Chapter 192: Returning to Camp

[Third Person's PoV] 

As Lucian and the others walked back through Olympus, a surreal sight greeted them: the Satyrs and other similar beings of the realm knelt before them, bowing in reverence. The weight of the gesture was not lost on anyone—it was the acknowledgment of heroes, 

Percy shifted uncomfortably, his expression conflicted, while Lucian appeared detached, his gaze distant. His thoughts drifted elsewhere 'Now things are about to get interesting... Percy didn't know about Luke being the traitor until the end of summer in the original timeline. But now, with what he's learned, he'll likely confront Luke sooner than expected. And Percy being Percy, that confrontation will probably be immediate."

They all soon got in the elevator and Lucian was still lost In thought, Lucian had his head leaning back against the metal wall of the elevator without making much of an expression. 

"Hello?" Percy waved his hand in front of Lucian's face, snapping him out of his reverie.

Lucian blinked, his attention snapping back to the present. "What is it?"

"I've been calling your name for a minute now," Percy said flatly.

"Sorry, lost in thought," Lucian admitted, raising an eyebrow. "What were you saying?" 

"This," Percy gestured to his toga with a scowl. "Can you change me back? I'm not stepping outside dressed like this."

"Oh, right." Lucian snapped his fingers, and their outfits shimmered, morphing back into modern clothing. The elevator continued its descent toward the bustling streets below.

"What's got you so deep in thought?" Thalia asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Lucian who was wearing a long sleeveless black sweater and pulled the hood over his head and yawned, "Nothing I'm just tired…" 

"That's right," Thalia said, her voice softening. "You haven't slept in days…"

"What?!" Percy turned to Lucian, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You mean to tell me you fought Heracles while sleep-deprived and still managed to beat him?"

Lucian smirked faintly, a glimmer of pride in his eyes. "Crazy, right? Definitely going in my autobiography."

The smirk faded as Lucian's expression turned serious. "But seriously… Percy. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Say anything about what?" Percy asked, confused.

"About Luke," Lucian said, his voice steady but sharp. "You could've exposed him. Ended this whole thing before it even started. But you didn't. Why?"

The elevator doors slid open with a quiet chime. Percy stepped out, his back to Lucian. For a moment, the only sound was their footsteps echoing in the corridor. Then Percy spoke, his voice low and heavy with emotion.

"Because… he was my friend too."

Thalia and Lucian exchanged a look—a mixture of understanding and conflict—before silently following Percy into the streets of Manhattan.

They went and quickly reunited with the others that were waiting for them. "So how did it go?" Annabeth asked curiously. 

Lucian just held out a peace sign, "I got electrocuted" 

"I don't think that's something to brag about, how are you not dead?" Grover wondered with a wary expression. 

Lucian began kissing his biceps, "Because of these bad boys" 

"You were on the ground crying" Thalia said with a straight expression. 

"No I was not!" Lucian retorted with a blush. 

"Uh, Lucian, can I ask for a favor" Percy asked awkwardly. 

"Depends on the favor…" Lucian said with a raised eyebrow, 

"Before we go to camp, can you teleport me back home. My father said my mom was sent back home thanks to Lord Hades. I wanted to see here" 

"Sure…" Lucian said as he plucked a hair off Percy's head. 

"Ow! What was that for!?" Percy asked, rubbing his head. 

"A locator spell? Duh! I don't know where the hell you live" Lucian said with a scoff as he activated the spell and gained a clear image before using his Navigation powers to lead them. 

"You could have asked" Percy pouted slightly. 

"Didn't wanna" Lucian said as he snapped his fingers and they were all swallowed by Lucian's shadow and rapidly arrived in front of Percy's home. 

Percy turned to look at his home with a determinated gaze but Lucian stopped him, "Wait Percy before you go…" 

"Hm?" 

"My intuition is acting up… Hold a minute" Lucian said he held out his palm. 

From Lucian's palm a black and ominous magic power began to rise and form a ball, that ominous power was Lucian's curse energy which he used to create curses. 

It slowly compacted and formed the shape of a marble as it radiated with power, Lucian then used his transmutation magic to change the form of his curse. 

The curse suddenly began to harden and it turned into a rock with a red sigil right in the middle of it. 

"Here" He said, handing the stone to Percy. 

Percy just looked at it in confusion, "The hell is this?"

"Something I literally just came up with, I call it… A spell stone! I activated a spell and turned it portable for other people to use. What you have in your hands is one of my Curses, a petrification curse to be more specific, smash it at someone's feet and they would be turned to stone" Lucian explained proudly. 

"Thanks…" Percy muttered with a confused look before heading inside, stuffing the pebble in his pockets and heading inside. 

As Percy let a silence hang around the group, which was broken as Lucian began drumming at his thighs. 

"..." 

"Nice weather we're having…" Lucian said awkwardly

Annabeth just scoffed in amusement as she went and sat by the steps of the building with the others following along. 

Although Lucian couldn't really fall asleep his eyes were still heavy, so he closed his eyes to give them some rest from being opened all the time. 

He felt Annabeth's hand over his head as she moved his head and set him down on her lap. Lucian let out a sigh, "If only you were thicker…" 

"Lucian I'm going to literally hit you, don't play with me" Annabeth threatened squishing his cheeks. 

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Lucian chuckled, swaying his leg as he continued to relax on the lap pillow. 

A few minutes later Percy came out with his hands in his pockets, "I'm done with things on my end, we can go guys" 

"What did you do with Gabe?" Grover asked curious about what he did with the spell stone Lucian had given him if had used it on him. 

He then looked towards Grover as he said, "I gave it to my mother… I left it up to her to decide. And knowing her she'll chose to do the right thing" 

"I'm just glad it's over you were taking forever, I was growing bored" Thalia said with a groan as she pushed herself up. 

Percy rolled his eyes towards Thalia, "You could have left without me, you three didn't need to stay, we took different quests together after all." 

Annabeth ushered Lucian off, as they both stood up, she dusted her butt off as she said, "We started our quest together it's only right we ended it together as well" 

Percy grew a faint smile as he nodded, "Alright then… Let's all go back to camp together. Just like how we started." 

Annabeth looked towards Lucian as she wrapped her arms around his, "If you would do the honors…" 

"It would be my pleasure…" Lucian said as he snapped his fingers causing them to be swallowed by his shadows.

As the darkness retreated from their gazes they stood on top of the tallest hill just outside the camp, they looked down towards Camp Half-Blood where it all began. 

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