Damon and Penelope looked afraid from all the shouting. They were still children, only 7 years old.
Artemis and Zeus kept shouting in defiance. Saying that what they just heard must be false. "What do you mean that my maiden daughters have children? They have sworn to remain maidens forever." Zeus shouted, standing up. His master bolt was at his hands as he looked at the kids angrily. His master bolt crackled with electricity as he looked enraged enough to blow up the whole throne room.
Damon controlled his fear, but sadly his sister couldn't. Penelope started crying and clutched her brother's hand tightly for reassurance.
"ENOUGH," Annabeth shouted angrily and slammed the floor of the throne room with the end of a five-pronged trident. The explosion was enough to push every god back from the power radiating from the weapon. The throne room shook violently as an earthquake passed through powerful enough to rattle the mountain. Storm started gathering outside as the sky was covered in dark rain-filled clouds.
Miraculously, the two children in the middle of the throne room were safe and protected from the explosion.
Annabeth stood enraged and walked up to the middle of the throne room towards the kid, glaring at the two gods. "What is wrong with you people? Are you so stupid that you can't seem to see that you are scaring two little children?" She shouted at Zeus and Artemis.
She dropped to her knees and opened her arms. The two kids rushed into their step-mother's embrace and hugged her tightly. Penelope kept crying and hugging Annabeth, even when Damon stepped back.
Zeus sat down back on his throne. He couldn't believe the power he felt radiating from the weapon Annabeth was holding. It made his bolt look like a toothpick in comparison. How did she have a weapon so powerful?
Artemis looked surprised that the future goddess snapped at her. She looked at her future children and her heart clenched. Their eyes were wide, and held fear in them. They looked afraid of her. She always wanted children, and now when she had them, instead of talking with them, she drove them afraid of her. Guilt seeped into every inch of her heart.
She walked forward and her children backed up in fear. Anguish, the kind she had never felt before, surged through Artemis. She raised her hand in surrender to show that she wasn't going to harm them. The children calmed down and Annabeth nudged them to move forward. Both kids moved forward until Artemis wrapped her arms around them, motherly instincts awakening. They looked just like her except for the black hair. Their silver eyes were still on guard.
"I am sorry, I don't know how I break my oath in the future, but it wasn't your fault. I am sorry for scaring you." Artemis told her children, and they nodded back. A smile adorned the faces of the children.
"What are your domains?" She asked them, they hadn't mentioned what they were the gods of yet.
"We don't have our domains yet," Damon informed her.
"Do you want to sit with us?" Artemis motioned towards where the hunters were sitting. They were all looking at their mistress smiling.
"Yes mom," Penelope nodded and ran towards the hunters, screaming, "Aunt Phoebe." She surprised the huntress named Phoebe, by jumping on her lap. Artemis smiled, seeing this; it seems that the children were familiar with her hunters in the future.
Phoebe, Zoe, and the rest of the hunters looked surprised but smiled and accepted her into the group. They turned toward Damon, if it was any other male, they wouldn't allow it, but this was the son of their mistress. They knew he wouldn't grow up to be like other vile males.
"And you?" Artemis asked her son. He still hadn't made a move to sit with her or her hunters.
"I'm sorry but I don't know you Milady. I want to sit with Mommy Annabeth." Damon said and stepped back.
Artemis nodded a little sadly that he addressed her formally instead of calling her mother. She realized that the twins were like her and Apollo. Penelope was the cheery bright person like Apollo. But Damon had her own characteristics; he doesn't trust anyone easily, even if it was his own mother from the past. She would try to get familiar with him as the story continues.
Artemis returned to her seat and watched her son return to his seat aside from Annabeth. All the wives of Perseus smiled at him; it seemed that even though the children were born from different women. They were all loved the same.
"One question, how are the children still young? Godly children generally grow up quickly." Athena asked as she looked at the children. Danae was about 10 years old. Sophia looked a year younger, probably 9, and the twins were barely 7 years old.
Annabeth smiled, looking at Damon and answered, "Percy always wanted to raise his own children, so the fates made it that his children despite being gods would grow up like mortals."
Aphrodite leaned forward curiously and asked, "If he loves children so much, how come you five don't have any children?"
Piper looked at her mother and answered, "Because we are still young, it has only been about 15 years since we became gods. We would like some time before having children. And all of Percy's children are like our own, so we are contempt just looking after and raising them."
Every goddess smiled at Piper's answer except Hera. They loved how the step-mothers didn't hate the children; instead, they loved them like their own.
"One more question. What was the trident you used earlier? It radiated power beyond belief," Poseidon asked, leaning forward. He had never felt such power radiating from a weapon before. His trident and his brother's bolt were nowhere near that trident in raw power comparison.
Rachel, Reyna, Piper, Annabeth and Thalia all smirked proudly. Thalia raised her hand and the trident appeared in her hand, "Oh this?" She asked, twirling the trident in her hand, "This is our husband's weapon of power. It was a gift from the Primordial Pontus and Thallasa themselves." All five of them smiled widely at the flabbergasted looks they received from past gods and heroes.
The sea deities were drooling from the sight of the trident. It was a gift from two Primordials of seas; they hadn't even met one of them.
"So how do you wield it? A god cannot wield another god's weapon of power." Zeus asked them, he couldn't understand how these future goddesses could wield a weapon so powerful. He wouldn't let anyone else touch his master bolt, not even Hera.
"We can wield it because he is our husband; we have his permission to use the weapon whenever we want. Percy loves us and everything that's his is ours. We can even control some of his domains. Percy believes we are equal in everything." Reyna informed and to prove her theory, they tossed the trident at one another.
Every goddess felt envy by Percy's wives. They would kill to have that kind of relationship with their significant others.
Artemis, Athena and Hestia smiled after listening to Reyna. They thanked their lucky stars that they were married to someone like that in the future, and not someone like Zeus or Ares. They see their wife more as a possession than partners.
"Enough Chit-Chat let's start the books." Athena said, she couldn't wait to get to know Percy Jackson. She would love to see how this man was brought up and raised.
Everyone nodded and got excited about the books. Annabeth summoned the books and teleported them towards Athena, "You should start the books." She told her.
Athena nodded and straightened up; she took the first book and read the title, "Percy Jackson and the lightning thief," Athena raised an eyebrow but continued, "Chapter 1: I accidently vaporize my pre-algebra teacher."
Apollo snorted as soon as the title for the first chapter was read, "That's a great start." Most of the gods nodded and looked amused to themselves.
Thalia got everyone's attention by clapping her hands, "Before this starts let's get this one thing straight. Percy doesn't tune his thoughts and speaks his mind; in these books he would likely insult many of you. So don't blow a gasket when the time comes, Okay?"
The gods looked at each other and nodded. It wasn't like they could do anything against him; he wasn't even here and many were scared shit out of their minds already.
Athena soon started, "Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood."
The heroes of old and the future guests laughed bitterly, "None of us do Perce, none of us do." Nico said bitterly, remembering the deaths and destruction being a demigod brings.
"What's so bad about being a half-blood?" Aphrodite asked, frowning; the kids should feel honored that they were born from a god.
"The fact, that we are hunted by monsters all our life; and are considered freaks in the mortal world. That we have a very short lifespan, or the fact that there are gods sitting in a mountain trying to fuck our lives personally." Thalia replied, raising an eyebrow at the love goddess. Did she really think that the lives of their kids were all sunshine and daisies?
Hestia nodded sadly from her hearth as she braided her daughter's hair. She was the goddess of home and family. She had seen the hardships the kids go through because their parents decided to leave them alone to deal with everything; that comes from being a child of god.
"We have more important things to do than to mess with your lives." Zeus said, looking offended. Did these people really think that the gods had taken time out of their day to mess with them? How dare they think that?
"Really, your wife surely makes it seem like that." Annabeth challenged, remembering how Hera had taken Percy away from her. The Queen bitch was always going to be in her shit list, no matter what happened.
Everyone went wide-eyed as Annabeth dismissed Zeus like he was nothing to her. Most of Zeus' children nodded, Hera had gone out of her way to make their lives miserable. This reading was going to be more than interesting if these future guests kept insulting Zeus and Hera. Or keep calling them out for their fault.
Zeus went silent as he didn't have a retort to that. Whereas, Hera bristled with anger, who does this upstart young goddess think she is to insult the Queen of Heaven. She remained silent despite her anger.
If you're reading this because... killed in painful, nasty ways.
Everyone said silent as they didn't know how to react to that. The people who had lived the life of a demigod knew that every word of that sentence was true. They had seen many friends perish in gruesome ways because they were born demigods.
The gods looked at each other unsure; surely the boy was exaggerating. It couldn't be that bad, could it?
If you're a normal kid… none of this never happened.
"Why would we think it's a fiction?" Leo asked, looking over from the tiny piece of metal he was fidgeting with.
"Maybe the fates made it like that, so that the mortals think it is a work of fiction. I guess." Annabeth concluded her reasoning. Leo nodded, it seemed like a reasonable option.
"Can we not have so many distractions?" Zeus asked haughtily, he didn't want to spend most of his time with this disrespectful bunch of immortals from the future.
"Why, do you have to go and screw another woman? Shut up and sit down, this reading is happening for the betterment of everybody, and for you to keep living. Time outside Olympus has stopped so we have all the time." Nico snapped at the King of Gods.
Hades and Poseidon laughed loudly as Zeus went red from anger. Hera turned a furious gaze at Zeus, daring him to cheat on her again.
But if you recognize yourself… Don't say I didn't warn you.
"But you didn't warn me." Theseus decided to butt in. He wass loving this demigod very much, and hoped that it was one of his brothers.
Most of the future guests laughed at the comment of the son of Poseidon.
My name is Percy Jackson… Am I a troubled kid?
"Yesss…" Shouted everyone from the future in unison. Percy was the poster child for troubled kids.
The gods raised their eyebrows at that. How is a troubled person responsible for the world's survival?
Athena, Artemis, and Hestia noticed the fond look on the eyes of everyone from the future. So their future husband was loved by many. Hmm… They couldn't wait to get to know more about him.
"Yeah. You could say that."
Everyone laughed as Percy himself agreed that he was a troubled kid.
"I could start at any point… Greek and Roman stuff."
Poseidon had a bad feeling in his guts. His instincts warned him that this was one of his kids, and the fact that Percy's weapon of power was a trident. A weapon of seas was a hint, too; he looked sideways to see if Amphitrite had figured it out. Thankfully, she hadn't.
"Short and miserable?" Hestia asked worriedly, even if she didn't know Percy personally, she didn't want anyone to have a miserable life.
Percy's wives looked at each other, worried, then Thalia answered, "Percy had a difficult and hard childhood." She didn't elaborate any further.
Hestia nodded and went back to poking the hearth with her daughter.
Athena looked at Annabeth and asked, "What's a Museum?" They didn't have anything like that yet, it must have been important if they stored Greek relics.
Annabeth got an excited look in her eyes as she answered, "A Museum is a place where one goes to look for ancient relics and arts from history. It's a building in which objects of historical, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited for everyone."
Athena nodded happily after understanding that it was a place of learning.
"I know—It sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were."
Athena looked offended and looked at Annabeth, "And this is the guy we are married to?" How in the hell did this guy get her to marry him, Athena didn't know.
"Demigods have ADHD and Dyslexia; the first makes it unable for us to sit in one place for anything, and Dyslexia is a problem that makes it so we can't read the language spoken in the future properly, as our minds are meant to read and write Greek. Even your children have trouble in them. Percy has gotten those problems worse than anyone, so it is almost impossible for him to sit in one place and learn things."
"While he may not be an Academic scholar, he is a master tactician. He has unparalleled skills on battle or strategies. He is very smart, just not in academic things." Annabeth defended their husband, as he wasn't here to do it himself. Although, knowing him, he would've accepted everything without saying anything.
Athena nodded and calmed down. She would not judge him yet, without seeing what he is capable of herself. If her own children had problems with learning, then she couldn't blame anyone else.
But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.
Most of the future guests glanced at Chiron discreetly before looking away.
Mr. Brunner was this…whose class didn't put me to sleep.
"That's Chiron isn't it?" Heracles asked, smiling, he could recognize the old centaur anywhere.
Chiron looked surprised when the future guests nodded. It was usually the heroes that came to him, not the other way around.
"He slept in class too?" Athena screeched, and she looked one second away from fainting. She could understand that they had trouble learning, but to sleep in a class was just horrifying.
It was the Stolls that answered this time, "We all did, do you know how hard it is for demigods to sit still in a closed room." Travis said.
"Anyways, the teachers don't like us. They think we are disrespecting them by not paying attention. So, they often ignore us." Connor finished.
Athena slumped back onto her couch dejectedly. If the teachers were like this, no wonder the students don't pay attention. She would find a way to fix that in the future.
I hoped the trip would… Boy was I wrong?
Everyone looked amused hearing the thoughts of Percy.
His wives sighed in submission, remembering how trouble seemed to follow him everywhere.
See bad things happen… I got expelled anyway.
Everyone laughed at Percy's misfortune.
"Wait what is a war canon?" Ares asked leaning forward. His eyes were brighter than usual and had a maniacal gleam on it. He had figured it must be a weapon of destruction.
"A war canon is like a ballista, but instead of stones it throws explosives." Leo commented offhandedly, not even looking up from the metal he was tinkering with.
Ares looked pleased and nodded.
And before that, at my… I was determined to be good.
This time, everyone from Poseidon's family laughed out loud. Now that seemed like a funny memory.
Annabeth snickered as she leaned over to the girls, "Percy told me this story before. Apparently, the sharks were the one who asked him to do that. Percy didn't know the sharks could speak to him so he thought one of his teachers had told him." She whispered to them, causing them all to laugh.
When people turned to them, they waved them off.
All the way into the city… butter-and-ketchup sandwich.
Piper made a sound from the back of her throat and visibly looked sick. "Eew who eats peanut butter and ketchup together," Piper asked; she looked green and about ready to puke her guts out.
Annabeth laughed and patted her back reassuringly. At the same time, Thalia growled, "I would find her and kill her."
Grover chuckled at his old friend, "It's alright Thalia, you don't have to that."
When they stopped their chatter, Athena asked the future guests, "Are girls normally allowed to study in the future?" She asked softly. Only the daughters of noblemen and kings were allowed to learn at this time. Most of the girls were taught skills to make them appealing for marriage. She had wished that times would change and everyone would have the same opportunity for learning.
The rest of the goddesses from the past leaned forward for the answer, too. Annabeth and the future guests smiled, "Yes it's common for girls to study in schools in the future in many nations, in fact its imperative for both girls and boys to attend schools. Time changes, albeit slowly but surely."
All the goddesses from the past smiled as they heard her answer. They couldn't wait to see the future for themselves.
Grover was an easy target… enchilada day in the cafeteria.
Grover blushed more with every word used to describe him. Seriously, why did Percy have to describe him like that? He looked to see that every single of his friends were laughing at him.
Pan looked amused at the satyr, "You do not look like anything described in the book."
Grover blushed harder and ducked his head, "I was a late bloomer and was always scared, but I wasn't as bad as described."
Clarrise snorted and laughed, "Please, you were a little runt, exactly as described."
Grover looked at her with wide eyes, then turned to Thalia and Annabeth for support. Both of them looked away to hide their laughter. He shook his head as even his friends didn't come to his aid.
The gods looked amused at their interaction, bar a few.
Anyway, Nancy Bobolift… "I'm going to kill her." I mumbled.
Artemis and her hunters stiffened; was he going to hurt a maiden? Artemis looked towards Percy's wives and asked, "He is not going to hurt a girl is he?" She asked in a harsher tone.
Annabeth and Reyna looked at each other. "Percy doesn't care if it's a girl or a boy. If the person hurts his friend he would do whatever necessary." Reyna said, looking Artemis in the eyes. She defended her husband; this Artemis wasn't the one in the future. This one hasn't realized her mistakes yet.
Artemis couldn't debate that, not when she had punished men for far less crimes.
Grover tried to calm me down… In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to go into.
Thalia sighed and shook her head, "When is he not in trouble?"
Annabeth laughed and replied fondly, "One time I went to his school, and he was playing dodge ball with cannibals."
Frank grumbled, "You should learn the kind of tricks he pulled on our quest to Alaska. I still have nightmares about that." Hazel patted his hand while laughing at him.
The past people were worried, shocked and amused at the same time. They couldn't wait to meet him in person.
Mr. Brunner led the museum tour. He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries… Mrs. Dodds would give me the evil eyes.
"Wait he found something interesting?" Nico asked bewildered. Percy finding something interesting in a school or museum was like a pirate finding the desert lovely. He would much rather slash everything in sight, than to stand still and learn something.
Everyone from the future and some from the past laughed at Nico's question. He genuinely looked shocked.
"Of course Death-Breath, you should see how much time he spends with Athena and Annabeth inside our bedroom, 'Learning.'" Thalia smirked and used air quotes at the last. Her implication was clear for everyone to understand. Oh! She had heard their study sessions loud and clear.
Athena and Annabeth looked at each other for a few seconds and looked away with flushed faces. Athena was a goddess in ancient Greece; she wasn't a stranger to incest, but that didn't mean she wasn't embarrassed. On top of that, she was a virgin goddess. Annabeth had gotten used to the fact that she shared her husband with her own mother but was embarrassed the same.
Apollo and Hermes laughed as the great Athena was blushing from hair to toe. Athena glared at them, and both of them stopped quickly. Athena looked around to see that everyone was looking at her teasingly; her father looked like the vein in his forehead might pop at any time. She started reading quickly before they could comment on it.
Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker… and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month… He looked at me real seri-ous and said, "You're absolutely right."
"GROVER," groaned many people, "What is the matter with you goat-boy its like you want him to get caught up." Thalia looked at her friend in amusement.
Grover wanted to go up and curl against Juniper from all the embarrassment. He was blushing hard from the teasings. It wasn't his fault that he was so prone to nervousness. He couldn't deal with the fear of failing like the last time.
Pan looked amused as everyone kept teasing Grover. People mostly ignored Satyrs and only thought of them as party jesters. It was refreshing to see a Satyr being treated like a friend or, dare he think like family.
"Now that sounds like a women I can get with." Ares commented offhandedly when the futures explained what a Harley and leather jacket was. Aphrodite frowned looking at him; he didn't have to comment about other women when he was with her.
Nico snorted, "Yepp… You two would go very well together." He remembered that Percy always kept calling Alecto, Mrs. Dodds. So, this is why he always did it.
Hades had a bad feeling in his gut as he heard more and more about this. Mrs. Dodds. He couldn't think who it was, but he was sure it was someone he knew.
Mr. Brunner kept talking about the funeral art… It came out louder than I meant it to.
Apollo, Hermes and Hermes' children all sighed sadly. Their faces were one of sorrow, "It always does." All of them muttered. Oh, the pranks that got ruined because of that were always a downer.
Everyone looked at them amusingly; some rolled their eyes at their childishness. Apollo and Hermes acted like kids more than millennia-old gods.
The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.
"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"
"Aw come on Chiron, you never put a demigod in the spot like that." Theseus complained, for some odd reason he was feeling a strong sense of familiarity with the boy in the book. Same with all the people of sea.
Chiron looked amused at their reaction and mused, "Perhaps my future self felt that he was asking me to be quiet?"
Annabeth snorted and nodded, "That may be true, Percy has this eccentric feel around him that always challenges authority."
Most of the gods raised their eyebrows at that. That kind of characteristic can be fatal in the godly world; gods aren't known for being merciful when insulted or challenged.
My face was totally red. I said, "No sir."
Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"
I looked at the carving and felt a flush of relief because I recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"
The five elder Gods shuddered as they remembered being in their father's stomach. "Why does it always have to be that one?" Hestia whined.
"I should just blast that carving out of existence." Poseidon grumbled as he and his siblings looked sick from the reminder.
The rest of them wanted to snicker at the elder Gods' reaction, but didn't in fear of getting attacked.
"Yes," Mr. Brunner said… "Kronos was the king god, and-"
"GOD?" Zeus shouted, standing up, enraged. How dare this upstart child think that his father was a god? If someone had said that in front of him, they would be a pile of ashes right about now.
"Father, Shut up and Sit down. He is a child and ignorant of our existence, or have you forgotten that already?" Athena shouted at her father. She felt the undeniable need to defend Percy. Sometimes, she figured that being born from Zeus' brain, she had taken all the resemblance of intelligence out of him.
And the futures had already informed them that mortals were unaware of their existence in the future. That they remained hidden from the mortal world through a veil of magic called mist.
Zeus grumbled about something no one had heard and sat down.
"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.
"Titan," I corrected myself.
The futures and Athena looked smugly at Zeus. To which he just looked away.
"And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"
"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.
"-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."
Most of the Gods looked amused at the oversimplified version of the war, while the elder Gods looked astounded by the sheer audacity of explaining a war like that.
"10 years of war, one of the most gruesome battles in history. Gods against Titans, nature at war with itself, and the brat summarized it as 'a big fight between the gods and the Titans.' I don't know whether to be offended or impressed." Hades looked genuinely confused as he looked at Percy's wives.
Athena herself looked like a deer caught in a headlight. How can someone so casually explain a decade-long war so simply she didn't know?
Percy's wives looked amused and laughed among themselves. Yep… That was Percy Jackson alright.
Some snickers from the group… to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"
"GO CHIRON," The Stolls shouted, standing up, "Show the demon her place." Somehow they had gotten their hands on an air horn and used it to cheer their mentor.
Hermes looked proud at the twins' antics, while Chiron looked amused at their enthusiasm.
"25 Drachmas, he doesn't know it." Nico looked at the future guests smirking, knowing Percy he would be ignorant enough to not know the answer.
Almost everyone from the future refused, while Reyna smiled at her friend, "Done, Percy isn't as oblivious as everyone thinks he is." She had seen how Percy observed every little thing around him, and was smarter than most when needed.
"I'll take that bet too," Athena announced, looking at Nico in amusement. If she had married Percy in the future, then he wouldn't have been as stupid as they all thought of him.
Apollo, Hermes and Poseidon looked at Athena in shock; she wasn't usually the one to ever participate in such particular escapades.
Nico accepted the deal, smiling, thinking he had 50 drachmas in the bag.
"Busted," Grover muttered.
"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.
At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.
I thought about his question, and wanted to say I didn't know, but I didn't want to disappoint Mr. Brunner. So I thought about the question and answered it.
"Because it teaches us that every actions has consequences. Kronos was cursed by his father when he killed Ouranous. That his own children would one day, overthrow him and replace him. In his paranoia Kronos ate his children. But his wife had hidden baby Zeus from him, and when Zeus grew up he freed his siblings from Kronos' stomach, and they waged war on him for years. In the end the gods won defeated their father and sliced him into million pieces and threw him in Tartarus, the darkest part of the underworld. Thus, ending the rule of the Titans. The morale of the story is that even gods make mistake. And that no deed goes unpunished."
Everyone was wide-eyed from the explanation Percy gave. Not even most of the gods could've given an answer so accurate. They couldn't believe that it was a 12 year old boy that gave the answer. The elder gods were stunned that someone could find the hidden message in their father's defeat.
Percy's wives smiled as they looked on to the different reaction of everyone. People often mistake Percy's obliviousness for stupidity; even some of them had made that mistake in the past. But they knew better now. Percy was one of the smartest people when it came to things that really mattered.
Athena smirked as Nico handed her and Reyna the drachmas they won. She felt some sort of strange satisfaction and pride from Percy's answer.
Mr. Brunner's eyes brightened like he was looking at his star student, which was odd because I was anything but smart. People had always told me I was stupid so it was strange to see that kind of approval in someone's eyes.
Almost everyone seemed taken back from Percy's self-deprecating thoughts. Not even some of the smartest people can give an answer that good. How many people have degraded him to make him think like that?
Percy's wives, his friends, Athena and Hestia, frowned, hearing his thought. People that knew Percy couldn't believe what they were hearing; Percy was one of the most confident people they had met. It seemed that his younger self had more problems than they ever noticed. Athena and Hestia could sense his fractured mentality from that one sentence; they didn't like what they were hearing.
Chiron seemed sad, so many heroes he had trained in his life, they all were doubtful of themselves.
"Full credit, Mr. Jackson, that was an excellent explanation. Now, on that happy note happy note, its time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds would you lead us back outside?" Mr. Brunner said.
The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other and acting like doo-fuses.
Every woman in the room snorted, "Guys are doo-fuses," Thalia and Artemis said at the same time.
Ignoring the indignant shout of 'HEY' from the guys, they smiled at each other.
Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."
I knew that was coming.
I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"
Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go- intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.
Everyone seemed surprised at the accuracy of that statement. Chiron himself looked startled at how the child could observe so much just from his eyes.
"Is he always that observant?" Harmonia, the goddess of harmony, asked. It was the first time a minor god other than Pan had voiced their opinion or question.
"Yes, sometimes it's annoying how perspective he is at times." Thalia grumbled, as she remembered how her Kelp-Head was the first one to figure out her fear of heights. She was so angry at him for figuring it out.
"You must learn the importance of your answer. When time arrives you would have to make the right decision." Mr. Brunner said cryptically.
I was confused about how a tyrant rule was to do with me. I thought he was talking about the test, so I replied, "Yes sir."
Athena and the rest of the gods sighed; he was smart, but still he was just a child ignorant of their existence. They couldn't hope much from him.
As Mr. Brunner and I were walking out a statue drew my attention. It was a statue of a young girl, she was dressed in hunting garb and had a bow in her hand. "She's cute," I commented.
Mr. Brunner looked at the statue I was looking at his and his eyes widened. He looked panicked for some reason, he composed himself and looked at me, "You mustn't say things like that child, she is a maiden goddess. Artemis, the goddess of moon is known for being a man hater."
Everyone turned to look at the moon goddess at the same time as Athena finished the sentence. Not many dared to comment on the goddess like that.
Artemis blushed hardly as her future husband's thoughts about her were read. She would've skewered any other man or god for a comment like that, but she liked it this time. She liked to hear that the man she would marry thought she was cute when he didn't know that she even existed.
Aphrodite looked like she might die from the cuteness of this scene. "Oh my god that is so sweet. The fact that he marries her in the future is so cute, I might just cry." She dabbed the tears away from her eyes.
Artemis glared at the love goddess, but the effect was left useless by the blush.
Percy's wives snickered at the embarrassment Artemis was facing.
"You talk like she is real," I said noticing he said is instead of was.
I turned to Mr. Brunner but he hadn't heard me. He was looking at the stele sadly, like he'd been at the girl's funeral.
"Damn, that kid can read Chiron like a pro, even we have reading Chiron's words and expression." Apollo said out loud. How can a child be this perspective?
Chiron looked just as shocked as him.
He told me to go outside and eat my lunch… I wouldn't have been surprised it it was a hurri-cane blowing in.
"Whoa… You two haven't fought like that in centuries," Apollo pointed his fingers towards Zeus and Poseidon. "What's got you two crazy?"
Poseidon and Zeus glared at each other and said at the same time, "It's his fault."
"And how do you know that whose fault it is in the future. Keep quiet and listen further before pointing finger," Hestia scolded them. Both of the brothers looked down and nodded, not wanting to upset Hestia.
Nobody else seemed to notice… Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.
Many of the guests cursed Mrs. Dodds.
While the gods looked at Hermes in suspicious, "I don't know if she is my daughter or not, it's in the future," he defended himself.
"She is not, no child of Hermes would be trying to steal, and we would just do it." Travis puffed out his chest; his brother nodded, agreeing with him.
Hermes looked proud and clapped his children on the back.
Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school-the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.
The futures made frowning faces at the book. Percy and Grover weren't freak, they thought.
Hestia felt her spirit dampened, a child shouldn't think of himself as a freak. If Percy was here, she would've talked to him.
"Detention?" Grover asked.
"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner, he just wanted to warn me for the upcoming tests."
Athena sighed at the simple mind of the boy, "He was warning you for tests alright, but these tests are taken out in the real life, not inside a class."
Sophia looked at her mother, confused, and asked, "Mom, you do know that you're talking to a book, and that dad isn't here."
Athena blushed as everyone looked at her, amused. She gets lost in books that draw her attention.
Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"
I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.
"WHAT?," Everyone that knew Percy shouted at one.
"What is the matter?" Artemis asked, she had seen the way everyone looked worried; even her own two children looked disturbed by the last sentence.
"There is no way that would be true. Dad is hungry like all the time, one time even Mommy Hestia got frustrated after he kept asking her to summon more food." Damon said, looking extremely anxious.
Artemis wanted to laugh as she looked at them, all serious because he wasn't hungry. Hestia seemed really amused as she heard how her future husband even made her frustrated. She had thick patience levels; he must have been really crafty to make her snap.
I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too.
"Why would his mother be disappointed to see him?" Hestia asked frowning.
"Because he was suppose to be in school, and he had enough trouble already in school. Running away wouldn't have helped him." Annabeth explained, to which Hestia nodded.
She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.
The goddesses cooed at the love Percy had for his mom. Not many sons considered their mother's emotions like that, and if they did they didn't honor it. It showed that he was raised as a good person.
Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table… I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.
"A wave?," Amphitrite leaned forward to hear properly. When Annabeth confirmed that Percy was a son of Poseidon, she turned her furious gaze at her husband, "So he is one of yours." She said and looked at him through sad eyes.
Poseidon took Amphitrite's hand to calm her, to tell her that he still loved her. The people of the seas finally understood why they were feeling such a kinship with the boy. The seas must be strong in his veins.
"Seriously, I am married to a sea-spawn in the future?" Athena asked looking sick. She didn't know how she would ever agree to marry a sea-spawn or love him. Her future self couldn't find anyone other than her rival's son? Annabeth looked amused at Athena's panic and was trying not to laugh out loud.
Amphitrite still looked sad that the hero had to be one of the results of her husband's unfaithfulness. Annabeth saw the look she had and decided to soothe her sadness a little. "Queen Amphitrite," she called, garnering her attention, "If it eases any of your sorrow, you should know that in the future you adopt him as one of your own son."
Amphitrite's eyes widened as she looked at the girl in shock. She had accepted and adopted one of her husband's bastards? Poseidon, Triton, Rhode, and Kymopoleia all were shocked too. Amphitrite adopting one of Poseidon's demigods was a big thing, as she barely even acknowledged the demigods.
"How?" Poseidon asked, he couldn't form more than a single word from the shock.
Immediately, the future guests all looked down-casted, "Percy's entire mortal family, his mother, and step father passed away in an accident. The deaths stuck Percy in the worst way; no one could bring him out of his depression. So, the Queen of Seas who already had developed a familiar bond with him asked if she could adopt him. That was one of the first day Percy smiled genuinely since the passing of his family." Annabeth informed the room, bringing the mood low.
Amphitrite felt her own eyes get filled with tears, along with many others in the room. She knew she would get attached to the boy as the chapters were read further.
I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"
Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us. Some of the kids were whispering:
"Did you see-"
"-the water-"
"-like it grabbed her-"
I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.
"Hmm… he isn't even aware of his bloodline, and yet the water responds to him without his will. He is powerful, not many of my children would have control over the water like that." Poseidon mused as he looked at the book in Athena's hands. Pride was visible in his eyes, and the book hadn't even started.
Zeus pushed down any sense of paranoia that was starting to build in his head. The fates were probably looking inside his head, trying to find a reason to smite him. And the boy was a god now anyway.
As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a tri-umphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester.
"Now, honey-"
"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."
"NOOO…" Hermes, Apollo, and Hermes' children shouted. "You never guess your own punishment. That's like the 3rd rule of the book." Hermes shouted.
Travis, Connor and Chris nodded vigorously agreeing to their father's rule.
Athena looked at Hermes curiously, "What book are you talking about?" She didn't know that Hermes had a book.
Hermes huffed at Athena's question, "Of course, you think you're the only one who likes to share her wisdom?" He summoned a book from think air and passed it to Athena.
Athena took the book and read the chapter loudly, "Hermes' 101 tips & rules for Trickery, Pranks, Escapades and Mayhem." She looked at him incredulously; he wrote a book for pranks?
Hermes nodded proudly and took the book back. Everyone seemed amused by Hermes' antics.
That wasn't the right thing to say.
Hermes looked at Athena pointedly, "See, what did I tell you?"
Athena sighed at her half-brother, "I never said you were wrong." She shook her head at him, and continued reading.
"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said… "It's okay man," I told him, "Thanks for trying."
Pan chuckled as he looked at his Satyr fondly, "You are one of the bravest Satyrs I have ever met. Most satyrs can't look past their fear."
Grover blushed and accepted Pan's praise. Thalia also smiled proudly at him, "See what did I tell you goat boy, you're a good goat."
Grover bleated, "How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that?" He asked, but there was no actual bite in his tone. Thalia laughed and waved his concern away.
Nancy Bobofit smirked… I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare… Okay I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop. But apparently that wasn't the plan.
"The ignorance is just heartbreaking to me." Hermes groaned, "You never assume the punishment, its always worse than what you assumed."
Apollo, Chris and the Stolls nodded wholeheartedly with him. They had their own personal experience in that department.
Leo looked at them like he had found his idol, "Can I get one of those books?" He asked, he would love to avoid making amateur mistakes.
Hermes got a crazy glint in his eyes and he was about to recruit Leo, but Calypso beat him to it. She smacked the back of Leo's head and asked, "What would you need that book for?" Her tone was over polite.
Leo gulped and shook his head, "Why would I need a book like that, I have you don't I sunshine?" Calypso shook her head and concentrated on the reading.
I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.
Except for us, the gallery was empty.
"I don't like where this is going," Hestia murmured from the hearth.
"Neither do I sister," Poseidon commented as he gripped his trident tightly. He may have not met his son yet, but he didn't want him in danger. Poseidon was one of the gods that really cared about their children.
Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed… I did the same thing. I said, "Yes Ma'am."
"Hmm… That's new." Piper commented.
"What is?" Aphrodite asked, seeing her daughter's reaction.
"Percy never does the safe thing, he is the first one to knock on the door of danger." Piper informed them. Honestly, the times Percy had decided to do stupid stuff to keep them safe was astonishing.
"It drives Artemis insane, the man has no sense of self-preservation." Thalia chuckled as she remembered the time Artemis was just a few seconds away from blowing up.
Artemis didn't know how to react to that. It seems the man she would marry is extremely infuriating. He makes Hestia frustrated, and now they tell her that he drives her insane. She wanted to see him for herself soon.
She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket… Confess, and you will suffer less pain." I didn't know what she was talking about.
Neither did anyone from the past; they paid the book more attention. The boy was as oblivious as they came to their existence, so what was this woman talking about.
All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.
Everyone laughed at his thought. This child was comedic gold.
Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.
Athena and Annabeth looked offended at that.
"Careful Athena, you like you're about to pop that vein in your forehead," Poseidon laughed as he looked at his rival. He still couldn't believe that she would marry one of his sons in the future. Considering how much she hated him.
"Well?" she demanded… Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.
The whole throne room shook as Poseidon stood up, enraged, his trident gripping tightly in his hand. "HADES," he shouted, "You sent a FURY after my son." He looked one second away from attacking his brother.
Hades looked scared of his brother, "Brother please, I don't know why I sent a Fury after your son. I haven't done any of this yet." He pleaded, trying to get his brother to see sense.
Amphitrite laid a hand on Poseidon's shoulder and tried to persuade him into calming down, "My Lord, your son is alright in the future. Nothing happened to him."
Poseidon nodded and turned to Hades, glaring at him, "If I find out that my son was hurt because of you by any means, you will face the wrath of the seas, brother."
Hades gulped and nodded. Poseidon's threats weren't meant to be taken lightly. Aside from that, Poseidon and Hestia were the only two of his siblings that actually treated him like family. He didn't want to end up driving his brother away.
The heroes of the old and the hunters looked shocked. The first monster he faced was a fury? At the age of 12 with no training? They didn't know how he was going to come out of it.
Then things got even stranger.
"How the fuck can things get even stranger?" Someone from the crowd asked, to which no one replied.
Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand. "What ho, Percy!"… My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.
"Wimp," Heracles commented, after hearing the last part.
The very next moment he was being glared at by almost everyone in the room. "I would've liked to see you fight a fury untrained." Thalia sneered at her half-brother. That was the worst brood of Zeus; she hated him with the burning passion of thousand suns.
Heracles looked at Thalia and sneered back, "At least I wouldn't drop my sword from fear."
Zoe snorted from within the hunters, "Yeah you would just have someone else help you and take all the credit." She growled at him; the rest of the hunters looked equally enraged.
Heracles seemed taken aback by Zoe's comment. So he settled down to glare at the floor.
She snarled, "Die, honey!" And she flew straight at me.
Absolute terror ran through my body… passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss! Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder… as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.
No one could say a word as they all stared ahead at the book with open mouths. After a minute, Hades collected himself and asked, "He killed my fury with one stroke." He looked shocked beyond belief. Furies weren't like any normal monsters; they were the worst of the worst, torturers of the underworld. Not even a grown trained demigod would be able to kill them in one stroke.
Poseidon who had shrunken down from the fear of his son getting harmed, sat up straight. His eyes shined from unhidden pride for his son.
"So what were you saying?" Thalia asked Heracles smugly,
Heracles looked away, angry at being insulted in front of the gods. He would have to do something about her. He would come up with a plan to take care of her.
I was alone… "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."
"Who?" Many of them asked at once. Wasn't the fury known as Mrs. Dodds? They all turned their curious gazes at futures.
Annabeth addressed them, "Chiron must've had a backup in case of emergency and manipulated the mist to make it seem that she has always been the teacher."
The gods nodded, that sounded sensible. Chiron agreed to, it was something he might do.
I said, "Who?" "Our teacher. Duh!" I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr… He said, "Who?" But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.
Thalia and Annabeth groaned loudly. "Seriously Grover, it was like you were trying intentionally to sabotage everything."
Grover blushed but refrained from saying anything, especially as he looked at his Lord Pan enjoying his embarrassment.
Hermes looked at Grover with disappointment. "That is not how you lie." He told him.
Travis nodded, "Yeah, to convince someone of the lie, first you must believe in the lie yourself." Connor continued it after that, "And make direct eye contact, people always give away their lie when they refuse to look at the other person's eyes."
Chris nodded sagely, "It's a dead giveaway." The three brothers were completely serious. Clarisse rolled her eyes and pushed her boyfriend away for his antics.
A lone tear fell out of Hermes' eyes. "Beautiful," he commented.
Everyone laughed at the antics of the father and son. It felt good to see a god act close to his family.
"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious." Thunder boomed overhead.
"Dad seems to agree with you." Hermes commented idly. Zeus looked thoughtful, what was wrong in the future for him to react like that?
I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, read-ing his book, as if he'd never moved… there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"
"Now that's how you lie." Hermes said, looking at Grover.
Athena sighed, "That's the end of the chapter." She threw the book towards Poseidon, barely missing his head. "You're up now."
Poseidon raised an eyebrow at the sudden lack of hostility from her, but nodded; he opened the next chapter and read; Three Old Ladies knit the sock of death.