Summary: I'm not confined within these stone walls because of theft or other criminal charges. I'm here because I'm different, because I have godly blood running through my veins, because I'm a demigod… My very existence is a crime and many others before me were forced to suffer the same fate. But one way or another, I WILL bring change. My name is Percy Jackson, Inmate 518.

Chapter 1

I sat on this poor excuse for a bed, back leaning against the wall, staring aimlessly at the gray, concrete ceiling above me. I'd given up demanding my release from this small, confined cell. I'd given up my threats constantly thrown at the guards as I watch them walk down the halls. I'd given up hope.

About 4 months ago, I'd been dragged away from my mother, kicking and screaming and crying as my only friend betrayed my trust and broke my heart. She was the only person I'd ever told about what I truly was and she accepted it without a second thought because she too was a halfblood. I'm not sure when, but something changed within her. She became someone she's not. She became cold, evil, heartless…. Her kind heart had hardened into thick stone encased in a hard block of ice.

As always, I tried to force the painful memory away, but this time, I was unable to. I sighed and closed my eyes tightly as the memory played in my mind.

Laughter sounded throughout the apartment as my mother and I joked around. We'd both had a busy day, me at school and mom at work, the small candy shop on the corner. The both of us had planned to sit down, have a nice dinner, and have a mother-son movie night to attempt to turn around our poor afternoons.

I'd been just about to tell her how I wanted to spend the summer once school got out when the doorbell rang. My mother and I both looked at each, surprise on both our faces considering neither of us were expecting guests.

Rising from my chair, I approached the door, grabbed the knob, and swung it open, revealing a head of curly, blond hair. I looked at the person's face and was met with a pair of the most dazzling gray eyes I'd ever seen. I'd know those eyes anywhere; they belonged to my one and only friend, and girlfriend, Annabeth Chase.

I smiled at her, my face immediately lighting up at the sight of her. But as I stared at her, I noticed she didn't return my smile, she didn't leap into my arms in a tight hug, her face didn't give any sign of emotion. She was totally poker faced.

Before I could ask her what the matter was, another person emerged and stood beside Annabeth.

He was a tall, lanky boy with sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and a scar running down the side of his face. Luke Castellan. Him and Annabeth used to be friends before he'd given up life in hiding-because demigods were constantly being tracked down- and switched sides to live a life imprisoning innocent demigods.

Shock ran through my system and I was unable to forge a good enough reason as to why he was here. At my house. With Annabeth.

I opened my mouth to ask what this was about, but Luke beat me to it. He pulled out a long, worn scroll and read aloud:

"Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, you are hereby condemned to life in prison for your crimes against the Titan lord, Kronos. In choosing to give your loyalties to the Olympians and refusal to turn yourself over to the superior side, you shall forever live your days in darkness. Never to leave the confines of Lotus Prison. You will have no contact with the outside world and will be unable to bring any personal items. We, the loyal followers of Kronos, fully expect your compliance. Failure to obey our rules will lead to your immediate and inevitable demise."

At that moment, I felt a different mixture of emotions come over me. Confusion. Fear. Sadness. Heartbreak.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Olympians? Titans? Lotus Prison?" I decided playing dumb was my best shot at getting out of this mess.

"What's going on here?" my mother exclaimed as she approached the door, worry etched into her features.

"Ma'am, I'm Luke Castellan and this is my colleague, Annabeth Chase. We're here to collect your son and bring him to a location that would better suit this….demigod."

" You're not taking Percy anywhere. Yes, he's a demigod, but that doesn't mean he's any different than any other person. Thank you for stopping by, Mr. Castellan. But we have nothing more to discuss." My mother shouted, her maternal protectiveness kicking in. She grabbed for the door, attempting slam it in both their faces, but Annabeth shoved both her hands into the shiny wood, sending the door flying open. The doorknob embedded itself within the wall.

"Luke isn't finished, Ms. Jackson. Would you be so kind as to let him speak? If your smart, you'll let him continue." Annabeth said with her teeth gritted, clipping each word.

What happened to her? Annabeth would never speak to anyone like that, let alone my mother who had treated Annabeth like her own daughter.

Anger coursed through me. I'd always, always been there for Annabeth. When she was upset, angry, feeling misunderstood, I was there for it all. And this is how she repays me. Turning me in to Luke, coming to my house and treating my mother and I like we meant nothing to her.

"Don't talk to her like that! Who the hell do you think you are? No, wait here's a better question. Who the hell are you? 'Cause you're surely not Annabeth Chase."

"The Annabeth you knew, Percy, has long been dead. I've created a new, more powerful image of myself with Luke's help, of course. But now I finally have enough power to get rid of those sick abominations those pesky Olympians have plagued the earth with."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you a 'sick abomination' also?"

Her calm mask melted off her face and contorted into a look of fury.

"Ethan. Escort Percy out." A figure whipped around the corner of the small hallway outside our apartment. He had dark, black hair and an eye patch over his left eye.

Before I even had time to react, the boy surged forward, thrusting the hilt of his dagger into my forehead.

Black spots dotted my vision. Everything became blurred as if my 20/20 vision decided to take a hike and leave me hanging.

Strong hands locked onto my forearms, yanking them behind my back as they dragged me out of the apartment and out into the dark, deserted street.

Tears pooled in my eyes and trailed down my cheeks as I was hauled away from the building, leaving behind the only home I'd ever known and a mother who took care of me despite the risks of having a half-human, half-godly son.

The last sound I heard was my mother's hysterical sobs echoing in the night as they thrust me into the sleek, black truck and drove off.

I'd tried countless times to forget the memory, bury it to the far corners of my mind so far from everything else it can never resurface. But sadly it always comes back to haunt me, replaying like a broken record.

Anyway, enough of my sob story and onto more important matters. Our existence has been exposed to the mortals- basically your everyday human being with absolutely all human blood and have nothing godly or otherworldly about them. Now I'm sure your all probably wondering: Hey Percy, how'd the mortals even find out about demigods in the first place? Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea. For months, I'd contemplated the possibilities, but never have I gotten any closer to a logical answer. One day, I hope to find out and fix this fiasco.

All that anyone knows about the situation is that the mist just disappeared, vanished. One day it was there, clouding the vision of mortals to prevent them from seeing the truth, and the next, POOF! The mist was gone and as you can imagine, the outcome was chaotic. Fear crept into the mortal's hearts as the monsters we'd tried so hard to conceal were revealed to the public. They gathered an army of mortals, intent on locking us away from humanity in hope of the monster population to simply leave after they realized the demigods were gone. So they built an impenetrable prison and began rounding us up. Kronos took this opportunity to his advantage and compromised with the mortals, telling them how he too wanted us gone and would love to aid them, to which they'd agreed. The mortals don't know it like us, demigods, do, but Kronos has an ulterior motive to joining their side. When demigods are out of the picture, he will take power and rule the mortal world after he destroys the gods.

As for Annabeth, I'm not really sure how she avoided capture. All I know is Luke managed to fool the mortals so I assume he'd done the same for Annabeth.

Jangling keys snapped me out of my trip down memory lane. Opening my eyes, I came face-to-face with a guard. He wore the standard uniform. Black pants. Shiny, black shoes. Dull gray T-shirt neatly tucked into his pants.

"Time for dinner." The gruff voiced guard announced.

Here at the prison, we're fed twice a day and breakfast and dinner are the only times we're let out of our cells except for the special occasions when the army goes through orientation for its new recruits. Other than those times, we basically just sit around thinking or staring at walls or whatever you can to keep yourself from going bonkers.

I rose from my bed, held out my hands so the guard can lock the heavy, celestial bronze shackles to my wrists, and exited the cell with the guard in tow.

We walked down the shiny, marble floors, passing row after row of inmates locked behind the steel bars, faces full of defeat and loss.

Thousands of guards surround the perimeter of the prison, motion sensors line the halls, surveillance cameras in every corner. Highly trained marksman patrol the jail around the clock, 24/7, and aren't afraid to put a bullet in any of our heads. Escape is no easy task and hundreds had failed. Out of the 3 years the prison's been open, not a single halfblood had ever made it out alive. As you can imagine, it really puts a damper on things.

Several minutes later, my escort and I reached the cafeteria, containing hundreds of halfbloods from all around the world. I hated coming here and it's not only because I feel suffocated with all these people clustered together, eyeing me from across the room, but because it's super….umm….gross. Imagine your school cafeteria. It's like that, just not as clean…or nice…or even semi-suitable for consuming food here. There are filthy, plastic chairs lined with dirt and grime along with thin cracks cut jaggedly through them. Personally, I think it's a miracle that someone hasn't gone to sit down and had it collapse beneath them. We eat at old, wooden tables, the rotting wood slowly chipping away, leaving the majority of the tables lopsided. Hideous holes and dents litter the white, plaster walls, giving the appearance the room's going to come crumbling down at any given moment. And to top it all off, there's garbage everywhere. Picture this, a giant trash eating monster with the stomach flu came and puked….well….everywhere. Bam!, you've got the cafeteria. Nice place, right? Didn't think so.

Upon walking in, I was handed a tray with the slop the people here dare to call food before sitting down next to my only friend here, Nico Di'Angelo.

Nico's tousled black hair may give him an easy-going vibe, but his dark and brooding expressions contradict that assumption. I imagine he used to be a happy, go lucky kind of guy, but that was before it happened, nipping his carefree nature right in the bud.

Nico's had a tough life. At a young age, his mother died, his father, Hades, abandoned him, leaving him to fend for himself, and his sister, Bianca, was killed shortly after. He'd had no family left to turn to, no one to care for him and he quickly spiraled into despair. Vengeful thoughts filled his mind, erasing it of everything other than seeking revenge. He knew just how to get it and he would have succeeded if I hadn't been there.

I'd been walking home from Annabeth's house, after we'd snuggled up on the couch, watching countless hours of meaningless cartoons with her younger brothers, Bobby and Matthew, when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

Turning, I noticed a figure standing on the sidewalk underneath a street light, illuminating his face, just across the deserted street from where I stood. He had dark hair and pale skin similar to what you'd imagine a vampire's complexion would look like. He was scrawny and thin with all black clothing covering his skinny frame. A sword hung loosely from the sheath hanging limply at his hip so I knew he was a demigod. Although, I found it odd that he wasn't using celestial bronze. Instead, the sword was made out of a strange material. Iron, maybe?

"You Percy Jackson?" he asked, his voice deep and raspy even though he couldn't be older than fourteen.

"Who wants to know?"

"Name's Nico, son of Hades," he replied, his lips twitching upward into a small smile.

"And you're here why?"

He crossed the distance between us, his stride confident as he walked the last few steps to me.

"I've completed my training to join Kronos. Now all I have to do is prove myself worthy of fighting for his side so he gave me an assignment. And that assignment is to get rid of you."

"Wow, lucky me."

"Ready to get your ass kicked, Percy?" Nico hissed, flashing a confident smile.

"I could ask you the same thing." Drawing my sword, Riptide, I took a defensive stance, never taking my eyes off the hilt of his sword as he unsheathed it.

As soon as he pulled it out, he swung, his sword aimed at my chest. I met him halfway, sparks flying as our swords collided. I spun around, swinging Riptide in a wide arch, the blade catching him in the shoulder.

Surprise appeared on his face as he glanced down at the cut on his arm. It wasn't deep or anything. In fact, it was just a tiny scratch, but I assume he'd expected to get out of this fight unscathed.

Shaking it off, he thrust the blade forward, but I sidestepped.

We traded jabs and blows back and forth. Every swing was blocked or parried by the other.

Frustration was written all over my opponent's face. Evidently, he didn't think I'd last this long. His swings became careless and his guard was let down, giving me the opportunity to get the upper hand.

Swinging my sword , I caught the underside of his and twisted my wrist, sending it skittering down the street where it lay right next to the curb.

I pointed my sword at him, the tip hovering inches from his chest. Glancing down at my sword, his jaw went slack.

"Well, I underestimated you, Percy. I've got to hand it to you; you sure know how to use that thing," He said, pointing at my sword. "Good fight."

"Ditto." I replied before confusion swept over me as I watched him step away from me, turn, and proceed down the street to way he had come. My initial thought was that it was a trick to get me to drop my guard, but he never turned back around, just kept walking away from me until turning down a side street and out of my view.

I lowered my sword and continued my trek home.

Halfway there, Nico appeared out of thin air, inches in front of me, blocking my path-how he did that I have no idea- and stepped forward with a smile before sweeping my legs from beneath me. My head slammed the ground with a sickening crack. A piercing pain invaded my skull and distorted my surroundings into looking like they were taking a serious ride on one of those super fast spinning, carnival rides.

In my peripheral vision, I see him take out his sword once again. Pointing the tip between my eyes, he spoke.

"I've never, ever lost a battle. They recruited me because I'm unstoppable and I'm not going to let one of the Olympians little pets take that from me "

"Why do even want to join their army? You can live a better life without them."

"Why? Revenge, that's why. My sister was killed fighting for what she believed in.

She thought all demigods should be acknowledged by their parents. Half of their demigod offspring had never been claimed and that really took a toll them. They felt unwanted, unloved, and they were sick of it. My sister rallied the unclaimed demigods, marched up to Olympus, and demanded their parents attention. The gods refused, thought she had too much influence over the unclaimed demigods which could cause them problems later on, and they killed her. I've made it my mission to avenge her death, to make them pay for what they did, and no one's going to stop me. That's why I have to kill you, Percy Jackson. I have to prove myself so the army will accept me and I can finally bring the gods to their knees." Rivers of tears streamed down his cheeks. His calm, confident mask broke away piece by piece, revealing a sad, broken boy lost without the company of his deceased sibling.

Despite the fact that he wanted to end my life, I felt awful for this boy. He didn't want this, didn't want to hurt anyone, but he did want to even the score. You could see it on his face, clear as day, that he wanted the gods to feel the pain he'd felt when his sister was cruelly ripped away from him.

"Listen. That was wrong of the gods, I agree, but getting revenge won't make you feel any better. I'm very sorry about what happened to your sister, but think about it. Would she want you to put yourself in danger like this? I know she wouldn't. I can't bring her back, but I will help you complete what your sister started."

"You will?"

"Yeah. You're sister has a point. It's not right for the gods to just ignore their kids. I promise to help, but if you forget about Kronos and live your life the way you want."

"Deal." A real, genuine smile plastered on his face.

He dropped the sword from my face and helped me to my feet.

The sudden movement cause my head to spin. I clutched my throbbing head, trying desperately to stop the pounding in my skull. I felt like my strength had been sucked out of my body with a vacuum cleaner. My legs turned to Jell-O and I collapsed, the ground rattling my weak, tired body. Darkness leaped into my vision and I succumbed to sleep.

I remember waking hours later with Nico hovering over me, trickling nectar into my mouth. After that day, we'd become allies, never really friends until after I arrived here and we got to know each other instead of just basic facts like name and age and parentage.

Shaking myself back to reality, I said hello to Nico and we quickly jumped into a conversation when suddenly the cafeteria quieted down. What's going on? Nobody's ever quiet in here. Glancing around the room, I noticed all their heads were turned toward the doors. I shrugged at Nico before lifting my eyes to the entrance.

Standing in the threshold was Luke and two girls I'd never seen before, one with red hair and the other with spiked black hair, both in shackles like ours. Beside them, stood a tall, blond girl, her eyes scanning the room until they landed on me. Recognition crossed her face as she took me in while I did the same.

She looked no different from when I last saw her. Blond hair, gray eyes, tan skin, but her eyes now lacked their former luster. She appeared emotionless, but after being her friend for years, I could see right through her façade. She was sad, really sad especially when her eyes locked on mine.

The person standing there was, you guessed it, Annabeth.

Hope you liked the chapter! :) I'd really appreciate it if you could review and tell me what think. I would love some constructive criticism to help me improve my writing.

Thanks,

TwistedTrident