Disclamer: I do not own anything remotly recembling Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All I own in this story is some of the plot.

AN: So...this is my second attempt at a fic about Percy Jackson. I hope that you will all enjoy it. It is set right before Battle of the labyrinth and is AU from there, which basiclly means that everything up to the last pages of Curse of the Titan did happen, but nothing else of the story will happen. Do you get what I mean?

I would love to thank my wonderful beta TheWeddignFairy for this story. Both for the fact that she continues to beta, and for the fact that it was she that provided me with the idea for this story. Love you lots :)

Enjoy your reading.

Percy Jackson was bored. He sat in the kitchen with a deck of cards in his hand. He'd planned on playing some solitaire, but had ended up just randomly shuffling them as he was too restless to do anything else. His mother was at the library, studying for some essay she had to write. So Percy was home alone and he didn't know what to do. Tomorrow, he would go to the orientation at Goode High School. Somehow his mother's new boyfriend, Paul Blofis who also worked as a teacher at the school, had persuaded the board to accept Percy, even though his records clearly showed that he was a wild card. And Percy felt nervous. He knew that he had to behave because Paul seemed to have put his reputation on the line for the spot. But the thought that after the orientation, Annabeth would come to visit him, eased his mind. He'd missed her. They hadn't seen each other since December last year after that mission…he didn't want to think too much about that, there were too many things that went wrong.

"Percy!"

Percy was so deep in his thoughts that he almost jumped when he heard someone call his name. He hadn't heard the door open and quickly wondered if his mother had come home.

"I'm over here, Percy – by the sink."

He recognised the voice and blushed before he turned around. There he saw the image of Annabeth hanging in the air over the sink.

"Hey, Annabeth," he said and smiled at her. It felt good to see her face.

She flashed him a quick smile that never made its way to her eyes. Percy wasn't always the best at reading other people, but he could tell that something was wrong.

"What's the matter?"

She sighed, and he could tell that she was struggling with herself.

"I don't know if we should talk about it."

Percy didn't know what to say; Annabeth always knew what to do.

"You IM:ed me, so I know that you want to talk about it," he said and tried to sound as if he knew what he was talking about.

"I do. It's just…I don't know if I should."

"Has something happened?"

Annabeth nodded and Percy swallowed hard. He didn't know if he liked the idea of that or not.

"What's happened?"

"Luke came by a few days ago…" it was a whisper and Percy could hear the pain. He knew that Annabeth still had a soft spot for Luke; even after all of the bad things he'd done in the past. And Percy couldn't help but feel a bit jealous; even if that wasn't the right word, it was the best one to use.

"What did he want?"

"He just came by and wanted to talk. He looked so scared that I couldn't refuse him. I don't think I've ever seen him like that before."

"What did he want?"

"He wanted me to come with him…"

"To Kronos!" Percy didn't know what to believe. He knew that Luke could do such a thing; he just didn't think that he would.

"What? No! Not that…he wanted me to come with him; he wanted me to run away with him. Just us. Kind of like the old days."

"What did you do?"

"What do you think I did, Seaweed Brain? I told him no. I said that I couldn't. He just looked at me as if I'd just crushed his dream, his hope. And he just left."

There was a moment of silence. Annabeth seemed to be lost in her own thoughts and Percy didn't know what to think. A part of him knew that Annabeth had done the right thing and that he would have done the same thing himself. But he could understand her doubts. He could because he knew that he himself would have felt them. He hadn't known Luke for as long as she had when he betrayed them, but he'd still considered Luke to be his friend. And a part of him still wanted to bring back the old Luke. That was part of the reason for why it was so difficult to face Luke in battle, because he knew that this was no longer his friend, he just looked like it.

Then it hit Percy what the pain Annabeth felt was all about, why she felt so miserable after turning Luke down.

"You want to save him."

"What?" Annabeth asked and looked at him.

"You want to save Luke, that's why you're telling me this. You want me to tell you that we can do it."

"Come on, why would I ask for your permission for that?" her voice was doubtful, but the underlying hope was clear.

"Because you know that I want it too."

"Do you think we can do it?"

"I don't know. Do you know where he is?"

"No. He didn't say. He just left."

"Okay, here's what we should do," Percy began and stepped closer to the image of Annabeth. "We have to get to camp. No way are we leaving without telling Chiron, it would be suicide. Maybe he can help."

"Can you get to camp tomorrow?" she asked, and she smiled at him.

"I…" Percy began. Then it hit him: he had orientation tomorrow, and he'd promised to be there. But somehow, this felt more important. "Yes."

"You hesitated…"

"It's just this thing with school…"

"You have school in June?"

"No, it's orientation."

"Oh…you should go. We can wait." The hope in her voice faltered and Percy cursed himself.

"No. This is more important. I'll tell mom when she comes home, and I'll meet you at camp tomorrow."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll see you."

The image of Annabeth disappeared and Percy was once more alone in the kitchen. He stared at the spot that had just been Annabeth's eyes and sighed. How was he supposed to tell his mother that he would screw up school this time before it even started?

As he watched his mother drive back home into the sunset after leaving him at Half Blood Hill, Percy realised that his mother cared for his desires and needs more than he thought she did. He'd dreaded telling her that he needed to get to camp tonight for reasons that he really didn't want to get into. He'd expected his mother to tell him no; to tell him that he should go to school and that he could go to camp afterwards. But she had just smiled at him and told him to pack, because she would drive him to camp. She even told him that she would explain everything to Paul and make sure that Percy was still welcome to school in September.

Percy walked up the hill and smiled as he saw the dragon that was curled around Thalia's tree. It was getting bigger every time he saw it. As he walked past it, it lifted its head and looked at Percy with sleepy eyes. Then he seemed to think that Percy was not a threat, so it went back to sleep. Percy let out a small sigh of relief. He knew that the dragon would never hurt any of the half-bloods, but he was still on edge every time he had to pass it. He was always afraid that with his bad luck, the dragon would one day decide that he looked like a good meal. And that was one thing Percy didn't want to experience.

From the top of the hill Percy looked down at the camp. The sun was setting and everything cast long shadows on the ground. Not a single person could be seen. At first glance the camp looked abandoned - a ghost town. But then he caught the scent of fire and he realised that it was dinner, so everyone was gathered behind the Big House to eat. Percy thought about going there, but since he ate before he left his house he wasn't hungry. And he didn't feel like sitting alone by his table and doing nothing whilst everyone else was enjoying their meal. No, he decided that he should go to his cabin first and drop his stuff off.

So he slowly walked down the hill and took in the peaceful surroundings that he loved so much. Now that it was all empty he could really enjoy the beauty of it. All of the cabins looked so innocent and homely, even the Ares cabin. The trees around the cabins cast long shadows that stretched over the ground, devouring the surroundings in darkness. Percy shuddered, even if he found it fascinating. But the shadows brought his mind to think of Nico Di Angelo, the son of Hades that he'd met just a few months ago - the boy that was now holding a grudge against Percy for the death of his sister. The boy that was now lost. He wondered where Nico was, what he was doing and if he was even alive. Percy hadn't heard anything that would suggest that Nico was out there. But then again, he hadn't heard anything that suggested that Nico was gone or taken. So he had to think positively. He just hoped that he would find Nico and make it up to him for breaking his promise.

Lost in his thoughts Percy walked up to his own cabin, Poseidon's cabin, his home. But he didn't have the time to enter it before he heard someone clear their throat behind him. Percy turned around and saw Chiron standing there, his four legs walking restlessly on the spot.

"I didn't expect you to come until the day after tomorrow," Chiron said and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, about that," Percy began and tried to sound carefree. "You see, Annabeth sent me an Iris Message and told me to meet her here as soon as possible, so I came right away. Is she here?"

"No. If she wanted to meet you here I would have expected her to come tomorrow since she has to travel across the country."

Percy had to give him that, of course Annabeth wouldn't be there until the next day. When he went to camp the thought of her crossing the country hadn't even crossed his mind.

"What was so important that you had to come a day early?" Chiron asked, and Percy got the feeling that Chiron already had his suspicions.

"It's about Luke."

Percy expected Chiron to say something, but the centaur only raised his eyebrow and waited for Percy to continue.

"I can't tell you anything about it, 'cause it's Annabeth that knows the details. But all I can say is that she's found a possible way to save him."

"Really?"

"Yes. But like I said, Annabeth knows all about it. She should be the one to tell you."

"As I suspect that she will arrive some time early tomorrow, I would suggest that we have a breakfast meeting with the other cabin counsellors so that we can discuss the matter."

"Okay. Erm…I would like to unpack now…"

"Of course. And when you're done you can accompany the rest of us by the camp fire for some entertainment."

Percy nodded and walked into his cabin as Chiron went back to the dinner.

As he unpacked his bag he couldn't help but think about how Chiron could have known that he was there when he wasn't expected until some days later. But he had long since stopped to think about how Chiron seemed to know just about everything. Perhaps it just had to do with the fact that he was really old so he had learned how to know things. Percy wasn't sure, but as he didn't want to think more about it he let that explanation be the one.

His mind went back to what Annabeth had told him about Luke. At this moment, somewhere unknown, Luke was lost and scared and full of regret for what he'd done. At least that was what Annabeth thought. And Percy hoped that she was right, he really did. But he had no idea of where they would find Luke. The country was big, and if Luke wanted to hide then he would have no problem in doing so. It felt like looking for a needle in a hay stack.

Percy looked up from his bag and saw the fountain that he'd received from his brother Tyson so that they could stay in touch when Tyson was below the sea and working in the forges with the other Cyclops. The water in the fountain was pouring and Percy could see the rainbow in the water and he got an idea. He knew that the Gods wanted to prevent Kronos from rising, so perhaps they would want to help him to find Luke.

He walked up to the fountain and picked up a golden drachma that was lying in the bottom of the fountain. He held it in his hand for a moment and let the weight of it sink in.

"Oh blessed Iris," he began and looked at the rainbow. "You who helps us to get in touch with others over long distances - I have one request for you. Luke, son of Hermes and betrayer of half-bloods, is missing. We believe that we can save him, and the Gods, if only we could find him. So I pray to you to show me where he is, without him knowing. I pray that you will help us to help you all."

And with that he tossed the coin in the rainbow and it disappeared.

A few seconds passed. Seconds that felt like hours passed and Percy had the time to think that Iris wasn't there to help him. Then he saw an image flicker in the water. And soon he got a clear picture.

It was far away, he was watching from a distance. The surroundings were dark and stony. By a calm shore he could see two figures. One of them he quickly identified as Luke. The other one was too dim, and seemed to be see-through. They appeared to be talking. As the image didn't move closer to Luke, Percy leaned in closer to be able to hear better.

"Please," Luke said. "There has to be a way."

"I am sorry," the other one said. "What's done is done. You have it now."

Percy wondered what they were talking about, and he wondered who the second person was.

"I beg you," Luke continued, and Percy could hear the desperation in his voice. "I don't want it anymore. It was a mistake. Please take it back." And Percy could have sworn he heard Luke sob.

"I warned you, but you did not listen", the other one said, and he sounded sad too. "Now you will have to live with your decision."

"There has to be a way…"

"I am afraid there is none."

Percy swallowed hard. He didn't know what they were talking about, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with Kronos' plan and why Luke had been so desperate to run away.

He looked around at the surroundings and he realised that he knew where it was. It was the Underworld. He'd seen that place about two years ago when he'd been there with Annabeth and Grover on a mission.

A sob from Luke made its way to Percy's ears as the image dissolved.

"Thank you, dear Goddess," he said with new hope in his voice. "Thank you."

Now he knew where they would look for Luke. He knew he had something to tell Annabeth that would make her happy in some way. He felt that now they had a chance. Though he couldn't help but wonder what it was that Luke had done that'd made him so desperate that the only thing he could do was to run away. So all he could hope for now was that Luke would stay by the shore until Percy and the others could get there the next day.

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