I don't own Percy Jackson. I own nothing. Well, except for this story.
Chapter Thirteen: Flawed Paradise
Percy woke up screaming. His whole body shook with pain, and he could already feel tears streaming out of his eyes. The worst part wasn't what he could feel, though, but what he couldn't. The demigod tried to move his right arm, or flex it, or use his fingers, or something, but it was like he was disconnected from everything past his shoulder. He couldn't even bring his head up to see what was wrong with it, the pain coursing through him too intense to allow him any movement besides trembling in place.
Suddenly, Grover and Christian Peters came into view. Percy tried to speak, but his voice died in his throat. The two seemed to notice, and his satyr companion hurriedly fished out something from his bag. If he could've, the psychokinetic would've sighed in relief when he saw the plastic bag full of golden cubes, or what he knew to be ambrosia. Grover took out a couple of the small cubes and was about to feed them to him, but then Christian grabbed the satyr's wrist. They began talking, and though he was right there, Percy's pumping ears could barely pick up what they were saying.
"... 'im more, he... take it."
"Are... sure?"
"I'd... the whole..."
"... crazy? It'll..."
Frustrated, Percy stopped trying to listen and began to focus on healing himself. Annabeth had told him that he might be able to do so with his biokinesis, and it had worked to a small extent. However, to his grievance, his whole body was in pain, his right arm was apparently out of it, and he had no idea of how to fix it. Before he could think on it longer though, a bag's worth of ambrosia was shoved into his mouth, and before he could spit it out, a bottle of nectar was placed on his lips, forcing him to swallow the whole thing.
The psychokinetic's eyes bulged, the agony his body was in now replaced by a burning sensation. It didn't exactly hurt, feeling more like an uncomfortable itch, but the it was so intense that his breathing started coming in short gasps. After a few more straining moments, Percy could barely suck in any air at all, and the young demigod drifted into unconsciousness once more.
Grover set his worried gaze on his sleeping friend, the empty bottle of nectar slipping out of his hand to lie on the bed. After the Furies rescued Percy, something the satyr was still disbelieving of, they had shadow-traveled them all the way back to Manhattan. There, the hellish sisters had explained that Hades himself ordered them to retrieve his helmet and, if possible, get them to Olympus. It seemed that the god of the Underworld didn't want to get into a war with Zeus after all.
With his knocked out friend to take care of, Grover and Christian had decided to find a place to bunker down for a few hours, at least long enough for Percy to get back on his feet. Fortunately, the Doom Breaker was very experienced when it came to finding shelter, and it only took a couple of minutes for them to break into an abandoned apartment near the Empire State Building. Sure, the place was broken down, only had two dust riddled rooms, and the only pieces of furniture to be found where the chairs scattered around and the bed that his friend silently rested on, but it was good enough.
Forcing his eyes away from the young demigod, Grover looked down at his other cause for stress. 'Nine thirty-six,' he thought. 'We still have around two hours left to get the bolt back.' With a soft sigh, the satyr closed his eyes, deciding that a few minutes of rest wouldn't hurt.
"Hey, goat boy!"
Or not.
Groaning, the satyr turned to face the other occupant in the room. "What?" he asked, a little harsher than he meant to. "... Sorry," he apologized, "I'm a bit tired." Grover then frowned. "And don't call me goat boy."
Christian gave him what appeared to be a toothy grin, though it was kind of ruined by all the missing teeth. "Aw, excuse me. I was just, ah, hoofin' around. Eh?"
The old man succumbed to a fit of laughter, and Grover found it strangely easy to suppress his sigh. A week in Percy's company had given him plenty of experience on how to deal with stupid jokes.
"Anyhow," Christian said, wiping a tear from his eye, "whenever ya feel up to it, get yerself on the way to that camp of yours."
Grover raised a brow. "Why would I do that? The quest isn't over yet."
The Doom Breaker nodded, his expression slightly more somber. "I know it, kid, but Chiron's gotta know 'bout what happened. Our pal downstairs might've called back all his monsters, but they won't leave as long as 'em young'uns out there keep fightin'." He put his one hand on Grover's shoulder. "The longer they stay out there, the more of 'em get hurt. Ol' horsebutt's gotta call 'em all back ASAP."
The satyr looked troubled, but Christian was right. They hadn't stayed out in the streets of Manhattan for long, but it had been enough to get a sense of how bad the situation was. The sounds of fighting could be heard everywhere, Greek fire was getting tossed around like candy, and the mortals were so scared and confused that most refused to go outside.
Wait...
"Hey, hold on a minute," Grover said, staring up at Christian in confusion. "You're talking differently."
The old man stared back, his face blank. "No I'm not."
"Yeah, you are," the satyr insisted. "When we first met, you were talking like you came out of the Middle Ages, and now it's like you're a cowboy!"
The Doom Breaker looked at him dead-on for minutes, his face empty of any emotion. "I got no idea what yer jabberin' on about, partner."
"You know what?" Grover asked. "I'll go. I really need a break from all of this." He stood from his seat and made his way to the door, pausing when his hand touched the handle. Turning his head around, Grover's eyes softened, his exasperation quickly replaced by the worry he had been consumed in ever since they got there. "You'll make sure he's fine, right? And that the bolt makes it up to Olympus?"
The legendary man placed his hand on his chest. "He'll be safe with me, and the Master Bolt'll get back to Zeus even if I gotta do it myself."
The satyr nodded, and with a final look at Percy, reluctantly walked out of the room.
Christian waited until the sound of the closing front door reached his ears, and when he was sure that Grover had left, held out his hand right above Percy's calm face, palm facing down. "As if I'd actually go up that stupid mountain again..." he muttered. Closing his eyes, the Doom Breaker concentrated on using the Mist to do his bidding.
"Awaken."
With a gasp, Percy sat up, wide awake. The demigod flinched, expecting to be hit by the same excruciating pain he had felt just a few minutes before, and was pleasantly surprised to only feel a small throbbing instead. He then flexed his arm and sighed in relief when it responded, if a little stiffly. His self-evaluation finished, the psychokinetic turned his head to find the hardened eyes of Christian Peters.
The two stared at each other, with Percy quickly feeling awkward in the uncomfortable silence. Finally, when the tension became unbearable, the young demigod decided to break the silence in the most delicate way possible.
"I guess getting your arm electrocuted by the most powerful generator in the world is better than getting it cut off. How do you always one-up me?"
Christian shrugged his shoulder. "Eh, ya pick it up as yeh get older."
Nodding in understanding, Percy noticed that they were the only two people in the room. "Hey, where's Grover?"
"I sent him off to yer camp," the old man said. "There's a few things I gotta tell ya, an' I don't wanna scare 'im after everythin' that's happened."
Frowning, the Percy straightened up, bitting back a small groan. He might not have been on the verge of death anymore, but his body was a long way off from one hundred percent. "What is it?"
Christian, a man well over ninety years old, seemed to age another dozen years. "Look, kid, I ain't gonna lie to ya. That stunt yeh pulled on Ares, let's just say it didn't do yeh any favors up in Olympus."
"What do you mean? All I did was defend myself!"
"It doesn't matter," the Doom Breaker said. "The fact is you, a mortal, took out the god o' war. The ones up in Olympus'll consider you a threat."
Percy couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could any god think that he was a threat? Sure, he was pretty awesome when it came to... well, everything, but he was still just a twelve-year-old kid!
"That's stupid! The only reason I beat him was 'cause I used the Master Bolt! I think anyone would be out of it if they got hit by the strongest weapon in the world, even if it was thrown by a demigod!" he shouted.
Christian shook his head. "It doesn't have nothin' to do with power, kid. Thing is, you actually had the balls to throw that bolt at an immortal. If Ares wasn't a god, that woulda killed 'im for real. Someone like that, a person who'll give a god as much mercy as a monster, it scares 'em. From the moment yeh let go o' that bolt, yeh became dangerous."
The old man sighed, and Percy realized that Christian wasn't just coming up with what he was saying.
"You're speaking from experience, aren't you?" The young demigod asked. "When you beat that doom god guy, the same thing happened to you."
The Doom Breaker nodded. "I ain't called the Doom Breaker fer nothin', kid. I literally tore that guy in half, and he still hasn't reformed to this day."
Now Percy was worried. "Aw man, are you telling me that I'll have to run away and hide in caves for the rest of my life? This can't happen, man! Where will I go!? What will I eat!?"
"Yeh could always whip up some stew..."
"I don't even like stew!"
The young demigod kept freaking out about his bleak future until Christian slapped some sense into him... literally.
"Ow..." Percy groaned, now sitting up against the dilapidated wall on the other side of the tattered room. "What the hell was that for!?"
The old man sitting beside the now empty bed completely ignored the fact that he just slapped a newly recovered child across a room and used the same hand to hold up Percy's backpack. "Calm down yeh whipper snapper. Yeh got somethin' that I didn't: a bargainin' chip."
The psychokinetic's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, I'm the one who got Zeus back his Master Bolt! That should at least be enough to not kill me, right?"
Christian mulled it over in his head, staring intently at the green bag being held up to his face. True, the Master Bolt was arguably the most powerful weapon in the world, and returning it to Zeus should count for something. Then again, Zeus was never known for his gratitude... or generosity... Not to mention how Ares was his son... Added to the boy's obviously powerful abilities that would only continue to grow, giving way to the possibility of a demigod that could actually pose a real threat to Olympus as a whole... Needless to say, the psychokinetic's chances of survival were pretty slim.
"Eh, I'm sure you'll be fine," the old man said, tossing the bag to the young demigod. "But that's not all, kid."
Catching the green backpack, Percy tried to run his free hand through his raven hair, only to grunt at the sharp pain that followed. Instead, the young demigod huffed, frustrated at both his damaged body and the boat-load of problems he now had. "Damn it, what now? Isn't it enough that I might die in the next few hours?"
"This is worse," Christian said, his voice dripping with complete seriousness. "Back in L.A., you held the Master Bolt. Now, that wouldn't be too bad, but when you used it against Ares, the amount of power coming off that thing was so great that I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in a fifty mile radius could feel it. Long story short, you should be dead right now."
Percy paled. "Wh-What? I mean, everything hurts like a bitch, but I didn't die! I'm perfectly fine!" He took a step forward and visibly flinched from the effort. "Well... mostly fine."
"That's the problem," Christian said. "You're supposed to be dead, kid. No mortal, demigod or not, can take that much power without getting vaporized on the spot. If that isn't enough, you were able to eat an entire bag of ambrosia and half a bottle of nectar without getting your insides burned to a crisp." The old man frowned, his unhealthily skinny figure doing nothing to make him any less grave. "I don't know what you are, kid, but it isn't human."
Percy couldn't help but remember his years in the orphanage. There had always been something different about him, and while his sudden power freak-outs were always a dead giveaway, it was more than just his psychokinesis. He had always been too strong, or too fast, or too attentive when he wasn't even trying to be. Most of all, there was always a feeling that no matter how hard he tried to fit in, something would always prevent him from doing so. Percy had stopped worrying about it when he found out he was a demigod, but could it be that there was more to him than his godly blood?
"You're crazy, old man," he said, forcing himself to chuckle. "It's probably just an example of how awesome I am."
Christian sighed. "Sure, kid. Just make sure that you don't tell anybody, alright? If the gods catch wind of it, then it really is over for you. Having the mindset to kill a god is one thing, but doing things that only a god can do is something else entirely."
Nodding, Percy slung the bag over his shoulder, and curiously looked over at the Doom Breaker. Sure, the man was completely insane, but he had saved him and Grover from whatever double-pulverization Ares had in mind for them.
"So, uh... Where will you go now?" he asked, figuring that the least he could do was be polite for once.
"Hmmm..." Christian ran his fingers through his beard, something Percy couldn't help but be strangely envious of.
'If I ever get that old, I'm totally growing a beard like that.'
"Y'know, I've been hearin' that good ol' Mexico has some great weather this time of year," Christian said, instantly switching back to the deranged geezer Percy was used to.
The young demigod frowned a bit. "Wait... Isn't Mexico's weather the same all year long? I mean, it's not like it can snow or any-"
"Yep! I think it's high time for a little vacation!"
Percy sighed. In a weird way, he kind of liked the man's overly serious personality more than his usual one. "You can't have a vacation without a job, man."
"What is it that they say? Compadre?"
"Do you even know how to speak Spanish?"
"Well bye, my young friend! I'm starvin' fer some burritos!" Christian waved his one arm in departure, and Percy perked up.
"Hey, wait!" the psychokinetic shouted. "I need you to take me up to Olympus! It hurts too much to-" he was interrupted by the Doom Breaker's disappearance, the legendary demigod fading out of existence like he was never there at all. "... walk."
Percy stared blankly at the empty space previously occupied by Christian Peters. "He can just vanish like that. That's a thing now," he stated, not willing to feel any surprise at the impossible feat. 'Okay. There's a floating island somewhere in the sky, and old people can teleport or something.' The young demigod absorbed the new information just as he had everything else in the past week, something that had become increasingly easier to both his relief and discomfort.
Moving on to the situation at hand, Percy couldn't help but grimace. He had to make his way over to the Empire State Building, forcing himself to ignore the massive pain he would surely feel along the way. Also, from what he had heard, Manhattan was supposed to be a war zone at the moment, so that would be nice. Before he began his arduous journey to the door, Percy sent one final, scathing glare at the ceiling.
'Stupid gods. Stupid bolt. Stupid old man. Stupid Ares. Stupid Kronos. Stupid...'
Huffing and puffing, Percy crawled his way through the doors of the Empire State Building. To his great relief, the hideout Grover and Christian had found turned out to be right around the corner from his destination, and it had only taken him an hour and a half to slowly and painfully shuffle through the streets of Manhattan.
Surprisingly, the city hadn't been nearly as demolished as he'd first assumed, with civilians already walking around like if nothing ever happened and construction crews taking care of any lingering damage. Traffic was as jammed as he remembered, and all the small shops and restaurants were back in business. All in all, it was hard to imagine that the entire place was filled with destruction and violence just a few short hours before.
Unfortunately for the young demigod, all of the mortals completely ignored him, even when he dropped down on his knees halfway into his trek. Logically, Percy knew that it was probably because all the Mist surrounding the Master Bolt obscured him unintentionally, but a dark part of his mind couldn't help but think that the gods wanted him to suffer a little more before his quest was over.
As he clawed for another few inches, Percy noticed the guard standing next to the elevator. There wasn't anything special about the guy; in fact, he looked like any other mortal man might in his early forties. The only thing that alerted Percy that the guard was any different from everyone else was the bottle of golden fluid in his hand, and that he was looking at him, not just staring in his direction, but looking right at him with eyes the size of dinner plates.
Despite this, the guard didn't move a muscle, apparently too shocked to do so, and Percy had to crawl all the way through the lobby filled with bored tourists waiting in line. Finally, after what felt like days, the psychokinetic found himself on his hands and knees right in front of seemingly the only person in the city who could see him.
Percy raised his head, and the two looked each other right in the eye for several tense moments before the young demigod grabbed hold of the guard's pants and began pulling himself up. The man didn't react, something the raven haired boy attributed more to surprise than anything else, and stood still as Percy attempted to use his pants.
Now sweating, the young demigod leaned on the man's chest with one arm. He looked up once more, finding the guard just as nervous as before, and shrugged before casually swiping the bottle of nectar right off the guy's hand. Without another thought, Percy unscrewed the container and gulped down the godly drink until there wasn't any more left, then re-screwed the cap and gave it back.
Feeling more energized than he had since he woke up, Percy stood straight, now at least being able to handle his own weight. Dully, the young demigod once again looked up at the guard, who was now completely flabbergasted.
"So listen," Percy began, "I've got a metal lance with enough juice to blow up a city in my bag, and I really need to get it up to Olympus before Zeus decides to fry the country. Think you can help with that?"
Percy would've usually found the guard's near spastic reaction hilarious, but it had been a really long day, and there was nothing he wanted to do more than to get back to camp and sleep on the Hermes Cabin's floor. Stuttering madly, the guard reached into his pocket and retrieved a gold key which he promptly gave to Percy, who merely nodded a thanks and walked into the open elevator with a group of tourists.
The ride up took about as long as Percy expected considering that the building was more than a hundred stories tall. When the elevator reached the top, the floodgates opened and a wave of mortals stomped out the doors, forcing the young demigod to glue himself to the wall so that he wouldn't be washed away in the crowd. A minute later, the elevator was empty, and Percy sighed in relief before using the gold key he acquired to unlock a button hidden above all the others, with the number six-hundred right next to it in bold lettering.
Percy pressed the button and stood restlessly in the middle of the empty elevator, his only company being the easy elevator music he could've sworn was taken straight out of clichéland. Tapping his foot to appease his thinning patience, the psychokinetic glanced up at the indicator and raised a brow at the speed at which he appeared to be climbing. 'Now that I think about it,' he mused, 'if Olympus is in the six-hundredth floor, that means that there are about five-hundred floors between it and the top of the Empire State Building. Huh, wonder what those are made up of...'
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a bell, indicating that the elevator was stopping somewhere. Gazing up, Percy noted that he was only in floor number four-hundred-seventy-five.
When the elevator doors slid open, Percy shuffled to the left to make space for the new arrival. It was a girl, maybe a couple of years older than him, wearing jeans and a red tank top. Her chocolate colored hair was frazzled, as if she had just gotten out of a fight, though her perfectly smooth skin and clean clothes implied the opposite. Percy gave her an upwards nod in greeting, and she gave him a once-over with her black eyes before walking in to stand next to him.
After the elevator began its long trip to the home of the gods once more, Percy looked at her from the edge of his vision. "So..." he drawled out, not sure how to begin. "Demigod?"
The girl nodded, a movement so slight that Percy barely picked it up. 'I guess this is what Chiron meant about demigods that didn't go to camp,' he thought to himself. Contrary to popular belief in Camp Half-Blood, there were plenty of other ways for demigods to survive outside of camp, the most likely of which was the active, indirect direction of a godly parent.
"Quest?" he asked, figuring that some small talk would be better than just waiting.
"Yeah," she replied casually. "My mom asked me to take care of some sewage monsters that were messing up one of her palaces. You?"
"Oh, y'know," he said, being extra careful to talk as blandly as possible, "I brought back Zeus' Master Bolt and saved the world. No biggie."
The girl nodded again, and several silent moments passed before his words seemed to register in her mind. She did a double take, her eyes widening, but before she could say anything else, the elevator bell rang.
When the doors slid open, Percy's small smirk was replaced by complete awe. Olympus, simply put, was exactly what he thought paradise would look like. The city, for it was certainly big enough to be called that, was made up of several floating islands connected by golden bridges, all of which held their fair share of impressive palaces and constructs. Every building seemed to be made of a different material, and they all had an original design while somehow keeping the same Greek inspiration at the same time. There was a giant statue for every other complex of buildings, and various types of columns could be seen thrown all around. 'Annabeth would've loved this place...'
The most impressive part was obviously the mountain itself, which loomed over all of the immortal citizens who buzzed around, crisscrossing through the maze-like streets. Mt. Olympus was so tall that it reached up through the cloud barrier, preventing Percy from seeing the peak. It was imposing enough as it was, but the fact that the city itself was already surrounded by a sea of clouds made it appear many times bigger than it probably was. The entire city was set in a silver glow, the supposed darkness of nighttime being overridden by the light of the crescent moon.
"Woah..." Percy said, taking in what would likely be the most beautiful sight he would ever see in his entire life. The closing of the elevator doors snapped him out of his trance, and the psychokinetic almost panicked, throwing himself forward and dashing through the gap before it was too late. The action caused him to gasp in pain, forcefully reminding him that no amount of godly food could cure him of a near-death experience in one day.
"Crap..." he muttered. Olympus suddenly shifted from a heavenly sight to a torture chamber straight out of the Fields of Punishment. 'Why does it have to be so big?' Percy thought, already dreading the trip through the home of the gods. It then occurred to him that there was a perfectly capable assistant who just finished a quest like he did. 'Wait a minute...'
"Hey, can I ask you a..." Percy trailed off, suddenly not being able to find his fellow demigod. The psychokinetic sighed, not exactly surprised that his luck was once again way below his expectations. 'Figures that not even saving the world could get someone's attention for more than a few seconds. I blame television.'
Percy ignored the hypocrisy of his thoughts in favor of beginning what would surely be the worst trek of his life. He walked slowly, careful not to trigger any stinging, and tried to wade through the city as casually as possible for the sake of the crowds. The demigod might've been making it worse for himself, but he still had his pride, damn it.
It didn't look like he had to worry much about gaining unwanted attention, though. Everyone in Olympus ignored him, except that unlike the mortals in Manhattan, Percy could clearly tell that they were still aware of his presence. The various immortals tensed whenever he got close to them, and there was a constant ring of empty space around him wherever he went.
'It's almost like they've never seen a mortal before,' Percy thought, lightly limping across another plaza with a marble fountain. The young demigod considered this, distracting himself from the tedious task of walking. 'Katie made it sound like such a big deal when some campers came on a field trip to Olympus, apparently a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Maybe it's just as rare for immortals here to go down to our world?'
The thought made him strangely uncomfortable. How could mortals be separated from the gods to the point that he couldn't walk around Olympus without getting looked at like he had grown a second head? 'No wonder Luke doesn't like the gods too much. They really need to come down to Earth... literally.'
Taking a look around at the city once more, Percy smiled as he saw moonlight being reflected off a silver statue of who could only be Hercules, making the structure appear to glow. 'Ive gotta admit, though,' he pondered, 'if I lived in a place like this, I'd probably never leave either.'
Finally, after what felt like days, Percy reached the base of Mt. Olympus. There was a huge golden gate leading the way to a white staircase that wrapped around the mountain. When he looked up, the psychokinetic still couldn't see the summit, even as close as he was. It amazed him to think of how impossibly huge this-
"Sir?"
Percy blinked, just noticing the two guards wearing full hoplite armor standing at each side of the golden gate, each holding a spear pressed against the ground. Quickly remembering his dignity, the young demigod reattached his jaw and put his hands in his pockets. Percy sniffed in his best attempt at aloofness and turned his head to look somewhere in the distance.
"Oh, 'sup," he said. "I need to get up to the throne... council... room... thing. Is there an elevator or something?"
The slouched guard on the right seemed annoyed that he even had to address the demigod before him, but sighed and rolled his eyes before answering. "No, there isn't an elevator. All the Olympians can teleport everywhere, so why would they even need it?"
It took a great deal of effort on Percy's part not to lose his composure at the thought of having to climb up all those stairs. As it was, his right eye only twitched once.
"You don't get it," Percy said, his voice taking on a tint of desperation, "I need to get up there before the Summer Solstice which is..." he checked his wristwatch, "in an hour and seven minutes! I can't miss that council!"
The guard stared at the demigod, his face a perfect visage of absolute apathy. "... Yeah, the council started about three hours ago."
All of Percy's self control was instantly obliterated by that one statement. "WHAT?!" The lazy guard found himself staring directly at the face of one very shocked and very angry Percy Jackson, who was actually attached on to his hoplite armor just to reach his greater height. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IT STARTED THREE HOURS AGO?!"
Not affected at all by the demigod clinging to his armor, the guard rolled his eyes and explained himself. "The Summer Solstice council doesn't begin on Summer Solstice, it ends on Summer Solstice."
The young demigod began shaking the guard rather violently. "Don't you know what this means!? We're all gonna die!"
The guard, quickly growing tired of the annoying brat shaking him by the collar, pushed him back down to the ground with his free hand. "Stop freaking out, idiot. Look, just because the council already started doesn't mean that you can't go before it ends. I'm pretty sure that no one will mind you interrupting them if whatever you need to do is important enough."
Percy's head hung low. "I still need to climb up that mountain in an hour..."
The other guard, one standing in a much straighter posture, decided to intervene. "Demigod! If what you say is correct, then I advise you to make haste! The great peak's height is not to be underestimated!"
The psychokinetic nodded wearily. 'This'll suck, but I really need to get up there,' he thought. With a heavy sigh, Percy put as much effort as he could into augmenting his muscles with the intent to increase his body's limits over that which was humanly possible. To his pleasant surprise, the demigod found that his biokinesis had the side-effect of slightly numbing the stinging from any jerky movement.
As ready as he could be, Percy raised his head to look up the mountain one last time, taking in the great distance he would have to climb. 'I can't keep this up forever,' he deduced, already beginning to feel an extremely small burn. He hadn't eaten much all day, so the calories he needed for his muscle augmentation were limited. Eyes set on a determined glare, Percy took on a runner's stance. 'Better make it count!'
With that, the raven haired boy took off, leaving the two guards in his wake. Several moments passed, and finally, almost snickering, the poised guard glanced sideways at his slouched partner.
"I can't believe he bought it."
The lazy guard's bored expression was replaced with one of slight amusement. His small smile widened even more when he heard the ding of the Mt. Olympus elevator.
Percy decided that the climb up Mt. Olympus was the absolute worst part about the entire quest. It wasn't because of the mind boggling burn that had taken over his body from head to toe, or the lack of any real food and drink, or even the increasing weight of the Master Bolt in his backpack. No, the true culprit of such a bad experience was the boredom. For a full twenty minutes, the only thing Percy had done was put one foot in front of the other. The breathtaking sight of Olympus' immortal city had become less and less breathtaking the more he looked at it, to the point that not even the Summer Solstice festival that had randomly broken out in the central square caught his attention.
The demigod hated being bored. Even the calmer points of his quest, like riding atop Karkinos' shell for hours on end, could entertain him to some extent. The scenery always changed every couple of hours, and he had his friends to talk to. For the first time, Percy understood why a quest needed more than one person. It wasn't only because a team could help each other out in a dangerous situation, but also because being alone sucked.
Having nothing else to do, Percy's thoughts inadvertently shifted to the one thing he wanted out of his mind: Annabeth. 'It wasn't my fault,' he thought to himself. Ever since it happened, that was something he was trying to convince himself of. 'It wasn't my fault.' Like a mantra, he said that same phrase to himself over and over again. 'It wasn't my fault.' There was no way he could've known that Ares tricked them with a magic backpack. 'It wasn't my fault.' The Master Bolt materialized just before they entered the throne room, so he couldn't of done anything to prepare. 'It wasn't my fault.' He was willing to save her over the world, but Annabeth had sworn on the River Styx that she would... Well, she would've made him regret saving her. 'It wasn't my fault.' There was no conceivable way that he could be blamed for what happened.
So why did he feel so guilty?
How could he face Luke and tell him that someone so important in his life had been left in a Hades dungeon cell? Not only Luke, but the rest of the camp too? Chiron, who treated Annabeth like more of a daughter than a camper in his charge? The Athena cabin, her brothers and sisters, who needed the support and presence of one of their senior members? What about all those who had even a hint of friendship with her, like Austin, Clovis, Kayla, Travis and Connor, Silena, and even Clarisse, who at least respected her skill?
How could he face his own friends with the knowledge of what happened? It didn't matter how strong he was, or how smart he was, because Annabeth had forced him to leave her behind in a way that no amount of power could solve. Even if he had been the strongest being on the planet, he wouldn't of been able to do a thing. What if one of his other friends were ever in some make it or break it situation? How could he protect them if all the strength and skill in the world wasn't enough?
At that, the psychokinetic broke himself away from his thoughts. 'I've got a bolt to deliver,' he thought, his face hard. 'Now's not the time for angsty pre-teen garbage.'
Percy continued to scale the staircase up Mt. Olympus, forcing himself to think of how pretty the festival below was. It wasn't fun at all, but at least he wasn't bored anymore. He hated being bored.
The demigod sighed, grabbing hold of his backpack's strap to alleviate himself of some of the weight. Climbing up a mountain was hard enough, but the Master Bolt made it even more unnecessarily difficult.
Eventually, Percy grew tired of the festival, and his eyes roamed for something else to focus on. Unfortunately for him, there was nothing else to look at, so he decided to just concentrate on walking up the stairs for the rest of the climb. The demigod tuned out, and the monotonous motion turned almost rhythmic in a sense. For another forty minutes, Percy did nothing but put one foot in front of the other.
After what felt like eons, Percy leaned hard on the gigantic golden doors that led to the Olympian council room. He wasn't really that impressed at the grand entrance, having seen two of a similar nature before, giving him more time to catch his breath instead of gawking at the sight.
The Olympian council room was about as Greek as something could get. It was basically like the Parthenon, only about five times bigger and with massive marble walls in between all the columns. Truth be told, the building itself was actually much less extravagant than Percy thought it would be, with the walls only having mild reliefs of the various gods doing their various godly things. Zeus smiting people with his lightning bolts, Ganymede holding two goblets in his hands, Aphrodite laughing while being surrounded by a crowd of interested-looking guys, the usual stuff.
Even the golden monstrosity he was leaning on only had an Alpha and Omega symbol etched into each door in what he assumed to be some sort of symbolism. Looking over them a bit more, Percy frowned when he saw that there were no handles or knobs of any kind. With a grunt, the demigod tried pushing on one of the doors, only for it to stay perfectly in place.
His eyebrows furrowed, Percy considered his options. 'No windows to break into, and it would take forever for me to force a hole open if these things are anything like the doors in Hades' palace... Hmm...' He rubbed his chin, his other arm being used as support. He didn't care if he was alone, being a showy ass was part of who he was. 'I could always just knock...' The psychokinetic perked up at the thought, but then shook his head. 'Nah, too conspicuous. Well, I guess that leaves only one option.'
Percy brought his hands together, leaving a small space in between. Closing his eyes, he then began building up atoms, condensing them into the small space. A minute later, there was a throbbing, blackish mass of something levitating in the air between the demigod's hands, exerting enough repulsive force to blast away anything it got close to.
The psychokinetic looked up at the hinges of the giant door in front of him and then at the atom ball in between his hands, nodding in satisfaction. 'That ought to do it,' he thought, and without hesitation, Percy stabbed his arms forward, forcing the black mass into the door.
The gold entrance only lasted a few seconds before it was unceremoniously flung open, hitting the wall inside loudly enough to overtake the sound of its screeching hinges. Dusting off his hands even though they weren't dirty, Percy walked into the council room only to be greeted by the sight of eleven wide-eyed Olympians.
The raven haired boy did a double take, not because he was face-to-face with arguably the most powerful entities in the world, but because he didn't expect them to be quite so big. 'No wonder this place is so huge,' he thought, glancing quickly around the gigantic room he had entered. It was about as bare as the decoration on the outside, though he guessed that all the thrones more than made up for it. Each throne was big enough for the fifteen-foot-tall gods to seat comfortably in, though the word 'throne' might've been the wrong term to use. All the gods had vastly different seats, from Dionysus' grapevine chair to Ares' leather seat with skulls attached to each arm.
Seeing the threatening seat of the war god reminded him of something. That guy was a total asshole. Seeing that it was empty reminded him of something a little more important. He was supposed to be in big trouble.
Crap.
Percy was broken out of his rising worry when he heard growling. Turning his head at what he dubbed as the 'girl side' (with full knowledge that Dionysus was currently sitting in said side), the psychokinetic's eyes met a familiar shade of silver.
It would've been an understatement to say that she was glaring at him. No, the goddess of the hunt was looking at him with eyes that promised pain. Her beautiful form, covered by a silver jacket and matching pants, was doing nothing to hold back the fury that seemed to permeate the room, all of which was being directed at him. Even though she was sitting atop the massive assortment of skins on her silver throne, Artemis looked poised to jump at him with claws raised at any moment.
Percy, being who he was, glared right back. He had already decided previously that he didn't like this particular goddess anyway, and he'd be damned if he didn't make it obvious immediately upon meeting her, even if a bead of sweat was making its way down his forehead.
"Boy," she growled out, saying the word with so much malice that Percy almost took a step back. Almost. Instead, he crossed his arms to stop them from shaking. "How dare you, an insufferable waste of space, show such disrespect!? Do you have some kind of death wish!?"
Something in her voice made it clear that she wanted his answer to be a 'yes'. Percy was about to retort, but then realized that the goddess actually had a point. He did kind of blast his way in.
"I- Well..." He scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed that he had shown such tactless behavior to gods. Not that he would've done it any differently, of course, just that he could see why it was a bad idea. Percy then huffed, his slight embarrassment already replaced by indignation. "Hey, it's not my fault you guys have defective doors. How the heck am I supposed to open that thing? Not everyone's a fifteen-foot giant, y'know!"
Artemis' eyes burned with silver fire, her already impressive anger being fed even more. First this kid, a male no less, slammed the door open and strode in like he owned the place, and then he had the audacity to blame them for it? "You should've knocked like a normal person, you imbecile!"
Percy scoffed, scoffed at the goddess. "Knocking's for chumps, lady. Plus, it would've taken more effort to knock on the solid gold door than to open it with my awesomeness."
The maiden goddess stood up, generating enough hate to power a whole terrorist organization. For some inexplicable reason, Percy thought that he heard a quiet giggle come out of the brightest spot on the 'guy side', but he had more pressing matters to worry about, namely the very pissed off goddess stomping her way over to him, her auburn hair seeming to fly in every direction.
"ENOUGH!"
Artemis immediately froze, and Percy let out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. In fact, he didn't realize he had been sweating so much either.
"Daughter, get back to your throne. I will deal with this."
As the goddess of the hunt went back seething, Percy looked across the large room. All the thrones were positioned in an U formation, just like the cabins at camp, surrounding a huge hearth burning brighter than any campfire. Through the strangely calm flames, Percy could see two thrones positioned side-by-side at the head of the formation, one of which was holding a very familiar person sitting on a simple ivory throne.
Hera appeared to be distraught, and refused to even look his way. The psychokinetic frowned, remembering how friendly she had been to him on their last meeting, but mentally gasped when he remembered exactly who he was thinking about. Zeus wasn't very faithful in his marriage, but he and Hera had sired a few children, one of which was Ares. The god which he just so happened to kill the day before.
Well, there went any support he thought he had. It seemed that a parent would always love their child no matter what, even if they turned out to be complete jerks.
The other figure was not at all what he expected. Sitting on a simple platinum throne, Zeus wasn't wearing regal robes, flamboyant capes, or even a damn crown for that matter. The king of gods was wearing a simple, blue stripped suit, complete with a red tie. His hair and beard were about as shoulder length, but they weren't at all the old grey he had assumed them to be. Instead, Zeus' hair was a deep, rich black, just like his eyes. His stern and very scary looking eyes.
"Come here, boy."
Gulping, Percy walked across the council room, feeling a little awkward with all the attention on him. His backpack felt like it was vibrating, the Master Bolt apparently being able to sense how close it was to its master. Nervously, the young demigod stood in front of the towering form of Zeus, who looked down at him expectantly.
After several seconds passed, Percy realized what it was he wanted. "Ah, right, the bolt! Yeah, I got it right here." He rummaged through his bag before taking out the long metal lance. The bolt was generating a constant stream of electricity like it always did, making Percy's entire arm tingle, but he held it up for the god of the skies, trying hard not to flinch under the hard gaze.
Zeus took back his symbol of power, and the Master Bolt grew to accommodate his size. The god looked over his weapon, humming at something every few moments, until he nodded his big head and held it lightly in his right hand. Percy tried to ignore that the lance just so happened to be pointing his way.
"Sooo..." Percy drawled out, his hands deep in his pockets. "I guess we're done?" He turned around and began walking away, attempting to make his hasty retreat look as casual as possible. "Well, it was good seeing you guys, hope the bolt works just fine, I'll just be leaving now!"
"Demigod."
Said demigod stopped on his tracks, hanging his head. 'So close...'
Percy turned his glum face to look back at Zeus, already knowing that what came next wouldn't be fun at all. "Uh... Yeah, sir?"
"You are not going anywhere."
'Yep, I'm screwed,' Percy thought, giving the king of gods a strained smile.
Zeus raised his chin, looking down on him in a way that all of a sudden made Percy want to punch him in the face. "Show respect, boy. Kneel."
The demigod seriously thought about it. For about three seconds. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to say no to that one."
Zeus paused, his expression not really changing, but Percy was sure that the god was completely incredulous. He wasn't the only one, as the rest of the Olympians also did a double take. No one ever said 'no' to the king of gods. No one. "What... What do you mean 'no'?"
Percy glanced over at the Master Bolt in the god of justice's hand. "I mean, standing gives me a better shot at not dying. Y'know, considering how you haven't stopped pointing that thing at me since I gave it back to you."
The god's eyes bore into him. "You will kneel."
"Nu-uh."
"Seriously."
"Nope."
"Are you sure you have a full understanding of who you are talking to right now?"
"I'm not kneeling, dude."
"You. Will. Kneel!"
Without warning, Percy dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. It felt like gravity increased a hundred times, and the young demigod barely had enough time to get on his elbows and knees so he wouldn't end up flat on his face. The weight pressing against him was so intense that he couldn't even breathe without using all his will, and even then his breaths were sharp and short. It took way too much strength just to raise his head to look at Zeus in surprise.
"Wh- Wha-" He couldn't even speak, the weight pressing him to the ground too strong. Looking into the god's black eyes, eyes so full of strength and experience, Percy realized what had just happened. It wasn't gravity pressing him down, but Zeus' power. The pure, unadulterated power of a god brought him to his knees, and said god didn't look tired at all. He was just looking down at the demigod calmly, merely using what Percy knew to be less than a minuscule portion of his full power on him.
"Do you understand now, demigod?" Zeus asked. "Do you see how far below us you really are? How insignificant you are?"
And Percy did. To have this much power, it was unbelievable. There was no way in a million years that he could ever be so strong. The force of it alone was enough to almost crush him into the ground, and he was sure that any more would completely flatten him. It almost scared him to think of how Zeus used it to fight. Who in the world could actually go up against something so completely raw and monstrous?
No wonder Artemis had been so angry with him. That he, a small, weak demigod had the nerve to disrespect the gods to such a level would've drove any immortal crazy, but an Olympian wouldn't even pretend to take it with dignity. An Olympian would slam him down just as hard as he had slammed that door, and that was exactly what was happening now.
Percy almost had tears in his eyes from the pain that such exertion caused to his damaged body, but there was no way he was going to cry. He already knew where this was going, and if he was going to go out, it was going to be with a dry face. Not counting his sweat.
"Perseus Jackson, you have killed my son, Ares. You were somehow able to use my symbol of power, though only a microscopic degree compared to its full strength." Zeus' slightly angry face shifted into one of cool disinterest. "It is true that you retrieved my Master Bolt for me, and for that you will forever be remembered as a hero, but as things stand in the present, you are far too dangerous to live." The god looked over the room at his fellow Olympians, all of who had grim expressions. "I purpose that we end his life now, so that we won't have to deal with the trouble that is sure to follow."
The god raised his weapon, making the lance spark with electricity much more potent than anything Percy had ever been able to squeeze out. His disbelieving eyes wide, the demigod bowed his head, accepting the impossibility of his escape.
Years later, Percy would always wonder what drove him to do what he did next. It could've been a stroke of pure luck, or even just the wandering eyes of a deadman, but whatever the reason, it was the single greatest thing to ever happen to him in a life-or-death situation. The psychokinetic hung his head and idly glanced at his wrist, the one with the watch.
11:55 PM.
"HOLD IT!"
Zeus paused mid-throw, his brow furrowing in confusion. To his utter amazement, Percy started to stand back up, though slowly and, from the sound of it, very painfully. The demigod leaned on his knees, breathing heavily, and looked at the king of the gods with a tired but smug smirk. "Y-You... can't k-k-kill me... at l-least not y-yet," he panted.
Zeus hesitantly brought down his arm, curious as to what the hell the demigod was talking about. There was a bad feeling in his stomach, and the god knew that he should kill the boy before anything else could be said, but Zeus was too curious for his own good.
The weight dropped from Percy, and the psychokinetic instantly felt much better. After getting his breathing back under control, the young demigod crossed his arms confidently, determined to come out of that golden door alive. "You've forgotten something pretty important, sir," he spat, making it perfectly clear how much respect he had for the god. "You see, it's eleven fifty-five PM right now," Percy stated. "The Summer Solstice doesn't come 'till twelve o'clock at midnight, meaning that your council still hasn't ended."
The psychokinetic pointed a finger at Zeus, not caring how over-dramatic it made him look to all the others in the room. "You said that you proposed to kill me. Proposed. It means to put forward for consideration or discussion by others. I'd know, since it was in the dictionary I got forced to read through two weeks ago."
An expression of shock dawned on Zeus' steely face, one that was almost immediately replaced by incredulity. Percy relished in the looks he was receiving, already listing 'popping godly eyes out of their sockets' as one of his favorite things to do ever. 'Thank the gods Katie made me read that dictionary, even if insulting my vocabulary was kinda mean. Since when is 'pretentious' an everyday word?'
"This means that, by your rules, you can't kill me without voting on it first!" he finished, head held up in victory. There was a gnawing on the back of his head telling him that everything he had just said was complete baloney, but he forced that pessimism so far down that it wouldn't come back up even if it was true.
There was silence after his words, a heavy lack of any sound that became more and more uncomfortable the longer it stretched on. Finally, just when Percy's incredibly false bravado was about to crumble, a voice called out from one of the thrones behind him, sounding both impressed and annoyed.
"He... He's right, father."
The psychokinetic tried not to let his relief show, but couldn't stop the heavy sigh that escaped. For a small minuscule moment, he really thought that he was going to die. Turning his head to look at his savior, Percy was surprised to see familiar grey eyes intensely staring into his own.
The demigod stumbled, his jaw slackened. He was about to call out the name of his imprisoned friend until he realized that there was no possible way that the woman sitting on the silver and basket-weaved throne was Annabeth. For one, her hair was a deep black, and there was also the fact that she was around fifteen feet tall. Out of all the other gods, it seemed like she was the most traditional, as her clothing consisted of classic Greek robes instead of the modernized fashion styles all the others wore.
"As much as I would wish us to be rid of him," Athena started, instantly bringing Percy's opinion of her down several notches, "he has a point. While the council is still taking place, none of us can make independent decisions. I'm sure you are familiar with this rule..."
Zeus grumbled, and the god on his left let out a chuckle. Percy glanced over at him and took an involuntary step back, his eyes widening.
The god sat on what looked like a leather deep-fishing chair, the kind used to catch sharks or marlins, except that there was a bronze trident in place of the fishing pole. He was garbed in the most casual form of clothing Percy had ever seen anyone wear in any sort of meeting, that being leather sandals, Bermuda shorts, and a blue Hawaiian shirt filled with images of coconuts and parrots.
It wasn't the god's attire that shocked Percy, though, but the uncanny resemblance he had with someone else he had fought just the day before. They looked so alike that the demigod almost took Riptide out of his pocket out of pure instinct before another though popped into his head. The sharp green eyes, the raven black hair, and even the facial structure of the god before him didn't just remind him of Orion, but of himself as well. 'He looks just like me...'
Naturally, Percy had already thought about the similarities between him and Orion. For a moment he had thought that Poseidon was his father too, but the lack of any water-based demigod powers had dampened his hopes. However, looking at the god of the seas now, face-to-face, he couldn't help but wonder.
It seemed likd he wasn't the only one to notice the uncanny resemblance between himself and Poseidon, because the god of storms was making an obvious effort at avoiding his gaze.
Zeus sighed, disrupting Percy's thoughts. "Yes, yes, I remember the damned net. Believe me, I will not be forgetting that anytime soon." He grumbled for a bit while all the other gods shift awkwardly in their seats.
'The golden net thing... right,' Percy thought, beginning to feel a bit awkward himself. 'I thought that happened centuries ago. Jeez, these guys can sure hold a grudge...'
"Whatever the case," Zeus said, bringing everyone to attention, "you have... forced my hand, demigod." At that he gave Percy a small glare, making the raven haired boy start sweating. "So be it. We vote now, starting from you, daughter."
The king of the gods pointed his Master Bolt at one of the goddesses in the back, and and when Percy turned to look at her, he had to fight down a blush. Sitting in what looked to be a giant, heavily decorated seashell filled to the brim with precious stones was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his young life. At least that's what it felt like to him, because he was sure that her appearance was shifting ever so slightly. One minute she looked like a super model he had seen on one of Chiron's magazines, and the next she looked like an actress from a movie he saw many months before. Her hair also seemed to be indecisive on what color it wanted to be, switching between ebony black and a familiar dirty blonde, though he couldn't for the life of him remember who it really belonged to.
It felt extremely hard to remember anything, really. It was strange, because he knew for a fact that he wasn't supposed to be into girls yet. Somehow though, the breathtaking goddess before him overrode his logic, and Percy found himself in the weird position of actually being attracted to the opposite sex. It would've been perfect if it wasn't for her enormous size and the hate filled glare she was sending his way.
Percy was confused at her anger until it registered just who the goddess was. Of course, the only possible identity was Aphrodite, and who was Aphrodite best known for cheating on her husband with?
The demigod groaned. How could he have known that a jerk like Ares had so many people that cared for him?
"I think it's perfectly obvious what we should do," she said, her silky smooth voice straining against the obvious rage she felt. "He killed Ares! He should die!"
"Actually, I think we should let him live for the exact same reason," said Hephaestus, who was seating on his mechanical monstrosity of a throne opposite to his wife. The ugly god wore an almost identical outfit to the one Percy remembered Beckendorf to wearing in the forges, and the noticeable oil marks on his clothing told the demigod that the god of fire must've cared little for appearances.
"Of course you would say that!" Aphrodite scoffed, but the god of forges ignored her and instead gave Percy what the demigod guessed to be his best attempt at a smirk, though the facial disfigurement made it hard to know for sure.
The psychokinetic smiled back anyway, glad to know that at least one god was on his side. 'I guess Ares did have his enemies after all,' he mused.
Dionysus stared at Percy long and hard, swishing the giant diet coke in his hand from side to side. After a while, he tutted and took a big gulp of the drink. "Yeah, I don't really like this one, so I say we kill him," he said, leaning back against his chair for comfort.
Percy felt like banging his head against something. 'Of course that would come back to bite me in the ass. Damn it, Percy, why couldn't you of acted polite at least once?'
"I vote that we don't kill him," said the goddess to next to Dionysus. She sat on a throne made entirely of tree branches and dried grass, alarming Percy at how easy it would've been to set fire to the whole thing. The goddess wore a golden dress that appeared to be made entirely of wheat. Unlike the other goddesses, who seemed almost obsessed with the prospect of staying youthful, this one looked to be older, not too much more, but enough that it was noticeable when compared to someone like Athena.
Percy, who had been almost trembling in anxiety of the results, was instantaneously sated when he set his eyes on her. No wonder, because apart from the flowing black hair, she was like an older version of his friend Katie.
Demeter smiled down at him, and Percy found himself smiling warmly in return. Katie had been the only one he'd met so far that could get him to relax completely, and now the demigod wondered if the soothing presence was something that had been passed down from her mother.
"I believe that Percy here wouldn't destroy Olympus if he could, would you, honey?" she asked.
Percy shook his head furiously, trying to show everyone in the room how sincere he was. 'Man, Katie's mom is the coolest!'
Artemis was quick to state her opinion. "Hmph. I do not trust this boy at all. He is reckless, disrespectful, and worst of all, the single most conceited brat I have ever come across! I vote we take care of him now!"
The young demigod grunted, having expected that Artemis would vote against him. 'That makes it three to two against me,' he calculated. Percy began worrying again, not knowing where the rest of the gods stood. 'Crap, now what? I know Athena's gonna vote against me, and Zeus too, but what about everyone else?'
Apollo, for it could only be him sitting in the shiny gold throne facing Artemis', raised his hand. Everyone groaned when the god cleared his throat, making Percy wonder why it was such a big deal. Then, the leather-clad god began reciting a haiku.
"I'm voting for Perce,
Because he is so righteous,
And he'll owe me one."
The sun god then proceeded to give Percy two thumbs ups, which the demigod forced himself to return. On one hand, Apollo was the one who trapped Orion alone on a cursed island for thousands of years, but on the other hand, he had voted in favor of him. The demigod then frowned when he realized that now he probably did owe Apollo a favor. 'As if owing Aeolus two favors wasn't enough. Why the hell can't these gods just do something out of the goodness of their hearts for once?'
Hermes, wearing a business suit like his father and sitting next to Apollo on his stone throne, also gave Percy a thumbs up. "I think this particular demigod has a lot of potential," he said. "Sure, there's a chance that he could destroy us all, but hey, what's life without a little risk?"
The demigod brightened at that. Hermes must've known about his 'potential' through Luke! 'I can't wait to tell Luke that his dad actually watches over him,' the psychokinetic thought. 'He's always so moody about it, maybe this'll make him feel better.'
Zeus went next, banging his fist on the arm of his throne. Percy looked back at the god of the skies with a deadpan expression, not believing that anyone could be that overdramatic. 'Well,' he thought to himself, 'Apollo overdid it a little too. Maybe it runs in the family?'
"That is exactly why we should not let this demigod live!" Zeus said, his voice filled with the strength that only an experienced leader could produce. A theatre actor could do the same, but that was besides the point. "He has potential, too much, and I cannot allow him to fulfill it when there is even the slightest chance of him going against us! I vote that we end his life!"
"Now hold on a minute," said Poseidon, holding up his hands in a placating manner. "Brother, we can't kill this demigod just because he has an exceptional amount of power. It is unjust. As far as I can see, Per- ah... Mr. Jackson has done nothing to deserve death."
Percy eyed the god of the seas, wanting to know why he seemed so uncomfortable talking about him. Zeus, on the other hand, seemed to get angry at his brother's statement.
"What do you mean he hasn't done anything? He killed Ares! My son!"
Poseidon rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking almost annoyed at having to talk to his sibling more than he already did. "I know, but... Let's be honest here, Ares was... Well..."
"A total jerk?" Apollo supplied.
"A sexist pig?" Artemis added.
"An arrogant jackass?" Hermes questioned.
"A wife stealer?" Hephaestus asked.
"Yes, thank you," Poseidon said, nodding appreciatively at his fellow Olympians. Turning back to Zeus, he continued. "Ares might've lost, but he more or less deserved it for being all of those things. Plus, it isn't like he's dead. We all know that it will only take a few months for him to reform, maybe even less. I say that we let this demigod live on the basis that he deserves no consequence."
Percy stared up at Poseidon in awe. Not only had the god defended him, but he had insulted one of his least favorite people at the same time. 'I wish Poseidon was my dad, he's awesome!'
"I object," Athena announced, her cold voice somehow booming throughout the room. Both Poseidon and Percy frowned in irritation at the same time, though the action went unnoticed by them.
"You are right, uncle," the goddess of wisdom said, her arms crossed and an expressionless look on her hardened face. "This demigod has done nothing to deserve execution. Ares got in the way of his quest, and the only option was to fight or die."
Percy was about to ask why the hell she wanted him killed if she thought he didn't deserve it, but her voice once again cut across the room.
"But, while enforcing justice is all well and good, that is not why this council exists. We are here to do what is best for Olympus, and right now, this demigod is a threat that will only become more dangerous as time passes." Athena didn't stop there, though. Just as Poseidon was about to speak, the goddess continued her speech. "My step-sister Artemis is right in a sense. Perseus Jackson is not fit to hold such tremendous power. He is too immature to take the appropriate steps in any situation, places too much importance on his minimal accomplishments, making him overconfident, and his naïveté makes it easy for any enemy to turn him against us. As much as I would like to have such a strong weapon on our side, it is just too risky. I vote that we finish him off now before any damage can be dealt.
Percy was bright red, barely able to hold himself back from ripping the know-it-all goddess apart with his bare hands. 'What the hell does she know!?' he raged in his mind. 'Damn it, Annabeth, your mom sucks! She sucks so much that a damn straw couldn't compete with her!'
Athena met his angry scowl with her own cold mask of indifference. It only served to piss the demigod off even more. 'Freaking robot! I'll kill her! I swear I'll-'
"Ahem."
With a start, everybody turned to the last Olympian left. Hera looked calm and collected, not flinching one bit as everyone's gaze was set on her. However, when Percy tried to meet her brown eyes, she quickly looked somewhere else.
The Psychokinetic was anything but pleased. He started panicking, not bothering to act tough in front of the Olympians now that the stakes were so high. 'Damn it, don't tell me she's gonna vote against me! It's a tie! She's my only hope now!'
"I have considered what you said, Athena," she said.
'No, no, no!'
"You made very good points, some of which I agree with completely."
'I am so freaking screwed!'
"I must admit, your argument is the most logical, and the safest option we have is to do as you said."
'God, the singular one, I don't know if you're real, but if you are, I swear I'll stop stealing from the Apollo cabin. I'll even give back the special sunglasses Travis gave me. Please, just don't let me die!'
"However, I feel obligated to disagree."
Everyone was stunned. Even Athena, with her perfect control of her emotions, couldn't stop herself from gaping at her step-mother. "B-But why? If you agree with what I said, why would you let this boy live?" she asked, her voice sounding both curious and slightly angry.
Percy wondered the same thing. Sure, Hera seemed to like him when they first met, but ever since he entered the council room all she did was avoid him. Didn't it make her angry that he killed her son, even temporarily?
The goddess of marriage smiled, closing her eyes. "You are right about a lot of things concerning Percy Jackson, but there are also many important points that you seem to have missed."
At this, Hera opened her eyes, staring directly into Percy's own green orbs. "He is immature, but he is also new to our world. Knowledge and growth come with experience, and I can plainly see that he is not the same demigod that left Camp Half-Blood seven days ago."
Hera then looked at Athena, who was scowling in thought. "It is true that he is overconfident, but his accomplishments are anything but minimal. If it wasn't for this young hero, the world would now be embroiled in a terrible war, one that would've surely caused thousands of mortal lives. Not to mention, I am sure that in time he will be more than powerful enough to compensate for his big mouth."
Percy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and Hera then set her gaze on Artemis, who was audibly grinding her teeth. "Yes, he may be naive, but I am certain that he will never betray Olympus. Maybe not because of his loyalty to us, but because of his loyalty to his friends and his home."
The motherly goddess sighed, glancing sideways at her husband with a look that was half apologetic and half smug. "With all this in mind, I vote that we let him live."
Percy was blushing, never having received so much praise in his entire life. Not a second later, his wristwatch started beeping, signifying the start of the Summer Solstice end the official end to the meeting. Without another word, about half of the Olympians teleported out, leaving behind those who had supported him. Well, all except for Poseidon, but Percy guesses it was a good thing that he wouldn't have to converse with the god of the seas after how uncomfortable he looked since the demigod got there.
Hermes and Demeter slid out of their thrones, both regressing to normal height, and walked over to where he was standing in front of Hera's throne.
"Listen Percy," said the god of messengers, suddenly holding a cellphone against his ear, "I can't stay, so I'll make it quick. Congrats on not dying, and next time you see Luke or any of my other boys tell 'em that I'm always checking in on them, okay?"
It was said so tenderly that Percy couldn't help but agree. 'The gods really do care for their kids, huh?' he thought to himself, but then remembered how full his cabin was. 'Well, some of them do, at least.' The psychokinetic nodded, and Hermes teleported out of the room, probably to get back to whatever job he was in the middle of doing before the meeting began.
Demeter didn't waste any time and placed both her hands on his shoulders. "My, you sure know how to cause a racket, don't you?" she asked him, and Percy grinned.
"I guess I can't help it," he responded, then looked down in embarrassment, playing with his fingers. "Uh, listen... Thanks for, y'know... Backing me up and everything."
The goddess of agriculture shook her head. "Not very good at thanking others, huh?" she questioned, then laughed when the demigod hung his head even lower. "It's quite alright, honey. And of course I'm on your side!" Her smile turned mischievous, and Percy was eerily reminded of her daughter. "You've become very important to my Katie, you know that?"
The psychokinetic blushed. He liked Demeter, she was probably the nicest goddess he had met so far, but the entire situation was starting to feel really uncomfortable. "Er, yeah, I guess- I mean, if you say so."
"She prayed to me every day for your safe return. Of course, I couldn't do much to help you other than clearing up the forests you passed through so you wouldn't get lost, but still, it's the thought that counts right?"
Now it was just starting to get weird. Usually, Percy wouldn't of been so down-right embarrassed, but the fact that he was talking to Katie's mom about such a topic made him want to run away. He couldn't even figure out why it was such a big deal, but it sure as hell felt that way.
"I- yeah... It- I mean- she..."
Demeter lightly patted his check with a wink. "Oh well, I'm off. Be sure to say hi to my kids for me, and don't forget to eat whole grain!"
Before Percy knew what was going on, the goddess disappeared. Grunting, the demigod rubbed his cheeks with his hands, trying to rub away the red tint they had developed.
"Yo, Perce."
The raven haired boy looked up to Apollo, who was still towering above him in his giant form. Raising an eyebrow, Percy pie his hands back down on his sides, deciding that the flush in his face would go away with time. "Oh, hey Apollo," he addressed the god, not sure how he should feel about him.
'He seems like a pretty cool guy, but at the same time...' Images of his dream flashed through his eyes, Orion's shocked and outraged face being the most present. "What's up?" he asked, shaking off the memories if a much sterner and unfair sun god. People could change, right? Especially after hundreds of years.
"Nice going there, little bro," Apollo said. "When you stood up and said that you should get a vote, man, that was awesome! Sent chills down my spine!" He laughed, and Percy found himself smiling despite himself. "Anyway, I'll call you later, cool?" Without waiting for a response, the sun god vanished, leaving an empty, glowing throne.
Percy stared at the blank space for a moment mulling over Apollo's words, then shrugged and got ready to leave. His body still hurt like hell, but he assumed that going down the giant staircase would be better than climbing up.
Not even one step into his journey home, the demigod stopped when he heard the very familiar voice of Hera calling him.
"Percy, you haven't forgotten about me, have you?"
The demigod grinned sheepishly, turning around to see that the goddess of marriage had shrunk down to normal size. "Heh, sorry about that, Lady Hera. I guess I got too caught up in not dying and everything,"
Hera gave him an amiable smile. "It is quite alright, Percy. However," at this her face for serious, "there is still some things we need to discuss. Namely, why my husband's Master Bolt was stolen in the first place. Did my son say anything when you two fought? Do you know the real culprit?"
Percy gulped, resigning himself to being late for his expected welcome at camp. This would be a long talk.
AN:
Here it is, finally. Really, I'm sorry about going so long without updating. I could make up an excuse, but it basically boils down to having absolutely no motivation to write this chapter until last weekend. At least now I've learned to never promise anything.
If there's anything to say, though, it's this: I will try my hardest to avoid making this one of those stories that gets updated once a month. If that where to happen, I would honestly never finish it. If you haven't noticed yet, this story will be extremely long, and one update a month will ensure that I waste my entire life on this instead of getting started on other stories that I've already planned out in my head.
All that being said, I hope the introduction to all of the Olympians came out well. I tried to go for what each god/goddess would do considering the personalities we were presented with, and I think I did alright, all things considered. It's hard to make a character like Athena pretty much lose without bashing them, but I tried to make everything the gods did justified. As for Hera and why she's acting so damn nice, all will be revealed... eventually.,.
And yeah, I made Percy suffer a lot in this one. I don't know, I guess I just felt like I needed to show how messed up the last fight left him. I mean, he was practically in the center of a miniature nuclear explosion, and I would think that anyone would come out pretty bad after something like that. Oh, and I'm not even gonna talk about what Christian said to Percy before he left. You guys can figure that out.
Before anyone jumps into conclusions, no, Poseidon still isn't Percy's dad. Percy just happens to look like a son of Poseidon. A lot like one.
The chapter after this one marks the end of part one, so that's something to look forward to, especially with what I have in store.
How will Hera react to the truth about the Master Bolt's theft? What awaits Percy back at camp? What will they say when he shows up one quest member short? Find out next time!
