alternately titled

I should be working on stories people actually are looking forwards to seeing another chapter for, but unfortunately, i have school, and thats literally the only excuse I need to explain why I haven't updated my stories since August(?). Yeah.

Enjoy!

Danny swerved to the side slightly, peering behind one of the many screens that dotted the buildings of Time Square, New York. The place was teeming with tourists, but luckily he had the presence of mind to stay invisible, hovering high above the ground. Almost habitually, he glanced down at the sidewalk below, locating a red beret and purple backpack. The two kids wearing those items were currently checking out a video game display with excitement, looking like normal teens.

Of course, nobody but him knew about the loaded weapons in their bags and pockets. He turned back to his task, the constant twinge of worry in his mind soothed by their completely unharmed state. He was still convinced that it wasn't really a huge deal that Technus had displayed his face on the tv screens, since it was like the sixth time it had happened (and people were dismissing it as a prank at this point). But it was better safe than sorry, and so here he was, checking for leftover remnants from the temporary imprint the computer controlling ghost had left.

At least Sam and Tucker were enjoying themselves, going by their looks of excitement. Really he had only dragged them along because he knew they'd enjoy a short vacation. He darted to check behind the last screen and, upon finding it clear of any mullet-wearing ghost traces, quickly dropped to the ground and spoke quietly to his friends, making Tucker jump.

"All clear guys, nothing ghostly left out here from Technus."

"Dude, don't do that!"

"Do what?"

The dark skinned teen scowled at the spot where his friend's voice had come from, adjusting his trademark red hat. Next to him, the pale goth girl chuckled, also turning to look at their invisible mutual best friend.

"Does that mean we're heading home now?"

"Aw, man. We were just getting to the good stores."

Danny grinned and grabbed his friend's hands, tugging them into an alley and turning them invisible as well. To any onlookers, it would have looked like they were awkwardly walking backwards into an alley. Danny extended his weightlessness to his friends, leading all three of them into the air. They had to take the manual way back home, which was highly entertaining if you were a passenger and pretty exhausting if you were the halfa piloting.

The trip was mostly uneventful for the first five minutes. Probably a new record.

As they passed over an area of land covered in strawberry fields, Sam spotted something in the nearby forest.

"Danny, do you see that?"

"Where?"

Both boys looked where Sam's mostly translucent hand was pointing. In the forest, a huge, scorpion-like creature was destroying a tree. Danny squinted at the blurry figure, and Tucker looked concerned.

"Dude, that does NOT look natural."

"No kidding. You guys keep your distance just in case, I'll check it out."

Danny descended, at one point going as slow as molasses and then resuming normal speed, like passing a barrier or something. He put it out of mind in favor of lightly landing in the forest nearby and settling into the visible spectrum. He let go of his friends, and started floating again, turning in the direction of the creature they had seen.

"Don't take any unnecessary risks. I'll pull out if I need to."

"Alright, Danny, but we won't stray far."

Sam grinned wickedly at him as she pulled out and turned on an ectogun, and Danny smiled, reassured. He flickered invisible, heading north. Behind him, his friends trekked at a slower pace in the same direction.

Percy strode forward stealthily, sword in hand. There was a huge scorpion loose in the forest right now, and they wouldn't be able to play capture the flag until it was gone. It posed too much of a threat to the new kids at camp to allow it to hang around during the game. Naturally, he had offered to help out. After all, he was excited for this capture the flag, in which Poseidon would be teamed up with Athena. It was going to be pretty fantastic, if a bit predictable as to who would win.

He shook his head in order to clear it, focusing again on his surroundings. Faintly up ahead, he heard angry-sounding screeches and thumps, along with blasting sounds that wouldn't be out of place in a sci-fi movie. He moved faster, intending to help out whichever camper had found it first, if they needed it. He heard a voice come into focus gradually, and made sure Riptide was even in his grip.

"Jeez, what even are you anyways? I didn't think- oof!"

Whatever the taunting voice had been about to say was cut off as presumably the scorpion landed a hit, and the thump of a body hitting the ground, hard resounded throughout the trees. Percy winced in sympathy, and then blinked in confusion as a bright light pierced the foliage briefly. He finally reached the clearing where the ruckus had come from and saw an unfamiliar dark-haired kid laying unconscious, bruised and battered, with the huge, angry scorpion leering over him. Wasting no time, Percy ran into the clearing, swinging Riptide with deadly precision. The blade sliced straight through the creature's tail, and it turned to Percy covered in burns like somebody had thrown acid on it. It was considerably, almost ridiculously worn, and after a few feints, Percy sank the blade, up to the hilt, in its head. It dissolved into dust, leaving only the smell of sulfur behind.

Percy approached the teen, who looked to be out cold. A large bump was swelling on the side of his head, and a stab wound was bleeding sluggishly in his abdomen. The shirt he wore was white, with a red circle and what appeared to be neon green paint splattered around where the wound was. The rest of his pale skin was covered in bruises and scrapes. A loud whining sound made him snap his head up from his inspection.

Two teens were glaring at him, which didn't concern him as much as the glowing, mechanized guns they held aimed at his chest and head.

"Back up."

The girl's voice was dead serious. Percy obliged, eyes narrowed on the green and silver guns as he stepped away from the boy, dragging Riptide along the ground to show he had no intention to hurt the boy. They stepped forwards in time with his retreat, and once they reached the boy, the boy with the red hat knelt next to him, checking over his friend's injuries. The girl kept her weapon aimed at him, and spoke without removing her eyes from Percy.

"How is he?"

The other boy looked grim.

"He got hit pretty hard, and there's a stab wound in his stomach. He'll be out for a while to heal, even for him."

The girl's lips thinned, and she somehow managed to glare even more at Percy. He held up a hand in the universal sign for innocence, and spoke.

"Giant scorpion. Not me."

The Goth girl sighed and directed her words to her friend instead of responding to Percy's statement.

"We'll have to carry him out of here and wait till he wakes up. We don't know what else is in these woods and if Danny couldn't handle it, we definitely can't. Not with this kind of weaponry. Start pulling back."

Percy watched, confused and concerned, unsure if they'd listen to anything else he said, as they pulled back, the boy pulling 'Danny' back as the girl picked up the other gun and held both of them loosely aimed in the demigod's direction, never wavering.

Percy wanted to offer calming words and first aid at the camp, but something was seriously off about them, and paranoia edged in on his mind. How had Danny faced the scorpion alone, and why had these two been so late after him; what were those guns and how these three had gotten through the barrier; what that paint on his shirt was from? Why had the scorpion been covered in burns, severely weakened? The spawn of the sea god's mouth opened and closed, like he couldn't work out which question to say coherently.

Just as they reached the edge of the clearing, by one of the trees, Percy heard footsteps racing through the forest. He glanced at the two and, sure enough, they had also heard them. The boy settled their unconscious friend against a nearby tree in a sitting position, and the girl swiftly pulled out more weapons, four, so that both of them held two. They stood protectively in front of their injured friend, the clearing silent but for the whining of the guns, and Percy realized he should probably try and forestall any violence.

Annabeth strode into the clearing, and then stopped, her gait halted by the sight of Percy being held at gunpoint. Behind her, a group of campers holding various weapons also looked startled, and the two conscious strangers drew closer to their friend, so they could physically shield him from harm. She slanted her gaze at him, amused.

"What'd you get yourself into this time?"

Percy sputtered in his defense, but she turned back to the odd trio without listening to his response, and made unflinching eye contact with the girl.

"Who are you?"

The girl didn't lower her weapon, a fearless, stubborn look in her eyes.

"Sam. This is Tucker."

Tucker tried for a nervous smile, but despite his anxious expression, his hands were steady and practiced.

"W-we totally didn't mean to intrude on your little, uh, ancient and dangerous weapon party, promise. We'll just take our friend and leave you and your freaky giant scorpions alone."

Annabeth zeroed in on Danny when the two had accidentally shifted enough for her to see his wounds. Her stern expression lessened slightly, and Percy decided now would be a good time to step in.

Sam shifted her gun every few seconds, making sure she had a good aim on whoever was moving. They had been outnumbered before. Even if these kids didn't appear to be ghosts, she wasn't going to risk Danny's life for appearances. The dark haired boy who had been standing over Danny with a sword when they first got there was moving forwards, next to the blonde girl who was clearly analyzing them with no fear.

"He ran into the giant scorpion before me. I came in just as he passed out, but it was already pretty weakened. Dunno how, since he was unarmed, but if he's..."

Sam's brow furrowed as she watched them exchange looks. She was missing something. The kid hadn't seen Danny turn human, apparently, but what were all these kids in armor doing out in the woods anyways. Weren't these strawberry harvesting locations?

She didn't have time for this. They were surrounded and Danny needed first aid. She had the kit in her bag, like always, but if they couldn't get away... Frustration made her brash.

"Look, I don't know what you guys are doing out here, but clearly our friend needs aid. So either let us go back to what we were doing, or fight us or whatever. Don't just stand there wasting time!"

Next to her, Tucker gently nudged her side, reminding her that Danny was at risk here and they had to tread carefully. The grey-eyed girl and the dark-haired boy exchanged glances and then sheathed their weapons, waving for the other teens to do the same. Sam watched as the sword shrank into a pen in the dark-haired boys hand, surprised but not shocked. She had seen weirder.

"We have a camp. We can patch your friend up there."

Sam stared at the grey-eyed girl, wondering how she thought they were just going to trust her like that, but looked back at Danny behind her, getting paler by the moment, and sighed, powering down her weapons, and holstering them in her belt loops. Tucker followed her lead, tucking his weapons into his waistband.

"Who are you? Where is this?"

"I'm Annabeth, and this is Percy. You're at our summer camp."

"And your 'summer camp' apparently endorses dangerous, ancient war weapons?"

Percy grinned. "You guys haven't seen the half of it."

Sam and Tucker trudged through the woods, carrying a limp Danny between them. It was a good thing Danny was lighter than normal people, because they were already tired from the trek to where Danny had fought in the first place. Annabeth and Percy had both offered to help, but were swiftly turned down, partially because they didn't really trust anyone else to carry their vulnerable friend, but mostly because his skin was chilled to the touch. Questions would be asked if they figured out he felt like a corpse when he was unconscious. They'd have to stay by his side.

The trees receded as they reached a much larger clearing, and Sam and Tucker allowed themselves to be awed for a moment, staring around them at all the kids training and practicing and working. Many curious but not hostile stares were directed at them, and Sam tried not to glare back at them. This was their camp, after all.

"Is that a lava covered climbing wall?"

"Yep."

"I feel like this MAY violate safety regulations."

Sam directed her glare at Tucker, but relaxed when she recognized his actions. He was trying to break the uneasy tension. She glared at Danny instead, willing their friend to wake.

"This way."

They were brought to a building that the sick and/or injured recovered in, and entered one of the smaller rooms where a cot and bedside table waited. They quickly set Danny down and got to work, ignoring the other two in the room in favor of taking out Sam's kit and preparing to tend to Danny's injuries. They were the only ones who could properly do it, as they both had done it many times before and would continue doing it in the future.

Annabeth watched in curiosity as the two teens crouched next to the cot, over a backpack, and then pulled out a first aid kit. She was going to have a healer come in and look him over, but she waited, wanting to see how this would play out. Sam quickly pulled out a thermometer and stuck it in the unresponsive Danny's mouth, and Tucker pulled out a cloth covered ice pack and balanced it on the lump on Danny's head and started getting gauze and antiseptic out. After about five seconds, the thermometer beeped, and Sam grabbed it and checked the reading, frowning.

"Tuck, he's got a fever."

Tucker peered over her shoulder at the reading and cursed, grabbing more bandages in his hands. Sam glanced back at them with steel in her eyes, and then expertly pulled Danny's shirt off, a faint red on her cheeks that she ignored. Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek and heard a sharp intake of breath from Percy next to her.

The boy was dotted in scars. Now, both demigods were familiar with injuries and the scars they left, there was no doubt about that. But they hadn't seen ever seen this many on one person. Puckered scarring covered the majority of his skin, and even now a new injury was added to the masses. The blood staining his shirt previously was coming from a deep gash in his stomach, from the scorpion's last attack. It looked as though he had been hit from the air, slammed into the ground by the force of the hit. Sam paled, but only for a second, and then she grabbed an antiseptic wipe, carefully cleaning the wound. A few times the boy stirred, groaned slightly, but then Sam or Tucker would murmur something reassuring and he would relax completely.

Annabeth was impressed but not surprised by their excellent first aid, until Sam pulled out a needle and thread. Percy caught sight of it a second after her and quickly tried to intervene.

"Woah, woah, guys, wait!"

Sam looked up at them, mistrust still there, but also a slight willingness to hear them out. Tucker glanced up from where he held a towel to the stab injury, clotting the blood flow.

"Look, if he's... What we think he is, we have something that can help him."

"And what if he isn't what you think he is?" Sam's voice was sharp with hidden worry.

"... Ok, how about we get a friend in here, he'll be able to tell if he's what we think he is."

"Which is...?"

Percy shot Annabeth a cheeky grin, and sidled out the door.

"You can take this one, Wise Girl. I'll go get Grover and possibly Chiron."

The blonde demigod shook her head, exasperated with him. Sam's persistent stare drew her attention back to the situation at hand. All three of them might have godly descendants, and they would be here for a while anyways. Better to tell them now than for them to find out later and possibly freak out. Time to give the orientation speech, yet again.

"You know about the Greek Gods and myths right?"

Sam nodded, eyes scouring her expression for answers.

"Well, they're all real. And sometimes they hook up with humans, and as a result, you get demigods, mortal children with godly abilities who are constantly hunted by creatures like your giant scorpion friend."

Surprisingly enough, there weren't any futile denials of this. The two exchanged meaning-filled glances and looked back at her.

"So you think he's a... Demigod?"

Sam tested the word out hesitantly. Annabeth nodded.

"There's no way he would have been able to survive fighting a giant scorpion otherwise. Or even see it, in the first place."

The two looked guilty, but just for an instant. They were hiding something.

"So if he were a demigod, how could you help him?"

Annabeth reached into a cabinet for the ambrosia and nectar they had stored there. She pulled the odd looking supplements out and placed them on the table near the two.

"Ambrosia and nectar. Food of the gods. If demigods eat a regulated amount, it'll heal them."

"And what if... full-blooded humans eat it?"

Annabeth sighed.

"They burn up. Combust. Same thing happens if a demigod eats too much."

The two drew closer to Danny, subconsciously. Sam didn't look happy. Luckily for them, the tense silence was broken by Percy's friendly rambling as he came up the hall to the door, clopping sounds following him. He pushed open the door and came in, Grover following behind him, looking as nervous as ever.

"Yeah so, here they are, man."

Annabeth watched the two squint at Grover in confusion as they acknowledged the goat legs. Sam spoke first.

"Satyr...?"

Her friend looked at her oddly.

"Say-what-now?"

Grover, looking pleasantly surprised, nodded. Sam sighed and looked to Annabeth.

"So how's he going to figure this whole demigod thing out?"

"He can smell you."

Tucker scrunched up his nose. "Gross."

Grover rolled his eyes, and tilted his head to see past Sam to Danny.

"What's wrong with him again?"

"Fought a giant scorpion one on one. We need to know if he's a demigod so we can give him some ambrosia, Grover."

Percy chided him gently. The satyr looked around, breathing deeply.

"Smells like everyone here is a demigod or demigod relative, Perce. Smells like they've been through the underworld too, which is weird."

Annabeth started moving as soon as Grover finished confirming, and approached with the godly food in hand. Tucker and Sam hesitated.

"Look, maybe you should just let us stitch him up, we've done it before and he's got... weird... allergies... It's not safe."

"We'll start small. I don't want to see a couple of teens administer stitches if it's not necessary."

After more hesitation, the two moved slightly out of the way, and Annabeth quickly strode forward, breaking off a small chunk of ambrosia and handing it to Sam. The goth girl glared at it like she could incinerate it via her eyes or something, and then slowly fed it to her unconscious friend.

There was a tense silence for a few moments, and then Danny's breathing got heavier, taking in more oxygen. Tucker removed the towel from his injury to see it sealing itself, and Danny's breathing was turning raspy now, and he was shaking, sweat beading on his forehead. Sam and Tucker exchanged panicked glances, and everyone was watching intensely.

Suddenly, Danny stopped, and his whole body went limp, his breathing lowering in volume and then stopping altogether for a moment. Sam instantly took his pulse, and waited, breath held. She sighed in relief after a moment and Danny's slow, relaxed breaths could be heard again. Her hand remained on his forehead concernedly. Annabeth tried to reassure her.

"He's okay. He'll just need to sleep now."

Percy glanced to Annabeth before speaking, looking a little pale after Danny's temporary almost-seizure.

"The camp director, Chiron, has asked for you guys to come up to talk to him about what happened. Don't worry, me and Grover will stay right outside here to make sure nobody goes in if you guys want. If he wakes up, one of us will come get you guys."

Annabeth took charge after they hesitantly agreed, steering them to the Big House. In the room with the ping pong table, the house leaders were gathered around with Chiron, chattering. As soon as they entered the room, the talking stopped, leaving them in a void of silence. They both unconsciously tensed for a fight, and Sam barely even blinked when Chiron approached them, fully-centaur. Tucker mouthed something incredulously, but quickly got over his shock.

"You must be Sam and Tucker. I think we should talk about what happened today with you two and your friend..."

Part 2? What I don't know what you're talking abou- ok yeah I have a part two in the works if you guys wanna see it.

Please review!