"Well, this feels like déjà vu," Luke muttered in his ear, somehow making it to his side in amongst all of the sudden chaos. "Capture the Flag, the creek, that symbol floating above your head."
"Really Heros, I hadn't realised." Percy deadpanned, watching as Chiron made his way through the shouting campers.
'Just like Percy.' – A mutter that he could hear coming from multiple lips.
"Caeruleum?" Chiron looked at him warily.
"My father claimed me many years ago." Percy shrugged. "I don't know why he's claiming me again. I presume that my presence has confused him slightly, it's not like I been here to stick my hand in some water for years."
"Inconceivable!" Nathan wailed. "You cannot be Poseidon's son."
"Have you forgotten already?" Percy glared at him. He'd allowed Luke to pull him away from the creek when the claim had appeared, but now he advanced slightly upon the shivering idiot. "Have you forgotten that you should not be the only son of Poseidon in this camp, that you drove Perseus Jackson to leave the only place he felt he could truly call home?"
"Inconceivable, that is not what happened." Nathan shook his head, backing away from him.
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Percy quoted with a laugh.
Nathan looked at him blankly.
"So you're both uneducated and a bully?" Percy raised an eyebrow. "Good to know. You've laid ruin to the reputation of Poseidon's children. Sure, Triton can be a bit of an idiot, but you've been the only representative here since Perseus' departure."
"What reputation?" Nathan sneered.
"You're petty, annoying and quite frankly, rather rude." Luke listed off. "I think the only reason that Zeus has refrained from executing you thus far is because he doesn't want to upset Poseidon any more than he already has."
"Percy Jackson was a hero, selfless and loyal to his last breath." Bianca stepped forward. "You are a cheap imitation at best."
"And what do you know about Percy Jackson, you freaks never even met him." Nathan scoffed.
"I gave my life for him." Bianca deadpanned. "And a lot of us knew him, dumbass, so we aren't the best bunch to insult him in front of."
Percy felt touched as there was a noise of agreement from each and every one of his surrounding friends.
"Why are you the only one of them not wearing a damn mask?" Nathan asked. "If they're from here, why are they hiding?"
"Are you actually blind?" Bianca raised an eyebrow. "I took this off before to greet my brother."
"And you are?" Nathan frowned.
"Bianca di Angelo, former Huntress of Artemis," Bianca smirked. "I'd say it's a pleasure but that would be a blatant lie."
"That explains a lot." Nathan shot a distasteful look over at Nico. "Everyone seems to die on you, don't they, di Angelo? First your mom, your sister, Jackson, then-"
Percy somehow managed to catch Nico as he darted towards Nathan, gently manhandling him away from the situation. "He's not worth it." He comforted. "Come on, let's walk away."
"Caeruleum!" Chiron called after them. "We still haven't discussed that claim" He gestured above Percy's head.
"It's pretty self-explanatory Chiron, he'll come and talk to you tomorrow." Thalia intervened. "How about we have another match tomorrow, split up each group into three?"
A cheer went up and Percy managed to steal Nico away unnoticed.
"He brings out the worst in me." Nico admittedly defeatedly, dropping onto his bed as Percy closed the door to the Hades Cabin behind them. "I thought I knew what hate was, but I've learned that it was nothing compared to what I feel about him."
"I have to admit that it has taken a lot for me not to stab him," Percy admitted. "He really doesn't help himself either, does he?"
"I understand completely why Percy left, but sometimes I just wish that he had stayed and knocked Nathan down a peg or two." Nico sighed. "Which is unfair on my part, I know, but it just would have been brilliant to watch."
"You miss him then?" Percy asked softly.
"How could I not?" Nico scoffed. "I've spent the better part of five years searching for him during school holidays and during term time I live with his family. I have regular chats with Poseidon about him and if anyone in this camp wants to know anything, they ask me."
"You're one of the people he misses the most, you know?" Percy purposefully didn't look at Nico when speaking, instead fixing his gaze on the polaroids that were stuck on the wall. He couldn't help but smile at the sillier ones, ones where Nico had a bright smile and laughter in his eyes.
"You've seen him?" There was a sharp intake of breath from behind him.
The cabin door opened before Percy could turn and respond, Thalia and Grover entering. His intention to tell the three of them suddenly became a lot easier.
"Alright, Death Breath? You look like you've seen a ghost." Thalia's tone was teasing but gentle.
"Caeruleum has seen Percy," Nico responded, and Percy finally turned, tearing his eyes away from a picture of Nico laughing delightedly with Will Solace's arm wrapped around his shoulders, clearly sat in the amphitheatre. Thalia was squeezed in on Nico's other side, Leo and Grover sat behind them. They all looked happy, the scrawled caption placing the date the summer after Percy left. He was glad.
"You have?" Thalia looked stunned. "Nobody has seen hide or hair of him since he left. None of us have managed to find him, and believe me, we've looked."
"It's as if he disappeared off the face of the Earth." Grover bleated mournfully.
"How long has your group been active?" Thalia asked, suddenly looking suspicious.
"Five years exactly, give or take a few hours," Percy admitted. "It took a few days for Hades to get everyone out of the Underworld without Nico or the other gods down there noticing, but technically it was founded the second I stepped through the portal."
Nico stood up and stepped towards him. "If I tried to take this off, would you stop me?" He asked, gesturing to Percy's mask.
"I'd trust the three of you with my life, of course I'd let you take it off." Percy nodded, stilling when Nico reached up and shakily pulled the mask off his face.
"Oh my gods!" Nico almost knocked him off his feet with the force that he threw himself at Percy for a hug.
"I'm so sorry." Percy held him tightly. "I shouldn't have left you, not like that. I should have spoken to you all."
"Shut up Kelphead, you had every reason to leave." Thalia joined the hug, "Even if we were slightly pissed that you didn't take one of us with you."
"Percy!" Grover bleated and joined in.
Percy felt warmth in his heart, finally surrounded by some of those he had missed the most over the past few years.
"I missed you all so much." He admitted when they finally broke the hug.
They all ended up sat in a circle on Nico's oversized bed, three pairs of expectant eyes on Percy.
"We want to know everything, you know that." Thalia smiled. "But we don't want to pressure you into discussing anything that you're uncomfortable with."
"I honestly don't know where to start," Percy admitted. "Everything has just been wild and weird."
"How about right at the beginning?" Thalia asked. "When Nathan first arrived at camp. I wasn't here then, and I never got to hear your description of events."
Percy sighed and nodded. "Gods, that feels like a millennia ago now. So much has happened since."
"You're also going to have to tell us why you're at camp," Nico warned. "None of us believe the reason the gods gave us. That you're just 'resting' after a tough expedition."
"Is that what you want me to start with, or am I starting with Nathan's arrival at camp?" Percy asked.
"Start with Nathan." Grover prompted. "That's really where it started, isn't it?"
It was the depths of the night when Percy finally finished answering their questions and recounting his experiences of the past five years.
"Wait, there's a cult that the gods think has infiltrated camp?" Thalia's jaw dropped slightly. "No way."
"Tell me that you're going to interrogate Nathan." Nico's eyes lit up. "Please, it'll be an early Christmas present?"
"Nic, it's the Summer Solstice." Percy laughed. "Or, it was a few hours ago. You've still got half a year until Christmas."
"Emphasis on the early Christmas present then." Nico grinned before stifling a yawn. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and winced at the time. "Crap, I promised Sally I'd go for breakfast."
"What time is it?" Thalia asked.
"A little after 3." Nico groaned. "Perce, you're a bad influence."
"You're the ones who wanted to know everything!" Percy protested. "I obliged to your wishes. What time are you going to mom's?"
"Around 9," Nico responded. "Are you coming with me? How many people are you going to tell, because a lot of people are missing you."
"I was going to visit her as soon as I could." Percy nodded. "I'll tag along with you, if you don't mind?"
"Of course I don't mind Percy, you should be the one minding whether or not I go to breakfast with your family." Nico laughed.
"They're your family too." Percy shrugged. "You've been the better son for the past few years, you didn't leave without saying a proper goodbye."
"She isn't mad at you Percy, I swear," Nico said softly.
"I've missed them," Percy admitted. "Her and Paul, my dad, you three, Leo, and the rest of the Seven."
"Is that who you're telling then?" Thalia asked.
"My parents, Leo and some of the rest of the Seven." Percy nodded. "I don't think I could face Annabeth just yet."
"Leo would set you on fire if he finds out you're back and didn't tell him as soon as you saw him," Nico warned. "He's missed you."
"I didn't see anything catch fire during Capture the Flag, whereabouts is he?" Percy asked, frowning. "I thought he'd relish the opportunity to 'accidentally' sear off Nathan's eyebrows, it used to be his favourite hobby."
"He tried to set Nathan on fire multiple times after your disappearance, he was one of the first to blame him." Nico laughed at the memory. "Gods, I thought Nathan was going to throw a fit after it happened for the fourth time."
"You're best asking Jay where he is, he's the one Leo talks to the most when he's on his travels," Thalia informed him. "The rest of us just get stupid postcards."
"I don't want to be the depressing one, but how long do we get to keep you for?" Grover asked, looking miserable at the prospect of losing Percy again.
"Honestly, I don't know," Percy admitted. "I'll try and drag out this cult business for as long as possible, and then convince Chaos to assign us to some jobs on Earth, with Camp as our base. Almost all of us called this place home, with the exception of some of the Heroes of Old that we have in our ranks."
"Heroes of Old?" Thalia raised an eyebrow.
"Achilles, Perseus, Theseus." Percy listed a few. "Pre-madness Orion. He had to take a group to a different planet though, which is a shame. He's one of my best friends." He sighed. "Best shot with a bow and arrow in the whole group – and that's against the few ex-Hunters that we have."
"If he joins you, keep him away from Artemis, please." Thalia bit her lip. "She still resents Apollo for what happened, she doesn't need a reminder and for him to leave again."
"He'll want to see her, but I'll do my best." Percy winced. "He pins pictures of Apollo to dartboards and throws darts at his face as a way to relieve some anger most days."
"Try." Thalia sighed.
"Wait, did Mrs. O'Leary run off on me because she smelt you?" Nico asked, suddenly looking stunned. "That explains a lot."
"She missed you," Grover informed him. "As did a certain Pegasus who is very bitter about the fact his favourite person doesn't visit him anymore."
"Blackjack?" Percy's face lit up.
"What other Pegasus would I be talking about?" Grover responded.
"How is he?" Percy asked, biting his lip. He'd seen Mrs. O'Leary in the flesh to know that she was okay, but he hadn't seen Blackjack yet.
"He refuses to let anyone fly him and he is very picky about who feeds him." Grover sighed. "He bit Nathan the first time he went near him, and then kicked him when he didn't get the message the second time. He said something about wanting to bite his arm off but he 'tasted funny' so he didn't."
"One of the wolves said the same thing after they bit Nathan." Thalia frowned. "Said he tasted like dirt. Salty dirt."
"We can take Pegasi to visit your mom if you want?" Nico offered, looking slightly unsettled at the idea.
"I'll visit Blackjack as soon as we return," Percy assured him. "I know you had a complicated relationship with the Pegasi."
Nico melted with relief, nodding.
"We'd best let you get some sleep." Thalia stood, stretching and yawning. "C'mon Grover. The Harpies never try to eat me if I'm with you."
"Stay here?" Nico asked Percy with wide eyes as if he was expecting Percy to say no.
"I'll stay," Percy assured him. He glanced to the collage of photos on the wall but decided it was best not to ask if anyone would take offence to Percy staying with Nico. Nico wouldn't ask otherwise.
"Your mom is going to be thrilled." Nico murmured in the dark not long after Percy thought he had fallen asleep. "She's missed you so much."
"I've missed you all too," Percy admitted.
"You're here now, that's what counts."
Percy tried to refrain from wincing. He meant what he said earlier – he had no clue how long they'd be here for, but he hoped that it would be longer than his best expectations.
He didn't want to leave again.