Please note: I do not own Percy Jackson or related characters. This story is just an opportunity for me to play around with these characters and my creativity. I love getting feedback and you all deserve the best stories, so feel free to review so I can be the best storyteller I can be! Thank you!
Thalia
It took all her remaining will to not look back. To not apologize to Percy. To not thank him for what he did.
Her face was wet- with rain, blood, and mud. Her eyes burned mercilessly- squeezing out tears like it was trying to cry out the multiple infections that come from exposure to mountain water. She felt the urge to gag once more, but she no longer felt any water in her lungs to throw up. Her gags were dry heaves, uncomfortable reminders of the fact that one of her best friends had just drowned her in one of the most creative ways she had ever seen.
Her slash and stab wounds hurt, to say the least. Yet, perhaps the most painful part of this was not the anger she was feeling.
It wasn't the sadness she felt, for what she did.
It wasn't the worry she felt, towards Percy, the Hunters, and the Amazons.
It was the resignation she felt, like she was tired of feeling. She now understood the vision she saw of herself a little bit more; the vision of a Thalia whose eyes seemed deadened and emotionless despite her flaming omnipotence. Emotionally, she was halfway there. She felt drained and tired.
Annabeth was killed due to a deal her mother made, Thalia had said a while ago. A deal she made in sound body and mind.
Now, here she was- ready to kill the Ophiotaurus for her own self-interest. A decision that she was going to make, in sound body and mind.
Or was it?
How tired was she? How delirious was she? How hungry was she? How sad, unhinged, and detached was she to be willing to take an innocent life?
She had felt confident about what she was doing when she was farther away, but now that she was here? Wasn't Annabeth an innocent life that was bet, with the motive of accomplishing some goal?
How was she better than Athena?
What if the Ophiotaurus had a family? Did it?
Thalia raised her spear. It didn't matter now. She was here now. She had done bad things, but did it all for Annabeth. She had told Percy that Annabeth would have been on her side if she was here, but now her confidence was wavering. Would Annabeth's perception of her change once she found out what Thalia did? Would the face of judgment and disgust be worth it?
It would. It would give Thalia the power to bring Annabeth back. She knew she would probably rot in the Fields of Punishment for such a decision, but she needed to be strong. Like her mother- or Chaos- whatever it was said: there wasn't any space for weakness.
Thalia felt her body stabbing the spear downward, like she had done several times before. With Luke. With the demigods. With the Hunters. By herself. Her form was so practiced that she didn't even need to think about it.
As the spear whistled downward, Thalia felt herself pulling out of this reality.
She suddenly found herself in a…she wasn't quite sure to explain it. It was like a void, an abyss that simultaneously contained everything in the universe and nothing at all. There was no life but, also, no death. There just was. The mass around her was probably best described as a liquid-type substance. However, it wasn't water, and she wasn't drowning. She was just spreading apart to join the substance around her.
Flashes of Zeus and her mother struck through her mind like lightning. She saw visions of Jason laughing. She heard her mother screaming, and then somehow smelled the intoxicating scent of cinnamon rolls. She saw a young Luke, as well as an even younger Annabeth. She saw and felt herself growing into a tree, and then sleeping alone in Cabin One. She watched herself fighting, and then watched herself pledge for the Hunters. She watched herself leave the Hunters, and saw herself meeting the Amazons. Then, the memories began to speed up so quickly that she could only see flashes of blood, scrapes of weapons, feral screams of pain, and the luminescent energy of lightning.
She then felt it all slipping away. Not only her memories, but her sense of self as well. She began to lose the memories as she lost who she was in this shapeless void.
There was no kind of order or flow to this place. There was no kind of organized thought here.
This was purely and utterly chaotic, and it was tearing Thalia apart.
Curiously, she felt her body continuing the stab motion as she melted away. Perhaps the two were happening concurrently. Or, maybe, this was happening a hundred years in the future. Thalia wasn't sure. The concept of time was starting to become wonky as well.
She felt like she had been here for hours, or maybe seconds.
She remembered hearing the stories about Chaos. The place to which faded and forgotten gods were pulled and basically forced to take the longest nap ever. Here, in Chaos, they slept for eternity.
She began to feel like how she felt when she was a tree on Half-Blood Hill- disembodied. Her mind began to fall, once more, into her memories.
Oh, Thalia. You came back.
Yes, Mother.
Nothing is permanent, my little Thalia. Not even death.
Thalia tried to scream, but she no longer had a body.
Everything you touch dies, my dear.
Her mother was right. Her body was literally in the motion of killing another thing, an innocent animal. This wasn't part of some kind of natural cycle of life and death- this was the brutal sacrifice of a living, intelligent thing.
And you're alone, aren't you?
Thalia felt her memory dust away as well. She no longer knew to whom the voice belonged. It was a woman's voice, but she couldn't quite place it.
What she did know was that she was alone. There was no one, no thing, here to save her or keep her company.
She would die here, or transform into this place.
She heard a little kid's voice, yelling her name from the void.
She heard a girl's voice, and then an older guy's voice.
She didn't recognize any of them.
Thalia then heard a guy's voice, one that was soft like the Pacific waves. She got a flash of the colors black and green as she heard it.
We all have ghosts, Thals. A lot of us have lost a lot, you more than most. Life gave you a bad hand, a pretty horrible one, actually. But that doesn't mean that you should give up like this. If you do, then life wins.
She didn't have a choice.
There's always a choice, Thalia.
Not here. She lost. She felt herself dissolving, almost completely.
What about your friends?
This was Thalia's fate- her destiny.
I won't leave you, Thals.
Please leave me, she thought. She smelled the sea breeze for the last time.
I'm going to save you.
Saving.
Leaving.
…
Bleeding.
Melting.
….
Memory.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
The last image she saw was of a kid, with calm green eyes and a concerned look on his face.
I'm Percy. You're safe now.
…
…
…
Percy. That name elicited a spark in her, like that name was something she should know.
…
…
…
Strangest dream…
It's okay.
…dying…
No. You're okay. What's your name?
She didn't know. She didn't quite know where she was, or who she was, or what she was. She just knew she was, and that she was alive, but not really. She felt herself pooling together, though, the more she thought about the green-eyed kid.
She fixated on that memory, holding onto it like a life raft.
She needed to know who she was. She needed to know.
You're okay. What's your name? The kid's voice came through again.
She was okay. She had to believe the green-eyed kid. She had to. Whoever she was, she was okay. She willed herself to pool together, to solidify into something usable.
She fought to bring herself together, with all her might and strength. It took her years, or maybe minutes to do so, but she finally grew into something. Some sort of mass, or collection of consciousness that was a part of herself.
The boy's voice came through a final time. What's your name?
Her name was Thalia. Daughter of Zeus.
Thalia felt a rush of power. She was instantly ripped out of the void and back into her body.
She felt the cold of the mountain. She heard the mountain falling. She saw the spear falling towards the cage, right above the frozen over part. The Ophiotaurus was cowering under that point in the cage.
At the last second, she oriented her body so she stabbed the spear a few centimeters to the right, simply cracking the cage itself rather than breaking the ice.
Thalia exhaled and slumped onto the ground, muttering apology after apology to the Ophiotaurus.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" she kept whispering.
She threw away her spear and touched the cage. The Ophiotaurus hummed so strongly that she could feel the vibration. It was like the purr of a cat, or the rumble of a car. The hum initially seemed injected with stress, but eventually lightened up to a happy one.
"I'm sorry, Bessie," Thalia said, breathing.
She was Thalia. Her name was Thalia.
She was here, on Mount Olympus. With Percy.
Percy. The guy who saved her from whatever that was.
She felt cracks and shaking under her palms.
Right, she thought. Mount Olympus was crumbling.
Thalia then tried to stand, but she no longer had any energy. It was like her soul had not quite settled into her body. Thalia grabbed her spear and tossed it in Percy's direction, gathering Aegis up as well. She then opted to crawl, digging her nails into the rock and using the leverage to pull herself to Percy's limp body.
One hand after another, she crawled.
She dragged herself until she got to Percy. She then sat up straight, folding her legs into a flat surface. She then slowly lifted Percy's head and put it on her lap. His nose looked horrible- crushed, purple, and out of sync. The cut on his lip had turned charcoal and crusty, which didn't bode well infection-wise. His arm hung helplessly off to the side, broken and still.
Thalia ran her hair through Percy's black hair. It was dry and dirty, but somehow still thick and strong.
Percy stirred in her grip. His eyes opened to about half-mast. "You're…you're not all flame-y."
Thalia couldn't stop the tears from coming down. It was cold, Mount Olympus was about to fall, and the sky had turned as purple as Percy's nose.
Yet, she felt warm and safe here, holding Percy in her arms.
Her tears fell down her face, off her chin, and onto Percy's face. He closed his eyes instinctively, like Thalia's tears were another method of attack.
Thalia, however, held him steadily. "I didn't do it," she sobbed. She felt like a child, crying her eyes out with no regard for weakness or strength. "Annabeth's dead, isn't she? My little sister is dead."
Percy closed his eyes once more and nodded. Tears started coming out of his eyes, and he didn't even wipe them away.
"You're right," Thalia sniffed. "Annabeth wouldn't have wanted that. She would've wanted both of us to be smart with how we take care of ourselves."
"And…each other," Percy whispered. It looked like every word hurt to say.
Thalia shook her head. "You're such an idiot. And you're better than me. But thank you. Thank you for saving me."
Percy shook his head weakly. "I didn't save you. You saved yourself. I just reminded you who you were," he said, letting loose three deep coughs.
Thalia wished she had enough time to tell him how right he was. However, the part of Mount Olympus behind her crumbled to the ground.
Thalia gave a teary chuckle. "So what do we do now?"
Percy tried to shrug, but winced after his attempt.
"We could run away. Use Annabeth's hat…" Percy started to fall unconscious, but held on a little longer. "We could go with Leo and the crew. On…Festus. Travel, save people, do cool things. You could have a family."
Family. Even that word almost made Thalia break down again. How could she have been so blind? All of this was in search of a family that was right in front of her.
Thalia was about to say something, but decided against it. Tears flowed down her face as she nodded vehemently. "Did you mean it? About being willing to be follow me? And being on the run."
Percy was almost gone at this point. He looked like a dog trying to stay awake. "Yeah, Thals," he said. "I meant it…"
Percy began to nod off. Thalia sobbed once more. They had just been talking about the future, both of them knowing full well that they were about to die, right here on this mountain. He had stayed there. He didn't leave. He didn't use the water to make a bridge or to fly away.
Instead, he stayed.
He stayed and got his ass kicked.
He stayed, knowing that he very well may have died.
But he was still here. And so was she.
The mountain beneath them crumbled, and the two of them fell like rocks in the avalanche. Thalia closed her eyes, holding Percy close to her like a body-size pillow.
She thanked the Fates for putting Percy in her path, as well as for putting Annabeth, Luke, and Jason in her life.
Even while falling, with her eyes closed and her stomach dropping, Thalia noticed a huge change in lighting. It was like the skies had opened up, and a bright light appeared from it.
Thalia felt their descent slowing. The two of them then got whisked up towards the sky.
Reality, once again, stretched and flattened around them. They dissolved, and re-formed, which was something that was getting very old for Thalia. They passed by a barrier of pure energy, by becoming pure energy themselves. They then became like stars, until they fell out of the constellations in the Olympian throne room.
Thalia felt hands on her as they landed on the ground. She looked to her side to see a middle-aged man crouched to the ground. He had features that reminded her of an elf. He cut a lean figure, like he ran about seventy miles a day. His salt-and-pepper hair was folded under his winged pith helmet, with matched his golden armor. He held his caduceus in his left hand.
The god of messengers nodded at her. "Thalia."
"Hermes," Thalia said, without thinking. She could barely think straight, much less identify gods on the spot.
His expression softened as he regarded Thalia. "Why don't you stand over there, my child?"
Thalia followed his pointing, to see him gesturing towards a spot in between the hearth pit and the door. It was the place she had stood when she, Percy, and Annabeth had regarded the gods years ago. Back then, the gods seemed happy and proud.
Now, they seemed the opposite.
The gods regarded her angrily. Athena stood by her destroyed throne, while a few satyrs were cleaning up the mess. Athena looked at Thalia with an unreadable expression- it could've been anywhere from rage to smugness to guilt. Her silver and golden armor looked scuffed.
Hephaestus whispered to Apollo, who shook his head.
Hera glowered at Thalia directly. If looks could kill, Thalia would have been dead ten times over.
Poseidon's eyes softened when he saw Percy's body, then hardened when he regarded Thalia.
Hades was muttering something to Zeus, passionately. He wore the same shifting black robe that he wore in Thalia's vision.
Aphrodite looked like she had a headache.
Artemis watched Thalia soundlessly. Her garb matched Thalia's nearly exactly- a chlamys over black hunting gear.
Her father sat in the middle. His platinum throne almost hummed as his power reverberated throughout it and back to him. His stormy eyes fell on Thalia. They didn't soften, nor did they react in any kind of way. He just looked like he had expected something like this, and now the time had come.
"Thalia," Zeus said softly. "Take a walk with me."
It wasn't a request- it was a command. Zeus stood up and began to walk behind his throne, to a place in the back.
Thalia looked at Percy in her arms. "I can't leave him."
Zeus, from behind the thrones, looked at Apollo, who nodded.
"I'll get right to it, Father," Apollo said, running down to Percy's unconscious form.
"Go with him," Apollo whispered as he got close to Thalia. "You want to hear what he has to say. And be nice. Now's not the time to play hero."
Apollo then took Percy from Thalia and placed a hand on his chest. He started singing under his breath and his fingertips glowed golden. Thalia heard snaps, cracks, and pops as Apollo sung.
"THALIA!" Zeus' voice boomed throughout the throne room. None of the gods flinched, but they all looked at him, and back at her.
"Go with your father, bastard," Hera spat. She looked like she had just smelled something horrible, with her lip curled up in derision and disgust.
Thalia balled her fists, but Apollo put his hand on her shoulder. His healing touch sent positive energy through her body. "Now's not the time-" he repeated, in a harsh hiss. "-to play hero. Go."
He then lightly pushed her towards Zeus. Thalia walked towards her father. Her footsteps echoed throughout the chamber. The gods watched her silently, but the sheer judgment in the room was palpable. The hearth pit burned brilliantly, providing the only source of heat in the cold room. Thalia walked past the hearth pit, and in between Zeus and Poseidon's throne.
She saw a normal-sized Zeus there, looking professional in his dark pinstriped suit. He wore a golden ring on his middle finger, which crackled with streaks of lightning. If Thalia squinted, she could see the fabric in his suit moving slowly, like clouds did on a beautiful day. He beckoned for her to follow him.
The two of them walked down a giant hallway in the back of the room. The hallway was a solid beige, but was so tall that Thalia felt like an ant in the path.
Zeus then followed the path to a beam of energy that shot upwards, further than Thalia's eyes could see. The energy was shimmering white-blue, and whooshed with force. Zeus took Thalia's hand and stepped into it. The two of them then shot upwards, until they got to an observatory-style room. However, there were no windows on the walls. Instead, there was a thick fog in the room. The fog, however, looked like it was made out of the cosmos itself.
Thalia could see stars, supernovas, and shooting stars in the space in the fog around them.
Zeus gestured around the room. "This, Thalia, is my nest. It is where I come, when I need to face troubling or-"
Thalia felt his eyes fall on her once more. "-harrowing decisions," he finished.
He noticed Thalia looking around the room. "And, yes, as you've probably put together- this is actual space. This is my dominion. I can transport to any place in the universe using this starmist."
Thalia had to admit- it was cool. About a thousand times cooler than when she, Luke, and Annabeth had broken into a NASA satellite site and played the 3-D presentations that were reserved for tours. But no amount of showing off or gloating would change the fact that he had failed her and Jason as a father.
Yet, she couldn't say anything. It was like she was at the top of a rollercoaster- she was frozen.
"I know that I haven't been the best father," Zeus said awkwardly, running his fingers through his beard.
Thalia stared.
"Or a good father," Zeus conceded.
Thalia stared longer.
"Or…" Zeus cleared his throat. "…any kind of a father figure to you. You and your brother had a tough go of it. But the two of you prevailed! You all grew to be strong, capable leaders."
Jason was dead.
"And I know your brother is no longer with us," Zeus said, bringing his voice down an octave. "But his memory lives on, in the stars and in our hearts."
Thalia stared some more. She couldn't count the number of times she had cursed Zeus, and practiced the things she would say to him. Now that she was here, though, she didn't know what to say.
"But I wanted to take this chance to, erm, admit my faults. I should have been there for both you and your brother when the two of you were young. I opted to watch from a distance, rather than be engaged in your lives. And, I believe, our relationship suffered as a result."
What relationship? She and Zeus were almost like distanced co-workers, where she would call onto him if she needed some kind of power or blessing and he would call on her indirectly if he needed something done.
"And I believe that our relationship is part of what led us here. To this moment, where you are here after liaising with Chaos, attempting to kill the gods, injuring the Hunters, trying to bring Athena's daughter back from the dead, and striking my daughter in battle."
The way Zeus said my daughter struck a weird chord in Thalia. It was like he had omitted a word: real. It was like he meant to say, my real daughter. That's how he treated Athena- because she was an immortal, she stood by her father's side, providing counsel, wisdom, and strategy. Because Thalia and Jason were born to a washed-up socialite, they were discarded like trash.
"I have never…" Zeus hesitated. "…quite gotten it right. The whole quest of…fatherhood. You pay too much attention to them, and they run away from you. You hug them too tight, they die. You keep your distance from them, and they grow up to be heroes that resent you. You never hug them, and they grow up believing that they lacked support. I knew that everything that I touch seems to break under my force."
He moved closer to Thalia. His eyes were sad, like a gloomy rainy day. "And I did not want you, your brother, or your mother to break as a result of me."
As far as apologies went, that sucked. Thalia was screaming several retorts in her head, but it was like her body had forgotten how to be a smart-mouth. Even though many fathers saw the challenge that came with fatherhood, a lot of them decided to at least try to be there.
And those were the fathers that needed celebration. Zeus, on the other hand, had been weirdly absent and present at the same time. Sometimes, he helped her when she was in a pinch. However, he was never there to help her get through something.
Even when Jason died, she really needed someone. No one was there for her, though, besides Percy and Annabeth who prioritized getting burgers with her at McHale's over schoolwork, apartment shopping, and other life things they may have had going on.
Zeus searched her eyes like he was trying to pull out a response. Eventually, though, he just sighed. "Yet, it seems like you did end up breaking. Even worse, you became susceptible to Chaos' machinations. Chaos' power is unparalleled, but my ancestor does not manifest like the others. Chaos has no form, but it appears in the essences of its creations. That is where its power is. Most people are so ordained to a world of order and structure that Chaos' whispers have no effect. Yet, you, in the midst of everything happening, heard Chaos' call."
Zeus sank to one knee and took Thalia in his two hands. "You are powerful, Thalia. That is why Chaos went for you. I need you to tell me what Chaos was planning."
Thalia didn't say anything. Instead, she just thought about her mother, rambling on about their father and how he was going to make her immortal. Thalia thought about how she felt when Jason had disappeared, and how Zeus didn't help at all.
She found that she did not forgive him for any of that. She didn't owe him anything- not a response, not an apology, not forgiveness.
"Thalia," Zeus shook her. His strong hands almost crushed Thalia's spine. "What did Chaos want from you?"
Thalia thought about that. Chaos wanted her to succeed, to bring down the gods and drag the divine Greek world into a hub of chaos and power struggles. Chaos also wanted Percy as well, perhaps to have him and Thalia work in tandem as agents of Chaos. She wasn't sure if Chaos had reached out to Percy, but she knew that Percy seemed like his regular stubborn self. So if it had tried for Percy, it didn't work.
It didn't seem like Chaos had anything against the gods themselves, but it was more like it wanted to change the world through disciples.
Zeus didn't blink as his stare bore into Thalia's own. The space between their eyes began to charge with power that was almost tangible.
Zeus' eyes then widened. He stood up. "This silent act will not work downstairs in front of my family, Thalia. The gods down there want to kill you for what you have done and what you have attempted to do. Once Chaos latches on to someone, it rarely lets go. I have advocated for them to spare you, but you must find a way to stand up for yourself in a way that is respectful and clear."
Zeus began to walk out of the room, growing in size steadily. Before he left the room completely, he turned to Thalia. "Even if you survive this, you would be banished for your crimes. You decide which one you want- banishment, or death."
Zeus then left the room in a swoop, now at full size. Thalia couldn't shake the feeling that she was a kid, and her father had just told her to come downstairs for dinner after lecturing her for talking back to her mother.
Thalia sighed and looked at the cosmos in the fog. The stars gleamed like diamonds.
Banishment, or death.
She didn't feel like this journey really could have ended any other way. She had prepared herself for the possibility. If she chose banishment, she didn't know what that would entail. Would she be by herself? Would she banished to Antarctica or something? Would it be to another plane of existence? To Tartarus? What did that mean?
If she chose death, Hades may end up fast-tracking her towards the Fields of Punishment so she can suffer for all eternity.
Then, it hit her.
Zeus had told her that this…starmist…would take him anywhere he wanted to go. Then, he had left the room. While she was still in it.
He had given her an out. She could use this to escape, and start the rest of her life.
She could live out her days, albeit looking over her shoulder.
But, she was done running. She was done trying to circumvent consequences.
Annabeth was dead.
Thalia had done several things she knew would paint her as a threat. Now, it was time to step up and take the consequences for them.
Plus, she couldn't leave Percy. Even if he was surrounded by a bunch of all-powerful gods, he stuck with her when he had the option to leave. She could never repay him for such a thing, but the least she could do was take her medicine like a big girl.
Thalia left the room and walked down the huge beige hallway. As she did, she felt her spirit growing in size, like her father's physical form did.
She knew what she wanted to do.
Thalia arrived back to the throne room, walking in between Zeus' and Poseidon's thrones once more. She walked past the hearth pit, but saw someone in the flames this time. The figure nodded to her.
Thalia made her way back to Percy, who was now sitting up. He looked dazed, but his arms and nose were in the right places. He smiled weakly at her, then frowned as he began to sway.
Zeus' mouth was agape, like he was surprised she stayed. He then closed his mouth and cleared his throat. "Right then. Council. It is time for deliberation."
"Finally," Ares grunted. He wore a biker jacket, a red shirt, and brass knuckles. His ripped black pants bulged with muscles. "I say we kill her. So she doesn't come for us again. Plus, she pissed on my throne!"
"Pissed on your throne?" Hera scoffed. "Look at Athena's throne. Nothing but pieces. This girl has no self-control, no honor, and no heroism in her spirit. She's not even worth us wasting our time on."
Hera sat back in her throne, satisfied. Her sky blue robes ruffled with her movement.
"Now," Hermes said. He looked at Thalia. He seemed sad, and Thalia wondered if he was thinking about Luke. "Let's not get out of line here. Thalia has done countless good deeds for us, including leading your own Hunters, Artemis."
Artemis didn't break eye contact with Thalia. Her expression was a mixture of anger and sadness.
"Okay…" Hermes continued, frowning at the goddess of the Hunt. He pointed at Poseidon. "How many times as Thalia saved your boy?"
Poseidon frowned. He wore armor studded with pearls and coral. "And look at him now. Apollo had to heal up both internal and external injuries from his…encounters with Thalia."
Thalia looked to the ground. She felt dumb and ashamed. She had attacked Percy, one of the only people on the world that was willing to stand by her through thick and thin. There was no way she could justify that.
Hades stood. "Let us not forget that she, in her madness, attacked a child of mine." He locked his dark eyes on Thalia. "Do not get anything I say twisted. You will have no forgiveness from me."
"Plus," Hera added. "Her actions and identity as the current head of the Triumvirate Holdings prove to be too great to let remain."
Dionysus stroked his chin. His leopard-print chiton was too loud for Thalia's tastes. "Now, now, couldn't that be helpful? To have someone that owes us something be the head of the Triumvirate Holdings?"
"I mean, let's not start talking as if we can control her," Aphrodite said. Her purple robe was decidedly form-fitting. "Thalia is, and will always be, her own person."
"And she chose to spare the Ophiotaurus," Hephaestus said, in a gruff voice. He seemed like he was torn from the forges, wearing a great armor with glowing orange streaks. His eyes flamed like the hearth pit. "Let's not forget that when it came down to it, she chose to spare it."
"Because she was too weak to go through with it," Ares said. He pointed at Thalia. "And where's my new weapon?! Did you take it?"
Thalia put up her hands and shook her head.
The figure in the flames stepped out to reveal Tiana, the bartender from the bar. She now wore a humble brown and black dress, but her eyes coursed with scarlet power. "Let us pause and take multiple breaths. Are there any of you that have not done something like this? Did some of you not try and overthrow Zeus?"
Poseidon and Hera looked away.
"Did some of you not commit worse crimes than this? Killing people?"
Ares shuffled uncomfortably.
"Curse people forever?"
Athena looked to the ground.
"Sexually assaulting humans?"
A multitude of the council put their heads down in shame.
"We are all owed judgment," Hestia/Tiana said. "This one-" she said, gesturing towards Thalia. "-has a good heart. I am sure of that, and will vouch for her. Death is not something that should be considered."
"Even with her connection to Chaos?" Hera huffed. "We all know that that a line has been opened between that girl and the abyss. She could grow to be a threat we could not contain. Look what Chaos did just recently. Locked us out of Olympus while this one-"
Hera pointed to Thalia like she was trying to turn her into a cow. "-did her dirty work."
"Hey…"
All eyes turned to Percy, next to Thalia. He seemed dazed, but was frowning. "Stop being so mean…to Thalia…"
Hera snapped her fingers and Percy's mouth disappeared from his face.
Poseidon glared at Hera, but Zeus looked at Poseidon.
"A-hem," Zeus started. "That is a good, er, segue for us to hear Thalia's perspective. Thalia, have you anything to say?"
Thalia looked at the Ophiotaurus, swimming happily in the center of the room. As she looked at, she felt a shift in the room- the Olympians grabbing their weapons and preparing to stop her.
Thalia's eyes fell to Hestia, who nodded at her. Her eyes brought Thalia back to the cinnamon rolls, back to the household where she had to use her voice to advocate for herself and Jason.
Where she had to use her voice to be seen.
Hestia nodded, and Thalia took a breath.
"There once…was a girl," Thalia said, looking right at Hestia. "She quickly realized she wasn't normal. The monsters under the bed that the other kids joked about were real for her. They came from the shadows, preying on her and her family. She had a tough time, but no one helped. When she cried, no one held her. When she screamed, no one helped her. She learned quickly that she was on her own…until her brother was born."
Zeus seemed to lean forward. Hera looked to the stars in the domed sky.
"The girl loved her brother," Thalia continued. "With all her heart, even when her brother would annoy her. But then she lost her brother. She cried and screamed, but no one helped her. No one held her. She learned once more that she was on her own."
Artemis sat back in her throne.
"The girl ran away from her house, thinking that her parents hated her. She thought she was ugly, she thought she was annoying, she thought she was worth nothing. Then, she met a boy who told her she was worth something. The two of them grew closer, even meeting and taking in an even younger kid. The girl, finally, had built a family of her own, one that would love her. This time, when the girl cried and screamed, her family held her and helped her."
Hermes wiped something out of his eye.
"Then, the girl sacrificed for her family. She died on a hill, that day."
Zeus stared.
"But, she was spared. When she came back to the world, her family was different. They were different. They had grown. The girl, confused, decided to do something different herself. She decided to join a group of other girls, who felt alone and powerless at one point in their lives. Things weren't the same, though. The boy she met died. The girl they took in died. The girl screamed and cried, but no one held her or helped her this time."
Artemis' eyes began to get shiny.
"The girl realized that no one would hold her or help her if she continued to scream and cry about what she lost. She had to take it upon herself to do something. It was then, that the girl almost lost herself, because loss was all she knew."
Thalia looked at Percy, who looked extremely attentive. Seeing him with no mouth was weird, but his eyes were saying stanzas worth of content.
"At the very last second, the girl found something. She found a friend- someone who had seen her at her darkest and still stuck by her side. The girl began to hope again. The girl began to believe that she still had family. Despite everything that may happen, the girl knew she wouldn't lose this person. That person would always be there."
Thalia looked back to the gods. "Hearing that story, of a girl who lost everything, can you blame her for trying to take back some power in a time where she felt utterly powerless? Chaos wasn't stopping you all that night at Montauk. But you all stood by and watched, as my sister got killed. You all pride yourself in being better than the Titans, but you all aren't good. You all are driven by this weird self-interest that sometimes extends to your kids and sometimes doesn't. If one thing is for sure, though, it's that you're not fit to rule. You all are erratic, emotional, impulsive, irresponsible, and reckless. That one over there-"
Thalia pointed to Athena. "-bet her own daughter over an arts & crafts contest."
The gods hung their heads in discomfort.
Thalia looked at Athena. "You, specifically, I hate. I hate you. I hate that Annabeth had to be born to a goddess who didn't care enough about her to fight for her life. You're not good enough to have had Annabeth as a daughter."
Thalia looked straight at Zeus, not needing Hestia as a buffer. "Whatever punishment you have for me, do it. But, do it quickly, because I'm tired of being here. But, know that all of this happened because you all failed to act. You all refused to stop something that your comrade did. This isn't an isolated incident, either. You all have a horrible history of just sitting by and enabling each other to do horrible things. You are all complicit in this. All of you. If it's not me-"
Thalia looked at Artemis. "-it'll be someone else that brings you all down if you all keep acting like this."
"Is that a threat, bastard?" Hera spat. Her eyes were cold. "You should know better than to be mouthing off on Olympus like this."
"Hera," Zeus warned. Hera fell silent, but her glare continued the rant.
"Thalia, my…wife's question remains. Do you have anything else to say for yourself?"
Thalia shook her head. "That's about it. I'll, uh, take whatever comes to me, I guess."
Zeus nodded. "We will vote for one of two things. Banishment, or death. All in favor for death?"
Ares, Hades, and Hera raised their hands.
"All those in favor of banishment?"
The hands of Poseidon, Demeter, Apollo, Hephaestus, Hermes, Artemis, and Hestia went up.
"Then it is settled. Thalia, you will be banished from this plane, as you have been deemed too dangerous to remain on Earth. Hades?"
Hades stood, like it was finally his turn. "It is time to get your daughter out of my sight, Zeus."
Zeus closed his eyes grimly. "Goodbye, my daughter."
Percy's eyes widened like he knew what was going to happen. He rushed over to Thalia, as quickly as he could.
"NO," Poseidon yelled, as Hades' staff hit the ground.
Percy tackled Thalia as the two of them felt shadows wrap around them. The shadows pulled them towards Hades' throne, which held a deep, black pit of shadows under it. Poseidon ran to reach for Percy, but it was too late.
Thalia and Percy were sucked into the cold shadows, shadow-traveling against their will like Nico had tried to do with her earlier.
Thalia gripped Percy's hand as the two of them went so fast that it felt like they no longer had a form. Thalia had only shadow-traveled a few times before, so she was used to the feeling. She felt several cold shivers up her spine. She heard strange noises, almost animalistic in nature.
Whereas shadow-travel usually resulted in the people eventually coming out somewhere, this was different. Thalia and Percy, after a few minutes of flying, just stopped. They had stopped, in this aether of darkness. It was then that Thalia realized that Hades had shadow-traveled them with no specific destination in mind.
They were somewhere in the shadows, somewhere in the darkness. The cold began to get to her like Percy's ice, but this cold was both external and internal. Thalia couldn't shake the feeling that this was the end of their story- falling through the frigid shadows aimlessly with no way back or out.
There was no way to move or see. They were in a pitch-black, shadowy vacuum.
Thalia squeezed Percy's hand and he squeezed back.
It was then that Percy became the only source of warmth she had in this place.
The strangled, feral noises began to get closer to them. Thalia, however, felt completely calm.
They were probably going to die. It was impossible to escape.
But if anyone was to do the impossible, it would be them.
Thalia Grace and Percy Jackson.
That's it! Thanks so much for reading! I know a few of you have requested that I be more active with you all, but I knew that it would work best for me if I finished the story and then engaged with you all about my decisions or your thoughts. Let me know how you felt about the story, or which chapters were your favorite. What characters did you like seeing? Which one did you thought was written the best? Do you think I should write another story about Thalia & Percy in this shadow realm (I'm thinking about it, but I'm not sure)?
Feel free to either PM me or submit a review with your responses to any of these things, or something else I may have not have mentioned. I tried to update regularly so you all would have something to do during this time. Stay safe, stay in good spirits, and remember to cherish those that are willing to stick with you through thick and thin.