Hey, everyone! After all this time taking a step away from fan fictions to write my own book, I am here with my first attempt at a Percy Jackson story. As I've decided to make Percy into Philly (Short for Philomela), the other characters in the main trio are gender-bent as well. Grover is now Greysen (my best friend's name) and Annabeth is Aradon. I'm excited to keep this one going and I should be able to write more chapters for my other stories.

Enjoy!

Philly Jackson. This was the name that became famous after sixteen years of being hidden from the world. Philly, short for Philomela Jackson, was the daughter of Poseidon, the princess of the sea, and the girl who saved the world. To most who knew her, however, she is just Philly, daughter of Sally Jackson, selectively social music nerd, and the girl who has dyslexia. Philly had shortened her name because her mom had picked some weird Greek name and she didn't want to be teased for it. She is no hero. No savior. She is just Philly.

Well, at least she was.

I believe we're getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we? Let's begin where this whole thing started: the top of the Empire State Building in New York...

A tall figure stood, watching the skyline as it rumbled with thunder. No lightning streaked across the sky, just the clapping noise of thunder. The darkness of night made the man's figure appear as just that; dark. The man wore an unpleasant expression, yet he didn't speak. The man watched the sky in silence, almost as though he were waiting for someone to arrive or something to happen.

"Zeus," a male voice called from behind the silent man. The first man turned to face the new company, watching the man come forward and stand beside him. The men looked at each other for a moment.

"Poseidon," Zeus responded.

Poseidon nodded slightly. "It has been many years."

Zeus turned back to face the sky, resting his right hand on one of the metal bars in front of him as he spoke, "What do you see?"

Poseidon looked to the sky, switching his gaze between it and his company before looking around at the dark sky around them. "Thunder clouds."

"With no lightning," Zeus claimed. He dropped his hand from the metal bar as Poseidon turned to him. "It's stolen." Zeus wandered away from Poseidon and the skyline view.

"What? Do you think I took it?" Poseidon turned and fell into step with Zeus as he spoke yet again, "Omnipotence has blinded you, brother. We are forbidden from stealing each others' powers."

Zeus halted, causing Poseidon to stop as well. "But our children aren't."

Poseidon gave the man an incredulous look. "You're accusing my daughter. I haven't seen her since she was a baby; she doesn't know me or even know who she is because of you."

"If your daughter is the thief, I will send her to the depths of Tartarus-"

Poseidon immediately cut Zeus off, grasping the man's jacket and speaking in a low, dark voice as thunder rumbled loudly around them, "If you touch her, you will have the fight of your life."

Zeus looked away a little before throwing his arms up and knocking Poseidon's hands off of his jacket. The two men glared at each other furiously before Zeus spoke again, "She must return the bolt to me in fourteen days, by midnight on the summer solstice." The man turned at took a few steps away with his warning still lingering in the air. Poseidon watched the man leave, glaring at his brother's retreating back. Zeus turned back to Poseidon and spoke once more, "Or there will be war."

Zeus threw his arm out toward a nearby door and watched it shatter open. A bright light shone from where the door had previously been. The two men glanced at each other one last time before Zeus turned and walked through the bright doorway. As soon as the man was gone, pieces of the door that had been shattered, started to piece themselves back together, forming the door back into the way it had been before being destroyed.

The next day, a dark haired, bright eyed teenager sat peacefully at the bottom of a pool. The teen had her hands resting on her legs, feeling the water move around her slowly. Her raven-like black hair floated around her, gliding through the chlorinated water and swirling gracefully around her arms and back. Her sea green eyes glimmered brightly in the water as she looked around. Water was always calming to the teenager. Being underwater felt like being in another home; like an escape of sorts. She felt at peace, but thoughtful when she let water envelope her. As her mom had always said, she was a water baby.

Philly Jackson had loved being in water for as long as she could remember and probably even longer than that. Even if it was just sitting in the bathtub at home, Philly loved the feeling of having clear thoughts under the surface of the water. Her thoughts were never concise and her mind was never blank, but when she was in the, usually warm, water, her head was free and calm. Philly loved the water in general, but her favorite was the salty water of the ocean. Trips to the ocean were rare, but, when they did occur, Philly's mom had to practically drag her away. Because of this well-known love for water, the teen's longest as closest friend, Greysen Underwood, had wanted Philly to stay underwater for as long as she could before getting some air. Well, before they had to get out of the pool area and head out for class, that is. So, that's exactly what she was doing.

Well, mostly.

If she was completely honest, Philly felt like she could stay underwater forever. The water was, like previously stated, a second home; it was calm, quiet, and relaxing. It was the easiest to be herself underwater. The only downside to this feeling of careless abandon was that nobody else could see this side of her usually loud brain, but her. Philly's brain was almost as clear as the water around her, but she knew she had to go back to the noise of the surface soon. After a moment longer, Philly sighed mentally, releasing her hold on her knees. Deciding not to scare her friend into thinking she had drowned in the pool, Philly moved her hands out to she side and used her legs to propel her to the surface of the water.

"And she's alive!" Greysen called from her spot on the bench next to the pool. Philly smiled at her best friend before swimming over to the edge of the pool. With a laugh and a clap the dark-haired Greysen continued, "Philly Jackson is a beast! You're a beast, girl!" Greysen gave Philly a high five, grasping onto Philly's hand and pulling her from the water.

"How long was that?" Philly asked, pushing some hair over her shoulder.

"Seven minutes," Greysen claimed.

Philly looked up at her friend curiously. "Seven minutes?" 'Seriously? It felt shorter than that. I'd probably believe three minutes before I'd believe seven,' Philly thought to herself, accepting the towel Greysen had given her. 'Well, Grey's pretty good about telling the truth, so I'll take it, I guess.'

"Mmhm," Greysen hummed in agreement, "That's crazy, Philly. That's ridiculous. How do you do it?"

Philly rubbed the towel over her hair a couple times and shrugged, "I just like being in water. It's the one place I can just think."

The two girls shared a look as Greysen hummed once again. Philly got up from the tiled floor and grabbed her bag of clothes. She headed for the locker room and quickly changed outfits, tossing her wet swimsuit in her bag with her towel wrapped precariously around it to keep it from soaking anything else. The raven haired girl loosely braided her dripping hair, tying the ends of it with a small elastic that she kept in her backpack.

After getting ready for the school day, Philly and Greysen headed out from the pool and toward the first class of the day in Yancy Academy. Philly and Greysen talked on the way to class, Greysen doing most of the listening as Philly talked about her love for water.

"Y'know, I wish I could spend all day in the water instead of this place," Philly mumbled to Greysen.

"I know, right. Like high school, without the musical," Greysen replied, walking beside Philly as they went through the halls of the high school. Behind them, a couple of guys were messing around, shoving each other and pushing each other into lockers. "Every day is the same thing," Greysen sighed, tossing a disapproving glare at the boys behind them. "I mean, just look at this. They've got the IQ of goldfish."

Philly chuckled softly with her friend, letting the girl with crutches lead the way into the classroom. Philly sat at her desk in front of Greysen and placed her book, a notebook, and some pencils on her desk. Philly opened her notebook to one of the last pages and started drawing. Drawing was like swimming, it distracted her from the world and she actually focused on what she doodled. For the last couple of days, Philly had been drawing different aspects of the ocean. Starfish, dolphins, sharks, a dumbo octopus, and a couple sparse blobfish scattered across the lined paper.

A couple minutes went by before the teacher came in and set her stuff down on the desk. She wrote out a quote from Othello on the board before turning to the class. "Good morning," she began, crossing her arms. "I'm Mrs. Dodds, your substitute English teacher. Would someone please explain what Shakespeare was trying to convey in this line from Othello?" Philly set down her pencil and looked anywhere, but the board, refusing to raise her hand and make a fool out of herself. The teacher looked around the room before her gaze settled on Philly. "Philly Jackson."

Philly looked up at her teacher before attempting to read what was on the board. Philly tilted her head a little as she watched the words on the board. For a moment, they remained the same, however, they soon began to switch around and make nonsense. "Well?" Mrs. Dodds pressed as she watched Philly gaze at the board.

Philly tried to make sense of what was written, but nothing was working. The words just looked wrong. Philly shook her head lightly, closing her eyes and turning away from the board. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Dodds. I don't know."

Mrs Dodds continued the lesson as Philly disappointingly turned back to her notebook. Philly leaned back in her seat and slid forward, attempting to make herself small and hoping she would not have to speak for the rest of the class. Greysen put a hand on Philly's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "It's okay, girl. I've got your back."

Philly put her hand over Grey's with a soft sigh. 'Can I just disappear now?' Philly thought to herself. At the moment, all she wanted was to go home.

At the end of the school day, Philly walked the streets of New York to the apartment she shared with her mom, Sally, and her step-father, Gabe. While on her walk, Philly waved to her neighbors and people she usually saw on her way home. Philly pulled her keys from her pocket as she neared the apartment complex. Swinging her keys on her finger, Philly greeted Mario Antenucci, a guy from the apartment above hers that never seemed to sleep.

"Hey, kid," Mario welcomed, "How's school?"

"Same old, same old," Philly smiled, "How's Xena?"

"She's better. Vet said that she's gonna give birth any time now." Mario had a female, purebred boxer that had recently been in a lot of pain. Since Philly was good with the dog, Mario let her know what was going on with his pup most of the time. "I didn' even know she was pregnant. To tell you the truth, I just thought she was gettin' fat. I guess I can get rid of the diet I was gonna put her on."

"I guess so!" Philly laughed, "Can I come visit them when they're born?"

Mario laughed, "Kid, Xena loves you. I don' think there's anybody else she trusts enough to hold her puppies. I'll let you know when she has them and you'll be the first outside the apartment to see them, alright?"

Philly grinned brightly, her eyes twinkling as she spoke, "I would love that, Mario. Thank you so much."

"Of course, sweetie," Mario chuckled, "Now, get your butt inside and get your homework done."

The obsidian haired girl headed inside and ascended the stairs to her apartment. "Hey, Mom, I'm home."

"I'm up here, honey!" Sally called from upstairs. When Philly headed inside, she saw her mom ironing some clothes. Sally looked up as her sixteen year old walked up to her. "Hi."

"Hey, Momma," Philly greeted as she tossed her backpack onto one of the chairs that sat around the dining room table.

"How was school?" Sally asked, setting the iron aside for a moment to hug her daughter.

"The usual," Philly sighed into her mom's shoulder. Sally's face fell from it's smile as she continued ironing once again. Philly picked up a book from the desk behind her mom and looked it over as she continued, "I think this dyslexia thing is getting worse."

"Oh," Sally sighed, "Why do you think that?"

Philly put the book back down on the desk and walked toward the dining room. "I don't know. Maybe it's the ADHD, not the dyslexia. I'm not sure. Y'know, I thought this school was supposed to make things better." Philly poured herself a cup of juice as she returned her gaze to her mom.

Sally gazed softly at her daughter. "Philly, I know how hard this is for you, but someday it'll all make sense."

"Really?" Philly asked, to which Sally nodded. "I really wish I knew when." Philly leaned against the archway between the dining room and the living room. "It could be tonight or tomorrow. I wish 'when' was now."

The conversation could have been a lot longer, but it was cut short by the door slamming shut and a voice calling out, "Woman." Philly groaned and rolled her eyes. Of course it was Gabe. She despised the man more than anything. He treated her mom terribly and nobody was allowed to do that. Philly and Sally had always been close; they didn't need this step-douche coming in and ruining their home. Even with the tensions between Philly and Gabe, Sally married the man and tried to play peacemaker between the two.

"Hi, Gabe," Sally welcomed.

"Where's my beer?" Gabe asked with a groan.

Sally gave him a look, yet responded anyway, "In the fridge."

"So, what?" Gabe started. Philly rolled her eyes, feeling like she knew what was going to happen next. "It's supposed to magically float from the ice box and into my hand?"

Sally put the iron aside and walked over to the fridge, glancing at Philly's annoyed face. As Sally walked by Gabe, the man smacked her rear. That was it for Philly. "Oh, come on, man! Do you really have to do that? It's disgusting. I mean, we're in a kitchen of all places. That's just wrong." Gabe took off his glasses as Sally grabbed a beer from the fridge and opened it, setting it on the table as Philly spoke again. "Real charmer you got there, Mom. Please show some respect, Gabe. That's my mom right there."

Gabe got up out of his seat and stood in front of Philly. Gabe leaned his arm on the wall next to Philly's head and moved in close before grabbing a handful of Philly's licorice colored hair and pushing her head back against the wall. "This is my house," Gabe claimed. Philly bit her tongue to hold back her opinion as Sally shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Philly's sea green eyes locked with Gabe's, glaring harshly at the man that tugged on her hair. "You show some respect."

Gabe let go of the black strands and walked away. Philly spoke up softly, "Come on." Philly turned to her mom and stepped close to the woman. "Why, Mom? Why do you stay with that pig? He smells like a sewer. He sleeps in 'til noon every day and he can't even hold a job! Why do you stay with him?"

Sally eyes were watery, Philly could tell that her mom hated this just as much as she did. Sadly, Sally corrected herself and replied with the usual answer, "He's been good to us, Philly, in was you just don't understand."

'Some 'good',' Philly thought. 'The only thing Gabe has in him that has the word 'good' is that he's good for nothing.' Philly didn't speak her mind, for her mom's sake more than her own. She knew her mom was just playing mediator, but why couldn't she have picked a guy that was nicer and didn't treat both of them like dirt.

"You're right, Mom," Philly sighed, "I really don't understand. I don't get it."

Sally returned to ironing as Philly left the room. Philly headed to her bedroom and opened the window that led to her fire escape balcony. The licorice haired teen clambered outside her window and leaned on the railing, watching the cars and the people wandering the sidewalks. With a sigh, Philly reached back through her window and grabbed her notebook. She opened it to a blank page and stared at it for a while. She wanted to draw, but she wasn't sure what.

Deciding to let her mind roam free, Philomela let her pencil touch the paper and glide across the surface freely. Her hand slid across the parchment, lining arches and using the pads of her fingers to blend in some shading. Philly's hand swirled lightly, sketching two circles with smaller spheres inside of them. She elongated a couple lines, making sure to shade them properly before moving on. Soon, her mind caught up with her hand, making her stop in the middle of dragging the lead across the soft paper. In her mindless drawing, she had made an image of a human.

A male human.

The man appeared to be tall, but it was a drawing, so Philly couldn't tell how tall the man would be if he had been standing in front of her. He had dark hair that matched her own and she had left his eyes mostly blank, void a few shading lines that Philly could easily color around with colored pencils later on. He was dressed in a black jacket that was opened slightly, revealing the collar of an uncolored shirt, probably a long sleeve button-up or a hoodie, and a white shirt that was probably a tank top or a t-shirt. He had a pair of jeans on and a pair of shoes that looked like they could be either work boots or dress shoes, but Philly couldn't tell which. His darkly shaded hair was swept to the left side of his face. A lightly beard and mustache graced his face and, though he did look intimidating, Philly felt like the man was a protector of some sort.

Philly's sea green eyes glimmered happily as she looked at the picture. She had never drawn a person before. Well, at least not in such detail and certainly not without making it look like a melted Picasso painting. She was impressed. 'I should let myself do free hand sketching more often,' Philly thought as she looked at the guy. 'I have got to show Greysen this! Hmm. I wonder why I drew this guy. Maybe it's just… Wait a minute. What on earth is that?' Philly was so focused on what the man's appearance looked like that she almost missed what the man was holding in his right hand.

A silver trident with subtle etches in it's metallic surface.