Whatever you recognize from Blood of Olympus is not mine, it's Rick's. Expect a lot more updates now that I'm finished with Butcher.

"And your siblings?"

This was a question that was painful for Nyx to make. Not having control of her own children was a full-blown to her pride, and that soured her mood immensely.

"I don't have contact with them," Lyssa stated. "And some of them are undoubtedly suffering from the schism."

"Like Nemesis?" Erebus asked, placing his elbows on the table. Nyx wasn't sure if she was all too satisfied with his presence at the ship, if at all. Even weirder was his presence at this meeting. The demigod seemed more cautious than ever as they were graced with the presence of one goddess and two primordials. It was a ticking bomb ready to go off.

"No," Jason spoke with difficulty. Even with Nyx's healing, it was clear that the wound would need much more time to fix itself. "Leo has a... history, you could say, with Nemesis. She isn't really affected by the conflict."

"I would not expect her to be." Nyx pompously gloated. "She, like all my children, is above divine squabbling."

"Yes, yes, we get it." Erebus interrupted, earning a pointed glare from his wife. It was hard for Nyx to keep being composed and mature with him around. Just his presence was enough to set her nerves on fire. While last night's conversation had been... fruitful, in terms of cooling the tensions, it was still extremely difficult to just get along with things with him around. "Who else could be useful?" He asked Lyssa, who straightened out.

"Again, I don't have contact with them, but I have met Momos and Apate recently. They're only interested in neutrality."

"What about the children at the Mansion?" The primordial of Darkness questioned Nyx.

"They're under Hecate's guidance, for as long as the Mansion of Night stands in the Pit, the less power we have."

"How?" Annabeth was the one to ask. She had been quite quiet until now. "Is it your symbol of power or something like that?"

"More or less." Nyx pursed her lips, staring at Annabeth's grey orbs. "But it isn't ideal for my brother to be targeting it, and that is why a line of defense is needed in case he and his forces breach the protections."

Erebus snorted near Piper, who seemed incredibly uncomfortable around the primordial. "So you're just waiting to throw your – or should I say, our children into the frontline if something goes wrong?"

Meeting Erebus's gaze, with eyes that most of all resembled the abyss itself, Nyx couldn't help but almost growl at her husband. "That is not the case. In fact, they are helping in maintaining the defenses, ancient spells that can hold him, even if for a limited amount of time. And all we need is time."

Piper shifted in her seat. "And when the Mansion is moved away from there. What happens then?"

"First, my powerbase will be secure." Nyx began to explain. "And second, the power I gave Hecate to perform this task will be returned to me. At the moment, I do not match the full extent of my abilities."

"Something that will be overcome in time." Erebus stated to the daughter of Aphrodite, who quickly nodded. Suddenly, however, noise could be heard from upstairs. Lots of it.

"They have arrived." Nyx announced.

"Either that or we're being attacked." Jason suggested.

"No, it's definitely then," Annabeth said as muffled voices could be heard from above. "Should we go?"

"Yes." Nyx nodded. "I'll join you shortly."

"We." Erebus corrected as Jason, Piper, and Annabeth all went upstairs, leaving the three deities at the table.

"Am I free to go?" Lyssa asked nervously.

"You will be in a minute." Night responded. "But I need you to contact Hecate. We must be aware of her progress. Since I'm still standing, it is unlikely the mansion fell, but still."

Lyssa sighed. "Alright, I will do that. You can't use an Iris message, right?"

"They don't work down there." Erebus bluntly stated.

"Fine," Lyssa responded in kind. "If you excuse me, I'm out." Getting up from her chair, Lyssa bowed respectfully towards Nyx, while only giving Erebus a small nod before she jumped into a nearby shadow.

"Why are you two so antagonistic?" Nyx wasn't able to comprehend the relationship between her husband and daughter. They were never on the best terms in the past, yes but this was another level of animosity.

"She decided a few centuries ago that she wanted to live a normal life," He began. "So, I act as a cover-up for her, so the Olympians or Fates don't catch up to what she's doing. But she gets on my nerves a lot.

"Well, maybe you should have more patience." Night said, looking at Erebus with distrust, despite his actions last night. It was incredibly weird for her husband to look only a few years older than Percy or Jason, but for her to look like she is in her forties.

"So should you," Erebus said. "And you should stop glaring so much at me every time I open my mouth, Star."

...

Roughly a month had passed since she had moved to their new wonderful place, and Nyx was still in ecstasy with how good it was. Everything was going... just fine, really. With all of them, for the most part. Gaia would have another child, her 5th already, which made Nyx really question reality. Ouranos was being nicer to not only Gaia but everyone else, sometimes dropping by. He described the Mansion as "too dark", which was followed by an explosion of laughter from both husband and wife as the Sky God simply rolled his eyes.

And as for the couple, Nyx didn't think she would be this happy with a marriage. She had heard how shaky Gaia and Ouranos were, of course, and she really wanted for her and Erebus's relationship to be different. To be good. Even if it sounded simplistic, she wanted happiness, and for now, happiness was all she knew. They wandered together, explored their domains together, and... well, more stuff as well.

Now, they were both lying in the grass near the same lake Nyx had been a month earlier when preparing to meet Erebus. Among the mountains of the place that was starting to be called Hellas by the other deities, this grove had something special to it, and this lake specifically brought much peace to Night.

"You seem thoughtful," Erebus stated beside her. Her husband wore his usual black chiton, and, needless to say, his appearance looked phenomenal to her.

"I am simply enjoying the moment, husband. You look like you are thinking a lot yourself."

Erebus shrugged. "I suppose. I have been thinking about the stars a lot."

"Is this another one of your existential crises?" Nyx asked half-jokingly. "If it is, I guess I'll have a chat with Pontus or somet-"

"No!" Erebus interrupted, but he was laughing. "No, okay, it is not. And what would you talk with Pontus anyway?"

"Why would I know? Please continued."

"Alright." Erebus composed himself, looking dreamily at the twinkling circles above in the sky. "I simply like the look of the stars. They remind me of you."

At that, Nyx found herself taken aback. "Of me? Care to explain how?"

Her husband smiled. "Of course not. Stars act like a beacon of light amid the darkness. And I think you are much like that."

"Yes?" Nyx felt her face warming up ever-so-slightly. "How?"

Erebus's grin got even wider. "Because, my love, you are my light in the midst of the darkness that is so present in our lives."

Now, a surge of ichor flew through Night's face, unable to meet his gaze. "Erebus... that is... flattering."

"I could not resist." He admitted, placing one hand on her face and turning her head towards him. "But know that I am speaking the truth."

"Where did you learn to be so sweet?" Nyx asked, face still burning.

"I guess it is just a part of me." Another smile. He then looked at the lake, seemingly having an idea. "Would you want to take a bath with me, dear wife?"

If possible, Nyx's blush intensified. "So, this is where it has been building up to, huh?"

"Maybe." Erebus shrugged. "But it is your choice."

"Do you really think I would deny that?" Nyx asked, moving to kiss him.

...

"No, I don't think I will," Nyx answered, getting up from her seat. "Are you coming?"

"Yes." Erebus responded, defeat in his voice, not that she really cared. They both walked upstairs, where a weird sight could be noticed. The seven demigods were all seated around the deck, with Percy straight up lying on the deck itself. The weirdest part was, undoubtedly, the gagged and trapped goddess of victory, engulfed by a celestial bronze net.

"What happened?" Nyx found herself asking with every bit of her confusion being expressed in her voice. All eyes were turned to her, with Percy himself getting on his feet.

"Just the usual." He started. Nyx noticed some bruises around his arms and legs. "We fought her, won, and now she's here."

"You all seem oddly solemn after being able to capture a goddess." Erebus noticed, leaning on a mast. "What's the catch?"

Immediately, every demigod's face darkened. This couldn't be good.

"We've received some bad news," Hazel stated. Her jeans had been ripped by something sharp, and traces of a now-treated injury could be seen in her left leg. "She," The daughter of Pluto glared at the goddess. "said that either one of us who went to capture her will die."

Nyx turned to face Nike, who was staring at her in shock. Night herself was not happy with her prediction. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," Percy answered. "It was a mood-killer."

Nyx narrowed her eyes. "Remove her gag."

"Are you sure?" Leo asked. "I-I mean, she was about to curse us, and we didn't know if the net would prevent that." He quickly added with fear.

"The net prevents her from using any of her powers," Erebus said. "It's going to be just fine."

Frank was the one to step forward and removed the gag, which was nothing more than a used sock tied up with the help of duct tape. How gross could you get?

"By all gods, this was torture!" Nike cried out the moment the gag was taken away from her mouth.

"It could always get worse," Nyx said in a low voice. "You do know who I am, Victory?"

Nike's bravado faltered slightly. "I do! And what I can't understand is how you primordials can just... sit idle!"

"We have bigger things to worry about than the Romans and Greeks." Erebus said.

"Oh, yes, like your quest against Gaia?" She was clearly referring to Nyx. Not to the demigods.

"Quest? I think you misjudge me. But you are not here to ask questions, goddess." With a flick of her hand, a Stygian Iron dagger appeared in her hand. Nyx brought the dagger close to Nike's neck, happy to see Victory shrinking. "How will any members of the quest perish? I would advise you to choose your words carefully."

Nike's brown eyes searched desperately for help from any that would be willing to, but all she found apart was seven glares directed at her and one very bored look. As such, she turned to face Nyx again.

"I-I told them everything I know!" Nike said. "I can foresee victories, and to achieve it, one of them will have to die! It is fated!"

"She talked about a "Physician's Cure," Hazel spoke. "And she talked about how we needed to gather ingredients from different places."

"Yes!" Nike exclaimed. "But you cannot avoid death. Death will come!"

"I see," Nyx said coldly. "And what other uses do you have for us, Victory?"

This time, Nike truly seemed taken aback. "W-what?"

"If the rift can't be dealt with without you cooperating, perhaps the problem needs to be dealt with at its roots." Nyx pressed the knife ever further on Nike's neck.

"P-please! Stop! Without me, victory will be unachievable!"

"Is that so?" Nyx removed the knife altogether, making it disappear. "Then we will need to be more persuasive about this." She turned to the now bewildered demigods. "Where will she be kept?"

"We thought of the stables." Leo said awkwardly.

"The stables?" Erebus chuckled. "That's creative."

"I believe it works." Nyx looked from above at the trapped goddess. "It will be good enough for her to learn her place, and then she will cooperate."

Frank and Hazel offered themselves to take Nike downstairs, and so they did as such. Jason seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"Was that really necessary? Don't get me wrong, Lady Nyx, but that seemed almost like..."

"Torture." She completed. "Understand, Jason, that you need to be ready for everything. And I am most certain Nike would have killed all your friends even with her being more than aware of the quest. And I'm not even going into morality."

"She is right," Annabeth stated, causing Nyx to grin internally. "She did almost kill them. And she is supposed to be on our side. But..." The daughter of Athena gazed directly into Nyx's eyes. "That seemed a bit too much."

"I understand your perspective, Miss Chase." She answered. "All of you. But you will see what I mean in the future. Now... The Physician's Cure." If on instinct, she turned to Erebus, who seemed surprised.

"What? Am I supposed to be the know-it-all?"

"You were supposed to be intelligent in the past. Have you forgotten it?"

"No. But I also don't know how to make it. I just know the story."

"Nike laid out for us, actually." Said Leo. "Poison of Pylos, chained god's heartbeat in Sparta, curse of Delos."

"Very straightforward," Percy commented. "But seems we will have to make a lot of stops before reaching Athens."

"Yeah." Piper agreed. "But how will this help us anyway? We are on a tight schedule."

Erebus puffed on a cigarette. Since when did he have one? Since when has he smoked? "Honestly, don't you kids get taught your myths?"

"You don't seem too old yourself, Lord Erebus." Leo was the one to say that with a lot of humor present in his words. While Nyx half-expected her husband to be offended, instead, he only laughed.

"True, but I'm over ten thousand years old. Right?" He asked Nyx.

"Do I look like Chronos to you?" She asked impatiently. "For all I know, we could be billions of years old."

"Yeah, whatever." He once more inhaled from the cigar. "So, to begin, there was Artemis, and a very unimportant guy whose only traits were being the son of Theseus and knowing how to hunt."

"The Theseus?" Jason asked.

"Yeah. Son of Poseidon, like him." He pointed with the cigarette in the direction of Percy. "Then, the guy got on bad terms with Theseus because he didn't want to marry anyone, while Theseus wanted his heir to have an heir. Long story short, Aphrodite intervened because she hated what Artemis stood for and made Theseus kill his son."

"He killed his son?!" Piper exclaimed, shocked.

"Yeah." Erebus continued to smoke. "Artemis was obviously devastated, and asked Asclepius, the best doctor in the entirety of Greece, who was also her nephew, to revive him."

"And he did?" Percy asked.

The Primordial of Darkness nodded. "He did, but then Hades got incredibly pissed, and he asked Zeus to kill him. Zeus did as such, which in turn pissed Apollo, who was Asclepius's father. Then-"

"You're getting off-track." Night warned.

"Right." Erebus took a last puff, rubbing the cigar on the mast. "Asclepius got revived and became the God of Medicine. With those ingredients that Nike mentioned, the cure could be remade."

"Straightforward," Percy repeated his statement from earlier. "So we need to go to Pylos now, right?"

"Quite correct, Mr. Jackson," Nyx said. "And as for Nike... I believe I have a solution."

Erebus looked at her with a mischievous look in his eyes. "Really works to have a psychiatrist for daughter, huh?"

Nyx couldn't deny that.

...

Piper wasn't all too happy.

Today's mission hadn't been too hard, to be fair. For something called "Poison of Pylos", it had been very straightforward, if not anticlimactic. The biggest task was fighting monsters on the way to the cave where Frank's relatives lived. He hadn't talked about it too much, which was fine to her. She had her own familiar problems to worry about, after all. Staring at her father's posters everywhere had been... unpleasant.

But not as much as the two primordials.

It wasn't like Piper had anything against them, not necessarily. The problem here was their mere presence, not who they were, but that was enough to raise suspicions. The quest was about stopping a primordial, after all, and now they had two. One part of her liked the odds, but the other was incredibly skeptical of both Nyx and Erebus. What was weird about them was the fact that they irradiated an aura of passion so huge around each other that it was overwhelming. It was like sexual tension, up to eleven. Which was disturbing in itself.

But apart from that, Piper didn't like how Nyx eyed Annabeth and Percy. She could see that there was something else in her eyes when looking at those two. Piper wasn't envious, not by a long shot, but instead worried. They never went into detail on what happened in Tartarus, probably for very good reason, but this seemed like a step too far. Annabeth wasn't easily manipulated, neither was Percy, but...

They had multiple reasons to go rogue. Excluding the trip to the Pit which was on itself a very good reason to be angry about, – and apparently Athena's fault, in a way – Piper knew of the uncountable times the gods went against those two. It was bad enough to face Khione, but at least she was in the enemy camp. But when you're facing up against Nike, who, as Annabeth said, was supposed to be on their side, and along with that having quarrels with gods like Zeus and Hera... It was a recipe for disaster.

And the last thing she wanted was to have more war. Especially knowing that at least one of the four who went to face Nike would inevitably die. Which only motivated her further to search for that Physician's Cure.

This was why Piper desperately needed to get some sleep so she would endure the trip to Sparta the next morning. But of course, it wasn't like she would get rest. Only moments after she drifted into the realm of Morpheus, she found herself away from the Argo II.

Now she was at the Acropolis. Piper had never been there, but she recognized it from pictures – an ancient stronghold perched on a hill almost as impressive as Gibraltar. Rising four hundred feet over the night-time sprawl of modern Athens, the sheer cliffs were topped with a crown of limestone walls. On the clifftop, a collection of ruined temples and modern cranes gleamed silver in the moonlight.

In the dream, Piper flew above the Parthenon – the ancient temple of Athena, the left side of its hollow shell encased in metal scaffolding. No mortals could be seen

Piper's view zoomed to the center of the temple, where many, many giants could be seen. A few Piper recognized: those horrible twins from Rome, Otis and Ephialtes, dressed in matching construction worker outfits; Polybotes, looking just as Percy had described him, with poison dripping from his dreadlocks and a breastplate sculpted to resemble hungry mouths; worst of all, Enceladus, the giant who had kidnapped Piper's dad. His armor was etched with flame designs, his hair braided with bones. His flagpole-sized spear burned with purple fire.

Piper had heard that each giant was born to oppose a particular god, but there were way more than twelve giants gathered in the Parthenon. She counted at least twenty and, if that wasn't intimidating enough, around the giants" feet milled a horde of smaller monsters – Cyclopes, ogres, six-armed Earthborn, and serpent-legged dracaenae.

In the center of the crowd stood an empty, makeshift throne of twisted scaffolding and stone blocks apparently yanked at random from the ruins, if she had to guess, it was reserved for the king.

As Piper watched, a new giant lumbered up the steps at the far end of the Acropolis. He wore a massive velour tracksuit with gold chains around his neck and greased-back hair, so he looked like a thirty-foot-tall mobster – if mobsters had dragon feet and burnt-orange skin. The mafia giant ran towards the Parthenon and stumbled inside, flattening several Earthborn under his feet. He stopped, gasping for breath at the foot of the throne.

"Where is Porphyrion?" he demanded. "I have news!"

Piper's old enemy Enceladus stepped forward. "Tardy, as usual, Hippolytos. I hope your news is worth the wait. King Porphyrion should be…"

The ground between them split. An even larger giant leaped from the earth like a breaching whale.

"King Porphyrion is here," announced the king dramatically, taking the place at his throne.

The giant Hippolytos kneeled. "My king, I bring word of the enemy!"

"Speak."

"The demigod ship sails around the Peloponnese. Already they have destroyed the ghosts at Ithaca and captured the goddess Nike in Olympia!"

That made the crowd of monsters stir uneasily, with many monsters demonstrating signs of anxiety. Porphyrion, however, just laughed loudly

"Hippolytos, do you wish to kill your enemy Hermes and become the messenger of the giants?"

"Yes, my king!" The mobster giant answered with a frown on his hideous face.

"Then you will have to bring fresher news. I know all this already. None of it matters! The demigods have taken the route we expected them to take. They would have been fools to go any other way.

"But, sire, they will arrive at Sparta by morning! If they manage to unleash the Makhai–"

"Idiot!" Porphyrion's voice shook the ruins. "Our brother Mimas awaits them at Sparta. You need not worry. The demigods cannot change their fate. One way or another, their blood shall be spilled upon these stones and wake the Earth Mother!"

The crowd roared approval and brandished their weapons.

"That's not all, sir." The smaller giant said.

"And what could exactly be now? Jason Grace's skincare routine?" Enceladus mocked, but Porphyrion raised a hand, silencing the bane of Athena.

"Let it out. But rest assured that you are currently wasting my time."

"I understand, my king." If possible, Hippolytos bowed even lower. "It is a message from father."

At the word father, the entire Acropolis went silent.

"And what does Lord Tartarus have to say to us?" Porphyrion inquired. Even in her dream, Piper couldn't help but to shiver at the mention of the lord of the Pit.

Hippolytos cleared his throat. "He advises us to be 'beware of the Night', but he didn't elaborate further than that."

If a paperclip fell onto the ground of the Acropolis, it would most certainly be heard, the previous uproar swept away at the simple mention of Night. With a wave of his hand, Porphyrion dismissed Hippolytos, who quickly scrambled away from the base of the throne. Soon, another giant took his place, and with a start, Piper realized this one was female, not that it was easy to tell. The giantess had the same dragon-like legs and the same long braided hair. She was just as tall and burly as the males, but her breastplate was fashioned for a woman, with her voice higher and reedier.

"Father!" she cried. "I ask again: Why here, in this place? Why not on the slopes of Mount Olympus itself? Surely –"

"Periboia," the king roared, sounding incredibly impatient. "This matter is settled. The original Mount Olympus is now a barren peak. It offers us no glory. Here, in the center of the Greek world, the roots of the gods truly run deep. There may be older temples, but this Parthenon holds their memory best. In the minds of mortals, it is the most powerful symbol of the Olympians. When the blood of the last heroes is spilled here, the Acropolis shall be razed. This hill shall crumble, and the entire city shall be consumed by the Earth Mother. We will be the masters of Creation!" Some monsters in the crowd once more cried in approval, but the majority still seemed skeptical, along with Periboia herself.

"You tempt fate, Father," she said. "The demigods have friends here as well as enemies, even more so if Father's message is true. It is not wise –"

"WISE?" Porphyrion rose from his throne. All the giants took a step back. "Enceladus, my counselor, explain to my daughter what wisdom is!"

The fiery giant came forward. His eyes glowed like diamonds. Piper loathed his face. She'd seen it too many times in her dreams when her father was held captive.

"You need not worry, princess," Enceladus said. "We have taken Delphi. Apollo was driven out of Olympus in shame. The future is closed to the gods. They stumble forward blindly. As for tempting fate…"

He gestured to his left, and a smaller giant shuffled forward. He had ratty grey hair, a wrinkled face, and eyes that were milky with cataracts. Instead of armor, he wore a tattered sackcloth tunic. His dragon-scale legs were as white as frost. He didn't look like much, but Piper noticed that the other monsters kept their distance. Even Porphyrion leaned away from the old giant.

"This is Thoon," Enceladus said. "Just as many of us were born to kill certain gods, Thoon was born to kill the Three Fates. He will strangle the old ladies with his bare hands. He will shred their yarn and destroy their loom. He will destroy Fate itself!"

King Porphyrion rose and spread his arms in triumph. "And as for the other matter," he started. "No one will be able to challenge the Earth Mother when awakened. Rest assured, my friends, for when she does, all resistance will be dealt with swiftly! A new age is dawning upon us! One without the Olympians or any others who dare not bow to Gaia!"

This time, the crowd's cheering was significantly louder, so much so that it seemed like it made the entire Acropolis shake. But even if this state of confusion, Piper could see that most of the Giants had somber looks on their faces. However, just then she found herself opening her eyes in her cabin, facing a familiar pair of grey irises.

"Hey," Annabeth said. "We made it to Sparta. Can you get ready?"

Piper sat up groggily, her heart still pounding. "Yeah…" She gripped Annabeth's arm. "But first there's something we need to talk about."

I have mixed feelings about the Physician's Cure. Too much of a plot armor, but I would probably make them go through the pursue of it anyway, even if it doesn't amount to much. I hope you're liking the flashback, because I'm sure as hell liking to write them. And they will be meaningful later. Also, if you want more Primordials here - ahem, Hemera - just be patient. All in time. As of now, until next week (probably)!