Zeus is such a douchebag.

He actually thinks that I won't survive even a day in Tartarus. That my destruction, my doom, is not just possible, but 100% guaranteed.

What a moron.

Let me explain to you good people how much of a moron he is.

It took just ten minutes after setting foot in Tartarus to encounter a gang of gnolls attacking a helpless little Arachnotaur (that's a monster with the lower body of a spider and the upper body of a human) girl. Being the best swordfighter in the history of Western Civilization, I had no trouble dispatching three and sending the other four running home with their tails between their legs. I took the girl, whose name was Zhenkile, back to her brood-clan, and they were all so happy to have her back. When I explained to them what had gotten me sent here, they swore that they would loyally follow my every command and help me gain control of the pit.

It took fourteen days to gather a force numbering about 160,000.

It took another two months to gain control of a vast territory stretching nearly seven hundred thousand square miles.

It took another eight months to defeat the armies of Krios and Hyperion and bring them to my heed.

It took about a year to be considered worthy enough to be blessed by Kronos, Pallas, Lelantos, Aether, Erebus, Nyx and Chaos himself. Meaning that I now have control over time, war, light, darkness, night and everything else. Who knew I was this special? I didn't.

It took another two years to establish a capital city, which I named Eokainos, Ancient Greek for "new dawn".

It took another five years to end the last few rebel bands and establish full control of the entire pit.

And now, five hundred and ninety-nine years, six months, and thirty-two days in, my rule has been good. Tartarus has transformed from a bleak and desolate realm into an empire all its own. And I am its emperor.

Pretty sweet, right?

"Emperor Perseus! My lord!" Shouts a voice, as a telekhine enters the throne room.

"Speak, my friend," I say calmly.

"It seems that the food shortage in the province of Arkensus has been corrected. Lady Rhea sends her thanks."

"And how goes our little…'project'?"

"Nearing completion, my lord. It shouldn't be more than a few months before it's ready."

"Excellent. You are relieved for now."

The telekhine bows before exiting.

I smile to myself. That brainless lout calling himself "the King of the Gods" will pay for what he's done to me. Oh, he'll pay, and dearly.

(Olympian throne room- just minutes after Percy left)

For several tense minutes, the throne room was silent. No one spoke. No one could speak, seeing as how the boy who had strangely confessed to killing his own brother- something no one had ever thought he would do- had freely, willingly, walked through a portal to the worst place anyone could imagine, without even a word of protest. What was more shocking, for them, was that he had vowed vengeance on the Lord of Olympus, Zeus himself, for reasons that no one else knew. They just sat on their thrones, not uttering a word, for several minutes.

It was Ares who broke the silence, stunning everyone present with both the volume of his voice and his choice of words.

"YOU SPINELESS DOG!" He roared. "I OUGHTA RUN YOU THROUGH WITH MY SPEAR AND ROAST YOU OVER A FIRE!"

Zeus was taken aback and slightly afraid. "Wh-what...?"

"I always knew you hated the kid," Ares went on, "but to do what you did…even I can't help but feel sorry for him."

"What is Ares talking about, husband?" Hera asked, quite confused and worried.

"I-I do not know, my dear," the king hurriedly responded, his voice giving away his unease and desperation.

"Oh, don't give me that load of boar droppings," Ares growled. "I'm the God of War, the bloodthirstiest guy on this Council, and even I wouldn't needlessly target mortals like that. Well, not civilians anyway. That's just not right. Not civilized at all."

Just then, there was a great whoosh, and there in the room stood the three Fates.

"Zeus the Thunderer, Son of Kronos," said Clotho, the first.

"God of the Sky and King of Olympus," said Lachesis, the second.

"Your fate has been sealed," said Atropos, the third.

"Ladies Fate!" Zeus cried out, terrified. "You have to understand. I…"

"Oh, we understand perfectly, fool!" Lachesis remarked.

"After all, we saw it- everything that you did!" Clotho added.

"I'd hate to interrupt, miladies," Hades put in, "but I am confused. What exactly did my brother do?"

"Well, this is most impressive, Zeus," Clotho stated.

"You are about to have your entire family turn against you for the first time since you came to power," added Lachesis.

"And the true corruption in your heart shall finally be exposed," finished Atropos.

The Fates waved their hands in unison, causing a giant mirror to appear in the center of the throne room. The mirror glowed with a mystic aura. Eventually, to all the gods' surprise, a picture appeared in the glass- a picture of the apartment of Sally Jackson, mother of the banished hero, Percy Jackson. She was in her kitchen making dinner. Once she was done, she took the plates out for her husband Paul and young daughter Penelope.

"Here you go, you two," she said as she placed the plates in front of both of them, getting a kiss from Paul.

"Thank you very much, Sally," said Paul with a smile. "It looks delicious, as always."

Even Hera couldn't help but smile. This man was a sweet and kind one. This woman was lucky indeed to be married to him.

Just then, there came a knock at the door. Sally excused herself from the dining room to answer it. When she did so, she exclaimed in a surprised voice, "Lord Zeus! What a privilege! What brings you here?"

At this, every head in the room turned to look at Zeus in shock. Why would he personally go to Percy's mother's apartment? He rarely visited the mortal world these days, and usually it was to have his way with a woman or two. What was this about?

They soon got the answer, when a loud scream brought their attention back to the image in the mirror. Sally staggered back into the room, clutching her chest, which was leaking blood at a frightening rate. Zeus came into view soon after, holding a large knife, its blade stained red and dripping blood.

The goddesses turned pale, while the male gods shouted in rage.

"Zeus!" Paul said, jumping up from his seat.

"Mommy!" Penelope cried out, not understanding what had happened.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Paul demanded.

"Silence, mortal," was all Zeus said, as he grabbed the poor man and slit his throat. He instantly dropped dead.

"Daddy!" Penelope shouted, as both she and her mother cowered back against the wall in fear.

"Why are you doing this, Lord Zeus?" Sally gasped desperately. "What have we ever done to anger you?"

"It is not you, but your son," Zeus said, fixing the woman with a look of indifference. "Perseus has been a thorn in my side for too long. He has made my own children look incompetent and foolish. He has the love and respect of many of the Council. I cannot allow this! If I do not act, he will grow powerful and famous enough to bring my reign to an end! I MUST stay King of the Gods! I must prevent him from finding his true potential! And to do that, I have to break him! And in order to break him, I have no choice but to kill you, his mortal family! It is the only way to bring him down, to keep him as a lowly servant as he deserves!"

All eyes again turned to Zeus, who shrunk in his throne, secretly wishing he could turn invisible and hide his shame- not at his actions, however. He still did not regret the murders he had committed, power-hungry as he was. His source of discomfort was the fact that with the truth exposed, his already shaky standing among gods and demigods alike would plummet.

"You are mistaken, Zeus," Sally said, raising herself in defiance of the god before her. "If you think just killing me will break Percy, you're an embarrassment to all gods. You don't know my son like I do. My death will do the opposite of what you intend it to. It will not demoralize him. Instead, it will make him thirst for revenge. For justice. He will stop at nothing- and I mean nothing- to pay you back in full. His loyalty and love for his family- for me- is something that cannot be calculated by even the most advanced mathematical minds. Not even Athena could find its limit if she tried!" At this, Athena mouthed Wow to Artemis, who was sitting next to her. "If you do this, Zeus, all you will be doing is ensuring your own downfall."

Artemis nodded proudly, silently praising Sally for being strong and self-assured in the face of her imminent demise, and unhesitatingly decrying her killer's twisted motivations.

Zeus paused for a few moments. Then he smirked. A nasty, pompous smirk.

"Very intriguing statements. Yet, it is foolish to defy a king."

With that, he plunged the dagger straight through Sally's heart. Within seconds, her hands unclenched, her eyes rolled back, and she dropped lifeless to the floor of the apartment.

Only the little girl, Penelope, remained alive. Much like her mother, she scolded Zeus for his actions.

"Why did you do that, mister? Why'd you kill my mommy? Stop it! Stop being such a meanie!"

Zeus's eyes opened wide in rage. Seizing the child by her throat, he lifted her up into the air.

"You dare speak in such a tone to the King of the Gods?!" He snapped. "I will teach you a lesson, you little bitch! A permanent one."

With these words, Zeus used his lightning powers to electrocute the girl to death. Some of the gods watched it with gritted teeth, while others turned away out of horror and disgust.

To think that their ruler, their king, was capable of such an atrocity.

Thankfully, that was when the image faded.

"Father…" Athena whispered, unable to process what she had seen. "You…you killed a woman…a mortal woman…"

"Not to mention her husband and child," added Artemis, unable to hide her anger.

"YOU FILTHY BASTARD!" Aphrodite screamed. It was enough to terrify every god in the room, including Ares. "Have you no goodness, no compassion, no love in your heart AT ALL?!"

Zeus squirmed in his throne, desperately trying to think of a viable response. Then he said, "Perseus is dangerous! You know that he has become the best swordsman of his age, and you know how much the other demigods revere him! He could turn against us! He is a danger to all of us! He had to be dealt with!"

But this statement only made the situation worse for him as the other Olympians fixed their king with expressions of disgust and hatred.

"Not a danger to US, Father," Hermes corrected angrily. "A danger to YOU."

"All you care about is yourself," put in Hephaestus.

"Your irresponsible, unjust rule has nearly led to our destruction many times," pointed out Athena.

"You killed my mortal wife Maria!" Hades exclaimed.

"You broke the oath that you yourself forced upon your brothers," stated Demeter.

"And you had the audacity to blame my son for stealing your master bolt all those years ago," Poseidon bitterly said.

"You had just claimed him! He could've easily slipped into Olympus undetected!" Zeus cried, trying to justify his actions.

"But he had no idea how to access Olympus at the time, and there was no possible way he could've gotten into the throne room without attracting attention," Hestia commented rationally. "More to the point, Percy has always had a good heart. He would never commit such a crime."

"The same, alas, cannot be said for your brother, dear Hestia," remarked Lachesis.

"And speaking of crimes, it's time you saw the worst he has ever committed," declared Clotho.

"Do you remember what Percy said about 'setting his brother free'?" Atropos asked.

There came a great collective gasp from the gods in the room as they began to put the pieces together.

"Ladies Fate…are you implying that it was ZEUS who was behind the death of Percy's brother?" Hera asked, more than taken aback.

"Not implying, Queen Hera, insisting," corrected Clotho.

"As you all are aware," Lachesis explained, "Zeus is the God of Lightning. In essence, that includes natural electricity."

"And the human body is known to generate electricity," added Atropos.

"But that means…" Athena began.

"That Zeus…" Apollo breathed.

For a long while there was silence. No one wanted to say what everyone was thinking.

"That Zeus used his powers of electricity to hijack Noah's body and use him as his little puppet," finished all three Fates.

"So, you're saying that Zeus…tricked my son into killing his brother?" Poseidon asked. He did not like the idea, but he had little doubt of the Fates' sincerity.

"Inquisitive as ever, Lord Poseidon," Atropos remarked.

"Have a look for yourself," Lachesis added. She waved her hand, and the mirror again glowed. This time, the image that formed in it showed the inside of the Poseidon cabin at Camp Half-Blood.

"Wow!" Noah Cassidy, Percy's brother said as he and Percy entered. "That was a heck of a training session! You really did deliver, Percy!"

"I don't know about that," Percy replied with a shrug.

"I'm serious!" Noah insisted. "You wiped the floor with that Demeter kid! He never had a chance!"

"Hey, he was the one prancing around saying that he was better than me. You claim superiority in something, you need to be prepared to back it up."

"True enough," admitted the younger Poseidon boy. "Hey, Percy, you think I could be as good a swordfighter as you are?"

"It's worth finding out," Percy answered, a tender, caring, smile on his face. "I'll tell you this, bro. I haven't a demigod yet who I haven't turned into a star pupil. Who knows? Maybe you're every bit as naturally talented as I am."

"Oh, boy! Thanks, Perce! You're the best big brother ever!"

Poseidon gave a joyful smile hearing his two sons- one experienced and humble, the other eager and excited- getting along so well. It was obvious they cared for each other, and he was proud of them.

"I know I am," came Percy's reply. "Now, let's hit the sack already. Don't wanna miss breakfast tomorrow."

"Ain't gotta tell me twice."

The two half-brothers then settled into their respective bunks and after a few minutes of silent reflection, fell asleep.

As the gods watched, however, Noah's eyes suddenly shot open. This time, they were not green like a child of Poseidon's were supposed to be; instead, they were electric blue. A dead giveaway for Zeus's power. This shocked the gods watching, but what shocked them more were the words that came out of the boy's mouth: "Jackson…must kill Jackson…"

"Oh, dear," remarked Demeter.

Taking a sword from the weapons rack near the cabin wall, he approached Percy's bedside as the latter was asleep and raised the weapon high.

All the gods reacted differently. Poseidon managed a soft cry, akin to a cry one makes when being strangled, while Hestia put a hand to her mouth in horror. Artemis and Apollo held each other's hand in an attempt to ease their tension, Ares gritted his teeth in grim fascination and Hades just sighed unhappily. It seemed to all that this would truly be the end of the most formidable and daring half-blood champions Olympus has ever seen.

However, that was not the case.

Percy's eyes shot open, his natural demigod combat instinct alerting him to the danger. Seeing his brother standing over him with a sword, he immediately took action.

He threw back the covers and, in a fraction of a second, dove to the floor.

"Noah!" He said. "What's going on? What's gotten into you?"

"Kill…Jackson…" came Noah's reply.

"Okay, mind control," Percy said, seeming more annoyed than scared. "Should've guessed."

Artemis couldn't help but shake her head. "How can he think of being sarcastic when his life is in danger?"

"That's just who he is, sis," Apollo replied, a smug grin on his face. "He's Percy Jackson."

The gods watched as Percy rushed to the nightstand to grab his sword, Anaklusmos, but before he could reach it, Noah grabbed him and threw him to the floor.

"This isn't you, Noah!" Percy begged his brother. "Whatever's controlling you, don't listen to it! Fight it! I know you can!"

Hestia and Hera both wiped away tears, touched by Percy's words and his reluctance to hurt his brother.

Alas, his words were meaningless, as Noah continued attacking Percy.

"Noah, gods know I hate to do this," Percy said. "But I'm afraid there's no longer a choice for me."

With these words, he knocked Noah's sword from his hand, caught it, pushed him away, and as his brother got back on his feet, Percy held it out, letting Noah run into it.

This seemed to break the trance that Noah was under, because then he said, "Percy…what…why…"

Percy was near tears now. "I'm sorry, Noah. You… you wouldn't listen…I didn't want to…I'm so sorry."

Noah gave a kind smile. "You've set me free. Don't feel bad, Percy. I'll see you again…someday…"

The boy's eyes became empty and dim, and as Percy pulled the sword out of him, his brother crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap.

"Noah…my brother…how could this happen?" Percy said, and it was then that he began to cry.

A snap of the Fates' fingers caused the mirror to vanish, but by this point, the gods knew the truth: their king was a murderer, a tyrant and a coward. A murderous, tyrannical coward.

"So, brother, just to make sure I've got everything," Poseidon spoke up. "Not only did you kill my son's mother, his stepfather and his half-sister in cold blood…but you tricked him into killing his own half-brother in an act of desperate self-defense? All to make sure you wouldn't lose your throne?"

"I don't know how you sleep at night," Hermes stated coldly.

"How could you possibly sink this low?" Demeter demanded.

"Of all the vile, cold-hearted, back-stabbing, lying, despicable deeds…" ranted Apollo.

"For shame, Zeus!" Aphrodite shouted. "For shame!"

"You fools!" Zeus exclaimed, angry at being insulted by his fellow gods. "Can't you see that I had to do what I did? Percy would've gotten too powerful for us to control! He would've overthrown us all if I hadn't broken him!"

"If you truly think Perseus is broken, Zeus, than you are even more dim-witted than we could've imagined," Clotho remarked.

"All you have done is earn Perseus's full ire," Lachesis claimed.

"By destroying his family, you have destroyed any chance of retaining his loyalty," Atropos added.

"And now, he will stop at nothing to bring your unjust reign to an end," all three finished in unison.

"Unjust?" Zeus stuttered. "What-whatever do you mean, miladies?"

"Time and again you have abused your power, mistreated your family," stated Atropos.

"You have had no small number of affairs with mortal and immortal woman down through the ages," stated Lachesis.

"Your ignorance of the most obvious problems has nearly led to the downfall of Olympus more than once," stated Clotho.

"And worst of all, you have spurned and mocked the very demigods that you and your family have created by mingling with mankind, even when they shed their blood to keep you in power!" All three stated at once.

"The Fates are right, brother," Hestia declared. "I've seen the dangers that young half-bloods face on a regular basis. In the past, many of them never even made it to camp, and the ones that did were left with a powerful trauma that hung over them like a storm cloud. They fight for us, die for us, and what have you ever done to repay them for their sacrifices? I bet you don't even know the names of a small fraction of the brave boys and girls who have given so much for the protection of Olympus and Western Civilization…do you?"

Zeus didn't speak.

Hestia nodded. "That's what I thought. Do you know why Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Leo and all those other demigods fight for us? It's because we are their family. And imperfect as we are, they still consider us worth fighting for. But due to our belief that we are superior, we think of them as mere tools to do our bidding rather than individuals with their own lives that they should be living. Imagine how hard it must be for them, spending all that time training to fight, and then going out and killing monsters and completing quests, hoping that one day all the chaos and suffering will be worth it. That there'll be a happy ending for them. Then imagine how it must be for them to never get a happy ending, to die fighting something more powerful than them, as they give their very life for gods who can't even take the time to acknowledge their sacrifice! Think of it, Zeus! Think of the peril! Think of the suffering! Think of the fear they must feel!"

By this point, Hestia's voice had risen until she was almost screaming. All the gods were petrified, shocked and terrified that the gentle goddess of home and hearth was speaking at such a volume.

"After all that Percy has endured, you urinate on him when he is at his weakest, adding insult to every injury he has experienced. You have sent him to Tartarus…and that must be your greatest blunder yet."

"Yeah," Ares said, getting up from his throne. "And y'know what, Pops? I never thought I'd say this, but I'm lookin' forward to the day where Jackson comes back. Yeah, you heard me. He's gonna come back, and when he does…" he then gave a chuckle, a malicious grin spreading across his scar-covered face. "Oh, it'll be like Christmas for me."

"My son already survived Tartarus once, brother," Poseidon said. "What makes you think he won't survive this time?"

"Tartarus is filled with monsters, Titans and Primordials that are not that fond of us," Hades added. "After what you've done to him, he'll have no problem gathering allies."

"In short," Athena stated, eager to simplify the situation to its most basic terminology. "You've managed to give the most capable, most determined, most unstoppable demigod we've ever known an army. An army that could raze Olympus to rubble."

"As the mortals would say," Artemis added. "You've fucked up."

"Big time," Aphrodite agreed, smiling widely at Artemis's use of a swear word.

Zeus was really beginning to sweat now. Finally he got the courage to ask, "if you all hate me so much, why don't you just get rid of me now?"

"That'd be too easy, father," Athena answered nonchalantly.

"Besides, we want to leave that honor to Percy," Poseidon added.

"I mean, he swore vengeance on you for killing his mortal family and tricking him into killing his own brother," Hades added.

"We want to be there, the day he arrives, more powerful than ever, so we can watch you beg for mercy, only to eat his sword," Ares declared.

"It'll be most satisfying for all of us," Demeter concluded.

"Because if there's one thing we know about Perseus…" Artemis began.

"It's that he never, ever gives up," every Olympian concluded in one voice.

The gods all flashed away, each going somewhere different, leaving Zeus alone with the Fates.

"Please, Ladies Fate," he begged, "please protect me from Perseus. Surely you can stop him…?"

"We wouldn't even if we could, son of Kronos," Atropos answered.

"You have had this coming for years, you fool," stated Clotho.

"Perseus is going to be the new ruler of the gods, the new King of Olympus," Lachesis continued.

They all then said, "and believe us when we say that when he gets through with you, you will find fading a more favorable option."

With that the Fates disappeared as well, leaving Zeus alone, unable to accept the fact that his destruction would be no one's fault but his own.

Well, here's the second chapter. I know a lot of you have been waiting more than a year for this, and I apologize that it took so long. I mean, at first it was because I couldn't figure out how to submit any new chapters, but then it began to be more because I was lazy. In any case, I hope that this will sate your hunger for new chapters for a while. Thanks for waiting all this time, it means a lot! Bye!