DISCLAIMER: I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Percy Jackson and The Olympians. Enjoy!

We set down Percy Jackson in one of the bedrooms, where I fed him ambrosia. He grumbled and moaned about every two seconds, dreaming about who-knows-what. I smirked at his confused expression, and then he opened his eyes. Taking this as an opportunity, I quickly asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"

He just looked confused and ready to pass out again. "What?"

I looked around to see if Chiron was listening; he'd never allow me asking this. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"

He looked at me blankly. "I'm sorry," He mumbled. "I don't…"

There was a knock on the door, and I quickly filled his mouth with ambrosia. Percy, as if on cue, immediately fell back asleep. "Come in," I said quietly.

Argus, the body guard, came in and motioned for me to get out. The eyes covering his body all blinked at once, giving off a cool, psychedelic effect. He stood in a corner, keeping watch. I slipped out. I couldn't find Chiron to talk about my dream, so I grudgingly settled for archery practice.

Two days later, I made my way to the Big House. A warm breeze flew through, and the Long Island Sound glittered in the distance. I climbed the steps and found Chiron and Mr. D positioned around a card table, playing pinochle. I leaned against the porch railing and watched as Mr. D shuffled the cards. I was dying to ask Chiron about my dream, but I was only too aware of Mr. D, who I would want gone to discuss this with Chiron.

Moments later, Grover came around the bend, a drowsy Percy wobbling behind. In his hands was a shoebox, something clanging around hollowly inside. Grover whispered something to him, and Percy's eyes were filled with recognition.

"Mr. Brunner!" He exclaimed. Chiron turned around to smile at Percy.

"Ah, good, Percy," Chiron said. "Now we have four for pinochle."

Chiron offered Percy the chair to the right of Mr. D, who sighed a little more dramatically than necessary.

"Oh, I suppose I must say it," He said. "Welcome to Camp Half- Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be happy to see you." Percy scooted a little farther away from Mr. D. I smiled at him; he sure had a lot to learn about this tiger-print-clad god.

"Annabeth?" Chiron said to me, and then turned to the boy. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now.

"Sure, Chiron." I replied. I looked at Percy; his emerald green eyes had bags underneath them, and his jet- black hair stood up at odd angles, but he looked pretty renewed for someone who'd just slain a beast and passed out for two days. He seemed to be studying me, too. I glanced at his Minotaur horn, and saw the expectant gleam in his eyes, like he was hoping I'd congratulate him.

Instead, still jittery about my odd dream, I said, "You drool when you sleep." And ran down the lawn, towards cabin eleven. When I approached, I knocked on the door and peeked in.

The cabin was extremely crowded, like usual. Numerous bunks were pushed together to make room, and sleeping bags littered the floor. I surveyed the ruckus, and found a small area of available floor that Percy would probably be the not-so-proud owner of very soon. I closed the door and opened my bag, where I pulled out a book on Greek architecture. I sat down in the grass and read.

I was reading an interesting piece on the Corinthian order, and how it was used in making the famous Pantheon, when I heard the familiar muffled clopping of hooves on grass. I looked up and found Chiron coming towards us with Percy following.

When they arrived, I looked over Percy critically. How was he associated with my dream, and what did he have to do with the summer solstice? Not having any answers to these questions, I stood up.

"Annabeth," Chiron said. "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"

"Yes, sir." I responded. So I was stuck with the mystery dream boy; great.

"Cabin eleven," Chiron told Percy, gesturing toward the building. "Make yourself at home."

Percy studied the worn, peeling cabin. He eyed the caduceus questioningly. He peered in the door, not looking too enthusiastic to be sharing a cabin with these loud campers.

"Well, then." Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner."

He galloped away toward the archery range. Percy stood there, unmoving, for a couple moments.

"Well?" I prompted. "Go on."

I leaned in the doorway as Percy walked in, tripping over the threshold. There were some snickers, but the other campers had gone silent, looking at the new boy expectantly.

"Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven." I announced.

"Regular or undetermined?" Someone asked. I sighed, knowing the answer I was going to give wasn't going to make anyone happy.

"Undetermined." I stated. There was a collective groan from the whole cabin. Luke came forward, to the rescue. I smiled.

"Now, now, campers." He said. "That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there." He pointed to the exact same spot I predicted would be Percy's.

"This is Luke." I tried to hide the affection in my voice, but Percy looked over anyway. I hardened my face into an emotionless expression. "He's your counselor for now."

"For now?" Percy asked.

"You're undetermined." Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."

Percy eyed the small spot of floor that was now his. "How long will I be here?"

"Good question," Luke answered. "Until you're determined."

"How long will that take?" Gods, this boy asked a lot of questions. The whole cabin laughed.

"Come on," I said, trying to pull him away from laughter. I remembered being new, and being laughed at didn't help the transition, even if the questions he was asking were silly. "I'll show you the volleyball court."

"I've already seen it."

"Come on." I grabbed his wrists and dragged him outside.

When we were a few feet away, I said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."

"What?"

I rolled my eyes. How could he be the one to help Zeus with his mysterious dilemma if he didn't know how to act? I muttered under my breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."

"What's your problem?" Percy asked, growing angry. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy—"

"Don't talk like that!" I scolded; astounded that he was so nonchalant about this. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they had your chance?"

"To get killed?"

"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"

Percy shook his head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the same one in the stories…"

"Yes."

"Then there's only one."

"Yes."

"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So…"

"Monsters don't die, Percy." I sighed; how was I going to explain this to him? "They can be killed. But they can't die."

"Oh, thanks. That clears it up." He said sarcastically.

"They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they re- form."

"You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword—"

"The Fur…" I caught myself from saying Fury. Even thinking it, I was suddenly paranoid that the old hags themselves would appear out of nowhere. "I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."

"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?" He asked accusingly, like I was poking through his memories without his permission.

"You talk in your sleep."

"You almost called her something." He noticed. "A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"

I glanced nervously at the ground. Did he have to call them out? The same paranoid feeling I'd had a moment ago revisited. "You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."

"Look, is there anything we can say without it thundering?" Percy asked, a little whiny. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is it so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there."

I turned a little pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or… your parent."

I stared at him, waiting for it to click. It didn't.

"My mom is Sally Jackson. She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."

"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy." I said truthfully. "But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."

"He's dead. I never knew him."

I heaved a huge sigh. Of course he wouldn't get it. I just wished some of the new campers actually put it all together. "Your father's not dead, Percy."

"How can you say that? Did you know him?"

"No, of course not." I answered calmly.

"Then how can you say—"

"Because I know you. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."

"You don't know anything about me." He said defiantly.

"No?" I raised an eyebrow. Another challenge, accepted. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them."

"How—"

But I was on a roll. "Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."

I could see him growing embarrassed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your brain is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in a classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you to see them for who they are."

Percy looked a little overwhelmed. "You sound like… you went through the same thing?"

"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."

"Ambrosia and nectar." Percy repeated, looking more than a little confused.

"The food and drink we gave you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."

Percy's eyes widened and he looked like he was about to burst with questions, when a familiar voice called out, "Well! A newbie!" I wanted to groan as I saw Clarisse, with her camo pants and messy brown hair.

"Clarisse," I sighed. Did she have to butt in? She was by far the most annoying person on this planet, besides her father, Ares. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"

"Sure, Miss Princess," Clarisse sneered; I wanted to punch her in the face. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."

"Erre es korakas!" I shouted at her, which meant 'Go to the crows!' in Greek. "You don't stand a chance."

"We'll pulverize you." Clarisse said, her eye twitching uncertainly. She tried to cover it up by turning on to Percy, who was watching us in an analytical stare. "Who's this little runt?"

"Percy Jackson," I said. "Meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."

Percy blinked. "Like… the war god?"

"You got a problem with that?" Clarisse sneered, challenging him to have a problem with that.

"No," Percy said, seeming to come out of a trance-like state. "It explains the bad smell."

I drew in a breath; he really shouldn't have done that. Clarisse growled, agreeing with my thoughts. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."

"Percy."

"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."

I started to get nervous; they'd never done an 'initiation ceremony' before, but I knew it could not be good. "Clarisse—" I tried to protest, but she cut me off.

"Stay out of it, wise girl."

It pained me to do so, but I did. This was Percy's first day, and he needed to learn to stand up for himself, even if who he was standing up to was an overgrown playground bully. Percy handed me his Minotaur horn and seemed to psyche himself up for a fight, but that wasn't Clarisse's style, at least not today. Before Percy could even swing a punch, Clarisse had him by the neck, pulling him towards the bathrooms. Immediately, I knew whatever Clarisse's mind had schemed up, it didn't involve showing him the less-than-state-of-the-art shower system.

Percy was flailing his arms and legs, trying to get free. He shouldn't have wasted his energy; Clarisse was known for her hands of steel. I followed Clarisse and her gang helplessly as she dragged him into the foul- smelling bathrooms.

"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse scoffed, pushing Percy into a stall and inching his face dangerously close to the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking." Her friends snickered.

I backed into a corner, knowing there was nothing I could do. I hid my face in my hands, peeking through the gaps in my fingers to watch the horrifying scene.

Clarisse bent Percy's head closer and closer to the murky water. I winced as his head was almost hidden from view inside the toilet bowl.

And then something happened.

The pipes in the walls began to creak and moan, making the wall tremble. I saw Clarisse loosen her grip on Percy, baffled as to what was happening. And then, suddenly, an arc of water shot out of the toilets, drenching Clarisse and her gang. They all shrieked, and Clarisse let go of Percy. He sprawled out on the tile floor just as another gush of water blasted Clarisse, making her fall on her butt, pushing her steadily into a shower stall. Her friends tried to help her, but then toilets exploded, and the water turned on them. It pushed all of the Ares girls out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.

I was too stunned by what I'd just witnessed that I didn't even realize I was sopping wet at first. I looked at Percy; he was utterly waterless, and a circle of dry floor curved around him, almost like he'd been protected by the odd outburst of water.

He stood up, legs shaky.

"How did you…" I began, too shocked to elaborate.

"I don't know."

We walked out together. I pushed some dripping strands of hair out of my face, and smoothed my wet clothes. I looked at the dry Percy enviably. And then a horrifying thought came to mind; how could he have controlled the water, unless…? No. Impossible. The pact they made… but then again, how many pacts that the gods make ever stick? Not a lot. But still…

When we walked outside, Clarisse and her gang was sprawled out in the mud, stinking of putrid sewage.

The two exchanged words, probably threats on Clarisse's side, and challenges on Percy's. I didn't catch the exchange; I was still thinking about the bathroom incident.

"What?" Percy demanded as we walked away. "What are you thinking?"

My mind was reeling with all the possibilities. But one thing was certain: "I'm thinking," I replied. "That I want you on my team for capture the flag."