Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They all belong to Rick Riordan. Andromeda is the only one I own.
Chapter One
The quiet and stillness of the night was broken by the sound of running feet and huffing breaths. The two children ran, clutching each other's hands, refusing to let go, fearing they might never find the other again. They kept glancing over their shoulders as they ran, fleeing from a force they could not fight against.
The sound of puffing breaths followed them as they ran, urging them to greater speeds. The man chasing them was their stepfather, an abusive man who had killed their mother right in front of them not three hours ago. They ran now in an attempt to spare their own lives, more worried for the other than themselves.
Finally, after what felt like an age of running, the twins found a place to hide where it would be almost impossible for their pursuer to reach them. The small cave was hidden in shadows and deep enough that the two of them were able to all but disappear when they curled together at the back. The river they had been running through had helped throw the man off their trail, the water silent as they went through it instead of splashing as it did for everyone else. Water had always done that for them, aiding them when they needed it and even at times healing them.
That had always puzzled them, the way water, especially salt water, reacted to them and their presence. This had been happening for as long as they could remember, although being only five years old that wasn't very long. They twins hunkered down in the miniature cave as they listened to their stepfather thundering around outside their hiding place. After what seemed like forever the sound of police sirens and shouts drove the man away. Luck was on their side as the police had come from both directions, cornering and arresting the man splattered in the blood of his wife.
As they hid, the children prayed that they would not be found. They had no wish to enter the foster system, not when they knew, somehow, that their father was still alive. The knowledge contradicted everything their mother had told them but they knew with everything they had that their father still lived. By some strange miracle, the police searching for them overlook the cave that they're hiding in.
Hours later, the twins are dozing, having listened as the search was called off and quiet descended once again. They were startled back awake, however, when a glow outside the cave reached them along with the sound of voices. They sat in tense silence for a few moments before a face very similar to their own appeared in the entrance. Their eyes widened as the similarities processed and their lips parted on silent gasps.
Poseidon was glad that his brothers were listening to him for once. The Big Three were known to be somewhat promiscuous, especially Zeus, but that had mostly been because they were younger then and less inclined to follow what morals existed back then. Millennia had changed them, instilling at least some of the morals that were common for mortals now and lending the frequent trysts of times past to be somewhat bothersome to keep up on a frequent basis.
The three gods had also become more discriminating, taking the time to watch a woman before courting her this time. The practice had also helped their relationships with their immortal wives. This had also allowed for Zeus and Hades to bring two of their orphaned demigod children to their homes, allowing for the two goddesses to raise the children as their own.
Nico, Hades' son, was the older of the two, having been born right before the start of World War II. His father had rescued him from an orphanage when he was five upon seeing his mother's spirit among the dead. It had taken some time to convince Persephone, but she'd agreed to it. It had taken another two years for Persephone to warm up to him but now she was his true mother. Nico had been given immortality when he reached the age of sixteen and now served as his father's lieutenant.
Thalia, Zeus' daughter, had been born in the fifties. She had been abandoned by her mother in a dumpster where Artemis managed to find her a few hours later and bring her to Olympus. She had been turning blue from the cold, causing Hera's maternal instincts to come out full force. She had immediately taken to the slightly ill infant and the rest as they say is history. Thalia had also received immortality at sixteen and served not only as her father's lieutenant but also as her mother's companion, as Hera's domains weren't as active as the other Olympians and she tended to stay at home a lot.
Poseidon had been the one to convince the two to take and active part in Nico and then Thalia's life. He played the role of favorite uncle well to the two former demigods, both of whom had noticed his melancholy about having demigod children of his own. They had spoken with their fathers about it and the two gods had made an agreement that any demigod children Poseidon wanted to take home would be allowed. Amphitrite and Triton had also spoken to Persephone and Hera and were also willing to welcome demigods into their family.
Poseidon had been upfront with his family about his affair with a mortal woman named Sally and they had all watched over her and the twins she bore. They had all been pleased, most especially Zeus, when the first born, a boy, was named Perseus and his younger sister was named Andromeda. The gods had actually had a good laugh at her name while Poseidon pouted playfully. They'd all watched helplessly as Sally was abused and then murdered by her new husband and as soon as the Big Three saw it was safe, they flashed down to Central Park and found the twins' hiding spot.