The group decided to eat on the hillside as they spoke. Neeks sat between Percy and Annabeth in the circle, not eating but sipping at a canteen of unicorn draught.
"So, the twenty-million-peso question," Leo said. "We got this slightly used forty-foot-tall statue of Athena. What do we do with it?"
Reyna squinted at the Athena Parthenos. "As fine as it looks on this hill, I didn't come all this way to admire it. According to Annabeth, it must be returned to Camp Half-Blood by a Roman leader. Do I understand correctly?"
Annabeth nodded. "I had a dream down in ... you know, Tartarus. I was on Half-Blood Hill, and Athena's voice said, I must stand here. The Roman must bring me."
Neeks noticed for the first time that she didn't call Athena 'mom'. Were xthey the only one that thought of xtheir godly parent as xtheir real parent?
"It makes sense," xthey said. "The statue is a powerful symbol. A Roman returning it to the Greeks ... that could heal the historic rift, maybe even heal the gods of their split personalities."
"Maybe?" Frank asked.
"Genocide began before we could see if it really worked."
"I'm sorry?" Reyna asked.
Percy scratched the back of his head. "Long story. Neeks here is from the future."
(something about Reyna not questioning the name Neeks sat well in xtheir stomach)
"Right," Reyna accepted. Her eyes bore into Neeks'. "And I take it we lost?"
Neeks nodded.
Coach Hedge swallowed his strawberry along with half the screwdriver. "Now, hold on. I like peace as much as the next satyr –"
"You hate peace," Leo said.
"The point is, Valdez, we're only – what, a few days from Athens? We've got an army of giants waiting for us there. We went to all the trouble of saving this statue –"
"Annabeth went through most of the trouble," Neeks corrected.
"– because that prophecy called it the giants' bane," the coach continued. "So why aren't we taking it to Athens with us? It's obviously our secret weapon." He eyed the Athena Parthenos. "It looks like a ballistic missile to me. Maybe if Valdez strapped some engines to it –"
Piper cleared her throat. "Uh, great idea, Coach, but a lot of us have had dreams and visions of Gaia rising at Camp Half-Blood ..."
(Neeks could hear her name and not flashback to those times)
"Since we got back to the ship," Piper said, "I've been seeing some bad stuff in the knife. The Roman legion is almost within striking distance of Camp Half-Blood. They're gathering reinforcements: spirits, eagles, wolves."
"Octavian," Reyna growled. "I told him to wait."
"When we take over command," Frank suggested, "our first order of business should be to load Octavian into the nearest catapult and fire him as far away as possible."
Neeks' blood ran cold at the mention of when he fucked up.
"Agreed," Reyna said. "But for now –"
"He's intent on war," Annabeth put in. "He'll have it, unless we stop him."
Piper turned the blade of her knife. "Unfortunately, that's not the worst of it. I saw images of a possible future – the camp in flames, Roman and Greek demigods lying dead. And Gaia ..." Her voice failed her.
"What camp in flames?" Neeks whispered.
"Camp Half-Blood."
"Never mind then."
Reyna stared at xthem. "Camp Jupiter ended in flames?"
Neeks nodded.
"We need to get the statue back," she concluded.
"So Reyna takes the statue," Percy said. "And we continue on to Athens."
Leo shrugged. "Cool with me. But, uh, a few pesky logistical problems. We got what – two weeks until that Roman feast day when Gaia is supposed to rise?"
"The Feast of Spes," Jason said. "That's on the first of August. Today is –"
"July eighteenth," Frank offered. "So, yeah, from tomorrow, exactly fourteen days."
Hazel winced. "It took us eighteen days to get from Rome to here – a trip that should've only taken two or three days, max."
"So, given our usual luck," Leo said, "maybe we have enough time to get the Argo II to Athens, find the giants and stop them from waking Gaia. Maybe. But how is Reyna supposed to get this massive statue back to Camp Half-Blood before the Greeks and Romans put each other through the blender? She doesn't even have her pegasus anymore. Uh, sorry –"
"Fine," Reyna snapped. She took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, Leo is correct. I don't see how I can transport something so large. I was assuming – well, I was hoping you all would have an answer."
"The Labyrinth," Hazel said. "I – I mean, if Pasiphaë really has reopened it, and I think she has ..." She looked at Percy apprehensively. "Well, you said the Labyrinth could take you anywhere. So maybe –"
"No." Percy and Annabeth spoke in unison.
"Not to shoot you down, Hazel," Percy said. "It's just ..."
"The Labyrinth is made of evil," Neeks interjected. "And that's not what the Fates have decided. I'll shadow travel with Reyna to bring the statue to camp. I'll make short jumps – a few hundred miles each time. It's true, after each jump I won't be in any shape to fend off monsters. I'll need Reyna to defend me and the statue."
Reyna had an excellent poker face. She studied the group, scanning their faces, but betraying none of her own thoughts. "Any objections?"
No one spoke.
"Very well," she said, with the finality of a judge. "I see no better option. But there will be many monster attacks. I would feel better taking a third person. That's the optimal number for a quest."
"Coach Hedge," Frank blurted.
Percy stared at him. "Uh, what, Frank?"
"The coach is the best choice," Frank said. "The only choice. He's a good fighter. He's a certified protector. He'll get the job done."
"A faun," Reyna said.
"Satyr!" barked the coach. "And, yeah, I'll go. Besides, when you get to Camp Half-Blood, you'll need somebody with connections and diplomatic skills to keep the Greeks from attacking you. Just let me go make a call – er, I mean, get my baseball bat."
He got up and shot Frank an unspoken message. Despite the fact that he'd just been volunteered for a likely suicide mission, the coach looked grateful. He jogged off towards the ship's ladder, tapping his hooves together like an excited kid.
Neeks rose. "I should go, too, and rest before the first passage. We'll meet at the statue at sunset."
"Wait, before you go," Hazel stopped xthem. "Is there anything we need to know, you know, coming from your timeline? We won't be in contact any longer."
Neeks felt xthemself pause as xthey always did when that time was mentioned. "I didn't go with you guys. I won't know anything."
Annabeth reached up and held xtheir hand. "Did you see us again?"
Neeks stared at the grass and tried not to picture blood staining it. "Yeah, but fighting until your deaths."
"Go, sleep," she ordered. "Me or Percy will check on you in a little bit."
Neeks didn't need to be told twice. Percy's bed still smelled like him, and xthey didn't want to stick around any longer when they were talking about the war. When they were no doubt explaining to Reyna where xthey truly came from.
.
.
Xtheir nightmares consisted of what xthey left behind. Percy's broken body on that cold hearth, Annabeth's rage, how the air tasted the day Camp Half-Blood fell. When xthey finally woke from the memories, xthey first saw Percy laying on the bed beside xthem.
"Nightmares?" Percy asked.
Neeks nodded.
Percy stared at the ceiling with those sea-green eyes and the darkness Tartarus planted in them. "Do you really think you can do this?"
"I know I can. I'm stronger than last time."
"What about us? Can we?"
Neeks paused, then nodded. "You all got back to Camp Half-Blood alive. I know that much. But Gaea...Gaea did wake."
Percy paled, then swallowed audibly. "She did?"
"Yeah..."
"Can we stop her, if she wakes up again?" Percy asked.
"I think so," Neeks admitted. "In the original timeline, I...I went against the Fates to save someone's life. I know better now, know that people die at their times for a reason. I'm a protector of death and the dead, now. But then...I fucked us all over to save someone's life. I didn't realize. But that was after Gaea rose."
"So we might have a chance."
Neeks nodded.
"Can...can you tell me who dies?"
"You know I can't. That'd be fucking us all over again."
Percy sighed but nodded. "Yeah, I get it." He paused. "Take care of yourself, okay? Take care of yourself on this trip."
"You, too, Alasdair," Neeks whispered. "Don't let that leader complex get in the way. Don't kill yourself to save your men."
"You know I can't promise that."
"I know, I just really wish you could."
Neeks wanted to close xtheir eyes and stop talking about the war, wanted to forget everything that was going on and just enjoy sitting in Percy's presence. In peace. But xthey knew xthey could never forget where xthey were, what xthey were going to be doing soon. The war was still going on and soon, xthey would find out if it had all been for nothing or not. If killing all those people had been worth it.
A knock at the door. Too quick of a disturbance.
"Hey," Annabeth greeted as she slipped into the room. "Mind if I join the bonding time?"
Neeks moved over to make room for her on the bed, xtheir side now fully pressed against Percy. If they weren't about to separate, xtheir stomach would probably get hot with the contact.
Annabeth sat on Neeks' other side and leaned back against the pillows. "If we fail again, what happens?"
Neeks closed xtheir eyes and tried to imagine going through it all again.
"We're not going to," Percy said. "We'll win."
"But if we don't, can Neeks go back-"
"No," Neeks whispered. "This is it. No more redos."
(xthey had always felt like this was the truth, that Gaea wouldn't allow it this time, or the Fates wouldn't, but xthey didn't even feel like trying again. If xthey had to spend another five years down in Tartarus, relive life over again...)
Annabeth nodded in acceptance. "Than we need to give it all we have."
Neeks kept xtheir eyes closed and took in the presence of xtheir two favorite souls. The ones that had lived almost all the lives xthey had.
"I...have something to tell you two," xthey said. "I need to, incase we don't see each other like this again."
"What is it?" Annabeth asked.
Neeks took a breath. "During our first life, I don't know if you remember, Erro, but gods kept trying to have me."
Percy's eyes widened. "That man that appeared out of nowhere on my boat."
Annabeth stared at him. "A man appeared out of nowhere on your boat, and you're just now realizing it was a god?"
"Hey, I wasn't a demigod."
Neeks cleared xtheir throat. "Yeah, it was a god. I...I'm still trying to figure out which god. As you probably know by now, gods can choose their sexes. So I...I have no one pinpointed. But they came to me as a male, and they wanted me."
"Oh, Neeks..." Annabeth whispered.
"A lot happened, long story, they cursed me," Neeks rushed through. "To always fall for Erro as he always falls for you."
Percy stared at xthem. "Um...what?"
"What?" Annabeth repeated.
"I..."
"I mean, I guess I can kind of see it," Annabeth admitted. "How else would our souls always end up in this weird exchange each life? The chances, the odds..."
"Please don't start doing math," Percy begged.
"Yeah, please don't," Neeks agreed.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Anyway, thank you for telling us, Neeks." She paused before speaking again. "Do you know how to break it?"
"What?"
"You shouldn't have to be cursed, man-...person," Percy stumbled. "Sorry."
Neeks shoved him lightly but couldn't stop xthemself from smiling. "It's fine. And no, I'm not going to look to break it. That'd be breaking you two apart."
"You really think Percy and I could be broken by anything?" Annabeth asked. "We've been through hell together, literally. No curse is going to change that."
"Yeah, even Hera taking my memories couldn't change that," Percy agreed. "But you should be able to find someone."
Neeks covered xtheir face for a minute before slowly lowering xtheir hands. "I...no, I really don't know how to break it. I haven't really had the time to look into it. Maybe after the war, if we win..."
"I'll help you," Annabeth offered. "And we'll get there. We have to."
"We'll get there," Neeks whispered to xthemself.
.
.
At sunset, Neeks began tying xthemself to the Athena Parthenos with ropes. Xthey were aware of Percy and Annabeth close by, coming to say bye, or good luck, or something else xthey couldn't remember. If xthey were being honest with xthemself, xthey'd admit xthey stopped trying to remember what happened "last time". Xthey didn't need to, not at this point. All xthey needed to remember was that some people died for a reason. The rest was just pain.
"Good luck," Annabeth whispered.
"You too, Annie."
A minute later, Reyna and Coach Hedge arrived in full armor with packs over their shoulders. Reyna looked grim and ready for combat. Coach Hedge grinned like he was expecting a surprise party.
Reyna gave Annabeth a hug. "We will succeed."
"I know you will," Annabeth said.
Coach Hedge shouldered his baseball bat. "Yeah, don't worry. I'm going to get to camp and see my baby! Uh, I mean I'm going to get this baby to camp!" He patted the leg of the Athena Parthenos.
"All right," Neeks said. "Grab the ropes, please. Here we go."
As xthey descended into the shadow realm, xthey made sure to stare at Percy and Annabeth until xthey couldn't anymore, just incase it was the last time seeing them alive.