~PERCY~

The elevator ride up to Olympus was oddly silent, even with eight ADHD demigods crammed inside it. He caught a flash of blonde hair out of the corner of his eye and turned to look at his beautiful girlfriend, Annabeth, daughter of Athena, who squeezed his hand gently and nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder. His muscles relaxed, as they always did in her presence, but he still felt tense and on edge. Ever since that morning, when they'd received the news of their summons to Olympus, he'd been feeling a tingle of unease. His gut was telling him something was very, very wrong, and through almost six years of being a demigod, he'd learned to always trust his gut. And right now, his gut was screaming at him to run far, far away from Olympus. It didn't help that all his friends had admitted to feeling the same thing, as well, and made him dread what was awaiting them on Olympus. But as much as they wanted to flee, you just couldn't ignore a summons from Olympus.

"He looked around the tight space at his fellow demigods, teens that he would claim as his closest friends. Jason, blonde-haired and blue-eyed, his arm around Piper, still with her signature choppy hair and feathers (no matter how much her mother, Aphrodite, disapproved); Frank, who looked ready at any moment to turn into a dragon, or perhaps an iguana, Hazel beside him, her fourteen-karat gold irises shining with fear; Leo, fiddling with screws and tools as always, and Nico, standing silently in the shadows, his aura radiating death. And finally, Annabeth, her stormy grey eyes calculating as always, nestled against his side. He tightened his grip on her. As long as we're together, he thought, recalling their deadly trip to Tartarus. He looked around at his friends once again, and knew he would die to protect any one of them from harm. They were more than his friends - they were family now.

"Around the 200th floor, Leo couldn't take it anymore. "Who in Hades chose this elevator music?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

For the past fifteen minutes, they'd been listening to cringeworthy tracks that sounded like they were wailed by two-year-old screaming toddlers. Percy silently vowed never to take the elevator up to Olympus ever again, especially not with other ADHD demigods who could wreak havoc.

"Apollo, probably," he said with a shrug.

"For the god of music, his taste sucks," Leo muttered, and set to work with his tinkering once again.

Another fifteen minutes passed.

"A-ha!" Leo suddenly shouted triumphantly.

Everyone flinched, reaching for their weapons (not the best idea in a cramped elevator!) Annabeth's dagger nearly stabbed Percy's arm, Jason's gladius almost took Piper's eye out and sheared off a few locks in the process, and Frank accidentally turned into a bear and roared, taking everyone's eardrums with it.
"LEO!" they all yelled, putting away their weapons hastily. Frank turned back into himself, smiling sheepishly.

Leo held up his hands, grinning impishly, and fiddled around with his newly made contraption. Suddenly, loud music started blasting out of it, drowning out the tinny elevator music.

Percy was extremely impressed. He'd taken a woodworking class once in school, and let's just say that it did not go so well. He knew Leo was a son of Hephaestus and so had a natural talent for these sorts of things, but it was still kind of amazing to see him at it.

As if Apollo was listening in, at that moment the elevator music increased in volume so it could be heard over Leo's music. In retaliation, Leo cranked up the sound on his contraption ... and then a loud boom could be heard from the elevator. Leo looked triumphant.

"Ha! He broke the speakers," he said smugly, lowering the volume of the music so they could hear him again. Everyone present just rolled their eyes, used to his antics.

The feeling of trepidation only grew the closer they got to the throne room. Percy noted with unease that Olympus was oddly silent; the streets were vacant and the wind whistled eerily through them. It was like something out of a horror movie; but then again, much of his life had basically been a horror movie. He wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be a trap, knowing Zeus's paranoid nature, but there was nothing they could do about it. After all, they were only demigods; they were no match for the gods.

Olympus, normally so bright and lively, was suspiciously silent, the eternally present music and chatter gone. It even seemed duller in appearance, despite the lively colours. Every instinct in Percy's body told him to leave, leave now, but he couldn't. Annabeth pressed close to his side, one hand on her dagger, her grey eyes flitting everywhere, scoping out possible exits. It was more a habit than anything else; if any danger awaited them here, they would never escape. He gripped Riptide in pen form, glancing around at his companions, all who looked visibly tense. None of them had any idea what awaited them.

All of the buildings, even Apollo's temple that was normally supernaturally bright, were dark and looked uninhabited. As they advanced, Percy's eye caught a glimmer of light, and he stopped in his tracks. The throne room, less than ten paces ahead of them was lit up like a beacon, eclipsing the grim and silent buildings all around it, and he had to shield his eyes from the glare. It could easily be seen all the way from the elevator, and he wondered why they'd only noticed it now. The demigods exchanged uneasy glances, but in the end they could do nothing but face what laid inside.

The doors creaked as they swung open, and Percy winced internally but knew not to show any emotion to the Olympians. As one, every eye in the room turned to the newcomers, and Percy finally realized why Olympus seemed abandoned. The throne room was more packed than he'd ever seen it, with the Olympians, as usual, on their large thrones and a massive crowd of minor gods, nature spirits and even fellow demigods and Huntresses crowded behind the throne, some standing, some on chairs and even some on folding chairs. Alarm rose in Percy, and his body tensed imperceptibly. Beside him, Annabeth squeezed his hand tighter, almost to the point of pain, but he didn't complain, just held her closer. He felt his companions moving closer as well. He felt, more than saw, Annabeth's eyes scanning the room and reaching a conclusion.

"It looks like ... a trial," she whispered, her eyes flashing with fear. It was barely a breath, but the demigods, with their heightened senses, heard her words and reached for their weapons.