A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed, I got 12 reviews, awesomeness! That is a lot for the first chapter! Now, on with the story! This is brought to you by my personal hero, Elmo, because he convinced Barney to commit suicide and posed as an elf to murder Santa for the FBI

Disclaimer: Rick's world, my playground. Kapiesh? Alright!

Chapter 2:

Recap:

"It seems as though one of our old campers has returned to us." Dionysus turned to me and raised an eyebrow. I guess Chiron hadn't told him before now. Taking the look as a signal, I stood up and flipped the hood off. There was silence for a minute flat, in which Dionysus picked his fingernails and did his best to look bored, until one voice rang out.

"PERCY!"

It was Annabeth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Don't Mind me, I'm Just a Little Old Page Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, crap. I didn't even think about how Annabeth was going to react to all this. Crap crap crap crapcrapcrap…..

Right now my girlfriend was sitting there with her mouth open, staring at me with this half confused and half excited face. All around us I could hear people talking, but all I could focus on was Annabeth, by beautiful and sweet girlfriend. She was so amazing, the same Annabeth as always. It didn't look like she had changed while I was gone, but I needed to know for sure. I needed to know if she missed me as much as I missed her, if anything had happened…Hades forbid, if there was someone else. Crap shoot shootshootcrapshoot… I listened in on my neighbors, who were trying, and failing, to have a discreet discussion behind my back. It was two Dionysus kids; one of them looked like he was new…what the other one's name…was it…oh, well. I just listened.

"Is that, like, really Percy? Like, the Percy?" The little one's eyes were all wide, and I almost smile. They had no clue I was hearing all this.

I could feel the older kid's eyes in my face, even though I was still staring at my wise girl. MY wise girl, gods I missed her so…Jackson, focus.

"Yeah," I heard the older one say. "It's him."

"OH MY GODS I'M SITTING NEXT TO THE PERCY JACKSON THE ONE THAT SAVED OLYMPUS AND DEFEAT KRON…" The whole camp stopped and turned to stare at the new camper, who blushed deep red and sank down in his seat. I swear that little kid would have had to be hosed down if his face grew any redder, he was practically glowing. He tried for a sheepish grin, and squeaked. I stared at him for another second before I realized now everyone's eyes were on me. Now it was my turn to blush. Well, this was great. Just great.

"PERSEUS JACKSON!" Annabeth was really angry now, jumping to her feet. She was pretty much being held back by her siblings, she was that furious. Like, steam-comes-out-of-your-ears-and-your-head-pops-off furious. Suddenly, I didn't think she looked quite as beautiful as before. More like a demon that wanted to beat me to Tartarus. But she was still my beautiful, smart, and (emphasis on) temperamental Annabeth.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I SEARCHED FOR A WHOLE FREAKIN' SIX MONTHS BEF…" I cowered. Yes, in front of the entire camp, and I doubt anyone blamed me. She was mad, angry, and I was scared out of my wits, hysterical. This wasn't going down well. Chiron raised his hand for silence, while Annabeth took a deep breath and sat back down, shooting me a glare that said, 'we're gonna talk about this later.' I really hope the stress in that sentence was on talk.

"Yes, yes, now settle down. Campers! CAMPERS! Yes, now, Percy, please take your seat at your father's table." I grinned. Chiron didn't specifically say how to take a seat. It was time to be a bit of a show-off. Using the water vapor around me, I launched myself up and over the table, ducking into a roll at the crest about five feet up. I reached deep inside me and felt the water in my body. Gods, this was going to freak them out.

I began to turn myself into little water molecules, trillions and trillions of them. Just imagine what that Boggart did in the Harry Potter movie to transform and you'll get what I looked like (yes, I watch Harry Potter. You have a problem with that?). I kind of folded in on myself, swirling until it looked like nothing was there. All that was left behind was a little scent of the sea and a bit of water vapor concentration, when in fact I was really traveling in a bunch of little droplets over to my seat. I reappeared a second later as the full Percy Jackson, human, rearranging my molecules into a sitting position. I call it vapor travel (A/N: Sorry, so clichéd, but it works, right?), and only children of Poseidon can do it. Let me tell you, it's just as hard as it sounds. Bringing every single molecule along with you is tough, and putting them in a new position is even tougher. Let's just say the first few times I tried it a few body parts were left behind. That was not a fun day.

I reappeared, sitting calmly in my seat, and everyone jumped three feet in the air. I could see Chiron trying to hide a smile, but Travis was strait-out laughing his head off. Of course, I had already explained all this to him. The little newbies were all staring at me like I was a god, and even all my other friends looked a little spooked-out. I shifted and avoided their eyes, really uncomfortable now. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I sighed, resting my head in my hand and putting my elbow on the table. I wanted this meal to drag out a long time, because afterwards was the real challenge.

Oh, joy, I get to be mobbed by a couple hundred kids. My prayer to my dad that night, accompanied by most of my plate:

Dad, please, please don't let me die at the hands of a mob. I've gone through too much for that. I thought I heard some rolling laughter in the distance, but it was probably just my imagination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Don't Mind me, I'm Just a Little Old Page Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't bear to take another bite. I ate as much as I could, but it was unavoidable. I had to stop and leave sometime, sooner or later. I guess it was now. I stood up, pushed out the bench, and walked out of the dining hall. About half of the campers were still eating, but I could see most of them hurrying, trying to catch up to me. My stomach had shrunk from only eating what I could find for a year, so I managed to down a bowl of tomato soup before giving up. I paused before the huge double doors before shutting my eyes, taking a deep breath, and opening one of the doors, my muscles clenched. I expected a mobbing. Turns out they had something else in mind.

Because no one was there. Or, at least I thought so. Smiling, I walked out of the doors and into the evening light. I took a deep breath of the clean, fresh air, savoring it. I looked around camp again, inspecting it much more closely this time. It looks like my request from the gods was granted; in addition to all of the twelve Olympian cabins, I could see another, much larger semi-circle underway. Some of the cabins already looked done, but some of them barely looked started. I saw one that looked like it was made of swirly mist, not substantial at all; another Suddenly I heard a snicker off to my right, and I spun around just as I saw a bunch of people ducking into the bushes. Suspicious, I backed away, which was a big mistake. I fell, tripped up by…a trip line? What the Hades was going on here?

I tried to jump to my feet as swarms, and I mean swarms of kids jumped from the forest and raced towards me. But it was too late. A pair of hands had already grabbed me from behind, and I struggled as four or five campers grabbed each of my limbs, carrying me off to Zeus-knows-where. Scratch that, I doubt even Zeus would know the strange demented ways of the teenage mind. Right now was the perfect time to review my situation:

One: I was being kidnapped by a bunch of demigods, who I thought I could trust but wasn't sure yet

Two: I was immobile

Three: The campers around me were trying to steal quick glances at the 'Hero of Olympus' that I shot back with a glare

Four: I was in deep, deep poo

This was going to be fun, I thought as the campers suddenly dropped me. On a hard wooden floor, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to sit for a few days if not for my Achilles Curse. Yup, that's right, I still have it, and I really hope it never goes away, because that thing has saved my hide to many times to count. I sat up, still kind of dazed as some older campers lifted me up into a chair. Looking around, I realized that this was the Athena cabin. Wait; there was Annabeth's bunk, all neat and organized. Just the opposite of mine, or, at least…I think. I don't know what happened while I was gone, but I hoped everyone hadn't gone through all my personal stuff. Some of it is quite embarrassing. I don't know how I would live it down. Annabeth…

I blinked as someone moved in my view, and turned my head to see everyone staring at me. Well, this was awkward. I had been kidnapped again by a bunch of strangers, been set in a chair, and now there was an uncomfortable silence. This was fun and all, but what I really wanted to know is why I was here.

"Hello? Earth to campers?"

They just kept staring. Now I was beginning to get a little pissed. They take me to a random place, and won't talk. Instead, they decide that I'm the entertainment. If all they want to do was stare, then they could brought a camera and snapped a few shots. No way was I going to stay here, not with all the bug eyes. Seriously, it felt like a bunch of spiders were watching me. Actually, that would have been a very, very bad thing, because the Athena cabin would never come in here again if that happened. I started to dissolve to travel to...probably would have been my cabin until I saw a familiar face. Then I reformed and smiled. Now, this was more like it. Grover, my best friend on two shaggy legs was here. I saw the shock on his face, and then I remembered that I had started to vapor travel. It probably looked like I had been a fuzzy shot on the television, because my image wavered as I transformed to water. Oh well, Grover was going to have to deal. I wasn't going to wait any longer to see my best friend.

As I stood up, and the entire group stepped back a few paces in a hurry. Huh, I guess they were both respectful and scared. I liked the respect in that, but not so much the scared part. I'm not a monster; I'm a demigod like them. I decided to meet everybody there and leave a good impression. I still don't know why I was here, but if they didn't want to do anything then I would. They obviously don't get the concept of kidnapping; you are supposed to keep the person hostage, not let them stand up and get away. The camp would suck at terrorism.

"Yo, Grover! My man, how's it been?" I gave my lopsided grin and walked over to Grover, the crowd parting, which I filed away to be annoyed at later. Giving him a man hug that he returned, we both smiled. Now, a man hug is where you pat each other's back for a few seconds with a brief embrace. I would lose my manliness if I didn't do it that way, it's very important. Annabeth would call me Seaweed brain for saying that. Gods, Annabeth, I missed her voice so much…

"Percy, it's you! Oh my gods, so much has happened! You wouldn't believe any of it, wait until you see everything! There's, like, a new climbing wall, and Juniper is…" His face suddenly paled as he looked over my shoulder. I turned around and paled too. It was Annabeth, standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips and looking really annoyed. Stalking past me, she flipped her hair, snatched Daedalus' laptop off her pillow, and stomped back out. I was really confused here; why was she acting upset with me? Did I do something, or say anything?

"Follow her, man." I jumped as Grover whispered in my ear and gave me a small pat on the back. "She was really upset when you went."

I gave a small nod and a grin. "Can do. And Grover, we're going to talk later, just you and me. Like old times." I cuffed him on the arm and bent the water around me again so I turned invisible before he could return it. I carefully weaved in between the crowd, careful not to hit anyone, and as I looked back I saw Grover, 'scared' written all over his face as the campers rushed forward, probably asking about how he knew me. I hung my head and shook it, amused. These kids were really obsessed.

I followed Annabeth invisibly and silently, until she reached…wait, this was my favorite spot, on the beach! Why was she here, of all places? I hung out behind a huge pile of driftwood as my girlfriend...well, maybe my girlfriend lay down in the white sand, kicking off her shoes and stretching her arms above her head, making a pillow with intertwining fingers. She closed her eyes in the laid-back position, and I couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was. Not hot, or sexy, but just beautiful. Gosh, I need to expand my vocabulary to describe her. Note to self: get a thesaurus.

"Seaweed brain, you might as well some out." I jumped as she spoke without moving anything but her lips. My cheeks burned as I let my invisible shield go and stepped out from behind the pile of wood. Without smiling she patted the sand next to her, and I walked over and lay down by her side. It was a few minutes before I spoke.

"How did you know I was here?"

The side of her mouth quirked. Maybe she wasn't as upset as I thought.

"Your little invisibility trick doesn't come with a shadow block, does it?" I cursed in my head; of course, my shadow would still appear when I was invisible, because there was still a figure blocking the sun's rays from reaching the ground. I made another mental note: make sure to cover up shadow when invisible. It was pure luck that the weakness hadn't been discovered before now. I tilted my head up and watched the sunset for a while. See, this is what I missed about Camp. Being able to just sit back, relax, and watch the beauty around me was impossible on my quest. Now I had all the time in the world, and I was grateful for it. I've had enough quests for an immortal life, let along my mortal one.

Finally Annabeth sighed and sat up, pulling her knees up and resting her head on her chin. I sat up too, bracing by hands behind me and leaning slightly back, staring at the back of her head. How the Hades did she get her hair to curl that perfectly?

Annabeth mumbled something that I didn't catch, so I leaned forward, weirdly getting a sense of…pride, maybe? Something close to pride as she shivered when my breath ticked her neck.

"What did you say?" I used a playful tone, which I instantly regretted when she twisted to look at me. Her eyes were full of sadness, grief, and unimaginable pain. The storms in her eyes had turned to weak clouds, broken and scattered. Looking at her like this almost made my heart break. Wait, since when am I this good with metaphors?

"Why did you leave?"

The question hit me like a blow, and I looked down at my feet, unable to meet those eyes. I sighed under my breath and leaned back, burying my head in the soft, warm sand of the evening. I began my tale, and finished with arriving at camp, where Travis and the little midget Apollo found me. I sat up, watching Annabeth for a reaction. Her eyes were closed, her eyebrows furrowed and her face to the ground. She finally looked up and out over the sunset, and then at my eyes.

Oh my Gods.

Her eyes were two endless pools of storms again, raging fierce and proud. I saw my old Annabeth in those eyes right then, and I knew in an instant that I was at last home, because home is where my heart is. And right then my heart was with Annabeth.

"You disappeared for me? Nothing else? Not to get away, or go…" She stopped and took a deep breath. "My mother made you do it?" I nodded, glad that she understood. She turned to look again at the fading sun, which was almost below the horizon. Suddenly I had the insane urge to kiss her, then and there. Gulping (loudly), I scoot over to sit next to her side, our arms touching. She looked at me in surprise, and then froze when she saw my eyes. I tried to tell her how I felt in that one glance, and her stare screamed back at me kiss me, you fool! I closed my eyelids and leaned forwards, hearing her breathing in my ear. …

Instead of meeting those soft, perfect lips, I felt a splatter of something rough in my face. Huh? I opened my eyes to find her doubled over, laughing so hard that I thought she was suffocating.

It seems like my girlfriend thinks it is funny to throw sand in my face during an emotional moment. She has a great sense of humor, right?

Annabeth rolled around in the sand, snorting her head off while I stared like an idiot. She was finally able to speak.

"Zeus almighty, that was hilarious! You should have seen your face!" She started all over again at the memory, clutching her stomach and trying to breathe.

Ha-ha.

I suddenly got a great idea, a very devilish one. Annabeth stopped laughing as I got to my feet, and began to run away and I sprinted towards her. Of course, I was faster, and I reached her before she even got to the trees. I scooped her up in a fireman's lift while she beat her fists on my back. If I didn't have my curse I'm pretty sure I would have dropped her. Man, that girl can hit, but I love her all the more for it.

I chuckled as I carried her to the water, because she really wasn't going to like this, and I was going to be in so much trouble. But I didn't care. Cackling, I waded in waist high to the ocean, feeling unwanted strength in my limbs. I slung her back over my shoulder, held her bridal style, and with a heave threw her out far into the sea. I couldn't help but laugh at her helplessness and the insults she threw.

"Manhandling! You manhandled me, Jackson! Child abuse, CHILD ABUSE! You Seawe…" She was cut off as her head dunked under the waves. Oh man, I should learn to carry a camera on me. There had been too many priceless moments in my life in the last 24 hours for me to count…on one hand, that is.

I laughed as she threw her head above the waves, gasping for breath. Okay, maybe it was wrong of me to use my powers to keep her under, but the opportunity slapped me in the face, and I had to pay attention. Soon the little joke turned into an all-out war, me with my powers and Annabeth with her smarts. Not surprisingly, she beat me just as we saw a figure run up the beach. Typical.

"PERCY, ANNABETH! CAMPFIRE!" I recognized Connor's voice, even from here. Laughing, we both waded out of the tide, her dripping wet and me as dry as…the drying machine in your laundry room. (Okay, I suck at metaphors, deal)With a snap of my fingers I turned her dry, and the next thing I knew she was kissing me. I stiffened in shock, then relaxed and leaned into it just as she broke away. I almost groaned, she was such a tease. She smirked at my predicament.

"Now I don't owe you anymore, Seaweed brain." She smirked even wider at my speechlessness while I tried to pick my jaw up off the floor. Wow, Annabeth kissed me. I will now die a happy man. I was too dazed to see her take off running towards the smoke column rising from the arena until she was fifty yards away. I grinned and took off after her. I could have always vapor traveled, but I didn't want to freak out any campers. Again.

And it was just fun to run through the forest after your beautiful girlfriend, without a care in the world.

We raced to the arena, and I let her win, partly because I thought it was all gentleman-like and also because I knew she would kick my butt if I beat her. She may be my girlfriend, but she wasn't afraid to get down and hammer me, because she knew about my Achilles spot and could make me beg for mercy. But I never regret telling her where my only weakness is, because I love her.

We walked into the arena from the woods and not the entrance, holding hands, and I felt very small as everyone stared. I thought I heard a whistle, but it was probably my imagination. Anyway, it had better be, because I'm still a little shy when it comes to sharing my relationship with everyone. I stood there like a deer in the headlights, blushing until Annabeth kissed me on the cheek and left to sit down next to her siblings. I saw her assailed by her sisters, her answering every question they could think of. I smiled and walked over to my seat, up on the top row and third seat from the left. I leaned back against the natural dirt cliff wall and relaxed for about a minute, until I heard the dim sound of hooves meeting dirt. I sat up and opened my eyes just as Chiron cantered into the arena, taking his place in between us and the bonfire, which was a bright yellow and about as tall as…well, me. Chiron raised his hand for silence, and immediately a hush fell over the crowd, and Chiron smiled.

"Well, another campfire children! In honor of our returned Son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson," I flushed as everyone cheered, "We will tell the story of how he came to obtain his Achilles Curse!" Everyone cheered even louder; I guess this story wasn't told that often. In fact, it was only me and Nico there, so I'm guessing he is the only one who told the story.

"Percy, would you like to tell us the tale?" I was jerked from my thoughts as Chiron asked me the question, and everyone began to chant do it, do it! louder and louder until I had to raise my hand. Everyone quieted down even faster than they had for our favorite centaur. They all looked at me with eager faces, obviously waiting for me to start. I got a brilliant idea.

"How about I show you?" I didn't really need to do this, but for dramatic effect I waved my hand in front of my face, my arm locked and palm facing out. The air shimmered with water, and a glowing rainbow appeared by the bonfire, about ten feet tall and fifteen feet wide. The flames jumped a good three feet as the campers looked shocked. They should expect it, though; I am a son of the Sea god.

On my quest I had taken a detour to help Iris with her backed-up messages, and now she lets me make any IM I want for free. It's a pretty sweet deal.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me…the day Hades was defeated." Immediately a voice chimed from the water wall five feet in the air.

"Of course, Percy." Everyone looked surprised when my name was said. Oh, well, I'll explain it later.

Immediately fancy writing appeared, replacing the rainbow made by the water wall with the words 'The Day Hades Was Defeated'. Suddenly the ground shook and a bright flash of light appeared.

The gods were here.

They calmly sat down on the front row of benches that had magically appeared there a second before. I smiled; of course the gods would want to see this. Some of the campers looked like they had craped themselves, and some were about ready to keel over. I sighed and brought my legs up into a crisscross, and waited for the movie to begin. I heard some muttering, and listened in. It was Hades.

"I still don't know why we have to watch this one. It's so humiliating." I grinned.

Let the show go on.

A/N: So, what do you think? Review! And I just started flight school, where we learn to fly airplanes, so updates will now take 1-1 ½ weeks, maybe 2 if I have a lot of homework. Yes, I'm thirteen, but you can't start too young, right? After the story is done I might make a sequel of Percy's quest that Athena made him do, but probably not. Unless you guys really want it. In other words, review! I want your opinions, and constructive criticism is needed! Was anyone OOC? Are there and minor characters (besides Nico, Thalia, Rachael, etc…) that you want in the story? Tell me, review! Oh, and does anyone have a good non-clichéd name for vapor travel? I need something new, because vapor travel sounds boring and it is so overused. This was kind of a filler chapter, the action is coming soon! Also, I'm looking for a good Beta, so PM me if you want to be him/her!