Ch1
Frederick Chase had been hoping that the reunion with his family would be like the old times. You know talking about their lives while their kids played together, the usual stuff. However, this time the family meeting was getting tenser by the day. He honestly had been hoping to reconnect and talk some sense into a certain sibling of his but the atmosphere had been becoming tenser each day.
As he sat on his sister's sofa reading his book, he couldn't help but feel dread, as much as he was annoyed by his siblings he still cared for them. Currently, his sister Natalie was taking his young daughter Annabeth and her son Magnus out for a stroll along some nature trail. His sister always loved the outdoors and Annabeth and her cousin got along, hopefully, it stays like that.
He always considered himself a rational man. However, from meeting Athena to having a brainchild with her and remarrying. Now all of this he thought as he grimaced, the thought of all the problems with his siblings.
Flipping through his book which was about the Byzantine Empire, a topic he had been found interesting lately. Ever since Athena left him Annabeth. he had been studying as much as he could about Greek, Roman, and Byzantine history.
A knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts. He peered out his window and was surprised to see police officers outside the door. Oh great. He frowned headed to the door. He opened the door and saw two police officers, "Are your Frederick Chase?" One of the officers said.
"Yes what is the problem officers?" He asked feeling a pit in his stomach. This cannot be good. Various thoughts came into his mind, did one of his siblings call and claim some sort of abuse?
The officers looked at each other before one of them spoke up. "I am sorry to tell you this but your sister Natalie was injured while on a trail by wolves and is in critical condition. Your daughter and her son are in the hospital and have sustained minor injuries."
His heart stopped as he stared at the officers, he did not know how to react, "No," he whispered as tears fell down his face. Natalie.
"Sir I am sorry for your loss your sister; if you want we can escort you to the hospital," The officer said sympathetically.
"I'll get my keys," he said through tears. The officers nodded as he hurried and got his stuff. The trip to the hospital was all a blur as he let out sobs and felt the tears fall from his face. As soon as he got to the hospital he followed the police inside and they checked him in with the front desk.
Once he got the information of the rooms for his sister he immediately went to see Annabeth. He ran as fast as he could as he reached the room. He flung open the door and found a nurse tending to Annabeth, her cousin Magnus sitting in a bed next to her.
"Daddy!" Annabeth said, her eyes looking as if they had cried themselves out ten times over.
"Annabeth what happened?" His body was numb as he hugged her, he wasn't much of a people person but he had to at least comfort his daughter.
Annabeth let out a sob, "Auntie wolves got Auntie, daddy their eyes were so blue and scary. Magnus helped me escape and the police helped save us but auntie" She cried out into his shoulder.
"There there I am here," he said comforting her. He turned to the nurse, "Will she be ok?"
The nurse nodded, "Yes she only had a few cuts and bruises her cousin is ok too."
"Thank you, can we have some privacy please?" He asked, the nurse smiled at him and exited the room.
"Daddy Magnus helped me when I saw the spiders he killed them for me when we were hiding," Annabeth said as tears fell from her cheeks. "Will auntie be ok?"
"I'll check on Auntie in a bit," He said with a smile as he set her down. He looked over at Magnus, poor kid he thought as he looked at Magnus. The young boy sat in his bed looking up at the ceiling with a dead look in his eyes.
He walked over to him, "Hey Magnus how are you doing?"
"They took her, those things attacked us," Magnus replied sounding like he was trying to suppress his tears.
"Its alright Magnus I will check on your mom in a bit," he said trying to be as empathetic as possible. Damn it all out of all the things I studied parenting wasn't one of them.
"Stay away from Uncle Randolph," Magnus said in a soft voice devoid of emotion. Frederick turned to Magnus who was looking at him. "Mom said if something happened to stay away from him and to ask you for help."
I may not have planned to be a father this early but I know what it feels like to be a parent. "Don't worry Magnus things will be all right." He smiled as he went and gave Magnus a hug. His nephew hugged him back and let out a sob
He said goodbye to both of them before leaving the room. They told him that a pack of wolves attacked her and were driven away when a parker ranger rammed a few of them with his car along with firing at them after warning shots wouldn't work. The police officers were outside and warned him about the condition of his sister's body. He still insisted on seeing it, they were family and it was the least that he could do to see his sister in her final moments.
When he entered her room he saw her and it took all of his will not to vomit. Her arms and legs were full of bite marks and chunks of flesh were missing everywhere. "Natalie!" He said as he walked next to the bed.
"Frederick," she said in a low voice. "I don't have much left."
"Natalie it is ok I am here," he said not knowing really what to say. Her injuries looked really bad. She wont survive it was a thought he did not want to contemplate or admit. His younger sister was not going to survive.
His sister smiled at him, "Frederick promise me you will take care of Magnus. I don't want him near Randolph or for him to be sent to some home."
"I will," He said without thinking twice. He knew his sister and brother had a rocky relationship but he did not want to get into that right now.
"Swear it on the mother of Annabeth," she said seriously looking him in his eyes. Frederick looked into his sister's eyes, he had never told his siblings about Athena but he felt his eyes widen as his sister looked at him, her eyes appearing to say all. She knows but how? Unless oh Athena.
No he thought at the implications. She got swept off of her feet by an Olympian too. "Please keep him safe," Natalie said. "This family has always attracted attention."
Frederick gulped, "I swear that I will do all I can to keep Magnus safe." He gulped again; he didn't know what he was saying but the words just seemed to flow out of him. "I swear on the Styx."
Natalie smiled at him, "Thank you, Frederick. I hope our kids can keep each other safe in this world." Frederick nodded as he gulped down the emotions in his body and tears fall down his cheeks. "Goodbye Frederick," Natalie said as she closed her eyes.
"Goodbye," Frederick sobbed as he watched the life leave his sister.
Natalie's death proved to be the spark that ignited the tension in the Chase family. Frederick found himself fighting with Randolph every day it seemed. Everyone was trying to put blame on each other and some tried to take her stuff without permission. He stayed with Annabeth and Magnus in his sister's house while he worked on getting custody of Magnus. Luckily for him, he had a few college buddies in the area who were lawyers and were helping him get custody of Magnus along with some other legal things.
Magnus was withdrawn and only sat around or played with Annabeth. The poor boy had lost his only family and was constantly in fear of something. His nephew only talked to him and Annabeth, not that his siblings minded as many were not interested in having the boy as a member of their household. Frederick had called his wife and explained the situation, she was still back home with his other kids. She was shocked at the death of his sister and a little upset at the thought of adopting another child but she agreed to have him ultimately.
The day before the court hearing for Magnus he was getting his stuff ready and repeating what to say to the judge when a familiar presence appeared in the room. He turned around and his eyes widened. "Athena," he said looking at the goddess in all her glory. He was speechless, what could he say after all. The last time he heard from her, she gave him a child that at first he didn't want but grew to love.
"Hello Frederick," Athena said in a tone that he knew meant business.
"Wh-What brings you here?" He asked, Athena was fully armored in Greek armor and her presence radiated power and authority.
"Frederick about that boy you are planning on adopting. I would advise against it," Athena said.
Frederick was taken aback by what she said, "What do you mean? He is just a boy, and he has no other family left."
Athena stared at him with her eyes, her beautiful eyes which were always strong-willed and were not waivered by emotion. They also had something else in them, a look that he knew meant she did not want questions about a certain topic. "I understand that but there are things that should not be mixed. Your family will face more danger if he is around."
Frederick looked to the ground and avoided her gaze, "I cannot just leave him. I am sorry but I swore to my sister that I would protect him. You entrusted me with a child and my sister did as well, I cannot just abandon him, even if he is another demigod." He looked at Athena with all of his resolve, he still had love for her but he could not leave his nephew alone in the world.
Athena sighed, "You are stubborn, that is what I admire in you. Fine if you insist though know that I advised against it." Frederick looked up as Athena picked up the book on the Byzantine Empire he was reading. "Oh Constantinople those were the days," she sighed as she flipped through the book. "During these times Western Civilization went through a lot. The sons of the north were tough; but they made good allies too," she mumbled as she took a piece of paper that was nearby and placed it inside of the book.
"Frederick if you insist on keeping that boy with our daughter know that there may be unseen consequences out of our control," she said in a serious tone. "Your family may face certain threats in the future as a result of having him and your daughter under the same roof."
He gave her a weak smile. "That is a risk I am willing to take."
Athena smiled and sighed, "You really are determined aren't you? I knew I made the right choice of trusting you to Annabeth. Fine do as you wish, I wish you luck tomorrow," she said with a small smile.
"Thank you," he said with a smile as Athena disappeared. Frederick went up and picked up the book Athena was looking through. He opened it and saw that it was on the Varangian Guards, the Norse warriors who protected the Byzantine Emperors.
He then looked at the bookmark and realized it was one of his sister's, he frowned as he looked at it. Is this some kind of rune he thought as he looked at it. It was decorated with leafy patterns with the rune in the middle. He didn't know much about runes but his sister had the same symbol around her house. Well she always was into these kinds of things he thought as he let out a sigh. He set the book back down and sighed as he thought about his meeting with Athena.
The next day Frederick got Annabeth and Magnus in the best clothes he could find before they went to the courthouse. Both of them appeared solemn as if they were about to be punished. He tried to reassure them but they were still nervous. The process was nerve-wracking as they headed to the court. When they got there he greeted his friend who was representing him and the two talked a bit before it was their time to go before the judge.
Their time in the courtroom was not a short one, his friend did all he could and Frederick was nervous during the entire thing. When they finally were done he waited anxiously for the judge to make his decision. "Well Mr. Frederick Chase by the authority I have I declare you the guardian of Magnus Chase," he said smiling at him.
Frederick felt tears in his eyes as he thanked the judge while his friend patted him on the back. He looked and saw Annabeth jump for joy at the news while his Magnus sat there, a small smile on his face.
After the trial Frederick and his friend filled out all the paperwork. It was all honestly a blur for him as he got all the paperwork that declared him the guardian of Magnus. When he was done he decided to treat Annabeth and Magnus to dinner. They ate at some burger place and ate in silence.
"So Magnus are you feeling ok?" He asked as Magnus looked down quietly eating his food.
Magnus only nodded, "Will I really be going with you and Annabeth to Virginia?"
Frederick smiled, "Of course I am sure you will love it there."
Magnus only nodded while Annabeth jumped cheered happily. Frederick tried to smile too as he ate his food. He didn't know why but he felt as if his world was getting bigger than he had previously thought.
The rest of his time at his sister's place was a blur as he organized the last of her belongings. He had gained possession of his sister's place and already had a person willing to rent it out while his sister's assets would be set aside for when Magnus was older.
He sighed as he looked at the empty house, Magnus had already packed the few belongings he had and they were all getting ready to leave in a few days. Magnus was still quiet and still affected by the incident. He often saw his poor nephew just blankly stare at the wall or hug himself while crying. Annabeth would try to occasionally cheer him up but it didn't work and he let his daughter know that Magnus needed his space right now.
The rest of his time in Boston went by fast as he arranged the final things he had to take care of concerning his sister's estate. Before he knew it he was at the airport with Annabeth and Magnus and headed towards Virginia leaving behind his family home once again. Maybe in the future things can go back to how they used to be he thought optimistically, though he doubted it would happen for a while. But you never know I didn't know Greek Gods existed and now I will be taking care of two of their children.
Magnus was looking around and still appeared down despite Annabeth's best efforts to cheer him up. Frederick had told her that he might need some space and even though she did not understand the gravity of the situation he still felt that she understood deep down that her cousin was sad.
When they were all on the plane they sat on the same aisle. He noticed Magnus look out the window from where he sat staring outside as the plane slowly took off into the air. Before they knew it, they were headed to Virginia where they would all be living. He didn't care about the risks of having another demigod, he would follow his sister's wishes and raise Magnus alongside Annabeth.
