Truth

Before they left Olympus, they decided to make a few calls. It wasn't easy, but Y/N finally found a quiet fountain in a corner garden and sent an Iris message to her parents. They would be worried for sure about not being able to contact her for so long. She told them about their adventures, assuring them that everyone was safe - almost everyone.

"So how is Harris doing?" her mother asked.

"Well, I don't know. We haven't got the chance to talk much since I left the camp, to be honest."

"Oh..okay," they said and looked at each other awkwardly. Y/N felt some tension in the air. She didn't know what was going on, or why they were asking about Harris in the first place.

"What's going on? Are you guys hiding something from me?" she asked, staring at her parents with skeptical eyes.

"Yeah..um," her mother cleared her throat as her face turned red with a small smile on her face. "You...are going to have a sibling soon."

For a minute, there was complete silence. "Hold on," she shouted, "Y-you're pregnant?! Since when-"

"We just found out a few days ago," she said, "Are you...okay with this?"

"Why won't I be?! I'm getting a little sister or...brother!"

"Oh," she sighed in relief, "I just didn't want you to feel neglected."

"But...that means you have to stay someplace away from me you know?"

"What are you talking about? There's no need-"

"Mom," she smiled, "I'm not distancing myself to give you some space or anything. I know our family will always have a place for me. I'm saying this because...you might be in danger if you stay with me."

"But..where will you stay? And alone? You know you can't live in a clean and decent area with monsters around," her father said.

She laughed, "Dad! I just fought with Atlas! I think I can handle some humans."

"Okay, I will try to find you some decent apartment," he smiled but then changed his expression again to a serious one, "But no inviting boys after 8 pm. I'll check with about it the neighbors every day."

Y/N chuckled and said sarcastically, "Yeah sure you will."

They waved their hand across the mist, and their image disappeared. Her own apartment at the age of sixteen? Who would've thought? Although, it did bother her a little that it wasn't with her own earnings.

"Well...someday," she muttered to herself.

[ TIME SKIP ]

Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Annabeth, Grover, Percy, and Y/N at the Empire State Building and ferried them back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.

As they trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, Chiron greeted them at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Harris was quite not surprisingly accompanying him. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about their strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

Annabeth, Percy, and Y/N sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Harris, and the Stoll brothers. Even Clarisse from the Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission.

"I got news," Clarisse mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."

"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"

Annabeth smiled at them gratefully.

"Luke is alive," Percy said. "Annabeth was right."

Annabeth sat up. "How do you know?"

By now, Y/N expected this exact reaction from her. It would be weirder if Annabeth didn't.

"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy is eighteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."

Y/N felt really bad for her. Annabeth, no doubt in it, has some feelings for Luke and clearly was trying her best to make herself believe that Luke would come back to the camp after doing all this. Did she completely forget to think about it practically? Even if he came back, how was he going to face the gods after almost bringing so much damage and destruction? What would they do to him? How would they punish him? Would she even be able to bear watching him get punished like that?

Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really old. "Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."

"How do you know?" Percy asked. "Why would he care about camp?"

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous... We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but—" There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold.

He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's... where's my sister?"

Dead silence. They stared at Chiron. Nobody had told him yet. Looking at his face though, it's quite clear why that was the case. How could anyone crush the spirit of a bright child like him? They'd been waiting for them to appear, to tell Nico in person.

That was the last thing Percy wanted to do. But he owed it to Bianca.

"Hey, Nico." he got up from his comfortable chair. "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk."

[ TIME SKIP ]

"Hey," Harris said in a soft tone and sat beside her, "I'm really proud of you, you know."

Y/N blushed as she saw him slowly sliding his hand towards her. She looked down and pressed her lips. And then slowly held his hand.

When she looked up, Harris was hiding his face on the table. But...his reaction wasn't that hard to decipher. His ears were bright red. And she could see the dimples on his cheek. He turned to face her and said, "I have something to tell you."

Y/N's heart started beating faster. Was it...what she thinks it is?

"Okay, I'll tell you tonight," he said smiling, before leaving for his training.

Percy came barging in after a while and panted, trying to catch his breath. "Nico," he huffed, "he's gone."

The half-bloods then searched the woods for hours, but there was no sign of Nico di Angelo.

"We have to tell Chiron," Annabeth said, out of breath.

"No," Percy said.

"Um," Grover said nervously, "what do you mean... no?

Percy was still trying to figure out why he'd said that, but the words spilled out of him. "We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a—"

"A son of Hades," Annabeth said. "Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!"

"I don't think so," he said. "I don't think Hades broke the oath."

"What?"

"He's their dad," he said, "but Bianca and Nico have been out of commission for a long time, since even before World War II."

"The Lotus Casino!" Grover said, and he told Annabeth about the conversations they'd had with Bianca on the quest. "She and Nico were stuck there for decades. They were born before the oath was made."

Percy nodded and then looked at Y/N, "Is this what you were trying to tell me that time?"

"I wasn't sure," she frowned, "but I guess my suspicions were right." She didn't tell them yet about what she has been thinking. If Nico and Bianca were in fact, the children of Hades, there's a huge chance that...now it will be a huge thing to say, but she couldn't help thinking about it. There's a chance of Bianca being alive. Right?

"But how did they get out?" Annabeth protested.

"I don't know," Percy admitted. "Bianca said a lawyer came and got them and drove them to Westover Hall. I don't know who that could've been, or why. Maybe it's part of this Great Stirring thing. I don't think Nico understands who he is. But we can't go telling anyone. Not even Chiron. If the Olympians find out—"

"It might start them fighting among each other again," Annabeth said. "That's the last thing we need."

Grover looked worried. "But you can't hide things from the gods. Not forever."

"I don't need forever," he said. "Just two years. Until I'm eighteen."

Annabeth paled. "But, Percy, this means the prophecy might not be about you. It might be about Nico. We have to—"

"No," he said. "I choose the prophecy. It will be about me."

Y/N was feeling angry about it. Percy always chose to...put himself in danger. Like, does he really think all his friends just gonna accept it like that? "You don't have a choice in it, Percy. You are most probably not-" she said but got interrupted.

"I can't let Nico be in any more danger," he said. "I owe that much to his sister. I... let them both down. I'm not going to let that poor kid suffer anymore."

"The poor kid who hates you and wants to see you dead," Grover reminded.

"Maybe we can find him," he said. "We can convince him it's okay, hide him someplace safe."

Annabeth shivered. "If Luke gets hold of him—"

"Luke won't," he said. "I'll make sure he's got other things to worry about. Namely, me."

[ TIME SKIP ]

They weren't sure if Chiron believed the story. He could tell they were holding something back about Nico's disappearance, but in the end, he accepted it.

Unfortunately, Nico wasn't the first half-blood to disappear.

"So young," Chiron sighed, his hands on the rail of the front porch. "Alas, I hope he was eaten by monsters. Much better than being recruited into the Titans' army."

"You really think the first attack will be here?" Percy asked.

Chiron stared at the snow falling on the hills. "It will not be until summer, at least," Chiron said, before walking out of the area, "This winter will be hard... the hardest for many centuries. It's best that you go home to the city, Percy; try to keep your mind on school. And rest. You will need rest."

They looked at Chiron going towards the Fleece. Percy broke the silence and asked Annabeth. "What about you?"

"I'm going to try San Francisco after all. Maybe I can keep an eye on Mount Tam, make sure the Titans don't try anything else," she said and stared at Y/N. It somehow made her feel uncomfortable. She was about to get out but Annabeth stopped her with a question, "What about you?"

"Oh," a small smile took over her face as she remembered the good news, "I'm gonna live alone for some time. Away from family."

Annabeth furrowed her brows and held her hand in assurance, "What happened? Is everything fine?"

"Oh, yeah," she took small excited breaths eager to tell them the news, "My mom is pregnant. I'm gonna have a sibling!"

"You'll send an Iris message if anything goes wrong?" Percy asked.

She nodded shyly, "You know what, I'll probably throw a housewarming party. You're all invited!"

Annabeth sighed and put her hands on her face. "I don't wanna do this to you right now," she pulled her hands away and looked at Percy, "We better start talking."

"What's going on?" Y/N asked, finally realizing the seriousness of the situation.

"Um..." Annabeth looked at Percy for a moment and blurted out, "We...broke up."

Y/N sat staring at her in silence. Annabeth continued, "And it's not your fault. It's just that whenever we talked, we just ended up fighting and it was not really a healthy relationship for us."

"Oh," Y/N whispered, "So...you guys are still okay hanging out together with me right? I mean...do you want me to talk separately to the both of you?"

"No, it's fine. It was...mutual and we agreed on being just friends cause clearly we are not good with more than that."

"Okay," Y/N looked at her lap. She hated to think like this. But she wondered...if she has a chance with him now. It felt awful to even think about it. How bad your best friend might feel if you started dating her ex? Someone she didn't have a pleasant relationship with? It was bad enough cause Annabeth knew her feelings for Percy when they were together.

"That's not the only thing we have to say," Annabeth said and clenched her eyes shut, "We also have something else to say."

It was starting to scare her. Judging by Annabeth's reaction, it was something worse.

"He knows."

Her heart dropped. "...about?" Y/N asked in a quivering voice.

"You need to talk Percy cause it's about you too," Annabeth said, "I'm not gonna do this alone."

"What are you guys talking-"

"I know about your feelings Y/N," he said and looked at her, "Your feelings for me."

Y/N didn't know what to say. Did Annabeth tell him everything? Was that the reason they kept fighting?

Was she the reason for their break up?

"It's not what you think," Annabeth stuttered, "I-I wasn't the one to tell him this time."

"What do you mean," Y/N asked. She was trying so hard to control her tears. But her eyes welled up and a tear escaped.

Percy moved his hand towards her face trying to wipe off her tears, but she slapped his arm away. He sighed, "I've known since....since we went through the island of Sirens."

"What?" Y/N said in a broken voice.

Annabeth looked at her with pity and said in a gentle manner, "Percy saw whatever made me restless back in the Siren's island when he touched me to pull me back into the ship. And that's when he saw...Luke instead of him. I guess it's what made us realize that we weren't right for each other. I...might've tried to use him as a rebound."

Y/N felt mixed emotions. Sure, she was feeling bad for Percy but she felt betrayed at the same time. He knew about everything and kept quiet about it. Was that the reason why he kept being rude to her at the beginning after Annabeth got kidnapped? Was he disgusted?

"And when I touched you, I saw what you wanted and..." Percy said looking at his fiddling fingers as his cheeks started burning, "I was there along with your parents...holding your hand. We looked pretty...close. You were a famous singer and we were backstage."

Y/N got up. She couldn't bear to hear it anymore. She started laughing, almost pathetically, "And you thought it's a great time to inform me this shit now that you guys are done playing with each other?"

"We weren't playing with each other," Percy said, getting up to stand beside her.

"Oh sorry, not you as much as you Annabeth. Did you have fun? How long did you actually know about my feelings? Surely not after you started dating him, right?" Y/N laughed and slapped her forehead, "No wonder Thalia wanted me to stay fucking strong. You guys are the worst."

Percy wanted to defend Annabeth but stopped after seeing her expression, "...no way." He was pissed. This was the friend he risked his life for?

Annabeth stood up and slammed her fist on the railings, "What did you expect me to do! Luke was gone! I needed someone to stay beside me! I wanted some support!"

"YOU CAN GET SUPPORT FROM FRIENDS WITHOUT PLAYING WITH THEIR EMOTIONS!" Y/N shouted, finally crying on the spot, "You don't need to give anything for your friends to be supportive, Annabeth. All you need is trust. Just one word from you. Just a word of help and I would've been with you for as long as you needed me. Why did you have to do this!"

Y/N knelt down. Her heart felt like it was torn into pieces. Percy tried to talk to her but she suddenly got up and said, "You know what, I don't even want to see any of your faces right now. I can't deal with-"

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by Grover, who stumbled out of the Big House, tripping over tin cans. His face was haggard and pale, like he'd seen a specter.

"He spoke.'" Grover cried. "I... I was playing music in the parlor," he stammered, "and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!"

"Grover, it's not the right time. We are discussing something important," Annabeth demanded.

"Pan!" Grover wailed ignoring her words, "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to... I have to find a suitcase."

"Hold on, just calm down," Percy said, knowing Grover wouldn't be so frantic if it wasn't serious, "What did he say?"

Grover stared at them, finally taking in all of their ragged appearance and red faces. But he didn't have the time to ask about it. "Just three words," he said.

'I await you...'