Perseus: God of War Chapter Two: Quest of Normalcy  

Disclaimer:

Γεια σας άνθρωποι ! or Geia sas ánthropoi

OR

Hello people!

As you are aware it is Shinju, this here is my first fanfic aptly named Perseus: God of War!

The franchises Percy Jackson and God of War are owned by Rick Riordan and David Jaffe.

The chapter contains information regarding Canada, which I have got from the internet of course. I would like to apologize if it is wrong in any manner! I don't stay in Canada so I hope it is at least somewhat accurate.

Any Greek/Latin words and phrases used are through Google Translate (Greek/Latin)

I don't beat around the bush so let start with the story:

Percy POV

Location: Vancouver

Time: 0630 Hrs.

"AHH!!" …. Crash!!

"Why?!Gods, why?" I looked up at the ceiling, as if that would make it any better. I was currently changing Estelle after her business was done, unfortunately in the process of carrying out parental duties I forgot how to walk in my own apartment.

"Thank the gods." I had childcare hired.

The caretaker would come in about an hour that would take the little mermaid off my hands for the rest of the day.

As I put Estelle to sleep, I knew that I would go through all the hardships of being a parent again and again every day for the little mermaid. I laid her down in the crib beside my bed and finally sighed.

It only took 20 minutes this time.

"98, 99...100!"

Currently, I was doing push ups. What, just because I had a baby on my hands did not mean I would let go of my training. I was a warrior, yes… warrior not a hero.

I realised that in Tartarus and again in the wars, sometimes one needs to steel their heart. Heroes, I thought I was a hero, but I was wrong. Quests, Wars and Tartarus changed me. Yes, the old Percy was still there, but only just.

I did not tell anybody, but I had killed other demigods during both wars. May be Apollo knew. I had to deal with it, since it was thrust upon me.

That's one of the reasons why I left the Greek world, to make my own choices and to bear their consequences on my own. Mistakes would be made, but on my terms.

And I liked it.

Finishing my morning workout. I looked out the window, a cool breeze washed over me.

I checked on Estelle one last time before I walked into the shower. Luke warm water washed the sweat and the fatigue away and I felt revitalized.

Made myself the staple breakfast consisting of cooked eggs, bacon, deep-fried potatoes, toasted bread and pancakes. The best!

As I finished it in record time and I got dressed in a sea-green T-shirt, black jeans and a nice pair of sneakers. As I was getting my earphones and apartment keys the doorbell rang.

I opened it and saw, it was Liana. A beautiful black-haired woman in her late 20's. She was also the daughter of Demeter. When she found out who I was she looked ready to burst with excitement.

I had met her in a grocery shop one day. I was trying to buy suitable baby cereals for Estelle. When she had seen how hopeless I was in terms of childcare she offered to do it for free initially but I insisted that I could pay.

We greeted each other and walked I out the door.

Humming to the tunes of "How Far We've Come by Matchbox Twenty" I got my cycle out. A 15-minute cycle ride later, I was at University of British Columbia or simply UBC, My University.

Now one might ask, How the Hades did I, Percy Jackson get into a university in the first place?

Well, it all started something like this,

Flashback

"Why is it the demigods give of a scent in the first place?"

"For that matter, why is it that demigods have ADHD? I mean I understand the concept of Battle Instincts and the superhuman reflexes, but can't I minimize it to some extent."

"I mean, guys like George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, William Shakespeare were demigods, they had to have studied to some extent and audiobooks didn't exist then. Hell, Artemis stated Neil Armstrong was one, granted a weak demigod, but still a demigod, you can't just become an astronaut by wearing a suit."

I saw a stream nearby, I decided that a dip was in order. It helped me think…

"WATER!!"

I suddenly realised that water helped me calm down, it helped me think may be being in my element minimized my ADHD and Dyslexia to some extent.

I stepped in the water and checked my theory, tried to recall basic Latin names and history that Chiron used to teach in Yancy Academy.

"Who was the friend of Achilles that died by Hector's hand?"

"Patroclus." I recalled the answer.

"Holy shit!"

I stepped out and decided to further try this from now on.

One month skip

Location: On the river bed.

It had been a month since I started staying in the stream for extended periods of time. My ADHD and Dyslexia while not gone, had substantially reduced. I could read English for little periods of time. I had decided now that I had basic control, I could read stuff in the library. Catch up with times so to speak.

I wanted to keep the memory of my mother alive, she loved to read in the night beside the lamp. She used to tell me stories of Heroes and Gods. While said history fascinated me, my ailments and the neglect of teachers made me lose interest.

Now, I could remember her and Paul. A silent sob and a tear were let out…but were lost in the stream. No evidence of them ever being there.

I got out of the stream as dry as before I went in. I would be late, if I sat idle any longer.

I had job now, I was a librarian.

It kept me occupied and reminded me of my mom. Also, the use of The Mist helped me a lot.

The Mist?

Well, Chiron never informed me but we could use the Mist to hide some things, basic things. Few months ago, I had been a troubled kid and a criminal, now I am a part time Librarian and aspiring Bachelor Degree Student.

Flashback End

Location: Vancouver

Time: 0830 Hrs.

Speaking of Bachelor Degrees…

I had seen what mortals could do if given free reign over the planet. I planned to change that, no no ...no! I don't want to control them just help them get better in taking care of the world as a whole. I had theorised that part of why Gaea was so cruel was because of Ouranos, part because of Tartarus and part because of mortals.

Ouranos have shoved their children back in her womb, banished them to Tartarus or just plain out tried to kill them.

Tartarus… Damn! The nightmares…I knew one thing about myself after that…I was at least partially insane. On to my point, I think that some essence of Tartarus passed on to Gaea during the whole making of the Giants which affected her in ways…. (Cue shudder).

Mortals well…you already know that outcome.

Now about Canada…

I had seen Canada and its sights.

The large expanses of trees, streams, wildlife going about their ways. Hades, I had talked to a fish regarding its waters and well… while it wasn't the best it wasn't the worst.

I just wanted that …. like everywhere…but with the blend of Mother Nature and Manmade.

So, I made up my mind to do the Course of Forest Bioeconomy Sciences & Technology and my all-time favourite Language Course, Greek.

If Athena would have seen me right now, she would have slapped my dad and then slapped herself. HA! That would have been hilarious!

I walked towards my lecture room, sat down towards the front corner of the class. Yes, front corner since the class I was attending was Greek. As per the course schedule, today was a discussion on Greek Mythologies. Well, more like Greek History, since mythology was not really mythology for me.

The door to the hall opened and in walked a woman in a business suit, luscious black hair, grey eyes and on the bridge of her nose sat red rimmed glasses. The definition of many men's fantasies of vigorous education.

She walked with a particular air, seemed pretty familiar and I could feel The Mist at work, my classmates…they looked dazed.

"Good morning class. I am Miss Sonya Bronte and I will be taking over this class for the remainder of the course."

My gut told me this was a mistake. It had never failed me before or else Estelle would have been with my parents and from the start of said course we had Mr. Robert Adams not her. Robert was a well-liked professor, he was carefree and didn't insist on homework, just that we paid attention and turned up properly for any examinations.

He also did not have any ailments so for him to leave so suddenly was very suspicious.

I kept my musings to myself for now and looked up from my spot and found that said person of interest was looking at me…No…it was like looking through me…boring into me.

Could it be a Goddess, but Olympians did not come this far…may be a minor goddess? Khione, did reside in Canada.

Sonya after some time moved her gaze and started with the lecture,

"Today we are going to talk about Greek History."

"But professor, Mr. Adams had called it Mythology…" Amy, a classmate of mine interrupted.

Sonya cut her off there "Greek history is History, not mythology Ms. Waters, it teaches us not to repeat the mistakes of those who have come before us. It will do you well to keep that in mind.

A couple of boys muttered among themselves, "Like we are gonna use it anywhere." I was reminded of the same comment Nancy Bobofit had made on the field trip that changed my perspective of the world.

"THWACK!" came the sound of a chalk piece hitting the forehead of said boy.

"Mr. Robert would have been lenient with his students, I am not." calmly stated Sonya.

The precision needed for a mortal to hit dead centre all the way to the back would have been highly difficult. This further proved that Ms. Sonya …who ever she was, was not an ordinary mortal.

"Now if all the ruckus has settled down ...we will continue."

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted" Amy shrunk at that "We will be talking about Greek History…please open your course material to page 394…The Rise of Athens…" (AN: Thy name is Snape)

One hour later...

It had been an hour…. this woman had been going on about Athens and its rise for quite some time, she spoke as if she had been there.

"And so, we come to end of this lecture…" Sonya concluded.

"Miss Bronte, Mr. Adams had promised us a lecture on Greek Myth..History, Could you shed some light on …what do you think about the Gods?"

Bingo! Someone from the middle asked a question, which I could use.

Sonya sighed" I always have been fascinated by them, forces of nature that control pretty much every aspect of Human Society."

"I, personally am interested in the three maiden goddesses" Another girl pointed out.

Sonya perked up at that.

"I like Hestia, she is the Goddess of the Hearth." One continued.

And on it went…students giving their opinions.

"I still don't know why you like Athena?" said Amy.

"I mean, she cursed Arachne for having no flaws in a tapestry that she made, instead of rewarding her for a job well done Athena beat her with a shuttle. Arachne hanged herself and transformed into a spider. Legend has it she hunts down anything related to Athena." she continued.

Well, I didn't know about that, I mean I knew about the "Arachne curse story" but not the reason behind it. Well, you learn something new every day. Because if this was true then it just showed how much the Gods had affected mortal lives while still claiming the regulations of Ancient Laws.

Wait a minute, I looked over to Sonya, and she …she was almost seething.

Sonya…. Greek for wisdom…. Athena

Bronte… Greek for thunder…connection to Zeus

Grey Eyes…. Rise of Athens… Arachne Legend.

Cue facepalm…mentally of course …. Being around Gods for extended periods of time give you at least some common sense.

Fortunately, the bell rung, Thank Poseidon.

As every one was filling out in their respective groups I got up from my place, collected my bag and walked towards the door. But fate will not leave me alone…

"Wait." I acted oblivious and kept walking.

"Wait, Mr. Jackson"

Fuck You Fates…. I couldn't help it.

"Yes Professor…"

"What are you doing here?"

"I attend this class, ma'am" Trying to play it safe.

"Don't play coy with me Jackson, you may change your clothes and somehow decrease the demigod scent but I am the Goddess of Wisdom." And there was the pride.

Well, the game was over, "I attend this institution, Lady Athena."

"Ha! Like a son of Barnacle Beard could!!" Laughed out Athena.

I silently slid the University ID on her table that stated my name, address and course that I attended. The look I got back was priceless, for once Athena was speechless.

I smirked at her.

She looked at me and suddenly and realised what happened and she coughed and composed herself.

She finally said "So you moved to Canada, what brings you here?"

"Quest of Normalcy." I simply answered.

She looked at me for a few seconds, sighed and nodded knowing why I was on the quest in the first place.

I inclined my head at her and left, thankful not having to deal with any more gods for now.

Athena POV

As the sea spawn walked out of my class room, I remembered what had transpired between me and my daughter at Olympus at the end of the party.

Flashback

"Greeting's daughter." I asked Annabeth.

"Hello mother! What brings you here?" Asked an excited Annabeth.

"I would like to ask you some questions." Replied Athena.

"But mother, can't we do this tomorrow…" whined Annabeth, who was actually talking to Hercules of all immortals.

"Leave." I commanded Hercules.

The son of Zeus tried to glare at me but fell short under my own. He simply obeyed and left without turning back.

"Fine. What do you want to ask mother?" Annabeth impatiently asked.

"Don't speak to me like that demigoddess, I maybe you sire but I am an Olympian! I command respect!" I shouted back.

Annabeth looked like she had re-entered Tartarus.

"Apologies milady." She immediately bowed.

"I would like to ask you about your offer to Godhood and why you accepted it?"

"It is all I have ever wanted, to stay in my prime and design buildings that would signify history." Annabeth obediently answered.

I looked at her and studied her critically, she seemed to shrink under my gaze. I decided to press on.

"Again demigoddess, don't lie to me, I am not Percy Jackson that takes what you say at face value. Now tell me" At the mention of the sea spawn Annabeth looked slightly angry.

"I…just that Julian was such a nice guy and he reminded me of Percy during the Titan War…but as we were getting together, Percy seemed to mellow down, no longer the commander, just a simple demigod. Julian was always there for me. Percy did not crave anything or have an ambition. Everything always seems to happen to Percy. It wasn't even few months into the relationship and he has his memory erased and sent to a Roman Camp. I can't keep up with these incidents that seem to always gravitate around him. People died, Luke died, just few months ago Sally and Paul died. Such people, logically speaking even though have no fault of their own but still always attract death and destruction, are better off dead."

SLAP!

I had never been one to be ruled by my emotions, but this…this went beyond breakups and teenage dramas ...

"While I don't like the sea spawn and most likely never will...I had seen how he made you happy…he gave up Godhood and fell in Tartarus for you!" As The Pit was mentioned there was a flicker of …fear…not regret or guilt but fear.

"Daughter…"

"Nothing mother…just memories." Annabeth replied weakly.

"Annabeth…"

"When we were in Tartarus we met Akhlys so that we could hide ourselves in the Death Mist to get through Tartarus and close the Doors of Death. She offered us different types of toxic plants so that we could die "peacefully" compared to our uncertain future if we continued our plan, but we rejected her offer and she accepted ours granting us the Death Mist.

But then Akhlys betrayed us using our inability to move with the Death Mist chucking poison at us and then attacking with her claws. Percy used his powers over water to will the poison back to her and tortured her, which caused her to flee then. It is during this that a darker force in Percy's personality revealed itself. He had once told me there was something in him that cracked that day."

"He was capable of controlling a goddess's own domain to torture her. That scared me. It was not a simple demigod of the Big Three, it was something more so I didn't approach him about Julian after that. As much as I didn't like it, I needed him to be there. When we trudged towards the Mansion of the Night, Polybotes refused to come near it and even Iapetus described it as too scary but someone had to guide us through it, Percy volunteered and kept his eyes open and guided me beyond the River Acheron. When I opened my eyes, the look on Percy's face was haunted. He had most likely seen things capable enough to make Immortals insane. Whatever came out that day with me from the Doors of Death was not Percy, it was something more. Tartarus himself took a physical form to keep us both in The Pit. While Percy did not fight an entire battle, since Iapetus and Damasen confronted Tartarus and helped us get in the elevator, he did stand his ground and was not afraid to fight the Primordial of the Pit."

"I wanted to confront Percy about Julian many times, but I was terrified! A near seventeen-year-old boy, who could control the world to bend to his will. So, I kept on consoling myself that I would tell him, but I could not." Annabeth finally confessed, tears at the edge of her eyes, ready to spill out.

I looked at her pensively, I was not expecting this. This, how could something like this be kept in the dark for so long. The sea spawn…Perseus...had been through this…if what Annabeth said was true…. If so, what was Perseus capable of and where did the Olympians fit in all of this…if at all?

Flashback End

I remembered I had to report this conversation to my father, he would not be happy but it is my duty to bring important matters to his and The Council's attention.

I looked over to the stack of papers from another class and groaned, paperwork, tedious and time-consuming chore that infuriated me. It did not matter if I was the Goddess of Wisdom, I hated it.

Percy POV

Location: Seed Library, UBC

Time: 1730 Hrs.

"...they plan to eliminate natural gas, coal, and other fossil fuels completely from Canada's electricity generation by 2030" I finished.

I was currently reading an article on Climate change. Quite informative.

As I completed it, I got up took a book on basics of Political Science. Advantage of being a librarian, as long as books were not harmed, I could read them and return them back. What, I had a chance to improve and expand my horizons, I will bloody well take it. No, I am not becoming an Athena spawn, but just because they like reading does not mean I will dumb myself down. I think, that is the only good thing that came out of me being called Seaweed Brain.

As I was riding my bicycle, a giant hand slammed into be from the side and I went flying all the way across the street. Fortunately, I narrowly missed a street light or my back would have bent at an unnatural angle.

I looked towards the direction I flew from, and it happened to be a Laistrygonian Giant. And my bike, well instead of me, it had gone splat!

Weren't these cannibals supposed to be in Quebec. What was this one doing here. Well one way or another I had to kill it.

I threw my trustworthy weapon Riptide, at it like a spear and it returned back to my hand after it knocked over the Giant with the hilt like Thor's hammer in the Avengers.

I was tired of the days work and also had met Athena, which I did not want to, this applied more so, but on a more serious note I had observed that I was somehow getting stronger, not just physically but also mentally.

The giant roared and charged; I responded in kind.

I jumped towards his shoulder and slammed my right fist in the side of its head, before stretching its neck, punching him again twice and bringing him down on the ground, creating a small crater and knocking off some teeth and then stabbing it with my sword, effectively killing it.

As it started dissolving into gold dust, I walked back towards my bicycle. I quietly willed the water from the air to push the dents away and then the bicycle looked new again.

As I reached home and opened the door, Estelle came running in the living room and hugged my leg.

"Pewcy!"

Liana followed behind her and greeted me.

"Good evening."

"Good evening you two...now how is my little mermaid? Have you been annoying Aunt Liana, hmm?" I asked Estelle.

"No!" answered an excited Estelle.

Percy POV

Location: Seed Library, UBC

Time: 2100 Hrs.

And so after, Liana had left I had fed, bathed and clothed Estelle. And was now in the process of putting her to sleep…

…. When the bough breaks the cradle will fall

Down will come baby, cradle and all.

I looked towards the clock showing the time.

9 PM

It was still an hour before I went off to sleep, I got up from beside the cradle and started completing my homework.

Exhausting.

As I completed it and got changed myself, I remembered times past, adventures finished and lessons learned and sighed.

This …. here was somewhat boring…but I liked it. I wouldn't change it.

In a whole day, I woke up to a toddler's cry, stubbed my toe, attended a university, met The Goddess of Wisdom, killed a Laistrygonian Giant, came home to an excited toddler and did my homework.

That was a day in the "normal life" of Perseus Jackson.

Goodnight!