"How did you do that?" Annabeth questioned, figure shimmering into existence. He couldn't even bring himself to be angry, staring at the Ares kids sprawled around his feet.

"Do what?" He questioned, finally looking at the blond. Her grey eyes shone with wonder, fingers clenching at a baseball cap, while the blue team some ways away cheered for Luke's victory.

"You know what I mean," she told him, scowling slightly, and he did know what she meant. It was seconds before Clarisse's spear had exploded into a furry of sparks, before the ground had rumbled so hard that the world seemed to blur, before Luke came rushing over the border line with a red banner and joyful campers at his feet.

"I don't know," he murmured, kind of in awe. One of the kids started to stir, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Percy tuned to the daughter of Athena, head tilted. "You set me up," he accused. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank." It was clever, but he didn't really care about that, either. "You had it all figured out."

Annabeth shrugged, still staring at him with her calculating gaze. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized," he sulked.

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but..." She shrugged, again. "You didn't need the help." She looked as his wounded arm. "What's that?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Sword cut," he told her. "What do you think it is?"

"No," she promised. "It was a sword cut. Look at it."

He glanced at his arm. The gash, which was long and deep before, was barely a scar. Even as he watched it disappeared, leaving behind only torn sleeves. "I-I don't get it," stuttered, a frown strung across his mouth.

She thought for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. Finally, she spoke, voice determined. "Step out of the water, Percy."

"But-" she shook her head, irises bright.

"Just do it." He finally did as she said, not liking the results. The adrenaline left him instantly, body feeling numb, head pounding. He would've fell over if Annabeth hadn't steadied him, strong hands on his shoulders and face too close.

She let go once he could stand, cursing. "Styx, this is not good. How is this even possible?" She glanced down at the broken spear, and the cracks in the ground that hadn't been there before. "How is this even possible? Only Zeus could have caused this to-" she stops suddenly, looking at him with confused eyes, but he didn't have any good responses.

Something tugged at his gut right then, moments before the howl ripped through the forest. The cheering died instantly, Chiron shouting something in Ancient Greek that he understood perfectly. Annabeth drew her dagger, cautious and alert, but he was blinking in a daze.

On the rocks just above the two was a snarling monster, not there seconds ago but not quite here now. Its beady red eyes glared at them from high up, teeth bared, and it leaped towards Percy.

Annabeth pushed him away, trying to put her knife between him and the monster, but it was too quick. It found Percy and knocked him to the ground, claws retracting from large paws.

The monster seemed to hesitate for a small moment, the slightest of whimpers seeping out through its jaw, but the doubt didn't last. His armor was easily torn through, claws digging into skin, chest feeling warm and wet. The pain exploded over his whole body, and even when the flurry of arrows at the beast's neck stopped further harm, it lingered.

Chiron trotted up to the two, Luke following closely behind. His moment of glory was gone but it was if he didn't even notice, an emotion in his blue eyes that Percy couldn't comprehend.

"Di Immortales!" Annabeth swore, looking up at her mentor. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They're not supposed to-"

"Someone summoned it," Chiron told her, gravely. "Someone from inside camp." They watched the body of the hellhound sink into the ground, gone forever in the Underworld.

"You're hurt," Luke finally said, a frown on his face, and Percy distinctly wondered how'd he figured it out.

Annabeth nodded even so, speaking. "Get into the water, Percy." He turned to look at her, confused.

"I'm okay."

"No, you're not." She tried to lift him from where he lay, but Luke took over, having him stand. He walked Percy over to the creek, supporting him, while the rest of the camp gathered around.

The effect was immediate, his cuts closing up, blood clearing away. Percy heard gasps all around, felt Luke's look of awe, but didn't share the sentiment.

"Look, I don't know why," he stuttered. "I'm sorry-" he was stopped as the world responded to his raging emotions. Lightning flashed overhead, the water of the creek swishing in a frenzy, the ground rumbling and cracking at his feet.

They all stared at him, gaze never breaking. "This doesn't make sense," Annabeth murmured. "Who's your father?"

"My father?" Percy asked. Was he doing this?

All around him, the campers starting kneeling. Luke let go, giving only a smile in reply to Percy's questioning gaze, moving to bow along with the others.

Chiron was the last to kneel, voice reverent when he spoke. "Hail, Perseus Jackson," he said, but nothing else came after, because not even he knew what was happening now.

The storm continued to brew overhead, and the Earth continued to quake, but nobody was left standing at the centaur's words.

The knocking of a hoof against threshold woke him from the dream, the sound reverberating through cabin three.

Percy sat straight up, body shaking slightly. "Um," he stuttered, unsure if he had been imaging the noise or not. "Come it?"

The door swung open, Grover trotting in nervously. He relaxed, giving his friend a smile, but it wasn't reciprocated.

"Mr D wants to see you," he said, standing near his bed.

"Why?"

"He wants to kill-" he stopped suddenly, looking slightly sheepish. "I mean, I better let him tell you."

Percy shrugged, pulling on some clothes, following his friend out of the lonely cabin. Above the island the skies were dark with a storm brewing, a thick curtain of rain coming in their direction.

"Should we bring an umbrella?" He asked, suddenly wishing that he had one. Grover shook his head.

"No," he answered. "It never rains here unless we want it to."

Percy pointed at the clouds above. "What the heck is that, then?"

He glanced up too, uneasily. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does." He nodded, following Grover to the Big House.

Dionysus and Chiron were playing cards as always, the god wearing his usual Hawaiian attired while the centaur sat in his fake wheelchair. Two invisible opponents took the seats beside them, cards holding up themselves.

"Well, well," Dionysus tutted, not looking up from the game. "Our little celebrity."

Percy waited, mouth shut.

"Come closer," he sighed, waving his hands. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because one of those slobs up there is your father." A net of lighting flashed across the clouds but Dionysus didn't react, sighing again.

"If I had my way," the god grumped, setting down his cards. "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against against my mission at this cursed camp, to keep you little brats safe from harm."

"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr D," Chiron put in, tones resigned.

"Nonsense," the god insisted. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself. I'm thinking of blasting you into the sky, returning you to whichever one up there is your father."

"Mr D-" Chiron warned, and Dionysus stopped.

"Oh, all right," he relented. "There's one more option, but it's deadly foolishness." He rose, the cards dropping to the hard oak table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll shove him off a cliff. A very high cliff." He waves his hands, and the cards disappear. "Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson," he said, turning to said boy. "If you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."

He looked at Percy, long and hard. And with a snap of his fingers, he was gone, leaving behind the scent of freshly-peeled grapes. And when the storm broke through the sky, rain falling on their heads, Percy realized this was because of him.