Author's Note: I was bored and at a lull in coursework, so I decided to fill some of my free time by writing. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it.
Chapter Eighteen: Movement of Gods
The skies above The Empire State Building rolled and tossed with storm clouds the mortals below didn't seem to acknowledge as they walked and rode around the streets with no idea what danger lay in the unnoticed storm above. Surprising absolutely no one, The Lord of Olympus simmered with anger. What might have surprised people was why he had a fit of pique at the moment. Three anomalous beings strolled right past his orders to kill on sight. Wait. Did he actually give the kill order? No, he didn't. The Roman did that. Didn't he? Zeus roared in frustration. The sky mirrored his frustration and confusion as a few arcs of lightning split the sky around Olympus.
The god paced in the throne room of Olympus and muttered to himself. Zeus' normally pressed and neat business attire seemed harried and disheveled as he made circuits in the room. Zeus continued his laps without pause. The Egyptians have their own problems to handle. The Norse wouldn't dare. The indigenous spirits and gods stay away and stick to the middle of the country. What in the name of Chaos would be powerful enough to ignore ME and come out unfazed?!
Hera shivered as she watched her normally powerful and unshaken husband whimpering like when Typhon nearly toppled Olympus and forced the gods to flee and beg for protection from the senile king, Ra, and left her king in a piteous state of near mortality until she sent Hermes with Ambrosia and Nectar to heal her young, foolish brother and put him back in the fight. The Queen of Olympus sighed and slowly approached Zeus. Her hands wrapped around him from behind and kissed his cheek. At the contact, Hera smiled when she felt Zeus relax in her embrace. "What troubles you, my king?"
Zeus stabilized a noticeable degree at the touch of his wife, his suit nearly perfect at the sensation of Hera's fingers on his shoulders while the god's hair remained an unkempt mess. A deep foreboding caused The Lord of the Sky to shiver. "I haven't felt this bad since Fort Sumpter," the King of Olympus said as he slumped in his throne while his head pounded worse than when Hephaestus spit his skull to free Athena. "I'm missing a crucial piece of the puzzle." Zeus looked at Hera. That automaton with the Roman legacy of Apollo, the god thought as his form flashed to Jove with Hera going to Juno involuntarily for but a moment due to proximity. I really should reduce them to atoms before… Zeus trailed off as the pounding in his head grew to a thunderous roar.
Touch my son or his Sparkmate, and you won't reform from where I send you!
Zeus shivered. He was losing control over everything he set his mind on, and it shook the god to his core. The god willed himself to focus and found it only a little strange that his mind latched onto the gentle embrace of his wife as Zeus' form settled but not before his mind emblazoned glimpses of a blue automaton marked as his eldest sister's champion of all things into his mind's eye. Zeus looked at his wife and felt a strange sensation settle in his stomach to stay. What are you involved in, Sister?
Jack walked out of the Senate Hall after the meeting and couldn't help the feeling of fear as he realized how much the entire world truly could suffer if Team Prime fought The Chaos Bringer alone. It could get even more dire if Jack allied with Megatron, even temporarily. The hypothetical alliance bore a multitude of issues. The most pressing to Jack lay in the flaw he hadn't thought of until Liege Maximo mentioned it in his usual contrary way.
The Matrix holds everything WE are, brother, The Prime of Evil laughed as he felt Jack's Spark hitch for a nanoklick at the realization. Megatron could easily dupe the innocent Orion Pax if you and he surrender The Matrices in order to keep Uncle in stasis. Liege continued to chuckle. Them, he simulated a gasp of faux shock. How would you get back to Arcee if you used your Matrix to help subdue The Chaos Bringer?
Jack shivered as he thought of his mom, I would not be dead, but it would almost be worse. For some reason a scene from a book he read recently popped in the teen's head unbidden. The character was in a dream world with a demon called a name that made Jack shudder in fright every time he read it in the book. In the fantasy world's lore, it was said to be the name used by the antagonist's dark army to refer to their master, a lord who could bring fates worse than death on those who failed him, like making them into living masonry to be eternally tortured. Thirteen Forsaken or Chosen depending upon point of view— Part of Jack's mind wandered. Why is it always thirteen?!
Maximo smirked inside the young Prime's mind. It's a subconscious awareness of The Primes in Humanity, but Uncle's influence twisted the awareness to mean an evil omen for many Humans.
Before Jack could think to reply, Percy walked up and sighed. The young child of Posidaeia groaned and met Jack's optics. A haunted aura flowed from him as he walked up to Jack. "If we don't mobilize soon, the situation could become orders of magnitude worse." Percy shivered. "Your presence with Arcee destabilizes The Lord of the Sky." Percy closed his eyes and tried to steady himself before he continued. "The King of Olympus actually found comfort in his wife last night," Percy muttered, thankful his mind could shift to another area before the intimacy cranked up between the couple. "He never does that!"
Thalia put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "We know his two sides jokey for control when Greeks and Romans mingle." Thalia tapped her chin in thought and started to pace as her mind began to put a theory together. "Perceived threats in your Mother and Jack's Father could have unintended consequences for the King's mind."
Jack nodded as the parallels between Zeus and Megatron began to melt together in his mind, Megatron led a rebellion against the corrupt system and thus became corrupted. Zeus overthrew her vile father only for Zeus and Hades to take after their father and became corrupted with Zeus facing the worst of the repercussions. Jack smiled, "Hubris!"
Arcee grinned conspiratorially while Thalia and Percy gaped at the young Prime. Percy then groaned and facepalmed when he realized Arcee and Jack all but shared a mind in that moment. Thalia giggled at him in spite of herself and shook her head. The four Cybertronian ships on his Mother's waters undoubtedly drew Zeus' attention. Add Vesta marking Arcee as her Champion, Lupa defying orders, and Greek unity with Roman troops. Zeus could fracture completely at any time under the strain of events. If The Lord of Lightning broke, all hope a unified front against his father and Unicron would be pulverized into oblivion.
"Jack," Percy said. The Greek demigod snapped his fingers in front of Jack's face. "What in the world are you talking about?"
Power must not be taken by all.
The oracle's words rattled around in the Prime's mind. With his processor running so hard part of Jack feared smoke would begin to roll out of his ears, the son of Primus suddenly thought of Aratus and silently thanked Alpha Trion for putting a bit of Earth's literature in The Matrix. "We are all his offspring, indeed…" Jack whispered with a sigh as the line of prophecy began to fit. Like a torrent, a few more lines of the prophecy began to make more sense. He'd rattled The Five Spheres all right, with the exception of Hermes/Mercury. A look at Arcee made him blush slightly. The eldest child of Light did fall. Jack looked over at Thalia and Percy. They are critical to this alliance working. I just don't know how yet.
Under the waves, Posidaeia shook her head and groaned. Amphrite swam up to her mistress and gave her queen a look of concern. Watching The Lady of the Sea swim to and fro in the palace, the maid sighed and shook her head with a bright smile on her face at the thought of her lady's son. "If I may be so bold, my lady…" Posidaeia's oldest friend swam in front of her to stop the nervous movement. "One good thing did come of The Pact of World War II."
The goddess quirked an eyebrow as she stopped and looked at Amphrite. "Technically, I never agreed to the treaty," The Lady of the Sea pointed out. "It was my alternate who did that, and he never did break the Pact."
"In so doing, he also allowed you to move more freely by allowing Zeus to turn his focus completely on the alternate and forget about you." The queen's maid smirked, "Inadvertently, that Pact is the reason why Percy exists. So, you aren't overjoyed that Percy knows the truth now?"
The Lady of the Sea laughed and closed her eyes as she let the joy that always came with thoughts of Percy fill her mind. After a moment, Posidaeia reclined into a giant clam that served as a chair and pulled her tail close, so it bent much like Human knees. "Who would have thought my son would choose the daughter of my rival as his Beloved?"
It wasn't me! The voice that spoke almost had a shrill quality to it, like a child on the edge of a tantrum. The Fates twisted events slightly to ensure your son came to the daughter of Zeus first and was alone with her for a time before the rest of the camp knew of her revival!
A warmth stirred in the goddess when she considered the possibilities this could mean for the future of Olympus. Reconciliation, the word tickled the Queen of the Seas' mind. An image of the strange female with the son of Primus flowed into her mind without any effort. Then, the goddess realized the metal Amazon bore the mark of Hestia or Vesta. It didn't matter which because home and family were always central to civilization no matter the culture. A look of surprise came over her features for a moment before Posidaeia settled into a bright smile that overflowed into her eyes. Well played, Sister.
The pleased smile on The Earthshaker's face faded as the water currents shifted subtlety. She raised a brow, "You may enter."
The massive doors to the palace throne room swung open, and a woman with battleship grey hair walked into the room. She looked at Posidaeia and walked to the center of the room with the stony aura of a battle-hardened veteran as her, dated circa 1944, Navy Dress Blue's jacket tails flared out and flowed behind her in the drag of the water around her. When the woman stopped, she snapped a salute which The Queen of the Sea returned reflexively. Then, the woman remained at attention.
"Report."
"Ma'am," the woman remained steadfast. "USS Missouri reporting."
The Queen of the Sea tried not to stare but the shock must have been evident on her face. "I thought you were…"
"Moored in Hawaii as a museum?" Missouri laughed. "When the Humans 'retired' me," the clear distaste in the Cybertronian's voice almost made The Lady of the Sea flinch. "I knew I couldn't stay because of Primus' mandate for me and my sisters, so I gathered enough mass from the floating trash in the sea, built a replica body, and moored it there in my place."
The Queen smiled and nodded to her with a bright smile fore a moment before it washed away like a sandcastle on the beach. "You didn't come here for pleasantries, Captain."
Missouri shook her head. "I am standing by to engage Princess Andromeda. Tub may think she is a warship, but she's barely a trireme. It's almost insulting!"
Posidaeia nodded, "Very good, Captain. Bring that ship down as quickly as you can, Missy. You have my full permission to use any means necessary."
Missouri nodded and turned to leave.
"I do not believe I dismissed you, captain."
Missouri froze mid-step before she turned back to The Queen of the Sea, "Yes, ma'am?"
"Thank you for informing me of your movements. When…others operate in my territory, they are never so courteous."
Missouri nodded and smiled, "Father has always respected you, ma'am. I see no reason to change now." With that, the Human form broke apart at the base level and rejoined Missouri's main body. Then, the ship turned her nine guns to target and unleashed Hell.
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