Disclaimer: I don't own characters created by Rick Riordan.

READ "CRIMSON MEMORIES" (one-shot) to get a general idea of what this story will be led to. HOWEVER, if you don't want to, you don't have to. It may spoil a couple things. But it definitely gives a heads up as to the general direction of the story.

1 – I

Percy Jackson rolled up the piece of parchment and tied it with a worn out string. He placed it in the grip of his golden eagle and told it, "You know where to go."

It screeched and spread its wings. The king of the skies lifted off his hand with a powerful flap of its wings. It hovered in the air and flapped twice more before blasting off with its blazing speed into the sky off to the east. He heard the thunder of the bird's flapping wings for a split second before it disappeared from sight.

The golden eagle was an ancient form of messaging. According to legends, the people of the Far West introduced the golden eagle to the citizens of Olympia, but the records were all burned and had many missing parts. Only legends remained, and most of the stuff that came out of the mouth of any dude in his early twenties was probably bullshit.

Still, the golden eagle could fly at almost the speed of sound, at least, what was defined as the speed of sound: high pressure and on the verge of a sonic boom, also known as a loud explosion sound in the sky. If they made sonic booms every time they flew, the lands of Olympia would be very, very noisy.

Most people didn't have golden eagles. Golden eagles were usually reserved for those either in the Hunters, the Border Guard, the Enforcement Corps, the Olympic Guard or the Special Operations Force (SOF). Ridiculous names, eh? Nobody really cared. They were just excited about what you did doing that job.

At the age of twelve, every citizen in Olympia is required to check in to a national military-like camp (one camp for each state, including the Capital, coming to a total of seven). It wasn't actually military camp. It was more like boot camp. At least, for the first year. In that year, it is determined whether a person is fit to join any of the five "glory jobs." The majority of people are kicked out after the first year. They then have to choose from specialty jobs. If they don't fit the requirements, they become commoners—people of the everyday world. Those who didn't want to join the glory jobs quit on the first day. These were the people who didn't like to have serious 24/7 jobs.

In the second year of training camp, everyone takes a personality test to determine the group of people they train with. The personalities are mismatched so that there aren't two people with nearly identical personalities. In that year, some people are kicked out if they don't have the will to keep going. Most of the year is dedicated to studying the histories of each glory occupation and to close combat. The final test done at the end of the year is to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each individual to see what job would suit them the best.

In the third year of training camp, usually about 500,000 of the original two million or more are left. That's a lot but in this year around four hundred thousand people are kicked out. Although that leaves a hundred thousand left, there are a hundred thousand graduates from camp every year giving plenty of manpower to each of the glory jobs. The third year is dedicated to working toward a certain goal depending on the result of the test done at the end of the previous year. About one-fifth of the trainees train in ranged combat to become a Hunter. Those not proficient enough move to close-ranged combat with swords and spears and other close-ranged weapons. At the end of the year, the one hundred thousand left are given predicted ranks for the end of the next year from one to one hundred thousand.

The fourth year nobody is kicked out. Everyone who makes it stays. The catch is that everyone moves to the Capital's campgrounds, giving those from the Capital an advantage. Each of them chooses which occupation they are running for depending on their predicted position. The Enforcement Corps is a strict but rewarding job. They have to be hard on the citizens, but are paid the highest of any of the jobs. Anyone in the fourth year can be on the Enforcement Corps. The Hunters are well-trained archers and knife-fighters that live lives that are taxing on the body. They are like the Enforcement Corps, except more skilled in combat. They have the most freedom out of any of the jobs. The requirement to be a Hunter is to be ranked between first and thirty thousandth. The Border Guard and Olympic Guard are practically the same job; however, the Olympic Guard is reserved for those who rank in the top 10,000. Anyone outside of the top 10,000 can join the Border Guard. They are the party jobs. They are the most relaxed. The Olympic Guard are the elite guards who represent the army and the guards of the president. The last job, the Special Operations Force, has the smallest available spaces. Only the top five in the whole country can make it. Of the one hundred thousand best recruits in the country, five make it in to the Special Operations Force each year. The top five have the right to refuse, in which case the sixth place is offered and so on until the number reaches fifteen. However, if the opportunity to join the Special Operations Force is given, it is rarely passed on. In the common case where an assassin or spy is killed in action, the brightest and best Enforcers and Hunters are looked upon to recruit. The maximum number of SOF at one given time is only two hundred. Naturally, the top five from the active ages—sixteen to forty-five—would equal one hundred forty-five personnel, so fifty-five or so of the Enforcers or Hunters who work hard can be accepted into the SOF.

Halfway through the year, it is revealed that the top 128 students in the year will participate in the annual Gladiator Games, a not-so-secret tournament to determine the best solo combatant at the end of the year. More often than not, the best solo fighter isn't the top of the class because they lack skills in other departments such as intelligence and strategy, or flexibility and adaptability. The bottom 64 fight using a spear, sword or bow. The top 64 fight with their fists and feet.

To make it even, the 64 are split into quadrants for the first battle. Instead of being first seed against sixty-fourth seed, it becomes first against sixteenth. Then seventeenth against thirty-second in the second quadrant. Then thirty-third against forty-eighth in the third quadrant, and forty-ninth against sixty-fourth in the fourth quadrant. To make it more challenging for those in the four quadrants, the two-sided table has the first and third quadrants on one side against the second and fourth quadrants on the other. It is lined up so that the best and worst in the third and fourth face the middle group of the first and second. Essentially, the top three of the first and second quadrants have the hardest time to get to the finals because they have to face one another in the second or third battle.

In Percy's year, the number two rank won the entire thing. He beat number fifteen, number one, number four, number five, number thirty seven, and finally number eighteen to win it all. His name was Percy Jackson.

The hardest battle he fought was with number one, who was said to be the most well-rounded graduate in the last three hundred years. She chose to be a part of the Spec Ops Force, like him, and got assigned to Assassin, like him. It is the job that requires the most mental strength.

She and Percy took on a job, two years later, to kill a high ranking official said to be running an illegal trafficking business, they got stuck and only one of them could escape. If one person didn't escape, both would be killed. At the very last moment, she sacrificed herself so that he could escape. Percy remembered how the guards stabbed her to death until her body wasn't recognizable anymore. She valiantly took twenty down with her but in the end she was dead. And that was that. Ever since then, the Spec Ops wondered why Percy Jackson had suddenly become a cold, vengeful demon.

He made a burial site for her in her hometown, Eboracum Nova, the same town Percy grew up in. Eboracum Nova was the official name of the city, but everybody called it New York. It grew to be the most populous city in Olympia. Most people had forgotten her because she'd only served for two years. Right after she'd graduated from the Assassin training. Right after they'd graduated. Only he and a couple close friends seemed to remember.

Eboracum Nova, Percy thought. My home. My death.

Olympia is divided into seven territories: the six states and the capital. The capital is called the Olympic City by official name and is nicknamed "the Capital" to refer to its heavy fortifications and riches beyond what the six states could produce. State 1 resembles the northeast and is called New England by the people. State 2 is the state of New York and the Mid-Atlantic simply because despite covering such a grand area, its only big city is New York. State 3 is sort of like the Highlands because there is a mountain range there called the Appalachian chain, but its west end juts out into the Midwest and Great Plains. State 4 is the Southeast and the Gulf. State 5 is the Midwest. And State 6 is the Southwest. If the border along State 3, 5 and 6 was the west coast, State 5 would probably be in the area called the northwest. But lands Olympia has feared to conquer lie out further west.

Outside of Olympia, there are two zones that the Olympic government have designated: the Neutral Zone and the Far West. No one is sure where the exact boundary between the Neutral Zone and the Far West lies, but both are very treacherous lands. The Neutral Zone continues and finishes the Great Plains before growing into an enormous mountain chain with steep, pointy, rugged mountains. That's where most people draw the line between the Neutral Zone and the Far West.

There are no recorded settlements larger than a thousand people in the Neutral Zone. Most people live in small villages or move with the food: the bison. The forests are vast, the plains are great, and the mountains towering. No Olympian would dare to try and live out there. The mysterious Far West is what hooks people the most. Apparently, the land is far more treacherous than the Neutral Zone. Split into North and South, the climates are vastly different. In the south it is much like a desert and it is always hot. In the north it is covered with forests and rains often. The rumor is that there are four cities, two in the north and two in the south, which sustain life and work together as a nation.

At least, that's what Percy heard.

He didn't dwell too much on the outside world. Even his home, his birth city, was so strange to him. His home was with the SOF. He lived and breathed in headquarters. Even if his room lacked a partner and friend.

Percy's horse bucked and neighed.

He chuckled good-heartedly. "No, Blackjack. I never slept with her. You dirty horse. Jeez."

The top student's name was Elizabeth Edmonds. She had a distinct streak of blonde in her dominantly dark brown hair and pretty hazel eyes. The more he tried to think about her, it seemed like the more he was forgetting her. He only wished that he could see her face once more to remember. But her image was already fading from his mind. He wondered if that happened to everybody. If the memory of the faces of those who no longer lived faded from everyone's mind.

There was no way to create an image of someone to keep forever. Perhaps with magic, but there were only so many children of Hecate. Besides, out of a population of over 200 million people, a hundred thousand was nothing. That was… 0.05% of the total population: nothing. Even the total number of half-bloods in general was nothing in comparison to the total population. Olympia was comprised of only 5% half-bloods. A country which was once solely comprised of half-bloods, the dilution of blood from the Native Immigration of 224 C.E. turned it into a country of descendants with blood so diluted by mortal lines that they had become a minority.

Half-bloods. It is the general term given to any person who is born to one mortal parent and one magical parent. There were once hundreds of magical parents, but in the past two thousand years, the number has reached around fifteen. These magical parents are all considered mages or gods, depending on where you're from and your religious identity. Gods sound more powerful, so Percy'd always considered them that. Their children are half-human and half-god, and therefore are called half-bloods.

There are the twelve on the main council: the Olympians. They're called: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes and Dionysus. The other six or so that still exist are Hades, Hestia, Hecate, Iris, Hypnos and Nemesis. However, there are three goddesses that don't have half-blood kids: Hestia, Artemis and Hera. Therefore there are only fifteen magical parents.

Ever since the Half-Blood Purge of 1363, tensions between half-bloods and mortals have risen. Mortals are more numerous, but half-bloods are all more powerful. The mortals are jealous because most of the top sixty-four of the graduating class each year are half-bloods.

Percy himself was a son of Poseidon, the mage (or magician… or god) of the sea, storms and earthquakes. He was considered part of the Big Three, the three eldest male gods or mages or whatever, who were the most powerful of all gods or mages or whatever.

That being said, he didn't feel like it. Apparently he needed some sort of spell or enchantment to activate water magic, but he had never found a book with lines of spells written down. Although children of the Big Three were more powerful, at least the children of mages like Athena or Hephaestus or Apollo had natural talents that didn't require magic: naturally greater levels of intelligence, skill with forging and metalwork, and natural talent in archery, respectively. More often than not, Percy relied on his sword to solve his problems.

Elizabeth may have been the best all-round graduate in the past three hundred years, but they always told him that he was the best combat fighter in a very, very long time. He prided himself in that. He'd always prepared for that. Despite knowing he needed to be smart to exact revenge, he wanted to be the best in fighting. He didn't want to lose just in case he got trapped in a head-on battle.

One day, he would find those responsible for his mother's and step-father's deaths and murder them. He wanted them to pay for what they did to him… what they did to Sally Jackson… what they did to Paul Blofis.

The Half-Blood Purge of 1363 wasn't the only purge to happen throughout history. There was a purge in 1572, in 1829, and the most recent one was the purge of 2000. It was the second worst purge behind the first in 1363 and was nicknamed "Y2K." It was the year 2000 problem. Nearly 40,000 half-bloods were slaughtered between the years of 1999 and 2002, but the most were slaughtered on New Year's Day in the year 2000: 5,000 during one day in a coordinated nationwide attack.

It was during the reign of May Castellan, a politician driven mad by some supernatural force in the year 2002 to end her reign of terror on half-bloods. Funny enough, her only child was apparently a half-blood of Hermes. But May Castellan wasn't the only person Percy wanted to find. He wanted to find the very men who had killed his mother and his step-father and end their lives at his hands. That was what he was training for after all these years.

Now, he was nineteen, a year after Elizabeth's death and three years since he graduated from training camp. The year… 2012. He would avenge his parents. And the best way to do that was to wiggle his way into the trust of the government, now run by May Castellan's only son, Luke Castellan. Fortunately, Luke didn't seem to share the same principles as his mother and instead aimed for peace between half-bloods.

Despite all the killing, half-bloods still remained a majority as graduates. In the SOF itself, all its members are half-bloods or recent descendants of half-bloods, meaning that their parents or grandparents were half-bloods.

The Special Operations Force is split into two or three main areas, depending on the way you see it. There are the assassins, the frontline soldiers who put their lives on the line to eliminate criminals and large criminal organizations slowly but surely. Percy was one of them. Then there are the guardians, the detectives and spies that work hidden from sight and away from eyes and ears. Depending on how you see it, detectives and spies can be separated into two categories. Detectives are more into solving public crimes and finding out who is responsible, and spies are more into finding out the interconnected web of all the members linked to crimes. Essentially, the guardians work together to give the assassins info on who to target.

Either way, everyone is a part of the SOF, a program in which only the elite of the elite are able to join.

Percy had found a home with the SOF and lived contently. He was constantly monitoring the Border Guard for the SOF to check on the security detail. Many SOF and Enforcement Corps—who were often the customs officers—aided him in protecting the border from any outsiders. Many people flocked to Olympia and many people left. It was up to the SOF, the Enforcement Corps and the Border Guard to monitor movement in and out of the nation. Of course, it was also part of Percy's job to make sure no one sneaks into the country. Illegal immigration was… well, illegal. They had to give all their information to the government.

The border was long. And the land was big as well. To travel from the most northern part of State 1 to the most southern part of State 4 it would take approximately five days and fourteen hours non-stop on horseback at a canter. With breaks, and short periods of a full-speed gallop, it would take a week and a half to two weeks. Travelling from the eastern seaboard to the western frontier would take less time than that, but it was still a long time.

To patrol a 1500 mile border from the northern part of State 5 to the southern part of State 6, around two million Border Guard members are used. It might seem like overkill, but lots of people try smuggling stuff across the border. Hoarders… traffickers… things that are allowed in the neutral zone but not in Olympia aren't allowed passage unless a direct order comes from the government itself. The density of the Border Guard is 1450 personnel per mile. These are all soldiers aiding with customs and protecting from intruders. And since the border is so long, it really is a relaxed job. Although the job requires guardsmen to be alert, it also requires the least effort.

Though, housing two million men and women ages 16-45 can be a little difficult, Percy noticed.

Percy was already in State 2 territory. He had left the western border of State 5 about four days ago. With his speedy horse, Blackjack, he could get places pretty quickly compared to other people. He figured he could push Blackjack into about midnight to get to the walls of the Capital. From there, they could take it easy into the meeting at SOF HQ.

Percy had sent a letter ahead warning the SOF members there that he was going to be late by a day because he left the border late. By now, the letter should have made it to them and they would be informed.

He flicked the reins, and Blackjack took off at sprint speed.

Percy found himself bursting through the streets of Philadelphia, which meant brotherly love in the old tongue. It was a pleasant town. It was big, but at the same time, it wasn't big. Sure, it was an important part of State 2, considering its population rivaled that of the capitals of States 3 and 4 and 6, but compared to New York, it was not much.

Philadelphia was a generally nice city with nice people, but it was growing rapidly. Percy wondered if it would turn into a New York: gangs, violence, racial tensions.

Percy had a lot of time to think about random things like that. After all, the life of an SOF operative who lost his two closest friends was lonely, especially when travelling alone. But like always, he seldom thought like that. He tried to focus on the positives, and aside from being alone, life was great. Percy had the duty of protecting the citizens of Olympia from criminals. It made him happy that he was helping others.

Suddenly, there was a screech from above. Percy looked up and saw his golden eagle. He frowned. It was carrying a letter.

He pulled back gently on Blackjack's reins, slowly decelerating until they were at zero velocity. He held his hand out for the eagle to drop the letter. It dropped the parchment right into his palm. Dreading what he was about to see, he slowly rolled the parchment out.

And his fears were confirmed. Right in the center of the page were two words:

CODE BLACK.

So this is the new story you all voted for! This is idea #4, adapted to progressive changes in story as I have been developing it. Just as I end one story, another begins. It was a very close race between this and idea #2, but this won out in the end. Eventually, I may follow through with idea #2; however, I've already developed this one so I won't change my mind and start idea #2 in the middle of this story, especially with school this year. Anyway, read the description for idea#4 and you'll get the gist of the plot. This is very much an overview chapter.

Here's the first chapter. Read and review. I hope you enjoy! Leave hate comments if you don't like this plot and make sure you never come again. Thank you very much.

SharkAttack719

P.S. since Gaea wants to rise by August 1st (I think) haven't you noticed Rick likes making August doomsday? Anyway, I'm sure a lot of you have started reading the Blood of Olympus. Unfortunately for me, I have larger concerns than getting a book on the weekdays so I won't get it until the weekend. Please don't spoil it for me. And BTW, I wrote this on Sunday, so I have no idea if the seven make it to Athens before the day Gaea's supposed to rise.