The Demon Wars

First Meeting

Hell, 2001

"WHERE...IS...SHE?!" The whole palace shook from the King's unbridled rage. Someone had left a portal to the mortal world open and she had disappeared. The guard in front of him cowered in fear but he felt no pity, nor mercy. "Find who ever left it open. They will be under lock and key until my return. NO EXCEPTIONS. I don't care if they were a member of one of the other Houses. They all knew my warning. Now my daughter's life is at stake and no one seems to know where she could be."

"Actually sire, I may have a trace. Not a precise location, but a trace of magic left behind. It shows the portal went to somewhere in South Carolina."

Percy didn't even wait for the steward to finish talking, he walked through a tear in the fabric of Hell and was gone. He reappeared in Charleston. Spreading out his magic, he felt for a trace of his daughter's presence. While she may be, technically ninety-six years old, she still has the body of a child and a few of the nuances and qualities of her six-year-old body. She had refused to age and enjoyed being his only daughter. Most of the palace loved her, but you could tell that some of the nobles were envious. Not of Annabeth, no, but of Percy. Annabeth seemed to have a quality few others in Hell possessed. An aura of charisma that very few could bring themselves to dislike.

But Percy knew better. He knew that while someone may not hurt her, they would use her against him, 'Exactly how this happened,' he assumed. He felt a pulse in the magic. Way out in the sticks. His frustration was rising and with it, his demonic features were starting to show. Slightly longer canines. Red eyes. If he let it go any further, he'd have horns and his eyes would become slits, much like that of a cat's. He dissolved into a red fire and reappeared at the last trace of the magic pulse.

"Luke, something big just showed up. I can feel it. How's the little one handling it?"

"She seems fine."

"That's not a monster. That's my dad."

Percy heard all this, and started to approach the direction it was coming from. He almost stumbled into the structure they were in due to it's really well built camouflage. "Give me my daughter...now."

A head poked out, followed by a body with a sword in hand. "Who are you? And what do you want with her?"

"Pray tell, what will you do if I don't tell you? Or even better, if I do? Are you going to use that sword? It won't work. Not to mention, even if it did, you couldn't possibly hope to best me."

The boy trembled a bit in fear and a girl stepped up next to him, a spear in her hand. "Just answer the question."

"She's my daughter. I want her back, then I'm going to go kill whomever sent her to this...dump of a place. Oh...and I'm Perseus. Son of Lucifer, and the current Satan of Hell. That means there's no demon stronger than me."

Both backed up and Annabeth popped up. "Daddy!" She ran over to him and hugged him. "Don't hurt them. They protected me. Another Cyclops tried to hurt me again. They killed it."

Percy looked over at the two kids. "Tell me your names."

The girl glanced at the boy and then said, "My name is Thalia Grace, and this is Luke Castellan. We're demi-"

"I know what you are and who your parents are. That is not what I asked. I asked your names. Parents don't always make or break the children. I would not judge you on your parents names as at that point I'd have already killed you, Daughter of Zeus. No...for saving and protecting my daughter, I guess I should reward you."

He twirled his hand in the air and a shield appeared. "This is Aegis. A likeness of the same shield your father gave Athena. Use it well, as your future is clouded." He turned his gaze to Luke. "I offer you a choice. I can give you a gift, or I can give you the knowledge that you have sought for years. Choose. But know that one will lead you down a dark path and the other leads to salvation."

Luke looked back at Percy a little fearfully, unsure of which decision to make. "Give me the knowledge. I don't need material items."

Percy looked at him. "The gift was not a material item, but...in present circumstances I shall grant you both. I see Mammon tried to sway you, his stench has been all over you for some time." He flicked his hand. "The knowledge you seek is right next to you. You do not need more than the family you have at hand. You will play a great role in the future. If I were you, I'd pay your mother a visit. I hear that a miracle has just happened. And by the way kids, Angels aren't the only one's who create miracles, neither are the Gods. Don't trust blindly and always take everything with a grain of salt, even the gifts I just gave you. I incurred a debt to you for saving my daughter. I paid the debt. The miracle on the hand, I shall come to collect that debt later on. Don't worry, it won't be your life or soul. I might be as blood thirsty as my father, but stealing souls without a binding contract isn't my thing."

"Dad...I want to stay. I want to meet my mom." Percy looked down at Annabeth.

"Are you sure?" She nodded. He sighed. "Well, we must be careful then. Neither of us are fully Greek now, so we will have to play a game of chess with the Gods."

Annabeth looked at her father surprised. "You mean...you'll stay too?"

"I won't let you go before them and risk your life alone. So yes."