Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It belongs to Rick Riordan.

Author's Note: This takes place during the first book in the series. If there is any mistakes, I'm sorry, my computer doesn't have the program I need, so I had to retype it on a program that doesn't have spell check.

New York, New York

Percy Jackson sat by the fountain in the center of the quad. His best friends Grover and Annabeth sat on either side of him. He twirled his phone in his hand and watched as the late autumn breeze blew the few leaves that were left off the trees.

"What are we going to do now?" Annabeth asked. Grover shrugged while Percy remained thoughtful.

"If Hades wanted us, he'd get us without a problem. We're a pawn in his chess game while he's the King. We're all part of his big plan and we can't play to his advantage," he said. Annabeth was silent while Grover jumped to his feet.

"I sat that since we're not going to play Hades game then let's at least have some fun," he said, looking longingly at a coupld of rich, snotty kids.

"No, that's exactly what he would want us to do. We have to stay alert, but we can still have a little fun," Percy said.

"Percy's right, Grover, we can't just lose ourselves. We have to stick together," Annabeth said quitely. Grover's face fell and he sat back down.

"I suppose you're right," he said, sighing.

They were in New York, Percy's hometown. Currently, they were tryin to figure out their next move on their journey to Hades. They couldn't go to their parents because that would put them at danger. It was bad enought that Percy was here.

Ever since the story his mom's boyfriend had put on the news, people had been looking for him. Why they were here after killing Medusa, they didn't know. They had been hiding out here for about a day now. They didn't know what to do. They should have been in Dallas, but they weren't quite sure that was right.

"What are we going to do? It's going to be dark soon and we have no way to check into a hotel with Percy," Grover muttered. Percy gave him a look.

"Gee, thanks," he said.

"Any time, boss. After all, I am your Protector," he said. Annabeth looked up at them.

"Well I could check us all in. Besides, we can't check in with you either, Grover. After all, he mentioned you on the news too." Grover looked away, ashamed. "Is that our plan then? Check in tonight and head to Dallas first thing?"

"I guess," Percy said. They all stood and slung their bags over their shoulders. Percy slipped on his sunglasses and hat as they walked out of the quad and onto the crowded street.

Percy stood on the balcony of their hotel that over looked Times Square. The wind picked up as the sun began to set and the temperature dropped. He gripped the rail tighter as the traffic didn't thin, it became thicker. Annabeth walked out and stood next to him.

"It wasn't always like this," he muttered.

"I know, Perce, it's a lot to take on, but we're in this together and we're not going to stop until we clear your name. The last thing us demigods need is a war between the gods. We'll prove your innocence, okay?" she asked, looking at him with such an intense gaze he had to look away.

"I trust you, Annabeth, but I'm not sure that trust is the case here. You ever here the saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer? I'm not sure I want to keep Hades close to me," he said jokingly. She smiled slightly.

We need to leave as soon as we can. It's not safe for us here, ecspecially you. Can you imagine how we'd have to break you out of a juevinile detention center or even jail? Can you picture a girl and a crippled walking into a jail and breaking you out?" she asked. He laughed quietly.

"Come on, I suppose we should get some sleep since we'll be up at the crack of dawn," he siad and walked back into the room. Annabeth soon followed.

As you know, Percy manages to defeat Luke (the first time), and escape Hades, get his mother back, and meet his father for the first time. All in which, they make it back to Camp Half Blood safely, but it was only the beginning.