Percy Jackson and Co. do not belong to me, obviously. Otherwise there'd be quite a few different pairings... All rights to Rick Riordan.

Chapter 1

Percy POV

It wasn't always like this. I used to have fun all the time, me and my mom used to laugh a lot. But then Gabe Ugliano came into our lives. After that, no more happy laughter late at night telling bedtime stories, but muffled cries cradling wounds from savage beatings. The first time I got hit I was two and a half. Mom had to work so Gabe had to look after me, I remember being so scared...

Tiptoeing into the kitchen because Gabe had his poker friends over and they said mean things and "forgot" to feed him. My tummy growled and I saw my target a single apple. I reached for it on my tippy toes because I was so short. One, two, three tries and I have it, I smile to myself, mom would be proud of me, being such a big kid. I went to head back to my room and felt a large hand harshly grab my shoulder, looking up I saw Gabe sneering down on me.

"And what'n' the 'ell do you think you're doin'?" he slurred, they had been drinking again. I didn't like it when he drank, he smelt bad, and was meaner to me.

"Gettin' food." I replied and smiled holding up the apple showing him. A second, that's all it took, and suddenly I was acquainted with the floor, pain blossomed across my cheek. I sat there on the floor watching my apple roll away from me, only to be stomped on by Gabe.

"Did I SAY you could eat MY food, bastard?!" he yelled at me. I could only flinch and curl in on myself as he repeated the question then kicked me in the ribs bruising them for sure for good measure. "That'll teach you to think twice before STEALING from me.

After that every time he had to watch me he called me more mean names and hit me, I was to only respond with "yes sir" or "no sir" anything else was considered backtalk and worthy of a beating. By the time I was three and a half Gabe and his buddies started calling me a new name and said they wanted to play a different game than usual (aka beating me up with whatever was lying around until I passed out).

I hated this game, it made me feel gross and it hurt, but if I yelled or screamed I would get hit and muffled. When they were done I always felt used and dirty. This night however, has been the worst. It started out the same, mom leaving for work, Gabe and his friends coming towards my door, I lay cowered on my bed under the covers hoping they would just go away. SLAM SLAM SLAM, "OH WHORE, WHERE YOU HIDE'N'?!" Oh god he's coming, closer, closer, his heavy footsteps echoing in my skull. He stopped, he's reaching for the blanket, ohgodsnononopleasenomoreidontlikethisgamepleasedont.

"Found you whore." he whispered and yanked off my blanket grabbing me by my hair he dragged me from my bed, I knew by now not to scream, it only makes him madder. He punched me square in the face, my nose broke and blood poured, I stifled my scream as much as I could. It didn't hurt as bad as getting your bones snapped, but it still really hurt. As I was lost in the pain og my nose I didn't even hear the others come into my room. I was dropped to the floor and kicked repeatedly around the room, catching boots to the face, spine, legs, arms, fingers, knees, and neck. When they stopped I could hardly breathe.

I was pretty sure sometime through that I had broke a finger and at least bruised everything else. I figured that was the end to the daily torture routine. Oh how wrong was I. All I felt was pain they had muffled my screams with a cloth in my mouth as they took turns playing their game calling out names like whore and bitch. When they finally finished I was dropped once more. Crying quietly I made no move to remove the shirt they had tied around my eyes, knowing I didn't want to see my owies.

I don't like this game. I heard it before I felt it. SNAP my back arched. SNAP I can feel blood running down my back, SNAP I whimper. SNAP, A scream, suddenly cut off. My mother. Nononowhatisshedoingherenodonthurtherpleaseplease. I can hear the sounds of a struggle, a muffled gasp. I work up the energy to slowly reach up and untie the shirt around my eyes, what I saw made me scream bloody murder.

There was Gabe's buddies, holding my mother, while Gabe had his hand raised a kitchen knife in his hand. I watched in slow motion as the knife came down upon my mother as she struggled, to watch as it plunged into her chest, repeatedly, over and over he stabbed her even when it was clear she was no longer alive. They dropped her body on the floor and then turned to look at me as I released my bloody murder scream.

Gabe rushed over to me silencing me again, and breaking my arm for good measure. I writhed on the floor as he ground the broken ends together. Agony. That is all I was. Then as quick as it came it stopped, and it took me a moment to realize someone had knocked on our door.

"Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Ugliano? Are you alright? Hello?I heard a scream do I need to call the police?" My neighbor, , I think her name was?, called through the door. Gabe started cursing under his breath and grabbed the shirt he had tied around my eyes and tied my hands together instead. He yanked me up by them and I almost screamed as the broken bones rubbed together. He dragged me to the fire escape and whispered to his buddies that they best get rid of my mom's body and then leave town, he was going to "deal" with the whore. He threw me into his car trunk and slammed the hood down. I was scared SO SCARED, it's so dark and cold and painsomuchpainowowowowmakeitstoppleasepleaseplease...

After a while driving and there being less and less sounds of car traffic, I realized we were leaving New York. I suddenly realized my home, my mom, and probably my life will all be taken from me in the same day. I wept, tears streamed down my face and sobs wracked my thin frame. Pain blossomed at my every movement and it did not help that Gabe was drunk and swerving a lot. Finally, the car stopped, silence, then footsteps, that echo in my skull.

The hood was slammed open and Gabe's huge ugly face looked down upon me curl up in as good a ball one could be with their hands tied behind their backs with a broken arm and lacerated skin. He smiled down at me, this wretched, sick, imitation of happiness as he reached down and grabbed my hair dragging my out if the car and what looked like a small clearing in the woods. My first thought was wow this place is so pretty but then I realized he probably brought me here to kill me like mom. Mom. More tears spilled from my pain glazed green eyes. As he dropped me in the grass he squatted down beside me. "Now one last hurrah." he whispered.

.

..

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Artemis POV

Something is chilling in the air tonight. I walk toward my lieutenant Zoe.

"Gather more arrows for tonight. I feel evil is out tonight." I tell her. She nods and darts away to the others, relaying my message. We had to leave soon, the wolves were antsy, I have only seen them this full of nervous energy when we fought the Titans, the thought made my blood run cold. Perhaps I should call Apollo to join us in case there are sufficient injuries... I stop, did I just- just ask for my little brother to come with because i'm scared? That's- that's just ridiculous... Still, something tells me the faster we leave the better.

"Girls! Let's go!" I yell over the camp, immediately Zoe and the girls are by me geared up and ready to go, the wolves have already darted off into the woods and we have to run to keep up. Up ahead I hear a small muffled wail and see the wolves have stopped and are pacing waiting for us.

"Go." I whisper. At my command my hunter's dart off in the trees bows ready and arrows notched. As I near the clearing I stop as the feeling of terror washes over me, something horrible was near. Another muffled scream, louder this time, and I round the tree to see what will forever be engraved in my mind.

A man, the most hideous i'd ever seen sat crouched in the clearing over the body of a small child that was bleeding severely, and from just the sight of the knees I could tell the child was covered in bruises and had many broken bones. Another wail and I realize the monster of a man had a knife as the child's legs flailed helplessly, he dragged another design into the pale flesh. Nauseated I signaled for my hunters and as one we lept from the tree, surrounding him.

Jerkily, he rose to his feet, swaying slightly, I could smell the alcohol, blood, sweat, and sex rolling off him in waves, he sneered at us. Just before he spoke, Zoe beat him to it.

"Permission to shoot, my Lady?"

"Permission Granted" I replied. And at once the arrows flew.