Finding Home

Chapter 6 - Explanations

They looked confused but nodded and followed me into the clearing where Perses was.

"Perses, you have been found guilty of tampering with fate," I announced with an emotionless voice.

Perses turned to face me, holding a large double-edged sword. "Who are you?" he growled.

I brought out my dual swords. "Your death." I answered calmly. Then I ran forward, surprising him long enough for me to get a slash at his side.

"Gah!" He yelled.

He swung at me with all his strength. I ducked and swiped his feet out from under him. He fell to the ground with a thud, and I stood over him. "You should have chosen a better place to hide Perses." Then I stabbed him in the heart. After he dissolved, fading into the void, I shook my head in disappointment. "And they said he was the best fighter of the titans. Kronos was harder than this."

I heard a scream behind me and turned around to see Hazel, Leo, and Frank being attacked by a rather large hellhound. They were actually doing pretty well and would have already defeated it if they had the correct weapons. I quickly sliced its head off and it dissolved into a puddle of shadows. When I turned, the three demigods were visibly shaking from the encounter.

"What was that?" Frank asked with wide eyes. "I haven't seen one of those before."

"Oh, that was a hellhound."

"Why couldn't we hurt it?" Hazel asked after calming down a bit.

"You simply lacked the correct weapons. If you were properly equipped, you would have defeated it without my help." I answered. I was actually quite pleased with their preexisting skills. It was impressive how far they had come, since they had no formal training. It made our jobs a lot simpler.

Frank looked at the puddle of shadows that was slowly disappearing then back at me. "You said you wanted to talk after you fought the titan."

"Ah, yes. I suppose I did." I mused, taking off my hood. "Let us sit and talk." I offered. They nodded and we sat on the grass. I smiled as I breathed in the fresh air. "It is good to know that some things stayed the same." I muttered, thinking about the forest.

"Percy?" Hazel prodded.

"Right, my apologies." I said. "Let us start from the beginning. Gods are real."

"Wait, God is real?" Leo asked, obviously confused. "Aw man! I knew I should've gone to church more! I'm going to go to Hell, aren't I?"

My lips twitched into an amused smile. "No, no. Gods, plural. God, singular, is a whole other matter. Anyway, the gods are real. Greek and Roman." I left out Egyptian and Norse because it wasn't relevant.

"Oh." Leo said. "That's a relief."

I smiled at him. "Now for the possibly more shocking part. You three are demigods. Children of the gods."

Their mouths dropped open. "Demigods?"

"Yes, demigods." I sighed. "Which is why you are better at learning things like fighting. It is a defense system in your brains that allows your senses to go into overdrive when in battle, which helps you stay alive."

"Then how do we learn to fight and survive?" Hazel asked.

"There are two demigod camps. One Greek, one Roman. Depending on their heritage, demigods go to one of the camps. There are also the Hunters of Artemis, who are a group of immortal man hating women who travel the country fighting monsters."

"So, you want us to go to one of these camps?" Frank asked.

I shook my head. "No. I despise those camps. I am offering you a different choice."

"What?"

"I have assembled a special team. We travel around helping those in need, and there are spots for you if you want them." I offered. "It will be dangerous, and training will push you to your limits, but if you wish, you may join me. If not, I will teleport you to your respective camps."

They glanced at each other. "We would have to go to different camps?" Hazel asked.

I nodded. "Mr. Valdez is a Greek, and you two are Romans." I answered.

They didn't look so happy about that.

"What else is included in your team?" Hazel asked.

"Well, you would receive immortality. You will be able to help a lot of people and we travel a lot, which I said earlier. We do a lot of service projects. You would get some powers and a mentor who would train you to take their place when they retire or fade. If you choose not to, I'll have to erase your memory of this encounter. I don't want word of my team to get out."

They looked at each other again and seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes. "We accept." They said in unison.

I smiled at them. "Wonderful. I am going to inform Nico. He and Bianca will be thrilled."

They looked confused, but I just quickly told Nico and Bianca that they had accepted. My head was filled with excited shouting a moment later and I clutched my head before cutting the connection.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked.

I nodded. "Yes. I just didn't expect Bianca to be so loud."

The three seemed to have accepted that nothing I said would make much sense and didn't even comment on it. Instead, Leo asked more about Team Omega. "So, what is this team called?"

"Omega. There is a larger army, but we are the elite team. We take care of the more delicate missions, and I am sent on diplomatic ones, seeing as I am the leader. Since you have accepted, I will tell you a bit more about our group. Most of us have already been alive for a few million years, and most of us were demigods. When we get there, you will quickly learn how things work.

"My father and I will have to officially accept you into the group, but you will get to choose your rooms and we will start your training immediately. My father assigns us most of our missions, but I will also choose some that I think are important. Any questions?"

Hazel and Frank raised their hands. Leo didn't even bother to wait and just started talking. "Do we get cool armor too? And who's your father? Is that what the crown is for? Is he a king? Wait, of course he is. Duh. You said you're a prince. Princes are sons of kings. Do we get to meet him?"

I sighed. "Yes, you do. You will meet my father when we get there. And the crown was not optional. I have to wear it on missions and such."

"Who else is on the team?" Frank asked.

I smiled at the mention of my family. "My second in command is Nico. My third in command is Luke. Then we have Silena, Bianca, Zoe, Will, Beck, Sarah, John, Ethan, Michael, and Jack."

"Why do you hate the camps?" Hazel asked.

I stiffened. "I do not wish to speak of it."

Hazel nodded. "Okay, I understand."

I nodded, forcing myself to relax. "Well, we should be going. Let us go pack your belongings and we will head out." I said.

They all nodded. We went to Hazel's house first, and she seemed relieved her mother was passed out on the couch. When she was packing, I studied her mother. I crouched next to her and put my hand on her forehead. I almost immediately recoiled at the contact. The mother had some sort of evil magic in her, a magic that corrupted her soul. I repelled the spell and stood back up. Hopefully her soul would recover with time.

Hazel came back out with a bag, and we went to Leo's. His was simpler. He was already planning on running away, so his bag was already packed. Frank explained the situation to his grandmother, who gave him a hug and bid him farewell. After his goodbye, we stood in the forest outside his grandmother's. I snapped my fingers and a portal swirled into existence.

"Whoa." Leo gaped. "Can all demigods do that?"

"No. I do not believe any can." I said with an amused smile.

"But you can." Frank pointed out.

I shook my head. "I am not a demigod." I walked through the portal before they could ask anything else.