A/N: Hope you guys had an awesome Christmas and enjoying New Year's. As a gift, I decided to post a chapter early just for you guys. I took all that time I gave myself to write a few extra chapters, but will probably only post 1 or 2 chapters a week. I'd post more, but I know that eventually imma get writer's block, and would take at least a month to get back into it. That's why I always have a few chapters already written in case that does happen so I don't leave you guys hanging. Just a heads up, some parts of this chapter are a bit dark. Not too bad, but this is rated T so I can't be too careful.
"Ugh, this is so dull." A young woman who worked as a cashier moped, resting her elbows on the counter.
"I thought turning 18 would be so much fun. Going to parties, meeting boys and doing whatever I want!" She sighed wistfully as she looked around the empty WalMart. Her co-workers also had a bored expression on their faces, they all rather be anywhere but here.
'But no, life had other plans for me. I'm doing full time college, working a minimum wage job trying to pay off my stupidly expensive student loans and textbooks. I live in a shitty apartment with shitter neighbors, and to top it all off I don't have a boyfriend.' She thought to herself bitterly.
'I never thought being 18 with no money would be so lonely, good job spending most of your money on college Gabby. Real smart.' She thought humorlessly. Gabby wished she could go back and live as a teen again, life was so much more simple back then. At least it was fun and entertaining, not dull and boring like working as a cashier. She really wished something, ANYTHING would happen right about now.
"Hey, nice night we're having." Gabby heard a customer say, she could hear them putting their stuff onto the counter for her to scan.
"Did you find everything you need?" She asked dryly without looking up to the customer, while starting to check out his things. It was a weird combination of stuff; hot pockets, sodas, mini pizzas, and a black motorcycle helmet.
'Geez whoever this is, they're super unhealthy.' She paused from checking the customer's items to sneak a side glance, only to feel her voice hitch and her face to turn beet red. In front of her was the very definition of tall dark and handsome. He looked maybe around 18-20, and was at least 6'1 with black curly hair that almost covered his eyes, which were bright amber. His eyes were slightly narrowed, and his face was sharp and defined like that of a Roman. But the warm smile he wore gave the young woman the impression that he was kind and gentle. He wore a black button up shirt with the first buttons loose, with a pair of ripped jeans and timberlands. She could see his sturdy and strong physique from under his clothes, not that he was trying that hard to hide it.
She rarely ever ogled at the opposite gender, but this time she couldn't help it.
"Yeah I sure did." The man said answering her question, and Gabby felt herself blush a little as he sent his smile her way.
"Can't believe I left my house with a helmet though. It's a miracle my hair isn't all over the place." He chuckled a little, and she assumed he was trying to make small talk.
"You ride a motorcycle?" She asked the customer, maybe if she kept up with the small talk and add a couple of flirty comments she could get his number.
"Yeah, best way to get from point A to point B in my opinion." Gabby giggled and pushed her hair behind her ear, finishing checking his items.
"I've never been on a motorcycle." She admitted, resting her chin on her hand and looking up at the man. She really liked looking in his eyes, they were bright orange and it was like there was a miniature fire in his pupils. But that couldn't be possible, his eyes must be reflecting something behind her, but she didn't want to look away either. That would be rude of course, to break eye contact. Right.
"I would totally recommend it. The feeling of the wind in your hair, the adrenaline you feel from going so fast, it's like you're on top of the world."
"Wow that sounds amazing." The cashier gushed.
"I wish I could experience it. Maybe, you could help me?" She asked, giving him her best puppy eyes.
"Hm? How could I help?" He asked, and for a second the young lady felt a flash of annoyance.
'Maybe he's just a little dense.' She thought to herself, before leaning over the table and pressing her breasts together.
"I mean…" She purred, and she saw the man gulp a little nervously. His face turned a little red.
'Works every time. These ladies have never failed me.'
"Could you take me for a spin on your motorcycle one of these days? I would love it if you could." She finished, and watched the young man in front of her look away and scratch his cheek.
'It's kind of cute how a stud like him gets flustered over seeing cleavage. Must be from the mountains or something.' She thought to herself with a smirk.
"I don't know. I'm kind of busy for the next couple of days." He muttered, but she wasn't about to take no as an answer.
"Then here, how about this?" She grabbed a piece of paper from the counter and a pen hanging on her polo shirt pocket, and quickly wrote something on it before handing it to him with a smile.
"Here's my number. If you want, you could give me a call. We could work something out so I can get to ride you-uh, get that ride on your motorcycle." She corrected herself with a blush. She couldn't be that horny, right? Geez she needed to cool off as soon as she got home. She watched the man look at the sheet of paper with her number gingerly, before eventually taking it. His face was bright red, contrasting his tan skin.
'Huh. Maybe he's just as pent up as I am?' Gabby wondered to herself.
"I'll...keep that in mind, uh..." He paused, realizing he never got her name.
"Gabby. Gabby Salvatierra." She said with a smile, offering him her hand. He smiled sheepishly before taking it.
"I'll keep that in mind Gabby. My name is Angel by the way." Gabby smiled.
"Nice to meet you Angel. Your total is 50.56." She said, before winking.
"Hold on, let me give you my discount." She mumbled, entering her code.
"Okay, 42.68. Cash or credit?" Angel handed her a 50 bill, and she quickly grabbed it and gave him his change as he grabbed his bags.
"Thanks for choosing Walmart, we hope to see you real soon." She rehearsed the lines her manager made her say with every customer, to which the man smiled and said they'd keep in touch before leaving the store. She looked at the door Angel left through, before feeling a smile form on her face.
"I guess there is a god out there somewhere. I asked for something to happen, and it did."
Unknowing to Gabby, there were godly forces at work here. In fact, it was none other than Aphrodite herself, who watched the two interact from Olympus.
"Maybe I enchanted her with a bit too much lust. She looked like she was going to jump him then and there." She mused as she sat back on her throne, before looking using her godly sight to watch the young champion put all his stuff in his unlimited backpack that her husband gave him, before putting on his new helmet and driving off. Aphrodite had to admit, he looked fine as fuck in his adult form. Hopefully he did turn out to look like that when he turns 18, as the mist only makes the caster's current appearance look older, not what they would actually look like. It took a lot more self control than she thought it would to not go down there and suck him dry.
The goddess of love did however feel a little guilty to be toying with his love life, even if it wasn't really a love life quite yet. But she wanted to see how the boy would react when presented with an easy opportunity. After all, she saw the way the boy looked at her daughter. Even if he didn't know it yet, there was a small drop of love in his heart for Piper. True, honest love. It was small, but over time it will grow bigger to the point where he can't ignore it. Aphrodite had nothing to do with this either, he had started to grow these feelings all on his own. She could enhance those feelings, make them stronger in a short amount of time. But if she was going to allow anything between them, she had to see what kind of person he really is when it came to women. She knew he was a good person at heart, but when it came to her daughters she was a bit over protective.
He also had affection for the daughter of Athena, but it wasn't the same as with Piper. It was mostly admiration and to put it bluntly, platonical. But the most love he had was for Hestia. It was obvious to anyone, she didn't need to be the goddess of love to know. It was completely son-to-mother love, the purest kind in her opinion. It made sense he would have the most love for his adoptive mother, she couldn't blame him. Besides, who couldn't love Hestia in her adult form? She looks smoking hot as a milf.
'Better enjoy being the #1 woman in his life Hestia. Because you're going to be dethroned sooner than you think.' She thought to herself, before flashing away to a bar in Paris, maybe she'd find a nice stud to spend the night with.
Back at camp, Piper and the rest of her quest mates sat outside the infirmary together, waiting to see how their newest recruit reacts to the new environment he's been thrown into. None were very fond of the idea of him being here, as he and his gang did try to rob them after all. But they couldn't throw him outside the barrier either, he'd be hunted by monsters every step he took. That was just too cruel for their liking. It had been a day since they found Tony, almost two now that the sun had settled and Artemis had taken her chariot for a ride across the sky. He had been unconscious the entire time, and the group was growing restless.
"Should we like, have him on probation or something?" Grover asked, who wore nothing but an orange camp half-blood t-shirt and having his goat legs exposed in all their glory. Piper had gotten used to it, but it took some time for her since the first memory she had of Grover was him on a stripper pole with his goat legs. She's so glad she didn't give Percy her phone that day.
"No, that would put him on edge. It would make him feel like a criminal, and would most likely lead him to doing something we don't want him to." Annabeth mumbled, grabbing her chin in thought. She also wore an orange camp t-shirt, with a pair of faded jeans and old sneakers.
"But he is a criminal." Percy said as he leaned against a tree.
"I mean, he tried to kill Angel for just making him look bad. Have you never had a demigod with a track record come into our borders?" The son of the sea asked. He was the only one not wearing orange, in fact he was wearing a blue shirt that had a narwhal with a trident in hand...fin.
"A few, but none of them had done anything serious. Shoplifters, skipping school, fighting on school property. But this guy?" Annabeth pointed. towards the infirmary.
"He was a leader of a group of old teen thugs. The local gang in Hollywood, MS-16, had been having trouble with their resistance. I looked it up, and if they're giving MS-16 a hard time, they weren't any goody two shoes. Maybe the others were just all bark, but he's different. I have a feeling he's done some….questionable things." They all stood silent for a moment, no one was sure what to say. Piper walked over to the tent and opened the door to check on their patient, only to see the teen still asleep, his eyebrows were furrowed.
'If only Angel were here, he would know what to do.' Her face then brightened, she wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of this sooner. She's been looking for an excuse to IM him.
"Hey guys, let's just IM and ask Angel what we should do. Maybe having the entire group together we can come up with a plan." She said, letting the door close behind her.
Tony laid on the bed quietly, but his body was covered in sweat and his body shifted and moved occasionally. It was as if he was having a bad dream.
(One month Earlier)
Tony leaned against a traffic light as he waited for the light to go red, wanting to cross the streets of the heavily populated Hollywood. He was in no rush, he didn't mind waiting for a few seconds. Or minutes. Or hours. He didn't want to get home just yet, but he knew he was just avoiding the inevitable. Ever since that fuck boy showed up and embarrassed him in front of his crew, he had been going to the gym and working till he dropped exhausted. He felt an anger he had never felt before, and no matter how much he trained or exercised it never went down. In fact with everyday that passed he felt his anger grow little by little. He eventually came up with an idea on how to quench his anger, and that was to beat the shit out of that kid. His best bet was to find that place he mentioned.
He had been planning to leave for a few days now, but he had a few loose ends to tighten up. And by loose ends, he meant people who owed him money for having him and a couple of his boys jump people that clients told him to. He didn't ask questions, he just did his job and got paid. He just came back from talking to his latest client, who paid a good 200 for beating up some random football player. The light finally turned red, and Tony crossed while the cars waited for the light to go green. He wore a black hoodie over his head as he made it to his apartment, the one that he and his uncle lived in. He was getting tired of the old fat man's shit, he only endured it because it gave him a place to sleep. But now that he was planning on leaving, well he was going to do more than just get his stuff.
He walked into the old and dirty apartment complex, before getting to his room and opening the door. As he expected, he saw his uncle sitting at the kitchen table with a few empty beer bottles next to him, looking as drunk as ever.
"Ayeee, who's at the door Huh?" He called out, but Tony didn't respond. He just kept walking past the kitchen and to his room.
"Brat, is that you? Tony! Hey I'm talking to you, you little son of a bitch!" Tony heard him get up from his chair, and sighed in annoyance while opening his room door and getting his backpack ready.
"You're asking for an ass whooping aren't you? A bit too old for that, so maybe I'll just kick your shit in." The man slurred as he walked into the teens room, walking him packing his stuff.
"Huh? What's this? You planning on running away? Ha! A bit too late for that." He walked up to Tony and grabbed his shoulder, but Tiny gave no indication of his uncle being there and continued to pack his stuff.
"See I might have let you run away if you hadn't taken my poker room and told me you'd pay me for rent. You hadn't paid me shit, so you're going to pay a different way." The man tried to twirl Tony around so he would face him, but he found him as sturdy as a rock. The teen didn't budge.
"What the-? Quit messing around and take this beating!" The man yelled as went to punch his lower back, only for Tony to twirl around him at the last second and kick the back of his knee cap. The old man fell to his knees with a thud, and grumbled in pain. The uncle sent a wild punch behind him, one that Tony easily blocked and deflected ba
"Where's my beating?" Tony asked in a monotone voice, surprising the uncle.
"Thought you said you'd make me take the beating. Were you lying?" The old man growled in annoyance, but he wobbled a bit from the amount of drinks he's had.
"You little shit. You dare hit the man that gave you a roof over your head?! "He bellowed, going to punch Tony's face. But the teen saw it a mile away, and lazily dodged it and watched as the man ah he lost his footing.
"Pathetic. I can't believe I let myself get abused by a weak motherfucker like you." Tony said dryly as he grabbed his backpack and putt it on.
"You were never the same after my mom overdosed. You took advantage that no one would stop you from abusing me, but that's where you fucked up." Tony's emotionless face turned into one of anger, and he kicked his uncle while he laid on the floor. The old man gasped in pain, grabbing his side in discomfort.
"Get up!" Tony roared, stepping back to give the old fart a chance.
"Get up and give me the beating you promised! C'mon, show me how much of a good role model you were to me!" The older man staggered a bit as he got up, staring daggers at his nephew.
"You're a monster. A freak of nature." Tony's eyes widened as those words left his uncle's mouth.
'They labeled you a freak.' The kid's voice echoed in his head, and the red-eyed teen felt his anger build up again.
"You're not my nephew." Tony trembled in anger, his fist drawing blood to his palm.
"I am your nephew, and you treated me like shit." Tony said in a shaky voice.
"You were the only family I had left. I was left in this world with no father or mother! And what did you do? You beat me, you humiliated me, you abused me." He paused, before glaring up at his uncle with his eyes glowing bright red instead of their usual dark and dull.
"But now, I'm going to make you pay. You're going to pay for all the years of abuse and mistreatment." He then charged at the unprepared uncle, who had been processing everything said to him.
Tony quickly sent a punch to the man's stomach, and he was caught completely off guard. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, before crumpling over and clutching his stomach.
"Get up old man! We're not done!" Tony roared, kicking his uncle under the chin. He grunted in pain and fell on his back, still feeling dizzy from the punch to his stomach. The old fart coughed, and he could taste iron in his mouth.
"Stand up uncle! Hit me! Fight me!" Tony yelled, but received no response from the man. He just slowly tried but surely got to his feet, blood trickling down his mouth and a bruise forming under his chin.
"I'm sorry." The man mumbled, wobbling under his own weight.
"What?" Tony growled. There's no way this piece of shit just-
"I said I'm sorry." He repeated, causing Tony's eyebrow to twitch.
"I did terrible things. My drinking was the cause of most of it, but I really do care for you nephew." He said softly, looking at his nephew in regret. Said teen kept his head low, before slowly walking up to his uncle.
"I shouldn't have done the things I've done, and I wasn't there for you when your mom passed. I'm sorry for everything." He looked up to see Tony standing right in front of him, his eyes hidden under his short black hair.
"I know it's impossible, but I hope one day you'll-Uurgh!" He was interrupted by a punch across his face, causing him to crash onto the wooden tile.
"You think I'm really that stupid huh?" Tony remarked, cracking his knuckles.
"You? Caring about me? What a joke!" The teen kicked the man's stomach again, and his uncle felt something wrong in his body.
"You really thought I'd pay 1,750 for one room? You selfish prick! You charged me the entire apartment rent! Just so you could spend your money and everyday drinking your ass off." Tony sent repeated kicks to the man's body and face, to the point where his uncle ended up vomiting all the beer and alcohol he drank. Tony backed off out of pure disgust at the display, but he still felt angry. He didn't feel remorse for his uncle, or guilty for his actions. He just felt anger.
"I really hope I never see your face again. Because if I do, I might just end up killing you." He said in his monotone voice, his eyes returning to their normal dull red before stepping out the room and slamming the door to the apartment behind him. The uncle was left on the ground, seemingly unmoving. A few days later, he would be found dead in the room, supposedly choking from his own vomit.
(Present)
Piper closed the door behind her and looked at her friends expectantly, hoping they'd agree with her. She hadn't talked to the guy in a month, he must've been really busy with his own training.
"I mean, I guess we could call him." Annabeth muttered, crossing her arms.
"At least Angel will probably come up with a better solution then these dolts."
"Hey!" Both Percy and Grover protested, much to both girl's amusement.
"Hurry up and call him Piper." The daughter of Athena remarked, and Piper nodded before grabbing a drachma from her pocket and closed her eyes.
"Oh goddess Iris, hear my prayer. Show me Angel, Champion of Hestia." She flicked the coin in the air, and slowly the air shimmered and flickered before showing a forest with a small campfire. Next to said campfire was a grown man, maybe 19. Everyone thought he was an older version of Angel, except really buff. The man seemed to notice the IM, who was currently cooking a hot pocket over the fire.
"Oh, hey guys! What's up? You don't mind if I eat while we talk do you? I'm starving." His deep voice remarked, surprising the pre-teens.
"Uh, who are you?" Grover asked, and the man raised an eyebrow in confusion at the satyr.
"Huh? Grover what're you talking about? It's me, Angel." He said casually, before grabbing his hot pocket with drool coming down from his mouth.
"WHAAT?" The teens cried, surprising Angel to the point of almost dropping his hot pocket.
"Hey! Could you not be so loud?! I'm careless enough as it is camping in the middle of nowhere full of monsters, I could go without you guys screaming your heads off. Plus, you almost made me drop this." He said, looking at his meal in hunger before taking a bite.
"So good…I could never eat junk food over at-"
"You're Angel?" Piper asked in shock, taking in the man's physique.
'He certainly...looks like him. Just a lot more mature and...hotter. Wait what? What am I saying?' Piper slapped both her cheeks to stop herself from being distracted, before looking at this supposed Angel.
"You can't be him. You're too old." Piper exclaimed, and the man's eyes widened.
"Oh of course! I completely forgot!" Piper raised an eyebrow and looked back at her friends, who wore similar expressions to her. Except for Annabeth, who was too busy looking at the man with a starry gaze to notice.
"I forgot the spell takes forever to wear off unless I cast it off manually." He muttered as he took another bite from his hot pocket and let out a manly groan.
"These things are so good." He mumbled.
"What spell? What are you talking about? Where's our Angel?" Percy asked, crossing his arms.
"Hold on, let me just-" The man took one last bite from his meal before setting it down on his backpack and standing up. He waved his hand in front of him, and slowly the air around him shifted and covered his body for a few seconds, before it disappeared, revealing himself in his original 13 year old body.
"Ta da." He said with a goofy smile, and his friends looked at him in awe.
"How'd you do that? Are you some sort of witch or something?" Percy asked the teen.
"He would technically be a warlock, not a witch." Annabeth stated, answering the son of Poseidon's question. She seemed to come out of whatever trance she was in before.
"And no it wouldn't make him a warlock. If anything it would make him a follower or child of Hecate. The goddess of magic and the mist, and who has hellhounds at her command." She then gave the champion of Hestia a skeptical look.
"You controlled the mist around you, didn't you?" She asked with an annoyed expression, surprising Piper and Percy.
"Wait, you can do that?" Percy asked curiously, to which the amber eyed boy nodded.
"Almost anyone can do it really. As long as they can see through the mist." Angel responded from the IM.
"It's a little tricky, but once you get the hang of it it's pretty simple."
"Must be easy if you can do it." Annabeth mumbled loudly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Angel asked, and Annabeth was about to respond before Piper stepped in.
"What're you doing in the middle of nowhere Angel? Shouldn't you be at Hestia's place so you don't get attacked by monsters?." She asked, giving Annabeth a side glance. She liked Annabeth, but sometimes her snarky remarks get a bit annoying. Maybe she's just upset he learned how to control the mist before she did, being a child of Athena makes her super prideful apparently.
"I'm actually looking for a goddess. The goddess of flowers." He said with a shrug.
"Lady Khloris." Annabeth stated, and Angel nodded his head.
"Yeah, apparently she has a flower that never dies or grows old. So I'm gonna go get it."
"Why do you need an immortal flower? Does it transform you into a mutant if you eat one of its leaves or something?" Percy asked, to which led everyone to look at him with a confused look.
"What? I like reading comics okay?" Angel simply shook his head in amusement.
"Nah Percy, the only thing I heard about it is that it's super gorgeous but also has a curse. I'm going to find Lady Khloris so she can tell me where it is, how to lift the curse, take it home and give it to Hestia." He said while scratching his cheek.
"My mom is really into flowers and gardens, so I figured she'd like it."
"So you're going to find a goddess and lift a curse on a flower, so you can give it to Hestia, as a gift?" Percy asked.
"Basically, yeah."
"I can respect that." Grover said with a nod of his head.
"Well it was nice catching up and all, but we have a little bit of a problem here at camp." Annabeth said crossing her arms, and Angel raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What kind of problem?" He asked.
"Remember that group of thugs that we ran into in Hollywood? Their leader is here and unconscious. He has been for almost two days now." Annabeth answered, and Angel's eyes widened.
"No way. Tony made it? I didn't think he would even listen to me." He said distractedly, confusing everyone else.
"Wait Angel what're you talking about? Did you...tell him to come here?" Grover asked, and Angel simply answered with a smile.
"Yeah, I did. I could tell he was a demigod when we had our tussle. His technique was sloppy but the guy can throw a punch, I'll give him that much." Angel muttered, remembering the fight he had with the older teen. If he had the proper training, he could be a really good fighter.
"But why would you tell him about camp? He's a gang leader and a delinquent!" Piper yelled, surprising the champion.
"He tried to kill you, doesn't that mean anything? He may try to kill you again if-when you get to camp." Piper said, stuttering a bit when she mentioned camp. Angel simply looked at the daughter of love with serious eyes.
"Weren't you all delinquents?" He asked softly, surprising the entire group.
"In the eyes of mortals, you were all delinquents. Good for nothing trouble makers. That you were more trouble than you were worth. I know because people saw me the same way while in the orphanage, since back then I had no control over my fire powers. But we were lucky someone found us when we were younger." He paused, throwing some sticks and leaves at the fire next to him.
"But Tony? He's almost a grown ass man. He probably dealt with monsters and didn't even know it! He has struggled way longer than we did, I could see it by the way he presented himself." He sighed.
"Even if he's a bad person, it's not entirely his fault. At least, I don't see it that way. It's more of the circumstances he was thrown in that made him turn to gangs. Strength in numbers right? Besides, as champion of Hestia I can't decide which demigods I help or ignore. Because I can't ignore any of them." Angel stated, a look of responsibility and determination growing on his face.
"You're too nice for your own good Angel." Annabeth responded with a huff. She hated that she couldn't stay mad at him. As much as she tried to be mad at him for learning to control the mist before her, she just couldn't. His sincere response about trying to save everyone, while illogical and stupid, (A/N: Referenced that one fanfic with that title. Basically random one shots in Annabeth's POV by prplemyth. Check it out) it was still a bit heart warming. It's nice to know that he was on their side.
"But seriously, we need to figure out what to do with him. Even with everything you said, he's still unpredictable and could be dangerous to the other campers. We need at least some sort of precaution." She stated, and Angel nodded in understanding.
"You guys should probably have a child of Ares to show him around, in case he gets any ideas. But don't treat him like a criminal, I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate that." Angel said while rubbing his chin, and Annabeth turned to her friends with a smug look.
"I'm sure for the first few days he'd try to not stick out too much, maybe try to get a better feel for the place around him. That's what I'd do at least. I'd also give him space, but not too much. As much as I don't like it, Annabeth has a point, you guys can't be too trusting. And maybe tell Chiron about this, he might have a better idea on how to properly deal with the situation." Angel thought out loud, spitting out any ideas that came to him. He figured he'd be more useful that way than just sitting there thinking of the perfect solution. That would take too long.
"Well, at least it's something." Annabeth mumbled before looking back at her friends.
"Even though I already thought of those ideas, it's good to double check with someone. I'll make sure Piper calls if we need anything. Because I sure as hell can't be bothered to call you." Angel chuckled a bit at her response, he had grown used to it. Grover says she's something called a tsundere, but he wasn't sure what that was. He simply smiled and waved goodbye, before taking out a soda from his backpack.
"I feel kind of responsible that you guys are dealing with this, so let me know if anything happens." Annabeth huffed in annoyance.
"You should feel responsible because you are. Now go get that flower for Hestia, we'll take it from here." She watched the boy nod his head before saying goodbye to everyone there and hanging up the call.
"Okay, time to get in action. Grover you go explain to Chiron the situation, Piper go and stay in the infirmary in case he wakes up. Call for someone as soon as he does." Grover nodded before heading over to the big house, while Piper seemed unsure about being alone with a gang leader. But she figured he'd be too disoriented to do anything as soon as he wakes up, and would give the daughter of love enough time to call for someone. She wasn't defenseless by any means, but she preferred to have some back up when dealing with someone a lot older and stronger than herself. Piper nodded in understanding before walking inside the infirmary.
"Good, now Percy I need you to-"
"Sorry Annabeth, but do you think it could wait?" An older voice asked, and Annabeth whirled around in surprise. To her delight, it was the son of Hermès Luke who was walking in their direction. He was the one who found her all those years ago with Thalia and protected her until they made it to camp. Thalia was a daughter of Zeus, who ended up giving her life so her Luke and Grover could make it to camp safely. She's also a pine tree that generates the barrier around camp, as before she died Zeus turned her into a tree to preserve her soul. Annabeth was only 7 when it all happened, and it was Thalia who Grover felt guilty about getting killed. No one blames him though, the only ones at fault were the monsters.
"I need to talk to the seaweed eater over here." Luke said jokingly, and Percy punched his shoulder playfully. Luke had turned 19 late this spring, and was tall with blonde hair and sky blue eyes. But he also had a pretty bad scar over his left eye. It was from a quest he was sent to do by his father, but he wasn't able to complete it. He was the best swordsman in camp, and had been teaching Percy his way around a sword for most of the summer. The two had become really good friends the past few months, and Annabeth believed that Percy really looked up to Luke. Honestly who wouldn't? He was the best.
"Earth to Annabeth? You in there?" Luke asked as he waved his hand in her face, breaking her away from her thoughts. She blushed wildly, and unconsciously started playing with her hair.
"O-oh yeah, it's cool if you need to talk to Percy. I'll just do what I needed him for on my own, n-no big deal."
"You're the best Annabeth. I'll bring him back before you can say seaweed." He flashed her a charming smile, and she couldn't help but blush harder. Percy noticed and snickered as Luke walked away, before following after him. Annabeth sighed in annoyance before going to the Ares cabin. Guess she'll have to convince someone on her own.
Elsewhere
A few minutes earlier:
Back in the abyss like terrain of Tartarus where Kronos laid dormant, his sarcophagus glowed brightly as another demigod renounced the gods and pledged allegiance with the Titans. The light slowly dimmed down, and another piece of Kronos' shattered body returned to him, he could feel his power grow ever so slightly with each piece.
"Another piece of myself that I thought was lost, yet I am still powerless. I need more demigods to join me…." His voice echoed through Tartarus, and slowly a figure made themselves visible.
"It is a long and needy task, but a necessary step to take if you wish for the fall of Olympus." A feminine voice spoke softly, who hid her face under a black hood and cloak. At her side were a pair of hellhounds, who snarled at literally anything that got too close for their liking.
"Ah, I've been expecting you goddess." Kronos drawled from inside his box.
"Have you located the boy yet?" He asked, and the hooded figure simply waved her hand. In front of her appeared an image similar to an IM, but it was more distorted. There she could see a young boy with curly hair talking to someone through an Iris message, and from under her hood a small smirk started to form.
"Yes milord. I sensed a disturbance in the mist earlier today, and I've been tracking him since." She looked through the image she summoned, watching the boy carelessly talk to whoever was in the IM.
"I can feel Hestia's power surge through his body. He is the one you are after I presume?"
"Indeed he is. Do you know his exact location?" The goddess simply nodded.
"Just north east into the border to North Carolina. In a dense forest that my hellhounds will have no trouble tracking." In response, the two dogs at her side growled in approval.
"Good. Have as many monsters sent to his exact location as soon as possible. And send some hellhounds as well."
"Hellhounds are tracking his scent as we speak, milord. Monsters are on their way, they will however take time to reach him."
"No matter. Cut off any communications he could send or receive through Iris. We cannot afford any distractions."
"Should I cast a sleeping spell on the surrounding area?" The figure asked.
"If you must. Anything to make his capture swift."
"Very well." The goddess sighed before taking off her hood. She revealed to have long dark hair that passed her shoulders and skin almost as white as snow. She wore a red toga while having a snake wrapped around her neck like a scarf, that would give the occasional hiss. Her eyes however were what stopped her from being a gift among men. They were scaly and green, like that of a snake. But she blinked like an alligator, her eyelids starting from bottom up instead of up to bottom.
She closed her eyes to focus and extended a hand to the distorted IM, before mumbling a single word.
"Yπνος." She muttered in Ancient Greek, and a thick fog started to envelop around where had set up camp. The boy had hung up the IM already, completely oblivious to the goddess and titan who were currently watching him.
"Any attempt to communicate through Iris and her messages has been blocked. And the boy should fall asleep within the next 5 minutes." The goddess informed as she opened her eyes again.
"As expected of the goddess of mist and magic. Very well done. With the boy almost in our care, swaying demigods to my aid will be no trouble at all." The goddess gave a small bow before returning the hood over her head again.
"Now let's see how Luke is doing in convincing the sea spawn. Hecate, if you would please." The goddess simply waved her hand to reveal another distorted image, this time showing the son of Hermès looking down at the sea spawn, who laid on the ground unable to get up. It looked like they were talking about something, but the image gave off no sound. Kronos knew however by the look of the situation, that that his grandson didn't take too kindly to Luke's proposal. Kronos sighed from inside his box.
"I expected as much. I highly doubt however that he'd die from the poison of the scorpion. No matter, we will soon have what we want." He said in a deep tone as he watched Luke walk away from the poisoned and paralyzed son of Poseidon, leaving him to die.
"No way princess." A muscular girl growled as she looked down at the daughter of Athena.
"Clarisse-"
"Don't Clarisse me, I got better things to do than babysit new bloods." The girl huffed in annoyance. She was tall and muscular for her age, and wore a camp t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off and a red bandanna tied over her short brown hair with her bangs hanging over her face. She had a brute looking face, with a big nose, sharp jawline and big chin. She wasn't exactly what came to mind when you thought 'feminine'.
"If you need someone to flush their face down the toilet though, then I'm your gal. Otherwise, get lost." She said before turning away with her spear resting over her shoulder.
"Yeah about that, I was going to ask if you don't do that with this new guy." Annabeth said quietly, knowing Clarisse wouldn't like hearing that. And like always, the daughter of Athena was right. Honestly, it's sometimes a curse.
"And why not? You know it's tradition to do it to every new blood we get. Is he your new boyfriend or something?" She asked, looking down at the blonde haired girl.
"What? Is that dweeb weakling son of Poseidon not good enough for you?"
"What? No! I would never date Percy. Our parents hate each other anyway so it wouldn't work." She said waving her hands in front of her.
"That's not why I'm telling you this though. The new guy is basically an adult who was the leader of a group of thugs back in Hollywood. He's unconscious right now and resting in the infirmary, but we don't know what he's capable of or what he'd do to the other campers." Clarisse felt eyebrows raise in interest, crossing her muscular arms.
"Thug leader you say? Sounds interesting."
"We also think he could be a son of Ares." Annabeth stated.
"We thought you could just keep an eye on him in case he tries anything." Clarisse threw her spear onto the ground, having the tip pierce the grass and dirt as she lazily leaned onto it.
"What's in it for me?" She asked in a serious voice.
"...Family bonding?" Clarisse scoffed.
"Very funny princess. Now be serious." She growled, her impatience becoming more evident with each passing second.
"Well…."
"Annabeth! Annabeth come quick!" The daughter of Athena whirled around to see Piper running towards her, her face showing obvious worry.
"Piper?" She asked softly as she watched Piper sprint toward her out of breath.
"It's Percy…" Piper said between breaths.
"He's hurt bad. Real bad." Annabeth felt her eyes widened.
"Where is he?"
"The...big house." Piper struggled to breathe out, her hands resting on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Annabeth didn't even waste a second before using over in the direction of the big house, before looking back at Clarisse.
"We're not done Clarisse!" She yelled before sprinting off, leaving Piper with the daughter of Ares.
"Hey, aren't you that new Aphrodite kid?" Clarisse sled, cracking her knuckles as Piper looked up at the muscular girl.
"I don't think we've had our camp initiation with you. Why don't you come with me and we'll get you sorted out." She said with a grin, and Pieper's eyes widened when she realized who was in front of her. Annabeth and Percy warned her about the daughter of war, they warned Piper to keep her distance.
"Actually I have to go help Annabeth check on Percy. So, maybe some other time." She said with a nervous smile before taking off behind Annabeth. Clarisse shook her head in amusement before pulling her spear out of the ground.
"Heh, weaklings." She rested her spear over her shoulder before deciding to go over to the infirmary. She figured she'd pay her new brother a visit.
A/N: I was thinking of having Hera be the one helping Kronos instead of Hecate, but decided against it. Hera wouldn't risk her family just to smite a single mortal, even if Zeus is super unfaithful. So I decided to have Hecate take charge instead, since she's known to do both good and evil in Greek mythology. Also I got the idea from domgk1115's story The First Son of Artemis, since they have Hecate play a role in the story as well. I really like in the direction they took that story in, but the only real problem I had was that for a short time they had Artemis' kid and a daughter of Apollo date. (And also because it's currently discontinued) I know gods have no real DNA, but those gods are siblings, twins even. It distracted me from the story a bit, but it's still a good read nonetheless. I highly recommend it. This is was one of the reasons why I had Angel be mortal, so he could date basically whoever he wants without having to worry about their extended family. Another reason was so he could be different. Demigods don't fit in the world of mortals nor gods, so they have to make do with each other. Angel on the other hand, he doesn't fit in with mortals, gods OR demigods. As of right now anyway. Since he still gets chased by monsters, but can't get through the barrier at camp because he has no real godly blood in his veins. He's the first of a kind, and as of right now he's alone with Hestia and his trainer Perseus. It won't be like forever though, things will change eventually. But I intent to have it take awhile before that happens.