Percy Jackson:The Mountain Climbers

My Welcome Ceremony: Percy

19 Months Later...

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I was standing in front of the ruins of the Argo II, looking at the photos of the fallen demigod during the Titan and Giant Wars.

As I gazed at the size of Leo's infamous ship, I am reminded of much time I spent on it and how much it ached to be here. I started to remember what the interior looked like - my cabin near the bow of the ship; the council room where we made all our decisions; and the pegasi stables where me and Annabeth would hang out if we had nothing to do. Along the broken wood and weathering ropes of the vessel, there was a long line of photos that included a lot of demigod that have passed away.

It really pained me to see all the faces of the ones who lost their lives. Whenever I feel like presenting my respects to something I always come here. Now that I think about it, it seemed like the kind of thing to do on this particular day - it was the welcoming ceremony for new demigod campers, who had decided to be a part of the camp. And I was the one who would give the big speech.

Over to my right was the photo of Ethan, son of Nemesis. I remembered him clearly in my head - how he died; how he would talk about the minor gods with so much passion; and how he died, when he tried to aid me in killing Kronos. If he were here, I would tell him that his wish had been granted.

Next to Ethan's photo was Charles Beckendorf's and Selina Beauregard's photos, their smiling expressions gazing at me. It pained me to see their faces because I knew them from my first day at Camp. Beckendorf was one of my oldest friends and he died before Selina, who died a week later. I hoped that were happy together in Elysium.

Next was the photo of Luke - his smile, his blue eyes and his blonde hair. When I met him down in the crevice from the Everest quest, I kept my word and forgave him for his actions. I wondered if he was happy in Elysium as well, and I just hoped that Selina had forgiven him for blackmailing her. I knew in my heart that she did.

A lot of other demigod photos came and went but the one I saw made me the most sad. It was a photo of Leo, the Supreme Leader of the Argo II he would call himself. His black hair and elf like features never changed, but he did bring on a lot of that Texas toughness as well. I still remember his humour to this day. Gods I missed him...

I looked at all of these photos and in the middle of all of them was a bronze plaque. It was one of those things that you normally see on memorial statues and this one qualified as being one. As I looked at the sheet of bronze, it said in full English:

When you go home tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today.

It was the one thing we all said to each and every demigod who wanted to talk to the Seven of the Prophecy. We got bunches of questions asking why it was us who went and nobody else. It was fate that brought us together, not our choices. If there was one thing that I was respectful of, it was fate.

Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and I looked straight at Jason.

He smiled at me. "You ready for this, old friend?"

I nodded. "I'm ready."

"And now for our special guest speaker!" Chiron announced to the whole of Camp Half-Blood.

I was standing right behind him, ready to walk up to the podium where he stood. I looked behind me and I saw Annabeth give me a huge smile. Sitting on her knee was our son Alan, waving constantly at me. I felt a smile go on my face as well, knowing that that was what I needed to give me courage.

"Ladies and gentleman, I am proud to introduce to you - the most respected demigod I have ever had the honour to know - Perseus Alan Jackson, son of Poseidon, leader of the Seven and Hero of Olympus."

Everyone cheered and whooped as I made my way to the podium and raised my right hand in greeting. The crowd - numbering in the hundreds -went even wilder as they all stood up and clapped their hands. I took the time to notice most of them - over at the back I saw some of New Rome's demigods smiling and applauding as they saw me. As I continued to look, I saw most of the fellows campers that I have known for a long time and they gave me knowing smiles.

"Thank you," I spoke into the microphone. Everyone took their seats, their focus directed at me.

"Before I begin my speech," I said, "I would like to introduce some special guests that are here with me today: the rest of the Seven. Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo and my beautiful wife Annabeth Chase Jackson."

Everyone clapped once again in a respectful silence for the names of the demigods I've called out. I even gave my round of applauds when my friends waved their hands in greetings.

I turned back to the podium and turned over a page of the speech I was prepared to read out. "I'm honoured to be here today for your welcoming ceremony here at Camp Half-Blood. Truth be told - I did train here when I was twelve years and I am proud to say that you're gonna have the best time of your life here at Camp."

A lot of whooping filled the air and a lot of clapping. Chiron gave me a grateful look.

"Today, I'm gonna tell you three stories from my life. That's it - no big deal, just three stories.

The first story is about the start of my demigod life. I dropped out of a lot of mortal boarding school in the course of six years but decided to stay a full two years at Goode High School before I quit. So why did I drop out? It started after I was born:

"My mother, Sally Elizabeth Jackson, was a young un-wed, un-graduated student from New York City and she decided to raise me on her own for the first four years of my life when my father left before I was born. Even at that age, I found out that I could see monsters and that I had the ability to manipulate the water. I even found out that I could breath underwater for a long period of time. When I turned four years old my mother married an abusive man named Gabriel Ugliano, who basically treated me and my mother like trash.

"When I started growing up, I would get into trouble at school which resulted in me being kicked out of a fair few of them. When I turned twelve however, my life changed - I met a satyr named Grover Underwood, who became my protector and good friend. It was at that time when I defeated my first monster, which was a member of the Furies." I heard a few gasps of awe from the crowd as I continued. "A couple of months later, I was taken to Camp Half-Blood where I battled the Minatour and barely survived. I woke up here wondering at first was I dead." A few laughs and chuckles from the sea of demigods. "It was that day when I found out what I was and I learned how to become a demigod. It wasn't easy at first, but after getting into a routine of sorts I found easy and manageable. After my first Capture the Flag game, I was claimed by Poseidon the God of the Seas. That was never supposed to happen - the Big Three, which consisted of Zeus, Hades and Poseidon made a pact after the Second World War never to have anymore children as they would determine the fate of Olympus. I was given a quest by Chiron to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and I managed to do this with the help of my friends: Grover and Annabeth.

"I was pretty sure that I was going to die a lot of times on that quest but looking back, if I were to be given the chance to go on that quest I would do so in a heartbeat because it made me closer to the friends I had. When I came back I became a hero to this great camp and my mom had gotten rid of my nasty step-father. I am pretty sure that a few of you will go through some of the experiences that I had, but I implore to live your own life, rather then waste it by living someone else's life. On the other hand, I am pretty sure you will an awesome life as a demigod of Camp Half-Blood because if there was one thing I learnt from this camp: it's that the fun never stops."