A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first Percy Jackson fanfiction, and it's also my first chapter fanfiction. This is set after the Titan War but before HoO. I hope that everyone in the story is in character. Reviews and constructive criticism are highly appreciated, and be free to point out any errors. Flames will be used to roast s'mores. Also, I am taking suggestions for costumes, tricks, and treats. Just review or PM me if you have any ideas. Enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or anything/anyone else out of Camp Half-Blood, but I own two signed copies of SoN and the lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Battlefield."
It was a typical day at Camp Half-Blood. The harpies were squawking, the strawberries were growing, and the cool night air was filled with the sound of campers sparring, singing, forging tools of destruction, and doing other things forever to remain unseen by the eyes of Mist-blinded mortals. For once, Percy Jackson felt relatively carefree. On this particular day, nothing seemed wrong in his chaotic world. The Great Prophecy had been fulfilled, and he and his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase, could settle down and become a normal couple. Well, as normal a couple as two powerful teenage demigods could become. Still, he felt as if something was about to go very wrong. Everything seemed way too calm. Unnaturally calm. Percy just decided he would shrug off his unease for now. He figured that he wasn't really used to having nothing to worry about. That must be it.
Percy heard the conch horn blow signaling dinner time. He walked over to the dinner table and piled his plate high with savory, dripping barbecue and cheesy olive pizza. "Percy," whispered his satyr friend Grover as he walked past him on the way to the offering trays. "Why do you have so much food?"
"I'm going to make a bunch of sacrifices," said Percy. He smiled. "My life seems to be going so well that I wanted to thank the gods for it."
Grover shook his curly head. "You shouldn't speak too soon, Percy. You never know with the gods."
"Grover!" called a female voice in the distance.
"I have to go now, Percy. Juniper's calling me." With a clop of his cloven hooves, he dashed over to join his botanical girlfriend.
Percy pondered this as he placed either a slice of pizza or a brisket of barbeque on each pyre, even for the Olympians he didn't like such as Ares and Hera. When he reached Poseidon's dish, he stopped to say a prayer. Hey, Dad, he thought. Thank you for giving me some time to relax. Is it okay if you make it last? I hope you enjoy this pizza and barbeque.
After finishing his sacrifices, Percy went back to the Cabin 3 table to eat the remainder of his dinner in solitude. He sipped his blue Coke and took a bite out of the gooey pizza as he glanced over at the Athena table, or more specifically at Annabeth. Her honey colored curls bounced against her back as she laughed at some joke one of her cabin mates had made. Oh, what Percy would give to sit next to her. Rules had sentenced each member of Camp Half-Blood to sit with their half-siblings at the table of their godly parent. The only sibling Percy knew personally was his cyclopean half-brother Tyson who happened to be working at the bottom of the ocean rebuilding Poseidon's kingdom which had been destroyed during the Titan War. Though Percy missed him, he still didn't feel too bothered by the loneliness. He saw Annabeth finish her dinner and go to the campfire.
After Percy finished his dinner, he went to the campfire to join the campers who had already finished their evening meal. The demigods were making s'mores and singing campfire carols about monsters and guts and the like. Finally, Percy could sit with Annabeth.
"I wonder if anything interesting is going to happen tonight, Seaweed Brain," sighed Annabeth as Percy took a seat next to her. Percy looked into her intelligent steel colored eyes and replied, "I hope we can just relax for a change, Wise Girl." He wrapped his arm around her waist as she leaned against his shoulder. He never would have thought this possible during his first few years at Camp Half-Blood. Once again, he thanked the gods for his amazing girlfriend. The flames were high and yellow to reflect the demigods' cheery atmosphere. Percy and Annabeth listened to their peers sing:
Take me out to the battlefield.
Take me out on a quest.
I wanna kill monsters and win some fame,
But I cannot go till I'm already claimed.
I really don't wanna die
'Cause I heard the Underworld stinks!
But it's one! Two! Three campers going to escape this place!
As the campers were about to start singing "Achilles the Warrior Went to Troy," a plump figure in a leopard patterned shirt walked down the aisles to the center area of the pit. He was a god. The god of drunks. The god of theatre. The god who was forced to direct Camp Half-Blood. He was Dionysus, also known to the campers as Mr. D.
"Attention brats!" he bellowed. Everyone stopped singing and looked at him, but some continued with their s'more munching.
"I wonder what the Wine Dude has planned now," Percy heard Clarisse mutter. Chris and the Ares cabin snickered, but they immediately stopped when their bodies mysteriously started to dance the Hokey Pokey.
"I hope everyone's paying attention now. Any brat who doesn't will have to dance the Tarantella for a week. None of you would like that with the event I'm about to announce." Everyone went silent. If Mr. D. was creating a new event, it would be either very good or very bad and certainly very strange. He was the god of parties after all. Waves of worry washed over the oceans of Percy's worries. This could, probably would, become a threat to Percy's hopes of a worry-free summer. He groaned inwardly.
"I know that not all of you are year-round campers," continued Mr. D. as he looked around at the anxious crowd of demigods. "You probably get to celebrate the holidays with your little mortal families. Not all of us have this luxury." A few of the year-round campers nodded. Percy felt a surge of gratitude for his mother and his stepdad, Paul Blofis. Ms. Jackson always tried her best to celebrate the holidays with Percy, even back when she was married to Smelly Gabe. Percy was glad that Paul liked to celebrate them, too.
"I decided that we should celebrate a different holiday for a week, starting tomorrow with Halloween. Tonight at midnight, you may start making your costumes and obtaining tricks or treats in some way, shape, or form. Everyone must participate, and there will be prizes. Now off to bed, brats. Get ready to Trick or Treat."
It turned out that Percy would not have a peaceful week after all. He decided to prepare for the worst.
