AN: Ok, for those who are impatient for when the sex will start, I will update five chapters this week, and here they are- SPOILER ALERTS!This chapter- The episode before Percy has a shouting match at Olympus.
Next chapter- The episode after Percy has a shouting match at Olympus.
Chapter 28- The four Dark goddesses join, and the girls get their stuff
Chapter 29- Hestia goes on a date
Chapter 30- Hestia gets pounded
Alright, so... this chapter starts here.
Time: Next Day
It was awkward.
There was no other way to describe it.
Escaping out of Ogygia right now seemed like a fresh breath of air. All the girls staring at him forlornly, stumbling into someone crying in a corner, the energy level in the house was zero. And it was not the laziness of the summer.
No, this time, it was accompanied by a crippling depression and hurt that was palpable, almost tangible.
And it had barely been twelve hours since his announcement. Almost everyone had bloodshot eyes, dark bags, and dried tear tracks when they arose in the morning, telling Percy that they had been crying the entire night, and had not had a wink of sleep.
What hurt him more was this was him most of the nights, and he was jealous of the girls getting ample sleep, always being lively and awake in the morning, enjoying the day, having rested in the night.
Hadn't he got his revenge?
He felt the strain on his godly power, their turbulent emotions pulling at his very existence. It was almost as if he was constantly living on the edge between life and death.
And, he had completely forgotten that he had to leave Ogygia to get to Olympus, accompanied by Athena, Aphrodite, Hestia and Artemis.
First of all, he knew there would be a volcano on Olympus. Second, the goddesses all sported cold, emotionless looks as they tried to keep their emotions in check. Percy appreciated that they were trying to help him by reigning their sadness and angst, but they involuntarily hurt him whenever he looked at them... it was almost like they no longer cared what he did.
It was a fate, he had to face, Percy reminded himself. He had seen it coming a long time ago. How they had even survived the nine months intact was a mystery. And Hermes was the only outside world contact they had had in that time.
For his own survival, he had to take that decision. All the twenty girls drew on his power constantly, and whatever Calypso tried, the Ancient Laws were unshakeable. Sometimes, Percy felt so tired, he had to crawl on his hands and knees.
And the frequent visits to the infirmary- he was the only one on the island who ever went to the medical bay. On one hand, it was good, all the girls were keeping safe and sound, on the other hand, it was just soooo... frustrating when he was the only one confined to a bed.
There was an unspoken consensus, a long drawn conclusion, that Zeus had given him the harem knowing that he would take a long time, possibly centuries, to recover, or might fade along the way.
"Why do I need to attend this?" Percy groaned, looking around the vast city.
"Shut up, and stop complaining, Percy/Jackson/Perseus." His four goddesses snapped at him, synchronized.
The day was fine, if a bit hot and listless. The sun beat down with scorching intensity, the azure sky clear, without a hint of clouds or bad weather anywhere. There was no breeze- not a leaf moved on the trees. Percy felt himself sweat profusely- cool beads rolled down his forehead.
The massive city of Olympus was indeed awe-inspiring. Marble and gold domes and towers stretched far as the eye could see, shining in the light. The long, cobbled streets were lined with shade-giving trees that stretched overhead, forming almost a continuous, natural tunnel. There were several springs and fountains scattered throughout the area, providing clean drinking water, shining and glistening in the light. A few minor gods roamed about aimlessly, accompanied by busy satyrs who trotted down the street, carrying pouches filled with drachmae. There were a few small shops here and there, but the majority of the godly shops were on the other side of the city, in the civilian areas. The regular sweat and blood smell of such large cities was replaced with the pleasant fragrance of flowers, incense and sacrificed food. The air was oddly silent, save for the occasional low chatter. There was a distant hum coming from the civilian areas, and much nearer, the soft, feminine voice of someone singing.
A few nymphs, naiads and dryads peeked at Percy's group of all beautiful goddesses from their respective trees, bushes or water bodies. They squealed, and ducked back down, blushing furiously, if they caught Percy's eye, proceeding to chatter excitedly with their neighbour about how the Percy Jackson had looked at them.
This was the Throne Square, the centre of Olympus, an enormous circular building, made of marble and limestone and obsidian, capped by an equally enormous golden dome.
The walls were intricately carved with pictures of the gods, legendary tales of heroes of bygone ages. The white stone was inlaid with rubies and emeralds and sapphires, glinting in the light, going well with the fine veins of silver and gold running along the stone. The shimmering golden dome was intricately carved with minute writing, done in shining, black obsidian, that Annabeth had once told him, noted the Ancient Laws.
Annabeth... the cracking of Percy's heart was almost audible, if not to others, to him alone. Nine months after her death, and he was still mopping over her loss, despite twenty girls trying their best to seduce him, to heal him, coupled with his immortality working hand in hand with his Dark domains to heal him.
He was really messed up. No amount of treatment, from healing goddesses, an almost all-knowing goddess, a healing Titan, and even a Primordial feeding him power, and he was still stuck in the repetitive nightmares of losing Annabeth, and the claustrophobic cage of his PTSD.
Annabeth had been the one to redesign Olympus, to rebuild it. He was looking at a building, no, an entire godly city, whipped up by the brilliant mind that he had come to love unconditionally with his very being. Plans drawn up painstakingly after several nights of no sleep, and him fretting over her well being and health, constantly hovering in the background, wanting her to sleep or at least to eat something.
He remembered everything Annabeth ever did, and he could draw an accurate, frame by frame animation of all her habits from memory. They were etched deep into his brain, as if Chaos itself had carved his brain with a knife so that he could remember Annabeth in vivid detail.
It was both a blessing, and a curse.
Percy was jolted out of his morbid thoughts by the imposing sound of the massive gold and silver doors swinging open on its hinges by itself, recognizing his presence, and allowing him access to the Olympian Council of almighty gods.
Annabeth had designed that, too.
The entire Olympian Council was silent, as the four goddesses marched into the throne room as if they owned the place, Hestia and Artemis dragging Percy.
He subtly leaned into the two as they dragged him along. "I'm gonna go Dark for a bit. Don't be afraid." He whispered, the first words he had spoken directly to anyone that day.
Artemis looked at him with concerned silver eyes, before her gaze hardened. She gave a short, almost imperceptible nod, and marched to her throne beside Athena, whispering to the wisdom goddess about what was to unfold.
Hestia squeezed his arm comfortingly, her warm, brown eyes shining with understanding. Without saying anything, the hearth goddess left his side to take her seat beside Aphrodite, leaving him feeling oddly alone, even though there were fourteen pairs of eyes staring at him.
Now that he was finally near them, Percy could feel the bonds he shared with Ares, Dionysus and Hades. They were nowhere as strong as those he shared with Styx, Nyx, Eris or Nemesis, but still, the inflow of power he felt was intoxicating.
He could feel Hades' eyes shining with muted pride and concern, knowing the storm that he was about to face. Unlike him, Poseidon's pride was undisguised, unbridled and naïve, not knowing his domains. The sea god only knew that his son was a powerful god to have survived a harem of twenty.
Others were much more surprised. Zeus, and Ares were slack-jawed that he had survived so long, and they were even more surprised that Athena and Artemis were peaceful and civil with him, staring at the two goddesses in disbelief. Demeter and Hera were whispering with each other, with slight golden blushes on their cheeks, admiring the new looks that he had got, courtesy of being a Dark god.
Hermes gave him a short salute, his eyes shining with glee at the chaos his appearance had caused, and Percy reciprocated. Apollo was slightly slack-jawed, drooling slightly at the Dark god, and Percy winked at him, making his face escalate into a furious golden blush that matched his blonde hair.
Hephaestus' expression was neutral, giving nothing away, though slight gratitude for Percy leaked through his stone expression, for separating him from Aphrodite. And meanwhile, Dionysus was sleeping.
Percy gave a short, militant salute, clapping his heels smartly as if he was reporting to duty.
Startled by the sudden sound, Zeus sat up straighter in his throne. "Soo... Perseus... you survive."
He gave him an incredulous look that made the goddesses in the room giggle. "You don't say..."
Zeus shot Hera an irritated look for her loss of composure, silencing the Queen immediately. "We must observe all the rituals immediately. As Father, Poseidon will walk you through the process."
Poseidon stood up, dwarfing Percy's six foot five height in his twenty-foot tall, godly form. "Son, first, can you grow to your godly height?"
Ares snorted. "It's been nine months, he would be dumber than the cripple over there if he can't."
There were a few nasty glares thrown at the war god at that, but Percy was unperturbed. The explosion would come later. "Yes, Father."
And with a slight black and golden glow, he grew to his godly height, a uniform twenty-foot for Olympians.
"Good," Poseidon threw Ares an irritated glare, "This process is to certify that you, in fact, have achieved godhood, and the domains that you claim, and to determine whether you should be given a throne on the Council, or not. Now, you need to swear an oath on the Styx. Repeat after me."
"I, Perseus Jackson, swear on the River Styx to answer the next three questions of the Council truthfully, and to the best of my capabilities, provided that they uphold their terms of the process, and it does not interfere with the Ancient Laws in any way or stand in the way of any previous oaths." He repeated after his father.
Zeus stood up as Poseidon resumed his seat. "And I, Zeus, King of Olympus, on behalf of the Olympian Council, agree to ask three relevant questions that he would reserve the right not to answer if he chooses to."
As soon as Zeus sat back down, Percy felt a foreign presence in his mind.
'What'cha doing?'
'Hey, Styx, I am standing in front of the Council awaiting judgement if I'm worthy to sit on the Council."
She was silent for a while. 'You know, Jackson, you can break my oaths any time you want and get away with it? I am giving you a free pass.'
Percy snorted mentally.
'Don't take Zeus for a fool, eye candy. He has made pro moves before, and he will do so again. You'll need it. As much as I am loathe to admit it, Zeus is a masterful politician.'
'Eye candy?' Seeing there was no response to that, Percy continued, 'Thanks for the head up, Styx. I owe you one.'
'Can I stay and watch?'
'Of course. Anything for the beautiful goddess of my favourite river to bathe in.' He tried to veil the sarcasm, but it leaked through anyway. Thankfully, Styx was busy blushing furiously at his words- Percy could almost feel her heat through their connection.
'Concentrate, Jackson.' She hissed, making Percy jolt as Zeus finished speaking. What had he said?
Thankfully, he was not looking at Percy, giving him the impression that he was not the one being talked to. He heard faint giggling in his mind, and cursed his beautiful, Dark goddess.
In front of him, Zeus nodded, "Alright, if the Council does not oppose, Poseidon will ask the first question." He turned towards Percy, his frosty, electric blue eyes boring into his soul. The familiar shade held no warmth that Thalia, or Neo's similar eyes held.
Percy was too busy glaring back at the King of the Gods to look at Poseidon as he asked the first question. "What are your domains, son?"
"Heroes, War, Darkness, Fear, Horror, Nightmares, Insanity and Time." He spoke through gritted teeth.
There was a minute of silence, and Zeus looked away. Everyone was shocked. Well, everyone apart from the four goddesses who already knew his domains.
Zeus was clearly deep in contemplation. It was expected that he would get the domain of Heroes, the domain of Time was possible, but not probable, but none of the accursed son of Poseidon's other domains were included in his complex calculations.
The next question was out of his lips before he could contemplate further, his quick political thinking that enabled him to make spur of the moment decisions, coming to fore as he asked, "What are your powers as the god of those domains, Perseus?"
Percy stiffened, wondering if he should refuse to answer. Luckily, Styx again came to his aid, 'Speak partial truths, Percy. Only you, and none others, know the full extent of your powers. Be careful, and reveal what is known. Instil a sense of respect, and teach how terrifying you can be.'
Percy pondered over her words for a moment.
"Will you not answer this question, Perseus?"
"No, of course, I will. The only power I know right now is the power to turn things into sand with a touch." Of course, his primary power was known by all on Ogygia, but its full extent was only known to him. And that was only one of his cards, one of a full deck on his hands.
"Damn, the punk's got power!" Ares exclaimed, but most of the others were still in shock. Percy felt a pang of hurt at the fact that Poseidon was still silent, and he wondered if his worst fears would come to fruition. Would they all shun a Dark god?
"Can I ask the last question before we decide if he's worthy to be entered into the Council?" Surprising everyone, Apollo raised his hand.
Zeus stared at him, slightly disbelieving, his mind running a mile a minute. He had asked all he wanted to know, though he felt that the brat was not giving complete answers... Zeus nodded, "If the other Council members do not dissent, you can go forth, Apollo."
There were murmurs from the others, but most of them nodded their heads, except Hera, who vehemently protested as she wanted to ask him something herself.
Getting the green signal to ask him whatever he pleased, the sun god blurted out, "Can I join your harem?"
There was a moment of silence, before Percy regained his bearings. His eyes hovered the sun god's form.
Apollo was hot, well, he was the sun god. He had soft, sexy features much like Artemis', a perfect mixture of Zeus' aristocratic face and Leto's gentle features. Although Percy had never seen the Titaness, judging from Calypso's stories, and the twins' features, she must have been another gem. He had clear, azure eyes, similar to Atalanta and as clear as the sky, and a perfect, shining set of teeth. Perfect, tanned skin glowed in the light. Blonde hair, brighter than any share of gold he had ever seen, sat in a sexy mess atop his head.
Percy was sure that if he had not been strictly straight, he would have been drooling at him. Instead, he winked teasingly, his lips curling into a sexy smirk of their own accord. Apollo, and all the goddesses in the room sported bright, golden blushes at that. "I don't know, Apollo. But I sure as hell won't be opposed to that. You have to talk with your sister to clear up stuff and join."
He could almost feel Artemis' fierce glare boring into his head, weakened by the blush dusting her cheeks.
Zeus coughed his throat awkwardly, shooting Hera a small glare that made the Queen stiffen and glare back at him.
He turned away, "Now that's over with, who is for Perseus sitting on the Olympian Council?"
Surprising a lot of immortals, Artemis was the first one to raise her hand in favour, followed by Athena, who explained, "Perseus is a powerful god, and we need to secure his allegiance permanently. Besides, an odd number of Olympians would prevent ties in Council votes, and enforce democratic decisions."
After her short explanation, more and more gods and goddesses started raising their hands. It was not needed, apparently, as Percy had had a clear majority even without the explanation. The only ones not raising their hands, were Dionysus, who was sleeping, and Zeus.
Even Ares, excited at the prospect of such a strong, Dark god on the council, had ignored his equally high hatred of the punk.
Zeus looked around the Council. "It is decided, then! Perseus shall have a throne on the Olympian Council."
He raised his master bolt, and shot a lightning bolt at the standing god. Percy gasped, raising a thin shield of Dark energy between him and the bolt, but it was apparently not needed. For, when the flash of the lightning bolt died down, Percy was on a throne, which had arisen out of nowhere.
The Council now formed a full circle of thrones, and Percy had Apollo on one side, and Hermes on the other. Percy faintly noted that the throne was the same one he had on the Dark Council, black obsidian with an intricate white web of cracks, representing shattered, insane minds. The armour he was wearing was also the same, black and gold Templar armour.
Everyone was gawking at him, save Hades, and Percy realised that he had not shown, or told, anything to his girls.
'It's coming now, isn't it?' Styx spoke in his mind, making Percy nod at the truthfulness of her words.
'Yes, it is.' Aloud, Percy raised his hand, making Zeus nod at him in acknowledgement. "Yes, Perseus?"
He stood up, walking to the middle of the circle formed by the Thrones in the room.
It was time for him to let loose the Darkness within. Percy wondered if he should change his name to Vesuvius.
Time for another volcanic eruption.
AN: Yaaassssss, Apollo will join the harem, but gender-bent. You'll see in Chapter 31, as the twenty-fifth girl. More drama that way. Female Apollo's name will be Asteria, inspired by williamjamsephillips.
Keep calm and CR7!! Keep calm and LM10!! (Messi)