A/N
First of all, wish you guys a very happy new year. I hope the year 2021 brings unlimited happiness and joy to you and your loved ones. May you succeed in whatever you try this year. This I wish from the bottom of my heart and soul.
This is the first chapter of this year. I hope you guys like it. Come on guys. Hit the favourite and follow option. Do it as a new year's gift for me. XD
But seriously, let's aim for 1k follows and favourites.
This chapter ends the childhood phase of Percy. Now, the character development of Percy, Zoë and Artemis will be shown.
Right now, Artemis and Hestia are the people's favorite choices. But the most surprising thing was that Nyx literally got 23 votes in a day.
That thoroughly shocked me as she jumped straight from number 18 to 6.
Also, this is something final. Do not expect me to show Luke as the hero in the end. According to me, that was a really cheesy end by uncle Rick. Like really, that dude has done everything immoral, including the poisoning of the very person who saved his life. And in the end, he just kills himself, ruining all his hard work. He may be angry at the gods, but that doesn't mean he can just wage war against them. And even if he does so, he should have at least tried to get a solemn oath from Kronos that he would let the demigods live. In short, I don't really like Luke. Trust me, people take years to just improve their minor flaws. How can this guy do so to a major flaw in his last seconds? And I am willing to bet that the only reason you like him is because of how well Rick Riordan has portrayed him.
I would say that Octavian is better than Luke. While he may be a good for nothing slimy weasel, he at least did what he did in the name of gods. He didn't turn to evil entities for power. He may be power-hungry, but he gained his power by his own efforts, not the help of evil. Many of you may disagree, saying that everyone deserves a chance. But I really don't care. I know that I mentioned I like to give my readers a chance to influence the story, but this is not up for debate. If you are a Luke fan, I sincerely apologize. I really don't like him. But trust me, this story will make up for it.
Another important request. If you have already voted for the harem, please do not do so again. It makes it really hard to manage the polls. If you want to add someone or remove someone, (in case of a change of mind), you are more than welcome, but please do not comment the same names again.
I got some reviews regarding the harem that asked me to remove someone from the harem. While I can't outright remove anyone from the harem, I can reduce the character's votes by one for each review suggesting their removal. How does that sound?
Now to answer the reviews.
To Draconic Reborn : Umm. My younger brother is eleven years old and about 5'2 in height. So, I don't really think it is over exaggerated.
To BJack12 : Well, I believe that a writer's first priority is to know what his readers like. So, giving you guys a chance to influence this fanfic is important for me. And i feel the same about Annabeth being in the harem. Also, I agree that Athena won't fall for a son of Poseidon. But, she doesn't need to fall for a son of Poseidon. Why can't she fall for him when he is declared the son of Thor? It is not compulsory for her to fall for him right in the beginning. She is a prideful virgin goddess. So, she will take time to acknowledge her feelings. Also, her being the favourite daughter of Zeus doesn't help matters. Afterall, Thor is the god of warfare in my story. A common domain with Athena.
To Keyblademaster 21177 : For your first question, no, only the name is same. It is not the Mera from DC. For your second question, no. She will not be in the harem. She will be more like an elder sister to Percy.
To treeofsakuras : He will be staying with the hunters for some time. Seeing the votes, it is obvious that Zoë and Artemis are going to be there in the harem. So, I want to show the close bond form between them. In this fanfic, I am going to try that everything makes sense. I know that we get annoyed if we read something that we feel doesn't make sense. So, I am not going to show that Artemis and Zoë immediately fall for Percy. I will take my time. Even ten chapters, if I feel like it.
To Callum Runchman : Yeah. He has surely impressed the hunters with his fighting prowess. But, it does not mean that they will treat him nicely. They still hate it that he is a male.
To Ninja65 : I can't find any argument for your review. Yes. Annabeth will be better suited with this version of Percy. But, other readers do not feel so. So, sorry if she doesn't make it into the final (whatever number) of girls in the harem.
To FlameWolf200 : I will have to think about adding any more of MCU in this. But, unfortunately, he won't have stormbreaker. He will get mjolnir.
To Ronnie R15 : I am indeed using Marvel's version of Norse mythology. The reason being that I have not read Magnus Chase. So, I decided to use the version that MCU has showcased.
To Ragesage : I really appreciated your suggestions and reviews. It really helped me plan it out further. But, I am nit going to shorten any quest. As for the sea of monsters, I have some things planned that are different from canon. So, I am going to write it completely. Do not worry, I am not going to leave this story. I have promised myself that I will complete it.
To coolgirl111 : Glad to know that you really like this story. As I said earlier, I aim to please.
To Agile PvP : Trust me, there are many characters who don't 'get the love' in Fanfictions. I may not be able to add Rhode in this fanfic as her votes are insufficient, but I promise I will include her in the next story.
To Hiilikepie69 : I get it that you are a hardcore Piper fan. Do not worry, this week was something of a 'Piper' week. I got ten votes for Piper. She may just beat Reyna and be the eighth member. And yes, I must agree that she is an interesting character if well written like uncle Rick did. If she makes it, pray that I can write her well. XD
To someonefamous99 : Near the Manhattan war, he will be as powerful as the big three. No, not combined. Equal to any one of the big three. After the Giant war, he will be as powerful as the big six combined. In the final war, he will be as powerful as two or three primordials. Yeah it is going to be sexual as i didn't get any negative reviews regarding it. Only positive ones. But it isn't gonna be just a lemon fic. Although there may be lemons, there will be mostly the main story.
To J915WinterKing : To be honest, I myself was surprised by the number of favorites and follows this story got. But, I am not complaining. Actually, I was inspired by nutsofthechest' fanfic, 'True child of Chaos' to write this. Although most details may be different (in the future), the thought behind writing this was the same.
Also, further suggestions are accepted with open hands.
To all the readers who liked the story and commented on it, but i couldn't reply to their reviews, : Thank you. I am happy that you all liked this story. I aim to please and hope that i will be able to do so in the future.
To going dark , you have still not claimed your prize. For the spoiler, p.m me and demand the part that you want a spoiler of.
Now, onward with the story.
Last time:
In the darkness that came in the form of Order, the boy would be the guiding light. The hope of the universe. The destroyer. For the first time in their life, the Fates didn't know of the future. They couldn't determine the outcome of the war with Order, but they knew one thing, the boy was to be trained to fight. Perseus , son of Thor and Sif, adopted son of Poseidon and Amphitrite would have to answer the call . He would have to become the saviour of the universe.
Sighing, the Fates flashed themselves to their work room. They had some strings of fate to alter.
Current time:
Place: Hunter's camp
Percy POV
When the goddess of the Hunt and her lieutenant left the tent, I felt my eyes getting heavy and decided to get some sleep.
As soon as I lay my head on the pillow, my eyes closed shut as the darkness of night overcame me. In Atlantis, I had been told that I was different from other demigods as I had never had a dream. Not the pleasant ones not the nightmares that demigods received. When I had asked Ikol about this, he had simply dismissed the matter saying that he kept the dreams away. I didn't know whether to thanks him or be angry. Deciding on the former, I hadn't brought up the matter again.
Imagine my surprise when I found myself in a lush meadow. I was standing on the grass barefoot. That is when I felt the Cool breeze of the night on a part of my body where I shouldn't feel it. Looking down, I was shocked to see myself standing naked. Shock turned to embarrassment as my cheeks burnt red and I covered my private parts with my hands.
After a few seconds, it struck me that I was not supposed to be here. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep. But while falling asleep, I had worn my clothes. It dawned on me that I was in a dream. Hey. I know I am a little slow. No need to rub it in my face.
Deciding to look around, I started moving forward. As I got near the woods, I heard a growl from behind me. If it weren't for my enhanced instincts, I would have missed the vibrations caused by the beast. The vibrations were irregular and strong, signifying that the beast had taken a pounce.
Not wasting a moment, I fell flat on the ground and rolled to my side.
From the corner of my vision, I saw a hellhound land on the place where I was standing a few moments ago. Letting out a sigh of relief, I got back to my feet and studied the beast. It was by far the largest hellhound I had seen. Standing about twenty five feet high, it towered over me and was looking at me with red eyes filled with hunger.
Instinctively, my hand went to my pant pocket, to pull out my trusty sword riptide. I cursed myself when I found myself naked. I also didn't have the twin rings that transformed into imperial gold gladiī. Thus , I was rendered weaponless against a twenty-five feet tall beast with razor sharp claws and teeth, add to it that I looked like a tasty treat to it.
As soon as panic started clouding my mind, I pushed it away and started looking for ways to beat this monster. Scanning my surroundings, I was bummed to find that there was no water source for nearly ten miles from us. This meant I couldn't call water to help me. I couldn't even control the water present in the air in form of mist. It seemed as if someone was blocking off my hydrokinetic powers.
I tried to create a storm by controlling the water in the winds like my father had taught me, but I was still unable to access it. The hellhound saw that I was distracted, and decided to attack me. It pounced at me with unbelievable speed. Dodging just barely, I managed to save myself. But, it's claws caught me pretty hard and left four scratches on my left arm that started bleeding profusely.
Running to a tree, I plucked a few of it's leaves and pressed them on my arm. The leaves started to soak the blood and the rate of flow of blood decreased effectively.
Leaving the leaves on my arm, I started to expand my senses and search for objects to help me. Sending no useful item, I sighed and broke two branches of the tree.
Holding them like twin swords, I ran to the hellhound. It tried to swipe at me with it's paw, but I was faster. I deflected it's paw with the branch in my left hand and stabbed the other branch through it's other limb. It roared in agony and stumbled.
Pulling out the branch, I then stabbed it through it's other leg. Another roar of pain escaped the beast's mouth as it fell forwards. It's front two limbs were severely injured, forcing it to put it's weight on the two limbs at the back. Now you must be thinking how I hurt it with a weapon, simple. Monsters may not be hurt by mortal metal, but wood is effective against monsters. Not to kill them, that's not possible, but it can severely injured them.
The reason I did this was to buy me some time for new ideas. As I tried to stab it's hind legs, it kicked me hard, making me fly backwards and fall flat on my back. I groaned and spat out some blood. Dam. That hurt like a mother fucker.
Slowly, I managed to get to my feet. My feet were still a little wobbly and I had to use my the branch in my hand to support my weight. The hellhound was still sprawled on the ground, unable to use it's front legs. But it was trying to get up. I knew that I would not be able to survive even one more strike from that thing. I had to think quick. I had to act quickly.
As I was going to attack it with the branches, I heard three voices speak in my head.
"Remember your heritage, hero. You are the son of Poseidon, the earthshaker. Use it to your advantage. Show the beast that you are the son of the strongest Olympian. Awaken the spirit of a true Earth shaker."
As soon as they finished saying it, the voices went away. At first I thought it was Ikol, but when I heard the three voices, I could sense unbelievable amount of power from them. The voices were of three old ladies. I knew that Ikol radiated large amounts of power, maybe even more than my dad, but the power radiating from these three ladies made Ikol look like a newborn baby.
But I didn't have time to ponder over this as the hellhound had managed to get up from it's position and started to come towards me slowly. Deciding to follow the advice given by the three ladies, I concentrated on producing an earthquake. I concentrated for a few moments, but I couldn't feel anything.
So, I tried to merge my mind with the surroundings and tried to control the ground. This time , the ground beneath my feet rumbled a little before it split open and out of it came a...rock?
Fan- fucking- tastic. I spend two minutes of concentration on trying to control the ground, or at least cause an earthquake. But all that I get is a fucking rock. I felt an eyebrow twitch in annoyance and felt frustration gather in my mind. Here I was, unable to even shake the land while my dad could literally cause earthquakes with just a slam of his trident.
Wait a second- slam. That's it, I thought. To cause an earthquake, I don't need to control the ground. I need to create it within me. The power of the Earthshaker lies inside me. A slam is all it will take. So, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the restlessness of my mind. The feeling of constant change that I had. The destructive part of my mind. Concentrating it all in my mind, I gathered it in my palm .
I opened my eyes to see my right fist glowing a dark brown color. The color of mud. With a primal roar, I lifted my hand high and brought it towards the ground with as much force as I could muster. As soon as my fist connected with the ground, a cracking sound was heard and a fissure erupted near the crack. The ground started cracking beside my fist. The cracks started spreading violently and swiftly.
The hellhound yelped in fear at seeing the show of power that I had just displayed. It tried to turn back and run, but the cracks were faster. As the cracks reached the beast, they started to surround it. The beast tried to leap, but at the same moment, the ground beneath it have way and it fell into a deep chasm. I could hear the terrified bark that it gave when it realized that it was gonna die.
As I saw the beast fall, I cut off the power supply, thus stopping the shaking of the ground. The moment I did so, I fell to the ground, out of breath and tired as hell. It seemed like I had just sprinted for five hours straight. I was sure that if it wasn't for the adrenaline running through my body at the time, I wouldn't even have been able to last half the time that I had making the ground shake.
I could feel that my fingers were dislocated, but the fist itself was numb, making the pain barely noticeable. I stood up slowly and looked around . The destruction that I had caused both surprised me and frightened me. Surprised because my first try at causing an earthquake was enough to destroy every tree and plant within a five mile radius. The ground was covered in series of cracks that looked like they could break apart any second now.
But it also frightened me because the only reason my father hadn't taught me the skill of Earth shaking was because it was very unreliable and wild. I had initially not believed him, but after experiencing it first hand, I realized how true his words were. Water manipulation and conjuring storms may have been extremely powerful techniques, they could still be controlled by me. I could control the water in storms and will it to how I wanted it to act.
But unlike these two skills, earthshaking skills were untamed and extremely destructive. Poseidon may be able to control his earthquakes, but it couldn't be said the same for his children. My father had told me about a descendant of his who had caused a major earthquake amongst the Romans in his anger.
He was the only child of Poseidon to ever receive the earthshaker powers other than me. Unlike water, which I could control, the Earth was not part of my father's domain. So, I could make it shake and cause an earthquake, but I couldn't control it. I could only start it and finish it. The area and intensity of the earthquake was beyond my control.
I was brought out of my internal musings when suddenly, three shining orbs appeared before me. The orbs were platinum in colour and emitted power in such large amounts that my knees bucked under the pressure. I recognized the energy signature from the balls as the same one that had spoken to me a little while ago.
I tried to stand up, but found myself unable to do so. The orbs glowed brightly for a second before turning back to normal. In a synch of the three voices I had heard earlier, the orbs spoke, "Very good, young Perseus. You exceeded our expectations. That itself is a feat that even Olympians or even Titans haven't yet performed. In your first attempt at earthshaking, you caused an earthquake with 5' intensity. We hope you use this power wisely, boy. Do not disappoint us."
As the orbs started to fade, I suddenly blurted out, "Wait a second. Why did you help me? Most importantly, who the hell are you?"
The orbs stopped fading and the sound of three ladies chuckling was heard. The same voices spoke, "Who we are is a mystery in itself, boy. A mystery that shouldn't be known to you right now. When the time is right, we will reveal ourselves to you Perseus, just like your 'friend' Ikol. As to why we helped you, it should have been obvious. You are very important to us. You have a major part to play in the fate of the universe in the near future. To do so, we need you to get stronger. So, we helped you. See you soon, Perseus."
As soon as they finished speaking, the orbs faded and I was able to stand up again. The pain in my hand was completely gone. Ok. That's good. I moved my fist in a clockwise motion to check whether it was actually healed or I was just imagining it. Fortunately, it was the former.
"Man. Perce. You there? Fuck dude. I was really worried. One moment I could freely access your mind , the next moment it seemed like I was being confined to a dark spot . I couldn't contact you or even check what was going on. Are you ok?" Ikol spoke frantically in my mind.
This was the most concern I had ever heard from his voice. Usually, he was a lot like me, only a lot more sarcastic and sassy. Taking everything as a joke and rarely ever acting seriously. So, I was genuinely surprised to see this level of concern and worry in his voice. I replied, "I am fine. As for what happened, I don't really know."
Then I told him about my encounter with the hellhound and how the three voices helped me unlock my earthshaker powers. I think I felt him gulp when I told him about the three voices. After I was finished, he took a deep breath and spoke, "By any chance, were these three orbs platinum in colour? Also, did they radiate unbelievable amount of power?"
He seemed scared of the orbs. That was something new and scary in itself. In the two and half years that I had known Ikol, he had never been scared of anything. Not even Leviathan had scared him. But he seemed absolutely terrified if these three beings. Just who were these powerful entities?
I answered his question, saying, "Yeah. They were platinum in colour. Yeah to your second question too. The power they radiated made me fall to my knees. It was almost suffocating to just be in their presence. The aura around them put somewhat of a pressure on my entire body. "
He sighed sadly and spoke, "What the fuck can they want from you, Perce? You are just a little kid. "
Not having the answer to his question, I kept my mouth shut. He spent the next few moments speaking some gibberish in a language that I didn't understand. One thing that I did understand was the usage of the name Thor. As far as I remembered, Thor was the Norse god of thunder, warfare and justice. What did he have to do with my problem? Father had told me that the Norse pantheon had faded. So, why did Ikol use the name of the second most powerful Norse god to ever exist?
I groaned in frustration at this and decided to distract myself. Looking around, I saw something that I had missed the first time. Amongst all the trees that had fallen, I saw that one tree still stood tall and proud. In the centre of the forest, stood the tall oak tree. I know that this sounds absurd, but I felt a sudden pull towards the oak tree. I couldn't explain it, but I felt the tree call me towards itself. The tree gave me a calming sensation. As if in a trance, I moved towards the tree. It was as if the tree was light and I was a moth being drawn to it.
The moment I touched the tree, a jolt spread throughout my body. The tree felt strangely familiar to me. The feeling is hard to describe, but I got a fatherly feeling from the tree. The type of feeling that I get from Poseidon. Memories flooded my mind as I sunk down to my knees. The first image that passed through my mind was of the face of a man.
The man was handsome, there was no doubt in that. He had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail. His hair seemed silky, but were absolutely messy just like mine. Down strands of hair even perked out of his ponytail in a spiky way. His nose was upturned like mine, giving him the look of an aristocrat. His firm jawline looked like you could easily cut things with it's sharpness. But it was his eyes that shocked me. His eyes were of a beautiful royal blue colour, just like...me.
Poseidon had shown me the photos of all the Olympians. No one had similar eyes to me. The closest was Aphrodite, but her's were sparkling blue like the morning sky. This man's eyes were the same as mine - eyes that showcased power and authority. I had been told that my eyes were even more intimidating than my father's eyes. This man had the same eyes. But he had a kind smile on his face.
With a shock, I realized that the man I was staring at was my father. My birth father.
The next image was that of a woman with long raven black hair that reached till her knees. She had the look of a loving mother on her face that reminded me so much of my adoptive mother. Her cheekbones were high, enhancing her regal features and making her look even more beautiful. Her eyes were a sight to behold. Beautiful yellow pools . Her eyes gave you a sense of warmth and comfort. She was rocking a baby in her hands, while singing a lullaby for it.
Another shock passed through my body as I realized that this was my mother holding me in her arms. Don't asked me how I knew this. I...just knew it. It was a gut feeling that I got after looking at her. A feeling that I should know her. A feeling of adoration towards her.
The next image was that of my birth mother and father handing me over to Poseidon. I could see the tears in my mother's broken eyes and the heartbroken look that was present in the eyes of my real father. It broke my heart completely to see those two in this condition. I know that I should be feeling angry at them for giving me away, but I just couldn't do so. Seeing the tears in my parents eyes, it broke me. The tears that I saw in the eyes of the parents I didn't even know broke me down. My heart shattered into pieces.
I was jolted out of my memories as an acorn fell on my head. I was shocked to see tears flowing freely from my eyes. But I didn't feel anything. No pain, no sadness, absolutely no emotion. I was numb. I tried to stop the tears, but I couldn't control them. It was as if a dam was broken and now the water was flowing freely. Resigning to my emotions, I curled up in a ball with my back against the tree and started to sob my eyes out. I kept crying for the next half hour.
In the end, I felt like a rejuvenated person. My emotions were a lot clearer and I felt a lot more active and happier. Releasing the pent up emotions had helped me a lot. After gathering myself together, I stood up and started examining the tree further. A piece of paper was stuck to the other side of the tree. I grabbed it and on further inspection, saw that it was actually a letter.
I sat back down against the tree and opened the letter. First, it had a photo of three people in it. To my surprise, it was a picture of my mom, dad and me. The birth ones, mind you. Ohh gods. This is getting confusing now. Sigh.
Ok. From now on, Poseidon and Amphitrite are my dad and mom, while my birth parents are my mother and father.
Anyway, in the photo, my father stood beside my mother with his arm wrapped around her waist. He had a goofy grin on his face. My mother was smiling softly as she leaned her head on my father's shoulder. She held me in her hands in such a way that my body was facing the camera. My eyes were wide open and I was giggling at the camera while clapping my hands.
The next picture was one of me in a cute onesie sitting on the lap of an old man with an eye-patch. The old man was chuckling good naturedly as he tickled me with his fingers.
The last picture was of me with a man who had golden eyes. He was shorter than my father. The man had a devious smirk on his face that I had once seen on Hermes in a photo. The difference was that this smirk literally sent chills down your back. If it weren't for the mirth in the eyes of this guy, it would have been hard to believe that he was a good guy. He had a helmet on his head which looked like a ram's horns. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn't place my finger on it.
After looking at the pictures for some time, I finally opened the letter and started reading it. It said:
'Dear Percy,
I know that you probably resent me and your mother for not being a part of your life, and I totally agree with your reasoning. I do not have an excuse for doing so other than the fact that it was done for the sole reason of keeping you safe.
You, my son are not a normal demigod and you must understand that. You have the capability to wield power that not even the Olympians can comprehend. You must know that the only reason that your mother and I have not been able to interact with you is because we have to abide by certain laws that higher beings have set for us. We are currently in an... entirely different realm from you. We can't do much from this realm where we are staying other than keeping a watch on you. I know that you might not find this excuse valid, but it is what it is.
By the way, congratulations on unlocking your earthshaker powers. Also, your feat of defeating the Leviathan when you were just nine years old has made me and your mother extremely proud of you. I know that you will keep performing such great deeds in the future.
I understand that you want to know more about your true heritage. Believe me, I want nothing more than to tell you who you really are. But, those higher authorities have restricted me from disclosing anything to you. You will get to know it when the time is right.
It kills me and your mother everyday, thinking about how we would give up all our power for just a chance to stay with you, even for one day. Even though I may not be able to help you physically, I will always be there for you. Whenever you need help, the oak tree and snakes will help you. Afterall they are sacred to me. Otherwise, the swans, which are sacred to your mother. I know that you are currently staying with the hunters. Well, best of luck to you. Try not to get killed.
But considering if you have inherited your luck from me, sigh, good luck son.
For the final goodbyes. We will see each other again. But it may not be under favourable conditions. So, take care, my boy. Your mother and I love you. Never forget that. Tell Poseidon I said hi. Also, tell your friend Ikol that I said hi and that I miss him. Take care my son.
Also, good luck with the ladies. Shit. I wasn't supposed to say that. Now your mom's beating me up. Take care, kiddo.
Your father.'
Once I finished reading this letter I just stood in place for the next few minutes, processing what had occurred in the last few hours. I had been attacked by a hellhound, almost died, caused an intensity 5 earthquake and found out a little about my birth parents. Boy. Was this dream productive?
Then, I started chuckling. I don't know why, but it just felt right at the time. To anyone seeing me, I must have looked like a madman. An eleven year old naked boy chuckling stupidly without any particular reason. Heck, I would have been sent to one of those mental asylums for proper treatment.
But seeing the pictures just brought out the happiness and joy in me. From when I was told that I was adopted, one thing that always troubled me was the identity of my parents. And if they really loved me like Poseidon said they did. Now, both my doubts had been solved.
Now I knew who my parents were (at least how they looked like) . Also, I was extremely elated to know that my birth parents loved me very much. Now, I had some photos of me with my birth parents. Also, I had one more thing to do.
Once I managed to curb my laughter, I searched my mind and called for Ikol.
'Hey man, wake up. We need to talk right now.' I heard a frustrated groan and a small headache hit my mind.
Groaning in pain, I growled in my mind, 'No need to get physical, dude. I just woke you up, that's it.'
In return, he replied, 'Well bad for you that I don't like being disturbed while I am sleeping. So fuck off and let me continue my beauty sleep.'
I could feel my eye twitching at his answer and I countered, 'Well you can sleep. But then you won't get to see what I got my hands on, asshole.'
I could literally feel him shoot up awake in my mind. The next moment, he was ranting about me always finding trouble and fucking things up. Having enough if it, I spoke, 'Now that you are done with your little rant, can I tell you that this time, I got myself into absolutely no trouble. Also, father says Hi. '
He seemed to be confused at this. 'And why would Poseidon say hi right now, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?' He shouted in the end. Wincing, I imagined myself hitting that stupid dickhead right on the family jewels. After gaining immense satisfaction and calming down after that pleasant thought, I replied, 'Not Poseidon, my real father. He says hi and that he misses you.'
This made him freeze. After a minute of silence, he spoke in a voice so quiet, it was barely audible, 'You met your father? But how?'
Sighing sadly , I replied, 'I didn't actually meet him. I got a letter from him. It also had some photos of mine with him, my mother, a man with golden eyes and an old man with an eye-patch. He just wanted me to know that he loves me and that he misses you. '
Ikol still looked confused. He mumbled something along the lines of, 'How...brother...even father doesn't have enough strength...faded...Fates...Oh fuck. This is so not good...if they interfere... his life is already hard as hell. Lord Chaos protect him.'
He must have realized that I was trying to decipher his words, as he immediately shut up. As I was going to probe him for information, he shut me down, saying, 'Do not waste your time trying to ask me about what I meant. I will not tell you about it. Believe me, it is for your own safety. Telling you would only put you in more danger.'
Before i could protest, I felt him shut down the mental link for our conversation. Bloody secret-keeping bastard.
I huffed as I tried to restart the link. But, he refused to accept it. This was the problem in our conversation. It was something like online chatting. To chat, we both had to be active. If he didn't want to chat, he could literally turn off the link. Even I could do it, but the problem was that I didn't know how to do it. I could request him, but I knew it was useless. He wouldn't budge.
I took this time to think go something form my father's letter. The one thing that I didn't understand from it was the last line. 'Good luck with the ladies' it said. What the fuck did it even mean? Ladies? Well, I will think about it later.As I was busy trying to do this, I failed to notice the scenery changing around me. The dreamscape started to fade away, being replaced by pure darkness. I couldn't even see my fingers.
As I was trying to get accustomed to the darkness, I felt a chill run down my spine for the second time in the dream. I looked around, expanding my senses to detect any presence near me. As soon as I looked behind me, I saw two orbs glowing with power approaching me. One was pitch black, surrounded by a white sing, while the other was a sinister red color. The black eye made even the room look brighter than it.
As the eyes reached me, the red eye shone brightly in front of me. Through the light generated by the eye , I studied the figure and was shocked to see a face forming out of the darkness. When the face formed fully, it opened it's mouth and tried to grin viciously. Keyword- tried. Grinning seemed to be a foreign concept to the face as it came out more like a sneer. The next moment, it opened it's mouth completely and swallowed me whole. I know it sounds like those cliché haunted house rides, but this was downright terrifying.
I screamed girlishly as it swallowed me. The next moment, I jerked up awake and came face to face with a pair of onyx black eyes. Zoë seemed to be taken by shock at my abrupt movement and stumbled backwards.
The bucket of water, that I can guarantee was for waking me up, slipped from her hands and fell to the floor. She let out a girlish eep, which I had so not expected after looking at her cold exterior. I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.
Once she regained her bearings, she stood up and gave me a withering glare that made me shut my mouth faster than you can say cheese. With gritted teeth, she spoke, " Milady hast hath asked thee to cometh out and seeth h'r. The lady needeth to speaketh to thee and assign thee thy ch'res. Bett'r beest quick if 't be true thee wanteth not to becometh a jackalope. "
I knew that she didn't speak modern English, but she spoke old English that was at least understandable. But now, she was speaking in Shakespearean English. I had a feeling that she was doing this deliberately just to confuse me and make me mess up. So, I decided to play her at her own game. Thanks to Aphros being a sucker for Shakespeare, he had taught me Shakespearean English, insisting that it would be useful in many ways to me.
I spoke, " Yond is p'rfectly fine. Prithee bid milady i shall beest out in a few minutes. Thanketh thee."
(That is perfectly fine. Tell milady I will be out in a few minutes. Thank you.)
Her expression was priceless. She stumbled in her steps before staring at me with an open jaw. Then she huffed angrily and stormed out of the room. That triggered back my laughter. After two minutes of laughing, I got up and freshened up. Willing the water from the tap to flow out and splash on my face, I then willed the water to form a brush. Then I proceeded to clean my teeth with my water brush.
After taking a shower, I dried myself up and wore my black full sleeve shirt and combat pants. I patted my pocket to check for riptide. Finding my trusty sword in my pocket, I opened the tent flap and stepped out. Immediately, my instincts sensed something wrong and my reflexes caused me to dive towards the ground in front of me. A second later, a bottle of green dye fell from the branch of the tree that stood over the medical tent.
It was a perfect prank. No error of any sort. The only reason it failed was because of my reflexes from fighting Bythos. The ichthyocentaur believed that although a battle could be honourable, a war never was. In war, your enemy wouldn't hesitate for even a moment before stabbing you in the back. So, he had trained me to always keep my senses sharp. And it sure had come in handy more times than I can even count.
Getting up, I heard a number of groans coming from the hunters. I looked forward to see the hunters pissed that their prank hadn't worked. But, I could also see that they were impressed by my reflexes, not that it mattered. They still hated men.
But I knew that half the hunters that Lady Artemis had were Roman. I had mostly been raised by Poseidon and Amphitrite, so I did not know much about the Romans other than occasionally meeting Neptune and Salacia on the important Roman days.
But one thing that I knew was that Romans respected strength. The whole Roman empire had been built by three things- determination, discipline and strength.
So, I figured that it wouldn't be hard to get the approval of the hunters that were Roman. Not to brag, but I was insanely powerful for a demigod my age.
It was the Greek hunters, mortal girl turned hunters and Lady Artemis that I was worried about. Huh. Let's see what happens.
As I moved forward, I caught some hunters sneering and scowling at me. Just to piss them off even more, I gave them a cheeky grin. It must have worked pretty well because the next second, I was trying to dodge several pointy arrows aimed for my head and dick.
Oh. Come on. I haven't even used both of those organs yet. I was able to dodge most of the arrows, but some grazed me and one arrow passed by my cheek and gave me a nasty cut. I decided to end this stupidity before it got fatal for me, not that it wasn't already.
There were five hunters currently firing their arrows at me. I pulled out the remaining four of my throwing knives and threw it with perfect accuracy, breaking their bowstrings, but not even touching the hunters. That left one hunter, a redhead with brown eyes, who had an arrow currently pointed at my head. But even she looked a little reluctant after seeing my display of throwing skills.
I gave her a steely look and showed her the four knives that had returned to my belt now. Her eyes widened at this and she reluctantly put her bow down. It looked like she was going to speak something, but she was interrupted by me jumping forward as an arrow pierced the ground where I was standing a second ago.
Without turning back, I said, "Lady Artemis, that was not very honourable of you, attacking someone when their back is facing you." The smirk on my face greatly served in irritating her.
She scowled at me and spoke, "Why were you attacking my hunters, boy? I had given clear instructions that no hunter was to hurt you in any way till I spoke to you. My hunters will never disobey me, nor will they attack someone until they are attacked first. So, what do you have to speak for yourself ?"
I looked at the Hunters and saw that they had panicked expressions on their face, and ironically, they looked like a prey trapped between a pride of lions. Heh. The hunters looking like prey. Damm. Focus, you stupid head.
I knew that I could easily rat out the hunters and get out of this without any consequences (at least major ones). But I thought about the fact that I had to live this girls for a month. If I complained about them, it would just increase the hatred and anger they had for me right now. And I would prefer it if the hunters at least treat me with respect, if not with kindness.
I was deciding my next move when the voice of the moon goddess broke me out of my thoughts. "Well, boy. Are you going to speak something, or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?" One thing that I noticed was that she didn't say the word 'boy' with the amount of disgust and emphasis now. Well, it was definitely an improvement. Heyyyyy. Wait a second.
"Didn't we agree that you had to call me Percy in return of me gifting you the blades?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
She seemed to be taken aback at this sudden question. She lost her accusatory look and her eyes widened. Then she blinked once. Twice. After a few seconds, she shook her head and sighed. "Fine then. A deal is a deal I guess. Ok, Percy, are you going to answer my question now?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.
Shrugging, I spoke, "The hunters were just helping me get through my morning workout routine. I asked them to fire arrows at me so that I could improve my reflexes and senses. "
The hunters seemed surprised and curious about my words. Probably thinking about some sexist shit like, 'Oh. Why did a disgusting, vile, male pig not complain about others and escape a situation? Blah. Blah. Blah.' Frankly, I don't care as if now.
Artemis gave me an incredulous look and spoke in a mocking tune, "Really? You expect me to believe that lane excuse? Why would my hunters even listen to you, much less help you improve your skills? If you haven't noticed it yet, my hunters hate males, and you are a male. It is a miracle that the girls did not castrate you when you were unconscious."
I shrugged and spoke, "Well, you yourself gave the answer to your question, milady. Your hunters hate males. I am a male. So, why would they leave a chance to maim or possibly kill a male, when he himself has asked them to do it?"
She seemed to consider this before nodding stiffly. "Okay, I believe you, Percy. Now, we need to speak about your stay at our camp till we reach Manhattan. It will take us a month, three months at most if I am assigned any mission from father. So, you will have to contribute in the Hunter's chores. " She stopped to see my reaction. I just nodded at her and motioned for her to go on. She nodded back, although in surprise that a male had not complained about chores.
"Also, hunters, go back to your duties. Phoebe, you are to take the younger hunters and hunt for food. But don't go too far. Take Atalanta with you, for help. Sophia, you take care of the medical tent. The others, go on with whatever training you want to do. Zoë, you go to the storage tent and get a tent for this male."
I interrupted her by saying, "It will not be needed, milady. My mother already provided me with a magical tent just like yours. Thank you for considering, though."
She gave me a small nod and an almost imperceptible smile at the politeness. This was definitely the most politely I had ever interacted with an immortal whom I didn't know properly. You see, I spoke to the Atlantean immortals politely, but as a prince. That was really different from this. There I had to mix politeness with authority. Here, it was simple politeness.
"Ok then, Zoë, you can prepare breakfast for the hunt. "
Zoë nodded to her mistress and ran off to what I think was the kitchen. While she was running, I couldn't help but stare at her slim, athletic body. She was short for her age, about 5'7. With a set of C-cup breasts, she had an ass to match. Her figure resembled that of an hourglass, with drool-worthy curves.
Her long hair was tied back in a ponytail and reached her lower back. All in all, she made even supermodels look like ugly toads. I shook myself from these thoughts. These thoughts would just help make me an eunuch. And I really did prefer having a penis. So, fuck you, perverted brain of mine. Really should have stayed away from dad and Triton.
"You know, that was very wise of you to not complain about the hunters. I do believe that you have created a deep impression on them on your very first day here. At least the first day that you are awake. Now whether it is for good or worse, only time can tell. " She spoke while looking at me with grudging approval.
I was surprised at this and spoke, "How do you know that it was an excuse and not the truth?"
She smirked and replied, "You forget that I am the goddess of hunting. I witnessed the whole scene, while I was hidden. Partially, I wanted to check your prowess in fighting, but I also wanted to see how you handle the question I gave you. I am genuinely surprised by your performance, Percy. " She spoke. Before I could thank her , or make a cocky comment to just annoy her, she continued her mini-speech.
"But remember, if you ever flirt with my hunters, I will personally send you to our uncle. I assume you know who I am talking about. And believe me, he doesn't like the children of his brothers. So, I doubt you will have a good time there in your afterlife. So, refrain from flirting my hunters. Till now, you seem okay for a male. It would be a shame if you turned out like the others. "
I nodded in acceptance, not wanting to take a one way trip to the underworld. It was definitely not in my 'top ten places to visit before I die' list. And I seriously doubt whether it will ever be in the list. The only other place I dreaded more would be Tartarus, and hopefully I won't ever have to go there. (Ahh. The irony. Poor Percy. Gets thrown down there in tartar sauce in literally every fanfic. But meh. Who am I to judge? I am gonna do the same thing.)
Artemis' smirk widened at my reaction. Deciding to change the topic, I asked her, "So milady, what chores do I have to do?"
She seemed to ponder over it for a second. Then she spoke, "If it were any other male, I would have made them clean the washrooms and clean the wolf sheds. But seeing as you are royalty, you will have to make our practice targets, cook food for us with Zoë, wash our clothes and do other tasks that need water. "
I noticed the way she called me royalty in a mocking way, but didn't comment about it as I actually did not like being called royalty.
Sure, I enjoyed the respect that I got, also a position of authority, but I despised being treated so without checking if I was worthy of it.
Sure everyone said I was more than worthy of being Atlantean royalty, but I still disliked it. Anyways, seeing that the chores she assigned me were reasonable and not that hard, I nodded my head in affirmative. "That is absolutely reasonable, milady. But if I may ask, can I start my chores from tomorrow? It will be easier for me."
She stared at me weirdly for a moment before nodding and waving her hand, signalling my dismissal. I took my leave and started to find a spot for me to set my tent up. Once I found a good spot, I casual took a rubix cube out of my bag and threw it on the floor. Immediately, it glowed a beautiful teal-blue color and expanded into a tent.
The jaws of the hunters who were observing this dropped to the ground as they stared at the rubix cube transformed tent. Yeah. That was gonna happen. Afterall, they didn't know who I really was. Only Artemis and Zoë knew about it. Well, I would introduce myself in the afternoon.
As I entered the tent, I remembered an important thing. I face-palmed as I searched my backpack for the letter that I had received from my birth father. I let out a relieved sigh when I found it there. The letter and those photos were the only things that I had from my mother and father. There was no way I was going to lose them. No way in hell.
After placing my stuff properly, I went inside the washroom and willed the mist in the air to accumulate. Fishing out a drachma from my pocket, I threw it into the mist and spoke, "Lady Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Lord Poseidon, Lord of the seas."
The mist shimmered and cleared to show a tall muscular man speaking to my father. He looked like a professional wrestler on steroids. He stood about 6'5 with an AK-47 slung across his shoulder. My father and the man were in a heated argument.
My father spoke loudly, "Tell Zeus that I don't have any use of his stupid little firecracker. If he wants to blame someone, he should blame himself for letting his weapon get stolen. If he does not apologize to me for his stupid accusations, he will pay heavily, this I swear on the Styx."
Thunder cackled in the sky so loudly that it could even be heard underwater. But I knew that this wasn't Zeus's thunder. If was the signalling of the oath that my father had just taken. I had forgotten just how impulsive the Lord of the seas could be. Groan. The idiot. I had never met Zeus, but from the stories I had heard about him, I knew that he had an ego that could reach from the Earth to the sun. He would never apologize, even if his life depended on it.
The brute of a man grunted loudly and replied, "Yeah yeah . Don't get your tail in a twist, barnacle beard. You know he won't apologize. "
I could tell that the nickname annoyed the crap out of my dad. He immediately summoned his trident and slammed the brute with it. The man was taken by surprise and he was literally blasted through the wall. Whoa dad.
I had never seen my dad so angry. (Even when Oceanus attacked the corners of our kingdom), which is saying something.
My dad was widely known for his untamable temper. The only two people who could calm my dad down were my mom Amphitrite and his sister Hestia .
Imagine my surprise when the brute, who had been blasted across the room, entered the room, with just slight blood trickling from his mouth and nose. Wait. Not blood. It was ichor.
The brute looked wary of my dad and spoke from a distance, "My father will not like this, Lord Poseidon. And I will make sure he is informed of this."
My dad nodded with a nonchalant look and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the man started to choke on the water and immediately flashed out. Seeing that the man was gone, my dad clapped his hands and summoned some guards to get the wall fixed.
I decided to let my presence be known.
"Hey Dad." I spoke excitedly.
He whipped his head towards the source of my voice so fast, I feared he may have gotten a whiplash. Hey, can gods even get whiplashes? Meh. I really don't care.
Seeing me, his expression immediately softened and his sneer turned into a grin.
"Percy, my boy. How are you?" He asked.
I gave him a smile back and spoke, "I am fine ,dad. Got into a fight with ten rogue cyclopes, handed them their heads, saved the lieutenant of the Hunt, saved the hunters of Artemis, had an arrow covered in elder snake poison pierced through my shoulder, went into a coma for a week, etc. It's been an eventful week, if you ask me. And this isn't even the best part."
His jaw was literally hanging by the time I finished speaking. The first thing he said was, "One week. I leave you alone for one week, and you go and find so much trouble. By the gods, I have never seen such a riot."
He sighed while rubbing his temples.
Blushing in embarrassment, I rubbed my neck sheepishly. But he immediately perked up and asked, "Wait a second. The hunters? What the fu...hell are you doing with those man-hating girls? Emphasis on man hating."
He asked while panicking.
Yeah. That's my dad for you guys. I tell him I got injected with elder snake poison, which can literally kill a demigod in seconds, and he asks me about my situation with a bunch of man-hating virgins. Still wonder why Athena is his rival? Yeah. Guess not.
I sighed and told him about the last week. But I left out the parts about my dream yesterday.
Once I was done, he was still shell-shocked.
Then he gained a mischievous smirk on his face, with an evil glint in his eyes which never meant something good.
Putting on a fake thoughtful face, he mused, "Hmm. What will Amphitrite say when I tell her what her little boy has been up to in the past few days."
Imagine sitting on a rollercoaster, and suddenly your safety belt's strap breaks, the terror you will feel. Yeah. That isn't even close to what I felt right now. My mom may be a really kind and loving last, but she could be downright terrifying when she wanted to be. Unfortunately, I had learnt that the hard way.
Joining my hands in a praying manner, and putting on the cutest puppy dog face I could muster, I pleaded, "Please, just kill me instead. Do not , please do not say anything about this to Mom. I beg you."
He burst out laughing. After two minutes of non-stop laughter, he calmed down and asked, "Fine , I will not tell her this time. But the next time you end up in trouble like this, it's you and your mother. Also, what did you want to tell me, that was more exciting than getting an arrow through your shoulder?"
He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. Yesterday at night, I had a dream where three unknown entities taught me how to use my earthshaker powers."
I exclaimed excitedly. He looked incredibly surprised and proud at the same time.
The next few minutes, I told him about my dream, including the letter from my birth father. "Yeah. Before I forget it, father asked me to say hi to you." I told him.
A smile graced his lips as he suddenly looked nostalgic. "Yeah. Your father. The greatest immortal I have ever seen. A perfect combination of Power, humility, authority, discipline and love. My self-proclaimed big brother. You look just like him, you know. Heck, you even act like him. "
I nodded, knowing that my birth father and adoptive father were very close friends. More like brothers. I knew that whoever my father was, he was incredibly powerful. Even ridiculously more than my adoptive father, who was one of the strongest Olympians, if not at the top.
I bid goodbye to my dad and asked him to tell mum as well. After ending the IM, I removed my shirt and changed into some boxers, deciding to get a small nap before lunch. Afterall, today's lunch was going to be long and tiring. I had to explain my heritage to thirty adolescent man-hating girls.
Closing my eyes, I thought,' Man, it has been a long day, and it isn't even afternoon yet.'
A/N
My longest chapter yet. About 11k words.
Please read and comment your opinion about it. Can anyone guess who the 'brute of a man' is? One spoiler for the winner.
Anyway, please comment the number of girls that you want in the harem.
For the number of ladies in the harem, the polls currently are:
five members- 8
four members- 8
three members- 1
eight members- 24
six members- 7
two members - 2
ten members - 1
seven members - 3
eleven members - 1
The current standings of the poll for the members in the harem are:
Artemis- 61
Hestia- 57
Thalia - 47
Athena- 42
Zoë- 50
Calypso- 36
Nyx- 41
Reyna- 35
Aphrodite- 28
Annabeth- 19
Bianca- 18
Piper - 34
Hera- 22
Rhea- 15
Khione- 10
Gaia - 13
Hazel - 5
Bellona- 4
Rachel - 4
Nike- 2
Lupa- 7
Selene- 2
Clarisse- 2
Rhode- 4
Hylla - 1
Hecate- 3
Silena- 8
Leto - 2
Drew - 1
Hebe- 1
Kymopoleia- 1
Vote fast if you want any changes. The final standings will be declared after i start writing his quest to find the master bolt. That is something like two chapters from now. The max number of girls in the harem are 7 or 8.
Current standings:
1_ Artemis- 61
2_ Hestia - 57
3_ Zoë - 50
4_ Thalia - 47
5_ Athena - 42
6_ Nyx - 41
7_ Calypso - 36
8_ Reyna - 35
Thank you
Until next time
Peace out
Darkgamer2004