Got the chapter names wrong, last one is called "Gifts"

Chapter 4: Home

There Percy was, in front of the lord of the sky, wielder of the master bolt, king of the gods, Zeus, and he was afraid of humans? The people he created from nothing? The ones he created to worship him? Percy stood there like a marble statue. He tried to fish for words to say but he was too shocked. He didn't know what to say.

Luckily the son of Kronos caught on to Percy's speechlessness, "I know Percy, I know. I breathed life in to them. However, have you forgotten that they no longer worship the gods? We have a lasting influence, of course, we do what we can to gather prayers but it's not working. When I created man eons ago I expected them to worship us forever. To live and die quickly, harsh I know, but it was what worked. They needed the gods to survive. Then Prometheus swooped down and gave them fire. They started to cook, stay warm, and build. They lived longer. The population grew and grew…" Percy saw the weariness in his eyes. He could almost swear that the god's thunderous eyes were beginning to rain tears but he doubted it. Soon Zeus found his words and continued on, "Now their population has grown into the billions. They don't need gods anymore. They've grown into an independent species, they don't need us gods,"

Percy looked down at his feet. He didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to comfort the god? Hug him? Throw an arm around his shoulder and say, " Don't cry big guy it'll all be ok,"? He couldn't. So he asked, "How can they live without gods? You control their world don't you?"

"As long as we have prayers, Percy. Then, we have all the power in the world,"

The answer seemed so obvious to Percy he basically shouted at the king of the gods, "Well than go down to Earth and tell them you're real!"

Zeus scowled down at Percy, something he was familiar with, "Foolish boy. Two things will happen. We will be laughed at and be called a 'joke'. Another possibility is they refuse to be ruled and…" he gazed into the distance then came back to Percy, " Then they can wipe our existence,"

Percy let that settle for a long time. They stood there with no words passing between one another. Then he thought of something, "What exactly do you want with us heroes?"

Zeus let out a loud chuckle, " I want nothing from you. You're a nuisance. But I need you to recover something stolen from us," he reached down into his toga, to who knows where, and pulled out a small bronze disk. He pushed a small button and a shimmering image emerged. It was hard to make out. Percy thought it resembled Frisbee, but he doubted that was it. He waited for an explanation, "Percy," He gave him the sternest look. This was a very serious matter for the lord of the sky, " This is the Ring of Deucalion. Deucalion was the first man, son of Prometheus. This ring gave whomever wore it a connection to the gods," Percy nodded like he understood how that helped, yet he was completely lost, "So…" Zeus explained as if Percy were a young child, " When a mortal on Earth possesses it, it regenerates our connection to the mortal world, it will be stronger than ever before,"

"So we get the ring, give it you, and then the shows over?" Percy inquired.

Zeus allowed a dry smile, " Of course not! It's been stolen and hidden from the eyes of the gods. Henceforth we have issued a quest for you and your friends! You must return home at once! The exit is out that way," he pointed out over the beach and into the water. The water churned perfectly around a small dark opening. Percy waded slowly through. He felt nothing as he always had. As he swam into the threshold of the watery entrance, Zeus shouted to him, " Oh and Perseus, if that ring touches the hand of our enemies, they could potentially break our connection from the mortal world, and well…" Percy jumped through the hole before he could finish. He was sick of bad news and danger. He just wanted get through all of this. How hard could it be? The travel was quick and short. He landed sprawled out, face down on a hill. The freshly mown green grass filled his nostrils literally, and with its aroma. He flipped over on to his back and took in the beauty before him. There was the cloudless blue sky with the yellow sun shining down below, the wooden cabins in the shape of an omega, the behemoth of a house that was the Big House, the campers frolicking through the boundaries, the tiny little pink strawberry fields in the distance, the calm sparkling blue Long Island sound filled with canoes and other boats, and best of all beautiful girl running towards him with her blonde hair being blown in the wind. He was finally home.