Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material below. Only the plot.
"QUIET!" the king of the gods roared.
All of the chatter died down immediately, everyone straightening and looking at Zeus attentively.
"Now," he continued, a satisfied look on his face, "everyone knows why they are here, correct?"
"No, absolutely no clue," Leo muttered.
His remark attracted a few amused glances from the people in attendance. People, and gods, to be exact. A few gods had rolled their eyes, while the demigods around Leo had all cracked a grin. Fortunately for the son of Hephaestus, his voice did not penetrate Zeus' focus, as he was now on a roll.
"Thanks to the might and valor of the gods, Gaea and the giants have been defeated. The war was long and exhausting, but we managed to draw the strength needed to defeat the enemy. Just as the world seemed doomed, the gods, while battling their conflicted personalities, turned the tide in the final battle."
Zeus droned on, complimenting the Olympians on their prowess and valor. Finally, he halted in his speech.
Athena interrupted him. "Father?" Zeus turned to her, his mouth open. "Perhaps it is time to thank the heroes who did the small task of holding off the giants?"
"Oh, yes, of course," Zeus grumbled. "I would like to extend thanks to the heroes, Greek and Roman. Jason Grace!"
The son of Jupiter straightened and strode to his father.
"Son," Jupiter rumbled, "It is not the Roman way for the gods to recognize their children's accomplishments, however, this is a unique occasion. I offer you the gift of immortality, son, and should you accept, you shall be the timeless leader and protector of your camp. I shall also extend this offer to the rest of the demigods of the prophecy, and a select few, given your impact on the war."
Jason raised his head from his kneeling position. "I accept."
Jupiter nodded. "Good."
Hazel, Reyna, Leo, Piper, and Nico all accepted the gift of immortality. There had been a few complications, however. Leo had cracked a few jokes. Leo had also asked for Calypso's immediate release. Then Leo infuriated Zeus by declaring he didn't believe the promise would be kept, so he would get the goddess himself. After receiving his immortality, of course.
"Annabeth Chase," Athena called. Her face was etched with sympathy.
Annabeth slowly walked forward, her head drooping.
"My daughter," the goddess of wisdom said gently. "Will you accept the gift of immortality?"
All of the gods looked on expectantly.
"I decline," Annabeth answered in a tone prepped with steel.
All of the gods leaned forward, Zeus leaned back as if struck. "No?" he repeated incredulously. "Never should have let Jackson turn me down."
His remark attracted a few glares. "However," Annabeth began. "I would like to join the hunters, if the Lady Artemis would have me."
Artemis seemed surprised for a moment, then quickly concealed it. "The hunters would be glad to acquire a maid of your stature.
"Thank you, milady," Annabeth replied, walking back to her stunned friends.
"Now let the celebration commence!" Zeus yelled, rising from his throne.
The gods began to follow Zeus and exit the throne room.
"Wait!" shouted Leo. "What about the whole immortality thing," he inquired.
Leo looked down and started to examine himself. "Am I immortal?" he muttered. "Teleport!"
Zeus rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, I almost forgot."
"There is another matter that was forgotten," a sorrowful voice rumbled.
Gods and demigods alike turned to see a sorrowful Poseidon still sitting, defeated on his humble throne.
"And what was that, brother?" Zeus inquired.
"Perseus Jackson, my son," the lord of the seas replied with steel in his voice.
Zeus was not alone in shifting uncomfortably. "Uncle," Athena began.
Poseidon's eyes flashed. "I realize Perseus is dead, Athena," Poseidon barked. "However, I have a proposition."
"Brother," Hades started reluctantly.
"I also understand and comprehend the Ancient Laws fully," Poseidon said stiffly.
"Then I don't understand what you are suggesting," Athena replied exasperatedly.
Poseidon glowered at her. "I am sure you cannot."
Athena stepped forward with a snarl on her face. "You are not the only one who suffered, uncle," she snapped back.
"Enough," a voice that grabbed everybody's attention stated calmly.
The three Fates trudged into the majestic room, easily demanding the focus.
"Now," Clotho began, "it has been decided that Perseus Jackson shall be placed in the Isles of the Blest."
Hades perked up. "Wait a minute," he interrupted.
Clotho ignored him. "The same shall be done with Frank Zhang. This will be done not only because we say so, but because it is in all of your best interests."
With that, the small crowd parted once again at the door for the three hunched ladies to exit. The salty aroma of a light sea breeze gently permeated the air. Poseidon's throne was empty.
"Well," Zeus cleared his throat. "Hades, you obviously have some work to do. First, we have to address the matter of the demigods immortality."
The six immortals and Annabeth sat circled around the fire, silent. A slight breeze ruffled the soft grass that they relaxed on. Camp Half-Blood seemed to be a cut out of a different world to the heroes. It didn't reflect their current emotions. A serene and peaceful hideaway that harbored seven scarred souls. It should have been a night of celebration. It was the perfect night; no doubt the gods possessed a part in that. However, all was not right.
"We started with seven, and ended with seven," Hazel Levesque reflected bitterly, absentmindedly examining a hefty ruby.
"It could be worse," Leo offered, earning a glare from Hazel. "All of us could be dead."
"I don't know if that is a much worse alternative," Nico di Angelo muttered darkly.
Jason shifted uncomfortably, removing his arm from Piper. "Guys, Leo's right. Percy and Frank wouldn't want us moping around."
"Easy for you to say," Hazel retorted. Annabeth remained silent.
Piper uneasily looked at the mourning daughter of Pluto. "Hazel," she said in a soothing voice. "He's right."
Hazel glowered at her, dropping the ruby. "Don't even try to use your charmspeak on me," she growled.
Leo stood up. "Everyone needs to calm down," he attempted, gesturing peacefully. "I mean, hey, we're immortal now."
Reyna had been quiet up until this point. "Valdez, though I admire your attempt at humor, I would advise you to drop it."
"Woah there, it's not my fault you don't have a sense of humor," Leo countered.
"Come on," Jason stood up, getting in between a murderous Reyna and a defensive Leo. "Let's not do anything stupid."
Reyna's eyes flashed as her hand went to her sword. "What is funny is how quickly your allegiance changes, Jason."
Piper quickly rose to stand by Jason. "And don't you even get involved in this," Reyna said to Piper, turning to her.
Jason's hand flew to his sword. "Leave her out of this, Reyna."
Hazel rose from her sitting position to stand by Reyna. "She has a point," Hazel said, drawing a stunned look from Jason. "You're quick to side with the Greeks."
"What does that have anything to do with this?" he shouted in outrage.
A chill ran through the air as Nico drew his sword. "Don't yell at my sister," he threatened, deadly serious.
The flames licked the air, hissing in anticipation while Reyna, Hazel, and Nico stared down an angry Jason, Piper, and Leo. Two daggers, two swords, a spear, and a hammer were drawn.
"Knock it off, now," Annabeth commanded.
Startled, everyone spun to her. Her grey eyes stormed with an anger that conveyed power and wrath, befitting of a goddess. She seemed to grow taller and more threatening, while the others shrank. She resembled her mother.
"You are all bickering like little children, it's disgusting," she spat vehemently. "The only one I have sympathy for is Hazel. The rest of you have nothing to be complaining about. You were just made immortal, for Zeus' sake."
The six new immortals bowed their heads in embarrassment. They all knew she was right.
Jason stepped forward. "Annabeth, you're right," he said regretfully. "I want to apologize to you for not even recognizing the pain you are in right now."
"I was the one who started the whole argument," Reyna acknowledged, drawing a few surprised looks. "What, I can apologize too," she grumbled.
"Wow," Leo said, feigning shock. "This is even more amazing than the defeat of the giants." Reyna turned to him. "Too soon?" he asked, a smile on his face.
Everyone chuckled, even Reyna, and they sat down again. The silence this time was more peaceful, not so tense and stressed.
"So what now?" Piper asked, breaking the silence.
Jason turned to her. "What do you mean?"
"Well, we're all gods now, besides Annabeth. But she'll still be immortal. So I'm assuming that has something to do with her question," Leo responded.
"I'm joining the hunters, as you all know," Annabeth said. She then frowned. "Leo, what's the whole thing with Calypso?"
Leo blushed, obviously uncomfortable. "Well, you see..."
He began to describe to them what had really happened when he had myteriously disappeared on the route to Epirus.
"Now I'm going to find her," he declared.
Piper shook her head in amazement. "I knew something was up. I never believed your story."
Jason once again put his arm around Piper. "Well, Piper and I are thinking of taking a nice vacation somewhere. Preferably somewhere relaxing."
"And someone has to lead Rome, at least for a bit," Reyna said, throwing the couple an irritated glance. "We can't have an immortal praetor."
Jason grimaced. "You'll need two new praetors then. Since I gave mine to Frank..." he trailed off.
Hazel cleared her throat. "I've already talked it over with Nico," she looked at him. "And I'm going to try to talk to Frank."
Jason raised an eyebrow. "Is that wise?"
It was Nico who answered. "How do you think I found Hazel?"
The seven friends stared into the dancing flames. A wolf howled in the distance. And bright lights flashed in the sky.
"So this is it?" Leo said to no one in particular. "The end of the seven?"
"What are you talking about, Leo?" Pipere asked confusedly, mirroring the looks of the rest, excluding Nico and Annabeth.
"Nevermind," Leo muttered.
The moon began to rise as the night began to lengthen. The companions were conversing idly, covered in a veil of sorrow and peace. Finally, as the moon shone its brightest, the daughter of Athena got to her feet and smiled sadly at her friends.
"I have to go now," she told them. "Artemis is expecting me."
After several hugs, Annabeth departed, beginning a long trek down a new path.
Soon after, Nico left with Hazel, then Reyna decided it was time to go back to Camp Jupiter. The only two remaining were fast asleep against each other.
I hope this chapter was enjoyable and the plot is different. I haven't seen too many stories that have Percy dead, and I just wanted to try it. This chapter was a bit boring for me to write, and very short. The next one will most definitely feature Percy Jackson and his new adventure. And a bit of a spoiler, he won't be dead for long.