★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘

𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖚𝖘:
BELLE AND PERCY IN
THE HIDDEN ORACLE

★ 。／｜＼。★

*another long one . . . over 16,000 words. um sorry*

BELLE ADAIR THOUGHT she was done with the Gods. After defending Olympus from a Titan and his army, sailing on a warship to Greece, quite literally going through hell and back (she survived Tartarus, it's whatever), and defeating Gaea, she had just about had it with the Olympians.

The Fates decided they had other ideas.

She sat on the couch of the Jackson apartment in New York City, a copy of City of Bones in her hand. Percy Jackson, her boyfriend, laid his head in her lap and stared up at her adoringly as the girl absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair. Paul Blofis, Percy's step-father, was out at work but a very pregnant Sally Jackson, Percy's mom, was in the kitchen making some smoothies.

Suddenly, the buzzer to the apartment rang. Sally sighed and stopped the blender, walking over to it by the front door. Belle glanced up from her book for a second.

"Yes?" Sally asked.

"Hello," a voice greeted. "This is Apollo."

The room went silent. Percy slowly raised himself up off of Belle's lap and exchanged a confused glance with his girlfriend. Apollo? It certainly didn't sound like Apollo, and it didn't make sense how he was just using the buzzer system to try and contact them.

"The God Apollo," he specified. "Is Percy home?"

"Don't let him in!" Percy protested.

Sally looked over at him. "Percy, he could be in trouble."

Belle closed her book and placed it down on the table. "Sally, when Gods show up out of nowhere, it's because they want something from us. Don't you think we've been used enough?"

"Tell him I've left the country," Percy suggested, making Belle point at him in agreement.

Sally gave them a stern look. "No, you two. I'm letting him up."

Before either of them could say anything otherwise, Sally pressed the button to allow the front door to the apartment complex open. Percy groaned and leaned his head back against the couch. Belle exhaled and leaned her head back as well.

Percy shifted his head so he was looking over at her. "Do you wanna open the door?"

"No," Belle answered. "Do you?"

"Definitely not."

"How about we go together?"

Percy nodded. He begrudgingly got to his feet and helped Belle up before the two of them walked over to the door. They waited there for a knock, Percy's arm around Belle's shoulder and her leaning comfortably against his chest with her arms crossed. Finally, a knock was heard, and Percy swung the door open.

Standing out in the hallway was a flabby boy with acne and a beat-up face (Apollo?) and a girl with a pixie haircut, glasses, and clothes arranged in the colors of a traffic light. Belle's eyebrows knit in thought as she glanced between the two.

"Why?" Percy questioned.

The girl inched back into the hallway to try and hide behind Apollo that didn't look like Apollo. Belle looked over at her, her eyes softening slightly. There was something so vaguely familiar and comforting about this girl. She seemed to catch Belle's eyes. Belle smiled at her, making the girl take a step outwards from Apollo's back.

Apollo smiled the best he could under Percy's intimidating gaze. "Percy Jackson, Belle Adair, my blessings upon you! I am in need of assistance."

Belle nodded her head over to the girl. "Who's she?"

"Rescued . . ." Percy repeated, scanning Apollo's battered face. "You mean the beat-up teenager look isn't just a disguise? Dude, what happened to you?"

"I may have mentioned the street thugs," Apollo commented.

"But you're a God."

"About that . . . I was a God."

Belle blinked. "Was? What do you mean was?"

"Also, I'm fairly certain we're being followed by malicious spirits," Apollo admitted.

Percy seemed to want to punch Apollo in his already-broken nose, but Belle elbowed his side gently, making him sigh. "Maybe you two should come inside."

Belle and Percy stepped aside to let them in. While Meg and Apollo entered the apartment, the couple shared a confused glance. What was happening? Belle let out a deep breath and nodded her head towards the inside of the apartment. The faster Meg and Apollo got out of here the better. Percy removed his arm from around Belle and opted to lace their fingers together instead as he shut the door.

"Sacred Sibyl!" Apollo cried once he set eyes on Sally, who had stepped out from behind the counter to greet them. "Madam, there is something wrong with your midsection!"

Sally paused in her tracks and looked down at her stomach, clearly mystified. "Well, I'm seven months pregnant."

"How can you bear it? My mother, Leto, suffered through a long pregnancy, but only because Hera cursed her. Are you cursed?"

Percy stepped to my side, taking Belle with him by tugging on her hand. "Um, Apollo? She's not cursed. And can you not mention Hera?"

"You poor woman." Apollo shook his head. "A Goddess would never allow herself to be so encumbered. She would give birth as soon as she felt like it."

"That must be nice," Sally agreed.

Percy coughed into his hand. "So anyway. Mom, this is Apollo and his friend Meg. Guys, this is my mom."

Sally smiled and shook Meg and Apollo's hands. "Call me Sally." Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Apollo's busted nose. "Dear, that looks painful. What happened?"

Apollo tried to explain, but he seemed to choke on his words. Belle guessed it was a huge shock for Apollo to go from being treated like royalty to being treated horribly. Well, maybe now he would understand how Demigods felt.

"I tell you what." Sally patted Apollo's shoulder. "Percy can help you get bandaged and cleaned up."

"I can?" Percy asked.

Sally raised an eyebrow at him. "There's a first-aid kit in your bathroom, sweetheart. Apollo can take a shower, then wear your extra clothes. You two are about the same size."

"That is truly depressing."

Sally then cupped her hand under Meg's chin and studied her in a motherly way. "And Belle can help you get cleaned up, too," Sally added.

Belle nodded, placing an inviting smile on her lips. "Of course. I have some clothes that might fit you in Percy's room."

"Then we'll get you something to eat."

"I like food," Meg commented.

Sally laughed. "Well, we have that in common. Percy, you take Apollo. Belle, you take Meg. We'll meet you back here in a while."

Belle squeezed Percy's hand before letting go. Percy decided to take Apollo to the hall bathroom, so Belle led Meg to the bathroom in Sally and Paul's room. She reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out a spare towel, setting it down on the counter.

"I'll leave you to shower, but I'll be out here when you're finished," Belle told her gently. "Just let me know if you need anything while in the shower, okay? It's a pretty small apartment, I'll be able to hear you call."

Meg adjusted her glasses a little. "Uh, thank you."

"No problem. I'll go get you some clothes."

Belle left the room and entered Percy's, who was leaning against his dresser with his arms crossed like he was expecting her. Belle stopped in her tracks as he stared at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Belle questioned.

Percy shrugged. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because there's a God and some random girl in the apartment right now, and I really just don't want to deal with the Olympians anymore for the rest of my life."

Belle shook her head and walked over to the closet, beginning to look through her section for some clothes that Meg could wear. "Listen, I know that both of us aren't very excited that Apollo decided to show up, but that girl is a Demigod. You know how urgent getting Demigods to Camp is."

Percy sighed. "Yeah, you're right."

"Thanks for noticing." Belle pulled out a green crop top that had a white collar and some white butterfly designs on it. "She'd look cute in this."

"You're going to give her your favorite shirt?" Percy inquired incredulously.

She thought it over for a moment. "True."

Belle put the shirt back and looked for a moment longer before grabbing a loose fitting forest green t-shirt that could be tied if desired. She picked out a pair of black leggings to match for Meg as well. Belle held the folded clothes in her hand before walking over to Percy. She stopped in front of him and stared up into his eyes.

"It'll be fine," she reassured him. "And something about that girl seems . . . familiar. I don't know, there's just something about her."

"You think you've met her before?" Percy asked.

"I don't think so, but I just have this feeling." She then held up the pile of clothes a little higher. "Anyways, I should probably go get these to Meg. Have fun with Apollo."

"So much fun," Percy commented sarcastically.

Belle laughed slightly before walking back into Sally and Paul's room. The shower was still running, so Belle sat down on the end of the bed to wait. She didn't have to wait very long. After about another five minutes, the shower turned off and Belle heard Meg get out of the shower. She stood back up and knocked on the door a little.

"Meg?" Belle questioned. "I have some clothes for you."

The door opened a little and a hand stuck out. Belle handed the pile of clothes to Meg. Meg shut the door again, and Belle leaned her shoulder against the frame to wait. It was about another two minutes until the door opened again. Belle smiled down at the girl, who had evidently decided to keep wearing her old red sneakers with the outfit Belle had given her. Her face was now clean of all the grime on it. The only thing that was left undone was her hair, which was still tangled and wet from the shower.

"I can brush your hair for you, if you want," Belle offered.

Meg nodded. Belle entered the bathroom and opened a drawer, grabbing a hairbrush. She set down the hair ties and began gently brushing Meg's hair to get it less tangled.

"So your name is Belle?" Meg questioned after a moment of silence. "Like—"

"The Princess?" Belle finished, looking up in the mirror to lock eyes with Meg and grinning. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"And you're like me? A Demigod?"

Belle set down the brush and nodded. "Yeah. I'm a daughter of Demeter, Goddess of the harvest. I can control plants."

"Do you have a weapon?" Meg continued, holding up her hands for Belle to see. There were two crescent rings resting on each of her middle fingers. "These are mine. They're concealed."

Belle gently grabbed one of her hands and studied the symbol of the ring. "These look like sickles." Belle looked up at the girl curiously, her mind slowly placing some pieces together. "Do you know who your Godly parent is?"

Meg shook her head.

"That's okay, you'll most likely be claimed when you get to Camp." Although Belle had a hunch that this girl and her might be related on the Godly side, she decided to move past that and focus on Meg's original question. "And yes, I do have a weapon." She gestured to Sunflower's keychain that hung from her belt loop. "Also concealed. It's a sword named Sunflower that comes out when I flip it. Sunflower was gifted to me by Demeter, actually."

Meg seemed even more curious. "Have you had a lot of adventures?"

She chuckled. "Too many to count. Percy's had more than me. I would love to tell you about them, but we have such little time." Belle placed a hand on Meg's shoulder. "Now, come on. We should probably go wait for the boys."

Belle led Meg down the hall back to the living room. Sally was moving in between there and the kitchen, obviously making lunch for all of them to have. She brought Meg into a conversation about food (naturally) while Belle leaned her back on the counter. Percy and Apollo then entered back into the living room, Apollo wearing a pair of Percy's jeans and his black Led Zeppelin t-shirt. While Percy gravitated towards Belle's side and took her hand again, Apollo stared at Meg and choked back a sob. Belle's eyebrows knit in confusion. What was that about?

Meg pouted. "Do I look that bad?"

"No, no," Apollo replied. "It's just . . ."

He didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he looked away from her. Belle looked at Apollo weirdly.

"Well," Sally began with forced cheerfulness. "How about I make some lunch while you four . . . talk."

She gave Belle and Percy a worried glance before heading back to the kitchen, her hands resting protectively over her pregnant belly.

Meg sat on the edge of the couch. "Percy, your mom is so normal."

"Thanks, I guess," Percy responded, picking up his stack of test preparation manuals for the SAT and DSTOMP from the coffee table and throwing them aside.

"Percy," Belle scolded.

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

"I see you like to study," Apollo voiced. "Well done."

Percy snorted in amusement. "I hate to study. I've been guaranteed admission with a full scholarship to New Rome University, but they're still requiring me to pass all my high school courses and score well on the SAT. Can you believe that? Not to mention I have to pass the DSTOMP."

"The what?" Meg inquired.

"An exam for Roman Demigods," Apollo explained. "The Demigod Standard Test of Mad Powers."

Percy frowned. "That's what it stands for?"

"I should know. I wrote the music and poetry analysis sections."

"I will never forgive you for that."

Meg swung her feet back and forth. "So you're really a Demigod, too? Like me? And like Belle?"

"Afraid so," Percy answered. He sat down in the armchair while Apollo sat down on the couch next to Meg. Percy gestured to Belle to come join him, and she sat sideways on top of his lap. She put an arm around her shoulder and Percy rested his around her hips to keep her balanced. "My dad is the Godly one — Poseidon. And I'm sure Belle told you hers is Demeter. What about your parents?"

Meg's legs went still and she stared down at her rings. "Never knew them . . . much."

Percy hesitated. "Foster home? Step-parents?"

Belle knows a lot about plants (naturally — daughter of Demeter and all.) So when Belle noticed Meg folded inwards into herself under Percy's questions, she thought of the plant Mimosa pudica. The plant would close up defensively as soon as its leaves were touched. It was kind of a simile for what Meg was doing right now. Belle tapped her boyfriend's shoulder. Their eyes locked, and she discreetly shook her head. It wouldn't do any good if he continued to push.

Percy raised his free hand in surrender. "Sorry. Didn't mean to pry." He sent Apollo an inquisitive look. "So how did you guys meet?"

Apollo told them the story — how he had got attacked by some guys named Cade and Mikey (in a very exaggerated way), how Meg had saved him and ultimately became his master, and about the spirits that they saw. As he finished, Sally returned with a bowl of tortilla chips and a casserole dish of her seven-layer dip.

"I'll be back with the sandwiches," Sally announced. "But I had some leftover seven-layer dip."

"Yum," Percy said, grabbing a tortilla chip and dipping it in the dip. "She's kinda famous for this, guys."

Sally ruffled his hair affectionately. "There's guacamole, sour cream, refried beans, salsa—"

"Seven layers?" Apollo asked, looking up at her in wonder. "You knew seven is my sacred number? You invented this for me?"

Sally wiped her hands on her apron. "Well, actually, I can't take credit—"

"You are too modest!" Apollo tried some of the dip. "You will have immortal fame for this, Sally Jackson!"

"That's sweet." She pointed over to the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

Soon enough, they were all eating a lunch of turkey sandwiches, chips and dip, and banana smoothies. Belle had eaten to her stomach's desire (which meant two turkey sandwiches and a lot of chips and dip) and was slowly sipping her banana smoothie through a straw.

"Percy, your mom is awesome," Apollo voiced.

"I know, right?" Percy agreed as he finished his smoothie. "So back to your story . . . you have to be Meg's servant now? You guys barely know each other."

"Barely is generous. Nevertheless, yes. My fate is now linked with young McCaffrey."

"We are cooperating," Meg corrected..

Percy took out the ballpoint pen that concealed Riptide from his pocket and tapped it thoughtfully against girlfriend's thigh. Belle didn't mind, but she couldn't help but smile. It was ridiculous, but every time she saw Riptide, she couldn't help but think of what Demeter had told her that day at the Acropolis about her and Percy's swords. Since they were two almost identical swords, whoever wielded them at the same time were destined to be soulmates. Belle hadn't really told Percy about it, but she had a feeling he kind of knew. Or not. Percy could be oblivious sometimes.

"And this whole turning-into-a-mortal thing . . . you've done it twice before?" Percy continued.

"Not by choice," Apollo assured them. "The first time, we had a little rebellion in Olympus. We tried to overthrow Zeus."

Belle raised an eyebrow. "Guessing that didn't turn out too well."

"I got most of the blame, naturally. Oh, and Percy, your father, Poseidon. We were both cast down to Earth as mortals, forced to serve Laomedon, the king of Troy. He was a harsh master. He even refused to pay us for our work!"

Meg almost choked on her turkey sandwich. "I have to pay you?"

"Never fear," Apollo responded. "I won't be presenting you with a bill. But as I was saying, the second time I became mortal, Zeus got mad because I killed some of his Cyclopes."

"Dude, not cool," Percy replied with a frown. "My brother is a Cyclops."

"These were wicked Cyclopes!" Apollo insisted. "They made the lightning bolt that killed one of my sons!"

Meg bounced excitedly on the arm of the couch. "Percy's brother is a Cyclops? That's crazy!"

Apollo took a deep breath. "At any rate, I was bound to Admetus, the king of Thessaly. He was a kind master. I liked him so much, I made all his cows have twin calves."

"Can I have baby cows?"

"Well, Meg, first you would have to have some mommy cows. You see—"

"Okay, let's not go into that right now," Belle interrupted. "So to recap, Apollo, you have to Meg's servant for . . . how long?"

"Some unknown amount of time," Apollo answered. "Probably a year. Possibly more."

"So during that time period—"

"I will undoubtedly face many trials and hardships."

"Like getting me my cows," Meg added.

Apollo gritted his teeth for a moment. "What those trials will be, I do not yet know. But if I suffer through them and prove I am worthy, Zeus will forgive me and allow me to become a God again."

Belle and Percy quickly shared a look. Neither of them were convinced. They didn't know Zeus personally, but from the times they had met him and the stories about the past, he wasn't a very forgiving person.

"I need time to get my bearings," Apollo resumed. "Once we get to Camp Half-Blood, I can consult with Chiron. I can figure out which of my Godly powers remain with me in this mortal form."

"If any," Percy said.

"Let's think positive."

Percy wound his arm a little bit tighter around Belle's hips as he sat back in the armchair. "Any idea what kind of spirits are following you?"

"Shiny blobs," Meg replied. "They were shiny and sort of . . . blobby."

Percy nodded gravely. "Those are the worst kind."

"It hardly matters," Apollo cut in. "Whatever they are, we have to flee. Once we reach Camp, the magical borders will protect me."

"And me?" Meg questioned.

"Oh, yes. You, too."

"Wait," Belle stated. "I'm sorry for bringing the mood down, but Apollo, if you're really one hundred percent mortal, could you even get in to Camp Half-Blood? I mean, the only mortal who really can is Rachel and that's because she's the Oracle."

"Please don't say that," Apollo pleaded. "Of course I'll get in. I have to."

"But you could get hurt in battle now . . ." Percy considered. "Then again, maybe monsters would ignore you because you're not important?"

"Stop! I'm sure I've retained some powers. I'm still gorgeous, for instance, if I could just get rid of this acne and lose some flab. I must have other abilities!"

Percy then turned to Meg. "What about you? I hear you throw a mean garbage bag. Any other skills we should know about? Summoning lightning? Making toilets explode?"

Meg hesitantly smiled. "That's not a power."

"Sure it is. Some of the best Demigods have gotten their start by blowing up toilets."

Belle scoffed. "Oh, please. Don't be so full of yourself."

Percy smirked at her. "Come on, that was legendary. It was almost as cool as that time I started a fire in the science room."

"You say that like it's an accomplishment."

"Because it is."

"Ahem," Apollo interjected, rubbing his hands together. "How soon can we leave?"

Percy glanced over at the clock on the wall. "Right now, I guess. If you're being followed, I'd rather have monsters on our trail than sniffing around the apartment."

"Good man."

Percy gestured with distaste at the test manuals that were now on the floor. "I just have to be back tonight. Got a lot of studying. The first two times I took the SAT — ugh. If it wasn't for Belle and Annabeth helping me out—"

"Who's that?" Meg inquired.

"Our best friend," Belle responded. She paused for a moment. "Well, one of them. Katie, Connor, and Travis are kind of number one on my list."

"So take a break!" Apollo urged. "Your brain will be refreshed after an easy drive to Long Island."

"Huh," Percy commented. "There's a lazy kind of logic to that. Okay. Let's do it."

Belle blinked and looked at him. "Oh?"

Percy sent her an innocent smile. She rolled her eyes and stood up from his lap, crossing her arms over her chest. Percy rose after her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Despite her being slightly annoyed at him because they had to study, she couldn't help the ghost of a grin that appeared on her face. Just at that moment, Sally walked back in with a plate of fresh-baked blue chocolate chip cookies.

"Mom, don't freak," Percy told her.

Sally sighed. "I hate it when you say that."

"Belle and I just going to take these two to Camp. That's all. We'll be right back."

"I think I've heard that before."

"I promise."

Sally looked at Apollo and Meg, her expression softening. "All right. Be careful. It was lovely meeting you both. Please try not to die."

Percy kissed his mother on the cheek. Belle also gave Sally a quick side hug. Percy then reached for a cookie, but Sally moved the plate away.

"Oh, no," Sally refused. "Apollo and Meg can have one, but I'm keeping the rest hostage until you're back safely. And hurry, dear. It would be a shame if Paul ate them all when he gets home."

With a grim expression, Percy turned to face Apollo and Meg. "You hear that, guys? A batch of cookies is depending on me. If you get me killed on the way to Camp, I am going be ticked off."

Sally placed the cookies on the table and went off to get some proper winter jackets for Apollo and Meg. Belle got hers off of the coat hook by the front door and began to put it on.

"Do you have a spare bow or quiver that you could lend me?" Apollo questioned, gratefully taking the jacket from Sally as she came back.

"No, I suck at archery," Percy explained.

"Understatement of the century," Belle voiced with a scoff as she removed her hair out from underneath the coat.

Percy glared at her playfully. "Nobody asked you, Beauty."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yes, but I don't," Apollo revealed, stopping the two's bickering. "This is why you should always plan for my needs."

They went downstairs to the Prius, which was parallel parked in front of the apartment building. Belle immediately made her way to the front passenger seat while Meg and Apollo went to the back. Apollo, once again, suggested that he could follow them in a Maserati or a Lamborghini, but Percy admitted that he had neither, since the Prius was the only car his family owned. Belle slightly laughed to herself. Apollo was in for a real shock.

The Long Island Expressway was jammed, as usual. Percy kept braking and lurching forwards as traffic moved and stopped. Belle stared out at the window. She was used to the Expressway. Apollo, apparently, was not.

"Doesn't your Prius have flamethrowers?" Apollo demanded. "Lasers? At least some Hephaestian bumper blades? What sort of cheap economy vehicle is this?"

Percy glanced back at him in the rearview mirror. "You have rides like that on Mount Olympus?"

"We don't have traffic jams. That, I can promise you."

Meg turned and gazed out of the rear windshield. "At least we're not being—"

"No, don't say it," Belle warned before she could finish her sentence.

"You don't know what I was going to—"

"You were about to say At least we're not being followed. That phrase is bad luck, especially for a Demigod. We'll immediately notice we are actually being followed, end up in a big battle that destroys the whole Expressway — this car included, and then we'll be forced to run all the way to Camp Half-Blood."

Meg's eyes widened. "You didn't tell me you could tell the future."

"Oh, I can't," Belle admitted as Percy changed lanes to one that was crawling slightly less slowly. "That's just the way it always rolls. Besides . . ." She turned and sent an accusing look to Apollo. "No one, not even Rachel, can tell the future anymore. The Oracle hasn't been working for months."

That was true. The Oracle hadn't been working ever since the voyage on the Argo II in late July. No Prophecies, no nothing. Belle wasn't exactly eager to get another Prophecy, but still.

"What Oracle?" Meg asked.

Nobody answered.

"It still isn't working?" Apollo questioned in a small voice.

"You didn't know?" Percy inquired. "I mean, sure, you've been out of it for six months, but this happened on your watch."

Apollo swallowed. "I just . . . I assumed — I hoped this would be taken care of by now."

"You mean by Demigods, going on a big quest to reclaim the Oracle of Delphi?" Percy guessed.

"Exactly!" Apollo exclaimed. "I suppose Chiron just forgot. I'll remind him when we get to Camp, and he can dispatch some of you talented fodder — I mean heroes—"

"I mean, that's great and all, but we've still got a problem," Belle admitted. "Quests have rules. Rule number one is that we need a Prophecy. And if we have no Oracle, that means there's no Prophecies. So basically we're stuck in—"

Apollo sighed. "A Catch-88."

Meg threw a piece of lint at him. "It's a Catch-22."

"No. This is a Catch-88, which is four times as bad."

"Hey, you three," Meg declared, hit them all with pieces of lint, making Belle knit her eyebrows in confusion as she turned to look at her.

"Yes, sorry, Meg," Apollo responded. "You see, the Oracle of Delphi is an ancient—"

"I don't care about that. There are three shiny blobs now."

"What?" Percy asked.

She pointed behind them. "Look."

Belle followed to where she was pointing. Sure enough, three glittery, vaguely humanoid apparitions were weaving through traffic and closing in on the Prius rapidly. Belle sighed and faced back forwards. Gods, she knew this was a bad idea.

"Just once I'd like an easy commute," Percy grumbled. "Everybody, hold on. We're going cross-country."

"Percy, no," Belle protested. "Not again."

Her boyfriend decided in that very moment not to listen to her. Percy slammed on the gas pedal and shot down the nearest exit ramp.

Belle yelped as she slammed into the car door. "I hate it when you drive!"

"I'm not a bad driver!" Percy protested.

"Oh yeah? Tell that to my bruised shoulder!"

He ignored her again. Percy wove across the parking lot of a shopping mall, blasted through the drive-thru of a Mexican restaurant, and swerved into an industrial area of dilapidated warehouses. Belle held onto the handle of her door and looked back again. Sure enough, the smoking apparitions were still closing in on them.

"Is your plan to avoid a fight by dying in a traffic accident?" Apollo demanded.

"Ha-ha," Percy commented. He yanked the steering wheel to the right and sped north, the warehouses they passed slowly fading into apartment buildings and abandoned strip malls. "I'm getting us to the beach. I fight better near water."

"Because Poseidon?" Meg asked.

"Yep. That pretty much describes my entire life: Because Poseidon."

Meg, which Belle saw through the rearview mirror, bounced up and down in her seat with excitement. "You're gonna be like Aquaman? Get the fish to fight for you?"

Belle turned to her boyfriend and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, Aqua Boy. Tell her how you're gonna be just like him."

Percy glared at her for a moment, making Belle laugh. "You're not helping, Beauty. And thanks, Meg. I haven't heard enough Aquaman jokes for one lifetime."

"I wasn't joking!" Meg protested.

Belle turned herself around and looked out the rear window. The glittering plumes were still gaining. One even passed through a middle-aged man who was crossing the street, making him collapse. She began to rack her brain for what they possible could be. Surely she had read about them once . . .

"Ah, I know these spirits!" Apollo suddenly cried. "They are . . . um . . ."

"What?" Belle interrogated. "Okay, so they're spirits, but what exact ones?"

"I've forgotten! I hate being mortal! Four thousand years of knowledge, the secrets of the universe, a sea of wisdom — lost, because I can't contain it all in this teacup of a head!"

"Hold on!" Percy instructed.

Belle barely had any time to react before Percy flew through a railroad crossing. The Prius went airborne, making her gasp and frantically reach for the handle on the side of the car.

"I'm never letting you drive again!" Belle shouted. "This is the worst ride of my life, and coming from a girl who was literally slapped from Greece to Long Island, that's saying a lot!"

"Hey, I was there too!" Percy agued.

The landscape then opened into actual countryside, but Belle knew that before they even arrived. She had a sort of sense to know when plants were around — daughter of Demeter and all. Slight power surged through her veins as they approached fallow fields, dormant vineyards, and orchards of bare fruit trees.

"Just another mile or so to the beach," Percy announced. "Plus we're almost to the western edge of Camp. We can do it. We can do it."

Of course, Percy just had to say that. One of the shiny smoke clouds suddenly plumed through the pavement directly in front of the car. Instinctively, Percy swerved, sending the Prius off of the road. They went straight through a barbed wire fence and into one of the orchards. Percy managed to avoid hitting any trees, but the car skidded in some icy mud and wedged itself in between two tree trunks.

Percy unbuckled his seat belt. "You guys okay?" He turned to Belle and cupped her face in his hands, inspecting her face for any wounds. "Beauty, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Belle breathed out. She glanced at the scene around her. "Plants. Better for me." Belle tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Uh, it won't open."

"Didn't you say you can move plants?" Meg innocently questioned.

"I mean, yeah, but trying to move an entire tree? I've never tried, and it'd probably be too much." She sighed. "We'll have to get out from the back."

"Back here," Apollo said. "Climb over!"

Apollo kicked his door open and staggered outwards. Meg followed after him easily since she was in the back seat. Belle and Percy took one look at each other before erupting into small laughter. Maybe it was the fact that they were delusional or the fact that they were so over everything, but nevertheless, the situation was so pathetically sad that it was funny.

"Gods, what have we gotten ourselves in now?" Belle inquired.

"I'm not sure, but we should probably help them," Percy answered. He leaned forwards and kissed her softly — something that they did before they went into battle. As a Demigod, they never knew if that kiss would be their last. Plus, they just liked kissing each other. "Come on. You get out first."

Belle unbuckled her own seatbelt. She climbed over the center console and stumbled into the backseat. It was kind of hard to do in the Prius since it was small and was literally stuck at an awkward angle between two tree trunks, but she managed to get back there. Belle got out of the car and turned back around to see Percy also struggling to get out. She offered his hand to him when he was in the back seat and helped him out.

Both of them turned to see Apollo and Meg standing there. The spirits were approaching them at the edge of the orchard. Belle took a step forwards, the snow crunching underneath her shoes. It was horribly cold in the month of January, and her breath showed in the air as she shivered.

"STOP!" Apollo bellowed. "I am the God Apollo!"

Percy grabbed Belle's hand. The two of them ran forwards towards Apollo and Meg. Surprisingly, the three spirits stopped about forty feet away. Apollo raised his hand in the ancient three-fingered gesture that warded off evil. He advanced towards the spirits, Meg slowly trailing after him. Belle and Percy picked up their pace to keep up.

"Leave us or be destroyed!" Apollo declared. "BLOFIS!"

The spirits trembled. Instead of disappearing, they solidified into ghoulish corpses with yellow eyes. Their clothes were tattered rags and their body was covered with gaping wounds and running sores. Belle's eyes widened upon seeing them as she got closer. Now she recognized them. She had studied them in that book of Ancient Greek monsters and spirits.

"Oh dear," Apollo said. "I remember now."

"So do I," Belle agreed.

Her and Percy stepped on the right side of Apollo. Percy took out Riptide's pen and took off the cap. With a metallic shink, his pen grew into a glowing blade of Celestial Bronze. Meanwhile, Belle got Sunflower's keychain. She flipped it in the air and caught the green hilt effortlessly in her hand. Her and Percy pressed their backs together, raising their swords.

"Remember what?" Percy asked. "How to kill these things?"

"Unfortunately, that's very wrong," Belle responded. "These are Nosoi, or plague spirits. I read about them once with Annabeth. And . . . uh, they're not able to be killed, if I'm remembering correctly."

"Nosoi?" Percy repeated. "You know, I keep thinking, I have now killed every single thing in Greek mythology. But the list never seems to end."

"You haven't killed me yet," Apollo noted.

"Don't tempt me."

The three Nosoi shuffled forward towards them, their cadaverous mouths gaping, their tongues lolling, and their eyes glistening with a film of yellow mucus. Belle stared at them in disgust. These things were just gross.

"These creatures are not myths," Apollo revealed. "Of course, most things in those old myths are not myths. Except for that story about how I flayed the Satyr Marsyas alive. That was a total lie."

Percy glanced at him. "You did what?"

"Guys," Meg cut in, picking up a dead tree branch. "Could we talk about that later?"

"Apollooooo . . ." the middle spirit began, his voice gurgling. "We have coooome to—"

"Let me stop you right there," Apollo interjected, crossing his arms. Belle knew what he was doing. It was Annabeth's favorite tactic — stalling. "You've come to take your revenge on me, eh?" He looked back at the three Demigods. "You see, Nosoi are the spirits of disease. Once I was born, spreading illnesses became part of my job. I use plague arrows to strike down naughty populations with smallpox, athlete's foot, that sort of thing."

"Gross," Meg stated.

"Somebody's got to do it! Better a God, regulated by the Council of Olympus and with the proper health permits, than a horde of uncontrolled spirits like these."

The left spirit gurgled. "We're trying to have a moooment here. Stop interrupting! We wish to be free, uncontroooolled—"

"Yes, I know. You'll destroy me. Then you'll spread every known malady across the world. You've been wanting to do that ever since Pandora let you out of that jar. But you can't. I will strike you down!"

The right spirit bared his rotten teeth at them. "What will you strike us down with? Where is your booow?"

"It appears to be missing," Apollo agreed. "But is it really? What if it's cleverly hidden under this Led Zeppelin t-shirt, and I am about to whip it out and shoot you all?"

The three Nosoi shuffled among themselves nervously.

"Yooou lie," the one in the middle voiced.

Percy cleared his throat to insert himself in the conversation. "Um, hey, Apollo . . ."

"I know what you're going to say," Apollo admitted. "You, Belle, and Meg have come up with a clever plan to hold off these spirits while I run away to Camp. I hate to see you sacrifice yourselves, but—"

"That's not what I was going to say." Percy raised his blade just a little higher. "I was going to ask what happens if I just slice and dice these mouth-breathers with Celestial Bronze."

The middle spirit chortled, his yellow eyes gleaming. "A sword is such a small weapon. It does not have the pooooetry of a good epidemic."

"Stop right there!" Apollo complained. "You can't claim both my plagues and my poetry!"

"You are right. Enough wooooords."

The three corpses stumbled forwards. It was a lot harder to control plants in the winter, but Belle could do it if she tried hard enough. She tried to feel the grass beneath the snow.

Apollo thrust his arms out, but nothing happened. "This is insufferable! How do Demigods do it without an auto-win power?"

Meg stabbed her tree branch into the nearest spirit's chest. However, the branch stuck, and glittering smoke began to swirl down the wood towards her hands.

"Let go!" Apollo warned. "Don't let the Nosoi touch you!"

Meg instantly let go of the branch. She scampered away and hid behind Belle, who extended her arm protectively in front of the girl. Meanwhile, Percy, being the brave idiot he was, charged right into battle. He swung his sword and dodged the spirits' attempts to attack him. However, his efforts were futile. Whenever Riptide's blade made contact with the Nosoi, their bodies simply dissolved into glittery mist and resolified.

A spirit lunged to grab at Percy. Belle's eyes widened and she frantically thrust a hand out towards the ground. She felt a deep pulling in her gut and raised her hand back up. However, instead of grass coming up like she expected, a frozen black peach was floating next to her. Her eyes widened even further in surprise, but she thrusted her hand forwards. The peach was moved with such force that it embedded itself in the spirit's forehead and knocked it down.

Belle stared down at her hand in amazement. "Well . . . that's new."

"We gotta run," Meg decided.

"Yeah," Percy agreed, backtracking towards them. "I like that idea."

Belle, Percy, Apollo, and Meg then sprinted off through the orchard. Her mind was still kind of in a daze from controlling a piece of fruit that was literally dead. Did that mean she could control any fruit? She imagined thrusting an apple out of Katie Gardner's hand while she was trying to eat it. Belle silently laughed to herself, but she knew now was not the time.

Percy then pointed to a line of hills about a mile ahead of them. "That's the western border of Camp. If we can just get there . . ."

They passed an irrigation tank on a tractor-trailer. Casually flicking his hand, Percy made the side of the tank rupture. A huge wall of water crashed into the three Nosoi behind them.

Belle scoffed at him. "Show off."

Percy smirked at her while they ran. "Only for you, Belle."

Meg grinned. "That was good. We're going to make it!"

Apollo, on the other hand, kept wheezing and struggled to keep running. "We can't — they'll just—"

Before he could finish, three glittering pillars of smoke plumed from the ground in front of them. Two of the Nosoi solidified into cadavers, one with a peach embedded in its forehead and the other with a tree branch sticking out of its chest. The third spirit didn't solidify right away, but Percy didn't see it in time. Belle gasped in horror as he ran straight into the plume of smoke.

"Percy!" Belle screamed.

"Don't breathe!" Apollo exclaimed.

Percy's eyes bugged out as if to say Seriously? He fell to his knees and clawed at his throat. Belle's heart began to beat rapidly against her chest as she glanced around to find anything to help. Meg had picked up another withered peach from the field to defend herself. Apollo was running away from a Nosoi but ran straight into a tree. Belle winced as he fell flat on his back while the cadaverous spirit loomed over him.

"Which fatal illness shall I use to kill the great Apolloooo?" the spirit gurgled. "Anthrax? Perhaps eboooola . . ."

"Hangnails," Apollo suggested while trying to squirm away. "I live in fear of hangnails."

"I have the answer! Let's try this!"

It dissolved into smoke and settled over Apollo.

On a scale of one to ten in usefulness, Belle was feeling like a solid zero. First off, she couldn't go near the smoke because then she would get sick, and what good would that do? Second, all three of the Nosoi were occupied. Percy and Apollo were still in their own clouds of smoke while trying to desperately crawl away and Meg was playing a deadly game of tag with the third one around a peach tree. Third, even if she could use that fruit trick again, it would pass right through the smoke. Belle stood there, anxiously looking around. Well, this was going just great for her.

The ground suddenly shook. Belle looked over to see that a miniature geyser erupted from the field. Percy crawled towards it and thrust his face in the water, washing away the smoke. He ripped out an irrigation pipe from the ground — the source of the geyser — and turned the water of Apollo. The smoke on him washed away and Apollo rolled away while gasping for air. Nearby, the two gaseous Nosoi re-formed as dripping wet corpses with their yellow eyes glowing in annoyance.

"GET DOWN!" Meg yelled.

Percy and Apollo hit the ground. Belle, however, kind of just stood there in shock as peaches began to shoot around the orchard, ricocheting off of trees and ripping through the Nosoi's bodies. Her eyes widened even further as some came towards her. She held up her arms to shield herself and squeezed her eyes shut to brace for impact. However, nothing hit her. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to see that a multitude of frozen peaches were levitating around her. Belle stood up straighter and moved her hand a miniscule amount. The peaches moved with her.

"Cool," she voiced. She then glanced over at Meg. "Oh, I'm so right."

Belle then thrust her hand outwards. The peaches surged forwards and hit the Nosoi as well. All three Nosoi collapsed to the ground, each one riddled with holes. Every piece of fruit dropped to the ground with a soft thump.

Percy looked up from his place on the ground, his eyes red and puffy. "Whah jus happened?"

Belle slightly frowned. He sounded very congested. She guessed he hadn't completely escaped the effects of the plague cloud. It didn't seem to be too serious, but Percy always depended on Belle more than usual when he was sick. Don't get her wrong, it was adorable, but Annabeth would definitely kill them for not studying.

"I don't know," Apollo responded. "Meg, Belle, is it safe?"

Meg continued to stare at the carnage of fruit, mangled corpses, and broken tree limbs around her. "I — I'm not sure."

"I think so," Belle admitted. "They're just plants."

Percy snuffled. "How'd you do thah? Did Belle start it?"

Belle shook her head. "No, it wasn't me. I kind of helped, but I think Meg was the one who initiated it."

Meg looked horrified. "I didn't! I just knew it would happen."

One of the spirits stirred and got up, wobbling on its legs since they were peppered with holes. "But you did doooo it. Yooou are strong, child."

The two other corpses rose as well.

"Not strong enough," the second spirit added. "We will finish you now."

The third spirit bared its rotten teeth. "Your guardian would be sooooo disappointed."

That apparently struck a nerve. Meg looked like someone had punched her in the gut. Her face paled and her arms trembled. Belle took a step forwards in concern, but paused when Meg stamped her foot on the ground.

"NO!" Meg shouted.

More peaches swirled into the air. Belle watched in fascination as the fruit blurred together until a familiar creature was standing in front of Meg. It looked like a pudgy human toddler that was wearing a linen diaper. Wings made of leafy branches were protruding from its back. It had a babyish face, but the cuteness ended at its glowing green eyes and pointy fangs. The creature snarled and snapped at the air.

"Oh, no," Percy stated, shaking his head. "I hate these things."

The three Nosoi seemed to hate them too, because they edged away from the creature.

"Wh-What is it?" Meg asked.

"It's a Karpos," Belle answered, gripping the green hilt of Sunflower tightly as images of herself getting stabbed in the stomach by one back in August flashed through her mind. "They're grain spirits who are incredibly vicious. And that's really saying something coming from a daughter of Demeter."

The peach Karpos turned to the Nosoi and snarled again.

"Do not interfere," the middle corpse, the one with the peach in its forehead, warned as it inched backwards. "We will not allooow—"

The Karpos launched itself at the Nosos and quite literally bit its head off in one bite. In a matter of seconds, the Nosos was torn to shreds and completely devoured. The other two Nosoi retreated, but it was no use, because the Karpos crouched and sprang at them. It landed on the second corpse and ripped into it. The last spirit dissolved into glittering smoke and tried to fly away. However, the Karpos was faster. It spread its leafy wings and launched itself. The Karpos opened its mouth and inhaled the entire smoke cloud of sickness until every wisp of smoke was gone. It landed in front of Meg and belched, its green eyes gleaming and not sick whatsoever. Belle blinked in surprise.

It howled and pounded its small chest with its fists. "Peaches!"

Percy slowly raised his sword, his nose still red and runny and his face puffy. "Meg, don move. I'm gonna—"

"No!" Meg insisted. "Don't hurt him." She placed her hand tentatively on the Karpos' curly-haired head. "You saved us. Thank you."

It hugged Meg's leg and glared at Percy and Apollo, but not Belle for some reason. "Peaches."

"He likes you," Percy noted. "Um . . . why?"

"I don't know," Meg replied. "Honestly, I didn't summon him!"

Belle was certain that she had. That feeling of her and Meg being related on the Godly side had grown a lot stronger.

Percy looked down at his girlfriend. "Belle?"

Belle shrugged helplessly. "I'm not sure. Karpoi are grain spirits, and I do have control over plants, but I've never tried to summon them before. Plus, one did try to kill me with a rose thorn in August. But, you know, they were under the control of Gaea at the time, so . . ."

Peaches then turned to her. He let go of Meg's leg and bowed. Belle's eyes widened and she stared at it.

"Uh . . ." she trailed off. "Thank you, Peaches."

"Peaches," the creature confirmed before hugging Meg's leg again.

"Well, whatever the case, we owe the Karpos our lives," Apollo said. "This brings to mind an expression I coined ages ago: A peach a day keeps the plague spirits away!"

Percy sneezed. "I thought it was apples and doctors."

The Karpos hissed.

"Or peaches. Peaches work too."

"Peaches," the Karpos agreed.

Percy wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "Not criticizing, but why is he grooting?"

Meg frowned. "Grooting?"

"Yeah, like thah character in the movie . . . only saying one thing over and over."

Belle smacked her hand to her forehead.

"I'm afraid I haven't seen that movie," Apollo responded. "But this Karpos does seem to have a very . . . targeted vocabulary."

"Maybe Peaches is his name," Meg suggested. She stroked the creature's curly brown hair, which made the Karpos demonically purr. "That's what I'll call him."

"Woah, you are not adopting thah—" Percy began to protest, but he sneezed with such force that another irrigation pipe exploded behind him and sent up a row of tiny geysers. "Ugh. Sick."

Belle slightly chuckled. "Maybe we should get you some medicine before you accidentally create a tsunami in the Atlantic."

"You're lucky," Apollo told him. "Your trick with the water diluted the spirit's power. Instead of getting a deadly illness, you got a head cold."

"I hate head colds," Percy complained. His green irises stuck out within the bloodshot whites of his eyes. "Nobody else got sick?"

Meg shook her head. Belle did as well, but she deemed the scene safe enough, so she flipped her sword in the air. Sunflower turned back into a keychain and she clipped it onto her belt loops.

"I have an excellent constitution," Apollo bragged. "No doubt that's what saved me."

"And the fact thah I hosed the smoke off of you," Percy added.

"Well, yes."

Percy stared at him. Belle crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. Maybe for once they would hear a God say those two words to a Demigod.

Apollo seemed to understand. "Ah . . . thank you."

Percy nodded. "No problem."

"Can we go now?" Meg inquired.

"An excellent idea," Apollo replied. "Though I'm afraid Percy is in no condition—"

"I can drive you the rest of the way," Percy cut in.

Belle groaned. "Gods, please no. Just let me drive for once."

Percy elbowed her, making her go quiet. "If we can get my car out from between those trees . . ." He glanced in that direction and his expression suddenly became even more miserable. "Aw, Hades no . . ."

Belle followed his gaze and slowly lowered her arms. A police car was pulling over on the side of the road, possibly tracing the tire tracks in the mud that led to the broken fence and the blue Toyota Prius wedged in between two peach trees. The police car's red and blue lights flashed on.

"Great," Percy muttered. "If they tow the Prius, I'm dead. My mom and Paul need thah car."

"Go talk to the officers," Apollo urged. "You won't be any use to us anyway in your current state."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Meg agreed. "You said the Camp is right over those hills?"

"Yeah, but that's the western border," Belle explained, a little bit worried. "Almost everyone enters Camp from the east where Half-Blood Hill is. But the west side . . . it's a lot wilder. There's heavily enchanted hills and woods. You can get really lost if you're not careful, and I don't mean to sound like a pessimist, but I'm not sure if Apollo can even get into Camp if he's fully mortal."

"I'll get in," Apollo stated firmly. "Go. We'll find our way through the woods. You explain to the police that you're sick and you lost control of the car. They'll go easy on you. And Belle . . . well, she can used some of that innocent charm she has."

Percy laughed. "Yeah. Cops love me almost as much as teachers do, but they love Belle, so I guess we'll be okay." He glanced at Meg. "You sure you're okay with the baby fruit demon?"

Peaches growled.

"All good," Meg promised. "Go home. Rest. Get lots of fluids. I'm sure Belle will make sure you do."

Belle nodded with a small smile. "Of course. I'll even make my chicken noodle soup to make him feel better."

Percy looked down at her with a love-struck expression. "I would kiss you so hard right now if I could."

Belle rolled her eyes and rose on her toes, pressing a kiss to his cheek. She immediately frowned when she lowered herself. Belle reached up and placed the back of her hand to his forehead.

"Aw, baby, you're burning up," she told him. "Come on, let's go get the car back and I'll drive you home."

"Will you take care of me?" Percy questioned with a small pout.

Belle rolled her eyes. "Of course, you dork."

Percy grinned at Apollo and Meg. "I'll be in heaven for the next couple of days if you need me."

Belle smacked his shoulder.

"Ow!" he yelped. "All right, all right. Just try to survive until the weekend, will you? Belle and I will come to Camp and check on you guys if we can. Be careful and — CHOOOO!"

Percy touched the cap of his pen on Riptide's blade, turning it back into a simple ballpoint. He offered his hand to Belle, who took it and laced their fingers together. The two trudged down the hill with Percy sneezing and sniffling on the way.

"Sorry, officer, we're up here," Belle called. She leaned closer to Percy. "You're so lucky I'm here to get you out of trouble."

"I love you, too," Percy replied before raising his voice so the police could hear him. "Can you tell us where Manhattan is?"

⭒  ☆  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━  ☆  ⭒

JUST WHAT BELLE needed in her life — another battle.

Percy had promised Apollo that they would visit him at Camp over the weekend if they could. Well, it was the weekend, and here they were, on their way to Camp. Percy had called Mrs. O'Leary, his Hellhound, to shadow-travel them to Camp since it was the fastest way. Chiron had sent them a frantic Iris-message that the Colossus, which was the huge statue of the emperor Nero that used to be outside of the amphitheater in Rome, was attacking the Camp (uh, what?) and it would be greatly appreciated if they came to help. Naturally.

Belle put her arms around Percy's waist to hold on, clenching Sunflower tightly in her hand and trying her best not to impale him. "If I miss my math test on Monday because of this after studying for a week, Gods so help me—"

"You won't," Percy reassured her. "Mrs. O'Leary, go!"

The Hellhound barked in response. Belle squeezed her eyes shut and braced for shadow-traveling as Mrs. O'Leary ran towards a big shadow. Just like it usually was, shadow-traveling was incredibly fast and filled with darkness, coldness, and strange noises. Before Belle knew it, it was over, but she felt weak after coming out of the shadows. Gods, how did Nico do this so many times?

However, the scene that they saw before coming out of the shadows was even more terrifying. There was indeed the Colossus statue stampeding on Camp, and just Belle's luck, Mrs. O'Leary exited the shadows right over the top of the statue.

"Hey, Bronze Butt!" Percy yelled.

Mrs. O'Leary landed on top of the moving statue. She then proceeded to yelp and pee on the head of the statue. The statue looked up to try and see what was trickling down its face. Belle sighed. Gods, this really was something else.

Percy, oblivious as ever, leaped off of his dog and slipped in the pee, making Belle snort into her hand for a moment. "What the — Mrs. O'Leary, jeez!"

Mrs. O'Leary bayed in apology. Belle then raised her hand. Instantly, a branch from the nearest tree stretched out towards her. She grabbed it in her hand and willed the branch to move her away from the Hellhound pee. Belle landed easily next to Percy, twirling Sunflower's green hilt in her hand effortlessly, looking around at the ground to see her friends scrambling around in battle.

Percy scoffed at her. "Show off."

Belle smirked at him. "Only for you, Percy."

"Percy!" a voice shouted. "Belle!"

The two turned. Within shouting distance was the flying chariot of the Apollo Cabin. Inside were Apollo, Kayla, and Austin. Apollo and Austin seemed fine, but Kayla was looking a little green and had a Brazilian flag bandana tied around her hand.

"Where's Meg?" Belle immediately asked, concerned for the girl.

Apollo shook his head sadly. "She . . . she went with Nero. He was her stepfather. They had a plan to bring me to the Grove of Dodona, but she gave herself up so I could come back here."

Belle's face must've visibly fell, because she felt Percy reach over and take her free hand in his. She gave him a watery smile as he squeezed her hand. Despite not knowing Meg that well, a betrayal like that seemed very unlike her. Yet it was very heroic to give herself up to go with Nero.

Percy frowned at the three in the chariot. "All right, who unleashed the giant bronze guy? Apollo, did you do this?"

"I am offended!" Apollo cried. "I am only indirectly responsible for this! Also, I have a plan to fix it."

"Oh, yeah?" Percy glanced back at the dining pavilion, which was now utterly destroyed. "How's that going?"

"If you could please just keep this Colossus from stomping the Camp's hearth, that would be helpful. I need a few more minutes to enchant this arrow."

He held up a perfectly fine arrow that looked like it was just carved from wood before holding up the bent arrow.

Belle sighed. "Figures."

Mrs. O'Leary barked in alarm. Belle's head turned to see the Colossus raising his hand to swat them away. Percy was faster. He sliced off one of the crown's sunray spikes at the base and jabbed it into the statue's forehead, making the Colossus stagger.

Percy cut off another one. "Hey, ugly! You don't need all these pointy things, do you? I'm going to take one to the beach. Mrs. O'Leary, fetch!"

He threw the spike like a javelin. Mrs. O'Leary barked excitedly. She leaped off of Colossus' head and shadow-traveled onto the ground, bounding after her new bronze stick. Belle raised her hand once more and brought the same branch from earlier closer to her again. She grabbed onto it securely and Percy did as well, securing his arm around her waist so they wouldn't fall.

"Start enchanting, Apollo," Belle instructed. "We can only distract it for so long."

She willed the branch to move them all the way to the ground. Once their feet touched the grass, Belle flicked her hand upwards and set the branch back to its original position. She raised Sunflower a little higher as her and Percy dropped their arms from around each other.

"Hey, Bronze Butt!" Percy shouted. "Come get me!"

Him and Belle began to sprint to the beach, where Mrs. O'Leary was thrashing the bronze spike back and forth. The Colossus obliged, slowly turning and following the two of them towards the beach.

"Hey, do you want to go to that bookstore on Broadway when we get back home?" Percy inquired while they ran.

Belle gasped excitedly while leaping over a rock so she wouldn't trip. "Oh my Gods, yes. I need some more things to read."

"I know, that's why I asked."

They finally made it to the beach. On the way, other campers joined them as well. They ran ahead of the Colossus and began to make fun of it — jeering at it, throwing various objects at it, calling it Bronze Butt, making jokes about its new horn, and laughing at the Hellhound pee that was still trickling down its face.

"Belle!" a familiar voice yelled.

The girl in question turned to see Connor Stoll walking towards her. "Hey, Connor. What's up?"

He hugged her quickly. "Oh, just destroying a giant bronze statue. You know, the usual."

Belle scoffed. "I know, right?"

However, at that exact moment, the chariot that had Apollo, Kayla, and Austin in it decided to be taken straight towards the ground towards them on the beach by the Pegasi. Apollo seemed to try and control the Pegasi, but it was no use. The chariot bounced off a dune and swerved to a stop in front of a group of Demigods and Chiron. It threw Apollo, Kayla, and Austin onto the sand before the Pegasi took off, taking the chariot with them.

Belle's eyes widened. She ran over there with Percy, Miranda, and Billie behind her. Percy quickly instructed Mrs. O'Leary to play a game of keep-away with the Colossus. Maybe it wouldn't last that long, but it would buy them at least some time.

Apollo held up his bent arrow. "The plague arrow is ready! We need to shoot it into the Colossus' ear!"

Nobody took that as good news. Belle, however, frowned at Kayla and Austin on the ground. They seemed to be really really sick.

"Are they contagious?" Cecil, daughter of Hermes, asked.

"No!" Apollo replied. "Well . . . probably not. It's the fumes from the arrow—"

"Cecil," Chiron began as everyone backed away from Apollo. "You and Harley take Kayla and Austin to the Apollo Cabin for healing."

"But they are the Apollo Cabin," Harley, eight-year-old son of Hepheastus, complained. "Besides, my flamethrower—"

"You can play with your flamethrower later. Run along. There's a good boy. The rest of you, do what you can to keep the Colossus at the water's edge. Percy, Belle, and I will assist Apollo."

The crowd dispersed. Belle put Miranda in charge of the Demeter Cabin to make sure that everyone was accounted for. She wouldn't lose another sibling. Not today.

Chiron handed his bow to Apollo. "Make the shot."

"This is meant for the strength of a Centaur, not a teen mortal!" Apollo protested.

"You created the arrow. Only you can shoot it without succumbing to the disease. Only you can hit such a target."

"From here? It's impossible! Where is that flying boy, Jason Grace?"

"California," Belle answered simply. She paused for a second. "I should really send him an Iris-message. It's been too long since I've made fun of him for being knocked out all the time."

"Beauty, we can call Jason later," Percy stated before wiping the sweat and sand from his neck and turning to Apollo. "We're fresh out of flying boys. And all the Pegasi have stampeded."

"Perhaps if we got some harpies and some kite string . . ." Apollo suggested.

"Apollo, you must do this," Chiron urged. "You are the Lord of archery and illness."

"I'm not lord of anything! I'm a stupid ugly mortal teenager! I'm nobody!"

"Okay, no, listen to me," Belle cut in. She gestured to him with Sunflower, making Apollo slightly duck to try and not get hit. "Being a teenager sucks. Trust me, I've been one for three years. But you? You're Apollo. Who cares if you're stuck in this body? You know who you are, and that's a God. We need you right now. So for once, help us."

"For once?" Apollo repeated.

Percy put his hand on his shoulder. "Besides, if you don't, I will personally throw you off the top of the Empire State Building."

That seemed to give Apollo confidence, because he squared his shoulders. "Right."

"We'll try to draw him into the water," Percy revealed. "I've got the advantage there. And Belle can do that crazy trick with sea plants again."

Belle blinked at her boyfriend. "The last time I tried that was on the Argo II months ago. How do I know that it's going to work again?"

Percy ignored her. "Good luck."

He accepted Chiron's hand and leaped onto his back. Belle rolled her eyes and took Percy's outstretched hand, getting on Chiron's back as well. Chiron galloped off into the surf, leaving Apollo behind with a bow and arrow. Percy waved Riptide around and called out various bronze-butt-themed insults to the Colossus. Belle stared at him incredulously, but she still managed to find it quite endearing.

She pointed Sunflower's blade close to the water. Belle could feel all of the underwater plants around her. Sea grass, seaweed, kelp, algae — everything. She lifted up her sword and instantly all of the plants shot out of the sea. It might have been a futile attempt, but she made the plants try and wrap around the statue to try and hold him in place and hold him down.

"Yo, ugly!" Percy screamed. "Over here!"

"Oh, thanks for saying that!" Belle said as she squeezed her hand into a fist, willing the plants to tighten. "Really good plan, Perce!"

"Love you too!"

There was suddenly a clink, clink, clink sound coming from the Colossus. Chiron stopped galloping and allowed the two Demigods to get off his back. Belle and Percy hopped down and stood in the shallow water, waves from the Long Island Sound lapping against their legs. They watched in fascination as the Colossus completely halted and stared at the horizon. It looked to the sky before arching its back and lurching forwards, sneezing with such force that it sounded like a tornado ripping off a roof. Motor oil sprayed out in geysers from its ears and covered the sand dunes (which made Belle frown, she hated things that weren't friendly to the environment.)

And then Belle's eyes trailed to the statue's neck. A multitude of arrows were embedded and it was close to falling off. She knew that the clink noise from earlier was Apollo's plague arrow, and that meant that it was going to sneeze again, which also meant the possibility of its head flying off was very high. She gripped Percy's arm in anticipation.

The Colossus rocked forwards with a mighty CHOOOOO! Just as Belle had predicted, the statue's head completely severed from its body. She watched as it hurtled over the Long Island Sound, its face spinning in and out of view. It hit the water with a mighty WHOOSH, bobbed for a moment, and then sunk beneath the waves once the air was released.

And yet, there was still the problem with the body. Belle slowly turned back to see the body tilt and sway. She gasped as she felt Percy wrap his arms around her and dive them both underwater. In other situations she would've reminisced on the underwater kiss they shared, but that was for another time. Percy created an air bubble around Belle's head so she could breathe and bent the currents around them to create a jet stream. They shot away as the Colossus hit the water.

Once the bubbles cleared from the Colossus falling, Belle swam to the surface. She gasped for air after she emerged — despite having an air bubble — and looked over to see Percy emerge calmly next to her. His wet hair stuck to his forehead and his sea-green eyes shone just a little brighter in the water, making her heart rate pick up.

They both treaded water. Once their eyes ultimately locked, Belle was the first one to break and let a couple of giggles spill past her lips. Percy soon joined in with her and swam over, pressing a couple of kisses onto her cheek. Even if those two argued like an old, sweet married couple, one thing was still for certain — those loving moments of relief after a battle, even a strange one like the one that just occurred, would never get old.

Belle glanced back over. However, instead of seeing all of the Cabins like she normally would, the one most important to her didn't seem to be there. Her eyebrows knit in concern and she moved away from Percy, swimming as fast as she could to the shore.

"Beauty?" Percy asked from behind her, ultimately deciding to follow her. "Belle, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer. Belle made it to shore and flipped Sunflower, absentmindedly clipping her keychain back onto her belt loops. She ignored the small celebration on the beach and pushed past everyone. Belle walked quickly up to the group surrounding the place where Cabin Four was. Among the group were Miranda Gardiner and Billie Ng, her siblings, who both looked at Belle with heartbroken expressions painted across their faces.

The crowd parted, and Belle immediately saw what was wrong. Right where Cabin Four used to stand
were broken pieces of wood and some scattered plants. Besides that, there was nothing — not even a trace of the building where the children of Demeter all lived together.

She stared at it in disbelief as her shaky hand reached up to cover her mouth in shock. Belle vaguely felt Percy wrap his arm around her shoulder comfortably and kiss the top of her head, but all she was right now was numb. Because within the destruction of Cabin Four, Belle felt a part of herself get destroyed. That Cabin meant everything to her. And now it was gone.

⭒  ☆  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━  ☆  ⭒

AS IT TURNS out, Apollo couldn't exactly create the deadliest sickness like the Bubonic Plague (thank the Gods, they didn't want that wiping out one third of Camp like it did to one third of Europe), but he did manage to cause a nasty case of Hay Fever. The plague spread throughout Camp and caused people to become dizzy, groggy, and heavily congested. However, with Apollo and Will Solace's healing, they were brought back to almost full strength by dinnertime.

Thankfully, Belle and Percy didn't get sick. The two of them were at the beach most of the day, anyways. Belle sat on the sand, absentmindedly drawing shapes while Percy recruited whales and Hippocampi to bring the Colossus to Poseidon's palace. She couldn't bear to stay by the broken pieces of Cabin Four. Not right now. It was way too painful. Sure, it could be rebuilt along with the canoe dock and the dining pavilion, but it wouldn't be the same.

Both of them also had a talk with Chiron. He explained the Triumvirate — which consisted of Nero, Commodus, and Caligula — and how their holding profited off of the war against Kronos and the war against Gaea by supplying the enemies, like Luke Castellan and Octavian, with weapons and things like that. Chiron also revealed that they wanted to control the future now, so they managed to capture all five Oracles.

Belle and Percy only separated for a couple hours in the evening. Miranda and Billie were given temporary bunks in the Hermes Cabin while Chiron automatically assumed Belle would be staying with Percy. She would, but not yet. Belle finally brought up the courage to be the best head counselor she could be and be there for her siblings. It was what she needed to do for them, anyways. So, for a long time that night, Belle, Miranda, and Billie sat among the smashed ruins of the building they once called home, watching as daises popped up from the cold winter ground around them.

She had a hard time believing that she would get any sleep that night, but once she was secured under Percy's arm in the Poseidon Cabin, his comforting presence made her eyes slowly flutter shut. In a world full of darkness, those two always managed to find solace in each other.

Belle awoke early the next day to find herself with her head resting on Percy's chest while he laid on his back. Her arm was slung across his waist and their legs were intertwined. She blinked a couple of times and lifted her head to look out the window. The sun was just starting to rise. Belle contemplated a long moment of either going outside or staying in Percy's warm embrace, but the overwhelming urge to go and visit the remaining pieces of Cabin Four — yet again, but alone this time — ultimately won.

She slowly slipped out of her boyfriend's grasp so she wouldn't wake up. Belle turned around and smiled slightly at Percy's relaxed state as he slept. She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead before grabbing one of his sweatshirts. Belle pulled it over her t-shirt (well, Percy's t-shirt) and tucked her hands into the middle pocket. The warm fabric completely encased her and smelled slightly of the ocean. Belle shoved her feet into her shoes and quietly exited the Poseidon Cabin.

Belle sighed as she walked down the steps onto the green. The grass rippled underneath her feet once she stepped on it. She glanced around while crossing the green. It was a pretty morning. The sunrise made the sky turn a multitude of yellows and oranges. White puffy clouds drifted across the sky. Waves crashed on the beach. It all should've made Belle happy, but once she paused in front of the broken ruins of Cabin Four with daisies surrounding it, sadness was all she felt.

That had been her safe space since she was ten. The dirt and seeds on the floor, the plants everywhere, her bookshelf in front of her bed . . . and now it was just gone? Just like that? All because of some stupid giant bronze statue? It wasn't fair.

"Thought I'd might find you out here."

Belle looked up to see Percy standing next to her. He still looked slightly sleepy and was also still wearing his pajamas, but it didn't matter. Nobody else was awake. It was still quite early.

"Yeah," Belle responded. "Had to visit it again, you know?" She exhaled for a moment. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"I felt you kiss my forehead," Percy told her. "But hey, can you try and tell me if you're going to leave? Waking up without you there kind of makes me paranoid. Especially after Tartarus."

Tartarus. That place had scarred both of them and had forced the two to be attached at the hip, more then they already were. It had been months since they escaped, but they certainly hadn't gotten better. Not yet. They had a lot of healing to do, one that might not even be complete in their lifetime.

Belle nodded at last. "I will."

The couple stood in silence for a moment. They both continued to stare at the place Belle used to call her home that was now in complete and utter shambles.

"Annabeth will redesign it," Percy reassured her. "You know how good of a job she does."

Belle sighed. "I know she'll redesign it beautifully, because, well, she's Annabeth, but . . . it won't be the same Cabin that I've lived in for the past eight years of my life. I've made so many amazing memories with my siblings in there. I don't want to let them go."

"But now you have a chance to make new memories," Percy voiced. "A place to grow even further with your siblings, new and old."

Belle raised an eyebrow at him. "When did you get so wise?"

Percy shrugged. "Those years of friendship with Annabeth are really rubbing off on me."

Belle laughed, finally smiling widely for the first time since yesterday. "Thank you, Perce. For cheering me up. You're the best."

"Yeah, I know." Percy put an arm around her shoulder and kissed the brunette waves on top of her head. "I love you, Beauty."

"I love you too," Belle replied sincerely. "Now let's get ready for the day. I have a feeling we need to have a talk with Apollo."

The two of them went back to Cabin Three and got ready for the day. It was still early, but Camp was starting to come to life for the day. Belle and Percy left the Cabin to see the lights in the other Cabins flicker on and Demigods start to emerge from their doorways. Sherman Yang, son of Ares and Miranda's boyfriend, was doing his usual morning stretches and Harley was jogging around the green, holding up high the beacon he created to try and find Leo Valdez.

The location of Leo had been a mystery since August. Piper McLean and Jason Grace had searched for him for months before their breakup and had come up with nothing. It was revealed that he had taken the physician's cure yet they had never gotten a message that he was actually alive. All they had right now was hope that he would show up eventually.

A familiar redhead then approached Belle and Percy on the green. It was none other than Rachel Elizabeth Dare, their Oracle of Delphi. She seemed to be looking for someone — perhaps the same person Belle and Percy were looking for.

"Hey, Rach," Belle greeted, pulling the redhead in for a tight hug.

Rachel hugged her back before releasing and giving Percy a hug. "Hey, B. Hey, Percy. Have you seen Apollo? I need to talk with him."

"So do we," Percy admitted. He then looked to Half-Blood Hill and pointed. "There."

Belle glanced up to see that there was a figure sitting by the Athena Parthenos statue. The three of them looked at each other before ultimately climbing the hill. Sure enough, it was Apollo sitting there with his bow, quiver, and ukulele. It looked a lot like he was debating whether or not he should stay or go.

"I know what you're thinking," Rachel announced. "Don't do it."

Apollo faked a surprised expression. "Can you read my mind, Miss Dare?"

"I don't need to. I know you, Lord Apollo."

He sighed. "Don't call me Lord. I am just a mortal teen. I do not belong at this Camp."

Percy sat down next to Apollo. He reached up and tugged on Belle's hand, urging her to join him. She obliged and sat on the grass, lacing their fingers together. Belle glanced over, her heart racing as Percy stared at the sunrise with the sea breeze tousling his hair.

"Yeah, I used to think I didn't belong here either," Percy revealed.

"It's not the same," Apollo argued. "You humans change and grow and mature. Gods do not."

"I'm not so sure about that," Belle stated, moving her gaze from Percy to Apollo. "You seem a lot different."

It was true. All the times she had met Apollo, he had been cool, collected, and incredibly arrogant. Now, he seemed to be opening his eyes to how tough it was to be a Demigod and deal with everything.

"The other Oracles must be found and secured," Apollo explained. "I cannot do that unless I leave Camp Half-Blood. And I cannot risk anyone else's life."

Rachel sat down on the other side of him. "You sound certain. Did you get a Prophecy from the grove?"

"I fear so."

"Kayla said you were talking to an arrow yesterday. I'm guessing it's wood from Dodona?"

"Wait," Percy cut in. "You found a talking arrow that gave you a Prophecy?"

"Don't be silly," Apollo responded. "The arrow talks, but I got the Prophecy from the grove itself. The Arrow of Dodona just gives random advice. He's quite annoying. At any rate, I must leave the Camp. The Triumvirate means to possess all the ancient Oracles. I have to stop them. Once I have defeated the former emperors . . . only then will I be able to face my old enemy Python and free the Oracle of Delphi. After that . . . if I survive . . . perhaps Zeus will restore me to Olympus."

Rachel tugged on one of her red curls. "You know it's too dangerous to do all that alone, right?"

"Listen to her," Percy urged. "Chiron told Belle and I about Nero and this weird holding company of his."

"I appreciate the offer of assistance, but—" Apollo began

"Woah." Percy held up his hands to stop Apollo. "Just to be clear, I'm not offering to go with you. I still have to finish my senior year, pass my DSTOMP and my SAT, and avoid getting killed by my girlfriend if both of us get dragged on another quest."

"That last one is definitely the most important one," Belle commented.

Percy elbowed her side. "But I'm sure we can get you some other helpers."

"I'll go," Rachel offered.

Apollo shook his head. "My enemies would love to capture someone as dear to me as the priestess of Delphi. Besides, I need you and Miranda Gardiner to stay here and study the Grove of Dodona. For now, it is our only source of Prophecy. And since our communication problems have not gone away, learning to use the grove's power is all the more critical."

"And Meg?" Belle questioned, concern filling her heart for her younger sister. "Please tell me you'll try and find her. Her staying with Nero even though she's been with him her entire life . . . it's way too dangerous."

Apollo kept his gaze on the woods. "I will try, but Meg doesn't want to be found. She's under the influence of her stepfather."

"He's brainwashing her," Belle insisted. "I'm not letting that happen again, especially not to one of my siblings."

"She's right," Percy voiced, tracing his finger on the big toe of the Athena Parthenos. "We've lost too many people to bad influence: Ethan Nakamura, Luke Castellan . . . we almost lost Nico, too . . ." He shook his head in protest. "No. No more. You can't give up on Meg. You guys are bound together. Besides, she's one of the good guys."

"I've known many of the good guys," Apollo said. "Most of them got turned into beasts, or statues, or — or trees . . ."

Rachel put her hand over Apollo's when his voice broke. "Things can turn out differently, Apollo. That's the nice thing about being human. We only have one life, but we can choose what kind of story it's going to be."

"I — I hope you're right."

She patted his hand. "Tell me the Prophecy you heard in the grove."

Apollo took a shaky breath before reciting the lines:

There once was a God named Apollo
Who plunged in a cave blue and hollow
Upon a three-seater
The bronze fire-eater
Was forced death and madness to swallow

Rachel covered her mouth in shock once he was done. "A limerick?"

"I know!" Apollo wailed. "I'm doomed!"

"Wait," Percy interrupted. He turned to Belle, his eyes glittering. "Those lines . . . do they mean what I think?"

"Well, I believe the blue cave refers to the Oracle of Trophonius. It was a . . . a very dangerous ancient Oracle."

"No. The other lines. Three-seater, bronze fire-eater, yadda yadda."

"Oh. I have no clue about those."

Belle's eyes widened upon realizing what he was insinuating. "Apollo, that tuning adjustment you gave to Harley's beacon . . . oh my Gods, it worked."

Rachel squinted at the couple. "Percy, Belle, what are you . . ." Her expression went slack. "Oh. Oh."

"Were there any other lines?" Percy inquired. "Like, except for the limerick?"

"Several," Apollo admitted. "Just bits and pieces I didn't understand. The fall of the sun; the final verse. Um, Indiana, banana. Happiness approaches. Something about pages burning."

Belle laughed in amazement. She knew exactly what was happening. Hell, she was there when that bronze fire eater was named in the Latin word for happy.

Percy slapped his knee. "There you go. Happiness approaches. Happy is a name — well, the English version, anyway." He stood up, pulling Belle with him as well. His eyes fixed on the horizon, and Belle followed his gaze, a wide grin spreading on both of their lips as they immediately recognized what was in the distance. "Yep. Apollo, your escort is on the way."

Sure enough, the familiar figure of Festus the Celestial Bronze dragon was spirling down from the clouds. On the back were two human-sized figures — she didn't recognize one, but the other one was familiar enough. Leo.

Belle didn't even give anyone a chance to tell her anything. She let go of Percy's hand and ran down the hill, hearing the laughs and footsteps of the others behind her. Belle immediately made her way towards Festus and arrived just as Leo was sliding off of it along with a girl.

Leo turned just in time for Belle to tackle him in a huge hug. He seemed to be in shock for a moment before ultimately hugging her back. Belle squeezed her eyes shut and held onto the boy just a little tighter. Gods, she had missed him.

"Hey, Princess Belle," Leo greeted while laughing slightly.

Belle pulled away. And then, suddenly, her insides filled with anger upon remembering his stupid, stupid plan and how he hadn't mentioned it to anyone besides Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque. Leo's smile dropped off of his face at the deadly expression on hers. He went to go say something, but it was no use. Belle put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back so harshly that he fell to the ground.

"You jerk!" Belle exclaimed, her blue eyes blazing with anger. "You think you can just disappear and worry us for months? I swear to Gods, Valdez, I'm going to kill you!"

"Woah, Belle," Percy protested from behind her.

Belle then grabbed Leo's arm and pulled him back up, instantly squeezing him in a tight hug once again. "I missed you so much. Don't ever do that again, okay?"

"Okay," Leo answered, chuckling a little. "I missed you too."

She released him and looked over to his girl companion. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."

The girl held out her hand to shake, and Belle took it. "Calypso."

Belle's hand froze from shaking hers and her eyes went wide. "Calypso? Like, the Calypso?"

"That's me."

She blinked herself out of her shock and dropped her hand. "Oh, um, my name's Belle."

"Belle?" Calypso questioned, her eyes trailing behind her. She nodded to someone. "This one wouldn't shut up about you when he was on Ogygia."

Belle turned to see Percy's face was bright red, and she giggled slightly at him and pinched his cheek. "Aw, you talked about me?"

Percy's face turned even redder and pushed her hand away. "Be quiet, Beauty." He then took just a step closer to Calypso. "Uh, hey, Calypso. Long time no see."

The two of them shared a very awkward hug. Belle winced. Ouch. By now, more and more people started to crowd around Leo to presumably greet him with hugs and punches. Therefore, Nico di Angelo grabbed a dispenser from the snack bar and carried it around so everyone could take a number to get in line. That way it wouldn't get so hectic.

"The line starts to the left!" Nico shouted. "Orderly queue, guys!"

"Is this really necessary?" Leo asked.

"Yes," Miranda, who had drawn the first number, answered before punching him in the arm.

"Ow."

"You're a jerk, and we all hate you." Miranda then hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "If you ever disappear like that again, we'll line up to kill you."

"Okay, okay!"

Miranda moved on since the line was getting pretty long. Belle and Percy sat holding hands at the picnic table with Apollo and Calypso. However, Percy did stand up and let go of Belle's hand to hug Leo himself. He didn't punch Leo, but he still looked disgruntled.

"I can't believe it," Percy stated. "Six months—"

"I told you," Leo replied. "We tried sending more holographic scrolls. We tried Iris messages, dream visions, phone calls. Nothing worked — ow! Hey, Alice, how you doing? — Anyway, we ran into one crisis after another."

Calypso nodded in agreement. "Albania was particularly difficult."

"Please do not mention Albania!" Nico yelled from down the line. "Okay, who's next, folks? One line."

Damien White, son of Nemesis, punched Leo in the arm and walked away with a wide grin. Belle blinked. She was certain that Damien had never even met Leo.

Leo rubbed his bicep where he was punched. "Hey, no fair. That guy's getting back in the line. So, like I was saying, if Festus hadn't picked up on that homing beacon yesterday, we'd still be flying around, looking for a way out of the Sea of Monsters."

"Oh, I hate that place," Percy voiced. "There's this big Cyclops, Polyphemus—"

"I know, right? What is up with that guy's breath?"

"Boys, perhaps we should focus on the present?" Calypso interrupted.

"She's right," Belle agreed, smiling slightly as Percy moved to stand next to her and take her hand again. "Rachel believed that the communication issues has something to do with the Triumvirate company."

Rachel had gone to the Big House herself to get Chiron, but Belle and Percy took turns on explaining on what she had found out about the emperors and the evil corporation they had. They had brought Leo and Calypso up to speed by the time six more people had punched Leo in the arm.

"Man, why does it not surprise me that modern corporations are run by zombie Roman emperors?" Leo questioned.

"They are not zombies," Apollo insisted. "And I'm not sure they run all corporations—"

Leo waved away his explanation. "But they're trying to take over the Oracles."

"Yes."

"And that's bad."

"Very."

"So you need our help — ow! Hey, Sherman. Where'd you get the new scar, dude?"

Sherman then told the story about how him and Connor Stoll had tried to throw Meg into the canoe lake. However, Meg had kicked Sherman in the crotch and Peaches the Karpos had attacked both of them.

"Wait a second," Belle cut in. "You mean to tell me that you and Connor tried to throw my little sister in the canoe lake?"

Sherman looked over at her, and despite being a son of the war God, he flinched at the harsh look on her face. "Um, I mean . . . yeah."

She glanced around the Camp. "Where is he? I'm going to kill him."

"You're not going to kill me, right?"

"Oh, no. You're first, buddy."

"Since leaving Ogygia, I have no powers," Calypso's voice admitted.

Belle turned. Calypso was very pretty. Her hair was long and a caramel brown. She had dark eyes that were almond-shaped. Her clothes consisted of jeans, a white blouse, and a shocking pink ski jacket. Despite being immortal, she looked about the same age as Belle.

"I am fully mortal," Calypso continued. "I keep hoping, but—"

"You want a drink?" Percy inquired.

"I got it," Leo announced.

He beat Percy to the pitcher. Percy sighed and sat back down on the picnic table next to Belle. He leaned over and kissed her forehead softly. She smiled at him and traced her thumb over his knuckles.

Leo handed Calypso a glass of lemonade. "Here you go."

Belle's eyebrows knit in thought as she stared at him. His expression was dark and more anxious than before. Leo had a thing for Calypso — that was made very clear. All he wanted was to get back to her. Belle suddenly understood. In rescuing Calypso from Ogygia, she had lost her powers. He felt responsible for it.

Calypso grinned, but her eyes still held some melancholy in them. "Thank you, babe."

"Babe?" Belle repeated, glancing over at Percy for a moment. "She, uh, she said babe."

Percy frowned. "You don't call me that."

"No, baby, I do not. That's only because I like Aqua Boy better."

"Literally shut up, Beauty."

Leo's expression brightened, ignoring their bickering. "Yeah. She won't call me Hunk Muffin, though. I dunno why — ow!"

It was now Harley's turn. The little boy punched Leo before throwing his arms around him and sobbing into his chest. Belle pouted at it. Gods, Harley was adorable. She always knew he looked up to Leo.

"Hey, brother," Leo greeted. He ruffled his hair, looking a little bit ashamed, as if he was just realizing what he had left behind when he made that stupid, stupid plan. "You brought me home with that beacon of yours, H-Meister. You're a hero! You know I never would've left you hanging like that on purpose, don't you?"

Harley wailed, sniffled, and nodded. He punched Leo again and ran away. Leo, however, looked like he was about to throw up. Harley was quite strong for an eight-year-old.

"At any rate, these problems with the Roman emperors — how can we help?" Calypso inquired.

Apollo raised his eyebrows. "You will help me, then? Despite . . . ah, well, I always knew you were kindhearted and forgiving, Calypso. I meant to visit you at Ogygia more often—"

"Spare me." Calypso sipped on her lemonade casually. "I'll help you if Leo decides to help you, and he seems to have some affection for you. Why, I can't imagine."

"I'm grateful. Leo Valdez, you have always been a gentleman and a genius. After all, you created the Valdezinator."

Leo put on his crazy grin. "I did, didn't I? I suppose that was pretty awesome. So where is this next Oracle you — ow!"

Nyssa, daughter of Hephaestus and Leo's half-sister, made it to the front of the line. She slapped Leo and then berated him in rapid Spanish.

"Yeah, okay, okay," Leo protested, rubbing his face. "Dang, hermana, I love you, too!" He turned his attention back to Apollo. "So this next Oracle, you said it was where?"

Percy tapped on the picnic table in thought. "Chiron, Belle, and I were talking about this. He figures this Triumvirate thingie . . . they probably divided America into three parts, with one emperor in charge of each. We know Nero is holed up in New York, so we're guessing this next Oracle is in the second dude's territory, maybe in the middle third of the U.S."

"Oh, the middle third of the U.S.!" Leo spread his arms. "Piece of torta, then. We'll just search the entire middle of the country!"

"Still with the sarcasm."

"Hey, man, I've sailed with the most sarcastic scalawags on the high seas."

They gave each other a high-five. Belle rolled her eyes and shook her head, a ghost of a smile on her lips. Percy and Leo had actually gotten along very well on the Argo II (well, except when Leo was being controlled by an Eidolon and fired on Camp Jupiter and that whole situation with Calypso) because of their sarcastic personalities.

Chiron then came through the line — being pushed in his wheelchair by Rachel — and gave Leo a warm, fatherly smile. "My boy, I am so pleased to have you back. And you freed Calypso, I see. Well done, and welcome, both of you!"

"Uh, thanks, Chiron," Leo responded.

Chiron spread his arms for a hug. Leo leaned forwards, but Chiron's leg shot out from underneath his lap blanket and kicked his hoof right in Leo's gut. The leg disappeared just as quickly as it came out. Belle snorted in amusement and quickly covered her mouth to hide her laughs. Well, she certainly wasn't expecting that.

"Mr. Valdez, if you ever pull a stunt like that again—" Chiron began in the same kind tone.

"I got it, I got it!" Leo exclaimed, rubbing his stomach. "Dang, for a teacher, you got a heck of a high kick."

Rachel grinned and wheeled Chiron away. Calypso shook her head and got up to help Leo to his feet.

"Yo, Nico, please tell me that's it for the physical abuse," Leo called.

"For now," Nico revealed with a smile. "We're still trying to get in touch with the West Coast. You'll have a few dozen people out there who will definitely want to hit you."

Leo winced. "Yeah, that's something to look forward to. Well, I guess I'd better keep my strength up. Where do you guys eat lunch now that the Colossus stepped on the dining pavilion?"

Belle and Percy stayed at Camp with everyone until right before dinner. They had to get back to New York City, one, to get back to school, and two, wait for Annabeth and study so she wouldn't murder them. Belle had already said goodbye to all her friends (boy, did she yell at Connor for what he did to Meg) and promised her siblings she would be back to visit soon.

Percy was currently saying goodbye to Calypso and Leo, but Belle spotted Apollo standing a little ways away from them. She was planning on talking to him anyway, so she walked over to him.

"I came to say good luck," Belle told him. "Seriously, I mean it. These Roman emperors sound like no joke."

Apollo nodded. "Thank you, Belle Adair. It will be difficult."

"Also . . ." Belle opened her palm to reveal a four-leaf-clover. "I picked this up earlier. Children of Demeter kind have a knack for finding them. I figured you would need it more than me."

He took the clover. "I appreciate it. Thank you again."

Belle's blue eyes filled with worry. "If you manage to find Meg . . . please try and find a way to tell me she's okay? I'm worried about her."

"I will."

She gave him a tight smile. Belle walked back over to her boyfriend and her friends.

"You ready to go?" Percy asked.

"Yeah," Belle replied. She then pulled Leo into a very tight hug. "It's good to have you back, Leo. Don't ever disappear like that again, got it?"

He chuckled into her shoulder. "Got it, Princess."

"Take care of yourself and be careful on your quest for the Oracle." She released him and gave Calypso a small hug. "It was really nice to meet you. Try and keep this one in check, all right?"

"You too," Calypso responded. "And it'll be a challenge, but I'll try my best."

Belle and Percy gave their friends a final wave before walking off towards the beach where Mrs. O'Leary was waiting with their hands interlocked. Percy got on the back of his Hellhound first and helped Belle climb up. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"You still up for book shopping?" Percy asked.

"Always," Belle answered. "Come on, let's go home."

Percy urged Mrs. O'Leary forward. She waded into the water, and with one last glance to Camp Half-Blood, Beauty and the Beast disappeared underwater.

— [ ♡ ] —

so what we've learned from this is that apollo caused covid bc he can create plagues, domestic belle and percy are literally adorable and thriving like the old married couple they are, and belle and meg are iconic siblings.

love that for us

anyways one more bonus stop I'm going to cry

and WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED IN ALBANIA. IT'S BEEN MENTIONED TWICE NOW. WHAT HAPPENED THAT WAS SO EMBARRASSING

gifs by 1-800-SIMPINGFORSEB !