A\N: kay once more to make this clear. This was my story and I had deleted it some months ago. I have decided to reupload my stories because of some good friends here on FF who persistently bugged me about it. So there you have it...

And yes, once I have fully reuploaded this story I will also upload the sequel, which is by now 3 chapters longer than it had been at the time when I deleted it...

Chiron was restless, as he sat on the porch of the Big House at Camp Half-blood. He pondered his situation, wondering where he had erred. For nearly a year he had watched a young demigod, Percy Jackson, whom he believed to be a child of one of the big three.

The boy was much more powerful than he had anticipated. A prodigy no doubt, but he had no proof as to who the boy's godly parent could be. Chiron had spent much time and resources on watching this boy, the great prophecy always in mind.

But less than a day before, all came crashing down. Percy disappeared and not long after there was turmoil. Earlier Dionysus had returned from a meeting at Olympus with worrying news. Zeus Master Bolt has been stolen and the eldest gods were quarreling. Dionysus wouldn't tell more, calling it a dreadful waste of time, whatever he meant by that.

But Chiron was worried about Percy's possible connection to the theft. His sudden disappearance and unexpected strength were highly suspicious. First he believed that Percy had just run from school, or worse, was attacked and possibly killed by monsters. Students just don't disappear without a trace. But neither he nor Grover could find any traces to him when they returned from the field trip, not even his scent.

And now they had to send out a group of demigods with the quest to find the Bolt. He was careful when he advised his students about who should come with them and how to prepare for this task. If Percy was responsible for the theft, he could be a very dangerous foe.

His pondering was interrupted when another person entered the porch. At first he thought it was one of the demigods, since the person appeared to be a girl, no older than twelve or thirteen. But then he saw her aura, the golden glow that only surrounded immortals and gods. When he looked closer he recognized the scowling goddess that stood before him.

"Lady Artemis, how can I be of service today." He asked courteously, though he couldn't keep the confusion out of his voice. Her presence did only worry him more. She rarely came to the camp, mostly because the demigods here had a habit off annoying her Hunters.

"Chiron, still busy minding all those nosy demigods I see."

"Someone has to teach them the things they need to know to survive." Chiron replied, slightly irritated. "But I'm sure you have not come to discuss the upbringing of the demigods here at camp. So how can I help you?"

"Straight to the point, as always." He could have sworn that she had shown a tight lipped smirk, but it disappeared as fast as it had come. "I am here because of one particular demigod that my brother has taken interest in. I need to know whether he is here at the camp."

Chiron had a really bad feeling when he heard that. He really hoped that he was wrong, just this time. "And what is the name of the demigod you are looking for?"

"Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon and champion of Apollo."

"I should have known..." Chiron replied dejectedly. "Wait, you said he is the champion of Apollo?"

"Yes, my idiot brother has taken care of the boy since he was seven years old."

"No, no. This is not good." Chiron muttered, as he remembered a part of the prophecy the oracle had given to the group that went out to retrieve the Master Bolt. "This means a lot of trouble..."

"So you know Perseus."

"Yes... it is... likely that he has stolen the Master Bolt..." Chiron said almost hesitantly. "And this means far greater problems since he is the champion of Apollo..."

"Clarify that. What exactly are you talking about?" Her demand came out harshly. It would have frightened any normal mortal or demigod, but Chiron had seen much in his long life and often encountered angry gods. But it was still unsettling, when Artemis narrowed her eyes in displeasure.

"We have sent a group of demigods to retrieve the Master Bolt... part of their prophecy spoke about a god who has turned and..."

Artemis let out a humorless laugh, as she regarded Chiron with a pitying look. "Make no mistake. My brother may be foolish, but he would never betray Olympus. Not as long as my mother and I are there at the very least. And Perseus cannot be the thief. When the Bolt was stolen he was with me and my Hunters in the wilderness."

Chiron let out a relieved sigh, when he heard that his assumptions were wrong. It soothed his mind to know that he had not misjudged Percy. But at the same time he was worried, worried that a demigod could have fooled him like this. Never would Chiron have believed that Percy knew more about the gods than what he had taught him at school.

"You have not answered my question, though. What do you know about Perseus Jackson?"

"I thought he was a normal demigod. A powerful one, the son of one of the big three. But never had I any idea that he was actually in league with one of the gods. He always seemed to be as oblivious as any other mortal. I posed as a teacher at his school to see whether he was ready to come to this camp."

"And where is he now?" Artemis pressed on, not interested in the background story. All she was here for was to find a lead on her target. She had no time to waste. To her brother this was just a game to ridicule her Hunters, she had to prove him wrong.

"The last time I have seen him, was two days ago, during his lesson with me. He should have come along on a field trip yesterday, but he had disappeared without a trace. Maybe he has come back to the school by now. I have a Satyr there. I could try and send him an Iris Message, maybe he has seen Percy."

"Do that." Artemis commanded sternly, before she started pacing. She did not like to wait. She had someone to hunt, a way to show her brother that she was the superior hunter. But all she could do at the moment was wait.

She watched as Chiron tried to contact that Satyr. It took a few moments before the rainbow formed and they could see the pale face of Grover Underwood on the other side.

"Grover? What is this, where are you?" Chiron asked in confusion, as he saw the place where Grover was. "Shouldn't you be at the school?"

"Chiron... I..." Grover looked unsure, even more so when he saw Artemis standing next to Chiron.

"Grover, come on. I have the tickets and..." A voice could be heard behind Grover. Then he appeared on the scene, Percy Jackson. "Grover, what are you doing?" Then Percy saw the two faces in the rainbow. He recognized his Latin teacher immediately, but when he saw the other one he did a double take. "Artemis? Oh shit... Grover, come on." Percy pulled the stunned Satyr away from the rainbow and towards a large building not far away.

Chiron looked worried when the message ended. Grover was obviously with Percy, but why did they both react like this to seeing Artemis?

"What was that building they have entered?"

"Grand Central Terminal, they must be planning to leave New York. But why did they look so worried about seeing you, Lady Artemis?"

"I have orders to hunt down Perseus Jackson and bring him to Olympus. My father does not trust him enough to let him run around unchecked. Now excuse me, I have to hunt an insolent demigod."

Chiron said nothing more as Artemis flashed away. He felt confused at the moment, a feeling that he had not experienced very often in recent years. Yes, Percy was a child of the big three, but why would Zeus send Artemis and her Hunters after him to capture him? Just what has the boy gotten himself into?

On Olympus three gods were currently huddled together, discussing their newest plans. Apollo and Hermes were grinning widely as they explained their newest scheme to a stoic Hephaestus. The latter only listened to his half-brothers' explanations, showing no outward sign of approval or refusal.

"Come on, Hephaestus, this will be the biggest show since 'Hercules busts heads'. My champion, outrunning an evil cult of man-hating maidens. This will be awesome." Apollo said almost giddily. At first he offended by his father's lack of trust in him, but he was always one to find a way to turn everything to his favor. This was free and valuable training for Percy and would be fun to watch.

"Not to mention that many already started to place bets on how long he will last." Hermes added with an impish look. "Many more would join if they could watch all of this."

"Really? They already started betting on Percy?" Apollo asked with a wide grin. This was better than he had thought.

"Yeah, Ares thinks Percy will only survive a day at most, while Enyo and Eris placed a bet that he will escape for more than a week." Hermes chuckled as he showed his brothers a large bag filled with Drachma.

Apollo shivered slightly when he heard the name of Ares sister and her best friend. His memories of those two were never very fond. "Those two only hope that Artemis embarrasses herself, so they can go and cause some chaos while hunting for Percy themselves."

"Don't remind me."

"So, will you help us, Hephaestus? Come on, be cool for once."

Hephaestus sighed when he saw his brother's pleading faces. Seeing their childish glee made him feel so much older than he already was, it was almost like children begging their grandfather to give them some sweets. "You two are unbelievable." He shook his head once more. "I know I will probably regret helping you two, but fine. I will make sure that you get an automaton with a camera that can follow your little champion. I hope that it will be a better show than all those reality-series."

"Thanks, brother." Apollo clapped him enthusiastically on the shoulder, at least until Hephaestus regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

"This won't take long, you will have your camera when you have finished your duties." He stressed the last word especially, to remind Apollo of what he had obviously forgotten in his enthusiasm.

"Duty... oh right... gotta get back to my chariot." He grinned widely at his brothers. "See you later guys.

Percy and Grover sat in companionable silence, as they watched the land pass by their window. A few hours ago they had boarded a train that would take them west. Away from New York and the Hunters. Though Percy wasn't showing it on the outside, he was worried greatly by his sudden situation.

Two of the big three sent out their people to hunt him down. Hades would not stop sending monsters after him, not until he had his revenge on both his brothers. He had already succeeded once and that was very disconcerting.

On top of that he also managed to attract the much unwanted attention of Zeus. The King of Olympus had sent his daughter to hunt him down. While that was at least slightly better than being hunted by monsters, he still did not entertain the idea of become Artemis' prisoner.

And Apollo... he had no idea why his patron did not answer his prayers. Surely Apollo knew what was going on. He wouldn't miss something this big. But why was he ignoring it? Why was he ignoring his champion? But Percy wouldn't even think about Apollo willingly abandoning him in such a situation. Apollo was like a big brother to him. An annoying big brother, but a trustworthy person none the less. And Percy knew that he was absolutely loyal to the man who had saved him years ago, the man who had given him a new home and a reason to live.

But if Apollo had not abandoned him then... "Oh come on. A test? I hate unannounced tests..." Percy exclaimed in annoyance. He looked up to where the sun should be at this time of the day, but all he could see were angry clouds. But he still knew that the sun was there. Ever since he got Apollo's blessing he could always tell where the sun was at the moment, even when he was in a place with no view of the sky. It was weird, he just knew that it was there. He had wondered before if Apollo's children felt this connection even stronger than him. Likely, but he had never met any of his patron's children, well except Ariadne, but they had no time to chat yet.

Grover jerked up when he heard Percy's words, before he had drifted off to sleep. "Wha... what? Perce, everything alright." He asked worried.

"Yeah. I just realized that I have landed myself in another random test of my patron, who obviously enjoys watching me squirm and run from all kinds of danger."

"Are you sure?" Grover asked in disbelieve.

"No, I just dreamed all of this and I will wake up in Vegas, in a nice hotel bed, with pretty girls lying all around me." Percy replied sarcastically.

"What?"

"Just something Hermes said to me once... forget it, I was just being sarcastic again."

"So, Percy..." Grover stopped for a moment, unsure about how to formulate his question. In the end he resolved to just ask right out. "How many of the gods do you know? I mean personally..."

"Really know? None I would say. It's impossible to fully understand them. I mean Apollo and Hermes can act like childish prankster one moment, while on other occasions they also have some very dark traits. It sent shivers down my spine when Apollo told me about how he punished one of his demigod sons for disobeying him..."

"I would have never guessed that you knew any of the gods... I mean you have always been so..."

"Oblivious?" Percy finished with a smirk. "I can be quite an airhead sometimes, but people expect me to be like that all the time, so they start underestimating me. But deep down I'm just myself. Percy Jackson, a boy with ADHD and dyslexia, as well as a natural aversion to everything connected to school and Nancy Bobofit."

Both chuckled for a few moments, as Percy mentioned the school bully who had always liked to pester Grover. "You know, in the end it was no surprise that the teacher that favored Nancy the most was actually an overgrown bat monster from hell."

"Have you met many of the gods? I mean they rarely show themselves, especially to their children. We Satyrs see even less of them. It's like they are in a whole different world." Grover said quietly. He looked around wearily, as if he was afraid that a god might take offense and punish him.

"I've met a few because of Apollo." Percy said with a grin. "Well there is Hermes, Apollo's favorite partner in crime and as he said it, 'best Wingman ever'. When I was younger I thought he was talking about the wings on Hermes' shoes, but I'm not so sure anymore." All of Percy's memories of Hermes were very fond, since the god of thieves was always fun to have around. "Well and then there is Artemis. I believe you have seen how she thinks about me."

"Have you offended her or something? Everyone knows that she dislikes all men, but when that Hunter said that she would hunt you even without her father's orders... it seemed kind of over the top, you know."

"Don't I know it, buddy. Wanna know what I did to offend her so?" Grover nodded enthusiastically, curious to know the truth. "I was born as a male." Percy simply stated.

"That's it?"

"Mostly. I mean Apollo often sends me out to aid her Hunters, but they just don't like me because I'm a boy. It's not fair. Had I been born as a girl they would have hugged and celebrated me as a hero for helping them..." Percy whined lightly. "Oh well, and last but not least there is Ares. I don't know what to think about him. When I first saw him I thought that some rocker had slammed face first into a wall... in the end it was I who got slammed against a wall... repeatedly."

"I don't think I understand what you mean."

"Ares appears like once or twice a year to gauge my progress, at least he says that is the reason. But all he ever did was beating me to a bloody pulp. When he found out that I heal in water he started throwing me in rivers when he is done, instead of calling for Apollo to heal me."

"Must be harsh..."

"Yeah, but I got better in recent years. Last time I nearly got away with only a few broken bones. But I think I have finally figured out a way to beat him this year. I'm actually looking forward to our fight."

"Only you, Percy, only you. Do you even realize how much most kids at camp would give to be around the gods as often as you are? Heck you spend more time with their fathers than they do themselves... most have never even seen their godly parent."

"I got lucky, I guess..."

"Yeah, but..."

"Wait, Grover." Percy suddenly said, as he looked to the other end of the train cart they were currently in. "Wasn't this cart like... crowded when we boarded the train?"

"Yeah..." Grover said, as he looked around fearfully. All seats were empty, except for three old women, sitting not far away from them, busy knitting something. "Oh no. No. NO." Grover said frantically.

"G-man, are those three who I think they are?" Percy asked carefully, his eyes on the thing they were knitting. He suddenly felt the urge to get closer, to walk over to them as if someone had beckoned him.

"Percy, no. Don't go to them. Don't even look at them..."

But it was in vain, Percy was already up and approached the three old women slowly. "Those are very big socks." Percy stated dumbly, as he stopped next to them, his eyes still fixed on the threads they were using.

"Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon." One of the three said with a raspy voice, as they all looked at him sternly. "You know who we are."

"The Fates."

"Correct, demigod. We are the apportioners. We decide life and death. No one can defy us. Yet you tried to defy your own fate and you live."

"I defied fate? How?"

"When you made the decision that lead to your mothers death. When you altered your fate and denied your place in the Great Prophecy. We don't know how you did it, but don't think we will let you go unpunished. The prophecy may no longer hold you, but your fate will forever be tied to it in other ways. You and all those whose destinies you have changed. Fate cannot be cheated."

Percy was speechless when he heard the Fate's words. He didn't even listen to the end. His mind was still stuck at the part where they said that his mother died because of his decision, because he defied fate...

"What do you mean 'I made the decision that killed my mother'?" He asked almost hoarsely.

"You mother was not meant to die that day, when you ran from her. Neither were you meant to meet any of the gods at such a young age. You somehow defied fate and with that you did not just alter your fate, but the fates of many."

"I... I don't even know what I did. I was seven when my mother died. How could I defy fate?"

"We will find out how. We will be watching you closely, son of Poseidon." The old woman in the middle suddenly took out her large scissors and cut the yarn, that the other two held up. For a moment Percy thought he would be done for and that they would cut his lifeline. A cold shiver went down his spine as he heard the snipping sound, but nothing happened to him. Their last words were echoing through his mind once more, as the three old women disappeared, leaving him alone in the train cart with an obviously frightened Satyr.

He slowly walked back to Grover and patted the Satyr supportive on the shoulder. "Snap out of it, G-man, the Fates are gone." He said, before he dropped on his seat. He felt very tired now. In less than a day his life had become very difficult and somehow he couldn't shake the feeling, that in the end it was all his own fault.

A\N: And as a short notice, the two goddesses Hermes mentioned, Enyo and Eris are minor goddesses and companions of Ares. Enyo is his twin sister and the minor goddess of war. She is responsible for orchestrating the destruction of cities and is known to cause bloodshed and misery, together with Eris, the goddess of chaos and discord. I merely mentioned them to show some other gods than the usual big twelve. Whether or not they will ever have a real appearance in the story is something that I cannot say yet. Maybe in a sequel or something. And make no mistake, though Enyo is the greek goddess of war she is not the counterpart to Bellona, Reyna's mother and the roman goddess of war. They are not the like Ares and Mars.