Terry woke up feeling like shit, standing up as he tried to stretch.
"We're going to get a bloody bed soon, my back" Terry complains as he tries to stretch his back, walking forward as he rubs his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
Sadly Terry forgot he's not in his own space as he trips over our favourite berserker.
"Oh shit" Terry trips as he falls over Kate that wakes her up.
Grrrrrrr
Kate gets pissed off, seeing Terry over her.
"Get off me Nerd!" Kate growls, grabbing Terry and throwing him over, hitting another person, waking them and more people up.
"OWW" One rudely wakes up and hits another.
"What the hell?" Another said, hitting the next person.
"Get off me" the domino effect continues as everyone wakes up screaming, waking up the whole cabin.
Nathan and Sydney woke up early and got out before anyone else, Terry and Kate pulled out of that mess as everyone tried to get over themselves.
"That a hell of a morning" Sydney said, waking up early and seeing all the chaos in the cabin
"Jesus Christ" Nathan saw the whole thing, waking early too to check on his patients, Percy hasn't woken up yet.
"Ok I'm up" Terry said, having caused enough shit is a normal way to start his morning.
"Terry you're a dead man" Kate growls, waking up, pissed at Terry as she rushes over to him.
"Kate, calm down, you up, it's your turn to look after Percy" Nathan said, trying to stop Kate from killing Terry.
"Come on Nathan it my turn" Sydney wines as Kate grabs Sydney by her shoulder.
"You don't get a turn" Kate orders her as she walks to see Percy; she needs to see if her friend Percy recovers.
And keep Sydney away from him.
Sydney stuck her tongue out at Kate in childless as she glares at Nathan.
"It her turn, we agreed to it" Nathan said to her as she just crossed her arms.
"Whatever, at least no one's going to attack us this early in the morning" Sydney said, seeing Luke getting his cabin in control and everyone walking out tired as hell.
"You don't have to fight anyone here," a familiar voice said. The three turn to see Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like shit. Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box.
He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD.
Just plain old Grover, Not the cripple anymore.
"This is a safe place." Grover said to them,
"Hey Grover, how are you feeling?" Nathan asked, seeing him get a concussion last night after he handed him to another.
"I'm feeling better Nathan, you guys saved my life" Grover said, holding on to the shoe box.
"What's with the box Grover?" Terry asked, looking it over.
"I... Well, the least I could do ... I went back to the hill. I thought you guys might want this."
Reverently, show them the contents, inside were two big red bull's horns that radiated subtle power like everything else here.
"Only the horns?" Nathan asked, seeing only the horn of the Minotaur.
"Percy stabs it in the heart and Kate tore it head off, that's all they get" Sydney looks at the horns as Grover looks uneasy.
"The body disappears in the dust" Grover said, trying to explain how the monster turns to dust when killed.
"That's convenient then" Terry couldn't help but say, monsters turn to dust when killed, no evidence or any proof.
"That how it always is' ' Another voice said, turning to see Mr. Brunner in his wheelchair, looking more tired than normal.
"Yes no bodies or dead campers to worry, do kids turn to dust when killed as well" Terry asked him, Mr. Brunner glares at Terry.
"That's no way to talk to them like that" Mr. Brunner said sternly as Sydney rolled her eyes.
"Were not stupid Brunner, so tell us why a horny bull was after us and why are we even here. You know more then you let on" Sydney said, holding on to her Harpy's whip.
"If only you had waited I would have explained" Mr. Brunner's eyes were cold, wrathful and filled with dislike.
"It's bad enough that you stole from me, threatened me and isolated Grover so he couldn't do his job, this stops now. This is irrationally cruel." Mr. Brunner said to them, Terry frowns at him.
"Perhaps we will be a little nicer if you stop bullshiting us and somehow stop putting us in more danger, so no, this isn't being cruel. Cruel would have us tell Kate it Grover's fault" Terry pointing at a terrified Grover, he yelps in response.
"Tell me do you put down goats for breaking limbs like you do horses, I wonder." Sydney asks him in wonder.
Mr. Brunner actually seemed to puff up, angrier and angrier with every word, only to deflate when Nathan started laughing, making them all look at him.
"Sorry, sorry." Nathan waved them off, looking amused and pissed all at once.
"I'm sorry Mr. Brunner but they're right; you lied to us after that harpy attacked us. We owe you nothing, no loyalty or decency. I am tired of all the lies and horseshit, what happened to Miss Sally, she was taken by a giant bone hand, What happened to her, answer me that at least '' Nathen said, looking right through him. Mr Brunner nodded, looking defeated.
"She couldn't be here to begin here, someone took her... she is most likely alive." Mr. Brunner said, looking down.
"No shit she was taken" Terry said, her body not here as everyone explained.
"Now what?" Sydney said, looking around as Mr. Brunner signed.
"Now you come with me, and I will introduce you to the camp director...and word to the wise, be won't tolerate any of your behaviour. He will put you down if you draw his ire" Mr. Brunner said as they followed him.
LINE
They must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance.
The three were amazed with all that they were seeing, for it was truly incredible. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture-an open-air pavilion, an amphitheatre, a circular arena-except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake.
Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot the targets at an archery range.
Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and some of their horses had wings to the three extreme shocks.
But most just sit around, rubbing there injuries or moaning the lost, as kid are just going about their busy day to distract themselves.
"Horses with wings are a thing now" Terry said looking at the flying horse..
"That doesn't make biological sense, the amount of muscles power those wings need wouldn't work, and the amount of food it needs to fly those muscles, the amount of shit" Nathan said, looking at the flying horse as if from a biological way.
"They're beautiful though" Sydney said looking at the Pegasus, as they follow the wheel-chair bound centaur, why is he still in a wheelchair?
Down at the end of the porch, was a card table with two people. First was Annabeth with the angry grey eyes and she was leaning on the porch rail. The man facing them was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like shit, and clearly a drunk.
Nathan felt an aura around him, weirdly familiar to Nathan.
"That's Mr. D, He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase." Grover murmured.
"We met last night" Sydney said as the three sat down next to Mr. D, who looked at them with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh.
"Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you." Mr. D sighs as he looks at his cards.
"You look like shit" Terry can't help but say.
"I feel like shit too" Mr. D agrees, tapping a sip of coke.
"You must hate your life" Sydney said, as Mr. D signs.
"I really do" Mr. D nods, can't help looking over his cards; he wasn't even looking at them.
"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl, as she came forward.
"Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy, and bring Kate here as well" Mr. Brunner said, looking at the girl
"Sure, Chiron." Annabeth said, walking off.
"Be careful, Kate has a temper" Nathan warns her, as they watch her leave with her blond hair flying behind her.
"I like her," Sydney said, out of nowhere.
"That's not surprising, so, Brunner, you work at this Camp Sally was telling us about?" Nathan said seeing their at the table
"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "Just call me Chiron" Now name Chiron said.
"Yeah we know that horsey" Terry said as Mr. D has a slight smile, as Terry turns to the director.
"So the wine god stuck at looking after the god's litter" Terry said with a smile getting their attention. Dionysius narrows his eyes at this weird boy.
"Young man, names are power-ful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason" Mr. D said as he stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at Terry with distaste.
"That's right Terry cough cough" Nathan said coughing up to Mr D disgust.
"Why are you here instead of someone else, like Hestia?" Sydney asks as lighting appears Mr D and Chiron looks at her.
"She gave up her responsibility when she gave up her seat" Chiron explained, looking around but not at them, as he grabs some cards.
"Cough why him? Cough" Nathan coughed as Mr. D looked annoyed.
"Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph that had been declared off-limits." Chiron winked at them, as everyone looked weirdly at that.
"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time-well, she really was pretty, and I could stay away the second time he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tear-ing them down.' Mr. D complains to them.
"Absolutely unfair." Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.
"Guess living forever isn't has fun as they make it out to be, epically when there are constantly making your life hell" Terry smiles at Mr. D who looks angry at Terry
"Congratulations, you're now the most annoy brat I want to turn into animal," Mr. D said as he waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.
The three don't look surprised, all knowing he is a god of wine after all.
"Mr. D, your restrictions." Chiron warned the man. He didn't even look up from his cards; Mr. D looked at the wine.
"Dear me," Mr. D feigned surprise. He looked up at the cloudless sky and yelled, "old habits! Sorry!"
More thunder.
Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and returned to his game, grumbling under his breath.
"The wine god can't drink wine, how sad" Terry chuckles at this as Mr. D glares at him.
"I'd be careful who you're talking to kid" Mr. D warned as Terry held his hand in surrender.
"I'm only saying you know there are alternatives to wine" Terry said as he grabs the Diet Coke from Mr. D to drink it.
"Hey" Mr. D calls out before Terry gives it back to him.
"Change it to Pepsi, let's do a taste test" Terry ask, as Mr. D raised an eyebrow at him, before changing the drink to Pepsi, before taking a sip.
"Not much better" Mr. D said as Terry gets close to him.
"But can you tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi?" Terry asked, taking a sip of the drink to Mr. D annoyers.
"Still Coke mate," Terry said to everyone who looked.
"What do you mean?" Mr. D said tasting the drink,
What the? He just changed it to Pepsi.
"It's the taste test, you couldn't tell" Terry said pointing at the cup as Mr. D looked at the drink confused.
"You're a weird brat" Mr. D can't help but say, looking at his drink to the smiling brat.
"Sadly, you never get used to it, ELLLHHCHOOO" Nathan sneezed at Mr. D.
"By my father's balls, what's wrong with you brat! How are you so sick!? Disgusting little piece of crap" Mr. D belted out to Nathan as he wiped his face.
"MR. D" Chiron said in a cross tone, knowing Nathan can't help it.
"Oh, fuck you too, asshole" Nathan said, not wanting to deal with this from a god.
"Now don't be rude to Nathan Mr. D, he can't help being sick" Sydney said sweetly as she gave Nathan a wipe.
"Thanks Sydney," Nathan said, grabbing the wipe to clean himself.
"Girl, something is wrong with him, never seen a sick kid like that before" Mr. D pointing at Nathan, as Nathan gives him the middle finger.
"Really? A man like you who has never seen a sick child? Surprise a god with a beard like that hasn't seen a sick child before" Sydney said to him as Mr. D looked at her.
"What's that about my beard?" Mr. D narrows his eyes at her, as Sydney gives him a look over.
"I mean a man like you who doesn't take care of his beard, that doesn't look good" Sydney shakes her head at Mr. D.
"You should give it a cut, open your face a bit more, I think you look better with a Brad Pitt look or Jon Hamm" Sydney said, as Mr. D feels his beard with a complex look.
"Really? Brad Pitt" Mr. D wonders as he feels his bread.
"That blonde bitch told me you had a meeting of something" Kate showed up, growling as Annabeth told her that someone wants to see her, and was going to kill her until she promised to look after Percy.
If she even finds a hair out of place, heads are going to roll.
"Kate this is Mr. D, also known as Dionysius, he god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre, and you remember Mr. Bummer also known as Chiron" Terry introduce to everyone dismay.
"What we just say about names" Nathan said as Sydney groaned to Terry.
"What, he is not a monster this time" Terry said as Mr. D didn't notice, looking at himself in a mirror he got out of thin fucken air, looking at his beard.
"Whatever fool, please forgive me for last night Chiron, it was a terrible time for me" Kate apologised as she took a seat, apologising for her rage last night.
"It is fine Kate... and despite all of the ugliness from last night I'm glad to see you alive. All of you obviously. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential campers. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time." Chiron sighed.
"House call?" Kate asked, though the three can hear the anger in her voice, Kate is very good at hiding her rage.
"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you all. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met Percy. He sensed something special about him, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence. Then, when he met you all, he realised that there was a real rarity, four powerful children in one school. I had no choice but to act." Chiron said,
"You came to Yancy just to teach us?" Nathan asked.
"Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted Percy's mother, letting her know we were keeping an eye on you in case he was ready for Camp Half-Blood. We tried to get your guardians, but that proved difficult, yet you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test." Chiron nodded to them.
"Test... really, you were testing us? We are kids, Percy had no training. Nathan is sick as shit, Terry is insane and Sydney a bitch, I at least have training, testing them through survival with fuck off monsters is just cruel and sadistic." Kate growled at them, getting a flinch from Grover and Chiron both.
"That is inexcusable." Kate crossed her arms at them, sending untrained children against blood thirty monsters. It is disgusting to Kate, not even training them or warning them.
"I can see why you would think that..." Chiron sighed at her.
"So, what is this place, why do you and godling here run a day camp?" Terry asked them.
"I asked the same question." Mr. D snorted, Kate snapped, slamming her fists against the table so hard it cracked. Grover recoiled and flew back, terrified and shaking, Nathan and Sydney got their hands out of the way as Terry just smirked at her knowing she was ready to explode.
She stood tall and turned to Chiron.
"All children are worth your time, you arrogant piece of trash, " She turned to Mr. D.
"I know you're a god, but you have no right treating a child like that, grow the fuck up! I can literally taste your bitterness; none of us are forcing you to be here!" Kate yelled at Mr. D.
There was a pause, a long pause in which Grover groaned, as everyone looked at between Kate and Mr. D.
Mr D, oddly enough, was not angry; he looked at Kate with curiosity.
"I have never sensed an aura like yours. Who is your parent?" Mr. D said look at her.
"I don't know, but if I do, I'll let you know" she said, twitching with rage, trying to calm down as she looked at the others.
"I am the God of Madness; I sensed the madness within you. It is the only reason you are not a bottlenose dolphin now." Dionysius looked at her with empathy,
"I like to see you try" Kate said to him as he looks at her and at the other as he starts to rub his head.
"I'm getting a headache," Mr. D said standing up.
"I can't deal with this," Mr. D said, walking away as Chiron signs, putting the cards away.
"We'll have a tour, while I'll explain everything," Chiron says, getting out of the chair as he transforms in his centaur form, with the others following as he explains the gods and the purpose of the camp.
LINE
"Uh," Percy groaned as he opened his eyes. He was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. He smelt strawberries in the air as a blanket was over his legs, a pillow behind his neck.
All that was great, but he had other things on his mind.
'Where am I? My tongue is dry and nasty and every one of my teeth is hurt.' Percy thought as he noticed on the table next to him was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry. He reached for its shaky hands, and almost dropped it once he had lifted it off the table.
"Careful," a familiar voice said. He saw Nathan was leaning against the porch railing. Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box, as he went to his side, wearing his mask of his face as he looked him over.
"Nathan what ..." Percy suddenly felt dizzy, his vision swimming.
"Don't strain yourself," Nathan said.
"Here" Nathan helped Percy hold the glass and put the straw to his lips.
Percy nodded reluctantly and began to sip on the drink. He recoiled at the taste, it was his mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, turned to liquid form. He didn't realise that had kept drinking it until it was gone. He looked into the glass sure that he had just had a warm drink to see that the ice cubes hadn't even melted.
"How do you feel, Percy?" Nathan asked, looking him over.
"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards." Percy said, feeling much better now.
"Very good, don't think you could risk drinking any more of this stuff" Nathan said putting the glass away
"What do you mean?" Percy asked, looking at him as he signed.
"It is basically a healing potion that tastes like your favourite food but is additive and dangerous, but that for another time" Nathan said getting a seat.
"Percy, what do you remember?" Nathan asked him, looking him dead in the eye.
"I remember fighting with that Minotaur," Percy said, remembering the right as Nathan gave him the shoebox, showing the red horn inside.
"It's a trophy for whenever you kill a monster, Terry said it should go to Kate but she you killed it first" Nathan explains when Kate rejected it, saying Percy stabbed it in the heart.
"You've been out for two days now" Nathan said to his shock, as Percy looked around.
"Where is my mother?" Percy asks as Nathan looks down.
"I'm so sorry Percy, I bad friend, I promised I would protect your mother but she was taken" Nathan said holding his hand over his eyes, can't bear to look at Percy for what he did.
"What do you mean?!" Percy said, getting off the bed as Nathan starts to cry.
"I looked out for her, made sure she was safe but more monsters came, I tried to save her but they overwhelmed me and took her, I so sorry Percy, I'm so sorry" Nathan apologised to him, crying in his arms, can't help seeing himself like a failure.
"It is not your fault" Percy said, knowing whatever happened could never be the fault of Nathan.
"But it is," Nathan said, feeling like shit as Percy went to him but stubbled, as Nathan quickly went to stabilise him.
"I don't blame you Nathan, you did your best, that's all I can ask" Percy said, hugging him as Nathan tears up a little.
"Thank you Percy, come on let's find the others" Nathan was thankful but it didn't make him feel any better as he helped Percy out.
Percy got to see all of Camp Half-Blood as Nathan helped him to meet the camp directors while Percy held the horn, on the way they ran into Grover.
"Percy," Grover ran to him.
"I'm sorry, I should have protected you" Grover looked down as he sniffled.
"I'm a failure. I'm—I'm the worst satyr in the world."
"It wasn't your fault." Percy said, remembering what happened.
"Yes, it was. I was supposed to protect you all."
"You did your best Grover, that's all anyone could ask" Nathan said, as Grover didn't feel any better.
"Come on help me with Percy" Nathan said as Grover nodded.
"You're right. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting." Grover said he would help Percy too.
LINE
Percy saw down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed him popcorn-flavoured pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them. Finally they see Terry, who was playing a card game with both men.
"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to Percy. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just anybody. And you already know Chiron..." Grover pointed at the guy whose back was to him.
First, Percy realised he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then he recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.
"Mr. Brunner!" Percy cried to him
"Ah, good, Percy," Mr. Brunner said. "Now we have four pinochles."
He offered Percy a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at him with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh.
"Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you," Mr. D said.
"Uh, thanks." Percy scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing he had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has brought too much drinking.
If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, he was a satyr.
"Percy, good to see you, how is your ribs?" Terry said looking at Percy as he rubs his chest.
"Still a little sore," Percy said as Terry smiled at him.
"Don't worry I got you medical insurance just in case Nathan messes up" Terry smiles as Nathan glares at him.
"Suck my dick Terry" Nathan said as Terry gave him the finger with Nathan gave two fingers back.
"Language" Chrion said to them,
"Annabeth?" Chiron called to the blond girl. She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced him. "This young lady nursed you back to health with Nathan, Percy. Annabeth… my dear, why do you check Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven with the others for now." Mr. Brunner said to him.
"Sure, Chiron." Annabeth said, as Percy looked at her. She was probably his age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost what he thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. They were startling grey, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analysing the best way to take him down in a fight.
Reminds him of Kate in a weird way.
Annabeth glanced at the Minotaur horn in Percy's hands, then back at him.
"You drool when you sleep." Annabeth said as Percy looks confused at that, Terry laughs.
"You thought she called you cool, you miss Sydney talking to you in your sleep, she loves watching you sleep" Terry said, as Nathan sighs whenever Sydney came to watch Percy.
Percy started to feel himself, scared of what Sydney would do to his unconscious body.
"Kate was there to protect you so don't worry" Nathan said, Kate always showed up to see if Percy woke and keep Sydney in check as Percy sighed in relief.
"So introductions Percy, Mr. D is Dionysius a god and Chiron has a real horse's ass" Terry points at the two as both immortals sign Terry casual name calling.
"Terry what have we said about names" Chiron said to him as Mr. D looks more tired looking at Terry who shrugs.
"Just moving this intro along, people already read this part too many times" Terry winks at the screen, with the others looking confused.
"Who are you winking at?" Mr. D said as Terry shrugged.
"Ok you a god, that makes sense and everything here is based on Greek myths and everyone's related to Greek gods one way or the other" Percy summed up to Chiron shock but not Terry or Nathan.
"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"
"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took another seat
"Do you know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed them suspiciously.
"I'm afraid not," Percy said, to him.
"I'm afraid not, sir," he said.
"Sir," Percy said annoyed, at this guy.
"Dick" Nathan mutters to himself at the god.
"Then how does he know" Mr. D pointing at Terry playing.
"I don't think he does know" Percy can't help but say seeing Terry play.
"This is my first time playing, I think I'm winning" Terry said to them.
"Well," Mr D said, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilised young men to know the rules"
"I'm sure the boys can learn," Chiron said.
"Rules on life don't involve supernatural crap where gods' change stuff on a whim," Nathan said leaning on the table.
"So" Percy said, little respect in his tone,
"What is this place? What am I doing here? Percy asked him.
"I asked the same question." Mr. D snorted, as the camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile. Chiron smiled at me sympathetically at Percy.
"Percy," Chiron said.
"Did your mother tell you nothing?" Chiron asked,
"She said ...She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close" Percy said sadly.
"Typical, that's how they usually get killed." Mr. D said, Nathan and Terry look pissed at the god, luckily Kate wasn't here, she'd kill him, not to mention Sydney.
"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."
"Orientation film?" Percy asked.
"Saw it, didn't explain crap" Terry said, joining Mr. D in the card game.
"Then as you are aware Percy Greek gods are very much alive" Chiron said as the three gave him a deadpan look.
Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" Dionysius suddenly yelled as he cackled as he tallied up his points.
"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"
"Eh? Oh, all right. It is a Pepsi can?" Giving the goat boy the can.
Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminium can and chewed it mournfully.
"Still coke Mr.D" Grover said to him, as Mr. D got annoyed.
"You could do a lot with that power" Nathan can't help but say, eating plastic is something the world has been trying to get rid of for ages now.
"I believe I win." Mr D showed his cards.
"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said,
"The game goes to me." Chiron said, but Terry shows his cards.
"Sorry boys, but the game, like most, is mine." Terry put down his cards, as everyone looked at his cards.
"Terry, why do you have UNO cards?" Percy asked him.
Terry somehow was playing with UNO cards.
"Yahtzee" Terry cheers picking up the cards as everyone looks at him weirdly.
Mr. D got up with his hand up, and Grover rose, too.
"Ok, I had enough, I don't want to deal with this I'm tired," Mr. D said, his hand in surrender, pointing at Terry, as he walked away from them.
"I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment" Mr. D said as Grover's face beaded with sweat.
"Y-yes, sir." Grover looks down following behind.
"Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. Nathan Nergal keep an eye on Terry, Terry Zeitz keep out of trouble" Mr. D turned to them.
"No promises" Terry grins as everyone looks tired from him.
Mr D swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.
"Will Grover be okay?" Percy asked Chiron as he nodded, though he looked a bit troubled.
"Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been ... ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus." Chiron explains.
"Mount Olympus," Percy said, with the others curious as well.
"You're telling me there really is a palace there?" Percy asked him.
"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, just as the gods do." Chiron explains to them.
"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like ... in America?" Percy asked,
"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West." Chiron said.
"Western Civilizations" Terry asked
"Correct, 'Western civilization.' is a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization is obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know-or as I hope you know, since you passed my course-the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods, with different names, perhaps-Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on-but the same forces, the same gods." Chiron explains the god moving from place to place.
"And then what happened?" Nathan asked.
The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the archi-tecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, but America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here" Chiron explains to them.
"You really like sucking off the Greeks, Pakistan had civilizations before Greeks discovered rocks, and the Chinese invented modern medicine and paper" Terry pointed out, the Greeks didn't invent everything, Chiron doesn't look happy about that fact.
"What of other gods from other myths" Nathan asked as Chiron doesn't look at them.
"I believe we wasted enough time, should get Percy a bunk in cabin eleven, There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate." Chiron said to them, as the three rolled their eyes at the deflections.
And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, Percy realised that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box were empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.
Percy gaped in amazement, as where Chiron's lower body should have been was a huge white stallion.
"What a relief, I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson, Let's meet the other campers." the centaur said,
"Why do you always sit on a wheelchair?" Nathan asked as he followed the horse man.
Soon Percy realised the horseman didn't answer any questions they had, still having no idea who Percy's father was or the four parents are.
But Terry had a good idea who Percy's father is.