Chapter Text
Mark, from B-Shift, stood at the attic of the 118 firehouse.
He didn’t normally turn up to his shift early but today had been a happy exception; his car broke down the night before and the only bus to the station was one that would deliver him with 30 minutes to spare.
He was glad, however, that he’d caught the end of the A-Shift today. It gave him the gossip that he knew would sustain him and his shift partner – Smith – through the next 24-hours.
He felt Smith join him at the balcony, watching the A-Shift jostling out of the front door.
“Hey, Smith?” Mark asked, casually. “Did you know Captain Nash finally succumbed to that Buckley kid’s cult?”
“What?!” Smith did a full spit-take. Something which was far grosser in reality than they showed on TV shows; Mark could feel the droplets spraying his face. “Are you serious?!”
“Yep. They did a full sacrifice and prayer at dinner.”
“The A-Shift are so fucking weird.”
Oh, Mark smiled to himself. They were going to have so much fun dissecting the A-Shift, between call-outs. This was going to be a good day.
****
Chief of Police Sylvan Parker and Assistant Chief Thomas Winston sat in the chief’s office, an expression of worry adorning Sylvan’s face.
“Did you hear, the Buckley kid finally told his fire station the truth?”
Thomas glanced up, pausing mid-sip. “Really? Oh, perfect.” He sighed, taking a leisurely gulp, a content smile making it’s way onto his face. “Does that mean they’re all going to calm down and leave us alone again?”
“You really think Sergeant Grant will back down?”
The smile dropped from Thomas’ face instantly. “Oh Gods, you think she’s going to try go after the Gods?”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was a child of Themis, too.”
Thomas groaned. “That can’t go well.”
****
Buck entered the Bobby and Athena’s living room, uncertain of exactly what he was going to find there.
He’d received a call from Bobby, which surprised him, given that Buck had only given him his presentation the day before. All Bobby had said was that Athena knew – how, Buck didn’t know – just that she knew and had some questions.
Buck took in a deep, fortifying breath.
With the others, Buck had been present for their various reveals – despite none of them going to plan, at all – he’d at least gotten a good idea of their thoughts on the reveal, as it happened.
Athena, however, was a bit of a wild card to Buck; he knew her the least out of their make-shift 118 family and, while he looked up to her and had grown close to her and her family – even thought of her like a parental figure – she was still the one he’d spent the least amount of time with. Similar to Bobby and Eddie, Buck wasn’t exactly sure how… well Athena would take the idea that Greek Gods were real. Everything Buck knew of Athena screamed pragmatic, he wasn’t even sure how anyone had even convinced her of the truth; when brainstorming, he’d come up with no concrete ideas on how to tell her.
He felt Bobby – having opened the door for him – following close behind. A supportive presence, as Buck walked into the unknown.
“’Thena.” Buck greeted, watching the woman with trepidation.
Athena met Buck’s eyes, without any reservation.
“Buck.” Athena looked Buck up and down, taking in his almost fearful stance and wariness, her eyes softened. “Come here, Buck.”
She opened her arms to the man she’d come to see as a son. Barely having lifted her arms, she found them full of a wall of muscle; Buck having barrelled into them almost immediately.
“I’m sorry you’ve had to struggle with all of this alone for so long.” Athena murmured into Buck’s hair, pitching her voice so only he could hear her. “It must’ve been hard for you.”
Buck felt his eyes sting.
It had been a rough few weeks with telling the 118; ever since he’d realised exactly how badly his life had been misconstrued, it had been weighing on him. The weight of the lies, of watching his words so he didn’t get himself into a deeper mess – though that hadn’t been all too successful – and dealing with supporting each of the 118 through their revelations.
It had been a lot.
He hadn’t realised exactly how much it had been affecting him until now.
He held Athena tighter, feeling her respond only by adjusting her grip.
“Thanks, ‘Thena.”
Buck pulled back, brushing a hand over his face and back into his curls, trying desperately to pull himself together.
Athena tilted her head, forcing him to meet her gaze again. “If you would prefer not to call me by my first name, Buck, that would be okay. I understand why you had difficulty with it before… so if you’d be more comfortable not to, that’s okay, too.”
He smiled, huffing a out laugh.
It was so Athena, to be thinking about others immediately. Why had he been so worried about her reaction? He wondered how much she’d been reviewing their previous four or five years of interactions, trying to fit it into what she now knew.
He shrugged, giving her a reassuring grin. “I’m comfortable calling you by your name. It’s fine. It’s just names usually hold power. It’s why people often try to avoid naming the Gods when you can help it. Though, people ignore that when we’re talking about other demi-gods… referring to people as a child of Apollo, for instance.”
“Is that why you go by Buck?”
“I guess… though, that was also because there were already three other Evans by the time I got to camp.” Buck answered, easily.
There was a small beat of silence, with the three of them looking at each other awkwardly, as though wondering where to start or what to ask.
Unsurprisingly, Athena was the one to break the silence.
“Camp.” Athena started, “That would be Camp Half-Blood, then?”
“Yeah.” Buck breathed out. “Camp Half-Blood.”
Home.
“And your parents dropped you there at nine years old?”
Buck nodded. “Yeah… my parents, they knew who I was, what I was, before even I did. I don’t know how… I assumed a satyr or a nature spirit found them and told them. But none of the satyrs at camp could confirm if it was them.”
“Satyrs.” Athena said, confidence waned momentarily, before bolstering up once more. “Of course, satyrs.”
“They’re scouts.” Buck offered. Now he could finally talk about camp openly, without worrying that the others would take things badly or go after Camp Half-Blood, he found it difficult to stop himself providing additional titbits of information to Athena. “They’re tasked with going into schools and communities to find potential demi-gods and either protect them or bring them back to camp.”
“And how do they know the difference between demi-gods and mortals?” Athena asked, interestedly.
She recalled Buck once mentioning that campers typically had ADHD, dyslexia and other so-called ‘behavioural’ issues. But didn’t know how one would begin to differentiate between people who displayed those behaviours as mortals and ones who were demi-gods.
“I don’t really know how it works… but I think satyrs can sense a demi-god’s power. Like a smell or something, and it’s more intense depending how powerful you are. Not enough to say who the kid might belong to –“ Athena reflexively made a face at Buck’s wording, causing Buck to cringe slightly. “ – I meant, who their Godly parent is. Bad choice of words.”
Bobby snorted beside them.
It was easy to see how things might be misunderstood – again – if Bobby and Athena were still ignorant of the truth.
“I’m sorry.” Buck hurried to apologise. “I never realised how bad things sound when I talk about things! Before the 118, I never spent much time with mortals… I never meant for you to get it so warped, I promise.”
“Buck, it’s not your fault. It doesn’t matter what you said or what you might’ve implied. You didn’t mean to make us believe anything one way or the other. We made our own assumptions with the information we had.” Athena soothed.
Buck nodded, jerkily. “I know. I just – I’m just glad it’s all over, you know?”
Buck breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, the sheer weight of it all falling off of him. “I was so worried that you’d keep trying to go after Camp Half-Blood, or even the Gods, and not realise what you were getting yourself in for.”
He let out an amused laugh, one which petered out at Athena’s raised eyebrow.
Wait a minute –
“You are done trying to go after Camp Half-Blood, right?” Buck’s voice was tinged with urgency and a slowly emerging fear. “’Thena, tell me you’re done.”
“I’m going to continue to do what’s necessary, Buck.” Athena stated, slowly. “Gods or not, they can’t just go about training children as soldiers.”
“Oh, my Gods.” Buck felt horror rise in him at the idea. “The Gods aren’t criminals or a mob you can round up. They’re not a cult you can take down. They’re Gods.”
Buck let out another laugh, but it was no longer amused. It was a mix of incredulous and bitter.
It’s not like Buck didn’t appreciate the sentiment. The idea was one fuelled by care and concern, after all, but the realities of trying to go after the Greek Gods were far worse than he suspected Athena realised. Nearly every Greek tragedy was as a result of someone mistakenly thinking they could anger the Gods and get away with it.
Sisyphus, Tantalus, Prometheus, Arachne, Cassandra, Medusa, Ixion, Queen Cenchreis, so so many, all of them had defied the Gods, some for justifiable reasons and others not. All of them now continuing to endure divine punishment as a result, eons later.
Athena didn’t know who she was going up against.
“’Thena,” Buck stressed the name, uncharacteristically serious. “You can’t just go and try to fight the Gods. People have been trying to do that since their very conception… and it never goes well for them. People get hurt upsetting the Gods. Or worse.”
Athena’s expression cracked, the stony look morphing into one of unease.
“Besides,” Buck continued, imploringly. “It’s not just that they trained us to fight for them. They were training us to defend ourselves. Do you know how many Gods, monsters and demons want to go after a demi-god to get revenge on their godly parent? It is as much about teaching us to defend ourselves as it was to for us to fight for them.”
Buck looked between Bobby and Athena, earnestly.
“You wouldn’t believe the number of times that I had to, even as an adult, go and fight a monster, either to save mortals or to help demi-gods on a quest.”
Bobby frowned in confusion.
Cutting in, he asked. “When did you have the time to even do that?”
“Uhhh.” Buck hesitated, knowing it might not help Bobby to know. “You know when I first started, when you fired me for stealing the fire truck for ‘hook-ups’ –“ Buck emphasised the words with quotation marks, cringing at Bobby’s horrified reaction. “ – at least once or twice, that was actually to fight a demon. Or monster.”
“You mean–?”
“Not all of them!” Buck rushed to defend, seeing the self-flagellation behind Bobby’s eyes.
“You’re saying, that I fired you, for going out and fighting monsters?! By yourself?” Bobby asked.
Buck nodded.
Bobby felt a roaring in his ears; the pounding of his heart as he realised he’d once fired Buck for risking his life to protect people. Granted, it’s not like he knew that at the time. But Bobby did know that the knowledge that he’d done so would haunt him for a long time after this conversation.
“What else can I do then, Buck?” Athena demanded. “You can’t just expect me to stand by and listen to the accounts of your friends and family, and do nothing. Children died.”
“I know! I was there!” Buck yelled, immediately regretting the loss of his temper at Athena’s wounded expression. “I’m sorry.”
He took a deep breath and continued as calmly as he could.
“I know that kids died, ‘Thena. So many. They were my friends, my family even. But more would have died otherwise. And that was fifteen years ago,” Buck met Athena’s gaze once more, angling for hopeful, but knowing his expression bordered on desperate. “It’s safer now. We’re in a time of peace.”
“I can’t just let it go.”
“Then don’t,” Buck countered. “Come to camp, speak to the people there. You can see for yourself that everything’s okay now. But, if you do, you have to promise not to take things further.”
At Athena’s hesitation, Buck shook his head. “No, I mean it, if you come to camp and stir things up, I can’t protect you from the wrath of the Gods... And the Gods aren’t known for keeping their anger contained on the one person. If you anger them, anyone who helped, anyone you interviewed, even Harry and May, they could all be in danger.”
Buck remembered the stories from his Greek history lessons at camp: how Poseidon once flooded the plains of Attica – and all the people who lived there – because he lost a competition of patronage to Athena; how Leto had Artemis and Apollo kill all fourteen of Niobe’s children because she dared to boast about them to Leto; how Lycurgus had banned the drinking of wine and worship of Dionysius, and in response the wine god drove Lycurgus mad, causing him to murder his wife and family.
Nearly every God had a similarly bloody history. While most of them seemed to have calmed down over the years, it wasn’t smart to forget that the Gods were eons older and far more powerful than anything humans could comprehend. And they didn’t play by humanities’ rules in terms of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.
There was never a happy ending when one angered the Gods. Never.
“The Gods have massacred people for less.” Buck stated, seriously.
Athena felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and the urgency of Buck’s words, his voice, had her faltering.
There were two sides warring inside her; on the one hand, she wanted to go to Buck’s camp, to meet his friends and family, confirm for herself that it was as Buck said it was. That it was safe. On the other hand, to do so would require her to promise that she wouldn’t take things further than that, that she would end her investigation there and let bygones be bygones.
What if Buck was wrong? If children were still being raised like lambs for slaughter, instead of just being given the tools and skills to defend themselves?
But then again, even if Athena was right, and they should take things further, how could she risk Buck’s safety, her children’s, or the safety of all the people she’d interviewed – Percy, Annabeth, Clarisse, Will, Nico and Thalia – by going after literal Gods?
Athena was stuck; unable to agree and promise neutrality, but also unable to disregard the opportunity to visit camp altogether.
She felt Bobby’s hand slide into hers, the warmth of his palm against hers grounding her.
She glanced up to see her husband’s worried face gazing back at her.
“I don’t know what to do.” Her voice was low, quiet, despite knowing Buck would be able to hear her either way; her words were for Bobby alone.
“I know.” Bobby intoned, “I can’t tell you what to do… I can only tell you what I know. Buck is smart and caring. He wouldn’t be saying all of this if he didn’t believe it. The camp is as safe as it will ever get, monsters and Gods aside. After all these years of us doubting Buck and disbelieving him, do you think you can trust him on this? Do you think you can give him the chance to prove it to us?”
Athena closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, the decision was made.
She would see it all for herself, whatever answers she got there, she would do what she could without endangering the former campers, Buck’s friends.
She would go to Camp Half-Blood.
Wordlessly, she nodded her assent.
Buck grinned. “Perfect! Before you do, I have a presentation I think you’d be interested in!”
****
Naturally, when Buck offered for Athena – and Athena alone – to go to Camp Half-Blood, everyone else decided it was an open invitation.
“No!” Buck re-iterated for the third time that afternoon. “You can’t come with us.”
“I didn’t keep everything a secret from Hen for days only to not be invited to Camp when Athena is.” Chimney followed Buck into the kitchen, like a shadow, brushing past Ravi on the stairs as he did so, as he had been doing so for the last two hours while repeatedly asking Buck if he could go.
“Cap! Tell him that he has to take us with him.”
“I’m not getting involved in this.” Bobby replied, not looking up from the recipe book on the kitchen counter.
“Don’t you think it’s blasphemy for him to not invite us, after all the stress we’ve gone through worrying about him?!”
Bobby sighed. “I’m not going to insist he takes us, Chimney. Besides, I don’t know why you’d want to go and bother demi-gods and gods, when it could get you hurt or injured doing so.”
“And you can’t see through the Mist anyway.” Hen interjected, laying the cutlery on the table.
“I can.” Chimney insisted. “… kind of.”
“You can see my fire balls and that’s it, Chimney. I don’t even know if you’d be able to see anything while you’re there, or if you do by some miracle, if any of it is even remotely accurate.” Buck had enough stress with the upcoming trip to Camp Half-Blood without having to worry about additional attendees.
“I’m coming, though, right?” Eddie piped up from the corner.
“What?” Buck spun around to gaze at Eddie, thoroughly taken aback by the request.
Chimney, he understood; ever since the man found out, he was fascinated by anything to do with the Greeks and demi-gods, not least because of the discovery that his brother was apparently also a descendent of another pantheon. But Eddie, given his new found clear-sightedness, had taken to the news slower, instead being exceedingly cautious when involving himself in the mythical world.
“What?!” Chimney howled. “You can’t take him and then not take me!”
“I wasn’t planning on taking any of you. Only ‘Thena.” Buck persisted.
“The last time you went to your camp, you came back with bite marks on your neck and bruises across your face, Buck. We’re just worried about you. Besides, I can see through the Mist now… you got Albert through the wards with that, I don’t see how I’d be any different.”
Buck understood their worry, he knew if it were Maddie or Eddie that were heading into an unknown danger, he would want to be there with them. But camp wasn’t dangerous. Buck thought to the lava wall, as well as the assortment of weapons and uncontrolled power that the untrained children had access to, and mentally amended; it wasn’t that dangerous.
The other factor was that it wasn’t only his choice, it was Chiron and Mr. D’s too; as the directors of camp, it was up to them who could come in and out of the wards.
In the entirety of Buck’s tenure at Camp Half-Blood, he’d only ever seen two mortals pass through the camp’s wards; one being Rachel Elizabeth Dare – the current oracle of Delphi – and the other being Albert Han – a legacy of another pantheon – both of whom had been clear-sighted. There was no precedent – that Buck knew – for regular mortals, with zero legacy or clear-sightedness, to go through the wards.
Buck didn’t even know if it were possible.
He knew Annabeth had once given permission for a non-camper – Tyson – to enter camp, when they were under attack, but didn’t know if that was only possible due to his mythical nature anyway, or if that would be allowed for any non-camper. He also knew, however, that there had been dozens of times that mortals had brought their demi-god children to the borders but not been able to go inside and accompany their children.
Why should the exception be made for him but not for them? Even Percy Jackson’s mother – clear-sighted and all – was ostensibly murdered at the border of camp, having been unable to go through the wards. Even if she didn’t die permanently, it doesn’t change that it happened.
Feeling Chimney, once more, standing directly behind him, Buck let out an irritated breath.
“Okay! Fine. I will ask Chiron if he will allow additional mortals into camp. Are you happy?” Buck snapped finally.
Chimney crowed triumphantly, the sound far too loud for his proximity to Buck’s ear.
Buck recoiled from the sound.
“I’m coming too, then.” Eddie added.
“Me too.” Hen chimed in.
Hen had been ambivalent towards the whole affair up until this point, to the point that Buck had assumed she would decline an invite, were she asked.
But at Buck’s confused look, Hen shrugged. “Call it a scientific interest. And if everyone’s going anyway, I think I’d rather be involved.”
There was a beat of silence.
Everyone exchanged glances before slowly all turning to Bobby, expectantly.
Bobby raised a disapproving eyebrow.
“I respect the boundaries of literal Gods; I don’t want to be in a position where I unknowingly upset them by stepping on a flower or something.” Chimney scoffed at Bobby’s response. “You should crack open a Greek God history book, Chimney, before you brush the worry off.”
“You’re telling me, you’re going to say no to the opportunity to meet actual Gods?!”
Bobby opened his mouth, fully intending on saying that he had zero interest in going, when he spotted Buck in the corner of his eye. The man had an almost hopeful look in his eye, with a hint of vulnerability to it, as though out of all them Bobby was the one person he could use by his side.
Bobby groaned, internally, bemoaning his previous life of only interacting with a God when he prayed at church or in the privacy of his own home.
“Fine.” Bobby relented, only slightly mollified by the smile that crossed Buck’s face. “But only if this Chiron approves. If he decides no, then none of us, except Athena, are going. Got it?”
He gave each of them a stern look, only looking back to his cooking when they each nodded appeasingly.
“Good man, Cap.” Chimney clapped him on the shoulder approvingly. “I knew you could talk Buck around.”
****
“So…” Buck started, awkwardly. The only noise outside of his own heartbeat in his head was the steady, reassuring sounds of the droplets from the Iris Message. Buck let the sound wash over and calm him.
On the other side of the rainbow, Chiron sighed. “What is it?”
Chiron had the uncanny ability to know when demi-gods were about to ruin his day – either through injury or obstacle – and Buck was no exception. One doesn’t raise and train demi-gods for over two thousand years, without being able to spot when demi-gods brought trouble.
And whatever Buck was about to say, was definitely going to ruin his day.
“You know how my fire station thinks I was raised in a cult?”
Chiron’s eyebrows twitched, visibly.
He was aware of the unfortunate circumstances Buck had found himself in; it had been the talk of camp for most of the last year, with campers, naiads, nature spirits and, even Mr D. alike, finding the situation disproportionately amusing.
Some of the Hermes campers had taken to keeping the current known ‘rumours’ on a white board in the Big House, for the rest of the campers to gawk and laugh at between classes.
For Chiron, it only served as a reminder to update their internal ‘departure’ procedures for leaving campers; including more extensive information about how to assimilate to modern society, technology and, most importantly, give a more robust excuse for any oddities the demi-gods would display.
There was only so much the Mist appeared to be able to hide.
“Yes, Buck. I am aware.” Chiron replied, tiredly.
The whole situation had been teetering on blasphemy; the uptick in resentful mentions of the Gods’ names hadn’t been lost on him. They were just lucky that the Gods had been too occupied in the last few years with plagues and natural hazards to pay attention to the goings on of one mere mortal.
“Well… I’ve managed to tell all of them about camp and being a demi-god and all –“
Chiron let out a relieved huff, a small smile crossing his face. It could all be over. No more blasphemy or negative talk about the Gods, it was –
“ – but Sergeant Grant is still insisting on some sort of justice against the Gods –“
There goes his peaceful afternoon. The smile dropped off of Chiron’s face immediately. If this ended in camp having to go underground or in increasing danger for incoming or outgoing campers, he would have to escalate the issue to the Gods. That would not end well.
Seeing Chiron’s increasing apprehension and the way his tail flicked frustratedly behind him, as it was wont to do when campers did things he disapproved of, Buck hurried on. “ – I’ve managed to convince her not to… but the trade-off was that she could come to camp and make sure everyone was okay. That they’re all safe.”
Chiron felt a headache brewing behind his eyes. “You want a mortal police officer to come into Camp Half-Blood to investigate the children’s safety?
The incredulous way Chiron posed the question had Buck wincing more with every word. “Um… I guess?” Buck continued, with yet another reluctant question. “I was also hoping some of my other friends could come, too…?”
“Buck, you can’t just –“
“Please?” Buck asked, beseechingly.
Chiron stared back at Buck, eyes roaming Buck’s face.
Chiron noted, absently, the start of wrinkles forming on Buck’s face – laughter lines and the beginning of crow’s feet, not properly formed by any means, but there nonetheless – it had been a long time since he’d got to see demi-gods grow up. With the war, he’d seen droves of demi-gods, both young and old, be decimated at Kronos’ hand. It was almost a novelty to see a demi-god Buck’s age.
The fact that there were dozens of Buck’s generation who had the privilege of growing old – even though there were so many more who did not – Chiron felt a tug on his heartstrings.
Despite Buck’s age, at nearly thirty, Chiron couldn’t help but see the nine-year-old demi-god who’d once been abandoned, with nothing more than two duffle bags to his name.
“If Dionysus agrees, then who am I to say no?” Chiron finally answered, defeatedly.
After all, what could go wrong?
Only the entire destruction of camp as we know it, Chiron thought to himself, dejectedly.
****
They’d hired a mini bus for the occasion. Even then it was a tight squeeze, with Eddie, Athena, Bobby, Hen and Chimney all tucked into the seats and Buck firmly at the wheel. The few days of driving had been both fun and tiring – with Buck going through a series of emotions, stress, fear and a buzzing excitement, before settling into anxious once more.
Finally, the ambling road became the familiar dirt road leading to camp.
The trees opening to the familiar archway, reading: Camp Half-Blood.
Home.
Buck parked up to the side of the archway, well before the wards; he didn’t want to accidentally alert Festus to the presence of ‘outsiders’ before Chiron could come and permit them access. Being burnt by the guardian automaton dragon would hardly be the way of convincing Athena that kids were safe there.
“Why are we stopping?” Hen asked, peering outside the window.
“We’re here.” Buck smiled, broadly, proudly waving towards the archway. “Camp Half-Blood.”
Hen raised a dubious eyebrow. “An abandoned field and an old fence?”
Eddie frowned, turning to Hen. “You see an abandoned field?”
“Well, yeah. What do you see?” Hen asked, getting out of the minibus, with Athena, Chimney and Bobby following.
“An archway saying Camp Half-Blood and a pine tree in the distance.”
Buck swivelled around. “Alright, everyone. Despite what you may see, we have arrived at camp.” He clapped his hands to gain their attention, uncaring of the fact that they were already all watching him intently. “Remember what my presentation showed you –“
There was a round of assenting murmurs, each having fresh memories of the five-hour preparation presentation Buck had given them the night before, including but not limited to: the ‘Do’s and ‘Do Not’s of camp, the history of Camp Half-Blood, Buck’s personal history and the assortment of questions that had built up from between Albert’s reveal to Athena’s.
“Remember: Do not name the Gods. Do not talk with anyone or touch anything without my saying so. If something doesn’t look right, do not react… what you’re seeing is undoubtedly far more dangerous than the Mist makes it look.”
“Is this supposed to convince me that camp is safe?” Athena demanded.
Buck cringed but continued to explain the rules, while not looking directly at Athena nor acknowledging the question.
“Do not trust anyone. There are children with magical powers and trickster abilities that can and will lie to you just to fuck with you. Do not be rude to anyone, anyone you speak to in there could be a God or Goddess. Yes, Chimney –“ Buck answered Chimney’s questions as the man opened his mouth, “ – anyone includes the children… sometimes the Gods like to change their forms.”
“That’s real freaky, Buck. You know that, right?” Chimney commented.
Buck, benevolently, ignored him.
“Do not mess with the trees, the lake or the river. Nature spirits live here and they can and will attack you if they think you are disrespecting them. If you somehow find yourself separated from the group, use one of the flares provided, so a camper can find you and stop the hellhound from attacking you.”
Buck pulled out five flares from his bag, unaware of the newly horrified expressions donning all five of their faces.
“Again, is this supposed to convince me camp is normal?”
Buck frowned. “Camp isn’t normal. It’s full of demi-gods. It is, however, safer than the kids being left to their own devices or, worse, being in the hands of mortals who are scared of them and what they can do.”
This time, Athena nodded, reluctantly understanding.
She’d seen a lot in her time in the police force; people reacting badly when they encounter things – or people – they don’t understand. Someone who doesn’t know about the Greek Gods, could react very badly with a child who isn’t in full control of their powers. A child who wouldn’t be able to defend themselves when put in a dangerous situation for the first time.
“Also… for the food, do not accept it unless I tell you it’s safe. There’s a lot of food here that are cooked with trace amounts of nectar and ambrosia, and if any of you eat that, it can burn you from the inside out. No, that is not an exaggeration.”
If any of the 118 had been excited about getting to see myths and legends in the flesh, the extensive pep talk was bringing them back down to earth fast.
“Do not enter any building without my permission… especially the cabins. Some of the Gods don’t allow anyone besides their own children in their cabins, and they will strike you down if anyone else goes in.”
Buck mentally recited his list again. “I think that’s it.”
“Oh, is that all?” Hen asked, snarkily.
“Oh –“ Buck remembered. “ – don’t mention the Romans. Like, at all, if you can help it. It won’t get you killed or anything, just the other Greeks don’t really like it.”
“And, lastly. I don’t know what the rest of you will be seeing in there, but Eddie –” Buck turned to man, “You’ll be able to see everything in there. And yes, what you see will be real. It is insane, and I really don’t know what else to tell you.”
“Gee, thanks Buck.” Eddie responded as Buck turned to face the archway fully. He followed Buck’s gaze and read the words on the archway, under his breath. “Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.”
****
Buck entered the camp warily.
The path at the entrance was empty, too empty.
He checked his watch; it was only ten in the morning, normally at this time – no matter if it was summer or not – there would be a whole host of activities going on. But, as they passed the Big House, no-one was there.
The forge had no sounds of tinkering or repairs. The archery had no whizzing of arrows. The arena had no clinking of metal-on-metal or sword-on-shield.
As the group approached the dining pavilion, the home of the Hearth, Buck could see a make-shift banner hung above the pillars.
‘Welcome to the cult’ written in bold letters.
It was hand-made and, obviously, the work of collaboration between multiple cabins; with the art work, the glitter and weaving. It was garish. Buck both hated and loved it in equal measure.
There was a small crowd congregating underneath it, full of very excitable people.
“Are they all campers?” Bobby asked.
“No.” Buck felt the resignation hit him. They couldn’t have just pretended to be normal, for even one day. “No, they’re distinctly not all campers.”
Evidently news of Buck’s arrival – as well as the people suspecting him of being in a cult accompanying him – had spread like Greek wildfire; as there was a mix of both current campers and a dozen former campers spread out, the older ones with mirthful grins donned on their faces.
Buck could make out the reassuring figure of Pollux in the background, chatting to the young Eric, as well as Nico and Will sat on the stairs, flanked by the Stoll brothers, as well as countless more.
The more, the merrier, Buck sighed internally.
“I guess there are more people who can answer your questions, ‘Thena.”
“How’d that man in the wheelchair get up all those stairs? This place doesn’t seem the most wheelchair accessible.” Chimney whispered to Buck.
Eddie choked. “Wheelchair?! That man is a horse.”
The group stopped abruptly, everyone turning to look back between Eddie and Chimney, then back to Buck as though seeking confirmation.
“Technically, Chiron’s a centaur. I told you this already. I would really advise you don’t call him a horse to his face. It’s offensive.” Buck hissed. “And before you ask, there are also half-goats here, they’re called satyrs, not fauns. Fauns are Roman.”
As they arrived at the dining pavilion, Buck was mobbed by people.
Half of them reaching for hugs and another barrage of people holding their wrists up, expectantly. Buck rolled his eyes in acknowledgment, reached into his bag and started pulling out new handmade protection bracelets for everyone.
“Buck!” Eric pushed his way through the sea of people to the front, smug grin on his face. “I see my plan worked, then?”
“Eric! It’s good to see you! You’ve settled in alright, yeah?”
“Yeah, the cult stories made me really popular with my siblings!”
Buck’s own smile widened. “I’m glad. Guys, this is Eric, son of Athena. As in the immortal, Godly being that is. Eric, this is the 118, my family! That’s Bobby, Eddie, Chimney, Hen and Sergeant Grant.” He pointed each of them out accordingly, saying Athena’s title with an apologetic wince.
As he’d explained to her beforehand, while he’d had six months to prepare himself to say a butchered version of her name, he didn’t think many in camp would be brave enough to do so. She’d agreed with the decision to primarily refer to her by her title, rather than her first name. If it made people more likely to answer her questions, she’d go by Sergeant Grant instead.
“Home Boy!” Clarisse called out.
Buck turned, startled.
Given how tall Clarisse was, he was surprised he hadn’t spotted her in the crowd on approach. “Clarisse! It’s good to see you.”
Clarisse nodded to him, casually waving to the group.
Buck introduced her. “Clarisse, daughter of Ares. Meet the team… again.”
“I see you finally found out the truth then, huh, pig?” She flashed Athena a mean and somewhat pointed grin, which Athena graciously ignored; Clarisse was only trying to start a fight, as Athena could only assume children of Ares were wont to do.
Chimney clamped a firm hand on Bobby’s shoulder, preventing the man from properly reacting to Clarisse’s epithet.
“Alright, that’s enough. Buzz off, Clarisse, stop scaring them.” Clarisse turned behind her giving a vicious look, before stomping off. From behind her, Pollux emerged. “Buck!”
“Pollux!”
Buck opened his arms automatically, Pollux threw himself into them, hugging him tightly.
While it hadn’t been that long since they’d seen each other, Buck had missed the other man. No matter how far apart they lived, there was always a part of Buck that stayed with Pollux. They’d been through too much together for there not to be.
Pulling away, Buck let himself see Pollux again.
There were a couple of new wrinkles around his eyes, but his hair was styled artfully and clothes were practically fashionable, no Hawaiian shirt or sandals in sight.
“Did you dress up for this?” Buck asked, bemusedly.
“Of course I did! It’s not like we get mortals coming to visit every other Tuesday.” He puffed out his chest. “I am your official tour guide for today. I am Pollux, son of Dionysus. And Buck’s best friend.”
“That’s actually Castor.” Buck sniped.
“Well, he’s dead, and I’m the next best thing. So, you have to deal with it.”
The group watched the exchange, horrified, but Buck and Pollux only held their gazes for another second or two before falling into raucous laughter.
It was how Pollux and Buck dealt with Castor’s loss; they couldn’t just go about their lives pretending as though he didn’t exist, Pollux couldn’t even look in the mirror without being reminded of Castor, so mentioning him casually, remembering him, was far better than the alternative. Forgetting would be worse, much worse.
Buck rushed to introduce the team back, with Pollux making exclamations as he did, ‘Oh, so you’re the one who got a pole stuck through the head! That’s so metal’ and ‘Buck said you’re called the Goddess of Wisdom… I’ll just call you A. Is that good?’ and ‘You’re Eddie?!’
At the last one, Pollux gave Eddie a full up and down, assessing. Looking back to Buck, he gave a covert – as much as he could anyway – nod of approval. Buck blushed, immediately.
“So, what’s your dad’s deal then?” Chimney asked, interestedly. “If he’s Diony–“
“No names, Chim.” Buck interrupted, quickly. He glanced around furtively, hoping Mr. D wasn’t in the immediate vicinity. “We talked about this.”
“But Pollux just said his dad’s name !” Chimney argued.
Pollux snorted. “Dad’s the God of Wine, Madness and Festivity. Don’t worry, he won’t turn any of you insane, I can promise you that –“
“Was that a genuine concern?” Hen whispered to Chimney.
“You’re all the most interesting part of the last decade. He doesn’t get much entertainment during his exile here so –“ Buck hears Eddie repeat ‘Exile?!’ and shook his head exasperated. “– he’s been enjoying your cult stories! He’s even coming along to the campfire tonight to meet you all.”
At this, Buck was genuinely baffled.
He couldn’t comprehend the idea that the stories of his so-called ‘cult’ had spread so far, nor why everyone seemed to love them so much. He would have thought Mr D. of all people – or any of the Gods, really – would be more disdainful about the whole affair.
“Wait,” Hen said, confused. “I thought campers didn’t have much to do with your parents… but you –?” She let her question trail off, suggestively, but Pollux picked up what she was putting down.
“Well, yeah, but ou–my dad is the Camp Director. As I said, he got exiled here for 100 years as punishment… though his rehabilitation sentence has since been reduced to 50 years instead.”
“Punishment? For what?” Athena asked, thinking back to what Will had told her about his father’s torture.
“Meh,” Pollux shrugged. “The usual, chasing after a wood nymph.”
As the tour started, they passed the climbing wall first.
“You have an assault course, that’s so cool!” Chimney commented, excitedly.
“Is that lava?!” Eddie exclaimed, decidedly less excited.
“Wait, like, actual lava?” Hen clarified. At Buck and Pollux’s answering nods, she asked. “What if people fall in?”
“Then, I guess they learn fast, or they save the monsters the trouble.” Pollux laughed, shrugging, seemingly unaware or uncaring of the reaction his words caused.
Buck refrained, barely, from facepalming.
A whizzing noise sounded.
Buck felt his vision sharpen, instinctively. Only due to years spent on the archery range with the Apollo cabin, and instincts honed, meant that Buck found himself reflexively catching an arrow only inches from Chimney’s face.
“We’re next to the archery range.” Buck offered, unnecessarily.
Chimney’s eyes went cross-eyed to stare at the arrow in Buck’s hand. It was near enough to the old re-bar scar of Chimney’s, that Chimney rubbed it, looking a little green. “Did someone shoot that at me?”
Buck shrugged. “Probably not, they likely just missed their target. Look –“ He pointed to the rows of campers – ranging between seven and twelve – all with bows and arrows in hand, quivers on their backs.
“Are they shooting apples off each other’s heads?!” Hen cried.
Buck blinked. He glanced back at the range and, sure enough, there was a row of older kids, between twelve and seventeen, lined up with apples of various sizes perched on their heads. He surmised they were, in fact, shooting arrows off the older kids’ heads.
“Well, yeah. How else can you gauge how good they are?” Pollux asked, baffled at their dismay.
Athena shot Buck a pointed look.
He slid his way over to her side. “It’s not as dangerous as it looks, okay?” Buck didn’t know if he was trying to convince her or himself. He’d never really applied a mortal lens to the shenanigans he saw at camp; they were literally worlds apart.
“It’s negligent at best, Buck.” Athena mouthed. “It could get someone killed at worst.”
“Demi-gods are taught how to safely catch arrows, before being allowed to shoot them… or stand as a target for them.”
Athena could only ‘hmm’ judgementally in response.
The conversation between the team and Pollux had continued without Buck, with Bobby asking curiously. “What about this Capture the Flag you mentioned? Is it like touch football? You touch and you’re out?”
Buck laughed, clutching Pollux as he did, fighting back tears of mirth. Touch and you’re out for Capture the Flag? That’s hilarious!
Glancing back to the group, however, he saw Bobby’s serious expression looking back at him. He cut his laughter off abruptly and elbowed Pollux to stop his laughter in its tracks.
Clearing his throat, Pollux answered. “Um, no. But there’s a no killing or permanently maiming rule. See there’s a sign over there!” He pointed to a large sign on the front of the arena, one that was dotted repeatedly around camp as though to remind people of the rule. “Anything up to and including harming temporarily, kidnapping and blackmail are all free-game, of course. How else are you supposed to prepare for the real world?”
“The real world.” Hen repeated, appalled.
Of course, Buck understood the logic; the constant threat of attack, kidnapping or murder, once you were on your own, would be entirely intolerable, if demi-gods weren’t trained from childhood how to withstand such things. And Castor and Pollux, who’d been year-rounders from an even younger age than Buck, would have been assimilated into this since before their memories could form. Buck doubted Pollux knew why the team would find what he was saying odd.
“Yeah. It has to be taught.” Pollux continued. “Do you want the kids to die the moment they leave camp? It’s all about life skills.”
Life skills, Bobby considered, were things like doing taxes, knowing how to do your laundry and learning to drive. What a life these demi-gods live, that their version of life skills was learning to climb a lava wall, how to evade an attack, avoid a kidnapping and know how to shoot arrows with such precision.
“Plus, if you win, you don’t have to do the dish duty!” Pollux grinned, obliviously. “Some cabins save their contraband up for the week to trade in order to get other cabins on side. You do not want to be up against the Athena cabin. And ever since more of the minor Gods’ kids have joined, they’ve really thrown a spanner in the works.”
“Yeah?” Buck asked, interest piqued.
“Yeah. They’re more difficult to predict.” Pollux smiled mischievously. “I’ve not seen all of them fight yet, but some of the younger kids were saying that it’s hard to know what powers the minor demi-gods have; they don’t have loads of kids to compare with, you know? Really changes things when you have a child of Tyche or Nike on the team, especially. Similar to your ‘Home’ advantage, Buck.”
Pollux nudged Buck, with a sly grin.
“You participated in Capture the Flag?” Bobby asked, alarmed.
Buck shrugged. “Once or twice. They stopped allowing me because my powers of ‘Home’ gave the team I was on an advantage. But I was never as good as the others at sword fighting or archery.”
“Speaking of swords, come see the arena!“ Pollux made a grand gestured towards the stadium to their right.
“You said you know how to sword fight, right?” Hen asked, curiously.
Pollux scoffed, jokingly.
Buck flipped him the bird in response.
“Can we see you fight?” Chimney asked, eagerly.
Buck peaked around the pillars, spying Clarisse in the arena already, demonstrating to a group of ten-year-olds how to destroy the training dummies. Clarisse decapitated one of them viciously, grin broad spread across her face.
“Uh –“ Buck gulped, nervously. “ – maybe we’ll leave that to another time, yeah?”
“You promise you’ll show us another time though?”
“Promise.” Buck nodded.
****
The tour continued to the forge, though they didn’t dare to enter; the roar of the fire could be heard even outside, and the heat emanating from the building was overwhelming.
Pollux narrated the whole tour, pointing the buildings out, with only minor surprises on route. The Pegasus stable captured Eddie’s interest, though it was more morbid curiosity than genuine enjoyment.
“Will we check out the forest?” Bobby asked, pointing towards the North Wood.
Buck and Pollux shared a loaded glance.
In the years since the Battle of the Labyrinth, Buck and Pollux had rarely been back to the Woods; the scars of the fight remained, both in the landscape itself that had grown since and in the minds of the young men. Despite both being year-rounders, confined to the borders of camp, they only went into the wood for the yearly memorial of the battle in the years that followed.
“No.” Buck answered, firmly. Bobby and Athena shared a glance of their own, seeming to catch the stiff response.
“We don’t tend to go to North Wood.” Pollux offered. “That’s where the Battle of the Labyrinth took place.”
The 118 looked at each other, as though to check if any of the rest of them knew what that was. Given the context of Buck being a child soldier, they could all make the connection that the ‘battle’ that took place wasn’t a fond memory for the two demi-gods.
“We won’t go there then.” Eddie affirmed, reaching to Buck’s shoulder, comfortingly.
“Best not anyway,” Buck agreed, glancing at Eddie and giving him a small smile, trying to shift the newly gloomy atmosphere. “ – the nature spirits in there don’t like when strangers disturb them.”
By the time they reached the Dining Pavilion, it was lunchtime.
Younger kids were milling around the hall, several of them lighting up as they saw Buck and the group approach. They scampered back into the pavilion, excitedly.
As they entered the pavilion, Buck felt his attention drawn to the centre of the pavilion: the Hearth. In amongst the flames, the silhouette of Hestia appeared. His mother met his eyes, winking mischievously, before dissipating into smoke.
Buck beamed at the welcome.
“Are you glowing?” Came the surprised exclamation from Chimney.
“What?”
“What.”
“Glowing?”
Came the overlapping responses from Hen, Bobby and Athena.
“You’ve seen me glow before.” Buck replied to Chimney, “ – you know, when I showed you my fire balls.”
“Yeah, but this is something else.” Chimney insisted, waving a hand broadly towards Buck’s entire body.
“He’s right, though. You’re glowing far more than usual.” Eddie agreed.
“Wait. You normally glow?” Athena asked, eyes narrowed with interest.
Buck rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed.
He could feel the glowing waxing and waning erratically, looking over to the Hearth, he noted a few of the younger kids throwing sacrifices into the Hearth; each of them stopping to see how it affected Buck’s glowing, then doing it again with gusto.
Buck let out an amused huff.
He was used to new campers doing something similar, even since he joined camp. It had been a while since he’d visited during dinner, however, so it felt novel once more.
“It’s the sacrifices.” Buck nodded to the children by the Hearth. “My mother is Hestia, Goddess of Home, Hearth and Sacrifice. I gain strength from the sacrifices at lunch and dinner – similar to the Gods and Hestia – but being so close to the Hearth increases its potency. Especially when it’s actual believers, and their children are always the biggest believers.”
Athena’s gaze sharpened.
“The sacrifices are food for the Gods?” She asked, tone pitched to be light, but gaze focused.
“Yeah, they feed off the energy of it.” Buck nodded.
“And their main source of energy is from their children’s sacrifices?” Athena asked, eyebrows raised.
“Yeah?” Buck answered, guilelessly. “Why?”
“Oh, nothing.” Athena obfuscated, but internally, her mind whirled at the new information. No wonder they ended up having so many children, despite the danger it posed to the children when born.
The conversation washed over her, as she considered the information, thoughtfully.
****
As lunch came to a close, the kids dispersed, leaving a few of the older ex-campers and the 118. Buck spotted Nico and Will lingering by the Hearth, Nico in low conversation with Hestia.
Buck motioned for the team to join him, approaching the Hearth with excitement.
Hestia was shrouded, as usual, in the fire. Her form solid, wrapped in a simple brown shawl. Unlike the last time the team saw her, she wasn’t in her adult form, instead she presented as an eight-year-old; her eyes the only thing that betrayed her age, as their depths remained timeless, amber and pulse in tandem with the fire.
“Sorry, Nico, do you mind if I –?” Nico glanced up, nodding with a small smile. “Everyone, this is Hestia, my mother. Mother, this is the 118. You know Bobby from the fire, Eddie, Hen, Chimney and, of course, Sergeant Grant.”
Chimney and Hen traded uneasy glances at the introduction; an eight-year-old being presented as Buck’s mother, no matter the fact that they knew her to be a literal God and older than all of them combined, was disconcerting.
“Welcome to my Hearth, family of Evan Buckley.” Hestia nodded.
She reached out a hand towards Buck, him ducking his head automatically so she could reach. Her hand, still wreathed in flames, met his head in a reverent gesture.
Bobby started forwards, seeing Buck appearing to be engulfed in flames by Hestia’s hand, only to be pulled back by Eddie and Chimney.
“It is good to meet you again. I’m especially glad that you all no longer think I kidnapped or stole Evan.” Hestia commented with a pained look.
“No, of course not! I was given to you.” Buck asserted, assuredly.
Behind him, Pollux smothered a laugh.
“Yeah, because that sounds so much better, Buck.” Bobby remarked with a scowl.
Buck blinked, bewildered. “I don’t – uh, is that another one of those –?“
“Things that concern mortal people? Yes, Buck, it is.” Eddie interjected, similarly unamused.
“Noted.” Buck said.
Athena cleared her throat, catching the attention of the group – including Hestia – she edged forward, stopping when the flames became too hot.
“I am Sergeant Grant, as Buck said. He brought me here because I’m worried about the campers, past and present. I don’t believe they should be being made to fight; they’re children. The fact that so many died in battle is wrong, it’s – “
“We didn’t use to have this camp, you know.” Hestia started, tone conversational, though Buck could detect and undercurrent of burning anger in her voice. “In older times, we would give our children gifts and tell them of their potential, but they were left to their own devices. Free to wander and live their lives.”
The group listened, enrapture by the storytelling quality that lined her voice.
“Those lives weren’t very long.”
Bobby inhaled sharply.
The demi-gods present – Nico, Will, Buck and Pollux – lowered their heads marginally, all thinking of the demi-gods before them, those they’d lost and the ones that hadn’t even had the chance to reach adulthood. Bianca, Castor, Lee Fletcher, Michael Yew, Beckendorf and the countless unnamed demi-gods lost to time.
“We don’t have children with the intention of making them fight, Athena Grant.” Hestia made a face and amended. “Except maybe my nephew, Ares, of course. We just want them to grow up and live full lives.” Hestia turned to look at Athena as she spoke. “You may embody the true spirit of Themis and Nemesis, but you don’t know the true powers of the Gods. If you did, you would stop with your investigation before you get burned.”
Buck cringed at Hestia’s words.
“Since Camp Half-Blood’s inception, and Chiron’s instruction, I’ve seen more demi-gods live past eighteen than ever before. Especially since the changes installed after the Titan War, when Percy declined a Godhood and requested for the Gods better claim and guide his children.”
“Percy declined what?!” Athena breathed, not reconciling the Percy, that she met a week or so before, and the War-Hero-Percy that turned down a Godhood.
“None of it is ideal, but it’s so much better than before. I do what I can to convince my siblings to spend time with their children and watch over them… and now, there’s a whole generation of demi-gods your age.” Hestia turned back to Buck, Will, Nico and Pollux all standing together, her eyes glowing with pride. “And I trust that you will continue to look out for one another.” They each dipped their heads towards her in respectful agreement.
She turned back to Athena, expression morphing into something more serious.
“I appreciate what you are trying to do for my son and his friends, Athena Grant. But your efforts will not have the effect you intend. And I do not wish to see more families torn apart as a result of something preventable. So, listen to me on this: do not continue your crusade.”
Athena straightened, as though poised to interrupt or argue, but Hestia continued talking.
“There are other ways you can take up the fight. Work with the chiefs of the police station, join their network and help children get to safety. Keep striving for justice by protecting those children who end up on the street, with no Home. Help them find their way, and you will keep making a difference.”
“What if that’s not enough?” Athena asked.
“Then recruit more people to your cause, Athena Grant. Make it enough. If you try to fight the Gods, you will be struck down, that is a promise.”
“Mom –“ Buck moved closer – made easier by the fact that the rest of the 118 and associated demi-gods were stepping back from the heat – and patted Hestia’s shoulder soothingly. “ – she’s not going to make trouble. She promised.” Buck turned an expectant stare to Athena. “Right, 'Thena?”
Athena felt, once again, the warring of emotions inside her.
She wanted to wage war against the Gods, to stock up celestial bronze bullets and fight monsters and Gods until they all agreed to leave demi-gods – both adults and children – alone. And, she might still stock up on the celestial bronze bullets anyway; it never hurt to be prepared. But the longer Hestia spoke and the more Buck warned her, she wasn’t certain that waging a war would be effective.
She had Harry and May – and Buck – to think about. None of whom would be safe if she took things further.
“Right.” Athena concurred, finally.
The reluctance was discernible in her voice, but the approval was enough for Buck.
Athena mulled over Hestia’s words, the recommendations the Goddess had given. She could join Chief Parker’s network; she could help demi-gods be safe and get home. With everything she’d seen during the tour of Camp Half-Blood, she could also help them install better Health and Safety procedures, or procedures for children of the Gods to be re-integrated into mortal society.
Thinking on her meeting with Percy Jackson, she recalled his step-father – Paul Blowfis – and the previous step-father – Gabe Ugliano – and wondered what systems demi-gods had in place to introduce a complete unknown to the life of a demi-god.
How could they assess if it was safe or not? What safe-guarding did the demi-gods have if their family or extended family didn’t react well?
There was work she could to do help demi-gods, now that she knew the truth. And while she would love to take everything directly to the Gods, she had no support nor immunity to do so. Everything Hestia was suggesting, was something attainable that she could do to help.
And, by the Gods, Athena would see it done.
Admittedly, if Athena was fully planning to make sacrifices to the Gods, ones made of trash and the most repulsive things she could think of, that was her own prerogative.
****
The group was quiet on the walk to the Big House; the conversation with Hestia having given them – especially Athena – plenty to think about. There was still more to see from camp, including the cabins themselves – not that they would go inside of them – the Big House and the Fireworks Beach. The group continued on, Pollux’s continual narration, a comforting background noise for the team.
As they arrived to the Big House, Athena spotted a familiar woman, with red curls reaching her back and a warm smile painting her face. It was Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
“Rachel!” Buck called out, waving his hands unnecessarily high. “How’ve you been?”
“Good, Buck.” Her eyes scanned the group, with interest. “I never thought I’d see the day where someone convinced Chiron to allow a group of mortals into camp. I practically had to beg to enter, and I’m the Oracle of Delphi.”
“Oracle?” Eddie reared back.
“You can see the future?!” Chimney’s voice rose in astonishment, eagerness lighting up his face.
Rachel laughed. “Not quite see the future. I get visions, sometimes, that help to guide us. And I can give prophecies to demi-gods leaving on quests.”
“Were you born with the ability?” Hen asked.
Rachel made a ‘so-so’ motion. “Some. I was able to see fragments of the future and destinies of others, through my paintings. But when I took over as the Oracle, my abilities grew stronger, though that’s separate to the prophecies I give as that’s me being the Host of the Oracle of Delphi.”
“Host?” Athena asked, alarmed.
“Yeah.” Rachel answered, looking at Athena as though she was the one saying something weird. “I pledged myself to Apollo and accepted the role of hosting the spirit of Delphi. Now, I’m the Oracle.”
“Are there multiple Oracles then?” Chimney asked, interestedly.
“Uh, no.” Rachel’s eyes flickered to Buck’s, as though asking if she should continue. Buck shrugged in response. If the 118 wanted to know, she might as well tell them. “The previous oracle was a mummified corpse.”
“What.”
“What?!”
“Yeah.” Buck awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “Nico’s dad cursed the previous Oracle because she predicted a child of the ‘Big Three’, as in Thalia’s Dad, Nico’s dad and Percy’s –“ Buck explained, when the other’s looked confused. “ – would either save or destroy Olympus.”
Rachel nodded along with Buck and continued. “So, Zeus banned all three of them from having children… not that it stopped any of them, of course.” Rachel added dryly. “Hades had fallen in love with Maria di Angelo and already had both Nico and Bianca, so Zeus tried to kill them, but only succeeded in killing Maria. Hades blamed the Oracle for her prediction and cursed her to remain the host, even upon death, until his children were safe once more.”
There was a beat of silence from the 118 as Rachel finished.
Chimney turned to Buck. “Your life is weird, man.”
“Does the seeing the future mean you can know when I was calling into Dare Enterprises?” Athena asked. “Did you know I was there?”
The unspoken question of ‘were you purposefully avoiding me?’ was left hanging.
“Why does everyone always think that?” Rachel muttered to herself, before answering Athena at a normal volume. “I wasn't avoiding you. I had to help a quest to save the world; Minas trying to coup the underworld.”
“What?” Buck turned to Rachel, startled. “Really? Nico didn’t mention that to–“
“No!” Rachel snapped. “You know, sometimes I have my own life! I was performing with my marching band in Montana and had no signal service. I assumed if it was urgent, people would ‘IM’ me or shadow travel to come get me.”
“Oh.” Buck said, lamely. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“I think we would’ve known if anyone was trying to coup the underworld, Buck.” Pollux laughed, shaking his head at Buck’s guilelessness.
“Hey!” Buck countered, offended. “Weirder things have happened. Like when Morpheus caused the mass sleeping incident during the Battle of Manhattan!”
“What?!”
“Don’t worry about it.” Buck waved off the concerned 118 members, glancing back to Pollux. “Shall we go show them the cabins?”
Pollux grinned. “Yeah, let’s go.”