Chapter 5
Greetings readers! I hope all of you who are reading this story are enjoying it. Fanfiction really is the friendliest and most supportive fanspace there is, I have had the pleasure of meeting genuinely passionate and patient people here, which is a rarity in today's online world of instant gratification. So thank you for your support! Also I'm on a search for a beta reader who can keep up with my pace of updating. If you're interested feel free to PM me. I'd like to thank this story's fourth reviewer for his/her support. Writing is a learning process that includes not only me but also you guys, so all feedback is much appreciated.
All credit for the characters goes exclusively to Rick Riordan.
As always, it had been a quiet and peaceful day in the Underworld for Hades. The construction of the new lines and the appointment of the judges had streamlined the judgement of souls to a considerable extent and had taken off some of the stress from his shoulders. He was sitting on his throne and was thinking of a way to make the judgement of souls even faster and more efficient when he saw Hestia's smiling face in an Iris message.
"Hello brother, I hope you are doing well. I had something I wished to discuss with you and I was hoping I could do that personally." Hestia requested.
"Hello Hestia, of course, you are always welcome, I, Hades, Lord of the Underworld and Ruler of the Dead, grant Hestia, Olympian Goddess of The Hearth access to my domain." Hades stonily replied. Hestia smiled at him before slashing through the iris message.
Of all his siblings, Hestia was the only one that frequently contacted him. It was no secret that the Olympians did not want any sort of affiliation with Hades and the feeling was mutual. The Olympians and mortals had always feared him due to his fatal flaw and his steely disposition. Everyone assumed that he was malevolent and evil due to him being the Lord of the Underworld. His branding as one of the three strongest gods only added to the stigma. Once upon a time he had yearned for the love and acceptance of his family.
That was all in the past though; the Olympians had shunned him and he had inherited a domain that constantly required his attention. His only solace were his demigod children - without them, Hades was sure that his heart would have turned into stone by now. That is why Hades brought them back with him to the Underworld, they always were an immense source of happiness for him. He had never been an Olympian, thus he had no obligation to abide by any silly decree of Zeus. He had always taken the path that was the most beneficial to him and his children and he had no intention of stopping anytime soon. His thoughts drifted to the matter of his siblings.
His siblings had once been paragons of hope and equality. But most of them had changed since then. Zeus had gradually grown more arrogant and paranoid ,the power having gotten to his head. If he was not knocked down a peg or two, he would eventually become a mirror of their father. Hera had been a very kind-hearted goddess once upon a time, but as a result of Zeus' constant infidelity and his endless siring of illegitimate children, she had become a bitter shell of her former self. He could not entirely blame them though, the fatal flaws his wretched father had cursed them with, seemed to be taking effect, his fatal flaw of holding grudges also being part of the reason why he was feared on Olympus. That, combined with his strength, made others think twice before approaching him, lest they incur his wrath.
His thoughts were interrupted by a bright flash of flames. Hestia greeted her brother with a hug. She and his mother were the only ones with whom Hades participated in exchanges of physical affection.
"Hello brother, I see you are doing well." Hestia sweetly greeted.
"Indeed sister, the new changes in the Underworld have taken a considerable amount of burden off my shoulders. What was the matter that you wanted to discuss with me?" Hades questioned.
"Poseidon has sired a demigod son, brother. A month ago, the boy's mother gave up her life in order to protect him and she prayed to Poseidon to save him. As his son was only a toddler, Poseidon, being Poseidon, brought the child with him to Atlantis where the Royal family is thinking of coronating and raising him as their own." Hestia quickly explained.
Hades' eyebrows shot up a little in surprise at this information. Though Poseidon had sired very few demigods, his loyalty to his children had always been fierce, he even had personally saved them from problems when they required his help. It didn't surprise Hades that Poseidon had taken his son back with him to Atlantis; what startled him was Amphitrite's willingness to raise and protect a reminder of Poseidon's infidelity. He had to respect her for not letting her personal emotions come in the way of protecting a child.
"I have no incentive to harm him, Hestia, if that is what you want to ask me. Poseidon has never harmed any of my children, I shall extend the same courtesy to him." Hades sincerely promised.
"No brother, that is not the reason I am here. While I know you will not harm him, I require your further support. Poseidon coronating his demigod son is going to cause an uproar in Olympus. You know Zeus and his bitterness towards you and Poseidon ignoring his decree - due to this, he may even declare war on Atlantis. You personally know that we cannot afford to stand divided right now, especially not with her stirring. My only request is that you lend us your support in the winter solstice meeting brother, that is all I ask of you" Hestia requested.
"I am sorry Hestia but I cannot offer you my support without risking confrontation with Olympus and you and I both know I have to mobilise my armies and allies to the best of my capability to fight her threat as I know that I will not be receiving any aid from Olympus. Had it been any other time, I would have offered you my aid. But my attention has to be undivided right now." Hades apologetically said and he meant it, he would have offered his support out of sympathy to his younger brother if there was not a threat as large as the titanomachy in front of him.
"Please brother, I have convinced all our sisters to support us, but without you on our side ,we lose our biggest deterrent for this argument after Poseidon. Just aid us this one time brother, and I promise you, I will do my best personally, to aid you in any attack." Hestia desperately requested.
Hades was about to argue before he heard a prayer from the only temple on the surface dedicated exclusively to him. The prayer requested for his presence, but it was not the prayer in itself that caught his attention. The priest who had prayed to him was doing so at the request of Poseidon.
"You will have to excuse me Hestia, it seems like Poseidon requests my presence." Hades told her.
"Do me one final favour brother, hear Poseidon out completely before deciding on anything in haste." Hestia said before teleporting in a flash of flames.
Hades decided to grant her this favour and following her lead , he disappeared from his throne room in a swirl of shadows.
Poseidon knew that an Iris message would not be enough to convince Hades. This talk had to be done personally but the problem lay in where they would meet: Hades would not grant him permission to enter the Underworld and he would not accept meeting in Poseidon's home turf. So, Poseidon decided that the House of Hades would be the best place. It was a somewhat neutral place, plus the gloomy atmosphere would keep Hades comfortable and the sea nearby would be Poseidon's failsafe.
Everything was going according to plan except the presence of someone who did not have to be here. He sighed looking at the squirming toddler in his arms. He did not want to introduce his toddler son to the lord of the dead and his robe of screaming souls. But the moment Percy heard that his father would be meeting his Uncle Hades, he had put up a fuss that ended up causing quite a bit of collateral damage
due to the water jets he had caused in his anger. Poseidon, not wanting to condemn any more fish to another such incident, took Percy with him. Hades may have been gloomy and a tad bit harsh, but Poseidon knew he would never hurt a child without a reason. He told Percy to stay quiet as he sensed the approaching presence of his elder brother.
When Hades materialised in the place near his temple where he had sensed Poseidon's presence, he did not expect to be sandwiched between two identical pairs of vibrant sea green eyes. The silence was broken by a small excited voice.
"Are you my Uncle Hades?" mini Poseidon excitedly asked him with an earnest look in his eyes.
Hades was startled by the toddler's courage. People avoided him even when he was disguised, but this toddler in front of him had not been even slightly intimidated knowing full well who he was.
"Percy, what have I told you about asking people questions without introducing yourself first?" Poseidon gently chastised with an eyebrow raised.
"Sorry papa." Percy sheepishly apologized, before hounding on Hades once again.
"Hi! My name is Percy, are you my Uncle Hades?" Percy questioned once again after introducing himself.
"Yes, I am Hades, Lord of the Dead and Ruler of the Underworld. Now Poseidon, what is it you want that you sought audience with me? You could have used an Iris message instead of scaring my priests halfway to death." Hades declared before turning his attention to Poseidon and giving him a dirty look.
"Nice to meet you too brother." Poseidon sarcastically quipped before turning serious and continuing, "I assume Hestia explained everything to you, so I shall not beat around the bush; will you offer us your aid brother?"
"I am afraid not, Poseidon, I hold no ill intent towards you or the boy, but if I support you and a conflict breaks out, neither do I have the resources nor the will to fight a war with Olympus and defend my domain from her at the same time." Hades said unapologetically.
"Hades, I am not asking you to fight for him, all I ask of you is your verbal support, that should be more than enough to deter Zeus and even then, if a fight does break out, you are free to leave at will." Poseidon said, trying to reason with his elder brother.
"Even if I don't have to fight, me offering support to you in the solstice meeting may attract her unwanted attention to my domain. She may decide to focus all her forces on me thinking I'm too busy fighting Olympus and while I am perfectly capable protecting my domain, I cannot take on her entire force alone." Hades harshly replied.
"How do you think this will play out, Hades? If she manages to beat us do you think she will stop there? Do you think that she will let you gallivant around the Underworld unopposed? She is as big a threat as our Father and the Titans were, maybe even bigger. None of us can take her on alone, that is why I need your help in preventing infighting amongst us." Poseidon angrily countered, eyes swirling with emotion.
"Then you should have thought of that before staking the survival of the entire civilization for a toddler." Hades retorted with equal ferocity.
Poseidon harshly glared at his brother in barely controllable rage and the winds began to pick up around them, responding to his emotions. Hades returned his glare with the same grit as shadows started swirling around him.
"Papa?" Percy asked in a small, scared voice and immediately Poseidon calmed down, mentally berating himself for losing control in front of Percy. In response the shadows stopped swirling around Hades and for a moment the brothers just stared at each other and an uneasy silence enveloped the area.
"Why are you and Uncle Hades angry, papa? Are both you fighting? Don't fight, papa. Mama tells me that brothers should not fight 'cause they're family." Percy innocently stated but it seemed to strike a chord deep within the two gods.
Poseidon's voice became thick with emotion as he recalled, "Family, it seems like a simple thing, but very few understand the true meaning behind that simple word. Brothers fighting brothers, sons and fathers killing each other. Make sure that this Titanomachy is the last event to bear witness to such cruelty. You must be better. You will be better."
"Mother used to say that to us during the titanomachy." Hades with an unusually subdued voice.
"We have forgotten the reason we overthrew the Titans. Forgive me brother. I should have done something and come to your support instead of simply standing on the side lines when you were shunned from Olympus. Regardless of whether you support me in the solstice or not, I will do my best to bring you the recognition you deserve. I shall honour mother's wish of a united race of immortals." Poseidon softly promised.
Startled due to never having been recipient to such emotion but happy that one of his siblings other than Hestia finally understood him, Hades just nodded gratefully at Poseidon before turning his attention to the boy. As he observed the boy carefully, he could feel the raw power he possessed. But there was something else about the boy that he could not quite figure out. Hades could sense a slight hint of something vaguely reminiscent of the Underworld in the boy but the aura was not similar to that of his descendants. He would have to take a closer look at this. Brushing these thoughts aside for a later time, he addressed the toddler.
"Are you not afraid of me, boy? Haven't you heard stories about me?" Hades questioned the boy.
"Nuh-uh, you're family, Uncle Hades, and Mama tells me it's silly to be afraid of family." Percy stated as it was the most obvious thing in the world.
If asked Hades would deny it for eternity, but he was moved by the statement. This boy embodied what the Gods stood for - he had an inkling that Perseus would be the key in the upcoming war against her. Not because of his power, but because he had an irresistible charisma that could reunite all the Gods under a single banner.
"You shall have my complete support in the winter solstice meeting Poseidon. I will try to the best of my capability to keep him safe and will reason with Olympus and Zeus along with you. You have my word. I swear on the River Styx." Hades earnestly promised and thunder boomed overhead confirming his oath.
"Thank you, brother, I shall uphold the end of my deal as soon as possible and no child of yours shall be harmed by the sea as long as they don't bear any malicious intent towards me or my children." Poseidon gratefully replied.
"Alright, Barnacle beard, I'm going to go before you say something embarrassingly emotional. Goodbye Perseus. We shall meet again." Hades spoke in a straight voice, but there was a slight and almost unnoticeable hint of fondness to it.
Poseidon chuckled before retorting, "You wish, death breath." These were the nicknames they had come up with for each other after drawing lots and dividing the world between themselves. But, as the distance between the brothers began to grow, these names had gradually faded out of usage.
"Bye Uncle Hades!" Percy happily said before jumping the distance between them towards Hades without any warning.
It was only Hades' divine reflexes that let him catch the toddler, otherwise he would fallen headfirst into the ground. His relationship with Poseidon had just started recovering and he did not want to be impaled by Poseidon's trident for not catching his son. What shocked him after he caught the toddler were the tiny arms that snaked around his neck as the toddler hugged his head. Hades was so flustered that he did not know how to respond - his own children had often feared hugging him and this boy, on the other hand, was treating him like he was the God of Cuddles and Teddy bears.
Deep inside, he was warmed by the fact that his nephew trusted him enough to do this. Percy didn't seem to mind and just jumped back into the arms of Poseidon who was trying his best and failing to hold in his laughter at the look on Hades' face. Poseidon then nodded at him as both of them disappeared into mist with Percy waving him bye.
A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he envisioned a grown-up Perseus confidently rallying the Gods and unflinchingly facing her. With those thoughts Hades teleported back to the Underworld in a swirl of shadows.
(A Month Later)
Triton was roaming the streets of Atlantis in disguise in order to weed out any dissent in the city. He knew there would definitely be people who would be unhappy about the coronation that was scheduled tomorrow. His father had announced there would be a ceremony in Atlantis, though the reason for it had been undisclosed, in accordance to Atlantean tradition. Triton knew that word would get out, there would always be an insider who leaked the information. Most of the time it was not of any consequence, but this time, the stakes were too high to have any loose ends.
He had split his essence into multiples forms and had been extensively searching the city for a week since the day his father had made the announcement in order to eliminate these loose ends. He had already taken around twenty-five individuals into custody - he would immediately release them once the coronation took place but, until then, he could not afford to have any rumours.
He had been saving the most dangerous locality of the city for the last. Due to the presence of his father and Triton's secret patrols, Atlantis had always been the safest city in the sea. People from all over the seas under his father's zone of influence flocked to Atlantis for its opportunities and to enlist the protection of his father. Even though his father was officially the God of all seas, the sea that was in the land beyond the Gods was not under his father's control. Though it was a small sea, it was completely lawless and was filled with monsters and outlaws of all kind. A very large part of the Atlantean army had to always be stationed there, as the bulk of the sea's mineral deposits were only a few hundred leagues inside the border. His thoughts shifted back to the locality he was roaming.
The green tulip zone was the breeding ground for crime in Atlantis. Triton undertook monthly patrols in the area and caught numerous criminals, though never the main orchestrators. They were minor sea gods who were strong enough to repel his best fighters but fled through the thick kelp fields whenever they sensed his or any other God's presence in the area. He had fiercely hunted these minor Gods for a long time, but they had always avoided direct confrontation with him.
He had succeeded in keeping the crime at a very low rate, but it was only a glass half full as long as the main figureheads were still roaming freely. As he was traversing a small, lonely street, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted as he tuned into a suspicious conversation.
"Do you know the reason behind the Royal ceremony that is being held tomorrow?" asked an orange skinned merman.
"I don't exactly know the reason, but apparently the royal family are moving around in their human forms. Some say tomorrow they plan to coronate a half-breed." the reply came from a green skinned merman.
"I wonder what disappointment they endured with their previous child that they now seek to coronate a half human bastard as a Prince of Atlantis." The orange merman replied in a disgusted voice.
In an instant, Triton whirled on the orange merman with his trident in hand and vertically bisected him with a brutal overhead strike before the merman could even see his face. Some would say his companion's screams of terror even reached the walls of the Royal palace.
(A Day Later)
Amphitrite was worriedly pacing the throne room in a flowing cyan dress adorned with magnificent sea pearls and a beautiful golden crown, embellished with diamonds sat on her head. They had increased the number of security personnel in the city by three times and had placed guards in disguise within the crowd to keep the situation under control and, if required, eliminate any resistance. They could not allow troublemakers to cause upheaval in Atlantis at such a crucial time. Once the coronation was over, they had encouraged the staff of the royal palace to share information of their positive relationship with Percy to their friends, and the chain would continue. This would project Percy as a benevolent and kind Prince.
Hestia had iris messaged her earlier conveying to her that all her sisters and Hades had been thoroughly briefed of the plan. The younger Olympians were still oblivious to the ceremony. Even Zeus was in the dark; that would not last though, he would most certainly be receiving information about the coronation a few hours later from either Hermes or Iris. Hestia had assured her that all things would go according to plan, yet Amphitrite could not prevent the slight amount of anxiety that crept into her heart.
She was greeted by Triton dressed in a splendidly tailored and ornately decorated cyan chiton and breeches. He had a silver crown on his head that was adorned with emeralds and pearls. He greeted her with a nod before noticing her anxiety.
"Don't worry mother, I have extensively searched the city for threats and have eliminated all loose ends and the threat of Zeus will be dealt with tomorrow. Until then, you have nothing to be nervous about." Triton reassured her.
Amphitrite gave him a small smile and was about to respond before a complaint from a certain toddler that they had all come to love interrupted her.
"Papa… Do I have to wear this? It's so itchy." Percy whined with a look that Triton had dubbed as the baby seal look.
"No Percy, for the last time, you have to wear this until the ceremony is over." Poseidon told him in a voice that conveyed that this wasn't the first time they were having this conversation. Percy grumbled a bit and uncomfortably shifted in Poseidon's arms before settling down.
Poseidon was wearing chiton and breeches similar to the ones Triton wore, the only difference being Poseidon's attire was sea green. He, like Amphitrite, had a golden crown on his head, but his was decorated by a large assortment of precious jewels.
Percy was dressed in a toddler sized version of what Poseidon wore and had a crown on his head that was same as the one that Triton had. For a second, Amphitrite marvelled at the similarity between father and son, Percy looked exactly like a toddler sized Poseidon, which was a little detail that had been confirmed to her by Hestia. A soft smile spread across Amphitrite's face at their interaction. Triton on the other hand was grinning at both of them. When Poseidon and Percy noticed them, they gave both of them identical lop-sided grins.
After this little family moment, the Royal family teleported out of the throne room in a blue mist.
The Royal family materialised on a podium that had been constructed for this event. Their arrival caused a silence to envelope the large crowd of hundreds of thousands of Mermen, icthyocentaurs and other sea dwellers who had gathered for the ceremony.
Holding Percy in his arms, Poseidon stepped forward. Immediately the entire crowd dropped to a knee to pay respect to their King.
"Greetings, proud citizens of the seas. I extend my welcome to all you who have assembled here for this ceremony. It is my honour to introduce to you all to my son, the second son of the Atlantean Royal family and second in line to the throne of Atlantis. All hail Prince Perseus, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite and Prince of the Seas." Poseidon proudly announced.
There was a moment of hesitation before the entire crowd bowed. Poseidon sensing this hesitation made his next statement.
"Prince Perseus is a very special boy. He may be from the surface, but he is every bit a son to me and Amphitrite as Triton. Treat him with the same respect that you treat the rest of the Royal family. Show any act of aggression or condescension towards him and I will personally bestow upon you the brutal wrath of the sea." Poseidon's voice boomed with a raw power that sent a shiver down everyone's backs. To back Poseidon, Triton and Amphitrite stepped forward with fierce expressions on their faces. Not wasting a moment, the entire crowd fell into a deep bow and did not dare get up in fear of the Royal family.
The point had been made, the Atlanteans would never trouble Percy. Now all that was left was to rein in Olympus and Zeus.
Hello readers! The violence depicted in this chapter is how violence will be depicted in the rest of the story, only, it will be done on a larger extent. Percy is going to be extremely overpowered, he will be only one notch below the second generation Olympians at the starting of the Gigantomachy and will progressively become stronger, throughout this story and the next ones. Read and review! If you enjoy the story or have any ideas do express them. While I don't want to force anyone to review, it really is motivating. Have a great day!