Hey there people! Leonidas here. I know what you're probably saying: "Why is this guy starting another story? He's already working on three mediocre stories now, why does he need another?" Well the truth is, I like to keep my options open, and as long as I have a large number of possible choices to write for, I can actually get something done. Don't ask, that's just how my brain operates. Anyways, here is another idea. I hope you like it.
Enjoy,
Leonidas_son_of_Nike

Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters or events depicted in this story. Characters and some plot elements are property of author Rick Riordan. Mythological elements are old enough to be considered public domain, so I can use them freely.

Prologue

They say every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Who are they? How should I know? I never paid attention in English class. I was just there because I had to be. That did get me thinking though. How could you tell what was the beginning, middle and end? I could start at any point in my miserable life, and that would be the beginning. Wind back the clock a few hours and BAM! You have a completely different story. You get where I'm going, right? Doesn't matter. It'll all make sense soon. Don't worry, there isn't a glitch in the Matrix. My name is Percy Jackson, and as far as you're concerned, this is the beginning of my story.

***

"What did you call these things again?" I ask as I cut through one with Riptide. The celestial bronze blade passes through the monster uselessly.

"Dream Spirits." Annabeth replies as she spins around so that we're back-to-back, "Servants of Morpheus."

"Great. Awesome. Good to know." I reply sarcastically as I try to fend them off, "And completely useless right now. How do we kill it?"

If it wasn't for the life or death situation, I'm pretty sure Annabeth would be glaring daggers at me, "You can't" She says instead, "Well, unless you see one in a dream."

An arrow sails harmlessly through another spirit, "Just the kind of news I wanted to hear at nine in the morning. Thanks Annabeth." I look back quickly and see Thalia perched in a tree, almost out of arrows. She was scowling down at the spirits surrounding her tree.

Maybe I should back up a little bit, if for no other reason than to explain things. Yesterday afternoon, the Hunters arrived at camp. While everyone else was preparing for the traditional capture-the-flag game, Annabeth and I were approached by Morpheus, god of dreams. He requested that the two of us aid him in procuring a certain red gem. Apparently, some of his servants had betrayed him and were making off with this gem. Because Morpheus wanted to keep this in the down-low., this wasn't being treated as an official quest. Annabeth and I had grabbed Thalia and together the tree of us headed out.

Back to the present. I waved my hand and a wall of water appears, separating me from the spirits.

"How are you holding up over there Annabeth?" I glance over my shoulder.

"If nothing else, our weapons are keeping them from getting close enough to enter our bodies and possess our dreams."

"Lovely thought." I hear Thalia mutter, "Dream-possessing spirits."

The wall of water finally dies down and I turn to face the spirits coming up behind me, "Well we need to get that gem and fast. Who knows how much longer we'll last."

Annabeth glances around quickly, then points with her sword, "There!"

I turn slightly and notice a red object glinting on a rock, "Go. I'll cover you."

Annabeth nods and starts moving towards the rock as I cover her. The dream spirits seem to realize what our goal is, as most of the ones surrounding Thalia's tree leave and start heading our way.

"You two are about to have a couple more friends!" Thalia calls out.

"I see them." I face the new spirits and wave Riptide in front off them, driving the monsters back, "Hey Wise Girl, anytime now would be great."

"Got it!" Annabeth jumps down off the rock."

I nod and turn, just in time for a dream spirit to get in close and place its shadowy hands on my face. Suddenly, it disappears and I feel my entire body go cold. The world spins around me and I feel myself blacking out. I lurch forward and everything goes dark.

"PERCY!"

3rd Person

Annabeth stares helplessly down at Percy. She vaguely realizes that because she is holding the gem, the dream spirits were staying away from her.

"Annabeth, take Percy and that dam stone and get out of here! I'll hold them off." Thalia jumps down between Annabeth and the monsters and reaches for an arrow, "Styx! I'm out of ammo! Get out of here Annie!"

Thalia fumbles for a hunting knife but is too slow. One of the dream spirits grabs the daughter of Zeus' face and disappears into her. Thalia staggers slightly, then collapses.

Annabeth stands up from her position next to Percy. The two strongest living demigods defeated in an instant. To make it worse, Annabeth did not even know of a way to kill the dream spirits while she was conscious. Then, out of nowhere, a figure appears. After a second, Annabeth realizes that he has no shadow.

"Morpheus..."

"If I'd known that this many of my servants were a part of this, I wouldn't have asked for just three of you." He glances back, "Daughter of Athena, this is bigger than I first believed. We must get your friends back to camp. Stay close child."

Morpheus snaps his fingers and the red gem teleports from Annabeth's hand to his. He then proceeds to absorb all of the remaining dream spirits into the gem as Annabeth carries Percy over to where Morpheus stood next to Thalia. The god of dreams nods and the four figures disappear from the woods.

***

Well guys, there's the prologue. I'm interested to see if anyone has any idea where this could possibly be going. Once again, I know I've got other stories and I promise I'm working on them, but I need a constant stream of new ideas as well, so this is my newest idea. I hope you like it so far.

~Vote. Comment. And as always: Keep being awesome,

Leonidas_son_of_Nike