A/N: This is how the Stolls goaded Mr. D into helping with their tradition. Enjoy!

I own nothing.

Travis Stoll heard his brother giggle as they crept along the row of cabins from Demeter to Dionysus. Both were extremely pleased with themselves after implementing a prank on the Demeter cabin for the fourth night in a row. Since Gaea's defeat, the troublemakers had been on a warpath, kicking off the festivities with firecracker trip-wire bombs in all the cabins and mess hall.

They trusted their friends wholeheartedly, and knew that Percy and Annabeth would not fail. They also didn't want to dwell on the Roman threat too much, so they had spent the past month planning this week of prank celebrations. After a suggestion from Chiron, neither had pulled anything dramatic since Percy's disappearance. Travis missed running away from Katie Gardner's screams and the Apollo cabin's arrows.

Pranks also weren't the same without Mr. D. There was something thrilling about having a God threaten to change you into a dolphin, but then giving you kitchen duty instead. Besides, Chiron never had the heart to truly reprimand them, because he knew that's how they coped. The Stolls were also the closest thing the camp had to a spirit after Percy. It had hurt Chiron as much as them to suppress their antics.

So the Stolls were the happiest they'd been in a long time after cursing the plants around Demeter's cabin. The brothers had persuaded a rather weak-willed son of Hecate to teach them a curse that would cause the plants to reach out and snag anyone passing by. No one would be entering or leaving that cabin for the foreseeable future. It would infuriate Katie even more when she realized it was her own plants attacking her. The thought brought a wide grin to Travis's face.

On the spur of the moment, the two had decided to top off the night with a prank on Mr. D's own cabin. Usually they were wary, but it didn't look like their loving camp director had any intention of returning soon. The boys decided it was now or never.

They sat in the bushes, scoping out the place while trying to decide what their move would be. "Go big or go home," Travis muttered to his brother.

"Well duh, but why are you saying that now," Connor replied inquisitively.

"This might be our only chance to get at Mr. D personally. We have to think big picture, total warfare, shock and awe," Travis explained happily.

"Alright, so it's got to be new and it's got to be big. Hmmmmm…"

The silence was deep but comfortable as Travis and Connor ran through a million simulations in their heads. "What does Mr. D hate more than anything?" Connor asked.

"Us, and Percy. Got the 'us' taken care of and Fish Head isn't back yet," Travis replied solemnly. He jumped to his feet as he got an idea, "No, Connor, wrong question. What does Mr. D love?"

"Wine, wine, and pinochle?" Connor asked innocently.

"Well, we can't get wine, and a prank involving pinochle would be lame. Connor, he loves diet coke."

Travis had already started walking away from the cabin, and Connor struggled to catch up, "So?" Travis didn't respond, the gears too busy turning in his mind.

"Okay here's the plan. I need you to get into the Hephaestus kids' forge. Get as big of a container as you can find. Also, go back to our cabin and get the cutters and some rope and stuff so we can hoist the container."

Connor was confused but liked how complicated it was getting, "What are you going to do?"

"Give me the backpack, there's drachma in it right?" Connor handed it over and Travis fished around inside until he pulled out a plastic bag of gold coins, "I'm going to go to the mess and start stealing Diet coke cases and putting them on the roof. I'll bribe any harpy who catches me."

Connor started cackling when he realized exactly what his brother had in mind. Mr. D was going to kill them when he got back, but it was going to be worth it.

An hour and a half later, Travis was sitting on a mountain of Diet Coke. Stacked eight cases high and 10 cases long, he had built a pyramid throne of low calorie caffeine while waiting for Connor to return. Shortly after completing his masterpiece, he saw Connor using a Pegasus to drag a massive bowl that could Cerberus could use for a water bowl. Travis smiled and hopped off his throne.

The backpack sailed through the air and landed in Travis's hands, heavier now. He removed the cutters and the rope and winches he'd need for the pulley system to get the monstrosity onto the top of the cabin. The pegasus was going to come in handy for that pulley. And they say only Hephaestus kids can build. Somewhere on Mount Olympus, Travis knew his dad and Apollo were laughing proudly at the plan.

When Connor walked over, they high fived and Travis began to quietly climb the cabin wall. As he reached the top, a vine shot out of the ground with a crack and wrapped around his ankle. "Uh oh," he managed to cry before the vine threw him painfully to the ground, but it didn't let go. He quickly stood, and another vine grabbed his other ankle. Connor cried out as the same thing happened to him. Travis had no idea what was happening. Was their plant curse backfiring somehow?

A cloud of purple smoke appeared in front of him. As the smoke dissipated, Travis saw a very angry Mr. D standing in front of him. They were both speechless. "Uh oh," just didn't seem to cover it.

"What, exactly, do you two think you are doing?" Mr. D hissed, hands clenched behind his back.

The boys looked at each other, still not comprehending how their seemingly foolproof plan had backfired so horribly. Travis just gaped while Connor spoke, "Hey Mr. D! We, uh, didn't see you there. Glad you're back!" Connor put on his best smile.

The vines tightened around their ankles. Even Travis knew that wasn't the best thing to say, although he probably would have said it anyway too.

"Do the two of you think that when I'm gone the rules no longer apply? Let me tell you, brats, that I have seen every move you've made this week. I was going to let it slide, but THIS!" he exclaimed, pointing at the pyramid of soda, "is just absurd."

"Mr. D, I can explain –" Connor tried to speak but was cut off when a vine wrapped around his lips.

"No, I don't believe you can," Mr. D was seriously angry. He wasn't faking exasperation or being indifferent this time. For the first time, Travis was truly terrified of what Mr. D was going to do to him. But why was he so mad? Mr. D only cared about their pranks because the consequences inconvenienced him, not the campers. They were his own kids, but still.

Travis took a big gulp, time to play a hunch, "If you've seen us this week, why didn't you just stop us?"

"Well, Tristan, I may want to turn you into an orchid or a dolphin, but you and your sibling's troublemaking will help return the camp to normal."

"So what?" Mr. D looked taken aback, "What do you care about normal? You aren't even here, so it doesn't inconvenience you. Why do you care?"

Travis hadn't meant for it to, but after he finished he realized the last question had a much larger scope than this singular instance. Travis smiled, and the look on Mr. D's face told him he had the God now.

"You care about us!" Travis said pointing from the wine God to himself, "You are just a big faker. It's an act!" Travis grinned proudly and Connor tried to mutter something.

"You are babbling now, Tucker. I was not going to allow you to waste this ridiculous amount of Diet Coke to prank my own children." Mr. D replied, but sounded much less confident. His anger was gone. Travis had stolen his thunder.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're forgetting I'm a Hermes kid. I can smell a liar a mile away. Don't worry, I won't tell the whole camp that you care or that you've been watching over all of us from Olympus this whole time. I don't think that would uphold the reputation you love so much."

"Listen here, and listen well. I'll turn you both into something much worse than a dolphin if you start spreading lies-"

"No, I don't believe you will," Travis interrupted, mocking him. Mr. D growled impatiently, but didn't say anything. Travis knew he had him now, "If what you say is true, which it is, that we are important to the camp's recovery, and if what I say is true, which it is, that you truly do care about this camp and everyone here, you will not be turning us into anything tonight."

"Do not challenge me, boy. You seem to forget that I am a God," Mr. D began to glow.

Travis ignored his threat, "We have two conditions."

Connor tried to speak. Travis added, "Okay three, first un-vine us."

Mr. D snapped his fingers and the vines returned to the earth. Travis immediately sat down and began massaging circulation back into his ankles while Connor stretched his mouth. Travis momentarily forgot what situation he was in until Mr. D snapped at him, "What else do you want?" The annoyance in his voice was real now. Good, he's back.

"Okay, Mr. All-Powerful God Guy, you know when the Argo returns. Tell me."

"Tomorrow."

Travis was giddy, "Oh thank the Gods. Tomorrow is Percy's birthday, Mr. D."

"Don't you dare try to make me do something nice for that upstart," Mr. D's glare could stop a charging Minotaur in its tracks.

"Not exactly. Tomorrow is also Percy and Annabeth's anniversary, on which I have decided to make a tradition of throwing the two of them in the lake. I want you to encourage the entire crowd to partake in this tradition. It will mean a lot to camp."

The corners of Mr. D's mouth actually turned upward a bit, "Let me get this straight. You want me to encourage hundreds of annoying, ADHD teenagers to throw the two campers that have caused me the most trouble into the lake?" Travis nodded, "Well, I must say, Tanner, in all the time I've had the misfortune to know you, that is your first good idea."

Travis and Connor winked at each other. Mr. D turned to leave, but Connor stopped him, "We have a third condition."

The light in Mr. D's eyes was quickly extinguished, "We just had a moment of understanding. Thank you for ruining it. What else could you possibly want?" He was even more agitated now.

Connor smiled and pointed sheepishly at the pile of soda, "We get to finish our prank." He crossed his arms and tried to look serious.

"Not a chance."

Travis interjected before Connor got them wrapped in vines again, "It's for the good of the camp. If you let us, you can put us on kitchen duty for a week. We won't even complain!"

"Now, boy, don't make a promise you can't keep. You'll do two weeks with a minor amount of complaining."

Travis wasn't backing down now, "Ten days, no weekends, with a mild amount of complaining," he countered.

A few moments of silence passed as the God glanced back and forth between the boys.

"Deal. Now, don't forget, no spreading your lies either."

"We swear upon pain of death by kitchen duty." Travis replied.

Mr. D nodded and turned away from them, "Now, that would be fun to see," he said to no one in particular as he evaporated into purple smoke.

Travis felt his legs go weak and he sat down. The adrenaline and confidence that surged through him a moment ago left abruptly. He realized that his heart was pounding and that he was actually terrified. I stood up to a God!

Connor sat next to him, "Way to go, bro. You just pulled a Percy and we didn't die!."

"Oh, shut up. It was just Mr. D," Travis said back, feigning annoyance. Connor was right though, Percy would be proud of him, and that made him beam on the inside, "Let's go. We have a prank to finish."

Travis reacquired the ropes and cutters that he dropped when the vine grabbed him and started climbing back onto the roof. He imagined tomorrow morning. The screams of Katie Gardner would be heard across the valley, and Dionysus's kids would wake up to a flood of Diet Coke, their dad's favorite beverage, filling their cabin from above. Impending chaos of his own design always made him happy, but tomorrow his friends were coming home too, hopefully for good. Tomorrow was going to be the best at camp day in a long time.