Perseus was the true firstborn of Poseidon, born before Poseidon's marriage to Amphrite. After the wars, he had been training and helping demigods occasionally. Now, with the Titan war approaching, he is called to Olympus to fight for them once more. Ancient!Percy slightly OP

3rd PoV

Off the coast of Belize, there was a strange sight. A man on a private island, sparring automatons with weapons long past their time. Swords were howling through the air, the twang of bowstrings, the sounds of steel on steel as spears struck a shield. All this firepower was being focused towards one man. The most notable features of this man were his eyes. They were a vibrant, bright emerald green that seemed to glow in the rising sun. He was an impressive man, standing at 6'8, inky black hair, which was kept in a high and tight. He was clothed in nothing but a pair of white linen pants, showing off his godlike physique. He had a tattoo of the trident he was wielding on his back, running up the length of his spine, the center prong ending just under the level of his shoulder blades. He spun and slashed and dodged as he one by one, picked off the automatons. He spun the trident in his hand and jabbed the center prong through the throat of the automaton. The trident was a piece of art within itself. It was a gift from the faded primordial of the seas, Pontus.

The sound of slow clapping was heard from the thatched overhang covering the kitchen and bar. The home looked like a relic from the islands of ancient Greece. It held no walls, for there was no need for them when it never became too hot unless the owner wanted it to.

The man on the beach turned around and started walking towards the voice with a grin on his flawless face, only extenuating his rugged handsomeness. "Why hello there o' mighty Queen of Olympus. What did this simple immortal demigod do to deserve the presence of such a renowned woman?"

The lady now identified as Hera, punched him on the arm, with no intent to hurt, and giggled. That's correct, the ice Queen of Olympus, giggled. "You're such a flirt Perseus. Am I not allowed to see my best friend from time to time?"

The man pulled her into a hug, her relatively petite 5'10 frame was dwarfed by the muscular man. She hugged back tightly, hoping to rid herself of the blush which adorned her face before he saw it. "Of course you may, but its just not likely. You rarely visit me since you were married to Zeus."

Hera laughed as they separated from their hug. "Do you truly believe he would be happy if he knew I was visiting my first lover? He would have thrown one of his famous tantrums and would try to chain me about Chaos again."

The man scowled slightly. "We both know he wouldn't dare to do that again. You remember what I did to him, do you not? It took both Apollo and his son Asclepius to heal him, the latter passing out due to the strain. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if he tried attacking you."

The woman smiled at him lovingly, before taking his hand and pulling him over to a loveseat. He sat down, and she laid her head in his lap. "I know you would Perseus, and he does too. You've always been too loyal for your own good. But I come here with bad news. The gods wish to summon you to the throne room, and no one else would dare try to take you somewhere you didn't want to go except myself.

The man shook his head and sighed as he braided the Queen's hair, the same way he did all those years ago. "I will go with you, but I cannot promise the safety of anyone who approaches me with ill-intent. I will not be gentle when dealing with them."

She nodded and stood up, her hair in a beautiful braid, intertwined with strip of silver and gold. "I understand, and I won't hold it against you. The meeting is in ten minutes, but there is something I've wanted to do for the past twenty-five hundred years."

The Queen of Olympus wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to hers as he grabbed her hips. She pulled him into a passionate kiss. She desperately pulled him closer trying to eliminate any space between them. After a few minutes they pulled apart, gasping for breath, lips swollen and with their foreheads touching.

After a few minutes Hera spoke, "I know that I'm married. I just wanted to feel it again."

Perseus nodded. "I understand, my love. You just must be aware that we have both moved on, I will not be a temptation for you to cheat on your spouse, no matter how unfaithful he may be."

She smiled and nodded. They separated, and he held out his arm. She looped her arm through his, and they disappeared in a golden flash.

LINE BREAK – Percy PoV

Hera pulled her arm out of mine as we approached the Throne room. I opened the twenty five foot door with ease, allowing her to walk through and grow to her godly height. When I entered, I realized I was still in my linen pants. I didn't want to be here, so I didn't care too much. I walked over to the hearth and sat down. I kept my trident in hand just in case.

As soon as I walked in, the throne room fell silent. I could see all the goddesses (plus Apollo) drooling at the sight of me shirtless, and grins from the males. Ares sat there, looking at me in shock, like I'd grown another head. I knew why of course, I just wanted to see him ask the question.

I grinned and waved back at my dad. When I looked one throne to the left, my grin fell into a small glare, causing the King of the Gods to shift uncomfortably, remembering what happened last time he tried writing me off as a weak demigod.

I sighed, "What do you want? And where's Artemis? Does she not come to meetings anymore?"

My annoyed tone snapped Zeus out of his thoughts. He narrowed his eyes at me "YOU DA-"

"Shut up. I do dare not to bow because I don't respect you. I don't care if you're the king of this house I will not listen to your bloated ego. Now if you're not going to say something of use, I'll leave."

"You're lucky I don't sm-"

"Smite me with your overgrown power adaptor? You've tried and I kicked your ass."

Athena was the first to speak up. "I apologize for my father's behavior. We are in need of your help."

I smiled, "Hello there my little Owl. What is it I may help you with?"

Ares broke out of his stupor. "Why'd you call Athena 'your little Owl?"

It's only fair to give a nickname to the one I showed the world. I was the architect that designed the Athena Parthenos as a birthday present. She's like a daughter to me. Anything else you want to ask, polemokápilos?"

Ares' eyes widened again. "I remember you! You're the fántasma tis Spártis!

I grinned wider, "At your service. I'm surprised you remember me after all these years."

Apollo looked confused beyond belief. "Hold on, what the hell is going on? You just called Ares by his title that he was given with the rise of Sparta, Warmonger, and he just called you the Ghost of Sparta? What the hell? Wait that means…" He looked at me with undisguised terror and fear. "Stay away from me!"

He tried to shrink into his throne. Demeter, being the smart women she asked. "Why is he so scared of you?"

I masked my expressions, leaving myself with a straight face. "He killed my only child on a bet with a minor god who is now faded. I destroyed all his temples and killed all of his priests and priestesses until he got off his high and mighty ass. He met me at his temple in Didyma, and we fought. We destroyed most of the temple and he flashed out before I could strike the killing blow. I proceeded to kill all his priests and priestesses at that temple, and since then, he has had nightmares about the Ghost of Sparta. He didn't know who I was, because I never took off my helmet. The only people in Sparta to ever see me without it was my adopted daughter who was the last daughter of Helios, Ares, and King Leonidas."

Ares looked downright giddy. "Can you go to our camp and train my kids?" After this he grew somber. "I don't want to lose them, I went them to be as well equipped as possible to fight in the upcoming war. I may not show it, but I do care for my kids."

I shrugged. "Maybe, depends on what request you all have for me. That's the only reason I'm here to begin with."

Hera spoke up this time. "Artemis was captured. I was being ignored by the others because they don't trust me to tell the truth. She is being trapped under the sky. The titan Atlas is free from his burden."

The others started to yell about how it was a lie. What caught me off guard and pissed me off though, was Dionysus. "Shut up you old hag. You just want her to die."

I summoned my trident and threw it through the base of his throne. His throne crumbled and he fell to the ground. I held out my hand, and my trident came flying back to me. I held my trident to his throat and spoke in a deathly quiet voice. "You will apologize for those lies you were spewing about Hera and sit down like a semi-respectable god and behave yourself in front of your queen before I put you in that pit. I will drag you down there personally if I must. I wouldn't be my first time down there and I'll go willingly if you insult her again."

He nodded quickly and I retracted my trident from his throat. Hephaestus spoke up this time. "Why do you defend her so vehemently? You realize how she treated us?"

I chuckled. "Simple, my son. She was my lover before Zeus raped her and forced her to become his wife."

All the second-generation gods and some of the first-generation sat there shocked, before Hephaestus spoke up. "You called me son… Are you my actual father?"

I nodded. "It wasn't Hera who threw you off Olympus. That was Zeus when he found out that you were my child. He was angry that he didn't get to take the goddess of marriage's virginity, and took it out on you."

He slowly stood up and shrunk down to human size, standing six inches shorter than me. He took a shaky step forward. I opened my arms and he ran into them.

He hugged me, crying. "w-where were you?"

"I was always there. Have you ever wondered why your children were never attacked before the age of twelve? I've been protecting my grandchildren for years. If you want to be your true self, all you have to do is repeat after me. I Hephaestus, god of the forge, accept Perseus, protector of the ages, the ghost of Sparta, and holder of many more titles, as my true father."

He separated from me and repeated what I said. He started to glow until no one could see him. When the light cleared, there was the true Hephaestus. He stood at 6'4, a neatly trimmed brown beard. He was built like a blacksmith. He had all of his long hair tied up into a small manbun on the back of his head. He truly looked like a male Aphrodite. He summoned a mirror and stood there shocked. He went back to his throne, grinning from ear to ear. As soon as he sat down, he took off his wedding ring and broke it. The entire council was shocked by the true appearance of Hephaestus. He was wearing a brown tunic with his toolbelt tied around his waist. He wore traditional leather sandals, and he looked like a true, imposing god.

I looked at Hera. "Lets get back on track. So you need me to go find Artemis and bring her back?"

Athena responded. "Not quite. You need to do it through a quest with the demigods of camp, and most likely a huntress or two."

I sighed. "Fine, fine. Just explain it to Chiron and I'll head over to camp."

LINE BREAK

I vapor travelled to the beach, still in just my linen pants. At this point I was too tired to care. Walked past some stunned campers, making my way to the big house. To make a point that I wasn't someone to be fucked with, I held my trident in one hand. People were whispering and pointing at me from a distance. I got fed up with it and vapor traveled the rest of the way there, where Chiron was waiting. He saw me and his face broke into a smile. He ran over to me and I pulled him into a hug.

He pulled back and looked me up and down. "It's been much too long Perseus. How are you faring?"

I chuckled. "As well as one can when one is about to go beat the shit out of a Titan. Why don't you call the campers and hunters to go to the arena and explain it. I'll introduce myself, and see where that leads us."

He nodded, then blew the horn around his waist five times, and everyone ran to the arena. Once everyone was seated, Chiron stomped the floor and everyone quieted. "Hello campers and hunters, we are here today for me to introduce someone who was sent here to save the kidnapped goddess." I droned out until He stopped talking.

I stood up and made my way to the center, where I noticed every pubescent female was blushing at my lack of a shirt. "Hello, everyone. My name is Perseus. Yes, the one that fought with the gods during the Titan War. I am known under many titles, but one that may resonate with those who haven't heard of me is The Ghost of Sparta. After this quest, I may stay and train some of Chiron's most promising campers. Your first test will be tonight at capture the flag. I will be monitoring the game and those I find worthy; I will take on the quest with me. Unless, of course, you don't want to go."

A kid who bared a striking resemblance to Heracles stood up. "I'm the most powerful demigod to ever live after my father, the great Heracles. What makes you think you can tell us what to do? I challenge you to a duel!"

I mentally prayed to Ares, and he happily replied with a 'kick his punk ass for me'. I was bathed in a blood red light, and when it faded, I was standing there in my full armor. I wore a helmet with a similar style to the hoplite helmet. Instead of horse hair running down it, It was alight with hellfire, a solid black flame that was enchanted to only burn what I wanted it to. I wore a celestial bronze chest plate, formed to my muscular torso. It was engraved with all my adventures. I wore Grieves and cuirasses. I had a blood read cape hanging from my shoulder I held a spear in my right hand, and a spartan shield in my left. The shield was different. Instead of having a lambda (Λ) in the center, it was an Omega (Ω). When he saw my in my army regalia, he trembled a little. He seemed to steel his nerves and twist a ring on his finger, where a bronze club appeared in his hand. He made his way down the rows of seats until he was even with me on the hard packed dirt floor. The demigod charged at me and I just smash his club away with my shield before kicking him onto his back. I held my spear point at his throat. Everyone sat there in shocked silence as I dealt with one of their best demigods in mere seconds.

He gulped and looked at me. "I yield."

I pulled my spear away and everything disappeared from my person, leaving me back in my linen pants. "You must not be arrogant or cocky. Never judge someone off yourself. Look at their accomplishments and see if you could do it yourself. Everyone has strengths and everyone has weaknesses. I have been training for thousands of years, young one. Now go sit down in your seat."

He nodded and walked back up the stands with his head hung in shame. "There is no shame in being beaten by a superior opponent, but there is shame in not attempting to prepare for the fight. You didn't mentally prepare yourself to face me, you just went in guns blazing. You must always keep a level head in a fight. Now, I believe it's time for dinner, is it not? And Clarisse La Rue? Stay behind."

Everyone filed out of the arena heading to the dining pavilion. I was approached by a young woman looking at me with barely disguised awe. "How may I help you, my lord?"

I chuckled. "No need for any of this my lord business. I care naught for formalities. I have called you here because You passed my island during your quest for the golden fleece. I wished to speak to you in private over some things. I'll be going home for dinner, will you accompany me? "

She nodded, blushing in praise from her idol. I held out my hand and she took it. I vapor traveled us back to the island, where some of my wind spirits cleaned up the automaton mess. '

She spun around before facing me again. "Where are we? Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful, I've just never seen it before."

I nodded, "This is my private island. I have lived here since after the Titan war. Now, I do not allow artificial clothing or shoes on this island, it breaks from the scenery." I motioned her to follow me to my 'bedroom' which was just three walls separating it from the rest of the main island, where it opened to the beach. I opened a chest full of linens and held out a sheet to her. "Wear this chiton, not only will it fit properly, it can never get dirty. It is self-mending and will adjust its temperature to fit your needs."

She looked at me and blushed. "I don't know how to put on a chiton…"

I simply nodded. "I will have an oceanid come help you."

She nodded, still a deep shade of red I walked around to my office and changed into a toga. It was held over my left shoulder, and tied together with a brown length of cloth. I walked back to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of red wine. I had everything set up ten minutes later when she walked into the kitchen. I almost dropped the lambchops in shock. Previously, she had been wearing baggy camo pants, combat boots, and an orange camp hoodie with the hood up. Now, I could see her in all her beauty. Her luscious light brown hair fell over her shoulder in a braid. The silk chiton hugging her petite waist, with a pair of brown leather sandals. She wore a gold circlet and a gold arm cuff around her left bicep. She wasn't wearing any makeup, but she didn't need it. She looked more beautiful than any goddess he'd seen on Olympus. Even more so than Hera, in his opinion.

When I got my brain functioning I said the first thing that came to mind. "You look beautiful."

In response I received a light blush, "Thank you, you look quite handsome yourself."

I poured her a glass of red wine and handed it to her. She looked at me questioningly. "You do realize I'm underage, right?"

I chuckled, "This island isn't owned or even near America. We are currently about thirty miles off the coast of Belize. This is technically my own country. There is no drinking age here. If you wish, I can get you something else?" (A/N In this story, Clarisse is currently 19)

She shook her head. "I think I may want to visit more often in that case. May I help with anything?"

I went back to work, which was cutting potatoes. "You are welcome to come and go as you please. In that case I will have the wind spirits start building another room for you."

She looked shocked. "There's no need for that, truly. It was a joke!"

"Joke as it may be, I do get quite lonely here, and I've enjoyed your company so far, so I thought you may enjoy a place to go to relax. And I could think of worse people to share an island with than a beautiful woman"

She blushed, "I truly appreciate it Percy. Is it alright if I call you that?" I grinned and nodded. "I think I would like somewhere to go outside of camp."

I put the lamb chops on the grill. "This island is also enchanted, so no god or goddess can look upon it without my permission. It also moves of it's own free will, unless I want it to stay somewhere. We are currently in Belize, tomorrow we could be off Japan. It's nigh impossible to track."

By this point I had finished cooking and moved everything to the table. She followed me over to the table and looked up at the beautiful night sky. I pulled her chair out for her and she sat down. I sat myself and we both took a lambchop and a scoopful of potatoes. I refilled our glasses and saw her sitting like she did at camp. Rigid and as perfect as she could.

I smiled at her as she tried her best. I reached across her table and grabbed her hand. "Relax Claire, you have no one to impress here. I won't judge you, I'm not nearly as close to perfect as yourself, and I've learned to live with who I am. I don't kowtow to other people's perfect image."

She blushed at the compliment. She hesitated a bit before allowing her shoulders to fall a little and to stop flexing all the muscles in her back. She suddenly seemed a lot more… welcoming. She looked back at me and smiled. "Thank you."

I realized I never took my hand away, and she held my hand too. I noticed we had both finished our meals. I released her hand, and noticed the disappointed look on her face. I pulled out her chair, and led us over to the beach. I helped her sit down in the sand and I asked her to give me a second. She smiled and nodded, so I jogged off. I grabbed a batch of grapes from the counter and sacrificed them to Hermes, one of my friends on the council, and sent him a message. Hey man, do me a solid a tell Chiron to delay the capture the flag until tomorrow. I'm busy at the moment. I knew that he would do it, so I didn't worry too much. I grabbed a couple more bottles of wine and jogged back to the beach, where Clarisse was looking out over the ocean. I sat down next to her with a sigh.

She looked over at me at me with a smile. At that moment I promised to make her smile like this as often as I could. We talked for hours, eventually laying down on our backs looking at the stars. We both fell asleep, with more to drink than we probably should have.

LINE BREAK – Clarisse PoV

I had the best sleep I think I'd ever had that night. While I was dreaming, I realized that demigods don't dream like mortals, but rather gods. We think about whatever we want, as long as we're not disturbed by Hypnos or Morpheus. And tonight I thought about from the moment I met him, to right now, where I was sleeping on the beach. I came to the realization that I had been focusing on fighting all the time, trying to live up to the god of war, and I hadn't taken any time to let myself relax. Oh gods. This can't be happening. I have a crush on Perseus megálos, the most powerful demigod to ever exist. I felt the memories that I was reliving in my dreams begin to fade, so I knew I was waking up.

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

My first thought was 'this sounds suspiciously like a heartbeat. I slowly opened one eye and immediately froze. I had fallen asleep on the beach and was sleeping on Percy's chest. He had his arms wrapped around me and I realized I hadn't felt this safe in ages. It was as if it were made for me. I decided to enjoy it while it lasted, so I closed my eyes and snuggled further on to him. His breathing started to change and I knew he was waking up. He leaned up and I think he saw me because he stopped breathing for a second, and his heart skipped a beat. I realized I, Clarisse La Rue, made Percy's heart skip a beat. I acted like I was just waking up and we made eye contact. We both blushed heavily, before he started to grin. "Good morning sleeping beauty."

Oh my gods. His morning voice. It was so deep and rumbling, oh my gods it was perfect.

I managed to turn a deeper shade of red when his words hit me. "Then that must make you prince charming, hm?"

It was his turn to blush before he got a sudden glint in his eye. "Percy what do you think your do- EEP!"

He picked me up bridal style and ran into the water. I was expecting to get soaking wet, so when I opened my eyes and realized we were in a bubble underwater I thought my eyes were about to pop out of my head. He set me on my feet, but continued holding my hand. We walked the ocean floor for a while, how long I couldn't tell but it didn't last long enough. We eventually made it back to the island, and We went to the kitchen for breakfast, which consisted of bacon, eggs, and orange juice.

Afterwards we walked back to the beach, where he looked at me and gave a small smile before saying, "I really enjoyed last night. I got something for you that I was originally going to give my wife if I was to ever get married."

He handed me a necklace. It had what looked like real water that was glowing wrapped in gold to form a type of egg like shape. It was strung on a gold necklace. I turned around and he clasped it around my neck. I loved it. As soon as he clasped it around my neck I realized that I knew exactly where this island was.

He blushed and smiled again. "The water in that necklace is very special. It was water that came from this island. It was evaporated over the Hearth of the Gods of Olympus. The moisture was kept in a hold by yours truly, before being blessed by my father to always retain its shape. If you ever want to return here, just hold the pendant and think and you will be teleported here. If you don't want it it's completely okay, I just thought tha-"

I cut him off with a hug. I pulled a way a little before kissing him on the cheek. "I love it. Thank you so much. You've done so much for me and you've barely met me."

He smiled again. "I don't know why, I just feel drawn towards you."

I hugged him again before whispering. "We should probably head back to camp Percy, what do you say?"

He nodded, a goofy grin adorning his features. We separated until he was only holding my hand. We disappeared into water vapor to reappear at Camp Half Blood. We reappeared scaring everyone at the beach halfway to Hades. I pulled my hand out of his causing him to pout like a child. I laughed and we walked back to camp. I was getting stares that made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

I look up at Percy and voiced my thoughts. "Why is everyone staring at me?"

He looked at me strangely for a second before responding. "Because you're beautiful. They don't recognize you probably, since yesterday you looked so different."

We made our way to Chiron at the archery range. When he saw us he looked at me confused for a second before trotting over. "Hello again Perseus. I'm sorry young one, I don't think I know you're name?"

I looked at him and laughed. "Hello there Chiron, I'm Clarisse. Clarisse La Rue."

He looked at me in shock. "My apologies, you look so different from when you left yesterday."

We talked for a bit before walking around again. Percy had to go to a meeting on Olympus so I walked to find some of my friends. I found a group of my friends, being Thalia, Annabeth, Katie, and Selina. "Hey Guys!"

Thalia looked back at me with a confused expression. "Hey there, do I know you?

I laughed again. "It's Clarisse, you know? The girl that kicked your ass in the arena?"

She looked at me like she was about to faint. Everyone started talking at once "What the Hades? Why are you dressed so differently? Where did you get those clothes? You look hot!"

I blushed at the last comment, coming from Selina. "I'm dressed differently because I was talking with Perseus yesterday night about some training I could do. He gave them to me. He has a rule about no synthesized materials on his island, its eco-perfect basically. It has the best air quality of anywhere else on the planet. It hasn't changed since the Primordials ruled. The island was a gift to him from The Primordial of the Oceans, Pontus. I like how I look, thank you."

Selina gave me a knowing smirk. "So you spent all night at his island? Didn't do anything naughty, huh?

I stuttered out, "O-of course not!"

Thalia piped up. "Your blush says otherwise princess."

I tried reining in my blush. "Percy and I did nothing yesterday."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Percy huh? Already giving each other pet names? And is that wine I smell coming from your breath?"

I blush came back with a vengeance. "We had dinner, wine lamb chops and potatoes, then we talked for a bit, he got up and told Chiron not to do the Capture the Flag game yesterday, we talked and drank a bit more, then fell asleep on the beach. When we woke up, We went for a walk underwater, he's a son of Poseidon so he kept us in an air pocket, We ate breakfast then he gav- we came here."

Selina's Cheshire grin grew. "Fell asleep together huh? And what did he give you? You made a bit of a slip up there hun."

I sighed and showed them the necklace and explained what it did. They looked at it shocked before laughing loudly, drawing looks.

I felt an arm fall over my shoulder. I looked up and saw my brother, Mark. "And who may you be, beautiful?"

I laughed in his face, leaving him a little peeved. "I'm Clarisse you dimwit. Go away."

He looked at me in shock before running away. We all laughed at that time. We talked for the better part of thirty minutes before they managed to extract the truth from me. "Fine, fine. When I woke up I had been sleeping on his chest and I may more may not like him, romantically."

Selina squealed in excitement. "I knew it! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

I heard that deep, baritone voice I've come to enjoy being around. "There you are Clarisse. Are you ready to start your training?"

I smiled up at him from where I was sitting and I realized why all the girls voices were stuck in their throats. He was wearing compression pants, and a tight sleeveless muscles shirt and held a weight vest in his left hand all of his muscles were on prominent display, all bulging, including one specific bulge, causing me to blush heavily. "Yeah, lets go!"

He walked me to my cabin, along the way I got a bunch of jealous glares. I ran inside and changed into a spandex short shorts, a sports bra, and some Nike trainers. I redid my hair into a ponytail and grabbed spear, Maimer, and my shield. It was a gift when he claimed me - a Spartan shield. I ran outside and saw four Aphrodite girls way to close to him for his comfort, he was just too polite to tell them to go away.

"Hey Perce, lets go!"

He looked at me relieved before running over to meet me. One of the girls, Drew, called out. "Wait! I haven't told you when to pick me up yet!"

He ran towards me faster. When he reached me he hugged me. "Thank the gods, they nearly molested me twice and they undressed me with their eyes!"

I laughed at him and we walked to the arena. This is going to be a long day.

LINE BREAK

I sat down during my break and watched him walk over to his water cooler. He pulled his shirt off and stretched, by doing so, he flexed every muscle. It put into perspective just how fit he was. Nearly the entire Aphrodite cabin was standing there slack-jawed at the sight. I saw Connor Stoll take a picture before running off, doing Hermes' knows what with it. What really got to everyone was that even the hunters were gawking when he poured water over himself. He dispersed his trident and walked over to me. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Five minutes later, he showed up with a classic helmet similar to the one I wore. I looked at it in confusion. "What's this?"

He grinned like a kid in a candy shop. "This was the helmet of Leonidas. If you're going to be my protégé you won't be using anything but the best. I'm going to be showering you with gifts, so get used to it."

I grinned up at him and pulled him into a hug. I put my head against his chest and a got a whiff of the sea off him. He put his head in my hair and I heard him sigh. Hopefully it was a good sigh. Chiron decided to have the capture the flag game before dinner, so the quest mates could get ready.

LINE BREAK – Percy's PoV

The capture the flag game was over and I had chosen my questers. Zoe Nightshade, huntress of Artemis, Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, and Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. I rounded them all up and explained what was going to happen. "All right guys, pack two changes of clothes in a backpack that will be provided by Chiron for the campers, and whatever you want Nightshade. Bring a dozen pieces of Ambrosia each and half a liter of Nectar. You need to have your main weapon, a spare dagger somewhere on your person, and four drachmas. I don't care if one of you don't like the other, live with it. We aren't going to deal with any petty bullshit on this trip. Don't give me that look Zoe. I'll drop kick you back to this damn camp if you make any sexist remarks. Everyone got it? Good? Okay, go away. Do as I said. If you need something, I repeat, go to Chiron. We'll leave at 7:00 tomorrow morning."

As they all dispersed and I said good night and gave a hug to Clarisse I went back to the big house and sent a message to Hermes, asking him to wake me up, which I got an okay for. This was a feeling this was going to be a long trip.

Okay guys, what do you think? I really like this one so I'll probably keep up on writing this one. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!