This isn't the original first chapter. For good reason. The old one was shite. This one is a bit more tolerable and should give you a better impression of the story if it's your first time reading it. Sorry Pertemis server, but I just couldn't leave it the way it was. Updated on the 26th of April, 2023.
The first thing any demigod would hear when arriving at Camp Half-Blood was that it was the only safe place in the world for demigods to thrive.
And this was partially true, despite other places existing alongside Camp. He got used to big exposures to death in the first years of his life as a hero and wondered if he was just that lucky that he averted his demise so many times. It turned out he was destined to reach at least sixteen, but from there he did not really know what would come next.
But the answer would come pretty soon. Arguably his greatest trials would come after his supposedly greatest of them all happened. Falling into Tartarus made an impression on him that he knew that he would never recover from. Being able to control any liquids… was unprecedented. It brought a new range of opportunities for him to make things better.
Because he had been all too familiar with guilt. Guilt for not saving the countless lives that had been extinguished so he would live to fight another day. Zoë, Bob, Damasen, Bianca, Beckendorf, you name it. This newly discovered power could easily prevent more loss of life. But despite how eager he was to make this happen, never would he go against the wishes of his lover.
When he first controlled the poison of Akhlys, he felt something inside of him break into millions of pieces, urging him to destroy the wicked goddess and make her suffocate in her own tears. It was only when Percy had seen the terror on Annabeth's face that he stopped. It clumsily glued the pieces together, but he knew that this was the best that it could ever be done. Never again would the pieces be fully connected, no matter how hard he tried.
It didn't stop with poison, though. He quickly discovered that it could be so much more. He and Annabeth were going to his parent's home when they were faced with some monsters. They fought them with relative ease, but Annabeth was injured in the middle of the battle. Turns out, it barely scratched her, but it made his heart clench in desperation. Without even realizing it, he got control of the bloodstream of a single hellhound. The beast yelped in pain, and once more Annabeth was horrified by what she saw.
This time, he promised not to exploit more of this bloodbending. There are things you shouldn't control. These words would forever accompany him, until the day he died.
For the next months, he tried to help people the best he could while also heavily pursuing his goals of trying to live a normal life, trying as best as he could to forget his memories of Tartarus, and whatever these new powers were. Things like finding a chalice to enter college, bringing a god and its demigod master to camp, defeating another metal giant, and training a Norse demigod. Average stuff for him, considering what he had to go through earlier in his life.
But it could never be this easy.
Sally Jackson, the mother of the Hero of Olympus, died in childbirth. Thankfully, Estelle lived, and Paul was still here. Annabeth grieved alongside Percy. The cracks got worse after that, but the night after his mother's death he took a deep breath. There still was much to be done. Sally would not want him to be grieving forever. He knew that when death claimed her, she would accept it. Despite her mortality, she was willing to do anything for the greater good, even if it took her own life with it. Much like Percy.
For his family, he tried to keep the pieces together. Looking up to the future. Most parents died before their children, after all, it was natural. But Percy had wholeheartedly expected to perish before his mother, mainly because of him being a half-blood. The Fates probably laughed at his assumption.
Traveling west was always dangerous. He straight up refused to use the newly reformed Labyrinth, so the journey out west to get to Camp Jupiter had to happen by foot, of course, to settle in New Rome and start attending university along with his girlfriend. Surprisingly, it went smoothly during the first days of the journey, even meeting up with Grover again. That truly felt like the old days. But of course, something was bound to happen, right after they separated from their satyr friend in California.
He never asked for the monsters' names. Some did have names. He knew even the less important monster would have some sort of word to distinguish themselves from other beasts. But only once before Percy cared to ask that.
He never knew where they came from. They were making camp for the night, and the beasts burst out of nowhere. In the end, it didn't matter if it had been a coincidence, a build-up to another war. All it mattered was that they were there. Demigods against monsters, a tale as old as time. The couple drew their swords; drakon-bone, Celestial Bronze. Their synergy was astounding. They read each other's minds, and knew what the other's next move would be.
But they could never predict their enemies.
Annabeth had a smile on her face. After all, after so many years, they let themselves be immersed in the fight, to obtain enjoyment from combat. But they had gotten too naive, they flew too close to the sun. Distracted, the mastermind that was Annabeth never had the opportunity to dodge the arrow that was shot straight into her heart.
When he heard the cry of pain from her lover, his own heartbeats ceased for a second. This had to be a sick joke. A bad dream. This couldn't be real. She fell to the ground, and Percy saw red. He barely contained himself, slaughtering everything that moved around him. When there was no longer an immediate threat in sight, he ran to his fallen lover.
"P-Percy..." His wise girl muttered, blood coming out of her mouth. "Promise me one thing… Do not be your own demise…"
Through tears, he nodded, despite not fully comprehending what she meant by that. Weeping near her face, he felt the last breath that came out of Annabeth Chase's mouth.
That something inside of him that was previously fixed couldn't withstand this. Perhaps it was his sanity. His self-control. Percy never found out. What he did know, was that it once more broke apart like a glass falling to the ground. This time, only the Fates knew if it could be fixed.
His lover, after everything she had endured, did not die in a blaze of glory, she didn't die sacrificing herself for the world. No, she perished at the hands of an insignificant monster. When he looked up, away from Annabeth's face, his green eyes swirled with raw power, and above all, rage. How easy it was, for grief to turn into pure hate.
He felt the presence of another monster nearby. Percy just knew it was the one responsible for this. His mind only called for blood now, and blood it received. In the literal sense. He extended his hand forward, not knowing if this would actually work, but when he heard a yell of shock, he knew it must have worked.
Percy marched towards the source of the sound, his body tingling with power much like in the pit. All he found was a lone dracaena. Keeping whatever blood happened to course inside the monster's veins in place, he only had one thing in mind.
"What is your name?" he asked.
No answer. The monster flinched, undoubtedly feeling too much pain to even speak properly. He did not feel any pity towards her.
"Tell me your name. I demand of you." Percy repeated, his voice not too different from a growl.
"Jane… Jane is my name…" was all that the monster could hiss out.
"Jane." The name felt weird on his tongue. It didn't fit right for this creature. She wasn't supposed to have such a casual name.
Without saying any more words, he pressed his hand further, which made the dracaena once more yell in despair. The screams were agonizing. The blood of the monster boiled. She did not last long. But throughout it, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed every second of it. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Percy was alone again, the reptilian beast turning into dust.
All that was left was him, and the body of Annabeth.
He called Frederick Chase. His lover's father sobbed when presented with the news, but acted quickly. Percy couldn't believe how close they had been to arriving in San Francisco. They would have been safe. Only he and Annabeth, studying in peace among the Romans. But it ought to remain a dream.
Frederick arrived shortly and called an ambulance. Percy himself wasn't injured, but they took her body, with Dr. Chase reassuring him that he would be there for him, if necessary, but he did not want anything but to run away. Percy made one last plead, that if anyone asked, he had been missing, or was dead. Frederick didn't look pleased with Percy's desire to disappear but agreed. Perhaps for respect to the demigod's grief.
A week passed before he was face-to-face with Paul. He explained what happened, and the father of his sister was devastated. He immediately understood that Percy needed time after losing so much all of a sudden. Of course, he also made reassurances that Percy could always show up if deemed needed, but for the moment, he rejected.
Indeed, time was what Percy craved for.
Monsters against demigods. A tale that was as old as time.
Natalie Lawrence wasn't unaware of the Greek world. She wasn't aware of her godly ancestry, but she knew the basics.
She met a boy in Nevada, her home state. He explained everything. He said he was a son of a Greek God. It made sense. The monsters came throughout Natalie's life, without stopping.
Matthew was his name. They departed from Vegas shortly. The monsters soon piled up on them like vultures on rotten flesh. The beasts always attacked in groups, for some reason. She assumed it was to attack their prey more efficiently, but little more was thought considering the constant necessity to survive.
Matthew was a formidable fighter, but he perished when they were in Iowa. His last wish was for her to reach that camp he talked about. The last time she saw him, he had just given his dagger and was fighting monsters with his bare hands.
Natalie could still hear his screams in her sleep.
She was in Ohio now. A pack of monsters was on her tail. Snake women, giant hellish dogs, cyclops. She had been running for months now, and they never got off her track.
Currently, she ran through a forest, in the middle of the night. Natalie had tried to set camp up, but the horde had shown up, destroying her tent. She managed to kill two monsters with Matthew's bronze dagger. Ever since she had learned only this special bronze could hurt the monsters, things had calmed enough to make her at least not die immediately. The air was cold and made her lungs burn while she ran at full sprint. Natalie could hear the monsters growling behind her, eager to claim her flesh and her blood.
She tripped. Not in a tree, or a rock, but because of a Cyclops. He had appeared out of nowhere, which was shocking for such a large being. Natalie rolled over to avoid being smashed by the Cyclop's foot and tried to get up, just in time for a hellhound to tackle her directly. Maybe this was it, she thought. She would join Matthew pretty soon, if the Underworld in fact existed like had said to. The monster barked, snarled, and bit the air, trying to maul Natalie's face off. Thankfully, she managed to land one hit with her knife, right by the hellhound's neck. The beast yelped in pain and turned into golden dust.
She quickly got up and saw the horde approaching. The snake women, dracaena, as Matthew called them, had swords and bows. They were the only monsters with weapons at this moment. Natalie had seen cyclops with giant hammers, but the ones present were bare-handed, not that it made them any weaker. Hellhounds lurked with caution, trying to find the best opening to attack.
And then, a whistle. A human whistle.
Natalie dared to look around, trying to find the source of the sound, and instantly cursed herself in Ancient Greek, a language she surprisingly understood a lot. She glanced back to the horde of monsters, but to her absolute shock, their faces had one emotion that she knew far too well.
Fear. Natalie was sure that she heard one dracaena hissing at another: "It's him!"
A figure fell from the sky between the monsters and Natalie. Both the demigod and the horde backed off in terror, but the beast was clearly the target of the newcomer. He did not have any weapons in his hand, but his presence felt overwhelming, even if she couldn't see his face. Was this a god?
The man inexplicably stretched one hand forward, and the monsters stood still. Their faces were filled with agony and pain that only seemed to grow by the second. Out of their mouths, eyes, ears, and noses, dark blood came out profusely. It was a horrific scene. The monsters cried in pain, many falling to the ground, but it wouldn't last long. After a few seconds, the entire horde was no more. A pile of dust stood in their place. The dark figure had controlled the blood of the monsters. Natalie almost felt pity for them, if they weren't trying to kill her just moments ago
The figure turned around to Natalie, who staggered her way far from him. He wore a mask that did not reveal any features covering his entire head. It was very overwhelming. He was clearly very fit, with a long sleeve gray shirt and black jeans.
"I will not hurt you," he said in a muffled voice, raising his hands in the air as if trying to convince her it was fine. Natalie was not convinced, to say the least. The figure approached her slowly and brought one hand to the side of his head, apparently pressing some sort of button.
The mask backed off like it was nanotech or something futuristic. The man's face was at last visible, and Natalie could see that he was handsome. Very handsome in fact. He had a messy black hair that although looked like it needed a cut, was still very beautiful. His jaw was incredibly sharp and defined. But the most astounding features were his bright sea-green eyes. Natalie felt like she could get lost in them.
"What is your name?" he asked. His voice was not one who would assume that the man who brutally destroyed a horde of monsters would have. It was youthful and friendly.
"N-Natalie. Natalie Lawrence."
The man smiled softly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Natalie. Again, not gonna hurt you, don't worry."
"Are you a god?" She asked sheepishly.
The man blinked.
"What?"
Natalie blushed slightly, although it wasn't very visible in the darkness of the night.
"I mean... you look pretty powerful."
He chuckled. "No, I'm not a god, thank the... me. I'm just a humble half-blood, just as you are. I believe we can reach New York in a few days. Also, I'm sorry that you had to witness..." he suddenly interrupted himself.
"What's wrong?" Natalie asked. The man's sudden concern had made her briefly forget the absurd thought that this man was a demigod like she was.
He didn't answer it outright. He kept looking at their surroundings and grabbed a small flask containing a white liquid.
"Drink it. It will make it not possible for you to say how my face is to them."
Natalie looked back and forth to the flask and the man, who had put the mask back on.
"Who is them?"
"No time! Just drink it!" He urged. Out of fear, Natalie swallowed the liquid. It didn't taste like anything, but the effect was immediate. The memories of the man's attractive face evaporated from her mind. Her only memory was about how astounding his eyes were. But she couldn't even remember what color they were. Was this some sort of potion?
"What was it?" Natalie questioned. But before the man could answer, a loud voice bellowed near them.
"Away from her, NOW!"
Natalie was almost sure that he heard the man sigh, and he backed off from her. Soon a group of more than twenty girls appeared from the woods, almost all of them wearing the same outfit, as in, silver jackets, jeans, and having bows in her hands, pointing sharp silver arrows at her savior's head.
"On your knees." the same person demanded. The voice belonged to a girl with electric blue eyes and spiky black hair, who also had the most different outfit out of the group, wearing dark clothes that gave her a punk style. Weirdly, she also wore a silver tiara. The man, to Natalie's shock, obliged, kneeling, his hands behind his head like he was under arrest. "Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?"
Natalie just noticed that the girl was talking to her.
She nodded. "Yes, yes, I'm okay, and no, he didn't, he just saved me from a horde of monsters!" Natalie did not want to yell at a group of people armed to the teeth, but she also didn't wish for the one that saved her to be prosecuted. The girl did not look convinced but nodded.
"Reyna, would you take off his mask?"
The newly named Reyna, a girl with mixed skin and piercing black eyes, nodded and tried to repeat what the man had done before to open his mask. But instead of seeing the man's face, she instead was shocked.
"OW! What the..." Reyna yelled.
"Back off, I will do it." the punk girl also tried to take his mask off but was herself greeted with electricity. "Oh, come on!" she complained. "I'm the daughter of the God of Lightning, I should be immune to it!"
"Enough." another voice proclaimed, one that seemed much more mature and calm than any of the girls confronting the man
Despite this, a girl that definitely seemed younger than Natalie stepped forward. She had stunning auburn hair that went to her shoulders and incredible yellowish-silver eyes. Despite her apparent age, all the other girls looked at her with absolute respect. Something seemed off about her…
"This," she nodded in the direction of the kneeling man. "will be dealt with in time. I believe we have another pressing issue." She turned to Natalie, who was surprised to see just how stunning her eyes were."What is your name, young maiden?"
"N-Natalie Lawrence." Natalie found it weird for a girl that looked like she was in her early teenage years to be calling her "young", but she answered without questioning it.
"I am Artemis, goddess of the Hunt. These," She gestured to the group. "are my Hunters."
Natalie was dumbfounded. A goddess? Like an actual goddess? This day couldn't get any weirder.
"I-I... I'm honored to meet you, Lady Artemis." she decided that treating this goddess with respect was most likely a wise decision.
Artemis simply nodded and turned to the punk girl.
"Thalia, would you mind introducing Natalie to the Hunt?"
Thalia's expression changed from one of annoyance to one of neutrality and she extended her hand to Natalie.
"It will be a pleasure, milady." She spoke to Artemis. "Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and your tour guide." she greeted with a smile. Natalie shook her hand and followed Thalia to see what awaited her. While they were walking, she glanced over her shoulder to take a last look at her savior.
Natalie prayed he would be okay.
Percy's day was not going as planned.
He always seemed that helping people was necessary. But what he did not appreciate was when while he was helping an innocent demigod, the Hunt showed up pointing arrows at his face. They had been, well... hunting him for a while now. Maybe they wanted to wipe out the competition, who knew? Percy had been quite the nuisance to any monsters that walked the Earth in the last three years.
Luckily, no one seemed to have seen his face. That diluted water from the Lethe, at last, served its purpose.
He watched as Thalia left with Natalie, who Percy couldn't really say who her parent was. She did not look like a child of the Olympians. Probably a minor god.
What he wasn't happy at all with was Natalie's current situation. Unclaimed and wandering around long after the deadline of thirteen that Percy had demanded in the past. Some things never seemed to change.
Artemis approached him slowly. Reyna was still by his side, taking care of the injury that she received on her hand. It was still weird to see Reyna as a hunter. Maybe he always saw the Hunt as Greek, or it was just Reyna that felt out of place here. Undoubtedly she joined the Hunt because of Aphrodite's words, about not finding love where she would expect.
He couldn't blame his old friend. Perhaps Camp Jupiter wasn't enough for her. Percy knew exactly how it felt to run away from normality.
"So. We finally meet, Butcher," Artemis said.
Behind the mask, Percy smiled. He had never chosen this name. The monsters gave it to him, just by how brutal he was. The fear on their ugly faces, when they saw him, was priceless. He did not care for their pleading, they wouldn't have mercy on him if it was the opposite way.
"It is an honor." he simply said. Of course, he wasn't gonna mention that he knew her for nearly ten years and that he was the allegedly dead Hero of Olympus.
Artemis narrowed her eyes. "What is your real name? What are you?" she asked.
In response, he simply chuckled.
"That, dear goddess, I shall not reveal."
If possible, her eyes squinted even more. "I will not hesitate to take this information from you by all means necessary." the goddess warned.
Percy was not shocked by that. He knew the Hunt could be ruthless. Much like he was. "Nothing you can do will break me enough for me to spit out any information."
"She could always kill you." Reyna pointed out, her arms crossed.
"If that's her wish, then fire an arrow already. Let's test your mercy." Percy retorted bluntly.
It is true that he did not want to die. He was in fact making a huge gamble, testing Artemis's patience, but if death was his fate, then let it be.
He barely managed to contain his smirk as Artemis's glare intensified, the cogs inside of the Goddess of the Moon's head spinning.
"Then," She spoke after a few seconds. "I shall take you to Olympus, and see what the council will make of you.
For the first time, Percy like he didn't have the upper hand, his smirk fading.
"I am a hunter," he argued. "I fall under your jurisdiction. If you disapprove of my actions, you are my judge, not the Council."
Now it was the time for Artemis to smile mischievously.
"My father is the god of justice. Plus, you didn't do anything wrong regarding my domain. Your abilities are most concerning here. What we've seen you do, it is unheard of." The goddess's eyes were steely. "You are clearly no mortal. Whatever you are, the council will decide your fate."
Percy felt cornered, unable to respond immediately. Tonight, his life was bound to change again. Either he would be blasted off the planet for not complying, or his identity would be revealed. And if it was, the repercussions would be immense. Not to mention that Artemis would probably jinx his blood-controlling abilities to her paranoid father.
And all he did was save a lone demigod.
Without warning, he got up from the ground, earning some arrows being aimed in his direction, but he simply approached Artemis and extended his arm.
"If that is your final word, then I do not have a choice."
Artemis, raised one eyebrow, undoubtedly intrigued with sudden acceptance. Making sure to close his eyes so he wouldn't be vaporized, they flashed away from the Hunt, the destination being the 600th floor of the Empire State Building.