Well, welcome to my story, Percy Jackson: Pokemon Woods! I hope you like it!
P.S. Leo and Calypso have returned in this story, but until the series finishes I'm not going to include The Trials of Apollo.
Two months.
That was how much time that had passed ever since they'd defeated Gaea and the Giants. The Greeks and the Romans, eternal rivals since millennia, were now stalwart allies. Monster sighting were down to near zero.
For once in his life, Percy finally felt at peace, without any problems, or any cares in the world.
As a sign of goodwill, everyone from Camp Half-Blood had gone to Camp Jupiter and helped with the reparations: they'd finished in a couple of days. The rest of the two months had been spent in celebration, with war games and Roman theatre performances. There had been a lot of laughter, a lot of shouting and cheering, but what had been most immediately apparent was the feel of absolute trust in the air.
Camp Jupiter had been great. Reyna had given him a phone in secret and had told him to return it after he'd used it. Talking with his mother and Paul had been a great source of relief and happiness; he'd never be able to forget his mum's delighted voice. They'd also told him that they had a surprise waiting, but that he would only find out after he returned home.
Well, home was where the heart was, after all.
That said, Camp Half-Blood felt as much his home as his mother's apartment. After Gaea's devastation, the Camp had been left a muddy, destroyed mess, but the Greeks and Romans had cooperated to repair it before leaving to Camp Jupiter. Now the Romans were spending a couple of months in the Greeks' camp as well, and it seemed to be going well.
Percy shook his head: he normally did not get so wistful and philosophical. He looked around: Poseidon's cabin was as inviting as ever, but the top-bunk was quiet and dark. Percy hadn't seen Tyson in a while: he'd left before Percy could say goodbye just after Camp Half-Blood had been repaired. His brother was busy underwater, in Poseidon's palace: the structure had been badly damaged by Gaea.
As he yawned and stretched, a low, clanging noise caught his attention, followed by a cacophony of chatter and arguing. Deciding to get up and move around, Percy went outside.
Immediately he saw the problem: two people, one around his age, the other around fourteen years old, were facing each other. Percy could immediately recognize Jason: the blond hair, the muscular yet lean build, but most of all the electricity that crackled behind his sky-blue eyes. The other kid had messy black hair and a slouch that made him seem weak, but Percy had seen Nico's strength beforehand. Before, Nico had seemed to radiate death: plants slightly wilted near him, and animals normally ran off whining. Now, however, he looked more alive than ever.
Jason noticed him first, and waved him over. Now that Percy was closer, he could see Jason's annoyed face. "Hey, Percy," he greeted. "We have a problem here. Nico says that Melinoe wants permanent mist in her cabin, but Leo's already swamped with requests and we're not going to waste magic on this."
Nico shrugged. "Well, that's what she wants. Couldn't you put some clouds in there or something? It'd be easy for you, being the son of Jupiter and all."
Jason shook his head, annoyed. "It's not the same! She wants, I don't know, magical mist or something, right?" Jason waved his hands around as Percy watched, amused. Judging from Nico's wry grin and raised eyebrows, he felt the same as well. It wasn't often that he saw Jason flustered, and it made him look more human.
"I'll go check with Leo to see if he's not too busy," Percy offered, wanting to be useful. Jason shrugged, but told him that he'd probably be in Bunker 9. As he walked towards the forest, he looked back: Jason and Nico were chatting more amicably now, and he saw how much the camp had expanded.
Before, there had only been twelve cabins. Now, there were dozens, and more coming: the result of Jason's promise. Percy could spy the first cabin whose construction Jason had directed: Kymopoleia's. The goddess of violent storms had appeared in person, thankfully normally sized. When she'd seen the dark-blue exterior decorated with images of waves and clouds, and the inside in which there was a sculpture of her crushing a mortal with her foot, she'd immediately put her stamp of approval.
Making his way towards Bunker 9, Percy could spy many people- his friends- doing various activities. Piper and Hazel were sword-fighting near the campfire: an act that normally was prohibited, but Reyna was also standing there, her proud and caring smile saying all. A couple of people were watching: mainly Piper's siblings. A girl with blond pigtails was excitedly bouncing on the spot, as if she wanted to jump into space.
He heard Clarisse's rough voice before he saw her. The Ares daughter was mercilessly leading some members of her cabin through the obstacle course, all of the them looking as tough as their father. Clarisse jumped over the floor of lava, before cutting her way through vines and ropes.
Katie Gardner was chasing the Stoll twins, who were preparing their best pranks yet, as promised. Percy noticed that her hair had been dyed, and that there appeared to be strange markings in her face, but decided against asking about it: her dilated pupils and clenched hands told everything that he needed to know: that Percy would probably hear twin screams in the very near future.
When he arrived in the forest, he noticed something that he honestly hadn't really felt before. Without monsters, the forest was beautiful. Sunshine shone down into the forest through holes in the canopy, giving it a peaceful and natural vibe. Percy breathed in deeply, enjoying the fresh smell. He could see various nymphs going around the forest, gossiping or tending to their link.
After what seemed like hours to Percy but was probably only minutes, he found Bunker 9. Leo had made some pretty heavy redecorations: even if it wasn't Christmas- not by a long shot- the infamous Taco Claus was still installed outside of the workshop. It was a beautiful automaton: even Percy could say that, despite his experiences with less friendly automatons. The grinning face unnerved him however, as did the outstretched hand that offered tacos when his presence was detected.
Ignoring the treat, Percy went inside the bunker. Immediately he was thrust into a harsh white light that greatly contrasted with the soft, tenuous sunshine outside. He could see many unfinished projects on different desks, as well as various robots whizzing through the spacious entrance room.
Leo sat to Percy's right, face tight in focus. His joker's grin was still on place, though. Upon seeing Percy, his face brightened up, and the two greeted each other. When Percy told Leo about the mist-making machine, Leo shrugged, gathered various pieces of equipment, then sat back down and began tampering.
It did not take long: only a couple of minutes. Percy did apologize for wasting Leo's time, but the boy grinned and told him that it was nothing. Leo then handed the contraption to Percy: a crystal surrounded by a maze of tubing, along with a couple of levers and buttons with labels.
The trip back to Camp Half-Blood was uneventful. When Percy went back to see Nico and Jason, he noticed that a couple of people had joined them. Frank usually joined Jason in his projects as he was the one with the most physical strength, what with his shapeshifting and all. Annabeth was the cabin's designer: with a pen and a clipboard, she looked like an ultimate architect. Her expression was calm and focused, but Percy could see her left hand's thumb slowly smacking against the clipboard: a tic that rose up when she was apprehensive. Just one of many things he loved about her. The trio of Jason, Frank and Annabeth was famous in camp as they were the ones setting the shrines up. While many people still helped- Percy in particular had been called upon quite a lot of times- those three were at the heart of the "god recognition" project.
Smiling, Percy went up to greet his friends, and they responded likewise.
"Leo made the machine, right? I'll make sure to tell him my thanks," Jason said.
"Don't do it. Valdez's ego will only get bigger," Nico responded dryly.
Jason shrugged. "Fair point." He then turned to Annabeth. "By the way, Annabeth, do you have the plans I asked you for?"
Annabeth nodded, proud smile on her face. "Yeah, I think this is what you wanted." She then showed Jason one of her clipboard's pages, and he nodded, satisfied.
When Percy tried to look though, Annabeth moved the papers out of sight, then playfully bonked him with the clipboard. The reactions were immediate: a snort escaped from Jason's lips, only to be followed by a round of laughter. Frank's lips twitched, but he stayed silent, as if he was mourning Percy's dignity. Nico raised an eyebrow, then nodded at Annabeth in support.
"Why do you guys hate me…" Percy whined, high-pitched voice meant to annoy. Jason smirked at him, and lightly punched him in the arm.
"Because you need to be knocked down a peg or two," he responded. Sensing a competition, Percy instantly thought up of a retort.
"Look who's talking." Jason smiled, and replied "Touché."
As the two started to bicker, Percy felt himself start to get more relaxed. They then started to talk about other various things, until the other three started to get involved. While building Melinoe's cabin, they playfully bantered and offered support to one another. And when the dark purple exterior had been completed, they all smiled at each other. They were exhausted, but the sense of accomplishment was immense.
"All we need now is the furniture and we're done with this cabin," Jason told them as they were resting. He looked pretty confident and pleased with himself, but Percy knew just how much Jason stressed out when designing the cabins and conversing with the gods to see what they would like. Sometimes he had gone a couple of days without sleeping. The others, worried for their friend, frequently volunteered to help him but it appeared as if Jason did not want to burden anyone with his job.
Annabeth and Frank had asked him to at least let them helped with the construction: Annabeth would draw the plans and design the cabin while Frank would help with the heavy lifting. Jason had accepted, and that's how the Three Building Stooges were formed, with half of the comedy and added danger of magical things exploding in faces: a true classic in slapstick.
"Hey, Jason, take it easy," Percy added, half-joking but definitely half-serious.
"Yeah, Percy's right." Frank nodded, looking towards Jason with worry in his eyes. Gods, the boy was too sweet and innocent.
"You're overworking us without paying minimum wage." Okay, so maybe he wasn't as innocent and pure as he'd thought.
"Frank's right. I can't believe you, Jason. I thought you were better than this," Annabeth said, fake frown set on her face. Her face was perfectly serious, but her eyes glittered with amusement.
"Oh, do shut up, peasants. While you mere idiots mindlessly work for me, I am becoming more and more powerful by the minute, so be grateful for my leniency!" Jason shouted, mock nasal and high-pitched voice reminding them all of Octavian. He then cracked a smile, which set off the rest of them all. But a small, quiet giggle cut through the laughter.
They all turned, shocked, and saw a blushing Nico lowering his face. Suspiciously, he was covering his mouth with his hand.
Jason's eyes were wide. "Nico… did you just laugh?" A wide grin then started to spread in his face.
"Shut up," Nico said, but there wasn't any threat in the words. The rosy tinge in his cheeks eliminated all danger anyway.
Annabeth laughed. "Somebody pinched me, I must be dreaming. Nico di Angelo, actually being happy? Who are you and what have you done with Nico?"
The rose colour in Nico's face darkened to a deep red. "S-Stop it, come on!" he muttered.
"A stutter, wow. This must be a parallel world or something, because the Nico I know doesn't do these things. He broods all day and listens to emo music," Percy mentioned. Truth be told, he was happy that Nico was finally coming out of his shell. After all the hardships he'd faced, it was nice to know he felt comfortable enough around them to show his emotions.
"Nico is an emo, Nico is an emo…" Jason started to chant. Nico groaned, muttered something that suspiciously sounded like "No, I'm not" and put his other hand in front of his eyes, as if that way he could block the four grinning demigods in front of him.
Now, with his friends around, laughing, Percy felt at peace.
What could go wrong?
And that it! The remake of the first chapter!
Before, this chapter not only pretty short and boring, but also had quite a lot of grammatical errors. I hope that you guys prefer this version!
Anyway, please suggest Pokemon for characters, OCs (things you must include are in Chapter 20) and things that you want to see in the story! I'd also like any criticism, if there's any errors that I've made, but praise is also really good!
Review, and thanks for reading!