I am so unbelievably sorry for how long it took me to get this up, but hopefully the next one will be quicker :) Many thanks for the encouraging reviews and for everyone that has added this to their favourites :) Without further ado, chapter 4! It didn't turn out the way I expected it to, but hopefully you'll find it entartaining. Hope you like it!

Chapter 4

Running a hand through his wet, matted hair, Percy scowled at Annabeth, wondering for what was the hundredth time what in the world was going on. She had all but dragged Percy outside the shop, ignoring the flabbergasted Mr. Porter and pulled him by the elbow. After muttering a quick apology to the old man, he had had no choice but to follow the blonde who had been dead-set on ripping his arm out of its socket with the amount of strength she was exerting.

"You know, you could have just told me we were going to my apartment," he said after a while, as they waited for the elevator. "And how did you know where I lived anyway?"

"We've been keeping an eye on you... Just in case a fury decided to turn up on your doorstep," she said, not looking up to meet his curious gaze. The elevator doors opened with a ding and they stepped inside, occupying opposite corners. "I'll explain everything after I talk to your mom."

His mom?

Percy could hear the faint murmurs of voices on the TV as they neared 3F, located at the end of the third floor's narrow corridor. The sweet scent of baked goods wafted from beneath the door and he felt himself smile. His mom was making cookies. He fumbled with the keys, feeling both nervous and skeptic, but most of all wary of the girl beside him who was busy twirling an errant curl between her fingers.

He stopped suddenly and turned to her, jaw set and eyes hard. "Whatever it is that's going on, I don't want her hurt. Or my dad. Will you promise me that? Can you promise me that they'll be safe?"

Wise grey eyes, knowledgeable beyond her years stared at him. She seemed dissatisfied with what she saw and let out an audible sigh."I can't promise that, Percy. And I think you already knew that. If my suspicions are correct, I'm afraid that all hell's about to break loose and you're the reason why."

His mom was sprawled about the sofa when they finally walked in, so enthralled by what she was watching that she did not even notice their presence until Percy rather unnecessarily slammed the door behind him in resignation. She jumped and the remote fell to the beige carpet with a dull thud.

"Percy! What have I told you about slamming the door? she asked, moving to pick up the fallen remote. When she looked up and noticed her son's dishevelled state, she visibly paled. "Dear God, what on Earth happened to you?"

"Percy, I know you want answers and I promise I will give them to you, but I need to speak to her first. There are some things that you shouldn't hear from me," interjected Annabeth before Percy could speak. She was behind him when she spoke and when he turned, Percy didn't think he'd ever seen her as tired as she did in that moment. Her eyes were apologetic and filled with dread as they pleaded with him to acquiesce to her request. She had no right to ask that of him and he knew that she knew that as well, but she was asking him to trust her. Staring into those eyes, his earlier leeriness disappeared almost immediately. "Please." That did it.

"Fine. You get 15 minutes. Not a second more."

The moment Percy left the main room to what she supposed was his bedroom, Annabeth moved to stand in front of Sally.

"Mrs. Jackson, I'm really sorry to have to ask you this, but it's important. Are you his mother?" Annabeth heard the older woman's intake of breath and she felt slightly guilty at her tactless question. There's no use beating around the bush, she answered that little voice in her head. When the woman did not reply after a few seconds, she tried again, this time in a gentler tone, "I know this can't be easy for you and I'm sorry it has to be done this way, but he's in danger. I need to know the truth in order to protect him."

Sally's shoulders sagged, her breaths came out raggedly and her blue eyes filled with tears. "No, I'm not his biological mother." Despite having her suspicions confirmed, this was one time Annabeth was not happy to be right. She was about to destroy a family. Momentarily closing her eyes, she ran through what needed to be done in her mind.

"Do you know who is?"

His bedroom door creaked open and soft footsteps padded along the carpet, before the person's weight settled upon the edge of his bed. With his arms crossed across his chest, Percy cracked open an eye, mildly surprised to see his mother and not Annabeth sitting barely two feet away from him.

"I've kept this hidden so long that I'd even allowed myself to forget about it," she said quietly. Percy sat up and leaned against the bed frame, waiting for his mom to continue. It was then that he noticed that she was holding something in her hands, wrapped in a sea-green cloth. "I wish you didn't have to find out this way and for that I'm sorry, Percy. More than you could ever know."

Reaching out to meet his mother's hands he gave them a gentle squeeze and retreated to his pillows, cradling the object in his hands. The green material felt soft to his touch, incredibly so, but whatever mystery it held was surprisingly heavy. Turning the cloth aside, it revealed a medallion made of what he supposed was gold, with a deep engraving etched on one of its sides: a three-pronged spear, a trident. And on the other an inscription, 'Περσεύς', which he inherently knew read 'Perseus'.

"The trident... It's a symbol of Po-"

"Poseidon, I know. But it doesn't make any sense, mom. What does it have to do with me?" He could see the deflated form of his mother shake with unshed tears and sobs as she looked at him. His heart ached in his chest. Sally shifted closer to him and held his gaze. Bracing herself for what she was about to do, she took a deep breath and squeezed his hands.

"This," she said, pointing to the medallion," was around your neck when I found you on a beach in Montaulk."

Annabeth paced about the sitting room of Percy's apartment. She couldn't hear what they were saying, nor did she particularly want to. It was going to be hard enough to convince Percy to come with her to Camp Half-Blood, not that he had much choice in the matter. If he wanted to protect his family he had to leave with her.

Drawing a golden coin from her pocket, she waved her hands in simple flowing movements, seemingly manipulating the air around her until a small rainbow appeared overhead. "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering."

Nothing happened at first, but a few seconds later her bearded mentor materialized above and gave his student a grim smile.

"It is done then?" His tone was grave and weary, but she was used to hearing that in Chiron. Especially in the last few years.

"Getting there. It will take some convincing to get him to leave the city, but I think we'll manage." Annabeth stopped for a moment before adding thoughtfully," I would rather wait until morning before heading to Camp, but we don't have the luxury of waiting now, do we?"

Chiron shook his head. "No, the attacks have become more frequent at the borders. We lost a camper this afternoon. Hermes' Cabin," he replied to her unspoken question. Annabeth's heart sank. That was the third death in just as many days.

"This is it then. We're at war."

"I'm afraid so."

At the sound of a door opening, she muttered a quick goodbye to Chiron with promises of arriving in the next few hours and awaited the storm that was sure to come.

Percy's expression was crestfallen when he came into the room and dared not look at her, preferring to simply sit down on the couch and stare into the void. Quietly sitting down beside him, she was close enough to be within arm's reach if he wished for any comfort. His situation was so unalike her own that she could not help feeling sorry for him. While she had had to compete for her father's attention and love, Percy came from a loving family and within the space of a few days, she had turned his life upside down. For the worse no doubt, she thought wryly. Perhaps he needed to know that he wasn't alone.

"When I was seven," she began," I ran away from home. My dad remarried, you see, and his new wife had two kids of her own and I just didn't fit in with her little perfect family. So in the end I simply had had enough of being ignored and I I went monsters followed me and though they never attacked me, I was terrified. I like to think that I left to protect them, that I wasn't just being selfish in wanting my dad back, but the jury's still out on that one." Sometime during her speech Percy had turned to look at her, sympathy clear in his eyes. "I know our situations are nothing alike and I don't presume to know what's going on inside your head, Percy. I don't think anyone can. I just... want you to know that you're not alone, ok?" He nodded, but said nothing. She returned the gesture and the pair sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I can't stay here, can I?" The humorous lilt that she found often accompanied his voice when speaking - the few times she had been paying attention, in any case - had disappeared and instead his timbre was hoarse. Not for the first time that day, her heart went out to him. Most people at Camp thought she was nothing more than a brainiac with something to prove, that everything was simply words and strategy to her. She ignored the remarks, as was befit of a daughter of Athena, but sometimes they hit closer to home than the witless daughters of Aphrodite thought and they hurt. There were, of course, exceptions to her previous statement: Piper McLean and Silena Beauregard, for one.

"No."

"Thought not," he said with a sigh, his hands coming to rest atop of his knees. "And when are we leaving?"

"In an hour, two at most." She could give him that at least. "You should probably start packing a few things and say goodbye." Percy looked at her sharply, and she felt the need to clarify. "This isn't the end, Percy. You will see them again and I'll show you a way to contact them." He relaxed and began to sit up. Without looking at her, he retreated to his bedroom.

As she sat alone Annabeth noticed she hadn't seen Percy's mom in a while, but the sudden sound of a plate falling to the ground roused her attention. The kitchen was more spacious than she expected: two long wooden isles adorned the wall, separated by two sinks; in the corner stood a modest fridge and next to it a small table with four chairs. On the floor, hunched over the broken plate, Sally Jackson struggled to regain control of her body, that shook with silent sobs. Annabeth carefully avoided the blue cookies and the crumbs that lay shattered on the tiles, and placed a hand on the woman's back. Not expecting the sudden contact, the brunette recoiled.

"I-I'm s-sorry," she said shakily, still trembling. Annabeth gave her a reassuring smile and helped her with the clean up.

"Don't worry about it." A sudden thought struck her.

"Why blue?" That earned her the first true smile she had seen all afternoon and Sally became lost in her memories.

"Percy's always been fond of the colour and one birthday he wanted blue pancakes for breakfast and the tradition simply stuck. He probably doesn't even remember it, but I like to think he does."

They continued on talking much in the same manner about this and that, keeping the conversation light and void of any notion of departure and mysterious heritages until Percy emerged from his room carrying a backpack over his shoulder, tears in her eyes. In an instant the air thickened and Annabeth's heart constricted in her chest.

"I'll leave you two alone for a moment."

She could hear faint goodbyes and promises to see each other again and she wondered what would have happened had her circumstances been any different. Stop this, she thought angrily. They aren't and aren't likely to change. Focus on the task at hand.

Sally accompanied them down to the streets, where twilight was already settling itself upon the city. She hailed them a cab, handed them what little money she had in her purse and bid them on their way.

"Delphi Strawberry Service, Long Island, New York 11954, please."

It wasn't long before they arrived at their destination. The cab driver looked uncertain at leaving two teenagers in the middle of nowhere, but with quickly muttered reassurances that they would be fine, the promise of cash was far too alluring for the cabbie who was looking to head home. By now the cover of darkness had completely engulfed the sky above, but despite absence of any moonlight, the stars provided a beautiful sight to those who were used to the light pollution of the busy city. When the cab vanished from their vision altogether, Annabeth started walking in the direction of a hill.

"Are you sure you know where we're going? I can't see a thing, " said Percy, jogging to catch up with the eager Annabeth. It seemed she wasn't the only one looking forward to going home. Home. He already missed his and his parents. It saddened him that he didn't even get to say goodbye to his dad, who was probably just arriving at their apartment for dinner. He didn't know how his mom was going to explain that one.

"Of course I do. It's just over that ridge."

He was disappointed when he failed to see anything when they reached the top. Deciding to trust the confounding girl beside him, he followed her down just a few paces behind her. At the centre of the middle of nowhere stood massive pine tree, at least twenty feet high that seemed to cast an additional shadow over everything else in its presence.

The inexplicable sound of something whizzing in the distance and coming closer and closer to where he and Annabeth stood became clearer and within a split second an arrow had embedded itself in the trunk of the impressive tree. In that split second Annabeth had pushed him out of the way and he had landed in the damp grass. We have got to find another way of doing this.

The blonde was the first one to get up and he watched mildly amused as she stalked over to a hidden alcove to angrily shout at the hidden archer.

"Malcolm! What in the gods name do you think you're doing?! You could have killed us! Didn't they ever teach you to look before shooting?!"

Deciding that there was no danger, he joined Annabeth and the mysterious Malcolm and enjoyed the deeply apologetic look he was giving him. He would definitely not want to get on her bad side. Percy watch her sigh and comb her fingers through her hair in an attempt to get rid of the grass.

"Here, I got this." He marveled at the silkiness of her hair as he picked out, strand by strand, each thread of grass. He tried and failed not to laugh at the hilarity of it all.

"And you!" Uh oh. "Why are you laughing again? What is it with you and near death experiences that you find the need to laugh and touch my hair?"

Malcolm saw his cue to leave and was quick to leave the bickering pair.

"Never mind. We had better get you inside. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Percy."

I know I promised that this story was going to truly begin with this chapter, but thought that it would have been too much to put all that in as well, so I cut it. I apologize for any inaccuracies and for the absence of any editing, but after almost two months of no updates, I really just wanted to pubblish this. Any reviews are appreciated as is any advice or critique. I want to be a better writer so any help is welcome :)