Epilogue – Out of Memory and Time

80 years after the Battle of Manhattan

It had been a long, long time since he'd set foot in this camp.

Stepping over the threshold of the camp—seeing a much grown Peleus still guarding the Golden Fleece—caused a stream of memories to flood his consciousness. Five summers didn't seem like much time compared to the rest of his life, but the time spent here had predominated many of his remaining mortal memories, which were fading faster than he cared to admit. Lord Perseus shook of the wave of nostalgia and made his way toward the Big House.

Walking down the hill, he admired the changes that shaped the camp over the past few generations of demigods. The cave of the Oracle—now occupied by a young girl Percy didn't know, though some of Rachel's more lasting pieces still lingered outside as he passed. The areas designated for cabins had expanded, obviously, now coming almost right up to the Big House now. There was even one built for his offspring, these days—something that weirded him out somewhat while his memories as a camper were in the forefront of his mind.

Not that there had been many occupants in it over the decades.

Sure, there'd been mortal girls he'd hooked up with, but for the first few decades off his Godhood, they all had one major flaw: they were not Annabeth Chase.

Usually, the 'dates', as they were, ended either one of two ways. First, he managed to call them 'Annabeth'. And no woman likes to hear the wrong name during intimate moments. Not even being a god could stop him from getting slapped, usually.

The other option was that while he managed to keep himself from blurting out the wrong thing, but found that he just couldn't follow through. For a moment, the woman's face would meld into Annabeth's features, and it would jolt him back to reality.

Eventually, he'd learnt enough self control to stay far away from women with wavy blonde hair and piercing grey eyes. Though ironically, after he'd made his piece with Annabeth, he actually felt better about the dating. Once he stopped comparing every woman to his teenage sweetheart, he realised just how amazing some of these women were. Naturally, a few children had come from these liaisons over the years: four daughters, and three sons. The elder ones were married, with families of their own now. Moira was a marine biologist, Charlie a navy officer, Jennifer a horse trainer, Meryl was a geologist, Cameron a teacher and Amy was still studying at college. Gods, he was proud of his grown children, despite the minimal contact. His youngest son, however, was the reason he was returning to Camp Half Blood today.

Chiron was waiting for him on the porch of the Big House.

"Lord Perseus," Chiron nodded to him as he approached.

Percy just grinned at the centaur. "Chiron, You know me well enough to call me Percy," he reminded his old teacher. His appearance may have looked like it belonged to someone in their early thirties, but being back here, in front of Chiron, still made him feel like a teenager.

Chiron smiled. "Percy, then. It's been a while."

Percy let out a long sigh, "Yeah... The camp looks great though," he commented.

"It's changed quite a bit since you were last, I'm sure," the Centaur conceded.

A comfortable silence fell between the two immortals as they moved into the house it's self. Percy had to admit, he was kind of glad Dionysus wasn't Director anymore. Becoming a minor god had not endeared him to the Olympian any more than his time at camp, in fact Percy was reasonably positive that it had only increased Mr D's dislike of him. But that said, he could still see the Olympian's influence in the Big House. Party masks littered the walls, including some rather garish leopard print ones. Strangely enough, there was a classic Pac-Man arcade game sitting in the corner of one room.

The two made themselves comfortable in the lounge, well, Percy made himself comfortable. Chiron remained standing in his normal form.

"So what's going on with Kyle that warrants calling me in?" Percy asked.

Chiron sighed. "What if I told you there was another prophecy made recently?" he replied with another question.

Percy just looked at his former teacher for a while. "Please tell me it's not one of the 'Oh gods, it's the end of the world' one," Percy's response was apprehensive at best.

"No, nothing as... interesting as your brush with prophecy, but there will be a quest involved."

Ah, so this was why he'd been asked to pay a visit. "And you prefer to clear campers for quests with their immortal parent," Percy sighed. "Right." It filled him with nerves thinking of Kyle on a quest, which was a feeling he'd managed to avoid with the others, as they'd been lucky enough—in his eyes at least—to avoid getting quests.

Chiron spread his hand in an apologetic manner. "Something like that, Perseus," he agreed.

Percy eyed the centaur at the use of his proper name. "Don't suppose you can tell me much about the quest?" he queried hopefully.

A stern look was his response.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Fates in motion and all that jazz," Percy interjected before Chiron could respond verbally. "Who else is involved in this upcoming quest?"

Chiron motioned for Percy to follow him back out into the daylight. "Most likely his friend Rowan, from Apollo's cabin," he answered Percy as they strolled towards the practice fields, both of them ignoring the looks form the campers. "Also, I suspect that Melody Williamson will join the two as well."

"Which cabin is she from?" Percy asked curiously.

"Athena's," was Chiron's reply.

"Oh," Percy said quietly.

"Kyle and Melody have... somewhat of a tumultuous friendship, but they work well together," Chiron continued, looking sideways at his companion as they reached the practice fields. "They remind me quite a bit of you and Annabeth and the way the two of you were always sniping at each other," he added quietly.

Percy leant over the wall of the sword play field, watching as two demigods in full armour sparred each other. "Well, then I pray he doesn't do anything stupid to lose her, like I did with Annabeth," he turned back towards Chiron with a wan smile on his face.

Chiron dipped his head in acknowledgement.

The two demigods had finished by now, the male admitting defeat by his female partner. Percy grinned as Kyle's face appeared from under the helmet. His opponent was also taking off her helmet, revealing short curly blonde hair.

"That's Melody he was sparring with?" he asked, looking at Chiron for confirmation.

Chiron nodded.

Percy turned back to watch as the two bickered, before stowing their equipment and heading back towards the cabins.

He could understand why Chiron saw similarities. He could see them too. It was a bittersweet realisation. But losing Annabeth was something he'd made peace with, although it had taken him many decades. It was now a fading ache, and his heart rejoiced at the idea of his son finding a partner so stubborn—all of Athena's children were—and loyal and infuriating.

He realised Chiron had left him to his own musings, and once Kyle and Melody were out of sight, Percy made his own exit.

Take care of her, son. Don't mess with something that special. I don't want you to know the pain of watching someone you love slip away from you because of your actions.

Be better than me.

Fin

Notes: Yeah... not entirely happy with this how it ended up, but I'll run with it. I originally thought I was going to go in a different direction, but clearly the muses had other ideas... Please tell me your thoughts!

And, of course, this marks the end of the story, and I want to thank every person who has read this (including all the lurkers), and a special thanks to those who have given such lovely/useful reviews. I know the posting was erratic at the start, and now at the end as well (although I'm amazed this last chapter wasn't even later), and I thankyou for your patience! I also hope I ended on enough of a bright note for you all, after all the bittersweet angst in the other chapters!

Cheers,
Misha