The Forgotten Legacy

by AceofRavens

Percy Jackson AU. Perseus was born in 1875, conceived during a drunken one-night stand, his mother dies during birth, and so he is dumped into an orphanage, which several years later he runs away so as to escape the abuse. Living on his own for a some time, he eventually runs into a couple of Primordial Gods who choose to adopt and raise him... BOOK I (Will be slow updates)

4. Chapter 3: How Time Flies

The Forgotten Legacy

Disclaimer: I don't own Assassin's Creed or PJatO or HoO. I wish I did, but if wishes were horses' even beggars would ride.

'Thoughts – Mind Speech'

"Normal Speech"

Chapter 3: How Time Flies…

May 30, 1970, Redwood National Park, California

Early morning around the campfire, brought awareness to Perseus as he heard his companion screeching her wake-up call, and he smiled as he bid her a good morning and successful hunt. She had grown so large that it was nearly impossible for her to sit on his shoulder or arm anymore, much to her displeasure, as she was now almost three feet from beak to tail feathers, and over seven feet from wingtip to wingtip. She was solid muscle though, and weighed in at sixty pounds, and by stooping on a deer and hitting it right it was a one hit kill; plus she was an instant hit with the rest of the manipulus, who had gained their name over ten years ago during an encounter with a rescue that could have gone even worse than it did.

The way that their blades had come out of the darkness and cut down the slaver's ring; there was nothing there and then there was death and destruction coming out of the shadows; they had come from out of nowhere and were cutting them down. The name had been whispered in English but they had translated it and taken it on as their title.

The Gladiis Nocte: Swords of Night.

The selection had gone exceedingly well, and he had received an unusual mix of legionnaires. Four were children of Apollo, they were Alyssa, Annette, Adam, and Quinn; two were children of Vulcan, Steve and Mikayla; Mercury had twin sisters as members, Mina and Marina; and the final two members were a Son of Mars, Julian, and the final member was a Son of Bellona, whose name was Rick.

For the two years that they were together, they had lived together in quarters that were a part of Erebus' and Nox's palace. They had been made fully aware of the dual aspects of the Gods, and had sworn an oath on the Styx to treat both Roman and Greek demigods as equals, as well as not to let the secret of the aspects out to either side.

The first year had been nothing but weapons training, endurance and strength exercises, and wilderness survival. Then the second year of torture began, and they built on the foundation that they had laid down during the first year, and added ability and powers training, skill set training and teamwork exercises. At the end of the training they had all received the blessings of Nox and Dies, as well as full immortality like Perseus; they had received weapons, armor, and outfits very similar to what Perseus already had, and were quite a lethal group.

The trip down memory lane ended soon after Perseus was awake; while they were eating breakfast, there was a flash of light and sealed letter appeared on the table. Finishing off the last of his bacon, Percy wiped his hands clean before picking it up. Breaking the seal and opening it, he read through it and smiled. It seemed that there wasn't anything important brewing, so he could give his people a week or two of furlough, so he called everyone together as a group and explained to them the situation.

They had packed up with record speed, and were on the road back to New Rome…

June 21, 2000 Austin, Texas

Sitting in a bar in downtown Austin, Perseus had just turned down yet another girl who had attempted to get his attention when a familiar blonde haired, blue eyed man sat down and ordered a drink. Smirking, Percy motioned to the bartender that he was picking up the tab on this drink, and then turned to the Sun God sitting to his left. "I don't suppose this was a random pickup night for you is it?"

Chuckling good-naturedly, Apollo shook his head. "Unfortunately not, as I am here on business and not pleasure, much as I might wish otherwise. Have you had any luck in deciphering the prophecy?"

Holding out his hand, he tilted it left and right. "Some but not all of it, the first part of it that has to deal with one of my 'wives' is a Daughter of Venus. I'm not a hundred percent, but still fairly certain, especially since of the more 'gentle' Goddesses, Ceres and Proserpina are far less likely since most of their children are pacifistic in nature unless pressed. The other one I have a fair idea of where she has been hidden, but not who…she…is. Oh fuck me sideways, it just had to be his only demigod daughter…"

Laughing aloud, Apollo shook his head before shooting a glance at Perseus. "Whose daughter are you referring to, there Perce?"

His response was a deadpan stare. "Not only am I not dumb enough to draw his attention to me before I absolutely have to, especially considering the situation, but there's also the fact that I am sworn to secrecy on the Styx not to reveal anything to anyone until he chooses to reveal her. Just the fact that I have said this much is all I am capable of at this point in time."

Giving Apollo a weird look for a moment, before his eyes went even wider and he began beating his head against the bar. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

Turning his look of surprise into a heated glare, he stared at Apollo for a long minute. "The business you are here to discuss, one of the three incidents has occurred hasn't it…"

Chuckling at the demigod's antics, Apollo sighed and then nodded. "Unfortunately, yes that is indeed the reason that I am here. I figured that I owe you, as you have rescued several of my children over the years, and so I showed up here to ask you how you want me to reveal any information as well as the prophecy itself."

Taking a swig of his drink, Perseus took his unoccupied hand and rubbed his face for a moment as he thought about it. "First and foremost, I have a gut feeling that it isn't time for me to be revealed yet, so leave my identity and that you know of me out of it for now. Worst case scenario and I somehow end up dragged in front of the Council; I can have you and Hestia in my corner as backup. Secondly," he stopped to take another drink, "I don't mind if you reveal the prophecy, because I can definitely see how it would be in your best interest to reveal that there is a supporting prophecy to the great prophecy, and it will help the other Olympians know some of the signs. Other than that, I've got nothing."

Nodding in agreement, Apollo swirled his drink around in his glass before taking a drink and looking at Perseus, continued on with their discussion. "That's easy enough to deal with, have you given any thought to how you are going to approach your two ladies? I mean you are going to have to be able to work with them, and from the sounds of things, end up married to them…"

Sighing as he glared at the God, Percy shook his head as he contemplated the question, before shrugging his shoulders. "Not a clue, I had planned on taking it one day at a time and go from there…seeing as how I must have angered the Goddess of Love in a previous life with how my love life has been abysmally horrid. It's almost enough for me to attempt to swear an oath like your sister…"

Slamming back the rest of his drink, Perce didn't notice the look of dismay and sadness cross Apollo's face as he motioned to the woman behind the bar for another round. Turning back, he saw the god deep in thought. "Perce, what if I could get her to swear an oath not to interfere in any way, shape or form?"

Shaking his head violently, Perseus glared at the drink in his hand. "NO! That would only draw her eye to me, and trust me that isn't something that I ever want to happen. She would either never swear the oath, or she would find some way around it, as she is the most devious and devilish bitch I have ever heard of. Bad enough I have to be with one of her daughters…"

Grimacing as he recalled times where he had had the woman's attention focused on him, Apollo agreed with the Primordial demigod. Turning back to the bar and his own drink, he finished it off and stood, clapping a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Don't worry about it Perseus, I am sure it will work out in the end."

Snorting, Perseus semi-drunkenly muttered something that utterly chilled Apollo to the core, since it was so unlike him to be so down. "Yeah right…always alone…betrayed…always the one carrying hopes for others, never any for me…"

He would have said something to try and pull Perseus out of his funk, but he disappeared into the shadows. Sighing, Apollo flashed to Olympus in time for the summer solstice meeting, which was to begin very shortly.

Olympus

It was rather unusual for Apollo to be the last one there for any of the meetings, so this time when popped in, he was met with silence. Looking around at everyone, he grunted and looked at his father. "I have some rather heavy news, and I don't want to beat around the bush. If no one else has anything important to bring up, let me say my piece and we can discuss it and then I can go get so wasted I can't remember anything that happened today."

Stunned silence met his pronouncement, and he took a moment to look around, before sighing and launching into his news. "There was a prophecy that was clearly meant to accompany the great prophecy that came forth about the child of the big three. It goes like so –

"The Forgotten Legacy of the Sea has come to light,

Adopted Son of the Shadow and of the Night;

Upon his shoulders rests the Fate of all,

To rise and conquer or crumble and fall.

Two in number shall his helpmates be,

Tied together despite their diverse origins as one in unity.

To him they must be eternally tied,

Or else all will fall before the monstrous tide.

One a daughter of Rome that will be a fearsome fighter,

Despite the softer nature of her Mother;

The other will be a pale Grecian flower lovely nonetheless,

Hidden for unknown years amongst flowers of forgetfulness.

A Guide and Guardian he shall become,

As long as he by the instructors of Heroes is welcome;

Five score years shall he have to prepare,

To train for war in secret lest his foes become aware.

The signs of the time in which the Hero shall become known,

Will be easily seen, but not quick to be shown;

A child of the Three shall be turned to a tree,

A Maiden Goddess trapped beneath the unending sky she shall be,

And a Son of Wisdom shall finally be released from his mortality."

Everyone there was working their way through the prophecy, when Apollo spoke up. "From what I have already determined the person described in the prophecy is a Son of Poseidon who was forgotten about, and adopted by the Protogenoi Nyx and Erebos. There is a part of it which describes him marrying two demigod daughters, otherwise referred to as helpmates, one of which I believe to be a daughter of Venus, the other on is unknown."

Hades went incredibly pale as he realized that his daughter was one of the two women mentioned, and that Perseus was the man talked about in this prophecy. Leaning forward and looking to Hestia with a raised brow, he turned to Apollo, and looked him dead in the eye. "How do you figure that now is the time for this to be revealed along with this hero?"

Apollo leaned back in his throne and sighed. "The last five lines tell us when he is to be revealed. The first is Thalia Grace, who was recently turned into a tree. The second is that one of our three maiden Goddesses will be trapped, and the third is that a Son of Wisdom, who I am fairly certain, is Athena, will finally be allowed to die."

Everyone turned to look at Athena, who was lost in thought for a moment before shaking it off, and turning back towards the others. "I must say that everything that he has said so far rings true. What worries me is how he will be trained by both the Romans and the Greeks? We all know of their endless animosity for each other…the other thing that is rather disturbing is the fact that in order to be of any use in the prophecy, he would need to be either partially or fully immortal…"

That triggered a response from Artemis who recalled a couple of run-ins that she and her hunters had had with a group of Roman demigods who had knowledge of the Greeks and didn't try to kill them. "What if he has already accomplished that goal? I have four or five hunters that were Greek as well as a couple who were Roman dropped off at my camp over the last fifty years or so, and they were dropped off by a male who was referred to by the new hunters as Legate Audax. The figures that rescued them were clearly Roman, so that tells me that someone has already worked with both camps…"

The Sky God was decidedly upset by this turn of events, but knew that there was far too little information to be acted upon at this time. "Artemis, I want you and your hunters to hunt down this group and bring the leader to us to determine what to do with him. Athena and Apollo, the two of you will do your best to figure out the unknown quantities in the prophecy. Everyone, this meeting is adjourned!"

December 10, 2009 Camp Jupiter, California

That morning Perseus was woken up much earlier than normal, which put the normally loose, and easy going Legate on edge. Looking around, he quickly noticed the gathering shadows in one corner, and that sight had him jumping out of bed and drawing his swords. Moments later, he immediately let go of his blades and went to one knee, with his head bowed as he greeted the Deity. "Greetings Lord Pluto, what brings you here this morning?"

Summoning a couple of comfortable chairs, the Lord of the Underworld sat in one and motioned for Percy to sit in the other. "I will be perfectly frank with you, it is sooner than I would have thought, but I believe that events have been put into motion that will bring you and your group in front of the Council very shortly. I have need of you and yours to aid my son and daughter, and keep them out of the Olympians hands." Here he paused and took a deep breath, before exhaling slowly, and then continuing on.

"I cannot believe that I am saying this, but you are not like any other man in existence, and I am giving you my permission and blessing. I know more than most others about the prophecy, and I know that you are aware that my daughter is the only Greek that fits the prophecy. I have seen your behavior towards women, and must say that I am impressed, but know this: Deliberately cause her hurt or heartbreak, and I will find you, torture you personally for a thousand years, and then cast you into the Pit for the rest of Eternity…are we clear?"

Nodding as calmly as was possible, Perseus steeled himself to respond vocally. "Crystal, Lord Pluto. What is the timeframe that we are looking at and our opposition? Location to and from we are extracting them?"

Collecting his thoughts, Pluto took a moment and decided to answer him in reverse order. "A boarding school in Bar Harbor, Maine; the name is Westover Hall. The Dirae will be nearby in the shadows to bring them to my palace, where I will explain as much as possible, about the two great prophecies, and about you. Your opposition will be much tougher than any before, as it will be four campers from Camp Half-Blood, as well as Lady Diana and her hunters besides whatever monsters are there. They will be arriving sometime tonight or tomorrow, so I need you there today."

Wiping his face with his hands, Perseus nodded while thinking things through. "I will more than likely need everyone for this mission…we will go and take care of business, Lord Pluto. I will have everyone ready to go within the hour." Standing and bowing, he waited until the God of the dead had left, and quickly ran through their barracks waking them all, before bathing and getting dressed. Once he had accomplished that, he gathered them and briefed them on their newest mission. "I need you all to remember one thing and one thing only, no demigods die. I will be going to let both Reyna and Jason know that we will all be leaving and will be gone for a week at most. Get to it."

Getting affirmative responses from everyone, he ensured that he had everything that he would need before heading over to the Principia. Ten minutes later, he was headed out to their meeting point, and when he got there everyone was there waiting and ready. Looking around at everyone, he smiled as he realized that even though they all had different parents, that they were all a family. "We are brothers and sisters here. We are a family forged in the fires of adversity and strife, watching each other's backs and that is what is important. Once we arrive on site, I want Mina and Marina to scout the school and find our targets, as well as searching for any monsters or beasts. Allie, Adam, and Julian you three and Annie, Quinn and Rick will be our two groups who will secure our campsite and hunt for dinner. Steve and Mikayla, you two will be with me, setting up our tents and equipment. Any questions?"

As he looked around, he nodded as they each signaled their readiness, and Perseus drew the shadows around them and they disappeared from California. Minutes later they all appeared in the woods near a cliff, not far from Bar Harbor. Taking a look around, and seeing the school off in the distance, he pulled up his hood, and pointed the twins in the right direction. As they took off, they pulled up their hoods as well, manipulating the color of their cloaks so that they would blend in with surrounding snow.

Everyone else did the same, with the exception of Perseus, who left his the color it had been from the start, a black that was the shade of the night. They moved out and once they had found a decent campsite, the two hunting teams left the site, and the three remaining began their own tasks. Once they had finished with the setup, Perseus left Mikayla in charge, with instructions to pass on once everyone got back, if he hadn't returned before then.

Tartarus, Throne Room

Immediately upon his arrival, Perseus knelt in front of his parent's thrones. "Mother, Father, I believe that very soon my existence will become known to the Olympians. I have come to tell you this, and to relate to you the full prophecy which intertwines with my very life."

Looking to each other, both the Primordials nodded and Nyx waved a hand, summoning a smaller throne for their son. "Please have a seat and talk with us, my son."

Nodding, he rose and smiled at the both of them, finally taking his seat. Over the next fifteen minutes they discussed the prophecy, Apollo's conversation with him, and Pluto's task for him and his warriors. Smiling to herself, Nyx chuckled as a thought struck her. "Son, I know that you have figured out who the Greek daughter is, but I do believe that I might have discovered who the Roman one is." Smirking mentally at his gobsmacked look, she continued on.

"I am fairly certain that the Daughter of Venus that you seek is a member of the First Cohort, and she is in line to become a Centurion. Her name is Piper Mclean, and she works her hardest to break away from the stereotypes that the children of Venus and Aphrodite embody." Taking a moment to think back and figure out if he knew who she was referring to, Perseus saw that he had indeed met her. She was a very adept fighter with hunting knives, almost never wore make-up, and was almost a complete anti-thesis of most children of the Love Goddess.

Once more nodding, Percy smiled up at his mother. "Thank you mother, I appreciate that you would go out of your way for me, but how did you know…"

Smirking at him widely, she chuckled before responding. "First, you talk in your sleep so it wasn't hard to piece together that part of the prophecy. Secondly, before I knew anything about you ending up being the person who united the two camps, I looked over the women in Camp Jupiter for a suitable match for you. Because of the heartbreak you had suffered I was afraid that you would live a lonely existence, and so I looked for a woman who would be loyal and loving."

Smiling sadly at his mother, Perseus shook his head. "Thank you for loving me, and raising me, as well as just looking out for me in general. I'm afraid that I must get back to my troops, just to be on the safe side. I hope that it doesn't come down to it, but if it does, can I count on you to have my back if the worst case scenario does take place?"

As she and Erebos nodded their heads, Perseus stood and embraced his mother for a moment, before turning and receiving a manly hug from his father. Before he left though, he heard his father clear his throat, attempting to get his attention. "Perseus, we want you to know how proud we are of you, proud of your accomplishments, proud of your skills, and most of all we are proud of you and how you turned out."

A nod of his head and a warm smile were his response, as Perseus bowed and then left.

Bar Harbor, Maine

Later on that evening, everyone was sitting around the campfire listening as Mina and Marina relayed everything that they had seen and heard, and it was bad enough that Perseus was frowning. There was a manticore who was posing as a teacher here, as well as a huge pack of hellhounds and a fair number of dracanae also.

Once they had finished debriefing their commander, Percy thought about their situation for a moment. "Any sign of Greek demigods or Lady Diana and her hunters?" Receiving slight head shakes as his answer, he sighed before dispensing his orders. "Before lunchtime I want everyone to have all their gear and weapons checked. Once that is complete, we break camp, and I want the two hunting teams, adding Steve with Allie's team and Mikayla with Annie's, to get rid of as many of the monsters that are out here in the woods as possible before regrouping near the cliffs. I have a gut feeling that we will need to be near the cliffs."

Here he turned to Mina and Marina. "The three of us will be infiltrating the school and getting eyes on our targets. We will be best served by eliminating the manticore, as well as getting the children of Hades out of there, but I am thinking we would be better off by getting them out after dark."

After he was done with his orders, he turned and looked at everyone. "This will be our highest profile mission ever, and I am certain that this will bring us to the attention of the Gods. Do NOT fire on any of the Hunters or the Greeks, and if I should have to use the command 'Daybreak', you are to leave the area immediately and regroup back at our barracks. Understood?"

Getting firm nods, they dug into their evening meal, having already sent their offerings to their parents in the gentle blaze of the fire pit. After that, they turned in for the night, leaving two of their number for the watch.

The next day seemed to fly by for the group, and before they knew it, it was time for them to separate. Turning to his soldiers, he saluted them and then disappeared into the shadows along with his two scouts. Moments later they peered out of the shadows within the school, and observed for now. Mina and Marina pointed out the monster who was posing as an instructor, as well as Bianca and Nico Di'Angelo, who were unfortunately never far from the manticore's sight.

Then there was the added complication of the event later on that night, as there was a formal dance, and it was then that everything clicked. Turning to the sisters, Perseus had a gleam in his eyes that spoke of a plan. Quietly whispering his idea to them, the two sisters looked to each other and then at Nico. Turning back to their commander, they smiled and shrugged, before drawing straws to see who would be stuck as backup…

Later that evening…

They had arrived later on, dressed to the nines, and made their way inside. When they had initially made it to the door, Perseus had used his ability with the Mist to get by Dr. Thorn, who was in reality the manticore. Once inside, they had immediately gone on the lookout for the two that they were here for, and had done their best to blend in. It was going well until they spotted the three campers and satyr from the Greek camp, who hadn't even attempted to blend in whatsoever. Nodding to each other, they casually made their way over to where Bianca and Nico sat chatting in the corner.

Greeting them, Perseus bowed and asked Bianca to dance, which while surprised, graciously accepted. Before leaving, Percy had turned to Nico and asked him if he would keep his younger sister company, to which he blushed slightly and nodded his head before bowing and asking her for a dance as well; it was then that both the couples headed out on the floor and joined the many people already dancing.

Nodding at Mina, Percy began to casually converse with Bianca, and he found himself enjoying her rather dry sense of humor. After about an hour or so, she stated that she was thirsty, and Percy and Nico found themselves shanghaied into going and getting drinks for the two of them. It was as they were leaving the punch table that the manticore made his move, spiriting the two girls away; the only mistake that he made though was doing it in full view of Percy and Nico.

Grabbing the young man by the shoulder when he made to run after them, he shook his head and motioned towards the doors. Making their way outside, Percy adjusted his clothes to their original form, and waved Nico closer. As he made his way cautiously to the now strangely dressed young man, Percy whistled aloud, and another figure popped out of the shadows. "Report Marina, do you have a bead on them?"

Nico was stunned to see what looked to be the girl he was dancing with earlier, only to see that there were subtle differences. "Yes Legate, I have their location, there's only two problems. One is that the numbers of monsters in the area are far worse than we first suspected, and two is that Lady Diana is en route to this location according to Lord Apollo."

Cursing under his breath, he motioned her closer and pulled the shadows around the three of them and appeared ahead of the manticore. Praying to Lord Pluto for assistance, he received an answer in the forms of Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera. "My ladies, I ask that you go ahead and send Nico here to meet with his father, and I swear on the Styx that his sister will be following along shortly." Thunder crackled and burst overhead after his oath, and the Dirae winged their way over and disappeared with Nico.

Stomping one foot down on the earth, Perseus grabbed the gold and black glaive that shot out, while at the same time swiping his off hand across the clasp. Once he was fully prepared with his Roman armor, he motioned to Marina to follow him, and immediately began cutting a swathe through the assembled monsters.

It was minutes later that he started seeing black arrows flying from behind them, cutting down the monsters that seemed to be without number. Moments after that Perseus was all too glad to see several other members of his team show up on either side of him and Marina; giving them all a sadistic grin, he turned forward and viciously stabbed a Cyclops through the throat, before roaring aloud, "Non misericordia, non deditionem tamen mors hostibus illum!"

After hearing his words, they all roared in answer, and took it up a notch. They were a literal wave of destruction, rolling over their enemies like a tsunami, which had Thorn very concerned as his ride out of here had not showed up yet. Then his eyes grew wide with fear as he saw flashes of silver in the tree line.

The Roman's first clue that something was terribly wrong was the silver arrows flying through the air, and that led Percy to look around and assess the situation. Noting that the numbers against them were nearly non-existent, he finished off the dracanae in front of him and then paused about ten meters in front of the manticore. Raising his voice so he could be heard clearly, Perseus gave a sly grin as he spoke. "And they thought they could hold out until daybreak? HA!"

Once that was said, there were multiple shadows that appeared and once they disappeared, with them went a Roman soldier. As soon as he had seen that only he, Bianca, and Mina were left, he smirked internally as he heard the three Greek campers coming up to their position complaining loudly. Peering sideways through his peripheral vision, he saw the hunters and Lady Artemis show up. While Thorn's attention was elsewhere, he was mouthing something to Mina. While at first she was confused, when he motioned to his throwing knives she grinned and gave a tiny nod of acknowledgement.

The next thing he heard was a female voice asking permission to kill, and that was when he nodded to Mina. Swiftly she grabbed one of her throwing knives and embedded it deep in the manticore's groin, causing him to release the girls and scream bloody murder. Then two things happened in quick order that caused him to curse aloud. The first is that one of the Greek campers had somehow gotten behind him and stabbed him in the back. This caused him to grab hold of the girl and toss her away from him, which led to him being off balance. The second thing that happened was that because of the Greek camper's actions, Thorn was thrown inside the huntress' guard and he grabbed her as he fell off the cliff.

Cursing under his breath, Perseus quickly slapped his shield and planted his glaive at the edge of the cliff before diving off head first. He shifted his arms and legs so that he was able to eliminate as much wind resistance as possible and was aimed like a missile at his target. Within seconds he had closed the distance, and grabbing the girl in a bridal carry, rapidly wrapped the shadows around them.

Atop the cliff, Artemis was filled with sorrow at her loss, as Zoe had been one of her oldest friends and had been with the Hunt for a very long time. Turning her gaze and thoughts elsewhere, as now wasn't the time or place for mourning, she looked around for the two girls that had been held captive by the manticore, only to see them disappear into the shadows held by the Furies. Cursing in her thoughts, she was caught off guard by two other figures appearing in front of her: one was male, and the other was Zoe.

Stunned as she was, it took her a few moments to process the fact that the Roman who had jumped off the cliff, had rescued her hunter, and set her down as quickly as possible upon arriving. She finally returned to her senses as she watched the legionnaire, having retrieved his glaive, attach it to his back and kneel before her. Scowling, she snapped at him as she spoke. "Remove your helm boy, and tell me your purpose in disrupting my mission here!"

Slowly so that he wouldn't be perceived as being aggressive, he gripped the sides of his helmet and tugged it off in one smooth motion. Maintaining his stoic face and emotionless voice, he looked up at her as he responded. "My humble apologies, my Lady Artemis, but I and my manipulus, the Gladiis Nocte, were tasked to retrieve Lord Hades' children and safeguard their way to him. It was not our intent to hinder your mission, but to accomplish our own."

At the sound of footsteps running up from behind him, Percy smoothly stood and readied his glaive and shield. As turned around, he noticed that the only male demigod had arrogantly decided to attack him from behind. In two swift motions, he had disarmed and tripped the boy with his shield and then held his spear to the boy's throat. "For what cowardly purpose do you attack me from behind, child?"

Startled once again by the tone of voice and choice of words, Artemis decided that it would be best if she watched for now, and the next few minutes proved her right.

Looking down into the demigod's eyes, Perseus snorted mentally as he took notice of the sea-green color that they were. "You are a fool, interrupting a Goddess, especially one who despises our gender so. You are the very definition of rash, unthinking, and cowardly, that gives all our gender such a bad reputation." That said, he quickly flicked his glaive around and knocked him out with the butt end.

Turning once more to the Goddess, he bowed low before her before speaking once more. "My apologies, my Lady, for both turning my back to you, as well as for disrupting your mission…"

Cutting him off, she looked at him with a neutral gaze, before turning to look at Zoe and nodding. Turning back to Perseus, she motioned for him to rise. "You will be coming with me to Olympus and explain your actions to the Council and they will decide your fate."

Not willing to upset the Goddess of the Hunt any further than he already had, Perseus kept his reply simple and polite. "As you wish Milady…"

Without further ado, she flashed the both of them outside the doors to the throne room of Olympus. As they approached them, she pushed them open and headed for her throne, while leaving Percy alone near the hearth. Keeping an eye on him, she fired an arrow straight up into the air, and waited.

Within moments there were multiple flashes of light as the Olympians appeared sitting on their thrones. Without wasting a moment, Zeus turned to his daughter and looked at her for a moment. "Where are the two spawn of Hades, Artemis? I do believe I told you to bring them with you, did I not?"

Grimacing at the fact that she had lost them and to a demigod, she summoned her courage and spoke. "Yes, you did indeed father, however my efforts were in vain due to the fact that the Gladiis Nocte interfered with my hunt. I have brought their leader, who is the one known as Legate Audax, here with me to answer for his interference in the matters of the Gods."

As she finished addressing Zeus, she pointed to the center of the room where Perseus now knelt, his helm to one side and his head bowed. "What is your birth name and who is your godly parent?"

Looking up and meeting the King of the God's gaze, Perseus responded in a calm, collected manner. "My birth name is Perseus Achilles Andreíos, Lord Zeus. As for your other inquiry, my birth parents, my mother died bringing me into this life and my adoptive parents, who are also gods, told me that my birth father was more than likely Poseidon."

At hearing this, Zeus' temper erupted, "Poseidon, yet another child you have had and breaking your oath!?" Before things could get too out of hand, there was a mild shuddering of the ground beneath them that grabbed everyone's attention, and when they looked for the source, they found it in Perseus.

As the gods stared at him in awe, Percy stood tall and explained himself before things could escalate any further. "My apologies my Lords and Ladies, but in good conscience I cannot allow the false accusation to stand. Lord Apollo, do I lie in any way when I say that I am over 130 years old?"

Catching on to where he was going with this, Apollo smirked internally. "Father, there is not a trace of dishonesty or falsehood in his statement."

Bowing his head in thanks to Apollo, he turned his eyes back to Zeus', and bowed once more. "With your permission I will elaborate further so as to explain why I am immortal when you and your council did not bless me with said gift." Waiting patiently, Perseus finally received a nod from the Lord of the Sky.

Smiling ever so slightly, Percy recalled many fond memories of his childhood and teenage years as he began to speak once more. "I was adopted through an ancient ritual by Lord Erebos and Lady Nyx, the Primordials of Shadow and Night, becoming their child and raised by their children."

At this news Zeus and many others paled as they realized that threatening a favored son of the Primordials was bad news, and the fate that they had had in store for him, might have spelled the end for them. Athena was the first one to speak after all this had been mentioned. "You have far more power than would be expected of a demigod of the Primordials, regardless of your birth parentage, might I enquire as to how many Gods or Goddesses have blessed you?"

Brows furrowed, Perseus bowed his head and prayed for guidance from both his patrons as well as his mother. After a minute or so he raised his head once more and looked at Athena. "Lady Athena, I have been the recipient of five blessings, two of which were in accord with becoming their Champion."

Nodding her head as she thought about what he'd said, a thought struck her. "You wear Roman armor, but aren't shocked or angry that we are Greek, why?"

Low murmurs could be heard throughout the chamber, as Perseus smiled once more before answering her. "That would be because my mother, Lady Nyx, felt that it would be in my best interest to be knowledgeable about both aspects of the Gods, mostly because of the fact that there was a complication during the ritual that led to me drawing in their Greek AND Roman essence, thus making me a child of both Greece and Rome. There is of course the fact that I was trained by both Chiron and Lady Lupa. Aside from myself there are only ten other demigods who know about these things and they are sworn to silence both on the Styx and their lives."

The Queen was the next to inquire about something that had struck her as unusual, "Perseus, who are your Patrons?"

Before he could bow his head, he heard both his Patron's voices in his mind. 'It's time Perseus, you have free reign over what information you choose to divulge…' Looking Hera in the eyes, he responded with respect and pride. "Lady Hera, my two Patrons are Lady Hemera and Lady Hestia."

Into the silence that followed Athena made a quiet remark that caught everyone's attention. "He is the one that the prophecy mentions, but who are the two destined to walk by his side?"

Snorting in disdain, Artemis was the next one to speak. "Typical of male scum, thinking he can take advantage of innocent women…"

Growling mentally at her hypocritical attitude, Perseus spoke up. "I, Perseus Achilles Andreíos do vow on the River Styx that such a thing would never happen. I do also vow that if there had ever been a male version of the Hunt, I would have joined and sworn off love and relationships…for eternity." Thunder crackled and roared above, as the gods themselves were stunned at his declaration, and as Artemis sat there spluttering in astonishment Perseus looked at her.

"Lady Artemis I ask you to look into my memories and then compare your previous statement to me and see if it holds water." Shakily, the Moon Goddess nodded and approached him. Once she was able to see his eyes clearly, she went through each and every memory and was astonished and ashamed. This man before her had the utmost respect for women and had experienced the very worst that her gender had to offer; indeed he had been treated far worse than many of the women and girls she had taken under her wing.

Shocked speechless, Artemis returned to her throne as Perseus watched on. Aphrodite took advantage of this particular moment to address him; at least she was going to until Percy noticed that she was getting ready to speak. "If there is anyone here that I do NOT wish to speak or listen to, it would be you Aphrodite. You claim to be all about love, when all you teach is about lust. Because of you and your ways, I have had my capacity to love all but torn to shreds, and while I would not seek to anger you, neither will I seek your blessing or counsel."

Falling back into her throne like she had been slapped, Aphrodite grew pale as she realized just how badly she had screwed up. Knowing that one of her daughters had fallen for this hunk of a man, and she had practically sunk that ship long before it could ever sail, that was a slap in the face for the Love Goddess.

Looking around at each of the Olympians, Perseus took note of every one of their faces, and for the most part it looked like the majority of them at least appeared to favor him. Turning his attention to Lord Zeus, he stood there, impassive and stoic as a mountain, awaiting the judgment of the Council. After a few minutes of silence and mental conversations between the Olympians, Zeus cleared his throat and began to speak. "It would seem Perseus, that the majority of the Council would see you become the Champion of Olympus and a way to unite the two camps, would you agree to this?"

A/N: CLIFFIE! Thus ends chapter three of this story, and as always read and review please!?