Chapter Twelve
Athena was confused more than anyone else. She didn't know who, or what, had sent Percy to Ogygia, but however it had happened, he had clearly become besotted with Calypso, which was the opposite of what normally happened. Regardless, it had happened, and now they found themselves in a conundrum. Her father was roaring at them to hunt Percy down, but Poseidon wasn't having any of it and was screaming back in his face. Aphrodite looked like she had swallowed a lemon, while Ares was holding his head in his hands.
"Couldn't we just… let it happen?" Hermes suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to look in his direction. "Percy—rightly so, I might add—has pointed out that Calypso isn't cursed—we're just being pricks. Besides, he's done more work for Olympus than any of us. He's earned some reward. He wants Calypso freed. That's not an unfair request."
"Calypso fought for the Titans," Athena felt obligated to point out, "and with the Titans rising again, who's to say she won't?"
"Perseus, for one," Demeter said, and now the eyes shot to her, "I was against her punishment in the first place—not that half of you would know that. Perseus has requested that Calypso be allowed to leave her island. I say that we allow it, on the condition that Perseus serves as her… what's the mortal term? Parole officer! He serves as her parole officer to ensure that she doesn't betray Olympus."
"And what if Perseus himself betrays Olympus?" Artemis countered. The snort that came from Hestia was the most undignified thing Athena had ever heard come from her aunt. It was, quite frankly, astonishing that she would make such a sound.
"Artemis, my dear, I love you immensely," Hestia said gently, "but that has to be the stupidest thing you could have said. Even at his angriest, filled with rage against the gods, against us, not once would the thought of betraying Olympus cross his mind. More so than you can imagine, this is his home. He built this kingdom, and he loves it more than anything."
Percy's words all those months ago flashed into her mind.
I gave everything to this kingdom—better I had died in the dungeons of Orthys than live to see this.
"Perseus did not build this kingdom!" Zeus thundered. "I did! I saved you all! That is why I am King, and why you will obey me!"
"Oh for fucks sake Zeus!" Poseidon roared bringing everyone to silence. Poseidon was famous for many things but swearing wasn't one of the more common ones. Threats, yes. Swearing? Oddly enough, not so much. "I've tolerated your ego because you were the one to free us from Kronos' stomach, but you were not the one to plan it! My son was! My son! My son, Zeus! You've threatened him, you've banished him, but you will not claim responsibility for what he did for us. No longer! Percy has more than earned the right to demand this of us. I was there at Orthys, Zeus! Demeter was there, Hera was there, Hades was there! We were all there, and we saw what happened!"
"Poseidon, stop this inst—"
"Shut up, Zeus, I'm speaking," her uncle barked, "for once in your damned life, listen to your elder brother. Let's tell the rest of the council, five of whom are your children, what really happened that day, shan't we?"
Zeus' eyes flickered from side to side, looking for support from his siblings. There was none.
"He's right, you know," Hera sighed after a moment, "we've been living a lie for so long, Zeus. We may as well own up to it."
"Why?" Zeus demanded, "all it will do is make us look weak!"
"Perhaps," Demeter nodded in agreement, "but only a fool would believe us to be weak, Zeus. Even I, the goddess of agriculture, am no idle threat."
"I—"
"We have spoken, brother," Hestia said, "it is time for the truth."
"Okay, I've been respectfully quiet this entire time," Ares drawled, "but what exactly in the name of the Pit are we talking about?"
"It… would be easier to show you," Hera admitted with a wave of her hand. Athena felt her eyes roll into the back of her head, and her vision went black for a fraction of a moment.
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Mount Orthys
The Hekatonkheries lobbed boulder after boulder at the walls of Orthys, shearing entire sections of the black stone off, only for the stone to seemingly rise and seal itself back in place. At the base of the mountain, six figures stood silently, watching the process.
"Kronos is working his magic strongly," a deep voice that Athena recognized as her father rumbled. He looked younger. Less sure of himself, but still in control. He wore fine armour of Celestial Bronze, and his fingers tapped on his master bolt, inert, but still radiating power.
"We need to draw him out, brother," that was Hades. Like Zeus, he wore Celestial Bronze armour, though his was reinforced by strips of Stygian Iron, and his Helm of Darkness rested under his arm. "I don't suppose you have any idea, Poseidon?"
"Well, no," her uncle admitted. His armour was heavier and had pauldrons on it. He was leaning on his trident, running a hand through his beard. "Perseus?"
"I'll handle it," Athena blinked at the sight of Percy. He looked so… young. His eyes were blazingly green, but there was life in them that she hadn't seen in many centuries. Unlike her father or uncles, Percy wore an unadorned chest plate, with vambraces and greaves to match. He looked a simple soldier compared to the others. Even Hera and Demeter wore armour that made them look to be warrior-goddesses.
"And how do you plan to do that, nephew?" Hera asked, worry tinging her voice. Percy smiled at her reassuringly.
"Don't worry Aunt Hera," he told her, "just be ready for Kronos to appear."
And with that, Percy began marching up the path to the gates of Mount Orthys. A cluster of monster rushed down at him, clearly thinking him to be a simple mortal. They couldn't have been further from the truth. Percy's blade whipped out, decapitating the first one, before bisecting the second. And the third, fourth and fifth in rapid succession. The shield on his left arm shot to his side, crushing the throat of a minor immortal, causing her to collapse to the floor. At the same time, he parried a strike from a great sword on his right side before his blade slipped through the ribs of his attacker, forcing him to dissolve into golden dust.
He was perhaps twenty yards from the foot of the walls now, and stood there patiently for a moment.
"Is this all you have?" He suddenly called out. The boulders ceased attacking the walls at that moment. "For ten years I have killed your soldiers. Am I to believe that the remainder of you are all the cowards and weaklings who couldn't be trusted in the field? I suppose that explains why Iapetus and Atlas are in there. Kronos knows better than to let them fight. He would have lost this war sooner had he let them loose."
"Poseidon?" Hades muttered at the base of the path.
"Yes, brother?"
"Your son is insane. I just thought you should know."
"Oh, brother, I figured that out a while ago."
Zeus snickered next to them, but then sobered up when the gates slammed open, and Atlas came roaring out, followed by a gaggle of minor Titans and immortals, as well as many more monsters. Percy stared at them before laughing loudly.
"Do you need help, Atlas? Am I too much for you to handle alone?"
Atlas roared out and charged, the rest of his forces remaining behind as he did so. The sword he was wielding was the size of Percy, yet he didn't seem the least bit concerned, instead ducking under a swing from the blade and coming up before driving his sword into Atlas' gut. It should have been over then, but then Percy did something Athena had never seen him do before. He drew the fight out. Percy took a few steps back, and let Atlas recover. The Titan took a few deep breaths before charging again. Percy stepped to the side and drove his foot into Atlas' knee, sending the Titan tumbling to the ground with a yelp of pain. That was when Percy ended the fight, slamming the hilt of his sword into the back of Atlas' head, knocking the Titan out.
"Whose next?" He demanded, his face contorted in rage. "Come now, you cowards, who is next?"
Krios cautiously stepped forward, and Athena flinched. He had never been much of a fighter. It wouldn't end well for him.
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Athena watched in amazement as Percy called out four of the Titan lords, defeating them with ease and brutality. She knew he was a warrior, but this was absurd. These were the Titans, and at this point, Percy was only twenty-five. If this was the apex of his skills, he could wipe out most of the council without breaking a sweat. Why he didn't fight back when he was exiled to Tartarus, she didn't know.
With a loud snap, she was drawn out of the images of the past, back into the Hall of the Gods. In the centre of the hall, Hestia poked her fire quietly. Poseidon looked troubled, and even her father was deep in thought. Ares looked impressed by what they had just witnessed, while several of the others were pale.
"How… how powerful is he?" Hermes finally asked, shaking his head.
"Immensely," Hestia answered, "he matches me, perhaps even surpasses my power now. He had ten thousand years to hone his skill in Tartarus, and that was after seven thousand years and two wars against immortals on the surface. If we include the mortal wars he fought in before he was banished, we're up to seven wars. From what he told you, he fought in another seven that we know of. That's fourteen wars spread over around seven thousand years, just on the surface. Add in the ten thousand years of constant fighting in Tartarus? Who knows what he's capable of."
The statement was met with silence. After a moment, Apollo spoke up.
"During the Trojan War, when I fought him outside the walls, he warned me not to intervene again," he recounted, "I did so, and he knew it. It's why he joined in the sack, he told me as much while he was praying. He also warned me that if I confronted him, he would kill me. I took it as bragging, but it wasn't, was it?"
"Not in the least," Athena jerked her head to her father in surprise. Zeus' face was blank, but his eyes were clearer than she remembered them being in millennia. "Perseus is a dangerous man, perhaps the most dangerous being alive, mortal and immortal alive. When Poseidon and I captured him after the sack, it was only because he let us."
"That's why we try to avoid confrontation with him," Poseidon pressed on, before tipping his trident towards her, "and its why Athena is normally sent to negotiate with him. He'd never hurt her, so it gives us an advantage."
She had figured that much out years prior, but it was interesting to hear it admitted aloud.
"So what? We acquise to his demands?" Zeus asked, "then what? He asks for more and more, and we have to give it to him! Again, it will make us look weak."
"First of all, my son has earned anything he wants, Zeus," Poseidon shot back, "and second, we both know he won't do that, because it's not in his nature. Clearly, he feels some form of kinship with Calypso, because like him, she was banished to a place she doesn't deserve to be. Let the girl go, Zeus. If Percy won't watch over her, I'll do it. I will bring her to Atlantis, and task Pallas with watching her, ensuring she stays loyal to Olympus. Is that a fair deal, brother?"
Zeus was silent for a moment, and Athena was prepared for him to shoot the offer down.
"Pallas watches her," her father declared. "Not Perseus. We'll free her, but for the next century, she has to stay in Atlantis, where your granddaughter will make sure she stays loyal. If that is not good enough for Perseus, she remains where she is."
Poseidon nodded his head, before tapping the butt of his staff on the ground.
"Iris, my beautiful friend, would you be a dear and contact Perseus?" He said aloud.
"I swear, he gets his charm from you," The goddess' voice was sharp and clear, but she was nowhere nearby. A screen shimmered into existence, and they found Percy sitting on the edge of the beach on Ogygia, sharpening his sword on a whetstone, a fire burning bright a few paces away. Calypso was sitting nearby tending to a garden, singing quietly.
It took Athena an embarrassing moment to realise that it was Percy himself singing along with her. His voice was deep and smooth, and melded perfectly with the Titaness' voice. After a few moments, he looked up, seeing them for the first time. He was silent for a moment before he began laughing loudly, which caused Calypso to stop singing. She looked up and saw them as well. Her face flushed red for a moment before she too began laughing.
"Gods, if you could see your faces!" Percy cried out, putting the sword and stone down. "What can I do for you this fine evening?"
"We've come to a decision regarding Calypso, Percy," Poseidon told him quietly, and her cousin sat up a little straighter, but made no effort to rise.
"And?"
"We will free her from her island," Poseidon said, "but she will come to Atlantis with me, where she will be supervised by Pallas for a century. If she proves loyal, she will be released to do as she pleases."
Percy didn't say anything, instead turning to Calypso. The daughter of Atlas was silent for a moment, before she shrugged at Percy, who turned back to them.
"Works for me, works for her," he replied, "but I'll escort her myself."
"Yeah, about that," Hermes chimed in, "Camp Half-Blood is preparing for a battle. We thought you might like to step in and make sure they didn't all die?"
Percy was silent for another moment, before sighing loudly.
"Well damn," he muttered, "fine, I'll keep your kids alive, you lazy bastards. If I find out Calypso hasn't arrived in Atlantis by the time I get to camp, I swear to all I hold precious, I'll find some quiet place in Alaska to settle down, and you'll never get any help from me again."
With that, Percy swept his hand through the image, cutting it out. Poseidon let out a deep breath.
"That went better than I hoped."
MMXVIII
There we go! I finally got this chapter out. Sorry it's been a while, I'm in my last month of school, and I have to work extra hard to make sure my grades are up to speck. Ya know, cuz I want to go to college and all. Don't expect the next chapter of Peace and Blood for a while, either, because I can't be bothered to update it at the moment, though I am working on it. My schedule is all fucked up because of school and Green Card stuff, so I may be travelling back to Australia at any given time. In turn, if we do get our Green Cards, I'll probably end up getting a job, which means less time for writing over the summer. Anyways, as always, leave a review or send me a PM! But if you're going to do the latter, I'd prefer it to be constructive criticism or the likes. I don't mind getting good jobs messages, but it's better to get those as reviews.
Cheers!
CombatTombat