Time: Same Time
It wouldn't be wrong to say that the Olympian Throne Room was almost none existent at that point. The only thing that remained were twelve thrones that had been somehow salvaged, and a massive quicksand pit where children could play every Sunday. At least Zeus left Olympus one public amenity, right?
Yes, Percy's humour is not at his best right now.
Grey clouds, darker and larger than ever before, rolled across the sky like an endless ocean of almost black, blocking out the stars and the moon and plunging the world below in darkness. Occasional flashes of lightning lit up the sky, followed by peals of thunder that sounded even more ominous than normal. It felt like the sky was glaring down at them, reflecting its now-deceased Lord's feelings, unleashing an endless torrent of rain that drummed relentlessly on every surface.
But no matter how much the sky tried to exact vengeance, it only resulted in a refreshing night for many, the stuffy October heat replaced by a strong, cool breeze that brought a gentle, refreshing spray across the face, the pitter-patter of raindrops comforting, on every leaf and every roof. The emerald leaves of the trees glistened with water, leaves heavy with crystalline droplets that rolled to the tip, before dripping to the ground below with a small splash, creating small puddles.
Percy felt the endless rain hit him, setting up a gentle pitter-pattering on his skin. Rivulets of water streamed down the side of his face, his hair drenched and sticking to his skin, glistening black in the lights of the city.
The entirety of Olympus seemed to have turned up for the occasion. Every single light in the entire damn city was turned on, bathing the world in light that clashed with and overpowered the natural darkness that threatened to shroud the world, making Percy wince at how bright and loud everyone was. It seemed like he had vastly underestimated the population of Olympus, especially with all the nymphs, naiads, dryads, satyrs and other nature spirits pitched in. The crowds thronged the streets of Olympus, curious to know what had just happened. Rumours spread like wildfire, and somehow, someone had blabbed that Zeus was dead, bringing the entirety of Olympus out on the streets in rebellion or rejoice, Percy could barely tell.
The minor gods and goddesses erected small barriers protecting them from the lashing rain, and so did the rest of the Olympians gathered there. Well, all except Percy and Poseidon, they could not get enough of the rain. The nature spirits took after them, of course, never getting enough of the cool, refreshing rain and the gentle breeze.
The demigods of Camp Half-Blood and Chiron were protected from the rain thanks to Hestia, who was sitting by her usual place by the dry hearth.
The demigods of the soon-to-be-renamed Camp Jupiter and New Rome were excluded from this emergency meeting that Percy would have avoided if he could, to spare most, if not all, the gods present there a splitting headache. They would be tuned in later.
Even without them, Percy could feel a massive headache coming on.
The nervous, confused whispers of the entirety of the Greek pantheon and their shuffling footsteps on the pavement tended to do that.
Percy coughed, though not intentionally, drawing the entire attention of everyone present there to him. As if it wasn't on him already.
The twelve remaining Olympians had managed to drag their respective thrones out of the quicksand, and were now convening an emergency meeting outside the old, demolished Throne Room, sitting in the classic U shape.
Twelve? You ask. How?
Well, Percy might or might not have 'accidentally' turned the thrones of Ares, Hera and Zeus into dust while trying to lug them out of the quicksand, thereby permanently killing off Ares and Zeus, and leaving Hera little better than a demigod.
Three birds with one hit.
And now, he was getting fussed over by Calypso and Asteria. He loved the feeling.
But he did not like the looks shot his way, a mixture of lust and curiosity as the goddesses looked over his shirtless form.
Asteria seemed to take great glee in those stares, of jealousy directed her way as she sensually rubbed her soft hands over Percy's chest, doing her best to draw an erotic sound from the Dark god as she rubbed healing salve on his hot, almost burning skin.
Percy sighed fondly at her antics, before softly pushing her away. "That will be enough. Thanks, Asteria. Now, go take your throne. Let the meeting commence!"
Following his declaration, the sun goddess sulked back to her throne between Artemis and Athena, getting elbowed by both the goddesses as she took her seat.
Percy caught Hestia shaking her head fondly at the three, before she caught his gaze and smiled softly at him, her expression exuding warmth and comfort.
"Hestia, if you are comfortable there, if everyone is comfortable, we will start." He asked, trying to make everyone feel included as he sat up straight on his throne.
Calypso left her position beside him to sit at the foot of his throne, letting everyone know that the beautiful Titaness was his, and his alone.
"Good." Percy's voice was serious for once, letting everyone know the gravity of the situation. But inside, he was anything but.
His mind was frantic, racing at a million miles per minute. What was he supposed to say? He killed off Zeus, Ares and captured Hera, the former Queen, because he did not like them. Because they messed with him?
It seemed that there would be no glorious revolution Percy had envisioned, where he would be welcomed with open arms by the populace.
No, nobody, nowhere would ever be welcomed like that. No matter how much one was loved by the people, there would always be others to oppose him.
And thus it was, Percy walked the same path followed by every dictator before him.
"Athena, status report." He spoke in a grave voice, snapping his fingers to summon a shirt over his naked torso, inadvertently making several females in the crowd complain.
Even Aphrodite looked like she missed her eye candy.
Athena stood up, clearing her throat as she summoned some papers in her hand. "We must start the meeting by taking stock of the damages done to Olympus in the fight between you and Zeus."
She shot Percy a sideways glance. As she expected, he was not paying her any attention.
Feeling slightly irritated by his callous disregard, she rolled on. "Thankfully, the damages were restricted to the Throne Room, which has been completely demolished, and a crack in the heart of Mt. Olympus, which might compromise the structural integrity of the mountain. Although I don't think it needs immediate attention, I will request Hephaestus to check it once, for good measure."
She took a small break to allow the forge god to respond.
Hephaestus only gave a small, almost imperceptible nod at that, barely halting his constant tinkering with the little contraption in his hands.
The introverted forge god did not have to say anything against the new changes sweeping through Olympus since that son of Poseidon became a god. If anything, he supported Perseus. He had taken away and managed to tame his bitch of an ex-wife, something which he himself had neither ability nor desire to do. Then, Perseus had gotten rid of two of Hephaestus' greatest tormentors, Ares and Hera. If anything, the forge god should be indebted to him.
He watched his favourite son, Leo, jump about excitedly, with boundless energy as he watched his best friend sit on the Olympian Council. The act in itself brought a small smile to Hephaestus' face.
Athena continued.
"Now that the crack is accounted for, the Throne Room will be reconstructed without further ado. I request Poseidon to supply us with Cyclopes workers," She seemed to be struggling to get out that part, her intimate relationship with her dom had not endeared Percy's father to her in any way. "I will work on the blueprints, I would request Leo Valdez for his input on the final blueprint."
Not waiting for his response, Athena continued, "From now, the Olympian council has made a decision to hear out all complaints and grievances of the minor gods of Olympus, starting from the inaugural meeting of the new Throne Room, when construction on it is finished."
Athena droned on, boring Percy with every other word that passed her delectable lips. How could such beautiful looking lips spout such nonsense?
Well, Percy supposed she was making some sort of sense, as the entire population of Olympus was looking at her in rapt attention, with occasional nervous glances thrown at his direction. They were ignored.
Percy winked at Leo, making the excitable son of Hephaestus do their brofist alone, making a funny face at him in response.
Percy tore his eyes away from Leo, afraid that he would burst out laughing at his antics and appear crazy to the Olympian populace.
Instead, he admired his throne.
The smooth, cool obsidian beneath his fingers, diamond droplets of water collected here and there, streams of water flowing down the smooth stone. Gold lines crisscrossed the black, forming an intricate web of pseudo cracks representing insanity. An obsidian throne that was darker than darkness itself, sucking in all light around it and shrouding the immediate vicinity in darkness.
Percy leaned back in his throne, facing the sky.
It continued to rain.
Athena's speech formed a secondary haze to the pitter-patter of raindrops drops on his skin, a constant drumming all over Olympus. Cool water that caressed his skin, taking away his pain and burn everywhere it touched, flowing down the sides of his face and dripping from his sharp chin.
The rain-soaked the plain black t-shirt that he had summoned, making it stick to his skin and letting everyone catch a gaze of his sculpted abs and chest.
Percy closed his eyes, tasting the rain on his lips, fresh, clearer than any water any company could provide.
The crowds shifted and moved uncomfortably like an endless ocean of humanity, these great, otherworldly beings reduced to mortals as they stood underneath the rain, at nature's mercy. The idea that gods, Titans or Primordials controlled mother Nature was a laughable idea to the Dark god. Grover had the right idea.
Percy felt a smile tug at his lips as he was reminded of his mother. Sweet, beautiful Sally Jackson, best mom in the world.
Rain on the green grass,
Rain on the tree,
Rain on the housetop,
But not on me.
The downpour slowed to a gentle drizzle when the meeting was almost at its end, after about two hours of constant boredom. Yet, not a single person apart from him seemed to share the sentiment. Perhaps they were revitalized by the wine god's absence.
Some time ago, Dionysus had been excused from the meeting, sent to prepare a party large enough to celebrate the beginning of a new Era on Olympus. A party of the ages, that would make each and every person recall fondly when Zeus was overthrown.
Hopefully, the new Era would live up to everyone's expectations.
Percy held the power, but he was sure that his girls would keep him in line. He was beyond sure about that, no matter how cruel or sadistic he could be, his girls would always keep him in line. Perhaps even with a slap to the face or a kick to the balls, though hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.
Even if he got big-headed, Percy hoped that he would always listen to sweet Hestia's words. He would always remember what it was to be a mortal, to always live in fear of Thanatos. He would remember his mother, and Annabeth. He would remember leader Luke, brave Beckendorf, and sweet Silena.
"And now, Perseus Jackson will say some words."
Percy looked down at the crowds lazily, feeling like he couldn't be bothered less about them. He just wanted to rest.
He forced himself to his shaky feet, trying not to stumble clumsily and make a fool of himself in front of the entire population of Olympus on his big speech.
"Comrades," Percy spoke solemnly, lost for words, as he unsheathed Anaklusmos, holding her in front of him in dagger position, with the tip touching the ground, making himself look like he was swearing a solemn oath. In all reality, it was just so he had something to occupy his hands with, otherwise, his hands would have gone haywire, no thanks to his ADHD.
The crowd muttered in admiration as they caught the light glinting off the fabled Celestial Bronze sword, its legend having increased exponentially ever since it fell into the hands of the son of Poseidon.
Cold beads of sweat rolled down Percy's forehead, easily disguised as droplets of water from his damp hair. He could feel his heart rate pick up. Damn it, he was not ready for this.
"The last few millennia under Zeus have been trying times. Or so I have gathered from your complaints, I've been subjected to during that time as a demigod, running around doing the chores of the Olympians and trying to keep everything from falling apart. However, as you can see, Zeus is no more."
He paused for a bit, correctly predicting the crowds bursting into cheers.
He sighed mentally in relief. He knew there were other people loyal to Zeus besides Hera and Ares. Thankfully, being the General of the Olympian armies had its perks.
He could 'Stalin' any political enemies that might threaten his position.
You get it? Get it?
Unfortunately, Percy could not dwell on his mental joke for long, expected to continue with the boring-ass speech.
He spun words, empty promises like all, he wasn't sure if he would be able to live up to the high standards he had set himself. After all, the very definition of utopia is an ideal society that cannot exist, not even in Olympus. The gods themselves are flawed, less than men, what hope did they have?
Percy would try. Yes, he would try, but don't hold him accountable if everything comes crashing down in the end. Yes, he had ushered in the new era on Olympus, changing the old ways, but the only thing really in his control was the flawed democratic council he had set up. Even starting off, most of the power was with him, and Percy did not intend to change that anytime soon.
"And now, before Dionysus gets here with the party, and we can all enjoy, I would request you all to have some more minutes of patience." He spoke, reversing his grip on Anaklusmos to hold her in a proper position.
"Since a few gods have left us, leaving a few domains without supervision or completely vacant, I would like to extend an invitation for a few demigods to join us on Olympus, of course, with their permission."
"Firstly, to replace Zeus, I invite Thalia Grace, to take the helm as the Goddess of Thunder and Lightning. The strongest mortal lightning user, better than even some gods, the Greek world has ever seen. Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, Bane of the Titan Iapetus, the Giant Gration."
Was he wrong to expand his power in such a way?
Artemis looked on with pride as the Hunters whistled and cheered wildly for their lieutenant, even some minor gods and campers cheering for the daughter of Zeus.
Percy smiled as she looked up at him with wide eyes, too shocked to threaten him like she usually would, instead just nodding mutely.
"Now, hold still, this might hurt a bit," Artemis spoke softly as she descended from her throne as Thalia's patron, placing her hands on her head as the daughter of Zeus kneeled in front of the moon goddess. Percy sat back on his throne, joining the rest of Olympus watching as Thalia was given godhood by Artemis.
A golden glow surrounded the beautiful, partially immortal demigoddess, only adding to her looks as it turned pure white to show the might of lightning, her neon blue highlights disappearing to allow her dark raven hair, darker than the overcast night sky above, to reign free. Her pale skin seemed to glow silver as Artemis chanted in Ancient Greek, showing her loyalty to the moon goddess.
The clouds gathered above rumbled with thunder, as if welcoming its new mistress, as Artemis stepped back a few minutes later, allowing the entire population of Olympus to gaze at the new goddess.
Her normal punk attire was replaced by armour over a short, knee-length dress, her tiara on her brow and Aegis and her electric spear in her hands. A fitting image for a warrior goddess.
The smile on Percy's face only widened as she was welcomed back enthusiastically by the other Hunters sitting at the foot of Artemis' throne.
Next, Piper, Will and Nico. Piper became the goddess of marriage and family thanks to Aphrodite, Will was given the title of the Lord of the Skies by Apollo, while Hades made Nico a God of War, Ghosts and the Dead.
The joy of the gay couple as they were granted complete immortality, able to live with each other for eternity, was more than infectious.
Percy clicked his tongue. He had to take out Nico for a spin in the Dark Council sometime in the future. He would talk with Hades, he wanted to be the one to introduce Nico to their secret world.
He shot a small smile at Piper, who returned it giddily. Reyna would be offered godhood a few days later when the Romans would be told the news, at the Roman Camp. He would offer Frank and Hazel godhood, too. Of course, it was their decision, he wouldn't think any different of them in either case.
Leo denied his offered godhood, which Percy only laughed at. The son of Hephaestus never failed to one-up him. Something the Dark god respected. It would only suck that he would die one day, that Percy would never have a bromance as deep as the one he shared with the Latino elf lookalike.
Bromance was a part of LGBTQ, after all. The B stands for bromance, and even Athena can't convince Percy otherwise. Perhaps you're feeling confident enough to give it a try?
Percy respected Leo's wishes, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur, and even at midnight, the celebrations were going strong.
He sighed as he watched the people laugh and enjoy themselves, dancing and singing in the streets of Olympus, the sound of Asteria's singing filling the entire world.
The rain had stopped, cooling the night and filling the air with a fresh sweetness that rejuvenated everyone present.
Drinks were exchanged, inhibitions were lowered, and Percy had to struggle to keep overeager girls trying to thank him for getting rid of Zeus, away from him.
That's why he was here, on the outskirts of Olympus.
Percy looked down at his goblet- yes, he was a god now, they didn't use cups- swirling the wine inside. Although they had won today, he felt empty inside. Fighting didn't give him the gratification it used to. Well, it did, but the excitement did not linger. He supposed that was the price one had to pay to be the strongest, the best.
Sighing softly, he raised the goblet to his lips, taking a small sip as he looked out at the world below.
From this height, New York was just a glimmer of golden lights, like fireflies, evoking fond memories of the Big Apple in the Dark god.
"Hey, Percy."
Percy turned back, caught off guard by the soft voice, yet relaxing as soon as he caught a whiff of the undeniable scent.
"Hey, Artemis. What's cooking?" He fired back, turning back to stare out at New York, joined by the moon goddess.
"Nothing. I'm just happy." She whispered, leaning into Percy's chest as she stared out at the world.
Percy's heartbeat quickened as he felt her warmth, her lithe body nestled against his chest. She was wearing an off shoulders silver dress that clung to her curves, showing off her well-toned body. Her auburn hair was let down, flowing like a fiery waterfall that just added to her beauty, her pale skin almost glowing silver in the moonlight.
"If you're happy, why are you here?" Percy asked, wrapping an arm around her waist and squeezing her softly. The sound of the people merry-making reached his ears.
"Nothing, just came to find you." She turned to look up at him, her innocent silver eyes making Percy's voice catch in his throat. Fuck.
She smiled, a beautiful smile that deserved to be immortalized, captured in time. "Care for a dance?"
She laughed as she waltzed out of Percy's arms, teasingly sashaying her way back to the party, knowing Percy's eyes were locked onto her tight ass, accentuated by her dress.
Percy gulped, before a smile broke out on his lips at the moon goddess' antics.
Perhaps this was what he fought for.
It was something worth fighting for.
AN: Eh, I did not feel this chapter particularly, but I couldn't leave you hanging after last chapter. Whom should I do in the next chapter? Styx or Nemesis?
I have decided that the other Hunters like Ruby, Angela, Cathy and Sydney aren't getting chapters. I don't feel like writing so much, and no one cares about OC's anyway. I will have to keep that in mind before I start writing the next Perhunt story, whenever that is. Cynthia will have a threesome with Nemesis, and the Little Big Three will have their own five chapters, but other than that, that's that.
Now, I can get to play FIFA.
Okay, now that that's out of the way...
Keep calm and headbang!