Chapter 3: Camp Under Attack

(Author's Note)

Hey everyone, I'm back with a quicker update this time! Look at that, it's a miracle. I'm going to try my best to keep the updates as fast as possible for the time being, while keeping them the same quality, of course. I'll work on the the next chapter all weekend. Harass me if I start to slack. I have a few things to say before we get into the chapter. Please give them a quick read:

First, I put up a new Poll on my Profile to decide which of the two Pertemis stories I have planned you guys want first. It's only open for desktop, sorry, but just PM or Review with your vote. You can find them on my Profile.

Second, there is some more than usual cussing in this chapter, courtesy of Thalia and Clarisse. Nothing too bad and nothing offensive. Just a few words here and there. Figured I'd mention it just in case.

Third, you guys should check out 'Through The Ages' by feelinglucky1502. It's a really good Pertemis story that is really starting to pick up. Go over and check it out if you could.

Fourth, this is a little bit of a slower chapter without much action, sorry about that, but not every chapter can be one. The action will pick up soon, I promise.

Well, that's everything I have, so let's get started with he chapter, I hope you guys like it.


Chapter: Camp Under Attack

(April 2, 2011, Just North of the Canadian/US Border)

It wasn't until the beginning of April, nearly two whole months after Percy left with the hunters and a few days after they finally tracked down and killed the elder Hydra when Thalia finally agreed to tell him the real reason why he was with the hunters. But she couldn't tell him why until they were out of the country and far away enough from the god's ears. She said that she couldn't risk having her father or another god hear. So after leaving the rest of the hunters just south of the Canadian/US border, Thalia took Percy up into Canada to tell him everything.

Needless to say he was not expecting the first words out of her mouth. "My father is trying to kill you."

That made Percy pause for a few minutes, unable to understand why. They had only just sat down to talk and this was the first thing she told him? No wonder she was nervous this whole time.

Percy cleared his throat, looking to his cousin. "...Why?" He asked though he really didn't want to know the answer. "Is it because I didn't accept Immortality like he wanted me to?"

Thalia waved her hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "Kinda, that's part of the reason why, but not the real reason." She said, her voice was soft and Percy could clearly hear, was that fear in her voice? She continued, "There's a new Prophecy, and my father thinks it's about you."

Percy cursed under his breath. Of course there had to be another Prophecy. The Fates just couldn't leave him alone, could they? After letting his shoulders drop he asked, "What did it say? Word for word?"

Thalia let out a shaky breath before answering,

"Olympus beware the Mortal of Might,

The heir shall strike War and Love in the night,

A long forgotten foe shall rise, an Angel and Lion in disguise,

The Mount shall fall and the Sky will rise,

The Son shall follow the fate of those before,

And slay his father at the door."

Percy was silent for a few minutes, his head in his hands. Why did everything always have to be about him? "So Zeus," He swallowed. "Thinks I'm going to slay my dad at some door?" He asked. "Why? I'd never kill my dad. He's my dad!"

"We know that, Percy." Thalia put a hand on his arm. "Lady Artemis thinks that the Prophecy refers to someone else we haven't found yet, and who will most likely stay hidden until right before the Prophecy comes to be. But my father, as well as Ares, think that you are going to be the one who kills Aphrodite, Ares and your dad. They fear that you will attempt to take over Olympus for yourself and rule. Just like Zeus did to his father, and Kronos did to his father." She looked up to the sky, watching the clouds. "It is the tradition for the son to overthrow the father in Greek history."

Percy let out a long breath through his nose. "I get that that's what's happened before," He agreed, anxiously running his fingers through his messy hair. "But I don't want to rule." He said, a frustrated look on his face. "I don't even want immortality. All I want is to be able to have a nice, calm life, marry Annabeth and have kids one day, grow old and die."

Thalia nodded. "We know that, Percy." She confirmed. "But my father is more paranoid than ever, especially now. He's closed off the entirety of Olympus and summoned every god, major and minor, there, not allowing them to leave in fear of a coup. He thinks… and it's kinda true, that if you were to actually invade Olympus with the intention of taking over, that you would pose a substantial threat."

Percy blinked, asking, "How? I'm one demigod against the whole of Mount Olympus? Zeus would be able to take care of me without even moving his little finger."

"Think about it, Percy." Thalia looked stressed, as if she hadn't slept in days. "What is Camp Half-Blood?"

Percy's brow raised in question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do you do in camp?"

Percy thought for a second. "We protect each other from Monsters, train to fight-."

Thalia cut him off suddenly. "Exactly." She looked to Percy. "You train to fight. And how many campers do you have?"

"One hundred." He replied quickly.

She nodded. "You have one hundred, highly trained, physically fit, battle hardened demigods at camp only an hour or so from Mount Olympus. You have a literal army at your beck and call, Percy. One that has, and will, go to war with you." Percy opened his mouth to speak but she continued. "Let's also say that somehow, you manage to talk Reyna and Frank into joining you. Now your small army of a hundred demigods? Increase that to almost four hundred." She looked Percy dead in the eye, her voice deadly serious, emphasizing each word. "Four hundred highly trained, militarized, well armed and powerful demigod and Legacy soldiers. If you were to attack Olympus with four hundred soldiers, added with your skill, influence and near immortality with the Curse of Achilles? My father fears that you might be able to win."

She continued. "Now, think about us, the hunters of Artemis. Who do you think we would side with in the war?" Percy didn't have to think it over, it wasn't even a question, he knew Artemis and Thalia would side with him. Artemis even said as much when she made him an honorary hunter. He remembered her words that day, "We hunters stand together, if you are ever in need, you only need use the whistle, and my hunters and I will come and wage holy war.". He thought about it to himself, This must have been what Artemis meant back then. Thalia continued, her tone staying the same. "And what about all of the minor gods that feel that the Olympians are treating them as second class citizens? Do you think they would side with their king and queen that have never treated them as equals or with the person trying to overthrow them?"

Percy let all of that sink in for a few minutes. He knew that Thalia was right, about everything. Right that if he asked, maybe not all, but a good majority of the campers might actually go to war with him. He had just never thought of it that way, but as the leader of the War Council at camp and all of the new training they have started since the last war, he was forming a formidable army without ever really realizing it.

After another minute Thalia spoke up, her voice softer and calmer than before. "Now do you see why my father wants you dead?"

Percy nodded stiffly. "...I do." He mumbled softly before letting out a calming breath, his face turning more serious. "So, when is he going to plan on killing me?" He asked, all business again. "We need to prepare."

Thalia looked at her friend in awe. She'd never admit it to him, but she always admired how Percy turned out after the war. He had taken a leadership role at camp and helped turn it from a handful of average demigods into an army that could rival New Rome. He was still the same Percy after this whole time, somehow despite the odds, but whenever he was tasked with something he put on his 'leadership face' as Annabeth had called it when she told her about it, and got it done. Now, he was talking about making preparations to prevent his own death without even blinking. Sometimes she forgets how much her little Kelp Head grew up since they first met. She shook her head, knocking those thoughts away, continuing.

"He's already tried." She answered, biting her lip. "At least three times."

Percy's eyes widened comically. "Three times?" He repeated.

"That I know of." She moved a little closer on the fallen log they sat on, dropping her head slightly. "The first was when he ordered you to fight that Leviathan at the bottom of the ocean six months ago. You know, when you went missing for nine days and he told all of us that you died? He must have been excited when that happened, he didn't have to get his hands dirty." Percy nodded, those were some of the worst nine days of his life. "The second time was during the Third Titanomachy, he was hoping that you and some of the other campers would die in the battle with the Titans. Two birds, one stone."

Percy cursed again. "That bastard." He mumbled. "Twenty four campers died that day because he refused to help us. We might have all died if my dad hadn't let my borrow his trident."

Thalia nodded. "I know, my father didn't like that either. He forbid the gods from helping but your dad and Hestia went around him and sent you your dad's trident." She said before letting out a longer breath, this time not looking at him. "The last time he tried to kill you… he asked me to do it."

Percy's breath hitched, looking at his cousin in surprise. "What?" He demanded.

"Yeah," She mumbled under her breath. After a few seconds she managed to continue but still couldn't look him in the eyes. "He came to me one night when I was setting up snares alone a month or so after they went silent. I was surprised at first, and a little… happy, because he's never done that before, y'know? I thought he wanted to see me, his daughter, but no." She bit her lip again, like she was trying to hold her emotions back. "But that didn't last for long. He started going on about loyalty and family and how he always rewarded those who sided with Olympus. Then, came the kicker; he asked me to side with him if Olympus would go to war, right before he asked me to sneak into camp at night and kill you in your sleep."

Thalia couldn't hold it in anymore, she burst into a sob, covering her mouth with her hands. Trying her best to not watch Percy look at her. After a few seconds he put a comforting hand on her shoulder, pulling her into his side and giving her a comforting hug. "That's not your fault, Thals." He started. "I trust you. I know that you would never betray me."

"Damn right." She mumbled, her electric blue eyes finally looking into his sea green ones. "That Fatal Flaw of Loyalty you have for us? Well, right back at you." She lightly punched him in the arm. "I'd fight Olympus for you and Annabeth. Which, is also what I told my dad."

Percy paused. "...How'd he take that?" He asked.

Thalia snorted, rolling her eyes. "About as well as you'd expect. He screamed for a few minutes, calling me a traitor and a disappointment, said he should have asked one of his godly sons. Which, I in turn cussed him out about it."

Percy eyes widened again. "You did not cuss out the King of the gods."

A small smile formed at the corner of her lips. "Yeah, I did." She said, more of a smile forming. "And it felt good to get it all off my chest after all this time, actually. He's always been a shitty dad, so I told him so. We screamed at each other for a few minutes, but eventually I guess he finally figured out that I wasn't going to be intimidated by getting hit with a lightning bolt so he disowned me and left without another word."

"Oh Thals," Percy started, putting him around around her shoulders but she just shrugged.

"Nah, it's fine." She said, though her eyes betrayed her if you knew how to read them. "I have a new family with Lady Artemis and my sisters. A better family than he ever was to me." She gave Percy a reassuring look. "I'll be fine, Perce, I swear."

Percy let out a breath, nodding. "Okay, but if you ever need anything, just know that you're always welcome with Annabeth and I. Or, if you need anything calmer, with my mom. She's been dying to see you again."

Thalia smiled despite herself, trying to hide it behind her hand. "Your mom has always been the best." She mumbled.

Percy smiled. "I know. I don't know what I ever did to deserve her." Thalia smirked at the goofy smile he always had on his face whenever he talked about his mom. She swears it's worse than the one when he talks about Annabeth.

Thalia looked like she was about to open her mouth to reply when suddenly mist appeared in front of them, a small rainbow coming out of it. A second later a familiar face appeared in the Iris Message. "Percy, oh thank the gods above. Fleecy didn't think we'd be able to reach you for a second there." The girl spoke, she looked to be about seventeen, was tall with an athletic body and tanned skin like she spent most of her time outside. She had long brunette hair and had a natural, pretty face with a warm smile, like she didn't know how to frown.

"Amethyst, what's wrong?" He asked the eldest daughter of and head camper of the Iris cabin now after Butch had died in the Third Titanomachy. As a daughter of Iris, Amethyst received free IM's and acted as the main messenger for the War Council as she was a member. "What's happening?"

Percy could tell that she was in the big house, in the newly built War Room where the War Council- or the heads of each cabin and select few veteran campers, like Percy and Clarisse- met and had meetings. They had moved from using the ping pong table in the rec room into their own room just before the Third Titanomachy. He could also see several other members of the Council behind her, running around and talking over each other frantically. Sherman Yang from the Ares cabin was fully armored up, so Percy knew that something had to be wrong.

"Our Hermes scouts found a large group of Monsters in the woods beyond the camp borders this morning." She explained calmly, she was always calm under pressure, almost scarily so. "Since you've left we've been having gradually larger and larger groups of Monsters attacking the camp every week or so. But now, Travis' scouts say that there are nearly a hundred Monsters gathered outside the borders." From behind her, Jason appeared dressed in armor and his face filled the message.

"Percy?" He asked with confusion upon seeing his friend. He then turned to Amethyst. "I thought I said not to bother him while he's busy with the hunters?" He turned back to face Percy, giving him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Perce, but I've been trying to get them to not IM you over every little thing. It seems like nearly everyday I have to tell someone not to bother you."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked. "What's going on?"

Jason looked off to the side, presumably listening to someone out of sight. He nodded before turning back to Percy. "Sorry, man. It'll take too long to explain, we'll tell you when you come back." He promised, taking his helmet from a pair of hands just beyond the IM that Percy assumed belonged to Piper. "The camp is under attack by Monsters again, but it's nothing to worry about." He sent Amethyst a look. "We can handle it without you. Amethyst wasn't supposed to-."

"Actually, Clarisse ordered me to IM Percy." She cut him off kindly. "And as she's head of Camp Security, with Percy gone she's acting leader of the War Council and her orders supersede yours."

Jason blink, taken back. "Oh, well then…" He cleared his throat. "Nevermind." He gave an apologetic look to Amethyst which she waved off with a smile. To Percy, he said, "But I don't know how fast you'll be able to make it to camp from, wherever you are-."

Thalia cut him off this time. "Canada."

Jason blinked again. "Thalia? Why are you in-? You know what, I don't want to know." He gave a quick wave to his sister before facing Percy again. "Just make it back here as fast as you can, bro. Honestly, we need you back, we're up to our ears in problems. Camp has gotten a lot worse since you left."

"I will." Percy relied. "You two get back to defending camp, I'll be there as soon as I can." They nodded and Amethyst was just about to cancel the IM when Percy spoke back up. "But before you go, Amethyst-."

"Yes?"

"-I need you to connect me with someone at Camp Jupiter."

"Sure thing. Who?" She asked.

"Hazel Levesque." He answered quickly. "I need to talk to her about a horse."

Not a half minute later, Percy and Thalia got into contact with Hazel at Camp Jupiter. The only problem was, she was in the bathhouse. With Reyna of all people. Good thing Annabeth and Artemis weren't there with him, Thalia was bad enough.

You should have heard the Praetor scream, it was loud enough to shatter glass. Not a second later Thalia had her hand covering his eyes despite him already slamming them shut as Hazel and Reyna attempted to cover themselves with towels. After another minute the two grumbling girls seemed to calm down somewhat.

"Why must every time you call me via IM be when I'm in the bathhouse, Percy?" Reyna demanded, referencing the first time he and Hazel had done so when they were at the Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles, or R.O.F.L shop. Percy blushed despite himself behind Thalia's hand, if he could see he would have seen the matching blush on Reyna's face. Not to mention the horror-stricken look on Hazel's face.

"It's all part of my elaborate plan," Percy said with a serious voice. "As a son of Poseidon I can sense when you're in the water. It makes me the ultimate Peeping-Tom. You weren't supposed to catch on." Thalia elbowed him in the side, hard. "Ow. Sorry" He muttered before continuing, his eyes still covered by Thalia's hand. "Hazel, I need to borrow Arion, there's an emergency at Camp Half-Blood. I'm in Canada and need to get there, like, right now."

Hazel nodded. "I'll call him, it won't take more than a minute or two." She explained. "He doesn't really stay here, likes to stretch his legs."

"Thanks." Percy said. "I owe you one. And sorry again, Reyna, I swear it's a coincidence." He told them goodbye before cutting off the IM, waiting for Arion. But thankfully he didn't have much time to wait for the fastest being on land to reach him. As Percy got on the back of the horse, Thalia spoke up.

"Wait, Percy." She said. "There's one more thing Lady Artemis wanted me to tell you."

"What?" He asked. He could feel Arion getting anxious under him. He wanted to run.

"Lady Artemis is worried that my father or another god, like Ares, will try to get one of their children to try to kill you at camp." Her eyes were filled with worry now, a contrast to her usual unflinching face. "That's why she wanted you to travel with us until the Prophecy is over."

"Because she knew that I'd be safer with you and the girls." Percy stated rather than asked, understanding.

"Yes." Thalia nodded. "We only have a few demigods left in the hunt and none of them would kill you. Or even hope to kill you, actually. As I'm pretty sure that a twelve year old daughter of Demeter wouldn't pose much of a threat to you." She turned more serious, giving Percy a worried look. "If you go back to camp now, then one of the gods might send one of their kids to kill you. You could be walking into their trap."

Percy's face was hard for a few seconds as he thought. He shook his head slightly to shake the thoughts away. "No, camp needs me. The Council needs me." Softer he said, "Annabeth needs me. Sorry, Thals, but I have to go."

Thalia wore a look like she expected nothing less. She let out a sigh. "Just take care of yourself, okay? And remember that you have the whistle Lady Artemis gave you in case you need our help. I'll have the hunt stay near camp, just in case."

He smiled in thanks. "I promise. See you soon." To Arion, his technically half brother(don't ask, godly families are weird), he said, "I need to get to Camp Half-Blood, it's an emergency. How fast can you get me there?"

Before he even finished the last word the fastest horse in the world took off like a bullet to camp.

oooOooo

(Camp Half-Blood, a few hours later)

Percy arrived at camp just as the Karpoi were being roasted alive by Leo's fire blast. Or what he hoped was Leo's fire, since the other explanation was that there was a raging fire in the woods outside camp. Percy may be the son of Poseidon, but putting out a forest fire was still asking a lot. Not only that, it would be hard to explain to the mortals in the farms around camp.

Not a half minute later he received his answer, thankfully it turned out that the forest was not on fire and Leo was just using his fire to scare away the grain spirits. Percy hopped off the tired(any cussing like a sailor) horse and made his way to Leo.

"Leo," He called out over the roar of the fire. "Cool it with the fire, you'll burn the whole forest down!"

The son of Hephaestus turned around to find his friend, a massive smile on his face. "Perce!" He yelled out, thankfully stopping shooting out fire from his hands. "I didn't know you'd be back! How's it goin' man?"

"Defend camp now, talk later." Percy said quickly, clicking Riptide and slashing it through the body of a Cyclops. "But it's good to see you too, Leo." He gave a quick smile before jumping to the side, dodging a club before driving his sword deep into the knee of another Cyclops. "Wheres Clarisse? Or Jason? Or anyone from the Council?"

Leo gestured vaguely back towards camp. "Clarisse set up a temporary command center by the arena. She's commanding everything from there."

"Thanks, Leo." Percy called out as he made his way to camp. "Go ahead and fall back to the defensive perimeter, it seems like the Monsters are retreating and we need to regroup."

He heard Leo yell "Aye aye, cap'n" as he too ran back to camp. As Percy neared the camp's borders he found the defensive, wooden spiked wall that ran around the entirety of camp they had built after the Second Titanomachy, with some Ares campers posted at the gate. They lowered their weapons once they recognized him.

"Percy?" Avery asked. "Is that you?"

"Since when have you been back?" Joan asked.

"Since about five minutes ago." He answered, stopping in front of them, looking for other campers, seeing none he faced them again. His next words came out a little more serious. "How are we doing?" It could have sounded like a usual question to the normal person, asking how they were doing, but to the demigods it meant that they were being asked a status report. By none other than the Leader and General of the War Council, in other words, their superior officer. Not all of the Ares campers liked him, but all of them did respect the chain of command. The two Ares campers straightened their backs and stood at attention immediately. Percy inwardly smiled, Clarisse did a good job training them in his absence.

"A large, heavily armed force of Monsters were sighted by our scouts at approximately 0600 this morning but did not make to attack us until Sherman and a number of our siblings approached them at 0800." Avery said without missing a beat, he sucked in a quick breath before continuing. "Clarisse ordered us to mobilize and defend the camp borders, so far no Monsters have gotten into camp and casualties have been kept at zero."

Percy couldn't help but blink given that answer. Sure, the camp had taken on a more militaristic personality since the Second Titanomachy, with the campers being trained more like the demigods at New Rome than ever before, but Percy didn't expect an answer like that. "Thank you, Avery, for that concise and… detailed reply." He nodded, trying to get used to being a 'superior officer' again. He was just another(or technically the only) guy with the hunters most of the time despite him training the newest hunters. It would probably take some time to get back into the more militaristic rhythm the camp has fallen in to. "Oh, at ease." He said after a second, remembering that they were still at attention. They relaxed, Joan looking to him expectantly while Avery remained more stoic.

"What are your orders, Percy?" She asked. "I assume that you will be taking over command again from Clarisse?"

He let out a breath, looking around them but not seeing any Monsters. "Yeah, I will. The Monsters seemed to have retreated for now. Regroup with the others and search for any wounded, but leave one person at the gate at all times." He said in his 'leader voice'. "I'm calling a camp meeting, have everyone gather in the Amphitheater. Let everyone know that you see."

"Will do." Joan said with a nod.

While Avery answered with a sharp "Yessir."

Percy let out a sigh as he went through the gate and into camp. It felt good to be back at camp where he belonged after being gone for so long, but he could already sense the tension around camp. Jason had mentioned that the camp was in even worse shape than what it was when he left, so this was going to be fun.

Percy hadn't even been in the camp five seconds and he was already swarmed by people asking how he was, when he got back, what to do, etc. It was all a little jarring but nothing he wasn't used to by now. They started off fine, but soon they turned from greetings to questions and finally to problems.

"Percy!" Alice from the Hermes cabin greeted him with a smile, running up to him. "I didn't know you'd be coming back today."

"Hey man, how's it going?" Austin from the Apollo cabin asked. "Good to see you back."

"What are we doing?" Holly from Nike asked. "Are we supposed to continue our patrols like Clarisse said or meet up in the Amphitheater like you said?"

Laurel, her co-cabin leader answered beside her. "What Percy said, of course. He is in charge of camp now."

"Oh, that makes sense." Holly gave him an apologetic smile as she waved goodbye before promptly running off with her sister to tell more campers that Percy was back.

"The outer wall is on fire! What do we do?" Someone asked him.

"Make way! Make way!" A voice called over the small crowd of demigods. A second later Percy sighted Pollux from Dionysus and Damien from Nemesis pushing their way through the group carrying a stretcher. Percy recognized the young boy on the stretcher as Sam, a new camper from Athena. Percy stopped them immediately.

"What's going on?" He demanded. "What happened to Sam?" He bent over the young boy, a sheet had been placed over him but a massive amount of blood could be seen bleeding through it. "Sam, are you okay?"

"Hell...hound…" He whispered weakly, as if it took all of his strength to not pass out from the pain.

"He was attacked by a Hellhound. Ripped open his stomach. We got him patched up with some field medicine and Nectar, but we're taking him to the Big House so the healers can work on him." Pollux answered for him. "The devil tried to drag him into the woods to finish him off, luckily, Leonidas was there to save his skin."

Percy's eyes widened. "Wait, Leonidas-?"

He was cut off by an explosion of wood coming from where the wooden barricade was supposed to be. Now the Chimera was in its place, growling and roaring as it burst through the wooden wall. Percy was about to draw Riptide and charge the Monster but a blur of golden-tan fur burst from behind him and launched itself at the Monster.

"You shall burn in Tartarus, beast!" Came a low, boisterous voice, connected to a giant of a man as he swung an impractically sized hammer at the Monster's face.

"Leonidas?" Percy repeated the name, not being able to so anything but stare in awe at the demigod as he took on the dangerous Monster by himself. "How… how did you…?" He broke off when a squad of campers in full armor lead by a large girl in heavy armor and a helmet with large ram horns rushed in to fight off the Chimera, launching arrows and javelins at the Monster.

"The wall has been breached!" The girl in the heavy armor shouted. "Campers, defensive positions! Protect the Big House and cabins! Shields!" She ordered and all of the campers around her lined their shields in a wall in one solid, quick motion. "Advance!" She yelled and the campers started to slowly move towards the Chimera, trying to drive it back out the wall as Leonidas held the lion's mouth shut with just his bare hands.

"Leonidas! Fall back!" The girl ordered. "Archers, draw!" Leonidas jumped back from the Monster and a second later she yelled, "Release!" A dozen or so arrows flew at the Chimera, all aimed at one of it's three heads. With a weak roar, the Monster fell to the ground, bursting into dust.

"Alright everyone." The girl yelled again, getting everyone's attention. "Stop standing around like a bunch of Medusa victims! We have a breach in the defensive wall, I want a squad from Hephaestus and Demeter to fix it asap!" She ordered, pointing to various campers as she did, completely not noticing Percy. "We have a lot of wounded, so I want every healer at the Big House now! Cecil, send a message to the barricade guards to extend rotations into the night. I don't care if they've been there twelve hours. We're low on manpower, everyone needs to pull double duty."

Cecil from Hermes tore down the dirt path to the outskirts of the camp while the campers nearest the girl let out groans. But the girl continued like she didn't hear them. "Why is everyone standing around? I said to form a defensive wall around the camp!"

"Because we were ordered to gather in the Amphitheater." Came Chiara's voice. The daughter of Tyche stepped up next to her fellow War Council member.

The girl in heavy armor turned to her, a somewhat aggressive tone in her voice. "Whose orders?" She demanded.

"Percy's." Came her reply.

If all of the campers didn't know Percy was back, they did now. At once every pair of eyes in the camp turned to him, and so did the girl's in the heavy armor. "Prissy?" She asked, seeing him for the first time. Without wasting a second made her way to him quickly, slapping her large hand on his shoulder when she reached him. "It's good to see you, Percy." She said quietly so that other people wouldn't hear. In a louder voice she spoke to the large group of campers. "Well, what are all of you standing around for? Percy told you all to gather in the Amphitheater. Double time, let's go."

The campers, not wishing to face her wrath, all ran to the Amphitheater. Once they were alone on the dirt path, the girl took of her horned helmet and ran a hand through her sweaty hair, giving him a quirked smile. "Damn this thing is hot." She muttered before signalling that they start walking to the Amphitheater. "But it's good to have you back, Prissy. I could really use your help. The shit has hit the proverbial fan as they say, I can't runt the camp by myself."

"It's good to see you too, Clarisse." He said, walking side by side with her down the path. "And what do you mean, what's happened at camp?" He asked. "Why wasn't the magical barrier up? Why is half the camp on fire?"

The daughter of Ares let out a long breath. "As you know, the magical borders around camp have been failing since before you left, but recently the past few months they've been dropping for longer and longer." She pointed a thumb at the defensive wooden wall around camp. "We've been having to build up, repair or replace the wall every week now. Recently Lou Ellen and the Hecate cabin have been putting up magical guards on the wall, but they haven't been enough. Strong enough Monsters can easily break through our line and get into camp."

"Have we lost any campers?" He asked.

Clarisse nodded her head once after a few seconds. "Unfortunately, we have. Eight in battle, but eleven more have died from their wounds so far." They stopped briefly outside the Big House. Apollo campers could be seen running around with bandages, Nectar, Ambrosia and first aid kits. "We've had to turn the entire bottom floor of the Big House into the infirmary. Will and his siblings have been working their asses off trying to keep everyone alive, they've prayed to every god or goddess of healing and medicine but so far, no gods have stepped in to help. Last I checked we had ten campers bedridden and two in critical condition."

Percy let that sink in as they walked into the Big House and looked at all of the wounded campers. He could see Sam in the back on an operating table, Will was working on him. There were campers everywhere. Not a single space on the floor was empty. If the number of wounded was anything to go by, then this attack was the worse one yet. But one thing didn't make any sense, "Where are all the Satyrs?" Percy asked. "Why aren't they helping the wounded with their healing magic? And where's Chiron? I haven't seen him yet. He should be here."

Clarisse's eyes dropped slightly. She gestured for him to follow her out of the Big House and away from prying ears. He did. After the were outside she spoke up. "Chiron's not here." She said.

"What?" Percy asked, confused. "Why? Where is he?"

"He's been summoned to Mount Olympus." She answered. "He told us after you left with the hunters. He's been gone since."

Percy's eyes widened. "But that was almost two months ago." He said. "Who did the gods send in his stead? Is Mr. D back?"

Clarisse shook her head. "No, the gods didn't send anyone to run the camp." She answered. "The Satyrs, Dryads, Nymphs as well as the cleaning Harpies have fled camp. Every friendly Monster has fled the camp. We're all on our own." She rubbed her temple, as if she had a migraine. "So for the past two months we've been without magical borders, a director, Satyrs and Harpies to cook and clean for us."

Percy stopped walking, facing Clarisse with an open mouth. "What? Then what have you been doing? Who is running camp? How are the campers eating?"

Clarisse let out another sigh. "The War Council has taken leadership of the camp. With Chiron gone and Argus bedridden after the gods went silent, the head campers and I have had to step up and take charge."

Percy blinked. "No wonder Jason said that everyone had been wanting to contact me."

Clarisse nodded. "Yup, everyone's been trying to IM you over every little thing." She put on a whiny voice, impersonating the other campers. "'We have no food, let's call Percy', 'I don't want to eat field rations', 'Why isn't Percy back yet? I want Percy in charge, he'll let us eat normal food.' 'Where's Chiron? And the Harpies? I'm hungry'. Geez, nothing but a bunch of big babies." She mumbled. "What's so bad about field rations? They're not that bad."

Percy winced. "You're having them eat field rations?"

"We ran out of food!" She told him. "The strawberry and grape fields haven't been growing very well and without the Harpies or Mr. D we don't have anyone to magic us any food." She let out another sigh. "We have actually been debating whether or not we should go into town and buy a truckload of canned food. We have eighty one hungry campers, I- I-." She paused, looking to him. "I don't know what to do." She admitted. "I thought that we could handle it without you… but it's been Hades at camp without Chiron in charge. I've been up to my ears in problems. It seems like everyday that something goes wrong…"

She was silent for a few seconds as they walked. "Y'know I hate to admit it, Prissy, but we needed you back. We tried our best to not ask you for help but-."

"It's fine, Clarisse." He assured her. "You guys needed my help. That's all that matters to me. I would have come sooner if I'd had known."

Next to him, she lowered her voice so no one would hear despite them being alone. "Actually, Annabeth told us not to bother you." She whispered. "She didn't say why, but she said that we should let you stay with the hunters. She also told us to keep it to ourselves."

Percy wished he could tell Clarisse why he was gone for so long, but he couldn't risk it. Not at camp. Even if they were absent, the gods still had ears all around them. Instead, he said, "Well, I'm back now. So let's get to the Amphitheater. We'll talk to the campers and then call a Council meeting."

"Sure thing." She nodded. Her face dropped a little bit, her voice turning more serious. "But one more thing, did you meet someone on your trip named Leonidas?"

Percy's eyes widened, he had completely forgotten about him with everything going on. He nodded. "I did." He answered. "The hunters and I ran into him in Colorado."

Clarisse wore an unreadable expression on her face. "...How well do you know him?" She asked.

"Not at all." He answered honestly. "We accidentally started fighting each other thinking they were with the Monsters." They had made it the the edge of the Amphitheater and stopped, still talking in low voices. "He's crazy strong. He tossed me around like a ragdoll."

Clarisse looked like she didn't like but expected the answer. "I've noticed." She said. "He just showed up out of nowhere at camp one morning towards the end of last month. Said he ran into you with the hunters and said you told him about camp. Says he's a demigod." She eyed Leonidas near the bottom of the Amphitheater, he was sitting with the Hermes cabin. They couldn't hear him because of the distance, but he was laughing with a big smile on his face. From the expression of the campers around him, he apparently just finished with a joke.

"That's true," Percy nodded. "I told him about camp when he asked where I came from." His eyes widened slightly. "But I didn't tell him where it was. Thalia stopped me before I did. How did he get here?"

"Just wanted to confirm." She let out a breath. "When I asked how he got here, he told me that he received the location one night in a dream. He called it a 'vision from the gods'."

Percy shrugged his shoulders. "It's possible. He wouldn't be the first demigod in the world to get a vision in his sleep."

Clarisse looked like she was about to say something but hesitated for a few seconds. "...Do you think we can trust him?" She asked.

Percy took a few seconds to answer. "...I don't know." He answered honestly. "He strong, probably one of the strongest demigods I've ever met, not just including his increased strength. But his skill as well." He thought back to their fight in the woods. All Percy could remember was feeling weak and scared when they fought, like his body was warning him about his opponent. "He told me that he's fighting against Gaea and the Titans. Which, I think I have to believe because of how many Monsters he killed. So he's clearly not with them…"

"What do you want us to do about him?" She asked, her eyes still locked on the mysterious man named Leonidas.

"Keep an eye on him for now." He said, watching the man talk to the Hermes kids, all of them laughing. "Has he caused any problems at camp?"

"Not so far." She admitted with a frown, like she wanted him to cause problems. "He's a little loud and gets overly excited when telling stories of him hunting Monsters sometimes, but no, no problems. I've been having Sherman keep an eye on him during training. He gets a little 'too into' training, but overall he's been perfect. He gives the new campers pointers, volunteers for extra work and seems to get along with everyone. Well, everyone, but Drew."

"Drew?" He asked, dread in his voice upon hearing her name. "What did she do now?"

Clarisse rolled her eyes and chuckled lightly. "Damn near every Aphrodite girl swooned when he walked into camp." She paused to make a rude gagging sound. "Drew followed him around for the first week like a love-sick puppy. Drool hanging out of her mouth and everythin'."

Percy raised a brow. "Why?" He asked.

She shrugged her wide shoulders. "Dunno, they must think he's hot or somethin'."

Percy gave her a subtle grin and a raised eyebrow. "And what do you think about him, Clarisse?"

Clarisse let out a low growling sound. "I think that you shouldn't lump me in with the Aphrodite girls." She warned him with a glare before dropping it after a few seconds when she realized he wasn't intimidated. "But I'll admit, he has the whole 'man of mystery' vibe goin' on, and his handsome face and muscles don't hurt either." She elbowed Percy in the side without warning. "But if you tell anyone I said that, I'll-."

Percy's lip curled in a smile. "I get it, Clarisse." He cut her off. "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret."

"Anyway," She continued. "Drew tried to hit on him from day one. Piper gave me the play by play, not that I wanted to know, of course, but apparently Drew is love stricken." She made another gagging sound, pointing her finger at her open mouth.

"And what did Leonidas think of her following him around?" Percy asked. "How'd he react?"

"Not like you would expect." She admitted. "Piper told me that Leonidas didn't get why Drew was following him around at first. Apparently, he just thought that she was being nice or didn't have anyone to talk to or somethin', so he was nice to her, which only made it worse."

Percy sighed. "It always does with Drew." He mumbled. "What else?"

"It wasn't until she just came out and asked him out when he figured out what she was doing." She paused, holding back a laugh. "And do you know what he did? He turned her down faster than I ever thought possible." This time Clarisse didn't bother holding in her laughter. "Drew was so surprised! Oh, ya shoulda seen the look on her face! It was priceless!"

"Really?" He asked.

"Yup. It was beautiful." She wiped a fake tear from her eye. "It was about time that girl had someone say no to her when she bats her eyelashes at them. If you wanna know more, ask Piper. She had to deal with the heartbroken girl."

"So I'm guessing that she wasn't too happy to be turned down?" Percy asked.

"You don't know the half of it." Clarisse mumbled as if she had to deal with it recently. "She's still following him around and trying to flirt with him, but it's like she's trying to seduce a brick wall. The guy is just not interested in her at all. Or any girl at camp, really." She added as an afterthought.

"Well, that's good I guess." Percy mumbled. "Means less problems along the line. I've lost track of the number of bad breakups we've had at camp over the years. They just always cause problems."

"Hear hear." Clarisse agreed before nodding towards the Amphitheater. "Looks like everyone has gathered up, let's get all the mushy hugs and 'I missed yous' out of the way already and get back to work. So you're back, big whoop. These people need to get a life."

Percy snorted. "Don't pretend that you weren't glad to see me, Clarisse." He gave a look of mock hurt. "We both know you wouldn't know what to do without me."

"Ha! That's rich," She chuckled. "I only wanted you back because I'm tired of working my ass off and sick of all the complaints."

"Whatever you say," He smiled, before heading into the Amphitheater. "Now, let's get down there and get this camp meeting started. We're still going to have to have a War Council meeting after it, so let's not make it too long."

"Whatever ya say, Prissy." She said from behind him as they walked down the stairs. All of the demigods present either called out to Percy or came up and greeted him. After a few minutes he managed to get everyone to sit down. He made his way to the podium where Chiron usually stood and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Thank you all for coming. Yes, I know, I'm back, but now's not the time to celebrate. I've been briefed on the situation here at camp." He looked around to the sixty or so able bodied campers around him. "We have a lot of work to do to get Camp Half-Blood back up and running like it should. So I expect everyone to pitch in and help out. The War Council will be gathering after this to plan what we are going to do from now on without Chiron, Mr. D, the Satyrs and Harpies." He looked behind him to where every member of the War Council sat, gesturing to them. "We have a lot to do, so, let's get started."


(Author's Note)

So we've lost nineteen more campers… I did say that this story would shy away from deaths, didn't I? I think I did. Anyway, Percy's back at camp! Woo! Next time will be a lot of Percy fixing up and leading camp. I'll try to get as much done this weekend as possible.

Let me know how you liked the chapter with a Review. Don't forget to Follow/Favorite too! They always make me smile

I'll try to get the next chapter out asap. Have a great day,

Hephaestus