Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson

Don't Tattle on Me

Jason POV

Location-Nico's Not So Secret Ex Headquarters, Outer Odyssey Cove

9 days, 8 hours, 14 minutes until Kronos Rises to Power

When I was young, Lupa taught me the values of leadership, how the pack was only every truly strong when it was one. She helped me dream up a place where demigods could be safe, free to grow and learn, to have the spirit to fight for a piece of life and never back down no matter what Fate threw at us.

That was why I was out here, trying to find Nico, the only other Bond still around, the missing piece who might understand the pressure and ease the whispers. Di Angelo was as much of a hero as we were, always had been. Even Wrath couldn't stop that; but he would crack. You could only take so much before you snapped, before the whispers got to strong.

By the looks of the barn, I'd say those whispers had been popping steroids like candy. Nico's not so secret headquarters was a wreck- not that the barn had ever been too pretty to look at. All that was left was the east wall, crumbled timber and cinders crushed under inhuman tracks.

I wasn't too worried. Experience new the difference between a failed ambush and a victorious assault and judging by the settled dust and tantrum trail of toppled trees, it was a safe bet that Nico had escaped unscathed.

Probably off stalking Percy right now. The two were probably already in cahoots about how to stop Kronos, I had seen them alone in their little alliance. There was no way I would ever be as paranoid as Jupiter when I saw the other two thirds of the Big Three hanging out without me, but it did feel lonely.

Lonely enough that I felt justified stuffing Nico's wallet in my pocket, the hurt of exclusion lightening a tiny bit. Wasn't I good enough to help them out? We all wanted the same thing, I could help, I could be just like them! I should be just like them.

Or maybe they should be just like me…

When I was young, Thalia taught me how to shoplift. It was thrilling and afterwards I always felt bad. Not as bad as seeing everyone else getting their hands on whatever they pleased. All I could get my hands on were empty vodka bottles and cigarette butts.

The whispers had always been there, it was nothing new. Envy was rattling around in my skull for sure, but I could handle that, I was just as strong as Nico. Stronger. What even were whispers, this was just harmless fun, filling the void and boredom, taking what I deserved for giving so much.

Where was the harm? The answer was inside ironically enough, digging behind my eyes, craving hungrily. This wasn't right. Reluctantly, I fished Nico's wallet back out, feeling stupid and anxious as it dropped back into the timbers and out of sight.

I was wrong, this was wrong, I needed help, I shouldn't be alone. Taking to the skies helped clear my head, soaring up over the treetops and back towards town. Cool air whipping past my face was enough to remind me that yes, I was a total Superman as Leo was oh so happy to gush about. I was also another demigod in a long, long, long line of demigods who had gotten too cocky and needy for the Fates to tolerate.

Truth be told I hadn't come out here looking for Nico, and I knew it. The whispers wanted me alone, it was easier to listen when my friends weren't there to distract me. Envy was playing a dangerous game with my head, slow and silent at first, but building speed and strength, ever murmuring, ever hungry.

Maybe this time I could actually come clean about the whole kelpto issues with everybody. They'd understand. Why wouldn't they? Half of them had fallen for the same trick I did, and Percy and Luke were literally criminals. I didn't exactly have to shoot high for their approval.

The wind howled a little louder and I frowned, not liking how Envy sank back, happy to let that invasive idea sink in. They were just as good as I was, if not better. We all had our issues, and we all fell. It was a fight for all of us, no one was alone; that was the strength of the pack. And I didn't need their approval, because I already had it. They understood what I was going through, even if I didn't.

Envy was one ungodly lovechild of gluttony and greed, with a bit of self-loathing thrown in there for the joy of screwing you over. Hazel and Frank could help, they were my Roman buds. I really should talk to them.

Except…

Except they didn't need help. Well, not a lot. Hazel was magically fixed overnight, they just dangled the opportunity to be a hero in front of her and she was off the bandwagon without a hitch. Frank got a push and a godly workout and viola, he was cured too, all in a day. Which meant there was something wrong with me.

Annabeth and Percy had been working with me for days now, trying to crack the code and send Envy packing. I couldn't think of a stronger power couple since Rocket and Groot, those two could literally do anything. With the exception of fixing me. How was that fair? I was just as smart and strong as they were!

I mean sure I waltzed Hazel and Frank into a mad goddesses lair and got us wasted, but we saved Leo! Not that I actually woke him up- that was all on Leo, I couldn't snap him out of it alone. I couldn't even take down the hydra or shoot down a few stymphalian birds, Percy had straight up one-shotted both, give or take a few dozen other monsters and half a block.

We all looked so amazed and awed over him- that was how I wanted them to look at me. When I rushed in with a comatose Leo after abandoning the Franksicle and Hazel, all I got was a pathetic laugh from Luke and some disgusted and disappointed looks from the gang.

I could hear their voices in my head, all that disdain and irritation.

Jason Grace was pretty useless all things considered. He couldn't handle a few whispers, he wasn't strong enough to be a hero, he was just weighing everybody down. What self-respecting demigod couldn't even handle a lousy habit? Even Piper, the ever-growing queen of denial, had cracked her case, why couldn't you-

"Shut up!" Thunder boomed high above, the whispers cackling gleefully as I looped upwards, abandoning my route.

Why wasn't there enough oxygen, air was rushing to my call, but I didn't feel strong enough to breathe. Envy refused to budge back, those same accusations singing in my brain. Why should it when the beast knew I wasn't good enough to stop it?

Calm gusts tried to nudge me back to earth but all I could do was soar higher and higher, Odyssey Cove and Mt. Othrys growing smaller and smaller all the time. That's how they should be- small. That's how the gods saw them, how Kronos saw them, how my friends saw them.

Or just how I saw them. Nobody else was flying or throwing lightning bolts. Leo was always fanboying over me, he- Leo! That mischievous smile was enough to stop my ascent, long enough for me to drift back to earth like a leaf on the wind.

I wasn't sure where I was when I landed. Fog had settled over the cliffs, half real trees blocking out the world and echoing back the never-ending pounding of the ocean below. The whispers had gone quiet and I took the chance, focusing on Leo. He didn't make me feel jealous, I didn't have to impress one of my best friends.

That was as good an anchor as any! That's how I'd beat envy- I could be happy with what I had, because I had so much. This was my story as much as it was theirs, and yeah I hadn't broken my bond, but look at how long I'd managed to hold out? I was strong, just as strong as everyone else!

I wasn't some useless lost cause, there was still hope for me. I had my friends and that was all I needed- that was all a real hero ever needed. I had my pack, and as long as I had them, then I could pull through. We could all be better.

Poison green lit up the mist and I yelped, albeit triumphantly, when coils of the color writhed in the air, wires spilling out my eyeball. Envy's bond. I knew I could do it! My monster was quiet as I wrestled, wincing every time I tugged at the wires, struggling to dislodge all the hooks he'd dug in my skull.

The poisonous color thickened, the coils tightening against my grip. No good, I had to keep focused on what was true, what I had. I remembered Lupa and Reyna and Juno. The one who took over and saved my life. When your family didn't want you and your sister abandoned you.

Thinking about Thalia helped, all the adventures we'd gone on, the adventures we still had coming. I'd see her again and she'd see what we built, the new safehouse for demigods, a place where we would be safe, where things like this wouldn't happen. A place she would never visit, not when she could hunt with Artemis away from you.

A hook or two came loose even as threads were snaking down my face, twining across my throat. She'd rather be with Luke than you. Crap, crap, focus, I wasn't about to go down like this! What about all the friends here? Friends you couldn't protect. We were stronger together we proved- Nothing. You are alone.

Why weren't the memories there? My past was about as deep as a puddle even though I was drowning in the details, wires spilling across my arms and down my legs, coiling around my limbs. There are no gods here. No heroes. That's wrong! I was a hero, we all were! Percy and Luke especially, they had the Fates on their side!

A bond of time to end their days… I couldn't hold onto the wires anymore, they were twisting me around like a puppet on strings, I fell limp but stay suspended in mid air, poisonous green seeping into my vision. And now Olympus shall we raze.

Leo, remember Leo! I didn't have to impress him, he didn't abandon me like the rest, he thought I was strong, he knew I was a hero. Except when he started noticing Percy and Luke stole him for projects. Except being the big brave hero I was, I couldn't stand up for him. I hadn't been able to bring him into this world, to tell him how I felt, to keep him safe.

The waves had reached an earsplitting cacophony, the ground rumbling beneath me as the wires tilted me up. My gaze followed, my bond spiraling up and up forever into Envy as a shadow passed above, the last light piercing the fog vanishing under a claw terrible enough to reach up and snatch the very sun from the sky.

The titanic limb crashed into the cliffside, a smooth move turned rough and apocalyptic by gigantic proportions. Trees were pulverized and rock ground to dust as the hand closed around me, howling mist and blackness taking over, my bond gone, nothing but darkness.

I'd give anything to get out of here. Everything was going fuzzy, I couldn't think, I wanted out, I wanted home. I needed something, everything, this needed to stop. There weren't any names to call, Envy had feasted off their memories, I was all alone. I'd take anything to get out of here.

Maybe they couldn't me fixed. That wasn't fair. But it could be. I could make them all like me again, they'd see. We'd all be heroes if they were trapped too, I'd be special, I'd be worth it then. If I took what they had, if I took them, then we'd be even, that would be fair. They couldn't fix me.

So I'd fix them.

"Jay?"

My eyes popped open- had they been closed this whole time? I was curled up on the couch, the smell of ozone rich in the air, a concerned Leo leaning over the arm. A wire pulled inside me and I grinned without meaning too, sitting up.

Leo grinned back, still looking worried as he tried to explain. "You were having a nightmare bro, I tried waking you up-"

"Yeah, just a bad dream." I waved it away, not even worried a bit that I wasn't pulling my strings anymore. "Hey listen, could I get your help with something? I've got a little pet project I think you're all gonna love."

My firebug snapped a salute, eager to hear out my plan. Poor Leo, all broken and tangled and he didn't even know it. Yet. Don't worry- I can fix you.

I'll fix everything.

Ψ-X-x-X-x-ψ-Ω-ψ-x-X-x-X-Ψ

Annabeth POV

Location-Mt. Othrys Junkyard, North Base

9 days, 7 hours, 46 minutes until Kronos Rises to Power

Kronos' latest power move was a farce. To what end, I couldn't be certain. Regardless, the implications of the Titan King finally gifting his legions with freedom was worrying. Not that any of his strategies hadn't been worrying.

I knew firsthand how effective a tactician the tyrant could be, I'd witnessed the wars he'd started and ended firsthand. His inaction, these strange plays- this was all leading up to something. Even the bonds were merely a means to an end. I wasn't sure the destruction of Olympus was his goal anymore, this new little game didn't make sense.

My phone buzzed, fingers flicking as I studied a scene of Frank and Piper being accosted by townsfolk from one of my Owls. Figures. More precautions should have been taken to keep them safe, I really needed to get my head in the game. At the very least Luke had been there to pull his weight. In the end. Where in Hades name had he been?

There was too much to do without him slinking around. My fingers were already typing out new protocols regarding the mortals and different wards while the Owls reviewed the footage. I'd stayed up all night littering the town with my beautiful little birds, a brilliant mixture of Athena's wisdom, Daedalus' designs, and a pinch of Leo's weirdness. I had eyes, ears, and a decent strike force everywhere.

Tracking back Luke shouldn't be hard. I had time- the mountain wasn't going anywhere, and neither were the monsters. And I knew my limits. I wasn't about to find crack this mystery just yet. Cracking how to blackmail and smear Luke was a different quest. Popular opinion was thankfully not in his favor, here at least. His inner jerk had done that work for me, but he was starting to try for some reason. Perhaps it finally clicked that he was in a fight to the death against Percy?

A fight he was winning, annoyingly enough. He'd been the one to end Hazel, Frank, and my own Bonds, and Olympus had noticed. Hermes had hounded the others until Percy's supporters had come down to Poseidon, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus.

Dionysus was on the fence, and Demeter was an absolute mystery. Athena would come around, I knew my mother had to see reason and vote for Percy eventually. Apollo and Artemis would be difficult, more often than not they voted opposing sides just to mess with each other, I couldn't be certain who we'd end up with and they'd bring their own issues into the pool. So many factors, too much world ending.

This was my fifth apocalypse and I still didn't feel prepared, I really needed to start scheduling these things. Luke would be enough for now- I could show off the footage of him slacking off, again, and that might help kill his supporters off before they could get too much ground in the Shoebox.

A frown worked up my face as I watched him pull up to the police station, a frown that deepened when he ran in and came rushing back out with bulletproof vests and guns. He made several trips back and forth, even cradling a strange box, gingerly setting it in the trunk as he hopped back in.

What was the thief up to? I zoomed in on the image, catching sight of a barcode on the side of the box, my Owls hacking the police station, searching for data. Hmm… It'd be hard to spin this in a bad light if he was just stealing supplies for us, even if we did have a full armory. I could play him against Frank, the idiot was probably still pro mortal and could be persuaded that they needed their equipment to be safe.

My scan concluded, and I actually had to reread the manifest for the stolen crate once more. Confiscated explosives. Powerful ones, and quite a few of them. Was he planning on blowing up Othrys? Damn him, that might actually be a power move, explosives were Ares' weakness, the brat could actually steal another of Percy's supporters and be an active hero at the same time. As stupid as the plan was, I wished I'd thought of it first.

Another Owl had hacked the cameras inside, I flipped through to see if he had swiped anything else, hoping to piece together his plan. Luke's inner thief really shone through here, he navigated the station with ease, zooming in to his destinations as though he had been scoping out the station for weeks.

Luke flickered onscreen, the rest of the image crystal clear even as he suddenly came into focus, coming back the opposite direction, lugging the crate. That wasn't right, what was going on… I rewound the image, frown deepening as I saw a golden wash in the flicker, splitting off in different directions. I went back further, watching as it happened again and again, starting to put it together.

He couldn't have- there was no way Kronos could have captured him, even with all his wandering. I was jumping to conclusions, just because I had seen that same gold in Percy… There was no denying what I saw on my screen, and I knew it. This was not good, not at all. If we remedied it now, we might still have a chance to stop him before he could do real damage.

I was up and sprinting back to into town in an instant, Mt. Othrys and Kronos' machinations temporarily forgotten. Luke had Bonded with the Titan King. Impossible as it was, I was sure of it. And he had stolen weapons and supplies and explosives on a mission he had volunteered for. A mission he had previously been against… Wait.

I hid in the shadow of a doorway just inside town, careful not to be seen as I flipped through the footage again, searching for something. I'd done my own looting of the police station before, and I knew where to look. I didn't bother looking for Luke, knowing I'd find him somewhere that didn't make sense with his trail. I was right.

My shoulders sank as he appeared I a golden burst beside a computer, fingers excitedly tapping away, a paper printing behind him. The police stations cameras were nowhere near as sophisticated as my Owls, I couldn't get a clear view, but I knew a blueprint when I saw one. I could see it in my mind, piecing together what little I could from the out of focus paper before Luke vanished.

Long hallways, giant rooms, multilayered… Of course. Iliad High School. That was it, that was the last bit of the puzzle! Everything fell into place, remembering Luke's recent 'tests' with Leo, seeing if he was back to normal. I had the thief pegged in an instant, it all made sense. I'd put a stop to it, he would never get away with this the backstabbing murderous brat.

I started sprinting only to stop again, a worm of a thought digging in, rethinking the crisis. Maybe it didn't have to be stopped; not now anyways. I had so many problems, why not kill two birds with one stone. I felt my frown slowly turn into a smile, turning around and walking back to the forest, ready for more observation on Mt. Othrys.

Let Luke have his fun, I wouldn't tell on him. What better way to demonize Luke and save Percy than to let him dig his own grave? Yes… Oh yes this would work brilliantly. This was to be a reckoning, one way or another. And in the end, all that mattered was that Percy and I were standing at the end of it.

Finished the first, and sadly last cycle since my return! I'd love to keep going like this, but unfortunately, I'm going to return to my whenever pacing. I thought I had things up, but between the pressure, school/work, and even trying to have a social life, what little I got out felt rushed, sloppy, and just garbage to be honest. The next few chapters are big deals for me that I've been working on tinkering with ever since I started scratching out the prologue, and I want them to at least have a chance of living up to what I dreamed they could be, so I hope you all can understand.

I know a lot of my work isn't always up to snuff, and in the past I have been overenthusiastic and spun off to tell you all stories I was excited to tell, like the Dead Silence backstory. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, and I realize that it was sudden and that the clues I had left before were no good, and I can understand why it and some of the relationships received so much criticism. I'm going to try to stay more on track from this point, but bear with me. This is fanfiction, and I love doing it because I love telling and dreaming up stories; this is what I do for fun, and I always want to love doing and have the chance to get better at it.

Sorry that this is turned a tad ramblish, feeling a bit discouraged as of late, but happy to keep going thanks to all of you out there! Glad you stuck it out this long and I promise to have what I hope to be a super fantastical new chapter up soon! Have a wonderful morning/day/night and catcha later alligators!