... Okay. So I have to be completely honest. I was in math class one day and the teacher was playing this song for us to work with and I completely got the inspiration for Poseidon's character from the Sorry For Now by Linkin Park. I linked it above.

Wait. You wanted to know about my terrible update time? One word. Whoops.

"Parry!"

Clack!

"Thrust! Slice! Roll!"

Clack!

Clack!

Thud!

"Faster! You would have been dead a million times over already!"

Ryker couldn't bring himself to stand. After almost two year of this, he was exhausted. But he sucked it up. Because the last time he had tried to quit, his father had made him understand.

It had started as a simple exercise routine. Running. Swordplay. More running. The occasional spar.

As time passed, however, it got more brutal. Sometimes Ryker would go back to Milli's house with cuts and bruises. It got to the point where he would stay there every night because he didn't feel welcome in his own home anymore.

So one day he snapped.

He had hit the ground after his father had pushed him. He was still lying there, listening to his father scream to get up.

"Why are you doing this?" Ryker had demanded, "I've been dealing with this every day for the past thirteen months and for what? Do you even love me? Are you sick in the head? Because I'd have to assume you are if you'd think Mom would've ever stood for this!"

Quicker than he could have imagined he was in the air by his throat. His airway was cut off. He was lucky he had just taken another breath to launch a rant when his father picked him up.

"I've given up too much just to fail now."

Ryker's eyes widened, and not just from lack of air. By the time his father had dropped him there were black spots dancing across his vision. As he gasped for breath he'd found himself staring up at his father, who had turned away from him.

Even though Ryker was the one who was almost choked out, his father was breathing heavily. "We took you on knowing that in doing so, we would be losing our lives for the good of the world. And of course I had to have a wimp for an adopted son."

"Demigods are half god. They can live to almost two hundred years old. Most barely even make it to seventeen. We were given this island by the gods so that we could live forever in peace. But we just had to be heroes. Your mother always wanted a child, someone besides me that she would die for."

When he'd spun on Ryker, with the burning anger of a broken heart in his eyes, the boy had never been more afraid. "There is no easy way out in the life of a hero. If you don't understand that, then the Fates obviously chose the wrong boy."

When Ryker had finally found the courage to talk, there were tears in his eyes. "Why this way? How is any of this love? News flash. It's not. There is no line between love and abuse because they are not connected."

"You are going to face a lot more than just me," his father snarled, in his face now, "And if you can't handle even that there is no future. A scratch? A bruise? You really haven't got it bad, Ryker. My cousin lost her arm. My half-brother lost his leg. My teacher lost her mind. My best friend lost his life. What have you lost but a couple of skin cells?"

"I lost my mother."

Even as he was saying it, his Kyle's eyes had darkened, his face red with rage, and Ryker knew he had said something wrong. He craned his head away from the man, afraid of taking another blow. What had happened instead surprised him.

"Yeah, well, I didn't lose your mother just to lose you, too."

Ryker didn't know what exactly was at stake besides his own life. If he had, he wouldn't have trained any harder. He couldn't have.

After that day, he never questioned his father's judgement again. If he was to honor his mother's memory, he was going to stay alive at least long enough to fulfill whatever the Fates had planned for him.

Even if, in the end game, his destiny was death.

His muscles burning, he struggled to his feet, using his sword to hold him up. Finally, he earned a smile. "Good," his father nodded approvingly, "You can get up. Now go. It's almost two."

They had been training since eight that morning, and Ryker was expecting at least another three hours of it. The boy narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Can a father not give his son some rest?"

"Not when my life depends on this."

His father's smile only widened. "You have grown, Ryker. Far too much, and far too quickly, but that is only to be expected. As for the why, we have a guest coming. With your twelfth birthday only two weeks away, your future must be decided soon."

"My future?"

"Yes," his father affirmed, "We will speak of it more later. Take a shower. Hang out with Ally and Milli. With what's coming I'd assume you'd want to spend as much time with them as possible."

"Wait-"

"Get out of here!" Ryker's father bellowed jokingly, his eyes shining, "Before I make you do suicides across the forest for the next half hour!"

Now, Ryker was a pretty fit kid. His muscles were defined and tan for his age and he could run a mile in seven minutes. Some days he could swear he was a couple of sit ups away from visible abs. But that didn't mean he wanted to sprint across the forest being chased by a not-so-tame hellhound.

He bolted before his father had the chance to change his mind.

________________

Ryker was waiting.

He had been waiting in the living room of his house for ten minutes now, which certainly didn't help with his ADHD.

Apparently, the meeting was supposed to be private, and his father had locked all of the doors to keep Milli from sneaking in, but that didn't stop her. She climbed through Ryker's bedroom window and was sitting beside him now.

"Who do you think is coming?" Milli asked, swinging her legs. "No one ever comes here."

Ryker shrugged, bumping her shoulder. "Who knows anything anymore? I've given up on trying to figure this stuff out."

Being her best friend, Ryker told her everything. And with all that had happened in the last two years, there was a lot to tell. Of course, he had recalled her father's wishes and withheld the fact that they were children of the gods, but even that secret would have to come out in time.

"Where's Ally?" Ryker asked, "I thought you were bringing her, too."

"My dad took her to town," Milli responded, "He was going to take me, but I faked a stomach ache." Milli paused, lowering her voice. "I think our fathers are plotting with each other."

"What do you mean?"

Milli stared into the distance. "I don't know. I just feel like something's gonna happen, and I'm not gonna like it."

"Think about it. Your mother died, and everything changed. You and your father become withdrawn. A couple weeks later my father pulls you to the side and talks to you for the rest of the day. Your father starts training you like you're a warrior and tells you you need to be prepared for something. You start coming home looking like you survived the apocalypse and then your dad finally tells you why. Now this. Your dad locks you in your own house. Tells everyone else to stay away. Is this not strange behavior?"

Now that Ryker thought about it, it really was weird. "Even if you're right," he conceded, "Who could it possibly be? What could they possibly be planning to do with me? I'm eleven. Twelve, if you wait another week or two."

"Harry Potter was eleven when he started his journey."

"Yeah, but-"

"At twelve Artemis Fowl was already a criminal mastermind and captured fairies."

"Okay, but-"

"The Wings of Fire dragonets are like, six-"

"But they're all fake!" Ryker finally burst out, "Okay, yes. All of your favorite characters were really young, but what about real life? And even in the Battle of Hogwarts they wouldn't let any of the lower years fight."

"My parents didn't even know they were demigods until they were fifteen!"

His eyes widened and he fought every urge he had to cover his mouth, as if his slip up wasn't obvious enough. He quickly recomposed his facial features and stared straight ahead, hoping that Milli hadn't heard.

Of course, she had. And she was shocked by it. "You're parents," she growled, "Are what?!?"

Ryker's mouth fell open as he flopped around for a response. "Um," he muttered, thinking, "Demi Clods. They're two halves of the same, um, clump of dirt."

"Shut up," Milli grumbled, pondering this new information, "Demigods. Half Bloods. So does that make you a half blood, too? Or a quarter blood? Or does it depend? Should I make a Punnett Square? Oh, I should go get paper-"

"Milli!" Ryker cut her off, smiling a little to himself, "Calm down. We don't need any Punnett Squares, alright? I'm going to tell you something."

He bit his lip, wondering if he should ignore her father's pleas. Finally, he straightened himself out. No, he told himself with finality, She deserves to know. No secrets.

"My parents aren't actually my parents," he said, looking her in the eye to show her this was not an elaborate joke, "They are demigods, yeah, and so am I. Child of Poseidon. That's what your dad pulled me aside for. He asked me not to tell you, two years ago, but I guess it's coming out."

"Your mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom, and we think Ally is the daughter of Zeus." At Milli's awestruck look, he continued quietly. "I have another mother somewhere, Milli. She gave me up, and maybe one day I'll meet her, but sometimes I don't think I want to. She sent me away to another couple who was destined to be ripped apart and killed. And now no one knows what will happen."

Milli sighed and rested her head atop Ryker's.
"Of course you want to," Milli whispered soothingly, "You just don't know how you'll act when you finally do, and that scares you. It's okay to be scared of the unknown. What's not okay is not letting yourself experience things for fear of being disappointed or hurt. I would give anything to meet my mother. She gave me up for no reason at all. At least you know your mother loved you enough to protect you."

Ryker took a shuddering breath and leaned into Milli. "You're right. I'm sorry." He closed his eyes and calmed himself. "Here I am complaining about my problems, and you have a mother you only just found out about."

Milli bumped him with her shoulder. "Yeah, well you have a lot of problems."

Ryker let out a laugh, not at all bothered by her teasing. "At least a lack of a best friend will never be one of them."

She pulled away and slugged him in the arm. "It'd better not be."

At that moment a man popped into existence in front of them, startling Ryker so much he fell off of the couch. He heard Milli snicker from behind him. "Real pro, Shark Bait."

"Shark Bait?" Was the man's response, his eyes gleaming with something like approval. Eyes that, now that Ryker thought about it, were startlingly similar to his own. "I knew I made a good choice in your first friend."

This drew two confused stares from the two adolescents, and the man blinked, then groaned. "You're telling me you've never watched Finding Ne-" He cut himself off, closing his eyes. "You know what, never mind."

Ryker took this opportunity to study the man. He was tall and broad shouldered, with a trimmed black beard and sparkling green eyes. He might have even been regal looking if he wasn't wearing cargo shorts, a Hawaiian tourist shirt, and sandals. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he broke into a smile, and Ryker couldn't help see himself in this man. He couldn't help but think-

"Are you Ryker's dad?"

As usual, Milli was a beat ahead of him. Her tone was accusatory, something that Ryker would not have had the courage to do, since, if that was his dad, it meant he could smite them into little puddles with the wave of a hand.

"Yes." Came the even response. "Are you Athena's daughter?"

Milli arched an eyebrow. "So I've been told."

Ryker was practically shaking in his shorts and here his best friend was, full of confidence and speaking as if she hadn't only just found out about her godly family mere minutes ago.

"You're late," Milli said next, "We've been waiting for forty five minutes."

Poseidon's eyes gleamed. "I was told I would only be meeting with one, but to watch out for a second. And sorry about that. It's hard to get to Hawaii. It's the land beyond the gods, but I'm sure you knew that."

The god wasn't being particularly condescending, or even furious in any way, considering he'd been here for five minutes and all Milli had done was sass him, but Ryker was annoyed anyway. He was treating this like a joke. Like seeing your son for the first time in twelve years was something to be completely disregarded.

"Where were you, all of this time?"

Poseidon's eyes flashed with something, but Ryker couldn't identify it as sadness, anger, or guilt. "New York," he replied easily, "The Empire State Building. That's our center of power, where Olympus is stationed. That's where I am. Where your mom is."

"No," Ryker muttered, "My mom is dead. My mother is in New York." Ryker was angry. Hearing mom coming from his absent father's mouth was distasteful to him. A mom, to Ryker, was someone who took care of you. A mother was just the person who gave birth to you.

This time, Ryker could see the pain in his eyes. He had hit a nerve, and that made him feel proud. Then guilty that he felt proud. His father was always doing what was best for him, from what Mr. Evanston had told him, and his mother had probably done one of the hardest things in her life in giving him up.

Poseidon bowed his head, completely understanding. "You don't know this yet," Poseidon said, "But I love you. She loves you. We always have. At least as much as your current family does."

"So why are you here, anyway?" Ryker snapped, trying to hide his emotions, "It's not like gods just pop out of the sky to have talks with their children."

"Kyle was right," Poseidon snickered, "You are a cheeky twelve year old, even for one of my children."

Ryker and Milli each fixed him with pointed glares that told Poseidon that his humor was not appreciated. The god cleared his throat awkwardly "I'm here," he announced finally, "Because Ryker needs to come with me."

"Come with you?" Ryker repeated, narrowing his eyes, "Come with you where?"

"Look," Poseidon said, "When your parents adopted you, I knew you couldn't fly to Hawaii, and the seas between the rest of the United States and here were riddled with monsters. So I teleported you here."

"It took a lot of my strength, more than you can imagine, to transport you to the land beyond the gods, and it took me twelve years to regenerate it. I needed to get you out of the mainland. And fast. You are my eldest demigod son, and Zeus would find you quickly. It was easier this time, because I let the boundaries take its time. Plus, I'll need my energy for everything that will be coming."

"What's coming?" Milli asked at the same time as Ryker burst, "Eldest son?"

Milli stared at Poseidon with wide eyes and parroted Ryker, "He has a brother?"

"A twin brother," Poseidon affirmed, "Younger by three minutes. Those two boys were so identical that I could hardly tell who was going to face which prophecy."

Ryker and Milli opened their mouths simultaneously to ask more questions, but was stopped by Poseidon holding up a hand. "He's in New York, with your mother, an abusive stepfather, and not enough money to live comfortably. He'll go on his first quest in a couple of months. I don't know why or for what, but it will happen. And that will just be the start."

"Before you ask, I did not choose one of my sons to give up, and one of them to keep. Shortly after Sally Jackson and I met our children, the Fates appeared and took one from us. Each were meant to live danger-filled lives on different roads. Eventually, though, your paths will cross. The only way to combat the biggest threat the world will ever know."

For the first time since he arrived, Poseidon looked truly and utterly heartbroken. "I might lose one of you, or both of you. I don't think I'm ready for that. I needed you to be prepared. I need you to be brave. I trust that your mom taught you that. But no matter what I need you to be, I know that that won't be enough to stop what's coming, to create a guaranteeable future. So here is a warning, because you will not like what will happen ten seconds from now."

"Brace yourself."

Ryker put a hand on Milli's arm and squeezed, just to make sure he was holding onto something.

"You have to come to America with me."

Ryker nodded.

"Alone."

Ryker blew up.

His eyes widened and his fingers clenched around Milli's arm. Not enough to cause pain, but enough to make her shift uncomfortably.

"Ryker," she said quietly, "If this is what you need to do-"

He cut her off explosively, letting go of her arm and bursting to his feet. "No!" He yelled, "I don't care what I need to do! I don't care what you want me to do!" At that he pointed an accusing finger at Poseidon.

"You've been gone all of my life! I had to watch my mother die! I had to watch my father break! I had to watch my best friend hold it all in just so she could hold everyone else up. You have no right to march in twelve years later and tell me to abandon my family."

"You don't get a say anymore! You gave that up the second you left this island the first time. Let me show you what that feels like."

He spun on his heel and slammed his way out of the room, taking off running the second he was sure he was out of sight.

________________

Poseidon blinked once.

Then twice.

He had to be honest.

He didn't know what just happened.

"Are you sure he's my kid and not a son of Apollo?" Poseidon asked, sounding less like a millenia old god and more like a high schooler who didn't know there was a test on the same day he was supposed to be taking it, "Because usually Apollo gets the dramatic ones."

"He's right, you know," the girl murmured, casting her gray eyes to the floor, "You can't just ask him to leave us. We're all he has left. It's not fair to ask him to leave and embrace a prophecy that might entitle his death."

"You don't think I know that?" Poseidon whispered back, "You don't think the very thought of losing him has haunted me every day for the past twelve years? He's not ready for that. Not yet. He hasn't even learned Algebra yet, for gods' sake!" The god paused to consider his words. "Not that he'll need it."

"I should go talk to him," Milli said, now worried knowing that Ryker was out there, alone and emotionally unstable.

The god shook his head. "No. Now I need to talk to you."

The daughter of Athena looked up, surprised. "Me?" She asked suspiciously, "But you came here to talk to him."

Poseidon nodded solemnly. "I did. And now that I've gathered a little more intel, my plans have to be revised a little." He stopped and stared at her, as if seeking her approval to continue.

She cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head at him. "What?" She asked, smiling in spite of herself, "Waiting for little old me? Well, I suppose you can speak."

Milli couldn't help teasing the god, at least a little bit. He was easy to be around, not at all like she'd imagine an encounter with an actual god to be like. He reminded her so much of Ryker in his mannerisms and his physical qualities that she felt an incessant need to cheer him up and help him through this.

Whatever it was.

The corner of Poseidon's mouth tilted up, just enough to show his amusement, before he started to speak.

"Ryker has to leave," Poseidon told her, "He can't stay on this island paradise forever. It wasn't meant to exist that long. Two months after the heroes it was granted to have passed, the island is going to disappear. Ryker can't be here when that happens. None of you can."

"But what I wanted to talk to you about is your role in his future. He needs you. For his happiness, for his sanity, for his survival. It's ridiculous that you haven't even started seventh grade yet and you're already this close. What you've gone through has put you through trials unimaginable to any mortal."

"He needs you."

"You need him."

"But first you'll have to let him go. I know that you're prepared to do that. I think you've been prepared, praying every night that it would never happen. I think you've expected this since his mother died. The pieces have been falling into place, and with my arrival, you can finally see the bigger picture."

"I trust you, too. Athena might be prideful and a huge pain in the... ahem... gut, but she's generally reliable and - Don't you dare tell her I ever said this - smart, as are her children. He has a lot ahead of him. He'll have a few minor trials, but the main war will start around five or
six years from now, assuming his brother can pull his part of the weight and get us past the first one."

Milli's eyes widened at the mention of Ryker's brother. "What can you tell me about him?" She asked. "Ryker's brother, I mean."

"What can I say?" Poseidon wondered, "He's got his father's dashing good looks, just like Ryker. He's a little scrawny right now, but I'm sure that'll change. That's probably the only difference between them at this point. You'd never be able to tell them apart otherwise."

"I would. I'd know Ryker anywhere."

"And that'll save him one day," Poseidon ceded, "Or destroy him, if someone else learns to. But the only other thing is their personalities. Besides his stepfather, he hasn't had any real, life changing hardships. Ryker carries himself with such a confidence if he were a little taller I'd swear he was an adult. But I'm told he rarely smiles anymore. Smile is all Percy does."

"Percy?" Milli asked, "As in Percival?"

Poseidon laughed. "Of course not!" He snickered, "Like Perseus. The only Greek Hero to ever live to see old age."

"Last name?"

"Jackson."

"Ryker Jackson," Milli whispered, "That's his real name?" Now that Milli thought about it, she realized she didn't know Kyle and Kaitlyn's last name. She had to admit, though, it sounded nice on her tongue.

"Yeah," Poseidon answered, his eyes suddenly getting a faraway look to them, "Ryker's name was Kaitlyn's father's name. Strong power or rich. I'm guessing it was the first one, seeing who Ryker is. And his mother is Sally Jackson. She's very possibly the greatest woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Independent. Kind. Strong. Ryker and Percy are very lucky."

"And you couldn't have kept them together through childhood because?" Milli trailed off, prompting Poseidon to fill in the blank.

"If you think one demigod child of the Big Three is bad, how about two? Two steadily growing, power gaining boys in the middle of one of the most populated cities in America. The only reason Percy hasn't been found yet is because of that disgusting mortal smell Gabe exudes. The only reason that Ryker and Ally are safe together is because she is still young, and it is very hard for a monster to find its way onto this island."

"Not only that, but I mean for Ryker to travel with the Hunters of Artemis immediately following this trip. I figured it would be easier on the both of them if they did not have to be ripped apart after spending their entire lives together." Poseidon's eyes widened as he realized that was exactly what he was doing to her, and he looked down into the broken metallic gray eyes of the girl.

"I'm so sorry," Poseidon whispered guiltily, "I never meant for it to happen to someone else. But you will see him again. On my honor. One way or another."

Milli managed a tight smile and nodded. "I'll hold you to it."

"Now go." Poseidon said even more quietly than before. "Ryker needs you now. Something's happened."

"It's his dad."

________________

Ryker had run.

He had run as fast as he could, as far as he could, until he hit the surf. Then he swam.

When he couldn't feel the sand under his feet anymore, he allowed himself to drop. He opened his mouth and screamed where no one could hear him, releasing bubbles to the surface.

When he took a breath so that he could scream again, he realized that he was still underwater. He raised a hand to run it through his hair and he was shocked to find that it wasn't wet. It wasn't plastered to his face, unflatteringly flat against his head.

He would have to ask Poseidon about it later. You know, when he wasn't still infuriated at the god for trying to tear him away from his friends and family.

When he had calmed down enough to rip the scowl from his face, he dragged himself back to the beach, yelping when he saw his father stumble out from the treeline.

"Dad?" He asked cautiously, not trusting his eyes the dim light of the moon, "Are you okay? What's-" He cut himself off abruptly when he noticed the thick red blood pouring from his shoulder.

To his surprise, Kyle only smiled at his son. "Ryker," he coughed out, unfazed by the redness appearing on his lips, "It's time. I hope I trained you well enough for this."

Ryker sprinted to his father's side, seeing the shadows of the monsters hiding in the forest. Falling to his knees, he tried his best to sit him up, but found he had already fallen unconscious. Ryker scrambled for the blade lying next to him in the sand, pulling it from its sheath and taking one last look at his father before running off.

His father's murderers would not escape unpunished.

They hadn't gotten far, and it was easy for him to cut them into piles of golden dust on the ground. When he finally got back to the beach, his dad was nowhere to be found, Milli and Poseidon sitting in his place.

He threw himself onto the blonde frantically. "Milli," he gasped, "My dad. He was just here. He was dying. Where is he?"

As expected, she wrapped her arms around him, letting him bury his head into her shoulder, but that didn't stop him from feeling the movement of her looking to Poseidon. Though his eyes were closed, it wasn't hard for him to imagine to pity in her eyes as they filled with tears themselves.

When he felt the first drop in his hair, he knew. Undeniably, irreversibly, invariably so. His father was gone. It had been the demigod's own choice, but he hadn't gone down without a fight. It had been honorable, and his eternal luck had run out in the blaze of the battle.

That didn't stop Ryker from crying, though. It was messed up. It was just wrong to purposefully leave a child in the world without parents, without a direction to go in, only knowing that he had a battle waiting for him in the distant future from which he may not emerge alive.

Except Ryker couldn't exactly blame him. He had been angry and hurt for almost two years. His only purpose was to train Ryker so that he would be ready. And now he didn't have that. Even if Ryker wasn't exactly what you would describe as ready.

So when Ryker looked up from his best friend to stare into the god's eyes with a steely determination, you didn't have to be an Oracle to know what he was going to say.

"I'll go with you."