Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They all belong to Rick Riordan. Go to Athlon, Chaos' Commander of the Universe. Read and review. Then badger the author to update. I highly recommend the story.

Chapter Four

Nico, Thalia, and Percy were now aware of the reason they were dressed in chitons. They resisted rolling their eyes at how ridiculous their family was, feeling the amused glances of their fathers on their backs. They also knew Zeus well enough to know that he would want them to play it up.

The three of them sat on mounds of pillows on the stairs that led up to the thrones. The pillows had been preplaced, which told the cousins that their respective fathers wanted them to sit in a certain way. All three smiled a little, amused at the ridiculousness of the Big Three. Thalia leaned slightly to the side, resting her weight on her left elbow, curling her legs up under herself.

Nico slid sideways, propping his head on his hand and assuming a bored expression. Percy's smile was a little bigger than his cousins' as he kicked back, crossing his ankles and leaning back on his elbows. They knew exactly what they looked like. They looked like their fathers. They saw the reactions of the campers out of the corners of their eyes and had to stifle the grins that wanted to spread across their faces.

Annabeth's POV

All of us, including Chiron, were gaping at the new arrivals. The three kids were dressed just like the gods and were lounging at the feet of the Big Three as if they belonged there. After the three kids sat down, the gods started to talk. What was astounding was that the gods looked to the three kids sitting in front of them for input.

3rd person POV

Zeus started the meeting and covered the usual topics, something that left his daughter and nephews utterly bored. Then, he broached the topic of the increased monster activity and the stirring of old things that should not be stirring. Even Athena could not seem to think of a plan. Percy startled everyone when he suddenly said, "Thals, Nic, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" All three looked at each other with a weird gleam in their eyes.

Surprisingly, it was Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon who realized it first. All three yelled, "There is no way you are going to do that!" The other Olympians were quick to agree, knowing that the three demigods were proposing that they go down to the mortal world and fight the monsters.

Artemis quickly spoke, "Father, my Hunters have not had a decent hunt for a while now. I can take them and hunt the monsters." Thalia was quick to point out "There are only so many of your Hunters, Aty. Plus, they aren't as powerful as we are, no offense intended. We have a better chance." The campers in the corner gasped when she used a nickname. They were convinced she would be fried and were even more surprised when there wasn't a reaction to it.

Athena next said, "Unfortunately, they're right. They stand a better chance of defeating the monsters and they aren't as restricted as your Hunters, Artemis." The Big Three really didn't look happy, but they were forced to acknowledge the wisdom of the plan. Nico tried to soothe his father and uncles, "There are less risks involved if we were to do it. Since we know who we are and how powerful we are, we can take care to keep away from those who could get hurt. There would be more collateral damage with anybody else. Not to mention our control of the Mist."

Percy was the last to speak, finalizing the plan. "There's also the fact that the three of us working as a team stands a better chance. We know each other better than anyone else. There are less holes in the plan for something to go wrong." Poseidon gave a big sigh and said, "Fine. I'm not happy about it but fine." Zeus and Hades nodded, showing that they agreed with Poseidon's sentiment.

There were only a few other smaller issues before the solstice meeting was adjourned. Zeus announced, "The demigods from camp are allowed to spend two uninterrupted hours with their parent, after that everyone will have lunch and then the demigods will return to camp. And before you ask, yes you can change." The three cousins gave a cheer then leapt to their feet and sprinted out of the room, leaving fourteen chuckling gods and fourteen stunned demigods, not to mention an amazed centaur, behind them.