Sorry for taking so long but uh yeah a lot of things came up, I'm still working on my Ben 10 story its just that I had this already written out and I wanted to finish it…it sucks because I got a bit of writer's block and was stuck for a bit. At least now there won't be any more sad Percy, at least not on purpose but just a little note, before I brought in Nico I wanted to have Percy's background clarified to where he is now before I brought in Nico. So now Nico is going to be in more chapters since I finished up Percy's past.
Several Years Later….
A pale blue volkswagon golf pulled up against the curb, in front of a tall two story building, as a man and woman came out of the vehicle. The woman was wearing a white camisole that had pale lavender flowers on it and a short sleeved blue denim jacket with a long blue skirt. Her onyx black hair was in a braid that went down to her waist to match her eyes that was tied with a light green bow.
"You really think we'll find a good child here?" the young woman asked softly. She looked over at the tall two-story orphanage and turned to her husband as they were walking towards the building, "I mean what makes this place special?"
The man next to her said nothing but there was a silent sort of power that seemed to come off of him in waves. He was tall, almost regal looking with ice cold blue eyes that if they another person saw them, they would see straight into a person's very being. The man's hair was so dark it looked as if it was black but when the sun's rays hit the hair it was actually a naturally dark blue, as he wore a black polo shirt and dark colored jeans.
"Just trust me Amelia," was all the man said as they entered the door. They were met with a few children walking around who stopped and looked at them curiously.
"Excuse me but can you get us an adult please?" Amelia asked smiling softly at the children.
"O-okay…please wait…" one of the children replied as he ran off to get one of the caretakers of the orphanage.
The two didn't have to wait long as suddenly there was loud shrieking coming from the back alerting the two adults, making them take off from where they were waiting to the source, which happened to originating from the backyard. When they got there they saw a small child running away from a group who was soaked to the bone just as another woman came out another doorway.
"It looks like they got hit with a hose." Amelia said observing the group of children who were coughing and sputtering as their clothes stuck to their bodies. The man next to her just nodded but wasn't looking at the kids but seemed more interested in the one that had run away from the group.
"Ack! I can't believe he DID this to us again!"
"That little…wait until I get my hands on him!"
"My dress! He got it all muddy and yucky!"
"What on earth is going on here!" demanded one of the care takers as she made her way to the group of soaked children, folding her arms waiting for an explanation.
The children were ready to point fingers at the culprit.
"Its all his fault! We weren't doing anything and he just decided to get us wet!" the oldest one exclaimed.
"Yeah! We just came here to play and he was just being mean!" another child added.
The caretaker didn't seem to believe them and had narrowed her eyes at them, making the soaking wet children gulp nervously. Unlike the two adults standing near the group, the caretaker seemed to know whom exactly the kids were talking about.
"So, you children want me to believe that he just out of the blue decided to soak you, when every incident I recall had to involve some sort of trouble caused by others." The woman said making them wince and realize they were caught.
"Excuse me but is this a common occurrence?" Amelia asked abruptly stopping the conversation between the caretaker and the children.
"More or less, see we have this…unique child and some kids…" the caretaker sighed giving the three children an angry look at this, "don't like him for it and pick on him which always results in them like this and them trying to blame the poor child."
"But he-" one of the children tried but was quickly silenced by the caretaker again.
"I'm not even going to ask what happened but just know that you three are doing the dishes tonight and with no dessert! And don't even start complaining or it'll be a week" the woman stated.
"Yes ma'am…" the children grumbled as they headed inside to change their clothes.
"Now is there something I could help you with?" the woman asked.
"Ah yes! You see my husband and I came here to adopt a child and we were wondering if you could show us around." Amelia asked politely.
"Well sure but your husband? I only see you." The woman replied looking a bit confused.
Amelia looked next to her where she could've swore her husband was but she only saw empty space making her groan.
"That man…" Amelia grumbled shaking her head, "I'm sorry he must've wanted to take a look around himself do you mind showing me around at least if you're not too busy?"
"I'd be delighted to come along with me, now I'm just a bit curious on why you and your husband came here." The caretaker asked.
"Oh…well you see there are some complications that make it hard for us to have a child, but we wanted to still wished to have one." Amelia said softly as she watched some younger children running by with toys, only slowing down when they saw the caretaker walking with Amelia.
"Well I hope you can adopt one of our children, despite the earlier incident." The caretaker apologized.
"Oh don't worry about that…children will be children." Amelia replied as the caretaker started to show the woman around, all the while Amelia was wondering where her husband had disappeared.
The man that was with Amelia earlier had left when the caretaker was talking to the children, he was rather curious about the little boy who had ran away when they had arrived. The backyard of the building wasn't that big but it was big and spacious enough that if someone wanted to hide they could hide very easily.
"I thought I saw him head this way…" the man murmured to himself but continued walking along the pathway until he came to a small pond in the back where a the boy he saw earlier was crouching by the edges and staring into the water.
He just stayed hidden behind a tree just observing the child wondering what he was doing, sitting by the edges of the pond and staring into it. Suddenly he saw a koi fish jump out of the water do a flip and then splash back into the water making the boy smile and laugh.
"That was good you did a flip this time!" the child said laughing making the man blink.
'Did he…was he talking to the fish?' the man thought to himself.
He watched as the child continued to make movements with his hand and apparently the fish was following it, doing a few more jumps in the air and splashing the young boy making him smile. The child was so absorbed into playing with the koi fish he never noticed the man come up behind him.
"That's an interesting ability you have." His deep voice said suddenly taking the younger boy by surprise and making him jump only to start falling into the pond since he was so close to the edge.
Luckily the man managed to catch the boy's wrist before he could fall into the pond, he did notice the scared look on the boy's face though as he pulled him back onto the land. The fish was watching them but was looking agitated that the man had surprise the child with how it was swimming in near the edges of the pond.
"W-who are you?" The child asked nervously as he looked up at the man who had stopped him from falling into the pond.
"My name is Tatsuya Kazuki." The man replied sitting next to the child who looked at him before settling down next to him as well but was still playing with the koi fish, "so what's your name?"
"Percy Jackson." The child replied.
"That's a nice name, so did you really get the fish to listen to you and jump out of the water?" Tatsuya asked, Percy couldn't help but cringe.
"You saw that?" Percy asked weakly.
"Yes, was I not suppose to?" Tatsuya asked curiously as Percy took a piece of bread and tossed little pieces of it to the fish who ate it up happily.
"Some of the other kids don't like me too much…I mean most were fine with me until…I started having my accidents." Percy replied as he tossed a breadcrumb into the air and the fish jumped up and caught it making Percy smile.
"Accidents? Like wetting the bed?" Tatsuya asked watching amused as Percy's face turned red.
"N-no! I don't do that!" the dark haired child exclaimed horrified.
"Then what kind of accidents are you speaking of?" Tatsuya asked.
"Its…it only happens when I'm really scared or angry but its not like I do it on purpose!" Percy replied, "when I get emotional I guess…if I'm near a source of water it just seems to come to life and get people wet."
Tatsuya blinked.
"By its self?" he asked as the child nodded, "when was the first time this happened?"
"The first time…it was about a week or so after I had come here one of the bigger kids had snuck into my room that I use to share with Joshua, Noah and Elijah. The four of us were helping one of the caretakers make snacks when we heard noises outside." Percy replied.
Flashback…
"Percy can you and the others finish making the sandwiches? I need to go check if we have enough juice." The caretaker asked.
"Yes ma'am." Percy replied as the others nodded as the caretaker left.
"I hope we have orange juice." A brown haired boy with shaggy bangs said as he spread the jelly on one of the pieces of bread.
"Oh come on Josh, apple juice tastes WAY better with pb & J sandwiches." A light blonde haired boy retorted.
"What about milk? Wouldn't that be better with peanut butter?" the last boy who was a dark sandy blonde hair added.
"Well what do think Percy?" Josh asked turning to the shy boy who had stayed quiet.
"I have to agree with Noah." Percy replied smiling making the other two groan as Noah grinned.
"Yes! I win!" Noah laughed.
"Yeah yeah…hey what's going on outside?" the lighter blonde haired boy asked putting down the bread as he turned to the outside window.
"You hear something Elijah?" Josh asked putting down the butter knife in the peanut butter to look with the other boy.
"Yeah…it sounds like Gavin and his crew again." Elijah replied grumbling.
"Who's Gavin?" Percy asked moving with the other boys to the window trying to see out of it but couldn't since he's too short.
"Oh he's this really really annoying thirteen year old." Noah grumbled, "just because he's a bit older then most of us he thinks he can boss us around."
"Yeah its like he TRIES to get in trouble and then try to get everyone else blamed." Elijah added.
"You'd think he'd learned after the many times he's gotten caught…" Josh said rolling his eyes as he stood on his toes to see outside the kitchen window, "Uh oh…"
"What 'uh oh' that's not very good when someone says 'uh oh'!" Elijah exclaimed suddenly looking worried.
"They're not going to force someone to play mud wrestling with them again are they?" Noah asked shuddering at the last time Gavin and his gang decided to make someone join in on their little wrestling match.
"No…but Percy you might want to take a look." Josh replied as he lifted up the five-year-old boy so he could see outside.
Between the four of them, Josh was the tallest and oldest being twelve, followed by Noah and Elijah the twins, who were nine making Percy the youngest. When he was assigned to their room, the main caretaker thought it would be best if Percy were around older children to help watch him.
As Josh lifted the child up Percy so he could see outside the window and let out a distraught cry.
"Delphini!"
"Delphini? Isn't that the name of your…oh no way! I thought we locked our door when we left!" Noah exclaimed.
"Guess Gavin locked picked our room lock…crud!" Elijah cursed as Josh put the struggling Percy down and followed the child outside in hopes to stop the bullies from wrecking the poor kid's only plushie.
"Stop it! Don't hurt Delphini!" Percy cried out as they got outside just as Gavin, and two other boys his age were surrounding him looked like he was going to start cutting the plushie.
The four of them stopped and just glared at the trio, well Josh, Elijah and Noah glared Percy was looking at his plushie wanting it back.
"Oh looks like the baby caught us…" Gavin snickered, but didn't put down the scissors or the plushie. The other two teens with him just joined in with Gavin snickering but didn't make any signs of stopping the boy.
"Gavin…you know the caretakers said you're not suppose to have anything sharp because of the last incident you did." Noah pointed out but the older boy just growled back at him.
"and what are you four shrimps going to do about it?" he sneered back at them.
"Just give back Percy's plushie, he's new here that doesn't give you the right to just pick on him!" Noah exclaimed.
"No, not until we've shredded this baby's toy." Gavin replied.
"Don't please that's one of my treasures!" Percy cried as he tried to get near Gavin but the other two boys blocked his way.
"You're not getting anywhere near him shrimp." One of them said.
"Yeah so just stay there and we'll give you what's left over…maybe." The other one smirked.
"Urgh honestly, Liam you too Mason, what do you guys get out of torturing Percy!" Josh scowled.
"We get to see the wittle baby cry for one, "Liam snickered.
"and we get to destroy something." Mason added.
"Just give him back his toy! Its' really important to him and why don't you go find a nice twig to destroy!" Elijah retorted.
"Nah, I think we'll have more fun with this." Gavin smirked and moved the scissors closer the plushie's fins about to cut it up much to Percy's protest.
"Give me back Delphini!" Percy cried out trying to get past them but Mason and Liam were much bigger then the small five-year-old and wouldn't budge.
That was the case until several clods of dirt were flung in their direction, hitting their faces and blinding them allowing to blurs of yellow jump them.
"EAT DIRT YOU DUMMIES!" Noah and Elijah shouted as they tackled the two boys trying to get them to move, they kicked and pounding them as hard as they could and resorted to biting them as well making them howl.
"Get off us you insects!" Liam shouted trying to get Elijah off of him.
"You're dead you midget!" Mason roared trying to get a grasp on the slippery Noah who hung from his back and was pulling his ears.
Josh maneuvered pass them and was up in Gavin's face.
"Give me the plushie…" Josh scowled.
"Make me Joshy…" Gavin scowled back.
Josh then surprised Gavin by kicking him in the shins as hard as he could, thereby making him howl as he dropped the scissors and plushie, allowing Josh to quickly bend down to grab it and tossing it to Percy who caught it relieved as he hugged it tightly.
"Thanks Josh!" Percy said happily hugging the plushie to his chest tightly.
Josh smiled at his friend and was about to head over when he was suddenly grabbed by the back of his shirt and came face to face with Gavin's ugly mug.
Gavin had managed to recover from Josh's kick and scowled when he saw that his target toy to destroy was gone, he then decided to turn his attention to the person who caused it.
"Since I can't mess with the toy I'll just mess with you and your little friends." He sneered looking at Josh just as Liam and Mason had managed to get the two nine-year-olds off of them and threw them down onto the ground in front of Percy.
"Percy, go get the caretaker!" Josh shouted as he moved just before Gavin tried to get a punch on him but he rolled away quickly, "take Noah and Elijah with you!"
"What! But Josh you can't handle them by yourself!" Noah shouted but Elijah grabbed his hand pulling him away from the two thugs.
"Come on we can trust Josh, he can handle those three bumbleheads!" Elijah said as he tried to drag the two back to the house but Percy wouldn't move from his spot too worried about Josh who had saved his plushie.
He gasped when he saw Josh suddenly take blow from the side from Mason and Liam took this chance to grab the boy from behind and pin his arms to the side making him unable to fight back as Gavin cracked his knuckles as he stood in front of him.
"Ready for your beating Joshy?" Gavin snickered as he moved closer to Josh and raised his arm to punch him but all of sudden there was a quiet roar and the last thing Gavin heard was Percy shouting before he got blasted with high pressured water from the garden hoses knocking off his feet and unconscious.
"Leave Josh alone you big bully!"
All the children present turned to stare at the dark haired child to the downed Gavin. Mason and Liam dropped Josh and quickly ran to get their downed friend, wanting to get as far away as they could from Percy.
"That kid's a freak! How did he make the water do that!"
"I don't care I just want to get away from him!"
There was an awkward silence with the kids left over and Percy suddenly realized what he did and hugged his dolphin plushie tightly, suddenly scared what the others would think of him now.
"Percy?" Noah asked slowly walking up to the small child and put his hand on the shoulder. He felt Percy flinch, before the dark haired boy looked up at him with tears gathering in the corner of his eyes before he backed away from them.
"I…I'm sorry I didn't mean to…I…I…" Percy stuttered suddenly wanting to cry as he felt his back hit something and he looked up and saw Josh's face.
He was surprised when Josh wrapped his arms around him and picked him up hugging him.
"Percy its alright I mean yes I admit its rather strange that you could do that…" Josh said making Percy cringe and start apologizing once more but Josh shook his head, "but I don't hate for it."
"But don't you think its weird that I can do that! I…I mean everyone usually stays away from me when they find out I can do that and its not like I don't control it but I do try its just hard when I get angry or…or…" Percy rambled on.
"Aww don't worry about it Percy you're not a freak or anything." Noah said smiling as he looked at the boy.
"Yeah I mean did you SEE their faces!" Elijah added laughing, "oh man I wish I had camera to get that moment."
"You…guys don't mind?" Percy asked as he was much calmer and Josh put him down.
"No we don't, now why don't we get back to the kitchen and finish up those sandwiches?" Josh asked making Percy nod as he smiled shyly.
Percy took his free head that wasn't holding onto his plushie to hold onto Josh's hand as Noah and Eljiah walked next to them back to the building. The young dark haired boy couldn't help but smile at how Josh and the others weren't afraid of him because of his ability.
End of flashback…..
"Ah I see…" Tatsuya said frowning, "so where are your friends now?"
"Uhm…Elijah and Noah got adopted last year…and Josh disappeared a few months later…" Percy said quietly sniffing.
"Disappeared? You mean someone kidnapped him?" Tatsuya asked.
"No one knows…he…was coming back from school, when we think something happened but there wasn't any sign of him anywhere." Percy replied tossing the last pieces of bread to the koi fish, "they were the only ones that would stay with me. After the incident with Gavin no one would come near me and any adults that came to adopt quickly didn't bother because of what the other kids told them about me."
"So you just stay here with your friend?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yeah…Nemo's my pet but yeah I help the caretakers around the place." Percy replied sighing.
"Do you have control over your powers?" Tatsuya asked making Percy look up to stare at him.
"What do you mean?" Percy asked.
Tatsuya didn't say anything but he raised a hand over the pond and Percy watched awed as the water rose up from the pond and formed into a bubble with Nemo floating around in the bubble.
"Like that little one." Tatsuya replied as he made the bubble float over to Percy and hover in front of his face.
"N…no…I wish I did though…" Percy replied amazed as he poked the bubble but it didn't pop like he thought it would.
"Well how would you like me to teach you? I think you could learn a lot if you came with me and my wife." Tatsuya replied standing up, "and we can take your pet with you as well."
"Wa…wait you mean you want to adopt me!" Percy exclaimed as the bubble popped and Nemo fell back into the water with a splash.
"Yes how about it?" Tatsuya asked.
Percy didn't reply but he just hugged Tatsuya happily. The man smiled as he picked up the little boy and walked out of the area and back inside, just in time to see his wife talking with one of the caretakers.
"Oh there you are Tatsuya have you managed to look around yourself and…" Amelia started but stopped when she saw the small boy hugging Tatsuya, "who is this now?"
"Oh my you found Percy." The caretaker said surprised, "usually he runs off for the day and we can never find him until dinner time."
"Percy? Was this the boy from earlier?" Amelia asked.
"Yes he is." The woman replied as Amelia moved closer to the boy in Tatsuya's arms.
"Hello there," She said gently making Percy look at her shyly.
"Percy this is my wife Amelia." Tatsuya said before looking at Amelia, "She's going to be your soon to be mother."
Amelia looked surprised, as did the caretaker.
"Tatsuya?" Amelia said concerned that her husband would make this decision without talking to her.
"Percy would you mind giving us a minute?" Tatsuya asked as he put the child down over near the caretaker. The dark haired child nodded as he walked over to the woman.
"Tatsuya, I wish you would talk to me first before you decided on anything." Amelia whispered.
"Amelia, he's the reason that I thought we should come here." Tatsuya replied.
"What? How can you be sure?" she asked.
"Because he has abilities." Tatsuya replied making the woman's eyes widen.
"A…are you sure? It wasn't just something you thought you saw?" she asked.
"yes…trust me on this Amelia." The man stated firmly.
After a few minutes of thinking she gave the man a kiss on the cheek and nodded.
"Alright, you've been right so far and I'll continue to trust your judgment." She replied as she turned back to the woman and Percy smiling.
"Miss, I believe we have come to a decision about adopting a child." Amelia said, "my husband and I think Percy would be a fine addition to our home."
"That's wonderful, if you could follow me to fill out the paperwork then." The caretaker said smiling at the happy look on the child's face.
Tatsuya and Amelia nodded as the followed the caretaker out but not before each of them stood at Percy's side holding his hand in theirs. It wasn't long before all the paperwork was filled; Percy's belongings were packed up and were being put inside the car.
"Now I hope you be good Percy." The caretaker said as she patted Percy's head.
"Yes ma'am!" Percy chirped as Amelia opened the backdoor and helped Percy into the seat and buckled his seatbelt for him.
"Please take good care of him he's a special little boy…" the caretaker said looking at both adults.
"Don't worry we promise to treat him like any parent would." Amelia assured as she got into the car as Tatsuya started the car and before Percy knew it he was watching the orphanage he grew up in for two years slowly get smaller and smaller in the distance.
"I hope you don't mind living near the ocean because that's where we live." Amelia said looking behind her at Percy.
"I love the ocean…but…uhm…do I call you?" Percy asked unsurely as he grasped the fish bowl he was holding with Nemo swimming inside.
"Well until you feel comfy with us you can just call us by our names and then whatever you want afterwards." Amelia replied smiling.
"Thank you…" Percy said smiling as he decided to watch the scenery past by on the drive.
"He's so cute…" Amelia said grinning, "I'm happy we got to adopt him."
"Me too, I believe he'll be someone that'll make our lives interesting." Tatsuya replied.
"I think any child would make a drastic life change." Amelia stated but relaxed against the seat as music from the radio play.
A little while later Percy was being gently shaken.
"Percy sweetie, we're here. Come take a look at your new home." Amelia said as the child yawned and looked blearily up at Amelia.
The woman took the fish bowl out from Percy's hands as the child removed the seatbelt and hopped out of the car and saw the house that would be his new home. He stared at a nice two-story beach house that was painted a light yellow with a white roof on the top and the porch roof. Wind chimes hung from the bottom, as there were seats out front along with a small garden with rose bushes and hyacinths. The car was parked on the driveway to the side in front of the garage that was attached to the right side of house.
But what Percy liked best was the fact the house was facing the ocean as he could see the waves crashing into the land and all the people enjoying and having fun.
"Wooow…I can visit the ocean anytime I want?" Percy said as he stared at the sight.
"Within reason but generally yes. Tatsuya really likes the ocean as well so I'm sure you two will have lots of fun. Now why don't we bring your stuff inside so we can show you your room and figure out how we're going to decorate it." Amelia said.
"Okay!" Percy replied as he laughed and ran past Amelia excited to see his house.
Tatsuya nearly collided with Percy as he came back outside to grab the rest of the bags but patted the boy on his head before going back to the car. The inside of the house was just as pretty as the outside, there was a cabinet of glass figurines, some Japanese paintings on the sandy colored walls, another display case with trophies and medals, bookshelves filled up with ancient history books and many other interesting things.
"So what do you think so far?" Amelia asked walking behind Percy.
"Its really nice…and I like the pictures on the walls. Where are they from?" Percy asked curiously.
"They're from Japan, see Tatsuya moved here from that country." Amelia explained, "as for me I'm Japanese as well but I was born here. Now let's show you your room."
"Okay A-Amelia…" Percy said as he followed the woman and they were about to head upstairs when Percy saw some rooms downstairs as well. "What are those rooms over there?"
"Oh! Well down that hallway we have the laundry room, bathroom, an office room for me and tatsuya and the spare storage room." Amelia explained pointing to each room.
"Ah I see…" Percy said before he then followed Amelia up to the second floor and into a small hallway.
"Now straight down the hall is the bathroom, the first door here on the left belongs to me and Tatsuya, the door across from it is the guest room and the door next to it is your room." Amelia said as she opened the door to reveal a bedroom with white walls and a single bed.
"Its big…at least…bigger then what I was staying in before." Percy said sheepishly.
"We…didn't know what you preferred so we just left it white but since its still daylight we can have lunch and talk about how you'd like to decorate your room." Amelia said.
"I want it blue, like the ocean!" Percy exclaimed grinning, "with…uhm…lots of shells, and other things with sea animals on it. Oh and a tank for Nemo!"
"Well why don't we help Tatsuya bring your stuff upstairs before we get too detailed alright?" Amelia said as she turned around, she suddenly felt a weight around her waist and saw Percy hugging her tightly as he had put Nemo on the floor to do so.
"Thank you…so much…mom…" Percy said softly.
Amelia just leaned down and kissed Percy's hair.
"Its our pleasure Percy…really…now what would you like for lunch?" she replied as she picked up Nemo's fishbowl and headed downstairs.
"Uhm…I don't know…" Percy replied shrugging, "anything I guess."
They saw Tatsuya bring in the last of Percy's belongings into the living room, just as they got to the last step.
"So is there anything you'd like to know about us?" Tatsuya asked as he looked curiously at the small child.
"Well…what do you two do for jobs?" Percy asked.
"I own a lovely bakery down town called, "Sweet Dreams". I love making cakes, cupcakes, pies…anything really." Amelia said smiling, "and I'm always trying out new flavors as well, even won a few competitions. I can show you what its like there when you get settled in."
"And I teach ancient history at the local college." Tatsuya added as he sat down on the couch as Percy sat between him and Amelia, "I've always had a keen interest in the ancient world."
"So tell us about yourself Percy, what things do you like?" Amelia asked.
"Well…I like the ocean a lot and anything to do with it…my favorite animals are the dolphins and turtles oh and Nemo!" Percy replied holding up the fish in the bowl.
"I think we're going to get your little friend a bigger bowl." Tatsuya said amused, "koi fish usually like swimming around in a bigger area."
"I think Nemo would like that too." Percy replied.
"Well, why don't I make us some sandwiches for lunch so we can talk about what we're going to do now." Amelia said standing up.
"You do that dear, I need to talk with Percy for a bit." Tatsuya said.
"Alright I'll be right back then." The woman said as she walked into the kitchen to get started.
Percy kicked his feet nervously as he hugged Nemo's bowl to him as he looked at Tatsuya.
"So…what did you want to talk about?" the dark haired child asked.
"I wanted to talk to you about your…abilities." Tatsuya said.
"Oh yeah…uhm are you going to tell me how you did all that back in the orphanage?" Percy asked looking up at Tatsuya.
"That…will be explained in another time but I am going to teach you how to gain more control on your abilities so you don't have any accidents." Tatsuya explained.
"You really think you can teach me how to control what I do with the water?" Percy wondered.
"Yes, I know you can do it Percy you just need someone to help guide you." Tatsuya replied smiling as he patted the dark haired boy's head. "it may take a while for you to get complete control but you will get there eventually."
"That would be really great I don't want people to be afraid of me." Percy said quietly.
"I don't see why people are afraid of you but then again people are usually afraid what they don't understand." Tatsuya sighed, "but at least Amelia and I understand you."
"You mean she knows about your powers as well?" Percy asked surprised.
"She sure does, but I'm curious myself Percy do you know why you have your powers?" Tatsuya asked as Percy shook his head.
"Not really…my mommy never explained it to me but maybe it had something to do with my real daddy, even though I never knew him." Percy replied.
"Huh…interesting." Tatsuya mumbled.
"Boys! I got sandwiches ready hope you like tuna salad!" Amelia called out from the kitchen.
"Come on let's go eat." The dark haired man said as he and Percy got off the couch and headed for the kitchen to have his first of many family meals.
It wasn't long before the boy felt right at home being with Amelia and Tatsuya, they helped renovate his room to his liking and now the walls were painted with the colors of the ocean with sea animals swimming around and above a coral reef. Photos of Percy and Sally were hung up on the walls in seashell frames along with some pictures with his new family. Along with the photos on the wall, there were some drawings, and posters of aquariums and cartoons.
His room had a window that faced the ocean, with a wind chime hanging from the window sill, as the wind would gently blow. The room also held a wooden desk with a lamp, next to that was his dresser and then his bed was pushed up against the wall near the window. His bed like the rest of the room had a light blue and dark blue blanket and sheets with fishes on them. On the other side of the room was the closet, Percy's fish tank with Nemo swimming in it and a medium sized TV on a stand with a game system underneath and a medium sized bookshelf.
Once Percy had settled in, the next day Tatsuya and Amelia had taken Percy to the doctor's to make sure that he was in good health. Even though the young dark haired child felt nervous being in the doctor's office, with Tatsuya and Amelia there with him he didn't feel as scared as he would've been, especially when it came to getting the immunization shots Percy had to get.
When the results came back, the doctor had said that Percy was in perfect health, if not a bit underweight but that would be taken care of easily. What the doctor did find out, was that Percy had a case of ADHD and dyslexia.
He was going to prescribe some medication for him but Tatsuya quickly said no, he wouldn't feel comfortable prescribing drugs to his son. Despite the doctor trying to convince him, Tatsuya was adamant about the medication and said he would find an alternative to help Percy. The doctor sighed giving up but still handing Amelia the prescription incase they changed their minds before they left the office. What Tatsuya had in mind for Percy to help him concentrate was to sign him up for a martial arts class.
After that was taken care of the little dark haired boy was really enjoying his life after leaving the orphanage, he was in a good school, he had both a mother and father, he loved going to Amelia's bakery to study and help out and he especially enjoyed his training sessions with Tatsuya with his powers over the water. Of course Percy wondered how Tatsuya had powers like his own but he got the feeling that Tatsuya would tell him when he was ready.
Everything was going well for Percy, at least until a few months later during the summer solstice….
Meanwhile way up on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building…
"Now that takes care of that matter of business…" a colossal figure sitting on a marble seat said looking around the others sitting in similar seats all in a circle as a fire was in the middle of the circle. When he received no complaints he was about to go on when someone near him cleared their throat and all attention went to the individual.
"You would like to say brother?" the man asked looking at the man who was sitting to the right of him and clenching his trident tightly.
"Yes there is…" he said looking up at the others who were waiting for him to say something.
"Well don't hold back just what the hell are you going to say?" a gruff and burly looking man across from him practically shouted getting irritated easily he was quickly silenced by the withering glare that he was getting from the man with the trident.
"This must be serious Uncle…you look extremely tense." A tall dark blonde haired man said removing his ipod earphones to look at the man.
"There's something I've been hiding for a few years…" Poseidon sighed.
At this pretty much everyone raised their eyebrows at the statement but didn't say anything, letting Poseidon continue talking.
"I…I have a son…" he said after a few seconds passed by.
"Well that much is obvious." A woman with stormy grey eyes retorted sarcastically.
"Not Triton…I'm talking about a son…like Zeus with Thalia and Hades with Nico and Bianca…" Poseidon growled back letting it sink in with the others until they all realized what he was talking about.
It was the man who had spoken first that said what was on everyone's mind.
"YOU HAVE A HALF-BLOOD SON!" the man roared at Poseidon glaring at him, "why the hell did you keep him a secret when MY daughter and Hades twins were revealed!"
"Because when YOU revealed them MINE was only about four!" the water god shot back.
"Why haven't you SAID anything!" the woman added staring at Poseidon, "you think telling us about another child of the big three would be important!"
"I'm sure he had a good reason…" the blonde haired man said trying to stop the arguing but just flinched when several glares turned to him and he quickly shut up.
The arguments and yelling continued until Poseidon finally shut them up.
"Because I thought he was DEAD!" Poseidon roared back, "there was an accident a few years ago and his mother DIED and I was too late to get him and bring him to the camp!"
"What do you mean by you were too late?" A figured dressed in completely black robes asked looking at Poseidon.
"I went to visit and check up on him and his mother, " Poseidon admitted, " I talked to the receptionist and asked to see them."
"So what happened after that?" the regal woman asked next to Zeus, she had been rather curious about the one other god who supposedly didn't have a half-blood child now freely admitting having one.
"She told me that I had just missed my son, since besides his mother he didn't have any other family so that left him to be put into an orphanage…" Poseidon sighed.
"And you've been searching for him all this time?" Zeus asked.
"I never knew how many orphanages there are…" Poseidon replied grimly.
"Do even think he's still in the state?" the stormy eyed woman asked sighing as she rubbed her head.
"Not really…for all I know he could already be in a home Athena." Poseidon replied leaning back into his seat.
"Well…what was the child's name at least? And his mother's name?" an olive haired woman asked.
"well Demeter, His mother's name is…well…was Sally Jackson and my son's name is Percy Jackson." The sea god said.
"WHAT! Are you sure it was Percy Jackson Uncle!" two voices exclaimed in unison making everyone stare at who had spoken.
Apollo the god of the sun and Artemis goddess of the moon and hunt had spoken at the same time and were gawking at each other as the other gods stared at them rather amused.
"Do you two happen to know this child?" Hephaestus asked looking at the two who were still staring at each other.
"Yes brother…why don't you explain how you came by to know the child?" Artemis asked.
"Oh no I insist little sister why don't YOU explain…" Apollo replied.
"BOTH of you will explain how you know Percy!" Poseidon growled looking at the two and making them shrink at their Uncle's rage. "Apollo you go first…"
"Yes Uncle, well I was making rounds in this hospital…" Apollo started but stopped when Artemis snorted.
"You mean flirting with any woman in the vicinity…" she muttered as Apollo stuck his tongue out at her and continued.
"ANYWAY, I was just coming out of one of the hallways when I overheard the doctors speaking about a child that had well come out of a bus accident with only a broken arm." The sun god stated, "and like Uncle said he didn't have any relatives on his mother side to take care of him and would be put in the system."
"So where exactly do you come in brat? This better be a good story." The buff man sitting across the room said.
"Not all stories are going to have battles and blood Ares." Athena growled, "continue Apollo,"
"Anyway once the doctor and nurse was gone I looked into the room and saw a kid no older then like five curled up and crying…and well I went in and talked to him." The blonde haired sun god said.
"That's a first you comforting someone that wasn't a woman." Artemis said raising an eyebrow.
"Hey if you saw the kid you would want to comfort him to I mean he lost his only parent at five." Apollo retorted throwing his sister a look, "anyway I ended up talking to him for a whole week before he was taken out of the hospital, but I did get this from him."
The others watched as Apollo summoned a square piece of paper in his hand and turned it around to show the others.
"Is that him and his mother?" Athena asked looking at the wide eyed happy child holding a large dolphin plushie as a young woman was kneeling next to him and had her arms wrapped around his shoulders.
"He's so CUTE!" Aphrodite cooed looking at the young dark-haired child giving the camera a toothy grin, "and he looks just like you Poseidon!"
"I must admit he looks like a fine child…" Hera said drawn in with how innocent the half-blood looked.
"That's what he told me…" Apollo replied before he handed the photo to Poseidon who stared at the picture sadly.
"That's Percy and Sally alright…what did Percy tell you about this photo Apollo?" the sea god asked quietly.
"It was taken at the aquarium where his mother had taken him to for his birthday." Apollo replied.
"May I see the photo Uncle?" Artemis asked and the water god passed the photo over to Artemis who frowned, "brother how long ago was this given to you?"
"Er…if recall I think about two years I think? Being immortal time kinda gets lost with you…" he said, "why?"
"Because when I saw him it was a few months ago before this meeting." She replied, "my hunters and I had been exploring the woods in the northern part of the state when we ran into the child…"
Flashback…
"My Lady do you hear something?" a caramel skinned woman said stopping for a moment and looking around.
The other women around them had stopped as well to look around as well.
"There is a distinct sound, but I am not sure what it is…" the leader of the group said stopping.
Her auburn hair framed her face as her eyes glowed in the night as she glanced around as well, before they could say anything else there was a rustle of the grass to the side and all the bows were drawn waiting for whatever creature came upon them. When the so called 'beast' came out all of the women stared.
"What is…that?" the black haired woman asked lowering her weapon and looking at the tiny creature that was blinking back at them with blue eyes as its tail wagged and started barking at them and running around the auburn's haired woman's legs.
"I believe this is a canine…" the leader said raising an eyebrow, "but what I'm wonderings usually these creatures have owners and are usually within the city.
"Celeste! Celeste where are you girl!" a young voice shouted and all the heads turned to the grass and soon all weapons were once again raised and pointed at the spot until they saw whoever it was calling out, once again they were disappointed on who had shown up, there were even some looks of contempt when they saw who had appeared.
"U-uhm…excuse me but ha-have you seen a black puppy run off?" the young black haired boy asked sniffling. It looked like he had been crying for quite some time as his eyes were red.
"Are you talking about this child?" the auburn headed woman asked as she picked up the puppy still barking around her legs happily by the scruff of its neck and held it out to the boy.
"Celeste! Th-thank you miss!" the young child exclaimed holding out his arms as the woman put the puppy in them. The dark haired boy hugged the puppy happily as it licked his face.
"Child what are you doing this far into the woods?" she asked once the puppy was settled in his arms.
"O-oh…I…I got lost looking for Celeste…since she's still young she ran off chasing a squirrel and I ran after her." He replied, "I didn't wanna lose her when I just got her…"
The auburn haired woman hummed a bit before she kneeled down and looked at the child at eye level, making him look directly into her eyes. He tilted his head to the side curiously as he gazed as her.
"Uhm…miss can I ask you something?" the child asked.
"What is it?"
"do you have a brother named Fred? Blonde hair and does weird poetry?" the boy asked curiously.
The women around stared at the young boy wondering how he knew of the relationship between their leader and this so called 'Fred'.
"And why…do you ask that young one?"
"Because he said your eyes glow like the moon and they really do Tsuki-hime (Moon princess). " the child replied smiling up at the woman making her stare at him.
"What did he just call Lady Artemis?"
"I haven't heard that language spoken before?"
"He better not have insulted her, child or not…"
The auburn haired woman, now known as Artemis raised her hand to stop the other girls from talking so she could talk to the child in front of her.
"What did you call me child? I don't believe I'm familiar with that language." She said.
"A-ah…go..er…sorry. My daddy is from another country and speaks that language a lot in the house to my mom and I learned to pick up a few things." The dark haired child replied apologizing, "I called you moon princess cuz of your eyes."
Artemis gave the child a small smile and patted his head.
"Thank you, but I take it you are lost in the woods here?" Artemis asked as the child in front of her looked sad.
"Yes Tsuki-hime…I just chased after Celeste and before I knew it I was off the trail." He replied.
"I see, why don't I take you back to your family then they must be worried." She said.
"Lady Artemis are you sure that's a good idea!" one of the girls exclaimed, "I mean he's a…"
"He is just a child that is lost in the woods there is no need to bear him any ill will." Artemis replied sternly before she looked at the direction that the child had come walking when he was chasing Celeste.
She walked a bit further in the direction and looked down at the tracks that the child had made along with other observations before she figured out how the young child had run into them. She motioned for the young one to follow her and he quickly ran by her side and followed her as did the other girls in the group. The child seemed a bit apprehensive with how some of the women were looking at him so he stayed close to Artemis.
"So what are you doing here anyway child?" Artemis asked.
"Oh! Daddy got some time off of work and decided to take us camping." He replied smiling, "its really fun pitching our tents, the hiking and cooking!"
"You're really enjoying your time here aren't you?" the moon goddess asked.
"Uh huh…" the child replied giggling as Celeste barked because she wanted attention and the child just laughed as he hugged the puppy tighter.
It wasn't long before the came to a clearing with people calling out with flashlights.
The two that were the closets to them the child's eyes widened and pointed to the two adults.
"That's my mom and dad!" he shouted happily.
The two had apparently heard them and turned around to see where the source of the voice came. The woman in shock dropped her flashlight and ran towards the two as the child ran towards her.
"PERCY!" the woman shouted grabbing the boy and hugging him tightly, "you do NOT go wandering off like that Perseus Jackson! You had me and your father worried sick!"
"I'm sorry mom, but Celeste ran off and I didn't want her to get hurt." He replied holding out the puppy.
"Still don't do that again!" she said, "I'm just glad you found your way back here."
"I had help! it was Tsuki-hime that lead me back here!" Percy said.
"Who? I don't see anyone sweetie." The woman replied looking behind Percy.
The child turned around and blinked when he didn't the woman anymore.
"I wonder where she went, she was a nice woman." Percy wondered.
"Nevermind that, its time for dinner and I'm keeping you close this time!" Amelia stated hugging Percy tightly.
"Mooomm! You're hugging too tightly!" Percy whined as the two walked off to their campsite.
Artemis had disappeared back into the woods when Percy had ran off to his parents but just as she was about to join her hunters, she stopped when she felt someone watching her and turned to see a dark haired adult practically staring back at her, his electric ice blue eyes making her feel there was something different about this man.
But before she could analyze it any further, he turned around and followed his wife and son back but she could've swore she saw some sort of aura surrounding the man.
'What exactly is he?' Artemis questioned before she met up with her hunters.
End of Flashback….
"The husband gave you an uneasy feeling?" Demeter asked frowning, "that's rather odd for a human to do that…"
"What I can't believe is that he called you Moon princess!" Apollo whined, "and in Japanese too!"
"I'll take being called that then 'Fred' any day brother…" Artemis said smirking while the sun god pouted as he folded his arms.
"Okay no more bickering you two, we have more important issues, Artemis did you feel that the man that Percy called 'father' is a threat?" Poseidon asked.
"I felt he was powerful and different but a threat…I'm not too sure. The woman who Percy called his mom was just a mere mortal…" Artemis replied shrugging helplessly.
"Can you show us what they looked liked?" Athena asked gesturing to the viewing orb in the center of the room.
The moon goddess nodded and waved her hand over the orb and the 'parents' of Percy Jackson appeared in the orb. It wasn't just a projection of them; it was showing the gods what they were doing right at the moment. The mother was bringing out some snacks as Tatsuya and Percy were pouring over some textbooks and papers on the coffee table. It looked like Tatsuya was tutoring Percy as he seemed to be explaining something and the young dark haired boy was sticking his tongue out in concentration.
"You're right about the woman, she seems perfectly normal like every other mortal, but the husband…" Athena said as she watched Amelia sit down on the couch and watch the two and laughed as Percy threw his hands up and cheered when he finished his worksheet perfectly.
She then looked over at Tatsuya and was frowning at the dark haired man with the cold blue eyes, "there's just something…about him that makes me a bit wary…"
"Maybe he's one of those monsters in disguises..." Ares said rubbing his hands together eagerly, "probably some big powerful hotshot!"
"Let's not jump to conclusions now." Poseidon said.
"Even though monsters are known to take human forms…" Athena said rubbing her chin, "but to go as far as to get a mortal wife?"
"She could be under a spell." Artemis said, "its not below monsters to pull something like that."
"Possibly but we should continue to observe them…and if he's your son then that means he's going to be attacked soon by others though…" Hades commented after remaining silenced for most of the conversation.
"Can we get a general idea where they are?" Zeus asked watching the child grin.
"I'm not sure but he's probably still in this state since he had to live close by to get to the woods where I ran into him," Artemis sighed, "so what do we do?"
"We should inform camp-half blood about him?" Apollo questioned.
"No…that may cause problems, let's just tell them to keep an eye out for any interesting half-bloods with 'different' abilities." Poseidon said.
"Great another brat to look forward to…" Dionysus muttered as Poseidon sent him a glare and he quickly shut up but he was still mumbling under his breath.
"Then Dionysus will inform Chiron when he sends out the campers looking for more half-bloods then, " Zeus said as he got a collective nod from the other gods.
Once that decision was agreed upon the next order of business was brought out the image in the sphere was fading but Poseidon looked at his son and saw the happy smile on his face and smiled himself.
'At least I know that he's alright..' he thought to himself before the image completely disappeared.
"This was suppose to be a SIMPLE retrieval mission!" a shaggy dark haired youth scowled angrily as he swung his sword at some girls in cheerleader outfits but they flew back and hissed at him, "get in, grab the half-blood and then get OUT! We are NOT to flirt with monsters in disguise!"
"Hey she flirted with me first!" a curly brown haired boy retorted and ducked as a swipe of claws aimed for his head but managed to get out of the way.
"You! She was hitting on me!" another boy stated firmly as he blocked the attack and managed to get the monster/cheerleader in the arm making her screech.
"You're BOTH morons!" a blonde haired girl growled as she turned invisible by putting on a baseball cap and took out her dagger and managed to stab one of the cheerleaders in the back making her explode in a burst of golden dust.
"Uh…s-shouldn't we get out of here?" a quivering voice said staying close to one of the curly haired boys looking a bit confused on what was going on but was too scared to actually say anything about them.
"He…he…has a point!" a half goat boy stuttered looking around nervously, "I mean we're barely out of the school who knows what the mist is making others see!"
"you half-bloods thing you're so smart?" Hissed one of the remaining cheerleaders, " let's see how you deal with this!" and with a snap of her fingers a tall towering figure appeared and glared at the half-bloods through its single eye.
"Oh great a Cyclops…it just had to be a Cyclops.." the dark haired one groaned glaring.
"Okay new plan! Grover you and Conner get the kid far away and to the rendezvous point where the van is suppose to pick us up! Conner, Nico and I will deal with these guys!" the blonde one stated.
"What! Are you sure you can handle a Cyclops by yourself!" the boy called Conner said as the goat boy bleated and grabbed his hand.
"Trust Annabeth she's the daughter of Athena for a reason!" he replied, "Just come back in one piece!"
"Oh that's a LOAD of confidence you have in us Grover!" Travis shouted glowering at the goat-boy before he swung his sword at the cheerleader.
"Just concentrate!" Nico yelled back as he was pushed back by the Cyclops's punch, blocking it with his stygian iron sword.
The fight between them and the monsters continued on for a bit longer until it was only the Cyclops left but just as the three of them were going to take care of it, to their horror they heard the school bell ring and any moment herds of kids were going to run out of the school and straight into the fight.
"You two go ahead I'll lead him away!" Nico growled as he stabbed the Cyclops making his roar and glare at him, turning his attention to him rather then Annabeth and Travis.
"Nico that's suicide!" Travis shouted.
"I can handle it! And if it gets bad I can just shadow travel! You guys can't so just go!" Nico replied and not giving them any chance to reply he took off, with the Cyclops after him.
"Dammit Chiron is going to give us an earful about this…" Annabeth cursed.
"I think Nico's dad will be more pissed if something happened to him rather then our dear ol' mentor…" Travis replied, "but he is a bit reckless…unlike Bianca…"
"Yeah…come on we better catch up with Grover and Conner." Annabeth said as she and Travis discreetly made their way away from the school and to the rendezvous point.
Nico had leapt over a railing leading towards the beach, he landed on his feet and heard a thump behind him and turned behind him seeing the Cyclops was still following him.
"Good thing we ran into a rather stupid Cyclops…" Nico muttered to himself as he took off running once more, down more the secluded part of the beach.
Unfortunately the Cyclops had taken a running leap and caught the half-blood off when he landed in front of him making him stumble and quickly raised his arm to try and punch the half-blood in front of him. Thinking quick on his feet he managed to avoid most of the block but still got the wind knocked out of him making him cough and glare angrily at the Cyclops.
"Di immortals!" Nico cursed holding his side and rolled out of the way when the Cyclops tried stomping on him. The dark haired youth scowled and was about to create a fissure to trap the monster in the underworld when he heard a scream behind him and both he and the monster looked towards the source.
'What in the name of zeus is a kid doing on the beach alone!' Nico thought and saw the boy drop something and shakily raise a hand pointing at the Cyclops.
"Why…why does that thing only have one eye!" he cried out surprising Nico even more.
"He can see through the mist?" he muttered.
But he didn't have any time to delve deeper into why the kid was there as the Cyclops realized there was an easier target among them and a cruel grin spread across its face and ran past Nico to the stunned child who stumbled back but was frozen with fear and couldn't move.
Just as it looked like the Cyclops was going to get to the kid as he pulled back his arm once more, Nico managed to get to the kid first and wrap his arms around him just as the monster managed to clock him pretty good in the back of the head making him see stars for a bit.
"Mister are you okay!" the child asked as they crashed onto the sand and Nico groaned as he was seeing double of everything and groaned.
"I'm fine kid…" he grounded out as he stood up shakily but stumbled as he couldn't stand up straight, but tried to focus on the monster that growled at him and started charging towards him once more.
Despite the pain he was in he concentrated as much as he could and soon the ground below started to shake and a fissure opened up surprising the Cyclops as he let out a yell before he was swallowed up. Breathing heavily Nico fell back onto the sand as he blinked in and out of consciousness.
Before he completely blacked out, the last thing he felt was the still stinging pain from the blow he received from the Cyclops and worried sea-green eyes staring back at him.
A little while later Nico let out a groan and was staring at the fading sky as it was starting to set, and stars were coming out. He sat up immediately and groaned when he felt the blood rush to his head from moving too quickly.
"Urgh…what happened?" he muttered.
He looked around when he felt something in his hand turned and saw the kid he had saved curled up and asleep with his hand in his and realized that he had been dragged closer to the ocean as he felt the water licking at his shoes. Rubbing his head, Nico stopped when he realized the bump and concussion he had gotten from the Cyclops was gone and frowned even more confused.
"Hey kid wake up." Nico said gruffly as he shook the kid with his free hand and blearily eyes blinked a few times before focusing on him and a smile spread on his face.
"You're okay! I wasn't sure if it would've worked or not but I'm glad you're feeling better now mister!" the kid said happily.
"What? Healing? Did you have some ambrosia or something on you?" Nico asked.
"Ambrosia? What's that?" the kid asked.
"Its something that heals…but if you didn't have that how did you heal me?" Nico asked as the child laughed nervously.
"Just…something I can do, please don't ask anymore I'm not s'pose to talk about it." The child replied before he stood up and smiled at Nico, "and I just wanna thank you again for saving me from that monster."
"It's a Cyclops." Nico replied looking up at the kid, "how were you able to see it?"
"Was I not suppose to?" the kid asked rubbing his arm, "a-anyway uhm…will you come with me back to my home? It's the least I can do for you saving me…"
"I really should be getting back." Nico replied as he stood up and was about to shadow travel when a hand grasped his own and pleading sea-green eyes bore back into his own.
"Please? Its just for one night and…and I thought it was really cool how you could do that thing with the ground." The kid replied.
Nico had no idea what came over him, but just looking into those eyes his usual iron-clad will wavered and he sighed, giving into the child.
"Alright. One night couldn't hurt, and its not like many people with miss me…" Nico replied saying the last part under his breath. But the kid didn't hear that and just grasped Nico's hand tighter as they headed back to the pier.
"Yay thank you!" the kid said smiling back.
"By the way what's your name anyway?" Nico asked as they walked up the steps of the pier and pass several stores. The dark haired teen noticed that many older people in the stores were waving at the child and were giving him scrutinizing and suspicious looks.
"My name's Percy! What's your name?" the sea-green eyed child asked.
"Its Nico."
"Ah…okay so uhm…why were you fighting that Cyclops? Isn't that just a myth?" Percy asked.
"You'd be surprised what isn't a myth kid…" Nico replied dryly as Percy just tilted his head curiously but didn't ask anymore.
After bit more walking they walked up to a house where Percy just walked straight in with Nico following him in.
"Mooom! Dad I'm back!" Percy shouted.
Amelia walked out of the kitchen wiping her hands on an apron as she saw her son removing his shoes before he walked on the carpet, but what got her attention was the older dark haired youth that was behind him.
"And who is this Percy? A friend of yours?" Amelia asked as she looked curiously at the boy wondering how her son had met this interesting person.
"Uh sorta…he uhm…saved me from bullies and I kinda said it was alright for him to spend the night here since he lives far away?" Percy said scratching the back of his head. "is that okay?"
Amelia sighed, "you should really give us a warning Percy, honestly."
"I'm sorry mom…but I just wanted to thank him and well…" Percy said looking down nervously.
"Ask your father and if he says yes then your friend may stay." Amelia said sternly, "I'm sorry about this sometimes my son does things without thinking about it…"
"That's fine miss…I can get back quite fine." Nico assured.
"Alright, why don't you two take a seat on the couch, your father should be home soon Percy so you can ask him then." Amelia said, "we're having stuffed pasta, salad and garlic bread tonight."
"Alright mom!" Percy said taking a seat next to Nico as Amelia went back to the kitchen leaving the two alone for a while.
"So, what do you like to do for fun?" Percy asked.
"That's none of your business." Nico replied leaning back against the couch making Percy frown and made him even more determined to try and get Nico to talk.
"Well, do you like mythomagic?" Percy asked and Nico actually raised an eyebrow at Percy and looked at him.
"I…use to...why do you play?" Nico asked slowly as a grin spread across Percy's face.
"Not really since not a lot of people play it but my daddy bought me some cards and figurines and they're really cool!" Percy replied
It wasn't much but it was something that got the two talking together for a while before they heard the door open and someone walking inside. The two turned to greet them, while Percy jumped off the couch and hugged the man Nico instantly felt himself tense for some reason.
"Percy who is this?" Tatsuya asked.
Percy then explained the situation to Tatsuya who listened quietly before he looked at Nico, who had to resist the urge to summon his weapon for some reason.
'He's just a human! Why am I so tense around him!' he thought as he watched Tatsuya walk over and place a hand on his shoulder making him stiffen.
"Thank you for taking care of my son." He said in his deep voice as Nico nodded, "for that you may stay the night since Percy seems happy to have you around."
"He knows about mythomagic dad!" Percy chirped, "he's the first one!"
Tatsuya smiled at Percy and patted his head.
"That's great son, now why don't go and eat dinner, I believe the food should be ready." Tatsuya said as the two nodded and headed to the kitchen.
For Nico, to actually sit down and have a 'family' meal was strange to him, since he was use to eating in a table with just his sister back at camp half-blood. Even if he went back to the underworld, his father would rarely see him and his step-mother wouldn't even give him the time of day, having prefer spending time with Bianca rather then him.
'Now that I think about it…most people would choose to spend time with Bianca rather then myself, even my own 'parent's…' Nico thought darkly.
"Nico? Do you like mom's stuffed pasta?" Percy asked as he had been sitting in the chair next to him at the table, "you're making a weird face."
"Oh its fine Percy…its very good." Nico replied unsure what else to day, but his answer seemed to please Percy as he went back eating contently.
Once dinner was done and everything was cleaned up, Amelia showed Nico the spare guest room as everyone was getting ready for bed.
"Good night Nico." Amelia said smiling gently while Percy waved from his position at the bottom of the stairs.
"Night Nico see you in the morning!" Percy said waving his arm before Amelia ushered him upstairs.
Tatsuya just nodded to Nico as he followed his family.
Nico sighed as he fell back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
'What a day…a mission gets screwed up by the children of Hermes, I nearly get my head knocked off by a Cyclops and run into a strange kid that managed to heal me with no ambrosia…not to mention his dad…' the son of Hades thought to himself before he shook his head and closed his eyes trying to get a peaceful sleep.
The next morning Nico woke up early so he wouldn't disturb the family and he could make it back to camp half-blood without having to run into anyone. He stretched as he moved off the bed and straightens out the clothes he slept in. When he got all the kinks out of his body he was just about to shadow travel when he noticed something on the nightstand that wasn't there before. He reached over and picked up a conch shell no bigger then his palm, it was pretty easy to figure out who had left it as there was a thank you note right next to it. Making sure he pocketed the shell, he summoned the shadows and walked through them reappearing in his cabin at camp half blood.
He looked out his doorway and saw that the sun was barely up he changed into some pajamas and jumped back into bed to get some more sleep before camp activites.
It was probably few hours later that someone was shaking him awake.
"Nico! Nico wake up already!" a female voice said, "come on you need to go to the big house and make your report!"
"Go…away…." Nico groaned pulling the pillow over his head.
"Get up now little brother!" the voice said exasperated as the blankets were yanked off of him making the boy scowl as he sat up and looked up at and saw that it was his sister with the blanket in one hand and the other on her hip.
"About time, I was worried when you didn't come back yesterday. The others are waiting for you so you guys can give your reports." Bianca said, "what happened yesterday Nico?"
"Just some stuff alright? I'm fine Bianca." Nico replied as he grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom to change.
A worried look crossed Bianca's face but she just dropped the blanket back on the bed and made her way out of the cabin and ran into one of her friends.
"So figure out why your little bro decided to not return with the others?" a punkish girl with bright blue eyes asked looking at Bianca.
"No, he was being quite stubborn again Thalia. I don't know why he doesn't talk to me as much as he use to." Bianca replied.
"Eh…maybe he's just going through a phase." The punk girl replied.
"He's been doing this 'phase' for a good while now Thalia." Bianca replied.
"Well I'm sure we'll find out once Annabeth and the others get back from the meeting, until then I believe we're suppose to meet Luke in the training fields for sword training." Thalia replied as Bianca nodded and followed the other girl but not before glancing back and watched her brother walk towards the big house.
In the Big House….
"Now that Nico is here, can you please explain to me what happened?" Chiron asked looking at the group of half-bloods and satyr in front of him. For some reason when Nico entered the room the satyr started shaking.
"It was going fine, we had found half-blood Grover had been looking after surrounded by Succubi. We were going to do a simple distraction when the Stoll brothers were the ones who got distracted." Annabeth sighed as the brothers stuck their tongues out at the daughter of Athena.
"After that we uh…ended up fighting the succubi for a while and managed to get rid of one of them before the had brought out a Cyclops that had been hiding." Travis said, "after that we change the plan to Conner and Grover taking the half-blood to the rendezvous point while the others took care of the remaining monsters."
"It was going fine until we heard the bell ring and we couldn't fight with normal mortals running between the fight and risk having one of them actually see the Cyclops so then Nico decided to take it upon himself to take care of the Cyclops as he had finished off the succubi by that time." Annabeth finished looking at Nico.
"I did take care of the monster, I had to get the Cyclops in a secluded area so I could open up a fissure and send him back to the underworld." Nico replied folding his arms.
"I can see that, but that doesn't explain why you failed to return with the others." Chiron replied.
"There were some unseen factors I didn't take into account and had gotten hit in the back of my head." Nico replied as he dug his hand into his pocket where he had put the shell Percy had given him.
Chiron frowned as he moved closer to Nico.
"I can understand now why you didn't return, a blow from a Cyclops would take a while to heal but you seem fine." The centaur said.
"I had some ambrosia in my jacket just in case and took it once I regained consciousness." Nico lied, not wanting to try to explain to Chiron about how some kid had managed to heal him.
"Well despite the rough patches good job in bringing another half-blood to camp." Chiron said, "you are dismissed to your activities."
Nico nodded and made his way past the others and left the building letting Chiron turn his attention to the shaking satyr.
"Grover why are you shaking so badly?" he asked as Annabeth and the stroll brothers looked at him as well.
"I…I…Nico…smells…" he stuttered out while Conner snorted as Travis snickered.
"Uh…no surprise there since he would reek of dead people." Travis said but Grover shook his head furiously.
"No! He smells of a monster!" the satyr nearly shouted back looking like he would faint any second.
"Uh you're still not making any sense Grover, I mean we all fought monsters." Annabeth said placing a hand on the satyr's shoulder trying to get him to calm down, "take a deep breath and calm down."
Grover nodded and tried taking deep breaths for a few seconds before he swallowed hard, "it…it was very faint but…but the scent on Nico wasn't any of the monsters we fought…or any of us have fought before…." He replied still shaking.
"A monster none of us have fought before? There's probably plenty of those though…can you be specific?" Annabeth asked.
"I…I think it….it…was a…a…"
"Out with it already Grover!"
"It smelled like a dragon!"