Tet watched as Tiona sparred with Ahsoka, wielding her newly acquired double-bladed lightsaber. The twin blades burned a brilliant yellow, humming softly with contained energy. Tiona remained cheerful throughout the exchange, a bright smile on her face as she danced around Ahsoka with nimble grace, her movements light and fluid. She dodged or blocked each strike with effortless confidence, while the young Padawan grew increasingly frustrated, her attacks becoming sharper and more aggressive.
The Jedi Council watched with keen interest as the sparring continued. Over the course of the session, they noticed that both girls openly expressed numerous emotions. Tiona mostly radiated joy and cheerfulness, her excitement never fading, while Ahsoka, who had been given permission to fight without suppressing her emotions, openly expressed frustration and anger. Yet not once did either girl begin leaning toward the dark side.
"Perhaps wrong after all we were," Yoda said thoughtfully, his ears twitching slightly as he watched closely.
"Yes. The girl Tiona has many attachments, openly expresses emotions, and has experienced loss throughout her life, yet she maintains a cheerful demeanor. Perhaps rather than teaching our Padawans to suppress emotion, we should be teaching them how to overcome negative emotions," said Windu, his tone measured but intrigued.
"Indeed, there does seem to be some merit to it. But perhaps we should start small and have some volunteers train that way for the time being, just to make sure the kinks are worked out," Obi-Wan said, rubbing his beard as he considered the implications.
"Agree I do, but who to choose the question is," Yoda said, glancing at the other Jedi in quiet contemplation.
"Ahsoka and I will do it," said Anakin with a confident smile.
"You're sure, Skywalker?" said Windu, an eyebrow rising slightly.
"Yeah, it seems like fun. Plus, look at Ahsoka. I always knew my Padawan hated losing, but now she's not hiding it. Now maybe I can help her get over it," said Anakin, his voice warm as he looked toward his young Padawan with a fond smile.
"Wise words, Skywalker," said Plo Koon with a slow nod.
" For showing us another way,thank you I do, Lord Tet," said Yoda, offering an appreciative nod.
"You said that your daughter learned the ways of the force and saber combat by simulating the later life of one of our own, correct? May we know who they are, Lord Tet?" Windu asked respectfully.
"Cal Kestis is whose life she simulated," Tet said cheerfully.
"The name of one of the younglings I'm currently supervising that is.not yet a padawan is he. But potential he has," said Yoda thoughtfully.
"In that case, we'll watch his career with interest. If he becomes half as capable as your daughter is now, he'll be a master one day for sure," said Windu seriously.
"Well, if you gentlemen are satisfied, me and my girl have things to do. If you ever need anything, just use the door," Tet said as he stood and prepared to leave.
"Thank you, Lord Tet, and if we need you we won't hesitate to ask," said Obi-Wan.
In a flash of light, Tet and Tiona teleported back to the guild hall.
"That was so much fun! Thanks, Dad!" Tiona said happily as she wrapped her arms around Tet in a tight hug.
She then practically skipped over to where the other girls were sitting, her excitement impossible to miss.
"My heart's on fire, and I feel overwhelmingly happy. The hell's going on?" Tet said, clutching his chest.
-------
Tet walked into movie night at Camp Half-Blood, where the campers were gathered together, eyes glued to the screen as they watched Robotnik sacrifice himself in Sonic Three. Tet rubbed his eyes slowly, genuinely thinking he was seeing things, until he heard Robotnik on-screen say, "It's been a real drag, thanks for nothing," just before the explosion consumed him.
"How do they already have this movie? It's not supposed to come out for like another fifteen years or something," Tet said, his voice full of disbelief as he stared at the screen, still doubting his own eyes.
"Apollo gave us access to streaming services linked to the future, saying life's too short to wait for some things, especially demigod lives," Sam said casually, eating popcorn beside Rossweisse as the two of them chaperoned movie night.
"I guess that's okay. Where's Freya?" Tet said, glancing around the crowd, his eyes scanning the area.
"She's reading bedtime stories to the small children," Rossweisse said cheerfully.
"Huh. That should sound strange, but I can actually see her doing that," Tet said thoughtfully, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Hey, Tet, can we talk to you?" Percy said as he walked up with Annabeth at his side.
"Sure, what's up?" Tet said, turning his attention to them.
"We wanted to know if we could try a key," Annabeth said hopefully.
"You know, now that Camp Half-Blood is stable, I'm going to set up a quest board and let all of you do jobs in other worlds, so you could just wait until tomorrow like everyone else when I set the board up," Tet explained patiently.
"We'd still like a key, Lord Tet. Thalia got one and became so much stronger," Annabeth said politely.
"That's because I'm preparing Thalia for a large responsibility and am letting her enjoy her youth until then, and I know you're smart enough to have figured out I'm going to ask you two the same one day," Tet said sternly, crossing his arms as he looked at them.
"That's why I want to get stronger and have more experiences now, Lord Tet," Annabeth said earnestly.
"Fine, but I'm not giving you two a key. There will be a request on the board tomorrow targeted at you two, Thalia, and someone you'll meet tomorrow. Trust me, by the time the quest is over, you will have had plenty of adventures and gained lots of strength. Now off with you both," Tet said firmly.
The two demigods took off back toward their seats, excited despite the refusal.
"Why are kids always in such a hurry to grow up? Why can't they just play and have fun while they can?" Tet said with a sad sigh, turning to look at Sam with a weary, almost pitying expression.
"Why are you looking at me when you say that?" Sam said, confused.
"You know why, Sam. Just do me a favor and make sure your kids don't have your childhood," Tet said quietly.
With that, Tet teleported back home
------
The next day, at the center of Camp Half-Blood, a massive wooden request board was set up, towering over the surrounding cabins. Tet had left the ranking of the requests and who would be allowed to take them up to Chiron, Freya, and the counselors.
The younger demigods with minimal training were only allowed to do F-rank quests, which ranged from odd jobs to hunting nuisance animals. D-rank quests were still pretty tame, involving harder labor and the slaying of weak monsters or dangerous animals. C-rank was mostly monster extermination quests and some escort quests. B-rank involved things like defending villages from monsters or bandits. A-rank involved killing high-ranking monsters or more intense work, such as helping people survive in an apocalyptic wasteland. S-rank quests were obviously of the highest difficulty and were assigned directly by the gods themselves.
But unlike during Zeus's reign, where the quests were often something stupid, these quests were actually dangerous and genuinely important. For example, one of the quests was from Mina, and it was to help humanity push back the vampire race in the world of Seraph of the End. Another was from Hecate, and it was to destroy the Redia Empire in the most brutal way possible for their crimes against witches and magic in general, and so on and so forth.
Tet stood next to the board and was about to speak, but his eyes stopped when he saw Hecate's request. His expression darkened instantly as he quickly snatched it off the board and tucked it away.
"I'll handle that personally later. I almost forgot about those mother fuckers. One of the darkest anime I've ever seen."
Anyway, from today on, all campers ten or above would be allowed to take on quests from this board. Anything you earn during the quest is yours to keep, along with the quest reward. Failing the quest will have you sent back here with a penalty of not being able to take another for a period of one month,and being unable to go to that world ever again,so don't take any quest where lives are at stake if you're not confident in your abilities, Tet said sternly to the gathered demigods.
"That said, have fun," Tet said as he stepped down from the platform.
Immediately, the campers rushed the board in a wave of excitement.
"Huh, a blacksmith competition in the city of Tempest. Dibs," said Beckendorf, yanking the request off the board.
"Helping a town in the Alps fend off undead while they build a wall for the next few months. Sweet," said Clarisse as she and her cabin mates grabbed the request and ran off to get ready.
"Wait a second, what's the name of the town they're going to?" Tet said in sudden worry.
"There isn't a town name, but the area itself is called Castor Woods," Chiron said, his tone just as uneasy.
"Yeah, Clarisse, come here!" Tet shouted.
Clarisse walked back over, and Tet handed her a ticket.
"K.N.D Reinforcements," she read.
"You're allowed to tear that ticket if you're in trouble. Also, I've made you and your siblings immune to the virus, but don't go crazy. You'll all be in real danger. If you die in that world, you will come back here, but you'll be permanently locked out of that world as a consequence. Also, be absolutely sure before you use that ticket. Once you do, your mission will become almost too easy," Tet said seriously.
"Got it," Clarisse said, pocketing the ticket.
"We're here," Percy said as he, Annabeth, and Thalia walked up with their bags already packed.
"Cool. Your fourth member should be here right about now," Tet said.
A portal opened beside them, and two people stepped out. One was a fourteen-year-old boy with short crimson hair and blue eyes, dressed in a red T-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers carrying a bag.
"You're sure he'll be okay, Lord Tet?" Grayfia said worriedly.
"Relax. I wouldn't let your son do anything he can't handle. This will be great for his growth, and it's only gonna be like a day or two for you," Tet said with a chuckle.
"But it will be a couple years for him," Grayfia said with a frown.
"Anyway, everyone, this is Milicas. Now, he and Thalia are already set as far as magic goes in this world I'm sending you to, but Percy, you and Annabeth need a bit of an upgrade," Tet said with a knowing smirk.
He zapped Annabeth, then dropped a heavy book into Percy's arms, and gave all three demigods enchanted reading glasses.
"Ow, what the heck is word magic?" Annabeth said, rubbing her head.
"And what's this book? Guide to Being a Son of Poseidon for Dummies?" Percy said, staring at the cover in offense.
"Word magic is a magic similar to solid script magic, except a hundred times more powerful and versatile. That book is a guide on how to use your powers to their fullest potential, and once you finish it, a bonus chapter with a magic I picked out for you will open. And finally, here, just like old times," Tet said happily as he handed Percy an action figure case along with another case that contained seven crystal keys.
"The action figures are for you guys. The keys are for Lucy. Tell her an old wizard asked you to give them to a celestial wizard. Got it?" Tet said seriously.
"Lord Tet, you still haven't told us what we're doing," Annabeth said.
"You're joining the Fairy Tail guild, and you're gonna be there for basically all of the major events for the next few years, so have fun, kids," Tet said cheerfully.
"Hey, I'm eighteen," Thalia said, a bit annoyed.
"Well, the other three are fourteen," Tet said as he opened a portal.
The four stepped through it together, setting off on their adventure.
(Authors Note: okay with that I've got a few to many side stories this will be the last one for awhile until at least one of them finishes)