TW: Threat of harm/death and homophobia

Roughly two weeks after Thanksgiving, which I spent with Percy and his family, was Luke's trial. Clarisse and I were the prosecutors, and I had spent a great chunk of time with Percy's family lawyer, Themis Sumner.

Percy picked me up from my dorm (My roommates would be arriving separately), sporting a sea-green suit with a matching tie from the movie Finding Nemo.

"You know this a formal event, right?" I climbed into the front passenger seat and fastened my seatbelt.

"Yes," he said, feigning ignorance. "What's wrong with my outfit?"

"You're wearing a tie from a kid's movie. How is that going to look in front of the judge?"

Percy swung the tie around dramatically. "I don't care what the judge thinks."

"Yep, we're so going to lose this case."

"Oh, relax. I wasn't actually going to wear this." Percy pulled out another tie from the bag in the backseat. "I was trying to be funny."

"Well, you failed miserably," I said.

"Shut up, Owl Head, and hold this while I change my tie." He handed me his Nemo tie and switched it out for a matching one. "Thanks; you can just toss it in the back."

I obliged, and Percy started the engine. We arrived at Pasadena Courthouse with plenty of time before the trial was to begin. He and I milled around for a bit after being checked over and cleared by security and chatted with Jason and Grover until Themis proceeded out of the courtroom.

"Hello, Annabeth," she said warmly with a smile. "Hello, Percy."

"Hi, Themis," I said. "How are the preparations coming?"

Themis pursed her lips. "Not as well as I would prefer, but I have enough evidence to build a strong case against Luke. I have been conferring with your parents, and they just want you to know that they are incredibly proud of you for standing up to Luke."

I blushed slightly but still grinned all the same. "Thanks. Is it time to begin?"

Themis glanced at her watch. "Yes. We ought to enter now." She then addressed my roommates and Percy's friends. "Everyone, please follow me; I will be seating you according to your testimonies."

We proceeded inside. Themis directed Percy, Thalia, my parents, Leo, Clarisse, andChris (Clarisse's boyfriend. Hazel, and I settle into the front row, while Reyna, Piper, Shel, Jason, and Grover occupy the row behind us.

"How are you feeling, Annabeth?" my dad asked, the anxiety evident in his voice.

"I'm okay, Dad," I said.

My stepmom leaned forward. "Are you sure? Would you like a hug?"

"Yes, that would be nice; thank you."

We embraced and then the judge, an older woman with brown, gray-streaked hair pulled back into a French twist, entered the room. She seated herself behind the judicial bench at the front and banged her gavel on her wooden black.

"Order in the court!" the judge shouted, initiating a wave of silence in the room. "The trial shall now begin. Mr. Castellan, you are charged with coercion, blackmail, and emotional distress."

"Not guilty, Your Honor," Luke said confidently.

"Bullshit," Thalia hissed.

"Quiet!" Themis snapped.

The judge glanced briefly at us. "Please proceed with opening statements."

The defender rose. "Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, although the prosecutors claim that my client is guilty of the aforementioned crimes, I intend to demonstrate his innocence."

"Thank you, Mr. Johnson," the judge said as Johnson settled down. "You may sit down. Ms. Sumner, please proceed."

Themis stood up. "Thank you, Your Honor. Members of the jury, through extensive research, interviews, and collaboration with several witnesses, I have acquired substantial evidence to prove the guilt of Luke Castellan. We will present our witnesses to demonstrate his guilt. I call forth Chris Rodriguez."

"Mr. Rodriguez," the judge said, "please describe your relevant interactions with Mr. Castellan."

Chris stood up, sweating slightly. "Luke and I went to high school together in New York; that's where he first met Annabeth, and then they started dating in December of Senior Year. I first noticed signs of his blackmail tactics when he asked a fellow student to help him cheat on the math final of the year. The student refused to help and then Luke...threatened to tell the whole school that he was gay if he didn't help. The student was very sensitive about this and then agreed to help."

Everyone in our group was repulsed by Luke's actions; Reyna and Thalia in particular sported irate expressions, with my roommate punching one hand into her other hand menacingly.

"I see," the judge said. "Please continue."

"After high school, he went to CalTech for college," Chris said, "and I went to the University of Arizona. Luke contacted me in early October to tell me that there was someone threatening his relationship and asked me for help. I refused, telling that I was too busy with my studies. Luke's response was to threaten to tell my girlfriend that I had been once been arrested for vandalization. I'm ashamed to say that it worked. This caused me to fly to New York in October, around Luke's fall break, where I met Percy Jackson's stepfather, Paul Blofis, in a grocery store. He was searching for paprika, and there was only one left, so I gave it to him. Luke had programmed a little drone and then stuck in the paprika. The little drone implanted an illegal microship in between Percy's shoulder blades."

Percy jumped, and his hand flew to his back. "So that's what that bump is!"

"Yes," Chris said regretfully. "I'm very sorry, Percy."

"Is this true?" the judge asked Luke.

"No," he lied.

"He's lying," Themis said calmly.

"Objectilm, Your Honor," Johnson answered. He stood up to address the courtroom at large. "There is no concrete proof of this blackmail, only a witness. While I acknowledge that what Mr. Rodriguez claims may be truthful, I have a concrete evidence against it."

He pulled out several pages and presented them to the judge. "Your Honor, these are the arrest records for May Castellan, Luke's mother. She was arrested on the charges of drug usage and child neglect. No doubt, after a decade of neglect, Luke was emotionally scarred. After his mother's arrest, Luke's father, Hermes Castellan, driven by grief, neglected his son. He left Luke in the care of his half-brother, Dionysus and rarely visited. After Luke turned eighteen, he departed for college with a strong disliking for men."

"And how does that excuse Luke's behavior?" Themis asked.

"It does not excuse it; it merely provides the court an understanding of why Luke acted why he did: out of trauma."

"Objection, Your Honor," a calm voice said from the doorway.

The audience shifted in unision to peer at the speaker. She was a woman dressed in a gray business suit. Her black hair was pulled back in an immaculate bun with not a strand out of place. She radiated an aura of authority, suggesting a pragmatic personality. The woman marched up the center aisle as excited whispers follwed her.

"Athena Chase!" Leo whispered excitedly to Percy. "Three-time javelin Olympian and world record holder for the longest javelin throw. Now the CEO of Chase Engineering, the largest engineering company in the world. She's currently overseeing the restoration of Notré Dame!"

Athena stopped next to me.

"Hello, Annabeth," she said with a slight smile.

"Mom!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I thought you were working on Notré Dome."

"I wouldn't miss my own daughter's trial," Athena replied. "Your Honor, I apologize for my tardiness. I am here to present evidence. May I proceed?"

"You may," the judge said.

Athena nodded her thanks and opened her briefcase. "If you would please to your attention to the screen, I have something to present."

A projector in the corner rose up from the floor, and she clicked her remote. A video appeared and began playing. It was an audio recording of Luke and Chris arguing about something

"I can't do it, Luke," Chris's voice said. "I'm really busy right now with school."

"That's okay," Luke's voice answered.

"Oh, good." Chris's voice sounded relieved. "Can I maybe help you a couple weeks? My fall break is then."

"That'll work."

"Okay, cool."

"How's your girlfriend, by the way?"

Chris's tone sounded surprised now. "Oh! She's good; she just passed her mid-semester police exam with flying colors."

"I wonder how she would react if I told her you were arrested," Luke's voice said slyly.

"Wha-?" Chris's voice sputtered. "You...you wouldn't-"

"I will, unless you drop your studies and help me."

Chris's voice trembled with rage and frustration. "Why are you doing this?"

"Are you going to help me or not?" Luke's voice snapped.

"F-fine."

"Good."

The audio clip finished. Everyone within our group glowered at Luke.

"That clip proves Luke's blackmail of Chris," Athena proclaimed.

Themis rose. "Your Honor, please consider this. If Luke blackmailed one person, it is entirely plausible he did it repeatedly."

"Yes," the judge agreed. "That is true. However, this is only one example of Mr. Castellan's illegal behavior."

"We have more evidence," Athena said.

"Then please continue."

Athena clicked the remote again, and this time, a video popped up. It depicted Ethan Nakamura and Luke standing in a shady alleyway. The video started playing.

"So you're clear on the plan?" Luke asked.

"Yes," Ethan said with an eye roll. "I don't need you bossing me around, Luke."

Luke eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't test me, Ethan; things can get very nasty if things don't go my way."

"Was that a threat?"

"You can decide that, Nakamura. We're finished here."

"You don't get the threaten me, Castellan," Ethan snarled. "You know what? I'm not helping you."

He walked away. Luke called after him, "I'll tell your mother that you're gay."

Ethan froze in his tracks. "I told you that in confidence," he hissed, panic creeping into his eyes.

"Well, you shouldn't have," Luke sneered.

"I'm still not doing it."

"Fine." Luke pulled out his phone, dialed an unknown number, and waved it tauntingly. "I have her number pulled up, and all I have to do is press this button."

"Please don't," Ethan whispered.

"Swear that you'll help me, and I might reconsider."

"I swear that I'll help you," Ethan mumbled, his eyes full of loathing.

Luke smirked. "Good. Now, take this." He handed Ethan a CalTech t-shirt."

The video clip concluded. Johnson rose, but Athena spoke before he could even open his mouth.

"Sit down," she commanded. "I'm not finished yet."

Johnson sat back down, glowering.

"Your Honor," Athena continued, "as you can see, this is another example of Luke's blackmailing behavior. There is no excuse for doing such a thing twice, much less with no remorse."

The trial proceeded for the two hours. Athena provided another video clip, which revealed that Luke was behind Percy's arrest and that Luke coerced Ethan into lying at Percy's trial, resulting in his arrest.

Chris and I produced electronic records of our increased weekly heart rates from the last few months during Luke's reign of terror in comparison to the months of college before I reunited with Percy. We supplied in order to present evidence on the emotional distress Luke had caused.

"Where did these records originate from?" the judge asked, examining them.

"Our Apple Watches, Your Honer," I answered.

"I see. You may sit down."

Thalia and Clarisse also provided their witness testimonies to back up our statements, claiming how Chris and I had been sleeping less and appearing to possess increased stress levels since Luke's arrival into our lives. Many others also came forward to back up the coercion claims.

Johnson's counterarguments decreased in efficiency as our increased evidence demonstrated Luke's crimes.

Soon, we were all instructed to remain in the courtroom while the jury and judge conversed in a side room. We all waited for several tense minutes before they all proceeded out.

The judge settled herself behind the judicial desk again before speaking. "We find Luke Castellan..."

I gripped Percy's hand so hard my whole hand turned white.

"...guilty of coercion, blackmail, false imprisonment, and emotional distress."

My group and I all breathed a collective sigh of relief and joy. On the other hand, Luke was raging.

"I didn't do any of this, Your Honor!" he roared. "I'm innocent."

"Sit down!" the judge commanded, and Luke did so. "We therefore sentence him to twelve years in prison. He must pay a fine of $100,000 each to Chris Rodriguez and Annabeth Chase to compensate for their stress. Furthermore, after his release, he is ordered to have three years of no contact with them. Court adjourned."

"No!" Luke screamed. "I'll kill, you stupid judge!"

Before he could even act, Clarisse had placed him in handcuffs. Two police officers drew their guns and assumed a defensive position in front of the judge. Three more officers surged forward from the back and dragged Luke away.

"Annabeth!" he shrieked in the doorway. "Help me!"

"You brought this upon yourself, Luke," I said coldly. "You made your own bed so now you have to lie in it."

"No!" Luke vanished around the corner.

"Well done, Annabeth," my dad said. "You won."

I grinned and shared a hug with my dad and stepmom. Once they departed, Athena spoke up. "I do hope you're not going to leave me without a hug."

"Of course not, Mom." I embraced her. "Thank you so much."

"It wasn't a problem, my dear," Athena said. "However" -she addressed Percy- "if you are a problem for my daughter, I will personally ensure vengeance is swift."

Percy smiled awkwardly. "I understand, ma'am. Please believe me, I will always protect Annabeth."

This answer appeared to satisfy my mother or at least appease her for the moment. "I must depart for Notré Dame, Annabeth. But if you ever need my help, call me, and I will answer."

"I will, Mom," I said. "I love you."

"I love you too, my dear."

Percy watched her until she disappeared around the corner. "Is she gonna kill me?"

"Not unless you do something stupid. Shall we?"

Percy mocked bowed and offered me his arm. "We shall, madam."

I laughed and took his arm. We proceeded outside and paused on the stone steps. The sun was setting, streaking the sky with pink, gold and red.

Percy pulled me closer to him. "It's all finally over."

"Yeah," I agreed lazily, drinking in the serenity of my surroundings.

And there we kissed, finally having found peace together.

~El Fin~