Khr: I know, it was genius, lol

Black Moons Daughter: I feel like you're taking that back now, lol. I'm so glad you enjoyed it, especially Hades! I got nervous with him since he'll come to play an important role in the future *evil grin*

Micaylarocks: Still stan an incompetent fool? xD After reading your review, I can see a skeleton full of spiderwebs waiting for an update with a hot beer in hand.

Don't ask. Just roll with it, please?

LivingALittle: I'm so glad you do! He's going away for a while but I hope you come to love him even more when he returns *winks*

Lexxxloubell: Yay! So sorry for the wait tho.

Guest: Thanks a lot, and I'm so sorry for the wait :(((

crimson dragonX: I ship Alex and Hades too. I love Luke but,... and yeah, greeks mythology is full of the weirdest couples. I'm also pretty sure half of them have slept with Zeus at least once.

DraconisRose960: Hii, you! I'm so happy you liked it! so sorry for the wait

: Thanks! It truly means a lot that you say that. And yeah, shame on me. Shame. Shame.

painted heart: Sure

FaeGhostReader:Pinky promise I will

wolfgirl232323: oh...my...god...your sweetness, your politeness,..you little, soft sunshine, I shall protect you from the world. I will not, however, protect you from the pain the story will cause you in the future, lol.

Thanks to everyone who added this story to their favourite and/or followed, and to everyone who took the time to post a comment! It really means a lot.

X: My Father Is Full Of Shit

So, traveling on the back of a hellhound wasn't a problem, traveling through shadows however, I could do without.

Mrs. O'Leary dropped me off some ten blocks from the Empire State, and after licking my face, she disappeared into the shadows. The mortals around me gave me fleetings odd looks, and I almost wondered what it was the mist had showed them.

I leaned over myself and puked, tears welling up in my eyes. I knew I shouldn't have eaten so much with Hades, but his food was so good! And I was so hungry.

I wiped my mouth with the hem of the chiton and raised my hand, pointing it at a lonely fire hydrant. Focusing on the hydrant, I felt my body calling at the water, and the next second it exploded. While the mortals around screamed, I let the water soak my face, and controlling a small spirit, I rinsed my mouth.

Usually, no demigod -myself included- would use their powers in a crowded place full with oblivious mortals equipped with cameras, but I was in a give-zero-fucks- mood at the moment, I didn't care much about keeping a secret I didn't want to be let on in, especially when there seemed to be so much still being kept from me.

Whistling, I picked up a wallet that had fallen to the floor and started walking.

I didn't have to wait long for my brother to show up. He came out of a taxi and stopped mid-step when he saw me.

"Alex?"

"Hey, leper. How's it going? Want a donut?"

Eating a donut right after puking the last five years of meals wasn't a bright idea, but I still didn't give a fuck.

The wallet that I picked out on the street still rested safely inside the paper bag I got at the cafe, and after some digging I found the picture of a cute dog and the card of an escort business.

Also, we would need to pay for a taxi or a bus to drop us off at camp again, if we survived the family reunion, so I wasn't about to be rid of the wallet anytime soon.

A small sacrifice, considering I had helped prevent a war.

Percy ran to me and crushed me in a fierce hug, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. I took a sip of my coffee, another bad idea for a kid like me.

"Um, I'm trying to eat here."

"I thought you were in the Underworld. How did you escape?" Percy asked, leaning back to look up at me.

"I didn't escape, Hades let me go. His super dog dropped me here almost an hour ago. Nice guy, a bit weird, but nice." I looked around, suddenly aware of how small our group was. "Where's Annabeth? And Grover?"

"They're on their way to camp." Percy reassured me, peeking into the box with the donuts and taking one. "So, Hades let you go just like that?"

I shifted my weight from one leg to the other, not wanting to talk about Hades. Yes, he had been nice, and yes, I had a good time talking to the guy, but the sudden realization that he was the one from my dream put me on edge. Why had he been there? It couldn't just be coincidence, such thing didn't exist in our world. Was he also the one on my other dreams?

I shook my head. It couldn't be. I had almost had another one of those, and he had stopped it.

He was also the one who sent me flowers on opening nights, the one who watched the show from the back and always left five minutes before the ending.

What was his deal?

"Shouldn't we go in?" I asked instead, nodding towards the doors to my right "Before they start killing innocent people."

"Alex…"

"I'm fine. Promise."

Percy stood there for a moment, mouth full with the donut, holding what was left of it with two fingers and sighed, adjusting his backpack.

"Fine. Let's go."

He reached out and took my hand, guiding me inside the building.

There was a dude on the front desk, seeming fascinated by his book. I tilted my head -perhaps a little too much- as a tried to decipher the title. Harry Pettor?

Weird name.

"Sixth hundredth floor." my brother said with no preamble as we stopped in front of him.

Oh, Harry Potter.

"No such floor, kiddo."

Who the hell was Harry Potter?

"I need an audience with Zeus."

Wait, now I remembered. I had some audiobooks my neighbor had given me back in Rochester.

"Sorry?"

"You heard me,"

Gods, I completely forgot about Harry Potter. Wonder what he's been up to. The world had seemed a tad far fetched for me back then. I snorted. What an idiot.

"No appointment, no audience, kiddo. Lord Zeus doesn't see anyone unannounced."

I came back on myself and was about to interfere when Percy leaned closer to the guard.

"Oh, I think he'll make an exception." Percy said, unzipping his backpack.

All I saw was some lights coming out of the backpack, and I unconsciously stepped back.

Needless to say, we were allowed in.

The doors of the elevator closed and Percy slipped a key into a slot, pressing his finger into the red button that would take us to Olympus.

I took a quick sniff.

"Can I say something?"

"Uh?"

"You stink, bro."

"Why don't you stink too?"

"Because I'm superior."

Percy rolled his eyes and said nothing; I proceeded to make myself comfortable on the cold floor, sitting down and stretching out my legs. He gave me a look and I shrugged.

"This will take a while, trust me."

Both Percy and I noticed how similar the palace was to Hades' one in the Underworld, which was a reminder of how even a God himself could be treated so unfairly.

I frowned, guiding him through the cobblestone paths, I had never been to the palace, so I wasn't sure the path I'd take was the right one.

Luckily, we didn't have to ask anyone, the fact that the building stood taller and more imposing than the others helping quite a lot.

We stared up at it, intimidating at first, then infuriating. Fighting back against a scowl and forcing myself to smooth my facial muscles, I followed Percy inside.

The throne room was massive. Columns rose as high as my eyes could see, and twelve big chairs stood in a semi-circle surrounding a big fire. There were two people sitting there, calmly waiting for us.

In the middle was Zeus, and to his left Poseidon.

I looked at him, saw the way he seemed so relaxed on his massive beach chair with those bermuda and his hawaiian t-shirt and my hands closed in fists. He dared to look like that while his two children risked their lives? And for what? To avoid another petty family feud?

If they asked me, I would recommend some group therapy. One hour every day would surely help them, and save us demigods a lot of trouble.

He smiled lightly when his eyes landed on me, a twinkle in his eyes; but I quickly looked away, sure as my name that there was smoke coming out of my ears.

Percy knelt in front of the asshole.

"Father."

"Should you not address the master of this house first, boy?" Zeus asked him, and I could practically see Percy wince from where I was standing. The God's eyes searched for me, grey like a storm, sparkling, looking for a dare. "And you, girl. Step forward and pay your respects."

"I'm fine here, thank you...sir."

"Peace brother. The boy defers to his father and the girl is on her rebelling age. Think nothing of it."

"You still claim them, then? You claim this children whom you sired against our sacred oath? And confess that Apollo was your accomplice in hiding the girl?"

"I have admitted my wrongdoings. Now I would hear them speak."

Wrongdoings.

I placed my hands behind my back into fists, nails of one of them digging into the skin of the other so deeply i started to feel droplets of blood.

Wrongdoings.

I knew it. I knew it and yet it hurt to hear it from his mouth.

Percy stood up and looked back at me, but I was looking past him. He stepped forward to start the story, but I choose to stay where I was, rooted to the marble floor and quiet as a grave.

Wrongdoings.

Percy opened his mouth and started talking, being bold enough to keep eye contact with Zeus the whole time. I had to give it to the kid: he had some serious balls. I hid a smirk, looking away at the marble base of one of the thrones.

Catching some movement to the right, I saw a thick pair of hairy legs and a bronze pole between them. Looking up, I took in the figure of my so called father. My eyes zeroed- in on the tips of the trident, and on instinct, my hand went to my necklace, of the same material, but considerably smaller and of a slightly more delicate design.

Had he given the necklace to Chiron? Did the centaur know about my real heritage? It was likely. Poseidon's eyes deviated from Percy to me. I looked away again, uncomfortable with their likeness to my own and Percy's.

Zeus had quite the nerve, talking about how he should've killed us on our way here. With the way he carried himself, he might as well take his dick out and swirl it around like a sword, as if it were a mighty weapon capable of great deeds and misdeeds.

The mental image almost made me smile, and then I realized he was under the pretense I flew from California. So he hadn't realized of my short visit with his brother. Had Hades masked my steps? Could he do that? Could he make me untraceable? Or was Zeus not as powerful as he presented himself to be?

"So I took out the pearls b-" Percy, stopped, turning around to look at me. I knew what he wanted to ask. How did you really come back from the Underworld? Should I tell them? Stiffly, I shook my head once, as subtle as I could. He pursued his lips and set his gaze on Zeus once more. "We showed up on the beach, where Ares found us and…"

Good. He was vague enough so no-one could accuse him of lying. There might still be some hope for him after all.

He returned the bolt, its lights and sparks threateningly unoffensive while not yet on its master's grip.

Zeus took it, the cylinder of light enlarging to fit his size, the energy growing so much I was sure my hair would look like shit for the next week or so.

Percy also spoke of his dreams, and I did my best to not show any emotion. Could it be that we were both being tormented by the same creature? Pondering over Hades' words when I woke up from my nap in the Underworld, I was sure there was some force, some being, trying to deliver a message of sorts. That Percy had some dreams as well had to be an important sign to the both of us, right? What did the future had in store for us?

Zeus and Poseidon whispered to each other in ancient greek at such speed that, had I not been getting progressively more angry, I would've asked them to teach me how to sing patter.

The God of the heavens finally stood, looking at my brother with some seemingly new-found appreciation.

"You have done me a service, boy. Few heroes could have accomplished as much."

"I had help, sir." my brother answered, pure honesty in his voice. "Grover Underwood, Annabeth Chase,"he turned his head and smiled at me, cooling down some of my anger. "and of course, my big sister, Alexa-"

"To show you my thanks, I shall spare your lives." Zeus interrupted. "I do not trust you, Perseus Jackson," his cold, blue eyes landed on me, narrowing into slits, like he wanted to decipher the code into my head. I didn't let myself feel intimidated. Slowly at first, then quickly regaining his senses, he added, "nor you, Alexandria Agapov. I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you both live."

"Um,...thank you, sir." Percy answered, while I felt my temperature rise again.

We all risked our lives, multiple times, and Percy sacrificed his own mother, his childhood, all of our childhoods, and this despicable airhead gave us a threat as a reward? Because that's how I saw it. Percy might try to understand the Gods, how deluded and out of touch they were in their greatness, he might resign himself to it, but I couldn't. As much as I fancied myself to be the 'oldest, responsible one of the group in charge of the protection', I was as much a child as Percy, Annabeth and Grover. We shouldn't have to live our lives with parents who didn't understand our abilities, who weren't qualified to train us and protect us. We shouldn't have to run away from home to protect others, or to protect ourselves from monsters from both worlds. And we certainly shouldn't have to go about the expanse of an entire country on a treasure hunt for something neither of us had stolen. How much easier would it have been for Zeus to take five minutes to descend into Camp Half-Blood with Apollo and ask Percy if he had stolen the lighting bolt? No one could lie to Apollo. They could've solve this by themselves, but no, they were such selfish idiots they had to get kids involved.

And now he had the audacity to make this threat. It was clear Zeus saw us both as some sort of unstable menace to his perfect little world. He'd surely keep an eye on us (so long as he wasn't too busy turning into some animal to get laid), to make sure we didn't try anything, paranoid as usual. I smiled, the action feeling foreign on my face for some reason. Something about the whole situation must've put him on edge, enough as to consider two teens with ADHD a real problem.

"Do not presume to fly again. Do not let me find you here when I return. Otherwise you shall taste this bolt. And it shall be your last sensation."

I almost snorted, but I caught my,...father's,...expression and my face contorted into a grimace.

Without warning, a light almost rendered us blind, and then Zeus was gone. Rising from his seat, Poseidon shrank; it was quite a disappointing sight. No water flying around him in spirals and disappearing or anything.

I watched warily as he neared Percy. I didn't join their side, not wanting to be too close to him, but willing to jump in if it seemed like he might hurt Percy. The Gods were known for being of ill patience and fragile egos after all, and if my brother and I had a talent in common, it was our ability to offend everyone and anyone with amazing haste.

I did catch the word "Kronos" and "still alive". I rose an eyebrow. Could it be that Zeus feared his daddy would wake up from his nap to beat him up? Was that even possible?

I doubted it. It'd be a fun sight, but very unlikely.

Awkwardly bowing to our father, Percy returned to me.

"Ready?" I asked, doing my best to sound cheerful.

Given the look I received, I must've sound more like a creepy doll from a horror movie.

"Can we stop by my mom's first?" he asked.

"Sure, leper." I shrugged.

"Alexandria, wait." Poseidon's voice was gentle and warm as he addressed me, loving even, like a comforting caress that promised everything would be fine.

It was infuriating.

My eyes landed on his and I started to shake.

"Yes?"

"I would speak to you as well, child."

Percy looked between us and silently took some steps back to give us some privacy.

"I have to, uh,...we have to go. We're expected back at camp." I said, pointing at Percy, willing my legs to follow him and guide us out; however, they remained glued to the floor.

Something flashed in Poseidon's eyes, too alike my own and Percy's to leave room to any doubt. I knew then that I didn't need to ask. There was no denying that he was indeed my real father.

This silent confirmation, of something I probably knew all along and tried to suppress, generated a violent urge in me.

I clenched my fists, the strength never feeling quite enough.

All the things I suppressed for the past years, in a pathetic attempt to comfort myself, with the pathetic need to feel loved by a paternal figure, itched to surface and take the shape of a monster.

I was extremely tempted to let it out.

Father's eyes lost some warmth, replaced instead by something that made me feel somewhat ashamed; so I looked away, to the massive throne on my far left.

"Please, child." his voice was just so welcoming and so soft, pleading almost, and it only infuriated me further.

I needed to leave this wretched place before I did something stupid.

I stared at him,waiting to see if he's gonna say something.

"Why?" I asked finally, when he failed to even put a sentence together. Was it my fault? Was it all my fault? Was I too demanding? Too embarrassing? My question, three letters, one word, sounded so simple, but I had a feeling he's one to beat around the bush.

"I wanted to protect you."

"Bullshit."

"It's the truth, Alexandria."

"No, it's bullshit."

"You weren't supposed to be born and-"

"Oh, wow. Nice!" I had to admit it, only to myself of course, that hearing that stung.

"Hades already knew about you. He sent his hellhounds after you." as he said this, the ground trembled briefly in warning.

"Yes, I remember. I was an untrained, scared thirteen year old who just found out that the myths were real, with an unwarranted price over her head, and I survived,...and it was pure luck, no thanks to you."I said, the coldness in my voice surprising even me. "And it's funny you should mention Hades."I continued, ignoring his wince. "The guy may have set his puppies after me, and he may be a bit of a weirdo, but at least he had the decency of being honest and treating me like a person, not some experiment that went wrong." I felt like I could cut diamonds if I wanted, and yet I still didn't want to stop. My blood boiled when Poseidon's green eyes flashed with hurt and regret.

The nerve.

"Alexandria, please allow me t-"

"NO! SHUT UP!"my voice reverberated across the room and I failed to see Percy jump back. "YOU HAD YEARS TO FIX THIS CRAP SHOW AND YOU DIDN'T, SO SHUT UP! YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS TO ASK FOR ANYTHING! You bolted and abandoned me as soon as you knew I was coming. You turned my own mother into a loveless monster! You have no idea of what it was like with her! You left me, all alone; you let me spend eleven years thinking I was unlovable, and then you have the nerve to ask some other God to pretend to be my dad, so you can save face in front of your relatives, all of which you seem to hate by the way. You must've known how I'd feel. I forced myself to fit in, and I did all I could to not feel like a fraud, but I guess I did crap job since my fake dad had to use magic to help me."

"I found a way to adapt. I survived. I thrived. And then you get into a pissing contest with your dichheaded brother, and when you can't convince the others of not being the real piece of shit you are, you further dig a hole and pull me and Percy into it as a last resource. Because that's what we are, isn't it? A last resource?"

Poseidon shook, his face red in anger, his eyes moist with hurt. He could kill me here for all I cared. I was too fed up to give a crap anymore.

"Alexandria…"

I pulled on a mock courtesy.

"Father." I said as a manner of farewell, voice dripping with so much venom one would think Medusa was my real mother.

Close by, Percy looked up at me, fear clouding his face but I couldn't really find it in myself to care at the moment.

Roughly, I grabbed him by the shoulder.

"C'mon, kid. Let's go see your mom."

Without looking back, I led him out into the lustrous, quiet streets, almost wanting him to attack me, almost craving for a reason to strike back.

A/N: So, yeah, that happened.

That conversation between Alex and Poseidon is in great part why it took so long to update. The original conversation came into my head, and it was perfect,..and i didn't have time to write it down and I forgot all of it. I just remember it being perfect.

This is not what I had planned, but I think I'm satisfied. This conversation is super important, which is why I'm still worried about it.

I won't say anything else as to not spoil it.

I know this chapter doesn't cover all the stuff I promised on the last update, and I have 2 reasons for it:

1-I feel like crap for not updating in so long and wanted to give you something already

2-Alex is gonna be feeling a lot of negative stuff in the next chapters, from anger, to hurt, to betrayal and other stuff, and I think that super long chapters might be tiring or overwhelming. There's gonna be a lot to digest, so, yeah.

I dare say there's only 2 more chapters to cover "Lighting Thief", and we all know what comes next, don't we? HEhehehe *cackles like an evil witch*

Let's thank Taylor "the queen" Swift; her new album was what pushed me through the dreaded conversation between Alex and Poseidon btw. I think the songs I was listening to were the opposite of that scene, but idk what to tell you guys, it did the trick.

I don't know if any of you at all are still reading this, but sorry, again. I'm doing my best, I promise.

I hope you don't mind if I take a moment to express my solidarity to those protesting on the BLM movement. You have my support from this little corner of the planet.

I also hope everyone is safe out there with this pandemic, and I hope your loved ones are ok too, and as for the fellow students: *does the three finger kiss from Hunger Games* May the odds be ever in your favour, bitches, cuz it sure ain't in mine.