Chiron was playing cards with Grover, Annabeth, and Piper who insisted she would learn to play pinochle. They were trying to calm their nerves after they got the news from the gods that Percy would be back at Camp Half Blood sometime that very day. Annabeth kept looking around the camp claiming she was just making sure everything was okay. Grover was anxiously chewing on Annabeth's empty Minute-Made can. Piper was too distracted to remember any of the new rules.

However, Chiron was the perfect image of calm to the others. Inside his head doubts were swirling, but after many years of teaching he learned that stress and anger can do nothing in the long run. Especially anger because Piper was not listening to him. After practically doing Piper's turn for her he once again looked down at his set of cards.

"I call next game," a voice said that sounded familiar to Chiron. He looked up after hearing Grover's bleat and the sound of a chair crashing against the floor. Percy had arrived.

"Hey, guys. Long time no see. It feels like centuries since I've played Pinochle," continued Percy as he turned around an extra chair and sat in it backwards, facing the players with a face that would not give away the fact that he was in literal hell for the past three years. "When was the last time I played? The day before I was banished? Wow, time sure does fly."

Chiron was shocked to see what had become of his past student. The red eyes unnerved him as they seemed to glow when they calmly looked at Annabeth. The smirk on his face displayed his amusement at the situation. The old Percy would never smirk. His sunken eyes and skin-tight face nearly made Chiron wince at the similarities between him and Nico before he started to take care of himself. Unlike how Percy used to wear bright colors like orange and blue, Percy was wearing a red shirt, black jeans, and a casual leather jacket. Like Nemesis, Chiron thought to himself.

In their shock the three others playing pinochle had gobsmacked expressions and mouths hanging slightly ajar as if they had forgotten how to use their jaw muscles. Piper blinked a few times. The tone Percy used was similar to how he used to be, but it held undertones of sarcasm, malice, and it sounded older and more gruff; unused.

Annabeth made a sort of whimper at seeing her past boyfriend. She felt awful about what had happened, but with his red eyes Annabeth remembered all of the scary things about Percy Jackson. The power he held over Achlys especially. When he turned and stared at her with his strange smirk, she believed he was about to say something, and his lips even slightly parted before going back to their previous smirk. There was not a word uttered for what seemed like minutes to Annabeth.

"You are getting quite boring, so I'm going to go and scare some campers." This brought the others out of their thoughts as he stood up. Grover slowly brought himself from the floor.

"Percy-"

"Perseus is the name I was given, if you could possibly struggle to the end of it."

And that was the line that broke their hearts.

"Y-you watch Sherlock," Annabeth realized, looking up at him. "How? You were in... that place." She didn't want to trigger anything in him with the mention of its name.

"Look, Annabeth, you don't know a thing about Tartarus. When we were there you didn't even experience Tartarus. I did." Perseus said with his tone switching from it's earlier sarcastic, carefree one.

No one knew how to act with this new Perseus. It was like walking across a bridge made of rotting wood with missing planks. The silence was blaring as the other three present stared between Perseus and Annabeth.

"Is Percy here because Will wants to know if it is safe to le-" Nico stopped as he saw all present, excluding Perseus who was still glaring at Annabeth, looking at him with wide looks. Eyes never leaving Perseus he walked to stand by Chiron. "Oh," Nico said, scratching his neck, clearly shocked and embarrassed because Perseus heard Nico talking about others being scared of him.

The lunch horn broke the silence as Nico looked at Perseus up and down.

"I'm starved, so Ill see you there" Perseus clasped his hands together, and to everyone's shock, he quickly melted into the ground.

"I can say one thing," Nico announced. "I was not expecting that."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

All of the cabins gathered for lunch quickly and sat down thinking that maybe Percy wouldn't appear that day. As they sacrificed their food many of them wished for this. Maybe he was dead or just not coming to Camp. As they sat down a few minutes after the horn, many were alarmed when they heard screams coming from around the Poseidon table. They turned to look.

"Hey, guys. Did you miss me?" Perseus revealed himself to the camp.

Annabeth, Chiron, Grover, and Piper walked in staring at the commotion. The campers looked up at them for a few seconds before staring at the figure who looked nothing like the pictures of the great hero Perseus Jackson. Even the trademark sea green eyes were a harsh blood red. Jason stared, forgetting to chew entirely, not expecting Perseus to be like how he appeared. Hazel and Frank who were visiting for a day to see him before going back to Camp Jupiter looked confused as they could not see his front and he looked fairly normal except for his clothes, then, as if hearing their thoughts, he turned at them and sent a chilling smirk their way.

"Hey, Jason," Perseus turned to Jason. "Do you mind if I sit with you today? The Poseidon table gets so lonely." Perseus didn't even wait for an answer before using his strange mode of transportation and appearing right next to Jason. "Thanks, Buddy," he finished before winking at Piper.

Jason gulped, leaning away from him but never taking his eye away from Perseus, worried about what he might do. Jason started, "D-do..." Perseus looked at him expectantly. "Do... you... want anything to eat?" Even to Jason's ears he sounded unsure and scared.

"Nah, I don't eat. I'll see you all later for what Chiron wants me to do,"

Chiron' face changed into one of shock, and Annabeth and Piper were confused.

"Didn't you say you were hungry just a few moments ago?" This new Perseus confused Annabeth.

"That was just a lesson not to believe everything you hear. I, for one, don't believe anything I hear you say."

Chiron didn't say anything to Perseus. How would Perseus know what Chiron wanted to do? What did Chiron even want to do?

Annabeth turned to Chiron, questioning him with a look. "I was thinking about how I wanted to see if we could determine all of the effects Tartarus had on him," he mumbled. "I guess he will meet us in the arena." Perseus teleported away.

Grover who was munching on a salad choked on a leaf. He bleated, "How are you going to test him. He won't do anything you want him to. He wouldn't do what you wanted even before... you know."

"Will devised a series of questions to determine his mental state and we will ask for him to kindly demonstrate any new powers he might have."

"Do you really think that will work?"

"No."

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