Hērmês had not never felt so listless in his life.
The world had gone dark for nearly two weeks as he worked through his emotions. It probably would have continued for a longer amount of time if it were not for his children stepping up. And he would have to show his thanks to the minor gods that shared domains with him for their assistance also. Everything was just so bleak, and Father refused to allow him to work off his distractions as every lead that had been tracked hid her from him.
Apóllōn could only catch glimpses of her on the tapestry that showed her further into the future than any of them preferred. Hḗrē insisted that she had no hand in what happened to her something that Alatheia and Apóllōn confirmed, but the goddess of marriage was tearing her hair out searching for the girl. Leaneíras was the key to her perfect family after all.
He supposed that the only light within everything that he was divorced.
No more Peithō though Laranda continued to hold on tightly.
Father had thought that they needed some time apart though Hḗrē had tracked him down to Mount Kyllene when he went by there with the divorce papers already drawn up. There had also been inventory of all things that he received in dowry and the belongings that Peithō wanted to lay claim to. By the time that he made his way back to Ólumpos, everything had already been finalized and his home looked as if she had never been there at all.
Regardless of it all, he still felt as if he were wasting away.
He had tried to distract himself with his duties, but again, Father refused to let him work off his distractions. He tried to pick up hobbies that he once enjoyed, but he could only think of how he had wanted to share that time with Leaneíras, showing off his skill to her.
Hērmês knew that his Father worried. He saw it every time that the King looked upon him and Poseidón, especially Poseidón for Lea and Percy were both missing. He knew that his Father was doing his best to hold them together, but it was just so hard. He had finally gotten the girl; the love of his life. They had found their footing.
She loved him!
And he loved her.
And she was taken from him anyway.
He had been infuriated when Hḗrē sent him down to the kingdom of Ilyria only for him to see Kírkē bearing the face of his blessing. He knew that it was needed since it was a part of the cover story that they made for the twins. He was still peeved that he wasn't able to be there with his actual khaos-mate watching as she was introduced to Princess Kleomestra Nova Leaneíras of the Kaplan Clan. The jokes that he would have made as he watched her register the fact that history had been completely rewritten because of her actions. He would have enjoyed pointing out the differences in the things that she knew and what had been changed because of her such as Eliza and Medea's familial backgrounds becoming a bit more prominent. He would love telling her of how the worship of the Jaxson Pantheon changed what she knew to be Doggerland into a kingdom that stood against colonization and Christianization though not from the lack of effort. He'd show her the temple dedicated to her that held a statue of her similar to the Fontaine de Diane; a marble Mannerist sculpture of the goddess Dīāna, representing Diane de Poitiers. The sculpture would be made in the image of her and Salome as she calmly twirled Lævateinn in her hand.
Hērmês could only imagine the surprise that she would wear to see Medea and Eliza as their families were connected, watching as they twirled around in their respective clans. The interest that would be in her eyes when she learned that Princess Kleomestra was actually a daughter of Venus with the gift of shapeshifting.
And yet it was all for naught since his Leaneíras was nowhere to be found even though Kírkē did find join in spreading more rumors of her being a cryptid.
Once he learned of how he narrowly missed her, she had been in the Underworld for so long! being harassed by her lessers! He wanted to rage and scream, and tear Melinoë bit by bit, and make a new world tree out of her skull, but his Uncle stopped him and sent him back home, assuring that the goddess would get the full might of Olympian justice placed upon her.
He was starting to think it was all a part of a very bad joke when he felt a change in a more metaphysical sense in atmosphere. The joy from Poseidón washed over the world and the crashing waves of the sea soothed.
Perseus stopped within the Wolf House, wearing shorts and Camp Half-Blood's shirt and the beads that all of them wore even if Lea rotated between a necklace and a bracelet. The boy was barefooted, clearly freezing with a look of upmost confusion on his face. He held Kataklusmós in his hand.
Hērmês approached the boy, hidden within the mist. Amnesia, just like Jason. It was deeply buried also. It was the work of Mnēmosúnē; the goddess of memory and remembrance was probably the only deity that would be able to take memories to such an extent with an underlying order to tease the psyche with past memories. She must have been doing this as a favor to Hḗrē as his stepmother may have the skill to take memories, but not the finesse to get it so correctly.
And then Lupa and her wolves appeared.
The next weeks filled him with despair because while Perseus may have been recovered from wherever Hḗrē had been keeping him; Hērmês suspected Kanathos, the spring at Naupliē where his stepmother annually renewed her virginity and thus reclaim her status as a maiden.
Mercurius supposed the only bright spot was when Apollō accompanied him to the land of dreams. He followed his brother into the dreams of the Son of Troy. The boy was trying to search for Jason through his dreams which he wasn't surprised to learn that Iūnō had commanded the service of Somnus to keep him from accomplishing it.
Apollō slipped through, weaving around the dreams the boy had of them traversing the Tomb of Orcus. The augur turned to look at them, gold of sunshine in his eyes. He furrowed his brow as he looked upon the god who cradled his face gently though Apollō only spoke two words: Brace yourself.
He wanted to question his brother on what he meant until he felt a change in a more metaphysical sense in atmosphere, Mercurius turned his attention to it only to realize that Perseus had left the Wolf House and was traveling the lands. There was something different about him. Like trapping the rage of a storm into a bottle, watching as it held itself back, straining against its restraints.
In an almost amusing turn of events, he was being chased down by Stheno and Euryale. The metamorphic ones that is, daughters of Ékhidna and Typhṓs.
Their namesakes, Sthenṓ and Euryálē, daughters of Phórkūs and Kētṓ tended to stay in Kistheni, faraway from mortals and the mist alike to the point that a lot of people thought they were in Tartara. Hērmês had always known that they weren't, but they refused to leave simply for the fact that seeing their sister merged with Minvera's priestess was horrifying.
He supposed he could somewhat understand, but alas, his siblings had never gotten their heads cut off.
Feeling the slightest bit lighter, the god soared back to the heavens. At least this way, when he found his Leaneíras then he could assure her that her brother had also been discovered. Though as he glanced back to the earthly plane, he did not think he was appreciative of the fact that he was heading for New Roma.
When he made it to the Throne Room, it was to hear Poseidón arguing with Minerva because it was she that cursed the priestess and her sisters. Minerva shrugged casually, eyes alight with malice as she snapped that Neptūnus should have kept his penis away from her temple. Of course, Iovis then muttered that it definitely did not help the situation that Perseus was a son of the sea and Neptūnus was partially the reason that the three sisters had been transformed into such monstrous forms.
Hērmês turned his attention away from Perseus as the boy was still days away from New Roma.
Over at the Grecian camp, Drew was helping Piper settle in alongside the rest of her siblings.
"They say that a man should not cook or clean if they have a woman at home," the elder girl scoffed, flicking her curls out of her hair. "And I wonder do I look like a fucking bed and breakfast?"
Their siblings snickered as she held court, speaking softly to Piper and the newest siblings that they had gained within the months of the traditions that they held within the camp. They played an important role in the camp especially with their Rite of Passage which one of their newest siblings had turned into something completely different. Now instead of just using their powers, they came to understand that the child could actually see the lines of fate that connected blessings. They could see the best match ups for those that had no romantic blessings.
And of course, one of Aphrodítē's demon spawns had the ability to work so closely with blessings. He wouldn't be surprised if the child learned to one day choke someone with the "red strings of fate". He understood why Lea was convinced that they were a front for the mafia.
They asked her about the tentative relationship that she was reestablishing with Ethan and the girl would smile so softly, gently washing the hair of whatever sibling that she was holding onto —though he did learn that washing another's hair was a sign of intimacy in the eyes of the Tenth Cabin; something only lovers did though there was a rare occasion that the family members took part in it. He could vaguely recall them all doing so after the Battle of the Labyrinth when they were grieving their Brother and Drew was grieving her relationship with Ethan, and they did it again after the Second Titanomakhía.
To her siblings, she would say: "He has seen me cry just as he has seen me smile. He has walked with me through life, and it has been a tough journey, and while he has not been there the entire way, his inner strength has guided me all the way." She would then pause before saying in the most casual voice possible: "He also knows that if he tries that shit again, Lea will rip his heart out and feast on it for breakfast while using his corpse as a sleeping bag."
And when asked the few times that Ethan dared to show his face around the camp, the boy would flush furiously, eyes immediately going towards Drew and in the most lovesick voice that Hērmês hadn't heard since Apóllōn first saw Huákinthos, the boy would say: "I just never forget that she could always find better." He'd then pause before saying in the most casual voice possible: "And if I hurt her again, I know that Lea would rip my spine out and use it as a backscratcher while using my skull as a wine glass."
Hērmês really needed to get Lea some better pr.
At the moment, while Perseus was running the Gorgon sisters over with a police car in Martinez, Drew was checking in with Piper, Jason, and Leo. Her sister shrugged, "I'm alright. I still don't like being called a halfblood though."
"Me either," Drew said as she nodded her head in agreement, fiddling with her hair that plaited into a thick braid. "The simple fact that i am not fully japanese is enough to have me discriminated against. Other Japanese people call me and Mirajane half-bloods because of that. It's a wonder what they would say if they knew that the other half was divine especially since the divine half comes from a 'western god' and not anyone like Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami."
"Who?" Leo asked from where he was working on the ship. "The Muchi Kami one?"
"Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami," Drew corrected easily. "The chief deity of the Shinto pantheon. The goddess of the sun and the ruler of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and the mythical ancestress of the Imperial House of Nihon-koku or well, in english, Japan via her grandson Ninigi. In simpler terms, her name is Amaterasu Ōmikami. Though, since my Mother is Aphrodite, it would make more sense that they'd believe that I was a child of Kichijōten."
"Who is that one," Jason asked.
"She's a female deity adapted through Buddhism from the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. She's sometimes named as one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, but either way, she's considered to be the goddess of happiness, fertility, and beauty."
"Why do you do that," Piper asked. "I mean why are you talking about other gods. I thought our lessons said..."
Drew stared at her blankly for just a moment before shaking her head. "I can't remember it exactly, but Lea once told me that the chinese I think have a belief that the heavens were home to thousands of gods. Looking at it outside of our lessons, then that could simply mean that all the gods from the various religions of the world exist. You're cherokee, right? Then the gods from your lineage have a good chance of existing also." She then shrugged. "There's also the fact that the Norse gods were just Lord Apollo, Hermes, and Dionysos fucking around while drunk. And that Hyperborea and Asgard are like the same place because the rulers there are named Odin, Ve, and Vili. And my friend Medea told me how Lea had told her that Percy told her about how some of the other gods from different religions exist down in the sea. They like work for the crown and whatnot and have their own territories within the kingdom."
He wasn't really interested in the history lesson, so he turned his attention back to Perseus. He figured that he should help the demigod until he was able to find his Lea. The girl would be pleased to know that she helped her brother in her stead, so he wrapped the mist tighter around the boy and misdirected the gorgons a few times just so that he could sleep.
When he heard the sisters talk about Bargain Mart, he could only stare before pulling out his phone because he does not remember signing off on that. He was the god of commerce. All shops ran by deities, nature spirits, and/or monsters had to be approved by him first.
He spent the next two days ripping the entire franchise apart. Tax invasion, insurance fraud, child labor, and a count of murder that was making its way to the thousands. That'll teach them.
And when he glanced back down at the mortals, Percy was startlingly close to New Roma. He was standing on a hill in border where to his right the flatlands of Berkeley and Oakland marched west—a vast checkerboard of neighborhoods, with several million people who probably did not want their morning interrupted by two monsters and a filthy demigod. And on his left, golden hills rolled inland, dotted with lakes, woods, and a few herds of cows.
Hērmês turned his attention to where San Franscisco Bay glittered under a silvery haze leaving just the tops of skyscrapers and the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge. The god knew Annabeth had come to search for him and visit before she returned to Camp Half Blood.
Funnily enough, the hill that he was standing upon was also the entrance to New Roma and Mercurius could sense Iuno already on the earthly plane. He thought that he was an adrenaline junkie, but he had nothing on his stepmother who still ventured down from the heavens despite having been kidnapped months prior.
The screens around them flickered as Stheno appeared next to the boy, starling him to the point that he almost fell off the edge of the hill.
"Try one?" Stheno offered, holding a silver platter of free samples: Crispy Cheese 'n' Wieners. Mercurius scowled, turning back to the paperwork sent to him. Bargain Mart's audit reports don't even account for free samples. Someone was dealing under the table. He hated when people tried to steal money from him. He was the patron of thieves not the other way around.
Percy fended her off with his sword. "Where's your sister?"
"Oh, put the sword away," Stheno chided. "You know by now that even Celestial bronze can't kill us for long. Have a Cheese 'n' Wiener! They're on sale this week, and I'd hate to kill you on an empty stomach."
"Stheno!" Ah, there was Euryale. "I told you to sneak up on him and kill him!"
Stheno's smile wavered. "But, Euryale, can't I give him a sample first?"
"No, you imbecile!" Euryale turned toward Percy and bared her fangs. "You've led us on quite a chase, Percy Jackson,but now you're trapped, and we'll have our revenge!"
"The Cheese 'n' Wieners are only $2.99," Stheno added helpfully.
"Grocery department, aisle three." Euryale snarled. "Stheno, the Bargain Mart was a front! You're going native! Now, put down that ridiculous tray and help me kill this demigod. Or have you forgotten that he's the one who vaporized Medusa?"
Mercurius inwardly scoffed. A front? Front were supposed to work! Not have them drowning in debt and oh, was he going to clear Ékhidna's accounts out.
"Look, ladies, we've been over this. I don't even remember killing Medusa. I don't remember anything! Can't we just call a truce and talk about your weekly specials?"
Hērmês nodded in approval. Sweet-talking, flattery, and a delay tactic all wrapped in one bunch. He knew there was a reason the boy was his favorite little mortal cousin.
Stheno gave her sister a pouty look, which was hard to do with giant bronze tusks. "Can we?"
"No!" Euryale's red eyes bored into Percy. "I don't care what you remember, son of the sea god. I can smell Medusa's blood on you. It's faint, yes, several years old, but you were the last one to defeat her. She still has not returned from Tartarus. It's your fault!"
"How about we call it a draw?" Percy said. "I can't kill you. You can't kill me. If you're Medusa's sisters—like the Medusa who turned people to stone—shouldn't I be petrified by now?"
"Oh, he shouldn't have done that," Neptūnus groaned.
"Heroes!" Euryale said with disgust. "They always bring that up, just like our mother! 'Why can't you turn people to stone? Your sister can turn people to stone.' Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, boy! That was Medusa's curse alone. She was the most hideous one in the family. She got all the luck!"
Stheno looked hurt. "Mother said I was the most hideous."
"Quiet!" Euryale snapped. "As for you, Percy Jackson, it's true you bear the mark of Akhilles. That makes you a little tougher to kill. But don't worry. We'll find a way."
"The mark of what?"
"Akhilles," Stheno said cheerfully. "Oh, he was gorgeous! I saw him as I was leaving the Underworld. Dipped in the River Styx as a child, you know, so he was invulnerable except for a tiny spot on his ankle. That's what happened to you, dear. Someone must've dumped you in the Styx and made your skin like iron. But not to worry. Heroes like you always have a weak spot. We just have to find it, and then we can kill you. Won't that be lovely? Have a Cheese 'n' Wiener!"
"Reconsidering?" Stheno asked after a moment of hesitation from Percy. "Very wise, dear. I added some gorgon's blood to these, so your death will be quick and painless."
"You added your blood to the Cheese 'n' Wieners?"
"Just a little." Stheno smiled. "A tiny nick on my arm, but you're sweet to be concerned. Blood from our right side can cure anything, you know, but blood from our left side is deadly—"
"You dimwit!" Euryale screeched. "You're not supposed to tell him that! He won't eat the wieners if you tell him they're poisoned!"
Stheno looked stunned. Mercurius sighed. Monsters just got dumber and dumber. "He won't? But I said it would be quick and painless."
"Never mind!" Euryale's fingernails grew into claws. "We'll kill him the hard way—just keep slashing until we find the weak spot. Once we defeat Percy Jackson, we'll be more famous than Medusa! Our patron will reward us greatly!"
"Before you slash me to bits," he said as he gripped his sword, "who's this patron you mentioned?"
Euryale sneered. "The goddess Gaía, of course! The one who brought us back from oblivion! You won't live long enough to meet her, but your friends below will soon face her wrath. Even now, her armies are marching south. At the Feast of Fortune, she'll awaken, and the demigods will be cut down like—like—"
"Like our low prices at Bargain Mart!" Stheno suggested.
"Gah!" Euryale stormed toward her sister. Percy took the opening. He grabbed Stheno's platter, scattering poisoned Cheese 'n' Wieners, and slashed Riptide across Euryale's waist, cutting her in half.
He raised the platter, and Stheno found herself facing her own greasy reflection.
"Medusa!" she screamed. Oh, man talk about a face only a mother could love.
"Stheno, you fool!" Euryale gurgled as her half-made face rose from the mound of dust. "That's just your own reflection! Get him!"
Percy slammed the metal tray on top of Stheno's head, and she passed out cold.
He put the platter behind his butt, and they all heard his prayer to Vica Pota, goddess of victory and competitions. She was such an obscure goddess, older than Victoria's worship in Ancient Roma. He found it a bit amusing that he and Lea both had an affinity for bringing attention to deities that were fading into the background and dancing the line of fading. He then began to slide down the hill, narrowly missing a tree, glanced off a boulder, and spun a three-sixty as he shot toward the highway.
The boy was somewhat of a good driver considering the tray did not have power steering. He might have to convince him to join the rest of them at go-cart racing; a thing that was deadly considering that Lea, Medea, and Magnus liked cheating using their mageia, and well the rest of them were gods.
Hērmês took back that thought as the snack platter skittered across the roof and sailed through the air. The platter went one way. Percy went the other, falling towards the highway. Before Poseidón could have a heart attack, one hand already stretched to help his son, Hḗrē powers flowed through air, batting the boy to the side with a gust of wind—just enough to miss the highway and crash into a clump of bushes.
The boy struggled to his feet meanwhile the gorgons were picking their way down the slope.
Iūnō appeared a bit behind the boy in her most hideous hag form; Mercurius saw Venus turning green in the face. Not that he could blame her, the form that their Queen had chosen made her look like a hippie who'd been kicked to the side of the road maybe forty years ago, where she'd been collecting trash and rags ever since. She wore a dress made of tie-dyed cloth, ripped-up quilts, and plastic grocery bags. Her frizzy mop of hair was gray-brown, like root-beer foam, tied back with a peace-sign headband. Warts and moles covered her face. When she smiled, she showed exactly three teeth.
"You're right, of course," the Queen of Hags said. Father palmed his face, grumbling to himself. "It isn't a maintenance tunnel. It's the entrance to camp."
The gorgons were still on the roof of the apartment building. Then Stheno shrieked in delight and pointed in Percy's direction.
Iūnō raised her eyebrows. "Not much time, child. You need to make your choice."
"Who are you?" Percy asked.
"Oh, you can call me June." They all rolled their eyes. They heard that line before even if it was true. "It is June, isn't it? They named the month after me!"
Apollō fought off a smile. "If only the boy got there earlier, he would have made an excellent birthday gift."
"Okay...Look, I should go," Percy was saying. "Two gorgons are coming. I don't want them to hurt you."
Iūnō clasped her hands over her heart. "How sweet! But that's part of your choice!"
"My choice..." Percy glanced nervously toward the hill. The gorgons had taken off their green vests. Wings sprouted from their backs—small bat wings, which glinted like brass as they leaped off the apartment building and soared toward him.
"Yes, a choice," Iūnō said, as if she were in no hurry. "You could leave me here at the mercy of the gorgons and go to the ocean. You'd make it there safely, I guarantee. The gorgons will be quite happy to attack me and let you go. In the sea, no monster would bother you. You could begin a new life, live to a ripe old age, and escape a great deal of pain and misery that is in your future."
Poseidón nodded his head. "Choose the sea, son. And as soon as I find your sister, she's coming too."
"Or?"
"Or you could do a good deed for an old lady," she said. "Carry me to the camp with you."
"Carry you?"
Iūnō hiked up her skirts and showed him her swollen purple feet. Mercurius wanted to throw up.
"I can't get there by myself," she said. "Carry me to camp—across the highway, through the tunnel, across the river."
And when Mercurius glanced at the tunnel, he felt a breath of relief. Oh good. It was Medea and Magnus. The girl was very good at discretion and also because he may or may not have threatened to wipe her entire family line off the map if she told anyone about the greeks. And of course, he didn't feel guilty afterwards when he threatened her and Magnus personally so they wouldn't tell Lea what he said.
He hoped Lea never found out about it either. She still had a simmering anger to her for him threatening Percy.
At least she did before Peithō and her friends harmed his beloved.
Percy looked at Iūnō. "And I'd carry you to this camp because —?"
"Because it's a kindness!" she said. "And if you don't, the gods will die, the world we know will perish, and everyone from your old life will be destroyed especially your sister. Of course, you wouldn't remember them, so I suppose it won't matter. You'd be safe at the bottom of the sea...."
Percy swallowed. The gorgons shrieked with laughter as they soared in for the kill.
"If I go to the camp," he said, "will I get my memory back?"
"Eventually," Iūnō said. "But be warned, you will sacrifice much! You'll lose the mark of Akhilles. You'll feel pain, misery, and loss beyond anything you've ever known. But you might have a chance to save your old friends and family, to reclaim your old life and find that boy who keeps teasing you in your dreams."
The gorgons were circling right overhead. They were probably studying the goddess, trying to figure out who the new player was before they struck. Mercurius couldn't blame them. The form was hideous even if Iūnō was playing with fire as he had no doubt that the giants wanted her back. Though, his Stepmother tended to be more on guard as Iūnō. She was the warner and she had to be constantly on the lookout for potential threats.
"What about those guards at the door?" Percy asked.
Iūnō smiled. "Oh, they'll let you in, dear. You can trust those two. So, what do you say? Will you help a defenseless old woman?"
They all snorted at that. Defenseless, their ass.
"I'll carry you." He picked her up and began to move across the first lane of traffic. A driver honked. Another yelled something that was lost in the wind. Most just swerved and looked irritated, as if they had to deal with a lot of ratty teenagers carrying old hippie women across the freeway.
And then, Stheno was on him, calling down gleefully, "Clever boy! Found a goddess to carry, did you?"
Iūnō cackled with delight, muttering, "Whoops!" as a car almost killed them.
Euryale screamed as she drew closer, "Get them! Two prizes are better than one!"
Percy bolted as the gorgons swooping down, cars swerving as the monsters passed overhead. Percy ran for the door in the hillside.
Magnus yelled, unsheathing Sumarbrandr with one hand and calling upon his magicka with the other.
Percy shouted, "Wait!"
The sentient sword went flying in through the air. Stheno wailed in pain. Medea conjured a spear as she frantically gestured for Percy to hurry though her eyes weren't really on him, but instead tracking the monsters.
"Gotcha!" shrieked Euryale. Percy turned as a blast of magicka threw her backward. Euryale tumbled into the fast lane, slamming into truck before she climbed over the cab and launched back into the air.
Percy reached the door. "Thanks," he told the guards who were actually his friends from his "old life". "Good shot."
"That should've killed her!" Magnus protested, eyes not even paying attention to Percy. Mercurius wondered if that was Iūnō's doing. They should have at least recognized his voice.
"Welcome to my world," Percy muttered.
"Magnus," Medea said. "Get them inside, quick! Those are gorgons."
"Gorgons?" Magnus squeaked. "Will the door hold them?"
In Percy's arms, Iūnō cackled. "No, no it won't. Onward, Percy Jackson! Through the tunnel, over the river!"
"Percy?!" Medea exclaimed in relief, her shoulder length bangs twirled and danced in the air as if they were infused with her magicka. "Oh, thank the gods!" She glanced at Iuno. "But who's the—" She shook her head. "Never mind. Just get inside. I'll hold them off."
"Medea," Magnus said; pleaded really. "Don't be crazy."
"Go!" she demanded.
Magnus cursed in another language—the one that he was creating; Alf-speak, name pending—and opened the door. "Come on!"
Percy followed, staggering under the weight of Iūnō. Medea was pushing the gorgons back bit by bit with her magicka, turning the tunnel into its own field of destruction to buy time. It didn't stop the sisters, but Medea wasn't one to give up either and soon, the tunnel shook as she yelled and called out one of Lea's explosion spells.
"Shouldn't we check on Medea?" Percy asked.
"She'll be okay—I hope," Magnus said, eyes flickering back as if he wanted to do just that. "She's good underground." The entire labyrinth quest that they went on said something different considering that they ended up in two separate realms. "Just keep moving! We're almost there."
"Almost where?"
Iūnō chuckled. "All roads lead there, child. You should know that."
"Detention?" Percy asked. Mercurius laughed alongside a few of the other gods. Even with his memories gone, the boy remembered how much of a troublemaker that he was. At least, for the things that he was at fault for.
"Rome, child," Iūnō said. "Rome."
They kept running. The glow at the end of the tunnel grew brighter, and finally they burst into sunlight.