Chrysaor waited for the demigods to finish eating. They had eaten in a ravenous way as if they were starving. He should be so hard on them though. After all, they had faced an immortal that was older than chrysaor himself and his father and more than surviving were able to fight back. Alecto would not forget. She will be hellbent on making the demigods suffer in the living world and in the underworld if they died.

Well, it would only suck for his brother’s companion because he would swear on his blade that their father had a plan in mind for assuring the well-being of his youngest demigod. With the child so strong and him, an immortal, being sent to protect him, it was clear that the Kronide cared.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by clicks of utensils entering in contact with plates. The questers had finished eating their meals.

“I've never eaten something so good before,” the Satyr said.

The two demigods nodded in confirmation of what he had said.” For once, I can not deny your words,” the female demigod answered the satyr.

His brother turned his head away from his companions to face him.” You told us that you would come with us Chrysaor. Do you have a plan?”

“I thin-” He didn't have time to answer. The daughter of Athena interrupted him.” Chrysaor as the son of Medusa and Poseidon Chrysaor? Percy, we can not trust him”.

“What do you say that Annabeth” Percy said to the blonde girl.

“His mom was rightfully turned into a monster by mom because she desecrated my mom’s temple with Poseidon. He told me that he had orders not to attack me but it doesn't mean that he can't find a way to do so. Percy, think a little. He hates my mother, so hate me by extension and you are the child of his father with another woman than his mother. How do we know if anything he said was true? Do you truly think that he got your best interest at heart?”

The younger son of Poseidon seemed to be lost in his mind. He seemed conflicted before taking a resolute expression. Chrysaor scoffed. He knew already what his half-brother would say. He knew Chrysaor for no more than a day when he could be knowing the other demigod for years. He had even chosen her to be his companion on a great quest. It couldn't be helped. It didn't affect him yet his heart twisted.

He was surprised by the answer of his brother” You are right that he may be lying but I talked with him before you wake up. We didn't talk long but I was able to glean something from him. He is someone that cares. He was the first adult mortal or immortal that saw me as a kid and not a demigod that should be used as a tool. He is the one that told me that he wished that he met me in a circumstance other than this quest.” The youngest child of Poseidon looked at the daughter of the war goddess in the face” It may be stupid but I trust Chrysaor, I trust my brother”.

The daughter of Athena seemed to be too enraged to speak. She took a deep breath and with a cold voice said” When it will explode into our faces when we will fail this quest, before our doom, I'll look you in the eyes and will tell you I told you so”.

“It won't happen” his brother answered. The daughter of Athena was right. The kid was too trusting. Such naivety was the cause of the fall of many heroes. Trusting in the unforgivable and cruel world led to their death most of the time. It was a weakness and yet it made Chrysaor feel good. It made him feel warm.

“We'll see” the female demigod replied.

The air was now thick with tension” Guys, let's not dispute between ourselves. We were able to survive the Fury because we stuck and worked together.”

“For the record” Chrysaor finally spoke.” I could have killed the three of you at any moment. I was the one to save you from the consequences of the destructive attack of my brother.

“Rightfully turned into a monster, you said daughter of Athena.” The demigods and the satyr turned toward him. “ Do you know what is like to have the fundamental part of yourself intruded upon? Do you know what it's like this part of yourself twisted against your own will? It is something that marks you forever. You feel dirty and violated. More than that, you are now seen as undesirable, as something shameful. Everyone that ever told you that they were your family left you alone to your sort. You are barred from your home. When you make a new one, people are sent after you to kill you because now you are no longer divine, you are now a monster. You're not beautiful anymore. You are now the monstrosity that everyone talks and laughs about. You defend yourself each day and night against people sent against you until you can't do so anymore and you are beheaded, your head used as both a trophy and a weapon. All of that happened to my mother because of one person and that person is your mother, daughter of Athena. How is that just? How is that wise? How is that fair? My mother wasn't perfect but no one deserved that, no one so never ever dare again talk before me of what is right!”

Chryaor didn't know what expression he had on his face but the daughter of Athena looked as if Tartarus himself was on the verge of erasing her existence.

“Am I clear?” he asked her.

“Yes,” She whispered.

“Good”. Chrysaor clapped his hands. “It is something done I think. Are you sure that you don't want to say something else?” He asked the blonde demigod in a mocking tone.

“Chrysaor, stop, please”. Said his little brother in a sad tone. All the satisfaction that he had gained disappeared. How could just words affect him this way?

He sighed “All right”.

“As I wanted to say before, I do not have a plan. I can not formulate one without every element you have. I suppose if it didn't change a lot, one of you went to the oracle. What did she say?” Chrysaor asked.

“She said that we shall go west, find the god that had turned and return what was stolen”.

“West, you said,” Chrysaor thought out loud.

“Who do you think it could be”

“We thought that it was the God of the deads. Chiron confirmed it and it was also him that Sent a Kindly one many times after Percy.” The satyr said.

“ Checking the map given to me, California could be considered the most west state from the United States if Hawaii and Alaska are not considered”.

“Chiron had also told us that the entry to the underworld was in Los Angeles. It all matches” the daughter of Athena spoke.

“It doesn't seem like the way the King of the Underworld acts but it's been more than a millennium since I saw him so maybe, he changed. It is important to note that prophecies work the way we interpret them.

“What does it mean? Aren't prophecies static?” his younger brother asked him.

“The thing about Prophecies,” he told him” is that our interpretation of them is what shapes them. Let's take for example the story of the titan king. The titan king was told that he would be dethroned by his children so when his wife gave birth, he tried to consume the essence of his children until they were nothing.
We all know how it ended.”

“The prophecy was realized,” Annabeth said. The first king lost his throne, was cut into many pieces and thrown into Tartarus. How could it have been different?” The distrust of the goddess had disappeared at the moment new knowledge was put before her.

“It could have happened that way” Chrysaor answered.” The Titan king could have even with the prophecy chosen to raise his children with love. Maybe in that hypothetical world, he would be dethroned not through a bloody conflict but by him abdicating his crown to his children. He would still be whole, worshipped. He would have been forever known as a symbol of wisdom, as the great father. It's the same here. The thing is that Hades isn't the only one with a motive. After all, he hates everyone especially those he thought had stolen the symbol of the power of his brother and those resulting from a broken oath on a divine river of his domain.”

“So who else do you think it could be?”

“I'm not sure but it could be a Hawaiian deity. They are amongst the rare native divinity to America that have survived if what I've heard isn't wrong” Chrysaor said while rubbing his jaw.

“Hawaiian gods?” the daughter of Athena screamed. “They exist? I thought that the Greek gods were the only real gods”.

Chrysaor turned his gaze towards the other questers that looked as shocked as the blonde demigod.” None of you knew”. Chrysaor said with surprise. He could understand half-bloods beings ignorant of some things. Their lives were finite and could end at any moment. It's something they should be knowing because even though they didn't know about the greater world, the greater world knew of their nature and no one was more hated than the Greco-roman pantheon.

Gods or supernatural beings that had their culture destroyed, forgotten, that lost their friends, followers and families wouldn't care about the fact that the Olympic demigod they could meet was innocent. They would only see an offspring of the creator of their misfortune. They would without hesitation make the half-blood they meet suffer.

He was just supposed to assure the success of the quest but he realized that to do so, he would have to teach the demigods. Not everything he thought. Some things were better to never be learnt, known especially by mortals.

He moved himself to be more comfortable.” Alright” he spoke,” Time for a little lesson”.

The demigods were watching him the way, predators did with their prey.”To begin, you all have to understand that if a myth exists, it is probably based most of the time on true facts.”

“You said that most myths are real. Does it mean that the Olympians aren't the supreme ruler of the world? Why didn't we know that? Before you even told us, we should have known. I'm sure that for example, Native American divinities wouldn't be happy with the occupation of the United States”. The daughter of Athena questioned.

“The Olympians are many things child. They all are cruel, petty and monstrous but there is one thing they are not and that is weak. They are the Western civilization itself. Everything that happened because of it in this world. Every atrocity and wonders. Every slaughter, every genocide is their fault directly or indirectly. With their actions, they would have been eradicated if they were not strong enough. There is a tale that says that when Olympus began to plunder the African continent thousands of gods from different tribes that hated each other chose to forget their grievances to destroy their invaders. Gods that could with a movement of their arms, destroy mountains, tear the sky apart, and break the natural rules of the world were annihilated, erased as if they never existed. Only one god was the cause of their demise. Can you guess who?”

“An Olympian god strong enough to be able to slaughter thousands of gods. It must be one of the kronides” the daughter of Athena thought out loud.” Was it the sky god? He's known as the strongest of the Olympian gods. You said sent by Olympus so it can't be a primordial god.”

“It was not the king who did it. It was his eldest sister. The oldest child of the titan king it is said burnt everything. She burnt the attacks launched at her. She burnt the army of lesser supernatural beings united by the alliance of gods. She with one movement burnt the enemy gods' flesh, bone and essence. They didn't have enough time to scream. When she chose to extinguish her flames, there was nothing left. She burnt away their very existence. They would never be able to come back even if Khaos himself intervened.”

“You are talking of Hestia,” the Satyr said shell shocked.” Hestia, the kindest god, Hestia the one god that is notoriously known as a pacifist who hates violence. You're joking right”. The satyr looked at him in the eyes as if trying to find any deceit. He found none of it.

“It is not the only atrocities made by the Olympians. It's just a drop of water in an ocean of cruelties and horrors. What gods or supernatural beings that survive to this day were the ones smart or cowardly enough to not go against Olympus but you” he said pointing at each of the questers with his index finger” are not even half as strong as the Olympians except maybe you, little brother. “

The demigod looked conflicted and pained. It was easy for Chrysaor to see that his brother wanted to ask him a question and he had an idea of what it was.

“Chrysaor. You said that the Olympians were the root of an innumerable amount of atrocities but Dad, he was not really involved right?”. The demigod sounded hopeful. The demigod wanted to still see his father as a near-perfect figure. He wanted to see him as someone that changed since ancient Greece. He wanted to believe that his father, the one that loved him was not one of the biggest monsters existing.

Chrysaor sighed. He answered with a soft voice as if trying to alleviate the coming blow.” Brother, know that no ship crosses an ocean without our father accepting it. Do you know what helped, no build this country?”

“Slaves and their labour” the satyr answered instead of his brother. He sent the nature spirit a scathing look. At that moment, he deplored the fact that he hadn't inherited the turn-to-stone gaze of his mother.

He opened his mouth trying to save the situation. His father was not perfect and Chrysaor was still not sure of what was the reasons for the changes in his father but he was a parent too and knew that there was nothing more soul-crushing than having the love and admiration of your child turn into hatred.”Listen to me, Percy, it was in the past. Percy!”

The child was breathing easily as if he had run a marathon.” Calm down. Calm down Percy”. He stood up from his place and went near the child” Focus on me, it's alright”. He tried to put his hand on the shoulder of his brother to comfort him but had his hand swatted away.

The companions of the demigod were trying to calm him down at the same time as Chrysaor. “I just want to be left alone” the demigod screamed. With his cry, the hotel space itself twisted. The child wasn't there anymore. He had in his panic unconsciously connected to the temple masquerading as a hotel as if he was a godly offspring of Poseidon. Chrysaor focused on trying to find his brother. He found him on the roof.

“My Prince, should we send people searching for the young prince,” a Telekhine asked him.

“No, I'll do it myself”.

He prepared to teleport near his brother.” Take us with you. We can help” the satyr said.

“You are his friend. You saw how he reacted when we crowded him. In trying to help, we didn't. Now, he is alone after an outburst when he said he wanted to be alone. Do you think that it would be a good idea for us three to go toward him? He asked the Satyr.

“No, it wouldn't,” the satyr said looking at the ground.” I know that it wouldn't be a good idea but I'm supposed to be his best friend, be there for him but I feel like I failed time and time again. He was attacked by a Kindly one and I did nothing. He lost his mother because of me. When he thought I was a crippled human, he did everything to protect me when most humans pitied me or attack me” The daughter of the war goddess hugged him.

“The thing about life is that things are never truly over. Never think that you failed as long as both of you are alive. You care about your friend. It's something that is authentic that I can see. When I come back with him, don't think about the things that happened that you can't change. Think about what you will be able to do for him. Be there for him. That's all you gotta do.” Chrysaor said before reappearing on the roof of the hotel.

He found his brother sitting on the ground, his back resting against a wall watching the stars and grabbing tightly the collar of pearls around his neck.

They stayed both of them in silence for five minutes before his brother finally spoke “I wanted to be alone”.

“I know” Chrysaor answered.

“I never told it to anyone except you but I talked to Dad”, His brother began. “He was everything I hoped he would be. He seemed caring and told me he loved me. He had told me that there would be a quest for the retrieval of the lightning bolt and that I didn't have to go through it if I didn't want it. He wanted me to come to Atlantis with him. He didn't care that doing such would probably mean that he would still be seen as the reason for the disappearance of the bolt. It meant that he saw my being safe as more important to him than a conflict where he could lose everything.”

“You fear that he lied to you,” he said to his brother.” You fear that he's just using you and will discard you after your usefulness runs out. You fear that everything you’re doing is for nothing. You fear being abandoned.”

“Yeah. What you told me was completely different from the dad I met but if after a millennium, he didn't change, how could he realistically change in just a few decades?”

“Our father is not a good person. I'm not a good person Percy. Most gods aren't.” The demigod looked defeated. “But” he continued.”There is one thing you can be sure of and that's his love for you. It has never happened before that a Greek god sent another divinity to protect their demigod for the entirety of a quest. He wouldn't have done that, and let you inherit so much from him, if he didn't care.”

“Inherit?” the demigod asked.

“The strength of a demigod depends on the love, the care that their parents have for them. There were children of Poseidon unable to control the weather or liquids like you, brother. Even if he allowed those to do so, they would never be able to do the things you did. I can feel his power all over you and In you. It screams proudly and unashamed this is my child.”

His brother turned toward him“I should be disgusted by him after what you told me but I still love him. Does it make me evil?”

“Maybe it makes you evil but guess what? In the end, the only person's opinion that matters is yours. Don't forget what he did but don't try to force yourself to stop loving him.”

The child smiled at him“I see. Thanks, Chrysaor. It's just been a day but I'm glad I met you”.

A little smile appeared on the corner on the mouth of Chrysaor” Me too, I'm glad to have met you, brother. He just hoped that in the future, none of them would regret their words.