~ ☼ ~

I was warm for the rest of the day. I no longer wanted to fight, and since we didn't even know where the rest of Camp was - probably down at the Empire State Building, protecting Olympus - we decided our time would be best spent defending the infirmary. And, uh, figuring out if there wasn't anything we could do for all the New Yorker victims of the battle.

"There's gotta be something else we can do," I said. "If Perses is the titan of destruction, who's the titan of, um, construction?"

We were packing take away bags with fruit, toiletries, and first aid, the best thing we could think of for now. At the very least, they could be helpful for half-bloods as we went back to camp... assuming Percy would successfully defeat Kronos here soon.

I'd told Alec and Riley about the dream earlier. By the end of my story, there were tears in both of their eyes.

"I guess that's a guarantee that we'll win," Alec said. "If he's spending his time talking to you rather than fighting people."

"He's been spending this whole time looking for you," Riley pointed out. "I really don't think he's ever been on the front line."

That didn't surprise me.

But I really did feel like were going to win. Maybe it was Apollo's message hanging with me. Maybe it was because we'd already lost and gained so much that I hardly cared at this point (foolish, I know) whether or not Kronos won.

Back to our national guard station.

I assumed that was what the mist would disguise us as when we started handing out our aid kits. As far as what the war itself would show up as, I still had no clue. Thank the Gods there was no one person in charge of the mist, because they'd have to be the most pressured god of them all.

"I got it!" Riley exclaimed as she came into the kitchen with short pockets full of Acetaminophen bottles. "It's no ambrosia, but it should help."

Alec had sent her off a few minutes ago to the actual real hotel first aid office to get mortal painkillers. If she was back, that should mean...

A moment later, Lacey and Aria returned, using one of those Esteban-style bellhop trolleys to cart a bunch of 24 packs of Bottled Water. neither of them were anywhere as near as chipper as Riley, but Aria looked remarkably calm for her separation from her peers, and Lacey was actually... smiling, as she said something to her. I didn't know if she was just happy to be included or if she really had changed her mind on all of us. Maybe they'd been talking about Lucas; I'd hoped for that when I'd seen them go off together.

"Okay," Alec said. "We got water, food, painkillers, bandages, tissues. Would a victim of this need anything else?"

"A change of clothes?" Aria supplied.

"Strong mental health services," I said.

Alec chuckled, but we all knew it was true.

"This should be good enough," Riley said. "Shame we don't have more."

But we were only one hotel, and there were a million people in New York. I wanted to focus on the people who'd been particularly victimized - the people in trapped cars down where the giants had stomped all over them and the buildings that had been set on fire in various skirmishes. I swallowed.

"Yeah," I said. "I wish the Gods would give back."

"Careful," Alec said. "They might get mad at you for deigning to ask for charity."

"To be fair," Riley said, "They do have ancient laws that get in the way of them doing certain things."

That was true. But I knew there was still more they could do. And there was more we could do, too. Get a really good therapist installed at Camp.

"The gods are not people as we know them," Lacey said, suddenly, the first thing she'd said since she'd returned to the room. She crossed her arms. She'd tied her dark hair back into a braid, looking once again like a daughter of Aphrodite. "They're manifestations of our culture. They - they change if we change."

When all of us were silent, she added, "Hypothetically."

"You're right," Aria said. "I mean - look at Mr. D. He used to be an alcoholic lecher, and now he just drinks coke and plays video games."

"That's because Zeus cursed him," Alec pointed out.

"You know what I mean. He's changed with Western Civilization and all that." She waved a hand, dismissing the thought. "They - they work for us. Like politicians. We hold them accountable."

Lacey was looking at her with admiration, like this is exactly what she'd meant. I still found it hard to believe.

"So what do we do?" I asked. "To change their minds about stuff?"

"We change campers' minds first," Lacey said, nodding at Alec and I. "And as far as the things we can't change - like, kids being unclaimed and whatnot... I don't know. We'll leave that up to the people who have an in with the Olympians. We just have to keep existing."

~ ☼ ~

I'll spoil the story for you, because you probably already know this ending anyway. Eventually I found out that Percy had an in with the Olympians, and he did what was right. They gave him an offer for immortality, and he traded it for a rule that half-bloods wouldn't go unclaimed after age 13. It was perfect. I wondered if Lacey was psychic too, or if this was just what it was like being part of a legion that could count on each other.

~ ☼ ~

When the curse keeping the city asleep finally broke, I knew the end was coming. We were able to IM Will at last; he was in a cafe bathroom with Lucky, Kayla, and Austin - all of whom were over the moon to see us safe - and he told us they were sealed outside the ESB. Inside the building, and on Olympus, Kronos had put up a magical barrier, keeping his court, Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and the satyr Grover isolated from everybody else.

Will was doing his best to keep a mini infirmary going in the cafe, with Kayla and Austin on defense. Hades and Persephone and some son of Hades were all there, leading a charge of undead soldiers. Silena Beauregard had been the spy; she was now dead, just like Beckendorf. And in the peak of the battle, the Ares Cabin had come back. Had pushed forces off; had ensured Percy could get to Olympus.

Lucky said she thought Silena hadn't been cheating on Beckendorf, but he'd known she and Clarisse apparently had a thing and was okay with it. She was incredibly excited about the concept, despite the fact that 2/3 people in this situation were now dead. The soapiness combined with a possible LGBT couple - and kind, gentle Silena's death - made all of our heads' spin. Made us all want to be there as quick as we could be.

But we couldn't; the mortals were waking up, and they saw us.

"What happened?" said the first one who saw us, a kitchen worker who'd been laying on the floor in here the whole time. "Oh, god."

He touched his head, in pain.

"Here," Alec said, immediately taking an Aleve from one of the bags and forcing it in the cook's mouth. "Stay hydrated."

The cook, half out of it, did as he did, but another cook was waking up then. And, just like his co-worker, he also said, "What happened?"

"Uh..." Alec made a face. "Here, just take this bottle and dispense it as needed."

Without another word, he gave the guy the Aleve bottle and a bottle of water. Riley and I took that as a sign to push the cart, now stacked with our kits, out of the kitchen, into the lobby.

Brynn was standing in the doorway to the makeshift infirmary. When we came out, she caught our eyes across the room and tried to say, with her gaze, What the actual heck!

I just shrugged, unable to give her any advice beyond keep making sure Imani and her few other patients were okay.

There were people wandering down into the lobby, but not as many as I thought there'd be. I knew a lot of the guests were probably outside when the curse had fallen, and the ones who were inside were in their rooms. If I'd woken up in my room, I probably wouldn't have even thought anything of it until I checked my cell phone clock and realized it was 2 days later.

So we went out onto the streets. Based on the looks the few people in the lobby were giving us, we really did look like national guard soldiers. One woman rushed over to Brynn, immediately pelting her with questions. I sent her good vibes as we left, hoping she could lie on command.

Out on the street, things were much more concerning. Our first victim was a lady who'd collapsed right on the sidewalk, twisting her ankle and hitting her head. When Alec noticed her rubbing it, he immediately bent down and began to talk to her. I imagined he had a much better bedside manner than most national guard members. I smiled with pride as she slowly smiled back at him.

Then I looked outwards.

At the edges of the park, there were the dryads - hiding behind trees and leaning over the wall that separated it from the sidewalk. With the now moving cars and people wandering everywhere between us and them, it was easy to not even notice them. But I did.

Hemmings was suddenly at my side. He nudged me in the shoulder, gently. Pushing me forward - across the street. So I did as he told me to, trying to keep that confidence with me.

"You did it!" said American Elm, waiting right there for me. She clasped her hands together, looking emotional. "You - you saved us."

"No, I didn't," I said. "I - the lady who hurt you decided to... un-hurt you."

Meri frowned, and I felt bad. I couldn't say why I wanted to be mean to her. After all, even though it completely bewildered me, she and her friends had chosen me to help them. Out of everybody, they'd thought I was capable and kind enough to be willing.

I softened.

"I'm happy you guys are okay," I said. "No matter who did what."

Now, Meri smiled. She held out a hand, and I watched as Hemmings came over to her. nuzzled her hand, then her face, then huffed in my direction.

I took a step closer, and now Meri held out a hand to me. Awkwardly, I did the only thing that seemed to make sense. I shook her hand.

Immediately, she jumped backwards, like I'd shocked her.

"What!" I exclaimed, instantly terrified.

"You - you have the goddess of grain in you!" Her brown eyes went big. "That's amazing!"

Pride and embarrassment in equal measure twisted through me as Meri's peers began to chatter, some of them coming out from behind their trees to peer at me.

"You can feel it?"

She nodded. "It's... the blessing of plenty."

I gasped. "Do you know what it does?"

"Of course," she said. "That's just the way she describes her food blessing. Basically, once a day, whenever you want, you can have any food you want. Just think of it and it'll appear."

My jaw dropped straight to the ground. I wished Alec was here to hear that.

"You're... kidding me."

"Nope!" Meri beamed.

On top of everything... I had the power to... randomly generate food. This was unfair. This was OP. This with Alec, camp's camaraderie, and my singing bringing healing powers...

It was everything I'd ever wanted.

I didn't know what to do except tip my head back and holler at the sky.

"Woo!" I exclaimed, literally jumping in place. "Oh my gods! Oh my gods! Lady Demeter-" I fell to my knees. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Once my hysteria had subsided, I realized Meri and her friends were all staring at me. I cleared my throat and stood again. Hemmings, at least, seemed as happy as me; his tail was wagging.

"Forever?" I asked.

"Forever," Meri confirmed.

Wow.

I turned, still unable to keep my energy in check. Alec and Riley were standing across the street, staring at me, wondering what the deal was. Alec just looked curious - and happy - but Riley looked proud. Like she already had an idea of what it was.

If I could generate food once a day... hypothetically, I could really use that as a loophole. I had no desire to do it on a daily basis, but right now...

"I, um..." I had to try not wish for too much food, or else we'd end up in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. "I wish for enough food to give to everybody that needs it right now."

Instantly, like the powers knew where I needed it, ten more carts and a truck appeared next to Riley, Alec, Aria, and Lacey. All four of them jumped, with Alec turning towards me immediately, flabbergasted.

I imagined this was how he'd felt when he killed Sisyphus. It was how I'd felt when I'd saved him. Just again. I'd been thrice blessed.

I turned towards the dryads, grinning.

"We're gonna need some help dispensing this to people," I said. "Could I ask a favor of you all?"

There was a collective hum of excitement that cut through the chatter. All eyes went to American Elm, who seemed to be their spokesperson.

"Not a favor," she said. "We're even now."

This time, I didn't argue.

~ ☼ ~

A/N: And so it goes :') Obviously this isn't the actual end, but it is the end of the BoM! I wanted to have the trio and their friends have their own thing going on; though it was fun to have them fight Perses, their biggest conflict was themselves, not the titans, so of course the final showdown had to be about 1. Facing themselves and 2. Facing each other! Though of course Theia helped a little with that in her own way ;)

Keep reading for the last chapter <3