Part 9

Percy walked toward his room with Annabeth trailing close behind. “Let’s see…” he muttered. “How many other towns do I need to fix things with…?”

Annabeth shrugged.

He reached his room and turned to Annabeth. “I’m gonna go set a new course. Let me know if you need something.” he said opening the door and stepping inside.

Annabeth stopped the door with her foot. “Bread?”

“Huh?”

“We ran out of yeast downstairs.”

“We did?”

She nodded.

“Guess we need supplies… I’ll take us somewhere where we can stock up.”

“I would say here, but we aren’t that big on selling.”

Percy nodded. “Yeah… Plus I don’t really feel right taking anything after I just returned everything.”

“Daddy’s had enough of you.” Annabeth said with a smirk.

“I think Daddy might’ve broken a rib or two when he tackled me.” They both laughed. “I’ll go set course now.”

“Okay.” She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

He smiled and kissed her back. “You’re welcome.”

_

Later that night, Nico and Asa were both getting ready for bed. Nico climbed into his bunk. “Night Asa.”

“Night.” Asa mumbled.

Nico turned over and fell asleep.

Asa pulled a notebook out from under his pillow and began practicing a few small tricks and spells. He nodded then shadow travelled into Percy’s room.

Annabeth slept soundly in her bunk and Percy had fallen asleep at his desk.

Asa walked up to Percy and held out his hand concentrating as hard as he could.

Percy groaned in his sleep.

Asa swore under his breath and stopped, sweating.

Percy’s eyes slowly fluttered open and he looked up squinting in the low light. “…Asa? What are you doing in here? It’s late.”

Asa froze and quickly turned invisible.

“Asa, I know you’re there. Why are you in here?” Percy asked.

“No reason…” Asa said staying invisible.

Percy remained silent for a moment then placed a hand on Asa’s shoulder grabbing it tightly. “You’re gonna be in big trouble if you don’t tell me why you’re in here.”

Asa sighed and reappeared. “Just wanted to see if you decided yet.”

“Everyone’s asleep Asa… I’m still thinking about it. Next time wait until we’re awake, alright?”

“Whatever.” he said shadow travelling back to his and Nico’s room.

Percy sighed and climbed into bed, falling asleep again as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Asa stayed up late into the night practicing different tricks and spells until around two in the morning when he fell asleep huddled in the corner.

_

In the morning, Nico woke up and looked to Asa who was snoring as the usual violent pictures played out above his head. Nico climbed down from the bed and shook his arm lightly. “Asa! Asa wake up.”

His eyes slowly opened. “Hmm?” he said groggily.

“How come you’re on the floor?”

Asa shrugged.

“You sleep okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Think you’re ready for some more training?”

“Yeah…”

Nico nodded. “I think we should work on your shadow travel some more. I wanna see you go more than a foot.”

“I can.”

“You can? That’s great! Can you show me?”

Asa nodded and shadow travelled out of the room.

Nico smiled wide with excitement. “That’s great!” he said excitedly. “…Wait, where’d you go?” he said running out of the room and onto the deck. He looked across the deck where Asa waved to him. Nico smiled and waved back. “That’s awesome!” he said running over to him.

Asa grinned and shadow travelled again. This time however, he wound up a foot over the side of the boat and fell toward the water, screaming.

Nico quickly shadow travelled himself over the side, grabbed Asa, and brought them both back onto the deck. He chuckled slightly. “Keep working on it, alright?”

Asa had wide eyes and he shook as he took a shaky breath. “Yeah… okay…”

Nico patted his shoulder lightly. “You okay?”

Asa gulped. “Y-yeah. Just peachy…”

Nico got to his feet and helped Asa to his. “Here. I’ll show you what to do if that happens again, okay?”

“Okay…”

Nico nodded and led him up some stairs to a part of the boat that was high up, but not too high. “Alright, so if you do go the wrong way or just if you fall you have to stay calm, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And since you’ve just fallen, that might be a little hard. You have to clear your mind like you would if you were trying to go to sleep.”

“Why?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll fall and get hurt.”

Asa nodded.

“Other than that, it’s just like normal shadow travel. Try it.”

Asa looked over the side and gulped.

Nico looked over as well. “Want me to set up some pillows so you don’t get hurt?”

“Please.”

Nico nodded and went off, coming back a few minutes later with some pillows which he set up below Asa. He gave him a thumbs up. “Alright, go for it!”

Asa took a deep breath and jumped. Before hitting the ground, he panicked and floated himself above the ground. He looked down, completely pale and slowly lowered himself to the ground.

Nico walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re alright…”

“I think I need more explanation…”

Nico nodded. “Alright. So when you fall, you have to calm down. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Instead of focusing on the fact that you’re falling, focus on where you want to be. You might land a little hard while you’re still learning so that’s why we have the pillows. When you get the hang of it I’ll help you with the landings.” He led him back to the upper deck and jumped off, demonstrating the proper technique. “Your turn!”

Asa closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He jumped, but only managed to travel to the side about an inch, landing on his back hard. “FUCK!”

Nico winced and ran to him. “You alright?” he said helping him to his feet.

Asa winced.

Nico handed him a piece of ambrosia. “Here.”

He coughed and ate the ambrosia. “That hurt so bad…”

“Sorry.” Nico said taking out a small bottle of nectar. “Where does it hurt?”

“The center of my back.”

Nico nodded. “Okay, hold still.” He lifted Asa’s shirt and rubbed nectar on the spot.

Asa winced. “That hurts!” he hissed.

Nico stopped and squinted. “I see the problem.” he reached to the spot and pulled out a small nail then rubbed more nectar on the spot. “There was a nail sticking out. You okay now?”

“No… It still hurts.”

“How about we stop for today? You did a good job. We’ll work on it some more another day.”

Asa nodded.

Nico nodded as well and they went back to their room.

_

Later that afternoon, Percy sat in his room fiddling with the ship’s controls.

Asa stood at the door. “Have you decided yet?”

Percy looked up and stood. “Um… Yeah. I don’t really think it’s a good idea Asa… I want to stop doing all of this pirate stuff. It hurts people. Plus, I promised Annabeth I would try to change. I think if I do stop, but try to stay on the ship, I’ll eventually throw a temper tantrum and go on a rampage… You understand, right?”

Anger flared in Asa’s voice. “Sure. Whatever.”

Percy returned a small smile, obviously not noticing his anger. “Thanks.”

Asa glared then disappeared into shadow.

_

That night, Percy had fallen asleep at his desk again.

Annabeth was also sound asleep.

Asa suddenly appeared in the middle of the room from the shadows, still angry. He walked up to Percy and put two fingers on his forehead. He pulled out his notebook with another hand and read a spell from it.

Percy frowned in his sleep and groaned.

Asa focused all of his energy and repeated the spell.

A small red light flashed at the spot Asa was touching on Percy’s forehead, illuminating the whole room for a split second. Percy gasped and sat bolt upright, his eyes shooting open.

Asa quickly backed up and turned invisible.

Percy breathed heavily and wiped some sweat from his forehead. “What the HELL?” he muttered.

Annabeth’s eyes slowly fluttered open. “Percy?”

Percy swallowed. “Y-yeah…?”

“You okay? I heard something…”

“…Yeah… Just a nightmare, I guess… I’m fine.”

Annabeth got out of bed and walked toward Percy, yelping as she tripped over Asa.

Percy turned to her. “What happened?!”

“I tripped over something…” She looked up. “Percy… Why is your forehead glowing?”

“What?” He looked up and his eyes widened. “Uh…” He touched the light. It flashed, then disappeared.

Asa watched them carefully and silently scooted into the corner of the room.

Annabeth took Percy’s hand.

Percy’s heart pounded in his chest. “I-I…”

Annabeth kissed him. “Percy, calm down. You’re shaking. What is it?”

“…I’m scared…”

“It’s okay.” She pulled at his arm. “We’ll figure it out in the morning. In the meantime, let’s get you to bed.”

Percy nodded. “Okay…”

She walked him to the bottom bunk and sat down with him.

He wiped his forehead, still taking shaky breaths.

Annabeth wrapped her arms around him.

He hugged her back, beginning to calm down.

She pushed him down softly to the bed and lay down next to him, kissing his head lightly.

He smiled and closed his eyes, relaxing completely.

She curled up next to him and they both fell asleep.

_

The next day, Percy walked along the deck holding his head and wincing.

Annabeth followed him close behind. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Not really… My head feels like someone’s stabbing it with a knife…”

“Go back to bed Percy.”

He shook his head. “No. I’m not tired…” Suddenly, he squatted down and yelled loud, holding his head with both hands as a tear trickled down his cheek.

“Percy!” Annabeth shouted, crouching down to help him.

He made a swatting motion with his hand. “Get away from me!”

“What are you talking about…?” she said quietly.

“Everything hurts…” he hissed.

“We need to get you to the infirmary…”

“No…”

Annabeth looked over to Frank who was walking across the deck. “Frank…?”

Frank ran over to them. “Yeah?”

“Can you take Percy to the infirmary please?”

“Sure…” He reached for Percy’s arm, but Percy smacked it away.

“I SAID GET AWAY FROM ME!”

“Take him anyways.” Annabeth insisted. “Even if he acts like a child.”

Frank nodded and turned into a gorilla, grabbing Percy around the waist.

Percy squirmed in his hands. “PUT ME DOWN OR I’LL MAKE YOU WALK THE PLANK!”

“Percy!” Annabeth scolded. “Frank, ignore him. I’ll talk with him later.”

Frank nodded and ran Percy toward the infirmary kicking and screaming.

“What the hell is wrong with him…?” Annabeth muttered.

_

Upon reaching the infirmary, Percy was completely enraged. “PUT. ME. DOWN!” he ordered.

Frank set him down and turned back into human form, guarding the door.

Percy tried to go out the door, but Frank blocked his path.

Annabeth squeezed past Frank into the room. “Percy, you’re acting like a child!”

“I’M FINE. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Annabeth frowned at him, looking a little hurt.

Percy held his head and winced, falling to his knees. “What’s… happening…?”

“I don’t know…”

Percy shook violently and sobbed. “Images… Running through my head…” He shut his eyes tight.

“Tell me.” Annabeth said.

Percy winced. “Destruction… pain… and death…” He groaned.

Annabeth felt his forehead. “Frank, ambrosia please?”

Frank nodded with a frown and handed her a piece.

“Get away from me…” Percy muttered.

Annabeth ignored him and pushed him down, sitting on his chest. She pushed the ambrosia into his mouth and held a hand over his nose and mouth.

He reluctantly swallowed and she moved her hand as he struggled underneath her.

“I’m not getting off till you calm down.” Annabeth said.

“GET THE FUCK OFF!” Percy fumed.

“No.” she said with anger in her words.

“GET OFF!” Percy screamed. He had fury in his eyes.

Annabeth smacked him across the face hard. “You do not talk to me like that or I’ll tie you up and hang you over the side of the ship.”

“OW!” Percy shouted when her hand met his cheek. He shook his head and took a deep shaky breath. “Wha-… Why are we in the infirmary?”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know what happened.” she snapped.

He looked up at her in confusion. “Don’t know what happened?”

She got off of him. “You son of a bitch…” she said before storming out.

Percy got to his feet quickly and brushed past Frank after her. “Annabeth, wait!”

She ran into his room and slammed the door behind her.

Percy turned the knob and sighed when he realized it was locked. He knocked. “Annabeth, come out… Please?”

“NO!”

“Annabeth, listen to me! I don’t remember what happened that made you mad! I only vaguely remember moving to a different room and telling you about the images in my head, but then I blacked out… Please open the door…”

“I will not!”

He sighed and reached above the door, grabbing his spare key. He unlocked the door and came into the room. “Annabeth-” He was cut off when he ducked from a book being thrown at him. “Annabeth listen!” he pleaded.

“NOT UNTIL YOU CAN EXPLAIN WHAT EXACTLY THAT WAS!” she fumed.

He put his hands up in a defensive position. “I told you, I don’t know! Please put the chair down!”

She stopped herself and looked to the chair, finally realizing that she had picked it up. She slowly put it back down.

Percy exhaled in relief. “I swear… I don’t know what happened…”

“Why not?” Annabeth demanded.

He frowned. “I don’t know… I still feel a little weird…”

“…Don’t talk to me like that again…”

“I wasn’t trying to… I’m sorry…” Percy said. He coughed loud into his hand and frowned.

“I’ll be on deck.” she replied. She pushed past him and walked out the door.

Percy followed her. “Annabeth-” He coughed some more. “I-” He stopped, his eyes widening. He fell to his knees with a loud groan.

Annabeth turned. “Percy…?”

He coughed again. “Annabeth…” He coughed again and took a deep breath. “Tie me to the mast.”

“What?!”

“Just do it. Please…” His voice sounded strained, as if he were struggling to form words. “Do it and don’t untie me, no matter what.”

She nodded without further argument. She helped him to his feet and took his weapons, then tied him to the mast with some rope. “…Why am I doing this…?”

Percy winced as he shook. His breathing was heavy as if he had just ran a marathon. “I don’t… I feel like I might… hurt someone…” He clenched his fists. “My head is throbbing…”

“Percy, what’s happening…?” she asked, sounding more scared than ever.

He shook his head. “I don’t know… I think it had something… to do with that light on my head last night…”

“Maybe someone will know something about it…”

“Like who…?” he asked with another cough.

“Maybe Nico…”

Percy nodded and winced, tightening his muscles, then relaxing them.

Annabeth nodded and ran off to find Nico.

Part 8

Early the next morning, Percy was already awake and dressed before the alarm clock went off. He looked to Annabeth who was still sound asleep and looked gorgeous as always. He smiled and turned off the alarm so it wouldn’t startle her. He walked up to her and kissed her forehead. “Hey,” he whispered. “we’re almost there.”

“Hm…?” she murmured.

“We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. It’s time to get up.”

“Mmh…” she mumbled as her eyes fluttered open.

“Come on.” he said shaking her arm lightly.

She blinked twice and pushed herself up on her elbows.

Percy handed her a fresh change of clothes. ‘I’ll be in the bathroom. Let me know when you’re done.”

She nodded and got up slowly, pulling on her clothes. She yawned. “Okay, come on out.”

He came out of the bathroom.

“So, we’re almost there?”

He checked the controls. “Yeah. Be there in about ten minutes now.”

“Oh… okay.”

“There something wrong?”

Annabeth sat down on the bed. “This isn’t a good idea.” she said with a frown.

Percy sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be fine.” he said with a small smile.

“Something’s gonna go wrong.”

He shrugged. “If it does, we’ve got Jason, Leo, and Frank to help.” He looked at the controls again. “Five minutes.”

“Gods save me…”

“It’ll be okay. I promise.”

Annabeth sighed.

_

In Nico’s room, they were both fast asleep. Nico, with his blanket covering all, but one arm and one leg and Asa, kitty cornered with the wall and his cloak wrapped around him. A large cloud of dust-like particles had formed above Asa’s head as he slept and his dreams played out on it like a TV. The images were violent and dark pictures of various things such as Kyle, his father, fire, Nico, and death.

Nico rolled over in his sleep and fell to the floor with a thud. He groaned and rolled onto his back, propping himself up on his hands. “How did I get on the floor…?” he mumbled. He looked up at Asa, finally noticing his dream cloud and his eyes widened. “Woah…”

As Nico watched Asa’s dream, the images slowly got more and more violent, but the boy seemed completely calm. He sighed happily and shifted a bit in his sleep.

Nico gulped. “Well, that can’t be good…” he murmured.

Suddenly, the dust cloud fell and disappeared as Asa’s eyes fluttered open. “Hm…?” he mumbled sleepily. He looked down at Nico. “…Why are you on the floor?” he asked rubbing his eyes and pulling down his hood.

Nico shrugged. “I think I fell out of bed.” he said getting up slowly. “Have any good dreams?”

Asa nodded crawling out of bed. “They were all good. It’s been a while since I had a bad one.” he said cheerily. “Why do you ask?”

Nico rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, um… I think your dreams appear above your head while you’re sleeping… I could see what you were dreaming about.”

Asa gulped and his skin paled as he started to shake.

“You’re not in trouble Asa! There’s nothing wrong with it! It’s just… not quite something I’d expect someone to consider a good dream.”

“Why?” Asa asked. “Yours aren’t like that?”

“Well, usually a good dream would be something like… my sister still being alive or… winning the lottery. Not fire and death…”

Asa shrugged. “It’s a stress reliever.”

“What are you stressed about?”

“Nothing.” he hissed.

“Asa, I’m not trying to be a pest. I just wanna know if there’s something bothering you that I can help with… If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so.”

“I. Don’t. Want. To. Talk. About. It.” he said in almost a growl.

Nico put his hands up defensively. “Okay. We won’t talk about it then.”

Asa flicked his hand and his bed made itself.

Nico nodded. “Cool…”

“Shut up.” he said pulling his hood up and marching out the door, his cloak swooshing behind him.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed…” Nico muttered. He followed Asa as he made his way to the top deck. “Where are you going?”

“Somewhere.”

“I think I’ll join you.”

“I’ll throw you off the side of the ship if you do.”

“Yeah. Go right ahead…”

“Don’t make me.”

Nico rolled his eyes and kept following Asa.

_

Percy pressed a button on the control panel. “We’re gonna dock here.”

“This is such a bad idea…” Annabeth mumbled.

“Will you relax already? Freaking out about it isn’t gonna help.” he said walking out to the deck.

Annabeth followed him as the ship landed in the water beside the dock.

Percy looked out at the town and the crowd of people who had gathered around the dock. He took a deep breath. “Ready?”

Annabeth gave him a small nod. “As I’ll ever be…”

Percy nodded and climbed down to the dock looking out at the crowd of people glaring at him.

One man ran out from the crowd and tackled him. He started punching him in the face. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY DAUGHTER?!” he screamed.

Annabeth ran down to the dock. “DAD!” she shouted. She ran to him and tackled him in a hug.

He hugged her back. “Annabeth! My baby girl… I thought you were gone forever…”

“Ow…” Percy groaned.

“No. Never forever Dad… and he’s not that bad, I swear. He’s confused and needs help, yes…. but… please don’t punch him.” she said.

“I second that…” Percy mumbled.

Her father gave her a confused look.

“He took care of us!”

“Took care of you? He kidnapped you!”

“Just leave them alone. I’ll explain.”

Her father grumbled and got off of Percy. “I’ll listen, but you have to tell them that.” he said pointing to the townspeople.

Percy got up and rubbed his head only to be tackled by another man. “REALLY? AGAIN?”

“WHERE’S PIPER?” he shouted.

Percy shoved him off and ducked under a punch. “Could someone help me?!”

The man grabbed his shoulders and drove his knee in between Percy’s legs.

A tear fell from Percy’s eye as he uttered a high-pitched screech and fell to the ground.

“WHERE. IS. PIPER?” he screamed again.

Piper ran down to the dock. “DAD!”

Her father hugged her tight.

Jason followed her close behind. “What ha-” He looked down at Percy. “Why is Percy on the ground?”

Percy pointed to Piper’s dad. “Ask him.”

Annabeth helped Percy to his feet and looked out at the crowd who was slowly inching forward, weapons drawn. “Stop!” she shouted. “Just… Don’t touch him!”

“Why shouldn’t we?!” shouted a person in the crowd. “They stole from us, kidnapped you, and he flooded the town!”

Percy took a step forward. “I came here to set things right! I know what I did was wrong and I know I’ve hurt people… but I’ve realized that now and I want to change it. I’m willing to repair any damages I have done to this place and return all the money I stole…”

“LIAR!” shouted a different person.

“I’m not lying, I swear!” Percy shouted putting his hands up defensively. “Leo, get the sack of money from my closet!” he ordered.

“WHY?” Leo shouted back.

“Because it’s not ours! Just do it!”

Leo ran to Percy’s room, grabbed the bag, and ran back tossing it down to the dock.

Percy picked up the bag and set it down backing away from it. “This isn’t all of it, but the rest is below deck… I’m going to return all of it and fix any damage I’ve caused either by our raid or the flood.”

The crowd stared at him blankly.

“The truth is, I’ve been very confused for most of my life. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I didn’t know how else to act. I’m trying to make amends now…” he said hanging his head slightly.

Annabeth stood next to him. “He’s telling the truth.”

Percy nodded. “I am… All I want now is to be forgiven for the horrible things that I’ve done.”

Annabeth and Piper’s dads looked to each other then back at Percy. “Prove it.” they both said at once.

Percy nodded and turned to Leo. “Go get Frank. We’ve got some repairs to do.”

_

As the ship docked, Asa got off and walked toward the woods. “Please don’t follow me.”

Nico kept following him. “Why not?”

Asa walked a little faster into the woods. “I said stop following me!”

“And I asked you, why not?”

“STOP FOLLOWING ME!” Asa screamed throwing his arm out.

Nico flew back and hit a tree hard as Asa ran deeper into the forest. He rubbed his head and got up, shadow travelling a few feet in front of Asa. “Where are you going?!”

“STOP!” he screamed running in a different direction. “Leave me alone, Nico! It’s none of your business!”

Nico shadow travelled again and grabbed Asa’s shoulder. “I want to know where you’re going and why!”

“NO!” Asa fumed as some tears began to pool in his eyes. “Just let me go!”

“Asa… I just want you to tell me what’s wrong. I don’t want you running off on your own.”

“Leave me alone, Nico…” he muttered pulling away from him.

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong. I can tell there’s something bugging you.”

“Leave me alone!” he screamed as he ran away again.

“Asa!” Nico called running after him.

Asa threw his hand behind him creating obstacles in Nico’s path.

Nico smacked into a tree as it appeared in front of him and rubbed his head. He shadow travelled after Asa again, but this time stayed in the shadows to avoid being seen.

Eventually, Asa stopped and fell to his knees in a small clearing.

Nico landed in the thick branches of a nearby tree and watched him silently.

A few tears trickled down Asa’s cheeks as he looked up to the sky. “Mom… I need you… Please come. I know you’re really busy, but… I need your help.” Nothing happened and he looked around. “MOM I KNOW YOU’RE LISTENING! STOP IGNORING ME!” he sobbed.

Nico frowned down at him and shook his head.

Asa balled his fists as tears flowed from his eyes. For the first time, he seemed completely broken.

Suddenly, the wind started to swirl in a circle around Asa.

He looked up as his hood blew off. “M-Mom…?”

A beautiful woman shimmered into view in front of him. “Hello, my son.”

Asa quickly got to his feet and threw his arms around her sobbing into her dress.

She rubbed his head hugging him back. “I’ve been watching over you Asa. I know you haven’t had it easy lately…”

“Why haven’t you been coming to see me?” he whispered.

“Because you’ve been relying on me too much. You come to me for all of your troubles and don’t try to figure it out for yourself. You need to be more independent and figure things out on your own or with the help of your friends.”

“…I’m not relying on you for my powers… anything.” he hissed. “I’m relying on you like a kid relies on his mom because last time I checked, THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE! I tried to have friends! Look where that got me!” he snapped.

“I know that Asa, but I’m a goddess. I’m not supposed to be like a normal mother. Gods and goddesses usually try to remain as distant as they can. I’ve only stuck around this long because you are very special, my son.”

“I’m your only son. You told me you didn’t have any other kids. I’m like, two percent away from being immortal. You should be able to spent time with me!”

“I told you I didn’t have any other children with other demigods. I have many children, but you’re my only son whose father was a demigod. You come from a very powerful line of gods and demigods, but just like normal children, you can’t rely on me forever.”

“I’m not saying that I want to! I just want you to be my mom…”

She kissed his forehead. “I will always be your mother. And when you really need me I’ll be there for you, but I just can’t hang out. I can visit you once in a while, but I can’t do it all the time anymore. Do you understand?”

Asa balled his fists. “Most kids have a mom for eighteen years. I’m ten and you’re telling me you can’t do that? That I’m asking too much? I had you on and off for six years then not at all for the other four!”

“Asa, you are my favorite son and I love you. I wish I could spend more time with you, but I just… can’t. That’s not how it works for children of the gods. Most demigods don’t ever get to see their parents. You should be grateful for the time we had.”

“I can’t do it. I just want someone… And my friends will never be my parents. It’s different. It’s a different kind of relationship all together.”

“I know it’s not easy, but if you build strong relationships with your friends it will be much easier, I promise you.”

“Don’t I have an aunt or something? Anyone…?” he asked frowning up at her.

She shook her head. “Sadly, no. Your father was an only child and his mother died a long time ago.”

Asa sank back to his knees. “Take me with you…”

The goddess sighed and frowned. “You know I can’t do that Asa…”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not an Olympian goddess and I travel a lot. Your powers aren’t strong enough yet to keep up with me. Plus, you’re still mortal. Mortals cannot accompany gods under any circumstances.”

Asa sighed. “I don’t want to stay here…”

“I cannot help you with that. Just try to do as I said and stay with your friends.” she said bending down to rub his cheek with a smile. “I have to go now.”

He looked up at her with a frown. “Please… come and visit me. One day? Just one day where we do something and just spend time together…?” he pleaded.

She sighed. “I will visit you, but it won’t be very soon.”

“As long as you promise.”

“I promise on the River Styx I will visit you.”

He got up and hugged her tight. “I love you, Mom.”

She hugged him back. “I love you too.” she said before shimmering back into the wind.

Nico quietly climbed down from his tree. “… You okay?”

Asa jumped and turned back toward him. “Were you there for all that?!” he shouted balling his fists on the verge of another dangerous fury.

Nico backed up putting his hands up defensively. “Woah! Calm down!”

“You were spying on me, weren’t you?!”

“Asa, I wasn’t spying! I just wanted to make sure you were alright!”

Asa backed up. “Just leave me alone…”

“Asa, I just want to help you-”

“Well some job you’re doing!” He turned around. “I don’t want to see you anymore.” he said walking in the other direction.

He stopped when a green bolt of lightning shot in front of him leaving a message in the ground which said: ‘What did I just say?!’

Asa jumped back and looked to the sky. “But Moooom! He’s being rude!”

Another bolt struck. ‘Just because I’m a goddess doesn’t mean I can’t ground you.’

“Mom!” he whined.

A third bolt. ‘I will not hesitate to ground you from magic young man!’

“Well, what am I supposed to do?!”

No more bolts shot from the sky, but the message was clear. Figure it out for yourself.

Asa grumbled.

“So…” Nico said. “You gonna be alright?”

“I’ll be fine.” he said bitterly.

“…I feel bad about watching that. I honestly wasn’t trying to intrude. I’m just worried about you.”

He sighed.

“…Well, she said she’ll visit again so… that’s good, right?”

He sighed again.

“Come on, Asa… I’m really sorry for spying. I was worried about you. Is there any way you can forgive me?”

“Just don’t do it again…”

Nico nodded. “I won’t. I promise.” He looked to the sky. “The sun is setting. We should get back to the ship before they leave without us.”

Asa sighed quietly. “Okay…” he said walking back in the direction they had come.

_

After repairing the damages to the town and returning all of the money, Percy stood in front of the crowd again. “I uh… I hope you all can forgive me for what I’ve done… I promise I will never do something like that again…” He turned to Annabeth and Piper’s dads. “Um… I have to go now… It’s… It’s up to you whether you want them to stay or not…”

Piper turned to her dad. “Dad, can I stay with Jason? Please…?”

He thought for a moment then sighed. “I guess so…”

She hugged him. “I love you.”

“I love you too Pipes.”

She smiled at him then ran back to the ship happily with Jason.

Annabeth turned to her dad. “Daddy…”

He paused a moment then sighed. “… Okay…”

Annabeth hugged him.

He hugged her back tightly. “I’m going to miss you…” He pulled away to look at her. “You’ll visit sometimes, right?”

Annabeth nodded. “As often as I can, I promise.”

He kissed her forehead then looked to Percy. “If anything happens to her-”

Percy cut him off. “I’ll keep her safe, I promise.”

Annabeth smiled. “If not, I’ll smack him.”

Percy chuckled. “Oh, like you haven’t done that already.”

Annabeth chuckled as well.

Her father smiled. “Stay out of trouble, alright?”

“Okay Dad.”

He kissed her again and hugged her. “I love you, sweetie…”

“Love you too Dad.” she said climbing back onto the ship with Percy.

Asa and Nico ran out of the woods and climbed aboard as well.

As the ship lifted into the air, Annabeth waved to her dad until the town was out of sight.

Part 7

Asa angrily kicked a rock and sent it flying out of sight.

Nico put a hand on his shoulder. “You okay…?”

Asa pulled his arm away. “NO! This was a STUPID idea!”

“As, I know how you feel. When my sister died I did everything I could to get her back. All I did was push her away… She chose rebirth and now I’ll never get to see her again. Don’t make the same mistake I made…”

Asa wiped his eyes. “He wouldn’t.” he said stomping away from Nico.

“Asa please-“

“Imagine going from having everything to nothing then thinking you just might have something back, but it being nothing all over again! Being the nothing that took everything! I can never get any of it back! I will never go fishing with my dad again! I will never hear him yell at me because I disobeyed him! I will never hear him say I love you again…” Asa said as a few more tears fell from his eyes.

“Asa I understand. I know how you feel. I actually considered ending my own life so I could be with Bianca. I actually tried… It’s not the right thing to do…”

“I’m just going to blow something up anyways… Someone will get hurt…”

“Asa, we’re going to help you. Once you learn how to use your powers you won’t be dangerous. Ending it all now isn’t gonna do any good.”

Asa sighed and covered his face leaning against a tree.

Nico put a hand on his shoulder again. “I’m not sure if it helps, but I’m here for you if you need me…”

Asa nodded. “Just sometimes it’s not enough, you know?”

Nico nodded. “Believe me, I know…” he said leaning on the tree as well. “…He is still with you, you know…”

“I know, but I don’t see him…”

“Just because you don’t see him doesn’t mean he isn’t there. He’ll always be with you here.” Nico said placing a hand over his heart.

“It’s not good enough…”

“I know. It’s never enough, but you just have to have hope. One day, maybe not soon, but one day you will see him again. If you just keep doing what you’re supposed to do you’ll meet him again one day in Elysium.”

“That’s where he is? What’s that?”

“Elysium is like the Greek version of heaven. It’s for souls that have achieved greatness and proven their worth in life. From Elysium you can either choose to stay or you can choose rebirth into a new life. If you achieve Elysium in three different lifetimes you go to The Isles of the Blessed.”

“Wow…”

Nico nodded with a small smile.

“…Can we go home now?” Asa asked.

“Yeah. It’s getting late anyway.” Nico replied looking up at the sunset.

Asa took Nico’s hand.

“I want you to try shadow travel again.”

Asa concentrated and they both moved about a foot forward. He sighed. “I can’t do it…”

“Hey, it’s better than before. You just need to practice.”

“I guess…”

“You did a good job. I’ll take us the rest of the way.” Nico said as he transported them back to the ship.

“Thanks…” Asa said still sounding a little sad.

“You gonna be okay?”

“I don’t know…”

“…Maybe we should just go to bed. That might take your mind off of things.”

“Maybe…”

_

Annabeth walked into Percy’s room. “You okay?”

Percy turned to her. “Yeah, why?”

“I don’t know. Lot of stress lately…”

Percy shrugged. “Yeah… I’m just trying to figure out where we’re going.”

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

Percy sighed. “Well, usually after we leave one town we just go to the next one and the next one… That’s all we’ve ever really done… Since I’m trying to change, I don’t know where else to go…”

“…I don’t know Percy, I’m sorry.”

Percy gave her a helpless look and glanced at the ship’s controls. “I would just set us down somewhere, but it’s too dangerous. People know about me and the others all around. I don’t care if I’m arrested, but I don’t want to put the others in danger…”

Annabeth thought for a moment. “…Let’s go somewhere they don’t then. Start over.”

“Like where?”

Annabeth shrugged. “Kansas… Boston… but you’d have to lose the ship.”

“How come?”

“You can’t start over with this thing near you until you learn.”

“…Why not?”

“Because. How easy would it be to just get on the ship again and go on a rampage?”

Percy sighed. “I guess you’ve got a point…”

Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”

Percy smiled. “Thanks.”

_

“Nico?” Asa said quietly shaking him a little.

Nico woke up. “Hmm?” he mumbled sleepily rubbing his eyes. He blinked and focused on Asa. “Asa, it’s late. What’s the matter?”

“I was wrong…”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

“Everything…”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… I let my temper get the best of me. I- the person I thought cared didn’t… so as soon as the person I knew cared came along, I didn’t want to let him go.”

Nico gave him a small smile. “Hey, it’s not your fault. For most of your life, Kyle was like an older brother. It seemed like he was taking care of you. It’s understandable that you wouldn’t want to let your dad go. He was the only family you had. I felt the same way when I lost my sister.”

Asa took a shaky breath and hugged his knees.

Nico put a hand on his shoulder. “… You wanna know a secret?”

“What…?”

“When life gets really tough, it helps when you have good friends.”

“But I don’t…”

“You’d be surprised…” Nico said with a small smile.

“W-what do you mean?” Asa asked.

“Well, I think we’re friends. And the others would be too if you’d let them.”

“But I can’t let them. They tied me up. They’ve done nothing for me…”

“Percy helped you realize who you could trust. Annabeth helped you by yelling at Percy when he didn’t do anything about your leg. You just have to give them time Asa…”

“I don’t want time… I want to do things…”

“Well, what kind of things do you want to do?”

“Find my mom… travel…”

“Well, your mom might be a little tough seeing as she’s a goddess, but we could probably travel.”

“No we can’t… I heard Percy and Annabeth talking about losing the ship and settling down, stopping all this…” Asa said with a frown.

“Well, why don’t you talk to them? See if they’ll reconsider?”

Asa shrugged. “Let them. I can find another ship…”

Nico rolled his eyes and climbed to the floor. “That’s not a good idea. Come on, I’ll go with you. We can ask together.”

Asa crossed his arms stubbornly.

“I will drag you there if I have to. Come on.”

Asa lay down on the floor. “Try.”

Nico sighed and yanked at the boy’s foot.

Asa didn’t budge and raised an eyebrow mischievously.

“Think you’re funny, huh?”

“Yes. Yes I do.”

Nico shadow travelled them in front of Percy’s door and smirked. “I think I’m funny too.”

Asa furrowed his eyebrows. “Ass.” he said not getting up from the floor.

Nico chuckled. “If you don’t get up, I’ll just knock on the door and leave you here.”

Asa scrambled to his feet. “No!”

Nico chuckled again. “Come on I’m sure they’ll be reasonable.” he said knocking on the door.

“One second!” Percy said.

Asa hugged Nico’s side nervously.

Nico put a hand on his shoulder.

Annabeth poked her head out the door.

“H-hi…” Asa stuttered.

Nico looked to Annabeth. “Asa has a question for Percy.”

Asa looked up to Nico. “I thought you were gonna ask them something!”

“I said I’d come with you Asa. You still have to ask.” He looked back to Annabeth. “Can we come in?”

Annabeth nodded. “Of course…”

Asa frowned. “But you said-”

“I said we’ll ask together.” Nico cut him off. “I’ll help you if you get stuck, but I want you to try first.” he said walking Asa into the room.

Percy struggled with a shirt in his chair. “Where is the head hole?!”

Annabeth shook her head and went over to help him.

Asa tried to shadow travel away, but only went about a foot backwards groaning when he saw he was still in the room.

Nico chuckled a bit and dragged Asa back forward.

Percy smiled at Annabeth. “Thank you.” He looked to Nico and Asa. “What’s up?” he asked.

Asa slumped as Nico dragged him back. “The sky…” he mumbled innocently.

Percy chuckled. “Did you want to ask me something?”

“No.”

Nico elbowed Asa lightly. “Yes.”

Asa glared up at him and a pencil flew at his head from Percy’s desk. “No.” he confirmed to Percy.

“Ow…” Nico mumbled.

Percy raised an eyebrow. “So… You just wanted to pay us a visit?”

“Yep!” Asa said cheerily.

Nico sighed. “He does have a question, he’s just nervous about asking.”

Percy smiled at him. “You can ask anything Asa. I promise I don’t bite.”

Asa frowned.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Nico, just tell us. He’s about as stubborn as Percy from what I see.”

Percy furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. “I resent that.”

“I told him I’d help him if he got stuck.” Nico said. “I want him to try first.” He looked to Asa. “You’re not trying.”

Asa crossed his arms. “And I’m not going to. You’re wasting your time anyway. Cats can’t talk.” he said turning into a cat.

Annabeth gaped in awe.

Nico sighed. “Fine. I’ll ask if you change out of cat form.”

Asa turned into a mouse and ran up to Nico’s shoulder.

Annabeth continued staring wide-eyed. “How…?”

Nico shrugged. “Don’t ask me.” He glared at Asa. “She’s right. You are as stubborn as Percy.”

Percy raised his arms. “Sitting right here!”

Asa uttered a high-pitched laugh and jumped from Nico’s shoulder, turning human on the way down.

“I’ve never ever seen that!” Annabeth said still in complete awe.

“Me neither.” Nico said looking quite annoyed.

Percy coughed. “Can someone please tell me what the question was?!”

Asa reclined back with a smug look on his face and started floating mid-air. “Yeah, Nico. Tell them.”

“You’re a punk.” Nico said.

Asa giggled.

Nico sighed and turned to Percy. “Asa wants to continue travelling… on the ship, that is.”

Percy’s eyes widened slightly. “Um…” He trailed off looking to Annabeth.

“…Percy and I were thinking of settling down somewhere. Lose the ship, start over…” Annabeth said.

“See?” Asa said.

“Shut up.” Nico scolded. “Asa was hoping you might reconsider.”

Percy frowned and looked to Annabeth then back to Nico and Asa. “I-I’ll have to think about it, alright?”

Asa rolled his eyes and suddenly turned invisible.

“Asa-Ugh!” Nico shouted.

“Asa, Percy’s just trying to right his wrongs right now.” Annabeth said. “He’s not sure what he wants to do, so we’re trying to find a way for him to find his place.”

“Yeah…” Percy said. “There’s a lot of things I’ve done that I want to fix before I even think about just travelling anymore…”

“Whatever…” Asa said. Suddenly, he fell from about four feet off the ground completely visible.

Percy jumped back. “WHAT THE-?”

“OW!” Asa shouted.

“SORRY!” Leo said through the radio. “I was testing the anti-magic shield!”

Asa groaned as he lay flat on the floor.

“A little warning next time would be nice!” Percy shouted.

Nico helped Asa to his feet. “You okay?”

Asa brushed himself off. “I’m fine.”

“Good. Now, Percy said he’ll think about it. Just be patient, alright?”

Asa groaned. “Fine… When’s my magic gonna come back?”

Percy shrugged. “I dunno. Probably a few hours. You’ll definitely have it back by tomorrow.”

Asa grumbled some curses and stomped to the door.

Nico sighed. “Thanks anyway guys. Night.”

“Night.” Percy said.

_

After Nico and Asa left, Percy started setting the ship’s controls.

Annabeth looked over his shoulder. “So where are we going?”

“I’m taking us to your town. I want to set things right.”

“What? Percy, that’s a terrible idea.”

He shook his head. “No. If I’m gonna change, I feel like I should fix the damage I’ve caused already… Plus, I remember your dad was there. He doesn’t know where you are or if you’re even alive…”

Annabeth sat on the bed and frowned. “He doesn’t care…”

“That’s not what it looked like to me…”

“You haven’t met him…”

Percy gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’ll see.” he said with a small smile.

Annabeth sighed. “Goodnight Percy.”

Percy climbed to the top bunk. “Night.”