Title: Percy Jackson and the Titans

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for creating the Percy Jackson-verse. Some credit should also go to fellow FF writer Takara Phoenix, as the basic plot was inspired by one of the alternate universes briefly glimpsed in her fic "All the Percybilities", and certain other details were inspired by details from her other fics (such as Percy's foster brother and a few pairings I've come to like purely because she portrays them in her fics).

Warnings: Because I'm not entirely sure the way the entire plot is going to unfold myself, I can't give a comprehensive list just yet. But I can pretty much guarantee shounen-ai, and state that shoujo-ai and character death are high in probability.

Main Pairings: Undecided. The major focused pairings will be who Percy and Leo end up with, but just who that is has yet to be decided. Voting is currently being held on my profile.

Side Pairings: Same applies to side pairings as main pairings. Voting is also held on my profile.

Summary: Ten-year-old Percy Jackson and his younger foster brother run away from home in the hopes of keeping their mother safe from the monsters that have begun stalking them since they've begun to exhibit weird powers. Fending for themselves on the streets for two years, they are eventually lead by a blond young man to a place that is a safe haven for those like themselves: Camp Half Blood. But this is not the happy ending we expect. Feeling abandoned by his father and shunned by the other campers, a heavy decision will sway a different way than fate predicted...

Percy Jackson and the Titans

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze

Chapter One: My Little Brother Catches Fire

xXxPercyxXx

Most kids in Percy Jackson's position right now would probably be pretty worried. After all, most kids who'd accidentally sent their classmates for an unplanned swim in a shark tank would be getting torn a new one by their parents. But things had never been what one could call 'normal' in Percy's life. He was feeling guilty, that was for sure, but more for causing his mother trouble than anything. But the way she just smiled at him and told him it was okay, that just made him feel even guiltier. His mother was just too nice and caring, and he hated to cause her any trouble.

If anyone was going to give the ten-year-old a 'proper punishment' for his actions, it would be his stepfather. Sally Jackson didn't approve of her husband's methods of punishment- usually involving either his fists or a belt- and usually tried to defend her son, but all that occomplished was getting herself hurt as well.

"Did the sharks try to eat anyone?"asked an innocent voice. Percy turned his sea green eyes to the little Latino boy sitting beside him, gazing up at him with wide brown eyes as they sat in the chairs outside the principal's office while their mother spoke with the man inside. Two years younger than Percy, the boy was his foster brother. How any foster child would be placed in a household with Gabe was beyond Percy. Maybe the fact that Sally was such a good mother made up for it. Or maybe the social worker on the little boy's case just wasn't as caring as she wanted them to think she was, and had just been eager to place the boy with whatever family would take him.

Even though he'd only been living with them for a couple of months now, Percy considered Leo his brother by everything but blood. The poor kid had been orphaned when his mother had died in a freak fire. Leo did have other relatives who reasonably should have been able to take him in, but they'd all refused to for one reason or another, Percy wasn't sure why. Leo had run away from two other foster homes before being placed in the care of his mother, and the boy had confided in his new older brother that it was because he never really felt accepted at any of the other homes, like he didn't belong. True living with Gabe was by no means pleasant, but the Latino was truly happy with his new foster mother and brother, for the first time since his mother had died.

"No, they just kinda... ignored them."Percy answered, fidgeting nervously as he knew it was only a matter of time before the adults emerged from the office. "Maybe they weren't hungry, I dunno."

"Did they... did they talk to you?"Leo questioned in a voice barely above a whisper, making sure no one else would overhear him.

It may have sounded like a stupid question to a passing stranger, but Leo was the only person Percy had felt he could trust with his secret. It was uncommon, and he didn't understand at all how or why it happened, but every once in a while, Percy could swear he heard voices coming from fish or other sea animals. He'd first noticed it when he was about Leo's age and had ducked into the pet store at the mall, having separated from his mother. He'd had a nice long conversation with the fish in the tanks there, the employees and customers both staring at him the whol time until his mother had arrived to collect him. He knew no adults would ever believe him, and the kids at school would just tease him. It wasn't like he had any friends. But Leo was different.

"No, not this time."Percy said again. "Nothing that big's ever talked to me before. Just little stuff like gold fish, or a turtle once."

"It's still really cool."Leo said, swinging his little legs that weren't quite long enough to reach the floor from the chair he was sitting on. "I wish I could do something cool like that."

Percy smiled softly down at his little brother, reaching over to affectionately ruffle his black curls.

"I'm sure you can do something."he smiled. "You're still young, Leo. I'm sure you'll find something you're plenty good at once you're older."

"You're not that much older than me!"Leo pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't act like I'm a little kid!"

xXxLeoxXx

If Leo were honest, he still sometimes had nightmares about that night six months ago. The night his mother had died.

He'd never told anyone the whole truth about what had happened that night. Not even Percy. Who would believe him? That some strange dirt woman had appeared and fire had somehow appeared in his hands? Well, maybe Percy would have believed him. He did talk to fish after all... But anyone else? He'd just be sent to a mental institution. So he'd just had to settle with claiming he had no idea about anything to do with the fire. Of course, that didn't stop them from thinking it had been all his fault (which in a way, he supposed it was). Especially his own family. He had plenty of living relatives, but not a single one of them had wanted to take him in. They all had held him responsible for his mother's death.

So he'd ended up in the foster system. The families that had taken care of him were of course told the circumstances of how he had been orphaned. The first two families had been just like his mother's relatives: they all thought he was an arsonist who had killed his mother, and treated him as such. So he'd run away. Both times he'd been caught, only to end up with another family.

The Jacksons were his third family, and he could honestly say that he was happy for the first time since his mother had died. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, of course. He couldn't stand Gabe. But Percy and Sally- as much as he loved the woman, he hadn't yet moved on enough to call her Mom- more than made up for it. Sally reminded him a lot of his mother, how open and kind she was. And he'd always wanted an older brother. He was sure Percy and Sally were just as happy to have him around as he was to be with them. That more than made up for the smelly jerk who he was able to mostly ignore.

But no matter how happy he was, it never really stopped the nightmares. They had definitely been lessened. While he used to have them every single night, now it was more like every third night. Sometimes Percy, who he shared a room with, would realize the dreams were plaguing him and would wake him before he reached the worst parts. His new big brother would then give him comfort and assurance until he would fall back asleep. But other nights, when Percy was already fast asleep before the dreams had begun, Leo would wake up screaming for his mami. Those were the nights when Percy alone couldn't give Leo all the comfort he needed, and Sally would have to hold the little Latino boy until he finally felt safe enough to go back to sleep.

When Percy had begun confiding in Leo about his fish-talk ability, he'd considered telling him the truth about the fire. But he was scared. Being able to talk to fish was one thing. Some might consider it weird, but there was no way he could hurt anyone with it. Well, not unless Percy turned inexpicably evil and ordered sharks and whales to start attacking boats or something. But fire was a huge threat, something that caused a lot of damage and death. True it could be used constructively if one knew how, but Leo wasn't someone who understood how to do that. So for now he was determined to keep his secret.

Little did he know that soon the cat would be out of the bag, whether he liked it or not...

xXxPercyxXx

Percy let out a sigh as he walked along the side walk. As expected, he'd ended up getting kicked out of school. He'd been kicked out of enough schools in the past few years that finding somewhere new to send him was a bit of a hassle for his mother. He'd been out of school for a week now, and she hadn't been able to get him in anywhere new just yet. He hated to be such a burden to her, and was determined to do what he could to help her out while he was out of school.

Which was how he found himself walking along the sidewalk to pick up Leo from his own school. Sally was working late tonight and wouldn't be able to pick him up. She didn't want Leo walking home alone, and knew that if she asked Gabe to go get him he would either forget or just decide not to bother. She'd been a little wary about sending Percy to get him- after all, Percy was only two years older than Leo- but she ultimately decided it was better than the eight-year-old Latino being on the streets alone.

"No, I don't wanna go!"a familiar voice whined. That was definitely Leo. Percy took off into a sprint, quickly reaching the front of the school. Class hadn't officially let out just yet, so the school yard was mostly empty. All except for the little boy and the primly dressed woman trying to pull him along by his arm.

"Hey, let him go!"Percy ordered, grabbing onto Leo's other hand. The woman looked at him in irritation, and Percy's eyes widened when he got a good look at her face. She seemed mostly normal, but there was something about her eyes that wasn't quite right. They had a distinctly reptilian look to them. But that couldn't be right...

"Who are you?"Percy demanded, hugging his foster brother close.

"My name is Miss Drake."the woman stated, looking at the little boy cooly. "It has recently come to our attention that young Leo is not in a safe household. The agency has decided to take him back to the group home and place him in a new home."

For a split second, Percy believed her. After all, living with Gabe wasn't exactly a good environment for a child, and Percy's own record likely made him look like a juvenile delinquent who would be a bad influence on Leo. But that moment was fleeting. If Leo really were being taken from their home, they wouldn't have sent someone to snatch him from school without a word to Sally. They would have come to the house, or at the very least contacted Sally to let her know that they planned to come and get him.

"You're lying."Percy said, narrowing his eyes at the woman. She gave an exasperated sigh.

"Pathetic little demigod... too smart for your own good."she murmured. "If you would have just kept out of it, we could have let you live for a little longer."

Percy wasn't entirely sure how it happened. One moment the woman looked completely normal, the next he was staring at what he could only describe as a snake woman. She still looked fairly humanoid, but where her legs should have been instead were two snake trunks supporting her weight.

"P-Percy, what is that?!"cried Leo. That was all the confirmation Percy needed that he wasn't the only one seeing this. He hadn't gone crazy. Or at least if he had, Leo was going just as crazy.

"Leo, run!"Percy yelled, bolting off down the sidewalk. Leo's hand was clasped tightly in his, and the smaller boy was doing everything he could to keep up with his brother. Percy could sense the monster woman following them. She was gaining quick, there was no way they could get away in time...

Percy was just about to turn a corner when a sharp pain scraped across his back, like something dragging claws across his skin. He stumbled to the cement with a pained cry, the cement badly scraping his cheek. His fall had caused Leo to stumble to his knees, though the Latino hadn't fallen as badly as he had.

"You should have stayed out of it, boy."Percy recognized the woman's voice. But there was the distinctive sound of a hissing on the 's' in her sentence.

"No, don't hurt him!"Leo sobbed. Percy managed to turn on his back in time to see the snake woman poised above him, preparing for another strike.

"NO!"

The next instant, the monster was burning. She shrieked in pain, stumbling back on her snake legs. Percy blinked in surprise. He didn't know what was going on, but this was his opportunity. He blinded reached for where he knew Leo should still be, only to cry out in pain as his hand was burned. He cradled the blistering appendage to his arm for a few moments before looking to Leo, eyes growing wide in horror.

Leo was on fire. On freaking fire. But he didn't seem to be burning. It was as if something was protecting him from the flames. Or were the flames coming directly from him?

"L-Leo...?"

"I'm sorry, Percy..."Leo sobbed. "I-I should have told you! But I didn't want you to hate me! To think I was a freak!"

Percy's expression softened. Still cradling his burned arm, he moved as close to his brother as he dared with the flames still burning around him.

"It's alright, Leo."he said softly. "I don't think you're a freak. I mean, I talk to fish, remember? You can control the fire, right? I need you to calm down to make it go away, alright?"

Leo sniffled tearfully, but nodded. It took a few moments, but gradually the fire faded away from around him. Once the flames had died down completely, Leo threw himself sobbing into his brother's arms. Percy held the younger boy close as he cried, but they couldn't stay there much longer.

"Someone call 911!"a voice called. "Those boys set that woman on fire!"

What? No, that wasn't right! It was a monster! She had tried to kill them! Why were they being blamed for this?!

Percy didn't know what it was, but for some reason the other people clearly couldn't see the monster for what it was. They thought he and Leo had burned and innocent woman to death. There was no way they could get out of this. No one would believe the truth.

"Leo, we have to go."Percy said urgently. "We have to get home, fast!"

xXxLeoxXx

Leo still had tears swimming in his eyes as he watched Percy hurriedly stuff a backpack full of clothes and a few other necessities. The first thing Percy had done when they'd arrived home was patch up his injuries- the lacerations on his back, the layer of skin torn off his cheek from the concrete, and the burns on his hand and arm. Then he'd grabbed the secret money Sally had been stashing hidden away from Gabe. Leo knew Percy felt bad taking the money, but Percy insisted they were going to need it.

"Do we really have to run away?"Leo whimpered. He could certainly do without living with Gabe, but he didn't want to leave Sally. When Percy looked at him, he could tell by the look in those sea green eyes that he didn't really want to leave either.

"We have to, Leo."Percy said softly, laying his hands on Leo's shoulders. "Even if we do somehow manage to not get in trouble for what happened, I doubt that's the last time we'll have monsters coming after us. I... I don't even think it's the first time I've had them after me." Leo wasn't sure what Percy meant by that, but the older boy continued. "And next time they might come straight to the house. And if that happens they might hurt mom. You don't want that to happen, do you?"

The very thought terrified Leo. He'd already lost his real mother, the last thing he wanted was for anything bad to happen to Sally. She'd been so good to him, the first person ever to do so since his mother's death.

"No..."he finally answered, looking sadly up at his brother. Percy nodded his head solemnly.

"Good. You need to pack some things. We can't take everything with us, you need to pack light. But anything that's really important for you to bring with you, make sure you take it now, because we won't be coming back. Do you need me to help you, or can you handle it?"

Leo shook his head, indicating he could handle it himself. He moved over to his section of the bedroom and began packing things into his back pack. Percy had handled all the necessities- the first aid kid, cash, some non-perishable food- so Leo focused on his own things. Clothes, a few small toys, the necklace the social workers had allowed him to keep as a memento of his mother-one of the few pieces of jewelry she'd owned. Esperanza Valdez hadn't exactly been big on pretty trinkets. The last thing he grabbed was the purple stuffed dragon Percy had given him as a gift not long after he'd come to stay with them. He'd said that the color had been symbolic of the fact that they were brothers now, combining Leo's favorite color, red, with Percy's, blue. His bag was stuffed at this point, so he settled for carrying the stuffed animal in his arms.

"Are you ready, Leo?"Percy asked, hoisting his own backpack onto his back and slinging the straps over his shoulders. Leo nodded solemnly, hugging the dragon close.

"You're taking Happy with you?"Percy smiled softly. "Good, maybe he can help protect us."

Leo managed a smile at the comment. It was too bad they didn't have a real dragon to look after them. That would do them a lot more good than Happy the Stuffed Dragon could.

xXxPercyxXx

Percy would honestly kill to sleep in a real bed again. It had been so long now, he was beginning to forget what that actually felt like. He and Leo had been on the streets for a month now. While the money he'd taken from his mother was stretching well enough to keep them fed- and even that was running thin now- he had known that it would just be far too expensive for them to pay for a hotel room. They'd made do sleeping on park benches and anywhere else they could find. He was grateful he'd thought to pack a second bag with their winter coats and other gear for when the cold set in.

"I wish we could go home, Percy..."Leo murmured miserably, staring at the fire dancing in his hands. He'd been practicing his control since the incident a month ago. He still had a few accidents here and there, but overall he seemed to be doing well.

"Me too, Leo. But you know we can't do that."

A few days after they'd left home, Percy had overheard a news story about the incident while paying for their tab at a diner. According to witnesses, he and Leo had used a lighter and set fire to and killed an innocent social worker who was 'just doing her job' and trying to take Leo away from an unfit home. There had been no remains to examine, she had simply been burned to dust and ashes.

"They'll never believe that it was a monster, or how the fire really started."Percy sighed.

"Yeah..."Leo agreed. "Especially since they're still blaming me for when mom died. I mean... I guess technically the fire was my fault, but it wasn't like it's what I meant to happen."

Percy didn't question just how the fire that had taken Leo's mother's life had come about. He figured if Leo really wanted to talk about it, he'd bring it up on his own. He knew well that some things were just hard to explain, even to someone you would expect to understand.

"We'll figure something out."Percy promised Leo, putting an arm around the younger boy's shoulders. "We won't be on the streets for the rest of our lives. I promise."

"I know. I trust you, Percy."Leo said, extinguishing the flames and tightly hugging Happy to his chest as he leaned into his brother's side.

Percy was determined to keep that promise. Now he just had to figure out HOW.

xXxXxXx

Author Notes: So if it wasn't clear, I'm basically titling the chapters in a way similar to how they were in the original series, but doing the actual writing in a style closer to how it was done in Heroes of Olympus. For what I have planned to work, I need at least POVs from both Percy and Leo, and will likely need them for some others in future chapters as well.

Also, some ages are going to be adjusted in the story. Not going to give a comprehensive list, but for one Nico is going to be closer to Percy and Annabeth's age.

Still taking suggestions for events, and holding a poll through my profile for the pairings to work with.