The Lightning Thief
Olympus. The home of the Olympians. A gleaming city of advanced magic and technology, far beyond anything humans could have ever imagined.
A place where gods, both major and minor, would be mingling amongst each other in either the Washington-sized marketplace, or the luxurious mall of Aphrodite, or the ever changing 'Realm of Mirrors' of Hecate. The Gardens of Demeter, the vast, wide beaches of snow white sands made by Poseidon.
Olympus was the size of a country, and yet, to the gods living there, it now felt so small.
The beaches of Poseidon were empty. The pearly blue waves seemed to melancholically lap the beaches, as if mourning the absence of the gods.
The Gardens of Demeter were in a pathetic state, leaves drying up, grass turning grey. The usually lively stone sculptures seemed lifeless. Dead leaves aimlessly drifted through the whistling winds.
Aphrodite's glorious fashion district was sparse, with only a few gods hurriedly finishing their business and leaving.
Hecate's Realm of Mirrors resembled an old abandoned theme park, with the goddess herself sighing as she watched over it, sipping nectar.
The huge marketplace was empty. Stalls were closed down, the banners were taken down. Dust and dead leaves floated through the air, seemingly without winds. The God of Commerce, Hermes, sadly watched as commerce itself seemed to die on Olympus.
On the streets of Olympus, gods and godlings stopped occasionally to stare at the massive palace in the centre. The Throne Room of the Olympians.
The gleaming building of white and gold that normally gave courage and pride to the gods, it now brought them fear. The gods would quickly turn away and hurry if they looked at the throne room.
For inside was the angry, irate, paranoid King of the Gods. For over sixty years, Olympus had become a prison for the gods, both major and minor. Even their duties were being affected. For the last half century, Iris Messages no longer worked in the mortal world, leaving the demigods to only wonder what happened.
Major gods like Hecate and Morpheus were confined to their palaces, and the others were not even allowed to leave Olympus. The minor gods were less important in the eyes of Zeus, and thus most of then escaped such a fate.
Being a god was not safe anymore. What was the use of being a powerful being, reigning supreme over a concept, a domain, when you could easily be charged with treason, executed over and over until you faded away.
Olympus, once the pinnacle of everything mankind dreamed of, and everything that gods took pride in. Olympus, that was now little better than an abandoned wasteland.
That was the Olympus ruled by Zeus.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, this was how Orthrys looked like.
Within the Throne Room of the Gods, twelve seats of power were arranged in a half-circle. Wisps of energy emanated from the seats.
Only two of the twelve seats were occupied. It was the winter solstice, the day that the evil forces gathered together. Even so, only a single Olympian attended the solstice.
Of course, it is said a single Olympian attended instead of two, because there was one Olympian who never left. The King of the Gods rarely ever left his throne.
The other Olympian was none other than the Goddess of Wisdom and War. Not 'War' like Ares, but the strategic kind. As the master of strategies, the wisdom goddess could often be found visualizing her strategies in the form of chess games she played against herself, because there was no living being in the world who could even dream of matching her.
The wisdom goddess lightly hummed as she moved several pawns forward at once. This was not a chess game she was playing. There was not even a single rule being followed. She arbitrarily moved knights several squares forward and randomly took out pieces. This was Athena running simulations of her plans.
Although scheming, Athena never took her secondary focus off her father. Her father, who looked old. Very old.
Gone were the days of the mighty Zeus, with a thick black beard and a charming face that could and had wooed countless women. The King of the Gods loomed old, with white hair and a long white beard that resembled a wizard's. Wrinkles upon wrinkles marred his skin, and his stature was stooped. Gone was his pinstriped suit, being replaced by a white robe instead.
There was a tense silence as Zeus watched his daughter move chess pieces around.
Several pawns were arranged in a circle around the queen. The knights were placed at the flank, and the king was in the front. This was the setup of the enemy.
But in the team Athena sat towards, there was no organisation. The pieces were haphazardly strewn across. She brought pieces from her own side and 'killed' the pieces from her own side.
Zeus frowned. What was Athena trying to convey?
For a moment, he thought he saw a dangerous, deadly gleam in her eyes. It vanished as soon as he blinked. Instead of a scheming monster, he only saw his daughter innocently sitting. She was the only one who attended the solstice. She was good. She was innocent.
Just ... like ... Thalia.
"No!"
Zeus flailed, leaping away from his throne. Wildly, the sky god looked around for a few seconds.
With a frown on her face, Athena glanced at him. "Is there something wrong, father? Are you alright?"
"F-Fine.", Zeus shakily replied, hurrying to the exit of the throne room.
Flashes of his dead children flashed by his eyes. The children that were killed soon after the oath on the Styx was made. Accusing eyes glared at the king of the gods.
Within the throne room, the wisdom goddess remained silent as though she did not just witness the king of the gods have a mental breakdown.
A seemingly delicate, but powerful hand curled its fingers around her knight piece. The knight piece knocked down its own king piece. This would be ludicrous in a real chess game.
In a moment as rare as a flying pig, Athena's normally emotionless expression morphed into a sadistic smirk as she watched her father fly away.
"Long live the king."
Clang.
Thump.
"Ow.", Percy groaned from the ground. Dressed in training tights, Athena held a spear point to his chest.
Of course, this wasn't the real Athena, but merely a form split from her main body on Olympus. Of course, that made it more humiliating for the red faced demigod.
"Your form is off. And that footwork, absolutely horrendous Perseus."
At the side, there was a large wooden log that had been carved into a comfortable throne-like seat. An auburn haired goddess lounged on it, her right hand lazily petting what seemed to be her very own personal companion.
The black wolf gazed at the scene with lidded silver eyes, yawning at the petting of the goddess.
Artemis sighed, thinking about how to deal with Percy. All this time, she had made many, many excuses, avoiding telling him about the prophecy. But Percy was now twelve, twice the age he had been when he first found out. She couldn't keep hiding it from him. "What do you think Umbra? Is this the right thing to do?"
The wolf turned to her, tilting its head sideways as if to say 'How in Tartarus would I know? Now continue petting.'
The moon goddess rolled her eyes, but continued stroking the wolf's fur as she watched Percy get up from the ground, dusting his clothes.
"Yaaah!", The demigod yelled, slapping away the spear point with his own spear. As Athena retreated a few steps to gain some distance, Percy jumped up, thrusting his spear diagonally downward.
Clang.
Thump.
"My owl could do better than that, Perseus. You telegraph your next move quite blatantly. Any idiot would be able to tell where you will strike next. You might be good enough to defeat anyone at your level, but against a god, this level of skill will get you killed."
"Gimme a sword then we'll see.", Percy grumbled.
The wisdom goddess frowned. "You will not always have your sword with you, Perseus. It is imperative to learn other ways of combat. Besides, learning to wield the spear is the first step to learning to wield a trident. Or are you not interested in that anymore?"
"…"
"Thought so. Now stand up, Perseus."
Artemis stretched her left arm, smiling as the joint cracked. Despite what Athena said, Percy was progressing quite well with other weapons. Though of course, he was at his best with a sword.
'That reminds me.', Artemis frowned. 'Where is Anaklusmos? I lost track of it after that accursed vermin Heracles died. Poseidon should know. After all, Zoe used to be a sea nymph.'
Together, the three gods had set up a tentative plan that they would put into effect once Percy reached fourteen. Ideally, by that time his training should be complete, and his strength should be incomparable to other demigods.
That would help immensely once Percy was put into Camp Jupiter, which they agreed would be the place where Percy would gain a reputation. He would have to work hard to gain the respect of the Romans, and he would need to become one of the Praetors.
This would give him a solid base of support once the crucial moment stuck. That would be the day that Percy would turn twenty.
Even being a goddess, Artemis couldn't make heads or tails out of the prophecy. Other than the first two obvious lines, the others were extremely ambiguous.
Still, the mere mention of the eternal crystal and the chosen king was what had made her own father snap. In a fit of extreme paranoia, he declared it illegal for the big three to have children. That was more than fifty years ago.
"And Perseus.", Athena chided, seeing Percy heal himself with water. "I feel I should once again remind you of subtlety. Outside of this safe area, you cannot, under any circumstances, use your water powers. Not even in a life-threatening situation. We will allow you to venture out soon enough, but you must follow the rules we set."
While it would have been ideal to let him stay within the tiny area they had built, Athena knew he would need interaction with the outside world. More importantly, the boy was growing more and more suspicious and restless. This place was stifling him. He might do something rash if they weren't careful.
During the times Percy went out, there was a good chance a god or one of their servants noticed him. During that time, he had to make sure to hide his water powers. His water powers were too powerful for him to claim he was Triton's son. And more importantly, Triton himself had no demigod children on the surface. All his children were born from Atlanteans. Neither did Triton know about Percy. Using Triton as a smokescreen was out of the question.
Which meant that Percy would have to avoid using his water powers while outside the safe zone. Unfortunately, said demigod was very nonchalant about these matters.
Percy rolled his neck, stretching a little while he slid the training sword back on the rack. "How many times are you gonna tell me this? It's just a matter of using my sword only. How hard could it be?"
The wisdom goddess sighed at his lack of seriousness. "We're doomed."
"Did I miss something?"
"Eeep!", Artemis squeaked, jumping slightly in her seat. "A little warning before you teleport right next to me?!"
The lord of the seas shimmered into existence beside Artemis. Though he was dressed in armor instead of his usual casual outfit.
"Dad.", Percy waved, covering the distance between them. "Aren't you busy today?"
Grrrr.
The sea god nervously stepped away from the growling wolf, which really did not like him for some reason. Though it never attacked him(as that would be a fatal error on the wolf's part), it did keep growling and threatening whenever he was near.
Percy on the other hand …
"Oi Umbra. Stop that. I've taken a bath literally hours ago."
The black wolf's tail wagged as it happily jumped at the demigod, sending them both tumbling to the floor.
Poseidon glared at the wolf. "How in Tartarus does it like Percy but not me? I'm his father damn it."
Artemis scowled at the wolf. "The way those two act, sometimes I think Umbra likes Percy more than he likes me."
From the ground, Percy glanced at the wisdom goddess with a pleading expression. But Athena had prepared for this beforehand. That purposeful hurt expression wouldn't work on her this time.
"Absolutely not.", Athena stated. "Umbra is not some random forest critter but a nightwolf, and that too the personal companion of Artemis. Many gods have seen Umbra before. It would only raise too many questions if you took him outside this place and if one of them saw him."
Percy sighed, sitting up straight. "You still haven't even told me why I have to hide like this. Why is it so bad if other gods know who I am? Aren't there any other demigods or something? The gods know all about them right? What about that Camp thingy? Why is it safe for them but not for me?"
"Some day, you'll know. Please trust us, Percy."
Percy had no idea why they were coddling him so much. He couldn't really think of any reason. Athena revealed her plans to no one, not even big sis, so he knew that asking Artemis was pointless. She was just as in the dark as he was. And his father was even more secretive than Athena, if that was even possible.
Poseidon put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Be careful Percy. As my son, my brothers might try to target you. Under any circumstances, you absolutely cannot reveal your connection to me. That means no using any powers related to me."
Internally, Percy groaned. Holy Hades, how many times do they have to repeat this. I know!
"I get it dad. You've told me this a hundred times already."
"A thousand times will never be enough.", Poseidon asserted. "You are my son, Percy. My blood. I know very well how this feels. Restricting yourself, keeping your power hidden. These are not traits of a son of the sea. The sea does not like to be restrained, and neither do you. But remember, the waters always recede before the crashing waves. And so it is that you must recede now. Restrict. Do you understand, Percy?"
After a long silence, Percy sighed. "I understand."
In the throne room of the gods, only the goddess of wisdom remained. Half of her attention was in the secret location. The safe zone. The childhood home of Percy Jackson, where she(along with Poseidon and Artemis) kept him safe. Right now, a part of her essence was there. A training session had just finished, and Percy looked exasperated as his father lectured him.
The hearth at the corner of the throne room stood still like a block of ice. The coals were long since burnt out and a single touch could turn them into powder. Hope on Olympus was non-existent. If even the Last Olympian left Olympus, then it was quite telling of the mood, the situation. This was how badly her father had handled things for the past few decades.
All of a sudden, a sensation pierced Athena's brain. An intruder. Her eyes flashed a greyish silver as she peered through the walls of the throne room. However, she couldn't see anything. It was only a feeling. A sensation.
The wisdom goddess's eyes flitted over to her father.
Zeus had returned not too long ago. Athena hadn't known exactly why, but he seemed to almost have a panic attack as he fled the throne room. He was back now, but it still aroused a curiosity in the wisdom goddess. What was that about anyway? Did he see himself getting dethroned? A vision?
That thought disturbed Athena. Though it was extremely rare, gods could sometimes peer into the future. Although Athena had taken measures to block such visions appearing to her father, she couldn't be completely sure. This was Zeus, the most powerful god.
Still, he seemed far from his peak condition. His hair was even whiter than before. His beard scraggly and unkempt. His eyes were bloodshot. Not red of course, but golden. It was not a good sign if a god stopped bothering about their appearance.
Athena's mind focused on the intruder. She wasn't able to pinpoint who or what it was. Zeus didn't seem like he noticed anything at all. He seemed to be deep in thought. And by the looks of it, not very healthy thoughts.
But the wisdom goddess didn't shift her posture or change her expression or even glance in the direction of this intruder. She didn't want to tip him or her off. But most importantly, she was very curious. If it had been an assassin of some sort from one of their enemies, they would have definitely struck by now. At least they would have struck at her if not her father.
However, the intruder only got closer and closer to Zeus's throne.
Athena's eyes flashed grey once again, and her vision pierced through the veil of shadows which protected the intruder's presence. She saw.
'Oh my ...', Athena's eyes widened slightly.
The intruder was crouched right next to Zeus's throne. His small, human form was inching closer to the armrest, where the king of the gods was practically asleep. Athena knew that if Zeus had been even a little bit more in his right mind, he'd have spotted this intruder already.
The intruder was tall for a mortal, with a lean build and sandy blond hair. A look of pure focus was in his blue eyes as he inched his hand closer towards the bronze tipped object. The bronze tipped object in the shape of a lightning bolt.
'How daring of a mortal. Demigod he may be ... but still. To try and steal father's Master Bolt right from under his nose ... You are a very interesting specimen, Luke Castellan.'
Athena was almost dead sure that the demigod would succeed. After all, who wouldn't recognize that helm he was wearing.
'Did Hades give him that? Or did he steal it? More importantly ... what should I do?'
Normally, under any other circumstance, Athena would have already turned the demigod into a bottle of ink. After all, this demigod was trying to steal from her father. Her king.
Except ... Zeus was not her king. Not anymore. Although she acted like he was, just for the sake of appearances, she had long since sworn her allegiance to another. Though that king was young now, and he needed a lot of grooming.
Who was Luke Castellan working for? That would determine what Athena would do next. It would definitely be helpful if Zeus lost his Master Bolt. It would immediately lower his threat level, and Zeus would be weak enough that Poseidon could arguably take him out. If Hades helped, then it would be a guaranteed loss for Zeus.
However, there was no guarantee there. What if Hades didn't help? What if Poseidon wasn't strong enough? No. Too risky that. More importantly, they couldn't afford to have the Olympians go to war over the throne again. A candidate had to be ready, and Percy just wasn't. Not yet.
'Hmm. Is it a coalition of the lesser gods? ... No. Impossible.'
The lesser gods were frankly too scared to try something like that. It was definitely not them. 'Is it one of us? Is this Poseidon's own plan? Or is Hermes doing this? Has he instructed his son to do this? Is Hermes working with Hades? Ares? Artemis?'
But no matter what, it was difficult to imagine a scenario where anyone other than her, or maybe Poseidon would orchestrate this. But Poseidon had zero reasons to hide this from her. If he trusted her with the education of the next Ruler of the Cosmos, this was nothing. And more importantly, Athena simply could not see any reason why Hades would ever give his Helm of Darkness to someone. To anyone. For any reason. It made no sense.
So it meant Luke Castellan stole the helm. 'It is possible. Hermes told me himself that he could've stolen it if he wanted to.' The Lord of the Underworld was frankly too lax in his own palace. Of course, this was understandable. Why would any mortal ever deliberately antagonize the sole being who is responsible for their afterlife?
This fact alone told Athena that Luke was only a dog being told what to do. But she was unable to think of the identity of the master. 'Could it be one of the Titans have reformed and are plotting? Iapetus certainly has the means to help this boy steal the Helm of Darkness. As the former ruler of the Underworld, it isn't inconceivable that he has some hidden methods like that.'
'Whatever it is, I had better act now. I can either alert father, or I can put an act of surprise. Once the bolt goes even three feet away, father will notice. What to do ...'
As soon as Luke Castellan slid the Master Bolt into a container and made it just one step away from the throne, Athena suddenly shot up, exclaiming in 'surprise'. "Father! Your bolt! It vanished just now! I can't sense it anywhere! It's gone!"
Luke Castellan froze. His brain stopped working for a few moments and his heart felt a physical pain as he repeatedly thought 'ImdeadImdeadImdeadImdead'.
For a brief millisecond, Zeus didn't even register what happened, but Athena's words smashed through his psyche like a hammer. His Master Bolt!
"THIEF!", Zeus roared with pure rage. Massive bolts of lightning erupted out of his body smashing through the ceiling and creating massive web-like cracks in the floor. After a few moments, the Lord of the Skies glared at a spot behind his throne, squinting, but he couldn't see anything.
Luke's heart pounded like a hammer taken to a forge. Luckily for him, his body worked on pure instinct born of being the son of Hermes. While the King of the Gods roared and let loose massive bolts of lightning, Luke used that distraction to quickly run to the throne room door and get out of there. The Helm of Darkness masked all sounds, smells and made him invisible, which was the only reason he wasn't a piece of charred meat at the moment.
So by the time Zeus calmed down enough to scan the throne room carefully, Luke was already out.
In his hurry to leave, the lightning thief failed to notice a smirk aimed at him. Athena looked very pleased with herself.
'The plans need to change ... A lot. But I should follow this boy. Who is he working for?'
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A/N: First of all, this story is now called "Percy Jackson: The Eternal Crystal". I finally found a name for the story, and I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. It's simple, and it is also one of the most important objects in the story.
A rather slow chapter. But not unimportant. Last time, I showed you how far gone Zeus was to kill his own children. This time, I am showing you what kind of condition Olympus is in because of Zeus acting that way for decades. Keep in mind that this isn't the first time Zeus killed his own children. He did it before already when the prophecy was first announced, just after the 2nd World War.
Also, Athena is a schemer. Who knew? ... That is sarcasm btw. But it is really fun to write Athena. She is always scheming and plotting something or the other. And this chapter should tell you just what she thinks about her father as a king.
And Percy is 12 now, which is the age he was during the Lightning Thief quest. And Luke has just stolen the bolt, with a little help from Athena of course. If she hadn't distracted Zeus by shouting and triggering his anger, Zeus would've first looked around carefully and then immediately spotted poor Luke. But when Athena said "No I can't see it anymore it's gone!", that really triggered him.