and Annabeth did not look too convinced. Which was: 'What the actual Hades?' This again.. fair. They only saw Hermes as a mailman, not in a brown fur coat, black trousers and a barely buttoned-up shirt.

"One and only, darling," He bent down to boop my nose, which I would've protested to, but.. I mean, it's a god.

"Oh my gods, he is gonna offer me a taste of the power..." I murmured under my breath. Percy apparently took notice, mouthing 'what?' in my direction. I waved him off, mouthing back 'fandom thing.'

Percy's head cocked, and he gave a glance to Annabeth, then Thalia. One yelling 'What the Hades?'

He probably was confused since Hermes seemed different than in Sea of Monsters; also much more.. Not subtle.

Apollo mentioned several times how gods have different personalities due to different interpretations of them, so I'm assuming Hermes just decided to go with this one to mess with me.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"How do we trust you?" Thalia piped up, ruining my 'fandom references' streak. Annabeth nodded, and Percy added onto that.

"Yeah, you don't seem like the Hermes I saw."

It was my turn to cock my head and look skeptical.

"Didn't you read Trials Of Apollo before publishing it under the 'Rick Riordan' name?" I questioned.

Percy did not look confident in arguing. He said really smart things, though, like 'uh...' and 'I mean...' as well as 'uhm...' while rubbing the back of his neck.

I let out a sigh. "Okay, well, gods have different personalities due to how many different interpretations there are of them. Hermes probably had a different personality when he met you."

Hermes nodded approvingly, another Epic Hermesᵀᴹ laugh.

"Exactly, darling! Good job."

I tried not to add, 'and he chose this one just to make me go mad,' because, not only was he endearing, but also in front of me. And a god.

"So, you're having flight trouble, yes?" He arched an eyebrow, hands on his hip. "Mortal transport.. Ugh, no journey. Regardless, I have a plan for you four."

He snapped his fingers and put his palms out in front of him, where an orange purse fell down from seemingly nowhere, landing on his hands with a slight mix between a thump and clink.

Specifically a leather orange purse, with a silver lock on the other upper middle of it. Wait- Wait a minute..

"Is... Is that a Hermès bag?" Annabeth squinted, as if she were checking if reality logged off or not.

"Don't humour me now, darling! Did you really think I'd give you wind-bag quality luggage? Peak quality, I assure you," At the word 'wind-bag', his gaze flickered over to me, before going back to Annabeth.

I tried not to combust.

"I.. guess not.. But-"

"What's in the bag? Oh, nothing much, I suppose. Extra food, of course, since you've had most of yours on that train." He teasingly rolled his eyes. "Oh, and a few golden drachmas - twenty, in fact. There's a taxi waiting for you outside, darling."

"Why are you helping us?" Thalia crossed her arms. "And how far is this taxi taking us?"

I gave Thalia a look, like 'don't question the god here, when we're highly zappable beings,' but she took no notice.

"It's starting to become stale up
there on Olympus."

"Stale?" Percy echoed.

"Stale. People track their deliveries now. No more detours, or stopping half-way to flirt with mortal men or women, or naiads. If I did that still, I'd be fired if I weren't this fabulous,"

"That's it? Really?" Annabeth arched an eyebrow.

He sighed, lightly throwing his head back like this cost him time. "Since you had to ask, darling, not exactly. You see, a slight bane of mine is the one who nabbed my brother. You're on your way to kill him again, stab him in the eye, whatever,"

He threw yet another sideways glance my way.

"Wait.. Your giant bane?" Annabeth spoke, the gears in her head turning. Hermes nodded, one of his trademark giggles escaping him again.

"Yes, yes, darling. Gaia just had to resurrect him before going, didn't she?"

"What now?" I half-heartedly put my hand up - since, you know, what the actual Hades?

I was ignored.

"Any more questions?" He leaned down slightly.

Annabeth spoke up this time.

"So.. Where is Apollo?" She paused, then quickly added something to make sure Hermes couldn't pull a 'well, you didn't specify!' moment. "Where in Alaska?"

Hermes tilted his head like this was a confusing question, though his expression didn't show it.

"The city of both perpetual sunlight and dark, of course. Night and day, ephemerally eternal, darling."

I liked that, but also hated it.

Poetic but annoyingly unclear.

Like, maybe for a poem, it'd be beautiful. For directions, it was enraging.

"That.. That was way too poetic to be helpful." Percy muttered.

"Thank you, dear, I stole it from Apollo," He chuckled again, winning before speaking once more. "Chins up, darlings, the taxi is outside." He tossed me the bag, which I just barely managed to catch, stumbling over in the process.

As he turned, I called out.

I wanted to tha-
Fine, I'll cut the centaur poop, I just wanted to squeeze in a fandom reference.

"Hermes?" I paused as he looked back, curiosity tinting his smile. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, friend, you very well may die." He winked. "Good luck."

Chapter Text

Percy looked utterly dumbfounded.

Annabeth looked more shocked than dumbfounded - like 'okay, yeah, it's a god' and 'wait, what-?

Thalia looked more offended than surprised.

Before she could retort, though, Hermes disappeared, leaving a slight, purple mist cloud in his place, and the smell of parchment.

Look, I don't know why it smelled like paper. Probably something to do with letters or something.

Though, in his wake, something fell to the floor - small, yellow and suspiciously bag-shaped. Upon closer inspection, - and a lot of squinting - I could tell it had a stickynote attached to it, only distinguishable due to its shape and the fact that it's shade of yellow was harsher.

Percy picked it up with two fingers, eyeing it like my mother upon the sight of me calling blasting 'Survive' from EPIC the musical a 'coping mechanism' for failing a math test I didn't even study for.

"What's this-?" His eyes narrower, as if he was calculating how long it would take for another horde of Stymphlian birds to come out and kill us. "'Enjoy the gift, Kodi. For the sloth, darling.' Why would Hermes give you a bag for the sloth?"

"Are we ignoring how he just said we wouldn't make it?" Thalia blurted out.

"Fandom thing." I responded.

Now Annabeth and Percy were staring at me like I was the messenger god, but they went back to the mini sunbag within a few seconds.

After all, the supreme stuffed overlord did just receive a gift from an Olympian god.

Not like that's unexpected, of course, seeing the sloth Styx's extreme power, and-

P̶e̶r̶c̶y̶ h̶e̶r̶e̶:̶ Y̶e̶a̶h̶,̶ p̶u̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶ f̶r̶i̶e̶s̶ i̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ f̶a̶n̶d̶o̶m̶-̶f̶u̶e̶l̶e̶d̶ b̶a̶g̶,̶ K̶o̶d̶i̶.̶

What? I told him not to look through my notepad, like, twenty times after the quest! I told him I'd give him the book draft in a different one, I-

Whatever.

"Do you think it does something, or..?" Annabeth pointed at it, as if it was something from a distance.

Just then, the bag popped open - seemingly by itself. A small, pale yellow piece of paper came out of it, with purple, scrawled writing.

'On the sloth, darling, not you.'

Then another one came out of it - this time, in golden, sparkly ink and cursive.

'Don't crack my- No! I will not turn into a glow stick. Stop-'

We just stared at it for a moment.

"What the-?"

Okay, so long story short - yes, yes, yell all you want... - we were in the magical taxi. I hooked the tiny sunbag to the purse charm on Styx, and earned a 'Thank you, darling,' stickynote from it.

I was in the back seat, next to Percy, who, at first, moaned about sitting there. Annabeth and Thalia didn't pay him much attention.

A few minutes in, we stopped at a red light - we're not completely mad, m'kay?

Percy, until that point, was staring out the window, though occasionally threw a glance in my direction.

"Uh, Kodi? What did you mean when you said Hermes made a fandom reference?"

I paused. I considered his words before speaking.

"So, a fandom is-"

"I think he knows what a fandom is," Thalia turned to me, arching an eyebrow.

I was rather glad she wasn't at the wheel right now - especially because we were halfway through a turn, though to be fair, no one was really driving - the car drove itself.

I suppose that was just Hermes magic at work.

"Yeah, but didn't he ask-"

"I, uh, meant, like, how was it a fandom reference?" He clarified.

Could've said that first, Percy!

"Oh, yeah. It references EPIC the musical, following the journey of Odysseus. Hermes' first appearance in it was made during the second song of the Circe saga, 'Wouldn't you like.'" I paused. Percy, Thalia and Annabeth all looked at each other before staring back at me.

They thought I was done.

Jokes on them!

"The last line, after Odysseus thanks Hermes, is 'don't thank my friend, you very well may die; good luck.'"

Percy muttered something along the lines of 'he could've said that.'

"He also made a few other references, such as the stabbing in the eye and the wind bag."

"So, basically, he was driving you mad." Thalia piped up.

I sighed and accepted defeat with a solemn nod.

Styx would've been staring up at me from Tartarus in utter disappointment, if he were dead.

ᴛ̶ʜ̶ᴀ̶ʟ̶ɪ̶ᴀ̶: ɪ̶̶̶ᴛ̶̶̶'̶s̶ ̶ᴀ̶ ̶ᴘ̶ʟ̶ᴜ̶s̶ʜ̶ɪ̶ᴇ̶,̶ ̶ᴋ̶ᴏ̶ᴅ̶ɪ̶,̶ ̶ɴ̶ᴏ̶ᴛ̶  ̶ʟ̶ᴜ̶ᴘ̶ᴀ̶
P̶J̶ a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶:̶ H̶e̶y, r̶e̶sp̶e̶c̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶ s̶l̶o̶t̶h̶!̶
I̶t̶'̶s̶ a̶ s̶l̶o̶t̶h̶,̶ P̶e̶r̶c̶y̶:̶ A̶n̶n̶a̶b̶e̶t̶h̶

Again? Dude! I- Really? Whatever. It won't happen again.

"I mean, at least we got the bag." Percy shrugged, patting Styx on the head.

He would meet the sloth's wrath on Doomsday.

"The bag that told us not to snap it's back because 'it won't turn into a glowstick?'" Annabeth retorted.

Fair.

Then, another note popped from the bag.

'It quotes people related to your quest, darling.'

I passed the note to Percy, who tilted his head and passed it to Thalia, who did the same with Annabeth.

"Fine, but how is ''Don't crack my- No! I will not turn into a glow stick' going to help?" Annabeth asked.

Another note popped up.

'Fine, but how is 'Don't crack my- No! I will not turn into a glow stick.' going to- blah blah blah!'

I decided not to show that one to them.

T̶h̶e̶ b̶a̶g̶ w̶h̶a̶t̶ n̶o̶w̶?:̶ A̶n̶n̶a̶b̶e̶t̶h̶

Storm eyes! Stop Scribbling in my notebook, I've told you twenty times by now to not read it!

"Maybe it's helpful every now and then?" Percy asked that more than he stated it.

We didn't believe it.

He didn't believe it.

We knew he didn't believe it.

He knew we didn't believe it.

P̶e̶r̶c̶y̶:̶ I̶ w̶a̶s̶ t̶r̶y̶i̶n̶g̶,̶ o̶k̶a̶y̶?̶
ᴛ̶ʜ̶ᴀ̶ʟ̶ɪ̶ᴀ̶:̶ ̶ᴅ̶ᴇ̶Ғ̶ɪ̶ɴ̶ᴇ̶ ̶ᴛ̶Ʀ̶ʏ̶ɪ̶ɴ̶ɢ̶,̶ ̶ᴘ̶ᴇ̶Ʀ̶ᴄ̶ʏ̶.

Fine. At least these won't be in the published version. Just my scribbled down note pad.

P̶e̶r̶c̶y̶ h̶e̶r̶e̶:̶ Y̶e̶a̶h̶,̶ n̶o̶,̶ n̶o̶t̶ h̶a̶p̶p̶e̶n̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ I̶'̶m̶ p̶u̶b̶l̶i̶s̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶ v̶e̶r̶s̶i̶o̶n̶,̶ K̶o̶d̶i̶.̶

Nope.

Chapter Text

So, the taxi dropped us off in Alberta, Hinton.

Apparently, since it was powered by Hermes directly, it couldn't take us much further.

Stupid divine laws, stupid Alaska...

And so, we were dropped off somewhere directly next to a bustop, people coming and going. Few actually waited for the bus. We just sat in silence for a moment, the shade hovering above us.

I looked at the people walking past with curiousity.

I think I saw someone in a Blood of Zeus cosplay.

Don't say it.

Don't say it.

Don't-

'Oh my gods, Kodi know fandoms other than EPIC or Per-'

Be closed, reader. No more words from you.

(Kidding, love ya.)

"Okay, so.. where should we go now?" Percy asked. He looked to Annabeth - we all did. Not like anyone else would've had a clue.

Especially not me, who was muttering the lyrics to 'The Challenge' under my breath.

EPIC is more for emotionally unstable, gay teens than smart, straight women.

(Clarification: I'm not specifically gay, but, you know, aroace and nonbinary are close enough.)

(I guess.)

"Maybe find some train tickets, but a car share is probably better. Frank says they're pretty common here," Annabeth suggested. "Also, Kodi, pass the bag. It'd probably be good to look through it."

Annabeth gestured to the orange Hermès bag in my arms, gifted to us by... Well, Hermes.

He did that on purpose, didn't he?

I handed it over, and she swiftly unzipped it, passing around the contents. There was some blue candy, that suspicous electric Pepsi - that was also blue - 20 golden drachamas, and, lo and behold, a non-binary lanyard. A note was attached to it.

'For the sloth again, darling. Easier to carry when it's around your neck, isn't it? - H.'

I would've complained at how he dared to call the Supreme Stuffed Overlord 'it', except Hermes did just give him something.

I suppose Styx, the sloth Almighty, has some mercy to give.

"You're non-binary?" Thalia asked.

I nodded, a little confused. "Didn't you know? You've been using they/them for me."

"Yeah, but that's common courtesy unless you're 100% sure of someone's pronouns."

...

Fair.

"True." I shrugged, linking the lanyard to Styx, then putting it on.

"Out of curiosity, did any of you two know?" Thalia regarded Annabeth and Percy, the latter nodding.

"Yeah, they told me the first time we met." Percy paused, crossing his arms like a pouty, petty kid. "They said I should still be a guinea pig."

"In my defense, you did say 'aren't you twelve?' So I said 'aren't you supposed to be a guinea pig,' which you responded 'fair enough' to." Kodi retorted.

Percy simply shrugged in response.

"There should be a car share depot somewhere down the road, we can hitch a ride to Alaska, or ateast a short cut, from there." Annabeth pointed to somewhere down the street, over to our left.

"What if we come across another monster? Every place we've went, there's been one..." I muttered.

In all honesty?

The attacks had taken a toll on me, even if just a bit. I began scanning people in crowds soon after - soon after, like it didn't happen a day ago - and I didn't trust anyone unfamiliar - even myself, seeing as I could barely keep myself safe.

I don't like talking about it, even after it's been... What, a year?

Don't ask why I decided to write this so long after my first quest. I've been busy with other things, m'kay?

"Well, Target was an exception." Thalia responded, though she didn't seem too happy over it.

I could've sworn Percy complained about the store again. He did. No, I swear on the Styx.

(The plushie, since he's so superior.)

Anyways, we ended up in some woman's car.

She said she was heading to Alaska for a family trip, and told us we could hop in.

So, uhm, yeah.

When Thalia first saw her, she seemed... confused? Alarmed? I think both. When she first opened her mouth to speak, the woman butted in before her.

She didn't try to speak again.
We sat there for a while, Percy claiming shotgun while Thalia listed reasons why he shouldn't, me mentally sobbing in the background.

Annabeth sat next to Thalia, while I took a window seat. Annabeth seemed to almost  brighten up. She turned from the window for a moment, closing the door as she spoke.

"I think I know the city of 'ephemerally eternal' day and night!" She piped up, a determined grin spreading across her face.

Percy's gaze snapped over to her, mine and Thalia's soon following expectantly.

"Utqiaġvik. On early summers, it's light 24/7, while on winters, it's always night - at least on some days." She explained.

Well, there's some giant symbolism.

Okay, okay, i get that was a bad pun. Whatever.

"Utqiaġvik?" The woman looked back at us for a moment, her braid falling over her shoulder. Her hair was bleach-blonde, but overgrown black roots were starting to show.

I was glad it was only for a moment that she turned from the road, since, in this car, someone was actually driving.

"Yeah," Percy responded. "We're..." His voice trailed off, but Annabeth quickly covered for him.

"We're doing a sort of school hunt. For extra credit. They give us a riddle about a place, and we can go there, take pictures of some landmarks and show it to our teachers."

An amused glint shone in the woman's green eyes, a smile gracing her features.

"That must be a godly pain in the butt. How's it going for you, Annabeth?"

She emphasised the word 'godly.' I swear. No, no, I heard it.

Or I'm crazy. Not sure, check with me later.

Either way, I was so distracted, I didn't notice the fact that she knew her name.

Chapter Text

"It's going well, we've found out the landmarks too, so we have a good idea where to go"

Annabeth didn't notice either.

Percy seemed too distracted from looking out the windows.

Thalia's expression read as something I couldn't understand until after the situation.

"Hm, that sounds good. Utqiaġvik... Any hopes to see some other giant landmarks on the way?"

She did it again.

On giant.

SHE DID IT AGA-

"Not really. How about you? Didn't you say you were seeing family?" Annabeth asked.

The woman nodded, now keeping her eyes on the road - luckily for us.

"Yeah. Going to see my sister, in fact,"

"Sorry, what's your name?" Percy piped up, turning to her with an arched eyebrow.

"Did I forget to tell you? Sorry. Denisse, but people call me Denny, or Den."

I nodded, and Percy gave her a hum of acknowledgement. Thalia showed no reaction, though, tilting her head to stare through the window in such an aggravated way, you could've assumed she was Odysseus murdering Penelope's suitors.

I thought about asking her if she was okay, but decided against it. It's Thalia, after all.

"Nice name," Percy responded.

"Yeah. I'm Kodi, he's Percy, storm-eyes here is Annabeth, and black-haired girl is Thalia." I tried not to sound like I was saying that sing-songy, since I was tapping my feet to the beat of the beginning of Puppeteer, and it was stuck in my head.

The woman nodded, swiftly swerving somewhere to the left.

"You guys hungry? We could stop at a gas station."

"Sure, why not? I'm starved. You guys fine with that?" Percy cocked his head towards us, though no one protested. Unless Thalia crossing her arms and death-glaring out the window counted.

Soon afterwards, - like, 10 minutes - we parked out there. Denny told us to go inside and buy whatever while she filled the car up, but Thalia stayed behind with her - which, initially, I found odd. At first, she did not seem happy about her.. well, existence.

"Do you think they have that electric Pepsi here?" Percy asked as we walked in, already going to the freezer; if it weren't for us, he probably would've made a run for it.

"Don't tell me you already drank the bottle we had in the bag..." Annabeth muttered, partially rhetorical, though he still responded.

"Hey, that stuff's good!"

"And blue," I helpfully pointed out.

"And blue." He echoed.

Annabeth sighed like my mother realizing her child is not only an aroace, non binary, Greek mythology nerd who cried one too many times re-reading Meg McCaffery taking about Nero in The Hidden Oracle, but also a fan artist.

That, or how Hermes must've been feeling after telling Orpheus to not 'come on too strong,' and watching as he starts off talking to Eurydice with 'come home with me!' and 'I'm the man who's gonna marry you; I'm Orpheus!'

Annabeth left us at the cracker aisle, waving us off so that one hand and telling us she'd meet us up later, as she picked up a velvet box labeled 'Ritz.'

Not soon after, Perseus Jackson, son of the Earth-shaker, slayer of Kronos, part of the Seven, was scanning a gas station for what was basically a glorified, over priced blue energy drink that Bacchus decided was worthy enough for him.

I, on the other hand?

I was looking for a dignified, culturally significant, divi-

Okay, fine, I was looking for a coke bottle with 'Nakamura' bottle on.

I had Ethan already, okay?

I had a Percy Jackson sheld in my room, with merch and little fandom staples hanging around there. It started as a 'thanks' to Rick Riordan, but after realizing it was all.. real?

It felt wrong to see this all as a fandom.

No, the display was now a form. of respect to the trauma those heroes went through. A place to grant them the honour the gods never gave them.

The stapler wasn't just something to grin and laugh at, but a bittersweet memory of the Roman Jason Grace.

The 'Bianca' and 'Angelo' bottles weren't just a piece of plastic submitting to my little stories, but a reminder of what happens when the gods are careless enough to allow children to fix their mess.

They were children. All of them.

Jason, Bianca, Ethan, Castor, Dakota...

It doesn't matter if some were teenagers. They couldn't even make it to adulthood.

They deserve respect, not half-hearted, idealized admiration from the perspective of being fiction.

They deserved better. They deserved life. They deserved to be the children they should've been, not underaged warriors, chained to the gods' cruel, cruel will, either forced into submission or painted as a villian. A monster.

I pushed the thought aside, and went back to idly making an utter mess of the Coca-Cola section of the fridge, though I paused when I heard a yell of victory from a certain half-blood.

"I found the blue Pepsi!"
"Electric, actually."
"Shut up and celebrate with me."

After giving him an enthusiastic 'Yippee,' we made our way back to the only logical person, Annabeth.

"Hey, storm-eyes! You done? We found the blue Pepsi!" I called out. She looked at us, the previously-mentioned Ritz box now under her arm as she browsed.

No idea Annabeth Chase, of all people, would like crackers, but here we are.

Long story short - yes, yes, go on, boo at me - we bought everything, thanked the cashier, overcame my inner breakdown of 'monster or not?' and met with Thalia and Denny.

They seemed to have a faintly heated argument, Thalia being the most pissed.

Denny, on the other hand? She leaned against the car, the grin on her face reading 'I'm up to something, but do you know what? No, you don't, because I'm just that great.'

"Den? Thalia? You good?" Percy asked as we approached.

I could've sworn I heard something about a job, but I didn't have to ponder much longer.

Chapter Text

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine," Denny gave Thalia a side-ways, though humoured grin.

The hunter did not return the delighted look.

"What'd you all get?" Den's eyes skipped over our food, before her smile widened at the box in Annabeth's hands. "Oh, those are divine. Great choice."

I'M NOT MAD.
I'M NOT MAD.
I'M NOT-

"Thanks," Storm-eyes spoke, though hesitantly. She seemed to catch onto the pattern of.. specific words.

I mean, she could be a demigod, but she looked like she was in her 30s... Demigod never lived that long. The one time Percy did find a demigod over 22, he was literally Daedalus.

Yeah, no, that possibility easily removed itself from my head.

I was about to pipe up, but something interrupted my thoughts.

Something loud.

Something big.

Something metal.

(Again? We just dealt with Artemis' birds!)

Denny's eyes widened, and she paused in her tracks.
Thalia instinctively went for her bow and quiver, whipping around to face what was behind her.
Percy had one hand lingering inside his pocket, waiting for to uncap the iconic weapon - Riptide.
Annabeth sheathed her dagger.

I stood there looking like an idiot with a pistol.

"Is that..?" Thalia began. Her voice trailed off, with not much intention of continuing whatever she was about to say. Either way, she couldn't have, because the collosal, bronze man looking over us had just tried to stomp on her.

Seriously, enough with the bronze!

She swiftly ran out of the way.

"Scatter!" She bellowed, nocking an arrow. Just as she was about to fire, Annabeth appeared next to her, trying to keep a soft hold on her wrist. Though, seeing as she was trying to drag her at the same time, it was more of a yank - Thalia's bow would've clattered to the floor, had it not been for her firm grip.

"Don't - that'd be a waste of an arrow."

Thalia looked like someone had just cussed out Artemis, right there in both of their faces. She was about to retort, but I stepped in - verbally, albeit me sprinting towards them with Percy and Denny at my heels.

"That's- That's Talos, isn't it?" I spoke, my voice, annoyingly, being an octave higher.

Annabeth nodded, taking a few steps back.

"Didn't Medea kill him? Or- Or one of the archers on the Argo?" I looked at her desperately.

Yes, yes, my attention should've been on the massive statue with only one, hard to get weak spot, now be quiet.

"Maybe he was repaired by Hephaestus? Some sources say he made him?"

"Why can't we just stab him?" Percy half-yelped, narrowly dodging becoming a Percacake.

"His only weak spot is his ankle. An ankle that we can't exactly get at!" I yelled back, going back and forth, like I couldn't decide whether Percy and Denny or Annabeth and Thalia were more likely to save me.

"I thought you demigods would know not to jinx things."

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

Annabeth and Percy both snapped their heads in Denny's direction, while she gave a smirk reading 'Mh, mh, yeah. I know. I'm amazing.'

She flexed her fingers, and suddenly the air seemed to have changed.

I squinted for a moment, the switch-up forcing my eyes to water. I would've raked my hands through my hair to check if it was matted, but there was no need - I could tell the alteration had tangled it.

A warm wind swept by - thick and humid, though fast despite its density. Den took a few steps back, before rushing forward with what felt like impossible speed, the wind brushing against..

No, not against.

With her.

It was like it was aiding her with the gift of agility - inhuman agility at that.

Talos could barely cock his head in her direction before she basically materialized behind him. Her eyes darted with such speed, it rivaled her previous feat.

The southern air seemed to be helping her with her hands too, because within a few seconds, an arrow had sprouted from the automaton's ankle.

The only proof it was her was the twitching of her bowstring.

"I-" Percy helpfully narrated.

Thalia, on the other hand, was anything but fazed - she even muttered a quick 'show-off,' before being rudely interrupted by the sound of a giant, bronze man falling in front of her - nearly on her, had she not been dragged out of the way by me.

Denny could tell what we were thinking: 'Who are you?'

We were not subtle.

"Child of Notus, hunter of Artemis. Lady Artemis sent me over to check on y'all, which was just as well," she looked down at the fallen metal-dude in front of her, walking past him as ichor began to slowly bleed out his ankle. "You would've been dead, had it not been for the winds."

Helpful. I didn't notice.

"Wait- So, Thalia, you would've known. You're a hunter. Why  didn't you tell us?" Annabeth snapped, after a long, painful silence.

"She told me not to." Thalia said.

"Lady Artemis told me to tell you not to. Very different, bolt-breath," Denny teased.

"Don't call me bolt-breath."

Den simply chuckled, dismissing Thalia with a slight flop of her hand.

I was going to ask her to, you know, explain everything, but Den beat me to addressing it first.

"I'll explain everything later, just get in the car. I can book us a train or something to Utqiaġvik if there's any available, I have the money." She began walking to her car, us four trailing behind her, before she turned back to add into her comment. "Also, Annabeth? I'm taking some of those crackers. They're good."

She didn't argue - mainly because Denny seemed majorly powerful, but I suppose also because arguing over crackers when you're supposed to be finding and saving the god of the sun itself, Apollo, isn't the most productive way to spend your time.

Still, if I were her, we'd be having a back-and-forth of 'nuh-uh!' and 'yuh-uh!'s

Chapter Text

Again? Really?

Whatever.

Long story-

Fine. Since we're at our final destination, I'll do something good.

After what felt like a flurry of train tracks and hurried mortals that were probably running off of a KitKat bar and a Starbucks - not the modern Heracles reference - we were finally there.

Finally.

Land beyond the gods, city of eternal day or night: Utqiaġvik.

Dennise strutted out of that train station like she owned the place, occasionally tossing her head back to ensure we were still following her.

Soon after a while of walking, we stopped at a park, Denny plopping herself down on a bench.

Kids were playing near a zip line, though few actually were on there, and the swings were empty, albeit a slight movement lingered there as if someone had just left. Few parents hung around, the ones who did loitering either far, far away from their kids or too close for comfort.

No inbetween.

"So, what are we doing to find Apollo?" Denny asked, her arms crossed. I would've sat down, but she was draped across it like a throw blanket.

"We?" Thalia arched an eyebrow, putting a hand on her hip. "Artemis send you here for the divine version of a wellfare check. Not get yourself involved."

"I'm not stealing your job, don't worry. I'm only going to help."

After a short back-and-forth between the five of us, Annabeth had a good idea.

Of course it was Annabeth, who else would it be? No one else there is sane. Like, at all.

"Maybe we could try some sort of prayer or offering? If he mustered up the power to claim Kodi and everything, maybe he could answer one last request?" She suggested.

"Well, yeah, but for that, he'd probably need some sort of poem, y'know? Being the god of it and all." Den countered.

"Can anyone write poetry? Like, at all?" Percy asked.

I nodded.

Everyone apart from Den looked at me like I'd gone mad.

"Look, the Trials of Apollo style haikus were for the vibes, m'kay? I can do poetry! Give me a chance!" I spoke up, my defensive tone making it sound more like a partial yell.

"Kodi, no." Percy snapped.
'Kodi, yes!" I echoed.
"Kodi, no."
"Kodi, yes!"
"Kodi, no."
"Kodi, yes!" Denny butted in.

Percy whipped around to Denny, glaring at her like she just insulted the legend Sally Jackson herself. Annabeth put a hand up before speaking.

"Do we have another option?" She asked.

Utter silence.

So, me being the last resort, was expected to randomly make up a poem on the spot.

Luckily for me, I already had something in mind - I spent too much school time making up poems in my head.

"How long would it take you to make up a poem?" Thalia questioned.

"I made one in class one time, I think it'll work."

I could've sworn I saw one of them mutter 'oh my gods,' under their breath, but I brushed it off with a heavy sigh.

I took a few steps away from them, turning so I could gaze up at the sky - glimpses of the sun, peeking down at me from behind the clouds. Teasing me, almost, like a child playing Hide-and-Seek.

Each time the sky darkened due to the eye of the heavens being concealed by the clouds, it felt like a flicker. A wink. A joke.

After a deep breath, I spoke.

"God Apollo, Lord of the lyre,
why is it that your heat mustn't tire? God Apollo, Lord of the sun,
why is it song we mustn't shun? God Apollo, Lord of health, what must we do to have your help? God Apollo, Lord of truth, why must your word hold so much ruth? God Apollo, Lord of light, know your glory shines through even the night."

They seemed.. surprised, to say the least, but stayed silent, bracing themselves for something to happen.

Silent.

Silent.

Silent.

Wow, okay, that's a lot of 'silent'...

Annabeth's shoulders drooped, her expression betraying her own emotions - shattered hope, stuck together by the melty glue of old, yet persistent doubt.

Thalia's face hardened, a false sense of anger blanketing the sense of melancholy within. She clenched her fists tight, her knuckles becoming white.

So tight, in fact, that a spark lit up in her palms, causing the dude besides her to flinch for a second - Percy.

Percy's expression of confusion soon became shock - a sort of realization that help wasn't coming. Almost an indication that his luck ran out.

Denny reacted last, clinging to the possibility that maybe, maybe it just took time. Her shoulders drooped, her face now painted into one of repressed despair.

The wind around her shifted, a slight moistness drifting in the dense air around her.

I felt the tears stinging my eyes. I swallowed down a sob.

How were we supposed to find him? How?

I felt a heavy weight on my chest. A deep, sinking feeling, like my heart was being pushed down into the depths of the sea.

I turned to my friends, half-expecting to be berated.

I don't know why I believe that.
I really, really don't.

I scanned them for a minute, the looks on their faces pushing me deeper in those waters of horror.

After a second or two, their moods did a complete 180.

Denny's smirk returned; confident, 'I'm about to commit arson or rescue a family of four, not sure which' type of grin. The wind dashed away, sweeping her hair, forcing a few strands to latch onto her cheeks.

Thalia looked up, and a slight bit of electricity once again sparked up in her fingers. This time, though? It was faintly larger. Quicker. Excited, even.

Percy's dismay shifted into an eager sort of astonishment, a smile propping itself up on him like some sort of trophy, lightly nudging Annabeth, though not exactly pointing.

She followed his gaze, squinting fading into awe.

I raised an eyebrow, cocking my head behind me and glancing up to where they were looking.

The sky.

Amongst the light shade of blue and fluffed splotches of white, a vaguely glowing, golden beam could be seen - like a thick piece of thread from Ariadne's yarn, one last chance at sanity.

One last chance at blithe.

Apollo.

Dad had answered.