Percy Jackson and the Olympians 1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. A wild encounter.

Through the Sequoya forest in California a flash of silver could be seen reflecting upon the moonlight as a group of preteens was hoping from tree to tree with grace that only came after years of training and hunting.

Leading this group was a rather annoyed girl who looked no older than 13 with her silver eyes showed determination and annoyance as she thought of her mission. This "girl" was no other than Artemis, maiden goddess of the moon and the hunt, and what was this goddess doing all the way in this national park? Simple, hunting a ghost formed from his father's paranoia, or at least that's what she thought at first. Her father the oh so mighty and power hungry king was worried that godly energy was being detected all over the country near natural parks and wild areas.

With the rumor that Kronos would be rising in the near future the king of Olympus was not pleased with a rather powerful godly energy being produced all over the country. So, he appointed Artemis to capture who or whatever was making the godly energy and bring them to Olympus to either swear allegiance to them or be executed, probably executed considering the mood of the lighting god.

At first it seemed that his father was making this all up since every time the hunt got to the supposed source of the godly aura, they found nothing out of the ordinary. It was only on later expeditions that Artemis would notice a figure disappearing in the shadows whenever she and her hunters got close to their destination. This, strengthen the resolve of the goddess as it meant that someone had escaped from her hunt multiple times, something completely unheard and that her pride will not allow.

As they got close to their objective she ordered she ordered her huntress to quicken their pace as she had no intention of losing her target once again. Little did she know what waited her and her hunt once she reached what she has been looking for a long time.

Unknown to the moon goddess there was another goddess in the area looking for the same thing she was but for different reasons. An eight year old walked alone through the forest of giant trees towards a cave that would be hard to detect except for what was happening inside that guided the girl like a beacon. She quietly made her away into the cave careful to be as quite as possible to not disturb anyone or anything that might be inside. At first the cave seemed to be empty but as she walked farther in she saw a light ahead and heard some noise. Quickly hiding behind a boulder and poking her head to get a good view as to what was going on she was very surprised to say the least.

There was a giant black bear next to a fire with a little baby bear a few feet away, the surprising part was that right next to the beast there was a boy who had his back to the girl so she couldn't make out his features but he seemed to be saying something while leaning close to the right front paw of the bear. The bear appeared to have no problem with the human so close to her, however the little baby seemed a bit worried as he started whimpering. It was then that he turned to look at the cup and the girl that had been observing got a good look at his face. He was about 14 with raven black hair that seemed just a bit too long almost blocking his eyes. However his piercing green eyes could be clearly seen beneath his mess of hair. He looked at the baby cup with great softness.

"Don't worry little one, your mother is fine." He said with such gentleness that even girl was tempted to listen to him despite not being the one he was speaking to. He then proceeded to step away from the mother and point are her paw.

"See? Good as new!" he said with excitement. The little cup proceeded to run to his mother, clearly exited to find his mother safe and in good condition. The boy gave them some space as the great bear looked at him with gratitude. He had a big smile on his face, however it was quickly replaced by a serious and calculating expression that confused the girl.

"You can come out now, I assume it was a matter of time before you found me." His softness and tenderness was gone as he spoke in a calm voice yet confident voice as if talking to a possible attacker.

The girl was surprised by this but decided to comply with his request. As the little 8 year old stepped into the light from the fire the features in the boys face showed surprise as he was not expecting a girl with brown hair and golden fiery eyes that he immediately recognized.

He went to her and bowed "Lady Hestia, to what do I owe the honor of your presence?"

The respectful toned and actions surprised the goddess of the heart as this was not what she was expecting. "H-How do you know who I am, who are you?" She asked with curiosity more than anything. The boy simply smiled.

"I am well informed when it comes to the appearance of Olympian gods, plus your calm and warm aura is rather unique among the gods. As for who am I that is a long tale, one that in time you may know, but in the mean time you can call me Percy" He said extending his hand.

To say the goddess was surprised was a major understatement. She was expecting to find a god not a boy, a boy that is well aware of the Greek world and the Immortals. She was curious about his identity but decided to be polite and shake his hand. As she did she felt electricity through her fingers as she looked up to find him staring at her with a big white smile. She felt a weird warm sensation that was different from the natural heat she generated; rise in her chest and into her face.

She quickly let go and looked down unsure of why she felt that way. Percy looked at her oddly but made no comment about it.

"So, do you want to sit as you explain to me why were searching for me?" He gestured to logs next to the bears that paid them no attention. She was reluctant at first but agreed. As they were both seated across from each other she began explaining.

"Well you see… percy, a few months ago I started to detect great increases in the amount of hope there was all south America. Then I noticed how those Beacons of hope started moving north until they reached North America. I tried to tell the other Olympians about this but they ignored me as they didn't think it was relevant. However he recently noticed abnormal godly aura around the country and sent Artemis to find what was causing it. I knew that both were related so I decided to do my own search using the hope I sensed as a beacon."

"Which lead you right to me" Percy concluded.

Hestia nodded, trying to read his expression but found a straight face with no emotions until he sighed.

"Well I am no god if that's what you are wondering, nor am I Greek, not anymore anyway." He paused as his faced seemed to darken a bit. "I am a being with the duty to protect wild life. Sort of like your god Pan but I am a lot more involved as you can see" He pointed at the happy bear couple with a smile on his face.

"If you are not a god, how do you generate such a powerful aura? No demigod has that kind of power"

"Well I am a special breed of demigod, unique and fill with awesomeness like no other" He finished with a smirk.

The goddess narrowed her eyes a bit, unhappy that he was avoiding the question, but couldn't help but smile a bit when he started laughing.

"Relax Lady Hestia just joking, I can't really go into detail of my identity but I can tell you my reason for being here. You see I-"He stopped mid sentence and jumped to his feet so fast the goddess jumped.

"Damn those hunters… I have to go" He didn't wait for her reply as he ran out the cave with surprising speed leaving a confused goddess behind him.

Line Break

As Artemis and her hunt where moving through the trees at maximum speed she noticed a shadow out the corner of her eye. Faster than the eye could follow she drew her bow and fired an arrow at the shadow. A roar was heard that told Artemis her arrow had landed, despite this the shadow try to escape moving at a remarkable speed.

"Hunters, pursue the creature but do not fire until I give the order"

Soon the entire hunt was trailing behind the unknown creature that despite being fast was slowing down because of an injured leg. Soon the entire hunt surrounded the creature and had arrows aimed at its vital spots. Artemis was proud to finally corner what she assume was what her objective has been for the last couple of months. She was surprised to find that the creature was a jaguar; she knew however that this was no ordinary jaguar as it seemed to radiate small amounts of power close to that of a demigod. She assumed this was minor god transformed.

"Surrender and transform yourself back to your true form so that I may take you to Olympus for interrogation." She said in a firm voice.

The creature looked at her defiantly and taking a defense stance, making it clear he was not going to go down without a fight.

The goddess narrowed her eyes, furious for being defied.

"Suit youself, fire at will!" a rain of arrows was directed at the creature, who simply closed its eyes and prepare for the inevitable.

As the pain never came the jaguar opened its eyes to find all arrows to be scattered around it with a figure stand in front of him. If Jaguars could smile this one threatened to split its face as it knew it was safe.

The entire hunt was just starring with wide eyes at the figure in front of them. Unable to comprehend how he had managed to reflect all the arrows. The figure lifted his head to reveal Percy who was surprisingly calm given the situation he was in.

Artemis was the first to recover and aim an arrow to man in front of her. She could feel a powerful aura coming from this male, she assume that this is who has been evading her hunt for so long. The fact that he was a man only made her angrier.

"Stand down, both you and your pet are coming with me to Olympus for interrogation, _boy_" She said with distaste clear in voice.

Percy kept a stoic expression as he started to vow which surprised the goddess. "Lady Artemis, I mean no disrespect but I have no intentions of coming with you to Olympus as you have injured my friend and I must treat him. So I will excuse myself now, I don't want to create conflict but I would appreciate if you didn't try to stop me as that will force me to defend myself" With that he turned around without waiting for a response and proceeded to tend to the jaguar.

If he hadn't turned around he would have seen the look of fury on the goddess' face. How dare this male turn his back to her? He treated it her as if she was not a danger at all! With these emotions inside of her, the arrow that she still had aimed at the male was let loose but pointed at the leg so that he could be taken alive.

With inhuman reflexes Percy turned around and grabbed the arrow in the air, his calm demeanor gone as he looked ready for battle. The hunters saw this as a signal to attack so they sent another volley of arrows. They weren't deflected this time but hit nothing but the ground as their objective and the anime seemed to have disappeared. They all looked around for him, until one hunter with a tiara on her head hear something above them.

Percy was standing 50 feet in the air in a tree branch, leaving his friend for a moment who looked at him with worry. Percy simply smiled.

"Don't worry boy, I will just knock them out and try to reason with the goddess and then come back to heal you. If I can't reason with her, well you know what will happen then…" He didn't say more as he turn around to barely dodge an arrow aimed at his chest. He looked down, impressed to have been detected so quickly, he assumed the huntress who fired the arrow was rather skilled. _This might me more fun than I originally thought. _With that a smile crept into his face as he plunge at the hunt.

The forest became filled with chaos as the hunters tried to hit the male who seemed to dodge them with ease. He would move with speed that was simply not human as arrows simply past by him harmlessly. As some hunters ran out of arrows he sprang into offence.

He ran straight at the defenseless hunters as he kicked them in the arm making them drop their bows. He then proceeded to grab and break the bows, that stun the hunters as their bows were made of a special wood that was not suppose to be able to break easily, especially not by a demigod with his bare hands. Little did they know they were not in front of a regular demigod.

He continued this strategy of disarming and breaking bows until he narrowly dodged a spear to the face. He took a step back and observed his enemy. The huntress took this as a chance to attack, she attack with ferocity and skill that lead Percy to believe she was a daughter of Ares. Despite this she wasn't able to land a single hit which lead to her attacks to become sloppy and wild. Percy saw an opening as he pretended to step back, which was responded with a powerful jab to the gut. However he quickly changed directions, ducking and rushing forward into his opponents guard and deliver a punch to the stomach that made the huntress hunch over and drop her weapon.

Percy grabbed the weapon and quickly turned around hitting the hunter on the back of the head effectively knocking her out. He analyze the battlefield most hunter were now in a circle with hunting knives, although none of them seemed eager to attack the male after the little display of skilled.

One hunter stepped up, clearly the leader based on the tiara on her head. Her volcanic eyes were eying the opponent in front of her carefully. This was clearly no ordinary demigod but she wasn't going to let her hunt be ridicule by a single male!

Without warning she charged with remarkable speed hoping to catch him off guard. Unfortunately for her speed was something Percy had in amplitude. He dodged with grace and ease while not attacking back. This made the lieutenant angry, she stopped herself and cached her breath, not letting him get on her nerves.

"Impressive lieutenant, not many have the head to stop and calm themselves. I ask that you stop this. We have no reason to fight, so please stand down so that we may both walk out of this unharmed."

The Lieutenant simply smiled as he saw a flash of silver behind her signaling her job was done. "You may be stronger than a regular demigod _boy, _but you are certainly not smarter. Didn't you notice there was someone missing in the attack?" She asked with a smug face.

Percy frowned and realization came to him as he looked behind him to see something that sent his blood boiling. His good friend was unconscious on the floor with a smug looking Artemis over him with a knife to his neck.

"I don't know who you are but this creature seems important to you, how about you surrender so that he doesn't suffer any further?" She asked with clear satisfaction in her voice.

Percy looked murderous for the first time that night. "You have made a grave mistake goddess, I warned you to leave me alone as I meant you no harm, but you arrogantly ignored me and attacked my friend. You shall now suffer the consequences for those actions." He growled while pulsing with such godly energy that Artemis waver for a second before she steeled her nerves and increased the pressure on the knife.

The aura suddenly disappeared and Percy but his head down, which Artemis took as a sign of surrender. She starting to relax but the next instant she felt a pain in her stomach before she was suddenly lunched against a tree.

She quickly recovered and looked up to find this powerful being in the spot where she'd been with his hand out. Somehow he had managed to hit her without being noticed.

Percy was mad but kept his attention on his friend, he thought he would just carry him away from the area. However he felt he was in danger and turned quickly to find a dagger to his neck as he had his hand pointed at the goddess' neck. It was a stale mate; he cursed him for underestimating the recovery time of the goddess. Before he could think of a way out of this he heard a powerful voice that got everyone's attention.

"ENOUGH!" Suddenly a warm aura filled everyone and instantly relaxed. Out of the woods came Hestia in the form older than normal, maybe 14.

"Artemis, using an innocent animal to get your way was not very honorable. This boy has done nothing but defend himself. I say you let him talk before attacking him like an enemy." Said Hestia in a strong voice that was rarely heard from the calm goddess of the hearth.

Artemis was completely shocked by this, but grudgingly removed her knife from the male's neck as he did the same. She then turned to her hunters that were all looking in awe at the goddess that decided to appear.

"Hunters, we will be camping her for the night; I will be in my tent with lady Hestia and this… guest. We are not to be interrupted." The hunters looked at the boy with distaste before proceeding to do as they were ordered.

Hestia made her way to Percy who was still standing protectively over his friend. As she got closer he turned and his face showed gratitude. He proceeded to bow to the goddess.

"Thank you for your assistance, things might have gotten ugly if you didn't show up when you did, now I need to heal my friend so that he can be safe in case anything else happens." He looked at the hunters who were glaring at him and sighed. This was not how he wanted his day to go.

Hestia looked down at the demigod with sympathy and amazement. He just took on the entire hunt of Artemis, survived and was more worried a about another life than his own. For some reason she wanted to help this demigod if at all possible.

She stepped closer and put a hand on the feline's leg. Percy visibly tensed but didn't act as he doubt she would do anything to harm the creatures. She removed the arrow carefully and sent a pulse of light that seemed to make the jaguar relax a bit. Once the light died out Hestia stepped back so that the feline could have a bit of space. The leg seemed heal as the jaguar was able to stand and move around without much of an issue.

Percy surprised the goddess by hugging her. "Thank you lady Hestia, I really appreciate your help, and you" he point at the jaguar. "Get away from here, go back to base. If I don't get there within an hour then simply roam around, I don't know how long this will take…"

The big feline seemed unsure to comply, worried about his companion. "Don't worry I will be fine, worst case scenario I will simply run, in which case I will call you ok?"

The creature seemed a bit reassure and reluctantly started sprinting away from the scene. The hunter with the tiara noticed this and tried to stop it by yelling to it to stop but it was too late the creature was already out of view.

She then instead focused back to the male, the owner she guessed the way he protected it. "Who told you that you could let your pet get way _boy?_ We still don't know whether you are dangerous or not."

Hestia was about to reply but Percy beat her to it stepping up to the lieutenant. "First of all, HE is not a pet he is my companion in battle and great friend. He had no reason to get injured so I told him to get away so that you couldn't shot him because you _assume _he MIGHT be dangerous. I am still here so I don't see the issue."

The hunter had an expression of pure hate and rage, she was about to replied when a voice interrupt it her. "That's enough Zoe, I shall deal with him in my tent, you go with the rest of your sisters" Zoe seemed less than pleased but accepted but not before bowing at both goddess present and glaring at Percy some more.

Artemis then guided both to her tent. Percy was a bit worried so he kept his senses in high alert so that he may run at any moment. Just as he thought of how he might get away if necessary he started to feel a great amount of pain in his legs. He almost face palmed, he completely forgot about the little stunt he pull to catch the goddess off guard, and now his body was paying for it.

His thoughts were interrupted as he entered the tent which was clearly enchanted to be bigger on the inside. It was rather big but simple, with a bunk bed, desk and fur all around. The furs made Percy a bit irritated but didn't comment on it as this was the goddess of the hunt and he was in no condition to fight any way.

"Now…" said Artemis as she seated herself at the center and the other two proceeded to the same across from her. " Aunt Hestia, can you explain how you know this male that I have been chasing for months and just now attacked and disarmed most of my hunt?" Her tone had annoyance and accusation in it.

" First off, I think it was your hunt that attacked him first, from what I understand it was self defense, and not even as he was focused in his companion more than on himself. As to how I know him, I was also looking for him. As I told you and all of the Olympians I have been sensing increases in hope all around the country lately, but like always you simply shrugged it off and said it was not important. So I decided to do my own search that lead me to this young man healing a bear mother not too far from here. He knew of my presence but didn't flee, he instead accepted to explain himself until he tensed and disappeared; I assume that it was because he sensed his friend was in danger so he confronted your hunt to protect his friend. If anything I find his attitude very admirable."

As the story progressed Artemis eyes kept getting wider and wider. Once she was done she felt conflicted and eyed this supposed boy very warily. Part of her told her she should apologize but another, her prideful side was saying she will not apologize to a male.

"Perhaps the actions of the hunt were a bit harsh…" she grumbled barely audible but Percy caught it perfectly and nodded.

"Now Percy, would you mind to continue your explanation as to why you are here?"Asked Hestia Softly.

Percy smiled "Of course my lady. You see I have been helping animals and wild life in South America for a while; stopping humans from destroying forest and even rebuilding some areas. However I was told that there was dangerous power that would rise soon in this country that could potentially threaten the entire world."

He paused for a second letting the information sink in to the two goddesses.

"Wait a minute, that doesn't explain where you are from or where you gained your physical abilities or the fact that you have a godly aura. Plus you said you were told or a danger, by who?" Artemis threw question in rapid fire in a more demanding tone than anything else.

"Artemis, led the boy explain himself. I asked him why he was here nothing else. I can sense that he is not an evil entity and would prove a valuable ally. So if you could please, try and be a little gentler? I do have to say I am curious as to your powers, you are clearly not a normal demigod but you say you are not a god. Are you an immortal?"

Percy thought for a second as to the best way to answer this question. If he told them who he was Artemis would certainly turn him over to Zeus and he was in no condition to escape at the moment. He didn't want to use Hestia as he liked the godess but it was his best bet at surviving this little mess.

"I cannot answer all your questions, I can answer some but I first require a small favor from lady Hestia."

Both goddesses raised their eyebrows while Artemis was already formulating in her head what kind of 'favor' this male could ask for. "And what would this favor that you need from her be?"

"Simple, the previous clash has really exhausted me and I think some of those arrows made some cuts. I would simply ask that" He turned to Hestia "If you don't mind, you could use the healing power that you used with my friend to heal me. That is all I ask for and I shall answer as many of your questions as I can." He said respectfully.

Both goddesses were surprised by the seemingly simple request. Hestia proceeded to heal him, but Artemis was hesitant why is he asking for this, he might be more injured than he leads on which would make him easier to capture.

"Hestia wait!" But the goddess did not listen as she proceeded to heal Percy. She frowned a bit noticing that his legs muscles were almost torn but decided to heal him anyway as something about him just made him seem trust worthy to Hestia.

After a few moments she released her hand, a bit tired since the healing took more out of her than she expected.

Percy smile while Artemis scowled and tensed almost sure he would bolt out running at max speed now that he was cured. Percy noticed this.

"Relax lady Artemis, I will not break my promise I tell you as much as I feel comfortable sharing. As I get to know you better, and as the danger gets closer I shall tell you my whole story but for now let me explain how I know of the Greeks and my reason for being here right now."

Both goddesses nodded asking him to proceed.

"I was originally of Greek lineage, do not ask me who my godly parent is as it is irrelevant. I moved out of the country when I was young. I won't go into detail but while outside the country I was located by other gods, not Greeks. They said I had a great destiny and bestow blessings upon me, giving me than godly aura that you sensed. One of the gods was the god of knowledge so he taught me all about the Greeks, your roman counterparts and both camps. When I came here my plan was to do some secret exploring and research of both camps to see if they were ready. However more often than not I found myself using my powers to help the wild life which gave away my presence to you. So I assumed Zeus sent for me as I had the hunt after me for quite a while. Right now I am heading to your roman camp to evaluate their defenses. I am a bit worried about camp half-blood. They haven't been informed of the threat and their numbers of capable warrior is very low. Unless the roman camp is in worst shape I plan to go camp half-blood and help them prepared with the battle against… well you know."

Both goddesses were gaping like fish at the over load of information they had just received. This, well demigod had a lot of information. As much as a god and even then some gods were not aware of the rising danger. This explanation gave them more questions than answers.

"Can you at least tell us which gods found you, Egyptian? Norse?" Asked Hestia curious to get more info.

Percy seemed to ponder this for a mount before finally answering. "Neither, it was the Aztec gods, probably haven't heard of them. They aren't exactly very well know"

Hestia tried to think, she heard of the Aztecs, but since they were exterminated and no one really seemed to pass on the myths, she had assumed they vanished. Artemis though the same.

"How is that possible? The Aztec gods vanished long ago. Not many mortals are even aware of them"

"That's true lady Artemis, they are all but forgotten. They were almost fading when they found me. They said that they would live through me and blessed me; even to this day I don't know the full extent of my blessing. I use it manly to protect wild life and humans occasionally if I see someone being abused. Now I am trying to help you fight an inevitable war that frankly I am not certain you can win, but I am willing to help you increase your chances. All I ask is that you keep this encounter a secret for a few more years. If I were to reveal myself to Zeus right now he would most probably try to execute me for being a threat. I would defend myself and we could potentially end up killing each other and the titans would undoubtedly win. So please give me a little time to work from the shadows and help you until the battle comes."

Artemis was thinking deeply. Trying to find and deceit in his words, when she found none she sighed.

"I shall not say anything about this encounter but I am not completely satisfied with your explanation either. When we meet again I hope to get a better explanation. You are the first male that I have ever trusted, but you don't seem to be like a normal male plus you have the favor of Hestia who I believe to be one of the wisest among us. Don't make me regret this boy or I will hunt you down to the end of the earth."

"Sounds fair to me, thank you milady" He said respectfully as he bowed "If that is all then I shall take my leave" He got up and aimed for the door when he was called over.

"Just a moment, Percy was it? One more thing" said artemis surprisingly calm.

"Yes what c-"

That's as far as he got before he got hit in the chest so hard he was sent flying out of the tent and into a tree.

Hestia's eyes widen before they narrowed as she glared at Artemis.

"What?" she asked innocently. "He hit me in the stomach first, I have killed male for far less, but since you persuaded I was merciful. He is fine, probably, maybe a couple of broken ribs but nothing major."

Hestia sighed as she left the tent and looked down at the unconscious demigod. She smiled sadly, such a pure spirit, yet she felt he would have a hard path ahead of him.

**A/N: Well hello there! So yesterday something really stupid happened and I was super mad and that accompanied by the insanity, don't know by who just search insanity soul eater in YouTube, inspired me to write this fic. I have had the urge to write something like this since Aztec mythology is often ignored and since I recently read a Norse version of Percy by Anaklumus14 I decided to do my own approach and write my very first Percy Jackson fanfic.**

**Fitting to since yesterday blood of Olympus came out. I REALLY want to read it but since I am in Germany and didn't pre order it I will probably have to wait a year like I did for mark of athea. *sigh***

**Anyway, thoughts on the story? Like it? Hate it? Wanted to burn slowly on a fire? Be honest and let me know what you think.**

**To anyone that reads my other fics I am sorry to say that they are probably in hiatus. Emphasis on probably. I am working on the chosen fan fic so that will probably get an update but the monster guardian… Like I know where I want to go, I even have the ending planed, but is this middle part I have trouble with. **

**Anyway enough rambling. Bye!**

**Peace and calm**

**Al red.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2. A wild encounter

Percy woke up with a big headache and some pain in his chest area. He tried to get up but the pain only intensified and he led out a grunt and laid back down.

"You should not push yourself, you received quite a punch" Said a nice soothing voice. Percy turned his head to find Hestia sitting in chair next to him looking at him with a smile. Percy couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you for your help lady Hestia, now where are we? Last thing I remember was walking out of Artemis and then… That trickster, she cheap shot it me!" As he got more agitated his chest seemed to hurt a bit more and he winced.

Hestia let out a small chuckle "cheap shot? You should count yourself lucky, that's the most merciful I have ever seen her by towards a male, especially one that manage to get a hit on her. Most would be dead, animals or well without their family jewels."

Percy's eyes widened, suddenly feeling happy all he had to show for his encounter with the hunt goddess was a headache and a couple of bruises.

"As to where we are, we are at the edge of the forest. I teleported both of us here so that you could heal and be away from the hunt, so that no more uh injuries could occur."

"Thanks for your help, but why are you helping me so much. I really appreciated but I though gods were not allowed to interfere with mortals or demigods"

Hestia smiled "You are one of the demigods with the biggest amount of hope I have ever seen, both inside you and the way you transmitted to others. What I witness with the bear is something that I haven't seen in a long time. So I am interested in observing you. Besides…" Her smiled turned mischievous "I would hardly classify you as a regular demigod so I don't think that the regular laws apply to you. So if you don't mind I would like to accompany you to the roman camp"

Percy thought about having the goddess of the hearth as a companion. He liked the idea, despite not knowing most of the Olympians gods he could guess most of them were less friendly than Artemis and that was saying something. Having probably one of the nicest goddess as friend and companion could be very helpful. But then I thought came to mind.

"Won't the Olympians noticed that you are gone, I mean you are present during council meeting and are the eldest Olympian, so surely someone will notice your absence" As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted saying them as Hestia visibly darkened.

"My presence is hardly noticed; most Olympians treat me like a minor goddess and are barely aware of my presence. While it is true that the hearth is present in council I have not really spoken in a meeting for many years so I don't think I will be missed. So what do you say?"

Her voice had anxiety and maybe a bit of hope, like this was the best thing that has happened to her in many years, which it may as well be. Percy thought that there were really no negative to having a companion, a goddess none the less plus he wanted to help her, as he didn't think she was treated fairly. Seeing that nervous expression on her face made the decision clear.

"It would be an honor to have your company lady Hestia, and if you don't mind my asking maybe you could help me after this mission is over? Since you represent hope maybe you could help me improve the wild life like I have been doing, of course you don't have to stay with me but maybe show up once in a while?"

Hestia was very happy that he had accepted her request to help him in his mission but was also surprise by his own request. Was it alright for a goddess to interact this much with a demigod? Part of her said that it was going too staying a demigod she just met. But another part of her was exited, craving for adventure something she didn't know she felt. She was always the passive goddess in the background that was only needed in the darkest of time. She never had a problem with that, but part of her wanted adventure and excitement and she knew this was the best chance she will get. Only problem was that the gods and monster would notice her godly aura, it was then than an idea popped into her head.

"I have a better idea" she said with excitement, and started to glow. As the brightness increased Percy had to shield his eyes. When the light died down and Percy looked down his jaw dropped the floor. Where the child goddess stood moments before there was now a beautiful 14 year old with coffee brown hair and amber gold eyes to replace her old blazing ones. Her brown cloak was replaced by a brown hoody, jeans and tennis shoes. She looked up to find Percy starring what her.

"So what do you think?" She asked nervous for some odd reason.

"You, um look very nice…" said Percy looking down at the floor while rubbing his neck. "But why did you change forms?"

"I decided to travel with you for a time. I think that traveling as a goddess will draw too much attention so I made myself into a demigoddess. This should hide my presence from the gods, if they ever get suspicious I can just teleport back. I think you should rest for now, we will leave once you have recovered ok?"

Percy was surprised by the niceness of the goddess, he wanted to thank her but tiredness won the battle as he closed his eyes and lost himself to slumber.

Line break

The next morning the unlikely duo were making their way through the National parks area to stay as secluded as possible. Hestia was surprised by the running speed of this demigod; he was running at a good 80 mph seemingly with no effort. If Hestia could not teleport she would have lost his track a long time ago, despite being in a demigod form she still conserved all of her powers, however great running ability was not one of them.

After 3 hours they reached the center of Stanislaus national Forest. Percy stopped and looked like he just finished a light jug and not a 250 mile sprint at 80 mph. Hestia on the other hand looked like she just did 4 marathons, sweating buckets and breathing hard. Percy looked at her with worry and confusion.

"Gods don't usually move by running, we just teleport once to the place we want to go. However that uses a huge amount of energy and is like a beacon so it's easy to detect, by teleporting relatively small distances we don't use as much energy but doing it for 3 hours is exhausting." She answered his unasked and then looked at him with disbelief. "I don't know how you can run for so long. You should become the god of marathons."

"That does sound tempting but I think I will pass. Besides is not that impressive, most Aztec gods are partially war gods meaning being in shape kind of comes with the job." He paused for a second thinking of something. "How about I carry you the rest of the way? That way you don't waste any energy and can rest. I am fine so this way we are more efficient."

Hestia's face went red at the thought of being carried she has never done anything like that before. Not that she minded it was a very sweet offer and that meant she could rest so it was too good to decline.

"O-ok, but if you get tired you tell me and we can pause ok?"

"You got it, but even at top speed it is going to take me a little over two hours so make yourself comfortable." He kneeled giving his back to the goddess so that she could get on his back. She hesitantly put her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his torso. He then lifted himself with ease as if the extra weight didn't bother him at all and started sprinting.

Hestia was expecting to be hit with the wind and not be able to hear anything considering they were going at 80mph but to her surprised the wind seemed to be blocked by and invincible barrier all around Percy making it feel like they were in the smallest fastest invincible car.

"I have slight control over the wind, allowing me to divert it from my path, very handy when going at high speeds." He explained, figuring she would want to know. "So, since this is going to be a long ride and we can actually talk this time, I am interested in hearing your story, if you don't mind"

Hestia was taking by surprised by the request; no one has asked her for her stories. "And why would you want to know that?" She asked confused yet interested in his answer.

He simply shrugged, "You are the eldest Olympian, plus from what I can tell one of the nicest goddesses, just wanted to get to know you better. If that is ok with you, despite knowing myths everyone knows they are not accurate so I would love to hear the story from your point of view."

Hestia was very surprised to say the least but complied with the request telling him everything starting at her birth and being devoured. Percy listened carefully; he learned not to turn his head to look at her the hard way after a less than pleasant experience face hugging a tree. After that little incident he simply nodded every once in a while and occasionally made comments or asked questions. He would tense a bit when she told him the incident with Priapus but laughed at the end and suddenly found himself liking donkeys a lot more.

As time passed Hestia found herself really enjoying herself as they went to talking about her past to small talk about favorite food, favorite animal etc. It was the first time she felt like she found a friend. Which was really odd considering she just met the guy no more than a day ago; despite this she had the feeling that this demigod would become her very first true friend.

Before either of them knew it they were at the edge of San Francisco making their way to the roman camp, or camp Jupiter as Hestia pointed out. Percy decided that it was best to stick as close to a forest as possible to avoid detection. They were simply walking now, much to Hestia's relief as even holding herself on Percy's back was a bit tiring, however he still seemed unfazed by the amount of running he just did.

As they strolled through the woods still making small talk, Percy suddenly tensed and stopped. Hestia looked at him with confusion but he kept his view to the front.

"You can come out, you are not nearly as sneaky as you think you are, if you are going to ambush us might as well do it now." He growled. Hestia didn't know what he was talking about until she heard growling all around them and wolves came from all directions effectively surrounding them.

She turned to Percy with a bit of worry but his expression remained calm as a man step up in front of them.

"Well well what do we have here? Some lost demigods on their way to camp Jupiter? Well there are good news and bad news!" He said excitedly like this was some big TV show. " The good news is that you are almost there, the bad news is that my pack is really hungry." He finished with a chuckle, the rest of the pack howling for effect.

"You have made a big mistake coming here Lycaon, let us pass and I shall you mercy. Think carefully as I will not make the offer twice." Responded Percy in such a tone that even Hestia was intimidated. Lycaon was furious at this and thinking it was only a bluff he order his pack to attack.

Percy quickly turned to Hestia, grabbed her and put her on his back. "I am sorry but I would prefer to handle this myself, please just hang on and no matter what don't let go."

Hestia barely had time to nod as the wolves were on top of them and jumped for the kill. Hestia felt like she was about to be thrown of his back by the speed at which he moved. Time seemed to stop as he dodged all the wolves and appeared behind them with a smirk. "You missed me boys, you are going to have to do better than that if you want this high quality especially awesome demigod meat" He taunted them

It had the desire effect as the wolves attacked him out of synchrony being guided by the rage of being mock by this soon to be snack. Chaos followed as wolves started to fly everywhere, every time one would get close Percy would simply dodge and hit them so hard they ended up crashing against trees a falling unconscious. As this process continued he looked over at Lycaon as he stayed back with a smug look in his face, thinking he was tiring the demigod and waiting for his chance to strike. This made Percy very angry, that is not how a king is supposed to act.

He stops his assault on the wolves and simply raises his aura. "Why do you follow a king that is willing to send you to get massacred while he sits back and relax? My battle is not with you but him, if you don't attack me I shall do the same."

The wolves seemed to hesitate; they did not want to attack a demigod that could incapacitate them with a kick. One wolf was starting to retreat when he heard the growl of his master. "You coward! You do not get escape unpunished!" Lycaon aimed a claw to the wolves face but what stopped by a very angry Percy grabbing his hand.

"Coward?" he said increasing the pressure on his grip breaking Lycaon's wrist. He let a howl of pain as he felt to his knees. "The only coward I see is the excuse of a king in front of me who is too afraid to fight himself." The werewolf king let out a roar as he tried to get up and aim his fangs at the demigods neck.

However Percy still had his hand on an iron grip so all he had to do was twist around to send the werewolf flying and landing ungracefully on the ground. As soon as he got up he was met by a hard fist to the face that broke his nose instantly and made him stumble back.

Once he got up he looked at Percy with rage clear in his features but there was clear fear in his eyes. "We shall meet again demigod" he said before running into the forest. Some of the wolves followed after him but some stayed and stood protectively over their fallen comrades.

Percy let Hestia out of his back and made his way towards the wolves. As he got within 15 feet they started growling and got ready to fight even against an unbeatable opponent to protect their comrades. Percy smiled at their display of loyalty.

"At ease warrior, you have my word I have no intention to harm your friends. I will simply heal them, it is the least I can do since you were ordered to attack me." The wolves were hesitant but based on the way he pummeled their supposed king they decided to comply and step away.

As Percy reached them he put a hand on two of the 6 wolves that were down and started to glow with a green light. He whispered something and then all six wolves started to glow a forest green.

After the process was done Percy stepped back with sweat clear on his face and heavy breathing, he then went to Hestia who had a face that demanded explanation. Just then the wolves all rose and kneeled in front of Percy recognizing him as his leader.

"Rise my brothers, there is no need for kneeling, I will however offer you my blessing. Should you choose to accept it you shall be given a connection to me and the ability to freely roam and teleport through the wild only to be taken away if you betray our cause. You must swear to always help fellow creatures and kill only for food not for entertainment. Fleeing should always be your first choice while in danger, if that is not an option you will be able to mentally call upon and I swear to come to your aid if it is physically possible. Do you accept this?"

All the wolves howled unanimously making Percy smile and glow with such intense aura that even Hestia had to look away. "Then I Perseus Jackson, Aztec lord of the wild, bless you all as my brothers and companions for my mission to defend the wild life of this planet!" His voice sounded deeper than normal, more powerful but calm at the same time.

The wolves looked at each other surprised to now feel a strong connection to the trees and every animal around the area, as well as their new master. "You may go now"

"Thank you my lord" they all said telepathically before running into trees and disappearing.

Percy then collapsed on both knees and starting breathing heavily, boy did he overdo it. He then felt a hand on his back that instantly made him feel better. "Thanks Hestia, I am kind of tired at the moment" he said without looking back.

Hestia looked at him with more curiosity than ever before after what she just witnessed. "You lied to me, you said you were not a god, but only a god is capable of giving blessings and defeat lycaon so easily."

Percy sighed, still not looking back, figuring it was time to at least give this helpful goddess some information. "Well, let me explain a little more about my powers. I did not lie when I say I was blessed, the Aztec gods did bless me. What I didn't say is the fact that they gave the powers of a god, however they are too much for my body to handle as you can see, so I don't consider myself a god. Eventually, with training my powers could reach the level of a god, but as of now my power is comparable to that of a child of the big three."

Hestia nodded absorbing all of the information. "So what is your domain? What powers do you have besides blessing animals and having the physical abilities superior to all demigods and even some gods?"

Percy got up felling better after Hestia's healing. "Well this might take a while so let's talk while we walk shall we?" HE said motioning forward.

"As I said during the blessing my domain is the wild and everything in it, every plant, every animal, even every nymph I feel them all. As the creatures that I have blessed I have the ability to teleport by running into trees although I only do it during emergencies as I prefer to run. As to my physical abilities those are the war aspect of every god that blessed me. I have also trained myself in many martial arts to maximize the effectiveness of my abilities. Finally I can communicate telepathically with all the creatures I have blessed"

"Is that all?" asked Hestia sarcastically.

"No actually there is much more but I would prefer to speak of it later if you don't mind."

Part of Hestia was telling her that she did mind but didn't say anything as she was sure he had reasons for not explaining himself.

They kept walking in silence until they approached their objective, Camp Jupiter. "Well how do you plan to get in and what is your objective exactly?"

"Well I don't need to get in myself, and as to my objective, simple information gathering to see which of the camps is more prepared for the imminent war that will happen" He then proceeded to sit down on a hill just outside the entrance of camp Jupiter.

"What are you doing, don't tell me you just see inside the camp by meditating. "

"Close, but not quite I am waiting for a friend, oh speak of the devil" He pointed towards the sky.

Hestia looked up to see a dark small figure rapidly making its way down. Just as it was about to crashed the shadow seemed to expand slow its decent before landing of Percy's shoulder to reveal a beautiful golden eagle.

"It's beautiful…" said Hestia, the eagle turned to Hestia and made a screech sound looking as insulted as an eagle can.

"He is a dude, doesn't like to be called an "it" and as you said earlier I will be able to see the camp meditating but through this guys' eyes. As I said I am connected to all wild life and forces but the connection is easier to make the closer I am connected to a creature. Since this guy is the closest friend I have it will be particularly easy for me to see and evaluate the camp through its eyes. Well then buddy just stay hi and give my birth eye view, only close in if you think it is safe to get a good look at their military ok?"

The eagle simply extended his wings and took flight towards the camp.

"There is more to your story than what you are leading on isn't there? The fact that an eagle is your best friend…"

"Look that is something I don't really like to share, I know I will have to eventually but please don't push." His tone was stern leaving no room for debate.

"Well now let's see what this camp looks like shall we?" He closed his eyes and focused on his friend's mind and connecting the both of them and then seeing everything he could. As soon as his view came into focus his breath was taken way. The camp was absolutely stunning, it was as far he knew a copy of the city of room, and he knew this despite never being to Rome thanks to the giant coliseum in the middle of the city. As the eagle flew high in the sky Percy was reassured that it was the Greek camp that was in more need of his assistance.

He could tell by the looking at the barrack and training area that the Romans were a lot more organized from a military perspective than the Greeks. Their forces were also at least 5 times as big as the Greeks' so with that his decision was made he had to go to camp half-blood as they were the ones in most need of assistance.

He then thought he would just give the Romans a little heads up just so that they are prepared.

_Hey buddy, could you locate the praetors? I think we should give them at least a little warning of the war. _The eagle didn't reply but simply scanned the ground below and made his way to what he assume was the house were one of the praetors lived.

The eagle landed on a window to find a girl reading a book inside. The eagle made some nice that the girl immediately jumped of her seat and looked at the creature with shook.

It was time for a little acting from good old Percy. "At ease praetor, I mean you no harm I am simply here to deliver a message from the gods themselves." Spoke Percy through the eagle in the deepest voice he could muster without cracking up.

"There will be a war in a few years, the titans are rising and will try to dethrone the gods and regain their control over the earth. The gods have kept this secrete in order to prevent chaos to spread but Z- Jupiter has decided that you are responsible and mature enough to handle this information and act accordingly. I hope you prove him right. I hope I could help you more, but I am only allowed this short time to deliver this message, goodbye praetor and good luck."

With that the eagle took to the sky. "Wait! Tell me more, when will this attack happen?" However her cries were ignored as the eagle was out of view leaving a very confused and troubled praetor before she steeled her nerves and proceed to inform the senate of the news.

Meanwhile back on the heel, Percy was rolling on the floor holding his sides while he laughed uncontrollably. Hestia was completely and utterly confused as she couldn't get a response through his laughing attacks. Moments later the eagle landed on Hestia's shoulder and shook his head at Percy's behavior. After a few more minutes he managed to recover a little to be met by the glare of his eagle friend.

"Come on! You have to admit that was top notch acting! She totally bought it, if this whole protector of the wild thing doesn't work I think I have some serious potential in the theater industry." He then continue to laugh

The eagle was getting tired of his attitude and decided that it was time to bring him back to his senses. He flew around him, pecking him on the head trying to beat him to his senses which seemed to be rather effective.

"Alright, alright I get it, I get it! That's enough!"

The eagle retreated and landed on the ground to reveal a Percy full of scratches. Hestia tried and failed to contain her laughter at the scene and the proud look the eagle had in his face. Percy in the other hand was not pleased.

"Alright, mission is over, the Romans are clearly more military ready and organized than the Greeks plus I just gave them a little heads up so they should be good to go."

"So what does that mean for us"

"It means we are going to camp half blood. Are you up to for an across the country run?" he said with a mischievous face.

"Oh no, if we are going travel all around the country we are doing it my way." Hestia proceeded to grab Percy's hand and teleporting them all the way across the country to camp half-blood.

**A/N: Well hello again! Long time no see huh? Jokes aside, don't expect this frequency to be often. I can almost guarantee another chapter by tomorrow depending on how much support I get. The first chapter got 100 visitors in one day, so if I can get the same amount of visitor for day 2 then you can guarantee there will be a chapter tomorrow. **

**Also I forgot to put the pairing; I know what is going to be but simply forgot to add in. Now question is, do you want me to add the pairing in the description now or do you want me to wait for it to be confirmed in the story? It will take a while for the couple to form but it will become incredibly obvious pretty soon if you haven't guessed already. SO your choice.**

**That's it! I am glad people like this story, tell me what you think of the chapter good?bad? awesome? Terrible?**

**Anyways see you tomorrow most likely.**

**Peace and calm**

**Al red.**


	3. Welcome to camp!

Ch.3 Welcome to camp!

**A/N: Hey, I get the feeling that A/N at the end of the chapter get skipped so please don't skip this one, it actually relates to the story. There is a pairing for this story but I haven't put it, do you people want me to put the pairing now or wait for the story to be finished or the couple to be confirmed? Just to be clear this will not be a Percabeth story. If you don't care either then just go right ahead and read my good lad, BUT if you do please leave a review saying: "Pairing", or "no pairing" depending on whether you want me to up it up now or not. Anyway ON WITH THE STORY!**

In the outer aura of the New York a bright light appeared close to a seemingly empty strawberry field. From the light to figures emerged, to teens and one immediately collapsed to his knees and looked like he was about to vomit.

"That… was not pleasant, next time if we are teleporting we are doing it my way" Said Percy looking almost sick.

"Don't tell me that you have never been teleported before? Even normal demigods don't get this sick after teleporting even if it is their first time." Replied Hestia, with the slightest hint of mockery in her voice.

"Yeah well, as we have established many times I am not what you would call a normal demigod. I don't do well when another godly force is used to teleport me. You could say I am slightly allergic in a way, even I don't understand it very well but please try to keep the teleporting to a minimum ok?"

Hestia nodded, fighting the smile on her face. For a demigod that can fight Lycaon without much effort it seems funny that simply teleportation can bring him to his knees. She put the thought aside as he finally managed to get up and started walking towards the area that seem deserted to mortals but beyond the mist camp activities could be observed.

They stop just when they were about to pass the borders. "Wait, we need some sort of story, based on my aura Dionysus is probably going to have some idea as to who I am, and saying I am the daughter of Hestia is not really an option either."

"Relax, I already have one, just let me do the talking and go with the flow of my story. Now can you make our outfits appear to be dirty and torn?"

Hestia nodded, not really understanding his plans but comply none the less. With a snap of her fingers they both looked like they try to wrestle a bear and lost. Their faces were filled with mud and dust and there were gashes in their cloths, nothing revealing simply for effect.

Percy grinned, "Perfect, now prepare for our grand performance, hop on my back and let's go. Try not to laugh ok?"

_Laugh? Why would I laugh? _Hestia couldn't think much of it as she got on his back and he started running towards the camp.

As Percy passed the boarder he noticed that the tree that was guarding the camp seemed different from the first time he came here to observe the camp. He didn't think much of it as he kept running once inside he saw I figure ahead. He started painting and making it seemed like he was exhausted despite the fact that he could run for days.

The figure, that appeared to have noticed them looked at them with shock and maybe apprehension as if an intruder was invading. However once she got a closer look at them her expression morphed into slight worry.

"Is… is this camp half blood? D-did we make it?" He dropped to a knee for effect as the girl grabbed his shoulders to supposedly stop him from falling. Man was he a good actor.

"Yes, this is camp half-blood, is the girl on your back alright? Does she need medical attention?" She then yelled over her shoulder as another camper passed by. "Hey! We have some new demigods that are injured call Chiron and bring me someone from the Apollo cabin." The camper quickly nodded and made his towards a big building in the middle of the camp.

"Its fine, we aren't hurt, just a few scratches that's all. She was just exhausted from running so I had to carry her up the heel" He then looked up to take a closer look at the girl, she had black short her and big electric blue eyes that seemed fierce and determined.

"Well you should consider yourself lucky, not many make it without serious injury if they make it at all…" Her eyes then wandered as if thinking of something else.

It was the middle of the day so campers were all over the place doing various activities however with the news of the new kids everyone went to the big open area to see the lucky demigods and asking them questions until Chiron walked… well trotted in and looked at both demigods his old eyes filled with wisdom.

"Enough every one, I think these demigods need some space. Thalia, I think I will talk to them in the big house for a moment. Would you mind giving them a tour afterwards?"

The girl, Thalia Percy thought simply nodded while stating to guide all the kids back to their activities.

Chiron then turned his attention to the two teens in front of him. "Can you stand young ones?" His tone was soft and caring, making Percy feel a bit of guilt for the deceiving him, thinking he might want to tell him the truth well part of it at least.

"Um yeah I think so, how about you Amber?" He said towards Hestia. She was about to give him a confused look when she remember his instruction to follow his leads. So she simply nodded.

"Excellent, now follow me I believe we have much to discuss." The centaur guided both "demigods" through the camp as they look around. Percy wasn't really interested since he knew the camp pretty well thanks to his earlier visit gaining info. Hestia on the other hand was looking around at the campers happy since gods were usually not allowed to interact with demigods so to see the camp so up close was a special treat.

They soon reach the big house, outside of it there was a chubby man sitting looking bored and slightly annoyed once he eyed the demigods. "Well you must be the reason my game of poker with Chiron was interrupted, couldn't you get eaten or something so that my game could go on?" He said with fake enthusiasm.

The centaur simply sighed as if this wasn't the first time the chubby dude wished demigods to not arrive safely. "Mr. D as the leader of this camp you cannot be wishing harm upon these children"

Mr. D, Dionysus Percy figured simply huffed and generated a wine magazine out of thin air.

"Well, how about we go inside so you can tell me your story?" Both teens nodded and followed the centaur inside.

The inside was nothing impressive, just a simple room with a ping pong table and some chairs around. Both Percy and Hestia sited while Chiron stayed standing in his centaur form.

"Seeing as you were not really surprised by anything and you came here on your own I assume you know the truth about the Greek world?"

They both nodded.

"Would you happen to know who your godly parent is, I assume you are brother and sister"

Hestia looked at Perch expectantly, who was mentally preparing his story carefully

"Actually we are not, I simply found her on my way here. She was being mistreated by her father, I was actually guided by lady Hestia, saying that Amber here was kind of her adopted child who she has blessed. Her mother died when she was born so the dad blamed her for it and didn't really show her much affection. However, Lady Hestia sent me after her when His dad returned especially drunk and was about to… cross the line" Percy's face darkened as he said this.

Chiron looked down at Percy with surprised and a bit of pride before slightly looking at "Amber" with pity. He then returned his eyes to Percy and motioned for him to continue. Hestia kept her head down the whole time, which helped make the story believable but it was for the wrong reasons. How in the world did he come up with a story like that? And it was very believable too. If she didn't know any better she would have believe it.

"I rushed into the house and stopped the man before anything happened. I quickly explained to her who she was and who sent me to get her. It took a little while, but I convinced her to accompany me and then we had to run to avoid being sighet. At the end she was exhausted so I have to carry her the rest of the way. And here we are. Oh sorry, I am Percy, Percy Jackson, and as I said this is Amber."

The centaur listen carefully and then nodded. " Well it is nice to meet you Percy, however" His eyes then narrowed "Your name was the only part of your story that was true, now how about telling me the truth this time?"

Hestia panicked while Percy simply smiled and started laughing much to the confusion of the other two in the room. "I didn't expect to fool you easily Chiron but I had to try" Chiron tensed assuming this was an ease. Percy simply raised his hand.

"Be at ease centaur, I am not your enemy. On the contrary I am an ally; I just needed an alibi for the rest of camp. I think they will be easier to fool. Anyway, let me explain myself and then you can decided whether I am an enemy or not."

And so Percy explained the truth, well as much as Hestia knew anyways; his heritage, his mission and the reason as to why he was here. He even didn't say anything about Hestia saying it was her story to tell but she decided to tell the truth.

By the end of the story Chiron looked as if his brain was about to explode from all the information he just received.

"So the reason I lied was so that, drunky outside doesn't know who I am and report me to Zeus, as that would only bring problems and decrease the chances of survival of the upcoming war. So do we have your support? I swear on the Styx that everything I told you except for the first story to be the truth"

As thunder boomed outside Chiron eyed the goddess and Aztec descendent with an analytic face, trying to decided the best course of action. "I am can't say that I completely trust you, but based on your oath and the fact that you have the support of lady Hestia, I shall take your word for it. But I must ask why the disguised lady Hestia?"

"My siblings don't seem very interested in the upcoming war and helping the demigod, and so since I am hardly noticed I decided to get myself involved and disguising me as a demigoddess seems like the best option. I didn't have a good story, but seems like the god of theater here" She pointed at Percy "Came up with a rather good one, despite not being able to fool you."

Both Percy and Chiron chuckled, and then Chiron looked at Percy with realization. "You allowed me to see that you were lying didn't you?"

"As sharp as I would expect it you to be, I could have fooled you but it would have been exhausting to keep the lie going, plus it would make you think of me as an enemy when I eventually reveal myself. I simply said the story out loud to test if it sounding convincing while making some rookie liars mistakes."

"My boy, you are a cleaver demigods, a silver tongue can be helpful sometimes more so than a sword. As for the story, I will simply announce you as a chosen champion of Hestia so that campers don't ask questions. As for you Percy, should we say that you are the son of lord pan? It might make some satyrs go a bit crazy but based on the powers you have described you could prove it. Just be warned, Grover will be all over you asking questions."

"Who is Grover?"

"A rather determined satyr with the objective of finding Pan, in fact not too long ago he went on a mission that got him trap with a Cyclops but managed to return with the Golden Fleece"

"That is impressive, even my demigod standards, I shall make sure to talk to him at some point."  
Chiron nodded "Anyway, what is your plan exactly? If you can't reveal yourself, how are you going to help the camp?"

Percy turned serious. "Simple, I will simply act as any other camper but I will probably stand out in sword practice and start to teach the campers without them realizing that I am preparing them for war. Hopefully eventually everyone will listen to the lessons and be ready when war eventually comes."

Chiron put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Despite them not knowing I want to thank you to for going out of your way to teach this kids that is not your own."

"No need to thank me. These kids shouldn't die for not being prepared to fight a war that is really their parents'. I will do my best to prepare them. Now I believe there a girl, Thalia waiting to give us a tour right? We shouldn't keep her waiting, thanks for everything Chiron."

"Go to the dinning pavilion when you here a bell. I am sorry but you will have to sit with the Hermes cabin since neither pan nor you Lady Hestia have a table." HE said an apologetic tone.

Hestia nodded, but Percy had an idea in mind that he kept to himself.

The duo walked outside to find a slightly annoyed Thalia waiting for them. "Took you long enough, what did Chiron tell you the entire Greek mythologie?"

"Something like that, sorry" But his face showed no remorse.

Thalia huffed and motioned for them to follow. They saw all the different areas of camp, the wall that seemed to have real lava, the canoe area, stables, all the different cabins and finally the sword arena were something seemed to be happening. Camper were looking around the arena some snickering and some not happy at what was going on.

In the center there were some buff looking kids, maybe 14 or 15 all around one dude the same age that stood out. He was remarkably similar to Percy with black hair and Green eyes, except his were more ocean blue green compared to Percy's bright emerald green.

The kid seemed to be sword fighting but it anything but a fair fight. The Percy look alike was fighting a kid clearly smaller than him and seemed to enjoy beating him around. Thalia scowled at the sight.

"So he is at it again… I wished I could go beat some since in my asshole of a cousin."

"Who is he, why is no one doing anything?" Percy was angry at the sight

"He is a Jake, a son of Poseidon that came here 2 years ago. From what I have heard he was nice at first but ever since he went on a quest to retrieve Zeus' lightning bolt and to rescue the Golden Fleece he lead the fame get to his so he became an arrogant prick and is constantly changing the story making it seemed like he was the only one that deserves credit so he expects everyone to follow him. If someone disobeys him, well you can see for yourself."

Percy was less than please with that explanation, so he starting walking towards him until Thalia grabbed his arm. "Hey do you have a death wish? As arrogant as he is, he is the most skilled swordsman in camp since… anyway point is that you can just go better to sit it out."

Percy kept a calm façade and shook her arm continuing his way towards the arrogant demigod. "Don't worry; I will simply chat with him."

"Chat?" Thalia asked confused. He then turned with an angry expression. "Yeah, my fist will like a word with his face."

Before Thalia could reply Percy sprinted making a v line towards Jake. Everyone didn't have time to react at the sprinting demigod that was approaching the "duel"

"Come on Grover, you can do better tha-" was as far as he got before as fist was slammed into his nose instantly breaking and sending him back towards his goons making them all fall.

Everyone was shocked to see Percy in the middle of the arena with a bloody fist and a furious expression. The world seemed to stop as no one moved or said anything, not sure if their eyes were deceiving them. Percy was the first to move as he went to the guy, obviously a satyr that was on the ground and looking at him with disbelief.

"Hey, need a hand" Percy offered to the fallen satyr with an expression that was nothing like the one he had moments before. The satyr recovered and accepted the hand. "Th-thanks."

"No problem, name is Percy, you're Grover right? I heard you were part of the expedition that retrieved the fleece, if you have time later I would love to hear the story."

Before Grover could reply a grunt and angry growled got his attention. "Hey new kid! Do you have any idea who you just hit?" Said Jake as he slowly got up from the ground, obviously still dizzy.

Percy smirked, "Yeah, some arrogant pricked that just got his ass handed to him by the new kid" Laughter and oooh could be heard from the audience that was observing the spectacle. Jake's face turned a comedic red from embarrassment and furry. He started to walk towards Percy who prepared himself. He still needed to introduce his other hand to Jake's face.

However he didn't get the chance as Thalia stepped in front of him and the bell for dinner could be heard. "Beat it Jake, go to dinner before you keep embarrassing yourself"

Jake hesitates seeing as everyone seemed to agree and start to walk towards the dinner pavilion. He glared murderously at Percy who simply winked in return. Jake's face now imitated a tomato, however he didn't say anything as he just left like everyone else.

Once he was gone Thalia looked at Percy Like he was an alien. "How did you do that?"

Percy raised an eyebrow before smirking. "Well the basic concept is to connect my fist to his face with force-"

"You know that's not what I meant! I have never seen anyone move that fast, are you a son of Hermes with his running blessing?"

Percy mentally snorted. As if that slow poke could hold a handle to his gods in a foot race. However he kept his mouth shut. "You will learn of my parentage at dinner tonight, Come on Amber let's go!" He started walking when Thalia poked him.

"This conversation isn't over after dinner you are telling me how to move like that, it was pretty cool seeing my annoying cousin fly." She admitted with a smirk.

"You got yourself a deal daughter of Zeus,"

"How did..."

"You said that excuse of a demigod was your cousin, since he is the son of Poseidon and you have blue eyes I simply assumed now come on, putting pricks in their place sure builds up an appetite."

On that note they all left for the dining pavilion. As they arrived Thalia went to sit alone at the Zeus table while Percy and "Amber" made their way to center with Dionysus and Chiron getting more than a few stares as word of the little incident in the arena spread through.

Chiron silenced them with a stomp of his hove. "Attention campers as you may already know we have 2 new campers. They were claimed before arriving at this camp so please welcome, Percy Jackson son Pan God of the wild and amber champion and adopted child of Hestia goddess of the Hearth.

The effect was instantaneous as the camp went crazy having two demigods from gods that haven't even been heard of before. Dionysus only looked up and locked eyes with Hestia, they seemed to have a silent conversation before Dionysus returned to his reading with the sightless smile. It had its perks to be in good terms with all the Gods, they could turn a blind eye every once in a while. Percy was relief to see that Dionysus didn't even bat an eye in his direction.

Chiron finally managed to quite down the camp as one camper, a girl from the Athena cabin spoke up. "How do we their parentage if they were not claimed?" As if on cue a holographic hearth appeared over "Amber's" head. Percy looked at her to see her smiled; unfortunately he couldn't pool the same trick could he. He was about to think of something when he saw that people were looking above his head. He was confused himself until he looked and found an holographic pan flute and goat, the symbols of the God Pan.

The camp erupted in chaos, everyone even Percy completely confused. All he knew was that a god that he didn't even know was still around just did him a huge favor despite never meeting him. Satyrs starting going wild and directing themselves toward Percy like he was the most precious of jewels. Percy looked down right terrified as he took a look at the vicious satyrs in front of him.

"Enough! There is your prove, both campers have been claimed, now everyone return to your dinner as I am sure these two would love to answer your question at the campfire."

Percy was relieved to see the campers and satyrs nodded and accepted Chiron's command while still giving them odd looks.

"So you will be sitting with the Hermes cabin since your parents do-"

"Actually Chiron, would it be alright if we make our own table, it will only take a second."

"Um I suppose there is no harm in that but how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

He just received a smile in response as Percy walked over to a grassy area of the dinning pavilion next to the Hermes cabin and closed his eyes focusing on the ground. He received some looks and comments of mockery before he started to glow a forest green. He then pressed both hands against the ground and branches started to come out incredibly fast taking the shape of a table like all the rest but this one had a more wild look to it smooth in some areas but with the resembles and fragrance of pines. He then turn to Hestia and whisper something in her ear and she nodded. She turned to the table and with the snap of her fingers a small hearth appeared in the center were a tree emerged and lifted up so no one would get burned.

With the new table all done the new camper sat down and waited for their foods. Chiron smiled and didn't even comment about the rule of people from different cabins eating together as the rule didn't really apply to them.

Dinner went by rather quickly as Percy and "Amber" made small talk. It was mostly Percy asking how she felt in camp and her interaction with Dionysus. As he had suspected Dionysus found out it was Hestia but decided not to say anything as she was one of the few goddess he appreciated. Percy was glad to hear that, impressed by the goddess' ability to befriend pretty much all the gods.

After dinner was over everyone pretty much ran towards the camp fire. Only because they were waiting to bombard the two new comers with questions. Something Percy was not looking forward to, he would probably be asked about Pan's location by the satyrs, something he had no clue about. Being "claimed" by Pan was the weirdest thing that has happened to Percy in a while, and that was saying a lot considering his life.

Both Percy and Hestia sat at the edge of the log, hoping to avoid attention. However they miserably failed as all eyes were glued on them, just waiting for answers.

Percy sighed, knowing there was no way out of this. "Alright I will answer questions, but one at a time please and be warned I will not answer question I am not comfortable with I don't recommend that you push me"

Most campers paled remembering his little display of strength and nodded not wanting to get on his bad side. Then a blonde raised her hand like this was elementary school. Percy resisted the urge to laugh at her methods but nodded giving her permission to ask her question.

"If you are a son of Pan have ever met him? You said you were claimed before hand and were clearly aware of the Greek gods so you must have met him right? Do you know where he is? Satyrs have been looking everywhere-"

"I know satyrs have been looking for P- dad, let me make this very clear I have no idea where he is. Last time I saw him was when I was ten years old. I am actually surprised he claimed me in the dining pavilion." At this all the satyrs clearly deflated but were still interested in their closest link to the gods that hasn't been heard of for over 2000 years.

"I lived with my mom here in New York; she was single since and did everything to make my life better. However for some reason I had very strong demigod sent so when I was 8 we tried to leave New York in hope of finding somewhere free of monster. However we didn't get very far as a car accident killed her and left me alone. We crashed in the middle of nowhere so I started walking around completely lost when Pan found me. I didn't know it was him at the time; he simply took me under his care and hide me in different wild areas. For 2 years I trained and learned under him. He taught me everything I know about the Greeks and my powers. However when I was 10 he disappeared and left me on my own, saying he had to go. So for the last 4 years I have been alone."

It felt as if there was more to the story but no one asked because of the mood of sadness around Percy after saying that story. Even my demigod standards it was pretty sad. To be on your own since you were 10 for 4 years? Most demigods would have been devoured.

After that story the mood shifted, people no longer interested in asking question, none about pan anyway. There was the occasional, "How many powers do you have?" or "Can you turn into a goat" So which Percy replied "Now _that,_ would be a cool power to have" Everyone laughed and the mood slowly got better as they asked silly unimportant questions and receive even sillier responses. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, except for a certain son of Poseidon who was still made about the punch he had received earlier and planning to get back at him.

Soon it was time to go to sleep as Percy finished the story of how he wrestled a pack of cats in a trash can one time. Which actually was a true story.

"So Percy when do you plan on sleeping, are you going to make your own cabin?" Asked Thalia clearly joking but receive a smirk in return.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Thalia paled a little seeing as he was dead serious and wondered how he could possibly do that. Everyone seemed exited to see how he would do this and were about to follow when…

"However, that would take a lot of energy, I would need like at least a couple of hours. So I think I will do it tomorrow."

Everyone whined like little children who were told they couldn't go to the zoo today and had to wait until tomorrow but eventually went to be as they saw no way to change this.

Chiron then approached them, "You can sleep at the big house tonight if you would like."

"Thanks Chiron, that would be great, but I think I will go the lake for a little while." Chiron nodded and trotted away, leaving Percy and Hestia alone.

"So, what did you think of your first day at camp, _Amber_?"

Hestia glared a little before sighing and looking at the hearth. "It was a lot of fun actually, I really like the name by the way, and how did you come up with it?"

He simply shrugged "Same way I come up with background stories, just come in the job description of being awesome."

Hestia laughed lightly before turning serious again. "That back story, it wasn't all fake was it? There was some truth to it."

Percy turned to her, all trace of his sarcastic demeanor gone. "That's right, just replace Pan with Aztec gods and bam you have my childhood, fun right?" His tone was surprisingly dark something she hadn't seen in him.

She put a hand on his shoulder instantly relaxing, he turned to her and hugged her. This startle the goddess but she hugged him back. After a few moments he pulled away, feeling a lot better.

"Sorry about that, guessed I am still not over my childhood, but thanks for making me feel better. I am going to the big house in a bit."

"If you ever want to talk, I am here for you, you know that right?" As he nodded she went to the big house leaving him alone.

Percy got up and went towards the lake; he needed some time to think about today. What confused him the most was the fact that Pan claimed him. Why would a god he has never met do such a thing? It also got him thinking about his powers, how similar they were to his. He thought it was mere coincidence since he wanted to help nature and the aztec gods gave him the ability to do so then he was probably going to have powers similar to that of Pan's but now he wasn't so sure.

He was brought out his thought as he heard a yell behind him.

"Hey Jackson! Come here we have unfinished business." A voice yelled

Percy smiled evilly, looks he was going to get a good work out before sleeping.

**A/N: So who is it? You get a cookie if you guess correctly! **

**Anyway I want to thank you guys, you completely surpassed my expectation and I had more than 150 visitors yesterday. You all rock, I already got 20 follows and 16 favorites so shout out to you awesome people. **

**So I have gotten a lot of positive feedback, sadly the daily updates will end after tomorrow since life is going to get on the way. I will update chapter 4 tomorrow but after that it might take a week or so. **

**Thoughts on the chapter? Percy's back story? Don't worry it will get expanded upon this is just a sneak peak of it you could say. So let me know what you think on the chapter and the story overall. **

**That is all,**

**Peace and calm,**

**Al red.**


	4. Going nuts and tree house

**A/N: Well hello there! I really have to thank you for the support this story has. The amount of visitors, followers and favorites is amazing. Now I am not going to sit here and say "Review to keep me motivated" truth is seeing that people are reading this is motivation enough. However I see the review section as a way of communication and improvement. I asked in the last 2 chapters if you would like to see the pairing or not and no one answered. There will be an update on the story at the end so stay tuned, NOW Into the story!**

* * *

_Previously… _

_Percy got up and went towards the lake; he needed some time to think about today. What confused him the most was the fact that Pan claimed him. Why would a god he has never met do such a thing? It also got him thinking about his powers, how similar they were to his. He thought it was mere coincidence since he wanted to help nature and the Aztec gods gave him the ability to do so then he was probably going to have powers similar to that of Pan's but now he wasn't so sure. _

_He was brought out his thought as he heard a yell behind him. _

"_Hey Jackson! Come here we have unfinished business." A voice yelled_

_Percy smiled evilly, looks he was going to get a good work out before sleeping._

Now**…**

"You said you would showed me how you moved so fast so come on let's get going!" Thalia was pretty excited as she walked toward the arena with Percy behind her.

"Well? Come on show me, it's almost curfew and I don't want the harpies to eat me, so explain to me how the Son of Pan moves like a cheetah."

Percy laughed at how accurate that description was. "Jaguar" He said between laughs

"What?"

"it's not a cheetah is the speed of jaguar, not as fast but still pretty fast in comparison to humans."

Thalia was completely confused, clearly not following what he was hinting at.

"Alright let me spoon feed it to you, as a lord of the wild I have the blessing of an animal. Said animal is the jaguar; I can summon its speed strength and agility whenever I please. That's way your comparison to a cheetah is pretty funny. So you want a demonstration?"

Thalia nodded.

Percy closed his eyes and focused, feeling his muscles change and grow, but just a bit. He then sprang into action and ran behind Thalia so fast that she couldn't follow.

"Boo,"

"Ahh!" Thalia turned and punched him in the chest but the punched was charged with electricity so he was sent flying to the edge of the Arena.

"Don't scare me like that!" She glared despite Percy being the one in the floor groaning in pain.

"Ugh… not scare Thalia, lighting bad… got it"

Thalia's feature softened as she offered him a hand. "I do have to say that's a pretty cool power, can you turn into all animals?"

"I wish, I didn't get to choose I simply got the jaguar but I have to say it's pretty cool. Makes traveling supper easy, and scaring dangerous daughters of Zeus that discharge lighting into my chess." He pointed at this own chess with mock hurt."

Thalia simply rolled her eyes before turning serious. "For a child of a minor god I have to say that you are incredibly powerful. I mean on simple physical strength I think you have the entire camp beaten." There was a bit jealousy in her tone that made Percy frown.

"Power is a dangerous thing, when you desire it you become corrupt. The gods are a good example, always paranoid and fearing of power that is not their own. There an advantage in being weak Thalia, you would be wise to remember that."

"Yeah, and what is that?"

Percy gave her a smirk. "You will find the answer on your own"

"Looks like someone has taken the bad habit of beating around the bush from the gods." Thalia grumbled.

Percy laughed a bit. "It's not the worst of habits, and it can be quite entertaining to mess with peole" Percy winked at Thalia.

He received a light punch in the arm as she rolled her eyes. "Well thanks for the demonstration, we should spar sometimes. I think you would be a much better partner that made cousin." She said cousin with clear distaste.

"You bet, it's been a while since- Well speak of the devil." He point behind Thalia to a group of campers lead by Jake going towards the Arena.

"Well would you look at that, the guy hasn't been here for a day and he already has a girl- Thalia?"

Jake's face turned to one of confusion before it turned into anger. "What are you doing with this freak?" His voice had an emotion that Percy wasn't quite able to identify but he got the idea that Jake was not entirely pleased with the situation.

"That's none of your business Jake, besides what are you and your goon squad doing here? Are you that much of a coward that you need your little friends after Percy kicked your ass?" Percy laughed a bit finding the dispute rather entertaining.

That only fueled Jack's rage. "Is that how you thank me Peacon face? After all I went through to save that stupid fleece, maybe you should have stayed a tree, you were more useful that way."

Thalia seemed hurt at first and a little betrayed before those feelings were replaced by rage. Sparks could be seen flying of her as she made her way towards Jake, probably to deliver a very electrified knuckle sandwich. Before she could get to him a hand grab her shoulder.

She turned to see Percy, "Let me go!" more sparks flew but Percy held a firm grip on her, much to her annoyance. "Why are you stopping me?! You hit him before!" She exclaimed getting angrier by the second.

"I can control myself; I won't let you do something you will regret for a stupid demigod that isn't even worth it. Let me take care of it."

His voice was calm but commanding, trying to get her to relax but saying she didn't really have a say in the matter. Slowly the sparks diminished and her tensed shoulders lowered. Finally after he was sure she was calm he let her go and smiled before frowning again.

"Aww isn't that adorable? The new kid can control good old Goth girl, about time someone put her on a leash."

Thalia didn't even have time to get angry as the stupid kid from Jake's crew who said fell to floor.

"Now that sir was not very nice, my guess you don't well with the ladies huh? Then that hit shouldn't bother you much." Percy was the only one not surprise at the kid that suddenly fell to the floor.

"You bastard! What did you do to him? Some more of your tree magic, are you that afraid to fight like a man?" Said another one before he also feel to the ground holding his crotch.

"Man do we have a racist crew here or what? And to answer your question, no magic, well unless you want to count throwing nuts as magic" Percy held out his hand and starting to juggle with giant nuts the size of lemons. "Now does anyone else have a smart comment?" He prepared himself to launch at his next victim, all of the campers paled and worried about their own nuts who did not want to be hit by Percy's.

After they all scrambled there was only Percy Jack and Thalia who was trying really hard to contain her laughter. "Well Thalia it looks like we have a winner! Our last standing competitor, what should be his prize?" Said Percy in a booming show announcer voice.

Thalia was too busy between laughs to answer but Percy stilled leaned in and pretend to hear a whisper. "The big nut you say? Why that's a wonderful idea!" Percy then looked at Jake with a mischevious smile on his face.

Jake looked down right terrified, not wanting to know what this "Big nut" was. He got himself in a battle position preparing himself to attack until his jaw dropped at what Percy was doing.

He had his hand out as a green light started to take the form of a ball, it started the size of a small nut but it got bigger, baseball, basketball, it kept getting bigger and bigger until he was holding what seemed like a huge bolder his size over his head. "Now come to accept your prize!" As soon as Percy seemed to prepare himself to throw it had the desire effect on Jake.

Jake ran away like a maniac screaming in a strangely high pitched voice as he thought he was going to die.

As the screams of Jake faded in the distance, Percy couldn't help himself as he fell to the ground laughing as his "Big Nut" fell to his side to reveal it was nothing but a cocoon of twiggs completely hollow inside.

As Percy recovered from his laughter he discovered Thalia looming over him with an amused expression on her face. "What?" He asked as he kept recovering.

"Oh nothing, just didn't know you were such a comedian." She offered him a hand which he gladly took.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet; trust me sometimes I feel like I am the son of the God of theater himself." He said in a dramatic pose only to be punched in the arm"

"Can you not be a smart ass and just take the complement? Any way thanks for calming me, he really shouldn't get on my nerves…"

Percy eyed her carefully "What he said, about you being a tree…"

Thalia tensed, but she looked at him and saw only curiosity that said it was ok if she didn't want to tell him. She sighed.

"Well I guess you would figure it out at some point since is the only thing that some people seem to talk about around here. Come sit down, this might take a while. He complied and she began her tale.

She told him about her past, not her mother but when she was out on the run with another demigod, she didn't go into specifics as to his name so Percy didn't ask. She then said how they meet another demigod along the way, Annabeth. She explained their adventures together until they tried to make to camp and she had to sacrifice herself to let the other two get to camp. How Zeus took petty on her and made her a tree, and how she woke up in the hands of Jake only to find out many years have past.

After she finished neither one of them said anything for a while.

"Well you are quite the hero, not many people are willing to sacrifice themselves for others."

She snorted, "Well not many people see that way, the only reason I woke up was because of the Golden fleece, from what I heard one of the best campers died in that quest. For some reason I am the one too blamed, so I don't have too many friends around here, not that I mind, I am perfectly fine on my own."

Percy looked at her expression; she seemed old, worn down by mocks and accusations while trying to keep a strong façade. He then grabbed her hand which made her frown.

"Well, whether you like or not, you just got yourself a new friend" Thalia was shocked before she regained herself.

"Oh joy, how lucky I am" She said with supposed sarcasm but gratitude was clear in her face.

"You know it" he said with a wink. "Now we should both go to sleep before anyome surprises come our way don't you thik?"

They both got up and made their way to the center before having to separate to their supposed cabins. " Um Percy?"

Percy turned with a raised eyebrow. She suddenly kissed him in the cheek.

"If tell anyone about this I will fry you into next week but thank you."

She then disappeared into her cabin leaving Percy with a big smile as he retreated to the big house.

Line break

The next morning everyone was outside next to Hermes cabin as they waited for Percy who said he was building a new cabin. Some campers (from Hermes) were placing bets in whether or not he was going to be able to do it, or how much time it would take him.

In the center of this crowd was Percy next to "Amber who seem to be discussing something before the building.

"So I already got an idea for my cabin, but I doubt my way of building would fit a cabin for Hestia so what do you think?

"I say you build yours first so that our expectators stop dying with anticipation" Percy turned around and it seems llke this was the first time he even noticed they were there.

"How long have you people been standing here?" All he got were laughs in return as they couldn't believe he hadn't noticed them.

"Ok well I am going to begin contracting my cabin so I recommend you step back. Its going to be a little different than a regular cabin and a bit farther away from the others. So let's go."

Everyone stepped back as Percy closed his eyes and focused. Soon his muscles tense as the ground started to tremble a bit. He started to glow a familiar forest green as small branches started to pop out of the ground. The branches got thicker and thicker until a trunk started coming out and finally a huge tree stood before them.

Every camper had his jaw to the flour but Percy wasn't done yet. He kept shifting and moving the tree giving it shape, dividing it into different areas making it taller and overall making It into the coolest tree house of all time.

"Well.." panted Percy clearly tired. "That about does it for the frame work, now could I get some campers from the Athena, Hephaestus, Demeter and Aphrodite cabin to help me finish it? I talk to Chiron about it and he said that he could excuse you for yours activities of the day if you help me, so who wants to help?"

He had them sold at modifying a cool tree house, but being excused for the day? That was the icing on the cake. Needless to say pretty much everyone from the mentioned cabins and everyone else for that matter wanted to help.

"Ok ok! One at a time, first of all, everyone that is not from the cabins I mentioned go on with your day! You can come back to see the progress once you are done. Everyone from the cabins that I did mention step that would be willing to help please step forward so I can explain what I need you to do ok?"

Everyone from the cabins that were not mentioned grumbled and went away clearly disappointed leaving still a good amount of kids. All clearly exited but not for the same reason. The Aphrodite girls weren't really paying attention to the tree but rather the maker.

"Alright, first of all from the Athena cabins I am going to need an architect that can help with the best design and efficiency of the rooms. I can easely shift the shape and form of the tree so don't worry about that. I only summon out like this to have some sort of base to work with. Aphrodite cabin will work with the Athena cabin to add aesthetic impute, just no pink and try to keep with the theme of nature ok? Once you are in agreement about one area call me so I can make the changes. Knowing this, who is still willing to help?"

A good number of campers from both left not wanting to work with each other. That left a boy and a girl from the Athena cabin and 2 girls from Aphrodite.

"Alright, I expected as much, thank you four for staying. Since I only came here yesterday I haven't really met a lot of you. So hi I am Percy and you are?"

The boy from Athena was the first to step up and shake Percy's hand. "Name is Malcolm, nice to meet you and your plant powers are totally awesome, you are like a Demeter child on steroids."

"Nice to meet you Malcolm, I hope you can work ok with the ladies over here." He gestured at the Aphrodite girls. "With one of them at least."

"Well good enough, now you can start taking a look and building designs until I get acquainted with the rest ok?" Malcolm nodded and started looking around the tree.

Next the girl from Athena walk up, she had calculating grey eyes princess blond curl and a light tanned, very similar to her half brother. "Name is Annabeth; you have really made a reputation on your short stay here. Not everyone punches Jake without getting punished for it. You should be more careful."

"Nice to meet you Annabeth, and Jake isn't really on the top of my threats list, maybe in the top 5 annoying campers, but thanks for the warning either way." Annabeth narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything as she walked over to her half brother.

"Alright now there is you too Aphrodite girls, thanks for the help. I figure most will shut the idea down after the no pink policies. Both of them laughed but one seemed more flurtiacious that the other, even Percy didn't noticed it.

"I am Selena I am the head of the Aphrodite cabin, and this Drew my second in command. Thanks for asking for our help, not many campers think we are good for anything other than make up."

"Don't worry about it, I think everyone deserves a chance. Besides I think your contribution to be key when building something like this. Go talk to the Athena kids as you are the designer team, once you have a basic plan come with us, the building team ok?"

They both nodded while drew winked and walked towards Annabeth and Malcolm leaving Percy with Hestia and two kids, one girl from Demeter and one kid from Hephaestus.

"Hi, my name is Katie Gardner I am head counselor of the Demeter cabin, so how can I help?" The girl was slim with green eyes similar to Percy's but with brown hair instead of black. Finally there was the buff looking kid, that might look menacing at first but Percy got the feeling that this guy was actually friendly if you gave him a chance.

"My name is Beckendorf head of the Hephaestus and anything is better than doing normal camp activities, especially on cleaning day, so what can I do for you?"

"Glad to meet both of you, you see we are going to be essentially the building team while the other four are the planning. First we must get the materials to build Hestia's cabin since I can't just make a tree for that. Katie I am going to need your help to summon the wood for her cabin while Beckendorf and Amber go get any materials that they think we might need, any questions?"

No one said anything.

"Alright then, let's get to it!"

"Amber went with Beckendorf to get some tools and equipment while Katie stayed with Percy a little unsure as to what to do.

"How am I supposed to help you? My control over plants is not nearly as good as yours so what can I do?"

"Don't underestimate yourself, your mother still has great control over plants and as great as you might think my powers are I get tired very easily using them. I still haven't recovered from building that tree. Normally I could only do something like that once a day, that's where you come in. We are going to unite our powers to at least create the floor of Hestia's cabin."

Katie still looked unsure. "How are we supposed to combine powers, it is still very hard for me to harness them sometimes."

"That's simple, just hold my hand I will amplify the power from both of us so just trust me ok?"

Katie blushed a bit but simply nodded putting her head down and holding his left hand.

"Alright, now I need you to focus on your powers. Just close your eyes and think about plants, about them being an extension of your body and manipulating it."

Katie did as she was instructed and started to feel a bit of pain in her gut but kept going, focusing more and more on that power until her face felt really hot. Finally she couldn't hold it anymore as she dropped to her knees after what felt like 10 seconds.

"I am sorry I am not very good at this." She got a laugh in return which hurt her feelings at first but then she realized that it was a laugh of joy. She looked up to find Percy on his knees besides her also panting a lot.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for? Just look at that magnificent work of art you did!"

She looked up and was shocked to find that not only was the wooden floor all set but there was also a beautiful garden of several different flowers surrounding it. Then everyone else started pouring in finished with their tasks to simply look in awe at the garden.

"Hey Percy we are done with the basic planning what do you want to- woah, nice garden I didn't know you could do that kind of thing." Malcolm was rather impressed as the rest simply nodded in agreement.

"Well don't look at me it was all Katie here. She was focus for a full ten minutes; her endurance was incredible I was already drowning in sweat after five so she deserves full credit for this."

They all looked at Katie with smiles on their faces surprised by her abilities while she simply looked down a bit embarrassed at all the attention she was getting.

"Well then let's keep going! At this rate we will be done before dinner, ready team?"

A unanimous "Yeah!" was his answer as this odd assembly of campers got to work.

The Athena and Aphrodite kids worked surprisingly well together combining aesthetics and efficiency into the project quite well. The artistic designs that drew and Selena came up with were beautiful and everyone agreed that they were impressive.

Percy tired himself beyond his limits as he controlled the entire tree for different tasks, to making figurines on the outside for decoration with Drew and Selena to building the entire pluming and energy systems with Beckendorf. Manipulating the tree made everything 10 times easier but it also caused Percy to almost faint every hour or so. Of course "Amber" was always there to heal him back up for him to simply over work himself and repeat the process.

After many exhausting hours of work, arguing and cat fights, (Drew and Annabeth had a disagreement, don't ask." The tree was finally done and if before it was the coolest tree house ever now it was the coolest luxury tree mansion ever. They made it so that the main trunk will lead to a main area that will then separate into different rooms. It was all mostly made of plants courtesy of Percy and Katie while Beckendorf brought somethings to make improvements like a wire system to get up and down like freaking Tarzan. The rooms were very well designed not to mention extremely beautiful, it was over all a great team work project.

The group still had to do Hestia's cabin but they were all exhausted right now so they were simply making small talk and eating turkey sandwiches courtesy of "Amber"

"Well that was a job well done, this has got to be the coolest thing ever thanks all of you for helping."

"Well I am surprised we got through this without Annabeth and Drew killing each other." Said Malcolm. Both girls glared at him making him gulp and the rest of the group laugh.

"We also need to do Hestia's cabin but I don't know if I have it in me. Amber would you mind if we wait until tomorrow to build it?"

"Percy, I had to revive you like 5 times so as long as you don't end up dying in the process we can wait a week if you want I don't think hes- mom would mind."

They all laughed as Percy blushed.

"Well guys maybe we won't have to wait looks like we got reinforcements." Beckendorf was looking out the window telling them all to go look. They all complied and found pretty much every camper looking at the construction with awe, clearly not the same thing it was a few hours before.

The entire group went down trough one of the many Tarzan veins to meet with everyone down stairs.

"So what do you think? Pretty good huh?"

Everyone just mindlessly nodded still in awe by the construction in front of them.

"Well, then are any of you up to building Hestia's cabin? We can use all the help you can get plus we will let you get in the Pan cabin, so what do you say?"

Everyone just cheered while Percy just grinned to his team, "Well looks like this might get done today after all." He turned back to the crowd, " Okay listen everyone divide yourself into groups lead by the people who helped build the Pan cabin and let's get moving!" With that command everyone got to work.

With pretty much everyone working on the cabin it was done a lot more efficiently and without anyone fainting. Katie guided her team really well and pretty much took control of the whole building business as Percy was out of commission. However thanks to Beckendorf and the Hephaestus built most the cabin with stored wood that they had and build in all a normal looking cabin at least compared to their previous master piece but her the objective was to make it cozy and homey like the goddess of the hearth was.

The outer walls were very nicely decorated with small fires in every corner lid by "Amber". Everyone was a bit surprised at first but it was logical for the adopted child of Hestia to have fire powers.

Speaking of Hestia, she was having pretty much the best day of her life. All thanks to a certain green eyed demigod that she has come to appreciate more and more. She got to interact with so many demigods all filed with such happiness and hope that it made her own hope go up. What surprised her the most though was the ability Percy had for leadership, sure it made seem trivial been used to build cabins, but to be able to unite different people into an efficient work force is something many generals would kill for.

She didn't want to think about it, but it seemed like Percy was built for war. From his physical abilities to his great charm as a leader, considering what she knew about the Aztec gods then it was very probable that they trained him to be a war killing machine. However he was way more than that, and she could sense it, the amount of hope he generate was unreal. Like a child that has gone through so much pain he decided he didn't want anyone to go through that so he only reflect and transfers happiness and joy and make building a cabin the most fun activity in the world.

As she looked at him guiding everyone to build this cabin she knew that he was the embodiment of hope one that she would make sure to protect no matter what.

Line break

With everyone working the cabin was finished before it was time for dinner and it looked amazing. It was made of orange and a bit of gold on the outside to simulate cozy flames plus the roof was burning a small fire for effect.

The inside was simple with some flames designs here and there and a small chimney on the center that had also a fire going at the moment.

As everyone was just sitting outside admiring their own handy work a rough voice broke the silence and brought everyone's attention.

"Jackson! Are you done playing constructor? I have a bet that says I am a better swordsman than you so come on duel me, unless you are too scared to fight me without sneaking around?"

Some people frowned in distaste, clearly not impressed by Jake's speech. "Just go way Jake, nobody wants you to bother us, plus Percy is exhausted from building all day, otherwise he would kick your ass!" A lot of people seemed to support Beckendorf statement. Jake himself was surprised that Beckendorf supported the new kid.

"It's alright everybody; I could use a light cool down either way. If by doing that I knock good old Fish breath over here then all the better. So come on, let's make this quick I don't want to miss dinner."

Some people snickered at Percy's laid back attitude while a certain daughter of Athena looked at him curiously.

Slowly but surely everyone was gathered around the arena to what would surely be an entertaining battle one way or the other.

* * *

**Announcement! **

**So as you could probably notice I stopped with the daily uploads. Simply said, life got a bit complicated and I didn't have a house for the last 3 days. But I am little more stable now. **

**However, I am going to be starting an intense course on November for which I need to prepare, so between now and then don't expect to many updates. I will aim for one a week but can't promise anything until I get stabilized. **

**Finally, thank you all SO MUCH. The support this story has gotten is insane and I can't thank you enough. Even if I don't write for a while I am planning to write this story until the ending considering I already planned the ending. This story is going to be HUGE, like I might make it 2 stories I don't yet. But just know that the ending is pretty much done, now I just need to get there.. ugh it's going to take a LONG time, but oh well.**

**So thoughts on the chapter? I know it was pretty much filler, but it was a small set up, next chapter things will start to get interesting and we will go from there.**

**Bye!**

**Peace and calm**

**Al red.**


	5. ch 5

**A/Hello again! Before I start this chapter I want to thank awesome people. Cbabrs  for being my favorite review so far and all the people that sent me pm asking and suggesting things for the story. This seems to be a constant question so let me clarify, this a PERCYxHESTIA story, nothing else. I might add a little drama at some point depending on my mood with Thalia or something but the final paring is set in stone. Just wanted to clarify that, so if you have any questions or suggestions you can PM I will reply within 24 hours at most. More than likely though you will receive a response within 10 minutes so yeah! Thanks again, this story has gotten amazing support. **

**NOW INTO the story!**

Everyone was excitedly around the arena as they waited for the show to start. It wasn't everyday that someone actually stood a chance against Jake, and from the rumors, Percy could mop the floor with Jake but they will have to wait and see.

Jake was preparing his armor, anxious to beat that annoying kid who thought so high of himself simply because he sucker punched him and play some dirty trick with his tree magic. Jack was sure that in a fair one on one sword fight he would win no contest, he was the best swordsman around, plus as insurance he made sure to pick a time when his opponent was tired, not the most honorable thing to do , but he had to ensure victory. He was the son of Poseidon; he couldn't be beaten by the son of some stupid minor god of goats or whatever. This would show everyone who runs this camp.

Percy was in another room simply waiting for the match to start. He didn't bother putting armor on, he didn't want to waste time. It was time to make this arrogant fish face step down from his thrown and show him to be a little humble.

He was distracted as someone entered the room where he was waiting, "Why don't you have your armor on? The battle is about to start you know." Percy raised his gaze to meet Annabeth's penetrating gray eyes.

"I don't really need it, not against him anyway." He said nonchalantly

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, "Why do you do that?"

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Do what exactly?"

"The double personality, you act so nice around most of us, but when you feel jealous because Jake is a son of the big three you feel the need to try and humiliate him. He hasn't done anything to you why are you being such a jerk to him?"

Percy stood up quickly making Annabeth jump. "I am the jerk? Are you really that blind? Jake is an arrogant asshole that feels like everyone should bow to him simply because of his heritage. I despise that mentality, and for the record the first time I punched him was because he was attacking Grover, and this match was HIS idea. I don't care if he is your boyfriend or something but don't try to defend him before you know the facts. I couldn't care less about Jake, but if he thinks he is going to order me around like he tries everyone else then I will stand up to him and give him the beating he deserves. Now if you would excuse me I have a son of Poseidon in need of some discipline."

Percy didn't wait for a response as he walked by Annabeth and into the arena. He though fondly of Annabeth it was really nice working with her, but he hated when people assumed and judge without knowing all the facts, this just fueled his desire to give Jake a good beating.

Both combatants reached the arena staying a respectable distance from each other as Chiron himself stood at the center. He looked at both combatants with a tired expression, like he knew how this was going to end and wasn't entirely pleased by it. "Well it would appear that we are going to get a duel before dinner. The duel is over once a combatant is yields or is unable to keep battling, killing is strictly forbidden and maiming is to be avoided if possible. Are you both ready?"

Jake nodded while Percy just yawned making several members of the audience laugh. "Very well, BEGIN!"

Jake wasted no time as he charged at Percy with decent speed while Percy just stood unmoving without armor or a weapon. Jake slashed horizontally but Percy ducked and side stepped completely avoiding the strike. Jake tried again this time jabbing but Percy dodged each attack easily with his hands still in his pockets.

He had to admit that Jake did have some skill, he wasn't absolutely horrible, but if this was the best camp had to offer they needed some serious training for the upcoming war. Percy was brought out of his thoughts as Jake changed his patterns and went for kick. Percy raised his leg and intercepted the kick with his own sending Jake falling on his back.

To Percy's surprise he quickly rolled and came back to his feet. "Not bad, you are actually a decent warrior," He said honestly, "Now if you would only stop being an ass you might make a good leader." Jake trembled with rage as he charged once again, but the battle was over once he let anger control him. He swung his sword downward in a deadly arc but Percy twisted so fast he was behind Jack and hit him with the back of his foot making him fall.

He tried to recover but Percy was quicker this time, he kicked his sword way from him put a knee to his chest and grabbed both arms. "Yield?"

Jake struggled trying to get out of his grip but found that he couldn't. After a minute of struggling he finally calmed down and nodded his head. Percy released his grip and started to get of him but Jake Jumped on top of him and started punching at his face widely. He only got 3 punches in before Percy recovered from the shock and his instincts took over. He grabbed both of his hands twisted them around his back; he then kicked him in the back of the knee making him fall face first in the ground.

"Now you listen to me, is this really what you want? I heard that you were actually nice before, you shouldn't let fame get to your head, you will lose friends that way now…" He lfited his head towards the crowds "Tell me, is this what you want camp to think of you?" Jake looked up at the spectators to see mix faces of anger disgust and overall disapproval of his actions.

"I wasn't kidding before, you are a good warrior, and you don't need to use fear to lead people. Try being nice and they will follow you, keep acting the way you are now and you will eventually drive everyone you care about away. Now tell me what do you choose?"

Jake lowered his head, thinking about what he was just told. "I yield." He said quietly.

Percy got up and offered Jake a hand "Good choice, now how about we start over, Hi my name is Percy Jackson, son of Pan and woner of a pretty badass tree house." Jake looked like a gaping fish registering what was happening before he started laughing and took his hand. "Jake Ugliano, Son of Poseidon and idiot extraordinaire." They both laughed as everyone in the crowd started cheering.

Chiron looked at both demigods with a proud smile. "The winner is Percy Jackson, now everyone to the dinner pavilion."

They all listen to Chiron and started to walk out of the arena leaving Percy and Jake alone. Well I will see you later Jake looks like you have someone who wants to talk to you. Jack looked at Percy pointing at Annabeth who was making her way over to them.

"Um, listen Percy I might have told her-"

"I know Jake, it doesn't matter, just tell her the truth ok? She cares about you, I can tell that much so try not to screw it up, good luck." Percy walked passed Annabeth and gave her a wave before continuing his way out of the arena leaving the two of them to talk.

"Hey, Percy wait!" Percy stopped and turned to see Hestia running towards him.

"Well hello there _Amber, _looks like tonight we both get a bed huh? Today sure was a fun day."

"It was truly amazing, it has been a while since I have seen such an efficient team work effort, you are a natural leader."

Percy shrugged "I just guided them a bit, I can't be their leader. I just hope to teach them enough so they can guide themselves."

Hestia nodded but didn't say anything as they walked the rest of the way to the dinning pavilion in comfortable silence. The rest of the night was a smooth as they ate, however the nymphs were fighting over who would serve Percy since apparently being a son of Pan made him some sort of celebrity. Percy didn't seem comfortable with the tree spirits fighting over him which made the situation a lot more fun for everyone else.

As they went to the campfire Percy found Grover and told him to sit with so that they could talk about his adventures. Percy was surprised to see that everyone who helped with the building project that day wanted to sit with him. They all sat down and the Apollo cabin began the sing along. Everyone was having a good time; talking and laughing until Beckendorf nudge Percy in the arm pointing at Annabeth who was walking towards them pretty much dragging Jake. They stopped right in front of the group. There was an awkward silence for a second as the tension seemed to only grow as the seconds past. After what seemed like forever Percy spoke. "Well? What are you waiting for? Come join us!"

Everyone was shocked at his attitude but if he forgave Jake then everyone else could. Slowly but surely Jake was incorporated into the group and the rest of the night was a breeze as all conflict seemed forgiven and everyone was having a good time.

At time passed everyone retired to their cabins ready for a good night sleep after the exhausting day they just had. Everyone in the building group got up and said their goodbyes to Percy leaving him with Hestia Annabeth and Jake in the end.

"Well I think I should go now, it was fun building the cabin with you, and sorry for any misunderstanding." Annabeth got up and tried to drag Jake with her but he refused.

"You go on ahead; I uh would like to talk with Percy for a bit." Jake seemed a bit nervous and kept his head low.

Percy looked over at Hestia, they had a silent conversation then Hestia nodded gave Percy a Hug and walked away towards her new cabin. Leaving both boys alone, there seemed to be tension but Percy was the ever so blunt expert at being oblivious to it all making the situation a bit better.

"So, what's in your mind?" Percy's tone was calm, there seemed to be no resentment just curiosity which seemed to relax Jake a bit.

"Look, I wanted to apologize for the way I have been acting and thank you for…"

"Shoving some sense into you by beating your head to the ground?" Percy suggested.

They both looked at each other before throwing a fit of laughter like good pals sharing a joke. They both stopped laughing after a while and Jake got serious.

"Look I want you to know that I really am sorry. If there is anything that I can do..."

"Well there actually is something…"

Jake nodded ready to maybe be asked beg or something.

"I have heard you have gone on some pretty crazy adventures so if you wouldn't mind I would like to hear all about them."

Jake was surprised but nodded, normally he would exaggerate the tale trying to impress but he told Percy the simple truth, partially because he could probably tell if he was been told a lie. So he talk about his adventures retrieving Zeus master bolt, the encounter with Ares, that weird feeling that stopped the fight, and the betrayal of his friend Luke.

All Percy did was nod as he pieced together the puzzle, confirming that it was Kronos who was rising, although he was surprised to hear that he managed to influence a god despite being still trapped, yes it was a very stupid god but still, that was freighting information.

Jake then continued to talk about how he sort of forced himself into the quest for the fleece to save his friend Grover, even though it was the quest of another camper, how he ventured with Annabeth through the sea of monsters, his encounter with Luke and how Clarisse was captured as she sacrificed herself to safe the fleece.

As Jake finished he looked at Percy with a bit of nervousness, it had been a while since he told the simple truth without exaggerating to make him seem like the one and only hero. But he couldn't read Percy's expression, it was calm but something didn't feel right.

Percy was deep in thought, something about the story didn't seem right, "Your dad, Poseidon after he claimed you have you spoken with him?"

As soon as the words left his mouth Jake's face darkned, a mix of emotions appearing, anger, disappointment, and even regret. He didn't speak but he didn't have to, seeing his reaction to the question was all Percy needed to connect the dots as to Jake's attitude. He was nothing more than a kid desperate to get his father's attention, a father that only claimed him when he was in need and then forgot about him.

Percy was getting angry at the gods but calmed himself and placed a hand on Jake's shoulder.

"Look, I know what is like to be ignored by your parents; mine disappeared when I was ten, but know that you don't have to prove them anything. If they are proud of you or not that's their problem. You should try to make yourself proud, no one else"

Jake was gaping, half expecting his dad to blast them both. He relaxed a bit after a few moments. "I didn't know being a motivational speaker was part of your job description."

"If you think that's impressive wait until you see my dancing skills."

They both laughed and talk a bit more like good friends. After a while Jake simply got up apologized for the tenth time and went to his cabin leaving Percy alone.

Unknown to either one of them Chiron stood on the side with a smile on his face, seeing one of his favorite pupils finally act like himself.

Chiron then made his way to the campfire to talk to the lone demigod who didn't seem to register his presence as he made no movements.

"The life of a demigod is not an easy one. Filled with dangers and expectations from really hard to please parent, it can lead anyone on the wrong path. I was beginning to get worried about Jake, but it seems you have quite the effective way of making him see reason."

Percy smiled a bit at the end but remained quite.

"You aren't very fond of the gods are you?"

Percy sighed. "Not their biggest fan, I will fight on their side simply because I believe them to be the lesser of two evils. But I don't agree with their ways of doing things and their arrogant and selfish attitude."

"So after this war is over what will you do?" The question had a dangerous tone to it, like his answer was very critical for decisions to come.

" I am not your enemy centaur, even after the war I do not wish to battle against Olympus, if Zeus sees me as a threat and tries to kill me or swear allegiance to Olympus then I will defend myself, but realistically I will simply end up fleeing returning the way I came from and way from the gods domain."

Chiron nodded but was still a little trouble however he didn't push the demigod since despite only knowing him for so little he was beginning to grow respect and sympathy for the young warrior. He was way to mature for his age, forced into the mindset of a warrior by circumstances that were outside of his _control_.

"Well then if you excuse me, I will like to go to the shore again, seems to be a good calming area around here." Percy didn't wait for a response as he simply got up and started walking away.

"May the fates have mercy upon your destiny my boy, I have a feeling it won't be an easy one." Chiron barely whispered but Percy heard him clear as day but didn't comment.

As he arrived to shore he simply sat down on the sand and let out a big sigh. He was quite tired, it was a fun day, he met a good amount of campers and managed to retrieve Jake from the dark side, but the battle was still coming. Despite all the fun he had, he knew he had to focus on the war effort soon enough. Dionysus being here was a problem, he could tell Zeus of his presence if he publically announced that the war was coming. Based on Jake's story the Olympians have been well aware of the issue for at least 2 years but haven't really taken much action to solve the issue.

Ugh, the gods were a real issue, if left alone they would be too scared and proud to ask the demigods for help and prepared them, but if he did it they would probably accused him of treachery and distracted themselves from the real issue… _Man, this_ _is not going to be easy…_

He was pulled away from his thoughts as he felt a warm feeling on his shoulders, feeling him with hope and determination. He turned to be met by the smiling Goddess of the Hearth.

"Thanks for that, this is just so complicated… The gods are making this so much harder, and they aren't even doing anything!"

"Well, my family is a bit complicated isn't it? But despite their faults there is good in all of them, no matter how angry they are, everyone calms down when they come to the hearth."

Percy could feel the power of her words, the worry lifting away from him. He then laid back enjoying the stars and company of Hestia in silence until she spoke.

"So what's the plan?"

Percy took a bit to respond as he formulated a plan. "I need to speak to the gods at some point, the sooner the better. It would make the whole training and preparing camp deal a lot easier if the campers knew about the war. As far as I can tell, only Jake and a few of the counselors are even aware that there is something wrong. If I can train them freely without the worry of the gods coming after me then things would go a lot more smoothly."

Hestia seemed worried with that plan, "Well, how about you train them without the gods knowing, most of them anyway?"

Percy shook his head "Dionysus would notice and most probably notify Zeus, I can't afford that, he would probably order my capture and then things will get messy."

Hestia grew a mischievous smile "Well, what if a certain goddess could ask a favor of Dionysus to keep quiet, you could train the campers and not reveal yourself to the gods until it's absolutely necessary and by then the campers would already be trained and the gods would be too busy with the threat to be mad at you."

Percy was just speechless after hearing that plan. "You would do that? You know that eventually they might find out you were involved. I don't want you to get in trouble."

Hestia smiled, touched by the young demigod's concerned. "You should know that the greatest advantage of representing hope is that the gods don't really get angry with you around, so me getting in trouble is not really an issue, also since Dionysus is not in the best of terms with Zeus I am sure he would be more than willing to not say anything. He doesn't really care much for anything lately so I doubt he will act against you if explain things to him."

"Well, the ability to befriend every god is truly a terrifying one. You are a scary goddess lady Hestia." His tone was hinted with humor but his words were true. If she wanted to Hestia could be truly terrifying with all the influence she had.

Hestia blushed and laughed a bit. "So what do you say? Do we go through with this plan?"

He thought for a bit, if the plan did work out he would be persecuted by the gods in the end for going behind their backs, if it doesn't work then he will also be persecuted… Joy the choices…

"What the heck, got nothing to lose so let's do it."

And so the war preparations began.

**A/N: FREAKING FINALLY! You have no idea the time lag between the beginning and end of this chapter. Like I forgot what I was writing, I don't even know what the A/N at the top says, yeah… **

**Well anyway I am back! Now don't get too excited as the updating schedule is probably only going to get worse from here to December. I know this chapter is way shorter than normal but I needed to put something out or I would go into the bad habit of not doing anything and this would probably go on hiatus so I just forced myself to finish something to get myself back into writing. **

**Now, big thanks for all the support, almost up to 100 followers, I MIGHT do something when we get there but I don't know, most likely yes but we will see. **

**Finally, thoughts? I know this chapter is smalled and boring and kind of filler to be honest but the story is slowly taking shape in my mind so HOPEFULLY I will get things going by next time. As for updating time, don't expect more than 1 or 2 chapters per month. In December there is probably going to be an increase in production but we will see. **

**Enough rambling BYE!**

**Peace and calm**

**Al red.**


	6. THANK YOU!

********************BIG ANOUCEMENT AT THE END PLEASE READ*********************

**A/N: Well hello, this chapter is supposed to be a special thanks to all of you wonderful readers. Since today I have over 100 followers I decided to do an extra long chapter relatively soon compared to ch.5. Now as I am writing this AN I posted ch.5 yesterday, but this is the first thing I type so I don't know how long the chapter is going to take but hopefully it will be done by Friday, after that, well don't expect a lot of updates between now and December. Even this is stretching my time but hey, it's a small gift for all you awesome people reading my story.**

**Shout out to those that PM ideas, they were added to the story, so if you have ideas just PM. **

**So, on we go!**

Camp seems to be very peaceful the next morning. However inside of the big house tensions were big as there was discussion between Dionysus, Chiron, Hestia and Percy. As Hestia and Percy finished explaining the plan after telling their stories and revealing who they really were Dionysus had a rare serious expression on his face as he thought about what he was just told.

"Your do realize what you are asking correct?" He was trying to sound uninterested and calm but it was this was affecting him and making him a bit nervous.

"Please, you know that Zeus would make a big deal out of it if he found out about Percy, all I am asking you to do is to turn a blind eyed and not stop him from training the kids for the incoming war, for me?" Hestia pleaded.

Dionysus face softened ever so slightly before he sighed, "Only because it's you Hestia, I do owe you quite a lot, but I hope you realize that I will deny any involvement with this if Zeus finds out right?"

"That's fine, by then the camp would be trained and the war would be too close for Zeus to focus on anything else, if we survive the war Percy and I will face whatever the consequences are."

Dionysus didn't say anything as he turned towards Percy. "I am not a big fan of heroes, but you somehow manage to get the trust of Hestia so I suppose I won't turn you into a dolphin for lying to the entire camp, but I still don't understand how did you get Pan to claim you? Do you know where he is?"

"I am in the dark about that as much as you, I did not expect to be claimed nor do I know the location from lord Pan. My story of being adopted by the Aztecs is true and I am an ally to you not an enemy, I swear this on the Styx."

After the sound of thunder was heard Dionysus relaxed a bit but he kept looking at Percy suspiciously. "Why help us then? You said you were protecting wild life and people in South America, why risk exposure by coming here, to fight a war that is not your own?"

"I am originally from Greek parentage, so I know the suffering that demigods go through, if I can be of help I will not allow innocent blood to spill."

Dionysus chuckled, apparently satisfied with the answer. "So you are not here to save the gods?"

"To be honest lord Dionysus, I see the gods, most of them anyway to be the lesser of two evils. You have all done acts that can be considered villainous because of your pride and arrogance. I however do not wish to oppose the gods as that would only bring more destruction so I simply choose to help where I can keep destruction to a minimum."

Hestia looked at Dionysus with worry, thinking Percy maybe went a bit too far and that he was about to be blasted or incinerated. Instead Dionysus laughed.

"Oh I like you kid, you have something that I don't think I have seen in any of the so called great heroes, selflessness. Your actions are dictated by how the consequences could affect others and not yourself. While I hate heroes I will make an exception for you seeing as you are not an ordinary hero by any means."

Percy smiled and bowed "Thank you lord Dionysus, this will make preparations for the upcoming war much easier and increase our chances significantly."

"Don't be so quick to thank me Peter Johnson, I am only doing this because it limits de amount of time I need to interact with you brats, now get out of here as I am very busy."

He then proceeded to create a wine magazine and immerse himself in it a bit too much. Chiron who was silent the entire time simply sighed and guided both the demigod and goddess out of the big house.

"Well that went a lot better than I had planned." Percy said simply.

"I hope you know what you are getting yourself into my boy, you are pretty much opposing Zeus by acting on your own behind his back. If he learns of your true power he would most likely try to execute for treason."

Percy simply shrugged the comment off as if he had already given the topic plenty of thought and was no long concerned.

"If worst comes to worst I have an emergency plan that will allow me to escape after the whole war is over and not show myself on Zeus' radar ever again."

Chiron and Hestia both looked worried not quite convinced but didn't comment seeing Percy's easiness towards the topic.

"Alright then, I think I will go to the arena to begin some basic hand to hand combat, after that I think I will meet with all of the head councilors from the cabins to decide how we want to approach the whole getting into war mode thing. It would be easier to decide that with people that already know about the threat. I will see you later then ok?"

Hestia nodded as Percy ran away towards the arena.

"That's a very peculiar hero." Chiron said

Hestia smiled softly at the trainer of heroes; that was not something he said often.

"Well then I must go to teach archery, so if you would excuse me Lady Hestia, or Amber I should say." IT was still difficult for the centaur to get used to the fact that one of the goddesses is pretending to be a camper.

"See you later Chiron." He galloped away leaving Hestia alone to think about what was going on. She had agreed to a plan that will with no doubt make Zeus turn against her, not that he would do much her being, well _her, _the gods had a very hard time staying made in her presence but still, she was taking great risk to simply help a demigod that she meet no more than a week ago. She didn't know why at the moment but she was determined to help Percy in any way she could.

She was pulled from her thoughts as some kid bumped into her and fell down. She looked up to see a group of pretty beefy kids who didn't really look too friendly, probably children of Ares. "S-sorry" she tried to say before she was abruptly lifted up by the boy that bumped into her.

"Oh? You are the new girl aren't you? Well we have a inauguration ritual for noobies, since that tree freak seems to be your body guard we weren't able to do it but it seems like he is not around at the moment…"

Hestia wasn't really scared, but rather trying to think of a way to get out of this without hurting the kids. "Please, I don't want any trouble; I just want to go on with my day." She tried to free herself but the guy simply tightened his grip on her clothe.

"Don't worry, you will go on with your day, but first we will do a quick visit to the bathroom." All the Ares kids started to snicker as they made their way to the male bathroom. Hestia started to struggle but not with much energy as she really didn't want to hurt the kids, so she just resigned herself to what the kids were about to do until a voice made them all stop.

"That's enough, let her go." Hestia looked up thinking it was Percy who came to her rescue but was surprised to find that it was actually Jake who was standing in front of the bathroom door with his arms crossed.

"Move it Ugliano, are you telling me that your defeat by tree boy made you have a change of heart?" All the Ares kids started doing "Awww" sounds and laughing but Jake didn't move or show any reaction.

"We are all campers here; we shouldn't turn on each other." That's all Jake got out before the group surrounding the kid holding "Amber" went after him.

Jake tensed, getting ready for one Hades of a beating, he was good but 6 vs 1 away from any reliable source of water weren't the best of odds. Before the battle could even start Jake noticed a blur that appeared in front of him. Next thing he knew all of his previous attackers were now on the floor holding their stomachs or faces.

"Well said Jake well said." Jake had a smile on his face as his old enemy turned around to face him. Then he turned back to the guy holding "Amber" with rage in his eyes.

"Now I believe you said something about an inniciation ceremony, would you mind demonstrating it?" His voice was deadly calm.

The kid paled before he released "Amber" and ran like his life depended on it, which depending on Percy's humor it kind of did.

Jake and Percy approached "Amber who was on the ground from being roughly released. "You ok? Sorry for not coming earlier." Percy offered a hand that she gladly took.

"I am fine, thank you for coming; it appears I don't have the intimidation factor that you do."

"Well if you were actually willing to rough the campers up a bit that might change, but I know that's not in your nature so no problem, I will just have to rough them up for you. Oh, and it's not only me you should thank, Jake here proved to be quite Heroic." He patted Jake on the back as he was doing a pretty good imitation of a tomato.

"I-its fine, they try to do that to me when I first came here, I kind of blew the bathroom in their face but I didn't want anyone else to go through that."

"Well, since you have now prove that you have returned from the dark side how about you come with me to teach some sword and hand to hand combat?"

"You want me to teach? After I ridiculed so many campers? I don't know if they will be willing to have me as a teacher."

"Don't worry about that, I have a plan for that." Percy had an evil smile on his face that made Jake nervous as he was dragged towards the arena.

"Amber you should come to; if you don't want to use your powers some basic hand to hand combat will do you some good."

Amber nodded and the trio made their way to the arena where there was an eager amount of campers waiting when they heard at breakfast that Percy would be giving hand to hand combat lessons. After seeing the way he dealt with Jake without using any weapon many people were excited to say the least.

Amber took a seat as Percy and Jake made their way to the center of the arena facing the campers. Percy seemed relaxed as always while Jake was a bit nervous considering all of the glares he was receiving.

"Well hello everyone, before we start with the official lesson I will like to do a little warm up exercise. Anyone who has a grudge or has been hurt by Jake in the past please come forward, you have both our words that no harm will come to you, right Jake"

Jake nodded, he wasn't sure what Percy's plan was but he decided to simply go with it.

The campers were confused by this request, but having the protection of Percy and the apparent change in attitude in Jake the campers listen. Ten campers, including Thalia made their way to the arena.

"Very well you all listen to me, I know that forgiveness is something that takes time, but holding grudges for ever doesn't help anyone. I believe that Jake has made mistakes that you have all the right to be angry for, but you need to be willing to forgive and move forward. If there is anything that you need to say to Jake, here he is, and he won't harm anyone anymore."

Jake was surprised by the speech and felt guilt crawl inside of him. Why was this kid helping him? He barely knew the guy, had tried to harm him multiple times and he has been nothing but friendly. Then he realized that it was his turn to talk and to back up Percy's words with actions.

Jake steps forward and took his pen out and gave it to Percy willingly to ensure that I wouldn't return to his pocket. "I am sorry for what I have done, please if you feel the need to return the damage that I have done, I won't move."

Percy smiled, seeing that Jake understood quite well how the others felt. Thalia was the one who stepped towards Jake with a seemingly calm expression. Jake gulped but didn't move as Thalia was now face to face with him.

Without any noticed she brought up her hand and slapped him so hard that even Percy flinched a bit. Jake simply turned his head back and didn't say anything as another slap came his way. Again Jake remained unmoving, Thalia dropped her mask as she screamed and began to release a storm of punches to Jake's face and body. Percy was about to stop her, when every other camper that was up there grabbed her in any way they could. Thalia was strong but eventually stopped after being restrained by 9 other campers.

Once she calmed down she looked at Jake who still refused to move despite being filled with injuries and a black eye.

" Do you feel better?"

Thalia turned and was met with Percy having an waiting expression, Thalia looked back at Jake and at her hands that were now bloody.

"Not really…" it was barely a whisper but everyone in the arena heard it.

"Well, that was the point of this, I am surprised that Jake took that beating so well, but you should know that revenge is a foolish concept, no matter how much you hurt others that won't help you heal yourself. For that you need to talk, to express yourself without hurting anyone, got it?"

Everyone nodded and Thalia seemed to relax a bit. Percy went to Jake and put a hand on his head.

"Sorry she gave you such a big beating, I didn't think she would attack you so much." As he apologized a green light appeared around Jake and all of his wounds disappeared leaving him with a confused expression.

"Dude, just how many powers do you have?" His tone was light but there was the tiniest amount of jealousy that made everyone laugh. But the laughs disappeared as Percy almost fell over, but Jake caught him.

"Well with great power, comes great need to take a nap." With this everyone laugh again with more strength this time. It was hard to believe that those two were going to be teaching,

After everyone calmed down Percy got the class going and everyone was pared up and doing basic exercises. As Percy walked around to see how everyone was doing he noticed a couple of kids that didn't really seem to be into it and were starting to walk away, they were rather young, maybe 10 or 11.

As Percy approached they got really nervous; seeing this Percy got down to his knees to be face to with them. "Hey, what's wrong? Do you not like the exercise?" Percy's tone was calmed and caring. That made the kids be a little more at ease.

"We are too small; other campers are telling us that we shouldn't be here." Percy looked around, and heard something moving rather ungracefully through the forest so he guessed they were the Ares kids, they were really starting to get on his nerves.

"Listen to me, there is no such thing as too small, most of the monsters I have fought are twice or even 3 times my size, it's all about using your size to your advantage. Which cabin are you from?"

They all lowered their heads, telling Percy that was a bad question to ask. "We don't have a cabin, we are in the Hermes cabin but that's only because our parents haven't claimed us."

Percy didn't like to hear that, those arrogant gods were only causing suffering to these kids. He suddenly got an idea that made him smile. "Well how about you stay in my cabin? There is plenty of space and I am sure my dad wouldn't mind so what do you say?"

The response was instantaneous as the kids jumped on Percy making him fall to the ground. Other campers that were hearing the conversation started to swarm Percy, as they would also like to live in what was hands down the coolest cabin in all of camp.

"Ok, ok I get please get off me." Percy managed to say between the giggles of the kids on top of him. After that little boost in motivation the kids paid more attention and did the exercises with a lot more energy and ended up doing a pretty good job.

After an hour of this Percy was pretty satisfied with the progress of the group. "Ok then to finish things off, who would like to spar with me?"

Everyone paled and started to back away as they had seen what Percy was capable of and none of them wanted to be in the receiving end of it.

"How about I fight with one hand behind my back, you call come at me all at once and whoever manages to land a hit on my face will be able to stay in my cabin for a week and I will be your personal butler for that week?"

Everyone seemed motivated but there was something about the smile in Percy's smile that made them feel uncomfortable, there was no way he was _that _good, right? Thalia was the first to react as she launched at him and started to throw a barrage of punches at his faces. Percy simply moved his face out of the way, grabbed one of her arms and threw her back at the campers.

"Is that it?" With that, they all charged at him. As they charged some simply went to the side to make sure he was completely surrounded as he easily dodged the attacks of the campers in front of him.

They try to charge him at the same time from all the directions, but that only resulted in them hitting each other and Percy jumping using their heads as platforms. They charged him again but this time he went on offensive, using only one arm and his legs he managed to immobilize or knock out most of the campers by giving them a punch or kick to the stomach or legs.

This continued for a bit until Thalia and Jake appeared to be the last two standing. They walked around Percy who still had one arm behind his back while the other one was in his pocket.

Thalia and Jake nodded at the same time and charged they aim a punch to the face making Percy duck, but it was a trick as they both had kicks already on their way and going straight at Percy's face. His eyes widened as he brought his arm up to block.

The force of the combine kicks forced Percy back but he recovered himself quickly and was on his feet before the duo could deliver another attack. They were both panting while Percy seemed completely fine.

They charged again, except this time Jack on in front while covering Thalia. He aimed another punch to the face, but Percy blocked this time instead of dodging, this seemed to be what Jake wanted as he grabbed his arm and immobilized him making it so that neither of them could move. Thalia didn't waste any time as she charged trying to finish this.

Percy smiled at their team work but he wouldn't let himself go down so easily. "Sorry about this Jake" He didn't get a response as he quickly reared his head back hitting Jake in the nose making him release Percy's arm, Percy then grabbed Jake by the shirt and threw him at Thalia like a rag doll who had her eyes wide as she was hit by the son of Poseidon making them both fall out of the arena.

"Well that was fun but it would appear that-" Percy stopped as he felt a tingle in his spine that made him instinctively ducked as he very narrowly avoided a punch to the face. He launched a blind quick that hit its objective but he could tell that it was blocked. Percy rolled away and stood quickly to gain some distance. As he looked at his opponent he found Hestia- well Amber of all people standing there with a smile on her face.

_Oh I am so screwed… _Those were Percy's brilliant thoughts as the goddess charged him with blinding speed that he could barely blocked. Percy was forced to stay in the defensive for a good five minutes as Hestia's attack didn't faltered and kept the same speed. Percy really wasn't in bad shape, when it came to hand to hand combat his endurance was remarkable provably even by godly standards, but he had a feeling that he would end up losing… after like 20 hours probably.

So, he changed to offence as he took a punch to the gut grabbed her arm and threw two kicks simultaneously one to the head and one to the feet. Hestia reacted accordingly by jumping and twisting her arms making Percy's kicks go off course.

Percy tried to let go of her arm to cushion his fall but Hestia took hold of it and slammed him to the ground with her on top of him and a fist just centimeters from his face.

Everyone was in stunned silence not really comprehending the fight they just witneced and the stunning conclusion.

Hestia removed herself from Percy and offered him a hand. "I believe I win."

Percy smiled and took the hand. "I believe you do." And with the arena was filled with applauses and cheering. There cheering was interrupted by the horn of dinner. Everyone made their way to the dining hall but not before congratulating "Amber" for her amazing victory.

Percy made his way towards Jake and Thalia. "Sorry about your nose Jake, I guess I got a bit to competitive."

"Don't worry about it dude, you didn't even break it so it's fine. But, man, you didn't say Amber was such a good fighter."

"You never asked." Jake rolled his eyes and went to the dining hall leaving Percy and Thalia alone.

"You know if I had my spear and shield I could kick your ass."

"Sure you could, we can a rematch some other time if you want." Thalia huffed and walked way as Percy made his way towards Hestia who was currently surrounded by what seemed to be a group of angry Aphrodite girls.

Percy approached her just in time to hear a familiar voice. "Don't try anything just because you are sleeping in the same cabin got it honey?"

Percy coughed to get their attention making all the Aphrodite girls jump. Once they saw it was Percy they simply smiled and walked way but not before giving Amber one last glare.

"What was that about?" Hestia simply chuckled.

"They apparently wanted to warn me not to try anything since I beat you and I know get to sleep in your cabin for a week."

"Okay… That's a little creepy on their part. Well anyway let's get going my lady." He then gave a bow and signaled the way.

"Are your surprised that I beat you?"

"Not really, I am just surprised you actually showed your abilities. I have always known you were probably the most powerful Olympian being the eldest daughter and all that. I just assumed that your nature would stop you from actually showing that power, but it would seem I was wrong." To make emphasis he rubbed his bruised arm.

"Well sorry, but you were getting a bit too cocky for my liking and there seemed like one else would be able to beat you so I had to do it myself."

"Ha, you know just as well as me, that it was just an act to get them motivated to actually fight, you only fought for fun and nothing else."

"Hmmm, maybe, but having you as a butler for a week is definitely a nice bonus."

"Whatever you say, come on I am hungry."

Hestia simply rolled her eyes and walked behind him but noticed something, only his right arm seemed bruised. It was then that she realized he was only fighting with one arm. That made her wondered just how powerful was Percy Jackson?"

Line break

The next few weeks went by rather quickly as Percy had a meeting with all the head councilors that knew about the war and simply explained that they needed to act quickly to prepare themselves. They asked how Percy knew, but "Amber" simply said that her mother had informed her behind Zeus back.

With that information they got to work, and camp went into war mode. Training became more rigorous as all the campers were told exactly what the danger was and despite still being a few years away they needed to be prepared.

Percy became like a war General, organizing everyone and training them to make formidable warriors. He soon grew to be respected by all camp.

His cabin was now more crowded, not only were all the unclaimed campers there but Hestia also decided to make it its permanent home after the one week where Percy was her butler stating that it was "much more comfortable". Percy didn't really care, he treated her the same and he couldn't deny that he enjoyed her company.

There was also an increased in campers, so Hestia's cabin was now used to fill people that just couldn't fit in the tree house. Percy ordered the satyr's to bring as many as possible, and since he was technically a son of Pan, they listen to him without hesitation.

He was now in the living area of the tree house which became the meeting area for councilors since it had an actual table instead of a ping pong table. He was with all of the head conselours discussing the progress of each camp and any info that they had on the enemy army which wasn't much.

All they knew was that after Jake ruined Luke's plan to get the fleece, he retreated and disappeared somewhere to the south. They haven't received any updates in a few months.

This bothered Percy, not knowing what your enemy was up to was definitely a disadvantage all he could do was recruit as many campers as he could and train them to the best of their ability.

"Well I believe that is all, meeting is adjo-" Percy was interrupted as an Iris message appeared in the center of the table showing Grover.

"Percy! Oh it's good to see you."

Percy immediately smiled. "Grover, my man! I haven't heard from you in weeks, did you find any demigods?"

"Grover's expression turned serious. "Yeah, two of them in fact, brother; but they are not ordinary demigods their aura is two strong. Every time I tried to get close one of the teachers stops me. I am pretty sure he is a monster, so I need back up. Well I need to go now; I can't let them find me."

"Understood, I will send you reinforcements, don't try anything on your own ok?"

"Yeah ok, thanks Perce." Grover then waived his hand in front of the image and it shimmered.

"Jake, Annabeth and Thalia are you willing to go?"

The three demigods looked at Percy then between themselves before nodding.

"Good, you leave tomorrow morning. If the monster is too much you pull back and IM for reinforcement ok?"

All three nodded. "Alright then, meeting adjourned."

Everyone left leaving Percy alone as he led out a big exhausted sigh.

"Man, preparing an army for war is absolutely exhausting." He rubbed his temples as he felt two warm hands massaging his shoulders.

"Thanks Amber, how are you holding up?"

"I am fine thanks, better than you anyway. You need to relax you know? Camp won't collapse if you take a day off to relax."

Percy thought for a moment before letting out another sigh. "I guess you are right, hey tell you what, how about we both take Friday of and go out for a picnic, there is a place I want to show you."

Hestia was startle by the offer. "Eat, like only the two of us?"

"What's the big deal? We are in the tree house only the two of us most of the time."

Hestia simply shook her head, "Um, sure that sounds nice." That made Percy smile.

"Awesome, well I think I will go for a little training in the arena see you later." He then gave her a wave before jumping of the tree house leaving Hestia alone to think.

They did a lot of things together lately, but Hestia didn't think much of it until now. She was growing very attached to this demigod, more than she cared to admit. She had never interacted so much with demigods in all of her existence and it was probably one of the most enjoyable periods of her life. She told herself that is was because all the campers were fun to hang out with, but she knew that the real reason she was enjoying herself was because of Percy.

She shook her head; this was not the time to be thinking about that. So she went to the top of the tree house to get a good view of the whole camp.

It was very different compare to when they first arrived there; there were more defenses around the borders thanks to Percy and Beckendorf. Once he heard about what happened when the tree was poisoned Percy decided that something like that will not be allowed to happen again. There was also a whole new training section with actual monster automatons to give every camper the experience of a real fight.

One would think that Percy transformed camp in some hellish military training camp, but he managed to make everything fun and entertaining. He would dress up as Medusa and give the campers wooden swords and tell them to cut his head without looking into his eyes, and other training exercise that while fun were also education giving the campers a feel to fighting real monsters.

She could see that Percy was in the arena training alone, simply repeatedly beating on straw dummies; Hestia noticed that unlike any demigod Percy didn't use a weapon. In all the fights she had seen him fight he would use his opponent's weapon against them. While it had always worked on his favor Hestia wondered the reasoning behind that.

She smiled as she saw a certain daughter of Zeus approach with spear and shield out. _This is going to be fun. _

Hestia got out of the tree house and made her way to the arena to what would surely be an entertaining fight.

Line break

Percy was on the arena beating on a dummy with remarkable speed as he tried to clear his head. His time in camp has been rather enjoyable despite all the war preparations he has had to make. His only regret is that he couldn't help the environment as much as he wanted to. He had his _old friends_, to take over for him and informed him if they had any issue. So far nothing seemed to be out of order but Percy still wished to help more.

"You know that dummy isn't really much opposition right?" Percy turned to see Thalia at the other end of the arena with his shield and spear out.

"Hey there Thalia, what's up?" Percy didn't pay her much attention as he continued to beat down on his dummy until he kicked it so hard that it broke in half, making Percy sigh.

"I guess you are right…"

"Come on tree head how about you spare against me instead? I could use a little work out before the mission tomorrow."

"Alright, powers or no powers?"

Thalia seemed taken aback like she didn't even consider the question. "You do know that I will win if we use powers right? I mean no offense but plants don't fair too well against lighting."

"You would be surprised; I have more tricks up my sleeve than you think so powers?"

"Alright, if you want to be beaten down so badly." She got in a defensive stance showing his shield to Percy. Supposedly the medusa head on the shield is supposed to scare her opponents but Percy didn't even flinch.

He was the first to attack, as usual without a weapon but he didn't seem to care as he just started to pound on the shield full force. This approach took Thalia of guard as usually only monsters, like Cyclopes, took that approach.

She quickly recover and backed away trying to use her reach as an advantage and thrusting her spear, but as usual he simply dodged it and continue on his attack.

Thalia had improved a lot over the last couple of months, she was probably one of the most capable warriors at camp but Percy still had many years of experience at his advantage plus his blessing from the Aztecs gods, but she didn't really know that.

They kept going back and forward neither of them really able to land a hit until Percy glowed green and raised his hand. Thalia waited for something to happen but nothing did as Percy charged again. She tried to back away but found that her legs were stuck in some tree branches. Too late did she realize that Percy was right on her and before she could do anything he tackled her making her fall to the ground. She however wasn't done. She let go of both her shield and spear and delivered a lighting powered up punch at Percy's gut making him fly back while all of the branches that were holding her turned to ashes.

"Told you, lighting is a bad mach up for plants." Thalia had a smirk on her faced that quickly disappeared as Percy had a smirk of this own.

"We shall see." He then started pulsing with energy again but this time stronger as he raised his hands he let out a roar and huge branches started to come out of the arena floor and going after Thalia.

She had her eyes wide but shot lighting at anything that got too close. This kept the branches at bay but was incredibly draining. By the time she got rid of all the branches she was in her knees, waiting for Percy. Once she saw his silhouette she pointed her hand at him trying to hit him with her last bolt but he disappeared only to grabbed her by the neck and pinning her down with a hand to the throat.

"Yield?"

Thalia was shocked as she saw Percy, not only because of his speed but his appearance. He now looked similar to a cat with claws and some fangs. But it appeared to be an illusion because as soon as she noticed the features they disappeared.

"Told you I had a few tricks up my sleeve, anyway good battle, you have improved a lot lately. Keep it going and you _might_ beat me some day." Percy smiled down offering her a hand.

Thalia recovered herself and took the hand. "I didn't know you meant it so literally when you said you had the power of a jaguar."

"Yeah, well it's not something I use much; believe it or not it kind of scares some people."

"Well it's not that different from your regular face tree boy so I don't see the problem."

Percy just rolled his eyes but smiled none the less. "You better get rest for your mission tomorrow; I have a feeling that those sibling demigods are going to be important."

"Yes sir!" She made a mock salute making Percy laugh and push her lightly.

"So anyway, I heard that the Aphrodite girls are rather depressed lately…" Thalia said changing the conversation.

"Ugh… not this again" Percy had a slight idea what she was talking about and didn't really want to touch the subject.

"Yeah, in their words: "OMG! I can't believe Percy would let that Amber girl sleep in the same cabin as him. Like he is MINE! Do you think they are dating? Do you think we should do something?! Why doesn't he ask ME to sleep with him?!". So yeah, someone is popular with the ladies."

Percy glared at her but couldn't hold it as she started to laugh and made him smile.

"So? Anything interesting going on between you two? I mean we all know you still sleep in the same cabin despite the bet only being for a week. Plus you go like everywhere together, so it's only natural to assume that there is something going on."

Percy simply sighed, "Look, I am not saying that I agree with you, but let's say that hypothetically, I might feel something for Amber, it doesn't really matter, there can't be anything between us."

"Why is that? You do know she likes you right? I mean the whole camp has bet's on how long is going to take you to be together, I am guessing a couple of years considering how oblivious you both seem to be."

"It's… complicated, but she is a friend and there just can't be anything else, so can we please drop the subject?"

"Ok, ok, whatever you say Romeo, I think I am going to go now. Good battle any way."

As she left Percy made sure he was alone before making his way to the forest making sure he wasn't followed. He then started jumping through the trees until he reach a spot that was pretty secluded from camp and that would be pretty hard to spot unless you were looking for it.

It was like Percy's secret meeting place. As he waited against a tree branch his "generals" appeared. The same jaguar as before, one of the wolfs from Lycaon and his eagle.

"So what report do you have?"

_I have asked around South America and I believed that the ship you were referring to crossed the Panama Canal. But that was a few months ago. I only recently got the information so I have no idea where he is now._

The eagel spoke in Percy's mind. _So that's why he went south… Any way great job, at least now we know that he is in the west coast for some reason. Try to get as much info as you can on troop locations and such as you are my eyes on the sky. _

The eagle simply nodded and flew off.

_We have done anything we can to assist the satyrs in rescuing demigods while keeping monsters of their back. But their activity is increasing, I am afraid we won't be able to hold them back much longer if their numbers rise much more. _

Percy though for a moments, those were not good news but he had been expecting it. _That's alright, keep distracting them and doing Guerilla tactics but don't put you or your troops in danger if it gets to the point where you can't attack anymore then so be it. _

The jaguar did the same as the eagle before disappearing leaving only Percy and his newest general.

_There has been suspicious activity around the San Francisco area. I believe that there is something going on around the old throne of the Titans. The Romans are not doing much to stop it as the mist seems to cover it up really well but there is talk among the monsters of a general that has risen. _

_Hmmm, interesting… Well keep me updated and try to figure out who this general is, great job anyway I am glad to add you to the family. _

The wolf gave a grin that would have looked intimidating with all those teeth._ I am thankful; I will take my leave now my lord. _

_Ugh… what did I say about calling me lord? We are a family there is no need for that. _

The wolf laughed, but it came out as a growl as he also disappeared within the trees.

"Well looks like someone had a secret meeting."

Percy jumped as he turned around and saw Hestia with a face that said, _Explain._

"Well yeah, I need to keep myself updated on what is going on around the world. I need every bit of information to stay ahead of the enemy."

"Well, look at you, sounding like a general."

Percy just shrugged, "You could say it's the Aztec in me. Anyway why were you following me?"

"Well I saw that you were having a fight with Thalia and decided to see it. I have to say that it was a good fight."

Percy froze for a second, did that mean that she heard their conversation?

"Also you seemed to have quite the conversation after that something about depressed campers?"

Percy repressed a sigh, and instead grunted. "Those Aphrodite girls are getting on my nerves is like they see me as a piece of meat." Percy then shivered at thought of what they would do to him if they got their hands on him making Hestia laugh.

"Anyway, did you get good info from your friends?"

"Just general stuff, nothing major. What does bother me is that it seems there is some activity going on in San Francisco, I might have to go check it out later."

"Alright well let's go, we don't want to be gone too much, rumors might spread..."

"Great, as if I didn't get enough as it is now." He then grabbed her hand and took her back to camp.

The rest of the week as rather uneventful, the three demigods lead my Thalia left to find the siblings that Grover had mentioned and training continued as usual. As Friday rolled around Hestia got a little nervous about her "date" with Percy. Well it wasn't really a date, but she still felt nervous for some reason. She simply wore a brown t-shirt and jeans as she waited at the top of the tree house for Percy to show up.

"Ready?" She heard behind her making her jump.

"Don't scared me like that!"

"Hey, you did it to me on my meeting, so anyway are you ready?"

She rolled her eyes before nodding, "So where are we going?"

Percy simply smirked, "Now that would be telling wouldn't it? Just take my hand and wait."

She was not happy about not being told but did what he told her nonetheless.

"Close your eyes."

She did and felt the familiar surge of power from teleportation. "OK, you can open your eyes now."

As she did, she had to blink a couple of times to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She now stood at the top of a mounting overlooking a beautiful forest divided by a river. She could tell just by looking that she wasn't in New York anymore.

"Welcome to the Amazon! Pretty cool huh?"

Hestia's brain slowly got back to functionality as she processed what Percy said.

"How did you bring us here? I thought you said that you couldn't teleport."

"Not true, I said that I couldn't teleport the way you do it, but if I have blessed a particular spot on earth I can teleport in and out of there like opening a door. However t he actual blessing process is exhausting so I have only done it a few times in the most endangered areas of the world."

"Wow this is incredible, but why bring me her?"

"Well you said I should take a day off, so a picnic in the Amazon seems to me like a good way to relax."

He got out a blanket and some food and the duo enjoyed a very good and relaxing picnic as they simply did some small talk as time went by. Before either of them realized it they were leaning on each other taking a nap as the sun was still high in the sky but they had a tree to cover them from the rays.

Percy was the first to wake up as he detected some weight on his chest, as his eyes adjusted he realized that it was Hestia. His eyes went wide not sure what to do but he decided not to do anything to disturb her so she could keep sleeping. Then a loud voice resonated in his mind.

_My lord! My lord! We have an emergency! _Not two seconds later an aegle appeared and almost crashed into the tree.

_My- what are you doing my lord? _The eagle had a sly tone to it.

_Shut it, she just fell asleep, anyway what's the issue? _

_That right! The 3 campers you sent to for the siblings are in danger! It seems that a rather powerful monster was guarding the kids and if nothing is done all 5 of them would be captured. _

Percy immediately got to his feet, "What?! I didn't you warned me of this sooner?!"

At this Hestia had a rude awakeing as she wasn't really sure what was going on.

_I am sorry but I told you as soon as I located you, I sent someone else to camp but seeing as though you weren't there I assume you would be here. _

_Ok, I am sorry for yelling thanks for telling me. _

"Whats going on?" Hestia asked still half asleep.

"No time, I need you to teleport us to where Jake, Thalia, and Annabeth are quickly or they are going to be captured."

Hestia immediately forgot all about asleep and was on her feet, she grabbed Percy's hand and teleported them across the world to what would result in a bigger problem than either one of them were ready for.

**A/N: Woo hoo! DONE! Alright I am quite satisfied with this chapter, not quite the 10k I was aiming for but still a solid 7.9k. So this is sort of my thank you chapter for having 100 followers, well it's like 120 now but yeah. So this is the last chapter for a while, as November is the busiest month for me, but I have another story called "Last Hope" that takes a post apocalyptic look at Percy Jackson, there is only one chapter out right now, but people seem to like. Chapters for that are shorter so I might updated during November at least to the point where both stories are at about the same length. At that point I will either switch between stories one chapter at a time or focus on a single story until its finish, I will let you decided. **

**So I hope you had a good Halloween for those who celebrated and Thank you again and check out my other story if you want updates in November. I might update this story by thanksgiving but no clue, I will for sure update before the end of the year but we will see. **

**Anyway I need to go prepared for my course on Monday so I am out. **

**Oh! Final thing, BIG THANKS to the people that PM me ideas, they were implemented in the chapter, so if you have an idea, question or suggestion, PM as I will for sure respond to you within 24 hours of the message, normally I will respond immediately but I have limited internet so I might not see it immediately.**

**I am looking for a Beta reader to correct my stories, so if any of my readers is interested please contact me, thanks!**

**So, now I am done. **

**Peace and calm,**

**Al red.**


	7. 2 rescued, one captured

******Straw poll on my profile please go check it out******

_**Last time…**_

"_What's going on?" Hestia asked still half asleep. _

"_No time, I need you to teleport us to where Jake, Thalia, and Annabeth are quickly or they are going to be captured."_

_Hestia immediately forgot all about asleep and was on her feet, she grabbed Percy's hand and teleported across the world to what would result in a bigger problem than either one of them were ready for. _

**Now… **

It was a rather festive day in Westover Hall Military Academy. The school dance was underway and the students were having a good time, it was all very peaceful inside of the school walls. However outside something different was going on. 3 teenagers were in the middle of a sea of monsters battling for survival.

A girl with short spiky black hair was driving her spear through a dracaena as she scanned the area desperately.

"Damn it, I can't see them anymore! We need to finish this quickly and catch up to them!"

Another girl with blonde hair was in a lock with an Empousa, but the monster exploded in golden dust to show the last teen, a boy with black hair and sea green eyes and his sword out from the kill.

The girl looked at him gratefully "Thanks Jake."

The boy returned the smile but his face quickly turned serious again. "Don't thank me yet, if we don't find a way out of this quickly we are all going to get captured. Plus Grover needs treatment."

He turned towards the ground where a satyr was laying there gripping his shoulder. "We sure could use some help right now." Said Jake as he dodged another strike from a Cyclops and found himself back to back with his other two companions with Grover in the middle of their protective circle.

"Yeah, well prepare yourself for one heck of a battle because help isn't just going to drop from the sky." Said Thalia as she prepared her shield and speared.

"Did anyone say help?" Said a weirdly deep voice from somewhere above the group. They all looked up to see a bright yellow light and two figures coming out of the light descending towards them.

Before they even landed two fireballs were thrown right into the monster ranks startling them momentarily and giving the demigods a moment to rest.

As soon as the figures landed one of them launched unarmed at the closest monsters that were not affected by the fireball. At the same time the smaller figure went towards the demigods.

"Amber!" Said all three demigods in surprise and relief as they finally had some reliable backup. The goddess in hiding smiled at them as she went to heal Grover who was still in the ground.

"What's the situation? What happened to the two demigods?" 'Amber' kept her eyes on Grover as she put a hand on his shoulder and healed his wound.

"They were taken by a monster that was hiding as a school vice-principal. He had an army ready and took us by surprise. He also threw out of nowhere this weird poisoned knife and it hit Grover as he was trying to protect Jake." Said Thalia while Jake looked a bit guilty.

"Alright, well he is going to be fine now. Do you know which direction the monster went?"

They all pointed straight ahead. "We need to get rid of these monsters first though."

"Maybe not, Percy!" called Amber

"I heard everything! You 4 handle the monster while I go after the monsters." As he said that two dracaenas came at him from opposite sides with spears on motion. Percy simply tilted himself backwards as he grabbed both spears and made the monsters impale each other.

Percy then took the two spears and ran straight towards a Cyclops, he spun around and threw the first spear at the Cyclops' head which landed straight in its eye making the monster scream in pain. However, Percy wasn't done as he got close to the monster and used its knees as a spring board to climb upon the injured monsters head and deliver the killing blow by stabbing the spear through the back of the head.

Before the monster disappeared Percy jumped from it and into the heads of the monster ranks. He kept jumping from head to head avoiding different weapons with ease until he reached the other side. He turned around with a grin on his face.

"Take care and meet with me after you are done!" He then sprinted ahead in hopes of finding the kidnapped demigods.

As Percy's body went out of view the three demigods couldn't help but be impressed at his skills. "Hard to believe that he doesn't use a weapon, instead of a warrior he moves like Gymnast." Said Annabeth.

The other 2 nodded while Hestia held in an amused laugh. _They don't know the true extent of his powers… _

However, they focused on the fight in front of them, as the army of monsters recovered from Percy's assault and was ready to attack, but they didn't get a chance to do so as for the second time another group appeared. This one Hestia wasn't sure whether to be happy or worried about as silver arrows rained on the monsters.

Further along in the forest Percy was running full speed and he quickly noticed figures ahead of him. He didn't slow down as he planned for a surprise attack, so he started to move through the trees. There he saw a man dragging two kids being escorted by two hellhounds.

Percy launched himself from the tree went towards the man hoping to take him out with a single move. Things didn't go Percy's way however, as the man somehow sensed Percy's presence and backed away barely dodging Percy's punch that instead hit the ground causing snow to explode everywhere.

Percy quickly adapted his plan and used his position to his advantage, so he put his weight in his hands and swung around hitting both hellhounds straight in the stomach and sending them crashing into nearby trees. He suddenly heard danger approaching, so his body moved on instinct and he caught two daggers that would have hit vital spots.

He didn't waste any time throwing both daggers at the hellhounds making them explode in golden dust.

He then turned his attention towards the man and froze as he saw he had claws for hands and he was pointing them towards the neck of the girl while holding the boy in a lock.

Percy simply raised his hands in surrender while the man laughed.

"Impressive demigod, I don't know who you are but not many heroes in history can move like that. However, it looks like you are dumber than most heroes and would surrender yourself to protect others, how _noble._"

Percy cursed internally as he thought of possibilities. The distance between them wasn't that great, he could reach him if he was distracted for a moment. _Damn! I should have kept those daggers… _

Just as he cursed himself he locked eyes with the boy that wasn't being threatened by claws and simply held by the neck. The boy somehow seemed to understand what was going on and then did something that made Percy promise himself that he would buy this kid a smoothie later. He reared back and kicked the man as hard as he could in the family jewels.

The man roared in pain showing sharp fangs but he didn't get to do much more as next thing he knew a punch and kick where connecting with his jaw and stomach making him release the kids and fall face first on the ground while Percy took several jumps back with one kid in each hand.

He was breathing heavily, still not quite believing what just happened. After a few seconds he calmed himself and put both kids on the ground and looked at them with warmth and slight concern.

"Are you both alright?"

They both nodded and Percy took this opportunity to take a better look at them. They both had pale white skin and were very thin. The boy had onyx black eyes and matching hair, while the girl had almond eyes and hair.

Once they both nodded Percy turned towards the boy and gave him a proud smile making the boy a little nervous.

"Dude, you were a hero back then! If you hadn't done that back there we would have all been in trouble great job." He then held up his hand and the boy happily replied to the gesture.

"Anyway what are your names? My name is Percy"

The two siblings looked a little unsure, especially after what just happened but they felt like they could trust Percy.

"I am Bianca Di Angelo, and this is my brother Nico. What is going on? Why did that man try to take us way and why did you save us?"

Percy smile sympathetically at the two small siblings. Being plunged into the world of demigods at such a young age was difficult and he knew that first hand so he would try to make this as easy and simple as possible for these two.

"Look I know you have questions I will answer them all but right now you are not safe. You two are very special children and many men like that one fear children like you so I need you to trust me for now so I can put you somewhere safe ok?"

They both looked at each other and seemed to have a conversation with their eyes as if deciding whether or not they should follow Percy.

Bianca looked at Percy one more time with doubt in her eyes. "If we don't follow you, are more men like that one going to try to take us away?"

"Unfortunately yes, and they will come more often and won't rest until they have you. So please come with me so I can protect you."

With that the siblings came to a concluding thought. _What do we have to lose? _

So they both nodded making Percy smile. However, that smile quickly disappeared as an angry roar was heard behind them. All three turn to see that the "man" wasn't really a man anymore and Percy recognize the monster. Two mismatched eyes feline like facial features and claws with a scorpion tale that moved menacingly.

"Manticore" Said Percy in a serious tone.

"Very good demigod looks like you have some knowledge after all. I think I will capture all 3 of you and deliver you to the general. Someone with your skills would most certainly be useful."

Percy stood in front of the Di Angelo protectively. "No one is being captured today beast. Kids go hide behind some trees while I deal with him but don't go too far ok?"

The kids looked very scared but they obeyed as they tried to run. The Manticore barely moved but Percy noticed an attack so he rushed toward the kids and caught two daggers while two others got him in his shoulder.

Percy grunted in pain as he removed the daggers and inspected the wounds. They weren't deep but he could feel that they were poisoned.

The Manticore growled in annoyance "because of your interference those other demigods might catch my prey but no matter. I will simply deliver you instead; you will pass out very soon."

"Oh really?" replied Percy as the poisoned blood started to flow out of Percy's wound and into the ground leaving Percy with no more poison while the poison free blood started to form a clot so that Percy wouldn't bleed out.

"Wh-what? But how!? What kind of powers do you possess?" the Manticore shouted, fear evident in its eyes.

Percy simply stared at the wounds with a bit of distaste in his features. "To be honest this is not a power I like to use often except when necessary, so now you have really annoyed me."

The monster roared and launched at Percy while Percy simply got into a defensive position. The monster was extremely fast as Percy could barely follow his movements and was forced in the defensive blocking all of his blows while also dodging his tail.

The battle got worse when the Manticore moved even faster to the point where Percy couldn't follow at all and suddenly he was kicked from behind making him loose his defensive stance allowing the monster to land a barrage of hits from all directions. Percy fought back and threw kicks and punches at a remarkable speed but it was clear that he was outmatched in that regard.

After a few minutes Percy had more injures all over and his blood didn't seem to be able to take care of so many wounds while the Manticore wasn't completely intact, as he had a couple of bruises, he still was in much better shape. _Well, looks like I have to get serious for once. _

Percy then dropped to all four while breathing heavily.

This made the Manticore laughed in a sarcastic joy as he thought he had vanquished his foe. "Does this mean that you yield little demigod?"

Percy didn't respond as his body started to change, his body became longer, his muscle widened and he became more powerful as his face got feline features similar to the Manticore.

"Actually, I just decided to end the warm up and fight for real." He gave the Manticore a grin filled with sharp teeth.

The monster had no idea what had just happened but he didn't think much of it as he pounced at his opponent once more with incredible speed but this time Percy was ready as he met the charge halfway and managed to throw the monster off balance and sending him towards a tree.

The Manticore quickly recovered and simply jumped from the tree to meet Percy once again as they battled in a deadly wrestling match, both of them using claws, fangs and force to try and subdue their opponent.

As the battle went on the Manticores movement began to slow, Percy noticed this and used his superior stamina to increase the intensity of his attacks which allowed him to be on the full offensive and so the Manticore turned into a punching back as his stamina reached his limit and he could do nothing to stop Percy's barrage.

Once the barrage ended, Percy stood over the bloody body of the manticore that seemed unconscious. He reached his hand a prepared to deliver the finishing blow when he heard a scream behind him.

He turned and his blood chilled as he saw that a hellhound was approaching the screaming siblings.

Before Percy could act, the Manticore opened his eyes and used his tail as whip sending Percy back. However, with his increased reflexes Percy used the momentum to bounce through the trees like a pin ball and run straight at the unsuspecting hound. Before it could even register what was happening Percy expertly grabbed the creature's neck and snapped it in one swift motion making it explode in golden dust which covered the siblings.

"Are you alright?" The siblings looked over themselves in confusion.

"Yuck! What is this yellow stuff? Is it like the insides of that dog thing?" Said Bianca with disgust.

"Really? Cool!" Said Nico who didn't really seem to mind.

Percy smiled at the interaction between the two and assumed that they were fine.

"Come kids climb onto my back and let's get out of here before more monster show-"Before he could finish he saw a big shadow forming above them so instinctively he grabbed both kids and dashed away just before a giant body crashed where they were 2 seconds before.

As Percy looked up he nearly cursed at what he saw.

"What's with that big lion thing is that the pet from the man you were fighting?" Asked Nico with a bit of fear.

"I am afraid that this lion thing _is_ the man I was fighting." Just then the fully transformed manticore caught sight of Percy and launched itself towards him.

Percy once again dodged out of the way but this time the manticore was smarter and threw his tail at Percy. He barely managed to position himself as a shield for the little kids in his hands making his body take most of the impact.

Percy groaned as he released the kids from his arms. "This is not good… Kids don't get away from me okay? I am going to get us out of here." Percy grabbed the kids and was about to teleport when suddenly a fireball came out of nowhere and crashed right on the beast's snout. Then out of the forest a familiar group of girls in silver uniform appeared and surrounded the monster.

Percy feel relief for a moment but it was gone as soon as some of the hunters aimed arrows at Percy.

"Get away from the kids beast, you will only get one warning." Percy didn't move as he stood protectively over the children.

"Stop! He is not an enemy he is our friend!" Out of the forest came Thalia and put herself in front of Percy.

"It is you, right Percy?" Percy gave her a grin which looked quit intimidating with all of those sharps teeth. He transformed back into his human form making the hunters gasp.

"You have very good timing; I owe you big for this." Percy's legs suddenly gave up from exhaustion but Thalia caught and gave him support.

The reunion was caught short as the hunters recognized Percy since he was back to normal and the leader of the group still hand an arrow notched aimed at Percy's head.

"You!" she growled while Percy simply smiled at her.

"Nice to see you again lieutenant, you seem to be doing well." This only made the huntress angrier as she set her bow point blank on his forehead.

"Do not test your luck _boy,_ the only reason you aren't filled with arrows right now is because the hunt has a score to settle with you, hand to hand."

"I would love to, but right now there is an over sized lion causing trouble over there which might require our attention."

They all turned to see that the manticore was not yet defeated and the group of hunters where having a bit of trouble as most arrows didn't make any significant damage or were simply swatted away by the beast's scorpion tail.

The lieutenant removed her arrow and commanded her small troupe.

"As much as I hate to admit it he is right we must deal with the monster first." They all nodded not exactly happy with having to follow advice from a man.

As they left Percy let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding as he sat down with the help of Thalia, who looked at him like he was crazy.

"What's on your mind Thalia?"

"What's on my mind?! Do you care to explain what is up with your interactions with the hunters? Other men have been killed for far less, and that was Zoe! The coldest of the hunters! Are you crazy addressing her so casually? Do you have a death wish or something"

"Well truth is I have met them before, it was not too long before I went to camp. We had a small disagreement and I ended up knocking out most of them while the lieutenant, Zoe you said, we never really finished our duel so I am guessing they are holding that against me."

Thalia's mouth hung open as she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Before she could keep questioning Percy, the other 3 campers plus Grover made their way towards them.

"Are you ok Percy?" asked Hestia with concern as she saw that he was covered in wounds she quickly put a hand on his head and began to heal him.

"It got a little tricky, I would have been in trouble if the hunters didn't show up when they did." As Hestia removed her hand Percy still felt exhausted but at least all of his wounds were closed.

"Thanks amber, what about you guys? Did you have any trouble?"

They all shook their head while Annabeth spoke "As soon as you left the hunters showed up so we didn't have much trouble getting rid of all the monsters. Did you manage to keep the kids safe?"

Percy smiled as he raised his arms to show two kids hiding behind his back. "Allow me to introduce you to Nico and Bianca Di Angelo. Nico, Bianca, don't be scared these are my friends and they are here to protect you as well."

This made the kids relax as they came into full view and full introductions were made.

They heard a loud noise above them and saw that a helicopter was approaching. This made the Manticore change his course of action as it disengaged combat with the hunters and focus his eyes on the siblings.

Percy understood what was happening and quickly yelled "Take the kids and scram, he is coming this way!"

Thalia and Amber grabbed one kid each while Annabeth and Jake simply got out of the way. Percy tried to move found that his body while completely immobilize because of his previous battle. He saw that the Manticore was closing in. Percy closed his eyes brazing himself for the impact but he felt something slam into him and get him out of the way.

He opened his eyes in horror to see the manticore who transformed back into a human jump out of a cliff and into the helicopter with an unconscious Annabeth in his shoulders.

"ANNABETH!" Yelled both Jake and Percy at the same time as the Helicopter flew into the distance.

Percy felled to the ground filled with rage and self loath as he crashed both of his fists into the ground creating small cracks on the ground. He felt a body hug him from behind and trying to calm him down.

"She was taken alive; we can still get her back." Hestia spoke softly in Percy's ear. He nodded slowly without even looking up.

The hunters approached the group of depressed demigods with Artemis in the front. She approached Percy who didn't even make any signs of sensing the goddess' presence.

"Hunters make camp here; I need to speak with these demigods in my tent. Meet me in 10 minutes." She then disappeared with in the hunters' as they all efficiently made camp.

Some hunters approached the group of hunters and snickered a bit.

"What a foolish girl, sacrificing herself for a _boy. _Servers her right getting captured for doing such a thing."

This made Percy's depression switch to anger. She would have been at the hunter's throat in a second but Hestia's hold restrained him. "Don't. If you attack them nothing good will come from it."

However someone else approached the hunter, Jake held her by the collar and had a punch aimed at her face.

"How dare you speak of her that way!? She was a very brave, smart not to mention kind. She was ten times more of a warrior than any of you hunters."

Two hunters pinned Jake's arms and held him while the other hunter cracked her knuckles.

"That was a very stupid thing to do boy. Now you will pay for your foolishness." The huntress threw a punch but it didn't meet its target as Percy grabbed the hand mid swing.

"I knew you hunters were violent man haters, I didn't think you were also cowards. Hitting a defenseless opponent. You are acting exactly like the men that you say you despise." Percy spat at the hunter.

He then threw the hunter back making her fall on her butt. The other two drew their daggers as the one who fell quickly got up and did the same. Percy simply stood in a defensive position, he was in too bad of a mood to think diplomatically.

"Stop!" All three hunters turned to see their lieutenant glaring at them. "Stand down hunters, you are not to engage in combat with the campers whether they are male or female."

The three hunters grudgingly put their weapons away, they shot a glare at Percy one more time before joining their sisters in setting up the camp.

Percy's hard expression slipped back into a depressed one as he gave Zoe a sad smile. "Thank you." He then turned towards Jake who was still in the ground glaring at the ground. Percy offered him a hand.

"Look this is my fault but I assure you that we are going to get her back no matter what takes."

Jake looked up and saw determination in Percy's eyes that fueled his own.

"Yeah" Jake took Percy's hand and got up. "We will get her back no matter what"

Percy felt something on leg and looked down to see to kids tearing up. "We are sorry, your friend got captured because you protected us." Percy scooped them both up and placed them on his shoulders.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault. If anything it was my fault for not realizing what was going on in time. But don't worry we are going to get her back no matter what."

The two siblings cleared their tears, while Nico pulled on Percy's hair making him turn to see that Zoe was still there looking a bit uncomfortable.

Percy looked at her and said "Is there anything that I can help you with?" In a rather polite tone compared to how he addressed the hunters a few moments earlier.

"I-I, um, I wanted to apologize about the hunters behavior towards your friend. She was indeed a great warrior, willing to sacrifice herself to compensate for your mistake."

"Why you-" Jake tried to pick another fight but Percy's hand stopped him.

"Apology accepted, now come on Jake we don't want to pick up another fight, especially when she is right."

As Percy, Jake and the siblings went with the other campers to wait as the camp was being set up Zoe still stood there with a mix of emotions.

She was angry at the demigod for speaking so casually to her. She was frustrated that he didn't react to her insult and for some reason she felt disappointed with herself for trying to provoke him. She didn't know what was going on but she decided to not think much of it as she went with the rest of her sisters.

While they waited the group of demigods sat in a circle in silence, all of them too tired or sad to say anything. Except for Nico and Bianca who were very happy to be rescued and took a fascination for Percy as he explained to them who they were and why that monster attacked.

"So that means that one of our parents is a god?"

"That is right. Do you have only one parent or was there one that was missing a lot."

The siblings thought for a moment before Bianca answered. "I remember our mom when we were little but then a man in a suit took us to a hotel and then a few days later that same man came back for us and sent us her."

Percy thought for a moment trying to figure out who their godly parent could be. Before he could get any guesses Zoe approached them.

"Lady Artemis wants to see you two." She pointed at Percy and "Amber" "The rest of you can wait inside of the camp area.

Percy nodded and he took Bianca and Nico towards Thalia. "Stay with Thalia ok? We are going to go to camp soon."

They both nodded, so Percy turned around and made his eyes towards Artemis's tent with Zoe as a guide and Hestia next to her. As they went through the camp Percy received a lot of stares since most hunters recognized his face. Percy was completely oblivious to this as he simply admired the speed with which the hunters were able to get the camp together.

Once they arrived at the tent Percy remember his last experienced here and realized that he was in a similar situation since he was completely exhausted and had no way to escape. However this time he wasn't a complete stranger and he had Hestia at his side so things could be worse.

As they entered they saw Artemis waiting patiently on the carpet while signaling the 'two' demigods to sit.

"Zoe I need to speak with these two in private so please wait outside and make sure the hunters don't kill any of the campers."

"Yes my lady." Zoe eyed Percy strangely one last time before leaving the tent.

"So this is the second time that we cross paths demigod, I must say that not many have accomplished that and live to tell the tale. But that is not the reason why I called you here. What I want to know is why in my uncle's name are you hiding like a demigod Hestia?"

Hestia had a "busted" face but didn't change her appearance. "Well…"

She then decided to tell the whole tale. Of how they have been preparing the camp getting it ready for battle behind Zeus' back since he refused to do anything. She then told of her experience with camp and how wonderful it had been.

Once she was done Artemis was holding her temples as if she was getting a migraine. "You do realize that this is against the ancient rules right? If you get caught, well since this is you we are talking about you will most likely be forgiven but this demigod will most likely get executed, are you aware of that."

"I am Lady Artemis, I am happy as long as I manage to help the demigods prepare for the war. Besides with the war looming closer Zeus won't have any time to deal with me until after the war is over, something that I am perfectly content with."

Artemis was slightly surprised by his answer. "No wonder Dionysus is letting you get away with this. I will hold his same mentality, I will not speak of this but once he finds out I will not defend you either, is that clear?"

"Crystal my lady, I couldn't ask for more."

"So what do you plan to do now?"

"I need to rescue my friend, but first we need to get back to camp."

"Hmm, well I need to go on a hunt alone so I will get you and my hunters a ride to camp."

"Thank you my lady."

They then excited the tent and Percy went to his friends while Artemis informed the hunters of her alone trip and that they will have to go to camp half blood. Needless to say they weren't exactly thrilled.

Jake approached Percy with an expectant look on his face. "Well what did she want?"

"Nothing really, she just warned us not to fight with the hunters and said that she had to do a hunting trip alone so she will get a ride to camp half-blood for us and the hunters.

Jake gulped at the thought of hunters in the camp but didn't comment. So the hunters and campers made way towards a clearing in the forest and waited for Artemis's ride.

The hunters were glaring at Percy while he was simply talking to Nico and Bianca. After about 15 minutes of waiting a bright light appeared in the sky and got closer and closer until a red maserati spyder was stationed in front of them.

From the driver seat stepped out a guy looking around 19 with a brilliant white smile, sun glasses, a sleeveless shirt and perfect tan.

"So, who needs a ride?"

******Straw poll on my profile please go check it out******

**A/N: What is this?! I actually updated Aztec warrior for once?! The apocalypse must be upon us!**

**Jokes aside, I am sorry for taking so freaking long to update, I hope that you don't have to wait so long for updates from now on but I am not sure. So as some of you know I have been working on another story called "last hope" That's part of the reason why I haven't updated. Because doing 2 stories at once consistently is a little difficult and something beyond my current capabilities, I will update one at a time. That's why I have a poll in my profile where you can vote for which story you want. (I would appreciated if you read both stories before voting but that is your choice and not necessary.) **

**So this is the last update before the straw poll is closed. I will update last hope twice more so that both stories are around the same length. **

**Finally BIG shout out to Cnrbrr who gracefully agreed to be my beta. I already have another Beta, Nerdy Athletic but he seems to be MIA, so thank you Cnrbrr for offering and helping me out. I will give him an editor's note below for if he wants to say anything to you guys.**

**One more thing! Thoughts on the chapter? Please let me know what you think and also THANK YOU for 200 followers, I can't believe we have doubled since the last time I updated, it really means a lot to me, so thanks!**

**E/N(Cnrbrr): Hey guys CNRBRR here just saying hope you enjoyed this wonderful authors work and I hope you come back for more! I have been a fan of this story for a while so I can honestly say that I am very very excited to be working with al red**


	8. chapter 8

**_Last time…_**

_Jake gulped at the thought of hunters in the camp but didn't comment. So the hunters and campers made way towards a clearing in the forest and waited for Artemis's ride._

_The hunters were glaring at Percy while he was simply talking to Nico and Bianca. After about 15 minutes of waiting a bright light appeared in the sky and got closer and closer until a red Masareti spyder was stationed in front of them. _

_From the driver seat stepped out a guy looking around 19 with a brilliant white smile, sun glasses, a sleeveless shirt and perfect tan. _

_"So, who needs a ride?"_

**Now **

The group of demigods was staring at the guy in surprise while the hunters were glaring at him. Percy immediately recognized who this was and tried to keep his powers down so that he didn't stand out among the group of demigods.

"I need you to give my hunters and these campers a ride to camp half-blood Apollo. Now some ground rules, you aren't allowed to flirt, talk, or even look at my hunters or I shall put an arrow where the sun doesn't shine, are we clear?"

Apollo simply raised his hands in surrender with his smile not wavering.

"Relax will you, of course I will help you, anything for my little sis."

Artemis simply massaged her head and let out a sigh, knowing an argument would lead nowhere. She then gave some final instructions to the hunters before disappearing into the forest.

Thalia had gone over the initial shock of Apollo's appearance and decided to a address a little doubt she had.

"Excuse me, um Lord Apollo? How are we all suppose to fight on that car?"

Apollo gave her another blinding smile.

"I am glad you ask sis." He then snapped his fingers and the sports car transformed into a school bus. "All aboard." He wave towards the bus, allowing the hunters to get in first and then the 4 demigods.

Percy sat with Hestia and Jake with Thalia, both of them completely quiet and equally conflicted by guilt. Once Apollo got on he turned towards Thalia.

"Hey sis, would you like to drive this bus?"

Thalia paled at the request. "B-but I am not even 16 yet, I don't have a license."

Apollo simply waved a hand dismissively and directed Thalia towards the driver seat.

"Relax, consider this driving practice. Now it works just like a normal car except you pull the steering wheel up to gain height and you push it down to descend got it?"

Thalia nodded but Percy could see sweet going down Thalia's face and he got the feeling that this was not such a great idea. Before he could even say anything Thalia pressed on the accelerator with too much force and the bus fire off at jet like speeds towards the forest.

Thalia yanked the wheel up barely missing a pine but this caused Apollo to be flown back as the bus went vertical. Thalia kept trying to regain control but with her rough movements everyone was bouncing around the bus, well almost everyone.

Percy was hooked into his seat with one hand and both legs as the other hand was over Hestia and serving as a seatbelt. Percy was piercing the seats with his transformed hands as he hanged on for dear life. He looked around the bus and just looking at everyone bouncing around made him dizzy.

Deciding he could take much more he turned to Hestia.

"Try to hold on for a second!"

"Hold on to what?! This bus doesn't have seat belts." Percy didn't get to give her an answer as he saw they were close to collision with a farm.

He jumped out of his seat and jumped towards Thalia with great agility despite the sudden movements. Once he finally reached her he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thalia! I need you to calm down. Stop thinking about where you are and just focus on what you are doing, I need you _lightly and slowly pull the steering wheel up!"_

Thalia seemed to relax at his touch and words and did as instructed. She forgot about everything else except what he told her. Slowly the bus got into a stable position allowing everyone to fall back into their seats and missing the farm below them.

She turned towards Percy with gratitude in her eyes. He simply gave her a thumps up, before he grabbed his mouth and tried to avoid barfing. Thalia laughed a bit as she focus back towards the front of the bus and traveled smoothly.

They reached camp half-blood 20 minutes later with no casualties and only a few injured, so a fairly successful ride over all. Once they all got off they got on their knees, simply thankful to be back on the ground.

Apollo himself didn't look too god but he gave Thalia a smile none the less.

"Not… not too bad for your first try sis, keep practicing and you will get better. Well I must go now it was pleasure." He then transformed his bus back to his sports car form and drove way.

Once everyone recovered from the ride they walked towards camp. Percy was walking with Nico and Bianca, who he had completely forgotten about during the ride. Thankfully Jake protected them so they weren't hurt

Once they got to the cabins Chiron appeared to greet them. Surprise was clear in his face as he saw the hunters but he addressed them politely none the less.

"Hunters, to what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

"My lady went on a hunt by herself so we were assigned to stay here while she does this. I do not think it will take more than a few days." Replied Zoe, being equally polite as she had respect for the old trainer of heroes.

"Please make yourself at home. The Artemis cabin is right over there and dinner while be at 8."

Zoe nodded and went towards the cabin with the rest of the hunt right behind her. Once they were out of sight Chiron turned towards the group of campers.

As he saw Jake and Percy's faces and the fact that Annabeth wasn't with them he got an idea of what had happened. However he decided to wait before jumping to conclusions.

"It would appear we need to talk."

"Yes we do, meeting in the tree house in 5 minutes."

Line break

Every head councilor plus Chiron was in the tree house as they discussed the quest with some changes. "Amber" said that it was her adoptive mother (Hestia) that teleport her and Percy to the rescue of the others, something that wasn't exactly wrong. After that they explained the battle with the chimera and the capture of Annabeth.

Most were shocked at the description of Percy's battle with the Chimera, but he was completely oblivious to the attention he was getting as he was focus on rescuing his friend. Once the explanation was over Percy finally spoke.

"Chiron, what would be the procedure to rescue Annabeth?"

"Well a quest would have to be issued, but we don't even know where she was taken."

Percy was quiet for a minute as he knew the centaur was right. He tried to think back to the battle to try and find something that the chimera might have said…

"Wait… the chimera mentioned someone… a general, do you have any idea who that might me? And also the beast that Lady Artemis is hunting…"

The centaur was quiet for a minute as he seemed deep in thought. "I have a couple of ideas, none of them good, and most of them don't really seem very likely. Anyway, for now we should accommodate the new rescued campers, since they have not been claimed they will be staying at the Hermes cabin."

Percy turned toward Nico and Bianca who were comfortably sitting next to him. As he smiled at them he got an idea.

"Wait Chiron, if they want, I offer them a chance to stay in this cabin."

Everyone in the room groaned in complaint and slight envy while Nico and Bianca nodded with enthusiasm. Chiron chuckled a bit at everyone's reaction but he held up his hand to keep quiet.

"Very well then, until they are claimed they may stay here. Now since the quest was exhausting I suggest that everyone involved goes get a good rest before dinner. Everyone else go back to your activities and be ready for dinner. Finally please try to not mess with the hunters, especially male campers, I would like no casualties in this visit."

Everyone paled and nodded vigorously except for Percy who simply smiled. He knew the hunters were less than happy with him but the thought of them attacking him entertained him for some reason.

As the meeting ended Chiron galloped out of the tree house through the ramp that Percy had built specifically for him, something that made the old trainer rather happy as he could stay at his full height and not have to retract himself in his wheel chair.

Most people left soon after, leaving only Thalia, Jake, "Amber", and Percy. Jake stilled looked rather depressed as Percy approached him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry we will find her."

Jake looked up at him, desperation and tiredness in his eyes. "How? We don't even know where they took her or what they are going to do with her." He paused for a second as something clicked in his head.

"Wait, what if we ask the Oracle? I am sure she knows."

Percy was thoughtful for a moment. He knew of the Oracle, and from what he had learned it doesn't usually tell you stuff when you want to know, and more likely when you needed to.

"I don't know, it's worth a shot but I am not sure if she will answer."

That was more than enough for Jake to sprint towards the Big House and up to the attic. As he sprinted off Percy looked at him with guilt. He shouldn't have let his guard down…

Before he could sink into depression Hestia landed a warm hand on his shoulder, instantly making him feel better.

"Don't worry I am sure we will find, although I doubt the oracle will be helpful. However, I know that dreams from demigods, especially powerful ones like children of the big three, usually show you something important, so Jake might dream about her. Either way I think waiting until tomorrow is the best idea."

_Children of the big three_. That single thought made Percy scowled as his power pulsed a bit in reaction to his emotions. Hestia noted this and raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?"

Percy let out a sigh as he calmed a bit. "Nothing, it's just that using my powers so much made me think of my family…"

Hestia nodded, knowing who he was referring to. "How long has it been since you've seen them?"

Percy thought for a moment before answering his hand unconsciously going to his neck. "I guess it has been for years. They told me to keep training and use the power they gave me as I saw fit. Then they simply disappeared whispering that we would meet soon. Since then I haven't heard a word from them, except sometimes, when I'm in trouble it feels as if some of their voices come to my had and try to aid me. It has happened a couple of times but I still haven't seen them."

"I am sure that they are very proud of you and what you are doing."

Percy gave her a thankful smile. He then turned towards the big house. "Come on, let's go and see if Jake got an answer as to where Annabeth is."

Hestia nodded as they both exited the tree house and walked towards the big house. As they got closer they saw Jake and based on his expression they guessed whatever information he got it wasn't very helpful. Once they reached him Percy was the first to speak.

"So what did the Oracle say?"

"She didn't say anything; she didn't even acknowledge my presence."

Percy simply let out a sigh, knowing this might happened. "Well there is no point in being mad about it. The Oracle doesn't really give us the answer we want when we want them. All we can do is wait for information on where she might be."

Jake was not happy about that conclusion but he knew Percy was right. As he locked eyes with him he also realized that this was affecting him just as much if not more. The guilt was eating both of them; it was then that Jake decided he just couldn't keep feeling sorry for himself while Percy kept his cool as much as he could despite the guilt.

"Yeah you are right, but we should stop feeling sorry for ourselves and do something productive. How about we train for a little while to get our mind of things?"

Percy was surprised at how mature Jake sounded and how well he was taking the fact that they had to simply wait. He smile at the thought of what someone he was beating to a pulp when they first met was now comforting him, trying to make him feel better and quickly becoming a friend he could count on.

"Yeah you're right let's train for a bit. I might even use my light saber this time."

Jake smiled at the joke. Since everyone kept bugging Percy about why he didn't use a weapon he finally said that he had a weapon but that he just didn't use it. However Percy never said what kind of weapon it was so this led to a bunch of guessing and crazy theories. The most popular one being that he had a real live light saber.

"You really should just tell us why you don't have a weapon of your own. It is very clear that you can use one."

"Ha, wouldn't you like to know? It's just a very complicated story but if you push me hard enough you might force me to us it." Percy taunted

With that Jake visibly perked up at the perspective of finally seeing Percy's weapon. "You are on! Let's get going to the arena!"

As both teenagers eagerly ran towards the arena, Hestia trailed behind them with a smile on her face as she was deep in thought. There was something about seeing those two together that only bugged her, as if they were connected in some way. She couldn't quite put her finger on but little did she know that the trip to the arena would give her the last clue she needed to put the pieces together.

**Line break. **

Meanwhile the hunters had occupied the arena and they looked less than pleased. As per usual with their trips to camp they tried to talk with the female campers to see if they could convince any of them to join the hunt.

They were used to getting rejected from time to time, but this time it was different. Every single girl they asked refused for pretty much the same reason. Perseus Jackson, whether it was because he helped them train, because he was friendly or "dreamy" as some had put it, all the girls had high regards of him.

This annoyed the hunters to no and considering they already had a bad experience with the mysterious demigod considering how they lost to a single male. They simply assumed that he had trick all of the girls at camp, using fake words and actions to get them to like him. Despicable male…

As they kept harnessing these thoughts they let out some of their anger by mercilessly destroying the straw dummies in the arena.

"Hey could you move a bit so that we also have space to train?" Asked a son of Athena looking for some work out alongside other campers.

Without even responding one of the hunters quickly turned towards the boy and launched an arrow at him straight to the chest.

The boy only had time to close his eyes and brace himself for the impact. However the impact never came. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see Percy with the arrow in hand glaring at the hunter.

"You shouldn't play around with things like these you know, even if it is a blunt arrow you could hurt someone." Percy had an emotionless mask on but his tone made it clear that he was less than pleased with the actions of the hunters.

The hunters all stopped their training and glared back at him all of them looking ready to fight. Percy however didn't back down as he stood in a relax position as if a fight didn't worry him at all. Before a full on brawl could start a voice stopped the hunters.

"Enough! We will not start a fight here. All of you go back to the cabin or to practice archery in the forest. You should safe your energy for tonight."

All of the hunters grumbled at the command of their lieutenant but they had no choice but to agree as they all left the arena. Percy gave Zoe a grateful smile but all he got was a small glare in return before she followed the rest of the hunters.

"T-thanks Percy." Said the son of Athena. Percy simply nodded at him and moved on to the arena like nothing had happened.

He then called Jake over so that they could begin their sparing. Jake got out of his shock from the situation and grabbed two wooden swords and giving one to Percy. Percy gave the weapon a few swings before getting into a fighting position as Jake did the same.

After an hour of sparring Jake was lying on the ground with his sword at his side completely exhausted from the sparring with Percy. On the other hand Percy was simply standing over him with a smile on his face and a bit of sweat as he leaned on his sword.

"Man, I swear your stamina is not normal, not even by demigod standards."

"Well you need to consider that all I did was dodge for the most part and attack with small jabs as oppose to you who loves to attack with big swings that while powerful they take your strength away. But regardless of that you are really skilled with swords but I think it will work better if you used a blade that you are comfortable with."

"Ha, look who is talking. Tell you what I will use my sword once you use whatever weapon you have hidden."

"Hmm, maybe."

Percy then offered Jake a hand just as the horn rang signaling it was time for dinner. Everyone quickly left the arena and went towards the dining area.

Once everyone was seated and in the middle of their meal Chiron made an announcement.

"Attention everyone, since the hunters are going to stay with us for a little while we will have our customary capture the flag game on Friday."

There was some immediate nervous murmuring among the campers as they were definitely not looking forward to fighting the hunters. There were a few exceptions of course those being Thalia, Jake and Percy who were eager to confront the hunters.

After the announcement the campers chatted amongst themselves while Percy simply towards the stars with a thoughtful expression and a hand around his neck as if looking for something.

"Percy, are you alright?"

Percy quickly returned to reality and met eyes with a worried Bianca. He gave her a smile and patted her head.

"I am fine, just thinking that's all. What about you guys, are you ready for the capture the flag game?"

Nico and Bianca looked at each other completely oblivious to the fact that Percy had changed the subject.

"We get to stay with you right?" They asked almost worriedly and Percy simply chuckled.

"Of course, I won't let anyone get a hand on either one of you. As long as you stay behind be you will be safe and maybe even have some fun."

This seemed to be very reassuring to the siblings as their expressions became a lot more relaxed as they enjoyed the rest of the meal.

After dinner everyone headed to their cabins while Nico and Bianca trailed behind Percy towards the tree house. Percy showed the siblings their beds and they were surprised to find how comfortable they were. They said goodnight to Percy and quickly fell asleep after such an exhausting day.

Percy went to his own private room in the tree house that had a pretty good view of the whole camp. As he thought of the long day he had just gone through. He had rescued two new demigods but lost a friend in the process, mainly because he couldn't take down the chimera on his owns. _I guess I still have a long way to go_

That's the last thing he thought before he felt his eyelids become heavy and slowly closed them, drifting him into the darkness of sleep.

**Line Break**

Percy had heard that demigods usually had odd dreams usually teleporting them to somewhere else and giving them visions of important things. That had never been the case for Percy, usually he had dreams about his mother, the Aztec gods, or simply the past in general, but this time was different.

He was in a completely dark place except for a light right above him.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He asked in the complete darkness.

"Well well, look who finally decided to visit!" Exclaimed a powerful voice, probably male from the darkness.

"Oh be quiet, you know very well why he hasn't been able to be here, even know he doesn't even realized where he is."Said another, older voice.

"What are you talking about? Where am I… wait, those voices… I-I know you."Said Percy as he grabbed his head, as if a memory that was locked way was trying to claw out. As the pain became more intense a hand grabbed his shoulder making him relax.

"At ease child, don't force the answers. I assure you; in time all will be reveled but for now be calmed and listen. A quest will be given; this quest is connected to your past and should you choose to follow it many answers will come, however beware that this will not be an easy quest so be careful and we shall meet again child."

Percy tried to look up at the person but they were shrouded in shadows making it impossible for him to see their face. He tried to listen to the person's words but it was all too confusing. Before he could even process what had just happened the figure vanished alongside the dream but Percy could swear he saw the figure smiling.

After that little experience Percy woke up, confused more than anything else. He decided not to tell anyone before he could figure out what it all meant. So he was pretty quiet all through the morning until breakfast.

It was then that Jake came up to him looking slightly shaken up. Percy looked worriedly at him.

"Hey man, are you ok? You are looking a little pale."

"You might not believe me but I just had the craziest dream last night." Percy raised an eyebrow slightly surprised by the coincidence, but looking at Jake's expression he decided not to mention it.

Jake then proceeded to explain his dream in which he say Annabeth, Artemis and a Luke. Percy stayed quiet throughout the whole thing trying to absorb as much information as he could to see if anything could help locate them

Once he was done Percy was deep in thought before sighing and speaking up.

"Well, I also had a dream, in this one it said that a quest will be given. I say we wait until that quest is given. If after a few days nothing happens… well then we might take a small trip on our own."

Jake simply nodded and continued on with his day. The rest of the week as uneventful until Friday night were the campers were reunited in their capture the flag game against the hunters.

At this point Percy was slightly bored as he simply listen to Jake and Thalia bark at each other trying to decide who would be the leader.

"So while Silena and the Aphrodite cabin act as a decoy I will lead the main assault with the Athena cabin while Jake and the new campers stay at the defense."

"I was thinking the same thing except that you would work better in the defensive you know because of your shield and all."

Thalia gave Jake a look that suggested a full blown fight will break out if this wasn't controlled.

"Ladies, ladies please no need to fight. You can both lead the attack; I will stay in the defense alongside Nico, Bianca, Amber and a few Apollo archers hidden in the trees while the rest of you attack in 3 different teams. Silena can be your decoy while you divide the rest of your forces in two less obvious groups and whoever gets the least hunters after them runs for the flag. Does that plan satisfy you both?"

Everyone was turned speechless by Percy's intervention considering he had been quite the entire time, so much so that Thalia even forgot to put him in the fight despite being one of the best fighters and yet his plan looked really efficient while Percy carried a big responsibility without much glory.

The plan was quickly accepted and then they discussed who should be in each team. Soon enough the teams were made and everyone was ready for the game to start. Jake approached Percy.

"Are you sure you are going to be able to handle the defense? I mean no offense but you are the only competent close combat camper staying in here while most of the hunters have a lot of experience. If too many come after the flag at once…"

"Then I only need to stall long enough for you to take their flag since their defenses will be weak. Don't worry about me I will be fine, just make sure you do your part and take that flag."

Jake was satisfied with that answer and strapped the rest of his armor on and went over to his leading group. Once everyone was ready the horn was heard and the game began.

The three groups disappeared into the shadows and soon the sound of battle could be heard from the distance. Percy stayed on guard and focus as he waited for the hunters to appear. He could hear a light rustling in the trees and instantly ducked bringing Nico and Bianca with him and not a second later arrows bounced off against the rocks behind them.

Percy quickly got up and grabbed two of the arrows as two figures emerged from the forest with bows in hand. Percy smiled at Zoe and another hunter who Percy remembered could use the spear quite well.

"Attacking with only your two strongest warriors while compensating numbers with your long range capabilities in defense. A bold move, it probably would have worked in most scenarios. However the campers trusted me with defense and I am not willing to let them down."

Both hunters glared at Percy and how his relaxed attitude suggested that he could take them both on at the same time. This moment of distraction was what Percy was waiting as he made a quick signal which was instantly followed by the hidden Apollo campers firing way at the two hunters.

Both hunters responded with remarkable speed as they dodged out of the way coming out unharmed and using their many years of training they were quickly able to locate the attackers and fire back. Surprised by this counterattack the campers fell from the trees stopping the assault. However it lasted just long enough to create the opening Percy was waiting for.

With lighting like speed Percy launched at Phoebe while she was still shooting. Unable to react on time all she was able to see was a foot as Percy landed a clean kick to her face effectively making her loose balance.

Without missing a beat Percy capitalize on her lack of stabilization and decided to end this quickly. He let go of the arrows and grabbed her left wrist with his left hand and then delivered a quickly blow to the jaw instantly knocking her out.

As she fell Percy made sure to grab her and set her down easily and make sure she was breathing. She then turned her attentions towards Zoe who still wasn't aware that her companion had been taken out. Once the camper that was attacking her fell of the tree she turned her attention towards Percy and was shocked when she saw Phoebe unconscious at his feet as he grabbed back the arrows he was using.

"What did you do to her?!" She practically yelled.

"Nothing serious, just applied a pressure point technique to knock her out. I wouldn't recommend trying without guidance though. Without the proper technique and experience it can be quite dangerous."

Zoe was pretty much seething at this point. Just how far can a single demigod humiliate the hunt? Without much thinking Zoe launched at Percy and started to furiously swing her hunting knives at Percy.  
Percy parried all of the attacks using the arrows as make shift weapons and doing a pretty darn good job at it as both warriors were pretty evenly matched. As they kept exchanging blows in an amazing display of agility and flexibility yells could be heard from inside the forest. The yells were mostly from girls so it was assumed that it was the hunters.

"Looks like you might be losing tonight lieutenant."

That single comment made something inside of Zoe snapped. It wasn't just about the game anymore. It was her pride as a hunter that was in the line in her eyes. She will not loose against the camp for the first time because of a single cursed male!

As rage and pride consumed her aura and energy flowed out of her sending Percy back in surprise. Once she spoke her voice sounded different.

"I will not lose to you _male!" _

Percy was almost afraid of her as he felt the energy flowing of her. It was then that he understood that she was not a normal demigod, the power he was sensing felt a lot more ancient that that from the gods.

He had little time to think about this as Zoe launched at him with her knives out and from the looks she was giving she was going for the kill. Based purely on instinct Percy launched both arrows from his hands at her.

They were easily deflected but it gave Percy just enough time to stick his hand out looking at ground as if expecting something to come out. Hestia who was watching from the distance instantly knew that this girl was the daughter of a titan and thought that Percy was in trouble but decided not to intervene based on his calm reaction.

However she was about to scream once he gave up his only weapon and stuck his hand out towards the ground. She was even more amazed when a sword broke through the ground and straight into Percy's hand just in time to block Zoe's strike.

Not only was he able to block Zoe's strike but the sword itself seemed to give Percy a power boost as he was easily able to push Zoe back. As Hestia stood from the side shocked by the development of this confrontation.

She took this opportunity to take a closer look at the weapon Percy was wielding. From what she could tell it was a double edge sword made entirely out of wood but something was odd about it as it felt like it had some hidden power within it. What she also found curious is just how massive the sword was as it was almost as big as Percy.

Percy was getting more and more surprised as the night went on. Not only did he discover what happened when she pissed off the lieutenant of the hunt, but he was suddenly able to wield the weapon that was giving to him so many years ago rather effectively for the first time.

He supposed that being in probable mortal danger had something to do with it but his arms were getting tired after just 4 strikes which showed he was nowhere near close to mastering it be this was a definite step forward.

However fighting the lieutenant of Artemis in a duel was not the way he imagined he would make such progress. It really was a bitter sweet moment for him. As he stopped another strike he noticed that she was also getting tired so it was probably a good idea to stop this quickly before one of them ended up injured or worse.

"Amber!" was all Percy managed to say in his exhausted stated and he just hoped that she got the message.

Not 5 seconds later a fireball passed right by Percy's face and exploded right on Zoe's startling her just enough for Percy to close in and swing one last time right at Zoe's head effectively knocking her out.

As if by coincidence right at the same time cheering was heard and then Thalia and Jake hand in hand holding the flag with all the campers behind them. A few minutes later Chiron came in with a smile clear on his face.

"And the winner of this game, for the first time ever, is the team of the campers!"

Zoe quickly got up as Percy applied massaging technique to her head meant to be used to waken knocked out individuals to avoid any damage to the head. As she woke up she held her head and looked around confused clearly not aware of her rage attack a few minutes earlier.

Percy then offered her a hand while he gave an apology.

"Look, it wasn't my intention to upset you but you and your hunters haven't exactly been nice either. How about we both admit we were wrong and call it even for now."

Zoe had never heard a man apologize to her before, she wasn't sure as to what had happened but one thing was clear. This male beat her fair and square and instead of boasting he was offering a hand and apologizing.

Zoe surprised herself as she accepted the hand and allowed Percy to pull her up. Soon everyone was reunited and while the campers were cheering the hunters were not too happy about loosing for the first time.

However everyone fell silent and had their mouths hanging as they saw the oracle of Delphi approached the group. It made its way through the campers and stopped right in front of Zoe.

"Ask seeker" she said in a raspy ancient voice.

Zoe was completely shocked but she answered none the less.

"How may I save my lady?"

Mist appeared around the body of the oracle and she then spoke:

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail,

The titan's curse must one withstand,

And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

**A/N: I am back! I shall keep this short to I can uploaded already but thank you for your support on this story. **

**A special thanks to a fan that PMs often and shows much care for this story, also sorry because I told him this would be up yesterday. **

**Now that summer is here, I have plans, new batteries, and a bunch of time.  
See you soon.**

**Al red.**


	9. Prophecy and the quest begins

**So I am back, please note that I replaced the announcement on chapter 8 for an actual chapter, so please check that out before this one to avoid confusion ^_^**

_**Last time **_

_Zoe surprised herself as she accepted the hand and allowed Percy to pull her up. Soon everyone was reunited and while the campers were cheering the hunters were not too happy about loosing for the first time. _

_However everyone fell silent and had their mouths hanging as they saw the oracle of Delphi approached the group. It made its way through the campers and stopped right in front of Zoe. _

"_Ask seeker" she said in a raspy ancient voice. _

_Zoe was completely shocked but she answered none the less. _

"_How may I save my lady?" _

_Mist appeared around the body of the oracle and she then spoke:_

_Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_One shall be lost in the land without rain, _

_The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The titan's curse must one withstand,_

_And one shall perish by a parent's hand._

**Now…**

Everyone was pretty confused by the events that just transpired. It was the first time the oracle left the attic to deliver a prophecy. Not to mention the prophecy itself, it was all too much information at once for the camper.

Percy however, despite being shock was still able to keep his cool as he focused on the prophecy itself and tried to decipher it. Unfortunately all that focus was gone in an instant once he heard the campers gasp again. He lifted his head to find the oracle walking towards _him_.

If that wasn't enough the oracle only stopped once she was right in Percy's face, not saying anything just studying him. This made Percy feel incredibly uncomfortable but he decided not to show it. He meet the oracle's stare and didn't back down. This caused something that made Percy feel even weirder, the oracle smiled.

As she did so she back way from Percy and mist came out of her mouth once again and then she spoke:

_**A child born between two worlds belonging to neither**_

_**The prophecies and destiny he can change**_

_**An infinite potential lies within**_

_**Should he unlocked it no god may oppose him**_

_**A future unknown to fate he may choose**_

_**A warrior like no other seen before**_

Once she finished speaking the oracle collapse and once again everyone was in complete shock. Except this time most of them were looking at Percy and he was just as confused if not more as to what in the world just happened.

After a few minutes of total silence Chiron came back to reality and decided to call a councillor meeting while Percy and Amber volunteered to return the Oracle to the attic. Mainly so that Percy could avoid all the questions going his way and could at least try to process what just happened.

Percy was so confused and conflicted he didn't even know where to begin, he felt curious, he felt angry but most of all he just felt lost. He looked over at Hestia, and she didn't look much better except for the fact that she was looking at Percy as if he was a ghost.

"Hey, are you okay? You look pretty shaken up by that prophecy."

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine; it's just... those lines she spoke to you. I swear I have heard them before. It's just weird since the first line seems to fit you so well, and yet I just recently met you, I don't know where I could heard those lines."

"Hmmm, well was that like a prophecy dedicated to me?"

"I don't think so, prophecies usually come in rimes and this didn't say anything about your future except that you can choose it, which is very odd for the oracle to do. Almost as if she herself had no idea..."

This idea intrigued Percy, being free from the oracle's view? Having their own destiny was probably everyone's dream but Percy thought of the down side, there was no way the gods would allow someone like that to exist. If they were already against him this would just serve as a guarantee that they will try to hunt him down.

Once they put the Oracle back on her place they went to the meeting that was being held in the tree house. Percy was a bit nervous about the whole thing since people would no doubt ask questions. If he tells everyone the truth they might feel betrayed and act against him.

Percy stopped in front of the house and took a long breath. He knew it might come to this eventually; all he could do was stay out of the gods reach while helping the campers as long as he could while also figuring out what the Oracle's words meant. Piece of cake.

Once he entered the room all campers went silent and waited until he took a seat. Once everyone was ready Chiron started conversation anew.

"Well then, as I was saying the quest given to Miss Nightshade seems to require the unison of both the camp and the hunt so are there any volunteers for this quest?"

Thalia's hand immediately shot up. "I will go, from what I have heard there is a chance Annabeth is there so I am going."

"That's fine; I shall take phoebe with me. I would rather take all hunters but since the quest requires campers I shall take two more. If she would accept I would like Amber to come in this mission as well."

This made "Amber" jump a bit since she wasn't expecting to be nominated but eagerly accepted. Once four members were decided Jake made an innervations.

"I want to be the last member, as Thalia said if there is a chance Annabeth will be there I want to save her."

"Absolutely not! I will not have a male on this trip, it is bad enough that I can't bring only hunters but there is no way I am bringing a male with me."

Jake looked ready to begin a screaming contest but held his tongue as he exchanged a look with Percy. They had previously discussed a plan to leave on their own quest or not so there was no need to enter a pointless argument.

However the boys' plan was thrown out the window once Thalia decided to make a comment.

"Well if you won't take Jake at least take Percy. No one knows what the oracle said meant but the prophecy says that at least 2 of us will die and Oracle said that Percy could 'change prophecies', plus you already know his battle skills, wouldn't it be wise to take him along despite being a male."

Percy was shocked at the argument, while it made sense it completely threw Percy's plans out of order since he would rather stay in the background as much as possible to avoid getting unwanted godly attention. He expected and hoped that Zoe would deny the offer.

Zoe on the other hand was conflicted, on one hand her hunter instincts told her not to accept, however some part of her brain knew the argument made sense. While she didn't exactly know what the oracle's words meant, she was sure there was more than meet the eye about Percy Jackson.

"Fine, he can come." She almost grumbled.

This declaration surprised everyone, even Thalia since no one expected her to say yes so easily. Before anyone could protest Chiron spoke.

"Very well then, all members of the quest have been chosen. Everyone please go to sleep now, today has been a long day. Members of the quest get a good night rest and be ready by dawn. Everyone else continue activities as usual. Meeting dismissed."

Percy gave Chiron a smile, knowing he was doing this to keep as many questions as possible of his back. Once everyone was gone only Chiron Jake Thalia Amber and Percy remained.

Percy and Jake exchanged a look that said they would talk later. Thalia simply glared at Percy, as if she wanted answers but knew now was not the time.

Finally the last three let out a collective sigh.

"So Percy, do you have any idea what the Oracle said to you means?" Asked Chiron.

"I honestly have no idea, the born from two worlds thing makes sense, but everything else? I have no clue, if anything this will just make me a bigger target for the gods." Said Percy slightly exasperated.

As if on cue Hestia raised an eyebrow and held her head.

"Well speak of the devil, it appears there is a council meeting right now and things don't seem to be going well. I am going to go see what is going on."

Just like that she disappeared in flames, leaving Percy even more worried than he already was.

"Well Chiron, I think I need a bit of fresh air before tomorrow, this has been way too much information for one night."

Chiron had a look of pity and sympathy on his eyes as he nodded and left the tree house. Once he was alone Percy went through the back and out into the woods were he wouldn't be disturbed. It was funny just how incredibly complicated his life could get in one night.

Before his plans were pretty vague and simple: Help the demigods prepare, fight with them to win the war while making sure the gods didn't vaporize him, easy enough. Now, he had the freaking oracle and a weird shadowy figure complicate his existence with a quest and some information about his past, plus all the talk about untapped potential? Ugh! It all just made his head spin.

He stopped his internal struggle once he heard someone approach. He relaxed once he realized it was Jake and went back to his internal maze of confusion. After a few minutes of silence Jake spoke.

"So… that was an eventful night"

Percy looked at him for a moment before both of them exploded in laughter for the understatement of the century. Once they calmed down Percy had a small smile on his face.

"Thanks for that, I really needed a laugh right now."

"Look, I won't force you to tell me anything, but if I have learned anything from being around you is that you are different. I am not sure what the whole two worlds thing means, but based on what the rest of the prophecy says I am guessing the gods aren't really big fans of you."

"Wow, you know, you are a lot smarter than you let on."Percy joked.

"Anyway, my point is, you don't have to be afraid of telling us the truth. Even if the gods are against you, we know you and we will stick by you."

"See, that's what I am afraid of, you don't know the gods when they are angry or think something can threaten them. They can be very cruel when they want to be. That's why I want to help you while keeping a low profile so that you have the highest chance of survival without being in danger."

Jake was out of words, he could tell he wasn't lying since for the first time Percy looked… scared, he was scared for them and it showed in his face. It seemed it was Jake's turn to help him for a change. So he put on hand on his shoulder.

"Listen man, don't worry about us. I may not know my dad very well but he isn't really power-hungry like Zeus, so he wouldn't touch the campers to get to you, and Zeus knows that he could start a war if he touched anyone of us. So relax, let's focus on rescuing Annabeth and adjusting that plan of yours since Pinecone head had to open her mouth and ruin everything."

Percy smiled thankfully at Jake. He chuckled a bit at just how quickly they went from enemies to good friends.

"You are right, let's focus on saving Annabeth and Artemis while we are at it. Now as to how to get you to come hmmm."

"I could follow you on blackjack and join in if there is trouble"

"That's risky if you get caught, you know what? I think miss nightshade gave me just what I need for this occasion; do you remember how you always wanted to see my weapon?"

Jake nodded not really seeing the connection. This made Percy grin as he held out his right hand, closed his eyes and concentrated on the memory of his fight vs. the hunter. He remembered the fear, the rush of power and the excitement.

Suddenly something started burning in his gut as he concentrated harder. Finally the same sword that came out of the ground on his fight against Zoe popped out once again.

Percy was surprised by how much heavier it felt than during the fight but he guessed that was because he wasn't in danger at the moment. Jake was pretty impressed more by the fact that the weapon just came out of the ground than by the weapon itself since it really didn't look that impressive.

"Alright now listen, this sword has teleportation ability. However it is very limited as to how it teleports so listen closely."Percy then whistle loudly, a few moments later his eagle friend arrived in his shoulder.

"If something happens, or when find Annabeth this eagle will come to you, once it does just extend your arm and the eagle will the rest alright?" That information sounded completely crazy, but based on his other powers Jake wasn't that surprised by teleportation.

"If you have a teleporting sword why don't you use it?"

"It's not that easy, to be honest I wasn't even able to summon it at will until now. Before tonight it had been years since I have seen this sword, but somehow my duel with Miss Nightshade helped control it. Even now it's still super heavy, here try to lift it."

Percy handed the sword to Jake who almost fell on his face.

"Wow this is misleadingly heavy, it feels like it's a steel hammer. How is it so heavy?"

"It was a magic gift, I don't know how it works, all I know is that once I master it only my opponent will feel this weight while it would feel as light as a feather to me, at least that's the theory."

"Man that is one cool sword. Well I am counting on you then, good luck tomorrow and please find Annabeth and bring her back safely."

"You have my word." Both demigods then shook hands and parted ways.

Once Percy returned to his tree house cabin, Hestia teleported in looking ok if not slightly concerned.

"So… how dead am I?"Asked Percy, always being optimistic.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Bad."

"Alright then, long story short that little act by the Oracle alerted Apollo and therefore the rest of the gods of your existence. As I thought I have heard those lines before but I can give the details later. Point of the matter is that the gods see you as a threat and want to kill you."

"And… there are good news?"

Hestia's Face relaxed a bit which calmed Percy but he still waited for her answer.

"Well being the way they are all they are able to do is argue, with Artemis being captured, the war coming near and all the usual bickering they are unable to make any decision. Even right now we are still discussing the matter to no end."

"Alright, that's encouraging based on that I should have enough time for this quest without worry… wait, what do you mean we?"

"Well… that's the other bad news. Right now I can't leave Olympus in the middle of the entire ruckus. So I divided my energy in two places. The real me is here, but the division also divided my powers, right now I am just as powerful as a demigod, no offence."

"None taken, but then are you still able to come in the quest?"

"Don't underestimate me, even without my full powers I am still perfectly capable, besides if anything bad happens I can just call back my other half, of course that could only be done once since it will alert the gods."

"Alright then, looks like we are safe for now. Let's just go to sleep for now and focus on the quest and worry about the gods later. Goodnight."

Percy then went to his room to try and sleep, maybe if he focused on the quest answers will just come on their own, at least he hoped so.

**Line break. MIDDLE POINT. AN: So, I am stopping this for now but this is only half the chapter, I haven't written the other half yet but I am tired and want to update before going to sleep. Plus most of you haven't even read chapter 8 so this is like 1 and ½ chapter deal****. I will change chapter 9 to full length tomorrow but you probably won't get a message, so just come by tomorrow and see if the chapter is longer. I will leave this here so if you see more text bellow this, it has been updated. Well it's nice to be back, see you tomorrow!**

The next morning all five members were ready for the mission. All of them looked fine except for Percy who clearly didn't get a good night sleep if his eyes were any indication.

"Hey Percy are you alright you don't look too good?"Asked Thalia slightly concerned.

"Ha, what's wrong male, were you too nervous about this quest?" Replied Phoebe in a mocking tone, still not happy about having to alongside a male for this quest.

Percy paid her no attention as she simply gave Thalia an encouraging nod and thumps up before proceeding to the van that will take them a good portion of their journey. The ride was fairly silent since Percy was in the back sleeping; Zoe was driving since she was technically the oldest, while Phoebe was shotgun leaving the other two behind with Percy.

Everyone mostly kept to themselves wrapped in their own thoughts. Hestia was worried about the fighting amongst the gods and the reaction they would have once this battle was over and of course she was also concerned with her niece.

Zoe was worried about her mistress and even her own live since she was pretty sure the last line of the prophecy spoke about her. She also found herself looking through the mirror to see Percy. For some reason those lines about him intrigued her and even gave her the tiniest bit of hope of surviving. She quickly took those thoughts off her head and focused on driving, she wasn't going to depend on a male again only to be disappointed.

Meanwhile Percy was having little luck resting once again. He found himself in the same room he found himself recently in his sleep with several shadowy figures around him, all trying to talk but none of them reaching him. Occasionally a word will sleep into his mind, like "Hurry" "Remember" or "Give him time "and "No, you shut up!" although he was pretty sure the last two weren't directed at him.

While he was here he tried to think about what these figures, this quests and those dammed lines mean. Finally one of the figures closed in and grabbed him by the shoulders startling him. For a second his voice became clear.

"Listen here Perce; old feathers brain seems to think that you pushing your powers to the limit will help you unlock us so get out there and fight your ass off you hear me! But to do that you need to WAKE UP!"

Suddenly Percy jumped into consciousness startling the two girls next to him. "Are you alright Percy?" They both asked at the same time.

"Awww, did the male have another bad dream. Do you need us to hold your hand?" Mocked Phoebe. Everyone in the van glared at Phoebe finding her attitude immature and unnecessary except for Percy who continued to ignore her much to Phoebe's annoyance.

"I am fine, just need to stretch my legs a bit that's all. How much time until we stop Lieutenant?" Percy asked rather politely to Zoe.

"We were just about to stop actually. We have been traveling for a good number of hours so stopping for food seems like a good idea." On that note the van quickly came to a stop and the group got out.

Everyone looked around and the girls found a mall where they could look for food. Percy was about to follow them but he sniffed something odd that made him get on guard. He took another sniff and came to the conclusion that there was some monster nearby.

He then enhanced his senses to the fullest and looked all around trying to find someone suspicious. As he enhanced his sensed the world seemed to slow ever so slightly as he analyzed everything around him, smells looks, sounds. Soon enough he locked on into a suspiciously familiar man entering a museum.

After a closer look he concluded this man to be , or the chimera as he more closely knew him. Percy resisted the urge to simply go smash his face into the wall and decided that follow him was the better option.

"Um girls you go on ahead, there is something I want to check out. I will catch up to you in a few minutes."

They all looked at him strangely but didn't protest, the hunters thinking he had to pee or something while the other two knew better but decided to trust him.

Once they were all gone Percy ran towards the museum. He stopped right outside the back wall where he looked around to make sure no one could see him. After he was satisfied he did a taxi whistle sign that appeared to be soundless but soon enough a pigeon appeared.

_Yes my lord? _Said the little thing in his mind.

_Please don't call me lord but could you do me a favor, I need you to be my eyes and ears inside the museum? No need to get close just an overall view. _

_As you wish. _The pigeon then lowered his head allowing Percy to perform the blessing connect him mind to that of the bird. Said bird then flew into one of the windows of the museum.

From what he could see things were definitely suspicious. Aside from the chimera there were other monsters reunited, as well as a blond boy that Percy guessed was Luke. However what really drew Percy's attention was the huge man next to Luke.

Based on looks alone the man was intimidating, he was a good 7 feet tall and bulging with muscles, plus his face had a strict militaristic look to it. However that wasn't what drew Percy's attention. It was the pure amount of energy emanating from the man. One look told Percy that this was no ordinary man, he would guess a god but his energy looked… older.

"So a little quest has been given to rescue the little moon goddess has it?"Asked the giant of a man.

"Yes general, my sources tell me that it is a group of five demigods lead by the huntress Zoe Ni-"

"Don't speak her name! I am well aware of who she is." Scream the general

"S-sorry my general, it won't happen again."

"No matter, bring me the teeth; we shall deal with this little quest before they even get close."

An Empousa brought forward a tooth and planted it on the floor, and then another monster poured red liquid over it. Soon enough the liquid started to bubble and out of the bubbles came out a… cat.

Everyone was surprised by this while the general looked more than a bit displeased.

"Blasted! You brought me a saber tooth! You went to the wrong section you imbeciles!"

The monsters that had done the act quickly bowed and apologized while another group brought another group of teeth. This time the general took a look at them and looked rather pleased.

"Haha finally, foolish humans they had such at weapon right under their noses and didn't even know it. Very well now pour the blood in these and dispose of that cat."

It was at this point that Percy decided that the time for stealth was over. Not only because what ever made the general smile could _not_ be good but also there was no way he was going to let them hurt an innocent kitten. What? He was an animal protector after all.

Percy called off the pigeon and thanked it for its services. He then did a quick transformation on his hands making them claws and started to climb through the back of the museum and into an open window. While having bird eye view he decided to secure the kitten first since it was taken to the back of the museum.

A dracanae had a spear pointing at the poor animal and was about to impale it. However before the spear could come down Percy came behind the monster and trapped it into a lock making it impossible for the monster to scream or breath. Because of the surprise attack the monster was unable to do anything as Percy took her weapon way and effectively knocked her out with a palm to the back of the head.

Still undetected by anyone else Percy grabbed the little kitty and put it in his shoulders while putting a finger to his mouth signaling it to be quiet. Surprisingly the feline seemed to listen. Percy moved as quietly as he could with an animal on his shoulder, creeping around the wall.

Percy was surprised to see that the general had been busy the last 5 minutes as there were now 12 teeth being submerged. Percy had to hold in a gasp as skeletons started to come out of the puddles. The skeletons were odd though as grey flesh started to grow around them.

Percy could tell when he saw a soldier and these were definitely war veterans despite their appearance. The general pulled out a silver piece of cloth that definitely did not look like his style.

"Alright my soldiers use this to find the scent of your prey and her comrades." The general held out his hand for the skeletons to sniff.

Percy quickly put two and two together and acted as quickly as he could which pretty resulted in him completely blowing his cover. He jumped with all his strength towards the general. The general didn't notice until it was too late the human size correct going towards him.

Percy realized that this was a bad idea once he felt the weight of the general as they both went down. It was like trying to take a car and getting lucky at the fact that it moved. Percy didn't have time to think about the pain and possible bruises he had as he quickly got up and grabbed the cloth from the general's hand.

Percy was about to run as fast as he could when he realized he was surrounded by 12 undead soldiers. Acting purely on instinct he charged towards one of them transforming his right hand into a claw.

The skeleton didn't look impressed _as_ he also charged. They exchanged blows, resulting in Percy loosing the right sleeve while the skeletons lost his head. Percy felt pretty good about those results until the skeletons picked up its own head reattached it and then sniff the sleeve he just stole.

_Great _Percy thought _now they have my scent instead. _ It was at that time that Percy noticed the general was getting up looking majorly pissed and Percy decided that it was an excellent time to run for his life.

So Percy ran like there was no tomorrow out of the Museum and into the mall in search of the girl. After a quick scan of the area he quickly found the girls eating and having a good time. A tiny bit of him felt guilty for interrupting the moment but the greater part told him to keep running for his life.

Once he reached them, he was out of breath without a sleeve and just a mess.

"Need… to… leave… now…"He managed through ragged breathes as he tried to recover.

"What are you talking about we just got here and what happened to you, why are you missing a sleeve and why do you have a cat in your shoulder?"asked Thalia while the rest of the group just looked surprised and annoyed.

Percy had completely forgotten about the cat and was completely stunned to find it still hanging rather peacefully in his shoulder. He decided to keep his confusion for later as they had bigger problems.

"Look, I just saw a guy called general with Luck Castellan and other monsters, they know we are here and sent a small group of zombie skeletons after us."

In retrospect the story did sound crazy but since all of them, except one, were demigods crazy came with the job so they quickly got up and ready to leave.

"Are you sure there are only 12 after us?" asked Zoe getting ready up and in battle mode.

"Ye-" Percy was interrupted by a loud roar that made all of them cover their ears.

Once the roar ended a huge figure stepped into the open revealing a lion bigger than any lion Percy had even see.

"Oh crap, make that 13…" Said Percy as they all got ready to fight.

**And there you go chapter 9 done. Now to work on 10, I am just spoiling you aren't I? Lol, since I haven't uploaded in like 6 months I don't even know if this counts as spoiling but hey is the thought that matters right? **

**Tell me your thoughts and PM if you have questions, see you soon.**


	10. fighting kitties and train ride

**_Last time…_**

_"Look, I just saw a guy called general with Luck Castellan and other monsters, they know we are here and sent a small group of zombie skeletons after us." _

_In retrospect the story did sound crazy but since all of them, except one, were demigods crazy came with the job so they quickly got up and ready to leave. _

_"Are you sure there are only 12 after us?" asked Zoe getting ready up and in battle mode._

_"Ye-" Percy was interrupted by a loud roar that made all of them cover their ears. _

_Once the roar ended a huge figure stepped into the open revealing a lion bigger than any lion Percy had even see. _

_"Oh crap, make that 13…" Said Percy as they all got ready to fight._

**Now…**

Percy wasn't sure what most mortal were seeing but no matter how strong the mist was a lion the size of a Tank was hard to hide. Thankfully most humans instantly ran way making this a lot easier. Percy immediately went into military leader mode.

"Thalia, Amber you two secure the perimeter and make sure all civilians get out safe. Both hunters should get to a high ground to try and shoot it from above and try to find a better battlefield. I will try to keep it in place while everyone runs. Once Thalia and Amber are done meet with me to try and take this thing down, everyone go that? MOVE OUT!"

Percy didn't even wait for a response as he charged head first towards the beast. Thalia and Amber quickly obeyed since they had seen Percy go "sergeant mode" before and he was usually right. The other two took a bit of convincing, basically Thalia yelling her face off, but finally they agreed and the plan got in motion.

As Percy ran he could feel his blood rate quickly rise and a feeling of danger tickle his spine. Instead of going jaguar mode he decided to try and take his sword out again, since he was in sort of a possible death scenario he hoped it would work.

TO his surprise and relief as soon as he extended his hand the weapon flew out of the ground and into his hand. He didn't have time to pat himself in the back though, since a little kid was crying dangerously close the lion that looked at the small boy with hungry eyes.

Percy acted quickly as he dashed towards the beast without being noticed until the last second. He used all of his body and swung his swords with such speed it would have made a professional baseball player proud. Percy was expecting the monster to simply roar and be annoyed so imagine his surprise when the lion was thrown back 50 feet as if he had been hit by a car.

Percy was shocked for a second but quickly recovered as he remembered the kid. He kneeled next to him, relieved to see no real injuries on his body.

"Are you alright little one? Where are your parents?"

The kid was too shocked to say anything so he kept crying. Then the cat that somehow was still in Percy's shoulder jumped down and purred next to the kid's lap, calming him down.

"Look its dangerous here, take his cat with you and run way from here in that direction, my friends will help you find your parents okay?"

The kid, now a lot calmer managed to get up and do as he was told. Percy made sure the kid got out of eye view before focusing once again on the foe at hand. Said foe was getting up from the smack to the face he received earlier and he did not look pleased.

Percy took in a deep breath as he tightened the grip on the surprisingly light wooden blade in his hand. On an unspoken signal they both charged at each other. The lion tried to swipe at Percy's head but said demigod ducked at the last second and rolled beneath the monster's belly trying for another swipe. This one wasn't as powerful as the previous one as the beast barely moved and simply looked angrier.

They both continued this routine of the lion trying to bite or claw Percy to death while Percy swiftly dodged at the last second getting in a hit here and there but without much progress. Meanwhile from above both hunters were finished getting a general view of the area and were ready to launch arrows at the beast but they were frozen as they saw how Percy was fighting and holding his own.

This was the truly first time they saw him in action from afar and despite hating it to admit it they were impressed by his fighting skills. Despite this they knew he wasn't going to be able to defeat the beast so they decided to launch some back up fire to help him. _Two hunters helping a male fight…_ Zoe thought bitterly but quickly got over it as she signaled Phoebe to launch a single arrow at the lion's back legs. That's when everything went wrong.

Percy was so focused on not getting shred to pieces that he didn't noticed the arrows until they went right next to his face. This distracted him ever so slightly, which only worsen the situation since as soon as the arrows made contact with the beast they bounced off harmlessly and one of them got redirected strait at Percy.

Percy wasn't able to move with his usual swiftness so he wasn't able to dodge the arrow that got stuck in his shoulder. As if to add insult to injury the beast wasn't fazed at all so it took this chance to aim a killing blow at his prey. Percy being in pain and distracted was only able to use his sword as a shield but the blow still sent him flying against the tables of a dinner.

Zoe was shocked at what had just transpired and found herself surprisingly worried for Percy. If anything this made it clear that there enemy was no ordinary lion and was instead the Nemean lion. That wasn't exactly good news but at least now they knew what they were dealing with.

Percy felt as if he had just been hit with a truck, which really wasn't that far off. He knew that if he didn't get up quickly he would become a lion snack but his body just wasn't willing to cooperate. Meanwhile the lion slowly got close to where Percy landed his eyes ready should he get up.

The hunters kept sending arrows trying to distract it but it proved to be useless as the beast paid them no attention. At this point Percy managed to get up, completely covered in ketchup and other condiments but that was the least of his problems as the lion was almost upon him.

As the lion roared to intimidate his foe a fireball went straight into the beast's mouth making it rear back in confusion and pain giving Percy some breathing room. Soon enough Thalia and "Amber" where next to Percy giving him support.

"Are you okay Percy? I am surprised you are still in one piece after that monster sent you flying."Said Thalia with her eyes still focused on the monster that wasn't done recovering as Percy was being healed.

"I am fine. I managed to block it on the last second; the only problem is this arrow wound."Percy then yanked the arrow out of his shoulder and applied pressure as he focused. At the same time "Amber" started doing her healing. With their combined effort Percy was as good as new in no time, but for some reason the healing exhausted "Amber".

Thalia was angry when she saw that the arrow was from the hunters but she didn't have to ask as the lion had recovered so she decided to focus on that instead. "So have you gotten any tips on fighting this monster."

"It's the Nemean lion, our arrows bounced off earlier and that's what injured Perseus. We need a new plan since projectiles are useless against this beast." Said Zoe as she and Phoebe appeared behind the group of three.

"Well you are only half right, that is the Nemean lion but based on that previous attack from Amber I don't think that projectiles are useless, in fact I think they are our key to victory. I want you all four to wait here and on my signal fire your strongest projectile at the creatures mouth ok?"

This time no one argued, not even the hunters since after seeing his skills without being in the receiving end of it, impressed them to some degree, even if they would never admit it. So Percy advanced once again to fight the lion sword in hand but this time he tried something different as he let his aura propagate.

Soon enough he was covered in a powerful green aura that the lion seemed wary of. _Oh great Nemean lion, why are you attacking us? I ask that you retreat or we shall us force. _Percy spoke into the lion's mind.

_Oh, what is this, the little mouse can talk? Listen little man, my reasons are none of your concern and use force? There has only been one to ever defeat me and you do not posses his strength how could you possibly defeat me? _

_Very well then, don't say I didn't warn you. _Percy then closed the mental conversation as his aura went straight into his sword ready for an attack. This time it was the lion only who charged as Percy simply waited with his sword ready.

Once the lion was upon him Percy jumped as high as he could which caused the lion to miss. As he brought down his sword for a slash, the weapon grew and transformed. As if it was a tree, branches and vines grew from the sword trapping the best and immobilizing it.

Percy had no idea how that happened but he wasn't complaining since it felt the same as growing plants from the ground so simply willed the branches to trap the limbs of the lion but leave the mouth exposed.

Said lion tried to bite and tear with all his might, but in the end the sheer number of branches overwhelmed him and left him completely immobilized.

_You were right, I may not have the same strength as the one who defeated you before, but did you truly believe brute strength was the only way to beat you little kitty? _

Percy's taunt had the desired effect as the lion roared with all his might from this insult.

"NOW!" Percy yelled as soon as the lion opened his mouth.

Not 2 seconds later the monsters mouth was bombarded with a dozen arrows two fireballs and a lightning bolt for good measure. As soon as the projectiles made contact the roaring stopped and once the smoke cleared all that was left was the pelt of the beast and some burned wood.

Percy grabbed the pelt with a bit of sadness since he took no enjoyment killing an animal even if said animal was trying to kill him. The rest of the group soon reunited with Percy.

"Nice work everyone, now who wants the pelt from the lion?" Percy asked everyone, this caused a bunch of raised eyebrows to be thrown his way. Surprisingly it was Phoebe who made the first comment.

"Why are you offering it to us? It was your plan and powers that made the killing shot possible. The pelt is yours to keep" Everyone was surprised by that comment even Phoebe herself but male or female she could respect a warrior that was humble enough to share the glory of a victory.

Percy smiled and decided to take the offer since it was the first not she said something semi nice to him and he didn't really feel like making her mad.

"Well that's nice and all but aren't we forgetting something." Thalia pointed her spear towards the entrance of the mall where twelve skeletons were closing in. Percy cursed inwardly since he had completely forgotten about them.

"I suggest we leave, we just fought and are pretty exhausted so let's get out of here."

No one bothered arguing as they all starting running way from the soldiers and trying to find a way out of the city. As they ran Percy looked around for a way for them to get way. Then Hestia stopped Percy tugging his arm.

"What is it? We need to get way fast."

"Follow me, I know how we can get out of here, quickly!"

Everyone followed and soon they found themselves abroad a train line called the Sun West line. Percy found that suspiciously convenient but didn't say anything since it was Hestia guiding them. As they went inside the train, everyone was pleasantly surprise to find it was a cargo train carrying fancy cars.

Exhausted after the battle, Zoe and Phoebe took a car for themselves to sleep. Thalia choose a Ferrari for herself leaving Hestia and Percy together in a Lamborghini.

"How did you know to come here?"Percy finally asked after everyone else was sleeping.

"We can easily detect each others presence when we interfere with mortals isn't that right Aunt Hestia?"Asked a new voice that appeared in front of them.

Percy immediately tensed since this was a god so he mentally went through the list of who was a nephew of Hestia, then he came to the logical conclusion and wasn't quite sure how to full.

"That is correct; I thank you for helping us Apollo."

**Line Break**

"Percy could you please leave us alone for a minute? Hestia and I need to talk."

Percy nodded and left the room knowing better than to defy a god, especially if that god was Apollo being serious for once. He decided to go visit the hunters since he wanted to clear some things with the lieutenant once and for all.

So Percy went to the car where the two hunters decided to allocate themselves. He considered himself very fortunate to find that Phoebe was sleeping while Zoe was simply sitting there trying to relax when she saw Percy get near them.

Percy put a finger to his mouth and then motioned Zoe to follow him some place where they could speak privately. Under no normal circumstance would Zoe listen to a male that wanted to speak privately but she made an exception for once.

Once they were out of hearing distance from anyone else Percy spoke.

"You are the daughter of the guy called the general right?"

This simple question was like a punch to the face for Zoe. She was so shocked that she almost drew her dagger out.

"W-what are you- How did you-?"

"It was just a hunch. You probably don't remember but in the capture the flag game you went kind of berserk for a moment and tried to kill me with a weird aura around you. That aura was very similar to the one the general gave off. Now based on what I saw the general is no god, so he is probably a titan and in that case the most logical choice would be-"

"Atlas, titan of war, right hand of Kronos, carrier of the sky and my father." Finished Zoe with a face that said she was less than pleased with Percy knowing about this. With this conformation Percy let out a long sigh as the puzzle came together in his mind.

"Well that clears up a few things."

Zoe looked a bit confused as she wasn't sure was to what good that fact did to him.

"Well first things first, it means that right now Artemis is under the sky, probably tricked by the enemy that most likely used our friend Annabeth as bait. It also means this quest just got a whole lot more dangerous since we will need to fight a titan and finally..." He paused for a moment giving Zoe time to process the information and be impressed by all conclusions Percy was making.

"It also means you accepted this quest knowing full well you were probably going to die."

This caused Zoe to look way with sadness clear on her face.

"That's probably why you brought be along, because somewhere deep down you hope that I can change the prophecy." That struck a nerve.

Zoe walked up right up to Percy until their noses were practically touching with a murderous glare but Percy stood his ground.

"You think I want you to save me? You think I don't know that I am going to die this mission!? I couldn't care less if I died as long as I save my lady's life. I can't afford to be distracted by an impossible hope got it?"

Percy didn't say anything right way he just stepped back and walked way. He stopped once he was almost out of their wagon.

"You know, it's okay to hope sometimes. I honestly don't know if I can change anything but for what's worth I promise to do everything I can to help you survive this mission."

Percy then left without another word leaving Zoe very stunned and confused by this peculiar male.

Percy went back to Hestia to see if she was done talking but stopped right in front of the door as he heard them in a pretty heated discussion.

"Hestia, you need to be careful not to get too close to him. You know more than anyone what is at stake here."

"I'm perfectly aware of that Apollo, you don't need to worry about me."

"I still don't like this whole plan how do you think he will feel when-"

It was then that Percy decided it was a good time to knock feeling bad for spying.

The gods stopped their conversation mid way and they both looked at Percy with a hint of worry as to how much he had heard.

"So did Hestia tell you everything?" Percy asked with a bit of caution in his words.

Both gods seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes.

Both of them nodded. "Hestia pretty much summed it all up" Apollo said simply before continuing

"Well, I honestly can't say I am much better. After all I sent this train to help the quest to find my sister clearly breaking the interference rule. Look Percy I will be honest, I don't particularly find you a threat to the gods or whatever my dad says. All the oracle knows is that it doesn't know anything about you, that's what some gods find scary because you are loose cannon. However in my case, even if it doesn't look like it I care about my sister more than anything. So I don't mind letting you continue in your quest to save her."

Percy was relieved to hear that he had another god that wasn't out to kill him.

"However, once you succeed, if Zeus asks me to find you I won't go against his will. You understand what that means right?"

Percy understood perfectly what that meant. He had only until they rescued Artemis to find a way to get out of this mess alive.

"Thank you lord Apollo, I will see to it that your sister is rescued without a doubt." Percy then politely bowed to a god he had just grown respect towards.

"No need to thank me kiddo, and if you are still alive after this whole mess is over call me Apollo."

Then the god blinked and disappeared in a bright light. Percy then turned to Hestia and gave her a smile and thumps up. She returned the gesture and both of them took a seat in their car in order to rest as much as they could.

"So Percy, have your powers gotten easier to control? That was pretty impressive what you did back there to the Nemean lion."

"I am not sure if they have gotten easier to control but this sword has definitely something to do with it. It all started happening after the battle with Miss Nightshade. I have been having these weird dreams with shadowy figures telling me to unlock, or realize something. Plus what the oracle said, I feel like it's all too much information to take in at once."

Percy had his hands in his hair at this point, more stressed about this than he first realized now that he actually spoke his mind. Hestia looked the slightest bit guilty as she thought of her conversation with Apollo but she decided to get that out of her mind for now.

"Then don't take it all in at once, just take things one step at a time." She placed a hand on his shoulders and continued once she saw him visually relax.

"For now just try to focus on this quest, everything else can wait and will probably become clearer as you go along,"

Percy knew she was right so he decided to take her advice. It didn't really matter what does shadow figures in his dreams are or what the oracle said. For now he needed to free Annabeth and Artemis so that the demigods could have the greatest chance at surviving the war.

With that mindset in mind his body was finally giving out after an exhausting day so he got as comfortable as he could in the car sit, his consciousness quickly drifting way.

Hestia looked at him with a combination of happiness and sadness, knowing that even in the best of cases Percy wasn't probably going to have a happy ending.

**Hello people! So, pretty small and boring chapter I know but its necessary set up for the future confrontations. **

**So an update, I am adapting to a new schedule to give you wonderful people more consistent updates year round. For now Aztec warrior will be updated every weekend on Saturday night/ Sunday morning depending on your time zone. This will continue until I finish the story, then last hope will be updated, then the sequel for Aztec warrior and then a brand new story.**

**So that's what you can expect from me for at least a year... so hope you come along for the ride ^-^.**

**Now this week. I may or may not have a chapter on Saturday, depends if I feel motivated enough to write for 4 hours tomorrow. If not, then consider this an early chapter.**

**Final note, Since I now have a somewhat stable schedule I could use a Beta. So If you are a fan of this story, want to get the chapters early and would like to help correct spelling and grammar issues please PM me. **

**Peace and calm,**

**Al red**


	11. unexpected help and goldy confrontation

**_Last time…_**

_Percy had his hands in his hair at this point, more stressed about this than he first realized now that he actually spoke his mind. Hestia looked the slightest bit guilty as she thought of her conversation with Apollo but she decided to get that out of her mind for now._

_"Then don't take it all in at once, just take things one step at a time." She placed a hand on his shoulders and continued once she saw him visually relax._

_"For now just try to focus on this quest, everything else can wait and will probably become clearer as you go along,"_

_Percy knew she was right so he decided to take her advice. It didn't really matter what does shadow figures in his dreams are or what the oracle said. For now he needed to free Annabeth and Artemis so that the demigods could have the greatest chance at surviving the war._

_With that mindset in mind his body was finally giving out after an exhausting day so he got as comfortable as he could in the car sit, his consciousness quickly drifting way._

_Hestia looked at him with a combination of happiness and sadness, knowing that even in the best of cases Percy wasn't probably going to have a happy ending._

**Now…**

The quest members were very pleasantly surprised to find that they had arrived to a small town in New Mexico by the time they woke up. Naturally Thalia was the one to speak up about this matter.

"How is it possible for us to be here already? No train is that fast."

"I guess it can be when Apollo owns it." Percy said while shrugging as if it was no big deal.

Everyone except for Hestia was staring at him now demanding answers so Percy quickly thought of something.

"Even if he doesn't show it all the time Apollo does care for his sister, I am guessing he is doing all he can to help us rescue her."

This answer was deemed acceptable and Percy felt as if the sunshine was warmer around him as if Apollo himself was thanking for the complement.

"Well before we do anything else I need some coffee, anyone else coming?" Thalia was walking towards a nearby star bucks.

The other girls seemed to like the idea of coffee even Hestia something Percy found a bit odd.

Percy on the other hand hated coffee and didn't really feel tired so he declined and chose to simply wait outside. As he waited he simply admired the plants and trees around him that always looked "happier" whenever Percy was close.

As he was entranced he started to feel like something was odd when vines and bushes started to grow impossibly fast around him. Percy could also feel a godly presence but was completely baffled as it felt… familiar like the feeling he had when Pan supposedly "claimed" Percy.

Just as Percy was trying to figure out what was going on his senses went on high alert as he heard 12 presences quickly approaching.

Percy barely had time to take out his sword before getting surrounded by the 12 skeletal warriors. Seeing no opening in their formation Percy decided to do the logical thing, charge straight for the closest enemy.

This tactic didn't surprised the skeletal warriors but they still couldn't do anything as Percy's sword slashed into one of their comrades breaking him apart with a surprising amount of force. Even Percy was surprised at the amount of force he could deliver with his sword despite only having used it successfully twice in the past.

However he didn't complain as he went into the offensive trying to take as many as they guys down before the rest of the quest members were ready to flee. Percy slashed again at the closest skeleton but this one was smarter as he took a step back and raised his sword to block the attack. He was still knocked back but managed to stay intact.

Using this lost in momentum the warriors changed their formation and a mix of sword and spear users went for Percy. Percy was ready and met their attack but still had trouble keeping three warriors at bay. He thought he was doing pretty good as he dodge rolled and swung but then a loud BANG and sharp pain on his back sent him on a panic giving his opponents the opening they needed as all three stabbed Percy simultaneously causing him to collapse on the ground.

Just then all the girls came out of the star bucks just in time to see Percy collapsed on the ground after being shot and stabbed. Needless to say coffee was the last thing in their mind as they charged towards the enemy. Phoebe and Zoe took out their bows and started shooting at incredible speeds drawing the skeletons' attention.

Meanwhile Thalia took out her spear and shield to push back all the skeletons around Percy. Hestia threw a fireball to the one that shot Percy causing it to explode in flames and then immediately went to heal Percy.

Imagine Hestia's surprise when Percy sat up on his own looking perfectly fine except for some grunting noises.

"Man that hurt, I guess this pelt is helpful for situations like this am I right?"

Hestia nearly face palmed having completely forgotten that Percy was wearing the pelt of the Nemean lion. She was still happy none the less as both of them quickly got up and into battle positions.

At first glanced Percy thought they were doing pretty good, out of the 12 skeletons only about half remained, Thalia and Phoebe battling in close range while Zoe covered them with arrows. However Percy then saw the remaining of the supposedly destroyed skeletons reform as if they were legos.

Percy then understood why the general sent these warriors after them, they could not be killed.

"Everyone back up now!" Quickly everyone caught up with what was happening and followed instructions. By now all 12 warriors were back on their feet and as good as new. As Percy went through possible scenarios in his head he came to a plan that could work.

"Amber, do the biggest fireball that you can and aim it straight down the middle of the group so that you divide them in half. The four of you keep the right half occupied while I handle the left group. I know this sounds crazy, but please trust me on this one."

At this point no one was complaining, even the hunters had seen enough to at least trust Percy as a warrior and strategist. "Amber" did was she was told so she launched a car size fireball the undead group. Said group scattered around pretty much perfectly in two halves launching Percy's plan.

The four girls had no problem fighting the right half even if they kept reforming the girls simply kept smashing them to pieces. Percy on the other hand had a different approach, as he prepared his sword for a swing he decided to see the limits of his own abilities. He focused all of his aura into the sword and thought back to his fight with the Nemean lion and how he used his sword back then.

He then swung the sword creating the desired result. The sword rapidly grew and changed, as if it were a tree huge branches forming for the tip and attacking the skeletons. Soon enough they were completely immobilized and despite their struggling. Percy was happy with the result but he had to use all his will power to not collapse, using that sword's powers used too much energy still.

He shook his head a few times and recovered his breath before going to help the girls who were still keeping their own but tiredness was clear in their faces. Percy realized a flaw in his plan as soon as he took the first step. His leg buckled making him collapse on the ground. He tried to get up but his body was simply not listening, he used more energy than he thought and now couldn't move.

Percy was starting to panic when something seemly impossible happened. Right below the skeletons branches appeared and started to bind the undead warriors. All the girls visibly relaxed thinking this was Percy's handy work. Percy though had a face of complete confusion as he had no idea what was going on. As if things couldn't get any more confusing Percy heard a voice on his head.

_Worry not young one, I am the one who aided you. You interest me and that's why I have helped again today._

_Again? What do you by- wait, are you- _

_No time young one, I am weak and unlike your vines mine won't last much longer so you must flee. I will send a friend to help you and I wish you save travels, I hope that one day we are able to meet in person if time allows, farewell…_

Just like that the voice left Percy's head leaving him even more confused than before. _What in the world did he mean by friend? _

As if the voice was still hearing his voice, a huge boar came jumping out of nowhere and stopped right in front of the group. Zoe and Phoebe had an arrow pointed at the beast recognizing it from mythology as another beast that was vanquished by Heracles.

"Stand down, he is on our side. Everyone get on him quickly and let's get out of here as fast as we can. Those vines won't last much longer." The boar took this command as permission to go way so he skilled fully lowered his snout launched all five of them into the air and landed them on the its back before sprinting way.

The ride in the beast was surprisingly comfortable and Percy used the time to explain as far as he knew what happened back there. By the end everyone was confused by Percy's conclusion that it was Pan that talked to him."

"In all of our travels we haven't even seen a trace of the nature god, why would he speak to you?" Zoe despite acting nicer towards Percy still had her general suspicions towards males.

Percy was about to answer that he had no idea as to why the god would talk to him but Thalia thankfully beat him to it.

"Because, in case you didn't know nightshade, Percy is Pan's son. That's why he saved us back there right?"

"Uh…oh yeah right my dad… But still, I myself haven't seen him in years and I thought he was too weak to do anything. To have enough strength to stop the skeletons and send this boar, he said he was weak but maybe if we could find him…"

Despite the whole son of Pan being a complete farce Percy found himself intrigued by a god that has helped him twice now without asking for anything in return while he had to be careful to stay out of the radar of other gods to stay alive.

These thought quickly left Percy's mind as the group traveled in silence for the rest of the trip on the boar. Said boar went for hours without showing sign of tiredness. Percy tried to meditate with ease despite being on top of a giant boar going 60mph. He tried to speak to the voices his dreams for hours but had no luck. Just when he was about to give up, two words came into his mind:

**_Be careful _**

Percy wanted to scream what the hell that meant but the boar came to a sudden stop next to a lake to drink water.

"I think this is our stop girls, the boar won't take us any further. Also, um I am not sure how to put this but the boar is telling us to be careful so I don't know, be on your guard I guess."

The group was used to this kind of stuff at this point so their simply nodded and started walking trying to figure out where they were since it looked like a dessert all around. Once everyone was gone the boar looked at Percy and tilted its head as if it was confused as to why its name was mentioned.

"Sorry buddy, but I couldn't very well tell them 'Hey a weird shadowy voice in my head told me to be careful so we should probably listen to it'. That sounds crazy right?" The giant pig still looked very much confused.

Percy sighed while he petted the pig's snout "Yeah, crazy, I say that as I am talking to a pig. Anyway thanks for the ride buddy take care." Said beast returned to its drinking as Percy caught up with the groups.

As the group kept walking they could see something "Amber" referred to as the Junkyard of the Gods, which meant they were in Gila Claw, Arizona. Percy still couldn't figure out what the warning meant.

Just then Percy's sense went hardwire as two incredibly strong aura's were approaching fast. Percy knew they were screwed if his sudden sweating was any indication. Hestia was the only other person to notice and if she faced was any indication they need to run now.

However as the aura got closer Percy could see a black car's light in the distance and concluded that the aura belonged to two gods. This calmed Percy slightly since they wouldn't have to fight any titans but Hestia's face made him feel uneasy.

The group waited for the car to get closer but as it did Percy could see a window opening and something coming out of the window. Percy's eyes nearly popped out as he saw a sword being launched straight for Phoebe.

Percy acted purely on instinct. Before his brain could register what he was doing his sword was already in his hands and he was in front of Phoebe ready to block the sword with a swing of his own. As both swords clashed Percy could feel the tremendous force behind the launched sword as the air around him was pushed back and Percy's arms felt as if they were on fire from the strain of stopping this projectile. After struggling for a good 10 seconds the sword finally ran out of power and simply dropped to the floor. Phoebe was completely frozen, having no idea as to what just happened.

"Well well, looks like you were still alive after all huh punk." Everyone turn to see the origin of the voice and once he made contact with the god in front of him he understood why Hestia was worried. None other than Ares the god of war was in front of them and he did not look friendly.

Out of all the gods he was probably 3rd on Percy's most hated list. That being said, Percy couldn't deny that he looked intimidating. He had the typical biker look with his leather jacket jeans and black sunglass despite it being night time. Percy could see the bulging muscles and violent red aura around him, however he wasn't intimidated since he was just like a toned down version of Atlas.

Still Percy would rather solved this peacefully if possible. However all thoughts of peaceful negotiations went out the window with the next phrase the god spoke.

"You really are impressive, not many warriors have the reflexes to block a sword at that speed. If this group was filled with only normal demigos my daughter would be dead but you aren't a normal demigod are you?"

Percy wasn't sure if it is was Ares's aura, his taunt or the fact that he just tried to kill his own daughter to lure Percy out but he launched at full speed and aimed his sword with all his might towards the war god's head.

Said god moved almost too fast for the eye to see as he drew a new sword and placed it over his head to block Percy's blow. This clash was way stronger than the first as the shockwave that was created nearly launched the other demigods of their feet.

Percy poured all his strength and aura into that blow wanting nothing but to make the war god bleed. Unfortunately no matter how much force he put Ares returned just as much resulting in a stalemate with the only difference being Percy was getting tired and Ares was smiling as if this took no effort a lot.

"**Wake up you fool! Stop getting influenced by this puny god, step back, take a deep breath and use your animal form." **

This voice rang loud in Percy's mind and brought him back to his senses and Percy's strategist side told him that the voice was right so he did as he was told and stepped back from the clash. With this sudden movement Ares almost fell but recovered at the last second.

"What's wrong you coward, did you realize just how outmatched you are so you are surrendering?" Ares taunted again using his aura to try to anger Percy again.

Percy paid him no attention as he focused on the command he was given by the voice in his head. He took a deep breath and then went full jaguar hybrid mode. Except this time it was different, his sword merged with him as he transformed. By the end of the transformation the sword was armor covering Percy's arms and upper back, with claws made out of wood at the tips of his fingers. Percy felt stronger than he had ever felt before in this form but he knew he probably couldn't keep this form up for much so he went straight to work.

Ares tried his best to not look surprised but his eyes betrayed him as Percy could clearly see that this transformation was something he wasn't expecting. He grabbed his sword more tightly and increased his aura.

"You damned brat, you should have stayed dead when we last tried to kill you!"

"Why don't you try it yourself big man, or what are you afraid to take this puny demigod head on? Percy had his cool now and no matter what Ares said he wasn't going to go on a rage again.

Funny enough this time it was Ares that charged with his face red from the rage he was trying to inflict on Percy. Percy didn't move a muscle as the giant screaming god approached him, he simply waited, breathing slowly in… out…in.

Once Ares' sword was right above Percy's head he took one last breath before dissapering out of sight. Ares didn't even have time to be confused, since before his sword even touched the ground Percy connected a devastating right claw from behind breaking some ribs and sending the mighty war god rolling in the ground.

Once Ares stopped rolling, he sat up and spit up some blood trying to understand what just happened. Before he could move Percy put himself on top of him, one hand on his neck and the other ready to pierce right through his skull.

"I want answers, why are you here? What do you mean you tried to kill me?! WHY ARE YOU GODS AGAISNT ME?!" With each question Percy got more and more agitated. This only got worse when Ares started laughing.

"You really don't know anything do you? Some might think you are some kind of threat, but you are nothing but a child just running around trying to play hero without realizing he is being used.."

Percy put more pressure on his neck to stop him from talking as he prepared his other hand. Frustrated and tired. He then said something in a tone that just didn't quite fit with Percy.

"**Wrong answer."** Percy then launched his hand towards the gods shoulders, trying to get some answer but before he could reach the skin his body froze by a command given a second before.

"_Stop right now, don't move a muscle" _The voice sounded so soothing and persuasive that Percy couldn't help but comply. Ares smiled from below Percy as if he had won.

"Tough break punk, looks like you made my lady angry and she isn't someone of your caliber can even hope to beat."

Percy was still trying to move desperately wanting to disobey the voice but to no avail. It was then that he remembered that there were two godly auras and he cursed himself for completely forgetting about the second one.

Ares decided he wasn't very pleased with his current position so he punched Percy was hard as he could on the face easily breaking his nose. Percy couldn't do anything as his body was sent back and up a good 30 feet of the ground.

That was used as a trigger as the four girls that were simply standing idly until now sprang into action. Thalia and Zoe took one Ares who was still slightly dazzled from the hit he took while Hestia went towards Aphrodite

As Percy closed his eyes as he bared himself for impact he found himself being caught midway greatly reducing the damage. He opened his eyes expecting Thalia or Hestia but was incredibly surprised to find that it was Phoebe who saved him.

"Look, I may not like males but you saved my life and stood your own against my bastard of a father. Despite your gender I can respect an honorable warrior like you, so what do you say we kick the shit out of my father?"

Percy smiled sincerely at Phoebe as inside his mind he just made a friend he felt he could trust, but he put those thoughts aside for now as they had more important things to worry about. Percy took Phoebe's hand and got back on his feet ready for battle.

"Yeah, let's do that but listen closely I have a plan." Phoebe, listen carefully and didn't argue as it was actually a pretty simple but effective plan if they could pull it off. Once Percy was done explain they both sprinted but in different directions as Phoebe went to provide help to Thalia and Zoe who were doing remarkably well while Percy went towards Aphrodite and Hestia who seemed to simply be talking.

As Percy got closer he listened carefully to the conversation.

"Why are you here Aphrodite? I thought the council had an agreement on this matter; shouldn't we be more focused on the war ahead of us? Don't you see we are trying to rescue Artemis"

"I honestly have no idea dear Hestia, I was just in a date with Ares when he detected something then started throwing and swinging swords at Percy. Not my fault at all"

Aphrodite sounded completely innocent and her voice just begged to agree with her but Hestia quickly saw through her.

"How do you know his name if you are not involved in this then?"

The love goddess but a delicate hand on her mouth and made an 'oops' girl as if she was a girl that was caught. "I guess you are smarter than I thought dear Hestia. Well truth is I am _very _interested in Percy. Unlike Athena and Zeus who are just worried about their thrown and want to kill him, I want something more fun. A demigod that can stand toe to toe with a god, oh what romantic and dramatic potential this young man has; he will have the greatest story and the most tragic of endings. Ares was more interested in kill him but I convinced him not to as long as he got to beat him to a pulp so you see I am actually doing him a favor, you should thank me Hestia de-"

"ENOUGH!"

Aphrodite was quickly silenced as veins wrapped all around here going straight for her mouth making sure she wouldn't mutter another word. The love goddess moved around trying to get free as she screamed to no avail. As she moved around she saw the origin of the veins was Percy slowly getting closer with a face that said _you do not want to mess with me right now._

Once he was close enough he raised his right arm reveling that the veins he was controlling were directly connected to his fingers he then dragged the goddess towards the other group that wasn't doing too well. Everyone was down except for Zoe who was somehow keeping her own.

Percy almost felt like smiling when he saw that she was controlling the titanic aura that she used against him in their previous fight, almost. Percy kept dragging Aphrodite until he was within earshot of Ares but still far enough. As Ares managed to unarm Zoe Percy spoke up.

"ARES, PUT YOUR WEAPON DOWN NOW." Ares turned around and his faced turned to true fear then anger. As he was about to step forward Percy grabbed Aphrodite by the hair and aimed his sharp left claws at her neck.

"One more step and she dies. . ."

Ares actually saw that he was serious in his eyes so he complied throwing his sword to the ground. The instant he did Percy used his left arm to wrap veins around him also immobilizing him. He then willed both hands to grow and go up further making it so that both gods were 20 feet of the ground being restrained by what could be only described as giant tree hands.

"Well punk, looks like you proved her right after all. You really are a threat that needs to be put down." Percy didn't like this comment so he squeezed Ares a little tighter.

"I am not like you, I will not kill you. I simply want this to serve as a warning. I don't know if it was Zeus who sent you but hear me and hear me well. I am an ally to all demigods and will do all that I can to protect them. If you insist on getting on the way of that goal I won't hesitate to take on _any _of you gods. Now farewell god of war."

Percy then made the arms even longer and started spinning around as fast as he could. Once he was done stretching them, each arm was 100 feet long and he was spinning them incredibly fast. As soon as he let both gods go with a mighty roar a sonic boom was head as both being disappear into the sky.

**Line break. (Announcements at the end: Want Beta, Schedule, and plans for the future.)**

The next few hours the group did nothing but lay on the ground completely exhausted by the battle they just had. They talked a bit but they didn't talk about the why since Percy and Hestia were clearly not going to tell something so the topics changed to how badass Percy was for standing up against Ares or how out of character it was for Phoebe to save Percy.

As they talked and joke everyone was having a great time despite what had just occurred previously. As they talked Percy couldn't help but think that Hestia was keeping something from him that was important. He didn't go as far as to think that she was against him since he was pretty good at reading a persona and after being close to her for so long he didn't once felt any ill will towards him so whatever it was she was hiding was probably quite complex.

On the other end the questions about Percy just kept build up for the three female demigods, especially Thalia since she knew him the most. His power was way too strong for a son of Pan, something that was unheard of to begin with. Normally Thalia would be pushing to get the information but with Percy it was different because she could tell there were a lot of things that even he wasn't sure of. So she made the decision to wait until he was ready to tell him.

Finally from the group was Hestia who despite all the fun she was having she was getting more and more conflicted every second. She saw just how angry and desperate Percy became once Ares revealed even a bit of information. She had never seen Percy that angry or agitated before, but strangely enough she didn't feel scared or intimidated. She felt dread and pain, as if seen him in such a state made her want to do nothing but help him and make him feel better.

Deep down she knew that the only way to do what was for him to get answers and closure but she was afraid of how he would react once the truth was laid out in front of him. She was afraid of losing him, something she has never felt for anyone before. She was most afraid of what would happen to him emotionally once he learns everything, but there was nothing that she could do except be there once that happens and just hope that he gets through the challenges both physical and emotional that Hestia knew laid ahead.

**A/N: Well looks like today is your lucky day! My muse hit me today and so I wrote this whole thing in a single sitting, not too bad. Now don't expect anymore 2 day waits for schedule. After this one I will keep to my schedule and update every Saturday night/Sunday morning. **

**Now since I have this new schedule I would like to go get a beta to improve my grammar and writing mistakes which have been noted by some of the reviews. So, if anyone out there likes my story, has time, would like to get an earlier views at the chapters and feels like correcting them please PM me.**

**So I have the rest of the story more or less laid out and we are about a third of the way through and I should be finishing it by December. After that I will do Last hope, that story is still not too clear so it can last for 6 months or maybe a lot less idk. Then After that I will make the sequel for Aztec warrior, I will for title suggestion when that time comes. Then finally a new story, so there you go. More or less my plan for the next two years writing, I hope you stay for the ride ^_^**


	12. Necklace, eagles and Betsy

After talking for a good long while the group was ready to go and despite the weird mix of people that it contained this group was closer than ever before. They walked for a bit before entering the Junkyard of the Gods. Before going in "Amber" gave everyone in the group some ambrosia to restore their energy in case something happened.

Percy ate more than the rest since his body was more adapted to godly thing and he had spent a significant amount of aura recently. Once everyone had their fill they went into the Junkyard with the warning of not touching anything.

Percy was pretty impressed with what he saw as they traveled along; there was everything from weapons, to unfinished machinery to things he couldn't even recognize. As Percy looked around his mind wondered to what had been bothering him recently. All the strange voices in head, but the weirdest thing of all was that they didn't sound all that strange to him. It was as if they were familiar.

One thing he tried to do was trying to sort through the voices that speak to him directly. So far he could think of three; all of them male but age was the biggest differencing factor. The one that told him to be careful sounded old and calm, the one that told him to snap out of Ares' trap sounded more animalistic and strict and finally the one that kept telling him to remember and to push himself sounded young and energetic. Percy just shook his head and kept walking.

No matter how much he thought about it, things were still extremely confusing and he needed some answers. His face darkened as he thought back to his encounter with the war god. Sure he was being influenced to be angrier than normal but Percy didn't think that made much of a difference. He still wanted answers and Ares knew how to push his buttons.

Percy grabbed his head as a sudden pain overwhelmed him. Percy looked around and it was as if something was calling out to him wanting to be found. So he started to walk around being guided by this weird and slightly painful tug at his brain. After running around for five minutes something caught his attention. Percy got close and started to dig around until a necklace came up.

Percy looked at the object strangely not sure what it meant but oddly enough he felt a sense of ownership over said object. As soon as he grabbed it Percy let out a scream as his brain felt as if it was being torn apart. Hearing this, the rest of the group quickly caught up to him but where confused as to what was happening.

"Percy, what's wrong?" Thalia tried to take the necklace out his hand but found it impossible so they just kept repeating his name.

All the voices went completely unheard as Percy was bombarded with different images. Percy saw his mom taking care of him with the same necklace he just found. He saw a man next to her, both of them looking at him with smiles on their faces. Then the image shifted, both adults were fighting yelling at each other until the man left and his mom was crying. Then the last image was one that Percy just wanted to forget with all his heart. It was his mom on an airplane smiling at 10 year old Percy and trying to keep him calm. Percy knew how the memory ended and he refused to relive it.

Percy forced his mind out of the memory with all his will power. In doing so Percy was drawn back to reality letting go of the necklace. Looking around to find four pairs of worried eyes over him.

"What the Hades what that about Percy?! We thought you were dying!" Thalia nearly shocked the life out of Percy but she was interrupted by a loud sound behind them.

"What was that?" That question was immediately answered when an entire junk hill collapse revealing a bronze giant that did not look pleased. Percy cursed in Nahuatl something he hasn't done in a long time as it was reserved for those very special occasions when he was royally screwed.

As soon as the giant took his first step the group sprinted in the opposite direction trying to get way from him. Percy suddenly stopped mid sprint looking back towards the necklace. He didn't know what it was but he had a gut feeling that it was important. So listening to his gut Percy ran back as fast as he could, grabbed the necklace and caught back up with the rest of the girls.

"So Percy, do you have any brilliant plan? We sure could use one right about now!" Thalia looked back at the giant that was closing in very fast. Percy did the same and then he looked around the area running his brain on overdrive when the simplest of plans came to mind.

"I actually do, Amber and Thalia started running to the right. Zoe and Phoebe hang on we are about to go really fast."

Without explaining any further Percy grabbed both hunters like bags of potatoes and activating a partial transformation he ran the opposite direction of the other two girls except he was going 60mph. He carried the girls a good distance way from the giants reach and then waited for a second. The giant didn't chase Thalia and Hestia but went instead in Percy's direction who was a greater distance away. This pretty much confirmed Percy's theory that this guy was a guardian and was probably after the necklace.

With this new information, Percy decided to use his incredible speed to keep the giant chasing him and get him way from the girls. This was rather easy since despite its size the giant was really clumsy when it came to turning.

Percy kept doing this for a good while but giant was apparently getting desperate as he started to swing a gigantic sword that Percy didn't see before creating a huge amount of debris that almost caught Percy a couple of times. Deciding that it was only a matter of time before he got caught Percy retreated and went back to where the girls had reunited a good mile way from where the giant was.

"That thing swinging a 100 ft long sword around is not good news. If I just keep running around I will end up getting hit sooner or later. So we need a way to bring it down, as far as I can tell since he is humanoid he should have the same weakness so go for the eyes and ears. I will keep it distract while you wait for a good shot like we did with the lion."

The two hunters readied their bows while Thalia and "Amber" charged the strongest long range attack they could muster. Meanwhile Percy went back towards the giant but this time in his full jaguar hybrid form making it easier to dodge anything the bronze automaton threw his way. Percy kept his sword in its regular form for now since the armor mode consumed too much energy to be running around.

The giant simply kept swinging his sword towards Percy, missing by a large margin but still causing a small explosion with every strike. As Percy dodge for the tenth time he positioned himself in such a way that when the giant faced him its right side was expose for a direct group from the group.

Once the bronze giant was within striking distance all for girls fired with all they had. Percy had to shield his eyes from the explosion caused after the impact. The giants fell on his side from the impact causing more metal to fly everywhere and small earthquake shook the whole Junkyard.

Percy smiled at the result and was about to go towards the group when the ground shook once again making Percy's heart skip a bit. He turned back towards the giant who was back in its feet with half his face missing but still determined on getting to Percy.

Percy thought about his options none of them really good. If he couldn't take him out from the outside then getting him from the inside was the next logical choice. He looked at his sword and then remembered just how fast he was against Ares. He decided to test if the sword had anything to do with that so he focus and visualized the sword becoming part of him like before.

The sword followed the command and once more became part of Percy as he went full jaguar hybrid mode. He got on all four and aimed straight for the giant. He tensed his legs muscles as much as he could and then sprinted forward.

Percy's theory was right. He had never felt faster in his entire life as the world around him seemed to blur. This was short lived as in a matter of second he was a few feet from the giant who had yet to realize where Percy had gone. Keeping his eyes focused Percy jump to the giant and started to claw his way up to the face. Going up he slowed down significantly but was still way too fast for the giant to do anything.

Once Percy made it to the face he launched himself inside the whole that was made by the effort of his comrades before the automaton could smash him like a mosquito. Percy wasn't really a mechanic so he did the only logical thing as he looked around the mechanical behemoth. He slashed around at anything that even looked remotely important.

He tried to keep himself relatively close to the exit as he broke cables, and other things he didn't even know the name of. Soon enough all his work paid off as he could see that things were coming apart without him even doing anything. He took this as his clue to flee as the whole thing could collapse any second.

Percy managed to get out of the giant's head just in time for him to see how it couldn't take any more steps and was about to collapse. Percy was about to jump off but he caught sight of something that almost made his blood freeze. The giant was about to collapse in front of the girls, they all ran out of harm's way except for Phoebe who got her foot stuck on something and couldn't get out of the way.

Percy didn't hesitate. He aimed himself right at her and jumped with all his might. Percy reached Phoebe in a second and quickly freed her foot but that's all he managed to do as the falling giant was almost upon them. Knowing he couldn't get both of them out in time Percy raised his arms and whispered something to Phoebe before the giant fell on top of them.

**Percy dies, end of story…. Haha as if….. Line break ( Info at end: Beta requested closed)**

20 minutes, that's how long the three girls were looking for Percy and Phoebe. While running way none of them noticed that Phoebe got stuck so they could only stare as Percy tried to save her and the giant consumed them both.

Thalia stopped searching as she realized something.

"One shall be lost in the land without rain… Do you think that…" She didn't have to finish the thought as all of their faces showed that they knew exactly what she was talking about.

Zoe was the next one to speak up "But if that's true then why did both of them die? The prophecy said ONE!"

"Don't you think I know that?! Maybe… maybe that's what the oracle meant by changing prophecies."

The idea was like a very sick cruel joke but then again the oracle wasn't exactly known for telling the happiest of tales. As the idea began to settle among them a huge explosion a few feet behind them made them run straight towards it. What they found filled them with relief and awe.

By the looks of it Percy just punched his way through a good ton of metal to free himself but the fascinating part was that Phoebe was in his arms and judging by Percy's expression she was still alive. After they checked on her it turned out that she was perfectly fine except for a few bruises.

Percy told them that he used his sword to create a dome out of wood but then had to wait a few minutes to get enough energy to move again as his dome nearly collapsed on top of him by the mere force of the impact. Thalia was starting at him as if he was an alien so Percy asked what was wrong.

"This… here one of us was supposed to die. Phoebe was meant to be killed by that giant, but you saved her. You changed the prophecy."

Once it clicked on all of them the seriousness of what Percy had done they were all looking at him making him rather uncomfortable.

"I would gladly repeat my actions if given the chance. While in this quest we are a team and I won't allow anyone to be left behind." Percy's heroic speech was ruined when Thalia hit him behind the head.

"Great words considering you are the one who got the giant on our tale in the first place!" Everyone laughed at Thalia's antics but they were really just happy to know that no one died. The group then found an abandoned jeep and quickly got on it trying to get as far as they could from the junkyard before another giant came after them.

Percy sat at the back and looked carefully at the necklace that he took with him. He could that the object had a connection with him but had no idea what it was. He made a mental note that if he ever met Hephaestus he would ask him about it.

Thalia drove for hours until they finally reached Hoover dam. As they looked around Thalia went on and on about facts of the Dam that Annabeth drilled into her head. Percy couldn't help but smile at the great friendship between the two.

The group decided that they were way overdo for a meal so they went to the closest food place and order some good old hamburgers with fries and shakes. They ate as they talked and despite the odd topic like barely surviving a 200 foot giant falling on them. They just looked like five normal friends having a good time something none of the group's members were expecting. After they finished Thalia said something that she would never be able to live down.

"I think this is the first time this whole trip that we have managed to eat a whole meal without being interrupted." Percy immediately knew that they were in trouble since if he had learned anything is that you don't give the universe such an easy chance to prove you wrong because more often than not it will.

As if on cue, the skeleton warriors popped out of nowhere and surrounded the group making Percy extremely mad at Thalia for jinxing their first nice afternoon he decided to keep it until later. They all charged straight through some skeletons and tried to get way while Percy tried to slash through as many as he could.

However being in a dam they quickly found themselves surrounded and out of options; nowhere to go but up. This gave Percy an idea as he but two fingers on his mouth and made the loudest whistle he could. The soldiers were distracted for a second but they quickly got over it as Percy proceeded to keep fighting.

After another minute Percy looked to the sky and smiled.

"Everyone we are getting out of here, jump over the dam!" He didn't even wait for any answer as he grabbed Thalia and Zoe by the hand while Hestia grabbed Phoebe and all five of them jumped. They didn't fall much as they softly landed in the back of the biggest eagles to have ever existed since it could easily carry three people on its back.

"To San Francisco!" The eagles obeyed the command and went on their way leaving the skeletons behind. Thalia grabbed as hard as she could to the eagle's back and refused to open her eyes. Percy couldn't understand her vision as he just took on the view.

As they traveled Percy saw that everyone was sleeping but he decided to stay in guard just in case Zeus tried something funny. To say the least he was rather startled to see Jake's face pop in front of him as he instantly tried to slash through the image giving Percy a heart attack.

"Wow there, easy buddy I am just Iris messaging you to see how the quest is going an- are you flying right now?" Once Percy calmed down he managed an answer.

"Not really, we are on top of two my friends, the biggest eagles you would ever meet. Anyway the quest is going well, all five of us are still intact and we just passed the Hoover Dam so we should reach San Francisco soon."

" Well that's good to hear, things over here are pretty good. Mr.D. has apparently been in Olympus full time for meeting ever since Artemis got capture. So things are pretty fun while everyone is still training pretty hard despite you not being here. Anyway looks like you won't be needing me after all."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, the quest is far from over so stay sharp in case some last minute emergency happens okay?"

"Sure, umm can I tell you something but you promise not to laugh?"

"Um, sure, what is it exactly"

Once Jake finished explain Percy completely broke his promised and giggled like a school girl.

"So y-you m-meet a sea cow that was in trouble s-saved her and named her B-B-Betsy ha-ha..."

"Yeah yeah, laugh it off but listen to me! I think Betsy is important; I just had a dream where I saw you in the Hoover dam fighting some mutant skeletons. I think I was seeing it through its eyes, not to mention I also had weird nightmares where it was being sacrificed. I know it's hard to believe but please try to at least keep an eye open in case you see her ok?"

Percy had to admit that it was a bit odd but he had seen crazier things and Jake looked really agitated so he took his word for it.

"Alright, I will keep an eye open, if I find it I will try talking to it- um her, to see if you are right."

"That's all I ask, thanks Percy. Now if you excused me I need to catch some Zs good luck."

Jake then waved his hand through the message making it disappear leaving Percy alone. Seeing as no one else was awake, Percy decided it was time for another try at meditation. For experimentation he decided to use the necklace he found, and then closed his eyes.

He immediately knew something was different. The space that was usually just a black room with light only where he stood was now a huge room that Percy recognized as Aztec based on the design. However it wasn't just the design that shocked him it was the fact that he was surrounded by huge humanoids all sitting in different thrones.

Percy's head started to hurt again as if something was trapped and it was desperately trying to get out.

"Don't push it short stuff. It really was bad luck that you found that necklace. Right now its acting as a cheating device to show you things your poor little brain is not ready for. So, for now don't meditate unless it's an emergency, like 'I am about to die please save my ass' kind of emergency got it? "

After that odd explanation Percy was tapped on the head and thrown out of his own head. Once he came to he was relieved to find everyone was still asleep. He thought about doing the same but he saw the San Francisco lights getting closer so he woke everyone up.

"Try to land on a park or something; we don't want to bother too many mortals."

The eagle let out a shriek that Percy took as confirmation so all of them hanged for dear life as the eagles descended towards the city. They managed to land without being noticed except for a homeless person that got rudely interrupted from his nap.

Percy petted his friends and told them to be careful as they flew off leaving the group alone. Thalia looked around as if she had no idea what to do next.

"Well we are here, now where do we go?"

"Hmmm, well I say we go towards the bridge or-" Percy suddenly stopped mid sedtance as something caught his attention. He sniffed the air as if following a trail and then started sprinting with no warning leaving the others trailing behind him.

Percy resembled very much a hunting dog as he stopped every couple of blocks to sniff the air and then resumed his pursuit. After half an hour of following him around the group finally caught up to him but only because he stopped and raised a hand signaling them to be quiet; he found what he was looking for."

They had now reached the shore and were behind a building peeking at what was happening. Percy listening closely at a commotion that was going on.

"Restrain the beast, you fools! We can't allow it to get way!" Percy immediately recognized the voice as that of Dr. Thorn or the manticore. While he also saw the skeleton warriors helping him fish something out of the water.

"You four stay here, I am going to get a better view from the roof."

Percy quickly climbed the building as quietly as possible. Once he reached the top he was completely stunned by what he saw. The thing that they were fishing looked like a cow! Percy immediately it was too much of a coincidence for it not to be Betsy so he acted quickly. He looked at the girls and gave them a signal informing them that they were going to attack.

On an unspoken signal Percy jumped from the roof top slashing at two unsuspected skeletons while the hunters started shooting arrows from a distance and Thalia and "Amber" took the front lines. Thorn's group was taken by surprise giving Percy the chance to free Betsy.

Percy was hoping the animal would swing away as fast as possible but it just stayed there mooing at him. Percy didn't know what to do so he stayed close to the shore in a defensive position as he tried to communicate with the cow.

_Umm I don't know if you can understand me but you should probably leave, it's not safe here. _

_MOOOO! _Was all the response Percy got which did not improve the situation. _Great, the one time I need the power to talk to animals the thing only speaks cow. _

Thalia and "Amber" joined Percy in a defensive position over a cow that none of them knew the importance of. That is until Thorn decided to pull his men back and speak.

"Well well, if it isn't the stupid child that stopped in that stupid academy. If you want to live get away from the Ophiotaurus this instant!" Once that name was spoken both Percy and Hestia realize the importance of the seemingly harmless sea cow.

"So that's what it meant by the bane of Olympus, I have to thank you Thorn for that piece of information; now how about you give me a rematch from last time." Percy activated his full hybrid form for the 3th time and was pleased with how quickly he was getting used to the power. He raised his hands and taunted thorn to make the first move.

Not being one of much self control Thorn fell for the taunt as he took his manticore form and charged straight for Percy. Percy took advantage of his new speed to catch Thorn off guard. As his fangs were mere centimeters from Percy's face he slipped behind him and grabbed him by the tail.

Before he could react Percy starting twirling him around and once he let go Thorn flew straight into a building. Percy wanted to get rid of the skeletons before fighting Thorn so he went help the other two girls who were doing their best to keep the warrior down by throwing fire and lighting at them once the fell to pieces but that didn't slow down their regeneration by much.

As Percy slammed a skeleton to pieces he caught sight of the water and an idea came to mind. He concentrated quickly because judging by the moving ruble he only had a couple of seconds before Thorn got up. He telepathically contacted his eagle friend watching over Jake.

_No time to explain just teleport Jake to me now! _

_Yes sir! _Came the response two seconds later

Percy then got to work as he placed an armored arm on the ground and shifted it around so that a tree would form. Percy started to glow the way he did when he blessed something and waited for his friend to do his part.

Not 10 seconds later Jake appeared with an eagle on his shoulder looking very confused. To his credit he adapted to the situation very quickly as a skeleton came towards him with its sword raised. Jake Instinctively took out his sword and battle for his live before Percy came in from behind pushing the skeleton way.

"Care to tell my why you brought me to the middle of a battlefield and why in the Hades are your arms made of tree branches?"

"No time, can you control a big enough body of water to wash those skeletons away?"

Jake looked around and understood what he meant so he went close to the shore to concentrate.

"Wait for my signal! Amber, Thalia, smash all of them at once!"

As if to set an example Percy extended his arms grabbing three skeletons and smashing them against another three; the other two followed suit using a simultaneous fireball lighting bolt attack while the two hunters rained as many arrows as they could. Once they were nothing but ash Jakes water came in took them all in one swoop and returned them to the ocean.

Having witnessed this Thorn didn't like his odd anymore so he wisely chose to retreat. Percy wanted to go after him but decided not to as the group got together trying to decide what to do with the sea cow. Funny enough it was Zoe who explain the value of the Ophiotaurus to everyone else.

After Percy explained how Jake got there the next topic of discussion was how to get the Ophiotaurus to safety. Jake came up with a suggestion.

"How about asking my dad to take it back to long island? It should be safe over there."

"A favor like that would require a huge offering; do you have anything worthy to give boy?" Despite being respectful towards Percy Zoe still was rather hostile with other males. Percy quickly intervened before a fight broke out.

"Well how about this pelt, I think this should be more than enough of a sacrifice." No one made a comment after that as Jake prayed to his dad and threw the pelt into the sea. Betsy the sea cow was then surrounding by a water bubble and went under, hopefully towards safety.

"Alright then, with that out of the way let's get this quest over with shall we?"

"We are still very far way from our destination Perceus, I believe our objective is the top of mount Tam. Unless we get a vehicle we won't be getting there anytime soon."

"Tsk tsk tsk, what is with that pessimism?" Percy asked mockingly while shaking his finger. "If its transportation you want transportation you shall receive."

Percy processed to bring both hands to his mouth and released animalistic roars that sounded very similar to that of a lion or a very big cat. Once he was done everyone around him was nearly deaf while he was just grinning.

The group was about to ask what they were waiting for until they saw five large figures quickly approaching. Once the figures stop everyone's jaw dropped as the biggest jaguars they had ever seen were in front of them being pet by Percy.

"Ladies and gentleman I present you my elite feline force old friends and your mean of transportation for the day. Please only one Person per jaguar and relax since their fur is special so you won't be falling off. Any questions?"

Jake raised his hand "Um, yeah, there are only 5 jaguars and 6 of us."

Percy grinned like a mad man as if he had been waiting for that question.

"Oh don't you worry about that, I won't be riding with you I will be running ahead of the group now hop on."

Everyone thought he was joking and that there was a hidden jaguar somewhere, but they got on regardless. All doubt were erased as Percy blasted off probably at around 70mph with the jaguars trailing behind him at a similar speed.

Needless to say it was quite the peculiar ride through the Golden Gate bridge as Percy and the jaguars jumped through cars with no worries at all as everyone riding the jaguars screamed their head off. Percy slowed down slightly to about normal car speed to conserve his energy for the big fight.

Twenty minute later they were in front of the Garden of the Hesperides. Percy thanked his friends for the help and waved them off as Zoe took the lead into the garden. She stooped as four girls that looked very much like here came out in front of them.

"Hello sister, we need to pass through her to-"

"We know why you are here and we have no intentions of letting you pass."

Percy decided to interfere seen the negotiations weren't going to well.

"Come on ladies all we ask for is passage, surely that shouldn't be a problem"

They looked at Percy with a murdering glare, but it then shifted into a smile that made Percy even more worried.

"No problem at all, you can pass if you get past our pet." The girls all snapped their fingers and the giant form of Ladon appeared behind them hissing dangerously at Percy. Percy looked at the multiple heads of the monster in front of them and only a single thought came to mind.

"We are so screwed"

**A/N: Yes you are Percy but we have to wait until next week to see what happens :D **

**So just one announcement for this week, the beta offering is now closed as I got 2 replies which I accepted. So from now on even chapters will be reviewed by Solangelover and odd chapter will be reviewed by ****ZealousReader2. As per usual they get an editor note in case they want to say anything.**

**E/N:**


	13. Final showdown

_**Last time…**_

Percy decided to interfere, seeing that the negotiations weren't going too well.

"Come on ladies all we ask for is passage, surely that shouldn't be a problem"

They looked at Percy with murderous glares, but it then shifted into a smile that made Percy even more worried.

"No problem at all, you can pass if you get past our pet." The girls all snapped their fingers and the giant form of Ladon appeared behind them hissing dangerously at Percy. Percy looked at the multiple heads of the monster in front of them and only a single thought came to mind.

"We are so screwed"

**Now…**

After Percy's brilliant comment, everyone jumped out of the way as Ladon decided to spew fire in their direction. Percy had heard stories of the mighty Ladon, a beast even the greatest heroes were afraid of. Even those stories were not enough to prepare Percy for this fight if only for one simple thing: The smell.

Since Percy had very developed senses, the monster's foul odor affected Percy the most almost to the point of immobility. Jake seeing this grabbed Percy and pulled him as far away from the dragon while dodging fire.

"Dude come on we can't have you dying on us." For good measure Jake slapped him around a bit fully bringing him back.

"Thanks for that, just remind me to give this monster some mints when we are done with it." Both teens grinned as they got ready for a pretty much impossible fight. Percy did what he did best; he stayed behind and analyzed the situation trying to think of the best possible strategy.

The first thing that he noticed is that only the heads were attacking them as the main body remained near a tree which Percy guessed was the tree that had the apples of immortality. So Percy came up with his stupidest trap so far which was saying a lot.

"Jake, go tell everyone that as soon as I get the monster's attention you run as fast as you can towards the top got it?" Jake guessed what Percy was about to do but couldn't do anything since Percy's face said that this was not up for debate.

So Percy ran towards the tree and started smacking around some of the few heads that were around it to get the attention of the rest. The plan worked; in fact it worked a little too well. Almost immediately Percy was surrounded by all the heads leaving him no room to dodge.

As flames and poison were spewed at him he jumped as high as he could and then landed on the monsters many heads as he dodged bites and more fire. He somehow managed to get back to solid ground and was happy to see that his distraction was enough to get the rest of the group on their way. Now the only issue was for him to catch up to them and that would only be straight through this fabled dragon.

"Well then, let's see just how tough you are." Percy sprinted away from the monster and some heads went straight after him. Percy kept turning and jumping trying to do a trick he saw in television of getting all the heads jumbled up. Unfortunately things didn't turn out the way he wanted to as the dragon was too smart and would always pull back some of its heads while sending new ones.

Percy then tried long range projectiles so he swung his sword against a marble wall and grabbed a good size rock. He threw it at the closest head but the monster easily dodged it. Percy was about to forget about that idea until he saw that the rock kept going straight for the tree and some heads went straight for the rock to protect the tree.

Seeing this, a new plan immediately formed so he went to work. As he dodge and countered as many heads as he could, he willed his sword to become part of his arms but without his transformation this time. Percy watched with satisfaction as his right arms grew three times in side and was now made of powerful tree branches. With his new assets Percy proceeded to punch all the incoming heads who were extremely surprised and were pushed back.

Using this distraction as a chance Percy went to the destroyed wall and grabbed as many pieces as he could. He then took aim straight towards the tree and launched his attack with all the speed he had. Ladon looked quite surprised at the giant boulders coming his way. Percy was happily satisfied as Ladon didn't move but protected the tree by blocking and breaking the incoming rocks.

Percy used this one in a life time opportunity to run for dear life towards the other side of the garden. The dragon despite being distracted still managed to send a head towards Percy, who received it by swinging his arms effectively knocking the head out. Percy felt relieved, until he felt a huge burning sensation in his leg.

Percy looked down in horror to see another head biting at his legs and with no intention of letting go. At this point Percy was out of options and patience so he slammed his hand down as hard as he could easily crushing the head and making quite a big mess. That was the least of his problems as the venom was starting to numb his pain.

Seeing no other way, Percy reluctantly used his only power from his father, a power that he only used consciously in life or death situations. So he closed his eyes and visualized the poison in his body, he willed his blood system to stop spreading the poison and send it back the way it came. This was very dangerous as it completely stopped Percy's circulatory system so he had a few seconds before things got ugly.

He expertly concentrated the poison into a single artery opening up the ones that were no longer contaminated in the process. Soon enough the poison was pouring out from the wound leaving Percy pretty much as good as new except for the intense pain he was feeling.

Once this was done he got up and caught up with everyone else as they were running up the hill once they saw Percy was ok. They didn't even bother asking how he survived the bite since at this point they could spend an hour asking things about Percy.

The closer they got the heavier the air got, a feeling of anxiety getting to Percy. Despite the air he could also see that the place itself was rather magical since ruins seemed to be rebuilding themselves. Percy guessed this was the new version of mount Othrys which was definitely not good news. As they got closer Hestia ran next to him towards the back to not be heard.

"I can sense that Atlas is up there, in my current form I can't do much, so it will only be the five of you against him. Are you sure you are up to this?"

"To be honest I am not sure. All I know is that we managed to beat two Olympians and that should count for something." Hestia gave a nod and continued on.

Once the group got to the top they saw Artemis gagged and in a lot of pain as she struggled to carry the sky. As soon as she saw them she shook her head and tried to say something but the gag made it impossible. Zoe approached her and removed the gag.

"You should not have come here it is a trap."

"Oh yes it is, how nice it was for you to fall directly to it."

Atlas appeared in his giant form with Luke Castellan next to him and a tied up Annabeth. Jake and Thalia looked at Luke with hatred while Phoebe, Zoe, and Percy were focused on the titan. Percy unsheathed his sword silently while the two hunters got out their hunting knives.

"Oh? Are you seriously dumb enough to try and challenge me? You should know that the ancient laws prohibit me from fighting a non-immortal unless challenged , so you could try to rescue the little moon goddess while avoiding me. Of course…" Atlas then disappeared from view only to appear in front of Hestia with his javelin already raised.

"That doesn't apply to you now does it hearth goddess?" Everyone was frozen as the javelin came down straight to Hestia's heart. Percy tried to move but found himself just too slow as he hopelessly saw the weapon nearing Hestia heart. Everyone was extremely surprised when the javelin ended up piercing nothing but dirt.

Percy got over his surprised the quickest and used this moment to try a sneak attack on Atlas. He swung his sword at the Titan's head but said Titan moved impossibly fast as his weapon managed to deflect the blow and then sent Percy flying with a quick slash.

That exchanged triggered the battle as a small group of monsters came out of hiding and tried to ambush the group. That didn't go too well since except for Percy everyone thought that "Amber" just died so they took out all their anger in the monster. Needless to say the monster didn't even last a full minute.

After that Jake charged towards Luke and both of them were locked in a duel. The rest of the group decided to take on Atlas all at once. It was truly impressive how coordinated the group was reading and complementing each other's movements making it hard for Atlas to focus on a single target.

Percy tried to do his best to learn and adapt to the titan's fighting style; it helped that he was by far the most experienced fighter. He was stronger, faster and an overall moreepowerful warrior than any of them. Percy wanted to wait for an opening to go into his full hybrid form but with this kind of opponent there just weren't any openings to take advantage of, even with four experienced demigods attacking as a team.

Finally decided to just go for it Percy at least waited for Atlas to look away before transforming. Once the titan's eyes locked with Zoe's, Percy transformed as quickly as he could and already had a claw mid swing. Atlas barely managed to meet the strike but he was taken aback by the sudden increase in Percy's strength.

The group knew this was their only shot so they went all in. Zoe used her fighting aura that until she had been ashamed of as it represented her father, but she was now using it with the purpose of taking that same father down. With this Zoe was going nearly the same speed as Percy so both of them tried to overwhelmed the titan with sheer speed and power.

Meanwhile the other two knew that they couldn't match Percy and Zoe's speed so they stayed back and prepared their best projectile attacks. Thalia focused on creating the biggest thunderbolt of her life while Phoebe simply aimed her spear with utmost precision and waited for a moment where one of the two demigods would slip up.

Percy and Zoe were fighting like they had never fought before, moving at speed that they had only barely achieved a few times in their lives. They slashed and stabbed keeping Atlas in the defensive which was definitely worth of praise but Percy knew they were losing since not once were they able to bypass Atlas defenses and his face looked calm and collected which meant that despite their efforts their combined strength would not be enough to bring down this monster of a fighter.

Percy knew something was wrong when Atlas started to glow. For a second he was afraid Atlas was entering his divine form but those thought didn't last as Atlas suddenly disappeared making both of the demigods attacks miss.

Not a moment later Atlas appeared behind them and in a single motion sent both warrior rolling away. As Percy was flying through the air he tried to tell Phoebe and Thalia to launch their attack but was happily surprised as he saw a spear sticking out of Atlas arm followed by the biggest thunderbolt he had seen.

Percy knew that wouldn't be enough to take down the Titan but he was running out of ideas. He turned around and saw the answer stare at him in the eyes.

"Lady Artemis give me the sky. There is no way we can defeat Atlas on our own."

"Do you know what you are asking? You won't last a whole minute."

"Just give it to me, either that or we all die!" As if to prove his point Atlas came out of the smoke looking relatively unharmed by the demigods' efforts.

Artemis was surprised and even looked a bit impressed by Percy's attitude so she complied. She moved a bit as Percy knelt so that both of them were carrying it. As soon as Artemis left Percy understood the meaning of real pain.

It felt as if his entire body was being crushed but barely kept together. He immediately started sweating but he managed to stabilize after going on one knee. He looked around observing the battlefield, Jake was still in his duel with Luke both of them matched with skill. Unfortunately for Luke, as Artemis kept Atlas busy the rest of the demigods went to support Jake and rescue Annabeth.

Losing his vision Percy turned back to the fight between Artemis and Atlas and things were not looking good. Despite being incredibly fast and even landing some hits, it was obvious that Artemis was very weak from being under the sky while Atlas looked surprisingly fresh despite being stuck under that curse for millennia.

Percy panicked and started to curse his own weakness. They couldn't lose here, not with victory being so close he had to do something!.

_Well about damn time kiddo! Looks like I am finally going to get some action! _

Percy found himself back in the weird throne room but this time it was empty except for him and a very powerful looking dude in front of him. This individual looked like he was in his early 20s and made of marble. What made him stand out above everything was his blue skin and trouble maker grin which Percy found very similar to his own.

The strange thing was that the more he looked at the man the more he remembered him as memories of training and interactions came pouring in. Soon enough Percy knew who was in front of him and he couldn't help himself as a tear trickled down his face.

"Hey come on now no need to cry you big baby. It's only been for year right?" Percy couldn't help but laugh and hug one of his favorite trainers from the Aztec gods and one of the closest things Percy had to a father.

"I could tell you the same thing commander blue face." Percy responded as he felt a single tear drop to his head.

"I have no idea what you are talking about but listen we don't have a lot of time. I know you have a ton of questions and probably want to kick my ass for messing with your memories but we couldn't very well tell you were inside your head now could we?".

"Time is extremely slowed down while you are in here but we still need to hurry if you want to save your friends. All you need to know is that I will give you my strength in this fight. The reason we didn't tell you before is because unless you were mentally and physically prepared to give it your all your body would tear apart. As soon as you return to your body have someone take the sky from you and say my name, do you still remember it?"

"As if I could forget such a ridiculous name, now send me back so that we can get this over with and I can kick your ass."

"That's the spirit kiddo, now go get them!"

As Percy returned to his body he immediately looked around for someone to helped out of the sky and was pleasantly surprised when he saw Jake close by after being pushed back by Atlas, Percy assumed

"Percy, we already rescued Annabeth but even with Artemis Atlas isn't going down."

"You have no idea what great timing you have. I guarantee you that if you take the sky from me I will personally take down Atlas. Please trust me on this."

Jake looked dubious but Percy's eyes said that he wasn't lying so he decided to trust him since he could admit Percy was the strongest of the two of them. Jake stepped next to Percy and did the same procedure as with Annabeth.

As Percy came free from the sky he could tell things were not looking good since everyone was laying on the floor even Artemis. Atlas had his javelin pointed at a Zoe who was holding her leg on the floor unable to move.

Percy ran towards them but knew he wasn't fast enough until a now familiar voice rang in his head.

_Say my name you dumbass!_

Percy didn't hesitate as he screamed the name of his all friend with all his strength.

"**HUITZILOPOCHTLI!" **

As he spoke the name Percy immediately felt the difference. It was as if he was being directly injected with power beyond his imaginations. The world seemed to slow down as Percy took on his newest form.

Atlas didn't get distracted from his task as he was mid swing with his javelin. He was barely able to see a blue blur as his javelin hit the ground missing its target. He turned around and was surprised and even slightly intimidated by what he saw.

The same demigod that he warmed up with earlier was now blue and looked like he had aged five years and gained a lot of muscle mass. Not to mention his aura was bigger than that of even the Olympians and even challenged that of a member of the big three.

Zoe was completely speechless as she stared into Percy who had saved her and was pretty sure changed the prophecy once again as she was sure she was meant to die at the hands of his father.

"Don't worry; I will take down your father. Just go to Artemis and get your leg healed. I made you a promise didn't I? I am a man of my word and I guarantee we are all getting out of this alive."

Zoe then did something she had not done in all her years of working with Artemis. She cried. She cried because she was happy to be alive, she cried because she was able to hope and trust on a male again and her wish delivered. But most of all she cried in gratitude towards her first male friend.

"You speak with such confidence. What makes you think that a lowly demigod like you has what it takes to take down the mighty Atlas!?"

The titan charged at Percy with his incredible speed that normal eye could not follow, but the way Percy was now he appeared to move in slow motion. Percy maneuvered below the Titan easily dodging his blow while still carrying Zoe in his arms. To everyone else it looked as if Percy had just disappeared as Atlas tried to impale him and reappeared right behind him.

"Why you little brat!" Atlas tried again with a swing but he only touched air as Percy this time appeared in front of Artemis delivering Zoe delicately in front of her. Artemis was extremely confused as she had no idea what to make of the situation.

"She is fine, just a broken leg. I leave her under your help but please help my friend who is now holding the sky as this might take a while." Even his voice sounded different to her, more mature and secure. Assuring her that there was no way that he could lose this fight and that she could relax and simply watch, and for some reason she believed him.

Atlas was quickly losing his temper as he attempted to charge again, except this time Percy beat him to it trying to keep him as far away from everyone else as possible. As Percy appeared in front of him Atlas was barely able to block a left jab directed at his face. Despite the blow being blocked the Titan was pushed back and barely kept his footing.

He quickly regained his stance anticipating another blow but said blow never came since Percy was collecting all the scattered demigods and placing them next to Artemis who had now cured Zoe and was on her way to help Jake. Once everyone was out the way Percy took his attention back to Atlas who was vivid at this point.

Percy then closed in the distance until both warriors were 15 feet from each other. Percy called out his sword which changed shaped as soon as he grabbed it becoming longer until it looked the same as Atlas Javelin.

"Well then, Atlas, great Titan of Strength and Endurance, shall we get this match started?"

Atlas didn't respond, he simply grinned and moved in trying to stab Percy from the side. Percy saw the move coming so countered it with his own and went on the offensive. The fight was completely different from the first time. Atlas was in the defensive but this time it was clear he was having trouble as Percy managed to get some hits here and there. However Atlas was no push over, he managed to hit Percy a couple of times.

The fight became a blur of gray and blue as both warriors kept slashing and stabbing trying to get even the smallest advantage over the other. Percy wasn't even thinking as his eyes couldn't follow his own movements, acting purely on instinct trying to stay alive while also putting up enough pressure. Despite his apparent advantage Percy still didn't go for a deadly blow since they needed him in good condition to carry the sky.

As they both clashed, energy flying off everywhere Atlas took a step back and stabbed his weapon to the ground. Making Percy question if he was really giving up.

"I have to admit little demigod you are no ordinary fighter. Probably the best one I have faced yet, unfortunately for you that mean that I am going to fight seriously." This made Percy panic as he instantly moved in front of everyone in an attempt to shield them, but this only caused Atlas to laugh.

"Good instinct if I were to go into my divine form but no need to worry. Unlike the divine form of gods, ours is a lot more wild, hard to control and extremely exhausting, almost to the point where we could fade if we aren't careful. That's why we developed this…"

Percy thought it was all a lie as Atlas got extremely bright but no explosion happened. Instead all the power that would seem to blow up simply went back inside and around the titan giving him a gray electric appearance of power energy on the verge of exploding. Percy knew this was no mere physical change as he could feel that all the energy that was inside of him was now out and ready to be unleashed.

Atlas raised his left hand and launched a wave of grey energy at Percy knowing he wouldn't dodge. Percy knew that simply blocking the strike would be suicide so he changed his sword back to its original form and went forward slashing the energy in two and forcing Atlas to block.

The battle elevated to a whole new level since Percy could no longer afford to hold back so this became a duel to death. A duel of such speed that even Artemis had trouble following their movements. Meanwhile Atlas despite fighting at full force had to stay completely focused to not get stabbed. Since he started fight seriously he could the demigod doing the same and now going for the kill. Of course Atlas wouldn't die but being decapitated was not something he was looking forward to.

Percy on the other hand was only worried about finishing this as quickly as possible, for as powerful as he was right now he knew his power wouldn't last much longer. As they kept swing at each other the battle quickly became one of stamina more than skill as the winner would be decided by who could keep swinging the most.

Knowing Percy was in a losing path he decided to change to rhythm of the fight. As the weapons clashed again Percy dropped his sword and grabbed Atlas' with both hand and then used that as a bar as Percy went horizontal and delivered a devastating drop kick to the titan's chest. Unfortunately he didn't hear any ribs break but he did get thrown back and crashed into the ground which was what Percy wanted.

Percy grabbed his sword once more and focused all his remaining energy into his next strike looking to finish this fight. By the time Atlas recovered he had no chance but to charge his own final attack since dodging was not an option.

As Artemis observed this, her instinct was to put the strongest barrier she could since the whiplash from the clash was something she did not want to face directly.

Percy could feel his body burning up and screaming at him but he ignored it as he poured every last drop of power into his blade. Once he pushed his body as hard as he could he locked eyes with his objective and charged for the kill.

As Atlas so his enemy charging at him he couldn't help but feel satisfaction about the fight he just experienced and the opponent he faced. The titan also launched forward with a smile on his face.

It was quite a unique sight as the two beams of light collided into one instantly sending a huge shockwave outwards that was so strong everyone in San Francisco clearly felt it and even in the surrounding area thought that there was a small earthquake. The blue and grey aura melted into one as they try to fight for dominance. Unknown to either combatant there were a lot of eyes looking over this battle and waiting to act according to the winner.

While no one could see what was going on a crack could be heard by the two warriors inside the clash. This crack only motivated Percy to push harder, betting his life on the fact that said crack came from the other weapon. With one last scream Percy ended the duel with a weapon chattering on the ground.

As the duel ended nothing could be seen from the enormous dust cloud the final clash created. Artemis was amazed at the fact that even her strongest barrier could barely withstand the force since it shattered almost immediately after the clash ended. As the area finally cleared Artemis was able to see the two figures and what she made fear rise within her.

Percy's back was facing away from her on his knees while Atlas was facing towards her while still standing. Then a terrible thought cross her head, did he shield them from part of the blast? She assumed this caused Percy to lose the match but as the time pass neither of them moved. She then saw Atlas moving his lips so she heightening her hearing to hear his words.

"You did well; my weapon is now shattered and my energy almost gone. However I shall enjoy the pleasure of beating you to death before I get capture. Die knowing that you have been the only demigod to defeat the mighty Atlas one on one!"

Percy turned around towards Artemis and muttered two words that she barely understood

_Get ready._

She had no idea what he meant but didn't have much time to think as Atlas threw his first punch towards Percy. Using the last of his energy Percy was surrounding by the blue energy for less than a second but that moment was enough for Percy to grab the titan's arm and using his own momentum, threw him over his shoulder and straight under the "sky".

At that moment Artemis understood and acted accordingly, she quickly tackled Thalia and Phoebe out of the way since both them were carrying the sky together. She barely got them out of the way in time as Atlas came flying in and crashing into his spot under sky.

With his strength depleted he was almost crushed under the pressure but managed to position the best he could as he screamed in rage for being back in his prison.

Hearing those screaming Percy was finally able to collapse on the floor from exhaustion. Finally, the quest was over. Percy was so overjoyed that he couldn't help but let out a victory cry that was heard all over the mountain.

Everyone else, even Artemis, had smiles on their faces as they joined him. They had done the impossible multiple times and defied fate by making it through without casualties. Everyone made a circle around Percy since he was the only one that couldn't move. They all had faces with a bunch of different emotions: Happiness, pride, awe, and just plain relief. Artemis was the one who decided to speak as she kneeled down next to him and to everyone's surprise gave Percy some of her energy to heal him.

"You really are something special, not only did you save my lieutenants live but you took down a titan at full power by yourself and in the process saved us all. I don't care what the other gods say, today you have earned my full respect."

_Atta boy, I knew you could do it! I have to say even I am impressed by how well you- _the voice of Huitzilopochtli left his mind mid sentence then came back sounding a lot more pissed.

_Those ignorant sons of…. Listen, you need to recover as much energy as you can and get out of there before-_

The voice left Percy's mind as two godly energies teleported right in front of them. It was Artemis who recognized them both.

"Apollo, Hermes? What are you doing here?"

Apollo didn't waste any time hugging his sister and even shedding some tears which definitely startled her but she didn't do anything to stop him so it was Hermes who answered Artemis' question.

"The winter solstice is starting so we came to get you. We are also here to bring all the heroes that saved you in this quest and finally…" He pointed at Percy with a look of pity on his face.

"We are here to arrest this fugitive."

**O.o Well…. That escalated quickly….man that was a good chapter to write, I felt so inspired and did it in one sitting too. I think I am getting better with climaxes, so what did you think of the chapter, particularly the fight. I really want your opinions on this to know if I am doing a good job when it comes to battles since I feel it's one of my strong suits but you be the judge, was it good? Was it terrible? Be honest I can take it.**

**Any way just a heads up next chapter will probably have no actions since it's going to be just exposition and a whole lot of explanations because I want to know what the hell happened to Percy damn it! Well I know… but you don't :P So yeah… lot's of talking and explain so be prepared. **

**As you probably already know the Beta offer is now closed as I am being helped by these two awesome people: **

**ZealousReader21**

**Solangelover**

**Thanks again everyone and until next week.**

**E/N:**


	14. The end for now

_**Last time…**_

_Atta boy, I knew you could do it! I have to say even I am impressed by how well you- _the voice of Huitzilopochtli left his mind mid sentence then came back sounding a lot more pissed.

_Those ignorant sons of…. Listen, you need to recover as much energy as you can and get out of there before-_

The voice left Percy's mind as two godly energies teleported right in front of them. It was Artemis who recognized them both.

"Apollo, Hermes? What are you doing here?"

Apollo didn't waste any time hugging his sister and even shedding some tears which definitely startled her but she didn't do anything to stop him so it was Hermes who answered Artemis' question.

"The winter solstice is starting so we came to get you. We are also here to bring all the heroes that saved you in this quest and finally…" He pointed at Percy with a look of pity on his face.

"We are here to arrest this fugitive."

**Now…**

The reaction was immediate as everyone stood protectively over Percy. Hermes was surprised that even the hunters were defending him but didn't comment on it.

"Look, I don't like this anymore than any of you. I saw what that kid did but the big guy thinks he is a threat more than anything else so we have no choice but to bring him in and hear the whole story."

The demigods were still not budging until Percy sat up and calmed them himself.

"I-its fine, I knew this would happen eventually. Before this all starts I want to say that I am sorry for lying to you but it's time for me to come clean, about everything. Lord Hermes, do you need to restrain me?"

Hermes was speechless by Percy's attitude. Looking over him he didn't see any reason to do so since he couldn't even stand at the moment. Hermes felt so guilty about what he was about to do that he couldn't even speak so he just shook his head and looked away, getting ready to teleport everyone.

Artemis could not believe what was happening and when she looked to Apollo for support all she got was a look that said _it is beyond me. _What made her believe her brother was the fact that he actually looked sad. Artemis then did something she never thought would happen even in her wildest dreams.

She approached Percy and as she helped him stand but being very discreet gave him a huge amount of healing energy at once. It didn't heal him completely but it was enough so that if Percy wanted to he could run and escape. Percy smiled but simply shook his head.

"Thanks for the help Lady Artemis but I think I can walk on my own now. I think a visit to Olympus is long overdue."

No one knew why out of all the people Percy was the calmest even though he was being treated like a criminal. His friends however quickly caught on once they exchanged glances with him. He was planning something but he wanted to meet with the gods first. Knowing this everyone else didn't act up much but still were not happy by what was happening.

Hermes looked over everyone one more time before closing his eyes.

"Hang on tight; this might be a little rough."

In an instant the group was relocated at the front gates of Olympus. Percy had to admit that the place was pretty amazing. It was like a window into the past with building designs he had only seen in books and ruins. The city was happy and alive with minor gods and immortals going about their daily routine.

Percy wished he could just stay there and observe the city for a bit longer but Hermes opened the doors and everyone started going into the throne room. Percy was feeling dread more than anything since he knew that inside was the deity that he hated most in the world. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he knew would be a long night.

Once he entered the three gods that accompanied them were already seated on their respective thrones. The demigods walked towards the throne of their respective parent or patron in the case of the hunters. This left Percy alone in the middle as he refused to take his place next to his supposed father.

The tension was extremely high as Zeus and some Olympians glared at Percy silently. Surprisingly Percy stood his own with a stoic face showing no emotion as he didn't look at a single god in the eye. This made Zeus' eye twitch to which he made a hand motion to Athena who nodded.

This caused bronze chains to spring from the floor locking Percy from his wrists and ankles and forcing him to kneel. This caused an immediate reaction as all the demigods started yelling and even the twin archers complained. They were all silenced once Zeus threw his lightning bolt in the floor.

"Silence, this person right here is nothing more than a fugitive that has been escaping us from some time. Now I am well aware that he may have been of some assistance, along with these demigods. While these heroes will be rewarded, this scoundrel is too dangerous regardless of his actions."

Everyone was still confused and unsatisfied while Percy listened to every word wanting to know exactly how much these gods knew about him because based on the way he was restrained they didn't know he was part Aztec. As someone else started talking Percy's sense of dread only got more intense as Athena took the stage.

"Allow me to explain further. This child was born out of one of the big three." She paused for a second to let that settle in. Everyone was surprised by this since Percy never did tell anyone who his parent was. Before complaints could be made Athena continued.

"Not only that, but the fates themselves gave a special prophecy about him. I believe some of the demigods here have heard this already:" She then took out a small scroll and read from it.

"_**A child born between two worlds belonging to neither**_

_**The prophecies and destiny he can change**_

_**An infinite potential lies within**_

_**Should he unlocked it no god may oppose him**_

_**A future unknown to fate he may choose**_

_**A warrior like no other seen before"**_

Percy's interest peaked as this was information new to him and he was dying to know what those lines meant.

"Most of us simply ignored this prophecy as we had no idea what it meant or what it referred. Not even the father of the boy knew that those lines were referring to his latest demigod god until latter years. Long story short the child was discovered and prosecuted but the mother took him into hiding. We searched for months but after finding no sign of his existence we simply forgot about him and hoped that he would never return to pose threat to us. Unfortunately as you can see…"

Athena then made images show up in the middle of the throne room. It showed all of the battles Percy engaged on recently, him against the Manticore, against Aphrodite and Ares, the defective Talos, Ladon, and finally against Atlas. Once the images were over the entire council was stunned and even a little worried about the chained individual in front of them

"As I was saying, that was not the case. He came back, and as you can see he has become quite powerful in the time he was gone. There is no telling how strong this demigod could become should he be left unchecked, that's why dealing with him now would be a wise option."

The entire council was silent from Athena's explanation. The Olympians that had never heard of Percy were slightly terrified, those who have were simply more impressed but convinced he was no threat. Finally his friends were just confused, they knew that he was amazing but seeing it from a far really made them question if he was just a demigod. Despite this they knew that he would never be a threat to anyone.

The silence was broken by the sound of laughter. It was deep dry and without any humor, it was the laugh of someone who was trying really hard not to fall into rage so he laughed instead. The laugh was coming from none other than Percy. Once he was done he stared right into Athena's eyes.

"I have to say you are really skillful at leaving crucial information out of the story. Now I believe it is my turn to tell the full story."

Athena and Zeus both glared at Percy for his lack of respect. They were about to do who knows what sort of painful things to him until a trident smashing in the floor stopped them instantly. They both turned to see Poseidon glaring at them saying _don't even think about it. _ The sea god then spoke.

"Let the boy speak, it is the least we can do after binding him in chains and accusing him as a criminal."

Both gods sat down wanting to avoid a civil war, some gods were confused as to why Poseidon would defend him until they made the connection and dropped their jaws. Percy however, was vivid, staring murderously at Poseidon. How dare he defend him _now! _

"Well I have to say I am surprised. This is the first you have ever been helpful to me _father." _Percy said the voice with as much poison as he could but the effect was still the same. After this he looked around and meet the eyes of all the gods.

"Yes, I am originally a son Poseidon but I consider in no way this god my father. Now a few details Athena here decided to leave out. First of all it's the fact that my mom got visited often by Poseidon, as far as I remember the visits never lasted more than a few minutes but my mother was happy. That happened until I was ten, when Poseidon came one last time and warned my mother about something. Next thing I know she grabs a bag and we are on a flight to Mexico city."

Percy then paused as if gathering the strength to say what came next.

"The reports say that the plain we were in malfunctioned and crashed but that's not what happened. A lightning bolt hit it; now do any of you know of a lighting god that might want to kill me?"

The question was asked directly at Zeus. Everyone looked shocked but it was Poseidon whose reaction was the most extreme as he had his Trident pointing at Zeus throat.

"You told me you knew nothing about them. That they disappeared without a trace!"

"Don't you DARE blame it all on Zeus! It was YOU who came to my mother! It was you who gave her the damn plane tickets! Her DEATH is YOUR FAULT!" Percy was now struggling against his chains as he could no longer keep his emotions in check.

At this point the throne room was a complete mess with insults and threats being thrown around. Not even Zeus could bring order since he currently had a trident pointing at his throat. It was the most unlikely person who stood up in this chaos.

"SILENCE!" Hestia's voice echoed throughout the throne room as she made her way to the center next to Percy. As she looked it at him her eyes were a mix of emotions but Percy was sure he saw sadness and guilt very distinctly.

" You will achieve nothing by pointing weapons at each other. How about we all calm down and figure out exactly what happened." As per usual Hestia's voice was enough to calm everyone and return them to their seats. She was the one who started speaking once everything was in a more civilized state.

"I believe it is time for my version of the story. Aside from Poseidon I also met Percy as a child, I would only show up on rare occasions but I could tell the child was special. The version I had heard was that he and his mother had simply vanished. Of course when he returned a few months ago I immediately recognized him, but I was not the only one; Zeus, Athena and a few others noticed this and wanted him executed immediately. Seeing that Artemis couldn't find him with the intent to kill I approached him with simple curiosity."

Hestia paused for a second for effect, at this point the demigods were starting to notice just how similar she looked to "Amber". What affected her most though was Percy's look, he looked angry and betrayed but said nothing as he waited for the rest of the story.

"After I met him Zeus wanted for me to immediately bring him here for execution, of course I refused. I argued that it would be better for me to simply keep an eye on him since we a war to worry about not to mention Artemis getting captured. So I traveled with this demigod as he went to selflessly rescue Artemis knowing he would be exposed. So take my word for it, he is no threat he has proven himself to be nothing but a powerful ally."

Hestia's words were reasonable and their effects were clear as most of the Olympians seemed convinced by what she was saying. Percy was extremely furious, not only was he completely played by her but she had been lying to him the whole time. Not to mention there was still the issue of the plane crash that she completely didn't mention. But Percy knew better than to scream at the goddess of the hearth so he kept his mouth shut. Of course good old Zeus couldn't just leave it at that.

"You do make a good point sister. However when it was decided that you would look out for him we didn't know that he was this powerful. Therefore we shall only let him in liberty if he accepts the following conditions: He would have to swear on the river Styx to always be loyal to Olympus, he would have to give up his weapon and finally he would have to wear specially design cuffs to contain his powers. If he accepts these conditions he may live."

Percy was speechless, there was no way he was taking that deal but what shocked him most was Hestia's look. It was telling him to take the deal so that he could out of here without anyone getting hurt. That was the last straw, Percy couldn't take anymore so he took a trip inside his mind.

"Huitzilopochtli, are you here I am going to need to fuse again for a minute."

"That will not be a good idea Percy." Percy turned around to be meet with a new face, but as it happened before the more he stared at him the more he remembered. Until finally his old nickname for his favorite educational tutor came to mind.

"Feather brains…man you and everyone else owe me a very good explanation as to why I have forgotten about all of you but that can wait. I need to do what I did with blue face to get out of the mess I am in right now."

The old Aztec god smiled at his pupil's old nickname. While he was no bird, his body was covered in feathers that varied in color making him seem like a rainbow. While not being overly tall or bulky he had reptilian like features that made him look intimidating.

"Look, the stress that transformation puts in your body can be lethal if not dealt with carefully. This is especially true since you have only performed the technique once. You should wait for all your memories to come back and practice before even attempting another fusion."

"But-"

"However, I recognize that you are in a very tricky situation and that there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you are going to refused the "offer" that arrogant king gave you. Therefore I shall be the one to give you energy this time. Just bear in mind that it won't as powerful as last time and probably won't last more than five minutes alright?"

"Thank you." Percy couldn't help but smile at his comprehensive teacher. He gave him a hug before returning to reality where the gods were awaiting his response. Percy got up with chains still binding and looked directly at Zeus.

"Before I give my answer to your offer may I speak a few words?" Percy's tone was surprisingly polite which made Zeus quite satisfied granting his request with a stiff nod that said he better make it quick.

"To be honest with all of you the only reason I came here was to get some answer about what happened in my past. What I find interesting is that Poseidon really doesn't seem to be the one to have sent my mother and I to our doom. For as much as I would love to just chat and figure out who it was I don't think that's possible. So let me just clear a few points." Percy stopped as he prepared his body for the strain to come.

"One: I am an ally to all demigods and will always do all I can to protect them. Two: I really don't care for you Olympians and there is no way I am accepting your damn offer. And three, when you make a trap make sure you use the right materials."

Percy then used his partial jaguar transformation to easily break through the celestial bronze chains. Before the gods could even summon up their weapons or react to what had happened Percy screamed.

"**Quetzalcoatl!" **The effect was very similar to the first time Percy used this technique. A big explosion of energy sent everyone back a bit but the difference was that a rainbow light covered Percy this time and it was gentler.

Once the light clear the gods were speechless as to what was in front of them. Percy kept his age and overall physique but was covered in feathers on his arms legs and head. His face also changed, his eyes were like those of reptiles his skin was scaly. He looked like a feathery dinosaur hybrid.

Zeus was the first to react reaching for his master bolt but before he even got within reach agust of wind sent the weapon flying off. Percy then used the air around him to levitate in the middle of the throne room. Percy felt extremely different from Huitzilopochtli, he didn't feel stronger but wiser his mind acting and thinking faster than before being able to anticipate the movement of those around him

"Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. I was adopted by the Aztec gods, that's what the whole 'born of two worlds' thing meant, in case you were curious. Now listen well, I am still an enemy of the Titans and ally to demigods but you Olympians are too arrogant for my taste. Save a few that I have gotten to know, all you think about it is yourself and your well being."

Percy could hear a spear being thrown his way but didn't do anything as the winds around him deflected the spear leaving him without a scratch. He faced his attacker who was Athena trying to get her spear back. Before she could Percy flew towards her and grabbed her hand stopping her movements.

"Not a very _wise _idea." Athena was infuriated by the taunt so with her other hand she drew a dagger and attempted to stab Percy but failed as he grabbed her wrist. With both her hands immobilized Athena was powerless and Percy stared at her. As he did he started to see vision, as if he was picking into her knowledge, and what he saw sent him into a near rampage.

He saw Athena spying on him since he was little. He saw her telling Zeus about his existence. Worst of all, he saw her transforming into Poseidon to go talk to his mother and give her the plane tickets that would result in her death. Seeing this Percy lost all sense of reason.

He created a tornado around himself and grabbed Athena by the throat lifting her of her feet. Athena was completely stunned since she was in her 13 feet form and didn't even noticed when Percy became 15 feet tall and very terrifying.

"It was YOU! You killed my mother! Why?! To protect your precious throne? To keep your power?! Do you think I care about ANY of that shit!? All I cared about was my mother and you took her away from me!"

At this point Athena couldn't breathe and was quickly losing consciousness. All the other gods tried to reach him but the winds would simply blow them away. Thalia and the others were screaming trying to reach him but their screams never reached Percy's ears, completely deaf by his hatred and rage.

"Percy, please stop this. You are not like this, you are no killer. Please prove me right." Hestia whispered with so much emotion that tears were dripping from her face.

Finally that voice reached Percy and managed to bring him to reason. His tornado disappeared and he hesitantly released his grip from Athena who went back to human size from the shock as well as Percy. Once he was calmer Hestia tried to reach him but her hand was batted way. Percy got up and looked at a confused Hestia with glaring eyes.

"You are right hearth goddess, I am no killer, but neither am I your friend. You used me and lied to me to keep your little family in place. You would even have me accept Zeus so called offer just so that no one gets hurt. Well you know what? If a system is corrupted and unfair than maybe some people need to get hurt for things to get better. I will not stand for Zeus' tyranny. As of now I want nothing to do with ANY of you Greek gods. Farewell Hestia."

Without another word Percy called another big gust of wind forcing everyone to look away and when they looked back Percy disappeared without a trace.

After that the meeting was almost completely silent as everyone was just thinking about what just happened. The demigods were digesting all the truth about Percy's past and didn't know what to think. Jake was completely shocked about the fact that Percy was his brother, he tried to ask his dad but he wouldn't meet his eyes. Thalia was pissed at her dad for trying to kill and later enslave Percy but most of all she was scared, scared that she may never see Percy again.

The one who looked the most affected was Hestia, hope being the last thing in her mind as rare emotion that she had never experienced before as very apparent in her face; Heartbreak. She knew Percy would not be happy but his story and reactions were something she could have never anticipated.

It was as she sat next to the dangerously weak hearth that she realized just how much Percy had grown on her over the last couple of months. While she never really thought about it what had started as a simple mission to keep her family at peace ended up being one of the happiest Hestia has even been in a very long time. She simply sat next to the hearth in her 8 year form hugging her legs not listening to the meeting that Zeus tried to complete.

After Percy left, Zeus did his best to get the meeting back in order but it was almost pointless. Everyone was completely distracted by what just happened, and when the order to prepare for war got passed some wondered just how powerful of an ally did they just lose? After that the heroes were rewarded but at that point no one paid much attention.

The only memorable event was when Thalia decided to join Artemis who in her mind was one of the only goddess who tried to protect Percy and she didn't want the weight of another prophecy so she left it on Jake's shoulder. There was a brief argument of Jake being dangerous because of the prophecies but seeing recent events it was quickly shot down.

Once the meeting was over and the gods decided to not kill anyone the proclamation of party was announced. It was clear by the demigods' faces that they were not up for a party but there was no way to argue with Zeus so they just went with it.

The demigods wanted to speak with Hestia but the hearth goddess was nowhere to be found. Artemis talked with the demigods saying that he had no idea about Percy's past and didn't quite know what to think. Annabeth looked for her mother but she would not even touch on the subject of Percy.

Overall everyone was confused.. The party was probably one of the least enthusiastic ones Olympus had ever had and it was all because of a single and mysterious demigod making so that no one knew what to think.

Once the party ended the all the quest members were returned to Camp Half-Blood by Artemis. Everyone was ready to celebrate but seeing the somber look on their faces they knew something was wrong. Artemis explained everything, well she didn't do much explaining as she simply projected her memories so that everyone could see exactly what happened. Many campers were conflicted, but deep within they were worried about Percy and "Amber" or Hestia as now everyone knew the truth.

Funny enough no one called Percy a traitor, despite having lied about his parentage he was a friend and leader they respected. Artemis was quite impressed by the impression Percy made with these kids only making her respect for him rise and helping her reach a conclusion.

"As you all know by now the war with the titans is approaching. By what I have been told you have been preparing with Percy for a good amount of time. Well, soon it will be time to use that knowledge. As for Percy, don't worry as I will personally look for him. Not to hunt him, but to request his aid in the war ahead of us."

"That sound's quite noble of you but I don't think it will be that hard for you to find me, just turn around."

Everyone's reaction was comically similar as they all turned to see a rather tired and stressed looking Percy. Thalia tried to tackle him but just went right through him.

"Sorry Thals, it would be too risky to see you in person so a friend is helping me deliver this message. All I have to see is that I am sorry I lied to you. Regardless of my dispute with the gods I will still help you in any way I can, just not directly. My friends will be all over, bring new demigods and helping you in quests. Everything you saw with Artemis is true and while I can't explain much all I know is that Athena and Zeus killed my mother. So I need time, time to think, time to heal and time to train. This isn't goodbye; I hope to see all of you very soon." Percy then gave a final weak smile before his image disappeared.

In the shadows of the forest there was a little eight year old seeing as Percy's image disappeared with tears down her face. It was then that Hestia decided that as much as she wanted to see Percy and apologize, he needed time for himself, so he was going to give it to him. But as soon as he came back she would do everything in her power to talk to him.

And so Christmas came around and all of the quests members and Percy's closest friends received quite a surprise. They all got an eagle fledgling with a bow on each heads and a message.

_These are your personal flying companions, they can grow quite big when they want to and are pretty good with messages. You are all the first real friends I ever made so let's keep in touch. I probably won't see you in person for a while but we will meet again. _

_Yours truly,_

_Percy Jackson, the Aztec demigod_

THE END….

OF PART 1…

**A/N: So I am finally done… with this part one of this thing…. I have to say I am rather satisfied with how this chapter turned out. The end felt a bit cheesy but hey… the middle was enough drama for me.**

**Now a couple of things to note, the next part we will be A LOT more Aztec heavy. I am talking all the gods introduced, monsters, maybe even some demigods. So lots of thinking will go into that since it will not follow the books like… almost at all. **

**I will still use the same time line but Percy will be mostly on his own completely different adventure. Now what I need you to do, if you so please, is to tell me if my explanation had any plot holes. Being completely honest I didn't plan for it go this way from the start to plot holes are bound to occur so if you can think of any, or any other flaw, please do tell I am all ears.**

**Anyway that's all, see you all in part 2! I might take a week off depending of the response to this chapter, maybe, maybe not.**

**Al red.**


	15. A fresh start

**CHAPTER 15**

Percy didn't really do much the following week after his departure from Olympus. That was mostly due to the fact that he COULDN'T do anything. His entire body was a complete mess and almost unable to move after bearing Quetzalcoatl's power. Luckily for him he managed to send a recorded message to the campers before he completely collapsed thanks to another god, Yacatecuhtli. One good thing from his dilemma was that he had plenty of time to yell at the three gods he could talk to inside his head for keeping the truth from him.

He was currently in one of his secret hideouts, located in the Amazon. It was pretty safe since only Hestia knew about it and even then where Percy teleported them was pretty far off from where he was currently resting. The two gods that he had unlocked told him that as soon as he was recovered everything would be explained. Being pretty much his family he knew they had good intentions.

Percy's expression turned grim at the thought, _family. _He understood that family was something not determined by blood or birth, your family are people that cared and looked out for each other. The Olympians were no family and Hestia was mistaken trying to protect said family. While Percy may have acted a bit too aggressively he still didn't forgive the goddess.

"Yo Percy, why the grim look? Are your wounds hurting again?" Huitzilopochtli or blue sergeant as Percy called him, with a knowing glint in his eye.

"I am fine, my body is feeling rather well actually"

"I am not talking about physical wounds kiddo; I am referring to the emotional ones. I am guessing you and the hearth goddess got too close huh?"

Percy almost cursed as he remembered that despite his attitude the Aztec god of war was pretty smart when he needed to be. Percy gave him no answer as he didn't know how to react.

"Well you can worry about that later. Since you said your body finally feels ok it's now time for you to remember the whole group."

Percy's face became focused as he gripped the necklace he found in the junkyard. The event occured recently, yet it felt to Percy as if it had been an eternity ago. He got ready to finally get the answers he had been looking for.

Percy closed his eyes and focused on the throne room he usually appeared in. This time the whole area was illuminated showing a great amount of beauty with tall pillars all with incredible details carved in. The only difference this time was that all the thrones were occupied and as Percy looked around the memories just started to rush back into his mind.

Percy thought his brain was going to explode at first but as time passed he managed to organize the memories and remember every face in front of him. Once he was done Percy knew the 15 gods and goddesses that surrounded him all with different expressions in their faces.

It was Quetzalcoatl who decided to speak first.

"Well I assume you now remember all of but as a formality allow us to introduce ourselves after not seeing you for so long. I am the god of dawn, winds, knowledge and crafts; it is a pleasure to finally re-introduce you to all of us."

"I guess I am next, Huitzilopochtli, god of war and the sun. Nice to see you again without you dying kiddo."

"I have to say I am impressed you have made it this far. I am Tlaloc, god of rain."

As another god was about to talk a female voice interrupted him.

"This is a waste of time, Percy obviously remembers us so no need for introductions. So I will just go down the list. I am Tlazolteotl goddess of lust and war. The rest of the gods are: Tepeyoltotl god of jaguars and earthquakes, Yacatecuhtli god of travelers, Huehuecoyotl god of dumbasses and Xiutecuhtli god of volcanoes now for-"

"Hey! I am the god of music,dances. and practical jokes!" Interrupted a coyote looking humanoid.

"Yeah yeah whatever now for the goddesses: Atlaua goddess of aquatic animals, Xochiquetzal goddess of beauty, Chalchiuhtlicue goddess of of water and Malinalxochi goddess of the deserts. There, you see feather brains, much quicker and efficient this way."

**(Got all that? Good me neither…lol, no but don't worry I will give more description later)**

Most gods looked slightly annoyed by the quick explanantion but Percy couldn't help but smile since they were all the way he remembered them when he was smaller.

"Hey, I think you forgot 3 goddesses and one of the big three gods." Percy pointed out. Tlazolteotl simply waved a hand dismissing the question.

"Like I said, irrelevant since you now remember us all, you can do personal introductions later. Now can we please just get at the matter at hand?" She looked at Quetzalcoatl who simply sighed and began his tale.

"Very well then, I will now explain why you lost your memories of all us and why we didn't really disappear but hid in your mind. As you probably already know after the plane crash we rescued you and took you in."

Percy nodded not really knowing where the story was heading.

"Well the reason we did so was because your mother had strong Aztec blood within her. You see, we don't really have demigods; we just give blessing to certain humans that stay in their blood for generations. When your mother had you with that Greek god, you were born with both pantheons inside of you. That's the only reason you withstood the training and all of our blessings."

Percy was pretty shocked at this point but the old god of knowledge did not look like he was finished so Percy simply kept quiet and listened.

"When we found you we were much close to fading. Truth is that unlike the Greeks, we haven't really been able to transition very well into the modern world. I will admit that we were very violent in the past, demanding sacrifices using blood as a source."

As he paused all gods looked slightly guilty as if their old ways still weighted them down.

"Anyway, being very close to fading made some of us humble. Once we found you we saw that as a second chance, unfortunately not all gods agreed, as you probably already noticed there a lot of major gods and goddesses missing from this group. They are too arrogant and stubborn to agree to go inside your mind while you matured."

"I will admit that our plan was selfish, but we didn't do it only for our agenda. I could tell that the war with the Greeks will be a dangerous one and I thought that you might be able to change the tide. I was right about that, but I also thought you could be the hope for the Aztec pantheon and revived it. If you would so choose I humbly ask you to help bring us to a new age."

The god of wind then kneeled in front of Percy, followed by every other immortal in the room. Percy felt incredibly uncomfortable, he was pretty shocked about the story but at the same time he felt happy as he finally knew more about his past. He felt incredibly grateful towards everyone for raising him so there was really no question about it.

"I will help you in every way I can, but I still want to help the Greek demigods in the war. Despite what I think about the gods I consider the demigods my friends so I will do all I can to help them in the war."

All the gods were pleased with that answer, they were proud of their champion and were glad to have him on their side. Tlazolteotl then took charge once again talking directly to Percy.

"Well then, in that case we need to get to work. Because as bird brain said, not all of the gods are here which means that if you try to revive the pantheon they will stand against you unless you prove yourself. For that you will need to fight them, and trust me you are nowhere near ready to fight an Aztec deity. We will take turns training you within the next few months."

Percy gulped when she said training, since his memories were completely restored he remembered all the grueling training he did to get to were he was now. Sure he was grateful but Percy was sure it could be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

"Alright, this meeting is over. Rest for now and we shall start your training once your body fully recovers."

The image changed as Percy returned to his physical body feeling both excited and nervous for what was about to come.

**-Line break ( Important announcement at the end please read!)-**

Percy stood outside his little refuge as the first rays of suns hit his face. He was pretty deep into the jungle but still had plenty of space to move around with a small river running next to his hideout and a clearing big enough to train in. Percy was slightly confused as to how the gods were going to train since last time they hadn't gone in his head and Percy didn't know if they could just pop out whenever they wanted to. Tlazolteotl kindly answered his question.

_Don't be stupid! If we could just 'pop out' whenever we wanted to we would have kicked Zeus' ass faster that you can say lightning asshole. The only way for us to get out is for you to be some sort of door. That's why we waited so long so that you would be strong enough to withstand the burden. Now just put a hand on the floor and muster all the aura you can, we will do the rest._

Percy was always surprised about how quickly that goddess could go from insulting him to encouraging him. Percy did as commanded and focused all his energy, he didn't really know what to do with it so he just waited. That's when the pain started.

It felt similar to being under the sky as his entire body felt as if it was being pulled apart. He kept focusing on the hand that was now rooted to the floor; using it as an anchor to resist the pain. He felt the pain building up as if something was pulling his body and was about to come out. As the pain reached its peak the pulling suddenly stopped. Percy looked up and was pretty shocked at what he saw.

Three of the gods were standing in front of him with smiles on their faces. The one in the middle was Quetzalcoatl but the other two Percy hadn't been able to speak to directly. The god on the right, Tlaloc god of rain approached him.

As he did Percy took a good look at him. He had blue skin like Huitzilopochtli but his was deeper as that of a storm. He had long hair that blew like the wind and had a pretty nice looking face but Percy knew that he could have very violent mood swings. Thankfully he had never been in the receiving end of one of his episodes.

"Well looks like you can manage to take three of us at a time. But even that much seems to put a good amount of strain in your body so maybe two at a time would be better. Anyways we have decided to divide ourselves in different groups depending on what we will be teaching you. The three of us will teach you elemental and environment control. Quetzalcoatl will handle the wind, I shall handle the water and lightning, and Xiutecuhtli will handle fire and lava."

The last god looked at Percy with a scowl in his face, as if saying he had better things to do. This god never really trained Percy since all he did in the past was physical and strategic training. He never really trained controlling the elements or anything that wasn't his own body until he learned to use plants.

This god was one the one he was scared off the most as a child. He was completely red and his veins were bulging with lava. Out of all the gods he was probably one of the least human looking one, but thanks to the other gods Percy learned that it was all an act and he was actually a pretty nice dude.

"Well then, I shall begin with wind training. Just so that we are clear in this training we will not be fusing like you did previously. As you probably already know that technique is a last resort, only to be used in emergencies as it leaves you very vulnerable afterwards. That being said, you will not be able to control our domains without our auras so what you will be doing is borrowing part of our auras. This will require a lot of control but if you pull it off you will have incredible flexibility in combat being able to switch elements and fighting styles depending on the opponent. So let's get to work."

Percy was pretty excited at first with this new training as it meant being more capable of protecting the people he cared about without completely destroying his body. All of Percy's excitement dissipated after five hour of grueling training. In this time he had only managed to lift himself 3 inches from the ground using air currents and that only lasted for a second.

The other elements were not much better, especially since he had never fused with either god so using their power was even more difficult. Percy expected to be yelled at but surprisingly the gods were very patient and even looked impressed by Percy's "progress" if you could call it that by the end of the session. The volcano god looked at Percy with the tiniest of smiles.

"Not bad for your first day, most would take weeks before even doing anything but you managed to use all the elements to some degree within your first day. Keep it up and you might survive the next couple of months."

Percy looked at Quetzalcoatl "Is he always this nice or does he just like me?" Percy asked sarcastically.

"You would be surprised, I am actually quite stunned he hasn't tried to incinerate you yet. Well this is it for today. Tomorrow you will summon another group and we will keep alternating. We will keep this up until we think you have progressed enough. The rest will be up to you."

The next day Percy did the same thing to summoned the gods out of his head. He was very relieved to find out that going back in was incredibly simple and didn't require any effort on his part. This time he only summoned 2 gods. Huitzilopochtli and Tepeyototl who based on his appearance was obviously the god of jaguars.

Percy thought that the god looked pretty much like his full jaguar hybrid form if you added like 40 pounds of muscle. It was quite ridiculous just how fit all of the Aztec gods, having seen the Greek gods Percy knew all gods were in pretty good shape but there was no comparison at all. It was as if all the Aztec were partially the gods of gyms and bodybuilders.

That thought aside Percy began his training them and focused on his body. Needless to say Percy got pummeled as he "sparred" with the gods. Percy refused to call it sparring since Percy was pretty much only a punching bag. The gods pushed him to his human limit in every martial art Huitzilopochtli knew and his jaguar limit with Tepeyolotl.

Once the training ended Percy could feel the protest in all his muscle so he hurried to bed slightly worried about what was in stored for him the next morning. The next morning he proceeded with the summoning and was surprised by the two gods that came out.

Mitlantecuhtli god of the dead and Huehuecoyotl, the god of mischief. It wasn't really them that surprised Percy but more so the fact that they came as a group since those two really didn't have much in common.

"Well looks like we drew the short stick. Death Breath and I won't really be teaching you anything new, all you will be doing is to try to use our auras since our domains are slightly tricky. Don't worry this will probably be an easy day."

What the coyote looking god said was right as the training was slightly relaxing as he felt the aura flowing through him more easily, he didn't really do anything with it but he could tell he was progressing. The god of dead despite his appearance was a very calm teacher. He had a black robe and a skeletal face but aside from that he was pretty easy to talk to.

He did the same thing, just flowing the aura into him but not doing anything with it. After they were done for the day Huehuecoyotl explained the reason for the different training.

"The main purpose of this entire thing is to get you to control part of our aura. Once you manage to that with elemental powers and you increase your physical strength, using our powers will become second nature to you. That's why the two of us won't teach you any techniques because when you are able to use our powers your training will pretty much be complete."

By the fourth day opening the connection was less painful. It went from feeling like he was being pulled apart to a burning sensation in his arms and legs. This time he got a pair of goddesses as trainers: Malinalxochi goddess of the deserts and Tlazolteotl goddess of desire, lust, sickness and many other things Percy always forgot.

"We will be the only goddesses to train you for now. As the coyote told you yesterday using some of the more obscure powers will be very tricky with the amount of control you have now. So you will practice sand With Malinalxochi and all of your nature abilities with me."

Percy was confused as to how a goddess of lust could help with plant powers but didn't say anything. Normally Percy would have been nervous being in front of the goddess who were nothing short of gorgeous but they were like big sisters to him. The goddess of the deserts had soft blue eyes and light brown hair with a very vanilla skin tone; she was like the sweet sister that will always encourage you with sweet words.

On the other hand, Tlazolteotl was more of a tough love kind of big sister that showed how much she cared by how hard she hit you when you messed up. Her silky black hair and coppery skin gave her the look of a princess but she was no doubt a terrifying warrior.

The training with sand was similar to the rest of his elemental training although by the end he managed hold a small sand tornado in his hand. His vine training proved surprisingly difficult with the teaching strategy being used.

As he created trees, Tlazolteotl would sicken them and ask Percy to cure them. This resulted in Percy being able to create sturdier and tougher trees. She then asked Percy to catch her using only his vines. This task looked impossible with the speed at which the goddess moved but he continued trying feeling his control getting better.

**-Line break ( Important announcement at the end please read!)-**

After six longs months of training Percy moved from his hiding place and ran went straight for Mexico City. The gods told him to go to "El Zócalo", supposedly this place was very important when the Aztecs were around and was pretty much the key to reviving them. As soon as Percy got to the city he could tell where the place was.

Percy jumped from building to building with ease and grace sometimes jumping 30 feet in the air. Once he arrived to the area he was pretty impressed. There was huge Mexican flag in this big squared plaza that was swarming with people. The plaza was surrounded by houses on three sides and a cathedral in the last one.

Percy knew he had to go in the cathedral, so he waited for nightfall to go in. Since the locals weren't really known for their security it was pretty easy for Percy to get in. Once he got inside he looked around for anything out of the ordinary.

Thanks to his training he could now naturally see in the dark, but that still didn't help him as he couldn't find anything of importance. He then switched strategies as he activated some of his aura concluding that no matter how hard he looked a normal mortal was not meant to find was he was looking for.

His theory was proven correct as a glowing image of a jaguar appeared in the center of the cathedral. Percy touched the symbol, which activated a staircase going down. He didn't hesitate in his descent, as he was eager to complete what he came here to do.

Once the staircase ended the path continued in a dark hallway. The hallway ended in a small room with no other exits and what looked like a fountain in the middle. As Percy's analyzed the room further he thought it might be some sort of gate, which he had the key to open.

Percy summoned his weapon to his side, the wooden Maquahuitl looking sturdier than ever with a light green glow around it. Percy approached the fountain and positioned the weapon over it. Before he smashed it in the voice of Quetzalcoatl filled his mind.

_Are you sure about this? By doing this you will revive ALL of the Aztec Pantheon, I am sure I do not need to tell you what that implies correct?_

_I know the implication and I will take responsibility for them. If I wasn't sure I wouldn't be here now let's see where this takes us._

Percy then smashed the sword in without further hesitation. The result was instantaneous, a bright green light filled the entire room and shot upward into the sky. The light was incredibly light and powerful but mortal could not see it. The Greeks, however, could see the light very clearly and some were worried about what that light would bring.

Once the light died down Percy removed his sword and saw glowing tunnel in front of him. He followed the path and was shocked by what he saw in the other end. He was very much reminded of the hidden city of New Rome in California except in Aztec form. This was like New Tenochtitlan except this one was completely deserted. This made Percy frowned as he mentally connected with Quetzalcoatl.

_I don't understand, I thought doing this would bring some of the minor gods back. Why is this place empty? Did the ritual not work?_

_I am pretty sure that it worked, however I am afraid that all of the deities are scattered around Mexico. I also believed this has angered some of the major gods that didn't want to come with us. We must do something or we may have a civil war in our hands._

_So I guess I am the one responsible of making sure that doesn't happen. No pressure… _

Percy teleported out of the city and got to work.

**-Line Break ( Important announcement at the end please read!)-**

The next two months were very busy for Percy and very stressful for the Olympians. At this point Percy was no longer trying to hide, he was pretty much collecting some of the hundredths of gods that were scattered all over the country and bringing them to the new capital. Sometimes Percy would get very close the states but the Greeks were too slow to do anything, which frustrated them greatly.

By the time August rolled around Percy decided it was time to visit some of his friends so he went straight to New York and in search of a certain half brother of his who he owed an explanation to. Percy decided to do this because, he felt pretty confident that even if the gods found him he could escape rather easily even more so after his training.

Percy found Jake rather easily; all he had to do was follow his aura which Percy learned to see and even smells like monsters even though he didn't like to that too often. As luck would have it Percy arrived to New York on the first day of school so he couldn't talk to Jake. He had no choice but follow him around to his school.

Percy simply waited in the perimeter of the school as he thought of how to waste time. He pondered taking a nap until his senses told him something was not right. This was confirmed once he heard some screams and metal clashing towards the gym area. Percy sprinted and got there in a matter of seconds with his sword ready.

Percy got in just in time to see one monster explode in golden dust while the other smirked and started screaming. Too late did Percy realize what the monster was doing as people starting coming in through the gym door after the second monster exploded in flames.

Percy cursed, he knew he had to do something or Jake would be blamed for this so he got to work. He focused on the flames and as his aura changed his eyes gained lava like color. With the partial transformation complete Percy absorbed the flames completely avoiding a fire. He then quickly changed auras again. This time his eyes gained a mischievous gray color, he snapped his fingers towards the crowed making them all fall asleep instantly.

Percy's eyes returned to their normal green color as he focus on Jake who was completely motionless by Percy's appearance what he did, and just an overall crazy morning. Percy also noticed that there was a girl behind Jake, and based on her expression Percy guessed she could see through the mist. Before he explained anything Percy grabbed both of them and took them out of the scene before anyone else showed up.

Once he verified he was a good distance way he put them both down and started talking.

"Look, I know you are probably angr-" Before he could finish his sentence a punch connected with his jaw making him fall. Percy looked up surprised that Jake managed to hit him but he was even more surprised by the tears that were forming in his eyes.

" Eight months ago… I find out I have a half brother eight months ago and what do I get? Just a Christmas card with an eagle, a very awesome eagle I will admit, but that's it. You said you would stay in contact but all I get from the messages is that you are alive and now you just show up out of nowhere with the ability to control fire and knock people out with a flick of a finger. You better have a good explanation for this!"

Percy didn't hold back as he explained everything to him. He figured he had no more need for lies so he told everything had done the last eight months. Jake was a good listener and didn't interrupt. His expression did get softer as the story continued and by the end he was amazed more than anything else. Just as the two were about to talk a voice interrupted them.

"Wow, wait a minute. I just found out a few minutes ago that Greek myths are real but now you are saying they are more gods? I think this is way too much information for one day."

Both teens turned towards the red haired mortal who Percy forgot was even there. But being the polite gentleman he was he introduced himself.

"Um, sorry to put you in the middle of all this miss…"

"Dare, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Don't sweat it, this just means I am not crazy with all the things I have seen, but I have to say you are definitely the weirdest, what are you called again?, demigod I have ever seen."

"The name is Percy, Percy Jackson. Not to be rude but I suggest you return to class. I have more crazy stuff to talk about with Jake and I would rather your head didn't explode."

Rachel didn't really complain because she had seen enough weirdness for one day. So she quickly gave her number to Jake and was on her way. Once she was gone the two brothers walked away from the school as a blonde approached them.

As soon as Percy saw that it was Annabeth he stiffened since he didn't know how she would react after what happened in the winter solstice meeting. After all Percy did try to choke the life out of her mother, granted he had a perfectly justifiable reason to do so but still… not the best of last images.

Once Annabeth realized that it was Percy he closed his eyes and prepared for a slap, a punch or something, but he got none of that. He got the biggest bear hug he had ever received and as the air was being crushed out him he wondered whether or not he would have preferred a slap.

Percy returned the embrace as soon as he felt Annabeth's tears wet his shirt. Once she calmed down they talked.

"I have to say I am surprised you don't hate me after, you know…"

"After you almost choked my mother? Well most of my siblings hate you, but since I was there and saw what happened I am on your side. Of course I don't say this out loud but I can't forgive my mother for what she did and tried to do to you. But that aside what are you doing here? Isn't it dangerous for you?"

"Well actually I came here to see you guys and pay a quick visit to camp halfblood."

**A/N: Alright then finally got this first chapter of part 2 out. I have to say I had a bit of a block for this one but it's all good now. **

**Now I need your help with something. As you probably saw I started by diving right ****into the Aztec gods. Now I didn't cover all of the ones that we will focusing on but I honestly think I still think they might have been too many at once Idk, you tell me.**

**So I want to add Aztec demigods, and I thought it would be fun for you guys to give me some ideas. Now I already have one in mind but I still need like 4 or 5 main ones that we will see a lot so please give me your suggestions in PMs and reviews. If you are still confused about who is who just say the gods the domain, the name of the demigod and a bit of personality.**

**Criticism is appreciated, also if Percy's powers confuse or concern you please PM me and I will be happy to explain.**


	16. Back to camp

**Chapter 16**

_**Last time…**_

"_I have to say I am surprised you don't hate me after, you know…" _

"_After you almost choked my mother? Well most of my siblings hate you, but since I was there and saw what happened I'm on your side. Of course I won't say this out loud but I can't forgive my mother for what she did and tried to do to you. But that aside what are you doing here? Isn't it dangerous for you?"_

"_Well actually I came here to see you guys and pay a quick visit to Camp Half-Blood."_

**Now… **

"You are completely insane!" That was one of the many responses that came from Percy's declaration.

"While that is probably true it has nothing to do with this. I don't know if you noticed this but I did something a few months back that affected the Aztec Parthenon and maybe the Greek one as well."

Both demigods quieted down as Percy gave a quick explanation on the revival of the Aztecs.

"So, I have also revived monsters and angered some gods. The reason I am here is because I found a maze, from what I know of Greek mythology I think it was originally Daedalus' labyrinth but when I revived the main Aztec capital I think part of the maze fused with the Aztec energy and sort of became Aztec. It's hard to explain."

"Point being the Maze is magical and can take you virtually anywhere in an unrealistic amount of time. I want to make sure there are no openings in camp half blood because that would end badly if the enemy found out about it. I am also at a point where I am not really scared of the gods so them finding me is really not that big of a deal. So shall we go, I want to get to camp as fast as possible."

Both Greek demigods looked at each other and smiled before doing their best cab whistle. Percy smiled as he saw two pretty big eagles descend from the sky. Once they landed they were petted by their respective owners.

"Well I see you have been taking good care of your new companions. I can't believe they have grown so much in just 8 months. Well then, let's get going."

Percy hopped on with Jake in his eagle while Annabeth rode alone. The eagles quickly elevated and made their way towards Camp Half Blood. On the way Percy asked how the camp has been. Jake told him that preparation for the war continued but thanks to the gods influence the Aphrodite, Athena and Ares cabin mostly hated Percy. While those who personally knew Percy didn't really believe the gods' version they really couldn't do anything against the majority.

Percy wasn't really surprised about this, it was bound to happen. What really surprised him was the fact that only three cabins were against him. Jake also mentioned that Nico and Bianca missed him immensely. This made Percy's mind fill with sadness and guilt. Out of all the campers he left behind those two brothers were probably the ones that weighed heaviest in his conscience since they were the youngest.

Percy made a mental note to speak with the Di Angelo siblings as soon as he could. The eagles made their descent towards camp half blood. As they did a crowd started to form. This made Percy tense up as it was almost guaranteed to end in a confrontation.

Once the giant birds landed Annabeth and Jake got off with Percy on the back. The campers were happy to see the first two, but as soon as they noticed the one in the back some of them, mostly Ares' kids, drew their weapon and got ready to attack. The leader, Clarisse La Rue addressed Percy with her spear in hand.

"What are you doing back here punk? After what you did to our dad you are pretty much a criminal. We have orders to arrest you as soon as we see you. You have a lot of nerve if you think we will just forget what you did to our father!"

"What I did to your father was put him in his place. I did not hurt him, except for his pride. And as far as being a criminal, I honestly couldn't care less. As I have stated before my objective is to help you demigods in this war, what the gods think of me is none of my concern."

Clarisse got a red face at the confidence Percy was showing. She knew he was good, but after all the training they have done, taking on a dozen campers from both the Athena and Ares cabins shouldn't be something he could do. With that mentality on her mind Clarisse gave a command.

"Capture him!"

Jake and Annabeth tried to stop them but they were too late. Percy decided to end this quickly so he used one of his least destructive powers. His eyes turned a light beige color and as he twisted his hand the ground below the attacking campers became quick sand and trapped their feet effectively stopping their movements.

"Not to sound like a massive douche, but even all of you together couldn't take me down. You may have trained in the last 8 months but so have I and trust me; my training was WAY more intense than yours. Anyway I didn't come here to fight I came here to give you valuable information and even help you prevent a possible disaster. I swear on the Styx that that is my only purpose for coming here and that my only objective is to help the demigods win this war like I have said a million times."

The campers that were not against Percy got easily convinced. Even those that didn't know him were smart enough to come to the conclusion that this wasn't a person they wanted to go against. Soon enough Chiron arrived and as he saw Percy he had a conflicted face with various emotions. Percy hugged the old centaur and briefly explained the reason of his visit.

The old centaur calmed the campers that were still angry at Percy and ordered a meeting in the dining pavilion 30 minutes. Percy used that time to look for two siblings he owed an apology to.

Percy walked towards the tree house where he assumed they would be. Percy was impressed to find the structure in very good state despite his actions. His attention quickly shifted to the two figures quickly approaching him. As they got close Percy verified they were who he was looking for, and judging by the way there were running Percy guessed they knew he was back.

Percy couldn't do much as both of them crashed into him like missiles and sent him on his back. They both starting screaming about how happy they were to see him. Seeing this Percy couldn't help but let his own tears fall.

"I missed you two so much. I am sorry I had to leave you alone."

After hugging for a few minutes the two siblings released Percy and the three of them started walking around camp discussing what they had done the last eight months. Nico and Bianca showed Percy an ability that they got to control shadows. They also told him that Jake and Annabeth kept their powers a secret and trained with them with no one around.

Percy understood that it meant they were both children of Hades. Although he was very confused as to how none noticed this after them being at camp for so long. It was then Percy's turn to share, so he talked about all the new powers he had gotten from the Aztec gods.

This caused the reaction he was hoping for as they were staring at him with eyes of admiration and those eyes said that Percy would have to show them all his powers later. The reunion was cut short as it was time for the meeting so the four of them went towards the dining pavilion.

Most campers were there, some sending glares at Percy while the older campers where rather happy to see him back. The tension was high as no one spoke; since he was the cause of this Percy decided to speak up.

"Well, I am sure most of you have questions but I will make this brief. I am not staying here for long, the only reason I came was because I think the camp might have a weakness that would prove deadlyl if it isn't dealt with soon."

"I am sure most of you know about the legend about Daedalus' labyrinth. I believe that there might be an entrance leading to camp and if the enemiesdiscover it's location they could invade and destroy the camp with little difficulty. That's why I am here, to verify whether or not there is an entrance."

"So what happens if there is no entrance?" One of Percy's old friend, Beckendorf asked with a tone that implied a hidden meaning behind the question.

"Well in that case I will just and be on my way. If there is one however you might have to order a quest, I will go to the maze either way but I have my own problems to solve before the war starts."

Some murmurs started going around since most campers didn't appreciate Percy being so secretive. Then again, everything they already knew about him was confusing enough so they weren't sure they could handle any more information. The old centaur addressed Percy after he finished his explanation.

"Well then, how do you plan on looking for the entrance? Should we deploy a team to look around the entire camp?"

Percy gave Chiron a smirk as he stood up and walked towards the center of the camp giving his back to everyone

"That won't be necessary but I recommend you all cover your ears cuz it's about to get really loud."

Percy closed his eyes and activated one of his many abilities; once he opened them his eyes were golden and slighted like those of felines. Very similar to when he transformed into a jaguar but these eyes held a lot more power.

Once he made sure everyone had their ears covered he inhaled as much air as he could. As he released it a giant shock wave was emitted from his mouth shaking the entire area. The sound was incredibly intimidating and animalistic like the world's most destructive roar.

Percy moved his head around having the wave cover different areas of the camp. Once his breath ran out Percy' roar stopped and everyone uncovered his ears. At this point no one even bothered asking how he did that and just focused on the reason was to why he did that.

"Alright I found it; those of you with weapons at hand follow me. I think we might have a few unwanted visitors."

Percy sprinted off in the general direction of the woods. Most of the cabin leaders followed him immediately while others went to get some weapons. Percy stopped in front of Zeus fist and summoned his weapon.

Jake and Annabeth arrived to his side and did the same. They just waited in a defensive position until they heard a roar. Percy tensed his muscles, and then five creatures jumped out of the ground and faced the three demigods with back up on the way.

"This is not good, only those that are proficient fighters should fight these things." Jake usually listened to Percy but he found it odd that he would say that since they creatures looked like hellhounds, and that is something most demigods could handle on their own.

"Trust me those aren't hellhounds, they are much, much worse." As if to prove his point the five monsters quickly advanced with remarkable speed. As they got closer Jake noticed some clear differences. The skin was the first one, these had a scaly almost fish-like skin, and the second one had paws which seemed almost human like. Percy went forward to confront the group but said group divided itself.

Three stayed to fight Percy while one towards Annabeth and another towards Jake. This alarmed Percy to the point where he almost completely ignored the monsters in front of him to go help his friends. This proved a mistake since it gave the monsters an opening. They all launched at Percy trying their best to bite him.

This sent Percy rolling as he swung his sword like crazy trying to keep the mutts off him. Meanwhile Jake quickly found out why Percy was so worried about this monster, not only was it ferocious but it was smart. A third difference that Jake didn't found out until it was too late was the fact that this monster had a hand on its tail. The monster used this hand to disarm Jake and wield his sword against him.

Jake was force to dodge and back way as the monster slashed at him. Thankfully for Jake an arrow embedded itself on the monster's shoulder, which made it drop the sword giving Jake the chance to retrieve it and slash it in half. Unlike normal monsters this one exploded in blood showers making a big mess.

Annabeth was in similar situation while she kept her weapon she was having a hard time landing a single hit because of the animals speed and agility. It wasn't until she got back up that she managed to overcome the creature and stab it through the neck. Like Jake she got covered in blood once the creature was dead.

The demigods then went to help Percy but there was no need. All they saw was Percy retrieve his sword from the bodies of the beast. This time they didn't explode but simply got absorbed by the grass.

"Well, as you can see that's the reason I came here. This time we were lucky that just a few monsters where roaming around but if the enemy finds a way to navigate the labyrinth it would end in disaster."

"You are right but what in the world were those weird dogs. They were way stronger than any hellhound and I am pretty sure they are not from Greek mythology."

"You are right Annabeth, they are Aztec monsters called Ahuizotls. It basically means spiky dogs; they can be very annoying since they can swim and swing in trees giving them versatility while fighting. They can be quite formidable in packs. It was a good thing that they decided to separate." The demigods started talking among themselves but Percy continued.

"Anyway we have two issues in our hands. First being that the titan army could use the Labyrinth as an attack point. The second being that Aztec monsters are now roaming freely and getting mixed in all of this among other beings. I will take care of the Aztec part, while I recommend you call for a quest to decide who can deal with the Titan's army."

**Line break NEWS AT THE BOTTOM, PLEASE READ AUTHORS NOTE**

A meeting was held to decide who would lead the quest to the Labyrinth. Annabeth volunteered, and went to get a quest from the oracle. Once she came back she looked pretty shaken but recited the prophecy.

"_You shall dive into the darkness of the endless maze,_

_The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise._

_You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand_

_The child's of Athena final stand_

_Destroy with a hero's final breath"_

"Hmmm, is that the whole thing?"The old centaur asked with a hint of knowledge in his eyes.

Annabeth slowly nodded. Percy knew that was a lie based on her facial expression but didn't comment on it. Chiron had the same thought process as he nodded back and side. He was going to dismiss the council until Annabeth said something else.

"After the Oracle was done saying the prophecy she gave some sort of warning. She said 'the Aztec boy cannot come, for he has his own prophecy to deal with."

This confused everyone as they turned to Percy who was even more confused. His own prophecy? What did that mean? As everyone kept looking at him he just gave them his best answer.

"Uh, give me a minute. I am going to ask someone who might know." He closed his eyes and his mind wondered to the gods inside it as he addressed one in particular.

"Well you are the god of knowledge; do you know what this prophecy might be?"

_I am afraid not, I think the prophecy must come to you. Trying using some of my power and see if that triggers anything. _

Percy wasn't really satisfied with the answer he received but he proceeded none the less. He closed his and focused Quetzalcoatl's energy to use as his own. Without realizing what was happening to him the energy over took him as he started glowing in bright rainbow light.

Then he spoke in a voice that was not his own.

"_**To the depths three will race**_

_**The volcano, the crow, and the night you shall face.**_

_**Brothers rise together or alone they burn,**_

_**To succeed, your weakness you must learn.**_

_**For nature must fuse to break the cage**_

_**When the shadow falls, beware the eagle's rage"**_

As soon as he was done the light disappeared and Percy returned to his normal self. He had complete recollection of what he said but he still had no idea what it meant. Before the questions could start Chiron brought back order by asking Annabeth who would go on the quest with her.

"Well, I would like to bring Jake, Grover and Tyson."

"Hmmm, that would make you a group of four. Consider well child, you would be breaking the ancient laws. and there are always consequences. Think on that. Three is a sacred are three Fates, three Furies, and three Olympian sons of Kronos. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers. Four… this is risky. Last winter, all five members survived yet two of them would have died if not for Percy, again showing 3 campers that would have survived. It appears Percy won't be able to intervene this time, are you sure you want to go with 4 none the less?"

"I am sure, I can't really explain it but I just feel like the four of us should go. Please."

"Very well, then how about you Percy? While it is not a greek quest I still think that if they are willing you could take some campers as your companions."

"I appreciate the offer Chiron, but I would rather go alone. It is really not my place to get you mixed into this. I was going to go alone regardless of a prophecy so I will stick to that plan."

Chiron was not really convinced but he knew better than to argue against Percy. So once that was done the meeting was off and everyone went one about their day agreeing that both quests would start the following morning at the same time.

As Percy walked around camp he caught more than a couple of glares thrown at him but he really didn't mind. He just focused on himself and decided to go to the arena to practice for a bit. But he was interrupted by a hand tugging at his back.

He turned around to see Nico and Bianca looking at him with very serious faces.

"Hey you two, is something wrong?"

"We want to go with you tomorrow." Bianca said without hesitation.

"No, it's way too dangerous. I don't care what the quest says. There is no way I am putting you two at risk-"

"If it is that dangerous then you shouldn't go alone! We are not going to let you go off on your own. We will follow you without your permission if we have to." Bianca finished with a huff as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. Nico proceeded to imitate her to show that the siblings were not backing off on this.

Percy was at a loss of words. He knew by their expressions that they were being serious so he was left with very few options. He let out a long sigh as he scratched his head.

"Fine, you can come with me. You will be safer close to me than following from the back."

Having won their battle the siblings jumped in joy.

"But… You have to wear these." Percy reached to his back and brought out two necklaces with what looked like a seed on the middle of them.

"These will teleport you back to the tree house if something happens. You can come with me but you have to wear these the whole time, understood?"

They both nodded and put the necklaces on under their shirts so you couldn't even see they had them on. Percy still felt a bit uneasy but couldn't really do much. It was almost funny how those too could put Percy in such a position. Taking a long look at them Percy noted how they didn't look like kids anymore, they were both a bit taller and their features looked more confident.

"Well then you two, I am going to go to the arena to practice for a bit, card to join me?"

They both nodded so all three made their way towards the arena. Once they got there Percy found that Jake was already there fighting someone else. From the looks of it his opponent was on a different level because Jake was sweating immensely while the other guy looked perfectly composed.

It only when the match ended that Percy noticed the huge hellhound in the outskirts of the arena, currently being petted by the mystery man. Percy walked up to Jake with an eyebrow raised.

"He is our new instructor Quintus, and that's his hellhound pet Mrs. O'Leary. I was very surprised and almost cut her when I first saw her but she is harmless. Trust me, a saliva bath taught me that. Anyway, you should try to spar with him. He is incredibly good, I think no one has been able to even make him sweat."

Percy looked at the man and could tell he was a pretty good swordsman.

"If he is up for it I wouldn't mind a spar." This made Jake's face lit up like it was Christmas.

"Sweet let me go get everyone else. This is going to be so good!"

Percy questioned his enthusiasm but didn't say anything as he sprinted off. So he simply approached this instructor who received him with a smile.

"Why you must be Percy I presume? I have heard quite a lot about you. From my understanding you made a big show in Olympus, not many have done that and lived to tell the tale."

The way he said it made it sound like a big joke but Percy didn't really get it so he nodded politely.

"So based on the stories I take it your sword skill are on par with that of a titan? Because if that's the case I would please ask for you to hold back on this poor old man."

Percy smiled liking this man more as they talked.

"The stories exaggerate; I assure you my skill level is nowhere near that of a titan or even a god. I am not nearly as good as everyone thinks I am."

"Well you certainly are more modest than I would have thought. But I guess we will find out soon enough just how much of that modesty holds true. So out of curiosity, could you please come at me without holding back? Not with the intent to kill of course, just with as much power as you can control."

Percy raised an eyebrow at the odd request. He had just met the guy and he wanted to fight at full strength. Not that Percy could even accept because full strength would definitely attract the gods.

"Well, truth with I can't fully get to that level without alerting the gods. But I will fight with as much strength as I can without it being a danger to either one of us."

The man was satisfied with his answer as he smiled. He then looked over Percy's shoulder and saw that a pretty large crowd was coming their way.

"Well Percy looks like you have attracted quite the big crowd. Let's give them a big show alright?"

Nearly all campers were around the arena waited for the match to start. The Stoll brothers were placing bets while everyone else from the Hermes cabin were selling food. Percy wanted to shake his head at how a small match transformed into a show. However he was curious to test just how much he could push himself against this instructor who clearly was no ordinary demigod.

Both warriors stood at opposite ends of the arena with nothing but their weapons. Quintus had a standard one handed Xiphos about 4 feet long. Percy had his normal sword that looked very peculiar to those that hadn't seen it before, made completely out of wood, double edged and very wide.

"Ladies and gentlemen tonight we have the honor of presenting you with one heck of a fight. On one corner we have our new instructor, Quintus, who has been so far undefeated in all matches. And on this other corner we have the return of the nefarious and infamous Percy Jackson!"

Percy made a mental note to beat the crap out of Jake once this was over. Although he had to admit that he did know how to rile up a crowd as the cheers were crazy.

"Alright then, both contestants are you ready?" They both raised their weapons in a defensive position and Percy also closed his eyes trying to tune out the crowd.

"Begin!"

Percy was the one to make the first move. He sprinted forward with a swing already in motion. Quintus was taken by surprise by Percy's speed so he could do much but keep his blade in a defensive position to take the blow. The second surprise came as soon as the blades clashed; the force was so great than Quintus was pushed to the border of the arena.

He was really impressed by the boy's strength but he couldn't relax since Percy was on top of him with another strike ready in a matter of moments. With inhumane agility Quintus use his free hand to jump out of the way of the incoming strike. This gave Quintus a chance to recover as he stood in the middle of the arena in a defensive position.

Percy stood up from his failed attack and looked back as his opponent. His eyes were now bright neon blue. Quintus could immediately tell that the boy was using some sort of special power.

Meanwhile the crowed was going crazy by Percy's small display of strength. Those who knew him however felt that something was wrong, especially Jake. Usually to get that kind of speed Percy transformed into a jaguar but now he as completely human but different somehow.

Percy returned to the offensive except this time Quintus was ready. As they clashed once again Percy noticed he was met with a lot more resistance. It became a stalemate as they both swung their swords at speeds too fast to follow with the naked eye. They both tried to get within the other's guard but with no success.

The minutes went on as they were both going all over the arena with incredible speed. More than anything Percy was impressed at how quickly Quintus was adapting to his fighting style. It wasn't like Percy was going for the kill but it was still very impressive that he could keep up to him to such a degree.

After ten minutes Percy decided to end the fight. He focused in a single slash that managed to push him back but Quintus kept his form. Percy then threw his sword at high speeds. Quintus was extremely surprised but managed to block the sword no problem.

Without noticing, this created a blind spot which Percy used to get in close. All Quintus managed to see was Percy's eyes that were now a completely different color, almost like a rainbow. He didn't have much time to think this over as Percy thrust his hand right at his chest. Somehow this created a huge wind blast that sent Quintus flying out of the arena.

The crowed was silent for a minute, followed by a huge amount of cheers coming from the crowed. Percy's eyes returned to normal as he went to help Quintus back while Jake did his big end of the fight announcement.

"Well ladies and gentleman it looks like we have a new winner. A big round of applause for Percy Jackson."

Percy was kind of surprised by how many people actually cheered. He thought that a good amount of them just came in to watch him get beaten down so it was a nice surprise. He got to Quintus and offered him a hand.

"Sorry for the push, I still can't control it very well."

"Well I have to say you are lot more impressive than I thought. Although I think you there is a great flaw in your fighting style, but that's for you to discover.

"Flaw? Well I don't know what you mean but thank you for the match."

"Likewise."

Both of them shook hands and the rest of the night flew by after the battle. Percy was bombarded questions by Bianca, Nico, and even Jake about his powers. He finally managed to make them stop by promising to explain it tomorrow during the quest.

Percy enjoyed his dinner, sitting with Nico and Bianca as the three of them finally had a chance to catch up and just talk without restrains. After dinner everyone went to the campfire and continued talking. As the time passed everyone went to sleep. By the end it was only Percy and Jake who kept telling each other's details of their life.

It wasn't really the fact that they were half brothers but rather because they were friends that Percy thought he owed him the truth and just a good long conversation. However mid conversation Percy stiffened and got up.

"Well, looks like you have a visitor. I will be going now; I will teleport way just to be on the save side. I will come back first thing in morning."

Without an explanation he disappeared in a flash of green light leaving Jake very confused. That is until the camp fire got brighter and small girl walked out of the flames looking extremely depressed.

"L-Lady Hestia."

**A/N: So a slow chapter but we got our first Aztec prophecy! You people have NO IDEA how long that took me to get together. Like seriously I don't know how uncle rick pumped out six of these… Anyway, anyone wants to guess the meaning behind it? Props for anyone who gets some of the lines right ^_^ **

**Also, after seeing your reactions it appears most of you don't want demigods, but my latest review came up with a brilliant compromise so props to Sist3m for this suggestion : **

"_**Problem. Aztecs don't have demigod remember? Instead of going with demigods why don't you have a few Greek campers eventually become blessed by one of the Aztecs. That way your story stays plot hole free and you got your "demigods" . **__**Just a suggestion my friend" **_

**Couldn't have said it better myself, and this even fits with something I was planning on doing anyway so it's a win-win! Of course I want to know what you think so please don't hold back.**

**Finally I am going to start doing questions of the week. This way I get feedback from you and I can improve the story. So here are the questions for this week: **

**1\. What do you think about the Aztec prophecy? Would you like to see more?**

**2\. Thoughts on Percy's powers so far? **

**That's all for now, until next week!**


	17. Into the maze and a frightning encounter

**So before I start I have a bit of an announcement that I haven't really done before. I want to thank all of you for reading my story that is now number 322 in terms of followers. Keep in mind that's out of 64,000 stories so I am extremely happy. I hope that you will continue to read and enjoy this story. **

**Also, a small clarification for some reviews. I have done plenty of research and have planned on what gods of Aztec mythology to use, so chances are if you tell me you want to see a god or goddess that is famous. Chances are I already planned on using them or decided not to.**

**With that out of the way to the story!**

_**Last time…**_

_Percy enjoyed his dinner, sitting with Nico and Bianca as the three of them finally had a chance to catch up and just talk without restrains. After dinner everyone went to the campfire and continued talking. As the time passed everyone went to sleep. By the end it was only Percy and Jake who kept telling each other's details of their life. _

_It wasn't really the fact that they were half brothers but rather because they were friends that Percy thought he owed him the truth and just a good long conversation. However mid conversation Percy stiffened and got up._

"_Well, looks like you have a visitor. I will be going now; I will teleport away just to be on the save side. I will come back first thing in morning." _

_Without an explanation he disappeared in a flash of green light leaving Jake very confused. That is until the camp fire got brighter and someone walked out of the flames looking extremely depressed. _

"_L-lady Hestia." _

**Now…**

Jake wasn't really surprised by the fact that Hestia had shown up since this wasn't the first time. Not too long after the whole Winter solstice incident she showed up late at night to apologize for her actions and trying to explain her reasoning behind them.

Jake and Annabeth instantly understood and forgave the goddess but they could tell something was wrong based on her expressions. Since Percy would sometimes send small messages to Nico or Bianca through the eagles he gave them. So Hestia would come from time to time just to hear every bit of news she could. Jake could always tell she was happy to hear that he was alive but at the same time there was a deep sadness in her eyes.

However this time it was much worse than normal. Her usual young look was nowhere to be seen as she had huge bags under her eyes and her eyes were bloodshot. Her expression was border line depressed, and over all she looked straight out of a ghost movie.

She sat next to Jake and tried for a smile but her face protested as if she had forgotten how to do so. Jake looked worriedly at the goddess but didn't speak, waiting for her to do so.

"He is back isn't he? And from the looks of it stronger than ever."

Jake nodded; still not knowing whether or not he should speak but before he could decide the goddess continued.

"You know, it's funny how things turn out. I originally went up to him because I detected hope within him, that much is true. Even when he was little I detected he was special. But look now, with my interference I can feel that a lot of that hope has gone way. Maybe I should have just told him the truth from the start… maybe…"

"You care about him a lot don't you Lady Hestia?"

_More than I should my boy. _She thought to herself but didn't say it out loud.

"I didn't realize just how much until he disappeared in a fury from Olympus. I wish he would just give me a chance to talk to him. If only just once more."

Unknown to either one of them Percy was listening to the conversation all the way from the Amazon where he currently was thanks to two of his eagle friends. He had one set in a tree right next to the camp fire and another next to him. Using his powers Percy could connect the birds thought and therefore hear what they both heard.

_She sounds really sad. Maybe you should just go and hear her out. _

_What if she sounds sad? It was her who-_

_I know what she did boss, but hearing her out wouldn't do any harm now would it? You don't have to forgive her just allow her to defend herself. _

_I will… I will talk to her after the quest is over. I will let her speak but I don't guarantee that I will forgive her… _

The eagle shook its head, knowing he couldn't change the mind of his stubborn friend.

_Do as you wish but I think it would do benefit the both of you if you talked. _The eagle then flew off, leaving Percy alone as he continued to hear the conversation. His will almost wavered as he heard her tone and could easily tell that she was indeed very depressed.

But he kept to his word as he simply listened to Jake telling Hestia the events of the day and the quest to follow.

"Well, it was nice talking to you Jake. I believe you have a quest tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck, and if you could try to convince Percy to at least hear me out."

"I will try Lady Hestia."

The hearth goddess gave another sad smile before disappearing into the flames. Jake let out a long sigh before getting up and going to his cabin. Percy stayed in the Amazon simply looking at the sky with many thoughts forming in his head.

He thought about the prophecy, well prophecies. The fact that he got one of his own was mind blowing enough. Thinking about the lines was like stabbing the dark. He kept think of the different lines trying to come up with meaning behind them.

After 30 minutes he came to conclusion that he wouldn't solve anything just worrying all night, so he stopped thinking about it and simply went to sleep.

**Line break (Questions of the day and info at the end!)**

The following morning all quest members were gathered at the maze entrance. The Di Angelo siblings looked a bit tired but a nudge from Percy got them awake enough. Annabeth looked like a complete mess. Percy guessed she stayed up all night trying to figure out a way to navigate the labyrinth. Based on her hair and eyes he guessed she didn't find it.

Percy then took a look at the other members that would be going. There was Grover who looked extremely nervous, but determined. Percy's guessed it had something to do with his quest to find Pan that was on a time limit now.

Then the other member was someone that Percy had yet to meet in person. He was Tyson, Jake's Cyclops half-brother. Percy used this opportunity to walk up to say hi and introduce himself.

"I am Percy, it is nice to meet you Tyson."

The Cyclops shook his hand with great enthusiasm almost breaking Percy's bones. Then Jake who was looking got a smirk on his face as he thought of something.

"By the way big guy, Percy here is a son of Poseidon too, so you know what that means."

Percy looked at the Jake with glaring eyes not happy about the fact of being called a son of Poseidon. Jake simply smirked as the giant went towards Percy and gave him a bone crushing hug.

"Brother!" He screamed with excitement. While being crushed Percy sent a glare towards Jake with a clear message. _When I get my hands on you… _

Jake didn't take the threat seriously as he laughed seeing the mighty Percy Jackson turned useless by a boy Cyclops. Then Percy got an idea for quick revenge.

"Hey, um bro? Don't you think it will be a good idea to add Jake to this brother group hug?"

Jake paled while Tyson thought this was a wonderful idea. He picked up Jake and then proceeded to crush the both of them. This caused everyone in the group to laugh even Tyson but not for the same reasons.

Once the hugging was done the group was finally ready to descend into the maze Annabeth approached the entrance and touched a marking on the wall. Before going in she looked at Percy.

"So, how do you want to do this? Should we stay together or go our separate ways?"

"Let's stick together for now, Once I get a feeling of where I need to go then we will each focus on our individual missions."

Annabeth nodded and then seven of them entered the Labyrinth. With Annabeth at the front the group didn't last ten minutes before asking Percy about his powers as per their arrangement the night before.

"Alright enough, I will answer your questions just one at a time. Jake you go first."

"So, if you are technically a son of Poseidon how come you don't have any water powers?"

"Well, I am not too sure about that. I am guessing it had something to do with my mom but I did get one power from Poseidon. I can control my blood to a certain extent. It makes it so that I can't really die from loosing blood since I can just will it to stay on my body. I don't like to use the power unless necessary though."

"Control the blood? That sounds like a sick ability! I wonder if I can do something like that."

"I doubt it since you can control water but who knows maybe you can."

"Ohh oh! My turn, just how do your powers work?." Nico asked like he had waited months to ask that one question, which he kind of did.

"Oh boy that's a big one. Well, I have my normal powers that I got when all the gods blessed me. They allow me to control plant life and speak with animals. Of course after training I managed to discover more abilities like teleporting from places I have blessed, or transforming into a jaguar."

"Like I told you yesterday, eight months ago I found it the gods were inside my head. Simply hiding there until I was strong enough for them to come forward. Well, since they did I now have access to pretty much all their powers and abilities."

The group looked at Percy like he was a whole military arsenal. Having the power of one god was dangerous enough, but a whole Parthenon? Annabeth started to see why her mother feared Percy. However that thought quickly left her mind as she remember that Percy wasn't really interested in power or using it to conquer others. So she asked a question.

"So, can you use the power of all the Aztec gods at will? How does your body handle the burden, I mean your body is still human right?"

"Well, not exactly. My control is actually very limited, I can only use one power at a time and I can't do too many switches in one battle. The burden is not that big because I only use a fraction of their power. It's like I am becoming a demigod with different abilities. Finally it's very easy to tell since my eyes change color depending on the god. If you were paying attention I used some during my sparing with Quintus."

As a demonstration Percy changed eyes to a sandy brown color. He then put a hand against the ground and after a few moments the rock transformed into sand. This left the entire group quite impressed and this explained all he did the day prior.

Then Bianca asked a final question that all of them were thinking.

"How many powers do you have from the blessings?"

"Well, that will take too long to name them all but roughly about 10 different powers."

They didn't really liked how he dodged the question but they really couldn't do anything about it since their attention was brought back to the maze when the group entered a room built roman style. At the other end of the room there were two doors. The group kept walking until the most bizarre of gods popped up in front of them.

He had two faces plastered into one head. They were looking at opposite directions so it was impossible to see both faces at once. Other than that he was dressed like a doorman. Percy was very wary of gods just showing up but didn't say anything.

"Hello there, children, looks like you are in a very important quest, but to continue you must make a choice, oh how exiting!" One of the faces said with a great amount of enthusiasm while the other didn't look quite as pleased.

"Yeah… hurray for the heroes. Now hurry up and make your choice Annabeth, I don't have all day." The other head talked in a very irritated tone. This was all the evidence Percy needed to identify the god in front of them

"You are Janus, god of choices, beginnings and end."

The happy face looked at Percy and observed him for a second before speaking.

"That is right Percy. You are quite knowledgeable, but that's to be expected from the Aztec champion that nearly destroyed the entire Olympian council."

Percy didn't know what surprised him most, the fact that the god knew his name or the reason as to why he did. Just what kind of rumors had been running around Olympus?

"I didn't really-"

"But right now is not the time for your choice, but Annabeth's. So my dear, please make your choice, which door? Please note that both will end with sacrifices but it will be you, who will decide which, is it not exiting?"

Annabeth looked like she was about to faint. Percy didn't really like the idea of taking a god head on this early in the quest but was seriously considering it until another voice was heard over the room.

"Oh leave them alone Janus, these kids do not concern you."

Moments later, Hera, the queen of Olympus herself showed up to make the minor god go way.

"I will take it from here, now go bother someone else."

Both faces of the minor god were not pleased but there was no room for arguments. So he looked at Percy one last time before disappearing.

"You will need to make a choice if you want to win Aztec child, remember that." He then disappeared without a trace.

Unfortunately his warning was mostly unheard since Percy was pretty much in full alert mode ready to get in a fight any second. He was sort of fine with minor gods showed up but if an Olympian made an appearance Percy pretty much assumed a fight was unavoidable.

"Relax boy, I am not here to fight. I am here to help you in this quest. But before that, how about some lunch?"

The goddess then made a picnic table appear out of nowhere, inviting all the quest members to seat and eat. Most of them complied, except for Percy who was still a bit skeptical about the whole thing.

Once everyone else started eating Percy relaxed a bit and joined them but still in high alert. But the goddess paid him no attention as she was completely focused on Annabeth.

"I may have delayed your choice but you will have to make it eventually. So while I can't prevent that I will like to provide you with some assistance."

Annabeth looked nervous but thought carefully about what to ask. While she didn't really think about it while Percy was explaining his powers she did have trouble maneuvering around the maze.

"How can we maneuver over the maze safely?"

"Oh dear, you already have a way to do so. Well, two right now if you count the Aztec boy over there. I will give you one more piece of advice though, seek out my son's forge, he should be able to help you find Daedalus. Good bye all but before I go a warning."

She looked at Percy for the first time.

"You are considered an enemy by many members of the council. While some remain neutral I will highly suggest that you keep hidden like you have for the last eight months. If you want to live that is."

"Not gonna happen. I came back for a reason and don't have any intention of disappearing anytime soon."

All the demigods dropped their jaws at Percy's attitude and thought he was roasted. The Queen of Olympus was completely baffled that anyone would dare to speak back to her. She thought about blasting the little pest out of existence but something about his eyes told her that would be no easy task.

"You should watch your mouth boy. You do not need more enemies plotting against you."

With that ominous line the queen of Olympus disappeared in a flash. Once she was gone the group started yelling at Percy for acting like an idiot.

"Okay, okay I am sorry. I guess I will be more careful when I open my mouth next time but let's focus on the quest alright?"

The group agreed but they still had the issue of which door to choose. Percy looked at both door trying to use his senses to give him a hint of what was at the end of each corridor.

"Well Percy, Hera did say that you were one of our two options to navigate the labyrinth. So since we have no idea what the other one is do you have any ideas as to how to go through this place.

"Hmm, maybe, I think my senses can give me a bit of an edge. I can't really explain it, but it's like I can smell godly or such energy. I don't think it will serve as much of a guide but there is a strong energy coming from the left door… but something feels odd about it."

"Well, that's all we have to go on. I hate to admit it but all the maps I did don't really seem to work so guide the way. Maybe it's Hephaestus' energy that you are sensing."

Percy wasn't really sure but they had no other option so Percy focused his senses into overdrive and led the way. The deeper they went into the corridors the more intense Percy's senses felt as what he was sensing was closer.

At the same time a sense of dread came over him telling him that whatever he was getting closer to will not be friendly. They finally got out of a tunnel and the room they ended up in did not help Percy's nerves.

Calling it a room was not really doing it justice since it was more of a giant prison filled with cells even some hanging from the ceiling. The group proceeded with caution, a little thrown off by the fact that most of the cells appeared to be empty.

Once they were in the center of the prison they noticed subtle sobbing coming from one of the cells so the group slowly moved towards the sound. Once they got close they didn't know what to make out of what they were looking at.

He was humanoid and from the legs to the waist he looked like just a normal human minus the fact that he was full of scars and clearly in need of food. Once at the waist though things got weird. Dozens of arms covered his sides starting at the waist all the way to the shoulders. The arms were simple limp or covering their owners face as he wept.

Tyson seemed to recognize him as he took in a breath and approached the cage.

"He is a One hundred-Handed one. They used to be some of the strongest warriors, three of them in total!" Tyson's narration sounded like he was describing a super hero.

This caused a bit of a reaction from the mentioned prisoner as he took his hands out of his face. This made Percy winced a bit, not because he was ugly, but because of how broken he looked. It was clear to Percy that he had been tortured. This made his blood boil but he didn't act on it. Percy suppressed his shock once the broken warrior spoke.

"What you described was my past young Cyclops. I am Briares, the last living member of my race. Well, if you can really call this leaving.

Tyson looked heartbroken at the current sight of his hero. Percy couldn't take it any longer so he interfered taking his sword out.

"We are taking you out of here. I will not stand for torture, on anyone or of any kind." Briares looked up with the same broken expression.

"You should leave, it is dangerous for you to be here, if _they _come back. I already accepted by fate, now go before you get caught or worse."

Percy looked back at the group and had a silent conversation coming to a unanimous decision. Percy nodded and sliced the cage open with no hesitation, causing quite a bit of noise. This changed Briares expression from depression to fear then panic.

"No! What have you done, they will come now…" Percy put his sword away and slowly approached him.

"Who is coming? Who are you so afraid off? Why can't you just run off with us now?"

"They Jailers, you don't understand. It was bad enough with only one but then a second one showed up, she is different, she is not like us she…"

Briares then took a good look at Percy and a panicked expression overcame him before he swung a good 30 of arms towards Percy sending him flying against the cage.

"You! She is just like you, get away. Get away from me!" Tyson approached Briares being the physically strongest to try and calm him down while everyone else went towards Percy to make sure he was alright. Annabeth quickly looked him over and sighed once she made sure he had no broken bones.

"Are you alright Percy? What did Briares mean? Why is he afraid of you?"

Percy got back on his feet and stretched him back making sure everything was on its place.

"Well, I have a theory but I hope I am wrong because it's not good news. We either need to find a way to bring him with us soon or things will get ugly…"

As if on cue loud sounds could be heard in the distance and growing louder every second. It sounded like vultures except a lot more humanoid and deep. Whatever was making those sounds was a lot bigger than any bird.

Percy had a terrible feeling that he knew what was coming. It was then that it hit him what he had sensed and what he caught his friends into. He looked at everyone looking extremely panicked.

"Everyone listened to me; I don't have much time to explain. What we are about to fight is one of the Aztec's goddess; I don't think I can handle her on my own but be extremely careful. This will probably similar to the Atlas fight, except this time I don't have my ace in the whole so get ready."

All it took as Percy's tone and expression to let everyone know just how serious the situation was. They didn't really understand but they got on guard and took out their weapons while Grover took out his Pipes in his trembling hands.

The noised got closer and closer until finally two figures were seeing getting closer. Once they were in full view Percy's fear was confirmed. The two figures were humanoid and looked female except that they were covered in black feathers and had claws and fangs.

_Two? _Percy thought in confusion, knowing for a fact there was only one goddess with that from. He didn't think much of it as he decided to make the first move. He activated Huitzilopochtli's power changing his eyes to a neon blue before taking a first step.

This first step made him jump right in the middle of the two vulture like females. They were both extremely surprised but didn't have to react as Percy swung his sword at full force sending one of the monsters crashing into a wall. He then used the other one as a platform in mid-air to move towards the one dented in the wall.

Said monster was barely recovering before Percy came in and swung again this time sending his objective all the way to the floor. Wanting to end this quickly Percy grabbed on to the wall and propelled himself like a missile strait towards the vulture woman in the floor.

She wasn't even able to react as Percy crashed into her Sword first right through her mid-section. She let out a ear breaking scream before exploding in blood that quickly evaporated into red smoke.

Percy was worried about how easy that had been. He began to double guess exactly what his was facing but the dread in his chest did not go way. He then thought that maybe the other monster was the real threat but as he turned towards his friend he quickly assumed that was not the case.

Annabeth had somehow managed to get on the woman's back and was holding on to dear like to not get throwing off with her legs and one hand while the other went to grab her dagger. Once she got hold of the bronze weapon she rammed it in shoulder causing the vulture like creature to scream in pain and come crashing towards the floor.

This caused Annabeth to be thrown off but Percy caught her mid-fall avoiding any damage. Meanwhile the rest of the group ambush the failing enemy and after a bit of effort Bianca and Nico of all people managed to sneak past her guard and stab her right in the heart.

She did the same as Percy's foe, exploding in blood that quickly turned into vapor. Everyone was initially disgusted but then relieved once the blood turned into vapor. Percy and Annabeth walked towards them all of them a bit out of breath. Jake looked at Percy with a smile on his face.

"Well that wasn't so bad." His smile disappeared as he saw Percy gripping his sword tightly and looking ahead. Before anyone could say anything a raspy voice spoke giving chills to everyone.

"Indeed, that was very impressive demigods." The voice sounded ancient and powerful. No one spoke as what ever made that voice approached the demigods. Once she was in full view everyone, even those that had not study many myths, recognize her.

Kampê, the monster that was in the jailor of the three ancient Cyclopes at the beginning of the Titan era. She was very much like medusa from the waste up. With green scaly skin and vipers for hair. The real differences came at the waist. She had a belt that showed different animals morphing and ready to bite. Here entire lower body was that of a dragon with claws to match, not to mention her immense sides even making Tyson look like a baby.

Kampê turned her attention away from the demigods and appeared to talk to nothing but the wall.

"And you said your warriors would be more than enough to finish them off. You clearly underestimated them,_ partner." _

As the conversation went on Percy felt worse and worse his mind working in overdrive. _Crow like female warriors, partner._ It suddenly all clicked in Percy's head just as a figure appeared floating next to Kampê from the shadows.

"Oh they would have been, if not for this annoying pest." She pointed a finger at Percy, who was one step away from hyper ventilating.

Everyone else was too busy looking at the new entity to pay Percy any attention. She was the height of a normal human, but that's where the normal things ended. She looked very similar to the vulture woman they fought moments before.

She had claws and fangs showing through her lips. The upper half of her face was covered by a skeletal mask top off by black wings that mimicked hair. She had black wings that appeared to be made out of black fire, giving off intense heat even from such a far distance. The flames highlighted her pale almost purple skin.

Next to Kampê she looked quite small but one good look was enough to tell that she was as strong as Kampê, if not more. Percy finally recovered from his panic as he got ready to fight. He took an offensive position and took his War god powers up a notch.

This caused the light in his eyes to grow brighter and expand all over his body until he was completely glowing blue. It wasn't quite like when he fought Atlas and made a mess of the council. Those times his appearance would change and the power increase was enormous.

This time he stayed the same except for the glowing skin and the fact that he was clearly stronger. Jake looked a bit more confident but thinking it over, he didn't like their odds. It was 7 vs. 2 but still, their foes were probably close to Atlas level, especially the black crow woman and Percy didn't looked as confident. Jake could tell he was weaker than before so that was not very encouraging.

The Crow woman laughed at Percy.

"Well, don't you remind me of that annoying blue faced war god? You don't really think that level of power is enough to take _me_ on do you?"

Percy didn't say anything keeping his guard. Nico and Bianca got into a defensive positon close to Percy. Everyone followed suit and Annabeth quickly looked for information.

"What are we looking at? Who is she and how strong?"

Before Percy could answer the person in question answered for her.

"I am Itspapalotl, goddess, of the death, leader of the Tzitzimitl and I will be your personal executioner."

Percy didn't listened to anything else, he launched into battle.

**O.O **

**Well we get our first battle vs. an actual Aztec goddess. How strong will she be? How will Percy fair against her? So many questions… That you will have to wait a week to know :D **

**Anyway, just so you know Percy's powers are about to get complexed, I know I just sort of explained them, but trust me there is more… way more. **

**Now for the questions of the week: **

**Who is your favorite character in my story? Who would you like to see more of? **

**That's all I have for now, always pm me or review if you have a suggestion or question. I love talking with you readers ^_^.**


	18. Meeting with the darkness

**Warning: The following chapter is RAW, that means that it's pretty much being uploaded as soon as I am done writing it. So please know that the amount of mistakes will be fixed soon after this. So if you are reading this as soon as I upload it give me it time, if you are from the future then all you are all good proceed ahead. An explanation for this will be given soon.**

_**Last time…**_

"_Well, don't you remind me of that annoying blue faced war god? You don't really think that level of power is enough to take me on do you?" _

_Percy didn't say anything keeping his guard. Nico and Bianca got into a defensive position close to Percy. Everyone followed suit and Annabeth quickly looked for information._

"_What are we looking at? Who is she and how strong?" _

_Before Percy could answer the person in question answered for her._

"_I am Itspapalotl, goddess, of the death, leader of the Tzitzimitl and I will be your personal executioner." _

_Percy didn't listened to anything else, he launched into battle. _

**Now…**

There were a couple of reactions Percy was expecting when launched head first, sword mid swing towards the goddess, what he got was none of them. Despite his super human speed the goddess didn't look even remotely impressed. Percy still didn't hesitate swinging at full force.

The goddess lazily raised her hand and blocked the sword like it was nothing. Percy was too stunned to do anything. He was frozen in mid air with his sword being so easily stopped by a goddess that analyzed him with a disappointed look in her face.

"Is that it? Is that all the, oh so great savior of the Aztec Parthenon is capable of? I am severely disappointed."

She then casually flicked her wrist making Percy fly into a wall with such force that he made a hole into it. Everyone wanted to rush to his aid but they had problems of their own as Kampê got tired of waiting and attacked the group forcing them to scatter.

Itspapalotl was looking for a victim to strike but then a fireball to the face brought her attention towards the whole in the wall and a very angry Percy in front of it with his hand out and a red hue in his eyes.

"Your battle is with me goddess." To prove his point he shot a couple more fireballs.

This time the goddess blocked them easily resulting in her being completely unharmed. Percy then switched attacks and he spread his hands in front of him and basically became a human flame thrower creating as much fire as he could.

The goddess didn't have any way to dodge but she didn't need to. She smile at the incoming attack and pointed one finger towards it. Black flames came from her finger and clashed into Percy's instantly overwhelming them, forcing Percy to roll away.

"I have to say your skills are impressive for a demigod but that really is not saying much. I find it hard to believe that so many gods put their faith in you. I still cannot believe they would resort to such methods to not fade when there are… other, easier methods."

The Goddess was clearly taunting Percy, and it was working. _Hey Quetz, when she say other methods, does she mean… _he didn't finish the sentence. There was no reply so Percy took that as confirmation.

"The Gods made that type of practices taboo. You will pay for your crimes."

Itspapalotl laughed as if she had just heard a great joke.

"Crimes? Boy, this is the way we were meant to be. You have done your homework have you not? You must know just how mighty we were when we received sacrifices in the old civilization, oh how glorious it was. But please be my guest if you want to stop me, do your worst."

Percy once again focused his energy as he took his current form one notch higher. His aura intensified and exploded outward this time forming a red coloration all around his body.

"What now? Did you get a sunburn boy?" The goddess mocked clearly not impressed.

"No, but you might." Percy then clapped his hands together. This caused the earth underneath the goddess to melt and form two lava hands that then mimicked Percy's movements trapping the goddess.

The goddess was more surprised than damaged as she could easily withstand the heat around her. She simply released some of her aura causing the lava to fly away. She wasn't expecting Percy to already be right in front of her so she couldn't react as he connected a right hook lava fist.

This again just caused her to be pushed back and stunned but no real damage was done and Percy knew this. In his current form it just wasn't possible to beat her and going all out wasn't really an option inside the labyrinth so there was only one option: retreat.

Percy looked over to his friends to see them struggling as they dodged and rolled away from Kampê while slightly fighting back. He had a plan but he would need time so he did the best his best to try to stall. He addressed the goddess that was just recovering from Percy's last attack.

"Why would you join a Greek monster if you say you are such a big Greek hater?"

"You misunderstand boy. I hate all the arrogant Olympians, but I am indifferent to all monsters or even the titans. I simply allied myself with someone that shares my pleasure for torture and imprisonment. As it turns out Kampê was perfect for this. I have even learned some new torture techniques!" Her tone was jolly, as if she just found a new BFF to share secrets with.

Percy's anger towards the goddess only continued to grow but he was humble enough to recognize he had no way of winning at the moment. He got the time he needed so he got to work on his escape plan.

All the energy he was able to store was released at once creating a giant lava wave in the form of giant fists. The crow goddess blocked but the force was such that she was washed way like a child hit by a tsunami.

Percy didn't have time to celebrate his victory as he focused on his friends who were barely keeping Kampê at bay. With a powerful stomp Percy created a lava path that led straight to the giant monster and then expanded around her creating a pitfall trap.

The group got away from the lava and easily got the message from Percy's expression: It was time to leave. They all ran to the farthest corridor trying to put as much distance between them and the deadly ladies duo as possible.

Of course it couldn't be that easy. As escape was within their grasp Percy's acute senses picked up desperate screams. Upon closer attention he realized that the damn goddess probably had prisoners. Without hesitation he turned around and sprinted in the direction he came from.

"You guys keep going, there is someone trapped in there and I would leave them like this. I will catch up you just keep running."

Percy quickly reached the cages from which the screams came from. He barely registered the fact that he made a mess from the prison since the lava spread like wildfire giving it a very hellish look. _Looks like those two will have to find a new place for her hobbies. _He thought with satisfaction.

Refocusing in the matter at hand he looked around to find a lot more cage that he had first noticed. He desperately used the last of his power to control the lava into arms and sent them to each cage and melting the bars. An array of different creatures came running out of the cages.

Percy willed the lava hands to cool off creating a stone path that allowed everyone to escape. He was even surprised to find some minor Aztec gods in the mix. They quickly thanked Percy for his help, swore loyalty and then teleported way, Percy assumed that to Tenochtitlan.

Once everyone got out his thoughts focused on escaping. As his luck would have it was around this time that Kampê was able to get free from her lava trap. She was not pleased and had Percy on her sights.

She launched at him with the intent to kill. Percy reacted on instinct and the lava around him responded clashing into the monster and sending her back screaming in pain since she didn't have Itspapalotl's heat immunity.

Unfortunately this was the last of Percy's energy as he collapsed on his knees trying to catch his breath. To make matters worse he could sense the goddess of death's aura flaring meaning his sea of lava was about to run out and Percy would most likely be in serious trouble.

As he racked his brain trying to think of a way out of this he felt two pairs of arms slide under his shoulders. He looked in surprise to find Nico and Bianca carrying him out as fast as they could. By now Percy's energy was completely spent so his skin returned to its normal tan and his eyes to their usual sea green.

"Where is the rest of the group? Why did you come back for me? You could have died!"

Nico was too focus on getting away to formulate a response but Bianca was another case.

"They went ahead, we agreed to meet up once we were all safe, and you are welcomed by the way."

Percy was left speechless so all he could do was let out a sigh and murmur a thank you drawing a smirk on Bianca's face. That smirked disappeared as a roar could be heard in the distance. Percy then pulled out one last trick.

"Listen you two I am going to get us as far as I can but once I am done I will probably collapse so try to make sure I don't break my head."

Percy's eyes changed to neon blue as he grabbed the Di Angelo siblings and sprinted at full speed taking random turns and leaps, doing everything to get them as far as possible from the monster that was hunting them out.

Percy slowly lost his senses as he focused solely on running until finally his entire vision turned black and he passed out from exhaustion.

While unconscious Percy appeared in the palace the Aztec gods used inside his head and was able to speak with Quetzalcoatl and the other gods and slowly unravel at least part of the prophecy based on the fight he just had.

"So my guess is that the 'crow, volcano, and night are all rogue Aztec gods. I have an idea as to how the volcano is talking about but what about the night?" Percy asked.

"I have two possible ideas neither one of them really good. It is quite disturbing to learn that some gods have regressed to the old ways. This means you must me extremely careful Percy. Unlike us they are probably at full strength without the need of a vessel and as you just saw that's not something you can handle without one of us fully taking over," Quetzalcoatl replied with worry clear in his voice.

"Well, according to the prophecy I am going to encounter two more, just how am I supposed to beat them? I can't just let you take over, I will be completely useless after that," Percy replied angrily.

"You must find the answers yourself. My guess is that the next line of the prophecy should give you a clue," Was the reply.

_Learn my weakness _Percy thought. Unfortunately he didn't really know what that was. Was it the so called fatal flaw that all heroes had? If so he would have to learn what it was quickly if he wanted to survive this quest.

He was drawn out his thoughts when the room started to shake and fade. Percy looked around in confusion, not knowing what was happening. The wisdom god informed Percy of the situation.

"It would appear someone else would like to talk with you while you are still unconscious. Be careful Perseus, I predict you will have hard battles in the future," He said ominously before vanishing.

Percy was engulfed in shadow and then reappeared in a place he did not recognize. It must have been underground based on the like of sunlight. The whole area gave a feeling of death and solitude. As Percy looked around a voice caught his attention.

"I believe this is the first time that we talk, nephew," Said the figure.

Percy focused his eyes on the man who had spoken. It was then that he also noticed that he was in front of a palace. The man standing in front of him radiated power, the shadows clinging to his robe. The face on the man's olive skin was not a friendly one, it was cold and indifferent.

As it was usually the case when meeting people like this Percy wasn't really intimidated he simply addressed the man as politely as he could.

"Lord Hades, for what reason have you summoned me?"

"Ah, you are as fearless as I remember. Despite not having talked to you I was quite fascinated by your little show on Olympus. I mean the expressions in ozone brain and owl faces were hilarious!"

Percy assumed he referred to Zeus and Athena, and based on his tone he wasn't at all mad about his actions.

"But that is not why I brought you here. I assume you already know the true identity of the Di Angelo siblings?"

"They are your children, and you have been secretly training them," Percy said immediately.

"Impressive, I only expected you to guess the first part. How did you know I have been training them?"

"Their auras, their skills, I have been trained as a warrior for years and I can easily recognize the traits of military training."

Hades didn't reply immediately, instead he looked Percy up and down, judging him. Despite his usual hate for demigods, he could not help but respect the one in front of him. Sure he was rebellious and extremely powerful but Hades didn't really care about that. It was rather amusing seeing someone stand up to his arrogant brother for once.

"I can see why Hestia took interest in you. You are quite the peculiar demigod."

The mention of Hestia's name immediately made Percy's body tense. He tried to keep an emotionless mask but failed miserably.

"You know, she has been in great depression since you left Olympus that night. She will not talk about it, but being the only one that visits me I know her better than most so I can tell that she is not herself."

He paused for a second, this whole feeling talk was sort of new for the lord of the underworld, and speaking of her sister's well being to a demigod was not something he ever thought of doing in the millennia he has lived.

"What you chose to do, and how you decided to manage your anger is none of my business but even I know that it would do you both good to simply talk. Anyway that is enough emotional talk, let's move to business and the reason I brought you here."

Hades' expression turned incredibly serious and even a bit somber, so Percy forgot all about the Hestia mess for the moment to focus on the matter at hand.

"I… I want you to protect my children, with all your strength. Do everything you can to keep them safe," Hades was nearly pleading as he finished.

Percy was extremely confused by the request, he was already more than determined to that but he didn't dare question the god of underworld.

"You have my word that I will do everything I can to keep them safe. I won't allow anyone to harm them. But, if I may ask, why are you asking this of me? They are already like siblings to me I would protect them even if you didn't ask."

Hades expression was stern as he nodded in satisfaction to the answer but Percy could still feel an air of sadness and despair around the god.

"I just needed to hear those words. I believe you will be waking up soon, now remember your promise, take care of them."

Hades then snapped his fingers and Percy was engulfed in shadows once again and his consciousness returned to his body. The pain of his sore muscles hit him as he started to stir.

He slowly opened his eyes adjusting to the light he noticed that he was in a bed that felt rather cozy. As his vision cleared he saw to faces leaning over happy with smiles on their faces. Percy sat up and rustled their heads before looking around. From the look of things they were still underground but this area was lit by green crystals hanging from the ceiling.

As he took a closer look to his surrounding, he started to notice all kind of strange things, some of the walls had Aztec designs that there were rows upon rows of shelves holding different artifacts most of each Percy didn't recognize.

"Where are we?" He asked the Di Angelo. Before they could answer a new voice spoke.

"I believe I can provide an explanation," Said a man that appeared from behind one of the many shelves.

As soon as Percy saw the man he knew that he was god. Percy could feel the immense power he was hiding beneath the surface. Percy wanted to react defensively but his body wasn't reacting properly.

"Please do not exert yourself. You are still not completely recovered from your previous battle, it would be foolish to get yourself injured after these little ones spent so much effort in keeping you safe," Said the man in a very relax tone while finishing with a warning look to Percy.

Percy relaxed getting the message. _If I wanted_ _you dead we would not be having this conversation. _

"Now that is more like it. How about I get you all something to drink before we start talking?"

The god didn't wait for an answer before disappearing and repapering 1 minute later with 4 glasses on a tray. As he walked over to Percy he simply waved his hand and the bed Percy was sitting on became a sofa that held him and the siblings while also creating a table and chair for the god out of nothing.

"Well, I am sure you have some questions as to who I am-"

"-Tezcatlipoca, Aztec god of magic, mirrors, obsidian and one of the main four brothers," Said Percy with nervousness in his voice.

Percy observed carefully how the god reacted to being interrupted. He expected to see even the slightest show of rage but the god remained completely calmed and even smiled at Percy.

"Well aren't you very well educated my boy? That is correct, although you did forget to mention some of my titles but that is neither here nor there. Well with that out of the way let's get straight to the point," He paused for a moment as he took a sip of his drink and offered his three guest one of their own. They all politely decline.

"Ah, always being careful, a smart tactic for demigods for sure, but I assure you I mean you no harm, at least for the moment. Right now I am very interested in you Percy, and I believe that I have some information that may benefit you. So what do you say we do a little exchange that will benefit us both?"

Percy stayed quiet for a moment as he analyzed his situation. His muscles were still sore from the previous battle and even if he wasn't he could tell this god was on a whole different level from the death goddess. He had no choice but to play along.

"What kind of information could I possibly provide to a being such as you?"

"My my, aren't you polite? But you overestimate my abilities. Truth is, with my brothers and other gods inside you, most gods no next to nothing about you except for what we can observe when you fight outside of their protection. Say for example against a certain titan to free the greed goddess of the hunt, or a few hours earlier when you fought a goddess of our Parthenon."

Percy took a moment to take in the information that he was being spied on and that the more he fought, the more his enemies learned about him. He didn't really like to think about it much, but he was powerful for a demigod so it wasn't a surprise that he would be observed.

"Anyways, I for one am still curious about your powers and would like to here in detail about them. In exchange I will offer you information on all the rogue gods that have reverted to their old ways and could pose a threat. A pretty good deal would you not agree?"

It was a good deal, a bit _too good_. Percy knew that among all his titles he was known as a master trickster up there with Huehuecolotl. He had to be careful when dealing with him. So he made a connection with the one god who knew Tezcatlipoca best, his brother.

_So should I take the deal? I know there is probably some hidden agenda he has but what choice do I have? That information could be really helpful and I don't think he gains much by knowing my abilities. _Percy thought in his head.

_Hmmm, taking a deal from my brother can be dangerous. However, despite his reputation he has a good heart. He may have his own agenda but I don't think you should consider him an enemy. That is all I can say, the decision, as always is yours. _With that Quetzalcoatl retreated to the back of Percy's back.

Percy started into the eyes of the god in front of him and it was at this time that he finally took the chance to observe him. He was rather normal looking by Aztec god standards. He had a fairly tanned face with long black hair that was combed backwards. His clothing was probably the most unusual part. A dark blue robe covered his body and shifted form as if it was made of smoke. But it was his eyes that made him intimidating, dark obsidian eyes full of knowledge and cleverness, eyes that told you that if he wanted to he could make a plan to destroy you worthy of Athena that would not fail.

"I have one condition to accept your deal," Percy said after he was done with the staring match.

"I would be disappointed if you didn't, name it."

"You must answer all my questions honestly not related to the deal until I am satisfied."

The god seemed surprised but only for the slightest moment as it was quickly replaced by loud laughter.

"Now that is what I call a deal! You amuse more and more the longer I get to know you. I accept your condition and swear upon my own name to answer all your questions honestly."

"How have you been able to restore your strength?" Percy asked.

"The real question is, have I been sacrificing mortals like all the other rogue gods. The answer is no, I do not resort to such crude and simple methods. Let's just say I managed to find a way to steal away a fraction of the energy the Greek gods receive from sacrifices. While this is slower, it works wonders over long periods of time. What else you got?"

Percy was surprise by how open he was about it. Sure he didn't say all the detail, but knowing who he was dealing him, he was expecting him to be a lot dodgier. Slowly getting more comfortable Percy proceeded with the next question.

"Why are you so interested in me?"

This actually took the god of many titles off guard. He took a serious expression and thought deeply before formulating an answer.

"To put it simply, you are the first ever mix of the Greek and Aztec Parthenon. Your potential is unknown and very fascinating. I simply want to know just how much you have grown and how much you will grow. Know that putting your life or that of those you hold dear is not within my interests."

All of Percy's worries had been address and he didn't even ask the questions directly. Slowly Percy was starting to trust more and more this god even though part of him still told him not to.

"Very well, I believe that is all. What do you want to know about my powers?"

Tezticaplota's eyes lit up like a kid's during Christmas making Percy slightly nervous.

"From what I understand you have different abilities from different gods, but that is not all. You all have stages to which you control the abilities. Each stage allows you greater control but also greater damage to your body. Am I right so far?"

Percy nodded, trying to hide his surprise as to how accurate that description was.

"Well, from my observations, you used two different stages against Itzpapalotl, plus a whole different stage in your battle against Atlas. Would you mind giving a demonstration of all your powers in the different stages?"

Percy wanted to protest that his body was not ready for that kind of strain but Tezticaplota beat him to it.

"Do not worry about your body I shall provide you with the energy you need and finish healing your body. Just take my hand."

Percy hesitated for a second, but slowly stretched his hand. Once they made contact Percy felt a rush of power go through him like he had never experience. He suddenly felt as good as new and maybe even better than that.

"Well that should be enough, are you ready?"

Percy nodded then got up and looked at Bianca and Nico who had stayed quite the whole time.

"You two stay here and pay attention this will be a more detailed version of what I said earlier."

He then walked away from the group and into an empty area of the cave.

"Well, first there is 'level one'. In this stage, my eyes change color and I gain basic abilities for which ever god or goddess I choose."

As a demonstration he activated the stage and simply switched between powers while having his palm out creating different things depending on the power, a flame, a sand ball, a ball of mist etc. While his eyes also changed to a variety of colors. Once he was done he changed back to his normal stage.

"Next, 'level two'. Here I focus on bring out more of a single power changing my appearance more drastically."

He then activated the same power he had activated prior turning not only his eyes but his entire skin tone took a red hue.

"Here my control over the gods' element is incredibly strengthen to beyond that of any demigod but not quite to that of a god, and finally…."

Teztatlipoca got extremely excited for this one but Percy tricked the trickster.

"There is 'level three' which you have already seen and cannot perform in such a close space for security reasons. In this stage I use so much of the god or goddess aura that they essentially overflow my body giving me power close to a god. That is all, I kept my end of the deal, now is your turn."

The god was clearly disappointed but at the same time impressed by the clever demigod.

"Very well, I am sure I will see you using it very soon anyway. As far as rogue gods are concerned there are six that you should concern yourself with. The first one you already met, Itzpapalotl the goddess of death. The others are: Itslacoliuhqui god of frost, Coyolxauhqui goddess of the moon and magic, Coatlicue goddess of the earth, my brother Xolot god of black lighting and finally Chantico goddess of volcanoes."

"As far as locations, Itslacoliuhqui and Xolot are together somewhere south. Coyolxauhqui and Coatlicue are both hiding I believe also acting as a team and finally… Chantico is in Mt. Helens currently fighting your friends."

The effect on Percy was immediate as he was on the gods face demanding to know where that was.

"Relax; I was planning on teleporting you there after we were done which I believe we now are. Thank you for everything it was very informative, I had something else to say but I think it can wait until we meet again under less urgent circumstances for now farewell."

Just like that he snapped his fingers and Percy, alongside Nico and Bianca were teleported to Mt. Helens. As they gained their bearing a battle was already in progress as Jake and Annabeth danced around trying to dodge balls of lava being thrown their way.

Jake managed to maneuver himself close enough to slash his enemy but it was in vain as goddess in question simply blocked the strike with her wrist bracelet and then swing her arm with enough force to throw Jake on his back. The goddess used the chance to throw a column of lava on the fallen demigod.

Jake closed his eyes as he waited but the pain never came. He opened his eyes to see Percy standing over him holding a barrier that appeared to be made out of shadows that managed to block the incoming lava and gave Percy a chance to grab Jake and jump a few feet back.

The goddess was immediately interested in the new arrival recognizing who it was.

"So the little Aztec champion decided to come out to play. Sorry to say that you being here will not change much. You should know from you fight with that skeleton witch that you are no match to us."

Percy laughed startling everyone, but he wasn't laughing because of the situation. He was laughing because remembered something he was told a few minutes prior: , _I am sure I will see you using it very soon anyway. _

_The bastard knew this would happen. _Percy thought as he realized that in the end it was him who was tricked. Once those thoughts went by Percy focused all his attention to the matter at hand.

"You are right, I am no match for you at least not in this 'stage'," Percy's voice grew with power as he focused his power to do something he had not done in 8 months. The black aura around him drew darker and darker ready to explode until he finally spoke

"**MICTLANTECUHTLI!"**

**A/N: Anndd hello! I am going to keep this brief. So today is a special day so I am doing something I have not done and probably will not do again for a while but for now enjoy this and you will understand what it is I am doing VERY soon. A **

**QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER:**

**What do you think of Percy's powers overall? **


	19. Bang

**Warning: The following chapter is RAW, that means that it's pretty much being uploaded as soon as I am done writing it. So please know that the amount of mistakes will be fixed soon after this. So if you are reading this as soon as I upload it give me it time, if you are from the future then all you are all good proceed ahead. An explanation for this will be given soon.**

_**Last time….**_

_Percy laughed startling everyone, but he wasn't laughing because of the situation. He was laughing because remembered something he was told a few minutes prior: , _I am sure I will see you using it very soon anyway.

The bastard knew this would happen_. Percy thought as he realized that in the end it was him who was tricked. Once those thoughts went by Percy focused all his attention to the matter at hand._

"_You are right, I am no match for you at least not in this 'stage'," Percy's voice grew with power as he focused his power to do something he had not done in 8 months. The black aura around him drew darker and darker ready to explode until he finally spoke_

"_**MICTLANTECUHTLI!"**_

**Now…**

The word had an immediate effect; covering the entire area in a shadows making it impossible to see. The shadows then retreaded back and centered themselves on Percy who looked completely different. His over complexity was about the same, maybe a bit taller. He outfit was similar to that of the magic god, a robe made out of shadows that flowed around his body like flames.

His face had a more skeletal look to it with his bones being a lot more defined and his eyes were ebony black. He honestly looked freighting like a true god of death, so much so that even the goddess in front of them looked slightly intimidated.

Before anyone could speak, shadows started attacking the goddess without any warning. She managed to dodge them all without difficulty. Percy used this distraction to address his friends.

"Listen we are dealing with the Aztec goddess of volcanoes here. We are at even more of a disadvantage than with the goddess of death since we are in her element. So all of you run the way you came. The way I am now I should be able to hold her back long enough for you to escape."

Before anyone could protest a stream of lava was shot their way. Percy quickly reacted by wrapping shadows around everybody and getting them out of the way. Percy looked at the goddess to note that she wasn't really aiming at them as she focused her sight at the exit to the volcano and blocked it with lava.

"Leaving? Oh that is no good, we aren't done having fun here. That lava won't go way unless you defeat me so come and show me what you are made of little warrior."

Percy launched himself at the goddess and they both got locked in a battle of lava and shadows. Unlike his previous battle in such a stage there was almost no physical contact. It resemble more of a showdown between mages than a duel between warriors as they both shot their respective elements from the distance.

Percy had to admit that he was at a disadvantage in this kind of battle since he was mostly a close range. Despite this managed to match every stream and ball of lava that was sent his way. Trying to get creative he willed the shadows around him to transform into spears and threw them at the goddess.

She simply raised a lava wall easily blocking the attack. Unknowing to her Percy used this chance to slip into the shadows and reappear right under the goddess' defenses with a punch already in motion. Unable to summon any lava she had to physically block the punch that was powerful enough to send her flying into the heart of the volcano.

Percy tried to catch his breath. He was holding up a lot better than he was expecting but he knew he was in a time limit. A minute later the goddess erupted from the volcano looking completely fine.

"I have to say you are impressive. I definitely underestimated you based on your fight with Itzpapalotl. Still, it's a shame that we are fighting in a volcano otherwise you might have an actual chance to beat me. As long as I am here I will keep recovering any and all damage you inflict upon me."

"What is your reason for doing this, Itzpapalotl is a sadist that enjoys chaos and pain but I am getting the feeling that that's not your case."

"How sharp of you, you are correct. My reasons a lot more basic; I simply enjoy a good fight, the thrill, the adrenaline, can't get enough of it. The last few years had been rather boring but I managed to get by with the blood of monsters and even some demigods, but this is what I live a fight with someone that can actually fight back! Come little warrior let us dance some more."

As if to show her enthusiasm the goddess increase the amount of energy she was using and created a giant lava wave that crashed against Percy. He managed to create a shadow shield but the force was enough to push him back towards the volcanic floor.

Percy expected to crash against the ground but was pleasantly surprised when he was caught by a shadow. He was confused until he saw that it was Nico controlling the shadow at the same time he saw Bianca creating a bow out of bones and shooting arrows that were embed with black fire at the tip.

The goddess wasn't even faced by the arrows but this gave Percy an idea. He remembered a quote from Tezcatlipoca _"you are the first ever mix of the Greek and Aztec Parthenon. Your potential is unknown and very fascinating" _based on this Percy decided something that could either end really badly or almost certainly assure their victory.

"Nico, Bianca I want you both to give me your hands. I am going to try something to give a chance to beat this goddess but I will need to trust me. Jake and Annabeth do whatever you can to stop her in the mean time."

For good measure Percy used a good amount of energy to summon a bunch of shadow warriors to attack the goddess alongside the two demigods. Percy then got to work. He grabbed the hands of both children of Hades and then focused on their powers.

He could feel their auras, both of them black. Nico's was more moving and flexible like a shadow, while Bianca's was more intense and wild like a flame. He then focused on his own power and the power he was receiving from Mictlantecuhtli and tried to transfer and spread that power.

His idea worked better than he could have ever hoped for. The energy easily flowed to the two demigods and all three of them were incased in pillars of black energy. This caught the eye of Chantico who was simply toying with the demigods and was almost done destroying all of Percy's shadow warriors.

Once the shadow pillars disappeared Percy was the first to come into view, but he looked exactly the same, if anything he looked a lot more tired. It was the two figures next to him that drew attention. Where two young kids previously stood two intimidating warriors in full armor took their place.

Nico had a mix of Greek and Aztec pitch black armor that was very similar to Percy's in materials as the material swirled. Bianca's armor was a complete contrast as it was made completely out of bones and has small flames burning from the shoulders.

All in all, the trio looked very intimidating. Percy raised his hand calling back his soldiers to himself which Annabeth and Jake took like a sign to step back as well. Jake was completely and utterly confused as to what was happening but one thing was certain, he would not want to fight against that trio.

Once Jake and Annabeth were out of danger, the trio looked at each other and after a small nod the sprinted forward. Percy and Nico stepped into the shadows while Bianca created two bone swords and clashed with the goddess who used her bracelets to block.

As she was blocking Nico and Percy appeared from the shadows and struck to her midsection. This caused her to drop her guard and allowed Bianca to Land a hit on Chantico's shoulder. The goddess scream out of pain and rage created a mini eruption with her at the center.

This caused Percy and company to be completely blown way, but not harmed as in their current state they were immune to lava at least for the most part. The three of them regrouped and waited for the goddess to calm down.

Jake and Annabeth stood in the background being completely amazed by how coordinated that attack had been as if the three of them had been fighting together for years. More impressive was just how powerful Nico and Bianca were. Sure being a child of the big three made you above average in terms of demigod power but this was something else.

Once the goddess finished with her little temper tantrum the lava retrieded and her injury had been healed. What Percy found interesting though, was that she appeared to be out of breath. It then dawned on him.

"You said I had no chance of winning in this setting since you are able to keep healing making you almost invincible. That would be true if you were at full strength, however as things stand now it takes you a significant amount of energy to keep healing yourself and use the volcano's power. In other words, all we need to do is wear you down."

Percy then put his two hands together and formed a sphere out of shadows. He quickly launched said sphere towards Chantico who reflexively tried to block it with lava. That caused the projectile to explode encasing the lava goddess in a dome of darkness. She was confused as to what was happening, since she couldn't really see anything; even with lava she could barely see her own hands.

"Of course, tiring out a goddess, even a weakened one, would be quite the impossible task for lowly demigods under normal circumstances," Percy's voice resonated throughout the dome.

Then out of nowhere the goddess felt three punches connect with her check, stomach and back. She tried to retaliate but as quickly as the attackers appeared they were gone. The process was repeated again this time with a barrage of strikes hitting her all over with incredible strength, but as soon as she countered there was no one to hit.

"However, as you may have notice; you aren't dealing with regular demigods."

This taunt flipped a switch on the goddess, like her domain she could remain dormant a long time but once she exploded the results were rather explosive. She began creating giant streams of lava in different shapes, fists, animals, weapons, anything she could think of strike her enemies. Regardless all this did was further tire her like Percy had hoped.

While he may sound arrogant and confident his current plan was extremely risky and fragile. While the dome of darkness allowed him and the children of Hades to pretty much teleport in and out of danger in an instant, it was extremely tiring for Percy to keep the thing up for a long time so he had to use taunt to make the goddess spend herself faster despite knowing the risks that implied.

The plan had worked so far as Chantico was using a significant amount of energy and on one had been hurt so far. As the goddess continued on with her barrage Nico Bianca and Percy resumed their guerilla tactic, landing powerful strikes whenever they saw an opening. This was risky since being hit any of her attacks would give away their location and make them vulnerable to more attacks.

Despite this the strategy was being rather effective as the rapid use of her powers and the constant pounding was starting to take its toll in the Volcano goddess. Eventually she dropped to her knees unable to produce any more lava or defend herself.

Percy was a little skeptical of this being a trick but a quick scan with his senses told him that she was indeed exhausted and very low on aura. Percy told the other two to stop and once they were a good distance away from the goddess incase she tried anything he removed the dome with a snap of his fingers.

Once the dome was removed the Goddess still didn't try anything. She simply looked up at Percy with an exhausted but rather satisfied expression.

"Now, that's what I call a battle. I cannot remember the last time I was outwitted in such a way. That was definitely a creative use of death breath's aura. I have to say you exceed all my expectations. I almost feel like admitting defeat and swearing loyalty to you under the new Technotlitan you are trying to build."

_Almost, _that word alone was enough to send Percy's senses into overdrive as his gut was telling him that she was up to something. Chantico let out a small chuckle at Percy's reaction.

"Good, you truly have the instincts of a warrior but remember, in an Aztec fight only when your opponent is dead or unable to do anything you are truly victorious. So then, little warrior, survive this and I shall admit my defeat."

The goddess embedded her fists on the volcanic ground and then released an ear splitting scream shaking the entirety of mount Helens. Lava starting spouting everywhere and ground was collapsing. Mt. Helens was going to explode and Percy had only seconds to get everyone to safety.

He did a quick analysis on how to get everyone out. Nico and Bianca alone would be extremely easy because of the necklaces but the other two would pose a problem as he didn't have the energy to teleport himself and other people. Time was running out and Percy was out of ideas. Until one popped into his head.

"Nico, Bianca, are you able to shadow travel? Could you get these two back to camp?"

They looked at each other and based on their expressions Percy expected bad news.

"Only Nico can do it properly, and for such a distance it will take all of his power to teleport only himself. What about your necklaces, can't we all just hold hands and get teleported out together?"

"It doesn't work that way, it only has enough power to teleport one person. But… I have an idea, Nico help me teleport Annabeth and Jake out of here and then both of you use the necklaces to teleport yourselves."

It took only a second for everyone to do the math be filled with fear, that plan saved four people out of the five present. Everyone wanted to argue but it was Jake who spoke up."

"There is no way we are leaving you alone. You need to stop trying to do everything yourself. Nico teleport Annabeth and then get you and your sister out of here. We will both find a way out of here."

Now everyone still wanted to argue but with a final statement Jake silenced them,Just as the ground below them began to collapse.

"Son's of Poseidon have an extreme heat resistance; we are the only ones that stand a chance at surviving now all three of you GET OUT OF HERE!" Jake said in a tone of leadership that was usually heard from Percy.

Those words alone were enough to convince Percy for one time in his life to not be the sacrificial hero alone… _alone; _that word popped something into his mind but seeing the stage of the volcano they had five seconds max. Percy acted of his own accord despite the lack of agreement.

**Five**

Using the last of his shadow powers Percy engulfed Annabeth in a shadow. Annabeth protested but a final squeeze from Jake helped her relax as she resigned herself leaning forward and kissing Jake and whispering something in his ears before disappearing into the shadows.

**Four**

Nico and Bianca were next. Percy simply forced the necklaces to active causing them to glow green.

**Three**

Nico and Bianca screamed and cried trying to get the necklaces off refusing to leave Percy and Jake behind.

**Two**

Simply smiled at them, knowing that he might not see them again he gave them a final salute before the disappeared.

**One **

At this point Percy's power was completely gone as he returned to his normal form. The brothers looked at each other and then held hands and then as time ran out they closed their eyes.

**Bang**

The explosion was violent and sudden as if the moments before it were simply building up to something far greater. In unison with the volcano the brother let out a powerful roar with all of their energy as lava surrounded them and the biggest explosion to ever hit Mt Helens occurred.

**Line break…. ;_; I wasn't the only that cried writing this right?**

The ripples from that explosion could be felt all over the world as it was no ordinary volcanic explosion. The side effects could be felt in the entire west cost as the Ocean grew stormy and earthquakes hit the states surrounding the volcanic eruption.

While this would be recorded my mortals as one of the biggest eruptions in his story it was those that knew what really happened that were hit the hardest.

Despite being on the other side of the country Bianca Annabeth and Nico were clearly able to feel when the explosion happened moments after they were teleported to camp. They were immediately hit with despair and sadness as other campers gathered around them wondering what had happened.

Once everyone was informed several tears could be seen flowing from multiple campers and even Chiron. Some of them wanted to say that they may still be alive but they didn't dare speak up. They didn't want to raise false hope only to be taken away by the cruel reality.

Despite this everyone agreed not to a funeral until two weeks after their disappearance, it was a way of keeping hope alive while trying to cope with the fact that it may not end up happening. While the campers were definitely hit hard, this was such a big event that even in Olympus there was a meeting being held.

Poseidon was beyond reach as his rage and sadness filled the ocean with storms and the land with earthquakes. While Athena, Zeus and some other gods were secretly slightly pleased with the concept of the troublesome hybrid demigod being dead they would never dare to speak out loud with Poseidon in his current state. No one would be stupid enough to do that, well…

"So what if the little punk hit the bucket? It serves him right for being so cocky, that just proves he was a weakling. Both of-"

He didn't get any more words out as he was on the receiving end of a trident that pierce his shoulder then Poseidon used it as leverage to flip the war god over himself and have him crash into the hard floor with his trident still being through Ares' shoulder.

"You will not speak badly of EITHER ones of my songs again, or I assure you the next strike will go through your head," Poseidon spoke with such poison that Ares was shaking with fear but the sea god wasn't done.

"Those two are heroes beyond your own strength if anyone can survive an explosion like that, it's those two."

He then retrieved his trident and returned to his throne leaving a trembling and mumbling god behind. Zeus stayed silent throughout the whole exchange and waited for Poseidon to calm down a bit before speaking.

"Where is Hades? He is the only one who can confirm the… state of the two demigods that were in the explosion," Zeus spoke in a surprisingly respectful and tactful tone, most likely because he had no interest in going to war with Poseidon at the moment.

As if on cue the god in question appeared out of the darkness and made himself a temporary throne. Everyone was impatiently waiting for him to speak until Poseidon couldn't take it any longer.

"Well? Speak brother! What happened to my sons?"

Hades took a deep breath before looking directly at Poseidon.

"I don't know how he did it but the one named Jake is definitely not dead. I would be aware if his soul had entered the underworld"

There was a sigh of relief from Poseidon only followed by realization as he let his brothers words sink in. _He_. Only one of them, Poseidon was unable to speak up but Hades read his thoughts.

"Now as far as the other is concerned, Perceus, I… I do not know. Since his soul is now a mix of two Parthenon I am not sure if I would still be able to sense it if he died so I just don't know whether he survived or not. However since they were together and the weaker one of the two survive then it is very likely the other did too, unless…"

Hades regretted saying that last word and wanted to take it back but he knew that everyone immediately filled the rest of that sentence and the meaning behind it

_Unless he sacrificed himself to save his brother. _

This only sent Poseidon further into depression, while he didn't sob openly if one looked closely enough, the smallest of tears could be seen traveling along his cheek.

Surprisingly it was Artemis who picked up the conversation.

"Well, if one of them is alive then finding is the fastest way to… confirm the situation."

Everyone nodded but then Athena spoke up.

"I believe that I will take at least a couple of days, since serving such an explosion most likely completely drained him beyond his limits. If he manages to survive the following days we should be able to pick the traces of his aura. So for now all we can do is wait.

"Maybe for you, I will send all of my troops to look around the area of the explosion. If he is anywhere within a 1000 mile radius of the explosion I will find him," Said Poseidon with new found determination to find his son and the truth.

Zeus nodded pleased that no wars were started from this event.

"Very well then, this meeting is now over!" With that statement all gods' teleported way except for Hades who walked towards the hearth that was lower that it has ever been.

"You can come out dear sister. You should not hold everything in."

At first Hades thought he was being ignored but seconds later Hestia came out and tackled Hades into a hug holding him like he was a lifeline. Hades was no expert when it came to comforting people but he did the best he could, awkwardly patting Hestia's back.

It was then that he noticed she was in an older form. _She looks the same age as Perceus, _he thought to himself but remained silent as the hearth goddess poured out her feelings.

After a while Hades decided to speak.

"You love him don't you Hestia?"

This got an immediate reaction from the hearth goddess as she took a step back as tried to come up with words but they would just not come out.

"No need for you to speak. I am not really want to judge, even maiden goddess can fall in love, and I will admit he is one of the few demigods, or males for that instance that I would ever not incinerate in an instance for looking at you the wrong way."

Hestia was completely shocked, she knew his brother better than anyone and knew that he was only cold and indifferent on the outside but this was an entire new feeling for her as she was usually the one making people feel better she wasn't really allowed to cry, to be the one in need of comforting. Despite her current state it was nice to know she could count on her brother for such things.

"What do I do now?" She finally asked.

"What you have always done my dear sister, hope, hope that he is alive and that you will find him and speak your mind. But fear not, if he is indeed gone and in the Aztec underworld I will personally accompany you to take his soul back."

Hestia couldn't help herself but laugh, for the first time in months she let out a genuine laugh and with it came a new found sense of determination. She hugged her brother one more time.

"Thank you brother, you have helped me today more that you will ever know."

"It was my pleasure but don't expect me to do it too often, I have a reputation to keep after all."

With a final smile both gods disappeared and as they left one thought lingered Hades' mind.

_You better be alive Perseus, for all our sakes._

**A/N: Wuahhhhh! CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE ME A TISSUE!? ;_; I have seriously never been** **so depressed by something I wrote myself. So yeah, this whole feeling things is new for me like it is to Hades, man how I love the dude, but anyways how did I do with this? **

**The whole point of the second half is just to show just how much of an impact of one death can have such an influence. Now is Percy really dead? Yup! He is dead, this is the last series, and everyone is sad done with the story moving on! ^_^ **

**Ok no I am not THAT evil. But like I said in the last chapter this is all part of a big project for a special date. Now if you haven't guessed what that date is it will all be explained soon. **

**Now question of the chapter.**

**What character's death would depress you the most" (In this story of course) For me it would be Percy, like holly hell, THIS was hard to write… I can't imagine the emotional trauma I would have if I had to do it for real but who knows… I can be a masochist sometimes **** Anyone see you all soon!**


	20. Letting go

**So I FINALLY made it. Big number 20. If you are reading this just as it updates then it's the last of a trilogy of chapters I updated in a single weekend. That results in 20k words in 72 hours while also doing stuff like eating sleeping and general life. Now why on earth did I do that? Because my fellow readers, October 10 2015 marked the one year anniversary for this story and I wanted to do something special for it. While I only managed to update the first chapter of this trilogy on the actual anniversary because I ran out of time I think updating 10k words the following day makes up for it. But before I begin I want to say thank you for a couple of things.**

**Thank you for 530 follows 451 favorites, 165 reviews and being included in nine communities. It really is mind blowing to me just how much support this story has despite my inconsistency and sometimes months of absence. So thank you, to anyone that has messaged me with corrections, ideas, complaints, anything, thank you for caring enough to let me know. Thank you to all of you that review. And thank you any new reader that decided to give my story that I just came up as a way to forget about a bad day I had. Thank you for making it so much more. **

**Anyway enough with the sappy stuff, INTO THE STORY! I belief I 'killed' Percy last chapter right? Well let's see what we can do about that.**

_**Last time…**_

_**One **_

_At this point Percy's power was completely gone as he returned to his normal form. The brothers looked at each other and then held hands and then as time ran out they closed their eyes._

_**Bang**_

_The explosion was violent and sudden as if the moments before it were simply building up to something far greater. In unison with the volcano the brother let out a powerful roar with all of their energy as lava surrounded them and the biggest explosion to ever hit Mt Helens occurred. _

_You better be alive Perceus, for all our sakes._

**Now…**

Percy didn't really remember much after the explosion. All he knew was the he must have survived because he kept seeing images, disrupted visions. He saw Jake, both of their hands still locked with an iron grip despite neither of them being fully conscious. He saw the sky and clouds and the feeling of failing. Finally he saw some wings before completely falling into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

By this point Percy started to question whether or not he was dead, but as soon as he surroundings cleared he was relieved to see all the Aztec gods surrounding him. They all looked at him strangely so he started the conversation.

"I am not dead am I?"

He was meat again with silence as the gods looked among themselves until Quetzalcoatl spoke.

"No child you are not, the enigma here is that we are not sure _how _you survived. After you teleported that girl Annabeth to camp you were completely drained of godly aura. We couldn't give you more even if we wanted to."

"Wait, that means that-"Percy's eyes widened as the true meaning behind this settle in his mind.

"It means that you were strong enough to survive a final attack by one of the strongest Aztec goddess when it comes to elemental destructive capabilities, without our assistance," Quetzalcoatl finished for him.

This made no sense to Percy, it had been made painfully clear in his battle with Atlas that his own power paled in comparison to the gods, so then how in blazes did he survive when he was out of their energy? As he thought about this Percy remembered the event and got worried.

"What about Jake? Is he alright, where are our bodies right now?"

"He survived, based on the marks on both your bodies; it would appear you tanked most of the damage. So while you are both alive, you are filled with burns. As to where you are, go and discover that by yourself."

Quetzalcoatl and most other gods disappeared until it was only Percy and Tlazolteotle who had her arms crossed and did not look pleased.

"What?" Percy asked not understanding why she would be mad

"Do you remember your training? I think this shows you were wrong after all."

Percy remembered what she was talking about. He replayed the scene, one that he hadn't thought about for a long time.

Percy was in the middle of elemental training as he tried to control as little power from a single god. This was before he managed to master his stage system. By now the gods no longer came out since that itself was a huge energy expense. Instead Percy was learning to draw on their power on his own.

As he worked he felt Tlazolteotle enter his mind wanting a conversation.

_What's wrong? _Percy started.

_I see you are training hard, but when was the last time you worked in your own powers? _

_I-I just don't think that is really that important. It was made clear by fighting Atlas that my powers are not enough to battle gods at full strength. I was just lucky against Ares and Aphrodite. So I feel my biggest concern should be mastering the power from you guys so that I stand a chance in fights down the line._

The goddess sighed and Percy could almost feel the disappointment in her breath. _I won't force you to do anything. While I think you are doing a mistake it is up to you to deciede. Just know that I think that you are the one who underestimate your own strength more than anyone. _

With the memory back at the front of his mind Percy understood what the goddess was hinting at and was speechless.

"A-are you suggesting that it was my own power that saved me and Jake back there?"

"What other option is there? Like I said, you are your worst enemy when it comes to downplaying your abilities. Just because you lost one battle, you shouldn't blind yourself to the truth. And the truth is, even without our assistance you have the strength of a god."

The goddess then punched Percy in the arm rather harshly while smiling at him.

"Now get up, and just a heads up, getting burned hurts, a lot," With a final smile the goddess vanished and Percy returned to his body.

He immediately understood the meaning behind those words as his skin felt like he was being roasted alive. The pain was enough to make him jump into to a standing position and in doing so unintentionally knocking over the girl that Percy did not notice was next to him.

As he got up his body still burned intensely, in his pained state he did not even register the voice of the girl he had knock over as he started walking randomly without much purpose. He didn't know he was inside of a cave until he stepped outside and the sunray increased the burning sensation tenfold.

The pain was too much so Percy collapsed in agony while screaming loudly. As he laid in the floor screaming he barely noticed that he was being moved until the pain decreased, meaning he was no longer under the sun.

Percy was still screaming until a sudden relief traveled through his body. He finally calmed down enough to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. He was inside of a cave, and he could hear a small stream running close to him. Finally he noticed the girl standing in front of him with an empty bucket.

"W-who? whe…. where am I?" Percy tried to stand up again but he was stopped by the girl who put a hand on his shoulder, sending another wave of pain through his body but her voice calmed her a bit.

"At ease young hero, you are in no condition to move. Your body is very heavily burned, but it appears water heals it at abnormal rates. So please return back to your bed next to your friend so I can keep healing you."

"My… my friend… Is he… is he…" Percy was still a little oozy from the pain and simply moving around so that's all he could manage.

"Your friend is fine young hero. A lot better than that is for sure, but that's not important now, just rest."

Percy was too tired to argue so let himself be guided back to the bed he was on. As soon he laid back down he felt an incredible relief on his back so he was easily able to fall asleep.

Time passed by at a weird rate after that, as Percy would come in and out of consciousness repeatedly. He didn't do much except do small movements to test how he was healing before going back into his slumber.

After the fifth time this happened Percy finally managed to maintain his conscious and tried walking for the first time since he freaked out. While it still hurt, it felt more like he was sun burned all over rather than being in a sea of flames.

Getting up he took a look around and so Jake still sleeping next to him. He looked exhausted and a bit pale but otherwise unharmed which was good news.

Percy then made his way out of the cave, mentally preparing himself for the increase in pain that was bound to happen once he made contact with the sun. Putting out a hand first Percy winced a little at the burning sensation but didn't waver as he slowly exposed his body to the rays of light.

He managed to get completely exposed without collapsing so he took that as a sign that he was in good enough shape to be walking around and find out just what in the world happened after the explosion.

After a few minute of walking Percy was surprised by the ocean spreading in front of him. It was then that he took a good look at his surroundings. The area around him looked like what you would find in a tropical island post card. The amount of plants and wildlife around him was rather impressive. As he did his analysis he felt a tug in his gut.

He turned around towards the ocean. It looked really inviting for some reason, as if it was asking Percy to go in. He didn't really have any reason to object so he listened to his instincts. As soon as he toes touched the ocean he felt incredibly better. He kept going until he was waist deep in the water.

By this point it was painfully obvious that this was a son of Poseidon ability. This thought didn't really bode well with Percy but he wasn't proud enough to deny this kind of help if it got him back in shape.

The reddish tone on Percy's skin was disappearing the more he stayed in the water but he decided to experiment a bit. He took a breath and then went completely underwater and sat in the sand. He instinctively wanted to activate Atlaua's water abilities but he found no need. He could easily breathe underwater. Now this was strange since he knew for a fact that this was not an ability he possessed.

Despite this he didn't complain as he focused on the ocean and tried to use its energy to heal himself faster. Doing so was surprisingly easy considering the fact that he managed the energy from gods in a daily basis. This had more than the intended result as he felt a huge amount of energy flow through him.

In a matter of minute he felt as good as new. This was confirmed when he walked out of the water and the sun's rays no longer bothered him. He intended to go back towards the island but a voice stopped him.

"I had a feeling you were a son of Poseidon, but based on the way you just healed there is much more to you isn't there Percy?" A female said standing against a palm tree.

T his immediately put Percy into alarm mode but then he remember that it was at least partially thanks to her that he and Jake were alright so he relaxed.

"How do you know my name?" Percy asked with only the slightest bit of suspicion that simply came as a reflex.

The woman did not notice or seemed to care as she responded in a very soft and sweet tone.

"That would be thanks to your friend. Despite not having waken up even once he repeats your name in worry, alongside another name, Annabeth I believe."

Percy nodded at the answer feeling a bit uncomfortable about the information despite it being something incredibly obvious that he noticed almost immediately.

"I have to say I am impressed, while it is not uncommon for heroes to make it to this island they don't usually come as injured as you two did. Well, his injuries were nothing compared to yours. While you both exhausted every bit of energy you had you were the only one with serious burns all over," The woman, continued.

"Where are we right now?" Percy asked completely avoiding the subject of how Percy was injured.

"You are in the island of Ogygia, and I am Calypso, daughter of Atlas." Calypso responded not minding Percy avoiding her implied question.

Percy instantly remembered the myth regarding her. Percy would have gotten on guard based on the story of Odysseus but based on seeing her expression he couldn't help but be at ease in her presence.

"Well, thank you for taking care of me and my… brother," Percy said with difficulty. Despite not fully accepting his supposed father, Percy considered Jake someone close enough to be call a brother.

"Yeah, thanks for that. You really saved us," Said a new voice coming from just outside the cave. They both turned around to see Jake holding on the wall barely able to stand.

Percy reacted quickly and in a second he was supporting most of Jake's weight, allowing for the conversation to continue.

"I am surprised that you are both able to walk around so soon. You truly are a remarkable pair," Calypso noted as she observe the two brothers.

"So, um, Calypso right? How did we get here? All I remember is screaming and then a big explosion," Jake held his face as if trying to remember caused him pain.

"I do not know exactly how you got here young heroes. All I know is that you both came flying down like burning comets. I thought you would die on impact but at the last second the water shielded you and took most of the force of the impact."

The story still didn't make much sense to Percy, but he was slowly figuring out what probably happened. He looked at Jake as he came to his own conclusion.

"My best guess is that with both of our powers we created a shield that allowed us to survive the explosion but sent us flying."

As Percy finished his sentence Jake's face lid up as if he had discovered something.

"Wait, do you remember that phrase of your prophecy? _Brothers rise together…" _

"_Or burn alone…_" Percy couldn't help but laugh at that line. Who knew prophecies could be so literal?

A wave of relief filled Percy. He managed to survive part of the Prophecy. He wasn't done, but it was a start. Thinking about the prophecy caused reality to hit Percy like a bucket of cold water as he remembered all that was still to be done and the people that were probably worried sick about them.

"How much time has passed since we got here? How do we get back to camp? We need to get back quickly, and stop the army-" Percy couldn't finish his sentence as his side began to hurt causing both brother to collapse and Calypso to rush towards them.

"You must still rest, despite your burns being gone you are still extremely weak. And to answer your question, I do not know how long it has been. Time flows differently here, what feels like an hour could be a week."

This only made Percy more determined to get out but because of his injuries his struggle was in vain. Finally accepting the fact that he was too weak to live, he accepted Calypso's invitation for lunch.

As the three walked towards her home, Percy took the time to notice just how beautiful this island was. Once they reached the house Percy was once again impressed but the simple yet charming home that fit perfectly with the island.

Calypso invited them inside and got them a great array of food before beginning conversation.

"Would you mind telling me about the outside world? I have been here for many millennia and even though Hermes shows up from time to time to give me news, I have a feeling that something big is happening right now."

Percy and Jake looked at each other. Normally in the Greek world, when someone is nice and offers you food they probably want to kill you, capture you or make you a statue. Jake learned the hard way. Despite this Percy nodded, silently saying that it was ok to trust Calypso. Percy was good when it came to detecting hostility, and it was clear Calypso did not have any ill will against them.

So they lowered their guard and started talking away. Jake told her about the war, and their current mission to stop the monster invasion. He was careful not to say anything about Percy, leaving it up to him to decided what he wanted to say, something Percy appreciated.

Once Jake was done Percy took over and did a brief explanation about being an Aztec demigod. This definitely surprised calypso but she remained silent as Percy continued on. He didn't go into details; he simply listed all important events from meeting Hestia to the Council meeting. He then mentioned the prophecy he got and told everything from entering the Labyrinth to the explosion.

Once the tale was done Calypso looked at both heroes in a new light. It was the first time in all her life that two heroes showed at her shore at the same time; after hearing them out it was clear that they were not ordinary even my demigod standards.

"Well it looks you are both in great need to get back, however I insist that you stay here until you regain your strength. You may look around as you see fit but until you are back at full strength I will not allow you to leave."

The brothers wanted to refuse but they knew she was right. They could barely stay conscious for a prolonged period of time so they wouldn't be of much help if they went to camp in their current state.

"Well then with that being settle I would like to know more about you Percy. Based on your story you are strong enough to defeat my father in armed combat, not something many gods can are capable of."

"It wasn't my own strength. On my own I was no match to your father, he would have killed me. It was thanks to the Aztec god of war that I was able to defeat your Father."

Percy was quickly getting tired of the conversation so he got up and left, feeling frustration rise up within him. Calypso and Jake looked at each other, worry clear in their eyes.

The next couple of days the brothers focused solely in getting their strength back. Jake focused on regaining normal bodily functions without feeling like he wanted to faint. As time passed by Jake could sense that something was bothering Percy.

While he was recovering extremely fast, he always wore a dark expression making it pretty obvious that something was bothering him.

After a few days, Jake was pretty much as good as new. He could move around freely and was even able to use his water powers without much issue. He was wondering around the island looking for Percy.

Jake found him near the beach doing some form of martial arts and based on his expression something was still bothering him. Once Jake got close enough he spoke up.

"Alright, I gave you space the last few days but something has been bothering you ever since we woke up and I think drowning yourself in training isn't making it any better."

Percy glared at Jake, clearly hitting a nerve. Percy's eyes were filled with raw emotions and power pointed directly at Jake. To Jake's credit he didn't back down and stood his ground despite fully knowing the difference in their strengths. In the end Percy lost the staring contest, and all his defenses broke.

"Fine, you win. Do you really want to know what's bothering me? It's my own weakness! I am supposed to be this great warrior, champion of a whole Parthenon! If it wasn't for the gods help we would have all died against Atlas! What a great hero I turned out to be!"

Percy words were filled with rage and self loathing. His energy was making the entire island react as the plants started moving around and mirroring Percy's emotional state. Jake would have said something but he knew Percy wasn't done.

"Then, I get to train and control the gods power. I think…I think that I am finally good enough, strong enough to live up to the title that was imposed upon me. **BUT NO**! I got my ass handed to me **TWICE** already in this quest. If it wasn't for you I would probably dead right now! And now I am just suppose go back and pretend like everything is fine. Because I CAN'T break down, because I am the leader people look up to. I am the one that needs to get the Aztecs back together… I am… I am…"

At this point Percy was in his knees and sobbing. Jake approached and placed a hand in his shoulder but remained silent.

"I am afraid, Jake… afraid of not being good enough, afraid of letting people down, afraid of losing those I care for if I don't make the right call," Percy whispered very softly.

At that moment Jake didn't see the Percy he always saw. He didn't see the leader, the warrior or the god fighter. He saw a boy, a boy that was given a huge burden and no one to share it with. It was then that Jake truly understood Percy.

Despite having learned to respect Percy, Jake always felt a bit jealous of him. Percy always seemed like a more confident and more intelligent version of himself. When he learned just how powerful he was this feeling only grew stronger. He didn't understand the weight all that power had on Percy. So as he held Percy's shoulder, it wasn't jealousy he felt anymore, but an urge to comfort his brother.

"Look you can't just keep beating yourself over what happened. So what if you lost against incredibly powerful gods? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds to a normal demigod like me? I may not be able to fully understand the burden you have but I do know that the Percy I met last year would not be afraid to use his won power after a defeat. Tell me, when was the last time you use your own abilities?"

This question hit Percy hard. As if he was being violently shaken and forced to see something he had ignored for a while.

"You didn't care whether you were fighting the Manticore or Atlas. You simply used your own power to the best of your abilities. But it looks like ever since you beat Atlas and stormed of the council, you have forgotten about yourself. You are depending on others' power. Even if they are stronger, that's not why you use them. You use them because you can't move on from that one defeat."

At this point Jake's word were calming Percy a strange feeling rising within him.

"So what if your power wasn't enough?! You survived, meaning you could train and become stronger! Your problem is that you just can't let go of failure! You need to move on, you need to get back after you are defeated."

"Do you just expect me to forget all that has happened and keep going?" At this point Percy was very calmly whispering.

"No, as the saying goes 'forgive but never forget', keep those memories with you but don't let them drag you down, use them to move forward."

It was then that it hit Percy that Jake wasn't just talking about the fights; he was talking about everything negative that happened last year… _Forgive but never forget. _Could he really do it? Then the words of Tlazolteotl became clearer…._you are your worst enemy when it comes to downplaying your abilities. Just because you lost one battle, you shouldn't blind yourself to the truth. And the truth is, even without our assistance you have the strength of a god._

Well it was time to put the theory to the test. Percy was done sobbing. He got up and hugged Jake thankfully.

"You have no idea how much I owe you for this. Now please step back as I have a lot energy to let loose. It's time to see just how much my own strength is worth."

Jake smiled and patted Percy on the back; he could feel that he was different from 30 minutes ago. Once Jake was a safe distance way Percy closed his eyes. He thought back to all his battles, all his defeats, even his confrontation in Olympus. He remembered the feelings that dominated him at each moment, rage, betrayal, desperation, and then he let them all go with a roar.

As soon as he began Jake had to cover his ears as shockwaves were being created all over the island. Jake looked in awe as Percy's aura manifested itself in a beautiful green color. He immediately recognized the energy and new this was not borrowed from any god.

Despite knowing that it was truly impressive just how much energy Percy was generating. Calypso soon came running up to Jake.

"What is going on? Is there a god here? Where is Percy?"

Jake simply pointed at the Percy who was the center of the energy. Calypso's jaw dropped as she observed the energy Percy was releasing. If she paid attention, she could see animals and different plants forming from the aura.

Then as quickly as the energy came, it disappeared. Jake and Calypso approached Percy but were taken back by how different he looked. He was taller, his features more defined and his aura was incredibly bright.

Percy looked at them and smiled turning his power down and returning to his usual looks. He himself was surprised by how much energy was released.

_Well, look at that, I would have never guess the trigger for you to find your true power was that Jake kid. Well now you know I wasn't lying, you are more powerful that you will ever know._ Percy simply nodded as the goddess continued talking in his mind.

_Before you ask, we all knew what your problem was, but we were not allowed to tell you. You had to go through this on your own and find your answer. I have to say you did exceptionally well. I am proud of you Percy, we all are. Now go back and show everyone what you are really capable of. _

With that final encouragement Percy looked at calypso.

"I think we are ready to leave. How do we get off this island?"

Before Calypso could answer a new voice resonated behind them.

"I think I can help you with that lad," Said a deep voice.

Percy turned around and he locked eyes with Hephaestus God of forges. The god looked differently compared to when Percy had seen him in the winter solstice. He was a lot messier and filled with grease.

"You two are not easy to find, you made quite a mess before your disappearances. I have to thank you for that beckoning energy. Despite this island operating outside the mortal world that kind of energy is hard to miss. By now I am sure most gods know you are fine, but since I was close by I came to verify for myself."

"No offense Lord Hephaestus but what is your real purpose coming here?" Percy asked with apprehension clear in his voice.

"Don't worry lad, I have no intention in harming you. To be honest this whole ordeal is too complicated for me. All I know is that you are willing to risk your life to save demigods, and that is something I can respect. So take this word of advice: My mother tricked you when she said you could guide the Labyrinth, all you can do is find powerful beings with your heightened senses. To truly navigate the maze you need someone more…mortal, a mortal that understand this world."

Jake and Percy quickly got the hint and thanked the god.

"Well looks like I don't have to convince you to go back but just a heads up, Mt. Helens was part of a prison used to hold Typhon prisoner. Because of the explosion you two caused Typhon is stirring and will probably awaken. Needless to say most gods are not really pleased about that, so if I were you I would go back into hiding once the camp is safe. Calypso, I think you know what to do now."

Calypso looked extremely emotional, on the verge of tears even. Despite this she managed a sad smile and a small nod. She and Hephaestus looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation. In the end the forge God gave a small nod and walked way giving Calypso and the two brothers some privacy.

"I would normally ask you two a something I ask every hero that comes here, but I can already tell what your answers would be. You both are incredibly determined to go save those that are precious to you."

Both demigods smiled at Calypso and gave her a hug. Percy knew that she wasn't this nice in the past so he was incredibly grateful for her hospitality and treatment.

"And I can also tell that both of your hearts are already taken," She whispered in the hug before letting go.

Both demigods blushed furiously, only confirming Calypso's thought. Percy then decided to speak.

"You have been incredibly generous with us. I assure you that once this war is over I shall come back to get you free of this island."

Calypso's eyes got eyed and even a little teary, before she closed them and shook her head slowly.

"That would be impossible. No hero stumbles upon my island twice," She said in a monotone voice as if she had repeated those words hundreds of times in the past.

Percy wasn't fazed by this statement as he reached for Calypso's hand and placed something on it.

"Well, I am not a traditional hero. Plant this in your garden, and I assure you that once it grows I will be able to come visit you."

Calypso didn't say a word as she disappeared back to her house and Hephaestus approached once again.

"Well lads, a small boat will appear and take you back to your camp. Just a word of warning, it has been two weeks since you disappeared and the enemies forces are advancing within the labyrinth so be as quick as you can. Good luck young ones."

With that the god was engulfed in flames and disappeared. Moments later Calypso came back with two sprig of a special flower and gave one to each hero. She then gave them both one last hug and a kiss on the cheek before pointing towards the water, where a raft was approaching.

"Just jump aboard, think of your destination and you shall be taken there. Farewell and good luck young heroes."

They both bowed and thanked her one last time before boarding the raft. They waved at her as they disappeared on the horizon. Calypso waved back as a single tear drop made its way down her face. Those two heroes were nothing short of extraordinary and despite here better judgment she couldn't help but think that, maybe, she would see them again.

**A/N: My god this is SUPER LATE! We are not done, just read annotation at the end…**

The ride was rather long but the two brothers used this chance to talk.

"So Jake, are you finally going to ask you-know-who out after almost dying?" Percy asked with a bit _too _much innocence.

He got the response he expected; Jake got as red as a tomato and was too flustered to answer the question. Instead he asked a question of his own.

"What about you? Calypso said you also had a special someone."

The effect was similar but Percy was a lot better at hiding his reaction. Percy was pretty sure Jake had no idea who this special person was since not even Calypso knew exactly who it was. That's why the next sentence was such a shock.

" I have to say you have it way harder. Must not be easy to have a thing for a goddess, especially a maiden goddess with each you have a dispute with."

Those words were more effective than any attack to make Percy completely shut down. He didn't know what to say, how to act, heck, he probably wasn't even thinking properly. All he managed to squeeze out was some gibberish.

"H-wh-you-" Percy took a deep breath and tried again.

"How did you know?" He barely whispered. He was way beyond the point of denial.

"Well, when she was acting as amber there was clearly something going on. Also when you left she kept coming to camp and it was clear that she cared deeply for you. Finally the fact that you are still mad at her because of the Olympus fiasco shows that you still care very much for her; that 's why it hurt when you felt betrayed."

Percy just stayed silent, staring at Jake like he was a completely different person. He perfectly read how he felt and spoke with wisdom that was very out of character for him.

"Who are you and what did you do with my little brother?" Percy asked teasingly.

"Little brother huh? I don't think you have ever called me that before. Anyway, I am not as dumb as I look. I can be very observant when I want to be. So back to the topic at hand, some little brother advice, try talking to her before we go back into the maze. Chances are you won't be getting a better opportunity for a while."

"Besides, it looks like you finally managed to discover you final flaw and surpass it. I think this would be a very important second step."

"You need to stop with the wisdom speeches; you are seriously freaking me out."

The rest of the ride went by quickly as the siblings continued to tease each other.

A few hours later the raft arrived at the outskirts of camp. Percy and Jake quickly got off and ran towards camp to meet with everyone. They were quiet surprised to find the camp to be completely empty. Percy could hear noise from the amphitheater so they headed that way.

Once they arrived they were shocked by what they saw. Everyone had their head down and a sad expression as Chiron took the stages with two sarcophaguses next to him with flags on top of them.

"As it has been two weeks since the incident these two heroes were involved in, and we have yet to receive any information on them being alive we have to assume the worst; Annabeth if you would."

Percy was completely shocked by this. Didn't Hephaestus say that the gods were aware that they were alive? It only took a second for Percy to realize that the gods were probably too busy arguing over whether or not to kill him to bother telling anyone in camp. Percy was so consumed by his own thoughts that he didn't register Annabeth's voice until the end.

"…THEY ARE RIGHT THERE!"

Both of the brothers looked up in surprised as they were swarmed in seconds with a different array of reactions. Some of the Ares campers looked rather annoyed that the survived. Nico and Bianca quickly tackled Percy and were in tears. But the most noticeable response was Annabeth's.

She came marching forward and proceed to chew out Jake before crushing him in a hug that he returned. Once she realized what she was doing she stopped and pushed him back with a blush clear on her face. After her scene the camp disperse as Percy and Jake talked to Chiron, Annabeth, and the Di Angelo siblings in private.

Once everyone was inside the tree house a small meeting was held.

Percy and Jake quickly explained how they survived and the message from Hephaestus. Annabeth was less than pleased upon hearing about Calypso but she didn't dwell on it as the story continued. Percy briefly explained releasing his powers before stating that they needed to get back to the labyrinth as soon as possible. Annabeth then also mentioned that Grover and Tyson were still in the labyrinth. This made Percy worry but still kept his composure as they came up with a plan.

After some discussion the plan was to pick up the mortal that Percy and Jake met a school who could see through the mist. Annabeth didn't really like the idea but Percy quickly convinced her. Once the plan was set everyone was ready to go to the city but a surprise visit caused a small change in plans.

As everyone was getting ready to go a pillar of flames appeared in front of them to reveal none other than Hestia, goddess of the hearth. Chiron bowed to the goddess while everyone else was frozen as they saw the interaction between her and Percy. Neither one of them said a word; they were simply frozen as their eyes locked, green on flames yellow.

Finally Percy broke the silence as he addressed everyone.

"I think you should go and get the girl without me. We will meet here once you are back," Percy spoke in such a commanding tone that even Chiron was tempted to nod in obedience.

Soon everyone got out of the tree house leaving Hestia and Percy alone. The two of them kept silence as they bore their eyes into each other. Percy was the first to move his gaze away, instead focusing on the ground as he spoke.

"Not here," He said in a barely controlled tone.

The hearth goddess wasn't sure what he meant so she simply stared at him in confusion.

"If we are going to talk, I would rather not do it here. Let's go somewhere else," Percy then offered his hand with an emotionless mask still on.

Hestia was at a loss in the situation. She didn't know how to react and was completely at Percy's mercy. All she could do was oblige so she walked forward and tentatively took his hand. Hestia could see Percy's mask break but only for a second before it returned. She was expected to be yelled at, but this was worst as she didn't know how to act or react so all she could was wait for Percy to act first.

Percy kept his gaze away from the goddess as he teleported the both of them to place they knew very well. Once they arrived, Hestia was startled as she looked around. Memories of that one dinner she had with Percy came crashing down as she stood in Percy's secret spot on the Amazon.

Percy still refused to talk as he focused on the horizon. Hestia looked at his fists and she could tell he was holding a lot emotion behind his calm façade. So she decided that if this was to go anywhere she had to start and break that façade one way or another.

"I know you are incredibly mad at me but you need to understand I had no choice. Whether you want to believe me or not I care about you. I thought that if you didn't take Zeus' deal you would die. There was nothing I-"

That did it. Percy couldn't hold all his anger and resentment any longer, so the gates of his emotions simply exploded.

"Nothing you could do?! How about standing up to the arrogant bastard?! Tell him that he was out of his fucking mind that there was no way in hell I would take his deal! But no, he is your family so that wasn't an option. See something I learned is that your family isn't determined by who you were born with. Your family are people that care for you; that look out for you and help you when you are in need," Percy raged, as all he was meaning to say for the last eight months simply flowed out with no restraints.

"The Aztec gods are more of a family to me than that sea god. Ever since I was ten they were all I had… That's why... thats why when I came here I was so happy. I met people my age I could consider family. I considered you part of that group... but that didn't really end up too well did it?"

Once he was done Percy felt completely drained and exhausted; his rage sapping all his energy away. He then locked eyes with the goddess, daring her to justify herself; Waiting for her to find some kind of excuse or defense to argue that it wasn't her fault.

Hestia was completely mute. Percy's rant was like a series of punches to the gut. It was then that she understood why Percy was so mad. To him, she chose a family that didn't deserved and neglected her over him who accepted her with open arms. He felt betrayed, and it opened Hestia's eyes to see that he was right.

She had made an incredible mistake, one that words alone will not be enough to fix. So she did something that no immortal being before her had ever done or even considered. She got in front of Percy and dropped to her knees in a bowing position begin for forgiveness.

"I understand that you have all the right in the world to be angry at me. My whole existence my goal has been to keep my family together. I was never interested in power or anything else so I dedicated myself to keeping them at peace, and I thought that brought me peace... but then I met you. Without me noticing something changed within me. The time I spent with you was one of the happiest of my life. But when the moment came I just couldn't betray the family I spent an eternity trying to protect. I just didn't understand just how much you meant to me. So please.., just…"At this point the hearth goddess was a crying mess.

Now it was Percy's turn to be completely speechless. He had expected her to apologize, but to _kneel? _That simple action made her words that much stronger. It was not something one could easily do, it required to completely let go of one's pride. _Let go…_

At that moment Percy understood his own weakness. He didn't let go of Atlas overpowering him, he didn't let go of losing to two Aztec goddesses until Jake yelled at him. Even now, he still held on to his anger towards Hestia.

As Percy saw the kneeling goddess in front of him he took a deep breath, and let go… everything; all his doubts, resentments, and frustrations. He didn't forget about them, they would remain in his memory, but it was time to stop being stuck in them and move forward. Coming back to reality he knew exactly what the first step he had to do was.

He kneeled in front of Hestia and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It was very selfish for me to get as angry as I did considering who you are. However, what I said still remains true, your family are people that care for you, regardless of anything else. From what I have seen, most of the Olympians aren't really your family. That being said..."

Percy raised his hand and offered it to Hestia who looked like she would start sobbing again any second.

"I still care for you very much, and you have taught me and helped me more times that I can count. So please stop kneeling, as it doesn't fit you and let's try this again. Hi my name is Percy Jackson, and it is a pleasure to meet you."

Hestia didn't take the hand but instead tackled him to the ground and then did something that would send them both in a direction they wouldn't be able to return from.

She kissed him.

Hestia wasn't planning on doing this but seeing him after so long, and for him to forgive her, it was all too much. She didn't really registered what she was doing until it was too late. She expected to be pushed away but that didn't happen.

Percy didn't know how to react as their lips connected. He was completely stunned, but his brain pretty much melted, only registering how warm her lips felt on his own. His body acted on its own as he put one hand on Hestia's hair and another on her waist, deepening the kiss.

At this point neither one of them were resisting as Hestia took hold of his hear with both her hands. They poured all that was left unsaid into this one action. For a minute they were both in nirvana, completely forgetting who they were, their duties, the wars and the implication of them being together. For that one moment nothing matter except each other's warmth and touch.

Unfortunately it didn't last, despite all his great powers Percy was still human so he had to let go in order to breath. Once he did, they both looked at each other and reality hit them like a brick. They both looked incredibly panicked and didn't know what to say.

Hestia quickly got up and put distance between them as she tried to formulate words.

"I… this is not… I can't… you… Goodbye Percy," She then disappeared in a pillar of flames.

Percy tried to say something but she disappeared without giving him a chance. Percy put his hands in his face as he tried to process what just happened.

_I just made out with a maiden goddess. I am so dead._ He thought in melancholy but then a tiny little voice added:

_You really liked it though…_ Percy shook his head getting those thoughts out of his head. No matter what he couldn't take back what just happened so he simply needed to focus on going back to the maze and saving the camp before the gods find out what he did and come hunt him down. No pressure…

Percy teleported back to camp and waited until the rest of the group returned with Rachel among them. Percy made sure once again everyone was ready before going back to the labyrinth. Jake gave him a look that said he knew something was wrong but Percy just ignored him, and focused on the matter at hand.

Once the group was gathered they went back in, this time with Rachel at the front. She claimed that the floor had a small amount of brightness that could tell her which way to go. As they walked around trying to find Daedalus' layer, Percy was very distracted. He kept thinking back to the kiss and Hestia's reaction.

He wasn't really sure if she regretted kissing him, but it was very clear that she was afraid; of what, Percy wasn't really sure. All he knew is that things would not go back to the way they were.

Percy was so distracted that he didn't notice the group of monsters until they were right in front of them. Everyone got in a fighting position as the monster seemed confident enough in their ability to capture the group. Unfortunately for them Percy was in a bad mood.

"Capture them alive, I am sure they can be of use to get past-"

Before anyone could do anything, vines slashed and stabbed the monsters before they could do anything. In a matter of seconds they were all captured or killed. Even the demigods were surprised as they looked at Percy, who casually walked towards the closest monster.

"Where were you planning on taking us?" Percy asked in a deadly calm tone.

The monster was clearly able to tell that Percy was not normal as he could feel an incredibly pressure almost crushing him. He quickly revealed their plans the current location of Luke's army. Percy thanked the monster before proceeding ahead.

Once everyone caught up Annabeth was the one to question his actions.

"Why are we going straight towards the enemy army? Shouldn't we focus on getting the string?"

"Something tells me that the enemy already has the string. Based on that scout party, I would guess they are currently stuck somewhere. If we are able to reduce their numbers now it might give us an edge on the upcoming battle."

"But we are 5 demigods and one mortal. What damage could we possibly do?"

"I think you underestimate us. You are talking about three children of the big three and the only Aztec demigod. Besides this is only meant to be a guerilla style technique. We go in as a surprise, take out as many as we can before they can regroup and then Rachel can guide us back in the right track."

After everyone exchanged looks they couldn't think of a way to change Percy's mind so they followed his lead. They started hear noise as they got closer until they were at the edge of an arena. Percy quickly scanned the area.

They were a sizable amount of monsters gather in the bleachers, some dressed in armor but not all. In the arena itself monsters were battling it out in a very gruesome matter. Finally there were to thrones at the top of the arena. One seat was occupied by Luke while the other was a guy that Percy didn't recognize but he could tell he had some power to him.

Percy focused his sense on hearing to hear their conversation.

"This is quite the spectable boy, I haven't had this much fun in years," said the mistery man.

"I am glad you are pleased lord Antaeus. Does this mean that you will let my army go through your arena to reach our objective?"

"We will see. I am still not satisfied with the entertainment," Replied Antaeus.

Percy could see that Luke was not satisfied with that response but he hid it pretty well as he simply nodded.

"Alright listen everyone; it looks like Luke wants to pass through here. Based on the way he talked my suspicions about him being able to navigate the labyrinth are almost 100% confirmed now. That means that if we can cut of this route Luke's army will be delayed buying the camp more time to prepare."

"Alright that is good and all but what is your plan exactly?"Jake asked.

"Well I am glad you asked," Percy responded with a trouble maker grin before his eyes landed on Nico and Bianca.

Percy took enough death energy for his eyes to change to black. He then touched the shoulders of the siblings like he did before, except this time the results were a lot tamer. They were both covered in black aura but no armor appeared. Percy eyes then returned to normal as he smiled.

"Alright, this should be enough for now. Later I will teach how that works but for now here is the plan. We three will crash the place, take out the leader and try to capture castellan. Once that is done we will leave the area and I will make sure to block it off."

"What am I going to do in the mean time?" Jake complained.

"You will stay here and guard Rachel. Not that I don't trust your strength, but this is going to be a long rand explosive battle more than anything and you specialize in close combat so just make sure you and Annabeth keep Rachel save so that she can guide us to safety once we are done. Everyone understand?"

They all nod and the plan explodes into action as Percy and the siblings jumped and crashed down at the center of the arena destroying the monster that were previously fighting and pretty much getting the attention of the entire arena.

"WHO DARES INTERRUPT MY ENTERTAINMENT?" Antaeus bellowed from his sit.

Percy walked out of the dust with Nico and Bianca on his sides. Luke recognized Percy but he remained silent as Percy took the stage.

"Three demigods that have no intention of letting any of you walk out of here unharmed. So is anyone up for a dance?"

He then got into a casual fighting position while Nico and Bianca rolled their eyes at his antics.

"EVERYONE GET THEM!" Pretty much all the monsters yelled as those that were closest to the arena jumped down and charged at the demigods.

"You just had to make them angry didn't you?" Bianca said exasperated.

Percy simply winked in response as he got ready to fight with his own power for the first time after eight long months.

**A/N: OMG! I was suppose to finish this chapter AGES AGO! Like this was supposed to be part of a 20K special for Aztec warriors anniversary. Like the first half of this was written 3 weeks ago… oh well.**

**So the first author note is now a lie, but I am not going to delete it. Mostly so I can remind myself of how bad I am with deadlines. Anyway, I already did A big thank you at the beginning, but once again, thank you for 1 year of support and hopefully this story will be over before the second year comes by… lol**

**Pretty big chapters, lots of character development, and the first kiss! ****( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) **

**So being the busy person I am, I decided that uploading twice a month is a realistic goal. BTW this counts as a double upload since its basically two chapters in one. **

**Finally question for the chapter, two questions since it's a double question. **

**If you could have one of Percy's powers which one would you choose?**

**Any guesses on what the entirety of Percy's prophecy means now?**

**OH, BTW I made a one shot for halloween, it was... odd, but give it a read you might laugh!**

**See you in December! **

**Thanks again, Al Red.**


	21. Maze adventures, and an ally

**Alright hello again, so I usually reply to reviews that are big, have suggestions, questions etc. But when they are from guests I can't reply to them so here is a reply to a guest reviewer**

**Thanks for the support and don't worry, most chapter will be around 5k, chapter 20 was just a special anniversary occasion. As for the idea of using the main series as a template, well I can't really take credit for it. As I stated at the beginning of this fic, that idea came from Anaklumos14 and his asgard story. So yeah, thank him for the inspiration, of course doing an Aztec version was completely my idea :D**

**Anyway, I have no idea when this will go up, but we will see. If you have questions, suggestions or criticism PM or review, always glad to reply. **

_**Last time…**_

"_WHO DARES INTERRUPT MY ENTERTAINMENT?" Antaeus bellowed from his sit. _

_Percy walked out of the dust with Nico and Bianca on his sides. Luke recognized Percy but he remained silent as Percy took the stage. _

"_Three demigods that have no intention of letting any of you walk out of here unharmed. So is anyone up for a dance?" _

_He then got into a casual fighting position while Nico and Bianca rolled their eyes at his antics._

"_EVERYONE GET THEM!" Pretty much all the monsters yelled as those that were closest to the arena jumped down and charged at the demigods._

"_You just had to make them angry didn't you?" Bianca said exasperated. _

_Percy simply winked in response as he got ready to fight with his own power for the first time after eight long months._

Now…

The arena roared in chaos as hundreds of monsters approached the three demigods. Before any of them could reach their target though, Percy stuck his sword in the ground and instantly vines, branches of many different wild life started sprouting and attacking the monsters.

This made it very easy for Nico and Bianca to strike the distracted monsters. Percy left the monster to the duo as he used his attack as a jumping platform to go straight towards look who was trying to run way.

Percy landed right in front of him and pointed his sword at Luke's chest.

"What's wrong Castellan? Are you scared of a little dance?" Percy taunted.

"I am no match for you yet, but I would not worry about me if I were you."

Percy was thrown off my Luke's confidence. What did he mean yet?

This distraction almost caused Percy his head as he didn't see a rock thrown at this face until the last second. With all his reflexes he managed to mostly avoid the projectile, but it still made a cut in his forehead.

Percy looked for the attacker and found Antaeus with rocks in hand and ready to attack again. He looked around for Luke but he was gone, so Percy focused fully on Antaeus who threw another rock.

This time Percy dodged swiftly before cutting the distance between him and the giant in a single jump. Antaeus was shocked by this so he wasn't able to react as a horizontal sword slash almost broke him in half.

Percy thought the battle was over he jumped back in surprised when he saw sand rise from the ground and cover Antaeus' wounds. Once the sand retreated the wound was gone. The giant rose and smiled smugly.

"Do you see now demigod? I am invincible! As long as I am on the ground my mother, the great Gaea will protect me. You have no chance of winning."

Percy stared at the giant dumbfounded. Antaeus assumed it was because of fear, but in reality Percy couldn't believe how stupid this guy was. He basically just told Percy how to defeat him.

"My God, I knew some monsters were stupid but you just raised the bar."

Percy couldn't continue his taunt as a wave of punches came his way. Percy dodged them rather easily since his speed very much outclassed his opponents. Percy took a look at Nico and Bianca and saw that they were about to get overwhelmed so he had to finish this quickly.

Percy ducked an incoming punched and then closed in on his opponent's chest. He focused energy on his right hand and then created a giant tree arm, that connect with the giants chest and lifted him of the ground.

The giant fist shifted and wrapped itself around the giant until he was completely inmobile in mid air.

"Thanks to your tip, all I had to do was lift you off the ground. Farewell to you."

"You can't do this to me! I am the son of Gaea and Poseidon! I am the great-" He didn't get anything else out as Percy clenched his hand causing the fist to do the same and just like that Antaeus exploded in a million pieces.

"I should have warned you I am not particularly fond of Poseidon."

Percy then went back to Nico and Bianca, who were holding their own pretty well, using their shadow and dark fire powers to keep monsters at bay. Despite this the sheer number of enemies was bound to overwhelm them eventually.

Percy took control over the wildlife in the area once again and made a defensive barrier around the two demigods, allowing them to catch their breath. Not a moment later Percy grabbed them both by the wrist and was sprinting way from the wave of monsters.

He made a straight line towards Jake and the others, but he underestimated the sheer number of enemy numbers and found himself very quickly surrounded. The monsters didn't look very eager to fight as they were well aware of Percy power but they still stopped his escape with sheer numbers.

Before the small army could get the courage to attack Percy all at once, he decided to even the odds in the numbers department. He let go of Nico and Bianca, put his to pinkies in his mouth and released the biggest whistle he could muster.

This of course startled the monster, but what surprised them more was various animals that started to pop out literally from thin air. Anything from rhinoceros to giraffes simply appeared from all the veins and plants Percy had manipulated all over the arena. Soon the arena was packed with two small sized armies, one filled with Kronos' monster; while the other had the weirdest assortment of animals from all over the world.

Nico and Bianca were worried at first since some of the animals on Percy's side didn't exactly look threatening. Percy didn't share their worry, he was ecstatic by the fact that the technique had worked in the first place.

Percy gave a signal and all the animals instantly went into battle mode. Bianca was wondering how a llama could be scary, but Percy's llama somehow pulled it off. The scene was almost comical as the mix matched animal army charged at the monsters.

Chaos quickly followed as both armies crashed, giving Percy the perfect opportunity to sneak away safely. He made it to the group without much trouble and allowed Nico and Bianca to catch their breath.

"We need to hurry, Luke managed to escape but this will cause a delay long enough to let us find Daedalus's workshop. Rachel, please lead the way."

Rachel took a while to respond since her attention was focused on the mess of a fight that was happening in the arena behind them. Despite all she had seen so far, that battle was a new level of weird for Rachel as she saw a llama furiously biting a Cyclops.

"Rachel! Come on we need to move, I need to send my friends back to their homes soon!" Percy insisted with a bit of worry in his voice.

Rachel responded immediately this time and the group was soon under way. After five minutes Percy nodded to himself and pressed his hand together. Nothing seemed to happened around them but Percy faltered and almost fell but Bianca caught him.

"Are you alright?" She asked a bit concerned.

"Fine, I simply teleported all the animals away from the arena, and teleportation takes a lot out of me," Percy barely worded out, clearly out of breath.

The group slowed down for him but Percy wouldn't allow that so he quickened the pace after a few minutes. The group followed Rachel for about 10 minutes until they finally reached double doors with the Delta symbol imbedded in the center.

They cautiously entered the room and were surprised at what they saw. It was pretty much a huge mansion with inventions lying around everywhere and a magnificent view to some mountains.

"Isn't the view breath taking? I try to locate my workshop in the secluded and beautiful places of the world," Said a voice from behind them.

They all turned around in surprise and what they saw was almost more confusing.

"Quintus? What are you doing here?" Asked Jake, clearly lost.

"I think Percy and Annabeth know the answer to that don't you?" Quintus replied in a calm matter.

"Quintus… that means fifth," Annabeth began saying.

"You are Daedalus, the fifth version… somehow," Percy finished.

"Very nice, I have managed to cheat death by creating artificial bodies. As you deducted, this is the fifth version. I already know why you are here but I am sorry to tell that your journey was in vain. I already gave the string to Luke, he made me a proposal too good to refuse."

Daedalus paused for a second as he locked eyes with Percy. Percy wasn't really mad with him; he could see his point of view, even if it completely conflicted with his own.

"Oh, you seem to have overcome the weakness I saw in you when we first met. Yes, I can tell by your eyes, if you hurry back you might be able to save your camp-"

"Oh I am sorry but that is something we cannot allow. All of you will die in this room, including you Daedalus old friend," The voice that interrupted came from a ghostly figure that was joined by an empousa that Percy recognized from Jake's school.

"Minos… We had a deal empousa!" Daedalus spat like it was the worst of poisons.

Quickly grasping the situation Percy acted first. He summoned his sword and dashed forward aiming towards Minos. Unfortunately he remembered one second too late who Minos was and his sword passed harmlessly through him giving Kelly the empousa an opening to launch at Percy.

Percy recovered just in time to block the monster's claws but he was still pushed back against the wall. Having suffered little damage Percy slashed wildly trying to finish the demon cheerleader quickly but his movement was hasty and easily read, allowing Kelly a change to jump out of the way.

"You may have taken my sister out with your sneak attack, but in a enclosed space I have the advantage."

Percy didn't even bother with a response. He knew full well that he could take her out in the blink of an eye if he was in his top condition. Unfortunately that little animal army stunt took out more energy that he first thought.

"Well Dadealus, looks like you have been betrayed. So how about an alliance while we deal with these pests."

"Big words for a small child, you have no idea who you are dealing with. Let me show you what Minos the ghost king capable of!"

Spirits appeared all around the campers and Dadealus. At first they didn't do anything but one passed through Percy's chest and he felt like part of his energy was just stolen. This happened to everyone else making them go to their knees and giving the monsters the upper hand.

"What's the matter boy? Can't handle some harmless ghosts? While they can't touch you the same way they can't touch you, they are still capable of sapping way at your vitality. If you aren't careful you might just join them."

Percy was getting desperate quickly as he tried to strike Kelly but three ghosts past through him, making him double over and allowing Kelly to land a kick to his jaw. He was thinking about using the Aztec god of death until the unexpected happened.

All the ghosts were suddenly sucked in as if there was a vortex. As the center of this, there was none other than Nico who made a crack on the ground and was literally dragging the ghosts back to the underworld.

"Impossible! I am the ghost king! How could this happen!?" Minos roared in confusion.

"I am Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, and the NEW ghost king!" Nico declared as he pointed at Minos and the shadows around him grabbed him and dragged him alongside the other ghosts.

With him gone everyone managed to get back on their feet and launch a counter attack towards the monsters that were left in the room. Percy refused to use anymore of his powers to he took on Kelly with good old swordsmanship.

Kelly thought that Percy would be easy prey without his powers, she couldn't have been more wrong. He still outclassed her physically, and that became obvious really quickly as Percy attacked, dodged, and had her completely beaten in 10 seconds.

Percy had his sword to her neck and everyone else had pretty much won their battles. They couldn't enjoy victory for very long though, as distant grunts and howls told them that this wasn't over.

"All of you go; don't waste any more time here that you have to," Daedalus quickly ran to a wall and put his hand in it revealing a new hallway. He then looked straight at Percy.

"Look I don't know where this will lead you exactly but I am sure your friend will be able to guide you back to camp. I am truly sorry but I believe that if you all hurry you can fix my mistake. Now run! I will seal this door and keep all the monsters busy."

Everyone nodded and quickly ran through the door leaving Daedalus behind who gave them a small smile before focusing back on the monsters coming his way.

Percy and company ran in a hurry, trying to their hardest to reach camp in time. Once the hallway they came from end, everyone looked at Rachel for directions. The mortal girl pointed them one way but Percy put his hand up motioning at everyone to stop moving.

"This place… it feels familiar, don't you guys think so?" Percy questioned as he heightened his senses trying to find anything to guide him. He carefully made his way through the corridors until one of them opened up.

Everyone was shocked by what then found once they were outside. Percy was right, they had been there before. The group of teens was standing in front of the ruins of Mount Othrys, except they weren't ruins anymore.

The whole area appeared to be rebuilding itself, gaining presence and power. Percy had a nagging feeling that the base was connected to Kronos' power, and if the progress was any indication Percy feared how strong Kronos had become over the last few months.

"You all stay here close to the tunnel; I want to take a quick look inside before we leave."

The structure itself was vastly different on the inside compared to Percy's last visit. Now it felt like an imposing base with tall pillars and extending corridors. The size however, gave Percy the advantage of giving him plenty of cover as he explored the growing building.

Percy came to a halt before reaching what seemed to be the center room of the entire structure. Out of the corner of his eye, Percy could see a golden coffin glowing with power. The energy that emanated from the room felt cold and ancient.

It was hard to intimidate Percy Jackson, as someone who has faced many monsters, confronted gods head on and clashed blades with a titan, little things could scare him. And yet, here he was, completely unable to move because of the simple aura emanating from a golden box.

Noise from the hall freed Percy from his fear and he quickly jolted towards the coffin to get cover. Once the voices died down, Percy recovered his senses and realized that Kronos was probably still sleeping inside that coffin, meaning this would be his best chance to take him down.

Having made his decision he tossed away the cover from the casket to revel a site he was not expecting. Lying inside was none other than Luke Castellan. The young Aztec demigod was confused but he didn't have much time to think so he brought out his sword and aimed a strike at the slumbering teen.

Before the blade could reach its target, time itself froze. The weapon came to a complete halt just centimeters from its objective. It was then that Percy noticed Luke had opened his eyes, but they were not hit own. These were golden cold eyes, filled with hate and power.

"Well well, if it isn't Percy Jackson. The little pest I have heard so much about. What a pleasant surprised to have you visit out of your own will," Castellan said with an evil grin, but the voice was not his own. It was raspy and cruel, as if a scythe was cutting through the air.

At this point Percy's danger sensors were going into overdrive so he focused all his energy into a single command: MOVE!

The results were rather explosive as time was forced back into motion and Percy's strike broke the sarcophagus in two. Cold sweat flowed from Percy's forehead as he stepped back and got on a defensive position.

"I can now see why everyone is so worried about you Mr. Jackson. No doubts the gods are trembling in fear of what would happen if you keep gaining power. However as you are now, you are not a real threat," Luke had a smile on his face as he stood casually behind the point of impact of Percy's attack.

"I am guessing you are Kronos, the titan of time himself. Well you just made my job easier by going into Castellan's body," Percy launched once more towards the titan, trying once more his single objective strategy: SLASH.

This time the attack wasn't as successful. The closer Percy got to the titan of time the heavier he felt, as if his body was going through Jell-O. He didn't come to a complete stop like last time, but his blade was swinging so slowly that it was dodged with incredible ease.

Kronos was smiling as he moved out of the way and drove a fist into the demigod's gut making him fall to his knees. The titan approached Percy with a smirk, only to quickly lean back as Percy shot a left uppercut, followed by a quick.

The time lord managed to dodge the attacks without much difficulty, yet a small smile was forming in his lips seeing his opponent's resilience and will to fight.

The fight lasted no more than five minutes, but to Percy it felt like an eternity. No matter what combination of kicks, punches and swings he would through, his body always seemed to slow down before reach their mark. Kronos attacks on the other hand were the opposite, speeding up and suddenly reaching Percy before they should. Needless to say it was quite a one-sided battle. Despite this Percy still held on and if his eyes were any indication he was nowhere near done.

Had the battle being allowed to keep on going they probably would have lasted a long time. However their clash wasn't exactly subtle so voice could be heard across the halls. Percy decided that a strategic retreat was the best option, so he sprinted towards the exit with no hesitation.

Once the demigod warrior was out of sight Kronos let out a big breath and started to pant slightly. He might not have shown it, but he was not yet used to his new body, so using his powers was exhausting. After a minute of recovering, some servants came into the room holding something that made the titan of time smile evilly.

The group of demigods waiting by the entrance was getting very worried of Percy. Once they started to hear battle noise, they were pretty ready to invade the place. It was just was they were seriously discussing whether or not to go after Percy that they heard footsteps.

Percy was running so fast that he couldn't stop in time casing him to crash directly into his friends. Everyone quickly got up but there was no time for explanation as Percy pretty much pulled them back into the labyrinth without any explanation.

They didn't last even thirty seconds before all of their movements appeared to be in slow motion. Behind them, stood Luke castellan with his hand extended towards the bunch of demigods. No one really knew what was going on; Annabeth and Jake in particular were very much lost.

Before anyone could come up with a plan, a bright blue comb flew across the hall and hit Luke straight in the eye. Causing him to lose focus and undo his effect on Percy and the others.

"Everyone run NOW!" Percy's command was all but unnecessary as everyone got into the labyrinth at full speed.

Everyone ran as far as their legs would allow and then ten more minutes. Finally then ended up tripping in a very odd part of the maze filled with roots and vines. They all decided to camp for a little bit there, while they recovered their strength.

Percy used the time to explain his discovery of the coffin, Kronos controlling Luke's body and his battle against him. No one said anything as they assimilated the information they just received. Kronos was revived, and inside of Luke's body, and to make matters worse he was bound to only get stronger.

After getting their breath back, the group started to notice how odd the area they were in was. Percy got up and sniffed the air, recognizing a familiar scent.

"Grover," He whispered before sprinting into a certain tunnel with everyone else quickly following behind. After running and turning for a few minutes Percy stopped in front of two big tree trunks making an entry.

Percy led everyone inside, still using his senses to guide him. Soon enough they reach a room that was very bizarre. It looked a giant nature still bedroom, with flowers and plants from all around the world. The weird part was that it was surrounding by a bunch of animals, also from all around the world.

They were all looking at the bed, it was then that the demigods noticed that someone was resting within it.

"Ah, Percy Jackson, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Please come closer, I am sure your two friends here have been worried about you," The man in the bed said in a very small and weak voice.

This statement brought attention towards the satyr and Cyclops that were sitting right next to the bed. Once Tyson saw Percy and Jake they were both tackled in a merciless bear hug. On the bright side Tyson was so excited that everyone was caught in his hug of doom.

"So good to see brothers… Tyson and goat boy were lost and worried."

"Good to see you too buddy, now could… you… please…let go…can't…breathe…." Percy barely managed to get out.

Tyson let everyone go, slightly embarrassed but still beaming with happiness. Everyone started to share stories, but Percy was more focused on the man lying in bed. Once he was closed he noticed that it was no man, he had horns and a godly aura, even if it was extremely weakened.

"Demigods, I don't have much time left, so I asked that you lend a bit of your time in my final moments. I am Pan, god of nature and all the wild life in the world. You may have noticed that I helped you in your quest a while back. It was all for this moment, as now I have a favor to ask you."

He pointed a finger at Percy, who was still processing all the previous information so he was in no position to answer.

"I… I have so many questions… Why did you claim me at camp? Why have you been talking to me telepathically? What is your connection to me?"

The good seemed amused by Percy's rambling as he let out a weak chuckle.

"All valid questions, but my time is limited so I will be brief. You are the representation of nature in your Parthenon, in other words you are the closest entity to me in the Aztec world. I have seen you grow and mature, and decided to give you the last of my strength. In other words, I would like to make you my successor."

Percy's brain was pretty much sent into overdrive by this point. Too much had happened in the last hour for him to make any coherent thoughts. The god seemed to notice this and put a hand in the distressed teen's shoulder.

"You have always been carrying a big burden, but that is because those around you believe that you can handle it, that you can move forward. I believe that as well, I have seen how you treat animals, wild life, and even your fellow demigods. You may be a warrior, but at your core you are a guardian, a protector. So please, allow this old God to fade in peace, knowing I will have someone to look after my domain."

Those words were enough to calm the storm of thoughts that was raging in Percy's mind. He still wasn't completely sure of what was going on, but some things were pretty clear. The god in front of him that had selflessly helped him many times was fading way, and his only request was to have Percy look after nature. The answer was pretty obvious.

"I accept."

The god smiled and for the first time addressed all the other demigods and quest members present.

"Grover, young satyr, this is not something that can be achieved by a single person. Spread the word, let everyone know that Pam is gone, and it is up to all of you to protect nature."

Grover looked ready to cry but he held it in and just nodded.

"Daughter of Athena, feelings can blind us sometimes, but in this war you will need to see past them. Children of Hades, live can be particularly harsh for those with your heritage; do not let the somber moments define who you are."

Annabeth looked down and bit her lip, she knew what the god was implying, but she wasn't ready to accept it. Nico and Bianca on the other hand were confused and not quite sure what to make out of it.

"Finally, Perseus, despite your great powers and accomplishments, you must let other people help you carry all your responsibilities. I believe you understood this not too long ago, but letting go is an important skill that you will require to reach your full potential. With that I bid you fare well."

The god offered his hand to Percy, the demigod took without hesitation, half expecting something to happen. Once they shook hands, Pan's body instantly relaxed, as if a big weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The glow that surrounded him slowly left his body and transferred to Percy's.

"Thank you."

With those final words the Greek god of nature disappeared into dust with a smile on his face. All the animals in the area looked at Percy and bowed to him. Percy could suddenly feel a connection to all the animals present. They all said a single phrase that made it clear to him the weight of what just happened.

"All hail, Lord Perseus, protector and warrior of all wild life."

**A/N: So…. It's been a while huh? Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I really have no excuse other than the biggest writer's laziness ever. But I promised I wouldn't leave this story unfinished so I put in my favorite music and typed away.**

**Not the greatest chapter, especially since half of it was written 2 months after the other but hey, at least its something right? Big thank you to all that supported this story and kept wanting an update, its really awesome to see people care about my story. **

**Now, knowing me I won't make any promises about schedules… I would like to do the twice a month thing… but no promises.**

**Send me a PM or write a review if you have any questions (if you want me to reply to your review it can't be a guest). **

**Bye bye!**


	22. duel and speech

_**Last time…**_

"_**Thank you."**_

_**With those final words the Greek god of nature disappeared into dust with a smile on his face. All the animals in the area looked at Percy and bowed to him. Percy could suddenly feel a connection to all the animals present. They all said a single phrase that made it clear to him the weight of what just happened. **_

"_**All hail, Lord Perseus, protector and warrior of all wild life."**_

**Now…**

One would imagine that when a god fades and gives his powers to someone it's a pretty big deal. It was the first time that anything like that happened, especially considering the successor was a demigod from another Parthenon. The truth is that no one present for the event truly grasped the meaning of consequences that would eventually follow.

Percy was probably the most confused of all. He kept looking at his hand, as if they were someone else's. He didn't feel different; his power appeared to be the same. The only evident difference was the fact that he could feel and hear the emotions and thoughts of all the animals surrounding him. It reminded him of his own telepathic abilities but a lot more… intense.

"Well, that was weird… but don't you all have a camp to save or something?" Rachael broke the silence and reminded everyone of their mission.

"You are right, please lead the way. We can all discuss and worry about what happened here later, but for now let's protect the camp."

With that little pep talk the demigods followed Rachel as she guided them once more through the different corridors of the maze. The journey was done mostly in silence, anxiety filling the air. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, worried for personal reasons.

Grover wasn't sure what the council will have to say about this. Not only was Pan gone, but his successor was a demigod that most Olympians considered a threat. The satyr had no doubt Percy could be a great leader and heir, but he was sure that this will spring up even more enemies to add to the already long list the young demigod had accumulated.

The Di Angelo brothers were worried about what the god said to them before he vanished. It sounded like something bad was about to happened. They didn't linger on that thought too much, as they believed in Percy. They believed that no matter what comes they will stay with Percy until the end.

Jake felt conflicted by what the nature god said to him. He didn't want to admit it, but it was true that he was jealous from Percy. Jake thought he was over it after he saw his half brother break down in Calypso's island. Regardless, there was still this little voice in his head telling him to be mad at Percy, to recent him. He quickly cleared away all those thoughts, they were going into battle and he will love nothing more than to fight side by side with his brother.

Annabeth just didn't know how to feel. She was heartbroken after seeing Kronos take control of Luke, hopeful once she heard his own voice when the blue comb hit him. Angry that everyone has completely giving up on Luke, and guilty about not being completely with her friends. She was just an emotional mess.

Percy was having a really hard time focusing on the mission at hand. It seemed like his life just kept getting more and more complicated with every step he took. He was perfectly aware that what just happened would make him a bigger target in the eyes of the Olympians. What bothered him more was mastering whatever new powers and abilities he got if any. He already had his plate pretty full with all the Aztec gods inside him. Having a Greek god transfer his last life force, he wasn't sure he had any spare room inside his body.

Rachel brought everyone back to reality when she stopped in the middle of a big room with 4 different tunnels branching out.

"Something is weird… I can't tell which way to go anymore. It feels as if someone is messing with my vision."

"That would be me young lady. After all, mirages are within my many domains," A voice boomed throughout the room. As the voice reached everyone's ear the room itself began to shift, shifting and revealing a space that was familiar to most demigods present.

Shadows gathered in front of the teens, once the room finished transforming, until a tall figure came out revealing a familiar god.

"Name is Tezcatlipoca, for those that are new to this little group of Percy's. Now I am sorry to say but I can't let you reach your destination. A battle is bound to happen, and I am afraid you will be fighting for the losing side. So, I will keep you here until the battle is over," As he finished, he snapped his fingers causing huge obsidian pillars to appear at all the entrances making the room into a prison.

"This is no time for games Tezcatlipoca! If we don't interfere then the camp is bound to be destroyed. Get out of our way or else!" Percy threatened elevating his aura to the point that even his allies appeared frightened.

"Or else what? You aren't seriously considering challenging me are you? Look, I like you, your spunk and bravery are amusing, but there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity and I don't think you want to cross it," To emphasis his point the Aztec god also leaking out some of his aura.

The difference between the two of them was as clear as day and night. Even Rachel could feel the difference despite not being able to understand what she was feeling.

_Percy, are you sure about this? Fighting him alone will be reckless. His power is far superiors to Itzpapalotl. _ Quetzalcoatl spoke worriedly in Percy's mind.

_Don't worry, I know he will be holding back. Besides, ever since Calypso's island there is something I want to try. _

The voices in Percy head stayed silent, giving him their consent.

"I challenge you to an official Aztec duel! If I win you will let us go and become our ally."

If the god was surprised he didn't show it. He simply held a playful grin as if he just found a new toy to mess around with.

"Very well, but if I win… Let's just say your precious little camp will be the least of your problems. Anyways since this will be the first official Aztec duel in ages a proper stage is required!" The god clapped his hands and the room changed was again.

This time it was transformed into an arena. Only Percy and the night god were inside it while all of Percy's friends were sitting in the stands. The god just stood there and kept his arms at his waist.

"Ready when you are kiddo, come what me when you are ready from any angle."

The taunt was extremely obvious, but Percy didn't mind being looked down on. He needed every advantage he could get if he wanted to have even the smallest of chances of coming out on top.

The Aztec demigod closed his eyes and thought back to what Jake and Tlazolteotl said; he had to rely on his own power, to believe in his on strength. So rather than focusing on all of the gods' powers and abilities he solely thought about his own. He felt it flow through him, nothing else other than his own abilities. Then like a damp, after building it up he let all hell loose.

The explosion of power was so big even the Aztec god couldn't hide his surprise. That didn't last much as he could feel a blade approaching his neck from behind. With inhuman reflexes the god materialized a pit black sword in order to parry the incoming attack.

Once the blades clashed a thunderous BOOM resonated throughout the arena. At the same time the night god was flown back from the impact. He recovered mid-air and landed on his only foot with ease, but surprise was very clear on his face.

That surprise only grew as he laid eyes on his attacker. Percy was almost unrecognizable. He had shifted into his jaguar hybrid form, but this was very different from before. His form was a lot more tree-like, as wood covered his arms and legs instead of fur. Also the aura he was emitting was different from any god inside of him. At that moment Percy looked nothing short of a god.

Seeing his first attack missed Percy launched once again. Tezcatlipoca was ready this time so he took the strike head on. While he wasn't blown back, he couldn't push Percy back either. They were both locked in a struggle for dominance as sparks flew from the two weapons.

While Tezcatlipoca wasn't really one of the strongest gods, it was still incredible that a demigod was matching his godly strength. Then again, he wasn't really facing a demigod, at least not at that moment. The energy kept building up until both combatants were sent back a few feet.

"You truly are fascinating my boy, if this were a simple sword fight I might actually loose. However…" He smiled evilly as he dropped his sword and it disappeared on the ground. He snapped his fingers and hundreds of blades like the one he just threw appeared behind him.

"… You of all people should know, I am anything but 'simple'."

With that, hundreds of blades flew towards Percy at amazing speeds. At first he tried to parry them all, dozens of obsidian blades flew across the arena as Percy deflected them. Unfortunately he couldn't keep it up for long as the amount of blades was simply too overwhelming.

The Aztec demigod then got the idea to go on the offensive. So as he dodged the blades he approached his opponents and attempted a slash once again. This time all the god did was raise his hand and a mirror appeared out of nowhere.

The slash couldn't be stopped so Percy could only watch as a copy of him materialized from the mirror and mimic his attack, strength, and form. This caused another explosion as the mirror chattered and Percy was sent into the ground face first.

Tezcatlipoca didn't miss this chance and commanded his blades towards Percy. His friends were worried and yelled for him, but the blades didn't strike him, but around him. In a matter of seconds Percy was encased in an obsidian prison.

"I have to say you lasted longer than I thought. Not to be rude but I am probably the worst match up for a simple brute warrior type like yourself. There is a reason I have dozens of names; the magician, the trickster, the mirror and smokes god. I am the definition of versatility; someone with a single game plan like you couldn't defeat me in millennia."

Percy felt frustrated as he punched the obsidian pillars to no avail. He knew he was being mocked, with all the Aztec gods' powers Percy considered versatility to be one of his strong suits. He racked his brains thinking of all his different option and if he should switch to using one of the gods powers.

_Do not give up so easily, there is still lot of potential inside you. Perhaps a little nudge could help. _

The desperate teen almost jumped as an unfamiliar voice resonated within his mind.

_No need to be a scared, I am simply a last memory of your inheritance from Pan, a message if you will. Now I want you to focus on the power you receive, picture it in your mind. Then picture your own powers, not the gods but your own, think of what you have accomplished what they represent, how they define you. Finally, merge the two, and unleash what you are truly capable of. _

Percy followed the instructions as they flowed into his minds, and ceased his attacks on the cage. He pictured two green glowing globes inside of him, pulsing with power. One was filled with images, moments where he used his powers to help and fight. The other was completely blank, a gift he had to make his own. As he observed the two orbs he thought what they represented, a single domain, and using that domain as a focal point, the blobs began to merge.

Things looked slightly different outside the young demigod's mind. Tezcatlipoca no longer believe his opponent to have given up as he began to glow with energy. The god analyzed the power and was thrown off when he sensed to sources of powers, but neither one felt like an Aztec gods.

The trickster god smiled to himself as he saw his plan come to fruition. That smile quickly disappeared as did Percy's glow. The only feature that could be used to identify something had happened to Percy was the eyes. The green color that defined his iris now covered the entirety of the orbs; they pulsed with power like electricity, covering the entire surface area with a green glow.

It was clear to the old Aztec god that the young boy in front of him managed to mix Aztec and Greek auras, but in doing so lost consciousness. It was still left to be seen how powerful he had become, but that would be made clear in a matter of seconds.

The demigod raised his right arm above his head. At first nothing happened, but then suddenly huge branches began to grow from Percy's feet crawling and circling the obsidian cage. The branches then grew smaller extension until the cage was completely surrounded. Percy then closed his hand and the wild life he created responded by exerting pressure and crushing the cage.

Tezcatlipoca could only stare in awe as his cage was broken. Simple strength was not enough to destroy one of his caves; it required very precise pressure, like a crystal. It was simply unheard of to achieve something like that using tree branches.

The god's admiration was such that he couldn't react as an entire tree collided with him sending him straight to a wall of the arena. The tree immediately tried to immobilized the gob but he had finally regained his sensed so he summoned an obsidian wall in front of him cutting off the tree and causing the branches attached to him to dry up.

"Interesting Perseus, it would seem your precious plant life disappears immediately if cut off its source."

If Percy heard him he made no indication. Instead he pointed both open hands at his godly foe and began to fire what looked like bullets. The god dodged them with no difficulty, simply vanishing in smoke every time one almost hit him and reappearing somewhere else.

"You are wasting your time boy; there is no why you are going to hit me."

"Who says I was trying to hit you?"

It was the first time that Percy spoke since his transformation and it made Tezcatlipoca lower his guard for a second. This gave Percy the opening he was waiting for; he stopped his attack and put his hands together.

In an instant the entire arena was surrounded by an array of vines, plants, and flowers. The surprises didn't stop there as all the different flora started to move, attacking the god trapped inside the dome. Said god kept dodging but it was becoming more and more difficult as the area was being filled with wild life.

The dodging continued until the night god teleported into the corner. At that moment he realized that he lost complete contact of Percy until he felt a sharp pain in his band that sent him of balance and into the ground.

He quickly recovered to see Percy pointing his hand towards him. Yellow vines grew out of the gods back and immobilized the god after a few seconds of struggle. Percy slowly approached the god and materialized his weapon again.

"I think you forgot that you are not the only one capable of teleporting and with this…" Percy raised his sword over his head and quickly brought it down.

The god closed his eyes and waited for the strike to come. He opened his eyes in confusion after a few seconds to see the blade a few centimeters from his throat.

"I have won this duel, now do your end of the deal and let us go to camp."

Percy then snapped his fingers and the plant that contained the god disappeared into golden dust. At the same time all of the plants Percy created turned to dust and his eyes returned to normal.

"I am very impressed, it's the first time in a while I see such a wide display of abilities apart from myself. A deal is a deal of course so you are free to go, but I must know what did you use to immobilize me? To render a god motionless is no easy feat."

"Rearranged version of a paralyzing flower, I enhanced its paralyzing effects to affect gods, although I am sure it wouldn't have lasted more than a couple of seconds."

The god seemed satisfied with that answer, so he nodded clapped his hands and pointed towards the closest tunnel once the room returned to normal. At the same time Percy's friends appeared next to them giving praises and hugs. Even the gods in Percy's mind were giving him compliments.

"A final thing before you leave. You asked for me to become your ally, that was my intention from the start but I first wanted to test you myself. As an apology for any inconvenience please accept this gift."

The god extended his hand to show a black orb floating inside it. Percy was a bit skeptical but it didn't seem like he had a choice, so he hesitantly shook his hand.

A huge rush of powers coursed through the demigod's body making him jump. After they shook hands Percy felt strange, somewhat similar to how he felt when Pan transferred his domain to him.

"I have now giving you my blessing, it's not quite the same as the power you have from the other gods but you should still be able to use my abilities with practice. I have also replenished the energy you spent on the fight. Good luck to you, now if you excuse me I must lay down, even gods get exhausted you know."

Percy wasn't sure if he was kidding but he could see on his face that he was at least somewhat tired. After bidding farewell everyone rushed into the labyrinth with camp half blood as their destination in mind.

After a bunch of running and turning, the group of teens made it out of the labyrinth without anymore distractions. The only issue was that when they surfaced they were in the middle of Manhattan. This ended up working to their advantage as Rachel was able to separate from the group before things got messy.

"Maybe we should call a cap to camp?" Annabeth suggested.

"Too slow, now everyone hold on, we are taking the express way to camp," Percy held out his hands and everyone grabbed on as best as they could.

After a big flash of green light the quest members found themselves in front of Percy's tree house. As they looked around the camp was almost unrecognizable. Everyone was in full war mode, campers were running around moving weapons and building defenses.

Everyone went their separate ways trying to help to the cause. Percy went straight to Chiron who was overlooking the defense progress close to the maze entrance. Once Chiron saw the demigod approaching, surprised was clear in his face followed by relief.

"It is good to see you back my boy; I assume everyone else made it back safely?"

"Yes, we managed to all get here in one piece somehow. How is the defense looking?"

"Not too good to be honest. We simply don't have enough man power. We are doing the best we can but I am not sure how long we can last. Did you find Daedalus? Did you manage to get the string?"

"No… Quintus turned out to be Daedalus and he gave the string to Luke's army. Based on what he said I think we have 30 minutes, maybe less."

The centaur was very clearly disturbed by this news. No matter how skilled the campers had become, they still were very lacking in numbers to fend off an entire monster army. Percy read the old teacher's expression like a book.

"Hey don't worry, they may have the string but we gained an ally in this quest."

Chiron was curious about this and slightly hopeful once he saw Percy's expression. The conversation was caught short as rumbling could be heard from inside the maze tunnels. Everyone got on full alert as a horn gave the signal for way.

All the available demigods were quickly in position and waiting. The noises got closer and closer until monsters appeared from the tunnel. However the second they emerged explosions were set off across the entrance blowing monsters way and sealing the entrance.

The campers cheered at the result of their trap, but it was short lived. The boulders were blowing away revealing Cyclopes and many monsters behind them. Soon enough hundreds of monsters poured out of the passage but they didn't attack, they simply stared at the dozens of campers.

A Cyclops bigger than the rest stepped up.

"Demigods, give up this camp! You are outnumbered, the border that protected you is useless and the gods have abandoned you. Join us or die!"

That message had a severe psychological effect on the campers because all that was said was true. They were outnumbered, their main defense was bypassed and the gods seemed in no hurry to assist them. The situation was looking pretty grim, that is until Percy Jackson got his say in the matter.

The demigod in question walked in front of everyone was stopped once he was the midpoint between both armies.

"Your claims are false monster! You say are borders are useless; we are perfectly capable of defending this camp ourselves! It is our home and you will NOT take it away from us."

This phrase was enough to shake the fear and despair out of the campers eyes, and replace it with determination and focus.

"You say the gods have abandoned us, but there is still at least one god that will fight for the protection of this camp!"

This phrase made the monster army uneasy but only for a second as they assumed it was a bluff, until the last sentenced was spoken.

"And finally you say we are outnumbered! Well… you might want to check your numbers again!"

This phrase caused pull chaos to descend upon the battle field. The ground started to tremble and crack, from said cracks wood warriors of different shapes started appearing by the dozens. Trees from the forest became sentient and joined the ranks of the campers. Finally as if to add insult to injury, the goliath that was Percy's tree house transformed and also began moving as the world's biggest wood giant.

Soon enough both armies were looking about the same size, the big different was that leading the campers army stood a being that could be mistaken by a god.

Percy had once reached inside himself to utilized Pan's and his own power to their fullest potential, he could see the two orbs of energy inside him merged into one with a single objective in mind: protect the camp.

Finally the last command that was heard throughout the battle resonated throughout the entire camp.

"CAMPERS ATTACK!"

**A/N: My goodness it feels nice to right at a constant rate, now I am trying to stay true to my twice a month quota, but since I missed December and January, I have catching up to do. With this December is covered, so I need to do 4 more updates in two days to be caught up…. Yeah probably not going to happen lol, BUT I will do my best.**

**Sorry for the short chapter, just wanted to finish it with the war cliffhanger.**

**Now for those of you who care, the Aztec prophecy is almost complete! Anyone care to decipher what has happened so far? I did bluntly stated most of the lines but not all so, I am curious to see who knows it all and who can predict the last part before it comes?!**

**Well that's it for me, PM or Review if you have questions and or suggestions! Bye bye!**


	23. WAR

**WARRRNNNINNG! This chapter WILL push the T rating to its limit, so just be ready… I might have to change it to R but I might be paranoid. Let me know.**

_**Last time…**_

"_**And finally you say we are outnumbered! Well… you might want to check your numbers again!"**_

_**This phrase caused pull chaos to descend upon the battle field. The ground started to tremble and crack, from said cracks wood warriors of different shapes started appearing by the dozens. Trees from the forest became sentient and joined the ranks of the campers. Finally as if to add insult to injury, the goliath that was Percy's tree house transformed and also began moving as the world's biggest wood giant.**_

_**Soon enough both armies were looking about the same size, the big different was that leading the campers army stood a being that could be mistaken by a god.**_

_**Percy had once again reached inside himself to utilized Pan's and his own power to their fullest potential, he could see the two orbs of energy inside him merged into one with a single objective in mind: protect the camp.**_

_**The last command was heard throughout the entire camp.**_

"_**CAMPERS ATTACK!"**_

**Now…**

In the outskirts of New York, if one listened closely, the sound of clashing metal, shouts and screams could be heard in the distances. Those sounds were simply the scraps, the tip of the iceberg that represent the war that was raging inside the boundaries of camp half blood.

From the sky one would think that the demigod army had the advantage. The monsters looked confused and totally caught off guard. The reason for this was twofold, on one end they expected to be the attackers so being caught in the defensive was a surprise to say the last. The second reason was who, or rather what was leading the demigods.

To the monsters it felt like a god of war was charging in and mowing their allies down. In a sense they weren't exactly wrong. Said individual was Percy Jackson and he was not in a good mood which was good news for the campers and VERY bad news for the monsters.

After his little tree army stunt the demigod resorted to good old sword fighting. Once he summoned his sword he could see that it looked slightly different. The border was not covered in obsidian blades, making it look like a true Aztec weapon.

The sword still felt light in Percy's hand as its made quick work of all the monsters he faced. The enhancement made the blade sharper, cutting everything in its path cleanly in two. A trail of golden dust followed the Aztec demigod as he made his way into the heart of the enemy army.

A group Cyclopes blocked his way and surrounded him. The leader that tried to make him surrender earlier raised his hammer and brought it down with the intension of crushing his enemy. Percy made his way inside his guard and cut the one-eyed giant's hand. The hammer flew straight into the belly of another causing him to fall.

With that distraction the green eyed teen climbed up the injured monsters shoulder and severed his head from his body. Before the general turned to dust Percy jumped off him and spun around in mid-air cutting all the Cyclopes around him like a deadly tornado.

While not everyone was having the same level of success, the monster army seemed to be the only one having losses. Sadly this didn't last long as for every monster taken down two more took its place emerging from the maze

For a moment the tide appeared to be shifting back in the titan's army favor until an order was given shifting the battle once again.

"RETREAT!" Percy's voice also caused all of his tree soldiers to form a defensive wall allowing the demigods to safely get behind their original defenses.

Percy himself didn't retreat. His eyes glowed with power putting all the monsters on edge. Seeds sprung from the army wall and rained all over the enemy forces. The soldiers tried to scatter but to no avail as the tree army kept them in like a cage.

A huge power transfer could be felt from Percy to the seeds. Said seeds started to glow and then giant thorn vines came to live strangling and piercing anything they touched. Simultaneously the trees shifted into offense and also entangled everything in sight.

Not one minute later, the monsters retreated into the labyrinth as the thorns followed, completely blocking the entrance. Everyone cheered once again but more conservatively this time, with the understanding that this wasn't over.

Nico joined Percy who showed signs of exhaustion.

"Are you alright man? Do you think that this will be enough to stop them?"

"Not a chance, I slowed them down and shook their moral, but all it takes is a good enough leader and they will be back for more," Percy addressed the rest of the army.

"That first charge was to catch them off guard and affect their minds. It worked but from now on we play the defensive game is that clear?!"

A roar of approval came from the campers as they all got into position. Percy was about to call his tree army back, until an acquaintance made an appearance.

Without any warning black fire erupted from the tunnel and destroyed the vines in an instant. The tree warrior found themselves being teleported back. This was explained by looking at Percy, weariness and anxiety clear on his faces. Despite his quick instincts he wasn't able to teleport them all back in time causing some of them to burn until nothing was left but ash.

Silence filled the battle field as the fire cleared. Steps coming from the maze broke that silence. What came out could described as nothing short of the embodiment of a demon; a skeletal face, ebony black wings, eagle talons and jaguar claws. The goddess Itzpapalotl had joined the fray.

"Well well, it seems you have grown in strength considerably since the last time I saw you boy. I don't suppose you mind if my friends and I joined your little battle do you?"

The situation looked bleaker by the second as flying skeletons and weirder hellhounds surrounded the smiling goddess, and of course the regular monster came following quickly from behind.

"Those are…" Nico said with desperation in his voice.

"Tzitzimitls and ahuizotls, they are Aztec monsters… Nico I want you, Bianca and Jake to lead the defenses, while I take care of anything that's not Greek, am I clear?"

"But-"

"NICO!"

"Alright… just don't die out there okay."

Percy left without a response as he took a hard right and stop once he was a good distance away from the main forces. Getting the Aztec monsters' attention was rather simple; all he had to do was make himself the most dangerous target in the battle field, not too hard for Percy.

His sword merged with him as he took his jaguar transformation to its fullest. Percy's aura pulsed and gave off a savage and wild feeling. His changes were more prominent than before. His frame expanded, more muscle being build to accommodate for the form. Claws and fangs sharp enough to tear a Cyclops in half became the demigods new weapons.

Once the transformation finished it was hard to tell this 7 foot tall lone individual was a demigod. Regardless the desired effect was accomplished as all Aztec monsters, and goddess gave Percy their full attention.

"You keep impressing me more by the minute, tearing you apart might actually be fun this time."

"You have problems of your own besides me."

Percy's voice was deep and filled with rage. But this showed that despite his shift, he was still in full control of his ordinary powers as the tree house finally got into action. A giant tree fist came down at the goddess at a surprising speed considering the size of the root and vine giant.

The skeletal goddess quickly recovered and engaged the behemoth, exactly as Percy wanted. He charged the mix of Aztec entities, and when they clashed, a bloodbath began. It was a good thing that most demigods were busy fighting for their lives to see the brutality that was taking place with their pseudo leader.

Blood and body parts flew everywhere as the werejaguar tore through his enemies with little thought. His instincts simply took over as he caught an ahuizotl by the mouth in its attempt to bite his neck and tore it in half, and then using them as projectiles against the flying foes.

The monsters kept trying to overwhelm this fearsome foe with numbers but things weren't that simple. The second he felt surrounded Percy jumped into the air catching a tzitzimitl mid air and decapitating it in an instant. He followed this pattern jumping from flying skeleton to the next, by the time he landed back down; dozens of heads were disappearing at his feet.

"Who's next?"

**Line break I am warning you again, the violence isn't over, proceed with caution**

As the bloodbath carried its course the main battle was a lot less violent. The Apollo campers shot from the distance alongside Chiron, making a foe explode with every arrow. Meanwhile the Hephaestus campers were keeping the bulk of the army back with catapults under Annabeth's directions.

In the front lines Nico Bianca and Jake were slaying as many monsters as they could with the protection of Percy's personal army. Despite their superior numbers the titan army just couldn't make any progress. Whenever they got close a title wave would push them back, or a wall of shadows will stop their movement, or a bunch of branches will pierce through then causing them to explode into dust.

As Nico drove his sword through an empousa he looked back towards Percy in worry. To say he was surprised by what he saw would be an understatement. From the young demigods perspective Percy was in a war of his own. It was unreal to see him decimate his enemies as they came by the hundreds. But what shocked Nico the most was the brutality Percy was employing.

He was piercing his foes hearts with his bare hands, decapitating them or tearing them limb for limb without so much as a second thought. Before he could process how he felt about seeing his brotherly figure in such a fashion his view shifted focus to the goddess that was approaching Percy.

The goddess of hellfire had just defeated that annoying moving monstrosity after cutting off all of its limbs and making sure that they were charred to the point where it couldn't regenerate. After witnessing for a few seconds just how easily and brutally that annoying brat was decimating her army she decided it was time to kill this pest. She focused all of her black hell fire in her right arm, intending on burning her targets heart and making sure not even a god could heal him. With her weapon ready she launched towards her prey in his blind spot.

Percy was so focused on his own battles that he didn't notice that the skeletal goddess managed to blow back the tree house warrior and was now making a v line towards the demigod's back with a clawed hand surrounded by fire ready to pierce Percy's chest.

Percy's enemies were almost all dealt with but this simply meant that he focused all his senses on the enemies that he detected. But years of training still told him that he was in danger but it was too late. By the time Percy's instincts kicked in it was too late as the Aztec goddess was already within striking distance. The last thing Percy remembered cleared was the sound of flesh being pierced and blood covering his face.

Itzpapalotl did pierce a demigod through the heart, to her dismay it was the wrong demigod. Nico Di Angelo stood between Percy and the goddess with a hand through his chest and a blank expression on his. The goddess angrily removed her hand, annoyed more than anything else as she prepared to strike again.

Before she could do anything a loud scream and a blast of dark fire sent her away from Percy and the fallen son of Hades. The one responsible for the beam was none other than Bianca Di Angelo. She observed exactly what went down moments before. She saw her brother being distracted as he saw Percy, his panic once he saw the goddess' intention, and finally his determination as he teleport to save Percy.

The daughter of Hades had been taken by despair and anger as her brother was stabbed, and those emotions fueled her power. She focused everything in her godly fire as she kept blasting the goddess, keeping her of balance. The goddess wasn't really getting damage but the force was enough to keep him immobilized.

While this little display was going on, Percy was in his own world. He had forgotten about the war, he forgot about his enemies, all that matter was his little brother at his feet with a hole in his chest.

"Nico? Nico?! NICOOO?!"

Percy put his hands on his chest and desperately tried to transfer all his powers into healing him. This was in vain as the black fire still lingered inside him making all forms of healing possible.

_QUETZALCOATL! ANYONE! WHAT CAN I DO TO SAVE HIM?! PLEASE TELL ME! HOW DO I SAVE HIM?!_

The gods in his minds all kept quiet. They couldn't help but lowered their heads as they all knew it was hopeless but didn't have the heart to tell the distress demigod.

_Percy… I am sorry, that attack had enough power to permanently damage a god. I am afraid there is nothing anyone can do._

"THAT'S NOT TRUE! It… it can't be…" Percy found talking difficult as his emotions began taking over.

"Per…cy," That single whisper gave Percy hope as he lowered his ear to his little brother's mouth and clasped his hand.

"Don't worry Nico, I am going to fix you okay? Don't you dare fall asleep on me you hear?!"

"Plea…se, p-protect Bianca, k-k-keep her… safe… okay?"

Percy couldn't speak at this point; tears fell into the son of Hades' face. He was only capable of nodding sealing the last wish of one the person Percy had grown closest to.

"Hey… i-it's okay… I-I am glad I could…save you for a change, don't… be sad…you would do the same for me, ri…" The last worded remained unspoken as Nico Di Angelo gave his last breath.

As the young boy's body relaxed in Percy's body all of his emotions erupted and swirled like a hurricane. He lost all sense of reality, he couldn't see straight, the voices in his head became distant, closed off. The one thing that kept him in this world was the sound of Bianca's screams

The daughter of Hades kept using all of her strength until she had nothing more to give and collapsed on her knees. Once the attack stopped, Itzpapalotl emerge from the smoke looking slight annoyed and made her way towards a defenseless Bianca.

Percy observed the scene; his eyes completely glazed over, not quite in his full scenes and began to notices details on Bianca's face.

_Why is Bianca crying? Who made her cry? _Percy thought. He then looked down and saw his dead brother's face.

_That's right… Nico is dead…Who killed him? _His mind wondered again until his eyes landed on the black winged goddess. This gave Percy's mind focuses, his emotions focused and sharpened like a sword, anger, frustration, hate, all bowling into him until he managed to speak releasing it all.

"**IT WAS YOU!" **

By the time those words were spoken the goddess was in front of Bianca and ready to strike, but she didn't get the chance. Not even a second after those words were uttered, the goddess received a devastating punch to her face that instantly broke her nose and sent her flying towards the maze's entrance.

Bianca looked up and her mind couldn't register what she was saying. Wings… a pair of wings opened up, almost protectively above her. As her savior turned around Bianca's confusion only grew. It was Percy, but not at the same time. He was no longer in his jaguar form; instead he looked rather normal except for the wings sprouting from his back.

Percy's scooped her up in his arms and in an instant they were next to Chiron. The old centaur didn't say a word as Percy dropped both of the Di Angelo siblings and disappeared once more.

This time he appeared in the sky above the monster army. The fighting had ceased ever since Percy's words. Now all eyes were on him. To the demigods he looked like a guardian angel, but his enemies, he had the form of a demon ready to unleash his wrath.

"**LEAVE!" **

That single word was all that was needed to send the entire army running back into the tunnel. It only took a few seconds for the field to be completely deserted, except for one individual. The Aztec goddess was raging as she stared at the brat that caused her so many humiliations. She almost faltered being on the receiving end of Perseus' stare.

That stared contained feelings deeper than those of rage or mild frustration. It contained loathing, absolute hate, and the desire to tear apart the one that caused those emotions.

"You think I am afraid of you? You are not thing but an angry little boy that lost his fri-"

She didn't get to finish that sentence as her mouth was being crushed by Percy's unforgiving grip. The skeletal goddess had no idea how her foe appeared in front of her so quickly but she didn't have to time to ponder upon it as she was tossed like a rag doll inside the labyrinth.

Percy was about to follow but he turned around and looked at every camper with piercing eyes filled with emotions. He didn't say a word but a message was clearly given.

_Be ready, this isn't over. _

With that turned around and flew into the endless maze, leaving everyone speechless and processing what just occurred. The one thought on everyone's mind was, _is that still Percy Jackson. _

Meanwhile some halls inside the confusing structure were being destroyed by a bouncing Aztec goddess. The strength from Percy's toss was such that she ended up miles away from the camp entrance. Once she recovered her footing it became clear that this was more than a little brawl, she was fighting for her life and if she didn't take this seriously she could very easily lose it.

That realization was made just in time as a punch basically materialized in front of her face. The goddess managed to dodge by putting her reflexes on overdrive but the punch still chattered the wall it collided with.

The owner of the punch faced her target, analyzing her, like a flying eagle observing a mouse. This infuriated Itzpapalotl to such a degree that she attacked with all her physical strenght. The goddess was finally fighting for real.

This time it was Percy who was flown way as the hellfire goddess tackled him and planted her claws at his neck. Even being flown back Percy showed no fear as he simply threw a right hook from his position completely throwing the attack off balance. Using this opportunity the winged demigod placed his own hands at her neck and they wrestled for dominance as they flew through many corridors at almost the speed of sound.

**LINE BREAK O.O**

The battle between the two Aztec powerhouse wasn't the only one going. Kampê herself showed up to rile up and lead the monsters back into camp half blood. Despite the new leader things weren't looking to good for the titan army. Percy's form pierced most of the soldiers minds to such a degree that it looked like they were letting the demigods kill them. Of course Kampê didn't apply to this so she attacked full force.

A small elite force of campers faced the Jailer of Cyclopes, and the leader was none other than Jake Ugliano. He was extremely confused about the previous events but he had no time to think about that at the moment. All he knew was that their only chance of winning was to take out this giant monstrosity.

Kampê recoiled in pain as knife was embedded into her back being wielded by an invincible Annabeth. Most monsters would have turned to dust by that attack but Kampê wasn't most monsters. She shook Annabeth off, who landed on her head and fell unconscious.

Jake was distracted by this so he didn't see a tail hitting him on the back. He had two scimitars being pointed at his chest so the demigod thought things were looking pretty hopeless until a roar distract the giant monster over him

From the entrance of the tunnel new allies arrived. They were only three, but in this case it was quality over quantity. Briares, Quintus, and Ms. O'Leary scattered the army even more that it already was. Briares focused entirely on Kampê, so he used his one hundred arms to grab all the rubble he could find and throw it at his jailer. Kampê soon found herself under a rain of boulders she could not avoid. She became dust under the tons of concrete.

With their leader gone the monsters were hopeless and went on full retreat giving victory to the campers. A roar of victory was shared among the young warrior but it was short lived as their attention was directed towards the fallen son of Hades.

Everyone became silent, giving their respects, allowing only Bianca's sobs to be heard. Quintus approached Jake and Annabeth.

"I know this is not the best time, but we all know this isn't quite over. There is still a battle being raged inside the Labyrinth. Now this may end up working out for the better. This maze that I created, it needs to be destroyed."

"I thought that was impossible since it became its own entity, if you destroy a part, it will simply reappear somewhere else."

"You are partially right daughter of Athena. However it is still my creation so should I cease to exist then the structure will collapse. The only problem is that the structure is so self sustained that even that might not be enough. It would require something big; let's say a battle between two godly beings inside it, to weaken it enough to the point where it collapses for sure."

"Percy…" Annabeth whispered.

Everyone was worried about him. Despite all their doubts, their fears, their jealousy, he was still their leader, to most campers he felt like a big brother. In a rare act of unity all campers closed their eyes, put their hands together and prayed, not to their godly parent, but to Percy with a single message

_PLEASE BE OK…_

Line Break

The day of the battle of the Labyrinth reports of small tremors were made around the world. This was the closest the mortals got to feel the violent duel occurring right beneath them. The two flying Aztec warriors traveled the entire globe through the maze.

The violent battle was a show to behold as both combatants resembled wild beast as they clawed and bit trying to establish dominance in this physical showdown with no clear winner.

They lost complete track of time and space a single objective filled both their minds: destroying their opponent. Percy dodged a claw to the face and grabbed the goddess hand, spun her around and ended up throwing her in a rather large Greek looking room.

Both combatants looked extremely battle worn; cuts and bruised were clear on their bodies and their breath was ragged and uneven.

"Why…HOW!? How is it possible that a mere human is my physical equal?! This cannot be!"

Percy ignored her rant and used the opportunity to ram a kick to her gut sending her crashing into one of the walls with enough force to make the whole room shake. Not a second was waited as Percy continued his assault with his opponent against the wall.

Every punch made their surrounding shake and blood scatter from the goddess. The Aztec demigod didn't seem to care as he mercilessly continued his assault. Once his opponent fell on the ground he kicked her and sent her spiraling across the marbled floor. He walked over with the intention of continuing his attacks but the goddess couldn't stand this any longer.

"**ENOUGH!" **

Percy was sent back as a hellfire explosion filled the entire room. Percy's bother ended intact since he managed to summon special vines to extinguish the fire around him. He kept his cold expression as he eyed the enraged goddess.

"Those eyes… those damn eyes! I will teach you not to underestimate me! It might be true that I can't beat you in a pure physical fight, but you are a fool if you think that means you have own. I am feared for more than just my physical prowess. I will teach you why that is!"

Darkness and black fired surrounded the goddess as she released her true form. She lost all human traces as she became an embodiment of shadows and hellfire. Percy still refused to back down as his mind could only thing about killing the being in front of her.

The following confrontation was a bit one sided as Itspapalotl did the first move. She extended her hand creating a huge blast of energy that sent Percy crashing through several walls. Before even getting the chance to land the released goddess was already on top of him and unleashing her next attack.

The battle continued throughout the lengths of the maze and it went to such a degree that they emerge into the surface a few times. The Coliseum, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, the pyramids of Egypt, tourist around the world would claim seeing to creatures popping from the ground only to go back in a second later.

Despite being in the disadvantage Percy still landed a couple of good hits since he had the superior physical strength. Itspapalotl kept trying to burn Percy into a crisp but his reflexes created a coat of plant life that protected him from harm. As the battle went on the difference in power became clear as shadows and fire began to overpower Percy.

After what felt like an eternity Percy was down on one knee, burn marks clear on his face and arms. He fought with all he had, but in that form, all his powers and abilities transferred to brute force and that simply wasn't enough to take out the goddess of darkness.

"You really are a nuisance, I can't believe seeing your little friend die gave you so much strength. And yet that was all it was, brute force. Listen, it takes more than simple force to achieve what you want, you were a complete fool to think you could beat me with that alone. You always tried to be the hero, but in the end you will die alone with no one to protect you. And once I am done your friends will join you in the next life."

As if by miracle, at that moment Percy felt a boost in energy, and then another, and another. He could hear voices, the voices or the campers. He didn't understand how, but he could hear them, worried, wanting him to go back safely, to his home.

That opened the young demigods mind, he remembered that he was more than brute force, his abilities, they were more than that, and they meant more than that. Percy got up and used his memories to guide him, memories of building the trees, of helping the campers, of fighting to protect what he cared about.

Suddenly Itspapalotl was hit by a giant tree fist. That was followed by a whip of thorn vines. The goddess tried to reply with a pillar of fire, but it was completely neutralized by an obscene amount of kale that wrapped itself around the goddess.

"It was foolish of me to think that brute force alone will be enough to bring you down. Thank you for reminding me that I am much more than that, I represent more than that. I represent nature, always adapting to natural disaster, and now it's time to finish this battle."

The following confrontation would be the last and most impressive; as both warriors relied solely on their domains to decide the fight. It was a battle of shadows versus plants, but it was more than that, it was as if nature itself fought alongside Percy.

Eventually Percy plants adapted to the fire and became pretty much inflammable. Percy took aspects from different wild life to create his own plant, with the sole purpose of taking down the Aztec goddess that took his brother's life.

Itzpapalotl could only fill desperation as her attacks became completely useless and finally she completely gave into hopelessness once the demigod in front of her summoned an entire forest based on that inflammable plant and aimed it all directly at her.

On Camp Half blood everyone was either attending to the injured or injured themselves. They had come out victorious in this battle but they didn't feel like winners as they looked around. A good amount of the forest was gone, the tree house was in complete ruins and there was still no sign of Percy.

As If on command just then a huge explosion was heard from the maze entrance. An object could be seen flying out and landing in the middle of the battlefield. All the campers that were able to move approach the fallen object in hopes that it was Percy.

They all nearly fell once they saw that it was actually the monster goddess that killed Nico and Percy fought. They were all afraid, and ready to run except for the fact that said goddess was completely immobile. The reason as to why came flying in just seconds later.

Percy himself landed in front of the goddess, everyone was overjoyed to see him but Percy had a single thing in mind as he approached the goddess and raised her by the throat.

"I have beaten you. Now I demand that you bring Nico Di Angelo back to life!"

Despite being completely beaten and immobile the goddess still managed to smirk.

"Silly boy, I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. That attack was made with the intension of killing you. No one, no matter how powerful will be able to bring that boy back! So tell me, how does it feel? To know that your victory is completely empty?" The goddess laughed as if she had been the one to win.

Everyone listening couldn't do anything but lower their heads, it did feel that despite their victory, it wasn't complete.

Percy took a more violent approach. In his frustration he smashed the goddess into the ground and punched her repeatedly.

"BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK!"

Everyone washed in astonished silence as Percy attempted to punch the goddess to death. They wanted to stop him but everyone was too afraid to move. Jake and Annabeth began to move forward but a bright light stopped them.

A bright yellow fired appeared around Percy, but it wasn't trying to harm him. It was trying to restrain him, to calm him down. Percy resisted at first of course, but soon enough, the fire materialized into Hestia and that was enough to make the young warrior yield.

"It's over, killing her won't bring Nico go. So do what the Percy he admired would do."

Percy looked down at the beat up goddess, he didn't forgive her, and he couldn't, but at the very least he did the best he could come up with. He grabbed her by the throat and brought their faces centimeters apart.

"Listen well because I am only going to say this once. Under Aztec law I beat you in a duel so you will do the following commands. First, you or your army will never again lay a finger on any demigods. Second, you will not participate anymore in this or any other war that puts demigods in harm's way. Finally, you will go tell the other Aztec goddess that if they cross me or my friend a fate much worse than what you suffered will be brought down upon them. Break any of these rules, and I swear I will forget whatever it is I am doing to make sure you suffer for the crimes you committed. Did I make myself clear?"

The goddess had never been threatened before but she couldn't control her body as she nodded out of sheer fear for this demigod, after that vanished into the shadows.

Once she was gone Percy collapsed in more ways than one. All of his powers were gone, the tree army went back to being normal trees, and all of the emotional baggage he had been holding simply came out at once.

Hestia hugged Percy tightly as he held her for dear life letting loud sobs. Soon enough all of the campers joined, with the adrenaline of the war gone everyone let out all they've been holding in. Hestia's words were heard clearly among the demigods and calming them down.

"It's alright, it's all over now."

She repeated these words until it finally clicked with all the campers. It was finally done, they had done it. After an exhausting day, and truly terrifying experiences…

The battle of the Labyrinth was over.

**A/N: My goodness that was satisfying. Don't get me wrong, this was a very dark chapter, even I felt teary eyed at certain parts… but at the same time I feel like this is the best chapter I have written so far.**

**Tell me your opinion! Did you like it? Hate it? I know I will get some hate for killing Nico ;_; but deaths are part of battles and wars…**

**Now expect a bit more of a delay on the next chapter, because I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do with this chapter. The next one… not so much, so it might take a while. (Hopefully not too long)**

**Finally how was the violence? I tried to exemplify that Aztecs are rather violent and battles involving them are bound to be like that, so tell me what you think! **

**As always PM or review ( as a registered user if you want me to anwer) If you have suggestions or questions!**

**Bye bye…**


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