Ch. 20

Annabeth fiddled with the hilt of her dagger as she marched forwards. Sand drifted across the cracked highway in the slight breeze. The sun hung low on the horizon, but still beat down on the questers relentlessly, and the dry air hurt to breathe in.

The group had left a small town called Cloudcroft, New Mexico earlier that day. The train had deposited them just outside of the town, and Annabeth's mind was still trying to understand how their train crossed the country practically overnight.

When she voiced this to the group, Percy just shook his head with a knowing glint in his eyes.

That was one thing she had noticed. Ever since the train ride, Percy had been a little kinder, and a little less irritable.

Of course, Thalia hadn't noticed this, and proceeded to argue with Percy every chance she got.

Just like right now, "Can we stop?" Thalia asked as she kicked a pebble forwards.

"No." Percy's answered sharply. He was walking in the front, his steps confident and his shoulders back. Annabeth briefly wondered where Percy learned such perfect posture.

Annabeth walked next to Zoe, with Bianca on Zoe's other side. That left Thalia in the back, constantly complaining and dragging her feet.

"Do you even know where you're going?" This time, Zoe chose to answer.

"Are you questioning my abilities?" The huntress seemed offended anyone would ever question her, "I exactly where we are."

"Yeah, but do you know." Thalia put emphasis on the last word, as if that meant something different.

Percy stopped walking. He turned around with his face twisted in a scowl.

"I am growing tired of your childish antics."

"Yeah? Well I'm getting tired of you walking around with a stick up your ass."

Percy reached for his watch, but Zoe restrained his arm.

That was another thing Annabeth noticed. Percy and Zoe seemed closer than they had been before the train ride. Annabeth briefly wondered if anything happened between the two of them. She dismissed the idea, remembering how Zoe was an eternal maiden. That thought did not however, lessen the pang of jealously that erupted in Annabeth's chest.

"Let's just keep walking until the sun goes down." Annabeth suggested, trying to prevent her friends from killing each other.

"But we've been walking all day." It was true, they had been walking for hours now, their last break a distant memory.

"Yeah, we're all tired, but you don't see the rest of us complaining and whining like a little kid." Bianca had been quiet during the whole trip, but she finally felt her patience come to an end.

Thalia looked at Annabeth for support, but she simply ignored her and started walking. Thalia looked hurt, but begrudgingly started walking as well.

Annabeth picked up her pace to walk next to Percy. He shot her a questioning look but didn't say anything.

The rest of their walk was silent. As the sun set, the temperature became more bearable.

Annabeth was staring at the distant mountains that seemed to fade in and out of reality when she was stopped by a hand gabbing her shoulder.

She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach when she noticed the hand belonged to Percy. Quickly suppressing her emotions, she looked up to see why Percy stopped her.

His sparkling gold eyes were narrowed at the massive junk yard that sprawled before them. Mounds of various objects towered over the group, and Annabeth briefly wondered how she had missed seeing this until being steps away from it.

On either side, the junk yard stretched as far as the eye could see, so they couldn't go around it. The rusty metal gate swung open after a particularly strong gust of wind. The sound of old hinges sent involuntary shivers down Annabeth's spine.

"Junk yard of the gods." Zoe whispered, but her voice carried on the slight breeze.

The sun had officially set, and Annabeth thought about bringing that up, but one look at her fellow questers told her that no one wanted to rest now.

They walked into the junk yard, their pace slow. As soon as they passed through the gate, it swung closed.

"Probably just the wind." Thalia sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than anything.

They all continued walking forwards. Percy was talking, but Annabeth's attention was on a large book to her left. She discretely walked over and picked up the ancient looking book. Its leather binding was cracked and the pages were wilted, but Annabeth didn't care.

She quickly scanned the title. It was a journal from Daedalus himself, one of Annabeth's idols. Zoe looked over her shoulder and saw the daughter of Athena holding the journal.

"Drop it." The whole group stopped and looked at her. Annabeth suddenly felt very self-conscious, and Percy looked like he wanted to reprimand her, but a horrible screeching sound interrupted him.

The noise could only be described as head-splitting. An old, rusty giant rose from the scrap heap.

"What is that thing?" Bianca wondered aloud.

Annabeth couldn't stop herself from saying, "That's Talos."

"No, this is too small. It must be a failed prototype." Zoe said as she pulled out her bow.

"This is small?" Percy asked incredulously, his sword already in his hand.

Without speaking, the group rushed into action. Zoe stood a few feet back, firing arrows at Talos, looking for a chink in his metal armour. Every single arrow bounced off harmlessly, only making the machine angrier.

The whole group hesitated momentarily when Percy sprinted straight at the automaton, a wild look in his eyes.

Thalia, not one to out done, rushed forwards soon after him. Annabeth quickly assessed the situation before running off to help fight.

Percy didn't really have a plan when he decided to attack the 100 foot machine. He realized too late that that wasn't exactly a good idea.

Its attacks were reasonably slow, and the loud sound of metal rubbing against metal alerted Percy of an attack long before they had any chance of hitting him.

Speed aside, the machine was practically unkillable. Every attack Percy landed would simple clang off Talos' metal hide.

Another problem was the machine's strength. Unfortunately, Percy experienced this first hand. Talos launched a swipe at Percy, and not thinking, he raised Eternity to block the strike.

Sparks flew from their blades as Percy was launched 20 feet backwards. His whole body hurt, and his arms were completely numb. Percy stood, ignoring the pain in his chest and took a step forwards.

He hissed, his fingers gently prodding his abdomen. He clearly broke a rib from the force of Talos' attack. Percy took another step forwards, raising his blade and gritting his teeth.

He might have broken a few more than just one rib.

When Percy returned to the fight, he saw Bianca narrowly avoid being stepped on. When this happened, he noticed a small panel on the bottom of the automaton's foot.

A plan quickly took shape in his head as he rushed forwards. He was about to shout out his plan to his group when he noticed Thalia stood over a hurt looking Annabeth. Talos' sword was already swinging, and Thalia didn't see it coming.

Broken ribs forgotten, Percy sprinted over towards Thalia. He never would have gotten there on his own, and in his desperation, time slowed around him.

As he launched himself in the air, he briefly wondered when he became so soft. If someone had told him days ago that he would soon be jumping in front of a blade to save Thalia, the daughter of Zeus, he would have gotten the person checked into the nearest insane asylum.

But alas, Percy found himself gliding in the air, eyes trained on Thalia's unsuspecting form.

He slammed his shoulder into Thalia, knocking her out of the way. Thalia was no longer in danger, but unfortunately, this meant Percy was there to take the blow instead.

The rusty sword sliced into Percy's chest, causing his body be launched once again through the air. He landed in the exact same trash pile. If he had not been on the brink of death, he probably would have found that amusing.

"PERCY!" Someone screamed, but Percy didn't know who.

He was more focused on the female voice that echoed in his head. A voice that was all too familiar.

Athena, goddess of wisdom, battle strategy and a long list of other stupid things spoke, "You have the power. You simply need to unlock it."

Whether it was the anger that Athena had just spoken to him, or the desperation to save the few people who didn't hate him, Percy found the will to stand.

He hunched forwards, blood spilling out of his mouth and onto the dusty ground. He fell to his knees, coughing roughly.

Percy would never consider himself squeamish, but at the sight of his own exposed torso, he suddenly felt light-headed.

Ignoring his pain, Percy rose to his feet once again. He hobbled forwards, using his sword as a cane.

Bianca was on the ground, her arms held up in front of her head. Her eyes were wide open, staring in horror as the rusty sword cut through the air, seeking another victim.

Something in Percy roared to life, and he found himself running forwards. Golden light seeped off him as he ran straight at the machine.

This time, he was too late, and the sword came down with a hiss. The sword dug into the ground, blood soaking into the dry ground.

Percy couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe. Bianca just died, and it was all because of his failure. Percy staggered forwards before crumpling to the ground.

A sadness Percy couldn't really explained washed over him, but soon, that sadness twisted inside him. A feeling Percy was all too familiar with rushed through his blood, danced in his eyes.

Rage. Pure and unadulterated rage.

He let his emotions take over, not thinking any more. The whole junk yard glowed gold, in fact, the whole world glowed gold.

Like someone had pressed the rewind button on a TV remote, everything started in reverse, slowly at first, then more quickly.

The sword raised from the ground revealing a completely intact Bianca. The wind was whipping around Percy violently now. His fellow questers moved in reverse, leaving Percy the only person standing still, leaning heavily on Eternity.

The machine took numerous lumbering steps backwards until it slowly lowered itself into its trash heap. Percy had successfully sent the machine back in time.

Time stopped moving backwards, and instead seemed to stop completely. The various faces of fear plastered to the faces of everyone around him was deeply unsettling for Percy.

Percy's skin suddenly became burning hot. It somehow glowed even brighter, forcing Percy to look away.

The next thing he knew, everything went black.

Line Break

Bianca stared at the crumpled body of Percy. She had died, she was sure of it, but for some reason, when she entered what looked like a recording studio, she felt something pulling her back, through the open doors of the studio.

She was positive Percy had something to do with her apparent resurrection.

As a daughter of Hades, Bianca was no stranger to death. Still, dying then being resurrected again would be jarring for anyone.

She slowly rose to her feet, looking over her shoulder, half expecting to see Percy fully awake.

Bianca could see it now. He would slowly rise to his feet, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed as he pushed away the pain. He would offer one of his infamous smirks, and complain about how that really hurt.

They would all laugh, happy that the golden eyed boy was alive.

Except, none of that happened. Percy didn't crawl to his feet. He didn't assure his safety with a stupid comment.

And no one was laughing.

Instead, his blood slowly seeped into the dusty ground, spreading out around him like a tide of crimson.

Collectively, the three girls rushed to Percy's side. Zoe reached him first, and brought a hand to his pulse.

They all waited in baited breath as Zoe closed her eyes in concentration. After what felt like an eternity, Zoe's face fell.

She didn't say anything. She didn't need to.

Quickly, Zoe brought her ear to Percy's parted lips. Again, silence suffocated the group like a blanket. Zoe sat back on her heels, slowly shaking her head.

Percy Jackson was dead.

Bianca's black eyes quickly scanned the faces of her friends. Annabeth had silent tears running down her cheeks. Zoe seemed utterly confused, and Thalia was shaking her head, a look of shock on her face, as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

"H-he took that blade for me. He didn't have to, he just did." In a rare moment of vulnerability, Thalia's voice cracked, "After I was a total ass to him throughout this trip."

Thalia's voice seemed to shake Zoe out of her thoughts.

"This-this wasn't supposed to happen." For the first time since meeting her, Bianca saw Zoe's cold exterior crumble.

There was a loud silence that followed. Bianca's ears seemed to be ringing, but that could also be from returning from the dead.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth had stood up from her spot on the ground. Her tears left trails down her cheeks, parting the thick dirt and grim that stuck to her face.

Zoe's eyes were slightly unfocused, as she seemed to be looking at something that wasn't there. "He was the child of the Great Prophecy. It wasn't his time to die."

Thalia sucked in a breath, "If he is the child of the prophecy, who is his godly parent?"

Bianca on the other hand, was in her own little world. Percy's death was taking a greater toll on her than she'd like to admit.

Tears pricked at her eyes, as she swallowed thickly. Percy couldn't be dead. The boy who introduced her into the world of Greek Mythology. The boy who seemed so invincible, like nothing could kill him.

Well, obviously some things could kill him. His motionless body proof of that.

But no, the more she thought about it, the more Percy's death bothered her. It didn't feel right in the pit of her stomach.

Before she fully knew what she was doing, Bianca found herself opening her big, stupid mouth, "Percy's not dead."

Her voice got quieter halfway through her sentence when all eyes landed on her.

"How do you know?" Annabeth's tone was fierce, obviously upset that her mourning had been interrupted.

Bianca swallowed her nerves and answered, "I am the child of Hades. I would know if he died."

"Well then why isn't he waking up?" Thalia asked impatiently.

"And more importantly, why is he not breathing." Zoe chimed in, her intense gaze settling on the daughter of Hades.

"I don't know. His soul isn't exactly here but it's certainly not traveling to the Underworld." Bianca wasn't sure where this confidence was coming from, but she wasn't complaining.

Most would describe Bianca as an introvert, rarely saying anything more than necessary. Perhaps her time spent with Percy has rubbed off on her. That, or his death is affecting her more than she was letting on. Either way, Bianca shut her mouth, reverting to her usual silence.

Bianca found that it was easier to keep her secrets that way. Less of a chance of them slipping out.

"We should go. If Percy really is alive, it would do him no good just to sit around and twiddle our thumbs waiting for him to wake up. We do have a deadline." Zoe suggested, taking her role as quest leader.

"What? No, if Percy is alive, we should be giving him medical attention. Moving him in this state is the last thing we should do!" Annabeth argued, her eyes alit with new passion.

"His heart isn't even beating. Whatever is going on is out of our control. If we attempted to help him, we would only be wasting our time." Zoe took a step towards Annabeth, her face pressed into a scowl at her authority being question.

"We have to try, he would do the same for any of us." Annabeth kept her chin up, refusing to be outdone.

Bianca didn't want to burst the girl's bubble, but Percy wasn't exactly the most sentimental person. He was efficient if nothing else. Most likely, if someone else was in his position, Percy would have already convinced the group to leave.

"It doesn't matter, Artemis needs our assistance."

"That's all you care about! Artemis this, Artemis that! What about the guy who just risked his life to save our asses." Thalia came to the assistance, standing between Zoe and Annabeth. Sparks flew off her hands as her eyes themselves seemed to glow with electricity.

"Calm down, all of you. Fighting won't solve any of our problems." Bianca decided to step in before anyone killed someone. "Thalia and Annabeth, stay here, do what you can to heal him. Zoe, you and I need to find a car or something. From the sounds of it, there's a highway on the other side of the junk yard."

Bianca wasn't sure where this authoritative personality was coming from. In all honesty, she wanted to crawl into a hole and cry. She was tired, hungry and extremely dirty, not to mention the constant pain in her chest that defiantly was not from Percy's death. Nothing to do with that at all.

Apparently, Bianca outburst surprised her quest mates just as much as it surprised her, because they all stared at her with slack jaws.

Zoe was the first to recover, her face retaining its usual confident glow. "Bianca's right, we need to take action." She turned to Thalia and Annabeth, "If Percy does wake up, he can't wake up to a massive hole in his chest."

Zoe dropped a silver pouch onto the ground in front of Annabeth, "Medical supplies."

With that, the daughter of Hades and the daughter of Atlas forged ahead. As they stepped over pieces of scrap metal and avoided suspicious looking glowing rocks, Zoe turned her head to look at Bianca.

"Thank you, for taking charge back there. I lost my head, and I appreciate you stepping in."

Bianca merely shrugged. The adrenaline of battle had fully worn off, leaving her with limbs that felt like lead and legs that seemed to walking through molasses.

Her head ached painfully and her vision blurred momentarily. She found herself stumbling to the ground. The only thing she could see was the dirty gravel path, that and small splatter of blood that continued to grow.

Bianca raised a hand to her nose and wiped it with the back of her hand. It came away red.

Zoe came to Bianca's side and saw the blood, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah fine." Bianca waved her hand dismissively, but the motion brought a fresh wave of nausea to erupt from her stomach.

Zoe looked skeptical, but nodded.

They continued forwards, Bianca struggling to keep up. It seemed coming back from the dead was not beneficial for one's health.

Who knew?

They finally reached a small highway after several tense minutes of silence.

The 4-highway looked almost abandoned. Cracks cobwebbed across the ancient looking tarmac. Road sings lined the highway, their poles bent and their markings faded.

Headlights appeared from over the hill off in the distance. The rumbling motor was the only noise in the otherwise silent night.

Zoe crouched behind a nearby rock, and Bianca hesitantly followed.

A rusty red pickup truck quickly drove towards them. Bianca didn't have time to ask Zoe what she was planning before the huntress was jumping out in front of the truck.

The driver slammed on the brakes, stopping inches from Zoe, who was standing confidently in the middle of the road.

"What the?" A red headed girl stuck her head out the open window of the car. Her bright green eyes stared at Zoe in confusion before landing on Bianca. She slowly got out of the vehicle.

"We need your truck." Zoe said evenly. If a man had been driving, he would have already been killed.

The girl simply raised a single eyebrow. "I'm going to have to pass on that generous offer."

Before Bianca could stop her, Zoe had her dagger to the girl's throat. The girl's eyes widened in shock.

"Whoa, ok. You want the truck, you can have it."

Bianca briefly wondered what the girl was seeing through the mist, "Just, please remove that dagger from my neck."

Oh.

The daughter of Hades carefully put her hand on Zoe's shoulder, making the huntress take a step back.

"Thank you, and sorry for leaving you out here." Bianca said, her hand still on Zoe's shoulder, preventing her from doing anything rash.

"Woah, you can have the truck, but you're dropping me off somewhere first." Her piercing green eyes dared the two other girls to object.

"Fine, let's go." Zoe finally conceited, her eyes glancing at the old pickup truck.

Line Break

Percy looked up to see a certain trio of old ladies staring at him. They sat on old rocking chairs, massive spools of thread piled up around them.

The moment his eyes fell on the three Fates, he schooled his expression.

Back straight. Shoulders back. Chin high. Face emotionless. Just like he had been taught. The image of the perfect soldier.

For what seemed like the millionth time, Percy briefly wondered if he was dead.

He hesitantly brought his hands up to his chest, poking and prodding to find none of the previous injury marring his skin.

"You are not dead." All three said in unison. Creepy.

"But the girl should be." The one on the right growled, most likely Atropos. In her hands was a large pair of shears.

"Fate is something not even you can change, Perseus." The left one spoke, her voice much more gentle than Atropos. If Athena's teachings were serving him right, she was Clotho, the weaver.

"Bianca Di'Angelo was destined to die today Perseus, but you intervened." Lachesis, the dispenser, said.

"Be warned Perseus, Fate always gets what it wants." Clotho warned.

"And Fate wants the death of Bianca Di'Angelo." This time, it was Atropos who spoke.

Percy swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly too dry.

"Our time grows short, so listen carefully." Lachesis said. Without hesitation, Clotho continued, as if they shared a sort-of hive mind, "There is a traitor in your midst. She travels with you on this very quest, plotting to kill you."

Percy already suspected it, but for his suspicions to be verified? A lead ball seemed to settle at the pit of his stomach.

Betrayal gnawed at his heart, and his tongue felt too big for his mouth. He could only mutter out one word.

"Bianca." It was less of a question, and more of a monotone statement.

The Fates sent him a knowing look before Clotho spoke. "In this time of war and subterfuge, not everything is as it seems."

Line Break

The red truck rumbled and rattled its way through New Mexico and into Arizona. The plan was to drop the mortal off in Phoenix before continuing to San Francisco.

While in Phoenix, Annabeth hoped they found a new car. The bumpy ride thus far has left her rear end extremely sore.

All that was pushed to the back of her head as her fingers ran through Percy's hair.

He was currently sprawled across the truck bed. After numerous failed attempts, the four girls plus Rachel finally managed to carry Percy to the truck.

All those muscles sure are heavy. Annabeth shook those thoughts out of her head and purposely diverted her eyes from the tears in Percy's shirt, exposing his chest and abdomen.

Thalia and Annabeth had started to bandage the boy, but his chest miraculously healed itself sometime during their work.

Chalking it up to Percy's refusal to die and divine intervention, it only strengthened the belief that Percy wasn't really dead.

Her eyes fell on Bianca. The daughter of Hades had been quiet since Percy stopped breathing. Annabeth refused to refer to it as him dying.

Bianca's face was pale, a contrast to her normal creamy skin tone. So maybe she was pale before, but she was white as a sheet now.

Her eyes were half lidded, and her jaw was clenched. Bianca did not look good.

Annabeth shook herself from her thoughts, instead going back to stare at the model laying in her arms. His face was calm, almost peaceful. All traces of his almost permanent scowl were gone. He seemed so much younger. So much happier. For probably the billionth time, Annabeth realized just how handsome Percy was.

She was too far gone to go back now. Annabeth Chase was totally and utterly in love with this boy.

She was scared, terrified actually, at how fast she fell for Percy. It all started when he saved Annabeth from a cyclops all those years ago.

A particularly large bump jostling the occupants of the car, causing Thalia to groan in her sleep from beside Annabeth.

Suddenly, like a bullet from a gun, Percy sat up. As he launched forwards, his head came dangerously close to Annabeth's, causing both to stare into each other's eyes, nose's a mere inch apart.

Percy's hot breath fanned across her face. From this close up, Annabeth could see all the million flecks of gold floating in his irises.

Before she did something she would regret, like kiss those slightly parted lips like her life depended-

Oh gods.

Annabeth franticly scrambled backwards, falling into Thalia's lap.

With Percy's electrifying presence no longer making her hairs stand on end and her heart to beat a mile a minute, Annabeth realized she wouldn't have regretted kissing Percy after all.

Her less than innocent thoughts were dispelled as Thalia slowly woke. The sudden burst of movement in the bed of the truck caused Zoe to look over her shoulder.

When she saw Percy awake and more importantly, alive, Zoe quickly pulled over to the side of the road.

After a few tense moments of silence, Percy noticed all eyes were on him. He glanced down, trying to see why everyone was staring at him.

Misreading the situation, he concluded that they were staring at his ripped clothes.

"I need some new clothes." And so, about 20 minutes later, Annabeth found herself standing in front of a bored looking JC Penny cashier at the massive Phoenix mall.

Percy's statement had indeed been correct, his shirt was closer to a few strands of cotton barely holding together than to an actual article of clothing.

He wasn't the only one who needed a fresh change of clothes, Annabeth glanced around, and nearly everyone's clothes were in tatters.

The clear sighted mortal, Rachel, being the only exception.

Apparently she was the daughter to some rich business man, meaning she was loaded with cash. And also willing to buy them all new clothes.

Annabeth didn't miss how the mortal's eyes lingered on Percy's exposed torso when she offered her help.

That alone mad Annabeth's blood boil. She never considered herself to be the possessive type, but whenever Percy was thrown in to the mix, nothing seemed to make sense.

But also, everything seemed to make sense when around Percy, if that made sense.

Annabeth shook herself from her jumbled thoughts. She was getting ahead of herself. She wasn't even in a position to be possessive of Percy.

But that would change, Annabeth would make sure of it.

The cashier had yet to notice the group, instead staring at her phone as she obnoxiously chewed her bubble gum.

Zoe cleared her throat loudly, sending a glare at the inattentive mortal, "We would like to purchase some clothing."

As she spoke, Thalia and Percy dropped two large stacks of various clothes in front of the girl.

The girl's expression soured at the prospect of actually doing her job, and Annabeth considered suggesting going to a different cashier.

Ultimately, Annabeth decided against it as the girl started ringing up the clothes.

Thalia leaned towards Annabeth, "What are we going to do with her?" Thalia nodded to the red head standing off to the left.

Annabeth merely shrugged, "We still need her to pay for these clothes, but I'd assume she be gone soon."

Thalia grunted in response before turning towards the pile of clothes.

"Do you guys need bags?" The cashier asked once she carelessly tossed the last shirt on the pile.

Before Zoe would exclaim that she was not, in fact, a 'guy', Annabeth answered, "No, were going to put them on soon anyways."

"Yeah, you all need some serious wardrobe changes. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing any of that." She eyed the group distastefully.

Percy dug into the pile before coming away with a plain white t-shirt.

"Finally, I feel so exposed right now." He said, pulling off his shirt and bringing the new shirt over his head.

The brief view of Percy's front left that entire group with red faces, but what Annabeth noticed with a lead stomach were the hundreds of white scars marring his flesh.

The same scars that were visible when Thalia and Annabeth were dressing his wounds.

The blonde had enough respect to know not to bring up the scars. Thalia however had no such tact however.

"Where'd you get those scars?" Annabeth's eyes trailed a particularly thick scar that curled around the front of his shoulder and stopped just left of his collar bone.

Percy reacted as if he had been shot- and from the looks of it, he had been in the past- as he yanked the shirt on completely. His eyes were dark and his jaw was set.

"I'll be at the truck." Was as he said before turning on his heel and stiffly walking out of the store.

Line Break

Percy stared at the fire dancing a few feet in front of him.

After he had gotten to the truck, he had mentally berated himself. For years, Percy could hide his emotions behind a cool expression of indifference. He had a lot to be angry at, and for a while, he was angry at pretty much everything.

He hated him mom, he hated his step-dad. He certainly hated Athena, and he despised Kronos.

He used to be an angsty little kid with nowhere to direct his anger but inwards. He would bottle up his emotions until he couldn't hold in anymore, and then he would unscrew the cap and unleash that aggression out towards something.

That was before he met Hestia. The goddess help him release that anger towards something positive. That something was saving demigods and sending them to camp.

Recently though, Hestia had been absent. Though no to any fault of her own, Percy was simply on a quest, and the goddess could have limited involvement per the Ancient Laws.

Now his emotions were all over the place. Percy could take the easy way out, blame his loss of control over his emotions on the weight of the Great Prophecy, or even on his recent talk with Zoe about fighting his father.

But no, Percy knew why this sudden onslaught of emotions came over him.

It was because of her.

He placed his trust in her, well, at least as much trust as Percy was willing to put in a person. She was even the reason why he could so definitively turn his back on Kronos.

Even Zoe was not able to completely convince him. But she was.

And what's worse, Percy was pretty damn sure he's fallen for the girl. If his wobbly legs and skittering heart were any indications.

Bianca Di'Angelo. Daughter of Hades.

And if Percy was a betting man, a traitor of Olympus.

Just the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. For whatever reason, something just didn't sit right, but what else could he do?

All signs point towards her being the traitor. And if not her, then who?

Zoe was out of the picture. She had served Artemis for centuries. Percy was certain of her loyalties.

Thalia seemed to be a likely candidate, but the brash girl would have problems keeping things a secret. Subterfuge and secrecy were not things the daughter of Zeus were particularity good at.

All that was left was Annabeth, and Percy doubted the girl was even capable of something as sinister as turn against Olympus.

The girl adored her mother, something that Percy didn't have the heart to dispute. She would never betray her mother or Olympus.

So all in all, Bianca was the most likely suspect. And as much as Percy didn't want to acknowledge it, he could understand.

Being the daughter of Hades made her an outcast. Her father was associated with death and was not an Olympian. That left her with almost no friends and no cabin to stay at.

So sure, Percy could see why the girl would be bitter towards Olympus.

It didn't make the sting of betrayal hurt any less though.

He was shaken from his thoughts as Annabeth settled down next to him. Uncomfortable close, might he add.

Percy discretely slid away, ending up closer to Zoe. The huntress simply raised a single eyebrow, smirking at Percy's uncomfortable face.

The group had managed to ditch the ever persistent Rachel Elizabeth Dare, then drove for countless hours in the same raggedy pick-up truck.

The good news, was that they were just outside of San Francisco's city limits. They were currently camping on an abounded field, possibly used to grow corn.

After years of negligence, various weeds sprouted between the overgrown corn stalks. A forest was slowly creeping its way onto the field. The trees loomed over the group, trillions of little glittering stars poked their way through the tangle of tree branches above Percy's head.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you acquire those scars?" Annabeth, gesturing to Percy's torso and the few that covered his arms.

Percy did mind her asking, but decided not to comment about that, "Your mother."

Damn. Damn him to Tartarus and back. He did not mean to let that slip.

The group fell into silence. Suddenly, Thalia barked out a gruff laugh, "Did you just say a 'Your Mamma' joke?"

Similar faces of incredulousness were plastered on the faces of his comrades, all but Bianca. If anything, she seemed slightly confused.

Percy was also lost, but bit his tongue. Whatever they were referring made them think he was simply joking.

And, rolling with the punches, Percy twisted his lips into a disarming smile and tilted his head.

"I suppose I did."

A.N.- This chapter was a bit longer, so enjoy. From now on, I'm going to attempt an update every week, or every other week if something comes up. So please, review and tell me how I did. And I would love to know who you think the traitor is. Is it Thalia? Is it Annabeth? Is it Bianca? Tell me what you think.