The son of Metis soon arrive,
And cause the godly reign to thrive
The prophecy once again is nigh
And soon the tyrant king will die.
Mother?! Athena marveled to herself as she felt a presence enter her mind. She put her hand to her head and closed her eyes as Metis, her mother showed herself in the form of a young girl, wearing a paisley skirt and white shoes. Athena mentally bowed her head in deference, but otherwise remained outwardly emotive. Apollo looked over to Athena, having also received the prophecy, and knew that mother and daughter were currently having a mental conversation.
Yes, my dear Athene! The girl said, smiling at her, with a crazed look in her eye. We will finally be respected by those foolish Olympians! they think they are strong? We will show them the true strength of the house of Metis! Athena scowled and rubbed her eyebrows. Apollo also scowled, as he tried to garner Athena's attention without mentally interrupting her conversation with whoever she was speaking to (her mother). Or at least that's what Apollo assumed, but he was interrupted by a thundering howl as Zeus clutched his head and began to roll around in pain, his breaths thready and unstable.
All eyes turned to Apollo or Athena, Apollo for his medical expertise and Athena because she had been the result of the last event of this magnitude. Apollo moved over to the king of the skies' side and chanted a sutra next to his father's head, causing him to stop his horrible groaning and pain. He called forward Hephaestus and Poseidon to help him, he asked Hephaestus to grab his hammer and told Poseidon to hold down one of Zeus' arms. As the smith god swung his mighty hammer, getting revenge for being thrown from the heavens, Apollo looked up to Athena and shot her a look that demanded explanation. Athena sighed and made a psychic connection to Apollo.
My mother has become pregnant again Athena said, looking down, abashed. With Kronos. I don't know how it happened, or when, but the boy is coming, and he shall be the final child. Apollo looked up from his position holding Zeus down and stared at Athena, his face slack as the news slowly sank in. Suddenly, with one final swing, a blinding purple light appeared, signaling the entrance of a new god.
Instead of the grand spectacle that Athena was when she exited Zeus' head, screaming a war-cry in full battle armor, this god appeared calmly and meekly, lying prostrate on his stomach, unconscious. Zeus soon passed out as well, falling onto Hephaestus' barrel-chest, and then being unceremoniously dropped, flat onto his face.
Knowing that Zeus would recover soon enough, and that the final child of a Titaness, and the Titan Lord of Time was higher on the priority scale, Apollo moved to provide medical aid to the new god first. As soon as Apollo put the cool metal of his stethoscope to the new arrival's chest, the previously prostrate boy leapt up and gave a quick yell, sending Apollo into early cardiopulmonary-arrest and causing everyone else in the throne room to jump out of their thrones.
"Holy shit! That was hilarious! Ya'll were like!" Here he made a face, and mockingly replayed the assembled gods' reactions. Hermes was the first to recover, while Apollo was still unconscious and turning blue on the floor. Always the first to enjoy a prank, Hermes began laughing as well, giving the new comedian a round of applause. "It was like a bad horror movie! Think Psycho, plus like Paranormal Activity and then add the Saw, and you guys were like that!"
"And plus, I think sunshine's dead." He said, gesturing to Apollo over his shoulder nonchalantly. He looked around the throne room as Hephaestus moved to Apollo's side, beckoning for Hebe from her place as cupbearer. As the mysterious figure's eyes fell on Athena they widened and a sly grin spread across his face. "Hello sister, it's been a while." Here, he paused, but as soon as Athena was about to respond, he interrupted her again. "In fact, when I last saw you, I was only about half formed, and you liked to stab me with your spear, over and over, and over again, using me as a punching bag." His sly grin faded, and now he stared at her without even a quirk of humor on his lips. "But hey, live and let live, right?"
As he finished his speech, he passed out, and fell face forward onto the marble of the throne room floor. As he laid there, something strange happened, almost as strange as the original appearance. A small portal opened up and a fox slipped through the portal, seemingly a ripple spread across the air and the fox leapt through nimbly, and laid beside the now sleeping boy, and in the fox's jaws was a staff made of yew wood, sanded smooth with a shepherds crook at one end, and a metal cap piece on either side.
"The boy's name is Perseus, but he is known by many names, sometimes as Loki, sometimes as Jester, sometimes Trickster, and even as Raven, but he is the god of treachery and deceit, and of heroes and time. He will be difficult to teach, and he will be rebellious, but once you gain his trust, he is invaluable." The fox said, looking up at the council, or what was left of it as Athena stared blankly at her hands in her lap, the full realization of the craftiness and cunning of Kronos' plan hitting her full force. Hephaestus had a god over each shoulder as he teleported to the infirmary with Zeus, and Apollo and finally, Hebe dragged Perseus. Hera was still in a bit of shock from the entire incident, along with Aphrodite, Demeter, and Artemis. Hermes was curious as to this new companion on the outside, but on the inside, he was begging and pleading that this boy could save Luke from his horrible fate. Dionysus didn't care, and Ares was too busy spurring on world war three to pay attention. If they had been paying attention, however, they would have seen Poseidon walking over to a dejected and despairing Athena, and pulling her into a hug. A sight that hadn't appeared since the fall of Greece, until now. Finally, after a few moments of a catatonic Athena, Poseidon picked her up and teleported away with her to the infirmary.
"As the Queen of the Gods, I call this meeting to a close, you are dismissed." Hera called, still thinking through Zeus' next child, and the changes he would bring about. As soon as she dismissed the council, she too teleported to the place where she found herself most comfortable, her own palace, a private sanctum where she could let her anger, and sadness, and despair, her bedroom, with a godly sized bed, pillows made of downy feathers of pegasi, and a comforter that was sown from the winds themselves. Hera threw herself onto her bed and screamed into her pillow, kicking her feet into the mattress, so angry at all the crap going on that she was willing to let her façade of anger break for the first time in eight millennia, she cried. Hera was a strong and stubborn goddess, always one to fight for what she wants, but even she had her limitations, after Apollo, Hermes, Artemis, Athena, Heracles, and Perseus, and now, finally the little bitch Thalia, but this was the final nail in the coffin. Another child of Metis would undoubtedly be a disaster, what with the prophecy and the already growing tally of bastard children, Zeus was screwed ten times till Tuesday. Perseus is the child of the prophecy, and he will overthrow Zeus. Hera could never stand it, being thrust into the background, never to be heard from again, only to end like her sister, slowly dissolving into the background, fading, powerless.
"Queen Hera, your husband wishes to see you, you are needed in the infirmary. It seems that he is awake again." A nymph, merdyl, was her name, stood hesitantly outside the queen's door, hoping that the queen wouldn't curse her for disrupting her "alone time". Hera stood from her place on the bed and caused the tearstains and dripping make up to vanish, leaving her skin unmarred, and unblemished. She opened her door and thanked the nymph, and flashed away.
The infirmary was a busy place, even after Hephaestus had left, there was still a feeling of cramped discomfort. The infirmary was rarely occupied, because gods healed faster than mortals, and could usually heal themselves, but today it had three occupants, and one of them was the main doctor of the infirmary. In the first bed upon entering, Hera saw Apollo with a needle in his arm, attached to a tube with a bag of what appeared to be ichor on the other end. In the next bed was Zeus, with bandages covering his usually thick head of hair, and in the final bed, chained to the bed was Perseus, writhing and roaring in agony. His back arched and his eyes seemed to suck in light from around him, and he seemed to go in and out of godly form, unable to keep stable. In the chair beside his bed sat Athena, looking like she was about to cry, with shaking hands, she did the only thing she could, she wiped his forehead of sweat when his body relaxed and he dropped out of godly form. Nymphs flew back and forth, checking the vitals of all the patients, and bowing to Hera as she passed. She waved them on and beckoned to Aescipules, the god of surgeons and medicine. He hurried over, frazzled, and told her how all the patients were doing, as she stood, staring down at Zeus.
"Zeus is unconscious, but he is stubborn, and will pull through. Apollo had regained consciousness, but is now asleep, completely wiped from his brush with mortal death. Perseus is imbalanced, not used to having to support his own power inside his body. If he doesn't balance out, he'll forcefully fade, and we'll be unable to resuscitate him." Aescipules said, looking at his chart, but his eyes flickered back to Hera. Hera looked down at Zeus with contempt, but she could do something about it now.
"Is there anything that we can do to rebalance Perseus?" Athena asked, having overheard Aescipules' report to Hera. "Please? He's my brother, and he needs help."
"There is nothing we can do. He is a titan in the body of a godling, without a viable titan that would allow him to take over his body, there's not-" Aescipules began, until he was disturbed by Apollo, who had only woken up to hear Athena's plea.
"There is one thing we could do, but it is dangerous, and risky, and dicey, so we'll need to be quick." Apollo took a deep breath and stood up, moving over to Perseus' bed, sitting down in the chair beside Athena. "This is the first time we've ever had a chance to test it out, but I've been working on a theory that would guarantee the safety of a god's essence, but would reduce its power to zero. It's called essence separation theory, or EST. We would separate Perseus' essence into different containers, keeping him alive, but without keeping him solely in his body. I would suggest congregating his essence into his different spheres of control. Therefore, he could remain in control of them."
"No! Let…Me! War…Need…Heroes…" Perseus called out, in fervor of shallow breaths. Athena stepped up to his bedside and placed her hand on his, seeking warmth in her newly discovered brother. "Athena…I…Love…" Suddenly, Perseus went back into a fit of seizing, as his back arched and his hand clenched around Athena's hand, and he began panting, going into and out of his godly form. Hera finally had to grab Athena's other hand with disdain and march her out of the infirmary, still blustering at her thoughts of Zeus.
"You can come back in now." Apollo stuck his head out of the infirmary again a few minutes later, covered in sweat and panting. Hera and Athena stepped in and noticed that the feeling of heaviness that had previously resided over the infirmary was gone, and Perseus was no longer ethereally seizing, and was instead, sleeping peacefully. Athena stepped up beside him and took his hand, glad that her last remaining family would survive.
"He was touch and go there for a while, but he's stable now, and as for Zeus: he's only pretending to get the nymphs to lean over his bed." Apollo said, nodding his head in the direction of Zeus. Hera almost screamed, she was just never good enough for Zeus, was she?
"That's…dumb." Perseus murmured from his bed. "His wife is right here. That's just tactless." Perseus looked over at Zeus and Hera and frowned, shaking his head at the glare that Hera was sending to Zeus, while Zeus, though begrudgingly, began to get up from his hospital bed and button his shirt up again.
"Zeus, you bastard, I'm sick of it." Hera began, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "I'm sick of you leaving me to sit and be some shut-in wife that you don't care for. I hate you, and I hope that Perseus overthrows you, even if I'm no longer queen." Hera finished, quietly, tears streaming from her eyes. Perseus sat up from his bed and looked over at Hera questioningly, until he finally stood up and walked over to Hera's side, looking down at Zeus, smiling madly.
"So, Zeus, how does it feel to know that I am your demise?" Perseus asked, looking down at the currently writhing king of the gods. He reached over to Hera's hand and took it in his own, looking over to her. "Hera, the reign of Zeus is over, and I don't plan on harming you, so don't worry, when this is over, I will help you punish him, and some of his children. I don't really know you, but I'm currently going through my teenage rebellion stage, and neither my father, nor my mother like you, so I do like you. So come to me, and my side, and I'll let you retain your place as queen of the gods, and you could rule at the side of a more worthy king, definitely not me, but a better king nonetheless." Hera looked between Zeus and Perseus for a few moments, but finally shook her head softly and went to stand by Zeus' head. Perseus looked at her with a confused expression on his face, but finally nodded and looked at her sadly, stepping over to Apollo and Athena.
"So, Apollo, Athena, will you join me in my quest to bring peace to America?" He asked, pulling the two close to him. Apollo shook his head and stepped away from the two, looking guilty, but Athena merely remained silent, staring at her brother, and shook her head. Perseus pulled away and nodded, his eyes wide, but there was not anger in his face. He just looked sad.
"You stand alone at the foot of giants, and you show such courage, but your demise is inevitable. I suggest you simply sit back, and fall in line, because you cannot win this war, son of Metis." Zeus said as he stood up from his position, placing his hand on Hera's shoulder, causing her to flinch.
"Okay, just let me go…write up a surrender treaty." He said, snarling the last few words.
As Perseus walked through Olympus, thoroughly lost, but pretending he isn't. He walked purposefully in no direction in particular, and found himself in a garden surrounded by marble statues and flowering blooms of all shapes and sizes. He walked into one small cove where he found a plethora of nuts and acorns strewn across the ground, and a statue of Zeus across from him. Without thinking, Perseus leaned down while still walking purposefully and scooped up three acorns and threw them up in the air. As the acorns fell, Perseus whipped out a cane, which seemed to appear out of thin air, and hit all three acorns with a swift blow, and just as the first two acorns hit the Zeus statue in both of his eyes, the third acorn was abruptly pulled out of its path, and punctured by a silver arrow. Perseus turned toward the shooter and gave her an almost tired glance before without warning; he launched two pinecones at Artemis. She quickly drew two more arrows and fired them off with perfect accuracy, shattering both of them in midair. This time, the auburn haired goddess drew an arrow first and fired at him, but he batted it aside, into the statue of Zeus with his cane and Zeus' head shattered and Perseus smiled. Artemis glowered at him and drew another arrow before the staff began to transform, until soon it was a long, wicked sharp katana, which he held skillfully, aiming it downward, while holding his the hilt at eye level. Artemis raised an eyebrow but fired her bow anyway, the arrow being split in two by a quick swipe of his katana.
"You can't keep this up forever."
"Neither can you." Perseus replied calmly, his katana changing back into a staff, before it turned into a brass snake that slithered up his sleeve and vanished into his skin. Artemis let her bow lower slightly and smiled.
"So, why are you here?" Artemis asked, looking down as she let her bow fade into moonlight. Perseus smiled and walked over to a bench and sat down, shrugging.
"I could ask you the same thing. I thought that all of the Olympians would be huddling together and discussing how to quietly send me home and keep me from interfering any longer." Perseus smiled glumly and looked her up and down. She was petite, small, and nimble. She had almost mid-back length ginger auburn hair and eerie opalescent silver yellow eyes that seemed to glow, casting shadows along her sharp cheekbones. She looked young, but she was beautiful, or at least she would be when she grew up. Artemis, though subconsciously, was doing the same. Perseus was tall, much taller than normal mortals, with a thick, long mane of black, almost blue hair, and piercing target eye irises. The inside ring of his irises were gold, while the center ring was gray and the outer ring of his iris was a strange brassy color, and his eyelashes were like feathers, thick and dark.
"I don't agree with them. They're too paranoid, and I have my own friends who the gods don't trust, and even though you're a boy, you seem…interesting. I'm curious, but I have no plans of becoming your friend. I don't trust you, but you're talented, therefore, you should become an ally, not a hindrance." Artemis then paused and her eyes narrowed, and suddenly she launched an arrow into the tree line.
"Eek!" There came a voice from behind a tree. "Don't hurt me! I- I just- don't hurt me!" Aphrodite sashayed out from behind the tree, trying to look as dignified as possible with an arrow inches from her head. Perseus looked at her, and instantly, was entranced. She was his definition of beauty, with long, thick eyelashes that rounded violet eyes and curly brunette hair that billowed out around her shoulders and went down to the small of her back. Artemis rolled her eyes as Perseus sucked in a big gulp of air and brushed his hair back. All men acted this way around Aphrodite. Sometimes Artemis just wanted to rip some men's head's off, but it wasn't because they were disrespecting women. It just seemed that no one paid attention to Artemis like that. Artemis didn't care when she was actually twelve, but now that she was mature, she sought a partner, or a helpmeet. There was no one that paid attention to her as much as they paid attention to Aphrodite. Maybe it was jealousy, but Artemis hated how it made her feel. But she hated how boys looked at Aphrodite more.
"Though it appears that you aren't alone either." Aphrodite said as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Perseus and winked. "So, are you two kids having fun, or is Artemis being her usual, boring, celibate self. Because if you aren't having fun Perseus, then maybe you and I can have some fun later."
Perseus smiled and opened his mouth and said. "Sure, but you have to tell me something." Perseus put his hand to his chin and paused. "Do I look stupid? Or do you just try this on every guy you meet?" He asked, wiping away the shrouding mist that Aphrodite contorted around her. The mist was being held together by Aphrodite's willpower, but Perseus' willpower was stronger. He sliced through it like shears through fabric, and pierced the veil. Aphrodite was scared, a terrified little girl that used sex and lust to protect herself from the big bad world outside. She didn't like reaching out emotionally herself, so she used others as chess pieces, just to stay above it all.
"Interesting…" He mused, looking through the mist and focusing on what Aphrodite was beyond the shell. She was a sixteen year old girl who didn't like how she looked. She had pale skin and brunette hair. She had large hazel eyes and thin lips, with eyelashes that darkened her entire face, and low bangs.
"Hello there!" Perseus said, once the mist had been peeled away. "There's the real you. How are you?" He asked, and for the first time in a long time, Aphrodite felt very naked, even more naked than when she was naked, she was bare, and exposed.
"How- How did you do that?" Aphrodite asked, covering herself with her hands, even though she was fully dressed in a long red dress. She looked panicked, and for a moment, she blushed and let a tear drop down her cheek.
"There's no way!" Aphrodite shrieked. "I'm more capable with the mist than even Hecate herself. You couldn't cut away my powers if I allowed it. Hecate herself has tried and failed, in fact, every god has tried and failed…How?" She asked, and Perseus simply smiled.
"Love, is an emotion, the mist is a lie, and I live on lies, and have completely different emotions than the rest of you. In the back of their minds, they didn't want to see the real you, they wanted to see you as you were, but me, I think you look better this way. Truth makes me…well, happy. When you used the mist to lie, it made me angry."
"Artemis, can you see this?" Aphrodite asked, emphasizing herself, and Artemis gave her a confused look and asked.
"See what? It's just you." Artemis tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. She saw Aphrodite just the same, but Perseus seemed to be seeing something completely different.
"You know, you're not a bad looking person, but I'm sorry, even when you're my type, you're not my type. I prefer people who are real, your control over the mist, though much like mine, is rather off-putting. So, just be honest with yourself, and to everyone else. Otherwise, you seem like a bit of a bitch." Perseus said, looking at her piteously. He walked up to her without another word and put his arm around her petite shoulders. She was still shivering, but she seemed calmer now.
"So, Artemis, why don't you show me around Olympus?" Perseus asked, pulling Aphrodite along with him, toward Artemis. He wrapped his other arm around Artemis and they all moved out of the clearing whose only occupant now was a decapitated Zeus statue. Artemis and Aphrodite being together was a rare sight, but them talking and actually laughing together was even stranger.
This Line Is The Most Broken Line You Will Ever See.
"This is working so much better than I had hoped!" Metis said as she laughed in delight, throwing her head back and cackling at the ceiling. "So much change already, and in only one day. Soon my son will overthrow the very roots of Olympus and rebuild their power under my name. I shall be queen again and I will not be usurped by that upstart Hera!" Metis clenched her fist, and stared down again at her son as he walked down the streets of Olympus with two valuable pieces in his arms. However, while she stared intently at the life of her son, her daughter fell apart. She had always felt alone because she only had her father to go to for advice or risk losing her pride. She couldn't even go to him now because he hated her brother as much as she loved him. She wanted to talk to her mother, but she was unresponsive. She wanted to talk to her brother, but he was convinced that she hated him, and she wanted to talk to her father, but he was directly opposed to her opinion about her brother.
"What do I do?" She asked, staring up, into the skies of Olympus, seeking wisdom from one higher than the gods. She had assumed that no answer would come, but even wisdom does not guarantee omniscience. An answer came in the form of Perseus, walking down the road, directly toward her.
"You get off your lazy ass. That's what you do. You knew me only as a dummy, and I didn't realize that before now, but now I realize that you are as much my sister as Percy is my child. I won't let you go, and I won't give up on you, so don't give up on me, because I'm going to be angry for a while, but I'll always love you." He said, smiling at her coyly and winking at her at the end. He then stood up and continued his descent to the bottom of Olympus, but when he was out of sight of Athena, he disappeared.
"Who's Percy?" Athena muttered to herself as she watched Perseus saunter off.