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Ink…

This chapter is rated T (Bad language)

Chapter 3: The Gods Swear Allegiance to Me

I took a deep breath and teleported my mind to Camp Jupiter. I was absolutely shocked at what I found there. All the Demigods at the camp, Greek and Roman alike, were getting ready for war. I could see Greeks giving Romans tips on how to disarm their opponents. Romans were helping the Greeks in formation among the ranks.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

I turned to see Renya smiling at the scene before us. I nodded. "It brings me hope. If the Demigods can unify then the gods can too." She smiled.

"You're an idealist."

I smirked. "Eh…I've been called worse. Anyway, I have good news. Has Leo Valdez been in contact with you?"

She shook her head. "The last contact I have received from him what that the Greek were on your side."

I smiled. "Leo has created a fleet of ships. They can fly, sail on the water, and go under water. Also, my father is making a facility for the demigods, all of you, in order to protect you from the wrath of Zeus.

Renya frowned. "I was led to believe that we would fight by your side."

I hissed out a breath. "Who told you this?"

"Jason. He Iris Messaged me, saying that we should prepare for war. That the Greeks were getting ready to defend themselves against Olympus. I was later contacted by Annabeth and she said the same thing, except with more details as to what was going on up there."

I frowned. "Demigods wouldn't last more than five seconds against a full-powered god. You know that! I want you to defend the mortals. Use your powers to keep things under control. The gods will be fighting the gods, if there will be any fighting. I will make sure that the immortal fight doesn't reach you."

The sun blazed brightly. Renya squinted upwards toward the sky. "Lord Apollo has been doing that lately. What is happening?"

I smiled. "Currently, he has just punched some minor god of heat in the jaw. He's taking back his chariot that Zeus took from him."

I saw Frank walking over. The teenager broke into a jog when he saw me. "Percy!" His face froze. Instantly, he bowed. "My lord!"

I laughed. "Easy, Frank. I'm still the same old Percy. I hate titles so don't you dare call me anything but Percy. Got it?"

He grinned easily at me. He then turned to Renya. "Nico's arrived. He has news from the Underworld and from the East."

I nodded. "Bring him over here." Frank nodded and jogged off. Not five minutes later Nico was there, panting, alongside Frank. I smiled at him. "Good work, Nico. Hades is now on our side."

Renya gasped. "He is?"

I nodded. "Nico convinced him to join." I turned to Nico. "Where have the dead been deployed?"

Nico straightened and said, "They're mostly in Camp Half-Blood; however, Father has sent some over here. They're right outside your boundaries. They're here to defend the families who cannot leave. Don't worry, they have been instructed to follow all of your commands, as long as they coincide with Percy's." Renya nodded and went to deal with the undead. Nico took a deep breath. "How is Olympus?"

I muttered a curse. "Horrible. For the first time since the formation of Olympus, the Council has been disbanded. I'm holed up in my villa. It's the headquarters of the gods that are on my side. They've abandoned their own villas, because their security isn't as strong as mine is.

"My villa is like a fortress, thanks to Annabeth's foresight. Zeus has tried to blow it up with his Master Bolt, but it doesn't work. All the gods opposing Zeus have removed their thrones from the Throne Room and placed them in my villa. It's the new Council, but there is no King." Nico scowled.

"I know. Father was complaining about just getting a throne and now he had to remove it before it got destroyed."

I sighed. "My villa is like an island. It's a half-way point for the gods on my side. They sleep there, eat there, and work there, and they're also able to leave Olympus through my villa as well."

Nico smiled. "I'm glad it was finished in time." I nodded.

"Still, it's a little unnerving looking out the window and seeing a group of minor gods with their symbols of power just waiting for you to make one false step."

Nico snickered. I glared at him. He smirked some more. Deciding to change the subject I grinned at him. "Soo…engaged to Will, eh? I knew he'd snare you one of these days."

Nico glared at me. He'd grown some, but I was still taller than him, so I smiled down at him. "Shut up, Jackson." He didn't sound half as threatening as he had wanted to sound. I snickered.

"I'm glad you finally found someone-"

"DON'T say it!"

"That is..."

"STOP!"

"Your..."

"PERCY FUCKING JACKSON!"

"Type." I started laughing again. He started grumbling again, but I could see a small smile struggling to come alive. I stopped laughing. My eyes became distant. "I need to go. Continue doing your work. Oh, and bring some heroes from Elysium. Completely volunteer, of course. I need them as escorts for Camp Half-Blood."

Nico nodded. I smiled at him and vanished. Coming back to consciousness, I slipped out of the Comm. Room and re-locked it. There was shouting in the library.

All the gods were back and they were glaring at Apollo, Hermes, Poseidon, and Hades. I sighed.

"Everyone sit down."

They stared at me and started arguing at me, shouting nonsense about me having favorites.

I roared in perfect imitation of Dad. "SIT DOWN!" They sat, slack jawed. Yep, I shouted at the Olympian gods, big deal…they needed me.

I sighed. I seemed to be doing that lately. "You all want power?"

They all nodded.

I stared at them. Hard. "Why?"

Hades barked a laugh. "Why? Why? Jackson, we thrive on power!"

I pulled out my pen and studied it. I did that when I wanted to stay calm. "I want each of you to tell me why you are fighting against Zeus. Why are you even in this villa?"

Apollo glared at everyone. "Because you have a clearer head than Zeus does. His actions will bring the fall of an era! I personally don't want Kr- Grandfather to come back again. Once was more than enough."

Hermes nodded. "You're our friend, Percy. I don't want to see someone born of the sea to be chained."

Athena sighed. "Annabeth needs you. I do not want my daughter filled with hatred against me if I allow you to be enslaved. Besides, this war is folly."

Hephaestus fiddled with his tools. "I am aware of my sons' and daughters' loyalty to you. I couldn't stand to see someone who has helped us so much, chained, drugged and used against his will. Power should be earned, given willingly, and repaid. It should not be stolen."

Poseidon looked at me squarely in the eyes. "You are my son."

I smiled. My father's reason was perhaps the simplest.

Hestia smiled warmly. "I stand with Hephaestus. You do not deserve the life of a slave."

Hades smiled. "I have multiple reasons for being here, and I will be completely honest. I do not want my father to return. Zeus is being a bratty child and needs to be taught a lesson. I wanted power from you, and I knew you would give it to me if I had something you wanted. I could not care less about forcing you, but my son would give me hell, and I'd rather not go through his whining."

I smirked. "Well…at least you're honest."

Dionysus chuckled. "I too am here in hopes that you will give me some power as well. I also have a…" He suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Personal reason to keep Peter here, whole and well. I may be callous, but I do not forget my debts."

I hid a smile. Castor and Pollux…

Everyone turned to Artemis. She stared at them all. "Percy is Percy." She went back to polishing her knives. Apollo shook his head in amusement.

I stood up. As one, all the gods looked at me and stopped talking. "You're reasons are valid. I did notice one repeating theme, though. Slavery. Stealing power against my will. Chains. Being forced to do something that I do not want. It's true. If Zeus had come to me and asked me 'Can you please restore me to my former glory?' I would have done so.

"I would have given over power to all of you if you had only asked. The very fact that simply asking for it didn't occur to Zeus is the very reason this war is happening. I am fighting his arrogance, his pride, his stupid desire to be the most powerful. I am fighting his lust for power, yes, but I am mainly resisting his obsessive fear of losing his throne. A king who is afraid of losing his power will always lose it in the end. I'm fighting for my freedom."

I stared at all the gods. "Hephaestus said something about power being earned. I gave power to my father to save his life against both Hades and Zeus. I gave power to Apollo as thanks for his protecting my secret. I gave power to Hermes as encouragement to continue on with his work and not give up. I will give you all power with the same reasons as a person would give a hug, words of encouragement, or a slap on the back. Don't demand my power, because then you don't deserve it."

Athena nodded. "That is wise. I agree." The other gods nodded to.

The door chimed again. I could tell that it was the few minor gods that were on our side. "Allow Nemesis, Hecate, Hypnos, Eros, and Iris in. Bring them to the library."

I gave them same kind of oath that I gave Hades and the other gods. I also had them explain why they were here in the first place.

Eros shrugged. "Zeus is a fool. My father is a fool. My mother is a fool. And, I love you."

I blinked and fought a blush. Coughing slightly and ignoring Eros' smirk, I motioned for Hecate.

"I am not afraid of opposing Zeus. Hazel Levesque is on your side. I will be too."

Nemesis smiled. "I want your power, so I will fight alongside you to earn it. Nothing is free. I cannot simply take without payment."

I nodded. That made sense.

Hypnos yawned. "My children trust you more than Zeus. They have persuaded me to join your side. I trust my children's instinct. Nothing more, however, if you do want to give me power, I would not be opposed to receiving some." He grinned. I smiled and nodded.

"I'll think about it."

Eros cleared his throat. "Zephyr wanted to join, but he thought it prudent not to come here." Apollo glowered.

"Percy! You're not seriously thinking of letting a murderer in, are you?!"

I stared at him. "What did you want to do to Annabeth?" Apollo gulped and sat down again in shame. I continued to stare at him. "What did you do to all the mortals who merely had ignorant arrogance and claimed to be more handsome? More skilled? Slap them on the back?" I turned to Artemis, who had snickered.

"And what did you do to that poor mortal man who was merely at the wrong place at the wrong time? Laugh and offer him food? Perhaps you blessed him so he could feed his children?" She paled. "No! You turned him into an animal simply out of arrogance and cruelty!" She looked away.

I glared at all the gods. "You all are murderers. Do not think that I don't know your faults! Zeus tried to kill me, kill me, because he felt threatened. Hades tried to kill me because of a robbery I didn't do." I stared at Apollo. "If I followed your line of reasoning, only Hestia and I would be here right now." I sighed. "I will not let Zephyr into my villa, but that does not mean I reject his offer to help." I turned to Eros. "Tell him to play spy with the other wind gods. Pretend that you had an argument. He fell in love with someone who didn't love him back, and he blames you, or something such like that."

Eros smiled. "Of course." He vanished.

I sighed and slumped into a chair. I nodded to Hecate. "Go and spy on Zeus. Create chaos wherever possible. Not enough chaos to give Time power, but enough to hamper their progress. Report back to me in two hours." She nodded and disappeared. I turned to Nemesis. I smiled darkly at her. "Nice to see you again."

She stared at me, and then her eyes widened. "You were the boy?!" I smiled.

"Yes. Tell me, how did Night feel about being outsmarted by two demigods?"

Nemesis grinned mirthlessly. "She hated it. She's still plotting the deaths of 'those two upstart tourists'."

I chuckled. "She won't get out of that hell hole. Not yet anyway." Nemesis nodded. Hades looked at us curiously.

"Did you two meet in Tartarus?"

"Yess…" Nemesis grinned. "It was a very pleasant visit. The daughter of Athena is a very clever girl."

I smiled, but then clapped my hands. "Okay." I pointed to Hades. "I want you to smuggle the best demigod heroes to this villa. Odysseus, Achilles, Theseus, Perseus, and such. I want them here. Volunteer of course."

Hades nodded and got up to leave when I stopped him. "Bring Luke as well." Hermes froze. Hades chuckled nervously.

"Percy, I'm afraid you've forgotten that he is trying to get to the Isles of Blest."

I smiled without humor. "And I'm sure you haven't forgotten that he changed his mind and is in Elysium right now as we speak. Nico let slip the fact that he was still there. Annabeth knows as well."

Hermes jumped up. "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!"

Hades motioned helplessly. "He didn't wish it to be known. I didn't want anyone to know he was there. Not even the heroes on Elysium know who he is. As a blessing for destroying Father, I granted him an alteration in his appearance."

Hermes sighed and fell back into his chair. I smiled sadly at him. "Bring him. He will work with us."

Hades stared at me doubtfully. "Are you sure this is wise?"

I nodded. "Very wise. He was inside Time's head. He knows how he thinks and act. He would bring invaluable insight." Athena stared at me.

"You think like him as well. Are you sure that your power is not altering your mind?"

I laughed. "Of course it is. I hear him whisper flattering, persuasive words into my mind every night. He didn't realize one thing, though…"

My father frowned. "What is that?"

I grinned. "I'm not power hungry. I don't want revenge. I don't crave power. I don't feel fear of losing it. He has no foothold." My words calmed the other gods. They smiled and nodded.

Iris moved over to me. "Hypnos and I have pretended to join Zeus. He's using my communication. I can tell you everything that goes on, and Hypnos will tell you what the dreams say."

I laughed. "Excellent." Things were definitely looking up.