Apollo always liked Thalia Grace.

She had spunk, she didn't take people's crap, she could conjure lightning, and, yeah, she was cute. She checked every box on Apollo's list.

Apollo was also always scared of Thalia Grace.

She was powerful, she had the glare of a wolf, she could conjure freaking lightning, and she was beautifully deadly in the midst of battle. Her presence demanded to be acknowledged, her silver circlet always somehow gleaming annoyingly into the eyes of those who disrespect her.

You don't mess with Thalia Grace, and even Apollo was smart enough to know that.

But, more importantly, you do not mess with Thalia Grace's loved ones.

She was deathly loyal, and would bring misery to anyone who dared lay a finger on those she considered important in her life. Family, Annabeth, and her hunters were at the top of Thalia's list, and may the gods have mercy on anyone who dared mess with them.

The first time Apollo went to Camp Half-Blood after Jason's death, he honestly forgot about the other Grace. He was just so relieved to be safe and at the place that he was starting to consider his home.

It wasn't until he and the cabin leaders were all huddled around the ping pong table one morning in the Big House, where he retold the story of his quest, that it dawned on him that Thalia was still in the dark about her brother. Apollo pulled Chiron aside after the meeting, basically pleading the centaur for help. Chiron agreed to call the Hunters to camp the next morning and talk to Thalia, much to the former god's relief.

However, Chiron would never get the chance.

That afternoon, sudden lightning bolts in the sky startled the camp. Apollo, who was on the porch of the Big House, stood when he saw movement over the hill next to the large pine tree. He pulled a sword from his hip, the feeling of wearing a sheath becoming so comfortable over the past weeks that he continued the trend at camp. Apollo wasn't sure what could possibly be attacking now that the war was over. Drakon? Empousa? Hellhounds?

What came over the hill was much worse than any monster from Tartarus.

Surrounded by buzzing static electricity and an occasional lightning bolt, Thalia Grace came stomping down the hill with murder in her eyes.

And her eyes were set straight onto Apollo.

Apollo dropped his sword and walked towards her so at least when he got struck by lightning, it wouldn't damage the Big House. He knew there was no running from this so he waited for the daughter of Zeus to reach him in the middle, even though every bone in his body was quaking.

As she got closer, the hair on Apollo started to stand up due to the static. In a different situation, it would have been funny. Apollo also noticed that she wasn't wearing any makeup and was crying. Her boots were untied, her pants unbloused. She didn't even have her prized circlet on her head.

She walked straight up to Apollo and got into his face. With his new mortal height, they were eye to eye and she was close enough that their noses were almost touching.

Apollo gulped, and, gods, did he want to look away.

The commotion of the lightning had caused a gathering by the volleyball courts. There was silence as everyone waited for Thalia's first move.

Apollo opened his mouth to speak, but Thalia cut him off. "Where's my brother, Apollo?" Her voice was shaky, but loud.

The tension was too much. Apollo finally looked away and down at his shoes. This is infuriated Thalia.

"NO!" She shoved Apollo back, and the electricity in the air finally popped. Apollo was blasted backwards in a bright flash, skidding to a halt in front of the Big House stairs. His shirt was smoking where her hands made contact, and he tasted sulfur. Thalia marched right back to his prone position, and stood over him.

"I am not taking silence for an answer! Where the fuck is my brother?" She shouted, leaning over and grabbing Apollo by the collar of his shirt. "You were supposed to protect him! And now you won't answer me! Why is my brother dead?"

Tears were openingly falling down her face now as she continued her onslaught on Apollo. She never looked away from Apollo's fearful eyes as she yelled at him. A lightning bolt struck the ground near Apollo's head, and the impact caused dirt to fly into his face.

"He was protecting us," Apollo groaned out. He couldn't tell if it was the continuous current of electricity into his body or the overwhelming taste and scent of sulfur that was making him woozy. "He attacked Caligula so we could escape. He's a hero," Apollo said gravelly, trying to keep his eyes open.

"No, Apollo!" she yelled, picking his limp body off the ground by his collar and standing him up. "He was a child! He was my baby brother!" She cried out those last words, but her voice remained loud. She was openly sobbing now, her eyes red, her chest heaving, and her nose running. Her eyes were a mix of anger and desperation. But her strength never faltered.

"Thalia," he said slowly, his mouth dry, "We would all be dead if he didn't… if he didn't sacrifice himself. He knew what he was doing. Jason saved us."

Apollo slowly took her hands with his own and pulled them from his shirt. She was still hyperventilating and crying, staring unfocused at some spot on his chest. Apollo thought back to Camp Jupiter, when Annabeth pulled his sanity back into line with a hug. Before he could think twice, he embraced the daughter of Zeus tightly.

There was a nice second where Apollo thought he did the right thing, and then it backfired.

Apollo felt her breathing slow down, and heard her let out a surprised gasp before he was once again on the ground in a flash of light, his body convulsing from the electric shock.

Stupid, he thought as his body throbbed.

Thalia walked over him again and pointed her finger at him. "You do not get to touch me." She turned to her hunters. "Don't let him leave your sight. I'm not done with him." She then turned away from the former god and stalked towards the woods, holding up her hand to a hunter who went to follow her. "Please, I just… Watch him. I will be back soon. Please," she said over shoulder, continuing into the woods until she was no longer visible.

Apollo looked up at the hunters that were now circling him and groaned. "Okay, who wants to join me to the bathroom because I need to change my pants."

/

Thalia didn't know where she was going and she didn't care. As long as she was away from pitying and prying eyes, she could be in a dumpster for all she cared.

She knew they tried to hide it, but Thalia saw the looks her hunters gave her on their trek to camp. As soon as their scout got word about what happened, Thalia dropped everything and led the charge to New York. They were worried for her, rightfully so, but Thalia didn't want their worry. She wanted them to speed the hell up so they could get to camp faster.

The looks she was receiving from bystanders during her altercation with Apollo were too much for her to handle so here she was, running away into the woods. There were too many times in Thalia's life where she was the recipient of a pity party and she got sick of it years ago.

She had already lost her brother once for over ten years, convinced that he was left for dead by their deadbeat mother. She knew she should have pushed her mother harder for answers, and she would forever feel guilty for it. She knew her mother was up to no good when she asked her to grab the food from the car, and yet she still left her brother.

For over ten years, she kept her secret from everyone because she was too ashamed to admit that she lost her brother. It was the one thing that Thalia promised to cherish and keep to herself, no matter what.

And then, by the fates, he shows up alive and well. When she first saw him, Thalia immediately had a hunch. His eyes, his face, his hair were all too familiar. When she held his face and saw his scar, it only confirmed her beliefs.

Alive. He was alive the whole damn time, and she had no idea.

Thalia was naive enough to believe that she had him back for good. Once the Giant War ended, with no new threats on the horizon, she found herself wanting to believe in a happy-ever-after for the Grace family.

She should have known better.

They had an informant on Caligula's boat who was keeping them updated on the monster's movements. After everything that went down on the boats, it took their insider a couple weeks to safely pass on the information that Jason Grace had been killed in the fight while Apollo and Piper McLean were able to escape.

Thalia's first instinct was to find Caligula and rip his throat out. She felt surprisingly numb, unable to produce any emotion besides rage. Her informant told her that while unlikely, there was a small chance that her sources could have been wrong.

So she dropped everything and ordered the Hunters to go to Camp Half-Blood.

However, while her insider kept reassuring her, Thalia knew that Jason was dead.

Fate was not kind to demigods so luck was not something they could count on. Also, Thalia had been having a strange feeling in her chest for the past couple weeks. She thought it was because their lead on a monster they were tracking was falling through. It felt like she was missing something, a hollow feeling in her heart. Now, she knew.

Thalia pulled herself from her thoughts to examine her surroundings, and she was surprised to find herself in front of Zeus' Fist.

It felt like a punch in the gut to the Hunter.

She walked to the base of the rocks before her legs buckled and she fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands as she started to cry again. She punched the rocks in front of her and looked up, even though the treetops blocked her view of the sky.

"Why didn't you protect him? Have we not lost enough already?" she cried out.

Thunder boomed overhead.

Thalia punched the rocks again. "He has saved your ass again and again, and you let him die! I blame you!"

Lightning flashed, striking the tree above Thalia. Branches and leaves fell around her.

"Go ahead and kill me," she taunted, rising to her feet. "I would like to listen to your explanation to Artemis from the Underwood."

More lightning flashed, but at a safe distance.

"Coward," she muttered, turning her back on the rock and heading back towards camp. She could feel her grief turning to anger, blossoming in her chest.

No matter who she blamed, Caligula still killed Jason. He was the only one who deserved her wrath, and she vowed to give it to him, dead or alive.

Thalia returned to camp to find Apollo still in the same spot she had left him, but he was sitting up and had on different pants. Her hunters immediately acknowledged her presence by standing at attention. Thalia pointed her finger at Apollo.

"I decided I'm done with him. I want him out of my sight," she ordered. One of the hunters nodded, wordlessly grabbing Apollo under his arms, and pulling him away towards the strawberry fields. Thalia turned to her second-in-command. "I need you to find Nico DiAngelo, son of Hades. I do not care where he is; you bring him to me."

Her hunter nodded before turning, and barking orders to the wolves and other hunters.

"Wait!"

Thalia turned to see Apollo looking desperately at her.

"Thalia, what are you planning on doing?"

Her blue eyes flashed dangerously.

"Apollo, once you become a god again, please tell my father 'Πήγαινε γαμώ εαυτό σου' for me." Thalia turned away from the former god's bugging eyes.

"Now, can anyone tell me where I can get a Happy Meal?"

/

What is Thalia planning? You decide.

Anyway, I think this is it for this story. I tried to write for Will and Nico, but it just wouldn't come out the way I wanted it to. I couldn't get their reactions or characters right so it is probably best left untouched. I have no one left to write, unless a good suggestion comes through that I can work with. I hope you enjoy Thalia's anger, though. The little message at the end, as you can imagine, is Thalia telling her father to do something that isn't appropriate for young viewers. Feel free to stick it into Google Translate, I hope it comes out right.

I also want to announce that I am officially rewriting my first story I'm Here. I was thinking about it the other day, ideas just kept flowing, and now I have an eight chapter outline for the story. This version will be written better, and have a complete, concise plot. Or at least I hope. We'll see. To stay updated on that, follow me as an author or follow the old story, where I will post an update once the new story is up. First chapter will be out soon.

Sorry for any spelling errors, blah blah blah. Thanks for reading! :)