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'I'm going to die' is all Atreus thought before his face got smashed into the dirt road. As Atreus tries to stand up he can't help but wonder how he got here. "Okay I'm fine, I'm okay... I was just wandering Midgard with Mimir and Father looking for runes and shrines from the giants..." As Atreus's mind begins to clear up from the nasty fall, he can't help but get distracted by the loud yelling and groans coming up ahead. 'I should check it out' he thought, as he pulled out his bow and readied an arrow, he ended up stopping in his tracks as he caught sight of buildings, and kids of all ages running around, and having fun.

As Atreus stared in awe, he didn't notice a boy at his right entertaining himself with the grass, and then the boy spoke up "I haven't seen someone like you around here." Atreus jumped; he didn't see him because the boy was soundless. Atreus couldn't help but be intrigued by the stranger he was around his age, he had dark black hair and tired dark brown eyes. Atreus couldn't help but notice his pale skin for it reminded him too much of his father.

"I know I'm eye-catching, but you don't have to gawk at me." The bot said, Atreus eyes widened as he stuttered out an apology. 'I'm so sorry...I just..." he sighed. "I don't know where I'm at." That is all Atreus could muster. "Well...let's start with something simple. Nico." The boy says "Huh?!" Atreus replies, still very out of place. "My name is Nico." Nico explains "Oh. sorry, Atreus, my name is Atreus." Atreus replies as he scratches the back of his head, trying to process everything that has happened. "Is your name from Sparta or a Spartan?" Nico asked. "Yeah; something like that my father named me," Atreus replied.

As Nico stood up to see and talk to Atreus better 'Something about manners!' Nico thought. As Nico stood up, Atreus couldn't help but survey this 'newfound friend? Comrade? Who knows?!" in his appearance, he wore all black like a lot of black! A black shirt with a skull, a brown jacket that did not look appropriate for this weather, black pants, and black laced boots. 'What is this guy's deal with black?! Atreus thought. "Well, what causes you to end up here?" Nico remarked. While Atreus recounted his journey to Nico, Nico seldom paid attention, for his mind was elsewhere. 'He's not from here. Anyone with eyes can see that, from his clothes to his tattoos...yet he doesn't look like he's lying, he just looks really confused and out of his element.' Nico reasoned looking at Atreus as he finally paid attention again. "And that's what happened," Atreus stated. As Nico opens his mouth, it suddenly closes it to the loud horn blaring reminding everyone that it's time for dinner.

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Atreus followed Nico as he was taken to the dining hall. 'This reminds me of how Heimdall tricked me and took me to the mead hall to be ambushed instead," Atreus pondered. "Wait here; I'll get you something to eat," Nico said directing Atreus to a nearby table. "Thanks! I appreciate it." As Nico left, Atreus couldn't help but really take it all in 'I guess everyone is going to do the same.' Atreus noticed as people glanced and whispered at him. "Here," Nico said snapping Atreus out of his thoughts. A bowl of lentils, bread, and a separate side of fruit. "Thanks; You didn't have to." Atreus proclaimed, as Nico sat in front of him with a similar bowl of food, Nico spoke up "You know us Greeks, we always show our hospitality." Atreus couldn't help but chuckle at that as he started eating his food alongside the black-haired boy they ate in silence, as the stares and whispers increased, but at least now they were bearable.

'A guy that wears all black and a guy that clearly doesn't belong here, were bound to get attention.' Atreus thought as he looked up seeing the black-haired boy dump the rest of his food into the fire. "What are you doing?!" Atreus accidentally asked out loud. "I'm giving my offering to the gods." Nico paused to my father," Nico said looking as if he was talking about the weather. "A god?" Atreus questioned. "All the kids in this camp are demigods, the children of gods." Nico proclaimed, as he looked up at Atreus, who had a grin on his face. "Well, it looks like I'm like you then," Atreus says, Nico looks at the blue-eyed boy with a puzzled look and then it hits him. "Your parent is a god." Nico sighed, wondering how he got himself into this situation. "Yup, but I never had to make offerings to my father." 'Wait What?!'

Atreus continued "My Father..." Atreus sighed at the thought of his father. "He's... Me and him never saw eye to eye." Talking about his father was... complicated. He loved his father but sometimes. "Probably due to an overshadowing father figure you can never live up to." Heimdall words rang in his ears; Atreus didn't want to admit it but, he was right. "My father is overbearing, stoic, hard to understand, but-" Nico heard enough 'he will make himself real comfortable here-' "But he's my father, he never stopped trying and as long as he doesn't stop I'll do the same," Atreus concluded. Nico looked like he'd seen the end of the world by the way he stared at Atreus. "Sorry did I vent? I didn't mean to. Nico spoke, "Your f-father is a god? And he was in your life for you? - like in your life?" Atreus was confused by the rush of questions, but he answered truthfully.

"Yeah after my mother passed away, my father took care of me. He was the one who taught me to hunt." Atreus said as he pointed behind him to his bow, Atreus continued "He made me my hunting knife," he pulled out his hunting knife from his belt. "He gave it to me when I was eleven, believing I was ready." Atreus smiled fondly at that memory, he continued, "On the day of my birth he made two knives, one for him and one for me; he told me "Son you must be better than me." He made me promise him." Atreus continued but Nico couldn't listen anymore 'There had to be a catch. There's no way, the gods don't give a second thought about their children, if they die they die. They can be replaced; they can have another child. Yet this boy talks about his father, like a father not like a god.' Nico could not take his eyes off the boy, he couldn't recall what he was saying but there were a lot of emotions on his face happiness, sorrow, obscured, and peace.

'He actually loves his father, his father an actual father not just some god who knocked up some mortal and let her raise the child, he ACTUALLY raised his son. He doesn't know how lucky he is.' It is all Nico could think as he looked at Atreus with bewildered eyes. "-and my father killed that troll with his-" Atreus cut himself off as the black-haired boy looked at him with shock, to say the least everyone was looking at him as the dining hall was filled with silence and tension that you could cut the tension with a knife. "Is everything oka-" In a sudden notion Nico grabbed his wrist as they walked out of the dining hall. "Hey, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" Atreus asked confused by what was going on 'This whole day has been nothing short of confusing' Atreus thought. "You're so fortunate," Nico commented, and just like that Nico vanished leaving a confused and alone Atreus.

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Hello everyone.

I would like to thank you for your support and I would like to say that I originally wanted this to be a one shot but, I had fun writing this and decided to continue writing.

If you’re not interested in that, please don’t leave hate and just enjoy the first chapter. The rest of the series will be more about me trying to have some fun and enjoy the characters interacting with each other. While writing the characters, if I mischaracterize them please tell me in the comments any advice to help me improve is helpful.

Updates will be at random since I do have a life and if I were to abandon this series or if I get to stressed trying to write this series,I will be letting you know.

If I get something wrong please let me know and I do hope you enjoy this short story. This series is just to have fun, let’s not take it too seriously. After all I’m trying to get better at writing. The second chapter would be coming out in a few days, until then.

Bye :)

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'So here I am left alone and confused in some camp,' Atreus ponders. Before Atreus could go anywhere, someone spoke. "Do you need some help, young man?" As Atreus turned his head, he couldn't believe how weird this whole day had been. Before him stood a man with the bottom half of a horse. He looked around middle-aged, with dark brown hair, a beard, and brown eyes. "Yeah, I don't know where to go," Atreus explained. The stranger spoke "Well we welcome you to camp half blood. My name is Chiron, I'm the camp director." Chiron claimed. Atreus was relieved but it was short-lived. "My friend-" Atreus cut himself off 'Are we really friends I mean we just met.' Atreus thought. As Atreus shook himself out of his thoughts he continued. "We were just talking and then he took me here and vanished," Atreus added.

"That must have been Nico, good to know he's been making friends." Chiron said happily, Chiron continued "I was hoping to give you a tour or have one of the campers give you one but it's late and you must be tired." Chiron concluded. Atreus did not complain as he followed the half-horsed man, 'I've been up and down literally for this whole day, I wouldn't mind some rest." Atreus tiredly notioned. Then they stopped in front of an old, worn-out cabin with the paint chipping off. As Atreus and Chiron walked in everyone fell silent. Atreus couldn't help but turn his head seeing beds stacked on top of each other, curtains on the windows, a map hanging on the wall, and a wooden desk and chair. 'This place is crowded and why is everyone wearing orange?' Atreus quietly questioned. Chiron began "This young man, will be staying with you until further notice. Introduce yourself." Chiron gestures "My name is Atreus." Atreus says. "Tomorrow I will send someone after breakfast to give you a tour of the camp," Chiron replied "Oh... Thanks." Atreus stated. Chiron gave everyone a kind smile and announced, "I hope to see everyone tomorrow at breakfast, don't cause problems, and good night." Chiron left.

Atreus was now left in a cabin full of people he didn't know and, then all the people bombarded him with questions. "Is it true your father raised you?" "Is your father a god?" "Is your father a major or a minor god?" Atreus really wished Chiron didn't leave and then someone yelled "Give him some space he just got here." said a brown-haired boy and then he spoke, "It's a pleasure Atreus, we welcome you to cabin 11 the Hermes cabin, my name is Connor Stoll, I'm the head counselor of the cabin." Connor explained as he patted Atreus on the back. "Thanks, can I rest? I've been on my feet all day." Atreus commented. Connor redirected him to a bed, as Atreus took off his bow and quiver, preparing himself for bed. "Is it true your father is a god?" someone said. This causes the cabin to go quiet. "Yeah. He raised me." Atreus affirmed as he lay down on the bed. "Taught me how to hunt," Atreus said through yawns, as he turned and took the hunting knife from his belt and held it close, as he began to drift off to sleep.

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"Hey... wake up, it's time for breakfast," whispered Connor as he gently woke Atreus. Connor handed Atreus a fresh pair of clothes. "These should fit you. Thank Alex for the fresh pair of clothes." Connor finished as he stood up and prepared for the rest of the day. Atreus went to the bathroom and changed into a simple black shirt, a simple pair of pants, his boots, his belt alongside his knife, and attached his bow and quiver. 'I don't look completely out of place,' Atreus wondered as he grabbed his clothes and headed out of the bathroom to see Connor waiting for him. "Where do I put my clothes?" Atreus asked. "Take it with you, I have to take it to get washed," Connor answered. At that moment, Atreus saw the pile of clothes at his feet. "Will we have to wash the laundry by ourselves?" Atreus shuttered at that thought. "No, we will drop it off and pick it up later." Connor replied, "Why are you doing everyone's laundry?" Atreus asked. "After you went to sleep, we all placed bets on who would do the laundry tomorrow, and I lost. The irony, especially since I'm the head of the Hermes cabin." Connor concluded while carrying the large basket of laundry. "This might sound weird but who is Hermes?" Atreus questioned "The god of thieves, trade, merchants, medicine, cunning, language, etc... He's the father of all the kids in cabin 11." Atreus gawked at him 'I can't imagine my father having that many kids.' "And we’re here." Connor said as they arrived at a normal building of people coming in and out, as they entered some creatures with feathers were doing laundry, we stopped up front and handed their laundry off to the weird bird woman "It should be ready at the end of the day." she proclaimed. "Thanks, we appreciate it," Connor replied as they walked out heading to the dining hall.

It felt weird entering the dining hall after everything that happened last time. Today's breakfast was porridge, fruit, and orange juice. The whispers were still loud like before but that was quickly drowned out by the conversations between Connor and the rest of the people at the table. 'It still feels weird seeing them give an offering to their parents' Atreus thought, though he couldn't help but look around for Nico after everything that had happened yesterday. Though he saw Chiron by some other middle-aged guy and then "Good morning everyone, I do hope you made your offering to your parents. Today's activities will be fishing and sword practice. I hope to see nobody skipping." Chiron expressed as he looked towards Atreus's direction, Connor coughed. With that people began to leave and Atreus went up to Chiron and saw him talking to someone. "Right on time Atreus, this is Percy He will give you a tour of the camp," Chiron exclaimed as Percy turned to face him. The boy was taller than him, with jet-black hair, and sea-green eyes. Percy directed Atreus outside to start their tour.

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Percy is pretty cool, but I don't think he's a good tour guide, he can get distracted easily but other than that, everything went well, and our tour finished quite quickly, but I had to spend the whole day with him after lunch. Lunch consisted of spaghetti, garlic bread, and grape juice. 'The way everyone is looking at me makes me feel like a criminal.' Atreus thought. Percy walked up to the Hermes table and spoke up "Atreus come on we have to finish our tour." Following Percy to the docks, Percy picked up a fishing rod and cast out the line. Atreus was confused but then remembered the morning announcements. "So is your parent like the god of water?" Atreus questioned, "Yeah, my father is the god of the ocean, water, sea life, etc... why." Percy asked as he handed Atreus a fishing rod "Well everyone here is so curious about what god they're related to." Atreus comments as he struggles to catch a fish. "When I first arrived, I stayed at the Hermes cabin then when my father claimed me, I moved to cabin 3, the Poseidon cabin." Percy finished, as he caught a fish and threw it back into the lake. "Claimed? What is that?" Atreus questioned. Percy looked at him confused, disregarding the fish. "It's when your godly parent accepts you as their child. Doesn't your father claim you as his?" Percy mentions "My father always saw me as his son even if at the time I didn't see it, it took some time for the both of us to get used to each other, let alone getting along." Atreus paused looking back at the fish, Atreus continued "So I guess you can say he "claimed" me. Percy was shocked he didn't think the rumors were true, about a boy who was actually raised by his godly parent. Percy thought back on all the times his mother had to work odd jobs to keep them afloat or how she dated a man who mistreated her for his sake 'That's not fair, what stopping the gods, my FATHER from actually being there or at least offer some money so that my mom doesn't have to work herself to death.' Percy wondered slowly getting angry as the water got violent, looking at his belt and seeing the hunting knife he heard about. As Percy was about to open his mouth.

"Do you know Nico?" Atreus asked. Percy was a bit shocked as the waves died down. "Yeah, why." Percy responded, "Well I haven't seen since last night, I think he's angry at me, I don't know?" Atreus said. "Don't worry he will return, just give him time." Percy replied, things got quiet after that only listening to the other camper's voices and the water, so Percy decided to break the silence "So your father what god is he? Does he have any domains?" Atreus looked up at Percy and pondered 'father doesn't have multiple domains and he seems pretty standard for a god, at least compared to the gods here,' Atreus wondered and then spoke "He's the god of war. He's very serious, stoic, and hard to understand, and he mostly gives one-word answers... you know I wouldn't be surprised if he were a god of music or hunting." Atreus responded. "Why do you say that?" Percy asked. "He and my mother taught me how to hunt and use a bow and with music, I asked if we could build a lyre together, he was confused at first, but I told him that I would like to make music together since all we do is train and hunt," Atreus answered. 'Music...Music? They make music together. His father cares for him, His father ACTUALLY cares for him, why...why? Why didn't my father care for me like that.' Percy sadly thought but was broken out of those thoughts when he heard Atreus trying to reel in a fish.

'Come on you stupid fish!' Atreus mentally complained until he felt someone behind him trying to help him reel in the fish, as he looked up it was Percy. "Focus on the fish!!!" Percy yells, as they were reeling in the fish they both fell back as the fish flopped pathetically on the docks, and then laughter, Atreus couldn't help but laugh, Percy, following soon after, they couldn't help but laugh about how crazy trying to catch this fish was. 'I was struggling over some small fish.' Atreus wondered. As he and Percy couldn't control their laughter. The horn blared reminding everyone it was time for dinner. "Thanks, you made me feel better." Percy commented as he and Atreus walked into the dining hall "Huh...your welcome?" Atreus muttered as they both departed to their respective tables 'What a weird guy.' Atreus thought as he sat down waiting for dinner.

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Dinner was uneventful as they sat and ate while listening to the conversation everyone was having, though it was time to go back to the cabins, 'we couldn't stay out, something about monsters.' Atreus thought back, as he followed Connor to the laundry building to retrieve their laundry, Atreus couldn't help but ask "Why is the paint in the cabin chipping off." 'The cabin can't be that old?' Atreus mentally questioned. "My father is the god of travelers and hospitality and if a kid doesn't get claimed by their godly parent they stay with us until they do, kinda like you." Connor answered, "There is a constant stream of kids coming in and out of the cabin, which is why we can't fix it." 'Well that makes sense, but there's one thing I don't understand, what happens if someone never gets claimed? their a child of the gods but their parent never claim them?" Atreus questioned, "It's simple they stay with us permanently and they will spend the rest of their life trying to get their parents to claim them and if that doesn't happen then they die wondering who their parents are." Connor answered as he let out a sigh.

'How can the gods be so cruel to their own children.' Atreus couldn't wrap his head around this and then "You're so fortunate" Nico words rang through his head 'I truly am fortunate.' Atreus lamented as he looked at all those around him, the building, and the people. 'Connor always talked cheerfully but clearly this serious.' Atreus reflected. "Anyway, let's give everyone their laundry," Connor said happily as they entered the cabin. 'Are they throwing their laundry under their beds?' Atreus thought. Just then Connor handed him multiple pairs of clean clothes "These should help you throughout the week and these are for you to sleep in." As he pointed to a trunk "You can store your things here for now." Connor finished. Atreus stored his clothes and headed to the bathroom to change, and he prepared himself to sleep.

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"What do we do now?" said a woman that Atreus couldn't make out. "We must prepare, but I can't do these without Atreus." wait...that...That's my father!.. He couldn't move but he could hear everything perfectly. "Take me to the place you lost Atreus, I could use my magic to find him and Freyr knows Vanahiem better than anyone." Freya concluded, "We must be careful if Odin knows that Laddie isn't here, he'll find him first to retrieve the mask." Mimir stated, "We should hurry." Kratos stated as they left for Vanahiem. "All this because you wanted to have a little adventure, but we'll help anyway we can." Brok said as Sindri agreed with him "We'll see you in Vanahiem." Sindri commented. "Take care, I'm sorry I'm not of much use," Tyr said but something felt off about him, he seemed angry? Atreus woke up in a cold sweat, it was still dark outside as he tried to collect his breath. 'I must get home.'

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‘Somehow I managed to sleep,’ Atreus thought as he prepared himself for the day. Mentally thanking Connor for the extra change of clothes, wearing a black shirt with wolves, and cargo pants. 'The shirt is nice, but why do these pants need so many pockets?' Atreus thought as he walked out to put on his boots but then "Hey! Atreus here," Connor exclaimed as he handed Atreus a pair of black shoes "It's best to have another pair of shoes, if the Aphrodite kids saw you wearing that with boots, they'll tear you a new one," Connor warned "What?" Atreus asked but did as instructed, as he left, picking up his bow on the way out. "Wait, did you give him the winged shoes?" said somebody as Connor realized what he had done "Ah, he probably won't use them."

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Breakfast didn't matter much but, what did was Chiron's announcement "Today's activities will be archery and rock climbing, you're dismissed." As everyone left for the archery range. As they arrived it was huge there were targets set up. "Good morning everyone, I will be helping everyone with archery, so line up behind a target and begin." As Atreus got in line waiting for his turn, while seeing everyone shoot it was eventually his turn. 'Elbow up, accuracy over speed.' Atreus recalled his father's words as he took a deep breath and let go. Hitting the target "Hey, good job," said the camper as he prepared a target further away. Atreus drew his bow and aimed, hitting the target. "Prepare one more!" yelled the camper 'Now people are definitely paying attention' Atreus wondered. As he readied his arrow and let go, "Hey, you did a great no one could properly hit the target," the camper congratulated him, 'I didn't hit the bullseye,' Atreus reflected and then "Will, come here!" As Atreus turned he saw a boy with blond hair and blue eyes "Ah! Will, I think this boy will be able you in archery," the camper explained as he handed the blond hair boy a bow and some arrows 'well I guess I'm teaching someone,' Atreus thought.

'His form isn't bad, it just needs improvement,' Atreus pondered as he saw Will draw his bow and fail to hit the target "When you draw your bow, raise your elbow." As Will fixed his position, Atreus continued "Focus on accuracy, aim, steady yourself, take a deep breath, and fire," Will took a deep breath and let go, his arrow hitting the target "I-I did it," Will said excitedly. Atreus couldn't help but feel proud. "If you ever need anything, come find me in cabin 7 or the infirmary," Will spoke breathlessly as he left. "You're really good at using a bow," commented Jerry "Here position yourself," Atreus did as he was told "Good, ground yourself, raise your bow a little higher, and pull the string far back," Jerry commanded. Atreus let go and hit the bullseye "I did it!" Now it was Atreus's turn to be shocked, Jerry patted Atreus on the back as he smiled at him. The rest of the morning consisted of archery practice between him and Will.
'Gathering rocks, stones, and feathers was difficult, but at least I got everything.' Atreus wondered as he started a fire, he told cabin 7 that he wanted to teach them how to make their own arrows, as everyone surrounded him, he began 'Making the arrows is the easy part, gathering the material was the hard part,' Atreus anticipated as he showed everyone the freshly made arrows. After their archery practice, Will wanted to know how to make arrows, he offered, and with everyone's help, he got the materials and taught them. Lunchtime was approaching, so we had to clean everything up, and then "here" Will gave Atreus a medical book "Consider it as thanks for helping me get better at archery and teaching everyone how to make arrows, it's been a while since I've seen everyone so engaged," Will finished as he had to catch up with the rest of cabin 7. 'At least now I won't be bored,' Atreus notioned as he went to the dining hall.

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As Atreus looked up at the climbing wall, he got himself ready to start climbing. It was easy at first until things like snakes, fire, bats, etc. As it started to come out and many people started falling 'at least with the wall of Asgard there weren't this many surprises, but this is ridiculous,' Atreus thought as he saw some gut get punched off. 'I was able to make it to the top avoiding most of the surprises,' Atreus believed as he was the first to press the button, as everyone cheered.

'Since curfew is at 10 and I have nothing better to do,' Atreus perceived, as he pulled out the medical book Will had given to him 'It's best if I learn how to tend to someone, at least the basics,' Atreus wondered as he began reading, 'maybe I should go to the infirmary and learn a bit from Will,' Atreus lazily notioned as he started getting tired, falling asleep with the book in his arms.

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"We should be getting closer!" Kratos yelled as he cut down the final enemy. "These monsters, I have never seen them before," Freya announced as she set up a protection spell around the camp. As Kratos kneeled to inspect the monsters, he concluded "They from my homeland," As Freyr set up a fire "We need to hurry and find your son, he could be tied to the monsters," Mimir admitted "That doesn't sound out of the realm of possibilities, after all, brother Laddie was the first to open the shrine, what if the monsters are coming from there?' Kratos let out a grunt as he sat by the fire trying to rest, not knowing someone was watching.

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Trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes was hard, especially with such a comfortable bed. ‘Why don’t I sleep in comfortable clothes more often?’ Atreus theorized as he finally woke up, seeing everyone get ready for the day, he headed into the bathroom to change into a red long-sleeve shirt, pants, and the same shoes as yesterday.

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As Atreus ate, he couldn’t help but reflect on yesterday, “Nico!” Atreus yelled, waving Nico over. “How have your days been at camp?” Nico questioned as he and Atreus started walking around the camp “Everything has been pretty well, to think a place like this existed,” Atreus said. “Sorry for vanishing on you, I was just taken aback by what you said,” Nico finished, as he looked at the ground. “No…I actually gave your words a lot of thought, and you're right, I truly am fortunate,” Atreus remarked as he looked at Nico, as they had stopped in front of a dark cabin. “Is this your cabin?” Atreus asked jokingly, “Yup, if you ever need anything, cabin 13,” Nico said a little more animated than before, pointing to the cabin behind him. Atreus couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright, don’t be shocked if I need to spend the night,” Atreus commented sarcastically, as they walked to the dining hall.

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Being shaken out of thoughts, he sees Chiron announce, “Today’s camp activity will be, capture the flag- “The campers erupt into cheers, Chiron continues “There will be two cabins who will be the leaders,” This causes a mix of cheers and complaints. Chiron picked up a hat and pulled out a piece of paper “The Athena cabin- “then Chiron pulled out another piece of paper “and the Hermes cabin,” There was a mix of cheers and complaints from the campers as the cabins chose their teams and head into the forest.

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The armor here was different, it was made of leather not metal. Connor was giving orders to the cabins about what to do “Atreus, you will stay here with everyone else to protect the flag, team A will be distractions, and team B will be with me trying to steal the flag and some weapons,” Connor declared and with that, everyone left. ‘This is boring, at least yesterday, I had the medical book to keep me entertained. I have to stay put,’ Atreus thought. The Hermes kids would come by everyone occasionally to drop off weapons or the tools stolen. ‘Soldiers marching…Archers…Weapons…talk, talk, talk…We closer, win!’ A bird chirped.

Atreus stood up abruptly “Which one of you runs the fastest,” This got everyone’s attention. Atreus continued “Connor won't be able to make it in time and the Ares cabin is arriving soon,” One of the Hermes campers took the flag, and Atreus summoned a small squirrel “Follow the squirrel, protect it, and hide. If they find you, give the flag to the squirrel, and he’ll hide it,” Atreus commanded as the Hermes kid ran following the squirrel ‘We have some of the Hecate children apparently they are skilled with magic, some of the Hermes campers could hurry and arrive to help us, and the Hephaestus kids could craft some explosions,’ Atreus strategized “Where screwed! They have Annabeth the best strategist, Percy the best swordsman, an army, and archery. We're so screwed!” The Hephaestus kid expressed.

“How many explosions do you have?” “We have 20. Why?” the Hephaestus kid answered, as Atreus ripped his sleeve off. “You three, rip your sleeves off and borrow someone’s jacket,” Atreus ordered as he borrowed Nico’s bomber jacket “What’s your plan?” Nico asked as his curiosity peaked. Atreus handed the explosions to the remaining Hermes kids “Set up the explosions around the base, I will make them believe that all of you were with me, distract them, and act as bait,” Atreus explained as he split everyone into a group of three, summoning three wolves. “Nico stay in the shadows until I say, so you will also act as bait when I get captured. You all will sabotage the enemy steal, curse, I don’t care. Then the wolves will signal you to come out and fight,” Atreus concluded, as the teams agreed with the plan.

“We’ll be leaving now,” One of the campers said, as they started following the wolves. “Good luck, you’ll need it,” Nico stated as he disappeared into the shadows. ‘I don’t think I will ever get used to that’ Atreus pondered but it was short-lived since he drew his bow, and the sonic arrow caused a chain of explosions injuring most of the campers. As he started casting defense spells, he shot three arrows hitting the archers and deeming them useless ‘That must have been Atreus,’ the camper thought “Scatter!” the camper yelled. ‘Two…Two bows, three…three spears…one…ONE…DANGEROUS!’ The bird chirped before he got shot down by one of the archers ‘Who is dangerous? I must shoot down the archers’ Atreus thought, as he quickly buried the bird “Thank you,” Atreus whispered. Atreus looks down into the forest, activating the falcon rune, he sees the archers they were separated. Atreus readied another sonic arrow.

Atreus readied another sonic arrow, as he shot at the tree the archer was hiding in, the archer couldn’t move fast enough as the tree fell on top of his leg. “I swear to the gods, I will kill him!” yelled the injured archer, as one of the spearmen dragged him to safety ‘Nothing I have heard before,’ Atreus pondered, as an arrow flew by him grazing his shoulder. Atreus quickly recovered as he regenerated his shoulder but gave his position away, as the campers reached the abandoned camp.

“Percy!” Atreus screamed ‘Is he the dangerous one?’ Atreus recounted “I really enjoyed our fishing trip but me and you both know how skilled you are with the bow. Put it down!” Percy commanded as the remaining warriors surrounded him, Atreus gently put the bow down, and in the corner of his eye, he saw the final archer slowly readying his bow. In a swift motion, Atreus picked up his bow and shot at the final archer. “Grab him!” Percy yelled, as Atreus used his sonic arrows to unarm and confuse the camper but found himself choking on water, as a water bubble surrounded his head, and falling to his knees, trying to breathe.

Percy undid the water bubble as Atreus was soaking wet trying to gather his breath. “It’s a shame I had to do that but- “Percy cut himself off as he saw the flag on Atreus’s belt, Atreus noticed this “Wait! W-wait! Let me help you, I can help you!” Atreus squeaked weakly. ‘Annabeth is the best strategist and the enemy’s best chance at winning, she will be protected at all costs by her boyfriend. From what we know, they’ll only be separated when they get to our location, she’ll send her boyfriend being confident they won,’ Connor words rang in Atreus’s ears.

“Annabeth…wouldn’t Annabeth be proud if you- if you bought her the flag and its leader. Wouldn’t you want to make her proud,” Percy stopped to think about it for a minute. Percy tied Atreus up and went back to their campsite.

As they arrived at the campsite, Atreus couldn’t help but notice how happy Percy looked. As he and Percy stood before Annabeth, Percy ripped the flag off Atreus's belt and handed it over to Annabeth, who smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Perc— “she cut herself off. Percy's smile faded. What’s wrong?” Annabeth looked at Atreus, who couldn’t control his grin, as she took his jacket off. ‘I should buy some more time,’ as he saw some shadows moving strangely.

“I can’t help but be disappointed, is this really the best strategist of the Athena cabin, even I could come up with something better,” Atreus taunted, Annabeth loud enough for people to hear and whisper. Annabeth ears turned red with embarrassment and Percy was glaring daggers at him. Annabeth bit back “Don’t forget you’re the one tied up, alongside the rest of your team, and soon your pathetic plan will be the reason you all lose,” ‘I can see why people fear her,” Atreus pondered.

“I don’t know Annabeth, it took Percy, the savior of Olympus, to stop him,” Nico spoke as he suddenly appeared. Nico charged at Percy, who quickly summoned a water wall, but it didn’t matter since Nico quickly appeared in Atreus' shadow, cutting his bonds and handing him his bow. “Stop them!” Annabeth yelled. As the soldiers ran to get their weapons, they realized that they were gone.

“Awoo!” Three wolves howled, catching everyone off guard, as the three groups ambushed everyone. Atreus ran amidst the chaos, freeing everyone as they fought back, the enemy desperately trying to find the real flag. As the enemy got angrier, our weapons got heavier, ‘what the? ‘Atreus thought as his arrows turned into rubber. “We have to use magic to defeat them,” yelled Lou as the Hecate cabin started to summon magic, Leo summoned fire, and Nico had his shadow and undead soldiers.

Atreus started summoning wolves, rams, and squirrels, using his bow to attack the other campers. “Agh!” Nico yelled out as he got attacked, his weapon was too heavy to pick up, and Percy's water got dangerously close. Atreus ran as fast as he could and turned into a bear, charging into Percy and rending him unconscious. As everyone saw Percy unconscious and Atreus's transformation, no one dared to fight him, not even the Ares campers. He changed back, catching his breath, and helping Nico up as Atreus managed to stop the bleeding, Atreus summoned a ram taking Nico into the infirmary. “Be careful!” Atreus yelled as Nico waved as he was now heading to camp.

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Trying to reach the infirmary is hard when people congratulate you or ask questions like “Who’s your godly parent?” or “How did you do that?” but I eventually reached the infirmary. “Thankful the cut wasn’t too deep if not you would have died,” Will explained to a bandaged Nico. “If it isn’t the talk of the town,” Nico exclaimed sarcastically as Will left the room “How are you feeling?” Atreus asked, “Better if it weren’t for you, I would have bleed out,” “Really? I thought it was Will who made sure you didn’t bleed out,” Atreus finished “It was both of you,” Nico explained.

Atreus left to make sure Nico properly recovered, on his way out he saw Percy unconscious recovering as Annabeth cried. ‘I enjoyed our fishing trip’ Percy’ Atreus recalled. “I lied you really are a great strategist,” Atreus said, as Annabeth looked at him angrily “I didn’t mean to knock him out, I just saw Nico injured and I panicked. I’m sorry; I’ll leave.” Atreus left and on his way out, he ran into Will, “If you ever want to check on Nico or Percy, the infirmary is always open,” Will stated “Thanks, can I ask you something,” “What is it?” Will asked. Atreus continued.

“Could I help in the infirmary, at least helping or learning the basics?” Will was taken aback “You can… anyone is allowed to learn medicine, but you might not be as skilled as the Apollo kids,” Will responded. Atreus couldn’t help but chuckle “I might not be an Apollo kid, but I did shoot your siblings, and I might not be a Hecate kid, but I can perform magic,” Atreus scoffed. Will thought about it “Fine but, these days my brother will have the urge to kill you, so can you put up with that,” Will finished ‘Oh… that guy,’ Atreus wondered what happened to that guy. ‘Ah I will deal with it later,’ “Sure, I got it,” Atreus concluded.

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As Atreus walked to the Hermes cabin to wait for lunch, he saw Chiron and Dionysus. He couldn’t help but overhear something, “That boy when he transformed it looked like ‘spartan rage,’” Chiron spoke. ‘Huh, how do they know that?’ Atreus followed Chiron and Dionysus to the big house, almost getting caught. “You think he could be related to Krat- “Shh, don’t say that name, you know how your father gets with the mere mention of that name,” Chiron whispered, he continued. “I wouldn’t be surprised, but Atreus has been getting along with everyone, even with Nico,” Chiron concluded. “If that boy shows the smallest sign of ‘Kratos’ I will get my father involved, until then we’ll keep an eye on him,” Dionysus let out a sigh “I need a drink now more than ever.”

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“Do you want to help me make a delivery to the Hecate and Hephaestus cabin?” Connor asked. He decides that it’s best to distract himself for a moment. “Sure, I don’t have anything better to do,” Atreus exclaimed, as they left, heading to the Hecate cabin. “Why are we delivering boars?” “The Hecate children practice magic, go figure but sometimes to cast spells like yours- “Connor playfully elbowed Atreus as he continued, “They need sacrifices, which explains the boars,” ‘Reminds me of the times I shot a boar as target practice not knowing it was the last of its kind, good times,’

As they entered the Hecate cabin, Atreus was bombarded with questions “How did you shapeshift?” “Are you our new brother?” “How did you summon all those animals?” Connor sighed “It’s like the Hermes cabin, all over again.” Thanks to the efforts between Connor and Lou they calmed everyone down and delivered their boars. “Hey if you ever want to know more about magic, you're always welcomed,” Atreus was confused, Lou continued. “Consider it as a thanks for helping us win, we lost hope plus we can help each other out and improve on both of our magic,” Lou finished “Thanks…I’ll consider it,” Atreus concluded, as he and Connor headed to the Hephaestus cabin.

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Entering the Hephaestus cabin was like entering Brok and Sindri’s forge, but it had beds. “We brought the materials,” Connor announced, “That’s great! Do you know how many people are complaining about their delayed commissions,” Leo explained. “I heard that you guys can fix things,” Atreus asked, “Well if it isn’t our shape-shifting hero,” Leo praised as he put an arm around Atreus, “What can we do for you?” Atreus pulled out his bow and handed it to Leo, “My bow is capable of producing sonic arrows with normal arrows,” Atreus explained as he pointed to the bow string. “The bowstring is capable of producing the sonic arrows but after this morning it can do that no longer and I don’t know why,” Atreus concluded, as Leo looked at the bow, took off the bowstring, and examined it.

“The bow and the string are made of different materials- “Wow, that’s crazy!” Connor sarcastically cut off Leo, and Leo continued “The string no longer works because it has been used up, you need a new one and your bow could use some fixing,” Leo handed Atreus's bow back. “Can you fix it?” “Of course, it’s the least we can do for you, we don’t have the materials needed for this,” Leo concluded “Is it because the materials are foreign,” Atreus questioned “Sadly yes, we could use the material from here but they won't be able to produce your arrows and even if we had the materials, how could we now if their the right ones, without trial and error,” Leo added “I’ll be right back,” Atreus announced as he left.

“Here,” Atreus gave Leo his old armor, a couple of materials, and his notebook. Atreus flipped through his notebook. “These materials should fix my bow and if you take some string, melt down my old armor, and coat the string. The blessing in the armor should be able to produce my arrows,” Atreus announced as he handed his bow to Leo. “Or does the leader of the Hephaestus cabin, not fix a simple bow,” Atreus jested, Leo let out a laugh. “I will fix your bow, so well you’ll believe I made it,” Leo announced, Atreus couldn’t help but smirk. “So, when should it be ready,” Atreus asked “Patience Atreus, A weapon like this can’t be rushed,” Leo proclaimed as he started reviewing the book alongside the bow, “I will come back after dinner,” Atreus stated as he left, heading into the dining hall.

“Now shoot the vase,” Leo commanded, as Atreus drew his newly fixed bow and released his arrow, the vase shattered rapidly scattering everywhere. “It worked!” Atreus cheered. “Of course, it worked, and you underestimated the son of the god of the forge,” Leo exclaimed “And here,” Leo handed Atreus new armor as the inside had runes. “Thank Connor, he was able to translate the runes of your old armor, I felt bad that you had to give up your old armor, so consider it as a thanks for today, it’s been a while since I had fun,” Leo concluded, as he handed Atreus his journal back.

As Atreus and Connor left, Atreus couldn’t help but ask “You helped him?” Connor looked at him, “Yeah, after today, you deserve it,” Connor explained. “You know if I didn’t know any better, I would have believed you were my brother from how smart you are,” Connor said, as he put his arm around Atreus smiling at him. ‘Brok and Sindri would like those two,’ Atreus smiled back. “Hey, do you know what animal would suit you,” This caught Atreus's attention, as he looked up at Connor, “A snake.”

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“HE’S ALIVE!” Zeus yelled at the rest of the gods, as no one dared to speak. “My bastard son is alive, and he had a kid,” Zeus shuttered at the thought of what his grandson would be like. ‘Well… at least I didn’t have to tell my father about the boy, but who did?’ Dionysus thought. “We need to get rid of it,” Ares expressed, for once Zeus agreed with his son. “We should use him and mold him to help us,” Athena explained. “Are you mad Athena, he killed us for what happened to his daughter, and you want to do that again,” Hera sneered. Dionysus could really use a drink, wondering if anyone knew what he knew. “Find my grandson, FIND HIM, and bring him to me, he must know where Kratos is, and when I get my hands on him- “Zeus cut himself off as he wondered what to do to his grandson due to his son’s crimes. “Bring him to me ALIVE!” and that was Dionysus's cue to leave, for he was grateful he was a camp counselor, but he wasn’t completely off the hook.

Chapter Text

‘If I didn’t have the desire to go back home then, then I have to now,’ Atreus thought as he woke up, hearing the other campers whispering. As Atreus left to change and shower, someone called him, “Hey Atreus, you don’t have to do this but-, “The camper was cut off when Connor spoke up, “he won’t do it, just because I said he was clever doesn’t mean he has to, this activity is just for us,” Connor finished. “What are you talking about?” Atreus asked as Connor continued, “When a camper gets claimed as a child of Hermes, we have a rule that they must prove themselves by stealing something from another camper,” “But aren’t they already claimed?” “Yeah, they are, it's just dumb fun, even if they fail, we know better.”

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Atreus couldn’t help but think back on the dream and the previous conversation between the camp counselors. “I want to do it,” Atreus announced to everyone as they looked at him in shock. “You want to… I guess you can, we’ll let you pick the place, the Athena, Hecate, - “I want it to be the big house.” Now all the campers were excited, Connor couldn’t help but grin, “Are you sure? I mean, I’m not against the idea, but- “Atreus cut off Connor. “You said I could choose, or is everything you said about me being clever yesterday a lie?” Atreus jested. This caused the campers to break into cheers, begging Connor to agree. “Fine, I will help you get in, but we're doing this tonight, and you must bring back something as proof. Deal!” “Deal.”

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“Today’s camp activities will be canceled-“ This caused the campers to complain and groan until “Camp activities will resume tomorrow, but today you’re allowed to have the day off-“ The complaints turned into cheers, Chiron spoke one final time “but everyone better be on their best behavior, if you need anything, you can ask me or Dionysus,” Chiron concluded, as everyone started to leave. Connor caught up with Atreus. “Now we have all day to prepare.”

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“A snake?” Lou asked, “You want to turn yourself into a snake?” “Yeah, you said you’d help me after the win, we got from Capture the Flag,” Atreus remarked. as Lou went to pick up a piece of paper and a pencil, as she scribbled on the paper. “I’m not against it, I’m just surprised here,” Lou handed the paper to Atreus “Fídi?” Atreus spoke as he looked at the paper. Lou continued “The same thing you felt when you shapeshift or the thing you do to shapeshift, do that and think of that word,” Atreus closed his eyes and focused.

‘Fídi, Fídi, Fídi… This reminds me of how I ended up in Ironwood,’ When Atreus opened his eyes Connor and Lou were towering over him “Wow… y-you did it! Tell me how I need to know!” Lou squealed in excitement. “Atreus, your… here look,” Connor grabbed a mirror and held it to Atreus. Having red eyes and a zigzag down his body, ‘Well, I didn’t expect this,’ Atreus thought. “An adder snake,” Connor exclaimed. “What?” Lou questioned. “There are common snakes found in Greece and Europe, they are venomous and full of surprises, they used to cause problems to farmers and livestock, so don’t try to bite anyone,” Connor finished. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he can produce poison, after all, when he was a bear, he summoned such strength.”

As Atreus kept looking at himself, he overheard something that reminded him of something important, “Snake venom can be used as medicine,” ‘Medicine…Medicine…MEDICINE! I have to help Will today, I promised,’ As Atreus slithered toward the door the ajar door, the rays of the sun warming his cold-blooded body and making him tired, someone almost stepped on him, as Atreus looked up and the person let out a blood curling scream, that gathered everyone's attention. “AHHH!!! Snake! Get rid of it!” The camper yelled as he ran away dropping his things before Atreus could process what happened, a pair of hands picked him up and took him back into the Hecate cabin. Atreus couldn’t help but wonder ‘Do people hate snakes that much.’

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As Atreus opened the door to the infirmary, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. “Will, you won’t believe it, the snake I saw last night. I know that I wasn’t seeing things! I think I’m having a panic attack,” The camper rambled as he started to gasp for air, Will tried to calm him down, while he hummed a hymn making the boy tired as he led him to a room. Atreus waited until “Atreus, I’m happy that you made it,” Will voiced. Helping Will was educational, there weren’t many patients, so I spent most of my time cleaning and replacing sheets and when there were patients. Will taught me the basics of medicine like cleaning injuries, dressing, bandaging, etc. “There aren’t many patients, today due to no camp activities but I can still teach you the bare minimum,” Will exclaimed, while he took Atreus to another patient for practice.

“No! Get him out of here!” Will’s brother yelled as he threw a pillow at Atreus. ‘He’s still mad at the broken foot, I gave him, I don’t blame him,’ Atreus thought. “Lunch is starting soon, I can handle this,” Will explains, as Atreus leaves the room.

“What are you doing after this?” Connor asked. “I’m going to help Will in the infirmary,” Atreus answered as continued eating. Connor got close and whispered, “Alright don’t spend too much time, we have to prepare for tonight,” “Connor, I need to talk to you, privately,” Connor turned back to see Chiron with a serious expression ‘Oh shit. Did he find out?’ Atreus pondered. “Don’t worry you return in a couple of minutes,” Chiron said, as he took Connor away, leaving Atreus and the Hermes cabin concerned.

“What are you doing here?! Here to gloat about being a better archer!” The injured Apollo kid sneered “What wait?” Atreus couldn’t help but be confused, which infuriated the patient. “I’m just here to drop off lunch, I’ll leave, I’m sorry,” Atreus stated as he apologized one more time. “Look I’m sorry but I never gloated about being a better archer, where did you get that idea?” “Do you know how tiring it is to hear about how great of an archer you are, it’s infuriating especially when all I’m good at is archery,” The Apollo kid sadly, explained. “We could train together, after all, you're older than me, so I could learn a lot,” Atreus muttered as he headed to the door. “That’s…That’s a start…sorry,” Atreus just smiled back and left.

“Thanks for everything, you didn’t have to,” Will exclaimed. “It’s alright, I don’t mind,” Atreus exclaimed, as he left the infirmary, Will yelled out “You’re welcome to the infirmary anytime.”

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“I bet two chocolate bars and-“ Atreus couldn’t help but rely on what Connor meant about “bets”. Atreus saw as Connor prepared the material necessary for tonight, “Flashlight, rope,- Atreus, I thought you chickened out,“ Connor replied. “What did Chiron want with you?” Atreus asked as he sat down by Connor, “He thought I was responsible for the snake situation with Lou,” “Oh…I’m sorry, I-” Connor cut off Atreus. “It’s alright, just focus on tonight,” Atreus remembers hearing rumors about the attic and the secrets it holds, ‘If I can find answers, it’s definitely in the attic,’ Atreus thought.

“Can we steal something from the attic?” This caught everyone's attention, “You know what, I bet my whole stash of candy! If they win,” This caused people to get excited, Connor calmed everyone down, “Are you sure about this?” Connor asked. “Yeah…I have nothing to lose,” Atreus declared. “We do! We have plenty to lose!” spoke a random camper.

It was surprisingly easy to sneak into the big house, just turn myself into a snake to sneak into the big house, but trying to get to the attic was difficult with every creaky floorboard and small noise eventually, I made it to the attic. ‘Not even sneaking out of my house was this hard,’ Atreus pondered. The Attic was full of old antics, Connor stayed outside saying that this was my “quest”. At least I can search for answers by myself,’ Atreus searched around and found old vases and plates, that had a figure drawn on them, ‘Father!’ Atreus couldn’t help but gasp as he saw his father with his blades surrounded by blood.

“I killed many who were deserve and many who were not,” The words of his father rang in his ears. As Atreus scrambled to find more pieces to find the truth of his father. He saw his father with a woman and a little girl ‘That’s…That’s his daughter…I-I had a sister?! The gods drove my father to madness, and he killed his family-“ “There are consequences to killing a god!” Kratos yelled. ‘My father wanted vengeance, so he killed the gods. Illness, thunder, floods- they swallowed the lands, killing hundreds no, millions of people!’ “Is this how it always is for a god, sons killing mothers, killing fathers?” ‘I can’t kill my father but h-he.’ Memories of his days at camp and his father flood his mind, as he thinks of the demigods who don’t have their parents, thinking of his father and this monster that killed many, and and… he feels his throat grow tight as he can’t think properly.

“You’re so fortunate,” the words feel like mockery after what he discovered. ‘Voices?... I need to leave,’ Atreus panics as he quickly grabs a nearby shield and jumps out the window not paying attention to the horrible injury he gained or to Connor who is concerned. All he wants is for his head to quiet down, so he can think properly, not noticing the harpies as they try to claw and catch him. Running as fast as he can causing the shoes to activate barely giving him the ability to hide due to his leg. ‘Why…Why can’t they leave me alone?’ as Atreus quietly sobs. The Harpies find him and almost catch him, as he runs he considers dropping the shield until he ends up in cabin 13, as Atreus bangs on the doors, he yells “Nico! Nico, wake up!” the harpies get closer, he gets dragged inside by a cranky Nico.

“What the hell-“ Nico was cut off by the loud clank of the shield that fell on the floor and then Atreus crashed into him, sobbing into his shoulder. Nico couldn’t say anything, so all he could do was stand there and pat his back. “What happened?” Atreus eventually calmed down and tried to explain everything, “My father…h-he did something unthinkable, I mean- I’m aware that he did this, but it just feels like my opinion of him is so- His expectations are so…“ Atreus said as Nico sat him down, as Atreus tried to whip his face. “You're injured!?... How did this happen?” Nico asked “I-I think I got it when I jumped out the window, I don’t know,” Atreus looked down at his injury, and as he forced he healed himself.

Nico sat by Atreus and took a deep breath. “Me and my father don’t have the best relationship, we…I have to grapple and understand what it’s like to be the son of Hades, while I weigh his expectation on my back,” Atreus listened, while Nico continued “I understand, how you feel and… gods I’m bad at this-” “At least you tried to comfort me,” Atreus couldn’t help but chuckle. “The gods…They want to kill me. I don’t know what to do,” Atreus replied “Things will get better, you just need some time?-It’s-” Nico tried to say.

The silence was so deafening, that Nico couldn’t help but try to make him feel better, “So do you have a god of thunder, back in your homeland?” Nico couldn’t help but mentally kick himself. ‘Great job! Nico, a great way to make him feel better,’ “We have Thor, the Aesir god of thunder, you?” “Zeus, the king of the gods,” Nico remarked. Atreus asked, “Do you have a god of war?” “We have Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Ares, god of war,” “Oh cool, we have Tyr and my father,” Atreus sadly uttered. Nico stood up, went to his drawer, and pulled out a pack of cards “Do you want to play Mythomagic?”

Playing Mythomagic with Nico was interesting, “If you put Apollo behind everyone else his attack power increases by five thousand points,” There were all these, that I didn’t exactly understand, the cards were very beautifully designed. “Alright, do you want to play, or do you need me to explain the rules again?” “Yeah, please do,” Atreus exclaimed, as Nico explained the rules, Atreus couldn’t help but feel better at the point that he started to smile.

After thirty minutes, Atreus and Nico couldn’t help but grow tired. “I think it’s time to go to bed,” Nico mumbled after Nico said that Atreus let out a yawn. “You can take the bed, you need it,” Nico stated as he prepared his bed on the floor, Atreus tried to help Nico prepare, but he couldn’t help but say “Thank you for everything, I feel a lot better after tonight,” Nico couldn't hold back his grin, “Don’t worry about it, let’s go to bed,” Nico concluded. As Atreus got comfortable in the bed, he started to drift off to sleep, while listening to the sound of breathing of the black-haired boy. ‘Today was a weird day.’

Chapter Text

“Here,” Kratos directed to the shrine his son had fallen into. Atreus watched as he saw Freya used her magic to get the shrine to open. “Is that your father?” Nico spoke aloud, startling Atreus, “How! How did you get in here?!” Atreus shrieked as Nico began to talk. “I didn’t mean to invade your dreams; I just see these things,” Nico concluded. Atreus finally decided to answer his question, “Yeah. H-he’s my father,” Atreus retorted as he looked at his father, who looked more and more worried with every failed attempt to open the shrine.

“He seems worried for you,” “I suppose so,” Atreus sighed. Nico couldn’t help but feel somewhat envious? ‘What unspeakable thing did his father do?’ Nico thought as he looked at the father fighting off the monsters that the shrine summoned. Nico at first didn’t believe what Atreus told him about his father the first time they met, but seeing it now, how this father, this god, is doing so much to see his son again, ‘it feels like I’m reliving that night all over again,’ Nico thought.

Atreus looked at his father as he was filled with confusion. he was aware of what his father did, but he was trying to be better. “He’s trying, and as long as he tries, then I’ll try,” Atreus's own words bounced around in his head as he looked at his father talk to Freya. “I did what I could. The shrine will only open if both sides are opened at the same time,” Freya stated while she gathered her things. “Brother, what do we do now?” Mimir asked Kratos let out a grunt as he looked at the shrine, “We’ll come back in 2 days if the portal doesn’t open then, we’ll start Ragnarök without him,” Freya claimed as she began to walk away, Kratos looked at the shrine with concern, as Mimir suggested “We’ll find him, we just need to be patient,” Kratos gaze wandered from the shrine to path as he began to leave.

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Atreus couldn’t help but feel like dread covered him like a wet blanket, as he sat up from the bed he saw that Nico had done the same thing. Atreus asked, “Did we have the same dream?” “The one with your father,” “Yeah,” while Nico went to the bathroom, Atreus realized that it was still dark outside. “I should leave now,” Atreus noted, as he returned Nico's jacket and picked up the shield. “Be careful, there aren’t many harpies out because the sun is rising but you can still get caught,” Nico explained, Atreus thanked Nico one more time as he left.

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It was easier to sneak into the Hermes cabin due to the sun rising, as he entered the cabin, Connor ran and grabbed him. “Where have you been!? I’ve been looking for you!” Connor announced. Atreus showed the shield, while he explained everything. “So, you stayed in the Hades cabin… At least you’re here in one piece,” Connor added, as he let out a sigh of relief. “We should hide the shield for now, if Chiron tries to question you, just say you were with us, placing bets or playing board games. Alright.” Connor claimed, as Atreus was about to agree, he got interrupted by cheers “Looks like we won the bet! Hand over your stashes!” the campers cheered, while others groaned, Atreus couldn’t help but chuckle, as he hid the shield and went to shower, seeing Connor trying to calm everyone down before they get in trouble for waking up everyone.

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Breakfast was going to be uneventful if it weren’t for the fact that Chiron announced in a serious tone. “The camp activities will be canceled until further notice.” This caused the campers to let out insults and complaints. “Someone decided to steal from the attic in the big house, and when we find the person, they and everyone involved will be held accountable,” Chiron vocalized as he looked directly at the Hermes table, causing everyone to do the same.

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Taking away the camp activities, caused this camp to become miserable. The Hermes cabin had it worse, as they were getting interrogated by Chiron and Dionysus, while the other campers cursed them out or tried to throw things at them. Atreus is stuck in some strange middle ground, where he is insulted, or he is just left alone. As Atreus left training, someone called out for him. “Atreus!” Percy yelled out, as he ran over to Atreus. “Hey, this might seem like a weird question but how well can you handle horses?” Percy asked, leaving Atreus momentarily confused ‘I’ve handled wolves, bears, and other animals but horses? How bad can it be?’ Atreus pondered, “Depends, why do you ask?” “Naturally I would ask the Hermes cabin for help with help, but you know they're…busy,” Percy stated. ‘Hermes is the god of livestock, so I see why they’d help with the horses,’ Atreus wondered, as he saw this as a great opportunity to get out of training and see the horses. “I don’t mind helping, can you lead the way,” Atreus claimed, while he followed Percy to the stables.

‘Tending to the horses isn’t as different as tending to wolves,’ Atreus thought as he started grooming one of the many horses in the stable, while Percy groomed a black horse. ‘Boss, can I have some donuts?’ The horse thought as he let out a neigh. “I’ll get you donuts when Chiron decides to calm down and lets us have camp activities,” Percy voiced, while Atreus winced, deciding to make conversations to avoid suspicion. Atreus asked, “So you can communicate with horses, is there any other animal you can communicate with?” Percy perked up and spoke, “No, I can only communicate with horses because of my father, he’s the god of horses, why do you ask?” “Well…It’s nice to know someone can communicate with animals here, even if it’s just one,” Atreus replied, Percy looked up and asked, “You can communicate with animals?” “Yeah, I hear their thought, it’s how I was able to find out how many people were arriving at the base when we played capture the flag,” Atreus responded, as he finished helping in the stables, he looked back at Percy who had a grin on his face, “Dude that awesome!” Percy exclaimed as he and Atreus finished up at the stables, heading for the dining hall.

As Atreus sat and ate his lunch, he started to draw the pentagram he saw in his dream. ‘How am I going to get home, within 2 days?!’ Atreus wondered as he saw one of the Hermes campers sit down, covered in mud. “What happen-“ Atreus was cut off by the Hermes camper. “The Ares campers are brutal, they are more aggressive during training, I thought they were going to kill me,” The camper uttered, as he let his head fall onto the table. As Atreus looked at the Hermes campers, he realized how miserable they looked. ‘Should I just reveal that I stole the shield-,’ “Atreus! I would like to talk to you… Privately,” Atreus turned around, as he panicked, ‘Chiron!’ Atreus thought, as he stood up and followed him to a room. As Atreus looked back, he saw how the Hermes' cabin started panicking.

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As Atreus walked into the room, he saw that Dionysus was sitting down, waiting for them. “Sit!” Dionysus ordered, and Atreus quickly sat down, not needing to be told twice. Chiron started “As you are aware, one of the campers stole from the attic in the big house,” “And you believe I did it!?” Atreus indicated, while Dionysus let out a snicker, “Finally a Hermes kid, who gets to the point. So where were you last night?” Dionysus demanded to know. Atreus took a deep breath and answered. “I was in the Hermes cabin, just ask Connor or did you already integrate him?” Chiron spoke up “And what were you doing? If you truly were in the Hermes cabin you’d have a similar answer everyone else has,” “We were playing board games and we were betting,” Atreus recalled, while Dionysus glared at him, Chiron continued.

“And were you betting?” Atreus was confused but kept up his lies, “No, Connor wouldn’t let me, after all, I’m new to camp and I would lose immediately,” The room became eerie quiet until Dionysus spoke up. “How have your days been at camp?” This caught Atreus off guard, but he decided to be truthful. “This place is great, everyone has been very welcoming,” Chiron and Dionysus didn’t say anything, so Atreus decided to bite the bullet, ‘here goes nothing,’ Atreus thought while taking a deep breath. “I mean if Connor wouldn’t let me bet in some board game…What makes you believe he’d let me steal something from the big house, wouldn’t that make him a horrible cabin counselor and wouldn’t that make you look bad,” Atreus sneered, as he leaned back on the chair, trying to act calm. ‘Please. Please. Please. Bait the bait.’ “You're free to leave, don’t go causing problems,” Chiron added, while Dionysus glared. ‘And I thought father integrating me was bad.’

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As Atreus left the dining hall, he quickly saw Lou and ran over to her. “Lou! I need your help,” Atreus pleaded, while Lou looked at him confused, as she was practicing magic. “Whatever it is, better be quick, Chiron and Dionysus have been on a short fuse after this morning,” Atreus couldn’t help but feel bad as he quickly opened his notebook and showed her the pentagram. “Do you know what this means?” “I do but it’s commonly used in magic, so if you’re looking for something more specific you’re going to add runes or chants,” Lou answered, Atreus couldn’t help but feel panic, as he worried whether he would be able to go home, Lou pick up on this, “The pentagram is very specific, so if you lend me your notebook, I can probably decipher it and help you, just give me until dinner. Now, go before Dionysus or Chiron lose their shit,” Lou expressed, While Atreus left feeling somewhat relieved.

“Atreus!” Connor yelled out as he walked up to Connor. “What did Chiron?” Connor asked as he acted like he was training. While Atreus recalled what happened, he saw Connor’s face wash over with relief. “Good, everyone else said something similar, so they are off our back for some time…So what did you talk about with Lou?” Connor questioned, Atreus couldn’t help but lie. “I just needed some help with some simple spell, nothing much,” Atreus claimed, as Connor spoke. “Oh, if you ever need help, don’t be hesitant to ask.” Atreus smiled at Connor’s request, but deep down, he couldn’t help but feel unhappy.

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“People have been asking questions about what was stolen, so I’ll answer some questions to make it easier to find the person responsible,” Chiron announced, ‘This is just great!’ Atreus thought bitterly. “The object stolen was a spartan shield-“ the campers started whispering among themselves, Chiron continued, “The shield belonged to an…old god, he was the son of Zeus-“ “What’s the god’s name!?” a camper yelled out gaining peoples attention. “Who he is doesn’t matter! He’s just some minor god that doesn’t deserve to be remembered!” Dionysus yelled out, as everyone quieted down, Chiron continued “Thank you, lord Dionysus, anyways the shield was new, we had recently received it about 5 days ago-“ Atreus couldn’t process the rest of what Chiron was saying due to being overwhelmed by fear. ‘They're going to kill me! I-I’M GOING TO DIE!’ Atreus thought as he looked at Dionysus being grateful he wasn’t staring back. “-So, if anyone knows anything don’t be hesitant to inform me or Dionysus your-“ Atreus stood up alongside everyone desperately looking for Lou. ‘I NEED to get out of here.’

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“You’re trying to leave this place?” That question made Atreus's blood run cold, ‘And here I thought only reptiles got cold-blooded,’ Atreus wondered. he took a deep breath. “Yes, please don’t tell anyone, I’m just trying to go home,” Atreus whispered desperately as he pleaded. Lou looked away as she looked away while she spoke, “Their ancient ruins in the woods are full of magic. Draw the pentagram on a smooth surface, and recite the spell you should be able to get home. Do it at night, when no one is around,” Lou exclaimed. Atreus thanked her one more time as he left for the Hermes cabin.

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To say Zeus was angry was an understatement. Chiron and Dionysus were both summoned to Mount Olympus and they were both scared out of their minds “My grandson was at the camp the WHOLE TIME!” Zeus yelled, causing the other Olympians to complain and lash out. “Clearly the boy isn’t from these lands, just send him back,” Hades claimed, as he tried to reason with the rest of the gods, “Hades, my son ripped your soul out of your body. How are you not mad!” “Of course, I’m MAD, he KILLED me but if we don’t return the boy, what stopping him from killing all of us again,” Hades replied, at that moment the gods calmed down for a bit to come to a conclusion. “Good thing, he doesn’t know about Nico's relationship with the boy,” Dionysus whispered but sadly he wasn’t quiet enough, “What do you mean, he has a relationship with my SON?!” Hades screamed.

“Damn,” Zeus chuckled, Hades quickly turned his head “Zeus, you can’t be talking, how many times did your son kill you? Right, way too many times to count,” Hades jabbed at his brother, Hades’ wounding Zeus's ego caused him to get enraged. Thankfully, Chiron spoke up “What if we sent the furies to the camp?” This caused the Olympians to quiet down from the fighting, so Chiron took advantage “The boy is at the camp, and if the furies are there, not only can we find him but get him before the children get suspicious. After all, if the children see you arrive at the camp they’ll know something isn’t right,” Chiron concluded. The gods muttered among themselves and concluded. Zeus thought about it and spoke, “We’ll send the furies, if this doesn’t work, we’ll go down there ourselves.”

Chapter Text

“Why do you want to go to the ruins?” Connor stated as he looked at Atreus in confusion, “I promised Lou to show her some of my magic,” Connor stared at Atreus with a puzzled look but continued “If you take the path we took for capture the flag and see two trees that look like on entrance, you will be able to find them,” before Atreus could thank Connor, Chiron spoke up “I’m sure you all have seen the furies around the camp, they’ll be here to help find the missing shield and the person responsible,” Chiron concluded.

Many campers began to talk among themselves as they stared at the Hermes cabin. ‘Just what I need,’ Atreus silently muttered as he started to stand up and walk out, just for someone to bump into him. “Watch it!” stated the camper, ‘What the hell?’

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Finding the entrance to the ruins was harder than Atreus thought, as the trees blended into each other, making this difficult task nearly impossible. ‘I wish Connor were here,’ Atreus thought. At the same time, he continued his search for the entrance he ran into someone he didn’t expect. “Will?!” As Will turned to face Atreus, Atreus couldn’t help but be confused about what Will could be doing in the woods.

“Atreus, it’s good to see you, I need to tell you something,” Will stated, while Atreus mentally prepared himself to start lying to the blond healer, said healer continued “The infirmary is going through some… renovations at the moment due to an explosion-“ Atreus quickly cut Will off, “Explosion! Wait, what happened!?” Atreus desperately asked, “One of the Hephaestus kids decided to work on an explosion during his healing…you can guess how that turned, thankfully the injuries were minor but some of the healers moved some of the patients to the Apollo cabin to recover, so if you want to help you can go to cabin 7,” Will concluded going back to camp. ‘Well…I hope they're okay.’

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As Atreus went up and down the dirt path to find the entrance, he eventually ran into another person whom he had never seen. “Young man, what are you doing here? You should be at camp,” The woman proclaimed as she took a step closer while Atreus took one back, the woman noticed this as she opened her mouth to speak “I’m not going to hurt you but you shouldn’t be here alone, many things can happen,” ‘something isn’t right,’ Atreus wondered as he thought about the dream and Chiron announcement this morning.

‘The furies? Could she be one?’ As if the woman were reading his mind, she swiftly grabbed Atreus’s arm with razor-sharp claws that dug deep into Atreus's skin, causing him to start bleeding. Atreus looked up at the woman and he became horrified seeing the woman with wings on her back and snakes for hair, the woman grew a terrifying smile, as Atreus tried to free himself causing the fury to take to the skies, holding Atreus with her hand wrapped around his neck.

‘She’s a fury!’ Atreus thought as he tried to fight back. “The gods are going to reward me for finding you!” the fury spoke giddily with delight. Atreus, not wanting to see the gods anytime soon, turns himself into a wolf and bites hard onto the fury’s arm, causing her to drop him. Atreus fell face-first into the ground, ‘Wow! If I had a nickel,’ Atreus thought as he looked at his injured arm and ripped arm, he quickly removed his jacket and abandoned it. Thinking quickly, he went to hide only to run into more furies. As they began to chase and laugh at Atreus with their whips getting dangerously close, Atreus tried not to fall behind due to blood loss, running into the last person he wanted to see, ‘Chiron!’

Chiron reads an arrow whether it’s for him or the Furies. Atreus doesn’t want to know, as he immediately jumps out of the way, as it hits one of the furies. “Leave you got what you wanted!” Chiron yelled as the furies looked in disbelief, “The gods won’t be pleased.” The fury hissed as she left the others, soon followed. Chiron walked up to Atreus, who had already healed his arm. “Atreus! We need to talk.”

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Trying to talk to Chiron after the dream I had was difficult. Chiron coughed to try to break the silence, and he eventually spoke, “I take many demigods under my wing the moment they step foot on the campgrounds, the moment they do, they enter a safe space, sadly…” Chiron's voice suddenly got quiet as he turned his gaze to the path ahead of them. Atreus answered, “It’s the god, isn’t it?” Chiron stopped abruptly as he turned to look at the younger boy, sighing.

“You aren’t like your father, you’re…just a child. You shouldn’t have to put up with the burdens of your father, but sadly, that's how things work here,” Chiron handed Atreus a traveling bag and a piece of paper, who became momentarily confused. “Y-you need to leave, you’re not safe here…I’m sorry,” Chiron stated, as he gently squeezed Atreus's shoulder. Atreus couldn’t help but chuckle. “So that’s it… Your whole speech about this camp being a safe space, just for you to kick me out, Wow, how generous of you!” Atreus sneered as he shoved Chiron’s hand away from his shoulder.

“If things were my way, you could stay all you like, but you won't be safe here-“ “And what makes you believe I’m going to be safe anywhere else? And I thought centaurs were known for their knowledge!?” Atreus retaliated, as he stared at the centaur, and for a while neither said anything. “Why did you save me? Was it just to make yourself feel better?” Atreus asked as Chiron’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his sockets, and quickly spoke, “Do you really believe I would do that? You're just a child, just like everyone else in this camp. This is why you need to leave the pass will help you prepare so that you can leave tomorrow. If the gods find you, they won’t be so merciful towards you,” Chiron said as he looked at Atreus with a concerned look.

“I’ll do everything I can to make sure you leave tomorrow; do you have a plan for where you're going?” Chiron asked as he looked at Atreus who only nodded his head, Chiron let out a sigh for the final time and with a pained expression on his face “I’m sorry that this is all I can do,” Chiron stated one more time as he and Atreus walked back to camp not saying a word.

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‘Where am I going to find paint?’ Atreus thought, and he mindlessly ate lunch. “Hey, do you know where I can get paint?” Atreus asked, as he stopped eating, the Hermes campers rubbed the back of their necks and spoke: “Well…today isn’t your day due to SOMEONE stealing a shield the Apollo kids had their art supplies confiscated, apparently rumor has it that someone smuggled paint for them, who did it is up to debate but…” The boy finished as he shrugged his shoulders, going back to finishing his food. ‘I guess I have no other choice, maybe I can ask Chiron?’

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Finding the entrance this time was easier, despite time running out, I didn’t have to worry about the furies. Walking into the ruins felt very similar to Vanaheim; it was huge, and the ruins were overwhelmed by vegetation. ‘Something feels wrong?’ Atreus thought, as he heard a noise, he quickly hid as he saw something he didn’t expect. The portal randomly opened as monsters started to jump into the portal entering the other world.

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Atreus was lost in thought until he heard someone call his name “Oh look it’s Atreus!” but before he could turn around, he felt something wet being thrown at the side of his head, as he stumbled forward almost tripping and falling while trying to what was on his face, ‘m-mud?’ As he looked up to whoever threw mud at his face. “Hey, look, everyone, it’s Atreus! The person responsible for this mess!” Yelled the camper, causing people to start staring and whispering among themselves. “Do you really believe I’m responsible for what happened at the camp, you think, because I’m somehow connected to some shield, everything went downhill?” Atreus announced, trying to clean himself, he continued, “I just got here! Like seriously what’s your problem!?” This caused people to start debating and speculating. The camper got closer to Atreus and catches him off guard throwing him to the ground.

“Ever since you arrived, things have been weirder than normal, and guess what else arrived the same day, you did!” This caused people to jump to conclusions. “If you think about it, this freak? Is the reason we're all suffering in this boot camp!” As Atreus tried to stand, he was quickly thrown to the ground. As Atreus was about to ready his bow, someone called out, “You children had two days of constant training, and you go mad, I should take you to lord Dionysus!” Chiron announced letting his presence be known, while Chiron lectured everyone, Atreus felt someone drag him away. “Annabeth?” “Come on, let’s go,” she stated, as a confused Atreus began to walk away, letting Chiron handle the rest.

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‘I just kept running into people today,’ Atreus thought, as he entered the Hermes cabin, he saw everyone arguing until he walked in. Everyone grew quiet until Connor spoke up “The bathroom is ready, you should wash the dried mud off your face.” Before Atreus entered to take a bath, he couldn’t help but ask, “You don’t think I’m responsible for everything that has been happening in camp?” This caused everyone to go silent. “I think we should get rid of the shield-“ “Are you crazy! We are all suffering because Atreus stole the shield, I say return it, I don’t know how much we can handle.” With that, everyone agreed with the camper.

“I’ll return the shield-“ Atreus was cut off. “Connor, are we sure we can trust him? After all, he’s the reason we're in this situation.” Connor took a deep breath “I’ll return it tomorrow-“Before Connor could finish, Atreus quickly slammed the bathroom door.

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Zeus looked down at the furies he sent to the camp as he heard them recount what happened. “So, he really is alive,” Zeus stated, dismissing the furies. “What should we do now that the brat is alive?” Hera asked, while Zeus grinned, “We should go get the boy ourselves, Afterall he has my blood in his veins, who knows what he might do to our children?” The gods grinned and chuckled among themselves, as they prepared for tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Walking up after last night was…interesting. Atreus hoped some of the tension had faded but in reality it had doubled. As Atreus rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, to see that everyone was looking outside to a hawk that was looking back at them.

The hawk immediately locked eyes with Atreus, suddenly feeling confused for he couldn’t hear it thoughts or the melody of the animal. ‘It’s almost like Hugin and Munin again?’ Atreus thought as the hawk flew away, snapping everyone out of their trance like state.

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As Atreus tried to open the door to the bathroom, he couldn’t help but relies that it was locked. He desperately tried to open the door to the bathroom, grabbing Connor’s attention.

“Did someone lock the bathroom door again!?” Connor announced, as no one chose to admit it, Connor quickly went to retrieve a small leather pouch, opening revealed a variety of tools. As Connor started to pick the lock, grabbing Atreus attention.

“You know you won’t always have that snake form to help you out of situations,” Connor stated keeping his eyes on the lock. Atreus reflected on Connor’s words and couldn’t help but relies that he was right.

“Thank you for letting me borrow them,” Atreus stated as he handed the winged shoes back to Connor. “Just keep them,” this caused Atreus to get curious, “why?” “You want to return the shield and knowing Chiron he will be severely disappointed, so think of it as a way to make it up to you,” Connor finished as he continued getting ready.

“I’m sorry for all the problems, I…caused,” Atreus awkwardly blurted out, in which Connor just looked at him with a goofy grin and laughed. “Are you kidding!? Stealing from the big house was fun!” Leaving a relieved Atreus, while he glanced down at the shoes.

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If the tension was bad at the Hermes cabin then it was worse in the dining hall. As everyone was looking around and whispering among themselves. “I guess we’re not the only one seeing them,” Atreus couldn’t help but find it puzzling and asked “Them?” “The gods take the forms of animals to not be seen,” as Atreus thought back to this morning.

‘They must be similar to Odin’s crows,’ Atreus got snapped out of his thoughts, as someone spoke up “if all the gods are here then clearly it’s something important!” With this people muttered and agreed. This caused people to become irritated, “here we go again, another quest!” Someone stated sarcastically. Everyone feeling differently with the gods present and Chiron’s announcement caused everyone to get more confused, “Really? The gods being present over a dumb shield, knowing the gods it’s probably deeper than a shield!” Someone commented, while everyone couldn’t help but agree.

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There weren’t many patients to tend to in the Apollo cabin and with less people there it meant being able to find the paint quicker. “Atreus glad you can make it,” Will remarked, as Atreus walked up to Will and started getting ready to tend to the patients.

Trying to find the paint was harder than I expected duo to not having a chance to sneak off or looking around without looking suspicious. “Atreus can you go get some bandages from the back,” Will asked, as Atreus left and once out of sight, he immediately started looking around under the bed, in the cabinet it’s only until he picked up a Med-kit and opened it to find that the paint was hidden under the bandages and ointment.

Atreus quickly grabbed the paint and bandages. As he was about to leave his eyes looked onto a deer that was staring back at him. Just like the hawk, he couldn’t hear their thoughts and the deer immediately left, leaving Atreus confused and startled.

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After helping Will, Atreus ran into Percy and Annabeth as they were walking near the lake. ‘I hope I’m not the interrupting anything,’ Atreus hoped, as Atreus waked up to them “hey Annabeth, thanks for helping me yesterday,” Atreus explained “You should thank Chiron, I just dragged you out of their,” Annabeth remarked, Percy pulled out a blue fish lure and handed it to a confused Atreus, “so that you can use it next time, we go fishing,” Percy explained, as Atreus looked at the blue fish lure and he couldn’t help but smile “Thanks I’m truly grateful.” The horn blared announcing it time for lunch.

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Packing up felt weird after everything that happened this week. Pulling out the leather travel bag from under the bed to open it and start packing. Will’s medical book, the mask, spare change of clothes, Percy’s blue fish lure, and the spartan shield. At that moment, Chiron quickly entered the cabin closing the door behind him. “Here in case you get hurt,” Chiron stated, as he handed Atreus a med-kit.

“And I know you’re still disappointed but I hope you understand that what’s going on right now isn’t your fault,” Chiron added, as he handed Atreus a bright orange CHB shirt. Atreus couldn’t help but feel for Chiron and his situation, Atreus couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“C-Can I ask a favor,” Atreus asked, as he looked up at Chiron “can you tell everyone that you found the shield and lift the punishment, I’ll take the take the Shield and no one will know my father and what he did,” Atreus claimed, as he looked at Chiron, Chiron couldn’t help but give a small smile as he pat Atreus head, “Alright don’t worry.”

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After lunch, Atreus went to cabin 13 and knocked on the door, hoping to have one final conversation with the boy that introduced him to the camp. As Nico opened the door, Atreus began to speak “can I come inside, it will be quick,” As Nico allowed Atreus to enter, the black haired boy asked “your leaving…after all that why your here, right?”

Atreus turned to face Nico, recalling the dream he had 2 days ago, he only had this one chance to go back home. “Yeah…The gods. It’s the best if I leave,” Atreus muttered as he looked away. Nico just took a deep breath and pulled out an object covered in black cloth from his nightstand, handing it to Atreus.

“The armor you had, it also had wolf fur. So I thought that-Never mind,” Nico exclaimed, as he threw his hands into the air. Unwrapping the gift, revealing a small wolf skull, leaving Atreus momentarily stunned as he pondered ‘let’s hope Fenrir never finds this,’ hearing animal noises from outside snapping Atreus out of his thoughts.

“Lou actually needs you for something important, she didn’t tell me what it was though,” Nico stated “Alright I should go check on her and thanks for the gift,” Atreus expressed as he began leaving, seeing a weird owl in a old woodpecker hole.

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“Here these are for you,” Lou stated, as she handed Atreus six small ambers. Atreus stared at the ambers curiously, Lou sensing his confusion started explaining “amber is used for protection rituals, before casting the spell to get you home, place one of these ambers at the corners of the pentagram and they should protect you,” Atreus better understanding the ambers asked one more question.

“Then why do I have six,” Lou currently writing down the spell in Atreus notebook, Lou answered “I have you an extra one in case one of them breaks and if it doesn’t you can keep it as a piece of extra protection.”

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The gods are clearly in the camp, everybody here knows it they just don’t say anything about it, unless you count what happened this morning. Wither it be in the form of owls, hawks, or any other animal that I can think of, if it weren’t for my ability to communicate with animals, I would have been captured sooner. All of a sudden a loud caw came from above from a too majestic looking eagle. “That must be Zeus.”

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Thankfully I returned to the Hermes cabin without any other problems. As I entered, one of the Hermes camper came up to Atreus “hey…we’re sorry for doubting you, we thought that you were just going to let Connor do everything for you but you really did mean what you said, so here,” Atreus was handed a small leather pouch just like the one Connor used that morning. “I don’t know what to say,” Atreus expressed, as one of the campers started to explain how to use the lock picking set. “Here let me show you how to use it.”

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Waking up in the middle of the night wasn’t hard, do you know what was hard? putting on clothes, the armor, and the winged shoes. In the dark and making sure making sure no one wakes up. After changing Atreus pulls out the leather travel bag from under the bed. Looking back to make sure he didn’t miss anything, he quickly left the cabin mentally saying his goodbye to everyone, Leaving the camp grounds.

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Avoiding the harpies was easier than the gods. Sticking to the forest, while still following the path was quite simple. ‘Thankfully the gods chose bird forms than ground animals’ Atreus thought as he made his way safely to the entrance of the ruins.

The darkness was both a blessing and a curse, due to the lack of visibility making it harder to prepare the spells. Drawing the pentagram on the floor was hard, duo to the fear of the gods seeing from above and having to avoid being seen but once the ambers have been set there was no need to constantly hide. ‘Thanks for the ambers Lou,’ Atreus thought as he finished the pentagram and started reciting the spell.

It took multiple tries to get the spell to work, for a minute I thought I did something wrong but eventually it started to work. As a hole started destroying the ground briefly reviling Kratos,Freya, and Mimir. As Atreus kept trying to keep the portal open so that he can jump in. He could finally hear his father’s voice call out to him.

“Atreus!” Kratos yelled sounding hopeful but that hope was short-lived as his voice was filled with anger “ZEUS!!!” At that moment Atreus looked up to see Zeus summoned thunder that constantly rained down onto the shield causing it to become weaker and weaker until Zeus used his hands to pry open the shield, leaving Atreus feeling an overwhelming amount of dread as he tried his best to keep the portal open.

‘Is this it? Was all this in vain?’ Atreus thought as he tried to keep the portal steady, while the constant thunder drove him deaf with fear. “Is that it, son? Your efforts to go back home to a man who had killed his previous family. Are you really going to return to a pathetic excuse of a father who made a new family to make up for the one HE slaughtered?” Zeus declared, as he kept trying to break the barrier.

“Atreus, don’t listen to him!!!” Kratos yelled at his son hoping to get to him and as Zeus was about to grab Atreus and drag him to Olympus. Atreus was finally able to stabilize the portal and jumped in barely avoiding Zeus wrath.

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After what felt like an eternity, Atreus was finally home. Smelling the air of Vanaheim and feeling the fertile soil touch his shoes. Atreus collapsed to his knees trying to gather his breath and process that he could have died. Kratos walked up to his son and kneeled to see him better.

“Atreus,” Kratos voice was calm with a hint of worry, the anger he once had disappeared. Kratos trying to calm his son down, tried to put his hand on his son’s shoulder. Atreus noticing this immediately backed away, until his travel bag hit his back putting distance between him and his father. Pain flashed Kratos face realizing his past has finally caught up to him.

Chapter Text

His father is a serious, stoic man but, most of all he was strong, something many men and gods were intimidated by. But today just for a second, the man he looked up to, the man he called his father was…scared?

Even if it were for a moment pain flashed his father’s face, yet it quickly disappeared before Atreus could ponder too long, his father immediately grabbed him, shielding Atreus using his body from the enemies attack. Kratos let his son go, and summoned his spear preparing to fight what had attacked him.

Atreus immediately summoned his bow and started shooting at the monsters, this did not stop the monsters from getting close, as one of the harpies tried to grab Atreus he immediately dashed back barely avoiding getting caught, he fired three arrows killing the harpy but he didn’t come out of the battle unscathed as he developed a horrible cut on his arm that would get infected as he was thrown to the ground by a centaur. Atreus felt a little guilty for killing the centaur, ‘sorry Chiron,’ Atreus thought as he covered his injury hoping to heal it later. ‘I can’t regenerate this if it infected.’

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The walk back to the world in between worlds was hel. Wither it was exhaustion from keeping the portal open, the fighting, the infected injury, or a combination of all three doesn’t matter because now all Atreus wanted was peace and quiet, sadly his uncle was too curious.

“So…how was your journey?” Mimir asked, as much as Atreus loved Mimir even looking at him as a second father, he was too exhausted to hold a conversation with anyone, family or not. “Curiosity is good but so is privacy,” Atreus sarcastically muttered underneath his breath, he didn’t know wither his uncle heard him or not because after that his uncle stay quiet.

Atreus felt bad throwing Mimir words back at him, but he truly needed a moment of silence, eventually the silence felt awkward but he chose to keep it that way, ‘being chased by the furies would be better that this.’

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Atreus felt a sense of relief once they made it back home, he couldn’t wait to go to his room. Sadly his family didn’t make it easy. Sindri being busy at his work didn’t look up, “you’re back, how did it go-“ Sindri looked up seeing Atreus and began to bombard him with questions, Atreus agreed and nodded to whatever Sindri said, thankfully Brok intervened.

“The boy just returned home, let him relax,” Brok scolded Sindri, as they were distracted Atreus quickly retreated to his room, closing the sliding door behind him. As Atreus places his travel bag on the bed to prepare to change, he couldn’t help but ease drop the conversation outside. “Is Atreus okay? He seems distant,” “he’s just tired,” Kratos says and Atreus hears the door open and close. ‘I guess that’s the door to father’s room,’ Atreus wondered.

As he changes into his sleepwear and pull out a med kit and the medical book from his travel bag and places it on his desk, he looks around the room and eventually finds a bowl, a candle, and some water. Atreus lights the candle and holds his knife over the candle as he flips the pages of the medical book.

Reading the book and remembering Will’s medical training. He begins by washing his hands, then he gets a rag to clean the outside of the injury causing the water to get murky with dried blood. Atreus reaches into the med kit to get the disinfectant and pours the disinfectant over his injuries, as the disinfectant stings his injury Atreus has to try his best to bite back a groan.

Atreus sees a nice piece of bread, quickly grabs it and puts it in his mouth. Knowing Will would scold him for eating when tending to an injury, sorry Will. ‘I’m so grateful my room is in the pantry,’ Atreus thinks, while he cleans his hands, he wipes away the disinfectant and the dirt on his arm noticing their still some of the infection left. Atreus retrieves his knife that is hot to the touch and gently places it on his skin, ready to scrap the remaining infection off his arm.

Kratos opens the door with a bowl of stew, hoping to have a moment alone with his son. Just to see his son holding the knife he had gifted him up to his arm, with a horrible cut. Panic filled Kratos, as he immediately disregard the food and snatched the knife off his son hand, not caring about the searing pain that was left behind.

Atreus was shocked to see his father, assuming he had gone to sleep. He was quickly dragged out of his room and into the dining area where he remained seated, feeling embarrassed. “Not even five minutes in and you’re already getting yourself in trouble,” Brok commented, ‘I just want to be left alone,’ Atreus thought, as he covered his face disregarding Brok’s words and Freya sitting by him, readying her supplies.

“You know I can heal myself, right,” Atreus mentioned, as Freya took his arm and began to apply ointment onto his injury, he didn’t want to talk to anyone, not tonight especially tonight. So he looks at the medicine and herbs used and he couldn’t help but get curious. “Are you using Menthol?” Atreus asked, as he still stared at the herbs trying to find the mint. The room went quiet, “the fuck is that!?” Brok exclaimed, as he was quickly hit in the shoulder by his brother. “It’s mint but, how did you know that?” Freyr answered, getting everyone’s attention on Atreus once again.

Before he said anything his father placed a fresh bowl of stew beside him and he started eating not wanting to talk. “Your father told me that he saw you with a knife up to your arm, were you trying to clean your injury?” Freya pressed on, as she finished applying ointment and wrapped his arm in bandages, Atreus absent-mindlessly answered, “I wasn’t trying to clean my injury, I WAS cleaning my injury.”

“Atreus!!” Kratos shrieked, Atreus relies what he said and was about to apologize, but Freya was curious about something else. “Can you tell me step by step, how you healed your injury?” This question confused Atreus but he answered anyway, “okay?… First I washed my hands, then I cleaned my injury with a wet rag, then I applied disinfectant, I was planning to disinfectant the rest of the injury with my knife,” Atreus stated, as he briefly looked at his father’s hand, seeing first degree burns from the knife, Atreus continued “then I would put antibiotics or ointment and cover it with bandages,” Atreus finished, done with his food.

Atreus left the room, thanking Freya on his way out. Retrieving a small green plastic container from his med kit, as he over heard the conversation outside. “I’m surprised, he probably knew how to clean his wounds, he even knew the medical terms for the treatments,” Freya mentioned, “what are you employing,” Kratos questioned, “I believe it would be good if he learned medicine,” Freya added, at that Atreus decided to get out of his room and finished what he was planning to do.

“Father,” Atreus called out cutting the conversation between his father and Freya short. “This should help with the burns,” Atreus professed, as he handed his father a small plastic container filled with gel. His father looked at the container confused. “It’s aloe Vera, it helps heal burns, apply it to your burns and wrap it in bandages and if you want to boil mint, lavender, and chamomile it helps reduce stress and aids in sleep,” Atreus added, before his father could say anything he quickly left retreated into his room. ‘I hope Will and Chiron are proud of me.’

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Atreus really regretted not taking his own advice. ‘Why didn’t I brew myself some tea?’ Atreus pondered, starting at the celling despite being exhausted after today’s events sleep didn’t come easy to him. All the tossing and turning didn’t make him tired, ironically it made him more awake.

He remembered the weird feeling he felt plaguing his body, when he called out to his father, how he called him “father.” Atreus let out a sigh, as he sat up looking at the end of his bed. The name, the title didn’t roll off his tongue as smoothly anymore, it felt a bit foreign, he didn’t know how to explain it.

Atreus recalled all the times he was in danger or how he would get himself into danger and how each time he would think of his father or even call out to him, but now?… I don’t know, what are my thoughts on him? As Atreus let his feet dangle off the bed hoping sleep would engulf him, so he wouldn’t have to think about it any longer.

Atreus stood up and lit a candle, dismissing the earlier mess he made. Atreus open his travel bag and grabbed what ever was inside, pulling out to see what he grabbed, he relies he grabbed the small wolf skull covered in red cloth, placing it on his desk and just stared at it.

Thinking about the pale boy and his cursed words that ring in his ears. ‘You’re so fortunate,’ for how can a simple phrase keep him up at night. “Am I truly fortunate? Nico,” Atreus silently whispered to himself, staring intensely at the wolf skull, deep down hoping it would say something back.

Atreus reached into the travel bag and pulled out the blue fish lure, Percy had given him. He remembered the face Percy made when mentioning his “father,” how he immediately turned away, yet how rapidly his face and body language changed once a fish bit the line. Atreus couldn’t help but think, ‘did Percy command the fish to bite the line?’ And if he did why? Did he want to hide his feeling of disappointment toward his own father? Or did he want to distract himself? That doesn’t sound like Percy.

‘I should go to bed, I will drive myself mad with all these questions,’ Atreus wondered, as he took the wolf skull and fish lure and placed them by his bed. He hoped everyone was doing well at camp.

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Telling time in the world in between worlds was difficult duo to the void never changing. Atreus awoke from his bed and get ready for the day, putting on his armor and winged shoes. He left his room to find the house empty except for Brok and Sindri.

“Where is everyone?” “Your father left for Vanahiem to get rid of the remaining Greek monsters that roam the place. He didn’t want to wake you, so we stayed behind,” Sindri concluded, as he finished cleaning the forge. “Are you ready to go or what?” Brok added, gathering his things. “Yeah, I just need to go get something.”

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We arrived to Vanahiem with no problem, but there were constant questions about the armor I wore. So I find myself sitting down near Linda’s forge as they poke and prod at my armor. “This clearly isn’t our design, who ever made it knew what they were doing,” Linda stated, as she lifted up a piece of my armor.

“You should thank Leo,” Atreus mentioned, as he used his now cold knife to cut the leather into long thin strips. Atreus continued, “he’s great at making weapons and armor, he made it for me in an hour!” He exclaimed, briefly pointed at his armor, not looking up too busy wrapping the thin leather strips around the amber, making it into a necklace. “Well I’m amazed, this is really good quality,” Sindri responded, as the others agreed. Atreus put on his armor and the amber around his neck.

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Atreus spent the rest of his afternoon helping around the camp. Apparently Freya, Freyr, and his father decided to split up and fight the small group of monsters that formed, it doesn’t make sense why his father didn’t take Mimir.

After finishing the chores, Atreus sat down near the forge and started drawing, something he grew to enjoy and a great way to pass the time. He couldn’t help but draw everyone back at camp, trying to draw them perfectly to ensure he doesn’t forget. As Atreus was almost done drawing Leo, Sindri walked by.

“Are they people you met when you were gone?” Sindri asked, as he sat by Atreus and placed Mimir in front of them. “Yeah, I was drawing Leo, he was the one that made my armor,” with that Brok and Linda looked down to see Atreus drawing, “He looks…young!?” Brok exclaimed in disbelief.

“Maybe the lad is simply gifted,” Mimir added, Atreus couldn’t help but chuckle. “He’s actually the son of the god of the forge,-“ Atreus pointed at Connor and continued, “and this is Connor, his father is the god of language, merchants, and thieves. He’s the reason why there are engraving inside my armor and why it still has the enchantments,” Atreus stated fondly remembering all that Connor had done for him. The dwarfs couldn’t help but get more impressed with the armor, as it took two demigods to make.

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Atreus mentioned all his friends at camp and their godly parents. Atreus is now left tending to his wound, while Mimir tells him what happened since he was gone. This caused Atreus to get more confused on his feelings towards his father, as he recalls his dream and how his father panicked.

“You know your father loves you, laddie,” “What!?” Atreus stopped and looked up at his uncle in disbelief. “When your father tried to comfort you, you stumbled back, as if you were repulsed by him,” Atreus didn’t say anything, Mimir took this as a sign and continued, “your father committed an unspeakable act, but-“ Mimir cut himself off, knowing he’d have to tread lightly. “-but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you, if you saw how he panicked looking for answers,” the head lightly chuckled, Atreus sighed and as he was about to say something, his father had returned.

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‘Freya is really instant that a learn medicine,’ is the thought that appeared in his mind as he helped heal some of the people who got hurt. Thankfully this gave him the chance to practice and an excuse to not talk his father. There weren’t many people to tend to.

He went to wash off the blood from his hands. After that he went to eat with the rest of his family. Everyone sat around the fire drinking, eating, and talking among themselves. As he got his food, he sat by his father. Seeing everyone talk with each other was…awkward.

“Atreus may I ask where did you learn medicine?” Freya asked, as she stopped eating. “I learned from a friend, his name is Will, son of the god of medicine,” Atreus mentioned, as he dared not look at his father. Freya couldn’t help but get curious, “and how did that happened?” “Well I helped his siblings out and he gave me a medical book, he taught me after a game of capture the flag, I asked him if I could learn. He was skeptical but I convinced him- which is shocking since I did break his brother leg,” Atreus guilty added, his family turned to face him as if he had gone mad.

“Why would you do that?” “We were playing capture the flag and I shot a tree with a sonic arrow and because he didn’t move fast enough, the tree fell on his leg crushing it…he’s better now!” Atreus quickly added, as they fell into a weird silence, Kratos was about to ask Atreus a question but Atreus cut him off. “Do you have any mint or lavender on you?”

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Having your own tent has its perks. ‘Thanks Freya!’ He didn’t have to be beside his father, he could toss and turn as much as he wants, and he didn’t want to have any interactions with him before going to bed. Despite everything, Atreus feeling towards his father kept changing. One minute he loves him and the next he hates?…dislikes?… him, their isn’t a word he can use to describe or identify his father. It’s not hate? but he also can’t use such a strong word like love.

He can’t avoid him forever, he knows he’s going to talk to him eventually. Thankfully, the tea finally took effect and he started to drift off to sleep.

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Atreus dreams had always been weird, to put it in simple words. Thanks to his giant heritage. As Atreus stood up in his strange dream, and started walking forward with no sense of direction, only to hear a familiar voice.

“How the search going?” Atreus turned his head towards the familiar voice. ‘Sindri,’ his father walked past them and left Mimir outside his room, closing the door behind him. “We have made no progress, this is going to be more difficult than we thought, Freyr is looking all over Vanahiem, but-“ Freya sighed, as she left the room.

Atreus kept walking, eventually seeing his father beaten and bruised as he limped back to camp, his eyes looked empty. “Faye…our son, h-he’s gone,” After that his father fell on his knees trying to catch his breath. That moment felt like forever, just seeing his father at his lowest is something he never thought he’d see.

Eventually his father stood up and took a deep breath, regenerating his wounds. “I’ll find him…I-I‘ll find him,” as Atreus kept walking feeling more tired, the memory faded as a new emerged. His father placed Mimir down as he looked out the window, “He knows…” it was so quiet, Atreus almost didn’t catch it, Mimir opened his mouth just to close it again.

“He can’t even look at me,” Kratos muttered, as Atreus looked at his father he could see the dark circles underneath his father’s eyes. After his father said that, the silence became deafening. “He loves you, just… give him time, he cares if he didn’t why did he worry about your burns.”

The memory vanished, Atreus kept walking remembering Connor conversation about claims and godly parents. How his tone became depressingly serious as he talked and how he returned to his normal self, it was quite saddening.

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Atreus went through his routine in a trance like state, until he sat down to eat breakfast. “Due to the effort these past days, we have gotten rid of most of the monsters, we just have some small monsters towards the west and east, so will split up. I’ll go with Freya, Kratos you’ll go with your son,” at that Kratos agreed.

“Alright! If everything goes well, we should get rid of the monsters by the end of the day,” Freyr concluded, as Linda handed both groups a set of explosive. “These last two groups of monsters are the most dangerous we’ll face, so the explosion should dwindle them down,” and with that Linda left.

‘At least Mimir will be with us,’ and as if the Norms or Fates haven’t laughed enough. I’ll be staying back, I don’t even want to deal with centaurs,” Atreus eyes widen in shock and looked back to his father and Mimir, hoping his father would disagree. ‘Great!’ Atreus thought, as his father walked up to him, “ready to go?”

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We found the monsters quickly, Linda wasn’t lying with how many they were, they weren’t stupid they even set up camp. They had archers and harpies surveying the camp constantly.

We couldn’t just barge in because, we’ll immediately get caught but there were blind spots in their camp, and they were easy to get to. “I think I could sneak in,” with that Kratos looked at his son in disbelief, Atreus notices this and rushes in anyway, “just trust me,” Atreus turns into a snake, leaving his father behind.

The harpies were high into the sky to be able to see him, and the centaurs thought he was just part of the wild like making things easier. Once I was out of sight, I placed an explosion and left it a couple feet away the camp and set it off. The monsters were too busy checking the recent explosion, leaving them open.

The explosives were small and difficult to notice, and Atreus left the camp and took cover in the bushes, setting off the explosions killing most of the monsters.

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Fighting the remaining monsters was time consuming and by the time we killed them all off, the sun had started going down. As Atreus and Kratos were about to leave, a surviving harpy grabbed Atreus and threw them off the cliff.

“Atreus!!!” Kratos yelled, as he ran to the edge of the cliff to see his son flying? Atreus wobbled over to his father, Kratos extended his hand to catch his son before he became more unstable. Atreus finally reached his father and immediately got away from the ledge of the cliff, slowly stabilizing his breathing.

Kratos returned to his son’s side, trying to comfort him as best he could to not have a repeat of last time. Atreus chuckled, as the adrenaline started to ware off. “I-I lost some arrows.”

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As Atreus walked by his father, he couldn’t help but think of Mimir words. He knew his father won’t ask what happened as to value his privacy, but he needed to talk to him and now was the great time. “I-I’m not mad…I-” Atreus cut himself off, hoping to find the right way to phrase everything.

His father was now staring at him with an expression, he couldn’t understand. Atreus took a deep breath and continued, “I met so many people my age and I would become friends with them… Their great, it’s a shame their parents don’t see that-“ Atreus stopped and stared down at his shoes, “I remember how strange it was when I found out how they all made offerings to their godly parents and when I mentioned you-“ Atreus stopped again, looking up at his father, his father looked at him with anticipation.

“They were shocked, how could a god be present in their child’s life? Let alone actually raise and love them. Being there made me relies how fortunate I am to have you as my father but… then I found out about Calliope,” At that moment Kratos couldn’t bare to look at his son, feeling shame and regret rise within him. Atreus couldn’t stand still and moved to the right of his father, he was about to speak again, but his father cut him off.

“Do you hate me?” Kratos voice was so low and for a moment all they could hear was the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of crickets. “I-I don’t think, I can… you have done so many…things?, but I can’t hate you, I just see you differently,”

Atreus was able to respond, Kratos put his hand on his son’s shoulder and at that moment Atreus tackled his father into a hug, as the long week journey had finally set in, how he felt unsafe, how his fate was in the hands of his grandfather, and how he had to deal with his father’s crimes.

Atreus hugged his father tightly, “I’m angry…” Atreus voice barely above a whisper, “t-that I almost payed for your crimes but…” Atreus let out a shudder, as he tried to compose himself, “at the end of the day, you’re the only father I have left,” Kratos carefully embraced his son, and let go the breath he didn’t know he was holding in and for a moment nothing else mattered.

As Kratos looked down at his son, he couldn’t help but think of everything his son embodied. His chance at fatherhood, the ability to love again, his redemption. How he had inherited every good thing between him and Faye, he was better than him in every way. “We will be better,” Kratos whispered, as he gently held his son not letting him go.

Chapter Text

It’s has been a couple of days after the conversation with his father. Atreus sat at his bed, as he began picking at a lock to pass the time.

Freya was at Vanaheim, Tyr was somewhere, and Brok and Sindri were in Svartalfheim, causing the house to be empty with only him, Mimir, and his father. Atreus was busy practicing, as his father walked in with Mimir.

Atreus looked up at his father and uncle, putting his hooks down. With neither of them speaking, it felt a little awkward but at least it wasn’t the same awkwardness he felt when he had to interact with his father after his journey.

Thankfully Mimir saved the day, “laddie, could you tell us about your journey?” “Sure?” Atreus was quite confused, since he already told Mimir but he didn’t have anything better to do. Kratos placed Mimir down, as he sat on the bed beside his son. Atreus retrieved his notebook and started mentioning his adventure.

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“So I had quite a crazy week,” Atreus stated, as he looked at his father who was processing his words. While Kratos was lost in thought, Atreus walked around the room retrieving a couple things and places them down by his father as he faces him. Atreus hands his father a small wolf skull, as he pointed to a drawing on his notebook, “Nico was one of the first people, I met at camp he’s the son of Hades-“ Kratos couldn’t help but wince as he recalled how he stole the gods soul, thankfully his son didn’t notice.

“He’s a necromancy, he’s also one of the two people that knew I left and he gave me the skull,” before Atreus moved on to the next person in his sketchbook, “Connor is the person I spent the most time with because, I stayed in the Hermes cabin he was the one that game me the shoes and everyone else game me the lock picking set,” Atreus spoke happily about everyone.

Hermes is the god of thieves and Atreus had always been quite cunning, so it makes sense he’d pick up lock picking and the shoes well… at least he didn’t steal them. “What do the shoes do?” “They allow me to run faster and even fly, something I learnt almost dying,” Atreus quickly moved to the next person, as he handed his father a fishing lure.

“Percy is the son of Poseidon and he gave me the fishing lure before I left asking me to go fishing again, not knowing I was leaving,” Kratos looked at the blue fishing lure, as he turned his head to the boy and noticed how the boy and Poseidon looked and acted so differently.

Kratos put the fish lure down as his son handed him a book, that he couldn’t comprehend. “Will is the son of Apollo, he’s the one who taught me the basics of medicine, he even gave me this medical book, even if their part I don’t understand,” Kratos flipped though the book scanning the book of texts, not understanding the words, eventually seeing a page with the human body annotated with his son’s handwriting.

“WOW, laddie, Freya would be proud,” Atreus chuckled at his uncle’s words, as he showed his father his new armor, “this was made by the leader of the Hephaestus cabin, Leo he fixed my boy but in the process he destroyed my armor, and with the remains he made me my new armor,” Atreus explained, as Kratos examined the armor acknowledging how well the craftsmanship was for a boy so young.

Atreus removed the necklace around his neck, “amber is used for protection ritual, which is why it protected me from Zeus. I needed five for the spell, but Lou gave me an extra for protection. She knows her spells which makes sense, since she the daughter of Hecate,” Kratos looked at the ambers, as it took five of them to protect his son. Recalling how he almost lost his son again.

“This is the camp logo and shirt, it was given to me by Chiron,” “the centaur?” “Yeah, he gave it to me before leaving. He was disappointed he couldn’t do more,” Atreus added, as he looked down at the orange shirt, before Kratos could comfort his son. Atreus put down the shirt and walks up to his leather bag, “I have something for you.”

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The gods haven’t changed. Kratos thinks as he looks down at all of the gifts his sons had received and how regardless of how much time had passed, the gods are just as cruel as before.

The quest, the offerings, their absence, and their disregard for their children’s lives. He didn’t say this as a god but as a father, then again the gods rarely cared about their kids.

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“Here,” Atreus handed his father, the spartan shield. Kratos was in disbelief as he carefully picked up the shield, as it reminded him of Sparta, his home, his family. A round metal shield, with a lambda, and red cloth at its sides.

“Was it yours?” “My brother’s,” Kratos calmly stated not looking up at his son. Atreus didn’t know much about Deimos, but he knew that he loved him. Atreus sighed, wanting to comfort his father, “you don’t have much from your homeland, except your blades but you hate them. So I want you to have it, as a good reminder from your homeland,” Kratos looked up at his son, despite everything he had done his past and his mistakes.

He didn’t deserve a “good” reminder of his homeland, especially from his son. “You would want me to have this?” “You’ve done some “things,” but you deserve this and I’m grateful that I have the chance to offer it to you,” Kratos couldn’t help but feel proud of himself doing something that not even the gods could do, to value his son, his own flesh and blood, but he felt more proud of his son, as the proof he can be better.

Kratos puts his hand on his son shoulder, “the greatest gift I could ever receive was having you as my son,” Atreus couldn’t help but smile, he knew that it would take time for him to fully understand his father’s decisions and that’s okay because, right now he just wanted to enjoy this moment of peace.

Chapter Text

Hey everyone! I just wanted to thank all of you, for making it to the end I never anticipated this series to get so much love and attention, so thank you again. I remember how I was looking for a ff with a similar concept like this one but didn’t find one, so I decided to do it myself, which is why I put the “author wrote this instead of sleeping” tag and then two months later, I was motivated to continue writing, and so we finally reached the end.

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So this part is more about concept I cut out due to time, not knowing how to incorporate them into the story, the story went a different direction, misinterpretation of characters, and or all of the above.

Kratos actually entering the pj universe: this would have been before Atreus entered the portal back home and instead Kratos entered the portal to protect Atreus from Zeus, just for Atreus to get hurt and Kratos to get stuck in the pj universe and try to find a way back home while hiding from the gods. (This is something I would have loved to write but, I wouldn’t have known how to incorporate, it would have made ff longer, and I didn’t want to make the series too long because I didn’t want to lose motivation.) I wouldn’t mind exploring this idea in the future, take this with a grain of salt.

The fates: they would have been the one to open the portal causing Atreus to fall into the pj universe, and would want to get revenge on Kratos for killing them by turning Atreus against Kratos or causing Atreus death. There could be loophole with Atreus not being from the pj universe and he exploit this loophole to get home showing his cunning nature as Loki. (This had to be scrapped because, of time and the story took a different direction.)

Language: now this could be Atreus learn Greek or English from the campers, but that would have been hard for me too write and I would have used google translate, which isn’t the best and I also would have either been laughing or cringing. (Like can you imagine Atreus learning slang because, Atreus is only learning English and even a bit of Greek from kids/teens. Like I can just imagine Atreus finally returning home and then he, his father, and Mimir are in front of this giant monster and Atreus is just like “Chat, we are cooked,” and his family looks at him like he’s crazy.) :0

The demigods knowing the truth: This could tie into the vases and plates, Atreus found in chapter 6 or with Kratos ending up in the pj universe and the campers getting curious. (I ended up mentioning that I might make a separate fic for this but, that might take some time, I also didn’t want to misinterpret the characters and make the series longer than intended.)

Romance: now when I was brainstorming, I added this as a joke and was never going to include this because, I don’t know anything about romance. <3

Ragnork: this was something I really wanted to add and even was building up to but, I decided to scrap this because, the ff was always going to be about Atreus and his relationships within the camp and his family. Ragnork was just something besides his family to force him to go home.

The Romans and camp Jupiter: it would have been nice if Atreus had some interaction with Jason, Hazel, and Frank. I could see Atreus and Kratos having great interactions with these three. Like Hazel and Atreus could bond from being from different time periods, Jason and Atreus having ties with Zeus/Jupiter, (this makes more sense with Kratos,) Frank and Atreus being shapeshifters. (Atreus is more directed to the Greeks with his father and to drop him with the Romans wouldn’t have made sense.)

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I mentioned this in one of my end notes that I wanted to make some extra chapters, that were going to be filer like Atreus bonding with other campers and I could mention some of my cut concepts, as something just for fun, so if anyone is interested please tell me in the comments.

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I just want to say one more time, thank you for all your support. You don’t know how much your comments and kudos mean to me, I would read them as a way to motivate me and to continue this series, so I just want to say thank you. <3