My day began at 5:00 in the morning. Way earlier than I normally wake up, but I had had a bad feeling the night before which kept me up most of the night. When the clock hit five, I realized I would get no sleep, and so decided to go for a nice, relaxing swim in the Long Island Bay. I changed into my normal Camp Half-Blood attire, then left my cabin without bothering to bring a towel. Perks of being the son of Poseidon, I could just will all the water off of me. I decided to walk slowly, and take in the sights of Camp at dawn.

The breeze was slow enough that it didn't even ruffle my hair. Apollo was crawling over the horizon, painting the sky a myriad of reds, oranges, yellows, and the occasional trace of purple. Looking to the west, I could still see the receding edge of the moon. Either Artemis was being slow today, or Apollo was impatient. Either way, it created a perfect picture.

Lost in my reverie, I hardly noticed my arrival on the beach until I was ankle deep in the water. I stood there for a bit, admiring the beautiful sky, the gentle lapping of the waves chasing away the remnants of my premonitions. I waited a bit, for the scenery to change slightly so I wouldn't feel too bad about ignoring it. It took about five minutes, which I managed to patiently wait out, content with observing the world around me. I haven't had many of these moments. Everyday, it was wake up, eat, train, eat, train, eat, hang out with friends while training, eat, hang out with Annabeth, then go to bed. It had gotten repetitive, but I sort of liked it. Back when I was on all those quests, I had no clue what would happen the next day, or if I would even be alive. This stability provided a prolonged sense of calm I couldn't find anywhere else.

Finally, the moon disappeared over the horizon, and the sun was in full view. The sky was now a uniform blue. The tranquil scene had passed, so I dove right into the Long Island Bay. Pumping my legs and arms, I traveled along the ocean floor to a place where the currents were strong and random, ever-swirling like a vortex. I allowed myself to be thrown about like a ragdoll, while using my makeshift night vision to avoid any rocks or submerged objects. After about ten minutes I had to stop, or risk hurling into the currents and having my upchuck sent into the depths of the ocean. Dad would not appreciate that at all, no matter how funny it would be.

I spent a long time chilling out on the sandy ocean floor, just watching the sky through the kaleidoscopic flowing water. It looked pretty cool. Glancing at my watch, which read 8:34 a.m, I decided I spent enough time in my Father's domain for today. After rotating myself so I was facing the sky, I kicked off the ocean floor, then willed the water to lend me speed. It took me just a few seconds to travel the hundred feet or so to the surface, and just for fun, I shot out the waves like a rocket. I went a good twenty feet into the air, before hardening the water spout that followed me and sat on it. I turned and faced Camp Half-Blood, simply watching it. It seemed that a few people were waking up now, if the pair on the beach were any indication. They were facing in my general direction, so I waved at them. When they waved back, I commanded my personal pillar of water to bring me to the other campers. It took a minute, since I had swam out pretty far, but I made it eventually. I recognized the blonde haired Jason and the chocolate curls of Piper, complete with the feather she usually had. Both were smiling in contentment, leaning on each other as they watched me with amusement.

And amused they were, when my water pillar didn't follow me onto the sand, instead dissolving, leaving me to fall twenty feet. I screeched like a pterodactyl, which stopped after I collided face first with the soft ground. I could hear Piper and Jason busting their guts laughing. I chuckled wryly.

"Nice to know my pain is funny to you guys." I said, in mock hurt. Jason waved away my sarcasm, but didn't stop laughing. In fact, he laughed even harder when Leo came out of nowhere, panting, and cried, "What's going on!? I swear I heard a Sphinx!" His hands were covered in soot, and his shirt was drenched in sweat. He must've been working in the forges all night, and was on his way to get a shower.

Even I started rolling around at the hilarity of the situation. Leo stood there, looking confused as all Hades.

"What am I missing here?" He asked. Jason held up his index finger, the universal sign for 'gimme a sec'. We took much longer than a sec, but we still calmed down. It was nice, to just laugh our lungs out. After all the hardships in our lives, we deserved it. Unfortunately, the hardships didn't stop just because we saved the world(a few times, in my case). No, the Fates were far from done with their favorite toy.

That was when Malcolm ran up to me, breathing audibly but not outright gasping. "Hey, Percy. I think you need to go talk to Annabeth. She seems pretty shaken up about… something. She wouldn't say a word to any of us." The severity of Malcolm's statement beat the humor out of the moment. I immediately hopped to my feet, brushing off sand grains from my shirt while asking Malcolm,

"Where is she right now?"

"She should be back at the cabin." Malcolm replied, finally getting his breathing under control.

"Thanks, Mal." I threw over my shoulder as I bolted off towards Cabin 11.

This event was the first snowball in an avalanche of strange happenings.


Okay, now begins the long road to redemption for this story. In the meantime, y'all should check out my other stories:Phantom Pains, Ocean of Sparks, and My Son Is The Future Demon King. There are a few others, but they don't have actual chapters yet. I will start working on those when I get bored of the ones I listed above, or finish them. By the way, what's up with the 99 follows? Can we get that up to 100, please? Also, review. If you guys don't tell me what you want, I can't give it to you. I don't read minds. That's that psychic shit. I don't fucks with that.