The Forgotten One

Chapter Three: The Son of Neptune

Percy Jackson swore as he avoided the snake haired ladies again. They'd been relentlessly chasing him for two days now, and he was getting sick of it. No matter what he tried, he couldn't seem to kill them for good. He's stab them with his sword, they'd disintegrate into dust, then reform and the cycle would repeat.

"Hold still!" Euryale said. Her face was morphed into a scowl, which looked fairly intimidating, what with her boar tusks, red eyes and snake hair.

"Don't you want a free sample?" Stheno asked.

"No thank you!" Percy called as he ran away. His legs were getting tired and his arms felt like lead, but he had to keep going. He had to find safety.

He ducked into an alleyway, and cursed. It was a dead end. He turned around to run back, but the gorgons beat him. They were both grinning maliciously, and their pointed teeth didn't help.

"Well, well, well," Euryale purred. "Look what we've got he-"

She was cut off by an arrow embedding itself in her neck. She exploded into golden dust. "Euryale, no!" Stheno cried. Before she could do anything, however, another arrow found its mark in her forehead. She exploded too.

Percy uncapped his sword and whirled around. A figure jumped down and landed a few feet away from him. The man wore black combat boots and pants, with a light black vest over his torso. He wore black gloves on his hands and a hood over his head. A sword was strapped to his back and a dagger was on his waist. In his hands he held a black composite bow studded with celestial bronze.

"Who are you?" Percy asked. He raised his sword.

The man removed his hood, revealing black hair and purple eyes. "A friend."

'Why are you here?" Percy asked.

"I'm here to help you. There's someone hunting you. Someone you can't face alone."

"Who?"

"A Giant. His name is Agrius."

"A Giant?"

"There's no time to explain. Come on!" Aita grabbed Percy's wrist and began to run down the streets of San Francisco. As they ran, Aita remembered the details of his mission…

Hemera smiled. "Then let's get started."

She spread her hands and a shroud of mist formed between them, almost like an Iris-message. Within the frame was a boy of about sixteen with jet black hair and sea green eyes.

"This is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon," Hemera explained. "Currently, he's headed for Camp Jupiter, the home of the Roman demigods."

"Roman?" Aita asked.

Hemera pursed her lips. "I forgot, you weren't around when Rome was founded. Let me see…how do I…ok, so it's like this: after you faded, there was this huge conflict called the Trojan war. Long story short; Troy lost. One of the survivors, Aeneas, took a bunch of refugees to what would later become Italy. Then, a few centuries later, his descendants: Romulus and Remus founded the city of Rome. The Romans later went and sacked Greece, ending most of the Greek empire. The same thing happened again and again, all the way up until now. The current home of the gods is a young country called the Unites States of America."

"Seriously?"

Hemera nodded. "Oh, yes. It was quite interesting to watch. Anyway, the Romans later adopted the Greek gods as their own, but changed their names and demeanors. An example of this is Zeus. The Romans called him Jupiter, and while he remained king, he became much more strict, respectful, and less likely to have affairs with women who weren't Hera, er, Juno, in this case."

"And this happened to all the gods?"

"All the major ones, though some of the lesser ones were forgotten or simply didn't change. Helios and Selene, for example, were completely forgotten by the Romans, so they faded. Your wife, Hecate, and my sister, Nemesis, simply stay in one form no matter what."

A lump formed in Aita's throat at the mention of his beloved. "I see."

Hemera nodded. "As I said, Zeus and Hera became Jupiter and Juno, respectively. Poseidon became Neptune, Hades became Pluto, Demeter became Ceres, Hestia became Vesta, Ares became Mars, Hephaestus became Vulcan, Hermes became Mercury, Aphrodite became Venus, Athena became Minerva, Dionysus became Bacchus, Artemis became Diana, and Apollo stayed Apollo."

Aita nodded. "And…have my siblings changed much?"

Hemera put a hand under her chin. "Not too much. Apollo remained just as foolish and arrogant and Artemis was still as cold and distant as ever. They only really changed after…you."

"What do you mean?"

"When you faded, it left a hole in them. Apollo filled the hole with lovers and Artemis filled it with hunting and hating. They both miss you, even to this day."

"Can I see them?"

Hemera spread her hands. "I will not stop you, but I believe it would be a mistake to reveal yourself before you have even begun. The return of a faded god would cause quite the stir on Olympus, believe you me. Gaea has spies everywhere, and will likely learn of your return within hours. Your mission will go much smoother if you remain in the shadows. Once you have finished and our debt is paid, then you may return to Olympus. I swear on the River Styx."

"And…Hecate? How has she been?"

"Not well. She was completely inconsolable for a century or two, but she hasn't gotten much better. She spends most of her time in isolation in the Underworld. She toys with the mist, keeping secrets and telling lies. She has taken lovers, and mothered children."

Aita flinched. "She wouldn't."

Hemera raised an eyebrow. "No? Think about it; if your lover were to suddenly be removed from the world, you'd be crushed. You'd likely seek salvation in the arms of another. You'd likely fall for another set of lips, another warm embrace, another co-"

"Enough!" Aita said. "I will not hear any more!"

"Then do not ask," Hemera said. "I was simply informing you now so you wouldn't find out later, under less favorable circumstances."

He nodded. "I…suppose I understand. Thank you."

Hemera paused. "There is one more thing…last year, the Titan king, Kronos rose from Tartarus again. He was able to convince most of the minor gods to join him…including Hecate."

Aita whirled around. "You lie!"

Hemera raised an eyebrow. "What ulterior motive could I have that would make me deceive you? Hecate felt ignored by the mortals and the Olympians, so she joined the side she believed would benefit her most. In the end, the Titans lost, and Hecate was forgiven, thanks to Percy Jackson." She stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I get no pleasure from this, but you must know. If we are to cooperate more in the future, we must be honest with each other. I will hold no secrets from you, so long as you swear to aid me until this is over and Gaea is defeated. Do you wish to continue?"

Aita nodded mutely. "The Jackson boy, what must I do?"

Hemera looked away. "You must protect him. Hera has taken it into her mind to swap two of the Roman and Greek demigods. She has chosen Percy Jackson, and Jason Grace, son of Jupiter."

"Will I be protecting him, too?"

Hemera shook her head. "He is already safe. The same cannot be said for Mr. Jackson, however. I believe Gaea has sent one of her minions after him. I cannot be certain, but I believe it is Agrius, the bane of Hebe. You will only defeat him if you and Percy work together, so make sure he is brought to New Rome alive."

Aita nodded. "Yes, my lady."

Hemera scoffed. "I thought I told you not to call me that. Anyway, I had this made for you." She waved her hand, and a large box appeared at their feet. Aita bent down and opened it. Inside, he found an outfit.

"I don't know," He confessed. "Black isn't really my thing."

"I didn't think so, but if you wish to remain inconspicuous, you will need dress like it. I also had the liberty of preparing some weapons as well." She snapped her fingers and a sword, bow, quiver, hunting knife, and a belt of throwing knives appeared next to the box.

Aita quickly put on all his gear and pulled the hood up over his head. He held his bow and fastened his quiver. "Wish me luck!"

"Where are we going?" Percy asked as they ran.

"Somewhere safe!" Aita answered back. "But we can't slow down, something's coming!"

"What?"

"A giant!" Aita looked over his shoulder. "A creature powerful enough to destroy gods, and they can only be defeated by a god and demigod working together."

"What do they want?"

"The absolute destruction of Olympus. To raze the ground and wake their mother, the earth goddess, Gaea."

"Then why are they after me?"

"They seem to think you're of some greater importance than you know. If they capture you, they'll use your blood to wake Gaea."

"What?"

Aita nodded. "Hera also has high hopes for you. She thinks you'll be able to lead a group of demigods to the defense of Olympus."

Percy stopped and braced his hands on his knees. "Hold on, hold on. This is crazy. I don't know anything about giants or Gaea or Olympus or even who I am! How can I possibly lead a group of people like me?"

Aita turned around and put his hand on Percy's shoulder. "I can't answer that. You'll need to figure that out on your own, but what I can tell you is that everything will begin to make sense, soon. But until then, I need to get you to New Rome."

Percy gulped. "How long until we get there?"

Aita looked down the hill they stood on. "We're almost there. You see that highway? New Rome is just down there."

Percy followed his gaze. "But…there's nothing down there."

Aita smiled. "I'll show you the entrance. Come on, I want to get there before-"

"Look out!" Percy shouted. He tackled Aita to the ground just as a massive spear lodged itself in the ground where they had been standing. Aita was up in a second, bow and arrow ready.

The giant appeared from behind a tree. He was tall, about fifteen feet tall, with a bronze breastplate. His legs were reptilian and white as snow. His face was old a wrinkled, so he looked like a dumpy grandfather. His grey hair was pulled back into dreadlocks. His eyes were dull and grey, so he looked blind. He strode up to his spear and pulled it out of the ground.

"Welcome, Percy Jackson," The giant bellowed. "My name is Agrius, and I'm here to capture you!"

"What do you want?" Percy asked. He was trying to stand, but it looked like he was being crushed by a giant foot.

Agrius laughed. "To take you prisoner, of course! My brother, Polybotes, wants you taken unharmed, so if you cooperate, I promise to be gentle."

"Ok, no," Percy said as he got to his knees. "I'm not going with you."

Agrius smiled. "Do you feel strange, son of Neptune? I must apologize for that. I was born to be the anti-Hebe, so I am anti-youth. In my presence, knees turn to mush, the brain gets soft, and your body fails. I make all feel the pain of old age!"

Aita nocked an arrow. "Not me, giant."

Agrius cocked his head. "And who are you? I don't think I remember you."

"My name doesn't matter. All that matters is, I'm going to destroy you."

Agrius threw his head back in laughter. "Well than, come and try me, demigod!"

Aita smiled and fired an arrow straight into the giant's breastplate, which did little more than annoy him. Agrius growled and advanced, jabbing his spear at Aita, who sidestepped and drew his sword. Faster than the giant could process, Aita slashed his blade across his opponent's face.

Agrius dropped his spear and covered his face with his hands as he stumbled back, blinded by rage and pain. Aita took that moment to rush over to Percy, who was still struggling to stand.

"Can you fight?' Aita asked.

Percy nodded and drew his sword. "I…I'm good. Let's do this."

Suddenly a massive hand grabbed Aita from behind. The hand turned him around so he was facing Agrius, who had a massive scar running from the top right of his forehead to the bottom left of his cheek. He began to squeeze Aita, who struggled to free himself.

"I will crush you like a gnat!" The giant bellowed. "I'll grind your bones to dust! I'll make your skin into my loincloth! I'll-ARGH!"

Percy had stabbed the giant's leg, forcing him to drop Aita, who rolled away when he hit the ground. As the giant struggled to free the sword, Aita drew his own blade.

When Agrius saw, he scoffed. "You think you can defeat me, demigod? I am only vulnerable while a god and demigod work together!"

Aita smiled. "Then we're in luck."

A look of fear and realization crossed the giant's face just before Aita charged and stabbed the giant in the neck. Agrius faded into a metal breastplate and gold dust. Aita picked up Percy's sword and tossed it to the half-blood, who caught it easily. It seemed Agrius' magic had worn off.

"What now?" Percy asked.

"Now," Aita said. "You go alone. There is your destination." He pointed to a small door in the side of the tunnel that the highway went through. "It is there that you will find your way, but I can aid you no more."

Percy swallowed. "What will I find?"

"Yourself."

Percy nodded. "Yeah, that's…yeah." He began to walk away, but stopped. He turned back. "Thanks. For saving me, I mean."

Aita smiled. "It was my pleasure."

Percy ran down the hill. As he watched the entrance, Aita felt a slight headache, but decided it was nothing. He closed his eyes and teleported back to the Mansion of Day.

-o-

"Well done!" Hemera complimented. "Now Gaea has one less giant, and we gained a powerful ally."

Aita nodded. "Percy Jackson will prove to be a most useful asset in the future."

Hemera nodded. "I agree. You have proven yourself more than capable of completing the missions I assign. I'm glad."

Aita nodded. "As am I. What's next?"

Hemera's smile faded. "In the last war, Kronos and his allies were aided by a massive corporation known as Triumvirate Holdings. It is headed by three ancient Roman emperors who have used fear and forced-worship to transform them into god-emperors. They have supplied weapons and armor to enemies of the gods for centuries, and their ability to become immortal must not be allowed to spread."

Aita's eyes narrowed. "Where do I begin?"

"The best way to kill a snake is to cut off its head, or in this case, heads. If you kill the emperors, their followers will scatter and their empire will crumble. You must seek these men out on your own, and deal with them…permanently. This will aid you."

She held out her hand and in her palm appeared a metal spear. "This was the weapon of Diomedes, who used it in the Trojan War to injure Aphrodite, thanks to the improvements made to it by Athena. It is one of the only weapons in existence that can truly harm an immortal. Pierce them in the heart, and they will die, once and for all."

Aita took the spear and examined it. "How can I find them?"

"Their men will give you the answers you speak. The first emperor's main base is in New York. He owns warehouses all over the city. Find it, kill all those inside, and obtain his location. Once that is done, find him, and end him."

Aita nodded. "Tell me his name."

"Nero."

A/N: Ok everyone, if you enjoyed then please leave a review saying if you liked it or not, they honestly make my day and it only takes a few seconds to write one. If you want to be up to date on when I post new chapters, then please favorite and follow.

See you all soon. Bye!