Author's Note: Hey guys! I know some of you won't read this, but some of you will, so I figure I might as well put something! This is my first fanfic, and my first attempt at ever releasing any of my writing online, so I'm sort of nervous, but oh well. Anyway, I will tend to ramble in these author notes, sorry. BUT! I just want to let you know that I appreciate any and all reviews you could send my way, even flames. I would, of course, prefer if there were no flames, but que será, será. Anyway, thanks all! ALSO! This is the first time I've uploaded anything to FanFiction, so if any of my editing is wrong, I apologize! I'll shut up now so you can read...

Chapter One: My Not So Sweet Sixteen

I'm trying to not focus on what's going on right now. I'm trying to not hear the panting of a huge beast behind me or the whimpers coming from the demigod at my feet. I'm trying to pretend I'm not here, anywhere but here, back in bed, just having a nightmare. Hell, I'd even like to be able to pretend I'm sitting through one of Mrs. Mayler's lectures about the Punic Wars, but no such luck. I think it's getting closer. I'm stumbling through the dark, trying to run, to hide. I feel like I've been running for days, but it's only been a half hour. Well, I've been running from something or another for the last few weeks, but nothing quite so serious as this...

Sorry, you're probably confused now. I'll try to start over and take it slow. Here we go...

I had a pretty average life. Just my dad, Charlie Luzart, my step-mom, Amanda, and my usually annoying little half-sister, Sarah. And then there's me. I should probably explain who "me" is. I'm Corey Luzart. On that day when my life changed forever, i had just turned 16. My best friends, Aaron and Bryan, were about to come over and play some Brawl and hang out. Well, that never really happened... There was a brawl, but it wasn't between Kirby and Mario... I'm getting ahead of myself again. I'll go back just a little bit farther...

"Coooooreeeeeeey" I could hear Sarah just outside my bedroom door and knew I only had a few seconds before she let herself in. I rolled off the bed, glancing at the clock as I did so. 8:37. Why the hell was she trying to wake me up this early?

I'd just managed to hide under a blanket lying conveniently on my floor when she leapt in.

"Corey! Get up!" I could hear the blankets fly off of my bed with a loud swoosh and knew Sarah had just pulled them off.

"Corey?" She sounded puzzled.

I stood from my position on the floor and roared. Sarah squealed for a moment and then started yelling something about how she was five years younger than me and yet I was the immature one. I just laughed it off as I grabbed a shirt off the floor, sniffed it to make sure it wasn't too disgusting, and threw it on.

"So, would you like to explain why exactly you burst into my room at 8:30 on a Saturday?"

"It's your birthday, silly!" Sarah was a little too bubbly for me, especially in the morning. She continued gushing on, and sang "Happy Birthday" about 3 times, but I managed to tune her out, a trick I had learned after years of practice.

I started paying attention to her again just as she finished singing something about how I smelled like a monkey.

"It's my birthday, so you come in here and wake me up early. On the weekend. On spring break." I stressed the 'weekend' part heavily. Weekends were sacred for me. I had a very set ritual. Sleep in until 11:30, 12 o'clock, eat something (usually pancakes and/or cereal), then I'd log onto the computer, spend a few hours killing trolls on World of Warcraft with my best friends, and then sleep. Rinse and repeat. This system had been working well for years, and I didn't like when it was disrupted.

"Well of course I woke you up! Dad's plane leaves for Toronto in a couple hours, and mom has to go into the office, so we wanted to make sure they could give you your presents before they left!" It had always amazed me how Sarah managed to speak for so long without pausing or taking a breath.

I perked up instantly at the thought of presents. I jokingly sighed as I whined, "Do i have to get presents?"

"Of course silly!" Sarah was many things, but perceptive was not one of them. She was the most gullible person I knew and could never tell if you were joking or being sarcastic or not.

I simply walked out of the room, leaving the door open for Sarah to follow me. I just nodded as she rambled on about her plans over the break and how she just knew that David or Daniel or something liked her. I turned around to stop her as she rambled about what she'd been learning in history, something about napoleon or julius caesar or george the 3. I dont know, i wasnt really paying attention.

"As much as I very deeply care about everything that happens in your life, please, stop." Sarah again failed to pick up on the sarcasm in my request, but did fortunately stop. I turned to go down the stairs just as my bulldog, Vespacian, crashed into me.

"Oof! Yes, hi dog, i love you too, please get off now though!" I'd been knocked flat by his attack, and then been covered in slobbery dog kisses. I heard a sharp whistle from downstairs and Vespacian went running.

I followed him down the steps to the living room where I found my dad on the phone talking about light arrangements and salaries. That probably doesn't make much sense, but my dad is a movie director. He's still trying to make it big, but he's got a project coming up that he has high hopes for. That's why he's flying out to Toronto, filming starts tomorrow.

He looked up from his laptop as I came in. "John, can I call you back? Ok, thanks, bye!"

"Corey! How are you doing?" he wrapped me in a hug as he wished me a happy birthday. "Sorry, but we're going to have to make this quick. I've got to be at the airport in 20 minutes."

My step-mom walked into the room while he finished talking. "We've got some bacon and eggs ready for you, just the way you like them. Extra crispy and sunny side up, respectively."

"Thanks!" I walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "So, Sarah mentioned something about presents?" I grinned, hoping my parents knew I was only joking, that presents weren't the only thing i cared about at the moment.

"Of course, of course," my dad said, ushering me into the kitchen where a plate of food and a glass of orange juice were sitting next to a handful of brightly wrapped presents.

Sarah just arrived in the kitchen, and ran to the table, grabbed a box with a huge purple bow on top, and handed it to me, informing me that it's from her and to open it first.

My dad smiled, "Give him some time to sit down at least!"

I did so, and opened the gift Sarah handed me. Inside is a... Well, I wasn't entirely sure what it is. It looked like it was just another box inside the first. The only thing is, there was no way to open it, no lid or anything. If only I had known then how very wrong I would be...

Confused, I glanced at Sarah questioningly. "What's this?"

Sounding far older and wiser than her 11 years would allow, she replied, "When the time is right, you'll know."

I must have still been tired from too little sleep that night, because I could have sworn for half a second her eyes flashed bright silver, but when I blinked again they were back to their normal dark brown.

Apparently I looked freaked out, because my dad gazed concernedly at my face.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm goo-" I was cut off in the middle of my response by the sound of shattering glass and an ear-splitting screech from the living room. From where I was seated, all I could see were two huge shadows of two strange, deformed creatures dancing on the wall.

Author's Note: Dun da da! Cliff hanger! Sorry, I couldn't help myself! I have about another chapter written, but I think I'm going to tweak it, so it's not quite ready to post yet. Anyway, I'm going to get off now, but like I said before, comments are very much appreciated! And, if anyone correctly guesses who Corey's divine parent is, you get a free virtual cookie! So, yeah! Bye people! I hope you enjoyed this and will come back again!

-Bosque