A/N: Hello everybody! Welcome to my second chapter of my second fanfiction ever. I was amazed at the extremely positive reaction from everybody reflected in the number of views, favorites and follows. The reviews were also very positive and to the people that took the time to review this story in the first day, THANK YOU Comiclive, LegacyOfIris, and Khaos20. I encourage people to review and comment on my stories and to vote in the comments/reviews about what pairings should happen. I will try to update about every three days to a week, as I just got on winter break and have a lot of spare time on my hands to just write.
BTW, check out my other story Legacies of Olympus and read and review it so I have an idea of which of these two stories I should put most of my time into, because this has had much more of a positive reaction as far as views and reviews goes, but the other one I have more future plans for.
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO, Rick Riordan does. Even though it would be hilarious if a fanfiction writer was the author of the source material.
Enjoy:)
-MFCO16
Mount Olympus, Greece, 2000 BC
3rd Person POV
The torches of Mount Olympus blazed in the night, as a lone figure made her way down the near empty streets to the throne room. She didn't usually leave the throne room, but even if it was the winter solstice, her lack of presence would not be noted by the other Olympians. She finally made her way to the throne room where the other gods of Olympus were located, even her younger brother Hades. She snuck past the minor gods and made her way to the Hearth, where she continued her usual job of stoking the fire and keeping the council as calm as she could. Her youngest brother Zeus was being berated with insults and complaints by Hera about some new demigod of his or something, while the other Olympians were either not paying attention or arguing amongst themselves. Aphrodite was arguing with Artemis about being a prude and telling her she should break her vow while Artemis called her a slut. Athena and Poseidon were shooting insults back and forth about some misdeed one has done to the other. Apollo and Hermes were whispering and gesturing to the other gods, snickering every so often. Ares just sat in his chair and sharpened a sword, while Hades polished his symbol of power, but had a troubled look on his face.
The eldest son of Kronos roughly put his Helm on the arm of his throne, and spoke up at the council.
"Zeus! Are we going to argue like petty mortals all night or are we going to actually come to a decision on how to fix these problems!?" he yelled at Zeus and the council. They looked at him with baffled expressions on their faces and then some anger as they became red faced at his words.
"And what exactly do you need to say brother." Zeus said condescendingly. Hestia couldn't help but notice how her brother's position of power has affected him so much over the years. The once just and powerful king was now a jealous and petty ruler, consumed by power and paranoia.
"There is something in the ocean. I'm sure Poseidon has felt it too, but regardless there is something out there that has been killing hundreds of mortals unlucky enough to find it or seek it out. Only a few have ever escaped and that is because they never actually went on the island." Hades said. Something seemed to click in Poseidon's eyes as he remembered why he was at the council, but Athena's constant barrage of insults and teases distracted him.
"How do you know of this?" Poseidon questioned him.
"Hundreds upon hundreds of souls have been entering my domain for the last few hundred years. All with similar injuries and with similar tales of the thingthat killed them." Hades said.
"Yes, I have been sensing a throb of energy in the ocean, but I never thought it was anything important. It had the scent of an average sea monster or maybe bigger." Poseidon said.
"What have the dead been telling you about this creature?" Athena questioned from across the throne room. The eyes of the minor gods and Olympians were officially trained on the discussion now, the possibility of a new monster or threat garnering their attention.
"They have told me it looked like a normal human at first, but as they got closer, they noticed it had wings and when it saw them, it changed." The Olympians were now leaning forward in their thrones as Hades told of the monster. Artemis was especially attentive at the prospect of a new monster to hunt and add to her collection.
"What did it change to?" Athena asked, conjuring a notepad and quill pen to draw what Hades described.
"They said that it grew claws and obsidian scales and fangs before it breathed black hell fire and killed them with a sword. I know that hellfire is part of my domain but this is no son or creation of mine." Hades said as Athena scribbled on her pad and parchment.
"What should we do about it?" Apollo said from his throne, finally paying attention to the meeting.
"Father, let me hunt it." Artemis said from her throne.
"No, we do not know what sort of power this creature possesses. We will send a demigod on a quest for this monster." Zeus said. Artemis gained a look of outrage on her face at her father's denial of her request.
"But father I-" Artemis began.
"No Artemis. Let one of our children deal with this. Apollo, consult your oracle." Zeus said. Apollo gave a quick nod a sunk back into his throne and closed his eyes to focus. The gods and goddesses in the room waited with baited breath as the sun god focused. After a few minutes of waiting, some of the goddesses were becoming impatient.
"Apollo, what is taking you so long!?" Artemis barked at her brother, still angry at her father's lack of faith in her skills.
"I don't know," he managed to say through grated teeth "the oracle won't cooperate. I can feel something blocking me."
The gods in the room began to get nervous that the oracle might have been captured. Zeus quickly thought of a solution.
"Apollo, go to Delphi and bring your oracle here." Zeus said. Apollo unsurely nodded but flashed out none the less.
Apollo flashed back with a beautiful girl next to him, who he quickly caught as she vomited on the floor due to the disorientation of flashing. Once she got herself back in order and Apollo wiped her mouth and made the vomit disappear from the floor, the girl stood up and attempted to be dignified in front of every god and goddess on Olympus as they stared at her. She looked at the twelve main thrones and quickly dropped into a bow.
"My lords, you require my assistance?" she said from her bow. Zeus had a satisfied look on his face at the show of loyalty.
"Yes. We need a prophecy for the creature in the ocean." Zeus said.
"If it is a prophecy you wish for, then the hero who is destined for the prophecy must ask for it, and the right question must be asked." the oracle said.
"What do you mean?" Zeus said angrily. The oracle shifted in her feet but stayed looking at the floor.
"Well my lord, the oracle works in mysterious ways and-" she began before Zeus interrupted her.
"If I wanted a lesson on the workings of the oracle I would have asked Apollo. Now, what is the monster in the ocean, and how do we destroy it!?" Zeus demanded. This seemed to trigger something in the oracle as she suddenly stood from her kneeling position and became as stiff as a board. Her eyes began to glow green and mist poured from her mouth. She took a deep breath in and in a voice that sounded like there were three of her speaking in synch, she gave a prophecy.
"Son of Earth and Shadow
Mortals cannot defeat
Nor the gods on high,
if Olympus sends its fleet
Son of Zeus, denied the trial
Orders of heaven, destined to defile
Daughter of Zeus, proud in her ways
If she goes, brings the end of days
Rage uncontrolled, unrestrained
Appease the beast, and threats end
A hopeless heart only one can mend"
She finished the prophecy and went limp, beginning to fall to the ground before Apollo caught her.
The gods looked around at each other, quickly becoming pale and a bit clammy for the children of Zeus as they let the words of the prophecy sink in. Zeus looked suspiciously at his daughters that were gathered in the throne room, his paranoia getting the best of him as he thought one might be in league with the enemies of the gods. They children of Zeus also looked at their siblings for signs of deceit, most looking to Athena due to her fatal flaw being pride. Athena noticed the stares she was getting and with a hard and terrifying glare to any brave enough to meet her gaze she silently dared anyone to accuse her of treachery.
Apollo broke the silence that had swallowed the room as his oracle began to awaken. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around in a daze. She noticed the gods in the room and tried to go back to her subservient position but was too weak still to do so. Apollo looked at her strangely at what she would say next.
"What is it you require of me my lords." she said, trying to sound strong but still failing at it. The gods looked at her confused.
"What do you mean? Do you not remember the prophecy you delivered?" Athena asked. She looked at the wisdom goddess confused, before she grabbed her head and moaned in pain. Apollo grabbed her by the shoulders steadied her to the floor.
"Take her to your temple Apollo and make sure she is alright." Zeus said. Apollo quickly nodded and bowed before flashing out of the room with his oracle.
"What does this prophecy mean?" Poseidon asked the room of gods.
"Well," Athena began "the first line says the monster is the spawn of Earth, probably meaning Gaea and shadow. Who are the gods or spirits of shadow?" Athena asked, mostly to herself.
"Well like I said, it isn't me. Poseidon is the only one of us I know of to have had an offspring with Gaea." Hades said, causing Poseidon to shift in his throne but keep a straight face.
"What are the other shadow and darkness gods? All I can think of are Nyx and her children." Hermes said.
"What about her husband Erebus? Is he not the primordial of darkness and shadow?" Artemis said. Athena gained a look of deep thought on her face at her sister's words as if she was running through every possibility of who "Shadow" could be. The look on her face changed and they could tell she had come to a conclusion.
"That has to be it. It seems the monster we are dealing with is the offspring of two of the original primordial gods to exist." Athena said to the assembly of gods. Zeus gained an even stronger look of paranoia on his face at the thought of a monster that was the child of two primordial gods who had never had children together before. The most notable monster child of two primordial being Typhon himself.
"Well we need to destroy it! It poses too great of a threat to the security of our rule!" Zeus said to the council in his usual attitude of "kill it or make it a slave".
"Weren't you listening bolt breath, the prophecy specifically said if we send an army it will fail. The only one of us here that has any real chance to fight it from what we know so far is Poseidon, being that this creature resides on an island." Hades said to his younger brother. Zeus became red faced in anger as his hand made its way for the master bolt on the side of his throne. This action did not go unnoticed by Hades as he also reached for his symbol of power. They stopped in their actions when Athena yelled at them the same time as Poseidon grabbed his Trident in case he had to break up a fight between his brothers.
"Stop this! This gets us nowhere while whatever may be in the sea gains strength!" Athena chastised her father and uncle. Zeus seemed to hear something in her words that made him pause for a moment then gain another look of anger, this time directed to his other brother.
"Yes daughter, the monster in the sea. I wonder dear brother, why you were never able to detect this entity when it was in the middle of your domain for Chaos knows how long." Zeus said mockingly and accusingly at his brother.
"If you are trying to say something brother, you'd best spit it out before somebody gets the wrong idea." Poseidon said dangerously as his grip tightened on his trident which he hadn't put down from when Hades and Zeus had begun to argue. Eager at the prospect to haggle her least favorite uncle and Olympian, Athena joined her father.
"Yes uncle, how is it that you never noticed a powerful monster in your ocean?" she asked with her voice laced with sarcasm as the other gods watched the exchange with interest, all but one. Hestia just continued to stoke the flames and embers in the hearth as her younger brothers and niece bickered with one another, causing the gods in the room to forget the problem at hand. She looked over at Ares who had stopped sharpening a large bronze long sword in favor of watching the conflict unfold in front of him, relishing in the fighting.
She looked over at Artemis, the goddess still in her twelve year old form as she looked away from the fighting and put her hand under her chin to think. She suddenly looked up with an angry expression on her face and glared at the arguing gods.
"Enough!" she yelled, causing them to stop and all eyes to be drawn to her. "This will get us nowhere. It still amazes me that we were able to defeat the Giants and Gaea when we can barely continue talking about a prophecy that may very well decide the fate of Olympus and the lives of thousands of mortals! Now, what was the next line of the prophecy." She said, sitting back in her throne red faced and breathing hard from frustrated anger. The offending immortals looked down in shame and embarrassment, especially Athena considering she had told her uncle and father the same thing not five minutes earlier.
"Fine, we will continue." Athena said stiffly, still calming herself down from the shouting match she had with Poseidon and the embarrassment of being called out in front of all of Olympus. "The next line of the prophecy is-". Just then Apollo flashed back in to the chamber with a grin on his face and completely unaware of what has been happening for the last ten minutes.
"What I miss?" he said with a smile as he made his way to his throne. It wasn't a second after he sat down that a silver arrow lodged itself between his legs an inch from his crotch and another lodged itself in the head rest on the seat, clipping Apollo's ear. He yelped in pain and clutched the side of his head that was now leaking a steady river of golden liquid.
"What the Hades was that for?!" he yelled at his sister.
"For being an immature ass and interrupting Athena. Now, please continue." She said to Apollo then Athena. She gave a quick nod of thanks to her sister and went to continue speaking.
"As I was saying, the next line of the prophecy is "The son of Zeus denied the trial". I can't think of any of Zeus's children that have been denied anything in the past in the form of a trial." Athena said.
"Maybe it means that a son of Zeus has committed a crime that appears to be obvious, so we reject hi plea for a fair trial?" Apollo suggested, trying to be involved and at the same time avoid any more abuse from his sister.
"We will discuss that line later. Next?" Zeus said, trying to get of the topic of his most likely illegitimate child's involvement in the next major prophecy.
"The next line is "Orders of heaven, destined to be defiled". It would seem that whichever of your sons this pertains to, is going to go against your orders and attempt this trial, or a person goes against the order of heaven to not give this person a trial and gives him one. It will just have to pass for us to understand." Athena said. "The next line is "Daughter of Zeus, proud in her ways". I think this line may pertain to me, but it will also have to come to pass for us to see for sure. The next line is "If she goes, brings with her the end of days". This could either mean that the daughter of Zeus who goes causes the end of days for Olympus or she brings the end of days with her to the monster and is able to destroy it." Athena said, giving her opinion before anyone else could add their interpretation in so they could continue to the next line.
"The next line of the prophecy is "Rage uncontrolled, unrestrained". I think this means that somebody or the monster is being held back by something or someone and they are let go to cause carnage." Athena said.
"What if it means that our actions or the actions of the mortals cause the "rage" to become uncontrolled?" Hermes added in.
"Or the lack of action." Hera said.
"We will just have to see sister. What is the next line?" Poseidon asked.
"The next line is "Appease the beast, and threats end". I think this is telling us to not war with the monster but do what we can to have it as an ally." Athena said.
"I agree with Athena. The prophecy has specifically told us not to attack, and now to make good with it. Let us just pray that no one is stupid enough to go and try to fight the thing. Ares…" Hades said as he looked at Artemis, silently telling her not to go and hunt the creature at the same time as Ares.
"Oh come on! We are gods, nothing can resist our power!" Ares boasted arrogantly.
"Silence Ares! Now is not the time for your infinite ego to get in the way." Artemis chastised her half- brother. Ares made to argue but a glare from his fierce half-sister stopped the words in his throat. He sat back in his throne and suddenly became extremely interested in the large bronze sword that he felt was not shiny enough as he spat on the blade and started to polish.
"The last line of the prophecy, is "A hopeless heart, only one can mend".' Athena said. This line garnered Hestia's attention as she heard hopeless. She listened to Athena explain what she thought about the last line of the prophecy along with the other gods discuss what they thought it might mean. None of them even came close. The only one in the room who knew what the last line might even mean was the only one who was silent for every meeting, and was always there. Even if they didn't notice her.
Hestia thought on what the last line meant and knew from then on that no matter what the gods might try to do to dissect it and stop it, this prophecy would come true. And she was a part of it.