Chapter Text
What is broken but hidden, healed by gold
Or fractured worse by silver gone cold
An offered task, the final resort
And a promise kept by unexpected port
You shall go west and face the god who has turned
And see what was stolen safely returned
But beware a betrayal that strikes at the heart
And learn the true grief of being apart
A half-blood of the eldest gods
Shall reach sixteen against all odds
And see the world in endless sleep
Hero’s soul cursed blade shall reap
A single choice shall end their days
Olympus to preserve or raze
“It’s too dangerous.”
Thalia didn’t bother to roll her eyes, but boy was the temptation strong.
Fortunately, Luke handled the sarcastic response on her behalf. “Too dangerous for Thalia, or because of her?”
“Do not deliberately misinterpret me, Luke,” Chiron warned, eyebrows drawing together. “It would be best if Thalia does not leave camp until after she turns sixteen.”
“And maybe not even then, right? Just keep her locked up until the Great Prophecy skips over her, off to focus onto Percy instead-?”
Thalia bumped her best friend’s shoulder before he could get a real rant going, and looked up at the centaur. “Pretty sure trying to avoid prophecies doesn’t work, Chiron. Especially when we’ve got zero information besides a forbidden kid being involved.”
The year before, one of Annabeth’s older siblings was doing some research about prophecies of the past century, trying to apply some fancy math thing to pick out common patterns, and accidentally let her read the ‘Great Prophecy’ that was made right after the second World War. Annabeth promptly took it to Luke, who shared it with Thalia, who really didn’t like the final line of the damn thing: Olympus to preserve or raze.
She’d be the first person to agree certain high and mighty idiots deserved to be taken down a peg or two. But after three years of working with Hera’s favor, of sneaking Percy out of camp every few months to see Poseidon, Thalia knew there were better ways to change the system than just burning it down. Especially when the prophecy didn’t exactly indicate there would be any rebuilding afterward.
“Look. It’s Luke’s quest. You can give him all the advice and warnings you want, but at the end of the day, he gets to decide who his partners are. Right?” Thalia raised both her eyebrows.
After a beat, Chiron sighed. “That is, correct.”
“Great. So I’ll go pack my bag while he grabs our third, and we’ll hit the road before noon.”
When she told Percy, the ten year old bounced between excitement, concern, and a really annoying insistence that he should be their third questmate.
“I’ve got a sword now,” the twerp insisted, holding up the celestial bronze blade his dad gave him for a birthday present. “And I’m getting better at making water do what I want! And-”
“Percy,” Thalia interrupted, stuffing two extra pairs of socks into her backpack. “If you come with us, who is Annabeth supposed to boss around while we’re gone?”
That earned a huff, but at least he stopped pushing. “...you’ll be back soon, right?”
“Dunno,” Thalia admitted, slipping a pair of slender silver knives into the sheaths sewn into her boots. Useful for quick stabs, but she could also throw them with a bit of an electrical charge, and really cause some damage. “Maybe a couple of weeks, if we’re fast and don’t hit much trouble. Might be closer to a month, if shit decides to go wrong.”
Neither of them bothered to mention the possibility of not coming back at all.
Clothes, weapons, snacks, and some emergency supplies all squared away, Thalia stood and pulled her little cousin into a hug. He’d gotten way bigger since they first came to camp; she could definitely see him getting taller than her in a few more years. But for the moment, Thalia was still able to wrap her arms around the twerp and haul him up off the ground, earning some reluctant giggles in the process. “You’re gonna behave, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But if you can’t behave-”
“-don’t get caught!”
Percy trailed her all the way to the camp’s main entrance, joined partway by Annabeth, who hugged tight but quick (and neatly slipped an extra few drachma into Thalia’s pocket, which she wouldn’t find until much later).
Both kids embraced Luke as well, when they joined him, while Thalia aimed a grin at their party’s third member. “You really let yourself get dragged away from the forge for this, Beckendorf?”
The Hephaestus kid grinned back, and rolled his thick shoulders in a shrug. Despite only being thirteen, the guy already had a couple inches over Thalia, and way more broad muscle. “Luke talked me into it, with that prophecy the Oracle gave him. I work better with bronze than silver or gold, but if you need something fixed along the way I’ll be your best bet.”
“Fair enough.” Whether the prophecy meant something physical to be fixed or not, Thalia approved of Luke’s choice. Beckendorf was faster than he looked and could pack a lot of power into the swings of his hammer, either hitting metal on his anvil or caving a monster’s face in.
Chiron met them at the camp boundary, where one of the strawberry delivery trucks waited. “You’ll be dropped off at a train station in the city,” the centaur told them, “And from there, make your way west, to the Garden of the Hesperides. Your skills and knowledge shall be put to the test with every step - but should you succeed, and retrieve one of the Golden Apples for Hermes, the reward will be equally great.” Then he dropped his ‘wise and ancient mentor’ voice, and said more warmly, “For what it is worth, I wish you good luck.”
“Thanks,” Luke replied, smiling grimly. “We’ll need it.”
Well now... Just where are you going, little hero...?
Thalia may have overestimated, when she told Percy they’d be back in a month at the most.
First a hellhound attacked them on the train from NYC to Philly, which mortals saw as three teenagers trying to wrangle an extremely unhappy mastiff, and got them kicked off at the next station even after killing it. They did some cross country hitchhiking through Pennsylvania, then snuck onto another train that took them the rest of the way to Pittsburgh. A flock of harpies showed up, which Luke and Beckendorf distracted while Thalia climbed to the top of an old steel mill so she could hit them with lightning from above (trying not to panic from being so high up at the same time).
After recovering from that fight, they found a mortal who believed Luke’s story about trying to get away from a bad family situation to cousins in Chicago, and let the three of them ride in a camper trailer across two states and up to the Windy City. In the process of slipping away from the well-meaning woman and heading to another train station, though, the freaking Nemean Lion showed up, just to make life more interesting.
Thalia’s shield saved her head from getting swiped off, at the very least, even if her spear was next to useless. Beckendorf shouted about weak points; she pulled out her silver daggers, gifts from Hera, and managed to put first one and then the other into the lion’s eyes. As it howled and thrashed, Beckendorf successfully tossed a small bottle of Greek Fire into the thing’s open mouth. After that explosion, everything burned except the golden pelt. Luke dared to get close to the last few flames and picked it up, before turning and offering the prize to their youngest questmate. “Anything gold, I’m handing to you,” the older boy joked, as Thalia checked her boot sheaths to make sure her daggers came back. “And besides, I barely did anything to win this fight.”
Risking a second passenger train got them to Denver. And then the quest took a weird turn.
Hmm... You might prove to be of some use after all...
A tall dude with some truly deep scars across his face stood on the platform where their train pulled up, holding a small whiteboard with Demigod Party of Three written on it. Luke and Thalia exchanged wary glances; Beckendorf just shrugged and picked up his bag. “May as well, right?”
They made their way off, and cautiously approached the guy.
“Excellent,” he said when the three of them got close. “There was a good chance you’d accept my assistance, but one never completely knows, with half-bloods.”
“What assistance?” Luke asked, ready to draw his sword at the drop of a hat.
“A ride, for one thing. Information, for another.”
Thalia snorted. “And what’s the cost?”
“Oh, nothing much,” the guy said, twisting his hands and making the whiteboard vanish. “Just some willing ears, and perhaps a promise not to mention my presence to any of your parents. No matter how many times I offer him advice, Zeus is always ready to threaten to chain me to a rock again should I step out of line.”
Beckendorf made a surprised noise. “Prometheus?”
“Indeed. Now come along, I’ve hired a car.” The Bringer of Fire turned and started making his way through the crowd without bothering to check if they were following. All three teens shared a baffled look, but did, reluctantly, set off after him.
Outside the station were some car rental services, a stand for taxi cabs, and a limousine service; Prometheus headed for the last. A seven foot tall dude should not have been able to neatly fold himself into the limo that waited, but Thalia blinked and he was in, posture relaxed as he gestured to the opposite seat. Beckendorf got in first, then Luke, and then her.
“Now then,” Prometheus said once their driver got rolling, “I’m certain you want to engage in the usual round of ‘what are you doing’ and ‘why should we listen to anything you say’, but perhaps I can head you off: what I am doing is helping, both your quest and your later chances of survival, and you should listen because I know exactly how dismal those chances are if you don’t.”
Luke shifted uneasily next to her. Thalia’s hand tightened around the can of mace that was her spear’s hidden form.
“So what’s your advice, then?” Beckendorf asked, a lot more calmly than either Thalia or Luke could have sounded.
“Abandon this fool’s errand. It’s not going to work regardless, but the sooner you quit and turn around, the less likely one of you dies beforehand.”
“Oh screw you,” Luke snapped. “My father gave me this quest, and maybe I don’t much like the guy, but I’m not going to just give up on proving to him I can accomplish it.”
“Even though it’s a task Hercules has already accomplished?”
Thalia saw her best friend’s nostrils flare, and she leaned in to press their shoulders together. “You gonna tell us something to actually back up that claim, or just expect us to believe you without proof?”
Prometheus sighed. “Always, it comes down to proof. What ever happened to faith, hm?”
“Lost it when I was seven,” Thalia said flatly.
“Hm.” Dark eyes regarded her for a long moment. “Fair enough, I suppose. Unfortunately, if I try to tell you what’s most likely to happen, your efforts to avoid it will bring about a worse ending.”
“And you care, because...?”
“Because you are a Daughter of Zeus,” Prometheus said flatly. “And you turn sixteen in less than a month’s time - if you live that long.”
Olympus to preserve or raze
Thalia refused to let any emotion onto her face.
“There are forces stirring, out of sight of the gods,” Prometheus went on, gaze never wavering. “Dangerous forces. I have seen some of what is to come, and can easily surmise the rest. You will have a choice to make very soon, Thalia Grace. The outcome of which will influence a great many things.”
“Y’know what I’m hearing, buddy? A whole lot of typical fortune-teller bull with vague indications that leave me spinning between a dozen theories in my head.” Thalia folded her arms and sat back. “I’m not buying it.”
“Your funeral, then.” One large hand reached up, and tapped the divider between them and the driver.
Ten minutes in the limo with Prometheus somehow translated into traveling over five hundred miles; he let them out in Salt Lake City with a final reminder that their quest was doomed, best to turn back, blah blah blah. Thalia wasn’t sure she believed him or not.
Wasn’t sure she wanted to believe him, really.
Beckendorf looked between her, uncomfortable and wary, and Luke, visibly gritting his teeth and fuming, and made the executive decision to find them a new ride.
Closer... That’s it... Every step brings you closer to my voice, my power... And farther from the parent who abandoned you... Abandoned your family... Wouldn’t you like... to inflict the same on him...?
Driving down the interstate in the back of a Greyhound bus might not have been the fastest option, but Thalia appreciated the extra time to sit and think, head resting against the window’s cool glass. One hand crept up to curl around the pair of pendants she always wore: a silver peacock feather from Hera, and a long narrow seashell from Poseidon, wrapped in bronze filigree.
They made it halfway through the desert towards Reno without trouble; then the monster attacks stepped up again.
Giant beasts. Hybrid critters. At one point a cyclops almost squashed Beckendorf; three hours later, a hydra nearly bit off Luke’s leg. Getting to Sacramento used up the last of the mortal money Chiron gave them back at camp, which was going to be a fun challenge to work around on their way home.
“We’ll figure something out,” Luke promised. “Right now I’m more worried about how much ambrosia we have left.”
Only a few squares, was the answer. The divine food could heal most injuries with just a bite or two, but they’d needed to eat practically their entire store getting across the country. Thalia eyed the plastic baggie holding them, glanced at Luke and Beckendorf, and zipped up her leather jacket as casually as possible. She could deal with a few scratches; they weren’t poisoned, and had already stopped bleeding anyway.
“Decision time,” Beckendorf announced, once they’d packed up and were ready to move again. “How are we getting down to San Francisco? Truck, train-”
“Why not water?”
In a split second, all three of them stood back to back with weapons in hand. A light, tinkling laugh came around the corner, and then a woman stepped into view. Thalia’s seashell pendant warmed against her chest.
“Peace, little half-bloods,” the woman smiled, holding out her empty palms. “My name is Pleione.”
“One of the Oceanids,” Thalia remembered. “Did Poseidon send you?”
“Well, he asked me to keep an eye out. I’m the one deciding to offer you a hand.” Pleione gestured behind her, where the road curved away from the Sacramento river. Which, if Thalia remembered the map right, was a straight shot down to San Francisco, the last stop before they headed for the Garden of the Hesperides.
“...y’know? I think we’ll take you up on that.”
Pleione turned out to have a specific power over sailing and mastery of her designated river. She escorted them down to a docked boat, and with only a few flicks of her fingertips set it to skimming across the water. Thalia and the boys dropped their bags on the deck and sat, more than ready to enjoy transportation that didn’t involve combat, or unwanted warnings, or trying to sit as close to smelly mortals as possible to hide from monsters.
The peace lasted up until the riverbanks broke away, the sailboat taking them out into a wider bay.
“It’s been a long time since I spoke with half-bloods,” Pleione said, walking up the deck with ease to stand beside Thalia. “Particularly one of your stature, Daughter of Zeus. Poseidon’s request rather took me by surprise, asking that I keep an eye out for you.”
“Yeah, well. I did him a big favor once.”
“So I’ve heard. And you earned Hera’s favor as well; an even greater feat.” She paused. “You must not care much for your father.”
Something twisted in Thalia’s stomach. “Not exactly a secret. A couple of shiny weapons when I was a kid don’t exactly make up for his other shit.”
Pleione hummed, looking out across the water ahead of them. “Understandable. I’ve spent eons listening to my sisters and our kin bemoan the whims of Zeus. It sometimes makes me wonder... does he truly deserve his position in our pantheon?”
The twisting got worse.
“Have you ever heard of a creature called the Ophiotaurus, Thalia Grace?” Pleione’s voice seemed to stretch, like she was hearing it from down a long tunnel. “An ancient beast, born from the chaotic energies of Gaia and Ouranos in their earliest days. It is prophesied that whoever kills the Ophiotaurus and sacrifices its entrails as an offering to the Titans will gain the power to overthrow the Olympians.”
A wave lifted the boat, high enough Thalia could see San Francisco in the distance, and the setting sun beyond it. Something rippled through the water, sunlight glinting off of scales.
“You could gain that power, child,” Pleione whispered, suddenly kneeling beside her, a hand smoothing over Thalia’s hair. “You could see your father deposed, finally punished for his crimes. A new era started, a golden age for all of us with ichor in our veins. Justice, Thalia. Justice for those who’ve suffered the worst under the Sky God’s reign. For everyone the Olympians have bullied and silenced and sacrificed without cause.”
Justice. For Thalia's childhood. For Percy’s mother.
For Jason.
...but it wasn’t Zeus who took Jason away.
The peacock pendant underneath her jacket suddenly burned, clearing the fog from Thalia’s mind. Her hand found one of the daggers hidden in her boot, and without thinking she grabbed it, twisted, and sank the silver blade into Pleione’s shoulder.
The oceanid screamed, and a wave washed over the edge of the boat, dragging Thalia away - and separating her from the boys, as they were thrown against the far side. “Insolent child,” Pleione snarled, suddenly looking way less friendly as she stood to her full height, golden ichor still bleeding down from the dagger in her shoulder. “I should have known you would still be infected by that stubborn loyalty to your father-”
“Like I give a damn about him,” Thalia snapped back, struggling to her feet against the rushing water trying to pin her down. Pain seared against her side, along with the telltale warmth of blood coming out of her re-opened scratches. Better to end this fight fast. “But you aren’t just talking about Zeus - you’re talking about all the gods, all of Olympus, and I am not signing up for that.”
Pleione glared down at her, perfectly at ease on the wildly rolling deck. “Then you will die.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. Luke!”
She expected him to throw a knife, their usual tactic, but Thalia’s best friend only jerked his head up to stare at her, eyes wide. For a split second, she felt real fear - and then Beckendorf stepped up, launching his hammer end over end towards Pleione. Just before it could collide with the oceanid, Thalia called down the lightning.
Getting struck by a supercharged chunk of metal managed to hurt even a divine being, and Pleione shrieked at the impact. Her summoned waves stilled briefly; Thalia used the moment’s respite to bring out her spear and shield, and leapt forward to continue the fight-
-only to almost topple headfirst into the water, when Pleione straight up vanished. Her power lingered, though. Choppy waves continued to surge, knocking the boat around and sending walls of water to crash into them every few seconds. Thalia scrambled to recover her footing, barely managing to duck the swinging beam of the sail.
“Should we jump?” Beckendorf shouted, hauling Luke up with the older boy’s arm around his shoulder. Thalia didn’t know what was wrong with her best friend; she couldn’t see any blood, didn’t know if he’d hit his head on something, but either way Luke was only staring and shaking.
Scales shimmered in the water.
She scrambled to grab the edge of the railing, and leaned over as much as she dared. “Hey! Ophi-whatever you are! Got a deal for ya, one time offer!” Short rounded horns broke the surface, and dark eyes peered up from a baby cow’s face. Thalia didn’t let the weirdness throw her. “Give my friends a ride out of here, I’ll keep your guts from going in the fire!”
Luke must have heard her, because his eyes finally focused and locked onto Thalia. “What- Thali, no-!”
“Get out of here,” she ordered, looking only at Beckendorf. “I’ll keep her busy!”
The boy nodded, and as soon as horns came out of the water on their side of the boat, he threw himself over the railing with an arm still wrapped around Luke’s waist. Thalia ignored the panicked yelling; she ducked under the swinging sail again, headed for the front of the boat, and raised her spear in challenge.
“PLEIONE!” She shouted, thunder echoing underneath. “You think a bumpy ride and some water is gonna be enough to kill me? Me?! Come back here and give me a real fight!”
The wind roared.
The waves rose.
And the sailboat flipped over.