The world didn't always use to be this bad, or so I was told.
It used to be a nice place to live, where everyone was free to do what they wanted, Nobody dictating what your life was like. There were no rebellions, No reasons to rebel, and no gaea ruling the world.
That was before Percy Jackson left.
My names Nova and my story starts about a year after Gaea took over, but Harry, The guy who raised me (I'll get to that later), told me how it started.
Gaea, also known as 'Mother Earth', was starting to wake and she wanted revenge on the olympian gods. She had an army of monsters to help her. They took control of the doors of death, making it where monsters couldn't die and several people even were raised from the dead.
One of those people was my Father.
My Mother had never loved a Man until my Dad came around. She had sworn to never have children or to fall in love with a man, but hey, when your immortal your bound to eventually find someone you love.
When my Dad died the first time my Mom was upset but everyone thought it was just because she had lost her favorite hunting partner. So when my Dad came back from the dead you can guess what happened.
Then I was born and my Mom left me with Harry so She wouldn't get in trouble.
If you haven't guessed by now my Mom's Artemis.
So yeah. I wasn't supposed to be born.
Now enough about me, you need to hear about how the world ended up like this.
Uncle Harry (thats what I call him) was a Halfblood at camp halfblood, a camp that trained halfbloods to survive monsters. His Dad was Hermes, god of theives and what not, and he was only eight-teen at the time.
Seven halfbloods shall answer the call
to storm or fire the world must fall
An oath to keep with the final breath
And foes bear arms at the doors of death
That was the big prophecy the great Oracle gave at the end of the second titanomachy. So seven halfbloods got together, Percy Jackson, Annabeth chase, Piper Mclean, and Leo Valdez were the greek halfbloods who went on the quest, Jason Grace, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang were the Romans. Together they went on a quest to stop Gaea from rising, sailing to Greece on the ship Argo II, to close the doors of death, which leads to Percy and Annabeth falling down into Tartarus and somehow surviving yet failing the quest. Nobody knows what happened to the seven demigods after the quest but, the Roman army attacked camp halfblood weakening it. When Gaeas army attacked the camp they were unable to defend it. Many died in that battle and not very many escaped, Tho some were taken prisoner.
My Uncle Harry had hidden in the woods with several of the smaller children, after the battle they emerged from the forest to find a ruined camp. Nothing had been left standing, part of the forest had been burned and there were several Dryads, Naiads, Satyrs, and very few campers left trying to put out fires and find there friends or siblings. At the end of the day there were only approximately sixty campers left, the dead to many to count.
Help Arrived, but to late. Campers that had gone to camp halfblood before my Uncle came, There were a few people from Olympus, I heard that even my Mothers hunters showed up to help the survivors.
As Camp Halfblood suffered, So did Camp Jupiter, or New Rome as some called it. Gaea's army attacked New Rome, which was able to defend itself better but, not enough. Not many survived as not many ran, Romans being too prideful and stubborn to flee from a battle. Most of the survivors were Woman and Children and the Elderly.
A year later I was born, My Mother gave me to Harry since Chiron had been killed defending the camp. By the time I had been born, New York and most of The western civilization had been conquered by Gaea's growing army.
Some of the mortal leaders had willingly gave into Gaea, being rewarded by living in New York, where Gaea has now turned into her capitol. There were several cities in the world where Gaea had a general, one of her giant children, stay to make sure the humans didn't rebel.
So here I am in California (or whats left of it) trying to survive on what we can find running around. Just Me, Harry, and Rex (Another Demigod Harry took in). We have a few people we can trust, we would get in trouble if the authorities found us (even in the abandoned los Angeles Gaea's minions were running about) we could be put into prison for not pledging to Gaea. If we didn't pledge then... Well it wasn't to pretty.
Now about Rex.
When Harry made his way to California after Camp halfblood was destroyed he stopped by camp jupiter to see what had happened. It was as bad as Camp Halfblood. Everything was destroyed. By the time he came there all the survivors left so Harry decided to search for supplies. He didn't find much, the survivors taking most of the food and valubles, but what he did find was Rex. As Harry passed a collasped building he heard faint crying from within. Thinking that someone was trapped under the rubble he quickly got to work digging towards the noise. Finally he managed to dig his way into a small alcove where he found a baby Rex wrapped up in a blanket with the symbol of Hecate, or Trivia since he was Roman. Harry searched through the rest of the rubble for any other survivors and, finding none, took Rex with him to Los Angeles, the farest place he could go to get away from Gaea. Upon reaching Los Angeles he found Shelter on the outskirts of the city, just within a forest. Thankfully his hiding spot was good, soon after he arrived Gaea sent an army to conquer Los Angeles, An entrance to the underworld being here.
Now Los Angeles is a ruined city and the Underworld was closed off so im not surprised when I see a few ghosts wandering around trying to get down there. Im sure theres another entrance somewhere but I have yet to find it.
The mist that made the humans think they were seeing a regular lion when they were really looking at the nemean lion must have been broken, because the humans saw everything that was happening.
After Gaea's army left Harry and a few other demigods he found in Los Angeles got together and started building shelters for people that lost there homes in the fighting, some people just moved into the bussinesses since there was no use for money here anymore.
Big Joe, A son of Hephaestus, was one of the best builders we had, we could also count on him for any weapons we might need.
About a year after Harry had came to Los Angeles Artemis appeared to him giving me to him, why she chose him nobody's really sure. But im glad she chose Harry. He makes a great Uncle.
When Artemis dropped me off I was wrapped in a silver blanket with a necklace with a silver half moon on it. I had silver eyes and not alot of hair then, tho now I have long Auburn hair.
At first Harry wasn't so sure about taking care of infant Me and one year old Rex, but he managed.
So here we are seventeen years later, just trying to survive in the ruined Los Angeles, hoping that Gaea will leave us alone.
It was early Friday morning, Me and Rex usually got up early to try and catch the animals as they left (or in nocturnal enimals case, entered the den), when everything changed.
We decided not to go to our usual place, as the animals were almost hunted out there, and instead went west towards the ocean.
It had been several hours and I guessed it was around early afternoon,( I couldn't look at the sun to tell, it had been in the early morning position ever since Apollo was captured, So it always stood over the midwest making it one of the hottest places on earth.) and me and Rex still hadn't caught anything but two small squirrels and a half starved rabbit.
"We probably ought to get back soon." Said Rex looking up at some nasty looking clouds over the ocean. I sat down on a log and leaned back on the tree behind me. "Yeah," I said "But first let's eat something. Im starving!" Rex chuckled and open the bag we kept the food in. "Poor Nova," He joked. "Gunna die of starvation cuz she couldn't shoot any animals." I thumped him on the head and took the bread he gave me. "And poor Rex dissapeared and was never seen again, "I said eating the half-stale bread. "and Nobody knows why..." Rex laughed. "Yeah right." He said eating his own piece of bread. "You couldn't get rid of me even if you wanted to!" I smiled. "I have my ways."
Suddenly there was movement in the bushes, I knew it wasn't an animal because I would have sensed it (Me having awesome hunting abilities). I had my bow in my hand in a flash and an arrow ready just as quick. Rex crouched beside me, ready to blast any enemy's that walked out of the brush with magic that could flip a tank over.
"H-hello?" said a small voice. Rex looked at me uncertain. It could be a monster such a leucrotae, an animal that used the human voice to lure it's prey. But if it was a person we didn't want to hurt him or her until we were sure they weren't a threat.
There was more rustling in the bushes and a small boy walked out. He had blonde hair and sea green eyes and was wearing an old and tattered t-shirt and sweat pants cut off at the ankle.
He came out of the bushes and stopped, probably deciding whether to run or not.
Rex stood up. "It's Ok," He said gently. "Were not going to hurt you." He reached out a hand. "I'm Rex and this is Nova." He elbowed me and I relized I was probably freaking the kid out with my bow so I lowered it and put the arrow back in my sheath. The boy didn't shake Rex's hand but he did walk forward a bit. "My name is Luke Jac-" He stopped, thinking about something. "Luke." He repeated. "Well Luke what are you doing out here?" Rex asked him kneeling down to his height. "I'm running from the monster's." He replied. "Monsters?" Rex echoed. "You a Demigod?" It was a rare occasion to find a young demigod now that most gods had gone into hiding. Luke shook his head. "My Mom and Dad are." Rex nodded understanding. "And who are your parents?" He asked Luke. "I can't tell you." He replied quietly. Rex looked at me as if I knew the answer, which I usually could figure it out, I was quite good at reading people. I shrugged. Rex turned back to Luke. "Is that why your running from the monsters?" He asked him. "Because of your parents?" Luke nodded. Rex stood up. "Ok," He said. "Don't run off, im going to talk to Nova for a second." Luke nodded again and Rex turned to me. "We should take him to Harry," He whispered. "He'll know what to do."
"You sure it's safe?" I asked him watching the boy who was watching us. "He's a boy Nova, probably not even twelve." He replied. "Hey," I said slightly annoyed. "When you were twelve you could lift Bertha just by saying up." Bertha was the woman living next to us with her family of five, she was a very nice lady, if a little plump (Which was odd considering they didn't have much). "Well yeah," He said levatating a leaf which had fallen on my shoulder. "That's because I was and am awesome." Sometimes he could be so irratating. "Alright," I said giving in. "But if I end up dead because of this I will haunt you." Rex grinned. "Nice to know you care about me." He turned back to Luke. "We have a friend not far from here who might no how to help you." He told him. "Will you come with us?" The boy hesitated. "You'll help me get back to my family?" Rex held out his hand again for Luke to take it. "I'll do what I can." Luke took Rex's hand this time and nervously walked towards us. "He's not far from here," Rex said holding Luke's hand. "and he's really nice, if anyone knows how to held it's him." He grabbed the leather bag of food he had set down. "Ready Nova?" He asked me, hanging the bag's strap around his neck. "Yeah" I said putting my bow away so I wouldn't scare Luke. "Then were off!" He said cheerfully, he was one of those 'the glass is half full' people.
As we made our way back home Luke warmed up to Rex and soon they were chatting about random things like Us being Demigods, tho he made sure not to mention my Mom was Artemis.
Rex was one of the very few people I had told my Mom was Artemis, as it might make me a target for Gaea, me being the only kid Artemis has ever had.
It was a funny story, about Rex learning I was the daughter of Artemis. Harry had never told him or anyone else so Rex didn't know yet. So whenever we had arguments I would suggest settling it with a shooting contest, both of us being exellent shots, and I would always win, it drived him nuts. He kept asking me how I was so good and eventually it got irratating. Finally I asked him if he could keep a secret. He said yes and I made him swear on the river Styx, something people didn't do very often but it was still the most sacred oath a person could make. When he did I told him my Mother was Artemis. At first he didn't believe me, which just made me mad. So I gave him proof. I showed him the blanket and necklace which I kept hidden in my room (If you could call the curtained off space a room) and told him to ask Harry. It was Harry telling him that convinced him.
The only other person besides Harry and Rex that I told is my friend Meg. She was as loyal as one could get, otherwise I probably wouldn't have trusted her. She was a regular mortal and didn't know much about greek mythology so she didn't have any doubt's that I wasn't the daughter of Artemis.
We were nearing home, which was now a half-burned down library, so it wasn't much but it had been my home for seventeen years. We entered the library and I looked around for Harry, it was hard to find anyone in the maze of books, shelves, and other random things. "Harry!" Rex called "Where you at?" A cloud of dust erupted into the air near the back. "Rex?" Harry called from the back. "You and Nova back already?" He climbed out of the mountain of books he had been digging through. Luke poked his out from behind Rex to get a better look at Harry. "And who might this be?" Swiftly he climbed down from the books, He may have been thirty-six but he was still a child of Hermes. "This is Luke," Rex said dropping his bag next to the door. "We found him wandering around in the forest, running from monsters, said He couldn't find his parents." Harry sat down on a pile of books. "I see," He said stretching his neck. "Well Luke come here and tell me about your parents so we can find out where they are." Luke took a few steps toward Harry, his sea green eyes flashing in the light above us. Harry breathed in deeply. "Those eyes..." He said looking curiously at Luke. "I haven't seen eyes like that since... Luke, boy, what is your fathers name?" Luke hesitated before answering. "It's ok," Rex told him. "He's our friend, he's going to help you."
"His name is Percy Jackson."
Both me and Rex gasped.
Percy Jackson? He couldn't be this boy's Father! Could he? Nobody did know what happened after the seven failed there quest, maybe they could have survived.
"Percy Jackson." Harry said solemnly. "So he did survive?" Luke nodded. "And what of the rest of the seven? Did they survive?"
"You mean Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, and My Mom?" Luke asked. "Your Mother is Annabeth?" Luke Nodded again. "Then yes." He told him. "I mean them."
"Can you held me get back home?" Luke asked him.
"I will," He replied. "But first, you must tell me how you got here and where your parents are."
Luke went on to tell us how, after there failed quest, the seven came back to America and had to go into hiding because of Gaea. The seven, plus the Satyr and another kid, Sailed the Argo II (What was left of it) To New York, but by the time they got there it was too late for Camp Halfblood. Knowing that Gaea was looking for them, they sailed down to the gulf of Mexico and landed somewhere in florida, where they have been ever since.
Luke was the youngest of the three kids of Percy and Annabeth, his brother Michael the oldest, then his sister Briar, and next Luke. Michael had left the Argo II to go and hunt with Jason's oldest, Dakota, and Luke followed them. Luke got lost and wandered into enemy territory where he hid in a plane from monsters. Before Luke got off the plane, some monsters started it and left for San Francisco, where the plane landed and Luke was discovered. Luke just happened to wander into Los Angeles where me and Rex found him.
After Luke told us his story Harry helped Luke find a place to sleep in the maze of books, leaving me and Rex alone.
"Poor kid." Rex said after they were gone. "No wonder he was scared of us."
"What are we going to do about this?" I asked him. "There's bound to be monsters here sooner or later looking for him and there is no way we can hide him."
"Your not suggesting we turn him in are you?" He asked
"Of course not," I told him. "But we can't keep him here."
Rex was silent for a minute, thinking. "Well what if we took him to his parents?"
"There is no way we could ever get to florida." I said dusting off a book. "We would have to go through the midwestern states ,which have become the hottest place on earth, then theirs the swampy areas around Florida, filled with who knows what kind of monster, and then theirs Gaea's minions to worry about."
"A little kid can do it so why not us?" He said.
"He stowed away on an airplane." I said yawning. "Can we talk about this tomorow? Im exhausted."
Rex sighed and stood up. "Night Nova." He said walking towards the igloo he had formed out of book's, I don't know how he could stand sleeping in there, the books could cave in at any second, but he assured me it had magic enchatments on it keeping the books up.
I went to my 'room'. It had one of the only windows in the library, I liked to look out at the woods at night, it helped me sleep. Some nights when the moon was shining I would wonder what had become of my Mother, Artemis. She had dissapeared not long after Harry had adopted me.
I layed down on the mound of blankets and pillows and looked out at the trees. The sound of crickets could faintly be heard through the pitter-patter of the rain that was now falling.
I Put all of the days events behind me and slowly fell asleep.
Tomorow I would worry, but for now I just wanted to sleep.
