Title: Daughter of the Sky, Hero of the Galaxy
Summery: Shepard never cared much about her father. She was just trying to survive. Learning he was a god? Well… she just had to wonder why on Earth she had to live like she did.
Waking up to find herself in a strange place put her on alert. She sat right up, head whipping around, trying to see where she was.
It was a wood house.
Wood?
She sat up, wondering what the fuck was going on. Her body felt completely fine- surprising her, given what had happened. She gingerly touched her side confused.
The door slid open, and she jerked her head up, her hands ready for a fight as a pretty black haired girl came in.
"Oh, you're awake." She said, nodding her head. She was a little younger then Shepard herself. "Chiron was worried, you were out for a week."
"…Chiron the foster dad?" Shepard asked, wondering if she ended up in a home again. She would have to figure out a way to escape sooner or later. "And… what attacked me? That thing…" she frowned. She racked her mind, trying to remember what it was called-
"Pasiphaë's son?" the girl asked. Shepard frowned. "Long story short- the god Poseidon sent a bull he wished King Minos to kill in honor of him. Minos refused, and in punishment, Poseidon had Pasiphaë fall in love with the bull- and we got that monster."
"…That's fucked up." The girl agreed, and walked forward, her omni-tool activating. Shepard didn't bother moving as she was scanned. No point.
"Everything seems to be in order, but then I'm not from Cabin Seven- not the best nurse or medic." The girl said, before she offered her hand. "Ashley Williams- Cabin Five."
"…Shepard." Shepard shook the girl's hand. "And are cabin's supposed to mean something?"
"Well, not sure if I'm the best to say anything. I punch things, I can't explain it." Ashley said, frowning. "You weren't supposed to wake up on my shift." She grumbled. "Alright- look, you didn't react to my tiny story, why?"
"…Because the idea of aliens coming to earth and then humans making up a story about why they look like that makes sense." Shepard said, dryly. Ashley blinked.
"…Huh… have to remember that excuse. Well, no. it is actually a true story. The Greek Gods are real. And this camp is for the children of them." Ashley looked at Shepard who looked right back.
"… Is this some kind of hospital and you left your floor? Like the psych ward?" Shepard asked. Ashley scowled.
"Very funny Sheep."
"…Did you just call me Sheep?" Shepard asked in shock.
"You're a Shepard, aren't you?" mocked Ashley. Shepard scowled.
"Fuck off… Ash-head!"
"Oooh, nice one." Taunted the other girl as Shepard glared- but they were interrupted by a turian entering the room, followed by a guy… with a fucking horse's body.
"…What the fuck?" Shepard asked. "…Am I in the psych ward to?!" Ashley scowled as the turian sighed, and horse-dude seemed amused.
"No it isn't Miss. In fact- you are perfectly sane." Shepard stared, then looked at Ashley who looked smug.
"…Fuck this, I'm high on pain killers. Only explanation." She then laid back down as Ashley groaned.
"This is going to a long talk." The turian said. Horse-dude sighed.
"It appears so… Ashley, I believe it is your turn to help Miss Jackson teach canoeing today."
"Shit, your right. Bye Chrion! Later Sparta!"
"Sparatus." Grunted the Turian. Shepard did not get up.
"You aren't high, nor are you crazy." Chiron told her. "I am Chiron, trainer of heroes. This is Sparatus, son of Zeus, and potentially your brother." Shepard sat up then, and looked at them both.
"…Fucking bullshit." Announced Shepard. Sparatus' mandibles flared.
"You have a bit of a mouth." Said the turian.
"And?" Shepard asked. Chiron sighed. He had a feeling this was going to be a long day.
He was right. Shepard- as she called herself, refusing to say her first name- was a foulmouthed brat used to the streets. She clashed with her new brother, even as she learned they were telling the truth.
She also showed little interest in her godly father, after an hour of convincing her, and having Zeus claim her. She was more concerned about her life on the streets- demanding to know why she had been left to rot.
Learning it was a rule made her bitter.
He left Sparatus to do the tour to try and force them to bond- though he had a feeling it wouldn't work as well as he had hoped.
"So, Camp Half-Blood is for Greek Demigods?" asked Shepard as they strode around camp. The cabins were nice to look at, if not a bit weird as fuck- one looked like it was alive. What the hell?
"Yes, and Camp Jupiter is for Roman Demigods. That's located on the other side of New Hope."
"…Dude, let's pretend I'm a newbie, shall we?" asked Shepard dryly. Sparatus felt a bit embarrassed, and annoyed. Sure, his new sister, but why did he have to explain- he was busy!
"New Hope is the capital of this planet- Grome."
"…Seriously?" snorted Shepard. Sparatus withheld his own snicker at the terrible name. A compromise on the behalf of the camps. Still was a terrible name.
"Yes. It's about half the size of Earth, I believe." Said the son of Zeus. "Demi-gods live on it, though we do get tourists who stay to New Hope. The rest of the planet is full on monsters."
"So only the camps and New Hope have people?"
"No. a bunch of smaller towns are all around the planet. Same with smaller camps." Sparatus explained, before he continued the tour- showing her the large arena used for theater productions, spars and for training sessions. A large forest and lake were next to the arena- the grounds for capture the flag- which sounded fucking awesome to Shepard. Using weapons and their powers? Sign her fucking up.
"Do we have any other siblings?" asked Shepard as she noticed large groups of kids run around- all looking like one another.
"…We have an immortal sister as a Hunter of Artemis." Said Sparatus. "Her name is Thalia."
"No others at all?" asked Shepard. Sparatus shook his head.
"No." his answer was to short though, and Shepard frowned at him. "Years ago, a pact was made for no more Big Three Children. It was broken, obviously, and later discarded after Percy Jackson, a son of Posideon, saved Olympus."
"…Can you tell the whole story?" And so, Shepard learned a very long tale from her older brother. Shepard was very interested. She remembered her mother often teaching her about the Greek Gods, and had developed a fondness for stories that never really went away…
"And even after the pact was agreed to be no more, the River Styx still had a hold. We are still punished by it ourselves, and as such, the Big Three have affairs less nowadays." Sparatus told his sister.
"Huh… so we still were accidents?" asked Shepard.
"…More or less."
"Lucky us." Said Shepard sarcastically, and Sparatus did have to agree… kind of.
"Now, capture the flag used to be every week, however with the recent surge of Asari demigods, capture the flag is twice a month, once just our own camp- the other times we go against Jupiter." He told her. Shepard grinned toothily.
"Sounds fun."
"… What is your name?" he asked suddenly. "I can't keep calling you Shepard."
"Yeah you can." Shepard replied. She then spotted the krogan from before bickering with the boy… Targun and Felix, right?
"Hey, Sparky is up and alive." Said the krogan upon spying her. Shepard raised an eyebrow at that.
"Sparky?"
"Ignore him." Sighed the human. "I'm Felix Jones- this is Urdnot Targun. We're from Cabin Six."
"… I'm new." She said dryly.
"Athena, goddess of War and Wisdom." Sparatus told his sister. She blinked a bit, and eyed Targun, who rolled his eyes.
"I'm the only krogan demigod of Athena's- the others are either Ares or Mars." He told her dryly.
"Mom was wondering what it would be like to have a krogan kid." Felix said, shrugging. Shepard eyed Targun, who looked rather neutral at hearing that- but also seemed angry.
Mommy issues. Or inferiority? She eyed the people around them- most avoided the two siblings, eyeing Targun with weary eyes- or disdainful ones. It kind of made her feel like she was back on the streets, being eyed by everyone even when she carried a credit chit.
"I'm apparently a Zeus kid." She told them.
"No fucking shit." Snorted a voice. The girl from earlier came in, grinning. "I'm Jamie Fox, daughter of the best damn god ever- Ares." She offered her hand.
"You met her sister earlier." Sparatus told Shepard.
"Yeah, Ash was saying that. Ignore her- she's a wimp."
"And yet she kicks your ass in sparring." Felix said.
"Says the dude who has a crush on my wimp sister." That began a fight, and silently Sparatus tugged Shepard away. He looked annoyed- as far as she could tell. Turian facial expressions were weird.
"That happen a lot?"
"Ares and Athena are both gods of war- thus the cabins are constantly at war with one another. Add Mars kids in, and you get a fight." Sparatus said. "Athena still never has forgiven them for degrading her to a craftsmen. In revenge, she had Rome fall, given her original purpose was always as a strategist."
"Really?" Shepard asked.
"I dated a turian girl from that cabin. She showed me some books when I expressed an interest. It's more rumor then anything, but it fits the motive of the gods."
"Wow." Shepard said, blinking. A large ringing noise began, and Shepard jerked back. "What's that?"
"Supper time." Sparatus told his sister, leading her to the open pavilion they had. "Come on, our table is one of the smaller ones." As Shepard was lead to her new table, she couldn't help but wonder if this was all a dream.
A family, a home… it felt great.
All the kids were chatting among one another as women danced around, serving food to them. Sparatus muttered they were nymphs- their trees moved with permission to the new planet. They liked helping the half-bloods.
"The cups you simply speak to." Sparatus told her. "Non-alcoholic." He turned to his cup and ordered a sport drink. Shepard looked at hers.
"Fressca?" she half-said, half-asked. In answer, the cup was filled. She smiled happily. "Awesome."
"Campers!" a voice cried. Shepard looked up to see Chiron at a head table, next to a guy with goat legs. The goat dude nodded, and stood, smiling.
"Please welcome…" he frowned, and looked at Chiron. "Did she give her first name?" Shepard scowled at that.
"No one fucking needs to know my damn name." she muttered. Sparatus ignored his sister.
"…Please welcome, Shepard- daughter of Zeus!" A lightning bolt appeared above her head as the sky boomed.
"…Wow, dramatic." Shepard said dryly, in the silence. Loud laughter filled the area. They turned to their food. "So… who is he?"
"Grover- Lord of the Wild." Said Sparatus, as he stood up. "Come on- we burn a bit of food for an offering." He told her. Shepard nodded, and followed. Everyone was giving their parents the juiciest berry, or the best piece of meat. Sparatus slid his own food in- some sort of strange turian dish. "Zeus!" the fire flared.
Shepard picked out a piece of steak, and let it drop. The smell made her mouth water as it burned. "Zeus!" she repeated her brother's words before they went back to their table. "Wasn't Grover part of Percy Jackson's story?"
"The original Lord of the Wild, Pan, faded." Explained Sparatus. "Grover was the one who found him, and he became the Lord of the Wild in his stead. He's the reason that Earth wasn't completely destroyed by humans, and he's the reason most planets are doing better." The two went to their food, munching away. Sparatus pointed to the third member of the table, a man in a floral print shirt. "That's Mr. D- also known as Dionysus, god of Wine and Parties."
"…Why is he here?" Shepard asked in bewilderment.
"Well- years back he chased some nymph and then got stuck as camp counselor as a punishment. He kind of just stayed after that. He drinks a lot, and he tends to never get our names right. He's more of an observer then an actual part of the camp."
"Must like us then." Shepard said in amusement. Sparatus snorted.
"More like he enjoys tormenting us." He said dryly. "It could be still part of his punishment, maybe." Shepard hummed, eating her food. Silence dominated after that, though Sparatus did answer a few questions she had.
He also asked for her name again. Ha, no.
After supper, they stacked their dishes for the nymphs, and headed to the arena, where the Apollo cabin- all blondes, which weirded Shepard out- was leading a sing along.
"That is a really rare colour." She muttered. Sparatus nodded.
"Heard about that- apparently it's almost a guarantee that a kid is a demigod if they have blonde hair nowadays." He shrugged. "You humans have weird genetics."
"…Dude, we have the same eyes." She pointed to their blue eyes. Sparatus blinked, looking at her eyes. He looked pained for a second before he nodded.
"Yeah- that's normal for a child of Zeus." Shepard frowned and crossed her arms.
"You aren't telling me something- I don't like liars."
"And you aren't telling me your name." he said dryly. Shepard scowled.
"That is completely different." She told him firmly. He sighed.
"…We had a sister a year or two back. She was an asari, and she had our eyes." He turned his face away. Shepard blinked, and then bit her lip.
"… What happened?"
"She was fighting a drakon on the other side of a planet. It was harassing a village, and she volunteered to go after it. She died killing it." Sparatus said. "I grew up with her. She was the best older sister you could imagine." Shepard walked alongside him in silence before she spoke up.
"My mother left me in the streets. She told me she would be back, and never did. Found her two years later, and she had a new family. I watched them for a few minutes, realized she just… she just didn't want me." Shepard rubbed the back of her head. "I don't… like my first name anymore." Sparatus was silent for a minute.
"I understand." He said, and that was the only thing last spoken to each other. After the sing along, they went to their cabin- where Shepard found an extra shirt and a pair of boxers waiting for her. The cabin was rather intimidating inside. Golden eagles and a moving celling was one thing- but a giant statue of their father?
She was very happy a cover was over the eyes.
"Arsimen- our sister- put that on there." Sparatus said. "It is rather… daunting to have it stare at us."
"No shit." Shepard said, as she eyed the sleeping bag waiting for her. It was a pretty cool black one. "No beds?"
"None. Perfect for military training." Sparatus said. He activated his omni-tool and checked the time. "It's around nine- bed."
"Wait, what?" asked Shepard.
"I'm the counsellor of this cabin, and right now- it's bed time for kids under fifteen.
"…It's nine! What the fuck is wrong with you?" asked Shepard. Sparatus though didn't budge, and Shepard was forced to change and slip into her sleeping bag, Sparatus following her example soon after. As Shepard lay on the floor, she closed her eyes, and sighed deeply.
It kind of felt amazing… belonging here.
She felt as if her legend had just begun.
Codex entry: Grome
The planet they occupy- because Camp Half-Blood/Camp Jupiter/New Rome can't be on Earth anymore with Olympus moving to the Citadel- is a smaller planet. It's near Berekenstain, and it's rather peaceful. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter are on either sides of the capital- New Hope.
There are a bunch of smaller towns all over the planet, and a few small camps to teach kids as well- these places tend to only teach minor gods, but a couple of Olympian kids are around.
Monsters also love this planet, so heroes get a regular workout. Camp Jupiter routinely sends out scouts to make sure no army is forming.
New Hope is a popular tourist attraction- but all tourists don't leave the place. People often ask why- given there are other settlements on the Planet. However, the truth is the Mist makes them believe that outside New Hope is to dangerous for tourists just yet. A barrier surrounds New Hope, making it safe for those who enter.
I didn't want to include a whole bunch of siblings for Shep. Why? Well… I hate how the gods just brush off the pact. No offense- but a promise on the Styx is permanent, right? So how can they just go 'lol, changed our minds!' if they couldn't before? So... yeah, only one sibling.
Also! TURIAN COUNCILOR IS SHEP'S BROTHER! I REGRET NOTHING ABOUT THIS!
Nothing. Nothing.
Shepard refusing to use her name is something I found amusing to write with. Will we learn her name? Yes. When?... In a while. And why does she accept it so easy? Shep... Shep is a woman who hates liars. She knows how to pick them apart, and while she isn't full sold on the idea this is real- to much of it seems like the real deal. When she wakes up and nothing has changed, she'll fully accept it.
Review please! I would love some questions/comments/ect.