It was a week since the trio visited that particular house where Luke had gone mad. Thalia later explained that it was Luke's home. Percy didn't ask Luke about his parents - he knew better. He still remembered how mad Thalia looked when he asked her about her mom. If looks could kill, the boy would have been dead. Percy sometimes felt that his older friends were jealous of him, being the only one with a family to go back to. Still, they were his friends, and did everything to care for him. He remembered his twelfth birthday like it happened yesterday. Ever since, Luke and Thalia had started treating Percy more like a part of their group than some kid tagging along. A change he welcomed. He was less than four years younger than Thalia for god's (the gods'?) sake. Not a little baby to be pampered.

He shifted in his sleeping bag, which was the only thing between him and the hard ground of the alleyway. It wasn't the best place to sleep but finding an abandoned house or building wasn't easy. Thalia was sitting up on some bricks, her hands fully occupied by the spear she had planted on the ground. Percy didn't know what regular humans, mortals, would have seen but she must look intimidating. With the new black lipstick and eyeliner applied over her tank top, a chain-like necklace and blue streaks in her short, dark hair, she looked like the definition of a punk in a street gang. All she lacked were some tats.

They heard some footsteps coming towards them. Thalia and Percy both shifted their gaze in their direction, though halfheartedly. In the dim lighting, they could make out a figure wearing a cap that covered his head. The person walked… weirdly. Percy couldn't place what was wrong. His hand drifted to his knife.

The figure stopped walking once next to Thalia. It was a boy, dark-skinned with a wispy beard on his chin. Thalia gripped her spear tightly and glaring into his eyes, "What are you stopping here for?"

The boy gulped, "I just wanted to ask, are you Thalia Grace?"

Thalia flinched and levelled her weapon onto the boy, "And why do you want to know that?" she snarled. Luke seemed to have gotten up and had snatched his sword from beside his bag, glaring at the boy.

The boy took a step back, clearly afraid, "Well, I, uh, you see, Lord Zeus wants to send you to a camp for demigods like you. I'm-I'm a satyr from Camp Half-Blood. My name's Grover Underwood. We are supposed to retrieve kids like you to camp".

"What is this Camp? I haven't heard of any such thing? Have you, Luke?" she asked, turning towards the older teen.

"No, I haven't" he hissed. She glared at Grover again. He looked like he would just shit his pants.

"L-look, I'm supposed to escort you guys. I know the way. I can smell monsters coming our way. You won't regret coming to camp, there's training, trust me. There's - you can live there in safety from monsters. That's great right?".

Thalia bit her lip, not taking her eyes off of the boy. Her head turned towards Percy for a second before returning it to the new kid - Grover. "I think… we should go with him." Grover let out a sigh of relief.

"But Thalia, why should we trust this… satyr?" giving him a glare of his own, "Why should we listen to your father?" Luke protested.

"Luke," she said, looking at him with determination, "this is not the time for pride. Think about it. We've been running around like crazy from all these monsters. How long are we going to do this?" she pointed at Percy, "How long will Percy keep running like this, running with us?"

"Thalia," Luke pleaded, "we can do this. We don't need the gods-"

"Luke" she said firmly, giving him a look.

Luke held her gaze for a moment, but relented under it. "Fine" he huffed "We'll follow the goat."

Thalia nodded and looked over to Percy questioningly. Percy just shrugged. Thalia gave him a smile.

"I think we should rest up", she said as a question to Grover.

"Sure", he replied, looking very unsure.

"Time for you to sleep, Thalia. I'll take watch." Luke said. Thalia opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it, yawning.

"You should sleep too", she said to Percy. Percy nodded. "Can you sleep, goat boy?"

"G-goat boy?", Grover squeaked out indignantly. It felt a lot like a bleat.

Thalia rolled her eyes, "Do you have someplace to sleep?"

"Yeah, I can sleep on the floor." he said assuredly. Immediately he lay down on the flat surface to demonstrate.

"Okay then. Night guys."

"There's some monsters ahead" Grover announced as they approached what looked like a car park. So far with Grover's help, the group had been avoiding monsters easily. They hadn't encountered a single one.

"I say we take them on" Luke said, "It's late in the evening, we would need some place to rest."

Grover let out a bleat, "Why don't we rest somewhere else? I can get us somewhere safer".

Thalia let out a laugh, "Don't worry, goat boy. We've been fighting monsters for some time now. A few of them won't bother us."

"Thalia, I'm supposed to get you back safely. We don't need to fight" Grover pleaded the girl.

"I'll be safe" she said with her tone of finality. No one, not even Luke dared to challenge Thalia when she laid out a decision as final. "Come on, guys."

The group entered the car park. There weren't a lot of cars, as it was mostly empty. Dust was everywhere. They walked slowly, searching everywhere for some sign of a monster. All they could see was human activity. Wrappers, beer bottles, burnt cigarettes, some plastic bags. But nothing indicating the presence of monsters. After failing to find anything worth mulling over, the group decided to take the ramp up. The next level was also similar, no sign of kept going up, but they didn't find any.

"Where are the monsters, Grover?" Luke said. His voice spoke of agitation, and when Percy looked at him, he was terrified. Luke seemed a little too eager to find monsters here, his bright blue eyes looking ready to kill. The twelve year-old was worried for his older friend. He had been cranky on the trip, challenging Grover regularly and causing their newest member to second-guess himself every time. It took Thalia's commanding presence to get them back on track. This was the only time he didn't directly challenge him, and it was so he could kill some monsters.

"I - I can still smell them. The scent is getting stronger".

"Maybe they're on the roof?" Thalia suggested.

"Let's go up, then" Luke replied, unsheathing his sword and took the ramp. Thalia sighed, rubbing her forehead in exhaustion. She took out her spear and shield.

"You guys ready?" she asked the boys.

Percy pulled out his knife and nodded. "Come on, G-man," he said encouragingly, "we can take whatever it is".

Grover was shaking with fear, but nodded in agreement. They heard some screeching and squawking from above.

"Let's go" Thalia said, and the three ran after Luke who most likely had started fighting. There were more screeches.

"Get him!", "Kill the demigod!", "He will make a good lunch!"

As they got to the roof, Luke was battling some bird-like creatures which were trying to swoop him from the ground. There was one hovering over him, and another on the ground next to him. They were taking turns to attack, and two more could be seen up in the sky.

"Harpies!" Thalia exclaimed. She side-eyed the boys "Stay safe and don't let them close, alright? You can't attack them with your knife, but you can defend."

Luke slashed one harpy straight in the chest as it was standing on the ground trying to grab him with its hands. She let out an ear-piercing screech and disintegrated to dust.

"Immie! You'll pay for that, boy!" One of the harpies cried out from the air. It swooped and lunged at Luke with its talons. Luke rolled away, but the way he groaned and clutched the back of his arm suggested a talon got him. Another harpy swooped down at the boy. Luke almost got skewered, but Thalia's spear caught the harpy in the side of its human body, causing it to slam into the building. The harpy tried flapping its wings, but it appeared the wings couldn't respond.

Luke made his way over to the harpy with a manic gleam in his eyes. His appearance seemed to have terrified the harpy, who's eyes shot up and started screeching loudly and stumbling backwards on its talons. Luke raised his sword, and plunged it straight through the harpy's chest, which dissolved into golden dust before him.

Grover let out a nervous bleat. Percy was only horrified by the display. But he couldn't think about it as he heard a harpy screech behind him. He quickly ducked, bringing Grover down with him with one arm and extended his knife into the air. Something hit his knife, and the harpy's screech suggested it was the one hit.

Instead of trying to fly away, the harpy stood on its talons and approached them, arms outstretched. The harpy's face made her look sixteen at most. Ugly, but still the face of a teenage girl. "Come here, puny children!" it squawked, lunging at Grover. Grover managed to sidestep the attack easily, having taken off his shoes. Percy came to his defence and slashed the harpy with his knife. Giving a flap to move backwards, the monster quickly dodged the strike. Grover grabbed a stone from the ground and threw it at the harpy. The harpy flinched at the attack but came at Percy with ferocious intent.

Percy slashed it with the knife again. This time he managed to leave a gash in the monster's midsection. It screeched and whooped straight at him with lightning speed. Percy's eyes closed on instinct, stabbing his knife into the same spot. He opened his eyes as he was treated to the familiar smell of sulphur. The harpy had disintegrated before him.

On the other side, it appeared Luke and Thalia had their hands full with a harpy dancing above their heads. Their weapons were just out of reach. The harpy then decided to fly away, high into the air. The setting sun made it difficult to see the harpy flying in the air, but the demigods could still tell its general direction. Thalia held the butt of her spear over her shoulder in a stance that looked suspiciously like aiming a gun in the harpy's path. Her body started crackling with electricity. Soon, a bolt of lightning came out of the weapon, frying the monster that happened to be in the way

"Whoa…" Grover looked awed at that display. "Didn't think you could do that."

"That was so badass", Percy added.

Thalia smirked, before tending to Luke who let out a groan. "Let's set up below, guys. I don't think we should rest on the roof in case some more harpies or other flying monsters come up", she said, dragging Luke by the arm who was trying to free it from the girl's grip.

"I'm fine, Thalia" he said.

"No, you're not. And don't even try to talk your way out of this. Why did you run off to fight alone? You shouldn't… -"

The level below the roof was completely empty, aside from the usual signs of (in)activity. Which is why it made a good place to stay. They decided to set up on the opposite side of the ramp, which offered a good view of anyone coming from below through an opening in the wall.

Percy looked over at Grover who was in the adjacent sleeping bag that Thalia had gotten him on the way. He looked different. Normally, the goat was nervous, or scared to death. But now, he looked sad and melancholy.

"Hey, Grover."

He looked over, "Yeah, Percy."

"What're you thinking?"

Grover sighed, "It's just… this bothers me" he said, gesturing with his arms around himself.

Percy checked his surroundings, seeing nothing of importance. "What bothers you?"

"This… how humans have destroyed the environment. The whole city. Can't you see? It's dirty, it's polluted. As a satyr it hurts us to see humans destroying everything beautiful about the world. Who would want to live in a world with this… this stench and ugliness?"

Percy thought about this. He recalled how his favourite places were those of natural beauty. He remembered going to Montauk with his mom, near the sea. It was always great when the surroundings were cleaner. The smell of the beach was nice and energising.

Grover was right. Humans were destroying the environment. Nature was beautiful, and it was humans that took away its beauty. They polluted the environment, and destroyed everything natural to make way for their own buildings and factories.

"How can we save the environment, Grover?"

Grover smiled sadly, "There's many ways to do it, Percy. I want to be one of those that save the environment, too. There's some things that I can do as a satyr, to rescue… rescue the environment. One of my dream jobs. Being a protector is just the first step. Hopefully I'll get my licence."

"Licence?"

Grover gave him another sad smile, "Let's leave it for another day, Percy. Get some rest. I won't get my licence until I get you to Camp."

Percy wanted to ask more about Camp, but he figured sleep was more important for now. They would see what Camp was about anyways.

"What can satyrs do? Besides smelling monsters, I mean."

"Well, we can do some woodland magic using our reed pipes", he said, pulling out the instrument from his satchel. "I'm still learning to do it. But a master can use the magic to grow any plant temporarily, navigate through the woods, follow a trail more accurately and lots of other things. My dad could do all of this" he said, sighing.

"Well, what's your dad doing now?" Percy blurted out.

Grover's expression turned sad in an instant, "He's… he's missing. I don't really know."

Percy mentally facepalmed. I should really stop asking about parents. So far, he and Grover had spent a lot of their time talking. Percy was curious about satyrs and Grover needed someone to talk to. Luke and Thalia were behind them, following Grover's lead. They group was currently crossing through some woods near a hill at Long Island. They were close to the Camp, according to Grover.

"Help!" a girl's voice cried out in the distance. Percy and Grover stopped chatting. They heard another cry for help. Both Percy and Grover looked towards Thalia and Luke for guidance. Luke took off in a sprint towards the voice almost immediately, with Thalia hot on his heels. The two boys followed in their footsteps. Grover kept pace with Percy, who was slow given his age and physique. While running, they could make out Thalia and Luke who had stopped running and stood looking around for some reason.

Thalia levelled her spear at her two companions on hearing their steps. She was feeling uneasy, along with everyone else.

"I can smell some monsters" Grover whimpered. They couldn't really tell what was going on. The part of the woods they were in was covered in mist. Not the magical mist that made mortals immune to reality, but the one that clouded their vision.

"Help!" they could hear from behind.

All four people turned towards the voice. Big mistake. They could suddenly hear footsteps from behind again, and before they knew it a strong pair of hands grabbed Luke.

"What the-"

"LUKE!" Thalia cried out. She charged whatever the creature was. It was nine feet tall, wearing what looked like a trench coat. She stabbed it in the midsection, with the creature letting out a groan of pain while letting Luke go free. Thalia continued to battle the giant, which seemed to have one eye. A cyclops.

"Here Luke!" Percy threw the demigod's sword across to its owner. Luke caught it by the hilt and charged at the monster, monsters with murderous intent. Two more seemed to have appeared after that first cyclops.

Percy and Grover were about to join when their attention was diverted to the left where they could hear more footsteps coming from. The sky thundered, and it started raining far too quickly given the weather before the battle. Another cyclops appeared. It licked its lips before charging the kids. Percy tried to slash his knife at it, but the monster casually swatted it from the boy's hands. Then it proceeded to grab him, which it could successfully.

Percy struggled to get out, kicking, trying to get his arms free but it was to no avail. Despite feeling stronger he wasn't able to get out of the cyclops' iron grip. He kicked again, this time with more force. The monster let out a very low growl, which Percy wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't so close to it. He managed to free his arm as he felt the grip on his body loosen. He tried to punch, but was unable to land a proper hit. Suddenly, a rock hit the cyclops in the head and Percy was free.

Completely on instinct, Percy pulled out the ballpoint pen his father had given, gifted him. He uncapped it, and in its place was a beautifully crafted bronze sword. Percy's hand. It was long (for him), but it felt completely natural in his hands.

The slightly disoriented cyclops looked at Percy with a mixture of fear and rage. Percy no longer felt in control of his body, barrelling forward and kicking the giant. The kick actually managed to push it straight into the ground. Percy didn't stop, he closed in and using all his might stabbed the cyclops in the eye. He heard the monster scream in agony, clutching its eye.

The twelve year-old turned back, seeing Grover play cat and mouse with two cyclopes. Thalia and Luke had their own battle, so he focused on helping his newest friend. He managed to kill one of them quickly, but before he could deal with the next something struck him.

Percy stumbled about in a daze, feeling dizzy and his vision spiralling. He could barely see a figure with one huge eye, then he saw an evil-looking goat attack it with… a stick? Then he saw a pool of black with blue lines approaching the ground. He couldn't bear standing on his feet any longer, falling on his back. The last thing his mind could recall before plunging into darkness was a bright, blinding flash.

So guys, this is what I would call the end of Stormy Weather's prologue. Should the previous three chapters be combined into a single chapter as one? I don't know. Honestly, writing this made me realise how the backstory of Thalia, Luke and Annabeth doesn't really add up. Even though I didn't even try to go far into detail.

From this point onwards, we'll have quests, monsters, characters and plot and whatever else you would expect from a fanfic. Consider this story to be a series rewrite, since some elements and plot points will be similar to the original series. But it would be very different this time, and you'll all see how. New monsters, new characters, even the camp isn't what you remember it to be.

Leave some reviews to see how the chapter was, and how you've liked the story so far. I've got huge plans for it.