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  Authors notes:

  READING GUIDE:

  “Words: 1987”:

  Total word count in chapter, not including pre chapter info, authors notes, or music listening recommendations

  “Release Date: 9/11/2024”:

  Date of release of the chapter, will differ between sites

  “[Now Playing: Never Going to Give You Up - by Rick Astley]”:

  Music recommendations placed throughout chapters or scenes, You can choose to listen or not, however it will detract from the experience not too. None have lyrics (maybe an exception here or there at some point, but those will be marked), so you can listen without your reading getting disrupted.

  (I may remove this feature depending on if it is a success or not, or if there are copyright issues with me mentioning songs)

  “[Now Playing: None]”: For whenever there was a song being played that has stopped.

  One last reminder; I do not own or have the rights to “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”, please don’t kill me big scary lawyers. If you would like this taken down, I will.

  Enjoy the book

  —

  —

  Words: 4243

  Release Date: 7:15 AM, 4/25/2025

  —

  It all started with a letter.

  Athena, after a long meeting with the Olympians about Artemis’s disappearance, had returned to her palace on Mount Olympus, only to find a letter sitting on her front doorstep. Now, this was already out of the ordinary, considering one could just use the Hermes express to have a letter delivered directly to her, or at least to her room.

  However, the letter was curious in nature. It had no sign of godly touch, but who would, or could for that matter, send a letter directly to her, without being a god themselves?

  Athena picked up the dagger laying on her desk, cutting open the top of the letter, before pulling put the message inside, quickly reading what it said.

  “Hello, Athena. This message has been a long time in the making. I have a proposal for you, regarding something you have given up for a long time. Meet me in Athens at 9:00 pm, on 23rd street east. There will be a large gray warehouse. You will find me waiting inside.

  -A potential friend”

  The message got Athena's attention. Who would want to meet her in the mortal realm? A demigod? The only thing she could think of that she had given up was championing heroes, but nobody asked her to champion them, not ever. She chose her champions, not the other way around, and everyone knew that.

  More than that, it clearly was not delivered by Hermes, as he would have directly given it to her, or at least put it outside her private study, like she had directed him to.

  It had to be either a trap, or a foolish demigod looking for her help, she quickly decided. As much as the goddess of wisdom wanted nothing to do with it, her curiosity won out in the end. Whatever it was, it was in the city dedicated to her as well, so whoever wanted to meet her had surely gone there knowing that.

  Equipping her finest armor and spear, Athena descended upon the moral realm, hoping to scout out the building for anything obvious ahead of time.

  Transforming into an owl, Athena flitted around at a distance, gazing at the building she was requested to meet at. Not a trace of magic, with the exception of what seemed to be a tiny bit of celestial bronze she managed to sense after a while. She was not as careless as Ares or Aphrodite, so whoever must have concealed their presence must have been VERY thorough.

  As Athena glided closer, a smooth yet deep voice loudly rang out from inside the building. It sounded as if it was getting played through a speaker, which it probably was.

  “Hello, Athena. You are early. As I expected, nobody as wise as you would walk into this meeting without assuming it is a trap, or at least scouting it out first. For good reason too I am sure, as it is not every day a goddess like you gets a physical letter sent to them, especially without the help of Hermes. Please, come inside whenever you are finished observing, as I am not one to keep a goddess waiting, even if they arrived early.”

  Athena was somewhat surprised. How was her presence noticed, especially after hiding herself as an owl? She glanced around, before observing the building with even more intent than before, attempting to find any faults in whatever sort of conselement was being used to hide the being inside.

  Noticing her pause, the voice rang out from the building once more.

  “Ah, so it really is you this time. I have had two other owls fly by here today, and each of them the message was wasted on. I might have given up if it didn't work this time, and just waited for you to reveal your presence yourself.”

  Athena glared at the warehouse, as much as she could as an owl. Quickly shaking off the minor embarrassment, Athena flew to the ground, her gaze darting around to make sure nobody else was there to see her, as she transformed back into her humanoid form.

  Opening the creaky door and stepping into the building, Athena sent a silent message to Hermes, telling him that if she did not return shortly, for him to alert the other gods, those that liked her anyway, and come look for her.

  The interior of the place was quite bland in of itself, with only a chair and table in the center of the large space, with a few concrete pillars scattered around to hold the roof up. The entire warehouse was lit up by one lightbulb right above the table, and if it weren't for her ability to see in the dark, a lot of the warehouse would be pitch black.

  Other than placing the meeting location within her own town, whoever wanted to meet her clearly did not take very much effort to make it suitable for a goddess. In all honesty though, she did not mind as much as she thought she probably should have, as her intrigue won out over any sort of distaste for the meeting location.

  “Welcome, Athena.” The voice called out once more, its origins from inside a room in the corner. “Please, make yourself comfortable. I would have made it a bit more fancy if I could, however I did not have the time. I only got here after sending the message itself, and this building is not exactly owned by me, nor do monsters leave me alone for very long.”

  Athena lightly glared at the source of the voice, before walking over to the table and summoning a nice olive wood chair of her own, rather than using the dusty and potentially trapped one provided.

  “I assumed you would do that. Still, it was worth a try at hospitality anyway. Now that you are comfortable, I think we can start. There is much to discuss, after all.”

  Athena kept her eyes firmly focused at the door as it slowly opened, waiting to see whoever, or whatever, was waiting to meet her.

  A goddess was rarely surprised, and especially the goddess of wisdom and knowledge, so when the being that stepped out managed to, she was thoroughly impressed.

  It was entirely made out of metal, not a hint of organic material within it. It was covered with a white and gray plating material, and the flat faceplate simply had vertical three lines down the center, each one glowing bright green. The machine stood at around 7 feet tall, towering over most humans, and only leaving it slightly shorter than herself.

  At its hip rested a strange device which looked to be the hilt of the blade, although there was nothing connected to it. The construct also seemed to contain the trace amounts of celestial bronze she had seen, some of it inside the hilt like device, and the rest residing in its left forearm.

  The machine walked across the room, until it stood at the other side of Athena, while she sat there, still internally stunned to speechlessness. It was no secret that the gods had long since lost any form of technological superiority over the mortals, however this was far beyond what other humans had managed to create, not to mention the fact that it had celestial bronze in it.

  After Internally shaking her head to clear her mind from the surprise, Athena spoke.

  “Who, or what, are you? And why did you call me here today.”

  The machine said nothing for a moment, only producing a quiet whirring noise from within, before finally responding.

  “My name is Theoren. I am a human, pure and mortal, though it might not look like it. I am simply using a scout class body of mine, piloting it from a distance for my own safety. As for why we are meeting here today, you are Athena, the god of heroes, battle, wisdom, and knowledge. You, compared to any other god, have the best track record of lending a helping hand to mortals, often in the form of naming them your champion.”

  Athena was thoroughly shocked.. A mortal, contacting her? Though a letter, and not a prayer? It was absurd, but yet, it seems to be true. Nobody else would have contacted her in that manner, especially without Hermes delivering the letter himself. Although the notion that he needed to use this machine to keep himself safe was a bit offending, it did make sense, considering some of the things the gods had done to the mortals.

  “How? How did you even come to figure out the gods actually existed, much less contact one of the twelve Olympians?” Athena asked.

  “If you take the time to look closely at things, you start to see the cracks in the facade of the world. Things that don't add up. I first saw the signs when Percy Jackson went on a mission to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt, two years ago at the young age of 16, and have continued to pick apart the world of myth ever since. The mist is very good at keeping mortals in the dark, but with enough effort, you can see through it. The only reason you are hearing from me today is that I, unlike the CPA, am not satisfied with just locking away everything I can safely get my hands on and using them for my own gain.” Theoren responded.

  Athena contemplated what Theoren said. Mortals did occasionally see through the mist, although it was a rare occurrence. What did stick out to her though, was that Theoren knew of the CPA. More than that, he spoke of them with dislike, as if they had history. She had to hear about what he knew of the secret organization of mortals which so desperately tried to keep the secrets of the godly world from the public.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “I see. Tell me, what do you know of the CPA?” Athena asked.

  “Ahhh, the Celestial Protection Agency. It is an organization composed of people who saw through the cracks as I did, or had a chance encounter with a god or monster they did not forget. I worked for them for a time, before I came to know of the much more distasteful things they did. Though I can appreciate the things they achieved , from one scientist to another, I could not stand for the way they went about things. When they asked me to do a quite horrid thing in their name, I left, putting us at odds in the process.” Theoren replied.

  “The difference between what I do and what they do, is that I make use of what I discover for the betterment of Humanity. The CPA uses and abuses the world of magic and myth for their own gain, hiding any evidence that gets past the mist away from the public, selling the discoveries they make to military organisations around the globe, and long as they think it would not be enough to draw the ire of the gods.” He continued.

  Athena took in the information, processing it as she intently stared at Theoren's machine.

  The CPA was only slightly known to the gods, with them being the known cause of some monsters disappearing from the world for a few months, before they inexplicably came back, as if they had never been gone.

  “Interesting. While I did know some of what you said, you did provide some useful insight, and for that, you have my thanks. With the disappearances of monsters rising recently, along with some other happenings I will not speak of right now, I have been quite interested in the CPA and their activities. Now, tell me why you called me here. I may have my own ideas, but I would like to hear it from you.” Athena said.

  She watched the machine's head tilt slightly at the mention of the so called ‘other happenings’. If what she thought would happen did, she would tell him of Kronos, however for now it would not be smart to speak of it.

  “I wish to work with you. You have always been a patron for mortals. Odysseus, Perseus, Hercules, all mortals you helped on their journey. Though I am not a hero, I am a man of science, young as I am. I wish to study the world of myth, but I simply won't be able to accomplish that effectively without assistance. I need your help, and your protection. I may have the ability to fight back, but I do not expect that my machines, even with their advanced nature, would fare very well against the likes of some of the stronger opponents out there, and you would open up many new options for research that I would not have been able to achieve otherwise, at least without much difficulty.” Theoren replied.

  Athena pondered the thought. Helping a mortal. She had long given up on that prospect. So many had failed her, so many she cared about had died, it was no longer worth it. The most she had done in hundreds of years was give sparse advice to some of the demigods at the half blood camp, but even then, it wasn't much. She missed it. Missed watching her champions, missed mentoring them, helping them along their journey, and even in some cases, though she did not want to admit it, missed being their friend.

  More than that though, the gods needed help against Kronos. With his return coming closer every day, they were sorely in need of someone that could change the tides in the coming time. It was clearer than ever now, especially with Artemis's recent disappearance, and while many of the demigods showed promise, they still needed something more. But now…

  “I… I may help you. However, you must prove yourself worthy. I may be the god of heroes, but you are no hero, and I have lost too much to invest time into another that will just fail me. For every hero you hear about in the stories, there are hundreds more that did not live to tell the tale. So, Theoren. Prove yourself, just like they did.” Athena spoke.

  “...And how would you have me do that? You are the goddess of wisdom, battle, knowledge, and much more. What will you have me do to ‘prove myself’, more than I already have by contacting you in the first place?” Theoren questioned.

  It was a good question, Athena realized. He had already proven his knowledge and intelligence, by constructing the machine in front of her, and had the cunning to deliver a letter to her door in Olympias, without the help of Hermes. But, as she gazed at Theoren's robotic body, searching her mind for any good test, she landed on the hilt-like object on his waist, and had an idea spark into her mind.

  It had been a very long time since she had fought with a mortal, the last time helping Odysseus protect his wife against his people many centuries ago. If he can defend himself as he says, a test of combat would be suitable, and if she could glean some information about how useful he may be for the fight against Kronos and his forces, even better.

  “Am I correct in assuming the device on your hip is a form of weapon?” Athena asked.

  “My backup plan. I was not planning on using it, if that is your worry. I simply did not want to send this machine without some form of hand to hand self defense, considering the nature of what I am dealing with.” Theoren said.

  “I was not worried, no. I was making sure.”

  Athena paused, a slight smile forming on the edge of her lips.

  “Theoren, I challenge you to a trial by combat. Should you fare acceptably, I will become your patron, for as long as I see fit. Do you accept?” Athena said.

  Athena could hear Theoren coughing in surprise through the audio transmission.

  “I… I assume this is the only way you will allow?” Theoren said.

  “Yes. I have my reasons for testing you this way, the least of which is to see the capabilities of the machine you have created.” Athena responded.

  “Very well then. I will accept this proposal. At the very least, the data I will gather from this fight will be worth it. Do attempt to leave the machine intact though, I do not have unlimited funds or resources to replace them.” Theoren replied.

  [Now playing: Versus - By Heaven Pierce Her]

  Athena did not give him time to prepare, instantly beginning the battle with a stab of her adamantine spear to the chest of the machine as soon as he had finished talking. Just before the spear hit though, it stopped just millimeters short, impacting against a green barrier of energy. Her weapon sparked from the contact, sending reverberations up the spear and into her arm as it bounced off the energetic shield.

  Theoren's machine jumped back, rapidly crossing a large portion of the room, before pulling out a weapon of its own. As soon as the hilt of the device entered its hand, a green blade formed, looking to be made of the same energy that his shield was.

  Athena did not relent, swiftly running up to the machine, slashing at it three times. The first two were dodged, while the last one was blocked with its own blade, violently sparking as it clashed with the adamant tip of her spear, leaving behind a nearly unnoticeable dent in the metal edge.

  ‘How-’ Athena did not have time to think as the machine's forearm opened, revealing a small, tri-barrelled weapon inside, which quickly began to spin, shooting pulses of bright green plasma at her with rapid fire. Athena only barely dodged out of the way of them, one nearly hitting her in an unprotected part of her arm.

  Athena quickly backstepped from the construct. Theoren's blade had somehow managed to damage adamantine, the nearly unbreakable metal of the gods. While the damage was insubstantial at best, it still meant that the blade was exceptionally powerful, much stronger than any weapon she had encountered a mortal with before.

  Theoren's machine did not give her even a second to breathe, as it darted forward to slice at her once more. At the last possible second, Athena feigned a block, then sidestepped it. Turning around, she hit him in the back with a stab of her spear, causing a shower of sparks with the contact of her spear on his shield.

  The construct twisted around, kicking her stomach with inhuman strength in retaliation, sending her partway across the warehouse, her balance barely left intact. With a running jump, he leaped to Athenas position, shooting more energy bolts along the way, forcing her to take cover behind one of the few pillars keeping the building stable as some plasma shots made contact with her, most getting blocked by her adamantine armor, while a few made it past, leaving behind painful, somewhat burnt wounds, even more devastating that what a gunshot would achieve against a god, provided it used celestial bronze.

  Athena though, was quite surprised. She expected to tear this machine apart, call it a day, and go back to being alone in Olympias once more, continuing to worry about the future. But this, this was exciting to her. It had been many years since she was truly challenged in battle like this. Not that this mortal machine could beat her of course, but it was still providing quite the thrill, although its shielding was proving to be quite the problem.

  As Theoren’s machine rounded the corner of the pillar, Athena quickly spun around behind it, raking her spear across its back, its shielding sparking the whole way, before kicking it in the back. The impact of her armored foot slamming into the shielding sent sparks everywhere, with the shield electrically shocking her upon contact, knocking her to the ground.

  The construct swiftly used this opening, twisting to around, energy blade in hand, before plunging it into her shoulder. The burning pain shot through her, while ichor rapidly leaked out of the wound, forming a puddle on the floor.

  However, with the attack, Theoren's machine had left an opening, and Athena took it, slashing her spear across the chest of the construct as hard and fast as she could. The hit finally caused the machine's shield to break in a shower of sparks, the impact of the spear hitting it properly for the first time throwing the machine to the side, as well as slicing into its chest plating.

  Rapidly rolling to a standing position, Athena clutched her spear with both hands, ready to finally end the test. Standing over Theoren's construct, Athena kicked the blade out its hand, before slicing its arm off, its light plating only putting up slight resistance. The construct raised its other arm, attempting to shoot more of its plasma bolts, but she quickly put a stop to that as well, grabbing it and bending the arm in half with her bare hands, breaking the weapon inside.

  “Do you yield?” Athena asked.

  At that, the machine seemed to cease all movement, and Theoren began talking for the first time since the combat had started.

  “I yield.” He spoke.

  [Now Playing: Nothing]

  Athena was pleased with the results of the battle. He, or at least his machine, Athena would have to ask, had defended himself much better than she thought possible for a mortal creation, passing the test with flying colors. It had even to damage adamant, a feat which no other mortal had pulled off before.

  Realizing ichor was still freely flowing out of her burning wounds, Athena covered the worst one, the stab wound on her shoulder, with her hand, while applying some healing to stop the worst of the bleeding and pain. After the wound had been suitably healed, at least until she could ask Apollo for help, she spoke again.

  “Was it you controlling the machine? Or was it fighting on its own? It will not affect my final decision, both are equally as impressive, I am simply curious.” Athena asked.

  “A little bit of both.” Theoren responded. “On its own, it would have just fled upon any sort of battle, just as it has been programmed to do. However, because I was in control of it, all it did was act as a battle assistant, similar to how Aris and I fight with my power armor.”

  “Who is Aris?” Athena asked.

  “Oh, I never mentioned Aris, did I? She is my artificial assistant, and a loyal friend. While I may work with a small team of trusted assistants, who left CPA with me, I could not have done even half of this without her help. Even though my team is made up of some of the brightest minds I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, we only do so much, after all.” Theoren replied.

  Athena's interest had only grown from the answers he had given her. She decided there and then that she would accept this mortal's offer for patronage, for whatever it would bring. It would no doubt be quite interesting, at the very least. If things worked in her favor, it could be a major piece in defeating Kronos once and for all.

  “Fascinating. You will have to introduce me to her, next we meet.” Athena said with a slight smile.

  “That implies you are planning on meeting me again, no?” Theoren responded, his excitement audible.

  “Yes Theoren, it does. You performed remarkably on the trial, faring better than many of the demigods who consistently fight for their very existence have. I, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, battle, knowledge and heroes, accept you as my champion, Theoren.” Athena replied, her smile growing.

  Theoren was silent for a few moments, before managing to reclaim his voice.

  “I… Thank you. I believe we can achieve great things together, with this partnership.” Theoren said.

  Athena silently observed, as a small hatch slid open on the side of the machine's head, and a tiny white flash drive was ejected onto the floor, made of the same material the machine's armor was.

  “I had planned on giving this to you by hand, rather than dropping it onto the floor, but considering you broke both of mine, you will simply need to pick it up. On it contains the location of my main laboratory, and manufacturing site, which is also where I live. Your magical vision may be disrupted to what is inside, but that is for safety, to keep unwanted attention away. Once you arrive, I will personally let you in.”

  “Do make sure to destroy the drive once you have gotten the location, and do not tell anyone else either. I do not have the ability at the moment to defend it against an assault from the CPA, nor an attack by a god or even a strong monster, so it can only currently be safe by staying hidden.” Theoren said, and Athena just nodded before snatching the drive off the floor.

  “Now, I will be deactivating this unit, and sending some others to retrieve it. I hope to see you soon, Athena.” Theoren said.

  “You as well, Theoren.” Athena spoke, watching as the green lights on the face of the machine dimed, before going out entirely. “You as well…”