Its been a while, but I'm back.
Chapter 3
Suddenly out of the dust, I could make out two dark shapes. As I blinked I could make out their forms and saw that they were girls. I squinted and what I saw took my breath away.
As the dust from the awesome power of the lightning bolt disappated, a huge crack could be seen in the porcelain white floor of the huge Olympian throne room. At the exact spot where the bolt had struck there were black marks showing that the being who shot that lightning bolt must have a truly huge amount of power to cause such a great effect despite the protections on the throne room by the Olympians themselves.
There where the bolt had struck, two dark shadows were seen in the dust, which slowly became visible into two very familiar figures. Both of them wore the silver garb of the Hunters of Artemis.
The first was a former Hespiride, a demi-Titan, a daughter of Atlas, the Titan General of Kronos' Army in the past. The former Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, before my cousin Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. It was Zoe Nightshade, who was tall and graceful with coppery coloured skin and looked like a Persian princess. She had died two years ago on the quest to rescue Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and the moon.
The second figure was one which Percy had only known for a short time, the daughter of Hades, who had also died two years ago to stop Talos, Bianca di Angelo, the older sister of Hico di Angelo and Percy's cousin. She still had dark silky hair and olive skin, but her posture was different, she seemed more confident and sure of herself in her own skin.
Their time during death, Bianca in the Underworld, Elysium in particular and Zoe as a constellation in the sky , the Realm of Ouranous, the Sky Primordial, did not seem to have aged them so it seemed that Artemis' blessing still affected them.
As the two came into full view of the entire council, there was a stunned silence. Hades, on seeing his daughter seemed very happy that his daughter had received a second chance at life, but only his eyes expressed this.
Poseidon and Demeter were unaffected by this except for their surprise at the resurrection. This revealed to all that the Olympians were not the cause of this miracle. Athena was cold and calculating, musing over the new possibilities due to these unknown and unforeseen variables. Apollo was happy to see Zoe as he knew how much she meant to his little sister.
Hermes, Ares, Dionysus all seemed bored at the turn of events while Persephone semed disapproving as her eyes roamed over Bianca, another of her husband's illegitimate children.
Hestia was content with her new throne and just smiled. Her eyes seemed cozy and inviting like home. Hephaestus, god of smithing and fire just didn't care. Zeus was furious at the power of the lightning bolt striking directly at the center of the Olympians' power, his throne room and also slightly envious at the strength of the bolt. His beard was smoldering and the air seemed as if there was a storm coming. The humidity was rising and the air was filled with ozone, a sign of the oncoming storm.
Hera, the queen of the gods, quickly put a stop to her husband's temper tantrum by threatening him with the couch for an indefinite amount of time.
But, the most surprising reaction was that of Artemis, the normally cool and composed maiden goddess who for a second, froze, not believing what her eyes were telling her, then shouted joyfully and got off the throne, shifted to her normal height and then, the goddess of the hunt and moon hugged both of her former hunters.
After a few minutes, Zeus coughed. And then, when he did not see the desired response, he coughed louder, twice. Artemis, her keen ears, hearing this, jumped back, embarassed at her show of affection and returned to her throne.
Zoe and Bianca, both walked over to the rest of the demigods in the throne room which were Percy, Annabeth, Nico , Thalia, Grover, and Tyson. The rest had left after the awards ceremony. They were all in various states of shock with Nico, with his familial bond was the most emotional.
Nico, rushed forward with tears running from his eyes to hug his sister. Then, he stepped back and smirked at the height difference between them.
"Well, Bianca, it seems that big sister just doesnt apply any more. "
They both looked at each other and laughed happily, content in each others presence.
Percy and Annabeth were welcoming Zoe back to the mortal coil, but it was kind of awkward, with her being a two thousand year old man-hating huntress, though she toned her man-hating tendencies down, as she respected Percy as the former wielder of her pen-sword Riptide.
"Perseus, though thee are a man , I respect thee for your loyalty. I cannot thank thee enough for not absorbing my power when thou could have as it allowed thee to return to the mortal plane and get a second chance to live."
Percy stared at her after her words as his mind processed them and then, self-consciously scratched his head.
"Oh, um, I actually didn't know that it was possilbe for me to do that."
Zoe and Annabeth stared at Percy and Annabeth smacked him.
"You are such a Seaweed Brain, Percy", she sighed, exasperated.
This broke the ice and the three started conversing freely about the war and Thalia joined in to inform Zoe about some of the changes that would surprise her when she met the hunters once again. She told her about some of the new training methods and the adventures they had as well as the new recruits.
Zoe also told Thalia that she didnt want her previous position back, which would have been the only bone of contention between them as Thalia's fatal flaw was greed for power and she wouldnt want to give up her position of authority.
By this time, the Olympians had got over their surprise and were now ready to find out the cause behind the unforeseen resurrection. Zeus, the King of the Gods first called "Zoe Nightshade."
Zoe first bowed at the throne of Zeus and the stood with her back to her Lady Artemis' throne for reassurance.
Lady Athena commanded her to explain how she had returned.
"During my stay in the constellations , I met many faded gods and goddesses such as Helios, Selene, Orion, and even Ouranous the grandfather of the Big Three. Bianca was brought from the UnderWorld to the sky by Ouranous as a a favour to me as I was lonely. Bianca and I, both trained in our powers in our spare time and I am sure that Nico and Bianca are both equal in power. "
On hearing this, the Lord of the Dead's eyes shone with pride and he beamed at his daughter.
"During the time when Percy and Kronos, the Lord of Time were fighting and Percy's sword broke, my immortal power was released and free for the taking. But, Percy did not give in to temptation and sent it back to me."
Some of the gods looked at Percy with respect, especially Ares who could not refuse when Kronos offered him power by whispering in his mind from the shadows. Ares' respect for Percy rose and he lifted the curse he had placed on him. Percy, surprisingly, felt the curse lifting and sent a grateful look to Ares, but he glared and looked away.
"This was a one time thing, punk!"
Zoe continued:-
"On feeling the power enter his realm, Lord Ouranous came to me with a choice: remain in the skies; return to earth, immortal; or return along wih Bianca as we were before. It is obvious which I chose. Lord Ouranous returned us here by lightning travel."
Athena on hearing this, internally mused that her strategical hypothesis about the lightning bolt's use and origin was true.
"Though you are a former hunter, , you are a security risk, being a demi-titan. " Athena stated.
Zoe rolled her eyes, used to Athena's suspicious character after dealing with her for over two thousand years and before her Lady could lose her temper at what she would assume to be a slight to one of her hunters, Zoe, discreetely signalling to Bianca, both simultaneously retook the oath of a Hunter of Artemis which surprised Artemis at its abruptness and had the dual positive effect of assuring Athena of her loyalties and cooling Lady Artemis' temper.
After the interrogations, the celebrations began. The whole gang- Percy,Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, Tyson, Grover and now Bianca made their way out of the throne room and the party celebrating Kronos' defeat began.
There are parties, then there are huge, major blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever get a choice, go for the Olympian parties, they have the best experience.
The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes and the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the demigods and younger generation heard hip-hop or electronic or whatever they wanted to at that time. There were no arguments or fights, only requests to turn it up. Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him, arm in arm- his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked happy for the first time.
Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables in a never ending goblets kept filling with whatever drink you heaped everything on his ever-expandable plate and dug in. Grover trotted around with a full plate of tin and enchiladas and his goblet was full of full-double expresso latte.
Gods kept coming over to congratulate us, the heroes of olympus, defeaters of Kronos, the Lord of time. Thankfully, they had reduced themselves to human size, so they didnt actually trample partgoers under their feet.
Apollo told me I could drive his sun chariot anytime, and if I ever wanted archery lessons, I would know who to call as "Target practise from the chariots as we fly over the US is the best fun there is!"
I made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the courtyards. There were quite a few goddesses who wanted a dance and who was I to refuse such beautiful women.
I danced with Persephone, Hera, Hestia, Hecate, and Thalia even though she was a hunter as she told me it didnt matter if we danced as she only felt a sibling bond with me. But her tone was emotionless when she said that and I had suspicions about the truth in her words cause our dance was full of passion and unspoken attraction. I thanked Poseidon that my mother had gotten me to go to dance classes so I didn't embarass myself on the dance floor.
I even danced with Annabeth, a slow dance, a little sad but a little hopeful too. Though with her it was truly only a sibling bond. We had been a team since year one and were inseparable. I had done each and every quest with her and knew all her secrets as she knew mine, but for now she was sad about her first love, Luke Castellan's death and I didn't have too many romantic feelings for her at this time. But, we both felt this could change in the future.
I saw Hermes in a side courtyard of the palace and after telling my friends went over to talk to him. He was looking into an Iris-message in the mist of the fountain.
Hermes didn't seem to notice me approach. The Iris-message images were going so fast I
could hardly understand them. Mortal newscasts from all over the country flashed by: scenes of
Typhon's destruction, the wreckage our battle had left across Manhattan, the president doing a
news conference, the mayor of New York, some army vehicles riding down the Avenue of the
Americas.
"Amazing," Hermes murmured. He turned toward me. "Three thousand years, and I will
never get over the power of the Mist . . . and mortal ignorance."
"Thanks, I guess."
"Oh, not you. Although, I suppose I should wonder, turning down immortality."
"It was the right choice."
Hermes looked at me curiously, then returned his attention to the Iris-message. "Look at
them. They've already decided Typhon was a freak series of storms. Don't I wish. They haven't
figured out how all the statues in Lower Manhattan got removed from their pedestals and hacked to
pieces. They keep showing a shot of Susan B. Anthony strangling Frederick Douglass. But I imagine
they'll even come up with a logical explanation for that."
"How bad is the city?"
Hermes shrugged. "Surprisingly, not too bad. The mortals are shaken, of course. But this is
New York. I've never seen such a resilient bunch of humans. I imagine they'll be back to normal in a
few weeks; and of course I'll be helping."
"You?"
"I'm the messenger of the gods. It's my job to monitor what the mortals are saying, and if
necessary, help them make sense of what's happened. I'll reassure them. Trust me, they'll put this
down to a freak earthquake or a solar flare. Anything but the truth."
He sounded bitter. George and Martha curled around his caduceus, but they were silent,
which made me think that Hermes was really really angry. I probably should've kept quiet, but I said,
"I owe you an apology."
Hermes gave me a cautious look. "And why is that?"
"I thought you were a bad father," I admitted. "I thought you abandoned Luke because you
knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."
"I did know his future," Hermes said miserably.
"But you knew more than just the bad stuff—that he'd turn evil. You understood what he
would do in the end. You knew he'd make the right choice. But you couldn't tell him, could you?"
Hermes stared at the fountain. "No one can tamper with fate, Percy, not even a god. If I had
warned him what was to come, or tried to influence his choices, I would've made things even worse.
Staying silent, staying away from him . . . that was the hardest thing I've ever done."
"You had to let him find his own path," I said, "and play his part in saving Olympus."
Hermes sighed. "I should not have gotten mad at Annabeth. When Luke visited her in San
Francisco . . . well, I knew she would have a part to play in his fate. I foresaw that much. I thought
perhaps she could do what I could not and save him. When she refused to go with him, I could
barely contain my rage. I should have known better. I was really angry with myself."
"Annabeth did save him," I said. "Luke died a hero. He sacrificed himself to kill Kronos."
"I appreciate your words, Percy. But Kronos isn't dead. You can't kill a Titan."
"Then—"
"I don't know," Hermes grumbled. "None of us do. Blown to dust. Scattered to the wind. With
luck, he's spread so thin that he'll never be able to form a consciousness again, much less a body.
But don't mistake him for dead, Percy."
My stomach did a queasy somersault. "What about the other Titans?"
"In hiding," Hermes said. "Prometheus sent Zeus a message with a bunch of excuses for
supporting Kronos. 'I was just trying to minimize the damage,' blah, blah. He'll keep his head low for
a few centuries if he's smart. Krios has fled, and Mount Othrys has crumbled into ruins. Oceanus
slipped back into the deep ocean when it was clear Kronos had lost. Meanwhile, my son Luke is
dead. He died believing I didn't care about him. I will never forgive myself."
Hermes slashed his caduceus through the mist. The Iris-picture disappeared.
"A long time ago," I said, "you told me the hardest thing about being a god was not being
able to help your children. You also told me that you couldn't give up on your family, no matter how
tempting they made it."
"And now you know I'm a hypocrite?"
"No, you were right, Luke loved you. At the end, he realized his fate. I think he realized why
you couldn't help him. He remembered what was important."
"Too late for him and me."
"You have other children. Honor Luke by recognizing them. All the gods can do that."
Hermes's shoulders sagged. "They'll try, Percy. Oh, we'll all try to keep our promise. And
maybe for a while things will get better. But we gods have never been good at keeping oaths. You
were born because of a broken promise, eh? Eventually we'll become forgetful. We always do."
"You can change."
Hermes laughed. "After three thousand years, you think the gods can change their nature?"
"Yeah," I said. "I do."
Hermes seemed surprised by that. "You think . . . Luke actually loved me? After all that
happened?"
"I'm sure of it."
Hermes stared at the fountain. "I'll give you a list of my children. There's a boy in Wisconsin.
Two girls in Los Angeles. A few others. Will you see that they get to camp?"
"I promise," I said. "And I won't forget."
George and Martha twirled around the caduceus. I know snakes can't smile, but they
seemed to be trying.
"Percy Jackson," Hermes said, "you might just teach us a thing or two."
Another god was waiting for me on the way out of Olympus. Athena stood in the middle of
the road with her arms crossed and a look on her face that made me think Uh-oh. She'd changed
out of her armor, into jeans and a white blouse, but she didn't look any less warlike. Her gray eyes
blazed.
"Well, Percy," she said. "You will stay mortal."
"Um, yes, ma'am."
"I would know your reasons."
"I want to be a regular guy. I want to grow up. Have, you know, a regular high school
experience."
"And my daughter?"
"I couldn't leave her," I admitted, my throat dry. "Or Grover," I added quickly. "Or—"
"Spare me." Athena stepped close to me, and I could feel her aura of power making my skin
itch. "I once warned you, Percy Jackson, that to save a friend you would destroy the world. Perhaps
I was mistaken. You seem to have saved both your friends and the world. But think very carefully
about how you proceed from here. I have given you the benefit of the doubt. Don't mess up."
Just to prove her point, she erupted in a column of flame, charring the front of my shirt.
After my talk with Athena, my father came up to me, the rest of the partygoers subconsciously making way for his aura of the charred shirt, he waved his hand and got me a new one. He walked up to me and said,
"Lets take a walk, son."
We weaved through the crowds, to a quieter part of the palace courtyards, Poseidon, my father, Lord of the Seas looked at me, with his sea-green eyes, the same as mine and smell of the sea and salty mist hugged me and congratulated me on my accomplishments.
"Percy, my son, I am proud to be known as your father, the father of The Hero of Olympus."
I realized that this was one of the greatest compliments I was going to get as such a comment, that too from a god, one of the Big Three, who had lots of powe and pride, this was a very big thing.
"You showed yourself to be above petty temptation, a hero stronger and more famous than Hercules. A hero who was always loyal to your friends, even sacrificing immortality for them. I would have liked you as one of my lieutenants, but I know that the sea doesnt like to be tamed and you would have been bored under the sea. I feel your choice is proved to be more clever than Theseus in manipulating the gods to fulfil your promise to Luke and more powerful than Orion in your control over water.. You are my favourite son out of all those I have sired and your mother is a goddess among women who I was lucky to know."
"My son, have you ever wondered why Hercules was so strong?"
Percy looked at him quizzically and confused and shook his head.
Poseidon sighed, but smiled and continued,
"It was because he was personally trained by your Uncle, Zeus himself. He learned about how to use his godly powers to their greatest extent which gave him an edge and made him one of the most famous demigods alive today. Most demigods do not get this priviledge and only those powers which they unlock by themselves are available to them. They never earn about the full extent of their powers. Only those who have proven to be honourable and have proved their right to such power, their strength to resist temptation and not abuse their power are given this priviledge by a majority vote from the council."
Poseidon looked at him gravely and tried to instill the importance and significance of this in his son.
"You are the first such person in over fifty years. Think over this opportunity and visit me when you want to learn more about your heritage and powers to their fullest extent. The people of Atlantis are eager to meet you, the newest Prince of the Seas."
Percy was ecstatic at the opportunity, shocked that the Olympians had deemed him worthy of such a priviledge.
"Thank you Father for thinking of me so highly and giving me such an opportunity. "
After a moment, feeling proud of himself and emotional as well as thankful, Percy said'"I love you, Father."
Tears glistened in Poseidon's eyes, but didn't fall. They hugged once again and The Sea Lord thickly murmured,"Give my regards to Sally" and snapped his fingers.
Percy faded away like a thick sea mist in the breeze.
Feel free to review!Bye for now.