AN: A bit shorter than the last chapter and extremely late, but you probably have to get used to it, since my life just made a huge turn ... for the better. My writing time will be cut short from now on, but my ... inspiration just went up many levels. So while you may have to wait a bit longer for chapters, their quality will also be much better. I hope you can live with that.

In this chapter we will see the first change in Hades that I mentioned at the end of the last chapter. I wonder what that will lead to. Also Percy may seem a bit out of character, but you have to understand how unbalanced he is right now: new enviroment, few people he can trust and he has just lost his mother (for the time being). That would make anyone a bit ... suggestible. You will see just how much influence just one person can have at times like these.

Oh and most of it is Roxas' POV like always. Except a few paragraphs you will surely recognize.

Disclaimer: Nope, still own nothing whatsoever.

I was aware of the presence following me. Of course I was aware, years of fighting for your life would leave anyone paranoid and they also tend to hone your skills. Like discovering secret followers.

I was on my way to the big house located near the entrance to Camp Half-Blood. Since it was late in the evening, about two hours after dusk to be precise, there was no one out and up till now no one had approached me. I would also like to say that no one noticed me since I tried to be secretive, unfortunately the follower I had since moving past the protective enchantments of the camp proved me wrong. Alas he was only following me and not approaching me, so I just let him or her be and kept on moving.

For the first time since I had left the Underworld I pulled down my hood, well second time if you count the short time when I battled Fenrir, since I thought that if they, whoever was waiting for me beyond this door, would trust me easier if they could at least see my face. And trust was important right now.

I had already made the decision to do this the 'Riku'-way, which meant infiltrate, befriend (if possible), gather information and at last strike at the most opportune time. Trust would be very important for the first three tasks.

I had planned a story already, I would play the lost and confused boy who had been informed by a bodiless voice that he was a half blood and told to come her. Hopefully they would buy that …

Time skip

It was just my luck that the first person I meet is a Centaur with thousands of years under his belt. Don´t know what tipped him off, but I had barely started what I thought would be a convincing lie and a heart wrenching story when he told me to drop the act. Damnit I´m busted.

"Hn. After all the effort I put into thinking off this story" All that was left for me to do was give a deep sigh. But then a true small smile came to my lips. "Fine your right it was a lie … but not all of it. First off all, my name is really Roxas, get it memorized."

The old Centaur studied me for a long time with his ageless eyes, they told me quite clearly off all the experience he had, all the pain and suffering he had seen. But they also spoke of a kindness and wisdom seldom found nowadays. In a way he reminded me of the old Keyblade Master Yen Sid. He held my gaze a few seconds longer before he too smiled. "Fine then Roxas … a new start. My name is Chiron, welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

I hadn´t expected him to give me a second chance just like this … I better use it. "Thanks … good to be here. Well while I can´t tell you my whole story I can at least say that I really was sent here by one of the gods, however it was not for my protection. Not that I would need it anyway. Oh you should be careful in the next few days I met a quite strong monster not two hours away from here."

Once more the Chiron studied me, but seeing the truth reflected in my eyes he just nodded. "I will heed this warning and pass it on to our security chief. Now … I don´t think you would be ready to tell me your reason for being here would you?" I just shook my head. "Well it was worth a try … but as long as you aren´t a threat to the Camp or its inhabitants I can live with that. So … make yourself at home. You can sleep in the backroom on the couch and tomorrow I will introduce you to the camp, okay?"

I gave another heartfelt smile and simply said "Thanks … really thank you." And with that he showed me my sleeping place and left to go back to sleep himself. Since I had a very long day and was absolutely exhausted I was asleep nearly at the same time when my head hid the couch. My last thought was that they were far too trusting in this Camp.

Next morning

Camp Half-Blood sure was a very interesting place. I especially liked the arena … The hut I was to live in, Cabin 11, however not so much. As nice as it was and the people I met there … I wasn´t used to having so many people around me. Chiron had led me around the Camp earlier today, showed me all the important places and told me about the activities done here, he even invited me to participate in the Capture the Flag game later today, probably to test my abilities. But then he led me to the Cabins, told me how every one of them was dedicated to a god or goddess and then he dumped me in the Hermes Cabin, after introducing the current leader of the Hermes cabin, a so-called Luke, to me. Luke provided me a sleeping bag and showed me where to set it up and then he introduced me to some of my new Cabin mates, Hermes children and unclaimed alike. Then Luke told the other 'Newbie' Percy to show me around some more.

The same Percy who was probably my goal.

He was nice enough, a bit grumpy but from what I knew he had just lost his mother a few days prior so that kind of behavior was to be expected. Still he made the effort to make me feel welcome, which I appreciated. Since I had my mission in mind I too made an effort to be nice to him. Maybe if he considered me his friend he would tell me what really happened back at the winter solstice. Of course I could have just outright asked him, but I don´t think that would help me at all in the long run and neither would torturing the information out of him.

So I played nice and oddly enough I found myself enjoying the young man's company. He reminded me so much of Sora when he was younger that it was frightening. But I swore to myself that I would nothing get in the way of my personal quest. Especially not feelings …

A lost cause, since the reason for me to even participate in this quest were my feelings for Naminé.

Nevertheless I enjoyed the day. Percy showed me around the Camp some more, introducing me to the few people he knew and then leading me to the arena for some 'light' training before lunch.

The results were interesting to say at least.

I had years of battle experience, my sword skills very good enough to compare and even overpower the best swordsmen of all times and through manipulating the unused energy inside of my body I could easily empower my muscles far beyond human limits giving me truly inhuman speed.

In comparison Percy had all but no training, his sword skills were basically nonexistent at first and both speed and strength were barely average. But he had something in common with me; an unbreakable will. At first I easily overwhelmed him, disarmed him, pushed him to the ground and flat out beat him … but he just kept getting up.

No matter how often I defeated him, no matter how many bruises he got and no matter how humiliating it was, he just kept on coming back. I found myself enjoying the fight, even if he was no match for me.

But then something changed. It was slow at first and I didn´t understand at all. But he became better! Faster, stronger and with every defeat his skills with the sword and general fighting skills became better.

The real fight started when Percy began to sweat. The water from his own sweat empowered the unclaimed son of Poseidon (Hades had shared that little secret with me) like nothing else.

After two hours of fighting we were both drenched in sweat and covered with bruises thanks to the blunt training swords (through Percy had more than me) … and we were both smiling.

When a horn called in the distance we were both absolutely confused by the interruption. Took us a few seconds to realize it was the call for lunch. When we both realized it, we looked at each other and started to laugh. Nothing like a fight to start understanding each other.

We quickly hurried/limped back to our cabin and got into line with our cabin mates, who kept sending us odd and sometimes worried glances because of our appearance.

At lunch, after giving an offering to the god or goddess of our choosing (I hoped Hades liked the smell of burnt pasta), Percy and I talked about our 'little' spar. I imparted a few hints and pointers to him and he in turn thanked me and asked me to help him train some more. I just smiled and told him to prepare for training straight from hell. A gulp and a shaky nod was all the answer he gave me.

After lunch preparations for the Capture the Flag match started. Luke told us that this time our cabin had sided with the Athena and Apollo cabin. After that announcement Percy left for a few minutes to talk to a blond haired girl. Annabeth, I found out from Luke, was her name. They talked for a few minutes in hushed voices before Percy came back, a frown on his face, but also a very faint blush on his cheeks. Did he have a crush on that girl?

Maybe not, after all he was only twelve. But then again Sora had also only been twelve when he went out to rescue Kairi and I know for a fact that only their love for each other saved them a few times along the journey. Since I was probably around fourteen or fifteen I of course knew a few things about love myself (and a lifetime worth of memories from Sora and the few experiences he and Kairi allowed me and Nam to have, helped as well), being in love myself was a dead giveaway for that.

However this was something I could contemplate at another time. For now Percy and I had to go and find armory and weapons (which I already have but didn´t want to use if I didn´t have to). So to the armory of the camp it was.

Thankfully Beckendorf, one of the Hephaistos kids, was there and he was kind enough to help us.

Charles Beckendorf, if you value an intact face only call him by his last name (something about him being named after his 'asshole of a father'), was a rather quiet guy. He rarely spoke much, but when he did people tended to listen. He was big and had a lot of muscle, all in all you would imagine him becoming a bodybuilder or something like that someday. He also was the camps best smith and responsible for the basic equipment every young demigod needed.

After a quick once over and a few questions about Percy`s fighting style, I added a few notes as well, he decided on the perfect kind of armor and what weapons would suit him. To find something that fit him however took a lot longer.

For armor it was decided that Percy would go with a heavy armor. Everything made of thick metal, a steel and celestial bronze combination if I heard Beckendorf's muttering right, a breastplate and a helmet to cover the upper body and thick leather boots and greaves. I also advised Percy to pick up armored gloves and shoulder plates to protect the parts of the arm that were attacked the most due to their vulnerability. One strike to the hand and the fight could be over. Thankfully he listened to my advice and picked metal shoulder plates and gloves that had chain mail sewn into them.

His weapons took longer. Just from his fighting style I knew that the sword would always be his preferred weapon. What kind of sword however proved to be harder question. In the end Beckendorf and I decided to give him both, a long and thin rapier for range and usage alongside a shield and a second sword that would be meant for defense or cutting, whereas the rapier was mostly used for thrusting attacks and the like. However while Beckendorf and I were discussing this problem Percy had wandered off and when Beckendorf called him back to equip him with a rapier and a shield for the time being, he came back with a strange sword and a fascinated look on his face.

The sword was a variation of an ancient Greek Harpe, a long sword with a sickle like protrusion along one edge of the blade. However the one Percy had found had not one but three such protrusions and they were designed to look like overlapping waves, which was probably the reason he became interested in the blade.

A closer look showed me that the blade was made of two different metals, celestial bronze for one and the other looked like what my blade was made off, a black or in this case dark blue metal called stygian iron. The two metals were held apart in the forging process and only close to finishing the blade the smith had forged the two parts together resulting in a wave pattern in the middle of the blade were the metals were connected.

Don´t ask me where I got the knowledge on forging weapons, I don´t know myself.

The protrusions were on the stygian iron side. The handguard resembled that of a sabre only on both sides on the handle and those two were dark blue colored. At the end of the handle was a small iron ring. All in all, this sword looked awfully to one I had once known.

After inspecting the blade and chastising Percy for wandering off, Beckendorf congratulated him on his find and told him that he could have the sword if he wanted to. Percy quickly agreed and after Beckendorf had quickly strung together a few leather strips he handed Percy the sword and a leather belt, to put over his shoulder, where he could rest the blade.

After the long time it took for Percy to be equipped, it was nearly laughable how quick it went for me. Since my whole fighting style was built around flexibility and speed I detested heavy armor and thus decided to go with something lighter. A piece of chain mail that was roughly my size in the form of a shirt with short sleeves would protect my upper body, together with the shoulder pad I had on me and my armored fingerless gloves that is, and for my legs I just requested a few leather pads that I could sew into my trousers around the important parts. Beckendorf also insisted to add a few pieces of metal to my boots and since he was insistent I gave in. While he worked on my boots I walked around the armory barefoot and looked for a second sword.

At the end I decided for a simple longsword, double edged and straight with about 48 inches in length. It was a rather heavy weapon, but I would make do. Ten minutes later Beckendorf finished with my boots that now had five steel plates per boot sewn into them. Afterwards he handed us both kits to clean our weapons and armor and a free grindstone for each of us. Finally after long three hours we left the armory, a happy smith, a relieved hero in training and a grumbling Keybearer, we were just in time for the early dinner before the Capture the Flag-Match would begin. Oh joy …

During the meal Luke kept on giving us pointers, not that I listened very much but Percy at least needed it. After everyone had their fill Chiron stood up and clapped in his hands thrice, when he did the leftovers vanished and everyone's equipment appeared instead.

Since I had already donned what little armor I had, the only thing that appeared for me were my two swords. Nearly tender I picked the first one up and pulled it out. I examined the celestial bronze sword for a few seconds before I was pleased and sheathed it. After discarding my coat I put the sheath in the leather belts on my back and secured it. I repeated this procedure for my second sword and then donned my coat again, but I left the hood down for practical reasons, namely the time I needed to draw my blades.

After completing my preparations I looked over to Percy to see he was nearly finished with his armor, so I reached onto the table and handed him his swords. The sabre with its scabbard was placed on his hip and the harpe went to his back, both secured by the leather belts Beckendorf had provided. A celestial bronze shield as big as Percy´s upper body and completely round, with an inner layer of wood (meaning that the bronze was rather thin and the shield as a whole much lighter than it looked) and two leather straps completed Percy´s outfit.

He thanked me and then went over to the Athena girl and Luke, while I used the last few minutes before the match began to study my comrades for the time being and those we were supposed to fight. All in all a good mix of bulky and evil looking kids and the normal kind. Through many of the bulky kids kept sending Percy evil looks. Oh joy. Since I needed Percy at health to hopefully go onto a quest (and I also kinda liked the kid) I decided that I would keep an eye on him.

"Well then, let the game begin" I whispered to myself an excited smile on my face while I marched into the direction of Percy and the others.

Atlantis

With a heavy sigh Poseidon sat down on his throne. It had been a long day already, his brother had shouted at him for nearly three hours straight and many disasters all over the world had shown just how upset the two gods had been. Poseidon was exhausted and he had a headache. Definitely not one of his better days.

Just when the mighty god of the seas was about to close his eyes and send his mind to wander one of his people came in. The mermen barely got out that there was a visitor before he was pushed aside by an invisible force and the doors to the throne room were forced shut with a mighty clank. Poseidon was on the edge immediately.

Slowly a figure became visible in front of him. There in front of him stood his second least favorite brother right now. "You!" Poseidon growled out between gritted teeth.

The visitor who had up till now been cloaked in shadows became fully visible just then and revealed the mighty figure of the death god himself. Hades just smiled at his younger brother and said with a smile on his face "What´s with all the resentment? I thought you would be delighted to see your favorite brother."

Poseidon stood up and held the other god by his collar in the matter of a second. "You target my SON! You take away the woman I loved the most in more than five hundred years! You steel our brother's favorite toy and use me as a scapegoat! And I should be DELIGHTED!?" After getting this off his chest he felt a lot better. He pushed Hades away and turned around while calmly saying "Go. Get out of my eyesight."

Hades was silent before he gave a deep sigh and then said "Can´t believe the kid was right, this is a really messed up situation … Brother could you please listen to me for a few minutes." He hoped he sounded sincere and placating.

Thankfully it worked, for Poseidon turned around again, looked at him and said "Go on."

It was a start. "First off I want to apologize …"

Camp Half-Blood

I surveyed the situation in front of me calmly and then smirked at what would hopefully be a good fight. "You know ten against one isn´t really fair. You should have brought more men, right Percy?" Ten Ares kids and our resident sea son turned around and looked at me in bewilderment when I stepped out of the woods.

Then Percy smirked and said "Yeah a few more would have been better, but those are better than none and I´m more than willing to share Roxas."

"I hoped you would say that …" I said with a smirk on my face and a dangerous glint in my eyes.

AN: Like always leave review or PM me if you have questions or just want to vent a bit steam because you think the chapter was rubbish. Through encouragement has a much better effect on my writing and the time I need to write another chapter.

Till next time (hopefully soon but I fear I will be much too distracted, in a good way, to write) dear readers.