Again with the Trees?

After leaving Annabeth, I practiced at the sparring circle, using a gladius against the straw dummy.

When the dinner bell finally rang, I sighed, put my weapons away, then I headed to the dining hall.

"Perseus," Amphitrite greeted as soon as I entered the hall. "Is everything alright?"

"Not bad," I said as I sat down. "Zoë, were you able to learn anything about your new powers?"

"It is as the Fates stated," Zoë said. "If I feel the hot emotions, I may channel it into a field of that emotion."

"Cool," I said.

"Nay, it is hot," Zoë said.

I looked at her in confusion, then when I realized that she was trying to correct me about whether her powers were cold or not, I started laughing.

"Never change, Zoë," I said. "Never change."

Zoë raised an eyebrow at me, and I explained what calling something cool meant.

"Thou change the language much too frequently," Zoë said with a playful scowl.

"I agree," Amphitrite said. "Anyway, that is not what's important."

"Arf! What is important to you?" Annabeth asked.

"Sally is," Amphitrite said. "She's at -19 Charis right now, and if Percy doesn't take her, she'll be at -23. That's dangerous numbers right there."

"I already said Aunt Sally was different, arf," Annabeth glared. "Don't think you're getting your way to an exemption too, woof!"

"The choice shouldn't be yours to make, it should be Perseus'," Zoë said. "Unless you are queen, all responsibility about choosing other queens should be with Perseus."

"Let's all talk about this calmly," Mom interjected. "Logically speaking, none of us can go without sex with Percy past this Season, and even that is proving to be difficult, if not impossible for some of us. Instead of you having to fight off everyone, how about you choose who you're willing to let into the circle, so to speak, and they'll help you fight off anyone not in the circle."

"I don't think I should be **** into a situation like that, ARF!" Annabeth said.

From Mom's expression, I knew that she was about to say something absolutely cruel.

"And I don't think I approve you as a partner for Percy as a god," Mom shot back, drawing a gasp from several of us. "Dont get me wrong, you're a good person, but you act so much like the Olympians, it's worrying! Even Amphitrite acts better than you!"

Annabeth stood up angrily. "I take back my allowance for you to have sex with him, Sally."

Annabeth left the room in a huff, yipping as she left.

Mom sighed. "Percy, I did mean what I said to a certain extent. She's good as a partner for you when you were human, great even, but I don't think that she's who you'd want as your main queen."

I lowered my head morosely, and everyone quietly finished their dinner and headed out, except for Zoë.

"Would you like to speak of what thy mother said?" Zoë asked.

"I hate that I can understand what she means," I said. "Zoë, do you think we are doomed to repeat their mistakes?"

"Definitely not," Zoë said. "Although I may dislike the Fates, they did speak a truth. The Gods were better than the Titans, so we must be better than them. We must aim at being the best, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah," I said. "Even when we don't like it, I suppose."

"Especially then," Zoë said. "Go to sleep, my king. I shall see you tomorrow."

I got up, my heart slightly calmer, and I went to bed.

---

3 Charis Lost by Clarisse LaRue: Failed her PTF requirement.

3 Charis Lost by Annabeth Chase: Failed her PTF requirement.

4 Charis Lost by Sally Jackson: Failed her PTF requirement.

I rubbed my eyes as the mental notifications from the Fates woke me up.

I freshened up, then I headed to breakfast.

As soon as I sat down, Atropos flashed in. "We are now at the last stretch of this Season," Atropos said. "Here are your Charis Rankings."

Charis Rankings

1. Rachel Elizabeth Dare (21 Charis)

2. Zoë Nightshade (15 Charis)

3. Amphitrite (13 Charis)

4. Clarisse LaRue (2 Charis)

5. Lucia Castellan (-3 Charis)

6. Annabeth Chase (-12 Charis)

7. Sally Jackson (-23 Charis)

8. Sadie Kane (-24 Charis)

9. Juno (-44 Charis)

"I look forward to seeing the end of this Season," Atropos said, then she vanished.

"Have you noticed how they took the segments of the Season?" Rachel asked. "Clotho first, then Lachesis, now, it's Atropos."

"There always was rhyme to their reason," Amphitrite said.

"They have things hidden throughout the Island," Mom added. "Percy and I found a Cleopatra's Needle, do you have any idea what that could do, Sadie?"

"My mom died at the New York one," Sadie said. "In the old world, my mom used it to trap a chaos beast. I have no idea what it could do."

"Zoë found an imitation of The Garden of Hesperides," I said. "We weren't able to eat the apples because they're locked based off of how many Charis you have."

"How much do you need?" Clarisse asked.

"For me to grab an apple, someone has to have 50 Charis," I said. "On the other hand, you guys need to have 10 Charis to get an apple."

"Zoë, Rachel, and I all have more than 10," Amphitrite said. "Why don't we go there after breakfast, and you and I can have our Date after lunch?"

"That's fine by me," I said.

"Clearly, you don't need me anymore, arf," Annabeth said. "Your mom says one thing and I don't matter."

"You do matter," I said softly. "I'm trying to juggle everything the Fates are throwing at us, Wise Girl. Work with me, please."

Annabeth slammed her palms against the table loudly as she stood up. "I'D WORK WITH YOU IF YOU DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE EVERYONE YOUR DICK, ARF! YOU'RE GOING TO BE AS BAD AS ZEUS, CLEARLY!"

Before I could even process her words, she left.

I started to stand up to follow after her, but Rachel stopped me. "Her problems are something you guys can only work out when she chooses to listen, Perce. You know she won't listen, so don't go and make it worse."

On the other hand, Clarisse was fuming. "She just called him as bad as Zeus. I don't care, I think she deserves something going her way. There's no other way to fix this."

"Percy, a TF or a PTF from the Shop would do wonders here," Lucia offered. As soon as everyone's glares were on her, she turned sheepish. "You know I'm right. Get the right Transformation, and we can fix this easily."

"There is no 'we,' Lucia," I said. "Don't put yourself somewhere you don't belong."

Amphitrite chose to change the topic. "Zoë, you were a Hesperide, correct?"

"Yes," Zoë said.

"I just wasn't sure if you were aware of your half-sister's freedom," Amphitrite said.

"I was," Zoë said. "I saw her attain freedom during my stay in the heavenly orbit. Nevertheless, I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

"Wait, you were actually in the stars?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," Zoë said, confused. "I was under the impression that you all knew that."

"I thought that your story was going to be told in the stars, not that you were the constellation itself," Rachel said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Zoë said.

"Ok, you know what, lemme explain why I'm asking," Rachel said. "I mean, we don't know much, but all we know is that one day, the sky disappeared. Apollo, Artemis, the constellations, all of that kind of just vanished. Do you know what happened?"

Zoë shook her head. "I don't remember that"

"Huh," Clarisse said. "I didn't realize, but I don't remember how I died either. I just know that it happened."

"The Fates locked all of your **** memories," I said. "I figured that out when talking to Annabeth yesterday. Trust me, be thankful that they did, I can't forget what I saw."

"So, you know how I died?" Juno said. "I demand to know how."

I chuckled darkly. "Don't ask for something you can't handle."

Juno stood up and towered over my seat. "You will tell me, or I will use what Drachma I have to sabotage your loved ones."

I stood up angrily, pushing her back roughly. "You want to know how? I'll tell you how. After the sky fell, Olympus was destroyed, so all of you stuck up gods were on ground level with barely any defenses. You were the second Olympian to die, weak ass bitch that you are. All the Pit had to do was send a few hundred hellhounds. Once you died, you resurrected on his skin. The Pit dragged me to where you were coming back, and I was standing behind him in chains. You came out of his pimple, and the first thing you thought was that I sold you out to the Pit. Then he grabbed you by the neck, and slammed you to a wall with a stake that went straight through your heart. You think that's it, though? Fuck no. He used Kronos' power to make you live a hundred years in a second, then he sicced the hellhounds on your limbs. They ate, and ate, and ate, and ate, but you were still there, because you were healing so fast. Every second was filled with you screaming in agony, except for the five seconds after a hound bit your throat. You know what he did next? He sent the hounds away, then he chopped off your legs and arms, fed them to you, then he killed you and took your power for himself. Tell me, did you really wanna hear that?"

I heard a trickling sound, and I looked down to see Juno had pissed herself.

Juno ran away, and I sighed as I sat back down.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to explode like that."

I looked up, and everyone was looking at me in a mixture of pity and horror.

Mom jumped to hug me tightly. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that, Percy."

"It's fine," I lied.

"It's not!" Rachel exclaimed. "If Juno remembered even a little bit of that, she would've been a little fucking scaredy cat, she wouldn't be acting like this! How are you still ok, after seeing everyone, and everything... Die?"

"I'm not," I said truthfully. "It doesn't matter, I can bring you guys to the new world, and none of you have to remember that bullshit, and I'll live happy."

"My Percy," Zoë said softly. "Pain is meant to be shared. No one can shoulder the burden you have on their own, and no one should be **** to shoulder it. For now, let us take your mind off of these horrors, and head to the Garden."

---

Zoë and I led Rachel, Amphitrite, Clarisse, Sadie, and Mom to the Garden.

I was stuck in my head, thinking about the gods that I've seen die. Would I ever see them again? Would I miss them in a million years?

I felt a tug on my hand, and I looked up to see Sadie pulling on her leash that I was holding.

"Daddy, I don't really want to ask this, but why wasn't the destruction limited to the Greek pantheon?" Sadie asked.

I sighed. "I don't know the answer to that. All I know is that after Olympus' fall, all bets were off."

"Other than Perseus, the only one who would be able to know the answer to that would be the Pit, or the Fates," Amphitrite said. "Don't wait on an answer, I doubt we'll ever find it."

Zoë opened the door to the garden, and everyone paused to admire the tree.

I looked to my right, and I saw Rachel, Zoë, and Amphitrite nearly robotically walking towards the tree.

"Rachel?" I called out, but she didn't answer.

I dropped Sadie's leash and ran in front of her and started waving my hand in front of her glazed eyes.

Zoë just walked around me and started going to the tree.

"What's going on?" Mom asked in a panic.

"I don't know!" I exclaimed, holding Zoë back from the tree.

Unfortunately, while I focused on Zoë, Rachel and Amphitrite were able to reach the tree, and they each robotically pulled an apple off.

Suddenly, two blaring mental notifications rang into my head, and I held my head in pain.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare: Apple of 10 Charis, pick 1 of 3

Anteros: Anteros was the Greek god of requited love. Anyone who Rachel loves romantically will find themselves loving her as well.

Hypnos: Hypnos was the Greek god of sleep. Rachel's sleep cycle turns to 16 hours a day, and anyone within 10 feet of her feels drowsy.

Aphrodite Apaturus: A deceitful aspect of the Greek Goddess. Rachel has an inclination to deceitfully acquire partners.

Amphitrite: Apple of 10 Charis, pick 1 of 3

Amphitrite: Amphitrite was the Greek goddess of the encompassing and calm seas. Once a day, Amphitrite can spread an aura that lowers hostilities.

Siren: Sirens of the Seas. Amphitrite now has a melodious voice.

Nereus: The old man of the seas. Amphitrite will take on an elderly form, and she will be able to give answers.

As the Fates battered my mind, I wasn't able to stop Zoë, and she reached the tree as well, grabbing an Apple.

Zoë Nightshade: Apple of 10 Charis, pick 1 of 3

Hyades: the rain bringers. Zoë's normally a body of water.

Orion: the giant of the skies. Zoë blames Artemis for her ****.

Pleiades: sister goddesses of stars and sailing. Zoë now has an extremely accurate map of the Island.

10 Charis Lost by Sadie Kane: Failed her PTF requirement.

Sadie and Mom ran up to me.

"Daddy, are you ok?" Sadie asked as I groaned.

"I just have this message in my head," I groaned. "They're telling me to pick right now, and it's hurting my head, and —"

"Hey, it's ok," Mom said, setting me down and laying my head in her lap. "Just do what you think is best."

Soldiering through my pain, I mentally picked Anteros for Rachel, Amphitrite for Amphitrite, and Pleiades for Zoë.

Immediately, the pain went away, and I heard the distinct sound of apples being bitten.

I sat up, and I saw Amphitrite, Rachel, and Zoë finish their apples, then their eyes cleared up.

"What happened?" Amphitrite asked confusedly. "We just entered the Garden, why do I have an apple core in my hand?"

I was about to respond, then the raging headache came back with a new message from the Fates.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare: Apple of 20 Charis, pick 1 of 3.

Apollo Paean: One of the healing aspects of the Greek god. Rachel now has a rejuvenating aura.

Apollo Musagetes: The artistic aspect of the Greek god. Rachel talks in rhyme and stanza.

Lester Papadopoulos: The mortal alias of the Greek God, servant of Meg McCaffrey. Rachel is now compelled to call Perseus "Master."

Vote Here

I groaned through the pain as I picked Apollo Paean, then the pain once more subsided.

"Oh my god," Rachel said as she came back to herself. "That was so weird."

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said, palming the apple. "The Fates said we could go for lunch, and by then the decision for this apple would be made."

"Either way, we're not coming back here," I said angrily, taking Sadie's leash as we left the garden.

Soon, I'd learn how wrong I was.