Jut you know, the time the ships are taking to travel by sea are not at all realistic. I have increased the time vey much to add depth and give me time to build characters and still have time-skips of days. For example what a car would cover in 12 hours on road, these ships are taking 3-4 days to do so.

1693, Florida

Percy happily came back from his class's first day. His mom had now gained enough money for him to go there. That was because she was workaholic. Altered, he saw his stepfather, Gabe Ugliano drinking alcohol. His head was lying down on his shoulder and looked in some slumber. "Well, he also specializes in something. He's an alcoholic," Percy muttered. "What you say, boy?" Gabe suddenly said. Percy jumped, he didn't know Gabe was awake.

"Come here and I would actually show you what I specialize in... beating you!" Gabe stood up. Percy backed up in fear. "You wiped your smile of your face now, huh?" Gabe smirked, "How about I wipe your face of your body." Gabe picked up a bottle and came towards Percy. "Why don't you pick on someone of your own size?" Percy said scared.

The bottle smashed on Percy and he fell down crying. "You won't speak up to me now, would you?" Gabe yelled at Percy. Percy shook his head. The main door creaked in distance. "Now, get back to your room. Your mother shall not know about this!" Gabe said. Percy nodded and went out of the room.

"Bye Percy! I just came for a forgotten thing," His mom yelled before finally going out back again. After a few minutes, Gabe came to his room. "You are not going to learn like this!" He picked up Percy by his hair and dragged him out of the house. Their house was not far away from the sea. Gabe threw Percy into the Gulf and returned home quietly.

4 children slipped through the shadows and hid behind a barrel. They had run till they had reached the coast from the following men. "We should stay down for a while, now that we just fought 10 men of Hades's men," a 14-year-old Luke advised. "They attacked us first, didn't they?" a 7-year-old Annabeth argued, "And they won anyway. We were just able to escape." "Rule One, kiddo, it doesn't matter if you win or not. If you put up a good fight and are able to escape, be sure that you angered somebody very - very much," Thalia explained.

"Well, it's like Luke said. We should just lay down for a while. Nobody would be able to find us, right? I mean Hades won't be sending out a hundred of men after us, no?" Grover stated. "He could if he knew Thalia is with us," Luke solemnly said, "And as far as I can remember, you still haven't told us why you are going with us or who you are, Underwood." "I can't tell you the truth and I don't want to lie," Grover explained. "Well, then they shouldn't have chosen you for this task," Luke attacked Grover.

"No! I am not sent by..." Grover's words didn't leave his mouth as he saw a huge ship anchor at the coast. A large writing 'BRUTAL FURY" was encrypted on the side. A tall, wide man wearing a mask on stepped out of the ship, "Any strong children I can borrow?" He jokingly said. Nobody gave attention to him. "Do you know who this is?" Thalia asked.

"This is Ares, the 8th Emperor of the sea," Luke said. "Nuh, huh," Grover corrected, "Not yet. Both Dionysus and Ares are competing to be the 8th Emperor of the Sea. As far as I have heard, Dionysus is ahead of him in this rivalry. So to win, rumors are that Ares in using some questionable ways." "Like what?" Annabeth asked. "Buying children or should I say future pirates," Luke replied.

"Why have you come here, Ares?" a villager asked. "I think I have made myself very clear. Lend me some budding warriors and you will be rewarded once I become the Greatest Pirate on Earth!" Ares exclaimed. "What if we do not?" The villager asked. "Then, I shall use force," Ares cleared, "I only want a couple of kids, not more than that. Would like to see this village destroyed for them?" "I will find some kids for you to get. But don't expect them to not be the ones rotting on the streets," came the answer. "Let's see," Ares suggested.

"What do they mean?" Annabeth asked. "They are talking about kids like us," Thalia replied. "That's good for Ares, anyways," Grover spoke up. Luke agreed, "He would rather have a 10 year old criminal than a 10 year old royal prince so that he can mold it into anything he wants." "We should go with him," Luke advised. Everyone gasped.

"I mean, we might learn a thing or two more about fighting," Luke said, "And if there are more kids on his ship, we need to release them because they are there without their consent." "One more question," Thalia asked, "What happens if the child doesn't reach his potential?" Grover didn't answer. Luke told them how this is another reason to go with him. "So, what? We just go up to him and be like 'We really want to come with you and help you for no reason at all'?" Thalia asked. "I don't think Ares will doubt us," Grover said. So, they did just that and succeeded.

"You are brave to come but I suppose I am famous for my fighting skills," Ares boasted. "So master Ares, why did you ask for children?" Luke asked. "Do you understand the word 'investment'? Mark my words, it's going to be a big thing in the future," Ares explained, "I buy new shares and invest in them. They show an increase and give me better return and I am in profit. But when I see a downfall in them, I sell them to avoid more losses."

Ares went into his cabin before turning back and saying, "I have expectations from you, Thalia. Please don't disappoint me. Brutes!" The pirates took them into a cell and told them to stay there until further orders. "Well atleast we got a roof on our head now," Grover said optimistically and received a number of glares.

After one week of tasty food and tiny space, they were finally called to train. That's when they noticed that there were like 100 more kids on board. (Damn! The competition was real.) "How are we supposed to save them all?" Grover asked. "Focus!" Luke yelled. Annabeth was quiet all along. She didn't what to do. She was scared that she would not be able to match all them. She looked over to Thalia who was looking tensed.

"Let's start by my most favorite maneuver! The disarming one!" Ares yelled and started to teach them. He called over Luke to demonstrate it. Ares gave Luke a sword and then they took their stances. Luke opened the duel by trying to stab Ares in a straight line before Ares side-stepped. But it was a ruse, Luke was fast and mover his arm forming a right angle. That would have been the end for Ares if he did not strike the blade before it hit him. Luke turned around and grabbed Are's hand but he simple threw Luke over.

Thalia noticed something, Luke was going all out. He planned to kill Ares right while Ares was playing with him and humiliating him. Luke bent and slashed at his stomach with all of his force. But Ares's blade hit the base of Luke's and he twisted, putting his whole weight into a downward thrust. CLANG! Luke's sword rattled across the deck. The tip of his blade was an inch from Luke's undefended chest.

Ares wanted to kill that brat right there and then. But he could not stop himself from praising Luke's skills. Without his experience, Ares could have fallen to him in a real fight. "Not bad. I could consider it even being impressive. I guess you are worth more than just being a delivery guy," Ares angered Luke. "My father owns a well honored established service company," Luke exclaimed. "Then why don't you like him?" Ares crossed his limits. Luke was far too angry now to back down.

But someone took their attention before a punch could make its way towards Ares. "Hey who is that kid?" a Pirate yelled. Luke looked over into the Sea and saw boy half his age being swept across the sea. "If he had come here from land, he would have been in the waters for almost a week because the nearest land in Florida from here," Grover said. "He's probably dead, that's why is still afloat," Ares said.

"I don't think so, Ares! See his legs are still moving. He is using all his willpower to not drown!" Luke said, "But all of that is impossible for a boy that size!" "He must have crazy genetics!" Annabeth suggested. Ares narrowed his eyes. "Come on, Thalia! I have a test for you, save that kid and bring him to me!"

Thalia nodded and dived. The kid was more than 50 feet away but it still was an easy job for her if he was not conscience. Thalia reached him but in a minute. She tried to swim with him but the boy started kicking and slashing pulling them both into water. "Stop! I am here to save you!" But he didn't listen. Thalia had an idea. She pushed his head into water and outward and repeated tiring him very much. Once he was no longer a problem, Thalia swam with him. But it was a trick to show Thalia that the problem was over.

The boy stood up and vertically and JUMPED from water into air and his punch came at her. "Water can never tire me!" he yelled. Thalia twisted his arm painfully and swam like that until they reached the ship. Once they were on board, Thalia placed the boy on the deck in front of Ares. "Place him in another cell," Ares ordered a pirate and then turned away from Thalia, "You didn't make a first good impression, Thalia. A small boy was giving you trouble. Get Out of My Sight!"

Thalia lowered her head while Grover came near her to see the boy. He turned him around and stood up in shock. His face was now full of sweat. "What happened?" Luke asked. Grover shook his head. But still he couldn't believe his eyes. It was Percy Jackson! The son of the King of Atlantis! It all made sense now. And best of all, Grover was very close to accomplishing his objective. The crew then took him away.

Later, when they were all together in the cell, Grover confessed everything. "I don't know where to start but I will tell you this. I am sent by a great king to find his secret son monitor him for the next many years." "Why are telling us this, now?" Luke asked. "Yes what made you expose yourself, today?" Annabeth questioned. "That's because I found him," Grover made a statement. "What?" Annabeth yelled, "When?" "As far as I remember you have been with us since we met and me didn't meet no king's secret son," Thalia said. "You did, the boy. He is him."

"Do you have eyes on Ares?" Luke asked from the corner. "Yes, he is going to the helm," Thalia answered from the hallway, "Send everyone out!" All of the 100 kids were released. They ran out of the cells yelling and cheering. Their sheer number scared Ares. They all took control of the small boats attached to the ship. They would all die fighting against the pirates, so, escaping was the best option. They all lowered the boats and sailed away. "Should we chase them, captain?" a pirate asked Ares. "Nay! They don't deserve to be my crew. It's time we learn from our mistakes. Start the new batch! Get ready to do it all over again for the next 5 years. This time, we will not ask!"

On the boats, "They are not chasing us," Percy told Grover. "Well, it's good for us. We will reach land in 3 days," Grover responded. "Thanks, if you want entry in my house, you are welcome anytime," Percy smiled. It was the moment! Grover had the right time to ask. He needed to throw away all his shyness and formality. "What if I stay with you forever?" Grover asked. Percy didn't answer for he very well knew about Gabe.

Once, they reached land, Gabe was no longer there. Sally shared a knowing eye with Grover and told them to not care about Gabe. He had been dealt with.

One night, his mom and Leo were working late. She was making a prototype for a drill bit, and if she sold the patent, they would finally get a break. While they worked, Leo helped out by passing her supplies and made corny jokes to keep her spirits up. After they were done, as they were walking through the break room, she realized that she left her keys in the warehouse and thought she had them, and smiled at Leo for the last time.

A few seconds later, the door closed and locked. Leo heard something heavy crash, and tried in vain to open the door. He then tapped with Morse code to see if she was okay. When he got no answer, he entered the room but fell unconscious as the room went up in the flames. He later woke up in a healthcare center with a woman and two boys helping him. That's when he met Percy.

On the other hand, Ares kept his promise. He started a new batch of kids. He burnt every village that came in his way to the last bit. He destroyed Pascagoula, Cancun and some other 100 villages while even going as far as Vancouver.

Vancouver, 1697,

"Grandma, will mother be back?" 10-year-old Frank asked. "No, she is never going to come back to you. But you are going to go back to her," his grandma had said, "Fai, you are going to train fiercely to prove to the world that you are a hero. You shall not die a coward but, like your mother." Frank nodded deciding to keep the promise.

He trained and practiced until one day, some pirates came and took him away. Last time, he ever saw his grandmother was her house and their village being surrounded by Ares's pirates. King Zeus didn't do anything or even if he did after that night, Frank wouldn't know about it. He realized, there were more like him forced into slavery on the same ship. All of the children like him were forced to fight each other. Frank was a beast, he defeated everyone but one, Clarisse. Frank thought it was over for him until Ares chose to keep both of them and slowly promote them upwards

"Damn, I couldn't have ever thought that Ares could have played such a big role in all of our lives," Percy said. "Did you know that till Zeus banned him from ever doing this he had already won the seat of 8th Emperor? However, Hestia gave up her title for Dionysus to take it," Annabeth concluded. That's when they heard chanting.

The Seer Tribe was walking towards their ship with something in their hands. Percy recognized it and ran downstairs to the ground followed by the others. The old woman from earlier kneeled down to give Percy a sword. Not a sword, the sword. RIPTIDE. "How did you get this?" Percy asked. "Things have a tendency to return to their master," The woman said, "Take care of this sword from now on for it holds a great piece of history."

This chapter is a little shorter than others since it is basically the flashback sequences. Also I wanted to thank O.A.K.H-9917, Redb34r, SunFlowerFish, sevvarac, Smoll Sparrow, Sonofnetune101 for the support. Have a good day, everyone!