Welcome back to another chapter! Lots of reviews and excellent points that I was more than happy to answer or in some cases, defend. To address it as a whole for everyone.

Percy/Jason's Disregard For Mortals/Temper:

Years and in some cases, decades, have passed. Even if at the core they are still the same as in the original canon, the fact of the matter is that people change. Their experiences took away a lot of their positive outlooks and being turned to gods makes them fundamentally different than mortals. They are kinder and more empathetic but in the end they are still gods and will have a slight detachment from mortals. Also being gods means that their emotions have far more effect, after all, Greek mythology is all about gods with toxic tempers.

Hyperion/Titan's Strength:

Look, I love the series but it still doesn't make sense how some of the titans were defeated. These guys are supposed to be strong enough to destroy entire landscapes and fight at levels that mortals simply can't comprehend. And about Hyperion being defeated by Percy with nothing more than some nature magic, I disagree. Hyperion was one of the few fights we saw with direct Demigod-Deity confrontation. Percy had the curse of Achilles basically making him indestructible and he's the strongest demigod of the generation. I bet you without the curse he would have been crushed within the minute and he simply distracted Hyperion while he was sealed away before he could assume his divine form or something and incinerate everyone around.

In this fic ALL gods will fight at full strength. Not gods holding back because of arrogance or pride in fighting simple demigods. That means that they will completely outclass the kind of combat we saw in the canon series by a significant margin.

ALSO: Primordials are more powerful but they can't use all of it in one go or even assume their divine forms since its too destructive. Yes Jason could have won sooner if he didn't lose his temper but it's rare for fights between these beings to be mere one-shots.

That's all I can recall at the moment but if there are any other questions please just ask. Now enjoy!

Disclaimer: I only own plot.


The wind pulled at her hair as she sped along, not even batting an eye as her destination came within sight. A dome of pure darkness seemingly dropped at random in the sea but she knew. She could feel his presence … and the emotions or lack of them. She shivered unconsciously as she pulled up from her dive, her purple wings fluttering in the sea breeze as she watched. Likely sensing her presence, the dome began to crack and give, opening a passage for her and growing by the second.

She moved through, idly thanking Chaos that the Olympians held little to no connection to their current location, otherwise they would have flashed into the area within minutes. As the dome fell and light came through she was treated to a nightmarish sight. A once tropical island turned into a frozen wasteland, broken and desolate. The ancient fort left since the time of the Spanish armada and then reformed through the use of mercenaries was ripped apart beyond use or repair.

Her eyes scanning over noted some corpses, all alight with black fire, as they slowly crumbled into a paradox of ash and blacken, frozen flesh. Every mortal being put down like rabid dogs, their souls fed and consumed by the unholy fires in equal parts to their bodies. Left to the chaos and void in their totality. And at the epicenter of it all was one man.

Tall, lightly tanned with wild raven locks sprinkled with icy blue tips. Flaming black eyes with the glowing blue centers and devoid of emotion. His coat of darkness, caressing him like a twisted miasma of sentient shadows and personified cold. His two blades luckily sheathed even as she could practically taste the blood they'd been immersed in. She gently landed in front of him, even as he didn't react, his gaze seeing all and nothing before him.

"Percy," she said gently but still didn't get a reaction worrying her that much more.

It was a times like this that she truly feared for him. She knew him best, even more so than Rhea or Hestia, and that was because she could feel his emotions at a level no one else possibly could. Sure, when she'd wanted to read if he felt the same type of love for her and she did him she couldn't, not with him being unaware and possibly hiding it but like this, he was a literal clean slate. The problem was, he was a blank slate because he wasn't feeling emotions.

It had happened before, rarely, but at times. When he was pushed to an edge, something that challenge his own morals and ideals to the bitter end, that enraged him beyond reason, that he'd do this. Percy, her brother, now fiancé, the quirky, silly, and lovable goof that somehow became king would disappear and leave Perseus. The primordial god of Darkness, Shadows, Night, and Cold. A sentient facet of creation and destruction with no true view of good or evil, no bias or prejudice, just an intention that was to be carried through.

From the looks of her surroundings, his intention had be the total extermination of the forces left here by Pontus. If she had to guess, Percy found something in the island that made him label the mortals here as rabid dogs worthy of nothing more than oblivion. She knew her brother held true hatred and, as long as the two main focuses of that emotion lived he would never move past it. And that hatred spread to other situations and circumstances … situations that when found, would cause this. Percy would flip like a switch, channeling the true embodiment of what it meant to be Cold, to be Darkness. He became ruthless, apathetic, and unforgiving. Then, when everything was said and done he would just stop, completely blank.

Just like he remained, sitting on his throne for hours after having defeated Ares in the boxing ring and allowing Lamia to end several hundred mortal lives, the same as when he sat alone after having watched as his pack and Shadows ripped apart the Hunt, and now, after having committed nothing short of a slaughter. Even if he was a god now, part of him would always find distaste in the killing of mortals but more than that, being disgusted with the ease that he could kill them and feel next to nothing. So far he was the only former demigod to have ended mortals out of the new council members. Even now, she could tell how shaken Jason is after having caused hundreds of deaths himself, having snapped himself out of his own rage that led to it.

They weren't some soulless creatures steeped in the blood and chaos of the mystic world. Beings that either reveled in the pain and bloodshed or were forced into such an existence and knew nothing else. These were immortal souls within flesh, each at one point young and innocent, only to become twisted and distorted through the pains of life until they met their end. Killing them didn't have the detachment demigods used to remain impassive as they cut monsters down. These were lives being ended, never to come back and even if re-incarnated they would never be the same.

She knew it weighed on her king's mind more than anything. This war began to end the reign of cruel gods toying with mortals and yet here he was, cutting them down by the dozens, even if those mortals in question were far from innocent and guiltless. But she could feel it in the air, the lingering horror and abuse that bathed this island long before they came to end it. But Percy would still hold the guilt and remember this day, regardless of that fact that he ended monsters in human flesh.

"Percy," she whispered again, stepping in his direct line of sight but he still seemed to be entrenched in his blank zone.

Almost timidly she reached out and cupped his cheek, flinching at the cold of the touch but she held firm. Standing on her toes she moved forward and softly rested her warm lips against his, her body pulling closer to spread warmth to him. He needed this more than anything. To know that it didn't matter if he wasn't the great and just hero of old, that he is a king just as much as an executioner at times. That in the end, regardless of what he did or became, he wasn't alone. She, Rhea, and Hestia would never leave or betray him because just like him, they had as much potential to become monsters as well.

Fire would burn without discretion, Nature was merciless to all in perfect equality, and Love had been the beginning of some of the worst horrors to ever traverse this world. None of them were innocent in the end, they were perfectly imperfect together, and nothing would change that. Knowing that she kissed him with all she could, conveying love and devotion to him.

Slowly she felt him respond, his lip beginning to push against hers as his arms found her waist. Where once was like a blank spot devoid of emotion became a flickering flame of it. She started to feel it all. His moment of self-loathing before shutting down, the apocalyptic anger that had been before as he slaughtered with extreme prejudice, the once cool detachment he held as he merely fought the forces, killing simply because they were his opponents rather than for his own personal reasons, and lastly his mix of focused goals and near excitement for battle as they came to the island.

With each one he became whole again, returning as her Percy rather than Perseus. His body became cool again rather than the biting cold she'd first felt. She internally sighed with relief, glad that this episode had passed easily enough but just to make sure she would inform Rhea and Hestia later tonight, knowing that the physical presence and support of his queens would go a long way as well. So, softly she pulled back, looking at him as he slowly opened his eyes. They stared at each other for a few quiet minutes, content to hold each other before Percy sighed, one of his hands coming off her waist to scratch the back of his neck.

"It happened again," he said with a tired murmur.

"But you're okay now," she returned a she cupped his cheek, still radiating comfort.

He snorted lightly before glancing around, grimacing at some of the partial corpses left behind. Then, without her encouragement he spoke softly, his eyes seeming distant again. "You know, I forget sometimes that humans can be just as bad as monsters and gods." He glanced at her before continuing to look upon the destruction around him. "It was just pragmatic at first. Kill them quickly otherwise Pontus might regain some forces but when I got deeper into the fortress …" He stopped as he clenched his fist. "Amphitrite wasn't the first here … and I even found some live 'toys'," he all but snarled at the end as she scowled.

"So that's what set you off, having to put down other captives for their own mercy," she said softly as she hugged him closer, partially burying her face in his chest.

She felt him nod. "Again it makes me wonder why bother with the discretion rather than just clean up the entire mess that has become humanity."

"Because you'd never condone the loss of the innocent just to have an easier job wiping out the guilty," she replied while hugging him tighter. "You're still too much of a hero for that."

That got a throaty chuckle out of him as his chest rumbled, an underlying growl coming out as his wolf side became prominent.

"Maybe …" he sighed before wrapping both arms around her as she glanced up at him to see his sad smile. "Let's get out of here," he said just as his wings extended.

With a powerful kick he launched them up, holding her with practiced ease as they ascended hundreds of meters in seconds before he leveled off and glanced down. She watched as he flexed one free hand, pointing down at the frostbitten island as an orb of pure darkness formed at his palm. Quickly it grew as the very air around them became heavy and cold, the light seemingly drawn into the manifested void. She felt the power condense around that orb, knowing that it already contained more power than that of a minor god and enough pressure to crush iron if it merely got too close.

Without a word Percy flicked his wrist, as if doing nothing more than casually tossing a soft ball. The orb of darkness fell as if shot from a gun, hurdling towards the island. She watched in rapt attention as it collided at the center of the courtyard, plowing throw the frozen grounds as if it was wet sand. Barely a second or so passed before it detonated, the tiny orb suddenly expanding to encompass the entire island with a resounding boom as the wind buffeted them even from a distance. Then, like a rubber band it collapsed with a last shockwave as the sea churned around it.

Where once an island was now nothing more than a crater, again surrounded with the paradox of steaming waters and frostbitten dirt. Quickly the displaced water rushed in, hiding the last evidence of what was the results of mortals facing forces beyond them. Andromeda couldn't help but muse that if any scientists came to the area and scanned the trace energies left, they would find traces of what amounted to a cold fusion bomb going off.

"Well, that's finished," Percy sighed before looking at Andromeda, the goddess still rather comfy within his hold. "… What happened with Amphitrite?"

"Will, the wild medical god has her already," Andy replied before grimacing slightly. "The damage was pretty bad and she'll be out of it for a while."

"I could imagine," Percy replied with a growl as he looked at where the island once was. "Was she …"

"No, thankfully," Andy answered, wondering if Percy held any affection to what amounted to being his step-mother.

Considering she could detect some familial protectiveness, if even the bare minimums, it could do him some good. He always did respond best when focusing on helping others and both Triton and Amphitrite might find sympathetic understanding with him in regards to what Poseidon has done.

"What of Jason and Hyperion. I was pretty out of it but I'm sure I felt the sudden absence of presence," he continued getting a sad frown from Andy.

"Yeah, about that …" she started, wondering how Percy would respond to the near disaster unleashed with that battle. "… Let's go home first to see Rhea and Hestia," she said while thinking, 'Otherwise you just might beat the ever loving crap out of Jason without those two holding you back. Granted I'm pretty sure they are tearing into him too,' she thought as Percy pulled her closer, the golden glow encompassing them before they were gone in a flash…


Percy, Three Days Later

Percy sighed from his throne as his eyes watched several screens floating throughout the throne room as he and his fellow council members watched with sad eyes. Some occasionally glared at the responsible party. Jason for his part looked the most afflicted, siting rigidly as he watched each and every screen, taking in every ounce of misery seen as a form of morbid self-punishment. He was sporting a freshly busted lip, added to his newly scared left eye and arm currently in a cast.

Percy had been angry with how Jason had lost momentary control but he couldn't blame him, otherwise it would be the height of hypocrisy. Just like he nurtured his own hatred and became ruthless, Jason contained a broken heart ever since he left camp Jupiter along with a buried rage. A heart that had started to yearn for Amphitrite without the primordial's knowledge and in seeing her so broken, had unleashed a wrath like no other as Hyperion and sadly, the mortals now knew. Only Percy himself, his queens, and Andromeda knew though, deciding that this was something Jason needed to figure out for himself and judging by how he visited Amphitrite's hospital ward several times a day, he may be on the way to figuring it out.

Sadly that did not spare him the council's displeasure and of all people, Hestia had been the angriest. To feel the very hope leaving the afflicted mortals, some abandoning each other in a mad dash to survive the sudden upheaval of their city, and all the pointless death had both disgusted and angered her. She was one of the most empathetic to the mortals, her domains reflecting their state of mind and will meaning she suffered with them. Once she, along with Rhea had provided the support they could and the council had gathered, she challenged Jason to a fight in Tartarus to make her wrath known.

Jason accepted and then took it all without complaint, even seeming eager to suffer for what he did. He didn't try to dodge as Hestia broke several of his ribs, didn't utter a complaint as she shattered his arm or burned one of his wings. They watched as Hestia proved why she was the embodiment of Fire and Lady of Dragons. She'd challenged him again the next day again, breaking his arm again, and literally kicking him through the coliseum of the Pit until she finally tired and broke down crying. He along with Rhea and Andromeda had held her for the whole night, trying to soothe her.

She'd finally fallen asleep barely a few hours ago and all three of his Shadows were with her up in the House of Primordials to watch over her. Hell, Ladon had been more than ready to try and fly up to the house just so he could curl up protectively around his mistress but Percy had been able to convince the mighty beast to remain put on the mountain. Now they could hold another session after Percy had taken his one shot to give Jason that new busted lip but otherwise the physical displays were done and over.

He knew Jason was more than repentant about his actions, especially considering it was all because he didn't finish Hyperion the moment the titan had assumed his divine form, the strongest and most vulnerable state a deity could assume. But the past was just that, past. Now they needed to focus on the present and plan for the future. That was why they were watching several different news outlets at the moment.

News coverage had gone global within 24 hours and mass hysteria had been narrowly avoided due to what was found and the late intervention of the Mist. Hecate had been a vengeful demon thanks to the mess. Thanks to her influence still being closer centered to the Americas and their intent to slowly reduce the Mist, she'd been too late to truly cover up the event as some freak of nature, what's more, there were pictures and recordings.

Normally mystic beings unconsciously thicken the Mist around them to the point it even interferes with mortal technology while the mortal minds rationalize what they do see as something else. However, the aspect of faith influences just what they see and like demigods becoming aware, where once was just odd people were now monsters in crappy disguise. A heavily religious city and land witnessing an 'angel' slaying a pagan god with proof, two deities literally burning away the Mist with their presence as they fought and engraving their presence onto the mortals that witnessed it.

Even Typhon had been constantly surrounded by storm clouds and Hecate had kept a constant coat of the Mist for miles around the titan as the Olympians tried to fight him. Mortal Manhattan had been put to sleep for a reason and much of the evidence had been hidden or repaired long before the mortals could find anything. Not this time though. Oh no, the internet and the shockingly open-mindedness of frequent visitors, combined with overexposure, hard proof, conspiracy theorists, and lacking government reasoning for the event made sure of that. They'd even gotten samples of ichor left at the sight which 'mysteriously' disappeared after Percy sent Medusa.

Last thing they needed were mortal governments experimenting with what could be considered liquid power even if they were centuries away from having technology capable of understanding the elements present within divine blood. Still, the fact of the matter was that the world at large was aware of something beyond their current understanding existed and thanks to Jason's uncanny resemblance to a biblical creature, the conversion to Christianity was on the rise… and coincidently, prayers of confession. Apparently seeing a real angel lit a fire under the less than scrupulous followers.

Styx, Phoebe, and Nico were morbidly amused by how people started praying about their broken oaths and promises, Fate, and Judgement into the afterlife respectively. Percy also felt the change in nature of dreams within the Night along with a significant increase in nightmares for those who saw the angel as a very bad thing.

"So …" Nico started, breaking Percy out of his thoughts as he and the others focused their attention to the god of evil. "… What's the plan now?" he asked while tapping a foot.

"I'm not sure," Percy murmured before looking at Andromeda. "How are things with the mortal governments?"

"Well I had to think fast while talking to both the Canadian and British prime ministers," Andy replied with a sigh. "They were pretty nervous about the fallout coming from such destruction. Now they're getting scared about what might happen if we reveal ourselves and claim Canada as our residence. Not to mention Great Britain is now allied to us too so they could face some backlash for it."

"Gods save the queen," Thalia muttered.

"Already on it," Styx replied to some snickers before she got more serious. "But really, we've given a valid reason for the mortals to be very weary of us now. At least our current allies were given notice to what's coming and we didn't sugarcoat the aftermath that could come of our war."

"Yeah but dive-bombing a historically and religiously significant city and racking up a death count in the hundreds might have given them a more realistic idea of what wars between gods entails," Thalia cut in. "Hecate already said it. With belief comes awareness to the mystic and sadly battles like that could happen again if Pontus' forces gather near mortal cities or even use mortals."

"You don't think…?" Rhea started but Phoebe cut in.

"Most likely," she said while her eyes flashed green. "Atlas used mercenaries even during the early stages of the modern man and did it again in the last Titan War. I don't doubt that Pontus will make use of mortal forces and even if he doesn't make them join him through blackmail or fear, he could instigate them to attack us."

"In fact, we can be almost certain he will," Percy said with a frustrated sigh. "That island was proof of that but now the question is, which country?"

That made them go silent as they contemplated the possibility of having to face down mortal armies as well and the fallout due to it. There were several very powerful countries with weapons and the capacity to cause mass destruction as a whole. They knew that once revealed there would be entire countries screaming for their blood. Calling them demons, abominations, proof of blasphemy, and so forth. However, the idea had been to open up once the threat of the Olympians was over and if necessary, essentially bully and intimidate such countries or groups into non-violence.

They didn't want to conquer and control the world. Were they willing to ally and help friendly or neutral countries? Yes, but if any mortal groups wanted to remain hostile, as long as they stayed at a distance and stewed in their own anger rather than try to cause damage, then that was fine even if they kept a weary eye. They would only use aggression as defense but until then the mortals would be given the benefit of the doubt … unless certain actions directly damaged a facet of one of their domains but that was a completely different can of worms to deal with.

Percy quirked an eyebrow as he looked at one particular screen with a European talk show, a priest-well-Cardinal from the looks of it, very eagerly claiming the proof of the divine with the 'holy' angel cutting down some pagan being and other such 'miracles' happening days after. One such being Percy sending his pack to use the shadows to bring survivors and corpses alike near emergency centers where the mortal rescue forces wouldn't be able to reach otherwise.

Sadly there had been some Olympian affiliated beings investigating as well so they couldn't do much without tipping their hands or adding more violence to the area. Speaking of Olympians…

"Thalia," Percy asked, taking his eyes off the crowing clergyman. "Any news on the Olympians?"

Thalia blew a strand of hair out of her face before answering, "Headless chickens is the trend right now but Athena is reigning the lot in. They're getting frantic since Poseidon is MIA for them now too. Several of the Argos are stocked and ready but so far none have left."

"And once they do, what?" Jason asked, speaking for the first time in days. "Shoot them out of the sky? Otherwise they can and will start dropping bombs once they find the city."

"We could always force them down with some storms," Thalia responded easily before grimacing. "But that still means facing them on the ground."

"And the Olympians will hide at the back," Nico muttered while folding his hands under his chin.

"Not if we can draw them out though," Andy cut in getting the council's attention.

"And how exactly can we do that? At this point none of the Olympians or the few gods with them go out alone so any tries will lead to battle. Worse is that all of them are in or near mortal populations which is just another repeat of Cordoba," Styx responded.

"The Fall of Cordoba," Rhea murmured as she looked at one screen displaying that very headline. "That one's going down in the history books," she added grimly while many of the council members grimaced at the thought.

Silence reigned for a while as thought on the newest problem. How exactly could they get to the Olympians without needing to attack and essentially slaughter the demigod forces around them? The Olympians were still gods and even if they got the drop on them, there was no way for a fight to break out without some massive damage to the surrounding area and demigods, regardless of how tough compared to regular mortals, could simply not last within the presence of gods fighting at full tilt. This wasn't like Hestia's abduction either considering that she wasn't resisting when Percy took her.

"Maybe all we need is the proper lure and bait," a new voice said making all turn to the entrance of the throne room to see Hestia walking in, growing with every step.

"Hestia!" Rhea said as she and Percy stood to approach her but she raised a hand to stop them.

She approached steadily, not looking anywhere near rested enough and Percy could hear Ladon whining in the need to come to his mistress and make sure she was okay. Still, she came and gave him, Rhea, and Andy a quick kiss before plopping down on her throne while looking around before settling on Phoebe.

"Athena is the current head and as long as she is there, the Olympian forces have direction," Hestia continued. "Without her, taunting and luring the other Olympians will be easy enough, after all, we have plenty that they would want," she said before looking to Percy and giving him a look that let him know he would probably not like this plan.

"And what exactly would you want to use as a bait for her?" Nico asked with narrowing eyes.

"Me," Hestia replied while adjusting in her throne to get comfortable. "The Olympians still don't know what happened and Poseidon keeping his distance is a good thing for now. We know they will have to travel during the day since they don't all our capabilities and would avoid the night as much as possible. We also know Athena will likely be part of the invasion force since she commands the main lines. All we need to do is separate her enough that one of us could engage and subdue her," Hestia continued while looking at Andy intently.

Andy caught the look and nodded before addressing the council. "We need to move our timetables forward. Thanks to Cordoba, we not only have to worry about to divine factions but the mortals as well. Removing Athena will cause enough chaos for the rest of the forces to be easy to pick off before they get here." She then looked at Percy specifically. "One or two of us fighting whatever forces specifically travel with Athena should be more than enough of a window."

"And what would keep other gods from interfering?" Jason asked. "We don't even know if Athena will be the only one of her ship, in fact, I expect several minor gods to be present with each group and the ships can carry upwards of 200 troops each."

"Well …" Styx started up as she looked at each of them. "Maybe it's time for the entire council to go on a little excursion," she said with a less than innocent smile…


Leo, Two Days Later

The minor god of the Forge and Advancement hammered rhythmically upon the sword of imperial gold, the heat of his forge turning his entire workshop into a Dutch oven and forcing all his sibling helpers out. But it was better that way, letting him drown himself in his work during the late hours of the night. His shirt having been tossed aside hours ago leaving him in greasy overalls, his newly defined arms dripping with sweat as he worked on while his mind wandered.

It had been nearly a week since the world was shaken up with the "Fall of Cordoba" as it was called and the first sight of a tried and true angel. You know, when he mused about angels showing up to hack apart gods he was being sarcastic! But those clear 10 seconds of footage with Hyperion of all titans being stabbed and turned into that white dust, he knew that titan was well and truly dead. Now not just the Olympians but entire world governments were making remarkable chimpanzee impressions while flicking shit at each other.

Never before had he cursed his redesigned TVs and computers that allowed demigods to use them safely without the threat of monsters since now everyone was basically scaring themselves more by constantly re-watching that footage or listening to global news on Cordoba. Hell, for all intents and purposes a new religious movement has begun. Christians of every creed in Saint Peter's Square, Muslims moving in droves to Mecca, the Grand Isle Shrine in the Mie prefecture for Shinto believers, and so forth.

Of course no world level event is complete without conspiracy theorists! Some say that it was government testing of new super humans, others thinking aliens have finally arrived to duke it out with each other while taking the guise of religiously significant forms for shits and giggles. At this point Leo wasn't sure and considering there was absolutely nothing on that being within the archives of Olympus, they were flying blind.

"Stupid… Clang… freaking… Clang… angels… Clang… or demons," he gripped as he finished hammering out some dents in the sword before tossing it into the sharpen and polish pile.

He was about to grab another one when he heard a cough behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see his oh so lovely wife, Calypso, dressed in a simple tank top, sweats, and her hazel curls pulled into a bun. Glorious. She wasn't bothered by the heat having long grown used to it and some perks between the marriages of gods.

"Are you planning on staying out all night?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

"Maybe?" he replied with a shrug but it didn't look like his wife was amused.

"You know the fleet heads out in the morning. They need you to head the ships or are you going to let Hermes and Apollo drive?" she asked next, as if daring him to say yes.

No no, the only reason Apollo hasn't had an accident yet was because there was nothing to hit so high up and Hermes was a speed junky when traveling. He was not letting his ships go out in blazes of glory because of those two.

"No, I'll be in soon," he said somewhat shakily, his normally tanned skin paling considerably at the thought while Calypso gave him a knowing smirk.

"So why are you still out here?" she asked as she moved to look at some of the newly repaired swords and shields.

Leo sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Just … I guess the stress is getting to me," he answered.

Calypso snorted before looking at him. "I'm pretty sure Athena has developed a permanent eye twitch," she countered making him snicker.

That goddess had been on the receiving end of non-stop questions the moment news about Cordoba broke out. Moral was getting low after seeing one of the most dangerous titans cut down like that but Athena had managed to keep her cool with the help of Annabeth, Zeus, and surprisingly Dionysus. Well, more like he'd snapped twice already after hearing complaints and whines for too long and turned nearly a dozen demigods into bottle nose dolphins. Thank goodness other gods were close enough to revert the changes, now everyone just keeps down when he's present and constantly offer him diet coke.

"Yeah," he hummed as he stretched his back to a series of loud pops. "Good thing Dionysus is staying back for defense of the city. I'm not sure we could afford the friendly fire."

"I'm worried about Lady Hera though," Calypso added getting a slow nod from Leo.

Ever since Ares' execution the goddess had been too quiet, barely responding to anyone or anything beyond her husband and sometimes Hephaestus. Some would think that the goddess was basically a living mannequin at this point but that couldn't be farther from the truth. She was going with the offensive force and no one could stop her, otherwise they'd be the targets of her wrath. She'd nearly killed one demigod for making a comment on her dead son in passing, not having known the goddess was within earshot but luckily Demeter was with her and managed to stop her.

"It's a risk, no doubt about that," he agreed. "But at this point she's about as bloodthirsty as Artemis now."

That and he'd seen her training once late at night. It was then that he was reminded that she, along with the biggies like Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, had in fact fought on pare with titans and taken names too. And everyone thought Ares' aggression came from Zeus, how sadly wrong they were.

"Charming comparison," Calypso muttered as she set down a dinged sword. "But still, even as a god you should come and get some rest."

"Okay, just let me wrap up the last few swords," he replied as he picked up a larger, two-handed blade with a bent tip.

He set it in the fire and patiently waited as it heated, knowing this would probably be the last of the night otherwise Calypso might lock him out of the room and he really didn't like the couch.

"And here I wanted to give you a proper send off," he heard her sigh dejectedly making him glance back only to catch her walking away with a nice little sway to her hips.

Maybe he could set the sword down and get some rest … after completing his marital duties of course…


Athena, Next Morning

She gasped as she awoke, light drops of cold sweat running down her forehead as she glanced around quickly with a small celestial dagger held in her hand. She then spotted her daughter at the door, looking back at her in concern as Athena's heart slowed to a more sedate rate. As she calmed she rubbed her forehead, setting the knife down while hearing as Annabeth approached slowly.

"Mother?" she asked tentatively as Athena looked at her, their equally grey eyes locking onto each other.

Athena knew there was a slew of questions within the gaze and she wondered to herself if letting anyone else know of her latest 'visions' would help in any regard. So far she had made little of them, finding them too fragmented and inconsistent to really gain a conclusion to their purpose. All she could actually be assured of what who they concerned; Hestia.

Distorted images, usually with the kidnapped goddess bound in shackles, the sound of her voice in bare whispers asking for help. She'd been able to make out some of the background, giving Athena the vague sense of being outdoors and close to a water source. But then before Athena could try to make a connection to try and communicate, Hestia would be blocked out by the familiar shade form of Umbra, the living shadow giving her a sinister smile every time before she would wake up just like she did now.

"Mother?" Annabeth asked again, sounding more concerned and making Athena noticed that she'd gotten carried away with her train of thought again. "Are you okay?"

Athena looked at her daughter carefully but then decided against mentioning the worrying visions. She could tell they weren't fake thanks to feeling little traces of Hestia's presence within the visions, something demigods could not distinguish making them easy targets for false visions and traps.

"I'm fine," she replied as she hastily got up, brushing aside Annabeth's gaze as she got dressed into her clothes for the day.

She really didn't want to worry Annabeth further, not with the tasks for the day ahead and knowing adding her visions of Hestia would only be a distraction for now. Until she got something more conclusive about Hestia's possible location, it was best to keep the information private. At least with it she knew her aunt was still alive and didn't seem harmed as far as she could tell but unless she could find Hestia, it would be best to stay silent on the matter and not get everyone's hopes up.

With that in mind she finished dressing in a chiton before donning a standard breastplate, overlapping plated skirt, bracers, shin guards, and her helm tucked under her arm. Fully dressed she walked out of her room in a private barracks built specifically for the staying gods. Ever since Umbra's attack on Olympus the entire mountain has felt cold and desolate, the feeling radiating from the throne room making most of the gods too uncomfortable to even reside there.

Annabeth, her lieutenant, followed behind dutifully, also dressed in full armor and ready to head out. The silence was less than comfortable though, both between the pair and the camp as they made it outside. Much of the loading for the Argos III, IV, and V had been done the day before and now all that was left were the actual demigods themselves. Many paused and bowed their heads to her in acknowledgement which she just returned as she moved on her way.

In only a few minutes she had reached the fields of Mars, the grounds spanning out as the three ships gleamed in the morning light. Each Greek inspired trireme spanned over 150 feet with a wider hull and an automated ballista every 25 feet in between. Decorating the front were dragon heads of celestial bronze inspired by Festus and programmed through the efforts of Leo. Athena honestly had to give it to the god of Forge and Advancement. Originally she had not expected much of the second domain but after having seen the performance of these ships, even without drivers, she had seen the great potential for modernizing a great deal of their weaponry and armor.

Some of their archers had now become sharpshooters with fully bolt-action rifles, many of the children of the late Ares/Mars carried re-enforced Desert Eagles with Greek fire rounds, and even short range communication sets had all come along thanks to Leo with the support of Hephaestus to push things along. She had added her support to moving past the more traditional methods as well. All in all, with the increase in numbers and exponential advancement in warfare tools, the demigods have never been stronger, and through their sacrifices/prayers, the gods have become stronger as well.

Athena kept scanning over the demigods she passed before heading to the lead ship with her father already on board. Behind him stood Hera in armor much like Athena's own but with a girdle similar to that of the Amazons and her helm using peacock plums. Behind them Athena could see Leo already at the control panel farther back on the ship. She glanced to thee two adjoining ships, the second with Hephaestus at the panel and Hermes looking over his shoulder out of curiosity while Apollo stood near the main mast as his gaze followed his own chariot with the sunrise.

She gave those that looked at her nods before she moved to the third ship since she was the pilot. Even with the advanced mainframes and controls coming from Festus Beta, Gamma, and Omega, much of that programming was to manage the internal functions of the ship along with combat while Leo left programming for travel and take-off on bare minimums such as setting steady courses and keeping the ships stable in case of iffy drivers. Demigods were already beginning to board the ships and proceed to the quarters beneath, leaving her a little irritated that she failed to get up as early. Those damn visions were really starting to be a nuisance.

"Sister," Artemis addressed her curtly as she walked up the plank to the Argo V, her newest named lieutenant Aria at her side.

"Artemis," Athena replied as she walked past her and towards the control panel, her sister and daughter following closely behind. "Are all yours already on board?"

"Yes," Artemis replied as they arrived to the panel and Athena began the initiation sequence while listening to Festus Omega use clicks and beeps to communicate in Morse Code to her. "Bellona has already joined on father's ship with her complete infantry group while yours was split between Hephaestus' ship and this one."

Athena nodded to that as she checked over the displays for the ship. Engine was at full capacity, weapons ready, hull stocked and full, and even a favorable weather report. All in all everything was looking good. She then looked up and across the field to the other ships, meeting the gazes of Hephaestus and Leo, getting agreeing nods from them. She then turned her gaze to her father, giving him a nod which he returned.

He then turned to address the crowds of civilian legacies and few reserve legionnaires remaining for the defense of the city. They along with Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, Terminus, Chiron, and a multitude of minor gods were responsible for New Rome. Athena could feel the nervous tension amongst the crowd, some younger unable to fight yet, both demigod and legacies, watched on with either awe to see their heroes prepare for war or fear, wondering if they will come back.

"Lift off!" Zeus boomed with a crack of lightning above, making several jump in surprise before Athena turned the lever to activate the magical oars of the ship.

With a thrum of power the ships started to slowly ascend, the newly created solar sails engineered with the combined efforts of Leo, Apollo, and Annabeth flaring into golden hues as they caught the sunlight. As they ascended they could hear the calls of the crowd. Words of luck and encouragement, to make the demons pay, and such.

"It's finally time," Artemis murmured as she looked to the north, a steely glint in her eyes.

"Careful sister," Athena warned softly as she too looked north. "I don't know whether Umbra and his lot are demons or angels or what have you but you cannot forget that they are dangerous. We need to stick together and work as one … or we will be destroyed."

Artemis met her gaze, the anger still prevalent but she gave a slow nod even as the grip on her newly forged daggers since the attack on her Hunt. Athena looked away after a few minutes as well, noticing that the three ships were already well into the thousand foot height they steered to the north east and over the Rocky Mountains. Flashes of golden light to the sides made her look to see nearly a hundred chariots being pulled by all manner of blessed creatures, each chariot holding two or three minor gods accompanying them to battle.

"I dare say this will be a war unlike any we've had before," Athena murmured as she returned her attention to the front of the ship, the bronze plating gleaming in the morning light as they sailed to the strong hold of demons…


How was that? Hope everyone enjoyed that and let me know what you thought! A pleasure, Jbubu