Disclaimer- I don't own anything, it all belongs to Rick Riordan. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

*Note this is unbeta'd and all mistakes are mine. Also note that this an AU story and does not follow the story as it does in the books exactly.*

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Prologue

In theory, it was a great plan. When the idea had first occurred to him, the epiphany of all epiphanies, Percy hadn't been able to see any flaws. All the little bumps in the road would be nothing but, well bumps. Percy figured sleeping outside would beat sleeping in the same house as Smelly Gabe. Heck, anything beat even being in the same room as the walrus.

Running away was the perfect solution. No more Smelly Gabe, no more of his slightly less smelly but equally horrible poker buddies, no more of the dank and gross apartment that rank of beer and cigarettes. He wouldn't even have to go to school anymore, which Percy thought of as a bonus. It's not like anyone there would miss him.

Percy had packed his small bag quickly, throwing in only the absolutely necessary, which included a toothbrush and toothpaste, some extra clothes, the money he'd been able to save that was kept in a box under his bed away from Smelly Gabe, whatever food he could grab from the kitchen without the monster noticing, and an Aqua Man comic book. He didn't particularly like Aqua Man all that much, but it was the only thing he owned that had escaped Gabe's usual drunken wrath so he brought it along anyway.

He had gotten out as soon as possible, escaping through the fire escape. Percy wasn't one for planning and thinking ahead and as far as he was concerned the faster he got away the better. As he stood outside of the broken down apartment, his backpack heavier than it should be on his skinny shoulders, a small part of his brain yelled at him for being a coward. Someone brave would stand up to Gabe, not run away like a baby. And if it was one thing Percy wasn't it was a baby. Yet Percy couldn't bring himself to care. He was getting away and that was that.

It turned out running away wasn't as glamorous as he had first thought. Of course he hadn't been delusional enough to think that it would be all gumdrops and candy canes but he thought it would be… cooler. After only a couple of days the thrill of being on the run was washed away by the constant rain that pounded down endlessly. Percy was cold and wet and starving and oh was he hungry. Boy, would he kill for a juicy, hot cheeseburger from the diner on 49th street that his mom used to take him to on payday.

But his mom was gone and Percy was alone with only a handful of crackers and a half eaten chocolate bar left. He had gone through his small rations of food quickly and Percy dreaded what would happen when he ran out. Maybe he should have planned better. But there was no use obsessing over his mistakes and there wasn't enough cheeseburgers in the world that could make him go back to that hellhole. As far as he knew Gabe didn't even care he was gone. Probably pissed his little punching bag had slipped away to freedom but not enough to go look for him or call the police. Percy wasn't worth that much trouble.

And so Percy huddled against the wall in a dark alley, his only protection from the rain a ratty old jacket. He figured a dark alley wasn't exactly the safest place for an eight year old to be at night, but it wasn't like he had a whole lot of options. If Percy had the choice he would much rather be sleeping in a 5 star hotel with a big comfy bed and heat and a mini-fridge with full free access. But he didn't have that choice and he would just have to suck it up and pray nobody else had taken up residence in this fine establishment of an alley he was staying in.

And if there did happen to be a mugger lurking he didn't have squat except for that stupid Aqua Man comic book that was completely drenched and ruined by the rain. Percy still found it ironic that an Aqua Man comic book was ruined by water. Mom had given it to him as a 'sorry I'm marrying that ugly fat and stinky walrus that will ruin our lives' gift. At five, Percy had accepted her offering, even if he did like Batman better, but now it seemed too small of a trade for having to deal with Smelly Gabe. Percy wondered if he would ever know what she had been thinking when it came to Gabe.

Plus, if some thug did happen to wander past, he could take care of himself. Percy had dealt with bullies and Gabe for years and considered himself an expert in ducking punches and if he did say so himself, he had a pretty nice right hook. And Percy was fast. The fastest in the whole grade and probably faster than some of the older kids too. But Percy didn't go to school anymore meaning the title of fastest kid in the second grade would have to go to Andrew Packstin, who wasn't nearly as quick as Percy.

Percy wondered what Andrew was doing now. 'Probably asleep in his warm bed in his heated house,' he thought bitterly, pulling his jacket closer around his shoulders. Andrew's mom always gave him chocolate chip cookies in his lunch box and sometimes he would give one to Percy. They were really good although not nearly as good as Percy's own moms were. Mom's cookies were always soft and warm and delicious and most importantly blue. Andrew's mom didn't make blue cookies; none of the other kids' moms did either.

Percy drifted off to sleep, dreaming about blue cookies and warm beds and his mom who always smelled of that cheap, but sweet perfume she wore and the possibility of a mugger beating him up and stealing his stuff in his sleep.

It turned out it wasn't a mugger, or a thug or a psychopath that got to him. No, what woke him up in the middle of the night with an inhuman shriek was what looked like a batty old woman with a wrinkled and ugly face, except the problem was she had wings and claws and was most certainly not human.

Percy felt panic rising in him as he ducked out of the way of her outstretched claws and backed up against the opposite wall. She looked like some horrible monster from nightmares or from a horror movie he would sneak when his mom was at work. A monster that was not supposed to exist not here not anywhere and Percy wondered if he was going crazy.

"Come here, darling, and let me pinch those chubby little cheeks," she cooed, her voice sickly sweet.

'I bet you do,' Percy thought, although he figured it would be more ripping off his cheeks than pinching them like some little old woman who played bridge every Monday and Wednesday.

"I'd rather not, thanks," Percy yelped, hating the way his voice shook with fear. He was used to being used as a punching bag but what he was not used to was an old hag with wings doing the cornering. Percy was definitely out of his element here.

A quick scope around him revealed nothing. There was nothing that looked like it could be a potential weapon he could use, nothing that he could use as an advantage. Percy liked to think of himself as pretty resourceful, (when you lived with Smelly Gabe you had to be), but there was nothing he could use to get away from the thing. It was just him, the lady-monster and the alley.

"Well then I'll just have to come to you," The thing cackled and began moving towards him at an agonizingly slow pace. It had him trapped and it knew it; like a cat playing with a mouse before it ate it in a quick and painful snap.

Percy drew himself closer to the brick wall of the alley searching desperately for an escape route. He knew he was fast but even he wasn't stupid enough to try to run past it. But it wasn't like he had a lot of options. Percy found himself wishing he had superpowers like Spiderman and could shoot off walls. But Percy was bland and boring and he certainly hadn't gotten the nickname Freak from having spidery senses.

"I've got you now," the monster (no not monster because monsters just did not exist) lunged at him its talons stretched out ready to rip off his face. Percy saw his life flash before his eyes. His pitifully short and miserable life that was supposed to be longer so he could make his mom proud. But the thing obviously didn't care about that and Percy could only watch in horror as the thing – froze. Froze and promptly exploded into dust, revealing an older girl with a spear thrust forward and a satisfied smirk firmly in place.

And that was how Percy was introduced to the godly world of monsters. (Because apparently they were real.)

The girl who saved his life, as she liked to remind him whenever she got the chance, was named Thalia and her spear and scary shield was apparently called Aegis. She had told him that with a fond and only slightly scary smile.

Off record Percy found Thalia kind of scary with her spiky black hair, rock clothes and electric blue eyes that looked like they could burn holes. On record of course, Percy thought Thalia was nothing more than a punk.

With Thalia was a boy named Luke who was older than both of them. Percy thought he was pretty cool and he was a lot more welcoming than Thalia, who always seemed to have this look on her face that said she wanted to throw him back to the monsters.

They told him about monsters, and gods and all things Greek Mythology. As Luke bluntly put it, it was all real and as the gods kids they had to deal with all the crap that came with it. 'All that crap' apparently included being hunted by monsters like the Harpy that had tried to kill him not too much earlier. Percy accepted it easily enough, mostly because there didn't seem to be any other explanation. Percy was just happy he wasn't going insane. Or if he was he wasn't alone.

Thalia's dad was Zeus aka the almighty god of the sky and ruler. Percy tried not to be bothered by the thunder that shook the otherwise clear sky after that statement. Percy could already tell there was going to be problems with them getting along. She was bossy and demanding and Percy wasn't one to put up with being pushed around. He bet they would be at each other's throats in a matter of days or even hours.

Luke was a son of Hermes which Percy thought was extremely cool although when Percy said so, he just shrugged dismissively. Percy decided he definitely liked Luke. He had an ever present mischievous look in his eyes that Percy could relate to. He seemed like the kind of guy that could take a joke and was good with pranks. And if there was one thing Percy was good at it was pranks.

"So, who's my dad?" Percy asked, trying to keep the hope and slight desperation out of his voice.

"Don't know, kid." Luke said looking at the empty above his head. "We'll just have to wait and see."

"Wait for what?" Percy asked, trying to keep his annoyance in check.

"For him to claim you." Thalia stated very matter-a-factly, effectively ending the conversation, even though Percy was still as lost as ever. He glared at her a few choice words about what he thought about that drifting in his head. But Percy kept his mouth shut, knowing they wouldn't want him tagging along if all he was going to do was cause trouble.

"Don't worry about it. We'll know when we know." Luke slung his arm around Percy's shoulder and gave him a huge smile. And just like that Percy was accepted and the duo became a trio.

Being a runaway was a lot more fun when you weren't alone Percy decided early on. Together Thalia and Luke told him all he needed to know and how to defend himself against monsters looking for demigod chow. Luke always made sure they had food and a warm place to stay at night.

Percy also decided that being a runaway was a lot more exciting when you had a purpose. They were looking for a camp for people like them. Demigods like them. No monsters could get in and they could live and train there in safety.

Thalia was adamant that it was somewhere in New York, but after weeks of looking they were becoming more and more doubtful. Luke and Thalia had been all over the country before they met Percy, following some sign from Thalia's dad. The sign that had led them to New York in the first place and wasn't offering much help anymore now that they were there.

Sometimes when it was late in the night and the older kids thought Percy had fallen asleep he could hear them arguing about what they were doing and where they were going and why. For the amount of time they spent looking for this camp Percy wasn't all that sure that they wanted to be there.

But Percy never said anything about what he overheard and he tried not to be a nuisance. That last part could be hard sometimes though, because could Thalia be annoying and was it really his fault if he wanted to try out the pranks Luke told him about.

But no matter what he did, neither ever stayed mad at him for long. They were family and family stuck together.

Still Percy was just waiting for the time to come when he would screw up so bad and they wouldn't want him hanging around anymore.

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So there you go that was the prologue. I haven't written any fan fiction in a while, my last story, Mortals Read the Last Olympian was sadly deleted by the site. Yeah. Anyway.

Please leave a review telling me what you thought (: