Sometimes things don't turn out the way you expect them to. I never knew that my friend, this dude named Dionysus—would become a god. I'm still not sure why I was shocked, but the children of Zeus have always been very powerful. Well, any children of the Big Three—Zeus, Poseidon, Hades. As for me, I'm a son of Poseidon. Unlike demigods, I was born a full blooded god. The god of Storms and Natural Disasters. I'm normally one of the nicest of the minor gods, but things do tend to change.

I met Dionysus when he was mortal by chance. He was on some silly quest, and I had decided to go onto mortal land to escape my father trying to set me up yet again with some mortal hero. I found Dionysus intriguing, funny, and an overall nice guy. He was tall, at about 6'2, with curly black hair, and deep purple eyes. When he invented wine and became a god, he got all these cool plant-growing powers that were so rad I bet that they made Demeter jealous.

Then, as all good things do, they came to an end.

This is where my story begins.

June 21, 20XX

I walked down the streets of New York City. When I was out in public, I preferred to be young looking around 18-20. I had a bit of scruff on my face, short, close-cropped black hair and sea-green eyes. I had my hands on my pockets of the oversized hoodie that I always wore. In addition to the light blue ripped jeans, I looked like an every day bad boy teenager. Today was the summer solstice, and while I rarely came to Mount Olympus these days, there was supposed to be a huge meeting this time between the major and minor gods. Zeus was upset about something, that was definitely for sure.

The sky crackled with electricity, as the clouds poured down rain. Mortals ran around, some under umbrellas, some without. They scurried under building tops and running inside at the sudden downpour of rain. I stood in the middle of the sidewalk, and stared up at the ashen gray clouds. It was faint, but it was almost as if I could hear yelling from the clouds.

I sighed, pulling the hood over my head. As the son of Poseidon, I had immunity over water—I couldn't get wet unless I wanted to. I walked into the Empire State Building, looking around the fancy lobby. The front desk only had one mortal behind the counter, and with one whiff I could smell he was a satyr. Most satyrs were scattered around the country, finding new demigod children and bringing them to camp Half-Blood to be trained into heroes. However, with this being the entrance to Olympus we had to take certain precautions.

I approached the desk. "Six hundredth floor." My voice was smooth, like the sea on a warm summer day.

The satyr looked up at me. He had shaggy brown hair, and beady brown eyes. The nametag on the front of his shirt read 'Gleeson'. "No can do, kid. No such thing." He went back to reading the newspaper.

I scowled. Obviously it had been almost three hundred years since I had left Poseidon's palace, so I guess I could've expected nobody to recognize me. I leaned forward. "I will smite you where you stand, satyr. Six hundredth floor."

The satyr looked me up and down. He shrugged, tossing me a key. "You know what to do."

I looked at the key blankly. This new technology was a mystery to me. I knew that this was a key, but beyond that I had no clue of what to do next. Dad just told me to come to the Empire State Building, he didn't mention how to get up it.

"Do you seriously not know how to go to the elevator?" The satyr laughed.

"You dare laugh at a God?" I growled. "I think smiting you would be more and more appealing."

The color drained from his face. "Well, gee, I just figured you were a demigod!" He got to his feet, running/ trotting to the elevators. He pressed a button that had an up arrow, and took the key from my hand. He demonstrated how to turn the key into the lock, and at once a 600 button appeared on the panel.

"Good, now get out." I crossed my arms.

The satyr obliged, and I pressed the 600th floor button. The elevator shuddered to life. As the floors zoomed by, an image of Zeus in the elevator listening to the shitty music flashed through my mind, and I couldn't help but laugh. Mortals and their silly inventions would never cease to amaze me.

The doors opened. Olympus laid out before me, but it was deserted. I passed many houses, some with small fires burning on the windowsill, but most didn't. I started up the path to the large temple where the 12 major gods met each solstice. The building was around 30-40 feet tall, so that any god could be in their true form and still have room to spare. The building was shockingly white, with many marble pillars decorating the doors. The doors were open, and I walked right through them.

At my entrance, many heads turned to look at me. "You're late, Perseus." Zeus spoke. He sat in a chair in the front of the room, his long black hair curling around his shoulders. He played with his beard, as if the fact that I was late made him happy.

"Nice to see you too, Uncle." I spoke.

I looked around the room. All 12 Olympian Gods sat in their thrones, but there were many other gods in the room. I went and joined the minor gods, catching Dionysus' eye on the way over. He winked at me, but otherwise he said nothing. There were around 30 minor gods just standing around awkwardly in the corner of the room. Apparently nobody knew why we were gathered.

"Now that we are all gathered, I have very grave news." Zeus spoke to the room. "Kronos has risen, we need to know where loyalties lie." The room broke out into murmurs, but Zeus held up a hand and everything silenced at once. "Many gods didn't how up today, which is a clear sign. However, you all did, which does prove to me that you all still follow us and not Kronos."

I crossed my arms. This is what they've been bickering about? If I didn't care about openly disobeying the Olympian gods, I would leave. I stayed silent throughout the entire talk, until something caught my attention. In the other side of the room, there were two mortal heroes. One had long, curly blonde hair with ashy gray eyes—a daughter of Athena, if I had to guess. The other was a boy, with shaggy black hair and deep brown eyes. A son of Hades. My lip curled. I didn't hate Hades, but I surely hated his children. They were overly cocky and overly CREEPY. Emphasis on creepy. Most of them spent more time with the dead than the living, which made them unpredictable and dangerous.

Nike stepped forward. She wore elegant white robes, with golden wings sprouting behind her. Her brown hair was tied up in an elegant braid, and with a shock I realized she was talking. "—send someone to watch Camp Half-Blood."

Zeus seemed to ponder what she said. "I see what you mean, Nike, however I believe that until Kronos is defeated that Gods shouldn't interfere with the likes of mortals."

I glanced over to the demigods again to gage their expressions. The daughter of Athena seemed outraged, while the Son of Hades didn't seem to care. I couldn't help myself. "So if we're not interfering with mortals, why are they here?" I blurted out, my eyes clearly on the two demigods.

"Well Perseus, if you were on time, you would have heard them giving their report against Kronos." Zeus rolled his eyes. Father sighed burying his head in his hands. Dionysus had to stop himself from laughing. "But it seems that Perseus would like to volunteer for Nike's quest."

"Wait what? I didn't—" I started, but I caught Poseidon's eye. His expression read one simple warning: Don't. "What quest is that, Lord Zeus?" I asked politely.

"You will accompany Annabeth and Nico against Kronos." Zeus smirked. "You will guide them on their quest."

My mouth gaped open. I knew it was better than to protest so I crossed my arms and waited. Zeus seemed satisfied, and the meeting adjourned without much else happening. Dionysus walked over to me, offering a fist bump which I happily accepted with one of my own. "Man, what have you been doing with yourself lately? It's been what, 300 years?"

"Give or take." Dionysus shrugged. "You'll never believe it. I've been sent to Camp Half-Blood to 'dry out'! Zeus told me I drink too much."

"The god of wine drinks too much?" I scoffed. "I had no idea."

"Right?" D laughed, his purple eyes dancing warmly. "It's so good seeing you again, Perseus."

"It's good seeing you too, D. But wait, if you're stationed in Camp Half-Blood, why don't they just send you back there instead of me going?" I asked him.

"Well, a new prophecy came out, I guess." D shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know much about it. Everyone's been hush hush, even among the Olympian gods."

"Huh." I sighed. "I guess I'll just have to ask them. What's up with mortals being here anyway? I didn't think demigods could get onto Olympus."

"Well, that's how it was in the olden days. But when we moved to America, Zeus decided to be more open with the mortals." D stroked his beard. "Now they can visit Olympus, and the throne room with permission."

"Huh. That's a weird concept. Demigods being allowed on Mount Olympus."

"That's what happens when you disappear under the sea for 300 years, I guess. I mean sure, at least you iris-messaged me, but it's not enough! Not one visit for your dear ol' pal Dionysus." D pouted.

"Oh geez, you sound like my mother." I shook my head.

D shrugged again. "Speaking of mortals, your new best friends are here."

I followed his eyes, and I saw the two demigods approaching me. I waited until they were close to smile. "Hello." I spoke softly. "I'm—"

"Perseus, Son of Poseidon, god of storms and natural disasters." The girl interrupted. "I know who you are."

I scowled. "She took away my main entrance."

"Annie bell." D sighed. "What have we talked about?"

"I'll remember what you tell me when you get my name right." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Listen, Perseus, I'm not sure why Lord Zeus thinks I need an escort, but we're fine. You can stay in Olympus, or whatever it is you gods do."

The boy leaned forward nervously. "Nice to meet you Lord Perseus, I'm Nico di Angelo." He shook my hand.

"At least some of you have manners." I smiled, shaking his hand. "It's been over 300 years since I've talked to mortals."

"Oh wow." Nico whistled. "That's a long time." He fiddled with a ring on his finger.

"Son of Hades?" I guessed.

"Yeah." He sighed. "No pressure or anything."

"Hey, living up the the Big Three's standard isn't easy, trust me." I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Son of Poseidon, right?" He guessed.

"The very same."

"Hate to break up the bro-mance, but you know we're on a tight schedule, Nico." Annabeth groaned. "And now, I suppose you have to come with us."

I turned to say something to Dionysus, but he must've disappeared somewhere. I shrugged. "You know, most mortals would be happy to have the chance to talk one on one with a God."

"Yeah, that's most people. Me? I don't really care. Come on, Nico." She walked off abruptly, leaving me and Nico watching her.

"She's a feisty one, huh?" I chuckled.

"Don't judge her too harshly, Lord Perseus. She's under a lot of pressure." He said nervously, still fidgeting with the ring.

"So I heard something about a new prophecy. What do you know about it?" I asked him as we walked.

"I don't know about the new one. I just know about the old one, the last Great Prophecy." He shook his head sadly.

"The last great prophecy…" I racked my brain, trying to remember. "Uh, I got nothing. What's the last Great Prophecy?"

Nico took a deep breath and recited, "A half-blood of the eldest gods, Shall reach sixteen against all odds. And see the world in endless sleep, the hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. A single choice shall end his days; Olympus to preserve or raze."

"Wait, I know that. My dad was super pissed because he couldn't have any more children."

Nico nodded. "I'm the oldest living child of the eldest gods. I'm fifteen, but I don't turn sixteen until January, so we have time."

"So let me get this straight. On your sixteenth birthday, you're supposed to make a decision that either destroys Olympus, or saves it." I shook my head, laughing. "Good luck with that, man."

"You're not making me feel any better." He complained.

"I'm not supposed to." I shrugged.

"Are you two coming?!" Annabeth yelled.

"Jeez! She's more annoying than dad sometimes." I rolled my eyes.

Nico smiled. "Let's go catch up to her."

Nico led the way through Olympus, until we caught up with Annabeth. She was waiting by the elevator. We stepped into the elevator, where the only sound was the music. Annabeth led the way off the elevator, and out the door. She started to hail a taxi, but I put my hand up. "Allow me." I smiled lightly.

"What-?" She started.

I grabbed both of the demigod's shoulders and teleported us to Camp Half-Blood with a snap of my finger. I looked at the camp. I had never seen it before, and honestly, I was actually speechless. The hill overlooked the camp, where I could see a huge strawberry patch to the left, and cabins further down the hill. I whistled. "Nice."

"You can't just walk in!" Annabeth protested. "You have to get permission, and…"

"I'm a god. I don't need anyone's permission." I laughed, walking down the hill and into the camp.

"Ugh!" She groaned. She walked quickly until she passed me and continued to walk down the hill. The setting sun made her hair seem as if it were on fire, the bright sunlight bouncing off the golden curls.

Nico walked beside me, his pace matching mine. Neither of us spoke as we walked, but it was a comfortable silence. We got down the hill and I started to notice the cabins in greater detail. 12 cabins, 12 Olympian gods. In the middle of the camp was a huge building. "That's the big house." Nico explained. "Where Mr. D and Chiron live in."

I nodded. "Chiron… that name sounds familiar." I thought about it for a second. "Centaur?"

Nico nodded. "He's our camp director."

Annabeth stormed into the big house, and we followed behind her. I heard a lot of voices, that hushed at her abrupt entrance. "Annabeth?" A voice called. "We didn't expect you back so soon."

"Well, I would've been there longer if I didn't have to escort him back here." Annabeth plopped into a seat.

"Escort who?" the voice said kindly.

Nico and I rounded the corner. I saw several teenagers, many of whom couldn't be over the age of 15. They all stared at me, and I glanced around uneasily. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen so many demigods in one place.

"Lord Perseus." Chiron looked at me. From his head to his waist he looked like a normal human, but with the bottom half of a stallion. "What an honor. What brings you here?"

I crossed my arms, scoffing. "Apparently Zeus decided I needed to go on a quest."

Thunder sounded in the distance. "Perseus, I wouldn't insult the King of the Gods." Chiron shook his head.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really? What should I do then?"

"Uh, well…"

The temperature of the room seemed to drop twenty degrees. The campers looked between me and Chiron, nobody saying a word. After a long, tense moment of silence, Chiron cleared his throat.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Lord Perseus."