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After the battle, Zoe was in bad shape. Artemis feared that she wouldn’t make it.
One shall perish by their parent’s hand.
But she did . Apollo healed her personally, and she was fine.
I’ve learnt that Prophecies don’t always become complete the second your quest is over- Luke was a friend and he betrayed me- but Apollo told us that the prophecy was complete.
I found out why soon enough.
“I hath left the hunt.” Zoe announced when we were able to see her after the council meeting.
“What? Why?” I asked, shocked. “You’ve been a huntress for thousands of years!”
She looked sad, yet determined. “Without the Hunt’s immortality, I shall perish. The prophecy hath been fulfilled. I hath taken Fate in mine own hands, mine death shall be on mine own terms.”
It took me a few seconds to realise exactly what she meant, by then Thalia was accepting to take over as Lieutenant and Annabeth was blinking back tears.
“Are you sure, Zoe?” I asked, “You love being a huntress. You’re so proud of being one.”
She frowned, “I hath made up mine mind, thou should not question me.”
I nodded, “Of course. What are you going to do now?”
She looked lost, nobody had asked her what was happening next. “I-” her voice broke, “I don’t know. I suppose I hath to ask Lady Artemis, though I do not wish to burden her with mine leaving any more.”
“You can stay with me!” I blurted.
Thalia and Annabeth gave me an incredulous look, and Zoe looked like she was about to refuse against ever staying with a ‘boy.’
“I mean,” I blushed. “Mom wouldn’t mind, she always says she wants another girl in the house, and we have a spare room. You can totally come live with us.”
Zoe blinked, and honestly looked like she was contemplating it. “I would prefer to talk to thy mother directly first.”
Mom said yes.
-
“Perseus, please, convince thy mother that I do not require so much.” Zoe gave me pleading eyes, which is the first time she’s ever asked me for anything.
“Mom, I don’t think Zoe has enough jackets,” I said while staring straight into Zoe’s eyes, the picture of pure innocence. “Maybe we should get another hoodie?”
Zoe’s glare promised me a slow death.
Since Zoe had left the hunters, she couldn’t exactly continue to wear her huntress outfit, so we were at the mall. She had been borrowing mom’s and I’s clothes for the past week, and was currently wearing my jeans under one of mom’s old dresses.
“Here dear, yellow works perfectly against your dark tone,” Mom held up a yellow Star Trek hoodie to Zoe, measuring with her eyes the size. “Don’t you think, Percy?”
Zoe was several shades darker than me- living true to her last name of Nightshade. “Yep. And the cobalt one too, that’ll match nice too.”
“You shall die in seven days,” Zoe hissed at me. I smiled, and ducked her swing.
“Oh! I should probably make an appointment with our hairstylist too, being out of the hunt means your hair won’t be immortally good in that single braid anymore, no matter how much gel we put on there. Or would you prefer me to do your hair? I have some experience getting a wriggling Percy into cornrows, I can probably give you some box braids if you like.” Mom commented, and I broke down at Zoe’s absolutely horrified expression.
Ah, the shared horrible experience of sitting a chair for hours trying to wrangle curls into braids, all while your scalp screams in pain.
“Uh,” She looked like a deer in headlights. “Could thou do some larger braids in mine hair? Mayhaps four rows of them? That will take less time.”
Mom smiled, “Goddess braids? Sure dear, and we’ll stop for more gel and some extensions. You want them to match your hair or add some color?”
Zoe blinked, “There are different colors?”
I nodded, “Yep. Mom likes the blonde-brown ones, but there’s everything from hot pink to white.”
“Uhm,” Zoe bit her lip. “Can thou choose for me, Mistress Jackson?”
“Sure.” Mom told her, then turned back to her shopping. “Do you want more skirts too?”
-
“I dislike school,” Zoe grumbled.
She has been Dress Coded no less than three times that I have known of, and today she’s managed to get a fifth detention. At least I’m also in detention with her.
“Doesn’t everyone?” I sighed, running my hand through my hair. “What did you even do?”
I could practically hear her grinding her teeth, “I yelled at a teacher.”
“Woah!” I quickly stood up straight from where I was slouching against the wall, “I thought you just forgot your homework again; why were you yelling at a teacher?”
“ He ,” She hissed out. “Told me that I have to cover my shoulders because I was distracting him. I asked him why a grown man was being distracted by his student’s shoulders.”
I frowned, “That’s not right. Have you told the principal? We can call mom in, you can fight this, you know.”
She eyed me, and said a terse, “Thank you. I shall speak with thine mother this afternoon.”
Her speech had gotten a lot better over these past four months, though she kept slipping into some older syntax whenever she was angry. Like now.
I let cool off silently for a few minutes, waiting for her to come to me when she was calm again.
She turned to me after a while, “Why do you have detention?”
“Speaking out of turn,” I shrugged. “Didn’t realise I was verbal stimming until Ms Rawking was telling me off for it.”
She scowled, “That’s not right either.”
“It was during a quiz. I was interrupting others,” I brushed it off. I was upset at the detention too, but Zoe was being punished more unfairly than I am, I have no reason to whine.
“It’s still not right- doesn’t your teacher realise you have ADHD?”
I shrugged, “I’ll be fine.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but the teacher that was taking us for detention came in so we both had to shut up.
-
“Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen-” I recited as I made my way through the corridors to my next period Gym class, trying desperately to memorise the periodic table for this afternoon’s chemistry exam.
“Woah!” I yelped as an arm suddenly sprang out from the shadows and pulled me into a corner.
I belatedly reached for Riptide, only to realise that Zoe had her arms crossed and she was staring up at me. “You’d be dead if I was a monster.”
I blinked at her, “Good thing you’re not a monster. What’s wrong?”
She raised her chin and glared, “I need your clothes.”
“Uh, what?”
She responded with rolled eyes. “I have Lab next period and I forgot. I can’t do an experiment in a skirt, and nobody will let me borrow their pants. I don’t want another Detention and you are wearing sweatpants. Swap with me.”
“Sure,” I quickly resigned myself to getting stares. “I’ve got Gym next, but Coach Mac won’t notice if I hide in the changing rooms all period.”
She nodded, and dragged me out of the corner. “Quickly, I’m going to be late for you.”
“Yes My Lady,” I snarked, only to get glared at. “Come on, we can use the disabled toilets in D-Block, there’s a shower cubicle with a curtain so we can get changed easily together.”
She nodded stiffly and dragged me there.
-
“You know, we should probably change back,” I told her.
“At home,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “These are comfortable.”
We hadn’t managed to find each other after third period, nor fourth. So I ended up doing my Chemistry exam in a skirt while Zoe walked around in my sweatpants which were too big for her. It’s a miracle we weren’t dress coded, though I’d had my fair share of snickers and stares.
We’d stopped for ice-cream after school, and mom said she’s picking us up, so we were just chilling with our cones.
“What even is ‘Blue Moon’?” She asked, looking at my cone as if it might be radioactive.
“Good question,” I replied. “It tastes good, that’s what it is.”
She glared and demanded, “Let me try.”
Amused, I swapped cones with her. Taking a small bite of her Rocky Road, I watched at her baffled face at my cone.
“It tastes so artificial,” She complained.
“Yep,” I grinned. “Here,” I held my hand out for it.
“Nope,” She held the cone close to her, and refused. “Mine now.”
I let my mouth drop open, “You just complained about it!”
“Are you telling me what to do, boy?” She teased, taking another bite of my ice cream.
I took a massive bite of hers. “No.”
“Percy!” She shrieked at my actions, and I laughed.
We swapped back.
“You two must have had a fun day,” Mom commented wryly when she came to pick us up. “Why are you wearing a skirt, Perce?”
Zoe and I made eye contact, then started giggling.
-
“Argh!” Zoe shouts, punching the wall.
I winced, that must have hurt.
For once, I wasn’t the reason I got expelled at the end of the year. Zoe got into a fight with some jerks who were harassing a girl at school, and when I punched a guy who was going to attack her from behind, the teachers broke up the fight. We got promptly expelled, but so did the other kids.
“Why did you step in?” She turned on me, snarling. “I can handle myself.”
“I know.” I said, but she still pushed me, eyes like steel. “Oh?! Then why were you stepping in like every single hero boy? I’m not some maiden in distress that thou hath to save!”
“I know,” I repeated calmly. “That’s why I wasn’t. I know you can fight them all off by yourself, but you don’t have to.”
She growled, and threw a pillow. I dodged.
She screamed and threw several other pillows, but nothing heavy or hard. After a while, she just collapsed on the floor, fingers looking like they might try to rip her braids out.
Cautiously, I gently pulled her hands away from her head. Holding them in mine. “What’s wrong, Zoe?”
“It’s my fault!” She snapped, “I left the hunt and suddenly I can’t do anything ! I was in detention more often than not, I couldn’t do school correctly, everyone looks at me weirdly, I don’t blend in, and I can’t even fight off a bunch of boys without being punished for it! I hate it! And now you’re in trouble because of me!”
“I would have left that school if I got expelled or not.” I said, “Do you really think I would let you go to another school without me? No way.”
She looked at me, something warm and delicate in her eyes.
“And I’m not good at school either. It’s a stupid system, and if I could just quit it and do homeschooling, I would.” I continued, smiling softly at her. “And all your teachers were idiots. Those boys totally deserved it, and we should have pranked them too. Maybe some whipped cream in their lockers-” I was cut off from my babbling by Zoe hugging me.
“Thank you Perseus Jackson,” She laughed, and then she was gone.
I was left blinking by myself on my bedroom floor, trying to compute what just happened. Did Zoe just hug me?
-
“Percy you idiot!” Zoe yelled at me from where she was trying to shoot at the cheerleaders. “Empousas! Honestly, boys .”
“How was I supposed to know?!” I replied, swiping at Kelli with my sword. “I thought Empousas are like, seductive. I just thought they were kinda pretty.”
Kelli snarled and threw herself extra harder at me. “Just pretty?!”
“They are! Did you seriously not notice that? They have pheromones!” Zoe shouted, then finally managed to shoot her enemy. “Ah-ha!”
Wait, does being asexual mean I’m immune to Empousa? Awesome.
“Percy!” Rachel suddenly shouted, and I ducked Kelli’s swing to face her. “A tour group is coming!”
The empousa’s eyes lit up. “Excellent! We’re about to have company!”
She picked up a tuba and threw it at me. Rachel and I ducked. The tuba sailed over our heads and crashed through the window. The voices in the hall died down.
“Percy!” Kelli shouted, pretending to be scared. “Why did you throw that?”
I was too surprised to answer. Kelli picked up a music stand and swiped a row of clarinets and flutes. Chairs and musical instruments crashed to the floor.
“Stop it!” I said.
People were tromping down the hall now, coming in our direction.
“Time to greet our visitors!” Kelli bared her fangs and ran for the doors. I charged after her with Riptide. I had to stop her from hurting the mortals.
“Percy, don’t!” Zoe shouted.
But I hadn’t realized what Kelli was up to until it was too late. Kelli flung open the doors. Paul Blofis and a bunch of freshmen stepped back in shock.
I raised my sword. At the last second, the empousa turned towards me like a cowering victim. “Oh no, please!” she cried. I couldn’t stop my blade. It was already in motion. Just before the celestial bronze hit her, Kelli exploded into flames like a Molotov cocktail.
Waves of fire splashed over everything. I’d never seen a monster do that before, but I didn’t have time to wonder about it. I backed into the band room as flames engulfed the doorway.
“Percy?” Paul Blofis looked completely stunned, staring at me from across the fire. “What have you done?”
Kids screamed and ran down the hall. The fire alarm wailed. Ceiling sprinklers hissed into life.
In the chaos, Rachel tugged on my sleeve. “You have to get out of here!”
She was right. The school was in flames and I’d be held responsible. Mortals couldn’t see through the Mist properly. To them it would look like I’d just attacked a helpless cheerleader in front of a group of witnesses. There was no way I could explain it. I turned from Paul and sprinted for the broken band-room window.
I burst out of the alley on East 81st and ran straight into Annabeth.
“Hey, you’re out early!” She laughed, grabbing my shoulders to keep me from tumbling into the street. “Watch where you’re going, Seaweed Brain.”
For a split second she was in a good mood and nothing was on fire. She was wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt and her clay bead necklace. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked like she was ready to catch a movie with Zoe and I.
Zoe.
“Percy!” Zoe called, and I whirled to face her.
“Are you okay? You hurt?” I quickly fussed, but thankfully only saw golden dust and no blood.
“I’m fine,” She said. Rachel jogged up to us too.
Annabeth’s smile melted. She stared at Rachel, then at the school. For the first time, she seemed to notice the black smoke and the ringing fire alarms.
She frowned at me. “What did you do this time? And who is this?”
“Oh, Rachel – Annabeth. Annabeth – Rachel. Um, she’s a friend. I guess.” I wasn’t sure what else to call Rachel. I mean, I barely knew her, but after being in two life-or-death situations together, I couldn’t just call her nobody.
“Hi,” Rachel said. Then she turned to me. “You are in SO much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation!”
Police sirens wailed on FDR Drive. “Percy,” Annabeth said coldly, “we should go.”
I looked back at Zoe, waiting for her opinion.
“It’s okay,” She smiled. “Go with Annabeth, I’ll explain everything to Rachel.” She eyed the school, “And try to do some damage control.”
“Thanks,” I said, and- slowly so she could stop me if she wanted to- I pulled her into a hug. “I’ll make it up to you.”
She smiled, “My payment is stealing that Swim Team hoodie of yours, plus your dessert. Now go.”
I nodded, and turned to leave with a confused-looking Annabeth, but Rachel stopped me.
“Here,” She said, and sharpied a phone number on my arm. “I still want to hear from you about all… this.” She waved vaguely.
I nodded, and let Annabeth tug me away from the sirens.
“Since when does Zoe let you hug her?” She hissed at me.
I shrugged, “When I ask politely and she says I can. It’s not a big deal, Annabeth.”
“Right,” She looked at me skeptically. “Come on Seaweed Brain, we have to get to Camp. Now.”
-
“Up!” Zoe commanded, and I lifted my sword to meet her blow.
Zoe has a lot of mixed feelings about the whole war. Of course she is fighting for Artemis and the gods, but at the same time, she doesn’t want to fight. I had gotten myself in a tizzy when we fought together in the Battle of the Labyrinth last month, and she had narrowly missed being stabbed. She refuses to train with Camp, not that many Campers actually liked her with the whole ‘Former Huntress’ thing, and I can tell it pains her to see her former sisters of the Hunt.
So she trains with me.
Zoe promised me that she'd be there with me, when I turn sixteen and the war begins, but until then, she’ll be in the shadows, far away from all the quests. And I respect that.
So we train.
I ducked her punch, and dropped down to do a move she taught me, snapping my leg out to sweep her off her feet.
She snarls and rolls to the side, dodging my fist that immediately punched the floor- which, ow - and flips herself back onto her feet.
“Percy! Zoe!” Mom called, and we both paused in our punches. “Go clean up for dinner!”
We made eye contact, and with a grin and a shout, we both began racing towards the bathroom.
SLAM
“Dammit!” I cursed. “Too slow!” Zoe taunted from the other side of the door.
I could hear the smile in her voice, and I knew I was matching it.
-
“Riptide has part of my energy, my godly soul,” Zoe said.
Her dark eyes were like the night, and sometimes I felt like I could see the stars in her eyes. She brushed the pommel of the sword gently as she spoke of its history.
“It is not only of the sea, but of the sky too. And should you whisper ‘ Hesperia ’...” I watched in awe as the blade began to float. “It shall come back to you- you will not have to wait for it to reappear.”
“Will you reappear?” I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“What?” She frowned, and the blade dropped back onto my bed.
“When I call your name, will you come back to me? In battle?” I swallowed harshly, “I mean-”
“Yes.” She cut me off, a smile playing on her lips. “I will.”
-
The battle rages and so do I.
Zoe hasn’t left my side all battle, until she had to.
The hunters needed support, and Thalia didn’t have enough experience corralling them to lead them even as they fell. Zoe squeezed my hand as a goodbye when she left, and I hoped it wouldn’t be the last time I saw her.
Another monster approaches and I cut them down.
-
“A shroud for the son of Hermes.” I said solemnly, lowering Luke’s body to the ground and standing up.
I could see the anguish on Hermes’ face as he realised that his son was dead, and I went to step forward, try to maybe comfort him. But my step faltered and I nearly collapsed, broken ribs and twisted ankle betraying me.
My father caught me, pulling me to lean on him. I opened my mouth to thank him, but got interrupted.
“Percy? Percy!” Zoe ran into the room, looking mad with worry, a cut on her brow bleeding sluggishly.
“Zoe!” I cried, and ripped myself away from my dad to take a few steps towards her, only to collapse on my knees when she threw herself at me.
“I thought I lost you,” She whispered, and I was surprised to see tears in her eyes. “I should have been here, I’m sorry.”
I was babbling apologies back, saying that I should have stayed with her.
“I love you,” She whispered, and I stopped, staring at her. “Please, don’t leave me.”
I lowered my forehead to touch hers, clinging to her as much as she clung to me. “I won’t. I promise. I love you.”
She let out a ragged sob, and kissed me.
She tasted like freedom, friendship, and victory. I love her, I truly do.
“I promise.” I whispered, smiling. “I promise, Zoe.”