Hoo, boy. This one just didn't want to cooperate with me when I was writing it, and honestly, I think about rewriting it totally. And then I read You're family, aren't you? again, and managed to fix this, so... here you go!

Review time:

One thing before we start - I missed a couple of reviews before, because they were posted on first chapter, so I'm gonna answer those too at the end of this block.

Shadowing: Uh, you'll have to deal with only one more Sephie-less chapter - this one. Next chapter we'll switch to the West Coast and see what has been happening there.

Guest 1: Aww, thanks! And sorry for a bit of misunderstanding, but it's A-OK now. As for the name... I've never gotten a request like that before, I'll be frank. However, I don't mind throwing out names - I do write original stories as well as fanfiction. What kind of name would you like? 'Real world'-like, totally made up or a mix like me?

Guest 2: *smirks* I can't wait, either. Particularly with how I'm planning to make them meet...

From previous chapters:

CTRI: Oh, that's quite a compliment! I'm trying to keep Sephie as close to Percy while still making her an independent character, and I'm glad you feel like I succeded!

Stupiditt: ...Uh, isn't that kind of counter-productive? :O I mean, please don't: I don't want to meet Hades just yet. Who knows what kind of opinion he'd have on this and previous fanfic...

Guest 3: PLEASE DON'T! Seriously, people, chill out... :D

Now, let's get back to the final chapters of Lost Hero... Son (or, should I say, Daughter) of Neptune coming soon!

Zeus-time!

(Fair warning: I had way too much fun with the Air-Head's personality, so I accept every criticism about his OOC behavior.)


Switching between the two forms had never been so exhausting.

Okay, Zeus was lying to himself. Every time Rome and Greece clashed, the switches became more difficult to manage as he and Jupiter fought for dominance, giving him headaches comparable to the one he had before Athena jumped out of his head.

This time, however, he was also exhausted from the war with his father: everyone on Olympus were still nursing some level of wounds from the final fight. Fight with Typhoon drained the King of Olympus to the point where he was forced to take afternoon naps to restore his energy, and he was unable to control his children and siblings as thoroughly as he used to.

Hera's disappearance was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back: he needed to close Olympus and keep them on a short leash.

Unfortunately, his siblings made it their job to make him miserable, and all because of that half-blood girl.

"Poseidon!" he barked, spotting Poseidon sitting near the edge of Olympus.

"Yes, brother?" the sea god asked, sounding almost as tired as Zeus.

"What are you doing?" Zeus marched up to his brother, only then spotting a small orb in Poseidon's hands. "And what's that?"

"I'm looking," was Poseidon's noncommittal answer, a grimace carving its way on his face. "Otherwise I'd go insane. I'm not used to being chained to one place like you, Zeus."

Zeus felt a little pang of guilt: his siblings had never coped well with imprisonment after the stint inside their father's stomach, and Poseidon was even worse than most. His domain demanded movement, constant change, and out of all six of them, he was the fastest to adapt whenever Olympus shifted. This was cruel.

"I cannot let grandmother get a chance to snatch another one of us and weaken the Council," he spoke in lieu of apology, and Poseidon nodded in acceptance. "Besides, you still haven't told me what that is."

"This?" Poseidon lifted the murky glass orb. "This is the reason I know every gossip on Olympus the moment it happens, and what exactly is happening in both camps."

Here, the Sea King's form blurred for a second, and Zeus gritted his teeth, pushing Jupiter down.

"By Father, I hate him," Poseidon growled after his form stabilized again. "Him and Romans both. What were they thinking… anyway. This allows me to follow anyone on the surface – given that there is no other interference from higher entities."

And true to his word, Zeus spotted a shaky image of his daughter surrounded by the other Hunters and their wolves near –

"Wolf House?"

Poseidon nodded.

"It's the only image I get whenever I try to seek out Hera. Thalia came down there about an hour ago, and her brother is currently in Aeolus' palace. I believe grandmother doesn't want me to see too much of her plans."

Zeus bit his lip, his pride and desire for knowledge warring within him. Should he ask his brother to keep an eye on Gaia's movements, or on his children? Well, his and Jupiter's, he amended quickly in his head before the Roman aspect could protest and worsen his headache. Or should he just demand the truth about the orb's origins and punish his brother for defying him - again?

"The Death is bound," Poseidon continued talking, unaware of his brother's turmoil, the image in the orb staying still. "I can't see Thanatos, so I'm guessing he's either in Alaska or on Tamalpais. The children - "

"Poseidon," Zeus cut him off. "How long have you had this?"

Poseidon blinked, before sagging down.

"Very long," he murmured. "Oceanus gave it to me after the first Titanomachy. I tried to keep a watch on the surface, but there are some places I simply cannot see. As in, I can't see them at all. Wolf House is currently one of them, that's why I've been watching it."

Zeus had to temp down his anger. This little secret of Poseidon's could've helped them in the previous wars!

"I cannot see Tamalpais, brother," the sea god spoke slowly, guessing correctly what was on his brother's mind and trying to soothe him. "I tried: believe me, I tried so many times to see what our Father was planning, but something – or someone – has been blocking my sight since the first fall of Othrys. I've never been able to see into the stronghold itself."

That managed to cool down Sky Lord's temper a little.

"You should've said something," Zeus didn't plan on sounding so accusatory, but he couldn't hide the hurt in his voice. Since when did the siblings keep secrets from each other? The children he could sort-of understand; the Prophecy hanging over their heads was enough to keep their mouths shut. But this? This silence had lasted for over five millennia!

"This is my domain, Zeus," Poseidon sounded amused, and Zeus huffed a little. "I'm sure you share little perks of controlling the sky with everyone."

"Of course not!" Zeus crossed his arms, glaring at his brother. "Show me my children again."

"Bossy," Poseidon poked a little but obliged, the image shimmering to show Jason facing off against a Giant.

"Is that Enceladus?" Zeus gaped a little, barely noticing two more demigods helping Jason before being batted away by the giant.

"Good thing Bird Brain isn't here, she'd go ballistic," Poseidon shook his head, grimacing. "If Enceladus is fully reformed, his brothers won't be far behind. I told you, brother: we have to open Olympus again."

"Not until our numbers are complete," Zeus refused to budge on the subject. "And especially not for that brat of yours."

"A brat you flirted with not three months ago," Poseidon returned the jab, and Zeus could not for the love of Olympus stop his cheeks from reddening. How did he find that out?! "She told me at the party – she was afraid Hermes would've confronted you and asked me to run interference just in case."

"Act like a cockblocking mother-hen, more like," Zeus grumbled at the remainder. "You didn't try to blast me. Why?"

"Brother," Poseidon sighed, chuckling, "you started flirting with Hades the moment you rescued us out of our Father's stomach. It's your modus operandi. The only person you've never flirted with was Hestia, because despite everything you are not a pedophile, and your daughters. I expected that to happen sooner or later. Besides, I doubt you meant anything with that."

Zeus had to bite his tongue before something slipped out. He had meant something with it, although he had had no intention of sleeping with his niece. He liked keeping his cock intact, thank you very much!

Father, If I've ever done anything good, anything you approved of, help me now. I offer my own life—just save my friends!

Jason's cry to Jupiter forced Zeus to close his eyes as his Roma aspect screamed at him to do something – anything!

"Brother?"

Zeus was in no state to answer, splitting his concentration between keeping Jupiter on the leash and sending a bolt to help his son. He will not see another Grace die if he could help it: Thalia and Beryl were more than enough.

The headache returned, but Poseidon was silent, allowing Zeus a few minutes of silence to figure things out.

"Oh," he heard Poseidon's murmur. "Brother, open your eyes. You need to see this!"

Zeus did not want to – his headache was back with vengeance – but the urgency in his brother's tone forced him to do so.

The orb was showing Wolf House again, and Zeus could not believe his eyes. The sun was setting – it appeared his few minutes were few hours. He was losing the track of time, which was not good. He could also see Artemis' Hunters and three orange-clad demigods facing off against Khione and Lycan and his pack right outside the Wolf House.

The worst part, however, was the cage peeking out of the ruins of the Lupa's home, with Hera half-buried in the earth, and the gigantic lump of mud that dared to call himself the next King next to the cage.

"Porphyrion," Zeus growled, hatred filling him at the sight of his counterpart. He dared to pull the same move again, by stealing his wife! Oh, how he wished he could simply blast him out of existence…

"Grandmother is pulling out all the stops," Poseidon grimaced before turning to face his brother. "If you decide to do the same as you did four years ago with Father, I swear I will punch you adelfos."

"No need," Zeus shook his head. "I've seen enough evidence to call for war council." The nail of pain suddenly burrowed itself into his head, wrenching a groan from his throat as he fought for dominance with Jupiter. "If we manage to stay in one form for more than an hour!"

"We will," Poseidon hissed through his teeth, sounding like he was in about as much pain as Zeus was. It was surprisingly discomforting. "We – argh! – just need to watch Athena. She's useless when she's struggling."

Zeus wanted to snap at his brother for the casual dismissal of his favorite daughter, but unfortunately, he had to agree. Athena was an amazing strategist, but when she faced Minerva, she switched places with her stepmother in the amount of vitriol she spewed with total disregard of whom she was targeting.

"That does not give you permission to start searching for your daughter," was Zeus' parting words as he rose from the edge and walked back to the Throne Room.


The Winter Solstice passed without too many incidents: the moment Zeus had called for the war council, everyone calmed down and left their individual squabbles behind to plan out Olympus' response.

Athena had somehow managed to push Minerva on the backburner and devised a strategy with Ares. Aphrodite and Hephaestus finally worked together, dragging Hermes into the planning of elaborate traps and baits for slowing down their enemies. Artemis, Apollo and Dionysus flitted between the groups, carrying ideas, refreshments and chiming in from their own standpoint.

However, the nastiest bits of Athena's plans were being discussed around Hestia's hearth: the six children of Kronos and Rhea were arguing and trying to figure out the Prophecy now that Hera manipulated it into their favor.

"'To storm or fire, the world must fall.' is an obvious one, at least the first part. It leaves us with the Grace brat, Sephie and Valdez," Hades said, tapping a pen to the notebook he produced out of the depths of his robes. Zeus had no idea why he carried those things with him, but it helped a lot with connecting all the dots. "Any ideas what the second part could mean?"

"The world must fall…" Demeter hummed. "Why must it fall?"

"Don't you think we are putting too much emphasis on one line?" Hera asked, pursing her lips.

"Last prophecy was literally a word game," Poseidon snorted. "A child of the elder gods, but a hero's soul. Two near-synonyms for us, but still two different words that ended up meaning two different people. I'm not letting that happen again."

"Not when Sephie's life is on the line?" Hestia's lips quirked up, and Poseidon shamelessly nodded.

"It could be Mother Earth," Artemis piped in, replacing the jug with nectar and placing down a place of ambrosia squares. "My younger girls use the word 'world' to mean Earth."

"But that wouldn't make any sense," Zeus argued. "How can Earth fall?"

"Easy," Poseidon's eyes suddenly gained an unholy, terrifyingly familiar gleam. "How had Father managed to scatter his father beyond any hope of reformation?"

Zeus blinked at the old shine in his brother's eyes, and the embers of hope ignited into flames in his chest. There was the reckless, yet genius strategist Zeus had been proud to have under his leadership during the first Titanomachy. There was the man who managed to outsmart and outmaneuver the Crooked One and his brothers and nephews, who had foresight and time itself on their side; the man who laughed in the face of odds and turned them to his favor, a trait he had passed down to his daughter.

The other siblings did not miss the change, and Zeus could feel the energy spiking from them all as Hera's frown transformed into a bloodthirsty smile, Demeter's normally relaxed stance shifted into a fighter's, Hestia's blaze changed from warm into scorching hot, and Hades' dark aura flared outwards.

They were ready for a true war for the first time in five millennia.

"Hadn't he separated the Sky Lord from his domain?" Hades asked idly, taking off his Helm and twirling it in his hands. "His brothers held their father down to the ground for Father to butcher him."

"That's… Poseidon, you're not suggesting…"

At some point in their discussion, younger Olympians crowded around their elders, listening in on the discussion. Athena had been the one to speak up, her face slightly pale but the grip on her spear steady.

"I am," Poseidon smirked wickedly. "And it fits the requirements of the prophecy perfectly. She has to fall one way or another, and this is the only way to do so."

"I'm liking this new Uncle Poseidon," Ares muttered, his eyes burning and dancing in glee. "Where have you been in the past five millennia, for Creator's sake?! We could've had such fun!"

"Ares!" Aphrodite cuffed him over the top of his head. "This is not funny!"

"It's not, but it's a good reminder why Zeus distrusts his brother," Hera shook her head as Athena approached Poseidon and Zeus to discuss the insane idea Poseidon proposed, the bloodthirstiness of her smile not fading. "He can unseat anyone if he wants to – but it takes a lot to get that side of him out to play. I think Athena just found her match."

"Is it wrong to enjoy this?" Apollo muttered to his sister, who gave a vague shrug.

"If it's wrong, we're all guilty of that sin," Hephaestus grumbled, doodling notes at the edge of his blueprints. "I don't think I've ever seen Athena and Poseidon work on strategy together."

"Let's hope we don't ever have to," Dionysus huffed, handing a goblet of wine to the rapt audience. "They're scary."

None of those who had heard him could disagree.


The plan was all set up. The Olympians were ready to take on Gaia, and the Camp Half-Blood was actively preparing to meet the Romans and cooperate with them. Leo Valdez and his siblings were having their hands full with constructing Argo II, and the other campers were being drilled under the watchful eyes of Ares' and Athena's children. Olympus was open again, and it wasn't a rarity for the gods to pop into the Camp for a quick update on proceedings or to deliver supplies and gifts.

There was only one thing missing: the girl who sparked the frenzy. Hera refused to tell anyone where the Sea Princess was, despite Hermes' and Poseidon's heavy pressuring, and Zeus had about enough of the gods nagging him to talk to his wife.

He was going to talk with her on his own time, without outside interferences. He knew her moods better than anyone, and he had to prepare himself and the setting for that conversation before jumping into it.

However, he had a little backup plan. He had not thought of his request to Hephaestus since the closing of Olympus, but now he could use it as an excuse to locate his niece. It grated at his pride to use what was supposed to be his apology gift as a means of locating Sephie, but he would gratefully take that option over talking with Hera.

His wife knew him too well, and Zeus was not going to walk into the minefield without the proper armor and exhausting all other possibilities.

"Hephaestus," Zeus called, stepping into the god's workshop. The place was cluttered with scraps, devices and blueprints, but it still maintained the look of order and had no signs of dust or dirt.

"Yes, my Lord?" The smith god came into the view from beneath the table, holding an oily rag and a bottle in his hands. "How can I help?"

"The request I made a few months ago," Zeus said hesitantly. "Is it done?"

Hephaestus blinked before nodding sharply.

"Of course." He walked into the back of the workshop, motioning for the Sky King to follow him. "Watch the pipes – I'm cleaning them out, but there's still a lot of dirt clinging to them."

Well, that explained the oily rag and the bottle.

"Jewelry… jewelry…" Hephaestus muttered, inspecting the mountain of boxes stacked neatly on the shelves on the back wall. Zeus took the opportunity to see what else his step-son had in stock and at hand.

The tools were hanging everywhere, as well as a good number of weapons. It amused the King to see them all neatly stacked in order of their invention, with spears and knives at beginning and what looked like every firearm ever thought of at the very end. There were also cannons, chariots that were disassembled to take up less space, and there was an entire cabinet out which papers – blueprints – stuck out and threatened to scatter everywhere.

"A-ha!" The victorious shout brought Zeus' attention back to Hephaestus, who was holding a thin wooden box in his hands. The box was plain, no adornment except an 'omega' emblazoned on the top of the box and a small 'eta' at the side.

"May I…?"

Hephaestus lifted the lid in lieu of answer, and Zeus' breath stopped in his throat.

Delicate silver belt shaped to resemble the waves coiled next to the set of pearl-and-amber incrusted brooches with the trident relief on them, and above them a glittering, silver filigree diadem with a single turquoise gem demanded the attention of the looker.

The jewelry worthy of a Queen.

"Perfect," Zeus breathed, his hand hovering over the box, not daring to touch the pieces. He knew Sephie had a fondness for chitons, and for a moment he could imagine her wearing all of these: every detail screaming of her heritage, and still claiming her as his…

No. That was not the road he should travel. Poseidon would murder him.

"Thank you, Hephaestus. You've outdone yourself," Zeus thanked his step-son profusely, taking the box and returning the lid carefully back.

"It was nothing," the smith shrugged, but there was a small smile hovering on his lips. "I always like fun projects – those gems and pearls were difficult to integrate without straight out gluing them or breaking them."

"Nonetheless, thank you for indulging me." Zeus turned to leave. He would have Hermes take the box as a message and try to find Sephie that way.

"Humph," Hephaestus snorted. "I hope you know what you're doing. Her father will not be happy."

Zeus froze.

"I'm just saying," there was an audible shrug in the smith's voice. "Goodbye, my Lord."