Okay, I hope you all liked the last chapter, but I also hope you all like this chapter. Thanks for the reviews and follows, I appreciate them. I'm getting my groove back, so let me know what you think about this chapter. I kind of think I know where I'm going with this. I'm thinking about starting a drabble type fic, something to get a little bit sappy with, let me know if you're interested and if you have any suggestions or ships you want to see I'm open to trying to create a short little piece from your suggestions. So please if you're interested in that drop a suggestion, PM me, I'll give make sure to credit your idea. Thanks and love ya, please feel free to review~ Bolts and Trees :D

Luke handed Thalia a cup of hot chocolate as she walked over, she took the cup but she seemed extremely distracted. He offered to share his blanket with her, but she declined the offer. He felt like something was up, but he knew she'd tell him when she was ready to talk about it. If there was one thing Luke knew about Thalia, it was she did things on her own terms. Percy sat next to Thalia with Grover, and Chiron made his usual announcements before calling the Apollo campers who led the sing-along. He caught Lee Fletcher flash Thalia a smile, which she returned, and for some reason that bothered Luke. He didn't like the fact that Thalia barely smiled at him or Annabeth, but she'd return Lee Fletcher's smiles. He shrugged it off and watched as the colors of that night's bonfire turn from shifted from the usual orange to sea green, in honor of Percy's claiming.

Of course Luke found himself singing along with every ridiculous song the Apollo Cabin pulled out, everyone seemed to be having fun, even Percy who had just been claimed by one of the biggest gods on Olympus. He imagined it had to be tougher to be a demigod of one of the Big Three, he knew Thalia's aura attracted more monsters than his did, and Luke thought he attracted a lot of monsters. It didn't help that Thalia faced the wrath of Hera, but he knew it was still going to be tough for Percy. If Percy's life played out like it had the first time, he knew it was going to be rough. Luke still carried the weight a guilt of what he'd done the first time around, and even thought no one believed him, part of him wondered what would happen if the truth leaked down the road. Would they all hate him? Would they exile or shun him? He looked over at Thalia, who stared at the fire, seemingly distracted, the fire cast an odd green glow on her golden pale skin, yet Luke couldn't imagine losing her a second time. The first time he lost her, well it didn't go too well, he almost destroyed civilization. Sure, he hid behind the idea that the gods were horrible, that the gods needed to take a back seat, but deep down Luke knew it was losing Thalia that caused him to do what he did. How would Thalia react if she knew he poisoned her tree? Would she hate him?

Eventually the bonfire came to an end and everyone sort of shuffled back to their cabins. Luke turned to Thalia who hadn't gotten up from her spot yet, and he offered his hand, "There's still half an hour until curfew, take a walk with me."

She looked up at him and smiled slightly, "Sure."

Thalia took his hand and he pulled her up off the stone bench, her hand was warm, and soft, and holding her hand was comforting. He didn't want to let go, apparently Thalia saw no need to let go because they continued toward the beach, hand in hand. They walked until the fire became a distant glow and Luke was positive they were the only two on the beach. Thalia had taken off her shoes and was walking barefoot in the sand alongside him, her hand still intertwined with his. Being close to Thalia made Luke's entire body tingle, his heart fluttered, and something inside him nagged at Luke to kiss her. He shook off the urge to kiss her and continued walking with her.

"Thals, what's going on?" Luke asked quietly. It seemed to have caught Thalia off-guard, he could tell by her surprised expression.

She stopped walking and turned toward him, "I've been having dreams, I don't know who's sending them to me, but they claim someone I thought was dead is still alive."

"Who?" Luke asked, he kept his voice firm. He knew that Thalia did things on her own terms, but something told him that she would never tell him if he didn't prompt the conversation. In the light of the full moon he could the silvery tears streak down Thalia's face. It was rare to see Thalia cry, from his memories Luke only remembered seeing her cry three times max, and to see her cry twice within the same day was something Luke wasn't accustomed to.

"I never told you or Annie, or even Chiron, but right before you and I met, I ran away from home." She whispered.

Luke nodded, "Yeah, I know that Thals, your mom was an alcoholic, you've told me that."

"That wasn't the full truth, Zeus and my mother had a second child, a son. Zeus wasn't Zeus though, he was different, more disciplined, anyway my brother Jason was born." Thalia explained.

Luke stared at Thalia, she'd kept it a secret so long that it had to weigh on her mind a lot, "How come you never told me?"

"Well, the night I ran away from my mother, we had gone on a family picnic, me, my mom, and Jason. My mother sent me back to the car because she forgot the picnic basket, I didn't think anything would happen to Jason, so I ran back to the car. When I came back he was gone, my mother told me someone took him, that he was dead." Thalia sobbed, and Luke's heart broke. He remembered vaguely remembered dealing with Roman campers, especially a Jason Grace, he never put it together. Thalia didn't say anything else, she tried to calm herself down, but it wasn't working. Luke wrapped his arms around Thalia and allowed her to cry it out, he knew Thalia hated crying in front of people, but he figured she'd rather cry in front of him than someone like Chiron.

Luke gently pushed Thalia's chin up with his finger and forced her to look into his eyes, "You can't blame yourself for what happened, Thals. These dreams could be a trap though."

"I know, but part of me wants to know if its true. I only stayed as long as I did with my mother because of Jason. He didn't deserve to be stuck with someone like my mother and I couldn't bear to leave something so adorable with someone like her." Thalia whispered, the tears still silently streamed down her face. His heart broke listening to her story, the story she'd never told him before. He thought he knew everything about Thalia, but he now understood why she'd been so distant over the course of the last few weeks.

"Thalia, I promise on the River Styx, that we will find your brother Jason. I'll help you search everywhere for him." Luke whispered, thunder rumbled in the distance, he could imagine Zeus cursing under his breath and Luke hoped he didn't make an impossible promise.

Thalia shook her head, "Don't promise that, I'm not even sure he's actually still alive. There's no way he's still alive after this many years, he was only two or three..."

Luke cut her off with a kiss, he poured all the passion he could into the kiss. The only thing that mattered to him was Thalia's happiness at the moment, he didn't care about the second chance he'd been given by the Olympians, he only cared about making Thalia happy. She was, and will always be, the only thing in the world that made him see clearly. He wasn't about to make the same mistake a second time around. Thalia stiffened, taken off-guard by the sudden kiss, but eventually he felt her arms wrap around his neck and she kissed him back. For the first time in weeks Luke felt like the world was right; he was kissing Thalia, one person in his life he'd do anything for.

"We should probably start heading back before the harpies come looking for us." Luke whispered, he sounded kind of breathless, and his heart was racing. His forehead rested on Thalia's and he definitely didn't want to move, but Thalia nodded in agreement, breaking away to pick her shoes up from the sand. Luke intertwined his fingers through hers and they walked back toward the cabins, not necessarily caring about what Connor, Travis, Chris, or Ethan might say about his whereabouts. He walked Thalia up to the door of the Zeus cabin and kissed her forehead.

"Get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning." Luke whispered. Thalia nodded and turned toward the door, turning to smile at him before disappearing into the Zeus Cabin. Luke turned to walk toward the Hermes Cabin and he heard the door open and she grabbed his hand, stopping him from leaving.

"Stay with me?" She whispered, her voice barely audible, but he could see that she needed him. He nodded and allowed her to pull him into the cabin, knowing they would most definitely get into major trouble if they were caught, but Luke knew it was worth it. He didn't want to leave Thalia by herself, she was in a lot of distress and it bothered him. He looked up at the giant statue of Zeus standing in the middle of the cabin, wondering if Zeus could actually see him, but he shook it off and followed Thalia to her little alcove. It was small, but Luke knew they'd slept in smaller spaces, she instructed Luke to make himself comfortable before disappearing to change into her pajamas. When she came back she curled up next to Luke and almost fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. He watched the worry and stress melt off her face as she slipped into a peaceful sleep, he kissed the top of her head, which was rested on his bare chest, before falling asleep himself. He vowed, before closing his eyes, that Thalia's happiness was the only thing that mattered to him in the world.

Sun filtered in through the few windows and the skylight in the cabin, and hit Luke in the face. He opened his eyes and groggily looked around. He didn't feel Thalia's weight on his chest but he could hear the front door swing open. Thalia's hair was damp and smelled like lavender, she wore fresh clothes, and her face was natural, something Luke had noticed since he came back. She didn't need makeup anyway, but he found her gorgeous either way. She tossed him a bag and he opened it to find a fresh change of clothes and his shower supplies.

"How did you get these?" He laughed, looking at her curiously. She seemed to be in a better mood this morning.

Thalia shrugged, "I walked in, your siblings are extremely heavy sleepers by the way, and grabbed things."

Luke chuckled, "Impressive you didn't come across one of the Stolls' traps."

She didn't say anything, but she walked over and kissed him softly, "I'd go before anyone realizes you spent the night in here."

As much as he didn't want to leave, he knew she was telling the truth. The last thing Luke wanted was for someone like Travis and Connor or Drew Tanaka to see him sneaking out of the Zeus Cabin in the morning. Thalia had been an early riser, but Luke worried the Apollo Cabin was up and moving. He kissed her once more on his way out the door, leaving her smiling and laughing at him as he tripped his way across the commons toward the showers. He started the shower and didn't necessarily care what his siblings might say or assume, he'd spent the night with Thalia. Sure, nothing ridiculously scandalous happened, but he knew how the gossip mill worked. She needed a friend and Luke wanted to be there for her.

Luke got his siblings ready for breakfast, early because it took them forever and he really didn't want to get stuck on kitchen duty with the lava and the harpies. He got them settled in at the Hermes table and looked around for Thalia, who never showed. A sinking feeling grew in Luke's stomach as he realized what was going on, he caught Annabeth's eyes who seemed to have noticed that something was going on. Luke knew it was only a matter of time before Annabeth, if she hadn't already noticed, figured out that something was up with Thalia. Percy frowned when he noticed the Zeus table was empty and then Luke noticed that Grover wasn't sitting in his usual place next to Percy.

"Gods dammit Thalia." Luke muttered under his breath, maybe he was wrong but something told him that Thalia had skipped camp. He hated it when the gods manipulated demigods that way, the entire reason Luke tried changing things the first time. He had trouble sitting and listening to Chiron's announcements, but he managed to make it through breakfast, hoping he was wrong and that Thalia had just decided to skip in general.

After everyone was dismissed to continue daily activities, Luke placed Travis, Connor, Chris, and Ethan in charge, knowing that at least Chris would be slightly responsible in the role as leader. He sprinted to Thalia's cabin, but apparently he wasn't the only one who had that idea. Percy and Annabeth were already inside the cabin holding a note in Thalia's half print half cursive handwriting.

Annabeth's face went pale when she looked up at Luke, tears glittered in her gray eyes, "She's leaving."

"Grover went with her, he left me a note in my cabin." Percy held up a similar note in chicken scratch handwriting. Luke's heart sank into the pit of his stomach, he couldn't let Thalia go out there alone with no one but Grover. She was too powerful, she'd be attacked the minute she crossed the boarder. Anger washed over him and he punched the leg of the Zeus statue, instantly regretting doing so.

"DAMMIT! WHY COULDN'T SHE STAY PUT?!" Luke bellowed. Usually Thalia was the one keeping Luke from doing reckless things, but now Thalia was pulling reckless stunts and running off on possible suicide missions, no permission to leave camp from Chiron or Mr. D, she'd be expelled from camp, Luke couldn't handle that. He swore to Ares if Zeus had thrown him into a different timeline only to watch the one person he loved most in the world make the same stupid mistakes he made, he would tear Olympus down brick by brick himself without the help of crazed Titan Lords.

Luke heard the sound of hooves on the marble floor, he didn't even need to look up to know it was Chiron, "Where's Thalia? She was..."

He stopped in mid-sentence as Annabeth and Percy handed him the notes. His face fell and Luke could see the years of exhaustion set in over the centaur's face. Chiron knew something bad was festering, and whoever was targeting Thalia used her brother as the means to get what they wanted. Luke had used the same tactics; using loved ones as leverage.

"Luke, I feel its time you visited the Oracle, otherwise Thalia won't have much of a chance." Chiron nodded at him grimly. Luke didn't need to be told twice, he sprinted all the way to the Big House, up the stairs and to the attic ladder. He couldn't let her go down the same path he went down, he couldn't stand to see Thalia make the same mistakes he made. All Kronos had to do was promise he'd see her again, promise that Thalia would stand by him, but he knew that manipulation was key in getting what they wanted. He didn't want to see Thalia reduced to nothing but the bad guy.

He took a deep breath and climbed up the ladder, expecting the mummy to greet him with green smoke. However, Luke Castellan met another surprise awaiting him in the attic. A young man with blonde hair pulled back into a manbun, muscles Luke didn't even know existed were visible under his tight white v-neck, and his sad grass green eyes met Luke's. A quiver full of golden arrows sat propped against the stool where the mummy usually sat and the god smile sadly.

"Luke Castellan, I've been dying to talk to you for many years." Apollo smiled, the god seemed sombre, nothing like Luke had imagined him to be.

Luke gulped, Apollo had always unnerved him, especially after his mother and of course meeting Hal, "Lord Apollo."

"I'd always sympathized with you in another time, your story reminded me my own. I lost a love in a similar manner, to have the girl you love turn into a tree before your very eyes is cruel. She means a lot to you doesn't she?" Apollo asked, smiling knowingly at Luke.

"Yeah, she does." Luke muttered, "Please tell me I'm not going to watch her make the same mistakes I did."

Apollo chuckled, "There is still a chance to save her, but you must get to her before the force compelling her does. She's not thinking straight, something I believe you can relate to. In order to help her you must go West, take Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase with you, where you will search out the Greeks' greatest enemies. Her brother, Jason, he's still alive at a place in the Bay Area, once you find her brother, you'll find her and the satyr in a cruel trap, you must find her by the Summer Solstice or it will be too late for both Thalia and Grover."

"California?" Luke asked, but it was almost as if the god had never been in the room in the first place. In Luke's hand he held a first aid kit, the only indication that he had actually talked to the god in the first place. Luke scrambled down the ladder, first aid kit in hand, wondering why the god had left him something the camp kept in store by the hundreds.

Chiron was waiting in the living room of the Big House, Mr. D snorted as Luke came around the corner, "What did the Oracle say? Luke, why are you holding a first aid kit?"

"Well I didn't necessarily talk to the Oracle, it was more of a direct order from Apollo to seek out a kid named Jason Grace. I have to go West, find Jason, who is Thalia's brother in case you were wondering, and then find Thalia in another place to save her a Grover by the end of the day on the Summer Solstice." Luke relayed the information Apollo had given him. Chrion's face paled, Mr. D looked up from his Diet Coke, something told Luke what he was about to do was dangerous.

"You're allowed two companions, have you decided who you're going to take?" Chiron asked, his expression unnerved Luke just as much as Apollo's appearance had in the attic.

Luke nodded, "That's the other thing, he kind of said I had to take Percy and Annabeth with me."

"Very well then, Percy, Annabeth, please come out from around the corner." Chiron nodded, sighing as he said it. Percy and Annabeth had been hiding around the corner that led into the kitchen. Of course Annabeth was the first to step out, dragging Percy behind her.

Annabeth's gray eyes were locked in determination, "I'm going with no matter what Apollo said, Thalia and Grover are my best friends."

"Yeah, we'll go with you." Percy nodded, he didn't seem as confident as Annabeth, but Luke couldn't help but smile. Even thought Annabeth was only twelve, she had serious skill, someone Luke definitely wanted on his team, and Percy had some awesome powers he hadn't discovered yet, a quest would definitely be a great way for Percy to start.

Chiron nodded nervously, "It's settled then, you will leave at dawn, Argus will take you to the bus station."