A/N: First of all, if any of you have a problem with the pairing, don't read the story. Don't start bitching about it. Second, all of you guys that write the Luke/Thalia stories and all of you that like them, do me a favor and drop dead. Third, I'll actually write this story four times. This one will be in third person narrative, while the other three will be from the point of view of the three main protagonists. Who they are? Read this chapter, think about the title and the pairing, and if you still can't figure it out PM me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. Rick Riordan does. And for those of you that don't know it, he know writes the sequel.

Fire, Sea and Lighting

Chapter 1

Without a doubt, there are very few people in the world that don't know what the Empire State Building is. What most of them don't know however is that besides the 102 'normal' floors there is another one. It is the 600th floor or, as it is also called, Mount Olympus. There still live the ancient Greek gods, both the twelve major and all the minor ones.

Of course, only on rare occasions all twelve of the major gods were gathered on Olympus. That was either because they lived elsewhere, because they were busy with their works or, in Hades' case, because he was forbidden from setting foot on Olympus unless called.

Today however was such an occasion, since they had one of their (rare) councils. All of them were discussing what to do with a…problem that had appeared.

"His memories haven't returned yet, and this is strange. He is already thirteen and all previous times he had remembered before he became seven. Still his powers have begun to manifest, like he is one of our children. What should we do with him?" said Zeus.

"I say we either kill him or imprison him to Tartarus." grumbled Hades.

Athena shook her head. "That would be folly. If we imprison him, he would still regain his memories. And when that happens his full powers will return as well. Then it would be simple matter for him to escape Tartarus and destroy us all. As for killing him… sure that would mean that he would disappear from this world for the next 487 years. But then he would return and we will die."

"What do you propose then Athena? You are the wisest and smartest of us." asked Poseidon.

"I say we let him attend Camp Half-Blood. That way he can learn to control his powers and perhaps make some friends among our children. This way, when he remembers, he won't have anything to hold against us." she answered.

"I don't understand. All previous times he left doing who knows what when he remembered. Why not just leave him alone?" asked Apollo.

His sister, who was sitting next to him, slapped the back of his head. "Are you an idiot? If his powers have begun to manifest, that means that monsters will be after him soon. And if they kill him because he doesn't know how to protect himself, I bet he will still be very pissed off with us when he returns. I for one agree with Athena." answered Artemis.

"Can't Hephaestus make restraints to hold him? I mean, he managed to make restraints that could hold even Zeus." said Hermes.

Hephaestus shook his head. "No, I can't. If I could, do you think I wouldn't have done it before? His power is too great to be restrained by anything. Have you never wondered why he goes through this eternal cycle of death and rebirth? It is because his power is too great for his body to handle. I too agree with Athena."

"Well, I disagree! The last think I need is an overpowered teenager. As if all the other brats I have to deal with aren't bad enough." argued Dionysus.

"Come now Dionysus. All you do all day is drink Diet Coke, play pinochle and complain about the campers. It's Chiron who does all the work and you know it." countered Hera.

"It is decided then." said Zeus. "Apollo, how long will it take him to reach the Camp?"

"With the speed he is moving…in around two days. I still don't understand how he knew where the camp is. Or why he wants to go there."

Zeus shrugged. "I don't know either. My only guess is that his memories combined with his survival instinct gave him the feeling that he should go there. But I don't why. Unless the monsters have begun to hunt him already. In any case, keep your eye on him. And, Dionysus, call us when he arrives."

Two days later, in Camp Half-Blood, eleven-year-old Annabeth Chase has waked up early in the morning. Finding that she couldn't go back to sleep, she decided to take a walk outside. Imagine her surprise when she found her old friend Luke Castellan also outside. He told her that he couldn't sleep either.

The two started to walk together, talking about various events at the Camp and about who would win the next capture the flag game. By unspoken agreement, they started to walk towards Half-Blood Hill, where the oak that was once their friend Thalia stood.

When they reached it however, they saw something that they weren't expecting to see. Running up the hill was a teenager that looked like he was a couple years older than Annabeth. He wore black clothes and had black hair. And he was hunted by a dozen hellhounds.

Annabeth tried to move forward to help him, but Luke held her back. She understood why. They didn't have any weapons. They wouldn't be of any help, they would just get killed. Even if they ran back to the camp to get weapons or help, by the time they would come back he would be either safe or dead. All they could do was hope that he would reach the top of the hill before the hellhounds overtook him.

It looked like a slim hope however, since the monsters were reducing the distance with alarming rate. And then the boy stumbled. Before he could get back up, the hellhounds had surrounded him and the largest has already jumped for the kill.

Annabeth couldn't tear her eyes away from what was happening, no matter how much she wanted to. This was like reliving Thalia's end.

The boy brought his right hand in front of his face, as if to protect himself from the lunging monster. Both Luke and Annabeth knew it wouldn't help him. Then it happened. Just as the hellhound was about to kill him, flames erupted all around him, hiding him and the monsters from Luke's and Annabeth's sight.

When the flames subsided, Luke's and Annabeth's mouths fell open. Everything within a ten meter radius from the boy had been incinerated, even the rocks. There was nothing left from the monsters. And what was even more surprising was that the boy's clothes were undamaged.

He got up and started to move slowly towards them, but they were too shocked to go and help him.

When he reached them, they saw that while his clothes were undamaged from the fire, they had multiple tears and were very dirty, with stains from both dirt and blood.

They didn't pay much mind to it however, because the boy was stumbling and now had to hold the tree to steady himself. Then he fell forward. Or he would have if Luke hadn't caught him.

Luke turned to Annabeth. "Quick, go get Chiron. Hurry!" he ordered. Annabeth nodded and took of. Luke started to go towards the Camp, carrying the boy with him.

He hadn't even covered one fourth of the distance, when Chiron, the old centaur who was the main instructor of the demigods, arrived.

He took one look at the boy, took him in his arms, ordered Luke to go back to his cabin, and ran off towards the infirmary.

A few hours later, the boy woke up. And he had one hell of a headache. He sat up on his bed, holding his head. "Hughh. Did anybody get the number of the truck that hit me?"

"It wasn't a truck." said a voice.

He looked up. He looked at the thirteen people that were gathered around him. He blinked. "You know, I've seen a fair number of strange things during the past months. But I've never seen a more mismatched company than you guys."

"Mismatched?" asked one of them, who had a well-trimmed black and grey beard.

The boy shrugged. "Sure. I mean, there is you, with your dark blue pinstriped suit, awful taste by the way. Then there is this guy next to you who looks like a beachcomber from Key West, who are notorious for the temper tantrums they throw every ten minutes, then we have: a guy who looks like he ate a lemon and looks at you like you took his favourite toy, a woman who looks like an overbearing, perfectionist mother hen, a guy who looks like he could pick a fight in an empty room and doesn't seem very bright either, a guy who looks like he got through a meat machine, a woman that must be the very definition of stupid bimbo, a guy that looks like he has spent all his life getting drunk, a guy who looks like he would steal your underwear while you wear it if he could get away with it, a woman who looks like one of those brainy types who love to think at least half an hour before taking the simplest decision, a guy who smiles way too much, he annoys me already, and last but not least a little girl that looks like she has been spoiled her entire life. Oh, and let's not forget this hybrid between a human and a pony. I think I need some air."

With that, he stood up and went outside, leaving behind him a room full of stunned people.

Chiron didn't know if he should start laughing or be afraid for the life of everyone in the camp. The boy has managed to insult all the major gods within one minute.

The gods meanwhile were simply too shocked to do anything. This was the first time someone spoke to them like that face to face.

After they got over their shock, they went outside to look for him. They found him sitting next to the campfire, with his legs inside the fire, looking around curiously. When he head them coming he turned around to face them.

"Well, I guess you are going to kill me now. Before you do however, I would like you to explain something to me. I know both my parents were humans. So, since I'm not the son of any of you, which gives me no small amount of relief, where did my powers came from?" he asked.

"How do you know that we have children and that they have powers anyway?" asked Apollo curious.

The boy looked at him as if he was an idiot. "I saw teenagers riding pegasi, dryads coming out of trees and a centaur. And if those things exist, then the Olympian gods must also exist. And this means that if half the legends are true, they must have more children that they could count. And they must have powers or something special as a result. Now, let's see if I can guess who is who. The bimbo is obviously Aphrodite, the idiot who loves fights must be Ares, the drunk must be Dionysus, the beachcomber is definitely Poseidon, the brainy one is Athena, the thief is Hermes, the annoying blonde is probably Apollo, the cripple is Hephaestus and the one who looks like a little girl is Artemis. This means that the mother hen is Hera and that the jealous guy who ate a lemon is Hades, which in turn means that… Wow, I never thought that Zeus would have such a bad taste."

Artemis lifted an eyebrow. "Do you have a death wish or something? Although my brother is indeed very annoying. And how come you didn't insult me this time?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Because if the legends about you guys are true, you are the one I like and respect the most. And yes, if living means that I would have to deal with you guys, I would prefer to die. After you answer my question of course."

Zeus got out of his shock and answered. "Sorry to disappoint you, but we are not going to kill you, even though I'm pretty sure all of us want to by now. As for your question, you don't know it, but our age is the fifth age of this world."

The boy thought about it. "Fifth? Then I guess that the Titans' were the fourth and Uranus' and Gaia's the third. But whose were the first two? And what has this to do with what I asked you?"

"Wait and you'll see." answered Zeus. "Now, don't interrupt me until I finish. The second age was the age of the Egyptian gods. The first age we don't know. The second age ended with a war among the Egyptian gods. We don't know what started it, but on one side was Phoenix, the god that was famous for living for 500 years, dying and then be reborn, and on the other were all the rest. It was a terrible war. What most people don't know is that a god can be killed but it requires tremendous power to do so. Phoenix however could kill other gods whenever he wanted. We don't know why that was. Anyway, in that war Phoenix killed all the other gods but he himself had suffer fatal wounds. Before his death, he created Gaia and Uranus and told them what happened and what they needed to know, although he didn't tell them which gods ruled during the first age, which is why we don't know. As you may know, the Phoenix was a fire god. None of the Olympians has direct control over fire, like you do. Of all the gods we know of, only Phoenix had that ability. That's why we believe that somehow you are his descendant, or maybe even son."

The boy took a few minutes to digest all this. "But, this is crazy! I can't be his son, since my father is human, and if I am his descendant, there should have been others before me with the same powers."

Zeus shook his head. "There were none. You have to understand that of all gods, Phoenix was the most mysterious. Besides his control over fire and his ability to kill other gods, we know next to nothing about other abilities he might have had. It quite possible that he could make it so that his powers wouldn't show to his descendants until a requirement only he knew was fulfilled or maybe even make it so that his son -you- wouldn't be born into this world until a certain time. We believe that that is the case, because you power is way too great to be that of a distant descendant. That's why we won't kill you. He must have had a reason to do this."

The boy though about what he heard for a long time. "Are you sure about this?" he finally asked.

"Absolutely." was the quick answer.

The boy stayed silent again for some time, and eventually he said. "Anyway, one thing is certain. The person that I was until now is dead. I can never go back. So, I'll take a new name. And what better name than that of my ancestor? From this moment forth, my name is Phoenix. So, what happens now?" he asked.

"Now you will remain here. You need training. You will have to stay in Hermes' cabin however, as do all people who don't have another cabin to go." answered Poseidon.

"Forget it." said the newly named Phoenix. "First, I don't want to wake up one day and find all my things stolen. And second, I really don't like large crowds. I want space. Preferably fireproof. Imagine what would happen if my power went out of control."

The gods had to admit that there was this chance, and it happening inside Hermes' cabin would be a VERY bad thing.

"Fine, we will make a new cabin for you." sighed Zeus. "But the rest won't like it."

"Who said I care?" countered Phoenix.

ONE YEAR LATER

Percy Jackson wasn't very happy. He should have known that this day, that looked like it would be a good one for a change, would turn out to be bad in the end.

His class took a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The trip was led by Mr. Brunner, their Latin teacher as well as the favourite teacher of almost every student.

Everything seemed to go well enough, relatively speaking, when one of the school bullies, Nancy Bobofit, tried to annoy him and his friend Grover while they were sitting at the edge of a fountain talking.

Suddenly, Percy blacked out for a moment and Nancy was inside the fountain, screaming that he pushed her in. The result? Mrs. Dodds, the math teacher, who also seemed to hate Percy, told him to follow her back into the museum. Probably to give him a month-long detention.

As he followed her, he looked at Mr. Brunner, hoping for some help, but he was busy talking with a boy Percy has never seen before. He was obviously not from their school, since he seemed to be 14 or 15 years old. He had black hair and was dressed as if going to a funeral, with pre black clothes. Mr. Brunner seemed to be in a heated argument with him.

When he eventually caught up with her, she turned to him. "You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.

He decided to play it safe. He said, "Yes, ma'am."

She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?" she asked giving him an evil look.

Trembling, he answered, "I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am."

Thunder shook the building.

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

Percy had no idea what she was talking about.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Ma'am, I don't..." tried to say Percy.

"Your time is up," she hissed.

Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shrivelled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice Percy to ribbons.

Then things got even stranger.

Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.

"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.

Mrs. Dodds lunged at Percy.

With a yelp, he dodged and felt talons slash the air next to his ear. He snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit his hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a bronze sword.

Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.

Percy's knees were jelly. His hands were shaking so bad he almost dropped the sword.

Mrs. Dodds snarled, "Die, honey!"

And she flew straight at him.

Absolute terror ran through his body. He did the only thing that came naturally: he swung the sword.

The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water.

Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air.

Percy was alone.

There was a ballpoint pen in his hand.

Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but him.

He was still trembling and he was wondering if he had imagined everything.

He went back outside.

It had started to rain.

Then he found out something even stranger. Nobody could remember who Mrs. Dodds was, but instead insisted that their math teacher was called Kerr. Even Grover said the same, although something made Percy think that he was lying.

Percy decided to go and ask Mr. Brunner as well. He was still arguing with that teenager, but they stopped as soon as Percy drew near.

Before Percy got a chance to talk, Mr. Brunner asked him to return him his pen, which Percy did, realizing that he still held it.

After Mr. Brunner also told him that there never was anyone named Mrs. Dodds in their school, Percy was about to leave. Before he could however, he saw the black-dressed teenager looking at him intently. When Percy looked at his eyes, which he observed were brown, he got the feeling that the older boy was looking straight into his soul. So piercing was his gaze.

Percy shuddered and hurried back to his classmates, who were getting ready to go back to school. Before he entered the bus that would take them back, Percy glanced back at the teenager and saw his still staring at him. He quickly got into the bus.

The teenager stood still in the rain for some time, staring where the bus was. Eventually he chuckled softly. 'It is obvious who you are, no matter what that old pony might think. Still, could you be the one? I thought Annabeth or Luke would be more suitable. Could something as simple as your parentage really create a connection where even friendship can't? No matter. I don't have any other choice. I could wait until I'm stronger, but then other problems would arise. And I can't shake the feeling that we will need her soon. Well, one thing is certain. You are your father's son, Perseus Jackson.' he thought. Then he turned and started to walk at the opposite direction from where the bus went.

As he walked, none of the people walking around him noticed that the rain drops evaporated as soon as they touched him, leaving him completely dry.