Percy was having a normal day.

The operative word being was.

And also Percy.

Because Percy Jackson's normal is very different than everyone else's normal.

That being said, yeah. Percy was having a normal day.

It was a Friday, so it was actually pretty great. He woke up and ate breakfast without getting attacked, he hung out with Annabeth and managed to get to his activities while only being minimally attacked, and then got to participate in Capture the Flag.

(While being a lot attacked)

(Like, actually a lot)

(So much so that proper grammar can't even explain it)

He had teamed up with the Athena Cabin, Hephaestus Cabin and the Hermes Cabin against the rest of the camp. Particularly since with Annabeth's strategy, Leo's traps and the stealth and tricks of Travis and Connor, their lack of size didn't even matter.

Plus, they had Percy.

(Connor's words, not his)

Another good thing was that they had Chris Rodriguez to neutralize their biggest opponent, Clarisse.

And no, that was not saying Clarisse would go easy on him since he was her boyfriend. If anything the daughter of Ares was more competitive around people she actually liked. Which they could also use against her.

"What!" Chris had squeaked, "I love her, guys, seriously, but I don't want to die today."

"Clarisse is strong," Annabeth reasoned to him, "But she's also smart. Which means she knows she can't best us in strategy. She'll think we're trying to use you as a distraction, which means she won't go after you herself. But she also wants to guarantee that you are taken out, because you're one of our better fighters. She'll send multiple people and up the security to the Flag."

"But Annabeth," Percy had argued, "Isn't that not what we want? This is just a big series of hypotheticals that, in the end, don't get us any closer to that dumb red fabric than we were."

"No," Leo said, slowly beginning to understand, "I get it. Annabeth wants to dupe her into thinking that Chris actually is the siege. When Clarisse gets outwitted, she goes on a rampage. So all we have to do is pretend that she was tricked.

"As soon as those multiple people surround Chris, ambush. The rest of the Hermes Cabin takes them out easily and continues to the Flag until Clarisse can't help but want to fight them off herself. She'll leave a couple of people around Pile of Poop-"

"Zeus's Fist," Annabeth corrected him.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Leo continued as if he'd never stopped. "Who aren't as great at fighting as she is because she knows that we need a defense and an offense and she has more players. Then Percy swoops in in all his macho hero glory and gets the win."

"I'm with my bro Percy," Travis interrupted skeptically, "This is all a bunch of hypotheticals."

"You're by yourself now, Travis," Percy had snickered, "I don't doubt Annabeth. And also, I've known Clarisse for five years. Annabeth's known her for double that. Sounds like the La Rue I know."

"Alright then," Chris sighed, "I guess we're doing this."

Everything had gone according to plan, as expected.

Annabeth being right was the last occurrence of the entire day that Percy considered 'normal.'

It wasn't until there was an entire wall of warriors approaching from the east that Clarisse was drawn off, leaving two people at the flag, both from the Demeter Cabin.

They were good fighters, sure, but nowhere near a force that could stop Percy if he was trying.

Percy had taken care of them in a matter of minutes, turning to grab the flag from its post, as planned.

Only to find five more people behind him.

Percy growled to himself in frustration. When did they even get there? Just when he was about to bag the win, too.

The nerve of some people.

He took a second to scope them out, seeing at least four knives, two swords, two bows and a... slingshot?

Strange.

All sheathed, which in itself was unusual, since they were playing a war game and could be jumped at any second.

He didn't recognize them, but at this point he was too tired to care. There were a lot of kids at Camp. You couldn't expect him to know them all.

So he did what any normal fighter would do.

He charged straight at them.

A brown haired boy who despite his size looked to be a little older than him noticed him first. He was dressed in a camouflage cloak and what looked like leather pants and shoes.

Percy almost tripped at the sheer shock of seeing two blades seemingly materialize in his hands. He swung Riptide in a large overhead arc, watching him bring both knives up to block it in a cross, his face hardening and his muscles straining.

Riptide cut a notch into the metal of the blades, making the boy grunt in surprise.

The other figure in mottled green had his bow out next, an arrow flying into Percy's shoulder before he even had time to blink.

"Hey!" Percy cried, reeling in pain, "No maiming! Chiron's gonna take away your dessert for a week!"

The demigod backed up a couple of paces, tucking Riptide under his arm and wincing at the arrow.

As the other three figures drew their respective weapons, Percy held up his hands in surrender and reverted Riptide to pen form, causing another ripple of astonishment to run through them.

"Woah guys," Percy complained, "Timeout. You just stuck an arrow in me, I think I deserve a break."

A boy in gleaming armor who was pretty much the only one who looked like he belonged in Camp bared his sword at him, taking a step forward.

Percy stood his ground, wincing as the arrow shifted. He held his good arm out, water already swirling around him as he took in his attacker. He stood, waiting. He hadn't wanted a real fight, but if this was the way his day was going, he ought to be prepared.

"Horace, wait," said a blonde girl, putting her hand on his chest, "I don't think he meant to attack us for real."

"He swung a sword at our heads," the boy, Horace muttered back, "I think I consider that a battle starter."

"Look at him," she whispered, more urgently this time, "He's waiting on you. He's gone completely defensive."

"That might just be because of the arrow in his arm," Horace shot back, "Wimp. Alyss, come on. You can't be believing this."

"And yet I do. Let me talk to him. If he takes a swing, I have my own weapon, and he'll be chock full of arrows before he can take his next breath."

"Just be careful, okay?" Horace pleaded with her, "He nearly cut Will's saxe knife in half, and that thing's made of... steel."

He looked at her quizzically. "I know there's a more specific term for that. Why can't I remember it?"

"Not important right now, Horace," a strawberry blonde girl in the back scolded him as Alyss turned to Percy.

He stood there, silently watching Alyss hold her palms out placatingly. "Who's your parent?" Percy asked, having heard everything they said.

They had no idea what was going on, that much was clear. Perhaps Hera struck some campers with more amnesia or Clarisse had quite literally scared them out of proper state of mind.

Alyss winced a little, calling out to him instead of answering. "My name is Alyss Mainwaring. They are Horace, Will, Halt, and... Evanlyn."

The girl looked backward as if asking permission. If his day wasn't already so messed up, he might have considered that strange.

"Chiron!" Percy yelled, "I'm calling a timeout! Get Annabeth, we need to talk!"

Halt flicked his hood down for the first time, and Percy did a double take at his beard and graying hair.

"Yeah, we definitely need to talk."

_______________

"Wait," Percy stopped them, shaking his head, "You're telling me that Zeus's Mountain of Poop is actually a portal."

He grinned, letting out a low whistle, "Labyrinth entrance, active portal, complete eyesore that we have to respect lest we get smote by the gods. Quite the resume for a literal pile of rocks."

"Where did you guys say you were from again?" Annabeth questioned, more seriously than Percy had.

"We didn't," Will told her earnestly, "Because we don't know."

"You don't know," she repeated slowly, "Where you came from. Come on."

He nodded, truth shining in his brown eyes. "I know my name. I know what I've done. I know my friends. I know how to fight. That's pretty much it."

"Have you tried remembering?" She asked him.

"That's all I've been trying to do since I found out I couldn't remember. It's like that feeling you get when know you should know, but you don't know, and you definitely should know, but somehow can't."

"Ah," Halt remarked drily, "Of all the things I remember, it's that this boy can be a hassle to understand."

"I believe him," Percy cut in softly, "It's how I felt when Hera took away my memory. I knew my name. I knew your name. But I also knew your face and your laugh and the way you would kiss me. And sometimes I would just be thinking about the things you liked and the things we used to do but then I hit this roadblock when I tried to approach certain subjects. I get it."

He directed the last part at the five newcomers in front of him. "Does that go for all of you?"

He got a series of identical quizzical glances and grateful nods, and eventually Evanlyn spoke up.

"So where are we, by the way? And what is all this weird talk about parentage and people with magical powers I keep hearing?" Evanlyn asked, looking uncomfortable.

"Please don't be a sorceror," Horace begged, "I don't think I could handle another one of those."

"Okay," Percy muttered, "One of these days we're going to sit down and we can trade our life stories. But no, we're not sorcerors."

"How would you explain the water manipulation, then?" Alyss cut in, "Or the... thing your sword turned into?"

"You mean a pen?" Percy clarified, confusion coloring his face, "I get that you guys have amnesia, but this is a bit much."

"What's a pen?" Horace asked.

"What do you guys write with, then?"

"Oh! A quill."

"Oh, Hades's Underpants," Percy groaned, "It's the wizards all over again."

He got a lot of raised eyebrows at that.

"Nothing, nothing. What you guys should know, is that nearly everyone in this camp is a child of a god."

"No," Will bemoaned, "Not another cult. I just want to go home."

He suddenly looked extremely crestfallen. "Wherever that is."

"Will," Percy said, "I'll get you home. That's a promise. First, though, I need you to understand. Me and Annabeth? We're demigods. We have the literal blood of the gods running through our veins. And I completely intend to keep it there. So please, refrain from turning me into a human porcupine until after the story."

He had gotten Will (No, not this Will, Will Solace) to remove the arrow a while ago and had completely healed himself with some ambrosia and water, but he was still a little sore.

The old archer wasn't even a little fazed by the boy's accusation, lightly fingering his bow as if contemplating shooting him again.

"I make no promises," Halt threatened, "I still haven't deemed you allies."

Percy only grinned in response. "You'll warm up to me."

"As this complete Seaweed Brain was saying," Annabeth continued, "We're the children of the gods. Actual immortal beings who can do all of the things you call sorcery. Where did you land? Our safe haven. As demigods we fight for our lives everyday, something, if my instincts are correct-"

"Which they usually are," Percy cut in.

"Thank you, Percy. If my instincts are correct, that is something you can completely understand. And if you came through Zeus's fist-"

"We can only assume that he ate you and that's why you magically zapped out of his poop."

"Oh my gods, Percy," Annabeth groaned, "You're not allowed to talk anymore."

"But-"

Annabeth glared daggers at him. He shut up immediately. Annabeth glaring daggers was the first step to her throwing daggers. And Percy was way to tired to deal with that today.

"You probably came through the Labyrinth," Annabeth reasoned, "That place does strange things to people's minds, which may explain your amnesia, and it allows people to cross the country in a step."

"So what country are we in?" Horace asked.

"The United States."

"The what?"

"The United States of America?"

"Huh?"

"The fifty states of America."

"Sounds about right, actually," Evanlyn mused, "The fifty part, at least. Maybe we haven't gone completely loony."

"Wait," Alyss stopped them, "You said come through the Labyrinth? Assuming the name is accurate it should have been a maze."

"Was it not a maze?" Annabeth asked, "Even a tunnel could have done. I haven't been in the Labyrinth in years and of course, this is only a theory."

"Alyss is right," Will murmured, "It wasn't anything like you described. Just a flash of light. It was phasing in and out of existence. Like a mirage that was becoming real. I touched it and here we are."

"Why did you touch it?"

Will slapped himself in the forehead. "Trobar! He was lost in Malcolm's... woods."

"I'm going to assume you don't mean my brother Malcolm," Annabeth said. "He went missing? And you think he turned up here."

"He'll turn up eventually," Percy reassured them. "But in the mean time-"

He stopped abruptly and stared into the space above their heads.

"All hail," Annabeth boomed, lowering her voice, "Horace Altman, son of Ares, and Alyss Mainwaring."

She paused to smile at the older girl. "Daughter of Athena."

"Orphans," Evanlyn realized, "Of course! That means Will should be next."

The two members of their party who weren't sitting in stunned awe stared at the boy.

"It's okay," Percy said flippantly, waving them off, "You should be claimed by the campfire tonight. I made the gods promise."

"Actually," Will whispered shyly, trading a look with Halt, "I don't-"

"Anyways," Percy said, unknowingly cutting him off, "We should get you guys situated. We've got guest rooms in the Big House, and our new demigods can meet their siblings. It'll be great."

"Yeah," Annabeth added, glowing, "Alyss, just wait 'til I show you the cabin. Malcolm and Louis, and little Marie. You'll love it."

Percy cast a glance at Horace, somewhere between amused and pitiful.

"And Horace," Percy beamed, clapping him on the shoulder, "Try not to come to breakfast with a black eye."

Horace gulped, getting the sinking feeling that he'd be dealing with the Battleschool Bullies but worse.

"Yup," he said weakly.

"It'll be great."

_______________

It was decidedly not great.

Some of the campers were nice enough, and Clarisse was a bit rough around the edges, but welcoming.

(Horace didn't count the part where she tried to shove his head down the toilet because apparently that was 'noob initiation,' whatever that meant)

But then you factored in the roughhousing kids, shoving each other around the cabin, the fact that he had amnesia and was a bit overwhelmed, and the strange appliances that he'd never even heard of, and suddenly he wasn't having a good day.

(Like, what even was a 'hairdryer'?)

So he had taken the sword he'd been given and went to the Arena to work out some of his stress.

He was amazed at the balance of his new weapon. His old sword had been specifically made for him out of a metal he had no name for but knew was especially strong. Yet this new one could slice through it like warm butter and was comfortable in his grip.

He was moving so fast and was so deep into the practice that it shouldn't have been a surprise that he'd lash out when broken out of his trance.

Yet it was.

Someone tapped his shoulder.

Horace spun on instinct, swinging his sword out.

And right through Will Treaty's neck.

Woooo! Two chapters in and I already killed off the main character