"blah blah"- Speaking Greek (or a dream)

"blah blah"- Speaking Amestrian

'blah blah'- Thinking

*<*<*>*>* - Begin/end flashback

Disclaimer: Seeing as I am neither British, Japanese, or a man; it stands to reason that I am neither J.K. Rowling, Hiromu Arakawa, or Rick Riordan, which means I do not own their respective works. In addition, I do not own the song 'This is War' by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Percy

Percy looked up from his homework as Harry stumbled into the common room. The bedraggled wizard staggered over to where Percy and the others were sitting and collapsed into a chair with a groan.

"How was your private lesson?" Percy asked, smirking.

Harry cracked his eyes open enough to glare at Percy, then shifted his glare to Nico, who was sitting on the floor. "This is all your fault," he muttered.

Nico didn't even bother looking up from his parchment. "I'm helping you," he said absently as he dipped his quill into the inkwell next to him. "You'll thank me later."

"Well," Hermione began calmly, "at least you don't have any broken bones this time."

Harry groaned again. "Doesn't matter," he said. "I still ache all over. Do you know what he did today?"

No one answered. Nico raised his eyebrows. "Do tell," he prompted.

Harry sat up in his chair, a wild look in his eyes. "He threw a knife at my head. Because I 'didn't get up fast enough'. My head!"

Hermione stopped petting Crookshanks and stared at Harry, eyes wide. "He what?" She cried, obviously shocked.

"Well," Percy began. "It obviously didn't hit you, seeing as you're sitting right here, perfectly fine."

"It was right next to my face!" Harry countered. "A little to the right and I wouldn't have a nose anymore!"

"But - but that could have killed you!" Hermione tightened her grip on her cat, causing the animal to yowl in discomfort and leap from her lap. Hermione didn't seem to notice. "He - he could have killed you," she repeated numbly.

"That's what I've been saying," Harry grumbled. "First Malfoy's stupid badges, then the stupid wand weighing, then Rita Skeeter's 'interview', THEN I get knives thrown at my head - what else could go wrong today?!"

"I'm sure he wasn't actually trying to hurt you," Nico said, attempting to pacify Harry. "Besides, you're probably going to have way worse stuff thrown at you in the tournament."

"Literally and figuratively," Percy added brightly. Harry groaned for a third time.

Hermione had finally recovered from her initial shock. "Someone needs to tell him to be more careful," she said decidedly. "You should talk to him, Harry."

Harry shook his head frantically. "No way am I going to tell him that! Last time I asked if there was a better way to learn, my leg got broken!"

Hermione hesitated. "Percy," she finally said. "You should go talk to him."

Percy dropped his quill. "Me?" He protested. "Why me? Why not you?"

"Because you've learned combat before," Hermione explained patiently. "You can tell him that there are better ways to teach something like that."

"But that's - that's completely different!" Percy sputtered, shaking his head.

"I think it's a great idea," Nico piped up. Percy shot him a wounded look. Nico smiled innocently in return.

Hermione nodded. "Good. You'll talk to him then."

Percy huffed. "Fine," he grumbled. "Tomorrow."

The door to the common room swung open, and a very angry looking Thalia entered, something clenched tightly in her fist. Without saying anything, Thalia marched directly to the fire and threw whatever she had been holding into the flames. Harry, Hermione, Nico, and Percy stared at her, unsure of what to say. Hermione was the first to speak.

"That wasn't something important again, was it?" She asked cautiously.

"Hardly," Thalia spat. "It was a love letter."

Nico snorted, then broke into an abrupt coughing fit in an obvious (and failed) attempt to cover his laughter. Thalia glared down at him, then reached out her foot and kicked over his inkwell, causing the black liquid to spill out across Nico's nearly-completed homework.

"Thalia!" Nico cried, aghast. "That was almost finished!"

Thalia stepped over his parchment and seated herself in the chair next to Harry. "Whoops," she said nonchalantly.

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled out her wand. "Honestly," she said as she cleared the spilled ink off of Nico's homework. "Both of you are acting ridiculous."

"So, who's trying their luck with you this time?" Percy asked, after carefully positioning his inkwell a safe distance away from Thalia.

"I don't know, it was anonymous," Thalia replied. "Too bad," she muttered with a scowl. "I'd love to know who it was so I could give them a really straight answer."

Hermione pursed her lips together. "I think that's exactly why it wasn't signed," she pointed out.

Thalia crossed her arms. "Isn't your stupid bet over, Nico?" She asked, turning her glare back to the boy on the floor, who wrapped a protective hand around his inkwell. "I thought it was a one-year thing!"

"Nope," Nico answered, unable to keep the grin from his face. "It'll keep going for as long as we're here. Unless you can convince Dean to cut it short, of course."

Thalia's scowl deepened. "I'll convince him alright," she promised. "One way or another..."

Harry eyed Thalia's clenched fist nervously. "Er...Thalia, you might want to think about this first," he advised.

"You're right," Thalia conceded, unclenching her fists. "I don't want to do anything incriminating." A smirk appeared on Thalia's face. "Maybe I could tell Edward that Dean has been mocking his height for the whole year. That'd give me results."

Harry grimaced. "That wasn't exactly what I meant..."

~o~O~o~

The following morning found Percy in the library, scanning the tables for signs of Edward. Hermione had wasted no time in reminding Percy of his promise to talk to the alchemy professor; pushing Percy towards the library as soon as they had finished breakfast. Percy easily spotted the hulking suit of armour that was Alphonse Elric, but he noted with a frown that Edward was not in his usual place beside his brother.

Percy approached the table, thinking that perhaps the older brother was hidden behind Al's armour; a feat that would be easy to accomplish, given his...less than large stature. Upon reaching the table, Percy found that his assumption was false.

"Hey, Alphonse!" Percy tapped the armoured shoulder "Do you know where your brother is?"

Alphonse looked up from his book. "Oh, Brother is in his classroom; he's grading homework."

"Really?" Percy raised his eyebrows. "He's doing that on a Saturday? I thought he always did it the night before class?"

Alphonse laughed. "He usually does. I made him go work on it."

Percy grinned. "I see. D'you think he'd mind if I interrupted for a minute?"

"He would probably welcome the distraction," Alphonse said with a sigh. "Go ahead."

"Thanks," Percy said, waving over his shoulder as he exited the library.

'I still don't know what I'm going to say,' Percy thought as he walked down the hallway towards the classroom. 'How am I supposed to tell him to go easier on Harry without making it sound like Harry is just whining?' Percy shook his head. 'I'll figure it out.'

Percy stopped in front of the closed classroom door and knocked. A thump came from behind the door, followed by muffled cursing, and then a call of 'one minute!' Several seconds later, the door swung open, revealing a rather disheveled Edward. Upon seeing Percy, Ed relaxed, leaning against the doorframe.

"Sorry about that," Ed muttered, running a hand over his hair, which was coming undone from the usual braid. "I thought you might have been Alphonse."

Percy smirked. "If you were trying to hide the fact that you were asleep two minutes ago, then you didn't succeed."

Edward scowled. "Did you want something?" He grumbled, crossing his arms.

Percy's smirk disappeared. "Right...I actually wanted to talk to you about your...lessons...with Harry."

Ed raised his eyebrows. "What about them?"

"Well..." Percy rubbed the back of his head. "I guess you could say that we - well, Hermione mostly - but all of us - were wondering if there was a way to teach Harry how to fight that didn't involve near-decapitation."

Ed tilted his head at Percy. "That is how I learned," he replied simply.

"Well...yeah," Percy said. "But still - I think maybe you should tone it down a little for Harry."

"You think he can not handle it?" Edward asked. "He asked me to help him, so I am. If he does not like it, then he should quit."

"Couldn't you just compromise?" Percy asked, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

"What do you want me to change?" Edward challenged, raising his voice.

"Stop throwing knives at his head, for one," Percy countered, feeling his temper rise.

"I know what I'm doing," Ed snapped, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not stupid!"

"Well, you could have fooled me!" Percy shot back, green eyes sparking.

Edward clenched his jaw and glared at Percy. "You of all people should know that experience is the best way to prepare for a dangerous situation," he hissed.

Percy opened his mouth to retaliate, but then stopped. "What do you mean 'you of all people'?" He asked slowly.

Edward blinked, obviously surprised. "I have seen you fight," he replied after a short pause. "You have obviously have been in battles, and came out alive."

Percy narrowed his eyes. Something about the way Edward had said that didn't sit right with him. It was almost as if he knew what Percy had been through - but that was impossible...

"Is that all you needed?"

Ed's harsh voice pulled Percy back to reality. "Yeah," he replied hesitantly. Edward made to close the door, but Percy grabbed the door before it could fully shut. "Just...try and go a little easier on him," Percy said quietly. "He hasn't seen what you or I have yet."

Ed's face softened. "That's exactly why I can't," he replied grimly. "Because he may see it eventually. And when he does, he needs to be prepared."

~o~O~o~

Hermione looked up from her book as soon as Percy walked into the common room. "How did it go?" She asked immediately. "Good?"

Harry stopped working on his homework and looked up with a hopeful expression. Thalia, Nico, and Ron stopped working as well and looked to Percy.

"Um..." Percy began, walking over to the group. "Define good."

Harry dropped his head with a sigh. "Not good, then?" He asked dejectedly.

"Well..." Percy scratched the back of his head. "He might be...a little bit more careful tonight...maybe?"

"That doesn't sound very promising," Ron commented.

"I don't think you should be complaining."

Percy jumped at the voice and turned to see that Ginny had come up behind him undetected.

"Easy for you to say," Harry protested. "You don't know what he's doing!"

"I would if I had any say in it," Ginny replied fiercely. "I asked him to teach me, but he wouldn't do it!"

"You did?" Thalia asked, sounding impressed. "What for?"

Ginny tossed her flaming hair over one shoulder. "Who knows when it might come in handy," she replied. "Which is what I told Edward, but he didn't seem to care." Ginny wrinkled her nose and frowned.

"Well..." Nico ventured, "He can't exactly teach everyone, can her? I mean, he has other things to do."

Ginny huffed angrily. "Two people isn't that many! It wouldn't take very much of his time!"

"Maybe you should ask again," Hermione suggested. "He might change his mind." Hermione shook her head. "I don't why you'd want him to teach you though - it seems very dangerous."

"I have asked him again," Ginny said. "I ask him at the end of every alchemy class, and he always says no!"

"You could come with me tonight," Harry offered. "Then you can at least watch if he says no again."

Ginny's whole face lit up. "Really?" She asked eagerly. "Brilliant! I'll be there!"

Percy made a mental note to never get on Ginny's bad side. He had heard the stories of her famous hexes, and he didn't want to imagine what would happen if the redhead added martial arts to her arsenal.

As the rest of the day passed, Percy couldn't shake the feeling that something about his conversation with Edward had felt...off. He couldn't stop thinking that maybe the blond knew more then he was letting on, and that thought worried Percy. The three demigods had not yet asked Edward if he knew the 'Nicole Elric' who had appeared in Percy's dream; they had been wary of doing anything even the slightest bit suspicious. Now, Percy was even more reluctant to have a prolonged conversation with the alchemist.

It wasn't until late that evening, when the rest of the Gryffindor tower was asleep, that Percy was able to share his suspicions with Thalia and Nico. Thalia, as expected, didn't take the news well.

"You think he knows?" Thalia hissed angrily, eyes wide. "How could he? That's impossible! Unless he's been working with Elsie from the start - but that can't be -"

"You're probably just being paranoid," Nico said uneasily.

"Maybe," Percy said, unconvinced. "But the way he said it...even if he doesn't know exactly what we are, I'm sure he at least knows that there's something...off about us."

"But how much does he actually know," Thalia muttered. "And how are we going to get information from him without seeming even more suspicious?" Thalia rose to her feet and began pacing back and forth in front of the dying fire.

Percy shrugged helplessly. "Maybe we should just ask him?" He suggested.

Thalia whipped around to glare at him. "Don't be ridiculous!" She cried. "We can't confront him about it! What if he is working with Elsie? Maybe he's connected with this 'Nicole' and they're all working together!" Thalia ran both hands through her hair and groaned in frustration. "What are we going to do now?"

"It could be nothing," Percy said, attempting to soothe Thalia. "Like Nico said, I could just be paranoid."

Thalia shook her head. "We can't afford to take chances," she said grimly. "We have to know for sure." After a second of silence, Thalia snapped her fingers. "If we could get some veritaserum somehow -"

"Wait." Nico held up his hands, stopping Thalia mid-sentence. "You don't need to do that."

"Well, what do you suggest?" Thalia asked, glaring at Nico.

Nico fidgeted. "Well..." he began hesitantly. "There's something I need to tell you guys."

Percy frowned. Nico was acting weird, even by his standards. "What is it?" Percy asked slowly.

Nico hesitated. "You know that feeling I had at the beginning of last year?"

"Spit it out already, Death Breath!" Thalia snapped.

Nico sighed. "I asked Edward about it," he admitted.

Thalia narrowed her eyes. "What does that have to do with this?" She asked suspiciously.

Nico seemed to be melting into the shadows even more than usual. "We agreed on an...equivalent exchange of sorts."

"What kind of exchange?" Thalia's voice was dangerous.

Nico grimaced. "He told me what was causing that feeling, and I...well, I told him...why I could feel it."

Thalia froze. Percy suspected that it would take a battle axe to cut the tension in the room. Finally, Percy spoke.

"You didn't."

"It was the right call," Nico replied immediately. "He hasn't told anyone, has he?"

"Nico, how could you do that?" Thalia hissed. "We can't go around telling everyone that we're demigods! I thought you knew that!"

"I do know that!" Nico shot back. "I told you, it was the right call!"

"But you didn't tell us!" Percy reminded him. "We didn't tell Harry and the others until we had all agreed!"

"I didn't have time to ask you about it!" Nico said, throwing his arms up. "I had to make a decision, so I did!"

"And you didn't think that maybe you should tell us about it after it happened?" Thalia growled through clenched teeth.

"There wasn't any reason to," Nico said steadily.

"Wasn't any reason to?" Percy cried. "We're a team! We're supposed to tell each other everything! Especially something like this!"

Nico opened his mouth to respond, but Thalia cut him off before he could speak. "This quest is hard enough as it is," she snarled. "If we can't even trust each other, then who knows what could go wrong! Do you want to cause even more deaths?"

Nico didn't say anything. Thalia continued glaring. After several seconds of silence, Percy spoke.

"Thalia is right," he said quietly. "We have to trust each other, and that means telling each other everything. That's the only way we'll be able to stop Elsie and get back home." Percy finished speaking, and there was silence again.

"Alright," Nico whispered, breaking the silence. "I get it. Trust me, I won't keep anything else from you."

Thalia nodded. "That goes for all of us," she confirmed. Putting her hand out in front of her, Thalia made eye contact with Percy and Nico. "From now on, no secrets. Agreed?"

Nico placed his hand on top of Thalia's with a firm nod.

Percy reached out his hand and grasped the other two. "Agreed."

On that night, with the fire slowly dying beside them, while the rest of the castle slept, the three friends made their solemn promise. Looking into each other's eyes; black, green, and blue; they forged a bond of trust that would see them through even the darkest of times yet to come.

|

o

|

O

|

o

|

The trust between humans is such a fragile thing; carefully crafted, easily lost. To gain the trust of another is a sacred thing. Once that trust is broken, it can never be rebuilt.

Never.

A/N - What is this? An update before my deadline? What is this madness?! XD Now that things are starting to pick up, the chapters will (hopefully) be easier to write. I'm so excited, guys! Side note: I've been revising the early chapters of Myths, Magic, and Alchemy. Man...I was not a good writer back then...how did you guys stand it? I'm glad you did, though! I'll be publishing the revised chapters soon, so keep an eye out! Then you can reread MMA without cringing...hehe...Any-who, please leave a comment and tell me what you think of the chapter. They are my lifeblood. (Also sorry the format is a little off for this chapter...Wattpad was not agreeing with me.)