The End of Everything

Meeting...Again

Thalia's POV

"Do we have to do this?" I asked, already feeling my nerves start to kick in. The idea was bad but it was the only one we had.

"I don't like it either but it's our only shot to try and slow things down," Reyna sighed, watching as the others nervously prepared to go to Olympus as well. "We have to give Thia a chance to figure things out."

"But marching up to Olympus with a big group of demigods is totally going to send the wrong message. You and I both know how Gods get when they feel attacked or threatened. Besides, we'll be on their home turf." Just the idea of what we were about to attempt made my stomach twist in knots and made my palms clammy with sweat. "And my dad is already horrible with his temper. I don't want to piss him off like normal."

Reyna's gaze shifted from watching the others to study me with a gentle look. "Thalia, I know you don't like me saying it but you have to stop being afraid of your dad."

"Easier said than done." As of late I was getting increasingly bad vibes when it came to the topic of my father. He was growing more unpredictable which made him dangerous. He'd proven on more than one occasion he had no qualms about turning against his children. Not to mention that his lightning bolt was pretty terrifying.

"Look at me for a sec and listen Thals." Reyna rested her hands lightly on my shoulders and as much as I didn't want to, I looked her in the eyes. "The things he says about you and Jason aren't true. If he was honest he'd admit that he's scared of you. You're better than him and you always have been. Just remember it's not like you're going in there alone. I'll be right next to you and I can do the talking if you want."

Reyna was right like usual. I was being too skittish when I didn't need to be. "Okay. Let's just get this over with."

Reyna smiled slightly and pressed her lips to my forehead mumbling something I couldn't quiet hear.

"You guys ready for this?" Percy asked jogging over. His tone of voice indicated that he was about as excited as I was.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He gave me an empathetic look.

"I doubt this will go smoothly but the worst that could happen is being turned into a guinea pig again." Percy tried to lighten the mood but his joke fell short because we all knew there was a good chance incineration was somewhere in our future.

"Let's go, we have a schedule," Jason called, his voice carrying with ease. His words drew the attention of the others and soon we were all crowded together in the back of the stupid camp van.

"Hey Argus." Piper was attempting to make small talk as her leg bounced up and down restlessly.  Annabeth was glaring at Piper from her peripheral.

"Pipes, I love you but that leg bouncing is driving me insane," Annabeth muttered.

"Oh sorry." Piper gave a bashful smile. About fifteen of Argus' eyes winked and though it was a small gesture it was relaxing. For the most part my only consolation about this was the fact that it gave me an excuse to latch onto Reyna's hand like it was my lifeline without her minding it much. Admittedly, I was jealous of Leo for getting to skip out on all of this. He was off helping Sol in one of Hephaestus' forges.

The ride was short though it felt incredibly long. At last the van rolled up to a stop at the Empire State Building and we all filed out. I was quiet certain it looked like clowns leaving a small car at the circus. It seemed impossible to have that many people leave one car.