A belated happy birthday to Percy and anniversary to Percabeth. I would have liked to have finished this book by now, it was the original goal in mind, but work's been murder on me and I've been lucky to keep my updating consistent as is.

Almost done with one whole series though! Like, just take a moment and bask at how far this has come already, and still with tons to go! I'm so excited I feel like I could fly!

PJOPJOPJOPJO

"Pigs fly?" Magnus read blankly, imagining a cop car sailing through the air as the next weapon of choice for a monster.

"You fly?!" Alex yelped, before she sat back in her seat with an actual look of embarrassment for once. "Sorry, reflex."

"How often does someone say the words, pigs fly to you, that you have a reflex for that?" Thalia asked in concern.

"More than you'd think," she chuckled.

Back at the Plaza, Thalia pulled me aside.

Percy threw his hands up to cover his face.

Thalia just stared at him, unimpressed.

"Sorry, reflex," he smirked as he slowly dropped his hands.

"Mock me all you like," Alex sniffed, "at least I know how to throw hands the right way."

...rubbed her thigh like she was remembering the old wound.

Thalia ground up her teeth and resisted the urge to do the same thing now. That burn mark on her leg had vanished when she'd come out of the tree. She remembered standing in the mirror and seeing her skin smooth from every old scar.

She'd been pissed at her father for that. His blessing that had molded her into another person, somehow years older yet not nearly as much as she should have been with the passing of time.

...don't think she understood. She just knew Luke was upset."

"Kids absorb more than you think they do Thals," Annabeth said softly.

"Yeah, I got that the second time around," Thalia nodded. She'd done nothing to protect Annabeth from that, but a part of her was relieved for it. It made the following weeks of Luke's anger and Annabeth not questioning it make retroactive sense, rather than just thinking the kid was blindly going along with this new rash behavior.

... "Do you know what happened to May Castellan?"

... "I never saw her have an, episode, but Luke told me about them... made me promise never to tell."

"I see that worked out great for you," only Annabeth could have told her that without making her feel like she should be devoured by her own wolves.

"Yeah, my life's been pretty swell since then," Thalia nodded, only half mocking.

...Prometheus was showing you what happened in the worst possible light.

Percy glanced from Thalia to the book and back several times. She wasn't wrong. The most disturbing part of that to him, in the large array of options he had, was the moment he'd just shared with her. Of course Prometheus could have conjured that whole thing from thin air, or just that face-melting moment where the Titan had flopped what had really been on the god of messangers face and nothing else.

Either way, he had nothing to decide but the miserable feeling of what he was supposed to do with the outcome, a god's mess. As usual.

Hermes did love Luke. I could tell just by looking at his face.

She'd seen it in the brief period Jupiter had been wooing her mother. Like all of Zeus's flings so irresistible to whatever wrath Hera might bring upon them for it, he had loved Beryl for that moment in time. Bringing her gifts and smiling at her. He'd looked down at Jason in his crib with that same proud, and worried face Hermes had given Luke. Zeus- Jupiter she now realized, had loved his son, and known what was in store for his fate too. Could it really be called love to stand by and do it all, outcome be damned?

...Hermes was checking up on May, taking care of her. He wasn't all bad." Thalia said.

Magnus nodded in silent agreement he probably was the reason she still had food in the house and managed any sort of home care.

... You could almost see a silvery glow around her—the blessing of Artemis.

Thalia smiled with a sense of pride, that Percy, the strongest male hero she knew, thought that of her. That someone so clueless easily acknowledged how well she fit into the place she'd chosen for herself.

Gods did that just make the headache continue to split her in half about leaving Jason behind a second time when she got back. A part of her wanted to ask Percy's advice on this, and Annabeth's, but a smaller part of her thought she should ask Jason first considering he was the motive of her considering giving this up, while the rest of her was still telling those annoying little siblings to shut up and they didn't need her anymore and she'd made a vow and she was happy with this life! Wholly Zeus her head hurt!

"Percy," she said, "you can't start feeling sorry for Luke.

"When can he start then?" Annabeth was not even slightly proud of the way her voice shook with anger but unable to stop it. "I'd personally love a timetable for when that's allowed!"

"Don't be smart with me," Thalia frowned. "We were in the middle of a war Annabeth, you know as well as I do he needed to stay focused on the matter at hand-"

"His 'feeling sorry' is what saved-" her shout was cut off by Percy's. The whine in the back of his throat, the way he grabbed a fistful of hair and closed his eyes against the pain.

"Sorry, sorry," they both murmured, throwing each other one last distasteful look before silently agreeing to let it go while the rest of them slowly exhaled.

Percy slowly let his eyes flutter back open as he looked miserably between the pair in self-loathing. He was really tired of being the person standing in the way of Annabeth's old life. This was obviously something she long needed to talk to Thalia about, and his stupid brain couldn't handle it!

... If she has to face Luke in battle. She's always had a soft spot for him."

Annabeth gave her sister a scathing look that would have sent anyone else running out of the room, possibly through one of the walls and finishing those off. "I can handle myself fine thank you!"

Thalia grinned back, but it wasn't the supportive gesture she'd once used guiding her arm to practice their techniques. It felt mocking. Like she was about to reach over and pat her on the head as a love-sick Aphoridte kid.

Blood rose to my face. "She'll do fine."

"Thank you!" Annabeth gestured to him so hard she whacked him in the face. Neither girl noticed. Percy was left to rub his lip he was positive would have been a little swollen if not for his curse.

Nobody bothered pointing out to her Percy wanted her to be fine. Percy hated Annabeth's puppy crush on Luke more than anyone, and that was probably a little more denial talking than faith in her consecutive inabilities in previous situations to 'do fine.'

But they all valued their tongues staying safely in their mouths to much to tell her that.

Magnus swallowed in mild fear to keep going, but the awkward silence just kept growing, and Thalia looked away first. An indulgent elder watching Annabeth fondly fumble with no idea when she'd get the hang of it but confident she would. The kind of look he'd assume would be on Artemis's face watching a girl get her heart broke, because she should have seen it coming.

...He wanted to pick a fight with every monster we crossed.

"When I tell you we heard rumors of a cyclops den passing through and how fast he started marking every building for its possible lair," Thalia trailed off with a superior laugh.

Annabeth flushed with anger. She'd helped Luke every step of the way, feeling important as they analyzed possible locations. She'd seen it as another lesson she'd took to heart. Gods, Thalia's anger at him had somehow gotten worse over the years to be mocking this now! "You could have just left us there then if that's how you felt!" She scowled. Thalia had followed them into every building, silent and shield drawn.

Thalia spluttered, a tinge of red in her face. Anger, or embarrassment at realizing how much she'd actually hurt her little sister with this attitude they weren't sure as she only managed to say, "I would never-"

"Knock it off you two," Percy said sharply, pressing his knuckles tight into his temple and massaging the spot the only sign of this affecting him. "We've got how much of this crap left? I really wanted to finish this today, please-" his voice broke too. In exhaustion, but a little more emphasis on that plea too. He cared about both of them and this was just getting more miserable to watch with each hurtful comment.

"Okay," Annabeth promised, taking his hand gently from his forehead and holding it in her own again.

"Yeah, sorry Perce," Thalia agreed, but she pulled her knife out and began jabbing at her pants again in simmering frustration. This was far from over, and she had no delusions this fight had an endgame. She didn't see how the two of them would ever resolve past this. Annabeth was probably secretly grateful she was out of her life most of the time now because of it.

Annabeth didn't see that as a problem. Luke was her hero.

Was her hero, Annabeth fought to swallow those words, that idea that had passed. Faded with some time. She didn't even believe in the ideal of heroes anymore, someone who always did the right thing for all the right reasons. There was no Greek Hero who got a happy retirement with zero regrets in life. Her tight hold on Percy's hand went white-knuckled. He just laced their fingers together without question.

... Luke has given himself to Kronos. We can't afford to be soft on him."

Annabeth swallowed a very large and bitter pill as she did admit to herself all of that was true. She'd only come to the conclusion of all of that for herself this morning.

She wanted to finish vindictively reminding her that giving Luke a chance had been what saved them all, that Thalia acting like Luke was a lost cause right along with everyone else in her life hadn't mattered in the end, but she instead squeezed Percy's hand and took a calming breath. Percy was right. She needed to talk to her later to resolve this. Throwing each other's past into Percy's wasn't helping anyone.

... how many mortals were in danger because of Luke's bad choices. "You're right," I said.

"Sweet music to my ears," her laughter sounded very forced, but she spoke to him normally enough, the tease lacing her voice as usual with one of her closest friends.

"Hey Will, you got a guitar around man?" Percy smiled in revenge. "I'd be happy to keep singing for her if that's what she wants?"

Thalia gave him a look of horror and betrayal. She had really hurt Annabeth, he might have gone through with it too.

"No Percy, I cannot pull a musical instrument out of my ass," he chuckled.

"Darn, have to hit pause on it for now then," he shrugged, giving an oh-so-innocent and playful smile back to Thalia while she hastily waved Magnus on. He only reluctantly did so because he didn't want to draw Oceanus back in here if Alex suggested they just go see if the fridge could produce that next.

... Her dark expression made me wonder what she'd been dreaming about.

Jason had watched the entire exchange between the trio with sorrow for being useless and able to offer nothing of help, even if he wanted to. He was jealous of how Percy mediated the pair. He really wanted to know if Thalia was having nightmares about what he was going through on the opposite side of the country and his war, but that was ridiculous. She'd promised she didn't even know he was alive and he believed her.

She felt the burning sensation of his eyes on her and gave him an exhausted smile. She wanted to do something right around here. "Saw Artimes in battle, and it was going poorly," she said with a catch in her voice. "One was a vision of my- our mom, that drunken night she hit a tree. She was muttering about Zeus, and of course I couldn't do anything to stop her, but every part of me wished I could reach out and grab that steering wheel from her hand. I saw a girl fighting with her aunt and deciding to run away from home right into a monster, but of course I couldn't head out and explain to her what she was heading towards like I usually would have, my fight was there. Whole bunch of stuff Jase, that just made me miserable and exhausted as I woke up."

The god's design, or perhaps a latent curse of being a half-blood they could blame on their parents. Their dreams, their abilities, everything that made them unable to be sound asleep on that sidewalk too, but instead owning up to their moral obligation to fight.

Jason nodded in understanding and didn't press her for more.

His thirst for knowledge obviously not quenched, but he turned away, Thalia was surprised to feel someone else get her attention. Annabeth had released Percy, and gently took her hand, squeezing, offering her an apologetic smile. Her nightmares had been going no better, and she'd woken up crying in pain from her shoulder.

Thalia instantly smiled and squeezed back apologetically, and just like they had for years now, Luke settled back where he always did, locked in a safe tight box out of the way in the corner of their mind.

... the more dangerous our situation, the worse and more frequent our dreams.

"Seriously, who is the god of dreams, and where's the nearest pitchfork," Alex said in complete commiseration for them, and wanting to have a word about not keeping her mother out of her own.

Annabeth and Nico exchanged awkward looks before deciding it might be best just to not answer her right now. Thalia opened her mouth, clearly having woken up on the chaotic side of the bed with no reservations, and Annabeth kicked her in the shin as her blessing of a cousin quickly moved on. They all knew Will had the best sense alive to not even entertain answering her, Percy thought in relief.

Jason, of course, was just pouting he didn't get the name of another god to add to his collection. They suspected he spent every night falling asleep trying to memorize mythomagic cards anyways.

... It's going to be a long night, maybe our last night."

"Hells yeah Thalia," Percy nodded and offered her a high-five. "Last night on earth and we spend it living the dream."

She laughed and high-fived him right back across Annabeth's face. She sighed with a long resigned look, wondering what it was like to have normal friends. Frankly, nobody in camp could even be considered. The closest she might ever get was Magnus.

... Lock this in the hotel vault, will you? I think I'm allergic to pithos."

"Something not to be taken lightly moving forward young man," Alex said primly. "Well have to get you an epi pen, and perhaps restrict you to homecooked meals where we can better control your future culinary intake."

"I said pithos, not pistachios," Percy rolled his eyes.

"That's worse! You can't go antiquing with me!" She pouted.

Percy looked mildly concerned what antiquing was and really didn't want to ask further questions.

... The temple my dad had used as his headquarters was burning with Greek fire.

There was a not so small part of Percy that still wished he'd stayed down there. Avoided this prophecy, the Styx, and proved to Triton and Ampthtirte why he was his father's son and fought to keep that from happening. If he could have just saved one undersea life it would have been worth it to stay behind.

... extra-chunky peanut butter (don't ask how it tasted underwater, I don't want to know).

"Everything's tasted normal down here actually, it probably does to them too," Magnus offered.

"I want to know how big that jar was multiple cyclopses were eating from the same one," Jason said, imagining one with approximately the same weight and height as him.

"Think bigger," Percy promised. The storage rooms for those things must house a sea witch too.

...Tyson knelt to help, but it was too late. The Cyclops dissolved into sea silt.

Percy felt his heart freeze in place. He'd never wanted to know what would ever happen to Tyson if he got hurt!

Annabeth laced her fingers through his, brushing her thumb across the back of his hand. His lungs were starting to hurt, he still hadn't taken a breath, his eyes solely on the book, but he knew it was her. And not because it would take someone cutting off Thalia's hand to force this. He'd just know her touch anywhere.

... "PEANUT BUTTER!" and charged behind Tyson into battle.

Then the scene shifted.

"Tyson-" Percy sounded terrified. His little brother had proven to be indestructible on more than one occasion, but all he could see in his eyes were those scars on his back from the sphynx. He could be hurt. He could be next.

Annabeth squeezed his hand again and he finally took in a much-needed breath, then another, as he shook his head and tossed that fear into the nearest volcano where it could blow itself up too. Tyson was smart, and strong, and if his dad wouldn't give him a chance he'd take this opportunity to show them all.

I was with Ethan Nakamura at the enemy camp.

"Nope, no, go back to Tyson," Magnus groaned at the words out of his mouth. He was half tempted to hand the book to Alex. She was so awesome at managing a level of hateful cadence that sat right on the edge of mocking joy to keep them all invested and in the right mood. He just kept picturing this backstabber's knife pulling away from Annabeth covered in blood over and over and he probably sounded like a whiny toddler.

He took a glance at his cousin real quick before he asked just to see her not bleeding and not turning green, to see her smiling at him. Encouraging, but not demanding he keep going right this second. He was suddenly really jealous of all her half-siblings in her cabin as he took a ragged breath but kept reading at his own pace.

... I knew what it said: AUNTY EM'S GARDEN GNOME EMPORIUM.

"Oh the good old days when Percy and Annabeth ran away from the circus and Grover was tagging along calling you guys idiots," Jason nodded.

"The first monster we ever killed together," Percy agreed as he gave her a kiss on the temple.

"The second time I had to save your butt," she grinned.

"The third time you-"

"Nope, no, we're not sitting around watching you two flirt, again," Magnus groused before reading on loudly.

I hadn't thought about the place in years.

"I'm pretty sure Grover thinks about it every once in a while," Jason muttered. The place he'd found out where his Uncle Ferdinand had died had seemed important to him at the time.

... clearly abandoned. Grover's Uncle Ferdinand had lost his arm.

"Please tell me you don't mention that to Grover," Jason winced.

"Why would that ever come up?" Percy asked in mild concern. He certainly didn't go up to him after every nightmare and give him the details.

... A big yellow sign pasted on the door read: CONDEMNED.

"Where's Clarisse with her wrecking ball," Will agreed.

"I only wish she'd been off doing this secret mission. I actually would have told her about this nightmare if I believed for even a second she would," Percy nodded.

...Ethan was crouched at the nearest campfire.

Percy scowled, his blood boiling at once. He wished this was a 'normal' kind of nightmare and he was about to watch a monster chase this guy around before eating him. By the tone of Magnus's voice, Percy was pretty sure he wouldn't even be that freaked out by the nastiest monster Percy could pick either.

...One of the other demigods snickered. "Nice knowing you."

"Was it though?" Thalia asked blandly.

"Can't say I've enjoyed the experience," Percy huffed. Imagining this guy with friends though, maybe a mortal family somewhere out there agitated his mind. What else had Ethan given up besides his eye to get where he was?

...Statues of terrified people stood frozen in midscream.

"Got to wonder if the Hyperboreans are a fan of her work," Jason shivered.

"Or if they're possibly responsible for the iceberg that sank the Titanic," Alex nodded.

"That was a stretch," Annabeth frowned.

"I don't put anything past Canadians, I don't cut them slack," Alex sniffed.

... between the soda dispenser and pretzel warmer stood a golden throne. Kronos lounged on it, scythe across his lap.

Percy looked a little miffed because if he had a throne, that's where he'd want it placed too. Kronos shouldn't be having good ideas like that.

...his face contorted into a very inhuman smile. His golden eyes glowed.

"Asked, and answered," Nico murmured. Luke had postulated about how proud he was being at the heart of all this, but he didn't think that young Luke yelling at Hermes would have done the same.

...Ethan's good eye darted back and forth, noting the guards that stood around Kronos.

Will looked so sad to hear that. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of willingly being somewhere where you feared for your life talking to your leader. Who would put themselves through that?

...Medusa hasn't re-formed since Jackson killed her, you needn't worry about joining her collection."

Jason looked blankly around the room. "How does he know that? How on earth does he know it was Percy who killed her? Does his half-blood scent linger every time he kills a monster?"

Percy grinned. "I imagine him and Medusa in Tartarus bitching about me, personally. All the monsters I send down there have a hate club, and I'm on buttons."

Annabeth sighed and face palmed how proud he clearly was of that idea. She didn't bother wasting her breath explaining the darkest part of the world had no time for such light-heartedness. She did picture a few balloons with the camp half-blood logo being popped in celebration and grinned to herself for a second at Joe Bob only being allowed to throw tiny darts instead of more flaming cannonballs.

... there are much more dangerous forces in this room." ...french fry hung in midair between his hand and mouth.

"Whew," Jason mock wiped sweat from his brow, "for a moment there I thought Kronos meant the ice giant and I was afraid he'd lost his ego!"

"Where is that on the body? I'll stab it, no questions asked," Percy sighed.

Thalia leaned around Annabeth and tried to jab Percy in the part of his skull she was pretty confident was close enough before she swatted her away with a distasteful look for the joke at both boys.

... tell me. What happened last night on the Williamsburg Bridge?"

Will would have rather heard about Kronos getting stabbed in the throat than that continuing to be brought up. It really did hurt fresh every time.

..."I can't explain it. Maybe she forgot."

"I can't get Annabeth to forget the one time I burnt the popcorn," Percy scoffed. It didn't feel great to be on the same page as Kronos about something, but the fact was he could all to easily hear the disdain for that idea before Kronos even spoke it.

"And look what happened, now you believe me about proper timers on the microwave instead of just mashing that 30 second button," Annabeth nodded approvingly.

...Tell me, Ethan, where were you aiming when you stabbed at Jackson?"

And there it was. Of course Kronos hadn't missed a beat, the Titan was probably a great dancer! He would likely leave the rest of his army to burn and drag Ethan out by his foot still demanding the answer to this.

... It all happened so fast. I wasn't aiming for any spot in particular."

"Is he, protecting you?" Magnus's voice was a painful combination of hope and dread. Did the guy have even a sliver of regret for all the suffering he'd caused? Or was this some secret vendetta and he was planning on killing Percy for himself?

"I honestly don't think he knew," Percy shook his head, even with a confused stare of his own. "No offense Magnus, but I've said it before, the heat of battle makes it so you don't think about every move." He tapped the side of his temple instead of gesturing at the books for some strange reason to make his point.

Magnus nodded in a way he understood what Percy meant, even if he had no factual idea what Percy was talking about outside of these books.

...The giant unfroze and the fry fell to his mouth. Kronos stumbled and sank into his throne.

"Woah," Alex said, sitting up instantly with completely undivided attention.

Magnus really didn't need the extra pressure of all of her attention on him, the way Annabeth had tensed up and his own common sense were more than enough, but his voice still went a little shaky for a few sentences despite his internal scolding.

...He raised his hand and flexed his fingers slowly as if forcing them to obey.

Annabeth felt herself go numb, like her mind was actively trying to detach itself to save her from feeling the full brunt of pain that should have caused.

Even through that, she felt Percy's arm tighten around her, his hand coming up to brush her hair. It didn't feel fair, that comfort and safety she felt. While her sister crossed her arms and scowled at the book like Magnus or Percy's own dream was trying to trick her. That she got this and the eventual peace of mind Luke wasn't suffering anymore under this torture if she could just hang on until then.

And she would.

It only hurt so much, hearing it fresh through Percy's memories because it only confirmed for her what she'd known all along. How much Luke had wanted to change, wanted to fight this. It was a good kind of hurt, even knowing it had all been in vain.

...Ethan moistened his lips. "He's still fighting you, isn't he? Luke—"

"Is that, common knowledge," Jason asked with deep interest. "Or- huh. I always wondered what happened after you guys left that mountaintop, and Ethan was the only one there besides those Telkahines to witness if Luke and Kronos were having some sort of-"

"Enough Jason," Thalia's voice sounded harsh. It probably had something to do with the fact that everything hurt.

..."Repeat that lie, and I will cut out your tongue. The boy's soul has been crushed.

Annabeth knew the feeling. Her soul might as well have been crushed under that sky. She'd been walking around with a faulty, unstable structure of a soul for a long time since as she learned to do repairs there.

...this form requires rest. It is annoying, but no more than a temporary inconvenience."

"I'll show him a temporary inconvenience," Alex scowled. "Shove my fist so far down his throat and then hope he's allergic to nuts as I pull back out-"

Will gave a slight cough, which was the flimsiest reprimand possible, but Alex was great at taking a hint like that.

..."Queen Sess, is it?"

"There's a queen of those things?" Will asked in disgust, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around his stomach to hide their favorite target of ripping people's guts.

"Not for long," Nico promised. He'd put this thing's head on a plate just for making Will look like that.

"Yesssss, my lord."

"Is our little surprise ready to be unleashed?"

"Why he gotta be vague even in dreamland?" Magnus frowned. "Who's he mincing words for?!"

"He does know Percy and plenty of half-bloods are likely seeing this," Annabeth reminded gently. "It does suck to see him being cautious." Her dreams had mostly been filled with painful flashes she could never focus on long enough, a torture in itself. Chiron trying to convince his brethren to help, her mother attempting to reason with the other gods on how best to cripple Typhoon and being ignored, that sort of thing.

The dracaena queen bared her fangs. "Oh, yessss, my lord. Quite a lovely sssssurprissse."

"I don't believe her," Percy scowled, wondering what was going to happen when a pig and a snake got crossed and imagining some horrible flying monstrosity somehow that shot venom and had tusks and could kill him twenty different ways instead of the usual ten.

...Work on improving your memory. We will talk again when we have taken Manhattan."

"Oh, so, never," Nico said with interest. "Always nice to know how long you can put a conversation off for."

"Nico over here finding all the secrets to enjoy life today," Alex chuckled.

"I like to think we're all getting something out of this," Nico shrugged with a little smirk.

Ethan bowed, and my dreams shifted one last time.

"Did you have a gut feeling it was one last time?" Jason asked, his voice instantly falling into rambling territory again as he smiled. "I wonder if, your dreams will start coming in threes now! I If it's because of your heightened battle fatigue, or perhaps the curse increased your extra sense that allows this as well, or-"

"I'm going to get a pillow and smother him," Percy decided.

"Do it gently," Thalia sighed, "I'm not banking on him coming back from the dead a second time."

Jason closed his mouth and looked around to make sure there weren't actually any pillows to be used against him in here. The only ones available were the couch cushions, but he wasn't going to bet his precious air that Percy wouldn't rip those out from under his butt to try.

... a different era. The house was painted red instead of blue.

Alex spluttered on a laugh and Magnus couldn't help but join in.

"How often do they repaint that?" Will asked in his own delight. "Is it due for another? Because I vote orange!"

"You're going to make kids blind when the sun hits that thing," Nico sighed.

"I was going to ask you guys that," Alex caught her breath back and grinned at Annabeth as her last hope. "Where do I vote to make it tie-die rainbow?!"

"I'll be sure to bring it up with Chiron when we get back," Annabeth chuckled.

... '90s hairstyles, which were probably good for keeping monsters away.

Which only increased the laughter another fold with everybody joining in.

"I need a photo of Chiron with an afro," Thalia wheezed. "I won't even use it for blackmail, I swear!"

"I guarantee the Aphrodite cabin had a whole closet dedicated to butterfly clips," Annabeth nodded.

"Every girl was rocking The Rachel, and every guy had frosted tips, I needed no further evidence why camp survived up to Thalia's tree," Percy nodded.

... squirmed in his blue blanket like Camp Half-Blood was the last place he wanted to be.

"Has anybody dropped off a baby there like at a firehouse?" Magnus asked in concern.

"Not that I know of," Will frowned, his mind boggling who would raise the tot. Chiron seemed like the only viable option, and he was now picturing him in archery class with a second quiver and that blue blanket sticking out.

..."Don't encourage her," Hermes grumbled. "May, you can't do this."

"Obviously about to do something a god told her not to do," Alex said with a pained smile. "Damn Percy, I know you hate to hear it, but you were destined to be just like Luke. In all the good ways, anyways."

Annabeth gave her a distasteful look. It sounded like kind words but still somehow insulted Luke.

"Yeah, yeah," Percy sighed. It still gave him vertigo how much May Castellan reminded him of his mom. Posideon had wanted to send him to camp and she'd refused. Hermes was over here telling May not to do something, and things obviously hadn't turned out well for her.

...the kind of person who could smile and make everyone around her feel good.

Yep, just keep drawing those parallels universe, Percy wanted to scream and slam the book shut. He couldn't get enough of them!

...Hermes raised his arms in exasperation. "I didn't tell you that story so you could apply.

"Why, did he tell her the story?" Magnus asked in concern. It didn't seem like a random funfact a god would drop.

"Also, he called it a story?" Jason arched a brow in fascination. "Either he doesn't know Hades did it, or damn, they're really more detached than even I thought and it's getting beyond depressing."

Annabeth and Thalia exchanged depressed looks.

To their surprise, Percy answered. "Yeah, honestly guys, none of that surprises me. My mom probably asked my dad something about clear sight too, maybe the gods explain it if they're lucky, and we know the gods don't know when curses get thrown around every time, otherwise Hades would have been able to find Deaduls from that bird brand thing Athena gave him."

Both boys nodded, they got way to wrapped up in the moment sometimes.

It's dangerous. Chiron, tell her." "It is," Chiron warned.

"And that's why Chiron's lived all these years," Will nodded wisely.

"Does he take every order given to him by the gods? Dude needs some more fun in his life," Alex sniffed.

"He escaped his family of constant fun, I think he likes being a little more settled and calm at camp," Nico reminded. He could appreciate the old soul who just wanted to be left alone for hours on end, a feeling he'd been deprived of for days. Even in company he'd grown to like. He'd never even had a social battery before all this and it was way over-taxed.

...Humanity seems to have lost the ability to host the Oracle."

"That's somehow worse than the original curse," Thalia said in disgust. "I can't believe Hades never warned anybody what he did, even to brag about it!"

"And have Apollo's wrath rain upon him and start a mini-civil war?" Will sighed. "No, Hades would probably be pleased if he ever found out another immortal's lover fell prey to this curse after what was done to his."

Nico smiled in surprise at Will acknowledging his dad's cunning side, and even more at Thaila conceding the point.

...my chance to do something good. I've been given the gift of sight for a reason."

'Not this reason' bile rose painfully in the back of Annabeth's throat. She hated Zeus so much in this moment it didn't even feel like it should all be contained inside her. This was his fault for trying to prevent the prophecy by outlawing children as if he wouldn't break that the moment he felt like it. He'd taken it out on other gods because he feared of history repeating itself like he'd overthrown Kronos. So of course he'd inevitably created his own downfall in this domino of effects that Luke and Percy completed.

... I finally understood how her life had been destroyed; and I couldn't move or speak.

"You think Luke ever had this dream?" Will asked, his voice rough with emotion for this poor family. "Think Kronos showed it to him?" He'd almost wish it for him, to give the guy some kind of closure on what happened to his mother, but surely this had only added fuel to the flame of his hatred.

Annabeth and Thalia exchanged miserable looks because, they didn't know. And that always hurt worse.

... couldn't marry if you became the Oracle. You couldn't see me anymore."

That was a weirdly selfish but kind of sweet complaint, Alex thought in surprise. It continued to intrigue her how many times the gods kept saying this was the mortal they wanted to love and cherish forever, when she'd never fathomed before all this a god would bother to have a child without a selfish motivation of breaking them free of a prison.

... I can still raise Luke if I'm the Oracle, right?"

"No," Magnus said bluntly, but a gentleness to his voice. A doctor with to much experience giving someone months to live. No, she could not do it, and they all wished she hadn't tried.

... If the spirit does not take—"

"It will," May insisted.

No, I wanted to shout. It won't.

Percy shivered, and Annabeth put her arms around him to hold him tight. He rested his head on hers for a moment as he felt the chains of this dream melt. Some part of him still felt what Luke must have every day for a time. How evil all of this felt, even just the act of showing him this knowing he couldn't do a thing to stop it, the worst torture to put him through.

But he took a breath and got a whiff of her lemon scent and knew the gods couldn't be all bad, not so long as they could go through this together.

...She gave them one last confident smile and climbed the steps.

Magnus asked dully, "can I take this moment as proof; that confidence cannot take you over the finish line?"

"Sure, but it doesn't mean don't do it scared either," Alex shrugged.

Which really kind of freaked the others out for a moment as they realized they had no idea what Alex was willing to do without caring about the consequences.

...I got up so fast I banged my head on somebody's shield.

"Got to make you wonder how the rest of that day went," Nico said bluntly. His father had dumped him in a river and then a hotel to get away from it. How long had baby Luke been left in Chiron's lap while May continued screaming to this day in different spirits? How long until someone remembered to collect the baby and then think of no better option but to leave him with her? Who kept restocking all the ingredients in that house just to watch them go bad?

"I imagine that day went not well and kept stretching for the next twenty-something years," Percy said miserably. A part of him still wanted to yell at Hestia and Prometheus and whatever other god decided to keep showing him this crap! Why was it whenever he needed answers he was told to wait, but he kept getting all of Luke's miserable life beamed into his head lately?!

..."Sorry, Percy." Annabeth was standing over me. "I was just about to wake you."

"With a shield to the face?" Jason didn't sound disapproving exactly, to Percy's dismay, more just curious how that would have gone. Percy was already imagining her banging on it like a gong too.

"No, that was just bad luck, his specialty," she shrugged.

She just got dubious looks from the others, though more for the fact of why she was holding anything when she should have been on bed rest.

Not that a single one of them was insane enough to think to tell her that, not if they wanted to keep their jaws from being dislocated.

... Suddenly a lot of things made sense to me: ... shattered glimpses of her child's future.

Alex repressed hard the disturbing question swimming to mind of what would happen to the next person who tried. Chiron had said he'd forbidden anyone from trying before May Castellan. Had the girl, that cursed Oracle, warned him of the curse placed upon her? And what of the next girl...the one who kept having dreams of Percy and Luke and all this prophecy...

But Rachel had been fine. In this room chilling with Percy. So that had all worked itself out fine.

Unless she'd just been having one of her good days.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied.

Annabeth gave him a look that very plainly said she'd like to hit him in the face with that shield again, on purpose.

He just grinned back, mildly apologetic, and she rolled her eyes and moved on.

... I'm fine," she said, though she still looked pale. She was barely moving her right arm.

"Because that's the definition of fine," Will said with a grimace. He still had not managed to duplicate himself into twenty other versions to keep an eye on every kid in camp though, plus a few extra to enjoy leisure and fun since this happened, so really, he had no one to blame on this happening but himself.

"It's Percy's definition of fine," Annabeth sniffed while her boyfriend gave her a miserable smile.

"And we all know we should take Percy's grasp on the English dictionary as biblical," Jason said with pure sarcasm.

"Open to interpretation, exactly," Annabeth nodded in appreciation.

"Gods, they've already come up with their own secret language, we're doomed," Thalia groaned while Percy nodded in agreement.

...She offered me her good hand and helped me up. My head was pounding.

"Takes one to know one," Annabeth said with pride. She'd know Percy's headache face anywhere. He had so much tension in his jaw it could snap another bridge.

... I left out Ethan's speculations. I didn't want to get Annabeth's hopes up.

Their light banter shifted instantly to a gap between them falling from nowhere. Not large, either could jump over it if they wished, they just leaned back anyway to give each other space from that.

..."I'll bonk him on the head harder next time," I suggested.

Jason gave a breathy laugh as he closed his mouth back and Percy shot him a smirk of understanding. Some advice was universal.

..."I didn't see anything in the shield, but I don't like surprises."

"Agreed."

"No surprise birthday parties, got it," Alex nodded seriously, she did not need a sword at her throat for some sparklers thank you, no matter how tempting the idea sounded just to test both of their reflexes.

..."are you going to argue about me coming along?" "Nah. You'd just beat me up."

Percy laughed right along with everybody else. He'd always love this feeling and do anything he could to get back to it, no matter how many fights he had to remember for this.

...There was no way to hold them back. The army," she shrugged. "It's huge."

"Because that's a shrugging kind of statement," Magnus frowned.

"Oh I'm sorry, let me try again," Thalia rolled her eyes, cleared her throat, and said, "the army, it's huge!" Then she gasped dramatically and mock sobbed.

"Thank you," Magnus nodded.

"See, I think the Hunters and Campers would respect you more for that, everybody loves the emotional one who cries at everything," Alex mockingly agreed.

"I know sarcasm when I hear it Alex, and I don't care," Magnus crossed his arms, fully aware she was the only person he could ever pretend defiance at and it still somehow looked dainty in his own mind.

... dressed in wood-bark armor that only covered half of his belly. "Leneus?" I said.

"I note the question mark behind his name," Magnus laughed in surprise. "Now you're questioning if you remember it right, or just that he's there? I'm at both!"

"Nah, just the second, I could never forget that grass stain in his fur," Percy smirked.

... I'm not going to let a mere outcast lead the satyrs without my help!"

"He's...almost got you there Percy," Nico looked so bewildered at how close the old goat was to being right on some level.

"Yeah, I almost have a gut feeling about how this is going to go now, but that might just be him rubbing off on me," Percy said.

...Grover made gagging motions, but Leneus grinned like he was the savior of the day.

Which caused another round of laughter throughout the room.

"Oh, it's been far to long since we got to hear Grover being as rotten as you Perce," Will managed.

"You just haven't heard the best of him," Percy grinned. Grover had threatened to eat more than one of Mrs. Dodd's assignments back in the day, even if he'd never managed to say it to her face.

... didn't know whether to laugh or be angry, but I managed to keep a straight face.

"Herculean effort right there," Annabeth nodded in admiration.

Percy grinned, it was the first time hearing his name hadn't annoyed him in a while. Now if only she somehow had that way with saying Luke's name.

... Annabeth and the Athena cabin will make their stand here. And me, and, Thalia?"

Jason found it an odd moment of hesitation for Percy. Obviously he knew he couldn't order her to help, but he thought Percy had enough confidence in their friendship he could just ask her without thinking twice. He certainly would have assumed it of them.

...Has each cabin chosen a bridge or tunnel?" The counselors nodded grimly.

Annabeth still remembered the array of looks on their faces as she wondered if she'd see them all again. The edges of revenge had some wear and tear on Jake's sharp face, Drew had looked fierce and tried to stand taller than anyone. The Stolls had been standing next to each other, as usual, but there had been something grim in their smiles that made her blood chill. Katie had looked like she was fighting back tears as she adjusted her bag, and she hadn't even seen Will there. Maybe he'd been delegating from his tent, maybe one of the other Apollo kids had assumed battle command and they were sharing. Most likely, there weren't any fighters from that cabin left.

Pollux had stood apart from everyone. Eyes downcast, gripping a canteen. She knew he'd gone with the Demeter cabin. She knew he'd helped in every way he could.

She knew none of it had felt like enough.

...like every Patriots fan in New England was charging us with bazookas.

"I feel like that's one of those normal nightmares you've never bothered to mention," Alex grinned. That was a little to specific for Percy to have no reference.

"I'm not a big enough sports fan to care what colors they were wearing," Percy shrugged.

...At first, the plan seemed to work.

Jason nodded without surprise. Annabeth would of course come up with a strong strategy for the beginning and Percy would help conclude this with one of his on-the-fly insane ideas. He just wished he'd gotten to hear the in-between, the planning stages. Gods he wished he could sit on this book and ignore everybody else trying to stop him from picking apart her brain. Maybe he could guilt Thalia into distracting them for a bit when this book was done and have some fun over a sheaf of charting paper with Annabeth if he was lucky.

...A bolt of lightning fried a Laistrygonian, Thalia must be doing her daughter of Zeus thing.

"Please do pause and share your powers of deduction there Sherlock," Thalia rolled her eyes at him pointing out something so minor.

"You weren't using them on me, so I knew it was you and not your dad," Percy shrugged. He had like, a fifty-fifty shot of being right anyways.

"Ah, thank you, proceed." She grinned.

... trees wrapped around monsters. Stones flew and hit enemies in the face.

Magnus decided he had a lot of mixed feelings about that he needed to sit with for a while. Nature had always meant kindness to him, as he remembered his mother weaving through the trees and smiling every day no matter the sky above. He never felt to cold or to hot sleeping under the shade of leaves in parks every night.

This description, this long-shattered world view was still something he was trying to adjust to no matter how many days later. The fact that something so deeply ingrained in the good of his life had a violent side that could fight back, if for a good cause.

... Enemy archers returned fire, and a Hunter fell from a high branch.

One of many moments Thalia wasn't proud of. That she couldn't stop and check on every girl to make sure they still had breath, that she couldn't have taken her friend's place in that spot but instead tried to make up for it by being everywhere on the ground, the central target.

"Percy!" Annabeth grabbed my arm and pointed at the reservoir.

Which Magnus was grateful for as he tried to pull himself out of his own mind. This kind of violence he hated to be immersed in, that he'd be running out of so fast nobody would have time to call him a coward.

The Titan in gold armor was charging forward, walking straight over the top of the lake.

Percy huffed and made a grumpy, annoyed little frown. Nico was pretty confident it was because a Titan had tried that before it had crossed Percy's mind to attempt.

...he raised his palm and sucked the flames out of the air.

"He can't do that to the sun, right?" Magnus asked with dread in every syllable why this guy hadn't just turned around and caused this planet's destruction already.

"Probably," Percy shrugged without much concern, "but where would be the fun in that?"

... Hyperion is the east—the most powerful...the father of Helios, the first sun god."

"Bad," Jason repeated, just in case Percy had missed any of that. Better to keep it on his level.

"Yes, thank you," Percy's grin was fuelled with adrenaline that made Jason's skin crawl. "Guess who's going to need the lesson the sun also has to set, and I'm not even going to put on stupid ram's horns."

"Pity, I bet Grover would have fashioned you some if you asked," Alex said.

...I concentrated on the water and felt its power surging through me.

Nico sighed, really wishing he could get some more kind of deep dive experience out of that answer. He'd love to know Percy's process and how he might be able to replicate that without exhausting himself trying to do something similar like walk across a shadowy abyss.

The truth just seemed to be Percy had natural talent, something he couldn't study and practice and get better at.

I advanced toward Hyperion, running over the top too. Two can play that game.

"Maybe even three if Tyson tried hard enough," Jason smirked.

"I wish," Percy agreed, while Thalia looked a little green at the implications of walking on water. The clearer she could see to the bottom, the more likely she'd rather just stay on shore and hope for the best.

..."It wasn't hard," I said. "You Titans are about as bright as my gym socks."

"Are we still talking your Meriwether uniform?" Alex asked with interest. "With tie die shirts and shorts? I'm hoping they provided the vibrant socks as well. That's almost a compliment Percy."

"Note to self, compare Alex to my socks later," Percy nodded to himself.

"Oh you have no idea what you've done," Annabeth told her in misery. Alex, of course, just grinned at the challenge of the crazy kind of socks she'd try to get Percy into.

... Just before impact, I jumped upward on a jet of water.

"I'm getting Ares flashbacks," Magnus was blinking too like he was struggling to keep one god in mind. Percy had fought to many by now, they tended to blur together.

"Yeah, I walked so they could run or something like that," Percy grinned.

Magnus just shook his head and didn't bother to correct him. He was almost right that time. Besides, he liked the idea of the gods running from Percy on sight if they started to annoy him after a certain set number had been defeated. Maybe this would be it.

..."You will burn, Jackson!" he roared.

"Been there, done that," Percy mock yawned, shifting his weight so much in his seat like he was on the ride of his life. "Try another volcano."

"Please do not," Annabeth grumbled, taking his hand again.

Our swords met again and the air charged with ozone.

"You two are probably single-handedly pushing that whole glacier melting problem into overdrive," Will sighed.

"I'll go up to Antarctica and freeze them over again on vacation," Percy said in mild apology. The whales complained all the time in the ocean about their migration patterns feeling off and he didn't want to make that worse.

Jason shivered, and the others chuckled like he was just playing up the joke, so he just smiled along and repressed deep the dark feeling he had about that joke.

...On the right flank, Annabeth was leading an assault with her siblings.

Magnus tried his best to swallow his concern and not blurt out if Annabeth was okay. If she was lagging behind, short of breath, if her arm felt like it was on fire and she'd rather rip it off just after a short burst of using it. She was obviously fine and didn't need her cousin babying her-

"How were you doing?" Percy turned to her in concern. He'd seen her running around at the time so he at least knew she was still alive and he could keep his focus.

"I was fine seaweed brain," she grinned at him. "Very tired and hurting like everybody else, but still moving around."

"That's not the gold standard wise girl," Percy sighed, but didn't bother to argue the point further. She was alive, they weren't in the heat of battle right now, and it was just another argument with her he'd lose.

Magnus was studying the pair with relief. He might not have been the family she needed, but it was always good to see her with the one she'd chosen.

..."Enough games," Hyperion told me. "We fight on land."

I was about to make some clever comment, like "No," when the Titan yelled.

"Percy, what would we do without your witty comebacks? Your sass? Your, your pizzaz!" Alex laughed.

"Be very bored listening to this I'm sure," Percy chuckled.

... If it hadn't been for my new invulnerability, I would've broken every bone in my body.

"You wouldn't have any bones in your body left," Jason observed like he'd personally pulled out every bone in someone's body before.

"Yeah," Percy groaned, he'd kind of wished for it at the time as he rubbed at the spot on his back.

I got to my feet, groaning. "I really hate it when you Titans do that."

"Are you the pig in this situation," Magnus frowned as he fidgeted with a few pages in nerves. He really hated all of these Titan fights!

"I probably smelled like bacon after that," Percy shrugged, but the feeling didn't sit right as he kept shifting his weight around.

..."Stop it!" the Titan roared. "Stop that wind!"

"Oh, well, since he asked so nicely," Thalia scoffed. She could still vividly recall feeling that wind pulling at her clothes and making even her aim difficult to keep straight, and just somehow knowing in her bones it was Percy. He was over there causing mayhem. She was still so proud.

I wasn't sure what he meant. I was too busy fighting.

"I think Percy finally won the summary competition," Will sighed in dismay. "Sorry Nico."

"Eh, he beats me at everything cool, what's one more," he shrugged.

Percy just looked blankly at the two and clearly didn't think they were funny.

... I realized I was standing in the middle of my own personal hurricane.

Magnus shook his head slowly from side to side as Percy once again broke all laws of sanity. If he hadn't met this guy in here, all doey-eyed and forgetful, he'd probably be the scariest freaking person Magnus had ever known. If he wasn't sitting there, juiced up smile on his face like he was on the best ride of his life while his cousin smiled with nothing but deep affection on her face for him, he would have thought this guy was a monster and run for his life, rather braving the depths of the ocean alone than wondering what he'd do.

Percy was just smiling like a friendly guy willing to offer directions to any pedestrian who happened to be lost in New York.

... Enemy warriors threw javelins at me, but the storm knocked them aside.

Alex threw back her head in delighted laughter at this controlled chaos. "Percy, you might be asexual, because you are not fucking around!"

Percy laughed along, a pure noise right from his belly as he felt the energy flowing through him so clearly. He could taste it on the back of his tongue, he felt like he could hold up the sky without breaking a sweat. This is how his dad must feel all the time when he wasn't withered away by a war.

... I closed in on Hyperion and blew him off his feet.

"Ah, the do as I say, not as I do stance," Annabeth said in mild delight. She needed to make sure he stayed grounded and not to over-excited about this.

"He didn't even have it coming half as much as, others," Percy agreed with a wild smile. She grinned right back. She knew exactly what he hadn't said and the two just shared in this moment.

..."I will not be toyed with!" Hyperion bellowed.

"He's so right," Alex cooed in a poor, pitiful baby voice. "He deserves to have someone play imagination with him instead! Much more possibilities to go off of!"

"Please keep all gods and Titans and whatever adjacent beings away from her, please," Magnus groaned, eyes shut, well aware he was talking into the unknown and nothing was listening. It honestly was more for his sanity than worried Alex couldn't handle it too.

...The ground erupted at Hyperion's feet. Gnarled roots wrapped around his legs.

"What-" Magnus's voice cracked with stress right as he tried to read the next word too. Oh gods. It was really happening. He'd had the creepy thought before about Grover using nature to do this kind of crazy stuff, but he had no earthly clue what was about to come out of his mouth and that ground next and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Magnus," Annabeth said gently, as if to a startled pegasus colt who would take off the second she broke eye contact. "Do you need a pass?" She'd hate it if he was feeling overwhelmed by all this.

He hesitated. It would be the second time he'd done this. He was the only one who'd had to do this. But you know what? He was really tired of having his world thrown into his face. "Yeah," he sighed, passing the book to Alex. He just. Really couldn't with whatever Grover was about to do to a Titan. Even if it didn't work.

She took it without hesitation and kept reading like nothing happened. Magnus flashed his cousin a miserable smile of gratitude. He knew these guys. They weren't going to mock him for being to weak to handle this crap. He'd just needed a breath to step back.

...His golden armor melted into the wood, becoming part of a large trunk.

Magnus was more grateful by the word he wasn't trying to gasp and splutter this out like he was having a stroke. He didn't know how he was ever supposed to go back up to the world and stare at a tree again without having a mental breakdown of what was inside it. A nature spirit? A Titan?!

...Grover took his pipes from his mouth. "You are a very nice maple tree."

Magnus made a painful noise in the back of his throat like he was choking on a sob. He couldn't even eat pancakes again without being force-fed this moment by his brain!

The others just kind of sat there awkwardly with no clue what to say. Alex wished this was the weirdest thing she'd ever heard, but honestly, she was far more impressed. Maybe she'd have Grover teach her how to do this in secret though.

"Tell me about it man," Percy nodded in understanding, brushing the hair out of his eyes. It was only sweaty in his mind. At the time his hair had nearly been plastered to his scalp from being physically exhausted. Which was weird. Had the Styx opened up his pours extra wide so his now invincible muscles could sweat better- right later. "You think I ever saw this coming from the same skinny kid who used to get peanut butter and ketchup sandwiches stuck in his hair." He really appreciated Magnus at times like this, to remind himself his mom would probably be freaking out the same way if she ever heard all the crazy stuff he got up to and why he was doing this, to keep the rest of the world alive. Not just the adrenaline rush of beating up this jerk. That was just a bonus.

Magnus nodded and decided not to try verbalizing how insane this was. He really, really just wanted out of this place, to sit under a tree again until he had no choice but to relax and feel something was normal.

Several of the satyrs passed out from exhaustion, but they'd done their job well.

Jason would have prayed to any god he thought was bothering to listen for guidance on why he felt a connection to that, why he could taste those words on his own tongue, but he also felt not to deep down it would be a lost cause. More like a habit he wanted to fulfill, like fiddling with his coin or eating at a certain time every day. Something about the fight Percy just had with Hyperion had been so familiar, yet so disconnected...

And looking around the room he suddenly knew exactly why. He hadn't had backup. With whatever fight he'd once similarly endured. He'd likely been the driving force, just like Percy, but nobody had come to his aid to help him defeat that dude with Ram's horns.

He had no evidence for this, no real fact to back it up from his mind. Just his gut.

It made him feel a disconnect from what he was hearing like he hadn't felt since Dionysus was first shown sloshing it up around Camp.

...The tree might've stood there for centuries.

Alex had to stop and catch her breath from excitement. Gods, the magic in their blood, the feats they could achieve, and none of them were prancing around with godly might to do it! She wished she could rip her pants off and run around in a field of satyrs!

...our victory was short-lived. Because just then Kronos unleashed his surprise.

"What, could possibly be worse, than that?" Magnus asked, voice cracking on every other word.

Alex gave him a sad look and decided not to ask if he wanted the book back. He'd clearly forgotten the chapter title. No flying pigs had shown up yet. She now expected an army of them, all possibly able to shoot laser eyes and likely with roosters steering them dropping golden eggs and maybe even a few mad cows too if Kronos got creative.

"REEEEET!"

...Grover shot me a panicked look. "Why does that sound like- It can't be!"

"Deja vu," Thalia shivered in remembrance. She'd smelled fresh pine in her nose and backed away in terror from a steep gorge, snow crunching under her boots only in her mind as she'd looked wildly around. She'd gotten a good whack across the face by a frost giant for her distraction that had sent her into the nearest tree.

...a huge boar that carried us across the Southwest (after it tried to kill us).

Nico tapped his chin for a moment before telling Will, "he's still doing it too. That just sums up a gods gift so well."

"Percy's out here making the rest of us look like we're all just along for the ride," Will chuckled. Annabeth and Thalia gave halfhearted laughs, leaving Jason and Alex to exchange a look and know they were missing something. Magnus was still having a mental meltdown about every tree he'd ever pass to realize they'd moved onto a new trama.

... shriller, almost like, like if the boar had an angry girlfriend.

"I'm now imagining the Minotaur's angry boyfriend seeking revenge on you someday too though," Alex nodded to herself. "You've opened up a door here Perce you probably shouldn't have."

Percy swore to himself that if Alex continued this line of thought for one more word he'd take Magnus into another room and they'd have the most boring, normal conversation in the history of ever just for a real break from this insanity. They'd talk about drywall, their favorite colors! Any mundane topic he could think up! Mercifully, Annabeth stepped in and kept her focus where it needed to be while the two exchanged one last look, knowing this wasn't going to get better any time soon.

...a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade nightmare blimp with wings.

"The fact that this thing would look out of place next to Goku and Pikachu is kind of hurting my brain too though," Annabeth nodded.

"I'm pretty confident there is a pink pig anime somewhere out there actually, even if it isn't household name worthy," Percy shrugged.

... The pig belched a cloud of noxious gas. Then took off again, circling for another strike.

"Yep. That is a, flying pig alright," Will said with the slow confidence of a farmer on a hot day promising you didn't want to eat the beans.

"I'm just happy it really wasn't me, I was kind of worried I got turned into one," Percy nodded.

... "Let me guess," I said. "Hercules beat it."

"Nope," Annabeth said. "As far as I know, no hero has ever beaten it."

"Awesome!" Alex cheered. "Percy's finally going to get immortalized for something cool!"

"Helping put a Titan in a tree wasn't cool?" Percy looked a little pouty. "I mean, I'm pretty sure Hercules didn't do that either."

"I'll put that on a t-shirt for you and Grover," Alex agreed, "but this! Someday some kids going to say, how did Percy beat this thing? That's cool!"

"Yeah," Percy found himself grinning in agreement without hesitation now. It did sound kind of cool when she put it that way. Maybe he should consider writing one of those kids books they were always mocking him about.

...The Titan's army was recovering. I guess they realized the pig wasn't after them.

"Sounds about right," Jason nodded. Kronos wouldn't warn his own forces about his attacks.

..."Retreat if you need to," I said. "Just slow them down. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Jason tried to shake off his lingering sense of his lost life and smile all the same at Percy always somehow saying the right thing. Those felt like the confident words of a leader, competently delegating. It was jarring, but always in a nice way to find himself making mental notes of Percy's prowess in battle.

... It squealed in rage and veered off, yanking the rope and me into the sky.

"Jeezus, and your arms weren't just taken along without you!" Magnus yelped, finally another coherent thought coming to mind and it was the usual, how was this guy alive?

Percy rotated his shoulder and grinned at Annabeth. "I mean, I wasn't going for sympathy pain, but-"

She smacked him and called him a seaweed brain. Alex took the silent opportunity to offer the book back to Magnus if he wanted it. He swallowed and did take it back.

He'd adjust, he kept telling himself. To every weird, insane, and crazy thing that kept happening in Annabeth and Percy's life. He'd keep walking through it until he came out the other side, again. He somehow made the best friends that way.

...my advice is to take the subway. Flying pigs are faster, but way more dangerous.

"Even while on a death ride through his city we can't get this guy to say a bad thing about New York," Thalia said, her voice laced with misery for this sickening mental image she was being put through. Gods she wished she'd gone without details of this!

Jason swiftly jumped in as he gave Percy a stern look, "you'll only grow stronger if you admit your faults! Say the subway smells, say you saw new piles of trash in the street you'd never noticed before, something!"

Percy thought about it for a moment before deciding, "the pink feathers made it look like someone was celebrating Valentine's Day at a really strange time of year."

"I give up," Jason sighed.

"Never took you for a quitter," Percy chuckled.

"I know when to be reasonable and draw the line," he sniffed.

"Yes, yes, you're both awesome in your own special way," Thalia sighed to cut them off. She had a feeling they planned on going like that until she said otherwise, since she was the one to start this interruption and was least likely to want this to continue. The faster this pig got turned into pork chops, the better.

...I was too busy swinging around dodging streetlamps and the sides of buildings.

"One of Percy's brilliant plans finally has a flaw in it?" Nico raised a brow in mock shock.

"Maybe I'm learning and growing from my mistakes in the past, adapt, overcome, um, something else smart," Percy said with an awkward smile. He knew full well what Nico was really not saying in that. He hoped the guy knew he'd really never try to involve someone else in his crazy plans again, he'd been happy swinging to his death alone away from the rest of his friends...until he remembered he'd left them to deal with an army- and gods why couldn't Kronos have just kidnapped him and settled this on Neptune or something! He probably deserved being slammed into at least a few of those buildings!

...another thing to climb attached to a pig's wing while flying at a hundred miles an hour.

Thalia was rubbing her knuckles into her sternum to try and convince her heart to keep beating at a normal pace. No matter how hard she dug, it wasn't doing the trick. The sickening rush of nausea just kept growing more powerful at the idea of those buildings flashing by so fast, with nothing beneath her feet...

It was so weird for Percy to not hear her mocking him about being better at something. He scrambled in his mind, wishing he could say something to her that would somehow make this bearable, but this seemed like one of those times where silence might have been the better answer since he couldn't dare her out of laughing from this situation.

...Blackjack sped along next to us, avoiding the pig's wings. "Watch out!" I told him.

"For, you?" Magnus asked blankly. Why was the flying horse showing up next to the flying pig the least crazy thing in this particular chapter of Percy's life?

"For the sow Magnus," Percy said not unkindly. "I don't know if horses are color blind, and he's probably not used to having other traffic in the sky aside from pigeons."

"That's- Percy, color blind doesn't mean-" but he stopped in exasperation when Percy just started laughing and Magnus grinned as he realized Percy had gotten what he wanted.

Hop on! Blackjack whinnied. I can catch you, probably.

"Such instilling confidence," Will groaned. It really did seem a miracle more every page how he wasn't a ghost haunting camp.

..."Stay alert!" I told Blackjack. "I've got an idea." Oh, I hate your ideas.

"Don't we all," Magnus said like that should be a universal truth.

"Nope, just you," Alex said brightly. To his horror, Annabeth sheepishly nodded. The others all kind of shrugged. Only Nico made a nod of agreement. Magnus missed the days when the homeless people had made him feel normal.

... I'd underestimated the momentum of a thirty-ton sow in flight.

"I don't think my mom could make those calculations," Annabeth muttered.

... Hermes statue went for a ride, and I free-fell toward the street.

"There's a metaphor somewhere not to deep in there about how Hermes treats his kids and cabin and junk," Alex said mostly to herself.

"One deep dive at a time, lets finish first with Percy and why he's not locked up for everybody's safety," Magnus shook his head.

...wasn't the most comfortable landing. "OW!" my voice was an octave higher than usual.

"I sounded like Blackjack when we first met," Percy groaned,* resisting every temptation in the world to clutch at himself now in that remembered pain. "Wouldn't be surprised if he called me a mare."

"Oh sweet revenge," Alex chuckled, confirming to Percy at least she'd be passing this along to his friend for future payback.

...Then something occurred to me.

"Then it occurred to you?" Annabeth looked around at him in newly minted concern. Jason really did want to study how she kept managing to do that a refreshing new way each time. "Launching yourself at the statue wasn't even part of the initial goal?"

"I got lucky," Percy shrugged.

Annabeth groaned and the two started bickering again over what should even count as a full plan. She clearly wasn't taking well to the fact that Percy had taken off without one even in mind. Jason would have stolen Percy's pen and started scribbling notes on his arm if he would have thought it would do any good, hearing the two speak their mind like this, but Thalia finally interrupted with the reminder she'd turn the two of them into flying goats that gravity wouldn't defy if they didn't shut their trap.

... "I need to talk to the statue." Now I'm sure you've lost it, boss, Blackjack said,

"Honestly a fair assumption," Annabeth sighed one last time. She couldn't believe she was agreeing with a horse, yet another creature of Posideon. Percy had way to much influence on her life.

...Daedalus Twenty-three. Kill Flying Pigs! Begin Activation!"

"What was so wrong with, defend city?" Annabeth couldn't stop herself arching a brow and demanding of him. "The pig was attacking the buildings of the city Percy."

"I was preoccupied!" He gestured at the book like she'd missed the enormous wild pink Pumba. "Being literal usually works best with me!"

"My wording was fine," she had to grumble anyways. No wonder she was still getting reports back from the city status were still running around! There was no logic to trace in them defending from flying pigs!

... smashed through a brick building...shook its head and climbed the rope.

Percy couldn't help another laugh. It wasn't him being smashed through buildings, it was Annabeth's genius plan to save his butt, it was Blackjack following him all these years like a loyal best friend that had gotten him this far. He really was just a piece of all this, and maybe that stupid prophecy constantly hanging over his head was just exaggerating everything.

..."Get in front of the pig, Taunt him!"

Um, boss—

"Trust me," I said. "I can do this, probably."

Oh, sure. Mock the horse.

"Well we can't mock Percy right now when he's using the reflex part of his brain, arguably the best part," Alex said tragically.

"And I always said the food part of my brain was the most important," Percy chuckled.

Annabeth was to busy rolling her eyes and smiling to herself at the warm, loving feeling as she again reminded herself that he'd apparently remembered she existed before any food or reflex he might have had and probably wouldn't have butted into this one, but the two managed to taper themselves off from far to much practice of sniping and reading and repeating.

... kicked her snout and went into a steep dive. The pig screamed in rage and followed.

"Have I mentioned lately that Blackjack's the best?" Alex chuckled.

"No, you've been to busy praising Mrs. O'Leary," Percy said with a sly smile. "That's going to cost you a lot of donuts later dude."

"I'll take my punishment with dignity dudette," she chuckled.

Thalia was turning greener by the second and wished they'd stop mentioning food.

... I almost felt sorry for it. I hoped it got to meet the boar of its dreams down in Tartarus.

"Percy over here rooting for true love in the face of all this," Will grinned in delight.

"Yeah, I might be a secret sucker for those Hallmark movies," Percy chuckled. He'd seen his mom and Paul watching one to many to not believe the two monsters wouldn't work out their happy ending.

... I imagined they would keep looking for flying pigs until someone deactivated them.

"Where's the nearest meat packing plant out there?" Magnus asked in concern. "I'm imagining something horrible happening to them worse than the usual process."

Alex lit up like her butt had caught fire as she launched off with, "or maybe they're still out there, chasing down their dream of one last adventure, one last flying pig to defeat! That Hermes statue longs for his own identity and name and rebrands himself Semore, and names the two lions-"

"And Alex is cut off from caffeine permanently," Percy said in exhaustion. "Do to me what you must now while I can heal in the ocean."

Alex scoffed. "Please, you'd need ten energy drinks to get on my level."

Hey, boss, said Blackjack. Can we take a donut break? I wiped the sweat off my brow.

"Wait, you can still sweat?" Jason asked in fascination. "I'd have thought the Styx sealed your pours shut or something."

"I wouldn't even be a mammal anymore," Percy said in mild concern as he stared at his arm. "That's right, right?" He looked around back at Jason for confirmation from an old PE class he hadn't paid attention to. "Mammals have hair, make milk, sweat to cool off?"

"Sure, I'm not an expert but I'll confirm," Jason snorted.

...I jumped on Blackjack, and we flew north toward the sound of explosions.

This time when Magnus handed the book to Alex, he really let himself look at her so he could meet her eyes in a smile. Just a small moment of thanks she took in stride with a wink as they moved on to the next catastrophe.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

* This is in reference to TheRichmaster, who made the detailed comment about how Percy probably mistook Blackjack for a mare on the Andromeda for his voice being so shrill. I'm sad RR didn't make a callback joke to that, make it an old retcon. He really could just make a book with some character's side quest fixing old mistakes like that and it would be a new hit.