Apologies for not posting your chapter yesterday. Between Mother's Day and midterms my brain has been everywhere but where I want it most, but I hope you'll all happily take this better late than never.

PJOPJOPJOPJO

Thalia startled to her feet the fastest, but Percy wasn't far behind on pure reflex at the new voice.

They turned in unison, and Annabeth screamed.

It was a strangled, broken noise as her eyes landed on his dark hair and shocked face, blurring into the room fast enough Artemis was impressed as she tackled Percy back into his seat still making disjointed, painful-sounding noises.

Percy crashed into the seaweed beanbag with a mass of tangled blonde curls obscuring everything, and it was the best view in the world as finally, finally, it was her squeezing him tight enough to pop his head off. He'd surely have a bruise on his cheek from where her head had collided, but he also doubted that's why all the breath had escaped him.

They'd fallen flat out and rolled onto the floor when time slowed down and reality fluttered in as he leaned back in surprise, a cry of joy on his own lips, only for her to do so too and kiss him.

She was not gentle about it, he could still feel the desperation in her every movement as her lips melded to his. The intensity of it scared him as he tried to push her back, and she did so gasping and looking at him with just as much concern.

"Whoa there Annabeth," Thalia wanted nothing more than to run to Artemis and hug her in relief, but her sense of duty overruled as she swooped in and tried to help Annabeth up. "We need to catch you up-"

"Percy, what's wrong?" She asked, allowing the separation as she briefly hugged her, tight and meaning it in relief for her being okay, but never taking her eyes off him.

"We, um, that was, not how I remember, um, I was going to ask the same," Percy sat up the reddest color ever and talking through his fingers as he covered his lips.

The rest of the room rushed in fast enough she felt dizzy, as she spun around to see the others.

Nico, and for some reason Will, were also down here. All children of the Big Three in one place was never a good sign, she knew something was up!

Then there were two strangers, one of whom stood out for a horrible split second. His dark blond hair, the faint scar in the dim lighting. Luke- but no. He was her age, he looked nothing like her old hero more than the passing resemblance; but still her eyes averted away to someone with strange green hair and- "Magnus?!"

It would have made more sense to see her mom or dad chilling down here than her mortal cousin she hadn't seen in over ten years.

He gave her a cautious wave and an awkward smile as he said, "hey cuz?"

Annabeth was speechless. Thalia took the chance to turn to Artemis and try to ask hopefully, "my lady, I'm so glad you're here! Do you know what's going on, what the gods are planning?"

She gave her lieutenant a fond smile, but then, something was wrong.

There was a shimmering in the water around her, her face scrunched up like she was about to sneeze. Gods didn't do that unless they were about to reveal their true form.

Artemis looked at Jason, and she flickered.

Not by too much, but there was a sudden harshness in her features, her loose auburn hair was suddenly tied back in a severe bun, a power she didn't try to keep as dormant in her now yellow eyes settled on him. "Jason Grace, what are you doing in here young Praetor?"

Thalia startled, but not a word could escape her before the goddess cried out in pain, and her small body grew. Soon she was the size of the room, her camo threads covered in frost, with blue tinged skin, icicles laced into her braided auburn hair, and a yet harsher still gasp as she glowered about the ocean floor with eyes pure white. "How dare I be summoned here!" She drew a wicked sharp hunting knife, and for some reason had a pair of skis in the other hand.

There was a crack, and she was gone, leaving the room glittering in snow.

Annabeth swatted a white flake from her eye and screamed, "what is going on!" She'd been in some weird situations, and this capped them all as Percy stayed flustered at her feet, Thalia looked like she'd been frozen in place, and her cousin was making exaggerated faces and strange symbols with his hands at a green haired girl.

"Long story short," Will offered, his arm casually over Nico's shoulder like they were long-time buddies as they stayed on the couch, which was the least weird thing in a long line of parallel universe things going on in this room. "Percy's memory is a mess and we've been getting them back with books," he gestured to the dark red book sitting in place like Percy's heart had been dislodged out of his chest when she tackled him. Then he gestured to where a neat stack of books was piled in various colors. "Last thing he remembers, is um, heading off to blow up the Princess Andromeda with," he stopped with a sad, deep sigh. She didn't need him to finish. He did anyways, forcing a smile into place, "with Bekendorf."

The mention of his name caused Percy to wince, and yet another crack to appear in the wall, finally erasing that look of stunned awe on his face like he was convinced someone was toying with him.

"I see," she murmured, offering him a hand up.

He still took it without hesitation, but dropped it like a stonefish was attached the moment he was upright. Her orange shirt and jeans were stained and rumpled like she'd been sleeping in them for weeks. Her hair was a greasy rat's nest, and she was so pale it made the dark circles under her eyes look like Ares had broken her nose.

She looked like she'd been on a very long, world-altering quest without him, and all he could think about was that her beaded necklace was gone, the curve of her throat was empty as he just stood there staring at her.

His blushy insecurity was cute, almost, but she straightened her shoulders with a mission.

"Grace?" The unknown blonde would barely be a blip on her radar of going over to the books and finishing this without delay if he hadn't said the one thing that had also speared another shock into her. It felt like she was juggling, something she was more than proficient at, but also while somebody was trying to launch flaming turtles at her while on ice. Keeping everything in one train of thought which was nigh on impossible.

"My last name is Grace?" He sounded ecstatic for five seconds, even fist pumping the air for a moment, until his eyes went to Thalia.

The look on her face was unmistakable.

She tried to erase it, putting up a happy-go-lucky smile, but she was no Zoe. The cold indifference would never come to her as easily. Her strained smile and the look of longing on her face was one of joy and dread mingled into her dark features, and his startling blue eyes.

"You knew?" Something in him was rapidly deteriorating as he took a step back. Thalia Grace. He didn't need to ask, he knew that was her name. Why had it never occurred to him to ask her what her last name was? It sounded so natural, like he always should have known.

"Jason," fear was bubbling up in Thalia, she took a cautious step forward, and he took another back. "I didn't know how, I wanted to and thought-"

"You knew!"

Winds began tugging on their clothes, like strings pulling taught and nearly jerking everyone off their feet. Annabeth cursed as Thalia's next words were snatched away, and a funnel of water was already beginning to form into a tornado.

"Percy," she grabbed his arm and shouted into his ear, "make the water as dense as possible around this room, for as long as you can! Block out all noise!"

He understood instantly, closing his eyes and throwing his hands out to the walls. It didn't seem like anything was happening, but they all felt the pressure it caused everyone else as they gasped in pain and fell flat to the ground along with the vortex as Annabeth struggled to Jason's side.

It wasn't easy, with everything fighting against her to go near him as the elements began to duel back and forth. One minute she was being thrust in a direction only the wind knew, the next she was forced to crawl with the depth of the ocean fusing her spine together. One second she was spitting her hair out of her face and shivering with painful chills as the winds cut her, the next there was a pressure along every inch of her like her skull couldn't hold another second.

She made it next to Jason Grace when Thalia took her hand and yanked her the last foot forward in front of him, her would-be sister pressing her tight into the ground in front of him with a look of concentration. When Annabeth spoke, she knew they could hear her despite everything. "I don't know you," she spoke gently with every word feeling forced, "but I take it you've been getting to know Thalia. Whatever she did or didn't say, trust this Jason Grace, you know she cared. Thalia has always cared about those she shouldn't," she finished with a bleak smile. "If you're anything like her, I'm betting you're the same way. You don't want to hurt us."

His wild blue eyes were the same fractured mess she'd seen in Percy's. Something had been taken from this boy the same as hers, his hands were fisted into his blonde hair, but those sky blue eyes were open and afraid as he looked at her.

Slowly, slowly, the gale force died down.

"Percy," she called. It was the only thing she needed to say as the pressure began to slowly vanish as well.

Everybody sat up shaking themselves off with looks of mild annoyance like this was an everyday occurrence, except Jason, who stayed on his knees glowering at his sister.

"Wooo, your reputation precedes you girl," the green haired girl said to Annabeth with a wild smile like she was about to ask to go again.

"You lied to me," there was still a rumbling danger in Jason's voice that stopped any other levites. "You've been lying to me this whole time!" His eyes flickered to Nico accusingly, and a flash of lightning lit the room, arching upwards from him and leaving a black mark in the ceiling.

Thunder followed faintly in the distance, and Annabeth leaned forward anxiously.

Thalia beat anybody else to it. "It was a hunch Jason," Thalia pleaded to be understood. "You disappeared when you were two," she spoke in short, sharp snap words like launching arrows to quickly get her target under control. "I couldn't be sure, I thought you were dead!" Then she was looking at Nico too.

"Hey, I have no clue what's going on," Nico raised his hands with a sincere enough face. "I knew of another camp and nothing else, swear on the Styx."

Another faint rumbling, but he didn't turn into a puddle of acid so they seemed to believe him while Annabeth's nerves ratched up another notch. Another camp?! Thalia had a brother!? She'd been in here five seconds and disaster was already afoot.

"Guys, listen," her frayed tone instantly had all attention, and she filed that away for later with interest. "Artemis made a deal with Oceanus for me to be here to stop the constant noise, like that!" She needlessly gestured to the wall that looked like one good poke would collapse it now. "Somebody was supposed to go with Artemis before she vanished, and I don't want to know what that Titan's going to do when he finds out that didn't happen. We've all got to take a deep breath and figure this out together, right?"

"You got it Annabeth," Percy said first, a charming smile on his face as he looked hopefully at her.

She held back a sob of relief and got to her feet, going right back to his side and hugging him again. He held her like he'd never let go again, but it was still off. Too gentle, cautious, something of it felt fleeting as he awkwardly patted her back. She pulled back again with a determination that had never failed her to see his cautious look and a touch to his lips again as his arm quickly fell away like somebody was going to slap him if he kept thinking to much about what just happened.

She had to fix this.