The last chapter got one review. So, THANK YOU SO MUCH Hunter0608 (who has written 3 out of the 9 total reviews). I'm really glad that you're enjoying this story!

But the rest of you, please please review. It's nice to get feedback

Anyways,

GUESS WHAT…

THIS STORY HAS FINALLY STARTED! Yeah…. the last 3 chapters have basically set up the rest of the story

ALSO, THIS STORY HAS A PLOT. YES, YOU HEARD ME RIGHT… A PLOT. I'm really proud of that. This story actually has a direction that it's going in.

Thank you so much for reading and ENJOY!

Chapter 4

Sally Jackson was curled up on her couch, pressed up against the corner. In one hand she clung tightly to the blanket that Paul had gently later on her hours before. In her right hand she held her cellphone - a rather old model that she rarely used. Raising a demigod son had enforced some habits strongly - such as reducing use of electronics.

Sally rubbed her eyes, smearing the almost-dried tears. Her whole face was tinted red from worry and strands of hair fell all over her face. Sally knew she was a mess, but she didn't care. All that mattered was finding Percy.

Where was he?

Sadly, she had almost gotten used to Percy disappearing. He was normally roped into some sort of quest and had to go save the world. She could barely deal with him doing that.

Sally knew that the whole camp considered Percy to be a hero. He had saved Olympus on multiple occasions and was trusted by most without hesitation. He has always come back from his quests victorious, and his reputation kept building with each one. Percy seemed like the ideal, the perfect demigod.

But nobody knew Percy like she did.

She had watched him come back a little more broken each time. Percy had come back baring more scars and injuries. He had frequent nightmares, which he tried to hide from her, but it was hard to when he woke up screaming at one o'clock in the morning.

The monsters were enough to drive a person insane. Monsters straight out of myths that were driven by one goal: to kill demigods.

Percy was strong. He hid his fear of the monsters and didn't let it get to him. She was shocked when her twelve-year-old son came back and seemed almost the same. He had witnessed such horrors, and yet, still continued to be the comedian she loved.

What she knew had really broken him was the many deaths that he had seen. This was different from the monsters and the physical pain that he experienced. This was worse.

Sally wished she could help him. Every attempt that she made was shrugged of with a simple 'I'm fine'. Sally knew not to press the topic too much. He would come to her when he was ready.

At least, that's what she had thought.

Percy was gone, and from what Paul had said, it didn't seem like he wanted to come back.

Sally slowly punched a number into the cell phone, her hand shaking. Raising the phone to her ear, she listened to it ring.

"Hello?"

"Chiron, it's Sally… again." She tried to keep her voice steady, but it began to waver. "Have you heard anything from him?"

"Sally," Chiron said gently, trying not to upset her further. "We're trying, but it's only been a couple hours since you last called. This is going to take time."

The line went dead. Sally had hung up

::

::

Percy wasn't sure why they even bothered having school today. Einstein High School was in a state of absolute chaos. Nobody could focus on anything school related because of the news.

"I think it's a load of crap. Probably some sort of high tech prank."

"Did you see the video?! That was crazy!"

Percy sighed as he wove his way through the crowd; skillfully dodging every obstacle in his way. Well, almost every obstacle.

"Go away Emmett."

The shorter boy was practically vibrating with energy. "But-but did you see! The Greek Gods! Do you think they're real?"

Percy made a mental note to never give this boy coffee. Most students were zombie-like in the morning, but not Emmett. He never seemed to run out of energy.

"I mean, it could just be a large prank. Maybe it was the Canadians! They could have hacked our televisions. Maybe the Canadians are going to take over the world!"

Percy's mouth formed a slight smile. He would make sure to mention this to Frank. He could imagine the look on Frank's face when he told him about 'Canadians taking over the world'.

Of course, that would only happen if he ever saw Frank again.

And he couldn't. He couldn't ever see his friends and family again. Percy felt his stomach drop at the thought. He hadn't even said goodbye.

"Alex?"

The tone was gentle and the boy's face had assumed a slightly worried look. Percy guessed that he had been staring off into space.

"Uh..sorry." Percy rubbed the back of his neck and tried to force a smile onto his face. "Um.. I don't think that's how it works. Why would the Canadians want to take over the world."

"Whatever. The Canadians aren't as important as your opinion on this." Emmett turned serious all of a sudden. "Do you believe in the Greek Gods?"

Yes.

"I'm not sure." Percy knew that he couldn't firmly stand for either side. At least not yet. Not when it was such controversial topic. Percy couldn't afford to bring attention to himself.

"Come on! You have to have some opinion! Which side are you leaning towards?"

Percy just shrugged.

"Ok fine."

Percy was surprised that Emmett gave up so easily. The boy was very stubborn and would stick to a question like glue. Percy visibly relaxed, happy that the subject wasn't being pressed.

What Percy missed was the evil glint in Emmett's eyes. He blamed it on the lack of sleep. Memorizing facts about his life was difficult, and once you throw in some homework, it becomes deadly.

"You better decide by 4th period though. Apparently we are debating the topic in Starn's class."

Percy frowned, but internally screamed. Why? Why did they have to debate the one topic that Percy was trying to avoid?

"You can't miss the debate either. It's a large portion of our grade."

Percy opened his mouth to curse, but was stopped by the bell. It was probably a good thing, since he wasn't sure what would slip out.

It might have been in Greek, but it would most likely be some pretty colorful English.

"Time to go to class!" Emmett linked his arm with Percy's and began to drag him to their first class.

Percy groaned as Emmett began to skip while humming a song underneath his breath.

The whole thing felt rather kindergartenish.

::

::

Percy was kind of impressed with Mr. Glen. He didn't think that they would actually be doing anything in the class, but Mr. Glen had begun to teach his lesson like normal, skillfully ignoring the elephant in the room. Halfway through the class period, the had almost finished the lesson and would probably have time to do their homework in class. The only difference was that the class payed less attention to his explanations, and instead whispered and passed notes. Percy wasn't included in any of these conversations but he could guess what it was about.

The whispering was interrupted by a short knock on the door.

Mr. Glen paused mid sentence. "Stanley, can you get the door?"

Stanley Harpold, a short boy with wild hair and thin wire formed glasses, groaned and got up from his seat. "Come on, Mr. Glen. I have to get the door every day. Just because I'm closest doesn't mean it should be only my job. Or you could just leave the door unlocked."

The teacher smiled at Stanley's joking tone. "Locking the door is standard protocol. Stop complaining and let Emmett in."

Emmet had left the room a good ten minutes ago to use the bathroom. However, Percy knew some of Emmett's habits by now, and strongly suspected that the boy was trying to get out of class. Percy didn't blame him. Math was pretty boring.

Stanley dramatically opened the door to reveal Emmett standing casually in the hallway.

Emmett gave a slight grin as he walked back into the room "Took you long enough, I was waiting outside forever."

He turned, addressing Mr. Glen. "Sir, I hate to tell you how to do your job, but you might need to teach Stanley how to open a door."

"Sit down."

And just like that, Mr. Glen jumped back into the world of mathematics; explaining concepts to students who really couldn't care less.

Finally, after an excruciating long amount of time, the bell rang. Percy shoved his homework in his bag rather forcefully, and walked over to Emmett's desk.

They had been seated on opposite sides of the classroom. Since Percy was the newest student, he had to take the desk nearest to the front. The front of the classroom was usually reserved for the dedicated students, and the misbehaving ones who had been punished. This was the most likely place to be called on.

Percy didn't really care. He figured that Mr. Glen wouldn't call on him too much, since he clearly didn't have any idea what he was doing. Maybe he should get a tutor.

Emmett was taking an impressively slow amount of time to put away his supplies. He was fumbling with the zipper to his backpack awkwardly, while only using one hand.

Percy sighed. "You need some help there?"

Emmett looked up at him, face flushed bright red. He had gritted his teeth together, almost as if he was holding back pain.

Percy frowned, and reached down to help the boy. He quickly pulled the zipper shut, brushing against Emmett's arm.

The boy gave a slight gasp.

"Are you ok?" Percy was beginning to get worried. Was he hurt?

Emmett gave a short laugh that seemed forced. "Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."

Percy raised his eyebrow.

"Um, my arm is sore from the uh.. push-ups that I did yesterday." Emmett looked away.

"Push-ups?" Percy knew that Emmett wasn't the most athletic and usually tried to get out of exercise.

Emmett nodded, not meeting Percy's eyes.

Percy was almost positive that Emmett was lying, but he didn't want to pressure him. Emmett would tell him if it was something serious.

"If you ever need help with anything, I'm here for you." Percy tried one last time.

"I'm really fine, but thanks."

Mr. Glen walked over to them. "Boys, do you need anything?"

"Sorry sir, we were just about to leave."

Emmett began to walk quickly to the door. "Bye Percy, see you at lunch!"

Mr. Glen turned to Percy with a questioning gaze.

He just shrugged. "Bye, Mr. Glen! I have to get to P.E." The gym was on the opposite side of the school, meaning that Percy had to run in order to get there on time.

Percy was surprised when the teacher handed him a pass.

"What-?"

Mr. Glen gestured to the clock. "You're going to be late."

The bell rang; a sharp chime that always made Percy jump out of his seat. It was his demigod instincts - the ones that had kept him alive on several instances.

"Oh. Thank you."

He rushed out of the classroom, determined not to miss too much of P.E.

::

::

Second and third period passed by uneventfully. Both his P.E. and Science teachers seemed to have the same idea - to play a film for the class. He could tell that both teachers were still processing the events from the day before, and didn't want to deal with the students.

Percy didn't really care. He was using the time to prepare himself for Language Arts, the class where they would have the debate. He hadn't really decided what side to be on. Would he say that the Greek Gods were real, and draw attention to himself? Or would he be a disbeliever and go against, well.. everything that he knew.

Percy was glad when the time for lunch came. The food was a distraction from the whirlwind of thoughts in his head.

Percy and Emmett sat together alone in the hectic cafeteria. In the center was a dean screeching into a microphone, ordering the students to follow the school rules.

"WAIT UNTIL IT'S YOUR TURN TO THROW AWAY YOUR TRASH! YOU! IN THE RED SHIRT, SIT DOWN!"

Percy massaged his forehead, trying to alleviate the headache that was beginning to form.

He stared out the window, watching the civilians walk from many stories above. Some were headed to their work, while others were simply going on a stroll. Several held a newspaper, which Percy couldn't read the headline, but he knew what it said.

Greek Gods: Real or a Scam?

The story was being read all over the world. It was the most important thing that had happened in a while.

Percy's gaze seemed to be pulled in the direction of the Empire State Building. The building that had held so many memories for him.

He suddenly jumped in his seat, shocked at what he saw. Percy knew that the Mist was failing, but he didn't think it would happen so quickly.

Olympus had flickered in and out of sight. Soon, it would be visible to all the mortals.

"Is something wrong?" Emmett asked him, displaying the half chewed food in his mouth.

"Yeah," Percy said offhandedly, still staring out the window.

::

::

Growing up, Annabeth had never dreamed of being famous. She had seen all the popstars and celebrities on TV, but she had never shown any interest. When she was three she had decided her career - an architect - and had never strayed from that path.

This is why Annabeth felt so out of place as she sat in a brightly lit room, surrounded by cameras. Next to her, the host of one of the most famous talk shows frantically raced around the room.

Annabeth sighed as the host finally plopped down on the large, leather chair across from her.

"We air in four minutes!"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, shutting out the blinding lights. Annabeth just had to make it through this one interview, about twenty minutes of her time. Then, she could retire to her apartment and read. She might order pizza.

But of course, the next "episode" aired tonight, and Annabeth had to watch. It was painful for her to relive those memories. She wished Percy turn up. It would be easier if he was there with her. The day before Paul had come to explain the situation. Percy hadn't been abducted by any god or monster - he had chosen to leave.

For some reason that hurt more than not knowing where he was. Why had he left? They had always worked out everything together. She could help him through whatever problem he was having, but apparently he didn't need her. Apparently he didn't want her.

"5….4….3..-"

Annabeth sat up quickly. She had lost track of the time. The interview was starting.

"Good morning! Welcome back! I'm your host, Gloria, and today we have a special guest. Welcome Annabeth Chase!"

Annabeth stared straight at the camera, forcing a smile on her face.

Only twenty minutes.

So…. we should talk.

Slytherin's Heir.

It hasn't been discontinued and I promise that I'm really trying. Just, I'm having trouble writing it. But I will try to update soon. Yeah. Thanks for sticking with me guys.