"BROTHER!"

Zeus did his best to keep a straight face as a tsunami poured into his throne room from the open door. As this happened quite regularly whenever Poseidon was throwing a tantrum, the younger god was quite good at it.

"Hello, brother. How are the salty seas today? I hope you don't mind, I did send a bit of a monsoon off of Thailand. If you're missing some water here or there, that's probably why."

"WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" The god shouted back, so furious that Zeus actually raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry; I didn't realise you were so attached to Indochina. Next time, I will definitely go easier on them. I was experimenting with different air currents. I recently saw Sharknado and I was wondering how feasible it could be," the king of the gods mused. "I think it is a safe assumption that, if the winds were strong enough to support a fully grown shark, they would likely rip the shark to pieces. I didn't actually try it, though, as I was actually trying to avoid this sort of chat."

"You think this is some kind of joke?! Sally is dead!" No more tsunamis, but the throne room shook as Poseidon slammed the butt of his trident down forcefully.

"Sally... Sally... Sally..." Zeus echoed experimentally, trying to figure out who Poseidon was talking about. "You ought to be more specific. There are an awful lot of-"

"You know exactly who I'm talking about! Sally Jackson!"

Zeus hid a scowl as he finally figured out what Poseidon was shouting about.

It hadn't been a very well kept secret that the lord of the seas had found a new conquest. The ocean had been much more calm and Lady Amphitrite, a usually gentle and relaxed woman, much less so. Between Hermes and Aphrodite, every minor deity from Olympus to the Underworld knew about it. Her death, though, that was news.

"The girl's dead?" Zeus asked, honestly surprised. Poseidon wordlessly roared with fury.

"OH REALLY? I hadn't heard!" he shouted out. "Why did you kill her?"

"Me?" The lord of the skies pointed a finger at himself. "Why would I have killed her? You think that, after the mess with that di Angelo woman and Hades, that I would have risked war again? And over a woman who will likely be dead within the next few decades anyway?"

"You- You..."

"I swear on the River Styx that I played no part in the death of Sally Jackson," Zeus swore almost casually. Thunder boomed all around the throne room and Zeus paused a moment, waiting for some sort of primordial justice. When nothing was forthcoming, he looked to Poseidon to see if the other god was satisfied. Instead of being satisfied, however, he merely looked... broken.

Poseidon's hands went slack and the trident slipped out of his grasp, clattering to the floor with an awful racket. The god fell to his knees shortly after, his face filled with pain.

Zeus swallowed, for the first time in centuries unsure of how he should proceed. He had loved and lost more than his fair share of women, after all, but he had a feeling that this was different. Eventually, he stepped down towards his brother's figure, ignoring the way the elder god's shoulders were shaking.

"What of the boy?" he asked as gently as he could. "Your son. What of him?"

"He's alive, but barely. I was too late. I should have-"

"You couldn't have predicted this," Zeus interrupted firmly. "I do not know who did this, but this shall not be forgotten, brother. I may not have cared for your woman but Hera would strike me dead if I didn't pity a motherless child.'

"What are you saying?"

"I cannot say for the rest of the gods but, if his life comes into question, I shall not raise my hand against him."

"Thank you... brother."

Poseidon didn't rise from his knees or speak another word but Zeus stood beside him, a hand on his shoulder and silence all he could further offer to his grieving brother.

"He cannot stay here, dear one," Amphitrite counseled to her husband, her voice almost chiding as Poseidon stared down at his son's sleeping face. He turned to look at her, his eyes cold.

"According to whom? You? The court?"

"The ancient laws decreed that no godly parent may directly affect their child's fate in the way that you intend. You have tried raising your own children before, my love, and each time the child suffers. You know the court as I do- they would be beyond pleased to have a young princeling in their company- but it cannot be so.

"He is your son, Poseidon," she continued, stepping closer to the cradle and studying the baby with a soft smile on her face. The smile didn't touch the deep sadness in her eyes. "He shall be powerful. If I am correct in my feeling, he shall be more powerful than the gods are ready for."

"And you think I should send him away for that?"

"I think," the queen of the seas began carefully, "that Perseus Jackson will be a great man. But if he stays here, is raised here, he may not be a good one."

"I cannot send him into the mortal world. Who there would be able to protect him?" Poseidon asked, desperately searching for a solid reason to guard himself against his wife's reasoning. It was a losing battle, however, and Amphitrite's sad smile only deepened as she opened her mouth to respond.

"I may know precisely who."

Hades sat atop his throne, eyes darker than usual as he stared at the floor without seeing. The lord of the dead, between his duties of overseeing the Underworld, ensuring the smoothness of its operations, and analyzing the lineup for the panel of judges, was brooding. While that wasn't totally out of character, the topic of his deep thought had changed greatly in recent weeks as more updates on the latest development between Zeus and Poseidon were whispered in his ear.

Zeus had knowingly done nothing to harm Sally Jackson or Perseus Jackson who, by the laws established after World War II, had no right to exist. His very life was forfeit. So why had Sally been allowed to live when Maria was killed? Why were Bianca and Nico targeted, why was Perseus spared? Zeus may pretend that he had learned from his mistake of angering his brother but Hades knew his brother well. Zeus never learned his lesson, otherwise he would have stopped cheating on his wife-the goddess of marriage and fidelity!-thousands of years ago. So why?

Maria's death may have been over fifty years ago, but the pain remained. He loved her, truly and honestly, and she-by the grace of gods older than him-had loved him back. The fact that her soul remained in the Underworld, taunting him with proximity, only twisted the blade in his old wounds.

Despite the new development with his brothers, Hades was wary. The children were as safe as they could be outside of the Underworld but if he so much as hinted that they survived, they would be thrust into danger. It wasn't fair to them or to him, though, that they remained locked in time while Perseus and Thalia were walking about, not to mention the son Zeus had fathered as Jupiter.

He would have to proceed with caution. Or, more likely, he would have to wait until a time when his brothers would be indebted to him. And what better to force his brothers to show their hands than to stir the pot?