It’s funny how humans can wrap their mind around things and fit them into their version of reality. Chiron had told Phaedra that long ago. She didn’t appreciate his wisdom until much later.
According to the L.A. news, the explosion at the Santa Monica beach had been caused when a crazy kidnapper fired a shotgun at a police car. He accidentally hit a gas main that had ruptured during the earthquake.
This crazy kidnapper (a.k.a. Ares) was the same man who had abducted Percy and three other adolescents in New York and brought them across country on a ten-day odyssey of terror.
Poor little Percy Jackson wasn’t an international criminal after all. He’d caused a commotion on that Greyhound bus in New Jersey trying to get away from his captor (and afterward, witnesses would even swear they had seen the leather-clad man on the bus—“Why didn’t I remember him before?”).
Its crazy how one thing can influence how they think.
The crazy man had caused the explosion in the St. Louis Arch. After all, no kid could’ve done that. A concerned waitress in Denver had seen the man threatening his abductees outside her diner, gotten a friend to take a photo, and notified the police.
Finally, brave Percy Jackson had stolen a gun from his captor in Los Angeles and battled him shotgun-to-rifle on the beach.
His ego is really getting stroked right now. He's gonna get such a big head because of this.
Police had arrived just in time. But in the spectacular explosion, five police cars had been destroyed and the captor had fled. No fatalities had occurred. Percy Jackson and his three friends were safely in police custody.
The reporters fed them this whole story. They just nodded and acted tearful and exhausted (which wasn’t hard), and played victimized kids for the cameras.
“All I want,” Percy said, choking back his tears, “is to see my loving stepfather again. Every time I saw him on TV, calling me a delinquent punk, I knew...somehow...we would be okay. And I know he’ll want to reward each and every person in this beautiful city of Los Angeles with a free major appliance from his store. Here’s the phone number.” Phaedra had turned her body, looking like she was about to cry, but instead she was laughing silently.
The police and reporters were so moved that they passed around the hat and raised money for four tickets on the next plane to New York.
Percy knew there was no choice but to fly. Phaedra hoped Zeus would cut Percy some slack, considering the circumstances. But it was still hard to force Percy on board the flight.
Surely, Zeus wouldn't strike down the plane that has his master bolt inside….right? Right?
Takeoff was a nightmare. Every spot of turbulence caused Percy to gold on tighter. He didn’t unclench his hands from the armrests or Phaedra's hand until they touched down safely at La Guardia. The local press was waiting for them outside security, but they managed to evade them thanks to Annabeth, who lured them away in her invisible Yankees cap, shouting, “They’re over by the frozen yogurt! Come on!,” then rejoined them at baggage claim.
They split up at the taxi stand. Percy told Annabeth, Grover and Phaedra to get back to Half-Blood Hill and let Chiron know what had happened.
They protested, mostly Phaedra saying 'what of something goes wrong?' But Percy assured her everything would be fine.
Percy hopped in a taxi and headed into Manhattan. The others went back to camp.
They were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated them as if they’d won some reality-TV contest.
According to camp tradition, they wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.
Phaedra's shroud was very beautiful-gold silk with embroidered suns and butterflies.
Annabeth’s shroud was also so beautiful—gray silk with embroidered owls—Percy told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it. She punched him and told him to shut up. Phaedra laughed.
Being the son of Poseidon, Percy didn’t have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make his shroud. They’d taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X’ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle. According to Percy, it was fun to burn.
As Apollo’s cabin led the sing-along and passed out s’mores, Phaedra was surrounded by her siblings, Will stuck to her side, looking at her proudly. She was singing along with her siblings. She could feel Percy staring at her. She looked at him and gave him a smile before turning her attention to the song and put her arm around Lee. Percy was surrounded by his old Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth’s friends from Athena, and Grover’s satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher’s license he’d received from the Council of Cloven Elders.
The council had called Grover’s performance on the quest “Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past.”
The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told Percy they’d never forgive him for disgracing their dad.
Thanos did that one on his own.
Even Dionysus’s welcome-home speech wasn’t enough to dampen their spirits. “Yes, yes, so the little brat didn’t get himself killed and now he’ll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday....”
Even Dionysus was saying the same thing about his ego. I'm onto something here.
Phaedra went back to her cabin. she was utterly proud of herself for getting through this quest. Although she had to deal with a lot bickering between owl girl and Dr. P, yes she is going to keep using that nickname, but it turned out OK. Everything is settled. But who was the traitor? She would have to figure that out later. For now she's just going to enjoy the rest of the summer.
On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus’s kids, they weren’t going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions.
Of course. It's Hephaestus cabin. I would not expect nothing less.
They’d anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth and Phaedra, who’d seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they’d look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.
As Annabeth, phaedra and Percy were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell them good-bye. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he’d started to look older, almost high-school age.
His goatee had gotten thicker. He’d put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his rasta cap all the time to pass as human.
“I’m off,” he said. “I just came to say...well, you know.”
Phaedra felt happy for him. After all, it wasn’t every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye.
She’d known Grover since she was seven, and he was one of her best friends.
Annabeth gave him a hug. She told him to keep his fake feet on. Phaedra hugged him and told that if he got killed she would strangle him. Percy asked him where he was going to search first.
“Kind of a secret,” he said, looking embarrassed. “I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan...”
“We understand,” Annabeth said. “You got enough tin cans for the trip?”
“Yeah.” He answered.
“And you remembered your reed pipes?” Phaedra asked him, worried.
“Jeez, guys,” he grumbled. “You’re like an old mama goat.”
But he didn’t really sound annoyed.
He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway—nothing like the little runty boy he used to look like.
“Well,” he said, “wish me luck.”
He gave Annabeth and Phaedra another hug. He clapped Percy on the shoulder, then headed back through the dunes.
Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware.
Athena wouldn't be proud that he had slaves. I said what I said.
“Hey, Grover,” Percy called.
He turned at the edge of the woods.
“Wherever you’re going—I hope they make good enchiladas.”
Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.
“We’ll see him again,” Annabeth said.
Phaedra tried to believe it. The fact that no searcher had ever come back in two thousand years...well, she decided not to think about that. Grover would be the first. He had to be.
July passed.
Phaedra spent her days helping Percy devising new strategies for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares’s hands. She saw Percy get to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava.
From time to time, she’d walk past the Big House, glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle. She tried to convince herself that its prophecy had come to completion.
You shall go west, and face the god who has turned. Been there, done that—even though the traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades.
You shall find what was stolen, and see it safe returned. Check. One master bolt delivered. One helm of darkness back on Hades’s head.
You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.
This line still bothered her. Ares had pretended to be their friend, then betrayed them. That must be what the Oracle meant....Maybe.
And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.
Percy hadn't been able to save his mom, but only because he’d let her save herself, and he knew that was the right thing.
So why was she still uneasy?
The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.
The campers had one last meal together. They burned part of our dinner for the gods.
At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.
Percy got his own leather necklace, and when he saw the bead for his first summer, Phaedra could see the faint blushing on Percy's Face.
The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.
“The choice was unanimous,” Luke announced. “This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!”
The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares’s cabin felt obliged to stand. Apollo's cabin steered Phaedra next to Percy at the front so she could share the attention. Athena’s cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.
Phaedra wasn't sure she’d ever felt as happy or sad as she did at that moment. She’d finally found a family, people who cared about her and loved her after what she'd been through. And in the morning, most of them would be leaving for the year.
The next morning, she found a form letter on my bedside table. She knew Dionysus must’ve filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting her name wrong:
Dear Philippa Grace,
If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit.
Have a nice day!
Mr. D (Dionysus)
Camp Director, Olympian Council #12
That’s another thing about ADHD. Deadlines just aren’t real to her until She's staring one in the face. Summer is over. Now she had only a few hours to decide. She had nowhere to go, so the decision should have been easy. Like, nine months of hero training or nine months of sitting in a classroom—duh.
"It's not like I have no choice but to stay here. It's not like I have a mortal home to go to." She told herself. Phaedra had decided that she was going to take a nap and put that she was staying later.
She woke up in a dark room. Suddenly a bright light illuminated the place. She shielded her eyes quickly and yelled "who's there? Where are you?"
She opened her eyes and saw a tall sandy blonde man with blue eyes that matched her own. He looked about eighteen. He kind of looked like Luke, in a way. Deep, deep down.
"Who are you?" Phaedra asked, confused as to where she was.
"Hey, kid. You really don't remember me?" The man asked.
She took another hard look at him. She finally realized who it was. Apollo. Her father. "Oh, you're the dude who helped me in the alleyway and left me there." She said flatly.
"Dad would work too." He said as he crossed his arms.
She gave him a look. "Well you weren't all that helpful...Dad."
"Well, I did bring you help."
"The food? The powers?" She asked the God.
"Your friends too." He told her matter-of-factly.
"Yeah and one of them is gone. All I have left of her is a leather jacket." She told him.
He looked down and said "yeah..I hate when that happens." She looked at him with a look that said 'really?'
"Didn't you chase a girl down until she asked for help and got turned into a tree?" She asked.
"That's not the point, kid." He told her. "And that's not why I'm here."
"So why are you here?" She asked him, mimicking his stance with her arms folded across her chest.
"Your mom"
She looked away. "What about that woman?"
"She wants you back." Apollo told her sincerely.
"She didn't want me when I was seven. So why does she want me now?" She asked as she rolled her eyes
Phaedra won't lie...she really can't. She's better than Percy though. But some part of her wanted to go home. Some part of her wanted to see her mom again and know why she left her that night.
"She figured that your half-blood instincts would help you survive, and I told her that I'd help you." Apollo told her", snapping her out of her thoughts.
"So she just blindly followed you and left me in an alleyway for hours? Crying?" She was kind of angry because her mother leaving was her father's fault. She has problems with people leaving because of him.
"Ok, I may have done more than just tell her to do that." Apollo reasoned.
She blinked. "Ok, well then what did you tell her to do?"
There was no answer.
She rolled her eyes. "Exactly. You never answered why she wants me back after, like, 6 years."
"She always missed you."
Her stance and voice softened a little as the seven year old in her wanted her mom back. "She did?"
Apollo nodded.
"Well why did she leave me?" The girl asked.
"Like I said. She had no choice."
Phaedra sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose and asked "Well why did she have no choice?"
He sighed and asked "Do you remember all the monster attacks when you were little?"
Monster attack? What monster attacks?
She shook her head. "No, not really. I was little."
Apollo nodded. "Yeah. Right. There were a lot."
She shrugged and said "oh, ok."
"No matter where you went, Monsters followed."
"Was my scent that strong?" Apollo nodded.
"Did she tell you she wanted me back?" She asked.
"I went to see her. I didn't need her to tell me. It was obvious."
"Oh." She said, her voice small. "But why hasn't she tried to contact me?"
"She tried to move on after I told her you were at camp."
"Really? What's she doing now?" The girl asked.
"She's an actress."
"Run that back, turbo? Say what?"
"I said she's an actress."
"Yeah, no. I heard what you said, I just needed to grasp it in my mind." She said as she tried to run her fingers through her hair, getting caught in the curls making her remove her fingers from her head
"Oh, nice."
"So she's famous?"
"Yeah, but she chooses to stay at the house because your old room is there. She really wants you to come back."
She thought it over. This could be a good time to get answers and rebuild that relationship. It would take time for Phaedra to not be as angry anymore, but it's worth a try.
"What's the address?"
Apollo handed her a piece of folded paper. She quickly opened it and saw her old address.
She looked up at him, with thankful eyes. "I'm finally going home, I guess. Thank you...Dad." this time without the snark.
"I do what I can, kid." He seemed like he wanted to ask her something but he decided against it.
"Wait!" He turned around, only to feel a body crash into his and arms wrap around him. He stumbled back with a grunt. He chuckled when he looked down and saw a head full of dark curly hair against him and patted her back.
"I guess I can try again." She said, sniffling.
"You ok, kid?"
Truthfully she didn't know why she was crying. She's going home to see her mom. If anything, she should be mad. But she couldn't find her anger. Only hope that everything will be alright.
"I'm glad I get to see the mortal world after being stuck here for 5 years. And that now I know my mom didn't just abandon me out of nowhere and went on with her life." She let out.
"Well this will be a pleasant surprise for her." Apollo said with a smile. She nodded.
"Now I need you to wake, kid." He told her.
That's when she woke up.
She and Annabeth were walking through the forest, talking about their plans for the year before the summer rolled around again. They heard a voice croak out of nowhere. “Help, Please...”
She recognized the voice. Percy. What the hell happened? The two girls pulled him with all their strength. Phaedra screamed for help. Annabeth called for Chiron.
They managed to infirmary in the Big Room Annabeth fed him nectar, the drink of the gods as Phaedra healed his injury -- a scorpion bite. She bandaged his hand tightly, but not too tight that it would feel uncomfortable. Argus stood in the corner guarding them. Phaedra was starting to get tired because she wasn't her father, who could continuously heal. It was taking up her energy. Annabeth kept glancing to see if she was OK.
“Here we are again,” Percy said as he woke up.
“You fucking idiot,” Phaedra said.
"Language." Chiron and Annabeth said.
Pack it up Steve Rogers.
“You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren’t for Chiron’s healing...”
“Now, now,” Chiron’s voice said. “Percy’s constitution deserves some of the credit.”
He was sitting near the foot of Percy's bed in human form. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved.”
"If you ever get put in that position again, I will hurt you." Phaedra told him.
"Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of wanting me to be safe?" He said with a raised eyebrow.
"Shut up, dont question my logic. And be happy you're alive. I know I am." And she softly hugged him.
“Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened.”
Between sips of nectar, he told them the story. The room was quiet for a long time.
“I can’t believe that Luke...” Annabeth’s voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad.
Phaedra stayed quiet and looked at the ground.
“Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him...."
"He was never the same after his quest.” Phaedra said, finally speaking, her voice barely above a whisper.
Luke? I should have seen this coming. He hated the gods. Especially after his quest. I should have known after the shoes. There were clues. And I missed them. How could I have been so stupid?
“This must be reported to Olympus,” Chiron murmured. “I will go at once.”
“Luke is out there right now,” Percy said. “I have to go after him.”
"Don't you dare. You're still hurt. You can't risk it." Phaedra told him.
Chiron shook his head. “No, Percy. The gods—”
“Won’t even talk about Kronos,” he snapped. “Zeus declared the matter closed!”
“Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren’t ready.”
“Chiron...your prophecy from the Oracle...it was about Kronos, wasn’t it? Was I in it? And Annabeth? And Phaedra?”
Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. “Percy, it isn’t my place—”
“You’ve been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven’t you?”
His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. “You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I’m right about the path ahead of you...”
Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows.
“All right!” Chiron shouted. “Fine!”
He sighed in frustration. “The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing.”
“We can’t just sit back and do nothing,” he said.
“We will not sit back,” Chiron promised. “But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come.”
“Assuming I live that long.”
Chiron put his hand on his ankle. “You’ll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice....”
Phaedra got the feeling that he had a very definite opinion, and it was taking all his willpower not to advise Percy.
“But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision.”
Percy looked like he wanted to protest. But his expression said there could be no more discussion; he had said as much as he could.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Chiron promised. “Argus will watch over you.”
He glanced at Annabeth. “Oh, and, my dear...whenever you’re ready, they’re here.”
He looked at Phaedra and said "she'll be here in a few minutes."
“Who’s here?” Percy asked. Nobody answered.
Chiron rolled himself out of the room. She heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time.
Annabeth studied the ice in Percy's drink.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“Nothing.” She set the glass on the table. “I...just took your advice about something. You...um...need anything?”
“Yeah. Help me up. I want to go outside.”
“Percy, that isn’t a good idea.” Phaedra told him.
He slid his legs out of bed. Annabeth and Phaedra caught him before he could crumple to the floor.
Annabeth said, “she told you...” at the same time Phaedra said "I told you…"
“I’m fine,” he insisted. He managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on Phaedra with Annabeth trailing behind them. Argus followed them outside, but he kept his distance.
By the time they reached the porch, Percy's face was beaded with sweat. He had managed to make it all the way to the railing. It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake.
Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.
“What are you going to do?” Annabeth asked him.
“I don’t know. What about you?”
Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, “I’m going home for the year, Percy.”
He stared at her. “You mean, to your dad’s?”
She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia’s pine tree, at the very edge of the camp’s magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted—two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair.
They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.
“I wrote him a letter when we got back,” Annabeth said. “Just like you suggested. I told him...I was sorry. I’d come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided...we’d give it another try.”
“That took guts.”
"It did. It's great you're trying again, Annie." Phaedra told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at her.
She pursed her lips. “You won’t try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least...not without sending me an Iris-message?”
Percy managed a smile. “I won’t go looking for trouble. I usually don’t have to.”
Phaedra rolled her eyes.
“When I get back next summer,” she said, “we’ll hunt down Luke. We’ll ask for a quest, but if we don’t get approval, we’ll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?”
“Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena.”
She held out her hand. He shook it. She moved and hugged Phaedra tightly and whispered "I hope it works out with your mom."
"Me too." She whispered back.
“Take care, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth told me. “Keep your eyes open.”
“You too, Wise Girl.”
"Bye, Phae." She told the brunette.
"Bye, owl girl." Phaedra told the blonde
They watched her walk up the hill and join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia’s pine tree, then allowed herself to be led over the crest and into the mortal world.
"So are you sure you don't know what you're going to do?" Phaedra asked.
"I really don't know." He said.
He told them he got the feeling Chiron wanted him to stay year-round, to put in more individual training time, but he wasn’t sure that’s what he wanted.
"I feel bad about leaving you alone, though, with only Clarisse for company...." Percy told her.
"Aww, how sweet. You don't want to leave me alone." Phaedra said smiling. She saw Percy blush slightly and she poked his cheek.
"Don't worry. I usually have clarisse for company. But this year is different."
"How come?" He asked.
Phaedra pursed her lips, then said, “I’m also going home for the year, Percy.”
He stared at her. “You mean, to your mom’s? I thought she was gone or something?”
"Nope. She's picking me up. We're going to try again. Turns out I held a grudge for nothing. Well, not for nothing, just a misunderstanding. She wanted me back. So I'm going back." She told him.
She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Now next to Thalia’s pine tree, at the very edge of the camp’s magical boundaries, a tall woman stood there. She had curly dark hair, resembling Phaedra's with brown eyes. Her skin was a little darker than Phaedra's and she seemed to be a little nervous.
She seemed to be waiting. The woman was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver, but fancier.
“My father, Apollo, visited me when I was asleep and we talked,” Phaedra said. “he told me...that she missed me and wanted me back. she didn't want to give me up but she had no choice and she was following what my father told her. I'm still mad that he allowed her to leave me in an alleyway, but we can talk about that. We decided...we’d give it another try.”
“That really took guts.”
She pursed her lips. “Like Annabeth said, don't do anything stupid. Just make sure you Iris-message me when something happens, ok?”
He smiled at her. “Of course. I always have time for people like you."
“Maybe sometimes we can call Annabeth, if we can get to her and we can meet up and all hang out together?”
“Sounds like a great time.”
She held out her hand. He took it and pulled her into a hug. It surprised her, but nonetheless she leaned into the hug.
“Take care, Dr. P,” Phaedra told him. “Stay safe.”
She could have sworn he kissed her head and told her “You too, Sunshine.”
She walked up the hill and joined her mother. She gave her mother a tight hug and her mother looked like she was tearing up seeing her again. She looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia’s pine tree, then looked back at Percy who smiled and waved. she waved back. She walked over the crest and to the car with her mother.
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