GROVER: How many kids do you have?
                    SARAH: Biologically, emotionally, or legally?

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☠️.ೃ࿐ CHAPTER TWO .ೃ࿐ 💎
( volume one ) the weight of living
ii ⚰️ Nico Hasn't Seen Scooby-Doo: The Ultimate Crime
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                SARAH WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT SHE DOESN'T OFTEN FAIL SO BADLY AT THESE HUNTS BUT UNFORTUNATELY SHE CAN'T. She may be one of the Hunters' best archer excluding the Goddess and Zoe but Sarah never had the best luck making it out of a hunt unscathed. In her defence, she normally doesn't get knocked unconscious by a teenager's knee or foot. And granted, Manticore's weren't often their target, Sarah hadn't come across a Manticore in maybe fifty years. Of course, who could forget also coming face to face with your old best friend that died in your arms being very much alive. Sarah would love to say there were many good reasons for her to not be on her best behaviour but none them would be good enough for the likes of Zoe Nightshade.

                When Sarah comes to, camp seems to have been set up, her head is someone's lap and although her vision is blurry, she knows that Zoe is the one standing over her. And she can't properly see it but Sarah just knows that Zoe is giving her the signature 'Zoe's Glare of Disappointment', Sarah isn't all that phased by it because she knows that Zoe isn't really that angry. In fact she's sure that Zoe's worried out of her mind but Zoe would never admit to it, Zoe would fight her if Sarah even suggested that she was worried.

                "Stop looking at her like that, she did her best okay," Thalia's voice snapped and a hand brushed across Sarah's forehead ⸺ so she was real, no matter how hard it was to explain it!

                Sarah jolts upwards before Thalia can hold her back, her vision no longer swims as violently as it had before but her head still pounds and everything is blurry.

                "Take it slow, Sarah," Zoe says sternly and naturally Sarah doesn't listen.

                She turns to Thalia, her head throbbing at the quick motion, she opens her mouth to say something, what Sarah doesn't know because there are so many things that Sarah wants to say and she can't think a single one to start with. However, Thalia promptly shoves an ambrosia square into her mouth.

                Sarah chokes but manages to catch on quick and starts chewing. It hurts to bite down, her head throbs with every bite but as the taste of asparagus soup settled on her tastebuds, the pain began to subside.

                Finally she manages to moan out "Man, I miss asparagus soup."

                "Gross," Thalia says, nose crinkling as she shakes her head, clearly disgusted, "Broccoli soup is so much better."

                Sarah's face crumples, they'd had this conversation before. She remembers it clearly, it was shortly after herself and Annabeth had paired up with Thalia and Luke, Sarah had given Thalia a piece of Ambrosia to treat a non-serious wound just so it wouldn't end up infected. Apparently Thalia had never had Ambrosia before and was shocked when it tasted like grilled cheese with tomato soup, Sarah had made an off-handed comment about how hers more often than not tasted like asparagus soup. This lead to an hour long debate on which soup is the best ⸺ Thalia's favourite soup was not tomato but ironically enough clam chowder, Luke's was chicken noodle, he said his mom made the best, and Annabeth very passionately rooted for vegetable soup.

                "Thals . . . Is it really you," Sarah asks, her voice shaking as she struggled not to break down into tears.

                Thalia gives her a sad smile "It's me alright, Salem."

                "How?"

                Thalia paled at the question, growing distraught and Sarah's heart dropped at the look on her face.

                "Bare minimum at least, Grease Lightning . . . Just so I can . . . I can rationalize it, I don't need the details if you wish not to talk about it."

                Thalia brightened slightly at the nickname and nodded, grateful that Sarah wouldn't pry for the whole story "The Golden Fleece."

                Sarah lets out a watery laugh, because now that does make sense but there's this heavy feeling in her chest ⸺ guilt, for not thinking of it years ago. Why hadn't she thought the fleece could help Thalia? Oh, Sarah thinks, it doesn't matter now! She's alive and well! Sarah throws her arms around Thalia and sobs, Thalia hugs her back just as tightly.

                "The golden fleece," The girl from the cliff echoes, sounding incredulous, "Are all the myths real, like every single one of them?"

                Thalia nods, releasing Sarah from the hug. Sarah turns to look at the girl who looks clearly distraught, her brother who stands beside her, surprisingly does not look even the slightest bit distraught.

                "So are all the Gods real too," He questions eagerly, "And you said one of them could be one of our dad or our mom?"

                Sarah blinks, she'd never met a Demigod who was this thrilled about it.

                "No, no! Absolutely not," The girl cries, "Our parents are dead, Nico! They died and we have no other family, they died ⸺ they died in ⸺ they . . ."

                The girl trails off, growing increasingly distraught as she clearly cannot remember how their parents died. The mist was clearly at play, whichever God is their parent, they clearly care about them a lot to go through such trouble to make sure they never suspected anything.

                The boy, Nico as the girl had called him, shrunk at the mention of their parents' death but he quickly bounced back both literally and figuratively. Nico bounces on the balls of his feet, reminding Sarah of little Floralia Wormood, they were so similar in attitudes it was almost uncanny.

                "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for ⸺"

                "Nico, shut up," Bianca snaps as she puts her hands to her face, "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no Gods!"

                Sarah almost expected thunder to rumble in the sky at Bianca's exclamation but it appeared that even Zeus can sympathize with Demigods every once and a while. Either that or he was preoccupied with something else.

                "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well . . . Our lives are dangerous." Thalia says softly to the girl.

                So, Sarah thinks, her name is Bianca . . . Bianca and Nico, why did it feel like she'd heard those names before?

                "Dangerous," Bianca repeats looking troubled, "You mean, like the girl who fell."

                It feels like the air has been knocked out of Sarah's lungs so that had happened. Nothing that occurred tonight was a hallucination, Annabeth really went over that cliff. Little Annie, that wild little girl that almost took Sarah out with a hammer before deciding Sarah was a friend. No, Sarah thinks, her chest feeling as though it's being crushed by a pile of stones. No, she can't dead, if she was then Sarah would've felt something.

                Thalia turns away, tucking her face into Sarah's hair. Sarah steels herself enough to comfort Thalia by placing a hand on Thalia's arm that was wrapped around Sarah's shoulders.

                "Do not despair for Annabeth," Artemis tells Bianca although she sounds pained, "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

                "Then why won't you let us go and look for her," Percy asks, completely disregarding to add any formalities that one must with the Gods. It, of course, was a fair question just poor executed in the way he asks it.

                Sarah is quite thankful, now more than ever, that Artemis is one of the more forgiving Goddesses when it comes to Demigods.

                "She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."

                Sarah looks to Percy, the look on his face tells her that he understands what Artemis is saying. Sarah knows that she understands, she hadn't felt that feeling she gets when death occurs near her. She can't explain what it feels like but when someone dies within a mile of her, whether she's aware of it or not, she gets this hot chill that runs up her spine. She hadn't felt it with Annabeth, she'd been conscious long enough for when Annabeth would've hit the bottom and ultimately died, Sarah is certain of that much. Somehow Annabeth had lived, vanished before she hit the bottom.

                She should be glad but there's something in the pit of her stomach that makes her think that Annabeth is somewhere much worse.

                "Oo," Nico exclaims, for some reason his hand is raised, "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

                "He was a manticore," Artemis explains, "Hopefully, he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They reform over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

                "Or they'll hunt us," Thalia adds unhelpfully. making Bianca look even more distrerssed.

                Bianca shivers "That explains . . . Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in D.C.?"

                "And that bus driver," Nico says, still looking surprisingly thrilled, "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real, B!"

                They're so familiar, Sarah is sure that she knows them, why can't she remember from where?

                "That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy cuts in, "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be Half-bloods."

                "Grover,' Bianca turns to stare at the Satyr, "You're a Demigod?"

                "Well, a Satyr, actually," Grover corrects from somewhere behind Sarah and Thalia, there's the sound of jeans ruffling and Sarah's sure that he's taking off his fake feet.

                When Bianca pales and looks like she might faint right then and there, it confirms to Sarah that's what Grover had done. On the other hand, Nico looks absolutely over the moon about it.

                "Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia says, "You're freaking her out."

                "Hey, my hooves are clean," Grover protests.

                Sarah giggles "I think it's the fact that you even have hooves that's freaking her out."

                "Oh," Grover mumbles, "Right."

                "Look, Bianca," Percy says, "We came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

                Sarah is surprised to find that Percy is somewhat good at explaining things to new Demigods, at least he's better than Annabeth is. Oh, that would just have Annabeth so miffed! Sarah needs to remember to tease her about this when they find Annabeth because they will find her.

                "Camp?"

                "Camp Half-Blood," Percy clarifies, "It's where Half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year round if you like."

                "Sweet, let's go!" Nico says excited, flailing his arms around as he bounces on the balls of his feet, Sarah couldn't help but grin at his eagerness, she hopes he never loses this childlike wonder he has.

                "Wait," Bianca mumbles, clearly unsure and probably still a little in disbelief about everything, "I don't . . ."

                Sarah doesn't remember her precise reaction, she knows that at first she had believed wholeheartedly because if it was true then that meant that she didn't have to die for something she didn't do. However, when the story Artemis told her turned out to be true, Sarah remembers she started singing a different tune. She can't remember how long she was in shock for but it did take quite a long time for Sarah to come to terms with it all being true.

                "There is another option," Zoë cuts in, ready to induct Bianca into the Hunters but Sarah has a feeling she's doing this more to spite Thalia than anything. Zoe is typically very picky about who she tries to bring into the Hunt.

                "No, there isn't," Thalia snaps which causes Zoe to glare down at her.

                "Er, there is, uh, Bianca," Sarah speaks up, she thinks for the first time, Thalia moves away from her, clearly betrayed by Sarah siding with Zoe.

                Bianca turns to look at her "And what is that?"

                Her tone suggests that whatever Sarah tells her, she's probably not going to like it. And by the way she hovers by Nico, Sarah would be surprised if she did.

                Before Sarah can explain herself, Artemis cuts in.

                "We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announces, "Zoë, we will rest here for a few hours. Finish raising the tents. Check to to see if anyone's been wounded. Then retrieve our guests'belongings from the school."

                "Yes, my lady."

                "And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

                "What about me,' Nico asks, looking less excited and more anxious at either not being included or being separated from Bianca.

                Artemis considered the boy "Perhaps you can play that card game you so enjoy, I know that my Hunter, Sarah, knows how to play it and she'd be more than happy to have a game with you."

                Artemis had gestured at Sarah, Nico turns to look at her and his dark eyes light up, he begins bouncing on the balls of his feet again.

                "You know how to play Mythomagic?!"

                Sarah grins "Boy do I, I was there when it first came out, I'd love to have a round with you if you're up for it."

                Nico nods eagerly, Sarah gives him a grin and begins to get up which she could easily to herself but Thalia takes it upon herself to help lug Sarah to her feet. Always the mother hen, Sarah thinks. She remembers when on the run, despite Thalia being younger than Sarah, more often than not it was Thalia who did most of the comforting. She remembers Luke and Annabeth groaning and sharing this fond look when both Thalia and Sarah would fuss over them.

                "Grover, why don't you play with us too," Sarah says, "Mythomagic's better with three, well it's best played with a large group but three'll do for now. Nico and I'll explain all the rules."

                She mostly asks this to keep the Satyr out of trouble with the other Hunters. Satyrs went nuts when it came to Artemis and her Hunters, treating them as if they were the greek mythological equivalent of the Beatles. Well, Sarah isn't sure how popular the Beatles were nowadays but they were pretty high up there not too long ago ⸺ would Backstreet Boys be a better comparison or was it N'Sync that was all the rage now? Quite frankly, Sarah doesn't know, she tries to keep up with the times but boy bands weren't really her thing. Anyway, Satyrs worshipped the ground that they walked on, and a majority of them were harmless but more often than not, they were misunderstood.

                Grover just about trips over himself getting up "You bet! Come on, Nico!'

                Grover, Sarah, and Nico head off looking for a place to play the game as Nico enthusiastically explains the rules to Grover, Sarah listens because it had been decades since she'd played the game herself. Honestly, she couldn't really remember playing it or who she had played it with she just simply remembered the game and the she knows it well.

SARAH FINDS OUT QUICKLY THAT, UNSURPRISINGLY, NICO IS A SORE LOSER, HOWEVER HIS MOOD ISN'T DAMPENED ENOUGH TO NOT ASK FOR ANOTHER ROUND. Sarah almost feels bad that she has to decline, he'd grown on her like a weed. Much like the Jackson twins would have had it not been for the missing Masterbolt situation or had they not been children of the Big Three.

                However, Sarah feels safe enough to be soft on Nico, he doesn't look like a son of Zeus or Poseidon and her dad would never break the oath so he wasn't a son of Hades. As she looks him over, she notes that he looks familiar but she can't think of which God could be one of his parents. Dark curls, dark eyes, and the faintest hint of an Italian accent, Nico was painfully familiar and so was his sister, Bianca.

                A minor God comes to mind, Phonoi, when they appeared to Sarah they had been Italian but they had also been blond and told her that she would be murdered by someone she loved. Not a prophecy, They had said, just a simple fact. They know when murders take place, sometimes they can tell years before they occur. But, that didn't feel right to Sarah and, of course, just because Phonoi appeared as some Italian scrawny-looking dude to her doesn't mean they appear that way to others.

                Nico frowns realizing that Sarah is not gonna give into him begging for another round and begins packing up his cards and figurines on him. He had said that he had more back at the school but he always kept his favourites on him ⸺ he had a lot of favourites.

                Sarah laughs at this "One of your favourites is Dionysus, wow, I can't believe it but I may have found a Demigod who our camp director might like."

                She nudges Grover who lets out a nervous bleating laugh and mutters "I doubt it." just quietly enough so Nico wouldn't hear him.

                "Yeah, not many people like him but I think he's pretty useful! Who's your favourite?"

                "Persephone," Sarah says although she doesn't remember what the Goddess can do in Mythomagic, she still stands by that, "Hands down, she's the coolest although I don't think she likes me very much. Also, we're not really supposed to say the names because names have power."

                Nico's eyes widen "Have you met her? I mean the Gods they're actually real and you've actually met them?"

                "Yes, I've met pretty much all the Olympians at least once, I've had sleepovers in the Underworld. I've even met a handful of minor Gods too."

                Nico looks thrilled at this, he squirms in his seat and moves his hands around in a strange manner and he opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out. Sarah laughs gently at this and nods her head.

                "Yeah, it's pretty groovy."

                Nico's brows furrow together.

                Do people not use the term 'groovy' anymore?

                "Awesome," Sarah supplies and Nico understands, nodding his head.

                "Groovy," Grover echoes, "Really, Sarah? no one uses that word anymore."

                "Okay, says the guy named Grover," Sarah retorts, "And for your information they use it in Scooby-Doo all the time!"

                "Yeah because Scooby-Doo originated in the 70s, Sarah!"

                Nico raises his hand and they both abruptly stop their bickering to turn to look at him.

                "What's Scooby-Doo?"

                Sarah and Grover turn to look at each other, Sarah raises an eyebrow as if to ask him if it's possible for a kid not to know what Scooby-Doo is without actually asking him. Grover seems to get what she's after because he shakes his head.

                "You've never seen Scooby-Doo," Grover asks, looking surprisingly sympathetic about this.

                Sarah understands, if Flora was here, she'd be having an absolute conniption over this. That girl loved Scooby-Doo, the only reason that Sarah had actually seen any of those cartoons was thanks to Flora and also being absolute shit at keeping up with the Hunt and having to seek solace at Camp Half-Blood an embarrassing amount of times.

                "Well, Bianca is really strict about what I watch," Nico explains.

                "It's a kids' cartoon."

                "Oh . . . Well, sometimes Bianca doesn't even like me watching Merrie Melodies because she thinks it's too violent sometimes, like I said she can be really strict," Nico elaborates sounding exasperated, "Says the same thing about Woody Woodpecker, it's annoying."

                Oh my god, Sarah thinks completely dumbfounded, if these kids aren't from the 40s or 50s then she's not from the colonial era America!

                Sarah smiles, a wobbly one because she's thrown off, she imagines pushing her shock, a bright white duvet into an extremely small box, away and nods her head at Nico.

                "Well, I'm sure she's just trying to do what right by you as annoying as it seems. She's got a lot on her plate taking care of you and herself without any parents, she's just trying her best even if it's bothersome to you."

                Nico pouts but shrugs his shoulders as he mumbles "I guess."

                "When we get to camp after you're all settled in, I'll have a good friend of mine show you Scooby-Doo, she's an enthusiast of the show, she'll be more than happy to show you. And the best part is you get to watch it on a projector and the screen's almost as big as a movie theatre but totally free of charge and much better food and snacks!"

                For a moment Sarah expects him to ask what a movie theatre is but she remembers those did exist in the 40s, Nico looks excited as he jumps up.

                "That's so cool! I've only been to the theatres once . . . I think, it was before our parents died we went to go see Pinocchio! Bianca cried three times!"

                Of course, it was Pinocchio! But Sarah doesn't point it out instead she gives Nico a teasing smile "And you didn't cry at all?"

                His face flushed and she knows that he definitely did but he shakes his head adamantly "No! Not at all!"

                "Okay, well, I believe you," Sarah says, she absolutely did not believe him.

                Grover went to say something, probably something that points out that Pinocchio is really old but Sarah elbows him in the side, a bit harder than she meant to but it gets him to shut up either way. Grover wheezes out a pained "Why, Sarah?"

                "Because, you're my best friend and this is how I show my affections," Sarah says sweetly, glancing at him, Grover's eyes narrow but more in a teasing way than an angry way.

                "Puh-lease," He bleats out dramatically, "Now that Thalia's back we both know she's gonna be your best friend again."

                "Oh, definitely! And you know why? 'Cause if Thalia found out that you got brought back to life she would immediately tell me," Sarah says, this comes out a sounding a bit more heated than she intended it too.

                Immediately Grover falters "I tried Iris Messaging you but it never went through . . . Lady Artemis always answered, she said that you were busy and that she would pass on the message."

                Sarah's brows furrow together "She never said anything, she wouldn't do that. Why would you say such a thing?"

                Grovers eyes widen "I mean no offence, Sarah, truly! I am simply telling you what happened! Perhaps, Lady Artemis thought it was best if you didn't know ⸺"

                "Know that my best friend was brought back to life by the Golden Fleece?! That's just mad, Grover, why would she keep something like that from me?!"

                Sarah's face is hot, her vision's gone blurry again but this time it's from teases she's trying to hold back.

                Nico, shrinks in on himself, unsure of what to do or say, he moves backwards, feeling as though he's intruding on a very private matter. He glances at Grover's who's gone pale. He looks at Sarah with wide tear-filled eyes and he shakes his head helplessly. Nico would certainly feel the way that Grover looked if anyone spoke to him in the tone that Sarah is using, so he understands how Grover must feel but he makes no move to interject on this matter.

                "Well, it's not just Thalia . . . There was Luke . . . I can see why she wouldn't want to tell you about ⸺"

                "What about Luke, Grover, Gods damn it all, what happened to Luke," Sarah demands, her heart pounding in her chest and she knows she shouldn't feel this way about him but she can't help it.

                He can't be dead, Sarah thinks, he can't be gone. No ⸺ she can see him and he's smiling at her as they talk about the best type of weapon to use in a fight, she can see him with little Annabeth on his shoulders and he laughing at something Thalia had said as they make their way to Camp Half-Blood. She can see him and he's giving Grover a list of songs that can be played on the Reed Pipes, there's a Hilary Duff song on the list and he says that one of the unclaimed girls put it on there but he turns to Grover and whispers that it's a great song and he should learn that one first. Sarah can see him perfectly in her mind and Luke looks so alive, he can't be dead.

                Grover looks like he's close to tears "Sarah I thought you'd know by now."

                "Know what," Sarah chokes out, she's crying now and she wipes uselessly at her face but it does nothing to help. She takes in shallow breaths, her chest feels like it's collapsing ⸺ he can't be dead. He can't be ⸺ Sarah shakes her head at Grover "No, Luke, he can't ⸺ he can't be gone."

                Grover frowns, a few tears of his own slide down his cheeks "Sarah, he's not dead."

                Sarah inhales sharply "Then ⸺ why would you say anything ⸺ why are you acting like he has?!"

                Grover exhales loudly, he reaches out to place a hand on Sarah's shoulder but she jumps away from him, looking at him with a confused, pained expression.

                "Sarah . . . Luke was the Lightning Thief."

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( nulla ) The Sword Of Damocles Is Swinging
───────── ❝ the author's commentary ❞
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🎤.ೃ࿐ v. AUTHOR'S NOTE ⸺ believe it or not that was the best ending of this chapter i could come up with,,, like i had three different endings that i wrote besides this one and they just felt off but then i wrote this lame ass ending went wow that's the one <3 <3 <3 even though i feel like from a readers p.o.v they might go 'okay and' but like i was thoroughly invested in this scene when i was writing it and the ending sentence the way i imagined it in my head was SO profound to me. Even reading it back it still feels like the best ending I can come up with even though it's not as great when i read it back but it still kind of leaves you wondering how Sarahs's gonna react so you know what I'm lowkey proud of it so it stays!!

Her reaction is a bit broken up between the next two chapters because she's gonna push off accepting it and letting herself realize it's true so like there's a bit of a delay between Sarah learning everything and her accepting it as a truth and a reality and oh my god when she does it's gonna be rough for her!!

As you can probably tell I am a huge Scooby-Doo enthusiast hence like all my OCs being one and i'm sorry y'all but you're all just gonna have to live with it!! However Sarah, is the first main OC that isn't an avid Scooby-Doo fan because it just didn't feel like she'd have a lot of time to watch it regularly thus Flora gets that role in this fic. I do this thing where instead of putting my personality into my OCs I make them like the things I like because my personality is lowkey lame and I'm super annoying however I have a tendency to like decent things that would be cool to pass the torch onto my OCs! In this fic, Sarah gets my music taste or what my music taste would've been like if I was a teenager in the early 2000s! Flora gets my obsession with Scooby Doo, and Louisa, who's only been mentioned like once but she'll be making an appearance soon will be getting my wish to be musically inclined but absolutely not being musically inclined no matter how hard she tries which is funny because she's a daughter of Apollo!

Anyway thanks for reading the chapter!! I hope you enjoyed it, please let me know what you thought of it in the comments!!!

WORD COUNT ⸺ 4, 720 words