Ch. 7

Venice.

La Dominante, Serenissima, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Canals, or Queen of the Adriatic. There were multiple names for the beautiful city. During the late 13th century it was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. From the sky, the city lit up in wondrous lights as dusk turned to night.

Small creatures scurried through the almost empty streets of the city. Like thieves in the night, the animals, swiftly and silently, made their way across the city; passing through bridges over canals into alleys. If one could see close enough they could count there were nine of them.

They speedily snuck their way in a large manor. It was prominently made of Gothic architecture. No one was around as the servants and main family were all asleep in their quarters.

A woman sat leisurely across a lounge chair with a book in her hands in an elegantly designed library. The critters did their best to sneak past her. They slowly and silently creeped behind the furniture; they were close to the–

"I know that you are there."

The woman's melodic voice made the animals freeze in shock. A few of them hung their heads in disappointment. As fast, agile, and quiet they were the woman seemed to have a sixth sense that let her know exactly what was around and where they were.

"Come on out, children."

The creatures slowly walked out from behind the furniture. Three crawled under it, two climbed over it, and the remaining four walked around it. The candlelights in the library gave view of the creatures; a skulk of nine foxes.

Two were dark brown, one was silver, three were red, another was tawny, another: white, and the last black.

Grouping together the skulk looked at the woman with their dropped ears. The woman was incredibly beautiful and striking. She had smooth and flawless olive skin with gold undertone. Her pouty lips were a natural red that couldn't be enhanced by cosmetics. Her wavy, waist-length, dark chocolate hair was braided in a large, loose braid; it draped across her right shoulder. Her braid was adorned with precious jewels and trinkets. She wore a white gown with the sleeves puffed and a dark brown bodice. A black hooded cloak was draped across her shoulders.

"Well, I am waiting."

The woman's words ignited a nona-argument between the skulk. Every sound coming from their snouts was an overlapping cross between words and high-pitched barks, and sometimes yelps. The words they made were childish; giving an idea that these foxes were children.

"Quiet," the woman's stern voice stopped any sound from the foxes, bark or word. The woman looked upon the skulk with precision, "Now, whose idea was it to sneak out?"

"Perseo!"

The woman sent her stern gaze towards the fox with black fur. Said fox dipped its head down to avoid the woman's eyes. His ears dropped fearfully as he backtracked a few steps.

"Off to bed with the rest of with the rest of you," the stern woman made a shooing gesture, "Perseo, stay."

"Yes, mother," the foxes chorused in sync. The other eight foxes made a beeline for the door; eager to get away from their supposed mother.

The woman watched her 'son' shift uneasily. The fox did his best to avoid the eyes of his 'mother'. With his size and his mother's piercing eyes; she could be pretty intimidating at times.

His mother padded the chair as she kept her thousand-yard stare on him, "Sit."

Climbing on the couch, he sat with his head shrunken between his shoulders. The woman's stern eyes softened when she saw her son's dropped ears. She sighed, "Perseo, I'm very disappointed in you, you deliberately disobeyed me by going out."

The black fox looked away as his mother continued, "Let us not forgot, you not only put your siblings in danger by bringing them along with you, you also put this family, and its reputation, at risk. Especially with the mortals! What were you thinking? What possessed you to do so stupid?!"

"I was thinking of you," Perseo barked angrily. His mother looked at him inquisitively as he continued, "That mortal; the priest, accused you of witchcraft."

"What the mortals do," his mother angrily responded, "isn't yours to worry about, it is mine and your father's."

Perseo retorted, "Well if you and father actually did something rather than just waste your time with the Doge, then maybe–"

"Watch your tongue, child! I am your mother, and you will show me some respect!"

His mother's angry red orbs and knife-like words made him pause, out of fear of saying something he'll regret. He turned around; not facing his irate mother. Perseo was never one to filter his words, he tended to say what he felt; a habit his mother hated.

Perseo's mother sighed tiredly, she picked up her son and sat him in her lap. "Perseo, do you know why I keep you hear?"

Perseo shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

"To keep you and your siblings safe, until you can take on a more normal appearance," she said with softness.

"But father said that can take a century to accomplish." Percy replied dejectedly.

"Yes," his mother said, "in the meantime we can only keep you hidden from the mortals. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mother," Perseo mumbled, he grinned wildly, "But you should've been there. We filled his chests and closets with bats and rats!"

"Perseo, you have no idea how much we are alike." His mother laughed; amused at her son's antics.

That night, Perseo's mother watched his grin light up the world. She listened as he explained his exploits in the city. She couldn't stop herself from smiling as his smile was contagious. From the shadows, a tawny colored fox watched with a sad frown at it's brother and mother.

X

Thalia woke up startled the dream she was having. She had no idea what to make of it. Learning Percy's full name must've given her some odd dream. Thalia didn't know whether to trust or not.

Shrugging it off as just a dream, Thalia got dressed for the day; her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and black tattered jeans. But through it all she imagined her dream; Perseo, his mother, his siblings. It felt… real, all of it.

Enjoying a few too many Twinkies, Percy enjoyed the nice feeling of the creamy treats. He sat lazily on the roof of the Big House enjoying the fact that he didn't have to do anything. He wasn't a half-blood, therefore he didn't have to participate in any activities. He could laze the day away until he had to face Izanami.

Hearing some commotion, Percy looked at the half-gods. He saw a gang of children of Ares ganging up on two dark haired kids. The leader was a masculine tomboy, while the others seemed to be actual boys. He saw the older girl standing protectively in front of the younger boy.

The kitsune's keen vision allowed him to see onyx black eyes, dark hair, and pale on the two kids. Smirking, he snapped his fingers as the clothes on the girl he came to know as Clarisse disappeared.

It took her a few moments to come to the conclusion that she was naked. She scream a high pitched shrill before her brothers came to cover her as they got her back to the Ares cabin. The eyes of every camper widened before they burst with laughter. The two kids were extremely confused by what happened, especially the boy.

"Um, Bianca… what just happened?" The boy called to his sister. The older girl named Bianca watched the place Clarisse was just standing with confusion all over her face. "I honestly don't know."

"That would be me, bambini."

Spinning around, the two children's eyes widened when they landed on Percy. Ever since coming to Camp Half-Blood, but the kitsune they was the weirdest. But Bianca was told by her father that it would be best to stick near a guy named Percy and described a being exactly the same as the one they were looking at.

"Um, sir, would you happen to be named Percy?" Bianca stammered shyly and fearfully, noticing his claws, fangs, and tails. While her brother hid behind his older sister, afraid that he might be a monster.

", La signorina di Angelo," Percy gave her a grin. Bianca's eyes widened stepping back, "You know my name?"

Percy's grin widened, "Yes," the fox's eyebrow raised, "and you know Italian?"

Bianca nodded shyly, "Yeah, me and Nico," she said gesturing to her brother, "were born in Venice before coming to the States." Percy nodded as he thought, Small world.

"And you know who you are and where you came from?" Percy inquired. Bianca stated, "Father told us. While it's taking some time to fully wrap it around my head."

Percy chuckled before Nico's voice caught him, "What are you?"

"Nico!" Bianca scolded.

Percy laughed before kneeled down to Nico's level, "I am a kitsune; a Japanese fox spirit."

Percy held up one of his tails and waved it in front of Nico's face. Nico's eyes widened before he grew a megawatt smile, "Awesome! What can you do? Do have any cool powers?"

Percy looked at Bianca, "I can tell your brother and I are gonna be good friends."

X

For the next few days went by quickly. Things were a bit of the same. Percy had fun pranking the campers with the Hermes cabin, and pissing off Thalia of course. Triggering the daughter of Zeus's anger was the core of his day.

The children of Hades sort of became acclimated to Camp. Although the campers thought twice about coming around them, their dark and cold auras drove the campers away. But being around Percy didn't make them feel as lonely.

Though Nico felt as if he was out of place, like he was yin and the entirety of Camp Half-Blood was yang. But being around a certain kitsune made him feel a sense of familiarity. It wasn't just the fact that they both had Italian lineage. There was a certain darkness originating from Percy that made Nico feel warm and at home.

Bianca had the same feeling as her brother, it just wasn't as strong as Nico. Bianca felt as though her and Percy were birthed from the same womb. Nothing more, nothing less. But Nico could've easily mistaken Percy for his kin, his blood.

Currently, Percy, Nico, and Bianca were in the forest enjoying the private fireworks he created. The children were in awe at the powers he displayed. Originating from Nico's incessant begging to see them.

"Again! Do it again!"

Percy sighed but smiled, "Fine."

But before Percy could throw another red colored ball of fire in the sky a voice. "What the Hades is this?!"

Nico and Bianca flinched after the usage of their father's name in such a manner. Looking behind them they found Annabeth and Thalia standing near the tree line. Annabeth had a frown stretched across her face.

"Its fireworks," Percy answered. Annabeth marched up to the fox spirit with annoyance in her grey orbs, "Yeah, why are you shooting fireworks?!"

"Because no one's stopping me," Percy crossed his arms defiantly. Annabeth looked up at him, "Well stop it! It's annoying when your trying to sleep and all you hear is fireworks!"

Percy's temper flared, "First off: what god gave you authority over me?! I do what I want, when I want to! Second: they're not real fireworks!"

Bianca came up next to Percy, she raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean they're not real fireworks?"

Percy looked at the daughter of Hades, "One of a kitsune's iconic abilities is Hallucikinesis; the ability to create illusions." Thalia tilted her head inquisitively, "So they were only illusions?"

Percy scratched behind his ears with his leg, "Yes and no. The illusions a kitsune creates can be both real and fake. They can be as real as you perceive them to be or as fake as you want them to be. It's all on how you see them, or want to see them."

Annabeth stroked her chin as the gears in her head worked nonstop. "So, because we saw them as fireworks they became real."

", so if want to sleep, see them as what they are instead of—"

Percy paused when his pierced picked up something. Turning his ears, Percy heard odd noises around; rustling, all around. He could sense a strange aura around them. He felt it before, he just didn't where.

"Bianca, Nico," he called to them, "get behind me," they both looked at his worried eyes and stiff muscles, "now!"

Hearing Percy's command made Thalia and Annabeth grasp their respective weapons in anticipation.

Suddenly, the ground shook; making the trees and their leaves shake and rustle. From the tree a demonic being walked through it glaring harshly at them.

It was ten feet tall with thick, burly muscle. It had dark red, leathery skin with large, pointed canines protruding from it's lips. It wore a dark furred, animals skin loin cloth. It held a overly large, baseball bat-like club with studded iron spikes. Its demonic, pitch black eyes locked with all of theirs. Two small, black horns rested atop his forehead.

"Oni…" Percy whispered with wide eyes.

The oni released a thunder-like roar before charging like a bull at the quintet.

"Move!"

Percy's command made the demigods scrambled to sides. Percy miscalculated how fast the oni could move it's size. Percy had to raise his gold sword to block a vertical swing from the oni's kanabo.

With pure, supernatural strength, Percy held his sword firmly. Acting fast, the kitsune parried the oni's strike into the ground.

"What is that thing?"

Percy jumped back a few feet to gain some breathing room. Annabeth and Thalia stood next to Percy on both sides; spear and dagger held defensively. "Oni," Percy said, summoning his black katana.

"Literal translation?" Thalia asked electrifying her spear. Percy's swords lit with foxfire; his gold sword had red fire and his black sword had purple fire. "Demons."

Percy held his gold katana in upward with his black katana held in front. He charged as the oni demon did the same, but at the last second he leaped over the demon's head. Before oni could stop himself, he was in the face with an explosive ball of lightning; courtesy of Thalia. He landed ungracefully on his back.

Percy leaped over his head and delivered a swirling stream of purple flames in his face. Getting to it's feet, the demon held it's face as it roared in pain. Percy used his tails to trip the oni before getting on top and breathing his purple foxfire into the oni's mouth.

Exhaling black smoke, Percy was tackled to the ground with a pair of golden chains wrapped his body. He hit his head on the ground; getting knocked out. The same thing happened to Thalia, Annabeth, and the di Angelos.

Another oni appeared from the dark forest. The only differences were the dark blue skin and lean build.

The blue oni looked at the dead red oni and shook his head disapprovingly, "Stupid fool."

The demon's voice raspy and distorted; inspiring fear and terror into all who heard it.

The blue oni grabbed the demigods and fox and proceeded to walk away. He took a few moments to look at his fallen comrade. He walked away impassively, "He should've never underestimated a fox. Especially a fox with seven tails."

X

Far within Heaven stood a mighty palace on top of an overly mountain. The palace seemed to be constructed into the mountain itself. Around it were vibrant, bright cities. The entirety of everything was rooted into the clouds of the sky. The light of the world was being shone from the palace, like the being that resided in the palace was the one being that created the day.

Because in reality, it did.

A breathtakingly beautiful woman stood on the balcony, overlooking Heaven and Earth. She had sweeping, golden blonde hair that was styled in a traditional bin-sogi with golden yellow eyes. Her sun-kissed skin was smooth and free of any blemishes. Her face was regal, that gave her a look of royalty. She wore a Komon, it was colored dark red with orange koi fish decorated into the fabric.

Amaterasu.

A blue flash happened behind her. A striking man stood; he wore a black, leather trench coat, black jeans, and black boots. His white hair was shaved and styled in undercut, the excess was tied in the back. The man's eyes were a mixture of purple and blue. The inner ring of his iris was dark purple and the outer was dark blue.

Tsukuyumi.

"Wife."

The woman didn't turn around. "Husband."

Tsukuyumi came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist with his head on her shoulder. He rubbed his head against her hers, lovingly.

Amaterasu didn't react as she continued to gaze at her domain. Any loving gesture from Tsukuyumi was either ignored or wasn't returned by Amaterasu.

"Careful, my love. Someone might see us." She smiled softly when she felt her husband leave soft kisses on her neck. Tsukuyumi replied, "Did you not agree to take me back?"

"I see your point there," Amaterasu nodded. A comfortable silence descended upon the two Kami. It was broken with Tsukuyumi's question. "Do you think we should tell Perseo?"

"Percy," Amaterasu answered, turning around to face her husband, "he likes to be called Percy. And our son has every right to know."

Tsukuyumi looked away with bitterness in his voice. "Your son. He's your son. Percy only sees me as an uncle, a teacher, a mentor. A father figure, but not a father. Just like he doesn't see you as a mother."

"Tsukuyumi," Amaterasu's eyes turned stern, "Percy loves and sees you as a father, just like he sees me as his mother. We may not have conceived him conventionally, but we did raise him as our own. Surely, as old as we are, you know that it doesn't take blood be family?"

Tsukuyumi thought it over before responding with a sigh, "It seems… you are correct. It appears your wisdom knows no bounds." Amaterasu giggled slightly, her slender arms snaking around his neck. "Well, wasn't my shrewdness an attribute of why you fell for me?"

"One of them," Tsukuyumi grinned kittenishly, "that, and your beauty made our worshippers blind when gazing upon you, my queen."

Husband and wife looked shared passionate kiss before the sun goddess pulled. Giving the moon god a radiant smile she replied, "Well, you certainly remember how to get me in a good mood."

"And what mood is that?"

"Keep up what you are doing and just might find out."

Amaterasu's innuendo made Tsukuyumi grin with excitement before he frowned when remembering why he came to his wife. Tsukuyumi sighed tiredly, "Have you seen it, Percy's presence has left the mortal world completely?"

Amaterasu nodded, "I have seen it. He has been captured by mother's agents."

"You don't want to do anything about it?"

Amaterasu shook her head, "No. Percy is a capable warrior, and the legendary Fox of the Sun. To worry for his safety is to doubt his skills. And you know he has his pride, and he has that thing where he knows when people are talking about him."

Tsukuyumi leaned his head against his wife's. "He is. Especially, with the son of Hades."

"The chaos of a nogitsune and the darkness of a child of a Hades. Put together and it will be a force to be reckoned with."

His wife's last statement made the Shinto moon god think of Percy's future. He was precognitive like some of the Kami, but a blind fool could understand that the son of Amaterasu's life was going to change exponentially. He could only, ironically, pray that everything will turn out positively, especially… for the son he never had.


READ, REVIEW, LIKE, FAVORITE, & SUBSCRIBE. Hope you all like the intro. I don't own Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan does. If I did, I would've continued the series, and wouldn't have made that god-awful movie. (But the action and animation was pretty good.)

Love you all, and stay safe. 😋