So a few potential ships that I like the idea of are Racheal Elizabeth Dare, Katie Gardner, or Lou Ellen B. I'd like a few more ideas but I'm personally worn out from Percabeth and Pertemis. Just leave a review for your choice. Chapters will be longer; these first ones are mostly background starters.
Percy's P.O.V.
The last thing I expected when I woke up this morning was to be ambushed by dogs from hell on my way to school. I walked myself to school, as my dad and mom started early days and were often gone by the time I woke up. They taught me how to make breakfast, but I had overslept and didn't have time to whip up something.
I stopped at a new donut place along the way, getting a regular and lemon filled glazed donut. I rounded the corner, only about a block down from my school, when I was ambushed from the alleyway. I had dealt with them before; they had attacked a few times since I was 8. My dad had taught me how to defend myself with kickboxing and showed me how to use knives on the dummies in our apartment basement.
I whirled around as the growling started. A hellhound jumped out of the shadows, quickly followed by three more. Not quite a full pack, but very much still formidable. I waited for them to make the first move, waiting to counterattack. It didn't take long, the first hellhound lunged at me, determined to make me it's Percy-meat-sandwich. But today wasn't an Eat Percy day. No, today, I would kick some doggy ass.
Mid-lunge, I dropped to my knees, and let the hellhound jump right over me. As it passed over me, I hit it with a big punch, knocking it 10 feet away. The next one tried to hit me while I was kneeling, but I quickly stood up, and grabbed its paw while it swiped at me. I swung him around in a circle, hitting the last two away and slamming it into a wall. It whined and disappeared into a spoof of golden dust.
The last two tried to attack together, but I stepped back and slammed their head into one another, before rocking two punches directly into their heads, crushing their skulls easily. They also faded into golden dust. The first one that I had punched was still alive, gasping for breath. I walked over to it, stomping its skull. It faded without another noise.
"Well, that's one way to start a Monday."
I munched on my last donut, starting back on my path to school. I was about to scan my ID and enter the school gate when something caught my eye. A regal woman dressed in a shimmering gold Nike Tech suit was staring at me from across the street. Her piercing gaze almost dug into my soul, and I knew she was demanding my presence. I walked over.
"So, do all immortals just stare creepily at children or is that limited to you ma'am?" I gave her a cheeky greeting as soon as I was close enough. A few heads turned, and she silenced me with a harsh glare.
"Follow me, child."
Her tone left no room for argument, and she started walking down the street. I followed her because I didn't feel like pissing off an immortal deity, I didn't know the identity of yet. Maybe after learning who she, or maybe he, was.
(-)
We walked a few blocks down until we came to a tattoo parlor. It was very old fashioned, and it looked like it could've been one of the first ones to exist. To me at least. I like the vibe though. There wasn't a lot in the shop, just a few stations and the walls were made of brick with posters of completed artwork. We walked in went to the back of the parlor, where she pressed in a brick in the wall and a panel vanished. It was a hidden staircase.
She took the stairs down, but I stopped at the top. I'm not to keen on getting kidnapped and killed, you know how it is. I watched as she flicked on the lights, but I couldn't see anything from my perspective.
"Come on down kid, it's something I want to show you." I frowned. Downstairs I crept, making sure there weren't any traps. I climbed downstairs and it was just a big mancave with arcade games and a pool table, with a game of darts and other things I saw on TV where people smoked and drank. There was also a bar in the corner, that fit the vibe of the place. But it was all pristine and nice, not like what I usually saw in movies.
"So, what do you think of it? It used to be a pleasure room, but I had it remodeled."
Hmm. What did she want with me? I think I should ask her that, considering I have no idea what I'm doing here or who she is and what she wants. I guess now would be the best time to ask.
"So, who are you? What do you want? What's that big glass box for? Why do you know me? Are you a godd-" I was stopped short by her handing being held up.
"Not yet little one. My purpose here is to see what you are made of. I noticed you a while ago and I see your potential, far more than anyone else will. So, I'll give you three challenges. These three challenges will show me if you have the passion and potential that I'm looking for."
I frowned. "What kind of challenges? Do I get anything out of this? Am I still going to school after this?" I wanted to know. Today was my test day. I didn't want my grades to plummet. They were already bad. Not that I was dumb or anything, I figure anything out if given enough time. IT was just that those annoying words and letters would float around that page, making it hard to do anything.
She smiled. "The three challenges will have three rewards, and if you manage to pass all three, I will make you, my champion. I want to bring glory to the minor gods and what better than one with a potential unseen since Herakles himself?" She talked. Mostly gibberish, I tuned it out. I just wanted what she wanted.
She must have noticed I wasn't paying much attention to her, so she brought up something that caught my attention.
"In turn I will grant you undeniable power, and skills that no one can match." I perked up at that. "Powers? What powers? Will I be able to fly?"
She frowned. "Are you only interested in power?"
"Well, yeah. Those are pretty cool. What's better than being the best?" She tilted her head, and was quiet for a moment, before bursting out into laughter.
"I think you and I will make a great team little one. I'm Hebe, the goddess of eternal youth, and a quickly running out forgiveness."
"Running out of forgiveness? Shouldn't that be the opposite of the goddess of forgiveness?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"Dear, you get to the point when you lived so long that you tire forgiving the same mistakes and negotiating with angry deities that want to fight one another over it. I'm tired of it, and it's time for change. You will be the steppingstone to a new era."
Well gee, no pressure there. "So, what do you want me to do? I'm just a kid." I gestured at my small and underdeveloped body. There wasn't much to work with if she wanted me to go knock some godly heads together.
She merely smiled. "I will be giving you quests. Quests that will come with rewards and will help you discover powers, while also giving you a reward. You will hone your skills until you are able to match gods. Until then you will train and become the best."
I knew internally that she was appealing to my desire for greatness that I had given her, but hell, I wanted it as well.
"Okay, when do I start?" I asked, ready to become an amazing ambassador or whatever she wanted.
"The first test is just to test how strong you are right now. While I can sense the potential in you, we will have to measure what you can attain at the very moment."
I smiled. I was a strong kid, that I knew. I had been fighting monsters that showed up for 2 months and been destroying them so far. My dad had shown me a few moves in his gym, and I had been putting them to good use. I hadn't told him or my mom about the monsters yet, but I had a feeling they might be involved in some way or another. They had a suspicious amount of bedtime story books about Greek and Roman myths. Very fishy if you ask me.
She led me to the back where there was a weight bar that you could squat, deadlift, and bench on. She started of with just the bar, telling me to go through all three of the exercises with just the solo bar, before she started increasing the weights. I was doing around 110 kilos on the bench press and 135 kilos on the squat and deadlift.
She gave a whistle. "Definitely stronger than any other demigod your age. What do they feed you guys nowadays. I wonder who your father is, a legacy or something?"
I picked up on that. She wondered who only one of my parents is. This means she knew that my parents right now weren't my real ones, but more importantly, she knew who my real mom was already. I'll try and ask her slyly.
"So how long have you known my mom?" I asked, innocently putting weights back on the rack. She responded without a second thought.
"Khione was born before me, but she's a pain in the ass. Real icy cold heart, hates gods and mortals, I'm convinced the only thing she does like is her little ice sculptures." She said nonchalantly.
"She's not a good person?" I asked, which would make sense considering she threw me away like Wednesday's garbage.
"Oh, she's horrible really. She's more powerful than anyone thinks, but because of her attitude and hate, she's one of the worst our kind has to offer. She's definitely on par with an Olympian, aura and skills alone. I'm not quite there though, not after I got unfairly demoted. Stupid Ganymede."
I frowned. I didn't know anything about Khione, but I'd be looking her up and seeing if I got any demigod powers from her. Would be wise to be able to use everything at my disposal to become the greatest who ever lived.
"Okay, so since I know your limits for this, I will visit you tomorrow with more information and we'll go from there. Close your eyes child."
I did as she said and a flash happened behind my eyelids and when I opened them, she was gone. I headed up stairs and out of the building. It was almost nighttime, the time when school let out. I guess I'll just head home then, not much else to do.
As I took the walk home, there was an eerie silence, but I didn't notice, I was too busy thinking about my new destiny to be bothered with noticing my surroundings. I got to my apartment building, and again failed to notice the faint smell of blood lingering in the air. But when I got to my door, I noticed it was slightly ajar. That wasn't normal. My parents always, always, always locked the door. I rushed inside to see if something was wrong.
What I saw would change my mind, my thoughts, and views for forever. There, lying in pools of their blood, brutally mangled and torn into pieces were the bodies of my adoptive mom and dad...