Chapter I: Family Reunion At Camp Half-Blood
Hello, everybody! It is I, StoryMakerr014, bringing you another story! If you have been following me for quite some time now, you must have already expected this to come up this November. In fact, this fanfic, along with several updates of my other stories, should have been posted last week. But I encountered some health problems. Don't worry though, I'm okay now. :)
Anyway, this fic is similar to one of my first stories titled "Transformers 4: The Untold Stories" in that this is a sort of epilogue to Heroes Of Olympus while serving as a prequel to a future fanfic. And just like it, this one will only consists of 9-10 chapters at best. However, I could tell you that they will be very interesting. Especially the last two. :D
Anyway, enough of that. Sit back, and enjoy the first chapter!
For the first time since he was kidnapped by a goddess, Percy had finally slept well.
Three days after the defeat of Gaea, things were finally settling back to normal. Well, as normal as things could be in the life of a demigod like him. Especially since he is a son of Poseidon.
Waking up in the morning inside his own cabin with the salt fountain on the corner and the metal fish ponies his Cyclops brother, Tyson, made hanging near the window was the best. But for Percy, nothing can compare to seeing his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase, safe and happy once again in their home.
Camp Half-Blood.
He smiled in his bed, remembering last night's campfire songs and that wonderful kiss she gave him before he entered his cabin. Sighing in contentment, he rolled off his bed and sat up, stretching briefly. He stood up, brushed his teeth and changed his clothes to the usual orange camp t-shirt and some faded blue jeans. He walked towards the door and opened it to reveal a certain blonde daughter of Athena with her back turned.
"Hey, baby." He smiled, wrapping an arm around her. He heard a giggle and smiled again.
"How's your sleep, baby?" She asked, still not turning around to face him.
"Good. Especially with that kiss you gave me last night." He whispered the last part in her ear, making her giggle once more. "Which reminds me, aren't you suppose to give me that morning kiss already?" He grinned slightly.
"Are you sure? Someone might see us." She said. Though judging by her tone, she wants it too.
"Of course. In fact, I think it would be best if somebody did see us." He chuckled.
She giggled again, gods how he loved hearing her like that, and answered. "Well, baby, if you really insist."
She turned around slowly to reveal... the grinning face of Travis Stoll.
"How about it, baby? Ready to receive your morning kiss?" He said in a very poor imitation of Annabeth's voice, batting his eyes rapidly at him and making kissing motions with his lips. Percy screamed loudly and pushed the son of Hermes on the ground.
"What the actual Hades, Travis?" Percy shrieked, backing away hastily. Suddenly, the air to his left shimmered as the real Annabeth Chase appeared, laughing hysterically.
"You should've seen the look on your face!" She laughed, doubling over. On the ground, Travis looked like he was having difficulty breathing.
"Dude, I can't believe you would actually fall for that!" Travis said between gasps of air. "To think that you've known Annabeth for five years already."
As Percy calmed down, he took a closer look at Travis and noticed a really big difference between him and the real Annabeth. For one, his body was not feminine at all. Plus, her girlfriend's hair was not that long either.
"That's not funny, guys. Not funny at all." He grumbled as Annabeth approached him, giggling a bit.
"Don't be mad, Percy. They're just "officially" welcoming you back." She explained, hugging him from the side. Then she snickered. "Besides, that look you just made was totally priceless!" She laughed again softly.
"Still not funny." Percy muttered. Suddenly, Connor Stoll appeared out of thin air, grinning maniacally and holding a video camera.
"Welcome back, Percy!" He greeted jovially before hastily helping his brother to his feet. "Thanks for this video!" He waved the camera triumphantly. "We are going to submit this to Olympus' Funniest Videos." He said with a grin. "We're really sorry dude, but we need that grand prize money of 1,000 drachmas. Especially since that invisibility powder we used was not cheap." He said. "See you later!" He laughed together with his brother and ran.
"STOLLS!" Percy yelled as he prepared to go after them. However, Annabeth restrained him back with a hug.
"Hey, just let them be." She smiled. "Besides, don't you want that morning kiss?"
Percy grumbled and turned towards her. Then he frowned. "Are you sure you're my real girlfriend?" He narrowed his eyes with fake suspicion. He expected her to reply with a smart comment, he didn't expect her to actually kiss him. As he got over his surprise, he closed his eyes and started to kiss her back, pouring his love for her into it. They broke apart a minute later, both of them with a smile on their lips.
"I really missed this." She said, leaning into him and sighing contently in his chest.
Percy chuckled softly. "Annabeth, we just did this last night." He said, smiling.
"That's not what I mean, Percy." She said, her voice soft. "I mean this." She glanced at their surroundings. "Our home. Our friends. Living normally without any fear of angry gods or goddesses bringing the end of the world." She leaned into him once more and sighed.
"Yeah, me too." He murmured. Then he cupped her cheeks with his hands and pressed his lips once more into hers. "Especially since we could do this over and over without anyone watching us." He grinned as they broke apart.
She giggled, slapping him gently in the chest. "You're such a seaweed brain, Percy." Then she placed her forehead into his and smiled. "But you're MY Seaweed Brain." She whispered.
"And you're my Wise Girl." He answered with a smile of his own. As they prepare for another kiss, they suddenly heard someone coughed. They sighed and turned their heads toward the sound to find Jason Grace smirking at them.
"I hope you two are done eating each other's faces already. Because you're both gonna be late for breakfast."
...
"So, how are you and Piper doing?" Percy asked Jason.
The two of them were currently walking towards the dining pavilion, with Annabeth heading back to the Athena cabin and her siblings a few moments ago.
"We're doing good." The son of Jupiter smiled. Along the way, they passed Grover and Juniper, who waved at them in greeting.
"How good?" Percy gave him a sideway glance as he waved back at the satyr and his girlfriend. "Good enough that you needed to sneak Piper out of her cabin well past curfew?" He grinned. Just last night, he saw Jason and Piper cautiously making their way to Zeus cabin.
Jason's eyes widened. "Y-You saw us?" He stuttered, blushing a bit.
Noticing his embarassment, Percy laughed. "Hey, no need to be embarassed." He clapped him on the back. "Campers do it all the time. Heck, before I was kidnapped, me and Annabeth did it several times already." He grinned, remembering the few times they were almost caught by the cleaning harpies.
Jason sighed. "Yeah. Well, I'm not really embarassed because of that. I am embarassed because... I don't know. Maybe it's because of the fact that up until I showed up in that bus with Piper and Leo, all her memories of me were actually fake. We've just practically started dating two days ago. And I think I'm scared of doing something that might make Lady Aphrodite mad at me or something."
Percy snorted. "You're kidding, right? Knowing that goddess, she's probably squealing every time he sees you together with her daughter."
Jason looked at him uncertainly. "You think so?" He asked with a doubtful expression.
"Of course." Percy nodded. "Besides, I think she will go easy on you. I mean, you're one of the reasons we defeated Gaea." True, Percy admitted to himself. To storm or fire the world must fall. Now that he had thought about it, that line referred to Jason AND Leo working together to destroy Gaea. And so, the recognition and credit rightfully belongs to them. As for himself, he was content with the fact that he had been able to help them fulfill the prophecy.
By waking up Gaea with a stupid nosebleed.
"Maybe you're right..." Jason mumbled. As the two of them continued on their way, they passed more campers heading towards the pavilion until there were more than a hundred demigods already. They passed the Ares kids, with Clarisse giving Percy a curt nod. Behind her and her siblings, the entire Hephaestus cabin marched. Though they looked as gloomy as before ever since they learned of Leo's heroic sacrifice, especially Jake Mason.
He sighed, wishing he could have done something. Unfortunately, both Nico and Hazel themselves had already said that Leo was indeed dead. And Percy wouldn't survive the explosion even if he wanted to save him. He suddenly thought of Calypso and felt sad at her tragic love life. No doubt she was still in Ogygia, fruitlessly waiting everyday at the beach for someone who will never return, even if there was a way. He just hope that she will not start cursing the gods and him or Annabeth again.
Once I get the chance, I will really ask them to free her. And I will be there to see it. He promised to himself.
As they neared their destination, Percy saw several more familiar faces. He saw the Athena cabin with Malcolm and Annabeth in the lead(who winked at him), Piper(who smiled at Jason) and the Aphrodite kids with Drew just behind her talking to one of their siblings about the latest gossip. Then there were the Stolls and the Hermes campers, busily avoiding small vines erupting from the ground courtesy of Katie Gardner and the Demeter demigods, who looked pissed. Some of the Apollo kids waved at him, though they looked as gloomy as the Hephaestus kids. Probably due to the fact that Apollo was being punished severely and prohibited from siring any male Roman demigod for a century. Not that Percy have problems with that. Having another Octavian is as bad as Gaea rising once again.
Then he noticed something. Someone was missing from the Apollo campers. Apparently, Jason noticed it too.
"Where's Will?" He frowned. Suddenly, all of them heard a scream.
"PUT ME DOWN, WILL SOLACE!" Came the unmistakable voice of Nico di Angelo. Percy and the others glanced around for the source of his voice until they saw a rather unusual sight behind them.
Will Solace was walking casually with Nico slung over his shoulders, the boy struggling and screaming Greek curses at the son of Apollo.
"I SAID PUT ME DOWN!" The son of Hades yelled, beating his fists repeatedly against Will's back.
"No." Will replied. "You need to eat, remember?"
Nico crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance. "I can walk, Solace." He grumbled.
"Of course you can." Will said. "After the sun has set and all of the campers are sleeping. No, starting from today, you're going to eat with the rest of us. Look at you, you're as pale as a ghost. You need to be out on the sun to get your vitamin B."
"I don't need vitamin B or Y or any of that stupid medical mumbo jumbo." He snapped. "What I need is for you to put me down and let me get back to my room at the infirmary for me to return to sleep."
"Not a chance, Death Boy." Will shook his head. "Sleeping too much is bad for your health. It will weaken your muscles. Not that you have many anyway." He smirked. "That's why after we eat breakfast, you will go with some of us to the climbing wall. And that's final."
All around Percy, people were starting to gawk and whisper as the duo approached and continued bickering. Meanwhile, some of the Aphrodite girls squealed in delight at seeing them.
"So cute!" Drew cooed together with her siblings.
"So gay!" Travis snickered. The entire Hermes cabin plus several people from the other cabins laughed at this.
"I really can't believed that he..." Percy's voice trailed off, unable to say it out loud. Even now, he wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or ashamed or revolted. Though the latter is definitely not in his vocabulary. After all, some of the gods(especially Apollo) were once known to be, for lack of a better word, gay.
"That he once had a crush on you?" Jason laughed.
Percy nodded. "Yeah, I mean-" Then his eyes widened and he looked at Jason in disbelief. "You knew?"
"Well, yeah." The former praetor chuckled. "Remember when we had set out to retrieve the scepter? We encountered Eros."
"Yes, you told us that." Percy nodded.
"Well, Eros convinced Nico to confessed that he had a crush on you." Jason spoke softly. "That's one of the conditions he gave us. Mine was, as you know already, to confess that during that time, I wasn't sure if my feelings for Piper were sincere or not."
"So you mean...?" Percy asked while looking Nico, who was no longer struggling but still looked as pissed as before.
"He is definitely gay, if that's what you want to say." Someone said from behind them. They turned around to find Piper grinning at them.
"You looked pleased." Jason observed as he planted a soft kiss on her lips.
"Why I wouldn't be? I just found out from Coach Hedge this morning that my dad is flying here in New York to promote his new TV series." She smiled.
That sent a pang of longing in Percy's heart. Just last night, he tried to call his mother after remembering about her and his step-dad, Paul, two days after their victory. Unfortunately, only the voice-mail answered. Leaving a short message, Percy had promised that he will go visit them after finishing his breakfast. It should've been much earlier, really. After all, she hadn't seen him for more than a year. And any good son who have been gone for a long time should have visited his parents as soon as he gets the chance.
"Hey, bro! You okay?" Jason looked at him in concern.
That snapped him out of his thought. He glanced around and had just realized that they have finally made their way into the dining pavilion without him knowing it. Giving Jason a sheepish smile, he chuckled in embarassment.
"Sorry. Just thinking about Mom." He said. At this, Jason's gaze softened in understanding. He patted him on the shoulder briefly before making his way at the Zeus table. Likewise, Piper gave him a sympathetic smile before sitting together with her siblings. With no one else to talk to, he finally sat down at his own table and ordered breakfast.
Waffles, pancakes and some honey syrup.
As the entire demigod children of Camp Half-Blood sat down in their seats, with Nico sitting uncomfortably beside Will(doctor's orders), Chiron stomped one of his hooves on the floor and raised a goblet. Unsurprisingly, Mr. D hasn't returned yet.
"Today marks the third day of our victory against Gaea. And so, let us honor the gods and the demigods who made this possible. To the heroes and the gods!" The aged centaur called.
"To the heroes and the gods!" They raised their glasses and murmured. They stood up and proceed to give a portion of their meal as an offering. After Jason dropped a rather large helping of food into the fire, murmuring "To Zeus and all the gods." as he did so, Percy came next.
Dropping an entire pancake into the inferno, he sent a prayer to his dad.
"To Poseidon." He whispered then added. "Please tell Mom that I'm okay and that I missed her so much."
He knew there's only a 10% chance that his father would hear him. And so he didn't expected any answer. However, he smiled when after he tossed the food into the fire, a strong smell of sea breeze wafted in the air.
Breakfast went by without much incident. Aside from Nico and Will's shouting match about the son of Hades' unhealthy diet, much to the amusement of the Aphrodite cabin, nothing eventful happened. And so, Percy found himself in the stables visiting Blackjack as he searched for a Pegasus that he can ride upon to visit his mother. Usually, it's either Blackjack or Mrs. O'leary that he would call for such situations. Unfortunately, the former was injured while the latter had followed Tyson, Ella and Rachel back at Camp Jupiter. Probably to play with Hannibal the Elephant.
A dog playing with an elephant. Go figure.
He sighed after learning that all pegasi were currently out for training. Blackjack volunteered, but Percy had steadfastly refused. He then left the stables and head for the lake, sitting along the banks and staring at it for quite some time. He was so focused gazing into the water that he didn't noticed Annabeth sat beside him.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked softly, gently placing a hand against one of his shoulder. He turned to look at her and sighed.
"I just want to see Mom very badly." He said quietly. "But Blackjack said that all the available pegasi were out for training. And I don't have any money to ride a taxi and go visit her." He groaned miserably.
Annabeth frowned. "Why not just use a drachma instead and send her an iris-message?" She asked.
Percy shook his head. "I can't. I mean, yes I can. But I want to see her in person. I want to hug her! I want to hear her voice and eat blue pancakes and cookies! It's been more than a year, Annabeth!" He told her with deep longing in his voice. "More than a year since I last saw my Mom." He gaze at her with a forlorn expression. No words could describe how much Percy wanted to see his mother badly.
"I know. I understand what you feel." Annabeth murmured. She moved closer to him and leaned against his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Not speaking. Only leaning against each other in comfort. That act alone made Percy just a little bit better on the inside. After a while, Annabeth spoke. "Percy?"
"Hmmm?" Percy looked at her.
"Why do you want to ride a pegasus just to visit your Mom? You could have just ask around and borrow some cash instead." She frowned and gave him a questioning look.
Percy gulped. How could he explain it to her without sounding so silly?
"Um, promise me you won't laugh." He mumbled.
"Why would I laugh?" She gave him a weird look.
"Yeah, you're right." He muttered. Then he drew a deep breath. "Alright. I'll tell you." He stared at her beautiful grey eyes. "I... I want to appear to her in a heroic way." He said with a sheepish smile before looking away in embarassment.
Silence engulfed them for few moments, making Percy frown. He glanced back at Annabeth only to find her trying very hard not to laugh.
"Okay." She said, keeping her face as serious as she could. Unfortunately, she wasn't having much luck.
"You're laughing." Percy pouted. "I knew it."
"I'm not laughing." She said.
Percy sighed. "Okay, fine. You're not laughing." He nodded. "You're just trying hard not to laugh." At this, Annabeth could no longer contain herself and she burst into fits of giggles.
"I told you." Percy grumbled, his cheeks flushed with embarassment.
"I'm sorry!" She giggled uncontrollably, covering her mouth with one hand. "It's just that... after all we've been through, I can't believe that you still act like a kid sometimes!" She giggled again.
"Hey!" Percy protested. "I do not act like a kid." He grumbled just like one. "Besides, I've been gone for over a year. I literally vanished into thin air without trace. And, well, you know, I want to surprise her." He said.
"I know." Annabeth chuckled softly, wiping away tears of laughter in her eyes. "But as I've said, you could have just borrow some money." She said.
"Yeah. But still..." He trailed off. He really wanted to surprise his mother using that method. In fact, he could almost imagine the scenario in his mind.
His mother gazing longingly at their favorite spot in Montauk beach during sunset, waiting for his return. With the sun at his back slowly sinking on the horizon, he will urge Blackjack to fly faster before landing gracefully on the sands just a few feet in front of her mom. He will slowly jump down from Blackjack, his mother gazing at him with tears in her eyes, and with some heroic music playing on the background, he will approached her with a steady pace before finally removing his bronze helmet and-
"Percy!" Annabeth called and snapped her fingers in front of his nose, shaking him out of his daydream.
He flashed her an apologetic smile and mumbled, "Sorry. Just daydreaming."
Annabeth sighed. "We'll just ask Chiron for help later, okay?" She said softly before kissing him lightly on his cheek. "Let's go. You still have a sword fighting class before lunch." She said and they both stood up.
"So much for daydreaming." Percy muttered before following his girlfriend.
"Chiron! Wait!" Percy called to his teacher. It was just after class. As the demigods started to leave for their lunch break, he immediately headed straight for Chiron to get his permission to let him go visit his mother.
"Yes, Percy?" The aged centaur asked as he caught up with him. Percy shifted uncomfortably in his feet, glanced briefly behind him to see Annabeth smiling encouragingly at him, before returning his gaze at Chiron's looming form. With a deep breathe, Percy spoke.
"Can I, um, get your permission to, uh, go visit my mother?" The son of Poseidon asked nervously. Immediately, Chiron's face morphed into a serious expression.
"Percy, I don't know how should I say this." He said slowly. "But I can't let you leave camp for now."
Percy looked at him with confusion etched in his face. "B-But why?" He asked.
This time, it was Chiron who shifted nervously. "I can't tell you." He murmured. "I'm sorry." He said before galloping away, leaving Percy standing still with a distraught and dejected expression.
...
Lunch came but Percy didn't have any appetite at all. His thoughts always wandered to his mother and the fact that Chiron had practically grounded him at camp. He couldn't understand why the centaur would do that to him.
"I think it's because I woke up Gaea with a stupid nosebleed." He told Annabeth during afternoon as they watched Jason sparred with the entire Ares cabin at the training area. "I think they are punishing me because of that."
"Don't say that." Annabeth said. "If they are really punishing you, they should have also done it to me. Both of us were the reason Gaea was revived, remember?"
"Yeah." He said. "But without you, we would never be able to get the Athena Parthenos at all." He pointed out to her. "As for me, I never did anything useful except fight rogue gods and ugly monsters, get captured, fight gods and monsters again, get captured again." He grumbled, shifting into a sulking expression.
"You had recovered the Twelfth Legion's standard." She reminded him. "You managed to gain their trust despite being a Greek. You had defended their camp. Percy, you have done your part as much as I did in our quest too. That's why Hera chose you. Not only because you're the leader of Camp Half-Blood but also because she knew you'd play a large role in defeating Gaea."
Percy wanted to believe her. He really do. But whenever he remembers how Chiron had refused to let him leave, he couldn't help but feel as if he did something wrong. Maybe he should have reported Jason and Piper sneaking past curfew...
Percy shook his head. He won't do that. Jason is as good as a real brother to him. Besides, he and Annabeth had done the same too during the time after the second Titan War. Reporting them will just make him a hypocrite.
'I just wished Chiron would tell me the reason I was being grounded." He sighed.
"I'm pretty sure it's for the best, Percy." Annabeth said with a reassuring tone, leaning her head on his shoulders.
"I hope so." Percy muttered as they watched Jason disarmed Clarisse in just three seconds.
When they left the arena, Percy, Annabeth and Jason were surprised to see Chiron and a large gathering of campers near the base of Thalia's pine tree.
"What could it be?" Jason frowned as they immediately jogged up the hill.
"Who knows?" Percy answered. "It could be a new camper." He said. As they neared the commotion, he noticed Grover at the front talking excitedly to someone. Unfortunately, he couldn't see who it was as they were further at the back of the group. However, he could also see Chiron apparently talking to another person.
"Please! Excuse me! Coming through!" Annabeth said politely as they tried to get closer on the front. Fortunately, the campers parted quickly, enabling them to hear Chiron's conversation with someone looks like a very familiar girl.
"...sad to hear that. In any case, we're all glad that you and the rest of the Hunters are safe, Thalia." Immediately, Jason's eyes widened.
"THALIA!" He yelled in delight as he rushed to his sister, unintentionally electrocuting a few campers along the way, which unfortunately includes the Stolls.
"Jason." Thalia beamed as her brother hugged her tightly, making the other Hunters glared at him. "Good to see you, little brother." She teased.
"Hey, I'm not little anymore!" Jason pouted rather childishly. Then he broke into a grin. "But it's nice to know that you're safe too!"
"Of course." The lieutenant of Artemis snorted. "It'll take more than an ugly giant to bring me down." Then she saw Annabeth smiling from Percy's side. "Annabeth!" She called as she approached the daughter of Athena and gave her a warm hug.
"Welcome back, Thalia." She said. "Nice to see you again." She smiled as they separated.
"Same here!" She grinned. Then she looked at Percy and smirked. "So, how have you been, Kelp Head?"
"Good enough, Pinecone Face." He smirked back at her. However, it was somewhat forced. He was a bit dejected and envious that Jason was able to reunite with his sister. Unlike him. Stuck at camp for some unknown reason.
Yeah, the gods are really angry at him. Except for his dad. Maybe.
Soon, Thalia and Annabeth started another conversation with Jason, Piper and a few campers joining them after a while, leaving Percy standing there with no one to talk to.
With a sigh, he started to leave. His thoughts wandered again to his mother. Her warm smile. Her blue cookies with the chocolate chips melting in his mouth. In fact, he could almost smell it in the air...
"Percy!" Grover called, interrupting his thoughts. He glanced behind him to see his best friend trotting excitedly in his direction.
"Percy, there's someone who wants to meet you!" The satyr grinned and dragged the son of Poseidon in front of the pine tree.
"Grover, I don't think any of the Hunters wants to meet me." He sighed exasperatedly, struggling against his friend's grip. "And I am not in the mood to meet anyone today." He grumbled and crossed his arms in annoyance as they stopped a few feet beside the Hunters, much to their dismay. Suddenly, another familiar voice spoke just behind him.
"So you do not want to see your mother today?" A female voice said with a hint of amusement.
Time stopped for Percy. He knew that voice. It belongs to someone he'd been dying to see ever since Gaea was defeated. Scratch that, that voice belonged to someone he terribly wanted to see ever since his memories returned. And so, he turned around very slowly to look at the person who just spoke.
There she was, standing in front of her car and smiling at him. She was just as Percy remembered her. And that's saying a lot because he lost his memories for almost a year.
"Mom?" He croaked. He couldn't believe it. He thought he was dreaming. But this wasn't a dream. For good measure, he pinched himself hard very subtly.
"Hello, Percy." Sally Jackson said softly as she approached. As she stopped in front of him, she placed a hand gently in his cheek and smiled again.
"You've grown." She said, her eyes tearing up a bit.
"Mom." Percy said, his mind too clogged with emotion to say more than a single word. This didn't go unnoticed by Grover, who nudged him slightly and muttered, "Say something else, man. Not just 'mom'."
Of course he should. However, he really couldn't think at all. Heck, he still couldn't believe that he was already reunited with his mother. But that soon changed when he smelled it. His ADHD kicking in, he blurted out the very first thing that came to his mind.
"Did you brought me blue cookies?"
Dinner finally came, with Percy's appetite returning. After talking with his mother for several hours and inhaling one cookie after another, his spirit rose. They talked a lot about what happened during the months that he was absent. About his disappearance and waking up several months later at the Wolf House. His journey to Camp Jupiter. His travel to Alaska. And of course, the entire trip to Greece. Just like before, Sally took it in without much surprise, having accepted long ago that Percy's life would be hard. However, she did cried when Percy told her of what happened with him and Annabeth down in Tartarus.
Afterwards, she told him about her and Paul's life while he was gone. How she took a break from work for several months due to mild depression. Her only pillar of strength came from Paul and Annabeth. When he left her and Paul a message during his travel in Alaska, she told Percy how much they both cried out of relief.
"When I heard you over the phone that day, my depression immediately vanished, knowing that you're safe." She told him as they walked along the beach of Camp Half-Blood. After that, she told how Chiron contacted her that Percy is finally home and that she could visit him once things were settled back at camp. Sadly, Paul was teaching at Goode when she came. But his mother had promised that they will go visit him again, as Chiron gave both of them permission to enter the camp whenever they wanted to, much to Paul's delight.
Percy grinned as he sat down in his table after giving a large helping of food as offering for his dad. Having left two hours ago, his mother gave him a hundred dollars as a gift plus three large boxes filled with nothing but homemade blue cookies, one of which is already 3/4 empty.
He ordered some barbecue and mashed potato and immediately started to eat. Around him, conversations were going as the demigods have their dinner. Suddenly, halfway through their meal, two flashes of light appeared in the middle of the dining pavilion.
"Hello, kids!" Hermes grinned, wearing his usual attire.
"Lord Hermes." Chiron and the rest of the campers bowed and murmured. As they stood up, Percy noticed Hermes' companion hiding in the shadows.
"My lord, what brings you here?" Chiron asked.
"Ah, you know, we were just delivering some messages." The god said cheerfully.
"We?" The centaur frowned.
"Yup." Hermes said with a grin. "Yo, Apollo!" He called, surprising the demigods. From one of the columns, the sun god emerged. As he appeared, Percy couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Dad?" Will Solace said in shock. Around him, his siblings muttered in pity while Nico, who sat once again beside him, snickered at the sight of Will's father.
Apollo wasn't looking hot. He wasn't looking awesome either. He looked miserable, wearing a mailman's outfit and carrying a large bag filled with letters.
"Demigods, meet my new assistant." Hermes smirked. On one of the tables, the Stolls were busy capturing the scene with their video recorder.
"Hello Will." Apollo greeted his son with a downcast look. Then he noticed Nico beside Will and his face morphed into a horrified expression. Immediately, he dropped the bag and knelt on the ground.
"FATHER!" He howled at the night sky, raising his arms rather dramatically. "IS MY PUNISHMENT NOT ENOUGH? MUST YOU ALSO ORDER APHRODITE TO TURN MY SONS INTO GAYS?" At this, the demigods roared in laughter and made the son of Hades and the son of Apollo blushed in embarassment.
"Now, now, kids. Let's not add insult to injury." Hermes grinned as Apollo sobbed. Percy couldn't blame the messenger god though. Apollo had caused almost as much damage as Gaea did when he let Octavian The Not-Hero Of Rome(his posthomous title given by the praetors themselves) attacked Camp Half-Blood.
"Sorry about that, kids." Hermes flashed them an apologetic smile after he had helped Apollo get to his feet. "But my assistant is kinda depressed today." He chuckled. Then he cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I've said, we are here to deliver a message." He then looked at Apollo and held up his hand. "Apollo, the letter."
Grumbling under his breath, the sun god rummaged at his bag for the letter.
"It's not here!" He told Hermes, who was busy talking with Chiron, after five minutes of searching.
"It must have been buried underneath." Hermes absentmindedly called. "Try looking deeper." Judging by his expression, Percy could figure out that the messenger was just fooling with the sun god.
With another grumble, Apollo dumped the letters on the ground and started to search again.
"Kids, you may want to continue your dinner while my assistant is looking for that letter." Hermes said. "I'm very certain it will take long to find it." The god winked at his kids, making them snicker and thereby confirming Percy's suspicion that Hermes was just messing. And so they did just that. They ate dinner while Apollo grew more depressed with each passing minute. Meanwhile, to spare himself from further embarassment, Nico had taken a seat in his own table.
One hour later, Apollo finally gave up and cried out in frustration.
"It's not here!" He stomped his foot, making all heads turned in his direction.
"What do you mean?" Hermes frowned rather convincingly. However, Percy could see right through it.
"The letter! It's not here!" Apollo said.
Hermes tapped his chin thoughtfully as if thinking. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.
"Ah yes! Of course it won't be in there!" He said. Then he pulled out an envelop from one of his pocket and waved it in the air. "I forgot that I have it!" He grinned. Unable to contain himself anymore, Apollo burst into tears once more. Ignoring the crying sun god, Hermes stepped forward in front of the demigods and opened the envelop. From his position, Percy could see that it was written in flowing golden ink, signifying it as a letter from the gods themselves. With a clear of his throat, Hermes began.
"To all, in celebration of the second defeat of Gaea and the victory of the gods and their children, Olympus have decided to host a grand party this Sunday at 6 p.m. in the evening." He paused briefly as he waited for the loud cheers coming from the demigods to subside. "All guests are required to wear formal clothes like suits and dresses, including the Hunters of Artemis." At this, murmurs broke among them and Thalia and the rest of the Hunters as well as Clarisse shrieked in shock and disbelief while the girls at Aphrodite cabin squealed in delight. As for Piper, as soon as she heard that they need to wear formal clothes, she immediately groaned.
"My lord, why are we being told to wear a dress?" One Hunter asked nervously. At this, Hermes shrugged. "I don't know." He said with a smirk. "Ask Aphrodite. It's her idea." This time, Piper groaned again and banged her head against the table.
Percy sighed. Knowing Aphrodite, the love goddess got something planned. He looked at Annabeth and his thoughts wandered to his girlfriend wearing a beautiful dress, making him blushed a bit. Suddenly, Hermes cleared his throat once more to gain their attention.
"Furthermore, the remaining Six along with Nico di Angelo and Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano are being requested by Lady Aphrodite to come to her palace six hours prior to prepare them for the party." He continued.
I knew it. Percy thought with a groan. He glanced at Piper, who for the second time since the announcement was made, banged her head against the table. Meanwhile, he looked at Annabeth to see her looking nervous. He couldn't blame the two girls though. The thought of Aphrodite doing a make-over for them is just as bad as fighting Tartarus.
"Lastly, each demigod in both camps will get an official invitation letter in the morning to be shown to the doorman at the Empire State Building lobby. The Olympian council are hoping that everyone can make it on time as this is only a one in a lifetime event. Regards, Olympian Council #1 Zeus" Hermes finished.
The two gods soon left after that, with Apollo still sobbing. Meanwhile, the demigods clustered around the campfire as they discussed the recent announcement.
"This is bad! Really bad!" Piper moaned beside Jason and buried her head in her hands.
"Honey, what's bad about it?" Drew said from her left. "Just imagine all those hot guys wearing suits! It'll be amazing!" She drooled a bit as she said this.
Meanwhile, Annabeth spoke in hushed tones with Percy.
"What do you think? Will I look good?" She asked with a hint of nervousness.
Percy frowned. "What are you saying? Of course you'll look good!" He said. "Even without Aphrodite's help, you'll always be beautiful." He smiled and kissed her softly. That was the truth. To him, Annabeth was the most prettiest demigoddess he met. In fact, he preferred her natural beauty, as it shows her true self.
"I hope so." She muttered and leaned on his shoulders. "I feel sorry for Piper though. It seems that she hasn't still recovered from last year's incident."
"You mean the one where she was claimed by her mother. Complete with make-up and dress." He smirked as he remembered how Jason had thoroughly described Piper's look.
"Jason Grace! If you ever mention that incident again, I'm breaking up with you!" Piper suddenly shrieked loudly before storming off, Jason following her and apologizing earnestly. Around them, the demigods chuckled. Apparently, Jason had just reenacted his expression when Piper was claimed. Meanwhile, on one side, Thalia and her Hunters were debating on whether they should risked Artemis' disappointment by not showing up to join her in her most embarassing moment, since she will be wearing a dress too, or risked the gods' wrath by castrating every male who so much as smile in their direction.
"It seems that some girls are not really excited to wear a dress." Percy mused.
Annabeth snorted. "You can't blame them. Especially the Hunters." She said. Then she yawned. "I'm tired." She mumbled.
Percy smiled. He glanced at her and in the light provided by the bonfire, he could see just how much beautiful his girlfriend is.
"Come on. Let me take you back to your cabin." He said and offered his hand. Annabeth took it as she stood up before they started to walk away, her head leaning against his shoulder once more. As they made their way to the Athena cabin, Clarisse's howl pierced through the night.
"I DON'T WANT TO WEAR A DRESS!"
So, how's that for the first chapter? I hope I portrayed the characters very well! :D
Now I said in my beta profile that I do not support yaoi. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean I do not support canon pairings. Hence, the Solangelo scenes in this chapter. XD
Oh, and I have nothing against the gay community. Just saying. :D
Anyway, I have something to say regarding the dresses. Since I'm kinda lazy to think of a good design(formal clothes are totally not my forte XD), we'll be having a contest. Just like my Pacific Rim fanfic, I will let you, the readers, submit your entry. Basically, you'll choose whatever dress you wish to see the demigodesses and goddesses wear on that party. Please be reminded that detailed descriptions are required OR a picture itself. Deadline is exactly 14 days from now, meaning you'll have to wait two weeks for the next update. You could send your submissions via the reviews or through PMs. :)
Note that ONLY three of the very best ideas for each female characters will be chosen. So you will have to use your imagination to the fullest.
Anyway, that's it for now. Hope you have enjoyed this chapter! :D
Please Read & Review! Until next time!