Chapter 0: Prologue

Perseus woke up to the frantic deep blue eyes of his sister. A look never supposed to be on her face, he sat up immediately, "Phoebe, I thought I put you to bed hours ago."

"I know Percy, but—"

Percy's silver eyes flashed with annoyance. "You have to get used to Mother not being here sister. Don't worry so much about her, she's a Warrior of Athens. She'll be fine."

"Brother, you're not listening! There's a—"

She was cut off again, but not by Perseus. No, it was the loud screams of terror and the whistling of arrows that shut her up. It was then he realized exactly what was happening.

Athens was being invaded.

The fourteen-year-old's mind went into overdrive, he picked up his sister and pulled her away from the window. Sure enough, a flaming chunk of flint came flying through the window. Suddenly, the flames of their bedroom illuminated the terrified expressions of both children.

"Percy!" She cried out, burying her face in his chest. "I'm scared!"

He wasn't too far behind her, not imagining this situation in the slightest. Even so, he knew what he had to do, his mother had drilled it into his head a million times over. For it to work, however, he needed full cooperation, which really meant that Phoebe must be calm.

"Phoebe," Perseus grabbed his sister's hands and pulled her upright, "We need to move."

She wanted to agree with him but the fire surrounding her told her otherwise. "We'll get hurt!"

"Trust me."

Leaving no room for argument, he held her close to his chest and ran through the flames. Descending down the steps of his family's villa, he reached his mother's private room with only minimal amounts of damage to his clothes.

He set his sister down and opened up a closet that held his mother's weapons. He heard his sister talking as he tried to find a suitable sword. "Brother, you know we are not allowed to in Mother's chambers."

He picked up a three-foot xiphos, pulled it out of its scabbard, and swung the blade experimentally. "We need something to protect ourselves, Phoebe. Do not worry, Mother already prepared me for this."

It was true, she gave him routes, personal one-on-one training, everything he would need. But nothing would properly prepare him for what came out of Phoebe's mouth next.

"Will we see Mother again?"

He tensed up for a second before quickly selecting a small shield and two hunting knives. He turned around and began wrapping the sheathes around her small waist, "Just in case we're separated, alright?"

Noticing her question being left unanswered, she tried again with a little more urgency, "Brother?"

"I don't know, okay? I . . . I don't really have a good answer for you but I do know we have to leave. Let's go, Phoebe," He said aggressively.

He stood up and held out his hand. The suspicion in her eyes was visible as she debated taking his hand before she agreed. He left the villa and began looking around the streets of the city, not liking what he found at all.

Athens was always known for its bustling activity. Scholars chatting energetically, rich men buying goods for their homes, and merchants selling grapes and olives. The culture and diversity ran deep for the Athenians and had for centuries.

Now it was anything but. Villas all around were broken down, gardens burnt to its roots, the entire life drained out of the overflowing fountain of knowledge once known as Athens. Percy even saw a woman cradling a small bloodstained piece of cloth.

Athens had fallen. The thought sent shivers through his spine. It was his home, but now it was gone.

What was he supposed to do? Mother would know exactly what to do, but she wasn't here.

All he could do was run.

"Come on, Sister." He broke out into a small jog towards the northwest of the city, where the forest lied. His ears picked up on the small sounds of Phoebe keeping up with him.

"Why don't we go to the sea, Percy? We can get a boat and leave that way."

"No, that's where they're coming from."

"Who? Who's coming for us?" Phoebe asked fearfully.

"The Persians, they are here to punish us for defending the cities of Ionia." At least, that's what he remembered being told. Their mother told them that the Persian King, Darius the First, wasn't happy with Athens and Eretria interfering with Persian conquests.

"That means they're going to punish mother. Percy, we have to stop them!" She turned around to sprint towards the barracks but found herself in her brother's arms again.

"Stop struggling. We're going to get caught," he hissed. She tried to shout him to release her, but he clamped his hand over her mouth.

All of sudden a loud sound of metal hitting the floor vertebrated throughout the courtyard freezing the siblings cold. The next instant Perseus snapped into action. He dove into a large patch of flowers. The height of the flowers easily reached four feet.

They watched with bated breath as a Persian soldier stumbled in to pick up his fallen shield. He must've been new to warfare because he didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings. Perseus wished he didn't take everything for granted, though, as Phoebe couldn't handle the tension and made a sound before slamming her body into his, making him grunt.

"Ah," the soldier turned to them almost instantly, "What do we have here?"

Knowing what was to come was inevitable, he silently unsheathed his xiphos and waited. Obviously, there was no way possible for him to fight in close combat even with his mother's training the Persian soldier had to be superior, but Perseus had the advantage of being unseen.

Perseus inched into the shadows, holding his breath. Phoebe froze as the man stepped towards them. He watched carefully. Then, he attacked.

Perseus dashed out of the shadows. He dug his blade deep into the unsuspecting victim's calf. Perseus ignored the man's desperate plea. He shakily pulled out his xiphos and swiped at the Persian's back, cutting his life short.

That was his first kill. Perseus took a step back, leaning against a tree. His adrenaline faded, and his senses returned.

The soldier had screamed. If any soldiers were nearby they would come to investigate.

They had to run.

Perseus took a second to wipe the blood off of his xiphos before sheathing the blade. He had just killed a man. He had watched the light fade from his eyes. Perseus shook his head, shaking the thoughts out of his head.

'We have to run!' He mentally scolded himself.

Perseus grabbed Phoebe's hand, almost dragging the ginger-haired girl across the courtyard. He ignored her cries of protest. But he didn't have time to argue with her right now.

He sprinted like he had when he was a child. He knew the streets of Athens like the back of his hand.

Still, they didn't make it much further.

A Persian behind them shouted. Suddenly, an arrow struck the wall inches from Perseus' head. Perseus clenched his jaw. He dashed behind the gate of the courtyard, pulling Phoebe behind him.

He breathed deeply, listening for the man's footsteps.

At the last second Perseus turned into the gateway. He drew his xiphos, slashing defensively at the Persian soldier.

The man ducked, parrying the attack with skilled precision. In a matter of seconds, the soldier disarmed Perseus. He slammed the flat of his blade against Perseus' head, throwing him to the ground.

Perseus bit on dust. He groaned, shifting on the ground. He touched the back of his head. Blood ran freely. As he was about to close his eyes, he heard Phoebe scream.

"Stop!" Phoebe shouted.

From the corner of his vision, he saw the soldier start to advance towards his little sister.

His little sister.

Perseus snapped. He pushed himself up, ignoring how his vision swam. He threw himself at the Persian, tackling him to the ground.

The Persian grunted. The back of his head smashed into a rock. Perseus breathed heavily, letting the man's body fall to the ground.

That was his second kill.

He crawled to Phoebe. "Are you alright?" He asked shakily.

Phoebe barely nodded, but she stayed quiet. "Come, we're almost there."

Perseus stood, wiping the blood off of his sleeve. He turned to the woods, pushing himself to just keep on going.

Unlike before, Phoebe guided the wounded Perseus.

Finally, when Perseus collapsed. He simply couldn't keep on walking. He turned, facing the remains of his home. Smoke covered the night sky, and flames still burned strong.

Even from a distance, the siblings could hear the sounds of blood, pain, and war.

His attention turned back to the task at hand and kept charging forward, for his sister. She was all he had left.

After a couple hours, they had settled down in the middle of a forest near the smoldering city. Phoebe, as an innocent young girl didn't understand the situation they were in.

Phoebe sighed as Perseus shrugged her off to rest. She finally relented and slowly trudged to her little makeshift encampment. She sat down and stared off into the woods.

Even though young, her eye caught something in the woods. A flash of silver had caught her eye.

A/N: This is one of the two stories that is a collab with Xx_Anaklusmos_xX. I'm not telling anything about this story. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. This is special in itself. You're gonna love it, trust me.

Percy is a son of Lelantos, who is a Titan God of Air and Hunting. Phoebe, his sister, is a daughter of Poseidon. Just to inform you all.

-Tech108