"So why are we here, again?" Leo asked while he, Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Jason and Percy were standing in The Empire State Building's elevator on their way to the 600th floor.
The elevator-music was just as bad as last time Percy was there. The song 'Staying Alive' played from the speakers.
"Because, I have an important matter to talk to them about," Percy said.
"But why now?" Jason demanded. He, Frank and Hazel didn't seem very comfortable there in the elevator.
"It's Winter Solstice. All the gods are gathered by the solstices," Annabeth told him.
Piper pushed some hair behind her ear. "What is it you need to talk to them about?"
"You'll see," Percy murmured as the elevator door opened.
Percy and the others stepped out of the elevator and looked around. They were about two kilometers over New York. There was a long, white, suspension bridge. The main road looked like it did before the second Titan War; curved with grayish-white slabs. Dryads, nymphs and other creatures walked around, and some of them stopped up by the sight of Percy and his friends.
"It feels weird to be here," Hazel said and sank.
Leo gave her a weird look. "Are you kidding? This place is awesome!"
"Come one, guys," Percy said and walked towards the palace.
Annabeth came up beside him and took her hand in his. "Are you sure about this?"
Percy looked at statue of Ares, and shook his head. Ares tried to look attractive and intimidating at the same time. It didn't work. He just looked even more ugly, if possible.
"The gods gave an oath. They couldn't even keep that oath for more than a year, so yearh, I'm pretty sure that I got to remind them about that oath." Percy stopped up and stared at the snack-bar that Annabeth had created. "Dam snack-bar."
"There it is again!" Piper said. "What is it with that 'dam' thing?"
Percy laughed, which just made Piper looking weird at Annabeth.
Annabeth held her hands up. "Oh, don't ask me."
"It was a time when Annabeth and Artemis had been captured by the titan Atlas, so Thalia, Grover, the huntress Zoë – who's dead – and Nico's sister, Bianca, was on a quest saving them. We visited the Dover Dam," Percy told them. "Then Zoë said that we should go and get some food by the dam snack-bar, which made Grover laugh and say that he could use some DAM French fries and then …. Well, it kind of kept going for a while."
"Oh," Frank said. "I don't get it."
Then Percy laughed again.
"What?" Frank demanded
"Zoë said that too," Percy and kept laughing. Then he looked at the snack-bar again. "Great job here by the way, Annabeth."
"Thanks," Annabeth blushed.
They stood right in front of the golden gate. It was the only thing in Olympus that wasn't white.
Percy looked at his friends. Only Annabeth seemed to be just as calm as Percy. Leo looked really fascinated, and Piper seemed nervous.
But it was a totally different story with Jason, Hazel and Frank. They looked uncomfortable, like they didn't feel like they were supposed to be there. They weren't, but Percy didn't think that the Greek gods were going to pulverize some Roman demigods for coming there, but of course; you never knew.
Percy opened the gate to the throne room, and took two steps inside. Annabeth and the others followed him.
The gods just looked at them as if they tried to find a reason for seven demigods to come up there.
"How dare you interrupt our council?" Zeus rumbled even before Percy got to say anything.
"Relax, brother," Poseidon said and stood. He looked at Percy. "I'm sure there's a good reason for them to come up here."
"There is," Percy promised and walked in to the middle of the throne room. First he bowed to Zeus and then he kneeled at my father's feet, just as the last time he was there.
"Rise, my son, and tell us what you have in mind," Poseidon said.
Percy stood and winked at Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel and Frank. They came up beside him, and bowed to Zeus.
Annabeth, Leo and Piper bowed to their parents as well.
"Right after the second Titan war two years ago you all gave an oath." Percy said and clenched his fists. "You promised to properly recognize all your demigod children. You promised to claim them in an age of thirteen."
Percy looked at the gods. "You didn't keep that oath. Those two," Percy pointed at Leo and Piper, "weren't claimed before last year, when they were 15 years old. You stopped contacting us expect when we found new demigods, even though you promised not to ignore us."
Zeus looked furious. "You dare accusing us …"
"We'll come to that," Percy said. "But that's not the point. The point is that we needed you."
"We still need you," Annabeth added.
The gods looked confused now. Poseidon leaned forward in his throne. "What do you mean?"
Percy took a deep breath and said, "Two years ago Rachel, the new oracle, came with a new great prophesy …"
Annabeth quoted:
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire, the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
Some of the gods frowned.
"Two years ago," Percy said, "Annabeth and I didn't know what it meant. Now we do."
"So what does it mean?" Apollo asked.
"Well, we've already been through the first phrase." Percy said.
Hera smiled.
"Hera made an exchange," Annabeth told the gods. "An exchange between two leaders of two different camps: the Roman camp and Camp Half-blood."
"Hera stole Jason's" – Percy nodded towards Jason – "and my memories. She sent Jason to Camp Half-blood, and sent me to the Roman camp. That was a way for the two camps to learn about each other's existence."
Zeus gazed at Hera. He didn't look pleased. "And the seven half-bloods …"
"Are us," Annabeth finished. "Jason, Hazel and Frank here, from the Roman camp and Percy, Piper, Leo and me from Camp Half-blood."
"What about the last three phrases?" Athena demanded.
"Gaia is awaking," Percy said.
The gods looked uncomfortable about the news. Only Hera didn't look surprised.
"She played with your mind, Zeus," Percy continued. "She made you think, that you don't need us, but the fact is that you do. A giant can only be killed by a demigod and a god working together for an instance."
"'To storm or fire the world must fall' that's Gaea who has to fall to even storm or fire," Annabeth told the gods.
"She's planning on avenging the Titans' fall." Percy said. "And the third phrase means that you have an oath to keep; the oath about not ignoring your children."
"Couldn't it mean something different?" Athena demanded.
Percy exchanged looks with Annabeth. Then he took a deep breath. "It could also mean that someone will have to keep and oath as they're dying."
"And the last phrase," Annabeth said, "And foes bear arms to the doors of death …"
Annabeth took Percy's hand and squeezed it, as Percy looked from Annabeth to his other friends to Athena to Poseidon. When he spoke again, his voice was shaking a little bit. "The Romans, who we've always considered as enemies, will together find the doors of death. Which by the way is forced opened."