Chapter Text
Zeus grumbled in his seat as he heard the title of the chapter. He looked around the room suspiciously, watching with narrowed eyes, trying to discern who the god was that would interfere in the quest to help the demigods. It went against his rules, though he refrained from saying so outright.
The rest of the Olympians also shuffled in their seats; it could’ve been anyone among them. So far, the only person who has had any reason to help the children at all was Poseidon, wanting to clear his name and keep his child safe and warned, but even he wouldn’t be foolish enough to interfere with the quest that much. Especially given how he had helped his son in the last chapter, however indirectly.
Aphrodite hummed, thinking who it could be, but decided to continue reading ahead.
The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, our train rolled into Denver… We hadn't taken a shower since Half-Blood Hill, and I was sure that was obvious.
Hera wrinkled her nose, disdain and disgust clear in her eyes. She didn’t comment but everyone knew her line of thinking, she was disgusted by the fact that they hadn’t showered in days.
Percy controlled himself from rolling his eyes and snarking at her, but Annabeth had no such qualm, “Do keep your disdain to yourself, if you hadn’t noticed, we were out to solve your problems, fighting your enemies. We weren’t out there for a nice walk in the garden.”
The demigods lowered their heads to hide their snickering from the Queen of Heaven. While it wasn’t nice to laugh at the indignant look on Hera’s face, they quiet enjoyed it, for they all knew what the goddess thought of them.
Aphrodite hurriedly started to read ahead, not wanting a quarrel to start during her reading. They could do it when someone else was reading.
"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit." … Everywhere we turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at me, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.
Athena let out a sigh, her gray eyes fixing on Percy, a gentle smile playing on her lips, "You can't resist tying everything back to the seas, can you?"
Percy chuckled, meeting her gaze with eyes that sparkled with what could only be described as affection, "Forgive me, Thena. I'm a child of the seas. It's ingrained in my blood to connect everything to them. I can't help it any more than one of yours can conceal their intelligence or one of Aphrodite's can hide their beauty. It's a struggle against our nature."
Athena smiled, shaking her head. Only now did she truly comprehend the accuracy of his words. Never before had she paid much attention to the other gods or their offspring, but now she observed the scene around her. The children of Hermes were attempting to pilfer something from their father, despite his awareness, the daughter of Ares was sharpening a dagger with her spear within arm's reach, ready for battle at a moment's notice—much like her father.
Hades' son mirrored his father's brooding countenance, both enveloped in shadows as they unconsciously sought to conceal themselves. Demeter's daughter was playing with a vine she had sprouted from the throne room floor, engaged in conversation with her mother about agricultural techniques.
It was both otherworldly and unnerving to witness. The children embodied the essence of their parents; even if one-half might be mortal, the other was as divine as their progenitors. Denying themselves the comfort of their parent's domains would be against their nature.
If this held true for them as half-gods, what did it signify for Athena and her siblings? Her pride was known far and wide—some even claimed it rivaled Zeus himself. Was she a mirror image of her father, forever burdened with boundless and sometimes misplaced pride?
No, she countered. Looking at Percy, his words resonated in her mind. He had said it was difficult to fight against their nature, not impossible. He also spoke of a different version of her in the future, still prideful but more understanding.
She vowed to remember that. However insurmountable the journey ahead seemed; she would prevail. She was the goddess of war and wisdom, she would conquer her own flaws, if not for herself, then for her children.
Percy's smile caught her attention, and she reciprocated. He sensed her struggle and encouraged her. She would not disappoint him or herself by remaining ignorant forever.
Finally we found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. We veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping our eyes open for patrol cars… "Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."
Poseidon threw back his head, a hearty laugh escaping him as he deciphered their intentions. Glancing at Grover with amusem*nt, he remarked, "You could have simply asked the son of Poseidon to manipulate some water or conjure mist if you wanted to send a message through Iris."
Annabeth and Grover exchanged surprised glances before bursting into laughter. It was true; they could have saved themselves the trouble of the spray can and simply asked Percy for a bit of water or mist. Even if Percy wasn't aware of godly messaging, he could have assisted. However, in the midst of their stress, the idea never occurred to them.
Iris and the other minor gods wore smiles, finding the visitors from the future a refreshing change from the usual pampered and prideful Olympians. The goddess of the rainbow directed her gaze at Annabeth and Percy with a hint of glee, asking, "So, my messages are still in use in the future?"
Annabeth smiled in response, "Yes, Lady Iris. Your messaging remains our preferred means of communication, relieving some of the workload from Lord Hermes."
A nod of understanding passed between Hermes and Iris; the goddess was always ready to assist him whenever possible. She turned back to the future guests, a curious expression on her face, "Since when did demigods start making requests from me? I don't mean to imply they shouldn't, but the heroes of this era never attempted to use my messaging."
Artemis, who had been silently listening, spoke up, "It seems the future is more peculiar than we thought. Demigods are allowed a trip to Olympus once a year. It appears the gap between gods and their children isn't as vast as it is now."
The mere suggestion of a reduced distance between demigods and gods disturbed some of the gods. However, the haunted look on the faces of the demigods painted a different story.
Thalia, though not accustomed to opening up in front of many people, shifted in her seat. It was the purpose of their visit, and she needed to step out of her comfort zone, "If that were true, Milady, there wouldn't be a need for us to come to the past and show you all your mistakes. Yes, the physical bridge between gods and their children has shortened, but the emotional one has only increased."
Ignoring Artemis's attempt to interject, Thalia locked eyes with Zeus, "Heroes of this age may not interact with their parents, and some never get a glimpse of them. But at least they know what the gods stand for."
"In the future, demigods don't know if the gods are good, kind, or helpful. They only know that the gods are wrathful if you speak ill of them and ignorant of their own children if they haven't done anything to gain their attention. They don't understand the difference between Gods and Titans."
As expected, the gods flinched, and even the most stone-faced among them couldn't conceal the raw emotion on their faces. Thalia shook her head when Artemis tried to speak; there was no need to hear the gods' excuses. She fixed her gaze on Zeus, speaking directly, "Can you imagine growing up alone, with no one to understand who you are? Even within the camp, raised by nymphs and an immortal Centaur, never knowing your parent. Always under the threat that, should you face the gods, you never know if they will acknowledge you or smite you on the spot because they consider you a threat."
It was the final blow. Thalia knew that her father and the elder gods could vividly imagine living under constant fear of their own parent trying to kill them for being perceived as a threat.
Zeus, whose eyes crackled with lightning, now seemed void. His expression was unreadable, and without bothering to explain himself, he stood up, leaving the master bolt ignored on his armrest. The Olympians, minor gods, future gods, and heroes from both the past and the future watched as the Lord of the skies exited the throne room without uttering a word.
The elder gods watched as their little brother left, they knew he needed time to process everything and that he despised being emotional in front of others, so they looked at each other, conversing through their eyes. Finally, Poseidon stood up and banged the floor of the throne room with his trident, with a firm voice he spoke, “Let’s take a break, go stretch your legs or do whatever it is you need to do. The readings will begin after an hour.”
With that, the Lord of the seas walked out the room, flanked by his elder brother.
Poseidon and Hades found Zeus standing at the edge of Olympus, watching the mountain below them. All except the wildlife and nature had been frozen in time by the fates, how that worked, they didn’t know nor were they going to ask.
“If you were thinking of jumping down to commit suicide, I would suggest doing it from a cliff that ends up on the seas. Your wife threw her son down this same mountain and he survived, and that was when he was just a child.” Look and behold, the opening line of Poseidon.
“Give it a rest Poseidon,” Zeus growled, “I am not in mood for one of your jests.”
Poseidon went to make another joke, but something about Zeus’ expression stopped him. He made eye-contact with Hades, and even the lord of dead shook his head, signaling that now wasn’t the time to bother Zeus. For all they cursed each other, and fought with each other, they were still brothers.
This wasn’t the time to antagonize him, this was the time to just be there for their brother, while he processed whatever it was, he felt.
Zeus still didn’t look at either of them, his eyes trained toward the farther plains, he felt old, like the weight of their immortality had suddenly struck him.
After a long silence Zeus spoke, “She is right you know.”
Hades had a sudden urge to point out that this was the first time his little brother was saying that someone other than him was right, but he refrained from doing so. Though he shared a concerned glance with Poseidon, their brother so somber was just a fleeting moment, however it was something that both hadn’t witnessed in a long time.
“My daughter, Thalia, her word suddenly reminded me of something. A memory, still firmly rooted in my mind that had been forgotten to the passage of time. A memory that still feels as fresh as it was the time when I was born.” He shook his head, lamenting his past was not something that the king of gods did, it had no place in his rule. “I was raised with the stories of our father’s cruelty, trained with the purpose that one day I will have to rescue the five of you.”
“Sometimes it felt a lot, I was only a new god, not properly in tune with myself, yet a daunting task had been thrust onto me. To end the tyranny of our father. I could’ve run away, but I had a duty, a duty to the mother who risked everything to save me from the same fate that my siblings had to suffer, duty to the five of you, my siblings who had never felt the light of Helios on their skin. Duty to myself, to push myself to do something I had the power to do.”
He looked down at his hands, clenching and unclenching his fist, “Fear was always there, of our father, of failure. I had forgotten that, now to think that my children had to go through the same things is even more frightening.”
Poseidon and Hades were rendered silent, of all the things they expected their brother to say, that wasn’t it. Never had he confessed of what he felt before they were released from Kronos’ stomach, nor had he shown any sign of burden. To them, he had always been the too prideful brother who always boasted about his greatness. They couldn’t do more than say a simple, “Thank you.”
Zeus turned to them, a half-smile on his face before he schooled his features, expressionless. Shrugging his shoulders, he motioned his brothers to follow him, “We shall never speak of this again.”
The throne room doors resonated with a thud as the three sons of Kronos entered in perfect harmony. A hush fell over the entire room as the formidable trio made their way to their seats, emanating power in palpable waves. Laughter subsided, and the occupants returned to their seats, fixated on the big three assuming their positions.
Zeus scanned the room with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Apollo, what happened to your eye?"
A snicker surfaced but was swiftly stifled when the sun god met his father's gaze. Apollo's left eye bore the marks of a bruise, with traces of ichor running down his nose, which he hastily wiped away. He offered no explanation, choosing to avert his gaze and conceal his face.
Since no one seemed inclined to share the story, Hera leaned toward her husband and whispered, "He made the mistake of asking Perseus who was better in bed between Artemis and Athena. Athena punched his nose, and Artemis hit his eye."
Poseidon and Hades winced in unison with Zeus, comprehending Apollo's injuries. However, another question begged to be addressed. "Someone explain why both of my sons are currently sprawled on the floor with Triton's foot in Perseus' face."
A dam burst, flooding the room with laughter once more. Everyone, including Rhea and Hestia, succumbed to fits of mirth.
The jovial atmosphere subdued abruptly as the sky thundered, and Poseidon's trident struck the floor, demanding attention. The brothers, though amused, awaited an explanation.
Athena raised her hand, ready to clarify, "While you three were away, Father, a dispute arose between Triton and Perseus over who could hold their liquor better." She stifled a giggle, "Naturally, I suggested that we should settle it once and for all. Dionysus concocted a potent brew capable of swaying even a Primordial, and they both partook. The result is evident."
Poseidon laughed heartily, and even Hades found amusem*nt, while Zeus shook his head—children would be children, immortals or not.
At that moment, Perseus sat up, a deep frown etched on his face as he pushed Triton's foot away. Swaying slightly, he scanned the room for something until his eyes landed on Athena. A goofy smile adorned his face as he staggered toward her, eventually settling on her couch. With his head on her lap and face against her stomach, he kissed her stomach and mumbled a quick, "Love you," before drifting into slumber.
Any trace of amusem*nt in Athena vanished instantly, replaced by a profound flush that spread from the roots of her hair to her neck. She stared down at the sleeping god on her lap and then at his future wives, who erupted in laughter. Speechless and motionless, she hesitantly moved her hand to brush his hair away from his face, revealing a content smile against her stomach.
Observing Athena's speechlessness, a thoroughly gleeful Aphrodite decided to continue with the reading.
"What are you talking about?" He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing." "Instant messaging?" …He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow. "Luke!" I called.
Hermes smiled as soon as his son was mentioned, wondering once again, why he hadn’t come along with their future guests. Wanting to ask his sons about their brother, he turned to them, only to find the same shadow of anger pass over them. The rest of those from futures weren’t far behind, it was like someone had poured something sour down their throat.
He wanted to address what their problem was with him, but something told him that he shouldn’t. So, he decided to wait and see what happens.
He turned, eyes wide. I could swear he was standing three feet in front of me through a screen of mist, except I could only see the part of him that appeared in the rainbow… "We're . . . uh . . . fine," Annabeth stammered. She was madly straightening her dirty T-shirt, trying to comb the loose hair out of her face. "We thought — Chiron — I mean — "
Annabeth instinctively buried her face in her hands. Why was Percy, her seaweed-brain, so observant? Every time she felt flustered around Luke, he seemed to pick up on it. It baffled her that when she was falling for him, he remained oblivious until she had to kiss him. Wait, even after she kissed him, he couldn't figure it out.
"Geez, Annie," Thalia laughed, "You really had it bad, huh?" Thalia had known about Annabeth's crush since their time on the run together. Luke was the first person who accepted Annabeth and made her feel safe. He armed her, protected her, so it wasn't surprising that she developed a crush.
"It's a good thing Percy isn't awake right now, or he would be jealous," Piper remarked casually, relishing the opportunity to learn more about her husband and sister-wives. Annabeth sat up, her eyes narrowing at Piper, then at Percy, who was still soundly snuggled against Athena's stomach.
Rolling her eyes at her husband, Annabeth retorted, "He has no right to be jealous when he went around collecting wives like they were infinity stones. Bastard married every woman he was ever attracted to."
Leo snorted and immersed himself in the machine he was building with Beckendorf under their father's guidance. Not many understood the reference to the infinity stones. Despite being more protected than before, demigods still steered clear of technology. Leo himself wouldn't have known about it if Percy hadn't practically kidnapped their friends to watch the Marvel series.
There was something about how he had missed out on good movies due to the wars and stuff.
"He's down at the cabins." Luke's smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?" … "What?" Grover said. "But—" "Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" she ordered.
Reyna deadpanned as she looked at Annabeth, “So, it wasn’t just Percy you ordered around, huh?”
Annabeth shrugged her shoulders, not embarrassed about it. She was bossy and she knew it, nothing to deny about it now.
Grover muttered something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle at Delphi, then he handed me the spray gun and followed Annabeth.
“Harder to understand than the Oracle of Delphi, huh?” Annabeth turned to Grover with a sweet smile on her face, but the satyr was already sweating. He knew Annabeth and that sweet smile was usually followed by another devious scheme of hers.
“I feel like that’s a double diss for me,” Rachel commented, glaring at Grover. Meanwhile, all the women in the room were glaring at Grover, or the other men who had nodded along with Grover’s wise words.
“Seaweed brain,” Annabeth turned to her husband, “I believe that we should summon Juniper here from the next chapter too, poor Grover seems to miss her.”
‘Phew,’ Grover sighed in relief, it wasn’t as bad as he had thought it would be.
“It seems our dear lord of the wild is having trouble keeping his eyes away from Artemis’ hunters. Juniper’s presence might do him some good.” Annabeth was having the time of her life messing with Grover.
The lord of the wild sighed as he hung his head down in depression. He had known Annabeth since they were children, he knew her better than most people, he should’ve known better. She was a cruel and cunning woman.
“Mmm,” Percy mumbled as he snuggled closer to Athena. The poor goddess was struggling to focus on anything right now, her face resembled the golden apples being guarded by Ladon.
Seeing that her husband wasn’t even listening to her properly right now, Annabeth rolled her eyes and motioned Aphrodite to continue reading.
I readjusted the hose so I could keep the rainbow going and still see Luke. "Chiron had to break up a fight," Luke shouted to me… It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus."
There was a thundering silence inside the throne room, sure they all knew that this incident in the future was dire, but somehow, up until now the weight of the situation hadn’t been felt. However, when the other Olympians start showing their support, choosing sides in the wars to come, they realized the depth of the situation.
Zeus’ expression didn’t change at all as he looked at the faces of his children, unlike the other times when he would be shouting at them, calling them traitors for standing against him, this time he knew different. He had been shown the reality of his rule by Thalia earlier, he couldn’t blame his children.
That didn’t mean that the lord of the skies wasn’t angry, he was just controlling it better.
Rhea looked at her children, her eyes shrouded in sadness. ‘You brothers are the most powerful of the gods,’ she spoke to them directly in their heads, ‘You were supposed to stand together, united against any foes you faced. Instead, you’re all reduced into squabbling animals who can’t control their pride, rage or lust.’
Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus, the three sons of Rhea couldn’t even look at their mother in the eyes and try to justify their reasons. They held no grounds for that, at the end of the day they all knew their faults. Even if they didn’t accept it.
I shuddered to think that Clarisse's cabin would ever be on my dad's side for anything… "So what's your status?" Luke asked me. "Chiron will be sorry he missed you." I told him pretty much everything, including my dreams.
Thalia glared at her sleeping husband, wanting to shout at him for being an idiot and telling Luke about everything, but she knew better. So far, Annabeth had directly told him to his face that she was using him to see the world outside of camp, Grover had been assigned as his protector by Chiron.
Percy would never say it out loud, but she knew her husband had some insecurities in the past, and Luke had used them. He had befriended Percy from the start, and told him some bitter truth that others wouldn’t. Luke had gained his trust.
That’s why Percy hated him, he had not only betrayed his trust, but also hers and Annabeth’s.
It felt so good to see him, to feel like I was back at camp even for a few minutes,… "That's true," Luke said, looking troubled. "Still . . . Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt? You'd have to be invisible."
Annabeth’s hands covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. She could… For all of Luke’s faults, she could never imagine him doing something like this. He was indirectly manipulating Percy into distrusting her, putting the blame on her. She could never imagine the Luke who protected her doing something like this.
At her side, Thalia’s skin was prickling with electricity, her eyes narrowed in anger. Right now, she resembled her father more than anyone else. The way her face remained impassive, power churning beneath her skin. Even the other children of Zeus were shocked to see the similarities between her and their father.
Before either goddess could lose her temper, a soothing sensation enveloped them and they found their husband sitting between the two goddesses, holding each’s waist in one hand.
Percy didn’t say anything, he had no need to, he knew exactly what they were feeling and the only thing he could do for them right now was be present. He leaned back onto the couch and pulled them so their heads were pressed on his chest. Annabeth and Thalia felt themselves calm down, snuggling their heads against his chest for reassurance.
Meanwhile, Athena was still staring at her lap, her hand frozen in air which she had been raking through Percy’s hair. Quickly she composed herself and turned to the sight of Percy holding his wives, he offered her a small smile and she smiled back.
We were both silent, until Luke seemed to realize what he'd said.
"Oh, hey," he protested. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never ... I mean, she's like a little sister to me."
“That wasn’t a mistake,” Hermes stated grimly, his usual cheery persona and any playfulness from his eyes were gone. “That might have seemed like a mistake, but it was carefully directed to shift your suspicion on your companion.”
The people from the future were silent, no one willing to look the gods in the eyes and confirm their doubts. In the end Hermes just sighed, “It seems we will have to read ahead to understand everything.” He knew he couldn’t force the guests to reveal what happens, he also couldn’t ignore his instincts screaming at him, telling him that something was wrong.
I wondered if Annabeth would like that description. In the stall next to us, the music stopped completely. A man screamed in terror, car doors slammed, and the Lincoln peeled out of the car wash… But the mist was gone, and Luke's image faded to nothing. I was alone in a wet, empty car wash stall.
“You should’ve told us what he said,” Annabeth murmured against Percy’s chest, feeling content at being close to her husband.
“I should’ve, but you would’ve denied it. He was your hero Annabeth, you wouldn’t have believed me back then,” Percy whispered back, strengthening his arm around her waist reassuringly. He knew telling her the truth back then would’ve made her angry at him, at Luke, and herself, and they wouldn’t have survived the quest with an internal conflict.
Annabeth and Grover came around the corner, laughing, but stopped when they saw my face. Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?"… Grover's lower lip quivered. I was afraid he would start bleating, or worse, start eating the linoleum. Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger.
Aphrodite’s voice trembled as she read the last sentence. Worry visible in the eyes of the love goddess, no matter how aloof or careless she tried to portray herself in the eyes of everyone, the matter of children starving was something she couldn’t overlook.
The book rested on her lap as she took a deep breath, her eyes moving around the room until it landed on Zeus, “Is this the ancient law you wanted so much?” She asked, her voice deadly silent.
The deities inside the room couldn’t help but appreciate the cold beauty of Aphrodite, her eyes that could enchant the world had a glare in them that shook them to their core. Her gaze firmly set on the lord of the skies.
Zeus himself frowned, not understanding the sudden change in demeanour of Aphrodite. “The ancient laws are there for a reason, we shouldn’t meddle…”
His words were cut off as a suppressing aura was released from the goddess of love, an oppressive pressure forced down the deities inside the throne room, the only exception being the Titan queen and those from the future.
The entire room was deadly silent, the goddess sitting in front of them held absolute dominance of the room. Unlike the times where they would be appreciating the love goddess’ beauty, right now her intimidating aura didn’t allow anyone to look directly at her face or her body.
Even the King of Gods wasn’t an exception.
“Do not tell me what the ancient laws mean or not son of Kronos,” Aphrodite’s words were more akin to curses, as all the children of Kronos flinched in unison. “We were all there when you were creating them, we all disagreed with them, yet you assured us that it was for the better of our children.” Her words were met with affirmation from her fellow Olympians.
“How do you justify yourself now, Zeus?”
The lord of the skies could be described in many ways, ‘lustful bastard,’ ‘tyrant,’ ‘slightly better than Kronos,’ ‘Kronos 2.0.” However, the most famed term to describe him would be prideful and arrogant. So, of course, Aphrodite’s words flamed his ego. “How dare you question me?” Zeus stood up, the master bolt in his hand crackling with energy.
He spared a quick glance at Percy to see if he would interfere and stop him like usual, but the lord of fate was sitting between his wives observing the event, showing no signs that he was getting involved.
This made Zeus confident as he looked at Aphrodite, “I’m your King, do not act like you’re my superior. Don’t bite more than you can chew.”
Suddenly the oppressing pressure in the room doubled, restricting many of the gods. A suffocating aura wrapped around the people inside the room, as Aphrodite narrowed her eyes.
Suddenly, Zeus coughed up blood.
“ZEUS,” Hera screamed as she tried to move towards her husband, but something was restricting her movement.
Zeus on the other hand felt as if a whole mountain was placed on his head, trying to crush him, forcing him to kneel, however, the lord of the skies didn’t kneel. He looked at the love goddess with an astonished wide-eyed look.
“No Zeus, you forgot your place. I am not one of your children that you can threaten or order around as you like, I am the daughter of Ouranos, the Primordial being whose domain you rule. Just because I do not care for politics or ruling doesn’t mean that I don’t have the strength to rule it.” The goddess of love took a breath to calm herself down.
Zeus and the elder gods all cast wary glances at Aphrodite as she picked the book to start reading again. They had forgotten that the love goddess had the blood of two Primordial beings’ blood running through her veins. She held tremendous strength, it wasn’t in her nature to be hostile or aggressive, but in no way did that mean that she was weak.
Those from the future could only watch with open mouths as the goddess of love put the king of gods in his place. Piper who was sitting next to Annabeth shifted to get closer to her husband, giving Annabeth and Thalia a nasty look for hogging her husband to themselves. “Can’t believe that my mother lost her cool like that,” She whispered to Percy.
Percy smiled as his hand extended to tug a piece of her hair behind her ears, “Your mother is an adversary to be afraid of my love, she is love itself. Even I am not immune to that.”
Aphrodite who was listening to every conversation inside the room smiled as she heard him and started to read.
I was trying to think up a sob story for the waitress when a rumble shook the whole building; … The biker said, "It's on me." He slid into our booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth against the window.
Aphrodite was cut off when Athena shifted in her seat, facing Ares with a serious expression, “What do you think you are doing?”
Ares had a crazed grin on his face, obviously recognizing himself in the book. Hearing Athena’s question, he turned to look at the wisdom goddess, “What does it look like dear sister?” He asked with a sneer, “I am buying the starving children some food.” The sneer on his face turned into a radiant smile, though coming from him it creeped out most of the audience.
Athena’s face twitched hearing his response, but she couldn’t do anything about it right now.
He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, "Are you still here?" … Anger, resentment, bitterness. I wanted to hit a wall. I wanted to pick a fight with somebody. Who did this guy think he was?
Ares grinned as he heard that, he loved his ability to provoke others, it was always fun. He turned towards Percy hoping to mess around a little, but found that the god was ignoring him and others in order to enjoy the presence of his wives.
“You might want to keep your aura in check Ares, wouldn’t do you good to anger someone unwanted,” Poseidon spoke with a deathly calm voice, he was feeling the effect Ares’ aura was having on Percy in the book.
Ares gulped as he saw the state of Poseidon, maybe his ability to provoke others wasn’t always fun.
He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, "Are you still here?"
He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if she'd been spun around, then marched back toward the kitchen.
“Do not misuse your powers to mess with the mortals’ minds son/grandson.” Hera and Rhea spoke in unison, then turned to each other in surprise having said same thing.
Ares was grumbling something about ‘being told off,’ in front of his friends by his mother and grandma, though no one paid him any attention.
The biker looked at me. I couldn't see his eyes behind the red shades, but bad feelings started boiling in my stomach… He gave me a wicked grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"
Poseidon was barely containing the urge to show Ares why he should keep his tongue in check. Calling him seaweed? If he wasn’t in the presence of his wife and children, he would’ve injured the war god severely for that alone. It was fortunate for Ares that his wife and children’s presence were helping him clear his mind and not outright blast him.
Ares did a complete 360 and checked everyone inside the room, he had felt a wicked killing intent just a moment ago, but he couldn’t pinpoint who it was.
I should've been surprised, or scared, but instead I felt like I was looking at my stepdad, Gabe. I wanted to rip this guy's head off.
Ares scoffed, “As if you could.”
The idea of a half-blood, even if it was a son of Poseidon doing anything that could harm him was laughable. He was the God of War! No pesky demigods could match up to his strength or skills.
Percy smirked, leaning a little forward to look directly into the War God’s eyes, “Want me to try it now?” Was he bullying the past gods at his whims? Yes! Did Percy care? No sir!
Ares wisely kept his mouth shut, instead turning to Aphrodite in hope that she would start again.
"What's it to you?"
Frank choked on his breath as he heard that, Hazel equally shocked and terrified. The Romans inside them were having a field day, they had been taught to respect the gods since their start in this mythological world, so much so that it was now ingrained in their blood.
To hear anyone talk back to their patron god was incomprehensible.
Reyna turned to look at Percy exhausted, “I don’t know how we ever made you a praetor, you’re the exact opposite of a good Roman soldier.”
Percy grinned at his wife, “I believe it was for defeating two giants in a week, protecting Camp Jupiter while fighting against a giant and a horde of monsters, returning the lost eagle of the 12th legion fulminate and restoring the glory of Rome.”
Reyna rolled her eyes as she glanced at him with a soft look, “You don’t hold back your tongue.” She could see the others inside the room digesting Percy’s words, they couldn’t believe how nonchalant Percy was about defeating Giants, while even many Olympians would struggle against them.
“You would know that better than anyone,” Thalia wiggled her brows at Reyna suggestively, it took a while for Reyna to understand the meaning of Thalia’s words.
As soon as it did, she blushed golden from the roots of her hair to her neck. She couldn’t form a retort with how flustered she was, it also didn’t help that Annabeth, Piper and Percy were giggling at her flush face.
Annabeth's eyes flashed me a warning. "Percy, this is — "
The biker raised his hand … Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature nuclear explosions. "That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."
"She was asking for it."
Clarisse growled at the back of her throat hearing that but refrained from doing or saying anything. She would normally argue or try to pick a fight with Prissy, but she couldn’t do that in front of all these people. It could be seen as a show of disrespect to her king, and while she was rude or brash, she respected authority.
"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for — I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you." …
The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold.
"You can't do that," I told Ares. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."
Ares growled, momentarily distracted by the disrespect. Someone telling him that he couldn’t do something, was what he hated the most. His head whipped at Percy’s direction, “Who do you think you are to tell me what I can or can’t do?”
Percy smiled widely as Ares roared at him, his eyes twinkled in glee as he replied, “Would you like me to show you?”
Ares saw a wide array of scenarios flash in front of his eyes as he looked at the god, him on his knees by the sheer pressure of Percy’s aura he had aimed at him when he tried to attack Thalia. A beach with two silhouettes fighting each other with swords while the sea raged behind them, a sword piercing someone’s heel.
Though he couldn’t understand what the last one was, he decided to ignore it for now.
Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should… "Why don't you go back and get it yourself ?" The fire in his eye sockets glowed a little hotter.
While everyone had become silent, including the Romans having a panic attack, Apollo, Hermes and Hephaestus were having the time of their life laughing.
It was incredible hearing how daring the son of Poseidon was, no one had ever challenged them as such, it was refreshing to see a demigod not afraid of them. The way Ares’ face turned into a darker shade of purple from rage was just another added bonus.
"Why don't I turn you into prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it… I wanted to punch this guy, but somehow, I knew he was waiting for that. Ares's power was causing my anger. He'd love it if I attacked. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction
Ares grunted in dissatisfaction, while the gods in the room looked at Percy with a newfound appreciation. Poseidon was barely controlling himself from making Ares a pincushion, he looked at his son with a smile, “You’re in control of your emotion even in front of a god’s aura, especially Ares, who is known to unravel even the calmest of beings’ fury. It’s a feat to be appreciated.”
"We're not interested," I said. "We've already got a quest."
“Hahaha…” Apollo fell off his couch laughing, just imagining how frustrated and angry Ares might have been was making him want to kiss Percy. However, he couldn’t do that to his little sister, he couldn’t steal her husband, so he let it go.
He was generous like that.
Ares's fiery eyes made me see things I didn't want to see — blood and smoke and corpses on the battlefield… "You told him Hades stole the bolt?"
"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."
A dark, bitter chuckle escaped out of Hades’ mouth, swirls of purple flame flashed in his eyes as he looked at Ares, “Is that so, nephew?” The Lord of the dead didn’t say anything more, nor did he need to.
Ares’ grin was long washed away from his face, he couldn’t fathom why he would do something about it. Sure, he enjoyed a nice war, but even he wasn’t stupid enough to push for a war between the big three. He knew the consequences of that.
So, why was his future self, ignoring the consequences.
However, seeing Hades’ glare and listening to that humourless chuckle, his face had turned ghostly pale.
"Thanks," I grumbled. "Hey, I'm a generous guy… Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom." "My mom?"
Aphrodite stopped her reading to look at Ares in disgust, she wasn’t alone, nearly every woman inside the room looked disgusted at what the war god was saying, including Hera.
However, their anger wasn’t the same considering the sea god. Poseidon’s eyes were blazed and a huge torrent of water came crashing down from his trident, blasting Ares back against the throne room’s walls. Ares tried to move but the pressure was too much for him to do so.
When the hose of water did stop, he felt a dense killing intent coming off of Poseidon. “Using a child’s love for his mother against him. You’re even a bigger disgrace than I had thought possible.”
The atmosphere in the room was intense, however seeing that everyone had returned to their seat, Aphrodite started reading again.
He grinned. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."
"What interrupted your date?" I asked. "Something scare you off?"
“Olympus’ sake!! Kelp head, don’t you know when to hold your tongue? He could’ve killed you whenever he wanted,” Thalia exclaimed in indignation. Sure, it was funny hearing how Percy talked back to the gods. However, he should also stop when it’s time.
Percy bit back a sarcastic remark on seeing the worried look on his wives’ face. They knew that he was practically untouchable now, but they were still worried. It couldn’t be helped.
So, he just offered a small smile and pulled Thalia a little closer for comfort.
Ares bared his teeth, but I'd seen his threatening look before on Clarisse. There was something false about it, almost like he was nervous… Annabeth said. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."
Athena’s eyes gleamed with approval, “Well said daughter.”
Annabeth beamed under the praise; it wasn’t that she was hungry for her mother’s praise. It’s just, this is Athena in her past, the more arrogant and prideful one. She didn’t hand out praises much, but when she did, you knew it wasn’t something light.
Clarisse wanted to say something back to Annabeth, but she kept silent, remembering full well how much that smartie pants had defeated her in capture the flags using her witty schemes.
Ares fumed as he heard that, how truly like her mother he thought.
"But this water park ... he acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?"… "If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," I said, staring up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."
The gods in the room sucked in a breath, perfectly knowing the temperament of the goddess of beauty. They couldn’t remember the last time someone had said something negative about her.
She was arrogant, extremely so, however it was justified. She was the personification of perfection. She had every right to be arrogant.
Just like everyone thought, the goddess had stopped reading and was looking at Percy with a glare just as fiery as when she had lost her temper on Zeus.
Percy’s eyebrow twitched; he had forgotten about this part. He slowly turned towards the goddess of love, it wasn’t that he was scared, he was just a little wary of how petty the goddess could be.
However, as soon as the wary expression appeared in his face, it was soon replaced by a charming grin. He stood from his seat and started walking towards Aphrodite, his eyes looking the goddess directly in the eyes.
“It isn’t my fault. It’s just that I like to treat the women I care about with more effort.” Aphrodite’s eyes narrowed, wanting to see where this was going, even her glare was losing its fire slowly. “See, an abandoned water park is not something you will want to show to even someone you hate, much less your woman.”
Percy’s smile was so pure and charming that half the women inside the room were swooning, while the other half were avoiding looking at him. The men could only curse Percy inwardly, blaming him for being the charming son of Poseidon he was.
“However, the thought of someone as beautiful as you, going even a walking distance to that creepy place is horrendous. You can’t blame me for that. A woman whose beauty transcends mortal and even immortal comprehension should be taken to a place worthy of her calibre.” His hands rested on either side of Aphrodite, effectively pinning the goddess to her seat. Looking deep into her eyes and letting her get lost in his. “I can’t be blamed for thinking that, right?”
Aphrodite has long since lost her bearings, her eyes firmly locked with Percy’s. Her face was flushed golden and her chest heaved with the deep breath she took to calm herself down. Something was fluttering in her stomach, making her heart tremble.
She was broken out of her daze as she heard Ares shouting at her to gain her attention, very jealous about how Percy could put his girl in a daze.
The goddess of love’s eyes gained a sudden sharpness as she looked at Ares, “Be silent! It’s obvious you don’t know how to appreciate what you have.” Her reply stupefied Ares, she turned to look back at those mesmerizing golden eyes of Percy, only to find him being dragged back to his seat.
Piper without caring about the others, dragged Percy by the collar back to their couch. She sat on his lap and elbowed his stomach, murmuring, “How many times have I told you to not flirt with my mother.”
Hestia, Athena, Artemis, and Zoë could only watch with open mouths at how Percy had displaced Aphrodite’s anger with ease.
"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful." "Why? I thought you hated Ares."
"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."
"You don't want to insult her looks," Grover added. "Who is she? Echidna?"
The room once again gasped collectively and turned to look at Aphrodite’s reaction. Only to find the goddess of love still blushing like a teenager in front of their crush. The men once again cursed Percy with all their hearts.
"No, Aphrodite," Grover said, a little dreamily. "Goddess of love." …"Clothes," Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes." "Yeah," I said. "But you can't just—" "Watch me."
Hermes and his sons gleamed in approval, looking over at Annabeth like she was a diamond in the rough. If only she was properly tutored under the guidance of the experts, she would be unstoppable.
However, much to their dismay, Athena interrupted their plans, “Stop what you’re thinking Hermes, if I hear even a whisper of you or your sons trying to corrupt my daughter. There will be consequences.” Seeing that she was suddenly serious and might actually follow through with her threats, Hermes dropped the idea.
Percy’s mouth twitched as he wanted to speak out that Annabeth was already corrupted soon. Seeing the look Annabeth was giving him, he decided to concede.
She snatched an entire row of stuff of the racks and disappeared into the changing room… "Well, you know," she said. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus.
Zeus sighed; he might have done a few bad things in his life. Okay! He might have done a lot of bad things in his life, but he wasn’t the villain of every story. So why was it that people in the future only blamed him for everything?
“It wasn’t Lord Zeus who threw me off Mount Olympus,” Hephaestus spoke gruffly, his eyes were trained on Hera, tiny wisps of fire tinkered in his beard. “It was the bovine majesty herself that did it.” He smiled seeing Annabeth laugh out loud, “Apparently I was too ugly to be her family.”
The last part was spoken softly. Just because he had accepted the fact that he was ugly and didn’t care for it. It still stung a little to remember that his own mother decided to kill him. He diverted his attention to his sons seeing that they had paused to comfort him, completely missing the way Hera’s anger melted into guilt and shame.
Eyeing her husband from the corner of her eye, Aphrodite wanted to say something, but decided to not and continue reading.
So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?" …Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue. "There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder . . ."
Leo winced, “You guys are in trouble. That’s dad’s symbol or signature you can say, all of his works have them.”
Annabeth gave Leo a dry look, her expression practically screaming, ‘Gee I didn’t know.’ The truth was that her younger self already knew something was amiss, but due to her inexperience, she ignored her instincts. It couldn’t be helped; she had to learn and grow.
"Grover," I said, "you smell any monsters?" He sniffed the wind. "Nothing." … I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong." Grover puffed up his chest a little. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"
Every demigod in the room sighed, just why was it that both Grover and Percy kept inviting trouble to them? All they had to do was keep their mouth shut. Still, they kept challenging fate, asking what could go wrong. Challenging fate like that was the equivalent of bending over in front of Zeus and asking not to be f*cked.
"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me — " … "Me, go with you to the . . . the Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?" "Who's going to see you?" But my face was burning now, too.
‘Urghh…’ Those who were in camp half-blood along with Percy and Annabeth during their younger years felt like ripping their hair out. It was frustrating enough the first time to watch those two be awkward around each other, but to watch or rather hear it again? It was torture.
Annabeth and Percy looked at each other with nothing but pure devotion for each other in their eyes. It was a little nostalgic hearing about how the two had started this path of theirs, which would eventually lead them to now.
A time when one was incomplete without the other.
Leave it to a girl to make everything complicated.
“Truer words haven’t been spoken brother,” Apollo nodded sagely, tilting the glass of nectar in his hands towards Percy in acknowledgment. Agreeing with his brother-in-law’s statement, a sentiment every man in the room shared.
Though none dared to speak it out in fear of getting the same retribution Apollo was currently receiving. Artemis had her bow out and was shooting arrow after arrow at her brother, with the hunters helping their mistress in dressing up the sun god as a porcupine.
"Fine," I told her. "I'll do it myself." But when I started down the side of the pool, she followed me, muttering about how boys always messed things up.
“Amen to that sister,” Artemis said to Annabeth, having seized her target practice and returning to her seat. The hunters all nodded their assent with her, along with all the women in the room.
We reached the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf… While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favourite people: themselves.
“Hahahaha,” Hermes laughed loudly, “The boy has only met Ares once and hasn’t even met Aphrodite yet, but he had nailed their personality down perfectly.”
He wasn’t alone, Hephaestus, a very severely bruised and injured Apollo, Dionysus and a few minor gods were laughing too at the accuracy of that statement.
Ares glared around the room at those laughing at him, he looked at Aphrodite for support, but seeing as how the woman was still a little red in the face and covertly trying to sneak glances at Percy had him almost lash out in anger. However, all he could do right now was sit in his seat and grumble.
I picked up the scarf. It shimmered pink, and the perfume was indescribable — rose, or mountain laurel. Something good… Up on the rim, the Cupid statues were drawing their bows into firing position.
“Seriously?” A disgusted look appeared on Athena’s face as she looked at Ares. “To plan to have your little rendezvous in front of your son’s statue. It’s disgusting.” Not only her, even Eros who was sitting amongst the minor gods was looking a little green at the thought of watching his mother and father have a go at it in front of him.
Ares stammered, trying to find an excuse for something he hadn’t even done yet. It was his future self doing everything, why was he facing the judgment for it?
Far away in a pocket universe, Clotho turned to her sisters saying, “Someone should remind the wisdom goddess that she shares a husband with her daughter.”
Atropos and Lachesis giggled, before the latter turned to her two sisters with a sly smile, “Remember the time when we walked in on master…” “SHUT UP,” Clotho and Atropos both screamed, red-faced, not wanting to remember that embarrassing moment.
Before I could suggest taking cover, they shot, but not at us. They fired at each other, across the rim of the pool… "Spiders!" Annabeth said. "Sp — sp — aaaah!"
Athena’s face turned a sickly liver colour, she couldn’t move at all. Fear had paralyzed her; she had never faced such terror before. Not when she fought giants or the countless enemies the Olympians had.
Is this what her children felt? All because she was petty enough to curse a woman into turning into a monster. For what? Simply because she had boasted that she was better than her, the goddess of art-craft.
For the first time in the millennia that she had lived, Athena felt regret.
Seeing the inner turmoil of his wife, Percy wanted to reach out to Athena and console her, but he knew he couldn’t. His wife had pride that could rival that of Zeus, and while it was justifiable in many instances, it was also true that this pride of hers was her greatest enemy.
Unknowingly, Athena had made herself countless enemies, both within the council of gods and the monsters created by her.
It was up to Athena herself to understand the fault of her ways, it hurt to watch, but Percy knew that this was a path only she could walk for herself.
I'd never seen her like this before… Grover hovered above the pool in his flying sneakers, trying to pull the net loose, but it wouldn't budge. Think, I told myself. Think.
“YOU CAN DO THAT?” Both Penelope and Daemon shouted at once, looking at their dad astonished.
Thalia, Annabeth and Reyna started laughing at Percy’s aggrieved expression. Piper and Rachel were giggling along at the twins’ antics too. The rest of the room looked at the scene with a smile on their face, believing that this was how a family was supposed to be.
Percy found himself smiling too, after all, the kids take after their father. His smile widened as he saw Sophia cuffing the back of the twins and scolding them for embarrassing him in front of others.
That one took after her mother more, always a stickler for rules and decorum.
The Tunnel of Love entrance was under the net. We could use it as an exit, except that it was blocked by a million robot spiders… Spotlights glared down at us. The Cupid-cams were rolling, live to Olympus.
“Heh,” Nico smiled slowly, “I wasn’t there but I can already tell what was happening. Uncle Poseidon would probably be having a heart-attack. Zeus and Hera grumbling at having to watch it. Apollo and Hermes laughing and enjoying the drama. Athena probably blaming the sea spawn for getting her daughter into trouble. Same with Artemis, but her reasoning being that Percy’s a man. Dionysus and Demeter uncaring about it. Ares and Aphrodite yelling at Hephaestus, while the forge god is taking this as feedback on how to improve his traps.”
Those who didn’t know Nico would think that the god was only making idle remarks about the Olympians’ characteristic.
It wasn’t the case for those who knew him. Will was looking at his boyfriend like he was the reason the sun rose daily, knowing well that his boyfriend was enjoying himself. Bianca was looking at her brother with love in her eyes, happy that her brother was still the same as ever.
Percy however was looking at the little kid who had lost his will to smile after his sister’s death. He saw a glimpse of the ten-year-old kid who used to love playing with his Mytho-magic cards and talking about the gods and how powerful they were.
It seems having Bianca with him again had done a miracle on the emo god.
But I could only concentrate on controlling the boat… "On my mark," I said. "No! On my mark!" "What?"
"Simple physics!" she yelled. "Force times the trajectory angle — "
“Speak English!” Daemon, Nico, Travis and Connor all shouted at once.
“She is!” Replied back Penelope, Will, Katie and Leo.
"Fine!" I shouted. "On your mark!"
She hesitated . . . hesitated . . . then yelled, "Now!" Crack! … In midair, he had grabbed me by the shirt, and Annabeth by the arm, and was trying to pull us out of a crash landing, but Annabeth and I had all the momentum.
"You're too heavy!" Grover said.
“Did you just call me heavy?” Annabeth glared at Grover.
“No… I… Uh- Just…” Grover trembled under her glare, it wasn’t just the fact that Annabeth was scary that had him shook. No, he had first-hand experienced what happens when you comment on a girl’s weight after an unfortunate incident with Juniper.
The poor goat had never said or thought about a girl’s weight since then, even in his sleep.
Pan laughed seeing Grover acting such, it wasn’t that he didn’t care about him. He could just tell that there was no seriousness in Annabeth’s glare, only fondness and love.
We spiralled toward the ground, Grover doing his best to slow the fall… The statues had swivelled so that their cameras were trained straight on us, the spotlights in our faces. "Show's over!" I yelled. "Thank you! Good night!"
Everyone could see the vein on Zeus’ forehead thumping at the disrespect. Poseidon laughed heartily as he clapped his brother on the shoulder, “My son sure knows how to irk you, don’t you think, little brother.”
Zeus shrugged Poseidon’s head off his shoulder and motioned for Aphrodite to continue, not bothering with Poseidon’s taunt at all.
The Cupids turned back to their original positions… I hefted the shield on my arm and turned to my friends. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."
Aphrodite closed the book, signifying that the chapter was finished. She looked around the room, glaring at Ares and observing others.
“That was a big chapter,” she commented idly before her gaze ended up on Percy, the blush that had disappeared making a full comeback.
