Hello dear readers.
I will first start this off with good news. I'm happy to see the first chapter so well received for a story that will show some similarities, from others, written by others. It's a thought that has been running through my head for a while, and as I did with my other stories, I wrote it out to relax my brain and calm its train of thought. However, in one chapter, it is much larger compared to the first of my previous stories. This next chapter isn't as big, but it holds the content of which I thought it should. As a warning, the action will not be appearing for another few chapters; for now, let's say until chapter 6. A display of our heroes will come by then, if I balance the content correctly. I need to work my way to it comfortably, to me and to the way it reads.
Now onto the bad news. I'm going to be blunt: I dislike my other stories. I do like what goes on in my mind to follow their plot, but I feel as though I have been taking the wrong steps in each chapter to approach these plotlines. I will be discontinuing what I have written. They only updates they will receive will be the notes to warn those who read them. However, I have begun rewriting them in a way the works better in my mind and in text. The build up is going to be different, but I will be following my original ideas. Since Child of Magic was my first story, I will post the true rewritten version of it first. I've already gotten in 5 chapters by the time this is going up, and it will be the story that will differ from it's first form much more than the others. Betrayed and Forgotten and Red Satoshi will both receive their rewrites too, but since The Beginning is getting little traction, I will be scrapping it entirely. Unless asked otherwise, I'm not feeling the motivation to continue it when I can put my focus onto stories people are enjoying to read. My deepest apologies to all of you who read my other stories, and have been waiting for the next chapters, but I am not in the mental state to continue them the way they are now. Hopefully, you will still enjoy what they look like the second time around.
Now, onto this chapter. I have spent about two weeks time writing this. This is actually the second draft of this chapter. I scrapped it half way through and rewrote it to this, since I wasn't liking how I wrote it at first. Side note for this chapter alone: hate me all you want.
...
Nico looked back and forth between his cousin and Percy's friend, J. The former was currently glaring in the direction of the latter, for a reason or reasons the son of Hades knew not. The latter, however, ignored the former, instead gazing in the door the son of Poseidon walked through moments ago, to find another friend. Even if he never said her name outright, they all knew who Percy was looking for. Not many people reside themselves on Olympus, which was one big factor in determining their soon-to-be company.
Nico had a hard time understanding why Thalia chose to be angrier than worried at a time following the information given to them, of which they swore on the River Styx to never tell without the approval of the Olympian council. During the conversation, Nico could see how frightened Thalia was from the look of her eyes. It was the biggest change in her demeanor when Percy told them. But the son of Hades was much more worried about their enemy, especially since what he could do was greatly hindered against such a foe.
The three continued to sit and stand in silence, all with their minds on different topics, until Thalia opted to speak.
"Mind explaining who the fuck you are?" she asked, an edge to her tone more visible than audible. "You are, for lack of a kinder word and a heart towards you, an ass. You don't come off as someone Kelp Head would be around. Why in hell is my cousin with you?"
Her words worried Nico. J spoke little during their earlier conversation, only adding in small pieces of information when Percy couldn't remember them, or at least was doing his best not to. But J gave off an aura that unsettled Nico, and he had no idea how J would respond to Thalia's harsh sentences.
At first, J didn't respond. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that Thalia had insulted him. He just continued facing the doorway. In Nico's eyes, he was probably holding back his anger. If he had problems with a short temper, than his dear lightning bug cousin may have just started a miniature war.
"I was the one who gave Percy the option to travel and explore the world." J's voice was calm, and he never turned around to face either of the present demigods. It actually worried Nico how little he seemed to express his emotions. "He wished to get out of camp and roam more of the world; being at camp with almost nothing to do was peeving his greatly. As to my personality, Perseus understands the problem I have when I try to interact with others. The reason I acted towards you the way I did when we first met is because I did not know who you were. You attacked Perseus and gained my distrust. If not for Percy, we would have fought, and I know he would not approve of me fighting his friends."
By the end of his speech, he had turned around to look at Thalia with his brown eyes that appeared darker than Nico remembered them being when J and Percy told Nico and Thalia the news. Though his eyes stayed normally open, the stare J was giving Thalia was equivalent to a glare. Before either could burst out and attack, Nico sprang into action.
"What is your name?" he asked J, who turned to look at him immediately. The color returned to J's eyes, and that comforted Nico greatly. "I heard it was J, but do you go by the letter or the word?"
"Letter," J responded. "It's an initial to a name I no longer go by. It reminds me too much of my past, and I am not a fan of my past."
"Okay, I'll make sure never to ask about it." Nico drummed his fingers on the table the three of them surrounded. "Do you have a godly parent?"
"I do not have a godly parent."
"So then you're a clear sighted mortal?"
"No." Nico squinted his eyes at J, whose expression remained unmoved. Before Death Breath could fire off another comment, Thalia started up again.
"Why do you wear a dress?" J turned his attention back to the daughter of Zeus, but his eyes kept their color this time around.
"It isn't a dress. This is a Hakama. It's part of my uniform, and is a traditional Japanese style of clothing."
"Is that where you come from?" J turned back to Nico, who had leaned forward onto the table and was looking up to meet J's eyes. J opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the doors beside him opening. Through them came a black haired, green eyes male and a blond haired, grey (ß I now officially hate this word) eyed female.
Annabeth smiled at her two other friends in the room while Percy locked eyes with J, who had their own wordless conversation, which ended with the shaking of J's head and the nod of Percy's. The architect made her way to Nico to give him a hug, and then to Thalia to give her a bigger one. The huntress and prince greeted the daughter of Athena before Annabeth turned her attention to the man in the room she didn't recognize.
"You must be J," Annabeth stated, to which the man in question nodded. "Percy told me about you on my way here. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"And you must be Annabeth Chase," J told her. "Percy told me of you. A daughter of Athena, he said." J blinked as he looked into the blond girl's eyes. "Don't ask me questions."
Annabeth was taken aback by his statement, and more so at how Percy was to defend. "Don't hold his attitude against him," he reassured his old friend. "He isn't fond of talking about his past or himself. There's still much he hasn't told me." His words were followed by a look shared between the two men dressed in their uniforms. J breathed out his nose and leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, going back to what he was mostly doing during the conversation. Percy and Annabeth took a seat on the open sides of the table, leaving one person sitting on each edge of the table.
"So," Percy began, clapping his hands together to draw the attention of his friends, "sadly enough, I do not have the time to spare chatting away with my old friends. I wish I did, but it simply isn't the case. However, I will be returning to camp tonight, though I may not be staying for long. So for tonight, I can guarantee you all some stories of where I've been and what I have been doing."
"What do you mean that you might not be staying?" Thalia questioned, a slight edge to her tone.
"Well that depends on how my meeting with your father goes, Thals," Percy responded. "If it goes the way I believe it will, then I'll probably be around longer before I head off to complete some tasks involving this new threat."
"Wait," Annabeth cut in. "You're going to try and take him on yourself? You can't just do that without help."
"I never said I was going to fight him. I know that won't work. We won't be able to defeat him or his army like this; not the way we are now. What I have to do will be able to help up in the long run, and hopefully it will be enough. Also, it's not that I don't want your help. What I will be doing will not require your help. Your assistance, and three of you, will be needed elsewhere, to do other things. It may be a while until we really start working together, but we will eventually. You can pester me then about not spending enough time with you guys." Percy gave them a small yet genuine smile, which they did return.
"We need to hurry," J interrupted them. Percy turned to his companion and nodded.
"Of course." Turning back to his friends, Percy gave them another smile. "Sorry about this, guys, but I have a meeting with a god to attend. I'll see you all at camp?" Looking around, Nico and Annabeth nodded, while Thalia hesitated.
"I am unsure if Lady Artemis will allow me to head out from the hunt's camp, but I'll see if she will allow me to visit my cousin to punch him a few times as his return present." Percy chuckled at her comment.
"As long as you can make it, Pinecone Face."
"I'll make sure to, Kelp Head."
Smiling at Thalia, Percy stood up and leaned over the table, extending his hand to Nico. The two shook hands, and then Percy walked over to Annabeth and gave her a quick hug, before gesturing J after him as the two men left the room.
...
Zeus sat patiently, somewhat slanted on his throne as he rested his chin on his hand.
The news his nephew gave him was worrisome, no doubt about it. There was little chance of winning, such as long as one of the few options of approaching the enemy worked. And those turning out in their favor were small in chance, too. The king of the gods rubbed his temple, poking at the remaining essence of Athena in there.
The loud creaking of the throne room doors opening drew Zeus' attention away from the horrific math going on inside his head. Approaching him were his nephew and the man that accompanied him. Once they were close enough, Percy fell to one knee and bowed, while J stood straight and inclined his upper body towards the god in front of them. Not the usual bow, but it was a bow all the same, so Zeus made no argument.
"Rise, Perseus." The son of Poseidon did just that, and J straightened his body back to his full height. "It is good to see you here on time, but I will be cutting ahead to the reason you asked me to meet with you."
Percy gave his uncle a smile. "Of course," he began. "With our new enemy rising, J and I have been mulling over our options. The best solution we came to in preparing to face their army is to start a group of soldiers." Zeus raised an eyebrow at Percy; this was not what he was expecting to hear. "The idea of it originates off of the Hunters of Artemis, but it is, in no way, a carbon copy of their group. It is more of an intense form of training and assembly of demigods. Their choice of weapons and style will be up to each individual. If you allow this to form, I wish to watch over them and lead them into fighting and breaking apart the small groups of monsters forming to join our true enemy, along with facing against a few other parts of the army that approaches."
Zeus leaned back in his throne, straightening his back as he looked down at his nephew. "What else do you wish for them?" he questioned.
"The reason I have stated it originating from the Hunt is because of recruitment and the partial immortality. I will approach both camps and ask for the assistance of any demigod who wishes to raise their blade along mine. And I do wish to give them an immortality blessing similar to what the hunters have, though it won't be the same. They may only die in battle, but they will still age according to regular time. The requirement to join will be swearing loyalty to Olympus, which, if broken, will result in their death. The options to join and leave are open to everyone. I do not wish for this to be gender based; there is no reason for it to be."
The throne room went silent. Zeus mulled over the offer, looking over at both Percy and J, who stared right back at him. "Let's say I allow the formation of this group," the god began. "To lead it, you would have to be a god." Percy frowned at his comment.
"You don't know?" His question wasn't taunting, but he was genuinely curious. "I thought you would have been informed." Zeus squinted at his nephew. "I already am a god. During my travels, the fates themselves met with me and ran me through the procedure. I assumed the fates would have told you, or you would have felt the surge of my power when it happened. I guess being in another country was enough to keep you in the dark. I apologies on that, Lord Zeus."
"There is no need for you to apologize. What are you the god of, exactly?" Percy smiled at his uncle again.
"I am the god of power, heroes, and loyalty. Another reason this group has been in my mind."
"I see." The king of the gods began thinking hard about Percy's request. "The council would have to come to a majority vote for me to allow this. I cannot just make this without informing them."
"Actually, my lord, we have already met with many of the Olympians. We ran this idea by them before we officially returned. My father, Apollo, Hermes, Ares, Hephaestus, Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter and Hera have agreed it is a good idea. I did not approach Dionysus or Artemis. I had enough in favor to avoid having to meet that last two, though I do not know what their answers would be. All that is left is your seal of approval."
"You've been in contact with other members of the Olympian council?"
"Yes, but only recently. These past three days, I have been contacting them, and have been asking them to be quiet. I wanted my official return to be a surprise to my friends."
"I see." Zeus turned his attention to the roof of the throne room, while Percy and J glanced briefly towards one another before turning their attention back to the king. "I shall allow the formation of this group Perseus, under the rules and restrictions you have asked for." Percy beamed at his uncle before bowing deeply.
"Thank you, Lord Zeus."
"Just call me Zeus, Percy. You are one of us now, and by the sound of your titles, a great one to have among us." The god of heroes rose and gave his uncle another smile. "When and how will you recruit demigods into your ranks?"
"I'll be heading to Camp Half-Blood soon and staying the night, and I will call for an assembly to ask for volunteers in the morning. I'll head to the Romans later tomorrow to do the same. If we are lucky, we will have a few dozen demigods ready to train in four days."
"That would be good." Zeus turned his attention to from Percy to J, who tensed as their eyes met. "I would like to more about you companion, nephew. He has not spoken during either meeting. Who is he?"
Percy turned to get a good look at his friend. The god could see the unnatural tint of red growing in his eyes, and the veins in his arm and neck glowing faintly. One hand griped his sword's sheath violently, while his other was soon to draw blood from its palm. J looked away from Zeus to meet Percy's eyes, a silent conversation sparking between the two.
In a matter of seconds, J calmed down. The red drained from his eyes and his skin lost its glow. His muscles relaxed and his head turned to face the marble floor below him, though his eyes closed to help calm his blood. Percy breathed out his nose; no choice in stalling the inevitable now.
Turning back to his uncle, Percy began to explain: "His name is J. And before you think otherwise, he has already sworn himself to protect Olympus, so please do not think of him as a threat."
...
Guess who J is all you want; you will not be correct. I guarantee it. You won't know him for another 10 chapters. *laughs evilly*