Chapter Text
Percy Jackson woke up not on the bus to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He thought at first he'd somehow fallen asleep next to Grover while Nancy Bobofit threw peanut butter and ketchup sandwiches at their heads. But... this looked like some kind of sea-side cabin. It smelled like the ocean, which was way better than the smell of a school bus, still... As far as he knew, he wasn't even in New York City anymore.
His first thought? Oh, I'm so getting expelled for this. It didn't matter how he got here or why, the headmaster of Yancy Academy was going to expel him for sure for skipping the fieldtrip. He had been warned several times if he didn't stay with the group, or if he caused any arguments, or if he so much as sneezed wrong... The point is, Percy was on probation. And now all his determination to be good on this field trip was for nothing! Anger swept through him. He actually kind of liked Yancy Academy. He liked the view of the Husdon River, and his Latin class with Mr. Brunner, and his friend Grover- Poor Grover would be tormented by Nancy Bobofit without Percy to protect him. Why does this kind of thing always happen? It wasn't fair!
Then his next thought- Hang on, where the hell am I anyway?
It was definitely a cabin, but much nicer than the one Percy's mom and he visited occasionally during the summer. The walls were made of abalone, a pleasant breeze drifted through the air, the windows were decorated with coral and Percy could see the sun had only just begun to rise, (assuming he was still on the east coast.) If Percy wasn't so upset at the thought of being expelled, he might've appreciated how beautiful the sun danced on the water. Even more impressive, there was a fountain in the middle of the room that was also decorated with coral and underwater plants.
Percy counted six bunk beds and yet he was the only person in the room.
There was a backpack with half its contents spilled out at the foot of his bed, a picture of a girl with blonde hair in a frame on his bedside table, and various clothes thrown about the floor in a messy way Percy was familiar. Percy didn't recognize the backpack, but he did recognize the handwriting... Except, it couldn't be his handwriting because this was calculus homework and an essay on Shakespeare and no way could he ever begin to understand any of that.
An orange shirt and a pair of jeans were folded up nicely on his bed as well. Was that for him? Well, even if it wasn't he couldn't start running around outside in his boxers. (Oh, and the fact he woke up in strange place wearing only his boxers? Yeah, that was also freaking him out.)
The shirt said "Camp Half-Blood." A camp? Weird name for a camp, but alright. Is that where he is? Both the shirt and pants were a little too big for him. Okay, a lot too big. He had to roll up the jeans.
Still, he needed answers. He put on some sneakers (Also too big.) and left the cabin.
Percy didn't have much experience with camps, but this was the weirdest one he's ever seen. Apparently, he was in Cabin 3, but there were... a lot of cabins and looked like more cabins were under construction. Each one was unique. Some just looked like normal summer camp cabins, but some were immaculate, one had a grass roof, one looked like something out of a steampunk narrative, one looked kind of like a prison...
Despite the large number of cabins, not a lot of people were walking about. It must be earlier in the day than Percy thought, everyone was still asleep. Well, almost everyone. A boy with sunny hair was sneaking out of a neighboring cabin, the cabin with black walls, green fire, and a skull over the door. It read Cabin 13. How did they make the fire burn green? Pretty cool.
"Hey!" Percy called out to the kid. Blondie jumped with a start and looked very guilty.
"We were just talking!" The teen exclaimed before blinking a few times in confusion. "Percy?"
"You know me?" Percy asked, walking closer. Up close, Cabin 13 has an eerie feel to it. He was suddenly glad he woke up in Cabin 3 and not this cabin instead.
"I, uh... you don't remember me?"
"Should I?"
"Oh... Oh, this can't be good." Blondie glanced nervously at the cabin he just left. "This is definitely not good. We should probably go get Chiron."
"How do you know me? Where am I? What is this place?"
"We're friends. I'm Will, head of Cabin 7. We're at Camp Half-Blood. And you are... Percy, what's the last thing you remember? How old are you?" This teen, Will apparently, examined him in what reminded Percy of a doctor examining a patient.
"Twelve. I'm supposed to be on a fieldtrip-" And Percy had a billion more questions to ask, but the black granite door swung open and another boy came out.
"Will, you forgot- Oh! Percy!" This kid had a mess of black hair and ghostly white skin. He was probably only 15 or so but he had bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept since he was eleven. "Percy? What the Hades happened to you?"
"You know me, too?" Okay, this had gone from freaky to extra-freaky real fast. "Did you just say 'Hades?'"
"Oh no."
"That's what I said." Will shrugged. "Bring him to the Big House. I'll warn Chiron." He sprinted away.
"Who's Chiron?" Percy asked.
"The camp counselor here." Ghost-boy explained. "I'm Nico Di Angelo. This isn't the first time you've had amnesia." Amnesia?
"I don't have amnesia." Percy protested.
"Oh really? How did you get here?" Okay, fair enough. But Percy didn't like the smug "see-I-told-you-so" look on Nico's face.
"So, if Will is from Cabin 7... what's he doing in Cabin 13?" Anddd the smirk was gone. Percy glanced over at Cabin 7, which looked like it was made of solid gold and almost glowed in the morning light. It was super bright, radiating warmth, practically the opposite feeling of Cabin 13.
"Wow okay- He's my friend and I, uh, wasn't feeling well- we were just- we weren't- it's not important! Let's go to the Big House before you make a scene... Do not mention to Chiron about Will being in my cabin." Guess they were pretty strict about the rules here. Percy pictured Chiron as a mix of all his least favorite teachers.
On the way to the "Big House" they passed by a campfire pit, what looked like an armory (were those swords real??), and a volleyball court.
The big house was, well, a big house. Nothing particularly special about it, but it was by a huge field of strawberries. There must've been thousands of ripe strawberries ready to be picked. The smell made Percy hungry. As they got to the house, who should be on the porch talking to Will other than-
"Mr. Brunner??" Percy didn't mean to shout, but it was such a relief. And no mistake, it was Mr. Brunner in a wheelchair, blanket over his lap as usual, looking very tired and very worried. Finally someone he recognized and trusted, even if it was just his Latin teacher.
"Percy," Mr. Brunner greeted him. "How are you feeling?"
"Confused. Mr. Brunner, why am I here? One moment we're going to the art museum and the next I'm at some camp? Do you work here? Where is this place, exactly? Is there a phone? I should call my mom-" Did his Mom even know where Percy was at right now?? If she didn't she'd be worried sick.
"Your mother knows you're here. She's fine. But actually, Percy, my name is Chiron. I'm afraid my Mr. Brunner persona was a farce, necessary at the time." Percy tried not to get distracted by how "farce" sounded like "fart."
"Okay... what do you-"
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" A man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt walked out of the house. He reminded Percy of the men at Gabe's gambling parties. He glared, holding a can of diet coke in his right hand. "Of course, it's Peter Johnson waking me up at 5:30 in the morning."
"Actually, my name's Percy Jackson." Percy immediately decided he didn't like this bozo. It may look like he's drinking diet coke, but he was definitely hitting the bottle.
"Percy," Mr. Brunner-Chiron said, "This is Mr. D. He's the camp director."
"Wait..." Mr. D gave Percy a hard look and suddenly Percy felt very self-conscious about his oversized clothing. "You mean that you don't... Oh. Oh, this is just too good." Then the man started to shake and it was a second before Percy realized he was laughing. "Look at you! Like it's your first day all over again! Oh, and on the day you're supposed to leave for the quest! You'll be dead before sundown."
"What quest?" And that only made Mr. D laugh harder. The anger that dissipated when Percy saw Mr. Brunner returned in full force.
"I think the quest will have to be delayed until this situation is under control." Chiron nodded gravely. "Mr. Solace, could you please check on the other campers and make sure they're not, ah, suffering from young Mr. Jackson's condition as well?" Will left.
"My condition?"
"Amnesia." Nico said helpfully, but Percy got the impression he wasn't hearing the whole story.
Mr. D wasn't helpful. He said, "Maybe it's true what they say after all, that you don't have to drink to have fun? Eh, no. Now I'm bored. Chiron, I'm sure you can figure this out. I'm going back to bed." He reminded Percy way too much of Smelly Gabe.
"Sorry to bore you." Percy snapped. "Does the D stand for dic-" But Nico slapped a hand over his mouth.
"He's a god, Percy. Don't disrespect him." Nico warned. Percy shoved his hand away. A god? What? And Mr. D did suddenly have this dangerous aura about him. Images filled Percy's mind of people dancing to their deaths, vines choking the life out of them, turning into dolphins... Why did it sound so familiar?
"Percy..." Chiron sighed. "Years ago, when I taught you about the Greek gods-"
"Hang on, years ago?"
"For me, yes. Gods, the forces you call Greek gods, are very much alive. The gods we discussed in Latin class."
Percy stared. He waited for someone to shout Kidding! We got you, huh? But Chiron, Mr. D, and Nico were all deadly serious.
"No..." Percy said slowly. "Greek gods are a myth."
"A myth, hmm?" Mr. D snapped his fingers and vines from the strawberry fields came to life, weaving around the house, around the porch. Percy hastily backed away. "Does this look like a myth to you? How would you liked to be called a myth? Oh, mortals think they're so smart. If I strangled you to death with these vines would you still think it's nothing but a story to explain nature before your 'science?'"
"You're..." Mr. D... vines... alcohol... "You're Dionysus? God of wine?"
"Yes, and we've had this conversation before. I'd forgotten how annoying you were at age ten. The gods are real. Yippy skippy. I'm off to take a nap." And Mr. D went back inside.
"I'm twelve." Percy replied numbly, head buzzing. Nico patted him on the back in sympathy.
"I think it's time I give you a tour of the camp." And then Chiron, who Percy thought was paralyzed from the waist down, rose from his chair. And no, not with normal human legs. No, no, no. That'd be too normal. His back kept extending until he stood seven feet tall. His tail swished side to side.
"You're a horse??" Percy exclaimed. "You- how- what?"
"I'm a centaur."
And that's when things got to be a bit too much for Percy Jackson.
**********************
All in all, Nico thought Percy was handling things pretty well. Waking up in a strange place and told "Hey, the gods are real!" is never easy. Still, Jackson really picked the worse time imaginable to get turned into a twelve year old. He and Annabeth were the only people keeping peace between the Egyptian, Norse, and Greek campers. They might not trust Greek gods, but they trusted Percy and Annabeth. Even when all their instincts told them to run, get out of this place, they're not welcome, they stayed because Percy and Annabeth were their friends. Most of them were awkwardly sleeping in Cabin 11, the Hermes Cabin, ready to leave on this quest in the morning. Welp. Plans change.
Percy with his chubby twelve year old cheeks, and clothing that was way too big for him, stood with his mouth opening an closing like a fish out of water. It would've been funny if the fate of the world didn't depend on him a month from now.
And then... Alex Fierro happened. Don't get Nico wrong, he adored Alex, really. Seeing Alex and Magnus together made him genuinely happy. (And not a lot made Nico genuinely happy. Mostly Will Solace.) But the child of Loki was... unpredictable. Changes in mood... changes in how they felt about someone... a shapeshifter... a bit of a wild card.
So, Percy is recovering from the shock that his previous teacher is actually a centaur, when Alex comes running down the strawberry fields as a cheetah. Nico guessed she didn't know about Percy yet. Maybe she was just running around in the woods to pass the time. Maybe it was her morning workout routine. Who knows? The point is, Percy didn't need the freak out. So, Nico tried to subtly stop Alex from running right up to Percy and scaring him away. He tried very discreetly opening up the earth and swallowing the cheetah whole. In a split second, Nico thought he had succeeded.
It did not work! Alex dodged it with, well, cat-like reflexes. And apparently she took it as some friendly challenge! So now there was a cheetah running straight at Nico! Curse Norse demi-gods. Better yet, Percy had noticed.
"Is that a cheetah??"
"It's Alex. Perfectly harmless." Nico promised, which was a lie. Alex could kill without hesitation. She probably wouldn't but-
"Really? It doesn't look friendly-" The cheetah backed him up by snarling at them, still running full speed.
"Oh dear." Chiron huffed. "Nico, could you-"
"On it." And he didn't want to freak Percy out, really. But he couldn't let himself get tackled 35mph by a huge cat, either. So, he summoned a few skeletons to slow her down. Summoning a few souless skeletons took hardly any energy. It was quick and painless. (The fact there are human skeletons just lying under the strawberry fields was another concern entirely.)
"I was going to suggest taking Percy inside the house." Nico couldn't tell if Chiron sounded more annoyed or tired.
"Oh. Oops." Because Percy looked pale like he might faint. He stared at Nico in utter horror. Nico was probably giving off that classic Hades death aura right about now..
Alex tore through the skeletons like they were nothing. She leapt through the air to attack Nico, but transformed back to human at the last second, and proceeded to tackle him to the ground. It hurt.
Percy is watching... Threatening to send her to the underworld is a bad idea. Nico reminded himself, letting her pin him down.
"Aw, are you not going to fight back?" Alex raised an eyebrow, which got lost in a curtain of green hair. "I thought you were in the mood for some training before our quest."
"Get. Off."
"Someone's toga is in a twist." But Alex got off of him. Chiron loudly cleared his throat and it was only then Alex really took in Percy's, uh, condition.
"Woah. Percy, you look... smaller. Did the Stoll siblings play a prank on you, because they promised I could be in on the next one." Oh, of course the Hermes kids and the kid of Loki would get along. Nico suppressed a shudder at the chaos that combination could wreak. The sooner the Norse demigods left camp, the better.
"You know me, too. Of course." Percy took a deep breath. "Alright. I think I've seen enough. Thanks Nico who-can-raise-the-dead, Alex sometimes-a-cheetah, and Mr. Brunner who's not Mr. Brunner and also a horse... I think I'm ready to go home now. Or ready to wake up from this hallucination."
"What's wrong with him?" Alex's mischievous smile disappeared, replaced with genuine concern.
"We're trying to figure that out." Nico grumbled. It could be anything. Magic, a curse, a god who can reverse time. And what kind of god? Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, any of them could be at fault. They had messed with unknown forces bring Egyptian and Norse kids to the camp yesterday. Maybe this was the price they had to pay.
"Annabeth is gonna be pissed that her boyfriend's ten." Alex shuffled her way closer to examine Percy. The kid did not like that, already terrified out of his mind, glancing in panic between Nico and Alex like they could attack at any moment. Nico's irritation with Alex probably increased the effects of the death aura, negative emotions tended to do that to him. If only Will hadn't left.
"He's twelve," Nico tried saying calmly. "And I think he's about to-" Yep. Percy took off running in the general direction of the lake. Nico guessed he didn't want to run through the strawberries after seeing what Mr. D did to the vines.
"That didn't go as well as it did the first time." Chiron pressed a hand to his temple as if getting a headache. "Spread word and try to stop him before he gets himself hurt. I have to make a few calls." Calls to whom? Nico didn't know and didn't care enough to ask.
"Let's go." He told Alex who nodded and turned into some kind of bird before flying away.
It was going to be one of those days.