A/N: first of all, id like to thank those who favourited/fllowed and reviewed. i appreciate it :). this chapter is basically just ed an al being introduced to the camp and telling you when its set, so a bit of dialogue is gonna be taken from tlt, tlh and tsom. hope you enjoy!


Ed's POV

"Good morning, Edward. My name is Chiron. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

I stiffen, pausing. "How...did you know my name?"

"Oh, you don't remember?" I shake my head. "Well, that's to be expected. The night you arrived here, you were found in a pretty bad state, as I'm sure you have noticed." I resist the urge to lift my only remaining hand to the stump that used to be my right arm. "Yet, miraculously, you were still conscious, although barely. When you were asked, you gave us your name."

"Oh," I reply lamely. "Ok..."

Chiron clears his throat. "Let's take a seat, shall we?" He offers, gesturing to the couches in front of the fireplace.

I open my mouth for a second, but then decide not to point out the fact that both he and I are already sitting down.

Realising I can't actually move around on my own, (ugh, this sucks) as I just got out of a coma not ten minutes ago, I turn to look at Alphonse.

"Um, could you please...?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure," he says casually and brings me over to the side of the coffee table, angling my wheelchair against the couch that he places himself on.

Chiron is opposite me and looks like he is avoiding the glare that is given to him by the fat guy. Alphonse keeps playing with his fingers: he's drumming them against his legs, pulling at his clothes and the cushion of the couch, lightly snapping, cracking his knuckles, as if his hands refused to stay still.

"Now, Edward," Chiron starts, getting my attention. "Would you mind telling me," he pauses, "where you're from?"

I look between him and the chubby guy, who is now playing solitaire with a deck of cards and is sipping from a Coke can. Both of which were definitely not there a second ago. He no longer looks angry, only bored of the current conversation.

"Well, I'm not sure," I answer, focusing on Chiron. "My father's work had us moved around a lot and I...I guess I never really asked him nor wondered where we started off."

"Your father had you move around a lot?" I nod. "Hmm... What about your mother?" My mother?

"She- I...didn't have one. She left when I was born."

"I see," Chiron nodded. "Edward, are you aware of your mother's identity?"

I want to ask, What's with all the questions? What did they have to do with anything? Why do you want to know? But instead I slowly say, "My father, he uh, tried to tell me once. But, he must've, I don't know, been drunk. He didn't know what he was saying. It made no sense."

The fatter guy snorts. "They all say that."

Chiron ignores him. "Edward, what did your father say?"

"What does it matter? He was crazy."

"Please, tell us."

I sigh. "One day he sat me down." One day, my life was ruined. "Told me he would reveal the 'secret identity' or whatever of my mum. He started going on and on about this regal beauty, this lady that he deemed 'one in a million' and 'better than he could've ever imagined.' He said that- he said that my mother was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, Athena."

I wait for them to laugh. I wait for them to agree with me and say 'Wow, Ed, your father sure was batty!' Instead I'm greeted with silence and an understanding nod from Chiron.

"Okay," he says with a sort of finality.

More silence.

"'Okay'? That's it? What- what are you... You can't be serious," I say, cutting through the short lull.

"Hmm?" Chiron asks wordlessly.

"Are you-? Are you like, agreeing with my father?"

"I'm afraid so," Chiron tells me.

"What? You can't be serious," I repeat. "He was drunk or something. Crazy."

"Yes, just as I suspected." He's looking at me, bet I get the feeling that he's not actually talking to me. "There's a bit too much to tell. I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be quite sufficient."

"Orientation- What? What are you saying?"

"Well, Edward. I know you may not like it, but your father was indeed telling the truth." I stare at him in exasperation. "There are great forces that are at work in your life. Gods - the forces you call Greek gods - are very much alive.


Al's POV

I tuned out most of the conversation - I'd already heard it all yesterday.

Some of it I couldn't ignore: Ed's outbursts ("Because science is fact! Hard and undeniable fact! Sure, it'll be primitive 2000 years from now, but so were the first stone tools! When they were first invented, they were state of the art! Modern! Science will never be called mumbo-jumbo because it's real. Unlike gods.") and Mr D's silent wrath (he probably would've made Ed go insane if it hadn't been for the thunderous booms overhead). For the majority of the conversation, I felt like I wouldn't be included and would be left there sitting awkwardly next to Mr D for the whole time.

Which was fine with me; I didn't want to listen to an atheist trying to wrap his head around the concept of 'the Greek gods are real and one of them is my mother.'

So instead I focused on little, insignificant things. I focused on every time that my eyes would open and close; quicker than a heartbeat. I focused on the steady rise and fall of my chest, in harmony with where the pump of my blood would be. I focused on my throat; the sounds and actions it made while swallowing nerves. I focused on my hands when I sat on them, waiting for my pulse to find its way to my fingertips and beat through. I focused on the nape of my neck. I focused on the numb feeling that it brought, the feeling that was just almost there, the feeling that I wanted so badly. I focused, trying so hard, so, so desperately, for it to be able to feel something. To feel the soft breeze coming through the room. To feel the mask's eyes boring into it. To have it's hairs stand on end. To have something, something, please, that proved I could still feel something. Just something.

"Alphonse?" I was ripped out of my thoughts and forced back into the conversation.

I raised my head. Ed and Mr D near mimicked the expressions of two children when put on a time out for arguing, which was probably what happened. Chiron was glancing at me with a serious yet kind look, waiting for me to reply.

"Yes?" I answered, steadying my reeling mind.

"Would you care to inform me," he began, his voice almost uncharacteristically austere, "why is was that you wouldn't - pardon me - couldn't eat or drink yesterday?"

I paused, knowing that had I been breathing at the time, I would've stopped.

"Well you see, sir, I'm afraid I'm trying to figure that out as well."

That afternoon was one of the longest I'd had in a while. I was stuck in the infirmary for most of the day, people fussing over me and trying to make me eat. When I was finally set free, the activities were all over and it was close to dinner. I had planned on spending more time with Ed, get to know him better and maybe finally ask him about the nightmare he'd had, but he was exploring the camp and cabin six with his newfound sister, the girl Chiron called Lan Fan. I was originally going to stay in the Hermes cabin until dinner, except it was mostly empty save for a couple of sleeping kids; everyone else was out exhausting their celebrations from the day before.

"What's the celebrating for?" I asked a teenage blonde girl who stood on the outskirts of the small crowd.

"You a newbie?" She demanded.

She scoffed and looked me up and down when I nodded.

"It's Clarisse, my sister," she informed me reluctantly. "She brought back the Golden Fleece along with glory to Ares and the camp."

"The Golden Fleece?"

"Yes! Are you deaf? She delivered it to us and saved Thalia's tree."

"Oh. Ok, then. Thanks," I said simply, waving slightly as I walked off. I had no idea what Thalia's tree was, nor did I feel like asking the girl again.

Not knowing how else to waste my time, and only having 20 minutes before dinner, wandered aimlessly around camp. I stumbled upon the lake - and I mean I literally stumbled upon it. Like an idiot, I wasn't looking where I was going. Someone had left an upturned canoe by the long body of water, and the end had caught my foot. I face planted onto the small boat and fell sideways into the water, scraping my arm against the root covered bank. Don't even ask me how I wasn't able to see a 4m long canoe right in front of me; right then that was not in the least of my concerns.

The clear and cold water should've shocked me. And the canoe should've hurt. I should've been able to feel the slight pressure of the water squeezing my chest.

But I didn't.

I felt like crying, which, of course, I probably couldn't do. I'd already figured out that I couldn't eat, drink, sleep, breathe, smell, taste or feel anything, not even my own pulse. Things I could then add to my list: can't feel warmth or lack thereof, can't feel pain, (these should've been obvious with the whole 'unable to physically feel a thing' thing) doesn't get scratched or bleed when most definitely should, and others.

I'd had closed my mouth out of force of habit, though I had a dawning realisation that if I didn't even need to breathe while on land, does that mean...?

I slowly opened my mouth. It didn't feel any different. I stayed the same. I didn't start drowning, which was good. I almost screamed.

"I can breathe underwater?!"

Ok yeah, it wasn't actually breathing, but still.

I slumped out of the lake, only then noticing a couple of girls sitting in the water with baskets in their laps, a few metres off from where I fell in. One of them, with hair blotched black and white in a bob giggled and whispered something into the other's ear. The other one, with long, flowing jet black hair blushed and pushed the first one aside. It took a few seconds for me to remember that they were naiads, water nymphs, and that they hadn't fallen in like me.

I gave them a small smile before I walked away from the lake, carefully avoiding the offending canoe.

I sighed as I inspected myself. I - that is, to say, my skin - seemed pretty dry, but the same couldn't be said for my clothes. They were absolutely soaked, which was most likely not allowed in the dining pavilion. Yet another deep sigh escaped my lips as I had no choice but to return to cabin eleven and change my clothes.

Walking through the camp while my clothes were completely drenched definitely gave the other campers a lot to stare at. That fact that it also seemed to be that only my clothes were soaked and my body was entirely dry must've seemed rather strange, too.

After entering the cabin I changed into the only other set of clothes that I had: a white button up and pair of jeans. I had just enough time to change before I heard one of the Stoll brothers yell:

"Eleven, fall in!"

The whole cabin, about the size of a small class, filed out into the commons yard. Since we were lined up in order of seniority, I had been placed right at the end. We marched up to the pavilion, campers, naiads, nymphs and satyrs all following together.

We sat down at table eleven, trying hard to fit everyone in the small space provided (and almost failing). Eventually, after settling down, I had ended up with half my butt hanging off the bench, hinging onto the table to try and not fall off.

The hall was loud, rowdy and filled the air with a home-like atmosphere; everyone was laughing, vivacious and having fun with their friends as they waited for dinner to come so they could dig in and appease their appetites.

Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, effectively silencing the crowd. He raised his glass. "To the gods!"

Everyone raised their glasses. "To the gods!"

Nymphs came out with platters filled with food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, barbecue and so many others.

As soon as the food was handed out to us, we all started getting up for the burnt offerings.

I thought about what Connor Stoll had told me yesterday as he introduced me to the camp, and to the dinner customs. When I'd asked him why we set fire to our offerings, he'd shrugged and said, "I guess they like the smell."

They like the smell, huh? I wish I could've been able to smell the burnt offerings, just to see if it actually was any good.

I walked up to the fire. If only I knew what god's name to say.

Father. Please, tell me who you are.

I scraped off half of my food into the fire, seeing as since I wouldn't eat it anyway I could use it for extra offerings (and most certainly not as bribery. Oh, no, I wouldn't stoop that low to find the identity of my father). In retrospect, I could've been a little more subtle since everyone was looking at me as if I was either crazy or anorexic.

I sat back down at the Hermes table, everyone else stuffing themselves with delicious camp-made food while I focused on trying not to fall off my seat.

"Are you going to eat that?" A voice next to me asked.

"Huh?" I turned to my right and saw an Asian kid, about my age, smiling at me greatly through slitted eyes. His camp t-shirt looked burnt slightly at the collar and sleeves, and was fairly shredded at the hem, matching the style of his choppy dark bangs. His mouth was busy chewing food as he repeated his question.

"I said, are you going to finish that?" He asked a bit louder this time, gesturing with a fork in his hand to my plate.

"Oh, right. No, you can have it," I offered as I slid the plate closer to him.

"Really? Thanks!"

"Welcome."

He started ripping through my dish before he paused and looked back at me again. "Oh, I'm Ling, by the way. I don't believe we've met."

"No, I can't say we have. My name's Alphonse."

"So tell me, Alphonse," Ling began as he turned back to his meal. "When did you get here?"

"Um, yesterday. The Stoll twins announced my arrival to the cabin..."

"Oh, yes, I remember now. Although I was half asleep at the time. So, do you like the camp so far?" He asked, shoving a piece of lamb chop into his mouth.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. It's pretty cool."

"And are you a regular on undetermined?"

"Um..." Someone had asked me the same question yesterday, yet I failed to remember what it meant.

"Is Hermes your father or not?" He explained.

"Well, no. At least I don't think he is. Is he your father?"

"Sure is. Dear ol' Dad banged my mum as soon as he laid his eyes on her."

"...Have you met him?"

"Not yet. But I will." He'd finished my plate, stacking it on top of his equally as clean one. "What about you?" He asked as he turned more to me. "Is it your mother or father that's a god?"

"Father. Though I really wanna know who he is."

"Ah, we've all been there," he comforted me as he patted my back forcefully. "Who knows? Maybe your father will be Hermes, and then we can be brothers!" He gave a smile that didn't make me particularly excited to be living in the same cabin with him.

He got up from the bench clumsily and leaned in to ask, "You wanna go for seconds?"

I shook my head, "Nah." I didn't even realise that I hadn't felt hungry in the slightest.

Ling shrugged. "Ok." And he walked with a bounce in his step to find more food.

For the rest of the night, we talked casually, and I was thankful for him for not bringing up the topic of my lack of appetite. He tried to make me sing along in the campfire songs, but unfortunately all I could do was hum; I didn't know the words to any of them. It was nice to know he was making an effort to get along with the new kid at camp.

That night, a storm raged ferociously, though strangely not a single drop of rain touched down in Camp Half-Blood. It reminded me of my...condition, I guess you could say. The rest of the world was given something; I was left out. Or, the rest of the world had to face something; I was let off scot-free. As I looked around cabin eleven, my body refusing to sleep, I suddenly hear an uproar and vociferous pounding on doors, though both not loud enough to wake the other campers in my cabin. Making sure not to be too noisy, I carefully stepped over sleeping campers resting on the floor to reach the exit. Silently closing the door behind me, I raced to Half-Blood Hill, where groups of satyrs, nymphs and demigods were starting to gather under the blood red light of dawn.

Chiron galloped up to the hill with a kid on his back and a satyr at his side.

"Curse the Titan Lord," Chiron said. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."

I had no idea what was going on or what Chiron was saying. I couldn't see pass the small crowd, and more people were arriving, trying to push through to get a glimpse of what was happening.

"The Fleece," Chiron started again. "The Fleece did its work too well."

What is going on?

He parted the crowd, granting me a chance to push through and see what all the fuss was about.

At the base of a tree, a girl was lying unconscious with another girl in Greek armour kneeling next to her. Above them, on the lowest branch of the pine tree glittered a golden fleece. The Golden Fleece. It was Thalia's tree.

"It healed the tree," Chiron announced raggedly. "And poison was not the only thing it purged."

If only I had some context, I thought. Then I would know what's happening, and when I'm supposed to be shocked.

The girl in the armour ran up to Chiron and said something I didn't listen to. The kid who was riding on Chiron's back leaped off and ran to the unconscious girl.

"Percy, wait!" Chiron called, but he ignored him.

The kid - no, Percy - kneeled down where the armoured girl once was and inspected the comatose one.

Nobody moved. No one said a thing.

"She needs nectar and ambrosia," Percy declared.

Still, we all remained silent. I wasn't sure why.

"Come on!" He yelled. "What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big House."

And yet again, no one moved.

Out of the blue, the girl took a shaky breath and coughed, opening her electric blue eyes.

"Who-" she started in bewilderment.

"I'm Percy. You're safe now."

I was really beginning to like this kid for trying to save an unconscious girl while everyone else stayed silent and still. Which made me wonder, was this the first time something like this happened?

"Strangest dream..."

"It's okay."

"Dying."

"No," he assured her calmly. "You're okay. What's your name?"

"I am Thalia," she said. "Daughter of Zeus."


a/n: some of this chapter is eehhh but i guess the next one will be better cause 1. hopefully itll be starting the plot and 2. more characters will be introduced. also, there will be less italics. probably. hopefully you liked it and that's mostly all that matters. well, until next time, seeya