Better As A Team (Heroes of Olympus/Lorien Legacies Crossover Fanfic)

Chapter 5

Percy's POV:

I head back to the Poseidon cabin after Annabeth finally concluded that Frank would actually be best to save the little girl since he can fly as an eagle.

When I get to the front of the cabin, the door swings open, almost on cue, and Max is standing in the doorway, now wearing her regular black t-shirt instead of my Camp Half-Blood shirt I let her borrow. It's like, two sizes too big on her, and it's adorable, I swear.

"Max, hey, where are you going?" I ask, scratching the back of my neck. I'm not exactly sure what to say to her. She seems confused, like she's not exactly processing everything correctly, but she knows more than us at the same time. Something that we don't know.

"I'm leaving," Max replies nonchalantly, sliding past me like it's no big deal. She's leaving? Just like that? She can die out there! Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter are the only safe places for demigods. I can't let her just wander out there alone.

So I don't.

"Wait, what? Why? Stay here, you'll be safer," I protest.

Max stops walking away from me and turns around, facing me. "Why do you want me to stay? I'm just another demigods. No one will even remember my name anyways. So what's the point?" She asks, shrugging her shoulders.

"You just saved a daughter of Athena, a little girl, and you're a daughter of Poseidon, the only daughter of Poseidon. You're special. Don't leave. People might not remember you, but I will. So stay, for me?" I ask, almost pleading.

Max sighs. She looks down at the ground for awhile, then looks me in the eye seriously.

"You're not the only one who has to complete a quest," Max says, then she's walking away.

"Help me."

Max stops in her tracks abruptly, and turns to face me again. "What do you mean?" She asks.

"Help me, with my quest. If you help me, then I'll help you with your quest. Deal?" I ask, and hold out my hand for her to shake.

She stares at my hand for awhile then takes it and shakes it. "Deal," she replies, and we both smile. I stare at her blue-black eyes, and she stares into my green ones.

"Good. Get packed, we leave tomorrow," I finish, and I walk away to alert the others that we have a new demigod joining us.

I look back, and Max is gone. Hopefully in the cabin, packing up clothes for her long, long trip that starts tomorrow.

I meet Annabeth at the rock climbing wall. She's still there, carefully examining the tight rope that almost killed her little sister tonight.

"Wise Girl? I need to tell you something..." I call to her. She looks up at me and smiles.

"Yeah, Seaweed Brain?" she asks.

"Um, uh...Would it be okay if someone else comes with us on our quest?" I ask her.

"Well, it depends. Who else do you want to bring?"

I inhale deeply, a bit nervous that she'll disagree since Max isn't one of the seven demigods from the prophecy.

Annabeth stares at me with confusion, so I let it out, "Max. I want to bring Max."

Annabeth will understand. She's a daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Annabeth will know that I can't just leave Max here, she doesn't know anyone else.

"Sure. Why not? The more, the better, right?" Annabeth replies, standing up. I squeeze her in a tight bear hug.

"Thanks Wise Girl. I knew you'd understand," I don't give her a chance to respond or hug back, I just run off to the Aphrodite cabin to let Piper know about this. We all had to come back to Camp Half-Blood after a little incident with Leo and New Rome because a horde of weird monsters which none of us (not even Annabeth) could identify attacked the Argo ll. It was so badly damaged we had to come back here to repair it, and it'll be ready to go tomorrow. The monsters that attacked us looked strangely like the one that was chasing Max in the woods.

After what seems like an hour, I've told everyone else that Max was joining us, and everyone but Leo are fine with it. Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Piper, and I are okay with Max joining us, but Leo on the other hand is pumped about it.

If he tries anything I will drown him, I'm not kidding, I won't hesitate to.

I sigh in relief when I realize my task is over. I walk to the Poseidon cabin and open the door to find Max still awake, the lights still on. She looks up at me then looks down again. She's a really mysterious one, isn't she?

"You're still awake?" I ask her, wondering why she is.

She scratches the back of her head. "I'm not exactly sure where I'm supposed to sleep... And besides, I won't be able to. Where were you?" She asks, and I swear to the Gods that I hear a hint of concern in her voice. A mysterious, concerned-about-everything little sister. Didn't see that coming.

Well, I didn't really see anything that came today.

"I was just telling the others you were coming with us. They're all fine with it, so you're welcome to join us," I explain. She smiles, and that makes me smile.

"You can sleep in Tyson's bed," I answer her first question, pointing to where Tyson's bed lays (thankfully) lifeless.

Max looks at the bed, then looks at me, confused. "Who's Tyson?" She asks.

I don't even know where Tyson is, but I know he's safe. He's probably at my dad's underwater palace.

"He's your- our- brother," I answer, then plop down on my bed, and Max gets up and lies down on Tyson's bed.

"Goodnight, Percy," Max calls to me, which makes me smile. Max may be mysterious, but she knows how to make people smile.

My smile fades as I feel guilt wash over me like a dangerous tsunami I can't control.

Max is a new camper who just arrived this morning, who just learned about all this stuff, and who has her own quest to complete. She's nice, and she knows how to make people smile. She's brave and selfless, I can already tell. She's a daughter of Poseidon, the only daughter of Poseidon, and my little sister.

And this one thought blows in my head over and over again, like a massive explosion.

What have I gotten Max into?

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