A/N: Sorry for the long wait by my other stories also needed attending to as well. Here's the next chapter. Tell me if Athena is being too soft. I've tried to make her a lot tougher but I like the fact she likes him a lot. Enjoy anyway.
Chapter Seven: Fight in the Throne Room
"You bastard mortal son of Zeus!" Ares bellowed at Perseus as he changed forward with his sword.
Perseus dodged the war god's near fatal blows.
"Perseus!" Athena yelled making him turn for a split second so that she could throw him the sword she had in her hands. Perseus ducked as Ares aimed for his head and caught it with just seconds to spare. Ares' sword hilt hit Perseus' sword with a clang!
"Ares stop!" Athena yelled. Ares merely ignored her.
Io moved around the fight and went to stand next to Athena. She had worry embedded in her eyes. The two immortal women exchanged panicked looks as they watched the uneven fight between the enraged war god and the demigod that was likely to replace him.
"Lady Athena, do something!" Io begged of Athena.
"What can I do?" Athena whispered.
"Stop them! Please!" Io begged of her again.
Athena summoned a sword and jumped into the fray. She brought her sword down onto the two other swords.
"Perseus move!" Athena instructed with a yelp.
Perseus pulled his sword free and rushed over to stand beside Io who hugged him. None of the other Olympians said a word about the exchange. They merely watched the fight between Athena and Ares in horror.
The between the immortal children of Zeus continued their fight without a successful result. Both held the upper hand.
"ENOUGH!" Zeus bellowed. The Throne room shook and the standing Olympians returned to their thrones.
"How can you defend that mistake?" Ares hissed through his teeth.
"He's our brother!" Athena hissed back.
"He is NO brother of mine!" Ares roared.
Apollo came forward and pulled Athena and her sword away from Ares while Hermes and Hera pulled Ares away from her. Athena then went over to stand beside Perseus.
"You might be the goddess of wisdom and battle but have no authority to protect a mistake made by Zeus!" Ares retorted.
Hera looked apologetically at Athena before ushering her son out of the Throne room.
"You'll be sorry!" Ares yelled as his mother pulled him out the door of the Throne room.
Athena fell to her knees in front of her father. "I'm sorry father. I don't know what came over me." The tone of her voice suggested that she wanted to cry.
Zeus placed his hand under his daughter's chin so that she was looking at him in the eye. He glanced over at Perseus who kept his eyes on the kneeling Athena.
"You did the right thing, dear child. Standing up for your mortal half-brother was brave even for a goddess of Battle like yourself." Zeus said reassuringly.
"I'm not going soft, father." Athena muttered.
Zeus applied pressure to his grip on Athena chin making her stand before him.
"I know, my dear child. I know." Without another word, Zeus swept from the room leaving Athena with Perseus and Io standing where she had left them.
Perseus went to his half-sister's side and placed a warm hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"What do we do now?" he asked.
Athena didn't know what was to happen to them next however she knew that she had to devise a plan quickly but she couldn't think of a strategy that would get Perseus away from the wrath of the Titans that threatened to destroy him and Olympus as a whole. She was brought out of her daze by another hand on her shoulder.
"Athena?"
She turned to see Hermes standing beside Perseus.
"Oh hello Hermes," Athena said, her voice shaking with uncertainly.
"You alright? You aren't normally like this," Hermes said as he stepped around her and turned to face her fully.
Athena kept quiet, thus making Hermes access her current predicament.
"You don't know what to do next, do you?" Hermes guessed.
Athena nodded solemnly. "I feel like I've failed my duty as the goddess of Wisdom."
Hermes shook his head. He and Athena had always had a soft spot for each other but it was nothing romantic.
"That's why I want to help you," he said. Athena's head went up.
"You want to help us? Why?" Athena asked in surprise.
"Well, like you I too have soft spot for Perseus. I wanted to say something when Zeus assigned you to help him but couldn't." Ares said feeling rather ashamed by his actions.
"What was stopping you?" Io asked coming to stand beside Athena.
"I was worried that Zeus would say no. I'm the messenger to the gods for god's sake! I see now for as long as I've been alive that you have to stand up for your rights. You stood up to Ares and look where that led." Hermes said with a slight smile coming across his face.
Perseus thought for a moment before speaking up. "You took an interest in me too?"
"Yes I did. It's not every day that a mortal takes a real disliking to us gods." Hermes commented, his eyes flashing from Athena to Perseus to Io.
"The only god that I have some respect for is Athena. Why should I trust you? I mean you are also the god of travel and thieves." Perseus said crossing his arms across his chest.
"My dear boy, I don't steal things. I only get preyed to. It's two different things."Hermes said smiling at Athena who gratefully smiled in return.
"Perseus, it would be wise trust Lord Hermes. The next time we get into trouble he will be able to send word to the other gods to help us." Io said going to Perseus' side.
"Why do we need the other gods?" Perseus retorted.
"I know you have a hatred for us gods, Perseus with what happened with your mortal family but I can tell you that not all us gods are bad like Hades." Hermes said looking a little concerned.
Io and Athena nodded in agreement. Hermes was right. Not all the gods were evil like Hades or as cruel as Ares. Most of the other gods were well mannered and very well respected among the mortal world.
Perseus rolled his eyes in annoyance. Why did Io have to agree with Athena on everything?
"Why must you agree with Athena all the time?" He whined.
Io looked highly amused. "Me? Agreeing with Lady Athena all the time?" she scoffed.
"Well it's true. Ever since Athena showed up you've haven't agreed me with anything." He said hastily.
"Oh stop it, Perseus." Hermes said getting tired of Perseus' continuous whining. The messenger to the gods knew that Perseus was going to come up with a snappy comeback so he decided to allow Athena to come up with the next punch line.
"If you think Io agrees with me on everything, why don't you create a thunder storm? You are the mortal son of Zeus after all." She said with a devilish yet teasing smile crossing her face.
Io smiled while Hermes' smile was the biggest the demigoddess had ever seen it. She wouldn't have been surprised if the god's teeth had fallen out of his mouth. Luckily they didn't.
"So now what?" Perseus asked crossing his arms across his chest annoyed at the fact that he had been ganged up on 3 to 1.
"We get to dry land." Hermes said.
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