Percy and Andy sat in front of Titan and Primordial of Time, who paced around. Out of blue, Kronos stopped and asked Andy:
"You know about Scions?" Goddess of Wards nodded and explained to her clueless companion.
"Scions are legacies of gods, whose lines can be traced all the way to Troy. There are four of them: Atreus, line of Zeus, Thebes, line of Apollo, Rome, line of Aphrodite and Athens, line of Poseidon." Percy snorted.
"Wow, naming your line after your ancestor's worst rival? They're fucked up." Andy bowed her head.
"And that's only the start of the whole mess." She explained about their life debts and Furies, which resulted in Percy muttering Greek curses and Cronus rolling his eyes.
"It could've been worse", he said nonchalantly. Andy frowned.
"It already is. The Tyrant has appeared." Kronos stopped and whirled around.
"Are you absolutely certain?" She nodded.
"You know that I feel the ends of generations: this one's practically buzzing." Percy narrowed his eyes.
"But you need to be close to them", he accused. "Is that why you were away for two weeks?" Andy blushed.
"Yeah", she admitted. "But in my defense, I needed to check on them, and I managed to run into Atreus and Thebes Heirs." Kronos winced.
"Falsefinder?" he asked. She hummed in admittance.
"Thankfully, I managed to rescue myself on 'family problems' excuse", she said with heavy dose of sarcasm. "Otherwise he would've caught me. Anyways, their", she put heavy emphasis on that word, "Olympians have broken out of Olympus and causing quite a mess."
"What kind of mess?" Percy wondered. Andy scowled.
"They're raping then killing random mortal women", she spat. "Admittedly, they did that kind of stuff before too, but this..." she shook her head. "This is getting too far." Percy looked furious.
"This is it", he snarled. "I'm coming with you and giving them a piece of my mind!" Two time wielders smiled.
"Then, I think you should pack and ask the Oracle", was their mysterious answer.
Percy and Andy stood in front of Big House, immersed in fire like argument with Chiron.
"But this isn't your universe", frowned the trainer of heroes. "Their gods are different from ours, and demigods don't exist." Andy sighed.
"Chiron, this isn't about gods; this is about preservation of the entire human race", she explained patiently. "If we just let everything run its course, it would end with a nightmarish war in which the biggest losers would be humans. Can we stand by? This is even worse that monsters; this is Trojan war 2.0. but this time, it's gods against Scions." Chiron sighed.
"You do know that I cannot say no to that. Very well, go visit Rachel. I'm sure she's gotten some indication by now." Percy and Andy hurriedly went away before their mentor could change his mind.
"Hey guys!" chirped Rachel then looked closely. "You're off to another quest?" Percy exhaled and nodded.
"What can we do to stop war between Scions and gods?" he asked. Green light enveloped the Oracle and she spoke in raspy voice:
Children of immortals shall venture into realm unknown,
To stop the war once seen before.
Tyrant will greet them
And gods judge them
As he ascends
And she descends.
Sitting in their mighty thrones,
They will mark the era of gods.
"Wow, that's cheerful", Percy commented as he held Rachel up.
"Yeah", Andy frowned. "But I'm still worried. 'Sitting in their mighty thrones, they will mark the era of gods'? What's that supposed to mean?" Percy looked deep in thought.
"I don't know", he admitted. "But let's worry about that when we get there, yeah?"
Kronos and Cronus appeared in Poseidon Cabin that night.
"Are you ready?" Primordial asked in concern.
"We are", Andy answered. "Please, portal us near the mainland port for Nantucket."
"Then, may the Fates be with you", Titan muttered and opened the portal. "Good luck."
"Thank you, Gramps/Father", two chorused and stepped through, leaving nothing but smell of sea and sulfur behind.
In that moment, Cassandra Delos woke the whole house with a loud scream.
"Cas!" Lucas shouted and sprinted over to her room. "Cas, you okay?" Cassandra breathed heavily.
"No", she whispered. "Something happened, Luke." She took a deep breath. "Something with the power to challenge gods."
.
.
Savior and Diplomat appeared near the Nantucket Ferry port.
"I gotta say, I may hate Gramps, but he knows his way around", Percy grudgingly admitted.
"Yeah, but that's hardly the point. Let's get on the ship", Andy muttered nervously. "Olympians are on the loose, and the results of being alone won't be pretty." Percy grumbled lightly.
"I still can't believe what are they doing", he growled.
"You better", Andy murmured under her breath. "Otherwise we won't survive this quest." With slight Mist manipulation and wardrobe change two unassuming young people boarded the ferry, unaware of a pair of eyes watching them from the shore.
Interesting, the observer thought. The boy's first generation Scion: others must know. I'm sure I could play with his mortal companion. She's clear sighted anyway. With that, he dissolved into golden light.
.
.
"Whew! This took entirely too long!" Andy complained as she descended from the ferry.
"Even I thought it was too long", Percy commented as he jumped right next to her. "Where are we going?"
"First, we're going to check in a hotel", Andy said as she started walking towards the town center. "Then, we're hitting some small market and get the gossip of the island, and finally we're setting up a trap for gods." Percy grinned.
"Now, you're speaking my language." Suddenly, he froze.
"What the Hades happened here?" Andy beside cursed aloud, earning a few reproachful looks.
"This looks like war zone", she mumbled carefully avoiding rubble.
"And it was", Percy suddenly spat. "I feel Eris' presence. It's very faint, but it's here."
"Aw, hell", Andy complained. "I only hope her darling companion isn't anywhere nearby." Boy beside her snorted.
"Hope so too, hope so too." They walked away, followed by strange sea-foam scent which completely overpowered sulfuric one.
While they chatted with ease only long acquaintanceship could make possible, they subtly checked if anyone was following them. Few times they had to duck into other alley to avoid blonde, blue-eyed chunk of rock of a boy who bore incredible resemblance to Apollo. After some time they ended up in front of theater. Closest hotel was just around the corner, but as the pair approached the unassuming entrance, Andy swore in Greek seeing two figures ahead of them.
"Atreus and Thebes Heirs", she hissed to her raven-haired companion.
"Well, let's meet them", Percy answered in low voice. "You know, 'my enemy's enemy is my ally' and all that crap." Andy frowned.
"Okay", she allowed, "but I'm doing the talking. You're poor liar, and you really need to be careful how you word your sentences with Falsefinders." They continued their walk, and about ten meters from the doors Thebes' Heir blocked their way.
"Hello", he said in pleasant voice. "Could you just stop for a second?" He was very polite, but Andy and Percy both knew he had something in mind.
"Of course", Percy answered casually. "I mean, we walked all the way to here, couple more minutes won't matter, right?" he said the last part glaring at his aunt, giving her 'I can do this, see?'look.
"Right", Andy agreed. "What do you have in mind?"
"We would like you to look at some pictures", boy replied. "Oh, I'm so rude; name's Lucas Delos, and this is Helen Hamilton." Girl, now identified as Helen, raised her head and nearly stole Percy's breath: her face was almost as beautiful as Annabeth's, in the manner most similar to Aphrodite.
"You look very pretty", he blurted out then clamped his mouth shut as Andy whacked his head.
"You have girlfriend, Perce!" she said reproachfully.
"What? Just an honest observation", he defended himself as Helen blushed.
"Excuse my cousin here, he often speaks before he thinks", Andy apologized to Lucas and Helen.
"'T's okay", Lucas shrugged. "So, would you look?"
"May I ask why?"
"They've been confirmed sightings of them raping mor- women and then killing them." Helen unexpectedly said.
"That's awful!" Andy cried out. "You want to warn us?" Lucas nodded.
"Yeah", he said subdued.
"Thanks", Percy said taking a short look at the photos. "I'll keep this rascal okay." Andy snorted.
"Watch it kid", she warned him, "or I'm dragging up the volcano incident up again!"
"Volcano incident?" Helen was totally confused, and Lucas didn't look any different.
"Don't ask", pair spoke in unison.
.
.
"So", Percy drawled as he settled down on a comfy bed, "what's next on our agenda?" Andy bit her lower lip.
"I need to meet with your not-father", she said slowly. "I have to see just how far this whole shit has gone." He nodded.
"Okay. I'll walk you to some secluded cliff and leave you there." Andy shot him an are-you-serious look.
"Oh no mister", she purred. "This is what you'll do..."
.
Percy and Andy drove in silence, heading towards abandoned beach.
"Remind me again, why in a rented car?"
"Because", Andy said patiently, "gods are very fast, and we must not out ourselves. Besides, I want to see just how much you resemble him." Percy rolled his eyes.
"Please, I know you fancy Dad, but seriously!" Andy blushed.
"I do not! I simply like him as a brother!" Son of Poseidon smirked.
"Talk away Andy, talk away." Before his brown-haired companion could retort anything, they arrived.
"Okay, you know what to do", Andy breathed out then raised her voice.
"I told you, I'm not interested! I'm doing this and that's final!"
"Andy, don't be ridiculous", Percy played along. "Staring in the sea won't bring him back!"
"You wouldn't understand, you weren't so close to him! Now leave me alone!" She exited out of the car and purposefully slammed the door shut. Andy ran away straight to the shore line, tears streaking her face, and sat down on the sand, looking in the distance.
"Hello", a cultured male voice spoke behind her.
"Go away whoever you are", she sobbed quietly.
"Why are you crying?" the owner of the voice asked intrigued.
"My... lover", she said hesitantly, brushing off her tears, brown eyes staring at nothing in particular, "he was a fisher. One day, he didn't come back."
"You lost him at the sea", man said wisely, "and you want the sea to return him to you." Andy nodded.
"Yeah." She felt him sit beside her.
"Will you look at me?" Andy shyly turned her head and gasped.
"You look... you look like him", she stuttered. Indeed, a man who she knew was Poseidon looked almost exactly like her brother. Unfortunately, his eyes gave him away: while her Poseidon had that indescribable shade of green people connected with sunny day on the sea, this one had steel-blue ones, reminiscing her of sea before the storm.
"Do I now?" Curiosity was blatantly obvious.
"Yes you do." Her company hummed.
"Very interesting. Was he by any chance... different?" Andy scowled.
"What is it to you?" Poseidon shrugged.
"No meaning, just checking the opposition." And before Andy could compose herself, he kissed her hard, his mouth attacking hers. She gave an involuntary moan at the salty taste before wrenching away.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she shouted at him, but he just smirked.
"Don't play games with me darling, I know you know who I am." Andy huffed and exploded in motion, running as fast as she dared: she had no desire of being outed. She only made few dozen meters before Poseidon threw her down to the floor, his animalistic-godly aura presenting itself in its full glory.
"You're quite quick on your legs, dearie", Poseidon whispered huskily in her ear. "No one can run away from us as you're very aware." Andy struggled futilely, reigning in her godly strength and desire with difficulty. Suddenly, there was a noise of the car.
"GET OFF HER!" Percy roared as he jumped out of the driver's seat, tackling his father's counterpart and rolling him off of his aunt. "ANDY, RUN!"
"NO FUCKING WAY, PERCY!" she shouted back at him. "GET IN THE CAR, AND WE'RE OFF!" Somehow, Percy untangled himself from the god and jumped on the shotgun seat.
"Step on it!" he cried out before Andy did so, leaving the fuming sea god behind.
After a few minutes of Andy's reckless driving, Percy broke the silence.
"That..." Percy began, heaving.
"Was way too close, I agree", Andy rumbled, still pissed. "Now I'm really angry." Percy got a hopeful glint in his eyes.
"Does that mean we're going all out?" Andy matched his glint with an unsettling smile.
"Oh yes we are", she confirmed and Percy whooped in joy.
"Finally! Let's get on the planning!"
.
.
(From here, everything that is italized is copied directly from the book Goddess, Josephine Angelini, Chapter 13)
Helen and Lucas sat together with Hector and Orion, intently watching the duel between Phaon and Daedalus.
"He's not going for a quick death" Lucas murmured.
"He deserved it" Orion hissed. "That bastard..."
"Agreed", Hector muttered.
Phaon tried to beg his way out of it, they turned deaf ear on it. When Daedalus finally cut off Phaon's head with a straight, clean blow, they nodded as one, turning their eyes to the sky.
Catharsis, Lucas thought.
"Well done, my son", said a ringing voice
Lucas turned around: from the sea walked out half-naked, beautifully sculptured black-haired man with blue eyes. He was holding a trident, and his face was Lucas's.
"Poseidon", Hector uttered. Out of nowhere, second man appeared: his blonde hair and blue eyes spitting image of Hector's, carelessly holding a bow in his hand.
"Apollo", Orion muttered in disgust, still remembering how the half-siren Andy ended up in Delos' house. Helen's carbon copy, with her blonde, knee-length hair and one-shoulder white dress sauntered over to Helen.
"Hello, sister", she greeted.
"Hello, Aphrodite", Helen replied and hugged her, expression of pure joy on her face.
"As touching as this is", another blonde, blue-eyed man who radiated power cut in, "we do not have time." Aphrodite sadly smiled at her sister and went to join her father, along with Apollo, Poseidon and number of other people Helen vaguely recognized as Olympians.
"What do you want from us?" Helen snapped. Zeus's small smile grew, but before he could answer, haunting melody carried over.
Ave Domine,
Ave Dei,
Ave filii Deorum.
Same words repeated few times before Jason shouted.
"Look up there!" Everyone's glances averted to the sky and found an incredible sight.
A girl sat perched on a golden swing, held by nothing but sheer air, her black hair flying around as she sang. When she noticed they spotted her, she stopped, brown eyes glinting.
"Welcome..." Helen trailed off.
"Andromeda", girl pleasantly finished. As she spoke, another person began singing.
Dies irae, dies illa,
Solvet saeclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sibylla!
This one was more familiar to Scions, no matter the strange melody it was sang in.
"Dies irae", Lucas murmured. "But who is singing it?" This time, Claire spotted the singer first.
"Look at the beach!" she yelped as gods and Scions turned around again, facing raven-haired Adonis with sea-green eyes not too different from Orion standing ankle-deep in the sea. Poseidon cursed and the boy stopped, smiling mischievously.
"Recognize me, huh?" Lucas sucked in his breath.
"You're that boy in front of hotel!" Helen stifled a gasp as the addressed boy spoke.
"Yes, and name's Perseus, thank you very much." Andromeda from above tutted.
"Will I ever get that back talking streak out of you, dear?" Perseus smirked.
"Not in this century. Permission, milady?" he asked with relish as the jaws of both mortals and immortals dropped to the floor.
"Permission granted", Andromeda allowed and stood up, descending down the golden stairs which appeared in front of her as her companion ascended up the blue stairs in front of him. Olympians watched everything with careful eyes, for they knew that the new players could dictate the rise or fall of gods.
Small AN:
First song(it's mine, no copying!) roughly translates to:
Hello Master,
Hello Gods,
Hello children of Gods.
Second one is Dies Irae, Latin version, and here's English:
Day of wrath and doom impending,
David's word with Sibyl's blending,
Heaven and earth in ashes ending!
Here's the absolutely brilliant remake of said hymn on Youtube: /watch?v=pDaFVgQ8LVc I listened to it as I made this fic!