Disclaimer: Same old, same old. I don't own Percy Jackson.

Author's Note: Thanks for everyone who have favourited and followed my story. It really encourages me to write! =D

However, to the guest who have been complaining about my shout outs, I'm sorry that you don't like me responding to my readers. I feel that that I am entitled to answer any questions or thank their compliments whenever possible.

As for your question, I'll reveal Perry and Order's connection as the story progresses out. So just chillax and keep reading, ok? =)

Enjoy this chapter!


Chapter 8: Origin: Thieves


(Percy)

After our mother's death, Perry and I spent a lot of our time near or in water. It was the only place where my brother and I felt safe in. For some unfathomable reason, I always felt more stronger and powerful when I'm in it.

But every time I left the water and became dry, I felt weak.

I felt vulnerable. The water was my shield. Without it I was defenseless. That was bad considering how many monsters were after us.

Every other day we encountered beasts of different variety. Some were small and less dangerous. Others were larger monsters which would have killed us in an instant if we tried to fight them.

Too bad for them we never did.

Some might call it cowardly, but Perry and I never stood our ground and fought. Sensible people would realize that we were small children who could barely hold a knife, much less a weapon.

There were close calls, though. We could not stay in the water forever. There were some things that needed to be on land to do. Eating, sleeping, and bowel movements were some of them (We refused to pee in the same place we basically lived in).

Many times monsters would try to sneak up and attack. That was why one of us guarded the other and were always alert... Okay, paranoid. If any of us ever sensed the smallest signal of danger, we immediately made a beeline for the nearest source of water.

There were close calls. Teeth and fangs sometimes nicked us as we entered the body of water.

Nevertheless, we lived, even if it was no where near a good life. We could never compare it to our lives before the incident.

Not that our life was perfect back then. It was just a lot better than being on our own.

When Perry and I were not looking for food to keep us nourished, I trained. I spent hours trying to learn how to control the water like I did before.

At first, the water would do nothing. I then believed that the first time I willed the water to move turned out to be a fluke.

But Perry, however, encouraged me to keep trying at the task. My brother believed that I had the ability to manipulate the element, because he said he believed what he saw that day. Each day, Perry was usually the main contributor of our meals while I continued to train.

I really didn't know how I would have survived those days without him.

After a bit of time, I made slow, very slow, progress. I eventually could cause the water to ripple. Weeks later, I made a small wave. Then after two months, I finally made the water splash out in a concentrated blast of water which could sent a monster fly back at least a few meters. Perry was ecstatic with my progress.

However, doing this tired me significantly. Practice soon allowed me to increase the amount of times I could do this in a row.

One day, Perry decided that he wanted to train too. He begged me to send my strongest blast of water at him. I declined, thinking it was too dangerous to be used on a human being, but he persisted.

I finally gave in a few days later from his consistent pleading. Standing in water up to our waists, Perry took the sturdy tree branch he had carved into the shape of a club and stood in a ready position.

My twin nodded, signalling that it was okay to use my powers.

I closed my eyes, concentrating on the power of the sea. I imagined myself like the waves, their continuous movement that generated infinite energy.

My eyes snapped open as I suddenly released all my power at once.

I soon realized in horror that I had used too much strength; the wave I had created was now easily the height of three adults. Perry screamed as he held his club out in front of him, bracing himself for the pain.

I cried out his name when the water hit him, dropping to my knees. Had I just killed my own brother?

My fear turned into relief when I saw Perry unscathed. He was still frozen in shock as he dropped his stick. But why was he staring at his right hand?

"Pericles!" I splashed tiredly towards him, shaking him by the shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah." He stammered, traumatized from the near death experience. I didn't know what had occurred for Perry to not be hurt by my attack, but I was glad either way because my brother wasn't dead.

That officially ended Perry's first and last training session as we retired for the day.


Weeks Later, Outskirts of a Unknown City:


Eventually, after months of traveling alongside the sea, we arrived at the docks of a large city.

This city was abundant with life. We had scarcely seen a soul as Perry and I traveled over the months. It was unusual to see so many people at once.

I was amazed as we traveled through the streets. People basically ignored us. They were too busy with their own lives. They had no compassion for poor orphans.

After a while, I noticed something very important. We were lost. Perry was terrified.

That was bad. Really bad. We were hungry. We were tired. We were nowhere near a water source.

In other words, Perry and I were screwed.

For hours, Perry and I both tried to find our way back to the docks. Both of us agreed on not splitting up as it was more risky and dangerous when we were separated. However, the only thing that we managed to accomplish was only becoming more lost.

The situation went from bad to worse when a monster found me alone. Perry had walked into a alley to relieve himself.

"Well look at this. A defenseless little demigod out on a stroll. Where's your mommy little hero?" The beast's dark eyes gleamed. His sharp pointed teeth formed into a smile. His skin seamed to be covered in scales.

I glared at him in anger. That just caused him to laugh.

"Ha Ha ha!" A long forked tongue shot out of his mouth. At that moment, my disgust for the monster peaked. I wished that I could make him stop laughing, but I knew that I was not strong enough to do so.

"Oh! I taste another one in the alley! Two demigods! And it isn't even my birthday!" He laughter sounded hideous.

My only chance was to run. Where to, I didn't know. I couldn't abandon my brother. With no water around I would surely die, and then the monster will go after Perry.

Before I even got the chance to do anything, he grabbed me. His clawed hand grasped the front of my shirt and lifted me into the air. His other hand was raised. He was ready slash my throat open with his claws.

Then he suddenly dropped me.

I hit the ground hard. Quickly, I rolled away and then looked at the lizard man.

His face was shocked. His body was tense. His chest had a knife in it.

Wait... What?

A pointed blade was sticking out of the monster's chest. He looked down at the blade and hissed weakly. "How?"

Then he turned to gold dust.

"You need to be careful kid, these streets are dangerous." A voice said to me. Perry ran out of the alley tightening his tunic, having heard the commotion.

It turned out that the blade had a person attached to it. Or was it the other way around?

Meh.

The man holding the knife obviously defined the term street urchin. His ragged clothes were two sizes too big. His pale face was smothered in dirt and grime. Dark brown hair that looked like a rat's nest. He looked completely disgusting.

But I didn't care. That man had just saved my life, and Perry's.

I quickly scrambled to my feet. As I looked up at the man, he gave me a lopsided grin. Mischief gleamed in his eyes. Perry stood beside me, drawing his own knife as he looked at the stranger warily.

"You need to be careful children. These streets are dangerous." The man told us as he sheathed his knife.

No truer words could have been said. Perry sighed in relief as he realized that the man wasn't an enemy, putting his weapon away.

After that meeting, the man took us to a small building called The Hidden Cave. It was an inn, a pub, and a hideout for many of the thieves in the city. That place was safe haven for those who had no where to go.

It was perfect for us.

No one asked you questions about your past. They didn't ask, because they didn't care.

"The past is the past. There's nothing we can do about it now." Was the people's motto.

Too bad they were always drunk when they said that.

The man who saved me was called Charlie. That was probably not his real name, but that was one of the beauties of The Hidden Cave. You had the privilege choose your own name.

Perry and I didn't change ours. We were always proud of the names given to us by our mother.

Charlie then explained to us about the gods and their children. He told Perry and I that all the stories our mother had taught us were true. To be honest, I had figured that out already, but there was still so much more to learn.

Apparently, monsters were attracted to us because of our smell. They knew Perry and I were children of a god, so the beasts would stop at nothing to catch us and eat us.

Then we found out that the worst part about it, which was that monsters would never truly die. After being "killed," a monster would just reform after some time in the future.

Huge bummer. That beast that killed our mother was still out there... Alive...

So we needed to learn how to survive. Charlie had taught both of us.

We learned that Charlie was a child of Hermes, who was a thief (no duh). So the first thing that he decided to teach us was how to steal from others.

Many people would think stealing is wrong. You would think that, until you understood what it felt like to starve half-way to death.

I found out that I was actually a decent pickpocket. I wasn't great at first, mind you. Better than most beginners. Perry, however, was a natural although his morals sometimes got into the way of his skill.

Sometimes, we get discovered by our victims. That was when Charlie's second lesson kicked in.

We learned to run. Bet you're thinking, "Who need to be taught how to run?"

Think again.

This type of running was different. It was called free running. Later, the mortals would change it to Parkouring when the French would develop it into a militaristic technique.

Charlie taught us how to climb, how to swing, and how to jump swiftly. Every day, we would run in the streets. Injuries came frequently. Bruises and cuts covered our bodies.

They came from the falling and failing.

I learned quickly. My running technique was so good after a year that I could escape most men. Charlie would always catch me, though.

Perry was almost as good as me, but he was a tad slower at jumps. This made us even for the fact that he was better at pick-pocketing.

For those times that we could not run fast enough, Charlie's third lesson would come in. Hiding was also important skill for a thief. My brother and I learned how to disappear into a crowd. Practice allowed us to escape into the shadows. This was our bread and butter.

Not even Charlie, the best thief in the city, could find Perry and I if we tried to hide.

I would later learn that it was our affinity with the Mist that allowed us to do this.

Of course, I never stopped practicing with water. Now that I knew that I was a demigod, I knew why I could control water. I now knew my potential. As the son of Poseidon, I could even become the strongest.

However, what baffled me was that Perry seemed to not be able to control the water like I do. He couldn't breathe in it either, although he could hold his breath for a longer period of time than other individuals.

The only thing we had in common with out powers would be our affinity with the mist. Other than that, Perry had the powers of an average mortal (Which was none at all).

He was definitely my brother, that I am sure of, but I found it peculiar that he had none of the abilities I had inherited from our father.

Then again, that was my plan. I would become strong enough to protect the people I cared about; people like Charlie and Perry. That was what consumed my thoughts as I trained endlessly.

The image of my dead mother plagued my dreams. Blood always seemed to cover my hands. Nightmares of that night continued to haunt me.

I was always an insomniac. So instead I would go into the water by myself at night. Training always helped make the images stop.

After our first year in the city, I could now perform multiple water blasts in a row. I could also levitate a small puddle of water above my head if I wished to as well.

That may seem small, but you try moving water with your will. Bet you can't do it.

After training to the point of exhaustion, I would go back to the Hidden Cave and sleep beside Perry, who suffered the same nightmares as I do. After the nightmares woke us up, we would meet up with Charlie, who would always teach a few new tricks.

I would practice all day. Then I would head to the water and the cycle would continue.

Yes, that was my routine for over a year. I was always tired and hungry, but also always wore a smile on my face because I was happy. Perry told me he felt the same.

Charlie would make us laugh everyday. Our friends at the inn would tell us stories or news when there was time. The gamblers at the pub let us watch their games.

And best of all, the monsters usually left us alone. If they didn't, I would just run to the inn or to water and the monsters would die. Everyone helped one another.

We were content, but like everything, it would not last.

All was well, until one day The Hidden Cave burned to the ground.

It had been one of those bad nights. My nightmares kept Perry and I from sleeping, so I decided to stay by the water and rest. Perry decided to join me that night.

We did that multiple times before, so no one worried about us.

I was just floating on my back in the water when Perry saw the smoke. At first I wasn't concerned. Some drunk idiot was probably causing trouble and would soon be killed by the guards. I was wrong.

As the smoke began to increase, I notice that it was in the same direction as the inn. Then I panicked. With both the water and adrenaline, I ran faster than I thought possible. Perry was a few seconds behind.

When we arrived, the inn was covered in flames. Without a second thought we ran into our burning home. We had to save our new family.

I immediately began to sweat as I entered the inn. I had never experienced such heat. My skin began to burn. My throat was dry after only a moment.

But that didn't stop Perry or me.

"Charlie!" We yelled as we crawled through the inn.

Gold dust covered the floors. There must have been a large attack by a group of monsters. They could no longer resist the urge to eat.

Then I saw Charlie's head. Not his body. His head.

I was paralyzed. The man who was like a brother to us was dead. He died in battle and we weren't even there to help.

Now the only thing left was his head. His mouth was open. His eyes were glazed over...

Then I threw up. Perry screamed when he saw Charlie.

I did not know what I could throw up. I had not eaten for a long time. But I threw up so much that my stomach and throat stung.

Finally, we just sat there staring at Charlie's head. No matter how hard I tried, I could not look away. I knew that I should turn away and get out of the building before I burned to death, but my body wouldn't move.

Perry was now trying to pull me away, but I was going to let myself die there. I've had enough of this life. I wanted to die.

But the Fates would not be so kind.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms lift me up and carry me. I did nothing to stop them. I was still in a mental shock. Perry yelled something, but I didn't hear it.

My mind only registered everything as a blur when I was carried out of the burning building. I barely noticed that I was dropped unceremoniously on the ground.

I didn't even realize that my body was covered in different degrees of burns as I laid there on the dirty stones. What I did notice was that Perry and someone else were coughing right beside me.

That person must have saved us.

Before I knew it, my adrenaline had worn off and I had passed out.


When I woke up I was on a boat. How did I know? I'm the son of freaking Poseidon. That's how.

I was lying in a hammock as I regained consciousness. My joints were stiff. My eyes were itchy. My body was covered with burns. I felt completely sick as I remembered the previous events. I would have puked again if I had anything left in my stomach.

Perry was also in a hammock beside me, looking pale and unconscious with a bandage stained red around his head. My brother had injured himself while trying to save me.

Tears ran down my face. Charlie was gone. The inn was gone. Our friends were gone.

I didn't care when someone else entered the room. I did not even give him a glance as he sat down a mere five feet away. He must have been the man who saved Perry and I.

I felt no shame in crying. If the man thought less of me, that was his problem. Our problem was bigger.

For the second time in our lives, Perry and I were completely alone.

And we were only six.


Author's Notes: Yikes, that was depressing. =/

Sorry this was a little late in the update time, but I included more content than usual.

Important Note: A user online had PMed me earlier today asking if this story will be Pertemis, or he'd be wasting his time reading. Please DO NOT be like him with an attitude like that because that's disrespecting the authors who have taken precious time thinking up the plots for their stories. Not to mention any names but *Cough frytrix Cough* that individual should have more respect for writers. Thanks.

Now that my message is conveyed, I'll see all of you beautiful people next chapter. =)

Remember to read and review! =3