Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Life wasn't supposed to be like this. We were never supposed to be like this. You may be wondering what we are talking about. Well, dear reader, pay close attention to what we are about to tell you. You see, I am the Great, Legendary Apollo writing this with my obviously younger twin, Artemis-OW!-okay, okay! Older twin Artemis. We are joined by the little rascal unfortunately known as Hermes, and the brother who thinks he is cooler but obviously isn't, Ares!

Ack! Will you people stop hitting me? I was only telling the truth! Gods, siblings, amirite? Now, back to the matter at hand, the reason we are writing this is to show you and warn you. The warning? Don't be like us and do what we did to deserve this. Allow us to show you how we were unfairly punished and how we repented, and how--oh...right, Meg hates spoilers. Sorry, dear reader.

Now, what happened (no, I am not spoiling Meg. Give me back the book!) NOW, if people will stop interrupting me, I can finish this. Gods! I am so sorry, dear one. This is our tale of how we became mortal, suffered, and saved the world! Enjoy! Well...I should hope you don't enjoy our suffering too much.

Right, right. Time to go. We, err, I am needed. You'd think dawn would be able to wait a few minutes. Well, read well, and please, don't bully me too much. Enjoy!

-----

Lester

I love my mother. Without her, well, I can't imagine where I would now be. I don't remember how I know this. It must have been another one of those dreams. When one dreams, you'd think it wouldn't mean anything, but demigod dreams and former god dreams are drastically different to normal dreams. I can't remember if this was during the six month time gap I had or right before I woke up in the dumpster, but I can say is that this was my favorite dream.

"Queen Hera, please!" I saw my mother, Leto, begging on her knees in front of my evil(?) step-mother Hera. When I was on Olympus, she acted like I didn't exist. She didn't hate me per say, but she didn't love me either. I was surprised to see Hera seeming to listen to my mother's begging.

"Speak," Hera spoke in a calm voice that sounded like the cold breeze of the Arctic. She raised on of her eyebrows, glaring down at my mother. "I don't have all day." Hera tapped her fingers on the arm of her throne, her other hand being used to rest her head on.

"Please, I beg of you, send my son help. He won't be able to survive on his own," my mother choked out another sob. Tears were falling freely from her eyes. I hated seeing her like this. Wake up, I willed myself to no avail.

Hera's lips thinned as she thought about my mother's request. I knew she was going to say no. Hera loved to torment my mother for her affair with Zeus. One of Hera's not so good qualities in my book. She smirked and coldly stared down at Leto. "I will agree on one condition."

"Anything!" My mother sobbed in relief.

Hera's look of victory made my blood boil. She was manipulating my mother, and I couldn't do anything to help. "Once your son is restored, you will get to see him one last time. After that, you shall never see your children again. Do we have a deal?" she asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

My mother's eyes widened in horror. "Bu-but they are my children!" she spluttered.

"Do we have a deal?" Hera repeated, each word colder than the first. "I won't ask again."

Leto sucked in a sharp breath and slowly nodded, her shoulders slumping in defeat as she kneeled before Hera. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I accept your terms, O Merciful Queen." She dipped her head.

Hera softly smiled. "Rise. We have a deal. Leave me." She flicked her wrist and the door to her room opened. My mother walked away with tears streamed down her face and a defeated look on her face. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't move.

"I hate you!" I don't know why I screamed at the Queen of Olympus. I knew she couldn't hear me. Anger burned my veins. This is how she worked. Ruining families while getting what she wants. However, I don't know what she wants now. If I died, mother would still be devastated.

"You shouldn't act like that to the one who has the power to save you, Apollo," Hera growled, staring at me with glowing purple eyes. What? She shouldn't have been able to see me.

"They why not make me a god again?" I scoffed, folding my arms over my chest.

"Because, that was Zeus's doing. I cannot fix what Zeus did." She narrowed her eyes. "Be grateful I am helping you now. Wake up, young Apollo. Help will soon arrive." She closed her door.

I woke up screaming as the wind whipped my hair. I was free-falling. Out of instinct, I tried transforming into a beautiful pegasus or a dove. Nothing worked. Now I remembered. This was my punishment for Octavian.

I hit the trash in a dumpster located in Manhattan. No god should have ever had to go through that embarrassment.

YOUR FAULT. YOUR PUNISHMENT.

Chapter Text

Artemis/Melissa

I paced the throne room, casting harsh glares toward the idiotic Hermes and the fool Ares. Why Hera needed all three of us? I had no idea. All I knew is that it would probably mean I would be forced to go on a journey with two men. Ugh. Men. Most men are terrible, rotten creature. Very few are acceptable. Ares looked as annoyed as I was, and Hermes was talking with his snakes about package deliveries and other mail stuff. I didn't care.

"I see you all made it," Hera, my step-mother, spoke as she entered the room, closing the doors and locking them. She eyed all three of us, an emotion on her face that I couldn't read. I never knew what was going through her head. Unless it had to do with Father.

"Mother, what do you need?" Ares asked, frowning. Even though he was Hera and Zeus's son, he still seemed to not be on the best terms with each of them.

"You three are going to help your brother survive. Try not to die." I was confused until Hera snapped her fingers and I felt excruciating pain. A silent scream escaped my lips and I fell to my knees. I heard Hermes yelp and Ares grunt. What was going on? Why would Hera do this? Everything faded to a bright light before I blacked out.

-----

"OH NO!" I was awaken by a loud, girlish scream. My vision was blurry, but after I blinked a few times, I saw that I was in an alleyway with two men. I instantly recognized Hermes as I assume he was the one that screamed. Ares was looking at his hands, a look of disbelief on his face.

"What in Hades is going on?" I snapped, standing up. I brushed off the dirt and realized I was wearing black leggings, white sneakers, a purple shirt with a crescent moon on it, and a black zip-up hoodie. "How did--"

"HERA MADE US MORTAL!" Hermes wailed. He wore brown pants with a blue shirt and an orange hoodie. Not the best fashion, but at least it wasn't the worst thing I've seen. Men can wear the strangest clothes. I remember when hunting with my Hunters we found a wedding happening and the male wore a polka-dot suit. The audacity to wear that monstrosity at a wedding!

My eyes widened. "My hunters!" I gasped. "They won't know of this. I have to find them and let them know about our predicament." How I would find them? I didn't know. We travel a lot and can go weeks and months without communication with the outsiders.

Ares scoffed. "That's what you are worried about, Artemis?" He crossed his arms over his chest. It wasn't surprising that we was wearing all black. Black combat boots, black pants, black shirt, black jacket, black everything! He has NO taste in fashion. That both me and Apollo can agree on.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Of course I am! My hunters are my family. They are like my children. I care for them." I stepped closer to him, glaring into his red eyes. "Unlike you with your children," I spat.

Ares growled and loomed over me, but I wasn't afraid. I could easily defeat him any day of the week. Well, maybe not in this body, but I wasn't going to let him scare me. We had a glaring contest until Hermes snapped his fingers.

"I got it!" He grinned, looking over at us. "Hera said we were to protect our brother, right? Pollo was made mortal. We are tasked to keep him alive. All we need to do is find him, so our best bet is either get to Camp Half-Blood or go find Percy Jackson. Pollo would probably find Percy first. I vote we find Percy as well."

"I--did you just actually make a smart plan?" Ares gaped, ducking to avoid a flying shoe. I laughed. Many people assumed Hermes was, to put it plainly, stupid. Just because he acts a certain way means he is actually like that. Hermes could rival Athena if he really wanted to.

"Don't act so surprised, Ares!" Hermes snapped, glaring at Ares. "I am one of the most clever gods. Don't forget that!" He triumphantly grinned and dragged me and Ares to the streets of...New York?

"Touch me again and I will break your hands, brat," Ares growled, yanking his arms from Hermes' grip. If Hermes got hurt because he annoyed Ares too much, it's his own fault and I won't help him if Ares decides to attack. Not Apollo? Not my problem.

Hermes squeaked and inched closer to me like I would help him. He is a male. Males can handle their own problems. I shook my head and sighed in exasperation. "Don't look at me," I said. "I won't help you." I snapped my fingers and cleared my throat to get their attention. I was the only in command here. This was about my twin, so naturally, leadership fell onto me. "Enough. We need to get moving. The sun is going down, and I don't think we should be walking around in the middle of the night."

"I know where Percy moved to!" Hermes shouted, taking the lead and walking out into the streets of Manhattan. Both Ares and I followed him. I was quickly beginning to regret everything when Hermes started being Hermes and pick-pocketing everyone who walked by him.

Nobody paid us any mind as the three of us walked alone. I could guess that Ares was around seventeen, I was sixteen, and Hermes was 15? I may be wrong, but I don't really care that much. Each one of us are well over four thousand years old. I realized that we were all defenseless, and that made me shudder. I never liked being without my bow or dagger. I felt incomplete without them. 

Hermes stopped in front of an apartment building and asked for Percy Jackson. We were able to get in and found Percy's apartment. He happily knocked on the door and after waiting a few seconds, someone opened the door. 

"Oh gods, no," Percy groaned, closing the door in our faces. 

Chapter Text

Hermes/Nate

When Percy shut the door, I bit back a comment on how we were, emphasis on were, gods. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. I swear Ares looked like he was going to kick down the door. Before Artemis could knock for the second time, Sally Jackson opened the door for us.

"Ah, more guests," she smiled at us. "Are you friends of Lester or Meg?"

Lester? The three of us shared a confused look. "Umm, sure? We came here to talk with Percy, ma'am."

"Come on in! I was just about to serve up my seven layer dip for the others." Bless the kindness of Sally Jackson. Now, she is a mortal I would never steal from. A, because she is so kind, and B because she terrifies me.

Being the gentleman I am, I allowed Artemis to enter first. I gave her a smirk, to which she returned with a glare. Why does she have to be so mean? I was only trying to be nice. Ares rolled his eyes again and walked inside, letting me enter last. Rude.

Once inside, we saw Percy sitting in the living room with another teenager, who looked terrible, and a young girl who was inhaling carbs. Honestly, mood. I waved at Percy and grinned.

"Hey, Percy!" Percy narrowed his eyes. "You might not recognize me but--"

"Hermes?" Lester, I assume, gaped as me. "Ho-how are you here? I though Zeus forbade anyone from helping me."

"No way," Ares huffed. "That's supposed to be Apollo?" I glared at Ares. So what if he didn't look like Apollo? He was still our brother.

"Pollo?" Artemis asked, stepping toward her twin, even though they didn't look like twins anymore.

"Artey..." Lester got up and hugged his sister. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. Despite them being twins, they would rarely show each other affection like that.

I cleared my throat. "We're here, too!" I exclaimed, gesturing to myself and Ares, who looked like he could care less. Does this guy ever show emotions that aren't war, bloodshed, or negativity?

"Let me get this straight," Percy stood up and stared at us. "You're Hermes," he pointed to me, "and you're Artemis," he pointed to Artemis, "and don't tell me he is Ares." Percy pointed at Ares.

"He isn't Ares," I snickered, yelping as the said person elbowed my side. Geez. It was just a joke. He's going to be a long work in progress.

"He is," Artemis sighed. "Hera said something about helping you survive and sent us down. Apparently, we are also mortal?" She looked confused, and we all were. It's not like Pollo was defenseless. He could hold his own. I should know. We fought together against Ares and managed to last longer than two minutes.

Percy looked even paler. "Are you serious?" Artemis raised an eyebrow and looked one-hundred percent serious. "You are," Percy sighed. "Okay, I offered to drive Lester and Meg to Camp. I can take you three with us. Do you have mortal names?"

"We do!" I grinned.

"We do?" Ares asked.

"Yep," I popped the p. "You and Artemis were too busy and shocked to notice mo--Hera gave us IDs." I pick-pocketed their wallets and showed them our IDs. Apparently, we were all biological siblings. Pollo was Lester, Artey was Melissa, I was Nate, and Ares was Oscar.

"Give that back," Ares growled, snatching his wallet back and stuffing it in his pocket. Again, rude.

I raised my hands in mock surrender. "Sheesh, no need to be mean," I mumbled. Again, Ares is going to be a long work-in-progress. But! It's nothing I can't handle. I'll have the big guy showing positive emotions in no time...hopefully...maybe?

The seven of us crowded in the living room and began to eat Sally Jackson's heavenly, no seriously, this seven layer dip is ruining ambrosia for me. I may never be able to eat anything but this again! Percy mentioned something about not being able to help due to school or something like that. Apollo didn't like that. Honestly, good for Percy for doing good in school for Annabeth. Those two are a match made by Aphrodite (or so she claims).

Meg was different. And I couldn't tell if it was a good different or bad different. Being god, oops, former god of thieves, I have a knack for noticing the little things. Meg would be outgoing and confident, but with anyone mentioned anything specific, she would shut down. Something was going on with her, and I wished I could've done something to help her.

"You're pregnant," I spoke, looking at Sally. "I'm sure you will have a lovely child."

"Why thank you, Lord Hermes." I tried not to flinch at the name. I wasn't a god anymore. I wasn't Hermes anymore. I was tall, lanky Nathaniel Papadopoulos. I was just a mere, useless mortal now. Not that all mortals are useless. Some of you are pretty great! Most of you actually. You just wouldn't understand being all powerful and then being nothing. Though, I did like finally being taller than Apollo for once. I was always the shortest of the Olympians. Finally, I get to be taller than some of them who bullied my height. Yes, I am looking at Apollo.

I was shaken from my thoughts by Ares and Artemis laughing. That's right. You heard me. Ares laughing. Impossible! Who made him laugh? "What? Did I miss something?"

"Apollo is Meg's servant!" Artemis snickered, covering her mouth as she laughed.

"More like partner," Apollo mumbled, glowering at us.

I blinked and looked from Apollo to Meg and back to Apollo. "That's honestly hilarious, but also slightly concerning." Meg had some red flags, but then again, every demigod had red flags. They're part mortal. What do you expect? Then again, from what I heard, Meg was a tough girl. Apparently, she saved Apollo from some kids.

Percy got up and helped his mom take care of the dishes. Sally insisted we didn't help. "So, you're taking us to camp and coming back here?" I asked.

"Yeah," Percy confirmed, reaching for--"are those blue cookies?" I found myself asking.

Sally nodded. Oh, she must be a goddess stuck in a mortal body like us. "Percy's favorite. Oh no, not for you," she swatted Percy's hand away. "These are for our guests. You get yours when you come back safely. Be quick, it would be a shame if Paul were to eat them all."

Percy gaped and glared at us as if we just told him he ordered on another life-threatening quest. (which is very rude by the way. We would NEVER send him on a quest we knew he would die on...Wait, no, sorry, that's a lie. We have.)

"You hear that? If I die before I get those cookies, I'm going to be pissed." I couldn't help but smirk at Percy.

"Never jinx it, Percy," I sang, yelping when he through a wooden spoon at me.