The words that are underlined, other than the chapter title, are in Greek.


Chapter III
Fatherhood

Damasen groaned, forcing himself up from the ground. In front of him, a highly amused Percy snorted, eyes bright with an amused gleam. Damasen had been out grabbing the few human-digestible roots grown in Tartarus, and he had fallen down after tripping over a tiny, practically minuscule pebble. Percy had been out with him at the time and had witnessed his fall as well, only adding to Damasen's embarrassment.

"Alright Percy." he grumbled, clods of dust falling from his hands as he stood up, snatching up Percy and resting the toddler in his palm. When Damasen had taken in Percy, he had expected it to be easy- after all, mortals look after children all the time, and they weren't even gods or titans. How hard could it have been? Not a day after taking in Percy, however, Damasen quickly realized he was way in over his head. Three weeks later, and Damasen was still getting used to Percy living with him. It was an entirely new way of living that Damasen just wasn't used to. He had to figure out diapers, he had to constantly watch Percy, he had to put up with Percy's seemingly random temper tantrums, he even had to feed the boy himself!

"Calm down, little one." (1) Damasen said absentmindedly, reverting to Greek.

Percy's brows furrowed in confusion, and he looked at Damasen with a question in his eyes.

Damasen mentally hit himself, momentarily forgetting that Percy spoke that foreign, new language- not Greek.

"Calm down." Damasen supplied, trying to remember if that was the right translation.

Sea green eyes brightened with understanding, and Damasen grinned. While Percy might not know Greek, he was a child of one of the Greek gods- it wouldn't take him long to pick up on it.

Damasen slowly bent down, putting Percy on the ground once more and grabbing the roots that had fallen from his hand. "Let us go inside," (2) he said, already trying to help Percy gain an affinity for the language. "Let's go inside."


"Dama! Dama!" echoed through the hut, and Damasen sat up from his couch, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he woke up from a fitful dream. Damasen went to Percy's room, seeing the demigod sitting on top of the bed. Technically, it was actually Damasen's room, but Percy stayed in it instead, and Damasen crashed on the couch.

"What is it, child?" (3) Damasen asked, concerned.

Percy sniffled, burrowing himself a cave in the monstrous blankets. "Mommy," he admitted tearfully, missing his mom.

Damasen blinked, not expecting that. As the child of Tartarus and Gaea, he had never really felt love for either of his parents, so he couldn't even imagine what Percy was going through. "It's- it's okay, Percy. Go to sleep now, okay child?"

Percy sniffled again, scowling at Damasen. "Where Mommy!" he cried, tears streaming down his face. Damasen took a hesitant step back, unsure of what to do. He didn't have any experience with this kind of stuff, and it left him uneasy to try and comfort Percy. Not being able to bear seeing the tears on Percy's face, Damasen looked out the four foot tall window spanning the length of the room's left wall. Through it, the red sky of Tartarus looked even darker and more ominous then normal- anytime Nyx was in Tartarus, although it might be daytime in Gaea's realm, it was always night in Tartarus. Damasen's thoughts wandered, and he found himself trying to remember the last time he had seen Nyx- the last time he could remember was when Nyx had Geras, the god of old age. How many children was that, 40 now?

She would probably have a better time raising Percy then me, Damasen thought bitterly, his eyes looking back at Percy, now sleeping fitfully, curled up in the drakon-skin blanket.

An idea suddenly struck him and Damasen sighed, kneeling next to the demigod, gently brushing the boy's shaggy hair out of his eyes. He could go to Nyx and ask her for help. It was a far shot, and an unlikely one as well, but Damasen needed that help- gods knew he could use it. And, despite all odds, Damasen trusted Nyx. She might've been cold and harsh to others, but Damasen had a history with her- she'd been the one to help him get used to Tartarus and the one to help him figure out how to live in the hellhole. And although they didn't talk much, if at all, anymore, Damasen still felt that Nyx was trustworthy.

"Sleep, my child. Tomorrow we go to see Nyx." (4)


"No talk." Percy grumbled, pouting. The night before, as far as he knew, Damasen had completely ignored him, and his mom wasn't there. That was enough to make him hate Damasen for a while. Damasen grimaced, knowing the effect he must have had on Percy.

"I apologize." (5) Damasen said, sitting cross legged on the floor, a drakon skin on his lap. Sowing it together, bit by bit, he slowly created an outfit much more suited to Percy then his burned pajamas, and much more presentable to Nyx. Percy ignored Damasen, sitting with his back to the giant.

"Clothes for you." Damasen stammered, trying to get it out just right. As he expected, that piqued Percy's interest, and the demigod turned around to look at Damasen. The clothes themselves were sown together, like a body suit, and had scales rippling out from it in the pattern of waves. Most of it was blue, although part of it was a muted white, mostly near the arms. While the clothes served the purpose of Percy just having something to wear, it also served the more practical purpose of having Percy's skin stay safe from almost toxic air of Tartarus, even though several blisters and burns had already formed on the almost three-year-old's skin. Percy excitedly reached out to it, and Damasen chuckled as he quickly dressed Percy in the suit. Maybe I don't need to go to Nyx, he thought, looking at Percy- Damasen seemed to be getting the hang of this. Percy's next words, however, quickly dashed that thought to pieces.

"Okay." Percy said, lying down. Damasen's smile flickered, and he quickly stood up, remembering what he had done last night- or, more accurately, what he hadn't done.

"Come, let us go." Damasen said, holding out his hand for Percy to climb onto. Percy jostled Damasen as he stood on Damasen's palms, and the giant bit back a surprised cry when he felt the scales on Percy's clothes cut into his skin.

"Go!" Percy replied excitedly.


Damasen trudged across Tartarus's endless red desert, Percy sleeping contentedly in the giant's arms. Around Damasen, the shadows seemed to loom closer than before, gruesome shapes twisting in such a way that Damasen was glad Percy wasn't awake to see them- the shadows would keep him awake at night for months, if not years.

Grrr...

Damasen flinched at the sound, turning around slowly. If he remembered correctly, this was the route to the House of Night- and he needed to get there before it was night in the mortal world, else Nyx would be gone by the time he reached there. The growl echoed through the desert once more, and Damasen set into a fighting stance, his left arm slowly reaching toward the spear on his back while his right arm tightened around Percy's sleeping body.

A loud roar suddenly was heard, and not a second later a Chimera appeared in front of Damasen, out of seemingly nowhere. The Chimera's tail, a python, was curled up above the lion head, hissing angrily as gray scales caught the few rays of light in Tartarus, the coat shining. The lion head was bowed slightly, its body connecting to the python and its golden mane whipping in the wind, looking like a fire ready to burn down Hell itself. The last body of the Chimera, the goat, had its head lowered, six foot long curled horn sharpened to a point ready to stab Damasen and then feed the giant's carcass to the lion, of which it shared two hind legs. Overall, it was a menacing sight, one to behold.

The python suddenly struck forward, it's arrowhead shaped skull darting toward Damasen- or, more specifically, the demigod currently nestled in Damasen's arm. Swatting away the python, Damasen set Percy on his shoulders, taking care not to wake the boy.

The python darted backward, its head twisting in hypnotic patterns, though the affect was ruined by the lion letting out another, "Roar!" The goat and the lion bounded forward as one, the goat's head still turned to the ground while the lion's was now up, flaming red eyes the exact color as the light. The Chimera seemed to grow in size as it bounded closer to Damasen, until the python was at least twenty feet long, and the Chimera itself was about the same size as Damasen. The lion leaped forward, aided by the goat and python, and landed with its paws on Damasen, the giant almost falling to the ground. Sharp claws scratched against the giant's chest, and warm breath smelling of rotted flesh blew against Damasen's face with the force of a typhoon.

Percy let out a tiny yawn, before opening his eyes, ready to talk to Damasen before widening his eyes in horror. The lion, sensing Percy's consciousness, lowered its head, opening its maw impossibly wide, ready to swallow Percy in one gargantuan bite. Damasen's arm went up, wrapping his hands around the lion's neck, throwing it to the ground. The goat, however, threw itself upward, its horns jamming themselves into Damasen's neck- or trying too, at least. Instead, they caught him in a headlock, too wide to actually pierce him. Damasen grabbed the horns, twisting them to the side- and completely forgetting about the python.

The python, sensing the tiny advantage it had, silently crept along the ground, slithering behind Damasen and slowly climbing perpendicular to him, brushing the giant's skin for a second before leaving. Percy, turning around, froze when it saw the python in front of him, ignoring Damasen's roar as he struggled to fight both the lion and goat at the same time. Percy's hands crept forward, wrapping his meaty toddler fingers around the snake's neck. The snake let out a hiss trying to bite Percy, only to have the demigod unintentionally duck, squeezing the life out of the python which fell to the ground with a loud thump.

Damasen gripped the goat's horns, tearing them off, having the goat and lion cower down and take off running into the darkness once more. Turning his head around to see Percy again, Damasen's eyes widened when he saw the demigod staring at a the dead snake, dragged against the ground, fading into dust and then having the rest of the Chimera turn to dust as well.

"Well Percy, I think we did pretty well, don't you?" Without waiting for an answer, Damasen carefully adjusted Percy, before setting off once more across the desert.


"Why are you here?" (6)

Damasen twitched slightly, his arms feeling like weights against his body, wanting him to just fall down right there and sleep. The telkhine at the door to Nyx's palace had a seal-like body, his words sounding like mindless chattering. "I must meet Nyx." (7) the giant forced out, legs aching from the jump he had to take to get to Nyx's palace- the other way was too dangerous for demigods to take.

"You may not come. Lady Nyx has to leave soon." (8) the telkhine responded, turning around to leave.

"It's urgent!" (9) Damasen cried, hyperaware of Percy, burrowed inside Damasen's pocket, squirming around anxiously.

"What's your name?" (10) the telkhine asked suspiciously.

"Damasen."

The telkhine suddenly seemed to take in Damasen's giant figure, and squeaked in terror, hurriedly opening the door to the palace and ushering Damasen in. As soon as Damasen entered the palace, he felt a sort of hollow, a feeling of nothingness envelope him. It was easy to see why the Palace of Night could drive mortals crazy. The palace itself was nothing- it was a void of light, a void of people, a void of emotions and people.

Damasen walked what he assumed was the expanse of the hall the door led to. In reality, he didn't even feel the slightest breeze, the slightest bit of weather or heat. All he saw was the darkest black you could imagine, with tiny, almost minuscule flecks of white decorating the dark in sporadic areas, giving Damasen the feeling of walking through the night sky. He walked for gods knew how long, Percy falling asleep in his pocket once more. All of a sudden, Damasen heard a familiar voice, clear and cold, cut through the silence that had fallen around him, seemingly as loud as a yell.

"Hello, Damasen."


(1)Χαλαρώστε τώρα, λίγο= Calm down, little one
(2)
Ας πάμε μέσα= Let us go inside
(3)παιδί= child
(4)
ύπνος, το παιδί μου. Αύριο θα πάμε να δούμε Nyx. = Sleep, my child. Tomorrow we go to see Nyx.
(5)
ΖΗΤΩ συγγνωμη= I apologize
(6)
Γιατί είσαι εδώ= Why are you here
(7)
Πρέπει να γνωρίσω τον Nyx.= I must meet Nyx.
(8)Μπορεί να μην έρχεσαι. Lady Nyx πρέπει να φύγει σύντομα.= You may not come. Lady Nyx has to leave soon.
(9)
Είναι επείγον!= It's urgent!
(10)
Ποιο είναι το όνομά σου?= What's your name?

dude guys we're at 62 favorites oh my gods thank ya'll so much here's some cookies (::) (::) (::) (::)

but seriously ya'll are amazing :)

also, my request from the last AN still stands: does anyone reading this speak fluent greek, not from a translating app? cause i've been using google translate, and i don't really trust it, so... please PM me if you do :)

Anonymous (Guest): Thanks! So as for why Hades didn't have a greater reaction from the gods- most of them were still in shock, Poseidon especially. As for when/if and how Percy gets out, and how his powers develop, you'll just have to read to find out ;). And as for how he survives, there's a huge thing about it coming in around two to three chapters.

Tiredofthisbs: I say noice so often irl :) thanks for your review!

DreamCatcher06: I don't like fics that cross the line between mysterious and confusing, so it's nice to now my fic is neat and understandable! Thanks!

Numbnuts55: Quite more drama to come as well! :)

Guest (Guest): Thanks! Here's another chapter!

Also, thanks Writer (my beta) so so so so so so so so so so so soooooo much for helping me with this chapter! It was a complete mess before, and if it weren't for her it would be horrible
btw sorry if this chapter seems a bit short. I was going to put something else in here, but then it would drag on so...
Also sorry for missing the update guys! i try and update on Saturdays, but life gets in the way and what can ya do
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (also btw it seems that a glitch happened yesterday- ignore it)

Anyway, bye guys, see you next chapter!

-Lauren Swan

(P.S.: please follow, favorite, and review)


Edit (January 6, 2018): In the original copy of this chapter, I left the greek words as they were and left a key at the bottom to say what they translated to. As quite a few of you were a bit annoyed at having to continue to scroll down to see the translation, I've edited it so that the Greek versions are at the bottom, and if they're speaking greek it's simply underlined. There won't be any other Greek translations for any of the other chapter, :(. Anyway, sorry, and I've fixed it now so it's easier to read.

-Lauren Swan