Prologue
Once Upon a Banishment

"Perseus Jackson?"

A young woman stood up, a toddler no more then the age of two sitting next to her. Light brown curls were hung loose around a worried face, blue eyes glinting with a sheen of nervousness. The woman in question was Sally Jackson, a 35 year old with a toddler named Percy Jackson. Well, technically it was Perseus, but neither of the mother-son duo was prone to calling him that.

"Here," the woman called out.

"Dr. Bryant is ready for your appointment." The nurse said, gesturing for Sally to follow her.

Sally shot her a weak smile and then grabbed Percy, blue eyes giving a sweep over him to make sure he hadn't hurt himself in the few seconds she had spent informing the nurse of her existence. Some would call Sally overprotective, others would call her outright paranoid. But unlike most parents, Sally had a reason to be nervous for her son. You see, Percy was a demigod. Half mortal and half Greek God. His father, Poseidon, was the god of the sea and one of the most powerful gods around. And being a demigod meant you gave off a scent that other mythical monsters could track down. Being a son of one of the "Big Three" meant you had a much more powerful scent that monsters could easily track. And being the product of an oath that specifically said to not give birth to any children meant that even the gods were on your case. So yes, Sally believed she was fully justified in being 'overprotective' or 'paranoid'.

The nurse scowled when she saw Percy being picked up, her strangely colored yellow eyes flashing. "Right this way, ma'am," the nurse forced out. Giving a sweep of her arm in the general direction of Dr. Bryant's room, the nurse clenched her jaw and walked toward the exit of the waiting room. Sally, too busy focusing on Percy, didn't notice the nurse's odd behavior.

"Thank you, miss...?" Sally said, her eyes mindlessly tracing the room.

The nurse faltered, her hand inches away from the waiting room's doorknob. Without turning around, she answered. "It's Alecto. Just Alecto."

The Lord of the Underworld's hall was dark and ominous, a complete opposite to Olympus's white and golden pillars and beams. Statues stuck in various stages of torment had their mouths open in screams of pain, and skeleton guards lined the edges of the hall. A throne was at the end of the hall, a massive black and gray sculpture that was built for a god. To many, it would have been a horrible place to live for eternity. To Hades and his various servants, however, it was home.

"Lord Hades?"

A bat-like woman flew into the room, leathery wings keeping the hag carrying them aloft. The woman, if she could even be called that, had sallow skin, bones eerily prominent against her snow-colored skin. Her eyes were nothing more then dark pits, a yellow light gleaming ominously.

"Yes, Alecto?" It appeared the throne was occupied, a seven-foot-tall man looking as though he had simply emerged from the shadows.

The hag, Alecto, gave a quick bow before flying to the throne. "Lord Hades, I believe that Zeus had impregnated a woman who had given birth to yet another spawn of his."

"What do you mean, he had impregnated another woman?" Hades's eyes, resembling flints of obsidian, smoldered with rage. The skeleton-guards cowered away from him in fear, bones shaking and teeth chattering.

Alecto quickly said what she had discovered; that a boy, bearing the name 'Perseus', had an aura surrounding him that only one of Zeus's children could give off.

"How dare he! Another child? Was it not enough, to give birth to Thalia? Did he not know the consequences?" Hades growled, light flickering around him. The shadows seemed to gravitate toward Hades, and the skeletons shot each other shifty looks; even Alecto found herself filled with rage.

"However-"

"What is it, Alecto?" Hades spat.

Alecto faltered, shying away from the throne as she gave her news. "However, Perseus looks much like Poseidon did as a child. It is possible he is a sea spawn, rather then a child of Zeus."

Hades faltered, a deathly calm seeping through him. "Poseidon, you say? It appears I, and I alone, have followed the oath."

Musing softly to himself, Hades suddenly turned to the Fury in front of him. "Bring the child to me. I shall decide what to do with him."

"C'mon Percy, go to sleep." Sally whispered, her eyes drooping with fatigue. It had been way harder then she expected to get Percy to take a doctor's shot.

"Mommy! One stowy! Pwease?" Percy begged, using what Sally called his 'baby seal eyes'.

Sally sighed. "Fine. But this is the last one, okay?"

Percy nodded, snuggling inside his blanket.

Sally cleared her throat, opening up Percy's favorite Dr. Seuss book for the thousandth time.

"Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to great places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in... any... direction... yo-" Sally's voice cut off abruptly, and Percy found himself turning around, giggling when he saw that Sally had fallen asleep.

Closing his eyes, they flew back open when he heard the shadows begin to whisper.

"Hello Perseus..." A voice hissed.

Percy jumped in terror, eyes wide with fear. "Mommy?" he said, voice catching.

"Did you think you could hide from us?"

"Momma!" Percy cried, hoping Sally would wake up. But, caught in a magic-induced sleep, all she did was mumble a 'Go to sleep, Percy.'

"It is time to pay, Perseus!" The voice said. Out of the hideous shadows of the room, Alecto swooped out, her talons outstretched in Percy's direction. Percy screamed, but no one heard him. "There is no escaping Fate."

Grabbing Percy, the shadows twisted around the two and suddenly Percy was gone, Sally alone in the room.

"He is here, Lord Hades."

Hades slipped out of the shadows, once more appearing in his throne of bone and shadows. "Good."

"What would you like me to do?" Alecto asked, her voice dripping with malice. Her fiery whip appeared in her hands, a magically sleeping Percy set at the foot of Hades's throne.

"Throw him into Tartarus." Hades responded curtly.

Alecto blinked, her yellow eyes wide. "...My lord?" Even she didn't like thinking of the Pit, and she was literally a servant of death.

"You heard what I said. Now do it."

"But, my lord-"

"I have long since suffered injustice at my brothers' hands." Hades seethed. "No more will I tolerate it. And what better way to punish them then to throw one of their own into Hell itself? Perhaps then they will learn to not simply ignore my realm."

Alecto nodded once, her eyes falling on the sleeping toddler's body. Now, instead of rage or murderous hatred, all she felt was pity. No one deserved Tartarus- not even Perseus.

Hades, sensing her faltering, raised an eyebrow. "Would you like one of my better suited servants to do it rather then you? I'm sure they would be more then happy to come into my favor."

But she wasn't stupid enough to try and save Percy. "I shall do it, my lord."

Hades gave her a sharp nod before disappearing in a swirl of shadows. Grabbing the child, Alecto brought it to the entrance to the pit in the Underworld. Fighting the urge to fly in there herself, or to save Percy, Alecto merely closed her eyes before throwing Percy into the Pit.

Good luck Perseus. She thought. You're going to need it.

Thanks to my beta, Writer Obsession, for helping for with this! It's the beginning of a probably 40+ chapter fic, so I need all the help I can get :) Anyway, please follow, favorite, and review!