The room was suddenly very empty, ten of its occupants cleared out. Perseus, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite were all that were left. The Goddess of Beauty seemed content to sit in her throne for the moment, and the God of the Forge made his way up to Perseus.

"Thank you, Lord Hephaestus," Perseus said to the god.

The man smiled. "I think that Apollo put it quite well. We're all gods here. The "Lord" part is unnecessary, Perseus. And, it's not a problem. After you helped me retake my forge, it's the least I could do. I will say, though... I am surprised at my wife's behavior."

"Oh?" A confused Perseus intoned. "What do you mean by that?"

Hephaestus shrugged. "Well, for one thing, she voted for your godhood. I had tried to convince her after Vesuvius, but she all but told me to leave her palace. For another, you've been here for nearly ten hours, and she hasn't tried to have sex with you yet." Another flash bipped in Perseus' head. All of the sudden, the breaking of loyalty between Aphrodite and Hephaestus was almost visible in the air... His heart tumbled. As if he could see what the other god was going through, Hephaestus smiled sadly. "It's not your fault, my boy. It's not her's, either, not really. We... never wanted to be married. I wanted to try and make it work. For a short time... So did she." He sighed.

Perseus stood, silent, not knowing what to say. He didn't know what to think of the Goddess of Love and Beauty. He had been thrust into the world of the Olympians, something that, while he had believed he was prepared for, he was truly and woefully incorrect about.

The other god's beard lit on fire, the tense moment passing. "Well, my boy," he straightened up, "Come by my forge some time in the next few days. I'll make you a weapon fitting a warrior of your status."

"Lor- Hephaestus," Perseus tried to cut himself off from the title. "I really don't need another weapon-"

"-Nonsense! What if you lost Anaklusmos? Besides, all major gods are required to have a weapon of power - It's so they can go places without destroying anything. It soaks up the extra power they radiate out; and trust me, with four domains, you're going to radiating a lot of power. Why do you think Zeus is always carrying around his bolt with him? It's not just paranoia. He even has extra symbols, one for each of his domains... But if you ask me, he just does that to prove his superiority." The two shared a quick laugh that Perseus hoped wouldn't get him killed the moment he locked eyes with the King of the Gods. "But, yes. I would normally just upgrade Riptide, but it's not a work of mine - I wouldn't want to tamper with another forge's steel. Taboo, you see," he explained, "but I'll make you another sword if you'd like it. Or a dagger. Or a bow that could counter Artemis' curse on you."

"I have a curse on me?" Perseus asked. What the Hades had he done to this goddess that he didn't know about?

The god frowned. "Yes... It was placed on the children of Poseidon after... Well, you know, it would be better to talk to her about that. Although... Maybe, at the same time, it's probably just better to leave it alone." Perseus nodded in agreement. "Alright, well I'll have to take my leave, Perseus. I can never leave the forges for too long - always weapons to be supplied."

"Of course, Lord Hephaestus. Take care," he responded.

The Lord of the Forges chuckled. "Ah... Mortal pleasantries..." He murmured, then flashed out.

Perseus gulped as he turned to face the last other occupant of the room. Aphrodite. The reason he wasn't a smoldering pile of ash on the ground right now.

"Lady Aphrodite," he greeted uncertainly.

"You're so polite it's almost satirical," she snorted, shrinking down to a mortal size and walking over to him, her form shifting rapidly until she looked completely different. "You're welcome, by the way, so save your gratitude for now. I didn't vote for your godhood just for you, you know. Athena messed with the realm of love. She forcibly separated you and your friend, so, in a way, you had a bond so strong it required divine intervention to be overcome. Not bad, kid."

Perseus frowned. "I'm 18..." He saw the humor in it as he said it.

"And how old am I?" The goddess teased.

Perseus' eyebrows raised. "That's a trap. That's a trap, and I know it, and I will not answer it." Aphrodite laughed, and he quickly saw that she had just broken the ice with her jest. More confusion to add to her character, he supposed.

"But... really. Usually, I'd have already gotten into your tunic by now, but this is a bit more important. You don't know how to perform any of your godly duties yet, do you?" As she said this, Perseus realized he hadn't. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Now, you are kinda cute-" Perseus scowled and made to interrupt, but the goddess continued, "-but I'd rather not have a new god running around with no way to control their powers."

"I don't suppose I have a choice in this, do I?" Perseus asked.

Aphrodite winked. "Hilarious, now, for your first teaching, you get to learn how to flash travel."

A little bit of a continuation, but it will stop here because it's 11:57 PM. I'm sorry for missing last week - The end of school happened! It was a lot of stuff all at once, and I apologize.

Remember to look for another chapter tomorrow, as that will be "this week's" upload.

Love y'all,

PJO Fan Power