Son of a legend

by Majannajsnns89

Ever since he was a kid he had always dreamed of being a WWE superstar just like his mom, he wanted to be idolized and become a Champion.

7. Bxbsbsbs

PERCY POV

My life has always sucked. Big time. I've been saying for the last three years that I've been cursed with the worst luck. I've yet to manage to stay in the same school since I was five years old. Sometimes, I don't even manage to finish the whole year. Weird and strange events seem to happen wherever I go.

Just on the top of my head, I can think of half a dozen things that no normal twelve year old would go through. There was a fire last year that burned down three classrooms. Somehow I was blamed because I was the only person that wasn't injured by the flames so they assumed it was me.

The year before that, the plumbing burst and literally flooded the entire place. Again, I came out unscathed and with my lovely record, it didn't take much for them to pin the fault on me.

Then before that, a sink hole swallowed the library. Thankfully, no one could dare say I did that without looking straight up crazy. Besides I had never stepped foot inside the library anyways. Actually, I can't say I even knew where it was before the earth swallowed it.

And now recently, I somehow and I swear it was by accident, but my class took unexpected dip in a shark infested tank at the local aquarium. Luckily no one was physically injured. Can't say that there wasn't some mental trauma inflected though. I think everyone, involved minus myself, will have a phobia of water and the ocean for the rest of their lives. Oops.

Don't get me wrong, there are some good parts. Well, just one to be honest. My mom. She's the best person in the world in my opinion. Despite the difficulties she and I have had. Erm, all the difficulties I put on her. She works hard. Too hard and too much. I might be a kid but it doesn't take a genius to know that our lives aren't normal.

And that doesn't even include Gabe. The worst and most disgusting human to exist. I have spent years trying to understand why my mom puts up with him. I know it's not because she loves him. She doesn't even like him. She always plays it off and smiles despite the pain buried deep down.

I've confronted her about it too. People in general have been easy to read and lately, my skill in reading emotions has only gotten better. It's strange, but it's second nature to me now. I just…know what people are usually feeling.

I've asked her why she keeps Gabe around. Not that she ever gives me a clear answer. It's not like he really provides money or some other support. In fact, he wastes so much. He eats triple what mom and I eat in a week, which is saying something because I'm not a slouch when it comes to packing away food. And don't get me started with his poker and gambling habits. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't constantly lose and piss away the few bucks my mom manages to save up. Every time I come home, he and I are always one word away from an all out brawl. The temptation to punch the life out of him is well, tempting.

Smelly Gabe, the nickname I call him to everyone else, never actually raised a hand to me. Yet. He claims it's because I'm too pretty and one day I'll need my good looks to work street corners to make a living. He's smart to never say that when Mom is home or else I'm sure even with her sweet nature, she would kick him out.

I tend to ignore his presence the best I could. I can't let myself be gloated into a fist fight with a walrus. Which is exactly what I was working on now as I walked home. It had been a shitty week at Yancy. More so than usual.

My history and Latin classes had a combined field trip to a museum. Where for the longest time, everything was working out okay. I personally hated field trips. Mainly because every single one I've had ended in disaster. And of course, this one was added to the ever growing list of reasons why I truly believe I'm cursed.

Now I've never really been bullied myself. Even when I was little. Why? Who knows. Well, Grover claims it's because everyone is secretly in love with me and I'm just too oblivious to notice. Actually, I do in fact notice that most people tend to get…pink around me for the lack of a better word. Sometimes it's literal, especially nowadays as my preteen classmates are starting to enter puberty. But when I mean pink it's more a state of emotions. It's like when you know someone is crushing on you. So pink equals crushing. Yeah, that makes sense.

Sadly, despite being my best friend, Grover was not immune to being bullied. In fact, I think it only made it worse. People get jealous and angry that he gets to be my friend. I hear it sometimes when no one thinks I'm around. They push Grover around and yell horrible things like; "I don't get what he sees in you. You're ugly and boring." Or "Percy isn't around to protect you now. Just wait, he'll get tired of you soon and replace you with someone better."

I've tried my best to console Grover. I tell him to ignore everyone and their petty lies. He always looks like a kicked puppy with his big ole brown eyes every time someone picks on him. That sad look without flail flares a roaring sense of protection from deep inside me. I absolutely despise bullies.

Which is how Nancy Bobofit received the darkest glare I could muster from across the courtyard after she couldn't keep her sticky klepto hands to herself. My annoyed look sent her tumbling backwards into the water fountain. The screams of surprise and horror scared everyone else into action. The teachers went scrambling to help her. The redhead bully was shivering terribly as she was guided out.

Nancy must have blamed me because not a moment later, Ms. Dodds, my ancient and evil looking algebra teacher come storming towards me with a look that promised misery.

"Now now, Mr. Jackson, I need you to come with me."

Poor Grover whimpered beside me with horror struck eyes. "W-wait. It was me! I pushed Nancy."

I blinked at Grover in surprise. Why was he lying? No one pushed anyone. Not that I noticed. Besides, Grover standing up to a teacher? That was more shocking than anything else.

Ms. Dodds didn't even bother to glance at Grover as she spoke. "Don't lie Mr. Underwood. I know it was Jackson. Now

come along dearie."

I sighed tiredly to my fate. Like I said. Worst luck ever. I patted Grover on the back to reassure him. "I'll be fine. G-man. You worry too much. See you in a few."

Ms. Dodds took me deep into the museum probably looking for a secluded spot to yell at me. I know the drill by now.

Except something was odd. More so than usual at least. I walked into an empty room and glanced around. I know she entered, but it's not like it's a huge space, where did she go?

"Perseus Jackson. At last." I spun around on my heels feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A sinking feeling turned in the pit of my stomach. I hate it when people use my full name. Only my mom was allowed to call me that.

It took me about two seconds to realize Ms.Dodds was not human. Her eyes were literally glowing with crimson light that reminded me of hot coals. I backed up a few steps, trying to get some distance between me and whatever the hell Ms. Dodds actually was.

"We know you have it. If you return it to us, I can promise you a painless swift death."

I cocked my head in confusion. "Have what? Lady….Thing…whatever you are, I have zero idea what you're going on about. But fuck you for saying you're gonna kill me. What kind of dumb strategy are you planning? Even if I had whatever the hell you want, why would I give it to you if you're just gonna kill me?"

That seemed to make her pause as she pondered what I said. "Hm. You speak the truth. Alright. Hand over what we seek and I won't kill you painlessly."

I gave her a deadpan stare. Was she serious? Did she think I was honestly going to fall for that?

"Again, I don't have whatever you want. Go ask someone else."

"You insolent brat! We know you stole it! You are a cunning thief, but you cannot run nor hide from us now! Ms. Dodds was apparently done negotiating because she began to transform before my eyes. Into some…demonic bat creature with big ass claws.

"Well…fuck."

I had enough sense to tuck and roll as whatever the hell this monster was lunged at me with their talons. My brain was working overtime trying to figure how to keep myself alive. I glanced around the sparse room. I needed something to defend myself with and quick.

Dodging again, I sprinted across the room and leaped over a desk. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something shiny. A statue made of some kind of metal. Good enough.

Ms. Dodds screeched furiously. Apparently she didn't like my acrobat show. I stood up, holding a bronze statue of some mostly naked guy in my hands.

"I'm warning you. Don't make me use this!"

Ms. Dodds cackled like one of those mad scientists you see on Disney Channel. "You are a bold one. Or perhaps a bigger fool than I thought. You think you can defeat me, Alecto, one of the three furies of the Underworld, with a bookend?"

"Um. Yeah, I do actually." Gathering every ounce of courage and strength I had in my body, I used the desk as a springboard to leap up into the air. I brought the bronze statue above my head and brought it down to smash it over Ms. Dodds/ Alecto/ Evil Bat Lady's skull. She must have truly thought I was joking because she made no move to get out of the way. Sucks for her. I wasn't about to be killed by some overgrown bat creature.

The two of us tumbled onto the ground. Alecto shrieked something awful as I landed on top of her. I wasted no time in bashing her over and over again with the metal figurine. She kept trying to scratch me with open with her razor sharp fingeranils so I placed both my feet on her wrists to keep her down as I literally bashed her head with a chuck of history.

Gold dust stained my hands and arms as I brought down the statue one last time. There was a disgusting splattering noise as her skull was left a shattered mess on the marble floor. I felt my stomach threaten to heave my lunch as I glanced at the gore I had caused.

I watched in morbid interest as Ms. Dodds's body shimmered out of existence, leaving behind a pile of gold glitter and a handful of what seemed to be her claws behind. I impulsively grabbed the talons and shoved them in my pocket as I stood up on wobbly legs.

Holy shit. That really just happened. My math teacher turned into some kind of flying demon and tried to kill me. And then…I literally killed her. Out of all the weird and plainly fucked up things to happen to me, this one takes the cake for the strangest and most fucked up.

I dropped the statue. The metal was horribly dented and mangled. Another casualty in Percy's string of bad luck. I wiped most of the lingering gold flecks off me. Whatever she was, I'm glad she didn't have real blood. That would be harder to explain to everyone.

I walked back out to the courtyard in numbed dazed. Yet my nerves were on fire. I was hyper aware of everything. Like my brain wasn't ready to calm down. I was still on my life or death mindset.

I spotted Grover and made a beeline towards him. He turned around to face me before I was even within earshot. He gave me one look before his eyes widened in shock.

"Percy! You're okay! How was…um, Mrs. Kerr? I hope she wasn't too strict with you about Nancy."

I looked at Grover with the most stoic expression I could muster. "Dude. What the hell are you talking about? Who is Mrs. Kerr? You literally watched Ms.Dodds take me away. By the way, she was literally some kind of demon. Got even uglier and grew bat wings and then tried to kill me."

Grover actually winced as he swallowed thickly. "Are you sure? I think maybe you're really tired Perce. I don't know who you're-"

"Cut the crap Grover. I don't know why you're lying. First off dude, you're a horrible liar, but even if you were good, you know that no one can lie to me without setting off my bullshit detector. And I know you you know something because you're not human either." I raised my eyebrows at him with a smirk growing on my lips as I watched my best friend choke on air and pale dramatically.

"H-how did you know?!"

"I didn't. You just told me." I grinned at him. In his defense, I had a good idea that something was up with him long before now. He acted strange. Even to my weird life. I've literally watched him eat empty soda cans like they were candy when he thought no one was looking. Plus, for someone that was trying to pass off as physically disabled, he wasn't good at hiding his ability to sprint to the cafeteria on enchilada day.

Personally, I didn't care either way. It wasn't my secret and Grover has been nothing but an awesome friend and roommate for the last year. I couldn't really care if he was human or not. Almost. Now I did have some questions considering what just happened.

"Relax dude. I kinda suspected something before, but ya know, I didn't think you wanted anyone to know and I don't spill other's secrets." I took a seat beside him and sighed tiredly as the adrenaline was beginning to fade from my body. "So what are you?"

"Um. I'm a satyr." Grover looked like the wind had been knocked out of him. He must be really nervous.

"Alright. That's erm, the half goat guys right? Cool. That explains why you try to pretend your legs are injured. Future reference dude, you gotta work on your acting skills."

He had the decency to look sheepish. "Percy, it's dangerous for you now. Knowing the truth about the divine world only makes you more of a target. We need to get you someplace safe and tell your mom."

"More dangerous that a fury coming after me? And wait hold on, tell my mom? You say that like you've talked to her before."

"So she was a fury?! How did you manage to take her down?"

I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. "Erm. I sorta bashed her brains with a bronze statue."

Grover blinked at me owlishly as his jaw fell slack. "You…killed a fury with a statue?"

I nodded. "Yeah dude. Can we move on to the part where you somehow know my mom?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "So, um, satyr's are sent out to places like schools to search for people like you and bring you back to someplace that's safe. When I found you, I went to your apartment and your mom spotted me and she knew instantly what I was. She told me that you weren't ready to go to camp and you haven't had any encounters with any big monsters yet so we decided to wait for you to enjoy more of your childhood."

I stared at Grover for a few moments as my brain struggled to wrap around all this information. "I see. Well that totally makes no sense and yet makes a lot of sense."

"I'm sorry! I really thought it wasn't too big of a deal considering…"

"Considering what?" I snapped back with a surprising amount of anger. I needed to calm down. This wasn't Grover's fault. Not really.

"I'm not really supposed to say, but I thought you were just a Child of Aphrodite. They don't usually have strong scents and a lot of them get by in the mortal world without a lot of monster interference and since you've gone so long without being attacked, I thought you would be lucky like that too."

I scoffed under my breath. Lucky was not a word I would ever use to describe myself. "Grover, I'm not gonna lie. I have legit no idea what you're talking about right now. A Child of Aphrodite? What does that even mean?"

"Oh yeah. My bad. You're a demigod. Part human part god. And I thought your godly parent was the goddess of love. Since you know…" He gestured vaguely at my body.

"A demigod? Like…the ones from Greek myths? Like Hercules or Achilles? Those guys?"

Grover nodded. "Yeah, exactly like those guys. know I'm not explaining it great. The people at camp are better at explaining it."

I thought about all the strange and weird things that have happened in my life. This sorta made it all seem right. I had a feeling that I wasn't normal, especially after I knew that Grover wasn't all human a few months ago. I was thinking I was secretly a wizard like Harry Potter or something like that.

"But…why Aphrodite? Isn't that a goddess? I know my mom is the greatest, but I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if she wasn't human."

Grover blushed. "Erm. Well. Not Sally. I mean, she IS amazing! But I guess I meant your other mom? Gods and goddesses can take many forms after all."

"Oh." I wasn't sure how to respond to that. The fact that my dad that was supposedly lost at sea was not actually a dude, but a goddess posing as a dude made my head hurt. Somehow I felt like that isn't true. Not that I doubt Grover, but something was telling me that there was still a lot of information missing.

"We should go to your place and talk to your mom. Now that a major monster has found you, it won't be long before others start showing up."

I nodded as if that was completely normal thing to say. No big deal, monsters are after you. Just another day. I almost laughed aloud from how ridiculous it was.

But one thing was for sure, I really needed to talk to my mom.

Chapter 2: The tragic life of a hero

Summary:

Warning*

This chapter contains implied dark themes of implied rape and murder. Please be advised when reading this chapter.

Notes:

Read the warning labels and tags for this chapter!

Chapter Text

GROVER POV

Percy is undeniably the most unique demigod I've ever met. I had gone to Yancy academy mainly because boarding schools are popular places for demigods to be found and it wasn't far from camp. Not halfway across the country. I felt bad for any Satyr that had to bring back their demigod charge across the states. The longer the journey, the more danger. The Council of Elders probably didn't trust me to assign me on those jobs anyways.

When I got to my dorm for the year, I couldn't have expected my job to have gotten this easy. Especially considering what had happened during my last job. But yet there he was. The most beautiful person I had ever seen and with eyes like his, I had no doubts who is divine parent was. Only one immortal deity had kaleidoscope eyes.

I've yet to see Aphrodite or any of the other love gods or goddesses in person, but I have met plenty of Aphrodite's demigod children. She doesn't exactly have a shortage of them at camp. Yet none of them could hold a candle to Percy.

He reminded me of those angelic cherubs that Apollo and Hermes sometimes have flying around their palaces on Olympus. Percy was still young so his beauty shined more like purity and childlike innocence. But give it a few years and Perce will be fighting off mortals and divines alike.

There was something completely difficult about Percy. Like the air around him was sweeter….calmer. It pulled people close in a way that completely made someone's defense's fall. More than once, I thought he was actually a monster in disguise. There were a few monsters that used charms and beauty to lure in unsuspecting prey. But his scent was undeniably that of a demigod.

I actually found it weird that for such a powerful child of love, his scent wasn't nearly as potent. He was…muted. Something was protecting him from being found via his aura. I just couldn't figure out what.

It was obvious Percy was unaware of the affects his aura had to those around him. He walked around in simple worn down clothing and hardly put in any effort in his appearance. It was his easy-going and calm personality that truly sucked people in. Everyone wanted to be Percy's friend. Yet everyone was too terrified to approach him. Not that I could blame them. If he wasn't my roommate and well, my job, I wouldn't bother trying to even talk to him.

As I got to know Percy, I began to realize that he wasn't just pretty on the outside, but he was just as beautiful on the inside too. I was expecting him to be as shallow and vain as his siblings tend to be, but it never happened. He was quick to defend me from bullies and never once made me feel inferior. He was kind and gentle and shockingly patient for a demigod.

I had watched nervously a few weeks ago when Ms. Dodds came and replaced the mortal teacher. I knew instantly she was some kind of powerful monster, but one that I hadn't ever encountered before. I waited for her to attack Percy the moment she had him alone, but for some unknown reason, she left him alone.

She had to know he was a demigod, but perhaps she was looking for specific one? When news of Zeus's master bolt going missing broke out, chaos followed. Severe thunderstorms had broken out across the US threatening millions as Zeus rage grew. But so far, no one had any idea who could have been the thief.

Chiron asked me if it was possible that it was Percy, considering he was living in New York. I strongly denied the chances. I spend every night with the guy. He literally didn't have the chance to sneak out long enough to get to Olympus, steal the bolt and return without me noticing. Not to mention, how exactly would Percy even pull it off? His biggest power so far was being extremely charming. So unless Percy politely asked for Zeus to hand over the bolt, it's pretty unlikely Perce was the thief.

When I handed in my report, Chiron seemed to have lost interest in Percy once I stated that Percy is likely a powerful child of Aphrodite. I was surprised by the casual dismissal. Did Chiron not care as much just because Percy's godly parent wasn't known for producing powerful warriors and heros? I really hoped I was just reading too much into it.

Of course all of those stereotypes were shattered when Percy came strolling back from being cornered by Ms. Dodds completely covered in gold monster dust without not a single scrape on him.

He had literally killed a fury without a weapon. That was unheard of. Even for a demigod, killing high ranking monsters without a weapon and zero training was shy of impossible.

I kept staring at my best friend in total shock. Percy wasn't even fazed by what just happened. Not even finding out that he was a demigod seemed to shake him. He was as cool as a cucumber as mortals say.

As we made our way to his apartment, I tried my best to answer questions about camp and the divine world in general. Percy wasn't shy in asking about the most obscure things.

"So monsters don't die? They get sent to some place even worse than the Underworld to reform? But that place is also a god? So they live inside someone else? That's just gross."

"Oh my gods Percy. You can't say stuff like that. Most important rule of being a demigod, names have power. When you say the name of immortal beings, it can bring their attention on you and trust me, that's never a good thing."

"So the most important rule isn't to stay alive?"

"Nope! There are plenty of things worse than death in our world."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Lovely.

Just lovely. That's what any twelve year old wants to hear."

We made it to his apartment without any trouble. No monsters popping out of the shadows. Thank the gods.

That's when things stopped being good and immediately became a living nightmare.

"Percy, I smell blood. Like…lots and lots of blood." I wasn't sure why I said it. There are dozens of apartments on this floor alone and any one of them could have had something happening. Yet Percy didn't hesitate to sprint towards his apartment and fumbled with the key.

I followed closely behind him and the moment I passed the doorway, I was immediately hit with a horrid wave of stench that any creature with a nose could smell. I gagged in disgust. This was worse than most monster scents. It was one of those putrid smells that you could taste. My stomach ached and I swallowed a bit of vomit.

Percy was frozen in place in front of me. I heard him gasp loudly and then silence followed. A bad feeling crept along my skin as I went to stand beside him.

The moment I saw what was in the living room, I had to instantly spin around and let the contents of my stomach out. I wretched loudly as I tried to support myself on the wall. I wiped my mouth on back of my sweater.

"Percy….don't look. Please." I don't know what else to say to him. I knew he wasn't going to listen and I had no way to stop him.

The silence in the room was deafening. I could hear my heartbeat rapidly throbbing in my chest. I could feel it. The foreboding

aura of danger closing in. The air was warping as the mist began to thicken. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I really really didn't want to find out.

I stepped forward and tugged on Percy's hoodie. "Perce…I'm so sorry." What else can someone say in this situation?

The apartment was a complete disaster. Actually no, it looked like a scene straight out of a horror film. Furniture was flipped over. Lamps shattered. Lights flickering. Holes in the hole that were suspiciously human head sized.

In middle of the living room was Percy's mom. I had only met her once before, but it was enough to recognize her. Crimson blood spilled around the middle aged women in a halo of horror. She was naked from the waist down. It left nothing to the imagination to what occurred here. I had to fight off the urge to throw up again.

Percy finally moved from his position and kneeled down at his mother's head. I ran to the one of the bedrooms and yanked off the sheets to cover up his mom's lower body.

I wasn't sure what to do or what to say. Percy looked utterly broken. Tears were streaming down his face like little waterfalls as he cradled his mom's head in his lap. His hiccuping sobs echoed in the dark apartment.

The sorrowful cries made me begin to weep as well. I couldn't help it. It was like this immense bubble pure despair and misery was forming in my chest. I felt like I was drowning.

Oh. Oh no.

Percy had to be projecting his emotions. At first I thought it was because of our emotional link, but as I keep trying to wipe my tears away from my vision, I could see it. The shimmering way the mist was rippling away from Percy. His powers were spiraling out of control. He truly was a powerful demigod child of Aphrodite if he was able to control emotions to this extent. Probably the most powerful born in centuries.

Suddenly thunder boomed loudly and shook the entire building. The windows rattled roughly in their frames before shattering under the powerful vibrations. A wall of wind burst though the hole and swirled violently within the apartment.

I glanced up and saw a terrible storm brewing. The sky was inky black and looked like it was boiling as the clouds rolled and folded over each other. Lightening lit up the blackened sky before another deafening crack of thunder shook the earth.

No normal storm could be so terrifying. It was for sure made from divine intervention. Which meant it was time to go. Lingering here would only spell doom.

"Percy, I know this sounds impossible, but we need to leave. The gods are angry and this place isn't safe."

Percy's heart wrenching sobs didn't pause. In fact they only turned into air piercing screams of impossible pain and agony. I gasped as I fell to my knees as my heart and lungs clenched terribly.

A sense of impending doom flooded me. I wasn't sure I was ever going to feel happiness ever again. I was cold. Every once of warmth drained out of me. There was nothing worth living now.

Hollow. Broken. Empty.

Holy Hades, Percy's emotions were going to kill me at this rate. If this was only a fraction of what he was feeling, I can't imagine the extent of his heartache.

"PERCY! Please! I know it hurts, but your mom would want you to be safe. She would want to keep on living." I knew it was crappy to use his mom against him, but if he kept using his powers like this, every monster in the city will be drawn here like a moth to a beacon.

Percy didn't even budge. He continued to stroke his mother's hair as tears kept falling like rain. There had to be something to get him moving. What could distract him enough to-oh. Oh sweet Hades, I'm gonna go to straight to Tartarus for this.

"Perce, don't you want to find out what happened? Who did this to her? Get justice?" I regretted the words the moment they left my lips.

Percy's head snapped up like some possessed creature. His blood shot eyes were blazing with rage. The once beautiful sea green that usually mimicked the calm reflective waters of the sea were now dark and stormy. The swirling shades of blue so deep they almost appeared black. It was like looking straight into ocean's deepest abyss. I swallowed thickly and forced myself

to look away. I didn't want to get consumed by those haunting eyes.

"That filthy monster Gabe did this." I jumped from Percy's sudden speech. Mostly because it didn't sound like him. All traces of warmth was long gone. His voice was sharp and icy. It reminded me of the frigid deadly waters of the Arctic.

Percy stood carefully as with his fists clenched to his side. I could have sworn the building was shaking again. "You're right Grover. Mom wouldn't have wanted me to mourn like this. I know I'm supposed to be better. Take the high road. But I can't. I'm not some amazing Greek hero. I'm just a kid. A kid that…lost his mom too soon. I know I can't do anything now, but I swear, I swear on what gods are listening, I will get justice for my mom."

I winced at his heartbroken tone. All I wanted to do was hide Percy away. Somewhere deep in nature where no monsters or gods could ever bother him. Let him live his life in peace. But I didn't have that power. I'm not sure anyone does.

Percy kneeled down again and closed his mother's eyelids. He closed his own eyes as well. I could make out his lips moving, but no sound came out. Suddenly Sally's body began to glow with soft light before gently fading away into a mist that smelled strong of the sea.

"At least someone heard my prayers." Percy muttered softly. He glanced up at me and flashed me a broken sad smile. "Thanks for being here for me Grover. You could have high tailed it out of here, but you stuck around even during my melt down to

make sure I'm okay." He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and gave me a tight squeeze. "You're the best."

I gulped thickly. I certainly didn't feel like the best. I didn't even do anything besides watch my best friend witness the worst thing a person could see. "Percy, I promise you'll always have me."

A strange darkness shadowed over Percy's eyes so quickly that I thought for a moment that it was a trick of the light. But I could feel it through our empathy link. There was tiny spilt second of terrible sorrow before it disappeared.

"Let's go. You gotta take me to camp right?"

"Yeah. But…don't you want to bring your stuff?"

Percy paused by the front door and shook his head without looking back. His voice was soft as he spoke. "There is nothing left for me here."

Chapter 3: I can't even travel an hour without being attacked

Summary:

Percy finds out some more truths about the divine world and meets his second monster for the day.

Notes:

Things are beginning to unfold! Enjoy!

Chapter Text

PERCY POV

Grover and I decided to take a taxi to Camp Half-Blood. It seemed like the fastest way for a short distance and honestly I wasn't much in the mood to hike all the way to Long Island on foot.

I used the credit card that mom gave me to use for emergencies. The irony didn't get passed me. Besides after today, I wouldn't be needing the card anymore. Might as well use it.

I don't think Grover could handle the growing silence between us if we had travelled by foot anyways. Not that I blame him. If the roles had been switched, I wouldn't know what to say to someone in my situation either. Although my toxic intrusive brain provided me with a fun scenario;

'Oh hey, good job not getting killed by an Ancient Greek monster. Oh and by the way, you're not exactly human. You're part god. But we don't know which one. It's a fun mystery. Oops. Your mom got killed. So sorry. Now time to go to summer camp with a bunch of other half god kids. Have fun. Don't die.'

If that wasn't a mental cry for help, I'm not sure what would be. At least I've stopped crying. Actually since leaving the apartment, I haven't been feeling much of anything. Everything was muted and numb. It reminded me of those cartoons when all the colours leeched away into black and white.

I wasn't even angry anymore. Which was strange because I knew I was. I could feel my rage simmering deep within me like a pool of magma waiting to erupt.

It wasn't like I didn't know who was responsible for my mom's murder. Yet I couldn't bring myself to care at the moment. All I wanted to do was curl up in my bed and hide under the covers for a month.

Somehow I don't think that was going to be an option for me. The car ride was awkwardly tense. Grover kept fidgeting nervously as he kept glancing out the window to the stormy sky.

"Alright what gives man? You look like a spooked bunny." I was too mentally exhausted to be subtle at the moment.

"Sorry Perce. It's just…the storm got a lot worse." I followed his eyeline. Yeah, he was right. The thick dark clouds were racing across sky with the speed of the wind. Lightning flickered every few seconds, sometimes overlapping to flash bright enough to make your eyes see spots. If I didn't know any better, it looked like the beginning of a hurricane.

"I'm guessing that's not normal." I used air quotes around the word normal. I knew the driver was hardly paying attention to us as they listened to whatever radio station was playing, but I didn't want to take the chance either.

Grover shook his head. "Things have been really tense on Olympus. Something bad happened. Like really bad. And now war is brewing between Lord Zeus and Lord Poseidon. That's why there's been so much freak weather the last couple weeks."

"What happened? Can't they figured it out, aren't they literally gods? Will they really go to war?" I'm not exactly sure what would happened if gods went to war but I had a strong feeling it would not end well for anyone. Especially mortals.

"Lord Zeus's master bolt was stolen. No one really knows how or who, but for some reason he thinks it was Lord Poseidon. And now Lord Poseidon is angry for being accused of thievery and treason."

"You can steal a lightning bolt? That's kinda cool if you think about it." Having literal lightning as a weapon would be pretty epic not gonna lie.

"Well, yes and no. Gods can't actually steal another's symbol of power directly. That's a huge no no according to the ancient laws. But demigods can. Many times in the past, the children of the gods were sent on quests to do things that deities are not allowed to directly interfere with."

I scratched the back of my neck and shook my head in disbelief. "This is getting hella complicated. Even for me. So what? Poseidon had one of his kids steal the bolt? Wouldn't it be obvious then if he did it?"

Grover shook his head. "Well you see, the big three, that's Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades respectively, swore not to have any more children roughly sixty years ago after the Second World War. Let's just say that demigod children that are sired from them are too powerful. They literally caused a world war and threatened the existence of humanity."

Well fuck.

I glanced down to my lap. Wrapped around my fist was a chain of black pearls with a single metal charm dangling from the center. One of a trident. It had appeared in my hands back in the apartment when I prayed for my mother's body to be taken away someplace safe.

It didn't exactly take a genius to figure out who gave it to me. To be honest, I sorta of already knew that my godly parent was Poseidon.

A couple years ago during the shark tank incident when everyone else was screaming bloody murder, I had a nice chat with the fish and sharks in the aquarium. They kept calling me 'Sea Prince' and a little more on the nose, a 'Son of Poseidon'. They didn't exactly leave much to the imagination about who I was even if we ignored the fact that I was literally speaking to a bunch of sea life like it was a casual occurrence.

Of course I wanted to confront my mom the second I found out, but something held me back. She had a reason to lie and my mom was not the type of person to keep secrets unless it was life or death.

So I pretended to stay ignorant. Besides, what did it matter? At least that's what I thought back then. So what if I was some weird hybrid boy? The last thing I wanted was to become a knock off Aquaman. If I've learned anything from superhero movies is that they rarely ever get happy endings and I was already the poster child for bad luck.

I might not have been an ace student, especially in history class, but I don't remember demigods being the reason for WWll. "Okay. So I don't get it. If they don't have demigod kids to do their bidding, then why does Zeus think it was Poseidon? Aren't there like a million Greek gods out there?"

Grover shrugged. "That's why everyone is confused. Course, it's possible that the oath was broken. It's…uh, happened before."

Oh. Well that makes a lot more sense. I honestly should have seen that coming. Gods don't seem the type to really follow rules very well. "So my extended family is pretty complicated huh?" I shoved Grover playfully to lighten the mood.

He laughed and nodded. "For sure. You don't even know the half of it."

"Hey kids, this is as far I can go. The GPS says your strawberry field place is about half a mile up the road. Ya sure you wanna pick berries in this weather?" The taxi driver gave us a strange look through the rear view mirror. Can't blame him, I would think we were crazy too.

"Yeah thanks for the ride. It's actually our family's place." Technically not a total lie.

The second we got out, the taxi did a three point turn and zoomed away in a cloud of dust. "Mortals get antsy the closer they get to the camp boarders." Grover explained as we began our hike.

"Hey do you smell that?" I glanced back at Grover who was sniffing the air the same he does when it's enchilada day at school.

I took a whiff just to go along with it. Ozone and post rain grass smells. "Erm. Can you be a bit more specific? What am I trying to smell?"

"Monster. Definitely a monster."

"How the hell would I be able to smell a monster Grover?" I spun around in a circle trying to spot anything that looked out of the ordinary. I swear if Ms. Dodds came back already, I'm gonna want a refund on my luck. Cause freaking hell, I just killed her. Not fair at all.

And of course, that's when the storm decided to unleash its downpour on top of us. Luckily, it didn't seem to bother me. In fact, I felt ten times better than I have all day. Seems like water in any form can give me a nice boost.

I laughed aloud. Just like those Pokémon that have that ability, Swift Swim. Gods, I miss those games. I should play them again. The OG ones, not the new generations. Cause those suck-

"Percy, are you even paying attention?!"

"Oh. Sorry. What's going on?" My bad. Grover clearly did not like the rain considered he was shivering and soaked to the bone. He pointed behind us to what I could barely make out as a shadow in the distance. The rain might feel nice, but I still couldn't see any better through the thick haze it created.

For all I knew, that was a tree. Oh. Nope. Trees don't move. Or at least, not that I'm aware of. Oh shit. Is this some Lord of the Rings bullshit? Cause fuck, I did not sign up for fighting sentient tree people.

I could feel the ground vibrating like when massive semi-trucks or a train go rushing past you. I sighed deeply. This was not gonna be fun.

"Grover, stop waiting for whatever the fuck that is to catch up with us and start running! And lose the fake feet!" I pulled on his arm and began to drag him as I sprinted forward. Whatever that monster was, I wasn't going to be able fight it barehanded and I had no desire to try.

A terrible roar echoed around the field and I stupidly glanced back. A massive man/bull thing stood nearly ten feet tall including those huge horns poking out of their skull. The muscles on this guy were ridiculous. It would put the Terminator to shame.

"Oh gods! It's the Minotaur!" Grover squeaked with a look so terrified that I was truly worried he was about to pass out on me.

Alright think Jackson. There was no way we were going to make it to the camp boarder before Big Ugly here tramples us. Guess that leaves one option.

"Ok Grover, time to make a stand. I'm going to distract him and you go get help."

"What?! Percy you can't fight him! You don't have any training or even a weapon!"

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence man, but I'll be fine. I'm not dying today."

Besides, who said I don't have a weapon? I toyed with the necklace that my dad had given me earlier. At first I thought it was stupid and lame for him to send me jewelry after my mom was murdered, but when I touched the trident charm, I knew it wasn't what it seemed. I could sense the hidden power of the sea woven into the small pendant.

Well let's hope I was born with a natural talent with a trident or else this will be a really quick and one sided slaughter.

I tugged on the charm and it magically transformed in my hands in less than a second. It instantly felt right in my hands. Like I was born to weld this weapon. I twirled the beautiful weapon around, slashing the air as I moved through a few basic stances I've seen on movies and TV.

The metal was a shiny black while the teeth of the spear were silver. The trident was as long as I was tall which would help with keeping enemies at a distance.

I faintly heard Grover gasp loudly behind me. Guess the cat is out of the bag now.

I locked on to the rampaging bull that was now perfectly within eye sight. I could see steam wafting off their furry body as they stopped a few dozen yards away. Maybe it wasn't often that their prey stopped running and that was throwing it off its game.

"I'm guessing I can't persuade you to turn around and leave?" The Minotaur's eyes blazed angrily and it snorted loudly while it bent its head down to point its bronze tipped horns at me. I'll take that as a no.

I took a deep breath as I tried to focus. This was just another big ass monster and I've already killed one today. What's another to the list? Besides, this one is dumber. No offense to the bull man, but if Ms. Dodds couldn't kill me, I'm not going to let myself die from an overgrown cow.

I kept leaping out of the way as the Minotaur came rushing by over and over again. He has speed and power for sure, but no ability to change directions quickly. As long as I didn't get caught, I was golden. I can use that to my advantage.

I ran over to stand in front of the biggest tree I could find in a short radius. This has better work or else I'm gonna be a human kebab.

Big Ugly roared in a way that certainly made it clear he was pissed off by my dodging game. "Is that all you got Big Ugly? I really expected more from you." Yup. That was for sure one sure fire way to make a raging beast even more furious.

The ground trembled under my feet as the Minotaur came sprinting at me like a linebacker on steroids. I crouched carefully and waited for the right second to jump out of the way.

I tucked and rolled through the mud just as Big Ugly was about to flatten me. Unfortunately my plan didn't go as I wanted. The tree that was supposed to pin the Minotaur by the horns was snapped in half like a toothpick the moment the monster collided. The crack of the wood being reduced to splinters was awful.

But I was nothing if good at improvising. Plan A might have failed, but now I have a Plan B. The tree didn't manage to stop the bull guy, but it did succeed in stunning him.

Taking advantage of its daze, I tightened the hold of my trident and pulled it back over my shoulder. I have no idea why, but I just feel like throwing it is going to be my best bet right now. I concentrated on pouring all of my strength into my weapon. I only have one opening and I can't afford to mess it up.

I could feel the metal vibrating in my hand with energy. Or maybe I was just plain shaking with nerves. Either way, I took a few powerful steps forward to gain momentum and launched my trident through the air. I could hear it whistle as it zoomed across the short distance and with a sickening thump, it embedded itself in the middle of the Minotaur's chest.

The booming cry of agony shook the leaves off the trees as Big Ugly fell to its knees. It was heaving heavily as it struggled to pull the trident out of its body. Damn, these monsters are able to tank serious hits.

I ran forwards and used the handle of my trident as a springboard to launch myself over its head. At the last second, I gripped onto its horns and yanked in the opposite direction with every ounce of strength I could muster.

I focused on the energy the rain was fueling me as it covered my skin. Then I remembered the rage that has been stewing deep inside me. That boiling pot of negative emotions. All the fury and pain of having my mom taken away from me was threatening to leak out. To destroy everything it's path. I loosened the lid just enough to let out a hiss of steam.

I yelled out into the world, passed the storm and straight into the heavens as I yanked one more time. A loud snap echoed in tune with my scream and suddenly I was a proud owner of two big bull horns.

The Minotaur was stunned into silence as it turned its thick neck to face me with surprise and a bit of fear in its eyes. "Moo?"

"Sorry dude, you caught me on a really bad day." And I stabbed its own horn through its back. A flood of gold dust covered me once again. Is that gonna happen every time? I'm gonna look like a freaking Disney princess covered in all this glitter every time I kill a monster.

I let out an exhausted breath. Now that the Minotaur was gone, all the energy that I had seemed to have disappeared with it and I felt like my body was now made out of jello.

I grabbed my trident from the pile of monster dust and mentally willed it to be a necklace again. I don't have the strength to be carrying it around right now.

I eyed the pair of severed Minotaur horns. They were big and definitely not practical to be lugging around with me, but I couldn't just leave them either. Groaning with the effort it took to move, I gathered the monster spoils under my arm and started making my up back up the hill.

"Percy!" I glanced up to see Grover standing at the top of the hill with a dozen people fully armed in Ancient Greek armor and weapons behind him.

"I came back with reinforcements! Erm. Where's the monster?" Grover sprinted down to me and looked at me worriedly.

I trudged up beside my best friend and patted his shoulder. "Told ya dude. I'm not gonna die till I say so. Big Ugly is dead for now." I lifted one of the horns as proof.

The satyr's jaw fell to the floor. "You killed it? But how?!"

"Actually with his own horn. He wasn't the brightest. But dude, I'm dead on my feet. Can we talk about this after a nap?" I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

"Oh yeah of course. Wait, Perce, you're bleeeding! Oh Hades. Will! Will! We need you!"

I blinked tiredly. What was Grover talking about? I wasn't even hit. How could I be- oh. There was a shard of tree sticking out of my upper thigh. Well fuck. And I was doing so good too.

Chapter 4: Camp Half-Blood and it's thrall of blonds

Summary:

Percy meets his first god and other demigods and some meetings go well, some don't.

Chapter Text

Percy POV

I stared at the flock of golden-blond kids crowding around me as I was forced to lay down in one of the medical beds despite my feeble protests. It was like being attacked by a group of teen Hollister models.

Every single one of them had the type of good looks that made everyone else automatically self-conscious when they were too close. With perfect sun-kissed tans and surfer beach bodies, I honestly felt more uncomfortable with them around me than the giant piece of wood piercing my thigh.

The only thing that made me slightly relax was that I could tell they were genuinely good people. I never paid much attention to people's auras before today. On purpose. For one, apparently mortals were extremely muted compared to how vibrant demigod auras were. And two, emotions aren't a sure fire thing. I've been wrong before. Rarely, but it does happen.

It's not like I see writing appear on someone's forehead telling me the exact feeling happening. It was more that I simply had this strange insight that gives me an advantage. Plus, people can be experiencing a dozen emotions at once and very easily can be misleading.

And finally, I always thought it was intrusive. Reading and seeing people's emotions and mental climates felt like an attack on personal boundaries. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn't want someone knowing exactly how I felt at all times. It's rude and creepy.

However there wasn't a lot I could do to ignore a room full of people that literally seemed to glow like little personal rays of sunlight. Talk about having a sunny disposition.

I eyed the one that was currently inspecting my injury. He had to be younger than me for sure. He still had that baby face that kids kept before starting puberty.

"Erm. Please don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure you should be the one patching me up?" There were plenty of older blonds milling around the medical building after all.

"Sorry, I thought someone explained." A taller and older version of the one cleaning around my wound suddenly appeared out of thin air. "I'm Lee Fletcher. The counselor for cabin seven, which is the cabin for Apollo's kids, if the gaggle of blonds didn't give us away. I know he doesn't look at it at first glance, but Will is actually the best healer out of all of us. We don't all get our Dad's powers equally unfortunately."

Will smiled shyly as he delicately removed the piece of wood currently using my leg as a pin cushion. I wince, but to my surprise it didn't hurt nearly as much as I had expected.

"Oh. Sorry Dr. Will. Didn't mean to trample on you like that. I should count myself lucky that a kid of the god of healing is patching me up." I flashed him a smile and Will instantly turned bright red before glancing away.

I sighed to myself. I got that a lot. Somehow I hoped that it was just a mortal thing. Guess even other demigods weren't immune to whatever weird charm thing I had going on.

Lee seemed to find it amusing and laughed at the flushing state of his younger brother. "Well typically everyone likes to take bets on what godly parent a new camper will have, but no one is gonna bet anything other than Aphrodite with you."

I frowned a little. Why does everyone keep assuming that? It's starting to get old real quick. No offense to her, but I didn't have an interest in being known as a child of love and beauty. Not that those aren't important things. I know how powerful and dangerous love can be. I didn't need to be an expert on Greek myths to know that people did crazy and evil things in the name of love. That's something that has never changed throughout the passage of time.

"Oh?" I grinned. "Well sorry to burst your bubble, but my mom is mortal." Fuck. She was mortal. Not is anymore. Nope. Not gonna go down that road right now.

I watched as everyone that was pretending to not be listening in to our conversation looked shocked. Lee blinked at me owlishly.

"Really? Dang. And here I was finally hoping for once that a love child wasn't afraid to get their hands dirty. Guess it was wishful thinking to assume that we finally got a kid of Aphrodite that wants to be good at fighting. On the bright side, the betting pool is back on and you've even narrowed it down to male gods. Not nearly as much fun."

I decided to be a sadistic gremlin. "I thought gods can chose to appear as whatever they want though." I smirked to myself as the realization slowly dawned across Lee's features.

"Oh I like you Jackson. Not just another pretty face are you?"

I scoffed lightly. "So says the guy that looks like he just came back from an photoshoot for Abercrombie & Fitch."

Lee shook his head as he laughed loudly. "Touché."

Will spoke up after his brother left. "Are you really not a kid of Aphrodite? You look just like them."

I shrugged and tried to play it off casually. After Grover unknowingly mentioned how my existence was literally taboo back during the taxi ride I had zero interest in outting myself. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Oh. Well, you're all good now. Don't do any hard training for a couple days. It's almost perfectly healed, but sometimes the muscle or skin is still weaker than it was originally for awhile. And drink some of this. It's the nectar of the gods. Amazing for healing demigods. Just never consume too much. It'll burn you from the inside out till you're a pile of ash."

I wish Will waited to tell me that part after I had already drank the honey colored liquid. Now I was low-key scared to drink. I stared into the golden hued beverage and saw my reflection appear the top.

I took a slow sip from the straw. The taste of my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies filled my mouth. Somehow it felt like the cookies remained warm and gooey as I kept swallowing mouthful after mouthful.

"Woah, hey, slow down. That's a sipping type of drink, not chugging." Will frantically snatched the glass out of my hands and I almost growled at him for taking away the soothing memory of my mom.

Will jumped backwards as if I had hit him. Shit. I let my emotions slip again and he probably got a smack of my inner negative feelings. I slammed down on the metaphoric lid to my boiling pot of turmoil. "Sorry Doc." I mumbled under my breath.

"Uh. Yeah, no worries. I'm gonna go tell Grover you can have your tour now." The blond vanished out of the room as quick as possible.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. I had to get my crap together. Whatever was going on with my powers, I can't afford to be projecting my mental trauma on unsuspecting and innocent people.

"Perce? Feeling better? You look good bro." Grover sat at the edge of my bed and gave me a concerted glance.

"Yeah. The mini Apollos patched me up and I'm good as new. Can we get out of here now?"

Apparently I had to go see Chiron and the camp director before heading off to do the tour. "So that's the Big House. The center of operations so to speak for the camp. Oh two things before we go in. When you're asked if you saw the orientation film by Mr. D just say yes. Trust me, you do not want to actually see it. It's trauma inducing. And two, be really really careful talking to Mr.D."

I was beginning to think that Grover's default setting was 'Ball of Anxiety'. I gave him some leeway back in New York because it was understandable to be nervous when a monster could literally pop out of no where and try to kill you, but even here where we're supposedly safe, Grover looked ready to bolt at the drop of a hat.

The Big House was not at all what I was expecting. It was big for sure, but that's basically where my expectations ended. Instead of seeing a huge building made of stone and marble with fancy columns and little creepy statues everywhere, I was staring at a four story house that looked like a oversized farm ranch. Not that I had anything against farms or whatever, but for some reason when I pictured the 'base of operations' for a camp dedicated to safeguarding the children of the freaking gods, this somehow ruined that mental image.

Sitting out on the deck that wrapped around the Big House were two middle aged dudes and a blond girl that appeared to be around my age. I knew quickly that she wasn't a kid of Apollo like the other blonds from the infirmary. Her aura was more boring with a grey tinted hue.

I glanced over her to the guy chilling in the wheelchair. He had thinning brown hair, bushy eyebrows, intense brown eyes, and a scruffy beard. I don't know what was up with him, but I had a strong feeling that he was under some type of disguise. The mist, as Grover called it, was thicker around him and his powerful aura was difficult to read. It made me wary. I don't like surprises and secrets.

"This is Chiron. The famous trainer of heros and now our camp activities director." Grover stated.

I waved at Chiron. "What's up man? Nice to meet you."

A scoff came out of the other man sitting at the table. Mr.D, I presumed, had a chubby face, a red nose and curly hair so black, it looked purple. He wore a tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt that screamed attention and a serious lack of style. "Demigods these days are getting more and more disrespectful."

I opened my mouth to give a sarcastic reply, but the second I made eye contact with Mr. D, my jaw closed with an audible snap as I took a few steps backwards.

This man was not normal. I could see this immense power radiating off them. It was laced with intense swirling purple energy that threatened pure madness to anyone that stuck around too long. My skin broke out in goosebumps and my heart rate sky rocketed. My brain was telling me to put some distance between us asap.

Mr. D raised an eyebrow at my reaction. "Interesting. A demigod empath. Haven't seen one of you in a few centuries. I wonder how long before you fall into madness." He gave me a wicked grin like I just gave him the best news.

I racked my brain to figure who this was. Obviously not one of the big three brothers. Not Apollo. Hermes didn't seem to fit either. Ares maybe? But why call him Mr. D and not Mr. A? Wait. I remember now. The wine dude with the name that's super hard to read and say. Dionysus.

Projecting false confidence I managed to speak. "I take it you're Lord Dionysus. No way someone with your aura could be something else. Do I bow or what? I haven't gotten my camp handbook yet."

Chiron let out a weary sigh while Grover bleated a terrified laugh. I guess that was not the correct way to address a god.

Mr. D's aura flared and forced a wince out of me. "Bowing and begging on your knees is usually accepted, but I'll give you one pass this one time and not turn you into a barnyard animal since you're the first in a long time to recognize me."

"Now now. That's enough of that. Lord Dionysus is here as the camp director out of a punishment from his father so let us all get along." Chiron tried to play peacemaker as the tension was getting thick.

Mr. D sighed loudly in defeat and waved his hand through the air to conjure a silver goblet of some red liquid. Probably wine.

A single clap of thunder echoed out of no where making me jump.

"Oh yes yes. My bad. I forgot." The red wine switch to a glass bottle of Diet Coke.

"Mr. D is not allowed to drink wine during his punishment either. Hence why we grow strawberries instead of grapes. Makes it less tempting." Chiron explained.

I nodded along as if this was all perfectly normal.

"I have Annabeth here to officially welcome you and give you a tour of camp. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast. Grover, stay. We have a few things to discuss." Chiron's dismissal was pretty clear. I waved goodbye to Grover and let Annabeth guide me back outside.

"I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and counselor for her cabin. And you're Percy Jackson, probably child of Aphrodite."

I let out a groan. I'm not ever going to stop hearing that until I come clean about my dad.

It was still raining as we walked around the Big House. The clouds were a dull lifeless grey as it continued to sprinkle. It must have down-poured earlier because the ground was littered with muddy puddles everywhere.

"So you've been to the Infirmary Bay and the Big House. Over there, is the arts and crafts center and the volleyball courts." She pointed off into the distance where I could vaguely make out a few kids playing in the rain.

We walked around the small lake, where they did canoe races and other water based sports, towards the cabins. I was taken aback when Annabeth began to show me which of the cabins belong to which of the gods.

We started off with Zeus's cabin since it was number one. It was a marble building looking like an old fancy bank with heavy columns. The big bronze double doors are polished in such a way to provide a 'holographic' effect of lightning bolts passing across. The faint sound of thunder could be heard from inside. I definitely got impression that Zeus liked to show off power and grandeur whenever possible. Which meant I automatically had no desire to ever meet the god.

Hera's cabin was one that was honorary since apparently she has never once had demigod children since she was fiercely loyal and devoted to her marriage with her husband. At least her cabin was pretty. It gave more ancient temple vibes than anything.

It was slightly awkward when we got to Cabin 3, Poseidon's. It was a long, low building with windows facing the ocean. The cabin is made from rough sea stone with pieces of coral and seashell embedded into the outside walls. There was a trident with a big bronze number three over the door.

I could smell a sea breeze wafting around it and my heart clenched in my chest as I was reminded of the tiny cabin at Montauk, where my mom and father met. Mom would take me every summer for a week and the best memories of my childhood were made there.

I chewed on my cheek to keep myself from crying in front of Annabeth. She's spent the entire time giving me wary sideways looks and clearly trying to evaluate me. I rolled my eyes. She might as well should have asked me what were my deepest darkest secrets and get it over with.

Despite the fact that I desperately wanted to go into my cabin, I was still trying to lay low and if I had a strange interest in my dad's cabin, Annabeth's analytical gaze would not see that as a coincidence.

Each of the other cabins were interesting and unique in their own ways, but honestly after seeing which one should be mine, I lost interest in all the others. It wasn't until we were standing at one for a longer amount of time did I stop dissociating.

I stared at this cabin and strangely, I found it interesting. There was a weird pull to it like I had with Poseidon's. It looked like a barbie dollhouse with a painted blue roof, pillars, and checkerboard deck. It had a bright pink door that had painted white doves. If I squinted, I noticed that the doves seemed to be moving as if they were flying.Surrounding the cabin on either side were the most vibrant red rose bushes. The potent scent of flowers and designer perfume lingered like an intoxicating cloud.

I narrowed my eyes at Annabeth. She was clearly up to something. Just then the pink door was slammed open and a group of teen supermodels gracefully filed out. If I thought the mini Apollos were bad, these guys took painfully beautiful to a whole other level.

The one at the head of the pack of models stopped in front of me and flashed me a sweet smile as she gave me the classic up and down look of appraisal.

"Hi there. I'm Silena, daughter of Aphrodite, and the current counselor. Annabeth thought you were one of us and I can't say I disagree. Even without nice clothes, style, and makeup, you're stunning. A very all natural type aren't you?"

I gritted my teeth and plastered a forced smile on my face. "Thanks?" For that underhanded compliment.

"You're super welcome. It's strange that Mom hasn't claimed you yet. I don't think any demigod of hers as ever killed a Minotaur before. That's totally worthy of her attention. Maybe she's waiting until dinner at the campfire. She probably wants to show you off to as many people possible."

I shrugged politely. "Who knows."

"Shame. Technically you can't join our cabin until you're claimed so you'll have to bunk with the Hermes kids tonight, but don't worry! It gives us time to decorate your bunk!" Silena and the rest of the Aphrodite kids giggled excitedly as they disappeared back into their cabin.

I looked back at Annabeth with a confused expression. "Why would I be bunking with the Hermes kids?"

"Oh well since Hermes is the patron god of travelers and crossroads, it was decided that all unclaimed campers stay there until

they get claimed."

I crossed my arms across my chest and frowned. "Wait seriously? But why not just have the unclaimed kids stay at the Big House? It's not like there isn't plenty of space. Or why not just build a separate cabin?"

Annabeth huffed. "That's just how things are done here Jackson. It sucks, but it's how it is."

"And so what? You're telling me no one can think for themselves and come up with a better system? And what about the other gods and goddesses? I don't see a place for their kids. Is there a different camp or something?"

The daughter of Athena frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Jeez. For a person that's supposedly is a kid of the goddess of literal wisdom and knowledge, this one isn't all that bright. "I know I'm new to this world and stuff, but even I know that there's way more than twelve gods in Greek mythology. I meant them. Don't they also have kids?"

"Oh. Well. Yeah they do, but they just end up in the Hermes cabin too. We don't have cabins for all the minor gods and goddesses. And no, there isn't another camp. This is only place for demigods in the world."

"Wow. That's…um. Wow." I shook my head in disbelief. "So let me make sure I got this right. This camp is only place in the entire world that is safe for all demigods, but unless you're a kid from one the major twelve deities, you're basically out of luck? And even then, you have to wait for your godly parent to formally recognize you and according to you, sometimes that NEVER happens? And you think that's okay? Even mortal kids get treated better than that. You guys really need to set your standards higher."

Annabeth's face had morphed into various shades of red as I spoke and I didn't need to be an empath to know she was embarrassed and furious. "What do you know? You literally haven't been here for a single day and you're already acting like you're better than everyone else? So what, killed one monster and now you have a huge ego? Just because you look perfect and must have had everything you ever wanted given to you on a sliver platter doesn't mean that will work here Pretty Boy. Get over yourself."

Without waiting for me to reply, the raging blond dashed away and disappeared into the haze of rain. Which was probably best because I was shaking with own my fury. I wasn't the type to get riled up so easily, but for some reason the way she said those things got under my skin.

That boiling pot where I store every powerful emotion deep inside me was cracking at the edges. I could taste the familiar metallic flavor of blood in my mouth from chewing on my cheeks too hard.

I sat down in the middle of the mud and breathed deeply and forced myself to count to ten. I can't be having a melt down right now. My skin tingled and my stomach lurched violently with raw emotion.

It began to rain harder and a gusty icy breeze picked up. However I didn't care. Not like being wet or cold ever bothered me anyways.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there in the rain, but the puddle around me had grown deep enough to cover my feet and reach up to my knees and the sun had long set beneath the

horizon. I sighed softly and laid down flat away from hole my body made so I could watch the droplets hit my face as they fell from the dark starless sky.

A light suddenly appeared over me. Someone with a flashlight. And of course it's another blond. Great.

I closed my eyes and pretended not notice. Maybe they'll go away. I didn't want to deal with either a mini Apollo or another kid of Athena.

"As pretty as you look out here in the rain, you're worrying some of campers. How about I help you clean up and dry off and you can brood someplace warm. Is that something we can do?"

I opened my eyes and made direct eye contact with the blue eyed teen. I watched as his cheeks flushed and I won the impromptu staring contest. I always did.

I sighed again. I guess I should. I lifted my arm and he got the message quick by grasping my hand and helped pull me up. "Fine. But you better have food. I'm starving."

"Sweet. I can do that. Oh, by the way, I'm Luke. Hermes counselor. Nice to finally met the guy everyone's been talking about."

"Cool. No offense, but I'm only going with you cause I'm hungry. I'm not really looking to be friendly right now."

Luke's smile didn't faulted in the least. Actually, it only grew, like he knew something I didn't. "That's fine. Nothing beats good ole food."

And that's how I ended up in the packed Hermes cabin despite being abandoned mid-tour.

Chapter 5: Sleeping Beauty

Summary:

We get to see Luke's view of Camp's newest member. He gets a few surprises and makes a couple discoveries.

Notes:

Hi everyone!

I'm sorry for the pause. I'm doing a lot of training for a new job and I hardly have time to eat much less write, but I did manage this chapter! Please enjoy!

Chapter Text

LUKE'S POV

I was one of the few campers that had ran to the boundary line at the top of the hill when Grover's cries for help echoed down the valley.

I had been prepared for a difficult battle once Grover managed to stutter out that the Minotaur itself was rampaging after the newest demigod. That particular monster was classified as a B rank. Way too powerful and dangerous for an untrained demigod.

Yet, by the time I had gathered reinforcements and my gear, the struggle was over. Somehow this tiny mud crusted kid managed to kill a monster that even I would have second thoughts about fighting.

I watched from the shadows as the Apollo cabin kids rushed over to forcibly carry the new camper over to the infirmary despite the loud protests from the raven haired demigod. I grinned to myself as the mystery boy tried to fight off the flock of blonds. But he doesn't know yet how determined and stubborn an Apollo kid can be when they spot an injury.

Within next few hours, the entire camp had heard the latest news and gossip of how Percy, (Grover finally told me the kid's name),killed the Minotaur on his own and came out almost perfectly unscathed.

In my opinion, getting wounded by debris didn't count. The actual monster itself didn't manage to land an injuring blow on Percy and that itself spoke volumes.

It also made me curious and cautious. No regular demigod with zero experience could pull that off. Hades, even trained demigods with years under their belt could have been killed. So how exactly did Percy do it and without a weapon to boot?

Apparently every single person was convinced that he was a son of Aphrodite. And seeing him in the daylight without the mud, twigs, and gold monster dust masking him, I could definitely see it.

Percy was clearly young and only now just hitting puberty so his beauty was more akin to childlike youth than sexual beauty, but anyone with a brain and eyes could tell that in a couple years, that would change and anything with an ounce of desire will be drooling over him.

I've actually seen Aphrodite herself a few times during some of the camp's field trips and that's how I know Percy holds a similar aura. It's a strange and dangerous passive magic. People can't help themselves when it comes to pretty things. I purposely kept my distance, but I could see how it entrapped anyone that got too close.

Instantly I was annoyed and angry. I absolutely hate people that mess with other's minds. I've seen first hand what can happen to someone's head when it was played with. Nothing good ever comes of it.

Luckily it didn't take me long to realize that Percy wasn't even aware of it. He wasn't purposely trying to lure people into a false sense of security or some other devious plot. He was just naturally vibing.

I don't know if that makes it better or worse yet. Pathokinesis is a scary power to have and he isn't even trying to use it. I could only imagine that chaos that could occur if he actively projected his ability. Camp would probably be sent into an all out civil war over who gets to have him. At least his mom will be proud.

I was in the middle of cleaning the practice field when the light drizzle that had started yesterday intensified to a full fledge rainstorm. Instantly everyone, including myself, hanging around froze whatever they were doing and glanced up to the sullen grey sky.

It had been storming and raining badly all across the eastern part of the country for weeks, but not once had it affected the weather within the camp's boundaries. Until yesterday. It had only been drizzling so we paid little attention to it. But this was different. Whatever was going on with the gods, it was only getting worse.

I could see the worry and concern etched across everyone's faces as they robotically continued their tasks while pretending the rain wasn't happening. I can't blame them. Bad weather here meant something was terrible wrong in the divine world.

I spotted Annabeth from my cabin's porch as she did her infamous 'I'm-pissed-get-out-of-my-way walk as she fumed to her cabin. The slam of her door shook her cabin and the bang it made was clear despite the sounds of the pouring rain. I sighed to myself. She got riled up and lost her temper too much these days. I felt bad for whoever was stuck with the mean end of Annabeth's sharp tongue.

The storm wasn't letting up. Actually I was pretty sure it was progressively getting worse. The rain was thick and hazy and unrelenting. I could barely see a few feet in front of me as I tried to make it to the Big House. The cabin counselors had a quick emergency meeting about securing their cabins for possible flood damage or mudslides after the lake had overflowed and the spillage was creeping up towards the main buildings.

No thunder or lightening shook the skies or earth, but who cared about that when the camp was under the threat of flooding and literally floating away to sea.

According to Mr. D, Poseidon was in a foul and terrible mood. Bad enough that the other gods had been caught off guard by the sudden change and were back pedaling to calm down the raging sea god. Apparently this storm was nothing compared to some of the other ones that were brewing. Whole towns had been washed off the maps and the state of Florida was under siege by two major hurricanes at once.

"Psst. Hey Luke." I broke out of my thoughts to spot both of my younger twin half-brothers looking nervous. I couldn't help but get suspicious. Connor and Travis tended to get into more mischief than any other Hermes kid. The amount of pranks they manage to pull is truly impressive, even if they get caught more than they should.

"What's up?"

"So you know the new camper? We overheard him and Annabeth getting into a verbal fight and he's sorta been sitting in the rain for awhile now. Like literally sitting in the mud and not even moving. Everyone is too scared to go near him."

That explains Annabeth's pissy walk earlier. But that was hours ago! Percy's been out in the rain alone this whole time? "Why didn't you say anything earlier? We can't just leave someone out in the cold rain. What if he gets sick? Will or Lee will skin us alive if they found out we let someone they just treated to get sick."

The twins gulped in fear. Everyone knew how savage the main healers of the Apollo cabin can get. Last time Lee was pissed, he cursed anyone he saw to sing in couplets anytime they tried to speak. The curse lasted a full week and it was truly hell.

I shook my head in disappointment before searching for a rain coat. We didn't have umbrellas on the account that it never rained at camp.

"I'll be back soon, Make some room for Percy. He's supposed to be bunking with us until he's claimed officially."

"But we literally don't have enough space, even on the floor. Travis and I are actually sharing our bed together already to save space."

I cursed internally as my eyes trailed over the extremely overcrowded cabin. Between all the belongings of almost four dozen people and then the actual campers themselves, even our huge cabin was at its capacity. Way over actually. It looked like one of those hoarder houses you see on reality TV.

"Alright. Just get some dry clothes and an extra blanket. He'll just have to bunk with me tonight until I can figure out a better solution."

It didn't take long to find Percy. He was exactly where Connor and Travis said he was. Percy was laying flat in a surprisingly deep puddle. He looked asleep as I hovered over him and pointed my flashlight at his peaceful face.

"As pretty as you look out here in the rain, you're worrying some of campers. How about I help you clean up and dry off and you can brood someplace warm. Is that something we can do?"

His eyes flickered opened and I almost dropped my flashlight on his face. I was not expecting to see irises that were the darkest shade of blue I have ever seen. From a distance they would for sure be mistaken as black. It felt like I was peering down an oceanic abyss that was threatening to capture me into a watery grave.

I forced myself to break the connection. I was getting bombarded with overwhelming sensations of dread and darkness.

Finally Percy spoke. "Fine. But you better have food. I'm starving." His voice was soft, but I could make out the strain and exhaustion lingering between words.

I planted on wide smile on my face. "Sweet. I can do that. Oh, by the way, I'm Luke. Hermes counselor. Nice to finally met the guy everyone's been talking about."

"Cool. No offense, but I'm only going with you cause I'm hungry. I'm not really looking to be friendly right now."

My smile didn't faulted in the least. I appreciated the brutal honesty. It was refreshing. I was not expecting someone like Percy to be so transparent. The other Aphrodite kids could learn something from him. They would rather die than show their true feelings. "That's fine. Nothing beats good ole food."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I handed Percy a steaming cup of hot chocolate after we returned to the Hermes cabin and changed into dry clothes. It was mildly offensive that even in the unflattering bright orange camp shirt, Percy made it look flawless. Like he just came back from a photoshoot to advertise the our home grown strawberries.

I noticed that his eyes had lightened considerably since leaving the rainstorm. They remained a dark hue of blue, however it was now obvious that his eyes weren't black. Plus the oppressing feeling they gave off earlier had faded away.

"It's crowded in here." Percy pointed out as he sipped from his mug.

"Yeah. Over the years, we've actually had to expand the cabin a few times to fit everyone. Looks like I gotta petition Chiron and Mr. D again for funds to build more space."

Percy's eyebrows furled together. "Why not ask Hermes? Shouldn't the gods be responsible for their own cabins? Besides, aren't gods basically unlimitedly wealthy?"

I shrugged and tried to hold back the cynical laughter itching the back of my throat. "Yeah one would think that, but nope, the camp is actually pretty tight on funds. Ironic, I know."

Percy's angry frown made my spine shiver. He had a terrifying mean look when he was upset. It reminded me of a brewing tempest.

"I see. Doesn't make sense to me, but whatever. This place is strange as fuck." Percy handed me the empty mug. "Thanks for the hot chocolate. It helped. So, erm, where do I sleep?" He glanced around and tried to clear spot large enough for him.

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "So about that….we currently don't have enough room for you, something that I should have mentioned to Chiron earlier, but I forgot, my bad. You'll have to bunk with me tonight. I got you an extra blanket and a pillow though."

I stepped back a few paces and almost tripped on a sleeping camper when Percy's eyes narrowed at me. My demigod danger senses were going off like alarm bells and the urge to fight or flee was ringing in my brain. The air suddenly felt heavy and the scent of ozone and rain was prominent.

"I swear to hell if this is some kind of sick play to do sexual shit with me, I'll chop off your dick right now." Percy's tone was sharp and icy as he stood as tall as he could. Despite the fact that I was two heads taller than Percy, I had zero doubts that he meant what he said.

I held up both of my hands in a sign of peace and surrender. "Woah there. I'm not-that's not at all what I meant! I don't-you're literally a kid to me."

Percy kept his intense gaze on me for a few moments before releasing me from the stare. "Sorry. I just…don't have good experience with people being genuine with me."

I swallowed a big lump in my throat. I could only imagine what he meant by that. It made sense now that I spent a moment to think about it. With his supernatural looks and enticing, potent aura, mortals must be affected stronger than fellow demigods. Which meant full grown adults have been lusting after him. Damn. That's awful. I truly hope that he wasn't…abused in that way. A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach told me otherwise.

"I promise that I will not do anything inappropriate to you in my bed. We can even make a little pillow wall between us if that makes you feel better."

"It's fine. I'm trusting you. You don't look like a child molester. Well, like the usual ones at least." He flashed a tiny smile to break the tension. Only that backfired when I replayed the statement in my mind.

The nonchalant way that Percy said that made me wince. Whatever little bit of denial I had about his past was shattered. He definitely had experienced some of the worst traits that humanity possessed.

I watched him silently slid into the only bed that was currently empty after he shook off his shoes. I stood there awkwardly now, not sure how to proceed.

Percy rolled his eyes when he noticed the lack of movement on my part. "It's fine. Just keep your clothes on." He patted the space next to him.

I flushed lightly. I don't know how he knew that I liked to sleep only in my boxers, but I felt very called out. "I wasn't going to strip with you sharing the bed."

"Uh huh. Sure, if you say so." At least his voice returned to being light and playful. He rolled to face the opposite way and hugged a spare pillow to his chest. "Goodnight Luke."

"Goodnight Percy."

I found myself lacking any hint of drowsiness as I stared at the ceiling. This was not how I saw my day going at all. I wanted to get to know Percy, but somehow I felt like within just a few hours I've learned way more than I ever expected. Percy was not at all like I thought he was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wasn't sure when I fell asleep, but I knew it was morning by the early morning rays warming my face. I picked a bed near a window on purpose for this reason. I preferred being up when the sun was up.

I was about to get up when I heard poorly muffled giggles from my left. I snapped my head to face towards the sounds as quickly as possible. Years of living with my siblings made me instantly wary when I hear them giggling like madmen. I already had a knowing feeling that someone pulled a prank in the middle of the night.

I shifted to sit up and then promptly froze before I could move too much. There was a heavy weight on my chest that kept me from easily sitting up. As I slowly shifted my vision downwards on my body, I was blocked by nest of raven curls was settled on my stomach.

Now that I understood why my cabin-mates were laughing their asses off. Percy had decided in his sleep to replace the pillow he was snuggling last night with me.

I was the pillow.

The pillow that was going to be killed and castrated if Percy wakes up like this.

"Help me!" I angrily whisper across the room to my group of siblings and cabin-mates standing around my bunk.

"Aww. He actually looks so cute and sweet when he's sleeping." Connor stated as he tried to keep a straight face. Something his brother was failing miserably doing.

"He won't be sweet or cute when he wakes up. He's gonna chop off my dick! Ethan! Come on dude, he's gonna murder me if he wakes up with us like this!" I pleaded and begged, but no one was brave enough to get too close to the sleeping bear.

Ethan gave me two thumbs up to wish me luck before leaving for breakfast. Eventually everyone followed suit. Probably to escape the probable wrath of Sleeping Beauty.

I have never been so tense in my life before. I was too afraid to move a single muscle. I didn't even want to breathe just in case that small movement would disturb Percy's slumber.

A hoarse voice mumbled out of no where. "Are they gone?"

My heart stopped. Please no. I don't want to die. I'm too young.

I felt a shift and suddenly the wall of inky black hair was replaced with two soul piercing sea green eyes.

I swallowed thickly and started to pray to any god or goddess that was listening. "Um. Morning?"

Percy blinked sleepily at me before finally cracking a lazy smirk. "Morning to you too." He got off me as he stretched like some kind of feline. I think that means I'm safe and in the clear. Right?

"I woke up the second you started to panic. Your poor heart rate was sky high. Did you really think I was gonna kill you?"

I nodded weakly. So he was able to sense emotions. I knew mortal empaths existed, but true empaths were exceedingly rare. Just like seers.

"Nah. It's not your fault you make a good pillow." Percy actually winked at me as he stood up and pushed his feet into his sneakers. "I'm heading to breakfast. There's a big game today right? Something about flags? I wanna make sure I'm fueled up. See ya there."

As he disappear out of the door, I finally let out the breath I didn't release I was holding. Holy shit. I really thought I was a goner for a moment. I count myself lucky that Percy seems like a morning person. Unlike a certain daughter of Athena that I know. She would actually stab someone the dared to wake her.

Chapter 6: Capture the Flag goes a little too hardcore

Summary:

A friendly game of possible maiming, monsters making a surprise visit, and a demigod that…isn't a demigod?

Notes:

Hi Eveyone!

This is the chapter I've been most excited to write and now I am unleashing this chaos unto you. I bet no one saw this coming and that no one knows what will happen next.

Chapter Text

CLARISSE'S POV

Something hella suspicious was happening on at the Hermes table. For the first time since I've been here, Luke had been sitting in different spot. In fact, the new punk that arrived yesterday was taking Luke's usual seat. I hated drama and gossip, but anyone with fucking eyes could have seen the awkward tension.

Luke had been definitely avoiding the new kid at breakfast. I found it hilarious how far Luke went out of their way to distance himself. He sat as far down the Hermes table would allow and made sure to place as many of his numerous siblings between him and pretty boy. All while avoiding eye contact.

I had to admit, I was intrigued about what could've happened last night. Luke was a calm and collected type. He was known for maintaining his composure, even in the middle of battle. It was one of the things that made me have mad respect for him.

Looks like I'm gonna have to corner one of the Stoll brothers. Those two were extremely fucking nosy and I know for a fact that either of them will have the details.

The newbie himself was interesting. If only in that he clearly wasn't like his other siblings. At first I didn't believe that tiny pretty boy shrimp had the guts to face down the Minotaur, but when I saw the horns as spoils, I was forced to put away my doubts. As a child of Ares, we have the highest respect for spoils of war. We take that shit seriously unlike most of these posers.

Either way, it was a surprise. Aphrodite kids tend to avoid direct combat and rather went for subterfuge and espionage tactics. Armed with deadly looks and powerful charisma, they are able to change the tide of war without ever stepping on a battlefield.

That isn't my style, but I knew that in war, someone had to play the role of being in the shadows. I preferred to be the frontline fighter. Mowing down wimp after wimp till blood soaked my boots.

I wanted to test this newbie and see what he was made of. It worked out in my luck that he and owl head seemed to have some kind of beef going on. She was refusing to have him join the rest of the Hermes cabin in capture the flag. Her loss in my opinion.

After breakfast, I stopped by the Hermes cabin to take Pretty Boy to the armoury. I wasn't about to have him cost us the win because he wasn't supplied correctly. If he got maimed despite having decent gear, that's on him.

I spotted him chatting away with the Stoll brothers and Ethan. The twins looked too excited for my liking. Which meant nothing good was being plotted. "Oi. Pretty Boy. Come with me."

He blinked owlishly at me. I could feel his intense eyes scanning me like a predator stalking it's prey. I don't know what he was doing, but it was unnerving the fuck outta me.

"Stop staring. It's freaky. I'm Clarisse. Boss of the Ares cabin. I'm the other captain for the game later. Heard I'm stuck with you since Bird Brain decided you were trash."

Newbie scoffed under his breath and shrugged. "That's fine. I didn't even want to be on her team. She's kinda a bitch."

I flashed a toothy grin. Not many campers had the guts to call Annabeth a bitch aloud. She might be a pain in the ass, but everyone knew she had a habit of holding grudges and she was not someone you wanted to be enemies with.

"I'm gonna arm you up. Usually we don't let untrained newbies play, but apparently killing a rank B monster qualifies you. You do know how to hold a sword right?" I eyed him carefully as we approached the forge.

"Nope. I've never even seen a real sword until yesterday. But how hard can it be? Just don't hold pointy side and swing."

I couldn't hold back the crude laughter. This kid had some serious balls. Swordmenship was one of the hardest skills to

master at camp, even if you had a natural inclination.

"Sure Newbie. Whatever you do, just don't die. I hate getting chastised by Chiron every time a new camper gets killed." I handed him a basic short sword from the wall of weapons. It was nothing fancy. It lacked any designs or embellishments. It's crude, but it was sharp and it will do the job. "Here. This'll be yours till you commission a better sword or receive one as a gift if you're lucky."

"What do you mean, get one as a gift?" He asked as he twirled and swished his new sword through the air.

"On the rare occasion that a demigod manages to impress their godly parent or another god on a quest, you may be given a boon that can be a powerful weapon." I explained with a level of annoyance. Teaching new campers that aren't in my cabin isn't my job.

He nodded with understanding. "Makes sense I guess. Fits with the whole elitist vibe going on here."

"Just take that breastplate and helmet and stop bitching. Hasn't anyone told you that life isn't fair Punk?"

That clearly was a trigger to him because I suddenly felt the air become dry and icy. Strange. Was that some empath bullshit? I heard that he apparently could manipulate what people around him could feel. Luckily I was used to that with good ole Dad.

Pretty Boy's eyes had darkened from a light sea-foam green to a deep navy as his nostrils flared. With that sword pointed at me, he actually looked somewhat intimidating now.

"Huh. You do have some spark. I'll give you a piece of advice Newbie, losing control of your temper won't win you many battles. Take it from me, not many people can use anger effectively." I've only seen a child of Ares successfully manage that feat, but I had to give the punk some hope.

"Listen, I don't pretend to know your life and I honestly don't care, but keep your side comments to yourself. You don't know anything about my life." His tone was low, yet I could tell he was on edge. The rage was brimming under the surface. A kid with severe anger issues. I can respect that.

I held up my hands in a peace gesture. "Chill out. Jeez. And I thought I had a temper. Alright enough of that shit. Time to go over the battle plan. I'm only go over this once so you better pay attention. My cabin always takes the frontline. The Hermes and Athena cabins are the opposing frontline fighters. They also have the Apollo cabin archers. They are the ones we need to watch out for. Long distance arrows are hard to dodge. Luckily we have the tree cover to make it hard for them to get good shots, but don't think for one second that can save you. Apollo's kids are no joke when it comes to their archery skills. Even the worst one can hit a bullseyes from 50 yards. Blindfolded."

I smirked at his pale face. Good. So he had some fear.

"The Hephaestus kids stick to the sideline and use their contraptions to transform the battlefield into a minefield. Literally. So watch your step. They also fire canons so try not to get blown up. Demeter kids are not gifted fighters so they use nature to their advantage. I've seen them pop up a field of poppies and put everyone to sleep before. Don't trust any fucking flowers."

"And then there's the Aphrodite cabin. Again, they won't pick up a sword to save their lives." I gave him a knowing look, "except for you. They like to use charmspeak and emotional manipulation to get others to fight for them. That's the general breakdown. I honestly don't care what you do as long as you stay at of my way. I don't have time to teach you anything other than don't get stabbed."

I shoved a spare shield into his chest and grinned when he stumbled onto his ass. "See ya on the battlefield Pretty Boy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Clarisse, are you really letting Percy be part of our team?" Mark asked as I fastened my armour into place and sat down on the edge of my bed to sharpen my spear.

"No better way to test a newbie. We'll see what he's made of soon enough."

My brother didn't look convinced. "What are you playing at? You hate new people and especially people that look like Percy Jackson so what gives?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. There's something different about him. He's isn't a pussy for one. You know I hate pushovers and not once did he stand down. He has guts and I respect that. Plus he isn't like the rest of his siblings. He doesn't use his looks to take the easy way out."

Mark blinked in bewilderment as if I lost my mind. "Okay, who are you? Some kind of clone imposter?"

I punched his shoulder. "Shut up. I don't hate every single person." To be honest, the reason I was giving Percy a chance was because he didn't harbour a prejudice against me because I was the angry mean daughter of war. He didn't even ask or seem to care about my dad. I was just another demigod to him. Usually I had to deal with looks of disgust or outright dislike because how I looked or my shitty personality.

It was more significant because of how he looked. People that looked like him, perfect and beautiful, never paid any attention to someone like me.

If it wasn't for the fact that Ares and Aphrodite have been a couple for so many years, their children would probably hate each other. Ironically love and war were very compatible. Maybe that's why Percy didn't give me the urge to punch him in the face. I wonder if that's why Dad likes hanging around Aphrodite so much. Does she have a calming affect on him?

Whatever. I don't have time to think about that shit right now. I have a flag to capture and a newbie to stalk.

I was mildly impressed when Pretty Boy somehow came to the forest with his amour properly done considering I hadn't showed him. I bet someone took pity on him. He did look like a sad baby seal when he was confused.

"Looks like you made it Jackson. Good. Now you'll need to survive. Remember what I told you and you might not lose a limb." I clapped him on the back and he stumbled forward trying to keep his balance. Gods, he really was a pipsqueak.

Percy shot me a dark glare out of the corner of his eyes and I could tell he was about to make a snark reply. but his mouth snapped closed suddenly as his eyes darted away to focus on something else.

That something else being Annabeth Chase. I rolled my eyes as I watched her approach with an ego that could rival my father.

Her grey eyes flickered briefly to Percy before glancing back to me. "Are you ready to start? You know the rules, no killing or maiming, any magical item and weapons allowed, and first team to grab the flag and take it back to the other's home base wins."

"Duh. This isn't my first time Owl Breath." Her condescending tone always managed to piss me off. We've competing for years and she still acts like I have no clue what to do.

She snapped her ponytail over her shoulder like she was auditioning to be a Mean Girl. "Just making sure. You're making some questionable choices today." A jab because of Newbie? How original.

"Maybe if you spent more time worrying about your own team, you wouldn't lose so often." I held up a middle finger before storming away. Stupid know-it-all blondes.

Jokes on her, I can funnel my rage perfectly and it'll only make me stronger. More proof that she was just a bird brain at the end of the day.

I clamped down on my spear as I got into the zone. Turning my rage and fury into keen battle instincts. Time to wreck some shit.

A conch rang out clearly throughout the forest and with its ringing sound, the game commenced.

Immediately I shielded myself behind a tree as a volley of arrows hailed down around me and my teammates. Those Apollo menaces held nothing back as they continued to let loose wave after wave of basic arrows.

Sadly, there was a ban on using the specialty arrows after almost burning the entire forest down twice, ( The local dryads were NOT happy), and one kid lost his hearing after a sonic arrow landed too close to his head.

Either way, the Apollo cabin can manage enough chaos with normal arrows. And that had to be put to a stop.

I signalled the Hephaestus cabin to begin counter measures. With a returned thumbs up, they began to load up the scrap canons. Everyday, the Hephaestus kids save every single piece of broken material that didn't work on whatever project they were working on and kept it for this occasion.

Firing hundreds of pieces of scrap at a hundred miles per hour was a great way to change the turn of battle. And recycle.

The Apollo cabin had to cease their archery onslaught to duck and cover deeper in the forest as the booms of canon fire echoed between the trees.

Now its time to engage in phase two. Frontline tactics. I held up my spear and yelled loudly to alert my siblings. While I and the rest of my cabin tackle the brunt allied force of the Athena and Hermes cabins, the Aphrodite and Demeter kids will be sneaking past enemies lines to create discord within the opposing teams ranks.

And my plan was unfolding perfectly. I disarmed a random Hermes kid and quickly sent them unconscious with a zap of electricity from the tip of my spear. It was almost too easy.

The only person I had to watch out for was Luke. He was by far the most skilled fighter at camp and according to Chiron, the most gifted mortal swordsmen in over three centuries.

I scanned the woods while knocking down a pair of blond bird brains. I spotted Luke about 40 yards away simultaneously battling three of my siblings. I growled under my breath. I'm the only one that can pummel my siblings.

I sprinted at full speed, tackling anybody that got in my way. "Luke! Get the fuck away from them. Going after easy prey? How unlike you Mr. Virtuous. Is that why you're avoiding Pretty Boy like the plague? Did you do something…naughty?"

I loved seeing how pale and green the son of Hermes's face became. I had only been trying to distract the older teen, but damn, did I stumble into something? That kind of reaction was extreme for someone like Luke.

"W-what? No. What have you heard? I swear if the twins have been blabbing-"

"Oh don't get your panties in a knot. No one said anything. I don't give a crap if you fancy Pretty Boy. Not like you're the only one. I admit though, I didn't see it coming." I swung my spear directly at his chest catching him off guard. Unfortunately, his reflexes were enough to parry my attack.

"I don't fancy him! It was just an accident!" He finally got his footing back and came at me with full force. Luckily I was ready and now we were doing the classic sword and spear tango. My longer range hindering his reach, but his higher skill forced me on the defensive and unable to get any good hits in.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So you did do something? I didn't know you were a perv. Guess it's true, we learn something new everyday." It was too easy to rile Luke up by now. He may not usually get angry, but now I know he gets flustered by sexual comments. That works for me. I'm not above using underhanded tactics.

"What the fuck?! No! I'm not like that!" I managed to knick his bicep with the edge of my spear. First blood.

"Then why are you avoiding him? Don't think the entire camp didn't see what happened at breakfast." I slashed the back of his calf.

He stumbled over a rock and left a open opportunity for me to strike. "That was nothing! Can't I sit somewhere different every once and awhile?"

I rolled my eyes and pressed my electrified spear to his neck without mercy. "Yeah, I'm not buying that shit. You lose. Go sit out while I take home the victory." His face went through ten shades of red as he fumed silently.

Gods, this was the best game I've played in forever. Pissing off Owl Breath and beating Luke? Who knew Pretty Boy's presence could affect this many people within two days?

Speaking of, where was that little shrimp? I searched around the chaotic field. Most of the one on one fights were finished. By the looks of it, it was evenly drawn.

Hopefully Castor and Pollux had been successful. They were in charge of getting the flag while the rest of us created a distraction.

Annabeth would have certainly thought I would be the one going after the flag or even maybe she thought I would send Pretty Boy by himself as a test. She was too predictable. I wasn't about to play into her schemes. More than anything, I wanted to win. I don't care who brought the victory. Not that she thinks I understood how teamwork worked.

I finally found Percy decking it out with a son of Athena. The two of them were clearly unexperienced in swordplay, but I knew for a fact that this was the second summer for the Athena boy and somehow Pretty Boy was managing to defend himself well enough.

Looks like we have another swordsmen prodigy. I wonder how Luke will handle that information. Oh I have to be there when his title as the only gifted swordsmen at camp gets pulled out from under him.

The sound of metal shattering sent shivers down my spine and had me pausing mid-step. Its high pitch ringing hurt my ears as I searched for the source.

Pipsqueak's sword broke in the middle of battle. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared down at the remains of his only weapon. Even the Son of Athena paused in surprise.

While the sword was crude and basic, it was still forged by master blacksmiths. How unlucky did Pretty Boy have to be to have gotten a faulty sword?

I was about to go and help Pipsqueak before he got stabbed when the war conch rang out signalling the end of the game. I spun around to search for the winner and a huge grin plastered on my face when I saw a pair of bruised and battered set of brothers hoisting the opposing team's flag over their heads.

Owl Breath was going to be pissed and I was going to bask in her misery.

Both sides slowly met walked to the center of the forest to shake hands in a show of hood sportsmanship. Chiron insisted.

"Good to see you survived Pretty Boy. I am somewhat impressed."

He rolled his eyes, but the smile on his lips told me he was enjoying the praise.

I frowned when I felt the immediate and familiar sense of danger tingle at the back of my neck. I gripped my spear tighter just in case.

That's when it happened. A wall of shadows and a symphony of terrible howls appeared in front of the entire camp. A pack of a dozen massive hellhounds stood facing against exhausted and worn out demigods.

Glowing crimson eyes and foaming mouths filled with razor dagger size teeth threatened us. I stepped back with my spear raised and sparks flying from the tip.

This was not going to be an easy battle. One hellhound wasn't bad, in fact, they are considered a rank E monster. However once there was a pack of three or more, their rating jumped up to a B. Like wolves, hellhounds become increasingly more dangerous as their numbers increased as they hunted and fought using complex strategies.

And nearly everyone was tired or injured from the game. Odds were not great for us to come out of this unscathed.

That's when I noticed that everyone had been slowly backing up, creating distance between the hellhounds and us. Everyone, but Percy. He apparently didn't get the memo.

"Oi! Jackson, move your ass and get over here!"

He twisted his head to face us, realisation dawning on his face. However with his attention broken off the monsters, the hellhounds chose that moment to strike.

Fortunately the Apollo cabin had been prepared and notched a volley of lethal arrows to kill the closest hellhounds to Jackson. Shot to the eyes where instant kills. A shower of gold dust clouded over Jackson as he scrambled off the ground.

I swore and began to move to help him. I forgot his sword had been broken earlier leaving him defenceless. Or so I thought.

Within a blink of an eye, Jackson was suddenly griping a shiny black trident and swirling it around him with ease in a wide arc. With a sudden forward thrust, a unsuspecting hellhound was skewered like a kebab.

I froze at the sight. Tridents were NOT a weapon that any demigod could simply pick up and use. Most of the time, anyone that tried to use one would find themselves with terrible luck and misfortune. For that reason, there are no tridents in the armoury currently. To avoid any curses.

Out of all the demigods possible at camp, only one cabin can successfully wield a trident. And there hasn't been a child of the sea in over sixty years. Clearly that streak as been broken.

As talented as Jackson was with his trident, facing off nine hellhounds was becoming taxing. The long weapon was the only thing keeping him from being eaten alive or slashed to pieces.

As the shock wore off, I was about to continue to rush forward to help when Jackson did the most unexpected move to ever exist.

He grabbed his trident with both hands and with a surprisingly booming voice that echoed throughout the forest, he shouted, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"

He slammed the butt end of the trident to the ground and the ground began to shake violently forcing everyone to stumble and fall as we struggled to maintain our footing.

With a horrible ear spitting roar, the earth itself opened like a hungry beast swallowing it's prey whole with massive jaws.

The hellhounds yelped and whimpered as they were unable to get away from the rapidly growing hole. One by one, each of the monsters fell. However it wasn't just the beasts that were taken. Everything in sight was tumbling down into the earth. Not even the trees and river were spared as the earthquake continued to rock the foundations of the island.

Thankfully once the last of the hellhounds tumbled into the literal hole to Hades, the earth ceased its terrifying vibrations. I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding as I slowly stood up.

The forest…well. It looked like a fucking earthquake had hit it. Massive cracks and fissures had uprooted rocks and trees and the entire geography in sight had been rearranged.

Jackson was sinking down to the ground, still holding on to his trident for dear life when I looked back at him. In front of him, there was a hole of darkness about a hundred feet in diameter. I had no desire to test how far it went.

Everyone was left speechless as the wreckage was inspected. Chiron slowly approached Jackson with clear apprehension in his eyes.

Though before any words could be said, the space above Jackson's head began to shimmer and glow. I rolled my eyes. Did we really need to see his claiming to know who his godly parent was by now? I think it's fairly fucking obvious.

Or not.

Because shining like two beacons of Gondor above his head were unquestionably the symbols of Poseidon's infamous trident and Aphrodite's sacred white dove.

The look on Chiron's face was truly priceless. I don't think I have ever seen the old centaur appear so absolutely shocked. He actually fumbled in a very ungraceful manner.

I wanted to laugh, but no sound was coming out of my throat. I knew that every single person, even without me looking behind was staring at Percy Jackson with the same awe struck expression.

Because the only way he could have two godly parents…was…it meant…he wasn't a demigod at all.

Chiron finally seems to have composed himself as he coughed loudly and broke the silence as he bowed deeply to Jackson who was still slouched over his trident and kneeling in rubble.

"All hail Perseus Jackson, Son of Lord Poseidon, God of the Seas and Rivers. The Stormbringer. God of Destruction and Drought. The Earthshaker and Father of Horses. Son of Lady Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty. Lady of Desire, Passion, and Pleasure, and Goddesss of Fertility."

The silence after Chiron declaration was deafening but one by one, each of the campers including myself got down on one kneel in a bow of respect.

Percy blinked at us with wide eyes. "Wait what?"

Chapter 7: I get a new mom

Summary:

Percy finds out more about his heritage and gods, does it shock some people.

Chapter Text

Percy's POV

I was rushed back to the Big House as if I was the President after an assassination attempt. Chiron kept hushing everyone and threatened to put anyone that gossiped on cleaning duty for a month. Apparently that was terrifying enough punishment because not a sound was made until I was in the safety of four walls.

Mr. D was already waiting for us at his usual table drinking his infamous diet soda. Chiron gestured for me to take a seat as he took his own.

I let my fingers drum across the table in awkward silence as Chiron and Mr. D seemed to have a wordless conversation.

Eventually it was Mr. D that broke the silence. "Well, you certainly have the theatrics of a god down packed even if you're not a god."

Chiron raised his eyebrows and I stopped tapping the table. What the fuck was he talking about? I looked at the ancient centaur with a puzzled expression.

He sighed deeply. "I thought since you were claimed by two gods as parents it should mean that you are an immortal. However Mr. D assures me that you are in fact mortal."

I had to laugh at the sheer absurdity that they actually thought I was a god. "I could have told you that. Pretty sure I would know if I was a baby greek god."

"Certainly. However that does pose the question of what you are exactly."

Mr. D grunted as he continued to play solo solitaire. "I say we cut him and find out."

"Woah there. I like my limbs all in one piece." I glared at both of them as I took a step back. I wouldn't put it past them to severe an arm out of curiosity.

The god of wine rolled his eyes. "It would be the quickest way to find out."

"Wait you're seriously saying I should cut myself?"

"Just a little. Don't be so melodramatic."

Chiron simply shrugged. "That is technically true Percy."

I gritted my teeth. I was truly starting to hate this camp and it's really dumb and frankly ridiculous promotion of injuries.

"Fine. If that's what it takes to prove that I'm mortal or whatever, then sure, I'll make myself bleed." Before I could even look for a dagger, Mr. D provided one out of thin air and slid it across the table.

"Gee thanks." I grabbed the sharp blade and pressed the tip to my index finger with enough pressure to pierce the skin.

"See? I told you-" I paused as I watched my blood trickle down my finger towards my wrist and arm. The blood was very obviously not red. Instead it was an orange copper hue. "Uh. What the fuck does this mean?"

For once, I was met with silence from the god as he stared with wide eyes at my not so human blood.

"Perhaps I can explain my dear." A soft voice that echoed like a chime in a breeze rang through the room and scared the living shit out of me. I spun on my heels ready to launch a fist and promptly froze at the sight.

"Mom?" My voice cracked in disbelief as I stared at a glowing version of my mom. They had the same sharp chin and jawline but also possessed the softness of big round eyes and cupid bow lips that I remembered my mom having.

It was as if someone had gifted my mom goddess status complete with a flowing rose coloured dress, blossoming laurels, and twin golden swords at her side. I knew it couldn't be her, but holy shit, they could have been twins. If one of the sisters also happened to be a divine being.

The goddess smiled warmly at me and brought her hand to caress my cheek gently. I found myself leaning into the warm touch.

"I will take that as the greatest compliment. People see me as the person they find most beautiful in the world. The fact that I appear like Sally to you is a testament of how pure and kind your soul is dear Percy."

My brain began to line the dots together. "Oh. You're Lady Aphrodite." I frowned the second I said that. Like that wasn't quite correct.

"Hm. Yes, you would think that. It's understandable. However I am actually Venus. Her roman aspect."

Chiron paled drastically and went around closing all the windows and locking the doors. He was even doing something with his fingers in the air and suddenly it felt like blanket had fallen over the room.

"My Lady," Chiron bowed his head gracefully, "I have no desire to show disrespect, but what are you doing here? It is forbidden for you to appear in your roman aspect at this camp."

Mr. D nodded in agreement. "Yeah, ditto. Are you trying to get us all in trouble?"

Venus gave Dionysus a carefully pointed glare that spoke of a promise to inflict pain and torture.

"Ahhh. I think I heard my sons calling me. I'm just…gonna go now." Mr. D vanished in a cloud of purple mist that smelled strongly of dried grapes.

Venus smirked and flicked her hair as she took a seat at the table. It was odd seeing someone that looked so pure and shiny casually in a room full of dust and cobwebs. The sheer opposing elements clashed violently and gave me whiplash.

"Join me Percy. This is much to explain." The goddess gestured for me to take a seat across of her. Chiron sort of faded silently into the background, yet I knew he was fully paying attention.

"So…I'm guessing you aren't actually my mom right?" However the idea that Venus gave me to Sally to raise when I was born did pop into my head. Only that didn't explain why I was clearly mortal. So that notion died rather fast.

"No, I am not your birth mother. That honour remains with Sally. You are, however, my legacy. You may not be aware, but some demigods do in fact reach adulthood and foster their own children. Those next generation demigods are considered legacies. Your mother was my granddaughter."

I blinked at Venus with wide eyes. My mom…was a second generation demigod this whole time? That…actually made sense. Mom always seemed to know way more than she let on.

"To trace back your heritage, I did some research. You may have heard that your grandparents died young in a plane crash and that much is true. Yet, the true reason the accident occurred was unknown to Sally. It was because your grandfather was also a legacy. Of Neptune. A child of the sea, no matter how diluted the blood, are seldom welcome in the sky's domain."

Hold the phone. BOTH of my grandparents were demigods? So Mom was a mix of Venus and Neptune? I wonder if that's why Dad was drawn to her. Did he know about her heritage?

Venus chuckled softly as she glanced at my bewildered expression. "I can assure you that Poseidon was not aware of Sally's bloodline. If he had, he would have likely stayed clear of her. We Olympians do actively avoid double dipping as we like to say. In fact, it is such a large unspoken rule that it has never happened in this manner before in history."

"Ew." I really did not need to have that imagery in my head. "So my blood being…not red..?"

The goddess's smile grew to creepy proportions. "No one can say. I have my suspicions of course, but I cannot voice them as of yet. For now, I would not worry much about it. Chiron will not mention a thing he saw today with anyone."

Venus leaned back in her chair and continued to watch me with curious eyes.

"So to surmise, you are a demigod that should have not existed according to the Fates. Born more divine than mortal. With full access to powers of two powerful and ancient deities. I usually would not claim a demigod that is not mine directly, however I cannot deny that you have inherited more of me than even my own direct demigod children. Neptune and I spoke at length and eventually agreed to share divine custody of you with a handful of conditions."

I folded my hands in my lap underneath the table to hide my nervous fidgeting. "Um. No offence, but why did no one bother to ask me how I would feel about it?" I was trying real hard not to let annoyance slip into my tone. Venus might be chill, but I don't want to press my luck today.

Venus's smile didn't falter. "I expected you to say that. My, my. You do certainly follow the flow of the tides and sea with your unrestrained constitution. It is one of your most endearing qualities." The goddess sighed dreamily as her kaleidoscope eyes washed over me with what could only be adoration.

I've never had anyone look at me so intently. I felt like Venus was reading my soul. Was this what others felt when I glanced at their auras?

"I must admit, claiming you was largely selfish. After setting my eyes on you and witnessing your abilities, I knew I had to have you. It is the rarest jewel that is as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside. Your life's hardships have and will continue to carefully temper you into something the world will rage wars over. Gods and goddesses will enter millennia long blood feuds simply to gather your favour. You are a pearl shaped and formed by the deepest oceans."

"But…I don't want to be a pearl. I'm just a kid. I'm just Percy Jackson."

Venus's eyes sparkled with a strange mirth. "My dearest, you are so much more than you know. I know that I cannot speak for your father, but I can say that no matter what path you decide to take, both he and I will be proud."

I wanted to pull out of my hair with how vague and opened-ended these gods can be. It's like talking in circles. Is it a trait for them to have to answer everything by forming more questions?

"What were those conditions you mentioned earlier?"

"Oh. Nothing to concern your pretty little head over. Hm. Although I did agree that you would be given my full blessing. Not a common gift I have bestowed to demigods in the past. Your father was adamant though. He wanted to make sure you have as much protection as you possible can. Not that I blame him. Once the rest of the council finds out about you, things will certainly get interesting. And homicidal. Ah, just another family gathering, you understand right?"

I gave the goddess a flat stare. "No, I can't say I do actually."

She stood up gracefully, humming softly as she twirled around the table with terrifying grace. Without warning she pressed a single finger to my forehead and I suddenly felt an immense flow of energy and warmth flood my system.

It was like I chugged a dozen energy drinks all at once. My skin tingled as if I stuck my hand in a light socket and I almost felt like my body was too tight. Too small. Slowly the massive flux of power began to sizzle away. Although it more like it was settling down deep within me than fading.

Venus's eyes were hyper trained on me. I couldn't read her at all. For once, I was completely blind to what someone was feeling and the sensation was unnerving.

"How interesting. You keep surprising me my dear little pearl."

Before I could question her, she disappeared in a poof of expensive perfume and white dove feathers. In her place was a human sized mirror that stood on its own.

Damn it. She totally did that on purpose. Left me on a freaking emotional cliff hanger. I dreaded glancing in the mirror and seeing my reflection, but I knew she left this here for a reason.

I slowly moved to stand in front of the mirror with my eyes closed and took a deep breath to mentally prepare myself to whatever the goddess did.

I opened my eyes. And I shut them immediately. Oh fuck no.

How-why-ugh. I was going to get her back for this. How, I have no clue, but I swear I will.

I was literally wearing a freaking see-through dress! Well, chiton. Thanks Greek brain for providing useless words. But still, it's basically a dress! It barely covered my ass. Luckily it was thicker and not able to reveal any of my actual goods near the groin region, but it certainly liked to tease whenever I moved.

My left nipple was totally exposed to the world and my right was visible through the shear fabric. What kind of protection was this supposed to provide? I'm just lucky I don't get cold easily.

But no, that's not where the transformation stopped. I can never be that lucky. My neck, biceps, and wrists were all decorated with blueish silver metal bands. I mean….it was pretty. Objectively.

Then it to top it all off, woven throughout my dark hair was a headband composed of shining silver-blue pearls. From the White South Sea. Once again, my brain giving me random information.

But that's not the point! This is completely impractical. Literally no other demigod was going around camp with what had to be a small fortune in accessories dangling off their bodies.

And here I thought the black pearls Dad gave me were too much. I was definitely sensing a theme coming on.

Chiron finally made his presence known again with an awkward cough. "I know it will sound obvious, but you should not reveal your heritage to anyone that you do not trust completely. If you thought your life was in danger before as a demigod, then you have yet to experience true fear. I can only imagine how angry certain gods will be when the news breaks and they use every possible means within their power to end your existence. You must be ready Percy. I believe it's time you went to see the Oracle."

Bro, do I not even get time to change? What's with the back to back task list. I need a freaking nap.

By the look Chiron was giving me, I don't think I'm getting my nap for a while. Damn it. Also, I'm hungry. I wonder if the Oracle has some food.

Wait- what and where the fuck was this Oracle?!

Chapter 8: The Sea is Sealed

Summary:

Daddy Poseidon gets angry.

Notes:

This is a small scene that I had going in my head and debated on posting. I figured even though it's not *great* in terms of length or writing, it was still fun and I figured some of you might enjoy the background scenes that are happening during Percy's main plot.

Chapter Text

Poseidon's POV

Three days ago:

When I first felt the seas's essence being tugged away from my sphere of influence, I initially had thought it was Triton losing his temper once again with the generals or perhaps Kymopoleia invoking another terrible storm from her violent mood swings.

Yet I was forced to reconsider as I realised I was watching both of them currently bickering amongst each other across the dinner table.

The pull became harsher and a sense of dread filled my body as I began to pinpoint the source. A powerful storm was brewing over the northern east coast. New York City to be exact. I placed my hands on the table to steady myself as I continued to search for whomever has dared to trespass and influence my domain.

There may be many deities of the seas, but few ever ventured to the surface and even fewer that traveled unto land. And among those rare numbers, none possessed the power to direct storms from the sea to the land. That was an ability unique to those in this room and…my demigod children.

Percy.

Something was terribly wrong with my son.

Just as I thought of my only mortal child, an overwhelming wave of agony and sorrow nearly had me falling backwards in my seat. The breath was knocked out of me as I tried to piece together what was occurring in New York.

Percy's raw emotions were travelling through his strong connection to the sea and soon enough, every deity with the smallest tie to the domain will be feeling the full affects of his power.

Not to mention that the sea was rapidly becoming restless. I sensed towering waves of fifteen feet smashing down all across the shoreline of New York. No….this was not some mild storm. It was unfolding to become a lethal hurricane if I did not hinder its growth.

Part of me was proud. Immensely so. Percy was young and inexperienced. As far as I knew, he was not even aware of his heritage as of yet and despite that, he could conjure such a potent sea storm? A feat that only a handful of my mortal children have accomplished over the ages.

I could feel the oceans churning as Percy's emotional climate continued to wreck havoc on the seas. Triton and Kym suddenly fell silent as they took note of the hectic state of the sea and their own domains.

"Father, is that you? What has upset you so?" Triton asked.

I stroked my beard in soothingly. "No. It is not me. It is your youngest brother. Something or someone has upset him greatly."

Amphitrite stiffened at my side. I could sense her irritation. While she was kinder to my mortal children than Hera, she did not enjoy reminders of my unfaithfulness.

I gave my wife an apologetic smile as I placed my hand over hers. She returned the smile even if it was forced.

"We have another brother? Mortal? Of course a mortal one. Oh and you broke your oath? Father, you have given this poor child a horrible fate!" Triton shook his head in disappointment.

"I am well aware of the consequences however what is done is done. I will not abandon Percy. He is my son." My voice was stern and hard as I gave my eldest a glare.

Triton held up his hands in surrender. "I did not mean to offend Father. I know you will not neglect any of your children. You have a reputation for sticking by them after all. I only meant that his particular demigod will have a harder life than most."

I sighed deeply. "Yes. That much is true."

Kym decided to intervene. "So his name is Percy? That's an odd name. Cute though. I like it."

"His full name is Perseus, but he prefers to go by that nickname."

"Ooo! Another Perseus? Course our Perseus is going to be ten times better than any child of Zeus." Kym clapped her hands excitedly.

I summoned my trident and stood up from the table. I needed to go and do some damage control. By now Zeus will have his eyes on the storm and I can only hope that he believes it was formed from myself or another sea deity.

Just as I was about to teleport to Percy's side, I felt a prayer demanding my full attention. Usually I can ignore the thousands of prayers I receive a day, but this one held a significant power.

The power of a high ranking monster. The burst of energy flowing into me via the sacrifice allowed me to identified the claws of a fury. Where had my son encountered such a beast?

I could not even celebrate Percy's first monster kill as my anger grew to truly godly proportions. How dare my brother send one of his foul creatures after my son?

Then I could hear the words in my head. "Dad, I don't know if you're listening or if you even care, but please, Mom didn't deserve to die like this. Can…you take her body someplace safe?"

I froze as I heard my son's broken plea. The heartache was profound in his young voice and I felt my own eyes become misty as I realized what he was asking of me.

Sally Jackson had died.

My personal queen on the surface. A goddess in mortal form. A women so special that I gladly broke my oath to gift her the greasiest treasure I can give.

How could this have happened?! My sorrow was quickly changing into rage. I gripped my weapon until my knuckles turned white.

I summoned a mist to give me and by default everyone else in the room a clear view of what I knew to be Sally's apartment.

Amphitrite gasped in horror. Triton looked grim and Kym appeared murderous. I could not blame them. The sight before us was dark.

The apartment was in a state of disaster. The walls were cracked and stained with clear holes. The furniture was smashed and splintered. I winced from the sight. This was not how I wanted my child to live. He was a prince! Not a street urchin!

Instead of tampering Percy's out of control storm, I was instead fuelling it. I wanted to destroy. To make the world remember why I was seen as the most destructive of all the gods.

My poor son was kneeling in the center of the hazardous mess. His dark hair hid most of his expression, however his tears and heart wrenching sobs were only too obvious.

In his lap was the broken form of his dead mother. A dirty sheet had been laid over her lower half. I forced myself to look away as my mind conjured reasons of why she was hidden like that.

I closed my eyes and spoke to Percy in a melancholy tone. "I am so sorry my son. I have failed you. Take heed Percy, the seas will be hostile to all that have wrong us. War is on the horizon. Brace yourself."

I could not risk saying much more or lingering. I have no desire to bring my over zealous brother's attention to Percy.

I replaced the fury claws that Percy had given me with a necklace of black pearls that doubled as a weapon. It was the best I could do for now.

I took Sally's body before severing the connection and slicing through the mist.

I sagged down in my throne and took in a deep breath. If this is how my brothers wish to act, then so be it.

Zeus's paranoia has become overwhelming. The audacity of claiming that I stole his precious bolt. Bah. Like I needed that pathetic sparkler to overthrown my brother. I have zero desire to become in charge of the gods. I had my hands full as it is now.

And now Hades was on my radar. I personally was offended. When he had those demigod children in the 40's. I did nothing against him. Even if they had been born after the pact, I would not have retaliated. Children should be protected and cherished. It was easy to forget that.

"Father, what are you thinking?" Triton had an uneasy expression. The seas were in turmoil all the across the globe and I have no intention on calming them down. In fact, I think it's time that I stop taking the defensive path.

I was getting tired of my siblings thinking that I am growing soft in my old age. I hold the largest and most populated domain of all the gods. I believe it's finally time for the sea to recover its reputation and power.

I stood tall with my symbol of power glowing menacing and causing the water nearby to boil and bubble.

My voice boomed through the throne room. "Triton, as the messenger of the seven oceans, I command to you to travel and inform all of deities, lords, ladies, and rulers of every one of my realms. I am declaring a state of emergency to all my kingdoms. To prepare for war. A blood feud and a declaration of false treason has been brought forth from my both of my brothers. The sea shall henceforth be closed off from all interlopers. It's waters no longer safe. The surface world shall fear us once again."

My family glanced at each other with hard unsure expressions. Not once since I have taken the mantle of being the god of the sea have I gone this far.

Triton bowed his head. "Yes Father. I shall leave right away. I will also go to the few deities on land and inform them myself. As well as send notice to all river and lake nymphs."

I nodded stiffly. "Good. Let us see if the rest of the Olympians will bulk under the pressure."

Just then, Lord Delphin came swimming into the throne room looking more nervous than I have seen him in centuries.

"My lord! You have a guest! She insists on a meeting."

"I am not receiving anyone at this moment-"

"My dear Poseidon, I believe you will find it in your greatest interest to speak to me. It involves that pretty pearl of a son you have sired."

My eyes narrowed dangerous as I glanced at the flowing form of Venus herself gracefully sauntering across the marble.

"Then let us speak."

Chapter 9: Breaking News

Summary:

Camp gets a special news alert.

Notes:

Decided to do another short filler chapter. Well, it's kinda filler, but it does have some interesting insight again on what is happening outside of Percy's knowledge. Anyways, the next chapter for sure will be Percy again. He and the Oracle get sassy.

Chapter Text

Chiron POV

As I sent Percy off upstairs to receive a prophecy from the Oracle, I moved to the recreation room where all the cabin heads were already gathered together for an update on the situation.

When I walked in none of them bothered to glance up from the TV. The local and national NEWS was loudly playing a special/breaking update with flashing red alerts running along the bottom of the screen.

"The strange weather phenomenon that struck the entire country mysteriously a few weeks ago has escalated within the last three days. As you can see here by our tracking data over the past several weeks, the frequent severe thunderstorms that have been have raging across the Midwest, the Deep South, and Eastern Coastland states have grown in intensity. Over two dozen F5 tornadoes have erased entire small towns from maps while lesser twisters continue to decimate local communities.

For the first time in recorded history, mainland USA is currently being hit by three major hurricanes simultaneously. Leaving almost a 100 million people stranded without food, water, power, and shelter. Emergency responses and government officials both state and feudal level are scrambling to provide support. Remember to tune in at 6pm EST for a statement from the President."

Someone flipped the channel to another station.

"-To make matters worse, stocks are running short in multiple states as shipping carriers transporting essential goods all across the Atlantic have been lost at sea. Billions of dollars in food and other emergency supplies have been reported to be unaccounted for.

You may have noticed gas prices sky rocketing at the pump. Oil companies from overseas are refusing to embark across the ocean due to fear of being unable to make the journey. Already 253 lives have been taken from sunken ships.

The country mourns the loss of the lives of some its finest military members as both the USS Tipton and the USS Fenton and all of its crew have been declared dead. Nearly 10,000 soldiers of every rank have been lost.

Unfortunately the death toll does not stop there. Another estimated 5,000 citizens have been declared dead due to weather related reasons according to data pulled by local police departments. With superstorms still raging and supplies continuing to diminish, those numbers are projected to double or even triple within the coming days."

The TV was put on mute as everyone turned to face me with horror in their eyes. Luke, as the oldest camper and the respected unofficial leader of the CHB, spoke up, "Chiron, what the Hades is going on? I think we deserve to know by now. Things are getting out of hand. If the gods are this upset, why haven't they issued a quest?"

I sighed tiredly. "It's…more complicated than that. This may seem…extreme to you all because it hasn't been since ancient times that the gods have sent punishments of this scale and magnitude, but there was once a period where events like this occurred more often. I wish I could tell you all more, but I must admit, my information is truly limited. Mr. D is surprisingly being quite tight lipped. What I do know is that Lord Poseidon has declared the seas, oceans, and all other major bodies of water closed off to the rest of the gods that are not part of his court. Rumors have it that his brothers are the cause and have pushed Lord Poseidon to do the unthinkable and now the rest of the world must face the consequences."

I decided to omit the detail of Zeus's master bolt being stolen and the king of the gods pinning the blame on Poseidon and now by association Percy.

Silence filled the room as the teenagers looked at each other with fearful expressions.

"Is it…because of Percy?" Lee asked quietly.

"Speaking of…what is he? Is he really a god?" Silena asked curiously.

"It may be. The circumstances surrounding Percy and his heritage are being closely guarded by the gods. I have my own suspicions to why his father is lashing out, however even if they are correct, those secrets are not mind to disclose."

"But that's not fair! If Percy is the cause of all this death and destruction then shouldn't we do something about it? One life isn't worth more than millions."

I raised an eyebrow at Annabeth's comment. I frowned slightly and prayed that no god or goddess was listening at this moment. "And do tell, how do you think that would go? Even suggesting to harm him could easily land you with the ire of both his parents. Annabeth my dear, you must be more careful with your line of thinking. Gods do not care for the lives of humans. Poseidon is one of, if not the most, fiercely protective gods over their children. He would gladly drown the globe and force humanity to begin from scratch before allowing his son to be killed. And as for his mother, you are well aware of the chaos she can ensure to create when prompted. The myths you learned about were taught for a reason. Mainly for you not to allow those mistakes to happen again."

The seriousness of my tone must have made an impression as the counsellors's faces paled considerably.

"So what do we do?"

I closed my eyes and let out another deep sigh. "I cannot say. Percy is the best person to calm his father. Whatever it is that has set off Lord Poseidon can only be fixed by someone he will listen to. We can only pray that Percy is given a prophecy and therefore a quest to prevent the destruction of the world. Meanwhile, we must read ourselves as best as we can. It is impossible to know what the Fates have in store for us."

I glanced up at the ceiling to where Percy must be with the Oracle and I truly hoped for the best. The world cannot handle an Olympian scale war.

Chapter 10: Oracles are sassy bitches

Summary:

Percy meets the Oracle and learns new information about himself and his future.

Notes:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I'm sorry for the late update, I wanted it to be done on Christmas Day. But that didn't end up happening. Oops.

Chapter Text

Percy's POV

The attic was not at all what I was expecting. I figured it would be a nicely renovated area like you see on those home improvement shows. All cozy and breezy.

This was not that.

It's more what you would expect to see in a horror movie or haunted house. Endless stacks of dusty boxes with big blocky letters scrawled across them took up nearly every inch of space.

I had to walk slowly and carefully so I didn't trip on the splintered floor boards or knock over a relic from the 15th century. I didn't want to touch anything either. Somehow I had the feeling that half the things here could be cursed.

I managed to get close to the window since it was the only source of light and I regretted ever coming to this camp to begin with.

I had began to wonder what kind of person would live in this dusty mausoleum. Now I knew.

A fucking mummy.

And it wasn't even wrapped that well. I could make out clumps of stringy hair and literal holes littering the body.

I cringed away from the dried decayed corpse and almost took a wall of Greek artifacts down with me.

"Holy shit. That's not cool Chiron. Coulda given me a warning that there's a literally mummy up here. Please don't be cursed. Please don't be cursed." I whispered continuously to myself.

Suddenly a sickly green mist began to spew out of the mummy's gaping mouth and empty eye sockets. As if a stranger's husk of a body wasn't creepy enough.

The mist began to form an image of a pretty middle aged woman. The ghostly being smiled warmly at me before speaking. "Hello Perseus Jackson. I am the Spirit of the Oracle of Delphi. It has been many years since I have been in the presence of another seer. I must ask, why are you here?"

I cocked my head with a puzzled expression etched on my face. "Um, I think you got me mixed up. I'm not a seer. I'm a demigod. Well, sorta. It's complicated."

Her smile widened. "You are much more than that Percy. Your birth has challenged the Fates in a way that has never happened before. A unseeable path. Unpredictable in all ways. A mirror reflection of the ever changing oceans."

Well if that wasn't cryptic as hell, I don't know what is.

"Um. Okay? I just came for a prophecy. I guess I need one for a quest. Not that anyone here has actually explained what either of those mean."

"Alas Percy, an oracle cannot grant another seer the gift of sight. You must forge forward with your own skills."

"Listen here Delphi, I literally have no clue what you mean and I'm starting to hate riddles. Can't you just speak normally? It's just us here, who're you trying to impress?"

The floating image of Delphi cracked a smile. "There are always beings listening. I'm sure many a gods have ears trained upon us. However, from one seer to another, I wish to impart you with this." She pointed to a small burlap bag that was hanging around her mummified wrist. "It is the latest Great Prophecy. I shall depart with a warning, be careful who knows that you are in possession of this knowledge. There are forces out there, hidden and lurking, waiting for an opportunity to strike."

The green mist faded away, seeping back into the gross remains and leaving me alone again in the creaky attic.

I didn't know how to take her vague advice. I already knew people, gods, monsters, and whatever else were after me. So nothing new there. So what could be so important that my life would be somehow in more danger? Is that even possible at this point?

I tried not to gag as I unhooked the tiny satchel. Once free from its boney constraints, I opened the drawstrings.

A rolled up piece of yellowing parchment paper about the size of my index finger fell into my waiting palm.

I carefully unrolled it and for once my dyslexia didn't seem to be affecting me as my eyes trailed over the words.

A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze

Oh. Yikes.

I can see why this would be an issue. For sure. Delphi was right, I don't want anyone to know about this nor want anyone to know that I'm in the know. If I know one thing, I have no desire to fall into the trap of a self-fulling prophecy.

I pocketed the old scroll before heading out of the attic and backdown stairs to the REC room where Chiron was waiting with the counselors of each cabin. The second I walked in, someone rushed to turn off the TV. That was sorta suspicious, but I guess everything about this was suspicious.

"Um hi?" I glanced around nervously to the assembled group.

"Did the Oracle give you a prophecy?" Chiron asked too eagerly.

"Yup." I replied.

The old centaur sighed exasperatedly. "And what did the prophecy say?"

I shrugged. "Pretty sure that's my personal business."

"Oh come on, stop being a drama Queen Pretty Boy." Clarisse slammed her fist in the table with annoyance.

I shot her an equally feisty glare. "How about you mind your own business? I'm not telling anyone my prophecy. Last time I checked, it was given to me and not any of you. So kindly, back off."

Annabeth, of course, had to open her mouth. "That prophecy affects all of us. That means all of us deserve to know. Besides, it might mention other people besides yourself. Not to mention, can you even decipher something as complicated as a prophecy?"

Ugh. Just when I thought she couldn't get any worse. "It doesn't. It's MY prophecy. If you wanted one so badly, go get your own. If you want a terrifyingly vague and shitty poem that could possibly be describing your brutal and untimely death, help yourself. I'm sure Delphi enjoys handing them out."

"Alright that's enough you two. Percy does not need to disclose what he was told. I do think it unwise, as many minds working together could be a great tool, but ultimately it is his decision."

"Gee, thanks." For that super underhanded comment.

"As per quest rules, Percy, you may ask two other campers to join you on your journey. Choose wisely."

The daughter of Athena stood up all too proudly. "I'll go. It's only natural that you have the best mind in camp to go along. Can't have you dying because of a stupid plan."

I couldn't hold back the laughter as I listened to her audacity. "I'm sorry, what? What on earth made you think I would ever chose you to come on my quest."

Annabeth stumbled as if I physically slapped her. "Because I'm the best here, that's why."

Clarisse snorted and rolled her eyes. "Don't get too cocky there Birdbrain."

Chiron cleared his throat loudly and the room quieted down. "While Annabeth may be crude in her word choice, she is still an excellent candidate-"

"No." I cut him off. I don't want to listen to his favoritism right now.

Annabeth blinked owlishly as if this was all a bad dream. "No? What do you mean no? I was supposed to leave camp when you got your quest. I have to join you! You need me!"

Alright. I'm done playing Mr. Nice Guy. I don't care who she thinks she is, but nothing gives her the right to insert herself into my life like a common leech.

"Listen Blondie, you're obviously used to getting your way, and Chiron and everyone might flatter you and spoil you, but I can honestly say, I don't give a fuck. This is my life on the line. It's my prophecy and my stupid quest. If you were so smart, you should have spent time trying to get on my good graces instead of making yourself an outcast."

That apparently was enough to shut her up. Or at least stun her. Whichever worked is fine by me.

I walked over to where Luke had been sitting silently the entire time. I grinned to the son of Hermes as I stood in front of him.

"Wanna come with me and fuck some shit up? Get a little break from having to play Daddy of the camp for awhile. Maybe forever if you die."

Luke instantly flushed crimson and gaped like a fish out of water. "Percy! You can't keep saying stuff like that!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please. Like the entire camp doesn't see you as their real authority figure. Everyone here has mommy issues, daddy issues, or both."

Now everyone was blushing as they all looked away and pretending not to be eavesdropping.

I raised my eyebrow. "So? You coming or what?"

The blond teen sighed deeply yet his crooked smile gave him away. "Guess I can't turn down the offer now, can I? Give me a few hours to move around some responsibility so camp doesn't crash and burn while we're gone."

I flashed him a grin. "Sweet. Meanwhile, I gotta convince the last member of our party to join."

Luke paused curiously. "Oh? Who is it?"

I looked over at Lee who was 100 percent not even bothering to hide his leaning in to the conversation. "Hey, do you know where your brother is?"

"Uh, which one?"

"The doctor. The one that fixed me up. I want him to come too. Something tells me a talented healer would be useful to have on a world saving quest."

Everyone in the room stared at me with a strange expression.

Lee broke the tension first. "Wait. You want…Will to come with you? But…"

"But what?"

"He's so young!"

"Is he?" I cocked my head as I thought about. "I thought he was around my age. Isn't he the best healer in camp though?"

"I mean…yeah. His healing abilities are the best, but combat wise, he needs way more training. He still struggles with his archery and his sword skills are abysmal."

I blinked at Lee and frowned. "I've literally been here for less than two days and now I have to try to go save the world without a single day of ANY training. Besides, Luke and I can handle the fighting. We just need someone to keep us alive."

Everyone shuffled and fidgeted awkwardly when the realization dawned on them. Took them long enough.

"Alright, so now that we're all on the same page, I'm gonna go convince my favourite mini Apollo to join my suicide squad. Bye."

I left the Big House with a bit too much excitement in my step for someone heading towards their impending doom.

Chapter 11: A Fellowship of Three and a Rapid Departure

Summary:

Percy asks Will to join the quest. He learns some important and tragic news and doesn't handle it all too well.

Notes:

Hi Eveyone!

First off, I'm really sorry for the long break between chapters. In my pitiful defense, I was hospitised and very sick a few times during my absence and it's put a huge damper on my writing. Hopefully my luck will change a bit now.

Anyways back to the story. This chapter DOES contain some mental anguish/ trauma. It depict severe anxiety, depression, self loathing, and general mental pain as Percy comes to certain realizations.

I would like to say that things in my story will be different. This is a fanfic, not a paraphrased copy and paste of the original story. So please don't get too upset when the characters behave/ act differently.

Keep in mind that this Percy has lived a relatively shitty childhood with school bullies, discriminate teachers, and a very abusive step-father. And his mother, the only person in the world that he loved, was brutally murdered just a few days ago.

Not to mention he has the stress of finding out that his entire life has been a secret and an entire hidden mythological world exists and he's now at the very center of it. Without much training or knowledge, he has to somehow keep a world ending divine war from happening.

I am doing a more realistic approach to how Percy ( or anyone really) would handle this level of emotional and physical trauma and overwhelming pressure.

Chapter Text

"You want me to come with you on a quest? No offence, but are you sure you don't have head trauma?" Will gave me mad side eye. That pure scepticism in his eyes made me grin. I leaned up against a wall as he continued to work on what I assumed was counting medical inventory.

"Haha. Funny Doc, but nope, I'm all good in the noggin according to you actually."

I watched him work in silence for a few moments as I debated on the words I wanted to use to convince him.

I admit I was sort of impressed.

Okay, fine, I'm a tiny bit jealous. Here was a kid the same age as me and yet I knew I could never pull of an ounce of professionalism that he did.

Will looked so much older with his comically large round glasses sliding down his nose and eyebrows scrunched up as he walked around tapping random supplies with a pencil. He scribbled illegible symbols down on his clipboard with a seriousness that made me feel like it was life or death that he got the numbers perfectly correct.

He really did look like a doctor minus the scrubs and white coat. I found myself smiling at the sight. I may not be a genius like many of the demigods at camp are, but I've always prided myself in being good at reading people and Will was undeniably a good soul.

"Can I be honest with you?"

Will chuckled. "Of course. Not that you have much of a choice though, I can tell if you're lying."

Oh. That's right, Apollo is also the god of truth. Damn, he has too many domains to track, but I'll admit, having a human lie detector on the quest would be helpful. While I'm really good at reading people, there is a margin of error so now this covers all our bases.

"Good thing I'm not planning to lie then. This may be obvious considering I've been here less than two days, but I don't trust anyone here. If I know anything from the old myths, it's that gods are incredibly selfish creatures with too much power and time on their hands and I don't think their kids are much different."

Will raised an eyebrow at me, yet his ever bright smile never dimmed. "Valid enough. What point are you trying to make though?"

"Out of everyone else in the camp, including Luke, I actually trust you the most. Before you get a big ego, the bar is pretty low right now. I would probably still stab you if you started acting sketchy."

The blond teen blinked owlishly. "You trust me the most? But why? We've barely spoken and most of the time we were together, you were unconscious."

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "It's hard to explain. You know…that my parentage is a bit complicated. One of my abilities is being really good at reading people. Like supernaturally good. When I see an aura, I get a feeling about each person. The more I focus, the more I learn. When I look at you, I get the feeling that you're truly a good person. Someone I want to be around. I can't explain it more than that."

I felt my cheeks burning from embarrassment from how sappy I must be sounding right now.

"Aww you're just a big ole softy aren't you? Everyone thinks you're kinda distant and mean, but I didn't think that and now you've proven I was right."

I sighed. "I'm not mean. I'm cautious. My whole life has been a shitty mess and you would think that a camp full of people that have similar pasts would be more understanding. I'm not gonna apologise for my very valid behaviours."

"Hey hey, I'm not disagreeing. In fact, when you lay it out like that, it makes a lot of sense." Will set down his clipboard and seemed to be thinking deeply before randomly shrugging. "Alrighty, I'll come. Something tells me that you and Luke are gonna be trouble magnets and going to need all the help you can get."

"Eh. You're not wrong. I'm seriously considering that I was cursed or something."

Will suddenly began to laugh awkwardly. "Um. You kinda are? Did you-uh-not know?"

It was my turn to stare at him owlishly. "Um no. How exactly am I cursed? And why are you making seem like it's supposed to be an obvious piece of information?"

The son of Apollo flinched at my tone and stepped back a few paces while his face paled. "Okay okay, so don't kill the messenger, but it's common knowledge around Camp that around 60 years ago during the Second World War the children of the Big Three were the secretly the reason the war was even happening. It nearly plummeted the world back into the Dark Ages.

After the war was over, demigods of the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were deemed too powerful so the three gods all swore an oath on the river Styx not to father any more demigod children after the Second World War.

And, well, you were still born despite that. Typically breaking an oath on the Styx is instant death, but gods can't be killed, so they usually endure a shitty punishment of some kind for awhile. But nothing bad enough to force them to keep it in their pants. But the worst part is that the demigods born under a broken oath always have terrible destinies and a fate worse than death. Or so I was told. And that's about it."

My chest felt impossibly tight as I steadied myself from collapsing from the shock. I locked my knees to keep myself upright before casting a withering gaze at Will.

"Oh is that all? An impossible to avoid curse from the second I was born set to make my entire life an actual living hell, a fate worse than death you said, something of epic proportions that I cannot even begin to imagine?" I watched Will appear to shrink in on himself as my icy voice cut through the air like invisible daggers, but I found myself not caring. I was too busy gripping the doorframe until I heard the distinct crack of wood splintering.

An intense rage was bubbly deep inside my gut. It's burning heat radiated throughout my core and up into my stiff chest as my breathing becoming laboured.

"Percy!"

I wanted to scream till my lungs gave up. I wanted to punch the person responsible for this. I wanted to let the world crash and burn and let the gods deck it out in a death match while I sit back with a bucket of popcorn and watch.

"Can you hear me? Percy!"

I can't believe that no matter what I do, I will always have to fight ten times harder just to stay afloat. Just to stay alive.

My life will never be peaceful. Every time I think I'm safe, something horrible will be lurking around the corner.

I am cursed to remain in a lifetime riddled with insecurities and anxiety. Never knowing if anything good will last.

All because my dad couldn't at the least wear a fucking condom. If he did, I wouldn't be here, saddled with an shitty fate.

Not to mention Mom wouldn't had to suffer for years as a single parent. She wouldn't had to have worked multiple jobs, day and night just to feed her child and barely afford send them off to a new school every year.

"Oh fuck- Percy! You need to calm-"

She could have enjoyed her younger years traveling around the world, studying in college, and writing books like she always wanted. I could see her smiling, full of love and joy, living a full life with a normal haply family.

For sure she never would have married that disgusting bastard that should have never been able to be within a mile of her if it was up to me.

And…she would still be alive.

"PERCY! Breathe!"

Pain flared across my chest yet again. It was as if a tidal wave of immense pressure was threatening to smash into me and drag me down to a dark watery abyss.

How could memories and images of a alternate fake future hurt so much? Why am I making myself suffer with these intrusive thoughts? I want them to go away. Please. Make it stop.

I tried in vain to make my mind blank, to make the images of my mom disappear, but I couldn't. I can't erase her like that.

I felt an unwelcome wetness tickling my cheeks. With a numb movement, I found myself staring in wonder at the glistening teardrops rolling down my fingers.

Was I crying? Since when? And why was I suddenly so warm? The agonizing cold was leeching away and somehow light was breaking through the darkness in my mind.

"Percy…please-Percy, you gotta focus. Can you hear me? Hey, there you are. Good job. Keep taking deep breaths, just like that, you're doing great."

I blinked. The tears fell and my vision cleared.

Why was I staring at a sea of golden rivers?

I blinked again.

Oh. Not rivers. Golden hair. Lots of it. It smelled of sunshine and sunflowers. It was nice. Really nice actually.

"Will?"

The warmth suddenly left and immediately the sense of impending doom replaced it. I wanted the warmth back.

"Oh thank the gods. Welcome back Percy." Will's voice sounded desperate laced with heavy worry and…fear.

I instinctively went on guard and wrapped my fingers around my necklace/trident while my eyes shifted around to take in my surroundings.

I froze midway as I took stock of what used to be the infirmary. The entire building had collapsed. Only a few pieces of the walls remained standing leaving everything else in piles of rubble and debris.

Through the settling dust cloud, I was able to make out that a massive crack in the earth over fifty feet long had spilt the infirmary in neatly half. And it started directly in front of me where an impression of a fist had dented the ground.

Will held my hand and squeezed it lightly. "It's okay. Everyone is fine, I promise. There were no major physical injuries. Sadly I can't say that for mental traumas though. No one was exactly expecting an earthquake to strike Camp."

I glanced at the wreckage I had somehow caused and felt my stomach drop. "How did- I mean- what happened?"

Will's eyes soften as he gave my hands another squeeze. "I think you had a panic attack. You sort of…went blank for a bit and I thought you were just processing everything, which I can't blame you for since the news was not something easy to hear, but then you began to hyperventilate and before I could reach you to help, you sorta punched the ground while screaming and well…this happened.

I had to wait for everything to stop falling to get to you and I was trying to calm you down, but nothing was working…so…um…I figured a hug couldn't hurt. And I guess that was the right call since it worked."

Fuck. Now I really felt like shit. "I'm so sorry Will. I can't believe I let my emotions get the better of me….but thank you. For sticking around to try to help me."

"Hey, I would never abandon a friend in need! But seriously, Percy, you know it's okay to let yourself feel things right? Bottling every negative emotion you have isn't good for you. Take a look around, this is proof that it isn't healthy."

I sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I know."

Will looked like he was going to say more, yet decided to fall silent. We both knew why and it was a mutual understanding.

A new voice appeared through the dust. "Well, if you two are done destroying the camp, I think we should book it. I don't think I need to explain that plenty of people are pretty pissed that Percy accidentally almost killed everyone."

Will and I glanced up to see Luke's grinning face looming over us. He didn't seem overly upset yet I could see and feel his aura shifting through a sea of rolling emotions.

He was mainly worried, but I could also sense caution and fear mixed in. I tried not to let that knowledge sting too much personally. I can't blame him. No one else almost pulled an Atlantis on Long Island.

"I took the liberty of getting both of your things and packed it in the van. So unless you wanna face down a raging Clarisse, I say we leave. Now."

That was enough to jolt both Will and I into a scramble to get ourselves off the ground and chasing after Luke to the van.

No one wanted to deal with an extra ticked off child of war that already had an anger management problem and prone to homicidal tendencies.

Chapter 12: Declaration of War

Summary:

The olympians have an emergency council meeting over a declaration of War.

Notes:

Hi Everyone!

I return to you in the same day for a BONUS CHAPTER!!!

Lemme know what you think in the comments of this POV.

Chapter Text

Apollo POV

I stared between the grim faces of the entire council, Father's classic stoic expression of seething rage, and the empty throne of Uncle P.

Triton had just left the throne room with Poseidon's official declaration of war. I glanced down at copy each member of the counsel received.

Henceforth let it be known to all worldly and unworldly kingdoms, nations, empires, territories, clans, tribes, and countries:

Under false allegations of espionage, high treason, grand theft, and the attempted assassination of a member of the Royal and Divine Family of the Seas,

No god, goddess, demigod, nor mortal outside of the Sea Court are permitted to enter the boarders of the Oceanic Realm. This includes all major bodies of waters, coastlands, estuaries, and ocean bound rivers. Any intruders will be met with swift retaliation.

All outside trade agreements, peace treaties, and economical transactions are hereby null and void until further notice.

There are no demands to cease the declaration nor interest in mediation to broker an alliance for peace.

Signed,

Lord Poseidon,

God of the Seas

God of Storms

God of Fertility

Earthshaker/ Lord of the Earth

Drought-Bringer

Herald of Destruction

Father of Horses

Patron of Nautical Navigation

King of Atlantis

The declaration had stunned everyone into deathly silence. No one was talking, much less arguing, which truly was a first in Olympic history. If the tension wasn't so high, I would totally make a joke or even some kind of poem about this historic moment.

Finally and unsurprisingly it was Athena that spoke up first. "Father, I suggest that we do not needlessly provide any provocation to the situation seeing how volatile it has developed. This is quite unprecedented. Any attempted act now will be seen as hostile and provoke a full scale war."

"So what? If Old Seaweed Beard wants a war, why shouldn't we give it to him? I wouldn't mind a good brawl." Ares cracked his knuckles loudly as he continued to boast.

Athena rolled her eyes. "Don't be foolish. We would be outnumbered 5,000 to 1 in soldiers and nearly 10 to 1 per deity. Not mention nearly all of our troops are unable to advance into Poseidon's realm seeing as they cannot breathe under the waves, much less engage in combat."

"No big deal Sis. We just force them to fight above the surface. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

Even I had pinched the bridge of my nose and sigh in sheer mental anguish. How is he the god of war?

Thankfully Artemis stepped in with her ever present sneer. "Ares, think for a moment, why would Poseidon ever move his army out of the sea? He isn't trying to gain more land or territory. He already possesses the largest physical realm of any deity. His goal is keep us out and right now we have no way to leverage the situation."

Hephaestus spoke up in tired voice as he tinkered away on some unknown project. "I say, we let him be. In all accounts, if he wasn't truly the culprit for the theft of the Master Bolt, then he had every right to retaliate. As you've pointed out, all out war is futile and let's face it, half the council will either take his side or be neutral. That cuts at least half of our power."

"We all just need to eat more cereal! Not enough fiber in your diets. That's what wrong. You're all backed up!" Demeter kept throwing handfuls of HoneyNut Cheerios as if those were going to solve the potential destruction of the planet. Well, I guess it's better than our current plan, which stood at big whooping nothing.

Hera began her infamous rant about loyalty to a marriage and how all of this could have been prevented if the gods aren't unfaithful assholes, blah blah blah. You would assume that after a few thousand years of cheating, she would get over it. Or at least accept that it's not going to change. Talk about denial.

Artemis, Athena, and Ares broke off into a three way argument as per usual.

I slumped in my throne and glanced over at Hermes who was busy tuning all the squabbles out as he furiously typed on his smartphone. Poor guy never stopped working. The world's only divine workaholic.

I toying with the idea of ruffling up Dionysus's feather just to annoy him when a menacing boom of thunder cut through the bickering. "Enough! I will not tolerate any more discussion of potential betrayal. No one here will deflect to my brother's side, is that understood?" Father's tone left no room for debate despite a room filled with looks of unease.

I could understand their hesitation. I would never voice it aloud, but I knew that in a battle between Zeus and Poseidon, it was likely that my Father would lose. And I wasn't the only one that held that opinion. There was a reason that no one truly got on Uncle P's bad side.

Poseidon was as ruthless, cruel, and unforgiving as the harshest seas. The power of the oceans were truly one of most destructive forces on the planet and I think many on the council have ceased to recall just how dangerous and destructive Poseidon was during the peak of Ancient Greece.

"I will be siding with my son and since I am sharing custody with Poseidon, I will be taking his side if things are to escalate." Aphrodite casually stated as her gaze never wavered from her hand-held vanity mirror.

Hermes and I shared a look before we glanced at our father's face that was rapidly turning purple in sheer rage. The entire throne room was quaking with his wrath. The poor mortals down below were likely fearing for their lives. Again.

"YOU DARE FORSAKE ME? I AM THE KING OF THE GODS! Do not test me Aphrodite. You have already caused enough chaos by claiming a demigod that you did not sire yourself. I will not allow more of this foolishness and I will-"

"You will what?" The goddess of love stood to her full height as the mirror she held began to glow with pulsing pink light. She smacked it lightly in her hands like a latex bound dominatrix with a 'You're a slut' paddle.

The air became thick with the scent of sickeningly sweet perfume. I could instantly feel the allure of her powerful magic weaving and twisting through the minds of everyone in her presence.

I hardly bothered to defend myself. I knew I was too late to brush off her magic. She may not use a physical weapon, but she was not a push over when it came to her domain's abilities. Even Hecate is not as versed in emotional manipulation magic.

Every instinct I had to fight and defend myself fled. I felt as if lifting my limbs was simply too much work. Why even bother?

I felt better about myself for falling under her enchantments as I glanced across the chamber. Everyone save Artemis and Hestia seemed under the thrall of Aphrodite's potent spell, although Zeus was clearly getting the grunt of it.

She flicked her hair behind her shoulder as she met my father's piercing gaze as she continued to sashay to the middle of the throne room. "Zeus, you forget yourself honey. I am the eldest here. I was old before you were even born dear. Let me be crystal clear, I am quite content in my position on the council." Aphrodite stood up to Zeus's throne, circling it like a predator fashioned in hues of pink. I had never seen my father appear so pale. I could tell that Aphrodite was forcing him to witness illusions or memories from a far off place. Whatever she was conjuring in his vision, I hoped I never see.

Her silky voice continued to enthral and hypnotise. "I may not be a powerful warrior, but why lift a sword myself when I can destroy the very will of my enemies before they even move? Love is more than just sex and games. It is the ruling nature of every sentient being. Love is the core that binds divinity and mortality together. It controls all other emotions and therefore every decision to come across your feeble mind. Take for example your love of your throne, the love of power, the love of controlling others to your whim. It fuels you. Gives you purpose. You would wage war and sacrifice endless lives to keep it. That greed stems from a beautifully toxic love. Isn't it just the best?" Aphrodite purred in glee as she continued to circle Zeus.

She leaned over to whisper in Zeus's ear as if we all couldn't hear her perfectly. "Percy is as much mine as he is Poseidon's. If you seek to go after him, then do so at the peril of gaining more than one god as an enemy. You may have forgotten, but I was born of the sea. Even Poseidon cannot boast that claim."

The goddess of love flashed the council a terrifying sweet smile, one promising pain and misery to all that invoke her wrath , before disappearing in a poof of pink mist.

Instantly the heavy spell in the throne room was broken and everyone breathed in a collected breath.

Zeus looked rattled and for once slightly unhinged. Oh I see. He was embarrassed. I shall treasure this moment for the rest of my immortal soul. With a flash of lightning and an echo of thunder, my father vanished from sight without even officially dismissing the meeting. At least Hera quickly followed. Don't think I could stand another lecture about the virtues of loyalty in marriage and how all men are horny perverts.

"Shit. That was intense. I don't think I've ever seen her pull rank like that. She has never cared about her age. Actually, she once made me her personal chauffeur for a decade when I accidentally mentioned that she was older than the titans." Hermes shivered at the memories of his torture.

"Seems like the future is about to get very interesting." I tapped my chin in wonder. I had seen many possible futures, but none of them had shown me this. I wonder why. There are very few things that can hide or influence my god level of prophetic sight and now I'm considering my curiosity peaked. Perhaps I should visit Percy Jackson and see what the big deal is about this one mortal.

I poked my brother's side. "Hey Hermes, wanna go on a spy mission?"

The messenger god instantly dropped his clipboard and pager. "You bet. When, where, who, and why? Oh I don't even care. Let's just go. Anything to get out of this nightmare of shipping chaos that Poseidon has done me in for."

"Sweet. I'll drive."

Chapter 13: Shameless self advertisement

Chapter Text

Hi Everyone-

I missed you guys! I promise I still read your comments and I really love the moral support!

I had a few rough past couple months and I've barely had the opportunity to eat, much less write. However I've finally have the time and motivation to get back on the plotting wagon.

If you wanna see me writing live on Tik Tok, talking about story ideas and character development and other random whimsical nerdy things, go and give me a follow: @benlee89

See ya soon with an official update!

Chapter 14: Furies and Tridents

Summary:

The quest team debates on their next moves, get sidetrack with a surprise monster attack and new information arises from Percy's gift from his father.

Notes:

Hiii!

This took a bit longer than I hoped and I've rewritten it twice and I knew if I didn't post it today, I'll end up rewritten it for another month. So apologies now if I messed up on some things.

Chapter Text

PERCY POV

"So mighty quest leader, where exactly are we off to? As convenient as it would be, I don't think the Master Bolt is going to be in the same city as Olympus. Any thief worth their salt would want to keep Zeus's prized weapon as far away from him as possible. Gods can sense their symbols of power from a great distance and more so if it remains in their domain."

Luke glanced at me through the rearview mirror with an eyebrow raised as he steered us onto the turnpike exit away from New York City and towards upstate.

"If that's true, then it only supports my current theory. I asked around and learned that the bat lady that attacked me is *literally* from hell and directly commanded by the God of the Underworld. What better place to hide a weapon from an all seeing god? There's only two options that I know. Either under the sea or deep underground."

Will chirped up excitedly. "And since your Poseidon's kid and the only person that could have taken it for him and obviously you didn't, that only leaves…Hades. He has it? That didn't take long to figure out. So far so good."

Luke chuckled. "Don't get too excited Will. Hades is one of the most powerful gods out there. Literally has the hordes of hell at his beck and call. At any time we could face anything he wants to unleash from the depths of the underworld. Unkillable ghosts, merciless undead, and demonic monsters will hunt us and rip our bodies apart like we're made from styrofoam all untill we beg for the sweet sweet release of death."

Will's face paled drastically and I rolled my eyes. "Okay okay, we get your point dude. Hades isn't someone to mess around with. Honestly I was hoping to be wrong. I have zero desire to meet any more hostile gods, but unless I find and return that stupid sparkler we're gonna end up going to see Hades the fast and easy way.

"Fair enough. A full scale war of the gods won't exactly leave many survivors. So what's the plan?" Luke pulled over into a gas station and parked furthest away from people before we got out to refill on gas and get some cheap snacks.

"It's a simple heist. We sneak into the Underworld, grab the bolt, and book it out of there as fast as possible. Hopefully with no one realizing we were there and minimal maiming."

Luke and Will blinked at me owlishly.

"Um, Percy, I think you don't realise-"

"That is a dumb plan," Luke cut in, "No offense Percy. You don't understand, there are literally less than a half dozen people in all of Greek history that have managed to sneak into the Underworld alive. Not all of them came back out alive either. A *katabasis* is no simple journey. What we have to do is quest of such epic proportions that the Greeks wouldn't be able to find a clay pot big enough to tell our soon to be tragedy."

Luke tossed me a snickers bar as he sat down at a table as Will rummaged through a bag of beef jerky. I took a big bite out of my candy bar as I collected my thoughts.

"Alright I hear ya dude. Sounds like it's gonna suck hardcore,but I still don't see how else to go about it. We don't have another lead. No clues. Not even gossip to follow. All we know is that my dad is being framed and war is coming. So unless you have a better plan, we don't have much of a choice."

We sat in silence with only the crunches of snacks being wolfed down to fill the void. Eventually Luke let out a rough sigh. "Down to Hades we go."

"Wait, where exactly is the Underworld? Can't be far right? If Olympus is here." I asked.

"Actually….it's on the other side of the country. Los Angeles, California to be exact. The gods love their irony." Luke rolled his eyes as he grabbed our stuff.

I groaned, cursing under my breath. Of course the place we need to go to is across the entire freaking country. Almost three thousand miles away and all we have is a hippie van from the 70's.

It would be a miracle if it survives even a quarter of the trip. I bet Ms. Dodds will come back from whatever hellish hole she calls home and wrecks it. Ten bucks.

22 miles later, we find ourselves in standstill traffic for nearly an hour on an overpass. I watched the visible heatwaves waft off the tarmac as hundreds of cars burned another hole in our ozone layer.

I tapped my fingers across the door frame as I glanced through the window. The highway advisory board said there was a massive accident up ahead, but something in my gut kept me suspicious. I don't think there is a such thing as a coincidence as a demigod. That luxury is long gone.

"Uh, why are those ladies walking on the bridge?" I spotted Will pointing at three tiny old ladies weaving through traffic lanes.

They were hunched over and wearing the exact outfits you would expect from a granny in the 1950's. Brightly coloured with pastels and terrible abstract patterns.

I would have dismissed them if it wasn't for the fact that they were shuffling between cars like fucking bloodhounds on the prowl. Their heads turning on a swivel in every which way clearly searching.

Then I saw it. The old ladies's true forms rippling underneath their flimsy disguises. The familiar sight of those leathery bat wings and demonic red and yellow eyes were impossible to miss.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Fuck. I fumbled to undue my seatbelt as I grabbed our stuff from the backseat.

"We gotta go. Now. Those are not friendly candy sharing grandmas. We got Furies incoming."

"Hades isn't playing around. Alright. We gotta get off the road. We don't want to bring the mortals into this. Monsters don't care about mortal casualties." Luke unsheathed his sword as he rolled out of the car.

That apparently pissed off the furies. I could hear their angry hisses from ten car lengths away. How lovely.

I pulled at my necklace to unleash my handy dandy trident of doom. I felt instantly more confident and secure with my weapon in my hands. As if the sea was only a few feet from reach instead of miles away.

"Will, I think now would be a great time to start firing some of those sharp looking arrows of yours."

"On it!" Will snapped three arrows out of his quiver, notched, aimed, and fired all under five seconds. I watched with awe as the projectiles whistled through the air as blurs and with sickening thuds, struck the closest of the furies. Shoulder, chest, and stomach.

A terrible wail filled the air as the monster burst into a shower of gold dust. The two remaining Furies roared and took to the skies.

"Gods Will. And you call that not good?!" I don't even want to know what kind of things a kid of Apollo who's specialty is archery can do. Probably shoot a target from across a city. Blindfolded.

Will's face went pink from my praise. Such a precious ray of sunshine I swear.

"Percy, duck!" I hit the deck without hesitating. Good thing I did because I could sense the swish of air where my head was a second ago. Ms. Dodds had attempted to get her revenge from me killing her last time.

"Now now sweetie. That wasn't very nice. I just wanted to give you a hug. Did you miss me?"

I rolled to my feet as I glared. I pointed my trident at her. "Sorry, didn't know you were so eager to die again. Was your boss mad you failed last time. I hope you got detention."

Judging from how her eyes narrowed and her scowl deepened, I got a good feeling Hades wasn't very pleased with his prized soldier.

"Percy, you got her? I'm gonna go after the last one!" Luke asked.

I grinned. "Yeah, I'm all good. Ms. Dodds and I are old friends after all."

Luke nodded and the next thing I know, he's taking flight. Actually flying. I blinked in shock as I watched him zoom through the sky as if he's sprinting on an invisible stairmaster. It takes him no time to catch up to the third Fury and an air battle of swords and claws unfolds.

I give my attention back to Ms. Dodds as she hovers a dozen feet away.

"It doesn't have to be this way ya know. Never too late to head back to hell. Have some tea, torment a soul."

She let out a rough cackle. "And let you get away with your thievery? I think not Perseus. The only soul I want is yours!"

I frowned. "Wow. The hypocrisy. Your boss is the real thief. Why would I be risking my life to get something I supposedly already have? And if my dad had the bolt, why wouldn't he be using it? It doesn't add up, does it? You were a math teacher, you should know how to add. And you can tell my dear old uncle that I plan to get that stupid sparkler back to Zeus and clear my dad's and mine's name."

"Your lies are convincing Seaspawn, but I will not fooled. Your charms are useless against one like myself. If you will not return what you stole, then I shall have to kill you." She bombed dived at me with her talons ready to shred me to pieces.

I rapidly twisted out of the way via launching myself onto the gravely pavement. I winced as the rough contact tore up my chiton and a good amount of my skin along with it.

(And yes, I was still wearing it. Trust me, I did everything possible to switch out of it. Every time I tried to change into anything else, the outfit would always resort back to this outed fashion disaster.)

I could hear her getting ready to make another pass. I stood and ignored the loud protest my body made. I fixed the fury with a nasty look while I kept dodging her attacks. But I won't be able to keep this up forever. Every one of her attempts to skewer me was getting closer and closer to succeeding.

I don't exactly have a ton of options. Environment wise, I'm out of my element. No water to help me out and making an earthquake on a flying opponent is noneffective. Thanks Pokémon.

It's not like I had time to learn aerial combat tactics yet at Camp so I did what I do best.

Improvise.

I tested the weight of my trident in my hand. I assumed it was roughly ten pounds. Should be more than enough. The silvery black metal glistened in the sunlight as I steeled myself to launch it with my full might.

I took a few steps backwards as I pulled back my arm and aimed at Ms. Dodds who was busy making another pass at me. I made a heavy step forward, bringing every inch of my power and weight behind me to catapult my trident.

It soared through the sky with a high pitched whistle and the next thing I know suddenly Ms.Dodds was gone in a poof of gold flecks. No scream of pain, no body thumping to the ground. Just gone. My trident had literally gone right through her like a hot knife through butter.

A sudden boom thundered through the air and the bridge shook as the ground rumbled for a few seconds. I could see a cloud of dust and debris rising over in the distance.

However, before I could figure out what the hell just happened, whatever spell was keeping the mortals blind to our fight with the Furies broke. Instant wide spread panic formed in the mortals. Shouts of a bomb and a terrorist attack were being tossed back and forth and following that, just good old fashioned screaming and running.

"Percy! You okay? What happened? Was that you that made the explosion?" Will seemed to have materialised out of thin air and scared the shit out of me. I jumped back waving my arms around as if that would protect me.

"Dude, warn a guy. Gonna get you a bell or something. But yeah, I'm fine. Just a few scratches and road burn. And no idea, I was busy dealing with Ms. Dodds."

Will sent me a puzzled expression as he automatically began to clean out my wounds of road debris. "Who is Ms.Dodds?"

"Oh, one of the Furies. She was my algebra teacher for awhile before she went all monstery on me and tried to kill me. Score is 2-0 now."

"You've killed a fury and the Minotaur without even knowing you were a demigod?That's…wow. Gods, you've had some wild adventures."

I shrugged. I wasn't sure how else to respond to that. I didn't exactly pick to go on these life and death adventures. "Where's Luke?"

"Oh he's fine. The fury realised he was way too good and she started running, well, flying away. He went to chase her down so she can't report back to Hades as quick."

"Wait, I thought they went straight there when we will kill them. So why would it matter?"

"Monsters don't go to the Underworld when they die. They go to a place called The Pit. It has another name, but we aren't supposed to ever say it allowed. It's a very ancient and very powerful place and you know how names have power in our world. But anyways, they first have to reform there before finding a way out of The Pit. But the Furies are a little different. Since they report to Lord Hades directly, he offers them an expedited return. Killing then just buys us a few hours. Maybe a whole day if we're lucky. Don't know how it works though. Just know they reform really fast compared to other monsters."

So that explains how I'm seeing Ms.Dodds so fast after just killing her a few days ago. Sort of annoying that I can't get rid of her for longer periods of time. Like perhaps my entire lifetime would be great.

"Ok. Well I gotta go get my trident back. I kinda had to throw it. It landed over there." I pointed in the direction of the earlier explosion.

I found myself surprised. I could actually sense exactly where my trident was if I concentrate. It's the same way how I can tell whenever there's a body of water close by. I simply knew. No other way to explain it.

I lead Will through the thick traffic and chaos, careful to avoid drawing too much attention to ourselves. Luckily no one seemed to paying much attention to two teenagers. Even if one was dressed like a method actor and the other had a bow strapped to their back. America truly is a wild place.

"Uh, I think we found your trident."

I nodded numbly as I stared at the twenty foot steaming crater surrounding my weapon. The ground was completely destroyed along with half a dozen nearby abandoned cars. The road was spider webbing with deep cracks further than I could see and billows of black smoke arose from two vehicles that were busy melting into goo.

I guess I did cause the explosion after all.

But how…?

"Should have known the explosion was you Percy." Luke came down from the sky and skidded to a stop beside us looking totally fine. Barely a hair out of place. Meanwhile I probably look like roadkill.

"Hey, I'm just as confused as you. I didn't know my trident had a secret bomb feature."

Luke chuckled as he approached the trident that was dramatically sticking out of the ground like it was trying to mimic Excalibur. "Well let's find out. A bomb setting could be useful on our quest."

He reached over to lift it and I suddenly was overcome with a sickening sensation. My entire body felt tense like static electricity was coating my skin. I wanted to yell out for him to stop, but it was too late. The moment Luke's hands wrapped around the handle I was doubled over cradling my stomach from intense discomfort. Felt like my guts were being forced through a narrow tube.

"Percy? Hey, what's wrong? Did you get hit somewhere else?" Will was trying to push me to lay down so he could inspect me, but I kept pushing his hands away.

Forcing down the waves of nausea, I wheezed, "No, it's Luke. He needs to stop touching my trident. It's mad."

Will didn't miss a beat and sprinted like a pro athlete and tackled Luke away from the trident.

"Will! What the hell was that for?"

"You were making Percy sick! His trident can't be touched by others. I think it's a protection spell."

Luke's head snapped over at me as I stumbled back to my feet. Whatever it was that was making me sick halted like magic. Well, I guess that's literal in this case.

"Shit, sorry Percy. Should have told us you had it charmed."

"I didn't know. It was a gift from my Dad."

Luke's expression was hard to read however he nodded like he understood. "But why make you sick? That seems like a huge weakness that an enemy could exploit."

Will tapped his chin in thought. "I don't think it's meant to make Percy sick at all. You said the trident was mad earlier. That's an interesting choice of words. Some magical and divine weapons can have a level of sentiency. So I think it was wanting to warn Percy that someone friendly was touching it and Percy isn't used to the influx of feelings. Your connection isn't perfect yet so it's a bit rough on your body. I'll bet that if an enemy touched your trident, there's actually a nasty automatic self defence system."

Both Luke and I stared at Will with shock and awe.

"That's impressive Will! How do you even know about that? You sound more like a child of Hephaestus right now."

Will flushed under Luke's praise. "I spend a lot of time treating Hephaestus's kids. So I hear way too much about their projects. But, uh, I'm surprised you don't. Your Dad is pretty famous for having one of the most well known sentient godly weapons."

Now it was Luke's turn to a pretty shade of pink. "Yeah, totally forgot about that. Martha and George. I feel a bit dumb that I didn't remember."

"Wait who's Martha and George?" I interrupted.

"Hermes's staff has two snakes coiled around it. I bet you've seen it. It's a popular symbol even today. Anyways, the snakes are sentient. I suppose. They like to gossip and like to eat rats so I count that as alive."

"Okay, but that's a god's weapon. I don't think we can compare my trident to that."

Luke shrugged and Will flashed a smile. "You're also not a regular demigod. So maybe the same rules don't apply? I don't know much about divine weaponry. You should ask the Hephaestus cabin when we get back to Camp."

I reach for my trident, lifting it from its embedded hole. I spun it around, twisting it between my fingers and around my body like it was baton instead of a powerful weapon designed to kill monsters. He needs a name. It feels wrong to keep saying it's just a trident. It's so much more than that.

"Interesting. You move it like it doesn't weigh a thing." Luke pointed out as he watched my little show.

"I mean, it's not that heavy…."

"I could barely lift it and I was really trying. Minus the fact that it's charmed to not allow someone else to wield it, I think it's made from Abyssal Adamantine."

"And that's a good thing?"

"I would say so. As you know from Camp's rundown we gave you, mortal metals don't hurt monsters. So most weapons you see us from Camp use are made from celestial bronze. It can kill monsters, but not mortals. But despite how rare celestial bronze is, there are special metals that are used by solely by people of certain realms.

For example, in the Underworld, the powerful weapons there are made from Stygian Iron. It can kill mortals and monsters alike and if touched by someone that isn't blessed by death, will find their very soul being stolen by the blade.

I've never seen Abyssal Adamantine before, but it's rumored to be insanely dense. Tempered by the intense pressure of the deep seas. To anyone that isn't blessed by the sea, the metal weighs too much to be used on land."

I stared at my trident like it was a whole new person. The secrets just keep spilling. Would have been GREAT if Dad told me this stuff before handing me a possible doomsday gift. I might as well have chucked a missile at innocent pedestrians. Would have done the same amount of damage.

"Well, I think he needs a name. Clearly he's very touchy and opinionated. So let's see…χαράκωμα? Yeah…that sounds right." The moment I said his new name, I felt a tugging sensation deep in my core. The trident was pulling at my powers, harmonizing and connecting in a brand new way. I could suddenly smell the scent of the salty sea, and hear its soothing waves. I longed for the comfort of water. The nostalgia settled heavy in my heart as those senses slowly faded. I missed the ocean already, but now a bond was being born between us.

"Trench and I are gonna be best buds. An ass kicking duo." I smiled as a pulse of warmth was sent to my palms. He agrees.

"Now let's get out of here before the police show up and arrest us for being teenage terrorists."

Chapter 15: A garden or a graveyard? Or both?

Summary:

The quest leads Percy and the others into an interesting and mysterious place that has a strange affect to Percy's abilities. Percy learns his powers aren't as black and white as he thought.

Notes:

Hi, I'm alive! Tis a miracle

Chapter Text

"Percy, I think your stomach is yelling at you."

I fixed Will a dirty glare. "Yeah and it's saying that I should eat the blonde demigod that lost our backpacks with all our supplies back in the woods."

Will wilted like a sunburnt flower. "Hey, I said I was sorry. How was I suppose to know that there was a hydra nesting in that cave?"

I huffed loudly as I snapped an offensive tree branch from poking my eye out. "Maybe let's just not go into unknown caves? Or maybe just no caves in general?" I grumbled back. I usually wouldn't be nearly this crabby, especially towards Will, but holy gods, my stomach was roaring with hunger.

No one told me that using my powers would upgrade up my already bottomless pit of a stomach into an endless void. The image of food alone was making me drool at this point.

Luke cut in, waving away the growing tension. "I'm happy it was only a baby hydra. An adult one would have been a bigger pain in the ass."

"I still say we should go back and see if it takes like bacon when fried." I replied with a serious tone. I would totally go back right this second and find out for myself what a hydra tasted like.

Both Luke and Will cringed. "Ew dude, you would eat monster?" Luke's face was green at the thought.

"Hey, food is food. They eat us right? Only fair that we get to bite back. Besides, you can't say that it would hella cool to brag about eating something that's basically a dragon. That's badass in my book. Besides, would you rather starve to death than try eating what's basically just a dangerous animal? People eat sharks and they're basically sea puppies."

"I think only you would think sharks are comparable to a puppy Percy. The rest of us still swim away in fear." I shrugged. I never had a problem with them. In fact, last time I saw one at the beach, it wouldn't leave me alone. It almost beached itself trying to get head scratches.

It was another hour of wondering through thick woods before we spotted a break in the tree line.

I could imagine how we must have looked to any bystanders watching. Three dirt and sweat covered teenagers wielding various lethal weapons looking like as if we been lost for weeks appearing out a random forest. A whole episode of Lost must have started like this.

"Hey, there's something! Aunty Em's Gnome Emporium." The son of Apollo pointed out to the faded sign hanging above a worn down building.

I frowned as I stared at the beaten down shop. The hairs on the back of my neck were tingling and I had to suppress a shiver from running down my spine. Clearly it wasn't just the large collection of random statues littering the front lawn that was making me uneasy. Although that definitely didn't help.

"Um… I don't know Will. Maybe we should just follow the road to a town."

"What? Why? Can't you smell the food? It smells amazing. It's for sure greasy hamburgers and salty fries. I can't ever mistake that yummy scent. Besides your stomach hasn't stopped growling for the last half hour and I rather not find out if you would be willing to try demigod barbecue."

Before I could reply that I didn't smell any food at all, Luke seconded. "Same. Besides, maybe we can get some supplies as well. Or at least directions. Plus you did say, "food is food". This counts and we don't even need to murder anything to get it."

I sighed to myself. "I wouldn't be too sure. With our luck, murder might be the least of our worries."

I walked behind the others as we approached the building. As Luke and Will kept excitedly talking about this mystery food, I was beginning to develop a terrible headache.

I didn't notice or cared much when it was only a low hum in the back of my head. I figured it was one of those common hunger symptoms, but now it was becoming a full force blaring that made my ears ring.

I winced and stumbled over a knocked down statue. Coming face to face with it, I noticed how realistic the detail truly was. I've seen a lot of statues in my life, I'm from New York City after all, and none of them were this good.

The eyes were equally the best and worst parts. I could make out the tiny lines that would be eyelashes hovering over wide soulful eyes that looked more terrified than peaceful. The person's entire expression matched the theme. Morbid and dark. Apparently this artist had an ongoing motif.

I felt a heaviness in my heart as I continued to examine the rest of the statue. Whoever made this must have been dealing with some serious trauma to make such a sorrowful art piece.

I traced my fingers over the cold stone, touching the lifeless cheeks. Suddenly I felt an electric shock stemming up from my fingertips and up through my arm. My vision swirled and I found myself seeing flashes of dozens of unknown memories and emotions that very much didn't belong to me.

The images flipped past through random times and events, each one harnessing and relaying powerful emotions until the flashes slowed and landed on one last one. The final memory this person had.

I heard a soft rasp, almost a hiss in the air and as I turned to glance at the source…

A pair of eyes. I was forced to encounter the most enchanting eyes I had ever seen.

Glowing bright with kaleidoscope of colours. Beautiful beyond compare.

I felt lightheaded. As if I was losing myself in their beauty. Perfectly mesmerized…

Then there was a tormented high pitched scream and agonizing pain shot through my brain like molten fire. The mental image shatter into a million shards, fading away along with the intense pain.

My vision returned and I was back staring at the lifeless stone statue, panting like I've been running for hours, sweat pouring down my forehead.

What the actual fuck had just happened?

Why did I see an entire person's life? And what was with that last memory? I racked my brain. Come on, think. What Greek myth affected people with charms?

Okay, that's too big of a list. Narrow it down. Eyes. What myths dealt with eyes?

There's Theia, Greek Goddess of Sight. Cool, but not really helpful. Hera and Argus? Interesting, yet not exactly this situation.

Uh…what else? Oh. Oh gods. Duh. How could I be so dumb? Athena and Poseidon and…Medusa. Kind of fucking obvious. Dammit brain, why didn't you supply me with this in the first place?

I scrambled to my feet and scanned the area for Will and Luke. Seeing nothing besides the stoney graveyard, I assumed the worst. They went inside Medusa's lair.

I told them we weren't going to get food without murdering. Looks like I was right. Food is never cheap these days. Stupid monster inflation tax.

I brandished Trench to his full glory. Time to go save my cute blondes.

I kicked down the front door which forced it to fly off its hinges and splinter into the brick wall behind it. I grinned to myself at how impressive that had to look.

I spotted Luke and Will casually chilling at a table while some middle aged looking women was serving them each a plate of burgers and fries. Well at least it seems like Will's nose wasn't wrong.

All three heads snapped at my direction as I stormed in.

"What the Hades Percy?!" Will and Luke stood to their feet in alarm. One glance at my trident and they knew I meant business. Luke was quicker on the uptake and had his sword unsheathed by the time he was fully on his feet.

I pointed at Medusa who hadn't even flinched the entire time since I came barging in. "She's probably thinking that you two would have made lovely additions to her creepy garden out front."

Medusa tsked loudly like a disappointed school teacher. "Now now. You should know better godling. You are not allowed to interfere with the lives of demigods, especially these questing ones. You will suffer painful consequences."

I blinked at her. "Uh. Are you also blind or are those sunglasses too dark? I'm a demigod and these two are my questing companions."

Medusa actually seemed to pause at that. I could hear her snake hair hissing in what I was taking as confusion. A terrifying smile then cracked her lips. "Haha you almost got me there godling. But I am no fool. No demigod could have such a powerful aura. Not to mention my enchantments had no affect on you."

By now Will and Luke had slowly slid over to me with their weapons fully drawn. They both looked tense. Fighting Medusa was not going to be an easy battle. Trying to fight something that can turn you into stone with a simple glance wasn't ideal to me either.

"Well you're wrong. I'm a demigod. A weird one, sure, but I'm mortal."

Medusa sniffed the air like a blood hound. Even with her ridiculous oversized sunglasses covering most of her face, I could see the shock. "I smell the sea on you. So strongly in fact. How could I have missed that? You're a spawn of Poseidon. Seems that he has sired another kind of monster hasn't he?"

I sent her a nasty glare. Who the fuck was she calling a monster?

My eyes flickered over to Luke. I tried my best to tell him silently to take my distraction play and use it to get himself and Will out of here. The less of us fighting her at once, the better. I don't need to accidentally whack either of them with Trench or worse, get turned into a pincushion by Will's arrows.

"But that's not all…no. You have another scent mixed around you. Just as powerful. How interesting. A mix breed. You truly are an abomination. The gods will smite you down soon enough, might as well give up here and spend the rest of eternity as one of my lovely statues. I promise to keep you safe here."

I clenched my jaw hard enough to make an audible snap as my annoyance grew. "You had to go there huh? I can see why Athena decided to curse you. You're kinda a bitch. I literally had no problems with you, but you had to go and make it personal by shit calling my entire heritage. Guess those pretty eyes of yours are wasted on you."

I pointed Trench at her in an attack formation. My makeshift plan is to spear her with every once of strength I could. Close quarter combat with her wouldn't be ideal and the longer the fight draws out, the more chances any of us could be petrified. All I needed was one good shot and I would be home free.

Apparently something I said confused her. She completely by passed everything else I said as she focused on my last comment. "You said…my eyes are pretty? But how? What sick joke are you playing at Son of Poseidon? No mortal has seen my eyes in thousands of years. You lie." She growled dangerous as she unraveled her hair turban, revealing hundreds of coiling snakes slithering down from her scalp.

I shrugged. "Well I guess your curse doesn't work in visions. There's always a loophole."

Medusa reeled back in shock, her serpent hair hissing with the sound of a steam pipe. "A vision? You grow more interesting by the second young demigod. Are you sure you won't change your mind and stay here? You could be my most prized and precious statue. I always did have a soft spot for your father and you do look so much like him."

I tried not to gag. "Ew. That's gross. I rather just be killed, thanks."

She sighed sadly as if she really was sad about not getting to keep me. "Too bad. I suppose I should stop your friends from trying to stab me now." In one smooth movement, she threw off her shades as she twisted her upper body in a way that made my stomach flip. It was like how owls could turn their heads around, except it was her entire torso.

I had just enough time to shout out, "LUKE SHUT YOUR EYES!", before she grabbed Luke's wrist mid strike. With a casual flick of her hand, she disarmed him with ease. Luke was left helplessly blind as his trusty sword clattered to the floor.

I swore loudly. I told him to leave. This is exactly what I had feared would happen.

"Percy! Duck!"

I hit the deck as soon as I heard the telltale whistle of arrows zipping through the air. I instantly went to cover my ears as I recalled Will mentioning these particular projectiles before. Sonic arrows. Able to deafen anyone unlucky enough to in close enough range when they went off.

I doubted it would be as affective to Medusa, but the high frequency pitches seemed to at least dispatch some level of pain as both she and her pet serpents screeched like hell.

It gave Luke the opportunity to scurry out of there as I got back to my feet. Alrighty, time to get serious before one of for real gets sent to a permanent vacation.

I cocked back my throwing arm, aiming carefully before yelling out to get Medusa attention. "Oi! Hey Beautiful!" That worked like a charm. Maybe a bit too well.

"Flattery won't save you now!"

"You're right, but this trident will!" And with a mighty fine launch, if I do say so myself, Trench went swimming like a torpedo through the air and before I could truly process it, completely decapitated Medusa in a swift second.

Although the momentum and power was too great and Trench kept going without even slowing down straight into the cement wall followed with a blast of rubble and debris.

The entire building violently shook as one of the main supporting walls was knocked down.

"Damnit Percy! You almost got me with your trident! Watch where you're throwing it next time." Luke appeared out of thin air, ruffling dust and rocks out of his hair.

I plopped down on top of a pile of rubble, feeling drained. "I did say to leave ya know. I had it under control. Mostly."

Will finally caught up with the two of us and went instantly into doctor mode as he went to check Luke over. Meanwhile, the son of Hermes kept trying to swat Will away as he reared up to stare me down with anger plastered across their aura.

"Fuck that, I'm not gonna just leave you to potentially die. We're supposed to be a team remember? Or did you forget? Just because you're so powerful and great doesn't mean you can't have support! Gods Percy, do you even stop and think before you act? It's been like this since we left camp and-"

I silently glanced up at Luke, locking eyes with him, stopping him mid rant. I could see his frustration, his worry, his guilt, all rolling around in a sea of raw emotion.

I sighed softly, feeling ten times more exhausted than I should. "Luke, I haven't forgotten anything. Yeah you're my teammates on this quest. I know that. I picked you guys remember?

But you can't go around saying shit like that when you aren't any better yourself. You didn't trust me to handle it. I told you to escape. I knew I had an advantage against Medusa. I knew that if it was just me and her, I had a chance.

However she knew that too. Having you and Will there gave me a weakness to exploit. One that she tried to use.

I get that you're more experienced and whatever, but I'm done with people I care about dying cause of me. So maybe next time have a bit of faith in me?"

Luke deflated halfway through my rant. Both he and Will looked sheepish as they sat down beside me.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I just, got caught up in the moment. I've never had someone else, especially someone younger than me, try to protect me."

My chest ached hearing that. I could relate a little too hardcore to that statement. "Yeah well….I'm quest leader so it's my job to keep you two silly blondes alive."

"Speaking of keeping people alive…" Will held out a plastic bag and waved it in front of us. "I was able to find some food in the kitchen. Let's eat!"

"Oh my gods, Will, I could kiss you right now. Yes! This is why I needed you on this quest." I hugged the youngest blond tightly before ripping open the bag to find a bunch of chip baggies and pre-made cold cut sandwiches wrapped up in little tins. I had no shame in how rapidly I wolfed those down.

It wasn't until after I was in a food coma of bliss that I noticed Will acting weird and looking very flushed as he sharpened his arrows, but no matter how times I asked if he was alright, he would just stutter awkwardly and get redder somehow.

Meanwhile Luke was laughing his ass off each time I tried talking to Will. Luke kept muttering about how he isn't the only one now and something about karma.

Clearly I missed something and I'll find out what. Eventually.

Chapter 16: A Crushing Hug

Summary:

Will has a startling realisation while taking to Luke and makes an important decision.

Notes:

Hi again! I decided to add a little filler chapter. You guys for sure deserve it after the long break I was on. It's not essential to the story, but it does give an interesting perspective and honestly it was just a really wholesome moment. But also my way of saying that this story won't have Will in any shape or form as a pairing with Percy and Nico. Yes it could be super cute and I'm always a fan of there's never a limit to love, but just not this story. Percy's and Nico's love story will be epic and my version of Nico is way too protective of Percy to let anyone else have him anyways. Haha.

Chapter Text

WILL POV

I stared at my medical journal in frustration. I've read it's over and over, triple checking the numbers. It doesn't make sense. And for a child of Apollo with abilities of healing, not understanding an illness is the worst nightmare that keeps us up at night.

I've always kept track of everyone I've ever treated. Including myself. So how can I not understand my own findings?

"So, what's the verdict Doc?"

I nearly fell over in my chair from Luke's voice suddenly breaking me out of my inner turmoil.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

Luke grinned. "I'm talking about you. You've been sitting over here all alone for an hour looking like you're trying to solve for the cure to cancer. So, this is me asking, what's up?"

"Oh. Well…I don't know what's wrong with me. My blood pressure is elevated and so is my heart rate. My body temperature is two degrees warmer than usual, I'm sweating for no reason, and I feel slightly faint and nauseated. My stomach hurts and sometimes my skin tingles and my lungs feel like they're going to burst if I'm not careful."

The son of Hermes made a soft humming noise in back of his throat as he looked thoughtful. "And when did these symptoms begin?"

I tapped my chin as I thought about it. "I suppose right after the battle with Medusa. But I don't understand, you and Percy aren't ill or showing any symptoms. And we ate the same food and been in all the same places."

Luke nodded his head sagely. "I've heard of this before. In fact, I've experienced it a few times. Downright awful. I'm so sorry Will."

My stomach dropped. "You have?! Luke you have to tell me! What's wrong with me? Am I going to die? Oh no, can you imagine what my siblings will say? A child of Apollo dies of a sickness? They'll be making fun of me for years!"

Luke had broken into a fit of laughter half way through my panic rant. He let out a wheeze as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"This isn't funny Luke!" I was strongly tempered to use him for my next archery practice target.

"I mean…it is a little bit. Relax Sunshine. You're not dying. Although you might wish you were."

"You're not making any sense now."

The older demigod sighed softly as he calmed down. "Those deadly symptoms you have? By chance did they happen when Percy hugged you?"

I felt my cheeks instantly grow warm and my heart sped up its rhythm in my chest.

"Based on that little reaction there, I'm gonna bet that's a yes. Well Doc, good news, you're definitely not dying. Bad news, you have a crush on Percy Jackson."

I blinked slowly. And then blinked slowly again. And it slowly began to dawn on me. All the things I've been feeling, the strange symptoms, the way I've been acting around him.

"Oh. Oh no. Luke! No! I can't be crushing on Percy!" I lied before, this is now my worst nightmare.

Luke scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeahhh, bro, good luck with that. Percy's gonna ruin and break hearts like it's his day job. I don't blame you, he's sort of…well…ya know."

Yeah I did. I know all too well that Percy's beautiful, amazing, cool, powerful, clever, beautiful, and smart. Yeah I had to put beautiful in there twice. My dad is the literal sun and I don't even think he would argue that Percy is hotter than him.

"My advice?," Luke continued," Don't let it become more of a crush."

Luke's voice went down to a hush whisper and suddenly there was a tinge of sorrow and worry coating his words. "Percy….is not like us. I don't know what is going to happen in the future, but I do know one thing, he's something special. Anyone that spends a day with him can tell he was destined for something great. And sadly, fate isn't kind to those that are special. He is going to suffer, Will. More than you and I will ever understand. Power doesn't come cheap in our world. He might seem tough and unstoppable on the outside, but I bet anything that his shell is always one hit away from shattering. We need to be there that day that happens. To catch him when he falls. That's the kind of people he needs in his life. Not more perverts and creeps that can't keep in their pants just because of his powers or looks."

I honestly had no idea what to say. What does anyone to say to such a sad yet true point. I never even thought about it, but Percy must have had a really rough time trusting anyone. How would he know if someone actually cared about him versus just wanting him for his body? Even everyone back at camp that knew his alluring aura was just a byproduct of his powers from his mom, they still said gross and lustful things behind his back. Even some of my older siblings voiced their thoughts on what they would do to Percy if they could.

Guilt rose in my chest and now I was finding myself sick for an entirely different reason. I can't be like those guys. I had to be better. I want to be someone Percy can trust. He deserves to be loved and cared about for more than what's on the surface.

I glanced back at Luke with a new steeled expression and resolve. "You're right Luke. And I promise that I won't let my hormones be so influenced like this again. I can't and won't let them ruin my friendship with Percy."

The older blond grinned and reached over to ruffle my hair. "That's the spirit. But hey, it's okay to feel things ya know. It's a normal part of growing up. You should know Mr. Doctor."

I blushed crimson. "Hey! I'm perfectly aware of how the human body works and the affects of adolescent puberty. I just…"

"You forgot you're a hormonal teenager too?"

A beat of silence filled the space.

"Maybe."

Luke laughed again as he began to look around in search of something. "Speaking of where is-what the hell!? PERCY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Luke jumped to his feet frantically and began sprinting over to Percy, all the while chastising the son of the sea to be more careful.

I twisted around in my seat following Luke's path to spot Percy over at the wreckage holding Medusa severed head up like a trophy, looking all too smug and proud.

He held it up high, grinning like a madman. I could hear him excitedly yelling about an awesome spoil of war, but all I could focus on was how Percy truly looked godly, standing there in the middle of a destroyed building, still wearing his ancient greek chiton while holding the head of an enemy.

I sighed to myself. Getting over this crush wasn't going to be easy, was it?

Chapter 17: Mysterious Pretty Eyes

Summary:

More questions continue to form around Percy as he shows off his new spoil of war.

Notes:

Thank you everyone for the lovely comments. I love reading them and they continue to fuel me to write! Sorry for the wait, but please enjoy!

Chapter Text

Luke POV

It took an embarrassing amount of time to have Percy stop waving around Medusa's severed head as if it wasn't one of most dangerous weapons in all of greek lore. He claims it's is his proof of victory. I was forced to bribe him with a piece of a snickers's bar just so he would let me wrap the decapitated head with a spare shirt. Once he settled down, I decided to take a search to gather what supplies might be laying around Medusa's lair.

I found Percy's habit of claiming spoils interesting, and well, sort of endearing. While it wasn't particularly uncommon for Greeks to claim trophies, it wasn't a trait that most demigods picked up nowadays. Excluding any of Ares's offspring. They would and will stab you if you touched anything they've claimed as theirs.

Granted I don't exactly have much experience with children of Poseidon. For all I know, it could be very common for them to desire spoils of war. Mhm. Maybe it's like how fish are attached to shiny items. Only instead, Percy likes the dismembered bloody limbs of his enemies. That's cute.

However, it was what Percy did with his monster parts that was the most intriguing. He offers them to the gods as tokens or…dare I say, bribes. I've asked him why he gives up his spoils in rituals a few times.

Percy always shrugs casually and simply states, "I read that's what people used to do back then. Ya know, in ancient times? The gods seemed to be more attentive to those that gave them gifts. Wouldn't you notice someone more if they gave you cool stuff too?"

He made a good ass point. I still held my doubts of course, but it wasn't as if he was wrong either. Gods are extremely narcissistic, egotistic, and greedy after all.

I was able to find 300 dollars in petty cash out of a broken register, half of a vending machine worth of stale snacks, 20 gold drachmas, and a few faded outfits from a gift shop. Not my best findings, but it'll have to do for now.

"Are those clothes?" Percy appeared beside me in flash and snatched a hoodie out of hands. "Oh thank the gods. I don't even care where it's been. I'm about to rip off this stupid robe and burn it. I swear, one more day and I would have just rather go out in my birthday suit."

"Oh it's not that bad dude. Sure, it's, not hiding much, but hey it's comfy and plus it's very traditional. Looking very demigodly." Apparently my commentary wasn't appreciated by the stone cold glare I received in return.

"You just liked staring at my ass Luke. Can't blame you though, it's nice."

And now I wanted to burn along with the chiton. "Holy gods Percy, can you stop saying that? People are gonna get the wrong impression."

Percy feigned hurt with a pouty expression. "Oh so my ass isn't worthy of your sight? That's rude. Calling me ugly? That's gonna ruin my poor self-esteem."

I let out an exasperated sigh as Will laughed his ass off watching us. "Percy, you know perfectly well that it's literally impossible for anyone to think you're ugly."

Percy's expression darkened for a spilt second before fading into his neutral smile. It happened too fast for Will to have noticed, but I did. I immediately felt a knot of guilt from in my stomach. I shouldn't have phrased it like that. Fuck me and my big mouth.

Before I could attempt to fix what I said, Percy was heading off to find a bathroom to change. Guess he figured out a way to override Aphrodite's blessing.

I fidgeted awkwardly until he came back wearing an oversized purple hoodie with a snake motif designed in the middle. Now that I saw that, it made it even worse that I didn't figure out we had willingly walked into Medusa's lair. It was stupidly obvious now.

"Don't blame yourself too hard." Percy's voice snapped me back to attention. The son of Poseidon was lighting a match on a pile of trash to create a steady fire. "You're thinking about how you got caught in the trap, right? Your aura got all sour and twisty again."

Percy's emotion reading power was getting real annoying real quick. "I'm allowed to feel those things."

Percy nodded, "Yeah, true, but weren't you the one that told me that demigods are also able to get manipulated by the magic mist thing? Medusa had this entire place wrapped pretty tight in her charms."

That was news to me. I didn't realise that we had fallen for a mist manipulation. Only very powerful monsters could pull that off. "Yet, you were never fooled by her? How's that?"

Will answered instead, "Could be because Percy's a child of one of the Big Three. More powerful demigods are harder to confuse and manipulate."

Percy hummed in thought. "That's possible. But honestly, I think it had do with my powers. I sorta use charms subconsciously, 24/7. Maybe I'm immune to being charmed because of that."

"Oh yeah!" Will's face lit up with excitement. "I totally forgot, but Aphrodite's kids have charmspeak abilities! And they aren't easy to influence. They all have a natural resistance to being charmed. So it makes sense you do too."

I cringed. I hated that power. Charmspeak was unethical to use in my opinion. Forcing people to unwillingly corrupt themselves and their morals was way too dangerous of an ability. Even if it wasn't permanent. I've seen Drew make other campers do unspeakable and embarrassingly things for petty reasons. It was one of the reasons no one made an enemy out of the Aphrodite cabin. Not if you wanted to keep your dignity intact.

"Huh. More stuff I didn't know. Can't say I spent that much time with my…siblings." Percy looked uncomfortable as he swallowed around that word. I could relate. Going from being raised as a single child to overnight suddenly having more siblings than you can remember is for sure overwhelming.

Thankfully Will was a master of redirection. "I wouldn't stress it. You'll have plenty of time to get to know them better once the quest is over. Better question now is, what are we going to do with Medusa's head. We can't exactly carry that with us across the country."

Percy pouted for a moment, looking all too like a sad puppy with its favourite toy taken away. "I guess you're right. I don't think even the mist would hide a decapitated head from mortals."

"Plus, it's kinda dangerous lugging it around. What if an enemy used it against us?"

I watched Percy tilt his head with a confused expression forming across his delicate features. I went in to explain, "My bad. I forgot it's not common knowledge, but Medusa's eyes can still petrify living things when even severed off her body."

Percy blinked slowly. "Are you sure about that? Maybe that's only a myth. I looked at her eyes just a few minutes ago and I'm fine." He patted himself dramatically to prove his point.

"….."

"……"

I chuckled nervously. "Percy, I'm sorry, I think I heard misheard you. Did you say that you recently looked directly into the eyes of the Gorgon of Stone? The Medusa? The very monster that can turn even gods to stone? Are you telling me that you looked into THAT creature's eyes?!"

Instead of replying, the son of the sea grabbed his bag and brought out the wrapped up head.

Will scrambled backwards and shuffled over to stand beside me. "Percy….what are you doing?"

"Proving my point." He slowly pulled off the old shirt and kept Medusa's face towards him as he lifted it up to his eye level. He made a show of staring directly into the monster's gaze.

Both Will and I gasped softly at the sight. Partly in fear, partly in awe. Percy's irises were glimmering with iridescent light as they reflected the brilliance of the camp's flames. The hues kept morphing and cycling through dozens of mesmerising colours, each mimicking shades unique to the seas.

The entire experience was hardly a few breaths long, almost short enough to make me believe it was all an illusion. Yet it was Will's dazed expression that kept me sane as proof that it was not simply a trick of the light.

Percy glanced up at us with a smirk plastered across his lips. "See? Nothing." Total and completely nonchalance. Oblivious to himself as per usual.

I sat complete silence as my poor ADHD brain worked overtime to process everything. No matter how I see it, I don't understand. I know, for a fact, Medusa's undead gaze still could turn living things into stone. Yet…it didn't work on Percy?

Was it his eye thing? Does one eye power negate another? No, because Percy isn't the only child of Aphrodite that can seemingly change their appearance. I've seen his siblings do so, just usually not so grand or dramatic.

"Wait, let's…prove it's not just you Perce. No offense, but I think you might be a special case." I glanced around the area, looking for anything that could be used…ah, perfect.

I snatched a small lizard from off the wall and placed it in Percy's hand without looking down. "Here. Make the lizard see her eyes."

"Already did." Percy's voice held a strange tension in it, forcing my stomach to drop.

I felt something cold and hard being placed in my palm. I didn't need to look to know it was the lizard.

Well fuck. That's both terrifying and amazing. Percy was immune to the affects of one of the most notorious and feared monsters in all of Greek mythology.

"But how? Not even gods are totally immune." The son of Apollo glanced nervously between us.

I had zero answers. It should not be possible. No matter how gifted or blessed Percy was.

I took a deep breath to settle my rattled nerves before coming up a plan. "Guys…we cannot speak of this to anyone. Ever. No one back at camp and especially never to any god. If they found out that Percy was immune….it could spell disaster. Scratch that, it'll be death. They'll want to kill you on sight Perce. Trust me on this. The gods destroy anything or anyone they think are too powerful. Best thing to do, is get rid of it. Now."

"Damnit. Nothing can be easy with my life, can it? I somehow manage to get a freaking one shot kill weapon, but it's also a one ear ticket to my death. Good shit." Percy let out a truly exhausted sigh as he plopped Medusa's head in the campfire. A plume of smoke and embers swelled and bellowed into a dark cloud above us.

He whispered a few words to himself with his eyes closed. A prayer of some sort. Whatever he said, it worked since a second later the fire roared into a tower of magenta flames. A concentrated scent of rose oil and sea mist wafted into my senses.

I knew it had to be Aphrodite's presence from the ionic rose smell despite it being slightly different from how her cabin typically smelled. This was much less floral and lacked the disturbing level of sickly sweetness I was used to.

I watched in wonder as everyone's clothes began to shift like water flowing over a smooth rock. Percy's and Will's outfits lost every little trace of dirt, grime, and monster blood within mere moments. The fabric even self stitched any holes, making them appear perfectly pristine.

I pulled my shirt out to inspect it. Mine was equally refreshed. I actually could detect the hint of laundry soap. The image of a goddess doing such a domestic task pulled a chuckle out of me.

"That's handy. Saves us a lot of trouble. It's harder to get people to trust us if we look like hoodlums."

Percy coughed/ laughed into his hand. "I'm sorry Luke, did you just actually use the word hoodlum? Casually? Are you by chance secretly sixty-five?"

Will started cackling like a rabid hyena. "Oh my gods! He really did! Such an old man!"

I glared at both of them as my cheeks flushed with warmth. "Shut up. I hate you both."

My embarrassment only served to fuel these snickering gremlins more.

"Uh huh sure dude. Wait sorry, I mean, pardon me my good sir. Didn't mean to get your knickers in a knot."

"WHEN DID I BECOME BRITISH?"

"So you're upset about being British but not an old man? I think your priorities are a bit mixed there." Percy grinned madly as he and Will struggled to breathe from their intense laughing fit.

"Percy, I swear, I hope a Hellhound eats you." I grabbed my bag and swung it over my shoulder. "Let's go, these pink fumes are giving me a headache. I saw an ad for an Amtrak nearby. I found enough cash for tickets to at least get us a good distance there."

"Aw, it's past Luke's bedtime. Will, we need to make sure to be mindful of the elderly members of the team."

Will nodded seriously. "So true Percy. Being geriatric is just a part of life. We, in our prime, need to take care of our elderly."

I groaned loudly. This wasn't going to stop anytime. "I'm leaving now. You better not get left behind." I took off using my biggest advantage against these pesky preteens. My much longer legs. Let's see who's old man now.

Chapter 18: Godly Gifts and New Admirers

Notes:

Yes I'm alive. I promise I haven't abandon my works. I've actually re-written this same chapter 4 times because I didn't like any version of it. I honestly still don't like this one, but it has a purpose even if it seems like total filler. It's sorta subtle? Maybe.

Chapter Text

I found it exciting to watch Luke's aura flare like a Fourth of July sparkler the moment we stepped onto the Amtrak. Ok maybe not that dramatic. It was actually pretty subtle. If I hadn't been staring directly at Luke, I would have missed it.

My assumption would be that traveling on literal crossroads gave the son of Hermes a tiny domain boost. It was similar to how Will's aura glows a tad bit brighter in the day, reaches a peak during noon, then begins to dull as night approaches.

It's interesting that our powers as demigods seem to shift slightly depending on our environment and exposure to certain factors. I wonder if they teach that back at camp. Probably would have been useful knowledge to have been given before setting out on a potential suicide quest.

I could use any and all power boosts I could get. Part of me feels like we're some video game characters in an RPG going on some wild unknown adventure with evil villains and terrifying monsters plotting our demise.

Huh. Maybe we are video game characters. Let's…not stumble down that particular rabbit hole. Don't need any more reason to think my life is just a simulation.

Luke and Will knocked out the second the train began to move. Luke claimed the movement was soothing and Will was simply exhausted. The poor kid was not used to this level of physical exertion. Healers typically spent most of their time honing their divine skills versus building up their endurance.

The son of Hermes had his face pressed up against the glass of the window, snoring softly as the son of Apollo used Luke's lap as a pillow.

It was an adorable sight.

A twinge of guilt ate at me. Some part of me felt like I was robbing them of their innocence. Well, maybe less so with Luke. I'm not sure what wild shit happened in his past, but there's zero doubt he's gone through some crap. I've felt plenty of his looming dark emotions to gather at least that.

But Will? He's so pure and bright and…not broken. Unlike me.

Did I make the wrong choice in asking him to come on this quest? Will I be the reason Will's loses his light? That thought alone makes my heart heavy and my fists tight against my thighs.

I stared at my sleeping companions wistfully. This brief moment of peace was all that I can hold onto and all can do now is protect them as best as I can.

Yet another reason I can't fuck up and fail.

It was an hour after the three of us had settled in a cramped compartment that I noticed it.

Two massive auras flared into existence nearby.

I stood up quickly and reached for my black trident pearl. I kept my fingers on it as my heart kept pounding manically in my chest.

My entire body was on edge. I could feel the sheer immense power making the mist physically shimmer as it strained to keep the mortals unaware.

Taking a deep breath, I honed in on the new auras. I was finding it hard to keep track of them which was shocking considering how annoying bright they were. They weren't far. At most, two compartments away. I cocked my head to the side as a realisation struck me.

These auras were not unfamiliar at all. In fact, I've been traveling with miniature versions this entire time.

Now I wasn't sure if the level of danger had increased or decreased. I stifled a chuckle. Of course this was my life now. Never sure if I was closer or further away from dying.

I bit my lip hard as I glanced down at my sleeping friends. Should I wake them?

No. I don't think Luke would be fond to know his father was here and Will really did need his sleep.

Besides, I have a gut feeling that I'm the star of the show, against my will by the way.

Might as well go confront the stalkers and see what they want.

APOLLO POV

"This wasn't exactly what I thought you had in mind when you meant we should go on a spying mission. We shouldn't be this close to an active quest. If the others-"

I rolled my eyes and hushed Hermes with a wave of my hand as I tried to peer into the demigod's compartment. "Dear Brother, you worry too much. No one is paying us any attention. The sea gods are preoccupied with war preparations and Daddy Dearest is likely still foaming at the mouth from Aphrodite's stunt."

Hermes did not appear any less appeased. "And what of Poseidon? He is not blind and he's likely to notice two godly presences near his precious child."

"Perhaps, but you and I are far from being threats. Besides we have no plans to get caught-"

The door to our own compartment slid open forcefully. The sudden noise had both of us falling into silence as we locked eyes with the prince of the seas.

Holy Hades.

I found my mouth suddenly very dry as I lost myself into the prettiest set of eyes I've ever seen. The colours kept slowly morphing, shifting, ever changing like the tides and the currents of the ocean's very waters. Every shade of blue and green could be found co-existing all at once. A mesmerising dance that threatened to put me under a deep trance.

Suddenly, I felt my mind being nudged ever so gently. The softest touch. A droplet resting on a pond's surface seeking to add itself into the larger pool.

I forced my face to remain neutral as I strengthen my mental defences. So the rumors were true. Percy Jackson was a powerful empath.

Gods were typically immune to mortal psychic abilities. Mainly on the account that we don't harbour souls in the same fashion as mortals. However there are exceptions. Empaths are the best example. They don't require souls to use their abilities. Just feelings. And emotions are something gods have too much in excess. Just another reason why Aphrodite can be a terrifying adversary.

I took the time to appraise the rest of the demigod now that I was free from those captivating orbs. Even though Demigods matured faster than their human counterparts, Percy appeared older than his true age let on as he was quick to already maturing to become a breathtakingly beautiful man.

He was taller than I expected, however he held the frame of a swimmer. None of usual bulk seen in the children of Ares or Hephaestus. He was built for speed, agility and flexibility. Nothing too shocking from a child of the sea.

He was perfectly sun-kissed. Not a blemish to be seen. Golden olive skin that held no flaws, no imperfection. A feat granted only by a god. I found myself jealous that I was not the one to place the tan there myself. What god dare trespass on my turf?

I quickly spotted that the sea demigod sported a circlet of iridescent pearls. The ocean gems shimmered with energy as they twinkled in stark contrast with Percy's nest of inky black curls.

One would think that a crown of pearls and a modern hoodie wouldn't exactly be an outfit match and yet somehow Percy was able to pull it off seamlessly. Like an Ancient Greek prince trying to masquerade in the modern world.

It was only a tiny nudge from Hermes that had me refocusing. I broke away from my admiring and stood up to my full height.

I flashed my award winning smile, a dazzle of sunshine. "Hey there, don't you know it's rude to try to read someone's mind? At least take me out to dinner first."

I grinned in success as a faint dusting of pink formed across the young demigod's cheeks. Someone's quite bashful. Good. I can use that.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. Sorta happens automatically." Percy shifts uncomfortably under mine and Herme's gaze. "So…um, what brings you two here? I thought gods were not allowed to interfere in quests?"

Hermes and I simultaneously raised an eyebrow at each other. My brother spoke this time. "You know who we are?"

Percy nodded. "Kind of hard to miss. Your auras are miniature suns, pun intended. Plus, I'm traveling with your kids so it wasn't hard to guess who you were."

That's…interesting. I know for a fact that we were trying to keep ourselves hidden, yet this demigod was able to detect us so easily? I can see now why demigod empaths were considered dangerous. A clever god could use one to track another immortal down like a blood hound.

I tsked loudly, the grin never fading. This just keeps getting better and better. Definitely worth the risk. "I can see why everyone's making such a fuss over you now. Maybe Uncle P wasn't being dramatic after all with his proclamation of war."

Percy's jaw clenched. "All because I supposedly stole an overrated sparkler…wait, hold up, did you just say my dad is waging war? I thought it was your dad threatening war?"

I forced myself not to laugh aloud at the demigod's not so friendly nickname for Zeus's masterbolt. "Oh? Is this the first you've heard of it?" I glanced at my brother who was watching the entire interaction like a hawk. "Hermes, mind explaining? You are the messenger god after all."

My brother sent me a withering glare. I can see him trying to piece together what plan I have cooking in my head. Too bad I have no intention on letting him inside.

Hermes sighed, looking aged. "Your father has declared a blood feud with his brothers on your behalf after the death of your mortal mother and the attempts on your life. The boarders of the ocean kingdom have been sealed from outsiders since. Mortals have been perishing at an alarming rate as the seas have been in excessive turmoil. Wicked storms are being born in vast numbers, raging against coastlines and halting all modes of transport via sea. Mortals believe that climate change has finally reached a tipping point. It has…strained many of us as of late to keep world order."

Percy blinked at us with such an owlish expression that Athena herself would be proud. "I don't understand. Why would he do that? Risk war? Over me? That's crazy! How many people are dying or dead because of this? I thought me fetching the stupid bolt was to prevent war!"

I chimed in," Technically, the war hasn't started. It's more like the Cold War right now. Both sides are gearing up for full fledge battle, but it hasn't peaked yet. So your quest is more of ceasing war than preventing it."

Percy slumped against the wall. "But I still don't understand why. What happened to my mom…," the demigod's voice cracked into a faint whisper as his eyes unfocused, seemingly seeing something in his distant memory. His eyes slowly sharpened as he clenched his fists. "What happened to her had nothing to do with the gods. It was the fault of another monster entirely."

The air thickened with barley contained energy. The scent of ocean spray and ozone overwhelmed the tiny train compartment.

"Woah there. Calm down Little Mermaid. Let's not flood the train." I placed a hand on Percy's shoulder and tried to send a calming pulse to him.

That backfired exponentially. There was a sudden crackle of static, a spark of blue, and I found myself nursing my hand close to my chest as my skin slowly healed from the nasty burn.

Poor Percy looked downright horrified as he stared at my injured hand. "Oh shit. I'm sorry. I have no idea how that even happened! Fuck, does that count as attacking a god? I didn't mean it."

Meanwhile Hermes was hunched over a wall chest heaving with uncontrolled laughter and tears streaking his cheeks. "Hahaha that was amazing! Oh my gods. I should have been recording that! Apollo, you should have seen your face!"

"Fuck off. I regret bringing you with me." I hissed out with growing annoyance. I feel stupid for forgetting. Children of Aphrodite with emotional manipulation abilities are highly resistant or, in rare circumstances, immune to outside charms. Mix that with storm related powers and now there's physical deterrent added to the mix.

"As I was trying to say, before being so rudely interrupted, is that it makes perfect sense. A threat to an heir of a divine kingdom is a big deal. Not exactly an everyday occurrence. Actually…it's never happened before that I'm aware of. Not by a god at least."

Percy's face scrunched up and his head tilted to the side like a confused puppy. Very cute. "Triton was attacked?"

Oh he doesn't know yet? How interesting. My curiosity is peaking. What would be keeping Uncle P from telling Percy the truth? Whatever the reason, I have no desire to let the cat out of the bag and incur Poseidon's ire.

"Anyways, we've digressed! We came with gifts! Well I did, Hermes already gave his."

I reached out with an open palm and revealed a sunflower with twelve petals. "Did you know that sunflowers changed their direction as they follow the sun? I call them truth seekers because of that. Consume one little petal and you'll find yourself unable to tell a lie for an hour."

I handed the magical flower to Percy who seemed to cradle it as if it was made from gold. It was endearing to watch.

Hermes pointed to the window. Outside the trees and landscapes were wizzing by as colourful blurs. "As Apollo said, I already gave mine. You're currently traveling at three times the normal speed. You'll be arriving to your next stop shortly so I suggest you get some rest Percy. You'll need it. And…if you could, as a favour to me, keep my son safe. He…has gone through much." Hermes decided to take that as his cue to go and disappeared hastily with a nosy flapping of wings and feathers.

I should be leaving soon as well. It's been too long and there's only so much I can keep hidden from either mine or Percy's father.

Percy stared at the spot Hermes had been mere moment before for a few seconds before turning to face me with a stoic look planted on his otherwise beautiful features.

"Why were you here anyways? It wasn't just to hand out gifts, was it?"

I let out a low sigh. "We were curious, as many gods and goddesses currently are. You are the new and shiny thing so to speak. You've brought around more changes in the last few weeks than the last few decades combined. A pretty amazing feat if you ask me. Granted, not all changes are good and I have a strong suspicion that your string of changes have yet to stop."

The demigod let out a low scoff. "You would know seeing as you're the god of foresight and prophecy."

I hummed in agreement. "I may have more insight than most, but the future is fluid, always shifting. Nothing is as what it seems. A good piece of advice to follow. Now I believe is a good time to take my leave. Your father and mine will soon notice our little dalliance and neither of us probably want to explain to our parents what we've been up to." I winked flirtatiously. "Good luck Percy. And thanks for watching out for Will."

I began to glow bright with pure sunlight. "Close your eyes. Don't want to vaporise those pretty eyes of yours." I waited for the demigod to shut his eyes before completely teleporting back to my sun chariot.

Hermes was already there waiting for me with an expression of concern mirrored across his features. "We have a lot to talk about it."

I glanced down at the world below, watching the son of Poseidon return to his sleeping friends. "Yeah. I suppose we do."

Chapter 19: A New Monster High Score

Summary:

Percy reveals his impromptu meeting his friend's dads, deals with an emotional memory, encounters deadly monsters, and destroys a city.

Chapter Text

Percy's POV

"Soooo…. I have some news." I twiddled my thumbs in my lap as I finally worked up the courage to tell Luke and Will about my awkward encounter with their dads.

The Amtrak was due to stop any moment now in St. Louis and I was shamelessly using that as my excuse to have waited three hours before saying anything.

Luke squinted at me with a look that was honestly such a stereotypical mom expression. The type that any mom gave when their kids got themselves into mischief and there was a huge mess up clean.

I very much decided to ignore the twinge in my chest as a brief mental image of my mom appeared. Nope, not gonna hash out those emotions right now. I refuse, thank you very much.

At least Will appeared genuinely curious without all the silent parental judgement.

"I kinda ran into your dads while you were sleeping. In my defense, they were stalking us and I went to see what they were up to."

Whatever Luke and Will were expecting me to say, it definitely was not that. The son of Hermes choked on air as his eyes bugled out comically while Will froze like a deer caught in headlights.

I waited patiently for them to recover. "You guys are being a bit dramatic. It's not like I told you that I committed murder."

"That would be an easier truth to accept. Perce, are you being serious? You really spoke to Lord Apollo and Hermes?"

I noticed Luke dropped the honorific for his dad. I filed that mental note to come back to later. "Yes? Granted the conversation wasn't exactly news worthy. I did catch them off guard though." Either gods were a tad too secure in their invulnerability or auras were not easily suppressed even by Olympian standards.

The older blond rubbed his temples in exasperation. "Ok, what exactly did they say? Word for word. It's the little things that are important when conversing with any god."

I tapped my chin in thought as I started to recite as much as I could remember. It wasn't until I was done parroting the encounter and glancing back my friends that I noticed how pale both of them had gotten. Will actually was turning a bit green so I scooted closer to him just in case he fainted that way I could catch him.

"To summarize, two Olympian gods were curious enough about you to risk the wrath of both Lord Poseidon and Lord Zeus in order to meet you and then they nonchalantly inform you that your father, one of the most powerful deities in the Greek world, has declared a blood feud with his two brothers, whom are equally as powerful? Oh and let's not forget that now hundreds of millions mortals across the world are suffering from global catastrophe and famine as the very oceans boil in turmoil?"

I gave Luke a faulty smile and held up two thumbs up. "Yup! Plus I got a gift from Apollo." I took that moment to rummage through my bag to hold up an empty Big Mac container that I was using as a makeshift storage box. Let's not mentioned where I found it. ( Totally was *not* in the trash an hour ago.)

"Ta-da!" I handed it to Will.

"My dad gave you a McDonald's cheeseburger? Does it do something if you eat it?"

"Just open it dude."

The young healer gently hooked the Big Mac box open. A small shocked gasp left Will as he showed Luke the bright yellow sunflower.

"Apollo said that the petals force someone to only tell the truth. Could be pretty handy in the right situations."

"Holy Hades. A flower of truth? This is a really good gift Percy. Super good. Even gods can be forced to not lie when affected by these flowers. It's basically a way to make sure you can't be fooled or tricked."

"I can't believe he gave it away for free." Luke grumbled looking unimpressed. "Gods don't do things for free. You sure you didn't offer anything Percy? A favour in return?"

"Luke you gotta chill man. I'm positive that I didn't offer up anything. I'm not that stupid so gimme some credit." Luke huffed, but he relented thankfully.

Will began to hand me back the Big Mac flower and I shook my head. "Keep it. I think it'll do better with you anyways. Besides, I'm sure the flower will die in a day if I'm in charge of taking care of it." I briefly recall killing every houseplant my mom ever had. And I swear some of them died if I even dared glance at them for too long.

"Percy I can't accept it. It was given to you-"

"And now I'm regifting it. If it was mine, then I get to do whatever I want with it. And let's be honest, I'm more of a hit and ask questions later type so that flower may never get used with me."

St. Louis was…boring. I guess any city would feel like that if you spent your life living in New York. Nothing compares to the Big Apple.

The only thing St. Louis has going for it is that it's cleaner. Doesn't smell like straight up stale urine. That's…kinda a low bar to set now that I think about it.

"So, now what?" Luke asked after we stopped at a streetcar vendor for snacks. I had gotten a bag of jellybeans to share with Will. I obviously claimed all the blue ones.

I glanced over the skyline in thought. My eyes landed on the grand structure of the St. Louis Arch peaking high into the air. My heart twinged again. The sudden sorrow flooding my chest forced me to shut my eyes and grit my teeth as I wrestled for control. I can't risk crying here and now. I could almost imagine the sheer panic that would cause Will and Luke.

Mom…always wanted to travel. She said it casually all the time. She wanted to see the world, explore cities and wilderness alike. Bask in the beauty of nature.

I caught her often wistfully looking at movies or tv shows that had any famous landmarks. She would never state it, but I knew I was the reason her dream never came true. She had gotten pregnant young and has been working ever since to provide for me.

And now…and now her dream will never come true.

The feeling that had overwhelmed my lungs moved up to my throat. The tightness forming there forced a breathless wheeze out of me. Gods, why did I feel like this? Like a massive void had opened deep inside me, threatening to consume me whole.

Despair, sorrow, rage, heartbreak; they all rolled and mixed together into a tightly woven mass of drowning emotions. Each one begging me to lose myself.

"Percy? Are you okay? You got really pale." Will touched my shoulder gently.

I forced my eyes open. Bright blue orbs watched in concern as I blinked away tears.

"Ah, sorry guys. I just…remembered something."

Will didn't break eye contact with me. He was worried. His aura shifted with anxious violet energy. His sincere desire to help made a tiny smile grace my lips. Will was too pure.

"Could we, um, go visit the arch before we continue? It's important to me."

Both of them nodded immediately. "Of course Perce. We're ahead of schedule anyways."

The walk to the arch was relatively short. Twenty-five minutes later, we were paying a small entrance fee and making our way to the elevators.

The park ranger raised an eyebrow at three teenagers lacking parental supervision. Luckily Luke gave that mature older sibling vibe and probably eased the ranger's worry.

It was just us three and an elderly plump woman with the ugliest chihuahua I've ever seen heading up to the top. I eyed the rat dog, getting terrible vibes from it. I was never much of a dog person. Most dogs and cats actually hated me. I tried never to get too offended by it.

And don't get me started on birds. Any bird that gets within ten feet of me instantly starts trilling bloody murder and flies as fast as possible away from me. Except seagulls. They actively chased me down and would follow me home. Not much of a mystery why now.

Anyways, this chihuahua was extra weird. It barely looked like a dog. Its hair was sparse and stuck out as if it was electrocuted. At least twice. Its teeth were dark yellow and jutted out of its mouth giving it a very feral appearance. And yet the women cooed at her pet like it was the most precious animal to exist. I guess even ugly creatures deserve love. Even if its name was Sonny.

The doors of the elevator dinged open and we walked out to the large balcony. We had the entire place to just us as we were the last group before closing. I went to the edge silently, hearing Will and Luke staying politely behind me.

The view was truly amazing. The river sparkled as the sunset glistened off the water's reflective surface. I sighed mournfully. Mom would have loved this.

I was broken out of my deep thoughts as a familiar tingle ran down my spine. Then I heard a soft hissing noise that really made my senses go haywire in alarm.

I turned around and swore as I was immediately confronted with a terrible sight. That old lady we came up with was no longer human.

Her silted reptile eyes narrowed at me. Her jaw unhinged and released a long forked tongue that spilled sticky saliva as it wiggled around disgustingly.

Then she spoke in a gruff hiss, "Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

Luke unsheathed his sword as Will yelped in terror as he shakily brought up his bow and notched an arrow. Both of their auras rapidly darkened with blotches of orange and yellow. Deep fear. Much worse than when we faced any other monsters so far.

That told me that whatever or whoever this hideous old bag was, she was extremely dangerous.

"Percy…," Luke's voice came out as a tense whisper. "She's not something we can handle. She's extremely powerful. Older than most of the gods. A being born of primordials. Not once in history has she been defeated by a mortal."

Ah, well, fuck.

Gods really liked to screw me over. Fucking bitches.

And she so freely told me it was dear old Uncle Zeus's doing. Is he dumb? My dad is ready to throw the world into full blown war and this is somehow going to help prevent it? Clearly immortality is not a substitution for intelligence.

Ok. Ok, snap out of it. I can curse out the gods later. Right now I probably should focus on the pair of monsters wanting to unalive me.

'Sonny', the world's most horrid dog was morphing and growing as it released endless growls that increasingly became louder.

Sonny now has the head of a lion with a blood soaked mane, the body of a giant goat, plus a ten-foot-long diamondback snake-headed tail.

I could now see it was wearing a collar with a dog tag that read: 'CHIMERA-RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS-IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS-EXT. 954.'

"They're after me. I'm going to distract them. Both of you run to the elevator as fast as possible."

Luke and Will began to protest and I instantly cut them off, "Didn't you just say we are not a match for them? Unless you come up with a better plan in the next ten seconds, this is it."

I didn't dare take my eyes off the monsters, but I heard Luke's teeth grind in frustration. He knew I was right. We're currently sixty stories from the ground on a very small platform. Not ideal for battle.

"Don't you dare die Jackson."

I smiled sarcastically. "I'm not dying to an overgrown Chihuahua and an anteater woman."

That did the trick. Echidna screamed in fury. "I am not an anteater! Sonny, sick him."

I summoned Trench from his central spot on my necklace. My trusty trident appeared just in time to block a powerful attempt to bite off my arm.

A clang rang out as monster fangs collided with Trench's sturdy metal. That had to hurt.

I pushed as hard as I could against the Chimera tossing the creature scrambling a few feet across the platform. It roared angrily. Without turning around, its snake tail lashed out. I yelped, ducking and rolling to avoid venom leaking fangs.

And that how the dodging dance began. With both ends of the chimera being equally dangerous, it forced me to resort to jumping and rolling like a gymnast on-top of the St. Louis Arch.

My heart beat wildly in my chest. Adrenaline pumping through my veins as the heat of battle kept my sense sharp. Even one slip up and I'll be toasted like an Easter marshmallow.

I had zero opportunities to even launch my own counter attack. The chimera was simply too fast. It was taking every bit of my brain power to narrowly avoid instant death via mauling.

Luckily I was right. Anteater lady and Sonny were more focused on me than Luke and Will. They slipped past with relative ease.

I couldn't see their expressions however I didn't need to. I knew they were terrified. For me. And honestly, me too. I have no clue how I was going to get myself out of this mess.

"Brave of you to stand up to us alone. Foolish of course. You are no match for one of us, much less both. I don't know why the gods were so worried about you. You're nothing special Jackson. Just another bastard to be used and abused by the gods."

Another loud clang rang out as Sonny chewed on Trench. "Get your disgusting mouth off my trident!" I pulled out Trench and swung it with as much might I could muster.

The chimera didn't have time to back up enough and my reach was long. Trench's prongs smashed into the monsters skull with a sickening crunch. The goat horns instantly locked with the prongs, keeping the chimaera unable to move closer or further away.

A terrible wail of agony tumbled out of the monster's maul. Crazed yelloe eyes honed onto me. Sonny was pissing rage now.

I had a sudden and terrible idea. I sent a quick prayer to Dad that this won't backfire . I gripped Trench tightly and began to rapidly spin in a circle. I'm turning this battle into a WWE fight.

The sudden momentum lifted the chimera off the ground as we both spun like ballerinas. Grunting hard, I halted once I felt I accumulated enough inertia and twisted my trident to release the chimera from its trap.

The monster went soaring. Straight into its equally loud and annoying mother. The two of them crashed promptly into solid wall and left a comical cartoon impression in the concrete.

Meanwhile, I was heaving for air as my arms were burning from exertion. That bitch was heavy.

"Sonny! Enough playing around! Kill him!"

The chimera was stumbling to its feet, regathering its balance. It looked barely injured. More dazed than anything.

And I was exhausted. Even if Trench didn't weigh like a small island to me, it was still not an light weapon to be swinging wildly. My body wasn't conditioned for that. Yet.

I glanced down behind me at the water far below. There was about a block and a half of road and traffic between the arch and the Mississippi River. No amount of running head start was going to get across that much land gap.

Unless….unless I bring the river closer to me.

Taking in a deep breath, I reached out with my own version of a spidey-sense. I had the uncanny ability to locate any source of water nearby if I concentrated enough.

It wasn't hard to feel the pull of such a massive and powerful river. I literally felt its heavy presence settling in the back of my mind. The river didn't speak exactly, yet It was instantly comforting nonetheless. Like an old friend. I sensed all the life swarming in its cool waters and I felt the millions upon millions of gallons of water coursing the rapid currents

My body craved to dive into the river, covering itself in the protective shield it would give me. I wanted to be somewhere that would like home.

And just like that, and with a powerful tug on my stomach and mind, I urged the river to rise.

Down below, sirens began to blare into existence as the largest river in North America suddenly began to flood over its banks. Towering waves of dark water swarmed the streets, engulfing anything and everything in sight. The roaring rush of water paralleled the alarms, nearly drowning out the terrified screams of pedestrians below.

I winced slightly as my head throbbed something fierce. Thousands of auras around me began to radiated fear and panic. I shook my head, I can't allow myself to focus on that right now. Just think, if I don't finish this quest, much worse outcomes will occur.

I glanced back the monster duo. They were closing in on me. Faster than the river would reach the arch. A bubble of panic settled in my chest. There's no way I'll be able to fend them off.

I let out a very dark Greek curse. 'I'm so sorry Mom. I don't have any other choice. Please forgive me.'

I stood up straight and locked eyes with Ms. Ant Eater and her creature mutant. I held up Trench in front of me with a level of false bravado that I hoped made me look badass.

The chimera crouched down in a pounce position, raging foam spilling from its deadly jaws.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" I screamed at the top of my lungs just as Sonny leaped into the air.

I slammed my trident into the platform with every fiber of my power I could muster. A ripple of energy exploded out of point of impact. My back flared in pain as I was flung into the metal railings.

I stumbled to into a kneeling position as the platform under my feet shattered like glass. Stone, cement, and other debris crumbled like a house of cards as the earth below rumbled with booming shocks.

The city of St. Louis was experiencing the largest earthquake to hit it in over a century.

The Arch was rapidly deteriorating with every second. Massive car sized chunks of rubble were falling from the once great monument. I watched in amazement as a said piece came clattering down exactly where Echidna had been struggling to keep her footing. I only prayed that was enough to reduced the monster into dust.

Meanwhile Sonny here wasn't taking the death of Mommy Dearest very well. The ancient monster leaped over a hole that suddenly opened up under its feet.

I instinctively raised Trench to block its bite. My arms buckled against its brute strength. My bones and muscles were heavily protesting and I was losing strength. My vision was blurry, darkening at the edges. It was only the sight of those sharp horns nearly turning me into a kebob that fueled me from blacking out.

"Fucking hell, don't you give up?!" I growled as the ground around me was collapsing. I could see through the growing cracks that the Mississippi River was now directly below.

Despite the situation, I grinned weakly. "Hope you can fucking swim you mutt."

I took in the brief satisfaction of seeing a glimpse of terror form in the monster's eyes before the platform no longer could support itself and I found myself in a free fall of six hundred feet into the swirling murky waters of the Mississippi River.

I closed my eyes and prepared to be caught into the rushing current.

Chapter 20: Not a chapter

Summary:

Please read!!! *

Notes:

PLEASE READ*

Chapter Text

I was originally going to just add this to the next chapter's note but I figured it deserved its own spot.

I read a few comment regarding the ship of the story, ages, and of course Apollo's endless flirting with pretty boys.

So, first off, in this universe, Demi-gods are not entirely human and holding them to our real life sociatal norms is not realistic.

So here are some standards of how demigods works in THIS story.

1.) Demi-gods age at a very rapid pace compared to full blooded mortals. Most Demi-gods, regardless of biological sex, reach full maturity at 16. ( Compared to mortal average age of 25.) This includes physical and mental maturity.

2.) Demi-gods are naturally much more physically able than mortals. Even the laziest and untrained Demi-god are what we would consider an Olympic athlete.

3.) Of course they still need to learn and train to control their powers and abilities.

4.) Not all Demi-gods are equal! Some may be extremely more physically adapted than others. Some may have brute strength, ( Ares Hephaestus) Some may have speed and agility, (Hermes Apollo).

5.) This is why if you noticed Percy's POV isn't very childlike in how he perceives the world. Yes, in this story he has a darker storyline than in cannon, but it's also due to the fact that he is only a few years away from what we consider a full adult.

6.) Just because they do mature faster, that doesn't mean they are wise or experienced. They will still make mistakes and have moments of immaturity just like any other sentient being.

7.) Demigods, once at peak biological maturity, begin to age very slowly afterwards, If they were not constantly being hunted and killed, a healthy Demi-god could live several hundred years. (Average life span is 250- 300)

I hope this helps to clarify some of the issues you all asked about in the comments! If you have any other questions, just lemme know!

Thank you all for reading!

Chapter 21: Of Brothers and Destruction

Summary:

Percy has an unexpected visitor after jumping off the St.Louis Arch. He gets answers, but is left with more burning questions. Oh and he's dying. Again. Maybe.

Chapter Text

I say this now, free- falling sixty floors into a raging river is not fun. 10/10 do not recommend.

Unless you're a child of Poseidon. Then sure, leap away.

There was no pain as my body smashed into the water. In fact, it was like what people assume hitting a fluffy cloud would be like.

Unfortunately I was going in and out of consciousness which was making it increasingly difficult to get my bearings. I knew I was sinking quickly to the bottom. That's about all I knew. Well, that and my brain was happily supplying the exact PSI and water pH measurements as if that was relative to my situation.

Water filled my lungs as I gulped like a goldfish. This wasn't my first time breathing underwater, but it's been years. It's always a strange sensation. Water is heavier and denser than air which left an odd weight settling in my chest. Other than that though, my body automatically adjusted to getting oxygen through the water instead of air.

Percy Jackson, part human, part god, part lungfish. How majestic.

My exhaustion was beginning to ebb away as I absorbed energy from the surrounding water. For sure one of the best perks about being a son of Poseidon. Who needs caffeine when a splash of water can restore my stamina better than any redbull.

I blinked tiredly as I laid at the bottom of the murky muddy riverbed. Truthfully my vision underwater was better than my normal sight. Down here, I could see perfectly despite clouds of dirt and reduced light.

There was…a lot of trash. Everything from fast food wrappers to entire sunken cars and boats.

I exhaled disappointedly. I absolutely despised people that threw away their junk without a fucking care in the world. I might not be a total nature hippie, but for the love of the gods, just put trash in the right place.

Looking at the awful state of the river, I can't blame Dad for wanting to punish humans for their actions.

I caught sight of a massive catfish swimming out of a debris cloud with an entire rotting tire circling its body. From the way the rubber was pushing into its skin, its had to have been there for a couple years if not longer.

A swell of rage bubbled underneath my skin. This is just wrong. The poor guy has to have been suffering painfully.

"Wait! Come back." I called out without thinking.

The large fish paused and turned back to face me. Fish aren't exactly very expressive creatures, but if they were, this one would be shocked.

"Your Highness! I deeply apologise, I did not see you. How may I assist you?"

How did a catfish manage to bow? That was even more odd. I winced at the formal title. I totally forgot that sea creatures had a terrible habit of calling me that every time.

Clearly other nearby fish had heard the catfish use my title and began schooling around curiously.

"It's the other way around actually. I want to help you." I pointed to the tire belt. "That will kill you if I don't get it off. May I?"

The large fish bobbed its head and a little burst of excited bubbles left its mouth. Taking that as consent, I unstrapped a small dagger I knicked from Medusa's lair from my waistband and sliced through the rubber like butter. The chopped pieces sank to the bottom of the riverbed.

I know logically fish can't sigh with relief, but I could have sworn I heard it.

"There. Be free. And don't get caught in any more junk if you can." I say despite swimming in a literal river that's half water, half human trash. I watched the catfish attempt to bow again before it took off

No, Percy. Don't lose your shit. This is not the time. I can deal with this later. After the world isn't on the edge of destruction.

"That was noble of you." That definitely was NOT a fish voice. Judging by the distinct godly aura, it didn't take a genius to figure out who it could be.

I closed my eyes. Maybe if I pretend I didn't hear the voice, it would go away. I'm all burned out with gods for the week.

"Percy, I'm not leaving and I know you can hear me."

"Man, the fish around here are getting so smart. They know my name and everything."

An exasperated sigh resounded behind me. "Why must you be so frustrating? Can you not show a fraction of respect for your older brother who is working diligently to clean up your mess?"

That caught my attention. I spun around in place. A merman twice my size was floating in place about a dozen feet away. I caught myself staring at the double fish tails first. That's something I've only seen in books or art styles on architecture. Watching them swish in the water was equally mesmerizing and terrifying. The bright scales, like dark pure sapphires, gleamed with various hues of blues even in the dark muddy waters of the Mississippi River.

I brought my gaze upwards, doing my best to ignore the nearly blinding aura shining around the figure. The top half was just as I expected. Inhumanly handsome.

The god's bronze skin glowed like reflected sunlight despite being three dozen feet under water. His high cheekbones and strong jaw were oddly familiar. Despite the seaweed green hair, there was little guessing that we were related. This god had to be Triton. Firstborn immortal son of Poseidon and Amphitrite. God of the Deep Dea and the Herald of the Seas.

"What did you mean by my mess? Cause I've been a bit busy cleaning our father's mess."

Triton's eyes narrowed slightly. "It appears that you and Father share that trait. Not unsurprisingly. Wrecking chaos and disaster is a common habit of sea deities." Triton glanced up at the surface. "You've began a series of events today. Unleashing a 7.6 earthquake in a place that rarely experiences even minor ones is not an easy feat to accomplish Little Brother."

I raised an eyebrow and kept my facial expression as neutral as I could. Meanwhile, I felt my stomach falling out of my ass. 7.6 is a fucking strong magnitude. That kind of power is enough to reduce homes to rubble. Especially in areas that are not built to withstand seismic activity.

"Not to mention the massive flash flooding as well. St. Louis has become the new epicenter of focus. You've managed to attract the eyes of many gods with your blatant display of power." Triton pinched the bridge of his noise. He looked equally annoyed and impressed.

"That wasn't my initial plan if it makes you feel better. I needed to escape from being murdered by an evil echidna and her puppy with anger management issues."

Triton stared at him with a blank expression. I could practically see his brain trying to formulate a response. "Honestly brother, that made zero sense. However let us bypass that. I came for a reason. It's more or less a warning. I need you to be careful on this foul hearty quest. Father is…worried."

I crossed my arms across my chest. "Is he now? You would think if he was so worried about me, he wouldn't be edging his brothers to the brink of war while I'm over here risking my life trying to travel across the damn country to prevent a war."

My immortal brother winced. "So you've heard?"

"Yeah. I got a visit from Apollo and Hermes not too long ago. They spilled the beans. By the way, shouldn't you be in protective custody or something?"

Triton's aura flashed with blended concern and anger. The god rushed closer and began to pat me down carefully. "You were with the sky gods? Percy, that was incredibly foolish and dangerous, even for you. Did they do anything? Did they…touch you? At all?" My brother's voice was soft yet firm as he checked me over. He was being genuine with his worry. Which confused the shit out of me.

"What? No! Of course they didn't touch me. Do you think I would let them?" I was instantly offended. Did my own brother think I was some cheap whore that would open my legs to some pretty god? Cause I would rather go down swinging than let that fucking happen.

Triton put his hands up in mock surrender. "I apologize. I had to ask. Especially because of Apollo. He has a reputation for being too handsy. Truthfully all of Zeus's children are prone to touching what doesn't belong to them."

"I don't understand. Why do you care? Wouldn't you hate me? I'm proof that Dad cheated with your mom. Why do you care what happens to me?" I watched his face fall and a wave of sadness smacked into me.

"I do not hate you Percy. Father, is well, himself. He may not drift often from my mother's side, but it does happen. It may annoy my mother, but she is not Hera. She does not automatically hate my father's children simply because he was being promiscuous. Besides, you are different. You would have been born regardless. A prince of the seas is chosen, not created."

I can't say I'm not relieved. My step-mom and step-brother don't hate my guts just for breathing. What a nice surprise. "I've heard that title before. Apollo and Hermes mentioned it. I thought they meant you. Aren't you the prince of the seas?"

Triton sighed tiredly. "Yes and no. I am Father's heir to the Kingdom of Atlantis. That makes me a prince as he is the king. However the title of prince or princess of the sea, is not the same. It is not a crown that can be bestowed. Ancient sea magic and fate take part in giving such an honor. For example, our father has had many children, demigod, godly, or monster. Out of every being that he has sired over the millennia only two have ever been granted the title of sea prince. And both of them are currently talking at the bottom of the Mississippi River."

There's a sudden lump in my throat. "Oh." My voice came out more of a squeak than I cared to admit.

Triton flashed a wary smile and tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. "So you must understand Little Brother, you are much more treasured than you know. The very seas themselves have claimed you as their own. The oceans are part of you, as you are a part of them. You are a member of the our little undersea family and we always protect our own. What comes from the sea, always returns to the sea."

The lump in my throat only grew larger and I was finding it difficult to breathe. I don't know what to say to that. What should I say? Am I thankful my own family actually seems to care about me? But how do I know it's the truth? Gods are known for their elaborate schemes after all.

Although…I can literally see Triton's genuine feelings. He actually meant what he said. I don't doubt it. Which means…he cares. And that's an entirely different set of problems. I'm not exactly great with affection from others. The only person I cared about and craved affection from is gone.

"So is this why Dad is losing his shit with his brothers? Because I'm special?" I didn't intend for that to sound accusatory, but from the obvious flinch that my brother did, I guess my tone came off wrong.

"Father is retaliating because you are his son. Regardless of your title, rank, or powers. You would have been defended no matter what. However I will admit that your unique status does play a part politically. It makes the insult from the sky gods only worse. Attacking a member of the royal family is great offense and paramount as an act of war."

I nodded slowly. Ok, I was starting to pull this dysfunctional picture together. "I see. That makes a tiny bit of sense. But doesn't Dad realise he is only making my quest harder? Our dearest uncles are not going to make this easy and Dad is fueling their rage. Which they are going to take out on me because I'm the weakest link here."

"I have mentioned this numerous times. However the situation is fickle at best. You must understand, politically our father is doing his best. We had three options. One was immediately tossed out.

He cannot do nothing. Ignoring our uncles's claims and threats would appear as we are disinterested in your well-being and could be seen as a dismissal of your station. That would tell our enemies that you are disposable and unworthy of being part of the royal family. Which is not an option.

Option two was the best choice. Sending a formal notice that their action was taken as an act of war and we are retaliating with appropriate measures. The boarders were sealed. All sea deities, ambassadors, and citizens were recalled home. All trade and communication was ceased. Which is why Apollo and Hermes going to see you was extraordinarily risky. If Father found out, full war could have begun for that breach."

Well shit. Why couldn't things ever be simple? Wasn't this quest hard enough without all the underlining politics? Part of me regrets knowing. Talk about ignorance being bliss.

"Wait, that was only two options. What was the third?"

The herald of the seas looked to have aged decades all at once. "All out war. An attack to defend our family's honor. The world's very governing forces would be at odds. Likely beginning the fourth major mass extinction event. Something we are trying to avoid at all costs."

"Well, fuck. That really puts a lot of pressure on me bro. Next time, sugarcoat the potential death of humanity."

The sea deity chuckled. "Apologies. Next time I will be more tactful." Triton glanced up towards the surface. "My time here is coming to a close. I'm sure my presence has not gotten unnoticed. I am hoping that the prying eyes and ears believe I had something to do with the city's destruction. The other gods should not be made aware of how gifted you truly are. Not yet. You have much to learn and are not quite ready to defend yourself from them. Percy, I cannot stress how important it is that you remain vigilant. Do not trust the sky gods. Zeus holds them under tight chains. Only trust your mother. She will protect you on the surface."

Triton's form was beginning to fade, morphing into the surrounding water. His aura was flickering. I could tell he was straining to remain. Maybe this was too far from the ocean for him to maintain a connection.

"Oh and Little Brother?" I felt a sense of pride and glee reflecting off Triton's fleeing shape. "Do not fear your powers. The sea does not like to be restrained." A small smile stayed on the sea god's lips until he completely vanished from view.

"That last bit wasn't helpful." I muttered to myself. How can I not fear my own powers? I literally just almost sank an entire city! I can apparently read the aura of gods and stare directly into the eyes of death. If that isn't terrifying, then I'm not sure what is.

I know I've gotten a lot more answers than anyone else has bothered to give me, but I find myself still wondering more.

For example, why is Aphrodite, or well, Venus actually, claiming me as her child? I can't be both a child of love and the sea. I wouldn't be a demigod. And I know for a fact I'm mortal. Sort of. My blood is weird, but I can still die. I know that much.

And why do monsters keep calling me a godling? What is that? Another name for a demigod? But they never call Will or Luke that. Is it because my scent is stronger?

I should have asked Triton. Next time, I won't forget.

I glanced up at the surface. I was dreading going back up. To witness the chaos and destruction I caused. To see the unintended death I created. Because let's be real, I can't lie to myself. My powers had to have taken too many innocent lives. I knew that going in.

I keep trying to justify it. I know if I die and the quest fails, billions will likely perish. But that doesn't mean I can't feel guilt for the lives sacrificed today.

I let out a manic giggle. Was this going to be my life now? Forced to make impossible decisions? Pick who lives and who dies? What is better for the greater good?

I fucking hate that philosophical bullshit. There is never any winning. I just have own my choices and fucking pray my soul can handle the stress.

At least….I know that I rather be the one to bear the responsibility. If it means that Will and Luke can keep their conscious pure and free, I will gladly bear the burdens.

Speaking of my two friends. I've been gone for too long. Will is probably trying to jump into the river after me while Luke holds him down. Actually, I can totally see that happening.

I will the currents to rocket me to the surface as I loosen my mental shields. I opened my senses to search for my friend's auras.

It was not easy as tens of thousands of voices were screeching out. Fear, heartbreak, horror, sorrow, terror. So many emotions battered at my mind.

My head broke the surface. It was louder now. All the auras were louder and I could feel a massive migraine forming in the back of my skull.

Thanks the gods that demigods had much brighter and louder auras than mortals. It took less than ten seconds for me to spot them a quarter mile down the river.

It took me another ten seconds to reach them. I leaped out of the water with a flip that would make any dolphin cry with envy.

I landed in front of two very distraught looking demigods. "You two look lonely. Did you miss me already?"

Will, blessed his sweet soul, burst into tears and tackled me into a bone crushing hug that had me wheezing.

"PERCY! Oh my gods, you're alive! I was so worried! When the arch started to collapse, I had no idea how you were going to make it off. I tried to keep an eye on you, but with all the chaos and the river rising, Luke and I had to retreat. I'm so sorry! We shouldn't have left you up there by yourself."

Will didn't stop squeezing my ribs and I swear I thought he was crack them. Was he always this freakishly strong? I settled for patting his head to console him.

"Will, I told you both to leave. My plan was take down the arch and jump into the river. Luke was right, I was no match for those two. If you had stayed, then we all probably would have died."

Will looked up at me with huge watery eyes. "I know. But I rather die with you than run away without you. You can't make us do that again? Never again? Okay? We are your friends. Live together, die together. That's my demigod way."

Now my chest was hurting for an entirely different reason. Fucking hell Will. He knew that I could read his sincerity. He knows that I can tell he means every word. That was heart wrenching in every way.

But that only means I was right in my choice. I would and will do anything to protect my friends. If I had to become the embodiment of darkness to keep people like Will in the light. I would gladly do so.

Luke clasped my shoulder and he and I shared a deep knowing look. It was unspoken, but I knew that the son of Hermes agreed with Will's sentiment.

My lungs burned and I didn't know where to look. I blinked furiously to prevent tears from spilling over. "I don't know if I can promise that Sunshine. As leader of the our quest and as your friend, it's my job to protect you. Both of you. It's because you're my friends that I can't let you go down with me."

The son of Apollo jabbed my ribs and I winced hard. "Shut up Seaweed Brain. You're being selfish. Luke and I knew what we were agreeing to do. We could have said no. I wanted to come, even if it meant risking my life. So just, let us be there for you. Even if you're being crazy and are trying to make the next Atlantis."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "I did kinda go overboard. My bad."

Luke rolled his eyes. As Will finally released me, Luke came in to replaced the smaller blond with his own bone crushing hug. The taller teen whispered in my ear. "Please don't scare me like that again. Or Will. Poor guy was so worried that I was afraid he was going to self combust. We're a team dude. I only left because I trusted you. And I still do. But next time, we will face shit together."

I nodded mutely. I was a bit lost for words and I honestly didn't trust myself not to say something embarrassing.

Luke let me go, but he kept close. Like he was afraid I was going to vanish again. "Well, St. Louis is…a mess. A quarter of the city is destroyed. Between the earthquake and the flood, there's been massive damage. I suggest we leave quickly before it gets too crowded and we get stuck."

Luke had a point. I was immensely grateful that both he and Will didn't seem to hold it against me for what I did. Neither of them seem all that fazed.

"The goal is still for us to find an entrance to the underworld which is somewhere in Los Angeles. For now, let's get out of the city and plan somewhere safer and quieter." Luke spoke up as he gathered our meager supplies. "I know a place outside the city. A tiny diner that I've been to before. We can rest and eat there before figuring out what we want to do."

I nodded. Sounded like a good plan. Besides I really could use a nap. Being in the river water helped replenish my energy, but now that I was out and all the adrenaline was gone, I felt a wave of exhaustion slam into me.

I found myself stumbling as I followed the two blonds out of the city limits. My muscles burned and my bones ached something terrible. But I refused to complain. I've been way worse and we can't afford to slow down. I can wait till we make it to the diner to rest.

An hour later and my stomach was killing me and I was violently nauseous. I stubbornly forced myself to keep a neutral expression. If Will spots me acting sick, he'll swarm at me like a mother hen.

Suddenly my vision was blurred and I caught myself falling forward into Luke's back. Whelp. There goes my attempt to be stealthy.

"Percy?" Luke caught me before I could swallow a mouthful of dirt. "Holy Hades, you're burning up."

Will let out an unearthly screech from somewhere and before I could blink he was kneeling beside me in an instant. "What do you mean- oh my gods." I felt a cool touch on my forehead and I instinctively leaned into it. "His temp is 106 and climbing. Luke, I need my supplies and we need to find cover now."

Will barked a few more orders, but I was struggling to understand. My ears were ringing and everything sounded like a distinct echo.

Will's sky blue orbs were suddenly all I could see. He was really close now. I know he was talking since his lips were moving, but I didn't hear a single word.

I was a bit distracted. Will was actually really pretty now I was paying attention. I wasn't looking forward to the day someone starts trying woo my precious little sunshine. Cause honestly, I don't think anyone is good enough for him.

"Percy! I need you to focus!" My eyes shifted to Will's eyes again. There was worry etched into every inch of his face. Although I wonder why his cheeks were so red. Was he sick too?

I made a soft grunt of recognition. I wanted him to stop fretting so much. I'm sure I'll be fine. Exhaustion happens to everyone. Just let me sleep it off.

"No! Do not fall asleep! I repeat, do not sleep. Percy!? Can you hear me? Blink twice if you understood."

I blinked twice. At least I think I did. At this point, I can't recall. My body hurts too much to think clearly. Did I somehow fall into a tub of acid? Cause I swear that's how I feel right now.

I was being moved and suddenly there was sweet sweet relief of cold water washing against my scorching skin. I groaned in relief. Water is my friend.

"That seems to be helping. But it's only delaying the venom. Luke, I need you find and gather-"

My head was pounding again. I wanted to throw up, but my body refused to move. Was I somehow paralyzed? Maybe that explains why my heart was threatening to break out of my chest.

But I had Will. And Luke. And they won't let something bad happen to me. I trust them.

Will's face came into view again. Golden sunlight was radiating out of him. It was warm. Comforting. Will should shine more often. "Percy, of course we will take care of you. Just hold on okay? Don't sleep. Focus on your healing powers from the water."

I don't think I can make that promise because my eyes were getting heavy and blackness was creeping from the edges of my vision. I was going to pass out, whether I wanted to or not.

I really can't have it easy for a single moment. I'll curse out the gods in my dreams as revenge.