AN: Okay, before I start writing, I want to make a few things clear. I regularly reply to those on Wattpad or AO3, but for those on Fanfiction, I'm sorry, but without suitable mechanisms for replying to reviews, I'm helpless. Keeping that in mind, I received a review on this book, and I want to reply to it via this AN.
To LastRonin, and I sincerely hope you're reading this-
1. Thanks for the encouragement and advice, author appreciation is always... appreciated.
2. You complained about original characters, but I was forced to introduce them, since I just could not include the Hunters of Artemis in the harem without including them. Nymphs and naiads... are unoriginal, and even they are original characters. Here, I must admit, I might have bitten off more than I can chew, but I must see this through to the end.
3. And about the 'incestuous statutory rape', rape is non-consensual, and don't worry, this will be anything but non-consensual, and if Artemis sex scenes with her mortal half- sister Thalia is acceptable, then sex scenes with Percy and his mortal half-sister(s) can be acceptable, following the same logic. One must keep in mind that Percy is immortal, and the laws of genetics, and thus, the taboo on incest doesn't include him.
4. Wide childbearing waists, and hips are the same on my dictionary. And in case of any confusion, I have mentioned with no ambiguity- slim stomachs, toned stomachs, etc. Also, just in case you don't have ample knowledge about sports, size differences between footballs and basketballs, which I have used for personal convenience, is quite noticeable. Also, the bodies being uniform and 'goddess-like', with differences in facial features and slight others like musculature, yes, I admit. But I started this with an image in mind, and I WILL not deviate from that image much. I'm sorry if this bothers some of you, and downplays the story, but you can just imagine the characters as you want. After all, this is the beauty of reading. It leaves stuff open to the imagination, and allows you to envision things, instead of spoon-feeding everything.
Still, thank you for your concerns, and tanks! More and more tanks!
Time: That Night
Surprising everyone, Athena took the seat on Percy's right, on the floor in front of the table, that night.
Thalia, who sat on Percy's left, looked at him in worry, before switching her gaze to Artemis, who was sitting on Athena's other side. The moon goddess had a similar expression, knowing the rocky history between the two, it was a surprise they could last one second without full out fighting.
Hestia served them the food, as usual, an impeccable feast for the twenty-one on the island, aided by the invisible spirit servants on Ogygia. There was fettucini alfredo, venison pasta, salads, spaghetti... all piping hot and smoking, beautiful, fragrant and delicious.
"Where is the wine to go with this?"
Hestia stopped serving Rose, and the gentle goddess almost hit him with her ladle.
Bewildered, Percy shrugged, groaning out, "What did I do?"
"You emptied all the alcohol- wine, whiskey, gin, rum- stores when you threw... that, and now you ask where is the wine?! You shouldn't be drinking anything for years to come, Percy!"
"But I still have sleeping pills and anti-depressants- where is the logic in that?!" He was incredulous.
Hestia turned towards Calypso, the spoon in her hand flying through the air, forcing Violet and Rose to duck. "Why wasn't I informed of this?"
Calypso shrunk under the harsh gaze of the self-appointed leader of Percy's harem. And Hestia was the generally accepted leader, too, she was the only one Percy ever feared, she was the kindest of the lot, she worked the most, and she could keep his godly form under control.
"I-I-"
Seeing Calypso temporarily lose her ability to enunciate properly, Atalanta came to her aid. "It was necessary, Hestia. Think of it as a fill-in until he is permanently better!"
After lots of calming down and explaining to the hysteric goddess that it had no ill effects, they finally sat down for dinner.
Percy's hand itched to turn on the television, to turn on basketball. NBA was calling to his very soul.
But he had lots of important topics to cover in this dinner, and wanted to give the girls time to comprehend the bomb he was about to drop at the end of the day.
He remembered the two Iris Messages he had made that day. One unimportant one to Hermes to retrieve the girls' things. It had taken him an entire hour to figure out everything, clear it up with Hermes, and another thirty minutes to settle payments. It did not help that Percy's mind kept wandering.
The much more important call he had taken that day was one from Nyx and the other three goddesses subordinate to him. The call had taken only ten minutes, and most of it had been spent flirting and teasing with each other, but it did not make the outcome any less.
Three days later, the four would come to Ogygia- he'll bring them to the island if he had to- and they would conduct some rituals. After months of research, Nyx, the primordial who had access to the most ancient of scriptures, had found out the method to reverse the harem ritual.
Percy knew why they were doing it.
They wanted to be his, to join his harem, to make him theirs.
And Percy did not object. When they came, he expected a lot of resistance from the girls.
But Percy had already decided.
Both his immortal and mortal halves, two minds living in a single body, two conflicting natures in the same body. Percy had come to know, and accept that both of them, Dark or not, were his parts, two formidable weapons of mass destruction to be utilized and taken care of.
He remembered how much his immortal half had screamed in pain and torture as Hestia 'healed' him. It still made him grit his teeth in pain, and muted bloodlust. Meanwhile, at the same time, her healing, benevolent magic had made his mortal half bask in her warmth and comfort.
Similarly, his Dark half basked in the intoxicating power that he constantly felt whenever he was with the four, an addictive feeling that made him feel complete.
And his body did not object to anything. All of them were beautiful, hot and sexy women ready to bend over to his whims.
He was an amalgamation of three halves- umm... three one-thirds?
Anyway, where was he?
Yeah, three days later, they would conduct rituals to enter themselves into his harem, regardless of whether the girls protested or not. He wanted them, his godly half wanted them.
He did not care about others.
He knew that it might create a rift between himself and the other girls, but they were already 'sharing' him with each other, what was four more or less?
He would try to explain to them stuff, and all that, and gift and bribe them. He still loved them, and would still love them with all of his soul even if they hated him.
The twenty girls on the island, including Athena and Drew, were HIS, and his alone.
It was all convoluted stuff, and Percy did not fully comprehend his own thoughts. It was difficult, almost as if he was suffering from split-personality disorder, but retained all his memories.
He gulped.
They would conduct rituals to add themselves in, and to exclude those girls from the harem, those who wanted to leave.
Percy wondered how to break the news without alienating anyone, in a way that would be acceptable to all.
"What are you thinking?" Thalia elbowed him in the ribs, jolting Percy out of his thoughts.
He realised that he had been staring off into space, just holding his fork limply, his food untouched.
Percy erected his best smile for her, a smile that dimmed soon again, realising what he would have to say to her.
He took a deep breath as he spooned warm food into his mouth. It was tasteless- Percy had lost his appetite- even the best food in the world, cooked by the hearth goddess herself, tasted like Styrofoam to him.
He should know, he had eaten Styrofoam once, only to spit it out in disgust, and wash his mouth with nectar.
His eyes wandered to the world outside, and he felt himself bristle inside. Why were the girls laughing when he was being eaten up from inside with debilitating guilt? Percy knew he would not be able to sleep a wink that night.
He immediately berated himself for thinking like that, they deserved to laugh all they wanted, they were pure, innocent goddesses and angels he had been blessed with. Meanwhile, he was a broken, crumbling monster that they had to put up with day in and out.
The world should not be so beautiful, it should be grey and dead. As dead as his grey, Dark heart.
The dark, purple night sky was shining with twinkling stars, not a cloud in sight. The wind was cool and strong, creating choppy waves, and rustling the long leaves of the tall palms outside. Summer was a long affair in the tropics, the temperature was high, and everyone was slightly sweaty. The AC was on, cooling the packed room down. The forest on the island was silent and dark, teeming with invisible, untouchable life. The pool was quiet and desolate, the clear waters reflecting the glowing silver half-crescent of the moon.
Percy reflected when Ogygia had been a quiet, deserted island, without the bustling, loud and rowdy girls in the bright house. Most of the times he liked this, but sometimes, he carved for the tranquillity of the old Ogygia.
Especially when he knew that he was going to hurt the girls badly in a few minutes. Whatever they might feel, he felt a hundred times worse.
Literally. Their angst and depression were transferred over to him, magnified through their harem link.
Percy surveyed them. They seemed so happy, slurping their food, asking for more, chatting, socializing and doing whatever they pleased.
Calypso was feeding a golden-cheeked Hestia, a teasing smile on her face as her amber eyes glinted mischievously at the gentle hearth goddess. Seeing them, Aphrodite was also trying to feed Artemis, but her attempts were repelled by the furiously glaring moon goddess.
Athena sat beside him, calm and composed, eating her food peacefully, without a book in sight. Her stormy grey eyes, swirling with unidentified, conflicting emotions, stole quick glances at him now and then. Thalia had moved to sit between Neo and the twins, and was chatting animatedly with them. They were probably talking about video games, judging by the movements they were making, like they were playing with a controller.
Her place had been taken by Reyna, who was slightly leaning into him, panting and slightly sweaty from her intense workout session. When she felt his dark sea-green eyes on her, she looked up, smiling brightly at him, revealing her perfect teeth.
Rachel and Piper were leading through the Oracle's notebook, commenting on her numerous sketches of various topics. Drew was staring at him dreamily, her eyes glazed over. Her circuits were probably still fried from the smile he had sent her direction.
Phoebe and Atalanta were playing rock, paper, scissors, and Phoebe was apparently losing, from the frustrated expression on her face. Cathy was reading a football magazine, which brought a proud tear to Percy's eye- she was the only one passionate about sports, well, apart from himself and the Little Big Three.
Cynthia and Sydney were chatting about something- probably how much they hated Dark gods, apart from Percy. Ruby had a handheld console, and she was furiously tapping away, tilting herself and the console as if it would gain her a boost, her tongue cutely poking out of the corner of her mouth.
Well, for all Percy knew, tilting themselves and the consoles probably did give gamers a boost. He himself did it, his three little sisters did it, Leo did it... every gamer he knew, online or privately, did it.
Meanwhile, Angela was constantly reprimanding Ruby for playing video games at the dining table, her words falling on deaf ears. She tried to get her to eat something, but Ruby did not care- she would eat after her game was over.
Athena cleared her throat, jerking everyone out of whatever they were doing. Everyone stared at her with wide eyes, anticipating another hate speech, but Athena remained silent.
"Everyone..." Percy drew their attention to himself, "Athena wants to tell you all something. I beg you to hear her out, not interrupt her, and not judge her."
He nodded towards the wisdom goddess, "Athena, you can speak now."
Seeing everyone's attention on her, Athena shivered slightly, mustering up her courage. If she could have said her earlier words without fear, then she could say these without fear.
"I realize that I have been a complete bitch to you all, both in and out of the house. And I know that my behaviour towards Perseus has been less than acceptable since we all came to Ogygia, and, in fact, for the entire time I knew him. I acknowledge my past errors, and I-I-" Her voice broke as she choked on the sobs threatening to escape her throat. She squeezed her eyes tight, stopping the tears welling up, and swallowed down her pride. She had to do this.
"I apologize."
There was silence for a moment, before Phoebe broke out, her impulsive war genes again coming to the forefront. "Your words almost caused him to die. He almost committed suicide."
Athena could not take it anymore. The ignorant treatment she received from the other girls, her own emotions... she broke down sobbing, curling into a ball.
Her blonde hair framed her face as she drew her knees up, hugging them tightly to her chest as she buried her face into her legs, her body wracked with sobs, tears streaming down her face and wetting the grey sweats she had changed into.
Percy snaked an arm around the wisdom goddess' shoulders, and she collapsed into his side, hugging him tightly as she sobbed, as if letting go meant the difference between life and death. He held her tightly, comforting her to the best of his abilities, basking in her warmth.
Everyone seemed shocked half to the Void at the sudden affection the two enemies were showing each other.
Percy paid them no mind. He had been a victim of bullying himself, and he knew all the symptoms of a bullied victim, mortal or goddess, having experienced them first hand.
His Dark domains also told him a lot about her true intentions. Self-defence.
On Athena's other side, Artemis also hugged her sister, ever loyal to the wisdom goddess who had always been at her side, comforting her. She reached out an arm, inviting the moon goddess into their warm, tight and safe hug in the arms of a smokin' hot Dark god.
"Percy...?" Piper started, only to be silenced when he threw a scathing glare in Phoebe's direction, taking her back. The most loyal of his harem members now was faced with his disappointed stare, "And none of you stayed by my side when she was saying those to me. I have forgiven her, why can't you do the same?"
Again, silence reigned in the room, only broken by the almost silent crying of the wisdom goddess.
Hestia was the first to break. "I'm sorry, Athena." She whispered, throwing herself into the hug, washing wisdom with her comforting warmth.
"I never doubted that you had some reason for all that." Aphrodite was next, followed by Angela, who just said, "I was always by you, mother."
Slowly, the others repeated similar lines, until the entire room was dogpiling on the Dark god, who had Athena on his chest. The wisdom goddess had slowly started giggling softly through her broken sobs.
Percy gasped for breath, "Can you all get off." He wheezed out, "I can't- can't breathe."
Artemis smiled down at him from her position atop Athena, her silver eyes shining with mirth. "Just a few minutes more, Percy. Enjoying the moment back here."
Percy looked at Athena, who had a soft smile on her face as she lay limp on his broad, muscular chest, enjoying the warmth and comfort of the mass hug.
Her bloodshot, stormy grey eyes fluttered open, shining with happiness and gratitude for the god whom she had bullied and wanted dead. Percy erected his best, goofy smile for her, the smile that Annabeth always loved best.
Athena's eyes flicked down to his lips, immortal ichor rushing to her rapidly heating face, painting her cheeks golden. She tried to lean up, despite the weight on her.
Percy knew what thoughts were running through her mind, and he smirked, leaning his head back, his lips beyond her reach.
Slightly heartbroken that he had rejected her, Athena looked at him with crumbling hope, grey meeting dark sea green. The son of Poseidon just winked at her teasingly, sending her blood rushing back to her cheeks as she blushed furiously.
Percy just loved making wisdom and her daughters blush.
"Later," he mouthed at the furiously blushing goddess, as everybody returned to their seats, and were too busy to pay attention to the two.
"Now, I have an announcement to make." Percy started, making everybody look at him with rapt attention.
Despite the tender and happy moments shared between everyone earlier, Percy's jaws were tense, his long, raven hair shadowing his dark eyes. His eyes bored into everyone.
Nothing good ever came when Percy was serious.
He laid his hands on the table, as if to brace himself. "The unavoidable, harsh truth remains inevitable and constant, and we must acknowledge the present peace is transient, and subject to change. As such, after taking all factors into careful consideration, I have been forced-"
Thalia interrupted his complicated tirade, speaking for everyone. Very few had been able to follow him so far, and the majority were lost to hazy, dark confusion. "Jackson- Percy Jackson, take a deep breath. Yes, now, the 'War situation has not necessarily developed to Japan's advantage' trick is not going to work on us. Soooo, get to the point."
Percy stared at her for a moment, before he dropped the bombshell.
"It has been nine months, and you all have lived in relative peace. But this can't possibly go on for eternity." Everyone's pulse picked up at that, "Well, most of you have been entered here without your knowledge, and some of you have already expressed your dissatisfaction at entering my harem, jealousy to your sisters, and clashes with each other."
He stared at the pale faces around him, continuing in an unstoppable barrage. "I decided to give you all a chance to back out. But before I go to that, I will declare the four options you all have available."
"Number one. We all live together, as an ideal harem is supposed to live, with, of course, exception of the Little Big Three- it will be too weird for them to be..." Percy shivered in barely hidden disgust at the incestuous implications, before continuing, "Second, those who have problems are weeded out, and sent back to the real world through a harem bond reversal ritual. Third, in case you think you won't be able to handle jealousy, we all will live platonically on the island. And fourth, the entire harem will be dissolved, and I will swear on oath not to pursue romantic relationships with any one of you."
Everyone was still silent, his words too much for anyone to come to terms with. The idea of eternity of sharing and living together... was terrifying, yet exciting and hopeful. They might be able to accomplish what none could do before, after all, Percy had a tendency to do that mind of stuff.
"And Nyx, Nemesis, Eris and Styx are coming over three days later. I'm sorry that I didn't consult this with you earlier, but they will be doing the rituals, so you have to make your decisions within these three days. Vital days to be made the most of. Besides, whatever you decide, keep in mind, that the four will be joining whatever comes out of that day. Yes, if this harem remains intact, you have to learn to live with the four Dark goddesses as your fellow harem sisters..." He stopped for a moment, sensing their disbelief.
"I'm serious. They haven't confirmed anything yet, but I have a feeling they will ask me permission to enter my harem. And I will give it, regardless of whether you like it or not."
"Do you... do you love them?" Someone asked, Percy, in his nervous and guilt-ridden state, couldn't make out whom.
"No." He stared at his shaking hands, "The harem strains on my power, feeding on my abilities. If they join me, I can hook myself into their godly powers, so that I have a better chance of short term survival. And by the time I become independent of their powers, or the other girls become stable enough so that I can support them without imminent danger of fading, they might become important members of us all."
He tried to erect his best smile for the girls, but it came out strained. "It is necessary for my survival. If you all love me truly, as a lover, brother or friend, then you would put aside your petty jealousy for my life."
He stood up, his meal unfinished. He could not bear the tension in the room anymore. "If you choose to quit this harem, you will retain your memories, and will be sent back to your regular lives. For Calypso, she will be freed, and will be dropped into Camp Half-Blood as a demigod. But remember, this is a one time offer, so make your decisions wisely, and within three days."
He turned, ready to leave. He needed to let off some steam, jerking off or playing video games, but stopped right at the doorway.
"I'm sorry."
And without looking back, the Dark god left the silent dining room.
He felt silent tears streaming down his face at the thought of being separated from the girls he had grown so attached to. They were his rock, and he was theirs. His lips trembled, and his tall form was lost in the silence of the massive, deserted mansion on Ogygia.
Suddenly, Percy hated the silence. He would do anything to return to the dining room he had left behind, amongst the laughing girls, arguing and chatting over pretty things like colours, games or better brands.
This was a fate, he had to face.
AN: Searching for a jersey in my cupboard, I came across an old Jurassic World t-shirt I had painted a long time ago, I have grown out of that, obviously, so now, Lace is wearing that. And for those who don't know, Lace is my almost five/six-year junior girlfriend, who also happens to be my first cousin. (Hah, fuck you, incestuous statutory rape!)
Keep calm and CR7!! Keep calm and LM10!! (Messi)