Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson
Chapter 1: Camp
As I stepped out into the sunlight from my mom's car I felt a happy sense of euphoria. I was home.
"Don't forget to Iris message me once and a while okay, Percy?" said my mom as she put the car in drive.
"Yeah sure, mom. I'll be fine." I said while I waved good-bye. The school year had been very quiet. Chiron said it was because Luke had gathered most of the powerful monsters for use in Kronos' army. He had also told me that many half-bloods had gone missing since I had left for the year. If we lost many more we would be outnumbered.
I had spoken to Annabeth about a week ago telling her I was coming; she said she'd probably get here a few hours before me. She had seemed really excited about seeing me. Ever since my talk with Aphrodite I had felt different with Annabeth. I found myself trying to make her laugh. Whenever I succeeded I would just stare at the smile she would give me.
As I walked over the hill and looked into the valley that is camp Half-blood I couldn't help but smile. It felt great to be among my friends and family. I ran down to the common outside the cabins. That's when I saw Grover.
"Hey G-man!"
"Hey Percy how's it going?" he said once I had reached him.
"Pretty good why aren't you out looking for Pan?"
"Chiron pulled all the satyrs back to camp because it was too dangerous out there with Luke's army growing stronger. I'm going insane waiting here Percy. I know he's out there waiting on me."
"Has he spoken to you since I last saw you?"
"Nope, not once, but there were times like when I was in the Serengeti that I thought I could feel him."
"Come on let's go see Chiron, " I said as started I walking toward the Big House.
When we got there Argus was waiting on the front porch; he greeted us as we passed by. "Hello Percy, It's good to see you here unharmed. How was you summer?" Chiron spoke as we walked into the front room of the Big House.
"It was good but really quiet just like you said; any news about Kronos?"
"His movements are very hard to track but we believe he is currently gathering strength in Central America."
"At least he can't hurt us from there."
"Percy, you know that Kronos' reach is long. He's been influencing many ancient monsters lately. Things have been waking up that have been at rest since the times of Hercules" he said.
"Great" I said in a sarcastic tone; it was beginning to get awkward so I decided to change the subject.
"Annabeth got here a little while ago right."
"Yes, She arrived a little over an hour ago".
"All right, I'm gonna to go see her" I said as I ran out the door leaving Grover with Chiron.
As I got to the middle of the commons that was between the cabins and the Big House I heard something behind me. I whipped around to find myself staring at…nothing. Just when I was deciding that I was crazy I was tackled into an invisible embrace
"I've missed you, Seaweed Brain," said the now visible Annabeth.
"Same here Wise Girl. How are you? How was San Francisco?" I said as I let go of her.
"Well, it's been completely boring. Haven't seen a monster since Atlas came calling so yeah I've been fine. What about you?"
"I've been as bored as you. Not one thing has happened to me the entire summer." I said as I tried to glance away and get my eyes off her.
"How's school?"
" Pretty good I'm making A's, surprise. What about you? Have you made any new friends, Percy?"
"Um…there's this girl named Katrina." The instant I said that she tightened up and the smile looked forced.
"Really? are you going out with her?"
"What? No! How did you come up with that? We're just friends."
"Oh, okay just wondering. Well its great to see you I've got to get back to my cabin to um… unpack but I'll see you at dinner" she said while she walked toward her cabin. I figured I should probably do the same.
The rest of the day went by in a flash. I talked to Beckendorf and the Stole twins and argued with Clarisse and before I knew it it was time for dinner. As I walked in to the pavilion I saw very few new faces. It didn't look like there had been many new recruits this summer. The only tables that seemed to be at full capacity were the Aphrodite, Athena, Ares, and Hermes cabins. I sat down as Chiron blew the conch shell and Mr. D (who hadn't been at the big house that morning) began to speak.
"Welcome back senior campers and new recruits. There it is now don't expect me to be glad to see you." He murmured as he sat back down again.
Chiron stood and said " Hello campers. I would first like to inform you that capture the flag will be held on Friday night with the Chariot races being on Saturday evening" this got an enormous cheer from all the tables because no one thought that they would be held now that Tantulus had left.
"We've decided to continue the races because this will train you to think on your feet. Also we feel that the lack of chores will be a very large incentive for you all to put your best effort forward. On an unrelated note, I will need to speak to Percy, Annabeth, and Grover after dinner privately." I looked over to Annabeth to see if she had any idea what was going on but she looked just as puzzled as I was (which was a hilarious look to see on Annabeth). Grover didn't have any answers either. I just resigned my self to waiting. After we gave our offering to the gods dinner passed by in a flash and before I knew it I was walking to the big house with my friends by my side.
"What's up Chiron, what did you need us for?" I asked when we crossed the threshold of the big house.
He was in his wheelchair contraption thing sitting at the table playing pinochle with Mr. D. "Well Percy as you've probably heard we've called all the satyrs back from the search for Pan. The growing threat from Luke and Kronos is just part of the reason. There is also a growing need for keepers because slowly our numbers are decreasing and we need to be on the lookout for potential allies in the form of new young half-bloods. However despite this we also need to find the great god Pan as well because another godly ally will be a great asset to the gods so we've come to the decision to issue a quest to find Pan."
"But Chiron the satyrs have been searching for Pan for thousands of years! How can we expect to find him?" Annabeth retorted.
" You will go and ask the oracle"