Disclaimer: I own nothing that you can pick from any book, TV show or movie; and there are many. Bonus points and spoilers for those that can pick them out, there are four that I remember so far.
Zeus's P.O.V
My twelve-year-old nephew just killed Medusa and mailed us her body. That is just fucked. Not two ways about it, if I told you that I wasn't apprehensive about hearing when I met him I'd be lying. There were so many things about him that I didn't understand. Many of the things that Ares knew about him or where he'd been weren't explained and I got the feeling that we truly didn't want to know.
As much as I liked driving we ditched the truck as soon as we were able to because I refuse to drive around in something that is an almost exact replica of Bella's truck from Twilight. Which brings me to something completely off topic but equally important, don't fuck off immortal witches, they chain you to chairs and make you watch Twilight. Repeatedly. Damn New Orleans Animal house of Witches.
"What the hell" Hades said, "When did he go to New Orleans"
"I'm more concerned with the part were he'd pissed of immortal witches" Poseidon groaned, "What is Twilight?"
"A really bad book about a mortal girl that falls in love with a sparkly vampire" Athena said. Many people shuddered.
Anyway we were waiting for our train when Annabeth decided that we were going to see the arch. She doubted that she'd ever get the chance to again and looked ready to pitch a fit if she couldn't go.
"She should be more mature, also they need to get my bolt back… now!" I grumbled.
"Let the girl live a little, when was she going to get to see the arch again" Hermes said, "Anyone want to bet there going to be attacked?" Nobody was stupid enough to take him up on that bet.
"Look at the structure" she said pointing out random the random things about supports and such. "I'd make the floors see through though and…" on she went. For three hours.
"Wow, she knows a lot" Apollo said, "I like what she does with Olympus"
"Why does she need to do anything with Olympus" Hera asked. He just shook his head and put his fingers to his mouth.
"Spoilers" he said. I hate when he does that, there couldn't be another person that is that annoying ever.
"You want to be an architect don't you?" I asked, trying to picture her sitting and drawing all day. On the other side of things she defiantly had the knowledge. I only understood what she was saying was because I was who got sent to tear stuff down, in the I wonder what those metal fragments in that crater are? kind of way.
"He takes after his Dad then" Athena said spitefully. Damn, now they were going to fight worse than usual to prove that they really don't like each other. Why can't they just pretend to get along.
"So" she said defensively, "My Mom expects her children to create things, not just tear them down like a certain God of earthquakes." I shrugged my shoulders.
"He's not going to get mad at that" Artemis asked pensively.
"But she's right" Poseidon said, "So why would he be mad."
"Because boys are stupid," She replied. The Gods would argue with her but the Goddesses would back her up and I don't want her to like boys. The only boy she'd ever been in love with was her twin brother. That turned into a cluster fuck when a couple of magical mortals got jealous, bottom line if she couldn't have him she'd have no man at all. He slept around a lot but no one matched up. But were getting of topic now.
"Neh, you've got a point on that one, if you ever need someone to help with making it as hard to destroy as possible I'll help out" I offered, trying to be nice.
"That's sweet, family bonding is always good" Hera said. Demeter and Hades looked at each other and grimaced.
"No, no it's not" they said together.
"What makes you think that know enough to be any help?" she asked, not scornfully but in genuine curiosity. I then proceeded to tell her every way I could think of to decimate the national monument. She shivered.
"I wonder how many different ways he came up with," Ares said with a smile.
"They'll never be enough destruction in the world for you will there?" Aphrodite asked. He stopped smiling and shook his head.
"Oh there is, but a little anarchy never hurt anybody" he argued quietly. Ares was so different as we read these books. I wondered if her played up to what we'd thought of him or if he was just really shaken up. I think it's the latter.
"Okay, let get out of here before you break something" she said, when the guide called for the end of the day. Everybody but a Mom and a six-year-old girl, an old lady, her tiny dog and me were left. Grover said he'd stay but I realised that it would stuff people around more so I told them to go on. The lady stood there running her forked tongue across her lips. Damn.
"Well I'm disappointed nobody took that bet" Hermes said pouting, much like Poseidon was.
"He's going to go somewhere on this quest and not get attacked right, and you two stop sending monsters" he said sighing the last part directed at Hades and I. I doubted it.
"If I asked nicely" I said, "Could you not try to kill me?" She laughed, and smirked.
"No" the entire room chorused. Maybe we should keep him, if we even could. I don't think that we could I wondered if he would stay if we tried.
"No, I'm still going to kill you, Lord Zeus sent me to, and of course to take back his lightning bolt" she said petting her dog which seemed to be growing.
"Zeus" Poseidon whined. I sighed.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry I take it back" I said, I wasn't doused in seawater because he knew that I meant it.
"They are innocents," I said indicating to ranger, the little girl and her Mom. Her dog exploded into full size with a growl. It had the head of a lion and the body of a dog and my head came up to its chin, it was massive.
"I'm half excited and half scared to see what he's going to do to them," Hestia said. We looked at her funny. "What I can be as violent as everyone else here," she protested at our looks of disbelief.
"I am Echidna, Mother of monsters I care not for innocents," she said changing also. I decided I like her better as a forked tongued fat lady.
The entire throne room rang with laughter, if he said that out loud I would have paid to see her face.
"Isn't that an anteater?" I asked her. She started to rant; I pity the next Australian that comes across her. I indicated to the people to run as she started yelling. When they were gone I pulled a can of Nitro 9 from my pocket and walked toward the balcony.
"Oh shit, it's the epic explosives again, there fucked" Apollo said.
"Think he's going to kill the dog or the woman" someone asked Ares. Once again we were all turning to Ares for information. It was really, really wrong.
"Dog, then he'll scare the woman, she'll run off and tell people, they'll panic and attack them less' he explained matter of factly.
"Where do you think you're going?" she said threateningly. I ignored her, her dog ran at me and roared. Bingo, I thought throwing the explosives in his mouth and boom. There was blood, gore and bone fragments flying through the air. Echidna screamed in grief.
"Told ya" Ares said bored. I just shook my head she wasn't going to be happy about this.
"Nobody argued with you" Artemis said.
"I didn't steal the lightning bolt and I am tired of people trying to kill me and my friend's for something I haven't done," I said murderously, my voice deathly cold. "This is a warning for everybody, I'm not playing nice anymore. I am done fucking around"
"Yet another example of the wacky world these book have thrown us into. A world where once again Ares is right" Athena declared. Many people shuddered in acknowledgement, it was kind of wrong.
"Yeah I more worried about the bit where he might not be bluffing about not fucking around anymore, considering were all about to receive a visit from him" Hera informed us.
"Yeah Hera, sister dear, please stop freaking me out" Hades said sighing.
"You're dead," she said enraged and slightly scared, "You wont leave here." I laughed hollowly, how many people had said that to me? to many.
"Then how is he still alive?" Hermes said, "How is he sane?"
"Alive yes, but I don't think he's sane" Dionysus answered, "At least that's what he told me remember?" He did so, 'Showing someone you can make them insane doesn't mean nothing to a crazy person' he might have been bluffing but I don't know for sure.
"Watch me," I said jumping off the ledge and into the river. I hit the water painlessly and sunk to the bottom of the floor. It was disgusting; somebody needs to clean this up. There were McDonalds wrappers and crap everywhere.
"Did he just jump of the arch?" Hermes asked baffled.
"Yep" I said examining my fingernails, "After blowing up her massive dog and threatening her within an inch of her life." We are so fucked.
"Percy" I heard a female voice call, I would have uncapped my sword but she sounded like my Mom. A naiad moved into my vision. "You need to go to the closet beach in LA, you're father asks that you do" she said.
"She's not going to like this conversation" Poseidon said unhappily, "I hope he doesn't yell at her"
"Were you listening, it said she sounded like his Mom" Aphrodite pointed out. That was affair point, I don't think she survive if he went postal.
"Why can't he come see me now?" I asked, partly because I wanted to know what she'd say and partly because I knew I was supposed to. I was supposed to be a kid. "If it was so important wouldn't he be here now?"
"He's good, playing up to peoples expectations" Apollo said, "It makes sure that you have the element of surprise when you need it"
"Brother, you've got to cut this crap out. If you keep saying intelligent thing the worlds going to end" Artemis told him seriously.
"He wants to be here, but he's not allowed" she said looking like she was going to cry. I wonder how she got stuck with this job. I felt irritated, I thought that if I had children there'd be no way in hell I'd let anybody tell me that I couldn't see them or raise them, like hell. Then again I wasn't a parent so I can't say anything.
"I hate that he's right but at least he know that he can't say anything," Hera said. Many of us raised our eyebrows at her. "We should treat her children better, we should raise them and take care of them" shame flushed through me.
"Did you daughter kick you're head in when she came and talked to you?" Hades asked. Hera blushed.
"Look it's fine, I have to go. Time limit and all" I said, she looked upset. "It'll be fine," I said grabbing her hand and squeezing in reassurances before turning and making my way out of the polluted water and onto a floating McDonalds.
"Wait, pause right there we need to get that dealt with" Poseidon said grabbing his phone and ringing to get someone to clean up the river.
"Look Mommy he came out of the water, but he isn't wet" a little kid chirped. The Mother didn't even turn just patronized the kid. I hate when that happens, children see so much more than adults do.
"Does anyone know why that is?" Demeter asked. Everybody shrugged. "Maybe it's because they eat more cereal than adults." Cue the groaning.
"Percy, you jumped of the arc" Annabeth said half worried, half annoyed, "What the hell?" I smiled, something that when presented with an irate woman, even a mini one is not a good idea. She hit me. Actually I let her hit me, because well girls are sulky and strange when they don't get their own way. Goddess knows why?
"Hey" all the girls in the room shout. The rest of the guys try not to laugh to escape, oh you know… complete annihilation and certain death.
"I thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way," Grover said. Actually I thought, that's an idea… or not I realised. My death may be a fixed point in time, which pretty much guarantee's I'll get out of it. Nice to know the Time War was good for something, but Annabeth and Grover's are not.
"Well that's discouraging, does that mean he knows exactly how he's going to die?" Hestia asked. Ares flinched.
"You need to explain what you know," I told Ares. He shivered.
"If it isn't explained by tomorrow night I'll explain but you really don't want to know" He responded in a dead voice.
"I could just look" Apollo said.
"No" Ares yelled, "Don't, you really don't want to do that." He looked almost terrified for his brother.
"It'll be fine" Apollo said waving away his concern cheerfully. Searching the future, and then he froze, paled, clapped he hands over his ears and screamed, and screamed, and screamed. "No, no, no, no, no. Please make it stop."
"What are you seeing?" somebody whispered. I'd never seen him lose it like that, not that bad.
"Blood, so much blood and hate and genocide. Arcadia, Acintia never enough time but always too much. Help" the last part came out a choked desperate sob. "Please get it out of my head. Please, please make it stop." A woman appeared out of thin air took one look at Apollo swooped gracefully onto the arm of his throne and wrapped her arms around her.
"Shh," she crooned in his ear pulling him close and he didn't even try to take advantage of it, his face buried in her shoulder and his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. Which was when I began to take in her appearance. She had long ebony tresses piled in a bun on top of her head, her skin was whiter than marble and had concentric circular symbols inked lightly on various parts of her body that seemed to move on there own. Her eyes scared me; they were emerald green and filled with all the light and shadows of the universe.
"Who are you?" I asked her as she ran her lightly glowing hand through my sons golden hair. She smiled.
"Family" She said rocking them both back and forth. I raised my eyebrow. "I'm Lyra Jasmine Holmes-Black, daughter of Hera," she stated, many jaws dropped at the fact that we were related to this… being. She had a presence of the Mother of the universe, or the Goddess of Time and Space that we all swear by. "Anything you don't want me to erase just imagine a door and close it," she told Apollo. He nodded and clung tighter.
"Will he be okay?" Artemis asked. She nodded and began to talk nonsensical phrases of reassurance in English, Ancient Greek and a musical sounding language as she reassured him until he lay limply in her arms. She glanced at her wrist in surprise and then fixed her gaze on the floor, looking at a silver charm bracelet on the floor. When she moved to get it Apollo's arms tightened.
"Stay" he whispered burrowing closer. She sighed and pressed a kiss in his hair in a sisterly fashion.
"I promise," she vowed. I got up and picked up the bracelet and fastened it around her wrist. It made her change. Her hair wasn't as dark, nor were there any of the symbols on her skin she looked like and ordinary mortal of about 19 to 23 hugging the God of the sun except for the scar that ran across her throat. "Thank you" she told me as I made my way back to my throne. "Perhaps we should continue reading," she suggested.
"Nah, super-duper water powers" I said, "It's seemed easier than having it out with the Mother of monsters." Also she'll run her mouth and make people, as Reggie puts it 'A jot lerry' about attacking us. Which is the point.
Many of us laughed, but it was mostly hollow nobody had gotten over what happened to Apollo, but he looked happy curled up with his half sister.
"Crap" Annabeth swore, "We need to get out of here now." I nodded and we made our way to the train station. On the train I'd managed to hack onto the radio and play songs from my ipod. I may have turned the five-hour train ride into a party accidentally.
"Nice going Kiddo" Lyra said laughing, "He has a knack for that"
"What's that?" Poseidon asked apprehensively. I leaned forward in anticipation of her answer.
"Having fun, and making other people have fun at the most inappropriate moments" she responded with a smile.
The fifth time I'd played 'Highway to Hell' which is both a cool song and ironic at the moment Annabeth slapped me again. Which lead me to the conclusion that I need to teach her the merits of punching because her backhand sucked.
"Is anybody else not surprised?" Hermes asked rhetorically. There was a great big synchronized nope that rang through the throne room.
We found our way to a diner, in which we noticed a problem that I'd been ignoring. The entire country was looking for me. Gabe was on TV telling people that I was a drug-addicted alcoholic that kidnapped my Mom and had become a terrorist. I was going to kill him.
"Please, please kill him" Poseidon fumed. Lyra snickered.
"Oh, he doesn't have to. Aunt Sally is more than capable of taking care of herself" she explained at our questioning looks.
But that wasn't the strange bit; the strange bit was the God buying us cheeseburgers. Yeah… and this is my life.
Poseidon marked the page and set the book down. The throne room cleared out until it was just Lyra, Apollo and I remaining. Moving forward to stand in front of them I ran my fingers through my sons hair. He didn't respond at all…
"I'll take care of him, I promise" she vowed, "Tomorrow morning he'll be as good as new"
"Why would you do that?" I asked, "You're my wife's demi-god child, I don't see myself being kind to you"
"If there is one thing that my Mother and I are alike in it is family" she explain softly, "He is my brother, Half brother, step brother doesn't matter. I take care of my family and I'll tell you a secret. My parents, the original ones were Lady Joanne and Lord Sirius Black, they were married and love each other dearly, and they were witch and wizard. There was a war and Joanne was hit with a curse that rendered her incapable of having children, Mother felt for them and decided that they would raise her child. The only damage done was to her ovaries so she could be a surrogate mother"
"Hera never cheated on me" I whispered in realisation, "What happen to you parents?"
"They died when I was a year old" she answered, "I believe that my Uncles are waiting for you." I knew instantly that she knew, about my… relationship with my brothers and wasn't judging me a single bit. "Go, I'll watch over him tonight." Reluctantly I made my way to my bed where my brothers were waiting for me.
All done, what do you reckon? Review and tell me what you think. Apollo had a melt down for being nosy and I brought in Lyra. I'll try and update soon.
