Chapter 1

It was a starry night in New York. Well, as starry as New York could get. The lights of the bustling island of Manhattan were a little too bright for her liking. Just a little bit.

She remembered a last vacation to Montauk when her son, Percy, was around three years old. Sally Jackson loved her son dearly and would do anything to protect him from his fate. A fate he had no clue about. Because six-year-old boys tended not to think about much more than video games, toys and technology.

But the one thing Percy loved more than anything else was water. Ever since she took him to Central Park as a baby, he had always been drawn to the waterfalls in the North Woods. He reminded her so much of his father: his lively, playful green eyes; his dark hair and the rebellious look he always gave her when she told him to do something he didn't want to do. His father would have been proud of him, and he probably still was.

As they took a night walk, Sally looked up toward the Empire State Building. Behind it stood two taller towers: the World Trade Center. She couldn't quite understand why they chose the Empire State Building. Perhaps it was because it was older. And before it was built, where were they?

But all she was was a mortal. Despite how "clear-sighted" she was, she would never have godly blood in her system. That curse fell upon her son.

Percy pulled at his mother's hand and said, "Mom! Come on, hurry up!"

Sally crouched and looked her son in the eyes. "Where do you want to go?"

"The Ramble!" exclaimed the excited, young boy.

She smiled. "Okay, but are you sure you want to go?" she joked. "There are dark, scary monsters that might attack us in the night."

"I'm not afraid of monsters." Percy puffed up his chest. "I'm big and strong. I will protect you, Mama."

That was also one of the things she endeared most about her son. No matter what the situation was, he was never embarrassed to be her little baby. Even if he said so, he would act differently. She couldn't describe how much she loved him. As if she hadn't said that enough times…

They reached the Ramble, and locals and tourists dotted the attraction. Since it was nighttime, the amount of people present was scarce, but during the day, this was a popular place to wander. The Ramble was thirty-eight acres of pure beauty, especially in the center of an urban city like New York. It consisted of a labyrinth of walking paths winding through the trees, but the place was so beautiful, it didn't even matter that the paths were constantly twisting and turning. In the night, it was harder to see, but the illuminating lights of New York were enough to keep most things visible.

Even though at times her son was not the brightest child, he was smart and perceptive. She could tell he noticed things.

And between who he was and his intelligence, she often told him the stories of Greek myths. Most kids learned about Rapunzel or Robin Hood or The Three Little Pigs (from what she could gather with other mothers), but Percy learned about Jason and the Argonauts, Perseus and Medusa, Theseus and the Minotaur, and other myths like that. The only dark part was that most Greek myths ended in tragedy, much like Shakespeare's plays.

Percy's ADHD kept him jumping around, or fidgeting in his seat as she told the stories, but his attention was fixed on her. Despite his restlessness, she knew he was listening with every fiber of his being. Normally, a mother would be worried about their child shouting about beheading monsters while they slept, but Sally had seen worse things.

In preschool, a teacher had accidentally put him down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. She had screamed when she came to pick him up and found him playing with a limp, scaly rope that he'd managed to strangle to death with his meaty toddler hands. Even before that, when he was three, there had been an intruder in the house. It was a monster of some sort; she'd never figured out what it was. But Percy had somehow used a Celestial bronze knife she kept for safety to kill it. It was hard to explain to Gabe how a knife in a pile of sand ended up in the hallway.

Sally closed her eyes. Gabe Ugliano.

Gabe Ugliano was the one man that could protect Percy all on his own. She knew he was repulsive. She knew he was disgusting. She knew he was dirty and smelly and a whole bunch of other horrible things. But that's what made him useful. He was so terribly human that it could mask Percy's demigod smell. No demigod that was as powerful as him could last that long without monsters attacking.

And she had kicked him out. She wasn't sure why she did it. Maybe it was impulse. Or perhaps it was because she found Percy with a black eye one day after work when he had stayed home all day. All Gabe did was sit on his butt all day long and play poker with his friends. And maybe she'd had a dream. Something was going to happen. She…she had a bad feeling.

She knew she could have had an easier life. Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

She had been offered so much: an underwater palace…a queen. But she couldn't accept. She knew she had to earn her way through life. It wasn't about accepting miraculous gifts from "rich" men. She wanted to know she had lived life by her own account. She wouldn't rely on anybody to help her live her life. She had to find the courage on her own.

Percy didn't understand yet. The abuse…the anger. If the proud and arrogant heroes in Greek myths had tragic endings, perhaps the humble and selfless people in the world had happy endings. Still, this was all because she could see through the Mist, a magical veil that obscured regular mortals from seeing the truth. But she wouldn't trade her life for an easier one. Not in a million years.

She had to appreciate what she had and take it as a blessing. Poseidon had promised her Percy would be a hero to come. No matter what he did, she would be proud of him. She would love him until her last breath.

Percy was a lot more relaxed. Life was great. Smelly Gabe was gone, and his mother was bringing him on a night walk through Central Park. He loved Central Park almost as much as he loved Montauk. Pretending he had a sword, he walked in front of his mother checking for any bad guys.

Grinning, he turned back to his mother, who had a thoughtful expression on. "Mommy! There's no bad guys. See. They're all scared of me. Rawr!"

His mother chuckled.

He'd recently been expelled for making the water fountain explode at his elementary school. He didn't remember doing anything to make it explode, but the blame always went to him. Only his mom understood that it wasn't his fault. He didn't mean to make the fountain explode.

The snake was pretty awesome too. It wasn't every day that someone could say they strangled a snake. He did. Just like Hercules.

Percy loved Greek myths. Especially Perseus' because he was named after the son of Zeus. He slew Medusa, a gorgon (he didn't know what that meant) that could turn anyone to stone she locked eyes with, while she was sleeping before saving Andromeda, a woman, from a sea serpent named Ketos and marrying her. They had a happy ending. One of the only happy endings in Greek mythology.

Percy felt sad about all the deaths, but at the same time he thought it was just like life. Not everybody had happy endings. He knew his mom's parents died when she was young. He knew his mom had lots of troubles in her life. And that's why he liked them so much.

Hercules was, without a doubt, the most interesting hero to him. Hercules was strong, brave, and did the Twelve Labours. His mom told him labours meant work. He killed the Nemean Lion and the Hydra and did so many other crazy and amazing things.

But at the same time, his mom told him he could only do those things because he was very, very lucky. And maybe that was what being a hero was: getting lucky. It was hard to think about because he didn't understand much of the deeper meanings of the myths.

His mom told him he was smart for his age, which just made him feel better about himself. Anything his mother said about him was a compliment. The bullies at school were wrong. He wasn't dumb. He wasn't stupid.

Percy went silent as they continued along the path. In the distance, he could hear the roar of traffic, but in the Ramble it sounded like it was very far away. The concrete made little noise under his footsteps, so it was easy to hear a lot.

If he listened closely enough, he could hear animals. There weren't that many of them so the forest wasn't full of life, but there were enough to hear every once in a while.

Looking up, he could see stars in the sky. There were only a few, though. He wondered why people ever connected stars together to make pictures… his mom called them constellations. He couldn't see any of them though. It was a little sad.

The further they got into the Ramble, the more uncertain Percy became. He still exclaimed to his mother that there were no bad monsters, but there was a tingling feeling on the back of his neck. It was a cold feeling, and he shivered.

"Percy, are you all right?" his mom asked. There was a different…feeling in her voice. He could sense it.

"Yes, Mom," he lied.

He thought he heard a tree branch snap, but when he listened, he heard nothing. When he listened, he didn't realize that he'd stopped in the middle of the path. His mom's eyes flickered back and forth worriedly. She put a protective arm around his shoulders, and he couldn't help but sink into the hug.

"Come, Percy," she said urgently. "We should head back home."

The cold feeling died down, and Percy relaxed a little. As a six-year-old boy, the curiosity got the better of him. Peeking into the forest he caught a glimpse of a shadow that looked like a human. But it was gone before he could tell who it was. He made a stupid decision. He chased after the shadow.

"Percy!" his mom cried. "Percy, come back here now!"

Percy was gone before she could pull him back. He burst into the underbrush and ran toward where he saw the shadow stand. The dirt made muffled sounds as he ran, and tree branches snapped all around him. Sally could easily hear were her son was headed. He sounded as stealthy as a buffalo trampling through a forest.

He crashed through the trees until he found a small clearing where he thought he saw the shadow. But when he looked around, nothing was there. All he could hear was his mother running after him. Despite his clumsiness, he was quick for a little kid. He'd always been faster than all of his other friends and bullies.

Percy crept around behind a tree when there was a sudden snap behind him. He pressed his back against the tree and crouched down. His mom seemed to have heard it as well. Her stomping suddenly stopped, and for a second, Percy could hear the traffic in the distance again.

He slowly slid down more until he was on his back. Rolling over, he peeked out from behind the tree. He could see the shadow of his mother creeping slowly toward the clearing he had just passed. She was walking carefully and looking from side to side, making sure that there was no immediate threat. But she didn't call his name. He was hoping she would call his name. He was scared.

He didn't want to make a sound.

"Percy," she said quietly. "Please come out."

Just as he was about to launch up and run into her arms, a shadow passed behind her. Percy froze in terror as the shadow turned into a person. His mom froze as well, as if she felt the presence behind her. But she didn't turn around. She didn't have a chance to turn around.

The shadowed person behind her raised a knife, a bronze one, and stabbed her right through her back. The tip of the bronze blade was thrust so far through her that it appeared on the other side of her body. It prodded through the front of her abdomen for a split second, and that was all it took for Percy to see it. Clapping his hand over his mouth to stop from making a sound, he felt tears spring in his eyes. He wanted to shout now. But the bad man would kill him if he made a sound.

The man yanked the knife back out and dropped her to the ground.

Just as the figure turned, it hesitated. Percy thought he saw dark, cold eyes stare at him. A few precious seconds passed, and the figure turned away. When the figure wasn't overshadowed by trees, Percy saw that his head didn't look like a human's head. There looked like there was something on his head. It looked…it looked like a helmet of some sort. But the figure was too dark. He couldn't tell.

The figure suddenly dissolved into the wind, and Percy leaped out of his spot. His mom was still conscious, but he saw a lot of blood. She looked pale and her eyes were fluttering.

"Mom," he cried urgently. "Mom!"

"Percy," she whispered quietly. "Come…come here."

"I am here." He let the tears fall freely. "Mom! You can't be dying. You can't!"

She reached up with a hand and gently caressed his check. "You are my brave little boy, Perseus. Be safe, my hero. You must…you must trust the trees. Do not ignore them. They… They will help you. I promise."

"Mom?"

"Percy…"

He threw his arms around her and hugged her. He was terrified. She never hugged him back. He could feel her breath slowing down. She was on the verge of death. She would not be coming back. And that harsh reality hit him like a bowling ball. Who would he live with? He had no one left…no family. There was…nothing. He had nothing.

"I love you so much, Percy," his mom sighed. Her eyes slowly closed. "Everything is going to be okay. I give you my blessing, Percy. You are a hero…" And she went limp. Every muscle in her body loosened.

And she never moved again.

So... uh, new story? I dunno. I've kind of been moving away from ancient times because, well, I felt like creating this. This is the beginning of a new story, which is a lot like my other Percy Jackson series, but Percy comes from a different background, goes through different trials, and is a different person. Otherwise, it's still pretty basic and I don't expect that this will be a hit. I just feel like writing this, so I'm writing this.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this except the plot. Rick Riordan owns the characters and some settings, mythology owns some creatures, and the universe owns other settings.

Just a heads up... This is not meant to be extremely realistic. Percy, at times, may not seem like a six-year-old, and at other times, will seem like a six-year-old. Much of this beginning is passive and is building up to the main conflict. Thanks so much.

SharkAttack719