I met with Annabeth and Grover at the bottom of the building.
"Are you okay?" Annabeth said, reaching out to steady me, then faltered when I flinched back.
It was nothing against her but if I felt one more thing on my skin I'd scream.
"Just… too much."
"Let's get you outside, or wait, is outside too loud? Uh, do you know what would help?" Grover hovered beside me, and despite how gentle his presence is, I still wanted to groan at the scent of freshly cut grass and the faint taste of sweet berries. It was just too much.
"I just… need space… lots of it…"
I need someplace with nothing, no immortal stuff just plain old mortal nothingness. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was pretty sure I knew a place.
Home.
"Where should we go?" Annabeth asked gently.
"I need… home… Metua, er, father, um, Poseidon-ore… Him… yeah… He said Hades-ton returned my mom."
"That's great!" Grover cheered, then winced when I winced. "Sorry."
"Yeah, so, uh, home."
"Right, home," Annabeth said. "Let's grab a taxi."
We moved slowly outside. I was flinching at the smells and sounds that my city had. Too much, Pontus my head hurt, and my skin felt raw and I felt nauseous. I just needed to lay down at home and recover. This was too much.
We settled in the taxi and Annabeth used her Lotus card to pay the fare to get us to my apartment. I mumbled the address for her.
I blinked and we seemed to be there. I shook my head, I was out of it.
I was just so tired and everything was too much, and now I felt stiff too like… why.
"We'll wait outside, Percy," Annabeth said.
"Yeah, you go see your mom. We'll wait for you. So will the taxi," Grover moved to pat me on the back, then seemed to think better of it.
"Yeah," I muttered. "Thanks."
I stumbled up to the apartment, ringing the doorbell.
I heard movement and grimaced as I rolled my shoulders at the stiffness there. This day had just been too much hadn't it?
The door opened, and I honestly nearly cried, my mom stood in front of me, whole and unharmed.
I fell into her arms, my amazing mother, smelling of peppermint and licorice. The weariness and worry seemed to evaporate from her face as soon as she saw me.
"Percy! Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my baby."
She wrapped me in a tight hug, and even though it made my skin crawl right now I still hugged her tightly back, blinking back tears.
I missed her so much, I-
I was so glad.
She was okay.
She was safe.
I didn't doom her.
Hades-ton sent her back.
Mom was home.
Mom was alive .
Thank Pontus, thank Hades.
I swallowed hard and pressed against her tightly.
We simply stood there, clinging to each other for a few moments, before she pulled back.
"Come in, come in, let's get you some food, I just made some cookies for our guest. I think we have some Coke here too."
I nodded, sticking close to her as she led me in, I didn't even bother to look around, just watching her.
She was safe.
She sat me at the table, where I saw a purse sitting. There wasn't anyone else here, though mom had said we had a guest.
"Here, Percy," she handed me a plate with a few blue cookies, then moved to grab a cup as she reached into the fridge.
"It was really something, Percy. One moment I was in the Minotaur's hands, then I was here. It freaked Gabe out. He said you were a wanted criminal, you know."
She came over and placed a cup of blue coke in front of me.
"But that's ridiculous. I was going out of my mind with worry, you know, he wouldn't let me check the news and my phone is gone… someplace, probably his car. Oh, we left some of our things at the cabin. Hopefully it's still there."
She wrung her hands and went back to the cabinet.
"Do you want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" she asked.
"Um, sure."
I rolled my shoulders, cracking my fingers to try and relieve some of the stiffness.
"Well, anyways. Gabe said I had to go back into work. Said I had a month's salary to make up and I'd best get started. I was so worried, one of my coworkers was so confused when I showed up, apparently I was also a missing person. I ended up spending a few hours with the police, but I didn't really know what to tell them."
She slathered the peanut butter on one piece of bread and reached for the jelly.
"Thankfully, someone showed up and got them to let me go, I don't know her, but she was very kind. Insisted that she would cover it, even bought groceries. Said something about it being the least she could do for family, but I haven't the slightest idea who she was."
My mom shook her head, I suddenly realized how tired she looked.
"Well, that's enough about me. What happened to you, Percy?"
She turned back to me, putting the sandwich in front of me.
I took a breath and started talking.
I told her about reaching camp, about the mess that was, about getting claimed, how I'd made friends, how I was sent on the quest. I told her about the Erinyes and speaking to Medusa, pausing then to take a bite of my sandwich.
"That does explain that…" Mom murmured.
I looked at her in confusion, but she motioned for me to keep going.
I heard the toilet flush in the bathroom.
I took a sip of my coke and continued on.
I told her about the Khimaira and the Gateway Arch, though I tried to make it seem a little less scary. Mom didn't need to worry about me. I told her about the Hotel and mentioned the cool cards that could be really useful for us. She seemed interested.
I paused once more for another bite, distractedly noticing the sink in the bathroom running before shaking my head and continuing.
I told her about speaking to Metuano messenger, and about entering the Underworld. I skipped the pit incident, moving on to use meeting Hades-ton. I told her about our talk and what we learned, then hesitated.
I very slowly told her about how I chose to leave her behind, staring at my hands the whole time. My heart ached, I couldn't help but feel like I betrayed her. No matter my intentions, no matter the motives, no matter the fact that I planned to come back. I still left her behind, knowing Hades-ton may punish her for my actions.
She placed her hand on mine.
I blinked at her.
"I'm very proud of you, Percy. That can't have been an easy decision but I'm glad you made it. That was the best choice."
I swallowed, letting out a shaky breath, then nodded.
"What happened next?"
I told her about reaching shore and about facing Ares. How I'd goaded him into a fight to get the Helm and how I'd beaten him. I was just getting to the point where we went to the airport when a voice interrupted.
"How nice to see you again, Perseus Jackson."
I jolted, recognizing the voice at once.
Oh.
I shot up, spinning to face her, while lowering my eyes.
There, in front of me, was the familiar form of Medusa.
I stared frozen, suddenly understanding the stiffness that I thought was from the ridiculously long day was not .
"Ah, Percy, this is our guest. She helped me with something."
I blinked, looking at my mom, then turning back to Medusa.
"I thought about what you said," Medusa said. "About me using my power to help people. I've always avoided humans, but you were right."
She moved forward, slipping into a seat at the table.
"I decided that I could use my powers to do more."
"She came here, earlier today. After I was finished with the police." Mom hesitated. "We talked."
"I'm not going to do anything they don't want me to," Medusa murmured. "But… I will offer."
I listened, slowly understanding.
I turned, finally looking at the living room.
There was a freshly made statue there, a statue that looked exactly like Gabe.
"Ah…"
I didn't have it in me to feel bad about Gabe's fate. I never liked him, not even a little. And yet, it was… strange.
Were we free of him?
"Consider this my thanks," Medusa said. "For you pointing out my errors."
She sighed softly, picking up a cookie.
"Um, you're welcome?"
I was way too tired to function right now.
This was just… so much. I had no idea how to feel.
"Percy?" Mom asked. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah… just tired. Um," I turned to Medusa, though I kept my eyes off of her face. "What will you do now?"
She hummed.
"I think… I think that I'll go around, help the women trapped in situations like this. Make sure that they have a way out. It's not something I can decide for them of course, but if they want me to help, I will."
"That's…" did I say good to her deciding to murder people but now specific people? "A plan."
She gave a soft laugh.
I remembered her and Lara under the stars. I remembered Medusa asking to court Lara.
My chest twisted.
"It's a plan," she murmured. "We'll see how it goes."
I nodded.
Well, I was done for the day. I was not dealing with anything else.
"I have overstayed my welcome I think," Medusa said.
"Thank you," my mom said, standing.
"It was you that made the decision," Medusa said firmly. "I simply gave you the means to do so."
She stood as well, accepting a napkin of cookies from my mom.
"You're welcome back anytime, as long as you don't harm Percy at least."
"Not harming me is good," I agreed.
Medusa chuckled, "Thank you. And thank you again, Perseus Jackson. You showed me there was another path."
I nodded, all I'd done was talk, but at least it seemed to help… was sending her on a murder spree helping?
She walked out, stepping out the door and walking away.
Finally, finally I was free of any sensations (though I could still faintly smell the fresh grass and sweet berries of Grover, was my range getting larger?)
Mom guided me up, pulling me into my room as I shook my head.
"Get some rest, Percy. You look like you could use it."
Yeah, just a nap. Just a short nap. I'd just crash for a few minutes.
Oh yeah, they were outside.
"Grover, and Annabeth… they're outside…"
"I'll invite them in, give them some food and maybe let them sleep some too."
"Thanks," I mumbled. "Mom, I'm glad… I'm glad you're safe."
She pressed a kiss to my forehead, fingers lingering on my veiled hair.
"That's my job, Percy," She smiled. "Get some sleep."
I slipped asleep to the sound of my bedroom door closing.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
I was at the pit.
I frowned at it. The sensations from when I was there in person aren't really there. The sharp edges and fire and pain. There's just the familiar shifting sands, along with bone aching warmth and pin pricking pins-and-needles on my finger-tips.
"I figured out who you are," I called.
A rumbled chuckle, "Did you now?"
"You're Kronos-tito. King of the Titans and Ruler of Time and Agriculture."
"Not bad, little Percy," Kronos-tito murmured. "What will you do now?"
I frowned, "What do you mean?"
The other two were silent, none of the teasing of the previous visits.
"Will you turn your back? Call us the monsters in the night? Turn to my traitorous children?"
"Didn't you eat them?" I asked.
I heard one of the two others snort, but the shifting sands almost seemed… agitated.
"They are the ones that betrayed me, that turned against me. Will you?"
I shifted, I don't like this question, and it seems like he avoided my question, "Was I ever on your side?"
"You are family, does family not aid one another?"
"Triton is my brother."
Kronos-tito hummed, "So he is."
"And I wouldn't ever hurt Annabeth or Grover… or the Demeter cabin, or the Aphrodite cabin. I won't hurt my friends, not for family or anyone else."
"Of course, grandson. You're ever so loyal."
I bit my lip, he said it like it was commendable? I mean, yeah loyalty was good, but he seems really pleased? Then again, he did just call the Gods traitorous so maybe he just didn't like disloyalty?
"Take the time to think, grandson. You should not make your choice lightly, though you will always be able to come to me should you need it. I would never turn one of my grandchildren away. Go, learn of the Gods, learn their crimes. Decide for yourself if you will choose them."
"Shouldn't I also learn the good They've done?" I asked. "It's not balanced to only learn the bad."
He chuckled, "Indeed."
I fiddled with my new necklace, laying over my prayer necklace still.
"Why did you eat your kids, Metani?" I asked. "The myths say there was a prophecy…"
The voice was silent for a long moment.
I heard a faint mutter, "Did he just call you grandfath- ow."
"It was a dark time." Kronos-tito said. "The-"
I woke up.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
I laid in bed staring at the ceiling and trying to ignore the disgusting cigarette smell. It honestly made me nauseous and was only slightly better than the overwhelming sensations from earlier.
At least my body didn't ache any more. I didn't feel like scratching off my skin, or gargling water to get rid of the taste in my mouth, or even plugging my nose to cover up the smells.
Now I just wanted to plug my nose.
I thought of what Metani, Kronos-tito, had said.
He seemed very interested in my loyalty…
I shook my head.
I didn't know what to think.
I didn't quite know what he wanted.
I didn't know what the Gods wanted.
I wasn't sure what to do.
But I did know that I couldn't make any decisions lightly right now.
He was nice.
He had been helpful.
He obviously had some agenda.
But then… didn't everyone?
I shook my head.
He was right about making an informed decision. I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to be deciding. I knew he wanted to go against the Gods (or I thought at least) but beyond that…
He called them traitorous.
Was he just… upset? Was there something more going on?
I didn't know enough.
Weren't the Gods born during the Golden Age? How could it be a dark time?
I needed to learn more.
Which meant studying.
At least this subject was interesting.
It would help if my dreams stopped cutting off right before the good part.
I sighed and rolled out of bed.
I could faintly taste the berries from Grover, though the fresh grass smell was a bit overwhelmed by the cigarette smoke smell.
I was still not sure how I felt about Gabe being… well, dead.
I was glad mom made the decision to protect herself though. And… I thought I was glad that Medusa offered to help.
I looked around my room, the window showed it was dark out but the streetlights were enough to see how little was in my room.
The majority of my stuff was either at camp, in my bag in the chair, or still at the Montauk cabin.
I did move to the closet, digging in it and pulling out a of my few hidden things from the back.
My warm jacket, one of my stashes of money, a sealed bag of backup food, a first-aid kit, and some assorted trinkets I'd found when cleaning the river.
I moved it all to my backpack. There was no point in leaving it here right now, even with Gabe gone… I'd rather have my stuff with me.
I ducked out of the closet, one of Gabe's jackets catching on my veil making it slide off.
I took a moment to try and mimic Annabeth in putting my veil up, like she'd shown me on the plane.
It took a few tries before it seemed right, but I couldn't help but be pleased that I managed it.
I sighed then, looking around my room.
I didn't know if I'd be coming back. I at least needed to stay at camp for the summer, and I knew Metua and Triton were expecting me to leave the camp and go home after summer was over.
I chewed my lip, my fingers coming up to finger the necklace Metua gave me.
I wasn't sure what I'd do, I guessed I'd have to decide later.
I turned, ready to leave the room, then noticed a package sitting on the desk.
Huh, was that there the whole time?
I moved over to it, finding my name written neatly on the top.
It didn't say who it was from.
I shrugged, it didn't feel like anything, can't be too bad.
I opened it.
Inside I found three pouches, one in green, one in grey, one in brown. The grey and brown ones had Annabeth and Grover's names on them.
I stuck them in my bag to give to them later before picking up the green one and peering into it.
Inside was a delicate daffodil of shining diamond and garnet. It was small, as I pulled it out of the bag I saw it was just big small enough to fit in my hand.
I looked in awe, it was so pretty.
I blinked, noticing a piece of paper in the pouch as well. I scooped it out, unfolding it one-handed.
Perseus
Consider this a thank you and a reward for returning my Helm to me after the inaccurate accusations I leveled at you.
Do not enter the Underworld again without invite or alive.
Hades
Brief and to the point.
Okay.
I stuck the note in my pocket before smiling at the flower.
It was really pretty and even smelled like a real flower.
I slipped it back into the pouch and tucked it away into my bag before finally leaving my room.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Grover and Annabeth were sitting in the kitchen when I arrived, mom nowhere to be seen.
"Percy!" Grover called. "Are you feeling better?"
I nodded, "Yeah, much better. Thanks."
Annabeth shot me a smirk, "Good, come sit, your mom made pasta."
"Where'd she go?" I asked, worry curling in my stomach. She was safe right?
"Went to get the mail, she said she'd be back soon."
I relaxed, "Right, cool. Oh yeah, these came from Hades-ton, for you guys too."
I handed them the pouches from my bag, grey for Annabeth and brown for Grover.
They both studied them curiously, Grover sniffing his suspiciously.
"Did you get one?"
"Yeah, it was a daffodil, made out of gems."
"Isn't a daffodil Hades' sacred flower?" Grover asked.
"Technically a narcissus," Annabeth pointed out. "But yeah, daffodil and narcissus are kinda interchangeable."
I shrugged, watching as Grover and Annabeth opened their pouches, pulling out their own gemstone flowers.
Annabeth gasped as she looked in awe at the delicate diamond and emerald sprig of… flowers I don't know.
"Olive flowers," Grover said, looking impressed. "That's really intricate."
"Yeah," she mumbled.
Grover pulled out an amethyst and topaz flower of his own, "oh wow, a Crocus flower. That's really cool."
"I guess doing things for Hades-ira pays off," Annabeth muttered, a conflicted expression crossing her face. She slid the gemstone flower sprig back into her pouch and tucked it into her bag.
"Yeah," I said as I sat with them and grabbed some pasta from the bowl.
We ate quietly for a few minutes, all lost in our thoughts.
"Hey, Percy?"
I looked over at Grover who had slipped the flower away as well.
"I was wondering, Ares mentioned you had a sword? But you didn't use one this whole quest…"
I blinked, "Oh, yeah. Khiron gave it to me before we left."
"Why didn't you use it?" Annabeth asked. "Wouldn't it have come in handy?"
"Yeah… but its… it's a blade of immortal power."
"Was tha?" Grover said through a mouthful of pasta.
"It's a weapon that's like, formed of immortal power? It has a good portion of a being's power in it. So like, it would be really rude to use without permission. Think like, Zeus' Master Bolt, just as a sword."
Annabeth jolted, "You have an immortal's weapon? And Khiron just gave it to you?"
"Well," I hesitated. "Khiron said Metua gave it-"
"Whose Metua?" Grover asked.
"Oh, that's Halmaheran for father, so uh, Poseidon."
Annabeth motioned for me to continue as Grover nodded.
"Anyways, Khiron said Metua gave it to him to pass along. I think it's from like, a naiad or something. But I'm not sure. I don't know if the original owner is okay with someone else using it, or if they lost it, or if something else happened. It's… really rude to use another being's weapon without permission, you know?"
Annabeth nodded slowly, "Yeah, that would make sense. So, you're never going to use it?"
"I was going to see if I could find the original owner, or at least find out who owned it first. Once I know that I can either return it or keep it. Depending on if the original owner is still alive… not having it… well, the weapon basically has their immortality… if they've been away from it for long enough… they won't be immortal anymore."
Annabeth's eyes widened, "What!?"
"No, wait," Grover said. "I've heard of this. To make really powerful weapons that hold their power and strengthen them, naiads and even satyrs and other nature spirits can compress their immortality into a weapon. It's not done often because, well, even if it makes you more powerful… Percy's right, that's the risk. If you lose your weapon you can lose your immortality."
Annabeth stared in shock, "I had no idea."
"It's not really something nature spirits tend to spread around." Grover grimaced.
"I get that," she agreed. "But wow. Yeah, I can see why you'd hesitate to use the sword."
I nodded, "If I don't have any other choice I might, but I'd really rather check first before using it."
They nodded, and we jolted as the door opened a moment later.
Mom came in, mail held in one hand.
"Is the dinner good?" She asked gently.
We nodded, "Thanks mom."
She smiled, moving to put the mail down.
"We should be getting to camp," Annabeth said.
"It's past midnight," mom countered. "Perhaps stay till morning."
Annabeth hesitated, "We… really should be getting back…"
"A few hours can't hurt, and I don't think the taxi guy outside will complain," Grover said with a laugh.
I snickered, "Yeah, he probably won't. Not with the promise of double pay."
Mom's lips twitched.
"Oh yeah, mom." I dug through my bag and pulled out my Lotus card. "I don't know how long it will work, but it's unlimited. You can use it to get stuff for a little while at least. As long as you don't go overboard it'll probably be unnoticed."
She held it for a moment, her lips pursed, "I don't know, Percy."
"We earned it on this quest," I said earnestly. "Just, buy some stuff for the house, or sell the Gabe statue and buy stuff that way too."
She fingered the card, "You earned it though, Percy. It wouldn't be fair for me to use it."
"I can't use it at camp. And just buy me something I would like then." I looked up at her pleadingly. "I risked my life for that card, there's no point in it not being used."
She sighed, but nodded, slipping the card into her pocket. "Okay, Percy."
I beamed.
"We can stay the night, I guess," Annabeth added with a sigh. "A little bit more rest can't hurt."
I couldn't help but feel warm, the only thing missing now was Triton and my undersea friends.
Mom shooed us off to rest some more before morning.
We shared grins and slipped right back up to the room I'd just left.
Even with the apartment smelling like cigarettes, even with the trash Gabe left everywhere, even with everything that happened, I felt safe here with my friends beside me.
And as we laid down, preparing to rest for our return to camp in the morning, I thought of how I wouldn't trade them for the world.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Okeanus POV
I groaned, stretching out as I slumped back into the tepatehe.
That was way too much work to finalize the cleaning for the oil spill up by the land Canada. I swear, it was like the mortals tried to spill as much oil as possible into the ocean to make the water puhipata.
I glanced at one of the papote on my desk, the shell held the message from one of my snakes from the Northern Pacific.
I'd already listened to it a dozen times, the report of Persi fighting against the War God, Ares. I'd also sent a gift to Ryujin-rem in thanks for aiding Persi.
I sighed, how frustrating. I was simply glad that his quest is complete. And that it ended without war.
He did well, though he shouldn't have had to.
I looked out of my office, peering into my realm and watching my subjects. Persi would need to attend one of the sea camps before doing any more of those land quests. They were ridiculous, sending children out to risk their lives because of coincidences?
I should set that up, then again, Poseidon would likely throw a tantrum if I did so before he caves and 'allows' me to adopt Persi.
I could set up basic arrangements at least, though I would need to know Persi's schedule. I supposed waiting was for the best then.
I picked up the next report, an airomo rather than a papote. The braided kelp let the message be known in its patterns.
Ugh, Tapohu had activity around it once more, Kronos could wait though. I had more important things right now, like the deity slipping through one of the gates to my palace.
I leaned back, idly twisting the currents to open a path to my unexpected guest.
Wonder why he'd decided to visit me all the way over here.
"Okeanus-ari, naeye sa'opu?"
I twisted my hand in greeting, adding a short bow from my place seated. My lips twitched as Ryujin took a more… human-like appearance for the sake of my 'too small' office. He dipped into a short bow as well, his own hand rising to greet me, two fingers curled low with the thumb over them with the middle finger pointed out and the pointer straight up.
"Ryujin-tem, ye'ta'n maiv. Opu?" I asked after him in return.
He hummed, "Ye'maiv."
I nodded, "I'm glad you're well."
"I see you haven't done the renovations I recommended." He said as He settled into a seat across from me. He took a human form (as usual He preferred dragon or human, he rarely appeared as a mer). A gleaming jewel hung around His neck.
"I quite like my office," I drawled. "And it limits your attempts to interfere with my work."
"I would never, not when you're doing something as important as," He paused, leaning forward to peer at the work in front of me. "Oil-spill managing in puhipatav. That's very important. I would save my interference for you doing something like, oh, kidnapping another rulers child."
His stormy eyes gleamed.
I snorted, "Are you here to tell me I can't adopt Poseidon's son?"
"I would never presume to tell you what you can and can't do, especially in regard to that areto. On a completely unrelated note, kidnapping is bad."
I laughed, "Language, and I'm not kidnapping, I asked first."
"Of course, of course." He smirked at me. "That fixes all the problems."
"He's my motuto'ta, surely I have the right to take him in?"
Ryujin hummed, leaning back in His seat, "Of course you would. Though his Utufa is Poseidon and his papuv."
I sighed, "I know that his family is Poseidon and his siblings, that does not mean I cannot seek to adopt him. And besides, if Poseidon wanted to keep His tamatu then he should've taken better care of him. Loyalty to the family goes both ways."
"Persi seemed rather well trained for someone left behind by his Metua."
I raised an eyebrow, "His brother trained him. Very kind of Triton-re'aia."
"Oh, of course," Ryujin stretched out.
"Will you be recognizing him then?" I asked mildly.
"Obviously he was trained. And he acted properly for an Atlantian Aipri, really shows his status. I may not like Poseidon, that moni kept the fact that he had another child secret and hasn't been handling all these annoying land issues that are only happening more often. But I won't hold that against the child in this case, I'll recognize Poseidon's tamatu Aipri, unless something else should happen."
"Of course," I murmured.
"Don't mistake me for siding with Poseidon. I couldn't care less for Him," Ryujin studied me. "Besides, He's not half as fun to spar with."
I relaxed, "Well of course not. He complains that you cheat any time that you battle as a dragon."
"It's so annoying!" Ryujin snapped. "Really, that moni thinks that my favored form is cheating ? Honestly, He's clearly never played Khonsu for some moonlight. If anyone cheats, it's that God."
I snorted, Khonsu was definitely a wily one, not easy to win against. But the moon deities worked fairly closely with us sea deities, so we had to deal with Him fairly often.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" I asked.
Ryujin grinned, all sharp teeth and hard edges. "It would be my sincere pleasure."
He may have been giving Poseidon one point, no thanks to Poseidon, but… He was still one of my greatest allies, and a delight to spend time with.