It was a cold Winter Solstice on Olympus, in the early 1990s. The Gods were celebrating the multiple millennia anniversary of Zeus and Hera's wedding. As it was the Winter Solstice, Hades was also present with his family, as was Poseidon's, for the special occasion. Before the celebrations could begin, the Gods met in the council hall for the annual meeting.
The meeting had been largely uneventful. The junior Olympians were zoned out while Zeus carried out his usual speeches. Demeter was more focused on Persephone, as this was the only time during this half of the year she could see her. Hestia watched from the hearth carefully at Hera. Hades, annoyed at both Demeter and bored with Zeus' speech, looked at his younger brother Poseidon, who was sharing a similar bored face. Apollo was getting incredibly impatient that he was about to spout a haiku about the futilities of letting a thunder god speak, before finally, Zeus finished droning on and concluded:
"That should be all unless anyone else has something to add?"
The fires of the hearth cracked, and the sound echoed across the room.
Hera stood up and faced her husband.
"Zeus, I know what you have done." Anger flashed across her face.
"What are you talking about?"
"You have broken your oath!"
Gasps were heard across the room. Athena and Artemis facepalmed, while Poseidon stood up, gripping his trident tightly.
"Is this true brother?"
"It's none of your business!" Zeus barked back.
Hades watched on from his temporary seat, frowning his brow.
"None of my business? The three of us swore an oath!" Poseidon pointed his trident towards his brother. "What will you do to pay your transgression!"
Zeus sighed and his face fell into his palms. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.
"I want to speak with my wife alone, everyone please leave and enjoy the festival."
Hades then stood up, linked arms with Persephone and walked outside while the rest of the chamber looked on in disbelief.
"We're not done yet Zeus, you must atone for what you've done!" Poseidon had not moved.
Zeus became so red faced he was about to burst. But before he could say anything, he was silenced.
"I will deal with him Poseidon, leave."
After Hera said those words, Poseidon left along with the rest of the chamber audience and council members. Before Hera closed the doors, Poseidon stood in the way.
"Sister, you better not be letting him off easy."
"Trust me, I'm not."
The door then closed and Poseidon walked down the mountain to join the celebrations.
As Poseidon reached the main plaza hosting the Winter Solstice celebrations, he noticed Hades sipping some wine with Persephone. Part of him wanted to go find Amphitrite and likewise savour some Dionysian wine. Triton then approached him.
"Father, what should we do about this injustice Zeus has done to you, he has insulted your oath!"
Poseidon sighed.
"There's not much we can do right now, for years however our rivalry has worsened, and I feel that I'm almost at the edge of it." Poseidon stared at the prongs of his Trident and slowly twirled it. "For now, we must wait and see what Hera has in store for him before we take any action."
Triton nodded before Hades and Persephone approached the father and son.
"Well, wasn't that good, I've not seen father that upset in a while!" Persephone giggled.
Hades said nothing and brooded.
"Son, go take Persephone to your mother and let them chat for a while, I need to talk with my brother."
"As you wish father." As Triton left with Persephone, Hades made sure that he wouldn't let Demeter go anywhere near her in case she tried to kidnap her back again.
"So brother, what do you want to talk about after all these years?"
"Don't you want to discuss what has happened?" Poseidon asked puzzlingly.
"No."
Hades took a large sip of Dionysian wine.
"Why should I further involve myself when my family no longer cares. I only attend this massive waste of time to listen to thunderbolts out of obligation and for my wife to visit her mother."
Poseidon frowned.
"Surely I have-"
"You have? You don't understand what it's like to be practically forced to live in a literal hell hole, ostracised by the rest of the world, dealing with the multitude of problems managing the dead requires. You have done nothing, to earn my cooperation. I will not help you in your war against Zeus."
"I am not declaring war on Zeus" Poseidon replied bluntly, before smiling. "If I recall, Zeus murdered your last mortal lover not long after the oath was made, surely you still harbour some… resentment? We could respond in kind to your terrible misfortunate all those years ago as revenge."
This comment gave Hades some pause, if anything, Hades would always harbour a grudge and Poseidon knew this. Hades was about to respond when Apollo approached them. He was obviously divinely drunk with Dionysian Wine and probably too much Ambrosia, and was carrying two bottles of it.
"Uncles! Have you been enjoying the Solstice!"
Hades was visibly annoyed by his presence, so Poseidon responded:
"Yes Apollo, what do you want? Don't you have some nymphs to chase?"
"Ha! You're absolutely correct, I bet you wish you could do the same! If only you didn't have that oath you made."
This made Hades mad enough to break the glass he was holding. This startled Apollo that he dropped one of his bottles, breaking on the marble floor. Apollo then seemed to sober up a bit as a reaction to Hades' outburst.
"Sorry Uncle, I forgot about what happened earlier tonight."
"It's okay Apollo, it's not your fault after all." Poseidon sighed while Hades softened his anger.
After a brief period of silence, Apollo took a swig from his remaining bottle.
"You know, Hermes and I have been planning a prank for a while now, but we don't have a victim yet." Apollo smirked. Hades lifted an eyebrow while Poseidon facepalmed.
"Apollo, do you and Hermes really have to continue these juvenile pranks? You're many millennia old now."
"You're no one to talk Uncle Poseidon, out of anyone you shouldn't be dismissing someone for being set in their ways." Apollo laughed.
Hades normally would've agreed with this statement, but something in Poseidon's reaction made him realise something, for Poseidon's face had gone stone cold and white.
"You've broken the oath too haven't you, you hypocrite."
Poseidon's eyes became mixed with anger and fear.
"No! But… I have met a mortal."
Hades sighed.
"Do her and yourself a favour: leave her. Do it before it's too late and he finds out. Or I do."
Poseidon was visibly distraught, but he lowered his head.
"Very well, I'll stop visiting her. You're right, it's for the best." A tear was produced from his left eye.
Hades laid his hands on shoulders.
"I know what it's like to lose the one you love, I'm glad that you were honest, but you cannot have a child with this mortal, it will only bring about great sadness and loss. It's why I have not just done this oath between us brothers, I have in fact made an oath on the Sytx to never have children with mortals again."
The sky rumbled, and Apollo and Poseidon's mouths dropped.
"No way uncle, are you serious?"
"Yes Apollo, unlike you I've learnt that it's better to love one person, I've decided to focus on Persephone instead of being what your sister would call a 'man-whore', I believe that is what she called you once."
"I bet Hera would like to hear that," Poseidon chuckled.
Apollo frowned at Hades using his twin sister's description of himself, but then he lighted up.
"Actually, speaking of Hera, me and Hermes were thinking of her being the target of our prank."
"Oh, not again with this pranking nonsense," Hades groaned.
"No, you don't understand uncle," Apollo shook his head. "As I said earlier, we were having trouble thinking of a target, Hera was our default due to how annoying she has been to the two of us, you know, being sons of her husband with other women."
"Yes, yes, get to the point Apollo," Poseidon said with annoyance.
Apollo smiled.
"Ok, so after what happened today I thought, how about I get you guys to join in, and we prank Zeus. That way Hermes and I get our fun, and you two get back at my father."
Poseidon and Hades shared a look. Poseidon thought about the time he helped Hera and Athena trap Zeus, that was pretty funny. Hades was bewildered, but then he looked back at Apollo.
"Okay, we'll help."
The trio were walking back up Olympus towards the council hall at it's peak. The door to the council hall was still closed.
Apollo gestured for them to stop, and a few seconds later Hermes appeared, who was then startled by the appearance of Hades and Poseidon.
"What are they doing here?"
"Don't worry about it Hermes, I decided on who we're going to use the you know what on, and these two agreed with to help us."
Hermes looked nervous at the suggestion.
"I don't know Apollo, I thought it was just going to be us two, can we trust them?"
Poseidon cleared his throat.
"What is this 'you know what' Apollo?"
Hermes and Apollo snickered.
"I'm glad you asked Uncle, while I was doing my normal delivery services, eventually I had a job for Grandmother."
The other three gods eye's widened.
"Mother?"
"You didn't tell me that you got it from Grandma?"
Hermes nodded.
"Yes, I won't disclose the job due to Hermes Express's privacy policy, but when I came to her to collect payment, she offered to give me this instead of drachmas."
Hermes held up a phial of a foreign, wine like substance, the bottle had a label on it which said: Metis' Original Godly Wine, Golden Age Vintage.
Hades and Poseidon were confused for a second before they realised what is was that Hermes and Apollo had come into possession of.
"Is that some leftover wine that Metis made for Zeus to… oh god…." Poseidon moved his hands to his temples while Hades' face became that of disgust.
"Sorry Uncles, I didn't want to bring up some bad memories heh." Hermes said nervously.
"Anyway, so this is my plan. Why don't we give Zeus a taste of his own medicine (wink, wink) for once." Apollo grinned. "After Hera finishes chewing him out, we'll go in there and cheer him up by giving him alcohol, I'll serve him this disguised as Dionysian Wine and soon after he'll be barfing up all over the Council Room floor!"
Poseidon was about to refute but Hades stopped him.
"Lets do it."
The two younger gods started giggling, Hermes summoned some alcohol and poured the contents of the wine mixed in with the mustard. Just as it was decided, Hera opened the doors, she saw the four standing in front.
"What are you four up to?"
"N-nothing!" Apollo stammered.
Hera raised an eyebrow, while Hermes quickly summoned extra alcohol in the hands of the other three.
"We're going to cheer father up after your brutal handling of him!"
Hera snorted and snapped her fingers, flashing away.
"Apollo, next time don't try to lie when everyone knows you can't, you're lucky Hera couldn't be fucked." Hades said.
"Please, let us not get into an argument and get this over with." Poseidon sighed.
The four gods entered the council room. It was empty except for Zeus sitting on his throne very decrepitly. Apollo walked up to him.
"Father, are you feeling alright?"
"Leave me alone." Zeus dismissed.
Hermes approached the throne cup in hand.
"We thought that we would cheer you up with some drink." Hermes lifted the cup towards the throne, Zeus carefully grabbed it.
"Very well, I suppose I wasn't able to give the Winter Solstice toast, and drinking some of Dionysius' wine would make me feel better, thank you." Zeus raised his chalice. Seemingly too depressed to get Ganymede to check, the prank was practically set.
"For Olympus," Zeus said solemnly.
"For Olympus," everyone replied.
Everyone took a sip of their wine, after drinking the four pranksters looked at Zeus impatiently and nervously, as nothing had happened yet.
"What? Is there something one my face?" Zeus said confused. But before anyone could reply, suddenly he started to cough, knocking him back in his throne violently. He then struggled to breathe, grasping at his throat as his face went green. The dramatics all ended as he started to vomit everywhere.
"BLEEEEEEEHHHHHHH"
Hades snickered, Poseidon had a deep haughty laugh while the two sons of Zeus were in complete hysterics.
Zeus was still struggling to breathe while vomiting intermediately. "This isn't funny you fools! COUGH COUGH."
Apollo was laughing so much he turned his godly aura shone golden, lighting up the room, which only disoriented Zeus further.
"HERMES WHAT DID YOU GIVE ME BLURHRHG"
"I-I gave you mustard with wine, just like you did to grandfather!"
Zeus' eyes widened.
"YOU IDIOT, DON'T YOU REALISE WHAT YOU'VE DONE-BLEEHHHHH," Zeus let out his largest vomit yet. The vomit was so massive that his head was knocked back from the force, which hit against the back of his throne and made him unconscious.
"Holy Hera I think father got knocked out cold," Hermes laughed.
The others followed along, however Hades noticed something large moving amongst the pile of bile.
"There's something moving there."
He had eaten someone just like Kronos? Hermes thought as the body began to move more violently.
A woman's weak voice could heard from the mess as she struggled to stand up, she was clearly pregnant. Apollo approached her to give her a hand up.
"What's your name miss, did Zeus eat you after laying with you or something? I didn't know he was into something that kinky."
Poseidon's eyes widened when he realised who it was that was standing before them. He sprayed some water to clean her of the bile and then dried her immediately afterwards.
The woman was tall and beautiful, with brown hair and grey eyes, and wore a pure white heplos. She looked like a clone of Athena, this immediately alarmed Hades as he too realised who this was.
"Who are you?" Hermes asked.
"My name is Metis, the Titaness of Wisdom, and that bastard," she pointed at Zeus' unconscious body sitting uncomfortably on his throne, "Is my husband."
"What are you talking about, Hera is Zeus' husband." Hermes replied.
"HERA?" She screeched.
Apollo's mind started buzzing immediately as the name Metis left her mouth. His eyes flashed golden as he recalled the prophecy.
Gaia had cursed Zeus and the Olympians after the end of the First Titanomachy, that the offspring of Metis would be wiser than their father, and that like how Zeus had overthrown his father, his son would overthrow him. Just as Kronus had overthrown his father Ouranos. It was thought that with the birth of Athena and Zeus' trick to consume Metis while she was transformed as a fly, the prophecy was completed.
Apollo's mouth dropped when he noticed her round belly, she was in fact still pregnant with presumably, another child of Zeus.
"We'll explain everything that's happened, right now we need to get you out of here before anyone else notices what's happened." Poseidon told Metis.
"Hermes, get our wives and meet us in Central Park. Apollo you clean up this mess and then follow us there." Hades barked.
The gods agreed and flashed out.
Hades, Poseidon, Persephone, Amphitrite, Triton, Apollo, Hermes and Metis hid under a grove of trees in Central Park.
"Why have you brought us here Hermes… Metis is that you?" Amphitrite couldn't believe it.
"Yes sister it is I," Metis began to tear up. The two hugged and started to cry. The others watched on with smiles on their faces at the reunion between two long lost siblings, the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys.
An empty firepit nearby came alight all of a sudden, and a godly figure flashed in. It was Hestia.
"Brothers, I noticed an unusual amount of homely energy, what is it that you two are doing… Metis?"
Metis turned to look at Hestia and hugged her. "It's good to see you."
"Ahem," Poseidon cleared his throat. "I don't want to stop this reunion short, but we're in a dangerous situation right now, we need to think carefully what we will do from now."
"Poseidon, think of your wife and her sister!" Persephone exclaimed.
"No," said Metis. "He is right, in fact you don't fully understand the situation. I am fading."
The gods gasped.
"Millenia being slowly digested within Zeus has degraded my godly energy, he has absorbed my power to the point that even though I have now escaped, I will not live long now. I have spent all my remaining energy keeping my child alive." Metis rubbed her belly. Hestia grabbed her hands.
"We will not abandon you before you pass on, there's something we can do too, we can help you give birth so your child can live and protect them until they become an adult god."
Metis looked to her sister.
"Amphitrite, can you raise my child as your own?"
"Of course, I will happily do it."
"I won't accept bringing in Zeus' spawn inside of Atlantis!" Poseidon said grumpily.
Hades put his hand on his shoulder and whispered.
"Remember what we talked about earlier? Just accept it, it's for the best."
"Alright, we'll raise him." Poseidon sighed.
Amphitrite gleamed at his answer and began rubbing Metis' belly to feel her future son. Metis however wasn't fully pleased at how it took some convincing for Poseidon.
"Don't worry Metis, I'll knock some sense into Poseidon, and I reckon he'll warm up to it eventually." Hestia said smiling. "Think of it this way Poseidon, you can raise Athena's sibling yourself without her input!" This cheered Poseidon up.
"Who's Athena?"
This was a conversation they were not ready to make. Luckily for the others, Hestia volunteered herself.
"Athena is your daughter, she escaped Zeus by creating loud noises with her spear and shield up in his brain to the point that he got her surgically removed."
"Ah, I knew my children would be so smart, I wish I'd thought of that. Why isn't she here?"
"Um, it's probably not very wise to involve Athena, we don't know if she's trustworthy," Apollo said.
This made Metis very visibly depressed.
"I wish I could meet her, before I'm gone."
Hermes pulled out a camera.
"Why don't we record a message for her then, so that when the time is right, you can say what you wish."
"Okay, where's a scroll and quill?" Everyone snickered.
"This is a camera, it will take multiple pictures and record your voice, so Athena will be able to watch it as many times as she wants and see and hear you talk."
"Wow, the future is amazing." Hermes gestured to move to a more private location, and they both walked up. The others remained around Hestia's fire. Apollo then spoke first.
"We're walking a very thin and dangerous line here, I have no idea what this will mean prophecy wise, if Athena was actually here, I would honestly believe she would stab her own mother right in the stomach and kill her own sibling."
"We won't kill the child," Hestia said. "Can you repeat the prophecy for those who do not remember Apollo?"
"Sure. It was foretold that the offspring of Metis are to be smarter than their own father, which is why Athena is always such a smartass," Poseidon snickered at Apollo's comment. "Anyway, the prophecy is very specific, it says that the son of Zeus and Metis will destroy Olympus and usurp Zeus' throne as king of the gods."
Everyone was silent.
"Father, are you sure we should be bringing Metis and her child to Atlantis, what if it's a son?" Triton asked nervously.
Poseidon pondered for a moment before deciding.
"There's nowhere else for the child to go, the child couldn't live in the underworld with Hades and Persephone, at least with us they'll be safe from Zeus' eyes and will be surrounded by their actual family. Unfortunately, even if we were to say no, it's too risky to send him anywhere else."
"You're not just doing this for the opportunity to finally remove Zeus are you brother?" Hades murmured.
"Perhaps that is part of it, I am honestly fed up with Zeus, he ate his own wife because of his paranoia. Quite honestly after all these years I'm sick with him bullying everyone around him. If you asked me this before today, I probably would've said otherwise, but breaking his oath with us was the last straw."
"That reminds me," Apollo interrupted. "Zeus has broken his oath and has sired a demigod child of the eldest gods, the Great Prophecy of the Delphic Oracle that was given at the end of World War 2 has begun. These are very dangerous times for a newborn god, they must be kept under watch lest they fall under the influence of the enemy."
"Do not worry about it Apollo, I already plan to kill Zeus' spawn as revenge for his attempted murder of mine." Hades said grimly. "That way we won't have to worry about two world ending prophecies."
Apollo shook his head.
"If my sister is the child of the prophecy, you won't be able to prevent it by attempting to kill her, she will reach the age of 16."
Hades rolled his eyes and started to comfort his wife from the cold by holding her. Eventually Hermes and Metis returned. Metis was gloomy, but she gathered the courage to speak.
"Now that is over, we should move out before anyone notices."
Poseidon nodded.
"Metis and my family will go to the Royal Ward of the Atlantic Hospital, so she can give a divine birth in secret before she fades."
"I want to see the child though!" The sons of Zeus said in unison.
"No Hermes and Apollo, you cannot. It would be suspicious if I invited you to my realm only for you to enter the hospital and not my Palace."
"Yes, this group should meet again after the child is born to further discuss what we shall do from here, perhaps at my palace in the Underworld?" Hades suggested.
The group agreed with various nods and other signs of affirming.
"Lastly, we should all swear on the Styx to never mention what happened here to anyone else." Hestia said in a hushed voice.
After they swore their oaths, the sky rumbled, and they quickly flashed off to where they needed to be.
The Poseidon household arrived in the royal ward, where Metis was laid on the bed. The Royal Doctor went to work, and with Amphitrite by her sister's side, she was able to push the baby out after much effort.
"What is it?" Poseidon asked nervously.
"It's a boy! Congratulations your highness."
"I'm not the Queen of the Gods anymore, do not address me as such, hand over my son." Metis replied annoyedly.
Holding the newborn in her arms she began kissing his head, his eyes were a stormy blue ringed with grey.
"His name is Perseus."
"The Destroyer…" Triton said softly.
Metis slowly handed her son over to Amphitrite, crying as she did.
"W-well, I am spent. Goodbye, everyone. Look after him."
And with that, she faded, only leaving behind her heplos dress.
