I'm a big fan of the Percy Jackson series and I found myself searching through this site for great works. I found many and spent a lot of hours reading through each story. I am impressed by the sheer number of stories out there and then I got hit with this irritating plot bunny. The result came out to this story so let's take a trip and explore this together shall we?

Oh yeah, I am looking for a BETA to touch up on my chapters. I have several chapters waiting to be BETA'd, including this one as well. Please PM me if you are interested.

0900 Hours
New York City
Percy's POV

Furious. I am furious! Of all the places they could've dropped me off, it had to be in the heart of New York City. This was the last place that I've ever imagined myself in.

Rome. London. South Africa. Japan. China. Jesus, there are docks all over the world and the chances of me docking in New York were slim to none so how in the world did I end up here?

This is a conspiracy I tell you. Percy Jackson versus the world. Yeah, that's my name. Percy Jackson, age 27 and I am currently a Navy SEAL but I can't tell you anymore than that. If you have the right clearance level, then you can read my files without the redacted lines but for everyone else, I'm afraid that all you'll find is my name. There's a reason why my files are classified but that's something I can't talk about here or there.

I'm afraid that I'm not like most guys who like to brag that they are part of the famous Navy SEALs. I'm just not that type of person. The things that I do happen for a reason and it's important that I don't talk about it. It also helps that I keep a low profile whenever I'm not on the ship. Less chances of me mentioning something that I'm not supposed to.

Ever heard of Area 51? Yeah, that was a guy who had too much to drink at a bar. The administration still never lets us live it down.

Being back here sucks. I'm not going to lie. Everything was just a haze during my meeting with my commanding officer. There were events that occurred outside my control and I didn't like that. Especially when they told me that my final destination was New York City, specifically, Manhattan.

Handed me a key to an apartment and kicked me off the ship.

My mind is still trying to unravel itself over the idea that I'm back home. Ugh home. That word was just an empty feeling to me since I was just another kid who grew up in the system. Always moving from one family to another. The worst part for me was that the families that I went to was always in Manhattan so I knew New York pretty well.

To some people, they consider New York City to be an amazing city, filled with excitement and endless possibilities. It's known as the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, the city of the future. It has so many names but to me, it will always be just another place that holds nothing but misery for me.

I'm not trying to be cynical here. I'm just stating the facts.

Earlier this morning, my Commanding Officer Chiron found out that I had months of unused vacation days. He immediately insisted that I use it to go back home and see the people that I left behind. I flat out told him I wasn't going and I would be staying on the ship. There was a reason why I never traveled back home but I wasn't going to tell him why. It was a personal reason and I intended to keep it that way.

We argued back and forth and while some saw it as insubordination, others say it was like an argument between father and son. To hell with them. How I argue with my superiors is my business.

In the end, he ordered me off the ship and made it clear to everyone that under no circumstances was I allowed back on the ship. I was to remain as a civilian for the next few months.

I've known you for many years Percy, strong and dedicated like many before you but you still lack what they have. I had hope you would have found it by now but it looks like I was wrong. Use this time to discover yourself. Find out what it really means to be a SEAL before you come back.

My commander's words continued to echo through my mind. It's not that I didn't want to listen. It's just that he doesn't understand that I'm not dedicating my life to the SEALs. This is my life. I haven't considered what life would have been like if I had decided back then not to enlist with the Navy back then. I shudder to think what would have happened.

"Excuse me. Sorry." Some random guy on the street said as he shoved me aside. I glared at his back. This was one of the reasons why I hated this city. Everyone was so busy doing their own thing that they tend to forget about the rest of the world. I know this happens in every city around the world but it's even more annoying when it's here in Manhattan.

With nothing but the clothes on my back and an address to some apartment, I took my time walking through the city, memories resurfacing with every step that I take. These were the very memories that I fought so hard to suppress.

"Damn you Chiron." I cursed as I was shoved again by another tourist. Third one this morning. "Where's your manners buddy!" I shouted.

"Sorry brah but you either in with the crowd or you better get out of our way but hey, welcome to Manhattan." This guy shouted back, laughing as he ran away. I growled. I'm going to remember this guy. Typical height, brown hair and blue eyes but what pisses me off was his attitude. The ideal of a typical New Yorker.

If it wasn't for the fact that I'm not suppose to get into any trouble, I would have chased after him and shoved him against the wall. During my time overseas, I've learned to treat everything with the utmost respect and I expected that from everyone as well.

But sadly, the world doesn't share my views.

I suddenly felt my phone vibrate which surprised me since the only people who had this number was my commander and I had a near zero visibility digital footprint, something that I was quite proud of.

"Hello?" I asked while trying to drown out the sound of the traffic.

"Uh is this Percy Jackson?" A feminine voice on the other end asked.

My paranoia kicked in and I was instantly on guard for whoever was on the other end of this phone call. My time in the SEALs taught me to take nothing for granted. Things happen for a reason and it would be foolish for me to ignore it. Pretending that this was just another social call, I walked up to a glass window and used the reflection to see if there was anyone suspicious following me.

After a few moments, I responded, replacing her question with one of my own. "Who is this? How did you get this number?"

"How did you even misdial Thalia? Ugh a monkey could have done this better than you -" I could hear another voice in the background followed by a loud thump. It would seem like they put me on speaker phone.

Better for me.

I was able determine that there are two people on this call, a female that I first spoke to, Thalia and an unknown male.

"Sorry for that. There was a minor annoyance. I'm looking for Percy Jackson. Are you him?"

I hesitated before answering. "I'm sorry but I'm not interested in whatever you're selling so I would appreciate it if you would never call this number again."

"Wait, what? Hold on for a minute. You think I'm trying to sell you something?" Surprise evident in her voice. "Well you listen to me buddy. I'm just looking for my cousin Percy Jackson so if you're not him, why don't you just shove whatever bullshit of an attitude you have and hope I don't rearrange that face of yours."

That's strange, did I just hear her say that she was looking for me? Her cousin? I didn't have any cousins, let alone anyone in my immediate family. My mother died when I was really young and my father abandoned us when I was just a baby so I didn't have anyone but myself growing up.

"... What did you say your name was again?"

"Thalia Grace and the idiot that you heard before was Nico Di Angelo. We're your cousins."

I repeated the names in my head and I couldn't put a face to the names. They didn't ring any bells in my head and I don't recall meeting anyone like that either. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the paranoia that was slowly creeping up behind me.

"Okay fine. Let's just say that hypothetically, I am this Percy Jackson but are you sure you got the right guy? I don't recall having any cousins so I'll ask you once more. Are you sure you got the right number?"

"Is your mother Sally Jackson?" She asked and I felt a hitch in my throat.

My mother, bless her kind heart, took care of me until her health failed. I did everything that I could to take care of her but it still wasn't enough. This was one topic that I did not like to bring up even after when she passed. It's still a sore spot for me.

I swallowed my emotions and replied. "Yes. Yes she was. What can I do for you? Thalia right?"

"Yes, I told you so Nico! Don't give me that look. I was right and you were wrong. Stop your whining. It's just a small bruise."

I could hear her yelling again and I cringed at the sheer volume of her voice. If she indeed telling me the truth, why would she be reaching out to me now? Why after all these years and not before? Did they know that I existed and didn't bother? There were so many questions but deep down inside, my brain was telling me not to go down that path. It usually ends with me getting burned.

"Okay what are you doing tonight Percy?" Thalia asked, interrupting my internal thoughts. "And don't say you're not in Manhattan because I know you're in Manhattan."

At this point, I looked around again, my eyes searching for any signs of a tail. There was no way she could have known I was there. "How did you know that?" I asked.

"I'm not telling." Thalia replied and I could see her sticking her tongue out at me. "Why don't you stop by the address that Nico is texting you now and we can finally meet our long lost cousin."

I really wanted to say no. I really did but as I thought about my options, my curiosity got the better of me. It's not like I was a stranger to this city but with no other plans other than to stay inside my rented apartment for the next few months, I reluctantly said yes to the strange girl over the phone.

Just as I said yes, I felt another vibrate on my phone, which was a text message from another number with an address on it.

"8 PM Sharp. Don't be late." The voice over the phone said menacingly. I snorted and hung up.

Welcome to New York City I guess.

1945 hours
Upper West Side

Fast forward a few hours and here I am, standing outside a mahogany door. I managed to find this place with ease but it was the idea of whom these people are that bothered me. I didn't have the full force of the Navy behind me on this.

Before I came here, my paranoia got the best of me and I called several contacts to run background checks on one Thalia Grace and one Nico Di Angelo. Twenty minutes later and the reports were forwarded to my phone. After reading it three times due to my dyslexia, I still couldn't find any connection that links my mother and me to them.

That itself raised several flags in my head.

"Snap out of it Percy. These are civilians, not people that are out for your life. These people are strangers and they aren't out to get you." I mentally scolded myself for being so paranoid.

I raise my knuckle to knock on the door but before I could even knock, the door slowly opened and I saw nothing but pitch darkness from inside.

Instinct kicked in and I pushed myself against the wall. I used one hand to open the door a little bit further. Hearing nothing in the apartment, I shifted my weight and lowered my center of gravity, prepping myself for any kind of attack. I took about five steps in before I felt a hand on my shoulder and my martial arts training kicked in. Utilizing a judo throw, I sent the body over my shoulders and twisted his arm while my eyes scanned the room for any sudden movements.

"Ow ow shit!" The unknown voice yelled and the lights turned on. "Surprise...?" The guy weakly mumbled.

I quickly let go of the arm and looked around. There were several people standing there, looking shock and one of them looked amused. The room wasn't huge but for an apartment located in the Upper West Side, it was still pretty spacious. From a quick scan, I was able to see that it had a big kitchen and a living room and a hallway that led to several doors, bedrooms I assume.

There were several decorations on the wall and a big banner on the far wall that says 'Welcome home Percy!'. I mentally rolled my eyes at the sign but I gave it no attention.

"Percy?"

I nodded my head and released the hand. I recognized Thalia and Nico from their files but the rest I didn't know. Thalia was just standing there laughing at Nico who was on the floor moaning.

"Sorry." I muttered, a blush on my face. "I wasn't expecting this. Are you okay?"

Thalia walked up to me, giving me a big hug before smirking. "Percy, this is everyone." She turned me around and I saw everyone looking at me. I weakly waved and smiled. Did I also mention that I'm not a fan of meeting new people?

"Everyone, this is our long lost cousin Percy. Be nice to him."

I rolled my eyes and I stepped forward to greet her friends. After greeting everyone, I found myself quickly losing interest and looking for the door. Don't blame me; blame the restless Navy SEAL spirit that was inside my body. Either that or ADHD. I just can't stay in one place for anything.

To be honest, the people here weren't that bad. Thalia was a bit rough around the edges despite her goth looks while Nico looked like he was part of a punk rock band. Thalia also introduced me to her boyfriend Luke, who looked like a surfer but he kept giving me calculated looks. Almost if he was trying to determine if I was a threat or not. I respect that but if he keeps looking at me, I'll have to neutralize him.

Grover and his girlfriend Juniper looked like something out of an eco friendly magazine but they seemed cool enough. I did like Grover's Hawaiian shirt with the dancing pineapples. It was awesome. Always wanted to pick me up one of those when I was in Hawaii. He told me that the shirt was made out of recycle materials and urged me to feel it. At that point, I was grateful when Juniper pulled his hand away and started asking me about my life.

"Where's Annabeth?" I hear Thalia asking. "She missed the entire surprise."

"She's rushing over here now. Apparently her date with Travis was horrible and I quote 'spending time with Luke is better than this torture'." Juniper answered, looking up from her phone as she finished reading the text message.

"Hey. What does that even mean?!" Luke replied. "She's joking right? Come on, I'm not that bad!"

The group started laughing and I saw that as an excuse to take a walk through the balcony. I needed some air to cool myself off. The embarrassment from earlier was still fresh on my mind. Why did I even think that this was a trap? For gods sake, I could have snapped his arm right off.

"Great move there Percy. Why don't you dislocate his shoulder as well." I sighed. All the people here are great but there was this nagging feeling on the back of my neck. I couldn't help but feel that I'm overlooking something here.

I heard the slight movement of the doors opening but I didn't turn around. If they wanted to talk to me, they can talk to me out here. I'm tired of making a fool out of myself tonight.

"Hey Percy, guess who finally decided to show up! This is Annabeth Chase, my roommate."

"I said I was going to be late Thalia!"

I turned around and what I saw before me was indescribable. I opened my mouth to reply but I couldn't find the words to say anything back. I blinked a couple of times before my mouth finally caught up with my mind.

"Hi." I greeted. "Um I'm Percy Jackson. Thalia's cousin I suppose."

Way to go Percy. Way to be smooth.

"Hi, I'm Annabeth." She replied, almost if she was whispering her name to me in secret. She looked nothing like how I pictured it. With her blond curls and gray stormy eyes, she looked like a California girl from one those Abercrombie magazines. Her eyes were so mesmerizing that it captivated my attention for a few seconds. I've never seen anything like it before. They're so beautiful.

"Hello? Guys?" Thalia coughed, waving her hands in our face. It was then I realized that I was still holding on to her hand and I quickly pulled away, hoping that I didn't look like a fool in front of her.

I also noticed that she too had a blush on her face. The way her eyes avoided me for a second, it was cute.

"Anyway, I'll let you guys do whatever it is you single folks do but I have to make sure that Nico is still alive. Try not to throw this one over your shoulders Percy. I do like her you know."

Annabeth gave me a look that says 'What did I miss' and I shrugged. I turned around and ran my hand through my hair, a trait that I do whenever I'm nervous.

"So how is Nico?"

Annabeth giggled, "When I walked through the door, he was still leaning against the wall moaning about his shoulder."

"I guess I still need to apologize to him for that. I wasn't expecting a surprise party."

She rolled her eyes. "Just leave it to Thalia to do the unexpected. So you're that famous cousin that has those two all excited. Well, I can see why the both of them are so excited. No-no. That's not what - I didn't mean it like that." She stammered, her blush coming back stronger.

I laughed but now I'm curious. I didn't get a chance to talk to my cousins yet but maybe her roommate will be able to tell me. "Why are my cousins so excited to meet me? Before today, I've never even knew I had cousins to begin with."

Annabeth shook her head. "They didn't know either. Apparently their fathers kept it a secret for some reason but one day, your name slipped out from Nico's father and they searched high and low for you. I remembered even being pulled into the Great Percy Search of the century."

"But that doesn't explain how they found me. That's impossible unless..." I trailed off, my mind going through the list of several possibilities. "No, that's still impossible. I'm not listed in any known database and my name has been erased..." I muttered the last part to myself.

"What do you mean by impossible?" Annabeth asked, her brows furrowed. "Was your number unlisted or something?"

"No, it wasn't that. It's complicated." I said, my brain a million miles away. This day just keeps getting better and better. Whoever my 'cousins' are, they were able to obtain my personal information from people who either had deep pockets or done so illegally.

"Oh, like you were getting stalked by an ex-girlfriend or something right? I kind of wish I could do that but then it would be a hassle in passing out my new number to everyone." Annabeth said, throwing her hands up in the air. I laughed at her antics. It's weird that the longer I spend talking to this girl, the more I didn't want this night to end.

"Bad date?" I asked, changing the subject to her instead of myself. "I remember Juniper saying that it was horrible. Are you telling me that it really was that bad? I thought women usually exaggerate about their bad dates."

It's not that I'm changing the subject intentionally. I'm just not comfortable with people finding out about what I do because they always give me the same looks over and over again. It's that look that I hate.

The look of someone who can do no wrong. Comparing me to actual heroes.

"You have no idea. I finally decided to go out with this guy because it would get Thalia off my back about finding someone but he turned out to be a total tool. Do you know what the first thing he tried to do to me?"

"No, what? Did he try to kiss you?"

"Worse!" Annabeth exclaimed, "Even before he sat down to introduce himself, he used the most played out pickup line ever. 'Do I know you? Cause you look a lot like my next girlfriend.' I walked out on him after that."

I laughed. I couldn't help it but she was right. Whoever this guy was had no game. Anyone can clearly see that Annabeth wasn't your typical girl. There was an aura of wisdom around her.

"Oh it's funny huh? Well since I enchanted you with one of my stories, care to share one of yours?"

I shook my head. I haven't been on any real dates since I joined the Navy. Not after what happened with Rachel. No, stop it Percy. You can't go back there. It was a dark time. Step away from that area.

We go back and forth, darting between the topics of her life and mine. I found out that she's just an intern at McPacific and son, which was one of the largest architecture firms in the United States. When she wasn't working her normal 40 hour week, she was going to Columbia to finish up her masters which was very impressive.

I kind of wish I finished up and went to college but that was a story for another time. I told her that I was on vacation currently and my boss was too adamant about making me take my vacation days. When I brought that up, she understood and said she could see the passion in my eyes whenever I spoke about my work.

I merely told her I traveled around for my job. I wasn't lying. I did travel to many places around the world... for missions and training. I felt bad that I couldn't tell her what I did but until I could trust her, I wasn't ready to open up to any serious stories.

With what seemed like minutes turned into hours and I didn't realize that until Luke knocked on the window, beckoning for us to come back inside.

"Sorry for keeping you out here so long Annabeth. I didn't mean to take up all your time from your friends."

She shook her head. "It's okay Percy. I don't think they missed me all that much." Annabeth turned her head and looked through the window, seeing that most of her friends were still drinking the night away while laughing at Grover's crazy stories. "Besides, I enjoyed spending time with someone who didn't lower my IQ by just opening his mouth."

I chuckled. "Glad to be of some service ma'am." I did a mock bow like how all military personnel did it towards their date at the ball.

"You know, you never did tell me what you did for a living." She stated, with a coy smile on her face.

"No, I suppose I never did." I answer, amusement clearly shown in my voice.

We make our way back inside when Thalia grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Annabeth. It was kind of disappointing that I wasn't going to be spending any more time with her.

"So Percy, tell us about yourself. What are your hobbies and stuff?"

I rolled my eyes. "What's there for me to say really? My life isn't all that interesting." I put my arm over Thalia's shoulder and pulled her closer. "I think I rather hear about my cousins first."

Not sparing a glance at the murderous look that Luke was giving me. I pulled Nico in with my other arm. "How is that you guys are in New York and I've never met any of you."

"That's because my father is a bastard." Nico muttered and Thalia nodded.

"Zeus is the same way. All high and mighty in that CEO position of his. Alongside with my other uncle Poseidon, they currently run the biggest investment firm in the states. I actually never spent much time with Poseidon because he was always overseas but I heard from other people that he was very flaky and sometimes act like a child."

I saw that everyone there was nodding along with what these two said so I pressed on. "So Annabeth told me about some hunt that you guys had for me?"

Thalia glared at her roommate while Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look Thalia. It was better than your idea about putting his name on a wanted poster with a ten thousand dollar reward. I just thought the name was ridiculous."

"Don't mock the name!" Nico half yelled, struggling to get out from under my left arm. I forgot that I was constantly applying pressure on him. Go figure. I guess it was the inner cousin instinct that I have.

"God Percy, what the hell do you do for a living? It's like trying to pry apart steel bars and yes, I'm comparing your arms to steel bars."

I shrugged. "I do odd jobs here and there."

"Liar!" Nico shouted and I tightened my hold against his neck. Stupid man. In this position, I could easily cut off the oxygen supply to his body and he would drop like a sack of potatoes but I didn't. Not in front of so many witnesses I told myself.

At this point, everyone redirected their eyes at the both of us and I let Thalia go. She also had a curious look on her face. "You know Percy, I found your number on the list of contacts that my dad keeps on his computer but it was buried under several heavy layers of encryption. Hell, I don't even know if what Annabeth did was legal. It must have been pretty damn important if it took her all night to crack it."

"You told me it was for your school project! That's the only reason why I decided to help. Oh gods Thalia. How much trouble am I going to get into now." Annabeth moaned. "If I lose my scholarship, I'm going to kill you."

"But you're my best friend and besides, my dad will probably blame me anyway."

I finally let Nico go when he was about to sink his teeth into my arm. So somehow Thalia's father had my name on his laptop but for what reason? It's obvious that his daughter didn't know so I may have to ask her father directly. I still didn't see how we're related but I guess that's something I'll take up with him as well.

"You don't do odd jobs do you Percy." Luke narrowed his eyes. "In fact, there's something about you that screams uniform to me. From the way that you act and the way your body is always positioned to take the quickest exit reminds me of those James Bond movies. Don't even bother lying because trust me, I know where all the exits are in case I need to make a fast getaway from this apartment."

Thalia let out a small cough while glaring at Luke to shut up. "Ignoring the last part of what my idiotic boyfriend is saying, are you a -"

"Spy!" Nico shouted, his eyes widened in surprise. I suppressed a chuckle and shook my head. Not a spy but he is on the right track.

"Fisherman?" Juniper said while Grover took a sip from his drink. "I'm going with offshore mechanic."

I shook my head to the both of them and they smiled. I really did like these two. Their laid-back attitude is maybe just what I need to survive this vacation. I make a mental note to look them up on a later date to hang out.

"Interpol. You work for Interpol." Luke took a stab with his guess. I rolled my eyes. Interpol? Those guys can't even find their heads if it were attached to their necks. People give them too much credit these days. If only they knew what really went on behind the scenes at Interpol.

I look at Annabeth who had a calculating look on her face. "You want to take a guess as well?" I asked.

"Don't underestimate her Percy." Thalia said, handing me a plate of food. "There's a reason why she's the smartest one out of all of us."

She shook her head. "I think I'll hold my judgment until I know more about you."

That was by far, the smartest thing anyone has said to me all night. I smiled and nodded my head. "Good answer."

There was some small conversations and by the time Grover and his girlfriend left, I noticed that it was getting late. I didn't even realize that it was getting close to 1 AM. Thalia offered me the couch and I shook my head. I'll take a walk back to my apartment. It's not that far from here.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Nico asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't have any plans besides hiding out in my apartment and keeping up with my workout routine. "Nothing much I guess. I don't have anywhere to be or anything to see anyway. If you've seen one skyscraper. You've seen them all." I replied, trying to hide the bitterness from my voice.

"Then why don't you have lunch with me and Thalia tomorrow. There's this great spot outside Annabeth's office and she could join us as well."

"Works for us." The girls replied as they started shoving everything in the garbage bags. Empty cups, plates of uneaten food. Anything that didn't belong in the apartment.

"Can't. I have to overlook some newbie tomorrow to make sure he doesn't screw up on the packages. I'll take a rain check." Luke replied as he kissed Thalia goodnight.

After agreeing to lunch with my cousins and one Annabeth Chase. I left the apartment in better spirits. My phone vibrated and I didn't recognize the number this time. I had both Thalia and Nico in my contacts just for future references. Such as when I get to a computer that allowed me access into CIA database.

I couldn't help but smile when I realize that it was from Annabeth. It also helped when she said it was her as well but she wanted to make sure that I had fun tonight and apologized for the third degree that Luke was giving me. I quickly responded that it didn't bother me and to be honest, this was the first time I had fun in years.

Maybe tonight, instead of the nightmares that plague my sleep, it would be dreams of a certain blond hair woman.

Kind of long but it sets up the plot for future chapters. Let me know what you guys think. Again, I am looking for someone to help me BETA.