(A/N: This chapter is going to be loooooooooong, probably the longest one in this fanfic, so be prepared (; Sorry it took me so long to write it. Forgive me!)
Jason shifted in his seat. He didn't know how much memories Annabeth can handle for one day. Jason knew that Annabeth was the most powerful daughter of Athena in history, but a human mind can only endure so much.
He looked through her grey-colored eyes. The look in them were so lonesome. The glint of her revealed a world of darkness. Even though she would always try to hide it with a fake smile, her eyes revealed it all. Theses dark, colourless eyes that mourned her despair for years. Jason knew that the life in her eyes had disappeared forever.
"Anything wrong?" She asked
"No." He mumbled "I was just thinking if you're okay... with the flush of memories."
"I'm fine, Jason" He could tell she was lying. She moved her blanket so that it covered more of her shoulders. "How about we take a break. I can make you some hot chocolate?"
"That would be great."
"Romans and Greeks," Thalia yelled, as she stood at the top of a small hill, making herself visible to the crowd "The gods of Olympus have sent us with the request that the following demigods be recruited to Mount Olympus this instant." She opened a golden parchment and read "Heroes of Olympus: Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Annabeth Chase, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang. Heroes of Half-Blood Hill: Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, Nico Di Angelo, Will Solace and the Oracle of Delphi, Rachel Dare"
"Um," Frank stumbled "How exactly are you supposed to transport all of us there?" Thalia had a confused look on her face, as if she didn't expect this question.
Nico cracked his knuckles, and grinned wickedly "I think I can handle it"
"I swear to Apollo if you even think of Shadow-travel- " Will solace threatened Nico
Queen Hylla stepped forward. She looked so much like Reyna, it was uncanny. She had the exact same dark eyes and long black hair. She had it braided to one side, which differentiated her from Reyna. She was dressed in a sleek black leather jumpsuit, like the other Amazons, but she had a golden belt strapped around her waist, symbolizing her rank as queen. Jason noticed that she was also wearing a ring. It was silver, unlike the other Amazons' golden bracelets and necklaces. There was a pattern engraved on it, but it was too far away for Jason to study it.
"I believe that won't be necessary" She declared "Zeus- or Jupiter had prepared a special transportation method. We just have to wait for sunset."
Jason stood with Frank and Hazel. They were searching for something but none of them were sure what it is. Hylla mentioned Zeus' "special transportation method" but he never specified what it was to her.
"Any idea what we're looking for?" Hazel asked. Over the past year, she had gotten taller, and more muscular, not in a manly way, more in a "I can handle anything" sort of physique. Her dark curly hair grew longer. It was almost elbow-length now. Her forearm held her SPQR tattoo with two stripes. The one thing that hadn't changed about her were her golden eyes, glinting in the sunlight, just the way they did aboard the Argo II last year.
"No idea." Frank muttered. Jason studied Frank. He had definitely won the award of "Who had changed the most since they first met Jason" His biceps were probably six inches in diameter, and that's without him even flexing. You could see veins traced along his arm, across his one-striped SPQR tattoo. His face felt more defined. His jawline was sharper, his cheekbones were more lifted, leaving a hollow look on his cheek. If it was possible, he grew at least two inches in the past year, which, by Jason's estimate, made him at least 6'6"
"I'm out of ideas too." Jason admitted
"Sunset is only a few moments away," Frank said "so we're about to find out"
The sun was slowly going down the horizon. As it went down, the burning light of the sun got dull and it looked like a huge disc of orange and yellow. The sun's orange was mingling with light blue color of the sky, and it produced a vast contrast of different colors. It was truly mesmerizing.
When the sun was about eight seconds away from disappearing into the horizon, a stream of light shot out of the sky. It was too bright for anyone to look at. Jason tried to follow it but spots danced around her eye. The light beam finally landed right in the middle of the crowd. Thalia, Nico and Percy gave each other looks like they knew exactly what this was all about.
Jason tried to refocus on the light, and saw a faint figure of a sports car. A Maserati? The driver's door opened, and an eighteen year-old guy stepped out. He wore a white sleeveless shirt, dark jeans, and black Converse shoes. He had glassy blue eyes, sandy-colored hair, perfectly tan skin, and a really bright smile. He reminded Jason of Will Solace, same looks, except this guy was way more muscular.
"Percy, my man!" He fist-bumped Percy "Long time, no see. Thalia, still beautiful" He winked at her, but Thalia just rolled her eyes. "Kid! Look at you," he examined Nico "The Underworld did change you, and let's not forget my son" He wiggled his eyebrows, making Nico blush.
"Apollo!" Jason exclaimed "I mean, Lord Apollo, you're our ride to Mount Olympus?"
"Sure am, son of Jupiter." He said smugly
"I thought your chariot was only allowed to travel west"
"Nobody said anything about the sun traveling east. I was instructed to take you around the world. From San Fransisco Bay to Mount Olympus, going west"
"Sir Apollo," Reyna stepped forward "Not to be rude, but that would take a long time. We could easily take our eagles."
"Or shadow-travel" Nico suggested
"No!" Will scolded Nico
"Solace!" Nico squealed/whined
"Besides, the Maserati only fits one passenger, assuming you're driving it." Leo speculated
Percy and Thalia exchanged looks, like they know exactly what happens next. "Don't underestimate the chariot, Praetor" Apollo pulled out his car keys and clicked a key that transformed his glowing Maserati to a glowing shuttle bus.
"Alright! Everybody in." Apollo gestured inside.
Jason got into the shuttle bus, along with her friends from the Argo II, Reyna, Nico, Will, Thalia, two other hunters, and Queen Hylla with two Amazons. Apollo was about to sit in the drivers' seat, but he looked back "How about I let someone else drives?" He tapped his chin and looked around. Percy, Leo and Frank enthusiastically raised their hands as volunteers. "Too scrawny" He said, and pointed at Leo. "Too tall" He said, and pointed at Frank. "Too... unpredictable" He said, and pointed at Percy. "Ah! Solace. Come over here."
"Not fair" Percy grumbled. "He's his son for Hera's sake"
"It's okay, Percy" Annabeth comforted him "He'll pick you next time"
"Yeah, right. As if he's going to pick a son of Poseidon to fly the sun"
Will Solace took the steering wheel, and in a few seconds, they were soaring above the clouds. Apollo instructed his son on how to maintain altitude, temperature, speech, and velocity. Jason found it hard not for Will's brain to explode with all factors to consider
"He's a natural, just like his father" Apollo chuckled "You know, three minutes after my birth, I learned how to play the trumpet. It was a beautiful song, best thing anyone's ever heard. You can even ask Demeter. She was there."
The whole bus had to listen to Apollo show off about how great he was, while Will tried not to crash into skyscraper and airplanes. Jason tried to ignore Apollo, and held Piper's hand. They looked out the window of the bus, and admired the scenes below, which included: the Great Wall of China, the Himalayas, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Eiffel Tower.
In a matter of two hours, they were able to see the Manhattan skyline in the distance. Instead of decreasing altitude, and landing in front of the Empire State Building, the sun chariot rose even higher. Jason stomach twisted into a knot. He was used to heights and winds, but the speed of the sun chariot was unbearable. He wondered how Hazel was feeling.
Will Solace parked the shuttle bus on a cloud. After what Jason witnessed at Aeolus's palace, a shuttle bus parking in the middle of a cloud didn't surprise Jason as much as it would normally have.
Apollo clicked his car keys again, and it transformed back into a Maserati. "Right this way" Apollo led them through a desert, but with clouds instead of sand. There was nothing in sight. Jason thought about the possibility that Will Solace had landed them in the wrong cloud or something, then he saw a golden glow in the distance.
"Welcome to Olympus" Apollo said, inviting them into an open golden gate in the middle of the cloud. "For this special moment, I have prepared a Haiku." He cleared his through and bean to recite "Heroes win a trip-"
"I'm sure it's great, Lord Apollo." Percy chimed in "I think Zeus would want us in as soon as possible"
As they entered, Olympus had literally taken Jason's breath away. He saw a massive marble and golden palace looming in the middle, surrounded by street of stones and grass. There were colorful tents, tended by merchants, who happened to be nymphs and satyrs. Rosebushes and olive trees surrounded a giant coliseum in the distance, with music so beautiful coming out of it, and cheers coming from the most enthusiastic crowd of all time. Mansions of stones, marble, silver and gold glittered among the hills. The weather was perfect, not too cold, not too hot.
As they made their way to the central palace, minor gods and goddesses welcomed them as the Heroes of Olympus. Jason noticed a few ruins here and there, but he was instantly reminded of the Second Titan war that had occurred on Mount Olympus two years ago. He looked over at his friends. Everyone was mesmerized by the sights of the home of the gods, except: Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, and Queen Hylla. The rest couldn't take their eyes off of... well everything.
They entered the gates that led to the main palace, passing by the central courtyard, and finally the throne room. It was so big, that the word massive didn't seem enough to describe it. It was surrounded by massive columns that rose to a domed ceiling, which was gilded with moving constellations. The room was mainly consisted of fourteen enormous thrones in a shape of U. A hearth fire crackled in the middle, tended by a ten-foot woman in a simple brown dress and a shawl half-covering her black hair.
On the throne in the center sat Jason's dad, Jupiter. No... Zeus. He wore a navy blue suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with thousands volt of lightening focused straight at Jason. On his right, sat Percy's dad, Poseidon. He wore Bermuda shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sunglasses. A fishing rod hung at the back of his throne. Next to him was a very pale man, with shoulder-length hair and intense black eyes, with a faint flare of purple fire. He wore black flowing robes with evil souls threaded into the cloth. Jason immediately recognized the god as Hades, god of the Underworld, who had gotten a brand new throne on the council.
Zeus gestured to Hestia and Apollo, and they made their way to their thrones. Hera, who sat on Zeus' left stood. She wore a dress that shimmered colors of green, blue and yellow. She also wore several golden bracelets on each wrist and a golden tiara on her head, her brown hair shimmered, just like the girls who appeared in shampoo commercials "My heroes, welcome to Olympus."
Zeus eyed his wife in an accusatory look, and she quickly sat back down. "They aren't your heroes, dear wife. They are the Heroes of Olympus" Jason heard a few gods snickering, "Nevertheless," Zeus continued "There are many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater-" Jason stopped listening. He felt Piper approach his side and held her hand. He could smell vanilla radiating from her. He fought the urge to just turn around and kiss her, right there in front of fourteen all-powerful Olympians who could zap him in less than a millisecond.
"First, and foremost," Zeus said "I must thank you all, mortals and immortals, for your contribution in the elimination of our banes in Athens. Secondly," Zeus focused on Jason and his friends "we, as a council, have felt obligated to address your courage and bravery against the Earth goddess last year." He looked over at Apollo, and gestured for him to start.
Of course, Apollo had earbuds on, so he wasn't paying attention to any word that Zeus has been saying this entire time. Everyone stared at him, until he finally noticed it was his turn to speak. "Oh" He stood and took off his Ray Bans "Sorry, people." He coughed "Will Solace." He bellowed as Will let go of Nico's hand and knelt at his father's feet "With my descendant, Octavian sparking the whole fight against the Greeks, I thought I could never recover my honor among these guys, but then you go and save like seventy lives right there in the battlefield. Honestly, if there was someone out there for me to proud of, it's gotta be you, man. So, I decreed that you, and your siblings at Camp Half-Blood, should take a chariots of mine. Whichever one you like, excluding my sun chariot of course"
"S-sir?" He said
"You heard me. The way you drove my car. That was some sick talent, my friend. Besides, your last chariot was destroyed and never replaced, so, why not?!"
"T-thank you, father" Will said. Jason could tell he was having a hard time saying the word father to a man his own age, but gods are sensitive when it comes to that stuff. Jason learned that the hard way.
Apollo nodded at Hades, who rolled his eyes, then stood up. "Long time, no see, Nico." He gestured for Nico to come closer. Nico didn't kneel at his father's feet like Will did. Jason figured it had to do with the fact that Nico and Hades had the best father-child relationship out of everyone else in this room. "I made a chamber for you in my palace. I decorated it with medieval monk skulls, just like we talked."
"You're joking, right?" Nico raised an eyebrow.
"Anyhow, I thought the idea of awarding you very ridiculous, because you're so hard to please. But, they're making me do it, so here goes nothing. You, of course, have met my head judge, Minos. Well, he's been so incompetent lately. His punishments are unreasonable. His rulings are unfair. I get so much notes in my complaints box about him."
"What are you saying?" Nico knit his eyebrows
"I'm giving you his job, when you die, of course. Nico Di Angelo, Head Judge of the Underworld."
"So, nothing for now? I have to wait to die to get your gift?" Nico said sarcastically
Hades turned to Zeus. "I told you. He'll never be thankful, no matter what I give him"
"I'm joking, father." Nico knelt at Hades' feet, "Thank you" Nico said, and Hades touched his shoulder. Jason might have imagined it, but he saw Nico grinning. "Before I call upon Hazel Levesque, I wanted you to know that I can inform you where your sister resides at this moment. Your other sister, Bianca. If that is what you desire, Nico..."
Soft spot, Jason thought. He knew how Nico felt about his older sister leaving him, without even saying goodbye. She had chosen rebirth, erased all her memories in the river Lethe without even looking back. Nico had planned on bringing her back to life when the doors of death were open, and Death was incapacitated. When he couldn't find Bianca, and had been told of her fate, he found Hazel and freed her from the Fields of Asphodel. Jason didn't know how Nico would respond to an offer like that, knowing how Bianca meant to him.
"No thanks." Nico replied "She had once been the biggest part of my life." He turned and looked back at Will, Reyna, Hazel and Jason "Now, I think I've found a replacement. She deserves peace of mind, father, and so do I."
"Understood." Hades nodded slowly "That's very wise of you. A lot like your father." Nico rolled his eyes in sarcasm "Anyhow, Hazel Levesque." He eyed Hazel, who stood next to Frank. She squeezed his hand, and walked over to the feet of her father. "My daughter. I have to say, Nico freeing you from your punishment in the Fields of Asphodel was the best thing he's ever done." She turned to Nico, who nodded with a smile, and held her hand. Jason had to admit, he was kind of jealous of Nico and Hazel's relationship. He's always wanted to be close to Thalia, but she was always on the move. Over the past year, he's only seen her zero times. "As a result, my first gift to you- Our first gift, is that your escape from the Underworld will be forgotten. Ignored. As if it had never happened, but I should have you know that getting a second life is one thing, making it better. Now that's the trick" She bowed slowly. Jason saw her almost gasping for breath, as if a huge rock had been lifted from her chest.
"Secondly," Hades continued "I had once told you that a descendant of Neptune will wash away your curse and give you peace. I hope you know now that Frank Zhang had been the man of the prophecy. For that, I am granting you peace of mind in death. I had made an order to my second-in-command, Thanatos, to not gather either of your souls until you are old and ready. You will live a long life, my child, with your true love by your side."
"Thank you." Hazel stammered. "I couldn't have asked for better gifts, father."
Hades nodded, and turned to Ares. He wore black jeans, combat boots, a leather duster, and muscle shirt with a bulletproof vest and an iron padlock necklace. He was carrying at least a dozen visible weapons, including a knife, a bazooka, and an aluminum baseball bat. He stood, and immediately sent Jason this urge that he wanted to skewer someone, but he subsided it.
"Frank Zhang!" Ares bellowed "My man!" Jason heard Frank gulp and watched him walk to his father's throne. "You have made your old man very proud. From the beginning of your journey in Alaska, till the moment you assisted in the end of Gaea at Half-Blood Hill, I couldn't help but brag to these guys about you. Thank you, and your mother would've been proud too" Ares paused "Now, you've already got one great gift from Hades, but you are not going to leave this palace without a gift from me. I had conversed with the Fates, and we decided that your special firewood shouldn't exist anymore. It has served its purpose in containing your power in the past almost two decades."
"Wait. Are you saying that my firewood is gone?" He quickly reached for his coat pocket and brought out a small pouch. He looked inside "It's gone."
"Hades had already determined that you will live a long life, so that firewood is worthless now, because it won't scare you"
"Thank you" Frank's voice quivered, as he bowed at Ares. "Thank you, so much."
Ares looked at the other side of the throne room. A beautiful woman stood up, which later Jason realized it was Aphrodite, Piper's mom. She was seriously pretty that she made the word 'Beautiful' sound like an understatement. She was white dress, with a golden belt. It was simple but very worthy of a red-carpet event, with dark brown hair braided to one side. Her eyes were exactly like Pipers', always shifting and changing, that it was almost impossible to detect what color they were. Her skin had a perfect shade of tan. She had flawless makeup. She looked a lot like Piper, if Piper paid more attention to girly things like makeup, and good looks.
"Piper McLean" She said in a sweet voice, that hearing it alone would have made anyone fall in love with her instantaneously "I had once promised you that your love story would always be one that would be remembered for ages. You and Jason," Jason flinched as Piper's mother said his name "have a great story. Of course, not the greatest one of this age" She eyed Percy and Annabeth standing to Jason's right. "But compared to normal demigods, I don't think a daughter of my own could've asked for better."
"Thank you...?" Piper sounded completely ungenuine about her mother's praise. Honestly, it almost felt that Aphrodite was being proud of herself rather than her daughter.
Just then Zeus stirred "Aphrodite, give her a proper speech, that declares her own contribution to the war"
Aphrodite rolled her eyes "Fine..." She went back to looking at Piper "Of course, you know that I'm proud of you, and if your dad would know what you did, he would totally be proud of you. I've learned enough about him to know that. Your role as a mediator between the Romans and Greeks played a more essential role than you realize. Anyways," She put her hand to her waist. "having a calm, happy ending? Now, that is never interesting enough, but I can understand everyone's desire for it. So, I , being the amazing mother that I am, made sure that your ending would be both interesting, and happy. I won't share the details with you, because that's like spoiling the end of a good romance movie, but I promise you this: Your love story would be one remembered for ages. Kind of like Romeo and Juliet."
Piper looked almost unsatisfied. Jason could tell that the anxiety was eating her from the inside-out. She wanted more information of how her big love story ending with him was, but a part of Jason told him that this should be hidden for the time being. Jason felt appreciative that his story with Piper would be as memorable as Romeo and Juliet's, except maybe the tragedy part at the end.
"Thank you, mother" Piper sounded a little too ungrateful
"Oh, I'm not done just yet." Aphrodite declared "I took the liberty of creating a new closet for you back at Cabin ten. I picked out everything."
"Mother!" Piper grimaced
"No, no, no. None of my girly clothes. I picked out all pants, and shorts, flannel shirts. You know the type of things you wear"
"Oh," Piper bowed "Thank you."
Aphrodite sat back down, then a woman stood on the throne that was near Aphrodite. Athena. Jason had seen the Athena Parthenos enough times to recognize Athena. She had long black hair and intense gray eyes which looked as if she was thinking of a million things at once. She wore a long strapless grey dress that matched her eyes. She looked so much like Annabeth, it made Jason's skin crawl. The only difference between the both of them was their hair. Annabeth's was blonde, while Athena's was as black as Nico's shadows.
"Annabeth, my dear" She announced, as Annabeth walked forward. She was so confident and unafraid, unlike everyone who had walked across to their parents' throne. She had done this enough times to know that each and ever god in this room respected her. Afterall, she is the architect of Olympus. "Two years ago, I had awarded you with your ultimate dream. Designing the eternal city, and well, you go and contribute in another war a year later. Not to mention, your ability to withstand what every child of mine had been trying to recover for two thousand years, the Athena Parthenos. You astonish me every day, Annabeth Chase. If anyone deserves anything, it is you. You have risen above all heroes, and all demigods. Exceeding every expectation there is. And so, my gift to you is my riches?"
"My.. my lady?"
"I have talked to your mentor, Chiron, and he mentioned a little project you had in mind. New Athens, was it? The only problem was the lack of funding, so I am giving you as much riches from me as your heart desires."
"I appreciate your gift, my lady." Annabeth said "But, my life is now centered in New Rome. I can't transport back and forth across the United States every day."
"Patience, my child. For now, that is all you need to know."
Annabeth bowed at the feet of her mother. Jason didn't understand a word of Athena's gift, but he was sure that it had made Annabeth filled with happiness, and that was important.
After Athena took a seat, a huge lump of a man stood. He had a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, with fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Vulcan- Hephaestus. Leo's dad.
"Valdez" Hephaestus rumbled. His voice was deep, and strong. Leo walked up to his dad's gears and electric wires throne, "I had once told you that I was never good at understanding organic life forms. I could never comprehend how you could completely sacrifice your short life just for the sake of the safety of others. That kind of courage is rare, son. You should know that I'm proud of you, but I know that would mean nothing to you, so I would want you to know that if Esperanza was here right now, she'd be the proudest parent in this universe."
Leo wiped away a tear trickling down his cheek. Jason had never seen Leo cry before, but if anything touched him, it was definitely his deceased mother.
"You understand that if there was any chance of bringing her back, I wouldn't hesitate, but this is a law against nature, my boy."
"I know." Leo said, his voice cracking
"I have created a gift for you." He brought out a bottle, with a ship inside it. The kind that you would see in someone's house or office as a decoration. "Here."
"A ship in a bottle?" Leo asked sarcastically "What every child wants from their immortal, all-powerful parent"
"Was that sarcasm?"
"No, sir."
"Just look at it"
Leo studied the bottle "Its-its the Argo. My Argo."
"I had stored it away after it was destroyed. Mended it a little. Of course it doesn't have the dragon head anymore, but if you open the bottle lid, it'll grow back to its original size, you know, in case you need it, or miss it."
"Wow. That's awesome!" Leo exclaimed "Thanks, pops" He bowed respectfully.
When everyone went back to their original spot, Zeus stood up. Jason gulped, and closed his eyes. He was definitely not ready to know what his father has in store for him. He waited for his father to call his name any moment now, but instead "Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano" He bellowed.
His former colleague walked up to the king of the gods. She knelt before him, then stood. "Your mother wasn't able to be here today. She always thought that these meetings were too Greek for her taste, but, nevertheless, she had wanted you to know that you have made her proud, and she had left you this" Zeus snapped his fingers, and a golden sword emerged from the air. "An imperial gold weapon that she had used herself. She trusts that you will like it, and make good use of it."
"Thank you, my lord" Reyna bowed. She had a faint smile on her face, but from what Jason knows about Reyna, he know that she was content.
When Reyna stood back next to her sister, Hylla, Zeus looked over at his right, where his brother was sitting. They nodded, and Poseidon stood. Jason could feel the powers radiating from the two gods standing, and wondered how the throne room hadn't crumbled down in ruins yet.
"Percy Jackson, and Jason Grace!" Their voices bellowed in unison. Jason locked eyes of worry with Percy, and he could tell that Percy wasn't anywhere as nervous as Jason was. When he came to think about it, Jason realized that this is probably Percy's fourth time confronting Zeus and Poseidon together, and it wasn't much of a challenge for him. For Jason, it was the first time, and he could feet his own blood pressure in his finger tips. They approached their parents' thrones and knelt before them.
"You two" Poseidon said "are the reason that Romans and Greeks today can celebrate the Feast of Spes together. You have opened our eyes to the fact that there is a Roman in every Greek, and a Greek in every Roman. For that, we cannot separate Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood apart anymore."
"There comes in your way the obstacle of distance." Zeus continued "You may have noticed that in your fight against the sorceress Pasiphae, a certain Labyrinth had been resurrected. Over the past year, this Labyrinth grew underground connecting every corner of the Earth, even Long Island to San Francisco Bay "
"But," Poseidon said "We know that the Labyrinth's magic can become very unstable and unpredictable, so we have asked Hermes, god of travelers and Hecate, goddess of magic, to craft a pathway underground to connect the two camps."
"It is completely safe" Zeus said "Clear of monsters, and easy to follow. Hecate had protected it with a barrier to keep any intruders from entering. Sort of resembling the barrier radiating from Thalia's Pine Tree in Camp Half-Blood."
Percy and Jason shared a look. A pathway underground to connect the two camps? Jason asked himself. It seemed like a crazy dream.
"Are you sure" Percy asked "Because from what I remember, magic is very unstable, especially in the Labyrinth."
"Are you doubting our powers, Percy Jackson?" Zeus asked
"I'm just saying," Percy replied "Things can get pretty messy down there."
"You are heroes, are you not?" Zeus said, carefully studying his words "You can handle a few monsters. But I assure you, it is safe."
Percy and Jason locked eyes "I think it's time to finally bury the hatchet forever" Jason said
"Maybe," Percy replied "But I can still take you in a fight though, Grace"
"We'll see, Jackson" Jason grinned, then Percy and Jason hugged. It was a brotherly hug, symbolizing the start of a new era of peace and coexistence between Romans and Greeks, after two centuries of hate and division.
"Now," Zeus said. Jason and Percy let go "Percy Jackson, you have been a man of two great prophecies. That has never been done before. Your powers in overcoming Tartarus' tricks and wits astonished the lot of us."
"Yet, dear brother," Poseidon interrupted "Jason Grace was the man of the first prophecy in the western sphere of power, and he is certainly one of the seven."
"Wait," Percy said "I know where this is going. You're planning to disintegrate us? Right here? I was supposed to die in the first prophecy. I had accepted my death sentence, but The Fates went ahead and wrote me a new future. Little did I realize that my new future included an impossible trip through Tartarus, where no hero has ever survived, but here I am. Again. I didn't go through all this mess to protect all of you, to have you decide that my purpose in life is done. That you have used everything there is to use out of me. I am not an object. I deserve my happy ending with my friends and my fiancé, whether you want me to have it or not"
"If you want to end us," Jason said "That wouldn't make you any better than Gaea. You would be just as cruel and unfair as you continue on this path, someone will be heading this way to end you the way we ended her. And just to let you know, spouting death threats in front of ten all-powerful heroes that put Gaea to eternal sleep might be worse than you would imagine, father"
The room got quite. No hero in history had ever confronted the gods the way Percy and Jason have just done. Everyone was speechless. There was worried looks among Jason's friends. Some excited looks in some gods' faces, like Ares and Dionysus. Other gods, not so much.
Finally, Hermes broke the silence "All in favor for not disintegrating Jason Grace and Percy Jackson"
Every god in the room raised their hand, including Zeus. This might have been the only instance in which all the Olympian Council had agreed.
"You two have courage." Zeus said, as he sat back in his throne "I shall not forget this."
Silence again. Finally, Dionysus yawned "Is it time for the after party, yet?"
"Not just yet." Zeus decided as he gestured Percy and Jason dismissively back to their spot with the rest of their friends. "First we have to discuss the matter of my dear wife, and the issue of my son."