I do not own any PJO. And before we start I would just like to say chapters are not that fun to write it's just character development which is fun to write cuz I don't create back story's for them at the start –'sept for Alpha and Leto- so don't worry this should be the last one like this for a bit. The next chapter should have the starting of the excitement! And sorry this was late if you read the "Sorry!" chapter you'd understand but at one of my houses my internet is craping out (as in NOT WORKING!) on me so, fun.
Chapter 11: We Have Some Explaining To Do
"Where have you been?" Nico asked me.
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that." I said pulling away from him looking down.
"Why?" I smiled nervously at him.
"Because it's… confusing." I answered; he raised his eye brows at me. "Just… don't hate me." Nico looked a taken back at that.
"Why would I ever hate you, Jess?"
"I- can I come in?" I asked. He nodded and opened the door wider to let me in. Nico lead me over to his bunk and sat down, I sat next to him. He looked at me expectantly.
"Look, just…" What's wrong with me? I can't talk to a guy, but I can take on the load of learning that my life has been somewhat of a lie? And I can handle having three kids, and being a leader of a country and the Keepers? Damn this guy is doing me in, I can't remember being like this with Hypnos or Hades or Hermes! Fuck. "This is going to be confusing and maybe too much to handle, just hear me out though, okay?"
"Okay, you're freaking me out a little, Jess. And that's saying a lot considering who my dad is." The Son of Hades said.
"Yeah… Ah, where do I start?" I laughed. "I know, my name. I was named after my Grandmother. My name- my name is Leto."
"Nice one, Jess." Nico laughed. I looked at him seriously.
"Nico, I'm not joking. That's my name. And it doesn't change anything –well it kinda does. I'm older than you would think…" I explained to him everything I've lived through my parents, relationships (That one was kind of awkward, since I dated his dad and had a kid), responsibilities, and all in all my life. He just sat there, listening. This didn't take that long, 20 mins tops –surprisingly.
"And when you see me training or stuff like that I switch personalities sort of. It's like normally I'm like how you know me, but when I'm training or I'm supposed to be reasonable, a switch turns on and I won't hesitate to get my point across and yell. Even if it resorts to violence. So… any questions?" I ended, biting my lip. He inhaled and exhaled deeply before he started.
"I can honestly say… that if freaks me out that you and my dad had a thing." He looked totally serious. I waked his arm.
"Nico!" He laughed at me. "What?!" I exclaimed.
"I don't know. I don't know how you're sane after learning all of that."
"When you have that much of a responsibility, you just can't. Ya know?" I said. He shook his head.
"I'm just a kid. An 80 year old kid, but still a kid. I may have responsibilities with Hades, but those are like arenas." I was about to answer when Chiron walked in.
"Hello." He said. "Nico there is a counselors meeting you need to be at. And before I forget, the Romans are here." He winked at him and left. We stood up and followed him out.
"Well, I got to go. I'll see-" I cut Nico off.
"I'll walk with you." And I walked with him towards the big house. When we got there my Keepers were waiting outside. Nico turned to me.
"Well I have to go. See you."
"Bye." He walked into the Big house (A/N Okay I have to ask this, their "meetings" are held in the Big House right? Cuz that's what I got out of it. If it isn't please tell me!). I walked over to the group; they turned to me when I walked over.
"What now?" Caroline asked.
"We walk in, obviously." Alice smirked. I nodded at her, so much like her father. I made a move of the door, but it opened. Argus was standing there; he nodded at me and let us through. I walked down a hall and stopped at the door where the meeting, was being held. I heard voices.
"Why are we here, Chiron?" Someone said.
"Be patient, child." I heard Chiron said. I pushed the door open, everyone's eyes snapped to me. Will smile widely at me and came over to give me a hug.
"Jessie! I'm so glad you're safe!" He said.
"I can take care of myself, Will." I said. He let go of me and smiled at me like I was a little kid.
"Sure, Jessie. I'll talk to you after the meeting." I rolled my eyes at him and pushed my way through. Jason, Hazel, Frank, Reyna, and a few other Romans were there. I motioned for the rest of them to come through. I stood in betweeno Percy and Travis and the rest of us stood randomly around the room. They all looked at me like I was crazy.
"Ah, Jess. No offence, but what are you doing? You're not a head, Chiron?" They all looked at him for an explanation of why he or Mr. D wasn't doing anything to get us out of here.
"Please!" I said. "He can't make us leave! They have no authority over us."
"Yes, they do." Annabeth said. They all looked to Chiron and Mr. D.
"It is true." Chiron said. "And they are who we were waiting for. Carry on, Leto." He nodded to me.
"Leto?" They asked everyone who knew me anyways. I smiled and nodded.
"Yes, that is my name. Even ask Nico." Everyone looked to said person. He nodded, not even mustering one word. This was old news to him.
"How?" Clarisse asked. Suitable question to ask.
"I just explained all of this to Nico-" Will interrupted me.
"Wait, why Nico? Of all people you could have told?" I glared at my brother.
"Because I trust Nico, Will. And don't try to say the "I'm your brother" line. No offence to any of the family I have in the room-" I looked towards the Keepers. "-but I've had some problems with my family in past years. Mary didn't like me one bit, and Zeus tried to have me killed but banished me instead."
"What? I wouldn't try to kill you though. And why would he-?" Will broke off. I smile at him sadly.
"It'll be explained." I said.
"Okay, when?" Percy asked. I rolled my eyes at him.
"You demi-gods and your ADHD. I'll try to make it the shortest I can." I stood up and started to walk around. "For starters please leave any questions to the end. Now, let's start with my back story. My parents are Apollo, God of the Sun and et cetera, and Aegle, Goddess of Brightness. Most of you thought Mary was my mother. That is obviously not true. Now-" I explained to them my life. Which you already have been told a few times. But, now that I look back I forgot to tell them about my kids and the Demetri thing. When I finished, unlike Nico they had a bunch of questions.
"Okay, huh? Huh? And huh?" Leo asked me.
"You heard me, Leo."
"How is it possible that you are blessed by so many gods?" Annabeth asked me.
"Ask your mom, Annabeth. She was one of the many gods." I said.
"I am totally lost." Jason said on behalf of the Romans.
"Well, you just showed up. All though Hazel knows a little about me. And Alpha over here is my right-hand-man, Frank's brother, and a Roman."
"You're my brother?" Frank asked. Alpha walked over to him and slung an arm around his shoulders.
"Seems like it, kid. Just think of me as your… 254 -some odd- year old big brother." They all looked at him wide eyed.
"Oh!" They all looked over at me. "Tell them all of your ages! Alice you first, sweetheart."
"Kay, I am 358." Mouths dropped at that. Travis and Conner sobered first, and asked.
"Wait Alice?-" Travis asked.
"-As in our sister Alice?" Conner asked. She nodded at them. They sat back stunned.
"Shade, Ora."
"We are both 101 years old." Oriella said.
"267." Sage said.
"36. I know, but I'm not the youngest!" Terra said.
"76." Caroline said.
"33, I'm the youngest." River said.
"My gods." Nox said. "Ah, 400ish years. We lost count a few hundred years ago."
"And I was born during the rule of Greece." I told them.
"How-?" One of them said.
"Huh?" Leo said. He did not understand most of it anyways.
"Their demi-gods!" Annabeth said. "They can't live that long –well three of them can- but not the rest!" We all smiled at her.
"Nox and Alice are gods. My own children, so of course they can live that long. And for the rest of them, much like the Hunters of Artemis they are granted immortality until they die or they betray me. It is as simple as that." I told them.
"You have kids?" Piper asked. I don't blame her; the look on Nico's face was hilarious when I got to that part.
"Yes I do. Three to be exact."
"Where's your third kid?" Katie asked. I swallowed heavily.
"He was born during the rule of Greece too. I was lusted after by many gods. I was told that I was more beautiful than Aphrodite herself –I'll explain that later. But –this is going to sound weird but one of those gods was Hades. And we fell in love. And we –you know. And we had Alexander. My first boy." My voice grew softer at the end. "Picture a Hades with my eyes. And more compassionate and caring towards others… anyways that's what he looked like. But at his fifteenth birthday, he was taken from me. I just gave him the gift of being the Keeper of Sound, which was his one wish that he always wanted. I went inside to get Hades he wanted to give him a gift other than the Keeper bracelet that he made for him; I was just about to get Hades when I heard a scream from outside. I rushed out, but I was too late. He was taken, my first son. On his birthday of all times. I ran around the rose garden that we were in screaming for him. The rest of the gods came out. They saw me calling franticly for him. No one could calm me. Who could blame me? A mother losing her son, her first born! Hades was almost as distraught as me. He did a good job at keeping is to a minimum. I left; I didn't come back for years." We were quiet for a few minutes. Just soaking it up, then Piper asked a question I wouldn't think anyone would ask.
"Do you think he's still alive?" She asked. I looked at her in mild surprise; Mr. D grunted knowing what I was going to say.
"Of course, Piper." I said softly. "You can feel it. In your heart, if your child is dead or not. He may be in pain, but one day I will find Alexander."
"You just had to ask her?" Mr. D said. Many people glared at him –manly my Keepers. I turned to him.
"You're not a mother, Uncle. Are you not? You don't know what it's like to lose a child close to you. And you definitely wouldn't know what it's like to have some compassion for someone."
"Really? What about Hermes?" He said. With a flick of my wrist, I sent him fly to the other side of the room. People gasped at me. What? I do this on a regular base.
"Unlike you Dionysus, have no need to regret my –as you would call it "mistakes"- and I would think you owe my daughter an apology since you just called her a "mistake"." I hissed at him. He grunted and said a gruff.
"Sorry." I smirked at his hurt forum.
"Good boy, Dionysus." I said. "Now, are we finished here?"
"Not yet!" Annabeth called. "Your –Keepers- you called them. I want to know about them." Alpha glared at her.
"You have no right-!" He started. He was always more sensitive with his past then the rest of us.
"Alpha! Restrain yourself." I told him strictly.
"My apologizes, Leto." Alpha backed off. They look a bit taken back by Alpha.
"If it's too much of a bother-"
"No Annabeth. We have a right to know!" Clarisse said. I nodded.
"She is right." Caroline said. "It will build a trust." She said to all of us.
"As you wish. But before we start, may I say that we are a legend that was never told." They all looked at me funny. At some point in time they have all heard a form of what we are, not us exactly but the jest of it. "Where shall we start? I don't think you would like to know the whole back story of all of my past Keepers, so ah… the oldest, Nox you are a god so?"
"I sometimes-like right now- come down and help the Keepers out since I am the Keeper of Time and Space myself, so yeah. I'm also Hypnos' kid. And when I'm not doing this, I'm up there being Chronos' assistant. Sage?" He said.
"Okay, well! There's not much to say about me. I grew up being the weird kid, I made the wind blow around all crazy like when I got mad or frustrated. And… then Leto and them showed up around 1759 when I was 15 and pulled me away from my small town telling me I was different and that I was the" Keeper of Wind". And I was a mortal so Leto had to bless me so I could come into Olympus or the camp boarders. So yeah, who's next?" Sage finished. Caroline sighed next to me.
"I might as well." She said. "I grew up during the Holocaust (That's how you spell it?), born in '35. I was 10 when it started? I am the daughter of Athena. So, I had funny things happen to me also. But with lightning, or anything related to electricity. They picked me up during a raid when –I too- was fifteen. I am the Keeper of Electricity. Rive?"
"Alright. I'm a mortal too, blessed by Leto –blah, blah, blah. Born in '79 got picked up in, –shit- '95. I was a swimmer, won a bunch of metals all over the state. Bet you can guess which element I "keep". Yup! Keeper of Water! I can do a bunch of stuff Percy can do and more." River said.
"Really?" Percy asked him. River smiled slyly at the Son of Poseidon. Alice rolled her eyes at the two.
"I'll go." She said. "I am the daughter of Leto and Hermes, as you know. I was trained growing up all my life. Spent time with my father, he taught me all that I know about stealing. I am the Keeper of Light. And I think that's it. The twins?"
"We had two different lives. Also one of the weirder back story's." Shade said. "I grew up with my father in 1910 until 1927 when I was picked up. I was already about to be deployed into the army then though I was 17 almost 18 I was a day away from my birthday so my father though I just had died, I went to my own funeral. That was a weird day. So I was picked up and found I was the co-Keeper of Darkness with my new found twin sister Oriella and that I am the son of Aphrodite."
"My turn." Ora said. "I am the daughter of Aphrodite, Shade is my twin, and I am co-Keeper of Darkness. I grew up knowing about Shade with my mom up in Olympus. Hephaestus taught me a bunch of stuff about forges and stuff like that; I'm pretty good with a sheet of metal. And I was picked up before Shade when I was 16 in '26. Ah, that's it. Now it's just Alpha, right?" We all looked to Alpha; he was staring out of the window. He didn't look happy one bit.
"Alpha?" I called. He pointed towards something outside.
"Not now, but you may want to look at this. I knew when the Doors of Death opened; I knew something bad for us was coming." Alice was the first one to get over to him, her eyes were wider than dinner plates and she gasped.
"How? Damn Death and his Doors! This never would have happened!" She yelled looking away from the window.
"Alice, what's wrong? What's out there?" I asked. She looked down looking like she was in pain. "Alice?" I was worried now, not much got her or Alpha like this.
"Come look." His words were quiet. I walked over, and I didn't like what I saw one bit.
"That bastard!" I yelled.
Hmmm… What's out there? Well, you won't know until I finish the next chapter now will you! I spelt the word long version for "mins." please tell me. I feel like I can never spell the stupid word. And to be honest, that is really pathetic when I can spell words like, immortality, responsibilities, and pathetic on the first try. I mean really? I suck that much?
Scarlett Dove
