Finding Home

Chapter 3 - Old Friends

~ 50 years later~

"Are you ready?" Dad asked me. Nico and Will were grinning, excited. It was time to find our friends in the underworld.

I nodded, even though I was nervous. I was doing this for Nico and Will. "Yes. It is time."

He opened a portal for us to go through, which took us to Elysium. When we got there, we were in a field of brightly colored wildflowers with a lake right next to us. The water was so beautiful, with the sunlight (How does that work? It's underground) reflecting off it and making it a gorgeous shade of blue. There were flowers of every color, a rainbow of colors more beautiful than I had ever laid eyes on. The vibrant petals of blue, yellow, red, purple, orange, white, and many more, were breathtaking. Their scent filled the air, but it was not overwhelmingly sweet as one would think. Just standing there, in that perfect field, I felt almost happy.

I was in such awe of its beauty, I almost forgot about being nervous. Almost. A group of teenagers sat on a dock, talking and laughing together. Silena, Beckendorf, Zoe, and Bianca. As we approached them, I nervously bit my lip. I was worried they would hate me for failing to save them. When we reached them, I spoke.

"Uh, hello." I said hesitantly.

They turned around and saw us. They came over to us and Nico stared at Bianca like he couldn't believe she was there. Then, he ran over and hugged her. She laughed and hugged him back, just as tightly.

I avoided looking at everyone. "I'm sorry," I said.

Then, Zoe came over to me, and I figured she would slap me or yell at me. Instead, she hugged me, and soon they were all hugging me.

"Why are you here?" Silena asked once we had pulled away.

"Well, we actually came to talk to you." I started.

"About what?"

"Um, we should find the others first." I said.

So, we walked through the streets of Elysium. First, we found Michael and Ethan. Then I saw Luke sitting by himself in the shade of a tree, reading a book. I told the others to wait there and walked up to him. Instead of saying anything, I sat next to him.

"Are you certain you want to sit here?" Luke asked without looking up from his book. "Most people want nothing to do with me."

"I am definitely not most people." I responded.

He recognized my voice and looked up. "Percy?"

I smiled softly at him. "Hey Luke."

He looked shocked. "You died?"

I shook my head. "No. I came to talk with you and a few others."

"Why do you look so different?"

Currently, I was in a 14-year-old form. I hadn't bothered to change my appearance to fit what I looked like as a son of Poseidon. I had let my snow-white hair grow out a bit, so it fell just below my ears. I kept my eyes to match Dad's, though occasionally I would change them depending on my mood. My skin was paler than it was before and the dark clothing I had chosen to wear made it seem even more so. I wasn't wearing my crown, as the trip wasn't technically a mission or anything.

I shrugged. "I'll explain later. Come on."

He glanced at where my group stood before sighing. "Okay." He stood up and hesitantly followed me back to the others.

I smiled at everyone. "Great, everyone is here."

"So, why do you want to talk with all of us?" Bianca asked.