Chapter 2 - Searching

He rubbed his face tiredly as he made it back to his Cabin, running them through his hair before pulling the clumps in frustration. He felt useless. He was the only one that knew the happenings on Olympus right now, and he couldn't tell the Camp until it was time. He laid on his bed beside the spot that Thalia had clearly been sleeping on, hearing the Cabin door open and close swiftly behind them.

He could sense Thalia enter the room as his eyes remained closed, thinking over the events of the few months of godhood. He felt Thalia on the bed, lying beside him as she rested her head on his chest, sighing at the closeness and moment alone, something they hadn't had in a long time. He kissed the top of her head, mindlessly twirling the few locks of hair in between his fingers.

"It's nice to have you here with me again. If only it were under better circumstances." She sighed, nuzzling into his side. He nodded as he looked at her, turning as he wrapped her in his arms, bringing her up to lean on the headboard.

"I know. It has genuinely been a struggle up there without being near you. You're the only thing that keeps the Darkness properly at bay. If I wasn't a Minor god now, those temptations would have definitely taken over." He sighed, his arm wrapped around her still.

"My father was just getting on my nerves after a while, constantly treating me like I was a child again, every slip-up or something he didn't like while I was trying to do my job, he would berate me for the whole day, holding it against me. You can understand now why I lost all emotions after a while, it's just idiotic the stuff he put me through." He grumbled, leaning his head on hers. She hummed in understanding, her eyes closing as they both sat in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each others company for what seemed like forever.

"I need to go get the Hunter's ready." She sighed as she looked up to him. He nodded in understanding, pecking the top of her head as he watched her stand, her casual attire shimmering to that of her Hunter Outfit, donned with a circlet, a symbol of her authority.

He stood beside her, wrapping her in his arms once more as he leaned down, closing the gap between the two as they shared a brief kiss before she was gone, off to help find his brother.

He was stood in his old Cabin, looking over the room for any sign of a clue that would lead to him. His Dark Mist powers surrounded the room, plunging the relatively dark room into further Darkness, sensing a powerful Aura in the room, stronger than he.

He focused on the feel of the Aura before he caught latched onto it, watching as it flowed around the room, changing where it walked to white. It hung around his old bed for a moment before it quickly retreated, making its way to Percy's. He watched as the Aura leant over a green Aura, symbolising his brother, in the bed before his connection was violently broke, something trying to keep him out.

He growled in frustration as he heard the door open, Annabeth and the Head Councillor of Iris Cabin rushing in, her eyes wide at the Darkness of the room before settling on him, her eyes glistening with hope.

"Arc! Finally, I've found you! Have you been in here this whole time?" She breathed, looking exhausted. He frowned over to her, nodding slightly as he looked out of the window. His eyes widened when he noticed it was coming up to dawn.

"How long have I been gone?" He wondered, staring at his surroundings, mainly towards the bed as he retraced the Aura's outline over another in the bed, the sight burned into his retinas.

"A couple of days, I kept trying your Cabin and this Cabin but got no answer in response." She huffed, her breathing slowing down. He didn't realise he'd been gone for this long, it only felt like a couple of minutes.

"What's happened?" He wondered, sitting on his old bed as he looked up to Annabeth, a questioning look on his face.

"I just had a dream." She began, looking hopeful up to him, glancing to Butch beside her. "You said to come to you if anyone had a dream and-" She began rambling, cutting her off.

"Alright, yeah, yeah. I remember. Go on." He stated, the feeling of excitement bubbling up inside.

"Well." She began, her face becoming suspicious. "I think it came from Hera, which is odd because she hates Percy and I but still. I saw the Grand Canyon, and Three Pegasi, one of them being Blackjack, and he only listens to two people, you and Percy." She smiled excitedly. He nodded in thought, a smile coming across his face as nodded in thought, meeting Butch's eyes as he began to speak.

"And for some reason, I had one too. It was similar to Annabeth's but instead of the Pegasi, I had a flying chariot and something to do with a missing shoe?" He finished, a question to his tone as Arc thought the two over, what he saw earlier clicking into place.

"I've made a little discovery myself then, in that case." He gaped, looking over the Aura in his mind's eye once more. She smiled, nodding at him in encouragement for him to continue. "Well, you mentioned Hera right?" He wondered, looking between the two. She nodded in answer, looking up at him with anticipation.

"Well, I think she was here the night he disappeared. Hera's main deal is she's the goddess of marriage right?" He wondered, looking to the two once more.

"Yeah." The two said at once, looking back to him.

"Well, before you came in, I set a little stage of events up with the Darkness, to see if I could see if anything happened. It turns out there was, and I saw a White Aura walking around this room. White is commonly used in Weddings? See where I'm going?" He wondered. Annabeth nodded her head, nearly bouncing on the spot.

"Well, when she looked over the bed that Percy sleeps in, there was a second Aura which was green. And just as something was about to happen, it was as if something shut me out, breaking my connection in an instant with no word of warning, like it was expecting me to look with the Dark Mist. That and Hera has been absent from Olympus for quite some time now, longer than this situation had been happening on Olympus for." He finished, stepping out of the Cabin with the two in tow.

"Could be Hera, you're right. Maybe she's sending us clues or something and they all fit together somehow." Annabeth sighed, shaking her head. He could sense her kicking herself, being a daughter of Athena, she should be figuring these things out on the spot.

"Don't get yourself so worked up about it, Annabeth. We'll find him." Butch smiled comfortingly. Arc nodded in thought, their two dreams pairing together.

"Maybe we should try going to the Grand Canyon, piece the two dreams together. A flying Chariot and Pegasi." Arc smiled, looking down to the intelligent blonde.

"That's the Daughter of Athena we all know." Arc grinned, shaking his head. "I'm afraid I can't go with you, Fates won't allow it. I'm going to make my way to Olympus and have a chat with Zeus." He sighed, looking to the two. "The dream appeared to you two, so if you come back with something you know you're on the right track." He finished, Mist Travelling from Camp, appearing before Zeus on Olympus.

"Arcmelos, what can I do for you? Treating my Daughter well I hope." Zeus mumbled, his eyes narrowing to him. He was thankful he'd come at a time of Zeus and not Jupiter.

"I am. When we get the time to see each other that is." He muttered under his breath. "I was wondering whether you'd permit me the role of Camp Director or Overseer while Dionysus is occupied up here." Arc smiled kindly up to the god. Zeus hummed in thought for a moment, looking him up and down.

"Shouldn't you be training troops up here?" He grumbled, his eyes narrowing once more in suspicion.

"In all due respect, the Army is in good condition at this point in time, however, there are certain events transpiring down in the mortal world that the Campers need to prepare for, and with no helpful guiding hand without Dionysus' presence, Chiron is a bit swamped, he can't train everyone by himself." He reasoned, hoping his fancy and formal tone would help sway him.

"Very well." Zeus sighed after a moment of silence, looking down to him. "Train them well then, I expect reports of everything interesting that happens in the meantime, exactly like Dionysus handled matters." He grumbled, his face twitching as he fought for control.

"Well in that case then, I think you should know that Perseus has disappeared from, well, everything. No one can sense his location, but we currently have two campers making their way to a lead as we speak." He finished. Zeus grunted in response, waving him away as Jupiter took hold, disappearing through the Mist just in time before he made him stay on Olympus once more.

He appeared in the Big House, discussing with Chiron his new role given temporarily to him at the Camp, grinning all the same.

"That's good news Arc, Thank you. It was getting a little out of hand teaching so many arriving new Campers every other day." He sighed, sensing the stress he was under lift slightly from his shoulders.

"You're most welcome, Chiron." He grinned. "If you ever need any help with classes, just give me a shout, I'll be happy to help. It is one of my new roles in life, to train people for an army." He reasoned, smiling as he stood, excusing himself. He kept tabs on Annabeth as she flew on the Chariot, Butch at her side, as they zipped through the sky making their way to the Grand Canyon. He stayed at Camp in the meantime, continuing with teaching new arrivals sword techniques and proper stances, teaching them to win each time.

He felt a wobble in the Dark Mist, a shimmer as they landed at the Grand Canyon, disappearing from sight. His eyes widened in alarm as he thought the worst, preparing to Travel there himself when he felt the burning sensation from the Fates, telling him otherwise once more.
He growled in frustration, as he paced the arena in between lessons, trying to sense them through the Dark Mist, over the course of the next hour.

He caught a tug through the Mist, grasping onto it as like a lifeline, feeling them travelling at great speeds, accompanied by three other people. His heart soared in hope, begging that they'd found Percy and some other helpless Demigods along the way he'd likely saved from wherever he was. He sensed the Chariot hurtling towards Camp at great speed, sensing as it crashed into the Lake, softening the landing for them.

He made his way to the Lake, meeting them as they strode out of the water, dripping as Annabeth tried fruitlessly to ring out her hair, groaning in frustration. He looked over her shoulder, expecting to see his brother stood in the water, grinning broadly to Annabeth, teasing her about how dry he was. To his slight disappointment, he saw three new campers, two boys and a girl.

"No luck?" He wondered, glancing to Annabeth. She sighed as she stood beside him, Butch on his right, as they watched the Demigods trudge their way out of the water, their actions akin to walking in thick mud.

"No, we just found these three, unclaimed, and their protector lost." She sighed, looking up to him, both still dripping wet.

"Who was it?" He wondered, touching the two's shoulders, drying the two of the water in an instant.

"Hedge." Butch sighed, looking as the three approached. He sighed in understanding now, he was rather attached to Hedge, that'll be why he wasn't allowed to at least take them partway.

The three new arrivals stood before them, soaking wet as he looked over each of them with scrutiny, trying to sense things about them. He snapped his fingers, watching the debris over their shoulders form the Chariot once more, the Dark Mist swirling from around it as it vanished, back into the storage room.

"Why's he just staring at us?" The blonde boy wondered, growling slightly towards him. Arc's eyebrow flicked up at this 'feral' child, his eyes narrowing. He was quite tall, a muscular build to him akin to a child of Apollo. He didn't have the same features as him though, ruling him out in an instant.

"I'm trying to assess who you are, these two I can tell from an instant but you. You bare no resemblance to your godly parent." He looked between the three once more, keeping the information on the other two a secret as they were unclaimed, something that shouldn't be a thing anymore.

"Who we are? What do you mean? And godly parent?" The girl wondered. "I've no idea what you're talking about but my parents are and were most definitely human." She said defensively.

She was quite pretty, he'll give her that, of Cherokee descent. She clearly didn't like how she looked though, she wore relatively cheap and tattered clothes, the crash helping matters for her case, with poorly cut hair, choppy like someone used safety scissors. He let out a breath from his nose at the determination in her voice. He hummed in thought, nodding his head to the camp behind him.

"That so? Well, you wouldn't be allowed in this camp unless specifically granted it." He mused, tapping each of their shoulders, drying them in an instant, much to their surprise. "So one of your parents is lying." He finished, glancing over his shoulder.

"And who are you exactly?" The blonde one spoke up again, the boy in the middle staying quiet on the topic in general. "You're acting like you own the place." He stated defensively.

"Well, you're partway there." He muttered under his breath. He turned, walking backwards as they entered the campgrounds, standing in the centre watching as campers roamed around them, mumbling under their breaths about new arrivals.

"I'm Arcmelos. Guardian of the Mist and Sea, temporary head director of Camp Half-Blood. Welcome." He smiled kindly, nodding his head once more in the direction of the Big House.

"Camp Director?" Annabeth wondered a brisk walk to catch up to him. He hummed in answer, glancing at the two beside him.

"That's why I went to see Zeus, get him to give me his blessing to look after Camp while Dionysus is away in Olympus." He answered, turning once more to the three new arrivals.

"You're a god?" The boy in the middle wondered. He had curly black hair, slightly pointed ears mixed with an impish grin, akin to a son of Hermes. It spelt trouble.

"Yes." He grinned over his shoulder, turning as he walked backwards, once more. "A minor one, not of the Thirteen."

"Never heard of you." The blonde muttered under his breath, Arc's godly hearing picking up on it.

"Relatively new. I was a Demigod in August and was granted the new role in life as I had a run-in with some not so nice people while I was dead." He finished. He loved teasing new arrivals.

"You were dead?" The boy in the middle said once more, shock and awe in his tone. He hummed as they drew closer to the steps of the Big House.

"I was. For about two months. I was lucky Hades didn't give me a special place in the Fields of Torment for escaping Elysium." He mused.

"Pluto." He heard the blonde mutter under his breath, ignoring these strange colloquialisms he was s as he made his way up the stairs, pointing to the seats before him around a patio table.

"So, you know who I am, you know who my friends are, who are you?" Arc wondered, flicking two fingers before him, food and drink appearing before them.

"I'm Leo Valdez, no one overly special. I tend to keep to myself most of the time." Leo smiled a little timidly, Arc nodding in thought, watching as he picked up a few crisps in the dish before him. Annabeth leaned against the railing, overlooking the camp as Butch returned, Chiron in tow.

"I'm Piper. Piper McLean." She sighed, cautiously taking something to eat.

"Why don't you just read our minds and take the information from our heads, like the gods usually do." The blonde stated defensively. Arc sighed as he looked to him, glancing to Annabeth smirking over his shoulder.

"I usually would, back when I was a Demigod I used to do stuff like that all the time, as of late I haven't really done it. Plus theirs an unusual amount of. I don't know what, surround your minds, shielding me from knowing too much." Arc began, eying him. "That and your memory loss doesn't help in the slightest. I would say it's my fault but it seems like someone has wiped them entirely from your mind, not just covered them. You have no idea who you really are." He stated, watching as Chiron wheeled up beside him in wheelchair form.

"Sorry about that, I hope Arc has been hospitable to you." He smiled kindly, noticing the small spread laid out before them.

"Jason. Jason Grace." He finally relented, looking between the two. Chiron's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the blonde, shaking his head.

"No. It can't be. You shouldn't be here." Chiron stammered, looking Jason directly in the eyes.