Society of the Paranormal (AU)

The last time Percy came face to face with Nico Di Angelo someone died.

Percy could only pray that it wasn't going to happen this time.

He looked different. Not that Percy was surprised. Percy had changed too, but not nearly as much. Nico's hair was grown out, his black eyes piercing. His skin was pale....almost translucent like all those years ago.

Behind him stood three other people. The foremost one was looking anxiously at Nico. If Nico was a shadow then this guy was the sun. He had blond hair and blue eyes, his smile, though nervous seemed to radiate heat. His suntan gave Annabeth a run for her money. A girl with black hair, with green eyes so bright it seemed like she was looking into the beyond, stood beside them. She wore a baggy t shirt and chewed gum so strong Percy could smell the sweet flavor. Next to her stood another guy looking around. He didn't seem to notice the tension the way he was whistling in awe.

"Jackson."

"Di Angelo."

"You two know each other?" Annabeth asked. Her voice was tight and stiff as she looked between the two.

Nico glared at him ignoring the blond to his side.

Percy didn't know what to feel. Guilt? It wasn't even his fault. He wasn't in charge that night. It wasn't fair that Nico blamed everything on him.

With bitter resentment, Percy also recognized the paper in his hand. An invitation that was identical to the paper Percy and Grover had just been joking about.

"No way," Percy said, with a sharp edge.

Nico looked even more annoyed with the exclamation. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Uhhh, Perce?" Grover readjusted his bag on his shoulder. He was carrying most of the equipment even though Percy had insisted on taking the heaviest bag (Annabeth was carrying her laptop like it was her child). "You okay?"

If Percy was being honest with them, the answer was a solid HELL NO. But how did Percy explain anything to his friends of only a couple years? They didn't know anything.

Percy had met Grover after moving to the new school. The excitable, nature loving kid was his escort. Percy had just been glad that for once he had someone who had his back. He learned a lot about his friend, his favorite food was enchiladas, his dream was to explore uncharted territories and document about plant life. He had a girlfriend back in New York who was a kickass biologist. She also had doubled as a medical doctor when Percy had maybe, almost, kinda gotten himself shot.

Annabeth, on the other hand, was the first person to claim she hated Percy. She was a stiff for the rules and Percy had broken just about all of them within five minutes of meeting her. She was a runaway, but also the smartest person Percy knew, except when it came to bullet wounds (ironically, for their line of work). Over the past months, Percy and her had turned from rivals to grudging allies. She knew that he would take a bullet for her any day.

Despite that, Percy knew they could never know his past.

Annabeth was logic.

Percy Jackson was everything but.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Percy lied through his teeth, "G-Man, Wise Girl, meet Nico Di Angelo."

Nico didn't smile. He glared icy daggers at the two. Grover flinched, but Annabeth just frowned. The dark haired boy turned sharply away, muttering under his breath just loud enough for Percy to hear.

"Replaced them already?"

Percy grabbed his arm in a twisted grip. He just barely caught the smirk on Nico's face before he whipped his other fist right into Percy's face.

There was no resounding Craack! but Percy felt the pain explode through his face as he toppled backwards on the uneven ground.

"Nico!" The blond boy yelled, pulling him back from dishing out another punch.

Grover was instantly at Percy's side trying to help him back up. Percy pulled his hand back to feel his face covered in his own sticky blood. He was more angry than anything else, but he refused to engage the fight.

He wanted to so bad. His hands were shaking. He could feel his blood pumping in his veins. Nico wanted a fight. Percy wanted to fight. He crumbled the pink letter in his hand and stood up. All the others watched him with eagle eyes for even the slightest move.

Blood in the water.

Percy wiped his bloody nose on his sleeve. "Good gods, I hope you learn to throw a better punch."

Nico snarled less like a human and more like a dog. "Watch your back, you filthy, silvertongued--!"

His insult was cut off by a loud rumbling. The ground vibrated enough to make all seven of them take a step back. The castle doors in their vibrate wake were slowly gliding open. Annabeth let out a distracting gasp.

Inside was decorated in the finest of detail. Even Percy, who had no sense of appreciation for architecture, and was nursing a bloody nose, was in awe. The carpets were red and vibrant as if they had never seen a speck of dirt before. Couches that must have cost more than Percy's apartment each were placed around in a neat order. The chandelier must have been made with diamonds the way it sparkled. The stone walls were decorated with tapestries from so many countries it made Percy's head spin.

"Good afternoon!" A silvery voice said.

A woman, about Percy's age, maybe older, stood in the center of the room. She wore sweatpants and a ragged, faded T shirt with red converse. She looked so out of place in the luxurious room that Percy wanted to laugh. Her hair looked like it was hand cut, with a pair of kids crazy scissors. She smiled at them all welcomingly.

The boy and girl to her sides did not.

The boy wore a tux, with a very stiff posture. His blond hair danced with the light of the chandelier. His dark blue eyes seemed to be irritated, and his mouth was poised with a deep frown emphasizing the scar on his lip. Percy guessed he'd be annoyed, too, if he was a butler.

The girl was more relaxed, but stern. She stared them all down with an analysing glare. If she thought Percy's nosebleed was strange she didn't show it. Her hair was back in a flawless braid and her outfit was a dark blue uniform, meaning only one thing: she was a bodyguard.

"I'm glad to see you got my invitations," Piper McLean glowed. "Please come on in!"

Percy and Grover shared a look. The girl from Nico's group popped a bubble with her gum. Annabeth didn't even hesitate in following the teenager into the building. As they passed, the blond butler handed Percy a green handkerchief for his bloody nose.

"As you probably figured out, I'm Piper McLean," their hostess said turning away and leaning the silent group through the cavernous hall. Her voice echoed back charmingly. "To my left is Jason Grace, my butler, and my right is Reyna, the girl with no last name who can probably kill all of us with a spork while handcuffed to a table."

"Whoa," said the boy from Nico's group who seemed to find everything awe-inspiring. "Can you?"

Reyna gave him a glare that sent him hiding behind Grover.

Nico ignored them, "Are you going to tell us why we're here? All this paper says is you're looking for help, and this address."

Piper's happy-go-lucky smile faded. "Right," She said. "I assume you've all heard about the Charity Event?"

Everyone nodded looking curious, except for Percy who cocked his head to the side and asked, "The what?" with a nasally tone.

Annabeth sighed, a telltale sign that she was about to pull a lecture from her photographic memory. "The Charity Event, hosted by Tristan McLean, the world famous actor. The night later referred to as the "Night of Tragedies" by Times Magazine."

"That helped none, Annabeth." Percy replied, dabbling his cloth around his nose.

"About a couple months ago, Tristan McLean held a charity ball here, in this castle to raise money for a Cancer research study." Nico's blond companion supplied, with a proud smile. "The night was going very well until around ten when a bunch of cooks ran screaming from the back rooms insisting that there was a ghost flying around. Just after that the lights started flickering, glasses broke, people started falling over left and right and...."

The boy glanced at Piper nervously, "and, Tristan McLean pitched himself off the balcony."

The group was silent for a moment. Jason casted a sympathetic look at Piper.

"My dad's okay. He's still in recovery at the hospital. He could almost sit up last time I visited." She said finally, "but I know he didn't pitch himself off the balcony, like everyone says."

"But eyewitnesses said-" Annabeth started but Grover shook his head at her.

"I doubt my father would actually throw himself off the balcony. He's terrified of heights. Just going up to the second floor overhang is out of character for him." Piper twisted a strand of her uneven hair.

"What, you think someone pushed him?" Nico asked.

"I'm not sure what happened." The young debutante admitted, "that's why I reached out."

She turned to look at them all and Percy noticed they had reached the end of the entry hall. The doors in front of them were marked with yellow worn caution tape. Percy didn't have to guess to know the Charity Event occurred beyond these doors.

"The police have shut down the case." Jason said for Piper. His voice was surprisingly chill, like he was more of a friend than a butler to Piper. "But there's strange stuff still happening. Some of us think it's serious overreacting--"

Reyna very visibly rolled her eyes.

Jason pretended he didn't see, "and then there's the lunes in the castle who think ghosts are haunting."

Annabeth snorted.

Nico's group looked at her angrily. Percy internally winced.

"What?" Annabeth asked, "Ghosts? Really, come on! There's no such thing!"

"Annabeth..." Percy warned.

Nico laughed. A cold hard sound that nodded off the stone walls eerily. "You keep strange company to still be believing that!"

"What do you--?"

"What type of strange things do you mean?" Grover interrupted an argument. Percy had never been so grateful in his life, even if his friend had done it by complete chance.

"Things disappearing, things appearing in other places, loud noises from empty rooms, extra shadows, the feeling of being watched, things catching fire..." Jason ticked them off his gloved fingers.

"The other day our guests, my childhood best friend and his girlfriend, cut their visit short because they were so freaked out." Piper said.

"Good riddance." Reyna muttered. Piper elbowed her but she didn't even flinch.

"So here's the deal," the billionaire's daughter said with a smile, "the Investigative Society from Long Island Sound," Piper waved towards Percy and his friends, "and the Paranormal Association from Westover," Nico's friends perked up at their group name, "welcome to my castle. This will be, should you choose to accept this assignment, your home for the next two weeks.

"I know both your groups are just starting out, but I've watched you guys, and decided you are the best of the best at what you do. I want this case cracked asap.

"And just to give you guys a little encouragement," Piper McLean's eyes flashed mischievously, "there's a fifty-million dollar reward for the club that solves this mystery first!"

"Fifty million?!" Everyone, including Reyna and Jason faced her with jaws dropped.

"Fifty million." Piper confirmed that their ears worked.

"Aw man!" The brunette from Nico's group whooped, "I could get a whole set of night vision and infra red goggles!"

"I could upgrade my laptop!" Annabeth squealed uncharacteristically.

"Dude, I could go anywhere in the world!" Grover slapped Percy's arm excitedly. "We've got to get that money!"

"We will!" Annabeth declared, "those ghostbusters stand a chance!"

The black hair girl sent them a look of disgust, "whatever. Just don't come crying to us when you're too scared to go look for clues, Mystery Inc!"

The air steamed for a second in their stare down, but it was over before anything really happened. Piper grinned at their sudden enthusiasm, and she kicked open the grand wooden doors ignoring all the caution tape.

***

Jason grabbed Piper's arm and dragged her away from the doorway. The teenage kids were already a buzz inside. Nico Di Angelo had already directed his team on what to do. Cecil Markowitz was setting up cameras with the help of Lou Ellen. Will Solace was taking pictures of everything, especially the sight from where Piper's father had fallen.

Percy Jackson was kneeling on the ground on the balcony tracing over the second floor. His new bloody handkerchief was folded in his back pocket. Annabeth Chase stood just a little behind him taking notes like a professional journalist. Grover Underwood was pulling up articles on the night via his phone and Annabeth's laptop.

"Are you crazy?" Jason whispered at her, knowing full well it was not his place. Reyna stood in the doorway, unmoving, but her eyes flickered at them letting him know she could hear them.

Piper shrugged him off, "Jason, please, not now."

"Piper, this is madness!"

Her facade skipped allowing Jason to see the miserable girl that was underneath the charm. "Things have been getting worse and worse since the Charity Event. The Plates, the sounds...Jase, Leo almost died last night! I can't keep ignoring this!"

She turned to walk away but Jason stopped her again, "That is exactly why this is crazy! Whether it's a ghost or some maniac in the castle, Leo and Calypso were here for two days and they almost burned to death in their beds. Leo's in the ER, Pipes. How long do you think it will take until one of kids follows him there... or worse?"

She was silent.

Jason was afraid that he might have made her cry. He knew these past few weeks had been Hell for her. He knew she was practically drowning in despair. That's the whole reason Leo had made the trip all the way out here, to add a bit of stability to Piper's mindset.

Even so Jason knew he couldn't back down from this one. He didn't believe in ghosts. He didn't believe in the supernatural, but he'd combed over every inch of the castle and it's dungeons and it's secret passages with no avail. Things were getting worse, the attacks getting closer and closer.

Pretty soon a near miss will be no miss.

Piper looked back at him her eyes a little red, but she wasn't crying. "I need the answers." She said, "one way or another I'm going to find out who tried to kill my dad."

A smile creeped up on Reyna's face, Jason noticed. They turned to look at the two groups of investigators in the grand hall.

"And these guys," Piper said proudly, "are my best shot."