Family Ties (Percy Jackson and the Avengers)

Chapter 2

Alicia and Percy spend all of Monday at the public library researching Polybotes. As it turns out, they come to a rather simple conclusion. When Poseidon pursued and defeated the giant it was on the shores of Kos. It was said that he picked up a piece of the land and buried Polybotes with it. This piece of land became the island Nisyrion. It was where the son of Gaea resided for hundreds of years until his mother freed him for the Giant War. 

They plan to leave the day after tomorrow. They'll celebrate Halloween and then slip away in the early morning hours. 

Percy tries to convince Alicia to stay, but she is stubborn and refuses. They spend the rest of the day packing and repacking until they have what they feel they will need. 

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Percy arrives at Stark Towers with Alicia draped over his arm. He's dressed in a regal looking tunic adorned with teal accents and a short, gilded cloak. He has on authentic golden sandals and leather ceremonial grieves. Riptide gleams at his side in a sheath he asked Leo to construct just for this occasion. On his head is the golden laurels Travis and Conner managed to snitch from camp for him. He is the image of a Greek king. Even if you ignore the fact that he is secretly wearing old basketball shorts underneath to avoid any unwanted drafts, he has the air of authority and power.

Alica herself is dresses like his queen and Percy has to admit that she looks beyond beautiful. Her blonde hair is done up with a golden circlet. She wears a long, regal chiton with small sandals of her own, not too different from Percy's. There is a golden cuff on her upper arm. However all that is not what wows Percy the most. She seems to have a certain bronze glow to her skin with the adornment  and though she wears little makeup, her features are clearly highlighted. Percy's always had a thing for natural beauty and all, but he is left speechless by Alicia's way with it.

The couple enter the lounge room through the balcony doors, where Blackjack lets them off. They stride in arm in arm, smiling happily at their friends. Not only are the Avengers here, but so are Pepper, Nico, Annabeth and Tyson, who got a little time off from his underwater duties at the last minute. Needless to say Fury was not invited.

Their subtle, but powerful entrance is one that Zeus would envy. All heads turn with varying looks of awe on their faces.  Nico shakes his head, a grin snaking it's way onto his face. "It fits you Perce. Looks like you were meant to be king."

Percy flushes and shakes his head. His embarrassment only makes the effect of his costume more realistic. Annabeth nods with a small smile on her face. She feels that if the Greeks and Romans were to chose a king today, Percy would be become one whether he wants to or not.

The moment is interrupted briefly however when Tyson throws himself onto the green eyed demigod for a great, big hug. "Brother! I missed you!"

The room is enveloped in contagious giggles and even the normally stoic Natasha and Nico join in. Percy laughs around his cyclop brother's flannel shirt, almost getting a mouthful of hay in the process. Someone went to trouble of dressing Tyson up as a scarecrow it seems. "I've missed you too, Tyson."

Percy spends the evening weaving in and out between his family and friends, swapping stories and even sneaking a few sips of Tony's vodka, though the son of Poseidon quickly decides he doesn't have much of a taste for it. At one point Steve dozes off only to wake up with a marker mustache and according to the room's occupants, it's a wonder how it got there. Another time Thor gets a little tipsy and forget that Midgardians aren't in the custom of throwing down their glasses and demanding more. At one point just before it is times to go Alicia trips over her robes and spills wine that she isn't supposed to have all over Clint. All in all it's a great party and even though godly parties are insane amazing, Percy is glad he's here instead of on Olympus. At around 10:30 the demigods, cyclop and Alicia slip away. Percy and the others head to camp for the festivities there while the blue eyed mortal heads towards the beach party at  Montauk.

The couple shares one last glance before parting ways, a look that says 'Soak up the enjoyment while you can. Tomorrow it's time to get to work.'

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The campfire is dying down as 4:00 swings around. The stars are still dangling sleepily in the sky, but Percy can sense dawn only a few hours away. Everyone has slunk back to their cabins aside from the few who simply passed out on the benches where they sat. It's quiet, almost to quiet.

An ache settles in his heart as he looks around in the darkness at the all too familiar shadows that make up his home. He has that foreboding feeling again that he gets just before something big happens, but this one is heavier than any before it. He gets the feeling that he truly won't be returning this time.

This is it and he desperately wants to wake everyone before he heads out, but he can't. They won't let him go alone. They'll try to issue a quest. However this is something he must do by himself. He can't have them knowing, have them getting hurt.

Heaving a sigh, he slowly turns and makes his way up the hill towards the lonely pine and dragon at the top. Peleus doesn't even wake. Like everyone he is drunk on the night's celebrations. Percy gives the camp once last glance and for whatever miraculous reason the stars seem to brighten, giving him a clear view of everything.

The strawberry farms that sometime ago replace the precious grapes. The cabins fit snuggly in an Omega shape, a result of the Titan war. The large campfire pit where so many happy and sad songs have been sung. The dining pavilion where Percy told Nico of his sister, Bianca's death. The training arena where Luke first trained him and where he first learned to wield a sword. The beach where he witnessed some of the most relaxed moments of his life. The lake where he stole his kiss from Annabeth. There's the climbing wall where he lots many shirts to spewing lava. There's the woods where he was betrayed, but also where he developed what little teamwork skills he has. The Big House that is the center of this little world. And beside him is the tree that held one of his best friends for several years, where he first felt loss, where he killed a fearsome monster with just his bare hands and where things really got started. This is Camp Half Blood, his home.

He is determined, that even if it's not soon and even if it's not in this life, that he will be able to return once again.

With that he quietly walks down the opposite side of the hill, heading towards the unknown. No one is the wiser until morning when they all wake to find their hero and his girlfriend once again gone, his cabin and house strangely empty once again. A note left on the kitchen table beside to two phones contains only one message in messy, dyslexic-induced handwriting:

It's not goodbye. Not really. We'll be back one way or another. 

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Oh my gods, I did not mean to make this chapter so, so sad! I just got caught up in the moment. 

Also I know it's kinda short, but there wasn't anything else I wanted to write for this chapter. This is where I had to leave off. Please comment and express your very large opinions. I like to read them. Vote if you want more updates. And follow me if you want more stories.

~Halie <3