Book Cult (New and Improved)

Piper XLV

"Piper XLV," Celin read.

Borrowing the helicopter was easy. Getting her dad on board was not.

Aphrodite frowned worriedly.

Piper needed only a few words through Leo's improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain... when Piper told the very nice ranger pilot lady that it would be a great idea to fly them to the Oakland Airport, she readily agreed.

"No," her dad muttered, as they picked him up off the ground. "Piper, what—there were monsters—there were monsters—"

The goddess of love bit her bottom lip.

The others shifted uncomfortably.

She needed both Leo's and Jason's help to hold him, while Coach Hedge gathered their supplies. Fortunately Hedge had put his pants and shoes back on, so Piper didn't have to explain the goat legs.

Good, Tristan probably would've gotten a heart attack the moment he saw that. Aphrodite thought sadly.

It broke Piper's heart to see her dad like this—pushed beyond the breaking point, crying like a little boy.

Aphrodite winced.

McLean fans looked devastated to hear the news.

"I didn't realize how bad some people would react to Greek gods." Percy said, feeling a pang of sympathy towards Piper. He couldn't imagine what his life would've been like to be a demigod without his mother ever knowing, much less reacting the way Tristan is when she finds out. Maybe it's a good idea to give him the potion. I mean, can he really recover to something like this?

"Some people can't handle learning the truth." the goddess of love sniffled. 

She didn't know what the giant had done to him exactly, how the monsters had shattered his spirit, but she didn't think she could stand to find out.

"Some things are better off unknown." Hestia agreed sadly.

"It'll be okay, Dad," she said, making her voice as soothing as possible. She didn't want to charmspeak her own father, but it seemed the only way.

"These people are my friends. We're going to help you. You're safe now."

He blinked, and looked up at helicopter rotors. "Blades. They had a machine with so many blades. They had six arms ..."

"You're going to be alright, Tristan. Things are going to get better soon." the goddess muttered, holding back a sob.

...[Pilot] "What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"Smoke inhalation," Jason suggested. "Or heat exhaustion."

"We should get him to a hospital," the pilot said.

"It's okay," Piper said. "The airport is good."

"But then what?" Mitchell frowned. "They can't exactly leave him like that at the airport. Would he even be lucid enough to go home? What if the media catches him like this? They'd have a field day."

"Let's focus on one thing at a time, sweetie." the goddess of love said. Her trembling fingers smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress.

"Yeah, the airport is good," the pilot agreed immediately. Then she frowned, as if uncertain why she'd changed her mind. "Isn't he Tristan McLean, the movie star?"