Hello there.

I'm sorry that it's been so long since the last update. This account used to be shared with another friend but she's since moved on to better places.

Anyways. Chapter 2. Great.

Exciting.

Splendid.

Insert other hype adjective of your choice.

That evening, Persephone nervously paced outside of Miss Dodd's office. She had no clue what to expect to be perfectly honest. Was this all some sort of elaborate prank? She didn't think so. Her legs were sore from running. She could still so vividly see her teacher flying after her in the museum. Something like that...it couldn't be faked. It couldn't. It was too real.

And yet, what did that mean for her?

After another few moments spent fidgeting outside of the office, Persephone tentatively knocked on the door.

And suddenly, she was falling. Falling ever so far. She felt as though her stomach were turning inside out while wrapping around her like a soft, grotesque balloon. Her vision briefly went dark and when it reappeared, she was somewhere...completely different. Somewhere...darker. Even as she retched a little inside her mouth, her eyes darted about, trying to ascertain where she was.

Which, to be honest...wasn't really helping. She was just in the middle of nowhere. An empty expanse, pitch black and yet still almost entirely visible. It was as though the world around her had been blacked out, but she could still see perfectly. Miss Dodds was standing a ways away, watching the girl. "Come here girl." She spoke, and Persephone found herself almost compelled to obey. Though her stomach was still rolling about and her mind still spinning, her legs acted almost of their own volition, drawing her closer and closer to the teacher.

"I apologize for the sudden change of scenery child." Miss Dodds spoke again as Persephone drew closer. "Unfortunately that blasted centaur's ears are too sharp and his eyes too keen for us to speak freely." Persephone's ears perked up. "Centaur?" she questioned. She vaguely remembered that they were half-horse half-man creatures. But she was fairly certain she hadn't seen one. Something that ridiculous surely would have been the talk of the whole school...probably the nation if it were to be real. Then again, Miss Dodds had turned into some creepy bat monster.

"I suppose we may as well begin there. As I said before, I am Alecto, one of the furies of Lord Hades himself. You are acquainted with Mr. Brunner correct? Of course you are, he's a centaur. Chiron in fact." Alecto revealed without even waiting for Persephone to respond to her question. "Of course he is a good man...horse..." Alecto chuckled for a moment at her own little joke.

"...but seeing as how we are two very differently aligned individuals, he would no doubt dispel my existence from your mind in order to try to keep you safer for a while longer. To observe you. And if he were to learn that you knew of your heritage, then he would be all the swifter in delivering you to his beloved camp."

Persephone just stood there, listening. She might have found that she couldn't speak even if she wanted to, as Miss Dodds, or perhaps Alecto now, seemed bent on just turning her entire world upside down yet again. "Now ordinarily child, I would have no issue with him doing so. In fact, demigods...the living entirely...are typically beyond my standard business. However you are an exception." Alecto took Persephone by the chin, lifting her head so that she could stare into her eyes. The grip wasn't painful, but it was tight and Persephone got the feeling that she wouldn't be able to escape until Alecto let her go. Though even if she did get out, where would she run to in this dark...dimension.

"You are powerful...or will be. You are either the most favored child of a major god...or one of the children of the Big Three themselves. Your presence, even as you remain unaware of your heritage was such that you became a prime suspect in the most heinous crime of this millennia." Alecto informed her as she let go of her chin.

At this point Persephone felt her tongue loosen and she couldn't help but protest. "But...what crime? I've done nothing wrong! At least not to any gods. I think?" She couldn't be sure to be honest. With all the revelations, she wouldn't be surprised if this Lord Hades was her principal, or Satan the janitor. "I-I don't think I've done anything..." she repeated, a little less sure of herself.

Alecto sighed. "I am aware child. Had you been truly guilty, and lied to me, I would have known, as such sort of topics fall under mine and my sister's domains." She frowned "However...the fact remains that you are a very prominent target. If Chiron himself made a house call, and for such a lengthy period of time..." she trailed off. "I suppose that I should try my best to fill you in on all of the necessary knowledge you may eventually need to know." She held up her right hand and it turned withered and frail, healthy skin giving away to a ghoulish undertone as she lightly jabbed her finger between Persephone's eyes.

A jolt of information suddenly flickered through Persephone's mind. The gods were real. They had demigods. All demigods had something referred to as a scent. Traces of their godly heritage that leaked from them, attracting monsters and other unfriendly things. There was a place called Camp Half Blood where demigods of this age were sent or taken to train and keep them and their families safe from the monsters of this world. There was a currently standing oath between the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, to not have any children after the aftermath of World War 2. There was this thing called the Mist that somehow just hid the entirety of this mythological world from the eyes of mortals. That would explain why there were no mentions of horse men or giant angry gods on the news.

Persephone began to feel the onset of a headache as more and more information pulsed through her mind, assimilating naturally, and yet artificially through Alecto's power. "I...I see." She said, almost mechanically, still processing all of the knowledge. Her world was...her life. It was changed forever. "Wait! If demigod scent gets stronger after they become aware then...?" she asked fearfully and Alecto, who had been waiting while the information parsed, nodded.

"Yes. You will soon be in danger. In fact, it would be wise to inform Chiron of your knowledge prior to the end of the schoolyear. It would be unwise to return home." She looked down at the girl. "I must admit...it is curious that you have yet to be attacked. Your scent is...quite provoking. Even prior to our initial meeting, it was so very clearly obvious you were a demigod.

Persephone flushed. Even though she knew it was something different, to be told that one smelled, especially by a teacher was a little embarrassing for her 11 year old mind.

"Wait. You gave me all this information but...I still don't know what crime I have been accused of." she exclaimed. Alecto nodded. "Yes...about that..." She grasped onto Persephone's hand. "I believe it would be best for...Lord Hades himself to inform you."

"W-what?!" she shrieked and tugged her hand from Alecto's grasp. Alecto grasped her once more. "Calm yourself. You will be safe. I have already vouched for your innocence but...things are a little tricky." She sighed.

"In the days of Ancient Greece, things were different. Gods could descend to earth with no consequence. We could walk amongst the mortals and be worshipped freely. But now there are the Ancient Laws. I passed along that knowledge to you correct?" Persephone nodded and Alecto continued.

"These laws were passed in order to separate gods and monsters from the mortals as they progressed on their own. As such, a god will entrust their children to represent them in most matters on earth, most commonly in the form of quests. However following World War 2, the influence of the gods on earth has been limited even farther. It is rare for a demigod to ever meet their immortal parent."

"But...what does that have to do with Ha-Lord Hades?" Persephone quickly corrected herself after she caught Alecto's disapproving stare.

"A fair question. But as Lord Hades has no demigods, he has no representative to earth. I suppose I could be considered his mouthpiece, but for a matter as important as this, only his own word would suffice. And yes Persephone, this is important. I cannot express how much so, but it is." Persephone still shrunk back. "I-I just..." Alecto softened for a moment.

"If it would make you feel better, we will not meet him directly. I will merely Iris Message him." Persephone recalled that an Iris Message was a sort of communication that gods and demigods could use by making a sacrifice to Iris through a rainbow in order to connect with almost anyone in the world. "Okay..." she said, still a little unsure. But since it seemed like Alecto had already made up her mind, she might as well get it over with.

She watched in awe as Alecto produced a fire in her hand and a sort of mirror, allowing the light to refract through it to form a rainbow that splashed across the pitch black wall. She pulled an ancient looking coin from nowhere and spoke again. "Now, if you ever wish to Iris Message, and you manage to obtain a drachma, you will throw it into the rainbow and say "Lady Iris, please show me...and then speak the name of the person you wish to talk to. It is best if you can say their full name, as well as a possible location, to make it easier on the goddess. And remember to be polite."

With that she threw the coin and spoke. "Lord Hades, likely to be in his throne room please." The rainbow shimmered and wriggled before warping out, forming almost into a portal. Through it, Persephone could see a middle aged man, deathly pale, seated upon a throne of what appeared to be bronze. He was dressed in a fitted suit, and filling out what appeared to be a long list of papers. He looked...stressed. Almost commonplace for someone who was supposedly the god of the dead.

Alecto bowed, pulling Persephone with her. "My Lord!" she greeted as the god looked up from his paperwork. She gestured to Persephone. "I have secured the girl, and I have confirmed that she is indeed not the culprit."

Hades stared down at Persephone, who risked a glance upwards towards him. He nodded slowly. "Rise." he ordered and she stood along with Alecto. "It would seem that I have placed false suspicion upon you." he spoke. "I will not apologize, as the matter was dire enough that such measures needed to be taken." Persephone faltered for a moment. "But...what my uh...my lord?" She stumbled through her words. "I still don't understand what happened?"

Hades nodded. "Twice per year, during the summer and winter solstice, all of the major gods will meet upon Olympus to discuss matters of our domains. Perhaps it's been too warm and Apollo will decrease the intensity of the sun. Perhaps a rare monster has risen from Tartarus and Ares must be sent to slay it. The vast majority of meetings however are...lackluster. Simple excuses for the gods to take a day off, and most of the time meetings resemble more of a children's bickering than divine business..." Hades rambled on for a time.

"However, this year was special. Chiron was granted dispensation to bring some of the campers up to Olympus to sit in on the Winter Solstice. A fraction of leniency granted by Zeus to the Ancient Laws. Everyone was on their best behavior." He chuckled. "Even Zeus and Poseidon's classic Mother Rhea liked you best was toned down for the sake of keeping up images. However, at the end of the meeting, Zeus called for his thunderbolt to send a storm out...and found it missing." He declared ominously.

"But...couldn't he just make another?" Persephone asked. Hades actually laughed. "Make another?!" he cackled, sending a wave of fear down her spine. "Ah child...I forgot that you are not yet fully aware of how things work. While Zeus may control the skies and while he may wield lighting, this was no simple lightning bolt that had been stolen. This was his Master Bolt. The weapon that sheared the peak of Mount Othrys from its base in the Titanomachy." He gestured with his hand. "You are aware of the mortal nuclear weapon correct?"

Persephone nodded, starting to see where this was going.

"The Master Bolt is equivalent to a hundred. No perhaps a thousand times that force. If Zeus were to throw it in anger, it could split the continent in two. As such, you can see why this is no small matter correct?" Persephone nodded again. "But...wait. If Zeus' uh...Master Bolt were stolen, why are you the one I'm speaking to? No offense or anything!" she hurriedly asked.

"A fair question. You see...while Zeus Master Bolt was stolen, my Helm of Darkness was also taken by the thief. I did not openly disclose this information, as I am not a bumbling idiot like my brother can be." Hades snorted. "Imagine...to tell the whole council that your greatest weapon is lost." He chuckled. "While we may have mellowed out significantly over the centuries, Greeks may as well have invented treachery. Even to my own family, I would hesitate to admit my very symbol of power had been stolen. It would seem my brother does not share my...common sense."

Persephone hesitated. "So...why are you telling me?" She asked. Hades nodded again. "Another fair question. You see...as Alecto told you, I lack a demigod child. And with my restrictions binding me largely to the underworld, as well the fact that my work piles on and on..." he glowered at the stack of papers left abandoned on his lap.

"As I understand, you will soon need to depart from your family and make your way to Camp Half Blood." Hades continued and Persephone nodded.

"I would like to issue you a...quest once you arrive." Hades finally revealed his hand. Persephone's eyes widened. She felt a tremble down her spine. Premonitions of danger. Her breath grew short for a moment and she couldn't help but ask "B-but why? I'm just a brand new...demigod. I don't even know who my uh...godly parent is or anything!" she exclaimed. It was almost strange how the foreign terms rolled right off of her tongue.

"Because it doesn't matter." Hades leaned forwards, his eyes boring into Persephone. "You are dangerous Persephone. Perhaps not now. But whoever sired you was...powerful. I am almost certain one of my brothers...Poseidon I would wager going off of your appearance but...that isn't the point. Your scent was strong enough as an unrecognized demigod to draw not only Alecto, but Chiron to make a house call. I understand that what I am telling you may not make sense, but it is the truth."

"So...then...what would I do?" She asked. Hades nodded. "Well first, it is a matter of determining your godly parent so that you can immediately begin to understand your powers. Your hand...if you will?" Persephone held out her hand and Hades reached out.

Somehow, through the iris message, his hand stretched out and grasped onto her own. She shivered, feeling a thrum of something...powerful rush through her. Her vision flickered and a series of visions suddenly rushed through her head.

She saw a young woman standing in front of what seemed to be the subway, wielding a glowing sword against an individual with a sort of curved dagger. She watched as the man thrust the dagger through her heart and suddenly felt a cold pain, as though she were the one who had been stabbed. Her mind whirled and suddenly the pain eased and she was watching an old woman draw her final breath. The exhale was long and cold, almost animated.

Before Persephone could ponder what she was witnessing, she suddenly saw a woman, whom she immediately somehow...knew was her, kneeling before a colossal man in a sleek suit. She watched as her...other self raised her knife and ran it across her hand, revealing glistening...golden blood?

And all of the sudden she was back in the empty void on her knees. Hades had already retracted his hand and was staring at her with curiosity. "If I might ask...what did you see?" He asked. Persephone opened her mouth, but suddenly found that she did not know. Though the memories burned strongly in her mind, it was almost as if they were dulled...muted. Somehow there and not. "I know but I...I can't...I can't say." she stuttered, frustrated at her inability to put what she had scene into words somehow.

Hades nodded in understanding. "I see. Just know child, that whatever you may have seen is a possibility, not a certainty. Do not live fearing a death that may never come." Persephone nodded. "Now, if I were to truly wager, I would guess you to be Poseidon's daughter. You...have a sea child's feel to you." Persephone looked at him questioningly and he chuckled. "Well if you were old thunderbeard's kid I suspect I would have been shocked when I touched you. Your eyes do also give it away a little. But why don't we test?" He nodded to Alecto, who Persephone had almost forgot had been close to her the entire time.

Alecto nodded back and suddenly Persephone felt a sharp pain as Alecto swiped a talon across her hand, drawing blood and eliciting a hiss of pain from her. Alecto then pulled a funny looking jug of water from literal nothingness and splashed it onto her hand. Persephone yelped again as the cold water suddenly touched her injury and recoiled.

"Well it would seem we have our proof." Hades drew her attention again. "W-what?" she asked, and looked to her injured hand.

Her formerly injured hand. The wound had closed. Though the blood that had spilled remained, the injury itself was gone, not so much as a scar remaining to tell that she had been hurt in the first place. "You're either Poseidon's daughter or...perhaps Oceanus', though I suspect you would be feeling a great deal more terror in my presence if you were." Persephone looked at her hand in marvel. "T-that's amazing..." she breathed out.

"But wait...why haven't my injuries ever closed before like that? I've gotten scraped up plenty of times and just washing them didn't do anything!" she suddenly asked.

Alecto was the one to speak up this time. "It is because now you know. Very similarly to how your scent increases drastically once you learn of your heritage, so to will your powers manifest as your godly blood recognizes itself. Water likely calmed you in the past, perhaps accelerated your regeneration slightly. But now that you truly know, water will be at your very command. It will obey you...and it will heal you."

Hades agreed. "Yes. Unfortunately our time together draws short niece. I understand that asking you whether or not you will accept my quest may be stressful, but I must ask that you choose now."

"I...I will help you, if I can." Persephone replied nervously. "I don't know how I could though I mean...you're a god and...I don't even know what to do or anything or..."

Hades nodded. "I understand. But all will become clear once you reach camp. Now, you must be going. You have been gone from the mortal realm too long, and there are eyes looking for you. Go, and remember, mention this meeting to no one."

And suddenly Persephone was outside of Miss Dodd's office. She tried the knob once but it was locked, and the room completely dark. She quickly returned to her room.

Olivia was waiting for her. she appeared to have been reading a book, but she set it down when Persephone walked in. "So, what did Miss Kerr want with you?" Persephone paused at the name. "Wha-who?"

Olivia frowned. "Miss Kerr? Our teacher? You were with her for almost an hour and a half are you okay Persephone?"

And that's it right there for a very very late chapter 3.

I'd honestly like to make these chapters longer, but this started sort of as a side project and I don't even really know what I want to do with it.

On that note, thank you for all the kind reviews we've had so far. I look forward to reading them whenever I get a new one.

A few things to clarify regarding the chapter-

-Hades was able to identify Persephone's parentage largely through guesswork and partially through experimentation. While the Ancient Laws typically forbid gods from seeking out their parents, there is no such specific rule (that I know of) forbidding another god from just telling a kid who their parent is. There is also a precedent of gods seeking out demigods to issue quests to them, such as Ares meeting Perseus in the first book. Hades just...happened to pass along additional information.

-Persephone's visions were indeed of future possible deaths, and the last vision was indeed a vision where she accepted godhood and thus would no longer die. Who is to say whether or not any of the events will come to pass. Maybe. Maybe not. Again, I have no real sense of direction in this fanfic at the moment. It's just gonna go wherever it will.

-On that note, I do plan on taking this sort of slow. Some fanfics manage to cover the entire series in a single story. I plan on...well not doing that. Though I do enjoy that sped up format, I plan on taking each book as its own little fanfic that will sort of cohesively...come together into a story.

Long sendoff huh?

Oh right. I'm also looking for a beta reader or two. Or a few individuals who might be interested in helping me soundboard out this story, maybe even write some of it with me. As I said, this started as a side project, but I do plan on seeing it through, and it's always more fun to do so with friends or...vague internet acquaintances. So yeah. If you're interested, feel free to PM me.

Thanks. As always, if you enjoyed the story, have questions, etc...feel free to leave a review.