First and foremost, thank y'all for your feedback! I've been writing for several years and I just recently decided that I'd like to start posting things, and knowing that someone's actually reading the things I write means a lot. Also, I just wanted to say that Squall is an Aphrodite kid for two reasons: Squall is definitely a handsome dude, so I can totally see it, and I wanted him to have been in a place where certain expectations were placed on him and he just decided he didn't care about all of that. It just seems like the kind of thing he would do. In FF VIII, he's a huge loner and it takes him a long time to warm up to new people, but when he does, he's actually a really loving, caring kind of guy, which makes me think of the more platonic side of love. I'm probably going to go more into Cloud and Squall's stories in this AU at some point, but I wanted to explain my choice of godly parent up front, at least for Squall. I digress.

The silence in the car was oppressive. Four demigods in one car (two at the age of twelve and two in their thirties) and a satyr created a veritable beacon to monsters, and the drive from Hollow Bastion, New Hampshire to Long Island, New York was expected to take at least five hours. It had only been one and everyone there was on edge. It felt as though they were being closely watched, although that could very well have been the instinctive paranoia talking.

The sun was still in the sky, and it gave Sora a strange feeling of calmness. He had always felt better in the sunshine. He and his brother often joked about conducting photosynthesis, but they really did sort of absorb the light of the sun. The knowledge that the sun was a chariot being flown across the sky was mind-blowing to Sora. He leaned against the car door and watched the scenery go by. It's not like there was much to look at, just other cars and the side of the highway, but it was better than dwelling on the deafening quiet surrounding him.

Roxas, on the other hand, had his earbuds in. He was playing his music at a volume level that probably wasn't good for him in the long run, but he felt he deserved a little bit of a treat. After all, that day had been beyond stressful already. His blue eyes were trained on his phone. When he realized that the gods were real, he had begun to conduct research. According to Giles, demigods weren't meant to have phones, as they would broadcast the location of said demigod to all monsters within a five-mile radius. Roxas phone was supposedly special, though, something Squall had been given by an old friend, that he passed down in turn to his sons.

Roxas had found several different myths about both Aphrodite and Athena, and no two were the same. Some said that Athena had been born from Zeus' head, and the origin stories of Aphrodite tended to be… disturbing. Of course, that was nothing compared to some of the myths surrounding Dionysus, god of wine and insanity. He didn't know who would've come up with the "thigh baby" story, but he was certain that he never wanted to meet them. Still, he found it interesting to see all of the different interpretations of their stories, and he couldn't help but wonder which of them were real. He had plenty of time. He could spend it learning about what was to come.

The car hadn't stopped for more than a few seconds at a time since Squall started driving down a very familiar route. It had been a few years, but he still knew the way by heart. He had spent a good portion of his childhood at camp, and went every summer after he had been taken in by Cid. He remembered the last time he had been to camp, how chaotic everything was. The Romans were on the warpath, being led by some insane seer? Squall wasn't too sure about exactly what had gone down, but he knew for a damn fact that it had been a disaster. And then after that, with Gaea… he'd rather not think about that.

He and Cloud had left the boys with Cid both times they returned to camp to aid in the war effort. When your old trainer and father figure shot you an IM, you didn't just ignore it. He and Cloud were valuable assets to the Greeks, and while it was terrifying and brutal and bloody, both had also found fighting to be fulfilling. It helped them to release built-up frustrations and do some good at the same time. Some people said that catharsis was actually bad for you, but demigods tend to have at least some level of disregard for their own wellbeing. Squall briefly thought about the kid who lead them all in both battles: Perseus Jackson, hero of Olympus and one of his friends. He wondered how he was doing, if he was still at camp. He was a good kid, an excellent leader, and a powerful demigod.

Squall kind of hoped he would get to see some of the demigods he had met a few years back. They had all been really nice, and had put their all into the war effort. He was especially fond of his little half-sister. Piper seemed intent on following in his footsteps and breaking the mold for Aphrodite kids.

He was dragged out of his thoughts when he heard a dull thudding sound. The sound put him on edge, and he pulled to the side of the road quickly. Cloud immediately unbuckled himself and grabbed hold of the ring around his right ring finger. It silently transformed into a large bronze sword as he slid out of the car, and he held the weapon before him as he surveyed the area. He backed away from the car slowly. The last thing they needed was for their only vehicle to get trampled two hours out of Long Island. It had happened before, and he wasn't really in the mood to repeat that particular experience.

Finally, the sound reached the edge of the woods that they were driving along, and in the dying light, Cloud saw two hellhounds running at full-pelt toward him. He took a deep breath, and as he let it out and the hounds closed in, he ducked under their bodies, slipping out from under them before they had a chance to trample him. He swung his sword quickly at the tail of one of his adversaries, just to catch its attention, and it turned around, just to receive a sword across the muzzle and down its chest. With a howl, it was reduced to dust, and then there was one.

It eyed Cloud warily, clearly nervous about the sword that had felled its brother. Cloud stood there silently, his cold grey eyes piercing into the hellhound's gaze. Without warning, it charged again. It lifted a giant paw to swipe at his head, but he ducked and raised his sword in its place. The monster became angry as blood began to drip from its paw. It lunged in for a bite, but with incredible speed, Cloud sent his sword up into the creature's gaping maw and through the back of its head. The monster was dusted, releasing his sword, and he twisted the pommel deliberately, turning it back into a ring. He slipped the ring back onto his finger as he climbed back into the car.

Squall said nothing, he just gave Cloud a quick once-over before he started driving. It had become the norm for them. They would drive a while, they would be attacked, whoever wasn't driving would kill the monsters, they would continue on their way. There hadn't been as many monsters as he'd expected, although that was certainly a good thing. It meant that Thanatos was doing his job properly and that the demigods had been out thinning the herds.

The rest of the ride went by in the blink of an eye. It was dark by the time they arrived at the hill. There had only been two more attacks on the way, one being a small pack of lycanthropes, the other a young hydra. Squall had been the one to take care of that one. It had only had three heads, and with his sword doubling as a gun, he was able to remove the heads and cauterize the wounds all at once.

Both of the adult demigods sighed in relief when they pulled up on the side of the (now dirt) road near the camp. They remained seated, though, and turned back to look at the three boys half-dozing in the backseat.

"We're here," Cloud spoke in a soft voice. All three boys let out groans of exhaustion and stretched out their stiff muscles. "Grab your stuff, boys, and we'll head on in."

The twins immediately grabbed their things and got out of the car, knowing that there would be somewhere to sleep wherever they were headed. Giles took a little longer, but he, too, got up and out of the car. Cloud locked it (he wasn't sure if there would be any Hermes kids on any patrols coming by that area, and he didn't want to take that chance) and the three set off up the hill to Cloud and Squall's old home. They had arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

Squall gave Peleus a quick pat on the head as they passed, and the dragon purred in reply. The twins were amazed to see not only a live dragon, but a fleece that seemed to be… shining.

"The Golden Fleece," Cloud informed them, and they were both astounded.

"The real one?" Sora asked, and Cloud nodded, smiling a little at the child's excitement. "Woah."

They immediately made for the large house that sat at the top of the hill. A handful of kids watched as they walked by, some calling out greetings to the older two demigods and others whispering about the new arrivals. The blue house wasn't far from the pine that marked the entrance to the camp, so they made it there within a few minutes. Cloud stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming," a voice came from inside. It sounded fairly tired, and maybe exasperated? Either way, the door opened to reveal an older-looking man sitting in a wheelchair. His eyes met Cloud's, and he smiled broadly. "Ah, what a pleasure it is to have you back, my boy! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Squall stepped forward, and the man in the chair only seemed to become even happier.

"We wanted you to meet someone," Squall explained with a tiny smile. "Or, rather, two someones." He gestured for the twin boys to step forward, and they both cautiously followed their dad's directions.

"Oh, are these…?"

"The twins," Cloud affirmed. "They've grown up, haven't they?"

"Into fine young men, I would say," the man complimented, and the boys both blushed at the comment. "I am Chiron, young ones. I have met you before, but that was several years ago. I am the director of this camp, and I trained your fathers when they were your age."

The front door slammed open, and a slightly charred boy rushed into the office, not seeming to notice the new arrivals.

"Chiron, Leo accidentally set the weapons shed on fire again!"

Chiron heaved a deep sigh and squared his shoulders.

"Thank you, Malcom, I will go and see if Percy is already on it. You should say hello to your brother, while you're here." Without warning, Chiron stood from his wheelchair, his white body and haunches emerging from the enchanted device. He hurried out of the room, and the boy, Malcom, turned to look at whoever Chiron was talking about.

"Cloud?" he asked, and Cloud smiled a little and nodded.

"Nice to see you, Mal," he greeted, and Malcom smiled back.

"Good to see you, too, man," he replied, stepping forward to pat his half-brother's shoulder. "How've you been?"

"Busy," Cloud answered with a chuckle. "We've had our hands full with these two." Malcom looked over at the twins and nodded.

"Yeah, they look like real troublemakers," he joked, and Sora and Roxas both giggled a little at that.

"Sora microwaved a Capri Sun," Roxas said, and Sora hit him in the shoulder.

"Stop telling people that!"

"If you didn't want me to tell people that, you shouldn't have microwaved a Capri Sun." A warning hum from Squall was all that was needed to calm them down.

"Parent?" Malcom asked.

"Not sure," Squall answered. "We have our suspicions, though. They might end up with Will and Kayla." Neither of the twins were sure who Will or Kayla were, but the idea of staying with anyone other than their fathers was daunting. "You mean we aren't staying with you?" Roxas questioned, his voice small. Squall was quiet. Now, it was really hitting him. Without the adrenaline rushing through his veins and the tension of being on a constant watch, he finally comprehended what was happening here. Cloud had to step in.

"No, we can't," the blond man answered. "We have to get back home soon. It's too dangerous for you to be outside of the borders of camp right now. Once you two have gotten some basic self-defense and weapons training, we'll be right back here to take you home." He didn't say what he was thinking. The boys needed to learn a valuable lesson that he himself had learned at all too young an age. They needed to learn to be a little more independent, as much as it pained both men to think about it.

"You promise you'll come back?" Sora spoke up, taking his papa's large hand in his two little ones. Cloud bent down to his level and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Of course," he agreed. "Even Tartarus couldn't keep me away from you." Sora nodded, but Cloud could see that he was upset. He hugged the older boy, then pulled Roxas in beside Sora. "You'll get to meet your siblings and lots of other kids just like you," he told them. "Remember those stories I told you about the Titan War and the Giant War? The heroes who fought in those wars live here. You might get to meet one of them if you're on your best behavior."

"Really?" Roxas implored, and Squall couldn't help the chuckle that slipped out.

"Really," Squall stepped in. "Now, give me hugs, too, Papa and I have to go pretty soon. We have work in the morning. I promise, we'll text you every day, and you can call any time you want."

"I'll miss you, Dad," he murmured, and Squall knelt down to hug his sons before standing up.

"I'll miss you too, Rox. You too, Sora." He quickly pecked Cloud on the cheek and whispered in his ear. Cloud nodded and turned his attention to his two sons, who promptly turned to embrace him tightly.

"Is Piper around?" he asked Malcom, who gave him a thumbs up. Without another word, Squall headed out to find his younger sister. He had to ask a favor of her.

If there's anything you think I could do to improve the overall story, my writing style, or anything you see here, please don't hesitate to let me know. I would love to hear feedback about what the people reading this story want. I know it's been a lot of lead-up so far, so sorry about that. Thank you for reading!