Trenton Register-News
U.S. Marshal find 42 missing children in 16 locations across the country including the four children that were taken from Brooklyn Academy of the Gifted. Sources say that this all connected to Triumvirate Holdings and the reason for targeting these four children...
New York Post
C.E.O. of Saliria Archaeology has just announced that the missing twins, Percy and Leaneira Jackson, are his secret children with ex-mistress...
New York Times
Secret Heiress to Japanese company, Tanaka Enterprises, kidnapped in a money laundering scheme...
Delta Democratic Times
Triumvirate Holdings COO embroiled in an international money laundering scheme. The full investigation of his actions is underway though sources report that his illegal dealings was numerous and not just limited to the funds of various companies and actors such as Tristan McLean, Robert Downey Junior, Elliot Thomas, etc.
The only good thing that came out apparently going from an unknown child that was somehow kidnapped twice in a bid of human trafficking (and Lea knew that was just a way to free demigods and keep them out of the titan's hands) was that Lea was able to spend more time with Kírkē. She and some dude named Eurythion came to be their personal bodyguards and their entire building had been evacuated (they had felt bad for that until it came up that the tenants were only moving across the street to the newly built building further down the street which was owned by the same person. Lea had suspicions about that after seeing Hermes' reaction.)
Drew had been moved into the building with her own bodyguard which actually turned out to be the closest people that she had to actual family before going to camp because again, fuck Tanaka Asahi. And with her friendship to Percy and the fact that her own family were higher up on the food chain, Annabeth was granted the delightful change of having her own father, Diomedes, parading around as her and Magnus' bodyguards.
Lea was a bit twitchy to know that some of the police that had been on duty were in the pockets of the gods especially as their coworkers in the precint were tripping over their feet to know that so many little socialites even the two who would very much go back to just being Jacksons and not potential heirs to a company that was a front created by the aliens had been living right under their noses.
(Hermes was the aliens' accountant and the number that all of their endeavors combined had broken her calculator when he tried to show her how it was added together and separated.)
But once that was all over, they were looked over by a team of medics which was really just Apóllōn and his retinue checking over them and the kids that had been rescued, some of them being demigods to who had also been placed in their apartment building and were in the process of being fostered by a few minor gods that the gods had and sequestering them off to camp when needed.
Apparently, Zeus had protocols in place for things like this.
(How many damn kids got kidnapped?)
(Wait, Helene of Sparta was his daughter, wasn't she? And that whole Persephone and Haides thing was well… it's hard to say that she was kidnapped because Zeus did give permission for Hades to marry her as her Father, but at the same time, she hadn't wanted to go and her Mother definitely didn't agree to it.)
And that was just day one, their Mother and Hermes pretending to be their lawyer and the lawyers that Saliria Archaeology sent over put their foot down when it came to questioning especially since the twins' birthday was literally one day after they were "rescued".
Like all males, on the night of his fifteenth birthday, when the clock struck midnight, Percy arched from his bed, a scream clawing from his throat as Khaos dug into his flesh… into his soul and branded him with a mark that would follow him even after death. He had not realized it then…did not even know it then… but every tear that he shed while as his Mother and sister did their best to soothe his painful cries as a power older than the universe reached within the cosmos and bound his soul with others with careful swipes of divinity; a branding that shimmered like the stars across his back.
Hypnos beating his shady wing sent him rest within his embrace, unbothered by the lettering that was bleeding amongst his smooth skin.
As they turned Percy over to clean the wound on his back, Lea found herself tracing the trident engraved into his skin, and the three names that were in line within it.
Annabeth was a no brainer. Not having a crush, Lea's ass.
Drew's sister, Eliza, was a surprise. They had barely even spoken, and it was only last winter break that they learned the girl had attended Yancy Academy with them. (Though it made sense on why she had been the only one apart from Silena and then Drew that Annabeth was kind to out of the Tenth Cabin.)
The last name made her cross-eyed. It was in Latin. Ócētēūīen Áentēōenīūes V́ēerūes. She wasn't even going to try to decode that not at least until she got in touch with Hermes.
There was also what she assumed to be Percy's name considering that it was the only one in ellinika. Περσευς Πελαγαιος and like Lea, he was named after a person from greek mythology.
Their Mother insisted on celebrating their birthday at home with a small gathering at their apartment. Drew and Silena and Beckendorf were there alongside Annabeth and her family and Lea had personally gone to get Medea who was a blushing mess meeting her blessing's family. A few of their people from the Heights managed to come also. Paul Blofis came over, completely relieved to see that they were okay, and Lea was just a bit terrified of how far the mist and how good that the aliens were at covering their tracks.
Tyson was there too, and their Mother baked two extra blue cakes just for him. While Tyson and Magnus and Alabaster helped her blow up party balloons and the girls were talking in Lea's room (after she had glared Annabeth and Medea about what would happen if they made Drew cry again), Paul Blofis had asked the twins to help him in the kitchen.
As they were pouring punch, he said, "I hear your mom signed you up for driver's ed this fall."
"Yeah. It's cool. I can't wait." Percy said but Lea only shrugged. Hermes had already been teaching her, but that was more so going into the country and dirt roads.
(There were also the few moments with Alabaster, Drew, and... and Ethan where they were hitting titan bases and needed a getaway car. Alabaster had a lot of road rage.)
"You've had a rough summer," he said, looking between them. Lea snorted softly. "I'm guessing you lost someone important. And...girl trouble?"
The twins stared at him. "How do you know that? Did my mom—"
He held up his hands. "Your mom hasn't said a thing. And I won't pry. I just know there's something unusual about you two. You've got a lot going on that I can't figure. But I was also fifteen once, and I'm just guessing from your expression...Well, you've had a rough time."
Lea turned away even if she could see Percy nodding his head in the corner. "Silena and Beckendorf. They told us... we lost a couple of friends at this summer camp we go to..."
Lea pursed her lips, biting back tears. "One of them was my best friends. Drew's soulmate, too."
"I'm sorry."
"Here." Paul handed them some punch. "To your fifteenth birthday. And to a better year to come." They tapped their paper cups together and drank. "I kind of feel bad giving you one more thing to think about," Paul said. "But I wanted to ask you something."
"Yeah?"
"Girl stuff."
Lea rolled her eyes as Percy frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Your mom," Paul said. "I'm thinking about proposing to her."
Lea choked on her drink and Percy almost dropped his cup. "You mean...marrying her? You and her?"
"Well, that was the genera idea. Would that be okay with you?"
"You're asking for our permission?"
Paul scratched his beard. "I don't know if it's permission, so much, but she's your mother. And I know you're going through a lot. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't talk to you about it first. She's my... she's my soulmate." He rolled up his skin, taking off his rolex and the bandage that was underneath it and they both saw the name Sally Ann Jackson.
The twins shared looks, thinking about Paul and their mom, how she smiled and laughed more whenever he was around. They smiled. "I think that's a great idea, Paul. Go for it."
Lea nodded.
He smiled really wide then. "Cheers. Let's join the party."
It was when they were getting ready to blow out the candles when the doorbell rang.
Their Mother frowned, but Lea felt a small smile twitch on her lips the moment that her khaos-mark started to heat up. "Who could that be?" Their Mother opened the door and gasped.
Lea and the others did too.
It was her Father. He was wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt and Birkenstocks. What the hell? From the corner of Lea's eye, she could see Silena and Drew turning a bit green. His black beard was neatly trimmed and his sea-green eyes twinkled. He wore a battered cap decorated with fishing lures. It said NEPTUNE'S LUCKY FISHING HAT.
"Pos—" Their mother stopped herself. She was blushing right to the roots of her hair. "Um, hello."
"Hello, Sally," Poseidon said. "You look as beautiful as ever. May I come in?"
Their Mother made a squeaking sound that might've been either a "Yes" or "Help." Poseidon took it as a yes and came in. Behind him was Hermes who was dressed sensibly in jeans and fitting white v-neck. His curls were styled artfully around his head, and he held two gift bags in his hands. His eyes were twinkling as he looked at her.
Behind Lea, she could hear Magnus inquiring if he was the "cousin" that was her blessing.
(She made a mental note to kick Percy's ass for that.)
Paul, Usnavi, Vanessa, Daniela, and Benny were looking back and forth between all of them, trying to read their expressions. The Chase Family were doing a remarkable job of acting like two gods in their presence was normal, but considering that they can lay claim to three gods in their family tree then it was understandable. Medea was a little shell shocked and why she kept mentioning the planets, Lea didn't know, but she was still doing better than Paul.
Because he stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Paul Blofis."
Poseidon raised his eyebrows as they shook hands. "Blowfish, did you say?"
"Ah, no. Blofis, actually."
"Oh, I see," Poseidon said. "A shame. I quite like blowfish. I am Poseidón and this is Hermês." Lea furrowed her brow. There was something strange about the way that he said their names.
"Poseidon? Hermes? Those are interesting names."
The aliens gave pleasant smiles.
"Yes, I like it. I've gone by other names, but I do prefer Poseidón."
"Like the god of the sea."
"Very much like that, yes."
"Well!" their Mother interrupted. "Um, we're so glad you could drop by. Paul, this is the twin's father."
"Ah." Paul nodded, though he didn't look real pleased. Lea felt her lips twitch. "I see."
"And this is Lea's soulmate," she continued. And wow, he and Poseidon both had matching disapproving features at that. Not that Usnavi and Benny were any better.
Lea snickered even as Hermes sauntered further into the room to stand slightly at her side.
Poseidon smiled at them. "There you are, my dears. And Tyson, hello, son!"
"Daddy!" Tyson bounded across the room and gave Poseidon a big hug, which almost knocked off his fishing hat.
Paul's jaw dropped. He stared at their mom. "Tyson is..."
"Not mine," she promised. "It's a long story."
"I couldn't miss their fifteenth birthday," Poseidon said. "Why, if this were Sparta, Percy would be a man today!"
"That's true," Paul said. "I used to teach ancient history."
Poseidon's eyes twinkled. "That's me. Ancient history. Sally, Leaneíras, Paul, Tyson, everyone...would you mind if I borrowed Percy for a moment?"
He put his arm around him and steered him into the kitchen.
Daniela gave her Mother a small smile. "You sure know how to attract them, Sally. That man is a DILF."
"Gross," Lea grimaced. Her friends immediately started giggling. Lea rolled her eyes, turning to look at Hermes. She raised a brow at him and he mimicked her expression. And right in front of everyone, the two of them held an entire conversation with their gazes alone until Drew butted in and well, it was a bit more uncomfortable because she knew them well enough also.
It took her Mother clearing her throat before Lea remembered that there were other people in the room.
"Do you know her Father personally," Usnavi asked, looking between the two of them. There was a twinkle in Hermes' eye as he turned to the others. "Oh, yes. Poseidon and my Father go waaay back. They're practically brothers."
Everyone that was in the know had to forced themselves to not laugh.
He continued on though. "My Father owns Aithrios Airlines in Krḗtē or well, all of Greece but the headquarters are based there. Poseidón charters a private plane with us especially after he got lost at sea and got stuck on Inaccessible Island."
"For how long?"
"Seven months," Hermes said immediately. "Was never in the right place when the conservationists went to check on it. He went back home, laid low to make sure that it wasn't a hit out on the family especially once Philonámatos opened up."
"Philonámatos," Rudolph Chase frowned. "Isn't that the restaurant chain that's been opening up alongside the east coast?"
"Yes," Hermes nodded. "I believe that it was one of the twin's sisters who opened it."
"Sisters? Plural," Vanessa asked. "How many do they have?"
"Three older sisters, and an older brother." Lea cut in. "And apparently some nieces and nephews."
Before any more questions could be asked, her Mother called out to let her brother know that the cake candles were melting and moments later, Percy walked into the living room. It took a little work to convince the mortals that Poseidon had left via the fire escape, but since people can't vanish into thin air, they had no choice but to believe it. A good thing really. She and Drew's hands were both getting a little twitchy in regard to convincing them to just drop it.
Then they played a bunch of cheesy party games like charades and Monopoly. Tyson didn't get charades. He kept shouting out the answer he was trying to mime, but it turned out he was really good at Monopoly. He knocked Percy out of the game in the first five rounds and started bankrupting everyone but Hermes, Annabeth, Drew and Magnus.
Even Usnavi was in debt to the cyclops, and he wasn't even playing anymore. The party wind down soon enough and Lea excused herself and Hermes to settle out on the balcony. Salome bounded out also, paw still injured but she purred just as happily to see Hermes.
"I imagine that might be the last time you see your Father for awhile," he told her.
Lea furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" Though, it was ironic in a way. He hadn't been around for twelve years and Lea met him for the first time at fourteen and three quarters. It wasn't like it was going to be too different. She was getting used to people leaving believe it or not.
"The ocean is at war with itself." Hermes told her solemnly. "It was always on the horizon for most of the old gods of the sea are supporting the titans." He grimaced lightly. "I fear that your visit even in your need of healing and safety escalated it."
"How is that my fault? I was dying?"
Hermes shook his head furiously. "No. Not you exactly, Lea. Tis more so of what you represent." Lea didn't know what he meant by that. "How much do you know about the great prophecy?"
"Percy and I and well, Nico too? I think Percy said he was a kid of the Big Three. One of us will turn sixteen. We'll destroy or save the world and since our sixteenth is next year..."
"That's true, but you are more than just that. You are also my blessing which grants you a bit of political clout."
He let that sink in for a second and Lea's features darkened.
"I'm a chess piece?"
"Well, technically we all are chess pieces in wheel of destiny," he hurried to say, no doubt hearing the anger in her words. "We all have a role to play, but when I say that you have political clout because of me... With your Father accepting you into his realm even going as far to stop his peace talks to attend to you and you now wield Lævateinn which belonged to me at one point of time..." He bit his lip. "Peithō is my wife, but she also the daughter of Ōkeanós. When your Father accepted you and gifted you Lævateinn, he earned Ōkeanós' scorn and his complete opposition for at first, it was merely an annoyance. Still, tis all he can do to keep hurricanes and typhoons from destroying your surface world, the fighting is so intense now that he has joined in."
Lea was silent for a moment. "You... you mean to tell me that my dad is fighting a war because of the mark on our skin?"
Hermes shrugged. "Maybe Ōkeanós would have joined either way. It certainly seemed like it, but you do not understand how much power that you wield, my dear. With our mark, you easily supplant her. But even outside of me, you do the same. You fit in with the family at my side with more ease than Peithō does. You are a threat to her happiness. If the shoes were reversed, then I am sure your Father would have done the same."
Lea stared out across the city, running a hand against Salome's back. "I don't want to talk about this anymore though I do wonder if him joining had something to do with her being pregnant. Congratulations by the way."
A high pitched wheeze came from her companion and she turned to look at him with a raised brow. "Pregnant?" a look of realization and horror and anger appearing on his face. "I did not get her pregnant!"
"Dude, your martial issues have nothing to do with me."
"On the contrary, I believe tis is in response to you and the clear adoration that I hold for you. I did not get her pregnant even if I have taken pleasure from her."
Lea was not jealous or hurt about that.
Truthfully, she wasn't. One; while Hermes was incredibly attractive, the thought of sex or well, her having sex not only gave her anxiety but also disgusted her. She literally just turned fifteen. Secondly, to feel some type of way about that meant that she would have to see Hermes in that way, and they had only just gotten rid of the grooming rumors.
"How did you..."
"Green may be the color of jealousy, but do tell her that my eyes are not that shade."
She stood to her feet and left.
The witching hour included the hour immediately after midnight, and the time between 3:00 am and 4:00 am. Its a time of night that's associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful.
Leaneira could understand than completely so while her Mother and Brother were lying in their beds asleep, she drew a triquetra on her bedroom's ceiling, setting her newest concoction of rusted nails, shattered glass, liquorice root, red pepper, poppy seeds, graveyard dirt, and a few crumbles of her newest crystals seal in a jar covered in the wax of a black candle under each point.
The nails and glass for general harm, the liquorice for domination, red pepper to fasten the hex and to cause pain, poppy for confusion and self-harm, graveyard dirt for bad illness or death.
She then lit a few of her candles before she sat under the triquetra, directly in the center and reached within towards her mageia, letting it unravel within and around her. Her eyes were filled with mageia, a sure sign of her mageia. Above her, the triquetra reflected it.
"May those who love us, love us. And those who don't love us, may the gods turn their hearts." she murmured, voice echoing around the world and it sounded like a symphony. A mix of her own and something... something not quite human. Something other. Something divine. This was an old irish curse she had found hidden within Kírkē's library. "And if they do not turn their hearts, may they turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping."
She cast the spell into the universe like armour coating the world, letting it all sink into the body of Khaos, dance upon the glittering golden wings of Eros, fly across starry Ouranos, cradle wide-bosomed Gaia, swim within the infinite laughing Pontos, and brightened dim Tartaros.
The triquetra pulsed once as shadows covered the moon and the candles blew out of their own accordance before shutting itself.
Leaneira's body was terribly weak, filled with exhaustion as she breathed heavily on the ground. Her knees shook as she pulled herself to her feet, collecting the jars. She looked around her room once more before opening her closet door to the staircase that she and Alabaster had placed to take her to the roof. A few steps behind the air conditioning unit hidden under a strong illusion sat a small herb garden, mainly ingredients that she needed for spells and potions.
(Lea sometimes wondered just how her life came to this.)
She dug into the pots where she used to keep her beetroot, burying the jars deep into them before continuing back to her room and then to the bathroom where she washed her hands with a hyssop tea for purification after the hex.
Lea supposed she showed have been thankful that she had managed to do all of that because in the next second, her knees buckled as a cold tremor raced up her spine. Darkness edged her vision, threatening to overwhelm her, and Lea found herself embracing it in its entirety, a familiar setting edging into the corner of her mind.
She had only a moment before Salome was bounding in from Percy's room where she had sent her.
And then she fell to the demos oneiron, where the tribe of Oneiroi attended to her.
The days pass by in in flashes. It's like a movie on fast forward. And somewhere along the line, they blend in together.
Lea found herself hiding more and more in Usnavi's bodega from the paparazzi that was following after her as if they did not recognize privacy laws in regards to minors and also because she didn't have the strength to face the world after Ethan's betrayal.
(Though with Kírkē back in her life, she had no worry about people bothering her. There was something frightening about a woman that looked no taller than five foot four and lifting grown men a foot taller by their neck. They kept a good distance after the first... twelve times.)
Her friends visit on the occasion though she knew her brother had enlisted Drew, Silena, and Annabeth's help in tracking down the other two names on his back. Drew and Silena were just suppose to talk Percy and Annabeth up to Eliza (though Drew told her that both of them had been given bracelets from Eliza during the twins' first summer at camp under the disguise as "friendship" bracelets but it was really just her staking her claim). The other name was a bit harder to find and for a moment, Lea desperately hoped that it didn't belong to any enemy of the gods.
She spoke Medea a lot. They charmed a notebook and pen so that they could always write messages to each other no matter how far away. They also speak on fixing the spelled items because it always seemed to disrupt every now and then.
Alabaster forced her to take her powers more seriously, something that Kírkē agrees with and she gets pushed more and more to understand the full might of her power. The goddess helped her crafted more magical weapons, she learned how to craft weapons directly from her mageia, pocket dimensions to keep her things in, and teaches her how to use any weapon that's placed in her hand. She and Eurythion team up to push the twins further than before. They had only a year until they were sixteen. Only a year before one of them saved or destroyed the world.
Alabaster forced her to learn more spells, bringing forth spell books that Lea had never seen before, crafting potions that made her sick to the stomach. She learned killing curses to go alongside the healing spells, she learned spells in different languages; heck she learned how to use a mix of languages to create a spell. (He showed the barest amount of remorse as she broke down crying, an ache in her head because she couldn't learn all those languages and her dyslexia was not something that she had been able to spell away. He was patient with her of course, but he was no less demanding of it.)
She had a few visits from the gods, looking as if they were going to battles. At one point, Dionysos and Hermes showed up at Usnavi's bodega.
"Venti size, only ice, no water, and 8 shots of expresso," Mr. D told her.
"By Phanes, just do cocaine," Hermes sighed as she raised a brow, looking between them. "I thought you couldn't eat mortal food."
"I like the smell, Lacey Jordan," Mr. D. said. She snorted and fixed the drink. They both paid enough that she was able to close the shop down early before heading back to her apartment when she accosted by a giant of a man.
The same person from her dream.
Apóllōn and Artemis' grandfather with the same long hair as his grandson, but the color was now a brunette, almost earth toned like his granddaughter. There was still a crazed glint in his eyes as if he knew the secrets of the universe and it was driving him insane to not talk about it.
Lea pursed her lips as he sneered down at her.
Her fingers twitched at her side, but before he could open his mouth, her hand was already flying up. "Bicker and holler, squabble and squawk; twist their words when next they talk."
The titan blinked in confusion, eyes flashing green before he started speaking pig latin. Lea couldn't say that it was pig latin exactly considering that she knew a bit of that language but she didn't understand what the titan was saying. His hand reached out for her, but she disappeared before he could do so, reappearing in a flash of green light on the roof of the nearest car. "That was rude!"
"Ooonka Oonka!"
"I don't speak dumbass," she called out.
"BEESHA BEESHA!"
"Now that's just mean."
He growled at her, brandishing a very intimidating spear.
And yeah... "No," Lea said, throwing her mageia out. "May peace and love from the moon above, flow through your heart on the wings of a dove."
"Pika Pikaaaa!"
The spear clang to the ground. Lea raised a brow at him. "Hermes!" she called out. "Hermes! There's a titan here!" The words were scarcely out of her mouth before he appeared at her side; he and a few more of his siblings and if Lea wasn't so bemused by the titan currently clucking, she would be a bit more irritated on how they made battle armor look so good. Jeez, shakespeare in the park. Does thy mother know thou weareth her drapes?
"Leaneíras," Lady Artemis gave a small laugh. "What spell has befallen my Grandfather?"
"Um, two of them," she winced. "One jumbles every words he said, but I think the intention got wrong somewhere along the way because he's just been making random sounds."
"OOOOGA THAAAA."
She bit back her laugh not that Hermes and Dionysos had any reservations.
"The other one was a To Make One Peaceful spell after he tried to stab me with that." She pointed at the long spear that Ares was inspecting in a bit of interest.
At least Hermes stopped laughing.
Apóllōn gave a small smile as he and his sister approached their Grandfather. "Well, I suppose this shall make for a fine dinner with Mother."
When she wasn't being terrorized by titans, she was at school as freak weather happened all around them. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in her dorm room and she cast a quick spell to not mess with any of the potions she had in there. A few days later, a terrifying hurricane almost swallowed half of Manhattan and New Jersey. One of the current events they studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.
Percy told her that it was probably because of their father, reminding her of how it had been when he was accused of stealing the master bolt. Having an explanation did nothing for her mood though. She was feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. Lea knew that she had a bad temper and a smart mouth, but now, she had the audacity to be sensitive? Jeez she missed the days where days passed her by in a haze. Clearly, the aliens were too ingrained within her life. She got into fights more which was wild because she had stopped that and even then, she started back sneaking out to fight rings.
Her grades were slipping also. "He said that I have an F in math when I clearly have a 64."
"That's just about an F," Percy said, holding a bag of frozen peas to his head to stave off his headache.
"Yeah, but it's almost a C too. It's about perspective." But she was glad when Paul managed to convince the teachers to allow her and the other demigods to bring in colored overlays to help with their dyslexia and the teachers were pleasantly surprised to see an uptick in approval from all of the students struggling with it. She made the mental note that she, Percy, and their Mother would need to seriously sit down and talk to Paul about the truth.
It was a bit hard to justify her irritability when she was helping around Usnavi's store as tourists wandered in.
"I cannot wait to see you unemployed in five years," some old woman had said to her. Lea snorted in reply, looking at her up and down. "That's if you're living in five years. Look at you. You look somebody that was born before colored television."
Beside her, Hermes and Sonny burst into laughter.
She hears from Hermes in her dreams when Percy and the others go on dashing sword fights hitting across America of how Typhon's prison was breaking more and more each day.
"That incident at Mount St. Helens..." Hermes had told her. "The eruptions are continuing," he said. "Typhôeus is stirring. It is very likely that soon, in a few months, perhaps a year at best, he will escape his bonds." From what she read of the monster within the books, he was not someone that Lea wanted to meet and she secreted away the worry that Hermes would have to face him again. He shrugged once he saw the look of despair and guilt on her face. "It would've happened sooner or later, with Krónos awakening the ancient monsters. But be aware, if Typhôeus stirs...it will be unlike anything you have faced before. The first time he appeared, all the forces of Olympos were barely enough to battle him. And when he stirs again, he will come here, to New York. He will make straight for Olympos."
If he didn't want her to worry, then he had done a terrible job of it. "Why didn't Zeus stop us?" Me, she corrected silently. "Why didn't he call down lightning and burn me to ash? Why didn't he make war on us? Tear us down with his hands." Her voice grows louder, panic and pain within because they were doing this... their birth was an omen of doom. "Why not salt the earth? Poison the water? Why would he leave me — us alive?"
"Never," he says softly. He brushed a hand tenderly against her cheek. "Aside from the simple fact that your Father would never allow it and the fact that we voted once more that you and your brother should live...I would not allow it. I would march upon Olympos this very moment if he even contemplated it. I would grind the palace of Ζεύς, lesser palaces for the other gods, and stables for the immortal horses to dust. I would tear down the gold gates of the akropolis. I would unturned the golden pavements and tear the bronze keep down with my bare hands for a world without you is not one in which I could bear to live."
"I wouldn't want you to destroy the world for me."
He shrugged. "And yet I would do so. And I will climb a top of Ζεύς' marble throne and I will and beg for the long-unheeded counsel of mountains and rivers and seas. I will devote myself to the service of the world, but it would not be genuine because for you?"
The smile on his face was soft. "I would do it all again."
WORD COUNT: 5839
WORDS TO KNOW:
1) Περσευς Πελαγαιος - Perseus Pelagaios|Perseus of the Sea
2) Ócētēūīen Áentēōenīūes V́ēerūes - Octavian Antonius Verus
THINGS TO KNOW:
1) Did you know that the letter U was not originally a letter in the Latin alphabet so the 'v' in Octavian's first is the ū and the ū in his last name is actually a V? So that just really means that those that had U's in their names like Imperator Augustus had their names spelled with V's that apparently sounded like U's.
2) In Hesiod's version, only Ζεύς is mentioned when it comes to fighting Typhon. In later versions, all the gods except Nikē, Selênê, the Astrothesiai (The spirits or living forms of the heavenly constellations. They were mostly heroes and creatures who were placed amongst the stars by the gods as reward for some service or, in a handful of cases, as a memorial of their crimes) and Athḗnē. Then in that version that Athḗnē ended up leaving to go with the other gods and Hermês snuck back with Pán when Typhôeus stole the sinews from Ζεύς and distracted him so that the King could destroy the monster.
COMMENTS FROM THE AUTHOR:
1) Also, for anyone wondering since the people of Rome did have many names, Livia's full name would have been Livia Julia Atia Lycaea Jackson Verus but yk she was given up right at birth so honestly, none of them mattered and despite my penchant for it, Percy doesn't have a canonical second name despite him being born in the USA where it's the norm in some cases.
1A) (But in the 'verse where she was immediately fostered and adopted by the Verus Family then yes, those are her middle names.)
1B) She tried to sneak her way into this verse also.
2) Octavian's would be Octavian Antonius Gaius Trajan Verus. For simplicity and the fact that I had no desire to try to remember all of that, he simply goes by Octavian Antonius Verus.
3) Lea and Medea talking about their respective gods: Poseidón and Neptūnus and Mercurius and Hermês
3A) The gods: that's not suppose to happen. somebody do something!
3B) The deity that's been messing with Lea's mind: Error error. Try rebooting the system.