▬▬▬ CHAPTER THIRTY ▬▬▬

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!! 🎄🎄🎄 I was gonna update yesterday as a Christmas Eve present but I had to help the fam out with preparing the party. And no, we had no visitors. It was just us, but we wanted to celebrate anyways. My nephew was VERY sad that nobody bought him a playstation 5. Kind of our fault for getting his poor hopes up tho since every time he cried about wanting one we'd say "you'll get one on Christmas" to shut him up, but oh well 😂 😂

A FEW DAYS AFTER THE Battle of the Labyrinth, Chiron decided to hold a war meeting in the Big House. Esmerelda came with since she had important information to tell everyone regarding the Titan Army.

Chiron, the cabin counselors, and Esmerelda filed into the room. Dionysus didn't bother joining since he was still grieving over his son's death. Nobody could really blame him.

Once the meeting settled down, Esmerelda took a deep breath and started to speak up. "I have some pretty bad news... it's about the Titan Army. I learned from Ethan—"

"—Hold on, Ethan Nakamura?" Katie interrupted. "What were you doing with him?"

She sighed. "Long story short, Ethan found out Luke was planning to use me to host Kronos—which was why he wanted me to join him so badly. Ethan didn't want me to die, so he worked together with Alabaster to sneak out and find me in the Labyrinth before Luke could get me. Anyways, he managed to get me out of the Labyrinth and he warned me to stay away from Camp Half-Blood because of the attack and all. He said we wouldn't win, that their numbers—their demigod numbers—were by the thousands."

"The thousands? How is that possible?" Clarisse demanded. "Camp only had a little over a hundred campers before Luke started his army. How the Hades did he managed to get a thousand demigods to join him when there was already so few of us?"

"Maybe he managed to get newly-discovered demigods," Travis shrugged.

"But that's still impossible." Percy frowned. "I mean, we lost about eighty campers. That would mean he managed to find over nine hundred demigods roaming around America. How could he do that? I mean, we got a bunch of satyrs here and they could only find a handful demigods per month."

"Percy's got a point," Beckendorf agreed. "There's no way he could've found that many demigods in a few years. It's gotta be something else."

"Wait, how do we even know Ethan was being honest with you?" Connor asked. He turned to Esmerelda. "I mean, he's Ethan. He might've been lying just to scare you off."

"No, I think he was telling the truth," Annabeth said darkly. "Did you see how many of them attacked the camp? There was so many of them. The entire camp was nearly flooded by all the enemy demigods. There were hundreds of them, maybe even thousands like he said. Ethan wasn't lying."

The whole room fell silent. If that was true—and it most likely was—then they were in a lot of trouble. So far they had about fifty or so campers left. That was nothing compared to the Titan Army's thousands. Plus, they had the additional help of monsters.

"But—but how?" Clarisse spluttered. "Chiron? You must know something, right?"

They all turned to him. The old centaur's face was an ashen white and his expression was solemn. Like he seemed to know what exactly was going on, but wasn't allowed to say it out loud.

"I'm afraid I know nothing," he answered grimly. "But what I do know, is that the amount of soldiers they have is greatly concerning. Percy will be turning sixteen soon, and when he does, the final battle will follow. We must do all we can to reduce their numbers before it happens."

They looked at each other uneasily before Annabeth spoke up. "The Princess Andromeda," she said, in a quiet voice.

They all turned to her.

She cleared her throat and spoke again, her voice stronger, but there was a slight shakiness in it that she was trying to hide. "The Princess Andromeda is the cruise ship where Luke is housing most of his army in. It's hard to catch since it travels faster than any mortal ship and is protected by some sort of magic or a Titan, but..." She swallowed thickly. "If we—if we destroy it, we can lessen their numbers and give ourselves an advantage."

Esmerelda's breath hitched. Ethan and her siblings were on that ship. She would lose them all if Annabeth's plan was followed.

But this is war, isn't it? She reminded herself. There's no mercy in war.

She couldn't afford to see them as friends and family anymore. They were enemies now, she had to get that through her head. They were traitors.

(And soon, they'd be dead)

Judging by the sullen looks on everyone's faces, they were coming into terms with that as well. Esmerelda wasn't the only one who had loved ones join the enemy after all. She wouldn't be the only one losing people she knew.

"Explosives," Beckendorf said quietly. "That should be the best way to do it."

"They'll have to be massive. Powerful." Annabeth told him. "The ship's huge."

He nodded. "My cabin will make as many as we need and they'll be as powerful as we need them to be. Do you know the layout of the ship? I need to know where to plant them."

"You?" Silena echoed, looking terrified. Understandable since they were dating. "Hold on, you're going to do it?"

"Yep," he said grimly. "Me."

Silent looked as if she was going to be sick.

"I'll go with you then," Percy offered quickly. "The Princess Andromeda's most likely somewhere in the sea. I can have some pegasi fly us over there. We'll have an advantage too since the sea is my dad's domain. Nothing should happen to us there."

Beckendorf looked relieved and grateful. "Thanks man."

"No problem, just tell me when you're ready." Percy grinned reassuringly.

"When do you think everything will be prepared?" Chiron asked.

Beckendorf frowned to himself and fell silent as he thought about. "Most likely next summer. I'll do my best to get everything done before your birthday, but there's still a lot to do. We gotta forge more weapons, fix all the damages around camp that the battle caused. It'll take a while for the bombs to be finished."

"Then it's settled," Chiron nodded. "Thank you for bringing us this useful information, Esmerelda. Beckendorf, you and your siblings may receive any of the supplies you need. In the meanwhile, I'll try to gather as many reinforcements as I can. Meeting adjourned."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Esmerelda spent the next few hours in the Judgement Pavilion. Much to her satisfaction, the demigods who had perished during the battle had been granted Elysium—even those who had joined the enemies. And even better was that none of her siblings were among the dead. 

(For now)

Right now, it was time for Daedalus to be judged.

Hades sat up a little straighter. Daedalus' judgment was the whole reason he was here in the first place.

It was rare for the Lord of the Dead to watch a soul being judged, but since Daedalus was one of the few people to attempt to cheat death (and to actually accomplish it for a thousands of years), this was a special case.

Esmerelda fidgeted in the mini throne he had made for her, exchanging a look with Nico who sat on a similar throne beside her.

"You know, Lord Hades, Daedalus is a brilliant inventor," she began. "It would be such a waste to send him to the Fields of Punishment."

"Hmmm..." He seemed to be listening to her.

"No!" Minos screeched from the judge's podium. His fellow co-judges, Aeacus and Rhadamanthus, winced at his shrilly volume. "My Lord, do not listen to her! Daedalus is treacherous! He is better suited to boil alive in cheese fondue!"

Daedalus grimaced from where he sat at the defendant's table. He did not seem excited to spend the rest of eternity boiling in cheese fondue. Maybe he was lactose-intolerant or something.

"But my Lord, perhaps he can help us with the situation in Asphodel. It's quite full... I remember you saying something about wanting to ease the traffic congestion. Daedalus could build something to fix that." Esmerelda suggested.

Daedalus seemed to light up. "That's correct. It sounds like you'll need an overpass to be made... maybe some exit ramps too..." The gears were already turning in his head.

"Hmmm," Hades said more... enthusiastically, somehow. He seemed to like that idea a lot.

Minos, however, didn't. "That's a terrible idea, my Lord!" He cried out desperately. "Daedalus cannot be trusted! His soul deserves to be sent to the Fields! He needs punishment! Not a job!"

"You can make him build forever," Nico suggested to his father. "That would be a punishment, wouldn't it, father?"

Daedalus nodded in agreement, feigning a look of fear. "Oh yes, my Lords and Lady, it will be torture for me. Pure agony."

"It'll be a win-win situation, my Lord," Esmerelda beamed. "You get to fix your traffic problem and Daedalus gets his punishment."

"That is right," Hades murmured.

"But—but the cheese fondue!" Minos sputtered.

"I have made my decision," Hades announced, waving the old king off. "Daedalus, son of Athena, your punishment is to eternally build for the Underworld. Overpasses, bridges, exit ramps, statues—anything I ask for, you must build."

Minos let out a cry of defeat.

"You should let him see his son and nephew too," Esmerelda added hopefully. "As, uh, extra incentive to work harder, of course."

"Fine. I shall allow that as well, but only on the weekends."

"NOOOO!" Minos wailed.

Minos protested and protested, but Hades had the final say and the verdict had already been made. He would not be able to have his revenge. Daedalus sent Esmerelda and Nico grateful looks before he was ushered off to begin his 'punishment'.

Nico and Esmerelda fist-bumped, staring smugly at Minos' reddened face. When all that was done and Hades disappeared into the shadows, the pair of them walked out of the Judgement Pavilion to head off to the River Styx.

"It's weird," Nico commented, glancing back at the grand building. "How my father listens to you." He remembered Minos' story about the reincarnated soul and pursed his lips. Now that he knew how much of a liar and a manipulator he was, he no longer believed anything the ghost told him.

...But what if that one was true? And if so, just who was Esmerelda in her previous life?

"Yeah," she agreed with her brows furrowed. "It is weird. I don't quite get it either... Maybe it's because of who my mother is? I mean, Hecate's friends with Hades, Persephone and Demeter. Maybe that's it."

Nico shrugged.

They made it to the River Styx (but not before playing with Cerberus on the way). It was the same as always: dark and polluted, filled with broken toys, ripped up diplomas, divorce papers, etc. The scrapheap of human miseries.

"The River Styx," Nico murmured, looking down at the dirty waters in disgust. "Full of lost hopes and dreams, as well as wishes that never came true. I wonder if something from me is in here. I wouldn't be surprised."

"I'm sure we all have something in here," Esmerelda stated. "So this is it? Do you really think it would work?"

He nodded seriously. "It's the only choice he's got. Plus, I'm positive Luke has done it already. You told me about what happened last winter, how Thalia kicked him off a cliff and he landed on a bunch of rocks."

"Yes..." She said slowly, coming to a realization. "Which means he must have taken the Curse of Achilles by then..."

"Exactly. And if we can't find out where his Achilles Heel is located, then he's practically untouchable." He stated solemnly.

"We could always poison him," she suggested.

"That works?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I'm pretty sure. Bearer's of the curse are immune to injury, but their bodies are still mortal. I know for a fact that poison would work because Ethan put laxatives in the army's food supply and Luke was one of the people who ended up with diarrhea."

He stared at her with wide eyes. "He seriously did that?"

"Yep."

He turned away. "I guess he's not that bad then," he said begrudgingly. "Poison might work, but our greatest chance is for Percy to take up the Curse."

"We need to know how, first." Esmerelda pointed out. "I doubt it's as easy as taking a dip and then coming back out invulnerable."

He nodded in agreement. "You're right. I did some research on it, but I'm not sure."

"What is it?" She asked.

"One minor detail," he replied. "For a person to successfully receive the curse, they need to earn their parent's blessing beforehand. I don't know if it's true, but we need to make sure first because if we screw this up—"

"—Then Percy dies." She finished, grimacing. "Alright. The easiest way to confirm this is to ask Lord Hades..."

He scoffed. "He won't help. He hates Percy and he couldn't care less about the war."

"Then I guess we'll have to find Luke's mother and ask if he went to her for permission..." She said slowly, her grimace worsening. "I don't know anything about her though. Maybe I can ask Annabeth or Thalia or..."

She trailed off. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

They looked at each other, feeling defeated already.

After that grim scene, the two parted ways. Nico headed to his father's palace while Esmerelda went to visit her own father. She hadn't seen him or contacted him in weeks, so she knew he was worried sick about her.

"Dad?" She said as she stepped into the cell.

Regulus had been reading when she walked in. He stood up immediately, eyes wide. "Esmerelda...!" He breathed out a sigh of relief.

She smiled widely and threw her arms around him. He must not have been used to affection in his life, because he stiffened as if he didn't know what to do, then awkwardly hugged her back.

"You're alive..." He said in pure relief.

She pulled away, her eyes watering. "I'm sorry I haven't visited you. There was so much going on. I had no time, everything was happening too fast—"

He shook his head and hushed her. "You need to breath, Esmerelda. How about you sit down and tell me what happened? Take your time and breath."

She did as she was told, practically collapsing on a chair. She spewed out everything that had happened before, staring from the very beginning—to her fall into the Labyrinth, to her and Nico's visit to the River Styx and what they planned to do. Regulus listened intently, his face perfectly expressionless as if he had been trained since a child to never show emotions.

Until she told him why Hecate had her in the first place.

"That... that was Hecate's plan all along...?" He said breathlessly. "She... used me... and I... I..."

"She used us both," Esmerelda said carefully, watching his expression. Regulus' eyes were watering with tears that he refused to shed and his chest was moving up and down rapidly as if he was holding in his sobs. He looked angry, but most of all, he looked hurt.

He had stated multiple times that he hated her mother, but maybe that was because he used to love her.

"I'm sorry, dad," she told him quietly.

He blinked the tears away and hardened his expression. "She's nothing to me now," he muttered. "So just forget about it. Tell me about the war." He'd do anything for a change of subject.

"Percy turns sixteen on August 18th. That's next summer." She said despairingly. "They'll attack Olympus, meaning New York will be in danger. Uncle Sirius... I need to find a way to make him leave."

"You must leave with him, then." He said.

"What?"

"You shouldn't fight in this war, Esmerelda. I want Sirius out of the war zone, but I want the same for you too. If you died, then—then—"

"—I'm sorry, dad," she interrupted him, and she really was sorry. "But I can't do that. Because if Kronos wins, then we're all gonna die anyways. Even worse, when Kronos rises to full power, he will come from Tartarus. Tartartus is right here in the Underworld, dad. If he wins, this whole place will be destroyed, as will you."

For a second it looked like he had stopped breathing.

She held his hand and continued on, "I need to fight. Camp Half-Blood needs all the help it can get. Because if we lose, then it's game over for everyone."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Esmerelda finally went back home that night. Ted, Andromeda, and Remus must have been out or they must have returned to Britain once they were certain that she was alright, because the only one in the penthouse was Sirius and a sleeping Buckbeak.

Sirius was splayed over the hippo-couch, swaddled in a polka-dotted blanket like a newborn baby. He was deep asleep, but the television was still blaring. Apparently he was watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians while she was gone.

Quietly, she went for the remote and turned the television off. Sirius must have gotten used to the noise though, because the second the screen turned black, he started to wake up.

"Hmmmghurghh...?" He mumbled incoherently, his grey eyes blinking open lazily. Then they fixed onto her and snapped open. He sat up quickly, realized it was really her, then jumped onto his feet.

"Essie!" He cried out in relief. "You're alive! Oh, that's great! Moony and Andy would be happy! What happened? Why were you gone for so long?!"

"I'm sorry," she apologized tiredly, her bones feeling heavy and weary. "Where are the others?"

"They went home," he answered. "When the cops completely forgot about you, they figured you were alive and somehow managed to use your Mist thingy on them."

"Yeah, I did," she snorted. "Walked right into the police station and made them think I was innocent. Sorry I took so long to come back, I... a lot had happened."

She told him the same thing she said to her father, but Sirius took the information a lot better.

"So," he said with forced cheeriness. "You're going into war and the fate of the world depends on you guys winning."

"Yes," she answered.

"Wonderful," he said, smiling tightly. "Just... wonderful. Wow, this is..." He let out a shaky laugh. "Esmerelda, this is truly terrifying."

She shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's not your fault. It's just... I knew everything was going to change when I discovered that the Greek myths were real but... this—this is insane." He ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, I thought Voldemort was a threat, but... but if you guys lose—"

"—Then the world ends." She finished blandly.

He blanched. "Yeah, that. Oh... oh, this is just..." He had to sit back down. "And you say that... that you have loved ones on the other side of the war?"

She flinched. "Yes," she answered quietly.

"I'm sorry," he said genuinely.

"Ethan... Ethan tried to help me. Twice." She said. "Once when he helped me escape the Princess Andromeda. And then again in the Labyrinth. He didn't want me to become Kronos' host. He knew I wouldn't make it..." She trailed off. "Luke... told me that Ethan loved me."

His eyes widened in disbelief.

"I made him hesitate and become doubtful," she continued. "Because of me, Ethan was so easy for Luke to manipulate. I gave him so many chances to come back. If he loved me, he'd come back, wouldn't he? Maybe Luke was wrong, maybe he didn't love me strongly enough, because Ethan still decided to side with Kronos. Even pledged himself to him and awakened him. Soon, I'll have to face him in the battlefield. I might have to kill him, but..." She trailed off.

Sirius eyes widened when she began to tear up.

"How did you do it?" She whispered almost lifelessly.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Accept it." She said. "When Peter betrayed you, and you—you were ready to kill him. All those years of friendship... of knowing, caring, and loving him. All those memories you had. How did you let that go so quickly?"

Sirius fell quiet. His eyes scanned her face as she started to break apart before him.

"How... how could you do what I can't?" She asked desperately. She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Tell me how you let him go and I'll do the same with Ethan. Tell me, uncle. Please... War is coming. I want to let him go, bu—but I just can't—"

Sirius was speechless.

He couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it, because it sounded a lot like his niece loved the traitor back. His betrayal wouldn't hurt her as much as it did if she didn't. She wouldn't be struggling to let him go so much.

He wished he could help her, but he knew he couldn't. There was a difference between what Peter's relationship to him was, and what Ethan's relationship to her was.

He and Peter were friends, but their bond wasn't that close. It wasn't as tightly knit as Ethan and Esmerelda's.

And more importantly, he and Peter weren't in love with each other.

But Ethan and Esmerelda were. She didn't seem to realize it though, and that was the problem. She was coming to him for help because she didn't know how to let him go—didn't know why she couldn't let him go.

He would have to tell her...

"Esmerelda..." He said in his gentlest voice, before he began to explain to her why she was feeling that sort of heart-wrenching pain. "Esmerelda, I can't help you. Not with this. I'm sorry, but... but me and Peter, we were close friends, yes, but... I think your bond with Ethan ran a lot deeper than that..."

"What do you mean?" She said shakily, but she already knew what he was suggesting.

"Esmerelda... I think you really love this boy," he finally told her, and the look he gave her was a cross between pity and the sort of look you would give to someone you knew who was about to suffer a terrible fate.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Today was August 18, Percy Jackson's fifteenth birthday.

There was exactly one year left until the (possible) end of the world.

But on a happier note, Esmerelda had been invited over for the birthday party! It was really only her though because she lived close by (they both lived in the wonderful city of Manhattan). His birthday also fell right after camp, so none of their camper friends could come and he wasn't that popular in the mortal world either.

His mother's boyfriend (and potential husband), Paul Blofis, was coming over too. Apparently he was a teacher at Percy's new school, Goode High School, which was awkward because he kind of caused the band room to explode (she could relate, she was pretty good at causing explosions too). Luckily for him, Chiron used the Mist to manipulate everyone at the school that he was innocent—similarly to what she had done with the police officers.

"Nice to meet you, sir," she greeted him politely, even shaking his hand when he offered it. "I'm Essie, a friend of Percy from summer camp."

"Oh, that mysterious summer camp I keep hearing all about," the upper corners of his lips rose into a grin. "He always talks so fondly about it, but I don't know what could be so fun about selling strawberries."

Ah, that was right. To mortals, Camp Half-Blood was actually known as the Delphi Strawberry Service.

"Uh, well, we all love strawberries." Esmerelda said, hiding an amused grin.

"Isn't that technically child labor, though?" He asked with a crinkled nose.

"Um, no?" She lied terribly. Letting out a nervous laugh, she excused herself when she pretended to notice Tyson needing help with something.

Tyson was the only one aside from her and Paul to attend the birthday party. Sally had baked two extra blue cakes just for him, knowing that he had a huge appetite.

Sally was the best mom ever. She had only known the woman for less than an hour, but she already wished she had her for a mother (and really, who could blame her when her own mother decided to create her for the purpose of using her for a peace offering that would ultimately lead to her death). Sally Jackson was everything she had ever wished for in a parent: she was caring, understanding, and didn't hate Percy for being what he was. She was nothing like the foster parents she had before.

Percy truly was lucky. She honestly couldn't blame him for breaking into the Underworld at age twelve in order to save his mother. She'd probably do it too had she known her before.

Esmerelda was in the middle of helping Sally out with the balloons when Paul took Percy to the kitchens to have a man-to-man talk.

"So," Sally began once Paul was out of ear-shot. "You're the witch that Percy's been telling me about?"

She nodded. "He talks about me?"

"Oh yes. Not as much as he talks about Annabeth, of course."

She snickered. "Yeah, I figured. Those two are taking forever to get together."

From the other side of the room, fiddling with his own balloons, Tyson nodded in agreement. "Yes. Percy and the pretty girl like each other a lot," he frowned. "But I don't think they know it yet."

"That's 'cause they're dense," Esmerelda sighed in disappointment.

Tyson suddenly gasped. He dropped the balloon he was blowing and snapped his head towards the kitchen, and then he grinned widely in excitement. Whatever he heard Percy and Paul talking about got him happy.

"Tyson?" Sally asked in concern. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, his smile never fading. "Nothing!"

Time passed after the balloons were set and the two boys finished with their talk. Percy was just about to blow out the candles when the doorbell rang. Esmerelda thought it was more guests coming over, but Sally didn't seem to know who it was. When she went up to open the door, she gasped.

It was Poseidon. He was wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt and Birkenstocks. His black beard was neatly trimmed and his sea-green eyes twinkled. He wore a battered cap decorated with fishing lures. It said NEPTUNE'S LUCKY FISHING HAT. He looked nothing like a god, but the powerful air he radiated said otherwise.

"Pos—" Sally stopped herself. She was blushing right to the roots of her hair. "Um, hello."

Esmerelda looked between her, Poseidon, and Paul. She shared a glance with Percy that both screamed, 'Awkward!'.

"Hello, Sally," Poseidon said. "You look as beautiful as ever. May I come in?"

She made a squeaking sound that might've been either a "Yes" or "Help." Poseidon took it as a yes and came in.

Now, don't get Esmerelda wrong, Poseidon was probably one of the chillest gods she knew and she had nothing against him (he did vote to spare her after all), but she doubted he came here to wish Percy a happy birthday. Percy must have realized it too because he soon became apprehensive.

Paul was looking back and forth between the kids, trying to read their expressions. Finally he stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Paul Blofis."

Poseidon raised his eyebrows as they shook hands. "Blowfish, did you say?"

"Ah, no. Blofis, actually."

"Oh, I see," Poseidon said. "A shame. I quite like blowfish. I am Poseidon."

"Poseidon? That's an interesting name."

"Yes, I like it. I've gone by other names, but I do prefer Poseidon."

"Like the god of the sea."

"Very much like that, yes."

"Well!" Sally interrupted. Esmerelda truly wouldn't want to be in her position at the moment. This was honestly one of the most awkward situations ever. "Um, we're so glad you could drop by. Paul, this is Percy's father."

"Ah." Paul nodded, though he didn't look real pleased. "I see."

Poseidon smiled at the kids. "There you are, my boy. Hello, Esmerelda."

Esmerelda nearly bowed, but she remembered where she was and gave him an awkward wave. "Hi, Lo—I mean, sir."

He turned to Tyson and his smile widened some more. "And Tyson, hello, son!"

"Daddy!" Tyson bounded across the room and gave Poseidon a big hug, which almost knocked off his fishing hat.

Paul's jaw dropped. He stared at Sally. "Tyson is..."

"Not mine," she promised. "It's a long story."

"I couldn't miss Percy's fifteenth birthday," Poseidon said. "Why, if this were Sparta, Percy would be a man today!"

"That's true," Paul agreed. "I used to teach ancient history."

Poseidon's eyes twinkled. "That's me. Ancient history. Sally, Paul, Esmerelda, Tyson... would you mind if I borrowed Percy for a moment?"

After getting permission, he practically steered his son into the kitchen.

Sally let out a nervous laugh, trying to pretend as if everything was perfectly fine and dandy—either for her sake or for Paul's. She glanced over at Esmerelda, her eyes practically screaming, 'What is he doing here?!'.

Esmerelda honestly had no clue, so she shrugged.

Percy and Poseidon's talk took a while, but when it was over, it was only Percy who walked out of the kitchen. They had to try and convince a very confused Paul that Poseidon had left via the fire escape, but since people couldn't vanish into thin air, he had no choice but to believe it.

The rest of the party resumed normally. They ate blue cake and ice cream, then played a bunch of cheesy games. While Tyson, Sally, and Paul got a little too obsessed with a game of Monopoly, Percy and Esmerelda decided to let them have at it while they retreated to Percy's bedroom. 

"I wouldn't worry about Daedalus," she assured when Percy mentioned him. "Nico and I miraculously managed to persuade Hades into 'punishing' him by making him work in the Underworld for all eternity. He's been a great employee, building ramps and bridges and whatnot—and he gets to visit his son and nephew." 

"Wow," Percy blinked in surprise. "How'd Minos react to that?"

"Oh he was angry, of course." She snickered. "He wanted to boil him alive in cheese fondue and he nearly had a temper tantrum when Daedalus was let off easy. Now he's just been giving me, Nico, and Daedalus dirty looks whenever we're on our lunch breaks." 

"You guys get lunch breaks?" 

"Well I do," she corrected sheepishly. "Being alive and all. Daedalus just sits with me and we discuss ideas. He's planning on trying to get wifi into the Underworld and making smart TVs for me and Nico in our palaces." 

His jaw dropped. "Hold on, you guys have your own palaces?"

"Not like that. It's our parents' palaces but they're rarely in it. Hades is too swamped with work and Hecate's gone. But enough about that! What did Poseidon talk to you about?" 

"He gave me a sand dollar," he answered dully. 

"A sand dollar?" She blinked in confusion. "What can you use it for? Is it, like, actual currency back at Atlantis or something?"

"I have no clue," he shrugged. "But he said it was important. I'll save it for later." He placed it inside a drawer beside his bed. He patted down his pockets and began removing everything else he was carrying—Riptide, a Kleenex, his apartment key, and then a tiny sprig of some plant.

"What is that?" She asked curiously.

"Moonlace," he breathed out. "Calypso gave it to me."

"Oh yeah," she drawled. "I remember hearing about that. You blew up Mount Saint Helens and awakened Typhon. Everyone thought you died. Chiron figured that since you were dead, then we'd have more time to prepare for war. You know, since Nico was still young and all. But then you went and crashed your own funeral and destroyed all of his hopes and dreams."

"Gee," he said sarcastically. "Glad to know he was relieved to find out I was alive."

"You should plant it," she suggested, gesturing to the sprig.

He nodded in agreement and looked around. "Calypso said something about how it sprouts under moonlight."

He turned to the fire escape. He opened it and they stepped out together. An empty planter box was already out there. With her help, they planted the dried spring of moonlace carefully in the dirt and sprinkled a little nectar on it from his camp canteen.

Nothing happened at first. But then, a tiny silver plant sprang out of the soil—a baby moonlace, growing in the warm summer night.

"Nice plant," a voice said.

Esmerelda squeaked and spun around. "Nico!"

"Dude," Percy said, eyes wide. "You nearly gave us a heart attack!"

"Sorry," Nico shrugged. "Didn't mean to startle you guys."

Esmerelda quickly figured out why he was there. "We're going to tell him now?" She asked.

He nodded seriously. "He needs to know."

Percy looked between them in confusion. "What's going on? What do you guys need to tell me?"

Esmerelda and Nico exchanged dark looks. The latter turned to Percy. "Essie and I... we've found out some things. I want to make you an offer."

"What?"

"A way to beat Luke..." Esmerelda said softly.

His eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

Nico nodded in confirmation. "Exactly what she said, and if we're right, it's the only way you'll stand a chance."

He took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm listening."

Nico glanced inside Percy's bedroom. His eyebrows furrowed. "Is that... is that blue birthday cake?"

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Esmerelda frowned.

Nico seemed to not like upsetting her, because he immediately looked apologetic. "Sorry."

"Come inside for some cake and ice cream," Percy offered. "It sounds like we've got a lot to talk about."

END OF BOOK THREE

— author's note —

Okay, so when I found out that Camp Jupiter knew about the Titan Army and attacked them at Mount Othrys, I figured that some Roman campers might have deserted the camp to join the enemy. I mean, how else would certain demigods get precious metals that the Romans used. Demigods like Alabaster were somehow able to get their hands on an Imperial Gold sword after all.

Also, according to the books (including the Demigod Diaries) the Titan Army had over a thousand (I think I read somewhere in a wiki page that there were about 2,000) enemy demigods that joined. There's nooo way they were all Greek. They must have gotten some Roman demigods and/or legacies to join (plus the Romans lived longer and, uh, multiplied more lol so there would be tons of them)

And no, I don't think the Romans and Greeks were aware of each other even then. Greeks and Romans have an uuuugly history and if they were aware of the other's existence, there would be a lot of in-fighting going on, which would only hold the Titam Army back. So I believe that Hecate probs used the Mist on their minds to keep them unaware.

CHARLES BECKENDORF
played by DEXTER DARDEN

OFGREENGABLES (they're a user from Quotev) ALSO GAVE ME THIS SUPER COOL GIF JUST A WHILE AGO AND OMG???? IT'S AMAZING AND I LOVE IT! I don't think I've ever received anything like this for this series, but I fucking love this so much, thank you!!!

BOOK THREE IS OVER! I'll see you guys in book four! That's when the canon divergence begins! I'll clarify a little on what I mean once I publish book four. Read the foreword for book four carefully, cuz that's where I'll be placing the explanation in.