Hey! So, as you might have guessed, I'm having an eensy bit of trouble with writing chapter 3 of my Virals story, Genetics, and I've been screaming this at myself in the mirror for a while now (don't judge: my best friend, Airreon Princess, has no patience to listen to me rant about PJO and Virals anymore) and decided, WTH, I'll see if they like Next Generation Stories.

So, yeah, if you didn't catch that, this story is set up as the Virals' kids and the Demigods' kids. When they meet, what more can you expect other than all hell breaking loose? Hope you enjoy.

Before I forget, I all I own is this lovely life I live on this lovely website, along with some of my wacky creations I threw into the mix. I do not own PJO (boo!) nor do I own Virals (BOOOOO!). Respectively, PJO goes to Rick Riordan and Virals to Kathy and Brendan Reichs. I WISH I were them, only talent-wise, of course. I do quite enjoy my teenage years and am looking hopefully to the brightest star, second on the right, for eternal awesomeness!

Percy sat down at the edge of the bed and smiled at tight, strained smile. "Hey, Sailor," he said with a small sigh. If he had hoped it wasn't going to make them worry, he was mistaken. The figure Percy had been smiling at wriggled themselves out from under the covers and crawled their way over to him. They plopped themselves onto hi lap and placed a hand on Percy's cheek, right above the smile lines that weren't really there.

"What's wrong, daddy?" the little boy asked.

Percy's eyes softened and he looked at his son with a more realistic, small smile. "I need you to do something for me, Alec."

"Anything, daddy," Alec promised solemnly, lowering his hand to hold his father's, "but... can I ask you a question first?"

"Sure thing."

"Why do you call me Sailor sometimes and call me Alec sometimes too?"

Percy smiled at this. "I call you Alec because that's a shorter name for your full name, Alexander. I call you Sailor because that's what I am, that's what my father was and that's what I think you're going to be. But, its all up to you."

Alec's brow wrinkled as he tried to process. "So... you were a sailor, Poseidon was a sailor-"

"That's what I need to talk to you about," Percy cut in before Alec could go any further.

Alec blinked, surprised. "About how granddaddy is Poseidon?"

"No, Alec. I need to talk to you about everything your mother and I have told you about magic."

"What about the magic?"

Percy squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before continuing. This was going to change most every aspect of his son's life.

"It was all stories, Alec. And I need you to remember it that way. All of it; the Lightning Thief, the Sea of Monsters, the Battle of the Labrynth, the Titan's Curse, the Last Olympian, the Lost Hero, the Son of Neptune, the Mark of Athena, the House of Hades, the Blood of Olympus; none of it was real."

Alec's eyes widened and his bottom lip quivered. He squeezed Percy's hand tight. "Not... real?"

Percy shook his head sadly. What more was there to say? "I'm sorry Alec. Both your mother and I love fairy tales and decided to make our own." Percy stood up, letting go of his son's hand. "You're your mother's son, Alec, but you're still seven. I'll give you the night to think about it." With that he walked away, leaving his seven-year-old little boy who looked exactly like him - same blue eyes, same dark brown hair, same penchant for trouble - staring after him.

"I don't know about this, Ben," Tory said nervously, "I don't think I can do it."

"You know that I have no choice, Tor. If I go in there I don't think I'll be able to bring myself out."

Tory grasped Ben's hand and stared him hard in the eyes. "I know for a fact that I won't be able to."

Ben's hard stare softened a bit and he sighed quietly. He let go of Tory's hand and wrapped her in a hug, her head on his shoulder. "You know we can't stay," he mumbled into her ear. Tory squeezed her eyes shut tight and buried her face into his neck, trying to will off the tears.

"If we stay, we put not only her in danger, but everybody else in Charleston, specifically the other Virals. Tory," he said softly, pulling away a bit to look her in the eyes, "we have to go."

He kissed her lightly and pressed his forehead against hers as the tears began to fall.

Tory threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in Ben's chest as the tears began cascading down her cheeks. "She's only five," Tory sobbed, a total wreak but beyond caring, "she's our daughter and she's only five and we have to leave. Why do we have to leave?!"

Ben clenched his jaw and clutched Tory to his chest, supporting almost all of her weight. He slowly started to walk backwards, towards the front door. Ben was usually the one to cave in situations, but Tory was totally incapacitated from making rational decisions at the time, so Ben had to make them for her. Holding Tory with one hand, he groped for the doorknob with the other and pulled both of them out before quietly closing the door. The oak did nothing to muffle the sobs wreaking havoc on Tory's systems.

"Tory," Ben said, but the girl in his arms did not quiet down at all. "Tory, he said a little more forcefully, with no reply.

"Damnit, Victoria," he whisper-yelled, his frustration showing through. She quieted down a bit and looked at him with so much raw pain in her eyes it took every morsel of strength in him not to turn around and let her back into the house. "Victoria Grace," he said, back in his soft voice, "her name is too long to say in an everyday conversation, so there's a high and mighty chance that she'll go by Aerie."

Tory looked like she was about to lose it again, but Ben put a finger against her mouth, and so she took a deep breath, nodded, and then he continued.

"We need to give her the best chance we can, and us being here will not give her that chance. The Hunters are coming and we can't just leave her in the line of fire. To keep her close, we need to leave."

Tory clenched her jaw. She knew all of this already, but where they were going to go they may never return from. She nodded, what else could she do?

Neither Percy nor Annabeth, neither Tory nor Ben, were ever seen again by their children's eyes.

And... voilà! Lemme know if I made it sad enough, this story will probably be posted in faster succession than Genetics (at least I hope so!)

What more can I say other than R&R, people!

- CoVW