Family Bonding

Chapter 1

PERCY

"We're what?" Nico half screamed and half asked.

Chiron sighed, "You're going camping with your fathers. It was Hera, Demeter, and Hestia's idea."

The fact the Big Three were going camping to bond scared me. The fact that they were bringing Thalia, Nico, and me along scared me even more. I love my dad, don't get me wrong, but spending five entire days with him, his brothers, and their kids? Now that was just too much. Not to mention that we all didn't exactly get along too well. I guess that's why we have to go on this camping trip.

"At least I'll be rid of you two for a while," Mr. D muttered.

"When do we leave?" I asked.

"At noon," Chiron said. "That leaves you an hour to get ready."

NICO

As I packed I thought of my dad. He was proud of me for what I did in the war, but he was still distant like he'd never been around a kid before (which he probably hadn't). I knew these five days would be hard for both of us, but especially for him.

My thoughts were interrupted because of the black smoke rising out of the pit I used for contacting the dead. It was ankle deep. A form covered in smoke rose from the pit.

He's here, I thought.

The smoke slowly faded off his body. His hair was unruly like always but not too untidy. His dark eyes still displayed some intensity but it was slightly subdued. He wore a leather jacket over a black v-neck shirt. He wore dark jeans and leather boots. A black backpack was slung carelessly over his shoulder. And on his middle finger was a skull ring similar to my own. There was my dad, Lord of the Dead, in all his dark glory.

The look on his face told me he didn't want to do this either. At least we agreed on something. In a brilliant flash of light, Hestia appeared in the form of a young woman. They held warmth and kindness, as well as a bit of danger.

"Are you ready?" she asked sweetly.

I nodded and we were engulfed in a mixture of black smoke and bright light.

PERCY

As I zipped up my bag, I could smell an ocean breeze. I knew he was coming. My emotions were mixed. I was nervous and happy. Happy because I am going to spend time with him, but nervous because I am afraid of how the trip will turn out. I was hoping we wouldn't kill each other on the first day.

I turned to greet my dad, after I had felt a warm glow on my back. He was sporting khaki shorts and a green t-shirt. Definitely not his usual choice. On his feet were leather sandals and a blue backpack was over his shoulder. He was smiling but it looked forced.

I sighed. "Dad, I know you're not comfortable."

His smile faded. In his eyes I saw misery. I tried to suppress a smile. He gave me a stern look. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a flash. Demeter stood next to my dad with a slightly mischievous smile on her face.

"Let's go," she said and I was blinded with light.

THALIA

I couldn't believe I was doing this. When Artemis told me I was going camping I was fine. When she told me I was going with Percy and Nico I was okay. When she told me I was going with my dad and uncles, I was nowhere even near okay.

The only bright side was I could wear my old clothes. I wore my usual ensemble that consisted of black denim shorts, a white v-neck shirt, and electric blue converse.

Artemis stood by me as I waited. "This may be highly uncomfortable for you-"

"You think?" I snapped at her. I sighed. "I'm sorry, my lady."

She put an arm around my shoulders. "I know how you feel. Father and our uncles are difficult..."

"Difficult?"

"Nearly impossible," Artemis corrected. "They argue and bicker. I also know how you feel about Father."

I gulped. "I know you do."

"That's the purpose of this trip, remember?"

"Yeah."

Then, in a flash and boom of thunder, my dad was standing there. He wore dark jeans and an electric blue t-shirt. He also wore what looked like black sneakers. I raised an eyebrow at his different, very different, fashion choice. A gray backpack was slung on his shoulder.

"Hello, Father," Artemis bowed. I followed by her example.

"Hello, Artemis." He hesitated for a moment. "Thalia."

Then, in an even brighter light, Queen Hera stood next to Zeus. She glared at me with hate and disgust in her eyes. Typical Queen of the Heavens.

"Let's go," she growled.

Then in a brilliant light with the sound of thunder in the background, we were gone.

HADES

We were the first to arrive. I simply could not believe our sisters. I mean, sure we bicker, but is that not precisely how brothers are supposed to act? Persephone just had to agree with her mother.

It wasn't just my brothers I was worried about, though. Nico was the one I was actually scared of. I knew I wasn't the greatest father, but how could I be? I was Hades, Lord of the Dead. I was proud of him, there was no doubting that, I simply didn't know how to change.

"This place is cool," Nico said, his voice full of awe, causing me to break free of my rambling thoughts.

I looked around. He was right. We stood in the center of a clearing surrounded by tall pine trees. Snow covered mountains stood high and proud around the valley. In the distance, the sound of running water could be heard.

"Well," Hestia sighed, "I'll be leaving you two. Good luck."

She smiled, giving me a look that said 'Behave yourself, Hades,' and faded into light. I had a grim feeling that there wouldn't be very much smiling on this trip.

Another flash escaped, leaving Poseidon, Demeter, and Percy in its place. The boys exchanged their greetings while we gods stood to the side. I sighed, massaging my temple.

Demeter looked at me with a strange glint in her eye. "Aw, is the Grim Creeper tired already?"

The moment the words 'Grim Creeper' left Demeter's lips, I heard the sound of choking. I looked over at the boys. Their faces were turning red and their lips were quivering. They were trying not to laugh. Poseidon, on the other hand, was not holding back. His laughter was echoing throughout the valley. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of Olympus could hear him.

My blood pressure was rising. "Why you insufferable-"

"Oh relax, Hades," Poseidon snickered through his laughter.

"Yes, Hades," Demeter tried for an innocent tone, "it was only a joke. Now, I must be off. Bye, boys."

In brilliant light, much like Hestia, she was gone. We were left alone with each other, but not for too long.

POSEIDON

In the brightest flash with claps of thunder, Zeus appeared with Hera and Thalia at his side. Of course, typical Zeus with his dramatic entrances and exits. He would have done well as the god of theater. Hera wore a smug smile, the kind that always made me feel either sick or uneasy. Zeus and Thalia were miserable and annoyed.

"Well," Hera said, breaking the awkward silence that was brewing, "I must be off. Ciao."

"Good riddance, the All-Mighty-Loose-Cannon," Thalia muttered.

We all cracked up. Even Hades was chuckling. Zeus just smiled. The laughter quickly died down.

"Hey, Perce and Nico," Thalia greeted her cousins.

"Hey, Thals," the boys said in unison.

They looked at us and crossed their arms, as if expecting us to greet each other.

"What?" my brothers and I demanded.

Their stares turned into glares. We complied.

"Zeus, Poseidon," Hades grumbled, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Poseidon, Hades," Zeus muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Hades, Zeus," I sighed.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the kids look at each other and shake their heads.

"It's no wonder you're on this trip," Percy said.

"Yeah," Nico agreed. "You're worse than when we fought about which band was better: Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, or Alice Cooper and that was bad."

Thalia said, 'Motley Crue,' while Percy countered with, 'Twisted Sister,' and Nico said, 'Alice Cooper.'

They glared at each other. A growling sound came from their throats. Then they started arguing with each other. I couldn't understand a word they were saying. The looks on my brothers' faces told me they didn't either.

"Well, now we know why they're here," Hades muttered.

"Y' know what?" Percy spoke up. "How 'bout we forget whose better and just enjoy the trip."

The other two looked at each other and nodded. "Okay."

"Wow," Zeus muttered in astonishment, "that was easy."

I smiled. I was proud of my boy for being the peace maker. I just hoped the peace would last.

ZEUS

Poseidon had a smug smile, maybe not on purpose, but it was still smug. Probably proud of his son, no doubt.

"So, what do we do now?" Thalia asked.

"Set up camp?" Nico suggested.

And so we did. There were three tents: blue, green and black. Poseidon and I fought over the blue one. I won, of course, and he had to settle on the green one. Hades was perfectly content with the black tent. The only issue was that we had to share with our kids.

After we finished setting up camp, we stood around awkwardly. What could we do? It was 2:13.

"How about we go down to the river and swim?" Poseidon suggested.

"And have you and Kelp For Brains Jr. drown us?" Hades snorted. "No thank you."

I had to agree with him on that one. Poseidon and Percy looked slightly offended.

"What about a hike?" Thalia said. "Just to get things started."

"All right," the rest of us grumbled.

HADES

Well this is going to be fun. Even my thoughts were sarcastic. I doubted anything good would come out of this. It was worth a shot, a miserable, failing shot. And so our adventure begins.