Son of Hera

by whipsocold

Set after the Titan War, Percy is betrayed by his fellow campers and friends, and left heartbroken by his family. In his desperation, he runs away from camp and becomes the son of an unlikely goddess, before joining a surprising new group of demigods. Eventually, the fates force the hero to confront his past and make a choice that will decide the fate of Olympus. (AU)

3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

(Camp Half-Blood after council meeting)

The remains of the devastation wrought by Percy had remained, even after eight months. The hurricane he had summoned in his rage absolutely tore apart the camp, and the earthquake accompanying it destroyed its foundations. However, the campers had been steadily rebuilding it from the ground up, with the Hephaestus cabin notably taking advantage of the situation to upgrade a lot of the new cabins with their improved technology.

However, today, the campers were being attacked by a large army of monsters, who had banded together for the first time since the end of the Titan War over a year earlier. The campers were completely unprepared and untrained, since the entire focus of the camp had gone into reconstruction, and the monsters would tear them apart once they passed the weakened camp boundaries.

In their despair, they prayed to Hestia, the forgotten goddess, effectively praying for hope. Despite the wrongs they had done to Percy, Hestia decided to allow the council to hear this anyways.

Chiron galloped around, barking orders to the demigods, many of whom were new campers, and, following the Titan War, had hardly trained. They were nowhere near the well-oiled machine of forty campers that held Olympus against the forces of Kronos. Without Percy, thought Chiron bitterly, these campers are leaderless; hopeless on the battlefield.

The campers had arrayed themselves behind Thalia's pine tree, sporting quickly constructed or worn out armor, with the veterans of the Titan War in front of the rest.

Clarisse frowned, leading her Ares cabinmates at the front of their small army. She had been gone on a lengthy quest to take out a group of drakons during the time the camp was turned against Percy. Despite their initial encounter, Clarisse had grown to respect the son of Poseidon due to his leadership and legendary battle skills. This led to Clarisse generally alienating herself with the newer campers, who had begun hating Percy outright, ignoring all he had done to save Olympus for four years.

She motioned to her Ares campers to prepare themselves; the hellhounds and dracanae leading the monster army's charge were ceaselessly flinging themselves at the magical barrier, straining it to the point of breaking.

Suddenly, just before they would break through, twelve flashes of light appeared in front of the campers, who instantly shielded their eyes. The front of the monster army, however, was not so lucky; they were disintegrated immediately. When Clarisse opened her eyes, she saw, for the first time in nine months, since Olympus went silent, the gods. The Olympian council stood facing the monster army, mouths gaping at the gathered forces.

At the sight of the gods, the campers began cheering; many of the newer ones had believed the gods had abandoned them, but this sight rejuvenated them. Clarisse roared, rallying her troops. Everyone was revitalized by this – as they believed – show of support, and charged.

A bloody fight later, golden dust and unmoving demigods lay strewn across the crest of the hill. The rest of the monster army had disappeared once the majority of them had been killed. The campers suffered numerous losses, but the victory was sweet for them, especially considering their state of affairs.

Following the battle, Zeus called for a meeting with the cabin leaders. The requested demigods met with the Olympian council a distance away from the rebuilding camp.

Zeus began, "Chiron, as you know, we closed Olympus for the past nine months, in an effort to quiet her."

Muttering emerged among the cabin councilors, while Chiron nodded worriedly.

"Silence!" Zeus thundered, smashing his master bolt on the ground. "As I was saying, we closed Olympus. This tactic failed. Through the recommendations of my brother." He spat this word out. "and some of the other members of the council, I have decided to lift this restriction. We must now speak about what happened at camp. What was that massive disturbance we sensed?"

"Lord Zeus," Annabeth said. "It was that idiot Percy Jackson! He just went mad and unleashed his powers, obliterating the camp for no reason! Then he came back a few days later, randomly, and tortured then killed my boyfriend Mike, and killed a group of innocent campers immediately afterwards, though how, I do not know."

"No reason?" spat Hera. "I knew I disliked you the first time I met you, but now you're going to new levels of low: lying to the Olympian council."

Zeus raised his eyebrows and glanced at Apollo, who nodded, confirming Hera's words. Zeus fixed his glare on Annabeth, "Daughter of Athena! You may be the architect of Olympus, but that does not give you the right to lie to the council!"

Annabeth shook slightly before looking at Athena, "Mother? How can you let Hera speak to me like this?"

Athena's face hardened, "You are a fool Annabeth. To think you think you're my smartest demigod child ever; you might be the biggest fool I've seen."

The council, apart from Hera, just looked at Athena in shock. Annabeth began sobbing loudly, before running quickly away from the group. Hera smiled, This is nothing more than she deserves for hurting my son. The other cabin councilors looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Uh…" Clarisse spoke. "What was Prissy's reason for killing Mike and those demigods? I mean I understand his anger initially, but…"

Chiron, who had until this moment been silent, choked, "When Percy came back to camp, he was somehow controlling Mike's movement. He forced him to torture himself, and told me that the reason for this was because Mike killed Sally and her husband."

The council gasped in horror; Poseidon had a stunned look on his face.

"Sally – Sally's dead?"

Hera nodded, "Why else would Percy come back to this camp after what they did to him? They bought every lie your spawn Mike spewed out of his foul mouth; even his so-called friends–" At this she glared harshly at the cabin councilors, who looked down guiltily. "– and now look what happened to the Hero of Olympus."

Poseidon was gripping his chair, knuckles pure white, as he absorbed these words, "Y–you mean I–I caused–"

"Yes, brother," Hera growled. "You, his bitch 'girlfriend', and this entire camp betrayed him and destroyed the greatest demigod this world had ever seen, and probably will ever see."

Zeus, who had contemplated these unveilings quietly until now, unlike his normal self, suddenly glanced suspiciously at his wife, "Hera? Why do you sound like you… care for him?"

Hera exchanged a meaningful look with Athena before staring straight into Zeus' eyes, "He was the only demigod I have ever come to respect. He apologized for his rudeness towards me when he encountered me in the labyrinth with that girl. He proved that even a demigod can swallow his pride, while you, Poseidon, all of you gods, just bloat yourselves on your ignorance, condemning true people to unwarranted fates. I've had enough of this poisonous environment."

Hera glared at the demigods and then at those on the council that had betrayed or disrespected Percy, then flashed out. Travis whispered to Katie, "Percy apologizing? Not sure if the world is ending or what…"

Katie just flinched away, a few tears in her eyes, "After all he did for us, we threw him away like trash. I can't believe it… Don't joke now Travis; be serious for once."

The gods looked at themselves, some showing genuine regret on their faces while others like Dionysus and Ares just smiled inwardly. One by one, they left the meeting, leaving the senior campers alone. Clarisse stood from her position and stared at the other cabin councilors, "I don't understand. I leave for a few months and you guys buy some shit obviously made up by a pussy who just arrived at camp over the words of the savior of fucking Olympus? You drive him away from camp? To his death? What's happened here? I can hardly recognize you."

She turned away, keeping her face emotionless as she gazed over the ruins of the camp, before looking back at the shocked and silent cabin leaders, "You should all be ashamed. Prissy, as much as I might hate to say it, was a true hero. You don't get more than one of those a millennia."

Shaking her head, the Ares cabin leader walked away from the guilty-looking veterans, all of whom regretted their interaction with Percy deeply. Pushing the thought away, they all began moving towards camp, focusing their minds on rebuilding their home.

Percy POV

It had been four weeks since Percy had been accepted with flying colors into the legion. His incredible fighting skills and godly backing had catapulted him into a high position in camp instantly. Percy was easily considered the best fighter in the legion, and he was often considered the second in command to the centurions of the First Cohort.

Percy had immediately befriended the two centurions, Isaac and Piper. Isaac was a nineteen-year old son of Mercury who had lived in Camp Jupiter for almost his entire life, abandoned here by his uncle. He was a decent swordsman, quick and agile, but his most noticeable trait the way he could inspire people. Isaac was essentially the main centurion of the First Cohort, and most of the camp admired the veteran warrior.

Piper, on the other hand, was a fifteen year old daughter of Venus, something her charmspeak had given away during the fight. She had arrived here after the murder of her dad, a famous actor, a couple years previously. Her father never knew he had met Venus, but as a descendant of the Cherokee, had believed a great deal in myths. Piper had subsequently easily adapted to the lifestyle in Camp Jupiter, using her agility and speed to become a very good wielder of dual blades, a tough skill to master. Despite her parentage, her abilities had allowed her to gain significant respect in the legion.

Percy generally hung around with Isaac and Piper, training often with them, and occasionally just relaxing. Both centurions admired the son of Hera's power and skill. Percy, surprisingly, also became close to Jason and Reyna. Both praetors got over their initial displeasure at his attitude after they realized it was all an act, and Jason and Percy quickly became very close friends. The son of Jupiter was the only one that could come close to Percy when he wielded his powers as a champion of Hestia in a fight.

Reyna and Percy became sparring partners, both being exquisite swordsmen. In fact, the only reason Percy had managed to easily dispose of her was due to his knowledge of the move, one Reyna thought was only hers. Reyna occasionally inquired as to the origin of his sword, Anaklusmos, but Percy always said it was "a gift from a dead friend", with no better hints.

This morning, Percy woke up with a bad feeling in his gut. He had a dreamless night, but there was a malevolent air around the camp that he could sense. Piper burst into his room, "Percy! There's an emergency senate meeting called, apparently Octavian finally saw something in his torn up teddy bears."

Percy snorted, "Fine, I'll wake up… You know Pipes, I have a bad feeling about today. What did Octavian see?"

Piper grinned, "Apparently the gods have ordered a quest. Obviously, the senate wouldn't decide anything without their new greatest fighter."

Percy groaned, "I should've held back if I'd known the trouble being good would cause me."

Ever since his display, Percy had essentially become another mainstay at senate meetings, asked to attend in order to give his advice, considering he was such a powerful demigod. Piper giggled, "I doubt you could've bottled it up forever… You're too good for that."

Percy blushed as he slipped out of bed. Piper's face immediately went crimson while Percy just raised an eyebrow quizzically. He then noticed where she was looking at: his perfectly lean, muscled body, shirtless due to his habit of sleeping.

"Uh… Sorry… I– I just got distracted…" Piper stammered. Percy flashed her a radiant smile.

"Don't worry I have that effect on a lot of people," he joked. "Now, unless you don't want to see me in my boxers too, stay while I change."

Piper blushed again before she backed out of the room. Percy chuckled and threw on his typical hoodie and soccer pants before leaving his quarters along with Piper.

After arguing endlessly with Terminus, the god of borders, yet again, Percy and Piper finally arrived at the senate house.

Octavian was perched at the speaker's position, looking at the two latecomers coldly, "If it isn't Mr. Powerful and his girlfriend, late despite the call from the gods."

Piper blushed while Percy just chuckled, "Hey Doc – is it okay if I call you Doc? – anyways yeah early morning meetings aren't my strong suit. I'd recommend holding them off to the afternoon next time, I'm busy in the mornings." He winked.

Octavian's faced reddened, clearly flustered. "Percy, even you can't deny an order from the gods!" he yelled.

Percy raised his eyebrow skeptically, "Go on then."

Piper settled in her seat next to Isaac at the First Cohort centurion section while Percy sat next to the praetors in the seat reserved for him. Octavian glared at him again before turning to the whole senate, "As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted; the gods have issued a quest! Camp Jupiter must be prepared for any attacks, and the gods have shown me, through the auguries, a location where there is a large concentration of imperial gold weaponry!"

The senate nodded, pleased at this bolstering of supplies in a time of hardship, as the Titan War's after-effects had not yet ended economically for the camp. Octavian grinned before turning to the First Cohort centurions, "The gods have declared: the quest leader must be either Isaac or Piper."

Isaac whispered something in Piper's ear that Percy couldn't catch, but he noticed a small flicker of excitement cross her now emotionless face. The two centurions turned to Octavian and Piper said, "I accept the quest."

Octavian nodded, pleased, "Very well. You may choose your two companions."

Piper instantly answered, "I'll take Percy, if he wants."

The senate turned to Percy, who just shrugged, nodding imperceptibly. The daughter of Venus thought for another moment before speaking again, "And I'll take Arianne, one of my legionnaires."

The senate nodded in approval while Octavian spoke, "The quest members have been chosen! What shall they be given as supplies?"

The senate began discussing between themselves when suddenly a column of fire flashed in the center of the senate house. After it dissipated, the bored face of Percy Jackson looked over the Romans.

"We don't need any supplies bar some nectar and ambrosia. Octavian, tell me about the location. This should be easy."

Octavian nodded as the senate's muttering ceased. Reyna waved her hand and a Roman entered the house with three packs, each with considerable amount of the godly food. Percy nodded his thanks to the Roman servant as Piper walked over to him. The duo left the building, motioning to Octavian to follow them.

They walked over to the more luxurious barracks of the First Cohort while Octavian described the forest in which he had seen the stash of weapons. When they arrived at the barracks, Piper knocked on Arianne's door, calling, "Hey Arianne! I have a quest, do you want to come?"

Piper POV

Piper had known Arianne since she joined Camp Jupiter; the two had met after Piper's dad was killed a couple years back. Arianne was effectively Piper's best friend, and Piper had confided in her of her developing feelings for Percy.

Arianne's door opened and she looked at Piper, and then a small smile played across her lips as she saw Percy. Percy was leaning casually against the wall, his warm brown eyes observing her and Arianne. Piper felt a bit of heat rising to her face before she turned back to her best friend, "So, Arianne, we have this mission apparently from the gods, to go retrieve some random weaponry. Should be pretty quick. Percy's the last member of the quest."

Arianne nodded, "That sounds great, I haven't left Camp Jupiter in ages."

Arianne was a fourteen year old daughter of Apollo, and was very skilled with a bow. She was in fact one of the best archers in the legion, which allowed her, despite the Romans' typical disgust at archery, to become rather notable in the First Cohort.

The three left the barracks and headed to the Little Tiber, at which Piper noticed Percy stopping at. She looked at him curiously but Percy just disappeared in a flash of flames, just to reappear on the other side. Piper laughed, "Afraid of a bath, almighty Percy Jackson?"

Percy tensed before chuckling, "I don't like water; I have bad memories of it."

Arianne grinned at their easygoing chatting and gave her two thumbs up behind Percy's back as they entered the Caldecott Tunnel.

Once they had exited the magical boundaries of the camp, Percy turned to Piper and Arianne.

"Okay Piper, Arianne; since I know the location of the weapons, I can just teleport us there using my power so we can speed this up a bunch."

The two girls nodded, and Percy held out his hand. Piper grabbed his right hand, flushing as she felt his warm skin. Arianne wagged her eyebrows at her suggestively while Percy, completely oblivious, made them disappear in a column of fire.

They reappeared in a darker, more ominous forest. Percy paused for a second, "Something's wrong. I sense a group of monsters that shouldn't be here." He looked around. "And there are no weapons here."

Percy then cursed, "It's a trap!"

Just as he said those words, arrows began flying down towards them. Piper saw Percy raise a wall of flames in front of them, incinerating the flock of projectiles sailing down at them. Piper pulled out her dual blades and adjusted her stance, glancing at Arianne to see her gripping her bow in a similar position.

This was supposed to be a simple in and out mission, but now they were stuck under what seemed an army of monsters. Percy was still manipulating his wall of fire, occasionally firing streams of fire and incinerating a few dracanae. Arianne and Piper had their weapons at the ready, covered behind the wall. Arianne fired a few arrows, all of them meeting their mark.

"Nice shots Arianne," Percy commented, flashing her a small grin. Arianne blushed despite herself, then suddenly gasped and collapsed. Piper looked at her in shock, which quickly turned into horror when she saw the bloody knife impaled through her heart. Piper felt like sobbing; her best friend was just killed in front of her eyes.

Percy looked over then froze, before cursing, "Not another one I couldn't protect!"

Piper looked at him, tears gathered in her eyes, as the fires suddenly wrapped around him. Winds began to pick up, and it began raining hard. The earth began shaking violently, which seemed to Piper like a ridiculously powerful earthquake. The monsters cowering in the cover of the trees began running away, but Piper saw Percy floating in the air, his eyes glowing with pure power, as the winds and fire encircled him at a high pace.

Suddenly, Piper stumbled to her knees as she felt a massive aura suddenly appear. Piper looked around wildly for a god, before she realized all the power, everything she felt was from Percy, the being currently hanging in the middle of his own hurricane while a terrifying earthquake was tearing apart the ground. Percy's hand suddenly shot out, and all the monsters slowly rose into the air, screaming for mercy.

A sadistic grin appeared on Percy's normally playful lips as Piper looked on in horror. He began clenching his fist, watching as the blood flow stopped in every single monster. The hurricane grew larger, almost lifting up Piper, when Percy's other hand shot out and grabbed her, pulling her safe to his side.

Despite the godly aura emanating from Percy, despite the terrifying powers he was displaying, Piper felt safe and secure next to him, wrapped in a one-armed hug.

Meanwhile, Percy continued to kill the monsters, all of them dissolving into golden dust as their stopped blood flow prevented them from surviving. He did not cease his display of power triggered by his rage until every single monster lay dead as golden dust in the winds, having been blown away by the powerful hurricane he had produced.

Once Percy managed to calm down the storm, Piper looked up at him, a curious look on her eyes despite her reddened sclera, "Who are you, really?"

Percy sighed and laid her down as he sat next to her. He glanced over at Arianne's unmoving body, and a stifled sob wracked his body. Piper looked up at him and hugged her friend, seeing his distress over Arianne's death. He kept muttering, "Why always me?"

After a few minutes of Percy and Piper pouring their emotions out over the death of Arianne, Piper stared at Percy intensely, "Please answer my question. I won't tell anyone else if you don't want to."

Percy met her eyes before looking down again, "If you really want to know, swear it on the Styx that you will never tell anyone unless I give permission or it is revealed."

"I swear by the Styx to abide by those terms," Piper said.

Percy sighed and looked away, "My name is really Percy Jackson, but I was born as a son of Poseidon–"

"You mean Neptune?" interjected Piper.

"No," Percy said. "This is the greatest secret kept by the gods: there is another camp, on the other side of the country, where Greek demigods live. I used to live there…before I was betrayed by everyone I thought I could trust."

He paused and looked down again, drowning in the memories. Piper kept quiet, allowing Percy time to regain his composure. A few moments later, he ran his hands through his messy hair and glanced at her.

"Sorry," Percy said. "It's just… After what I did for them… It's still hard to grasp."

Piper hugged him again, trying to give him comfort. Percy gave her a shaky smile and said, "Anyways, as I was saying, I went there. There was a prophecy, regarding the Titan War. I'm sure you know about the Titan War."

Piper nodded in acknowledgment.

"Essentially the prophecy said I was going to be one to make the decision to save or destroy Olympus. From the year I went to camp I was sent out repeatedly on missions, first to save thunder shit's lightning bolt to prevent a war, then to find the Golden Fleece, then to save Artemis and hold up the sky, then travel through the labyrinth, find Daedalus, fight a battle, and then somehow hold off Kronos' massive forces from taking Olympus with a group of forty campers, a hundred nature spirits, and twenty hunters. As you can see, my life has been never lacked danger of some kind."

Piper looked at him, horror and awe etched on her face as she took in the many achievements made by Percy. Percy grinned at her expression, "It really isn't as dramatic as you'd think, apart from facing Kronos."

Piper chuckled, distracted from her mourning of their friend, "Only you could say something like that Perce."

Percy immediately frowned. Piper noticed his change of expression, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just my cousin used to call me that. I haven't seen in him since the battle for Olympus," he said. "I failed to save a lot of people in that war; many of my closest friends died…including the one who gifted me with my sword. Now – now I feel like it's my fault again. Somehow my appearance in this camp caused this."

Piper slapped him, forgetting the sheer power displayed by him earlier. Percy stared at her in shock.

"Don't dare blame yourself for this!" she shouted. "This trap…"

A look of pure horror crossed her face.

"Percy! I know what happened here! Octavian! He sent us on this trap to get us killed!"

Percy's eyes widened, "That's it! He forced one of the centurions of the First Cohort to go, knowing either you or Isaac would pick me, which meant he got both a centurion out of the way and the surefire replacement out of the way."

Piper's face hardened, her eyes settled on an icy blue color with an angry glint in her eyes. Percy concealed his aura again, his eyes losing their glow. He motioned to Piper, "Enough talking. Now we know what happened here. Grab Arianne; it's time for revenge."

Piper nodded and picked up her friend, gently pulling out the knife and tossing it away into the forest, before walking back over to Percy, whose face was a mask of pure hatred. He placed his hand on her shoulder and they disappeared into a column of fire.

Percy POV

Percy, Piper, and Arianne's body reappeared in a flash of flames on the outskirts of the Field of Mars, near the Pomerian Line. He made a move towards Tiberius, but Piper grabbed his arm and motioned behind him, "Look over there."

Percy glanced back and stood rigid in shock. The entirety of the legion was assembled before four coffins elevated on a sort of stage. Octavian, Reyna, and Jason were standing in front of them, addressing the crowd. Jason and Reyna's expressions, despite the distance, were unmistakably depressed. Octavian, on the other hand, was standing straight, betraying his clear smugness.

Percy's eyes narrowed as he realized the significance of the scene. Three of the coffins had to be for their expedition, but the fourth coffin was a mystery.

Piper asked, "Percy? Why are there four coffins? Why have they even declared us dead already?"

Percy shrugged and motioned for her to follow him. They slipped into the ranks of the legion, unseen in the back but close enough to hear Octavian begin his speech.

"This morning, three of our bravest soldiers were sent on a mission to arm us for the upcoming conflicts! However, the auguries announced to me merely an hour ago that they were attacked by monsters, and in a vision, I witnessed the demise of Arianne, Piper, and Percy," Octavian declared. Roars of anger met his words; the three First Cohort members had all been quite popular with the legion. "This was coupled by the unfortunate death of Isaac, our esteemed First Cohort centurion. We must strike back! The First Cohort must stand strong and get revenge on those who have wronged us!"

Cold laughter interrupted the cheers of the crowd at the conclusion of Octavian's speech. The sound emanated from the back of the assembled legion. Octavian's eyes narrowed in the direction of the sound while the rest of the legion looked back in shock at the person who was laughing. Reyna, who could not see the origin of the sound, called out, "How dare you mock the sacrifice of these four honorable legion members?"

Fire suddenly erupted from the source of the laughter. In another flash of flames on the stage, standing next to Octavian, stood Percy and Piper, angry expressions on both their faces. Octavian began backing away from Percy, who was enveloped in flames, dancing across his casual dress.

"Sacrifice? I'm glad you appreciated me," mocked Percy. He turned towards the horrified augur.

"As for you… We have to talk."

Percy's eyes suddenly glowed sea-green as he stared straight into Octavian's eyes.