"Will, back off!" Nico ordered.

"No!" The son of Apollo snapped back, his face red with anger. "What the Hades were you thinking, bringing this...this... thing in here?!"

"WILLIAM SOLACE!" Nico's voice reverberated throughout the room. "Drop the dagger or so help me gods, I will stab you right here and now."

Will stared at him in shock and Percy took the opportunity to push his hand away.

"Don't move, Jackson." Clarisse growled, leveling her spear at the son of Poseidon. It was met with a familiar black sword.

"I said." Nico enunciated, anger clear in his posture, tone and wording. "Back. Off."

Percy backed away from the angry teens glaring at him and ended up with his back to Chiron's bookshelf.

"I think we should take this to the dining pavilion. The entire camp needs to know what's happening. Nico, you're in charge of Percy, Will go blow the horn to signal a meeting."

The son of Apollo hesitated when Chiron gave the instructions, but a firm look from the old centaur sent him running. 

Clarisse shot Percy a dirty look before leaving with the rest. Chiron turned to the two boys left. "If we play this right, they will understand that it was not you, Percy."

The son of Poseidon didn't answer. He didn't seem to care what the outcome was. Chiron gave him one last sad look before leaving the room as the conch horn began to blow a peculiar tune that Percy had never heard before.

"C'mon Percy." Nico said.

"Tie my hands."

"Why?" The son of Hades frowned.

"It'll put them at a little more rest. Keep your sword out too." Percy wouldn't meet his eyes.

Nico rolled his eyes and grabbed some rope that was looped in the corner, along with some supplies for working on the rock wall. "You sure?"

Percy responded by turning his back to Nico and holding his hands behind him.

"Alright." Nico muttered, tying his hands so he could remove them if he truly needed to. "Now let's go."

Percy let the younger boy lead him out of the Big House and towards the Dining Pavilion, where they could hear many voices talking loudly.

"Everyone calm down!" Chiron called. The pavilion quieted and he stood in front of them. "A matter has been brought to my attention and it would seem to be something we need to discuss as a whole." His eyes drifted to Nico and he nodded. "Nico, my boy, please bring him forward."

Instead of marching through the demigods assembled, Nico shadow traveled himself and Percy to the front of the pavilion, next to Chiron. He clenched his fingers around his sword, still out and in his hand as if he would need to use it at short notice.

Percy, for his part, was trying to memorize the pattern of cracks in the tiles at his feet.

The pavilion was silent for a moment before erupting into chaos. People clamored for their equally hateful opinion to be heard, but above all of it was a single word.

"JACKSON!"

Piper McLean burst forth from the group gathered at the Aphrodite table, sprinting full speed at the tied up demigod. Her hand went to her dagger.

"Piper, don-"

"Move, di Angelo." Her charmspeak flooded onto the son of Hades, full power. He stepped out of the way obediently and Piper drew her dagger, slashing it across Percy's face.

He didn't respond as the deep cut opened across his face, from the left corner of his forehead, over his nose and down his right cheek at an angle.

"This is all your fault! You dragged him into it, you started this whole thing! YOU KILLED THEM!" She raged.

Percy murmured something under his breath.

With an angry grunt, Piper turned to the crowd. "SHUT UP!" 

They fell silent.

She turned back to Percy. "Say that again."

"I know." He repeated.

"Then why are you here? Why come to a place where just about every person wants to kill you?"

"Because there's a story behind this whole fiasco, Piper. And he's here to tell it." Nico said.

"Why are his hands tied, then?" Piper asked.

"His suggestion. To keep you all a little less nervous. He won't try anything." Nico turned to the crowd. "So all of you sit down and listen."

Piper glared at him, but made her way to her seat again, wiping her dagger off absentmindedly with her side cut Camp Half-Blood shirt.

"Start talking, Percy." Nico said.

Percy took a shaky breath and began his story again, never taking his eyes off his shoes.

"I'm going to start by swearing on the Styx that this is what happened, as I remember it."

[A/N Yay chapter!]