After berating him for being late to meet her, Annabeth seemingly calmed down. Percy thought she was still a bit miffed at him though, considering after she gave him a kiss, she piled all of her luggage on him. 'Great,' he though. 'I've gone from hero of Olympus to pack mule.'

"It isn't that heavy, Percy, it's just my clothes" Annabeth said with a smirk as they walked back through the school's campus towards the road. "After all the training you've done I assumed you'd be able to lift all of it with one hand."

"The weight isn't the problem," Percy explained as he waddled behind her. "It's just I don't have enough hands to hold them all." This was true. One suitcase he dragged behind him, two more he carried on his shoulders, supported by his neck, and two duffel bags were hooked around his elbows. In other words he looked like a walking advertisement for '.

"You'll be fine once we get a cab," Annabeth told him, smiling deviously. Yep, she was still miffed, and this was his punishment for being late, again.

"How long until your families flight gets in?" Annabeth checked her watch.

"About forty-five minutes, that plenty of time for us to meet them at the gate. It should give your mom some time to clean up your mess too." Percy's mouth dropped open.

"How do you know about that?"

"You're mom Iris messaged me," said Annabeth. "So you spent all day lazing around with Grover eh? That's why you were late?" The son of the sea-god inwardly groaned. His mother had made quite the habit of exchanging frequent messages with his girlfriend. Normally he wouldn't have a problem with the two most important females in his life getting to know each other; it was just that he didn't particularly like it when his mom told Annabeth everything, literally everything, about him

"Uhh…yeah," Percy answered nervously. He always had to be careful about what he said; otherwise he would inadvertently wind up messing everything up. "Sorry…again." She kissed him on the cheek.

"It's okay. At least you showed up. Are you packed for camp tomorrow?"

"Yeah, mostly." Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing I'll find an empty bag on your bed when we get to your place."

"Probably. Don't ask me how it got empty though, I swear it emptied itself."

"Sure it did seaweed braid, sure it did."

"Do you know when Rachel's coming into camp?" He asked, the question randomly popping into his head. The slightest traces of jealously passed over the gray eyed girls face, though it quickly faded. Not that Percy noticed it or anything. Guys didn't pick up on stuff like that very well, demigod or not. A shaky friendship had been formed between the two girls, mostly because of the fact that as the Oracle, Rachel wasn't a rival for Percy's heart.

"I talked to her a couple days ago and she said her school doesn't let out until next week. She sounded really pissed about it too, she's been having trouble with dreams lately."

"Prophetic dreams?" he asked. Dreams weren't usually a good thing, especially for halfbloods. As the oracle, Rachels dreams could very well predict the end of the world. Annabeth shook her head.

"No, she says its just flashes, bits and pieces, nothing comprehendible."

She stepped up to the curb, and hailed a cab. Within a few moments a bright yellow minivan taxi pulled up the curb. Out of it stepped a portly man with a huge mustache, who helped Percy pile the luggage into the trunk.

LINEBREAK

"Why do you always let her push you around?" Bianca asked, thoroughly annoyed. As she ran she made sure to keep her arms still and steady, as not to awaken the sleeping toddler she held tightly to her chest. "I mean, you're just as smart as her. Why does she always give the orders?"

"She's the better strategist," Luke told her. Zoe's arms were linked around his neck and her eyes were wide as she bobbed up and down on her running brothers shoulders. "I'm the guy who can get things done. She comes up with the plans, I execute them. You should really just stop complaining about it. It'll make things a lot easier for all of us if you just follow orders."

"Why should I?" Bianca whined, leaping over a dead tree stump. "She didn't even ask what we thought we should do! What if she's wrong?"

"What could you come up with?" Zoe snapped, shooting her turquoise-green glare. "Charge in directly, guns blazing without any thought of what the enemy may have planned? Dear Gods, I'm seven and I'm a better strategist than you." Bianca paled slightly and nearly dropped little Sally. Luke nearly choked trying to suppress his laughter.

"No," Bianca lied. Attacking directly was pretty much the sum of her ideas, her powers dealt with darkness death and pretty things, not thinking things through. "I just wish she would have at least asked us, instead of sending us sprinting off to Manhattan to find your teenage parents while she goes 'recruiting' in the woods…..what did she mean by that anyway?"

"She's going to find Artemis and the hunters," said Luke. "And besides, we're not going to Manhattan, we're going to camp. Chiron needs to be told about Ian, and he can help us track down our parents, yours too." The faux Goth skidded to a halt. Luke stopped and turned to face her.

"If she's getting the hunters why'd she send me with you? I mean it's understandable why she sent you away, you're a guy. But I could've just stayed! Why'd she make me help you babysit?" Zoe looked about ready to kill. No one called her a baby.

"Because the hunters hate you," Zoe deadpanned. "You're annoying, rude, boy-crazy, and you embody everything about your grandmother that Artemis despises, stereotypical fashion obsessed materialism centered on attracting guys." Bianca stared. She looked to Luke.

"How the heck does a seven year old talk like that?"

"'Cause she's smarter than you," Luke said, turning away and starting to walk again. "And why do you care, you hate the hunters just as much as they hate you."

"That's not the point," she replied, also restarting her trek."The point is that your sister was just trying to get rid of me."

"Will you just shut up already?" Zoe asked. "We need to keep moving, you're babbling is just slowing us down." They resumed running, and Bianca actually managed to keep quiet for a few minutes. However it didn't last very long, as a Granddaughter of Aphrodite, it was in her nature to talk a lot, especially about matters pertaining to looks and love.

"You know," she said quietly. "I'm surprised you didn't want to go find the hunters, maybe get a little payback on Artemis….. It's what I'd want to do, especially after what she did with you and Diana." In a single swift motion Zoe leapt off Luke's' back and planted a solid punch on Bianca's left cheek. Bianca yelped and staggered back in surprise. Sally slipped from her arms and fell to the ground.

Her eyes opened slowly, and she looked around confused.

"What's going on?" Luke moved instantly to her side and scooped her up.

"It's okay Sal," he told her reassuringly. However his eyes had gone dark and his body had gone stiff.

"Do you have any brains at all?" the seven year old seethed. For someone so young, her anger was absolutely terrifying, scarier than even the most ghastly of monsters. "Why the Hades did you have to go and mention that now, of all times! We're in the middle of a quest to save the world, and you bring that up? Do you want Luke to give up?" she shrieked.

"It's okay Zoe," Luke said. "I've put what happened with Diana and I behind me, at least for now." His facial expressions made it clear that he was lying. Pain and sadness were all his composure showed. "Come on, we have to get going, we have to get to camp."

LINEBREAK

It was an awkward taxi ride to the Jackson's apartment. Percy did his best to remain silent, and not say anything stupid, but as anyone could predict, Annabeth's family had questions for him. Her half brothers, Mathew and Bobby, were especially vocal. For the entire ride they hounded him about the most mundane of subjects, ranging from his favorite foods to his favorite video games. He answered each question calmly, routinely glancing at his girlfriends Father and Stepmother.

"You don't have to be nervous, Percy," Frederick Chase told him with a warm smile. "You don't have anything to worry about. We already know you're a fine young man," Percy gave a sigh of relief. Annabeth gave him a pointed look that clearly said 'I told you so'. He ignored her, and simply relaxed his shoulders, letting out a long sigh.

"It's very nice to see you again, Percy," said Liz, Annabeth's stepmom. "We can't wait to meet to meet your parents. Annabeth's talks about you and your family nonstop on the phone, but it will be marvelous to see it all in person."

Nonstop? Percy grinned. He looked to Annabeth who had turned a very bright shade of pink, clearly embarrassed. He slipped his hand out of his lap and entwined his fingers with hers, and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"My mom's excited to finally meet you too, Mrs. Chase, she's been panicking over it all day."

"Is your mom's food good?" Bobby piped in suddenly.

"Bobby!" Mr. Chase chastised sternly. "That's rude!"

"It's fine," said Percy, giving a short laugh as the cab approached his apartment building. "And my mom's cooking is the best." He led the Chases to up the elevator and down the hall to is apartment. The smells of luscious foods wafted around them, and they all salivated slightly in anticipation.

Sorry this isn't that long, and that not a lot happens. I jus trally wanted to get this out. The next ones coming this weekend, and it'll help to push the plot forward, and actually develop more of the storyline.