And so welcome back everybody, so I have started reading the Trials of Apollo series, now I'm pissed at myself because I generally like to set fanfics after a series has ended so that I'm not stepping on the author's vision, but it looks like I'm going to have to do that in this. So I guess the events of Trials of Apollo isn't happening in this timeline, sorry Rick. But, don't worry, that thing that happens that we all hate him for will still happen, just in another way.

Chapter 14: A change of leadership

Antonio:

When I finally came to, I was face down on what appeared to be an operating table. My mouth was dry, like I hadn't drank anything in days, and my back was on fire. With great effort, I lifted my head up off the table and looked around, spotting three people moving around me. Except, they weren't moving, they were swimming. Their skin was blue, which confused me, and their eyes glowed a bright green, almost like a glow stick.

I was in too much pain to do anything about it, and so I resigned to my fate, whatever it may be. My head slumped back onto the table, and I decided to let them either eat me or save me, whichever they felt like doing.

Eventually, I blacked out again, coming to in much less pain, and this time lying on my back. There were no people this time except for a familiar figure next to me, still wearing all black clothing with a chunk of fabric missing from the left arm, and a recently healed burn on the exposed skin.

"Reyna?" I asked weakly

"Thank the gods!" She exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief "You're awake."

"What happened?" I asked, my voice raspy and quiet

She lowered her head in shame, her eyes blazing with hatred for a moment. Vaguely, I remembered lying on that beach, waiting patiently for the sweet embrace of death, and realizing that it never came. Instead, I felt somebody grab me and start pulling me towards the water, and I was starting to have a sneaking suspicion of who that was.

"Circe found my price." She finally answered

"No," I coughed, realizing what she meant "Reyna, why would you do that?"

"She was going to kill you," She said, her voice breaking a bit "It was either you, or that stupid potion."

"You should've left me," I told her "I knew what I signed up for, Reyna."

"So did I," She said, her voice regaining it's usual hardness "And it wasn't to watch my friends die. I owed you my life, Antonio, a debt I couldn't leave unpaid."

"If it makes you feel better," I wheezed "I would've considered it repaid either way."

"Be easy," She said forcefully, putting a gentle hand on my back as I tried to move "Your back is still healing, you're lucky to be alive. You're the only Demigod I've ever heard of surviving a direct strike from Kampe's swords."

"What normally happens?" I asked

"From what Percy told me," She shrugged "You die, after you slowly, and painfully, shrivel up into dust.

"Percy!" I exclaimed in panic, trying to get up "What happened? The lightning!"

"The medics are working with him," She assured me, forcing me back down "He's going to be okay, he deflected the majority of the blast."

"What was it?" I asked her

"Poseidon filled us in on the events since we left," She told me "Apparently, he's been banished from Olympus."

"Why?" I asked

"Jupiter, or Zeus, whatever, has grown paranoid," She explained "He thinks Percy has been training to overthrow him and give his thrown to his father. He threatened to kill Percy if his father ever contacted him again."

"What?" I demanded "So Poseidon sent Percy to help us, and Zeus tried to kill him?"

"It looks that way," She sighed "Either way, Neptune, er, Poseidon, is angry, Raven and Eli are positively fuming, but we managed to calm them down and make them agree to wait until we knew you and Percy were going to be alright before they acted."

"And what do they plan on doing?" I asked her

"In time," She said gently "You'll have to wait while your back finishes healing, you don't want to reopen the wounds."

"How's it look?" I asked

"Not good," She admitted "Even with the healing magic that Merpeople have, it'll most likely leave a pair of nasty scars."

"I hear chicks dig scars," I grimaced, coughing a little as I shifted "Thanks, for saving me, I mean."

"Don't mention it," She smiled "I suppose we're even now?"

"Yeah," I laughed "I guess we are. I gotta say, I'm gonna miss having you in my debt."

"I have a feeling, with what is no doubt coming," She sighed "We may be going back and forth quite often."

"I'll be sure to keep score." I coughed

The two of us went quiet and, for the first time since waking up, I really started to think about the consequences of the day. We had failed, despite all the planning, time, and effort that had gone into ensuring that we didn't. The question was, who was Circe really working for? After we'd destroyed Kronos, she'd continued her pursuit of the potion, but why?

Eli:

Hours later, Antonio was on his feet and moving, meaning the rest of us could get down to plotting vengeance, something I was absolutely itching to get to. Poseidon had been extremely quiet, something Annabeth assured me was very unusual, as he was normally very happy and welcoming, talking your ear off and answering any question you asked and even the ones you hadn't thought to ask.

Today, however, he seemed angry, and for good reason. His son was two rooms down barely clinging onto life because of his own brother's paranoia.

"I know what you are thinking," He began after we had greeted Antonio "And I strongly advise against it."

"What are we thinking?" Frank asked, confused

"No, not you, these two," He said, indicating to Raven and I "This is no time to be divided, and what the two of you are planning to do will surely divide the gods."

"Leaving Zeus in power is going to keep them divided," Raven argued with him "If we act now, we may divide them briefly, but we will eventually bring them all together."

"Wait," Antonio interrupted, holding up a hand "You guys are thinking of going to Olympus and taking Zeus' throne?"

"Of course we are," I spat "The crazy old bastard just banished him because he thinks he's plotting to take his throne, blasted Percy with a lightning bolt because he thinks he'll be Poseidon's instrument to do so, and I'd be willing to bet he's coming after us next."

"We can't act rashly," Reyna argued "Poseidon is right, we can't afford to divide ourselves right now."

"Reyna, there is a war coming, what happened today made that clear," Raven told her "We can't let Zeus be the one leading the gods into this war, we'll all be killed."

"What you are suggesting has never been done," Poseidon said thoughtfully "Removing a god from his seat of power, the others will all fight for his throne if they know he won't be there to defend it."

"Of course it has," I cut in "Saturn took Uranus' throne, the three of you took Saturn's, it's the same concept, just done a different way."

"A new reign will come, rising from the ash," Antonio said, nodding in understanding "This is that new reign, another god taking power."

"And," Raven said, turning to Poseidon "I think that god should be you."

"Me?" He asked, confused now "Why?"

"Because," Raven told him "You're not like the others, you aren't power hungry, you'll be able to keep your focus better than the rest of them, you're the only one of them truly fit to lead us."

"You flatter me, boy," He said, his tone still level "But I am no king."

"Maybe not," I shrugged "But it's the best chance we have. We'll do this with or without you, so are you in or not?"

Poseidon seemed to go quiet for a moment, thinking very hard about what we were proposing, but I knew, in the end, he'd agree. He seemed very level headed and easy going as far as gods go, but I figured what happened to Percy would be the final straw, he wouldn't stand for what had happened, and neither would most of the others.

The question was, which ones would stand with us?

Finally, after several heart pounding seconds, he finally sighed in defeat and nodded.

"I had hoped my brother would see reason," He Poseidon sighed "He was, once, the best among us. The kindest, the most valiant, he would've been ashamed to see himself today, a despicable, paranoid shell of the king he used to be."

He went silent for another moment, as if reliving old memories. For a moment, I wondered if he had convinced himself not to side with us, but he finally looked up with a pained expression in his eyes, and I knew he was with us.

"Very well," He agreed "We'll try this your way, but mark my words, you'll only add to your list of enemies."

"I always preferred to keep my circle small," I shrugged, turning to Raven "Let's go kick some ass."

Raven:

Unwillingly, Antonio had returned to Camp Half-Blood after we'd finally convinced him that he wasn't in any shape to run off fighting gods. The others returned as well, all but Percy, who remained closely watched by the Merpeople.

Poseidon, Eli, and I traveled to Olympus together via whatever you wanted to call how Poseidon traveled from point A to point B. I called it teleportation, but I'm sure there was some crazy, godly explanation for it.

When my vision cleared, we were standing on the path leading up to the throne room of the gods. Something in the air seemed ominous, the sky seemed on edge, and I was willing to bed that I knew exactly why.

"This is the only chance you have to turn back," Poseidon warned us "Once you enter those doors, you have to see this through. This isn't over until the two of you are dead or Zeus is banished."

"I ain't going anywhere," Eli growled, looking to me "You?"

"If you're asking if there's somewhere else that I'd rather be." I shrugged, leaving the thought unfinished

Silently, we marched towards the throne room. For the first time since our arrival, I began to notice how empty the place was. There wasn't anybody on the streets, most of the small houses were shut up with the doors no doubt locked tight, as if everybody sensed the coming battle.

When we had finally reached the door, I took a deep breath, saying a silent prayer to whoever might've been listening that we only had to fight one god today.

Without another word, Eli and I nodded to eachother, each of us stepping back a few feet and raising our hands.

"Ha-di!" We shouted in unison

The door, which had been reconstructed since the last time we'd blasted it off the hinges, once again exploded and flew inward, landing with a huge crash in the center of the room.

Eleven startled gods looked up from their thrones at us, except for Hestia, who tended her fire in the corner. When she saw us, she simply lowered her head, as if she'd expected this. My mother and Uncle Apollo also lowered theirs, no doubt anticipating this exact thing the moment they'd heard what happened.

"What is the meaning of this!" Zeus roared "Poseidon! Why are you here? You've been banished from this-"

"Can it, old man!" I snapped "You're done."

"Done?" He asked, confused

"Your time as the king of the gods is up," Eli said, stepping forward "You're paranoid, vengeful, power hungry, and unbelievably stupid. Give up, or things get very messy."

Zeus threw his head back, roaring in laughter as Eli and I drew our weapons. Impurity hummed with anticipation, and I remembered my mother's recount of how it had been forged. I held no doubt in my mind that it was longing to taste the blood of a god.

In this case, I would be happy to oblige her.

"So this is your ploy then, brother?" Zeus asked "You bring demigods to take my throne from me rather than do it yourself."

"This wasn't his decision," I said, stepping forward "It was ours. You will step down, and Poseidon will be the king, anyone who disagrees answers to me."

"You're making a grave mistake, boy," Zeus growled, his master bolt appearing in his hand "I will vaporize you where you stand!"

"Do it." I challenged

All around us, the other gods began to draw their weapons, preparing to take sides, although it seemed many of them were agreeing with us. Zeus, however, was smart enough to know that an all out brawl between twelve gods and two of the three most powerful demigods to ever walk the Earth was probably not the way to handle this.

"Enough!" He roared, rising to his feet "That does it! If you want a duel, you'll have it!"

"That's the spirit." Eli said in a low tone, digging his feet in

"Father-" My mother began

"Quiet!" Zeus snapped at her "I've had enough out of you for today, I'll deal with you once I've sent the both of your sons straight to Tartarus."

"Hey!" Eli snapped at him "Don't talk to our mother like that, asshole!"

"And what is it you think you're going to do about it?" Zeus demanded as he advanced

"I believe, brother," Poseidon said, stepping forward "Your fight is with me."

"No," I told him "It's with us. We've got a major bone to pick, so let us handle this."

"I'm not one to let mortals-" He began

"I know," I said, cutting him off "But our idea, our plan, our fight."

Poseidon went silent for a moment, clearly unhappy with the prospect of letting somebody else do his dirty work. Finally, he relented, nodding and stepping back. The others stepped back as well, giving the three of us enough space to conduct whatever business we needed to.

Zeus remained in his giant form, which was fine by us, as we'd already discussed any possible way to combat his godly abilities, and the two of us were more than prepared for this situation. I watched as his pinstripe suit changed to an ancient Greek set of battle armor, which looked way more intimidating, just in case you were wondering.

For a moment, nothing happened. Nobody moved, nobody said a word, and Eli looked over at me, casting a casual nod, which I returned.

"Tas!" We yelled together

Suddenly, Zeus seized up, shrinking to his normal size just as we had anticipated. The binds held for a moment, which was plenty of time for the two of us to close most of the gap. He broke free, remaining normal sized, firing his master bolt as we moved.

I dove to the side as the first blast flew over my shoulder, and narrowly avoiding Eli, who sidestepped it just in time. The second blast hit the ground a few feet in front of me, throwing me backwards. Eli, however, was further behind me, and not effected.

Just as Zeus was raising his bolt to fire again, Eli came flying through the air, slamming his fist down to the ground right in front of him, causing a wave of silver light to shoot out in all directions and blast him off of his feet. Eli seized the advantage, swinging downward with his knives just as I rose to my feet, rushing from Zeus' other side.

He deflected Eli's blade with his bolt, turning and batting mine to the side as well. From there, the three of us began a dangerous dance of death, knowing even the slightest misstep would mean defeat.

I ducked as Zeus swung over my head, swinging upward as I rose. He blocked me and the two of us locked blades (Or in his case, bolts) for a moment before Eli plunged one of his daggers into his shoulder blade, causing Zeus to roar in pain, turning and batting him across the room with little effort.

He slammed hard into my mother's throne, jumping back to his feet in an instant. My mother started to rise in concern, looking as if she'd rather be doing anything else than watching her sons fight her father.

Eli was back in the fight in no time, dodging his dagger as Zeus kicked me away, ripped it from his shoulder and flung it at Eli as he charged. Golden ichor flowed from his wound, but I knew he wasn't hurt that badly, it took a lot to cause an immortal true pain.

And, after what he'd done today, I was willing to see just how much it took.

Zeus went on the offensive, taking on the two of us at once rather than trying the divide and conquer method. He swung to my side and I threw my sword to my right, deflecting his blow but sending his bolt towards Eli, who ducked just in the nick of time and came up swinging.

Zeus tried backing away, but I doubted he'd been in many fist fights in his life. Unfortunately for him, it was one of Eli's favorite pass times.

He tried to swing his bolt, but I blocked with my sword, getting in close and forcing it away from his grip. In the meantime, Eli was planting left and right hooks to his face, most likely not hurting him but definitely annoying him and letting Eli blow off a little steam and clear his head.

Gotta love those two for one deals.

"ARRRGHH!" Zeus roared, stomping his foot on the ground

Bolts of lightning arced up from the floor, throwing Eli and I backwards several feet, the two of us landing in a heap on top of eachother. I jumped to my feet, grabbing Eli and hauling him to his own as I did so. Zeus recovered his master bolt and we charged again, this time trying a different tactic, one that had served us very well in the past.

At the last possible moment, I slid on my knees, taking a shot at Zeus' stomach, forcing him to use his master bolt to block me and making him unable to defend himself against Eli, who came jumping right over top of me, slashing wildly with both daggers.

I heard Zeus roar with pain as he back up, ichor pouring from several cuts on his face and neck. Still, he pressed his attack, kicking Eli backwards and firing a bolt of lightning at me.

"Sa-per!" I yelled, extending my hand to the bolt

Just as I had hoped it would, it flew off to the side, missing me by miles as it slammed into the floor. Enraged, Zeus charged again, raising his bolt as he did so. I raised my sword, preparing to defend myself, but I was never even given the chance.

"Khe-fa!" I heard Eli yell

An invisible force slammed into Zeus, causing him to drop his bolt as he was lifted into the air and thrown backwards all the way across the throne room, slamming into his own throne and cracking it's marble foundation. In a flash, Eli had the master bolt in his hand, twirling it absentmindedly as we advanced on Zeus, who was rising, slowly, to his feet.

"Impressive, I'll admit," He growled "But not enough."

"I can do this all day," I shrugged "Eventually, it will be enough."

In that moment, Zeus was surrounded by tendrils of lightning as he shot through the air at us, closing the distance in only a few seconds. During that time, however, I noticed that there was a trail of silver light now flowing up and down the master bolt, and I heard Eli speak one final word to the bolt.

"Sa-mir!" He told it, throwing it like a spear

His aim was a true as a son of Diana's could be, striking Zeus directly in the chest in midair, causing a massive explosion that hurled Zeus right back to the other end of the room, and one that also threw the two of us all the across to the other side.

"AAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!" Zeus roared, writhing in pain on the ground

Slowly, the dust began to settle as Eli and I pushed ourselves to our feet, coughing and hacking for a moment as we tried to regain our composure. The explosion had left my ears ringing, but the other gods seemed unaffected by the blast.

Slowly, still clearly in a lot of pain both from the direct impact of his master bolt, which was sticking out of his chest, and the pain spell, Zeus began to rise to his feet. In an instant, Eli and I closed the gap, capitalizing on what we knew might be our only opportunity to win the duel, knowing we could let him regenerate.

Eli bashed his hands to the side and shoved a dagger into each shoulder, forcing him downwards. He jumped behind his head, pinning him to the ground as I raised Impurity high in the air, running him right through the chest next to his master bolt.

He bellowed in agony as my sword began to glow, vibrating as it did so. I twisted it a little, watching the golden ichor ooze from his wound as he lay on the ground, trying everything he could to get out of this predicament.

Finally, he must've realized he was beaten, as he saw his own essence fading from existence. Secretly, in the back of my mind, despite all that he had done, I had hoped that Zeus would see reason and surrender, I didn't want to destroy a god, and I wasn't exactly keen to wipe him off the face of the Earth forever.

"Stop!" He finally yelled "I surrender!"

Without hesitation, mostly because I was relieved that I wouldn't have to do it, I tore my blade from his chest, grabbing his master bolt as I did so. Slowly, his form began to grow more solid as Eli ripped his daggers, not very gently I might add, from his shoulders, causing him to grimace in pain.

"You win," He coughed, wheezing heavily "I know when I am beaten, Demigod."

"Poseidon," I said, turning to the god of the sea, who was watching with a pained expression "His fate is in your hands, you decide his punishment."

He looked down on his brother with pity, no doubt seeing him as the man (Or god, whatever) that he used to be, the one he'd told us about back in his palace. The one who'd valiantly led the gods to victory on several occasions, the one who'd toppled the very throne that Kronos sat on, now seeing enemies everywhere, now thinking he was above everything and the world was at his mercy.

The look in his eyes, however, clearly showed that the two of us had shown him that not the entire world was at his mercy.

"You have become paranoid, angry, and vengeful," Poseidon said, his voice echoing around the room "You are a mere shadow of the ruler that you once were, your paranoia has made you see enemies in the very people who fight at your side. You fear losing your throne so much, you have turned on those who would stand by you and defend your right to sit on it. Banishment, I can live with, I never cared for the politics of Olympus anyways, but now you have tried to kill my son, and you may yet succeed...You must be punished accordingly."

"No!" Zeus said, practically begging now "Poseidon, do not kill her, please."

"I will not stoop to your level," Poseidon responded, anger in his voice "I will not punish your children for your sins, I will not end their lives simply because I am unable to end yours. You are hereby banished from this hall for ten thousand years, or until you are willing to see the error in your ways, whichever comes first."

I had a feeling we all knew which one of the two options was going to come first.

Zeus stood for a moment, clearly in shock at the events which had just unfolded. I had to admit, I was too. When we had arrived on Olympus, I had been in such a blind rage that I hadn't stopped to consider the possibility that we might actually win the battle, I'd embraced death and had been completely prepared to go out in a blaze of glory, leaving behind the legacy of a Demigod who took shit from no one, not even the king of the gods.

Finally, Zeus turned and walked, slowly, out the giant doors of the throne room, his head lowered in shame. The once proud king of the gods had been bested by two upstart Demigods, it was probably one very sobering realization.

As he was leaving, I realized that I still held his master bolt in my hands. For a moment, I considered keeping of it before thinking better of it. I had a feeling that using a god's symbol of power while they were pissed off at you wasn't the smartest choice. It'd probably blow up in my face the first time I tried to use it.

"Zeus!" I called out to him

He turned, a hint of hatred in his eyes as he glared at me, no doubt expecting me to mock him, or jeer at him, or throw my weight around as one of the most powerful Demigods to ever live. Instead, I did something that shocked everybody present, including myself.

"It's a dangerous world out there." I told him, tossing his master bolt through the air

He almost didn't catch it, as he clearly didn't expect me to throw it back to him. At the last moment, he extended his hand out and snatched it out of the air, still looking at me with a confused expression, as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of me.

However, he still said nothing as he turned away from us, walking a few paces before vanishing in a cloud of thunder and lightning.