A meeting of the gods was about to occur.
Zeus, the one who had called the meeting, sat in his throne, silent and brooding, not uttering a word.
The Olympians flashed in, one after another, taking their place on his side. Hera on his left, with Poseidon on his right. The last to arrive was Dionysus, from Camp Half-Blood. They all took their seats, but still, Zeus did not speak.
"Zeus, you called a meeting. Speak, and tell us why, or I will return to the Underworld," Hades called, irate that he had been taken away from Persophone, as she was leaving him soon.
"I have had a message from Lord Manwe, of Middle Earth," he replied.
The reaction was instantaneous. Many gods sat up straighter, actually listening to what he had to say now. Apollo even took his earbuds out.
"Middle Earth? Father, we have not had contact with them for almost a century. Why would they call to us now?" asked Athena, ever the logic user.
"They call for our aid. They are in danger."
"What do the punks want from us? I'm in the mood for bashing some heads," Ares grunted.
"Peace, my son. I am not sending one of us."
"You're sending some demigods, aren't you," Apollo cried out, turning pale. He had become quite fond of all of them during his time as a mortal. He had lectured all of the gods at least once now about using them for quests, and some were almost wishing for the old Apollo who couldn't care less back. "Father, no! They are children. They belong in this world, not that one. Send me, send one of us, not them!"
"My son, you ought to know who is in charge," Zeus said, glaring at Apollo. "They will do well."
Sighing, Poseidon said, "Brother, enough with the theatrics. Whose poor children are you sending on the quest."
Looking at Poseidon smugly, he replied, "yours."
The result was disastrous. Poseidon leaped out of his seat, shouting obscenities and curses at the king of the gods, and Zeus stood, shouting as well. Suddenly-
"QUIET!" Hades yelled, standing from his throne and walking to stand between the two brothers. "Poseidon, if you keep yelling, you'll never get answers from him. Zeus, explain," he said coldly, glaring at his youngest brother. He had grown to have some respect for his brother's sea-spawn, who was not as horrible as some other demigods throughout the thousands of years of their existence.
"Perseus Jackson shall go on the quest. We must send, and though it pains me to say this, only the best demigods we have in aid of Middle Earth. My daughter and Hades son shall go as well."
The room suddenly got very cold, and the shadows in the corners of the room grew.
"You will not send my son to Middle Earth," Hades growled. "Nor mine," Poseidon said, glaring daggers at Zeus. At that very moment, waves were crashing through the sea, and a hurricane had appeared suddenly off the coast of Florida. Many small earthquakes were rocking the country, and thunderstorms were gathering throughout America.
"Father, Thalia is under my protection and my Lieutenant. You cannot take her," Artemis said, rising from her seat where she had been watching the scene unfold.
"Our children deserve a rest. You have lost your son, and they have lost their friend. They will not go to Middle Earth," Poseidon reasoned, looking pleadingly at Zeus.
"It is too late. They have just left our world. Manwe will bring them back when their task is done."
"NO!" shouted all three.
"Zeus, you have made a grave mistake," Hades said.
"Zeus, if my son is not returned to me unharmed, you will have blood on your hands," Poseidon said.
"You are a fool," Artemis said, before vanishing from the throne room to rush to her hunters.
"You do not even care about Middle Earth. You sent those three because you wanted to impress the Valar," Hades spit out. Zeus did not even respond. Hades threw him a disgusted glance, before vanishing as well, to tell Will.
"Excuse me. I have to go tell my son's fiancee," Poseidon said, biting out the word, and glaring at Zeus, "and his friends that he has disappeared. Again."
And he too vanished, rushing straight to Camp Half-Blood.
Camp Half-Blood, Long Island
Annabeth stormed back to Percy's cabin after Nico had taken him, knowing that he would be back eventually. She might even forgive him by the time he had returned. Might being the keyword.
She had been basically living in his cabin since they got back to college, and Chiron had given up kicking her out, considering they were engaged now.
Engaged. It was a funny concept. She stared down at the ring on her finger, butterflies floating through her stomach.
She loved him. Gods, did she love him. And she couldn't wait for Percy to be . Or her to be -Jackson. They were still figuring it out.
They had considered not getting married, as that was Hera's domain, and, well, they weren't exactly buddy-buddy with her, but they decided they couldn't let her control their life anymore.
When Percy had proposed, it had been one of the best moments of her life. It had been amazing, with the fireworks, and all of their friends there. Well, almost all of them.
Deciding not to dwell on bad memories, she went back to her laptop, which was dry, and thankfully undamaged. If he had ruined it, she would have murdered him. While having all of her college essays and homework on it, she was also working on the layout for a New Athens. The Romans had a New Rome, and she wanted to make a place for Greeks where they could live in safety and grow old. She'd brought in Malcolm, for design, Leo, for construction, and he was a lot smarter than they gave him credit for, and some of the architects from Camp Jupiter, and was answering emails and calls all day long from them.
It had been a long project and was maybe only halfway done, and then even after they finished designing it, would take a while to build. And they were still trying to figure out where to build it. Not many places near them had land big enough, but it would be worth it for a haven for them not just while they were kids.
She hadn't been sitting in the cabin long when there came a small "knock, knock," from the door.
She flung open the door, already yelling, "Seaweed Brain, do you have any idea how stupid you are! You got my-" but her voice died off when she looked at the person standing in the doorway.
"Lord Poseidon. Um-Percy isn't here right now-but-uh."
"Hello, Annabeth. May I come in."
"O-Of course. It is your cabin after all."
He stepped inside and gazed around at the suitcases and clothes that were strewn about, the textbooks covering most tables.
He looked at her sadly. "You may want to sit down my dear."
A feeling of dread bubbled up in her stomach, and her face fell.
"Lord Poseidon, what is this about."
"Percy is gone. He has been sent on a quest by Zeus. Him and my brother's children, Thalia and Nico."
She suddenly felt very faint and sat down on the couch with a thump.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't stop him. He was determined to send him, despite my best efforts."
"Not again. No, no, please not again. He can't disappear again. I need him," Annabeth said, sobbing, her head in her hands.
Suddenly the door opened again, and chatter filled the otherwise silent cabin. Looking up with tear-filled eyes, Annabeth saw their friends walking in.
"Hey! Are we gonna walk in on anyone naked! Cause if so, just let us kno-" Leo yelled, but suddenly broke off, seeing the god sitting with the crying girl.
"Annabeth? What's wrong?" Hazel said, going to wrap her friend in a hug.
"He's gone. He's gone," she sobbed.
They all froze up, immediately assuming the worst. Poseidon could tell where their thoughts were headed and jumped in, saying, "He's not dead. He's been sent on a quest by Zeus, along with my brother's children."
"Well let's go get him. Who cares what Zeus thinks." Thunder rumbled in the sky for a few seconds, but Piper continued. "Percy and the others shouldn't have to go on a quest for you. they've done enough for a lifetime."
"I agree. If I had it my way, Percy wouldn't ever go on another quest."
"Alright, where are they. We'll go get them, forget the quest."
Poseidon hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should tell them this bit of information, before saying, "I'm afraid you can't get them."
"Why not!"
"They are not on this world."