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Chapter Text

Chapter One - March 24th, 2005, New York, NY, Deadly Pre-Algebra Teachers

    Percy stared out the window of the of the District #24 yellow school bus. He was on a field trip to The Metropolitan Museum of art with Mr. Brunner’s 6th grade Latin class and Ms. Dodds 6th grade math class. There were 28 mental case kids shoved in a yellow box on wheels for an hour. The only reason he was still sane at all, was his best friend, Grover Underwood.

Grover was a tall and thin kid who had mousy brown curls and crutches to help him walk. Since Grover and Percy had started at Yancy Academy they had become fast friends, and Percy had learned quite a lot about the boy, from how passionate he was about saving wildlife and stopping pollution, to his love of playing the reed pipes, even if he wasn’t great at it. He was also a satyr, and Percy got the feeling as if he was playing in the woods anytime he was around him or talked to him but that was neither here nor there.

That happened a lot actually. Feeling or seeing or smelling or hearing weird things that aren’t actually there. Most people would call them hallucinations, but Percy knew better. His momma had told him what they were after all. She said that he was especially sensitive to magic and he believed her. How could he not when all the things in his life seemed to be influenced by the Greek World. Like when for some reason very few people could see the things he did or looked different, like he did. Or how his teacher was a centaur.

The world of Greek Mythology was scary at times but he didn’t mind it. He knew there was something off about him and his mom. He knew he and his mother were demi-gods. His mom had told him when he was much younger, when she had told him of the gods that rule the earth. He wasn’t all that surprised considering what he looked like. He snapped back to reality when the bus suddenly came to a stop.

---

    Mr. Brunner led the classes in the museum with Ms. Dodds in the back. The fact that he couldn’t see the woman made him uneasy. There was something off about her. She gave off the same vibes as most monsters, like there was something that was breathing down his neck, claws tracing his arm. Eyes always watching him. And she smelled funnily enough, like asphodels. There was a faint black glow (which was weird because black couldn’t glow) outlining her which was the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for Percy. All monsters had that glow. Percy could tell she was a powerful monster, one he wouldn’t be able to kill with θαλάσσιο λιοντάρι, the celestial bronze dagger hidden in his jean’s pocket.

He didn’t yet know what monster she was, despite his visions. Oh yeah apparently Percy could often see parts of the future or past too. Weird. The same couldn’t be said about Mr Brunner though. He knew who he was, he was Chrion, the immortal trainer of heroes, immortal as long as the children of the gods needed him to train them. He had no idea how the centaur had managed to fit in the motorized wheelchair of his, but Percy just chose to ignore it. 

He also chose to ignore the firing of arrows and the smell of horses, that apparently no one else could smell or hear, that seemed to follow the centaur.

Not to mention Percy did not know why three different creatures from Greek Mythology were at his school. Were they there for him? He didn’t think that there were any other demi-gods at his school, he would’ve noticed by now, he thought.

They were in the Greek section of the museum when Brunner-Chiron asked a question.

 “Does anyone know exactly what this is?” Brunner-Chiron asked, pointing at a stele, a grave marker.

Percy raised his hand. This was the only class he felt confident enough to answer a question in front of the class.

“Yes, Mr. Jackson?” Brunner-Chiron said, nodding at him.

“That is a stele, or a grave marker. This specific one would be for a little girl that would have been believed to be a daughter of the Greek Goddess Demeter, goddess of agriculture, because of the sickle and wheat bundle engraved on the stone.” 

“A very good observation Mr. Jackson. Ms. Bobofit, could you tell me what this one is?” Brunner-Chiron said pointing. Nancy Bobofit was a girl in Mr. Brunner’s Latin class who seemed to get joy out of tormenting those different from her. She had firetruck red hair and freckles that looked like someone had sprayed Cheeto dust all over her face. She had also been talking ever since they stepped into the museum and Percy was just glad she had finally shut up.

“I don’t know.” Nancy snapped, face as red as her hair.

“Then please refrain from speaking while others are trying to learn.” Brunner-Chiron then continued, “Mr. Underwood, which is this one?”

Grover stuttered out a response. “T-that's the T-titan of Time, Kronos, eating his kids, the oldest 5 gods and goddesses.”

“Yes. Very good. Does anyone know why he did this?” Brunner-Chiron said. Percy didn’t know why he was asking so many questions. It was like he was doing a pop quiz on their field trip.

Brunner-Chiron pointed to a short girl with curly blonde hair and glasses too big for her face. Percy was pretty sure her name was Kira. From what Percy had gathered she was constantly reading Greek and Roman mythology books and had probably the highest grades in at least half of her classes.

“There was a prophecy that said one of his kids would overthrow him and it made him really paranoid, so he tried to circumvent the prophecy by eating his kids and it would have worked except Rhea, Kronos’s wife tricked him into eating a rock instead of their youngest child Zeus, who later ticked Kronos into drinking a mixture of what modern interpreters believe to have been a mixture of mustard and wine-” Kira said but was cut off.

“Ew!” Nancy exclaimed from behind Percy.

Kira just continued like nothing happened. “Which made Kronos disgorge his siblings-who had been living inside Kronos because they are immortal. The gods then declared war on Kronos that led to a ten year long war in which the gods eventually won by chopping up Kronos with his own scythe and casting him to Tartarus, the deepest part of the underworld.”

“Yes! Wonderful explanation Ms. Brown.” Brunner-Chiron said. “On that happy note, let's go eat lunch, shall we?”

Percy didn’t know how that story was happy but none-the-less made his way back out to the front of the museum, walking slowly so Grover could keep up with him.

---

   They sat on the edge of the fountain and the faint mist splashing his back felt nice. The museum was right in front of fifth avenue so the noise of the passing cars made it hard to hear anything not close to him. Percy liked to observe the people around him-his mom had jokingly called it people watching- and even though the wind was going so fast it almost hurt and the clouds were blacker than he had ever seen in New York tons of people were still out and about. 

He could see a couple on what looked like a date, people hailing taxis, employees trying to make it to work on time, a family holding hands while they walked across the street.

Percy also looked at the other people that had come with him to the museum. Ms. Dodds seemed to be watching him intensely but when he looked at him, Percy never caught her eyes on him. Percy watched as Nancy tried, key word tried , to pick-pocket strangers passing by. Percy watched as the boys tried to push each other into oncoming traffic, and he watched as the girls sat in a circle on the stairs talking loudly while eating their lunch.

Grover and Percy ate in comfortable silence for a while, content to listen to the hustle and bustle of New York. Then Nancy Bobofit, of all people, just had to ruin it.

“I still can’t believe that they would let a cripple, ” Nancy spat out the word as if she didn’t want it on her tongue, “into a school like Yancy. I thought this place was for functional  people.”

Nancy was purposefully standing close enough for Grover to hear her. Grover ducked his head and curled in on himself a little.

A wave roared in Percy’s ears. How dare she?! Insulting someone like that! Oh, how he would love to-

“Percy pushed me!” Nancy cried. It broke him out of his thoughts. The girl was lying in the fountain soaked from head to toe. He didn’t know how she had gotten there, it was like he blanked out for a minute.

Percy turned to glare at her and she must’ve seen something in his eyes because she visibly paled and shut up. Percy turned to his friend who was staring at him in shock. 

“Grover,” Percy began, “Are you okay? That was completely uncalled for.”

Grover swallowed. “Uh y-yeah I’m okay. And thanks for that you didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course I did.” Percy said, smiling at Grover, anger at Nancy temporarily subsided. “You’re my best friend I-”

“Jackson!” Ms. Dodds yelled. Percy turned his head back around to look at the monster disguised as a pre-algebra teacher. She was helping Nancy out of the water while glaring daggers at him.

For a second when Percy looked at Ms. Dodds he saw something else. He saw a bat-like woman with long claws and sharp teeth. Her glowing red eyes staring at him, her lips pulled back in a snarl. She was crouching on an empty black throne made of bones, bronze and pitch black stone.

Then it was gone again, and, with growing horror, Percy thought he knew what type of monster Ms. Dodds was now.

“Yes Ms. Dodds?” Percy asked nervously, eyeing Ms. Dodds with extreme wariness. 

Ms. Dodds walked up to him and roughly grabbed his wrist, forcing him to stand. “You will come with me.” She growled at him.

Grover tried to stop her. “W-wait, no! I did it! I-I pushed Nancy.”

“Sit down Underwood.” Ms Dodds barked.

“But-”

“It’s okay Grover. I’ll be fine.” Percy said, but he wasn’t too sure of that.

Grover sat back down on the side of the fountain. He kept anxiously glancing at Brunner-Chiron who was watching them over his book while Ms. Dodds led Percy up to the Museum.

Percy heard the other kids whispering on his way inside.

“Did you see-”

“-the water it”

“-like it grabbed her-” 

Percy and Ms. Dodds walked back over to the Greek and Roman section. There was something off about this. His instincts were telling him to flee and they hadn’t been wrong so far. Percy fingered his dagger.

“You’ve been giving us problems honey.” The monster began, tugging at her jacket sleeves.

“I’m sorry ma’am. But Nancy was being-”

She cut him off, “Do you really think you would get away with the theft?”

Well now Percy was just confused. What theft? Percy may be sneaky, but he wasn’t a thief.

She spoke again, not waiting for a response.“We are not fools, Percy Jackson. It was only a matter of time before we found you out. And now we have complete evidence. Confess now, and suffer less pain!”

This whole conversation was confusing Percy. He had no idea- wait. ‘The Theft’ she said. Was she referring to… The Master Bolt? Percy knew Zues’s Master Bolt was missing. He had put it together from the mindless doodles on the edge of his homework he didn’t remember putting there, the dreams of horses, eagles, and dogs, the words that would come to him at the oddest time where he couldn’t tell if they were his own thoughts or not. From the dreams he had almost every night.

It was possible she knew of the theft, she was one of the Furies, the Erinyes, the Kindly Ones after all. And something in his gut told him he was correct about that assumption.

Just last night he had a dream of three thrones. He still remembered it vividly. 

---

   The throne on the far left was made of limestone and blue agate with rainbow colored coral that framed the throne,  with dark blue plush padding and a massive trident, blue and silver in color with etching of different storms or disasters, placed where if one had their arm on the armrest they would only need to twist their hand and they could been gripping the trident. Poseidon. 

The middle throne had been made of white marble and what looked like densely packed clouds. There were gold jewels lining the base of the throne. There were also occasional lightning flashes that danced within the clouds. Zeus. The final one, the one on the left, was made of stone as black as the night sky, covered in ocher and ivory colored bones. It seemed to suck in all the light from around it. The top of the throne was in 5 separate peaks with bronze tips making it look as if it were wearing a crown. Hades.

Noticeably, Both Hades’ Helm and Zeus’ Bolt were absent.

There was loud shouting practically shaking the 60 ft tall room but it was indistinguishable words and he couldn’t make out what exactly the voices sounded like. There was one thing he could make out, the voices sounded furious. 

Then the ground had begun to shake, and a fissure had opened beneath his feet, then he fell-

Percy refocused on Ms. Dodds. “Ms. Dodds, I haven’t stolen anything.” Percy denied. He tried to sound calm but the longer he spent alone with her the more nervous he got.

“Then face the consequences, Perseus Jackson!” The Fury snarled. She took off her black leather jacket and flung it to the side. Once the jacket was no longer in the way, bat-like wings sprouted from her back, her hands grew long talons, and her teeth changed into fangs. Her once amber eyes now glowed like fire-hot coals.

“What ho, Percy!” Brunner-Chiron called from the entrance to the room. How he had gotten there so fast, Percy didn’t know, Brunner-Chiron then threw a pen at him, A pen. Percy didn’t have time to think about why the hero trainer would throw a pen at him when he was about to be sliced to ribbons, however, because Ms. Dodds lunged at him.

Percy just barely dodged the attack. In the same second Percy grabbed the pen out of the air, except it wasn’t a pen anymore. It was a celestial bronze sword with a strong grip. The moment it fully settled into his hand Percy had another vision. 

This time it was of a girl that couldn’t be any older than 14 and a man that looked to be in his early twenties.The girl had braided black hair and copper skin. She was wearing a beautiful orange-yellow ombre chiton. The man had dirty blond hair and a handsome sort of face. He was wearing classic grecian armor. They were hiding behind a bush and the girl was giving the blond man a sword, the very same one he was holding now.

Percy snapped back to reality and not a moment too late. Ms. Dodds lunged at him again, so he did the only thing he could think of at that moment, and he swung the sword.

It connected with her shoulder and in the next second she was a pile of gold dust on the floor.

Percy stared at the sand like substance slowly disintegrating on the floor with no small amount of shock. He had just defeated one of the three Erinyes, Hades’ torturers in one swipe with a pen-transformed sword. He was breathing heavily and when he looked back to the entrance of the museum section he realized Brunner-Chiron wasn’t there. 

Percy was alone in the museum with nothing but a pile of golden dust, a pen-sword, and his own memories to prove this had indeed, just happened.

What the fuck. Percy thought.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 - May 24th, 2005, New York, NY, Coming Home

    It seemed to Percy that Brunner-Chiron wanted him to think that he was hallucinating because apparently, to everyone at Yancy Academy, Ms. Dodds didn’t exist. When Percy had left the museum Nancy had said something about a Miss Kerr Percy had never seen before. It seemed that Brunner-Chiron had manipulated the Mist so it could cover up the fact that their pre-algebra teacher was murdered.

Percy didn’t know if Brunner-Chiron just had a person on stand-by or if this was some random woman he got off the street because she was there as soon as he got back on the bus and she didn’t seem to question anything. Had Brunner-Chiron been expecting this? Percy didn’t know.

The only people who actually knew what had happened were Brunner-Chiron and Grover and he enjoyed springing references to Ms. Dodds at the oddest times. He had almost gotten Grover to admit he did know a Ms. Dodds while they were talking one night but Brunner-Chiron had yet to slip up the tiniest of bits. He suspected Brunner-Chiron was enjoying trying to fool Percy as he had a mischievous kind of sparkle in his eyes whenever Percy talked to the man.

Currently he was packing up his desk at the end of a torturously long Latin exam.

“Percy,” Brunner-Chrion called, “can you stay after class for a moment?”

Percy heard a boy a few desks away from him quietly go ‘ ooooh, someones in trouble again.’  Percy chose to ignore him.

“Yeah, sure Mr. Brunner.” Percy said. He wondered if this had to do with either his expulsion or the Fury. Ever since the Winter Solstice Percy had been getting more and more irritable. It had a similar feeling to when words that weren’t his own would come to him. It felt like the worse the weather got the worse his mood got. He wondered if it had something to do with the fact that he was ‘other.’

Anyway, the more cranky and annoyed he got the more he snapped at people and especially teachers who would just call him lazy instead of recognizing his Dyslexia and ADHD. He ended up getting expelled when he had cussed out a teacher because he was berating Grover in front of the whole class. Percy was allowed to stay until the end of the school year but he wouldn’t be coming back for 7th grade.

Percy waited until the last of his classmates had left to go up to Brunner-Chiron.

“Percy, I wanted to say that, even though you were expelled, maybe that was for the best. I have a feeling that wherever you go next you will do well.” Brunner-Chiron started, “That being said I have something for you.”

He reached in his desk drawer and pulled out a plastic card.

“What's this?” Percy asked. The font on the card was fancy and swirly cursive and absolute murder on his dyslexic eyes but he thought it said something like,

“This, Mr. Jackson, is my business card. I would like you to come here during this summer. I really do think it would be beneficial to you to go here.” Brunner-Chiron er- well Chiron Brunner said. 

Half-Blood Hill, huh? Percy thought that sounded awfully familiar.

“Half-Blood Hill?” Percy asked. He wanted to see what Chiron would say.

“Yes. It’s not a well known place but it will surely help you and your abilities grow.”

“I guess I’ll talk to my mom then. Do you work there over the summer?” Percy asked.

“I suppose you could say that Percy. That is all I wanted Mr. Jackson, you don’t want to be late to lunch now do you?” Percy shook his head. “Then I suggest you get going. I shall see you tomorrow, Mr. Jackson.”

Percy stuffed the card in his pocket and turned to leave.

May 26th, 2005, New York, NY

    Grover and Percy hadn’t even spent 30 minutes on the GreyHound Bus before it broke down.

“C’mon let’s wait outside, it stinks in here.” Percy said as he was grabbing his bag from where he had stored it. Grover followed quickly after him. They walked out to the sidewalk the bus had parked next to. There was trash all along the four lanes of traffic, the maple and birch trees that decorated the sidewalks covered them from the sun, from his patron. 

Percy felt as if he was walking on auto pilot when he stepped forward 20 feet, then looked across the highway. Across the way was a fruit stand with shiny apples, juicy pears, blood red cherries, and other perfect fruits. There were 3 women sitting in rocking chairs next to the stand. When he looked at them he felt like he was running his hands on a ball of yarn or a pair of shears, like he was watching thousands of lives, loves, and deaths pass by him in just a moment. He felt like there was a hand on the back of his neck, forcing him to watch.

The Moirai, The Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.

And all three of them were staring directly at him.

Percy couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Distantly he knew Grover was speaking but he didn’t know what the satyr was saying. 

The woman on the left was knitting a beautiful tapestry of blues, a sort of electric blue being the most common color. Clotho, ‘The Spinner.’ The middle holding a yarn basket, which the first was drawing yarn out of. Lachesis, ‘The Apportioner of Lots.’ The final one had a pair of gold and silver shears in her lap, but was just waiting, looking at him. Atropos, ‘She who cuts.’

After what felt like hours of just staring at each other before one of them moved. Clotho finished the tapestry, and Percy couldn’t help but think that it was supposed to be longer. Atropos lifted the shears she held and cut the thread of someone's life. Percy heard the thread’s snip across four lanes of traffic. Percy noticed the smell of burning paper and the noise of falling sand-that had enveloped him from the moment he looked at the tapestry- slowly started to fade, until it was gone completely.

Percy felt something heavy settle in his bones, around his shoulders. The hand on his neck disappeared.

Percy blinked, and the Fates were gone, leaving behind an old fruit stand with dirty apples and bug-eaten pears.

“P-percy.” Grover said with a very noticeable tremble in his voice. “What did you see?”

“She finished the tapestry. Her sister cut the string. Someone’s life will end soon.” Percy replied.

That freaked Grover out completely. He started muttering quickly in what Percy recognized as Greek. Just then the bus driver yelled out in triumph. “Engines taken care of, everybody back on board!”

Percy sighed and gently took Grover's wrist and led him back to the bus. Percy didn’t know how to assure Grover that the string wasn’t his without freaking him out even more. The poor satyr looked like he was about to have a panic attack, muttering things like “Why is it always 6th grade?” and “I don’t want this to be like last time.” and “από τους θεούς, the fates?”

 He looked like he was about to start doing funeral rites.

Percy couldn’t comfort his friend in the way he would want to, so he just leaned on his shoulder when they sat down and he let his friend talk it out.

---

    Percy was ashamed to admit that when the bus arrived at their stop an hour later he immediately ditched Grover and hailed a taxi to his apartment. Something had told him it was the right choice and so like he does every time his instincts tell him something, he listened.

15 minutes later he was fumbling with his keys in front of his apartment. He finally got the right key and inserted it into the lock. As soon as the door was open he took off his shoes, set down his backpack, and yelled, “I’m home!”

“Welcome back, μικρός καρχαρίας.” A melodious voice said from the archway into the living room. Percy whipped his head around and his face lit up at the sight of a tall blond man standing in between the two rooms.

“Apollo!” Percy shouted, gleefully. Apollo was the god of many things including prophets, prophecy, and seers, and as such he was Percy’s patron god. He was also his grandfather but that was besides the point.

Apollo was tall, tan, and had waist length blond hair, half of which was in a bun on the back of his head. He had golden antlers tipped with silver and had enormous crow wings that were black and faded to gold. His hands were more like talons of which came down to needle like points. The gods eyes were pure gold, no sclera or pupil in sight. That same shimmery golden color made tears down his face, but they were frozen and almost looked like crystals. He wore a crown of golden laurels while gray and brown scales climbed up his arms with the pattern of a python. 

He wore a dandelion yellow chiton that was embroidered with little suns and moons on the edges. Over it he wore a sunset orange himation pinned up with a bow broach. He wore sandals that wrapped around his calf. Percy felt like he was standing in a field of flowers and herbs, the sun beating down on him until it was just this side of uncomfortable. He felt like he was caressing an arrow, like a snake was winding around him. He smelt bay leaves and laurels and hyacinths.  The strength of it was almost overwhelming.

Percy knew that wasn’t what Apollo looked like to everyone else. Apollo said that he could see his natural form because he was overly sensitive when it came to magic. It wasn’t his true form, for he would be incinerated if he saw it but his natural form, the form gods were born in, the one they wear when they are not masquerading around as humans. 

Percy rarely got to see his favorite god. If Apollo spent too much time with him and his mother the other gods would notice and get curious about what was drawing his attention and Apollo said he didn’t want to risk another god finding out before Percy went to Camp Half-Blood and Apollo could officially lay a claim on him as his prophet and protect Percy when he turned 13. Well, their plan had been for Percy to go to Camp when he was 13 but Percy had a feeling they would need to move up the date.

Percy ran to go hug the god but as soon as he got within grabbing range Apollo snatched him up and pulled him into a hug. 

Percy laughed joyfully in the gods arms. Apollo moved over to the couch and sat Percy down next to him.

“Where’s mom?” Percy asked.

“Your mother and Bronya went to get a few items from the store. They left just half an hour ago. They’ll be sorry they missed you.” Apollo responded.

“I thought Auntie Bronze had to leave on her work trip this morning?”

“She had said it got pushed back a day so, she’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

“Well that's good.” Percy said. “I was sad I wouldn't get to see her before she left.”

Sally Jackson may have been Percy’s favorite person but Bronya Knight was a close second. Bronya Knight had gotten to Camp Half-Blood the same summer Sally had all the way back in 1986. They had become fast friends, even after they had been claimed by different gods. Bronya was the only demigod friend his mom still had. Ever since Percy was little his Auntie Bronze had always been there, living just a block away.

Auntie Bronze was tall and strong, with black hair, caramel eyes, and light skin. She had bull horns and a bull tail. Bronya had long, chunky claws and thick fur-like hair on her hands and arms. She dressed like a librarian who could beat your ass. She also taught him how to fight with his dagger, and sometimes a sword but they hadn’t managed to find a seaforged one yet and that was the only kind of weapon Percy could wield comfortably. She also taught him how to protect himself. His mom also tried to teach him archery but, no matter if he was a legacy of Apollo, he was just horrible at archery. He called Bronya ‘Auntie Bronze’ because of her awesome bronze shield that could turn into a ring. He had no idea how that worked but it was cool as hell.

Apollo ginned at him. “Have any important visions lately ο μικρός μου προφήτης?”

“Hmm. A couple about Camp. A few about different monsters.”

“Have you been keeping track of them?” Apollo asked.

“Yeah, I’ve almost run out of space in my current notebook though.” Percy said.

“Good. I’ll get you a new one soon. Now, why don’t you tell me of all the trouble you’ve gotten into since I’ve been gone.” Apollo said, a smile on his face.

Percy laughed and began his retelling of what had been going on since he had seen his grandfather last.

---

    It was when he was about to get to the retelling of the event at the museum when the door to the apartment door opened. Percy could see the door from where he was on the couch and watched as Sally Jackson and Bronya Knight walked through the door and into their three-bedroom apartment.

“Mom,” Percy called out excitedly, “I’m home!”

His mom looked over at the couch and smiled warmly. She set the two bags she was holding on the kitchen table and came over to hug him.

His mom was beautiful. She had wavy light brown hair and crystal blue eyes, the same color Apollo’s adopted when he was in his mortal form, though Percy had only ever seen them in pictures. His mom usually hid her demigod features when she went out, not trusting the mist to keep her features hidden, but right now she had white swan wings with silky feathers on the base of her neck and calves. She had beautiful green snake scales on her arms.

Her magic made him feel like soft wings were caressing, cradling him. It was the color of a bright sun-ray and it looked as if it were outlining her

“Hello μικρή μου.” Sally said. “Are you well?”

“Yeah momma I am.”

“Hey kiddo.” Auntie Bronze said as she pulled him into her side and ruffled his hair which caused him to swak in indignation. She just laughed.

Her magic was the taste of metal on his tongue. It was the color of copper.

Percy and his mother then went to start putting away the groceries. As they did, Percy spoke up.

“There's something that happened on our last field trip. I was attacked by a monster, but not one of the normal ones.” Percy then quickly explained what happened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was met with stunned silence for a moment before Apollo angrily said, “Uncle H sent a fury after you!?”

“It’s fine now ‘Pollo. I was okay I promise. She didn’t even scratch me.” Percy tried to assure the god who looked about ready to go ‘talk’ with The Lord of the Dead himself. Even though he settled a little with his words he still had a very displeased look on his face.

“Still, Perce. Sending a fury after a 12 year old. What was he thinking? Why would he ever think that was necessary?” Auntie bronze said. Percy just shrugged in response.

Percy’s words of reassurance didn’t stop his mom however, who walked quickly over to him and started to double check he didn’t have any injuries. Which he didn’t.

“I also have something else to show you.” Percy said after his mom finished reassuring herself that her baby was fine. He walked over to his backpack-of which was still on the floor- and dug out the little plastic card Chiron had given him two days earlier.Percy was still thinking about his encounter with the fates earlier. Even though it wasn’t his string he couldn’t help but wonder why the fates had appeared to him like this.

He hesitated on telling anyone about his encounter. He didn’t want to worry anyone without reason.

Percy walked back to his mom and handed her the card. “I think it’s time mom.” He said.

Sally let out a long sigh. “What is it?” Auntie Bronze asked.

“It’s Chiron’s business card.” Percy’s mom responded. “I think he wants Percy to go to Camp Half-Blood.”

“Yeah.” Percy said. “He said that he wants me to go this summer. That he thought it would be helpful to me.”

“Well that's not too bad.” Apollo said. “After the summer I will be able to spend as much time as I would like here.”

Bronya made an agreeing noise.

Percy turned to his mom. “Are you allowed to tell me who my dad is then?”

Sally chuckled, a soft look in her eyes. “Your father is the Earthshaker, ήλιος μου.”

Percy made a noise of understanding.”I thought so. Thanks mom.”

The adults chuckled softly. “You’ll like it there, trust me.” Percy’s mom said.

“I do.” Percy said.

“Good.” His mom said. “Now I’ll give you a choice. We can go to camp now or,” She paused for dramatic effect, “we can go to Montauk for three days and then go to camp.”

“Montauk!?” Percy asked.

“Yup.”

“I want to go to the beach first. My scales need salt water.”

His mom laughed and he went to go pack for Montauk and Camp Half-Blood.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3 - May 26th, 2005, Montauk, NY - The Beach and a Bullman

    Percy and his mom were driving along the road to Montauk in a dandelion yellow 2002 Toyota Sequoia with light blue seat covers. The radio was on and they were happily singing along with it.

Finally, they pulled into the dirt road next to their little blue cabin. The cabin was half sunken into the sand, it had sheer curtains draped over the windows and a rickety rocking chair on the small porch. Percy loved this place so much. Its front was facing the ocean with an unobstructed view and the back of it facing the Hither Woods Preserve. They had been coming here multiple times a year for as long as Percy could remember.

He helped his mom take their bags inside the cabin. They then washed the old sheets on their beds, restocked the fridge with a few of the things his mom had bought earlier in the day. He rewashed the dishes while his mom dusted and swept. Finally, they were done with their chores and could go to the beach. He almost left the cabin before his mom called out for him.

“Don’t leave yet Percy. Let me get changed and then we’ll go.” She said fondly though, she shook her head in an exasperated gesture at his practically jumping up and down on the balls of his feet.

It only took her a few minutes for her to get changed and then they were out. Percy immediately jumped into the water while Sally sat on the edge of the water, making sure her son didn’t wander too far.

Percy, meanwhile, swam under the waves talking to every weakfish, striped bass, and bluefish he came across. Percy loved the feeling of saltwater against his gills and scales and webbed hands and feet. He felt like he could finally breathe after months of being away from any large body of water. Percy swam faster than any athlete swimmer could hope to, bending the currents around him as if it were his second nature. He drank up the sight of all the different plant and animal life that thrived beneath the harsh waves.

Eventually, as the sun started its descent into the horizon Percy made his way back to shore at around 6 thirty. His mother looked up from her book. It was written in Greek so even having dyslexia couldn’t stop her from doing what she loved. Percy walked up to her and sat next to her, leaning his head on her shoulder.  They sat in comfortable silence for a little while before Percy spoke up.

“So dad is out there? Somewhere?”

“Yes Percy. I had met him on this exact beach sometime back in the September of 1992.” Sally said. She then began telling him the story of how they met, how long Sally had known him before he had to leave. How he had offered to build her a palace under the waves. How Poseidon, his dad, had been rough, but kind. About how he was gentle yet a strong and powerful presence. And how he would rant about how much he hated pollution, much like Percy himself did. 

Percy never got tired of hearing them.

Their conversation ended when Percy’s stomach grumbled. His mom chuckled and said, “How about this. You set up a fire out here and I’ll get us some game from the forest.”

“That sounds awesome mom.” Sally nodded and got up, heading to the house to get her bow, jacket, and quiver of arrows.

Percy, meanwhile, got up and went to the rocks lining part of the beach. He was searching for at least 14 medium sized rocks to create a barrier around the fire. Eventually he found the needed rocks and brought them back to the beach in front of their cabin. Percy carefully put all 14 rocks in a circle. The beach was mostly dirt and sand until the forest but he didn’t want to risk it.

Now all he needed were some dry sticks for the fire. Percy stepped into the cabin looking for their firewood axe. He walked to the closet storing their tools and took out the steel axe. Percy then left the light blue cabin and headed into the woods. Percy was hoping to find a tree that had fallen after the most recent storm that had passed through Montauk rather than cutting down some branches on the living trees.

Percy was thankful he always did good in the dark. His eyes glowed ever so slightly and he could see pretty far in front of him without needing any light. He could hear how the forest went quiet when he walked by. He could smell the bark of the wet trees.

Percy walked around the woods for about 10 minutes before stumbling upon a fallen tree. He got to work and stripped the log of multiple of its smaller branches with the axe. Percy then cut the branches in half so they were roughly an arms length. He took the tiny branches that were sticking off the bark and put them in his pocket to use as kindling. He repeated the process until he had a good stack of wood. He picked it up and set his way back to the cabin.

When Percy got back to the cabin he started to arrange the wood into the stone circle he had made before. When he finished he took the kindling on top of the wood. Percy then went inside to find their lighter. He walked into the kitchen and opened the drawer next to the fridge and took out their lighter. On his way out he grabbed their rack for the game his mom would bring back. It was grated and flat topped with four legs. They would put it over the fire and it looked a bit like a grill.

He set the rack above the campfire and lit the lighter. He lit up the kindling and a small fire sparked which soon grew into a fire. Percy sat back and waited for his mom.

It wasn’t but five minutes until his mom had gotten back. With her she carried 3 rabbits all of them looked like they had been shot in the eye - which they had been because his mom was an amazing shot, unlike himself.

“Hey mom. Those look great.” Percy said. Sally walked over to Percy and sat by him.

“Hello, ήλιος μου.” Sally said. “Do you want to help me prepare the rabbits?”

“Sure μαμά.”

Sally took out one of her daggers and gave it to Percy. She then took out another one and began skinning one of the rabbits. Percy followed her lead skinning, cleaning and deboning the rabbits. When they finished they ended up cooking two of the rabbits and leaving one uncooked so Sally could eat her catch raw. 

It may sound a little gross to anyone who wasn’t a demigod but eating your prey raw always tasted better for some reason. Fortunately Percy’s mom was a child of Apollo so she didn’t need to worry about getting sick from the meat like most others. Even though it was uncommon for demigods to get sick, much less with a disease it still wouldn’t hurt to cook your food first. Just in case.

They made offerings to the gods with a bit of their meat, just like every dinner they spent together.

They spend the rest of the night eating and talking about random things just spending time together before Percy had to leave to camp in the morning. Percy’s mom also braided his hair, which was now flowing down to the middle of his back. His mom had told him that most of the boys at Camp grew out their hair and then cut it when they turned eighteen, when they became men, just like they did in the ancient times. When it was finally time to head in for the night Percy carefully manipulated a small sphere of water and put out the fire. Sally grabbed her bow and quiver and together they headed inside.

For a moment, just before they went to bed Percy felt something settle in his bones. Something bad was coming and Percy had no idea what it was. Something told him to run, to flee. Though with no other options Percy silently got ready for bed, determined to deal with whatever was coming.

Percy and his mother changed into their pajamas - Sally in her light pink robe and Percy in his fuzzy socks and shark themed shorts and t-shirt - and tucked into their big bed in the back bedroom and fell asleep listening to the sounds of the forest outside their window.

---

    Percy looked around him. He was no longer in his bed in the light blue cabin at Montauk but he was standing on a beach with the coarse sand beneath his feet. He looked out in front of him and saw two beautiful animals fighting each other. There was a beautiful white horse with a long mane and sea green eyes. The animal trying to fight it was a giant Golden Eagle with long, sharp talons. Behind them was a large black dog with red eyes just barely peeking out of the woods lining the beach, it was watching the other two animals wearily.

The eagle swooped down and slashed at the horse's muzzle. The horse reared up and kicked the eagle’s wings. The earth started to shake beneath Percy’s feet, the storm around them got worse as the animals fought. There was a voice coming from under the ground, goading the animals to fight harder, to destroy each other in their fight.

The voice sent shivers up Percy’s spine. It reminded him of broken bottles, of footprints in dust layering a floor. It made him think of times long past, of times even older than the gods. It made him think of times not yet come, waiting as the world continues. 

Percy knew he had to stop the animals from fighting, he tried to run to them but it was like he was running in slow motion. He desperately tried to fight against the force keeping him back. Something was very, very wrong about this vision.

“No!” Percy shouted, trying to be heard over the storm. “No, stop! STOP FIGHTING!”

The ground shook violently and a crack appeared around the animals, the sand falling into it. The crack in the ground expanded, it felt like it was trying to pull Percy in. Unfortunately as Percy was trying to stop the stallion and eagle from fighting, his feet slipped and he was pulled closer and closer to the fissure in the floor. It was then that the animals had finally noticed him, the horse let out a frightened whinny and started to move towards Percy but by the time the horse started to move, Percy’s feet fell into the fissure as his dream shifted.

He saw a boy, about 18 or 19 years in age, in the midst of a maze of tunnels and hallways that seemed to never end. The boy looked very similar to Percy. They had the same sea-green eyes, though unlike Percy’s they stayed the same shade of green throughout the vision. He saw the boy, Theseus, Percy realized, navigate the labyrinth with a string in one hand and a sword in the other. 

There was also a woman following Theseus. She had chocolatey brown hair and blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds. A name came to Percy as he looked at the woman. Ariadne, a daughter of King Minos of Crete and the woman who led Theseus through the Labyrinth only to be dumped on an island after Theseus had enough of her.

Percy watched them go through the Labyrinth, navigating its deadly halls. The dream shifted one last time just as they had made it to the chamber of the Minotaur. This time it was the street next to their cottage in Montauk there was a shadow looming over him but Percy woke up before he could see any details of the monster.

---

    Percy flew upright in the big bed he and his mom shared. Sally followed only a second later with a muttered, “Hurricane.”

Percy looked over to her and said, “I think we’ll have to get to camp a bit early Μαμά.” Sally nodded and got up to get her bow and car keys with a grim look on her face. Percy got up to get the bag he had packed for camp. Percy’s backpack had a few changes of clothes, a note pad and pencils, a few drachma, sea lion, his celestial bronze dagger, a few granola bars, a blue water bottle with ‘Percy’ engraved on it, and a little raven plushie, it had been a gift from Apollo from when he was little, and A few other things. 

Percy fiddled with the bracelet on his left wrist. It was a charm bracelet that had one sun charm, a bow charm, and an arrow charm. It also has a few yellow and orange beads on it. The bracelet was charmed to ward off monsters, enchanted by Apollo and gifted to Percy when he had started to show signs of his prophetic abilities.

All of a sudden there was a beating against the door. His mother loaded her bow but did not draw it and went to open the door. Standing in front of their door was Grover Underwood, looking almost the same as any other time he had seen him except this time he was without his pants.

Standing there in all his half-goat glory, Grover said, “Percy! Where have you been! I’ve been searching all night!”

Percy winced. “Sorry Grover. I jus-”

“Ω αγαπητοί αθάνατοι θεοί! Nevermind, we have to leave! It’s really close!” Grover said. (O dear immortal gods)

“What's close?!” Sally asked.

“Pasiphae’s son!” Grover shouted.

Sally’s eyes widened in shock before she nodded. “Get in the car, both of you.”

In the next moment they were racing down the road to where Percy assumed was Camp Half-Blood. The hurricane was whipping its harsh winds around their car, the rain making it sound like it was hailing. Percy could barely see the road in front of them so he had no idea how his mom saw the road but she kept her foot on the gas the whole time.

“So,” Percy began, “you and my mom know each other?”

“Uh not exactly. I-we, me and Chi-Mr. Brunner were keeping an eye on you and we told Ms. Jackson but we’ve never met in person before.” Grover responded.

“Keeping an eye on me?”

“Yeah uhm, making sure you were safe and other things. I called Mr. Brunner when I realized that you had a really strong scent. That bracelet dilutes it really well.” Grover was nervously tugging at a few of his curls and kept flicking his eyes out the window every few seconds. “I am your friend though. Please believe that.”

“I do Grover. But, what were you protecting me from?” Percy thought he meant monsters but he could also mean Ms. Dodds though she had only come after the solstice.

“Oh, nobody much, just The Lord of The Dead and his blood thirstiest minions.” Grover said a little hysterically. Percy knew that Grover was telling the truth, he was a terrible liar, but his instincts told him that was…wrong? It was odd that the two things conflicted. But then again, why would Hades be interested in Percy, of all people?

“Why would Hades out of all Gods be interested in what I do?” As soon as Percy said Hades’ name Percy felt as if eyes were watching him, he felt a presence settle in just out of Percy’s reach. He felt a cold breeze wash over them, he smelt asphodels and tasted pomegranates,for a moment he heard faint dog barking, and he felt a bony hand settle on his shoulder but Percy knew, if he looked he would find no hand there. It was almost overwhelming, just like Apollo’s. Oops.

“Oh I don’t think I can tell you right now.” Grover Replied. Percy’s mom swerved suddenly to avoid a giant man-looking thing in the middle of the road, the swerve knocked Percy into the door.

“What do you mean?” Percy asked, but Grover didn’t reply.

“Come on, come on, come on.” Sally muttered anxiously. “Only one more mile.” She kept looking in the rearview mirror. For the first time Percy saw actual fear in his moms eyes.

All of a sudden Percy felt dread settle in his stomach. It smelt like ozone in the car now, almost over shadowing the asphodels. “We need to get out of the car, now. ” Percy said.

“What?” Sally asked.

“We need to get out of the-”

BOOOM!!

The car was thrown off the road. Percy felt like he had been set on fire, hosed down, and electrocuted all at once. Percy felt his head slam on the roof of the car and blanket out for a moment.

When he came to, Percy groaned and shook his head. Which was not a good idea, it made him feel light headed and dizzy. He no longer felt like someone was watching him.

“Mom?” Percy asked.

“I’m fine.” Sally said. “Grover?”

Percy looked over to his friend next to him. Grover was passed out, his head on the seat in front of him. There was a trickle of blood coming out of his mouth but his chest was moving up and down so Percy took that as a good sign.

“He’s fine.” Percy said just as Grover groaned and said ‘food’ though he didn’t gain consciousness. Percy chuckled.

“Okay Percy. I need you to listen to me very carefully. I need you to go past that pine tree. That’s the border. Once you're past it there will be a four story farmhouse. Go to it and ask for help. They’ll help you.”

Percy looked at his mom seriously. “No, mom. I’m not leaving you. Help me with Grover.” Percy unbuckled and slid out of his seat. He tried to pry his own door but it was stuck in the mud. He leaned over Grover, careful to not touch the sizzling hole in the floor. He opened Grovers door and climbed over him. He turned around and unbuckled Grover and started to pull him out of the car.

His mom was there in a moment helping get Grover out of the car. They each took one of his arms on his shoulders and began walking towards the White House sized Christmas Tree. A roar sounded from behind them. The Minotaur was getting closer.

Together they made slow, lumbering steps toward the pine in the distance. It was over 100 yards away and Percy was getting really scared and his mom didn’t have time to grab her bow or arrows, all she had was one of her daggers which would be no help against the Minotaur.

They were at the base of the hill when the Minotaur roared again. Percy looked back and found the Minotaur sniffing their crashed car. The beast was at least seven feet tall and built like a truck. He had brown scruffy scruff hair that started at his belly button and went all the way up to his head, which was much bigger than a bull’s head should be. Instead of hands and feet the bull had four giant hooves. He gave off the same vibes as all other  monsters, like there was something that was breathing down his neck, claws tracing his arm. Eyes always watching him.

“Percy.” His mom said seriously. He turned to look at her. “When he sees us he’ll charge just like a regular bull would. Wait until the last moment to move to the side. He won’t be able to stop then. Ok? You take Grover.”

“Ok mom.”

Behind them Percy heard the Minotaur roar again then a loud explosion. Well. There goes their car. Percy looked behind them again and saw the Minotaur looking at them.

“Stay still Percy.” Sally muttered.

The Minotaur pawed the ground with his feet, and charged them. Percy watched as the bull man ran towards them at full speed. Every instinct in Percy’s body told him to move but he didn’t. Percy shifted Grover’s weight fully onto his side. And finally, Sally shouted, “Now!” just as Percy thought they would be bulldozed by the bull man.

Percy dove to the right with Grover while his mom  jumped to the left, her wings flapping, using them to push her  just a little further. The Minotaur barreled past the two demi-gods and unconscious satyr. His mom was right, like always.

“Percy, take Grover and go within the boundaries of Camp! I’ll distract him, get help!” Sally said, drawing the Minotaur’s attention to her. 

Percy didn’t know what to do, he didn’t want to leave his mom when she only had a dagger half the size of her forearm to fight the Minotaur. But, he would be of no help in this fight either. Percy looked back at the giant pine tree and for a moment saw a girl leaning against the tree. 

She had short, spiky black hair and electric blue eyes with a ring of bright yellow around her pupils. She was dressed in what could only be described as a ‘punk’ black leather jacket and black ripped jeans. Sprouting from her back were giant eagle wings, gray, brown, tan, and white in color. Feathers of the same colors decorated her neck, arms, and behind her ears, and her collar. Her hands were more like talons and were a yellowish color. The thick horns on her head reminded Percy of the Minotaur’s horns. It was Thalia Grace. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her, he had seen her die, after all, but Percy had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be the last time he’d see his cousin.

Then, she was gone and Percy saw a faint yellow and blue dome stretching at least 2 miles, where Percy knew layed Camp Half-Blood, one of the few places that would protect the children of the gods. It was a protective barrier, a really strong one at that, and it was tied to the giant tree. It reminded Percy of the barriers around his own home, but those were much weaker than this one. A child had given her life for this, it would be one of the strongest barriers Percy would ever encounter. 

Percy Made a decision. He carefully lifted Grover’s arm back onto his shoulder and he made his way up the Hill and just barely crossed the boundary. Immediately a feeling of safe-home-belonging-hope washed over Percy. He set Grover up against the tree and dropped his backpack.Then he heard a sharp cry and looked back at the Minotaur and his mom.

The Minotaur had picked up his mom by the throat. She was still fighting, slashing, kicking and wiggling, trying to get free. She met his eyes and she called out a strangled “Go!” 

Percy watched as his mom froze then, glowed golden for a moment and finally disappeared like a hologram into the harsh wind. Later, he would remember a burst of an overpowered smell of asphodels, the taste of pomegranates, and the sound of barking dogs, but at the moment he was just focused on the fact he had lost his mom.

Percy screamed . In rage, in sorrow. It rained harder, the wind whipping against Percy’s arms felt like knives grazing his skin. The wind was bending trees, the rain filling the gutters.

Percy stepped out of the safe boundary of Camp Half-Blood. He would kill this monster. He would make the Minotaur regret walking out of Tartarus.

Percy walked a little ways down the hills and took off his blue puffy jacket. “Hey, Asshole!” 

Percy waved the blue jacket in the air, taunting the Minotaur to come closer. It roared. Percy didn’t know how he was going to defeat the Minotaur, he just knew he would. He didn’t know how his half-brother Theseus had killed the monster of the Labyrinth, and even if he did he had a feeling it wouldn’t help.

He put his back to Thalia’s tree, hoping that he would be able to do the same thing he did earlier and avoid the Minotaur at the last moment, however, the monster seemed to have remembered the trick because he stuck both his arms out on either side so he couldn’t escape. 

Percy felt time slow down for a moment, he felt every drop of rain on his skin, he felt his senses sharpen. Percy didn’t know it, but his eyes were shining brightly, they were the same color as the sea that was not a mile away. Not a moment too late Percy used the Minotaur’s knee as a springboard and jumped up. He turned in midair and landed on the beasts’ neck. He secured himself with each hand on one of the Minotaur’s horns. Time came back to normal speed just as the Minotaur rammed into Thalia’s tree.

The impact of the bull shook the tree, but it did not damage its bark. The beast huffed and staggered back. It then started to shake, trying to throw Percy off.

Unfortunately it was then that Grover groaned against Thalia’s tree. Percy would have told him to shush but, he thought if he opened his mouth he’d bite his tongue off.

The Minotaur started pawing at the ground again and even though Percy rationally knew the beast wouldn’t be able to pass the boundary line, his rational brain wasn’t in control at the moment. It looked as if the monster was going to try to charge Grover.

Absolutely fucking not.

Percy put both of his hands on one of the Minotaur’s horns and pulled .

After a moment the bullman lets out a surprised grunt and Percy hears a snap! 

The monster bucked back and Percy flew off of his neck. Percy landed on his back in the grass and his vision went dark for a moment as the back of his head hit a sharp rock.

Percy eventually managed to get on to one knee, holding the very harp horn with both hands, the Minotaur was already charging straight at him.

As the beast came just in front of Percy, he angled the knife like bone diagonally up and shoved it between his 6th and 7th rib cage. The monster let out an agonized roar and then just- disintegrated into golden dust, just the same as Ms. Dodds had.

It was over. The Minotaur was dead. Percy had killed the Minotaur. Percy tried to get up but he stumbled back to the ground just as quickly. Idly he noticed the rain had slowed to a drizzle and the wind was less harsh. The reality of the situation settled in to him, he had no idea if his mom was alive or where she was. He was sitting on a hill with no way to get help, and his head hurt. 

And as the adrenaline finally wore off, Percy allowed himself to cry. He cried for his mom, he made the sharp clicking sounds that Percy’s mom said always reminded her of a baby orca, the sound that was supposed to get her attention, to call her to him, to help him. But she would not come this time, could not.

After what had felt like an hour, but was probably less than a minute, soft golden arms scooped him up and his face was pressed into their shoulder.

“You can rest now, ηλιαχτίδα. I've got you.”

Percy allowed himself to close his eyes and rest against the god that picked him up. As his sobs tapered off so did his awareness and he fell into a fitful slumber.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4 - May 27th-29th, 2005, Long Island, NY, Meeting A God and His Kids

Percy woke up in pieces. The first time he woke up there was a boy hovering above him and it was light outside. The Boy had big black crow wings tucked behind his back and black feathers on the nape of his neck and behind his ears. His eyes were a starling blue, so bright they almost glowed. The Boy also had talon-like fingers that came to needle points. Percy was too tired to properly make out his magic aura, but he seemed to be fiddling with something-medical equipment?- above Percy.

The Boy noticed Percy was awake and smiled kindly at him. “Go back to sleep kid, you’re not done healing yet.”

The Boy reached out and ruffled his hand through Percy’s long, wavy, inky black hair. Percy dutifully obeyed and closed his eyes again.

---

    The next time Percy was awake he was woken up by voices near his bed. When he cracked open his eyes he saw two men in the room. One had long golden hair and tan skin. He was sitting on Percy’s bed, one of his hands resting on Percy’s leg. It was Apollo. The other man had black hair so dark it was almost purple, it was curly and flowed past his shoulders and his skin was darker than Apollo’s. The new man smelled like vines and grapes and fruity wine, though all of it was tinged with a sour scent, as if they had gone bad. The New Man had that same ethereal feeling to him, like Apollo did. Normally Percy’s senses were sharper than this, but he must have still been too out of it to recognize anything else except the fact that The New Man was definitely a god.

“I’m not gonna give him special treatment just because he is one of yours, Apollo.”

“I’m not asking you to. Just make sure he doesn’t die.”

They were quiet for a moment before Percy spoke up in a scratchy voice. “‘Pollo?” 

Both of the Gods turned to look at Percy. Apollo gave him a sad smile and cupped his cheek. “Hey kiddo.”

Percy relaxed a little more and let sleep draw him under once again. 

---

    The final time Percy woke up he woke up in a hospital-like room with one of the windows open, letting in the spring breeze. He sat up in the bed and looked around the room. It had a few other beds with curtains though they were open. The colors were soft and there were medical supplies on the counters. An infirmary.

The door across from Percy opened and The Boy from earlier walked in. He noticed Percy was awake and smiled at him. 

Now that Percy was fully awake he was able to register The Boy’s magic. It was a light yellow with baby blue sprinkled in. It smelled like cotton candy and…cinnamon? Some sort of spicy herb. He felt the sunlight grow a bit hotter on his skin when the boy got closer.

“Hey kid. You feeling alright?” The Boy said.

“A bit shaky.” Percy replied, his voice scratchy.

“Makes sense. Here this’ll help.” The Boy picked up a glass that looked like it was filled with iced apple juice and handed it to him. Percy picked up the glass with shaky hands and sipped the drink through the colorful straw. Percy almost reared back when the taste of his mothers chocolate chip cookies reached his tongue instead of the tart apple juice he was expecting. He quickly finished the glass, immediately feeling much better. Percy had heard of nectar before, but he had never tasted it.

The Boy took the glass from him when he was done and set it on the counter next to Percy’s bed. “I’m Lee Fletcher by the way. What’s your name?”

For a moment Percy saw something else. He wasn’t in the infirmary anymore, he was standing in a clearing of a forest, a battle waging all around them. There was fire off to Percy’s left. He looked to his right and there stood Lee. He was older than he was now, firing off arrows into the crowd of monsters.

“I’m Percy Jackson.” Percy said, coming back to himself.

Lee nodded. “Well Percy do you feel good enough to get up? Chiron and Mr. D are waiting.”

“Yeah, I think so.” Percy said.

“Alright, I’ll show you the way.” Lee responded.

Lee started walking away a bit and gestured for Percy to follow. Percy scrambled up, quick to follow Lee out of the infirmary.  Percy absently noticed he had been changed out of his dirty clothes and was now in an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt and jeans. Just before they left the building Lee pointed at a pair of blue converse, a blue windbreaker, and a brown backpack with multi-colored patches sitting in a shoe cubby next to the door. Percy’s stuff.

“Your things are there if you want to put them on before we leave.” Lee said.

Percy nodded and went to put on his shoes. Then he tied the jacket around his waist and put the backpack on. When he was done they continued on their walk. As they left the building Percy looked at his surroundings. The Camp was just as beautiful as the last time he had seen it. There were acres of strawberry fields, a lush forest, beautiful meadows, and the sun shining on a sparkling lake. He could hear children's laughter from where he was walking. They took a gravel path to a near-by giant building. It was four stories tall and light blue. It had a wrap-around porch and big windows. 

“How long was I out for?”

“You got here around midnight two days ago. This is the Big House by the way, Percy.” Lee said, gesturing at the light blue building. “It’s like a common area. It has a kitchen, living room, game room, guest rooms etc. It is also where Chiron and Mr. D sleep.”

Percy chose to ask the question any other non-prophet child would and asked, “Who are Chiron and Mr. D?”

“Mr. D is the Camp director and Chiron is the activities director.”

Percy hummed in response and finally reached the few steps up to the big house. Percy saw four people standing on the porch. Sitting at a game table were 2 adults Percy recognized. The one facing away from him was sitting in a motorized wheelchair and had a warm brown glow and smelt of horses and coffee and Percy faintly heard arrows firing. Chiron, the activities director. 

The Man facing Percy was the same Man that was talking to Apollo when Percy was in the infirmary. The Man had thick horns that curled back coming out of his long, curly black-purple hair. He had a thorny grape vine crown sitting delicately on his head. The Man had big hands with even bigger claws. Instead of human legs The Man had thick furry legs like the hind legs of a leopard. He wasn’t wearing any shoes and instead had the paws of a leopard with claws even sharper than the ones on his hands. He also had a giant furry leopard tail resting on the ground next to his legs. And he also had leopard ears instead of human ears.

The Man was wearing a deep purple, long and flowy chiton with gold embellishments and a grape cluster pin holding it together. His golden choker and earrings complemented his outfit nicely. 

The Man smelled like vines, grapes, and fruity wine, but it smelled sour and sickly, as if it had gone bad. He felt vines wrapping around his legs but Percy knew if he looked there would be nothing there. Percy felt soft fur under his hands and heard faint hysterical laughter. The Man’s magic felt off somehow. Like it was muted or sick. It didn’t help that Percy could tell the man was paler than normal, after all Percy had seen this man before in his visions. The color of his magic was a mix of purples, reds, and greens.

The Man was Dionysus god of Wine, Madness, Theater, Festivities, and Religious Ecstasy.

The other two on the porch were two kids. One was a girl sitting on the deck railing. She had dark skin and black hair in braids that faded into a blonde color. She had sharp gray eyes and even sharper short talons. She had cream and brown feathers on her collarbone and had small owl wings the same color coming out of her back. This wasn’t the first time Percy had seen this particular girl but this is the oldest age he's seen her. Her magic sounded like flipping through book pages and smelled like ink. The other kid was Percy’s best friend, Grover Underwood.

“Mr. D, Chiron, the new campers’ awake.” Lee said.

Chiron turned around and smiled at Percy. “Hello Percy. Thank you Lee. You may go back to corralling your siblings now.” Lee smiled, nodded and left.

“Come and sit Percy. We now have four to play Pinochle.” Percy did as asked and sat down next to Chiron in the wooden chair. “Let me introduce you to everyone. This camper,” The centaur pointed at Annabeth. “Is Annabeth Chase. She is one of the campers who have been here the longest. She is also the head counselor of the Athena cabin.” 

“Nice to meet you Annabeth.” Percy said, nodding at the daughter of Athena. She nodded back.

“Annabeth dear, can you go set up a place in cabin 11 for Percy?” Chiron asked. The girl nodded and hopped off the railing and went further into the camp. 

“This is Mr. D. He's the director here at Camp Half-blood.” Chiron looked at Dionysus expectantly.

“Yes, yes. Welcome to camp I suppose. Now don’t expect me to be happy to see you.” Dionysus grumbled. He turned back to playing cards.

Percy wanted to get a gauge on the god, whether he was laid-back, so to speak, like Apollo, or if he was more like the Dionysus in the myths.

“Mr. D.” Percy said. “Does that stand for anything.?”

“Names have power, young man. You don’t go around using them for no reason.” Dionysus said.

“So I’ve been told.” Percy responded. Mr. D looked back up at Percy, squinted at him, then went back to his cards, seemingly content to ignore the new Camper.

“I must say Percy,” Chiron started, “I’m glad you made it to camp safely. It’s been quite a while since I’ve made a house call. I would’ve hated to think I’d wasted my time.”

Wasted your time? Percy thought. 

“You spent the whole year at Yancy just to teach me?” He said instead.

“Yes.” Chiron said. “Not even a week into school and Grover calls me about a demigod with a very powerful scent. Honestly I wasn’t sure at first. We contacted your mother in case you were ready for camp. But you made it to camp alive, that’s always the first test.”

First test? Percy was beginning to like this system less and less.

“My mom and I were planning to come here this morning actually, when the summer session started. But obviously it didn’t work out like that.”

“You were planning on coming here?” Grover asked. “I thought you didn’t know about Camp.”

“Yeah, I’ve known about camp for a while now.”

“You have?!”

Percy chuckled. “G-man. My mom is a demigod too.”

“She is?!” Percy just laughed.

“Ah yes. Sally Jackson. I remember her. She was one of the less annoying brats at this camp.” Mr. D said. “Now Grover. Are you going to play Pinochle or not?”

“Y-yes sir.” Grover said and hurriedly sat down in the chair across from Percy.

Mr. D looked over at Percy and said, “You do know how to play Pinochle don’t you?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Well, it is, along with pac-man and gladiator fighting, one of the best games made by mortals.” Mr. D passed out cards to everyone. Grover flinched every time one hit his pile. Percy narrowed his eyes at the god but made no move to put himself on the god’s bad side by saying something.

“Young man, are you bidding or not?” Mr. D said.

“What?” Percy asked.

Mr. D impatiently explained how to bid in pinochle so Percy did.

“There’s simply too much to explain.” Chiron said. “I’m afraid the usual orientation video won’t be enough.”

“Orientation film?” Percy may have seen some things about Camp before but he had yet to see the infamous orientation film.

“Ah yes. Er- well no.” Chiron started. “Usually we show the film to new campers but there is simply not enough time.”

“Ugh. The Orientation Film. If I ever have to watch that abomination again I’ll kill Apollo myself.” Mr. D said. He waved his hand and a little bit of his magic condensed on the table for a moment. Then, when it had settled there was a goblet of wine sitting on the game table.

“Mr. D.” Chiron said, reprimanding. “Your restrictions.”

Mr. D looked down at his drink in feigned surprise. “Oh dear me.” He said sarcastically. He looked towards the sky and shouted, “Old habits! Sorry!” But he didn’t sound very sorry. Thunder boomed in the distance.

Mr. D’s magic condensed again and instead of a wine goblet, this time there was a can of diet coke. Mr. D sighed unhappily and went back to his card game.

Chiron winked at me. “See, Mr. D offended his father a while back. Took a liking to a wood nymph that was declared off-limits.”

“A dryad.” Percy said.

“Yes.” Mr. D started, “My father loves to punish me. The first time it was prohibition. The second time I was told to come here to this camp. ‘Be a better influence’ he said.”

“The Thunder Bringer said that? Wasn’t he at fault for half the things that went down in the Myths?”

“Yes.” Mr. D said. He sounded annoyed and a little exasperated.

“Well Percy,” Chiron said. “I think it's time for a tour, no?”

“Sure.” Said Percy. Percy already knew everything about the camp, from the arena to the amphitheater, but he supposed they were going to do this anyway.Then, Chiron got out of his wheelchair, continuing to get taller until he was at least a good 6 '8. Chiron smiled and beckoned Percy forward but before he could follow the centaur Grover called out for him.

“Wait, Percy!”

“Yeah?” Percy questioned. Grover handed him a sharp white knife-like horn. The Minotaur’s horn.

“I thought you would want it. It’s a spoil of war and therefore your’s by right.” Grover said.

“Thanks man.” Percy said. He was genuinely grateful for his friend.

“Before you leave Mr. Underwood,” Mr. started. “We need to talk about your less-than-perfect performance on your assignment.” 

Grover paled and nodded. “I’ll see you later Percy?” He asked hopefully.

“Yeah sure man. I’ll see you later.” 

Chiron started to walk towards the stairs on the other side of the porch, so Percy started to follow him. On the way Percy had to carefully step over Mr. D’s leopard tail. It seemed as if the god noticed him doing this and flicked his tail, causing Percy to stumble a bit in his effort to not step on his tail. The god looked at him with a calculating gaze but ultimately seemed amused and turned away, no longer trying to trip Percy with his tail. 

As they walked away Percy asked a question.

“Will Grover be okay? He looked like he was going to have a panic attack.”

“Old Dionysus isn’t going to hurt the boy. He wasn’t truly mad, he just doesn’t like his job much.” Chiron replied.

“He was a good protector. It was my fault he lost me in the first place.”

“Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than is reasonable. To get to search, Grover must prove his bravery by succeeding in his job as a Keeper. He must bring a demigod to Camp.”

“Well he did that.” Percy said. “He got me to Camp just fine.”

“While I might agree with you Percy, that decision is not up to me. It is up to Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders. He did lose you in New York, as you said.” Chiron stated matter-of-factly. “And there's the unfortunate…fate… of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you both were brought in. The Council might argue that it proved no courage on Grover’s part.”

“But he was courageous. He showed up at my doorstep in the middle of a hurricane with the Minotuar on his tail just to get me to Camp!” Percy argued.

“The Council was not thrilled to allow Grover on another assignment like this, Percy. He had already been on one a few years ago and well, let’s just say that it didn’t go too well. The Olympians also were aware of his mission and they, especially Zeus, aren’t happy with its outcome. I had advised him to wait a few more years, but alas…”

‘He had already been on one a few years ago.’ Grover’s first assignment. His doomed journey to find a child of the big three and bring her back to Camp safely. The journey that killed Thailia Grace and brought Luke and Annabeth to Camp.

---

    As they walked along the path they passed the volleyball pit. It seemed the Apollo children were playing a match against satyrs. Most of them were middle and high-school aged with only a few younger than that. Percy could see Lee and Will Solace among them. William Solace was this nine year old son of Apollo. Until now he had almost forgotten about the kid. Percy knew him from his visions, had seen when he made it to camp two years ago. And from Apollo. Apollo loved talking about his kids.

Some of the campers were watching him, pointing at him and the horn he held. 

Percy heard a faint hissing noise behind him and when he looked back at the Big House he saw something in the attic. A long dead woman stared at him from the window in the attic. 

Approach, Seeker, Speaker, Seer, and ask.

The Oracle of Proopios Apollon. The Host of The Oracle of Delphi. 

“Come, Percy. There’s lots to see.”

Percy allowed himself to look back at Chiron and begin the walk again. The next thing they saw were the berry fields. There were acres of lush strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry bushes. They were tall and bearing tons of fruit. With bright green leaves and flowering fruits they looked like mini trees. Each kind of fruit was in alternating rows, looking like different lines of color over the field.

There were campers and satyrs tending to the plants. Some of the campers looked like they were coaxing more fruit out of the bushes, some were watering the plants with long hoses, and some were picking fruit from the bushes, setting the baskets on the end of the row when it was full. The satyrs were playing on reed pipes, flutes, harmonicas, and Percy was pretty sure he saw one guy playing the bagpipes. The music coming from the goat-men was making the plants in the area rapidly grow.

Percy had seen these fields before, but they never ceased to amaze him.

“These are the Berry Fields. They supply most of our income and they take almost no effort.” Chiron explained. “Mr. D has that effect on fruit bearing plants.”

“But since he can’t have alcohol, no grapes?”

“Exactly, Percy.”

They were about to leave the fields when a kid called out to them.

“Hey Chiron! Is this a new camper?” 

Percy turned and looked at the kid that was about his age. He was a plump kid who looked like he spent a long time in the sun. He had curly blond hair tied into a ponytail and light green eyes with a purple ring around the pupil. The boy had leopard ears and a tail like Dionysus and he also had the same dark horns that pointed backwards. He had short thick claws and slightly too-sharp teeth. There were green and purple scales on his neck and elbows.

His magic was green mixed with purple that was condensed around his hands, as if he had been using it recently. It was the taste of grapes tinged with the plucking of a well threaded string of yarn.

“Ah, hello Pollux.” Chiron said. “Yes, this is a new camper, Percy Jackson.”

Pollux looked over his shoulder and called for someone behind him by the name of ‘Cas.’

Another blond boy stepped next to Pollux. They looked almost exactly the same except for their eyes. Where Pollux’s eyes were light green with a deep purple ring around the pupil, Cas’ eyes were a deep purple with a light green ring around the pupil.

Cas’ magic was the same color as his brothers’ but it was more wild and untamable, like madness, with the smell of grapes to accompany it.

When Percy saw the two standing next to each other he suddenly had a vision. It was the two boys now older, standing back to back in a horde of monsters, coated in golden dust. Their faces were fierce and angry, fighting seamlessly together in the middle of a street.

Then, it was gone, and Percy heard ‘Cas’ ask a question.

“There’s a new camper?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, this is Percy Jackson.” Pollux said.

Castor turned to him, smiled and stuck out his hand. “Welcome to Camp then, Percy. I’m Castor Aramore, Son of Dionysus.” Percy shook his hand.

“Oh, yeah!” Pollux said as if remembering something. “Welcome to CHB Percy. Names’ Pollux Aramore, also a Son of Dionysus and, this ass is my younger twin.” Pollux pointed to Castor.

“Do you always have to introduce me as your younger brother?” Castor said, swatting his brother on the arm.

“What? It’s true.” Pollux replied cheekily.

“Boys.” Chiron reprimanded, though there was a spark in his eyes that told Percy the centaur wasn’t truly annoyed. “You must get back to work now. Thank you for greeting Percy.”

Pollux soluted Chiron and ran off, tugging his brother along with him.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5 - May 29th, 2005, Long Island, NY, Camp Half-Blood

    The next stop on their tour was the woods, though they didn’t go in. The trees were tall and the forest was dense. The trees were a mix of Sugar Maples, American Sycamores, and towering Pine trees.

“The woods are stocked Percy, so it’s best not go in unarmed. You don’t have armor or a weapon yet so I’ll have to get someone to take you to the armory later.” Chiron said when Percy asked if campers were allowed in the woods. “But yes, the campers are allowed in the woods. It is where the wilderness survival class is held.”

There was an area near a part of the forest that was what was dubbed ‘The Mini Orchard.’ There were around thirty-five fruit trees that held seven different types of fruit. There were apples, oranges, apricots, pears, cherry, peaches, and of course olive trees. Apparently because of Mr. D’s control over the weather in Camp they were able to grow anything they liked. 

Then Chiron took him to the arena where a bunch of burly looking kids with boar, dog,or wolf features. Some had a mix of them and Percy saw a couple with gray feathers and a predatory gleam in their eyes. Children of ares, Percy assumed. The next stop on their tour was the armory which was a little building set up next to the arena that held all sorts of weapons from swords and daggers, to maces and even a couple tridents.

The sun was beating down on them as they walked, the warm day heating Percy’s skin. Chiron showed Percy the archery range that the Apollo kids usually occupied, but was currently empty. He showed Percy the glistening canoe lake with naiads sitting at the bottom of the pier. There was a little hut next to the lake that held their canoes, Chiron said. The amphitheater was wide and bowl shaped, with many rows of chairs surrounding an empty fire pit in the middle that looked like it could be moved. The Apollo cabin was currently using it, for what Percy didn’t know. There was the javelin range that wasn’t occupied. Percy personally didn’t know why Chiron was letting kids throw spears at each other, but they also did sword fighting so Percy guessed it wasn't too out of sorts.

The next stop was the rock climbing wall. It wasn’t Percy’s first time seeing it but it still made Percy nervous. It was literally two slabs of rock that banged together with lava pouring down it. 

They then made their way to the stables, which the Aphrodite cabin was currently occupying. As they made their way closer they were stopped by an older camper. She had long black hair that almost shone in the sunlight. Her eyes were iridescent as were the scales on her arms, and the tops of her legs. She was wearing the camp shirt and jean shorts with a pink plaid jacket and a matching cross-body purse thrown over it.

Her magic was pinks and reds and felt like getting a kiss on the forehead from an older sister. 

“Ah, hello Silena.” Chiron said. “This is Percy Jackson, he's a new camper. Undetermined.”

Silena stuck out her hand and said, “Well hey Percy! I’m Silena Beauregard, Head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin.”

Percy had another vision. It was of Silena looking older than she did now, holding two hunting daggers, covered in golden dust and blood. Her armor was cracked and she wasn't wearing any on her arms. She looked in front of her with grim determination.

Percy snapped back to what was in front of him and replied, “Nice to meet you Silena.”

When Percy shook her hand he noticed she had small claws, like a cats’. 

“Percy,” Silena began. “Your nose is bleeding.” She looked at him worriedly. 

Percy put a hand up to his nose and sure enough there was blood dripping out of it. “Oh. Uh, don’t worry about it, it just happens sometimes.” 

“Hm. Well here,” She said, digging through her purse. She pulled out a mini packet of tissues and handed a few over to Percy. 

“Oh, thanks!” Said Percy. He put a tissue up to his nose and slipped the rest into his pocket.

“Will you be alright?” She asked.

“Yeah I’ll be fine. They don’t usually last long.”

“Well, that's good.” Percy smiled. Silena was just as nice as his visions had shown him.

“Come now, Percy. We must continue on our tour.”

Percy nodded and went after Chiron, waving at Silena as he did so. She waved back and then went back into the stables. Chiron and Percy walked down the path to the tall building next to the stables. It was at least 30 feet wide and 40 feet tall. It was the same color as the big house. 

“This is the barn. We keep cows, pigs, sheep, and chicken, though the chickens are in a big coop in the field.” Chiron said. The field that Chiron was referring to was a giant open space next to the barn with just grass and flowers surrounded by a tall wooden fence. There was indeed a large chicken coop in the field with a smaller fence surrounding it and the space near it. There were campers all over taking care of the animals throughout the field and inside the barn. He noticed a few looking at him and muttering to each other. It made him nervous.

“We keep the cows for their milk, meat, and hide. We keep sheep for their wool and mutton. We only kill them when they are sick or old however. It is cheaper than continuously buying the supplies. We only keep pigs for meat, however, so we have less of them than the other animals. We use the chickens for their feathers, for arrows, their eggs and their meat. We also sometimes let a few of the chickens in the forest so the newer campers can learn to hunt.” Chiron said. “Hunting and finding food for yourself is a good skill to have, and most demigods like to hunt. Have you ever hunted before Percy?”

“Yeah. My mom taught me when my teeth and claws became sharp enough.”

“That is good. Usually it is the responsibility for parents or older siblings to teach the young how to hunt, so when you get claimed, your head councilor will likely take you to hunt together.”

“You said ‘when’ not ‘if’ I get claimed.” Percy said. Percy knew that his father would likely claim him soon, he was a possessive god if the stories were to be believed, and wouldn’t want his child staying in another god’s cabin for too long, but Chiron didn’t know who his father was.

“You are a strong demigod Percy. And you defeated the Minotaur before you even made it into the camp's borders. Any god would be proud to show you off as theirs.” Chiron said, making Percy flush.

They walked to the next stop on their tour of camp: The Forges. They were these low buildings with multiple chimneys, and loud banging coming from the inside.The door was rounded and it had a five-spoke handle like the ones on big safes. 

A camper was walking by them holding a small crate, he stopped when he stepped close to us. “Hi Chiron, hi new camper.” He said.

The boy was wearing the Camp Half-blood t-shirt and jeans with thick overalls over them and a pair of gloves in the same material. The boy’s skin was already dark, but around his mid-forearm it turned pitch black with bright veins running through it like hot lava. He also only had one human eye, the other was a golden mechanical one with a ruby pupil that sat in his eye socket.

His magic was a fiery red color that swirled and danced around him. It was the clanging on metal in a workshop.

Chiron smiled at him. “Hello, I was just giving Percy, here a tour around camp.”

The boy nodded and smiled slightly. “Well I’m Charles Beckendorf, you can just call me Beckendorf though. I’m a son of Hephaestus, god of the forge and blacksmiths. I’d shake your hand but mine are full right now.” He said, chuckling slightly.

Percy yet again had another vision. Gods, he was having a shit ton of visions today. Was he going to get one every time he met a new demigod?

Charles Backendorf was standing on a boat in the middle of a crowd of monsters, wielding an absolute beast of a celestial bronze battle axe that Percy was pretty sure was bigger than him. Beckendorf took a swing and killed a row of monsters in front of him, then Percy’s vision faded.

“Well, I’m Percy Jackson.”

“Well, I’ll see you around then?” Beckendorf said as he started to walk towards the building again.

Percy replied with a confirmation and they set out to finish the tour. Only three more places, Chiron had said.

They stopped at an open pavilion with 12 long tables that looked like they could fit 25 people easily. There was an even bigger one at the end that was the length of two tables combined. Each one had a carved symbol in the middle. The two closest to him had a lighting bolt and peacock feather on them, respectfully. Zeus and Hera’s tables. There were Grecian columns lining the pavilion but there was no roof. 

The building a little ways away was a short building the same color as the barn and the big house. The arts and crafts room Chiron had called it. Inside there were a few satyrs carving a bigger satyr into wood and a gaggle of children, most with the same blond hair and serious gray eyes. They were crafting all sorts of things and even a few were on a loom.

They left shortly to go to the final place on the tour. The cabins. Percy already knew the layout of the cabins by heart. He had seen this specific part of Camp more times than he cared to count. He recognized each of them from Demeter’s with grass on its roof and tomatoes climbing up the side of it, to Apollo’s golden cabin with a sunroof and giant windows with yellow curtains.

There were 12 cabins, each one for an Olympian. They were in the shape of a half circle around a soccer field sized common area. It was dotted with Greek statues, flower beds and lush plants. In the center it was a stone circle with a hearth in the middle, log chairs surrounding it. Even though it was summer, the fire was blazing bright and a little girl, about 8 or 9 years old, was tending to the flames. Percy was too far away to get a read on her magic, but even from a distance it looked like the girl was a part of the fire, like she was the flames.

She looked up and locked eyes with him. She smiled warmly at him and the next time the fire flickered in front of her, she disappeared.

“These, Percy, are the cabins. There is one for each Olympian.” Chiron said.

Percy pointed towards the two biggest cabins, the two at the end. “Zeus and Hera, right?” Percy asked. Both were marble and squares resembling temples, but Cabin 1 was bigger. It had a hologram-like door where it looked like lighting bolts were coming down from stormy skies. The roof of it looked like it was made of dark, densely packed clouds. There was a freshly lit candle sitting on the windowsill closest to the door.

Cabin number 2 was more graceful, somehow. It was slimmer and looked lighter? It had two engraved peacocks next to the door. Its columns had garlands of white lilies, pomegranates, and calla lilies winding up the side of them. It had purposeful ivy climbing up the sides of the building and the windows were tinted slightly magenta.

The first cabin on the left of Zeus’ left was a low, long building made of gray stone, coral, and decorated with seashells. Percy could see inside the cabin even from across the courtyard. Everything was shades of blues and greens and ocean motifs were everywhere. There was dust everywhere, from the windowsills, to the easel he could see from the window.

The place smelt like sea salt, citrus, water lilies, and oddly enough, like vanilla candles. It smelled like home.

Percy felt something inside him settle at being near his fathers cabin. The ocean the cabin was built with was singing to him, calling out to the sea in his veins. He wanted to go to his fathers - his - cabin but they had other things to do currently.

Percy continued looking down the rows of the cabins, Percy taking in sights he’s already seen, though never in person before. The cabins were split equally, 6 on each side, Odds on his left and evens on his right. The Cabin to the left of Percy’s, Cabin 5,was a red brick building with a stuffed boar head above the doorway. The door was open and rock music was pouring out of it. He could hear loud harsh laughter and playful yelling from 200 feet away. It was Ares’ Cabin. 

Another Cabin he took notice in was Cabin 10. It was a pink building with white roof and accents. The exposed foundation under the building and small porch was white and decorated with pink hearts. The Cabin wasn’t as wide as some of the others, but it was the only cabin that had two floors. It had light blue crystals running down a small part of one of the sides, making it look like a waterfall.

“Ah, look,” Chiron said. “Annabeth is waiting for us.”

Together Percy and Chiron made their way to Cabin 11, Hermes’ Cabin. It was an old building that looked like it had seen better days. The caduceus on the door was crooked, the paint on the walls was chipped, the wood all along the porch was scuffed and old. Even part of the banister on the railings was broken. It looked like whoever had been in charge of Cabin upkeep had forgotten about this specific Cabin for multiple years in a row.

Annabeth was sitting on the porch stairs, reading a book about architecture in Greek. ’Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism’ By Roudolf Wittkover, Percy believed it read. When they started to walk towards her, her head snapped up and she looked at Percy critically, like she was finding his weaknesses just by looking him over once.

“Annabeth dear,” Chiron started. “I have a Masters Archery Class in half an hour. Can you take it from here?”

“Sure Chiron.” She responded.

“Cabin 11,” Said Chiron. “Make yourself at home.”

Inside the Cabin it looked like the red cross had set up an evacuation center in the two rooms Percy could see in. The door opened into what looked like a common room, with a giant archway leading down a few steps into a bedroom. It looked like there was no way all these campers could sleep in here comfortably. Percy stepped into the Cabin.

Chiron didn’t come in, being too tall to fit in the doorway, but when the campers saw him they stood and bowed respectfully. “Campers, this is Percy Jackson, a new Camper. Treat him kindly, as you would anyone else.”

Chiron galloped off, likely to the archery range.

It only took a few moments for someone to speak up. “Regular or Undetermined?”

“Undetermined.” Annabeth said. That caused the cabin to let out a collective groan.

Now that Percy was actually able to get a good look at the place, he noticed a few things. In the bedroom area there were 10 sets of bunk beds, 20 beds in total, but there looked to be closer to 40 campers in the Hermes cabin. In the common room area there were two, three person couches sitting opposite each other and four mixed-matched beanbags. Every seat was full. There was also a bookshelf in the back that had tons of squashed board game boxes and Percy would be surprised if a single one of them had all the pieces. There were also plants on the window sills, likely an attempt to brighten up the space. 

The most common physical trait between the campers were little white wings around some of their ankles -he even saw one girl with wings on her head- multi-colored scales, fangs like a snake, or slitted pupils. The children of Hermes, Percy knew. Even though they were the most common traits, less than half of them had those features. The other children ranged from a girl with the ears and tail of a house cat and different colored eyes, to a guy with big ram horns and fur around his hands, to a girl with bright butterfly wings and antennae.

“Now, now Campers,” A familiar voice said. “That’s not what we're here for.” A guy, the oldest of the bunch, came forward and put a hand on his shoulder. Percy felt a faint tingling sensation where Luke's hand met his shoulder.“Welcome Percy, to Cabin 11, Hermes’ Cabin. You can have a spot on the floor over there.”

The other campers went back to what they were doing.

The guy had short cropped sandy blond hair and dazzling blue eyes. He was muscular and tall, somewhere around 19 years. He had a scar running across his face, like an old knife slash. He had orange and tan and cream scales on his wrists and neck. When Luke smiled at him, Percy noticed long fangs, like a vipers, in place of his canines. Percy thought it fit him, it was pretty and scary at the same time.

It was Luke Castellan. The boy of the cursed quest. One of the Campers who had come to camp with Percy’s cousin, Thalia Grace.

Luke smelt of faint burning paper and strawberries. He sounded like falling sand, an hourglass maybe? Percy thought those were familiar but, for some reason he couldn’t place where he had felt that before.

“I’m Luke Castellan, I’ll be your head councilor for the time being.”

Percy nodded absently. “Why do they stuff all the unclaimed demigods in here? Is it because Hermes was the god of travelers and roads? Wouldn’t it make more sense and save space if they just built a cabin for the unclaimed?”

Luke barked out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, the unclaimed are put in here because of Hermes. I don’t think it makes sense either, it's just the way the Gods are.”

Percy looked over to the space Luke allotted him. It was a small rectangle of space next to the wall and a bunk bed. He wanted to put something down to mark his space but had a feeling it would likely get stolen. Hermes was the god thieves after all.

“For now Percy, you have a free range of camp until seven thirty for dinner. Just be sure to be back by then, we have to go as a Cabin.” Luke said. Percy nodded in assent.

Percy noticed Annabeth looking at his fin-like ears and a moment later she said, “Come on I’ll take you to the Docks.” She grabbed his wrist and dragged him after her.

“The Docks?” 

“Chiron probably forgot to mention them. We don’t use them often but we have a couple fishing boats parked there. We can only use them if one of the deities of the sea’s kids are here because they are better at working the boats.”

Annabeth pulled Percy along as they approached the shore on the far side of camp. The Dock in front of them was made of wood and metal and stretched out into the water. Parked at the Docks were two small fishing boats. Annabeth walked over to the end of the pier and sat down on a bench facing the water. Percy followed.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the waves, when Annabeth spoke.

“You know, you’re incredibly lucky Percy. A lot of the kids here at Camp would’ve loved to have your chance.”

“My chance?”

“To fight the Minotaur.” She explained. “What do you think we train for?”

“To learn how to survive in a world where everything wants to kill us? So that we might be able to someday live instead of just surviving?”

“We train so we can bring glory to our parents! That's the whole point of being a demigod!” Percy didn’t like that thought process. They were living breathing people, not just pawns for some game of godly chess.

Percy scrunched his nose. “I don’t think I would want that if it came at the cost of people I love being put in danger or killed.”

“What?

“My mom was with us when the Minotaur attacked us.”

She looked down at the water. “Oh, sorry I s'pose. No one knew that it hadn’t been just you and Grover.”

“It’s alright I guess.”

It was quiet for a moment until Percy asked a question. “Why was the Poseidon Cabin empty? Didn’t he have a lot of kids in the Myths?” Even though Percy saw many things he did not see everything.

“Ah,” Annabeth said, though she sounded annoyed.. “In the past, yes Poseidon has had a lot of kids but in the past 70 years there hasn’t been a single child of Poseidon or Zeus who has reached the age of 16. Hades hasn’t even had any children since then. I guess even gods get tired of seeing their kids die before they hit puberty at some point. Currently, Zeus only has one kid, Micha Tain, and Poseidon doesn’t have any right now. ”

Percy’s eyes darkened at the thought of all those innocent children getting killed in such painful ways. “Do you know why it's only children of Mr. Lightning and Earthshaker getting killed?”

“No. No one knows but the gods. Also, why do you not say their names?”

“Saying a god's name is like inviting them to listen in to your conversation, so only say their names if it’s a conversation you don't mind them listening in on. My mom had told me that.” It was actually Apollo who told him that but whatever.

“How would your mom know? Wasn’t she a mortal?”

“No. My mom was a demigod, like us.”

“Really? I didn’t know demigods could live that long.”

Percy grimaced. “Not usually. My mom and her friend were the one of the only ones still alive from when they went to camp.”

“That’s sad.” Percy hummed in response.

“Well come on.” Annabeth said after a pause. “We need to get back to our cabins for dinner. We only have another hour maybe.”

Percy agreed, put the Minotaur horn in his bag, and followed after Annabeth.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6 - May 29th, 2005, Long Island, NY, The Bathroom and Dinner

     On their way back to the cabins they were stopped by a girl resembling a bull. She had reddish-brown hair pulled back by a red bandanna. She had bull horns, ears, and even a tail swishing behind her. She was wearing a camouflage jacket over the Camp Half-Blood shirt and blue jeans. The sleeves were rolled up to her elbows showing off her arms that faded into the same color as her hair. Her claws were thick and blunt, more used for digging into the meat of her prey rather than ripping or tearing. 

Her magic was a bright stunning red that made her look like she was glowing. It curled around her horns and boots. It was the sharpening of a blade in the middle of a battle. 

A few kids were standing behind her. They had dog, boar, bull, and hawk features. They smelt, sounded, felt similar to the girl standing infront of him It seemed battle magic was common among these siblings.

“What do we have here? A newbie!” The girl in front of him shouted.

Ah. Percy thought. Bullies. How wonderful.

“Go away, Clarisse. Go polish your spear or something.”

“Sure, Miss Princess. So I can run you through with it Friday night!” The girl, Clairsse said.

“Πήγαινε στα κοράκια! ” Annabeth shouted, her voice venomous. Which, geeze sure Clarisse was rude but that wasn’t necessary. “You don’t stand a chance against the Athena Cabin!”

“I’ll pulverize you!” Clarisse said, but her eye twitched and she didn’t seem sure she could follow through with that threat. “Who’s this little runt?” She jerked her head at Percy.

“Percy Jackson. Percy, meet Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares.”

Again Percy had another vision. Clarisse was standing in front of him in one hand she held a spear. The other was outstretched towards him. She was almost a woman in his vision, her armor coated in blood and golden dust. There was a look in her eyes, the eyes of a warrior, a child that has seen too much. It had trust in it too, a trust that they could fight together and neither would falter. It was a look that could only be made through years of fighting side by side.

He came back to the conversation as Clarisse said something. “Got a problem with that?” He realized he must have been staring for a second too long.

“No. It does explain why you like picking on people smaller than you. Isn’t The War God also the god of chivalry and courage? This doesn’t seem very chivalrous to me.”

“Why, you!” Clarisse barked. “You’ll pay for that Prissy!”

“It’s Percy.” He said dryly.

“Whatever. Come on, I’ll show you.”

“Clarisse-” 

“Stay out of it Wise Girl. This isn’t your problem.” Clarisse barked.

Though she looked pained, Annabeth did stay out of it. Clarisse grabbed Percy by his arm and started to drag him towards the bathrooms. Percy decided to go ragdoll. That at least would make it harder for Clarisse. There was no way Percy could fight her. She was not only a daughter of Ares but also at least half a foot taller than him and much stronger. 

The bathrooms didn’t look great, actually they looked kind of dirty. Which was to be expected, it was for kids from elementary to highschool and kids weren’t exactly known for being clean. Clarisse shoved him towards the toilets.

“Like he actually beat the Minotaur.” One of Clarisse's sisters mocked. 

“Yeah right. The Minotaur probably fell over laughing; he was so stupid looking!” Clarisse barked. She tried to force him into one of the stalls and that’s when Percy had enough. Clarisse was a bully, and Percy hated bullies. He knew that one day she would become a warrior, protecting the weak instead of hurting them. But currently she was a middle school bully and Percy had no tolerance for them.

Percy strained against Clarisse’s hold and felt a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. The pipes below him shuddered. The knot tightened almost painfully and Clarisse’s hold loosened and then the toilet exploded.

Toilet water arced over Percy’s head and hit Clarisse straight on. She sputtered and the water pushed her back and to the floor. The other toilets also exploded and washed the other Ares campers in toilet water. Percy could feel the water. He could feel it splashing against the other campers. He could feel it going down into the drain in the floor. He could feel it splashing against the mirrors and the walls. With only a thought needed he spared himself and Annabeth, who was watching the whole scene from in between her fingers, from the fast running toilet water.

The knot in his stomach lessened as the children of Ares got washed out of the doorway.

Clarisse looked up at him with hatred in her eyes.  “You are so dead new boy!”

Percy, never one to back down from a fight, smiled at Clarisse. It was the unnerving smile that sent creepy men and annoying teachers running from him. Really, it was more of a baring of teeth than an actual smile. Percy loved showing off his sharp teeth and even sharper fangs. Clarisse’s fire dimmed a little and her eyes became more reproachful. 

“You wanna gargle toilet water again Clarisse? Close your mouth.” 

Clarisse stood up and threatened Percy as she yelled angrily. Eventually she left, her friends following after her. The Campers that had surrounded the building to look at the new spectacle started to whisper and point at him even more than they were before. Annabeth was staring at him weirdly, like he was a puzzle she wanted to solve.

“What?” He said.

“I think I know who your father is. You’ll be useful in capture the flag.” Annabeth said, to which Percy just raised an eyebrow. “Come on Percy.”

She led him through Camp Half Blood showing him  the different pathways and little features about camp. She finally left him at the canoe lake. Percy looked over to the pier. There were two girls standing at the edge of it. One was taller and looked a few years older and the girl next to her.

She was taller than him, like almost everyone was, Percy didn’t realize how short he actually was until he got to Camp, and had tan skin with light spots, like the markings on a cow. She also had wavy brown hair put up in a high ponytail. She had small cow horns protruding out of her forehead and floppy cow ears in place of human ones. Her hands faded into a darker color than the rest of her skin and the back of her hands were covered in fur. There was a cow tail slowly sweeping behind her. She was wearing the CHB shirt with a green jacket with short sleeves thrown over it. The jeans she was wearing were stained with dirt at the knees, like she spent a lot of time in the dirt.

Her magic was a deep green and it reminded him of lush forests, the trees so close the vines that connected them barely had to reach over before it touched the next tree. She smelled like the forest around Camp Half-Blood.

The shorter of the two girls had wheat blonde hair cropped in a bob except for two thin braids at the front of her hair. Her skin wasn’t as dark as her sister’s but her eyes were just as green. She had wide, fanned pink-ish ears in place of human ones and had the same little horns peeking out of her forehead as the taller girl did. On her lower back sprouted a curly pig tail and instead of feet she had hooves like a satyr. She had little claws accidentally digging into the railing of the pier as she and her sister talked. She was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jean shorts with a Camp Half-Blood hoodie tied around her waist. Her hands were covered in dirt.

Her magic was a light green with orange mixed in. It felt like running his hands across bark.

The older girl noticed Percy looking. “Oi,” She said. “You’re the new Camper right? The one who beat the Minotaur?” She had a sort of Mid-Western accent that Percy found entertaining.

“Yeah, I am.” Percy responded. He watched as the younger girl peered at him with renewed interest.

The dark haired girl turned around to face him and put her elbows on the railing. “Cool. Katie Gardner by the way.”

Percy nodded at her. “Percy Jackson.”

“Do you really have its horn?” The younger Gardner asked. Katie lightly swatted her younger sister.

 “What? I wanna know.” The blonde said.

“You could at least introduce yourself before asking invasive questions.” She reprimanded. 

“Oh. Uh, yeah.” She smiled shyly. “I’m Miranda Gardner. Sorry”

Percy chuckled. “It's no problem. And yeah I do have it.”

Katie smirked and said, “Well, it was nice meeting you Percy but Andi and I gotta bounce. See ya.”

Percy nodded and watched as the two walked away. When they were gone Percy took off of his shoes and rolled up his pants. He sat down on the edge of the pier and put his legs in the water. He sat back and just sat for a while, taking a moment to relax. After being around so many demigods all day he had started to become overwhelmed by all the strong magics. He knew he would eventually get used to it, as he had to get used to Apollo’s aura. Percy had actually cried the first time he had met Apollo because his magic was simply too much for little six-year-old Percy.

---

    After about an hour later Percy decided to go explore the area around the Cabins. He walked over to the half-circle shaped courtyard with 12 big buildings lining it had set out to explore. The courtyard held a few bins of different balls for games, like a couple basketballs, footballs, tennis balls, volleyballs, and more. There were chalk drawings, and even hopscotch, on the stone section around the hearth, where the girl from before still hadn’t shone.

There were beautiful beds of flowers ranging from pink peonies to red roses to Yellow Bells and many more. There were stone statues of people scattered about, some were fierce looking men, some were gentle looking women, some were satyrs playing music on all different types of woodwind instruments. There was a giant apple tree standing at least 40 feet tall with two different swings, one a more classic swing and one a tire swing, in between the Zeus and Hera Cabins. Each Cabin had a pathway leading up to it that was made out of giant stepping stones, though the pathway in front of the Hera, Artemis, and somewhat the Poseidon Cabin, were overgrown and not worn like the other ones.

The Cabins were beautiful, each perfectly representing their patrons, well, except for the Hermes, It was run down a decrepit and it made Percy sad just looking at it. Percy began to go back to the Hermes Cabin as Percy figured it was almost time for dinner.

Word of the bathroom incident must’ve spread because the other Campers weren’t looking in his direction as if he were an inconvenience anymore and now some amusement just shone in their eyes and a few whispers traded between friends. 

Percy had just sat down in his spot on the floor as Luke came up to him holding some things. “Found you a sleeping bag,” Luke began. “And stole you some toiletries from the camp store.”

The choice of words wasn’t lost on Percy, but he guessed that was to be expected of a Hermes kid. “Thanks!” Percy looked in the bag. It contained soap, both for the shower and hand soap, some Camp clothes, toothbrush and paste, a hairbrush, deodorant, and a few pairs of socks.

“No prob, Kid.” He said sitting down next to Percy. “Tough first day?”

“It’s a lot to adjust to I suppose.”

“I bet. It never really gets easier, even after being here for a while.” Luke said. Hmm. That was odd. Percy’s mom and Auntie Bronze had never said anything about it being so bad here that Luke’s voice would take on such a bitter tone just talking about it. 

Luke took out a switchblade and started to get the dirt off his sandals with it. “It’ll be alright Percy. The Campers here, they’re mostly good people. We’re all extended family right? We take care of each other.”

Percy nodded and Luke smiled at him. Percy smiled back, Luke’s smile seemed infectious to Percy. It was pretty and made the bitterness in his eyes and the tension in his magic dampen slightly. “So, your dad is The Fleet-Footed Messenger?”

Luke looked at him oddly, as if he were a puzzle he were trying to solve. “Yeah, that’s him, Hermes. Medicine, messengers, travelers, thieves, merchants, animal husbandry, anyone who uses roads, really. That’s why you're here. No god had claimed you so nobody knows where to put you. Hermes isn’t picky about who he sponsors.” Percy privately thought that all the gods were picky about who they sponsored but didn't speak up.

“I still think it’s dumb all the unclaimed kids and the kids of minor gods have to be in here. It would be better for everyone involved if there was just an unclaimed cabin. Even better would be if all gods got their own Cabin. It would make Hermes less grumpy” Percy mumbled out the last part. Apollo said that Hermes brought up the situation with his Cabin at every meeting for the first three hundred years of Camp Half-Blood and still complains, just not as often as he used to.

“What was that?” Luke asked.

“Nothing.” Percy lied. Technically he wasn’t supposed to know that Hermes was upset about the situation of his own Cabin, but whatever.

Luke didn’t look like he believed Percy but moved on. “You have big dreams kid. Maybe you’ll get the gods to listen to you, you aren’t afraid of pointing out the flaws of the Camp. Don’t get your hopes up too high though. Gods are good at disappointing people.” There was that bitterness again.

In the distance a Conch Horn blew and Luke got up. “11! Fall in!”

The Campers in Cabin 11 lined up in seniority so Luke was up front and Percy was in the very back. They walked to the dining pavilion and sat at the table with a caduceus engraved on the table. Trying to fit 36 campers in total that was supposed to fit 25 kids max was not easy. They were shoulder to knee and a few Campers opted to sit on the floor with their backs to the table. Percy ended up between Luke and a pair of full brothers, children of Hermes. The brothers looked practically identical but Percy could tell one was slightly older.

Percy looked around the pavilion. There were dryads melting out of trees, naiads coming from the lake, satyrs coming from the woods. The nature spirits either sat at the big table in the back with Chiron or at the Cabin 12 table next to them with Mr. D and his twin sons. There were braziers lit up on each of the towering columns on the sides of the pavilion and a central hearth in the middle of the tables like the one in the common area and the amphitheater.

The other cabin tables were also filled, though not as much as Cabin 11. Annabeth was sitting at Athena’s table with a bunch of other kids with sharp grey eyes, feathers, and talons.

Silena was sitting at Aphrodite's table with kids who had similar magic and made the table smell of a garden of flowers.

Beckendorf was sitting at the table directly in front of them. They were all burly kids with the same black faded arms.

Clarisse was sitting at table 5 with her siblings, laughing and joking and play fighting with each other, looking like all in the world she had forgotten about the bathroom incident. She probably hadn’t.

When everyone was seated, Chiron stomped his hoof on the stone floor and the pavilion went quiet. He raised his glass and shout ed, “Στους Θεούς! ”

Everyone copied his movement and raised their glasses as well. “Στους Θεούς!”

Many of the wood nymphs then stepped forward with platters of all different kinds of food. There were barbecue ribs, fresh fruit, bread, cheese, and more. The kid on his left said something and his drink filled with a dark colored liquid. He saw Percy looking and explained. “Speak to it,” He said, gesturing at Percy’s glass. “Whatever you want. Non-alcoholic of course.” He winked at Percy. “I’m Travis by the way. Travis Stoll.

Percy smirked. “Don’t say it.” Travis groaned.

“A son of Hermes with the last name Stoll?” Percy said. Travis groaned again. “I’m Percy Jackson.”

Travis glared at him but there was no real heat in his gaze so Percy just assumed he’d heard that one too many times for it to be funny.“It is not nice to meet you Percy.”

“Hm?” Travis’ brother said. 

“Con, this is Percy Jackson, the new Camper. Percy, this is my younger brother Conner.” Travis introduced.

“Nice to meet you Percy!” Connor said, purposefully sticking his arm in front of his brother's face to  hand shake Percy.

“Oi! Get your hand out of my face!”

“My hands’ not in your face.” Connor replied cheekily. Percy shook Connors hand as the two dissolved into petty squabbling. 

Percy turned back to his drink and said “Cherry Coke.” The glass filled with a dark liquid.

What if...

“ Blue Cherry Coke.” His drink turned a bright cobalt blue. Percy grinned and  took a cautious sip.

Perfect.

Percy had always loved the color blue and it was fascinated by blue food when he was young. It started when Percy went through a faze where he would refuse to eat anything if it wasn’t blue. Percy’s mom still made him blue cookies in the winter and blue waffles for breakfast. All this to say, he preferred food when it was blue.

Luke snorted and shook his head at him as he handed Percy a platter of brisket. “You’re an odd one Perce.”

When it looked like everyone's plates were filled, they got up and walked over to the central hearth and started to throw a bit of food into the flames.

“Burnt offerings to the gods. They like the smell.” Luke explained, though he didn’t need to. Percy always makes offerings to the gods if there was a fire when he ate dinner. That was something his mom and Auntie Bronze had taught him, just like they had dinner at 7:30 every night. Some habits are just easier to keep, Percy supposed.

Percy threw a few pieces of his food into the fire, for Apollo.

He got the smell of flowers and Herbs, the feeling of a hot sun beating down on him in response.

He threw something in for his mom, just because he could.

He threw a couple strawberries in the fire with a prayer for his father.

Hey dad, do you think you could claim me soon? That would be nice.

The smell of sea salt and brine infiltrated his nose and he felt a breeze ruffle his hair in response.

Percy guessed that was the best he could ask for, for now.

He threw in a piece for Hermes , for letting him stay in his Cabin, even though Percy already knew who his dad was.

A faint smell of old paper, strawberries, and crocus filled his nose for a moment before fading.

He prayed to Hestia, the goddess of the hearth and home, and Hera, goddess of family, women, marriage, and childbirth, in hopes they would help him find his mom. Percy really wanted to hug her again and he couldn’t do that when she was still missing.

In response the smell of pomegranates, calla lilies, and vanilla filled his nose and wrapped around him. For a moment he felt eyes on him before the presence receded.

He watched as the form of the same little girl from the central hearth flickered in the flames. She smiled at him reassuringly. Her form flickered again and the next moment she was gone.

Well, at least he knows his prayers had been heard.

He walked back to his table and sat next to the other Hermes kids.

The children all around began to devour their meals, like they hadn’t eaten in days. They ate much more than any normal mortal should but the demigods didn’t seem bothered. 

When they finished Chiron pounded his hoof on the floor, calling the attention of all the children in the pavilion.

Dionysus got up from his table with a huge sigh. “Yes, I suppose I’d better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Chiron wants me to remind you that capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels.”

The Ares Cabin cheered loudly.

“Personally,” Mr. D started. “I couldn’t care less, but congratulations. Also, we have a new Camper, Peter Johnson.”

Pollux said something to his dad.

“Er, Percy Jackson.” Mr. D corrected. “Hurrah. Now, go along to your silly little campfire. Go on. Shoo.”

All the Campers cheered loudly this time. The nymphs began to clean up dinner while the demigods made their way towards the amphitheater. The fire was already blazing in the center, supplies for s'mores set up on the lowest benches of seats. The Campers all gathered ‘round the fire, laughing and joking and having fun with their siblings and friends.

Percy felt immensely happy, surrounded by the Hermes Campers, exchanging glances and smiles with his siblings, simply observing the other children as they went about their night.

The conch horn blew again when it was time to go back to their Cabins. Percy laid down in his corner next to the wall and fell into a contented sleep.

Of course he wouldn’t have a peaceful night.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7 - May 30th-June 2nd, 2005, Long Island, NY, 3 Days Before Disaster

    That night Percy dreamt of a dark place he could only assume was the underworld. He was walking in the middle of a packed forest-like place. The trees were gnarled and dark, no green leaves giving life to the tree. They twisted and curled all over the place. There were thousands of asphodels covering the floor, petals swaying despite there being no wind. On top of that there were people everywhere, to the point where Percy could barely take two steps without running into someone. Well, they weren’t really people. There were transparent ghosts, shells of who they used to be.

The souls, because that's what they were, wandered aimlessly without a goal or place in mind. Rather than speak they made a weird noise, like chittering. They looked like lost travelers, forever wandering. Percy realized, with blooming pity, that the dead weren’t scary, they were just sad.

Percy continued to walk among the dead for a while. Percy didn’t know how long he’d been in this vision, it could have been seconds, it could have been an hour. Percy knew he wasn’t in danger, he never was in his visions, but it was still frightening being in the underworld. Percy felt unsettled, like he was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be. Which made sense, he was in the underworld of all places, but he felt like it was more than that.

Finally, he stumbled upon a girl that looked like she was a part of the tree she was attached to. She had dark skin, coffee bean-colored hair, and beautiful copper eyes. Even if her eyes were dull, they reflected an intelligence the other souls didn’t have. But she looked washed out, like she had been bleached head to toe. Unlike all the other souls down in the underworld she had just the faintest bit of magic. Normally only clear-sighted mortals, demigods, and immortals had magic, so this girl must’ve been a very magically powerful demigod at some point. Her magic was so very faint but Percy could still make it out. It felt like the precious gems one would find under the earth, sounded like the beating drums that were many horses running across the ground, it was the feeling of heavy armor against his clothes.

 The weirdest part about it was that she felt familiar to Percy. Like he had always known her, will always know her. But before Percy could say anything, the two locked eyes and- 

---

    Percy woke up. He reached over his sleeping bag and grabbed his backpack. He reached inside his backpack and grabbed out a pencil and his notepad. Percy needed to write down what he had seen before the vision left his mind, as it tended to do when he didn’t make it permanent. There wasn’t any light outside or inside the Cabin so Percy decided to leave. He carefully stepped over the sleeping Campers and made it to the door without a sound. When Percy opened the door slightly, it creaked. Percy waited a moment before moving again, making sure no campers were awake. When none did, Percy quietly stepped out of the Cabin.

Percy stepped down the rickety stairs and began to walk towards the central hearth in between the cabins, careful to stay in the shadows lest the harpies found him and he got in trouble. The harpies that washed the dishes at camp were also the curfew watchers, and no matter what Mr. D would tell you, the harpies wouldn’t actually eat the Campers, most likely just take them to Chiron to deal with.

The Hearth was lit 24/7 just as Percy’s mom had told him. It wasn’t burning as bright as it was during the day, but it was enough light to be able to see. Percy walked over and sat at one of the wooden benches surrounding the fire. He took out his notepad and his pencil and began to write. He let his hand do as it wanted, writing down the words describing his vision. This one read,

“In the land of death, a hero awaits"

Her soul baits those of the fates,

Cursed to a fate undeserved,

Her spirit remains well-preserved,”

The ‘Hero’ the poem described was likely the chocolate-haired girl in Percy’s vision, meaning that she was indeed a demigod. She seemed so aware it made Percy’s heart hurt, thinking of being aware of the passing of time in a place like the underworld. Not to mention that the girl looked to be about his age.

There was a sudden warmth from the fire in front of Percy. He closed his eyes and looked away. When he looked back there was a girl sitting across the hearth from him. Even without her aura, the warmth of a loved one leaning on you, the taste of sweet tea, the smell of chestnuts, the faint noise of a heating kettle, the smell of a chaste tree, children shrieking and laughing, Percy would have recognized Hestia of The Hearth.

She was in the form of a little girl, with hair that resembled flowing lava, though Percy knew he wasn’t supposed to be able to see that. She had a cozy cloak over a simple dress that was more of a chiton. The dress was red and gold with a fire pin holding the cloak in place. Just peeking under her hood was a circlet made of gold with red embellishments. Her ruby-red eyes looked at him with the same softness that matched her smile.

“Hello, νεαρός ημίθεος.” Hestia spoke.

Percy smiled. “Lady Hestia. What do I owe the pleasure?”

“It is rare that someone sees me at my hearth, even more so that someone prays to me.” She said, “I heard your prayer, young one. Are you sure she is missing instead of joining Charon in the afterlife? Mortals unfortunately die often.” 

“I saw it happen, Aunt Hestia.” Percy said. “That was not how mortals die. She flashed golden then disappeared. She was taken.”

Hestia looked thoughtful. “I suppose you would be correct Nephew. Though I wonder what an immortal would want from her.”

“I’m not sure, Lady Hestia. That’s why I asked you and my Queen Aunt for help.”

“Fair point. I shall do what I can. Though I do have another question for you, my nephew.”

“Yes, My Lady?”

“You, young one, know things you should not. You see things you should not. Do you know why that is?” Lady Hestia asked.

Percy departed on what to say. If he told her the truth that would mean the possibility of more danger coming his way, but Percy knew his aunt would not purposefully endanger him. Percy knew it was dangerous to be a prophet, he knew the stories of Olde. If word got out he as a prophet, one that does not have Apollo’s protection yet. It would be extremely bad for Percy. All the immortals that had the sight were strong enough to protect themselves and there currently were no Oracles so Percy would be a prime target for people trying to use his visions for their own gain. But Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and family, Percy decided to just tell her about his sensitivity to auras.

“I am sensitive to magic and that of the in-human, My Lady.” Percy said softly.

“Ah, I see.” She said. “I shall keep this to myself.”

“Thank you Auntie.”

“It is no bother Perseus.” She said. Percy wasn’t surprised she knew his name. “You must be off now. Apollo’s sun is rising and the Campers are about to join it in its awakening.”

Percy nodded and stood up. “Thank you for letting me stay at your hearth Aunt Hestia.”

She smiled and in the next moment the fire grew, brightened, and flickered, taking its Goddess with it when it went back down. Percy turned around and carefully made his way back to the Cabin. The door creaked again as he opened it. As he walked inside he noticed that there was another Camper already awake. It was the girl with features like a house cat.

Her piercing eyes followed him as he made his way back to his sleeping bag but they didn’t hold any malice, just curiosity. Percy just smiled and waved as he put his notepad and pencil back in his bag. She smirked a little and waved back. The two sat in companionable silence while they waited for the other Campers to rouse. It didn’t take long. Luke was the first one to wake, about twenty minutes later just as the sun began to shine through the curtains.

The older boy smirked as he made his way to the record player in the corner of the common area. He got an album from the record holder next to it and set it on the turntable. Luke looked over to the two other demigods currently awake and mimed covering his ears. The two obeyed and not a moment too soon either because in the next moment “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Greenday was blasting through the Cabin at max volume. Even with his hands over his ears it felt like his head was going to explode. His ears were sensitive and the loud noise felt like hell.

The other Campers cursed and shouted as they were awoken to loud pop-music at seven in the morning. There were a few brave Campers who tried to stay asleep but ultimately failed in favor of the music. There was only one kid who seemed to be unaffected by the music, a blond haired boy with white magic that filled Percy’s head with clouds and made it hard to stay awake, and threw the blanket off of him. When he still didn’t wake up Luke grabbed the boy's arm and tugged him out of the bed he occupied.

“Clovis!” Luke shouted. “Get up!” Clovis landed on the floor and sleepily opened his eyes. He glared at Luke slightly for a moment before sitting up against his bed. Now that all the Campers were awake Luke went back over to the record player and turned the volume down significantly.

“Good morning Campers!” Luke shouted. “Breakfast is in an hour so use the bathroom times wisely. Girls Group 1 first today.”

Half of the girls in the Cabin got up and filed into the bathroom. The other Campers began cleaning the mess that was made by the scrambling of kids as they were startled awake. They made the beds, put away the extra sleeping bags, and put on a different record in the record player.

“Morning Perce.” Luke said.

“Good morning.” Percy smiled at the older camper.

“Just wanted to make sure you knew about the bathroom schedule. We split up the girls and boys into four groups. You’ll be in the second group of boys today. Also, don’t worry about the hot water, it never runs out here.” Luke told Percy.

“Alright, thanks, Luke.”

The older boy just smiled and walked away.

The rest of the hour went smoothly and eventually all 36 clean teenagers lined up for breakfast when the conch horn blew at exactly 8am.

The Hermes Cabin filed down to the pavilion and set about filling their plates with fruit, greek yogurt, cinnamon toast, waffles, sausages, and more. They threw offerings to the gods into the fire, they ate and chatted, and eventually it was time for the first ‘class’ of the day. The Hermes Cabin was scheduled for the Berry Fields from 9am till 11am with the Dionysus Cabin.

The Hermes Cabin met up with the Dionysus twins when they reached the fields. The twins then began telling the Campers where to go and what to do.

“Percy!” Someone called. Percy looked over, it was Castor. “C’mere!” The blond boy called.

“Yeah?” Percy asked when he got over to Castor and Pollux who were standing at the edge of the fields.

“You’ll be with us today since you’ve never done this before.” Percy nodded and allowed the boys to lead him to where they would start weeding and watering the plants. 

They spent most of the late morning tending to the plants. They weeded the roots and used irrigation systems and watering cans to water the bushes. They loaded basketfuls of fruits to take to the kitchens. Percy also ended up sneaking more than a few of the fruits as they worked.

Percy found he quite enjoyed the company of the twins. The two worked very well together and they were fun to be around. They were funny and bright and more than a little dramatic. Eventually their topic of conversation ended up on the Camp necklaces that everyone was wearing.

“You get a new bead every august, it's the sign that you survived another year. Each one depicts the most memorable event from that year.” Pollux said. “We’ve been here since we were three, so we have eight beads, that's more than just about everyone.”

“Can I see them?” Percy asked.

“Sure!” Castor said. He stepped up next to Percy and held up his necklace to show off to Percy. There were indeed eight beads on his necklace, one was a white bead with a centaur in a puffy pink princess dress, there was a bright blue bead with a greek trireme on fire on it, there was a dark blue bead with a caduceus that looked like a firework on it, and many more. There were also two charms in the shape of a bundle of grapes.

“What are the charms?” Percy asked.

Castor laughed slightly and explained, “The charms are our weapons, that's why I have two and Pollux only has one. Most demigods have weapons that can change shape, it can be annoying packing around a weapon all day and most mortals won’t take kindly to a kid having a weapon while just out and about.”

Percy smiled. “That's really cool!” He said earnestly. “What kind of weapon is it?”

“Cas duel wields swords and I wield a great-sword.” Came Pollux’s reply. 

Percy plucked some strawberries and put them into his almost-overflowing basket. “The Hephaestus Cabin makes them right?”

“Yu-p” Castor says, popping the ‘p’.

“I’d like to try my hand at the forges I think.” Percy said.

The conversation continued easily, stretching over the rest of their time in the Berry Fields. Eventually when the clock chimed eleven Luke gathered up his Cabin mates and set out for their next activity; the archery range. Percy already knew how this was going to go before they even got their bows.

The Apollo Cabin was already using the space so it was especially crowded with it being the two biggest Cabins totaling 52 teenagers stuffed in a place that could only hold 30 safely. All that being meant that half the Hermes Cabin had to sit out for this one, the only ones that could stay were the ones decent with a bow. Percy, however being neither of those things still had to stay in the range because he was a new Camper and apparently they had to see if he had any skill in archery, which Percy already knew he didn’t.

While Chiron set about teaching the group at large he sent one of the Apollo kids to personally teach Percy to make sure he knew what to do. Michael Yew was the kid he delegated to ‘Percy Duty.’ He was a kid that looked to be about only a year older than Percy but was already much taller. He had curly brown hair and sky blue eyes. He didn’t have wings like his father or siblings but he had the ears and tail of a red wolf, with claws and teeth to match. His magic was a morning yellow and felt and sounded like a hundred arrows hitting their target at the same time, each one with enough accuracy to kill enough to kill.

Michael tired to teach Percy how to shoot, the proper way to hold the bow, which direction the arrow should be going but after the 3rd time Percy almost shot someone, which was impressive in its own right because no one was in front of him, Michael plucked the bow from his hands and made him go sit down.

Percy passed the time by observing the people around him. Percy watched two Apollo Campers shoot with almost 100% accuracy, they looked like sisters, maybe twins but if they were they were paternal and not identical. One of the girls had swan wings and feathers and long white hair and the other had raven wings and black feathers with deep black hair. Both of the girls’ piercing yellow eyes were trained on their targets, looking like predators hunting their prey.  Percy watched the other children of Hermes. There was a burly mexican kid with magic so faint Percy had to focus to see it. He believed his name was Chris R-something. Travis and Connor were running about their siblings and Cabinmates, generally making a bunch of noise.

“You wanna see a magic trick?” A voice asked from Percy’s left. When he looked over he saw a girl that looked a bit younger than him. She had pin-straight brown hair and a wide, mischievous smile. She had a pair of wings on her head and another one on her ankles and two sharp fangs as long as Percy’s thumb.

He tilted his head and peered at her curiously. “Sure,” Percy said. “Show me.”

The girl pulled out a deck of cards and began to shuffle them. When she finished she allowed Percy to pick any card out of the deck. “Here, pick a card, any card!”

Percy chuckled and picked a card from the middle of the deck.

“Do you have it?” She asked after Percy took a look at the card. It was a black two of clubs. He nodded. “Okay, put it back in the deck and I’ll shuffle it then show you which card I think is yours.”

“Alright.” He agreed. The girl was amusing and magic tricks are fun so Percy decided to indulge her. 

He did as asked and put the card back in the deck. After a moment of shuffling she pulled out a card. “Is this your card?” She asked with a flourish. 

Percy laughed. It was his card. A simple magic trick but fun nonetheless. “It is my card.”

The girl giggled and took off again. Percy didn’t even get her name.

When the class finally ended at two o’clock both Cabins went to lunch. Like the previous meals they ate more than a mortal should’ve, offered sacrifices, laughed loudly, and talked. When they finished at lunch they went to their next class; the canoe lake. Luke explained that they were actually supposed to do canoe races and a sort of ‘Capture the Trireme' type game where half of the Cabin would be defending the trireme and the other half would be trying to take it over.

“But it creates a huge mess and is hard to set up and put away.” The older boy explained. “We do them sometimes, but not often.”

Everyone grabbed their canoes either going by themselves or with a few friends. As soon as Percy touched the water he felt his senses sharpen and he felt more energized. Throughout  the whole class Percy beat every other person in every race and game they played. He felt completely at home in the water, he bent it to his will, making him faster than the others. He made waves to push against the other canoes and the shores. Percy was having so much fun . He splashed the other kids and even tipped one canoe over and three girls when sprawling in the water. It even got to the point that the other kids were all gaming up on him and trying to flip his canoe. They hadn’t managed of course but by the time they left the water Percy was laughing loudly at the other children’s misery. Though just as he had gotten out of the pond two of the girls he had dunked came up to him with sinister smiles.

Percy swallowed nervously, which just seemed to make the girls’ smile wider. Each of them grabbed one of his arms and bodily tossed him back into the lake, much to the cheers of the other Campers.

Percy was smiling as he got out of the water, the rest of the Cabin putting their canoes away. Percy willed the water off of him and back into the pond. He grabbed his canoe and put it back in the hut.

The Hermes Cabin had one more class until dinner which was foot racing. Percy got absolutely smashed by the dryads who were teaching the class and the children of Hermes, especially those who had winged feet. Percy watched as the Cabin dissolved into a game of freeze tag and sat up in a tree to prevent himself from being tagged. It was absolute chaos . Kids were tripping over each other trying to get away from the tagged Camper, running in circles and pushing people out of the way to not get frozen. 

Eventually, as the conch horn blew for the final time of the night, the Hermes Cabin once again made their way to the pavilion. They ate and drank bounds of food and drinks (Non-alcoholic of course) and talked and laughed for over an hour until they made their way to the amphitheater. The Campers toasted s’mores and braided each other's hair, all the while the fire was a tall brilliant red, showcasing the spirited mood of the night.

Percy watched as Silena braided ribbons into her sister's hair. He watched as Beckendorf fiddled with something in his hands a little ways away from Silena, stealing glances at her every now and then. He watched as Luke played a game with a few of the younger Hermes Campers. Lee was fetching a few arrows in front of the fire. Annabeth was reading a book with one of her brothers, Castor and Pollux were writing on a few notepads, talking quietly. The Ares kids were arm wrestling each other over and over again. Katie was roasting marshmallows next to the fire.

As Percy fell asleep in the Hermes Cabin that night he once again had a vivid dream, a vision .

---

    The space around Percy looked old and not very well taken care of. The building in front of him looked like a large grecian temple, but for whom Percy would not tell. There were vines crawling up the side of the buildings and the old marble pillars and stairs were crumbling and falling apart at the seams. 

Percy began up the crumbling stairs and at the top he noticed a stone statue of a man. He was wearing classical grecian armour and it looked almost like a real man. There was something off about the man though and as Percy looked at his face, expecting the smoldering, determined look that most ancient statues had so he was surprised when that wasn’t the case. The look on the man’s face was a mix between surprise and absolute horror.

Percy’s eyebrows furrowed but he continued through the temple. As he made his way forward more and more statues showed up. They ranged from women to children, satyrs to gryphons, from warriors to adventurers. They all shared one trait, however. Each and every face was contorted in fear, horror, and sometimes disgust. As Percy went down another set of stairs he began to hear a low hissing noise coming from the middle of the room. When he looked up he saw a tall woman standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by many, many statues. She looked mostly normal except for her hair. Instead of the soft flowing hair most had there were snakes upon her head. They were hissing, creating a cacophony of eerie noise in the otherwise silent room. Then, the woman moved. She turned around slowly until Percy got a glimpse of her face. Just like the statues around him, Percy’s face contorted with horror and he felt his muscles tense, freeze. He felt his blood slow down and his lungs stop. But it was only for a moment because then-

---

    Percy woke up. He took a shuddering breath, feeling the air return to his lungs again. Percy sat up in his sleeping bag and pulled his backpack closer to him. He reached in it and grabbed out his notebook and pencil. It was only then that Percy noticed something was running down his face. He brought a finger up to his nose and touched the substance. Percy realized it was blood when he pulled his hand away and looked at his finger. Percy needed to stop that before it became a problem, the nosebleeds from dream visions were always worse than waking visions.

Not wanting to disturb the other Campers, Percy decided to go to the outdoors bathroom rather than using the one in the Cabin. He stepped through the creaky door again with his notepad and pencil under one arm and his other hand under his nose so he didn’t drip any blood. 

When he made it to the bathrooms he flicked the light on and set down his notepad and pencil on the counter and turned to deal with his nosebleed. See, that was one of the bad parts about having such strong sight . Sometimes when Percy came back from a vision something would start to bleed. Most times it was his nose that bled, but a few times so did his ears or his eyes-those were always the worst type. It would clog up his vision and there wasn’t a convenient excuse if that happened outside of the house, which by some miracle, hadn’t happened yet- twice even he would cough blood.

When Percy was finished he turned back to his notepad and pencil. Making use of the light of the bathroom, he sat down to write. He let his hand write what it wished. Percy didn’t know how long it had been since he sat down when he regained control over his own body. When he looked down at the page the words he had written were;

“ When man comes close,

Shall it’s strikes be gross,

For it sits and waits,

For those it hates,”

But that wasn’t the only thing on the page. Next to the poem, there was a drawing of a man’s face drawn back in horror. It was the face of the first statue he saw. Percy knew where his visions had taken him. What he had seen had been Medusa’s Garden. That couldn’t have meant anything good. Percy shook himself off and made for the Hermes Cabin.

Light was just barely peeking over the horizon when Percy opened the creaky door to Cabin 11. He was making his way over to his sleeping bag when a voice called out to him.

“Do you make it a habit leaving the Cabin each morning?” Percy looked over to find the cat-featured girl. She had long sharp claws and sharp teeth. She had black house-cat ears and a tail. Her lavender eyes matched her magic which was swirling, dancing, mixing, of all colors of purple and smelt so much like lavender he had to suppress the urge to sneeze.

“Not intentionally.” Percy supplied.

The girl just gave a sharp grin and stuck out her hand. “Names’ Lou Ellen Blackstone, but you can just call me Lou.” 

Percy smiled and shook her hand. “I’m Percy Jackson.” He said.

---

    The next two days of Percy’s life at Camp Half-Blood were much the same as the previous days. The Hermes Cabin went to their classes, like Pegasus riding with the Aphrodite Cabin, Percy met all the pegasi and very quickly gained the favor of all the animals in the stable, and Forge classes with the Hephaestus Cabin. Percy had fun even when Clarisse continuously beat him in their wrestling class. They had a first-aid class taught by Amilea Barnes, the head healer of the Apollo Cabin. They also had arts and crafts class where Percy met a girl by the name of Drew Takana who was a master in jewelry making from the Aphrodite Cabin and another girl from the Athena Cabin, Suzanne Peters, who was amazing on the loom. Percy found himself relaxing more and more as time went on. Percy also had three more visions, though only two were in the form of dreams.

That was his first mistake.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8 - June 3rd, 2005, Long Island, NY, To Capture A Flag

    Percy awoke for the fourth time at Camp-Half Blood the morning of June third, the morning of his first Capture The Flag game at CHB. That morning the Hermes Cabin had their second sword fighting class, since Percy had been there, right after breakfast. The first sword fighting class Percy had was very fun so he was looking forward to this one.Though, Percy supposed, the name is misleading. They didn’t fight with only swords. They also fought with spears, daggers, and all sorts of other weapons, really just what the fighter preferred.  During his first lesson Luke had tried to find Percy a weapon that felt right in his hands. That was mostly not too hard because after trying multiple different weapons none of them felt right. It wasn’t until Luke had led Percy over to a specific area of the armory that held sea-made weapons that were seaforged. Percy had looked at the gorgeous weapons in awe. While he did already have a weapon, θαλάσσιο λιοντάρι, Percy preferred longer weapons, preferably swords. 

Percy thought it was inconvenient that he could only use seaforged weapons, though he had long come to terms with it. Percy was eventually trained with a sword that he found in the seaforged section, though something told him he wouldn’t be using that training sword for long. At some point he also got one of the Hermes kids to help him with his dagger, which thankfully, he wasn’t too bad at because of Auntie Bronze.

After choosing his weapon, Percy and Luke walked back to the arena where Luke had begun to teach the class. Percy had had loads of fun even if he ended up battered, bruised, and sliced up by the other Campers.

Percy shook out of his musings while the Hermes Cabin was walking to the arena.

---

    “Alright Campers, listen up!” Luke shouted. “Today we are going to train in pairs, I want you to team up with someone from a different Cabin!”

They were joined by the Demeter Cabin in the arena today. As the Campers went around trying to find someone to pair with, a kid with fair skin came up to Percy.

“You’re the new Camper right?” He said. The boy was wearing the camp half blood tank-top and oversized shorts with a belt holding them up. Attached to the belt were a pair of gardening gloves and a watch hanging on a chain. His deep red hair reminded Percy of a sheep’s fluffy wool and it fell down to his shoulders. There was also the wool-like fur covering his upper-arms and his claves. His hands looked rough and flat, and kind of looked like sheep's hooves. His light green eyes had oval pupils and he had little sheep ears sticking out of his fluffy hair. He was covered in freckles from head-to-toe.

His magic was a mix of mint green and light pink. It smelled of a horsetail fern.

“Yeah, I am.” Awansered Percy.

“Do you mind if we team up? I’ve only been here for a few months and I’m not great at fighting yet.” The boy said.

Percy tilted his head at him. “Sure,” He said. “Why not.”

The boy’s eyes widened slightly and it looked as if he had just realized something. “Oh! Right, I’m Theodore Huckleberry, by the way. But you can just call me Theo, everyone does.”

Percy smiled. “Hi, Theo, I’m Percy.”

They walked over to the side of the arena where no other sparring partners were and took out their weapons. Theo pulled the watch off of its chain on his belt and Percy watched as it transformed into a long celestial bronze spear. Percy grinned and grabbed a new rope bracelet off of his wrist. When it came off it transformed into his training sword. Percy was more used to fighting with his dagger but right after Percy’s first sword lesson Luke had taken θαλάσσιο λιοντάρι to the Hephaestus Cabin so it could get a disguised form. 

Both of the boys got into position and waited for the other to strike. Theo moved first. The boys then engaged in a slightly clumsy spar. Theo had the advantage of range and more official training and Percy had greater speed and agility. It lasted a while, both nicking eachother multiple times, Theo even got Percy’s chin once before Percy backed out of range. Eventually though, it ended when Theo swiped Percy’s feet out from under him and held his spear up to Percy’s neck.

Percy laughed at his new friend as Theo helped him up. They were both grinning like mad-men and were panting like dogs. Luke called for a break not long after and the two of them went over to where all the water bottles were sitting. Percy’s blue one was sitting on the bench next to the other ones and Percy took a long drink from it. As soon as the water hit his tongue Percy felt rejuvenated and not like he hadn’t just spent the last 45 minutes sparring. He felt even better than he had when he had started. 

The Campers split up into different groups, each using a different weapon and each with a trainer. The sword users’ was Luke, the spear trainer was an unclaimed girl a few years younger than Luke, the daggers’ was a short daughter of Demeter with spiky blonde hair, and so on. Out of the two Cabins there they were the best at using their specific weapon though most weren’t the best Camp. Percy was decently sure that Clarisse was the Camp trainer in the spear.

“Okay, sword users!” Luke called out. “I’m going to be teaching you a new move today! Get in pairs and I’ll show you. Percy, would you like to help?” Luke asked, though the way he said it left no room for argument. Some of the Campers around him snickered at him like they were well aware of his predicament. Percy nodded reluctantly and stepped up to Luke.

Luke explained that he was going to show a new technique on how to disarm your opponents. It was to use the flat of your own blade to twist the enemies blade until they had no choice but to drop their blade. 

“This is difficult,” Luke stressed. “I’ve had it used against me before. No laughing at Percy now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique.” Luke demonstrated the move in slow motion and the crowd watched as Percy’s hand was forced open and his training sword clattered on the floor.

“Now, in real time everyone.” Luke said after Percy got back up. “Percy and I will keep sparring until one of us gets it. Ready Percy?”

Boosted from water or not, Percy was nowhere near Lukes level so he had a feeling this was going to be over soon. Nevertheless, Percy nodded and the two started their game of cat and mouse.Percy dodged and ducked while Luke slashed and stabbed. Percy parried and slashed and tried to get a hit in but Luke was much faster. Percy managed to keep his own for a little while. Luke's eyes narrowed and he pressed Percy even harder. The sword grew heavy and uncomfortable in Percy’s hand and he knew it was only a matter of seconds before this duel was over so Percy looked for an opening in Luke’s defense and took the first one he saw. He pushed his blade against the hilt of Luke’s sword and forced it out of Luke’s hand.

The circle around them was silent as Percy put his sword to Luke’s undefined chest. After a moment Percy stepped back and took a couple deep breaths. He shifted on his feet and looked out at the Campers curiously. They were staring at him in shock. To be honest Percy was pretty astounded that had actually worked himself. 

“Percy!” Luke said. “By the Gods, that was amazing! Show me again!” Luke smiled brightly at Percy and grabbed his sword again.

Percy didn't want to, the boost he had gotten from the water was completely gone now and his muscles were starting to ache. Nevertheless he readied his sword and prepared for an attack. It didn’t take long this time, just three short swipes and Percy’s blade clattered to the floor and Luke’s sword was under Percy’s chin.

---

Percy’s eyes glazed over and he saw something else. For a moment he was standing in the forest, next to a flowing creek. The tall trees overhead allowed for barely any light to make it through their branches and the floor was splattered in light. Luke was standing in front of him, a smile on his face but the smile was…off. There was something off about it, it was unnatural. Percy felt something cold press against his chin and he looked down. It was a sword, one Percy had never seen before. It looked like it was made of two different metals, one steel and the other celestial bronze. But, that didn’t make sense. The Hephaestus Cabin didn’t make swords like that. 

The sword moved and then Percy felt a stinging sensation in his neck that soon turned to pain. Percy brought up a hand to his neck and when he pulled it away he found blood on his hand. He looked up, expecting to find himself still in the dark forest but found he was once again in the arena at Camp.

There was no pain in his neck, no blood on his hand. Just the bright, sunny sky and a gentle ache in his arms. Percy was not alone in the forest with Luke, he was in Camp surrounded by the other Campers. Percy took a shaky breath. 

It was a moment before someone in the crowd said something. “Beginner’s luck?”

Luke’s arm returned to his side. “Maybe.” He said. Though he was looking at Percy oddly, like he was a particularly hard puzzle Luke was trying to solve. It reminded Percy of the vision he had just had, but that must’ve been wrong, Luke would never hurt Percy.

..Right?

Percy shook his head like he could physically make the thoughts go away.

The other Campers then were sent off into groups to try the technique on eachother and Percy didn’t have time to stop and draw his vision in his sketchbook like he had during the tour of Camp.

When Percy stepped foot out of the Arena just before lunch later that day he was happily talking to Theo about the moves they had learned that day, not a thought of Luke’s sword at his neck on his mind.

---

    It was late afternoon when Percy sat down next to Grover on the pier. This was quickly becoming his favorite place.

Percy took some deep breaths, trying to regulate his breathing after his heart was beating so fast. The Rock Climbing Wall really was fun but it was so tiring too. Percy thought he did okay considering that it was his first time but he was nowhere near the level of the other Campers. Hell, even watching the satyrs go up the wall in less than thirty seconds made him tired. Though the lava was definitely not helping. Percy’s shirt was covered in scorched holes and he was pretty sure all the hair on his arms had been singed off.

“How’d the conversation with Mr. D go?” Percy asked. “Your career still on track?”

Grover gulped. “Chiron t-told you I wanted a searcher's license?”

“Well…no.” Percy said. Percy already knew Grover wanted a searcher's license before Chiron ever said anything, but he didn’t have a viable way to explain that. “He just said that you had big aspirations and that you needed credit from a keeper’s assignment for it. Did you get it?”

Grover looked down at the naiads weaving kelp baskets below the water. “Mr. D suspended judgement. He said I hadn’t failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both come back alive, then maybe he’d consider the job complete.”

…A Quest? There hadn’t been any issued quest’s since Luke’s to the garden of Hesperides. It seemed like Mr. D really didn’t want Grover to get his searcher’s license. 

“ Bla-ha-ha, he might as well have transferred me to stable cleaning duty! No one goes on quests anymore, especially not an untrained Camper. Besides, even if you did get a quest why would you want me along.” Grover muttered out the last part.

Percy laid his clawed, blue, scaly hand over Grovers, furry brown one as it gripped his khaki shorts tightly. He smiled at his best friend. “Of course I’d want you along, G-man. You’re my best friend.”

That seemed to cheer Grover up the slightest bit. When Percy looked up he saw the yellow barrier streaked with blue rising high above Camp Half-Blood. He was once again reminded of Thalia, his cousin, a daughter of Zeus. It made him feel a little melancholy, thinking about a girl he could’ve known. He wished he had the chance, he had seen her a little when she had lived in the streets and she had seemed like someone Percy could’ve gotten along with. 

…Hmm. Maybe one day he would get to know her.

“Chiron mentioned something about your first assignment when we talked. That was Thalia Grace, right? A Daughter of Zeus?”

Grover bleated sadly. “Yeah. About seventeen years ago there was this TV starlet with a big, fluffy, eighties hairdo and he just couldn’t help himself.” Percy felt a pair of eyes on the back of his head. He felt electricity crinkling along his shoulders. A faint call of an eagle echoed in his ears. For his own sanity, Percy elected to ignore the presence of the King of Gods for the moment. “When their child was born, Thalia, well… Thalia was a very strong demigod, even when she was a baby. She was attacked by monsters all her life. It came to a breaking point when she was eight and she ran away from home.” Grover continued. 

Percy let Grover speak even though he already knew this story. He had watched as it had happened. He had heard the voices of Luke and Thalia and Annabeth as they traveled along the east coast.  “After a while on the streets by herself she ran into a boy two years older than her who was also a demigod and on the run. They traveled together for a long time before they came across a little girl, only seven years of age, who they quickly took with them. The trio were happy together but three strong-smelling demigods, with one even being a child of the Big Three, attracted a lot of attention from monsters.The trio was only together for a month before a satyr found them.” Grover sighed sadly and his eyes pricked with tears. “I was instructed to bring Thalia to Camp. Just Thalia. But she wasn't willing to leave behind her companions and I didn’t want to either. We made it all the way to the Camp borders before one of the Hellhounds chasing us got Thalia in the leg. Thalia was just so exhausted and she didn’t want to live like a hunted animal. She told me to take the other demigods and get inside Camp. She made her final stand up there on the hill. As she died her father turned her into the pine tree that now protects Camp. That’s why the hill is called Half-Blood-Hill.”

That was the only part that confused Percy. Why did Zeus turn his daughter into his brother’s sacred tree? “You did the best you could Grover, believe me. You’re the bravest satyr I've ever met.”

Grover smiled thankfully at him as Luke called for the Cabin to move on to their next activity.

---

    Percy was grinning like a shark when he dug into his barbeque pork later that night.

Dinner was almost over and the spirits in the Camp were the highest yet. The kids around Percy were talking animatedly about the upcoming game. Children were yelling and laughing and talking excitedly about The Capture The Flag game that was almost upon them. The Athena Cabin and the Ares Cabin were taunting  and jeering at each other. 

People ate the filling food that was set on their plates that night. They needed the extra energy for the game. As Percy ate his pork the juice dripped down his chin and his shark teeth were almost gleaming in the light of the braziers. His eyes glowed with anticipation.

When dinner ended the conch horn sounded and the Campers all stood at their tables. Everyone cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings walked into the pavilion with a six foot tall gray banner with a owl and olive branch and as Calrisse and two of her siblings walked in from the other direction with a bright red banner depicting a boar’s head and a bloody spear on it.

Percy listened as the rules were announced and the Teams declared. Hermes, Apollo, and Athena vs Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Demeter, Dionysus, and Zues. The Cabins had traded chore schedules and activity slots for the best pairings for the team.

The Apollo and Hermes Cabins were the biggest of the Cabins and were quick and agile fighters, along with the unclaimed Campers having many different abilities. The Athena Cabin were very intelligent and good battle planners. The Ares Cabins were strong and got stronger in the heat of battle. The Aphrodite Cabin was good at sneak attacks. The Hephaestus Cabin made crazy traps that were incredible in a dense forest like the one surrounding Camp. The Demeter and Dionysus Cabins were at home in the forest and moved the plants around them to help them and bended the foliage to their will. The Zeus Cabin only had one Camper, Micha, an eight-year-old asian kid with lighting infused arrows that Percy could tell would hurt like a bitch even from a distance. He hadn’t been able to meet the kid yet but wanted to soon. Something in him screamed that Micha was kin and someone to protect. 

Percy watched as the tables filled with weapons and armor and shields of all kinds for the Campers to use. 

“Ready yourself Heroes!” Chiron yelled as cheers came up again. “Remember, no maiming or killing. Ameila and I will be the standby medics, if needed call us. Arm yourselves!”

Percy snagged a weapon from the nearest table and danced back before he could be forced to wear armor or a shield. Though that didn’t stop Luke from trying. 

“Not wearing any armor Percy?”

“Nah.” Percy said. “It’s too heavy. I don’t like being weighed down like that.”

“How about just a chestplate? You need something. ” Luke said.

Percy huffed, amused. “Fine.”

Luke picked up a chestplate from the table of armor and helped Percy put it on.

“There. That’s much better.”

“What’s my job for this round?”

“Ah, you’re on portal patrol. Now, come on. It’s time to leave.”

Percy joined the other Campers as they made their way into the north side of the forest. Annabeth sidled up to him on their way.

“Did Luke give you your job yet?” She asked.

“He said I was on border patrol.”

She nodded. “Stay near the creek. You’ll be defending the border between the two sides of the forest. Don’t let anyone pass. Oh, and watch out for Clarisse's spear. Other than that, don’t worry. We’ll take the banner from Ares.”

Percy nodded once and wanted as Annabeth walked over to her siblings and began talking to them. Luke led him to a small clearing in the forest the middle of which had a stream about three feet wide running through it. Percy waited as everyone got into place for the game to begin.

When the conch horn sounded, loud cheering went up in the forest. Percy watched as Michael darted through the woods like a deer and as one of the Hermes Campers climbed through the trees into the enemy territory.

For a moment Percy felt something building in his bones. The feeling of dread and terror overcame Percy. Something told him to move-to run-to leave. Percy shifted on his feet nervously and started to fidget, He felt eyes watching him but when he turned no one was there. He felt heavy breathing at the back of his neck. It smelt like a wet dog. He felt claws tracing his arm in a very familiar way. A scent of rot and decayed fruit that came with monsters fresh out of the Underworld.

Percy shivered and stepped into the water until it was ankle deep. It was a moment before the presence went away.

He heard muttering coming from the red team side of the woods. In the next second a war cry came from the other side of the creek. Five Ares’ kids burst out of the foliage. 

“Cream the punk!” Clarisse screamed. Her and her siblings were dressed in head-to-toe armor with bright red plumes sticking out of their helmets. All of them brandished normal celestial bronze swords except Clarisse who was wielding a six foot long spear with red electricity sparkling at the end.

‘Watch out for Clairsse’s spear.’ Yeah no shit. Her fucking spear was electric.

Percy glared and bared his fangs. Clarisse responded by letting out a loud breath through her nose that was reminiscent of a bull. Percy knew he was a decent fighter but he stood no chance against five other people, especially the children of Ares. He had no other option however so when Clarisse lunged at him with her spear he met her attack with the hilt of his blade. The shock traveled down his arm and it became a little numb

Percy lept back out of her range and continued to duel with Clarisse in the river, all the while trying to keep the other Campers away from him using the water. He swiped and dodged and jumped out of the way while Clarisse stabbed and slashed and fought with the grace of a dancer and the might of a bull. It wasn’t easy trying to keep the Campers away while fighting Clarisse and eventually, one of Clarisse's brothers got close enough to slash at the back of Percy’s knee. Percy hit the ground with force, certainly bruising his knee. When the boy went down for another slash at Percy, he grabbed the collar of his shirt and threw him to the ground. Percy elbowed the kid’s throat, successfully taking him out of the fight as he gasped for breath and rolled over. 

Percy barely managed to jump back as Clarisse’s spear stabbed into the ground where he was sitting moments ago. Percy had to focus on the fight in front of him so his grasp on the water wasn’t as strong as he’d like so he was almost taken down when another of Clairsse’s brothers attacked him. He had to fight off both of them while trying to keep the other kids away from their fight. Everytime he managed to cut one of the other two he was fighting something preened inside of him. Being able to hurt a more powerful fighter in a game like this was very entertaining. 

He swiped his tongue over his teeth and grinned as he fought. Clarisse got more and more angry as time went on, her moves getting sloppy. Even though Percy kept getting slashed at by the two the water healed him quickly enough for it to not bother him. The water was giving him strength and energy allowing him to keep going even though he was overmatched.

“It’s pretty pathetic that you took five teens to fight one barely trained twelve year old and you still can’t win.” Percy mocked. The angrier the two got the more sloppy their moves became. Percy just needed to wait them out. The two who hadn’t even been able to get into the water had left a while ago.

“Σώπα Τζάκσον! Πάω να σε σκοτώσω! !” Clarisse snarled, slipping into Ancient Greek. She then attacked with more vigor, as if trying to actually kill him.

Then Clarisse’s brother was thrown to the ground, disarmed, and a slice opened up on his arm. Percy couldn’t see who ever had done that but the sound of flipping pages, the smell of ink, and the faint gray outline of a girl told him who it was.

Clarisse was distracted by the invisible enemy and the stab that was coming straight for Percy’s chest ended up between his torso and his arm, allowing him to put pressure on two different parts of the spear, snapping it. 

Clarisse looked at it in surprise and then screamed in rage. “You idiot! You corpse breath worm!”

She looked like she was going to say worse but yelling erupted down the creek.

Luke burst through the trees holding the Ares flag high in the air. Other Hermes kids and Apollo kids were bracketing him, keeping the enemy demigods away as they raced in the clearing.

The three Ares children got up in a daze, the guy Percy elbowed still breathing oddly. 

“A trick.” Clarisse muttered. “It was a trick!”

They tried to stagger after him but it was too late. Percy watched as Luke jumped over the creek and the banner he held high changed into a baby blue color and the spear and board was wiped away and changed into a caduceus. The Athena Team erupted in raucous cheering and lifted Luke onto their shoulders.

Chiron cantered out of the woods with Ameila following after him. He blew the conch horn signifying the end of the game and cementing their win.

Annabeth saddled up next to him holding a yankees cap above her head like she had just taken it off. Percy turned his head to her and quirked an eyebrow. “You set me up.” He accused.

She shrugged. “It was a necessary evil. I needed to get Clarisse away from the flag and you were the easiest way to do it. I came to help as fast as I could.”

Percy still leveled her with a displeased look. “Don’t use someone as bait without their knowledge. That can breed resentment and distrust. Things could’ve gone much worse,

Annabeth sniffed haughtily. “Athena always has a plan.”

“That plan shouldn’t bring repercussions down on your teammates.”

Annabeth glared at him slightly. “Fine. I guess I can do that. C’mon let’s join the cele-”

Annabeth cut herself off as they exited the water because as soon as Percy’s feet left the creek his knees buckled and Annabeth had to catch him by his arm. “W-woah. You okay?” She asked hesitantly.

Percy took a few deep breaths, his vision blurring for a moment. “Yeah. I think I'm fine. Just a…shock I guess.” He straightened himself and Annabeth didn’t have to keep supporting him.

Annabeth looked him up and down. “Hmm.” The noise was disapproving. “ Alright. Let’s go.”

They had only begun to walk when an ear piercing howl ripped through the forest. The cheering stopped immediately and the forest became eerily quiet. Percy looked up and found a giant black mastiff staring at him with ruby red eyes and fangs the size of daggers.. 

Chiron yelled in ancient greek. “Έτοιμη, πλώρη μου!”

“Percy, move!” Annabeth yelled. She tried to step in front of him but she wasn’t fast enough. The beast jumped over her and it slammed into Percy’s chest with the force of a tank. It forced Percy to the ground with its weight. Its claws big into Percy’s chest, shredding his armor like it was paper. Percy felt like its claws had almost reached his lungs. He felt blood coming up his throat.

It had been less than a second later, dozens of arrows pierced the hounds flank from both Chiron and the Campers. One more second he knew, and he would’ve died. Percy tried not to move and take steady breaths as Annabeth knelt next to him.

“Αθάνατοι θεοί!” She said worriedly. “That’s a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment! They don’t…they’re not supposed to…”

Ameilia came running up to them and knelt next to Percy. She gently put her hands over his chest and began to hum lightly, instructing him to breath steadily and slowly.

“Someone summoned it.” Chiron said grimly. “Someone from inside the Camp.”

“It’s all Percy’s fault! Percy summoned it!” Clarisse yelled.

“Clarisse.” Silena reprimanded exasperatedly. 

“Shut up Clarisse.” Luke barked. His voice sounded tense, nervous.

“Ameila. Get him into the water.” Annabeth said.

“What?” 

“Get him into the water. Now.” Annabeth said with finality. Ameila narrowed her eyes at Annabeth but nevertheless nodded and put one of Percy’s arms on her shoulder as Annabeth took the other one. They stood up and helped Percy into the water. As soon as his feet touched the water he felt much better and felt the cuts on his chest start to slowly close.

People gasped and whispered to each other but they weren’t watching him. They were looking above him. When he looked up what he saw was a glowing teal trident floating above his head. It was the symbol of Poseidon.

Campers began kneeling, even the Ares Cabin though they looked like they would rather do anything else. Annabeth and Amelia stepped back slightly and also took a knee.

“Pelagios Poseidon.” Chiron said. “Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God.”

Something inside Percy pressed against his lungs, like a python constricting around its prey. Percy felt as if his fate had just been sealed. As if something unstoppable was now set in motion.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 - June 3rd-10th, 2005, Long Island, NY, The First Prophecy

    Stepping into his Cabin for the first time Percy felt a wave of safe-happiness-welcome-comfort wash over him. It reminded him of Montauk. He belonged here. This was his home. The room that first greeted him was a lounge room with a long blue couch with throw pillows on the sides and a throw blanket on the back of it. There were two arm chairs and a large bean bag next to it and in between them was a low coffee table.

On the right wall was an ornate stone fireplace with tall bookshelves bracketing it. The top two shelves of the bookshelves were filled with books, the others empty as if leaving space for him to add his own touch. Some of the books were in English but most were in either ancient Greek and another language Percy didn’t recognize. On the right wall there was a curtained archway leading to another room. Next to it was a giant easel with a pouf next to it. Everything in the room had a layer of dust on it, proving no-one had entered this Cabin in a while.The curtains lining the windows and the door looked like water condensed into a solid form.

Percy turned to his left and put his jacket on the coat rack next to the door and put his backpack at the base of it. Luke had gotten all of Percy’s things from his Cabin so Percy could move into Cabin 3 tonight.

The last thing that caught Percy’s eye in the main room was a floor-to-ceiling aquarium. It had a few fish in it and giant corals and a small cave at the bottom. The most interesting thing about it though, was that it had no glass. It was just a rectangle of water in the back corner of the room.

Percy moved over to the curtained archway. When he pushed the water-curtain aside he was greeted with a bedroom. There were six bunk beds, three on each wall, totaling 12 beds. Each of them had comforters that were different shades of blue and two thick creme pillows. The bottom bunks of each set had deep blue black-out curtains that were tied to the bedposts. The walls looked as if they were made of multi-colored coral, the same coral that had been decorating Poseidon’s throne. There were lanterns hanging above each bedside table. On the far wall there looked to be more curtained areas. There was also a curtained archway on the right wall. There were empty shelves lining the walls and Percy couldn’t help but think that there was supposed to be decorations and clutter on them instead of the dust currently residing there. It made Percy sad, he had never liked being alone and now it was just him in this big Cabin.

Percy once again moved to explore the Cabin. His first stop was the curtains on the far wall. When he pushed the curtain aside it revealed cubbies built into the wall. Some were squares and some were rectangles and some were drawers. There were also hangers in one compartment already with a few clothes hanging down from them. A closet, he supposed. 

Percy walked over to the last curtain. When he opened it the sight of a bathroom greeted him. On his left were four sinks and a large mirror spanning the above them. On his right were the showers. Three stalls each with a different ocean themed curtain. But that wasn’t the best part about the room. The best part was the pool at the end of the room. Percy hurried over to the pool which was down three steps from the rest of the room and dunked his hand in the water. Immediately he smiled. It was saltwater. Satisfied with his findings Percy went back to the main room and grabbed his backpack.

Percy got a change of clothes out of his backpack when he went back into the bedroom. Percy figured he would unpack tomorrow but for now he was just too tired. He kicked off his shoes and changed into his shark pajamas. Percy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he laid on his bed. He had chosen the far left bottom bunk, the one across the way from the bathroom. He unbraided his hair and let it fall loose around his shoulders and back. He hunkered underneath the covers and was finally able to sleep with the sound of far-away waves reaching his ears.

—

    Percy opened his eyes to find he was on a beach. One specific beach to be exact. It was Montauk. The smell of the sea reached his nose and the sea mist sprayed his front gently. 

Then, Percy became aware he wasn’t alone. The smell of sea salt, citrus, water lilies, and oddly enough, like vanilla candles hit his nose. It felt like home and safety and–protector–parent. He heard the snapping of jaws, the galloping of hooves. He felt as though he was dipping his hand in water so harsh it should’ve hurt. It didn't, of course. He felt the ground shaking beneath his feet but knew it wasn’t real. 

He felt as though he were standing in the eye of a hurricane, the winds and water whipping around him but never touching him.

Percy turned around and what he saw confirmed his suspicions.

A man was standing behind him. He was at least seven feet tall and had the same tan skin and ever-changing eyes that Percy had. His hair was the same inky black as Percy’s and it was tied into a long braid behind that reached below his waist. The man had the same fin-like ears, sharp-shark- teeth, deep blue clawed and webbed hands, scales all over his body and framing his face, and gills on his neck. He was wearing a flowy sea-green chiton and a himation in such a deep blue color it almost looked black. It was embroidered with all things sea from waves to dolphins. On his head was an ornate silver and coral crown with pearls lining the base. It was the crown of a king.

Though instead of legs the man–god–had three long merman tails. They were many different colors of blue, green, yellows, and purples with giant fins on the end and off the sides of it. The man looked down at him with kind eyes and a soft smile.

Percy tilted his head at Poseidon. “ Παπά ?”

Poseidon’s grin widened. “Percy.”

Percy made the sharp orca clicking noise. Poseidon’s response was to wrap Percy up into his arms and cradle him into his chest, Percy definitely did not squeak but he did shift in his dad’s arms until he was comfortable. “Percy. My Pearl. Dear one.” Poseidon said. 

“Hello Papa.”

Poseidon began to purr quietly in his chest. Percy found the song comforting. “I am sorry I had to wait to claim you, my son. You should’ve been in my Cabin from the first day.”

Percy laughed. “It’s okay. Momma told me before I got to Camp.”

Poseidon’s face was sorrowful. “I am sorry about the fate of your mother μαργαριτάρι μου. I wished dearly to help but I could not. The Ancient Laws-”

“Stop you from interfering in mortal affairs, I know Παπά . It is okay. I also do not think μαμά is gone. Someone has taken her.”

Poseidon made a deep displeased growl-like noise in the back of his throat. “It is not okay, little minnow. And if what you say is true, which I strongly believe it is, I will not stop at anything to bring her home to you. Trust me on this will you?”

Percy smiled into his fathers shoulder. “I do trust you. Thank you Παπά .”

Percy knew he could trust his father. He had known his father was watching him often, from every time he went into the ocean and felt as if someone was carding him and keeping him safe to when he encountered bullies at school and scared them off. He knew his father would keep his promise.

“This coming month will be difficult for you, my pearl. My youngest brother is most displeased with me at the moment, for an inane reason, and he is taking it out on you. With your mother gone you will have to do this on your own for a while. Remember my son, Hold Fast, Brave The Storm. I know you can do it.

“I will try my best. I will make you proud.”

Poseidon cradled Percy’s face in his hand. “You already have, my pearl.” Poseidon’s eyes became glazed over for a moment. When they cleared he spoke again. “I think it is time for you to wake up, little minnow. Someone is at your door.”

“Okay Papa.” Percy hugged his father. “Until next time?” He asked with hope.

Poseidon nodded. “Until next time.”

—

    Percy’s eyes fluttered open to the sound of soft knocking at the Cabin’s door. He sat up and stretched his arms and then checked the analog clock on his side table. It was seven-thirty am. He climbed out of his bed to answer the door. When he opened it he found a little boy standing at his door. It was Micha Tain, his cousin from Cabin one.

He had never met Micha before, only seen him from afar, but now that he was standing in front of him, Percy felt like he had known the kid all his life. Like he will always know him, no matter what happens. Percy felt like he knew Micha completely, wholly. Like he knew every detail about Micha, every little quirk.

Micha felt like he was someone Percy was supposed to protect, to cherish.

Brother, his instincts told him.

“Brother?” Micha asked, titling his head at Percy.

Percy smiled. “Brother.” He confirmed. He opened his arms in an invitation. Micha took it and soon Percy found his arms full of an eight year old. Percy wrapped his arms around his cousin, brother, and took a deep breath. Children of Poseidon weren’t supposed to be alone but maybe, just maybe Percy wouldn’t be.

—

    A little while later the two boys found themselves sitting on Cabin 3’s porch stairs. Percy would have invited him inside but the home was sacred to demigods and those of the Greek Mythology world and you only let people you would trust with your life inside and while Percy felt he could trust Micha, he didn’t know if he could let him inside his home yet. 

Percy observed his little brother, who sat next to him. 

Micha had pitch black hair that was tied in a tiny ponytail at the base of his neck. He was wearing a CHB hoodie, jean shorts, and flip-flops. His eyes were a light blue with an almost golden color streaking through them. He looked a lot like Thalia had, with his feathers decorating his limbs, large wings, and claw-like talons. The kid also had yellow-ish scales staring at his hands and feet and going up his arms and legs. Micha also had black antler-like horns sticking up from the side of his head.

Percy’s brother’s magic was a stormy gray that outlined him, surrounded him. Every now and then Percy would catch streaks of yellow flashing through it and every time it did, the yellow in Micha’s eyes would glow bright and then settle back when the yellow was gone again. Micha’s magic was the sound of an arrow flying through the air, the sound of thunder in the distance, the feeling of clouds blocking out the sun–the warmth of it leaving you. He heard the calling of eagles in the distance.

Percy looked at his little brother again. “What brought you over here anyway, Micha? I feel like we got side-tracked.”

“I knew the last person that lived in this Cabin.” Micha said. “I don’t remember much of him but he felt like you do. Like an older brother. I was wondering if you would feel the same.”

Percy tilted his head quizzically at Micha.“Hm. I wonder if it’s a children of the Big Three then. Though I don’t know what would cause it.”

Micha just shrugged.

“Well, if you’d like we can go to breakfast together.”

Micha smiled and nodded vigorously.

“Alright, stay here I’ll get ready.”

—

    Percy set his hairbrush on the counter. He had just finished getting ready for the day and his hair was still wet. He exited the bathroom and went to his bag to grab a hair tie. Percy didn’t have the time to braid his hair currently so he tied it up in a high ponytail. He went back to the common area of his Cabin and slipped on his shoes. He exited the Cabin and made a small chirping noise, getting Micha’s attention. He smiled as the boy padded over to him. That was when the eight am conch horn blew. The two brothers made their way to breakfast, talking quietly all the while. 

The two only separated when they got to their tables, which made Percy frown. Why did they have to sit at separate tables anyway?

When the other Campers also got to the dining pavilion he noticed them looking at him oddly with an emotion like pity, like they knew he wasn’t going to live more than four years, which was depressing. Percy chose not to think about it. 

—

    Over the next ten days, Percy got more acquainted with Camp Half-Blood and its kids. 

He had pegasus riding with the Aphrodite Cabin that morning. He met a girl called Drew Takana who had pearls in her hair and sharp eyes that saw everything. He met a boy called Mitchell Lawrence who all the pegasi adored. Silena was welcoming and a patient teacher, he immediately got the hang of riding and speaking to the pegasi definitely helped.

He had ancient Greek with the Athena Cabin, not that he needed it. The class ended with Percy having a very intelligent conversation about the difference between the Myths of Olde and the way the Gods were perceived in Modern Day media with Annabeth and two of her brothers in fluent Greek.

Percy was on Barn Duty with the Demeter Cabin one morning. Katie taught him how to milk the cows, though he wasn’t allowed to do it yet. He watched as a few of the Campers sheared a few of the sheep and brought it to the Athena Cabin to be treated and turned into fabric. Percy was taught how to feed the different animals by an older son of Demeter, Nathan Woods. 

He had Wilderness Survival Class with the Hermes Cabin, which taught them what plants were okay to eat, how to make a fire, how to find a shelter, and what to do if you encounter a monster you can’t beat. 

Percy also spent a decent chunk of his time befriending as many Campers as he could. The people here were all so interesting and this was the first time other children around his age were not scared of him and he wanted to make the most of it. He especially got along with Pollux and Castor, spending time not only in the Berry fields but also in other places like the beach, the Mini Orchard, and The Big House. Even though Percy had been at Camp for just over a week Castor and Pollux had already roped Percy into annoying their dad. Even though Mr. D tried to appear mad, his magic never got that sharp tint of danger that meant he was actually mad, so Percy figured he was in the clear.

He also got to spend time with Grover, taking walks along the woods and relaxing in the sunlight, enjoying each other’s company.

Eventually, Wednesday evening, Luke was tasked with bringing Percy into the woods to hunt. Luke brought two chickens into the woods about thirty minutes before and now Percy was supposed to track down, kill them, and bring them back to Luke to inspect how well he had done it. Percy was allowed only his teeth, claws, and his dagger. Luke wouldn’t go into the forest with him this time because Percy had already learned to hunt.

Percy slowly walked through the woods, keeping low to the ground. He was following the scent of one of the chickens through the woods and he knew he was close. He heard something move a few yards in front of him. Percy slowly trekked forward until he was only about five feet from the bird. He waited for a moment, watching it, before he lunged. His teeth latched onto the back of the bird's neck and he felt the blood seeping into his mouth. The delicious and metallic taste of the animal’s blood coated his tongue. He brought his claws up to the bird’s neck and cut a deep slice into the chicken’s throat. It stopped flailing. Percy dropped the bird into his hands, licking his lips. He could feel the blood running down his chin and swallowed the rest of it in his mouth. Percy smiled at his dead prey, proud of his catch. Percy was surely making quite the unnerving scene to any mortal, his too sharp teeth coated him blood. 

Percy stood up and attached the bird to one of the hooks on his belt. He backed away from the scene, hoping to find the scent of the other chicken. When he eventually did, he pounced again, however this time he didn’t bother putting it on the other hook he was given, instead he just kept it in his mouth, swallowing every time the blood filled his mouth. Percy felt blood and a bit of spit running down his chin but couldn’t be bothered to wipe it.

When he finally got back to Luke, the older boy seemed pleased that it hadn’t taken Percy too long to hunt the birds, causing Percy to stand a little straighter. 

Luke smiled at him. “Well done, Percy!” He said. “Now, let me see your work on the chicken.”

Percy took the bird off his belt and handed it to Luke but didn’t make a move for the one still in his mouth.

Luke looked at Percy expectantly but once he realized Percy wasn’t planning to hand it over he sighed, like he was used to dealing with kids who didn’t want to hand over their prey.

“Percy…” He said warningly, sticking out his hand. “Drop it.”

Percy glared.

Luke stared.

Percy glared harder.

Luke still stared.

Percy reluctantly dropped it into the outstretched hand, still glaring at Luke.

Luke brought the chickens close, inspecting them. When he was finished, he nodded and smiled. “Well done Percy. Clean and precise cuts.” He said which made Percy preen and forget about the transgressions he thought Luke to have committed. 

“I’ll take these to the kitchen and the harpies can prepare them for dinner tonight.” Luke said. Percy looked at him expectantly.

“Yes, yes. I’ll make sure you can eat this one. Now go wash off the blood all over your face, it’s getting on your clothes.” Luke continued, gesturing to the bird Percy had held in his mouth.

Percy grinned and skipped off back to his Cabin.

—

June 10th, 2005, Long Island, NY

    It was the morning of June 10th when the door to Percy’s Cabin was banged on hard enough to echo through the whole Cabin. Percy had already woken up that morning, as he did most mornings, due to a vision. This morning when he had put pen-to-paper there hadn’t been a poem, but a drawing instead. It was a full page drawing of a monster, a mix of a lion, goat, and snake. The legendary Chimera. This wasn’t the first time Percy had seen the Chimera, but this time, every time he saw his drawing he got a strong feeling of dread well up in him. He felt the need to move, to look behind him, to check his surroundings.

It was when the door was banged on again that Percy got up to check the door. He walked to his door, pajamas still on, hair up in a messy bun, and only one sock on. When he opened the door he found his best friend, Grover Underwood the satyr, standing at his door, trembling in the dewy morning. Though, Percy had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t the weather that was causing him to shake like a leaf.

“Grover?”

“Mr. D wants to see you.” The satyr said.

Percy had been waiting for this call for the past week. He knew what was coming. He knew what needed to be done, what he had to do.

“Why?” Percy asked.

“He wants to-... I’d better just let him tell you, come on.”

Percy sighed and nodded. “Just gimme a sec.”

Percy went back inside the Cabin and quickly got changed and put on another sock. He didn’t have time to do his hair since he was pretty sure Dionysus wasn’t the most patient god, so he just let it down today. He tugged on his blue windbreaker over his Camp Half-Blood shirt and a pair of blue jeans, slipped on his shoes and walked down the porch stairs with Grover. 

They walked across the Camp grounds. A storm was brewing overhead and despite knowing that no storm could cross Camp borders unless Mr. D wished it to, he had a feeling this one wouldn’t obey those rules. Everyone they passed were going about their normal business but they seemed nervous, looking up at the sky every few seconds. Their faces were twisted with anxiety.

The wind was thrashing more than usual, making Percy’s hair fly in his face. The smell of morning dew and electricity surrounded him, almost swallowing the feeling of playing in the woods coming from Grover. He could hear the pounding waves crashing against the shore, the noises echoing his fathers rage, even from across Camp.

Grover and Percy made their way up the porch stairs to the big house. Dionysus was sitting at the pinochle table in his usual flowy chiton, a can of Diet Coke sat in front of him. Chiron was across from him in his fake wheelchair. They were playing against invisible opponents, two sets of cards floating in the air, though they were surrounded in Mr. D’s intoxicating magic.

“Mr. D.” Percy said. “You called?”

Mr. D’s eyes snapped up to him and the cards which were previously floating were sat face down on the table, via Mr. D’s magic. “Perseus Jackson. If you know what’s good for you, you’d go down into the depths and hide in Atlantis where your father and Amphitrite can protect you.”

The bad feeling got worse.

“My Lord Father has a task for you. I’d suggest you complete it.” Mr. D continued. The God rolled his eyes then, quieter and more than a little exasperated, he said, “Sending babies on quests, honestly.”

Percy was surprised Dionysus was opposed to this but he knew he shouldn’t be. The God had children the exact same age as Percy and he supposed Dionysus still viewed them as babies and thus, everyone the same age was also babies.

Dionysus held up a playing card in his hand as the wind rattled the windows. “Now, I have to attend an emergency meeting. If you know what’s good for you you’ll be gone when I get back, one way or another.” He twisted the card in the air and his magic surrounded him and the card and the next moment he was gone, leaving only the scent of grapes behind.

“Good morning Percy.” Chiron said tiredly. “Come, sit. You as well Grover.”

Percy and Grover made their way to the other side of the pinochle table.

“Tell me, Percy. What did you make of the hellhound?”

Chiron probably for Percy to brush it off, claim it nothing with no small amount of arrogance. Like his brothers of times long past would have. Percy had seen their arrogance with his own eyes. But Percy didn’t feel like lying.

“It had been frightening. It wasn’t the first time I’ve encountered a hellhound but this is the first time I've been seriously injured. If you and the Apollo Campers hadn’t shot it, I’d likely be dead.”

“You’ll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you’re done.”

Percy knew that. He knew that if he left the Camps borders he wouldn’t be safe. Then again he wasn’t very safe here either, the hellhound had proven that.

“Before I’m done…with the quest our King has given me?” Percy didn’t like the fact that he was being forced to do something he didn’t want to but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Chiron nodded. “Indeed, Percy. Usually we try not to send children under fourteen on quests but this is a special case, I’m afraid.”

Lightning traced over Percy’s shoulders, filled his eyes. His eyes glowed a brilliant sea-green. Words tumbled out of Percy’s mouth before he could stop it.

“The Sea and The Sky are fighting over something stolen. They have both been wronged and their anger is affecting the Overworld. The Shadows have just been watching, for his domain will get bigger due to his brothers’ rage.”

Chiron didn’t look perturbed by the prophetic words Percy had uttered but Grover looked confused.

“Indeed, Percy.” The centaur sighed heavily. “The Oracle will guide you, Percy. You are correct, Percy, in that your father and The Sky King are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be more precise: a lightning bolt.”

Percy’s eyes flicked to the on-coming storm that looked like it was about to break. There was lightning arcing in the clouds but it never touched down. 

“This lightning bolt is no lightning bolt that could only split a tree. This lightning bolt is the Master Bolt, the bolt in which all other lightning bolts were modeled after.It is The Sky King’ master bolt, the symbol of his power. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheared off the top of Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne.”

Percy nodded. “Though sir, what does that have to do with me?” He asked, though he felt he knew the answer to that already. The same thing that Ms. Dodds had implied. Percy swallowed nervously.

“I’m afraid that Lord The Sky King thinks that you have stolen it, my boy.”

Percy jerked back even though he was expecting it.

“The Bolt was stolen during the winter solstice, after The Sky King and The Sea Lord got into another one of their arguments, sky disasters are better than sea disasters, my son is better than your son, that drivel. Afterwards, The Sky King realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. Naturally, he immediately blamed your father. Now, a god cannot usurp another god’s symbol of power directly, that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws, but The Sky King believes your father convinced a human hero to take it.” Chiron said.

“Meaning me.” Percy said.

“The Sky King has good reason to be suspicious. The Forges of The Cyclops lie in The Sea Lord’s domain, allowing him some amount of influence over the creation of his brother’s lightning bolts. The Sky King believes The Sea Lord is illegally creating copies under the waves so he can topple The Sky King from his throne. The only thing that The Sky King was unsure of was what hero he used. And now The Sea Lord has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York for the Winter Solstice, mere miles from the Empire State Building, the entrance to Olympus. The Sky King believes he has found his thief.”

“Uncle Z sounds oddly paranoid.”

Chiron nodded sadly. “In this past year The Sky King has become more paranoid. I’m not sure the cause, but it's best to just take one thing at a time. Now, most would agree that thievery is not The Sea Lord’s style, that would be the messenger’s, but The Sea Lord is too proud to convince The Sky King of that. Now that you are here, The Sky King has demanded that The Sea Lord return the bolt by the summer solstice, June 21st, ten days from now. When it had first begun, I had hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that one of their sisters might make the two brothers see sense. But your existence has infrared The Sky King’s paranoia and The Sea Lord has been enraged that you were accused. The Sea Lord has demanded an apology for the accusation and for you to be free of your charges by the same date.” Chiron said regretfully.

This whole thing was making Percy very nervous, the feeling of dread deep in his stomach getting stronger. He started playing with his hair, a nervous tick.

“A war is on the horizon, Percy. Do you know what it would mean if two of the strongest Gods went to war?” Chiron asked.

“That would be bad, very bad.” Percy said.

“Bad is an understatement. And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel The Sky King’s wrath.”

Thunder boomed in the distance and the rain finally fell down on Camp Half-Blood.

Percy watched as the volleyball players stopped their game and looked towards the sky.

The storm was because of Percy. Zeus let his rage out on the earth, out on Camp Half-Blood, because he was upset at a child. Anger flashed through his veins. Zeus shouldn’t be letting out his anger on innocent children.

“So, I have to find the bolt. Easy peasy.” Percy sighed. “If my Lord Father doesn’t have it, then who does?”

“I may have an idea.” Chiron said grimly. “Part of a prophecy I had years ago…well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must seek the council of the Oracle.”

—

A scene played in front of Percy’s eyes for a moment. The space around him was dark and dim, the only light coming from the greek fire braziers on the wall. There were two thrones in the front of the room. T he one on the left, was made of stone as black as the night sky, covered in ocher and ivory colored bones. It seemed to suck in all the light from around it. The top of the throne was in 5 separate peaks with bronze tips making it look as if it were wearing a crown. The one on the right was made of cracked stone with vine like branches with flowers made of gems attached to them. There was a dusty pink cushion on the seat and a sheer pink piece of fabric draped over the back of it. 

Lining the walls were dozens of skeletons in all different types of battle gear. From WWII uniforms to classical grecian armor. They were all staring at him.

—

    Percy snapped back to reality after only a second.

“Go upstairs to the attic. Consult the Oracle. When you come back down, assuming you’re still sane, we will talk more.”

Percy sighed and nodded. “I’ll be back.” He said over his shoulder. He walked up four flights of old wooden stairs and opened the trapdoor to the attic.

The attic was a dusty room filled with different spoils of war. There were old suits of armor sitting in the corner. There were old leather steamer trunks with stickers saying things like ITHAKA, CIRCE’S ISLE, and LAND OF THE AMAZONS. There was a table with one short leg, books propped under it to keep it upright, with jars of pickled things on it. There were crystals emitting colorful magic. Daggers and swords with names engraved on them. There was a giant head of a hydra mounted on the wall. It looked like a giant snake except for the two giant horns on its head and its teeth the size of Percy’s forearm. Under the head of a placard with HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969 on it.

The room was filled with a sickly green magic that smelt like herbs. It seeped into his skin, stealing his breath and clouding his eyes.

The most noticeable thing about the room, however, was the mummy-looking girl. She was dressed in a 1960’s hippie outfit, with a tie dye dress and headband and several bracelets and necklaces adorning her. She was sat in a tripod stool, just out of reach from the sun. The sight made Percy want to weep. He knew this girl, she was the previous host of the Spirit Of The Oracle Of Delphi, her name was Melania Nardelli. She had only been fourteen when she was cursed, doomed by the range of anguished gods. The spirit of Delphi trapped inside the poor girl's body until the curse was broken, a curse not even Apollo could break. Now her body was simply a vessel for others to use. It made Percy sick, he desperately wanted to help her but he knew there was nothing he could do.

Percy felt a presence join them in the room. The smell of bay laurels and hyacinths were the only thing that he could pick up past the strength of the magic in the room.

The green magic was condensed around her eyes and a tendril of magic wrapped around the young girl's form, like the body of a snake. Suddenly she sat up straight and her jaw hinged open.

I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Proopsios Apollon , The Seer of Fate and Speaker of Truth, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, Seeker, Speaker, Seer and ask.

Percy stepped up to the Oracle and bowed slightly. She may not be alive anymore but he was still going to treat her with respect. “Χαιρετίσματα, My Lady. Am I allowed a prophecy for my quest?”

All of a sudden Percy sat straight up, his muscles tensing. His eyes glowed the same color as Greek Fire, a bright and burning green. He absently noted Melania’s eye sockets do the same. Green smoke poured out of her mouth covering the floor. Percy noticed every time he breathed out, green smoke exited his mouth and nose instead of the colorless carbon dioxide that should be.

“You shall go west to face the God who has turned,” 

“You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned,”

“You shall be betrayed by one who you called a friend,”

“You shall fail to save what matters most in the end,”

“You shall find the heroes taken and stored,”

“And you shall gain the favor of the Magic Lord.”

Percy inhaled a sharp breath when the two prophets finished speaking the prophecies. The mummy sank back into her chair. Percy had to put his hands on his knees and try to take deep breaths, speaking that prophecy had taken a lot out of him. Already he could feel blood running down his lips, there was not only blood coming from his nose, but also his mouth, he discovered when he coughed into his hand a red was left..

“Well done, κοράκι μου.” A voice said. Percy looked up to find Apollo standing before him. He tried to stand up but stumbled and Apollo steadied him by his shoulders. Percy blinked slowly and coughed again, bringing attention to his bleeding. Apollo wiped the blood off his face and hand,and stopped the nosebleed. No more blood came from his mouth.

“I feel sleepy.” Percy said. 

“That's normal. Here.” Apollo handed Percy a juice box. When Percy took a cautious sip his eyes lit up and he quickly drank all of it. 

“What was in that?” Percy asked.

Apollo smiled. “It was strawberry juice infused with sea water. It’s made for those born of the seas and sold on Olympus.” Percy nodded.

“Why did blood come out of my mouth? That hasn’t happened before.”

“It’s because it’s the first time you’ve given a prophecy. Your sight hasn’t gotten used to it yet. If you end up giving more prophecies it'll only happen one or two more times before you stop coughing blood.” Apollo said, ever the educator. Percy nodded, his head on his patron’s shoulder. “I have to go now, Percy. I’ll see you soon. Stay safe.” Apollo cradled Percy’s face in his hands, kissed his forehead, and disappeared with a flash.

Percy went back down the stairs, back to the porch and sat down heavily at the pinochle table. “I have the prophecy.”

Chiron gestured at him to continue. Percy didn’t want to but he knew it was important to tell the whole prophecy. He repeated it.

Chiron seemed deep in thought. Grover seemed anxious. Percy was still stuck in his head, mulling over the words of his first prophecy.

“The god in the west…” Percy said, thinking allowed. There was one. The Chthonic King. Percy thought that was the most likely choice, not even including his visions.

“Ah, think, Percy,” Chiron said. “If The Sky King and The Sea Lord weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?”

“The Titans? They ruled before the gods so I’d imagine they’d appreciate the throne back.”

“…No,” Chiron said, but he was looking at Percy with an odd expression. “They are too tightly locked away to do anything. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the death of millions.”

Percy sighed inwardly. Percy didn’t think that it was Hades who stole the Master Bolt, Hermes would be more likely and Hermes wouldn’t do that unless he had a death wish, he’s not stupid enough to try, but he knew where his visions wanted him to go and so he would. Percy knew that the Helm of Darkness was also missing so maybe they would find the Helm and the Hades would help them? Percy had no idea. Though he didn’t know why Chiron would think it was Hades. Surely the immortal hero trainer didn’t actually think it was Hades.

“W-what? Y-you can’t be serious. Please tell me you're not serious.” Grover said pleadingly. 

“A Fury went after Percy. She only attacked him when she was sure of his identity. The Furies only obey one lord: The Chthonic King.” Chiron said sagely. Grover whimpered. “There was a hellhound in the forest. Those can only be summoned from the fields of punishment and can only be summoned from inside the Camp. The Chthonic King must have a spy here. He must suspect The Sea Lord to use Percy to retrieve The Master Bolt. He must want to kill this demigod before he can go on this quest.”

“But a quest to…” Grover swallowed nervously. “I mean, couldn’t the Master Bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine’s very nice this time of year.”

Percy silently agreed with his best friend. 

“But why take the Bolt in the first place?” Chiron stopped, frowning at Percy’s question. “I mean…you said a war between my Lord Father and The Sky King would make The Chthonic King’s domain more powerful with all of the deaths. But…death is inevitable. Why would he create a war to add more souls to his domain when he could just wait a couple decades for everybody that would’ve been killed in the war to die on their own? What’s a few decades to an immortal?” 

“You make a good point, my boy. But it’s not only the deaths the war would cause that would give The Chthonic King power, it’s the weakening of his brothers. I don’t pretend to understand his motives perfectly, or why he chose now to start a war, but one thing is certain. You must go to the Underworld, find the Master Bolt, and reveal the truth.”

Percy sighed and twirled a strand of hair in between his fingers. His father was right. This was going to be a difficult month.

Someone had stolen the Master Bolt and the Helmet of Darkness, though no-one but Percy, Hades, and Persephone knew about the latter, and now it was Percy’s job to find and return them because if Percy was going to get the Master Bolt he might as well find the Helm of Darkness too.

The God in the prophecy was worrying. Any god that would try to kill them on this quest would be their biggest problem. 

Percy glanced at his friend. Grover was chewing on a few playing cards.

“You don’t have to go.” Percy assured his friend. “I couldn’t ask that of you.”

“Oh…” Grover shifted in his seat. “No…it’s just that satyrs and the underground…well…lets just say we don’t mix.”

He shuddered, then a determined look settled on his face. “You saved my life, Percy. If…if you’re serious about wanting me along, then I won’t let you down. If you’ll have me, I’d be glad to join your quest.”

Percy smiled thankfully at Grover, his oldest and dearest friend, the bravest satyr he knew.

“Obviously, G-man.”

“Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help.” Chiron said.

Percy smiled at the faint silver outline of a familiar girl standing next to the table. “You wanna join us, Wise Girl?”

“Athena is no fan of Poseidon but I’ve been waiting a long time for a quest, Percy Jackson.” Annabeth Chase said, like there was a single person in all of Camp Half-Blood who didn’t know about her Cabin fever. “If you’ll have me I’d be glad to join your quest.”

“I accept your proposal to join my quest. Three is the best number.” Percy said, holding out a fist.

Annabeth smiled victoriously and fist-bumped him.

“How are we going to get to the Underworld anyway, Chiron? Do you know where the entrance is?” Annabeth asked.

Chiron nodded. “The entrance to the Underworld is in California, LA to be exact. Argus will take you three to the bus terminal after lunch. From there you will be on your own. Iris Call to update every four days.”

“C’mon, you two. If we leave at lunch we will need to start packing and saying farewells now.” Annabeth said.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10 - June 10th, 2005, New York, NY, An Exploded Bus And A Stone Garden

    Percy was solemn on his way back to his Cabin. No one was outside anymore because of the rain so he was left to his own thoughts. He kept mulling over the words of the prophecy in his head. His first prophecy. He sighed as he made his way up the porch stairs to his Cabin. When he stepped through the door he began packing, he only had about two hours left in Camp after all. 

Percy packed his bag the way his mom taught him. A demigod’s life is always dangerous so just in case, he had been taught how to properly pack a bag. He had some Drachma, some mortal money, granola bars, a few changes of clothes, the raven plushie from Apollo, his water bottle, the tissues Silena gave him, and a few other things. He slipped in his notebook and pen in his backpack last minute. He slid his dagger into the holster on his thigh. Beckendorf had gotten it for him when he realized that θαλάσσιο λιοντάρι didn’t have a disguised form. Percy put on his blue windbreaker and tied on his converse. He braided his hair and tugged on his backpack. He double checked he still had his golden bracelet on. Hopefully it would help keep monsters away during the quest.

The conch horn blew for lunch and as Percy stepped down his Cabin stairs he couldn’t help an odd foreboding feeling bury in his stomach. This quest would set something unstoppable in motion. 

—

Percy was stopped on his way to the pavilion by a voice calling out to him from the hearth. 

“ Ανιψιός, come please.” Hestia said.

Percy walked over to the fiery hearth, still blazing bright even in the gloomy day.  The rain had let up in Camp, the outside world still getting battered by the storm. Hestia was sitting on the opposite side of the hearth from him.

 “Auntie?”

Hestia smiled kindly at him, her fiery hair flickering. “I have found who has taken your mother.”

Percy perked up, his eyes going into what Auntie Bronze called “Baby Seal Mode”. Hestia laughed quietly, he looked like a puppy begging for a bone.

“When I checked the Underworld I found that my eldest brother had taken your mother. She is not dead, mind. I am not sure why he has taken her, but if you are to go on a quest to the Underworld, you might want to make a deal with Him. Though be careful if you do, make sure that there are no loopholes.”

“You know I'm going on a quest?” Percy asked.

“Ah,” Hestia said. “I often leave at least part of my presence at Camp at all times. I hope you don’t mind me eavesdropping.”

“No, it’s fine.” Percy said. His brows scrunched together and a light frown appeared on his face.

Hades had his mom, huh?

Percy would be getting her back, one way or another.

—

    Percy was picking at his food, too anxious to truly eat much. The Campers kept stealing glances at him, Annabeth, and sometimes Grover. Annabeth was talking quietly to her siblings, one of her older brothers kept fussing over her and putting more food on her plate. She seemed to want to look annoyed but Percy had always been good at reading people and knew she really did appreciate it. Percy noticed that the other children of Athena were putting things in Annabeth’s hair. They were things like hair clips, pearls, their feathers, ribbons, and one of her sisters was stood behind her, putting her hair up in an intricate braided bun.

Grover was sitting at the Cabin 12 table with Mr. D, the twins, and other nature spirits. He was nervously chewing on a tin can. Percy watched as Grover talked to the other satyrs. It seemed like he had informed Pollux and Castor of their quest because at one point they looked back at him and Castor mouthed, “Quest?”

Percy responded with a nod.

Their faces looked grim as they turned back to their food, whispering to each other. Eventually lunch came to an end, people started filing out of the dining pavilion.

“May I?” Silena asked as she made her way to the Poseidon table.

“Hmm?” Percy questioned.

Silena smiled softly. “Us demigods have a tradition to give our friends something to adorn their hair with before they leave for a quest or battle.” She explained patiently. That was when Percy noticed she was holding something. She had a hair clip embedded with a pearl in her right hand. 

“Oh.” Percy said dumbly. “Sure.” Percy had been here for just over a week and Silena already trusted him enough to give him something of hers to go on a quest with and bring it back..

Silena clipped the hair clip into his hair. “ We do this as a way of giving luck.” She explained. “We are giving you something of ours that we trust you are going to give back when you arrive home safely.”

A few others Came up to Percy before he left as well. 

Castor and Pollux gave him a charm that attached to his hair tie.

“You got this.” Pollux said as he pulled Percy into a hug.

“I believe in you, Perce.” Castor said as he gave him an anxious smile, squeezing Percy’s hand reassuringly.

Castor looked back only once while he and his brother headed towards the amphitheater.

Travis and Conner both gave him colorful strings that he tied into his braid.

Theo gave him a string of beads that he clipped onto his temples and draped over the back of his head.

Katie eyed him as she handed him a flower hair clip that he attached to the base of his braid. “There's something about you, Percy Jackson, that makes me believe you’ll give this back when your quest is over. Prove me right.”

Percy smiled at the older girl as she walked away.

Micha gave him a few of his feathers that Percy tucked behind his ear.

“Please come back home.” The kid said as he hugged Percy tightly.

“I’ll try my best.” Percy whispered.

Luke was the last person to say goodbye to the trio, Lou Ellen following after him.

“Hey,” Luke said. “I wanted to catch you three before you left.” Luke pulled out a light blue hair bow from his pocket. “May I?”

Annabeth nodded and watched as Luke tied it to one of her braids.

“I have something I think that will help you on your quest Percy.” The son of Hermes said. He held up a pair of red sneakers Percy tilted his head curiously. “Maia!” Luke shouted

Suddenly the shoes grew white wings that started to flutter wildly. Luke let go of the rampant shoes and they took off, circling around Percy a few times before landing in his outstretched hands. The moment the shoes touched his fingers Percy felt a distinct sense of wrong wash over him. It made Percy want to drop the shoes and run back to his Cabin. Percy felt as if sand was surrounding him, suffocating him.

“They were a gift from my Dad for my quest.” Luke explained “I don’t use them anymore and I figured they should be put to good use.”

Percy felt it was wrong to give away a gift from a god. Percy didn’t know what to do with the shoes. He didn’t want to insult Luke, and possibly Hermes, by rejecting this gift but, he didn’t want to wear them and he sure as hell wasn’t going to give shoes that felt so wrong to one of his questmates.

Percy smiled as best he could. “Thanks!” He told Luke. He slipped out of his blue converse and put on the red sneakers. 

“No prob’ kid.” Luke ruffled Grover’s hair and set off towards the Lake.

Percy looked towards Lou with a question. The thirteen year old looked at him with a smile. “I’m a daughter of Hecate so I can put a spell on your accessories so they don’t fall out of your hair. Would you like me to?”

Percy smiled gratefully at her. “Please.” Annabeth nodded her assent too.

Lou muttered something under her breath and a small ball out of purple magic condensed in her palm. Lou booped him on the nose and the magic washed over him, shimmering and dancing over him until it only left a faint purple sheen over his hair. She did the same to Annabeth.

“Come back safe will you? I’d like to see if my handy work holds up.” Lou walked off with a wink, her tail swishing behind her.

“C’mon you two, Chiron’s waiting for us.” Annabeth said.

—

    Chiron was indeed waiting for them at the top of Half-Blood Hill, next to Thalia’s pine tree. Standing next to him was a man that Percy had seen around Camp. The hands of the man’s arms were a deep turquoise color and he had a laurel wreath with lilies and peacock feathers in it sitting on the top of his head. He had a peacock feather tail swaying behind him. That wasn’t even mentioning the eyes. The man had six eyes on his face alone and more on the rest of his body. There were also eyes floating around him, around 4 by his head alone.

“This is Argus,” Chiron said. “He will be driving you to the bus stop and will be there to er- keep an eye on things.” 

Percy snickered at the bad joke.

Chiron gave Percy and Annabeth both bags of ambrosia and tumblers of nectar while he gave Grover a roll of bandages and disinfectant. He also gave them around twenty five golden drachmas and a hundred and fifty dollars in mortal money. Chiron gave them some trail mix, beef jerky, dried fruits, and a jar of peanut butter and crackers, all of which were made by the camp except the peanut butter. He also gave them each a iridescent crystal that when put into direct light, made rainbows that allowed for Iris messaging,a convenient way to contact anyone with the help of the rainbow goddess, Iris.

They spoke with Chiron for a moment but Annabeth and Grover quickly went into one of the Camp Van with ‘Delphi Delivery Service’ on it, Argus following after them. Chiron put his hand on Percy’s shoulder before he could follow his friends.

“If only you could’ve had more time to be trained Percy.” The immortal centaur said. “I wish we had more time. Heracles, Jason, they all got more time to train.”

“That’s okay.” Percy said, trying to reassure the old centaur.

“Here, child. I can’t let you leave without this.” He pulled out a pen from his pocket, a familiar pen. He handed it to Percy. “This was a gift from your father. He had given it to me years ago and I had not a clue who it was for. But it is clear to me now, this is yours.”

Percy twirled the pen in his hand, staring at the faint blue shimmer surrounding it. It was magic, someone had made this sword and put their whole being into it. The magic felt like running through the woods, chasing something intangible. 

“Go on, uncap it." Said Chiron.

When Percy did as told, the pen morphed into a beautiful sword that sat perfectly in Percy’s hand. It was the best a weapon had ever fit in his palm, it felt right . It was a seaforged sword made out of someones’ very essence. Percy wondered how his father had gotten this sword in the first place. There was a name on the side of the sword, Ανακλυσμός. Riptide. Percy also noticed that there were the initials of the crafter at the butt of the sword, ZN. Hm.

“Its name is Riptide.” Percy said.

“Indeed. Now, only use it for emergencies and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, that's what your teeth and claws are for, but this sword wouldn’t harm them in any case.”

“Because it’s made of celestial bronze.”

“Yes. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It will pass through mortals like a hologram. They are simply not important enough to kill. Unlike you, as a demigod. You are twice as vulnerable: able to be killed by either celestial or normal weapons.”

“How nice.” Percy responded sarcastically.

“One last thing about this sword Percy. You cannot lose it, luckily, I've seen how many pens you lost in class.” Chiron chuckled. “It’s enchanted. It will always return to your pocket. Though it may take a few moments.”

Percy recapped the pen and put it in his pocket. “Cool.” He grinned wickedly. 

It was like Chiron could sense Percy’s nerves as he put a hand on his shoulder. “Relax. Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history.”

Percy turned and nodded. “Yeah, sure. Να είσαι καλά, Chiron.”

Chiron nodded. “ Να είσαι καλά, my boy.”

---   

    “You said Athena was no fan of Poseidon. Why?”

Annabeth huffed from where she was sitting on the other side of the Camp Van. Her yankees cap was attached to her belt and her backpack was resting by her feet. Grover was sitting in between them. The satyr had somehow fallen asleep in the ten minutes since they had left Camp. “Back when ancient Greece was still the home of the gods, Athena and Poseidon had a competition to become the patron of Athens, the capital of Greece. Athena created the olive tree and Poseidon presented a saltwater fountain. I thought you already knew this?”

Percy nodded. “I did know that. What confuses me is the fact that they still hold a grudge for it. It was thousands of years ago. Surely it would be water under the bridge by now wouldn’t it?”

Annabeth shrugged. “That’s just what I had been taught. I don’t know why they still hold a grudge. Gods are weird.”

It didn’t take long for them to get to the bus terminal. Argus helped them out and made sure they had their tickets before leaving. The giant didn’t talk but he patted their heads before he left. They sat together on the bench and played Hacky Sack while they waited. Annabeth was amazing at it, she would show off by bouncing it off her knee, elbow, forehead even. Percy wasn’t bad but she was definitely better. The game came to an end when the apple came too close to Grover’s mouth and he ate it whole with one big goat bite. He had blushed a bright red from the tips of his ears to the base of his neck. 

Percy subtly kept the rain from splashing on his friends, even from under the roof of the bus stop it would still splatter them. He didn’t mind when it got on him, it made him feel better even. The wind was still howling when the Greyhound pulled up.

Percy stopped the other two from storing their backpacks as they went to find a seat in the back of the bus. “Don’t store your stuff, you never know when we might need to get off the bus quickly.”

Grover and Annabeth nodded and kept their backpacks on. Grover began sniffing around oddly, tilting his head every which way as if trying to pick up on a very faint smell. Percy could relate, he could tell something was off too. He sensed a familiar magic from outside the bus. It was like there was something that was breathing down his neck, claws tracing his arm. Eyes always watching him. The smell of like asphodels and a hint of sweet pomegranates reached his nose. There were three different magics.

For fucks sake, really Uncle H?

A bony hand flicked his forehead. Percy scrunched his nose.

Percy watched as the last passengers got on the bus. Three old ladies all dressed in a different  bright monocolored outfit, complete with giant sun hats and long white gloves. Percy’s blood ran cold. He tapped his friends’ knees. “Guys,” He subtly gestured over at the women who had crossed their legs over the aisle, creating an X. It was subtle but the message was clear: no one is leaving. “Monsters. The Kindly Ones.”

Annabeth sniffed sharply and straightened her posture. Grover shivered and shrunk in his seat. They kept silent while they sat in the bus. They didn’t look at the old ladies, didn’t acknowledge them at all, but it still seemed as if they moved they would be instantly attacked. 

“Any way to get out besides the front?” Annabeth asked. 

“The windows don’t open and there is no back exit.” 

Annabeth glared at nothing in particular. “That’s not safe even for the mortals. What if there was a fire, or a crash, or-”

“Annabeth,” Percy cut in. “Focus.”

“Αγαπητοί αθάνατοι θεοί” Grover muttered. His pupils were sideways now, more so than ever. “All three Kindly Ones. What even is our luck?”

Percy winced. “That might be my luck actually. Sorry, I guess.”

The bus was in almost complete darkness when the entered the Lincoln tunnel.

The one is the magenta dress - Ms. Dodds - stood up, her silhouette barely visible. “I need to use the restroom.” She announced.

“Me too.” The teal one said.

“Me as well.” Said the demon grandmother in the orange dress.

“Okay, I got it.” Annabeth said. “Percy take my hat and go up the front. Press the emergency break, open the doors and leave. It’s you they want. Maybe if you go up there they will leave us alone.”

Percy shook his head. “That won’t work. Besides, even if it would, I'm not gonna leave you guys here.”

“Your scent is stronger so there's a chance they might not smell us.” 

Percy huffed but nodded. He took Annabeth’s Yankees cap and put it on. An odd magic flowed over his skin and clothes and the magic felt like a viscous liquid was running down him. It smelt extremely strong of fresh olives and outlined him in silver. He looked back to his friends. 

“All good?” He whispered. 

“Yes, now go!” Annabeth hissed.

Percy walked down the aisle towards the furies. He stopped a few seats in front of them and slid into a seat. He waited until they passed to get up again. Percy walked up next to the driver, searching for the emergency stop button. He didn’t get a chance to however, because a hideous wail let out behind him.

Percy whipped around and spotted the hell that had broken loose in the twenty seconds he had been turned around. The mortals were screaming and cowering against the windows and walls. He didn’t know what they were seeing but it must have not been nice. The demon grandmothers had shed their disguises. Their paisley purses had turned into fiery whips and the crinkly dresses had melted into long, flowy chitons that seemed to suck in the light around them.

The teal one hissed and shouted, “Where is it? Where!”

It.

Not him.

They were looking for the Helm of Darkness presumably.

And they thought Percy and his friends had it.

Percy groaned internally. What was it with immortal deities thinking he stole their stuff?

The Furies raised, snapped their whips and snarled. Annabeth got out her dagger and Grover opened his bag of tin cans. Before it could get any further Percy reached out and snatched the wheel from the distracted driver. The driver and passengers yelled out in alarm as they were thrown to the right. Hopefully the crashing sounds were the furies and not his friends. The driver and Percy wrestled for control of the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, sending fiery orange sparks in a trail behind them. Cars were swerving and trying to get out of the way of the out of control bus.

Percy looked back at his friends. Annabeth was slashing and the furies and dancing back when they whipped at her. Grover was throwing cans at the demon grandmothers distracting them whenever they got too close to Annabeth. This needed to end quickly.

The driver somehow found an exit on the road, Percy didn’t know how he could see in the harsh rain, careening towards the Hudson river. Percy then had another brilliant plan; press the big red button. Percy slammed his hand down on the emergency break. The bus made a horrible screeching noise and it smelled like something broke. The bus spun until they lost all momentum. The driver hit the ‘open door’ button and hauled ass out of the bus. The other passengers followed quickly.

A shout sounded out from behind him, it was Annabeth. Percy whipped around and got out Riptide. It would be his first time fighting with his new sword. He went quickly towards his friends, stabbing one fury in the back and killing her before she had a chance to so much as yell. He took off Annabeth’s yankees cap and stuffed it in his pocket, Golden dust coated his blade as he moved forward to the other furies. Annabeth had just gotten the better of the other fury he didn’t know the name of while Grover had distracted her. All that was left was Ms. Dodds. She lashed out with her whip at Percy and he ducked just in time. Annabeth came up behind her and tried to stab her but Ms. Dodds flicked her whip at Annabeth and she was forced to back up to not get burned.

Grover threw two consecutive tin cans at the fury causing her to roar in annoyance. She turned to Grover, allowing Percy to lunge forward and slash through her back, killing her and turning her into dust. 

A strange scent filled Percy’s nose. It was the smell of evergreen and oak bark, ozone and petrichor. He heard the screeching of eagles and the huffing of bulls in the distance. Percy felt the hairs on the back of his neck and arms stand up and-

Percy saw a flash of light behind his eyes. He watched as the bus he was currently standing exploded from a bolt of lightning.

“We need to get out.” Percy said with deadly seriousness. “Now.” He grabbed their wrists and made for the door.

“Percy what-”

“Now.” The seriousness of his voice must’ve convinced them because they followed him without any complaints.

They were less than 30 feet away when Percy looked back at their bus. Light flashed behind his eyes as lightning struck down.

BOOOOM!!

The roof of the bus crashed in on itself and the windows shattered. Percy held his arm in front of his face. He felt shards of glass cut into his skin and a few small shards embed themselves into his arm. Percy’s heart was beating so fast he could hear it. 

“C’mon. Let’s leave. We don’t need to stick around here any longer.” Percy gasped.

Annabeth nodded, her braids were coming out of her braid but none of her accessories had come out. “Yeah, let's go.”

---

    They were still running in the woods around an hour later. The rain still hadn’t let up yet, it was clouding what little they could see in the darkness of the night. Percy was keeping the water off of his friends. This time they definitely noticed but they didn’t say anything.

“Did you hear what the furies said?” Annabeth asked. “They said, “Where is it?” Not ‘where is he.’”

Grover made an agreeing noise. 

“Yeah, I noticed that too. What do you think they were looking for? I don’t think they would be asking us about the bolt.” Percy asked, trying to lead his friends to the right conclusion on their own.

“I don’t know.” Grover said. “The Lord of The Dead was also at the winter solstice. What if-what if something was stolen from him too?”

Annabeth nodded. “That’s a good theory. Though, why would he not say anything if that were the case?”

“Uncle H was kicked off Mt. Olympus thousands of years ago simply for getting the Underworld domain and the Myths don’t exactly paint the relationship between the Olympians and The Lord Of The Dead in a good light.” Percy actually had seen interactions between Hades and the other Gods in his visions and Percy honestly felt bad for his uncle. If his uncle did think Percy stole his helm, it would make sense to try to lure Percy into the underworld with his mother so Percy was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

Though if his uncle hurt his mom in any way he couldn’t be blamed for his actions against his Underworldly uncle.

Annabeth looked at him consideringly. “That’s a good thought, Seaweed Brain, keep it in your head.”

Percy raised an eyebrow at Annabeth, or where he thought Annabeth was, he still couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of him. “Seaweed Brain?”

Percy watched as what he thought was one of Annabeth’s shoulders went up and down. “You're a Son of The Sea God. Seaweed. You have a good mind. Brain.”

Percy smiled. “You think I have a good brain?” He asked.

Annabeth huffed. “Don’t make me regret that.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a shrill sound, like an owl being tortured. Percy saw a faint lime magic swirl around the roots of the trees.

“My reed pipes are still okay!” Grover exclaimed. “Now if only I could remember the ‘Find Path’ song.” He muttered.

Grover played a song on his reed pipes that sounded suspiciously like Hillary Duff.

Percy went to move a branch out of the way from his face when a sharp pain in his arm made him hiss.

Annabeth and Grover looked over to him. “You okay?” Grover asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just the glass from the broken windows, a few pieces got stuck in my arm.” Percy stated.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Annabeth asked.

Percy winced. “I forgot.” He said but it came out as more of a question.

Annabeth huffed. “I can get the glass out. I have really good night vision.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Percy said gratefully.

Annabeth nodded in acceptance. They stopped while Annabeth carefully pulled the glass shards out of his arm. Grover shifted and began to play a different tune, though this one wasn’t much better than the last.

The small cuts healed very quickly after Annabeth removed the glass, leaving his arm unmarked. “There, All done.” Annabeth said once she finished. 

“Thanks, Owl Eyes.”

Grover snickered. “Owl Eyes?” Annabeth asked.

“You have great owl eyes.”

Annabeth smiled as they continued walking in the woods.

They stumbled and tripped through the woods until something delicious filled their noses. Percy’s stomach rumbled. It smelled like delicious fried food and Percy didn’t think he had ever been more hungry. “Do you smell that?” He asked.

Annabeth licked her lips. “Yeah. Food. ”

They hurried another 30 yards before they stumbled to a road. Across the street there was an old shut-down gas station, a billboard, trash all over the street, and a roadside curio shop where the smell was coming from. In front of the shop were a few life-size stone statues that looked oddly familiar but Percy couldn’t place where he’d seen them. There was a very faint green fog surrounding the building.

There was a giant neon sign in front of the building that Percy assumed was the name of the place but Percy’s dyslexia was acting up and it looked like. “ATNYU M’ES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM.”

“What does that say?” he asked Grover, the only one in their trio who didn’t have dyslexia.

“Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium.” He said nervously. “I-i don't think we should go in guys, it smells wrong.” 

Annabeth sniffed. “Your nose is probably stopped up. All I smell is good food and we haven’t eaten in hours.” She grabbed the satyrs wrist and moved toward the shop. Percy followed quickly after them.

When they got to the door Annabeth stepped in front of her friends with a quick, “I got this.”

The door opened after only a moment when Annabeth knocked on it. The woman who opened the door was covered head-to-toe in a long dress-like garment. The only visible things were her snake-like eyes and her caramel colored hands. 

“Oh, Hello, dears. What can I do for you?” The woman said. Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern. Percy felt like there was something that was breathing down his neck, claws tracing down his arm. Eyes always watching him. He heard snakes whispering in his ears. He pushed it to the back of his mind, it must’ve just been his nerves.

Annabeth fake sniffed and trembled her chin. “W-we are lost ma’am. We were traveling with my parents when we lost them in a crowd. C-can we call them?”

The woman tutted in sympathy. “Of course you can. Would you like to eat while you wait?”

Percy nodded. “Please.”

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover followed the woman into the diner. There were more familiar stone statues everywhere in the building. They ranged from women to children, satyrs to griffins, from warriors to adventurers. They all shared one trait, however. Each and every face was contorted in fear, horror, and sometimes disgust. Whenever he looked into one of their eyes, his muscles locked up and his lungs stopped working for a moment. 

The woman, who Percy assumed was ‘Auntie Em’, led them to an area in the back with grated steel picnic tables. They dropped their bags on the floor next to the table.

“Here, sit children.” Auntie Em said.

“Thank you miss.” Percy said.

“Uhm.” Grover said “We don’t have any money.”

She shook her head. “No need dears, it's on me.” She left towards the snack bar while they sat at the table. Percy started to feel really sleepy all of a sudden. His head swayed a little.

“Percy? Are you okay?” One of his friends asked.

Percy shook his head as if to get rid of the sleepiness behind his eyes. “Yeah I’m fine. I guess I’m just tired.”

Annabeth looked at him with worry but nodded.

Auntie Em came back with their food and Percy’s stomach growled.

“Two double cheeseburgers and one double plant-made burger for the vegetarian.” She said putting the trays with fries, milkshakes, and burgers on the table. “Eat up.”

“Thank you Ma’am.” Percy didn’t have the brain power to consider how Auntie Em knew Grover was a vegetarian. Annabeth and Percy dug into their food quickly but Grover picked at his fries and didn’t eat much, he kept looking at Auntie Em nervously while her eyes raked over Percy and Annabeth.

Percy tried to make small talk while eating but his head was filled with fog and he couldn’t get anything out.

“Did you make these statues?” Annabeth asked.

“Ah, yes. It is a hobby of mine. I used to have two sisters who helped me but they are long gone by now.” Auntie Em answered.

Annabeth stiffened but she relaxed just as fast so Percy figured he had imagined it. Annabeth’s silvery gray magic flickered around her and it dimmed and became harder to detect, as if Annabeth was subconsciously trying to hide it. Huh.

“Do you get much business all the way out here?” Annabeth asked, her voice strained.

“Oh, no, unfortunately not, so I cherish every customer I get.” The hissing of snakes reached his ears, barely breaking through the fog in his mind.

Grover flickered his eyes to Annabeth and some silent words passed through them but Percy couldn’t tell what. That made Percy annoyed, he was usually more perceptive than this but he was just too sleepy. Both of them tried to catch his eyes but his eyelids were drooping and it was becoming more and more difficult to keep them open.

Soon they finished their food and Auntie Em asked for a photo. “I like having photos to reference my statues on.”

Grover and Annabeth agreed but Percy couldn’t get words out of his mouth. Annabeth tugged on his arm. “C’mon Seaweed Brain, the sooner we get this done with, the sooner we can leave.” She said quietly. 

Percy allowed Annabeth to drag him along outside where there were even more statues. Percy felt dozens of eyes watching him. 

“You okay?” Annabeth muttered worriedly while Grover was distracting Auntie Em. Percy made a non-committal hum which just seemed to make Annabeth more worried.

The three sat down on a bench in the middle of the stone garden.

“There’s not much light for a photo.” Annabeth remarked, shifting from her place the middle of the two boys. Percy rested his head on her shoulder, finding it too heavy to keep up straight. Annabeth took his hand in hers, squeezing tightly for a moment.

“Enough to see each other, no?” Auntie Em said.

“Uh w-where’s your camera miss?”

Auntie Em ignored his question. “Now, the face is the most difficult part. Please, everyone give me a big smile.”

Grover nervously looked at the stone statue of a satyr next to him. “That sure looks like Uncle Ferdiand.”

“Grover,” Auntie Em chastised. “Look this way please.”

She still had no camera in her hands.

“Percy-” Annabeth said. Some instinct told me to listen to what she had to say but he could barely stay awake, slowly falling to sleep from the food and the old lady's voice.

“I will be just a moment.” Auntie Em said. “I can’t see very well past this cursed veil…”

“Percy, something's wrong.” Annabeth said with deadly seriousness.

“Wrong?” Auntie Em questioned. “Nothings wrong dear. I’m in such noble company tonight, what could be wrong?”

“That is Uncle Ferdinand!” Grover shouted.

“Don’t look at her!” Annabeth shouted. She pushed Grover to the ground and tackled Percy who was slowly getting out of his sleep-like daze. Percy heard many hissing noises coming from his left. His eyes wandered over to it but Annabeth stopped him before he could see anything.

“Keep your eyes to the floor, Seaweed Brain.” Annabeth muttered. Percy saw her move from her place next to him and the next moment Auntie Em, no, Auntie M roared in anger. Annabeth scrambled up and dragged Percy up with her. Percy heard the scrambling of hooves on the other side of the bench so he assumed Grover got away. Medusa was more focused on them anyway.

Annabeth and Percy ran through the maze of stone people and eventually came to a stop when they ran out of breath and couldn’t hear Medusa. Annabeth turned to Percy. “Are you better now?”

Percy nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine now. That was really weird, I’m pretty sure that was her magic.” Percy shuttered. “I hate that.”

Annabeth nodded in acceptance. “Okay, now what…I don’t even have a weapon anymore.”

“You can have my dagger until we get yours back.” He offered, snagging θαλάσσιο λιοντάρι out of its sheath. He offered it to her.

“O-oh. Thanks Percy.” She smiled gratefully at him.

Annabeth looked around and spotted something on the floor. She walked over to it and grabbed it. It was one of those crystal balls fortune tellers always used in movies. She walked back to Percy.

“I’ll use this so I don’t get turned to stone and I'll distract her while you come from behind and kill her.” Annabeth said. She looked over to a set of statues, a woman and a man holding hands. “We can’t let anything like this happen again.”

Percy nodded. “Good idea. I’ll follow a bit after you.”

Annabeth set off with a determined look on her face. Percy waited about thirty seconds before following. Eventually they found Medusa. 

“You miserable satyr!” Medusa shouted with anger.

Percy saw as Grover ducked behind a statue just in time for Medusa to not see where he was.

“Oi! Snake Face, over here!” Annabeth yelled. Her back was to Medusa but she was looking at Medusa through the glass ball.

Annabeth continued to distract her while Percy snuck around until he was at her back. Her skin was white as snow and her hair was a pile of writhing snakes. She had one inch claws that were sharper than knives. He slowly stalked forward until he was just a few feet from Medusa. He uncapped Riptide and lunged forward, slicing his blade through Medusa’s neck. She fell into golden dust and he quickly shut his eyes when her head fell to the floor.

“No one move yet.” Percy carefully walked forward and took off his jacket and dropped it over the decapitated head. “You can look now.” He stated. 

Annabeth turned around and dropped the glass ball to the floor while Grover came out from behind the statue.

“Oh, yuck. Mega yuck.” Grover said.

“What do we do with it?” Percy asked.

“Well, since you killed her it’s your spoil of war, you get to choose what to do with it.” Annabeth stated.

Percy nodded slowly. “Let's take it inside. We need to grab our things and I need to wash off my jacket.” He winced. His jacket was now very gross.

—

    They found some plastic bags in the warehouse of the curio shop and plopped it down on the table. Percy took his jacket under one of the big sinks in the kitchen and cleaned off the gunk. When he was done he got the water out of it with his powers. He didn’t feel comfortable wearing it even after he cleaned it so he just tied it around his waist and went back to his friends.

“What now?” Annabeth asked.

The more Percy thought about it the angrier he became. He was on a quest for the Zeus yet he had exploded their bus. They hadn't been out of Camp for even a full day and they had already been attacked by famous monsters twice.

And if he did this, he could just claim that he was giving his spoil of war to his father. 

Percy got up from his seat. 

“Percy?” Annabeth asked.

“One minute.”

Percy went into Medusa’s office and looked around. He found the right sized box. He looked through the register and found a bit of cash and some drachma. He snagged some Hermes Overnight Delivery slips and a pouch. The log book showed an address, the address to the Underworld. DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. He grabbed it and put it in his pocket.

He went back to the table where his friends were at. He set up the box and put the head in it. He tapped it up and filled out the delivery slip.

“They’re not gonna like that.” Grover said nervously. “They’ll think you’re impertinent.”

Percy put a few golden drachma in the pouch. As soon as Percy closed it there was a sound like a cash register and the package floated off the table, spun once, and with a pop disappeared.

“I am impertinent.” Said Percy.

Annabeth sighed. She seemed resigned that Percy had a talent for ticking off the gods. “Come on.” She sighed. “We need a new plan.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 11 - June 11th-13th, 2005, St. Louis, MO, Taking A Dive (Fall)

    Percy held the door open while his friends entered the train car. They were on a west-bound Amtrak train. They had pooled together their mortal money and had just enough for three train tickets. They did not, however, have enough for a sleeper car which would’ve been nice on the long train ride.

The three of them settled in just in time for the train to start up, trying to ignore the mortals every time one of them glanced at them uncomfortably.

They spent a few days on the train, waiting for the train to bring them all the way to Denver. The train had to make a stop in St. Louis two days in and Annabeth had asked if they could go sightseeing when they got there. Percy and Grover both agreed, they figured they would want to stretch their legs and hopefully a little sightseeing wouldn’t hurt. They watched as bright hills and sparkling lakes and amber wheat fields passed by the windows of the train car. Percy couldn’t sit still most of the ride, pacing up and down the cars and getting their meals whenever they were served. He hoped his bracelet would keep any monsters from noticing them but he could never be 100% sure.

After only being attacked by normal monsters all his life, then being attacked by Hades’ three torturers and being lured into Medusa's den, all of which were very powerful monsters, Percy’s nerves were taught. 

During the first afternoon of their trip Annabeth had gotten so annoyed with Percy’s excessive pacing, him trying to get all his energy out, that she snapped and told him to sit down or she was going to throw him out of the train. 

Percy quickly obeyed the scary demigoddess and sat down next to Grover. 

The traitorous satyr had just laughed at Percy’s peril and handed him his backpack so he could find something to keep himself busy. He fished out his notepad and pen and flipped through his notepad. He stopped on the page Percy had dubbed “Medusa’s Verse.”

“ When man comes close,

Shall it’s strikes be gross,

For it sits and waits,

For those it hates,”

He guessed he knew why it was relevant now.

Percy continued to flip through the pages until he reached a blank one. He wrote for a while, not really having a plan, just writing whatever his hand and pen wanted. He was always intrigued about what prophecy wrote or drew for him. Eventually one thing he wrote caught his eye.

“A mix of goat, lion, and snake will follow your scent,

Its attack will be the main event.”

‘A mix of goat, lion, and snake.’ Immediately a specific monster came to mind. The Chimera. That couldn’t have been good. The Chimera was a legendary monster whose body was a lion, tail a snake, and had the neck and the head of a goat on its back. Bellerophon, his half-brother, was the only one who had managed to beat the beast and even then, he had struggled.

Percy wondered what attack would be the main event. He wondered what that would mean for him and his friends. 

He was broken out of his thoughts when Grover asked a question. “Is that the Nemean Lion?” He asked.

The satyr was pointed at something outside the train, running at full speed and managing to keep up with the vehicle. It was a golden and copper lion the size of a hummer. Its fur was like metal sheets covering the monster and it was so shiny that looking at it in the afternoon sun almost blinded him.

“It is.” Said Annabeth, with awe in her voice. Percy could relate. The lion was astounding even if it was a monster.

The rest of the first day of the train ride went smoothly. Eventually, as Artemis began to drive her moonlit chariot over the sky, Annabeth offered to keep watch while Percy and Grover slept, just in case. They took her up on her offer and soon both boys were asleep.

—

   Percy opened his eyes to find he was in the Underworld again. He wasn’t in the Fields of Asphodels this time, however. He was in a large cavern with a gaping pit at the far end. They were all around him. They pulled at his clothes and arms as he walked towards the pit. Percy didn’t want to go forward but, it was like his limbs had a mind of their own. Percy wanted to run as far away from the pit as was physically possible, but his feet pulled him forward until his toes were almost over the edge of the chasm in front of him.

Looking down made Percy feel sick, and a deep, ever crushing feeling of dread and terror settled into his bones. His throat began to burn and he felt the urge to vomit. It Pit looked bottomless and seemed to suck in what little light that was in the cavern.

Percy felt something tugging at him, pulling him down, trying to bring him into their domain. Well, no, that wasn’t right. The presence wasn’t trying to pull him down, they were trying to climb up.

“Little Hero,” A deep voice said from below. It sent shivers down his spine and seemed to steal the breath from his lungs. “So weak, too weak. So small, too small. But perhaps you shall do.”

Percy wanted to scream and cry, he wanted to yell for Apollo or Poseidon or Mr. D, someone to take him away from this place, the Pit, Tartarus, the deepest, darkest part of the Underworld, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t think. The fact that he knew this was a dream didn’t help much.

“The gods have misled you, child. Barter with me. I will give you what you want.”

A shimmering hologram appeared over the Pit. It was Percy’s mother, frozen at the moment she had dissolved in a shower of golden dust. Her face was pained and her eyes held anguish and desperation, pleading with her son to go on, to get to safety.

Percy tried to call out for her, to tell her he was coming to get her, but his mouth wouldn’t open.

Cold laughter echoed from the Pit.

An invisible force tried to pull Percy forward. It would drag him into the Pit unless he stood firm.

“Help me rise, boy.” The voice became hungrier, more violent. “Bring me to Bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods.”

Percy desperately tried to back away from the Pit and its unstoppable force. The spirits again tried to pull him back, whisper yelling “No!” and “Wake!” and other desperate things. Percy shook his dead violently, refusing the voice.

—

    Percy’s eyes flew open and he sat up ramrod straight. His breathing was laboured and he couldn’t seem to draw in a full breath.

“Percy?” Annabeth asked. Her voice sounded muffled, as if his ears were filled with cotton. Percy tugged on his hair, his nervous tick going too far without the wherewithal to stop. Warm hands settled on his own and he jerked back. The person had golden eyes burning into his. Their face had a viscous smile plastered on, their teeth sharp and threatening. They had a scar running down the left side of their face.

Wait.

No.

No, they didn’t. She had dark skin and golden blonde braids in an intricate bun. She had piercing gray eyes and a concerned frown on her young face.

“Percy?” She asked again, her voice still muffled. Percy’s breathing was still fast, much too fast. It felt like he couldn’t get enough air in his lungs, they burned and strained and his chest was still moving too fast. Percy’s eyes were blurry and something wet was running down his face.

Annabeth brought one of his hands to her chest and took slow and deliberate breaths. Her other hand was in his left and she squeezed it tightly. She was murmuring quiet reassurances while helping him breathe through his panic attack. It took a while for him to calm down but with Annabeth’s help he eventually did.

“Thanks, Wise Girl.” Percy said weakly, his voice wet. He rubbed his eyes and wiped his cheeks. He had been embarrassed to find he had been crying.

Annabeth smiled at him with sympathy. “It’s no problem. The new Athena kids at Camp sometimes had nightmares and, or panic attacks and I’ve watched my older siblings help plenty of times. I hope I helped.”

Percy nodded. “You did. Thanks, really.” Annabeth smiled brightly at him. The two sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Percy spoke up again. “If you want I can take watch now. I don’t think I’d be able to go back to sleep anyway.”

Annabeth nodded. “Sure. Thanks Seaweed Brain.” She settled back into her seat, propping her feet on the booth. It didn’t take long for her breathing to even out.

Percy didn’t bother getting out his notepad. There wasn’t enough light for him to be able to write, and he didn’t need to anyway, it was a dream, not a vision. Sometimes he struggled to tell the difference between the two but this was very clear.

Percy watched the moonlit treetops pass by through the window of the train car. He knew he was supposed to wake uo Grover at one point but he figured the satyr could use some sleep.

—

    Toward the end of the second day on the train, June thirteenth, eight days until the summer solstice, they passed through golden hills and over the Mississippi River, into St. Louis. As the train pulled to a stop, the questers gathered their backpacks and prepared for a few hours of sightseeing. Annabeth wanted to see the Gateway Arch and neither boy had any objections and so off they went. 

“I want to do that.” Annabeth sighed wistfully, craning her neck to look at the 630 foot tall building.

“Do what?” Percy asked.

“Build something like that. Have you ever seen the Parthenon, Percy?”

“Only in pictures.”

She nodded, determination filling her voice. “Someday, I’m going to build the greatest monument to the Gods, something that’ll last a thousand years.”

Percy laughed playfully. “If you manage to sit still for long enough, then I’m sure you could make something great.” Annabeth hadn’t been faring much better than Percy for the long train ride, constantly bouncing one of her legs and fiddling with anything in her hands. Percy just knew he was correct about her being able to build something momentous. It wasn’t just prophecy telling him that either.

Annabeth grinned sharply at him, showing off her sharpened teeth. “You bet I will. You’ll be there?”

“Of course.” Percy said as if any other answer would be ridiculous. 

Grover came back from the snack bar with a few sandwiches and bags of chips. He also had a water bottle for each of them and a few bags of candy.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that we haven’t been attacked yet?” Annabeth asked as they sat down on a bench outside the Arch. “We got attacked twice in one day and then not once in two days? The Nemean Lion didn’t even notice us.”

“I think that’s because of me, actually.” Hummed Percy.

Annabeth and Grover looked at him quizzically. 

Percy stuck out his left wrist to show them his golden charm bracelet. “This. It was a gift, enchanted to keep monsters from noticing demigods near it though, It’s only strong enough to cover the scent of three demigods, a child of the big three included, It’s not foolproof, however. Also the reason we were attacked the first time was because The Kindly Ones were sent after us. The reason we were attacked the second time was because Medusa’s warehouse was a demigod trap and we got lured in. We didn’t attract any monsters by scent.” He explained.

Annabeth leaned closer. “It was a gift? From who? I didn’t know they made things like that. Is that the only one? Can I see it?”

Grover bleated. “So that’s why you have so little scent! Even Chiron and I had a difficult time picking you out as a demigod.”

Percy nodded at Grover. “To answer your questions, Annabeth, It was a gift from Apollo. My mother is a daughter of The Sun God and I guess the bracelet was a congratulations on living long enough to start her own family.” That hadn’t actually been the reason Apollo had given it to him but they didn’t need to know that. Not yet at least. “I got it when I was six and started to develop a scent. The gods don’t normally make things like this. It’s very expensive to make because it is bypassing a curse. That’s also why it’s not foolproof. As far as I know it’s the only one but more can be made. And yeah, you can touch it.”

A presence joined Percy on his bench, across from Grover and Annabeth. It was the smell of hyacinth and bay laurels. Standing in a field of flowers and herbs, the sun beating down on his skin.

Annabeth nodded, her curiosity satisfied for the moment. She reached out with one hand and grabbed the bracelet still on his wrist. She fiddled with the bracelet and inspected the charms. She hummed. “It’s very pretty.” She complemented. The presence next to him took on a pleased tint, the smells growing stronger, the sun burning brighter, the smell of flowers strengthening. Percy laughed internally, his grandfather was such a vain god.

Percy smiled. “Thanks ‘Beth.”

They walked through the underground museum, looking at all the different artefacts from the 1800’s. It wasn’t that interesting but Annabeth kept telling cool facts about how the Gateway Arch was built and Grover kept giving him jelly beans, so it was alright. His patron had left sometime after their conversation about Percy’s bracelet with a ruffle of hair and a kiss on his forehead.

Percy’s nerves skyrocketed when they stepped through the door to the elevator. He had already been jumpy since Grover had mentioned smelling monsters. It didn’t help that Mississippi was a land-locked state. Percy had never felt very comfortable so far away from the ocean. Now they were in a small enclosed box–which made Percy feel claustrophobic and itchy– going hundreds of feet in the air, into his Sky Uncles domain. Percy knew he wouldn’t get in trouble for being so high in the air, or at least he hoped he wouldn’t be, he hadn’t before, but his uncle was justifiably stressed and annoyed with his Master Bolt missing and no-one able to find it, and Apollo had mentioned that Zeus had been becoming increasingly paranoid and easy to anger since the end of World War II.

At the last moment–just before the doors closed–a woman joined their elevator car. She was broad and muscley, yet also fat and wearing nothing but denim–he was pretty sure Drew would gag at the sight of the lady’s outfit. Her skin was leathery and taught, as if there wasn’t enough of it. There were faint green scales on her arms and neck and teeth sharper than any kids at Camp, though he didn’t think his friends saw it, they hadn’t reacted to her joining them besides a glance. She had a leather rhinestone bag with a chihuahua in it, barking up a storm. Percy didn’t think you were allowed to bring pets in the Arch but Percy had a feeling he knew why the security guards hadn’t said anything about it. Both the woman and the chihuahua had an outline of black magic, just like Ms. Dodds. The magic was like there was something that was breathing down his neck, claws tracing his arm. Eyes always watching him. Rotted and decayed fruit.

The chihuahua’s magic was the baring of teeth, of hellfire and brimstone. The woman’s was dug up, dried dirt, the howling of a mangiare of monsters, rot, dirt, disgusting slime. 

They were monsters, very strong monsters. Percy would bet he knew exactly who they were. Percy wanted to drag his friends out of the elevator and go back to the train but at that point the doors had already closed and they were moving up. He subtly stepped in front of his friends, in between the monsters and the questers.

A roar echoed through the valley, loud enough to rattle his bones. A creature prowled in front of him. It was chasing, hunting a prey unknown to Percy. It was easily bigger than a truck, its lion maw pulled back and out of its muzzle came fire. Fire so hot Percy could feel it from where he was standing across the way from the creature. The fire died down again and the lion creature began to eat its prey.

The creature’s snake tail lunged forward and caught its own prey, swallowing it in one bite. The goat head bleated, annoyed. It reached towards the trees, eating plants rather than meat. 

A woman tutted, she called out to the beast. It turned towards her. The woman had no legs, instead she had the body of a snake below her toso. Her upper half was littered with scales. She gave off such a bad vibe Percy wanted to puke.

They needed to leave. Now.

After a few moments the monster spoke up. “No parents?” She asked.

“They’re below.” Answered Annabeth. “Scared of heights.”

The monster tutted in fake sympathy. “The poor darlings.”

The monster in the bag started to bark again, more aggressively this time. “Not now, Sonny. Behave.”

“Sonny,” Grover asked. “Is that his name?”

“No.” The monster said. Then she smiled like that cleared it all up.

—

    When they had finally made it to the top of the Arch, Percy quickly pulled Annabeth and Grover aside.

“We need to leave. Quickly.” He whispered, stealing anxious glances at the jean blimp of a human disguised monster.

“Why? We just got up here.” Annabeth complained.

Percy gestured to the monsters looking down at St. Louis through the floor-to-ceiling glass. “That lady and her dog. They’re monsters.”

Annabeth looked at him analytically and Grover began to sniff the air, as if he was trying to catch the scent of the monsters. “How can you be sure?” She asked.

Percy shifted on his feet. “Just…a feeling I guess.”

Grover nodded, looking at the monster warily. “He’s right, ‘Beth. They are monsters.”

“I thought you said that your bracelet warded off monsters?”

“Not if they were sent after us specifically or if they’re powerful enough.”

“Alright I guess. The next time the elevator is going to be up here is in a few minutes. Let’s pretend to be as normal as possible.” Annabeth sighed, annoyed.  “I wish I had gotten to enjoy this without worrying.” She added quieter.

Percy winced. “I’m sorry, Wise Girl.”

Grover nodded. “Me too. I know how much you like this place.”

They made their way over to the windows, as far away from the monsters as they could get. Annabeth talked about the structural supports and how she would have made the windows bigger and would’ve added a glass floor. 

The elevator eventually made its way up again and Percy steered his friends towards it. There were already people getting inside of it and Percy didn’t think there would be enough room for them. As the tour guide put the last people in the elevator, Percy felt a sickening unease and worry well up inside him. Percy knew Annabeth and Grover felt this as well. Annabeth was biting her lip, squeezing her yankees cap so tightly her fingertips were white. Grover was biting his nails and shifting on his feet.

The only people at the top were the park ranger, a little boy and his parents, the questers, and the two monsters who were practically breathing down their necks.

The chihuahua jumped out of the lady’s purse and began barking up a storm.

“Now, now Sonny. Look at all these nice people here. Do you really think this is the right time?” A forked tongue flicked out of her mouth for a moment. Annabeth took a step back.

“A doggie!” Said the little boy. “Look, a doggie!”

His parents pulled him behind them. Percy supposed even the mortals were getting a bad vibe from the monster.

The chihuahua continued barking at the questers, its black rhinestone collar glinting in the light.

“Well, son. If you insist.” The monster said as if this was all just one big joke.

“D-did you call the chihuahua your son?” Grover stuttered.

“ Chimera dear. It’s an easy mistake to make.”

Annabeth gasped. Percy grit his teeth when his suspicions were confirmed. He slipped his hand in his back pocket, grabbing Riptide. He would need the length for this fight. He noticed Annabeth reaching for the caduceus pin attached to her shirt which was the disguised form of her dagger.

The monster—who must’ve been Ednichida—rolled up her sleeves, revealing her scaly green arms. When she smiled he noticed that she had long, sharp fangs, sharper than any of the demigods’ at Camp. Her eyes were slitted, like a reptiles.

The Chimera kept barking and with every bark the creature grew and more of its disguise melted away.. First, it grew to the size of a doberman, then a lion. It’s bark became a roar. Its tail became black and scaly, grew fangs and became a snake. The head of a goat sprouted from its back.

The little boy screamed and his parents grabbed him and tried to make for the exit, towards the tour guide who was standing, paralyzed by fear.

The Chimera was staring down at him, its maw open and teeth bared. Percy hadn’t even uncapped Riptide. Annabeth had taken her pin off her shirt but hadn’t transformed it yet. One of Grover’s hands was tight around the strap of his backpack and the other was holding his reed pipes. Percy knew the moment he moved the Chimera would strike.

“Be honored, Percy Jackson. I rarely take my son out to hunt like this. For I am The Mother Of Monsters, The Horrid Echidna!”

Percy didn’t know where his brain-to-mouth filter went, but it was obviously gone when he said, “Isn't that a type of anteater?”

His mouth clicked shut. He saw Annabeth gaping at him from the corner of his eye. Grover let out a nervous bleat. A muscle in Echidna’s jaw ticked.

“I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! For naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Perseus Jackson, my son shall destroy you!” She screamed.

The Chimera lunged, its dinner plate sized dog tag glinting in the light. Ir read, CHIMERA—RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, VENOMOUS—IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS—EXT. 954.

The demigods and satyr jumped back from the strike. Annabeth and Percy transformed their weapons while Grover ran back a bit, playing his reed pipes.

The Chimera opened his mouth wide, a spark lighting up in the back of his throat. Percy just barely managed to dive out of the way of a column of blazing fire from the Chimera. It was so hot it nearly burned Percy’s hair off his arms and face. The fire burned the carpet and the side of the building. A giant hole opened up in the glass and the metal started to melt.

Wonderful. Now there was a hole in a national monument.

The Chimera turned towards Percy again while Annabeth tried to deal with the venomous snake tail. As Grover played his reed pipes plants grew from the carpeted floor and tried to wrap around the legs of the Chimera. They weren’t strong enough yet but they were quickly growing and becoming stronger. Percy struck one of its front legs and it roared and stumbled back. The beast was momentarily distracted by Annabeth slashing at the snake tail, it was trying to bite her but she kept dodging. Percy took advantage of the momentary distraction and went for the side of the neck, just above his collar. His hit landed but the beast immediately turned back and this time Percy wasn’t fast enough. 

The snake tail whirled around and bit Percy’s dominant arm. Immediately his arm started to feel like it was on fire. It felt like acid was melting his arm. He tried to ignore the fact he could feel the poison in his veins. He was pretty sure that wasn’t normal. The snake ripped his fangs out of Percy’s arm, leaving two giant gashes in his arm. Percy cried out in pain. 

“Percy!” Annabeth cried out. Grover’s reed picked up a faster pace and was played with more urgency.

The Chimera turned back around, its head facing Percy and its tail back to Annabeth. 

A spark lit up in the back of its throat again. It was about to fire.

For a moment Percy’s sword obtained a silver glow around it. The overwhelming magic of a god surrounded it. It smelled like olive oil and morning dew. It was like sitting in a giant library and finding solace within the pages of books and scrolls. It was sitting at a war table with your allies. It was the soft feeling of yarn threading under his fingertips.

It felt like someone had gently laid their hand on his right one, the one holding the sword, the one that had been poisoned. It felt as if time slowed down, the world around him fading. The hand on his gently guided it. Together the two stabbed the middle of the neck of Chimera and sliced through the thick hide out the side of its neck.

Time went back to normal pace. The Chimera reared back, roaring loudly. It glared at Percy and as it began dissolving into golden dust its mouth opened wide and sparks began flying. Before Percy could move out of the way a giant blast of fire hit his face. It knocked him backwards and out of the Arch. Percy didn’t have the wherewithal to call out for one of his godly relatives. Annabeth and Grover yelled out something but he was already out of earshot. His face was burning. His legs were burning, his chest was burning. He just wanted the embrace of saltwater or one of his guardians. He felt gentle hands pulling him to the side towards the water. 

Desperately, he prayed. Prayed to his father. 

Dad. Please. Please help me.

Subconsciously he realized he was touching the water even though he was still hundreds of feet in the air. 

Sea brine and flowery soap filled his nose and he felt arms cradle him into a water-like chest. The warm feeling of the sea was the last thing he felt before he passed out.

—

_\|POV Annabeth Chase|/_

    Annabeth only remembers one time that she had been as scared as when she saw Percy fall out of the Gateway Arch, plummeting 630 feet to the ground. That had been when Thalia Grace, her older sister in everything but blood, had sacrificed herself at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

“No! Percy!” She shouted. Grover let out a strangled bleat/cry and stopped playing his reed pipes. Annabeth could already feel tears gathering in her eyes. She ran across the floor of the Arch, disregarding the fact that there was nothing she could do. She looked down only to find a giant wave reaching up the building. She let out a confused noise as the water receded back into the river. Her eyes searched below her but she couldn’t see anything, even with her good eyesight. Annabeth had amazing eyesight, even better than most of her siblings. 

Her dagger was clutched to her chest and her muscles were drawn up so tight that she almost slashed at the person who spoke up next to her shoulder. “Your friend is fine, my daughter.”

Annabeth whipped around. A woman was standing at her shoulder. The woman had tan skin and dark curly hair flowing down her back. She was dressed in an off white button up, a silver tie that matched the color of her eyes perfectly, a soft brown knee-length skirt and a matching cardigan. The woman had feathery wings in all different shades of rich browns. There was a wreath of olive branches and cherry laures. Annabeth’s own eyes reflected back at her, a piercing silver that seemed to see everything.

She knew who this woman was. It was Athena, her mother. She had only met her mother once, when she was young and on the run. Annabeth had just left her fathers house at the age of seven and had nothing with her but the clothes on her back. She had left Fredrick Chase’s house because of his new wife. Monsters had started to attack her and Helen had gotten scared and had taken it out on her. Annabeth’s dad hadn’t helped any and little seven year old Annabeth had enough and left.

Annabeth had been away from her father’s house for a few hours when she had come across a nice lady sitting outside a cafe. The woman had called Annabeth over to her and had given her food and supplies. The woman had introduced herself as Athena, her mother. Then, her mother had told where to go, had led her to two other demigods, Luke Castellan, a fourteen year old son of Hermes with a giant heart and Thalia Grace, a daughter of Zeus with enough spunk and attitude to dress down a god. In the short month they had been together the three had become siblings in everything but blood. Even if there were only two of them now, she still longed for the simpler time. 

Then Grover had found them and tried to take them to Camp and he had tried so hard and almost succeeded. Grover is and has been one of her best friends for years now. Speaking of Grover, he was standing next to her, the both of them staring at Athena.

“Mom?”

“Lady Athena?”

Athena’s head tilted, trembling the owls that are so sacred to her. “Yes children?”

“You said Percy was safe?” Annabeth asked, scared for her friend.

The goddess of wisdom nodded. “Yes. I helped him kill the Chimera but I was not able to prevent his fall. I pushed him towards the river where a few of Poseidon’s nymphs were able to catch him with the water.”

Echidna growled. “That is interference!” She schreed. “You are not allowed to get in the way of my hunt!”

Athena’s sharp eyes glared at the mother of monsters. “ You are in my temple, woman.” She said sharply. “In fact…” Athena flicked her wrist and Echidna started to glow. She screeched and screamed and eventually she exploded in golden dust.

Athena turned back to Annabeth and Grover.

Grover cleared his throat. “Uhm…Lady Athena?”

Athena made an affirming noise.

“If Percy hit the water after falling out of the Arch. wouldn’t he get like, really hurt, even with the help of the naiads?”

Athena shook her head. “Children of Poseidon will never get hurt from water. Falling on water has no effect on them. I saw the way he was healed using the water in the creek. While not normal for children of poseidon to heal using fresh water, Perseus specifically should be fine. If not, The nymphs shall heal him.”

Annabeth nodded and Grover let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, mom.”

Athena smiled at her daughter. “You’re welcome, Owlet. You have done well so far in your quest. I hope you continue to do so.”

Annabeth preened. Her mother said she did good! Her mom said she did good! Her wings fluttered behind her back and she was smiling so broadly it was near ear-to-ear. 

Athena kissed her daughter’s forehead before she disappeared with the smell of olives.

Grover chuckled at his friend's happiness about being praised. “C’mon ‘Beth. Let’s go find our fish-brained friend.”

They used the elevator which was thankfully still working. When they reached the ground they had to carefully avoid all of the police officers that had arrived at the scene. They had almost gotten caught at one point when one of the officers had pointed them out to his colleagues but they were able to lose them in the crowd.

When they got to the shore of the Mississippi River they saw a boy leaving the water completely dry. He had pitch black hair that was tied back in a braid that almost reached his waist. His hair was still adorned by little trinkets. He was wearing the Camp Half-Blood shirt and his blue windbreaker.

Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief. Her friend was okay.

—

_\|POV Percy Jackson|/_

    When Percy opened his eyes he was greeted with the murky waters at the bottom of the Mississippi River. The water was a dirty brown color and there was trash floating around him. There were beer bottles, food wrappers, plastic bags, and old shoes. Ugh. Percy hated pollution. Then he noticed that he didn’t hurt anymore. He thought he had only been out for a few minutes at most but the wound on his arm sealed up without leaving so much as a scar, the burns on his arms and chest were gone, and he couldn’t feel the burning poison anymore. 

Percy was also breathing just fine, thanks to his gills, though it didn’t feel very nice because of the dirty water.

“Are you alright, Dear One?” A smooth, soft voice said from his left. He looked over at the woman who spoke. She had light green-ish blue skin and lavender colored eyes. Her onyx black hair was tied back into a large bun sitting at the base of her neck and was decorated with pearls. She was wearing a crown that reminded Percy of Poseidon’s crown, elegant and commanding. She had small horns on her head that looked like crab claws. There were scales decorating her body, they were all the colors Percy could ever have imagined. 

She had many necklaces and arm decorations made of pearls and all different kinds of small gems. The woman had the tail of a mermaid instead of legs and it was an uncountable amount of colors that matched her scales—rainbow and bright. She had the same fin-ears that Percy was starting to associate with the sea, and the same clawed and webbed hands as Percy and his father. When she smiled softly Percy noted that all of her teeth were sharpened like a shark’s, just like Percy's teeth. 

The sea nymph, who he was sure was Queen Amphitrite, he had seen her before, after all, had a similar magic and aura to Poseidon but hers was softer, more motherly. No less possessive and protective, mind. Percy hadn’t met her before but he already knew that she was very protective of her children. Apollo had told him stories about the sea gods before, about how the demigods born of the sea were always welcomed by the sea gods during their short lives. They were specifically protective of their own children. 

The Queen’s magic was a mix of light purples, blues, greens, and yellows. It was water lilies and lotuses floating down a stream. It was the call of a pod of dolphins, of whales and seals. It smelt of sea brine and flowery soap. It felt like swimming through a coral reef, brushing against the colorful fish. It was a mothers comforting hug after a long day. Underneath all of it was a silent threat, not to Percy, but the threat of retribution should anyone touch her children, one that was even more prominent than Poseidon’s. There is no wrath like a mother scorned, after all.

Percy tilted his head at the Queen of the sea. “I am fine, my queen.”

Amphitrite smiled and her eyes sparkled, like she was surprised he recognized her. “That is good, little minnow.”

Percy sat up. “What happened?” He questioned.

His Step-mother’s eyes darkened. “When you fell out of Athena’s temple she guided you closer to the river until the local naiads were able to lift the water out of the riverbed. I was able to catch you and bring you into the water and heal. The naiads respect Poseidon and his court and they are currently maintaining my form here. For it is too foul for my presence normally.”

Percy nodded. He figured he should thank his father. 

Thanks, Dad.

A warm hand patted his head for a moment.

“Thank you, My Lady.”

She smiled again. “It is alright, my dear. Now, I also have a message from Poseidon for you. Go to the Santa Monica beach.” She said as her form started to fade. “ And, Percy. Do not trust the gifts.”

Percy’s eyebrows furrowed. “What gifts?” 

“Come to the beach, brave one.”

Amphitrite's form was completely gone now. 

A glint in the mucky ground caught Percy’s eyes. It was Riptide, buried half-way into the ground. He must’ve dropped it when he fell. He swam over to it. He recapped his pen and put it in his back pocket. He figured he should probably go back to the shore now, his friends must be worried. 

He swam up to the shore of the Mississippi River and climbed out of the banks. He sloughed the water off himself and looked up when someone called out to him. He had only a moment to brace himself before he was almost tackled by his best satyr friend. 

Grover bleated loudly. “Percy! We’d thought you’d gone to Hades the hard way!”

Percy chuckled. “Sorry. I’m fine.”

Annabeth looked over Percy critically from her place next to Grover. “Are you injured?”

Percy shook his head. “No, the water healed me.”

“That’s good. That bite looked pretty bad. Perce.” Grover said.

Percy just nodded. “What happened up there? What happened to Echidna ?” 

“My mom killed her.” Annabeth said with a smile. Percy made a confused noise.

“The Gateway Arch is a temple to Athena. She said she helped you kill the Chimera and then pulled you to where the nymphs would be able to catch you. She then greeted us at the top and then killed Echidna.”

Percy nodded. “We’ll have to sacrifice something to her at dinner.”

A sudden shout startled the trio of questers. “Hey you there! Guys it’s them!” It was a police officer.

“Shit.” Percy cursed. “The Mist must’ve made it seem as if we did that. C’mon let's go before they catch us.”

The satyr and demigoddess nodded and the three started to run. They weaved through the masses of people running from the police just fifty yards behind them. The trio just barely managed to get in their train car before the train started to move. Percy sat down on the bench with a sigh of relief.

“That was close.” Commented Annabeth. “Too close.” Grover nodded in agreement.

“We have to go to Santa Monica bay, by the way.”

Annabeth made a confused noise as her and Grover sat on the bench across from Percy. “Why’s that?”

Percy drummed his fingers against the seat. “The Queen of the Seas talked to me in the river. Apparently my father has something for me at Santa Monica.”

“Yeah, fine. We can’t ignore a summons from your dad.” Annabeth said.

Percy just nodded. That whole ordeal had made him so tired. He leaned his head against the window and fell into a restless sleep as the Amtrak train trundled west.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12 - June 14th, 2005, Denver, CO, Old Water Parks Aren’t Sanitary

    Just as the afternoon came of June fourteenth the train pulled into Denver, Colorado. They didn’t have enough money for three more train tickets so they had to stop here for now. Percy and his friends hadn’t showered since they left Half-Blood Hill and Percy was sure anyone could tell.

The three wandered down a couple streets, looking for somewhere secluded so they could I-M Chiron. At one point they came across a newspaper stand. The newest edition had the headline: THREE JUVENILE HOODLUMS SET FIRE TO THE ST. LOUIS ARCH. The picture on the paper was of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover running away from the police, the ambulances and police cars flashing lights in the background, the St. Louis Arch barred off. As soon as the three saw it they ducked their heads and quickly walked (ran) down the sidewalk.

Eventually they stumbled upon a run down do-it-yourself car wash. Percy got out his iridescent crystal and set it out in the sunlight. A beautiful rainbow appeared on the side of the wall, reflected from the crystal.

“I’ll show you how to do it.” Offered Annabeth. Percy nodded in acceptance. 

Annabeth got out a golden drachma from her backpack. She put it on her thumb, like she was flipping a coin. “O’ Iris, Goddess of the rainbow, accept our offering.” The drachma disappeared through the rainbow. “Half-Blood Hill.”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, they were looking through the mist at strawberry fields and the Long Island Sound in the distance. Standing in front of them was a tall guy in an orange tank top and black converse. He held a celestial bronze sword in one hand and seemed to be staring intently at the Berry Fields in the distance.

“Luke!” Percy called out. 

Luke turned around, eyes wide. It looked like Luke was standing three feet in front of them but they could only see what was in the rainbow. 

“Percy!” Luke's face broke out in a grin. “Is that Annabeth and Grover, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?”

“We’re, uhm…fine,” Annabeth tugged on the hem of her dirty T-shirt, trying to make the dirt and wrinkles less noticeable. Less like they hadn’t showered in three days. “We thought—Chiron—I mean—”

“He’s down at the cabins.” Luke’s smile faded. “We’re…having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Everyone alright?”

“What kind of issues?” Grover asked.

Percy’s ears rang as  a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the next stall with its stereo turned to maximum volume. The bass from the violent hip-hop song vibrated so fiercely it shook the pavement. 

“Chiron had to—what’s that noise?” Even though Luke yelled, Percy still had strain to hear him.

“I’ll take care of it!” Shouted Annabeth, though she looked reluctant to leave. “C’mon Grover.”

“What—?” Grover protested. Annabeth just yanked him up by his arm and walked off, dragging the satyr with her.

“Chiron had to break up a fight.” Luke said, drawing Percy’s eyes back to him though the I-M. “Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Word leaked about the Zeus and Poseidon standoff, the fact that there might be war coming soon. We’re not sure who leaked the info—probably the same asshole who summoned the HellHound. Now, the campers are starting to take sides. It’s shaping up to be like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus.”

History just loved to repeat itself, didn’t it? How lovely.

In the next stall over, Percy heard Annabeth’s voice rise and a man’s voice grow angry before the volume decreased drastically.

“So what’s your status?” Luke asked, now at a normal volume. “Chiron will be sorry he missed you.”

Percy told him everything, excluding his dreams. Luke’s voice was nice and comforting, talking to him was nice, like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. It felt like being back at camp, even just for a few minutes. 

“I wish I could be there,” Luke said when Percy paused. “We can’t do much to help from here but listen…it had to be Hades who took the master bolt.”

The smell of pomegranates and asphodels hit his nose. The faintest shadow of a too-tall man tinted with that sharp displaced scent appeared next to Percy. He winced. He would have to apologize to his uncle later. 

“He was there at the winter solstice, it’s the only time he’s allowed on olympus. It can’t be a coincidence.” The son of Hermes continued. “He has the Helm of Darkness. How else would someone sneak into the throne room? You’d have to be invisible.”

Percy’s eyebrows furrowed. Surely Luke couldn’t mean that—

“Oh hey,” He protested once he realized what he’d implied. “I didn’t mean Annie. She and I have known each other forever. She would never do that, she’s like a little sister to me.”

In the stall next to Percy the music stopped completely. A man screamed in terror, car doors slammed and the Lincoln peeled out of the car wash.

A voice shouted at Luke from the other side of the I-M. “Oi! Luke! Chiron needs you!”

Luke turned to the voice and flashed a thumbs-up. He turned back to Percy with a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, Perce. I have to go, keep me updated will you?”

Percy nodded, returning the smile. “Will do, Luke.”

Luke walked forward a few steps before swatting his hand through the I-M, disintegrating it.

—

    Around half-an-hour later found the three questers sitting at a run down playground. They needed to collect themselves and figure out where to go from here. They were snacking on the food they packed from Camp while sitting at one old stone picnic benches.

The three of them were almost startled out of their skin when a rumble—louder than the music from earlier—shook the entire play area. Percy glanced at the curb. It was a giant Harley motorbike the size of a baby elephant, its seat was made of caucasian human skin. There were flames painted on the side of the gas tank and two shot-gun holsters on the side of it, complete with shot-guns..

Wait…no. That wasn’t quite correct. Percy glared at the bike. 

Show yourself to me, Percy thought.

The bike transformed into a deep red chariot with bright golden accents. It had carvings in the side of it—soldiers fighting, gladiators killing each other, a warrior gutting his enemy—and two golden spears sticking up in the front corners. There was a greatshield leaning against one side of the chariot. The chariot was pulled by two giant black horses with manes and tails of fire, their hooves the flaming color of magma.

The god standing in the chariot was oddly familiar. He was dressed head-to-toe in Grecian armor with a red horsehair plume and a cape-like cloak pinned at his shoulders. There were two holes in his helmet, allowing his thick bull horns to create an arch over his head. His eyes were pools of molten fire, blazing like a volcano. His face was scared under his helmet and his mouth pressed into a frown.  He had big clawed dark brown hands, reminiscent to the ones Clarisse and Auntie Bronze had.  There were two large boar tusks protruding out of his mouth, making it look like he had a small underbite. 

As the god walked over to where the children were sitting, his overwhelming aura washed over Percy. It smelled of blood and flowers and too many spices, emanated strength and power and protection in one. It was the clashing of swords and the sound of gunshots in his ears. Percy felt blood dripping down his face and sand covering his hands, holding him down. His magic just felt kind of wrong , however. His muscles looked…tense and kind of weird. Ares’ eyes were also odd. They had a weird dark gold color around the pupil and just gave off bad vibes.

A thousand shades of red surrounded the god and more of his magic made its way over to Percy. As soon as the magic touched his skin he felt irrational anger filled his veins. He pushed it down. Er- tried to, at least.

The god walked up to them and sat next to Percy, almost pushing him off the bench.

“So you’re old Seaweed’s kid, huh?”

Percy sniffed. “You’re Bronya’s dad, hm?”

Annabeth stiffened. “Percy—”

“S’okay,” Ares said. “I don’t mind a little attitude. As long as you remember who’s the boss, eh lil’ cuz?”

Percy raised an eyebrow. “Sure.” He said dryly. Anger was simmering under his skin, Percy and his friends had a quest to get on, they didn’t have time to deal with whatever Ares wanted.

Ares huffed, a smirk on his face. “Heard you broke my kid’s spear.”

“She deserved it.” Percy replied snarkily, still staring at the god.

Ares shrugged. “Probably. That’s cool. I don’t fight my kid’s battles, you know? Not when it’s something like that little game of ‘Capture The Flag’ you kids play. Why I’m really here—I heard you were in town and figured, well I’ve got a little proposition for you.” 

“What favor could I do for a god?” Percy asked sharply. 

“Something a god doesn’t have time to do himself. It’s nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little…date with my girlfriend. We got interrupted, and I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me.”

Percy glared. Ares would have to try harder than that if he wanted them to get his shield. They were on a time sensitive quest after all. “What’s stopping you from getting your shield yourself?”

“What’s stopping me from turning you into a prairie dog and running you over with my Harley? Because I don’t feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Are you going to prove yourself a coward?”  Ares leaned forward, his smirk widening, baring sharp teeth. “Or maybe you only fight when there’s a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you.”

Percy scoffed, staring into the Ares’ eyes. They reflected the horrors of the battlefield, watching your brothers in arms fall, killing indiscriminately, fighting until your last breath. The rushing of a typhoon, the reflection of the sea in Percy’s eyes, subbudded the effect. “We’re not interested,” Percy told the eldritch god. “We’re already on a quest.”

“I know all about your quest, punk. When that Bolt was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally.” He licked his lips. The scent of herbs, olives, and…ameranths surrounded them. Faint but definitely there.” If I couldn’t sniff out a weapon that powerful…well…if I couldn’t find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I’m the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath.”

Percy frowned thoughtfully. Why had Ares done that? Ares of all people should’ve known that Hades really had no reason to steal the Bolt. War should know that this situation doesn’t make sense for Hades to have been the catalyst.

“You told dad that Uncle H had stolen the Bolt?” He asked.

“Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognised it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest.”

Percy just stared at Ares suspiciously. “Sure. Thanks.” He said in a sarcastic, drawn out way.

“See, I can be generous when I want to be. So, how about this? You do my little job, and I’ll help you on your quest. I’ll arrange a ride west for you and your friends.”

“We don’t need any help.” They did actually, and Percy had a feeling that this little side quest was something they needed to do. It was inevitable. 

“Oh, yeah, sure. No money. No wheels. No idea what you’re up against. Just help me out, and maybe I’ll tell you a little something. Something about your mom.”

Percy sighed. Hestia had already told him everything he needed to know about where his mother was.

Ares must’ve thought that meant acceptance because he started speaking again. “Thought that might get your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancey, you can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride. Shouldn’t be too deadly.”

“What interrupted your date?” Percy asked cheekily. “Something scare the big bad War God off?”

Ares huffed, smirk still on his face. “You’re lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They’re not as forgiving of sass as I am. I’ll meet you in the parking lot of Stanley’s Diner, a block down from here. Don’t disappoint me.”

Ares snapped his finger and he was gone in a burst of red magic. His chariot was gone too.

Annabeth and Grover were both staring at Percy with simultaneously stunned expressions.

“Not good,” Grover muttered. “Ares sought you out personally. This cannot be  good.”

“Well,” Percy began, standing up. “Let’s go find the War God’s shield.”

—

    Percy and his friends came across the old water park just when the sun was sinking behind the mountains. Judging by the sign it had once said ‘WATER LAND’ but some letters were missing and now it just said ‘WAT R  A D’.

The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry water slides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. The place just looked sad in the setting sun. The air was stale and smelled like regret. 

“His girlfriend is the goddess of love. He couldn’t find anything better than this place to take her to?”

Annabeth looked at him wearily. “You should be more respectful, Percy. Gods don’t like to be disrespected.”

“As long as I don’t do it to their faces or invoke their names I’ll be fine.”

Grover shook his head exasperatedly. “How do we get in there, anyway?”

Percy stuffed his shoes on the concrete. They still stunk badly and felt like ants crawling up his legs, but he supposed it was the most convenient option. “ Maia!"

Wings grew out of the sides of both of his shoes and took off the ground. Percy let out a startled yelp when he somersaulted over the seven foot fence that surrounded the waterpark. He hit the ground lightly, though dirt still got on his jeans.

“Smooth.” Annabeth said sarcastically, laughter in his voice.

Percy quickly dusted himself off and walked over to the gate. There were two locking mechanisms, one was a padlock and the other was just a wood plank crammed between the handles. The plank was easily taken out of the handles and thrown to the side. Percy uncapped Ανακλυσμός and cut the padlock.

“Thanks, Perce.” Grover said as he walked into the waterpark, kicking aside the lock. 

The three children wandered around the park, looking for the ‘Tunnel of Love’ ride. The shadows grew longer as they walked throughout the waterpark. No monsters attacked them, nothing made any noise, but Percy didn’t put his sword away. Something was… off about this and the hair on his arms was standing up.

Eventually they came across a souvenir shop. Shelves lined with snow globes, pencils, hats, cups and racks of—

“Clothes.” Annabeth sighed, looking longingly at the many racks of hoodies, t-shirts, and shorts with faded ‘WATER LAND’ logos on them. “Fresh clothes.”

Percy raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing on his lips. “You didn’t bring a change of clothes?”

Annabeth grimaced. “No, I didn’t think about it.”

Grover bleeted sadly. “If it makes you feel better, Annie, I didn’t either.”

Percy just shook his head fondly. “You guys go change and I’ll raid the register. I’ll change when you get back.” Annabeth and Grover readily agreed and went to the changing rooms in the back of the small building.

In the register there was a half-empty pack of gum, a dasani water bottle,three-hundred bucks, and a crumpled map of the park. It was really… odd , like everyone had just up and left all of a sudden. He stuffed the water, map, and money in his bag. It wasn’t much later that Annabeth and Grover came out of the bath rooms looking like walking advertisements, decked out in neon tie dye merch. Percy slipped in the changing room, quickly getting undressed. It was dark and cold out now so he decided to go with a CHB hoodie and a pair of ripped, baggy jeans. He slipped on his fingerless skate gloves at the last minute. Just in case.

Annabeth was tossing a rubber ball up and down, leaving against the counter with the register on top. She asked him a question as he walked back into the main area of the shop. “What’d you find in the register?”

“Some water and about three-hundred bucks. It would be enough to get us west should the War God’s ride fall through. There was also a map, so I know where to go now.”

Grover nodded. “That’s good!” He looked like he had a little more hope about his near future.

The three questers left the rundown souvenir shop and followed the map until they ended up at the correct ride.

‘THRILL RIDE O’ LOVE!’ It read at the back, over a tunnel where the water most likely came out of. ‘NOT YOUR PARENTS’ TUNNEL OF LOVE!’

It was a giant bowl around fifty yards wide and at least six feet deep. A dozen bronze Cupid statues with golden arrows lined the pool, thier bows at their side. Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a plastic pink and white boat with a translucent canopy and little hearts all over it. In the corner of the boat was a bronze shield leaned against the side and a silk pink scarf that Percy could smell from the rim of the pool. 

“Eta…” Annabeth muttered, running her fingers across the base of the nearest Cupid statue. “I wonder…”

Percy looked over. “H. The blacksmith god.” He looked over the area wearily. “This is definitely a trap.”

Annabeth grimaced. “You’re right.” She looked over to him. “What do we do?”

He sighed heavily. “There’s nothing much we can do. Ares said it shouldn’t be deadly but this was a trap made for gods. Don’t let your guard down.”

Percy’s friends nodded. “I’ll stay up here and you two go down?” Grover suggested.

“Yeah, sure.” Percy said.

“W-wait you want me to go down there with you?”Annabeth screeched. “In the ‘Thrill Ride of Love? With you?”

Percy blinked at her. “I feel like I should be offended.”

She scowled, her eyes glowing faintly in the dark. “What if someone saw me?” She hissed.

Percy quirked an eyebrow. “I’ll need your sight, Owl Eyes. My night vision ain't as good as yours. And you’ll be able to figure out a way out of this trap, won’t you? You are the daughter of Wisdom."

Her dark skin made it difficult to tell but Percy was pretty sure her cheeks were redder than they were before he had spoken. Still scowling, she said, “Ugh. Fine. C’mon Seaweed Brain.”

Annabeth used her wings to softly fly down to the bottom, leaving Percy to slide down the side of the empty pool.

“This would’a made an awesome skate park.” He commented when he reached Annabeth.

She tilted her head. “You skate?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm. I’ve wanted to learn for a while. They never had any things like that at Camp.”

Percy pocketed that information for later. There were mirrors all along the side of the pool. A fitting place for Ares and Aphrodite, Percy thought. When Percy’s hand touched the boat to climb up he jerked back. A sudden feeling of spiders climbing up his arm got his attention

“You okay?” Annabeth asked, looking at him quizzically.

“Uh, yeah.” Percy said dumbly, his mouth dry. “C’mon.”

The two climbed on the little wooden boat. There was a thin wire in front of the shield, Percy could barely see it in the dark of the moonrise. The pink silk scarf sitting on the bench had a scent of anemone, myrtle, sea salt, and mint so strong it made Percy dizzy. The pink mist-like magic surrounding it seeped into his skin, fogging his eyes. Percy swayed slightly, the scent making his senses dull and his mind slow.

Annabeth snagged the scarf and shoved it in her bag. Immediately, the fogginess went away and Percy came back to himself. 

He heaved a sigh. “Thanks, Wise Girl.”

She nodded. “Do you know why Lady Love’s scarf affected you so much? It shouldn’t, without her here to control it.”

“I’m very sensitive to magic. It affects me a lot. That’s also why Medusa’s magic affected me so much.”

Annabeth’s eyes focused on him, looking interested in learning more. “How strong is it? How does-”

Percy chuckled. “Annie. Let's focus on the shield right now, yeah?”

Annabeth nodded sheepishly. She looked over the area where the shield was and got slightly closer.

“I can’t see any way to get this free without breaking the tripwire.” Annabeth said when she backed up.

Percy grimaced. “Alright.” He said tiredly. “I guess we only have one option then.”

Annabeth nodded, a determined glint in her eye. “I’ll grab it and you get ready for an attack?”

“Good idea.” Percy said, pulling out Ανακλυσμός . His other hand resting on θαλάσσιο λιοντάρι. Annabeth quickly  grabbed the shield and transformed her own dagger. A screeching noise reached their ears, the sound of a thousand gears moving. The screeching metal was like a sharp stab in his head, his increased hearing making it worse.

“Guys?!” Grover shouted, panicked.

The Cupid statues on the rim of the pool drew their bows back and fired, but not at them. The statues fired at each other, their arrows leaving trails of light behind them, creating a bright yellow asterisk above them. The lines stretched out towards each other, like a spider weaving a web, creating a net above them. 

“C’mon,” Percy said. “We need to leave before it closes.”

The two demigods tried to climb up the side of the pool but it wasn’t as easy as going down. There wasn’t enough space for Annabeth to fly, either.

“Hurry!” Grover shouted. He was trying to keep a space open for them to climb up but the net just attached itself to his hands, forcing him to pull away before he could get trapped.

The heads of the Cupid statues slid open and cameras popped out.

“Live to Olympus in one minute!” Said a voice coming from the park speakers. “Fifty nine seconds…fifty eight seconds!’

“Shit!” Annabeth cursed. “We're about to be broadcasted live to Olympus! We’ll look like absolute fools!”

The demigods had almost made it to the rim when the mirrors opened up and thousands of tiny metallic spiders poured out. 

Annabeth screamed and scrambled back from the spiders. The spiders were coming closer, scrambling to get to them. They had bronze metal bodies, spindly legs, and sharp pincers. Percy grabbed Annabeth under her elbow and dragged her to the boat.

Thousands of little spiders were coming out of the rim of the pool and behind the mirrors. Hopefully the spiders weren’t programmed to kill them, but then again this was a trap made for gods and they weren’t gods. Annabeth was too scared to do anything so Percy was left to try to get them off by himself.

“Thirty seconds…twenty nine seconds…” The loud speaker announced.

The spiders started to spit out webs, they were easy enough to break at first but there were so many. Percy hated the feeling of being tied down, being constricted.

Think, think, think!

“Fifteen seconds…fourteen seconds…”

Percy looked over to the Tunnel of Love. It was the only place with no net above it, if they could make it over there they could get out. The only problem with this is that they had no way to get over there, with the spiders blocking their way.

Percy reached deep in his gut, searching for the control over the water around him.

The pipes below him shook and water burst out of behind the mirrors. The water flooded the pool and sweeped away the short circuiting spiders. Percy pulled Annabeth onto the bench and fastened their seatbelts just before the water bared down on them. 

“Two…one… ZERO!”

Percy made sure that neither of them got wet but the water doused everything else. The water lifted up the boat and carried them down the tunnel. They were spinning around in circles, banging against the side of the tunnel. The only thing he could hear were Annabeth’s screams, rushing water, and the grinding of his teeth.

Beams of light glared down at them, showing their predicament to all of Olympus. Man, Ares was such an ass.

They burst through the tunnel and reached the other side. If the ride were operational they would’ve gone through a ramp in between the Gates of Love, then splash into the exit pool. As it was, however, the Gates of Love were chained and they were about to crash into them.

“Unfasten your seatbelt!” Annabeth yelled.

“What-!?”

“I can fly us down safely with the right momentum!”

Percy did as she said. Annabeth grabbed his arm tightly with both of her hands while Percy grabbed the shield. “Now,” The daughter of Athena yelled. “On my mark, jump and I’ll get us down!”

She waited…waited…then jumped . Annabeth’s wings flapped behind her as they went quickly to the ground. The combined weight of the two demigods didn’t allow Annabeth to actually fly, but the two fluttered to the ground, just in front of the photo board. Noo-Noo the friendly whale was staring menacingly down at them.

Annabeth and Percy were gasping for breath, trying to calm down when they were almost bowled over.

“You’re okay!” Their satyr friend cried, relieved.

“Yeah, we’re okay, G-man.”

“I-I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help any.” Grover said when he pulled away.

Annabeth smiled at him. “It wasn’t your fault Grover. You couldn’t do anything.”

Grover scuffed his hoof on the concrete. “Still, I feel bad.”

“Don’t be. Ares is just a jerk” Percy said. “Now, to deal with that .” He turned towards the Cupid statues around one hundred yards away with cameras sticking out of their necks. He waved his arms above his head and shouted, “Show’s over! Goodnight! Goodbye!” The lights turned out and the Cupid statues returned to normal.

“C’mon,” Annabeth began. “Let’s go deal with the War God.”

—

    Ares was waiting for them in the parking lot of the Diner.

“You’re an ass.” Percy said, throwing the shield at him. 

Ares gave them a shark-like grin. “Well, I see you didn’t get yourselves killed.”

“You'll have to try harder than that if you want to kill us.” Percy sassed.

Ares huffed. “That was Hephaestus, not me, δαδί.  Besides, if I thought you would’a gotten hurt i wouldn't've sent you on it. Yer parents’ and Dio’ would’a flayed me alive, if you got hurt cus’a me.” 

Percy stuck out his tongue at him.

“Bet that old Blacksmith was surprised to catch two stupid kids insteada’ ‘Dite and I. Ya looked good on TV.” Ares added. He spun the shield in the air like pizza dough and Percy thought he changed its form since Ares’ magic was now surrounding it, but nothing changed for Percy. The god sheathed it on his back.

“You’re still an ass.” Percy snarled. The god had endangered his friends, his people, his , and he was not going to get away with it.

Ares just gave him a sharp smirk, his tusks gleaming in the moonlight.

“You see that truck over there?” He asked, pointing to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the 70’s themed diner. “That’s your ride. It’ll take you straight to LA, with one stop in Vegas.”

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the side of the truck, it was printed in reverse black-and-white print, which was the only reason Percy was able to read it. Kindness International: Humane Zoo Transport. Warning: Live Wild Animals.

Percy pointed an annoyed glare at Ares. The god in question just shrugged, a smirk still on his face. “Free ride west, punk.” Ares said. “Don’t complain. And here’s a little somethin’ for ya troubles.” Ares grabbed a small, blue nylon duffle bag from his chariot and tossed it at Percy. The god snapped his fingers and the doors of the truck opened.

The bag gave him bad vibes and he glared at it suspiciously. “Thank you, Lord Ares.” Grover said, grabbing Percy’s arm like he was leashing an unruly kid. Which wasn’t necessary, he knew not to not accept a gift from a god, but Percy understood where Grover was coming from, Ares presence had pissed him off since the park earlier.

Percy looked over at the Diner to find a woman already looking at them. Judging by her outfit she was a waitress. Her eyes scanned over the three children, taking stock of their scraped knees and palms and dirty hair. Percy watched as she grabbed a cook from the back. He snapped a photo with a little disposable camera. Percy sighed, annoyed. He hoped that that wouldn’t come back to bite them later.

“Oh, and another thing, punk.” Ares said. “Your mom’s not dead. She’s being kept hostage.”

Ares must’ve mistaken his grunt of acknowledgment as surprise and continued, “The big guy in the Underworld is doing it to control you, punk. Watch out.”

“Nobody is controlling me.”

“Oh yeah?” Ares asked, like he didn’t believe him. “See you around, kid.”

Percy folded his arms and raised his eyebrow at the god. “You’re awfully smug for a god that ran from Cupid statues.” He said sassily. 

Ares barked out a laugh and ruffled his hair. He looked at each of the questers individually. “Good luck, you three. Us on Olympus will be watching.” He said, climbing on his chariot. He grabbed the reins and his flaming horses shot down the road, leaving a trail of fire—that dissipated after a few seconds—behind them, lighting up the night.

“Guys,” Grover started. “If we’re taking the zoo express, we need to leave now.” He pointed over to Stanley’s Diner where two men in white tracksuits with Kindness International badges embroidered on their shirts.

Percy didn’t like it but that was their only choice. He nodded and the three made their way across the street, climbing into the eighteen-wheeler, shutting and locking the doors behind them.