Ryker had been all over the country.

He grew up on an island off of Hawaii, and he spent the next two and a half years traveling with the Hunters, a year and half free lance monster hunting with Milli, Ally, and Styx, and the last one underwater in Poseidon's Palace.

He even chased his little brother across the Atlantic.

And yet he didn't know how to get to Camp Half Blood.

The Hunters hated staying there, and on the rare occasions they actually did pay the haven of the Demigods a visit, Ryker was always elsewhere on missions.

Besides, staying in the Artemis Cabin was a definite no.

He also didn't know which of the brownstones across from Goode High was David Striker's.

"Your friend lives right across from the high school?" Ally asked as they stood on the sidewalk, "In one of these strangely identical looking houses."

"That's what he told us," Ryker replied shortly.

"And you thought he'd be okay with you showing up with two other girls and a Hellhound and crashing at his place. That is, if we can even figure out where he is."

Ryker just scowled, so Milli answered for him. "Well we did save his life, and he did say if we ever needed a friend."

"Look," Ryker grit out, "All Poseidon told us was to get to Camp Half Blood. And the son of Apollo is our best chance of that happening."

"If he's not at Camp already."

"Hey," Milli told the both of them gently, "Stop that. These things have a way of working themselves o-"

"Hellhound!" A voice growled from behind them, followed by the scraping of a sword bursting into the open.

Ally's eyes widened, and she dove in front of Styx, knife drawn and parrying the incoming sword with a Clang!

"Woah!" The boy yelped, "What are you doing, kid? That's a- Percy? So, Mrs. O'Leary? But Mrs. O'Leary's bigger than that."

Ryker rolled his eyes at him, raising an eyebrow without saying anything. The son of Apollo seriously needed help sometimes.

Milli smiled, obviously amused. "Not a Percy, but close enough, I guess."

"Ryker," David realized, "Hey."

A nod to Milli. "The long lost girlfriend."

He eyed Ally again, her knife still in hand and glaring at him. He grimaced, looking between the two of them awkwardly and taking a guess. "Unplanned teenage love child?"

Ryker brought the heel of his palm down on the other boy's head, making him squawk indignantly.

"Fine, fine," David laughed, returning his sword to its guitar pick form and holding his hands up in surrender, "I give. Introductions?"

"That's Styx," Milli said, "I'm Milli, and she's Ally."

"Allison," she corrected before Milli could even finish her sentence.

"Alright," David coughed, "Allison, I'm sorry for trying to kill your hellhound."

"You know dude," he continued, "You're a lot like Percy, like, it's uncanny. The way you sassed me when we first met- well it wasn't really sass but-"

"I'm his twin brother," Ryker interrupted, "And-"

"What?!?" David shrieked, "Percy has a-"

"We're not here to talk," he cut in again, "We need your help."

_________________

"So since the last time I met you you've been helping Poseidon in the palace."

"Yes."

"And you beat Oceanus so Poseidon could fight Typhon."

"Yes."

"Then you hid from the Camp and most of the Hunters and found Percy and Hera at the Wolf House and didn't bother to tell his poor family and friends who were worried sick about that stupid blob of kelp."

"Yes."

"Why?" David asked exasperatedly, "Dude, I'm not even as close to him as Annabeth and we were all going crazy. We could have ended the war so much faster-"

Ryker leveled him with a look that shut him up fast. "No, no you couldn't have. Hera's prideful and petty and it's easy to blame her and hate her, but she knows what she's doing. I heard Zeus went off on her after the fight with the giants for choosing a path no one else was even brave enough to consider. But guess what? He had no right to. No right."

"Zeus is an arrogant cheating idiot but at least he-"

"At least he what?" Ally growled quietly, "At least my father stood by and did nothing while the demigods risked everything? At least only he tried to kill off all the kids he didn't like and didn't step in until his own throne was on the line?" Her voice rose suddenly, "At least he only abandoned my mother when she needed him mo-"

She cut herself off, looking away abruptly and crossing her arms over her chest.

Ryker and Milli shot her concerned looks but David wasn't stopping for anybody.

"Percy and Annabeth lost eight months together!" He shouted indignantly, "You should have seen her, she was heartbroken and Percy's memory was stolen and the impact on their souls of Tartarus and all of the things they've been through? That never goes away. It haunts them in their sleep, and that pain is going to eat away at them the rest of their lives."

"Wounds are healed with time, and pain is numbed by friends," Ryker argued back, "Count the casualties, Striker. Because of Hera you still have the friends to help each other get through this. It could have been worse. A lot worse. The count is less than in the Titan War and there was so much more on the line this time."

"Count the casualties!" He screamed, frustration stinging his eyes, "Because from where I'm standing, I only count one camper, and I found him, too. He's alive, he's coming back, but Phoebe, Naomi? They never will! They gave their lives and you think you can act all high and mighty because your friends took some hits. Lost some time. Some of us lost our family forever!"

I lost my family.

Forever.

The unsaid words resonated through David's room as if they'd been roared, echoing in their ears.

Milli put a silent hand on his arm, and he took a breath.

"Look. I'm not defending her, but you can think she's terrible without resenting her, as long as you understand where she's coming from. And we just need to get to Camp, and you're the only one I trust enough to get us there."

David nodded, not meeting the boy's eyes. "Okay. But if I'm going back to Camp so soon there are some demigods I've been scoping out and it's the first day of school tomorrow. Can we wait until then?"

Ryker nodded stiffly, gripping the cord on his neck. "Fine. But I'm going on a walk."

He slammed the door behind him on the way out, and once he was gone David called weakly after him, "Don't disturb my uncle."

"Is he really going to be okay with us crashing here for the night?" Milli asked, "We wouldn't want to impose."

David grunted scornfully, his eyes still glued to the space where Ryker had been. "As long as you don't get between that man and his television you'll be fine. He doesn't even know you're here right now."

"So can you tell me what's up with him?" He asked, "He was already pretty wound up when we first met but he warmed up quick enough. Now he's downright hostile! And I don't think I've seen him smile once since you got here."

The girls traded a sad look, and even Styx lay down and put his head on his paws.

"That bad, huh?" David chuckled sadly, "These last few years have really taken their toll on all of us. Not a demigod in the world who hasn't changed."

"Ryker doesn't deal with loss well," Ally told him carefully, "He never has, he probably never will. I'm his little sister, but he's so sensitive to everything that happens to his family that I feel like I've always needed to take care of him."

"His family? But they don't even know he exists."

"Family isn't just blood," Milli whispered, "Demigods know that better than anyone. He lost his mother and father, then for a while, he didn't even have me. And Zoë's death hit him harder than anything I've ever seen before. But Phoebe, Naomi, and the other Hunters... Poseidon had sent him across the world. And he spent his time protecting the Argo II instead of the people he'd grown up with. He hates that. He hates himself for that."

"Wow," David mused, "That's the most Percy thing I've ever heard before in my life. You should have heard him when he got back. But he's a lot better now. He's happy. Why can't Ryker be happy?"

"I shouldn't be talking about this," She said, "But I think Zoë's death may have hit him the hardest, but it was Phoebe's that was the last straw. Every time he loses someone he feels the weight of previous deaths all over again. He can't move on."

"It's not healthy. It's not good for him. But Poseidon's told us about a third war, and Ryker thinks that if he can numb himself long enough to finish the job, he can deal with all of it later."

"That's terrible," David said, shaking his head. "He's angry, so angry. It's not right. I may have only met him one other time, but you can tell he's not a bad kid."

"There's just as much riding on us as on him," Ally murmured, staring at her hands, "And there is still a war coming. Milli and I... we're doing our best, but we can't help him in the way he needs right now."

He winked at her, blue eyes sparkling.

"Then he really is coming to school with me tomorrow."

"I know just the people."

_______________

"I shouldn't be somewhere so crowded. It's not safe."

"Wow," David smirked, "That's some ego you got there. Your scent can't be that strong, and it's only for a school day."

Ryker tolled his eyes, "I don't do well in claustrophobic areas."

"It's just school."

"The hallways are narrow and there are more kids here than is acceptable for the fire safety limit."

"How do you know the fire safety limit?"

"When I found my father's hypothetical fire bro Leo-"

"Did I just hear that come out of your mouth?"

"-Festus's first instinct was to attack me and I stocked up."

"What does that mean?"

"If I see a monster or a boy doing something unacceptable, I am burning Goode High to the ground."

"Your brother already did that. Be more original."

The son of Poseidon glared at him, folding his arms and following him through the building.

"Percy!" Someone grinned at him, "Didn't think you were coming back this year!"

"Hey!"

"What's up, man?"

"Bro you missed eight months of school and didn't get kicked out. Next time take me with you!"

Ryker's eyes narrowed at that last comment, clenching his fists so hard in his attempts to stop himself from clocking him his vision went red around the edges.

Mortals. They lived so obliviously. Monsters hidden because their brains couldn't handle it. People like him? They didn't know true pain or true loss and they thought they could make jokes about things they didn't understand.

The only things worse than egotistical god boys were stupid mortals. At least he could deal with an ego. But cutting down mortals was frowned upon.

"Jackson," David whispered, "Keep walking. And don't worry. Percy's supposed to be at Camp until next week when he really comes in."

He shook his head, clearing it, and did as David told him. He ignored all the people that greeted him, thinking he was Percy, and paid more attention to the people who actively kept away.

Either Percy was not as popular as it looked, or...

He nudged David discreetly, sending him closer to a smaller boy and watching said boy absolutely leap in terror, scurrying away like a guinea pig.

Seemed the son of Apollo had some secrets of his own.

He didn't seem to notice, grinning back and leading him farther. "I think she should be at her locker right about now."

"Who?"

"Someone who will annoy you to death before you worry yourself there."

"Erin!" He shouted, ruffling a kid's hair, "What's up?"

Ryker blinked for a second, taking in the sight in front of him.

Upon first glance Ryker would have sworn Erin was a guy. She had short, close cropped black hair that hung low over her forehead and was obviously wearing clothes from the boy's section.

But it wasn't her looks that truly got him. It was the way she carried herself, an easy confidence with a cheeky, lopsided smile and books hanging loosely under one arm. The way she returned David's roughhousing with more of her own, despite the significant height difference between her and the taller boy.

"This is Erin," David grinned, "Erin, this is my friend, Ryker."

She gave him a friendly wave matched by a friendlier grin.

"Wow," Erin beamed playfully, "I didn't know David had friends who weren't the three of us."

Ryker just stood there, giving her a solemn nod but not saying anything. She didn't look off put in the least, just continuing to talk.

"So you're new, right?" She asked him, not even waiting to see if he'd actually respond before continuing, "That's strange. I coulda sworn I saw you last year."

"Doesn't matter," she continued, giving a flippant wave of her hand, "You're here, that's Goode, and- Dang it, that's the first bell I have to go!"

David watched her speed walk down the halls with a smile on his face, running a hand through his hair. Ryker elbowed him out of his stupor, making him jump.

"Yes," he yelped, "Homeroom. Right."

"We're in most of the same classes," David told him as they went, "Even though I'm a junior. Percy's missed tons of school and I'm on the honors track. Plus, Chiron pulled some strings."

"You've got to be careful, though," he muttered, lowering his voice.

Ryker shot him a look, snapping to attention and unconsciously scanning his surroundings.

"Jeez, chill, dude," David chuckled, "I just meant that Percy's stepdad teaches here. We've got him last period."

"Don't tell me to chill," Ryker grit out, "We should be getting to Camp where it's actually safe instead of making me deal with school in my brother's place."

"I told you," David grinned, "We're here looking for demigods. I think Erin's one. And when she said three of us? I think one of the others that she mentioned is also one."

David clapped him on the back, turning to enter his classroom. "Just hang in there 'til lunch, okay? I'll see you in first period."

"Fine."

"Don't kill anyone in the fifteen minutes from now until then."

"No promises."

_______________

Classes were terrible.

It made Ryker actually miss homeschool with Mr. Evanston.

Bless his parents for not enrolling him in public school.

It was the first day, and every single one of his teachers were doing icebreakers.

Every. Single. One.

What's your name? Ryker. Not Percy, the kid you have on your attendance sheet.

What are your hobbies? Nothing makes me feel better than reducing monsters to golden dust on the ground.

What did you do over the summer? I fought gods, followed my twin brother's flying warship across the Atlantic to make sure he didn't die, and then got sent out of my father's underwater palace so that I could go to school.

He took every bad thing he's ever said about mortal kids back.

Ryker would rather fight Oceanus all over again no holds barred than sit through the rest of the day.

"I'm proud of you, dude," David said, wiping a fake tear from the corner of his eye, "You made it to lunch."

"I didn't bring a lunch."

"Shame. Out of the generosity in my heart you can have a quarter of my sandwich."

"I-"

"Hold that thought," David stopped him, taking him by the sleeve of his t-shirt and dragging him over to a table. "Hey, guys."

Erin waved from where she was sitting with two others, a boy and a girl.

"Ryker!" She called, "You have lunch this period, too? Awesome."

"What about me?" David pouted.

"Significantly less awesome."

"I resent that."

"Pity."

Ryker raised an eyebrow as he sat across from them, the son of Apollo quickly following them. Their speech patterns and humor were so similar he could just imagine himself getting teamed on by the two of them.

"If you want, I could show you around," Erin grinned, "I'm a sophomore. I know which water fountains are the good ones."

"You don't want that," the boy next to her cut in quietly, "She got lost on the way home once."

"Well where's your home?" He asked, even surprising himself.

He had an indifferent, somewhat awkward presence about him that put Ryker at ease. Like he could watch a frisbee fly at his head, lift his arm knowing that he could stop it but miss and get whacked in the face.

That, and the fact that he wasn't overwhelming, not like when he was with David and Erin, who were both so inhumanly cheerful and talkative that Ryker felt like he was drowning.

The boy took another bite of his pasta, lifting his arm to point out the cafeteria window and at the brownstones across the street.

"I hate you, Aaron," Erin muttered good naturedly, swatting at him, "That was only one time and you know it."

"Oh!" David remembered, snapping his fingers, "Proper introductions."

"Hello, my name is Erin Chan," the girl monotoned, giving Ryker shuddering flashbacks to his classes, "The doof is Aaron, and that's Akina."

"I'm her cousin," Aaron told him, "We're David's neighbors."

If Erin was almost sickeningly joyful, Aaron was refreshingly lanky, and being around David made you want to hit him over the head a couple of times, then Akina just plain sweet.

She watched the way the other three interacted with a soft smile, leaning contentedly into her hand. Erin was babbling something about basketball while David made fun of her height, and Aaron was glaring at both of them and making snarky comments.

"Ryker," she said gently, turning her warm brown eyes to him, "I know they can be a little much, but they grow on you pretty fast. Calm down a little."

Ryker's eyes snapped to her, feeling the tension leave his shoulders immediately. Strange.

Charmspeak? No. He knew what that felt like. It hit you like a fluffy wave, made you lose yourself in the commands of the user.

Just the fact that she was able to read him so easily and slip through his defenses so quickly had him on edge. There was something powerful about her.

Meeting his eyes, she chuckled quietly. "I'm the oldest of six," she told him, "Call it intuition."

Before Ryker had the chance to contemplate just how she was reading his mind, a crash sounded, glass sprinkling the floor.

His head snapped to the noise, hand immediately on his necklace. Five, no, six Empousai and two Cyclopes. Outside the broken windows shadows circled in the skies, a sure sign of more monsters.

"David," he barked, "Get the three of them out of here. I'll handle this then catch up to you."

"The three of them?" David whispered hastily, drawing his own chain from his pocket, "Ryker-"

"Our job right now is to protect the demigods," Ryker growled, pulling the fire alarm to get the mortals out, "Get to your house and warn Milli. Then straight to Camp, do you hear me?"

"Fine!" The son of Apollo yelled, grabbing his wrist, "But you're coming with us."

He was stronger than he appeared, surprising Ryker so much that he actually followed him out to the street, their three friends and the horde of monsters in hot pursuit.

"What are those things?" Erin yelled to them, taking the steps up to her house two at a time, "Why are they after us?"

From the top of his own staircase David called back, "Tell your aunt it's time. Tell her it was overwhelmed by so many and grab the backpack she hides under the kitchen sink. Don't you dare leave that house until I come and get you."

"What's that supposed to mean-?"

"Akina, take those stupid cousins and get in there!"

David then dragged Ryker into his house, past his somehow still sleeping Uncle and straight to his room, where Ally and Milli were both alert, weapons ready.

"We're going," Ryker told them, ripping his arm from David's grasp, "Next door. Three demigods, two girls and one boy, weaponless, presumably powerless."

They'd spent enough time with the Hunters doing recon and rescuing halfbloods to know exactly what to do, and the two of them raced out of the room while David pulled Ryker back.

"Ryker," the boy roared, "Listen to me! Akina isn't a demigod, we can't bring her with us!"

"What?" He argued, "But in the lunchroom-"

"That's just how she is!" David sighed, rubbing his hands over his face anxiously, "She gets people, she helps people. She has both of her parents and a million members in her family, and trust me, if you knew them you'd think they all looked exactly alike. She can't come with us!"

Ryker narrowed his eyes. "She can see the monsters. She's in danger. She has to."

"She's Clearsighted, you fool! And just because she can see them doesn't mean we have any right to plunge her into our world."

"She's in danger, we have to protect her!"

"Akina's only in danger because she's with us!"

"Then that means it's our job to-"

"Stop being so stubborn-"

"Boys!" Milli yelled from the doorway, "Get a move on, David has to get us to Camp. And Akina is coming with us. It's too late for her to turn back now."

"Yes, ma'am."

________________

"How do I mash the buttons on this thing?"

"It's a sword, it doesn't have any buttons!"

"Why did we give you a sword when you can barely walk into a room without getting injured somehow?"

"It's not my fault that I run into things!"

"Chan! Stop talking and keep slashing."

It was a long run to Camp Half Blood, not to mention dangerous, as more monsters took the place of every one cut down and their group was not only inexperienced, but painfully slow.

Ryker, Milli, and Ally were doing their best of course, but with David leading the way and the particular unathleticism of two of their other members, it would be impossible to get to safety unharmed.

As it stood, Aaron's running had been labored since ten minutes into their journey, Erin was energetic yet completely obnoxious, and Akina was trying her best, to no avail.

Ryker slashed his way to David, his sword a blur. "There are so many," David panted to him, "Doesn't this remind you of three years ago? Quite the meet cute."

"You know they were demigods," Ryker accused sharply in lieu of a response, "And you did nothing about it. They're well past the age that their scent is weak!"

"It was okay until you got here!"

"How is this my fault?!?"

"You overwhelmed the shield!"

"What?"

"Aaron's mom," he told him, blue eyes flashing as he kicked a Hellhound in the side, "She's an inventor and a demigod herself. That's how she drew Hephaestus to her. When she had Aaron, and when her sister had Erin, she melted down one of her old shields and with a little bit of magic she had a Celestial Bronze, demigod negating forcefield!"

"Wait-"

"Look, Ryker, when I made the joke about your scent earlier, I hadn't taken into account how many of us there actually were in the same location. Your scent is as strong as they come, and having five other demigods, one being a freaking Child of Zeus in the same area fried the circuit. Why do you think they live so close to a school? The radius is only so large, and it's power can only do so much."

"Fair."

"Good," the son of Apollo grit out, "Now if you and your self righteous need to know everything will get out of my face, we have a Camp to get to."

"We should have gotten the Gray Sisters," Ally called over the din of battle, "It would have been faster."

"Not enough time!" Milli grunted back, parrying the claws of a harpy and reducing it to dust, "Not enough space, and not enough cash. Not to mention that'd almost be more dangerous."

"We're almost there!" David assured them, "Right over that rise. If we can get past Thalia's Pine we should have enough backup to be safe."

"Backup?"

"Other campers and the magic boundary."

"Ally," Ryker ordered, "Take Styx and shadow travel the four of them ahead. Warn the Campers. We'll handle the monsters."

"But Ryker-"

"I can't be bothered to worry right now. If they don't get out of the way, this fight is lost."

The younger girl gathered them around Styx and in a split second they were gone.

Ryker breathed a sigh of relief, shoving a Cyclops's punch out of the way to stab it in the gut.

"You know," Milli said to him, "David or Ally could have stayed with us. We could use a little bit of help."

Ryker's jaw clenched in the effort it took to keep an especially relentless monster at bay. "I can't afford to worry right now. Ally's bleeding in multiple places and David..." he trailed off for a second, jaw clenching again for an entirely different reason. "David just gets on my nerves."

"Is that so? Hadn't noticed."

"Shut up, Smarty Pants."

"Right back at you, Shark Bait."

He felt Milli's familiar presence at his back, and together they cut a golden arc of monster dust through the masses, sweaty and tired but otherwise fine.

Only when the last monster was but dust on the ground did Ryker allow himself to relax, sheathing his weapons, as the two demigods clinging to each other for support. Ryker put his hands on her shoulders, a small smile on his face.

Milli grinned at him, blowing a stray lock of blonde hair out of her face. "Nicely done."

"Y-"

It happened in an instant.

A shadow in Ryker's peripheral vision.

His muscles tensing, ripping the cord back off of his neck and shoving Milli out of the way.

A thud and a poof as monster dust rained on him.

Looking down,

A knife once aimed for Milli.

And a pool of red spreading across his torso.

______________

Milli ran to his side, sliding the last couple steps.

"Ryker!" She yelled, lifting his head onto her lap and digging into her pockets for Ambrosia.

"Not enough," the daughter of Athena cursed, sticking the last piece in his mouth.

"Milli!" Ally called from Thalia's Pine, a dozen kids in orange t-shirts flanking her, "What happened?"

"Ryker's been stabbed," she told her, thinking quickly, "We need water."

"We have a lake," a blonde boy replied quickly, letting go of a dark haired, pale boy to run down to them, "Don't remove the knife until we can properly treat the wound. Make sure he doesn't move."

"Salt water would work better," Milli responded, "Otherwise he'll bleed out before it saves him."

"Long Island Sound is too far," the boy said, shaking his head, "He'll bleed out before we get him there."

"Well, then the solution is easy," a different voice called from the top of the hill.

It belonged to a boy, tan skinned, with jet black hair, in an orange shirt and a ballpoint pen clutched warily in his hand.

But his eyes...

The same sea green eyes as Ryker's.

"We bring the Sound to him," grinned Percy Jackson.