Please note, I do not own Percy Jackson.

Enjoy Part 1 of Chapter 1!

Chapter 1: The Quests of Love - Part I

~~~ Percy ~~~

As I kneeled before the Council of the Olympians, and my old friends, I couldn't help but wonder; where had it all gone so terribly wrong? Hmm, I think I can probably pinpoint the sequence of events that led to this.

Perhaps I should introduce myself first. My name is Perseus Achilles Jackson. I once possessed many titles to my name, and all who spoke it, did so with awe. Just a meager fraction of the titles that were associated with my name included the Retriever of the Master Bolt, the Retriever of the Golden Fleece, the Navigator of the Maze, The Saviour of Artemis, the Bane of Ares, the Bane of Kronos, the Bane of Gaea, the Twice Saviour of Olympus, and those are but a few. Today, I am lucky if someone even talks to me, let alone with what tone they do so. My titles are long gone, stripped from me like a sheared sheep. So, you must be wondering, how did I end up like this, kneeling in front of the people whom I have saved – twice - from imminent destruction, in chains, accused of treason, probably about to die…

Let me fill you in on the details, and recount to you the tale of my downfall, and of the rising of David Anderson, Son of Poseidon, and apparently Hero of Olympus – the greatest there ever was.

xXx

I awoke suddenly, gasping from my nightmare. There was one nightmare - amongst the sea of them - that loved haunting me, every single night. It was very terrifying but also very impossible. In short, in the nightmare, Gaea has risen again, Annabeth was taken away from me, and Poseidon replaced me with another son, as if I was yesterday's trash. But, I knew that realistically that would never happen, because I defeated Gaea, Annabeth and I are in love and Poseidon adores me. I mean, this would never happen to me … right?

I slowly, but surely got out of my bed, and I strolled around my cabin. I was the only occupant of it due to the pact of the Big Three. For those who might not know what that is, at the end of World War II, the Big Three signed a pact which swore them by the River Styx to never have children again. After Kronos, the pact was called off, but not before being violated by both Poseidon and Zeus.

Despite the loneliness of the cabin, it had acquired a sort of coziness to it. It was probably due to the trophies and memoires that Annabeth had decorated it with. They were all picked up during our adventures. Things like the Minotaur Horn, the Shield that my little brother Tyson gave me, the many pictures of me and my friends all adorned the walls … it wasn't bad at all. It also helps that my cabin has a fountain, gifted to me by my father, Poseidon. This fountain also had some pretty unique properties to it. It could heal me, and renew my strength and my energy.

My conscience began to steadily pour commands into my ADHD brain that was hardwired for quick 'thinking'.

I exited my abode, and began to walk over to the Athena cabin, where my girlfriend, Annabeth was. Annabeth exited her cabin roughly the same time as me.

If you have never met Annabeth, then you can easily mistake her for a child of Aphrodite, at least until she opens her mouth and begins to bombard you with facts. Annabeth had beautiful blond princess curls, amazing grey eyes that will study you no matter what, and her personality made her so amazing, despite her fatal flaw; hubris.

Annabeth strode over to me, her golden curls flowing through the wind, "Hey, Seaweed Brain! How's it going?" She greeted me. "Hey, wise-girl!" I responded just as the conch horn sounded. "Let's go get some breakfast!"

Breakfast went by quickly, and before long Chiron announced us, "Campers, today we have some news from Olympus. Lady Artemis and her Hunters shall be joining us." His statement was met with a wave of groans and complaints. "As well, Nico di Angelo will be joining us, for his monthly report."

I began to choke up with excitement. Both of my best friends will be coming today! Chiron then dismissed us to do our daily chores, activities and training. During my first chore - which was cleaning my cabin and preparing it for inspection - Athena flashed in.

For some reason that I have still yet to discover, Athena hates my guts. She is hell-bent on separating me and Annabeth, and making my life as miserable as humanly – godly - possible.

Of course, I went into a low bow, for what other choice did I have? "Hello Perseus" She spat out my name as if it was a disease, "I have recently spoken to Aphrodite, concerning your relationship with my daughter; Annabeth. Aphrodite has informed me, that you wish to have her hand in marriage, yes?"

I looked at her utterly puzzled, trying to figure out what he has planned for me this time. I hesitantly responded "Yes, Milady."

"Good." She glared at me, "But before you have my blessing for the marriage, you must do fifteen quests, in order to prove your love for her. I shall leave you this letter, detailing what you must do." With that she left, still glaring at me.

The letter itself was simple, but long, all of it written in Greek.

The Quests of Love

1. Slay the Nemean Lion

2. Slay the Lernean Hydra

3. Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis

4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar

5. Clean the Augean Stables in one day

6. Slay the Stymphalian Birds

7. Capture the Cretan Bull

8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes

9. Obtain the Girdle of Hippolyta from the Amazons

10. Obtain the Cattle of Garyon

11. Steal the Golden Apples from the Hesperide Gardens

12. Capture Cerberus

13. Survive 6 Months with the Amazons

14. Survive 6 Months with Artemis & the Hunters

15. Defeat me (Athena) in one-on-one Combat

Complete these quests and you will receive my blessing for your marriage.

You may bring two companions, but they are not allowed to help you in any way, shape or form. If they do, then you will have to restart your quests. Annabeth will not be allowed to know of the quest or any details about your departure.

I stared at the letter in shock. I had to do the twelve Labours of Hercules, defeat Athena and live one year with two groups of man hating and enslaving women. Oh fantastic.

~~~ Athena ~~~

Perseus stood no chance, and I feel like this would be the last push he needs to realize that my daughter deserves someone worthier of her hand than that disgusting sea spawn.

I flashed myself over to Chiron and let him know of the quests. I told him that none may know of these quests but the people involved. He looked grim, and unhappy with my decision but did not comment.

I then flashed myself over to my palace in Olympus and prepared to see what Perseus would do.

~~~ Percy ~~~

The two people I was allowed to take with me were already selected. The conch horn had blown during my reading of the letter and I knew that Thalia had arrived. I walked over to where Artemis and Thalia were speaking to Chiron. Chiron looked over at me and nodded to me, and separated Thalia from Artemis.

He whispered something in her ear and a look of understanding passed over her face. She bounded over to me, and I looked at Chiron who merely winked at me.

Thalia arrived over to me, and before she had a chance to greet me, I had already begun saying "Hey Thals, I need to show you something! Want to come with me?" She replied, "Of course fish-face."

Thalia and I walked over to the Poseidon Cabin. I showed Thalia the letter, and asked her to become one of the members of my quests. "Who is the other member you want to ask?" She inquired, "Nico" I responded firmly.

Thalia looked utterly puzzled. "Fishy, how exactly are you going to contact the Ghost King? Especially if he is in the Underworld?" At this point Nico barged in to the cabin, "Percy, you in here?" "Nico! I need to ask you something!" Thus, I showed Nico the letter as well, and both agreed to come and keep me company, as long as their respective god allowed them to.

While Nico and Thalia went off to get permission, I began to gather my things, in preparation for the journey that awaited me. One would think that defeating Kronos and Gaea and countless Giants would be enough to appease Athena, but that one would also be very mistaken.

Nico and Thalia returned with their things, and together we set off, to begin my Quests. Chiron, did not ask what we were doing, but if he knew, his face did not betray an inch of emotion.

Our first stop was Nashville, where we found the Nemean Lion, seemingly minding its own business. It was currently walking down in alleyway, where there weren't many mortals. The few mortals that happened to come upon it confused it for a kitten.

The Nemean Lion is basically a dumpster truck, with an unquenchable thirst for Demigod Blood, large teeth the size of swords, and fur that protected it from any source of harm. So how do they see a kitten from THAT thing? No clue whatsoever. The mist works in weird ways.

I had already defeated this Monster once, when I was fourteen. However back then, I had the support of the Lieutenant of Artemis, and right now? I am alone.

The way to defeat the Nemean Lion was to coax it into opening its mouth. Usually it does that when the battle starts, so that it can roar at you. You have to attack it and hope for the best. Luckily, this time it did not fail to appease.

Just as we rounded the corner we saw it, and it saw us. It sensed our smell – the reek of demigod blood - and it began to open its mouth in anticipation to roar, and attack. As soon as it began to open its mouth I grabbed my sword - disguised as a pen, made it turn into a sword, and brandished the bronze weapon at the Lion.

My sword was given to me by Chiron, but was created by the then Hesperide, Zoe Nightshade. See Zoe was once a Hesperide, but that was taken away from her when she betrayed her family so that Hercules can have an apple from their garden. She got kicked out, and joined Artemis. From then on, she was the immortal lieutenant of the Hunt, but she was killed by her father, Atlas, when we were on a quest to save Artemis and Annabeth.

The Nemean Lion as expected roared and I charged, yelling out a war cry as I did. I dashed at it with blinding speed and stabbed my sword into the upper roof of the Lion's mouth. It immediately dissolved into golden dust and began to be absorbed by the Earth, its essence going back to Tartarus, to reform.

xXx

Slowly but surely, Thalia, Nico and I began to clear out all the Labours of Hercules. By the time we got to the ninth Labour, four months had passed. We began to head to Seattle, for I wanted to have an audience with the Queen of the Amazons, Hylla.

The receiving I got this time was much more different than the one last time. Nico and Thalia had gone off to a mall, and so it was just me, and luckily the Amazons now know who I am, so they are less tempted to just kill me outright. I went alone to where I knew the guards did their rounds, and unsurprisingly, I saw Kinzie, who was once more doing her rounds. "HALT!" she barked at me, not able to recognize me at first, "Identify yourself, Male!"

"Kinzie! It's me, Percy!" I stated, with a certain glee at seeing my friend once more. Right away, a look of realization dawned upon her face. "Oh, Perseus! Pardon me, I did not realize it is you." She told me, now very calm. She turned around to intercept the rest of the patrol as they made their way to us, weapons brandished, called into actions by Kinzie's cry, "Girls, it's ok, he is a friend!"

I asked Kinzie for an audience with Hylla, and she agreed right away. I got a strange sense of déjà vu as she once more led me through the long corridors of the countless warehouses, until – finally - we reached the throne room where Hylla resided.

Hylla herself sat upon an intimidating throne made purely out of gold, and glittering with various gems at the top. She looked down upon us, and when she realized it was Kinzie and myself, got of the throne, crossed the oversized throne room in blinding speed and greeted us about as warmly as she could.

"Ahh Percy, good to see you again. As much as I would like to think this is a social call, I get the ugly feeling that you have a quest once more. What is it we can help you with? Kinzie will be my witness that the Amazons will always be a friend to you!" "Well, you are half right, and half wrong Hylla." I began to answer her "In order for me to earn Annabeth's hand in marriage, I have to prove my worth to Athena and she tasked me with her hellish version of the Herculean Quests, except she added some things to them."

I explained to them my tasks and what I had to do. You should have seen their faces light up at the prospect of having me for six months. I only shuddered at what I could expect.

"Wonderful! I cannot wait for you to join us, I could use your considerable skills, and put them to good use. Now – because you are talking about joining us in the future - I take you are not at that stage yet, what do you need?" Hylla asked me. She truly meant well. Athena's plan is really going to backfire with the Amazons. "Uhm, about that. Well, I'm on the ninth Labour right now, which says that I need the Girdle of Hippolyta, worn by the Queen of the Amazons. Originally, Hercules got the Girdle by slaying Hippolyta, and because we are friends, and I really don't want to have to fight you, could I sacrifice it to Athena, and then you can have it back when it regenerates?" I proposed, a little meek at the prospect of having to sacrifice her prized possession.

Hylla was a little reluctant to agree and instead we negotiated a new deal. I would spend eight months instead of six with the Amazons and she would give me the Girdle of Hippolyta to sacrifice to Athena. I agreed without a second thought, and she gave me the Girdle. I then made a fire and sacrificed it to Athena. "Thank you, Hylla! I will see you when it is time for me to join you guys!"

She waved me off by saying "It will regenerate in a few days, and I can't wait for you to come to Quest Thirteen!" With that I left the Amazons, in hot pursuit of Geryon along with Thalia and Nico.

xXx

Before long, I was once again standing in front of the gates to the Gardens of the Hesperides. Upon entering the Garden, I was met by the four remaining Hesperides. Thalia and Nico obviously were not here as they are merely my company to prevent me from going insane, so this time I don't get the benefit of friends to intimidate these wannabe nymphs with.

The first of the Hesperides approached, "Hello Perseus, friend of our traitor-sister, Zoe." This got my anger flared up "She was not a traitor you stuck up gardener!" I replied hotly, my anger beginning to get the better of me.

"We know why you have come, Perseus, you seek the Golden Apple. Nevertheless, we believe you will fail, for you must face Ladon." The second Hesperide stated as a matter of fact. "Turn back Hero, or else we will wake Ladon, and you will die." The third Hesperide added, devoid of any emotion.

"I will face Ladon, and I will get those apples." I replied to their provocations, and continued without a second thought in the world for my own safety, "For Zeus's sake, I defeated Gaea, The PRIMORDIAL Goddess of the Earth! I can handle some over-headed and over-grown, apple defending lizard!" I unsheathed my sword and got into an attack stance. "Ladon, WAKE!" the fourth Hesperide yelled, and then all four disappeared, shimmering away into mist.

Ladon, for your information was a hundred-headed dragon that can spit fire, poison, and was huge. As in thirty feet tall, huge!

Ladon began to charge, barrelling at me with full speed, his only goal was to kill me for disturbing his mid-afternoon nap. The lizard charged and at the last moment I jumped forward, propelling myself through the air, dodging all of the snapping jaws, and with my trusty sword Riptide stuck out to my side I swung wildly. I landed on the other side, behind Ladon, accompanied by two of his heads. "Two down, ninety-seven to go!" I muttered to myself.

Why did I only want to take out ninety-nine of his one-hundred heads? Well that is all due to my long dead huntress friend, Zoe. She is currently in the sky, and last night she appeared as a dream to me, and said she knew what I was doing, and she was watching over me. She asked me to spare Ladon. She knew I was going to win and she was always quite fond of the dragon. I obviously accepted her request.

I was snapped out of my musings about Zoe, when one of the heads snapped at me. I dodged and decapitated it, while sprinting at the monster's tail. I sought to climb up behind it and take as many heads as possible, before he managed to turn and defend. He is quite lumber some, and he cannot really defend himself from threats he does not expect.

I quickly dashed up through his spine and at the base of all the heads. I began to slash wildly in my hope to take as many heads as possible. I managed to cut down sixty before Ladon had finally turned and began to defend himself once more. My next move was daring, but if successful could prove to be the turning point for this battle.

My plan was to propel myself toward the heads at the ends, so that he was less intimidating. That way, I would also not have to worry about attacks coming from all directions, and he would be easier to kill. Jumping off the base of the heads, I slashed at the outermost heads and severed three more.

Ladon was now down to thirty-four heads. He began to retreat, slowly and steadily and I pressed my advantage and increased my assault on him. As the heads slowly started to decrease, the amount of dodging required to not be hit by poisonous spit and flames that can make me a Perce-ka-bob, decreased. Finally, Ladon was down to one head. He immediately began to cower, and had no choice but to allow me access to the tree.

I realized that I had forgotten a bag to place the apples in, I looked around in despair. I came so far … a silver flash interrupted my thoughts. Lo and behold, in my hands there was now a bag. On the side of the bag read 'Courtesy of Artemis, Go Get 'Em!'. Making a silent thanks to Artemis, I began to pluck the apples off of the tree, and as soon as I had finished, Ladon returned to the tree, and began to silently heal, and once again guard the tree.

I exited the Garden of the Hesperides, along with the Apples and the satisfaction of defeating one of the most feared monsters.

I regrouped with Thalia and Nico and we all began to head towards the Underworld, to pursue Hades to let us have a chance of capturing Cerberus. Well when I say us I really meant me, because for Thalia and Nico this is just a road trip.

xXx

The Twelfth Quest was simple enough, considering that I had remembered to purchase red rubber balls for Cerberus. Capturing the great three-headed dog was a walk in the park, compared to the Erymanthian Boar.

Five months after I began my quest, I had finally completed all twelve of the Labours of Hercules. However, all of that would be a piece of cake compared to what was to follow.

xXx

As part of the ninth quest, I had made a deal with the Queen of the Amazons – Hylla – that in exchange for her help with the quest, I would spend eight months, instead of six with the Amazons.

Save to say, I began to regret that hasty decision. It was not the Amazons who were the problem, it was that gods-awful training regime they made for me. I suppose in the end it will help me defeat Athena, but seriously?

While Thalia and Nico got a free trip of Seattle, not to mention the full power of the Amazon Corporation at their back to have whatever they wanted, I got stuck with the automatons from Tartarus.

These automatons were created by Hephaestus himself, and the Amazons had styled them in such a way, that with each successive level, more and more of them would come, and they became even better at trying to kill me.

The very highest level was the Queen level, one which all perspective Queens must defeat so that they can challenge the incumbent Queen. Of course, I also managed to defeat it, however I have no agenda of becoming the Queen of the Amazons … for one, I am not even a girl.

But the Amazons were done with the Queen level. Oh no, they had a much bigger surprise.

They created a level … just for me! Yay! So much joy!

Oh, the sarcasm.

Calling it the Percy level, it consisted of well over five-thousand of Hephaestus' best fighting automatons, all set to their highest configuration of skill, and armed with fantastic weapons such as a crossbow modified to fire explosives. Did I mention that they were water proof?

It took me well over ten hours to complete, and I was totally exhausted by the end of it. But, nevertheless, I had prevailed.

I had managed to finish all of my tasks with the Amazons in just seven months! I got a month of rest out of all of this!

xXx

That one month quickly came to an end. The last day dawned, and was well underway by noon. Celebrations were grand, tears were shed, and gifts presented. Speaking of gifts…

"Perseus Jackson" The voice of Hylla boomed throughout the modified warehouse, "for your successful stay with us, we the Amazons will present you with a gift!"

I went up to her throne and kneeled. "Take this Bow with you, for your journeys and travels, it will keep you safe. It has been modified so that it will never need to rely upon the number of arrows you carry with you. These new arrows are made of pure energy themselves, and are created by your will to fight." She explained.

To me, she handed a golden bow, roughly half my height. It had a heavenly aura around it, and hummed with power.

So why did they give me a bow, you might wonder. While – true – I used to be a greater threat to my allies rather than my enemies with a bow, the Amazons were patient enough to train me with it, to the point where I can actually hit enemies and miss allies.

"Thank you, Queen Hylla" I responded, "For your hospitality, generosity and your sisterhood."

"Do not thank me yet, Perseus. Your real trial will begin with the Hunters. To impress Artemis and earn her favour, you will have to work many times harder than you did here. Train, as much and as often as you can. Harness your skills and potential, and you will succeed." Hylla proclaimed. "But for now, let us not worry about the future, let us celebrate the present!"

With that, a festive mood descended upon everyone gathered.

xXx

The party continued late into the night, and on dawn of the next morning, Nico, Thalia and I made our way out of Seattle, with the all the Amazons wishing me good luck and god speed on our travels.

I hope I make it.

For Annabeth!

Hello!

I have finished fixing the second chapter. One of my original problems with this chapter was how long it was, also there may or may not have been a massive plot hole... whoops.

The original chapter was over seven-thousand words! I realized that this might be a problem for some people, especially when they are confronted by big blocks of texts, and they just think "Nope" and click out. So, lets try this out.

If this works well, I will keep chapter lengths to about four-thousand ish words.

As for the actual story itself, PLEASE tell me what you think of it! Your opinions matter very much to me, especially now that I am rewriting it!

I think that that is all that I have to say for this chapter.

You can expect the next chapter sometime in December! I have a very busy schedule, but you will most definitely have a chapter in December!

Speaking of next chapter, it will be the reworked, second part to the Quests of Love.

Talk to you in December!

Bye Bye!