A/N: Okay, so this is my first fic and it's about Octavian's past.
Disclaimer: No I do not own PJO or HoO or otherwise the books would be really messed up.
Octavian. That was his name. He had been named after the first emperor of Rome Gaius Octavianus. That was what his father had told him. But it was a lie, he discovered that when he came home crying from kindergarten where the other children had teased him and called him octopus. Unfortunately, his father hadn't been home.
Flashback
Octavian was running away from kindergarten. No one had any idea how the scrawny blonde boy had done it but he managed to not get run over by cars and made it home. He rapidly rang the doorbell until his mother came and opened it.
"What are you doing home so early? I thought kindergarten didn't end for another four hours! I'm busy now run along." His mother said slurring her words as she tripped over her feet.
"But mommy! They called me an octopus and the wouldn't believe me when I told them I was named after an emperor." He explained to his mother.
"What emperor? You were named Octavian because you were my eighth child. Who told you such a lie scrawny child?"
"Eighth child? So I have siblings, where are they?" Octavian was certain his father hadn't lied to him but he decided not to push the subject.
"Them? Hell, I'd expect. They were never born those nasty children. I don't understand how your father convinced me to keep you I'm sure one of the other ones would have at least been less wimpy then you. Get out of my sight." With that his mother slammed the door in his face.
End of flashback
Yes he had always been an intelligent child; his mother had been an alcoholic who apparently didn't know of birth control. The very same year his full sister was born, Nina she was named. Octavian had a sneaking suspicion it was because it was so close to the word 'nine'. Octavian absolutely despised that his mother named them after numbers; they were children not improved version numbers!
Octavian's years with Nina were the best of his life. She looked up to him as he told her stories of Roman Legions. He loved the feeling of being powerful and quickly wanted more. He wanted to be the best of the best, the most powerful of the powerful. He told Nina of this although he was sure the one year old didn't understand. He however was sure he saw a flicker of worry cross her pale blue eyes, the same that Octavian and his mother had. See, Octavian may have not liked his mother but he could see what their father was thinking when he married her; there was no denying she was pretty.
Eight years old, that's when everything went wrong. A huge black dog came to their house and successfully knocked down the candles on Octavian's birthday cake, setting the house on fire.
Flashback
" Run Octavian! Grab Nina and Run! Run to the woods in wine county and they'll find you there!" Octavian's mother screamed. Octavian was befuddled, his mother had never cared about him and now he was detecting some actual concern in her voice.
"Mom! What's going on?" He yelled trying to be the brave one.
"Do as your mother said, Octavian." His father said as he ran up the stairs after holding something that looked suspiciously like a sword. Octavian grabbed Nina and ran outside, it was a full struggle to keep Nina from running back into the flame-engulfed house. Nina seemed to have so much energy Octavian wondered if she had drunk an energy drink just before the house got set on fire.
"Mommy! Daddy! Come back!" She screamed at the house.
The two of them stood there for hours as the firemen hopelessly searched for their parents in the house and tried to calm the flames. Finally the fireman emerged with two bodies. Octavian felt as if all the life had just been sucked out of him. Before he knew it Nina had dragged him to the ambulance.
"Are you their children?" A fireman asked. Octavian nodded.
"Alright, come with me son." A cop said as he and Nina were dragged off into a police car.
"A-are we going to jail?" Octavian managed to ask.
"No, I'm taking you to the hospital." The cop replied. He introduced himself as Officer Damian and he bought Octavian and Nina Donut's at Krispy Kreams as well as Soda's at the a Gas Station.
"Alright this is the hospital, follow me lets go find your parents." They followed silently. The cop passed them over to a nurse who led them to a room.
"Okay now, room 704. Ready to see your parent's?" The nurse asked. Nina nodded. The nurse opened the door to the room, on the single bed in the room lay Nina and Octavian's mother. Scratched, bruised and burnt she still managed to look pretty. Octavian pulled chairs from the side of the room to either side of their mother. Nina sat in one and Octavian in the other. The two year old buried her face in her mother's hands.
"Let's pray." She said. She put her hands together and started muttering something. An instinct told Octavian to do the same.
'Dear any god who's listening please let my mother live. Please.' He prayed.
Octavian opened his eyes and saw the shimmering light form of something. He knew exactly who it was. Apollo, Roman God of the sun.
"Lord Apollo" Octavian kneeled followed by Nina.
"I am here on a very brief visit, your prayer was heard Octavian. I am very sorry to inform you I can only awake her for a few minutes and then she will…sleep her last sleep," Apollo said, " But I have come here with another message as well. You have a gift Octavian you see things. You must embrace that for it will play an important part in your future." Apollo explained and than disappeared in a fountain of golden sparks. At the very same time their mother gasped awake.
"Octavian, Nina!" She said. We rushed toward her. " I cannot stay very long. Firstly, I would like to apologize about all I've done to you, I've been cruel and I will surely be banished to the fields of punishment when I die." Nina bit back tears, trying to be strong. "Secondly, I'm not leaving you two with nothing. Take these." She handed them a bunch of letters. "These will guarantee you a place in the very best cohort at Camp Jupiter, you will know what it is when you see of it. Oh yes, Octavian this knife will do you good. It's Ceremonial, been in my family for years. Take care of it. Take care of each other. I love-" And with that she was gone. Dead. Let Pluto treat her well. The great ex-praetor Cecilia Beams was less than nothing.
End of flashback
Octavian had left the hospital with Nina soon after they discovered their father was in Pluto's realm as well. They made sure that they weren't seen by anyone so they wouldn't be taken to an orphanage. Octavian remembered his mother telling him to go to wine county so he managed to find a bus going there. He had stole a bit of money from a grocery store cashier (yes he had knew it was wrong) and it had been just enough to get him and Nina tickets to wine county.
He had thought that he had already had enough suffering with his parents dying and house burning down but clearly he was wrong. They had just arrived at Wine County and Nina saw two people swords and went to talk to them before Octavian could stop her. They immediately panicked and they swung the sword through Nina. Octavian stifled a scream. Nina. They had taken poor innocent Nina all of the family he had left. He heard them yell something like "Come on! Lets get out of here, we killed her the police will be after us!" They also muttered a few curses in a language Octavian couldn't understand.
Octavian was ruined. He however kept going but swore to himself he would get his revenge on the killers of Nina. He remembered their faces. He also remembered the sword swishing through his sister's body. Octavian had a video memory for things that were important in his life. For other things such as facts he had just a regular memory.
After a couple of hours or so of walking (he had decided to leave his sisters body at the bus station so the police could find the murderers) he was highly exhausted. He collapsed at a riverbank and rinsed his face with the cold water, which must have come from the icy peaks of the nearby mountains. He looked across the stream and saw what must have once been a grand mansion. Something inside of him seemed to pull him toward the mansions because there he was, stupidly crossing the icy river. When he made it to the mansion he collapsed.
"Wake up." A voice said in his head. He looked up to see that it was morning and that there was a giant wolf staring at him. He immediately jumped up and unsheathed his knife.
"Good instincts," The wolf complemented "I am Lupa, trainer of Romulus and Remus. I am not here to harm you, but to train you to fight. Let us begin."
So Octavian trained, push-ups, sit-ups, running miles and slashing at training dummies. Finally it was the day of the final exam, this would determine if Octavian were pup or prey. Octavian wasn't scared at all though during the day's of hard training all he had to think about to make him push himself harder was the murderers' of his sister.
Lupa sent wolves at him and he stabbed them with ease. The she-wolf then probably commanded them to attack harder. Now Octavian was having a harder time stabbing them but eventually he managed to beat them. Lupa nodded at him with approval.
"Travel south now young demigod, find Camp Jupiter." She told him. Octavian then took off before she could change her mind his instincts leading him. It took perhaps a week to get to Camp Jupiter but when he did he was covered in yellow monster dust and his skin was bruised and scratched. He was worried as well, would they accept him? Would they tease him like everyone at school had? Octavian took one last look back, and then crossed the river toward a magnificent looking village with hundreds of soldiers slashing at dummies and someone shouting orders at everyone. That's definitely were he wanted to be, in that ridiculous purple toga.
Okay, so that's the first chapter. I think I'm doing more chapters but I don't really know if I should. Review please. Constructive criticism is welcome but no flaming please.