[Third Person's PoV]
"So, do you know what that thing truly is? I honestly don't know what to think of it. I've just carried it around as a good luck charm," Percy asked. "Also, can I have it back? I've done a fantastic job of not losing it so far and don't want to start now."
Lucian flicked the card to him. "I'll explain what it is later. Just keep it hidden from everyone. Don't let anyone know about it."
"Okayyy?"
As Percy put it in his pocket, Grover appeared, running in. "Percy, are you alright!?" he asked anxiously.
"Yeah, I'm okay…"
Grover sighed in relief. "Thank goodness… I'm sorry…" he said apologetically, looking a little downcast.
"What for?" Percy asked, looking at him in confusion.
"It was because of me something bad happened to your mother… If I hadn't been such a burden, you would have made it to the camp on time and your mother would have been ali–"
His words were cut short by an apple slice flying through the air and hitting him on the side of the head.
Percy and Grover looked towards Lucian, who was just looking at Grover. Percy narrowed his eyes at Lucian, thinking he was bullying Grover until he heard Lucian say,
"Every time you start blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault, I will throw an apple slice at your head."
"Please stop wasting food like that," Grover said with an awkward expression.
"Well, it's up to you if we're going to keep wasting food. Are you going to keep blaming yourself?" Lucian asked, reaching for another apple slice.
A smile formed on Percy's lips as he realized what Lucian was trying to do. "He's right, Grover. It wasn't your fault. You weren't the one who rammed us into a ditch and chased us all the way to… whatever this place is. Anyways, what is this place? I know you called it Camp Half-Blood, but I have no idea what this place is."
"You haven't told him?" Grover asked, a bit surprised.
"I didn't get the chance to. He just woke up. I didn't want to overwhelm him with sudden information."
"Information? What information?" Percy asked.
"Uh, that you're actually a De–" Grover started before Lucian covered his mouth.
"It's better if we explain everything to you while we give you a tour of the place. It will make more sense to you and cement the idea in your head," Lucian explained. "So, get up and let's go."
Percy looked towards Grover, who nodded his head in agreement. Percy then removed the covers from himself and got up from the bed. At the desk by his bedside, he saw the Minotaur's horn.
"Is that…?"
"Yours, yeah. Your spoil of war," Lucian briefly explained.
Percy looked at it for a bit before grabbing it and following Lucian and Grover out. They passed many kids carrying medical supplies around. Percy found it a bit weird but didn't say much.
His eyes then widened when they stepped outside. It appeared as if he had suddenly been transported to a brand new world.
There were marble-white buildings all around, the sun shining above them with birds flying close by and chirping. Kids and teens all wearing bright orange T-shirts that said: Camp Half-Blood. Some were carrying weapons around, while others were carrying armor.
As Percy spun around, taking a good look at everything, Chiron appeared, galloping slightly. "Ah, Percy. You're awake and looking well. How are you feeling, son?"
Percy just stared at Chiron's lower half, the horse part, and sighed, "So you weren't normal either. Why am I not surprised?"
"Sorry for lying to you before, but it was to keep you safe," Chiron said apologetically.
"Like I haven't heard that excuse a thousand times already. Can someone please just be truthful and tell me what is going on?"
Just then, Thalia, Annabeth, and Luke appeared, walking side by side.
"You guys haven't told him yet?" Thalia asked as they heard what he just said.
"Would everyone please stop doing that!? No, nobody has told me anything!" Percy said with an irritated expression.
"Just follow me. I'll try my best to explain everything as I can. The orientation film won't be enough for what we have to cover," Chiron said, leading them to the big house where Mr. D was seen relaxing with a can of Coke in his usual seat, wearing sunglasses.
When they all arrived, Chiron went and sat down, motioning for Percy to do the same.
Lucian and Annabeth sat on the railing of the porch of the house, while Luke and Thalia leaned on the railing next to them, and Grover pranced around nervously.
"Can everyone have this conversation somewhere else!? Why does it have to be during my time!" Mr. D cried out.
"Luther, take you and your little group away from here. Can't you see I'm busy pretending to drink beer?"
"You're such a prick," Lucian said, scoffing in his direction. "Why don't you go be a dick somewhere else then if we're bothering you so much?"
Mr. D lowered his glasses and looked threateningly at Lucian. "Watch it. Just because I'm trapped here doesn't mean I still can't kill you."
"Yeah right, you're too scared of my dad to do anything," Lucian said with a confident smirk.
"You might be your daddy's favorite, but your daddy isn't here to protect you, you little shit!" Mr. D said, raising his hands, his eyes glowing with power.
"Mr. D!" Chiron called out. "Not right now. We're in the middle of something. And Lucian, please be mindful of how you speak to others!"
"He started it," Lucian mumbled.
Chiron just shook his head. He then turned towards Percy, who was looking at their interaction curiously.
"Tell me, Percy, how much did your mother tell you?"
"Nothing much. She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her," Percy remembered their conversation at the beach.
Mr. D scoffed. "That's how they get young kids like you killed."
Chiron ignored him and sighed. "There really is a lot to cover. Well, for starters–" he said, pointing at the Minotaur horn in Percy's hands, "–there's no denying you killed a Minotaur. That is no small feat either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods, the forces you call the Greek gods, are very much alive."
"Eh?" Percy said, taken aback. He looked around, expecting people to say it was a prank. When he looked towards the others, he saw they were all nodding in confirmation.
"Are you saying there's a God!?"
"Woah there, throwing around the capital G is a bit much. We're dealing with something smaller, the forces of nature that govern this world of ours. Like what I taught you in Latin class," Chiron explained.
"That's what you consider small! So, are you saying Zeus–!"
As Percy mentioned his name, thunder sounded, even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
"Don't mention the gods by name, doofus," Thalia said, rolling her eyes. "Names have power. It could get you killed if you just start throwing them around recklessly."
"But they're stories," Percy said in disbelief. "They're myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."
"You literally fought a Minotaur, the same stuff from the things you say are make-believe, and you are having trouble understanding that gods exist?" Annabeth scoffed.
"YES!" Percy exclaimed. "A monster is one thing. A god is another altogether!"
"Gods, as in plural, more than one," Lucian reiterated. "You are literally looking at one."
"YOU'RE A GOD!?" Percy asked, looking at Lucian in shock.
"Phttt," Thalia covered her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing.
"No… I'm talking about him," Lucian said, motioning towards Mr. D, who had secretly created a goblet and filled it with wine.
"You're restricted, Mr. D," Chiron said in a reprimanding tone.
Mr. D clicked his tongue before pretending to be surprised. "Oh right! Goodness me, how could I have forgotten? Habits are hard to get rid of," he said, snapping his fingers and turning it into a can of Diet Coke.
Percy just stared with his mouth agape. 'The wine, Mr. D, Greek gods, Grover's scared and nervous look, Satyrs…' Percy was slowly putting the pieces together. "You're Dionysus!"
"The one and only," Mr. D said, snapping his fingers.
Percy then had a pondering look before looking towards Lucian. "You said he was scared of your dad–"
"I AIN'T SCARED OF NOBODY!"
Just then, thunder rumbled once more, making Dionysus shrink back.
"Does that mean your dad is a god as well? I doubt anything would be able to scare a god except for another one."
"Percy, this camp is called Camp Half-Blood. What do you think this place is about? Not to mention your dad wanted you to come here."
'Half-Blood… half…' "Demigods," he muttered as his eyes widened, looking at all of them by the railing. "Are you saying you're all demigods!?"
They all had smiles on their faces hearing his answer. His surprised look quickly turned into shock as he then pointed at himself.
They all then nodded their heads before Percy let out a yell, "I'M A DEMIGOD!?"
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