Disclaimer: See chapter 12 or the chapters before it.

"We have a majority." Zeus declared. "And since we won't be destroying these heroes... I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"

With that, the gods got up to get ready for the celebration. Everyone changed to human size; they didn't want to squish the half-bloods. After promising Percy that he'd be able to drive the sun chariot, Apollo took it to himself to escort Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth to the party building, even though you couldn't miss it. It was a decent sized, multicolored one-story building with strobe lights that flashed every time the gods or the nine muses were holding a party. They hadn't held many parties since the end of the 80's.

Athena, Hermes, Ares, and Aphrodite decided to stay in the throne room after checking that everyone else left. Aphrodite and Athena both looked rather smug, Ares was rather confused by their matching expressions, and Hermes was looking between the two goddesses. He was waiting for one of them to say something.

"Why do you look so smug?" Ares asked Aphrodite, finally breaking the silence.

"No reason..." She said. Ares raised his eyebrows. "Okay fine! I'm just happy that Athena is going to lose the bet."

"Excuse me?" Athena asked. "What do you mean I'm going to lose?"

"The quest is over and only nine gods helped out." Aphrodite answered.

Hermes laughed. "No it isn't." He said.

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't." Ares, Athena, and Hermes said.

"What do you mean?"

"The quest isn't over until the campers return to camp." Athena said. "And Thalia no longer counts as a camper because she is one of Artemis's hunters."

Aphrodite's jaw dropped. She was silent for a few moments.

"Thalia isn't a part of the quest anymore but Annabeth is?" Ares asked.

"The quest was to save her and Artemis, right?"

"Yes it was..."

"B-b-but... they can't possibly get anymore help." Aphrodite finally spoke up.

"Actually they still can. You said that we needed to be nice and help somehow. At the moment, the kids are considered heroes. I'm sure that almost all of us," Athena glared at Ares. "Will congratulate or speak to them."

"Meaning that the gods will say nice things to Percy and his friends. The words will help boost their self esteem and make then feel good about themselves." Hermes said slowly.

Aphrodite didn't talk, she was thinking.

"So you're saying that I need to prevent Hermes, Hera, and Demeter from congratulating the heroes? That should be easy enough..."

"Good luck with that." Hermes said as he turned to leave the room.

"Oh no you don't!" Aphrodite screamed. "If you say a single word to any of them, I'll ruin your love life for the next three years."

"Oh, I'm so afraid!" Hermes said sarcastically. "If you ruin my love life, I'll steal your mirrors."

"You don't even know where I keep my mirrors."

"I have my ways." Hermes said mysteriously.

"Well then." Aphrodite said. The conversation between her and Hermes ended there. They'd probably bicker about it later but they had a party to go to.

"We should go." Athena pointed out. "I think father will be looking for us if we don't get to the party. He knows that you three wouldn't want to miss it." All four of the gods turned on their heels and left the throne room.


The first thing that Hermes did when he got onto the dance floor was finding Demeter. He avoided a few dancers, Dionysus, and Ariadne. Dionysus was popping tables of drinks out of the ground. His wife was with him and Dionysus was extremely happy. Until he finally found the goddess he was looking for.

Demeter was talking to a few of the minor gods. Somehow, she had managed to find a god who was somewhat interested in farming. Hermes swiftly walked over to her and asked if they could speak to each other for a little bit. Demeter agreed to talk.

The pair of gods made their way towards the hero who was closest to Aphrodite. Hermes didn't tell Demeter about the bet because he was afraid of his aunt telling his father and he sort of wanted to start a fight with Aphrodite. They approached Annabeth and began to talk to her. Hermes had already talked to Percy for a while but he figured that Demeter hadn't talked to any of the heroes.

"You were really brave." Demeter said. "I'm surprised that you survived for that long. You must have proved that you're your mother's daughter. Dionysus was going on about how you'd need to join Kronos' side to escape. If you ask me, I think he was hoping that you and your friends wouldn't come back. He seems really happy right now though."

"Thanks?" Annabeth said nervously. She didn't really care about what Mr. D at the moment. Annabeth had been looking for Percy. A bunch of gods had already spoken to her. Most of them said things like "way to hang in there." She felt rather unnerved by the wonderful monologue that Demeter was giving her.

"They did give you cereal right?" Demeter asked.

"No." Annabeth stated. She decided that telling the truth would be better than lying because lying would eventually fail and you don't ever want to lie to a god.

Demeter gave Annabeth a look of distaste. "Well you can always count on the Titans for disrespecting the wonders of wheat." She said and turned around, leaving a rather confused Annabeth. Hermes rolled his eyes as he watched Demeter's retreating figure. Aphrodite was glaring at him but Hermes didn't care.

"You did great kid. You really proved yourself out there. Your mom is rather proud of you." Hermes said. "I think I already know the answer to this but I'll ask anyways. You didn't happen to see my son, did you?"

"I did..." Annabeth said quietly. An image of Luke falling from the mountain formed in her mind. Annabeth shivered for a second and shook the image from her mind. "Thalia knocked him off the mountain. It was an accident. Percy thinks he's dead... But I know he isn't. I can feel it." The words came out in a rush.

Hermes examined Annabeth for a minute. She wasn't crying and she didn't seem to depressed about the predicament of his son. Hermes could tell that Annabeth wanted Luke to come back. Both he and Annabeth had tried to persuade Luke into supporting the gods. Hermes sensed that Annabeth still hoped for the best. He decided to tell her the truth.

"Luke is still alive." Hermes said slowly. Annabeth's eyes lit up a little bit and a smile formed on her face.

"He is?" She asked, just to make sure. Hermes nodded his head in response. "Oh good!" Annabeth's smile grew wider. She felt happier than she had been in quite a while. "I should go find Percy, to tell him the..." She struggled to find proper describing word. "News." Annabeth couldn't come up with a decent enough word, so she settled with just finishing her sentence. She looked at Hermes, awaiting permission to leave.

"You know you don't need to wait for my permission to leave." Hermes said. He left to go find Demeter.

Annabeth turned around to go find Percy. She was lost in thought. Luke is still alive... That can be a good thing and a bad thing. I wonder if I'll be able to convince him into switching back to our side. Annabeth wasn't paying attention to where she was going. She was busy thinking. She stopped short when she almost bumped into someone. Annabeth looked up and was surprised to see Hera.

"Oh... I'm sorry my lady." Annabeth said nervously. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Hera looked down at Annabeth. Why was it all of the demigods were always afraid of her? It was all of the stupid myths that made her seem like the evilest stepmother of them all. Sure, she had attempted to destroy a few of Zeus's lovers, but she is the goddess of marriage. Hera's husband's actions couldn't affect her image. Somehow, Zeus's actions always did. "I'll let it slide." She stated with a small smile.

Annabeth's eyes widened a little bit. Hera surprised her by not yelling at her or exploding her into pieces. "Th-thank you." She said. Annabeth watched as Hera walked away from her. When she could no longer see the goddess, Annabeth went to go find Percy. A minor god interrupted her search. Annabeth danced with him for a couple of minutes.


Percy was rather popular at the party. A lot of the gods had come to talk to him. Percy had just finished talking to Apollo. He was finally able to go find Annabeth.

"You won't let me down, I hope." A voice from behind Percy said.

Percy turned around to find Poseidon smiling at him. "Dad... Hi." He said.

"Hello, Percy. You've done well."

"I won't let you down." Percy promised.

Poseidon nodded his head in answer. "Your friend Luke-"

"He's not my friend." Percy blurted out. He realized that he had just interrupted his father the moment the words came out of his mouth. "Sorry." He apologized.

"Your former friend Luke," Poseidon corrected. "He once promised things like that. He was Hermes's pride and joy. Just keep that in mind, Percy. Even the bravest can fall."

"Luke fell pretty hard," Percy agreed. "He's dead."

Poseidon shook his head. "No, Percy. He is not."

Percy stared at Poseidon in shock. "What?"

"Didn't Annabeth already tell you this? Luke is still a live. I've seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I plan on doing my best to destroy his boat with storms. However, he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the sea. They will fight to protect him."

"How can he still be alive?" Percy asked angrily. "The fall should've killed him."

Poseidon's eyebrows furrowed a little. "I don't know. Percy, beware of him. And the gold coffin, it is growing stronger."

"Well... wh-what about Atlas?" Percy asked. "What's going to prevent him from escaping again? Couldn't he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?"

Poseidon snorted in response. "If it was that easy, he would've escaped ages ago. You see my son; the curse of the sky can only be forced upon a titan... one of the children of Gaia and Ouranous. Nobody in Kronos' army would ever accept the curse. Only a true hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and courage, would do such a thing."

"Luke did it, he let Atlas go," Percy said. "And he tricked Annabeth into saving him. Then he used Annabeth to convince Artemis into accepting the sky."

"Yes... Luke is an interesting case." Poseidon took a deep breath to say more but he was interrupted by a loud MOOOOO! Both Poseidon and Percy looked towards were Bessie was mooing from. They were both surprised and angered when they noticed that a couple of demigods were pushing Bessie's orb back and fourth along the crowd of people.

"I should take care of that." Poseidon groaned. We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Percy, please be good. We probably won't speak to each other for a while." Poseidon disappeared to go save Bessie.

Percy was going to go back to searching for Annabeth but he heard someone speak from behind him.

"Your father takes a great risk, you know."

Percy turned around to find himself facing a lady who looked almost exactly like Annabeth.

"Athena." Percy said. He hoped that his voice didn't give away his feelings. Percy didn't like the way that the goddess had treated him and Thalia. His attempt failed.

Athena smiled slightly. "Do not judge me harshly, half-blood. I know that wise council is not always popular, but I did speak the truth. You are dangerous."

"And you don't take risks?" Percy asked.

Athena nodded. "I concede the point. You could be useful. Yet... your fatal flaw could destroy us all."

Percy looked at Athena. He never actually figured out what his flaw was. Annabeth's was pride... but they never actually figured what his flaw was.

"Kronos knows your flaw, even if you don't. He knows how to study his enemies. Think Percy, how has he managed to manipulate you? First, your mother was taken away from you. Then Grover, and now my daughter Annabeth." She paused for a moment. "In each case, Kronos has used your loved ones to lure you to him. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty. Percy, you do not know when to cut your loses. You would sacrifice the world to save your friends. That in a hero of the prophecy is very dangerous."

Percy balled his fists in anger. "That is not a fatal flaw... Just because I help my friends-"

"The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom... that is very hard indeed."

Percy wanted to argue but Athena had a point.

"I hope the council's choice was wise." Athena said. "I will be watching, Percy Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I do not think it wise for either of you. And should you begin to waver in your loyalties..." She glared at Percy. Percy realized that he wouldn't want Athena as his enemy. She would be ten times worse than Ares or Dionysus... and maybe even his father. Once Athena made a plan, she would stick to it and it wouldn't fail.

"Percy!" Annabeth said as she made her way through the crowd. She stopped short when she saw who Percy was talking to. "Oh... Mom."

"I'll leave you two for now." Athena said. She left, going the way that Annabeth had come from.

"She wasn't giving you a hard time... was she?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Percy said. "It's fine." He had so much that he had wanted to tell Annabeth but Athena had stolen a lot of his confidence. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. The words rang through his mind.

"So," Annabeth said. "You wanted to tell me something earlier?"

"I... uh..." Percy stuttered. He cleared his throat. "Was thinking that we had gotten interrupted over at Westover Hall. And... I think I owe you a dance."

Annabeth smiled. "Alright, Seaweed Brain." She said.

They slow danced for a while. Neither of them knew what the others heard but it sounded hopeful.