Chapter 1

They say that we are not alone. That our beloved Earth is but one in the endless ocean of worlds on which life thrives. Some believe that these "other worlds" exist in the far reaching void of space. Others entertain the possibility that such worlds are nothing more than mere copies of our world spawned in realities out of sync with ours. The truth however, is known only by a select few. These are beings who have seen past the veil of darkness that divides them and have traveled among the many lands they have discovered in order to learn all they could, enforce justice and order, become stronger and more powerful, or to spread malicious evil. These beings did not discover this knowledge however. This gift was imbued upon them the day they were born, waiting for the right time to ignite. There is one such being in our world; a young boy, soon to come of age; born to a mortal mother and divine father.

Thank the gods! Thought Percy Jackson as he came upon the hill that guarded the place that had been his home for so many years. He was eighteen now and had just returned from doing the Twelve Labors of Hercules in order to receive permission to wed his love, Annabeth, from her mother, Athena, the goddess of wisdom. As he began to climb Half Blood Hill, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure standing atop its peak.

"G-MAN!" Percy shouted in joy. Grover jumped at the sudden blaring of his nick-name and turned to see his best friend racing up to greet him.

"PERCY!" he cried as he realized his best friend had returned. Percy stopped running once he reached the top and was standing not three feet from his best bud, who pulled him into a bear hug that lifted poor Percy a good four inches off the ground. "Where have you been?" Grover said smiling as he put Percy back on the firm ground.

"Where indeed." Said a voice that seemed to come out of nowhere. Percy and Grover snapped their heads in the direction of the voice to find Artemis standing before them in her eighteen-year-old form, a questioning expression on her face.

"Lady Artemis," Percy calmly said as he bowed before the goddess of the hunt "what are you doing here?"

"Do not change the subject Jackson." Artemis threatened, narrowing her eyes on the black haired teen, sending a pang of fear though his mind.

"Okay, okay," he said with is hands raised in front of him "Athena sent me off to do some things." He took a step back so as not to enrage her or, if he already had, be able to make a mad run. Artemis rolled her eyes as she witnessed this but made no comment. Grover had already backed away a good ten feet, not wanting to be near the object of a god's anger. Percy had taken notice that Artemis had chosen to use his last name instead of calling him "boy" but had no intention of pressing the matter.

"A little vague for a proper answer." Artemis replied with narrowed eyes.

"What do you expect? Athena had me promise not to tell anyone."

"That's hardly an excuse." The venom in her voice was quite apparent.

Where had this come from? Percy thought to himself. It was not like her to just snap at him over trivial things like this. What's more, it was equally uncommon for her to just appear out of nowhere just to start a fight with him.

"I'm sorry okay? But Athena made swear on the river Stix not to tell anyone about where I was until she lets me, and that's not until after I complete my last task." Percy explained, backing up more as he sensed her temper stir even more. Contrary to what he thought she was going to do, she simply huffed with her hands on her hips.

"Fine, finish whatever you have left to do, but expect an explanation afterwards." She growled before snapping her fingers to teleport away.

"What was that about?" Percy turned to Grover as they started walking down the hill into Camp Half Blood.

"I don't know Percy, but she has been tense for a while now, and to answer your question, no one knows what she's doing here. She's been visiting every week for the past three months now, and every visit she would get meaner the other campers, even some of the girls found their way onto her bad side."

"She hasn't killed anyone has she?"

"Heh, not yet, but she's getting there." They turned as they came upon the training grounds as Percy began making his way to his cabin.

"So, any new campers?" Percy asked putting his hands in his pockets, his right hand toying with Riptide.

"Well," Grover paused as if to contemplate the best way to word his next few sentences "yes, but the only one worth mention is that you have a new brother. Other than that-"

"What?" Percy was shocked and excited at the same time. He had not had a brother since Tyson, and that was years ago. Needless to say, Percy was more than anxious to meet his new sibling. "Where is he? I have to meet."

"Uh, Percy I don't think that's a good idea," Grover said hesitantly.

"And why is that?" Percy quizzed with a smirk on his face, his eyes still beaming bright.

"Well, he's been really busy lately and told everyone in camp that he'd rather not be disturbed." Grover seemed nervous.

"Oh come on," Percy shook his head "I bet all he needs is a little family reunion. Where is he?" Suddenly, there was a low hum running through Percy's head as Grover's voice sounded within his mind.

He's at the lake.

"Thanks Grover I'll see you later." Percy said and began running toward the lake himself. Grover stood dumbfounded as he watched Percy head off. But, I didn't say anything he thought to himself. That's when it truly hit him like a sledge hammer, Percy was going straight toward his end.

"Percy wait!"