Authors Note: To be honest, I'm still contemplating to change that Percy and Ares interaction during the fight scene in the last chapter cause I still can't get over the fact that it feels weird, like I don't know. On one hand I feel it's unnecessary, on the other I think it's cool but executed badly.
Chapter 10: A council meeting of sorts
For the first time in his immortal life, Ares was worried. And that was easy when it involved his protégé/ Pseudo-brother. One minute, he was doing a hell of a scary impression that would probably make his father cower in fear and give Hades a run for hi money, and that guy had a lot. Then next, he caused an earthquake that could rival Poseidon's when he was just getting the hang of it. And speaking of Poseidon, Ares knew very well who Zeus was going to blame for the earthquake.
Stepping into the throne room, the group of four were greeted by the sight of a fuming Zeus who was pacing around the room, Demeter who looked a bit green and was cleaning her scythe that was covered by something that looked suspiciously like blood, and a worried looking Hestia who immediately rushed for her son. After giving the twins a hug, she grasped Ares's arm, worry and confusion in her eyes.
"Thank the Fates no one was hurt, but what even happened back in the arena?! Zeus was just flashed here signaling an emergency meeting and won't even budge when I asked him about it." Hestia angrily stated.
"I'll tell you what's going on!" Zeus shouted. "My idiot of a brother for some reason caused an earthquake in the arena where my kids were! Oh, and speaking of my kids, are you two fine?" Zeus asked the twins who gave him nods of confirmation. "That's good then, I'm glad."
"I was there as well you know." Ares said bitterly but Zeus didn't hear him as his attention was now focused on the man sitting on a throne to his right.
"YOU! What in my father's name was that stunt you pulled a few minutes ago!" Zeus asked Poseidon as he had a look of bewilderment on his face. "Stunt?" Poseidon asked. At that moment however, the cushioned seat burst open releasing a nauseating smell, and making Demeter groan.
"At least I wasn't the only one to suffer." she muttered she watched Zeus dispatch the smell with his wind powers.
"Take better care of your...accidents. Now, don't you dare start fibbing. An earthquake took place in the main arena on Olympus, and the only person who can cause earthquakes is you!" Zeus answered back. The other gods also started appearing in the throne room as well, and were greeted by the same stench like Poseidon.
"Oh for the love of- What did you'll eat for lunch?! Zeus cried out as he started clearing the air again, not noticing the discrete fist bump, and a sigh coming from Hestia. Zeus then rounded back at Poseidon who had a look of fury on his face.
"Don't accuse me of matters I had no part in. While I can cause earthquakes, I would have to be in that location or the area has to be bordering a water body. And last I checked, Olympus is not surrounded by a water body as we are right at the top! And I wasn't even on Olympus for crying out loud, I was outside my palace trying to..." At this point Poseidon had already trailed off his rant, a prominent blush now on his face replacing his look of outrage, which of course didn't go unnoticed by the other Olympians who were watching the argument with bated breaths.
Demeter broke the silence with a smirk on her face. "Well go on, you were trying to...?" she asked.
"It's not important." Poseidon muttered as he glared at his sister. "What's important is that I didn't cause or sense any earthquakes today."
"Because you were in a...good mood?" Demeter asked, grinning.
"Alright, back to the meeting you two." Zeus said grumbling. "And...uh, sorry."
"Forrrrrr." Poseidon said smugly.
"For blaming you." Zeus said quickly.
"Blaming me what."
"For blaming you unnecessarily, now can we drop this!" Zeus cried out, plopping back on his throne, and was soon introduced to a familiar stench. Cursing and grumbling, he once again had to clear the air as he listened to the various snickers around the room. He then relaxed, only to immediately get up making everyone jump.
"So if it wasn't Poseidon...then it must be an enemy! Someone must have caused the earthquake in order to try and injure those in the arena, maybe because my new godly children were there, and Perseus of course, his origins is still very much unknown to almost everyone. Or..." Zeus said trailing off, and pointed a finger at Hera. "It was you!" he cried out.
Hera just stared blankly at her husband. "And why may I ask will I do such a thing." she asked.
"Because Artemis and Apollo were there!" Zeus replied.
Hera just glanced at the twins, a look of disdain momentarily flashing across her face. "A valid point. But you forgot that my son and favorite nephew were there as well. And do you want me to call the Fates over so that they can lecture their father once again about my powers and domains. And even if I can cause earthquakes, Poseidon would have sensed it as he is the main holder of that domain and can sense if someone else causes it. So stop being such an airhead and sit back on your throne." Hera stated, a look of triumph on her face.
"Oh." Zeus said, his shoulders slumped as he was proven wrong. But he immediately straightened up, a hard look in his eyes. "Then it must be an enemy! We have to find that immortal, who knows wha-"
"Uncle Zeus!" Perseus called out, immediately stopping Zeus from going on another rant. "Aunt Hera already mentioned that Poseidon could sense earthquakes and he said nothing like that happened. And I was the one who caused it!"
The revelation left every single person in the room except for the twins and Ares, staring at Perseus in shock.
"Wh-wha-what? Bu-but...Po-Poseidon...se-sense...couldn't..." Zeus stammered out.
"I was sparring with Ares when I, uh, made him crash down on the ground. But the spear I was holding suddenly vibrated and broke. After that I fainted but woke up soon enough. I was told then only that I had caused an earthquake." Perseus said, guilt written all over his face.
"Is this true Ares?" Hestia asked, shocked on hearing that her son was the cause.
"Yep. Kid destroyed half the stands and caused three fissures to grow out. I'm not an architecture expert but some serious repairs are definitely needed for the arena." He replied.
"But this doesn't make any sense?!" Athena cried out. "Like Hera said, Poseidon should have sensed it, but he didn't. And an earthquake definitely happened, look." she said, showing everyone present the live image of the arena. "So how did this get unnoticed by Poseidon, is it because it happened in Olympus? Like this area is out of his jurisdiction?"
"That could be possible, but we don't have enough proof if that theory is correct." Artemis said aloud, making everyone focus on what she had to say. "I may have been born like a month ago but it's fair to say that Olympus has never faced any "natural" disasters, with this earthquake being the first case, right?"
"Th-that is correct daughter." Zeus said, still rattled from Perseus's admission. "But what I can't understand is that, how did Perseus even cause an earthquake in the first place." he asked, only to be met by unsure looks, even from his daughter.
"Well...that power can't be from Nyx. That's obviously out of the question. Perseus's father is still unknown though..." Demeter said.
Hera sighed. "There is no point in theorizing, none of us would be able to form a concrete answer. For all we know, the father could be some unknown god who faded before any of us were even born. Plus, it's not farfetched for gods to share domains. Ares and Athena both have warfare under their belt and Perseus is probably going to get shadows alongside Hades. Though I'm pretty sure for Perseus, it will be a major domain."
Zeus sighed. "Well, we at least know another power of his, about time if you ask me. Anyway, Perseus, this power must also be controlled and mastered by you properly. Can't have any other accidents happening anytime soon, or later. Poseidon, I trust that you would make sure to oversee young Perseus's training, is that correct?"
Poseidon nodded. "Of course. I can take Perseus to that continent below us to practice, or in that trench in the far east. They will be suitable locations to try out these earthquakes. And I will of course oversea them." he said chuckling. Seeing that no one was following suite, he pouted. "Get it? Oversee but the see is- oh come on it's funny right?"
Perseus grinned. "Don't you mean punny, Uncle?"
Poseidon had a full blown gin on his face. "Sea! My own nephew gets it, I think me and him are going to be just fine." he said, pointedly ignoring the groans that followed.
"Looks like I will have to call Hades and tell him that there will be a change in schedule. Poseidon, will you be fine with Wednesday or-" Hestia said, only to be interrupted by a high pitched shout coming from Ares.
"Oh nonnonono. He is not going to that- to him down there. No way, as his trainer I forbid it on grounds of...uh...training purposes!" Ares cried out, much to the confusion of the other Olympians.
"...Why?" Hestia said frowning.
"Because Percy did something freaky to Ares which made him lose." Apollo said grinning.
"What exactly?" Hestia asked Perseus, who was finding the ceiling very interesting. She sighed. "I'll be anyways discussing the schedule with my brother; I'll ask him then only. Poseidon, you tell me what days you are free and I'll coordinate with you later."
"So...is there anything someone would like to say so that this emergency meeting can have some meaning?" Zeus asked awkwardly, knowing full weel a normal summon would have worked as well.
"Actually, I have something to announce, not an emergency but something wonderful." Hera said, a bit nervously. Composing herself, she looked at the other gods, rested a hand on her stomach and smiled. "I...am actually now...pregnant."
Another stunned silence filled the room, which was broken by an excited squeal from Hestia who rushed across the room and gave her sister a big hug. "Oh that is wonderful news. My congratulations to the both of you."
Zeus immediately broke out of his shock when Hestia addressed him. "Thank you, sister. This is wonderful news Hera, truly! I can't believe you are pregnant again; we're going to have another child!" He said smiling happily though it faltered a bit when he noticed that Hera wasn't paying attention to him.
"Oh I wouldn't give Zeus any congratulations. After all, he didn't help of course with the...uh, baby-making you can say." Hera told Hestia.
Another round of silence graced the throne room, which was broken by Zeus this time, who was surrounded with electricity, rage burning in his eyes.
"YOU HAD ANOTHER MAN BEHIND MY BACK?! HOW DARE YOU WHEN I-"
"Oh please, LOOK WHO'S TALKING! My husband, who goes behind my back and dates numerous other women, has children with them, and is shocked to find out that I did it as well!" Hera cried out, cutting off Zeus's impending tirade.
"And for your information, I DIDN'T take another man for my child, I'm better than that, better than you! I have created and will carry this child all by myself, no need of help from you whatsoever! And I swear on the river Styx on this." Hera said, thunder rumbling outside sealing her oath.
A few moments later, seeing that nothing outwordly had happened to her wife, Zeus calmed down but had a look of confusion, and a bit of hurt, on his face. "But...why, I mean how?! There's honestly no way that can happen so..." he trailed off, when a look of realization set in his eyes. "You actually...did it. I can't believe you actually managed to do it." he whispered.
Hera merely shrugged. "Honestly, I'm a bit surprised as well, but then again, I do have the domain of motherhood, passed down to me by my mother. I'll be taking my leave now." she said getting up, only to turn back at her husband, giving him a hateful glare. "Never expect me to go after another man, ever. Sadly, you can't say the same for me." and she flashed off with a bright light.
Zeus sighed and flashed away as well. The other gods followed suite as well. Ares gave the kid trio a nod and flashed away while Poseidon remained behind.
"Sooo, who was the mastermind behind those smelly cushions." Poseidon asked.
Perseus and Apollo both looked at each other and grinned. "It was Artemis." they said.
Artemis, who was ignoring the two, whipped her head in their direction. "Wait, me?! But I'm not even a part of your prank group."
"True, but you gave us the idea for them when you mentioned yesterday how you wanted to know how the stink arrows were made. Which we found out was basically a hard shell that contained smelly gas. We just collected the air in large balloons, mom also helped us and you got yourselves fart cushions!" Perseus said.
Artemis had a slight smile on her face on hearing this. "So I can do pranks." she thought aloud.
"Does this mean you can finally join our group?" Apollo asked. Artemis just shook her head fondly. "I'll think about it." she said but then frowned.
"I know I shouldn't really say this with Zeus my father and Hera being...Hera. I'm glad she has found a way to one-up him, even though I find it kind of weird."
"Yeah, don't you need like a guy and a girl to make a baby? Or a girl can make the baby by itself. Or is it a goddess thing? I'm confused." Perseus said.
"Does he still not know how it's done?!" Poseidon asked Hestia who put her hands on her face while shaking her head. "When he's older, brother. He's still a child."
"You always say 'when I'm older'. How old do I even have to be to know?" Perseus said.
"Aww, is wittle Percy sad he doesn't know how babies are made." Apollo said with a teasing tone.
"As if you know." Perseus said bitterly. When he saw that the smirk still remained on Apollo's face, his eyes widened. "You know?!" he cried out.
"On the fourth day after I was born. I just asked mother and she told me." Apollo said grinning. Perseus looked at Artemis who merely shrugged. "I mean, I helped deliver my own brother, so I already had known the basic knowledge and everything."
"Oh man." Perseus said.
"Well as much as I would love to stick around and torture my nephew, I need to take my leave. See you soon Perseus, we'll have a shaking good time. Get it, cause during earthquakes everything, you know what I don't have to explain, you guys are smart enough to figure it out. Later." Poseidon said giving a final wave.
"Good luck with Amphitrite, Poseidon." Hestia said, smiling as she saw her brother stumble on his own feet. "What?! How did you..." Poseidon asked trailing his question as Hestia gestured towards her hearth. "I see everything of course."
"Oh come on, is there no privacy now! I don't want to end up like my nephew so I'm going to leave." Poseidon said, giving one last glare at his sister as he disappeared into sea mist.
"Now, tell me Perseus. What was Ares talking about that had him freaked out?" Hestia asked wondering if it was another prank, only to be filled with dread as her son once again was not meeting her eyes while the twins behind him each had a sympathetic looks on their faces as they wished him good luck.
Poor Zeus, first his nephew gets an unconventional power and then his wife has a baby without him. I'm sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous two ones, the next one will definitely be BIG! Because it correlates with an announcement, I will make on Saturday. Nothing bad or anything but I can't tell you guys now cause still finalizing stuff. Also, with regards to the AN above, I've changed some stuff up, not too much but just enough to like help get the dialogue flowing smoothly in chapter 9. Chapter 8 also got updated text and lore, during the first scene so please check that out so you'll won't get confused during future chapters. A big shoutout to LostHouse and KitKathy520 for their help with Ch. 9's scene, also it will be awesome if you guys check out their stories as well. They also do Pertemis too. Also I blame you guys in the discord server, especially Lost for filling my head with puns so that I can write it down here. Other than that, nothing else to inform so I'll be seeing you guys on Saturday, Bye!...\/