Answers to reviews:
lrbrenneke: I'd suggest you don't question that.
boogbryant98 phs2016: Thanks.
zarmag: I will do what I like with my own story, Not every Percy Jackson fic has to have the OC not friends with this character and that character.
Guest: Uhhh... not really. This is all focusing on Alex similar to the book focusing on Percy, so it will be scenes focused on Alex, no cutaways to Olympus or anything like that. But the flashback of how Artemis and Dante met may be shown in book three.
DreamWorksDisneyFan2000: Yeah, I was. You may notice some similarities but I tried keeping the story as original as I could, even looked at the book itself and my own fic, Son of Thor. Sorry.
Blue dragon: Everyone will, but I'll be focusing on Alex's scenes, so don't expect a cutaway to Olympus.
06302004jward: Ask and you shall receive.
Dragomancer: Lol.
Duskbrony94: I won't be showing the Gods' reaction. This is all focused on Alex.
SpringTrapLord: You'll just have to wait and see.
Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I only own the OC Alexander Redgrave.
Annabeth had chosen to lead Alex to Thalia's... resting place. As they had walked, a painful feeling constricted Alex's heart, making him hesitant to go and see for himself but Annabeth had been there as a pillar of support and he saw how much it hurt her as well. He had steeled himself, gripped her hand and walked with her up the hill to the huge pine tree that could be seen for a few miles.
"Here she is." Annabeth said quietly, gripping his hand tightly while holding back tears.
"What happened?" Alex asked after swallowing a lump in his throat. When Alex had met Thalia, Luke and Annabeth five years ago, he bonded with them well during their two-week stay at Devil May Cry. But the one he bonded with the most and felt closest to was Thalia. She just looked so cool and badass to his young eyes. She totally rocked the punk girl look and was afraid to speak her mind. And, with his growing age and developing hormones, Alex had ended up growing a huge crush on Thalia during those two weeks he knew her.
he was sad when Thalia said they had to go or trouble may come at their door and she wasn't willing to put Dante and Alex through that, even if Dante took on demons. She didn't want Alex harmed. Alex had hoped to see them again, see her again, and Thalia also hoped that they would meet again before she caught him by surprise by giving him a kiss on the cheek, promising that they'll meet again somehow.
And with the years going by, Alex's feelings for Thalia hardly diminished as that of a young boy with a simple crush. It went from a crush to affection, though not of the romantic side since he only knew her for two weeks.
And now, here he stood at her resting place.
"She made her stand against an army of Hellhounds and all three Kindly Ones." Annabeth said quietly, the pain evident as she remembered that day very well.
"Why did she fight alone?" Alex asked, shaking his head. She shouldn't have stood alone against an army she couldn't beat.
"It happened not long after we left you and your father. Hades, when he found out about Thalia, sent all kinds of monsters to torment her. She, along with me, Luke and Grover were fleeing from them. But Thalia was wounded and tired and didn't want to live like some hunted animal. So she fended off the monsters so we could make it into the camp. She refused to go with us, deciding to protect us by holding the monsters off. Alone. No matter what we said to her." Annabeth choked up a bit as she told the story, as if she was remembering it all if the haze in her eyes was anything to go by, "She was mortally wounded before Chiron could bring help. Zeus, taking pity on Thalia, turned her into this tree that acts as the anchor for the magical border that protects us from the monsters."
Alex stepped forward and placed a hand on the tree trunk, caressing it, almost wishing and thinking it was Thalia's face. "Why? Why didn't Zeus help her?" He demanded quietly.
"Gods can't really favor us Alex, we can pray for it, but sometimes they aren't really answered. Zeus changed her into a tree so Hades couldn't torture her soul." Annabeth continued.
"Was it because of the Oath?" Alex asked, not looking at the Daughter of Athena. "The Oath Zeus, Hades and Poseidon made to not have kids? Is that why Hades hunted her so hard?
Annabeth swallowed and nodded. "It is."
Alex's other hand clenched as he felt rage build inside him. Mostly at Hades rather than Zeus, although Zeus should've known better than to swear an oath and then break it. the gods shouldn't have even been surprised that Zeus would break his word, since he was known for cheating on his wife the very second he saw a nice pair of legs that would willingly spread for him.
No, Alex knew Zeus did what he could to keep Thalia's soul from Hades.
As for the God of the Underworld, Alex was pissed because he took Thalia away from him. Away from Annabeth and Luke.
The grandson of Sparda leaned his head against the tree trunk and did something he hadn't done in a very long time. Not since he was a child and watched his first horror movie.
He cried.
He bowed her head and let the tears streak down his cheeks, even as small sobs escaped his throat.
Annabeth walked up, gently turning him around and pulling into a hug, her eyes squeezed shut as she too shed tears for their loss.
The next two days passed, though Alex was still mildly depressed after learning what happened to Thalia. However, Annabeth and Luke resolved to get him out of it as best as they could, and started it by having him be part of the training lessons. Alex had remarked he was already skilled, but Annabeth strongly insisted that he fight his emotions out of him before they consumed him.
Alex had sighed and reluctantly went along, knowing they were just trying to help.
So he sparred with Luke before an audience that was part of the lesson that day, with some claiming how Luke was the best swordsman at camp in a hundred years or so. Alex couldn't help but feel the spark of a challenge as soon as he heard that, and got a little more into the idea of facing Luke.
it was a spar that left their audience awe-filled, excited and enraptured as Alex demonstrated his skill with a sword, which led to some saying he may have surpassed or even rivalled Luke in swordplay.
And their first spar had been brought to a draw when both exhausted themselves from nearly two hours of sparring as neither had been willing to let up or be defeated.
It helped pull Alex out of his depressed mood and he found himself bonding a little more with Luke and Annabeth, wanting to catch up on the five years since he last saw them, what they've been doing since arriving at camp.
And of course, Alex also gained himself some new friends.
The first, and most surprising, would be the daughter of Ares, Clarisse La Rue. Alex had made a Hannibal Lecter joke when he met the 'war girl' by saying 'Why hello Clarisse'. Sue him, he loved the Silence of the Lambs. Not so much the film that came out in 2001... although it was leagues better than the book in his opinion.
Anyway, he met Clarisse when she intended to stuff his head down a toilet. Alex had been very much against that and easily took her down when she put her hands on him, making it clear he was not in the mood to deal with a bully and their shit. She came back later and challenged him to a spar, which was where Alex earned Clarisse's respect and friendship when he defeated her, saying he was skilled but Alex made note of her own skills as well.
While Clarisse comes off as a bully, she was merely someone who cared about the camp's safety and wants to prove herself to her father, being a woman and apparently Ares is of the type who believes women fighters are weak.
Clearly Ares had not seen his daughter fight.
Another friend was actually Clarisse's best friend, Silena Beauregard, the daughter of Aphrodite. Alex had seen what the other children of Aphrodite were like and was a little cautious when it came to Silena but she proved to be unlike her siblings in just a minute into the first conversation she had with Alex, and they became friends soon after.
The next friend he made was Charles Beckendorf, Silena's boyfriend, and son of Hephaestus. Alex had almost chuckled when hearing that a child of Hephaestus was dating a child of Aphrodite, given that their parents were married but not together. Nonetheless, Alex got on well with Beckendorf.
He made several more friends. Katie Gardner from the Demeter Cabin, Will Solace and Lee Fletcher from the Apollo cabin, and Castor and Pollux from the Dionysus cabin.
He also learned of the Mist, a supernatural force that hides all things supernatural from mortals by making them see things normal instead, which explained that mechanical creature seemingly disappearing when he was younger. Though, there were some mortals that could see through the Mist, known as clear-sighted mortals.
Alex wondered if it was because of his dad being half-demon that made him see through the mist when he met his mother, though it most likely would be since Dante wasn't fully human, heck neither was Alex. He had human, demon and godly blood in his veins.
All in all, Alex was liking it here, even if he had to stay in an overcrowded cabin until he was Claimed by his mother. The Hermes cabin took in Unclaimed demigods until they were Claimed, but the gods didn't always Claim their children or just didn't care about them. Which makes Alex wonder why they even bother having them in the first place, or if they even know the concept of protection during sex, or at least pull out!
Maybe if the gods stopped popping kids out, he wouldn't have to worry about some of Hermes' kids getting bold enough to try and steal his guns or his sword, which normally results in Alex giving them a bit of a thrashing but not totally hurting them... just enough to make them reconsider against stealing his stuff again.
But right now...
"Go fish." Alex called jokingly.
He was busy beating Mr. D and Chiron at pinochle.
Mr. D gave him an annoyed look. "This is not that kind of game, brat."
Alex shrugged with a smirk. "I'd still beat you at that."
"You wish." The God of Wine grumbled, taking a sip out of his diet coke.
Nearby, Annabeth was watching the game while also reading a book, smirking a little when she saw how Alex was beating Mr. D. the god may have some tolerance towards Alex because and begrudging respect for beating him at the game before, but that didn't mean he liked him. Most likely the Olympian found the Demon Hunter somewhat amusing.
"Mr. Brunner?" A familiar voice called, making Alex look up to see Percy arriving along with Grover.
"Hey Perce!" Alex waved at his friend who hesitantly waved back. He had most likely just woken up and was still reeling from what happened a couple of nights ago.
Chiron smiled when he saw the twelve-year old boy. "Ah, good, Percy. Now we have four for pinochle."
He offered Percy a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at the boy with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."
Alex snorted and looked at Percy who sat beside him. "Don't worry, he gave me the same welcoming. It's his way of saying hello."
Mr. D snorted upon hearing this.
"Right..." Percy said slowly, scooting away from Mr. D which Alex couldn't really fault him for. The Olympian was unpleasant.
"Annabeth?" Chiron called to the daughter of Athena who stepped forward. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."
Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."
She looked at Percy, then at the Minotaur horn that he took off the bull-man, then back to Percy. "You drool in your sleep." She stated.
Percy gaped like a fish while Alex snickered in amusement as Annabeth sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her. Poor Percy, he was probably expecting the pretty girl to say a compliment about him defeating the Minotaur.
"So… you, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?" He then said, wanting to change the subject of conversation.
"Not Mr. Brunner." Chiron shook his head. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."
"Okay." Percy said in total confusion before looking over at Mr. D. "And Mr. D… does that stand for something?"
The God of Wine stopped shuffling the cards and looked at Percy as though he belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."
"Oh. Right. Sorry." Percy apologised.
"I must say Percy, I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time." Chiron broke in.
"House call?"
"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you and Alex. He sensed you two were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to… ah, take a leave of absence."
"You came to Yancy just to teach Alex and I?" Percy questioned, Chiron nodding in response.
"Honestly, I wasn't sure about either of you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn, Percy. Alex was quite mysterious, but given what he's explained to us in the past couple of days, being a demon hunter along with his father and aunts. Nevertheless, you both made it here alive, and that's always the first test."
"Grover." Mr. D said with impatience. "Are you playing or not?"
"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, leaving Percy confused, not understanding why Grover is afraid of Mr. D.
"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed Percy suspiciously.
"I'm afraid not." He replied.
"I'm afraid not, sir." Mr. D corrected him, making Alex roll his eyes.
"Sir." Percy repeated.
"Well, it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilised young men to know the rules. Like your mouthy friend here." Mr. D gestured to Alex who rolled his eyes again.
"he's just stingy because I beat him in my first game." Alex said with a smirk.
"You got lucky." Mr. D muttered in annoyance.
"i have the Devil's Luck." Alex chuckled while the god continued to grumble.
"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron mentioned.
"Please," Percy said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun—Chiron—why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"
Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."
Chiron smiled at Percy sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class. "Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'
"She said ..." Percy remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."
"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed."
Alex looked at him and spoke with a dry tone. "Aren't you a ray of sunshine?"
"No, that's my brother." Mr. D retorted.
Alex rolled his eyes. He couldn't stand Mr. D's attitude towards demigods and the remarks he made towards their parents, treating them like little insects.
'Someone ought to remind him that he was a demigod first, and it's only because of Hestia giving up her, rightful, throne that he became an Olympian.' Alex thought with a frown. That was one story he didn't like reading. Hestia deserved to be one of the Twelve Olympians. She was the eldest daughter of Rhea and Kronos.
"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."
"Orientation film?" Percy asked.
"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"—he pointed to the horn in the shoe box—"that you and Alex have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods—the forces you call the Greek gods—are very much alive."
This made Percy stare at everyone, including Alex, like he was expecting someone to admit that this was all just some joke.
The silence was broken by Mr. D yelling "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.
"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"
"Eh? Oh, all right."
Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.
"Wait," Percy told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."
"Not that one, Percy." Alex shook his head.
"Indeed," Chiron agreed. "God—capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."
"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about—"
"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."
"Smaller?"
"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."
"Zeus," Percy said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."
There was the sound of distant thunder in the cloudless day.
"Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."
"But they're stories," Percy said. "They're—myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."
"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson—" Percy flinched when he said his real name, which he never told anybody"—what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals—they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."
Alex could just tell, judging from Percy's expression, that he was beginning to like Mr. D less and less. The guy had that effect.
"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"
Percy looked like he was about to answer but Chiron's tone made him hesitate.
"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," Percy said, understanding now.
"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"
Alex frowned. What was Chiron trying to do, purposefully get Percy angry?
"I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."
"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."
Alex snapped a glare at the god. "He's just watched his mother die in front of him. Have some damn sympathy."
"Yeah, he's just in shock." Grover added, backing Alex up.
"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe.'"
He then waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, like sunlight was bent momentarily and woven the air into glass, with the goblet filling up with red wine.
Percy's jaw dropped while Alex rolled his eyes and Chiron hardly looked up.
"Mr. D, your restrictions." The centaur warned him.
The god looked at the wine and feigned surprise.
"Dear me." He said before he looked up at the sky and yelled "Old habits! Sorry!"
This caused more thunder to be heard.
Mr. D waved his hand, making the wineglass change into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He then sighed unhappily and popped the top of the can before going back to the card game.
Chiron winked at Percy.
"Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off limits."
"A wood nymph." Percy repeated, staring at the Diet Coke like it came from outer space.
"Yes." Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time - well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away - the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you and Alexander here. 'Be a better influence' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down'. Ha! Absolutely unfair."
Mr. D sounded about six years old, and was pouting like a little kid.
"And ..." Percy stammered, "Your father is ..."
"Di immortales, Chiron. I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course." Mr. D said.
Percy looked as though he was thinking really hard, Alex was afraid he would pop a blood vessel any moment before he spoke up, "You're Dionysus," the boy said. "The God of Wine."
Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say 'Well, duh'?"
"Y-yes, Mr. D."
"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"
"You're a god."
"Yes, child."
"A god. You."
This disbelief made Mr. D look right at Percy and there was a purplish fire in his eyes, clearly just a tiny hint of his true nature. And whatever he made Percy see, it clearly had him disturbed.
"Would you like to test me, child?" Mr. D said quietly.
"No. No, sir."
The fire then died a little before he turned back to the card game. "I believe I win."
"Not quite, Mr. D." Chiron told him as he set down a straight, tallied up the points and continued. "The game goes to me."
Mr. D sighed through his nose, so used to being beaten by Chiron before he and Grover got up.
"I'm tired." Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less than perfect performance on this assignment.
This made Grover's face bead with sweat and Alex gave him an encouraging thumbs up. "Y-yes, sir."
Mr. D then turned to Percy, saying "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."
He then entered the Big House with Grover following after him miserably.
"Will Grover be okay?" Percy asked.
"He better be." Alex added.
Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been...ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."
"Mount Olympus," Percy said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"
"Not anymore." Alex corrected.
"Indeed. There's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."
"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like… in America?"
"Exactly. Apparently, they move with the heart of the West, or Western civilization." Alex nodded.
"What?" Percy asked, not really understanding what that means.
"Do you think it's just an abstract concept, Percy? No, it's a living force, Western civilization. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tight to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know - or as I hope you know since you passed my course - the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps - Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on - but the same forces, the same gods."
"And then they died." Percy said.
"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Centre, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not - and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either - America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."
'So basically the gods need us mortals. Geez, talk about so much exposition.' Alex thought.
"Who are you, Chiron? Who...who am I? And Alex?" Percy asked in a lost tone.
"Just a guy who really wants to know the other side of himself." Alex sighed, referring to his demigod side and his mother.
Chiron shifted his weight, about to get out of the wheelchair.
"Who are you?" He mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet, as Alex did these past two days. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."
Alex then watched Percy's face as Chiron rose from the wheelchair and revealed his horse half, finding his dumbfounded expression hilarious.
"What a relief." The centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."
And that's it for this chapter, people. yeah, I am going for OC x Thalia, which obviously won't happen until Titan's Curse. I ain't making it a double pairing or anything, it's just simply OC x Thalia.
