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Luke had readjusted well to returning to camp.
He’d grown closer to his Hermes siblings more than ever, and the Stoll brothers were like his best friends now. He and Annabeth had a lot to work through still, but even they spent significantly more time together than Luke had anticipated.
He’d gotten to know Grover pretty well too, and he’d made an effort to form bonds with every camper. He spent a good amount of time with Pollux, Dionysus’ kid. Pollux had lost his twin, Castor, during the war and Luke had become somewhat of a rock for Pollux. Mr. D. had been oddly grateful to Luke for this, and had even started calling him by his actual name in front of people. Miracles really do happen.
He’d gotten back into sword fighting, taking over some side lessons for the younger demigods who needed to catch up with the rest, and he and Percy spent all their free time together in the forest, reading by the water, playing with Mrs. O’Leary, or just being in each other's space.
They’d held capture the flag to celebrate Luke’s return and he’d been on Clarisse’s team and they’d worked well together, though she was yet to actually speak to him. She could hold a grudge like no other.
As for Chris, he and Luke had started sitting together at every meal, playing D&D and other board games in their cabin, just slowly easing back into the bond they once had.
Luke even got to briefly meet the Hunters of Artemis when they passed through camp for the night. None of them were too eager to say hello though. Seeing Thalia was probably the biggest shock of all. He’d spotted her on his way out of the communal boys’ showers and had nearly passed out upon seeing her. All he could think about was her pushing him.
Thalia didn’t know what exactly to say to him. They’d briefly seen each other in Olympus right after the war, but Luke had been so distraught, he hardly remembered anything from that day aside from Apollo healing him and Percy taking him home.
Even when she and the Hunters were at camp, they didn’t talk much. She’d hugged him for an extended amount of time before rushing off to be with the others. Annabeth had promised she’d come around eventually and Luke had to believe that. He had to cling to that hope.
Everything was going great until Olympus went dark.
Luke tried to Iris message his father on Saturday like he’d done every week since arriving, at the exact time they’d agreed on. When Hermes didn’t answer, Luke Iris messaged Sally and Paul instead and called Percy over to join.
The next morning, Luke waited by Peleus for Hermes to show up. He’d promised to take Luke driving that day, but Luke waited until sunset and his father didn’t arrive. Percy, Grover, Annabeth and Pollux had sat with him, taking turns to bring meals to each other so they could remain with him. Eventually, Chiron told them all they had to get inside before the Harpies came out.
The next morning, Dionysus was gone.
Chiron had told the campers that Mr. D. was needed for something in Olympus and that he’d return shortly, but Luke had known something was up from the moment his father didn't come fetch him. Old Luke would’ve said that was typical Hermes behavior, but he knew better now. Something was wrong in Olympus.
Luke had the strangest dream to date, and for a demigod — especially him—, that was saying a lot. He’d dreamt of Percy surrounded by wolves, but when Luke had run over to help him, Percy didn’t seem to be in any danger. He’d looked up at Luke, smiled, and said: ‘Don’t worry about me.’
Luke had woken with a start, gasping for air. He’d almost fallen out of Tyson’s bed at the sudden jerk. He now slept in Poseidon’s cabin on weekends and Poseidon himself had granted him permission because it all made Chiron very nervous to be mixing children like this.
“Perce, I gotta tell you about this dream I just had,” Luke chuckled, hopping down from the top bunk. When he looked down, the bed was neatly made. Percy never made his own bed unless he absolutely had to. He checked his watch. 6am. The thought of Percy awake so early on a weekend was what got Luke moving.
He hastily tugged his sneakers on, not caring that he was still in his pajamas, and rushed outside. “Percy?” He called out. A small handful of campers were awake, but the others were about to be. “Percy??” Luke yelled again, shoving the door to Hermes’ cabin open. Tired campers glared at Luke, but he didn’t care.
He moved away now, turning around to head towards Athena’s cabin. “Percy?!”
“Will you shut up?” Clarisse stuck her head out of Ares’ cabin, eyes narrowing.
“No,” Luke replied stiffly, and called for Percy again, this time, louder.
“Luke!” Annabeth ran over from the direction of the Big House. Her eyes were wide and she was out of breath, still in her pajamas too. “I can’t find him either.”
“What do you mean?” Luke felt his heart slowly sinking.
“I- I don’t know. I thought I was dreaming when he came into the cabin earlier and when I woke up, something felt off, so I went looking and couldn’t find him anywhere.”
“What did you see in your dream?” Luke lowered his voice now, frantically walking with her back towards the Big House. All the other campers were awake now, mumbling nervously about Percy going missing already.
“Percy had come into the cabin last night and told me that everything would be fine. He seemed so off, but again, I thought I was dreaming. When I woke up, I knew something was wrong.”
“I had something similar,” Luke nodded, arms crossed. He couldn’t ignore the hammering fear rolling through his body. “He was surrounded by these wolves. Told me something about how he was okay too.”
“Why don’t I believe it?’ Annabeth asked, walking into the Big House where Chiron was seated in his wheelchair, looking grim.
“I don’t believe it either.”
Percy wouldn’t leave without taking one of them with unless he was in serious trouble. And now, with all this stuff happening with the gods, Luke was certain Percy was nowhere near safe. And perhaps neither was Olympus.