Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. There is some dialogue in this chapter taken from 'The Lightning Thief', but this text has been italicized, and I do not claim to own any of this text. It all belongs to the beautiful mind of Rick Riordan. Additionally, I don't own the song that inspired both the story title and the chapter title, 'Kidz', by Take That.

Story Title: Uphill and Against the Wind

Summary: A series of encounters over the years leave Percy Jackson desperately in love with Apollo, the Sun God, but when Hera switches her with Jason Grace, Percy is left in New Rome with only the vague memory of a boy that almost seems to glow gold. Fem!Percy

Rated: M, for language, and later in the story, lemons

AN: Apollo's love life is so depressingly tragic, and I really wanted to try my hand at an angst-ridden love story. Hopefully, this will provide Apollo with a happy ending! Plus, I've always had a preoccupation with the idea of Fem!Percy. Don't get me wrong, Percy as he is, is pretty bad-ass, and I ship Percabeth so hard that it actually hurts, but I've always wondered, what if? So here's my version of how Percy's story could have turned out, had he been Persephone instead of Perseus. Seeing as Apollo is also the God of Music, I thought it would be fitting to have song lyrics at the start of every chapter.

Please review, and let me know what you think!

.:~{+}~:.

I: Lots for Them to Talk About

.:~{+}~:.

They say nothing,

Deny everything,

And make counter accusations,

My friends, my dear, my love, my God,

There'll be trouble when the kidz come out (come out)

There will be lots for them to talk about (about)

-Kidz, by Take That

.:~{+}~:.

Another council meeting.

Apollo didn't quite see why they had to have such frequent council meetings. As a God, you'd think his life would be more exciting, but really, his existence seemed to be a long stretch of eternal duties and never-ending family arguments, occasionally broken up by the antics of a particularly interesting hero. When you are immortal, you quickly find that very little actually changes, and when change does occur, it is in quick, exciting bursts of activity that, when they fade, leave you even more bored than you were before.

Perhaps if they weren't spending so much time in council meetings, Apollo thought bitterly, they could actually manage to spend time with their children. He hears their prayers, every single one of them. It kills him when they ask for help, or advice, and he can't do anything about it. Their mothers may have been the Godly equivalents of one-night stands, but Gods be damned if Apollo didn't love his children. That was another reason that he hated Hera. Zeus never would have passed that law if Hera had not been pressuring him. After all, Zeus himself had sired many a demigod child.

"We are here today," Zeus began, a dangerous sort of electricity seeming to crackle through his tone, "to discuss the severe misstep of Poseidon."

Apollo perked up at that. Zeus and Poseidon's quarrels were infamous, though rarely could the King of the Gods truly find anything to punish the Sea God with. This 'misstep' could be interesting. A break in the often boring business of immortality. One of those quick, exciting bursts of activity.

Ares, the bloodhound for trouble that he was, seemed to also sense this potential shift from the norm. "Misstep?" he asked.

Poseidon glowered at the God of War from his fishnet throne. "I refuse to refer to her as a 'misstep'."

Aphrodite looked up from her manicure. "Her?" she asked, excitement barely concealed.

Zeus rolled his eyes. "Calm yourself Aphrodite, you're about twelve years too late for the romance. The 'her' that my brother refuses to acknowledge as a misstep is his demigod child, Persephone Jackson."

As the other Gods gasped at the revelation of one of the Big Three siring an illegal child, Apollo straightened in his chair, interest radiating from eyes the color of purest sky blue. Quick, exciting burst of activity indeed.

Poseidon gripped the arms of his throne until his knuckles turned white. "I refuse to acknowledge Percy as a misstep because she was not a misstep!"

Thunder rumbled ominously. "Then you mean to tell me," Zeus began, "that her birth was intended? That you intentionally broke the oath?"

"Of course not!" Poseidon burst out, seeming angry, impatient. Poseidon was a favorite of Apollo's. He was just as unpredictable as the seas he ruled. He made this endless life that much more interesting. "She was not meant to be born, but neither do I regret her birth!"

Zeus opened his mouth to say something in response to that, but then Poseidon's face was clouded by a sly, calculating look, a rebellious something flashing in his sea green eyes, and a smirk curled at his lips.

"Unless," he began over whatever Zeus was about to say, "you mean to tell me that dear Thalia was a misstep as well?"

The effect was immediate, as though someone had sucked all of the oxygen from the room. Thalia Grace was never mentioned in the presence of Zeus. Partially out of respect for his grief, and partially out of fear of the rampages that often occurred afterwards.

Zeus looked as though he'd just been stabbed, the pain on his face was so evident. After several moments of shocked, tense silence, Zeus stormed from the room. The effects for Earth were devastating that night. Tornadoes raged and carelessly placed lightning strikes inspired wildfires.

Apollo sighed. He hated it when pretty girls got turned into trees.

.:~{+}~:.

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson stared apprehensively at the mummy sitting on the stool by the window. She'd never seen a corpse before, and she found herself wishing she wasn't looking at one now. The Oracle was the shriveled remains of what was once a woman, in a tie-dyed sundress with sickening leathery skin stretched over her skull and glassy eyes that seemed to stare straight back at Percy.

She felt like ice was melting on the back of her neck, the cold water dripping down her spine, taking the time to icily caress each and every vertebrae.

And then that green mist came from the mummy and Percy scrambled to get away, only for the door to slam shut and she thought that she might just be sick. A voice echoed through her head, and she didn't like it, not at all, it was invasive, she didn't want it there-

"I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask."

Percy thought she would've done anything to get away. Wildly, she thought of saying, no thanks, wrong door, just looking for the bathroom. But her mom…

Not really sure what she was supposed to say, she kind of muttered out, "What is my destiny?"

She'd expected to get an answer about the quest. A prophecy. Wasn't that what Annabeth had said? That she'd get a prophecy from the Oracle? But her question had been too vague, and what she got instead was much different.

"Your destiny, child, lies in the morning in the East, and in the evening, in the West. Though I suppose you meant your quest?"

What? Her destiny was in the East in the mornings and in the West in the evening? What did that even mean? That made no sense!

The mist swirled thickly, and Percy watched as four men around a table appeared in it. She felt hatred and resentment course through her as she recognized Smelly Gabe.

The illusion of her step-father turned to her. You shall go West, and face the God who has turned.

The one on the right turned to her. You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.

Then the one on the left. You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.

Finally her building superior, Eddie, turned to face her. And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

And that was apparently, as much as the Oracle was willing to say, despite Percy's cries of "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"

Later, Percy would wonder why people even bothered going to the stupid Oracle in the first place. It was more confusing, than helpful, in Percy's opinion. She'd basically been told she was going to fail her quest. Whatever happened to positive outlook, huh?

And what she'd learned about her destiny… East in the morning, West in the evening, East in the morning, West in the evening… what-

The sun.

It hit Percy suddenly, fast and hard. The sun. The Oracle was talking about the sun. The sun rises in the East, and sets in the West. Her destiny was the sun.

She furrowed her brow. How could her destiny possibly be the sun?

It made no sense.

.:~{+}~:.

Thunder shook the whole of Mt. Olympus in a 'CRACK' that seemed to make Apollo's skull rattle with its volume. Immediately, he wondered who was about to die. Zeus had not been this angry in a very long time.

He exchanged a glance with his twin, Artemis. Though they had been previously engaging in a thousands-year-old argument over whether her Hunters or his children were the better archers, they were both now completely serious.

"POSEIDON!" Lightning flickered, reflecting in Artemis' moon-silver eyes.

As they exited Apollo's temple, Artemis raised an eyebrow at him. "I wonder what Uncle could have possibly done now? I fail to see how things could possibly get worse than siring a demigod in spite of the oath."

Apollo shrugged, driven towards Poseidon's temple where the most storm activity appeared to be, driven by curiosity and the desire for something different, something new. A quick, exciting burst of activity.

As the twin archers reached the bottom of the temple steps, they could see and hear their father and uncle.

"-display of absolute IMPERTINENCE!" Zeus was raging, but Poseidon looked darkly amused.

"You need to keep a tighter reign on that Gods damned child of yours-"

Poseidon's face became eerily calm. It unsettled Apollo deeply when his uncle did that. It was far too similar to that smooth-as-glass appearance that the sea took on just before the hit of a devastating storm.

"Perhaps, Brother," Poseidon began dangerously, "I would be able to, as you say, 'keep a tighter reign on that Gods damned child', if you had not passed an ancient law dictating that I am not allowed contact with said child!"

Zeus tensed, and Apollo and Artemis shot each other alarmed glances.

"Well perhaps," Zeus shot back, his tone just as dangerous, "we would not be having this problem in the first place if you had stuck to the oath-"

"Well perhaps if you yourself had not broken the oath first-"

Artemis stepped in, afraid of further escalation.

"Father," she said, bounding lithely up the steps, Apollo hot on her heels. "What is this 'problem' that you speak of?"

Zeus scowled at the Sea God. "Percy Jackson."

Poseidon surged towards his brother angrily. "My daughter is not the problem here-"

"Father!" Artemis interrupted. "Please explain."

And that was when Zeus reached to the table behind him, holding up a horribly ugly decapitated head dripping green blood by the hair- no, those were snakes, but who-

Ah. Medusa.

"It seems that Poseidon's precious daughter decided to send us a little gift last night," Zeus said acidly.

Apollo couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. He doubled over, clutching his sides and laughed until his cheeks hurt and his ribs ached. It had been such a long time since something had made him laugh so hard, but Gods, this girl was a spitfire!

And his laughter only increased when he saw the note:

With best wishes,

PERCY JACKSON

Quick, exciting burst of activity, indeed.

.:~{+}~:.

The diner went eerily silent. The biggest motorcycle that Percy had ever seen had just pulled up outside. It looked violent, if that were possible. The gas tank was painted in flames, the headlight was a glaring red that instantly reminded Percy of the Ares cabin back at Camp Half-Blood, not to mention it was equipped with shotguns. Most disturbing of all, in Percy's opinion, was the leather seat that looked like it was made from human skin.

But the bike wasn't half as intimidating as its owner. A handsome, but horribly cruel-looking man with an oily black crew cut, red wraparound shades and cheeks that were scarred from innumerable fights.

When he came into the diner, all the customers rose, looks of reverence on their faces, but with an impatient snap of his fingers, they all sat again. Everyone went back to their conversations, and suddenly everything was normal again.

"You kids have money to pay for it?" the waitress asked.

Annabeth was smushed up against the glass of the window as the biker slid into their booth. "It's on me," he said.

After the waitress left, the biker stared at Percy from across the table, and seemingly from nowhere, anger, bitterness and resentment began to roil in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, she wanted desperately to provoke this guy.

He just sent an absolutely wicked grin her way. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"

"What's it to you?"

Annabeth looked at Percy, a warning flashing in her gray eyes. "Percy, this is-"

The biker interrupted her. "S'okay, I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

She suddenly realized who he reminded her of: Clarisse.

Ares smiled like the devil, and when the shades came off, empty sockets glowed only with fire. She should've been scared, but she wasn't. This guy did something to her, made her inexplicably angry, almost uncontrollably so.

She became even angrier watching him threaten their waitress with a knife when she protested about being paid in golden drachmas. After which he had the nerve to turn to her and say "I need you to do me a favor."

"What favor could I do for a God?"

He explained that he and his girlfriend had been interrupted at the water park and he'd left his shield behind. Personally, Percy thought you'd have to be pretty stupid to forget something as important as your shield, but she kept that to herself.

"We're not interested, we've already got a quest."

Disturbing images appeared in the unsettling sockets of Ares' eyes. Death and blood-shed, and Percy understood that unlike Annabeth's mom, Athena, who stood for strategy in battle, Ares was the chaos, the horror of war.

"I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent out his best looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful…" An unsettling hunger set in on the God's features. Percy realized that he was hungry for the power of Zeus' master bolt. "Well… if I couldn't find it, you got no hope."

"Thanks," Percy snorted sarcastically. Despite his Godhood, she very much doubted he had anything up his sleeve that could make her want to help him. But then he said the magic words.

"Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."

And that was how Percy, Grover and Annabeth found themselves at the water park, looking for the Tunnel of Love ride.

.:~{+}~:.

The Gods were startled when Hephaestus TV was very suddenly activated without warning. A loud 'SPLASH' overtook Mt. Olympus as their attention was drawn to the image of two demigods on a little boat with water rushing all around them.

Apollo observed, eyebrows raised. In the boat were two girls, about twelve years old, if he were to take a guess. One of them was quite obviously Athena's, with those delicate blonde curls, sharp gray eyes and California girl tan.

The other one took him a moment to figure out, but he quickly decided that due to the long black hair, deep tan and striking resemblance, this could only be Poseidon's firecracker of a 'misstep', Percy Jackson.

Percy was pulling the screaming blonde into the seat next to her, and for some reason she had to buckle the Athena kid's seatbelt- oh, no, wait, he could see the little mechanical spiders now. Yeesh, no wonder the kid was so flipped out. In the next moment though, a huge wave of water crashed into the boat and toppled all the spiders overboard.

Apollo guessed Poseidon's girl must be using her powers, because despite the large waves, the little boat did not capsize, and even seemed to be being steered, because not once had it hit the wall. The daughters of Poseidon and Athena clung to each other tightly, screaming the whole way through the wild ride, and Apollo actually found himself suppressing a smile of amusement.

It disappeared completely when they exited the tunnel and he saw they were in danger of crashing violently into the gates. Sure, they weren't his demigods, but he found death in general to be saddening. He sometimes wondered if it was because he was the God of Healing, and death was so opposite to his domain.

"Unfasten your seatbelt!" Percy called to the daughter of Athena. The other girl looked at her like she was crazy.

"We're going to have to jump for it," he heard Percy say.

Athena's girl seemed to have decided to stop asking questions, because she gripped Percy's hand tightly.

"On my mark," said the daughter of Poseidon.

"No, on my mark! Simple physics! Force times the trajectory angle-"

"Fine!" Percy interrupted, looking almost desperate to escape any talk of physics whatsoever, and Apollo found himself laughing again. "On your mark!"

When the daughter of Athena yelled 'now!', the two girls jumped just as their little boat crashed violently into the gateway. On their way down, a satyr, the one that Zeus hated for getting his daughter turned into a tree, caught them using what looked a whole lot like a pair of Hermes' flying shoes. The momentum was too much though, and all three kids came crashing down onto the asphalt.

When Percy untangled herself from the other two and stood, she looked directly at the camera, almost as though she were looking into Apollo's eyes. He blinked, surprised. They were Poseidon's eyes, but somehow the green looked more vivid on her. He wondered if it was because her eyes were wider. They were certainly intriguing. Despite their doe-like wideness, which would usually suggest innocence, Apollo could quite clearly see the spark of defiance, the flicker of rebellion in them. If he hadn't already known from the gall she had in sending the Gods the head of Medusa, then he'd of known right here, right now, in this very moment:

Percy Jackson had trouble written all over her.

She was one of those demigods. The kind that had legends and myths written about them. The kind that lingered in the memory of the Gods, long after their deaths. The kind that gave them something to talk about.

The kind that inspired those quick, exciting bursts of activity.

"Show's over!" she yelled at the camera, making Apollo laugh again. "Thank you! Good night!"

Long after the cameras had shut off and he could no longer see her face, Apollo stayed rooted in his spot, smiling vaguely at the blank screen.

It had been years since they'd had such an unpredictable demigod, and Apollo had the feeling that he wouldn't be bored again for quite awhile.