Much to her shock, after Poseidon sent them home, the punishment never came. Instead, he silently swam over to his office and that was that.

In her opinion, the silence was scarier than the actual punishment. She didn't know what he had in store for her, but she could tell that he was furious. A part of her wanted to storm up to him and say that it wasn't her fault—Loki was the one who decided to teleport her away after all.

But she knew Poseidon didn't care about that. She had disobeyed him, unwillingly or not, and that alone was enough to earn his wrath.

She didn't really know what to do now. Usually when she was in trouble with a parent (her mom), she would always apologize right afterwards. But this wasn't her mom she was dealing with, hell, it wasn't even someone mentally sane. This was Poseidon, a dangerous and temperamental all-powerful god.

But she was going to try anyway.

Standing beside her and watching what she was doing, Proteus wrung his hands anxiously.

"Princess, while this is a very sweet thing to do… with your father, who knows how he would react…"

She grimaced. "I know. But I still have to apologize. There's no use avoiding him or playing the waiting game."

"I don't know…" Proteus looked scared for her. "My lord could be quite volatile."

"I still need to try."

"And you think cookies would work?" He questioned.

Percy made a face. She had baked a bunch of blue cookies as an apology. It was something she always did back home when she was stressed. Poseidon didn't like human food, but these cookies were blue—his favorite color!—and, well, baking cookies for someone was just a nice thing to do.

(Plus, like she said, she was a stress-baker.)

"Maybe," she said unsurely after she put the last cookie on the plate. She picked the whole thing up, carefully balancing them in her hands. "Wish me luck."

"...Good luck, princess," he said.

She headed over to Poseidon's office and knocked on the door. She waited a moment, and then:

"Enter."

Here goes nothing… she thought, taking a deep breath.

She opened the door and stepped inside, trying to remain calm. Poseidon's eyes pierced through her as she swam to his desk and set the plate of cookies down.

Unfortunately, he spoke before she could.

"...How many times do I need to remind you that I don't eat this human trash," he said coldly.

She swallowed thickly. "I'm just… I wanted to apologize so—"

"—I don't want your apologies," he interrupted her, voice raising slightly. "I want your obedience. I gave you a simple order, to stay at the courtyard but you couldn't even do that! Not only did you let yourself get taken away by some low-rate trickster god, but instead of trying to find your way back, you wasted time dining with Shiva and visiting Mnemosyne! And then you go around starting fights?! What is wrong with you?!"

"Please, I'm sorry—"

Angrily, he swatted aside the plate of cookies and it shattered loudly when it hit the wall. She flinched as he stood.

"I told you I don't want your pathetic apologies!" He roared.

The water around them turned cold. She could feel a thin layer of frost starting to form on her bare skin. The tears dripping from her eyes were turning into little beads of ice.

"You insolent, stupid, worthless little girl!" Insult after insult was hurled at her, and at that moment, she wished she could shrink. She wanted nothing more than to turn small, or just disappear and never be seen again.

"I took you into my home, gave you luxuries that even other gods dream of having, had my best servant give you the right education, and THIS is how you repay me?!"

Her breathing quickened when he started to swim forward. He was looming over her now, his massive frame dwarfing her much smaller one. The look of hatred in his eyes felt like it was stabbing into her heart.

He wasn't even her real father, so why did this feel like the worst form of rejection?

"I am trying to mold you into becoming a perfect goddess," he hissed. "A perfect daughter!"

The second he let out those words, the water around him suddenly pushed him back. The force was hard enough to make him slam against his desk.

He froze, and his eyes went back to her, the only person who could've attacked him in his own domain.

Percy sucked in a breath to force herself to stop crying, and gave him a glare that could rival his own.

"Maybe you should try acting like a perfect father first." She shot back, voice trembling. "I don't care about perfection. I just want a dad! But you're too far up your own ass to even give me that!"

And with that, she turned and bolted out the door.

FANART!

From Yasashi/Sophrosyne:

I love the tiny Percy she's just a silly lil gal

MEMES!

Memes: 1, 2, 3, 4

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

"I mean, everyone was gay back in Ancient Greece, right*?" Just wanted to inform you that Nico said this out of IGNORANCE. This is absolutely not true the way people think it is Ppl in ancient greece were definitely fruity, but I promise you if you take a random person from Ancient Greece, put them in the modern world, and tell them about gay rights, there's a good chance they'd call you a slur it was not about love, homosexuality wasn't a concept to them, only masculinity and femininity. A man (dominant/masculine) laying with a boy (submissive/feminine) was okay, but the older man would be let off while the boy (especially if he was penetrated) would be looked down on and called a "kinaidos" for being submissive/feminine. Don't even get me started on how they viewed sapphics the idea of a woman getting pleasure from another woman and not a man was laughable

I was kinda disappointed when the ror gods bled and their blood was red just like ours. In Greek myths (and in pjo), the gods were described to have ichor instead of red blood. It was one of the many things that made them so different from the humans, so I decided to put that here too.

The sudden burst of anger Percy felt before she attacked Loki? Yeah that wasn't natural. Someone caused that, any guesses who? (It's not Loki)

Chapter 11: karma's a bitch

Summary:

Hades gives Poseidon the tongue-lashing he deserves

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

BEELZEBUB'S EYES STAYED GLUED TO the scene playing out before him. He had been watching the same thing over and over again, but for some odd reason, he didn't have it in him to stop.

He watched Percy speak with Mnemosyne, her face troubled.

"He…" Percy bit her lip. "Um, I don't know. Look, I don't want to kill Beelzebub. You've looked through my memories, you know what I…" She gulped. "I'm sick of constantly being forced to fight. Beelzebub did some fucked up shit to me, but I don't want him to die and I don't want to be the reason for it either. I'm glad he wants to find a way for me to go home, but like… isn't there someone that could… you know, help him?"

Mnemosyne blinked. "Are you… asking if there's some form of godly therapy for him?"

"Uh, yeah? I mean, someone seriously needs to check him into the closest mental hospital so he could get better and learn to leave sixteen year old girls alone!"

"Unfortunately no. And even if there was, they definitely wouldn't want to help him," the goddess replied, the disgust she had for him written all over her face.

Beelzebub was used to this. Many people, gods, demons and humans alike, detested his very being. Even the humans down in Midgard hated him for he was the Devil, the cause of (most of) their misfortunes.

Percy should've known that. He had told her who he was after all and he certainly wasn't friendly to her either. But despite that, Percy was frowning at Mnemosyne's words.

He knew how she disapproved of his wish to die—she had said so to his face over and over again, but this was different. He wasn't in the room with her and, in her eyes, it was just her and Mnemosyne in the house. She was oblivious to the fact that he had been watching her. She could've revealed her true colors, but that never happened. Her opinion remained the same.

He couldn't believe it. She actually cared about him. How disgusting, foolish, and pathetic. He hated it.

The mark in his chest turned pleasantly warm.

"Of course you would approve of her, Lilith," he muttered bitterly, glancing down at the throbbing mark. "She has the same goal as you: to prolong my wretched life."

Thanks to Hades, he knew now that Lilith would never intentionally extend his life for the purpose of making him suffer—she had never been a cruel person after all. He could never hate her, but he hated the mark she left him with. Her 'blessing' to him.

"Beelzebub, I love you. So I forgive you… for everything. For our sakes, live. That's… m-my last… and final order to you."

So he would do what she wished. He would continue to live, but that didn't mean he wouldn't stop looking for atonement. He would live as she wanted him to, but he would live bitterly, wretchedly, repulsively, and savagely until someone could finally put an end to him.

Then Percy came. His blessing in disguise. She didn't look like much, but she was just what he needed. Her existence was proof that multiple universes existed, and who knew what strong beings resided in them.

And even if that plan failed, he could still use the girl herself.

Despite being a half-breed, she was strong. She may not have the strength of a god now, but he had witnessed her fight against Loki. She held her ground against him, and the power she used… she was clearly used to fighting against tougher opponents—most likely something she got from her previous universe. He knew she would make a formidable immortal if she was turned.

The only issue was that she lacked the will to kill him, let alone do it in the grisly manner he wanted.

How annoying that girl was. Never listened, never paid attention, never did what he wanted.

…Lilith would've loved her. So would Lucifer, Azazel, and Samael.

Suddenly he felt a rippling sensation in the air, an indication that a new presence had arrived. Percy. Just in time to annoy him again.

He flashed over to the foyer to greet them, but something was amiss. Percy didn't greet him back. Nor did her eyes have that childish sparkle in them either. She looked quite dull, in fact, which was unlike her but he didn't care because for once, she was finally quiet.

"Beelzebub," Hades smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. For some odd reason his mood wasn't the best either. "Percy here didn't get the chance to have breakfast. Do you mind…?"

"Of course," he nodded in agreement. He didn't have much planned for today anyway. Just a discussion he wanted to have with her.

Hades nodded gratefully. He kissed Percy on the cheek and then took his leave.

Beelzebub turned around. "Come. Today will be short. I only wish to speak to you about some things."

He didn't bother to check if she was following him, but the soft pitter-patter of her feet told him enough. He led her to the Great Hall where they took their respective seats.

He summoned a bowl of lentil soup for her, but she didn't eat it right away. Instead, her face was eerily blank.

"Now that my mind's all clear, I've done some thinking," she began slowly. "Yesterday. The flies that I ran into while I was at Valhalla. That was you, wasn't it?"

Beelzebub. Lord of the Flies. She should've fucking known.

He gave her a practiced smile. "If you mean that I was one of the flies following you, then no. I merely sent my flies to go find you after your father called Hades to tell him that you were missing. Through them, I was able to see and hear everything."

"You spied on my conversation with Mnemosyne." And not Loki, who she had originally assumed.

"I did." He replied honestly. There was no point in lying.

"And…" She hesitated. This was a bit of a stretch, but her gut instincts were telling her that he was responsible for the other thing too. "When I saw Loki again, I felt this sudden anger…"

"That was also me," he admitted.

"But how?" She demanded desperately. "That wasn't like me back there, how did you even…?!"

"Does the Devil not exist in your world?" He asked genuinely. "You are so painfully ignorant of what I can do. Is this why you continue to act so foolishly casual around me?"

His voice suddenly took a darker edge. His blood red eyes pierced through her and something dark was entering his scleras, like watching an ink spill over canvas.

"I am the Devil, Percy Jackson. I cause destruction through tyrants, cause demons to be worshipped among men, to excite priests to lust, to cause jealousies in cities and murders, and to bring on war. Making a half-breed girl a little angry is nothing compared to what I can really do. Do you see now, why I must be killed? Do you really want someone like me to continue plaguing this universe?"

Hate me, he thought. Abhor me. Look at me in disgust and hatred like everyone else does. Hate me so much that you want to kill me.

Percy couldn't find the will to look away. His eyes were maddening. It was worse than when Mr. D. tried to make her go crazy. Visions of bloodbath flashed through her head like a PowerPoint slideshow. Brutal massacres, innocents being burned at stake because of false accusations, women being raped by invaders. Throughout it all, she could hear the incessant buzzing of flies in the background. Him. All of it was him.

Her nails dug into the table. Her very being was suddenly filled with rage. A slow corruption seized her heart. Monster, her inner voice hissed. He's a monster!

But rather than giving in and running him through with her sword, she stiffly grabbed the bowl of lentil soup and threw the contents at his face. He flinched back and the madness was gone in an instant.

"Urgh!" He cried out, scooting back on his chair and rising to his feet. Hot soup was dripping from his head down to his clothes.

She let out a sigh of relief as clarity finally came back to her. "Never," she said shakily. "Do that again."

He gawked at her in begrudging awe and annoyance.

What the fuck, he thought as soup dripped down his bangs. I wanted you to get angry enough to try and kill me, not throw fucking soup at my face. Damn brat.

"I can't believe you made me attack, Loki!" She cried in outrage. "Are you trying to get me killed, asshole? What if Loki decides to get revenge by, like, cutting my hair or something?!"

"As expected, your priorities are misplaced," he grumbled, snapping his fingers to make himself clean again. "Just for that, I'm not making you another bowl of soup again."

"Why did you even make me do that in the first place?" She despaired.

"I wanted to test out your weapon, Riptide," he explained, taking a seat again and jutting his chin to her pocket, where her trusty weapon was most likely located. "I've never seen a metal like that before and I can tell it's enchanted and cursed."

"You could've just asked about it," she groaned, pulling her pen out and uncapping it. "It's made out of Celestial bronze, one of the magical metals in my universe. And as for that enchantment you sense, well, watch."

She lobbed it at his face. He tilted his head to the side to dodge it and the sword flew at the wall before it clattered uselessly to the ground. But then it disappeared a second later, and reappeared back on the table soon afterwards.

"That's the enchantment," she gestured. "It always comes back to me if it's far enough."

"And the curse?" He asked.

She winced. "That was Ares' fault."

The corner of his lips lifted up slightly in a poor attempt to hide his amusement. "Now what did you do to anger the god of war from your universe?"

"Nothing," she scowled. "I was innocent. That asshole tried to frame me when I was just twelve, and when I found out about it he tried to kill me and acted like a sore loser when I beat him fair and square!"

Beelzebub went still.

Perhaps she shouldn't have mentioned that last part.

"...You defeated a god? At age twelve?" He asked her slowly, and she could practically see the gears shifting in his head.

"No," she said quickly. "It wasn't like that. It—it wasn't like a fight-fight, it was just, um… it was like a competition!" She blurted out.

"A competition."

She nodded her head frantically. "Yeah. I challenged him; if he drew blood first then I'd get the—" she stopped. She really didn't want to have to rehash the whole 'retrieve Zeus' stupid bolt and stop World War III from happening' thing again. "Then he'd leave me alone," she corrected. "And if I drew first then he could turn me into whatever he wanted."

"And you beat him. You made him bleed first." He concluded.

"Yeah…" She admitted rather hesitantly.

"And he cursed you out of pettiness?" That definitely didn't sound like the Ares he knew. "What was the curse? Tell me his exact words."

"'Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse'," she repeated, mocking Ares' annoyingly deep voice.

"Has it ever taken effect?"

She thought back to her battle against Atlas and shivered. "Yes. But anyway, that's all that happened. Happy now?"

Beelzebub's stare only intensified. A part of her wondered what he was thinking, but it was probably best she didn't know.

"...Not quite," he replied smoothly after a few seconds passed. "The main reason I made you attack Loki was to see if it acted like a Divine Weapon. Do you know what that is?"

"A weapon that can only be forged by gods, and the only thing that can kill a god," she recited dully. Poseidon had been the one to tell her about it, and she didn't really want to think about him right now.

He nodded in approval. "Correct. If I'm going to have you kill me, I need to make sure you have the right weapon. Unfortunately, Riptide is not a Divine Weapon."

He waved a hand and a dark mist formed in-between them. Then, pictures started to appear. It reminded her of an Iris Message. It showed her fight with Loki, slow-motioning when it came to the part where she managed to slice his arm with Riptide. The scene paused and zoomed in on the cut.

"I observed your fight closely. While your sword was able to injure your target—an impressive feat, mind you—the injury, unfortunately, didn't last long whereas injuries from Divine Weapons could take hours, maybe days to heal from."

The video played, this time with a timer in the corner to count the seconds it took for Loki's cut to heal.

3.10 seconds.

"Therefore," he went on. "I concluded that your weapon is not at par with a Divine Weapon and, while it can hurt, it cannot kill a god. Should I fail to access the multiverse, I will have to forge you a proper Divine Weapon for you to kill me with. This is cursed anyway. I can't have you risk trying to kill me with a weapon that's cursed to fail you when you need it most."

"Thanks," she said dryly, but there was a noticeable hard edge in her voice.

"...You are upset with me." He noted.

"I'm not upset with you," she said, a little snappishly.

"Is it about your father?" He asked knowingly.

He recalled the other day after her and Loki's fight. He had left the second Odin and the Big Three arrived at the scene, knowing that either one of them would be vigilant enough to realize that they were being watched. But before he left, one of his flies managed to catch a glimpse of Poseidon's face. The god was furious.

"Have I ever told you how much your Poseidon sucks?" She grumbled.

"No," but I have the feeling you're going to tell me anyway.

"Why is this guy so obsessed with perfection?" She wondered angrily. "I've been trying to get along with him, you know? But nothing ever works. And yesterday, even though I didn't purposely try to disobey him, he still got pissed with me anyway! All because I'm not 'perfect' enough for him! Fuck that guy. 'Perfect', my ass, he can't even do a good job at being a decent parent!"

Oh great, Beelzebub thought. Since when did he become the therapist?

"Just when I was starting to think that guy was cool for keeping the oceans clean…" She scoffed under her breath.

"I'm sorry about what happened between you and your father." He said emotionlessly, wanting to move the conversation along. He was not good with emotions.

She shrugged. "S'okay," she mumbled bitterly. "It's not like he's my real dad anyway."

He turned away, a sudden feeling of discomfort welling within him. It was so… wrong seeing Percy genuinely sad over something. He was more used to her being annoying, not… bitter and depressed. That was kind of his thing.

"That's all I have to discuss with you today," he said, abruptly standing up. He wanted to be anywhere but near her at the moment. "I shall call Hades to have him pick you up early—"

"—Wait," she suddenly called out. "...Can you take me to Adamas?"

The request took him by surprise. "...Adamas?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Please?" She gave him hopeful, pleading eyes.

"Oh, fine," he relented.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Adamas' palace was a cruise ship from hell. Literally.

His house was a weird fusion of a floating warship and palace that hovered over Helheim. It was full of canons of various sizes pointing in all directions and had a bunch of tendrils made of flesh and bone that stuck out at the sides. These tendrils had a mind of their own and would occasionally snatch and eat any demons or monsters that flew too close to it.

Had Beelzebub told her that her uncle lived in a floating fortress, she might have taken back her request. Heights were still a big no-no for her thanks to Zeus (unless she was on Blackjack), and even though this Zeus seemed a lot nicer, the fear had already been instilled in her.

But she was already here, so might as well face the music.

The look on Adamas' face when she asked if she could stay with him instead of Poseidon was comical.

"You… want to stay with me?" He asked dumbly, pointing to himself.

"Can I?" She asked hopefully.

"Did Poseidon do something?" He asked suspiciously, looking between her and Beelzebub.

The pair fell quiet, but their silence was enough of an answer.

"Figures," he muttered. "Alright! Just, uh, gimme a sec!" He disappeared behind the door, but before he did, Percy managed to catch him mumbling something about 'baby proofing the house'.

Percy and Beelzebub exchanged a look, but waited outside anyway. They didn't know how long it took, but during that time, a demon flew overhead and was promptly eaten alive by a tendril. Percy flinched when black blood started to fall over them like a waterfall.

Beelzebub swiped his fingers, and the blood redirected itself around them.

"Black blood?" She asked aloud.

"Infernal blood," he explained dully. "Demons of Helheim have infernal blood whereas gods have divine ichor."

"What do you have?" She asked curiously. Beelzebub was the Devil, but he was also a god too at the same time.

The door swung open again before he could answer. Adamas stood before them once more.

"Get in 'ere," he gruffed, grabbing Percy and yanking her into the house. He glanced over at the other god, "Thanks, Beelzebub. Bye now," he said before slamming the door on his face.

"You hungry, Percy?" He asked, eagerly leading her further into his home.

"Uh, yeah, I haven't had breakfast yet," she responded, distracted by the inside of his house. With how the outside looked, she expected the interior to have a gothic sort of style like Beelzebub's house or maybe a dark classical style like with Hades.

It looked more like the inside of a frat house instead; a perfect cross between 'rich asshole' and 'dude who can't fucking clean his house'. There were noticeable blood splatters and broken barrels of what smelled strongly like alcohol, clothes were still strewn around, and one of the rooms they passed by looked like a museum gallery for Valhalla action figures (she even caught a glimpse of Thor!).

They weren't the only ones here too. Like Hades, Adamas had his own servants. But instead of ghouls or lampads, Beelzebub had demons of all kinds walking around like zombies with collars around their necks. They were busy cleaning around the palace and some were even putting those soft corner protectors on tables and shelves and lining the sharp edges with foam tape.

"Um, why are they wearing dog collars?" She asked, feeling awkward. Was this a weird kink thing of his?

"'Cause that's all they are now," he snorted. "Mindless dogs who can only do what they're told."

That was kinda offensive to dogs in her opinion.

"How'd they get like this though?"

"I made them this way. God of conquest, remember? Enslavin' people is easy for me." He said proudly.

Colonizers would've loved you, then, she couldn't help but think.

"Anyway, here's the Great Hall. Do you like pizza?"

Her eyes lit up. She hadn't had pizza in so long. "Oh hell yeah!"

"Good. Don't tell anyone I'm feeding you pizza though, okay?"

She blinked. "Why not?"

He rolled his eyes. "The other Greeks get sooo sensitive about Italy—ah, you know what? Forget I said anything, you're too young to know."

She furrowed her brows. What did the Greeks have against Italy? Before she could ask further, he was already ushering her to his Great Hall.

One of the coolest things about Adamas' house was that he had his own pizza oven—the real deal, bricks and all. Of course, he didn't make the pizza himself (he probably didn't know how to cook), and his… er, slaves were the ones doing all the cooking. They finished in record time and came into the Great Hall like a pack of zombies, setting all the food down in front of her.

Oh yeah, Percy thought while chewing on her third slice of pizza. This is totally better than staying at Poseidon's house.

And then her good mood went plummeting down because she just had to think of that guy. Of fucking course.

Thanks to her mistake, she was now chewing her food a lot more glumly than before.

Adamas was quick to notice it—mainly because he had been watching her out of the corner of his eyes in case she would break (humans were fragile creatures, okay?!).

He cleared his throat awkwardly, wracking his brain for whatever could make human children happy.

"Uh, you like video games?" He tried.

That got her perk up. "Mmh!" She answered, mouth stuffed. She nodded excitedly.

Moments later, right after dinner, she found herself settled in Adamas' gaming room playing against him. Adamas was fully focused, too focused to notice that she was forcing herself to stay distracted through the game. As much as she hated to admit it, but her mind was still very centered on her so-called 'father', their previous argument rewinding through her head like an endless loop.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, aggressively mashing the buttons and pretending the enemies she was slaying were him.

Her life was so much better now that she was away from him. Sure she was in Hell, but she was living with her super cool uncle who liked pizza and video games. She could do whatever she wanted without fearing for her life. This was a good change. She could get used to this. Screw Poseidon. He sucked.

Who needed a dad anyway?

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

"Poseidon—needs—to—DIE," Adamas hissed into his phone as he paced around his room. Another thing he and his niece shared aside from their love of junk food and video games was their inability to keep still.

"For the hundredth time we are not killing our little brother, stop suggesting that." Hades scolded him on the other end of the line. "How is she doing?"

"Well, she hasn't cried in her bedroom in five days," Adamas replied with fake enthusiasm. "I think she's a stress eater though. Is it normal for humans to eat through two boxes of piz—uh, junk food, a carton of ice cream, and four chocolate bars in a day?"

"Wha—you let her eat that much?!"

"I thought she needed it!" He cried out defensively. "And I dunno how humans work, you can't blame me!" Then, more fearfully, he added, "...She's not gonna explode or something, is she?"

"Well… I have heard of cases where humans spontaneously combust…" Hades said warily.

His eyes nearly popped out. "ARE YOU FOR REAL RIGHT NOW?!"

"But not from over-eating," Hades quickly added. "I believe she should be fine. But Adamas, humans require healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. You can't keep feeding her that stuff, it's not good for her!"

"Okay, okay, fine," he grumbled.

"I will deal with Poseidon," Hades then said, which made Adamas grin at the thought of his snobby little brother finally getting the lashing of a lifetime. "You continue caring for Percy. Speaking of her, what is she doing right now?"

"She's in Asgard."

Now that took him by surprise. "Asgard?" Hades repeated. "You took her to Asgard?"

"Yup. Apparently she wanted to apologize to Loki for beating him up or whatever. Made blue cookies for him and everything." She was even nice enough to share some with him too! Something Poseidon would never do. The amount of times Hades tried to drill in his head that 'sharing was caring'... Asshole never learned the lesson. Thank Chaos his daughter was nothing like him.

Hades made a sound of understanding. "Ohhh. That's very kind of her… Perhaps I should go as well to make sure things go smoothly." Or more like to make sure Loki didn't try to kill her.

"Yeah, anyway are you gonna go yell at Poseidon?" Adamas asked eagerly.

"You are not allowed to watch," Hades answered his unasked question. He rolled his eyes. Brothers. They were always so eager to watch the downfall of the other. Thank gods his girls weren't like that.

He started to whine, "Oh come on, Hades—"

"—Goodbye, Adamas," he said firmly. "And make sure to prepare a salad for Percy for when she comes back. No more unhealthy food." He hung up before any more complaints could be made.

While Adamas was busy bemoaning not being able to watch Poseidon get yelled at, Hades had already teleported himself to the foyer of his little brother's underwater palace. Immediately, his form began to change. His shirt and blazer melted off of him like liquid shadows, his legs had shifted into a tail more appropriate for the sea—iridescent black and purple scales with razor sharp fins—and his pointed ears had turned to fins of the same color.

Servants and guards milling around immediately tensed, sensing the god's ire.

"Where is my brother?" He asked them, trying his best to keep his usual polite disposition.

He knew Poseidon could sense him here, but the god of seas had yet to show his face. Most likely because he knew what he was here for. Like a child hiding from their parents to avoid being scolded. Hades would've thought it cute had he not been so upset.

"I-in the library, my lord," one of the servants answered.

He gave them a curt nod before swimming straight for it.

Libraries were always Poseidon's favorite places to go to ever since he was a kid, and it hadn't changed even eons later. It was his place of comfort and solace. He often went there when he got tired of socializing with people or… when something was bothering him.

Something clicked in his head.

He halted in his tracks and turned to a nearby maid. "Excuse me, but how long has my brother been in the library?"

"Oh, my lord has been in there for the past… twelve days, I believe?" She replied.

Twelve days. Percy had moved to Adamas' palace twelve days ago. "I see, thank you."

He resumed his path to the library, now deep in thought. He had an idea as to why Poseidon had holed up in the library for so long… but he had to see for himself if his findings were right.

And if he was right, then maybe things could get better for father and daughter after all.

(But perhaps that was just hopeful thinking.)

He burst through the doors of the library and headed straight to the very back of the grand room where he knew his brother would be. And lo and behold, there he was, sitting at the farthest table with his head shoved into a book.

"Poseidon." He said.

Poseidon continued to read, pretending as if he didn't exist. Hades refrained the urge to roll his eyes. How absolutely childish.

"Poseidon," he said more sternly. "Put the book down when I am speaking to you."

"..."

Without hesitation, Hades stormed forward and yanked the book from his hands.

Poseidon finally looked up to glare at him. "I was reading that."

"And I was speaking to you," Hades snapped, one hand on his hip.

"Why are you here?" Poseidon grumbled. He tried reaching out for his book but with a snap of his fingers, Hades made it disappear into black vapor. His eye twitched in annoyance at that.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Hades quipped, brow raised. "Apparently, you've been cooped up in here for the past twelve days. Hmm… what a coincidence. That's the same amount of time your daughter's been gone. I wonder why that is?"

The blonde scowled fiercely, "Whatever you are suggesting—"

"—Are you perhaps feeling remorse?" He questioned.

"No."

"Is that so?" He said doubtfully. "So you're telling me you've spent twelve days straight in the library without doing any of your duties for perfectly normal reasons."

"Yes."

"And what are those 'perfectly normal reasons' then?"

Poseidon's glare only worsened. "That is none of your business. Are you done here, Hades? Your presence is unwanted. Leave me be."

"I am not a servant that you can boss around, brother," Hades glowered. "Need I remind you of my promise should you fail to act as a proper father? I told you before that I would take you from her, but she seems to enjoy her time with Adamas so maybe the custody should fall to him."

"Adamas?" Poseidon echoed, barely hidden outrage in his voice. "You expect that pitiful excuse of a god to care for a child? My child no less?"

"Adamas cares for Percy, and she's very happy under his care. That's what makes him the better option over you. He cares and actually tries to do his best. You don't."

Poseidon started to grit his teeth together, his fangs glinting sharply and his claws digging into the wooden edge of the table.

"Bare your fangs at me all you want, but I speak only the truth," Hades narrowed his eyes, letting them glow fiercely to exhibit how angry he was truly feeling. "I'm disappointed in you, Poseidon. I know fatherhood isn't easy, but you never even bothered to try."

"How dare you say that," Poseidon hissed. "I have been trying! Don't you remember what she did? She not only disobeyed me, she picked a fight with a god that could've easily killed her in that mortal state of hers!"

For a moment, Hades frowned. Was this worry his brother was feeling? Was he even aware of it?

Poseidon went on, "I've given her an education and the training she needs to be a proper princess and goddess, but all she ever does is spit it back at my face! I thought she was finally on the right track, but then she goes and fights a god for such a petty reason. Childish! That temper of hers is impossible to control!"

"You're not trying to raise a child, you're trying to make someone into the exact copy of you! Percy is not you, Poseidon, nor does she want to be!" He raised his voice. "And temper, really? Loki was the one who started this mess by kidnapping her in the first place—she never disobeyed you, and is it really that surprising that she would lash out at the god who put her in this situation? You're such a hypocrite. As if you wouldn't react the same way."

While the two had their differences, they also had plenty of similarities. Both had wild tempers, though Hades far preferred Percy's temper to Poseidon's—whose solution was to always kill his problems. And don't even get him started on the natural disasters he would create whenever he was having a temper tantrum. He was honestly a nightmare to deal with.

Poseidon may be stoic, but his wrath was always the deadliest between their siblings. Even compared to Hera's explosive rage.

"You know what," Hades began quietly. "Yelling at you is pointless. You will never change, not even for the sake of your own child. This is all my fault."

Poseidon frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I never should've left Percy under your care. Maybe then things would've been better for her. I'll be taking my leave now, Poseidon. Oh and, you needn't worry about having to deal with her. You'll never see again."

Poseidon's claws were piercing through the wood now.

"Goodbye, brother." Hades waved his hand and returned the book back to him. Then, he started to leave.

"By the way," he paused. "I think our father would be very proud of what you've become."

Hades was finally gone and Poseidon was left alone in the silence. He stared at nothing, the book entirely forgotten by him.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Adamas perked his head up when he sensed the familiar presence of his piece-of-shit brother, Poseidon. Usually sensing his godly aura would make him the opposite of happy, but this was different.

Yesterday, Poseidon visited him.

After getting over the near-heart attack he felt, he humored the little brat and asked what he wanted (because he was curious and all, of course).

Big mistake because all it did was piss him off.

Poseidon had demanded to see Percy. As if the fucker had any right. Obviously, he said no, but he spent the entire day pissed off by his audacity that Percy had noticed it and asked what was wrong. He had to tell her what occurred and after several seconds of stony silence, she spoke up with a strangely specific request:

"If he comes by again, slam the door on his face while he's still in the middle of talking."

And now, he would finally be able to do it because Poseidon was here again.

He grinned deviously as he swung open the doors, greeting the blonde with a faux smile that had Poseidon narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Poseidon," he said, all saccharine sweet. "Whaddya want."

Poseidon gave him a scathing glare. "Isn't it obvious, you fool? Let me speak to—"

SLAM!

It took Poseidon three seconds to realize what had just happened.

"Adamas," he growled. "Open the door or I'll blast it open."

"You do that and I'm tellin' Hades," Adamas threatened to tattle without feeling an ounce of shame.

"You are acting like a child," Poseidon glared at the doors.

"yOu ARe ActInG LikE A cHiLD," he mocked. "Sorry, bro, Percy's too busy being happy—something I'm sure she was deprived of while under your care. BWAHAHAHA!"

"You—"

"—Come again next time, byeeeee~!"

The best part about all of this was that Poseidon couldn't do anything about it and just kept on coming back. And Adamas did the same thing, over and over again.

Day 1:

"Adamas—"

SLAM!

Day 2:

"Don't you fucking dare—"

SLAM!

Day 3:

"If you slam that door on me one more time—"

SLAM!

It went on like that for the remainder of the week. By the end of it, Adamas was feeling a little generous (not).

"I've about had it with you," Poseidon was seething, trident in hand like he was ready to tear the whole ship down. "Do you think of me as some sort of fool you can keep messing with, Adamas? Need I remind you that it was I who reduced you to bits and pieces and it was I that allowed Hades to order Beelzebub to repair you? If you do not send Percilla out here right now, I will—"

"—She's not here, dude, chill out," Adamas said boredly while checking out his gauntlets.

"What?"

Adamas looked up and snorted in amusement. "You seriously thought she was here? Have your senses gone dull, bro? She's been gone the whole day. She's at Beelzebub's place."

He had a great laugh at the look on his face before slamming the door again.

SLAM!

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Percy was at Beelzebub's study, boredly folding a paper airplane while the god busied himself with rummaging through his bookshelves.

"Do you think Loki forgives me?" She asked aloud, more so because she couldn't handle the silence anymore.

"Does it really matter?" Beelzebub sighed.

"Uh, yeah. What if he decides to get revenge by, like, cutting my hair or whatever?"

"As usual, your priorities are skewed. Loki cutting your hair is the least of your worries."

She paled. "Do you think he'll turn himself into a snake and wait for me to pick him up and then stab me?"

He actually stopped to look at her. His brows were furrowed. "Are you mentally ill or something? These scenarios you keep making up in your head are too specific."

"It's a movie reference, dude. Haven't you ever watched an MCU film before?"

"I've never heard of them."

Her jaw dropped. "No way! Don't tell me the movies don't exist here!"

"Do I look like I would know?"

"...Good point. Hey, have you ever watched any movies about yourself?" She had to ask, because there were tons of movies about the Devil.

"I have," he admitted with a grimace. "Only out of curiosity, though. They were all terribly inaccurate. Though to be fair, all the works related to the gods are inaccurate, be it books, shows, or movies."

She chuckled. She remembered when she and Thalia had a laugh over Disney's depiction of Hera in the movie Hercules.

But then she pushed the thought aside because thinking about Thalia—about everyone she left behind—would just make her sad again.

"The books I have on the bifrost are limited." Beelzebub spoke up, giving her the distraction she needed. He returned to the table she was at and sat down. His face was apathetic, but she had gotten used to his company to know that he was actually feeling frustrated.

"I'll have to pay the Valkyries a visit in Asgard. I'm sure they have more information about the gate than I do," he muttered. There was a familiar frown on his face, a frown that reminded her of Nico whenever he was told to socialize with people.

"You're going up to Valhalla?" She realized.

"Unfortunately." He grumbled. He really hated going out to meet people.

She perked up. "Can I go with you?"

He gave her a deadpanning look. "Don't you remember what happened the last time you went to Valhalla? I'd rather not have to deal with that."

Going up to heaven to talk to people was already bad enough, but a walking trouble-magnet tagging along with him would just give him a headache—and gods didn't even get headaches.

"Oh c'mon, please?" She begged. "That was mostly Loki's fault and technically yours too!"

"No," he said firmly. "I'm only there to retrieve the books I need and nothing more. If I bring you along, I'll end up staying there longer than I want to. It's already bad enough that I have to go up there for even a minute…"

She watched him carefully. It looked like it really bothered him to do this…

She bit the inside of her cheek.

"Hey, um, if you really don't wanna go, I can pick up the books for you? I promise I'll make it quick. I won't stop to talk or anything." Which sucked because she really wanted to go see Brunhilde and Göll since the last time she went to Asgard to apologize to Loki, none of the Valkyries were there. But hey, she wasn't about to go breaking promises.

(Always keep your promises kids! Because another kid might get life-long trauma should you break them!)

Beelzebub regarded her silently before shaking his head. "No… but thank you. Loki will be there, and he'll just cause more trouble for you that you can't control."

That… was true. It wasn't like she could teleport away from him like the other gods could.

"Oh…" Her shoulders drooped. "You're, uh, really working yourself to the bone doing all this. Have you been getting any sleep lately?"

"I do not need sleep. What I need is to find a way to die already.""

Yikes.

"...Why do you want to die so badly?" She asked curiously. She knew it was a personal question, but it was concerning to see how desperate Beelzebub had become ever since finding out the truth of where she came from.

He didn't answer right away.

A part of him didn't want to tell her. She was a test subject and nothing more, she didn't need to know personal details of his life.

But a foolish part of him didn't care. Maybe it was because he had grown weak. Maybe it was because deep down, he craved to create a bond with someone and longed for the old bonds he had lost eons ago.

(Initially, he had thought that years of loneliness and self-imposed isolation would strengthen his resolve, but now he realized it had only made him grow weaker.)

"I killed the people I love," he finally admitted. "I wish to atone for it. And the only way to atone is through death."

He was unable to look at her as he said this, refusing to see that sickening softness in her eyes—the same ones that Lucifer and Lilith had given him long ago.

"...I think your friends would rather you live on. They would want you to be happy." She said.

She had never killed any of her loved ones, but there were times she thought it was her fault that they had died anyway. The war had only made things worse. Bianca, Beckendorf, Silena, all those young lives that were lost. She wasn't their killer but sometimes she felt like she might as well be.

"...There is no way for me to be happy when all I do is kill everyone I love." There was despair laced in his voice. He looked down at his hand, the same one that had ripped out the hearts of his dear ones. "I thought a monster was the one responsible for taking them away from me, but that monster was me all along. This is why I must die. Please understand that this is something that needs to be done."

Percy's face crumbled at the admittance, and for once, she didn't say a word.

After that, it was finally time for her to head back. Adamas was there to pick her up, but for some odd reason he was strangely quiet.

At first, she thought Poseidon had done something wrong (she knew he had been visiting daily), but Adamas wasn't silent because he was angry. No, he looked anxious about something instead.

When they returned to his palace, she asked him, "Did something happen?"

He winced.

She frowned worriedly. "Is it Poseidon again?"

He shook his head.

"Then… what is it?" She furrowed her brows in confusion.

He made a weird noise in the back of his throat and pulled his phone out. He gestured to it. "I, uh, got a call from my mom—your grandma, Rhea. She likes to host these family get-together parties sometimes, and um, she's hosting another one. I've been invited."

"Okay…?"

"Poseidon was invited." He added.

"Oh."

"...She invited you too."

The color quickly drained from her face. "Oh."

FANART!

I GOT PICREW FANARTS FROM moonchild-artemisdaughter! They're all Daddyseidon:

I've been in a picrew phase for a while now so here are some picrews I made too:

picrew: neka.cc/composer/11762

MEMES!

I GOT MORE FAN MEMES FROM Luna999: 1, 2, 3, 4

THANK YOU! I ESPECIALLY LOVED THE WMMAP CROSSOVER!

My memes: 1, 2, 3, 4

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

Beelzebub: I don't like Percy. She annoys me.

Also Beelzebub: *obsessively watches a scene of her displaying that she cares about him over and over again* *feels uncomfortable seeing her sad and emo*

WE'RE FINALLY GONNA MEET GRANDMA RHEA!!! Percy and Poseidon will be seeing each other again in the next chapter too!!! Any guesses on how this family get-together will go?

Chapter 12: grandma rhea puts us on time-out

Summary:

This whole chapter is just about Rhea speaking FACTS

Notes:

EARLY UPDATE BECAUSE THE LATEST ROR LEAKS GOT ME SO EXCITED! We finally have the appearance of all the god fighters (aside from that 14th potential fighter they'll add should the mangaka make one of the rounds end in a tie), and there's only Rasputin's appearance we have yet to see! Susanoo looks badass and Anubis is so cute!!!

This is my longest chapter yet lol. It's 10k words!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"I THINK I'M GONNA BE sick," Percy uttered out as she paced around Beelzebub's study.

"You're a very dramatic person," Beelzebub noted blandly from his spot on the table. There was a thick tome in his hands written in a language Percy didn't understand. "Sometimes I wonder how you're not Zeus' daughter instead."

"Don't ever say that to my face ever again," she shuddered in disgust.

"Just an observation," he said dismissively. "And can you please stay still?"

"How do you expect me to stay still when I'm about to meet my entire 'family' and see that jerk again in a couple of hours?" She despaired, only to gasp as an idea came to her. "Quick, Beelie, snap my leg and tell Hades that I can't go."

He actually looked up from his book. "As tempting as that sounds, I'd rather not deal with your uncles' combined wrath. That, and a broken bone can be easily repaired by me. Avoidance is pointless."

"Can't you just say that something came up and you need me to stay here longer?" She begged.

"No. In fact, I would prefer it if you leave right now."

"You're not helping," she pouted.

"On the contrary, I am," he held up the large, ancient looking book in his hands. "I visited Asgard and the Valkyries lent me whatever information they had on the bifrost."

She perked up at that, her previous worries about the family get-together pushed to the back of her mind. Eagerly, she plopped down across from him and leaned forward.

"You already went there? Did you see Brunhilde and Göll? How were they?" She shot him with question after question.

"They were fine," he answered, not that he actually paid much attention to how they were doing.

Well that was good to hear. She hadn't seen them in a while and she missed them. "So what'd you learn about the bifrost?" She asked next.

"I have yet to finish studying the books and tomes they gave me, but I believe I'll have to see the bifrost myself," he muttered, sparing a glance at the stack of books he got from the Asgardian library. "There's no better way of understanding it than studying it in person after all."

"Can I come with you?" She asked hopefully. She was kind of curious about the bifrost. When she first ended up here, she barely got a chance to even look at it before she was attacked and had to flee.

Unfortunately for her, he shot that idea down. "Absolutely not."

"Awww, why can't I?"

"Because you annoy me."

She dropped her jaw in offense. "Wha—how do I annoy you?"

"You talk too much, you can't stay still, you whine about being hungry, you whine about being thirsty, you keep leaving strands of your hair all over my floors, you touch everything even when I tell you not to, you can't follow simple instructions, and—" he reached out to yank one of his books from her hands which she was using to make a book tower, "—you're always playing with my books."

"Technically they're not yours," she muttered under her breath.

He let out a heavy sigh. "Can't you just be quiet and read?"

"But I hate reading…! Well… it's more like I can't read, so I hate it." She admitted sheepishly.

He raised a brow. "You can't read? Does public education not exist in your world?"

"It does!" She answered quickly. "I'm just dyslexic, so… yeah. By the way, dyslexia's—"

"—A human learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words," he interrupted her, sounding like a walking dictionary. Nerd. "Yes, I am aware of it. But I'm curious, I would've expected the ichor in your veins—while diluted—would cancel out any defects."

"Defects? Uh, wow, ableist much?" She scoffed. "All demigods in my universe have dyslexia and ADHD."

He actually looked intrigued by that. "Oh?"

"The dyslexia's because we're only hardwired to understand Ancient Greek and nothing else. ADHD acts as our battle reflexes, taking meds for it would get in the way of our instincts and get us killed." She explained, still a bit miffed about his 'defects' comment.

"How fascinating…" He mumbled, quickly reaching out for his notebook and scrawling all of it down. "In our next meeting, I'd like to test your combat skills while taking Adderall and compare it to without. Don't worry, it'll just be another hellhound."

She gawked at him. "Are you kidding?! No way! I'm not hurting another hellhound! That's animal abuse!"

"That didn't stop you before," he pointed out.

"That was because you sicced it on me," she huffed. "I'm not fighting any hellhounds. I have a pet hellhound back home, you know? It doesn't feel right to kill them."

"You… had a pet hellhound." He repeated slowly.

She nodded. "Yeah. Her name's Mrs. O'Leary."

He was even more bewildered. "Your pet hellhound is married?"

She paused. Was she? Daedalus was the one who picked that name out and he never mentioned Mrs. O'Leary having a partner. Nor did she recall ever catching her with another hellhound.

"Uh… I dunno? Maybe?" She shrugged. "Anyway, I dunno if you're still in-contact with Poseidon, but can you, like, not tell him about my ADHD and dyslexia? I may not live with him anymore, but I don't want to give him more ammo to use against me, you know?"

'An insolent, stupid, worthless little girl' was what he had called her. Imagine how much worse he would've been if he knew that she had learning disabilities too. She already dealt with that sort of verbal abuse when she was a kid in school, she didn't want to go through that again.

"Sorry, but I'm supposed to tell him of any new developments I make with you whenever he asks," he said unsympathetically.

Her heart nearly jumped to her chest. "W-what?! No way! But what about doctor-patient confidentiality?"

"Again, I'm not a doctor, nor are you my patient. You're more like a test subject if anything."

I should've kept my fucking mouth shut! She screamed at herself. This was what she got for letting her guard down.

"Beelzebub, please, you can't tell him!" She practically begged.

He looked at her blankly and she stared back, eyes wide and even becoming watery. With a heavy sigh, he looked away and said, "Fine. I won't tell him. But we will be doing the Adderall test without any complaints from you."

Her eyes lit up and the grin she wore nearly split her face. It was as if she was never about to cry. "Deal!"

Was I just tricked? Beelzebub wondered, but found that he didn't really care much. Even if he did want to express his annoyance, it would be too late since he can sense Adamas arrive to pick her up.

"YOOO! YOU GUYS DONE YET?!" The ruffian god yelled out, his voice almost making the walls of the castle shake.

"Sometimes I fear that spending more time with him will make you more annoying," Beelzebub grumbled, rising to his feet.

Adamas was impatiently pacing around the foyer when they finally reached him.

"What took you guys so long to walk here?" He snapped. "Come on, come on, come on! We gotta go!"

Beelzebub could barely get a word in before Adamas grabbed his niece and promptly teleported the two of them back to his flying palace.

"Finally," Adamas muttered once they arrived. "Hades gets super high-strung when it comes to mom's family get-togethers so he'll be here extra early to pick you up, so hurry and get dressed."

"What about you?" She asked. She noticed that he was still in his usual attire.

"Uh, what about me?"

"Aren't you gonna get dressed?"

"No? I'm not going."

"HUH?" Her jaw dropped. "Why not?"

"I'm supposed to be dead, remember? It's fine, I already told my mom that I can't come and I made sure to give her extra gifts in Animal Crossing." He explained dismissively.

"Your mom plays Animal Crossing?" She blinked in disbelief, then remembered what was more important and shook her head. "Actually forget that—why can you opt out but I can't?"

"Because she specifically requested that you come," he answered. "She said the same with Poseidon. Guess she's gonna try and get you two to talk to each other or something."

Her face turned white. "Oh gods. What? Why are you just telling me about this now?!"

"'Cause I knew you'd freak out even more and not wanna come," he admitted sheepishly. "Look, you'll be fine. Your grandma's not gonna leave you alone with Poseidon or anything, plus Hades'll be there with you. Heracles is probably coming along—he's the only adoptive son that Hera actually likes—and the kid's annoying as fuck, but he's nice. You can stick with him too if you want."

But Percy was still horrified at the prospect of forcibly talking to Poseidon. "Tell them I contracted a deadly disease in Helheim and died. If you're gonna fake your death, then it's only fair that I do too!"

"First of all, I didn't fake my death, Poseidon faked it for me without my permission," he corrected with a scowl. "Second, even if you did die, your grandma would just find your soul in Valhalla and take you to the get-together."

She dipped her head back and groaned.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and ushered her to the grand staircase. "Now go get dressed before Hades gets here and decides to do it for you."

That was enough to make her book it for her room. She did not want Hades playing 'dress up' with her because she had the feeling the other god might enjoy it a little too much.

Unlike in Atlantis, Percy's clothes in Helheim didn't exactly follow the sea aesthetic. Her new closet was full of different shades of red, black, grey, and purple. Very little of her clothes consisted of bright and upbeat outfits. But as much as she missed her aquatic colors, nothing would make her want to go back to him.

She hurriedly put something on. A floor-length dark red and black dress that was slitted to the side and decorated with roses with black sheer sleeves, a black velvet choker, and a pair of dark heels.

After doing her hair and making sure she looked presentable enough (the thought that she was going to be meeting a bunch of nit-picky gods made her self-conscious), she rushed back to the foyer just in time for Hades to appear.

"Oh good! You're all ready," Hades beamed. Like a gentleman, he helped her down the stairs. "You look gorgeous, Percy."

"Thanks," she smiled. She noticed that he was alone. "Is it just us two going?"

"Demeter insisted on going there with Persephone and the kids," there was a brief twitch in his eye at the mention of his sister.

"Oh. I see." She said awkwardly.

"Welp, see ya guys later! Tell mom I said 'hi'!" Adamas waved them off.

Hades nodded in response and after making sure to pull Percy in close, he teleported themselves away.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Titans didn't really have a good track record on Olympus, and it wasn't any different in this universe either. However, Rhea was probably the most privileged Titan ever, which was no surprise since she was the mother of the six elder Olympians (or seven, counting Adamas).

Unlike Mnemosyne who resided in a simple palace in the lower half of Olympus, Rhea's home was at the very top where all the other more powerful gods resided.

The grand staircase leading to her home was surrounded by clouds, which made it pretty hard to see where she was going, but Hades was nice enough to hook arms with her and guide her to the very top.

The palace was styled like a massive Greek temple surrounded by beautiful plantlife that seemed to have stemmed from nowhere. High above it, a rainbow arched overhead.

As they drew closer, they came upon a circle of seven statues. She saw a few familiar faces on them; Poseidon, Hades, Adamas, and what was possibly a younger version of Zeus. The other three statues must have been Rhea's other kids, the elder daughters.

"Here we are," Hades murmured, guiding her to the front doors.

They opened as they approached and a figure from the inside was ready to meet them.

The goddess—no, the Titaness was massive. She thought Hades was tall being over seven feet and all, but Rhea had to have been nearing nine feet or so. She walked towards them, her movements filled with grace. She had glowing bronze skin and thick caramel brown hair that flowed down her back in gentle curls. She wore a ruby red attire with golden accents that hugged her figure. She was breathtakingly beautiful, but the second Percy saw her eyes, her awe turned to frozen terror.

Rhea's eyes were gold, as if someone had taken her eyeballs and dipped them in molten gold. The same kind of molten gold that reminded her of Luke and Kronos. Seeing that same gaze staring back at her made her breath stutter.

"Mother," Hades greeted, his voice pulling Percy away from her thoughts.

"Hades!" She gushed. "Early as always, my boy!"

She strode towards them and cupped her son's face, careful not to hurt him with the golden gauntlets around each of her fingers. Her hand was so large that it covered his whole head. She pecked him on the cheeks before turning her attention to Percy.

"And you must be Percilla!" She smiled widely, placing her hands on her face.

"Erm, hello," she greeted feebly, trying not to look straight into her eyes. But Rhea wouldn't have that. Rhea held her cheeks firmly and leaned down more as if to take a closer look.

"You're a lot softer than I expected," Rhea hummed, playing around with her face. She stretched her cheeks out, squished them together, and poked and prodded them with her fingers. "Your father's all hard edges and rocks. He used to have chubby cheeks though… I miss those days," she sighed longingly.

Finally, she released her face and Percy was left to rub at her skin in an attempt to soothe them.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you, Percilla," Rhea beamed, bringing her into a warm hug. Percy was practically buried under her boobs. "I was shocked when I heard the news that Poseidon had sired himself a child—I almost didn't believe it! It's such a shame that I couldn't meet you sooner…!"

Probably 'cause he's ashamed of me and didn't want you to meet me, being 'defective' and all, she answered in her head.

Hades cleared his throat. "Speaking of my little brother…" He trailed off.

"He's not here yet," she answered. "You're actually the earliest of your brothers. Most of your sisters are already here."

Hades' shoulders slumped in disappointment. Apparently he wanted to be the earliest. "Oh. Well, Adamas offered his greetings. He couldn't be here for obvious reasons."

"Figures," she sighed. "My poor little boy never leaves Helheim nowadays... Poseidon's so lucky I didn't wring his neck for that stunt he pulled…"

Percy wanted to tell her that she really should've, but refrained from it.

"I heard you've been living with him for some time now, Percilla," Rhea began, ushering them into her lavish home. "How has he been treating you?"

"Adamas? Oh, he's awesome," she couldn't help but grin.

Rhea beamed at the answer. "Truly? I'm happy to hear that! I never expected my son to be so good with children, I always thought he had an aversion like Poseidon. But it turns out even my unruly son can be soft for children. Poseidon however…"

She shook her head, letting out a wistful sigh. "I remember when Poseidon was just a little boy, I had him watch over baby Zeus for a bit, but when I came back, I caught him trying to put his little brother in the trash can. Guess he hasn't changed."

Percy tried not to laugh at the mental image of a tiny, stoic-faced Poseidon dumping baby Zeus in the trash.

Rhea clapped her hands together, "Anyway, come in, come in! There are other things I must deal with so I'll have Erastos and Hypatos lead you to the garden. In the meanwhile, speak with your sisters! Hades, introduce her to her aunts!"

"Of course I will, mother," Hades replied with a nod.

They walked into the palace and were greeted by two abnormally large lions with glowing manes and intelligent eyes. Percy nearly froze on the spot when she saw them; they were taller than her.

"These are my mother's lions," Hades explained to her quietly. "Erastos and Hypatos."

"Oh," she said in a very feebly voice.

She let the huge lions—Erastos and Hypatos—lead them down to the back of the house. They passed by several large hallways first, each of them decorated with paintings and pictures of the Olympian family as they grew up.

She couldn't help but slow down to stare at them. It was almost surreal seeing baby pictures of the gods, especially of Poseidon. She always assumed the guy just spawned into existence like an unwanted gremlin.

Baby Poseidon was… well, oddly adorable if she had to admit. Rhea hadn't been kidding when she said he used to have chubby cheeks, Poseidon had a face so round it reminded her of vanilla mochi. He was so pale too, with slightly rosy cheeks. The funny part was that his expression never changed even as he grew up—even as a baby he looked apathetic and done with the world*.

"Ah, I remember this one," Hades chuckled, pointing at a large photo of him with his brothers. "It took Adamas forever to keep still because he was trying so hard to make Poseidon smile for the photo. Zeus had a very full diaper during this moment too and I had to clean it because he got all fussy afterwards."

Hades already looked fully grown by the time Zeus was born, and the latter was just a baby nestled in his arms. Poseidon looked like a toddler here, his eyes empty as he stared at the cameraman (who was probably unnerved by the kid). Adamas looked the most different. Since this was taken way before Poseidon ripped him to shreds, Adamas' true form was shown. He had green skin with black marks over it. Unlike the angry scowl he usually wore today, he was all grins for the picture, arm thrown over Poseidon's shoulders. It was actually kind of sad to see how close Adamas wanted to be with Poseidon, knowing what he would do to him later.

"Hold on…" Percy furrowed her brows. A thought came to her. "How long ago was the picture taken?"

"Billions of years ago," Hades replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Her eyes widened. "Huh? But this was taken by a camera, wasn't it? Cameras didn't exist that long ago?"

"That is where you're wrong, my dear niece," he smiled teasingly. "Gods have always been much more advanced than humankind. Most of the technology they have today, we've already had for billions of years."

Her jaw dropped. "So… cellphones?"

"Hephaestus made them billions of years ago."

"The plumbing system?"

"Ptah from the Egyptian pantheon. Also billions of years ago. He was also the one who brought the idea down to Midgard so the humans could finally catch up. We were getting tired of waiting for them to 'discover' it. Midgard used to smell so bad, it was almost as if we could smell it from up here," he made a face of disgust.

"Wow…" She was awed. From what she knew, the advancement of technology mainly relied on mortals back in her world. She was pretty sure her gods didn't have cellphones and TV back in Ancient Greece.

They moved onwards and reached the back of the palace at last.

Rhea's garden looked much more majestic and beautiful compared to Persephone's, mainly because Persephone's garden was in Hell. As pretty as her flowers were, it was kinda hard to have an ethereal scenery when the backdrop were red and black clouds where blood-thirsty demons were flying around.

Marble statues depicting Rhea's children were decorated with vines and flowers, fruit trees seemed to be radiating with freshness, and every flower looked as if they were at their highest point of bloom. The lions continued to lead them, finally stopping at a large rectangular table where a group of gods sat chatting.

Percy recognized Persephone and her kids immediately, but sitting beside her was a goddess she had yet to meet—most likely Demeter. Demeter had dirty blonde hair that reminded her of wheat and deep brown eyes. But while Persephone's skin was pale, Demeter's was tanned similarly to Rhea's. She wore a green dress adorned with vines and flowers.

"It looks like Hades is here," another goddess announced, and the chatter stopped. "Oh? And who have you brought?"

"Percy!" Melinoe beamed. "You actually came!"

"Hey…" She smiled awkwardly. It wasn't like I had much of a choice, she wanted to say.

"Poseidon's daughter…" The first woman who spoke was surprised at first, but then her features warmed into a graceful smile. "Hello there. I've been waiting to meet you."

"Percy, this is the eldest of my sisters, Hestia," Hades introduced.

Percy's eyes widened in realization.

Aside from her dad, Hestia was her favorite goddess because she was the only one who hadn't fucked with her life one way or another, and she probably never would. She had no idea if this Hestia would be the same, but the more she stayed in her presence, the more reassured she felt. It was as if all her anxiety melted away. Despite just barely meeting her, Hestia made her feel safe, made her feel like she was at home wrapped up in her mother's embrace again.

Like Rhea, Hestia had eyes of molten gold with no sclera. Only difference was that Hestia's eyes looked like the center of a warm fire. She had long red hair that seemed to move as if it was a living flame being stoked and placed over it was a black veil. She wore a very modest burgundy Greek chiton that seemed so simplistic compared to all the other attires Percy had seen since being here.

Hades pushed a seat open for her. Percy sat down, noticing that there was an empty chair across from her. Then, Hades sat down on her left, sitting beside his eldest sister.

"So Percy," Hestia began. Rhea's two lions came over to her side and she was calmly petting them. "I heard you've been living with Adamas for some time now. I hope he's been treating you well?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but then she froze. Wait, nobody's supposed to know that he's alive!

"U-um, w-who?" She stuttered, pretending terribly.

"Don't worry," Hades whispered. "Everyone at the table knows that my brother's alive."

She relaxed. Oh. Well in that case. "He's been great! He's super cool, he lets me play video games and all that fun stuff."

"He lets her eat junk food too," Hades added with an amused roll of his eyes. "I had him put a stop to it."

"Wha—that was you?" Percy couldn't help but cry out. "Why'd you do that? He's been trying to put me on a vegan diet!" He even tried to make her eat grass once!

He had a great laugh over her suffering. "Apologies, Percy. We may be ignorant over how humans work, but we at least know that there's certain kinds of food you shouldn't be eating."

"Clearly he's not been feeding you enough," Demeter sniffed daintily. "Look at you, all skin and bones and you're so short too! A girl your age ought to be six feet at least!"

Being called short was a first. Percy was 5'10" (or 179 centimeters for non-Americans). She was considered above average when it came to height—at least in human standards.

Persephone sighed, "Mother, she's mortal. She's at the perfect height for mortal children."

"Are you sure?" Demeter squinted at Percy, who tried not to fidget under her stare. "What if she'll still be this short after being ascended?"

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Demeter. How about we change the subject? Percy's state is a very… delicate subject," Hades said with a tight smile.

Demeter scoffed loudly, eying him with derision, but before she could speak up, everyone in the room seemed to straighten as if they had sensed another's presence.

"Oh great," Demeter rolled her eyes. "The most insufferable couple in the universe has arrived."

Percy heard them before she could see them.

"—skin that fucking nymph, AND I'LL SKIN YOU TOO, YOU CHEATING BASTARD!" A woman was roaring fiercely at the entrance to the garden.

"Hera…" A familiar croaky voice said weakly. "My love, please! It wasn't what it looked like! I merely tripped into bed with her!"

"WITH YOUR DICK INSIDE HER LOOSE VAGINA?! DON'T BULLSHIT ME, I'LL KILL YOU!"

Hades gasped at the language, genuinely aghast by it as he reached out to cover Percy's ears with his large hands.

"Hera, Zeus! Watch your words, we have a child amongst us!" He scolded.

"The only child here is my manchild of a husband!" Hera harrumphed, finally coming into view.

She was a voluptuous goddess with a beauty that could rival her mother's. She donned a royal blue gown with golden accessories and accents, and atop her raven black hair was a golden circlet decorated with bold blue jewels.

Hera stormed over, arching an elegant brow when she spotted Percy. "Oh? Is this Poseidon's child?—and Hades, take your hands off her ears, you're being ridiculous! Well, child, shouldn't you introduce yourself to me?"

Percy's eyes widened in alarm. "U-um, uh, hello."

Hera wasn't very impressed. "Not even going to get up to bow at my feet? Ugh, whatever, I've heard you've been staying in Helheim anyway so it's to be expected that your manners are… lacking."

Fortunately for her, Hera went straight to her chair beside Demeter. She crossed her arms and tossed her wavy hair over her shoulder, but the irritation only grew.

"ZEUS!" She snapped, making everyone at the table flinch. Even the lions ducked under the table to hide from her. "Pick up your gods damn pace, you pathetic sack of bones!"

"Coming, dear!" Zeus wheezed, sounding like he was in a rush.

His frail form finally arrived, donning his usual white rags. Behind him were four other gods. The first one she immediately recognized as Heracles from the photos Beelzebub once showed her. The second was Ares, whose eyes bulged the second he saw her.

The two other gods must have been Hephaestus and Hebe, Hera's other children with Zeus. Hephaestus had the same amount of bulk as Heracles and Ares. He had a smooshed nose (probably from when Hera tossed him out of the heavens), a scraggly beard, and messy unkempt hair that looked as if certain clumps of it were burnt from working at the forges.

Hebe, Heracles' wife, was another beautiful goddess. She had golden hair that was curled into perfect ringlets and wore a poofy and lacy dress of a baby blue color. In Percy's opinion, give the woman a pair of wings and she would've been the perfect angel.

She half-expected to see Zeus' other kids (since this was a family gathering after all), but now she realized how stupid that sounded. Of course Hera wouldn't want her husband to bring his illegitimate kids along, and the only reason Heracles was here was probably because he was her favorite despite only being adopted.

With a huff, Hera sat at the end of the table with Zeus and their kids following suit. Heracles ended up taking a seat on Percy's right. He gave her a warm, but tired grin as if his parents' argument had completely drained him.

"Oh! Percy, you're here? But where's your father? Did he lose you again?" Zeus asked.

"Zeus…!" A chorus of groans could be heard.

"Have some tact, you buffoon!" Hera hissed. "The girl lives with Poseidon no longer! Which is to be expected. I mean, Poseidon? A father of a girl? Hah! Percilla, you're better off living with me! I will raise you to be a proper goddess and I will make sure to marry you off to the right god!"

Percy turned to Hades with a look of horror.

"That's not necessary, Hera, Percy's just fine in Helheim," he said calmly.

"You've been in Helheim?" Zeus perked up. "Gods, how much have I missed?"

"Everything, since you've been too busy being balls-deep in your latest whores," Hera said venomously. "I leave for an hour and you're already messing around with a low-lived nymph in OUR marital bed!"

"No, no! We fell, I swear!" Zeus was trying to convince her.

"You LIAR!"

"So," Heracles began while Hera yelled at Zeus in the background. His blue eyes meet Percy's. "Hi! I'm your cousin, Heracles. This is my brother, Ares, and my wife, Hebe."

Ares was shaking in his chair, probably remembering that the last time they met ended up with her running away in tears. Hebe was too busy making animals out of the napkins.

"I'm Percilla, but please call me Percy," she smiled, trying to be friendly. She still felt wary because of how her world's Heracles was like. She had a few reassurances that this Heracles was better, but there was only way for her to find out.

"Can I ask you something?"

He smiled, "Yeah, of course!"

"Hypothetically, if you met a girl while you were doing the Twelve Labors and she gave you ideas on how to successfully perform some of the tasks and even gave you a super cool sword, would you steal all the credit and forget she ever existed?" She asked in one breath.

Heracles blinked, genuinely horrified.

There was a scandalized gasp, but not from him. It came from his right; Ares, incensed by her words, exclaimed, "My brother would never do such a thing! He's an honorable man! Where did you hear such rumors?!"

"It's alright, Ares," Heracles patted his shoulder before turning back to her. "But he's right, I would never do something like that. I wasn't allowed any help during the Twelve Labors, but if someone did offer their aid, I would admit it to my father right away even if it meant failing my ascension test."

Though they probably would've already known to begin with, he mentally added.

Percy finally relaxed. "Oh thank gods."

Heracles tilted his head curiously, looking like an overgrown, overly muscular puppy, "I know you said it was only a hypothetical situation, but… it sounded quite specific. Did someone tell you I did that?"

"No!" She answered quickly just as Ares said accusingly, "It must've been Beelzebub! I know that no-good fly god's been watching over her so he must've told her all of these lies!"

"It wasn't him!" She said in Beelzebub's defense. She was starting to get upset at how little people thought of him; first Mnemosyne and now Ares.

"We're sorry, Percy," Heracles was quick to appease her. Fortunately, he really did look genuinely apologetic for his brother's accusation. "I know Lord Beelzebub isn't one for tasteless rumors. My brother tends to be protective of me, is all. He means no harm with it."

Heracles nudged Ares with his elbow, and the god of war had the decency to look sheepish.

He cleared his throat, blue eyes averting to the side. "Ahem. Yes. I, ah, apologize for that."

She nodded slowly. "...It's fine—"

"—Can we get this started already? What is taking mother so long?" Hera complained loudly.

Everyone turned to her. Apparently she had won her argument against her husband.

"Peace, Hera. Our little brother has yet to arrive," Hestia replied.

The Queen of the Gods wrinkled her nose. "Poseidon? How odd, usually he's here early."

"That's true…" Hades said thoughtfully.

"Hmmm… you don't think Poseidon's… avoiding this, do you?" Demeter wondered aloud, stealing a quick glance Percy's way.

"Wait," Hestia suddenly straightened up. "Mother just left. I think she's going to get Poseidon!"

Zeus started to laugh. "Oooh, someone's in trouble~! Hahaha!"

"You're in trouble too, you idiot!" Hera smacked him across the face.

Hestia sighed and sunk into her chair. This was going to be a long wait.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

The second Poseidon sensed his mother teleport into his palace, he knew he was going to get an earful from her.

"Well, well, well," Rhea drawled, appearing around the bookshelf and facing him where he sat at the table. She swam over to him, her tail shining with red and gold scales. "Is there anything you want to say to me, young man? Any reason why you're not coming to our family gathering?"

"I'm busy with my duties," he replied flatly.

"Don't lie to me, boy," she hissed, snatching the book from his hands. "You haven't stepped out of your library in weeks, you hermit!"

His eye twitched at being called a hermit, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Your daughter's there, you know," she went on. "She came in with Hades. She looked quite happy with him and from what she told me, she's happy under Adamas' care too."

"Is there any point to this, mother?" He asked, barely able to hide the irritation in his voice.

"You made her run away."

"I did not make her do anything." He replied in a clipped tone. "We had an argument, and like the child she is, she let her emotions get the best of her. Rather than returning to the palace, she opted to move to Adamas' home."

"And you don't want her back?" She asked.

"No."

"So you don't care about her at all?"

"That's correct. Are you done here now?" He asked impatiently.

"You know, Hades told me about the pitiful state you were in when he went to see you," she started. "If you really didn't care about Percy, you would've continued with your duties as if nothing ever happened. But you hid in your library like a coward instead. It's been weeks since she's left and you're still here. I don't know what you did to make her leave, but I at least know that deep down you felt some remorse for it. Am I right?"

He harrumphed and stubbornly refused to answer.

She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

"And don't get me started on the influx of dead spirits that were sent to Helheim. Your brother told me all about that too. Midgardians from coastal areas that were killed by 'sudden' attacks of earthquakes and tsunamis." She shook her head with a sigh. "You've always had the worst temper…"

"I do not," he refuted.

"You do," she deadpanned.

Everyone seemed to think that Poseidon's mood fluctuated between two states: chilling apathy or apoplectic fury with no in-betweens. But Rhea knew her son better than that, and right now, not only was she dealing with his childish stubbornness, but also his unwavering pride.

"You are too narcissistic, my son," she let out a heavy sigh. "As much as it pains me to say this, it is one of the traits you got from your father."

Poseidon glared at her fiercely and opened his mouth to object, but she raised a finger to stop him.

"Let me finish," she said sternly. "You're obsessed with perfection and the belief that you yourself are the epitome of it. You perceive others as flawed simply because they're not like you. The only reason you respect Hades so much is because he met your standards, not because you value him as a brother."

"That's not true." He said harshly.

She raised a challenging brow. "Oh? If a familial bond was all you needed to care for someone, then your own daughter wouldn't have fled from you. Perhaps it's true that you started to care for Hades after the Gigantomachy, but that's your problem Poseidon: you only start to see the value in people once they've met your ridiculously high standards. They're worthless to you if they can't. And that's the situation you put that poor girl in."

"You started to warm up to your daughter, but you lost it the second she made a mistake. It made you remember that she wasn't like you, that she wasn't the perfect goddess you wanted, so you hurt her and now you feel guilty. But instead of apologizing, you hid away like a child because you hate the thought of caring for someone you think is 'beneath you' because that would mean that your entire ideology was wrong. Am I missing anything?"

He remained stubbornly silent, which didn't surprise her. He hated having to admit when he was in the wrong.

But Rhea wasn't about to let up.

"You cannot care for her properly because you refuse to let yourself!" She snapped. "All because she cannot meet your outrageous expectations! Just let her in! Why must you repress yourself like this, my son?"

More silence. Poseidon wasn't even looking at her at this point.

She crossed her arms. "I only see three options here. You can either forget about your beliefs or make an exception for your daughter. Or… you leave her be and let Adamas raise her."

The idea of his daughter being raised by someone else seemed to irk him enough for his jaw to clench and the muscles in his arms to tense up.

"Get up, Poseidon," she ordered. "This is your one chance."

He looked at her with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?"

She smiled, all sharp and merciless. "This is your one chance to make amends, my dear. If you fail, you can say goodbye to your daughter. I don't think you're aware of how many people want to take her under their wing. Do you think Adamas and Hades are your only threat?"

She let out a cackle and snapped her fingers. Soon, the two found themselves at the center of her garden, their tails replaced by legs and their regular clothes back on their bodies.

Percy was in the middle of talking to Heracles about his tattoos when she promptly choked on her spit the second she noticed Poseidon's presence. He pointedly looked away from her.

"Sorry for the wait, children!" Rhea smiled angelically as if she hadn't just been taunting her son. "I had to drag this lazy boy over. Come, Poseidon, your seat is just over here."

She had a vice grip on his shoulder as she forced him forward to the only vacant chair: the one right across Percy. The poor girl looked like she was about to throw up.

Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my FUCKING gods, she was internally yelling in her head. Okay, okay, this is fine. This is fine. Just act normal!

She stole a quick glance at him only to meet his eye. They immediately turned away, pretending it never happened.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family looked at each with deadpanning eyes, having caught the exchange between them. Rhea rolled her eyes. They were definitely father and daughter.

Rhea clapped her hands, summoning the food to the table. As mouth watering as everything looked, her appetite had already left the second Poseidon arrived.

There were a lot of merry cheers once the food arrived and Percy let out a feeble, "thanks, grandma" when everyone said their thanks.

Her hands went for the bowl of soup, but she was shaking so much that Hades was starting to look at her in concern, as if she might explode.

Her leg was bouncing erratically due to her frazzled nerves, and she nearly jumped when Hades reached over to grab her thigh, making her leg stop moving.

"Calm down," he whispered in her ear, making a shiver roll down her spine. "You'll be fine. He won't bother you."

His hand was moving up and down now. Percy swallowed thickly, only to jump again when a loud SNAP! was heard. She looked up. Poseidon had snapped his utensils in half and was now glowering at his elder brother.

Hades smiled innocently and grabbed a napkin. "Ah, you have something here, Percy," he said loudly, wiping a nonexistent spot of soup from the corner of her lips.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! She wanted to scream, her comically wide eyes darting between him to his wife and kids. The three siblings didn't seem to notice—too busy stuffing their faces and all—but Persephone was watching them very closely. And instead of reacting like how a normal woman would react when catching her husband lusting after his niece, she was beaming at them. Like how a fangirl would beam whenever their ship finally became canon.

Why can't we just be normal?! She despaired. She hesitated to remove the hand. Hades liked her, maybe not in the way she preferred, but he liked her and kept her safe. If it weren't for him, she'd be dead by now. If she removed his hand, would he be upset with her? Offended? Would she lose his protection?

She glanced over to her other side, sweating buckets as she prayed that Heracles didn't realize what was going on. Fortunately, he wasn't even looking at her. He was engaged in a conversation with Ares.

It seemed like the only person who noticed what Hades was doing under the table was Poseidon, and he was not happy about it.

Rhea cleared her throat, "Poseidon, instead of glaring like a stubborn boy, why don't actually start eating, hmm?"

And of course, she had to be loud about it too so now everybody was looking around to see what Poseidon was so pissed about (this time). Percy panicked. Hastily, she swatted Hades' hand off of her thigh, but it was too late.

"Oh my," Demeter's eyes lit up at the prospect of Hades leaving her daughter for another unfortunate victim. Meanwhile, Makaria and Melinoe were each giving their brother pats on the shoulder, comforting him over his 'loss'.

Hera was giggling into her palm, as if the whole thing was the most entertaining thing she had ever seen. Percy felt mortified and terrified at the same time. Nobody seemed to think that this was wrong.

Except for Heracles… mainly because he didn't even see it.

He blinked, looking at her and Hades with an innocent look. "Did something happen?"

Percy tried to stammer a reply, but Poseidon angrily jabbed a piece of steak off a plate before she could start. He dropped the meat onto his own plate and glowered at his mother. "There. Happy now?"

She shot him a sardonic smile. "Very."

Percy tried her best to continue eating after that, but she was honestly too humiliated. Almost everyone at the table saw Hades stroking her leg and rather than reacting appropriately, they treated it like some exciting sex scene from a show.

Friendly chatter ensued between the family. The only ones not engaging were Poseidon and Percy who stiffly ate their food. Rhea watched them silently, eye twitching in annoyance when nothing happened.

"Good gods, you two," she let out a heavy sigh, fork slamming down. "We're nearly at dessert time and you've barely touched your food! How disrespectful!"

Percy panicked. "Oh, no, grandma, I'm just, uh—"

"—No, no! No excuses young lady!" Then she gasped, as if a brilliant idea came to mind. "I know what to do now."

Poseidon narrowed his eyes at her. "Mother…"

"If a nice hearty meal isn't enough to make you speak to each other, then I'll just have to take you elsewhere," she said, a smile crawling over her face.

Percy exchanged a lost look with her cousins, but none of them seemed to have a clue on what she was talking about. The elder gods, however, knew.

Zeus practically lit up. "Oh finally!" He cheered. "It's been so long since his turn in there!"

"Where?" She wondered aloud.

"It's decided," Rhea said, straightening herself up. "I'll send you there and you will learn to get along, hopefully by the time dessert is served. Goodbye now!"

She clapped her hands and Percy and Poseidon found themselves being teleported away.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Her feet hit the dirt. Thankfully, the landing wasn't so hard that she toppled over, but the sudden gust of high winds was what startled her. She found herself standing at the very edge of a mountain's summit, overlooking a pristine shore being washed by glittering blue waves.

Beside her, Poseidon clicked his tongue in annoyance.

She turned to him, hesitant but wanting to know, "Where are we?"

"This is…" His face did a little grimace at this part. "The 'time-out island', as she calls it."

"...Time-out island?" She repeated slowly, staring at him in bewilderment.

"Yes," he answered through gritted teeth. "The 'time-out island'. As you can tell by the ridiculous name, my mother would send me and my siblings here whenever we misbehaved as children. Zeus, of course, was here the most."

A small laugh almost left her throat, but one glare from Poseidon was enough to stifle it. Still, it was kind of funny. A 'time-out' island… for gods… Pfft.

"So… what do we do now?"

"Nothing," he said, still scowling. "This island is under my mother's jurisdiction. I cannot teleport out of here unless it's with her permission. Obviously. It wouldn't be much of a punishment if we could leave whenever we wanted."

"Is there anyone who could help us?" She asked hopelessly.

"No, we are alone here."

"This is her idea of therapy?" She asked in disbelief. "Just throw us on an island and hope for the best?"

"Yes." He said bluntly.

This family's seriously crazy, she thought.

Without a word, he strode forward, sitting down at the edge of the cliff. The sight kind of shocked her; stiff, prim and proper Poseidon willingly sitting on the ground and probably dirtying his fancy attire.

"How long is she going to keep us here?" She asked.

"I don't know," he replied in a clipped tone. "Mother can keep us here for years, centuries even."

Her jaw dropped. "Centuries?!" She didn't have centuries! She couldn't afford to stay here for that long! That was ridiculous! Surely Rhea remembered that she was mortal and couldn't stay here for centuries, right? Hades had to be telling her that, or maybe Heracles… right?

She backed away from the edge, heart racing. Okay, calm down, she told herself. Rhea's not dumb, she knows I can't stay here for that long.

So for now, all she could do was wait for them to be sent back. She should probably head down too, since being so high up in the air made her uncomfortable. She preferred getting closer to the shore.

Her feet were already leading her down the summit when Poseidon turned to glare at her. "Where are you going?" He demanded.

"Down," she replied, matching his irked tone. "I'm not staying up here with you."

There was definitely no way the two of them were gonna get along any time soon, which meant—to her great despair—that they would also be missing out on desserts.

"You want to risk walking down a mountain in those shoes of yours?" He sneered, then scoffed. "Be my guest."

Smiling sarcastically, she kicked her heels off and strode away. She turned her back to him, unaware of his careful stare as she started to descend.

In the midst of walking, she lost her balance. She couldn't help it. The way down was pretty steep and the safest path was this tiny strip of land on the edge. A part of the edge broke away when she stepped down, and it was too late for her to catch herself.

Her eyes widened in horror, stomach dropping as she was sent over the edge, but before she could even scream, a large hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her back to safety.

"Foolish girl!" Poseidon roared, holding onto her wrist so hard he could almost break it. "Be more careful! Does your own mortality not faze you?!"

It wasn't my fault! It was an accident! Was on the tip of her tongue, but right now her whole body was hot with aggravation.

"No, it doesn't," she growled with frustration, getting fed up with him. She wrenched herself free. "In fact, I embrace it!"

He scoffed in disdain. "You wish to remain mortal?" He was mockery, cruelty, and amusement all rolled into one. "What naive thinking, daughter."

"You want me gone, don't you?!" She snapped at him. "Well, good news: you don't have to worry about that! You won't find me anywhere after I finally kick the bucket!"

He narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She let out a scoff and stubbornly refused to answer.

But to be honest, she didn't really have a clue where she would go if she were to die in this universe. Would her spirit go to Valhalla like all the other human souls here did, would she return to her world and finally be able to rest in Elysium where her deceased friends would be waiting for her, or… or would she just be roaming around an endless void with nowhere to go?

She didn't want to find out. So she made a mental note to ask Beelzebub for his theory later.

She turned away from him and stormed forward, ignoring the anger and impatience growing in his eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?" He harshly grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around to face him. "Answer my question. What did you mean by that?"

"Why do you care?" The words came out more bitterly than she liked. Giving him a hateful glare, she turned away and continued her trek down the mountain.

She heard him click his tongue behind her, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. Ah, so he was following after her silently. Great. Though to be fair, he was the sea god so he probably wanted to be near the sea too.

Meanwhile, Poseidon was barely able to hold back unleashing his full rage.

What is the meaning of this, mother? He thought angrily, pushing his thoughts into her mind. He knew that she was watching them. You control this island. You could've prevented that path from breaking away. You are purposely endangering her life.

And you're doing such a good job protecting her! Her voice cooed in his head. How sweet. You're almost becoming a proper father!

Cease these antics of yours, he demanded. The brat is mortal. Take us back already.

No, I don't think I will, she simpered. I think you two should stay there just a bit longer. By the way, you guys missed dessert.

Poseidon was ready to snap at her, but he felt her side of the connection cut off so he was left to simmer in his rage.

Percy glanced back at him curiously. He looked angry, but she couldn't pinpoint why. And he definitely wasn't going to speak out his thoughts anyway. Shaking her head, she quietly resumed walking, praying that no other wild accident would occur.

They managed to make it down with relative ease. Once they got to the bottom, she couldn't help but pick up the pace, jogging towards the beach as the wind blew her hair back. The very sight of the sea was almost enough to lift up her mood.

She dove into the water, clothes and all, and felt the tension in her body go away once she was submerged. The splash she heard behind her told her that Poseidon followed suit. She ignored him, diving deeper under the water and leaving him alone.

The second Poseidon touched the water, his clothes melted off his skin like seafoam. His legs merged together to form his grand tail and his fins grew into place.

As much as he detested the 'time-out island', the sea was very clean and beautiful, something he could at least appreciate. And he could tell that Percy enjoyed it too. The girl was already admiring everything she could find on the seabed, so distracted that she didn't even realize that he was watching her.

He could still hear his mother's words echoing in his head: "You cannot care for her properly because you refuse to let yourself!"

His mother could be so annoying sometimes. And so perceptive too.

He hated to admit it, but Percy had been growing on him. Kind of like how mold grew on walls.

He didn't welcome the idea of fatherhood—who would when it was suddenly forced onto you?—but… it didn't turn out to be so horrible. She was annoying, yes, and usually the first thing he would do when he met someone annoying was kill them, but he couldn't find himself doing that to her. Oh there were definitely times where he attempted to kill her in those earlier weeks—had Hades not been around, she would've been dead by now.

But time passed by, and suddenly the murder attempts had lessened to the point that they were simply just passing thoughts with no follow-up action.

He no longer wanted her dead. He didn't understand why, perhaps it was that 'paternal instinct' Hades kept raving about was what kept him from killing her.

Either way, he got used to her aggravating, annoying, infuriating presence—and he could not stand it. It went against everything he stood for. He, who was Perfection, had a heavily flawed and imperfect daughter, and instead of killing such a stain to his bloodline, he kept her alive.

I can kill her right now, he thought darkly, blue eyes stalking her every movement like a predator. She may be of the sea, but he was the sea. He could crush her with a simple thought, use her own gifts against her, let the water squeeze her body until she popped and he would finally be rid of her.

But images kept flashing through his head. Her nervous smile. The way her eyes shone as she swam around the sea. Her head bowed over a large tome as she poured all her efforts into her studies. She was nothing like him, but her blood was his, and his blood was hers. Father and daughter.

No, he tried to deny. She was of no worth keeping around. It was a waste of time trying to mold her to perfection, trying to—

"I don't care about perfection," he could still hear her voice ringing in his head from that fateful day. He remembered her face too; red, watery-eyed and filled with emotion that he didn't like to think about. "I just want a dad! But you're too far up your own ass to even give me that!"

"I only see three options here," he recalled his mother saying. "You can either forget about your beliefs or make an exception for your daughter. Or… you leave her be and let Adamas raise her."

It finally dawned on him the true reason they had been sent here. Rhea didn't put them here in hopes for them to get along; this was a test for him and him only.

He had a choice to make, and he had to make it now.

"...Percilla." He called out her name.

He saw her body tense up. She turned to him, face wary as she slowly swam up. She kept a good distance between them, but that would've been useless.

"...Yes?" She said carefully.

His hand twitched at his side. Kill her. Drown her. Rip her face off. Kill her, kill her, kill her—

"The citizens of the Atlantean Empire have yet to meet their Princess," he found himself saying instead, his hand now relaxed at his side. "A tour of the seven kingdoms is necessary to do so."

She stared at him, that wariness disappearing. Confusion set in.

"Are you… are you asking me?" She even pointed at herself, just to make sure.

"I need an answer, Percilla."

Holy shit. She was floored. Poseidon was asking her. For permission. Instead of just demanding it.

"You… want me to meet your people?" She asked, stupefied.

"They are your people too, have you forgotten?" He deadpanned.

What is going on? She felt dizzy all of a sudden. Did Rhea drug the food or something?

"I'm not much of a princess," she said slowly. "I doubt you'd want them to meet me."

She waited for him to agree, to insult her and say, 'you're right, you're a great disappointment and I'd be embarrassing myself if I introduced you as my daughter', but the words never came.

"You are still learning. I suppose that's… satisfactory enough. For now."

She stared at him anxiously, looking at him up and down for any hint that she could be speaking to a doppelganger or whatever. But this was 100% Poseidon.

"...Can I think about it?" She asked quietly.

His lips thinned in displeasure. Now was the moment for him to change his mind, to go back to the horrible Poseidon that she was used to dealing with, but that didn't happen.

He nodded. "Fine."

Rhea had seen and heard enough.

Not even a second passed before the scenery changed and Poseidon found himself sitting in the chair he was in before, only this time, the garden was empty save for him and his mother. Percy was nowhere to be found.

"I sent her back to Adamas," she assured. "Left her with a slice of cake too, of course. No desserts for you though, young man." She wagged her finger at him.

"Mother."

She laced her fingers together. "Hmm?"

"You knew I was thinking about killing her back on the island." It wasn't phrased as a question. He already knew the answer. "If I had done it, would you have tried to stop me?"

"Yes," she answered without hesitation. "But I would've taken her away from you, and you would've had to live with it."

FANART!

HERE ARE MORE PICREWS I MADE:

picrew: picrew.me/en/image_maker/230505

MEMES!

HERE ARE SOME FAN-MEMES FROM Noodle_19: 1, 2

And more from Luna999!!!!: 1, 2, 3

PLS THE MEATBALL ON HIS TITTIES

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

AUTHOR'S NOTE!

I had to add this cuz I saw some panels from the manga about the Greek bros when they were kids and Poseidon as a baby cracked me up cuz he literally looked dead inside

Notes:

Alright so, about those 3 options Rhea mentioned, which one do you think Poseidon would actually follow through? Do you think he'll: forgo his beliefs, make Percy an exception to them, or give up and just let Adamas raise her?

Chapter 13: born to be a princess, forced to be a child soldier

Summary:

The Atlantean Empire LOVES their new princess! Now if only Poseidon could agree… (or maybe he already does?)

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Here are the results to my latest tumblr poll I made for fun:

I was surprised that "everyone" only got second place, I thought it'd be number one wtf

Also, DID YOU GUYS KNOW THAT THE ROR GODS ARE OLDER THAN THE UNIVERSE???? According to ch 4, Zeus was literally alive before the Big Bang:

I'm so shocked, I thought they'd be a few billion years old, BUT THIS MAKES THEM OVER 13.8 BILLION YEARS OLD. They're older than the planets, older than the fucking universe omg

PERCY WAS TELEPORTED RIGHT IN front of her uncle with a plate of cake in hand that she definitely wasn't holding before (thanks grandma!).

"You're back!" Adamas was pleasantly surprised. "And you're alive! So, how was it? Was the food good? Is that cake for me?"

She quickly pulled the cake out of reach from his grubby hands. "The cake's mine! I think grandma gave it to me 'cause I missed dessert."

"How could you miss dessert?!"

"Well…" She winced. "I kinda got sent to the time-out island? But it was all my dad's fault though! I did nothing wrong!"

His eyes widened a little. "The time-out island?" He let out a whistle. "Shit, I haven't been there in forever. What'd you guys do to get sent there?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. That jerk tried to avoid coming so she had to force him there. And I think she was hoping for us to try and talk things out, but we couldn't even look at each other. She might've been upset about that."

"And what happened on the island?" He reminded her of gossiping teenagers, always wanting to know every detail of things.

"Well… nothing bad, surprisingly," she muttered. "He didn't try to kill me—" He even saved her at one point, though she didn't want to talk about that, "—but, uh… at the end, before grandma took us back… he… umm…"

"He…?" Adamas leaned in eagerly.

"He… offered to give me a tour of the Atlantean Empire? He wasn't demanding, he asked for my permission and everything. It was super weird."

His jaw dropped. "Wait, what? Percy, tell me everything."

She blinked, but did as she was told. She recounted everything that had happened on the island, even the part where he prevented her from falling off the top of a mountain.

When she finished, she expected him to explode. Either with laughter or anger or something. But strangely enough, her usually loud uncle was now silent. He stared at her in pure astonishment.

It took several seconds for him to finally say something.

"...Oh my gods," he whispered. "He was trying to apologize."

She cocked her head back. "Huh?" Where did he get that idea?

"Look kid, your dad fuckin' sucks. He's an awful dude. He does terrible shit and he never apologizes for it even when our mom tells him to. I have never ever heard the words 'I'm sorry' leave his crusty ass lips," he told her, which was kind of hypocritical since he wasn't the type to apologize for anything either.

"Um…"

"But that doesn't mean he's never apologized in his own way though," he continued. "On very very very rare occasions when your dad feels bad for somethin' or when he realizes he's in the wrong (which he always is), he repents in ways that don't include him actually sayin' 'I'm sorry' 'cause he's too damn prideful. That's what the whole 'tour' thing is about. That loser's tryin' to tell you he's sorry and wants to make it up to you by taking you around the kingdoms."

She stared at him in utter bewilderment. "W-what…? No… No way, that's…"

Percy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Poseidon… actually felt bad about what had happened? He was trying to apologize to her?

No. That couldn't be it. Poseidon was heartless. He didn't care about anyone but himself. Why would he feel bad about hurting her? She was nothing to him. Just a disappointment. A daughter he never even wanted.

The doubt was written so clearly on her face that even Adamas—one of the least emotionally intelligent gods of the Greek pantheon—could see it.

"Trust me, Percy," he insisted, uncharacteristically serious. "I can hardly believe it either, but he is 100% genuinely sorry for what he did."

A fucking miracle was what this was. He could barely remember the last time Poseidon felt bad for fucking something up, probably back when they were still living with their mother. After that, Poseidon's merciless and cruel nature only increased and Rhea was no longer around to temper him. Hades had tried his best of course, but Poseidon was impossible to deal with.

But this tiny, runty little kid was able to bring him to his knees—metaphorically of course. He doubted that Poseidon would ever drop to his knees over anyone, but he was beginning to realize that Percy had a pretty good chance.

Poseidon was changing for the better—not in the "I'm gonna stop killing people and love everyone uwu!" way, but in the "I'm gonna be less of a dick to my daughter" kind of way. He was changing for her sake and her sake only, and honestly, Adamas would take it. If anyone deserved to have a kinder Poseidon, it'd be Percy, his literal child.

"You're… good for him," he told her. "And hell, he might just be good for you too, Percy." Once he got his act together, of course.

She wasn't so sure about that. Whatever 'change' Adamas seemed to see in his little brother, she was completely doubtful of. As for him being good for her, well… Let's just say she didn't have a good track record when it came to fathers. Paul seemed to be the only one who was a constant, stable presence in her life.

(Plus, she wasn't planning on staying here for too long. Getting attached… well, that was just a recipe for pain.)

"Look, if you… wanna take up his offer, go for it. I won't stop you," he sighed.

"...Do you think I should?" She asked meekly.

He shrugged. "Kinda? I mean, Poseidon's seriously not the type to feel bad over anything so I think he's really trying with you here. But I honestly can't blame ya if ya want nothin' to do with him either."

"Just…" He grimaced and looked away, suddenly shy all of a sudden. "If you wanna give him a chance, and it doesn't go well, just know that you gotta home with me, okay?"

The upper corners of her lips lifted up. "That's super sweet of you."

He placed a hand over her face to block out her smile. "Shaddup. You're lucky you're my favorite."

"Awww! Don't worry, you're my favorite too!" She grinned. Out of all her relatives here, Adamas was definitely her favorite. Hades used to be her favorite, but er, he was a bit of a creep. She was still wary about Zeus, and she only met her aunts a few hours ago.

Adamas was the only member of the family who was genuinely nice to her without any creepy intentions. He was probably going to be the one she missed the most once she found a way back home.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

The next day, Percy found herself standing at the center of Poseidon's throne room.

It had been, what? Nearly three weeks since she left the palace? Despite the short amount of time since she had been gone, the palace seemed… so different now. The water was darker and felt colder. Proteus, who was usually at his side, was nowhere to be found.

"You are here." Poseidon said, blinking almost as if he couldn't believe it (you and me both, dude, she thought with a snort).

Instead of his regular form of nearly seven feet, he was around fifty feet now, sitting on his now equally massive throne. Percy couldn't help but admire it. Back home on Olympus, her dad's throne looked like an oversized fishing chair with a built-in holster for his trident. This one was different.

The back of his throne resembled the inside of a humongous abalone shell, the pearlescent colors being a deep blue, green, purple, gold, and black. It was decorated with black pearls and behind it, she could see massive pieces of coral that nearly touched the ceiling. The scariest part was that underneath his chair were massive tentacles that were moving. They slowly swept around the floor, some wrapping around nearby columns. They were big enough to crush them. Either he had a monster hiding underneath his throne, or his throne was actually sentient. She didn't know which was scarier.

Overall, it was a pretty cool throne, fitting for the ruler of the seas.

"Um… hi…" She said awkwardly.

He said nothing back.

She cleared her throat. "So, uh, about your offer…"

"You've finished thinking it over?" He questioned.

She nodded, breathing in deeply. "I would like to see your empire."

"Our empire," he corrected.

That caught her off guard. Her eyes widened a little, and she could feel some heat creeping up her cheeks. "O-oh. Um… our empire then."

For a few seconds, he didn't speak. It was nerve-wracking waiting for him to say something. If she wasn't already underwater, she would've been sweating from how anxious she felt.

"Good." He said. She couldn't tell if he was pleased or not, his face was so painfully stoic. "We will begin tomorrow. We will be gone for two months, so—"

"—Two months?!" She squeaked, interrupting him.

"...Yes, two months." He replied. "We will spend one week in each kingdom. That is seven weeks, thus, two months."

Percy felt her jaw drop to the floor. She didn't think this tour was going to take that long!

Stupid, he literally rules the entire ocean! That's, like, more than half of the planet! Of course it's gonna take that long! She inwardly scolded herself.

"W-will anyone be coming with us?" She asked feebly.

"No."

"But… Proteus…"

"He will remain here."

She felt like wailing. There was no way she could survive two months alone with only Poseidon.

She swallowed thickly, an excuse already forming in her head. "Um, is it possible for us to take a raincheck? I just remembered that Uncle Adamas signed us up for this Fortnite competition and I really don't wanna let him down, so… uh, yeah. Is that okay?"

Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes! She begged.

He stared at her. And then began to speak:

"You know, daughter, you remind me of a man I knew once, long ago," he drawled, the stoic look never leaving his face. "He requested to meet with me. I was in a gracious mood, so I granted it, but when the meeting was only days away, he sent me a letter saying he wouldn't be available because he changed his mind. On the day we were supposed to conference, I ordered him brought to me in chains and vaporized him for wasting my time. What a fickle man he was… I believe he once stood at the spot you stand on now."

He let out a soft sigh at the end, leaning back on his throne like he was reminiscing on the good ol' times. Meanwhile, Percy stared at him in wide-eyed horror. It had been a while since she felt this familiar sense of dread and she didn't welcome it.

She clapped her hands together and plastered on her most sweetest smile. "U-um, actually, daddy, I think Uncle Adamas wouldn't mind if I postponed our little competition!"

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to get in the way of your… bonding." He said the word 'bonding' as if it was something vile.

"Totally!" She cried out in agreement, hoping she sounded more excited and less terrified. "Which means I actually have time to go with you! Yay!" She started clapping enthusiastically, feeling herself wither away on the inside. This was a nightmare.

"...Hmph," the corners of his lips lifted up ever so slightly into what resembled a smirk. She could tell that he was enjoying every second of this.

"What a relief," he replied smoothly. "And here I thought I would have to give my brother another visit."

She shuddered. That was definitely a threat. Now she was glad she changed her mind so quickly. She didn't want Adamas to get hurt by him again.

"I believe now is the time for your… lunch, correct? Go on now, daughter. Afterwards, prepare for tomorrow." He ordered.

She nodded with a stiff smile and left the room.

You fucking jerk, she internally sobbed.

Unfortunately for her, tomorrow came by too quickly. She was woken up by Proteus who made quick work of getting her ready for the day. He did her hair and even picked out the clothes she would be wearing. She knew this tour of the empire wasn't going to be some simple roadtrip, but it made her nervous how much he fretted over making sure she was perfect.

By the end of it, she was donning an oceanic corset decorated with gold and lined with pearls. Attached to it was a long blue skirt that billowed around like she was wearing living beach waves.

After a hearty breakfast, she was ushered out of the palace and led to the stables where the chariot was being prepared. Poseidon was already sitting there, waiting for her. Just like her, he was dressed to impress.

"Whoa," she couldn't help but mutter, but not because of his appearance. His chariot was just super cool.

His chariot was large enough to seat several people. It was blue and green and decorated with pearls and abalone shells. Ichthyocentaurs (marine centaurs) were busy gathering hippocampi and putting them in reins at the front.

"We'll tour around Atlantis first," Poseidon said after she climbed in. "The citizens of Poseidonis have already caught glimpses of you, so they're quite eager to meet you. Then, we'll go to other major cities throughout the first week."

She nodded along, only to freeze.

"Wait, do I have to talk?"

He gave her a look that made it clear he thought she was stupid. "Obviously."

"I mean, like, do I have to give any rousing speeches or anything like that?"

"No." There was absolutely no way he would ever let her make any political speeches. Knowing her, she'd probably do something stupid, like declare blue waffles as the national food.

"Oh thank gods." She relaxed. She was good at talking to people in a casual setting. Giving speeches? No thanks!

Once the preparations with the reins were done, they were ready to go. The hippocampi swam forward, swimming with the currents. They were crossing the long bridge connecting the palace grounds to the city.

"For this week, we'll be staying within Atlantis so there's no one from my court that you'll be meeting," Poseidon began. "But that doesn't mean you can misbehave. Make sure to be on your best behavior."

"Of course I will!"

He gave her a very very dry look.

Her grin faltered. "Er, well, I'll try my best of course…"

He accepted that.

As nervous as she was, Percy couldn't help but feel a little giddy. At least this week she was reassured by the fact that there were no nobles that she needed to meet. No, that would be in the coming weeks instead.

Poseidon's court consisted of kings and queens of the other six kingdoms under the Atlantean Empire. They all answered to him just like in any other empire, and members of the court were supposed to act as counselors to the main ruler, except they were literally just figureheads. Poseidon, being the narcissistic egomaniac that he was, would never actually allow anyone else to rule his seas. The only reason there were other rulers was for the sake of 'propriety'.

In the later weeks, she would meet them all. Delphin, king of dolphins and the ruler of Nereia. Eurynome, a mermaid goddess and the Queen of Merlea. Leucothea and Palaemon, Queen Mother* and King of Saphilune. And so many more. She knew that everyone called Poseidon the 'Tyrant of the Seas' so naturally, she wasn't looking forward to meeting the other rulers. They most likely hated and feared him—and her too for being his daughter.

Not to mention the fact that Poseidon managed to get all this land through conquest. He originally had only his kingdom, Atlantis, to rule. Then the Titanomachy happened and he killed Oceanus, after which he decided he needed to rule everything. She may not know all the details, but she knew that conquest was violent, the history textbooks taught her that much. Everyone who was alive during it all was probably still alive now—that was eons and eons of growing resentment.

Chill out, she told herself. I don't have to worry about that yet! I just need to enjoy the week!

Soon enough, they crossed the bridge and entered the city. The hippocampi made neighing noises as if announcing that they were close to their destination.

Percy looked ahead and gasped. Ever since she moved into Poseidon's palace, she hadn't been allowed to step outside to explore the city at all. She only managed to catch brief glimpses of it on her first day here.

They drove towards a large glowing city. Like literally glowing. Every building was made of some glittery illuminating material. She could see schools of fish and other cute sea creatures swimming around, and even groups of mythical ones too. But what really caught her attention were the mermaids. She couldn't help but blush. They were topless. Were all mermaids topless here? She couldn't remember if they were like this the first time she came here.

They started swimming up to the surface.

She squinted. She could see a shadowy shape on the surface. A boat…? But why would—?

Suddenly the mermaids began to sing. No words came out, just a simple song they made with their voice alone. It was enchanting and addicting to listen to. She felt tempted to get up and join them, only for her veins to turn to ice when she saw bodies fall into the water. Humans. The mermaids immediately stopped singing, sharp-toothed grins on their beautiful faces as they dove forward to sink their fangs into their skin.

In a matter of seconds, they were covered in a cloud of red.

Percy could hardly believe what she just saw. Poseidon glanced at her. "What is it?"

"T-there were humans here. On a boat," she managed to say. "I thought you said you didn't allow them."

"Sometimes I let them in. Our people need to eat after all."

Flesh-eating mermaids. Well that definitely ruined any chances of her rewatching The Little Mermaid when she got back home. She didn't think she could ever see Ariel the same way again. Were the mer people in her dad's kingdom flesh-eaters too? Gods, she hoped not.

"Oh. Okay. Makes sense." She replied calmly, sitting back against her seat. She felt a little shaken, but she wasn't showing much of it. At this point, she was probably getting desensitized to all this craziness.

They entered the city at last and Percy could feel her previous terror disappear.

Poseidonis was breathtaking now that she could fully take it in. She leaned against the side of the chariot, eyes wide as she admired everything. Mer people stopped to watch them in awe. Jellyfish started to float around them, as if to illuminate their path. A school of little fish swam around her hair before moving on to Poseidon's blonde curls. To her astonishment, the god didn't seem to mind them.

"They all like you," she said in amazement.

He raised a brow. "Did you expect them to hate me?"

"Yeah."

He snorted, and somehow he managed to do it in such an annoyingly dignified manner too.

She turned back to the crowd their chariot drive had gathered. It was as if the city's inhabitants had come out just to watch them. It reminded her of when news channels would obsessively follow members of the British royal family, how they always garnered huge crowds wherever they went. The invasiveness of it would've creeped her out, but she was too amazed by all the different kinds of species she was seeing.

"Can we stop for a bit?" She asked eagerly.

"What for?"

"You wanted me to meet our people, right? I can't do that if we're just gonna drive past them! Let me talk to them! Make some friends and all that!"

Poseidon stared at her for a bit, for finally relenting with a nod. "Fine, but—"

She was already out of the chariot before he could even finish his sentence. He blinked before leaning back against his seat. Well then.

Percy swam towards the crowd, only to hesitate. Her nervous smile must've endeared to them though, because they were quick to approach her and soon, she was practically swarmed with mer people and sea creatures.

They were definitely curious about their new princess. They touched her hair, poked her cheeks, and checked her teeth for fangs. One young mermaid held up her hand, utter amazement in her face at the lack of webbing or claws. Fish swam around her body, looking for fins. A jellyfish sat atop her head. Anyone would've freaked out over it, but Percy knew it wasn't going to hurt her.

"Such pretty hair~" An elderly looking shark cooed.

"Thanks, I got it from my mo—dad!" She quickly corrected herself.

"You have legs, my lady!" A cuttlefish exclaimed.

"Yeah. I wish I had a tail…" She was quite glum about that. She wondered what it would be like to have a mer form. What color would it be? How shiny would her scales be? Would she have fins too?

"You smell like Emperor Poseidon and food at the same time!" A young merman grinned.

Percy nervously backed away from him. "Um, thanks! I think…"

Meanwhile, Poseidon sat back at his chariot, watching her intently. She was a natural at this, as if she was used to socializing with large groups of people, as if she was used to being the center of attention. She mingled with his people with effortless ease, like an animal in its natural habitat.

This is where she belongs, he realized.

She was now racing around with a bunch of mermaids, her hair newly decorated with pearls and small shells. She outswam them effortlessly, but he could tell it was only because she used her powers to give her a speed boost. It would tire her out eventually…

He let her play around a little longer than he planned, and by the time she was climbing back onto the chariot, she was breathless as he expected.

"Your legs are useless in this environment," he told her bluntly. "When we return home, I will teach you how to use transformative magic so you may acquire a mer form."

She blinked at him stupidly. It took several seconds for her to register what he said. "Oh, uh, you don't need to do that for me," she started to say, her voice a few octaves higher. "No, really! I can just continue using my powers so—"

"—Be quiet. I will teach you."

"Okay!" She squeaked.

The hippocampi started to swim forward, probably to take them to the next major city. The citizens waved them goodbye and Percy followed suit, but on the inside, her heart was pounding.

Did Poseidon just… offer to help her with something?

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

The first week ended too quickly for Percy's liking. She spent her days swimming around Poseidonis under the watchful eyes of the city's namesake. It was all so delightful, like a fairytale dream come true. Once upon a time, she dreamed about living under the sea with her father, exploring his kingdom and befriending his people. And now, she finally achieved it—albeit with an alternate version of him.

This was everything she ever wanted. Peace and joy, an easy life where she didn't have to worry about the next battle or the next monster attack. Creatures of all kinds wanted to play with her, not eat her. The gods left her alone, they didn't pester her to go on the next quest or to do this and that for them.

It wasn't exactly normalcy, but it was peace and she would take it.

But today, there would be no more of that. Today, she would be meeting the first of Poseidon's court members and she had no idea what to expect.

Currently, the two of them were on the chariot being driven to the next kingdom, Nereia. It was ruled by King Delphin, king of the dolphins. The Kingdom of Nereia was the closest to theirs, taking over the South Atlantic Ocean while Atlantis was the North Atlantic.

Outside of the chariot, everything was a blur. The hippocampi were going so fast, Percy expected her skin to peel off her face. But it didn't. Instead, it felt as if they were riding on a calm current. Must have been some cool godly magic or something.

"So, uh," she awkwardly spoke up. "When we meet King Delphin, do I need to bow or something? How do I address him?"

"No bowing necessary, and it matters not how you address him. He is to address you as his 'imperial or divine highness' or his 'lady'. If he fails to call you by the correct title, you are to report it to me." Poseidon replied.

Percy wanted to tell him that she really didn't care about titles, but the hippocampi were beginning to slow down, indicating that they were reaching their destination.

The first thing she noticed was the amount of dolphins, which shouldn't have surprised her since Delphin was the king of dolphins. There were all kinds of them; short-beaked, long-beaked, spinner, clymene, and so many more. Even most of the mer people she saw had dolphin-shaped tails.

Back home, Delphin was her father's lieutenant. He was also the one who helped him and Amphitrite get together by persuading the nereid to give him a chance. But now that she knew it never happened in this universe, she wondered what Delphin's role was. Did he alert Poseidon of Amphitrite's attempt for vengeance? Fight alongside him? Or did he have no involvement at all?

The chariot finally stopped right outside of the palace. Delphin's palace was smaller than the one they had, but just as luxurious and lavish. There were already armed guards standing in position outside, ready to greet them.

Percy started to sit up, ready to get out of the chariot, only to pause when Poseidon placed a large hand on her shoulder to stop her. She glanced back at him questionably, but he only shook his head.

Then she found out why. One of the people outside, a heralder probably, cleared his throat and boomed in a loud voice, "Make way for His Divine Majesty, Emperor Poseidon, god of the seas! And her Divine Highness, Imperial Princess Percilla of Atlantis!"

Everyone bowed. A pair of dolphin warriors went up to open the chariot doors for them.

Oh, she blinked. That's why.

Poseidon swam out first and then, in a shocking display of gentlemanly manners and decency, held his hand out for her to take. She refrained from dropping her jaw, but the action nearly caught her off guard. Still, she took it, his large hand practically engulfing hers as he helped her climb out. She could feel the brush of his claws on her skin and the webs between his fingers.

Everyone was still bowing, but she made sure to keep her back straight and head held high like she was taught. They approached the large pair of doors, where they were met with a dolphin bigger than the rest. Delphin.

He straightened up, and Percy could see bubbles being blown out of his blowhole—a common sign of feeling threatened in dolphins.

"My lord and lady," he greeted them in a high voice. "I was not expecting your visit to come so early, I—"

"—Open the doors, Delphin," Poseidon ordered him.

Delphin bowed his head again and motioned for his servants. Quickly, they opened the doors. Poseidon swam forward, tugging Percy along. She glanced back just in time to see more bubbles come out of Delphin's blowhole. The amount of bubble clouds he was emitting nearly toppled over the little crown on his head.

He's terrified of him, she realized.

It was such a stark contrast to when they were driving the chariot around to see the common populace. Everyone seemed to love having Poseidon around. Little baby fish were even swimming in his hair! But now that they were meeting with nobility, everyone seemed too scared to even blink in his presence.

It's because they're only figureheads and they know it, she figured. They have no true power, Poseidon controls everything. Them included. They may be nobility, but she was beginning to realize that their freedoms were actually extremely limited thanks to Poseidon.

Holy shit, she shuddered. She wondered what kinda pro-Poseidon propaganda he let out to make all the common people love him so much while the nobility feared him.

Poseidon was still holding her hand as he led her through the palace. She was tempted to just… casually "slip" her hand out, but didn't want to piss him off, so she didn't. Instead, she allowed him to lead her to the grand hall, where servants were still busy setting up the long table.

They froze when they saw them enter the room. It was almost as if their fear was leaking into the water.

"Forgive me, my lord!" Delphin rushed in after them, his crown almost sliding off his head. "I wasn't expecting you to be arriving so soon so my servants hadn't had the time to prepare the palace!"

Poseidon's cold stare could cut him to pieces.

"It's okay!" Percy said before he could speak up. She had a bright smile on her face. If her father was going to be a dick, might as well do some damage control. "We can wait. It's good manners to have patience, right daddy?"

She beamed up at him, as if daring him to deny it.

"...Correct, daughter." Poseidon relented. "We shall wait. For now, Delphin, have someone take us to our chambers."

Delphin looked like he was about to kiss her feet with how relieved he felt as his servants went forward to lead them away.

"You should not have excused them," Poseidon told her as they swam down the hallway.

She shrugged. "You were being too harsh. It's just food."

"Says the one whose survival relies on constant nutrition," he scoffed.

She rolled her eyes, which he caught.

"Don't roll your eyes at me."

"Hmph."

He rolled his eyes at that, which was kinda hypocritical.

She didn't hesitate to call him out on it. "Hey! You rolled your eyes too."

"Hmph."

The servants leading them down the hallway all exchanged awkward stares.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Poseidon hated to admit it, but he was genuinely impressed.

His daughter had an innate ability at fucking everything up, but it seemed like socializing with people was the one thing she was exceptional at. Which was the exact opposite of him. He detested socializing with people and just people in general. If someone wanted to speak with him, it had to be about a topic of utmost importance and urgency, not useless things like everyone seemed to like. If they dared to waste his time, he would kill them.

The weeks passed by, and it was becoming very clear to him that his daughter was a natural at charming people. At first, she was quite stiff and shy at the face of nobility unlike when she was mingling with the common people, but things started to smooth out. She would speak up, usually to defend them when they were faced with his ire, and his royal members just seemed to eat it all up.

It was so… odd. When he spoke, people reacted in fear. When she spoke, people loved her.

Like right now: she was rambling about the most inane of topics and Queen Mother Leuchothea and her son, King Palaemon, were listening with rapt attention, not out of fear, but out of genuine interest in what she was saying.

"—did you know there were so many whale sharks here?! I counted a lot of them when daddy took me outside!" She exclaimed, eyes wide with childlike giddiness.

"Oh my, really?" Leuchothea placed a hand over her chest, as if this wasn't already common knowledge. Her kingdom was the Indian Ocean, everyone knew it was a safe haven for whale sharks.

"I truly haven't noticed!" Palaemon laughed out loud.

Yes you have, Poseidon was tempted to say. But he remained silent and continued to watch. Neither of them seemed to care for his presence, too enraptured by the young girl sitting across from them.

Perhaps I should send her to meetings in my stead so I don't have to attend them, he mused. But then he crossed the thought off when he realized she would probably do something stupid like propose a "National Blue Food Day". Knowing Zeus, who was equally as stupid, he would actually go through with it.

His thoughts were cut off when Percy suddenly let out a yawn mid-speech. The act somehow managed to warm the royals' nonexistent hearts because now they were cooing after her as if she was a newborn baby seal.

That's enough of that now, Poseidon decided, rising up to his fins. The movement caught their eyes, and they reacted in shock upon seeing him, as if they really had forgotten all about him in favor of his daughter.

"It's past her bedtime," he announced. "Percilla, to bed."

She grumbled in protest, but got up from her chair.

"'Night, guys!" She said, waving to them casually as if she was speaking to commoners and not a Queen and her son. Neither of them seemed to mind as they bid her farewell, their tones more formal and polite now that they were reminded of Poseidon's presence.

They walked to her guest bedchambers. When she stepped in, she let out another yawn.

"You are doing well," he decided to tell her before leaving.

"Huh?"

"Meeting our people," he clarified. "Initially, I had my doubts that you could handle the tour, but it seems like I was mistaken for once. The citizens like you. Even the members of my court."

"Oh," she said lamely. "Uh, thanks?"

"Tomorrow will be our last day in Saphilune. We will be riding to Merlea. It'll be the last kingdom for us to visit, then we can return home. Prepare for it. Goodnight now."

He turned to leave, but Percy suddenly let out a, "oh wait!" before grabbing his wrist to stop him.

Usually, he would've cut off the hand of anyone who dared to touch him, but this time, he just turned back to look at her, waiting.

"You're gonna teach me how to do transformative magic when we get back, right? You promised." She reminded him.

"Yes, I remember. Is that all?"

Her eyes lit up, but she was obviously trying to keep calm around him.

"Yes that's all," she said, trying to act all prim and proper. She released his wrist and gave him a practiced smile. "Thank you. Goodnight, daddy."

He nodded and left the room, closing the door on his way out.

As he walked away, he could hear her let out an excited squeal followed by an exclamation, "I'm gonna get a tail!".

(If Leucothea and Palaemon noticed how much softer his expression was when he returned to the room, they didn't dare speak of it.)

FANART!

Here's a fanart from sillylily04:

Some context cuz I know not all my readers check out my tumblr, but I basically started this au about Apollo writing Perpollo fanfics about him and Percy and making statues and merch of her. This is a statue Apollo made of her post-shower

Now here's some mermaid!percy fanarts from moonchild-artemisdaughter:

And here's a piece from honey-dew mint! It's Percy in her red & black dress from last chapter:

Here are picrews from camilalexa93!!!:

Notes:

"Queen Mother" is the mother of a ruling king.

Realized I never described Poseidon's throne before so I did it here!

The scene where Poseidon was telling her about the guy he killed in order to scare her was inspired by that one part in Volume 2 of Who Made Me a Princess where Claude tried to scare Athy into singing him a lullaby

Anyway, NEXT CHAPTER WE FINALLY GET SOME PJO!POSEIDON!

(We'll also be reading about three surprise pjo gods hehe )

Chapter 14: that one time percy went out to get milk

Summary:

Turns out Percy underestimated just how much the gods back home actually liked her. Meanwhile, a stressed-out Hera makes her move.

Notes:

SLIGHT SPOILER ABOUT THE PJO SHOW PLS AVOID THE BELOW PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT YET!!!!!

HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN THE PJO SHOW YET???? OH MY GOD, I LOVED IT SO MUCH It was so good. The decision to have Luke and Chris be Percy's first friends at camp and giving them (Luke especially) the most interactions with him? Genius. It would make their later betrayals all the more painful and personal for Percy. I think I'm gonna try and incorporate some of the TV show in this fic!!!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

WARNING: Kind of an angsty chapter? Be warned of depressing themes and implied suicidal ideation.

MAY

FIVE MONTHS SINCE PERCY JACKSON WENT MISSING

IT WAS A STORMY DAY at Camp Half-Blood and it was all Poseidon's fault. Granted, the barriers kept the storm from actually, you know, storming inside the place, but it was still pissing Dionysus off. The mood was already shit, but was the poor weather really necessary?

"Oh but Mr. D, you can't blame him! His daughter's missing!". Yeah, he heard aaall about it. Since the brat went missing back in December, everyone had been going "where's Percy Jackson" this, "where's Jackson" that—it was aggravating.

What he wanted to know was when this gods damned punishment was finally going to be over! The world has gone to shit and everyone has gone crazy—he would know since he was the god of madness—and Zeus honestly expected him to go through all of this sober?

Come on, he begged at the wine glass sitting in front of him. It was full of water, but he willed and willed it to turn into wine. Chardonnay, Merlot, hell, he'd even take a Sweet Vermouth! Anything but water.

But his father was cruel. The second his drink started to change into a different color—the second he started to feel hope—he could hear a loud crack of thunder outside of the Big House, a warning. Whatever color showed quickly turned back into dreadful clear liquid.

He stared listlessly at the drink. Meanwhile, all the voices around him turned into a numb echo in his ears. They were having another one of those pointless progress report meetings about the search for Percy Jackson. It was all he could hear. Percy, Percy, Percy.

Stop saying that name, he wanted to snap at them. He was so sick of hearing that name.

He rose to his feet.

The discussion stopped, all eyes on him. Athena's number one brat gave him a piercing look, as if his very presence was disrespectful.

"Mr. D?" Chiron called out to him politely.

"I tire of this conversation," he waved a hand dismissively, ignoring the vicious glare from Athena's son. "Good luck finding Petra. If you need me, don't. I'll be outside enjoying my…" He picked up his wine glass, nose wrinkling in disgust. "Drink."

He stepped out of the room. He could hear Athena's son mutter an insult under his breath, followed by a sharp scolding from Chiron, but didn't pay it any mind.

He went out to the porch, plopping down on the old rickety rocking chair that he really needed to tell Chiron to replace. He sat there, knowing very well that he looked like a loser with his wine glass full of water and cheap sunglasses thrown over his eyes. He didn't look like a god. He didn't feel like a god and to be honest, he hadn't been feeling very 'godly' in a long time.

He swirled his water around as if it was wine, and just as he was about to take a sip of it, he heard that dreaded name again.

"—Think Percy's ever going to be found?" A tiny, geeky looking daughter of Apollo squeaked, looking up at her half-brother with wide, anxious eyes.

The pair of siblings were walking across the Big House and unfortunately, Dionysus just had to be outside to hear their conversation.

"We'll find her," the older Apollo kid, Wipp Solemn or whatever, assured her gently, but Dionysus could see right through him. He knew the hope was dwindling.

"Quiet, you two!" He barked, making the girl jump. "And get off my lawn!"

Wipp frowned in confusion. "What lawn—"

"—Go!"

His eyes must have been glowing fiercely behind his shades because the two kids paled and were quick to scurry out of there.

Percy, Percy, Percy. What did he have to do to wash that name out of his head?

Everything was so much easier when she was just another number, another nameless face, an unimportant figure that would eventually fade away from his memory. She would go do whatever it was that foolish heroes did in this day and age, and she would die, and he could just wave it off and add another tally to the growing number of dead demigods. At her funeral, he would sit back and watch her shroud burn and think, "Oh well, there goes Petronella Johnson!" and never think about her again.

But no. Ohhh no. That wasn't enough for her. She had to go and shatter every single expectation he had of her, had to force her name into his memory as if she was leaving her brand on him.

He had known her for only four years, and in those four years he had watched her grow from an impling daughter of Poseidon to some sort of miracle that he had never seen before.

She had saved the world. She had saved Olympus. And because of her deeds, she was granted godhood, and she rejected it.

You brilliant girl, he wished he could tell her. You brilliant, wretched, little girl. Where were you when I needed you most?

Everything he knew about her was wrong.

She was no hero. Heroes were selfish, arrogant scums like Theseus who abandoned the lovely Ariadne, and him who foolishly accepted godhood, blinded by the thoughts of supreme power and glittering immortality.

(And look at how that was working for him now. Where did all the promises of power and glory go? Where was the easy life he was supposed to get? He should've known that he wouldn't get a happy ending. Gods were immortal, there was no end for them.)

Percy Jackson wasn't a hero, she was a miracle. A being of wonder that not even the Fates could hope to replicate. There had never been anything like her before, and there probably never will be.

She was smarter and better than him—better than all of them.

"You fucking miracle child," he breathed out, eyes squeezed shut as he rubbed his forehead. He felt like he was about to get a hangover just from thinking about her name so much—and he couldn't even get hangovers anymore. Another one of her little miracles, he supposed bitterly.

"What have you done to me?" He despaired.

He knew Percilla Jackson's name. And now she was gone.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

TWO WEEKS AFTER THE BATTLE OF MANHATTAN

VERMONT, USA

A freshly sixteen year old Percy Jackson winced at the flat tire on the car her mom and step-dad bought her. She had no spare tire or any way to fix it. Her phone (her mom made her get one for emergencies) was no good either since there was no signal in this creepy roadway she found herself stuck in.

She looked left and right. All she could see aside from the long strip of asphalt were an endless amount of trees leering over both sides of the road. There was nobody around. Not even a car passing by. Maybe she had gone the wrong way and accidentally took the creepy route instead.

She glanced down at her phone and sighed. It was already dark and all she wanted was to find a motel to crash in.

Just then, she spotted a bright light in her peripherals. A car! Finally, some help.

She hurried to stand closer to the road and stuck her arm out, thumb facing the sky as the car began to approach.

"Put that hand down, young lady!" A harsh voice scolded. She bit back a scream and whirled around, meeting Hermes' disappointed frown.

"Hermes!" She exclaimed in surprise, her eyes lighting up upon seeing him.

Something about him was different though. He looked more tired, more fatherly too. He reminded her of Paul coming home from a late night of parent-teacher conferences. Ever since Luke had died, Hermes had been like that. Older, sadder, exhausted. Miserable.

His gaze softened and he managed to send her a small grin. His face became several years younger.

"Percy," he greeted back, warmth in his voice. But then the disappointed frown came back. "What were you thinking? Hitch-hiking? Seriously? What if he was a serial killer?"

She just shrugged. "Dunno. I probably would've just punched him or something."

He sighed. "Well, that guy was a serial killer by the way."

Her eyes widened. "Whoa, really?"

"Yes," he deadpanned. "You're very lucky I was here to stop you. Now what are you doing all the way in Vermont anyway?"

"Oh. You know. Just wanted to have a little road trip."

He raised a brow. "On your own?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but I got a flat tire so…" She trailed off.

He snapped his fingers. Immediately, her tire was repaired. He must have done something with the lack of signal too because suddenly her phone was fully charged and buzzing with old notifications from her friends and family.

"Get in," Hermes grinned. "I'll drive."

She grinned back at him. Together, they climbed into the car. Hermes couldn't help but snort in amusement at the beach scented air freshener, the blue fuzzy steering wheel cover, and the dangling Squirtle decor hanging from the rearview mirror.

"So," he began, driving down the road. "Why the sudden need to go on a road trip to another state? Didn't you just get your license last month?" And he was pretty sure school was starting soon too.

Gods, look at him now. He was once a young and carefree god, and now here he was acting like a buzzkill. He was thinking about her schooling.

That's fatherhood for ya, Apollo would tease.

He wondered what Luke would say if he was here. Now you act like a dad? He'd probably sneer, bitter and so so hateful despite being so painfully young. Where was this when I needed you? Why now when I'm already ashes in the sky?

(Hermes would give anything to see his son one more time.)

Percy shrugged, finding a great interest in twiddling with the air conditioning. "Just wanted to try it out."

"By yourself?" He prodded. "I would've thought it'd be more fun to have a road trip with some friends at least."

Another shrug. "Anthonius was busy. Didn't wanna bother him. Grover too."

He nodded wordlessly, but he knew she was lying.

The drive was silent. They drove past tree after tree. It was almost never ending.

"...Percy," he suddenly said, his voice quiet. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you trying to run away?"

She never answered, but her eyes were what betrayed her. They were becoming glassy with emotion.

"I see…" He murmured. The car slowed to a stop. "We're here."

She looked out the window. To her surprise, the empty road and endless trees were no more. Now they were parked outside of an extravagant looking hotel. Outside she could hear the muffled sounds of families laughing as they stepped into the building.

"All expenses paid, by the way," he added. "And don't worry about any more accidents on the way back home, okay?"

"Thanks, Hermes," she sent him a grateful smile.

He returned it, albeit weakly. He propped up the trunk and allowed her to grab her stuff. He stepped out of the car to join her.

"I'll see you later, Percy," he told her.

"See ya!" She waved.

He watched, feeling almost emotional, as she walked away from him to disappear into the building.

NOW

Hermes thought back to that encounter. It was the last he had ever seen of Percy Jackson. Well, not really. Occasionally he would stop to check up on her, just like he would with his kids. But he never really talked to her.

Maybe he should've.

Maybe he should've stopped what he was doing and gone down to visit her when he caught her sobbing in bed. Or when he saw her blank out in school, walking the hallways like a mindless ghost with that haunted look on her face. Or that one time when he saw her sink to the bottom of the pool and never come out. That moment nearly gave him a heart attack; she was so still, eyes shut, and chest never moving. For a brief moment, he wondered if she was, in some sick form of irony, trying to drown herself. She was probably wishing she could.

But he never did and now she was gone.

Not dead thankfully, but a part of him believed that if she never disappeared and he continued to just do nothing but watch, that one day he would hear the horrible news that, "Hey, did you hear?! Percy Jackson killed herself!"

(Or maybe she was already dead. She certainly looked like it. With every year that passed, Percy Jackson became less and less alive. The war was just the final nail in her coffin.)

He thought back to that moment in August, the last time he had spoken to her.

"Are you trying to run away?" He had asked, but she never answered.

She was totally trying to run away and honestly, Hermes couldn't blame her. Her life had been ruined the second she was born—her life to pay the price of her father's broken oath. Who wouldn't want to run away from it all?

Of course, it would've been a pointless endeavor anyway. The only place one could really hide from the gods was Alaska, and she didn't even know about it yet. Plus, he doubted she would actually commit to going off grid. He knew the girl was way too attached to her friends and family to ever truly leave them all behind.

He wished he would have spoken to her, but what would he have said?

"Keep holding on, things are gonna get better soon."

"If you ever need anything, I'll come help you."

"I'm on your side always, Percy."

Yeah right. Those would've been nothing but empty words. What would he do when the next quest came up where Percy was needed again and he couldn't interfere because he wasn't allowed to? Or when her life was in danger and he couldn't step in to save her because the Fates decreed that to be her final moment? "Things are gonna get better soon"? Yeah until another war popped up because of their incompetence and Zeus wanted her to fix their mess again.

("I'm sorry, Luke… Daddy's really busy right now, but I'll be back soon, I promise."

"Don't worry, Luke. Things will get better once you get to camp, okay?"

"I'm here for you, Luke, don't worry.")

Liar. Filthy fucking liar. He was so sick of telling all these lies and hoping that maybe one day he could actually make it come true. They never did.

Percy once told him that he was the one she believed to be most capable of change, but how could he be when he wasn't even allowed to?

He was forcefully pulled away from his thoughts when his phone buzzed to life.

"Lord Hermes!" George hissed, slithering over Martha. "You've got Demeter on the line!"

"Not now," he groaned.

"But you've already rejected her call nine times! She's getting pissy with you, boss!" He warned.

His eyes flashed with anger. "I said not now."

The two snakes flinched, slithering back.

"He's probably still thinking about Percy Jackson again," he heard Martha whisper to him.

"Ohhh." George made a hiss of understanding.

He contemplated throwing his phone over the edge of Olympus, but decided to just shove them in his pocket so he wouldn't have to hear them anymore.

Back to work, I guess, he thought numbly.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Hades wanted nothing more than to teleport himself to Atlantis to wrangle his little brother.

But he couldn't because he was too busy with work, as always. How many souls had entered his domain since Percy Jackson went missing? Too many. All caused by his grieving brother who decided the best way to express his feelings was through creating non-stop hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes on the mortal world.

He wished he could just grab his brother by the neck, shake him a little, and shout at him. Poseidon wasn't the only one that was grieving. Why did he get to cause so many natural disasters and expect him to clean up his mess?

Hades wanted to grieve too.

Contrary to popular belief, he did not loathe his niece. He was actually quite fond of her—though that was something he would never ever say out loud.

Yes, their first meeting was rather… rocky (he sent a couple of minions to kill her and even kidnapped her mother), but to be fair, he thought the little brat had stolen his helm. He couldn't stand her back then. Not only did she kill one of his best employees, but she even had the audacity to accuse him of stealing Zeus' stupid bolt.

(Of course she'd blame me. I'm always the bad guy, he thought bitterly.)

But things cleared up; she returned his helm and he returned her mother. He left her alone after that, didn't even bother to keep an eye on her like Zeus did, the paranoid nut.

That all changed when she started attending the same school as his children. Now he had no choice but to pay attention to her, worried that she would find out about their identities and attack them out of spite or distrust. But she never did. She befriended them instead, cared for them and made them smile in ways Hades wished he could.

For a brief moment, Hades had softened up on her. Until Bianca died. Then the resentment returned. How dare she not save his daughter. How dare she not realize how much Bianca loved her. How dare she separate his children.

And how dare he be so foolish as to think that she would be different. Of course she would hurt him and his children. The world has made it very clear: he would always be alone and unwanted and so would his children.

It was when Nico ran away did she finally realize who he was; a son of Hades, one of the Big Three, and another competitor for the Prophecy.

"I choose the prophecy. It will be about me."

At first, he had been upset when she made that little proclamation that she would be the Child of the Prophecy, and not his Nico. Blindly, he had assumed it to be an act of arrogance, a way for her to snatch eternal glory while leaving his son nothing. But now he knew better. It was not an act of greed, but an act of sacrifice.

He knew now what it meant to be a Child of the Prophecy. It meant loss and pain everlasting. He saw what that war had done to her. It left her dead inside. Even as she walked amongst the living, he wondered if there was even any life in her left. There was no glory in that.

It could've been Nico, he realized with a heavy chill. His son could've ended up like that and it would've been all his fault had Percy not taken the burden instead.

He had been the selfish one, wanting to use his children and force one of them to become the Child of Prophecy all so he could finally get the respect and recognition that he had been so cruelly deprived of for so long. In the end, she had been the one to give him that. She chose to right wrongs instead of a prosperous, immortal life by her father's side. Because of her, he and his children were seen.

(It honestly amazed him. How could Poseidon have created something so good?)

If he was a kinder, more gentler god, he would've thanked her. Thanked her for loving his children. Thanked her for taking care of Nico and saving him from the prophecy. Thanked her for everything she had done for him.

But he wasn't a kind or gentle god so he never said any of that. Not that it mattered now. She was gone and he wasn't even allowed a moment of peace to grieve because her father was out there increasing his death toll.

Someone or something had gone and taken Percy Jackson away and he couldn't even tell if she was in this realm anymore.

It would've been better if it was just another scenario of a lovesick god falling in love and hiding her away from everyone. That was a situation they could've dealt with easily. It would've been settled with a war, Poseidon's side would win, Percy would be returned, and everyone would be happy.

But no. Things could never be that easy when it came to dear Miss Percy Jackson. Not even her own kidnapping could be normal. Apparently, she had gone and somehow managed to erase herself from even the Fates' sight and such a thing had never happened before.

That was Percy Jackson for you. Always doing the impossible.

Now the whole world was in disarray. Poseidon was reverting back to old habits of destroying everything, his son was more depressed than ever, Olympus was in shambles, Camp Half-Blood was wearing themselves thin, and he was still being overwhelmed by the amount of dead people pouring into the Underworld.

He tensed up, sensing his brother releasing yet another earthquake to California. Great. More work to do. He might as well just activate the San Andreas fault at this point.

Whatever was left of his patience finally snapped. He rose from his throne and immediately teleported himself to his brother's kingdom.

"Poseidon!" He roared.

The space of water rippled before him and Poseidon materialized into view.

He was so different now. He no longer donned a middle-age appearance, but looked decades younger. He was wearing battle armor too, the same one Hades hadn't seen him wear since the first Titanomachy. Gone was the lax god who had been tempered by time. Standing before him was the Poseidon of Ancient Greece.

And he was furious.

"Hades," Poseidon rumbled. "What do you want?"

"For one minute, can you just give me a gods damn break and stop going around killing whoever you please?!" Hades growled in frustration.

Poseidon scoffed. "Is this all you came to tell me?"

"We are not in Ancient Greece anymore," he said sharply. "Percy would not want this. She would want you to be better than this."

(That was her wish. For a better kinder world not just for her fellow demigods but for everyone else as well, gods included.

He wanted that wish to come true too.)

His face darkened at the mention of his daughter. "And since when have you cared about what my daughter wants, Hades?"

You are not the only one who cares about the girl, he wanted to shout. That impertinent child of yours has wrapped her finger around all of us!

"I do not know or care about her wants and needs," he glared venomously. "But I was there when she made her wish on Olympus. She wanted us to change and be better. You ought to follow through on that."

"This never would've happened if she had just accepted immortality," he muttered. "She would be here, under my care. Not—not gone."

"You know she never would've accepted godhood," Hades told him seriously. "This was not the only time she has rejected immortality, brother. She has made it very clear—she would never wish to become one of us."

A pained look crossed over his face. He knew what he was talking about. The first time she had rejected immortality was when she got washed up at C.C.'s Spa and Resort. Circe had been very eager to get her hands on her, but she rejected it. The second offer came from Artemis, to become an eternal maiden and live amongst the Hunt (Poseidon was really hoping she would accept that one, but alas, she didn't). Then the final one was… well, you know.

"Cease the killings, Poseidon," Hades said, preparing to leave. "Think about your daughter."

He was finally gone, leaving Poseidon alone.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO

THE BIRTH OF PERCILLA JACKSON

August eighteenth of that year was probably the best day for fishermen and seamen alike. It was the one day that the world was at peace. The second Sally Jackson pushed her child out of the womb, a healthy six pound baby covered in blood and wailing at the top of their lungs, Poseidon felt it and his body went alight with joy. Lost ships drifted back home with passengers safe and sound, the storms ceased and returned to a sunny sky—the god of the seas was happy and everything was perfect.

But once the elation came, he immediately squashed it down at the suspicious look Zeus gave him, probably sensing the storms disappearing from his skies.

Right. He was in the middle of a meeting and he couldn't let Zeus or anyone find out about the existence of his child. He needed to act normal, like nothing was amiss, like he hadn't just broken his vow and sired a forbidden demigod child.

….But just a peek wouldn't hurt, right?

While Zeus droned, Poseidon looked into the beyond. His sight traveled over the mortal realm before focusing on Sally's hospital room. The nurses had finished tending to her and Poseidon could feel his nonexistent heart pang at the emptiness of the room. Sally, beautiful Sally with her beautiful heart, laid in her hospital bed, alive but exhausted. She should've been surrounded by her family, but Fate wasn't very kind to her.

His gaze traveled away from her and into the little machine—an incubator, he recalled Apollo once rambling about them before—where his baby laid.

…Swaddled in a pink blanket.

Huh?

He quickly put on a neutral expression, catching the narrow-eyed glare Athena shot at him when his face shifted into shock. He raised his brow at her, daring her to speak up, but when all she did was roll her eyes and look away, he resumed watching his newborn… daughter.

A daughter.

Well. That was new. He had immortal daughters before but a demigod daughter? No. Never. He hadn't been expecting this and he knew Sally hadn't either. When he told her that their child would most likely be a son, she accepted it and said she wanted to name him 'Perseus'. Poseidon damn near caused Mount Saint Helens to erupt when he heard it.

But hey, it was a girl so at least he wouldn't have to deal with his child being named after his little brother's annoying upstart brat from the ancient times.

"—been oddly quiet, Poseidon," he snapped back into focus at the sound of Zeus' voice and glanced over to see him staring at him suspiciously.

"There's nothing for me to say," he replied smoothly, his usual bored drawl laced in his voice. "I couldn't care less about whatever trivial matters you decide to drag us into. Is this meeting finally over?"

Hera harrumphed loudly, her lips curled into a sneer at his poor manners. "You've been blanking out this entire meeting, brother. Something you want to confess?"

For a brief moment, Poseidon felt himself panic, thinking that she knew, but then he calmed down. Hera would be causing a bigger stir if she actually knew, she was just doing this to be her nosy self, as usual.

"No need to be so suspicious of me, Hera. I don't need to confess anything," Poseidon smiled as if he was epitome of innocence. "Ah, but you might want to turn your suspicions to your husband. Perhaps he would like to make a confession. Hmm, maybe something about a particular naiad he met in Florida?"

"Oooh," Apollo and Hermes snickered.

Zeus' eyes flashed. "Poseidon!"

"You wretched scum!" Hera shrieked, practically jumping out of her throne and reappearing before her husband before he could go after Poseidon. "Another nymph this week?! Who was it! I'll kill her and any bastards you try to sire!"

Poseidon chuckled as he rose from his throne. He felt a little bad for throwing the naiad under the bus—she'd certainly suffer for this little affair of theirs—but he needed to keep Zeus distracted. And a murderous Hera would definitely keep him distracted for a bit.

He flashed away, but instead of returning to Atlantis, he teleported straight to Sally's hospital room. He ran his hand through Sally's messy hair to smooth it back before slowly walking over to the incubator where their daughter laid.

On the side read the label, PERCILLA ATALANTA JACKSON.

He raised a brow at the Latin name, but literally anything would've been better than his child being named after his brother's son, so he'd take it.

She must've exhausted herself from all the crying because now she was asleep. His hands tentatively began to reach out for her, but he paused.

He had never held any of his mortal babies before. His immortal ones sure, but they were godly children. Stronger and sturdier than even the strongest of mortals. Mortals were delicate beings that broke too easily. Mortal babies were even worse and Poseidon could hardly be considered a gentle god.

But then the baby started to stir back to consciousness, a tiny wail already ripping through her lungs. Panicked, Poseidon quickly opened the incubator and held her in his arms before she could wake Sally up.

He was awed once her eyes, brimming with tears, met his. A beautiful pair of sea green just like his own. In fact, he realized that she was practically a spitting image of him: she had his deep brown skin, his sea green eyes, and he could see a tiny patch of black curls growing atop her head.

"Percilla," he tested her name. It was Latin for "venerable", meaning worthy of respect and reverence. It felt like the perfect fit for her.

But names had power, and even though she was not a god or a monster, with a name like that… Poseidon couldn't help but feel like his daughter was destined for more. It didn't help that she was a product of a broken vow and she would bear the weight of it, but the words of the Great Prophecy weighed heavy on his shoulders.

A half-blood of the eldest gods… but no, it couldn't be her. Zeus had his own demigod. She may have been a tree now, but her soul still lingered and he knew one day, someone would rescue her. Thalia Grace could be the prophecy child or even one of Hades' children that he knew he was hiding around. Anyone but his daughter. Now that he had this little baby in his arms, so innocent and unaware of what kind of life the Fates had in store for her, he couldn't bear the thought of her being the prophecy child.

Usually he would puff his chest out in pride at the idea of one his children seeking glory, but there would be no glory in this. This was not glory, this was punishment.

He had broken his vow and his daughter would be the one to pay the price, and he had a horrible, sinking feeling that this Great Prophecy would be one of the ways to punish her.

He remembered when he begged Sally to stay with him in Atlantis to keep her and the baby safe, but she had adamantly refused. It was the only time he truly felt upset with her. She didn't understand what he was trying so desperately to avoid, and for a moment, he wondered if Hades had felt this desperate when he begged Maria to live with him in the Underworld before Zeus killed her and nearly killed their children.

A shudder rolled down his back when he sensed three pairs of eyes watching him from the beyond. The Fates. They were giving him a warning; he had stayed in New York for too long. Any longer and Zeus would sense his presence and get suspicious. It was much too soon for Percy to be discovered so he needed to leave now.

"One day," he murmured in promise. He kissed her on the forehead and as carefully as he could, set her back down in the incubator.

He left before anyone else could sense his presence.

NOW

"Think about your daughter," Hades had said. It made Poseidon want to laugh and rage at the same time.

He had done nothing but think about Percy ever since she disappeared off the face of the Earth. He mourned for her. He raged for her. He killed for her. His daughter was gone and nobody could find her, what else was there for him to think about?

And Sally… Oh gods, his poor sweet Sally. He felt almost ashamed when he visited her the day after Percy was officially declared missing. He told her he would find her, promised that he would do everything in his power to get their daughter back… but he didn't even know where to begin looking, who to point his fingers at. He had been looking for so long now and he had nothing to show for it. No new information, no hints, nothing.

The thought of this being the end drove him crazy with grief. Perhaps Zeus had the right idea—he had always been the one hounding him about the Ancient Laws after all—he should not have gotten so attached to his daughter. He knew what it meant to sire a demigod.

To have a demigod child meant you were dooming them to a life full of misery. He knew this. Every god knew this. But they kept having them anyway because could you really expect a god to care enough to be selfless? To keep their desires at bay? Gods were selfish creatures. Not even the Pact of the Big Three could stop him from laying with Sally Jackson—the beautiful mortal woman he had fallen for.

He had broken his vow and damned his daughter to a terrible life.

When she was born, Poseidon initially thought that she didn't have it in her to be a demigod. Regardless of blood, his children always seemed to turn into monsters one way or another. Percy, however, was different. She was softer than most of his children and not too keen on bloodshed and glory. She didn't care about slaughtering the biggest monsters to give away as an offering to him, or going on the deadliest quests to impress him. The promise of fame and godhood did not sway her. All she wanted was peace. She wanted the normalcy and monotony of mortal life—something he still couldn't fathom.

(Perhaps the fact that she was raised in modern times could be the reason for her lack of cruelty. If she had been raised in Ancient Greece, she would've been a hardened warrior, but Poseidon didn't want that for her. He knew all too well how girls were treated at that time and a hardened female warrior would be the type any man would enjoy to break.)

She was so young too. Most of his demigod children had started their hero journeys when they were already grown men that were well into their adulthood. Percy started when she was only twelve.

Twelve years old. It was almost laughable how cruel the Fates could be. They gave him a daughter and expected her to start her hero journey at age twelve? His sons had a better start than that. It shouldn't have surprised him though. He had broken his vow. The Fates couldn't punish him since he was immortal, but they could certainly have his child pay the price.

It wasn't until then did he finally understand why she craved for a kind, normal life amongst the mortals so much. Ever since she was introduced to their world, her life only became worse. It was quest after quest. Prophecy after prophecy. Death after death. All centered on her. It should've broken her. Even his other demigod sons were never forced to shoulder so much in such little time and at such a young age too.

But she never backed down once.

(Her whole life, she walked on the edge and every time she tried to run back for safety, there was always something there to push her back to teeter on the edge again. He feared that one day a fatal push would finally end her life.)

It would've impressed him had he not been so busy fearing for her life. Now he finally understood how his mortal partners felt whenever their children were being sent away on a deadly quest.

But despite her achievements, despite the war she won and blood and tears she shed, perhaps his original assumption was still correct: Percy did not have it in her to be a demigod. She didn't want to be one. She did not crave glory and blood, it was forced onto her. A simple child turned into an unwilling warleader.

She never really had a choice to begin with and he knew it was all his fault.

But he knew what to do now.

Once his daughter was found, he would do whatever it took to make sure nothing could ever disrupt the normal life she wished to have. No more wars, no more quests. It would never touch her again.

And as much as it pained him to know that he would one day lose her, he would respect her desire to remain mortal.

She would have the life she deserved.

It was the least he could do after all.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Hera appeared at the center of the eerie temple. Her divine aura nearly snuffed by the overwhelming power oozing out of the three elderly ladies. They stood in front of her, expecting her arrival.

Hera, too impatient to pay her respects, demanded as politely as she could, "You have requested my presence, so here I am. What is it you wish of me, Moirai?"

"We know of your fruitless search for Poseidon's daughter," the spinner of the threads, Clotho, started.

"And we know of the reason why," Lachesis finished.

Despite her body tensing up, Hera kept her face neutral. She was a queen, it would not do good to show weakness.

But that didn't mean the reveal didn't make her feel uneasy. She knew she would be treading on thin ice with her plan to unite the two camps to uproot Gaea. Were the Fates against it too?

"No," Atropos answered, and it was obvious that the sisters were reading her mind. "You are wise to act quickly. Gaea is rising. In two years she will finally make her move. If Percilla Jackson is not found…"

She let the words hang in the air, but Hera got the message. The world would be in danger once again if Percy Jackson wasn't there to save it.

"If you are aware of her importance, then why have you asked me to come to you in secret?" Hera questioned. "Have you found the girl?"

"No." Clotho shook her head. "But we know something that will be of help."

She waved her hand and a misty image appeared before them. It played the scene of Percy's disappearance, something that only Hera—and now the Fates—had witnessed. It suddenly paused just as the slumbering girl was enveloped by a myriad of colorful lights.

"You search for clues in the wrong pantheon," Atropos stated. "Such lights could only come from the Bifrost."

It wasn't every day a goddess could be shocked speechless, but for a moment, Hera was shocked to silence.

"Bifro—the Norse pantheon? They are responsible for taking the girl?!" What on Earth could they want with her?!

"Now is not the time to start pointing fingers, little goddess," Lachesis scolded. "The Norse are unaware of what had occurred. But it is undeniable that Percy was taken by the Bifrost."

"You will go to them and get the girl back." Clotho said and Hera went still.

"...Me?" Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Why would I—?"

"—You require her, do you not?" Lachesis interrupted.

"I do," she admitted begrudgingly. "But I do not understand. Why must I retrieve the girl? I could issue a quest for some demigods to do it instead! They would be more than happy to do so!"

"You will do as we say," Atropos hissed, her ancient voice sending a chill down her spine. Her eyes glowed with power. Hera felt her body freeze up. Out of all the Fates, Atropos, the cutter of the threads, was not one she wanted to anger.

"Cease your ignorance, Queen of Olympus." Atropos glowered. "This is not a task a few mere demigods can accomplish. Fate has been altered! Such a thing has never happened before!"

"I understand," the queen bowed her head out of fear. "Then… perhaps my husband and his brothers could—"

"—No." Clotho cut in this time. "This is something you and only you will do."

Hera snapped her head at her, a protest ready at her lips until Lachesis started to speak, "Once Percilla Jackson is found, everyone's fate will continue to follow their correct path: the unification of Greeks and Romans and the battle against Gaea. You are the only one aware of this."

"If anyone else were to rescue her, the unification would fail to work. Poseidon would never let his daughter out of his sight again and Zeus would keep a closer eye on her, as would so many other gods. It would be impossible for you to steal her away to begin your plan." Clotho explained.

"It must be you." Atropos said grimly. "Once Percilla Jackson is found, proceed with your plan and hide her away before anyone is to notice."

"You only have two years," Lachesis warned. "If you fail to find her in two years, Gaea will rise and all will be lost."

"Go now, goddess," Clotho warned. "Time is not on your side."

If Hera had a heart, it would be thrumming in fear. Two years, she repeated in her head. I only have two years. It may seem like a lot to the mortals, but for an immortal like her, two years went by so quickly.

Percy Jackson must be found. The fate of the world quite literally depended on it.

Without saying another word, Hera flashed away.

FANART!

Here's some Percy fanart from honeydew-mint!!!!:

And then from naoyaofficialmommy!!!:

MEMES!

Percy in the first chapter: *here*

Memes: 1

Some memes from Luna999: 1, 2, 3

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

Percy: Alright imma go out and get some milk, bye guys!

Also Percy: *leaves and never comes back*

Guys I'm so sorry, the title for this chapter is so GOOFY while the whole chapter is literally about everyone suffering lmaooo

Also, this chapter pretty much shows that Percy is NOT A RELIABLE NARRATOR! This idiot went and convinced herself into thinking that none of the gods aside from her dad care about her but that is very very wrong. Everyone is in shambles and the world is suffering because of it

Chapter 15: i try to have a good time (but i'm honestly feeling so attacked right now)

Summary:

Percy ended up surviving the tour! Yay! Surely her life's no longer in danger and everything would start going well for her, right?

Notes:

I tried to squish so much in this chapter so I'm sorry if it feels weird. I just really really REALLY don't wanna make you guys wait 20 chapters for Apollo and Percy's first interaction so I'm trying to squeeze a lot in the next chapters so the meeting would happen preferably before the 20th chapter

Also, for anyone who read ror chapter 85, I won't be adding any of that stuff into the fic. None of the new plot development in the manga will be included here cuz it'll get in the way of the plot that I made for this fic. So when Act 2 comes, Loki won't have a crush on Brunhilde nor will he have a sex doll of her (lmao), and Odin won't be making up some evil scheme in the background while Ragnarok goes on.

Chapter Text

PERCY ENDED UP FALLING ASLEEP on the chariot ride back home. If she had known that Poseidon was going to carry her into the palace like one would do with a slumbering child, she would've forced herself to stay awake to save herself from the embarrassment of it all.

But unfortunately for her, she didn't. So Poseidon was now carrying her, cradled in his arms as he calmly swam through the double-doors of his palace. On the drive back he sensed Hades in Poseidonis, so he wasn't very surprised to see his elder brother already waiting for them at the foyer.

"Why are you here?" Poseidon deadpanned, making sure to keep his voice quiet so his daughter wouldn't wake up.

Hades definitely caught on to it, and he saw the way he was holding her so delicately. Clearly, their two month trip around the empire had done wonders for their relationship.

"I knew you were coming back today, so I wanted to be here to greet you," he answered smoothly, unable to hold back his pleased smile. "I take it you and Percy are better now?"

Poseidon harrumphed, deciding to swim past him rather than answer his question. Hades chuckled under his breath, choosing to go after him.

The blonde god headed straight for Percy's chambers. The doors magically opened as he approached and he swam in before carefully placing her into her clamshell bed. Hades watched in awe as his brother even tucked her in.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was an utter miracle. Poseidon was finally caring for his child like a proper father. He could almost cry tears of joy.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch?" Poseidon shot him a glare, his voice still hushed. "Leave us. Your presence isn't needed."

"On the contrary, brother," Hades grinned. Even Poseidon's moodiness wasn't enough to damper his joy. If he were a human, his heart might explode from how happy he was feeling. "I wanted to check up on you two after the tour was done. Honestly, I was worried you would be worse than before, but… I'm happy to note that I was wrong. You two have gotten closer."

"You've only been here for one minute, I fail to see how you've come to that conclusion," Poseidon scowled.

"So you're saying you still don't love your daughter?" Hades challenged, swimming closer to the bedside where Poseidon stood. His violet eyes gazed lovingly down at her sleeping form, fully aware of the icy glare Poseidon was giving him.

"How can you not love her? She's such a cute little thing," he cooed, hand reaching out to stroke her cheek.

Poseidon immediately slapped his hand away.

He let it fall back to side, shooting his little brother an amused look.

"Will you leave already?" Poseidon demanded.

"Not yet," he smiled teasingly. "Tell me about the tour. How did it go?"

"Everyone loves her," Poseidon replied with a small huff, as if the idea of people liking his daughter irked him for some reason. "The nobility especially. My court is enamored with her, they would probably kiss her feet if they could. They eat up every word she says and act like fools. It's pathetic."

"Someone sounds jealous." Hades raised a brow.

"Quiet," Poseidon suddenly hissed. At first, he assumed he was just getting annoyed with him, but the emperor's gaze was planted on his daughter instead.

He looked down and saw what was wrong. Percy was moving around in her sleep, her brows pinched together, and incoherent mumbles spilling from her lips.

"Oh," he murmured sympathetically. "It looks like she's having a nightmare."

"A nightmare?" Poseidon echoed, as if the word was foreign to him.

Hades nodded. "Yes. A bad dream, basically. They're usually terrifying for children. My children used to have nightmares back when they were young and still needed to sleep. They would climb into bed with Persephone and I as a form of comfort."

"...I see."

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Beelzebub's blood red eyes bore into the page of one of his many notebooks, scanning each and every word even though he had already memorized everything to perfection. His fingers drummed boredly against the armrest of his chair.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Percilla Atalanta Jackson. Daughter of Poseidon and a mortal woman she refuses to name. Age: Sixteen. Height: 5'10". Weight: 132 pounds. Green eyes. Black hair with a grey streak. Mixed ethnicity of Native Brazilian, Portuguese, African, Japanese, Swiss, and West Indian descent. The information just kept going on for pages, getting more and more detailed as the pages went on. He already knew this. Almost every facet that he could get out of her was already deeply embedded into his mind. The size of her fingers, her natural scent, the thickness of a single strand of her hair, he knew it and recorded it all—for research purposes of course.

But now he had a problem. A very big, disastrous problem:

He could not get her out of his head.

He had two months without her and while he felt a bit dismayed at the fact that he would have to put a stop to his experiments, he should've felt relieved. That was two months without her annoying presence! He should've rejoiced at that and immediately went to work on trying to find a way to access the multiverse, free of her interruption.

For the first few days, he managed to do exactly that. But then his mind wandered back to her and well… there went his hopes of studying.

Two months of no progress and here he was, pouring over his research notes about her, as if he didn't already memorize the entire thing.

He wanted to check up on her when she first left for the trip because he didn't quite trust Poseidon to keep his temper in check—he would've been furious if Poseidon had killed her, if his plan for the multiverse failed then using Percy would've been his only chance of atonement—but he couldn't.

Unlike Midgard and Valhalla who were connected to each other, Helheim was disconnected from the other two realms for their safety. It harbored the worst beings this universe had to offer after all, so it was better to keep it separated from everything else. Thus, his omniscience was at its strongest in Helheim, and weaker in Midgard and Valhalla, which was why he usually resorted to having his flies spy for him instead. But he wouldn't dare to spy on Poseidon, he would know immediately and bar him from accessing Percy. He could not risk that.

The only thing he could really do was hope Poseidon didn't end up killing her.

But still, her lack of presence was too obvious to him. Before she left two months ago, the one place she frequented the most was his castle. She used to be here almost every day, rambling away about inane topics, poking around at his conservatory (and nearly getting eaten by his plants again), and just being an all-around menace.

Perhaps he had gotten used to her being around him so much, but not having her around felt so weird to him now. He couldn't believe it. Eons of living in a silent home, and Percy's presence was all it took for him to nearly forget what it was like.

…Could it be that he actually missed her? Because he liked having her around? The sudden thought made him feel sick. Just as he was about to summon one of his psychology books so he could self-diagnose whatever new mental illness he had, he suddenly felt a very very familiar presence approaching the doors to his castle.

Without thinking about it, he immediately teleported to the foyer, his hand already reaching for one of the knobs. He paused. What the hell was he doing?

The person knocked on the door.

She's no one special, he tried to convince himself, hand grasping the knob and opening the door.

Percy's cheerful face was the first thing he saw.

"Hey, did ya miss me?!" She exclaimed giddily.

He immediately tried to slam the door shut, but she let out a hearty laugh (she's in a good mood, he noted) before promptly kicking the door with enough force to make it burst open. She casually walked in as if she owned the place, a noticeable hop to her step. She was clutching a small white container wrapped in a silk blue ribbon in her hands.

"So, you're back," he began blandly as she shut the door behind her.

"Yup!" She shot him a dazzling smile. "Just got back yesterday! The trip went well!"

"I can see that."

Poseidon hadn't killed her during those two months. That was good. Very good. Percy was his backup plan after all.

"I got you cookies by the way!" She added brightly.

He paused. "You… bought cookies for me?"

"No," she said. "I made them!"

"You made me cookies?" He echoed, like he couldn't believe. "You… made me… cookies?"

She snorted. "Dude, are you gonna keep repeating my words like a weirdo?"

"No, it's… I just didn't think you would do that." He admitted. He could feel a slight sting in his eyes and blinked it away.

"I made cookies for everyone," she explained cheerily. "The trip with my dad went really well, so I just couldn't help myself, you know?"

No, he didn't know, but still. He was quite touched by the act.

"Do you mind if we share?" She asked absentmindedly, already walking past him to head for the Great Hall (she must really be getting used to his place if she was just nonchalantly walking around his castle).

He hummed in response, his legs automatically following after her.

When they got to the Great Hall, she set the box on the table and sat down, eagerly motioning for him to do the same. He did so, while also summoning a glass of milk for her—because he knew she liked to dip her cookies in milk.

"Voila!" She undid the ribbon and opened the box. He peered into and blinked.

"...Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are the cookies blue?"

"Because those are the best sort of cookies out there," she told him in a matter-of-factly tone. She took one and dipped it in milk before taking a bite. "Come on, try it! It's super good, I promise you: blue chocolate chip cookies with sea salt!"

He took a bite. It was… good. It was made by the clumsy, imprecise hands of a mortal so it wasn't perfect, but regardless of that it was nice. Whenever she was here, it was just her that would eat while he would be busying himself with something else. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had eaten with someone like this.

Lilith and his friends…

He pushed them to the back of his mind.

"So why the blue food?" He asked curiously. He was already on his sixth cookie.

"It's just a thing my mom does," she explained with a tiny smile. "I used to have this shitty stepdad, Smelly Gabe. He and my mom had this little spat about how 'blue food doesn't exist', so she started making all kinds of blue foods to shut him up. Blue waffles, blue cakes, blue cookies. My favorite color's blue so I loved every second of it."

Her smile became more wistful as she spoke. He could sense the longing in her voice, the amount of love she held for her mother.

"I miss her." She said at last, heavy with emotion like this was something she wanted to say for a long time now.

Right, he realized. He was probably the only person she could freely tell this to. Her mother was universes away from her and she couldn't even tell anyone about how much she missed her. Only him.

"I miss everyone. I want to go home so bad," and just like that, her prior joy about her successful trip with her father was gone in an instant. Replaced by an intense melancholy for the ones she left back in her real home. She looked at him, her eyes almost pleading with him. "You must have done a lot of research while I was gone, right? Are you close to finding a way back home for me?"

The cookie he was eating suddenly tasted foul to him, but he swallowed it down anyway.

"There hasn't been much progress, I'm afraid," he said, as if he hadn't spent the past two months wasting away in his home instead of doing actual research like he was supposed to.

As expected, she wilted, like a flower who had lost its light.

"Oh." She said lamely. Like him, the cookies no longer seemed to make her burst with joy. "That's fine. I understand."

Neither of them felt like eating the cookies anymore.

Percy cleared her throat, rising to her feet. "I should get going. Daddy said he's gonna help me use magic to get a mermaid tail tomorrow morning."

She tried to smile, but it was clearly forced.

"I'll talk to you later, Beel!"

She left like she was in a hurry.

Once again, Beelzebub's home was silent.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

The next morning, Percy woke up bright and early—and for the first time ever, she was actually happy about it. Usually she hated being forced to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn, but this was not one of those moments.

Today, her father would be teaching her how to turn into a mermaid.

Five year old me would be SO jealous, she thought as she did her usual morning routine. She wanted to skip breakfast and get straight to practice, but Proteus—who was very strict about her health and daily nutrition—would never allow her to skip a meal.

After she was finally done with all of that, she swam as fast as she could to the palace courtyard, nearly barrelling straight into her father's chest in her unrestrainable excitement. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind.

(He didn't seem to mind a lot of the stuff she did nowadays.)

"You're quite eager," he noted, pleased.

There were practically stars in her eyes. "Oh yeah. I've been wanting to have a mermaid tail for ye—since I first got here!" She hastily corrected herself, hoping he didn't catch the slip up. She almost said 'for years', whoops. "Can I have a blue tail?"

"That's not something I can control," he told her with a shake of his head. "It's not something you can control either. Transformative magic doesn't work that way. Instead, it's entirely up to chance. You'll definitely have a tail, but you might not get the other mer traits like the fins, claws, or webs. You've noticed Hades' mer form, correct?"

She nodded slowly, recalling how he looked. "Yeah… he doesn't have fangs or claws or the webs between his fingers."

"Exactly. Every natural mer is born with the full set, but those who have to rely on transformative magic never get the complete set of traits. Aside from the tail, there is always something missing. As my daughter, there is a chance you can get it all, but since you are…" He trailed off.

Since you are a mortal, was what he would've said. For some reason, the topic of her mortality had dwindled to the point that he refused to even say the word. She didn't know why. He had no issues with speaking about it before—usually to berate her and sneer about it. She didn't know what had changed.

"But due to circumstances beyond our control, you should refrain from getting your hopes up," he finished.

Her shoulders slumped a bit, but that was fine, she supposed. As long as she had a tail—which was guaranteed according to him—then she would be happy.

(She kinda wanted those fins on her head though, but oh well.)

For about a whole hour she had to listen to him drone on and on about how transformative magic worked and how to accomplish it. The lecture was so boring that she could've fallen asleep in the middle of it, but the sharp glare he would send her whenever she got that faraway look in her eyes always made her snap back into focus.

It was the easiest form of magic, primarily used to adapt to certain environments, blah blah blah.

Finally, it was time for her to try it again.

"Transformative magic is quite simple to do, even you should be able to get it on your first try," he said after he finished with his lecture. She would've been offended had she not been so excited. "Go on now."

He swam back and crossed his arms, watching her intently.

Percy looked down at herself nervously. Magic wasn't her thing. She was a daughter of Poseidon, not Hecate. She was pretty sure the closest she had ever gone to performing magic was manipulating the Mist—which this universe didn't even have.

But that didn't mean she couldn't try. Everyone else seemed to be capable of doing this—it was a simple thing to do too! She had to do it.

It turned out to be a lot easier than she expected. One second, she was floating in the water waiting for anything to happen, and in the next she suddenly found herself trapped in a small whirlpool. She tried to look at what was going on, but the whirlpool was getting too strong that she had to close her eyes. An odd sensation coursed through her; she could feel her legs mold together, protrusions growing on the sides of her head, and a thin layer of skin grow between her fingers.

The whirlpool finally dissipated into a bunch of little bubbles that floated away. She couldn't believe it. She actually did it. She looked down to see what the transformation had done, but the sight of it was so shocking that her grin dropped. Across from her, she could hear Poseidon breathe in sharply for the same reason.

"Every natural mer is born with the full set, but those who have to rely on transformative magic never get the complete set of traits. Aside from the tail, there is always something missing," was what he had said.

She wasn't a natural born mer, but perhaps being the daughter of Poseidon had changed things because her mermaid form had the full set. The tail, claws, fangs, fins, everything. She had it all. But that wasn't the shocking part.

She carefully touched the tips of ear fins, noticing the vibrant hues of blue and gold. Then she looked down at her tail. It was almost two meters long, decorated with ethereal scales of blue, sea green, and gold. The semi-transparent flukes at the bottom were of the same colors, as were the fins on her sides.

It was him. From the fins to the tail, it was all him. Everything she had, he also had. She didn't think it was possible. She knew that mer traits were inheritable, but Poseidon wasn't her real father, just the alternate version of her real one. She didn't think her mer form would ever be so similar to his.

Across from her, Poseidon was also in a state of suspended shock. He hadn't done this. Like he said before, transformations were entirely left to chance. Sure she was his daughter, but she wasn't born a full goddess. He hadn't expected her to get the full set of mer traits nor did he expect her to inherit every one of his mer traits. Even natural born mer-children didn't inherit everything from their parents, but Percy was an exact replica of him.

But wait. Percy didn't have a mother. Perhaps that was why her mer form was so much like his?

While he no longer hated her existence, one thing about her that he hated still remained: her appearance (not that he would ever change it though). She did not look anything like him. While he was pale-skinned, blonde, and blue-eyed, she was brow-skinned, dark-haired, and green-eyed. Nothing about them screamed 'father and daughter', but this, oh this would be more than enough to tell everyone that she was his daughter.

No one would be able to deny it now.

"Wow," she was just as amazed as him, staring down at herself in awe. "I—"

Slowly, her expression shifted. From pure marvel to absolute horror.

Poseidon stiffened when she suddenly let out a panicked shriek, her arms reaching up to cover her chest.

"What is it?" He asked, immediately swimming to her. "Are you injured?" Has the transformation gone wrong? He had witnessed a handful of gods fail to perfectly attempt a mer transformation. The results weren't pretty, but none of them were ever in pain.

"My shirt's gone!" She squawked, her tan face just barely a beet red. She was hugging herself desperately, shrinking in on her own body.

"...What?"

"My chest—!" She squeaked. "People can see my—urgh! Just—h-how do I get my shirt back?!"

"What is wrong with your chest?"

"Wha—? Nothing! Daddy, can you just—"

Tired of her awkward stammering, Poseidon swam forward and grasped her arms with one large hand. And then, with a swift yank, pried her arms away, leaving her bare chest fully exposed to him. Percy could feel her eyes nearly pop out.

He stared silently at her chest before looking back at her. "I see nothing amiss. Your chest is perfectly fine."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" She shrieked, nearly blowing up his eardrums. She felt like she could die of embarrassment right now.

"I need my shirt! I can't just go swimming around naked!" She ripped her arms out of his grasp to cover herself.

"Why not?"

"Why not—?! Because people are gonna see me NAKED? I don't want people to look at my boobs!" She sputtered.

"There is nothing wrong with your breasts, Percilla," he told her, probably thinking he was being reassuring when all it did was make her want to sink to the bottom of the ocean and become plankton or something.

"Oh my gods."

"Did someone insult your appearance?" He suddenly asked, a slight edge to his voice. "Is that why you are behaving so oddly about yourself? Who was it?"

"No one did!" She was too panicked to really take note of the dangerous tone in his voice. "Doesn't this transformation come with clothes or, like, a bra or something?!"

He looked at her like she was a complete weirdo for requesting basic clothing. "No. You've been around the empire before, Percilla. Did you see any of the mermaids wearing clothes?"

"Well… no…" The mermaids were all topless. Even the noblewomen she met were nude. Now that she thought of it, Queen Leucothea wasn't wearing a top either, her breasts were covered by a bunch of long pearl necklaces.

"You are the Imperial Princess and the daughter of a god," he told her. "Your body is divine. Do not hide it away like some insecure human."

Her jaw dropped. "S-so you're not gonna help me conjure up any clothes?!"

He actually rolled his eyes at her. "No. People do not wear clothes down here, Percilla. You do not need them."

She felt like screaming, but an idea popped into her brain. She clasped her hands together, making sure her arms were covering up the important bits of her chest before shooting her dad a pleading look, "Daddy, please? W-what if some creepy guy tries to ogle me? Or if Uncle Hades or Zeus visits—"

"—Fine," he said instantly.

There was a woosh of water and a small top shimmered into existence around her chest. The sight of it was almost mesmerizing. At first she thought it was liquid silk or organza, one of those ridiculously expensive fabrics that looked like liquid, but then she realized it actually was liquid. Her top, which was more like a bralet than anything, shifted like gentle currents. He had created clothes out of water.

"There," he sighed. "Now—" He paused, eyes darting downwards.

She looked down and nearly had another heart attack. Rather than disappearing with her clothes, Riptide had fallen to the ground. Faster than lightning, she swooped down to snatch it.

"Th-that's just my pen!" She blurted out, plastering on an innocent smile.

"I sense that it's been enchanted and cursed," he narrowed his eyes. "Give it to me. That thing is dangerous."

"N-no, wait, it's totally safe!" She backed away, which only made her look more suspicious. "It's, um… I stole it! From Beelzebub! He's a loser who keeps losing his pens so he enchanted this one to prevent it from being lost. As for the curse… well, uh, he's just an edgelord so of course he'd put his own harmless little curse on his pens! Silly him! I thought it looked cool so I just stole it, haha…!"

He looked displeased by that. "Refrain from stealing again, Percilla. I will not have you be a thief, it's improper."

"Yeah, of course! I promise I won't steal again! Now lemme just…" Realizing that she had no pockets to store Riptide in, she decided to just stuff it in her chest, red-faced with embarrassment. Before Poseidon could comment on that, she yelled out, "I'm gonna go try out my new form now!" and zoomed away.

That was a close one! She mentally cried out, feeling her heart race. I'm just gonna forget that ever happened…

She stole a glance back at her father. Fortunately, he didn't seem to care about the pen now, looking perfectly at ease as he watched her swim around with her new tail.

Speaking of her new tail, she didn't know how to explain it, but swimming around with a mermaid tail almost felt more natural compared to walking around on two legs. Or maybe that was just her inner Ariel fangirl talking…

Meanwhile, Poseidon watched her calmly, feeling something stir within him when he saw how happy she was.

She looked like a true Atlantean. Though… not completely. To his amusement, she was rather small for the average Atlantean, but he found it rather cute (not that he would ever say that out loud).

As he watched her dart around the columns, he spotted a glint of something coming from the inside of her mouth.

"Percilla," he called out. "Come here for a second. I need to check something."

Eagerly, she swam back to him. His eyes stayed transfixed at the iridescent scales on her tail before he forced himself to concentrate.

Without a word, he gently grasped her jaw and prodded her mouth open with his fingers. There it was. Two sets of sharp fangs in the upper and bottom row of her teeth. They were quite sharp, but the only issue was that…

"...Pfft," he had to quickly look away to keep from laughing. "You have baby fangs."

"I hah wha?" She asked, his fingers still in her mouth.

He released her, smirking in amusement while suppressing a snort. "You have baby fangs." He repeated. "How fitting."

She pulled away, feeling mortified. "What?!" She touched her teeth, feeling razor sharp canines in her top and bottom row of teeth. They felt quite dangerous, how were they considered baby fangs?

"Let me see yours!" She demanded.

Poseidon opened his mouth, barring his own fangs at her. Her jaw dropped. He had a sharp set of incisors and canines, not only that, but his fangs were much larger compared to hers.

"Wha—that's not fair…!" She pouted in disappointment. "Are they gonna grow?"

"Usually they do as the mer gets older, but you're already fully-grown," he informed. "It appears you are stuck with them."

She slumped in defeat. Now that she thought about it, her claws didn't look as cool as his either, but she supposed that was a good thing. She didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone with them anyway. At least the Curse of Achilles protected her from stabbing her eye out on accident too.

Speaking of stabbing incidents…

"Oh, wait!" She suddenly paused, remembering something important. "Can I go to Asgard tomorrow? I need to give Loki some cookies too."

Aaaand there went his good mood.

Yesterday she spent the whole day running around Helheim to give everyone her homebaked blue cookies. Adamas had gotten them, Hades and his family were given a giant box of cookies, and Beelzebub was given them. Down here, he had even seen her give some cookies to the staff. Proteus was given the most of it.

But him? He had not once received any.

Though it was understandable since he had reacted… admittedly poorly the last time she had tried to give him cookies, but he was her father. It would be considered an insult for him to be the only one to not get any cookies. And Loki? Since when were they even friends? Hadn't he kidnapped her?

"Loki kidnapped you." He felt it was important to point out.

She winced, chuckling sheepishly as if it was just a silly little prank Loki had done and not a grievous crime that would have resulted in war. "It's fine. We're cool now. I kinda attacked him first anyway, so…"

"Is he forcing you to feed him?"

"No…? We're friends now. Sorta. So can I go to Asgard tomorrow?"

He could feel his eye twitch. "You may. For thirty minutes."

She wanted to protest. Thirty minutes? She was also hoping to see the Valkyries since she hadn't been able to the last time she went there, but only thirty minutes?

But she couldn't argue. Not when he was actually willing to let her out. If she protested, he'd never let her leave at all.

"Alright. Thank you, daddy," she smiled.

An hour later, they went back to the palace where she immediately swam around to show off her new mer form to the genuine delight of the entire staff. Proteus had been the most impassioned, literally bursting into tears at how similar his emperor and the princess looked.

I am the real-life Little Mermaid, Percy thought, adoringly caressing the scales on her tail as she sat on her bed. She spent the entire day swimming around the palace nonstop to the point that some servants actually had to chase her down so she could eat her meals and she wasn't even exhausted after all that. In fact, she felt like she could swim to a whole new continent now that she was in this new form of hers!

Maybe I can swim to New York? She wondered. She'd have to ask permission of course—she couldn't even leave the palace grounds without his say-so—but hopefully he would let her go.

She fell back to her bed, allowing sleep to take over her, but it was like the thought of New York was cursed.

Her dreams were filled with images of a ruined city, bodies of demigods littering the ground, and monsters ravaging the streets. She saw a body of a boy plummeting from the skies, a flash of Luke's golden eyes, and—

She woke up with a fright.

Immediately, the bioluminescent plants hanging on her ceiling started to glow faintly, as if to remind her that she was far away from the war and in the cushy bedroom of her palace. Her heart started to calm down, but just as her eyes glanced over to the side, she saw a pair of piercing blue eyes staring her down and freaked.

"AHHHH!" She shrieked, toppling off of her bed like a moron.

Poseidon deadpanned. "Get off the floor."

"Y-you scared me!" She sputtered, shakily getting up. "What are you doing here?" And how long were you watching me sleep?!

Instead of answering her question like a normal person would, he ignored her and asked his own, "Were you having a nightmare?"

"...Yes," she figured it would be best to be honest.

He tilted his head. "How so? You were happy yesterday."

"Nightmares don't work that way," she shrugged, slipping back into bed. "They just… come when they want to."

"I see…" He murmured, looking deep in thought.

Then he said the last thing she ever expected him to say:

"Children tend to sleep with their parents after experiencing a night terror," he began. "So we shall sleep together."

"Huh," she said dumbly, but he was already climbing into bed with her. She started to wave her hands around in a panic, "Oh! No, no, wait, it's okay, you don't need to—"

"—Lie down," he interrupted, pushing her back down onto the bed.

Percy pretty much blue-screened after that. Her father laid down beside her, then repositioned themselves so that she was laying over him, his arms wrapped around her.

What is happening, she thought.

"By the way," he added as he absentmindedly caressed her hair. "You drool when you sleep. If you drool on me, I'll punish you."

His words made her stiffen. Not because of the death threat, but because that was exactly what Anthonius once told her.

I miss him.

"Right," she said weakly. "I'll try not to."

He hummed in response. Percy closed her eyes. She slept in her father's arms, but all she could dream about was another blonde male with stormy grey eyes and a warm grin, and he was universes away from her.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

The next day, she should've already been in Asgard, giving Loki her cookies and conversing with the Valkyries to share progress reports. But no. It was already past twelve and she was still in her father's palace with no cookies to give away. Why? Because she fucked up.

"You drooled on me. As punishment, you must serve me those blue cookies you've been giving away so freely. Bake them to perfection, or else."

She had drooled on her father. At least, according to him she did. He provided no proof of it, but the punishment was already set: bake him cookies or face the consequences.

Percy desperately swirled around the cookie batter in her bowl, making sure all the chocolate chips were mixed in. Did she add enough sugar? Use the right butter? Did she need to shape them into perfect circles? Would he count to make sure she had an even amount of chocolate chips in each cookie?

IS HE GONNA KILL ME FOR THE LITTLEST MISTAKE?!

She prepared the tray and, as best as she could, shaped the cookie dough before putting them in the oven to bake. For the next twelve minutes, she swam around the massive kitchens in circles, thinking about her potential doom.

After the loud ding! was heard, she placed the cookies on a plate and immediately swam for the throne room where she knew her father would be waiting. Her heart thrummed erratically. The last time she tried to give him cookies, he had thrown them away, yelled about how much he hated her, and made her cry.

She entered the throne room. His giant self sat on his throne, already expecting her. His eyes zeroed in on the cookies she was holding.

She presented them to him. "Fresh out of the oven," she grinned weakly, feeling like she was about to be incinerated at any moment.

One of the tentacles living under his throne crept up and gingerly took the plate from her before handing it to him. His form was so large that the whole plate barely took up the palm of his hand. And then, she watched, in bewildered horror, as he casually tossed the whole thing—plate and all—into his mouth. He began to chew, the crunch of broken glass being the loudest thing she could hear.

She didn't know what to say. She just watched him eat a fucking plate.

"They were excellent," he said, delicately patting his lips with a napkin he conjured as if he didn't just eat a whole plate. "I expect more of this later on, daughter. But for now, I will take you to Asgard."

"Why—" she croaked. "Why did you eat the—"

He snapped his fingers and the two of them were promptly teleported away. Percy was too stunned to even shift back into her human form, so when they landed, Poseidon had to hold her in his arms else she'd flop to the ground like a fish out of water.

"Percilla," he said bluntly. "You need to shift back."

"R-right," she shook off her bewilderment to focus on shifting back, preferably with clothes. The top she had made out of seafoam (a trick he had taught her) melted off her form as her original clothes appeared onto her body: a sky blue corset top and a silky skirt decorated with pearls.

Once she was clothed, Poseidon set her down and they walked towards the doors of Odin's grand palace where she knew Odin, Thor, Loki, and the Valkyries all lived.

"Odin is already aware of our arrival," he began as the doors opened for them. "So go on and… find Loki," he said his name with noticeable distaste. "I will be speaking with Odin." So he could ask him what sort of relationship she and his nephew had, not that she needed to know that.

She nodded in understanding and hurried for the hallways, remembering that she only had thirty minutes. She needed to find the Valkyries.

"Brunhilde, Brunhilde… where are you guys? Göll…?" She muttered under her breath.

One of the doors in the hallway opened, and the face of a familiar short girl peeked out. She gasped in excitement. "Percy!"

Sea green eyes lit up. "Göll!"

The youngest Valkyrie quickly brought her into her room. Percy didn't have any time to admire it before Göll was squeezing her into a hug.

"Oh my gods, you're alive!" She squealed. "When my sister told me that you would be traveling the seas with Poseidon for two months, I really thought it would be the end for you!"

"Same here," she sighed.

"I thought you were living somewhere in Helheim, why did you come back to him?" She was pretty sure that even Helheim would've been safer for her than with Poseidon.

"I… well, things changed," she answered vaguely. "Anyway, forget about that. How are you? Where are the rest of your sisters? How's Mnemosyne doing?"

"I'm fine and so is Mnemosyne. My sisters are probably out doing whatever," she shrugged. She bit her lip nervously. "But Percy, I'm so sorry, we haven't had much progress and Lord… B-Beelzebub, he hasn't been any help at all, he just comes over to take our books and leaves!"

"That sounds like Beelie," Percy rolled her eyes. "Don't take it personally, he doesn't like socializing."

Göll looked like she wanted to ask where the nickname came from, but there were more important matters at hand. "He… also told us that our help wasn't necessary anymore and that he would take charge of the research," she added guiltily.

"That's fine," Percy smiled reassuringly. "You guys have done enough for me, and I'm thankful for that."

"But… But Lord Beelzebub… are you sure you want to trust him?"

"Yeah, I mean, why not?" She shrugged.

Goll was starting to get increasingly concerned over Percy's trust towards the literal Devil, so she changed the subject.

"We already asked Mnemosyne this, but… is there a chance that Norse gods exist in your universe too? We believe that perhaps using their bifrost could help send you back home."

She frowned, "No…? I don't think so… I mean, wouldn't that get kinda messy? The Zeus in my universe is a power-hungry arrogant jerk," Göll seemed to flinch at every insult. "I assure you if there were other pantheons, he would've waged war against them a looong time ago and we would've been forced to learn about his 'glorious achievements' at Camp."

"Oh," Göll's shoulders sank. "I'm sorry then. I just thought that, maybe, I don't know, maybe they could find a way to get you back."

She shook her head. "Nah, it's fine. I think I managed to buy myself some time at least, so we don't have to worry about Poseidon trying to kill me any time soon."

"Huh?"

"Well, hehe," she chuckled sheepishly. "Poseidon's no longer trying to kill me! I think he tolerates me now! I was so scared he'd realize I'm not his actual daughter, but I think that tour around the empire really helped bring us closer."

Göll's eyes widened in disbelief. "How did you manage that?"

"Well—"

"—Oh, what juicy secrets I'm hearing!" A voice moaned.

Both girls froze. They whirled around, and there he stood, leaning against the front door.

Percy could feel her heart drop to her stomach.

It was Loki. And he had heard everything.

FANART!

Here's some fanart from naoyaofficialmommy:

Here's some picrews I made:

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Had to look at so many pictures to make sure I'm describing the mer-forms right

Anyways, here are the pics I used for reference:

It's just like Poseidon's! They're daddy and daughter goals

Chapter 16: my daddy issues get cured (NOT clickbait!)

Summary:

Loki gains a fun new hobby: tormenting teenage girls.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Hehehe, I went back and changed the intro quote for Act 1 cuz I felt like it suited it better:

IF PERCY WAS SHITTING ROCKS, then Göll was shitting bricks.

"L-L-Lord Lo-Lok-ki—!" The smaller girl squealed in pure terror.

Loki's eyes traveled over to her and gave her the most sickening smile he could manage.

"Boo~" He said, his eyes glinting wickedly.

Göll's eyes rolled to the back of her head. She nearly dropped to the floor had it not been for Percy catching her and carefully depositing her on the bed.

Well, there goes any hope for moral support, she thought, cursing her luck.

She turned back to Loki and forced herself to smile. "Loki…!" She said with false enthusiasm. "Hey… buddy…! I missed you! I got you some cookies." She motioned lamely towards the Göll's nightstand where she left the box.

"How sweet of you! I'll make sure to enjoy them later~" He purred.

"So, um," she swallowed nervously. "How long have you been here?"

"Oh I've been following you around ever since you and your daddy arrived!" He answered cheerily. "You were supposed to be here for me, weren't you? And yet, you walked around the halls looking for my uncle's stupid Valkyries instead." He sighed miserably, hand placed over his nonexistent heart. "I'm hurt, Percy. Real hurt."

Another gulp. So basically, he managed to sneak in here when Göll pulled her into the room and heard their entire conversation. Great. Just what she needed.

Her heart was hammering in her chest. This couldn't be happening right now. Of all people, why did it have to be Loki? The god with chaos literally in his veins. Nothing good could happen from this!

She thought back to Poseidon and felt her stomach plummet. All that progress, all that joy she felt, and it was about to go tumbling down.

The despair she felt must have been written all over her face because Loki let out a maniacal giggle, licking his lips as if the sight of her was too delectable to resist. He stalked up to her and grabbed her by the chin to pull her face closer.

"Oh dear," he crooned with false sympathy. "Why so glum, dearest?"

She stepped away from him, "Loki, please don't—"

He clicked his tongue and wagged his finger at her. "As much as I adore watching you beg for me, I'm afraid I'll have to pass. You're such a mystery to me, Percy, and I want oh-so-badly to unravel all your pretty little secrets. I'm getting quite impatient listening to your lies after all."

He heaved out a sigh, casually flopping onto the bed beside Göll's unconscious form. His chin rested on his palms, legs swinging up in the air while his purple eyes pierced through hers.

"I'm a god of many things, Percy," he began. "Mischief, trickery, magic… deception," he emphasized, smirking widely at the sight of her rapidly paling face.

Shit! She thought.

He giggled. "Yes, that's right. I knew from the very beginning that you've been lying to everyone. And I know Mnemosyne and the Valkyries are in on whatever little secret you have. Or had in this case." He chortled to himself.

"Soooo," he drawled out. "Are you gonna spill? Because you've really got me hooked with everything I heard! Different universes, different gods… you not being Poseidon's daughter."

Her breath hitched at that. Months of memories with him flashed through head. She had everything she ever wanted, and just like that it was going to be gone.

Her hand itched for Riptide. There was a horrible urge to run him through with her sword. She could not afford to lose this happiness now. Not when it was finally in her grasp.

Loki sat up on the bed. "Oh dear. That look on your face… I can't tell if you want to kill me or start crying."

She couldn't tell either.

He got up, approaching her to carefully wipe away a stray tear that had fallen down her cheek. "Now, now," he chided. "No need to look so afraid, Percy! You act as if I'm going to go running around Valhalla and expose you!"

His words made her freeze. For a brief second, she felt her body relax before tensing up again. This was Loki. She couldn't let her guard down around him, especially not now.

"You're… not?" She asked wearily.

"No of course not!" He laughed jovially, as if her life wasn't on the line. "If I went spilling the beans, Poseidon would have your head, and I just can't allow that. I do rather like you, Percy. Do you remember the day you came to apologize for attacking me?"

AROUND THREE MONTHS AGO…

This is all Beelzebub's fault, Percy thought in annoyance as Hades led her through the halls of Odin's palace.

"While I'm proud that you are choosing to apologize for your prior actions, are you really sure you want to do this?" Hades asked her, looking concerned. "Loki is not… the most forgiving of gods."

She nodded, resolute. "Yeah. It was my fault—" Sorta. "—So I should apologize."

Poseidon and Loki hated her guts now. She had to try and make amends with the latter. The less gods that hated her, the better.

Hades sighed, but nodded in acceptance. "If only your father could learn from you…" She heard him mutter under his breath.

She pretended not to hear that.

Suddenly Hades stopped walking. Percy stopped alongside him, wondering what was wrong until she heard it too. A pair of footsteps followed by a jolly whistling tune. Loki turned around the corner and spotted them, though she knew he had already sensed the two of them.

"Lord Hades!" He exclaimed with faux cheer. "And… you." His smile tightened when his gaze turned to her. "A little birdy told me you were looking for me? What for, hmm?"

Hades opened his mouth to speak, but Percy beat him to it. "I wanted to talk to you," she blurted out, biting the inside of her cheek. "I mean… if that's okay."

She looked down. Her nerves were slipping. She almost hoped he would tell her to just scram and she could just go back to Adamas' palace and be on her merry way.

"Fine," Loki said in a clipped tone. "You. Come with me."

She turned back to her uncle. "I'll be fine," she reassured him.

Hades frowned, but she was already following after the green haired god.

She had no idea where Loki was taking her, but her mind roamed with possibilities. The dungeons? A torture chamber? Maybe once they were out of Hades' vision he would teleport the two of them to some random forest in the middle of the night and kill her?

She hadn't been expecting his bedroom though.

His bedroom was green. Very, very green. It was as big as her room back in Poseidon and Adamas' palace and surprisingly neat. There was a grand bookshelf at the corner (she didn't know he could read!), a writing desk placed off to the side (he could write?!), and a large TV where she could see familiar game consoles plugged nearby it.

The walls and ceiling seemed to be made of some sort of glowing green material. She could see magical ancient runes on the walls that were written in what she believed to be Old Norse. As she got closer, the runes would turn into moving pictures. She recognized Odin and Thor, but there were some people she didn't recognize. Loki trying to wrap his arms around a gigantic serpent. Loki sitting atop of a giant wolf. Loki combing the mane of an eight-legged wolf. And so forth.

Before she could look any further, Loki sat at the edge of his bed and sighed loudly. "Well?" He said impatiently. "What are you here for? Spit it out."

She internally groaned. Well, here goes nothing…

"I… um, well, I just wanted to tell you that I'm really sorry," she began awkwardly. "About… you know, what I did back then. I accused you of some stuff and attacked you without waiting to hear you out, and I even got you in trouble too. That was pretty shitty of me, so I'm sorry."

His expression turned eerily blank. She tried not to fidget on the spot, but his stare was getting pretty intense.

Her eyes darted to the door. Maybe I should just go…

She cleared her throat. "Um… yeah. I'll just, uh, be going now."

She only managed to take three steps to the door before Loki flashed before her, his once blank face now replaced by a wide grin that spelled nothing good.

"You know, Percy," he began, practically brimming with chaotic excitement as he threw an arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. "I was wrong about you."

"Uh—"

"—I think you and I will get along quite well! Let's be friends~!"

Percy could do nothing but sputter as he dragged her away from the door and further into his bedroom.

NOW

Loki let out a dreamy sigh as he recalled that 'fateful' day.

"I'll be honest, I was pretty excited when you came to me. You were making things so easy for me, you know? I wanted to kill you, slit your pretty little throat in front of your own uncle or maybe rip your head off. But I didn't. Do you want to know why I decided to let you go that day?"

"Because you're a nice person deep down and you don't actually wanna hurt an innocent kid?" Percy guessed hopefully.

"HAH! You're funny," he snickered. "No, no. I let you go because that was the first time you didn't lie. Ever since I met you, it was lie after lie. I didn't really mind it, it just made me all the more curious about you, but maaan did you really piss me off that day you got me in deep shit with my uncle. But after all those lies you spilled from your pretty lips, the first time you actually said something genuine to me was to apologize. And I thought to myself, 'oh she's just the sweetest thing ever! I just wanna gobble her all up~' and I changed my mind on tormenting you until you broke. Aren't I kind?"

"...Sure."

She was pretty sure the real reason he let her go was because killing her would be the end of his entertainment, but she wasn't about to say that out loud.

Percy's previous terror had faded away, but there was still a slight apprehension in her stance. Loki said he wouldn't spill the beans to anyone, but he was still unpredictable. Who knew what he was thinking inside that crazy head of his.

"So… you're gonna let me go now?" She was about ready to bolt for it.

He snorted. "No, don't be stupid. After everything I just heard? I want to hear every single juicy secret you, Mnemosyne, and the Valkyries have been hiding, so spill it."

Her jaw dropped. "Are you kidding? I know you said you wouldn't tell anyone, but you're, like, the god of gossip!"

He shrugged. "I'm not really giving you much of a choice, but if you want to be this way then…" He trailed off, turning away to skip merrily for the door. "Oh, Lord Poseeeiiiidoooo—MMPH!" She quickly ran over to cover his mouth.

"Oh no you don't," she glowered up at him, nails digging into the skin around his mouth. "I have worked way too fucking hard to get that man to tolerate me enough to not kill me for simply breathing! You will NOT ruin my hard work, do you hear me?!"

He stared at her, wide-eyed, and then—

"UGH!" She pulled her hand away. "You LICKED me!"

She hastily wiped her hand on Göll's blankets and sent a mental apology to the unconscious Valkyrie.

"That was kinda hot," Loki said breathlessly, grinning like an idiot.

"Of all the Lokis I could've ended up with," she murmured up into the ceiling. "And it couldn't be Tom Hiddleston."

"Stop stalling, just tell me already!" He said giddily, like a high school girl waiting to hear the latest gossip. A comparison that did not provide her with any comfort.

Loki was right—she didn't really have much of a choice here. She had to tell him the truth. If she tried to deceive him in any way, he would know. This was like Beelzebub all over again!

She let out a groan. Fucking fine. "Remember the whole situation with the bifrost and how everyone thinks it, erm, gave birth to me? Somehow?"

He nodded eagerly.

"Well, that's not true at all. It didn't give birth to me, it teleported me here. I'm from another, um… alternate universe? Kind of? I don't really know how to explain it—" being the science nerd was Beelzebub's job, "—but where I'm from, there are Greek gods there too and I'm the daughter of that universe's Poseidon. So… yeah. I got randomly sent here, and some people are trying to help me find a way back."

"Mnemosyne, the Valkyries, and that Beelzebub weirdo, right? I heard the little one mention him," he waved a dismissive hand towards Göll's direction.

She nodded. "Yup. Like you, he found out and made me tell the truth. Now he's helping us."

He quirked a brow. "Oddly nice of him… Let me guess, he's trying to access other universes in hopes of finding some means to kill himself?"

Her eyes widened. "Whoa, how'd you know?"

"Oh I've met him some centuries ago. Tried to get a rise outta him and all that, and kept prodding him for information. He told me rather bluntly that he wanted to die and asked me to kill him. I didn't want to give him what he wanted, but I was so bored with him anyway that I decided to leave him alone. Seems he hasn't changed since then." He shrugged.

Damn. Who knew all she needed to do to get Loki to leave her alone was to act like a boring, depressed, old man?

"Oh!" Another question came to mind. "Remember when we first met?"

"Unfortunately," she sighed.

"After you nearly tumbled into the fountain and I caught you, you did something weird," he recalled. "You tried to convince me that I didn't see you use your powers and snapped your fingers. Were you trying to do magic or something? If so, you suck at it."

She groaned in embarrassment. She had almost forgotten about that. "I was trying to manipulate the Mist—it's this thing we have in my universe that was created by Hecate. It's this magical mist that prevents most mortals from seeing, you know, the 'mythological' stuff. Monsters, gods, demigods using their powers, stuff like that."

He crinkled his nose in distaste. "Your gods hide themselves from humans? Yuck!"

"Isn't that what you guys are doing?" She frowned.

"No!" He laughed. "The only reason the dumb humans today consider us as myths is because barely any of us go down to Midgard anymore! The only ones who live down there are your people, and they rarely ever step foot onto the surface. And if they did, they wouldn't try to hide themselves with some silly Mist. Why hide yourselves anyway?"

"Well… I dunno," she shrugged. "Most of it is to protect the humans. Can you imagine how freaked out they'd be if they knew the myths were actually real?"

"Oh I sure can, and I think it'd be hilarious!"

"Of course you do…"

"And what about during our fight?" He asked eagerly.

"What about it?"

"Don't act coy, you know what I'm talking about," he grinned slyly. "I know I hit you with my blade, Percy. I wanted to slice you in half, but it felt like my blade hit a wall instead. I couldn't cut through you. Why's that?"

Oh FUCK no. There was absolutely no way she was going to let him know about her Achilles Heel.

Her face hardened. "That," she said in a steely tone. "Is none of your business. Can I go now? I told you what you wanted to know and I'm in a time crunch here."

He pouted. "Whaaaat? No, you can't leave just yet! I have so many questions! Are there other demigods like you? What's your Poseidon like? Did he really fuck a human? Why are there no Lokis?!"

"I highly doubt the Multiverse can handle more than one Loki," she snorted.

"You've got a point."

"As for your other questions, yes there are more demigods like me and yes my dad did fuck a human. A rather wonderful human by the way so try not to insult her like you did before." She shot him a glare, remembering his previous comments from when they first met that had earned him an ice cream cone to the face.

"And your Poseidon?" He pushed. "What's he like?"

"...Kinder," she answered. "At least now he is. He was kind of a dick in Ancient times, but he's chilled out now. And…" She racked her brain for other things to say. There wasn't much she could say other than that. It was pretty sad, considering he was her father and all. "He's a good dad." She decided to say. "Better than most godly parents. I got really lucky with him."

His eyes narrowed, a playful glint shining in them. "There's more, isn't there?" He purred. "Don't hold back on me now, Percy~"

"There's nothing else for me to say," she said defensively.

But the mischief in his eyes only grew. "Do you miss him?"

"Of course I do."

"But who do you like more?" He asked.

"Huh?" The question caught her off guard.

His grin widened. "You heard me. Who do you like more? Your father here, or the one you have in your original universe?"

Her heart nearly stopped. "W-what kind of question is that?"

"A question that requires an immediate answer," he quipped. "Come on, you can tell me. Which Poseidon do you like more?"

She turned away from him. "That's such a stupid question."

"And yet you refuse to answer." He pointed out, enjoying every second of her discomfort. "But that's fine. The answer's written all over your face. You prefer this dad more, don't you?"

"No!" She denied, eyes wide. "I—that's not it at all, okay?"

"So you like your dad from your universe more?"

"No—urgh, just…" She let out another groan of frustration. There was a pressure building up in her head. She didn't want to think about this anymore.

Loki gave her a look that was akin to sympathy. She had no idea how genuine that 'sympathy' actually was. "Oh fine, fine. I'll take pity and leave you alone. Your answers have satisfied my curiosity… for now. I'll let you go. Come on, I'll take you to where the other Valkyries are, you're still looking for them, aren't you?"

He threw his arms over her shoulders. With his free hand, he beckoned the box of cookies to come forth and magically float towards him as they exited the room.

"The rest of the Valkyries are in the west wing's lounge," he told her, mouth full of cookies. One cookie floated close to her. "Want one?"

She wasn't really in the mood to eat, but she opened her mouth and took a bite. Cookies always helped to make her feel better anyway.

As she ate, Loki suddenly blinked. "Oh." He almost faltered.

She shot him a glance. "Wha ish it?" She managed to say with a mouthful of blue cookies.

"Mnemosyne's here too," he said, watching as her eyes lit up.

"She is?!"

He pouted. "You sound so happy. Careful, Percy, you don't wanna make me jealous."

"Let's hurry," she insisted, ignoring his comment. "I've only been given thirty minutes and I've already wasted half of it dealing with you!"

"How rude!" He sighed in dismay, but quickened the pace, tugging her around before stopping before a pair of huge, gilded double-doors. He waved a hand and they were magically pushed open, revealing a massive living room where the sisters were all gathered along with Mnemosyne. All talk stopped when they stepped in.

"Hello, everyone!" Loki greeted them all grandly. "Don't mind me! Just dropping off our favorite little dimensional traveler~ Anyway, Percy, I'll talk to you later! Thanks for the cookies~!"

In typical gremlin fashion, he gave her a loud smooch on the cheek before skipping away, letting the doors close behind him. Immediately, the room blew up.

"He KNOWS?!"

"How did he find out?!"

"You gave him COOKIES?!"

"Percy!" Mnemosyne rushed towards her, green eyes wide with terror. "Loki knows?!"

She grimaced. "Yes…"

"HOW?!" The whole room practically screamed.

Another grimace. "He overheard my conversation with Göll. That, and he was already super suspicious of us anyway. He knew that we've been lying to everyone since the very beginning, God of deceit and all."

"Uuuuugh!" A girl with pigtails groaned. "I completely forgot about that! Gods, I hate that guy!"

"Wait," a woman with a side braid spoke up. "Where is Göll?"

"Um, Loki kinda scared her and she fainted. She's passed out in her room right now." She answered.

"Is Loki going to tell?" Mnemosyne asked. The room seemed to tense at that.

She shook her head. "Apparently not. If he tells, he knows Poseidon would be the first to kill me. He's too entertained by this to let it end now."

"I guess it can't be helped…" Brunhilde sighed. "Loki is a dangerous god, so I'm just glad that he didn't hurt you two. Anyway, Percy, while I wish this meeting would be on better terms, meet my sisters. Sisters, this is Percy."

And then came the introductions. She tried her best to remember all the names—Hrist, Thrud, Randgriz, Geirölul, Reginleif, Göndul, Alvitr, Hlökk, and so forth—but damn were Old Norse names complicated to pronounce.

"It's an honor to finally meet you," Hrist, the second eldest of the sisters, gave her a kind smile. "You're quite a brave child to be living with Poseidon all on your own."

"The fact that she's still alive is even more impressive," Thrud crossed her muscular arms. "How's he been treating you, Percy?"

"Yeah! We heard there's been some sort of issue with him that caused you to move to Helheim?" Hlökk chimed.

She grimaced at the mention of that. "Oh. That's been resolved. I'm back to living with him again. Things are a lot better between us. I'm no longer in any danger."

There was a brief silence.

"What?" Mnemosyne blinked.

She chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah! You see, as long as I act all cutesy with him, he won't kill me! It's been working so far."

Brunhilde couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You're putting all your hopes of survival by acting cute?! To POSEIDON?!" She sputtered in disbelief. She glanced over at Mnemosyne like she was asking 'are you sure this is the Savior of Olympus you told me about?!'.

'I never said she was smart,' Mnemosyne's awkward gaze replied back.

"No, no, no, trust me on this! This plan is working! As long as I act cute, he won't kill me!" She insisted excitedly.

Mnemosyne could only sigh. "I've seen through your memories to know that your plans are rather… questionable... but my gods, this is just bad."

"Wha—it's not bad, it's smart thinking! How else do you think I've managed to survive for so long?"

"Sheer, dumb luck?" Mnemosyne guessed.

Percy opened her mouth to protest, but something happened. Suddenly, everyone in the room aside from her tensed up, like dogs raising their hackles when they felt threatened. Their gazes immediately turned towards the double doors behind her, as if they were expecting a serial killer to burst in and kill them all.

The door opened, but it was just Poseidon.

"Daddy!" Percy's face lit up.

Behind her, Mnemosyne and the Valkyries turned starch white. Did she just call him 'daddy'?

Mnemosyne felt like she was going to pass out from fear. The blatant insolence. The improper behavior. Had she gone crazy?!

To everyone's absolute shock, Poseidon didn't kill Percy for daring to refer to him so disrespectfully. In fact, he didn't even look fazed. Even after she dashed up and hugged his arm.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked her, ignoring everyone else in the room.

The Valkyries turned to each other, wide-eyed. He was asking her? Instead of just demanding that it was time to leave?

Percy nodded. "Yup. Can we have ice cream on the way back?"

Brunhilde's jaw dropped. She was asking for ice cream now?!

"If that's what you want."

"You're gonna eat with me too, right?" Percy asked eagerly.

"Fine."

Brunhilde was now 99% certain that this was Loki disguised as Poseidon and not actually the brutal, cruel, and apathetic god she knew.

Percy and Poseidon were taking their leave now, with the young girl chatting animatedly while Poseidon simply listened to her ramble on. Once they disappeared down the hallway, Brunhilde slowly closed the door and turned to Mnemosyne and her sisters.

"What the fuck was that."

A second later, the doors opened again and everyone froze, believing it to be another visit from Poseidon. They relaxed when it was just Göll, who looked very frazzled.

"Um… guys?" She said faintly, rubbing her eyes as if there was something wrong with her vision. "Am I going insane? Or did I just see Percy hugging Lord Poseidon's arm…? And him allowing her?"

"Oh Göll," Brunhilde whispered. "I think we've missed a lot."

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

One morning, Percy woke up to an empty bed.

She thought that Poseidon sleeping with her in order to alleviate the nightmares was just a one-time thing, but she turned out to be very wrong about that. He hadn't stopped. Every night, after dinner, she would enter her bedroom and see her father already waiting for her at her bed. She would protest it, flustered and embarrassed, but Poseidon, blank-faced and without an ounce of shame, refused to back down, insisting it was what she needed.

Arguing with him was pointless, so she'd fall asleep in her father's embrace and awaken in the same way. But today was different because she woke up alone.

Thank gods, though, right? What sixteen year old girl would want people knowing that she slept in the same bed as her dad? They would assume all sorts of weird things, and she wouldn't blame them.

(But there was this shameful side of her that felt disappointed by his absence, that yearned to wake up in his arms again. But then she remembered Loki's dreadful question—who do you like more?—and forced herself to lock it all away.)

She did her usual morning routine, but her mind wouldn't stop going haywire. Why wasn't he here? Where did he go? No note? Nothing? Maybe he was just busy. He was a god and emperor after all, it was ridiculous to think he could spend 24/7 with her.

But all that went away the second she stepped into the Great Hall. Poseidon sat at the end of the long table as servants set the plates and food down. He spotted her in the corner of his eyes.

"Ah, you're awake earlier than I expected," he commented. "Come. You're just in time for breakfast."

Percy approached slowly. It didn't escape her notice that the servants were preparing a plate for him too, despite his strong aversion to human food.

"Um… are we having guests over?" She asked.

"No. This plate is for me. I will be joining you for breakfast."

He might as well have said he was advocating for world peace.

"You—huh?!"

"I will be joining you for breakfast," he repeated slowly, like he genuinely thought her ears (or ear fins in this case) weren't working. With how defective he thought humans were, he probably did. "Now sit."

She sat, dumbfounded.

She looked down. Her plate contained a stack of her favorite blue waffles—the first meal she ever had here—topped with syrup, berries, and powdered sugar. He had a similar meal.

"I… thought you didn't like eating this sort of thing," she began. He had called it 'human trash' once.

"You always look rather pathetic to me every time I watch you eat on your own," he told her, and wait, since when was he watching her eat?! "So I decided to join you."

She didn't know whether to tear up at how sweet the gesture was or take him to Beelzebub for a check-up. "You're doing this… because you don't want me to feel lonely during my meals?"

"Just eat your food." He deadpanned, aggressively cutting into his waffles now.

"Are you gonna join me for all my meals from now on?" She wondered aloud.

"...Do you want me to?" He asked.

"Um, kinda," she replied rather shyly. "I mean, you don't have to if you're too busy—"

"—Then I shall. Now quit rambling and eat your food before it gets cold."

Percy didn't bother to hide her beaming face as she started to eat. She cut into her waffles with excited, clumsy hands (she was still getting used to holding utensils with the webbed hands and all) and ate like a child going under a sugar rush. Poseidon ate in a more regal manner, which was no surprise but even he couldn't help but stop to steal a glance her way. The syrup and sugar stuck at the corner of her lips should've made him scold her, but all he did was sigh, take a napkin, and wipe it off.

"Honestly, what is the point of all these etiquette lessons if you're not going to learn anything from them?" He muttered.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly.

She ate her food more calmly this time, but she was still buzzing with joy. Afterwards, she gulped down a whole glass of chocolate milk—which earned her a disgusted look from Poseidon who opted for nectar.

As the servants cleared the table, Percy leaned back against her chair, her tail swishing back and forth in a show of pure joy.

"Thanks for eating with me, daddy," she told him earnestly. "I… I really appreciate it. Especially since I know you don't even like human food."

"It's nothing," he dismissed.

Percy wanted to deny that. This little gesture meant everything to her.

He took another sip of his nectar. "I have another meeting to attend tomorrow. Between sea deities only. Mnemosyne… is fond of you. I will let you visit her in Valhalla tomorrow while I'm at my meeting. Would you like that?"

"Yes!" She answered a little too quickly. He raised a brow at that and she quickly tried to collect herself. "I mean, yes. I would like that, please."

He nodded once. "Then it shall be done. I don't know why you like that Titaness so much, but I still expect you to behave yourself—"

She couldn't hold it in anymore. "—Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed, shooting out of her chair to squeeze him in a hug. She even dared to kiss him on the cheek, an action that made the both of them freeze.

She had no problem kissing her mom on the cheek—she loved showing affection to her mom, she was awesome! But that was pretty much it. She hadn't done this with Paul or even her dad back home.

And yet she did it with him.

She could hear Loki's sly voice echoing in her head: Which Poseidon do you like more?

"Sorry," she said breathlessly, pulling away from him. "I… Um, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"...It's fine," Poseidon told her, looking her straight in the eyes. "You don't need to apologize. I don't mind it."

"O-oh," she said softly, looking away. She couldn't seem to handle the sudden intensity in his eyes. But something about it made her heart flutter.

This was a dream come true. She never would've expected that she and Poseidon would be like this now: a proper father and daughter doing proper father and daughter things. He was eating meals with her, he didn't mind it when she showed him affection, and he was even granting her freedom to visit a friend.

She was safe and happy, at last.

(I need to go home.)

This was everything she ever wanted.

(I miss my friends and family.)

She didn't want to lose this.

(I don't belong here.)

FANART!

Here's Percy from kinoko-chan26:

WITTLE PERCY FROM naoyaofficialmommy along with current/older Percy:

Lastly, here's some picrews made by me!:

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

I updated early cuz I realized I'd be leaving for a trip tomorrow and idk how long I'm gonna be gone! Anyways, it's the first update of 2024!

Chapter 17: things get REALLY messy

Summary:

For once, Loki isn't the one screwing things up.

Notes:

This chapter was written in October 2023. Loki's backstory has yet to be revealed by then so if his backstory was revealed by the time this chapter is published and it heavily contradicts with what I've written….. Please do me a favor and ignore it

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Warning: it gets a lil steamy near the end (no smut yet). Sex pollen, dry-humping, dub-con, incest, all that fun stuff!

"THIS MEETING WILL TAKE A while. I will be gone for most of the day. I've instructed Mnemosyne to feed you at the appropriate times. Eat your food. Remember the proper etiquette. Behave. And—" Heaving a sigh, he placed a hand on her back and straightened it. "Mind your posture."

"Right, right, sorry," Percy replied, keeping her back straight like she had been taught. Her hands however, kept shifting around as if she were nervous. They couldn't stay still on her side. They would smoothen out her purple sea skirt or move up to readjust her top or twiddle with her hair.

"Keep still," he chided, grabbing one of her hands and pulling it down to their sides. Percy couldn't help but flush at the wrongness of it all, they looked like a couple holding hands.

She cleared her throat. "S-sorry."

Mnemosyne's palace came into view. Poseidon tugged her along to the front doors, where the Titaness materialized into place. Percy was not blind to the way her eyes darted to their conjoined hands before addressing them with a bow.

"Lord Poseidon, Percy, welcome to—"

"—It's Lady Percilla to you, Titan," Poseidon sneered. "I am already growing wary of leaving my daughter under your care, the least you can do is address her properly."

The red haired woman stiffened. "I apologize, my lord and lady."

Things were going downhill fast. Percy clutched her father's hand tighter, trying to alleviate the tension between them.

"It's fine," she reassured, plastering on a bright grin despite how anxious she actually felt. She looked up to her father. "Thanks for dropping me off, daddy."

She tried to slip her hand out of his so she could step into Mnemosyne's palace, but he held on tight. She tugged gently in a silent attempt to tell him to let her go, but nothing happened.

She glanced at Mnemosyne. Then she glanced back at him. He stared back, unflappable despite the awkward atmosphere that had festered.

'Dude, what are you doing?', she tried to ask him with her eyes that were practically screaming for help.

He raised a brow in response, like he was expecting something. Then he slightly turned his head to present his cheek to her. Her face heated up as it slowly dawned on her what he wanted.

'No! Not here!', her eyes widened.

'Yes here,' his eyes practically deadpanned. He tightened his grip in response, leaving no room for protests. 'Do it now.'

Gulping audibly, she reached up on the tips of her toes with Poseidon assisting a little bit by leaning down. The second her soft lips pressed against his cheek, she quickly recoiled back.

"Have fun at your meeting! Bye now!" She nearly shouted, dashing forward. She grabbed Mnemosyne and yanked the shell-shocked goddess into the safety of her home, slamming the door shut behind her.

They waited until Poseidon teleported away to finally speak up.

"...So…" Mnemosyne began, still as a rock. "I see you weren't kidding about the effectiveness of your 'cuteness' strategy."

"...Told you so…" She said with a weak grin.

"But uh," she cleared her throat. "Did you expect it to work this effectively?"

"Absolutely not," Percy shuddered, thinking about how often Poseidon would sleep with her every night. She knew it was wrong. Everything about it was just wrong.

(And she was wrong for liking it so much.)

"He seems to like you quite a lot now," Mnemosyne muttered under her breath. Just a few months ago Poseidon wanted her dead, and now he was holding her hand and demanding cheek kisses from her. Cheek kisses!

But as cute as it was, Mnemosyne knew there was a chance it could slip into dangerous territory.

"Percy, please be careful with him in the future," she pleaded. "Poseidon may no longer want to kill you, but his love can be equally as dangerous as his hate."

She blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Mnemosyne began delicately, knowing that what she was about to say was considered a huge taboo to humans. "As you know, gods of almost every pantheon see no issues in… er, laying with members of their family."

Percy blanched and quickly put a hand up to stop her. "Okay, okay, okay, I get what you're trying to say. You don't gotta worry about Poseidon doing… um, that to me. I doubt it'll come to it. He sees me as a daughter and only that, I promise you."

She thought back to the nights she spent in his arms and the kisses he would demand from her. He only slept with her because someone told him it was a way to comfort their child when they had nightmares! It was also perfectly normal for kids to be affectionate with their parents. She kissed her mom on the cheek all the time after all! There was nothing wrong with that. It was fine. Perfectly fine.

Besides, Poseidon was new to fatherhood! In his billions of years of existence he had never once sired a child and she was pretty sure the only experience he had with kids was making them cry at the sight of him. Of course he wouldn't know how to act around his first ever daughter.

Mnemosyne looked at her uneasily, her words not offering up much reassurance.

She sighed in defeat. "Alright, Percy, if you're sure about that. But please, if he tries anything on you, you'll tell me, okay?" She may not be able to do much, but she still wanted to give her whatever help she could.

"Okay," the younger girl agreed.

Mnemosyne mustered up a smile. "Good. Now follow me. Humans eat lunch around this time, correct? I've already prepared a meal for us."

She followed her into the Great Hall where a long table was already lavishly set. Despite the fancy furniture, the only food that was on the table was a McDonalds bag and an Oreo McFlurry that made her stomach growl in anticipation.

Her eyes lit up. "You got me McDonalds?!"

"I will never understand you Americans and your obsession with that filthy restaurant," Mnemosyne sighed as she took a seat adjacent to her. Percy was already unwrapping her burger.

"I didn't know they had McDonalds here up in heaven," Percy joked, dipping her french fries in ketchup.

"They have just about everything in Valhalla," Mnemosyne told her. "I'd show you around, but Lord Poseidon strictly ordered me to keep you in my home and nowhere else."

Percy grunted. "I'm just glad he's letting me out of the palace. Can't even explore the city without my dad following me around…"

Mnemosyne stared at her, a pinched look on her face. Since when did Percy start referring to him as her dad? Whatever happened to calling him by name?

"Right…" She trailed off, worried about this sudden change. She decided to change the subject. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about two days ago when you went to Asgard, but I couldn't say anything because the Valkyries were there."

"What is it?" Percy asked, taking another bite of her burger.

"Loki." She said seriously, leaning forward. "How much did you tell him?"

"The general gist, not the details," she replied with a shrug.

"But does he know?" The goddess pressed on. "About your Achilles Heel?"

She shook her head. "No, but…" She swallowed thickly. "He's suspicious. You remember when I first came to your house?"

Mnemosyne nodded.

"Well, after that, I had a bad run-in with Loki. Beelzebub… I don't know, but he somehow managed to control my emotions to make more, um… violent. I didn't realize it at the time, but I felt so angry that I actually attacked Loki—"

"—You did what?" Mnemosyne said sharply.

"It wasn't my fault!" She protested. "It was Beelzebub's! He purposely did that because he wanted to test out Riptide, me and Loki were just his unfortunate test subjects…"

She dipped her head back and groaned, "Ugh, I cannot stand that invasive fly and his crazy experiments! Don't tell me, during the fight, Loki tried to hit you but your Curse prevented you from being harmed?"

Percy winced. "That's exactly what happened, and that's exactly what he asked about two days ago."

"And what did you tell him?" Mnemosyne ran a hand through her hair, clearly stressed out.

"I couldn't lie, he would've known. So I just told him it wasn't any of his business and said I wanted to leave."

Mnemosyne's shoulders slumped. "Well, I guess it can't be helped. But Percy, you can never let him know about the Curse of Achilles okay? Apollo may have been the one to kill the first bearer of that curse in your universe, but Loki is the one who has his eye on you and he has also managed to kill the invulnerable."

Her eyes widened. "He has? Who?"

Mnemosyne closed her eyes, as if the memory was too painful to relive. When she opened them, Percy could see the sadness brimming in them.

"It was Baldur," she spoke quietly, her voice drenched in melancholy. "He was the son of Odin and Frigg; the Aesir god of light, spring, peace, purity, beauty, and joy. He was probably the most well-loved god in all the pantheons. I wish you could've met him, Percy. He was kind and gentle, not at all ruthless like the rest of us were."

There was a wistful smile on her face as she said this.

"But suddenly, he started getting frightening visions of his own death. When he told his mother about it, she traveled through all three realms to exact oaths from every object to assure her son's safety."

Percy couldn't help but interrupt, "Um, how do you get objects to make oaths?"

"That doesn't matter, don't interrupt," she waved her off before going on, "As I was saying, Frigg managed to get oaths from everything to not harm Baldur. Since he was loved by the whole universe it wasn't really that hard. Because of this, Baldur was safe. Divine weapons couldn't touch him, objects bounced off of him. He was completely invulnerable to everything… except mistletoe."

Percy cocked her head back. "Mistletoe?" She echoed incredulously.

She nodded her head, completely serious. "Yes. Mistletoe. During the celebrations, Loki shapeshifted into a hag and approached Frigg to ask her about the party. She told him about Baldur's invulnerability and, when pressed for more, made the fatal mistake of telling him that the one object she didn't get an oath from was mistletoe."

"Why not?" Percy furrowed her brows in confusion.

"She felt it was too small and inconsequential, so she never bothered with it," she answered. "Loki left and snapped off a branch of mistletoe. When he returned to the festivities, he went up to Baldur's blind brother, Hod, god of darkness—"

"—That's kinda funny," Percy chortled, swirling around her Oreo McFlurry. "Get it? He's the god of darkness and he's blind—"

"—Don't make me hit you," Mnemosyne deadpanned.

"Sorry," she quickly said, shoving a spoonful of McFlurry in her mouth to shut up.

"As I was saying, Loki approached Hod. During the party, everyone was throwing objects at Baldur to watch it bounce off, but Hod couldn't, being blind and all. Loki pretended to help him by handing him the branch of mistletoe and setting his aim to Baldur. When Hod threw it, Baldur ended up being impaled. He… he died instantly."

She finally finished, looking down in sadness.

Percy stared at her in disbelief. "...He got one-shotted by a tree branch?"

"Percy!" Mnemosyne swatted her arm. "I just told you a tragic story and that's all you could say?!"

"Sorry, sorry," she muttered. "It's just that, well, Achilles got killed by an arrow sooo—"

"—I will seriously hit you," she threatened.

"You just did!"

"I mean for real. That slap on the arm was nothing."

She pouted. "Okay, I'm sorry."

Mnemosyne rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I think I heard of that in school," Percy chimed. "Wasn't this, like, a prank gone really wrong or something?"

The goddess' face darkened. "No. Absolutely not. This was no prank, Percy, this was intentional. There were attempts to even resurrect him from Niflehel—it was never going to happen, but we all tried anyway. But Loki thwarted every attempt. If it was simply a prank, why would he be so cruel as to stomp on everyone's hopes?"

"Oh… that's true…" She murmured.

"Loki was jealous of all the love and attention Baldur was getting from the three realms. It was murder, not a prank." She said seriously. "He tried very hard to avoid punishment, even going so far as to turn into salmon to evade everyone."

"Salmon?" Percy sputtered, as if that was the most interesting thing she had heard.

"Yes. Salmon."

"Did my dad catch him?" She asked eagerly.

Mnemosyne frowned. There it was again. Calling Poseidon 'dad' even when he wasn't around to hear it. She pushed these concerns to the back of her head. "No. He could hardly care less about what was going on. Thor was the one who caught him."

"What happened after that?" She asked curiously.

"Loki was punished by being bound to a cave with venom dripping onto his body," Mnemosyne answered with a pleased smile. "The venom wasn't from a god nor is it a divine weapon, so it wouldn't kill him, but it was enough to torture him for a few centuries."

"Centuries?!" Percy gaped.

"He deserved it," Mnemosyne shrugged. "But do you get it now, Percy? Loki is dangerous. The story of Achilles is but a fable told by the humans, so the Apollo here never killed someone blessed with invulnerability. But Loki has."

Percy nodded slowly, but it was obvious that she wasn't understanding the importance of this. "Well yeah, but he did it 'cause of his petty jealousy, right? Loki's not jealous of me and I don't think he ever will be, so I should be mostly fine, right?"

Mnemosyne sucked in a breath. "I'll be honest, Percy… You remind me of Baldur."

"I do?"

She nodded. "Yes. He was by no means a fighter like you, but he was kind and gentle. A very sweet god. The most humane out of all of us. You remind me of an ill-mannered version of him."

Ill-mannered? I'm trying my best here! She inwardly huffed.

"Whether he knows of your mortal spot or not, I worry that he might notice these similarities and well… hurt you like he did with Baldur," Mnemosyne explained.

"I don't think you have to worry," Percy assured her with a smile. "Loki killed him because he was jealous of all the love Baldur got, right? I'm hardly well-loved by anyone here. My own dad's just barely starting to tolerate me," she snorted. "I'll be fine."

"...If you say so," Mnemosyne relented, but her expression was troubled.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

After eating her lunch and finishing dessert, Percy headed off for the bathroom.

Mnemosyne's bathroom was huge. It had an ornate sink and toilet, but instead of a regular bathtub, it was a large pool at the center of the room. It was like she just entered an indoor pool instead of a bathroom.

She was in the middle of washing her hands when someone whispered in her ear.

"Boo~"

Before she could even move, a gloved hand reached out and covered her mouth, pushing her back into a muscular chest. Her eyes darted to the mirror, face paling when she saw Loki's reflection grinning down on her.

Her heart nearly stopped. She wrenched her hand away and hissed, "Dude, how long were you here?! Were you watching me piss?!"

"I'm not into that," he said with a snort. "And I just got here! Why, were you two sharing more juicy secrets?"

She couldn't tell whether he was lying or not, but he seemed too calm—she doubted he'd be this calm if he actually overheard what they were talking about.

With an annoyed groan, she pried herself away from him and turned around, arms crossed. "None of your business. Why are you here anyway?"

"Is it so bad to want to hang out with my dear best friend?" He simpered.

"We are not best friends." That spot was reserved for Grover and only him.

"I sensed you in Olympus so I came here to see how you were doing," he cooed. "Only to find out you're cooped up with that boring goddess. Why are you hanging out with her? What fun is she?"

"I'm not here for fun—"

"—And that's precisely the problem! You may not be a newborn, but you're still young! You've been in this universe for almost half a year now and you've spent it doing nothing! Doesn't that just bore you?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "Dude, I've been trying to survive. Do you not know who I've been living with this whole time? I can't just go around doing whatever I want!"

A sly smile crept over his face. "Poseidon's not here now though, is he?"

Her eyes widened. She took a cautious step back only to bump into the sink. "Loki… don't you dare—"

Loki lunged for her, arms reaching out to grab her and teleport themselves out of here, but Percy managed to jump to the side. There was no way she was going to let him teleport her around again, especially not when Mnemosyne's livelihood was at stake. Poseidon would be furious if he ever found out that she was taken while under her care.

Loki ended up swiping at thin air, and when he turned to the side to face her, she was already brandishing a weapon: a toilet plunger. She was pretty sure gods didn't need to go like humans did (meaning Mnemosyne created all of this solely for her), but she wasn't going to complain about the plunger.

"Ohoh?" He grinned maniacally. "We're gonna fight again?"

She lifted it up, the cup pointed threateningly at him. "I'm not afraid to use this on you."

Rather than summoning his dual-chained hooks, he opted for a toilet brush. "I dare you to try."

They ran at each other and their weapons clashed. Loki must have been holding back; she was pretty sure his toilet brush handle would've snapped by now if he was actually trying to apply full force. Taking advantage of this, she held her plunger with one hand while using the other to grab a bar of soap from the sink to jab into his eye.

"Careful with that!" He chided. "I could've ended up like my uncle!"

Before attacking her again, he snapped his toilet brush over his knee, now wielding two weapons against her sole one.

"This is better," he smiled, then he disappeared in a flash.

He appeared at her side, the brush end aiming at her face. She turned her head to the side before the pointy bristles could poke her eye out. His other weapon went after her back, but she reached behind her to block it in time.

"Is everything okay in there?" She nearly froze when she heard Mnemosyne's voice. She sounded like she was just down the hallway.

"Yeah, everything's fine!" She shouted in reply, kicking back at Loki's knee. She whirled around to block his next attack.

"Why hasn't Mnemosyne sensed you yet?" She asked, suspicious.

"I have my ways," he replied ominously, smirking.

Gritting her teeth, she whacked him, only for the plunger to go through his body as he dissolved into green glitter.

What?

"Over here~" Loki sang, and she whirled around to see him, perfectly fine.

"You conjured up a clone! That's cheating!" She hissed.

He laughed. "What're you gonna do about it—whoa!" He slipped on a small puddle of bathwater she placed underneath his feet.

Quickly, she dashed forward as his body fell onto the floor. She didn't give him a chance to recover, raising the plunger and slamming it down on his face so hard that the marble flooring cracked when the back of his head hit it.

"Percy?" Mnemosyne called out again. She sounded closer now. "What was that?"

"Gods, I'm so clumsy!" She exclaimed, applying more pressure when she felt him struggle. "Sorry, Mnemosyne, I accidentally dropped one of your fancy soap bottles!"

She couldn't hear what she said next because Loki, muffling curses at her, swept his legs at hers, making her drop to the floor with a grunt.

Loki got up, wrenching the plunger off of him. She would've laughed at the vivid red suction mark all over his angry face, until his venomous glare pierced into her.

"I'll get you for that—!" He hissed, grabbing her by the hair and dragging her to the toilet. She knew all too well what he was going to do next, but unfortunately for him, he was about to become the next Clarisse 2.0.

He threw up the lid and tried to force her head in, but Percy grabbed the edges of the toilet bowl, already manipulating the water in it to rise up. It separated into two streams to swerve around her head and went for Loki instead.

When the water grabbed him, she felt his grip on her go slack and quickly slid under him as he was practically dragged head-first into the toilet.

"No—!" He braced himself against the toilet, trying in vain to prevent his head from going in.

"I got you now, bitch!" She cheered, standing up. She quickly jumped onto the corner of the sink countertop, using it as a springboard as she got ready to stomp Loki's head straight into the toilet—

—Only for her feet to splash into the water as he teleported away into safety.

Her face fell. "Oh come on!"

"Hah!" Loki laughed triumphantly, appearing a few feet in front of her.

She scowled, hopping off the toilet. He came at her again, but she kicked her foot up, manipulating the water to fly off her shoes and splash over his eyes. He recoiled, but came barreling forward anyway. He slammed right into her.

Rather than falling butt-first into the toilet, Percy hit freshly cut grass instead. Up above, she could see the darkening skies.

Uh oh. Loki had done it. She and Mnemosyne were so screwed.

Loki landed on top of her. The two of them were a graceless heap on the ground. She could hear someone approaching them and tensed up, only to go lax when she saw the elderly face of Zeus above her.

"Loki! Percy!" Zeus croaked, his saggy face splitting into a joyous grin. "You two are late to my party!"

"Huh?" Percy said dumbly.

She craned her neck around. Loki had teleported them straight into Zeus' garden party. She could see a bunch of gods—mostly wasted on Dionysus' wine—dancing and having a merry time while some stared curiously at her and Loki.

"Better late than never," Loki chimed, already getting off of her. He offered a hand, but there was no way she was going to take it. Scowling at him, she got up on her own.

Zeus squinted at him. "What happened to your face?" The suction mark was still on him.

"Ugh, you can blame your rabid niece for that," Loki glared her way. "She attacked me with a plunger!"

"Pfft. Sure she did!" Zeus laughed. "Just like how she 'attacked you' back then too, huh? Haha!"

"Wha—she did! She was the one who started this fight just like last time!" He accused, stomping his foot and pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Loki, my niece is just a baby!" Zeus exclaimed, amused. "She can't fight. She hardly knows her ABCs!"

"I actually do know them now," Percy pretended to brag, if only to taunt Loki further. "And I know how to count to ten in English and Ancient Greek!"

"Oooh, that's wonderful, Percy!" He clapped at her achievements.

Percy suppressed the urge to laugh alongside him when she saw the look of outrage on Loki's face. Served him right.

"Father," a man stepped next to them. He had smoothly combed dark hair and red tattoos around his eyes. He was dressed like a butler, but Percy could feel that he was radiating with divine power. "More guests, I take it?"

"Hermes, meet your newest cousin, Percy!" Zeus introduced them.

Her eyes widened. "Y-you're Hermes?"

There were so many questions she wanted to ask. Why was he cosplaying as Sebastian from Black Butler? What happened to his tracksuits? What conditioner did he use?

He bowed, a refined and polite act that was so unlike the Hermes she knew that it left her gaping at him like an idiot. "I've heard a lot about you, it's nice to finally meet you, Percilla."

"Uh, yeah, same," she responded dumbly.

"I'm surprised your father allowed you to attend one of my father's parties. They get rather… rowdy later on. Did he come with you?" He asked curiously.

"No… Actually, about that, I'm not supposed to be here, so can you please—"

"—Ohhhh, I see, I see," Zeus nodded knowingly. "Sneaking out to attend a big party! I'm impressed! I never would've thought you'd hit your rebellious stage this soon!"

"What? No, no, no. It's not like that. My dad left me at Lady Mnemosyne's house so I need to—"

"—Oh don't worry," Zeus winked. "If my brother asks, I'll cover for you."

THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! She wanted to shout, but he was already ambling off to get another drink with Hermes following dutifully after giving her one last polite bow.

She whirled around to glare at Loki, the cause of this whole mess.

"Send me back. Now."

He harrumphed. "Hell no."

"You're such a little piss-baby!" She hissed. "Send me back, Loki!"

He pretended to think. "Hmmm, how about no?"

"Are you going through mood swings or something?! One second, you were more than happy to kidnap me, but now you're all sulky—"

"—Why do you think that is? You tried to dump my head in a toilet!"

"You tried to do it to me first!"

"That doesn't matter!"

If she wasn't surrounded by so many gods right now, she would've strangled him. "You know what, if you're gonna act like a hypocritical brat, then I'll ditch you and find someone else to send me back!"

His eyes widened, and she swore she saw almost a hint of panic, before that angry look returned. "Fine!" He spat.

"Fine!"

She stormed away, already scanning the crowds for a familiar face. There was no way Beelzebub would be here. He'd probably get constipation from the amount of people here. Hades? If he were here and he saw her, he'd definitely tell her dad all about it, so he was a big no. Maybe Heracles or—

She bumped into someone.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized. She looked up to see who it was. He was probably the most casually dressed god she had ever seen; donning on a loose tank top with a robe tied around his waist. His light hair was pinned up in a neat hairdo, but no offense to him, it looked more like he had a giant onion resting on his head.

"It's fine," Onion-head said, sounding not at all drunk, but still chill. He narrowed his eyes at her. "Hold up… You're Poseidon's kid, aren't you?"

She gulped. "Um, yes. Why?"

He tilted his head. "...Huh. You're not what I was expecting."

"Is that bad, or…?"

"Good. Very, very good. Don't be like your dad. One Poseidon's bad enough," he snorted. "I'm Buddha, by the way."

"Buddha?" She sputtered in disbelief. She thought back to all those mini Buddha statues she had seen in some of her friends' houses and he looked nothing like them.

"Yep," he casually stuck a blue lollipop into his mouth. "What're you doing here? Aren't you a little too young to be attending one of Zeus' parties?"

"Loki kidnapped me," she said. "Can you… um, well, is it possible for you to send me back to Lady Mnemosyne's house? I'm supposed to be staying with her."

He shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know where she lives. But if I were you, I'd get outta here when it gets dark," he advised her. "Zeus' parties get… well, let's just say it's not something kids like you should see."

She furrowed her brows. What was that supposed to mean?

"Anyway, here, have some candy," he handed her a blue lollipop.

"Uh, thanks?" Her mom always told her to never accept candy from a stranger, but he seemed like a nice dude. She took it out of the wrapper and popped it into her mouth, relishing the artificial blueberry taste.

"Hope you find someone who can send you back, Percy, but if you can't then you should really just leave the palace before it gets dark." He ruffled her hair before walking past her. "I'll see ya later, kid!"

She blinked as he disappeared into the crowd. "Bye…?"

Weird encounter, but she was just glad she hadn't bumped into a more volatile god (like her dad).

Before she could resume her search, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Holy shit! Is that you, Percy?!" An excited voice shouted, before a pair of large arms lifted her up and threw her up into the air. The person caught her before setting her down.

She turned around and her face lit up. "Shiva!"

"Hey!" He laughed. "I didn't expect to see you here! Did your dad come with you or something?"

"He doesn't know I'm here," she explained tiresomely.

"Lemme guess, Loki again?"

She nodded.

"Ah, that guy's always causing trouble. I think I saw him sulking around here though, want me to beat him up for you?" He grinned, clearly liking that idea as he pounded his four fists together.

"Um, no thanks. I just need to find a way back to Lady Mnemosyne. My dad dropped me off at her palace."

"Oh!" He was pleasantly surprised. "He's actually letting you out on playdates now? That's a miracle! Maybe I can schedule one between you and Ganesha…"

Percy could feel her face burn with embarrassment at the idea of her going on 'playdates' like she was a little kid again, but didn't bother to correct him. In everyone's eyes, she was just a baby.

"Oh my, is that dearest Percilla?" A sweet voice cooed, followed by the familiar sensation of her head going all fuzzy.

Aphrodite slid in-between them, somehow dressed more provocative than the last time she had seen her. The front of her dress were practically just straps that barely covered her breasts and the fabric was a nearly transparent pink. Everything could be seen.

Percy's eyes bugged out when she saw her and she quickly looked away, blushing furiously.

Aphrodite giggled. "Oh, you're so shy! How cute!"

"Ah, give her a break, Dite, she's just a kid," Shiva chuckled. He didn't seem surprised by her choice of attire.

"By the way, Shiva dear, one of your wives needs you," the blonde motioned behind her. "Someone spilled their wine on Durga's skirt. Parvati and Kali are currently trying to hold her back."

"Shit," Shiva cursed. "I need to go! I'll see ya later, Percy! Don't stay here too long, alright? Come find me if you wanna leave, you and Ganesha can have a sleepover!"

His voice grew more distant the further he went.

Percy swallowed thickly. And now she was alone with Aphrodite.

Well… Aphrodite and her manservants that were holding up her breasts. She still couldn't believe that was an actual job…

"Soooo~" Aphrodite twirled her perfect blonde hair. "Things have certainly changed since the last time I saw you. How interesting!"

"What do you mean?" She asked anxiously, remembering their last conversation. Bianca. Ethan. Rachel. Calypso. Anthonius.

"It seems like you've added more hearts to your growing collection," she gushed. "How exciting! So young and yet you're moving so quickly! I would've thought you were my daughter had it not been for the sea's obvious claim over you."

Huh? More hearts to her growing collection? What did she mean by that?

Suddenly, her voice fell into a seductive purr. Percy tensed up when Aphrodite cupped her chin, tilting her head up. Aphrodite lowered her head, almost like she was about to kiss her before moving past her lips to her ear.

"But you know," she purred. "If Poseidon fails to satisfy your needs, I will be more than happy to step in. As a lover or a parent, maybe even both~ Whatever you want, my dearest Percilla."

Percy was so shocked that when her jaw dropped, the lollipop Buddha gave her fell to the ground.

She quickly recoiled away from her and bent down to pick up the dirty thing. "I'm gonna throw this away!" She blurted out before hightailing it out of there.

She dove into the first crowd she could find, hoping to disappear from the meddling goddess' sight (and to also find a trash can). Once she was sure she lost her, she tried to find someplace to throw away her candy, but it looked like gods just used magic to get rid of their trash instead of throwing it away, so she tossed it into a lit-up brazier instead.

She didn't know how long she had been here, hopelessly wandering around while everyone else partied, but it soon started to grow dark and some guests started to leave. At first, she thought the party was over but she remembered the warnings Hermes, Buddha, and Shiva gave her. Apparently, something usually happened when it got dark—something she wasn't allowed to see.

It didn't take her that long to figure it out. Zeus', using a fancy looking horn as if it was a speakerphone, yelled out, "IT'S ORGY TIIIIIIMEEEE!"

Percy blanked out. "Huh."

The remaining guests broke into loud, raucous cheers. Zeus' body suddenly transformed. He was no longer a frail old man, but decades younger. His goatee was gone, his balding grey hair was blonde and fuller, and his body was massive, probably towering over his elder brothers even.

"What the fuck?" She sputtered in disbelief, her voice barely heard from the deafening cheers of the partygoers.

Without hesitation, the newly de-aged Zeus ripped off his flimsy chiton and tossed it to Hermes, who looked the calmest out of everyone here. Percy gagged in disgust when she saw Zeus' full-frontal body on display, only to pale when she realized that everyone else was following suit.

"Oh no," she whispered as people tore off their own clothes, already jumping at each other's bones. Now she understood why she was told to leave before dark. "Ohhh no, oh no, oh no."

She hastily covered her eyes, now wandering around blindly as the sound of lustful moans echoed in her ears. She scrambled for the exit, bumping into nude bodies and squeaking out apologies to them.

"Sorry! Excuse me! Sorry!"

Amongst all the moans and screams of pleasure, she heard Aphrodite's crooning voice, "Percy~! Come join us!"

"I-I left the oven on! Gotta hurry back home!" She lied.

"But Percy! You're—nnnghh, ahhh~! You're missing out~!"

"The palace might burn down! Sorry!" She yelled back, forgetting the fact that she lived underwater. Which made it pretty impossible to set fire to.

She scrambled away faster, palms pressed tightly against her eyes to avoid witnessing anything she wasn't supposed to. Where was the exit?! Where the hell was Shiva?! Hell, she'd even take Loki!

A pair of hands grasped her shoulders, nearly making her jump.

"Percy!" The voice of a familiar woman said, aghast. "Gods, what are you doing here?!"

"Auntie Persephone?!" She exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here?!"

"My mother was the one who told Hera about Zeus hosting another one of his wild parties. She dragged me along to watch Hera… ah, actually, don't worry about it. Let us get you out of here. Things are about to get rather… violent soon."

Percy kept her eyes closed as Persephone guided her away. The moment they stepped into the palace, she could hear Hera's roaring voice, "ZEEEEEEUUUUUS!"

She and Persephone winced.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Once they were finally inside, Percy uncovered her eyes. She could hear the sounds of terrified shrieking outside, glad that she managed to make it out to avoid Hera's wrath.

"Thanks," she sighed in relief. "I didn't mean to be there. I was supposed to be at Lady Mnemosyne's place, but Loki kidnapped me and took me here. I didn't even know that, uh, orgies were a common thing at our uncle's parties."

"It's a good thing I got you out of there in time," Persephone said seriously. "Gods get very drunk during those parties. Drunk enough to not care about who your father is."

She shuddered. "R-right. Thank you again."

Persephone guided her until they were out of Zeus' massive palace. They were far enough that the screams couldn't be heard either, which was good for Percy's ears.

"You said you were at Lady Mnemosyne's home?" Persephone suddenly spoke up. "I will walk you there. I know where it is."

She lit up. "Really?! Oh thank you! Do you know if my dad's returned from his meeting? He said it was gonna be late, but…"

"It should still be going on. Worry not, you'll get there in time and I won't inform him of where I found you," Persephone sent her a kind smile.

She could finally feel her shoulders relax. She was so glad Persephone found her.

They walked in quiet serenity, but about five minutes in, Percy started to smell something very sweet and strong. She sniffed around, and realized it was coming from Persephone. Or more specifically, the new flowers that were blooming into her hair.

"Those are new flowers," she commented. "I've never seen them before."

Persephone smiled widely. There was almost something sharp about it. "Yes. These are my newest creations. I've been working on them for quite a while. Do you like them?"

"It's really sweet," she said, feeling… off. "Like… really… really sweet…"

Was it just her or did the temperature suddenly go up?

Percy stopped walking. Her whole body felt like it was burning.

Persephone tilted her head innocently. "Are you alright, Percy?" She sounded sincere, but she was smiling as she said it.

Realization started to dawn on her. "Wait… i-if you knew where Lady Mnemsoyne lived… why didn't you just teleport me there?"

The goddess ignored her question and placed a delicate hand over her forehead. "Oh my. You're burning up! I'll have to call for help."

"Wa… wait…" Her whole body was hot, but it was especially worse between her legs. She could feel her face flush in embarrassment. What did she do her?!

"Don't you worry, Percy," Persephone cooed, already scrolling through her phone. "My husband will take good care of you."

At that point, she could barely hear her anymore. Her legs grew too wobbly. Slowly, she lowered herself to the ground while Persephone spoke frantically to Hades who sounded just as panicked.

Not even a second later, and the King of Helheim was at the scene. The sweet aroma seemed to intensify at his arrival.

"Oh, gods, Percy!" Hades knelt down beside her. "What happened to you?"

Percy slowly lifted her head to stare at him, not able to speak. Just the sight of him made things worse. Her eyes roamed his face; the sharpness of cheekbones, his strong and defined jawline, and his plush lips. She felt like a person dying of thirst staring at an oasis.

Hades frowned at her lack of response and gingerly reached out to cup her cheek. "Her pupils are all dilated… What exactly hap—" He suddenly froze and took a huge whiff of the air. "...What is that smell?"

The aroma intensified even more. Percy whimpered, the sound making Hades feel all hot.

Persephone remained silent.

He rose to his feet, but was noticeably unsteady now. "Persephone," his voice was hard. "What did you do?"

"Whatever do you mean, my lord?" She replied loftily. "She looks quite unwell. You should take her back home and take care of her."

Hades glared at her in frustration, but he knew she was right. Ignoring his burning body, he gently pulled Percy up to her feet and teleported them to Helheim.

They ended up in the living room where Hades tried to deposit her on the chaise lounge, but the temptation to do more grew with every step he made. Her body was practically pressed against his. He dared to steal a glance down, eyes zeroing in on the way her breasts squished deliciously against his arm, the flush of her cheeks, and the need in her eyes.

He fought the urge to drop to his knees in worship.

"Sit down," he whispered, trying to guide her to the chaise. "I'll have one of the lampads look after you."

"No…!" She hugged his arm tighter. "Please don't go."

He swallowed thickly, trying to keep the desire at bay. "Little one, I can't. I might…" He shook his head. "Please, just sit down and wait a bit."

But she shook her head stubbornly. At this point, another wave of heat struck him. Sweat beaded down his face. His free hand shakily yanked at the front of his shirt, the buttons popping out as he ripped through it with ease. It was just too hot.

He could see Percy's eyes trailing over the exposed skin of his chest before gulping and squeezing her legs together. The obvious arousal she felt was going to make him snap.

"Uncle," she breathed out, her voice full of desire. "I… I can't…" Her hand wandered down to the edge of her skirt, like she wanted to pull it down.

Hades let out a groan full of need. He fell back onto the chaise lounge, pulling her down onto his lap. She wasn't even bothered, fingers trailing delicately over his abs.

"Gods, Percy…!" He groaned again, feeling his hardened cock throb against her. He could feel her wet heat against his groin, nails digging into the fragile skin on her bare waist. He suppressed the urge to start bucking into her like a wild animal.

"We can't do this," he managed to say. "We.. we…" The front of her body pressed against his. He could feel her nuzzle into the crook of his neck, letting out a heavy sigh that made him shiver. He threw his head back and moaned; just the sensation of her breath on his skin was enough to make him go crazy.

He couldn't help it anymore. He tightened his grip on her waist and drove his hips upwards. Percy's back straightened up, the action almost making her vision go white. There was something big prodding against her soaked underwear and when she felt him drive it hard against her core she let out a shocked moan.

Her brain was hazy, but her body worked in autodrive. Her hands, shaking excitedly, began undoing the front of his pants, but Hades was too impatient. He grabbed her and drove against her again and again, each thrust making her see stars. They were both still clothed, but she could feel his large cock stimulating her clit with every move he made.

Her body went limp against his, eyes rolled to the back of her head and delirious moans spilling from her lips. Her legs tightened around his waist, a desperate plea for more.

"W… we shouldn't be doing this… We're under the influence of… of…" He tried to say, but despite that, he was in too much hazy pleasure to even care.

He squeezed his eyes shut, his hands slipping from her waist and into the slits of her skirt, traveling down until he was cupping her ass through her skirt. One finger inched dangerously close to the wet spot in her underwear.

"You are wet," he growled, full of desire. "Do you like this, my niece? Do you like that we've been reduced to lust-filled animals?

"Uh huh…!" She moaned out shamelessly. "Uncle—y-you're so big…! Please—! Wan' more, please, please, haaah…!"

"Naughty girl," he murmured throatily, grabbing her by the back of host head and pressing his lips against hers. Despite his rough ministrations, his kiss was actually… gentle. There was desperation in it, but he was filled with so much passion; he didn't want to ruin this.

He pressed hot kisses against her lips before gently parting them open for his tongue to breach through. Her tongue eagerly sought his out. Together their tongues pushed and slithered around one another all while their hips moved in wild abandon.

He pulled away, leaving a trail of kisses against the side of her throat.

"You are impossible to resist." He licked at the shell of ear. He could feel a growing wet spot on the front of his pants now, either from her pussy or from his leaking cock. He didn't care, he just wanted more.

"Uncle…" She whimpered. She was so hot she felt like she could explode. "Hurts now…!"

"Where does it hurt, my love?" He crooned.

"D-down… there…" She nearly wept.

"Does this feel better?" He hummed, tearing her panties apart with his hands and leaving her pussy—while covered by her skirt—now bare against his large bulge in his pants. He slammed her down on his cock, watching as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

The feeling of his cock bumping into her clit was much more stimulating now. She let out a series of incoherent moans, only for Hades to kiss her again, more needy this time. She could hear him moan and groan against her lips, his kiss sloppy compared to the first time.

"You're m-making such a mess all over me," he rasped, barely able to speak. "Want to… hnngh, want to take you. Want to fill you up. Percy… haaah… I need you desperately…!"

He wanted nothing more than to shove his pants down and rub his aching cock against her folds, but he knew he wouldn't be able to contain himself. There was no way he would be able to stop himself from taking her completely.

"A-ah, hah, uncle Hades…!" She whimpered, clutching his shoulders tighter. "I feel—! F-feel…!"

"Oh darling," he grunted, feeling his cock ache with need. He understood what she was trying to convey. "You're going to cum, Percy."

"Please~!" She begged him, nearly in tears. "Please, please, help me…!"

Gods he didn't think he would ever forget the sound of her begging for him like that. "I've got you, darling," he pressed a loving kiss on her sweaty temple. "I've got you. Just cum, I've got you."

He moved his hips and bounced her on his lap faster, relishing in the frantic, "Ah~ a-aah haah~ ah~" moans leaving her lips.

"T-think I'm gonna cum," she whined, tears slipping down her eyes. He kissed them before they could reach her chin.

"Do it," he whispered tantalizingly, sucking at her throat. "I want you to come undone on my lap."

She mewled against his neck and suddenly it was like all the sensations hit her at once. She stiffened, body trembling when she felt her orgasm rock her to her very core. She did it. She actually came.

A pleased rumble could be heard from Hades' throat when he felt her gush all over him.

"My Percilla, you're beautiful," he breathed out, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close just as he finally came in his pants. He pushed her prone form down, grounding his cock against hers as his cock filled the inside of his pants with his own seed—seed he wished he could've poured into her instead.

When he finally stopped, his body finally went lax on the chaise.

"Oh…" She whimpered weakly. "Oh gods…"

"Shhh," Hades cupped her cheek and kissed her sweetly on the lips. When he pulled away, Percy leaned in for one more.

"No, little one," he smiled apologetically, shaking his head. "We need to rest. We are still under the effects of whatever aphrodisiac Persephone exposed us to."

"...Still hot," she whined, shimmying her hips slightly. She could see his Adam's apple bob at the friction she created.

"You'll feel better soon," he promised, kissing her forehead.

She didn't know if it was something he did, but she was out like a light.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Percy woke up laying atop of her uncle's chest. She could feel one arm wrapped securely around her back as he slept underneath her. His shirt remained unbuttoned, the side of her face pressed against his bare skin. As she slowly sat up, she could see that the front of his pants were still undone too, as if he fell asleep right after she did.

She gulped, feeling her face heat up when she saw just how big he was under those pants. Not to mention what the two of them had done…

Oh gods, she thought, feeling dizzy. I lost my first kiss to my uncle. I even humped him like a horny teenager!

Persephone had… done something to them. She didn't know what exactly, but she knew it had something to do with those flowers she grew on her hair. She had grown hot with need, and so had Hades. They could barely keep their hands off of each other and they had almost…

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her heartbeat speed up.

"You're awake," a velvety voice murmured. She looked down and locked eyes with Hades. Her body felt frozen.

Slowly, he sat up, one arm wrapped around her waist to keep her still.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, voice husky from the nap.

"...More aware…" She answered hesitantly. "About… about what happened… I am so sorry."

He frowned, looking almost hurt. "Do you regret it?"

"Huh?"

"About what we did. Do you regret it?"

Her mouth ran dry. "I…"

He leaned forward and kissed her. Her heart jumped. But rather than pushing him away, she didn't move. Even when he tilted her head back and prodded her mouth for access. She should've stopped. Should've pushed him away. Her mind was in perfect clarity now, she could control herself… but she parted her lips and let his tongue slide in to stroke hers.

His large hand snaked around the back of her head, pressing her harder against him. His other hand wrapped around her waist, caressing her bare skin. They pulled back slightly for air, only to collide once more. She sighed against his lips, hands trailing shyly down his strong arms, feeling and admiring the muscle underneath his blazer.

"This is wrong," she tried to say in-between kisses, her voice small and feeble. It was obvious her stance was weak.

He pulled away, stopping the kiss at last. There was a knowing look in his eyes as he gazed back at her, letting his forehead rest against hers.

"It's okay," he assured her lovingly. "I didn't regret it either."

She could feel her chest clench at his words, but before she could say anything, Hades suddenly froze, his eyes widening in horror.

"Your father is here." He whispered.

She felt like throwing up. No. Anyone but him.

Quickly, she scrambled off of him and let him rise to his feet. Hastily, he ran a hand over himself and fixed up his appearance, making sure to help Percy's with hers too. Just as he finished with her hair, Poseidon burst into the living room.

"Percilla," he breathed out. His usually stoic exterior looked like it was slowly chipping away now.

"D-d-daddy!" She squeaked, taking a giant step away from Hades to create a decent distance between them. "What, um, what are you doing here?"

"I was the one who called him while you were asleep. It… slipped my mind," Hades explained, shooting her a guilty look.

Poseidon frowned. "You are never this scatter-brained, Hades. What exactly happened here?" He demanded.

Percy gulped.

"Loki and his mischief happened, brother," Hades explained. "He took Percy from Lady Mnemosyne's home."

Poseidon looked murderous. "That damned Titan…"

"Daddy, please, it's not her fault," she pleaded.

"She was supposed to be watching over you," he snapped. "And she failed and let you get taken by that annoying god. What did he do to you?"

"Uh…"

"He took her to one of—of…" Hades uncharacteristically stumbled over his words, his eyes drawn to certain pieces of ripped up blue fabric on the ground, right next to his feet: the tattered remains of Percy's panties that he had ripped off of her.

Poseidon frowned, but he hadn't noticed the underwear yet. Neither had Percy. Swiftly, Hades allowed the shadows to swallow it up as he spoke to keep his brother distracted, "To one of Zeus' parties," he answered, clearing his throat.

Poseidon's eyes widened. "Zeus'—?" He cut himself off, immediately looking her over for any signs of harm. "Did anyone touch you? Do not lie to me, Percilla."

"No, no! I'm okay!" She reassured him. She would've felt all nice and fuzzy at the sight of him caring about her so obviously, but she was too busy freaking out. "I got out in time! Actually, um… Persephone found me, and…"

"And Percy fell sick," Hades supplied. "She called me and I took her here so she could be tended to."

(Oh she sure was tended to alright.)

"Sick?" Poseidon echoed. He tried to sound collected, but the worry was beginning to show through. "With the plague?"

Percy looked baffled, but then she remembered that she was dealing with gods who could never get sick. Of course he would assume the worst instead of something simple, like a cold.

Hades chuckled. "Definitely not. It was just a simple ailment. She feels much better now, don't you Percy?" He turned to her, eyes shining with mirth.

She tried not to flush at the suggestiveness of his tone as she nodded to her father. "Yeah. I'm okay now."

She could see Poseidon's shoulders relax just a fraction of an inch. "I see. We shall return immediately then. I'll have one of my nymphs look you over to see if you need any healing."

"Of course," Hades nodded in understanding. He smiled at Percy and brought her into a hug. "This will be our little secret," he whispered, low enough for only her to hear.

She shivered and pulled away, smiling nervously. Tensely, she walked to her father's side and felt him clasp her hand tightly, like he didn't want to ever let her go after this.

"Goodbye, brother," Hades waved, then smiled at her. "Percy."

She gulped audibly, remembering the pleasurable high he brought her to. "Bye, Uncle Hades."

She could feel Poseidon tighten his grip around her hand before he teleported them away.

MEMES!

You know how in the books, Percy got kissed by Annabeth in The Battle of the Labyrinth and Rachel in The Last Olympian (I can't remember if it was a lip kiss tho)?? THAT NEVER HAPPENED HERE! Those were only cheek kisses hehe, meaning UNCLE HADES WAS PERCY'S FIRST KISS

Meme: 1

FANART!

Fanart from littlepotaaatosimp of Poseidon's children: her, percy, and tyson!!! And a percy picrew!!:

Here's a picrew from 00rose-mary00!! (they gave it to me as a screenshot):

PERCY AND MY OTHER OC MIZUHIME FROM MY JJK FIC BY naoyaofficialmommy:

Aaaaand a percy sim made by altaircc!!!:

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

Every time I type "Baldur" I'm reminded by the fact that I have yet to finish Baldur's Gate Forgive me, Astarion…

Chapter 18: i become a homewrecker?!

Summary:

Percy nearly gets shish kebab-ed to prevent Loki from getting shish kebab-ed.

Notes:

I changed the ao3 tags! Take a look if you're curious!

Also, I kept saying that there won't be any smut until Act 2, but apparently the previous chapter counted as smut… oops So forget what I said! There WILL be smut in this act, but no peepee in the veevee action until act 2!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

IT WAS IN THE EARLY hours of the morning and two of the female Elder Olympians (plus Persephone who had been dragged along by her mother) had just finally managed to calm down Hera from another one of her meltdowns.

Zeus' party had long been over and most of the partygoers had been brutally punished. While Zeus retired into the depths of the palace to lick his wounds, Demeter and Hestia were practically force-feeding their younger sister calming tea to prevent another explosion.

"Do forgive me for losing my temperament, sisters," a mostly subdued Hera apologized as she blew into her dainty teacup. "You know how I get with Zeus and his… philandering ways."

The very mention of Zeus was enough to bring her back to a boiling point. Angrily, she slammed her tea cup down on the table, making the two goddesses jump while Persephone stared idly.

"I just can't stand him…!" She bit out. "An orgy party?! AGAIN? Did he think I wouldn't find out?! Does he take me for a fool?!"

Demeter and Hestia exchanged wary looks like they were thinking, Oh here we go again.

But then Hera regained her cool, clearing her throat and combing back her hair, looking very much like the dignified queen she was supposed to be. Either the tea was really doing its job, or she had finally been attending her anger management lessons.

"Anyway, how have my fellow goddesses been these days?" She asked cordially, taking another sip.

"Oh the usual," Demeter droned on. "The Midgardians are destroying my land. Oh! But my crops up here are doing wonderfully."

"That's nice, Demeter." Hera said dismissively. "And you, elder sister?"

"I've been thinking of redecorating…" Hestia wondered aloud.

"Lovely. Persephone?"

"I'm so glad you asked. My husband is cheating on me!" Persephone said cheerfully.

Hera promptly spat out her tea all over Hestia's face.

"He is?!" Hestia's jaw dropped. The tea didn't even bother her.

"He is?!" Demeter gasped, joy written all over her face.

"He is?!" Hera couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That explains why I felt so off a while ago! That no-good scoundrel! I told him that I should've been the one to officiate the wedding so I could properly bless your marriage but nooo, he had to stick to the pomegranate route and now your marriage is ruined! My poor dear niece, tell me the name of his whore! We shall punish her together!"

"We will do no such thing, Aunt Hera," Persephone looked genuinely aghast at the suggestion. "I'm quite happy, actually. I could cry tears of joy!"

"My Kore…!" Demeter wept. "He's finally cheated on you, oh I couldn't be happier! You're going to be free! Who is this woman?"

Despite their superior hearing, all the goddesses leaned forward in anticipation to hear the name come out of the pink goddess' lips.

"Percy," Persephone breathed out, an elated smile on her face. "She is the one who Hades is so besotted with."

"Percy?!" Hestia and Hera sputtered while Demeter threw her hands up in the air, random flower petals suddenly showering over them.

"YES!" She shouted. "I knew it! I knew she would be the one! I knew it the second I found out he kidnapped her months ago!"

Hera and Hestia looked at each other flabbergasted.

Hestia slowly leaned back on her chair. "...I suppose we should've expected this when we saw him practically fondling her during mother's luncheon."

"Well—well," it was uncharacteristic of Hera to be stammering, but she truly hadn't been expecting this. "He obviously manipulated her into this then!"

Hestia snorted. "Whatever happened to 'we shall punish her together'?"

"I just don't believe Percilla would ever do something like this," Hera harrumphed. "She's a good girl. Besides, I saw her scurrying around Zeus' party with her eyes covered and trying to avoid all the naked bodies. How does someone like that suddenly go around sleeping with another woman's husband?"

All eyes went to Persephone who had the decency to look at least a little sheepish. "Well… I did give them a little push last night…"

Hestia raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Persephone cleared her throat daintily and went on to explain herself, "I may have created a special flower species with particularly strong aphrodisiacal qualities that take effect when inhaled, and I may have used it on Percy and Hades when he arrived to pick her up."

Demeter gasped loudly, an excited look on her face. She slapped the table like she couldn't contain herself. "Oh, you did not!"

Persephone grinned. "Oh mother, I sure did. Percy and Hades are currently in the throes of their lovemaking. I doubt we'll be seeing them anytime soon."

"Oh gods," Hestia closed her eyes. "This is insanity. You drugged them?"

"Like I said, all I did was give them a much needed push," Persephone shrugged. "Percy and Hades are clearly attracted to each other. Hades makes it more obvious, but Percy is much too shy to do anything about it. She's like a human, you know, acting as if the labels 'uncle' and 'niece' are a blockade to true love."

"Such a silly girl," Demeter chortled. "I wonder where she got that mindset."

"You… planned to have your husband cheat?" Hera sputtered.

"Of course," Persephone beamed. "I want to be free and happy again. And I cannot be that if I remain chained to Hades. You are the goddess of marriage, dear aunt, do you really want your own niece to be trapped in an unhappy marriage? I know you detest divorces, but a divorce won't be the only outcome in this! Think of it this way: a bad marriage will finally end to make way for a good one—Hades and Percy's!"

"And this time Hades will surely listen to your advice and have you officiate and bless the marriage," Demeter added eagerly.

"Hmm…." Hera thought this over. "Do you think they would let me plan the wedding too?"

"Oh yes, certainly!" Persephone and Demeter nodded in unison.

Hestia looked between the three of them, unimpressed. "I can't believe this. Persephone, you shouldn't have done that. If you truly believe that they like each other, then let things go naturally instead of forcing it. And Demeter! Hera! Don't encourage this!"

"But it's true love!" Persephone insisted.

Hestia opened her mouth to retort, but a dark and powerful energy suddenly entered the room, making the four goddesses pause. Shadows burst into the room and the shape of a man formed from it. Hades.

"Persephone," Hades began in a hard voice. "We need to talk."

The goddess of spring truly hadn't been expecting to see him so soon. "What… what are you doing here? You're supposed to be with Percy…!"

"She is currently back home with her father," he replied.

"Her father?" She paled. "Have you lost your mind?! She might—"

"—Ah, so you are aware of what you've done," Hades smiled, but he was by no means pleased. "Worry not. I knocked the both of us out before anything could happen. Looks like all we needed was a good rest to wear off the effects of your… flowers."

She swallowed thickly. So Percy was no longer under the effects of the aphrodisiac by the time Poseidon came to retrieve her. That was good. But Hades and Percy hadn't slept together. Not good.

Luckily for her, she had her mother here to give her support. "Nothing happened, you say?" Demeter said slyly, eyes narrowed as she scanned his appearance. Nothing seemed amiss, but she decided to call on his bluff. "I think you're lying."

"Do you?" He replied, disinterested.

Demeter's smile only grew. "Mmhmm. I've seen the way you look at her, Hades. The way you shamelessly touched her even during our mother's luncheon in front of the whole family. You could hardly control yourself and that's without the aphrodisiac. Something definitely happened between you two."

They knew she had him the second they saw his jaw visibly clench.

"That doesn't matter," he dismissed, but Demeter was already smirking triumphantly. "What matters is that your daughter put Percy in danger. What if there were other gods around that smelled her flowers? What if someone got there before I did? If Persephone was willing to drug her, then I doubt she'd try to keep her safe if any of those scenarios had occurred!"

His voice rose at the last part, and Persephone flinched. It had been a very very long time since Hades had ever raised her voice at her. It frightened her, but she couldn't back down now. Her freedom was close, she could taste it. His anger only further proved that she was right. Hades rarely lost his temper, and now he was yelling at his own wife because his niece was put under risk due to her actions.

"I-I'm sorry," she apologized. "But you clearly love her more than me! Why continue this farce of a marriage? Divorce me so you can be with her!"

"So that's what this is about," Hades sighed through his nose. "You didn't need to go through such lengths. Persephone, I was already thinking about divorcing you."

"You were?" Hera gawked. Everyone turned to her. She waved a hand, "Apologies for interrupting. Do continue."

They went back to ignoring her.

"You… you were?" Persephone repeated the question. "I did not know… I thought… I assumed…"

"That I was going to keep you trapped in a miserable marriage forever?" Hades finished. "No. I wasn't. I've been thinking about this since the fifteenth century actually. I was just worried about you and the kids—"

"—You can visit them any time you want, my lord!" Persephone interrupted him frantically. "You can even have sole custody of them if you wish! I'll even destroy my whole garden too if that's what you want! I—"

He raised a hand to stop her and she quickly ceased.

"When did you fall out of love with my daughter?" Demeter asked curiously.

"A few centuries ago, actually. Once I realized that this marriage was never going to work out and that Persephone would never love me back, well… I admit, I was quite saddened by the revelation, but after time passed, I got over it and accepted it. It is, after all, my fault that things have come to this."

"So Percy has nothing to do with this?" She pressed.

"Of course not. She's not even a year old."

"But you love her, don't you?" She asked knowingly.

"That is none of your business—"

"—Oh he's totally in love," Hera interrupted again. This time, Hestia nodded in agreement.

Hades pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't even know why you two are here… Look, never do this to Percy ever again, understand? You are lucky I'm letting you off so easily. Poseidon isn't even aware of what transpired but if he found out…" The warning hung over their heads.

Persephone gulped and nodded.

"Good." Hades nodded. "Speaking of him… get ready. We're needed for another meeting in an hour."

"Another meeting?" Hera sat up straight. "I don't recall Zeus mentioning one."

"Poseidon's orders," he clarified. "Someone is to be punished for what has happened to his daughter. Let this be a lesson, Persephone. Be grateful because if either of us had told him what you had done…"

"I understand, my lord." Persephone shuddered.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Mnemosyne shifted nervously on her throne as gods of all pantheons filed into the room, followed by members of the Asgardian royal family: Odin, Thor, and a chain-bound Loki. The only reason she wasn't given the same treatment was probably because Percy had begged for her to be spared.

Zeus, in his haggard appearance, hobbled over to the center of the conference hall. "Well, now that we're all here—"

A flash of golden light enveloped the room. When it died out, Apollo appeared, sitting elegantly on his lavish throne.

"Sorry for being late!" He said brightly, completely unaware of Poseidon's dark glower. "What are we here for?"

"Poseidon's daughter has been kidnapped," Artemis explained. The 'again' went unsaid. "We've gathered to sentence the kidnapper."

"Oh, her, hmm?" Apollo mused, leaning back on his throne. "Still the topic of Valhalla, I see. But anyway, everyone listen up! I'm hosting another gala with the Nine Muses! You're all more than welcome to attend!"

"Oooh! Yo, Poseidon! Can Percy come?" Shiva asked, grinning ear-to-ear.

Poseidon bristled, but before he could do anything Aphrodite let out an excited squeal, "Yes! She should definitely come!"

"Apollo's parties are far more proper for her to attend," Hermes added his two cents. "Compared to our father's, of course."

Apollo looked around, sulking in his throne as suddenly everyone began to chatter about Percy this and Percy that. The gods who never met her, but were curious of the lack of fear coming from the gods that did know her, asked about her while the gods who knew of her were more than happy to answer.

It annoyed him to no end. Yes, yes, Poseidon had a daughter, how amazing, but he just announced that he was having one of his super popular, amazing galas and hardly anyone cared about it!

His fingers drummed over the armrests of his throne. "Sister," he turned to Artemis, one of the only gods who remained quiet. "You've met the girl, haven't you?"

"Yes," she nodded slowly. "Lord Poseidon has asked me to keep an eye on her virginity ever since his brother first kept her in Helheim. Why?"

"What was she like?" He asked curiously.

"Quiet, a little shy," she supplied. "That's all I can say, brother. My visit was rather short."

He harrumphed. "So she's not even that special then? I hardly see what all the fuss is about."

"Watch what you say," Artemis hissed in a warning tone. "Lord Poseidon will have your tongue, brother. Even I cannot save you from that."

"You worry too much, Artemis," he said dismissively. "From what I'm hearing about her, she sounds more human than divine. I doubt Lord Poseidon cares much for her."

"That's where you're wrong." Artemis leaned closer and whispered. "There's been talk."

"Talk?"

"Yes. One day, Lord Poseidon was seen out in the streets of Asgard with his daughter. He was eating ice cream with her."

Apollo went still. "What…?" He laughed a little. You couldn't even blame him. The thought of Poseidon eating ice cream out in public like a common man… With his child no less… It was a little too outrageous.

"It's true." Artemis said seriously. "I've seen the pictures and videos of it. Apparently, his daughter had asked for ice cream and wanted him to join her. He accepted."

"Those have to be fake…"

"They are not. You've been up in Delos for far too long brother. Check your phone and see for yourself."

Tensely, Apollo summoned his phone. He went straight to Gossipmonger (the godly form of Twitter that gods and the souls residing in Valhalla used) and was immediately bombarded with posts containing pictures and videos of the widely talked about father-daughter duo. He could feel his eyes nearly pop out of his head. Artemis was right. It really was true. He played one of the videos; he couldn't see the girl's face, but that didn't matter.

His jaw dropped. Not only were they both eating the same type of ice cream, but he even saw Poseidon reach out to wipe his daughter's mouth rather than berate her for eating so messily.

﹫Heracles: Awwww, how cute! I'm glad they're getting along!

﹫Shiva: dam things changed fast?? Last time we saw each other percy said he didnt even wanna eat with her!!!

﹫Indra: that rlly Poseidon's kid? Didn't expect her to be so… un-poseidon? Lol, thank gods

﹫Persephone: Hmmm, I still think she's better off with Hades

﹫Shiva replied to ﹫Persephone: Lady u gotta let that agenda go……

Apollo quickly went to the trending topics and could only feel his ichor boil further. #percilla, #percy, and #poseidonsdaughter were all trending topics. His name had been pushed to the very bottom of the list and there wasn't even any mention of his gala!

"Enough of this," Poseidon's voice rose. People immediately quieted down in fear. Apollo let his phone dematerialize. Poseidon turned to Mnemosyne who flinched upon meeting his deadly glare. "Speak, Titan. I want the full story."

"I don't really know what happened, my lord," she began nervously. "Percy needed to use the bathroom, but I grew concerned when she stayed there for too long. I heard a lot of noises and I think she might have been talking to herself…? When it became quiet, I went in to check and she was gone."

She must have been talking to Loki. The trickster god had an annoying trick that allowed him to hide his presence whenever he wanted it.

Poseidon looked quite frustrated at the lack of answers and turned to the Asgardians. He motioned to Loki's bound form. "Unmuzzle him. I want to hear his explanation."

Without an ounce of consideration, Thor yanked the muzzle right off of him.

"Ow…" Loki whined, only to freeze up when the tips of a trident pushed against his throat.

"Speak." Poseidon ordered.

Loki brought his hands up, chains rattling. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold your horses! I didn't even do anything bad! I just wanted to hang out with her but then she attacked me with a toilet plunger!"

"A what?" He frowned.

"A toilet plunger, my lord," Mnemosyne spoke up. "It's something humans use in case… erm, it's a tool they sometimes use. It hardly qualifies as a weapon."

"So he's lying then," he scowled.

"Actually," Apollo chimed, happy to make this Percy girl look bad. "He speaks the truth. She did attack him."

"Then she obviously did it in self defense," Poseidon excused, which made Apollo's shoulders slump. "Or perhaps she was startled. Either way, my daughter is not one for violence, so Loki is still in the wrong."

Loki rolled his eyes. Of course he didn't believe him. Everyone seemed to think Percy was a sweet baby angel who couldn't do anything wrong. It grated his nerves. It reminded him way too much of Baldur…

"And then what happened next?" Zeus pressed on.

"Being the nice friend that I am, I took her to your wonderful party, Lord Zeus!" Loki batted his eyes.

"Awww, so you're saying she wasn't there willingly?" Zeus whined.

"She is an infant," Poseidon growled. "Why would she ever want to attend one of your lecherous parties?"

"Where even is she?" Zeus wondered aloud.

"Stop changing the subject," he snapped. "And she is currently back home, sleeping off a mysterious illness she received at your party. A part of my consciousness is watching over her since I clearly cannot risk leaving her unguarded."

"Illness?" Zeus echoed.

At this, Persephone began to shift nervously on her throne while Demeter kept a tight grip on her hand to keep her calm.

Poseidon's face darkened. "Yes. She fell ill. I had her looked over and she's better now, but that does not change the fact that my daughter contracted a mysterious illness due to Loki's actions and your inability to control your own party."

Zeus faltered a bit. "I… I was not aware that she fell ill. Forgive me, brother."

"I'm not here to punish you," Poseidon sneered. "I'm here to punish that thing over there."

"Thing? Seriously?" Loki whined, but Odin quickly pinched his side to shut him up. "Ouch! Uncle…!"

"Be quiet," Odin sighed gruffly.

"Well I hardly think anyone here disagrees that Loki should avoid punishment?" Zeus called out. There were no objections from the crowd, which was no surprise. Loki wasn't a very well-liked gods and most of them were sadistic bastards that just wanted to see brutal torture, whether the convicted was innocent or not.

"Then it is decided!" He slammed his gavel down. "Brother, since it was your daughter who was wronged, you shall decide the punishment."

Everyone leaned forward, eager to witness it.

But surprisingly, Poseidon just scowled. "My daughter had a request."

"Oh?"

Many of them perked up in interest. So were the rumors wrong then? Percy was more like her father? They wondered what sort of sadistic form of torture she had decided on.

Meanwhile, Loki gritted his teeth in anger. He remembered their last argument back at Zeus' party. Was this her way of getting back at him?

"She pleaded that I show mercy. Obviously, I refused to, so she settled with a more simple punishment: she requested… for me to dunk his head in a toilet." Poseidon finished with a sigh, clearly disappointed.

"What?" Zeus said.

"What?" Many gods cried out.

"What?" Loki whispered, eyes wide in disbelief. Percy… pleaded for him to be spared? And when that couldn't be done, suggested a lighter sentence? Sure the punishment was pretty gross, but it was far better than whatever Poseidon would've thought of. He didn't know how to feel about that and he didn't like it.

"That's… um, quite the odd punishment, but I suppose I can grant it," Zeus slammed his gavel again. "Alright then! Loki, for your crimes, you are hereby… sentenced to the toilet!"

After his dramatic cry, a toilet poofed into the center of the grand room right across from where he sat.

Poseidon roughly grabbed Loki by the hair and proceeded to drag him towards it. Loki couldn't help but gag. They must have randomly stolen this toilet from a public restroom in Midgard; it absolutely reeked of piss and shit and he could see other unknown stains that he didn't even want to think about.

When the lid flipped up, the first thing he saw was the murky yellowish water inside the bowl, but then he caught sight of something else. Piranhas. There were piranhas swimming inside the toilet.

There was a cruel glint in Poseidon's eyes when he caught the look on his face. "My daughter never said I couldn't add my own personal touches."

And then, he forced Loki's head down.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Ever since that day, Percy refused to leave her room.

Of course, all it did was worry her father and the staff further, but she couldn't help it. She was too full of shame, so much shame that she didn't want anyone to see her.

The Curse of Achilles prevented any marks left on her skin, so the hickies he would've left on her neck and the bruises from his hard grip were nonexistent, but she still felt as if his mark was all over her body. There was nothing to see, but at the same time, she felt like if she left her room, everyone would see and they would know.

And she couldn't let anyone know. She couldn't let them know that she had kissed her own uncle, that she had whined and writhed on his lap like a bitch in heat—which she might as well have been with how desperate she was for him.

She knew that it wasn't really her fault—or his even. The two of them had been drugged by some crazy flower that Persephone created—a scheme worthy of Athena (or Aphrodite in this case). But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that she still couldn't stop thinking about him.

It was worse at nighttime. She practically kicked her father out of bed because the feeling of his arms wrapped around her only made her think of Hades. And when she was finally left to her lonesome, she would clutch at her pillow, legs squeezed together as she tried fruitlessly to push away the memory of Hades hands roaming her skin and his tongue invading her mouth. She wanted more, and that was what really scared her.

A knock was heard from her door.

"Princess?" Came Proteus' voice. "It's almost lunch time. Your father awaits your arrival at the Great Hall."

"Coming," she called out weakly, already slipping out of bed.

It made her feel guilty. Poseidon was trying so hard to get her to open up, but all she could do was clam up and hide away like a coward. How does one go up to their father and tell them 'hey I made out with my uncle and I liked it and that's why I'm too scared to show my face to anyone' anyway? She'd rather die than admit any of this out loud!

Rather than putting on a more presentable appearance, she stuck with her pajama shirt and swam out of her room. Just as she started down the hallway, she heard a whisper, "Pssst!"

She turned around, only to freeze up when she saw Loki. Rather than having legs, he now donned a dual tail that was covered with acid green and pure black scales. Weirdly enough though, he still wore his purple cloak.

Before she could say anything, he pressed a finger over his lips, the universal sign for 'shut up'.

She gaped at him, 'What are you doing here?!', she mouthed.

All she received was a grin in response. Then, he grabbed her arm and they were teleported out of here. The second the fins on her tail touched land, she nearly toppled over, only to be caught by a now clothed Loki.

"Come on, change back! We gotta hurry!" He laughed.

"Wha—wait a sec!" She rasped, quickly shifting back into her human form. Her tail turned back into her legs, thankfully covered up by a pair of pajama shorts that matched with her shirt.

But apparently Loki wasn't satisfied with that. With a snap of his fingers, her clothes changed. She was now wearing a long black dress with purple ruffled sleeves and was slitted on one side of the skirt. It was gorgeous, but she definitely noticed how well it matched with Loki's own black and purple color scheme.

He quickly tugged her along, feet kicking up the sand.

"Where are we going? Dude, my dad's gonna kill you!" She told him. She couldn't even stop to enjoy the prospect of finally being out on the surface world of Midgard, too busy fearing her father's wrath once he found out she was taken—again.

"You worry too much," he giggled. "Now walk faster before I decide to carry you!"

She picked up the pace, genuinely anxious at the thought of him carrying her. Knowing him, he'd dump her into a snake pit or something.

She looked around. They were on the shore of some beach. It was beautiful, but there was literally nobody around to enjoy it. No beachgoers playing volleyball, making barbecue, or even suntanning. It was just… completely empty. She knew that mortals in this universe were way too terrified of the sea to even step near it, but damn…

She didn't know whether to feel sad that nobody could enjoy a nice beach vacation or impressed at how well-managed everything was.

"Sleipnir!" Loki suddenly cooed. "There you are my baby~!"

Percy looked ahead. A few feet away from them was a massive grey horse with black hair. Its most noticeable feature was its eight legs.

"Whoa," she marveled. "That's so cool…!"

"Thank you," the horse neighed in a male voice.

"No problem. I love your eight legs." She complimented. Then she remembered where she actually was and turned back to Loki. "Seriously, I really think you should take me back before my dad kills you."

Loki didn't even look surprised that she could talk to horses. He rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Percy you're such a bore! Always wanting to do things your daddy approves of. The complete opposite of my own kids."

Percy's eyes nearly popped. "You have kids?!"

"Sure do! You're standing next to one of them right now!"

"...Huh?"

He let out a laugh. "Percy, meet Sleipnir. Sleipnir, meet Percy."

Hello! The eight-legged steed said.

"Uh, hi."

"I birthed this baby myself," Loki said proudly, patting the horse on the side.

Percy was surprised. She never thought Loki would have any knowledge in helping horses give birth. That was really cool of him!

"Now come on, we need to be quick about this," he rushed. Without wasting a second, he climbed onto Sleipnir before pulling her up in front of him. He handed her the reigns before grabbing them himself.

"Hold on tight," he warned, before exclaiming, "Up, Sleipnir!"

"Understood!" Sleipnir replied, kicking his hooves. Despite the lack of wings, he could fly too, and fast. He shot up into the air like a bullet, making it feel like Percy's skin was almost peeling off from her face.

"You still haven't mentioned where you're taking me!" She had to shout in order to be overheard.

"We're gonna go to Valhalla!" He replied. "But we need to use the bifrost first!"

"Can't you just teleport there?"

"'Course not! Only Chief Gods are allowed to teleport between realms, the rest of us need to use the bifrost, but we need their permission! You think anyone's gonna give me permission to use the bifrost?"

"...Good point!" She said. "But what are we gonna do in—" She stopped, the skies suddenly becoming dark and stormy, a stark contrast to the bright and sunny weather it used to be just a second ago.

Something was very wrong.

She craned her head back, only to pale when she saw a wave of seawater rapidly rising from the beach. It grew higher and higher, tall enough to probably wipe out the Eiffel Tower. Her eyes darted down, where she could see a bunch of little dots scrambling around the streets and screaming in terror.

There was no way the mortals would survive that.

"DAD!" She shouted. "WAIT—STOP!"

"Oh shit," Loki cursed. He yelled something in Old Norse and Sleipnir picked up the pace.

The deadly tidal wave changed form, from a deadly wave to an even deadlier hand reaching out for them. Then came a chilling voice that practically shook the earth and skies.

"LOOOOOKIIIIIIIII!" Her father roared. "GIVE—HER—BACK!"

The hand shot out, fingers about to close in around them, but at that moment, Sleipnir entered through the hall of the bifrost and they were gone.

Traveling through the bifrost was nothing like what she expected. One second they were shooting through the gilded gates and in the next, she was having a sensory overload. Like, suddenly, in this brief second, she was as omniscient as the gods. She could see themselves traveling through multiple galaxies at once, witnessed the birth of a newborn planet and the destruction of another, saw civilizations rise and fall—all of it happened in this short second, and that was enough to make her head feel like it was about to burst.

Just as the pressure began to grow unbearable, everything stopped. They were back in the sky again and her head no longer felt like it was about to explode. Behind her, she could feel Loki sigh in relief.

Sleipnir slowed down and descended from the skies. Percy looked down. It was as if they had time-traveled to Victorian Era London; the skies were dull and everyone looked miserable. But the muted looks on their faces were replaced with shock once they saw them flying overhead.

"Uh, did we time travel?" She wondered aloud, but then took it back. While a majority of the people here were dressed exactly like the time period, she saw a few that didn't belong; a 1950s greaser guy strolling through the streets, a modern day influencer who was currently filming herself eating an ice cream, and a young villager boy who dressed like a pilgrim with the funny hat and all.

"Man, Poseidon really doesn't let you explore Valhalla, huh?" Loki snorted. "We're on the human side of Valhalla. This is the London of the Victorian Era, but here, take a look."

Sleipnir rose back up, higher and higher until the entire city could be seen below them. Percy looked down and felt even more confused. She could see Victorian Era London, but right next to it… was another London, but brighter, and with more modern buildings. Right next to that was yet another London. And then another, and then… you get the point.

"Valhalla isn't just the home of the gods, remember? The souls of every deceased human since the beginning of their miserable existence resides here too," he told her. "Because of this, it's constantly expanding. It basically contains multiple Midgards throughout history. There's England of the 1900s, 1800s, current day, and so forth. Same with every other location. They're all here. All of them. Every place, in every era."

Percy's mind could hardly handle the onslaught of information she was learning. "So… There's a New York of today somewhere in here… and a New York of, say, the nineties?"

"Yup."

"But… why? Why not just keep one, why so many?" She wondered.

He let out a laugh. "Are you kidding? I just told you! Every human who dies in Midgard is sent here—unless they're sentenced to Helheim, of course. Do you know how many humans have died since they were first created? Can you imagine trying to fit them in just one copy of Midgard? We have to constantly expand the heavens or they won't fit."

"How do they move around though?" She asked curiously. "This realm's gotta be massive then, right? Let's say I live in present day New York and I wanna visit 1530s Paris, France? I'd not only have to travel through multiple New Yorks, but over an even bigger America, and multiple versions of Europe to even get there."

"Teleportation points, duh," Loki rolled his eyes. "Geez, you really don't know anything, do you?"

"I'll push you off this horse."

He laughed again.

Her stomach growled, a reminder that she was supposed to be having lunch right now.

"Let's go down, I'm hungry." She suggested.

He crinkled his nose. "Ew, we're not eating here. This is the human side of Valhalla."

"I'm human," she reminded him.

"Half."

"I don't care. I'm hungry and as my kidnapper, aren't you supposed to feed me?"

"Ugh, fine."

They managed to find a cute little outdoor cafe to eat at. Their presence—or more specifically Loki's presence—definitely made the other customers terrified, but Percy was too hungry to care. Excited at the chance of eating authentic Victorian food, she ordered a bunch of things that didn't sound familiar to her: gingerbread pudding, tartlets, mince pies, marbled jelly, nougat almond cakes, and dessert bread.

When they came, she nearly salivated at the sight of them. Eagerly, she started scarfing it all down until she remembered her father's fury and the mortals screaming in fear.

"So…" She swallowed thickly. "Back there… do you think the people are going to be okay?"

Loki barely looked up from his apple marmalade tart. "Hmm? Oh you mean those humans in Midgard? Pfft, no! They're totally dead."

Percy didn't feel so hungry anymore. She lowered her spoon. "We really shouldn't have done this, Loki…"

He blinked. "Huh? Why do you look so sad for? Don't tell me you actually care about those stupid humans. If they didn't wanna be killed by a tidal wave, then they shouldn't live so close to the sea!"

Sleipnir whinnied in agreement and Loki cooed, feeding him another tart.

But Percy still looked troubled. "Loki… I should go back. I really, really don't want any more people to be dead."

BANG!

Everyone in the vicinity jumped when Loki suddenly slammed his fork down, his face riddled with fury.

"You're eating with me and you're still thinking about those stupid fucking humans?!" He spat out venomously.

Percy's eyes widened. It started to dawn on her that she was treading on dangerous waters now.

"Um… sorry," she said slowly. "I'm just… worried. I can't help it."

As quickly as it happened, his glare melted away into a much softer look.

"Aww, you really are cute~!" He giggled, reaching out to pinch her cheek. "And so sweet too! Even to people who don't deserve it."

His mood changes so quickly, she shuddered. Now that she thought about it, wasn't he supposed to be angry with her? The last time they saw each other, he had been so eager to take her away, but the second she put up a fuss, he got pissed and they argued. Why did he take her again? Was he planning on payback?

"Loki…"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you… take me? Aren't you upset with me?"

"Oh, I was!" He chirped. "But, well…" His face suddenly hardened. "Forget it. That's none of your business."

"Uh—"

"—I said forget it," he waved her off. "You know, you really ought to be more specific with your punishments. Your dad decided it would be a wonderful idea to put piranhas inside the toilet bowl. They ate my face off!"

Percy was more put off by the change of topic than the piranhas, but she played along. "Oh. That… wasn't very nice of him. Sorry."

"You should be. Took forever for my skin to grow back," he huffed, stabbing into her jello.

"You know," she spoke up. "You still haven't mentioned how you manage to sneak around so easily. Does it have to do with your cloak?" She guessed.

His face fell. "Aww, what the hell? How'd you know?!"

She shrugged. "Dunno, just kinda figured it out. Back in Atlantis, I noticed that all your clothes were gone but you were still wearing your cloak."

"I'm impressed. I really thought you had nothing going on up there," he poked her on the head.

"Stop that," she lightly swatted his hand away. The atmosphere between them seemed lighter now, which she was grateful for. "So I'm right then?"

"Yup!" He took a bite out of her dessert bread. "When I'm wearing the cloak, my presence is disguised. People can't sense me unless I want them to."

"So that's why Mnemosyne couldn't sense or hear you in the bathroom with me…" She muttered, eyeing his cloak. "That's pretty cool. Think you can take me to New York in Midgard?"

"New York?" He crinkled his nose.

"Yeah. I… that's where I live," her voice went softer at this, more melancholic. "I'd ask to go to the one up here, but… it just won't be the same. The one in Midgard isn't the same either, I know that, but it's the closest I got to home."

He blinked at her. "Wait… you're American?" His voice rose in disbelief.

"Uh… yeah?"

"I thought you were Greek!"

"No?"

"But you're still Poseidon's kid, right? So doesn't that make you half Greek?"

"Um, not really? Gods don't have DNA back there either. So dad's ethnicity or whatever you would call it doesn't get passed down to me. I'm whatever my mom is, which is mixed and not Greek."

"But what the hell is the Poseidon of your world doing screwing around with a random American woman and not a Greek one?" He furrowed his brows.

"Oh. I forgot to tell you, but the Greek gods reside in America now. The entrance to Olympus is at the top of the Empire State Building."

"Huh?!" It was kind of funny seeing him so lost.

She snickered.

"That makes no sense! But what about the other gods that are already in America? The Aztecs? Mayans? Cherokee?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. Like I said, I only know about Greeks."

"Your universe is confusing," he whined.

"No, yours is!" She protested.

"Nuh uh."

"Yeah huh. Imagine how confused I was to find out that my dad's not a whore here."

He almost choked on his spit. "No way. Those stupid stories the humans made up about Poseidon having a ton of kids—you're telling me those are actually true in yours?"

She nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "He actually has more demigod kids than Zeus."

"NO WAY! HAHAHAHA! What a slut?!"

"I know right?! I couldn't believe he actually had zero kids here! All those sea monsters are his kids too!"

"Seriously?!"

"He fucked his grandma Gaea and had a son with her too," she added. "Dude was a real asshole."

"He fucked that old hag too?!" His jaw dropped. "Gods, your dad actually managed to out-slut me! What the hell, that Poseidon sounds so much fun! Why'd we get saddled with a boring one?"

Percy was quick to come to her newfound father's defense. "Wha—hey! This Poseidon's just as cool too!"

He gave her a flat look.

She quickly grew flustered. "He is!"

He snorted. "Suuuure."

For the next hour, they stayed outside the cafe to ramble about the differences between their universes (or more specifically, the differences between their Poseidons). Percy was already full when thirty minutes had passed, but Loki—who was a god with a literal endless stomach—kept ordering more and more food to the point that they had to eat at another table since their previous one was piled up with too many empty plates and glasses.

"Gotta use the restroom," Percy mumbled, rising up to her feet.

As she started to walk away, Loki loudly said, "Have a nice shit, Percy!"

Irked, she flicked her hand and the drink nearby exploded on his face. She snickered at the look on his face before disappearing into the cafe.

Thankfully, they had a restroom inside so she filed in there and did her business, but in the middle of washing her hands, she found two goddesses standing behind her through the mirror.

What the hell, she thought, whirling around. What is it with gods and cornering people in bathrooms?

"Lady Demeter, and…" She swallowed thickly, trying to force down the boiling anger she felt when she saw the pink haired goddess. "You."

It took all her willpower not to make all the pipes in her explode. She was pretty sure she could handle fighting them—they weren't exactly battle goddesses anyway—but they were in a cramped space surrounded by mortals. Granted, they were already dead, but she was pretty sure she remembered Hades telling her that souls here could still get harmed and destroyed.

Despite her obvious animosity, both goddesses greeted her with beaming smiles.

"Percy!" Demeter cooed before swooping her up into a tight hug. The unexpected show of affection was enough to make her anger simmer down.

"Uh—?"

"Oh, Percy!" Persephone gushed, and when her mother set her down, she was next to envelop her in another hug.

"Wait, what the hell? Let go!" She managed to pry herself free and glared at her. "What are you doing? Do you have any idea how pissed I am with you after what you did?"

Persephone's smile dimmed a bit, as if she had no idea what she was talking about. "You are upset with me…? Oh, but Percy, I truly had honest intentions that night! I only wanted to help you!"

"Help me?!" Her voice rose an octave. "Are you crazy?! Actually, don't answer that." Seeing it pointless to continue to talk to her, she turned to Demeter. "Auntie Demeter, your daughter drugged me and Hades!"

"I know!" She replied brightly.

"You—huh?"

"I know all about it!" She went on, looking so happy despite the accusation that was thrown at her face. "I understand why you're upset—really, I do—but aren't you and Hades so happy together now?"

She looked at him in total bewilderment. "What?"

"Hades and I are getting a divorce," Persephone breathed out, her pink eyes watering in pure happiness and relief. "And it's all thanks to you, Percy."

Her blood ran cold. "What?"

"Hades said it wasn't really because of you, he's been thinking about divorcing me for a while now, but if you hadn't been here, if I hadn't gotten the courage to push you two together… Well, we wouldn't be here right now!" She cheerily exclaimed. "So it's really all thanks to you that I can finally be free!"

"Thank you," Demeter said tearfully, grasping her arms. "Thank you so so much, Percy. Because of you, I can finally have my daughter back."

She brought her in for another hug, and Percy could feel her tears dropping at the top of her head.

"I wish you nothing but happiness with Hades," Demeter told her, rubbing her back. "He was not good for my Kore, but I know he will be so good for you."

"Hades and I aren't together!" Percy sputtered, pushing her away.

"Not yet," Persephone winked. "But once our divorce is official, he will finally be free to pursue you."

Her face went white. She started to feel as if the walls were closing in on her. "What? No, no, no… That—that is not what I want."

Persephone let out a laugh. "Don't be ridiculous! Is it the uncle thing getting to you again? I told you Percy, none of that matters!"

"It matters to me!" She snapped. "I don't want him!"

But then she remembered the sensation of his hands roaming over her body, leaving a burning trail on her skin. The way his kiss overwhelmed her completely, leaving her wanting more. She remembered even begging for it.

Shame took over her. She may have been drugged, but why did she still want it even now? Her own uncle. She felt like she was gonna be sick. Gods, what was wrong with her?

Both of the goddesses laughed and Percy was really beginning to feel claustrophobic now. Her breath hitched, like she was drowning on air but before she could have a full-blown breakdown, a chilling voice entered the room.

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" Loki appeared at the doorway, arms crossed and looking down at the two goddesses. He glanced over at Percy, who looked like a cornered animal, and only felt more pissed.

"Loki?" Demeter straightened up.

"Tch. Can't you dumb goddesses see that you're upsetting her?! I was about to order dessert, but now you've ruined her appetite!"

Persephone darted between them. "You're with Loki?" She didn't like this. She should be with Hades, not some Norse trickster god. "Percy… why are you with him? Are you—are the two of you together or—"

Percy couldn't take it anymore. Every sink in the bathroom exploded. Water burst everywhere. Persephone shrieked when one particular stream hit her hard on the face.

"Leave!" She shouted.

The goddesses didn't hesitate. They disappeared in a cloud of flower petals and wheat.

A human, probably a cafe employee, rushed into the room only to freeze at the sight of her, a god, and all the broken sinks.

"...Sorry," Percy managed to say, cringing at herself. She waved a hand and the water stopped gushing, but the pipes and sinks were too damaged for her to do anything about them. "I'll, uh, pay for this. Actually, wait, I'm broke."

She sent a pleading look to Loki, hoping he could conjure up a wallet to pay for the damages. She'd probably owe him later, but whatever.

But she shouldn't have expected a shred of decency from him. He snorted in amusement before sticking his tongue out at the employee. "Deal with it, human."

Then, he snatched her hand and pulled her out of the bathroom and out of the cafe.

As they started walking down the streets of London, Loki casually spoke up, "So… you and Hades, huh?"

She stiffened. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Surprisingly, he relented. "Hmm, fine."

Things fell quiet between them, which she was grateful for. Sleipnir joined them and Loki busied himself with him. Meanwhile, the humans on the streets gave them a wide berth. It was then that she realized just how much they stood out—aside from the eight-legged horse and all. Everything about Loki reeked of divinity and while she was no god, the way she dressed and how close she was to him definitely helped her stand out too.

But suddenly, three gods materialized right in front of them. Loki and Percy's blood went cold.

Odin, Thor, and Poseidon.

Shit, they thought simultaneously. The humans actually reacted faster than them; the second they realized that there were way too many gods in this one spot, they quickly scrambled away from the area. Even Sleipnir flew away. Loki and Percy were too frozen to move an inch.

The look on Poseidon's face went beyond fury. It reminded Percy so much of the day he got angry with her, the day that nearly sent their already frigid relationship to ruins.

Except this time, this look wasn't directed to her anymore, but to Loki.

"You," Poseidon's voice was trembling with anger. His trident appeared in his hand.

Odin sighed. He didn't seem to sense the danger that was coming, but Percy sure did. "Loki, how many times have I told you—"

Poseidon didn't even bother to wait. He lunged forward, the three tips of his trident aimed at Loki's chest. But then—

"Wait!" Percy jumped right in front of him.

It was like time slowed down. The gods' eyes widened in alarm as Poseidon's trident nearly impaled his own daughter, stopping just in time before it could touch her. Poseidon was left wide-eyed. He quickly pulled away, his trident disappearing.

Percy sighed in relief. She was 99% sure that he would stop in time if she jumped in front of him. She really didn't want to witness a shish kebab-ed Loki. Plus, she knew she wouldn't have gotten harmed anyway. And besides, it had been instinct of hers to just jump in.

Loki gawked at the back of her head. "Why… why would you—?!"

"—Have you lost your mind?!" Poseidon cut him off. The other gods didn't know what to be shocked at the most: the fact that a mortal girl had jumped in to protect Loki or the fact Poseidon actually sounded shaken.

Percy's eyes widened. She didn't think he'd be so upset. "I-I—"

He grabbed her by the arm and shook her. "—Do not EVER do that again, Percilla! EVER! Do you understand me?!"

"Sorry, I just—I didn't think—" she stammered.

"—SAY IT!" He roared, his hand trembling even as he gripped her arm harder. "Say that you'll never do something that foolish again!"

"I-I won't! I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry!" She blurted out. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just—I didn't know if Loki would dodge it, so I—"

"—If a mortal girl had enough time to jump in front of him, then he—a god—had enough time to dodge!" He yelled. "And if he could not dodge, then that's on him!"

"I would've dodged!" Loki sputtered in outrage, before he turned his focus back on her. "And you! Are you stupid or something?! I would've been fine even if he did stab me!"

"I don't want to hear anything from you!" Poseidon said through gritted teeth. "Percilla, we are returning home. And Odin… this is the last time I spare your nephew should he do this again."

Odin nodded solemnly. "I assure you, Poseidon, this will not happen again." He sent his nephew a stern look afterwards.

Poseidon didn't say a word, just gave him one last stormy glare before the two of them disappeared.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

When they returned home, Percy expected him to lash out at her again like last time. To tell her that she was a stupid, worthless girl, and that he hated her. But that never happened. Instead, he ordered Proteus and a bunch of other guards to watch over her while he stormed away. She knew he was still upset though, because every three minutes or so the seabed would shake dangerously and she knew the mortals up on the surface were dying because of it.

More people are dying, she thought shakily. This was twice now. First the tidal wave and now this deadly earthquake. Was this all her fault?

Hours passed and the quaking didn't cease. Dinner was spent in her lonesome with only a Proteus to keep her company.

"You're father's not upset with you, Princess," he tried to comfort her as she miserably ate her food. "Just… worried. He'll calm down soon enough."

"Do you think everyone up there is gonna be okay?" She asked, glancing up at the ceiling.

At first, Proteus thought she was talking about the servants working on the upper floors, but then realized she meant the humans on the surface.

"Oh, you mean the humans? I'm sure they'll be fine. They've been through worse—all by their own hand, of course." He could never quite understand why Percy felt that way towards the humans. Initially, he assumed that she just tolerated them, but no, she loved the humans, cared for them even.

Nobody could figure out where it came from. The humans were a horrible species that never should've been created. They were savages that destroyed everything they touched—even themselves. They were beyond salvation—a sentiment that many agreed with.

Proteus cleared his throat. He really didn't want to talk about them anymore. "So," he began, changing the topic. "You were out with Lord Loki today, correct? Did he harm you in any way?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Loki's cool. Sort of. By the way, did you get into trouble this morning? Because… because Loki snatched me away and all that?"

He smiled at her worry for him, "No, Princess. No one was blamed for it. But we were all quite scared for you. Your father especially. He is not very… fond of Loki," he explained delicately.

She couldn't help but frown. "Because he's a trickster god?"

"Oh no," he shook his head. "You see, eons ago your father created a beautiful species called the horse. It was a momentous day. Everyone loved the horses. Loki, however, ah... well, he loved the horses a little too much."

"Huh."

Proteus cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Loki turned himself into a mare and..."

Percy's jaw began to drop in horror as realization dawned on her.

"While Loki had a good reason to turn into a mare, Poseidon was convinced that Loki would try to... um, perform coitus with other creations of his." He couldn't seem to look Percy in the eye as he explained this. "So you can probably understand why your father was very desperate to get you back especially after learning just who had taken you."

"So... so is Sleipnir...?" She choked out.

Proteus nodded at her unfinished question.

Her mind went back to when she first met Sleipnir, Loki's eight-legged horse that he brought along when he nabbed her.

"I birthed this baby myself," Loki said proudly, patting the horse on the side.

HE MEANT THAT LITERALLY?

"You gods are weird," she breathed out.

He laughed.

It was certainly enough to help lighten up the mood, but Percy felt herself dim again once it was time for bed. The quaking had lessened, but Percy slept alone once more.

As if to make things worse, she had a nightmare too.

She dreamed that she was back in London again. Her father was standing in front of her, but Loki, Odin, and Thor were nowhere to be found. The streets were empty of humans too. It was just them.

Poseidon had his trident out. She didn't know why; Loki wasn't here, so what was he so angry for?

But then—

"You are not my daughter."

Her stomach sank. All around her, the world started to fall apart, but she and Poseidon stayed standing.

Her mouth tried to move, to plead for forgiveness, to apologize for deceiving him, to tell him that he was wrong, that she was his daughter, but Poseidon lunged at her, the three tips of his trident aimed for her chest.

This time, he didn't stop himself. Despite her Curse, he felt herself get ripped apart—

"You are safe," a voice whispered, followed by a hand combing back her hair which was stuck to her forehead.

Her eyes shot open. She was no longer in the streets of London but lying on her bed back on Atlantis. Poseidon—her father, her killer—leaned over her bedside, staring down at her as he caressed her hair.

"You had another nightmare," he whispered. "I will have a word with Hypnos later."

She was so relieved to see him—the him that didn't want her dead—to even protest that.

"I should not have yelled at you," he said softly. The words 'I'm sorry' weren't there, but they were felt by her regardless. "But I meant what I said. You must never do something like that ever again, Percilla. You are not a god yet, you are a mortal. Your life is short compared to ours, and I will not have you cut it shorter because of your foolishness."

When Poseidon first saw her move to shield Loki from him, it was as if he had finally broken. The last time he had ever felt this fear was eons ago, when he learned that Hades had decided to face the Titans alone while they were busy with Gaea and her Giants. And now, he had experienced that fear once more.

If he hadn't stopped himself in time, he would've killed her. His trident would've pierced through her chest and killed her, brutally and horribly. There wouldn't have been any time to save her.

It shouldn't have fazed him much. Sure she was mortal, but she could still come back to him. Her soul would've gone to Helheim and after being judged, she would've been sent back to Valhalla anyway. He would've lost her, but it would've been temporary.

And yet…

"Foolish girl! Be more careful! Does your own mortality not faze you?!"

"No, it doesn't. In fact, I embrace it!"

"You wish to remain mortal? What naive thinking, daughter."

"You want me gone, don't you?! Well, good news: you don't have to worry about that! You won't find me anywhere after I finally kick the bucket!"

And yet there was that. It was an argument they had many months ago when his mother decided to send them to that dreaded island as punishment. He remembered her words, clear as day.

"You won't find me anywhere after I finally kick the bucket!"

That wasn't true. It couldn't be. Every human went to Helheim or Valhalla eventually. It was just a universal fact. But she sounded so certain… Poseidon hadn't thought much about it back then, but now it had come back to haunt him.

It was illogical… but a part of him really did believe he would lose her. Permanently. And he couldn't let that happen. The very thought of losing her shook him to the very core.

How laughable. He, who once resented her very existence, now feared for her fragile life. The most fearsome god of the seas, wrapped around the finger of an insolent little girl. And he didn't even care.

"I will not lose you. Ever. Do you understand that?" He whispered, but there was a powerful intensity in voice that demanded to be obeyed.

He stared down at her as she laid in bed, so delicate, so human.

"You are a blessing that was granted to me by the bifrost," he murmured fervently. "I scorned you once, but never again. So do not leave me."

"I won't." She whispered. "I'm sorry for scaring you."

He didn't refute that, just nodded in acceptance and leaned down to kiss her forehead. It was the first time he had ever done that. She closed her eyes and relished in the warmth that enveloped her.

"The next time trouble arises and I am not around, pray to me," he told her. "Or call out my name if you must. I will be there."

"Okay." She nodded sleepily.

Another kiss. He was surprisingly affectionate today.

"Good. I will also be giving you a cellphone," he decided. "It's about time you have one anyway."

She felt a little more awake after that. "You're gonna give me a phone?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, but now I'm getting the feeling that I'll regret it."

Rather than assuaging his worries, she just grinned in response.

He smirked in amusement. "Cheeky child. Back to sleep with you, now. It's still too early."

"Can you sleep with me?" She asked meekly.

He raised a brow. "No longer going to kick me out?"

She shrunk in her bed, sheepish. "Sorry."

He snorted, but climbed into bed with her. As he wrapped his arms around her, he could tell that she was still feeling restless by how her tail wiggled around so much.

"If you want, I can sing you a lullaby to put you to sleep." He offered.

"You can sing?" She said incredulously.

He shot her a look.

"Oh. Right. Merman. Siren. Duh." She mumbled. "I wanna hear you sing, daddy."

He nodded in response, opened his mouth, and began to sing.

The second the first note came out of his lips, Percy instantly felt like she had hit a daze. Her whole body turned slack, as if it was going into rest mode. His voice—beautiful, perfect, and eerie at the same time—was a melody she never wanted to stop. Her eyelids grew heavy. She snuggled deeper against his chest.

Up above on land, hundreds of women stumbled out of their broken homes and shelters, eyes blank as their bodies swayed to the rhythm of the haunting song that seemed to echo throughout the seas. Their feet took them to shore. Tomorrow morning, their bodies would be found floating on the water.

Back in Atlantis, the song finished as Percy finally succumbed to sleep. Poseidon kissed her one more time.

MEMES!

Memes: 1, 2, 3, 4

Here's some memes from Luna999!!!: 1 & 2

FANART!

Here's Percy fanart from FaeMSS :

Honeydew-mint DREW THE PERCY AND HADES SEX POLLEN SCENE FROM LAST CHAPTER SHFJHVJHS:

A picrew from daushu!:

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

I got the name "Gossipmonger" from an anon on tumblr, so if you're reading this, thank you again!!!

Chapter 19: beelzebub makes a bad deal

Summary:

Poseidon was beginning to learn that with pretty daughters, came big responsibilities. Like making sure they don't get kidnapped by lovesick gods.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

FOUR YEARS AGO

TWELVE YEAR OLD PERCY STEPPED into the rec room of the Big House where Chiron sat, awaiting her arrival.

"Uh, Chiron?" She started awkwardly. "You asked for me?"

Chiron, who had been watering a tiny plant, set his watering can aside and gave her a warm smile that melted any anxiety away. "Percy! Come, take a seat. Don't worry, you're not in any trouble."

Nodding, she sat at one of the empty chairs at the ping pong table near him. It felt like she was in the principal's office awaiting an expulsion, but this was Chiron. He would never kick out a demigod from the safety of camp. Plus, he did say she wasn't in any trouble, but still, what on Earth did he want to talk to her about? The quest was done, Zeus' bolt and Hades' helm had been retrieved. Unless…

Oh no, her stomach sank. Was it another quest? She was so done with quests. She never wanted to go on another one ever again!

Fortunately for her, it wasn't that.

"I've noticed that you've looked a bit down after you finished your quest a few days ago," Chiron brought up, frowning. "Did something happen during your quest? Something… that you don't want to talk about? Because you can talk to me about things, Percy. I've sent out many demigods in quests over the millenia… and they rarely come back the same. Please Percy, I'd like to help you in any way I can."

She looked down at her lap. "It's nothing like that…" Chiron seemed to think that she was horribly traumatized or something. "It's just… when I went to Olympus to give the bolt back, I met my father."

He nodded, having already known about that. "And I take it that something happened?"

"Kinda," she mumbled. "We talked for a bit. It wasn't very good. He sorta said he regretted me being born? And called me a mistake? I don't think he meant to be mean about it, but… it just sucks."

Chiron actually winced. "Ah. I see. He definitely could've handled this more… delicately," especially since this was their first time ever meeting, "But please don't take it to heart, Percy. I'm sure Lord Poseidon didn't mean it in that way."

"I know he doesn't," she replied. "I just… When I was told that my father was still around and not 'lost at sea' like my mom always said, I couldn't help but get my hopes up. I wanted to meet him. I was angry and bitter, but I really wanted him to like me even though he was just using me for this stupid quest..."

He gave her a pained look. After so many years of being alive, this probably wasn't the first time he had to have this conversation with a kid. She wondered just how many other demigods had been in her spot, frustrated and wishing to have a godly parent that was around.

Chiron took a deep breath, like he needed to steel himself for whatever came next.

"Percy," he began. "I'm sure Anthonius already told you about the Ancient Laws that Lord Zeus decreed eons ago?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah… he's the one that forbade gods from interacting with their mortal kids."

"That's correct," he said. "I know it seems cruel to you, but the gods cannot risk creating attachments to their demigod children. It will only lead to disaster."

"How?" She didn't mean to make it sound demanding, but all of this just sounded like excuses to her. "They can't interact with us, fine, but they can still try to help out in other ways! Pay child support to the mortal partners they left behind, send the police over when their kid's getting abused or—"

He calmly raised a hand to stop her and because Percy respected him so much, she fell quiet, but the irritation was still written all over her face.

"It's like I said before. They absolutely cannot afford to get attached. It won't end well, Percy. You've heard of the stories, have you not? Every time a god interacts with a mortal, how does the story always end? With many other mortals dead, including the one they interacted with."

She wilted at that, because he was 100% right. Nothing good ever happened when a god laid their eyes on a mortal, demigod child or not.

"Let's say these Laws didn't exist and the gods were allowed to raise their demigod children," he started to say. "Picture yourself as... hmm, maybe five years old. You're crying because you scraped your knee and when your father asks what happened, you tell him 'Anthonius pushed me off the swing set!'. Little incidents like that would result in war. It may sound ridiculous to you, but that's just how the gods work. Even the most minor of offenses towards them lead to hundreds of innocents suffering. Now imagine that scenario happening for every other demigod child."

Percy looked down, grimacing. He kind of had a point. The gods started a terrible war over an apple, hell would definitely raise should their kids get even the littlest bit of injury.

"The human world would not be able to withstand it. It would break apart from all the bloodshed, and the gods would fall right after." He said solemnly.

"Now here's another scenario: what do you think a god would do when their beloved child is fated to die? They wouldn't allow it. They would fight the Fates to keep their child alive, but you know that no one can run away from fate, not even the gods. The Fates would not be pleased with it; anyone who tries to tamper with fate is always met with an even worse one. This is why the gods cannot grow attached to their children, Percy. It is very much for your own good as it is for them. The repercussions would be devastating. For everyone. A mortal parent would kill for their child. A godly parent goes beyond that."

Percy wondered what that would be like, to have an all-powerful parent that loved you so much that their love could bring the whole world to ruin. If the Ancient Laws never existed, she wondered if Poseidon would ever do that for her. It seemed doubtful now despite Chiron's words.

"Your father does care for you, Percy," he finished gently. "But he can only do so at a distance because that is as much as he is allowed to do. For both of your sakes. I know it hurts to hear, but this is for the best."

He was right, as he always was. It really did hurt. Even four years later it continued to hurt.

Because Percy wanted more than this, but she could never have that.

NOW

"Is that my phone?!" Percy squealed when she swam into the Great Hall, her green eyes immediately zeroing in on the pristine looking box set on the table.

Poseidon gave her a flat look. "No 'good morning'?"

She smiled sweetly and kissed him on the cheek as a greeting. "Sorry. Good morning, daddy."

He hummed in satisfaction before sliding the box over to her. "That's better. And yes, this is your new cell phone. It's the latest model built by Hephaestus. My phone number as well as your uncles' have already been added."

"Awesome…!" She breathed out in awe. She reached out for the box, eager to meet her new phone, only for him to slide it away from her.

"Eat first. I won't have you using the phone during a meal. You'll just get distracted." He told her.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat, but she didn't argue. She started to turn, about to head over to her respective seat only for a pair of strong arms to pull her back and soon enough, she found herself sitting on her father's lap, her side now pressed against his strong chest.

…Huh?

Her thoughts must have been written all over her face because he asked her in a challenging tone, "Is something the matter?"

"No!" She laughed nervously, trying to keep on her most convincing smile. "It's just… I'm surprised! You're… oddly affectionate today, daddy."

"So? Is it bad for a father to want his only child close to him?"

She swallowed a lump down her throat, her smile still plastered onto her face. "Of course not!"

The arm around her waist tightened. "Then stop complaining and eat." He grabbed a spoon that had a piece of sunnyside up egg on it. But rather than handing it over to her, he held it out, like he was waiting for her to open her mouth.

Her mind went blank.

Wait… is he… going to feed me?!

Not even Hades was this forward!

She tried her best to rationalize this. She nearly died yesterday. Any parent would want to keep their child close after something like that. Poseidon's sudden… clinginess was just a natural response.

Mechanically, she opened her mouth and allowed him to place the spoon in. After swallowing, she forced another bright grin. "Mmm, delicious! I've got it from here now, daddy, so I'll just—" she tried to take the spoon from him, but he pulled it away.

"No." He said sternly. "I will feed you."

Percy wanted to start ugly-sobbing. This was not how she wanted her day to start. "But—but—"

"—I realize that I have not been as attentive towards you as I should have been. Allow me to remedy that."

"You've been plenty attentive!" She burst out, still keeping that forced grin on her face. She must look so constipated right now. "Like, so attentive lately! You're like a super dad!"

He fell quiet, but the arm around her waist squeezed her tighter as a warning. The way he stared at her was intense, like he was trying to say, 'You sure you wanna keep arguing with me on this?'.

She gulped.

"But I'm totally not complaining so do whatever you want!" She exclaimed, finishing it off with the sweetest smile she could manage.

He smirked. "Good girl. Don't worry, I won't be doing this for every meal. I wish to indulge just this once."

YOU MEAN YOU'RE PUTTING ME THROUGH THIS FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES?! She wanted to scream, but she just smiled and said, "Oh, okay."

He continued to feed her for the remainder of the meal. By the end of it, she slumped to the side against his chest, feeling like she was about to blow up.

"No more, I'm full," she mumbled, shaking her head when he tried to feed her a baby carrot.

Thankfully, he set the utensils down. With a wave of his hand, all the food and plates on the table vanished.

He leaned back on his chair, pulling her closer to him. The weight of her mermaid tail didn't seem to bother him at all. His webbed hand reached up, claws carefully stroking through the wavy strands of her dark hair. She sighed dreamily, nuzzling closer to him for more.

"I can never understand the limits of the human stomach. They require food to live, yet too much hurts them. It troubles me how much you are like them." He began.

"...Does it disgust you?" She asked warily, preparing herself for the answer.

"You? No." He said it so easily she almost missed it. Something in her went alight at that. "I feel… frightened when I think of how human you are."

"Well, I am half human according to Beelzebub." She pointed out, but she was still reeling over his words.

(He cares, he cares, he cares. This was all she ever wanted.)

"Your body leans more towards your humanity than your divinity. It makes you more vulnerable to death. I do not like it." His expression went dark as he held her tighter. "Beelzebub's lack of progress on finding a safe way to ascend you displeases me greatly."

"He's trying his best," to find me a way home, that is, she finished guiltily.

For the first time ever, the thought of going back to her original universe made her stomach coil with discomfort. She knew she couldn't stay here. She had loved ones back home, but she had everything she ever wanted right here.

She felt cold now. This was selfish of her. If she returned, she would hurt Poseidon. They had a rocky start, but he clearly cared for her now, cared for her so much that he could hardly let her go. If she left… she didn't want to know how he would react to it.

But if she stayed, she would be hurting so many people back home. Her mom, Paul, Anthonius, her dad…

Poseidon's lips pressed against the crown of her head, pulling her away from her thoughts. "You are rarely this quiet. What are you thinking about?"

"What would you do if I was just… gone?" She suddenly asked.

She could feel his body tense up against hers. Instantly, the atmosphere changed—literally. The water started to darken as if poisoned by an unknown source and the temperature went so low that she could see ice beginning to form on the walls of the room.

"Has someone threatened you?" He asked, his voice now dangerously dark.

"No," she said quickly. "I'm okay. This is just a hypothetical situation. What would you do if I just… if I just suddenly disappeared one day?"

Instead of calming down and letting things return to normal, everything just became worse. The water became even darker and Percy had to bury herself further into her father's embrace as the ground shook and more ice formed.

"If you were to disappear," he began, his voice lower and sounding more ancient, more powerful than she had ever heard from him. "Rest assured, daughter, for not even the Fates could stop me from getting you back."

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

It was official now: Poseidon didn't just care for her, he loved her. Maybe a little more than he should.

Percy didn't know whether this was a good thing or not. On one hand, she finally gained the love of a father who could actually be a constant presence in her life! Yay!

But on the other hand…

"I don't understand. You're happy that Poseidon loves you, but at the same time you're not? You humans and your emotions are so confusing…" Beelzebub sighed, inwardly wondering when the hell Percy decided that he was the best person to go to to talk about her feelings.

"I just feel terrible." She confessed.

"Why?" Beelzebub was truly at a loss here. "You want this. You've told me so yourself, so why do you feel bad now that you finally have this?"

Her shoulders slumped. "I feel like I don't deserve it."

"What?" The response almost made him laugh. Of course you deserve it, he was about to say, but he quickly suppressed it. "I really don't get you."

She shrank in her seat. "It feels wrong to me. I'm not really his daughter, you know? I feel like a fake and I hate it… I don't belong in this universe. I need to go home, but if I leave…"

He let out a deep sigh. "There's something I should show you."

She furrowed her brows and shot him a questioning look. Wordlessly, something appeared in his hands.

"Since you believe that you are not Poseidon's daughter, this might make you feel better," he began, setting the objects down on the table. It was a pair of vials that were tied together. One was filled with ichor, the other contained a cotton swab. Attached to it was a slip of paper.

"What's this?" She asked as she picked them up.

"Your saliva sample and Poseidon's ichor sample."

She snapped her head to him in confusion.

He nodded in confirmation. "I asked him for a blood sample for the sake of the study and he agreed to it. Now Percy, I know you think ichor is just some divine essence with no scientific basis unlike DNA, but that's not completely true. It is divine essence, but even ichor has specific components for each owner similarly to how DNA works. It's like a magical signature, for lack of better terms. And the half of you that's made up of ichor? Its signature matches Poseidon's."

He gestured to the vials. Percy looked down at the slip of paper that came with it. It took a while to read, but once she understood, her hands started to shake with unbidden joy.

PERCILLA & POSEIDON

PATERNITY TEST RESULT:

Probability of paternity is 100%

"You are Poseidon's daughter just as much as you are the other's," Beelzebub told her gently.

"But... but how?" She marveled.

He shrugged. "Who knows? I have no clue how alternate dimensions work. My theory is that gods are multiversal—they are a constant no matter the universe. If a universe contains forces of nature like, for example the sea, then the gods who rule over them should exist as well. The same goes with concepts like love, marriage, and war, if all these exist then so do the gods that represent them. We are not like humans who contain DNA, we're essentially divine essence contained in indestructible meatsacks. Our essence is the same multiversally."

Percy tried to rack her brain around it. "So, there's probably other Poseidon's in other universes and their ichor is the same as one another's? And I'm their daughter too because the half of me that has ichor is the same as theirs?"

"Essentially, yes," he nodded.

"Whoa." She mumbled. "That's a lot of dads then."

"Yes," he agreed. "Do you feel better now?"

She shot him a grateful grin. "Yeah."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Something is still troubling you."

She grimaced. "Well… I still feel bad. I gotta leave and all. I know it'll hurt him." It'll hurt a lot of other people too, she added, inwardly shuddering.

"Don't think about it then. Just enjoy what you have now," he advised. "Treasure it, even if it's for a short while."

His words were enough to make her smile widened. "You know, you're a lot sweeter when you aren't tying me up and being a weirdo."

"And there you go ruining the mood," he rolled his eyes.

"No, seriously! It's nice to talk about these sorts of things with you. You give good advice, unlike Loki who just makes fun of me for having 'two loser dads'."

"What."

"What?"

"What did you just say?" He demanded.

"Loki makes fun of me for having loser dads?"

"No, not that," he glared. "The other thing. Loki knows? Since when?"

"Oh. Like, two weeks ago?"

He stared, suppressing the urge to throttle her. "...And you're just telling me this now?"

"I forgot. Sorry."

"How did this even happen?!"

"Well, apparently Loki knew from the very beginning that something was off about me. Since he's the god of deception, he was able to tell I was sus. Then, um, he may have eavesdropped on me and Goll's conversation about the multiverse and forced me to tell him…" She trailed off.

He gave her a very hard stare.

She shrunk. "Don't be mad! It's not completely my fault! Besides, we can still benefit from this!"

"How?" He demanded, completely unconvinced.

"Well, you always complain about how gaining access to the bifrost would make your research ten times easier right?"

He frowned. "Yes, but I need permission from one of the Chief Gods to even step near it. I can't even use you as an excuse because researching the bifrost has nothing to do with trying to find a way to safely ascend you—as is the cover story we are going with."

"Loki has this cloak," she began eagerly. "It hides his presence. That's how he's able to sneak around without anyone detecting him! You can use it and sneak into the bifrost undetected!"

Beelzebub straightened up in interest.

"I was thinking you could beat the shit outta him and take his cloak," she grinned. "I'll even help you! I don't think he'll be mad. I fight Loki all the time, I think he's starting to like it at this point…"

"Loki's questionable masochistic tendencies aside, you're certain of this?" He asked, leaning forward.

"Yup! I even asked him myself and he confirmed it." She preened.

"Percy," he breathed out. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was actually wrong about you…"

She puffed her chest out in pride.

But then he went on, "You do have a working brain cell in that seemingly empty head of yours."

She smacked his arm, "Hey!"

"I will deal with Loki and find a way to acquire his cloak. Preferably without violence."

"Aww, you're not gonna fight him?"

"Even if I beat him, he'll proceed to annoy me for the rest of my life. I'm already suicidal as is, Percy, I'd rather not make it worse." He said bluntly.

"Good point."

Their session ended on a good note, so by the time Poseidon returned to pick her up, his daughter was all smiles as she greeted him in Beelzebub's foyer.

"Daddy!" She lit up, practically scampering over to him like an eager puppy. She didn't even care that Beelzebub was watching as Poseidon leaned down so she could kiss his cheek. The two vials containing the paternity test were tucked into a small bag Beelzebub gave her.

"What is that?" The blonde asked, noticing it.

"Oh, just a gift from Beel." She dismissed.

He nodded in acceptance and grabbed her hand, the silent sign that he was about to teleport them away. She managed to give Beelzebub a quick wave before they disappeared in a column of seawater.

Once she was back in their palace, she quickly shed her human form, switching to her mermaid one.

"Hey, daddy?" She started.

"Hmm?"

"Where's Uncle Hades?" She asked cautiously. "He's usually the one taking me to Beelzebub and picking me up."

"He's busy," he replied offhandedly. "Apparently he's in the process of divorcing his wife."

She stiffened. "What?"

Persephone's voice echoed in her ears, "Once our divorce is official, he will finally be free to pursue you."

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"Divorce is when a husband and wife separate," he explained, probably under the impression that the word wasn't in her 'infant terminology'.

"Oh," she said weakly. "That's… terrible."

"Don't feel bad," he droned. "It was about time he ended that marriage. It was only making him miserable the longer he stayed with her."

I'm pretty sure Persephone was more miserable, she wanted to say, but kept her mouth shut. She wasn't exactly happy with that goddess right now.

There was no way Hades would actually pursue her once the divorce was finalized, right? What happened between them was just a moment of weakness because of Persephone's interference!

Oh who am I kidding, she winced. He didn't seem to have any regrets after what happened. No shame either, unlike her who was currently wallowing in it every time she thought back to that night.

"Percilla," he began.

"Hmm?"

"I've ordered an artisan to come here later tonight."

She gave him a confused look. "An artisan?"

He nodded, "For a throne," he clarified. "I believe it's about time you have your own throne beside mine in the throne room, so I've ordered an artisan to come. Tonight, we will be discussing what yours should look like."

Her jaw dropped. "Um… A throne? I'm really flattered, but… is it really that necessary? I don't think I need a throne."

"You are the Imperial Princess of the Atlantean Empire, of course you need a throne," he snorted, as if she was foolish for believing otherwise. "He should arrive just after dinner. In the meanwhile, all your lessons have been canceled so you're free to do whatever you wish."

She perked up. "Actually, daddy, there's something I wanna do."

He raised a brow. "What is it?"

Here goes nothing… "Can I go visit the surface?"

The sea went still.

"The surface."

"...Yeah. Like… up there. The land."

"No."

She swallowed thickly. "But—"

"—No. Absolutely not."

"I'm not asking to go alone, of course! We can go together and—"

"—I said no and that's final," he cut her off, his voice firm. "Humans are a barbaric species with no sense of order. I will not have you near such filth."

And with that, he turned his tail and left. Percy sighed in defeat. There went her plans to go to New York. But it wasn't like she wasn't expecting this.

This just left one last option for her: she'd have to find a way to sneak up there herself.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Apollo's gala was going at full swing; the Nine Muses were performing, Mnemosyne was watching over her daughters like a hawk, and the guests were enjoying themselves.

Apollo got ready to join them, his lira da braccio in hand and tuned to perfection. As he was about to approach the Nine Muses, he overheard that name that made him stop in his tracks.

"—Percy made a Gossipmonger account, you should follow her." One of the Valkyries, the youngest one who he believed was called 'Goll', said excitedly.

"Poseidon finally allowed her to have a phone?" Brunhilde said, surprised.

Goll nodded. "Yeah! I gave her our numbers too just in case, and Lady Mnemosyne's too of course. By the way, her Gossipmonger handle is 'Seaweedbrain'."

Brunhilde fell silent at that, and Apollo couldn't blame her. Seaweed brain? What kind of ridiculous name was that? Didn't she know that, as the daughter of a god, she could just use her own name? Or had she not been verified yet? Why would she choose to call herself something so insulting anyway?

Shaking his head in disdain, he moved forward only to hear more people talking about her.

"It's a shame Percy couldn't come," Shiva mentioned, swirling his glass of wine.

Indra, who had been smoking nonstop since he had been here (which was just gross in Apollo's opinion), looked up from his cigarette. "Poseidon's girl?"

"Yup! Good kid, nothing like her old man." Shiva stated proudly, as if he were the one responsible for the girl's upbringing. "She kinda reminds me of Baldur sometimes."

At that, Indra stopped smoking. "Careful with your words, Shiva. Loki's been hanging around her lately. Don't want history to repeat itself."

Apollo shivered at the mention of the deceased god. Baldur had been as radiant as he was, beautiful, sweet, and perfect in every way. Like many others, Apollo had fallen victim to his charms, but before he could make his move, he had been cruelly snatched away from him—from everyone.

But this? This was just insulting. To compare Baldur to the likes of some half-breed girl… It made him sneer in contempt.

Shiva and Indra moved away to indulge in more wine, but another conversation took place and she was the topic again.

"—think Poseidon's daughter will come here?" Aphrodite mused, leaning against Ares' arm.

Apollo could feel his jaw drop at the betrayal. Aphrodite too? She had always been fond of his parties, but now she didn't even look like she was enjoying herself! Too busy thinking of the half-breed girl!

Ares turned absolutely white at the mention of her. "P-Poseidon's daughter?" He squeaked, which wasn't very warlike of him. "She's here?"

Hermes smirked faintly in amusement. "Calm down, brother. Percilla isn't attending the party. Have you seen how furious our uncle was during Loki's short trial? I do not believe he'll be letting her out of his sight."

Aphrodite let out a giggle that sounded as lovely as the Nine Muses' voices. "She's got Lord Poseidon wrapped around her finger now. She's so entertaining, don't you think?"

Ares' knees were buckling. "Dite, please," he begged. "Please, please don't drag her into your schemes! Her father's going to kill you, and then me just because I'm associated with you!"

She scoffed. "I'm not afraid of Poseidon. If he kills me, at least the last thing I'll see are the sight of glorious tits—"

"—Aphrodite," both Hermes and Ares groaned as if they had had this conversation a million times.

"I'm not going to do anything, so just relax," she huffed. "I don't need to do anything. Trust me, boys, this messy little love story will unravel without my help. All I need to do is sit back and relax~"

"Love story?" Hermes raised a brow. "Something tells me this story will be quite short. Poseidon has grown strongly attached to his daughter, he will not spare any suitors."

"Unless the suitor's him," she winked.

Ares' jaw hit the floor. Even Hermes was stunned.

"I sense many more bonds tied to her too," she added. "Hades is one of them. Let's just say it's no mere coincidence that he's currently divorcing his wife."

Apollo had heard enough. His instrument disappeared from his hands.

It was just nonstop Percy this, Percy that—it was driving him crazy. What was so addicting about some mortal half-breed daughter of Poseidon? Even Poseidon and Hades had fallen to their knees for her!

She's probably not even that good looking! He wanted to retort out loud.

Seething, he stormed over to his father, who was drunkenly chatting with Hera.

"Father," he began, ignoring the burning glare from his stepmother. "I'd like your permission to descend to Midgard."

He decided it was time to finally meet the girl everyone was currently obsessing over.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Meanwhile, Percy was currently going stir-crazy back in Atlantis. Her father refused to let her out; not for Valhalla, not for the city, and not even for the hippocampi stables which was ridiculous because the stables were still part of palace grounds!

Her days were spent inside the pristine palace walls, where all she did was study, sleep, and eat. On days on end. It had been like this for a long time now. She was beginning to miss the days where her mom would send her out to go grocery shopping or to take the clothes to the laundromat. She missed the days where she could meet up with her friends and hang out around the city.

She missed the ability to just leave.

She couldn't risk sneaking out. Gods were omniscient—they knew everything that went around especially in their own territory. She knew Poseidon was keeping an eye on her even when he wasn't around. Even when he was up at Valhalla.

But there was one realm where he couldn't see too clearly: Helheim.

Midgard and Valhalla were connected to each other so gods were omniscient in both realms. Helheim, however, was disconnected from the other two. It would be a lot harder for gods to try and see into it and vice versa.

And today, Poseidon had gone into Helheim to have an important discussion with Beelzebub about his progress with her ascension.

Unless she invoked his name, he shouldn't be able to watch over her. This was her perfect chance to leave for the surface. She knew it was stupid, but she missed her home. She would do anything to see it again, even just for a short glimpse. She needed the reassurance that everything she loved—despite it being different now—still existed.

"You're all done, princess. Excellent work," Proteus smiled in contentment as he closed the thick tome she had been studying with. "You're free to do as you wish. However, please avoid the throne room as construction is still going on."

Right. Her throne. She still couldn't believe she was getting one.

After being dismissed, she swam to the direction of her room, saying her greetings to any servants that swam by. But rather than actually going to her room, she crept up the stairs. Years of being forced into quests helped her learn how to be sneaky around beings with ultra sensitive senses so she managed to reach the top floor of the palace in no time.

One of the many perks of living underwater was that she didn't have to worry about gravity hurling her down to the ground after jumping out of a window on the highest floor of a building.

So after swimming out the window as quietly as possible, she closed it shut and swam upwards for the surface. She hoped none of the residents of Poseidonis would look up and see a tiny dot swimming away.

She swam and swam until she could see the distorted view of the sun on the water's surface.

Just a peek, she reminded herself.

Finally, she breached the surface, breathing in air at last. Her ear fins twitched, the sensation of air feeling foreign to them. She looked around until her eyes landed on a city.

She blinked.

"Wait… huh?" She uttered.

This was not New York. Instead of the towering skyscrapers of the famed concrete jungle, she saw the rugged landscapes of an island, glittering white and blue-roofed buildings standing atop cliffs. She had seen this image a hundred times before on Instagram pictures of celebrities on vacation: Santorini, Greece.

She wanted to smack herself.

Of course her father's kingdom wouldn't be in New York. That was how things worked back in her original universe, not in here. It shouldn't have surprised her that his kingdom would be in Greece (it actually made a lot more sense than being in America).

Well… alrighty then. As beautiful as Santorini was, it wasn't the city she wanted to look at so it was back to the palace with her.

But before she could swim back down, the sunlight suddenly shined over face, momentarily blinding her. She covered her face and looked away, but at that moment the sunlight became even hotter.

"Well!" A melodious voice boomed.

Percy tensed up. She squinted through the light, spying a radiant figure descending from the skies. He had no wings, but he seemed to be flying down just fine without them, his golden sandals stopping just inches above the sea.

Everything about this man was shiny. His hair was like long threads of rose gold with little rubies decorated in them, he had eyes made out of sunlight, and his lips were painted gold. She spotted three glittering piercings around his left eyebrow and another under his eye. His skin seemed to be made of light, but while Aphrodite glowed with radiance and beauty, he seemed to literally be made of it.

Apollo. It had to be him, either that, or another sun god from a different pantheon.

"So you're the little mongrel I keep hearing so much about, hmm?" He finished. He was handsome—like all gods were—but he was haughty too (also, just like most gods). His voice oozed with arrogance. He stared down at her like she was a rat he was about to exterminate. The shining golden bow in his hand didn't go amiss to her either.

Great. Was this guy looking for a fight?

Irked, she lowered her arms and stared at him warily. "What do you want?"

"..."

No answer.

She stared at him, and he stared back, but this time his arrogant expression was wiped off his face. He looked gobsmacked as he stared at her. Several more seconds of silence passed. The atmosphere went from tense to awkward real quick.

"Um…" She gave him a weird look. "Are you gonna say anything or…?"

Apollo didn't answer. He was too busy staring at her face. If he could travel back in time, he would've punched himself for all the times he had belittled her appearance.

This was no mongrel half-breed. Had he not known of the circumstances of her birth, he would've assumed Poseidon had created her through a pearl, molding her into perfection just like him.

She looked nothing like Poseidon, but at the same time, she had her father's divine beauty. Her warm tan looked as if it had been kissed by the sun and her black hair looked more beautiful than any black pearl he had ever seen. And her eyes—gods her eyes—they were a perfect copy of the sea itself! All beings of the sea were ethereal—the goddess of love and beauty had been born from the sea after all—but no nymph or mer could ever compete with the pretty little thing he had set his eyes on.

It was decided now. His heart was set. He had to have her.

"Oh my," he giggled like a lovesick school girl, casually dismissing his bow and arrow to twirl his long pink hair around his delicate looking finger. "Hello, there~"

Percy began to cautiously inch back. "Um… hi? Weren't you about to kill me?"

"My name is Apollo," he introduced himself, completely ignoring her words. "And you, beautiful one?"

"...Did you hit your head on the way down here?" She wondered aloud.

He perked up. The sunlight seemed to grow stronger. "Are you worried about my health? Not to worry, darling! As the god of healing, I rarely ever get hurt! In fact, I haven't been injured in millennia!"

I'm pretty sure he wanted to kill me, she thought. Why else did he have his weapon out? But why's he acting so weird now?

"Uh… right. Good for you. Anyway, I'll just be going now." She was about to dunk her head into the water, only for him to let out an ungraceful squawk of panic.

"Wait!" He nearly shrieked. "Don't leave just yet! Won't you give me your name, fair maiden?"

She cocked her head back. 'Fair maiden'? This was such a stark contrast to the Apollo back in her old universe, who usually addressed her as 'Perce' or 'dude'.

"Percy," she supplied, giving him a tight smile.

"Percy," he breathed out, as if it was the most beautiful name in existence. "Short for…?"

"Percilla."

"Even better!" He sighed dreamily. Then he straightened up, chest puffed out like he was about to make some grand statement. "Marry me, Percilla!"

Her expression fell. Oh hell no.

"Bye." She said bluntly, dunking into the water and getting ready to propel herself back into the palace.

Strong arms breached through the surface, wrapping around her waist and pulling her up with ease.

The only thing she managed to say was a startled, "Wha—?!" before they were shooting into the sky.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She screamed as he flew through a bunch of clouds.

"I'm taking you away! You rejected me before I could even woo you!" He despaired.

"Are you stupid?! You're supposed to woo me first BEFORE proposing!" She shrieked. She wanted to slap him with her tail, but they were hundreds of feet in the air and she was already getting woozy from the altitude.

She must have been close to losing consciousness because rather than responding to her not-so-nice words, Apollo shot her a worried look before readjusting her in his arms. He was now carrying her bridal-style, head pushed against his chest.

"Almost there," she heard him mutter. Not even a second later, they were sucked into the bifrost, her head bursting with an overload of information about the universe.

They reached the end of the bifrost, shooting out of its gate and ascending yet another sky. She knew they were in Valhalla, but had no idea where he was taking her.

Up ahead, she could see a giant hunk of rock just floating in the sky and it finally clicked in her head. Delos. The floating island where Leto safely gave birth to the archer twins. That was where he was taking her.

Apollo drew closer, humming in content. She could see that carved out of the rocks on the side of the island were three massive swan heads that stuck out. They rose above it and she could finally see the whole island in view. It was more glittery than Santorini, but smaller. His garden took up a huge portion of the garden; she could see perfectly trimmed hedges that resembled a maze from up above. At the very center was a large fountain and at the back of the island stood a castle.

Apollo went for the fountain. Now that she was closer, calling it a pool would've been more appropriate. It was the biggest fountain she had ever seen. It was bigger than a community pool and that wasn't counting the marble statues of himself and his sacred animals that were placed in the middle.

"Here you go," he sang as he carefully deposited her into the water.

When Percy looked up, breathing heavily, Apollo was already naked, standing proudly.

She recoiled back. "Ew! Why are you naked?"

His smug smirk vanished.

"'EW'?!"

She covered her eyes. "Put that away! Nobody wants to see that!"

He sputtered, "I-I'll have you know, many MANY people would kill to see my—BLRRRGHHH"

She cut him off by blasting his face with water. "This is your attempt at 'wooing' me? You're so gross!"

"HUH?!" She might as well have stabbed him. His ego had just taken a huge blow. But then realization clicked in his head. "Ah! I see! You're the type to fall in love with someone's personality over their looks, correct? I'm the same as well! That makes us perfect for each other!"

"Have you lost your mind?" She demanded. "Dude, you just kidnapped me and flashed me like some common creep. You do realize my dad's gonna kill you, right?"

"Nonsense!" He laughed, as if she wasn't the daughter of one of the most homicidal gods in the universe. "Lord Poseidon loves me! I'm his favorite nephew! He would be proud to have me as a son-in-law!"

She gave him a very doubtful look.

"Now come! Undress and bathe with me! The best way to get to know one another is when we're at our most vulnerable!"

He stepped into the fountain, hand reaching out for her. She inched back, pushing her tail up as if to use it as a shield.

"Go away!" She yelled.

"No need to be shy, my love! Aren't you mers used to nudity anyway?"

"I'm not a mer! And I'm not comfortable with nudity either! Go—away!"

A flash of annoyance crossed his pretty face before his charming smile returned. "Don't be like that! I promise I won't do anything unsavory towards you."

He stepped forward again, and her father's words rang in her head, "The next time trouble arises and I am not around, pray to me or call out my name if you must. I will be there."

There had been many times where her prayers went unanswered. She remembered Chiron's warning, that gods couldn't always interfere in their children's lives whenever they wanted, that they couldn't risk to form attachments. Poseidon had helped her a handful of times, most of which were indirectly, as he didn't want to incur Zeus' wrath, or worse—the Fates'.

But this was not her universe and this Poseidon had no rules to follow.

I hope you were telling the truth, dad, she thought before unleashing what could possibly become her strongest move:

Percy opened her mouth and let out the most unnatural, siren-like cry that could probably be heard from miles away.

"DAAAADDYYYYYYYY!"

Momentarily, the cry stunned Apollo, his whole body going still. He recovered quickly, but before he could get the chance to ask her what the hell that was about, the floating island began to shake dangerously.

Apollo hurriedly steadied himself. "Wha—?!"

His statue—his magnificent statue depicting his glory alongside his sacred animals—suddenly broke apart as something formed underneath it. It separated into pieces, making way for a large head of blonde hair, large enough to nearly take over the fountain. The head slowly breached through the water's surface. Then, a large pair of murderous blue eyes came next.

Apollo watched in horror as Poseidon, now sized up to at least a hundred feet, emerged from his pool from the waist up.

If Apollo had a heart, it would've exploded from the amount of fear he was feeling.

"U-U-Uncle Poseidon!" He sputtered, trying to put on a winning smile. "I haven't seen you in so lo—URK!"

Poseidon's massive hand reached out to pluck him out of the water. Apollo was now trapped in his fist which was squeezing him so hard that if he had human organs, they would've burst from the pressure. With his other hand, Poseidon gently picked up his daughter, letting her sit delicately on his large palm.

"You kidnapped my daughter," Poseidon stated in his usual monotone voice. He wasn't yelling, but he was so massive that when he spoke, a powerful gust of wind blew Apollo's luscious hair back.

Apollo tried to speak, but the god of the seas was squeezing him so hard that the only thing coming out of his mouth were pathetic wheezes.

Meanwhile, Percy was awestruck. Her prayer worked. He came. He actually came. He was here, in the divine flesh and all.

Suddenly, all her awe was gone when she heard a sickening squelch sound. She turned back to Apollo and nearly gasped. Poseidon was squeezing him like one would squeeze a sponge, water coming out of every hole. But this wasn't a sponge, this was a god, and ichor was pouring out of his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears the longer he remained in the other god's grasp. He looked dead, the only sign of life were his twitching fingers desperately clawing at every bit of Poseidon's skin.

"This is why the gods cannot grow attached to their children, Percy. It is very much for your own good as it is for them. The repercussions would be devastating. For everyone. A mortal parent would kill for their child. A godly parent goes beyond that." Chiron's wise words came back to bite her.

Poseidon would kill a god for her, and the revelation of it amazed and horrified her at the same time.

"Daddy, enough."

His cold blue eyes darted to her. "You wish for him to go unpunished, daughter?" He demanded. "He kidnapped you and tried to tarnish your purity."

"He only just wanted a bath with me," she explained calmly, knowing very well that it was a lie but it was getting harder to ignore the gurgling sounds Apollo would make. "He was just a bit… over-excited. Please, daddy, let him go."

"That soft heart of yours," he scoffed, but to her relief, finally released him. Rather than carefully placing him back down, he simply unfurled his fingers and let the bleeding god fall from his grasp, hitting the bottom of the fountain with a sickening SPLAT that would've killed any human. Percy felt herself flinch.

The pristine waters of the fountain quickly began to mix together with Apollo's ichor, creating a grotesquely beautiful image of blue and gold.

Poseidon glared down at him, "Heed my words, Apollo. Should you ever lay your unworthy hands on my daughter ever again, I will strike you where you stand. Be grateful for my daughter's mercy, for I will not let her decision sway me a second time."

Apollo didn't respond—couldn't respond actually. His divine body was obviously still trying to recover from being nearly crushed. Through the now stained water, she managed to see his golden eyes staring back at Poseidon fearfully, blinking once as if to say 'I understand'.

That was enough for him. Without another word, Poseidon tucked his tiny daughter closer to his chest and then teleported themselves away.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Beelzebub leaned back against his throne and let out a heavy sigh. He hadn't been expecting a surprise visit from the Tyrant of the Seas, but after a single unwanted conversation with him, he already felt exhausted—and gods weren't even capable of feeling exhausted.

Poseidon had come to him, demanding for answers as to why he was taking so long in finding a solution to deifying his daughter. Fortunately, he had already created a list of fake answers to explain, but Poseidon was unsatisfied with each one. He even went so far as to blow up one of his walls in anger. He was like a stoic toddler throwing a tantrum and destroying whatever he wanted. It was very unlike the Poseidon he knew.

I guess you were right, Percy, he found himself thinking. Your father really, really loves you.

Suddenly a high giggle echoed throughout the throne room. Beelzebub tensed up. He hadn't sensed anyone in here, so how—?

"Loki," his shoulders slumped, spying the trickster god step out of the shadows, donning his usual purple cloak. "I wasn't expecting you here. I thought I told you I would meet you in Valhalla."

He waved a dismissive hand. "Too boring. I find sneaking into Helheim more up to my speed," he chuckled, and his words only further confirmed Percy's theory that he could use the cloak to sneak into the bifrost. "Anyway, that was an interesting conversation, huh?" He glanced over to the broken wall the blonde had caused. "I would say that I'd never seen him so angry before, but I actually have. Percy, of course, was involved. It seems like he only ever loses his cool when she's around."

"She is his daughter after all," Beelzebub replied coolly, drumming his fingers over the armrest.

Loki hummed in agreement, his violent eyes greedily taking up the damage that had been done. Then, he faced him, hands placed behind his back as he rocked back and forth on his feet, a mocking visage of childish innocence.

"Sooo," he drawled. "I'm curious. I never expected for you to request my presence. What do you need lil ol' me for?"

"I'd like to make a contract with you," he said bluntly, getting straight to the point.

Loki's grin widened. "Oh?"

"I want to use your cloak."

He made a sound of understanding. "Ahhh. I take it Percy must have told you of what it can do, huh? I'm surprised, Lord Beelzebub! I didn't think someone of your caliber would need this old thing," he tugged at his cloak. "It makes me wonder… hmm… could it be that you're losing your skills?"

"If you're trying to get a rise out of me, it won't work," Beelzebub rolled his eyes. "I need your cloak to sneak into the bifrost so I can study it further." It was guarded heavily, with hundreds of warriors and powerful wards protecting it from any intruders. The only people who could bypass it all were the Chief gods and those who were granted with permission to use it.

"Oh, I see, trying to access the multiverse, huh?" He giggled. "Let's say I do agree to lend you my cloak, but what do I get in return?" He asked sweetly.

This was what Beelzebub was worried about. Usually, he enticed his victims into entering a contract with him by offering them something he knew they wanted. This was the first time he came up blank; Loki was too unpredictable, too much of a wild card. He didn't know what he wanted or needed, which meant his only choice was to practically hand him a blank check.

"...What is it that you want?" He replied smoothly, trying to hide his irritation.

Loki let out a bellowing laugh, holding his stomach as he threw his head back. "Hahahaha! I knew you didn't have anything to offer! I knew it!"

Beelzebub stared expressionlessly at him, revealing nothing.

When Loki finally stopped, he reached up to wipe away a stray tear. "You're a real funny guy, Beelzebub. Almost as funny as Percy!" He chuckled. "Don't worry, you have something I want."

"And that is?" Beelzebub quirked a brow, reclining back on his throne in a show of nonchalance.

"Information, of course!" Loki clapped his hands together. "You've been studying Percy for months, so you must know everything about her by now, right?"

Beelzebub could feel something coil in his gut, but he pushed the feeling away. "Yes," he answered. "What do you want to know about her?"

In an instant, Loki's grin vanished, taken over by a cold and dark expression. "I can't hurt her. I want to know why."

At this, Beelzebub fell silent, his hands gripping the armrests of his throne so tightly that they began to crack.

Wordlessly, Loki removed his cloak and draped it over his arms. "This is our contract, Lord Beelzebub. I will allow you to use my cloak until you finish your research with the bifrost, and in return, you will tell me why I can't hurt Percy and how I can. Agree to my terms and you can have my cloak."

For the longest time, Beelzebub didn't speak or move. He went as still as a statue, his mind running a mile a minute.

This was probably one of the easiest deals he could make. All he had to do was give him the information he already had.

And yet…

He wanted to know about the Curse of Achilles—Percy's greatest strength, and her greatest weakness. If he told him, then… then…

Loki smirked in amusement. "Oh my… don't tell me you're actually hesitating now? Does the Devil have feelings for that little outsider?"

He scoffed, "Of course not. I agree to your terms."

Swiftly, he summoned forth a contract and beckoned the other god closer.

I don't care. He tried to tell himself.

Loki stepped forward eagerly.

"I'm sure you know the consequences of breaking one of my contracts," Beelzebub warned him as the sound of flies buzzing grew stronger.

He smiled, "Of course I do."

I don't care.

Loki signed his name on the line. Beelzebub retracted his claws and sliced through Loki's palm. He watched numbly as the green haired god let his divine blood drop on the paper.

She means nothing to me.

With a maniacal giggle, Loki requested for his seal to be placed on the lower right side of his waist, right above the waistline of his pants. He lifted his shirt up and Beelzebub placed his hand over the area, and if the Devil marked him a little too painfully, he didn't complain.

When he pulled his hand away, the symbol of Beelzebub now tainted Loki's skin.

The contract was finished, Loki was marked, and Percy's fate was sealed.

She is nothing.

Loki let out a breathy laugh, his eyes wide with manic glee. He practically shoved the cloak into Beelzebub's hands.

"Now," he began greedily. "Tell me."

"In her universe, the myths are closer to the truth. The story of Achilles and his invulnerability isn't fictional, he was a real person in her world and Percy bears the same curse as he once did," he began, ignoring the way Lilith's mark seemed to throb on his chest. "Because of that, no harm can come to her. Except on a single spot. Her mortal spot. One hit there and she will perish."

"Just like Baldur!" Loki spat, hatred dripping from his voice. "I should've known. She's just like him…! Tell me where her mortal spot is!"

"I don't know."

He froze. "...What?"

"I don't know," he repeated.

"What do you MEAN you don't KNOW?!" Loki's voice raised. His eyes glowed with fury and his godly aura began to leak out of his body. "You have to tell me! It's part of our contract!"

"Our contract stipulated that I tell you why you can't hurt her and how to hurt her, which is what I just did. I told you that she bears the Curse of Achilles, and that the only way to kill her is to strike her mortal spot." A devilish smirk crawled over his lips. "You should've been more specific in your demands, Lord Loki. Don't be embarrassed though, it's a newbie mistake. Thousands of humans have done the same."

A deep laugh bubbled out of his throat when Loki tried to blast him with magic. He deftly avoided the attack, letting his throne take the damage.

"DAMN YOU!" Loki cursed. "Give me back my cloak!"

Smiling calmly, he transported the cloak away, allowing it to get absorbed into the shadows and disappear elsewhere. "I have fulfilled my end of the deal, Lord Loki. Now it's your turn. I don't need to remind you of the consequences of breaking a deal with me?"

Loki's eyes darted around the throne room where he spotted several flies stationed around, their beady little eyes on him.

"FINE!" He spat. "I'll figure it out myself! But YOU!" He glowered at Beelzebub. "Don't think you've won, Beelzebub! You'll regret tricking me, you damned fleabag!"

He teleported away. Beelzebub had no idea how he would sneak back into the bifrost without the help of the cloak, but at this point, he didn't care.

He had done the worst possible thing imaginable. He had told Loki about the existence of the Curse of Achilles. He had put Percy in danger.

…But that's fine, he tried to convince himself. Now that Loki no longer had the cloak, anyone would be able to sense his presence. He could no longer sneak into Midgard, let alone Atlantis. Plus, it wasn't like he knew about Percy's mortal spot either.

It was fine. She would be fine.

(She was just his experiment anyway. She was nothing to him.)

MEMES!

Memes: 1, 2, 3, 4

From Luna999: 1

FANARTS!

Here's an amazing comic from yagodnyizefir about the pjo verse trying to find percy :

Here are some percy picrews from fanficboysarebae!!!:

(That's blonde fem!percy from the tv show btw)

Yona13350 made an edit of Athy as Percy!!!: here

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

Apollo lovers don't worry, I know very well that Apollo's views on beauty aren't about what's on the outside but on the inside. But despite this, he's still a sucker for a pretty face (his harem of hot nymphs are proof of that ) so he's merely physically attracted to her, but eventually he'll fall in love with the real her.

The whole scene with the paternity test wasn't originally going to be here, but I put in here anyway cuz I needed to weed out the weak! I saw way too may comments going all "i can ignore the incest cuz it's not like they're really related anyway!" I HAVE NOW PROVED YOU WRONG! THEY ARE RELATED HAHAHA!

Ok but no seriously, if there wasn't going to be incest I wouldn't have put "incest" in the warnings Most of these comments are from wattpad, and I gave you guys warnings in TWO chapters already (in the very first one and in "act one"). I would've put "pseudo-incest" if I was really going for the whole "oh they're not ACTUALLY related cuz they're alternate versions, etc etc" route, but I'm not, which is why I strictly put "INCEST". Plus, I even put it as "dead dove" and said that it means to take the warnings seriously…

I'll say it one last time: YES THERE IS INCEST HERE. If you gotta pretend that a huge theme of my fic doesn't exist just to make yourself feel comfy, then I'm sorry but this book is NOT for you. If you're gonna continue reading anyway, then please stop with the "oh I'm just gonna ignore this huge central theme of the book teehee!" comments.

Chapter 20: i'm invited to a godly slumber party

Summary:

Percy leaves for ONE night and Poseidon starts spiraling. Meanwhile, Loki schemes and Beelzebub counters.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

A certain scene in the beginning of the chapter was inspired by the second chapter of the wmmap ao3 fanfic "feather down and flower crowns" by whomademeadegenerate!

WARNING: Some NSFW scenes. First one is a very brief noncon (not Percy), the other is just a solo smut scene.

PERCY COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW STUPID this universe's Apollo was. Sure the Apollo back home was a bit goofy and lackadaisical, but he wasn't dumb to the point of suicide.

"You dare to show your face around here after what you did yesterday?" Beside her, her father's voice boomed throughout the throne room.

Percy sat next to him, in her own newly made throne. The people her father hired (or ordered, more like) to make her throne had done their best job. Her throne complemented her father's quiet nicely. Similarly to his, the back of her throne was the inside of a massive abalone shell with the same pearlescent colors of blue, green, purple, gold (just lighter shades than his) and instead of black, there was white. While her father had strings of black pearls, she had white. And while both thrones had large pieces of coral, hers were softer with less jagged edges. The only thing missing were the sentient tentacles underneath, though she requested not to have them.

Apollo's desperate voice drew her away from admiring her throne:

"Lord Uncle, I beseech you!" He cried out dramatically. "Please! I meant no offense in my actions the previous day! I only wish to marry your daughter!"

"You meant to force yourself on her, is what you mean," Poseidon sneered. "My sweet daughter granted you mercy even after that, and you foolishly came here to test my patience again."

"I apologize fervently for my actions, Lord Uncle. I couldn't help myself; I was merely taken aback by your daughter's beauty! Surely you could understand...?" He gave him a hopeful look.

Poseidon leaned back on his throne, humming coldly. "My daughter is beautiful," he agreed, sighing as his eyes traveled to his side where she sat, appreciating her.

Percy tried not to fidget on the spot. The way they spoke as if she wasn't in the room with them didn't sit right with her, but she kept her mouth shut because at least she was aware of the tense atmosphere in the waters. Apollo, however, didn't seem to sense that.

"Very, very beautiful," Poseidon went on, reaching out to grasp her hand. His thumb rubbed over her knuckles soothingly, as if sensing her discomfort. "She is perfect, isn't she?" He asked the other god, expressionless but radiating with pride. "My lovely child."

Apollo nodded eagerly.

"And you honestly believe someone like you deserves her?" Poseidon asked, his voice sharp. "That I should hand over my perfect daughter to you?"

"Um... yes? Please?" Apollo replied meekly.

She and Poseidon exchanged a look as if they were simultaneously thinking, 'good gods, he's an idiot'.

"I'm going to kill him," he muttered to her.

"At least give him a few seconds to run," she winced.

Apollo definitely overheard that because now he upped his begging to even more pathetic levels than what they thought was possible.

"You've known me since I was a baby! You know I'd never treat your daughter with disrespect!"

Poseidon regarded him with cold, deadpanning eyes. "It is because I've known you since you were a baby that I would never trust any of my little brother's bastard spawns with my daughter, especially you, who currently has a harem of whores living in that shitty island of yours. Do you take me for a fool, Apollo?"

Apollo's golden eyes widened at the mention of his apparent harem, either because he had forgotten he had one or because he didn't expect Poseidon to know about it.

Having enough of the conversation, Poseidon finally released his daughter's hand and rose to his fins, summoning his trident.

"W-w-wait!" Apollo practically shrieked. "Please don't kill me! Pretty please, Lord Uncle?!" He whimpered, hands pressed together and bottom golden lip jutting out.

Percy couldn't believe what she was seeing. Apollo was not only begging for his life, but he was also trying to act cute in order to achieve it. It was like a slap to the face. A dawning sense of realization that was unwelcomed to her.

Was this what she looked like to everyone else all those times she acted cutesy to appeal to Poseidon? Did she look this pathetic? This cringe-worthy?

She could feel herself sink into her throne, covering her face in shame.

Is this really me? She wondered to herself in despair. Is this really who I've become?

Oh how the mighty have fallen indeed. The Savior of Olympus... now a cringy daddy's girl.

"Disgusting worm," Poseidon spat. He thrust his trident out and blasted Apollo out of the throne room without mercy. She had no idea where he had sent him, but there was a trail of ichor that clouded the room once the god was gone.

Percy blinked. "Uh, where...?"

"I made sure he left the sea," Poseidon replied, still disgruntled as he sat back down on his throne.

"You meant what you said though, right?" She asked wearily. "You're not gonna make me marry that weirdo?"

He scoffed, as if she had offended him with her question. "Of course not. No god is worthy enough for you, especially not one of my brother's broods."

She relaxed on her throne. "Thank you... father."

The water went still, before darkening and becoming concerningly cold.

She stared at him nervously. His face was stony. She gulped. No way. Did he not like it when she called him 'father'? But he was the one who told her to refer to him as that when they first met! Didn't he want her to behave more properly? Surely he wanted her to grow out of the childish mannerisms she had forced upon herself, right?

The silence went on longer and the seas became colder.

Nooooo! She wailed. I don't wanna keep calling you 'daddy' for the rest of my time here! Apollo's pitiful display of begging helped her realize how pathetic she looked trying to act like a cute little daddy's girl, and she was determined to fix whatever was left of her reputation!

"Um... dad?" She tried again.

That only worsened his mood. His head lowered, covered by a shadow as the water became even icier. She could see cracks appearing on the throne from his hard grip.

"...Daddy?"

Right away, the atmosphere returned to normal. The water turned clearer and the temperature became more bearable. Poseidon looked up, blank-faced but clearly more relaxed than before.

"There's no need to thank me. No god in their right mind would allow their precious daughter to marry someone like Apollo."

Percy nodded along as if she was listening, but inwardly she was crying at the fact that her cringy 'uwu please don't kill me, daddy' act had worked so well on Poseidon that the thought of her trying to behave like a 'proper mature young lady' revolted him now. Does he expect me to be like this for the rest of my life?! She wailed.

Dinner came soon after that meeting, but it was obvious that Poseidon was still troubled by Apollo's arrival. He kept muttering under his breath, stabbing his fork into his food as if he was picturing a certain god instead.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, having watched him mutilate his Beef Wellington for the past five minutes.

"Become a virgin goddess." Poseidon demanded.

She nearly choked on her soup.

"Initially I assumed no one would be foolish enough to ask me for your hand in marriage, but Apollo proved me wrong." He spoke up. "There is a chance other gods will follow in his footsteps, as stupid as they are. They will attempt to tarnish you. Once you ascend, take a vow of virginity so you may remain by my side without any annoying pests trying to get in our way."

"Um... no thank you?" She replied. "That's, uh, kind of extreme."

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me there's already a god you wish to marry."

"What—? No, no! I don't wanna marry anyone, but I don't wanna remain a virgin either!" She didn't even want to become a goddess in the first place! "Daddy, this was just one little incident. I doubt it'll happen with anyone else. Apollo's just... arrogant. And delusional, to be honest. Nobody else is stupid enough to ask for my hand in marriage because they're too scared of you!"

Poseidon remained quiet for a few seconds, but she wasn't blind to the way his body slowly began to go lax as he mulled over her words.

"...Apollo does seem to have reached a level of suicidal idiocy that most fools haven't even breached," he murmured in agreement. "Hmmm. Fine. I will let this go for now."

Percy beamed and resumed eating. Poseidon did so as well, but despite what he said, Apollo's antics still weighed heavy on his mind.

His daughter was beautiful and perfect in every way. She was bound to gain admirers—a thought that made him flood the coast of Turkey and Greece. While he knew a majority of them wouldn't dare to get any closer to her in fear of him, just the idea of anyone wanting her gave him the violent urge to kill every man in all the three realms.

It was normal for daughters to be married off once they were developed enough. Zeus handed Persephone off to Hades and Hebe to Heracles, and other fathers were no different. Marriage was the only use daughters had, after all. Goddesses who refused marriage and an eternity of maidenhood usually ended up violated by another god and forced to marry them to avoid shame.

He, as the father of a girl, ought to do the right thing and marry her off.

But he didn't want to.

Oh the irony. He, who had once sneered at Hades' protectiveness over his daughters and his refusal to let them marry—something that had tested even Rhea's patience—now felt the same about his own. Now he understood Hades' insistence that daughters were precious and had to be protected at all costs.

Percy was his daughter. She didn't need anyone else but him. How dare anyone assume otherwise?

His daughter's happy "Oh!" pulled him away from his dark thoughts. He looked up to see her grinning down at her phone, which she wasn't supposed to be using during mealtimes. He gave her a displeased look, but even that softened when her happy expression turned his way.

"Göll's asking if I can have a sleepover at Asgard tomorrow night! Can I go? Pleeeeaaase?" She pleaded.

"A 'sleepover'?" He blinked. The word was foreign to him. Was that even a word or just another one of her infant terminology?

"Yeah, like..." She paused. "You know. A sleepover. Sleeping over?"

She wanted to stay in Asgard overnight.

He frowned. "Absolutely not."

"But—"

"—Why do you wish to be with her?" He sneered.

Percy blinked, taken aback by the clear disdain laced in his voice. But she barreled on, "Göll is my friend. I just wanna hang out with her."

He scoffed. "You do not need friends. My answer is no. Loki is there and I do not trust Odin to keep him in check."

She pouted, lips all pink and pretty that Poseidon could hardly look away. Quickly, she rose from her chair and swam over to her side, grasping his arm and shaking him slightly.

"I'll behave and avoid Loki, I promise! So please let me go! Pretty please?" She begged. It wasn't any different than what Apollo had done, but Poseidon actually started to cave.

"Percilla—"

"—Please, daddy? Please?"

He let out a heavy sigh. "...Fine. But the second Loki appears, you are to pray to me immediately—"

"—Yes!" She cheered, smooching him on the cheek before rushing back to her seat to excitedly text Göll the news. She couldn't wait for tomorrow night. As much as she loved it down here in Atlantis, she really didn't want to stay stuck in the palace forever.

Wait, she realized. Shit! I just copied Apollo! Urgh! Yuck!

(At least it actually worked for her though...)

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

When the time for the sleepover came, Percy could tell that Poseidon was becoming less and less convinced on letting her go, so she made sure to give him the sweetest of smiles, the most chaste of cheek kisses, and all the 'thanks so much, daddy, you're the best!'s he needed to hear in order for her to get her way.

Was it lowkey manipulative? Yes, but gods was she desperate to get out of the palace and interact with other people (preferably sane ones, and luckily for her, Göll was very sane).

Plus, she loved sleepovers! She remembered all the times she would sleep over at the Aphrodite and Hermes cabin (to name a few) and all those times she would have some of her friends who were camp year-rounders sleep over at her apartment during the school years...

She could feel her chest throb as the memories flashed through her mind. Before, thinking about her friends and family made her heart hurt because of how much she missed them. But now, her heart hurt because of how conflicted she felt. With every good memory she would remember of her loved ones back home, recent memories would flood in next: Poseidon, Adamas, Hades, Beelzebub, Brunhilde, and the Valkyries... hell, she even had fond memories with Loki.

This is not my home, this is not my home, this is not my home, she had to remind herself of that no matter how much it hurt.

"Just enjoy what you have now," Beelzebub once told her. "Treasure it, even if it's for a short while."

But who knew trying to make good memories would hurt this much?

Nevertheless, as she drew closer to Göll's bedroom, she plastered on an excited grin right before knocking on the door.

The lilac haired Valkyrie opened it a few seconds later. Her expression lit up, but there was an air of confusion around her.

"Percy!" She exclaimed, beaming. "Hey! Come in! What are you doing here?"

She quickly ushered the younger girl into the bedroom and shut the door.

"Oh, my dad just dropped me off and Lord Odin said that you would be in your room," Percy explained.

Göll nodded along, but she still looked confused about something. "Are you here for Brunhilde? Sorry, but she's out with Lady Mnemosyne tonight—they're quite close nowadays!—and the rest of my sisters are out with their other friends."

Now it was Percy's turn to look confused. "I'm here for the sleepover."

"What sleepover?" She blinked.

Something was wrong here. Very very wrong.

"Uh," Percy swallowed thickly. "The one that you invited me to?" Nervously, she showed her the text conversation they had on her phone.

The color drained from the youngest Valkyrie's face. "Percy, I lost my phone yesterday. I didn't send you this."

Shit. This had Loki written all over it.

"I'm here for the slumber party!" A dreadful voice cheered.

She and Göll whirled around. There, standing at the doorway, was Loki dressed in a ridiculous cotton nightgown with a matching long white cap and plush snake slippers. He looked like Ebenezer Scrooge got Nickelodeon slime barfed all over him.

"Lord Loki...!" Göll squealed in fear. Unlike what happened the last time they were confronted by him, she didn't faint again.

"Are you wearing a nightgown?" Percy couldn't help but judge.

"It's a nightshirt," he corrected with a roll of his eyes.

"It reaches your ankles. It's a gown. Do you seriously wear this when you're sleeping?"

"Hasn't anyone told you that gods don't need to sleep?" He huffed in annoyance as he strode into the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him. "And isn't this what humans usually wear to bed?"

"Yeah... in the 1800s," she deadpanned, unamused. "Give Göll her phone back."

Without any complaint, Loki waved his hand and Göll's phone appeared on her nightstand.

"Did he take anything else?" She asked her.

Göll, still looking terrified out of her mind, shook her head.

Percy turned back to Loki with a tight smile. "Great. Sorry about this Göll. I'll get rid of Loki and I'll call my dad to take me back home."

Before she could start hauling the annoying god out of here, he started floating away from her reach.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why do you wanna leave so badly? Aren't you here for a sleepover?"

"Trust me, I'd love to have one right now, but you're clearly scheming something if you had to deceive me to get me here," she pointed out. "Plus, I promised my dad that I'd avoid you."

He pouted, which only made him look even sillier with that outfit of his. "I just wanted to see you again so I could thank you for trying to protect me from your daddy dearest the other day. And I had to deceive you, Percy! Do you really think your father would allow you to be here if I was the one who invited you?"

Percy paused. He... had a good point.

She frowned. Loki was a weird individual, and he was especially unpredictable. His opinion on her always seemed to flip flop around for no reason. However, the last time they met hadn't gone that bad to be honest. Sure he got a little pissy when she stepped up to protect him, but he was probably just shocked rather than personally offended... Maybe.

As if sensing her hesitance, Loki pulled out his best move:

"I even brought pizza," he offered sweetly. Another wave of his hand and several greasy boxes of pizza appeared floating around him. The lids opened magically, allowing the delicious smell to drift into her nose.

Percy nearly drooled. Pizza. The last time she had pizza was months ago when she was still staying at Adamas' house. For some reason, he warned her not to go around asking for Italian food in Poseidon's palace so she hadn't been able to have any since.

Grinning, she clapped her hands together. "Let the slumber party commence!"

Loki cheered and let the pizza boxes float down to Percy's awaiting arms.

Behind her, Göll's jaw dropped, like she couldn't believe how quickly she just gave in.

Soon enough, they found themselves sitting on the floor circling around the pizza boxes. Göll was nervously chewing on her slice while Percy was already on her second one. Loki was savoring his. He sat right next to Percy, his eyes glued on her like he was looking for something.

Then, he reached out and started poking her cheek.

Mid-bite, she stopped to give him a look. "What are you doing?"

"Oh nothing," he smiled sweetly. "You just had something on your face. So how are you enjoying the pizza?"

Normally, the sudden change in topic would've sent alarm bells ringing in her head, but having been deprived of pizza for so long, it completely went unnoticed to her.

She lit up, "Oh it's great! It's been months since I've had any pizza! Apparently the Greeks hate it for some reason? Something about Italy or whatever..."

"Uh," Göll cleared her throat, still looking quite nervous about having Loki in the room. "No one told you?"

"Told me about what?"

"About the whole Greek and Roman thing?"

"I remember learning in history class that they had beef with each other back in the day but—Loki, stop poking my feet!" She stopped to swat away Loki's hands which were busy prodding around her heels for some reason. "—Anyway, but that's pretty much all I know."

"It's more than just beef," Loki snorted, now moving on to poking her ankles. Percy just sighed. "The Romans really pissed off the Greek gods, your dad especially*. They didn't really care when Greece got conquered by the Romans, but it was what they did afterwards that really got them in our shitlist."

Percy went to grab another slice of pizza and motioned curiously for Loki to go on.

"When the Romans took over, they didn't believe that the Greek gods were real and decided to change things and make their own gods.

"Oh," Percy's eyes widened a bit. "I remember that. They changed their names. Poseidon became Neptune, Zeus became Jupiter, and Hades was Pluto."

He nodded. "Yup. They even twisted the stories around to better fit the Roman narrative. The Greek pantheon took it as a huge offense and honestly, I can't blame them. If some dumb humans dared to change my name and make me a completely different person, I'd get pissed too."

"But that wasn't all. There were some gods who were highly revered by the Greeks—Poseidon and Athena to name a few—who were being disrespected by the Romans. Athena's name was besmirched; she went from being worshiped as an intelligent war goddess to some goddess of crafts. Since they didn't think the gods were real, they stupidly decided to rename your dad's temples to temples of Neptune and replaced his statues. I think when they decided to start fishing in his seas was your dad's last straw."

"He killed them," Göll shivered. "He sent floods to destroy them. Other Greek gods joined the carnage too because they were also angry by the ongoing disrespect. Soon enough, the Roman Empire was no more."

Percy was so intrigued by the story that she set her pizza down. "Wait... huh? The gods caused the Roman Empire to fall?"

"Is it different in your universe?" Loki tilted his head.

"Uh, yeah? I think it was these Germanic tribes that took them down over time. You're telling me that in here, the gods actually went down to Midgard and just... killed everyone?"

"Yup!" Loki answered brightly.

"That's insane," she breathed out.

Göll shot her a sympathetic look. "There were a few survivors," she added. "Some people who weren't in Rome at the time like travelers and merchants. When they heard about what happened—when they found out that the gods were real—they stayed away in fear of being hunted down. But once the gods returned home, they went back to Rome to see if their families were still alive. Unfortunately, they weren't, but they stayed anyway and tried to rebuild. They couldn't bring back the Empire, but I guess they got humbled because they tried to worship the Greek gods properly this time."

"Yeah and then the Visigoths took over them," Loki finished with a flourish. "Your gods really didn't do anything after such an insult?"

She shrugged. "I guess not. I don't really know what happened except what my old history teacher told me. But I seriously can't believe they're still angry about that. Does that mean I can't have pizza? Or pasta? Ever? What if I wanna take a vacation to Italy?"

Loki snorted. "You seriously think Poseidon's gonna let you step foot on the surface world? That's cute."

Percy frowned, not because he was wrong but because he was right. The only reason she didn't get into any trouble for trying to go up to the surface was because he was more worried about Apollo kidnapping her.

Suddenly there was a sound. All three of them whipped their heads to the door as it began to slowly turn. Standing right outside the bedroom, was the looming figure of Thor. He was dressed in pajamas—thankfully not the ridiculous nightgown Loki was wearing but something more simple.

Göll dropped her pizza with a squeak of terror. It was a miracle she hadn't fainted yet.

Without saying a word, Thor stepped into the room, his face blank. Percy swore she could feel the ground tremble with every step he took.

"I would like to join the sleepover." Thor said bluntly.

This time Göll really did faint.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Poseidon really, really, REALLY regretted letting Percy leave Atlantis. What was he thinking? Letting her leave the safety of his territory just moments after Apollo made it clear that he desired her? Even worse, letting her step foot into the very palace Loki resided in?

It had been a moment of terrible weakness which was shameful because even Hades, who doted on his daughters relentlessly, knew when to put his foot down.

He didn't know how to explain it, but something in him... stirred when she started begging him so prettily. When she pouted at him with her pink lips, when she stared at him pleadingly with her seagreen eyes, all wide and hopeful, and—

He breathed in deeply, readjusting himself on his throne. The waters started to shift moodily; back and forth, left and right, as if they didn't quite know which way to go. Up above, the skies rumbled mysteriously.

"My lord?" Proteus asked in concern. Across from them were a group of noblemen who came to discuss... Poseidon's mind blanked out. He hadn't even been paying attention to what was going on.

This was not like him. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong and he didn't like it.

"Leave," he ordered, tone clipped as he waved away his audience.

The throne room cleared out, save for him and Proteus who was growing increasingly worried now.

Paying him no mind, Poseidon wordlessly summoned his phone and checked his notifications. No message from Percy, not even a missed call. She hadn't prayed to him either. His mood darkened. What was she doing that she couldn't even bother to send her father a message?

The palace grounds began to tremble.

"My lord!" Proteus quickly spoke up, grabbing a nearby pillar to keep balanced.

"What?" He snapped.

"Something is troubling you. What ails you, my lord?" Proteus asked, desperate to find a way to fix it.

"What do you think, you fool. My daughter is gone."

"Ah, I see. You're worried for the young princess," he made a sound of understanding. Things rarely went well whenever the princess left Atlantis. He was pretty sure the only time she was safe and happy was... when she left to live with her uncle Adamas—a period which Poseidon did not like to talk about.

"I let her leave. I should not have done that," he glared, but at least the seabed had stopped shaking. "I will retrieve her at once."

"That's not necessary, my lord!" Proteus said. "The princess is simply growing up and making friends. It is normal for children to go through that."

That only made Poseidon scowl harder.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "My lord, I assure you, the princess is perfectly safe and well. She'll be back tomorrow morning. In the meanwhile, would you like me to find someone to... relieve you of your stress?"

The tyrant of the seas rarely succumbed to his urges (he was too dignified for that), but there were times where he needed to let loose. This was one of them.

Unlike his younger brother Zeus, Poseidon wasn't the type to let himself fall victim to lust. He had his needs of course, but he had too much pride to ever fall for the throes of hedonism like the other gods did. He wasn't a mindless animal. He was a god. So his sexual endeavors were never considered 'nights of passion'. They were always disconnected. Unattached. He was solely concerned with his own release and once that was met, the goddess, nymph, or mermaid was thrown aside.

Wordlessly, Poseidon's eyes darted over to the empty throne beside him and felt his mood only grow worse. He had been moody ever since he dropped his daughter off to Asgard, but there was something else too... something he didn't quite understand and it frustrated him to no end.

"Bring her to my chambers," he ordered.

Proteus bowed his head and hurried away. Finding relief for his lord was never that hard. Despite how terrifying the god was, there were actually many women who would happily throw themselves into his bed. However, Poseidon's patience was thinning dangerously. He would need to go out and grab the closest beautiful nymph or mermaid he could find and hope it would be enough to appease the angry tyrant...

Once Proteus left, Poseidon rose from his throne and retired to his bedroom. His bedroom... how long has it been since he's stepped foot in here? As a god, he didn't need to sleep so he only ever used his bedroom for sex—an extremely rare occasion. But the second he stepped into his room, he immediately didn't want to be there.

Percy's face immediately flashed through his mind. He wanted her here so badly, but the fact that he had foolishly allowed her to go to Asgard only made him angrier. What had he been thinking? Letting her go out? Letting her leave him?

Before he could start yet another natural disaster, there was a knock on the door. His eye twitched.

Without a word, he used the water surrounding him to open the door and turned around. Proteus stood dutifully, and next to him... Poseidon's mood worsened. The person Proteus brought him was a mermaid with green-tinted skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair. Wrong. All wrong. She shouldn't look like that. She needed to look like—

"My lord," she spoke softly, giving him a respectful bow. Her voice grated on his sensitive ears. His ear fins twitched in annoyance.

He dismissed Proteus with a wave of his hand. The loyal servant left, leaving her to look around unsurely. She started to open her mouth.

"Do not speak," he ordered, swimming forward to grab her and throw her onto his bed.

She let out a breathy sigh as he got on top of her. There was a look of elation and awe on her face, as if she was finally getting everything she dreamed of.

Pathetic. Ridiculous.

"Wipe that look off your face," he said coldly. "You're not special."

Her expression crumbled and she began to rise up, foolishly believing she could leave or stop whatever was happening.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Poseidon wrapped a hand over her face—nearly crushing her skull—and slammed her back down to the bed. Then, without any sort of preparation, he forced himself into her as she screamed.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

It turned out that Odin had been the one to order Thor to join the sleepover solely to make sure Loki didn't do something stupid (like cause a war with the Greeks).

So now here they were: two gods, a demigod, and a Valkyrie, braiding each other's hair while Pretty Little Liars played in the background.

"Why are we watching a show from Midgard?" Thor, in his super deep voice, asked. His eyes were focused on Göll's TV screen while Percy busied herself with braiding his hair. It was pretty fun, not only was his hair super long and fun to play with, but it was enviously silky too.

"'Cause I wanna," Percy replied with a chirp. "My dad doesn't allow me to watch anything from Midgard. The only thing he lets me watch is whatever's on the education channel—"

"—Ew," Loki gagged.

"I know right? I heard this show's super popular down there so I wanted to watch it."

(Actually, she already finished the show years ago and just wanted to rewatch it again for the memories.)

Sitting in front of the TV, Loki snorted. "Humans have weird tastes. What's so interesting about watching a bunch of teenage girls make stupid decisions?"

"And why do they not report their troubles?" Thor frowned. "All of this could be easily fixed."

"That's just how teenage girls are, Thor," Loki said sweetly, giving Percy a sly look. "Always full of secrets."

Göll, who had recovered from her fainting spell a while ago, nearly choked on a chocolate pastry she was eating. She shot Loki a horrified look.

Percy gave him a silent glare that basically screamed, SHUT UP. Unperturbed, he crawled over to where they sat and placed himself behind her.

"Geez, Percy, you're looking a bit tense," he crooned. She could feel him put his hands on her shoulders, fingers beginning to knead on the skin and muscle she had there.

"What are you doing?" She asked sharply.

"Oh, just giving you a massage!" He laughed innocently, but his eyes stared back at her intensely. The shoulder massage only lasted a few seconds. It trailed down her arms, then to her back. He never bothered to massage her in the same place for longer than a second, his fingers constantly roaming over her back as if to look for something. His stare was the same too, gauging her face for a reaction.

"Loki," Thor grumbled in warning.

"Just a moment, cousin dear. This princess has so many knots on her back!" He laughed jovially, but Percy caught the dark look in his eyes that only lasted a second. He seemed genuinely displeased by something; either her for being her usual self or Thor for trying to stop... whatever the hell he was doing.

Eyes narrowed in suspicion, she quickly tied Thor's hair and scooted away from his grasps just before his hands could go any lower. "Quit it," she scowled, glaring at the god of mischief. "Why are you being all touchy anyway?"

"Friends give each other massages all the time!" Loki giggled. "Plus, I wasn't kidding. You really do look tense."

"That's because you were annoying me," she grumbled. "Now turn around. I wanna braid your hair next."

As Loki turned around, Thor mumbled to himself, "So this is what a sleepover entails..." while staring down at his long braided hair and red painted nails (with yellow dotted flower designs courtesy of Percy's clumsy hands).

As Percy started gathering up Loki's hair, she watched in the corner of her eye as Thor stoically scooted over to Göll. Göll looked petrified as he drew closer, only to grow wide-eyed when all he did was reach out to grab a pastry from a platter. He stared at it curiously before taking a tentative bite, as if this was his first time eating something. Then he took another bite.

Despite his massive build and black-sclera eyes, Thor looked like he was enjoying this girly slumber party the most.

Well, Percy bit back a smile. At least one of us is having fun. Loki was annoying her and poor Göll was too terrified of all the powerful gods surrounding them. Thor was the only one perfectly content.

Loki's hair was shorter than Thor's, so she did a simple waterfall braid on him—something that her mom taught her when she was little. When she finished, he conjured up a hand mirror to admire her work.

"Ooooh, so pretty~" He cooed. "Turn around now, Percy! It's your turn to get your hair braided!"

Percy did not want this psycho anywhere near her hair, especially since, according to the MCU, he had a penchant for cutting girls' hair. But he grasped her shoulders and whirled her around so her back was turned to him before she could protest. All she could do was pray Thor would step in before he could conjure a pair of scissors...

"Such lovely hair," he hummed, fingers threading through her dark locks. Occasionally, the pads of his fingers would press against a spot on her skull before moving on. Seriously, why was he so insistent on poking her everywhere?

"I'll give you a fishtail braid. Get it, fish?" He snickered at his own joke.

"You're so funny," she rolled eyes, trying to ignore his fingers now brushing against the skin on the back of her neck.

Surprisingly, he was able to finish the braid in record time and handed her the mirror to admire it. Delicately, she ran a hand over the beautifully done braid.

"That was fast," she commented. "And it's... actually pretty good. Thanks. How do you...?"

"How do I know how to do a braid? I have a daughter," he beamed. "I used to braid her hair like this when she was just a little girl." He let out a nostalgic sigh. "Good ol' times. Now she hardly wants anything to do with her dear old dad anymore..."

"O-oh..." Percy's face fell. He looked genuinely downtrodden about it, which made her feel kinda bad.

Just as she was about to give him some comforting words, Thor looked up from the cupcake he was eating and deadpanned, "Do not lie. You kept embarrassing Hel all throughout her childhood to the point that she moved to Helheim to get away from you. Also, you were a terrible father."

Aaaand there went any sympathy she felt.

"I was not!" He gasped, his hand placed over where his heart would've been.

"You always forgot her birthday." Thor said bluntly.

Göll meekly added, "And when you do remember, you always end up being late to her birthday parties. Lady Angrboða always got angry at you because of that."

"I was trying to find her a present!" Loki sputtered. "You guys are painting me out to be some deadbeat! You know I love my children!"

Thor shrugged. "You're still a terrible father."

"I'm noooot!" He whined, then turned his pleading eyes to Percy. "Percy, sweetie, you don't think I'm a terrible father, do you? I swear, I really did try my best!"

But all she gave him was an unimpressed look. "I hate deadbeat parents who can't even bother with child support."

"You guys are being so unfair!" He huffed.

She dropped the cold exterior and started snickering at him. In the background, the next episode of Pretty Little Liars played and Thor, curiously turned to pay attention while Loki sulkily threw caramel popcorn at his hair. Göll was already scooting closer to the TV to watch it.

Percy pulled out her phone and snapped a selfie of her beautifully done braid with Thor, Göll, and Loki focusing on the TV in the background. She posted it onto Gossipmonger (which reminded her a lot of Twitter) and made a little caption about their sleepover.

Just as she was about to grab the nacho platter and join everyone at the front, her phone suddenly buzzed.

She blinked when she saw the caller ID: Beelie

Why is Beelzebub calling me? She wondered as she quietly left the room to answer the call.

"Hey, Bee—"

"—WHY are you with LOKI?!"

She nearly flinched at the volume. "Um, why are you yelling?"

"I—" He groaned. "Just answer the question!" He snapped impatiently. "You're having a slumber party? With him?! Why is he there?! Did he do anything to you?!"

"Well, I got a message asking for a sleepover and I thought it was from Göll but it turned out it was just Loki who stole her phone, but I didn't find out about it until af—"

"—Has he tried to hurt you?"

"Huh?"

"Has Loki tried to hurt you?" He demanded.

"Uh, no? He's in a surprisingly good mood. He's gotten super touchy though, which is annoying but—"

"—He's been touching you?" Beelzebub's voice turned to a hushed whisper. He sounded scared. He sounded horrified.

"Whoa, not like that! He's only been poking me around and stuff. Nothing gross. Is something wrong? 'Cause dude, you freaking out is making me freak out," she said worriedly. "Do you think he's gonna try and hurt me or something?"

Suspiciously enough, he didn't answer right away.

"...No," was what he said after some time. "I was merely... concerned."

She frowned. "Do you know something? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I just..." She heard him sigh in frustration. "I'll see you soon. Don't let Loki touch you."

"Soon? Wait, what do you—"

The call ended.

She stared down at the screen in pure confusion. What the fuck was up with him?

She walked back into the room. She had no idea if any of them overheard the conversation, but they looked way too engrossed with watching Hanna get hit by a car.

"What'd I miss?" She asked.

Göll turned to her. "I think Hanna just figured out who A is—AAAAHHHH! IT'S THE DEVIL!" She shrieked, pointing at something behind her.

She whirled around, and yup, she was right. Beelzebub stood at her back, donning his usual emo priestly garb.

"Beel?" She gaped. "What are you—?"

"—I'm joining the slumber party," he said, looking as if it pained him to say so. He looked very out of place with his dark clothes clashing with Göll's pink and girly bedroom. He took one good look at Loki and crinkled his nose. "Are you wearing a nightgown?"

"It's a nightshirt," Loki said through gritted teeth. Percy was surprised to see the sudden animosity in his face. She thought they were on pretty decent terms. Did something happen between them? Did it have to do with the cloak? "Percy, tell this guy he's not invited."

"No, he can stay," she replied.

His jaw dropped. "Wha—?!"

"Beelie's a friend of mine, 'course he can stay," she shrugged.

Loki looked like he was about to have a conniption, but Percy was more concerned with Göll's eerie silence. The poor girl looked as if her soul was about to be reaped.

"Göll..." She said worriedly, dropping down beside her and clutching her clammy hand. "Don't faint again!"

"I think I'm gonna throw up...!" Göll whimpered.

"Don't do that either!"

Beelzebub, completely unbothered by Loki's glare, confidently strode forward and plopped down beside Percy, acting like a physical barrier between her and Loki. Thor had no idea what was going on, but he clearly didn't care and turned his attention back to the show.

Göll started making heaving sounds, so Percy pulled her up and ushered her to the bathroom.

Now that they were gone, Loki grabbed Beelzebub by the front of his cassock. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" He hissed.

"I think it's very obvious what I'm doing," Beelzebub said coldly, wrenching his hand off of him. "Just like how it's obvious to me what you're doing."

The second Beelzebub saw Percy's post on Gossipmonger his breath nearly stopped when he spotted the familiar head of green hair in the background. He knew immediately that Loki was plotting something, and his worries had been confirmed when Percy told him about how touchy the god had been getting.

He's trying to find her mortal spot, he balled his fists so tightly that his nails dug hard into his palm. And once he finds it, he'll—

The bathroom door opened and Percy cheered, "We're back! Thor, what'd we miss?"

"They're in the hospital," he answered tonelessly. "Spencer believes it was Toby who hit Hanna."

"Ah," she nodded, guiding Göll back to the floor. She resettled herself beside Beelzebub and dropped her voice to a whisper (which was pretty pointless since every being here had super hearing).

"Is something wrong? Why did you come here?" Because she sure as hell knew Beelzebub would rather haul his ass over to therapy than attend a teenage girl's slumber party.

"Nothing's wrong," he murmured back, eyes scanning her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she insisted. "And you're lying to me. You came here for a reason, so wh—"

"Oooh what are you two whispering about?" Loki chimed, trying to crawl in-between them. "Can I joi—"

Without wasting a second, Beelzebub grabbed Loki by the face and threw him back. The force was so powerful that he crashed right through the wall.

Everyone stared at him, save for Thor who couldn't care less unless Loki was the one causing trouble.

"My apologies," Beelzebub said monotonously. "I didn't realize how light he was."

Percy and Göll looked at each other. This was gonna be a long slumber party.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

"Enough!" Poseidon grabbed the woman by the back of her head and threw her off his flaccid cock, unable to get hard from her pitiful attempts of arousing him.

"My lord," she squeaked in terror. "I—" But with an angry flick of his hand, her body evaporated into seawater before she could finish her sentence.

Poseidon pushed himself up, teeth gnashed together in frustration as he stared down at himself. He couldn't get hard. Why couldn't he get hard?

He was tempted to reach out and finish the job himself, but stopped. What sort of god would he be if he needed to rely on himself to seek pleasure, when he should be able to use whoever he wanted? He was a god, he was perfect, and a perfect being such as him did not need to lower himself by doing a woman's job.

Angrily, he sheathed his cock back into his tail and swam out of his room, the doors closing with a loud BANG! that echoed throughout the palace. Rather than going back to work like he should've, he swam straight for his daughter's bedchambers without a second thought.

It wasn't until he was burying his face into her pillows did he finally snap out of it and realize what the fuck he was doing.

He pulled himself away, staring dumbfoundedly at her pillow. She had only been gone for a few hours and yet here he was, sniffing her pillows. He was coping terribly without her. How utterly ludicrous. How shameful and embarrassing... and yet...

The sweet scent his daughter left behind on her pillow was enough to finally get him hard. He turned around so his back could rest against the headboard, staring blankly at the rather large bulge poking out at the front of his tail. Just the scent of his daughter was enough to finally get him hard.

Slowly, his hand traveled down his abs before pausing right where his scales met skin.

It is below me to succumb to such animalistic urges, he tried to tell himself. I am a god, not some mindless lust-filled creature.

Holding back his urges, he opted to grab one of his daughter's pillows and hug it tightly to his chest, nose buried in the softness. Percy's scent was practically imprinted all over the room and invading his senses, not that he minded. He could feel his prior restlessness seep out of his body, as if the only remedy he needed was his daughter.

A low groan left his lips as his cock throbbed, refusing to be ignored once more. Cursing in Ancient Greek, he finally gave in. Tentatively, he reached into the slit at the front of his tail and pulled the engorged member out, hissing once the hardened flesh met with the water.

The second he started stroking his own cock, he immediately wanted to stop but couldn't. He couldn't believe just a few hours without his daughter had reduced him to this. But another whiff of Percy's pillow was enough to make him hate this a little less.

He quickly lowered himself into a lying position and turned around, groaning when the sensitive head of his cock brushed against the bed sheets. Percy would surely be upset if he caused a mess on her bed, but he could just have a maid clean it up.

Without any sense of shame or hesitation, he buried his face into her pillow, deeply inhaling her scent. He rolled his hips, grinding his cock against the bed while inhaling more of her scent. Despite the depravity of his actions, he still tried to keep himself restrained by moving painfully slow. He was still a god after all, he refused to start fucking into her bed like a wild animal.

But every time his cock hit a tiny wrinkle in the fabric, it was like a zing! went up his spine. Tiny stimulations like that were enough to make his mind go hazy with need, only worsened by every breath he took of his daughter's scent.

He closed his eyes, letting her scent waft into his nose while he imagined what it would be like if it was his daughter's cunt he was fucking instead of her bed. He imagined her moans being like music to his ears, her little claws digging into his shoulder blades as he drove into her, and her small fangs marking his neck up. It would've been ecstasy, it would've been perfect.

He knew Percy would be better than anyone he had ever had. His little girl was perfect, made only for him and he for her. Yes, now he understood why he felt so off today; no one would ever be able to give him pleasure the way his perfect girl could. All his life he had been living with a missing piece of himself, and the bifrost had just given him the blessing he needed to finally feel complete.

"Percilla," he moaned, his body filled with a craving he had never felt before. He parted his lips, letting his tongue drag against the fabric of Percy's pillow, like he was trying to lap up her remnants.

He made another hard thrust and felt a rough jolt of pleasure when the sheets brushed against a particular spot on the underside of his cock. He pictured Percy throwing her head back in pleasure and leaned forward to start suckling on the pillow as if it were her delicate skin. His fangs poked through the pillowcase and he wondered if she could handle his rough ministrations. Would he need to be gentle with her? Would she beg her to go harder? He could almost hear her begging in that sweet voice of hers.

I need you, I need you, I need you, he thought madly, his hips moving with wild abandon.

His release was drawing closer now, but all he wanted was more.

"Ahh... ha... haaaah...!" He moaned, squeezing his eyes shut when he finally came at last. As he felt his cock spurt streams of semen into the water, he bit into the pillow—nearly tearing it into shreds—as he waited to finish.

Once he was done, with streaks of cum now floating around in the water, he languidly flipped himself over so he could lay down. He stared up at the ceiling of his daughter's bedroom, uncharacteristically breathless and feeling as if he had been born anew.

"...I need to get my daughter back," he decided.

It was time he put an end to this sleepover.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Odin hadn't been expecting to see Poseidon in his palace at 4 o'clock in the morning, mainly because he was pretty sure sleepovers were supposed to last throughout the whole night and the early hours of the morning, but he didn't bother to ask.

"Are you sure?" Odin asked. "It's still too early. They are likely to be asleep."

"I'm certain," Poseidon said, and that was final. He never should've let her attend this sleepover in the first place anyway.

Odin nodded and guided him down to the wing of the palace where the Valkyries resided. Being the youngest, Göll's bedroom was the quickest to reach.

Rather than knocking since he knew it was pointless, Odin quietly opened the door. The sight they saw made them freeze.

Göll was one of the neater girls out of the sisters, so her room was always clean and well-organized, but now it looked as if a twister had formed inside of it. There was a suspiciously Loki-shaped hole on the wall, the television was still blaring some weird mortal tv show, and pillows were strewn around the room, as if they had the biggest pillow fight ever before collapsing to bed.

They stepped into the room and felt even more bewildered when they saw the bodies on the bed. Thor laid on the farthest left side of the large bed. His massive stature took up a good chunk of the space. Right next to him was Göll who was being spooned by a drooling Percy. Right next to her was, to everyone's amazement, the Lord of the Flies (now donning black silk pajamas). To his credit, he at least had the decency to keep a good distance from Percy. Loki's body was on the far right, the upper half of him dangling off the bed. Judging from Beelzebub's outstretched hand, he most likely pushed him off before falling asleep.

"W-w-why is the Devil here?!" Muninn stammered.

"Why is Loki here?" Poseidon demanded.

Odin sighed, like he had been hoping to avoid this conversation. "The second I knew Loki was trying to infiltrate the girls' sleepover, I sent Thor over to watch over him. Rest assured, my son knows how to keep that boy in check. As for Beelzebub... who knows how his mind works."

Poseidon's eye twitched. "You should've alerted me the second Loki—"

At the sound of his voice, Percy began to stir awake. He stopped speaking, watching quietly as her pretty eyes fluttered open, instantly spying them in the dark.

"AAAAAHHHH!" She shrieked in terror, waking everyone up from the volume. Without wasting a second, she grabbed the closest pillow and threw it straight at Poseidon's face as an act of offense. It wasn't until seconds after the pillow fell down to the floor did she finally realize who the 'intruders' were.

Poseidon felt himself deadpan.

"Oh my gods," she breathed out, slumping back down. "It's just you... You gave me a heart attack!"

Everyone stared at her like she was insane, and honestly, who could blame them. It wasn't every day you got to witness the Tyrant of the Seas get hit in the face with a pillow by a teenage girl.

Hand still placed over her chest, she asked him and Odin, "Why were you guys just standing there?! I thought you were intruders trying to kill us!"

"So you decided to use a pillow as a weapon?!" Huginn squawked.

Beelzebub rolled his eyes and immediately sat up, but not without fully pushing Loki off the bed. "Lord Poseidon, Lord Odin."

"Beelzebub," Poseidon narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why are you here?"

"Forgive me my lord, but I came here the second I knew Loki had forced himself into the girls' sleepover. After the prior incidents, I don't quite trust him alone with your daughter. I wouldn't be able to fulfill my research if he kills her after all."

Eventually, Poseidon nodded in acceptance. His explanation made sense and it was detached enough to not have him suspicious of his relationship with his daughter. Beelzebub gave himself a mental pat on the back.

"Percilla, come. We're going back home." He told her.

"Wha? Why?" She whined, not moving from her spot on the bed. "It's too early..."

"You can sleep back home," he said, easily picking her up from the bed. Fortunately, aside from her grumbling, she was too sleepy to make a fuss.

Without letting her say goodbye, he teleported themselves back to their palace—specifically, to her room. The maids had already cleaned it up and replaced the sheets and pillows so she was none the wiser to what he had done.

Percy must really like her sleep, because the second he laid her back down, she snuggled against her new pillow, mumbled a "G'nite, daddy" and went back to sleep.

Poseidon stared at her intensely, trying to fight back the urge to ravish her right then and there. His child was still a growing girl and he knew that mortals needed their sleep. He didn't want to bother her again. So, against his primal desires, he quietly crept into bed and held her from behind. She hadn't bothered to switch into her mer form, so her legs were splayed out.

He held her close to him, unable to fight the temptation of lapping his tongue against her neck and shuddering at the taste of her. As much as he wanted to take her, he would settle with having her in his arms.

It was, after all, where she belonged.

MEMES!

Beelzebub every time Loki tries to get close to Percy: *here*

This ask I got cracked me up :

Fan memes from Noodle_19: 1, 2, 3, 4

My memes: 1, 2

FANART!

Fanart from Noodle_19:

Picrews of Posy babies and a Beelcy baby from daushu:

A Beelcy picrew from girlygrls:

CUTE FANART FROM honeydew-mint:

Percy before she found out what Loki meant about him and the horse:

Percy blue screening:

Percy after reality hit her:

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

Just wanted to add that the Ancient Romans didn't actually dislike Athena/Minerva and Poseidon/Neptune like what Rick says in the books. They were actually highly revered by the Romans, but for my fanfic's sake, I'm gonna stick with what Rick wrote.

And yes, THERE ARE NO ROMAN GODS HERE!!! In PJO verse the gods are canonically influenced by humans and vice versa; they require mortals (ESPECIALLY demigods) to believe in them or else they'll fade. When the Greek gods were 'adopted' by the Romans, they split into two aspects: a Greek and Roman side. This is not the case for ror gods who do not rely on humans' beliefs (they wouldn't be constantly committing genocide on the human race if that were the case). Therefore, when the Romans took over Greece and tried to 'adopt' the Greek gods, the ror Greek gods didn't gain another aspect. Humans don't influence them.

One thing that irks me about Norse mythology is that they got aaaalll this info about Loki's kids and how powerful and deadly they are, but never about Loki's relationship with them So yeah, I had to make some stuff up, but I DO see Loki as the type of dad that would annoy their kids sooo much. YES he loves and cares for his kids, but he SUCKS

Chapter 21: the devil is my part-time babysitter

Summary:

Beelzebub gets a job and immediately regrets it (same, dude)

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

LOKI AGGRESSIVELY JABBED A BLUE colored pin into the life-sized doll's skull, only for the porcelain eyeball to pop off. He grumbled under his breath and jammed it back into the socket before taking another pin and stabbing it into a different area of the skull.

"Not here…"

Jab.

"Not here either…"

Jab.

"Also not here…"

After several minutes of muttering angrily to himself and jabbing pins all over the doll's body, Loki stepped back to admire his work: the lifeless replica of Percy Jackson stood at 5'10", long waves of dark hair threaded into the 'skull', perfectly painted tan skin and glassy sea-green eyes, and nearly a hundred pins stabbed into every piece of skin Loki managed to touch.

All those spots… and yet none were the one he was looking for: her mortal spot. The only spot in her invulnerable body where one strike was all that was needed to take her down.

"This is a whole new low, even for you, Loki," a familiar monotonous voice drawled.

Loki snapped a pin in half and whirled around. Beelzebub stood at the center of his secret room, his presence undetectable thanks to the cloak he now donned.

"A doll? Seriously? Have you no other hobbies?"

Loki flicked a pin at his face but it redirected itself around Beelzebub and hit the far wall instead.

"Why are you still here?" Loki raised a brow. "The sleepover is over. If you're hoping for free breakfast, perhaps you can try finding scraps in the trash."

Rather than responding to his insult, Beelzebub took the time to look at the life-sized Percy doll in front of them. Everything about it, from the dull orbs staring back at him to the amount of pins tacked onto parts of the body, made his metaphorical hackles rise—and he wasn't even the one in danger.

"Why are you so hellbent on killing her?" He asked.

"Easy. She wronged me," Loki answered with a simple shrug. "She attacked me and humiliated me in front of my uncle and my cousin. Did you seriously think I was gonna let that go?"

Beelzebub narrowed his eyes. "...You're lying."

"Huh?!"

"You're lying," he repeated. "You may be the god of deceit, but I'm the Father of Lies*. You're not the only one who rules over that domain. You're lying and you don't even realize it."

Loki's face twitched into hideous anger. "I am NOT!" He shrieked, stomping his foot like a child having a temper tantrum.

Beelzeub's lips curled up into a smirk. "How pathetic. You're like a child unable to understand his own feelings."

Loki hurled a table in his direction, but it ripped itself into pieces before it could even touch him.

He chuckled. "You really are nothing but a child. But fine, I'll go along with your tale. Even if you truly were angry with her about that, she already apologized to you," he pointed out.

"She did," Loki nodded in agreement. "And she truly meant her words. How sweet of her," he sneered. "But I don't care. She pissed me off so I want her dead."

Beelzebub scoffed, sensing the lies pouring out of him like water leaking from a broken dam.

"And here I thought the Greeks were petty…" He rolled his eyes. "That happened months ago. If anyone is to blame for what happened that day, then it is me. I was the one who manipulated her emotions to attack you. I used you both as an experiment. Percy is innocent."

He raised a brow curiously. "An experiment?"

"Yes. I wanted to see whether her sword worked as a Divine Weapon, so I manipulated her emotions to make her attack you in order to test it out."

"Ugh. I should've known. No wonder her anger felt ingenuine," Loki groaned. "But it doesn't matter anymore. She has humiliated me far too much for me to forgive her now—"

"—I don't care about your petty grievances," Beelzebub glared, a noticeable edge to his voice now. "You are hardly innocent, Loki. This all started because she attacked you that day, and that was my fault. Leave Percy alone."

There was a tense silence that followed after, but then Loki grinned wickedly, as if he had just caught him airing out all his dirty laundry.

He threw his head back and started to laugh. "BWAHAHAHA! I really didn't think it was true, but oh my gods it is! You actually care about that half-breed, don't you?!"

Beelzebub refused to speak, opting to glower at him in silence instead.

"Not gonna say anything? I know what's going on in that busy head of yours, Beelie," Loki playfully spat out Percy's beloved nickname for him. "You can't deny it, 'cause I'll know that you're lying. So you're keeping your mouth shut as if that alone isn't obvious enough. You care about her. You like her. You might even love her! All the better for me!"

"You're delusional," Beelzebub scowled. "Trying to convince yourself that you hate her for such a petty reason."

"Like you're any better," Loki snorted. "You're the one trying to convince yourself that she means nothing to you. If that were the case, then why haven't you told her the truth, hmm? Shouldn't you have told her by now that I'm trying to find a way to kill her? Wouldn't that make your job easier? Oh but wait! Wouldn't you have to tell her how I know about her Achilles Heel in the first place? What? Afraid she's gonna hate you for betraying her trust?"

He walked forward and patted him on the shoulder.

"Since you wanna take the blame so much, don't worry. I plan on getting rid of you both in one hit when you least expect it," he cooed, smile widening. "I did tell you that you'd regret messing with me, remember?"

He vanished right after that, leaving Beelzebub alone in the room with the doll.

Beelzebub let out a sigh of frustration, running a hand through his messy hair. Loki was right. He couldn't shield Percy from Loki forever. He could make it easier on himself and just tell her the truth; tell her that he had given up the truth about her Curse of Achilles in exchange for Loki's cloak, knowing that Loki intended to kill her.

It wasn't entirely his fault anyway. She was the one who suggested getting Loki's cloak. He was just doing what she asked.

I'll tell her, he decided, teleporting out of Asgard and back to the bifrost undetected.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Percy didn't expect to catch her father snooping through her phone right after waking up.

Any sense of sleepiness quickly went away the second she caught him holding her phone, casually scrolling through it without a care in the world.

She quickly sat up. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking through your phone," he answered shamelessly, not even bothering to glance her way. "Care to explain why this is my contact name?"

He showed her the screen and she could feel the color in her face drain when she was reminded of what she had decided to name him on her phone: PISSeidon

SHIT! I was just in a silly mood that day, I'm sorry! She internally wailed.

"Um, hahahahaha!" She laughed to hide the terror she was feeling. "Loki! That silly goose! He must have changed some of the names on my phone!"

She tried to make a grab for her phone but he held it away from her and started interrogating her some more. "And who is Lumaow and why do you keep talking about him in every conversation you're in?"

She furrowed her brows. She didn't recognize that name. "Who?"

"Lumaow," he repeated, frowning as if he didn't quite know how to say the name.

It took her a while to realize what he was saying. "Are you talking about 'lmao'?" She would've burst out laughing if she wasn't weirded out by him going through her phone. "That's just text-speak. It's an acronym that stands for 'laughing my ass off'."

His frown only deepened. "Do not use such ugly words, Percilla. It's unbecoming of a princess."

She gave him a sheepish look, but on the inside she was groaning. "Right, sorry. So can I get my phone back now, please?"

"Not yet," he replied, turning his attention back to her phone. "I'm still looking through your Gossipmonger account. I can't believe you bothered to get one. This app is pointless and serves no educational value, it's full of brain dead people speaking out their brain dead opinions…"

And in a typical dad-fashion, he went on to lecture her about the dangers of social media and 'talking to strangers' (which was ridiculous because the only people she was following were those she knew).

"Okay, I got it, don't talk to strangers, unfollow Uncle Zeus, I got it," she waved dismissively. "Can I please have my phone back now? This is a total invasion of my privacy…"

"As your father, you aren't supposed to have privacy from me," he said in a matter of fact tone. "I am to know everything that goes on in your life."

Whatever parenting book he got that idea from seriously needed to be banned from the bookstores because what the fuck?

"You talk to too many people," he continued on with a displeased scowl. "That wretched Titaness, those filthy demigods, even Adamas and Shiva… Why are they—"

Boldly, she reached out and snatched her phone away. Alarm bells were ringing in her head, but she was too affronted to care.

"You can't just go through my phone like that," she told him, frowning.

Poseidon didn't speak for a few seconds, only staring at her as a tense silence followed. It dawned on her that maybe impulsively grabbing the phone from him probably wasn't a good idea, but she didn't waver, only staring back at him unabashedly.

"I'm doing this for your own good," he stated, not mad… but there was something about his tone that she didn't like. The way his face softened too. It looked patronizing. "The sort of people you fraternize with—"

"—Fraternize?"

"It means to associate yourself with people you shouldn't be," he explained in that same blunt, yet patient tone of his.

"I know what fraternize means. I think you're misunderstanding something because these guys are just my friends and—"

"—That's exactly why I'm concerned. You go around carelessly forming bonds with people, through no fault of your own of course. You are just a child, you don't really understand what you're doing. You see, my daughter, these friendships are… empty, and circumstantial at best. You do not need these people in your life. You only need me. What use are these supposed friends of yours when you have a father ready to give you everything you desire?"

Have you lost your mind?! You sound crazy! Were all the things she wanted to say, but doubted it would go well if she actually said them.

Instead, she swallowed down the lump that formed in her throat and tried to go for the peaceful route.

"So you just want me to be miserable and alone forever?" She asked, trying to make him appeal to reason.

He frowned. "No. I just want you to be mine, and I, yours. Everyone else outside of us is irrelevant."

"Okay, and what about Mr. Proteus?" She challenged. "Do I need to start avoiding him too?"

He snorted. "Of course not, don't be ridiculous. Proteus is your servant and tutor. He is not your friend."

She started to shake her head. "No, this is not okay. You can't just control who I—"

He shushed her, holding her face in his hands. Percy stiffened up. A part of her wanted to give in, but the other part of her knew that everything about this was wrong. That what her father was doing was wrong.

"I only do this because you don't know what's best for you," he said gently. "But I do."

She tried to shake her head and scoot away from him. "No, I—"

"—I am your father," he told her, his voice stern, still holding that firm tone that left no arguments. "I am all you need. I am the only one you should hold in your heart, as I do with you. You agree, don't you?"

Percy really didn't want to say yes. What he wanted wasn't right, you were supposed to spread your love to the people around you, not push it onto solely one person. But she didn't want to upset him any further and nodded silently.

He smiled, pleased with her answer. His thumb stroked her cheek lovingly.

"Good..." He whispered, leaning down to kiss her. He kissed her in the corner of her mouth, but his lips were dangerously close to hers. She couldn't help but shiver as he pulled away.

That wasn't right. Instead of kissing her on the cheek or forehead like he usually did, his lips were planted a lot closer to her lips now… Like, right at the corner of her lips. He had never done that before.

Whether it was an accident or not, Poseidon didn't show any reaction aside from the piercing gleam in his eyes.

"I knew you would understand," he murmured, stroking her cheek once more. "Good girl."

Percy's gaze darted away. There was something about the look in his eyes that made her stomach do somersaults.

Suddenly he started moving closer to her. She looked back at him, heart thrumming in her chest when she realized their faces were now inches apart.

And then he froze for a brief second before pulling away.

"It seems we have an unwanted visitor," he said, narrowing his eyes. "I'll deal with that. Go eat your breakfast, I'll see you soon."

She watched wordlessly as he got off the bed and swam out the door.

There was no way her dad was trying to actually kiss her… right?

While Percy got dressed for the day, Poseidon flashed into the throne room with a less than pleased expression.

"Beelzebub," he addressed. "I do not appreciate spontaneous visits to my domain without alerting me beforehand."

As if you'd ever allow me in regardless, Beelzebub thought.

Nevertheless, Poseidon must have been in a good mood because instead of trying to vaporize him for such impertinence, he merely sat down on his throne and motioned for him to speak.

"I came with a request, my lord," he began. "In order to further my research, I'd like to have more access to your daughter. A semi-form of a longitudinal study if you will, except I'll be taking a more active presence in your daughter's life."

"An active presence? What, you wish to be my daughter's caretaker?" Poseidon questioned, his expression darkening. He clearly did not like the idea of anyone else taking care of his daughter.

"No of course not," he said placatingly. "Proteus may teach her the ways of a princess. I will happily take care of everything else. I'll take charge of her academics, watch over her diet and make sure she consumes the appropriate amount of nutrition needed—"

"—Everything you are saying is practically synonymous to 'caretaker'," he glowered. The water next to him started to ripple, his signature trident taking form.

"I can also teach her fractions," Beelzebub quickly offered.

The water stilled.

"Fine."

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Percy nearly choked on her corned beef hash benedict when Poseidon swam into the Great Hall with Beelzebub in tow. Why? Because not only was she not expecting him to be here, but he also wasn't wearing any clothes.

Gone was his usual emo priest getup. Now his bare chest was exposed for everyone to see and Percy had to clench her jaw hard to make sure it wouldn't fall when she saw the sight of his eight pack abs and popping pecs.

Okay, look, she knew judging by his stature of being tall and broad-shouldered that he had to have some form of a good build underneath all those clothes, but she was not expecting him, of all people, to be that muscular. You couldn't blame a girl for being surprised! She wasn't expecting him to have a tattoo either! On the left side of his chest there was a black tattoo of a rose full of thorns. She never pegged him as the type to like tattoos.

Why are you tatted up?! Why are you ripped?! Why do you have boobs?! Good gods, put some clothes on! Aren't you cold?!

But then her eyes trailed lower and she really couldn't stop her jaw from falling this time. He was donning a mer form now, but instead of having a fish tail, he had tentacles. He was a cecaelia, a subset of merfolk that was half-octopus. From the waist down, he had six black tentacles dotted by blood red suckers.

Aside from the red suckers, he kind of reminded her of Ursula from The Little Mermaid.

It was then that she realized that she might have been gawking too long because now they were both staring at her. Quickly, she cleared her throat and tried to act cool.

"Hey, Beelzeboob—bub—whatever, uh—what are you doing here?"

She inwardly cringed. So much for acting cool.

"Your father appointed me as your new caretaker, second to him of course," Beelzebub replied smoothly, probably pretending he didn't catch her staring at him for her sake (which she appreciated).

"So like an unpaid babysitter?" She blinked.

"...Essentially."

She frowned. "Awww… daddy, you should pay him." She insisted.

"Divine society does not rely on a monetary system. That is a burden the humans have created for themselves," Beelzebub explained. He looked up at Poseidon. "I see now why you are concerned, my lord. Percy speaks too much about human society. I will do my best to remedy that."

Poseidon nodded in approval. "See that you will. Percilla, on the weekdays, Beelzebub is in charge of your education, dietary needs, and mortal health. As for your weekly sessions together, those will be moved to the weekends."

"But what about Mr. Proteus?"

"He will still be in charge of training you in your duties as a princess. Everything else he used to do will be delegated to Beelzebub."

"Oh… okay," Percy didn't really see a problem with that. She was actually quite happy! After Poseidon's red-flagged spiel about how she 'didn't need friends', having Beelzebub around more was a relief because somehow Beelzebub managed to avoid her father's radar.

(Maybe he hadn't read their one-sided text conversations where she would spam him with annoying memes and emojis, or maybe he did read the conversation and commended Beelzebub's lack of response, calling it 'professionalism'.)

Breakfast resumed, but not like normal. Sure she and her father were eating together like they usually would, but Beelzebub stood just a few feet away from them, all quiet and emotionless as he waited for them to finish. Percy tried to gesture for him to join them, but both Beelzebub and Poseidon rejected the idea.

After breakfast, she was always sent off to the library where all of her lessons took place. Except, now it was Beelzebub taking the charge.

"Okay, what exactly is going on?" She asked bluntly once she took a seat.

He picked up a tome. "Our first lesson is history, so I'll be starting where Proteus left off—"

"—That's not what I meant and you know it," she cut him off, arms crossed. "Last night, you freaked out when you realized Loki was with me and joined the slumber party where you constantly made sure to keep him away, and now you're here volunteering to be my babysitter. You're not being very discreet, you know."

He sighed, setting the tome back down. "Of all the times your brain decided to work…"

"Hey!" She flicked him on the forehead with the water.

"It's really nothing you need to worry about. This is… my problem, alright?" He said, as if Loki wasn't a major threat to her life at this very moment. "I'll take care of things."

She frowned in concern. "Is Loki bothering you? Does this have to do with the cloak? I noticed you're not wearing it."

"I managed to procure it," he replied, lifting up his hand where an amethyst bracelet dangled around his wrist. "It's able to take multiple forms and I can control whether or not it's activated."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh! How'd you manage to get it?"

"I have my ways," he answered vaguely.

She started to talk again, but then gasped, as if realizing something. "Is that why you're acting so weird about Loki? Is he mad about you taking the cloak? Do you need help?"

"There's no need for you to offer help—"

"—'Course there is! We're friends."

Beelzebub went still. "...Friends, huh?"

"Yeah," she nodded, like she hadn't just signed her death warrant from those words alone.

He looked away from her, unable to take the honesty shining in her eyes. She meant it. She considered themselves as friends. She cared about him. She wanted to help him.

…And he had given away her fatal weakness to Loki.

He swallowed thickly. "...I don't need your help. I am a god. I can handle this on my own."

"...Oh. Sorry." He didn't see it, but she shrunk in her seat.

"Let's begin with the lesson now."

The next few days remained like that.

He could tell that Percy was struggling to get used to his now constant presence. He was around her pretty much 24/7; making sure she learned the right things, making sure she ate the right foods (she got pouty when he limited her dessert), making sure she went to bed at a healthy time, making sure she read the right books, making sure she watched the right shows… it was never ending. Aside from Poseidon, he was the only other person who had total control over her life.

Meanwhile, he was beginning to understand the dynamic between father and daughter. The Tyrant of the Seas loved his daughter very, very, VERY much. He was openly affectionate towards her, even when he or the staff were in the room. Beelzebub had witnessed too many instances where Poseidon would hold his daughter, hands too close to certain places on her body, the way he would kiss her close to her lips, the way he would pull her onto his lap…

And he could tell that Percy was growing increasingly uncomfortable about it. She would always glance at the other people in the room, ashamed that they were around to witness it. And then she would look at him… like she was asking for help before she would turn away in shame.

"—Can't take it anymore," she was telling him by the end of the week, voice hushed like she was afraid someone might overhear. "He hasn't always been like this… I think. He's gotten so overbearing. He's been snooping through my phone and I already had to tell Mnemosyne and the Valkyries to be careful of what they send me, but this is so fucked up!"

"How?" He asked, genuinely curious because he couldn't see anything wrong with the constant surveillance.

She looked at him as if he had gone crazy. "How? How?! Dude, if you had a kid, would you be snooping through their phone, trying to control their life, and isolating them from having friends because 'yOu'Re alL TheY nEeD'?"

He blinked. "Yes."

She threw her hands up in the air. "You all need to go to therapy."

He shook his head, unable to get her. "Come on, finish your test. It's Friday, once you're done with this, you have the rest of the weekend off. Well, aside from our session tomorrow."

"At least I get to leave," she grumbled, picking up her pencil and beginning her exam.

She really wasn't enjoying it here anymore… He knew from experience that humans and animals started to get antsy when trapped, and Percy was beginning to resemble that.

"...How about I take you to Valhalla tomorrow?" He said, only to instantly straighten up because what the fuck? Why did he say that?

Percy was already perking up before he could take it back. "Really?!" There were practically stars in her eyes.

He was about to reject it… but it was hard to let the 'no' out of his mouth. Especially when she was looking at him like that. In the end, he sighed in defeat and nodded silently.

She fist-pumped, "Aw yessss!"

"But," he went on. "I will only take you out if you pass the test. Now go on with it."

As she eagerly got started, Beelzebub silently cursed his recklessness.

First off, Poseidon would never allow her to go to Valhalla with him.

Secondly, there was still Loki to worry about.

Why the Hel did he ever offer to take her to Valhalla?!

After he spent an hour quietly questioning his life choices, Percy finally finished her test with a cheery, "I'm done!"

It's fine, Beelzebub tried to tell himself. It's a math test and she's horrible at it. There's no way she'll pass. And he was correct. By the time he finished with corrections, he was absolutely impressed… at how wrong she was. No wonder Proteus was more than happy to relinquish the teaching job to me.

Everything was fine up until she got to the questions that involved fractions. Some she hadn't even bothered to answer and just doodled cartoon flies with sad faces. As for the ones she did answer, he could tell she just made up the numbers.

He couldn't believe it. This was the girl who might one day kill him. Was this really the way he wanted to go? Killed by a teenage girl who couldn't do fractions? Was he really willing to be remembered like this?

"Sooo…" Percy trailed off, giving him a hopeful look. "How'd I do?"

He stared at her, half wanting to throttle her and the other half wanting to quit this job.

"Be honest with me, Percy, do you actually think you passed?"

"...No. But I tried my best!"

"You failed."

She shrunk in her seat. "So does this mean I can't go to Valhalla?"

Poseidon would never allow this and Loki's in Valhalla, he reminded himself, but the more he stared at her stupid, puppy-like stare, the less inclined he was to listen to logic and reason.

"Oh fine. We'll go to Valhalla." He rubbed his forehead. Gods couldn't get headaches, but he had a feeling he was about to get one soon.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Beelzebub would soon realize that venturing out to Valhalla with Percy was like taking your puppy out for a walk… without a leash.

After he deceived Poseidon into thinking he and Percy were having another one of their usual research/experimentation sessions at Helheim, he threw Loki's cloak over her and went straight to the bifrost. He practically had to drag her through the rainbow bridge because of the sensory overload she was suffering from, and once they were in Valhalla, she nearly hurled into a bush.

"I hate using the bifrost," she gagged. "At least knock me out before pulling me in."

He rolled his eyes. "You mortals and your inferior brains. And put your hood back up, you can't let anyone see you."

He ignored her grumbles as he propped her hood back up and made sure Loki's cloak covered the rest of her body. As lovely as her light green outfit was, it was best she remained hidden.

"People barely even know me and the cloak hides my presence anyway, they won't know I'm related to Poseidon," she protested, trying to push the hood back so she could at least see.

"I'd rather not risk it."

"And how do you change the size of this thing? It's way too big on me…" She whined. He had forgotten to change the size of the cloak before forcing it onto her, so it was too big for her body. The end of the cloak dragged on the ground, the sleeves covered her hands, and the hood nearly covered half of her face.

"I'm afraid you'll have to deal with it. Teaching you will be pointless." He sighed, hiding an amused smirk.

"Hey!"

"Are you ready to start walking? Remember, I cannot detect you with the cloak on, so stay near me at all times."

"Yeah, I know…"

"And never remove it either. Any god will be able to sense you here."

"I know."

After she recovered from the trip, they were able to start walking around. Beelzebub had no idea where they were even going, and he hoped she wasn't relying on him to act as a tour guide because he rarely frequented the nicer areas of Valhalla.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked her.

She shrugged. "Dunno. Never had a destination in mind. I just wanted to get outta the house. Dad was beginning to drive me crazy."

"...I doubt my presence helped much."

Another shrug, but no response.

"Percy…" He began. "I'm sorry for what I said back then."

"Huh?"

"When I first came down to Atlantis. You were trying to offer me help, but I was callous to you. I'm sorry for that."

Her eyes widened, like she hadn't expected him to apologize for that. "Oh, that? It's cool dude, I get that you were stressed so you didn't mean what you said."

"You're truly not upset?" He asked, a little surprised.

"I mean, I was kinda hurt, but I understood that you were going through something," she grinned at him reassuringly. Her smile was so bright that it almost hurt for him to look at it. "I'm more curious as to how you got my dad to hire you as my part-time babysitter, especially after he gave me that stupid lecture about how I 'don't need friends'." She mocked Poseidon's cold voice.

"Poseidon, like many gods, sees me as a recluse, and they're not wrong," he explained. "I don't have any friends and I do not enjoy socializing with people. I see others strictly as variables and subjects to potential experiments and am incapable of forming personal bonds with others. Poseidon trusts me to never form a bond with you. That is why he felt it was safe to hire me."

(Plus, he offered to teach her how to do fractions. He was pretty sure that was his selling point.)

"...But that's not true though," Percy insisted. "You are capable of forming personal bonds with others. Uncle Hades likes you, Uncle Adamas is comfortable going over to your house, and you're not as boring and stoic around them. And… well, we're friends too, aren't we?"

He wanted to tell her no, for her own sake and his, but even after killing the people he loved and spending billions of years all alone, he was still so pitifully weak.

So like a coward, instead of giving her an answer, he turned away and changed the subject, "Oh look. There's an ice cream parlor."

He started walking towards it, trying to ignore the way Percy's face fell after his dismissal.

Since they were on the human side of Valhalla (it would be too risky to be on the gods' side), his godly presence was enough to deter a bunch of humans from the surrounding vicinity, so he didn't have to fall in line (not that he would've regardless).

But unfortunately for him, getting her a cone of blue ice cream wasn't enough to get her spirits back up. They walked around the streets of whatever human-infested city they were in, Percy miserably lapping up her ice cream while he trudged on beside her, regretting ever coming here.

This… was just one big mess. He could've easily avoided this if he just stopped acting irrational and told her the truth. Or even better; stopped caring so much. So what if she felt betrayed by what he had done? So what if she would want nothing to do with him afterwards? So what if Loki actually managed to kill her? He still had the multiverse to look into after all.

Unfortunately, while Beelzebub was having a mental health crisis over his sense of morality, he failed to realize that, in his frustration, he was walking too quickly and completely forgot to check back on the very girl who constantly occupied his mind.

When Percy looked up from her ice cream, Beelzebub was nowhere to be found.

"...Beel?" She called out, looking around. "Beel? Geez, did he get sick of me that quickly…?" She tried to joke, but it only made her feel worse.

She took another lick of her ice cream. I can't believe it. That jerk seriously just left me here?

She instinctively reached for her phone, only to remember that her father had confiscated it after he caught her listening to human music because, according to him, "human music is bad for you because it can give you brain damage".

So she ended up wandering aimlessly, wondering if Beelzebub really did just ditch her or if he just hadn't realized that they had separated. Either way, her mood just took another nosedive.

How am I even supposed to go back? She took another lick. If I can't find Beelzebub, maybe I can ask someone for help…?

She retraced her steps and went back to the ice cream stand. Now that Beelzebub was gone, there were more humans inside it, but the second she stepped in, they all tensed up and stared at her fearfully, as if expecting her to obliterate them.

She cleared her throat, feeling a little awkward now that all eyes were on her.

"Um, hello," she made a harmless wave. "I'm, uh, lost. I was wondering if you knew how to get to the god's side of Valhalla?"

Someone cleared their throat, and a gloved hand rose. Sitting at the far back of the parlor was a man who definitely wasn't from the modern times. He was decked out in a Victorian era suit with a steampunk tophat and a monocle over one of his mismatched eyes. Another thing she noticed, he was the only person here who didn't react in fear when she entered.

He gave her a polite smile. "There's a teleportation point nearby here. I can take you, if you'd like?" He offered, a noticeable British accent in his voice.

She nodded and they started to leave the building.

"My name is Jack, my lady," he introduced himself as he held the door for her.

"I'm Percy," she replied as he started leading her away.

He just hummed, eyes planted on her.

She was beginning to regret accepting his offer. Throughout the whole walk, he wouldn't keep his eyes off of her. He stared at her in a way a scientist would stare at bacteria in a petri dish. What made it more unnerving were his eyes; one was grey, but the other was red. She had never met a human with red eyes before, aside from albinism, but this red was too deep for it to be that.

He began to speak up, "You know Percy, you have a very nice color."

She blinked, then took a cautious step away. "Dude, racist much? Say that again and I'll shove this ice cream cone so far up your ass that you can't even shit it out—"

"—Oh! No, no, no!" He laughed heartily. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize how insensitive that sounded. I didn't mean your skin, I meant, well… Ah, our meeting shall be short so it's pointless to explain. Let's just say I can see things most people can't."

Slowly, she started to relax, but she kept a tight grip on her ice cream just in case she needed to use it as a weapon.

"Like… you can see ghosts and stuff?" She asked, admittedly curious.

"Something else," he answered vaguely, before stopping. "Ah, here we are."

Right in front of them was some massive stone archway that was as big as a building. It had glowing green runes carved on it, and despite her dyslexia, she spent enough time with Loki to realize that the runes were Asgardian enchantments. Inside the archway was a billowy veil that would show various locations throughout Valhalla like one of those digital picture frames.

"This is what allows us to freely explore Valhalla," Jack began. "But humans rarely venture to the gods' side of the realm. We aren't welcome there. May I ask why you go there? Are you a goddess, Percy?"

"Oh, no, definitely not," she chuckled with a shake of her head. "I'm mortal. I just need… help with something."

"And you think anyone from there is going to help you?" He asked, doubtful.

She nodded. "Yeah! I have some friends on that side. That other dude who was with me was my babysitter, but we got separated and I couldn't find him, so I was just hoping that maybe Shiva or Mnemosyne or one of the Valkyries could help me find a way back home?"

Jack looked more and more bewildered as she casually listed off the names of some immortal beings. "Back home?"

"I'm from Midgard," she replied.

"You're alive?" He asked incredulously.

"Um… yeah?" Was she not supposed to tell people that?

Suddenly Jack threw his head back and burst out into laughter. Percy nearly dropped her ice cream cone in shock.

"Apologies," he said between laughs. "I just realized that things here are beginning to get interesting. You must be the child people have been talking about nowadays."

"People have been talking about me?"

"So here's how to use a teleportation point," he said swiftly as if she hadn't spoken. "You can either say aloud the location you wish to go to, or sign it, or write it down and present it to the archway. As long as it's in Valhalla, it shall appear. Wait until the image changes and step in. Simple, right?"

"Okay…" She stared at the archway. "Mnemosyne's house."

Nothing happened.

"Um. Lady Mnemosyne's House? Lady Mnemosyne's palace? Temple? Uh…"

"There might not be a teleportation point near her house," Jack told her. "Try being less specific."

"Um… Olympus, then?"

The veil shimmered and a new image appeared: the familiar sight of shiny large palaces, temples, hills, mountains, and clouds. Olympus.

Her face lit up. "That's it! Thanks for helping me, Jack!"

He gave her a kind smile in return, but his eyes had a steely glint to them.

"It was no problem, young lady," he replied. "But Percy, you seem like a good child, so let me give you some advice: to be so involved with the gods will only lead you to ruin. Be careful."

And without another word, he shoved her through the veil.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Good news: she didn't faceplant like an idiot after being thrown out of the archway.

Bad news: her ice cream landed splat on some reptilian dude's head.

Uh oh, she thought as a pair of slitted eyes glared at her.

"You think this is funny?!" He hissed, his forked tongue darted between his teeth as he started to storm towards her. He looked pretty ridiculous given that he didn't even bother to remove the ice cream from his head.

Behind him, his other snake-friend took one good look at her and his scales nearly went white.

"Oh shit…!" He squeaked, scrambling forward to grab his friend. "I know that girl! That's Poseidon's kid!"

One minute the other guy looked ready to swallow her whole, and now he looked like he just took a giant shit in his pants.

"Y-y-y-you're Percy?!" He stuttered, oozing pure fear.

She furrowed her brows. "How do you know my na—"

"—I'M SO SORRY, MY LADY! PLEASE DON'T TELL YOUR FATHER ABOUT MEEEE!" He wailed. A second later, he and his friend were speeding away. Her ice cream remained stuck on his head.

Percy blinked.

This was a new experience. Usually, back home, monster attacks went like this:

Random asshole: Oh you're the daughter of Poseidon? WELL THAT MAKES ME WANT TO KILL YOU MORE! DIE!

Meanwhile in here, it went more like this:

Random asshole: Y-Y-You're the daughter of Poseidon?! AHHH! I'M SO SORRY, PLEASE DON'T TELL HIM ABOUT THIS!

It was actually really nice to not have monsters want to kill you every day! This was definitely something she could get used to.

And yet…

"To be so involved with the gods will only lead you to ruin." While the shove was totally unnecessary, the warning had cemented itself into her head.

It wasn't anything new; she learned the same thing back in her own universe but to hear it again in this one made her spine tingle.

She knew very well what would happen once a god laid their eyes on a mortal. Their lives fell apart and their ruination—ruination, not death, because there were worse things than death and some had the misfortune of facing it—became stories for the next generations to learn from.

Even gods with good intentions did more bad than good. Whether they liked it or not, the gods' love language was pain. She learned that first-hand with Luke and Hermes. Luke was always meant to die, but sometimes she wondered that if Hermes had just obeyed the Ancient Laws, if he just stayed away and stopped trying to save Luke from his fate then maybe, just maybe, Luke would've had a kinder ending.

It doesn't matter, I'll be fine, she tried to tell herself. I'll return home eventually and I'll go back to being ignored by the gods… until they need me to fix their messes again.

She shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking so negatively about her home, it would only make her want to stay here more and she couldn't do that.

Suddenly, she paused, the familiar sound of reed pipes whistling in the air. It filled her with a sense of nostalgia. Grover. She whirled around until she found the source: a group of satyrs playing a melody as the plants started to dance around them. The sight of them made her heart clench. She missed Grover so much.

Since she was still donning the cloak, they didn't sense her until she drew closer and cleared her throat. The music stopped, even the plants stopped dancing. The satyrs stared at her the way satyrs back home would stare at statues of Pan.

She waved. "Hi. Sorry for interrupting. I'm a little lost? Do you know the way to Lady Mnemosyne's house?"

It was like a dam broke.

The one in front perked up. "I know where that is!"

"So do I!"

"Me too!"

"I can take you there!"

"No, I can!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

The first guy let out a sharp whistle and everyone shut up. He gave them all pointed looks before flashing her an innocent smile. "We can all walk with you to Lady Mnemosyne's house."

"Oh. Well, you don't all need to—"

"—No, we insist!"

One of them ambled over to her and started dragging her forward like an eager child. Another hurried over to her other side, grabbing her arm, to lead her away too. Soon enough, she had a whole crowd of satyrs happily leading her away while the guy who spoke first stayed at the front to guide them.

"Um, thank you," she said awkwardly, slipping one of her arms free.

"It's nothing," one of them said brightly. "Say, are you nymph?"

"Oh, no. I'm—"

She neither heard or saw it coming. One second, she was able to give the satyr her name and not even a millisecond later, there was an arrow of light sticking through his forehead.

Her eyes widened and she jumped away in horror. The other satyrs didn't realize anything was wrong until his body finally hit the ground. Then they began to scream in terror.

The sun beamed over them and while Percy could only feel the harsh sting on her skin, the other satyrs were literally steaming as they screamed in agony.

Apollo descended from the skies, the sun's rays flaring angrily behind him. His golden eyes were glowing with anger.

"It seems like the flaying of Marsyas was not a good enough lesson for you satyrs," his melodious voice echoed throughout the area. "You dare touch what belongs to me? For that, you shall burn."

One by one the satyrs burst into flames and the volume of their screams reached tenfold.

Apollo's golden lips curled into a sadistic smile, but it was quickly wiped away when he felt a tidal wave wipe him out from behind. It smacked him to the ground, meanwhile the flames that nearly incinerated the satyrs were quickly doused, but that was all Percy could do to alleviate their pain.

Apollo lifted his head up and coughed out water. He could hear Percy storming towards his direction, but before he could look up at her, she delivered a harsh kick to his face that made him roll back several feet.

He slowed to a stop, facing the skies. Percy quickly took over his vision. Even in her anger she was perfection. He could feel a dazed smile take over his lips as she lifted up her foot and started stomping on his face.

"What—" STOMP! "The fuck—" STOMP. "Is—your—problem?!" STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!

She stopped what she was doing and grabbed him by the front of his robes. Apollo quickly assumed that she was going to bring him in for a kiss, but all she did was yell at him more.

"Are you even listening to me?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why would you DO that?!" She shrieked, shaking him around.

The dopey look on his face melted away. "Wait, what? Y-you don't know? I was saving you!"

She stared at him like she couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth.

"Saving me…?" She said shakily. "You just KILLED a bunch of innocent satyrs who were doing NOTHING to me!"

He broke out into laughter. "'Innocent' and 'satyrs' are not words that belong together in a sentence, my sweet. Satyrs are not innocent. Did your father not warn you about them?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Satyrs are nothing but deviants who go around trying to seduce and rape women and nymphs," he told her.

She wanted to hit him again. That was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. "Those satyrs were just trying to take me to Mnemosyne's place."

He chuckled, "Mnemosyne's palace is in the other direction, dearest. They were trying to lure you away to have their fun with you," his eyes flashed dangerously. "You should have let me punish them."

Percy fell silent.

Were they really…? It was hard to believe. She had always seen satyrs as friendly and warm. They were protectors. They kept newfound demigods safe and tried to take them to camp. Different universe or not, she could never picture them… harming a woman. It was just too dark. Too horrible. It went against everything she believed.

Due to her distracted state, she didn't realize that a bunch of golden threads had sneakily wrapped themselves around her body until it was too late. The second Apollo pulled his hands back, Percy was forced to release his robes and her whole body was immobilized.

Before she could topple over, Apollo sat up and caught her. Within a second, he was standing tall, her tied-up body now cradled in his arms.

"Let go of me!" She thrashed.

"Settle down, my love. Let me take you away from the area. I'm sure the smell of burnt goat is bothering you too." He chuckled, as if the thought of the bloodshed he caused was funny.

He started to fly away with her. She continued fighting against him. At least the Curse of Achilles would prevent her from getting flattened like a pancake should she fall. She was just about to yank at one of his piercings when he finally stopped and said, "Look down."

"Fuck you!"

He beamed. "Awww, you're so cute! But anyway, Percy, look down!"

Grunting, she looked down and paused. Right below them was Mnemosyne's palace… but then that meant…

"See? I told you those satyrs were leading you in the wrong direction," Apollo huffed. "They wanted to hurt you, but I saved you just in time. Are you not grateful?"

"...Put me down."

"That's not a thank you~" He sang.

"You were right, is that what you wanna hear? Put me down already." She glared.

He sighed dreamily. "You're so lovely even when you're mad at me… I can't wait until we get married!"

"I'm not marrying you, dude."

He lit up. "Call me husband!"

"No."

He pouted, but then he gasped excitedly, as if an idea popped into his head. "I know what to do! How about I take you on a date?"

She started to shake her head, but before she could get a word out, he had already teleported themselves away.

He took her to some lookout points at the top of a cliff. Surrounding them were stone columns with angels carved onto them. Above them, the sun shined brightly, leaving a gentle halo of light around her head. She wondered if Apollo was doing that on purpose.

A table of food had already been set up for them. Against her will, he plopped her down on one of the chairs before placing himself uncomfortably close to her seat.

"Isn't this lovely?" He beamed.

She had to admit, it was actually pretty beautiful. The top of the cliff gave her a good view of the scattered Greek buildings and palaces, a floating waterfall whose mist created a rainbow, and soft clouds surrounding the area. It was magical, and she probably would've been able to enjoy it more if she wasn't fucking tied up.

Her arms and legs tried pulling against the golden threads, but they were too strong for her to break through or even loosen up. She wondered if she could try gnawing on it, but Apollo would surely notice that.

If only she could call her dad like last time… But that would only screw her and Beelzebub over since they weren't supposed to be up here in the first place.

I'll just play along for now, she tried to strategize. And I'll strike once he unties me.

"It's not a proper date without any food!" Apollo clapped his hands and a bright light appeared over the table. When it died out, the table was now filled with platters of traditional Greek meals that were cooked to a level of perfection that would make Michelin star restaurants cry in envy.

She noticed that her golden goblet was filled with wine.

"I don't drink wine," she told him. "Too young."

"Nonsense! Nobody's too young for wine!" He laughed. "Why, when Dionysus was born, my father fed him with wine in a bottle!"

Percy stared at him in bewilderment. Why on earth would anyone trust Zeus with a baby? That was just asking for disaster.

"Please just give me something else," she said, tired.

"Oh alright. Strawberry lemonade?" He asked. At her nod, the dark red liquid in her goblet turned into a light pink and the familiar scent of lemonade drifted into her nose. To her relief, he had the decency to add a straw since she couldn't, you know, actually hold her drink.

"Can you, um, scoot back a bit?" She asked politely.

He scooted his chair back a centimeter.

"A little bit more."

Another centimeter.

"Bit more than that."

And another centimeter.

"You know what, I'll just move my chair instea—" She started to move, but Apollo quickly scrambled to stop her.

"No, wait! I'll move," he said, finally scooting away to give her more space. He now sat across from her.

"Thanks." She said blandly, and tried to continue enjoying her lemonade but then she started to feel his foot playfully nudge hers. "Stop playing footsies with me."

He immediately stopped.

"Also, how do you expect me to eat anything? I'm tied up, remember?" She pointed out, raising a brow as she tried gesturing to all the threads wrapped around her.

Rather than taking the bait and releasing her like she hoped he would, he gave her a handsome smile and said reassuringly, "Not to worry! I'm going to feed you, of course! What sort of husband would I be if I cannot even feed my own wife?"

"What kind of husband kills people in front of his wife, kidnaps her, and ties her up to forcefully take her out on a date?" She shot back.

"The kind of husband who wants to protect his wife," he smiled charmingly, before his expression turned into something… kinder. With a curl of his finger, her right arm was pulled up and laid over the table, like a marionette on strings. He reached out and grasped her hand, his warm fingers rubbing soothingly over her knuckles. "Are you still upset about the satyrs, dear?"

His voice sounded like honey. It was warm and inviting, the kind of feeling you get when you're listening to your favorite playlist on a regular day.

"Of course I am," she replied tightly. How did he expect her to eat after he just made her watch him incinerate people?

"Well that's just silly! They're only satyrs, sweetheart. They were going to rape you if I hadn't stepped in." He giggled.

"Like you're any better?" She deadpanned. "You kidnapped me and tried to strip me naked against my will."

To her surprise, he actually deflated.

"Ah, right. About that…" He cleared his throat delicately. "I would like to apologize for my… forwardness. I understand that I may have startled you a bit."

She frowned. "You did a lot more than startle me."

He winced. "Yes, I know. I truly am sorry for that."

She narrowed her eyes. "Yeah right. The only reason you're apologizing is because you're afraid of my dad."

His eyes widened, "No, no! That's not it! Yes, I am very much afraid of your father—especially now that I realized that I, for some strange reason, was not actually his favorite nephew—but my remorse is genuine!"

"And I'm supposed to buy that?"

He furrowed his brows. "Buy… what?"

"I'm supposed to believe you?" She clarified, inwardly snorting at how different this Apollo was from her own. The Apollo back home loved using modern day slang. This Apollo seemed too fanciful for that.

"I am the god of truth, I cannot lie even if I want to." He explained.

"That's a nice excuse." If she could cross her arms, she would.

He looked genuinely despaired at the thought of her seeing him as a liar. Pleadingly, he asked, "What if I swore it on the River Styx? Would you believe me then?"

She stiffened. "The River Styx?" She echoed. They swore oaths on that river here too?

He nodded, "Yes. It is one of the most serious oaths anyone can make. If a god were to perjure themselves, they would be given the worst punishment. Would swearing on the Styx that I've been speaking nothing but the truth satisfy you?"

She gave him an unimpressed look. She knew from firsthand experience that gods swearing on the River Styx was pointless. "As if that's gonna—wait. What'd you say?"

He tilted his head. "What?"

"You said… gods get punished for breaking their oaths?" She said slowly.

He nodded his head, looking… ashamed, for some reason. "Yes. It has… happened to me." He admitted.

She leaned forward—well, as much as she could, being tied up and all. "Really?"

He grimaced. "Yes. It was millennia ago. My son Phaethon, he was just a little tyke at the time, but he had me swear an oath on the River Styx to grant him anything he wanted for a day. Foolishly, I accepted and swore I would give him whatever he wanted. Imagine my horror when he asked to drive my sun chariot!"

"So you didn't let him drive and broke your oath?"

"Er, no," he answered sheepishly. "I let him drive it."

"Dude."

"I didn't think he would be such a terrible driver!"

"Didn't you say he was a tyke? Isn't that like a toddler or something?"

"Well, yes…"

She stared at him judgmentally. "...You let yourself get bound to a super serious and potentially deadly oath by a toddler?"

"I thought he would ask for toys!" He cried out defensively. "I didn't think he would ask to drive my sun chariot!"

"Aren't you the god of prophecies? Shouldn't you have seen that coming?"

"It—it doesn't work like that!" He sputtered, cheeks flushed gold. "And I wasn't finished. I let my son drive, but the Scorpio constellation scared him and he lost control of the chariot and scorched Midgar. I took over the reins and drove us back to safety, but because of what I did, I ended up breaking my oath. I was stripped of my divinity and was forced to live in Midgar as a human for nine years*…"

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"It sounds awful, doesn't it?" He shuddered. "It was horrible. I was constantly hungry. It was the worst time to be a human, especially since my son accidentally scorched more than half of Midgar's agriculture!"

While Apollo continued to ramble on about the woes of being human, Percy blanked out.

An oath sworn on the River Styx had serious repercussions not only on mortals, but on gods too. They actually got punished. Unlike back home, where the gods remained untouchable and the punishment fell onto whoever else was closest to them. She and Thalia were still suffering because of their father's actions. Their brutal lives were the punishment.

That's not fair! I didn't do anything wrong! she remembered always thinking, back when she was still young and bitter. Oh, if only the gods were actually punished back home then all of this anguish could've been avoided…

"—so would you like me to swear on the River Styx that I've been entirely truthful to you?" Apollo's voice drew her back in.

She turned her focus back to him. "No. It's okay. I believe you."

He blinked, not expecting that. "Are you sure? I can—"

"—No, it's really okay," she shook her head. "I'm just sick of oaths. I don't wanna think about them right now."

He must have been able to read her expression, because he nodded his head and didn't push her any further. His lips then curled into a sunny smile.

"Well then! I believe it's about time for us to eat, yes?" He picked up a spoonful of moussaka from her plate and held it out for her. "Say ahhh~"

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Might as well just eat…

Begrudgingly, she opened her mouth and he began to feed her.

It was kind of embarrassing to be spoon-fed like this, but honestly, she had done cringier things and at least nobody was around to witness this! She let herself enjoy the meal, which was easy since the food was pretty good.

The hard part was looking at Apollo. The god practically had heart eyes as he fed her, not even bothering to feed himself. The lovestruck look on his face made her want to turn away.

"I'm full now," she told him. "Thank you for, um, everything. Aside from the part where you traumatized me… but anyway, can you let me go now?"

By now, the sun was setting and the skies were a beautiful blend of purple, orange, and yellow. Her father would be going to Helheim soon to pick her up from Beelzebub's castle, and he would not be pleased to find them both missing. She might get let off easily, but Beelzebub certainly wouldn't.

His face fell with disappointment, but thankfully for her, he nodded in acceptance. "Oh alri—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the atmosphere drastically changed. The skies, which was once a beautiful sunset, blackened like spilled ink, red cracks revealed behind the clouds as if they were bleeding. The nature around them started to die and the smell of decay invaded their noses as the leftover food became rotten. The sound of buzzing flies replaced the chirping birds. Percy was struck by a sense of dread and terrible fear.

Apollo was glaring at something behind her. Before she could turn around, two hands clasped around her shoulders like iron.

She could hear Beelzebub's icy voice behind her, "Am I interrupting something?"

MEMES!

Memes: 1, 2, 3

FANART!

Here's some beautiful fanarts from yagodnyizefir :

Cute chibis fanart from aniat101:

Picrews from littlestar-11821!!:

Picrew of Percy in the POV of Apollo (he's delusional, she would never smile at him like this LMAO) from nobodyunimportant:

Picrew from fanficboysarebae:

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

The Devil is also known as the "Father of Lies" so that's why Beelzebub referred to himself as that

Yeah in the myths satyrs were known to (mostly unsuccessfully) seduce and rape women and nymphs. They're veeery different from their pjo counterparts lol.

Phaeton is more commonly believed to be Helios' son, but there are some who believe it to be Apollo. Obviously, I went with the Apollo route

Swearing an oath on the River Styx is taken much more seriously in ror verse than in pjo verse. In pjo verse, gods don't get punished because they're gods, so them swearing is pointless. The punishment transfers to whoever's close to them; in the case of Zeus and Poseidon, Thalia and Percy are being punished for their father's actions. In the myths, gods did get punished for breaking the oath, so I did the same for the ror gods which is why they take the oath more seriously.

For those wanting to find out the REAL reason why Loki wants to kill Percy, here's an unhelpful vague hint: he has a very stupid reason and you're all probably gonna facepalm once you find out lol.

Chapter 22: hades screws himself over

Summary:

Hades is on top of the world, but he done goofed up and went crashing down.

Notes:

Treasure this update cuz I don't think I'll be able to update until after the 19th (I have too many exams coming up)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

WARNING: smut hehe

PERCY FELT LIKE SHE WAS stuck between a rock and a hard place. If it hadn't been for the Curse of Achilles, she was pretty sure Beelzebub would've shattered her shoulders by now. She wished he would let her go though, because Apollo looked ready to burst into an inferno and she didn't want to get caught up in that.

"Lord of the Flies," Apollo addressed him coldly. His demeanor had turned a complete 180. He was all charming smiles and waxing poetry about her during their (forced) date, but now his cold fury was starting to remind her of Poseidon.

He hadn't looked this dangerous when he was dealing with the satyrs.

"You are interrupting our date." Apollo told him.

Beelzebub's eyes traveled over the strong threads of gold that bound Percy. "This doesn't look like a date to me. Let her go."

Rather than obeying, Apollo asked, "Why are you here?"

She could feel Beelzebub's grip on her shoulders tighten. "I am her primary caregiver when her father isn't around. Now release her."

Apollo's face fell into disbelief. "Why in the Three Realms would Lord Poseidon have you take care of his precious daughter?"

"That's easy. He actually trusts me," he replied bluntly before the threat returned to his voice. "I won't repeat myself again, Apollo. Release her."

The pink haired god smiled tightly. "...Not to worry. I was just about to."

The golden threads slipped away from her and receded back to Apollo's gauntlets. Finally, she was able to move. She stretched her limbs out with a sigh of relief. Beelzebub offered his hand to her and she took it. He helped her to stand beside him, but he didn't let her go.

"Has anyone ever told you you're like a puppy? I ought to leash you," he told her.

His words would've made her laugh, but there was something brewing in his blood-red eyes that made her falter. His eyes smoldered as he stared at her, like he really meant his words.

He turned back to Apollo, "Be grateful that I won't report this to Lord Poseidon. Now leave us, Apollo."

Apollo's eyes were practically burning holes into their interlocked hands. With gritted teeth, he flashed Beelzebub one last glare before teleporting away.

The second he was gone, it was as if all of Beelzebub's patience snapped.

Before she could get a word in, Percy suddenly found herself slammed against the nearest column. She could feel the stone crack against her back as Beelzebub pressed her in harder.

"You just can't follow orders, can you?" Beelzebub hissed, grabbing her by the jaw. His nails had turned to claws. She could feel them digging into her skin, trying fruitlessly to pierce through. "I told you to stay with me at—all—times."

"You—"

"—Do you understand how much danger you could've been in?" He demanded. "Apollo is not a god to be trifled with. And you went on a date with him? Do you know what happens to the people Apollo falls in love with?!"

His glare was maddening. He held her tight and forced images into her head; a young Spartan prince turning into a bed of hyacinths, a terrified nymph's last cry before she turned into a tree, a priestess being violated by a Greek warrior. He showed her the brutality of what it meant to be loved by Apollo.

It's for your own good, he thought as he glared at her horrified face. His numerous experiments on all kinds of beings helped him learn one thing: pain and fear were the only ways for people to truly learn.

Apollo was notorious for bringing tragedy to everyone he fell for. It didn't matter if they reciprocated his feelings or not; once he wanted them, there was nothing anyone can do to save them. Their fate was set.

She was already in too much danger.

Loki was trying to find a way to kill her. And as for him… While his situation was quite similar to Apollo's, he at least cared enough to put his heart under lock and key. Meanwhile, Apollo had the tendency to give his heart away to the first pretty face he could find, not even caring if it meant the downfall of the one he supposedly 'loves'.

If he had to make her fear Apollo to keep her safe, then he would happily terrorize her as much as he needed to.

When the visions finished, Percy felt disoriented and breathless. She nearly collapsed had she not been pinned by him.

Beelzebub brought his face closer to hers. "Do not act so foolishly again, do you understand me? I will NOT let you turn into another flower for his graveyard!"

"Get—off!" She struck his chest.

The hit was hard enough to send him back, but she lurched forward and slammed him into the column behind him. But it wasn't the force of her hands that sent him back. He knew from his tests that she was too physically weak to send a god flying back. It was something else. Almost like telekinesis, but instead it was coming from within. Something inside his body made him move back.

Before he could try to figure out what just happened, Percy quickly had him pinned against the column. Their positions were now switched.

She glared at him and Beelzebub could finally see a hint of Poseidon in her. But while Poseidon's wrath was as cold as the Arctic, Percy's was more like a volcano finally erupting. "You left me, Beelzebub! So don't you dare get angry at me when you were the one who walked off!"

There was a violent flash of thunder and suddenly, rain was falling over them. She had created a storm in her rage, but she hardly cared now.

She had to raise her voice to be heard over the sound of pouring rain, harsh winds, and booming thunder. "And I didn't want to go on a date with Apollo, he kidnapped me after torturing a bunch of satyrs! You think I wanted to be tied up?!"

The winds picked up. Beelzebub could feel the rain harshly stinging his face as she grew angrier. A hurricane was beginning to form, and they were at the very center of it.

"Percy! Percy! PERCY!" He shouted over the storm.

"I am so SICK of this, gods dammit!" She shrieked, and she wasn't just talking about him anymore. "My dad's taking control over my life, you're constantly monitoring me, I can't even LEAVE my own damn house, I just wanted ONE day of peace where I can do my own thing, but you fucking gods are driving me crazy!"

Beelzebub watched as she raged on. He had seen reactions like this so many times before in his test subjects; they would lash out like this whenever he pushed them to the brink. He had never cared before but now that he was witnessing the same reaction coming from her… well, it left a sour taste on his tongue and he didn't like it.

Wordlessly, he pulled her to him and held her tight as the storm raged on above them. She stiffened in his hold, but all he did was slide down to the ground and continued to hold her.

She struggled against him, but he held on tight as the skies roared in anger.

He was pretty sure this was the first time he ever comforted someone. Back when Lilith and his friends were alive, he was the one that always needed comfort. He remembered the way they would hold him and how he would sink into their warmth.

Now, it was his turn to do the comforting. It was his turn to lend his warmth to someone. But the problem with that was that he no longer had any warmth to give. Percy had been his warmth but now it was all sapped away.

"I shouldn't have done that," he murmured, his voice barely audible due to the storm. "I'm sorry, Percy."

For a while, she didn't speak. But when she finally did, she spoke with a bitterness he had never heard from her before. "...No matter the universe, you gods always need to take something from me. My safety, my privacy, my life."

Despite all the information he knew about her, Percy rarely ever spoke about her personal life back in her universe. She spoke about her gods from time to time, but only about what they were like and never what they were like towards her. The bitterness in her voice made it obvious that not all of them were kind to her.

"Your father loves you," he reminded her.

He could feel her nod against his chest. "He does," she agreed softly. "But it's not normal, Beelzebub. He doesn't let me breathe anymore. I thought maybe things would calm down when you started working under him, but he's got you breathing down my neck too."

As much as he tried, Beelzebub truly couldn't understand why this was hurting her so much. To him, Percy had it all. She had a family that loved her to the ends of the world; her aunts and grandmother liked her, Zeus adored her, Hades doted on her relentlessly, Adamas was soft on her, and Poseidon… Poseidon loved her. It showed in the way he kept her within the safety of their palace, the way his eyes tracked her every move, the way he protected her viciously. He had never seen a love so consuming.

But rather than embracing it, Percy acted as if she was a caged animal.

"What was your father like back in your universe?" He asked curiously.

"He's… kind," she said, but she sounded hesitant. Like she couldn't say anymore because she didn't know him that well. "He cares about me and my mom."

He waited for her to say more about him, but that was it. It bothered him how little she could say about her own father. It painted a picture in his head that he didn't like.

"Do you want to go back home?" He asked.

She knew he wasn't talking about her home in Atlantis.

"I… I don't know," she admitted, closing her eyes in shame.

If he had a heart, it would've leapt out of his chest. There was a part of her that wanted to stay?

(He hated the familiar glimmer of hope that sparked within him.)

Percy looked up. "The storm's cleared."

He glanced up. The skies were still grey, but it was no longer storming.

"Come on." He helped her stand up. It was then that he realized that he was the only one soaked. Percy was perfectly dry.

"I'm sorry for all of that," she mumbled.

He shook his head. "No, you needn't apologize for anything. I was the one that made this happen. I'm sorry, Percy. I shouldn't have hurt you like that. I was… worried when I realized that you were missing, and I lashed out when I saw that you were with Apollo. I let my emotions get the best of me."

She gave him a weary look. "You don't seem to like Apollo that much."

"Apollo brings tragedy to everyone he falls for," he replied, unable to hide the edge in his voice. "It's something we both have in common, but while I try my best to prevent it, Apollo never learns his lesson."

Percy looked like she wanted to ask about that last part, but he wasn't ready to talk about… condition yet.

"We should head back to Helheim," he said. "Before your father gets there and finds out we're gone."

She grimaced.

"And Percy…" He added. "I can't do anything about your father, but… I can take you to Valhalla more often."

She snapped her head towards him. "Really?"

He nodded silently.

A tentative smile appeared on her face. "Thanks, Beel."

He didn't respond. He wordlessly grabbed her hand and teleported them back to the bifrost, trying to ignore the warmth that spread across his body at the sight of her smile.

Here I am, giving my heart away again, he thought to himself bitterly. I'm no better than Apollo.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Percy suppressed the urge to shudder when she felt her father's hands trail over her skin. For every piece of skin his hands would trail over, a string of pearls would appear. Soon enough, she was dressed head-to-toe in silky sea foam and pearls.

Poseidon's hands didn't draw away even after he was done. Instead, they rested on her shoulders, his thumbs making soothing circular motions. She met his gaze on the full-body mirror. The intensity in his gaze made her cheeks flush with an unknown emotion.

"You look beautiful," he murmured, a gentle smile forming on his face—a rare expression that was only reserved for his daughter. He leaned down to press a chaste kiss on her bare shoulder, relishing in the way goosebumps rose on her skin.

She beamed at the compliment. "You think so?"

He hummed in agreement, pulling away to gaze back at her through the mirror. "Absolutely perfect. Pearls suit you nicely."

Percy was all grins as she looked back at herself in the large mirror. Back in her universe, the closest thing she ever got to pearls were the fake ones she used to get in Forever 21 back when she was still in middle school. Now here she was, decked out in the real thing and it hadn't cost her a dime.

"Thank you, daddy," she chirped, admiring the pearl choker she adorned and the unbelievably soft feel of the seafoam. Her father already taught her how to make clothes out of water and seafoam months ago, but the material she could make was nowhere as good as his.

He hummed pleasantly, pecking her on the cheek before he pulled her away. "I think this will be all. Do you feel ready to go now?"

The mention of where they needed to go made her smile nearly fall. She gulped inaudibly. "Do we really have to go?"

"Zeus invited us, and as much as I'd rather have you stay at home, my presence is expected by my mother and I do not like the thought of being separated from you," he admitted shamelessly. "So we shall go together."

"Why is he hosting this party anyway? Shouldn't it be Uncle Hades?" She couldn't help but ask.

A few days ago they had been invited to a 'divorce party' (Zeus' words, not hers) to celebrate Hades' freshly official divorce. She hadn't stepped foot back in Hades' palace after… that incident, and the thought of going back to where it all happened made her extremely anxious.

"Zeus will use any excuse to have a party," Poseidon scowled at the thought of his irresponsible little brother. But then he saw the troubled look on her face and frowned. "What is the matter, daughter?"

"Erm, nothing," she lied. "I'm ready now. Let's get going."

He scanned her expression for a while, before finally nodding his head in acceptance. Then, he took her hand and teleported them to Helheim.

They arrived straight to Hades' palace—the ballroom more specifically. Hades wasn't the type to host large parties, so this was probably the busiest it had ever been. There were tons of gods mingling around while lampads served them and fancy music played in the background. Despite the party being Zeus' idea, it was a pretty tame one. Though she doubted her father would've brought her along if it was as rowdy as the previous party she accidentally attended.

She saw the rest of the Kronides spread around the ballroom. Hera was with her husband, trying to stop him from dancing on a table. Hestia seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with Hades and Rhea while his children surrounded them. Even Adamas was there, though his face was covered by a helmet that resembled the head of a fly—Beelzebub's creation no doubt. Demeter was drinking a glass of wine, laughing joyously with other gods.

And then she spotted Persephone.

Persephone was the happiest anyone had ever seen her. She was quite literally frolicking around the ballroom, colorful flower petals shedding from her hair and drifting down to the floor. The sight of it made Percy recoil; she knew they weren't the same aphrodisiacs as before, but she didn't think she could ever look at flowers the same way again.

Her father began to tug her over to where Rhea, Hestia, and Hades were—the only three people he probably tolerated in this whole realm—before she suddenly spoke up, "Daddy, I'm gonna go get a drink."

"I will go with you," he decided.

"No, it's okay!" She reassured, trying fruitlessly to slip her hand out of his hand.

"Stop trying to leave my side. I do not wish to part from you," he told her bluntly, only tightening his grip on her hand.

She stared at him incredulously. Did he seriously just say that out loud without an ounce of shame? Didn't he realize how weird he sounded? She glanced around nervously to see if anyone overheard, but thankfully they were too busy talking to each other.

"It'll be quick, I promise! I'm just gonna grab a drink." She said.

He narrowed his eyes before finally relenting. "Fine. But no alcohol."

She smiled and nodded. Once they parted ways, she headed straight for the table of refreshments. She would've gone to one of the lampads, but she doubted the drinks they were offering were non-alcoholic.

There were a few gods standing around the table, but the one that caught her attention was—

"Oh." The goddess said as she approached. "I know you. You're that Percy kid my dad's so obsessed with."

Percy hadn't been expecting a conversation, so she was kinda caught off guard. "Huh?"

"I'm Hel." She introduced herself.

Her appearance reminded her of Melinoe's, but while Melinoe's body was half white and half black, Hel's body was half alive and half dead. One half of her body was blue and looked like a decaying corpse. One eye was milky white, half of her teeth looked blackened rotten, and her hair was black.

The other half—the part of her that was alive—was flesh colored with fair skin. One eye was violet, her teeth were straight and white, and her hair was an oddly familiar shade of green…

"Oh my gods," it clicked in Percy's head immediately. "You're Loki's daughter."

She nodded her head. "Yup." Despite her terrifying appearance, she sounded no different from a teenage girl stuck in a boring math class.

"Uh… it's nice to meet you?" She tried to smile, but she remembered what Hel just said. "Wait, what'd you say about your dad?"

"My dad's, like, super obsessed with you," she casually replied.

Percy prayed she misheard her. "Huh?"

"Yeah it's kinda weird. Sometimes my mom lets me stay over at dad's place, and the last time I was there, he just kept muttering about you and making weird drawings. I recognized your face from it."

"And… why are you telling me this?"

She shrugged. "I just thought it was important to tell you since the last time my dad got this obsessed with someone, it didn't end well for that guy."

Her stomach sank. "Who was it?"

And then she said the dreaded name she hoped she wouldn't hear: "Baldur."

Percy immediately set her drink down. She had heard enough.

"Thanks for telling me this," she told Hel, who only hummed nonchalantly in response. Quickly, she whirled around, ready to just spend the rest of the party by her father's side, but she hadn't noticed the lampad who seemed to have materialized right in front of her.

She knocked right into the Underworld nymph, her platter of drinks spilling all over the both of them. She gasped, face flushed in embarrassment.

"Oh gods, I-I am so sorry," she stammered, feeling the gazes of multiple party goers now on them.

"My lady, it was my fault," the lampad bowed her head, looking just as flustered as she was. With a wave of her hand, the spilled drinks disappeared from view, but their dresses were still soaked with wine. "Please, let me take you somewhere more private to fix yourself up."

"No, it's okay, I can just—" she was about to tell her that she could just dry herself off with her powers, but the lampad suddenly had an iron grip around her wrist and was dragging her off to a nearby hallway.

They stopped once they reached a door.

"You can clean yourself up in here, my lady," she said.

"Um. Okay, thanks." She felt like all of this was a little unnecessary, but she stepped into the bathroom anyway.

Effortlessly, she controlled the wine that stained her clothes to leave the fabric. It levitated in the air for a few moments before she drained it down the sink. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded; the stain was gone and she was good to go. Easy peasy. There was really no need for her to get dragged all the way into some bathroom.

She began to open the door, "Um, I'm done! Thanks for that—"

She froze.

The lampad was gone. Not only that, but so was the whole hallway she was just using moments ago. Now, she was in a whole other area, much larger than the ballroom. The second she left the bathroom, the door disappeared behind her.

Warily, she began to look around. She had never been here before. Tall walls of onyx and obsidian surrounded her with very few torchlights to provide light. She looked to the front of the room and paused.

On the wall was a massive golden framed portrait of Hades surrounded by Adamas, Poseidon, and Zeus.

And sitting underneath that portrait was Hades.

She immediately stiffened.

He smiled widely when he saw. "Percy!" He greeted her joyfully. "I've been waiting for you."

"Uncle," she returned with a nervous smile. Her eyes darted around for an escape route, but she couldn't find any doors.

"Come. It's been a while since we've last seen each other. I missed your company," he said, motioning her forward.

She swallowed thickly. "I should really go back to the party."

As if expecting that response, his lips curled up into a knowing smirk. "Are you sure? But I have something you might want back."

He lifted up his hand and held his pointer finger out. A piece of very familiar fabric dangled in the air.

Her eyes shot open in alarm. It was her underwear. The very same one that Hades had ripped apart when they were—

"Give that back!" She squawked in embarrassment, sprinting forward and trying to snatch it away from him.

He let out a hearty laugh and wrapped an arm around her waist, swiftly pulling her onto his lap as he held her underwear at arms length.

"Apologies, my dear. I didn't intend to tease you, but I couldn't help it," he chuckled. "You have no need for this anymore. I ripped it during that… night of passion we had."

Before she could snatch it, it disappeared in a poof of black smoke.

It was then that she realized what sort of position they were in. She was on his lap. Again. Her mind traveled back to that night and she could feel her whole body heat up.

"I-I need to go," she tried to scramble off, but he held on to her waist and repositioned themselves so she would sit on his thigh, her back now pressed to his chest.

"Your eagerness to leave makes me think you've been trying to avoid me this whole time," Hades simpered. "Is that true, Percy?"

"Um… no?"

She could feel his chuckle reverberate from his chest.

"How hurtful," he crooned. "You didn't miss me at all? Didn't even think about your dear old uncle?"

He hugged her from behind, but his hands were roaming her body. She breathed in shakily when they traveled the expanse of her chest before going down to her bare stomach.

"Because I thought about you every day," he purred into her ear. His body practically enveloped hers. "And do you want to know what I would do whenever I thought of you?"

She felt herself start to tremble as they drew closer to the waistline of her skirt. The worst part was that she couldn't tell if she was shaking from fear or excitement. The arm that was pressed against his chest now gripped the front of his shirt desperately.

"Every day I would stroke my cock as I thought about you," he whispered into her ear. "I couldn't help myself. I was addicted to you. Even during the divorce proceedings, I was too distracted to focus. All I could think about was when I could finally have you all—to—my—self," as he punctuated the last few words, his legs moved to part her own, leaving her spread out on his lap.

"And now here you are," he finished with a pleased smile.

Percy held on to his shoulder. "Uncle, wait…"

"I have waited long enough," there was a dark edge to his voice that left her shuddering. He hiked her skirt up, leaving her exposed to him. He stared down at her body with a hungry gaze.

"How cute," he cooed. "You're wearing lace just for me?"

His fingers began prodding her mound, making her inch back in a futile attempt to get away. He rubbed her through her underwear, but she was already getting wet after the first few strokes.

"Your body is more honest than you, little one," he noted in amusement. "Come now, won't you say something? I want to hear your sweet voice."

Percy could do nothing but whimper as he stroked her faster. Her arm that was gripping his shoulder tightened its grasp as she buried her face against his chest, desperate to hide her burning face.

They weren't being drugged by aphrodisiacs this time! So how could this be happening again? How could she have let this happen again?

She tried in vain to squeeze her legs together in a poor attempt to hide herself from him, but he slid his arm from under her leg and grabbed the meat of her thigh. With one swift pull, he managed to spread her legs even further apart.

"Now, now," he scolded her. "Silly girl, did you really think that would work?"

He added more pressure and she finally let out a startled squeal. He laughed, and prodded her some more. It was like he was trying to finger her through her underwear.

"Uncle, no more," she pleaded, breathlessly. Her nails were practically digging into his skin at this point.

"You're just so tense, sweet girl," he cooed. His voice was like fine silk. Hearing him speak so close against her ears made her body burn all over. "Why don't you let your uncle help you, hmmm?"

"N-no," she tried to shake her head, tried to sit up and force herself out of his lap but he bent her to his will. With a single push, his finger went straight into her pussy, still clad in underwear. Her spine arched and she nearly screamed. "Uncle—!"

"You're too cute when you try to fight against your own needs," he chuckled, rubbing her from the inside. "But don't worry~ Your dear uncle will take good care of you."

She could feel the silky fabric of her underwear now rubbing against her inner walls. Her toes curled at the white-blinding pleasure that coursed through her. Wrong, wrong, wrong! All of this is wrong! Her mind screamed at her to see reason, to remember what was right, but all that was drowned out by the sound of her moans when Hades's finger started to move faster.

He stared down at her from above and felt his mind go hazy with lust, as if he had been drugged once again. But he knew Persephone had nothing to do with it this time, this was just him and her now. He let out a low groan as his eyes roamed her face. Her expression was just too cute for him to resist—nose scrunched up, pretty pink lips parted ajar, and sea green eyes brimming with unshed tears. And the way she gasped and moaned from him… It was all too much for one god to handle!

"Uncle!" Her hips jerked again when she felt his silk-covered finger touch her clit.

"Looks like I found it~" He hummed in satisfaction. She grew even wetter as he continued to rub and prod that spot.

She threw her head back, practically sobbing for more. He cooed in sympathy and leaned down to kiss her shoulder. "Poor little girl, you need your uncle's help to get off, don't you? Can't do it on your own, hmm? Your fingers are just too small to reach all the good places," he dug in again, and she moaned out loud.

Just one finger was enough to drive her crazy. And he wasn't even fully in yet, her underwear restricted him from going any further. The poor thing must've really been stressed, he thought pityingly. He wanted to rip off the last barrier and show her what he could really do with his fingers, but that would be too much for him. He feared he would actually lose control and take her right on his throne—and he wanted to save that moment for a more special occasion.

A special occasion that would soon happen, he reminded himself smugly.

The throne room was full of wet squelches and breathy moans as he continued to finger her through her underwear. At this point, there was no use in wearing the thing anymore; they would be too soaked and stretched out for her now. Not that he cared. The thought of her walking around his palace with a leaking pussy and nothing to hide it only made his cock grow harder beneath his pants.

His other hand that he was using to hold her leg back moved to join its partner in stroking Percy. He expected her to try and squeeze her legs shut in another pointless act of disobedience, but she didn't. To his pleasure, rather than closing shut, she braced her leg onto the arm of his throne to keep herself spread for him.

Good girl, he noted with a smile. She's learning. He kissed the crown of her head as a show of appreciation for her good behavior.

He grabbed the front of her underwear and yanked it up, feeling her nearly jump from his lap as it pulled tightly against her soaked cunt. He dared to look down and sucked a breath when he saw the reddened lips of her pussy strained at the sides of her underwear. He could see her juices dripping down to his pant leg. The sight of her semi-exposed almost drove him crazy.

Against his better judgment, his other hand reached down and dared to touch the exposed skin. Percy whimpered, head thrown back as he rubbed the parts of her cunt that were left out in the air for anyone to see. He yanked at her underwear again and she let out another squeal.

"U-uncle, I can't—!" She begged, tears slipping down her eyes.

"Shh," he hushed her soothingly, kissing her head. "You're almost there, little one. You can do this."

He yanked once more, wiggling it around where he knew it would rub against the sensitive nub of her clit.

And then it finally happened. She cried out for him one more time and arched her back as she squirted right on his lap. He watched adoringly as she came undone, her juices spurting all over the place. As she tried to relax, he reached down and swiped her abused cunt, making sure to get as much of her cum as he could. Then, he licked his finger up, moaning in ecstasy.

"Mmmm," he moaned appreciatively. "Well done, Percy. You did so good."

She didn't respond, too breathless. She laid slump against his chest, breathing hard. Her legs were still spread open, so Hades spent the next few minutes rubbing circles on her thigh as he waited for her to recover.

Slowly, Percy came to. She quietly shut her legs, trying to ignore the sting she felt between them.

"...Why?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Hm?" Hades twiddled with her hair.

"Why did you…?" Her face burned just thinking of it.

"Ah," he smiled. "Well, isn't it obvious? I already told you. I drove myself crazy thinking about you since that night. I just couldn't help myself. Plus, you were so tense throughout the whole party, Percy. What kind of an uncle would I be if I didn't help my ailing niece relieve herself?"

"Besides," he continued, grabbing her cheek and angling her head up so she could look at him. "You didn't regret it."

He leaned down to kiss her. As if on instinct, her eyes closed and she allowed his tongue to slip through her mouth. She could feel herself get wet once more as he stroked her with his tongue. This kiss was messier than before, so when they parted ways, thin lines of drool were dribbling down both of their faces.

He swiped the saliva off her face with his thumb and stuck it into his mouth as if to savor their combined tastes.

"Well then," he grinned. "Shall we return to the party?"

It took her a while to register what he said but when she did, her heart nearly stopped. The party. Her father.

Hades snapped his fingers and suddenly she was standing in a familiar hallway. Hades was nowhere to be found.

She looked down at herself. Her legs still felt like jello, but Hades must have done something to fix up her appearance. Her hair was styled to perfection like before, her clothes were no longer in disarray, and even her whole body no longer felt burning hot.

But one thing stayed the same, and that was her slick-covered thighs. As she walked forward with unsteady steps, she could feel that her underwear was still soaked and that she was still… sensitive down there.

Did he seriously expect her to walk around like this?!

She closed her eyes in embarrassment. Damn you, Uncle…!

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Hades paused in mid-conversation, feeling a part of his consciousness return to him. Across from him, his mother and his siblings were quick to notice it.

"What were you doing that you needed to split your consciousness again?" Rhea shook her head. "You know I do not like it when you work yourself too hard, son."

"Don't worry, mother. There was an important thing I needed to do, but I've finished," he smiled charmingly. His eyes turned to Poseidon, whose glaring eyes scanned the ballroom for a certain someone.

"Poseidon?"

"You should've had that server executed," he practically spat, his icy glare now turned to him. "How dare she embarrass my daughter like that. And to handle her so roughly too…"

Hestia sighed. "It was an accident, brother."

Now it was her turn to get glared at. Hades quickly stepped in.

"I'll make sure she's disciplined accordingly," he lied. There was no way he was going to punish a servant who had done exactly as he had asked her to. It was thanks to her that he was able to have that sweet, delectable moment with his niece after all.

"Percilla is still not back," Poseidon fumed. "I'm going to go look for her."

He rose from his seat, but Hades quickly brought a hand up.

"Wait a moment, brother."

"What?" He hissed.

"Poseidon," Rhea warned. "Watch your tone."

Poseidon's eye twitched and he rounded on Rhea, but Hades grabbed his arm and cleared his throat. "Brother, I'd like to speak with you. Privately, please."

Both Rhea and Hestia looked at him curiously.

"Whatever you want can wait. I need to find my daughter," Poseidon said in a clipped tone.

"I assure you, she's just fine. But there is something of utmost importance that I must ask you." Hades said seriously.

Poseidon looked about ready to yank his arm away and storm out, but Rhea and Hestia quickly rose to their feet. They could tell that Hades was serious about whatever he wanted to talk about.

"Poseidon, you speak with Hades," Hestia told him. "We will go look for Percy."

Fortunately, the blonde seemed to accept that and relented. As the goddesses left to go search for the younger girl, Hades grabbed his flute of champagne before leading Poseidon out to a balcony that overlooked Helheim.

"Well?" Poseidon demanded. "What is it?"

Hades took a sip of his drink for liquid courage.

I got this, he thought confidently, his lips curling up into a smirk.

"About your daughter's hand in marriage…" He started.

"Oh." Poseidon's face turned into a sneer. "You must have heard about what Apollo did then, have you?"

Hades blinked. That… wasn't quite where he was hoping to go with the conversation, but he decided to be curious. "Apollo?"

"Yes. That wretched vermin kidnapped my daughter and tried to force himself on her. After I saved her, he came to my palace the next day and had the gall to beg for forgiveness and for my daughter's hand in marriage. I should've flayed that boy for such impertinence, but Percilla asked me not to. Honestly… my daughter is too kind sometimes."

Hades was gripping his flute too hard that the glass was beginning to crack. Apollo had done what? He hadn't heard of this. In Ancient Greek traditions, a suitor required the approval of the woman's father if he wished to marry her. That was how he managed to marry Persephone since Zeus was more than happy to give her away.

But… there were other cases where a man would violate a woman instead. To avoid bringing shame to her and her family—especially if she fell pregnant—she would have no choice but to marry her rapist. It was what happened to Hera and numerous other goddesses.

To think Percy could've ended up like that too… As much as he cared for his nephew, Apollo was famous for bringing doom to his lovers. He would happily lock his nephew up in Tartarus if it meant keeping Percy safe from him.

"It's a good thing you stopped him just in time then," Hades nodded in approval. "Pity you couldn't punish him further."

"Yes," Poseidon's eyes darkened. "It truly is a pity."

"So," he went on. "About marrying Percy off—"

"—I don't plan to marry her off to anyone at all," Poseidon interrupted.

Hades nearly dropped his champagne. "Y-you don't?"

If he caught the uncharacteristic stammer, he didn't point it out. "No. My daughter shall marry me."

The glass flute slipped from his fingers. "Pardon?"

"My daughter shall marry me," he repeated. "I refuse to hand her over to anyone. Percilla is perfect in every way, nobody else deserves her but me."

"Brother," Hades began to frown in disapproval. "You should not marry someone out of simple lust—"

"Lust?" He scoffed, sounding greatly offended. "You think this is simple lust?"

Hades went still. "Poseidon… are you telling me that you're in love with your daughter?"

"Yes."

Hades felt his world go sideways. This couldn't be happening. This could not be happening. But he watched, in horrified silence, as Poseidon's expression actually turned soft. His eyes, a once merciless icy blue, now resembled the beauty of a glittering sea.

It was true. He genuinely loved Percy—in more ways than one.

"Brother," Poseidon turned to him, and gods—Hades couldn't believe this—his eyes were still glittering. "I… must thank you."

"...Thank me?" He barely uttered out.

He nodded. "Yes. When Percilla was born, I initially wanted nothing to do with her, but I knew I had no choice but to raise her. I fathered her heartlessly, but it was you who stuck around and made sure I cared for her well. You protected her from my rage and you taught me that I needed to act as a proper father for her and love her as my daughter. If it wasn't for your insistence—as annoying as it was—I might not have given Percy a chance. I would not have realized how wonderful of a child she is, and how lucky I am that the bifrost has blessed me with her."

This was probably the most words he had ever heard his usually apathetic brother ever speak in one go and all Hades could feel was despair. Poseidon was in love for the first time ever and while Hades would've happily celebrated this never-before-seen occasion, he had to fall in love with Percy of all people—the very girl Hades wished to marry.

And now he couldn't.

In order to have a proper marriage, he needed the father's approval. There was no way he could ever have it now.

"Again, thank you, brother, for teaching me to love my daughter," Poseidon finally finished.

"Ahaha… hah…" Hades let out a weak laugh. "No need to thank me, Poseidon. Really… don't…"

"So what was this important question you wanted to ask me?" He said.

Hades quickly racked his brain for something to say. "I… wanted to ask… what you were planning to give Zeus for his upcoming birthday?"

Poseidon looked ready to kill him. "You brought me out here for this?"

"I was worried that Zeus could overhear us."

"This is a waste of my time."

"I just wanted to make sure we didn't end up getting him the same present." He smiled, trying to calm his nerves down.

His blue eyes flared. "A present?" He scoffed. "Zeus should be grateful I even bother to attend his stupid parties. As if I even want to celebrate the day of his wretched existence. The only reason I go to his shitty parties is because mother makes me."

"Right, right, of course…" Hades smiled feebly. "Thank you for following me out here, Poseidon. I, ah, must retire now…"

Poseidon merely raised a brow, but stepped aside so Hades could walk past him. Almost numbly, he returned to the ballroom where the party was still going. A lampad carrying a tray full of wine walked by, and he stopped them.

"I will be taking this, thank you," he mumbled, taking the whole tray from them. He walked to an empty table and started drowning himself in drinks.

This was going to be a long night.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

While Hades drowned himself in his sorrows, Apollo got busy with his latest painting.

Artemis stood at the doorway of one of his many art rooms, staring at him in concern.

She was doing one of her occasional visits to her brother's palace, only to be bombarded by his harem of now heartbroken nymphs. According to them, Apollo had been cooped up in one of the rooms of his palace and they were forbidden from entering and knocking on the door. So, being the good big sister she was, she went to check on him.

She hadn't been expecting this.

The room was full of newly finished artworks. Paintings of a very familiar face floated around the room, waiting to be framed. Marble busts of a beautiful girl with wavy hair stood on pedestals. Clay sculptures of her body stood at every corner of the room.

Every inch of the place was covered with masterpieces of Percilla, Poseidon's treasured daughter.

This was not good.

"Brother," she called out warily. "What… is this?" Artemis was almost too afraid to ask.

Apollo beamed. Finally, someone to talk about his new masterpieces with! Eagerly, he rose to his feet and shoved a painting at her face.

"This is a painting done in my perspective of the moment Percilla was about to step on my face," he sighed dreamily. He then showed her several more pieces. "And this is a painting of what the bottom of her shoe looks like."

She could do nothing but stare at her brother as he began to lovingly caress the dark strokes of Percy's shoe sole.

"...She stepped on your face?"

"Stomped on it," he corrected, a lovesick look on his face. "Several times in fact. It was wonderful. Especially the part where she kicked me."

"Why did she do all that?"

"Oh, I killed a bunch of satyrs that were about to rape her," he answered dismissively. "Apparently her father never warned her about them because she got angry at me for rescuing her! Can you believe that, sister? I was trying to do a good thing and she was upset with me! But alas, even in her rage she was beautiful…!"

He let out another dreamy sigh as he stared at the painting of her shoe, reminiscing the memory of her stepping on his face.

"And then I took her out on a date!" He lit up. "It was so romantic, sister, you should've seen it! The sun was out, the skies were blue, and the food was delicious! I had to tie her up with my threads, but I don't think she minded! She even let me feed her!"

Artemis couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You're telling me you traumatized her, got beaten up, then you kidnapped her, tied her up, and forced her to go on a date with you?"

"Yes!" He said brightly. "It was amazing!"

Oh good gods, our uncle's going to kill him, she thought, fearing for her foolish brother's life.

"But then he came," he went on, his mood darkening. Outside, the sun seemed to dim to mimic his mood.

She paled. "Lord Poseidon?"

"No, not him," he waved a hand. "Beelzebub!" He spat. "He interrupted our date!"

He showed her another finished painting. It showed Percy sobbing as she held tightly onto Apollo who held her protectively against his chest. He had one arm thrust out, sending a beam of light into some ugly demonic beast which was probably supposed to be Beelzebub. Artemis doubted this scenario ever occurred.

But still… why was the Lord of the Flies there?

"Lord Poseidon appointed him as Percy's caregiver," Apollo mourned. "My poor beloved…! To be under the care of someone so hideous and callous! She must be so terrified every time she's around him! Oh, how could Lord Poseidon be so cruel to his own daughter? I must save her, Artemis, I must!"

"Apollo," she sighed. "The child does not saving. I assure you, she's perfectly fine. While I do not understand why the Devil was chosen to watch over her, I trust Lord Poseidon's judgment. Please, brother, leave her alone. She does not return your feelings."

But her brother was undeterred, "Perhaps not yet, but she clearly cares about me! She pleaded with her father to spare me the first time I took her!"

"Yes, and then she beat you up," she patiently reminded him.

"Yes, but that only means she likes me!" He grinned. "I killed a bunch of satyrs for her, satyrs that she claimed to care about! But rather than checking to make sure if they were okay, she went and attacked me. Me, Artemis. Me! She went to me first! She chose me over them! Therefore, she clearly likes me!"

Oh he's beyond hope, she despaired.

"If you say so, brother," she shifted uncomfortably. "Well, since I know you're alright, I shall leave you to your… artwork."

"I will see you another day, sister!" Apollo waved her goodbye as she scurried out of the room.

As she sped down the hallways of his palace, she pulled out her phone and made a call.

"Mother? We have a problem… And yes, it's Apollo again."

MEMES!

Memes: 1, 2

A meme from Luna999: 1

FANART!

Picrews from littlestar-11821:

Fanarts from honeydew-mint:

THEY DREW DUCK!POSEIDON TOO OMG:

Duck!Poseidon thinking of his daughter-wife:

Duck!Poseidon when someone else is with his daughter-wife:

Percy fanart from d1rtybag! It's basically our girl watching the Ragnarok fights in her mer form:

Perpollo fanarts from yagodnyizefir (the first one is Apollo embracing a Percy statue btw lol):

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

Yes Percy can manipulate blood in this fic, BUT CAN I JUST SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT FIRST??? I really thought bloodbender!percy was a canon thing!!!! ONLY TO FIND OUT IT WAS A FANON BELIEF

I only read the earlier HOO books recently for my essie series and I never got to the later books, so I haven't read it in a loooong time. I vaguely remembered Percy torturing Akhlys in Tartarus so I assumed "oh yeah. Didn't Percy choke her with her own blood?" BUT IT WAS JUST HER POISON. APPARENTLY HE NEVER BLOODBENDED EVER AND JUST CONTROLLED POISON

I'm dumb af, but it's whatever. I'm still gonna stick with bloodbender!Percy because why not.

Chapter 23: the gods talk about me behind my back

Summary:

The goddesses have a tea party, the gods crack a cold one, and Shiva FINALLY gets that playdate he's been whining about!

Notes:

WARNING: I… am not fond of this chapter. It feels all over the place to me and I kinda lowkey hate it??? But I couldn't fix it (I'm lazy), so I published it anyway

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"FELLOW GODDESSES," RHEA SET HER teacup down. "I'm sure you're wondering why I've brought you here."

Seated around her in a circular table were five other goddesses: Hera, Hestia, Demeter, Persephone, and Aphrodite. They had been invited to Rhea's palace for a tea party and while they always enjoyed a good tea party (especially the juicy gossip that came with it), they were more curious as to why this party was happening in the first place.

"It's come to my attention that my youngest grandchild, Percilla, already has a string of suitors vying for her hand in marriage," she said. "And I want to discuss the options with you all."

Oh no, Hestia thought as she watched the other goddesses immediately perk up, their faces blooming with glee and excitement.

"But before we get started on that," she continued. "There's one more person I must bring in. And Hera, dear, please behave yourself."

Hera furrowed her brows and looked at her sisters in confusion, but none of them knew what was going on.

Rhea cleared her throat and said, "Leto! You may join us."

There was a beam of light and a white haired goddess appeared beside her. She had the golden eyes of Apollo and Artemis. The second Hera saw her, she lost it.

"YOU!" She thundered, nearly soaring over the table to grab at her. Hestia and Demeter managed to grab her just before she could go flying. "Mother, why did you bring her here?!"

Leto sighed. "You're still jealous, I see."

"JEALOUS?!" She shrieked, making all the goddesses wince at the volume.

It was a well-known fact that Hera was indeed jealous of Leto, but not for the reasons most would expect. Leto and Zeus had initially been married but Zeus had already dumped her before he decided to marry Hera, so it certainly wasn't Zeus' affections she was jealous about. No, it was the fact that Leto had already been pregnant by the time they divorced, and if there was one thing Hera hated more than her husband's philandering ways, it was the prospect of his bastard sons being competitors for hers.

And Leto's bastard son, Apollo, was certainly the most powerful out of his illegitimate children.

"I should've ripped those damn brats out of your womb!" Hera seethed. "And let the harpies feed on their bodies!"

Leto's golden eyes flashed. "You keep away from my children."

"Enough!" Rhea raised her voice. "I did not invite you here to fight. We have an important discussion to talk about and I'd like to get to it. Now, the reason I've brought Leto here is because she has told me some interesting news: Apollo has fallen for Percy."

"What?" Demeter and Persephone echoed.

"Oh, dear," Hestia closed her eyes.

Aphrodite burst into maniacal giggles.

"WHAT?!" Hera shrieked madly. "Absolutely not! He has a harem of whores! He doesn't know loyalty even if it were to smack him in the face! He's just like his father!"

"His nymphs that he keeps around are just a passing fancy," Leto defended her son. "He does not love them. Not like how he loves Percilla."

Hera let out a cruel laugh, "Love, you say? Just like how he loved Cassandra, Hyacinthus, Daphne, Coronis, and all his other countless lovers? And where are they now, Leto, hmm? What has your dear old son done to the people he claimed to love?"

She turned to glare at Rhea, "This is insanity mother. Apollo cannot stay loyal, much less keep his lovers alive. You might as well ask the Fates to cut the girl's string if you decide to arrange them together."

"How do you even know for sure that he really loves her?" Hestia spoke up before a fight could ensue. "Apollo flirts with every beautiful face he sees."

That was a good point. Murmurs of agreements and head nods filled the table.

"Artemis was the one who alerted me of it," Leto began. "According to her, Apollo was making artworks of the girl. Paintings, sculptures, poetry, and the likes."

"So?" Hera was unimpressed. "He does all the time."

"He painted pictures of her foot to depict the moment where she stomped on his face multiple times," Leto informed. "In fact, a lot of his artworks depicted her beating him up. His sister was very concerned. She asked for my help."

"And she wanted you to set them up together?" Hestia gave her a doubtful look.

Leto averted her gaze. Actually, Artemis wanted help on keeping them apart—something about Poseidon raging war or whatever—but Leto, being the good mother she was, just wanted her baby boy to finally be happy and get the happy ending he deserved.

"He sounds obsessed," Hera grudgingly admitted.

"And that's the strongest form of love there is," Persephone added airily.

Everyone couldn't help but mutter in agreement. Apollo had been in love many times before, but he usually never went so far as to make artworks of them (artworks usually came after their tragic demise) especially after getting beaten up by them. Usually that was more than enough to anger the god—*cough cough* Cassandra and Coronis *cough cough*. The only time he had continued to pursue someone after being harshly scorned was with Daphne, and that was only because he had been pierced with Eros' love arrow.

"Hmmm…" Rhea began to think.

"Mother, you're forgetting something," Hestia spoke up. "Female relatives do not have the power to choose or arrange marriages. It is the duty of the girl's father or a close male relative. Poseidon is the only one with the power to choose who she marries."

"You are correct," she nodded in agreement. "But I am one of the very few people Poseidon respects. Once I make my decision, I will have him hear me out. My son will listen to me. He knows I only wish the best for Percy."

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that," Aphrodite said slyly. Everyone turned to her and immediately went on guard. She looked as if she were about to burst, like she was harboring the biggest secret ever and just couldn't wait to tell them all.

Rhea frowned. "And why is that, Aphrodite?"

The goddess of love leaned forward. Everyone followed suit.

"Poseidon is in love with his daughter." She whispered. "Because of that, he will never let anyone else marry her."

All hell broke loose.

Hestia's jaw dropped.

"POSEIDON?!" Hera nearly fell out of her chair.

"NOOOOOO!" Persephone wailed as Demeter held her close.

Leto quickly summoned a seat for herself before she could faint.

Rhea set her teacup aside, what Aphrodite said was bigger tea than she could ever imagine. "Is this true, Aphrodite? Are you certain of it?"

The buxom goddess nodded in confirmation. "Yes. 100%. I've been keeping track of her love life since I've met her. She's currently managed to make five gods fall head over heels for her."

There were gasps all around the garden.

"Five?!"

"But how?!" Demeter sputtered in disbelief. "Apollo, I'm not surprised, but Poseidon rarely lets her out of his sight! The only ones who have access to her are Hades and—!" She cut herself off with a gasp. Realization dawned on her. "Do you mean Loki?"

Hera's jaw dropped. "Is that why he's been kidnapping her so many times?! He's been trying to wed her?!"

Aphrodite let out a laugh, "Oh if only you can see what I can. Loki's side of the bond is… well, chaotic, just like him. It's twisted and mangled. I cannot even begin to understand it. I don't know if it's love, I can't even tell if it's hate. But he is obsessed, and obsession is no different from love and hate."

"He was with her at the cafe, mother, do you remember that?" Persephone turned to Demeter. "He defended her in the restroom."

"The restroom?" Rhea raised a brow.

Persephone nodded. "Yes, for some reason they were at some cafe on the human's side of Valhalla," she crinkled her nose at that. "Mother and I waited until she was alone so I could thank her for her hand in Hades' and my divorce. She was… upset, and Loki came to her aid. He was close to her. I didn't think he would be so much of a threat, but to hear that he harbors feelings of obsession…"

"This could go bad," Leto warned them. "The last time Loki was obsessed with someone, they ended up dead and all of Valhalla mourned."

"Yes, but Loki hated Baldur," Hestia pointed out. "Loki's feelings towards Percy are unknown, but so far he has been… somewhat amicable."

"Loki is a trickster god," Persephone hissed. "Deceit is his mother tongue."

While they argued about whether Loki would be a suitable candidate for Percy's hand in marriage or not, Hera silently mused about it.

Loki was… chaotic and not a trustworthy god. His previous marriage with Sigyn hadn't gone very well; he had cheated on her with Sif (possibly) and Angrboða—and even had numerous monstrous children with the latter. While he was a good father to their children, he wasn't the best husband. Sigyn finally had her foot down and publicly demanded a divorce and was granted one.

But—but! Loki was never in love with Sigyn (neither of them were in love with each other). He never harbored the same level of obsession that he apparently held for Percy. Perhaps Percy could… temper him, make him less of an annoyance to the other gods. She could keep him busy and distracted. If Percy could make Poseidon fall in love, then who was to say she couldn't keep Loki under control?

There was still Poseidon and Hades to think about, however.

Poseidon never loved anyone and it was widely believed that he never would. But then sweet little Percy entered his life and performed a miracle! She could imagine the look of awe that would strike everyone if they were to hear about their marriage. It would be the wedding of the ages! And Poseidon, naturally, would let her plan it for them!

As for Hades… She had been furious to discover that he and her husband conspired to have Persephone married off and even more furious to find out that Hades had the wedding WITHOUT her. What kind of idiot held a wedding without the goddess of marriage there to bless or officiate it?! An idiot asking for his marriage to go wrong, that was who! The only reason she didn't rain hellfire in Helheim was because of how much she loved her stupid little brother so he should count himself lucky! Not that it was necessary anyway. Naturally, their marriage ended up in shambles and Hades learned his lesson to never ever plan a secret wedding without his big sister ever again. Surely, if he were to win Percy's hand he would ask her to plan his wedding this time!

Poseidon, Hades, Loki… Hera nearly salivated at the thought of planning either of their weddings and blessing their marriages. Regardless of who was to become Percy's husband, she knew this pairing would triumph over all the pantheons—and she would be the one to plan their wedding!

That, AND she could laugh over the devastated looks on Leto and Apollo's faces. A manic grin crawled over her lips and a wild laugh bubbled out of her throat amidst the other goddesses' babble.

Rhea cleared her throat, making all chatter stop and Hera to finally snap herself back into the conversation.

"Apollo, Hades, Poseidon, and Loki," she counted with her fingers. "That's four. But you mentioned a fifth one. Who is it, Aphrodite?"

The aforementioned goddess smirked. "Oh you'll never believe this. This one's almost as shocking as Poseidon. It's the Lord of the Flies!"

Persephone's face grew red with rage. The flowers in her hair started to let out an acidic odor. "Beelzebub? I knew I shouldn't have let Percy visit him without a guard! He must be aware of Hades' affections by now, how dare he try to get in the way of them!"

"Beelzebub?" Demeter's eyes went wide. "When did that happen?"

"Oh a few months ago~" Aphrodite sang. "The development is slow, but steady. However, he's holding himself back, trying to push the feelings away."

"Good!" Persephone huffed. "Clearly he feels guilty because he knows Hades is in love with her!"

Hera found herself getting lost in her thoughts again.

Beelzebub. Now that was someone she never imagined ever falling in love, especially with someone who was the complete opposite of him. Beelzebub was dull and lifeless, and she was pretty sure the only time he ever expressed joy was when he was performing acts of cruelty on his experiments—experiments that made even Hera shudder and almost—almost!—pity his victims. It was hard to imagine the dark and dreary god with someone as cheery and outgoing like Percy.

But opposites attract, she thought back to the famous quote. She had to admit, Beelzebub and Percy would make a rather cute couple. They were like the male and female lead of the simple romance novels she would read whenever Zeus wasn't around to annoy her. It was her favorite trope!

This was perfect! Poseidon, Hades, Loki, and now Beelzebub too! She was already planning each of their weddings in her head, ready for the momentous occasion.

"What about Percy's end of the bonds?" Rhea asked curiously, and Hera was pulled back into focus yet again. "Does she return any of their feelings?"

Aphrodite couldn't help but snort, "That's the funny part. She barely returns them. She doesn't tolerate Apollo at all, she barely sees Loki as a friend, and Beelzebub's the only one with decently strong feelings of platonic love, however it's getting quite close to becoming romantic!"

"And what about Hades?" Demeter leaned forward.

"And Poseidon?" Rhea asked.

"She loves them," she confirmed.

Cheers were about to erupt, until—

"But," she went on. "As father and uncle respectively."

There were numerous groans around the table.

"However," she added, and several of the goddess perked up in hope. "It's… laced with fear and uncertainty on her end. Her feelings of familial love are more strongly directed to Poseidon, however, something has left her shaken. I can't tell what has happened, but I have a feeling it may not stay just familial soon. The same goes with Hades, but she feels more fear and shame with him. I don't know why…"

"I can answer that," Persephone sighed heavily. "She thinks it's 'wrong' to fall in love with your family."

Hera cocked her head back in disbelief. "Where in the Three Realms did she get that idea? It's so…" Her face wrinkled in disgust. "Human."

"That's what I told her!" She cried out. "But she refuses to listen! Hades has already shown that he desires her, but she is adamant on keeping away! I just don't get that girl…"

"We must get rid of that silly thinking," Demeter urged. "She needs to end up with Hades!"

"No!" Leto exclaimed. "My son loves her the most!"

"Hades is better off for her!"

"You dare—"

"—Hold on!" Aphrodite shouted amongst the noise. "There's one more thing I need to tell you all. It's… odd. When I first met her, I already sensed strong bonds of love attached to her, which shouldn't have been possible despite her age."

"Oh?" Rhea leaned forward, followed by all the other goddesses. "Tell us more."

"I sensed platonic bonds, familial bonds, all in varying degrees in intensity and reciprocity, but what caught my attention the most was heartbreak," she emphasized. "Feelings of unreciprocated love. Love that she does not return. I sense dozens of them, but there are four that are particularly stronger than the rest, but I cannot see them." She admitted, frustration evident in her beautiful features.

Rhea frowned in concern. "You cannot?"

She shook her head. It was unheard of for her powers not to work. As the goddess of love, she was able to see all kinds of bonds attached to a person—and who was on the other side. But this was the first time she came up blank. She could sense the bonds, the emotions, the intensity… but she couldn't see who it belonged to. It aggravated her on no end, but it also made her curiosity grow stronger.

"That's not all though," she added. "There is another bond, one full of pure, genuine, love—one that is returned."

All of their eyes widened. Somebody loved Percy, and she loved them back. Who could it be?

"Is it Poseidon?" Rhea asked.

"Hades?" Persephone and Demeter echoed.

"...Apollo…?" Leto tried, albeit doubtfully.

To their great devastation, Aphrodite shook her head. "No. It's someone else. Someone I cannot reach either. I don't know who it is, but I don't believe it's someone I know."

"Well, I don't care who she gets married to—as long as it's not Apollo of course—all I care about is getting to plan the wedding of the millenia!" Hera cackled.

This caused a round of loud chatter to erupt at the table.

"Hold on! Hold on!" Hestia brought her hands up. "Wait a second! You're all forgetting the most important question!"

Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"Does Percy even want to get married?" She asked pointedly.

Hera scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous sister, what little girl wouldn't want to get married? Not everyone prefers an eternity of maidenhood, you know."

"Why don't we just bring Percy here and ask her about her opinion on all of this?" Hestia sighed tiresomely.

"Oh but doing this is so much funnn~" Aphrodite whined.

Hestia groaned. Trying to speak reason to these goddesses was impossible.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Meanwhile, over at time-out island, four gods sat in a circle in the sand…

"Adamas, stop throwing coconuts at your brother," Hades sighed for the umpteenth time.

"I'm bored," the second eldest whined. "Why the hell did mom leave us here?!"

"Apparently she wanted to have an important discussion with a bunch of goddesses and didn't want to risk us trying to eavesdrop," Hades droned.

"More like Zeus tryin' to eavesdrop," Adamas grumbled, throwing another empty coconut at Zeus' head.

Poseidon glared at Zeus silently, knowing full well that he was the reason they were all sent here. Zeus was the one who found out that Hera was being summoned by their mother and pestered her to let him come along. Not wanting to deal with him, Hera most likely complained to Rhea and now they were all stuck here.

"Mother better not keep us here any longer," he said darkly. "I do not wish to leave Percilla alone at the palace."

The mention of her name made Hades deflate, but his brothers were too busy to notice. He grabbed another coconut from the sand and started to drink from it in a poor attempt to hide his misery.

Adamas snorted. "Dude. You got a shit ton of servants in your house, I'm sure she's got a lotta people to keep her company."

"How is Percy anyway?" Zeus perked. "I haven't seen her since the divorce party!"

Hades made a sound of agony in the background. It went ignored.

"..." Poseidon was suspiciously quiet, which didn't make anyone feel good.

Adamas narrowed his eyes. "I swear if you made her run away again—"

"—Of course not," Poseidon scoffed.

"Then spit it out! What'd ya do?" He sneered.

He glared at him. "I did nothing."

Everyone stared at him doubtfully.

Poseidon scowled and finally told everyone what had happened…

ONE WEEK AGO…

Percy looked out the many windows of the palace where a cloud of red rapidly formed high up in the water. Merfolk were already swimming towards it, blood-thirsty grins on their faces.

She whirled back to her father, who stared back impassively.

"That wasn't necessary!" She shouted at him.

"On the contrary, it was." He replied. "Now answer my question, Percilla: what were you thinking?"

"What?" She glared.

"I thought I strictly forbade you from leaving the walls of our palace," he said sternly.

"I heard a loud noise," she tried to explain. "And when I looked up, I realized some giant ship broke. There were people drowning so—"

"—So you were trying to save them?" Poseidon sneered. "It was a waste of energy, daughter. They dared to sail in my territory so they are to face the consequences."

"But—"

"—Beelzebub," Poseidon called out.

There was a blur of black tentacles and suddenly he appeared at Percy's side, giving her a hard look before addressing him.

"Take her back to the library and continue with the lessons," he ordered. "Teach her about the attempted mermaid massacre that was done by Japanese humans*. Perhaps that would make her hesitate to save another one of their filthy kind."

"Of course, my Lord," Beelzebub bowed. He grabbed Percy by the forearm and they were gone.

END

"Sounds like she's tryin' to teach you empathy," Adamas snorted. It was a pointless endeavor, but he had to hand it to his niece, at least she was trying.

"Empathy… towards humans?" Poseidon sneered.

There were gasps amongst the small circle of gods. Adamas' jaw dropped. Zeus looked as if he had aged another hundred years. Hades nearly dropped his coconut in shock.

"What?" Zeus croaked.

Poseidon nodded, stone-faced. "Yes. Those people I killed were humans who tried to sail in my territory. I destroyed their boat as punishment and left them for my people to feast on. I caught Percy swimming up there to save them."

His face darkened. To think his own daughter would try to dirty her perfect hands for a bunch of low-life humans. It was sickening. The worst part, he didn't even know where this came from.

"Did she perhaps mistake them for other mers?" Hades wondered.

He shook his head. "No, she knew full well that they were human."

"Why the fuck would she care about those losers?" Adamas was bewildered.

"I don't know," Poseidon admitted through gritted teeth. "But that is not all."

"It gets worse?!" Zeus cried out.

"This happened long before this incident, but I once caught her trying to enter the surface," Poseidon turned to Hades. "Remember when I told you about what Apollo had done?"

Adamas perked up. "Huh? What'd he do?"

"He kidnapped Percy," Hades replied hollowly, thinking back to that dreadful moment at his divorce party that eventually led to his proposal being rejected before he could even offer it.

"HUH?" Adamas angrily lobbed another coconut at Zeus' head. "Learn to control your stupid kids, dumbass!"

"Apollo was only able to snatch her because she had left the safety of the palace," Poseidon went on. "She had tried venturing out to the surface, but before she could get to land, Apollo took her. After I rescued her and promptly punished him for his crime, she told me that she only wanted to go there because she was simply curious."

"That curiosity of hers can get her killed," Hades murmured worriedly. "Percy is far too naive to understand the barbaric nature of humans."

"Beelzebub and I have been trying to teach her of their horrors," Poseidon sighed through his nose. "But she refuses to listen."

Adamas clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Well you better find a way to get 'er to listen before she gets herself killed! Have you tried showin' her those documentaries the younger gen gods used to watch when they were kids? The ones that always feature in the educational channel about how humans are fuckin' everythin' up?"

"'Mortal Monsters'?" Hades asked.

He snapped his fingers, "Yeah, that's the one! Show her that!"

"I have," Poseidon replied flatly. "And that same night, I looked through her phone's search history and found out that she had been trying to look up New York City."

There was silence.

"...New York City?" Hades asked, just to make sure. "The city over in the United States?"

"The one with the giant rats?" Zeus added.

"Yes. That one."

"Was she… curious about how polluted it is there?" Hades asked.

"Or was she just looking up pictures of their giant rats?" Zeus suggested.

"Or was she lookin' up the crime rates and thinkin' to herself that all humans are crazy and that she needs to stay away from them?" Adamas added hopefully.

To their dismay, Poseidon shook his head. "No. She was looking up houses and a strawberry farm."

"...Huh?" They all cried out in unison.

"She searched for a specific apartment address in Manhattan, then it was a nonexistent cabin in Montauk, and she went on the map to find some strawberry farm on Long Island." Poseidon explained flatly.

The brothers all exchanged looks of pure bewilderment. This was becoming more and more weird. They knew Percy was a kind kid, but they never would've expected that her kindness would extend towards humans—especially with who her father was. The fact that she was looking up one of the filthiest cities in Midgar had them even more baffled.

"...Maybe she was apartment hunting?" Zeus scratched his head.

"In one of the shittiest cities on Midgard?" Adamas threw another coconut at his head. "They got giant rats, dude."

"Do you think she was looking for a venue for her debutante ball?" Hades wondered aloud. "It's coming soon isn't it?"

"I plan for her to have it on her first birthday and December is still a few months away," Poseidon refuted.

"What if she's just going through a rebellious phase then?" Zeus suggested.

"Only your children go through that phase, and that's because of your poor parenting," Poseidon scoffed. "My pearl is perfect. It's those humans that are corrupting her."

Percy was a child. Sure back in ancient times she was well past the age of entering adulthood, but mentally, she was still young. She was not at all like the mature goddess he once expected her to be. While she trained dutifully in the ways of a princess, she still had that endearing childish nature of hers and miraculously, Poseidon didn't actually mind it.

But it didn't mean he wasn't worried for her. As delightful of a child she was, such naivety left her vulnerable. She wished to explore the land above, but was ignorant of the dangers of man. She mingled with the gods up in Valhalla, but was blind towards their wicked ways. She was much too sweet and equally as soft. He knew the blame lied on him—he should've been harder on her, more strict on how she behaved, but the idea of squashing her personality felt too... wrong.

She is of no fault, of course, Poseidon thought. It is the fault of the humans for somehow managing to brainwash her to think in their way. Filthy, disgusting, accursed vermin. Even in the safety of his territory, she was still being corrupted by them.

"This is worrisome, brother," Zeus was stroking his beard, deep in thought. "Do you think Percy somehow met one of those pro-human gods and got indoctrinated by them?"

Adamas blinked, "Gods like that actually exist?"

"They are a very small minority, I assure you," he chuckled. "But yes, they do exist."

"You speak of the Valkyries," Poseidon's face darkened. His daughter was close to those dreadful sisters; he should've known that they would try to instill their ludicrous beliefs into her head. Once he was out of this island, he would slaughter them all for daring to taint his daughter.

Hades gave him a pointed look, having a good idea of what was going on in his head. "Poseidon, don't," he warned. "Odin is fond of his Valkyries. Killing them with no viable proof of any wrongdoing would lead to a war."

"I wouldn't mind a war!" Zeus beamed.

"We know you wouldn't," Adamas rolled his eyes. "Fuckin' trigger-happy idiot."

Hades ignored them and focused on the fuming blonde. "Do not harm them. Plus, she's close with them isn't she? Killing them would only upset her and draw her away from you."

Poseidon could feel his ichor freeze over at the thought of Percy leaving him for something so insignificant. He glowered, "They're filling my daughter's head with lies about humanity."

The eldest of the brothers sighed. "Poseidon, I don't believe the Valkyries are at fault. You truly haven't noticed it yet? Percy has always had a kind heart, I believe her curiosity and care towards humans is just… a part of her."

His lips curled. "You believe she was just born with those ideals in her?"

Hades nodded, "Yes. I do."

He, unlike most gods, did not harbor a burning hatred for humanity. He was quite indifferent towards them and while there were times where humanity's actions had disgusted him—the disrespect that he was given by the Romans was one of them—most of the time, he hardly cared about humanity at all.

So while Poseidon, Adamas, and Zeus—blinded by their hatred for humans and in denial that someone they cared about could ever see them as 'good'—believed that Percy had been 'brainwashed' so to say, Hades was able to see that Percy's affinity for humans was just a part of her, a natural thing not incurred by the influence of another.

However, it was still a concerning matter to him. He knew that not all humans were vile beings, but Percy's curiosity could lead her to meeting the wrong sort of human and end up getting hurt by them. That was something he could not let happen. If it were him, he would gently warn Percy that not all humans would treat her kindly and that it was safe for her to just stay within the confines of the palace.

But unfortunately for him, Poseidon wasn't the most patient of people, and he wanted to instill his own beliefs into his daughter right away.

Poseidon was glaring at him so hard that it was a miracle he hadn't pulled out his trident to try and skewer him.

Before any fight could ensue, Adamas spoke up, "Just wait it out, dude," he told Poseidon. "Percy'll learn eventually how shitty humans are. Forcin' her into thinkin' and actin' the way you want is only gonna make her run. Remember what happened the last time you did that?"

Zeus and Hades collectively winced at the mention of the time Percy left to go live with Adamas after Poseidon lashed out at her for not being 'perfect' enough. It was a very touchy subject for him, and Adamas sure had guts to bring it up again.

Poseidon stared icily, while Adamas only offered a shit-eating grin. Hades could see the waves on the beach beginning to rise and was about to tell him not to send a tsunami their way, only for a loud PING! to cut through the tension.

Everyone turned to Zeus who pulled out his cellphone.

"Oh, it's a notif from Shiva!" He said brightly. "Apparently he tagged me on his latest Gossipmonger post."

"Hmm, it appears he tagged me too," Hades murmured, his phone out in his hand. Feeling a bit curious, he clicked on the notification and was immediately sent to Shiva's post. There was a video on it with a blurry thumbnail, but what caught his attention first was the caption:

＠Shiva: ＠Zeus ＠Hades show this to poseidon lol

Brow raised, he clicked on the video.

"It's Percy," he said, surprised.

Poseidon snapped his head towards him, "What?"

Hades quickly went to hologram mode and a large holographic screen showed up so everyone could see. The video began to play.

Percy was dressed in a royal blue saree that was draped around her body in a way that made it easier for her to move in. She seemed to be in the middle of teaching Ganesha how to stand on some… flat board with wheels? He was pretty sure he heard the humans call it a skateboard, but how did Percy know how to use one?

The camera turned around to show Shiva, who was grinning smugly.

"Guess who just signed the adoption papers~?" He sang teasingly before snickering. "Just kidding, just kidding!" He brought the camera closer to his face. "Or am I?"

In the background, Durga could be heard snapping, "Shiva, give me the phone!"

They heard him curse under his breath before the video ended.

The sea was forming dangerous waves now.

"She is not supposed to be with Shiva," Poseidon seethed. He turned his gaze to the skies. "Mother!"

Her voice echoed throughout the island, "Yes, Poseidon?" She crooned.

"You were supposed to leave Percy in my palace!"

"Well, I was going to let her stay home and just wait for you to come back, but Shiva called and begged me to let him watch over her instead. Something about an overdue playdate? He wanted a sleepover too," she chuckled. "I think he was jealous when he saw her Gossipmonger posts when she was in Asgard."

Poseidon was vehemently against this. "I do not wish Shiva to take care of my daughter."

"Shiva's great with children! Let her have this Poseidon, you rarely let that poor girl venture out! I bet all you do is make her study too," she clicked her tongue in disapproval. "Now, I'll let you boys out later, alright? My tea party isn't over yet!"

Adamas threw his head back and groaned. "Mooooom!" He whined. "How long is that stupid tea party gonna be?!"

Her laughter echoed around the island. "My tea party is just beginning, son! I'll talk to you later! Love you boys, mwah!"

She didn't speak again, and they knew that she went back to her party.

Angrily, Poseidon sat back down on the sand and crossed his arms. Behind him, the sea stirred violently to mimic his mood.

Hades sighed. He hoped his mother would let them out soon. He didn't think he could handle another temper tantrum-induced tsunami.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Percy sat on the grass, surrounded by the lush flowers and trees of the garden. Shiva's three wives sat across from her, and they were cooing over hers and Ganesha's skills on the skateboard.

"How do you know how to ride one so well?" Parvati asked curiously.

"Oh, I dunno," she replied wistfully, thinking of all the times she used to ride skateboards back in her old universe. "I think I just got lucky."

It had been a while since she last rode a skateboard, so her skills were a bit rusty, but she didn't mind relearning it alongside Ganesha. It reminded her of the time she tried teaching a group of younger campers how to ride one.

The vibration of her phone pulled it out of her memories. She pulled it out from her pocket. The second she realized it was a text from Beelzebub, a wide grin spread across her face and she didn't hesitate to reply back.

Beelie: Why are you with Shiva

Percy: my grandma kidnapped my dad

Beelie: What

Percy: yeah lol idk but she was gonna let me stay in the palace but then shiva rang her up and asked if i could stay at his place so i can hang out

And here i am :D

Beelie: Your father won't like that

Percy: D:

Beelie: Why did Rhea kidnap your father?

Percy: idk she said she was gonna have a tea party with some other goddesses

And that Zeus was being annoying so she sent all her sons to the time-out island

Beelie: ?

Actually, never mind, I don't wish to know

When is he taking you back? We have a session tomorrow

Percy: idk probably soon?? She said after the tea party

Beelie: You underestimate how long parties last with gods. I'm picking you up tomorrow morning

Percy: Can I have breakfast at ur place pls

Beelie: Fine

Percy: yaaaaay ur the best

Beelie: Okay

Meanwhile, Parvati, Durga, and Kali all watched her silently, exchanging looks when they noticed the wide smile on Percy's face.

"Heeeey, Percy," Parvati called out sweetly. "Who are you texting, hmm?"

She looked up from her phone, still smiling, and said, "Oh, it's Beelzebub."

Then she went back to her phone.

The wives looked back at each other, wide-eyed. Beelzebub?!

Percy suddenly burst into a fit of giggles.

The goddesses were in a state of bewilderment.

"Beelzebub?" Durga hissed quietly. "Isn't he that creepy loner god that stays in Helheim?"

"He's the Devil!" Parvati gasped.

"I heard that he's apparently been appointed as Percy's caretaker by her father," Kali told them.

"I've never had a nanny before, but I doubt I'd get all giggly and googly-eyed for them," Durga snorted. They all glanced back at Percy and yup, she was still grinning and giggling under her breath as she texted Beelzebub. "Do you think they're…?"

"Definitely not." Kali replied flatly. "Poseidon would have his head."

"Hey, whatcha laughing at, kid?" Durga called out to her.

"Oh, Beelie just said something funny," Percy replied.

The wives looked at each other in shock. Beelie?!

"She must really like the dude to find him funny because that guy doesn't have an ounce of humor in him," Durga muttered.

"They're kinda cute, don't you think?" Parvati wondered aloud. "Don't they give off golden retriever and black cat vibes?" She giggled. "You know what? I've decided that I like them together!"

Before Kali or Durga could tell her how much of a bad idea that was, their husband's voice boomed throughout the garden.

"WHOOOO WANTS CHICKEN TIKKA MASALAAAAA~?!" Shiva came ambling in, carrying large platters of food in each of his four hands. Ganesha scrambled after him, carrying another large platter of drinks that he was trying not to spill.

Just one mention of food and it was as if Beelzebub no longer existed. Eyes bright, Percy dropped her phone and raised a hand. "I DO!" She shouted.

Durga snorted when she saw that and clapped a pouting Parvati on the shoulder.

Percy quickly rose to her feet and helped out a stumbling Ganesha and grabbed the tray before he could drop it. Together, she, Shiva, and Ganesha walked over to their picnic spot and began to eat without a care in the world.

Tomorrow she would go back to her father's palace and back to her usual monotonous routine, but for now, she would enjoy the little freedom she was granted.

In the middle of grabbing seconds, Parvati suddenly asked, "Hey, Percy, you're nearly one year old now!" She exclaimed. "Have you thought about marriage yet?"

She nearly choked on her chicken.

"H-huh?"

Durga snorted at her reaction.

Parvati giggled. "Weeeell, I just noticed how happy you seemed when you were texting Lord Beelzebub. Are you engaged to him?"

Her eyes nearly popped out. "Wha—No! I don't like him that way!"

"But what does your father think?" She pressed on. "Does he like the two of you together? Is that why he appointed him as your caretaker?"

"No!" She flushed. "It's not like that at all! I'm not marrying anyone!"

Shiva looked up. "Yeah, isn't that too soon? Percy's barely one."

"You're never too young for marriage!" Parvati giggled. "Oh, Percy, I hope your father finds the right one for you soon!"

Percy opened her mouth to insist that she wasn't going to marry anyone… but then she realized with cold dread that it wasn't exactly her choice to make. Not anymore, not in here at least.

She knew what it was like for women back in the times of Ancient Greece (and in many other cultures).

The second a girl was born, she was her father's property. Then she would become her husband's property. Should he pass away, she would become her son's property. But if she were unfortunate enough to not have a son, or a husband, or a father, or a brother, or any living male in her family, then she would be on her own. An ignorant person in the modern day would call it freedom, but Percy knew better than that.

Back then, men were needed because it was the only way for a woman to have shelter and money. Men and boys were basically their ticket to social security. Without a man, she would have nothing. A woman on her own was practically like dangling a slab of meat in front of a pack of wolves. She would be devoured until there was nothing left.

In a situation like that, becoming someone's property was much more preferable.

Nowadays, men were no longer a requirement for women to have decent lives. They were given the chance to achieve that on their own. Percy could achieve that on her own.

...Or at least she could have. She was no longer living in the mortal world, comforted by secured rights and strict human morality. She was in the world of the gods now, and as the daughter of a Greek god, she was now Poseidon's property whether she liked it or not.

She had it lucky though. Her situation could've been far worse. Not only was her father one of the most powerful gods out there, but he actually cared about her. And she had many other family members who cared about her too. She had read too many stories of unfortunate goddesses being sullied by other gods, and their own families rarely cared enough to avenge or protect them.

(Sometimes, the ones hurting them were their family).

But Percy had nothing to worry about.

She may be considered as property, but she was loved.

Her father would always protect her.

FANART!

From naoyaofficialmommy:

A picrew of blonde baby Percy crying because Zeus said that daddyseidon was gonna be mad at her cuz her poseidon doll sucked :( from nobodyunimportant:

And more picrews from them:

And some Percades kids!

My traumatized water girlies and Beelcy:

From daushu:

A disney-fied percy from servamp234:

Fanart of Percy wearing her daddy's clothes from wisetimewasted:

Fanart from honeydew-mint of Percy's slumber party! And for those wondering, Percy's wearing a blue version of the crop top shirt that says "Contrary to popular belief, I have a dad (he just liked me a little too much):

Posy fanart from stormystorms:

Percy fanart from gemeiki:

Notes:

So according to ancient Japanese legend, mermaid flesh granted people immortality so lots of people would hunt mermaids down to try and eat their flesh! Poseidon wanted her to learn about this in hopes to scare her away from humanity.

Also, I just realized that I've been calling it a "debut ball" when it should've been "debutante ball" since Percy's a girl idek why I've been calling it wrong, they literally call it "debutante ball" in wmmap too

Chapter 24: i have the best day ever

Summary:

Two broken people go on a not-date.

Notes:

Dude, I wanted to have some Posy scenes at the end of this chapter, but Beelcy took over the whole thing LMAO. I'm sorry, I just love Beelzebub so much This chapter is 100% Beelcy yaaaay!

It's a little angsty maybe??? It's Beel and Percy who are both going through some trauma so ofc you should expect some angst these guys should NOT be left alone together

I hope you guys enjoy the early update I updated early because today's the release of FF7 Rebirth and my preorder SHOULD come today, so I'm gonna be busy playing it which means…. I won't be able to write/update as much. And if my preorder DOESN'T come today, then I still won't be able to write/update because I'll be too busy being miserable. Thx for understanding!

Chapter Text

IT WAS AUGUST EIGHTEENTH, AND Percy was perfectly content in spending her birthday relaxing in Beelzebub's castle up until he whipped out the handcuffs and blindfold.

She stared at him in alarm, "Um."

"Today is your seventeenth birthday, isn't it?" He asked, smiling.

The sight of that smile made her back away slowly. "Yeah... but why are you smiling at me like that?" She asked wearily.

"You don't like my smile?" He asked, feigning hurt.

"Considering the fact that you only smile when you're about to do something really bad to me, no, no I don't like your smile."

He chuckled. Oh he's in a really good mood, she thought with a shudder.

"You've been so well-behaved recently, so I felt that you deserve a treat on your special day," he explained, like he was talking about giving his puppy an extra bone to chew on.

She might as well be a puppy, he mused in amusement. A puppy with a very dangerous owner.

He was pretty sure the only reason Poseidon hadn't drowned several countries in Midgar after that day was because he picked her up from his castle rather than Shiva's palace, but he still hadn't been pleased that she had to sleep over at Shiva's in the first place.

About a month had passed since then, and every Saturday, he and Percy would venture out to Valhalla to do whatever they wanted—or whatever she wanted, to be more specific. Unlike their first trip, nothing disastrous ever happened (like her separating from him and getting kidnapped by pesky gods).

Things were going so well, it was only natural for him to reward her for good behavior. Perhaps if he did it enough times, she would finally be conditioned to behave for him permanently.

"Well-behaved?" Percy echoed.

"Yes," he smiled. "At first I was thinking about giving you a blue birthday cake, but a better idea came to me. Now, close your eyes."

He started to walk towards her with the blindfold and handcuffs but Percy took a giant step back. "Wait! What's the surprise?"

He shot her a look of amusement. "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you, now would it?"

She still wasn't sure about this. "This better not be another one of your crazy experiments."

"I assure you it isn't."

"Promise?" She insisted.

"Yes, Percy, I promise." He swore. "You'll be fine."

She let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, alright then..."

She closed her eyes and waited for him to make a move. Beelzebub felt pleasure brimming through his ichor. She hadn't even made a fuss like she used to. She listened to him.

Honestly, he was tempted to pat her on the head and maybe give her a good scratch behind the ears. Good girl, he inwardly cooed as he tied the silky black blindfold around her head to cover her eyes. He felt her stiffen as he clamped the handcuffs around her wrist before clamping the other end to his own.

"Wait..." She frowned. "What did you just handcuff me to?"

"Me," he answered.

"Huh?! Why?"

"Just a precaution," he replied. He knew his gift to her would excite her so much she would forget about the rules and go running around without him, and that was something he could not risk, especially when she was donning Loki's cloak that left her undetectable.

Without another word, he teleported them to the bifrost and helped her get across it.

Percy had a pretty good idea that he was taking her to Valhalla because she recognized the painful sensation in her brain whenever they crossed the bifrost. But after the pain passed, and she felt her feet touch the ground, a familiar smell drifted into her nose.

Car fumes, cigarette smoke, and terrible human odor—an overall horrible combination, but one that she immediately recognized. Her body straightened up.

Beelzebub whispered in her ear, "You can take it off now."

With a shaky hand, she yanked the blindfold off of her. The sight she saw shocked her so much she let it drop to the ground.

He smiled, "Happy seventeenth birthday, Percy."

Towering buildings and skyscrapers took over her vision. The busy streets were full of pedestrians and tightly packed roads with cars speeding around. There were blindingly bright billboards stationed everywhere showcasing the latest advertisement. The entire city was like a sensory overload of bright lights, bad smells, and loud noises, but Percy didn't care, she loved every inch of it.

She whipped her head towards Beelzebub, who gave her a knowing look. "This is New York," she breathed out. Her heart was hammering inside her chest. "Is—is this—?"

"This is the real New York," he confirmed. "We're in Midgard, not Valhalla."

Her eyes widened. "But you said it would be too dangerous for us to go out here! My father could sense your presence and you're supposed to be in Helheim with me."

"Gods have the ability to be in more places than one, remember?" He reminded her. "I don't always venture out to Midgar, but Poseidon knows I come here sparingly, so he'll just assume I've split my consciousness so I could be in Helheim with you while I take care of other business here. He won't check in to see what I'm doing. As long as I stay away from the seas, he won't look at us."

She wanted to ask what sort of business he had in Midgar, but was too enthralled at the thought of finally being home—or the closest to it that she can get—that she was too distracted to care.

"I can't believe it," she muttered in awe. "This is really home. It doesn't even look different from my universe...!"

Beelzebub was looking around too, but he didn't have the same awestruck look on his face. "I still don't understand why you would ever want to be here," he murmured. "It smells rancid."

Percy threw her arms over him and squeezed him into a hug, "YOU'RE THE BEST!" She squealed.

Beelzebub went still, his eyes growing wide. Before he could do anything, she pulled away. Her sea-green eyes had gone misty but she wore the brightest grin he had ever seen. He didn't even think Lucifer, Azazel, Samael, or Lilith had smiled at him like this.

She hugged him again, face buried into his chest. "This is the best birthday present ever! I love it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

For a few embarrassing seconds, he didn't know what to say. Eventually, he cleared his throat and managed to mutter, "You're welcome."

She grabbed his hand—the one that was cuffed alongside hers—and eagerly led him to the streets. "Come on! I wanna see my apartment!"

They started walking down the sidewalk, and Percy immediately noticed something: the mortals couldn't take their eyes off of them. They didn't even seem to care about the handcuffs. They were too busy staring at... well, them.

Back home, whenever gods wanted to mingle with the humans, the Mist usually hid their divinity so they could try to blend in (except for Apollo who liked to keep his good looks for everyone to admire). But Beelzebub hadn't even bothered to change out of his dark priestly clothes, let alone change his eye color or his pointed ears.

The mortals would drop their jaws when they saw his unearthly handsome face before doing a double take when they saw his other unearthly features—like his blood-red eyes and pointed ears. It didn't help that his very presence radiated with power, and the mortals—albeit ignorant to what he was—could tell that something was off about him and gave them a wide berth.

But that didn't mean they stopped looking.

Everywhere she turned, people would stop to stare at her too. She didn't know if they were admiring her or the dress, but it was probably the dress. While her dress was one of her more 'simpler' outfits, it was decked out in miniature pearls and other priceless jewels. Because of how impossible her father made it for humans to even touch the seas, pearls were one of the most rarest gems in the world. She doubted these people had even seen a pearl in real life, and yet here she was, completely dripping in them. It kind of made her self-conscious, wishing she could cover herself in Loki's cloak, but Beelzebub had turned it into a necklace.

She looked down at herself and winced. Yeah, she should really change her clothes.

"Hey, Beel," she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think you could change our clothes?" She asked. "So we can blend in more?"

He scoffed under his breath. "Blend in?"

"People are staring at us like we're aliens," she pointed out. "You didn't even change your eye color or the fact that you have pointed ears."

"Human opinions do not matter to me, and they shouldn't matter to you," he told her. His hand gripped hers a little tighter, but not as a warning, but more as a way to reassure her.

"Well... alright," she managed a smile, which he responded with a nod of satisfaction.

They made it to her apartment building in record time—mostly because people parted like the Red Sea whenever they approached, so they didn't have to worry about a crowd getting in their way.

"This is my apartment!" She cheered when she spotted the familiar building.

Beelzebub scanned the building from top to bottom. This certainly wasn't the wealthier side of the city, and the building before him made it even more obvious. The walls were dirty and stained, some steps on the fire escapes were missing, and the whole street reeked of fried onions.

"You... lived here?" He didn't even bother hiding his disgust.

She gasped in offense and playfully whacked his arm. "Hey! Not everyone can live in a fancy lil castle in Hell!"

"It's just that... I assumed your father would prefer to live closer to the sea." He said. Or in the sea. He had trouble imagining the god of the seas choosing to live in some crummy apartment building in the middle of a concrete jungle away from the seas.

Her face fell into understanding. "You thought—? Oh, um," she cleared her throat awkwardly. "My dad doesn't live with us."

He blinked. "He doesn't?"

"No," was her vague reply. She then started looking around to find something to distract her with and found just the thing.

"Oh my gods!" She gasped. "My favorite food truck that's always outside is here too! Ooh, let's go! Let's go! I wanna see if they're still offering my favorite fried mac and cheese balls!"

Beelzebub commended himself for his wise decision on using handcuffs because she was already speeding for the food truck without even turning back to him. He matched her pace and grabbed her hand once more, reminding her that they were to stick together.

Percy's eyes lit up when she saw her favorite order on the menu and went to join the line. She was practically bursting with so much joy that she hardly cared about all the wide-eyed stares they were getting.

Beelzebub paid with a credit card he summoned out of nowhere and soon, they were sitting down at a bench feeding each other fried mac and cheese balls. It was kinda awkward since they were handcuffed—and Percy didn't want anyone to catch him using telekinesis to make the food float—but they managed.

"Isn't it delicious?" She asked him after feeding him a bite.

"You know none of this is healthy for human consumption, correct?"

"Oh hush," she shoved another spoonful into his mouth.

He tried to hide his smile as he ate his food.

"I wanna take pictures of us," she suddenly announced. "Can I borrow your phone? I'd use mine, but my dad's been snooping through it and I don't want him to see this."

Beelzebub's phone appeared in his hand and he gave it to her. "Fine, but only take pictures, don't post it anywhere," he warned. "Loki's been stalking your social media account. If he catches any wind of you being here..."

She shuddered. How creepy, she thought, but then she remembered something important Hel had told her.

"That reminds me. I met Hel at, um, my uncle's divorce party," she hoped she wasn't blushing when she said that. She was still trying her best to bleach that moment out of her memory, but it was hard when he was your fucking uncle. "She told me something interesting about her dad."

Beelzebub noticeably went still. "Oh?"

"Yeah. You'll never believe this, but Hel told me that Loki's been making drawings of me," she emphasized, feeling as if she was in another gossip session with the Aphrodite kids. "That's how she was able to recognize me at the party! Weird, right?"

He swallowed down a fried mac and cheese ball. "...Quite."

"And that's not all," she went on. "She told me that he mutters weird things about me too! She said he was obsessed with me, and that he had only ever been like this for one other person: Baldur."

He made a weird sound in the back of his throat. Wordlessly, he summoned a goblet of nectar and started to gulp it down.

Percy wasn't done yet. "It got me thinking... what if Loki has a crush on me like he had a crush on Baldur?"

Beelzebub actually spewed out his drink. "Hu—wha?"

"Hear me out," she began. "Loki's got the personality of a spoiled little rich boy. He's childish, annoying, and kind of a dickhead. But there have been moments where he was... strangely kind towards me. What if he really likes me and just doesn't know how to express it properly? Like those little boys who would yank a girl's hair because he wants her attention, but doesn't wanna admit it!"

He stared at her, his jaw dropped in disbelief. "Percy... what?"

"Just think about it!" She insisted. "Hel told me the only time Loki had ever been this obsessed was with Baldur. Mnemosyne said that Loki had killed Baldur out of jealousy—that he was jealous that everyone liked him so much. But! What if it was the other way around? What if he killed him because he didn't like the thought of sharing him with others and he was angry that he wasn't paying attention to him?"

"...This is the last time we're going to New York," he muttered. "These fumes are not good for you to inhale."

She pouted. "Aw, come on!"

"That was probably the craziest thing to ever come out of your mouth," he said. And she had said a lot of crazy things to him.

She opened her mouth to protest, but he took a spoonful of their food and shoved it into her mouth. "Take your pictures and eat."

She huffed petulantly, but thankfully, didn't bring it up again.

Beelzebub just shook his head, a short laugh escaping his lips. The idea that Loki was so hellbent on trying to kill Percy was because he liked her and just couldn't express it properly was so... ludicrous! He had never heard of something so insane! That was something a moronic human schoolboy would do, not a god like Loki.

Percy continued to snap pictures of them as they ate.

"Smiiiiile~" She sang, pressing her head against his. The upper corners of his lips went up as she snapped the pictures. He couldn't help it, he always seemed to be in a good mood whenever he was with her.

"Oh! And when you find a way back home for me, promise to give me these pictures before I leave okay? I wanna keep the good memories I made here." She added, absentmindedly going through his camera roll.

His good mood took an instant nosedive.

"...If that's what you wish," he murmured.

After they were done eating, they threw away their trash and Percy tugged him to the edge of the sidewalks.

"I wanna take you to all my favorite places," she said excitedly, but then she deflated. "Buuut sadly, most of them are gone."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I wanted to go to this cabin in Montauk that my mom and I used to stay in during summer breaks—it was the place my mom met my dad. But it's not there anymore," she explained. "I should've known. Daddy—the one from here, I mean—doesn't let anyone near his territory so of course there wouldn't be any cabins near the beach..."

He blinked. "The Poseidon of your universe lets people near the beaches?"

"Yeah!" She exclaimed. "He's really chill. Mortals back there like to visit the beach all the time, some even have homes at the beach! And then there's underwater explorations, cruise ships, scuba-diving..." She proceeded to list a bunch of water-related activities that the Poseidon of this universe never would have allowed. "—All kinds of fun stuff that don't even exist here."

This was all so mind-boggling to him. She had told him a few things about her Poseidon before—that he was kind and 'chill' as she liked to say—but he didn't think he would be kind enough to actually allow humans to touch his waters. He wondered how polluted it must be, with all those humans mucking it all up.

They reached the curb. She let out a sharp whistle and not even a second later, a bunch of taxis were fighting to park in front of them. She pulled him in.

"Atteridge Strawberry U-Pick," she told the driver. "At Farm Road 3.141 Long Island."

He nodded, "Ya got it, miss."

He started driving. Beelzebub looked at the screen displayed at the front and saw that their destination was about an hour away. He would've rather just teleported straight there, but when he glanced at Percy, he saw her staring out the window in awe, watching as every skyscraper passed by. She was relishing in the sight, knowing she wouldn't be able to see this as much as she wanted to.

The driver seemed to pick up on it too. "This your first time in New York?"

"No," she chuckled. "I just haven't been home in a long time."

"Oh? Where you from?"

"Manhattan."

"I'm from Queens."

The two of them fell into idle chatter about their time in New York. Beelzebub could hardly understand it, but he felt himself getting annoyed with the human for being so chatty. Wasn't his job to just drive in silence?

He reached into the man's mind, which wasn't that hard because he hardly had any thoughts worth protecting anyway. He found himself growing more displeased at what he found. The man assumed that they were a wealthy couple traveling around New York. He was jealous of Beelzebub's good looks and supposed wealth, and found Percy attractive. He thought they were together, and yet he still thought it would be okay to speak to her throughout the ride.

Be quiet and drive, Beelzebub ordered. He could see the man's eyes go blank through the rear-view mirror. His smile dropped and he stared lifelessly at the road, driving in silence.

Percy grew concerned at the abrupt silence. He had been in the middle of telling her about some great restaurant he heard of over at Long Island.

She called out to him, "Sir?"

Beelzebub reached out and grasped her hand, fingers rubbing soothingly over her knuckles.

"He needs to concentrate on his job, Percy," he smiled charmingly. "Let us not distract him. Now why don't you tell me about that building over there?"

She beamed. "Oh! That's the Empire State Building! I almost died there a couple of times!"

Wait what? Beelzebub blinked, but like the ADHD child she was, she was already changing the topic and talking about another building without even bothering to clarify that concerning piece of information she gave him.

For the rest of the ride, she rambled about everything they came across. In Beelzebub's opinion, listening to her talk to him was a much better sound than listening to that man's grating voice.

Percy was breathless from talking so much by the time they got there. Once the car parked on the side of the road, she let out a gasp. "We're here!"

She was so happy that she didn't even realize that the man hadn't asked for payment as they climbed out of the taxi. Once they were out, the driver peeled out of the road. Beelzebub made sure he would meet a fatal accident on the way back and made a mental note to pluck his soul out from Helheim to use as a new test subject.

"Wow," Percy whistled, impressed. "Look, they got a staircase that leads up the hill! Lucky... Wonder why Camp never had one built..."

They walked up the stairs. Percy had already seen what the farm looked like on her phone, but to see how different her camp looked in real life was an entirely different feeling. All the cabins that she had built after the war, the lava-climbing wall, the big house, it was all gone. Replaced by an almost endless field of strawberries, a small market, a cafe, and a souvenir shop.

"The giant pine tree isn't here," she sighed sadly. "I figured."

"Pine tree?"

"Camp has this pine tree that used to guard the area," she said. "Long-story short, my friend Thalia, was dying and her dad, Zeus, turned her into a pine tree to save her. That pine tree gave out a magical border that kept the camp safe from monsters—and it continued to do that even after we brought her back."

Beelzebub wasn't even surprised about the whole tree thing—turning humans into plants was actually a pretty common thing for most gods, but what caught his attention was—"Monsters?"

She scowled. "Yeah, you know. Hellhounds, dracanae, empousai," she waved a hand. "They like to hunt us down. It's different here though because of—well, that's another long story."

She glanced to her left and spotted a group of people handing bright red plastic baskets to strawberry pickers and grabbed Beelzebub's hand.

"Let's go pick some strawberries," she grinned. "If we have time, I'll make strawberry shortcakes back at your place." If not, then she'd have to make them at her father's palace, give some to her father, and then give them to Beelzebub (Poseidon didn't like it when she cooked and baked for others, so it was best to start with him first so he'd be in a better mood).

People's jaws dropped when they saw them. She couldn't blame them; they weren't exactly dressed for strawberry picking and Beelzebub certainly wasn't helping with his red eyes and pointed ears. She ignored them and resumed berry picking while occasionally pointing out places and what they used to be back in her universe.

"There used to only be twelve cabins for each god? The Greek pantheon is much larger than that," Beelzebub pointed out.

"Yeah, I know right? I had them fix it after the—" she paused. "I mean, I had them add more cabins the summer before I got sent here."

Beelzebub wasn't about to let that slip-up go. "After what?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"You said that you had the gods add more cabins after...?"

He noticed the way she immediately averted gazes, her expression falling. "It's nothing," she said. There was a tremor to her voice. She turned away and her cheery voice returned, "Oh! Look! Over here's where we had a lava climbing wall!"

He wanted to push for answers, but this was supposed to be her day, so he let her get away with it.

She proceeded to tell him more about the camp; how Chiron, the trainer of heroes, was the camp activities director, how Dionysus (she called him Mr. D) worked as the co-director, and how she once saw Hestia (who took the form of a little girl) poking at a hearth, etc. etc. He noticed that she talked about the gods as if they weren't supposed to be near them, which he thought was pretty weird because didn't Dionysus have a son at the camp? Why wouldn't he be near them? And Hestia was the goddess of family, it was only natural she would visit the camp to see her extended family.

"Does your father live with you at the Camp?" He wondered aloud. If Poseidon didn't live with her at her home, then surely he stayed with her during summers? He was pretty sure humans called that a 'joint custody'.

She shot him a look of surprise. "What?"

"You said there were cabins built for each god, correct? And that every demigod stayed in the respective cabin. Do you all live with your godly parent every summer?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh. No, no. Our godly parents don't stay with us. Mr. D's only there because he's stuck on probation and watching over us is his punishment. Hestia was just a one-time thing, I think. And it's not really a summer camp either. That's optional. Some kids stay there year round 'cause they don't have anywhere to go."

Now he was even more lost. "But... they are the children of gods." He said slowly, trying to understand why a bunch of demigods wouldn't have anywhere to go when their parents were literally all-powerful beings.

She wasn't looking at him anymore. "Gods aren't allowed to interfere with their mortal children. It's one of their Ancient Laws. Some gods try to help their kids out indirectly, but there are definitely some who couldn't care less."

"And your father? Which one is he?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Dad loves me," she smiled. "But it hurts for us to be around each other. I can't stay with him forever and he's not allowed to be the dad that mom and I need him to be." And that truth was just too painful to bear.

Hermes' words from years ago echoed in her head, "Do you know what that feels like? To be so close to someone you love, knowing neither of you has any choice but to keep hurting each other? I know you do."

It was a bitter pill to swallow, but that was just how things worked in her universe. In this one, there were no rules, no restrictions for the gods. They were free to do whatever they wished and that was the only reason why Poseidon was able to take her in—in here, she wasn't forbidden and her father wasn't bound by a law to stay away.

Beelzebub could feel his resolve cracking even more than before.

If it hurts so much, then stay, he wanted to tell her. He couldn't understand why she would want to go back so much. She was so much happier here. How could she want to leave it all behind?

Beelzebub didn't ask anymore questions, which she appreciated.

They resumed picking their strawberries. Afterwards, they had their baskets weighed and bagged for purchase. Then they headed over to the cafe where they munched on strawberry and cream sandwiches. They ate outside, wanting to enjoy the smell of fresh strawberries and the sight of the sun beginning to set. Percy took more pictures.

There was still cream in the corner of her lips, so, without even realizing what he was doing, he reached out with his non-cuffed hand to wipe it away. She smiled at him in thanks, as if that sad moment she had before had never occurred. It always amazed him how she easily brushed things off.

"Hey, Beel...?" She suddenly spoke.

He hummed in response, swallowing down bits of his sandwich.

"A part of me... really hopes you don't find a way to access the multiverse." She admitted.

If he had a heart, it would've skipped a beat. "Are you saying you wish to remain here?"

She shook her head. "No, I meant... you wanna access the multiverse so you can find a way to kill yourself right? I really don't want that to happen. I don't want you to die, and I know you said that you'd use me if you failed, but I won't go through with it. I'm telling you now, if there's no other choice but me, I'm not going through with it, no matter what you do to me."

Beelzebub stared at her, and he could feel that gods awful emotion creeping up to him—and this time, he could no longer ignore it. He could not hold it back anymore, couldn't deny what he truly felt.

It was coming back to him again. Love. The one emotion that brought him so much happiness and anguish at the same time.

He loved Percy Jackson, and it was the best and worst thing that could ever happen to him.

He knew, if he let this fester too much, it would spell her doom and he would be left grieving her for the rest of his miserable life. He doubted her soul would be sent to Valhalla, she wasn't from this universe, she was too much of an anomaly—she would be gone forever.

He knew that the right thing to do would be to stay away from her and pray that this accursed feeling faded alongside her, but she looked at him with so much care that he couldn't bring himself to push her away. Like the true Devil he was, he craved her too much.

If he didn't do something about this now, he would never be able to let her go.

Percy reached out to wipe away the tears streaming down his face. He hadn't even realized how much he was crying.

"Are those happy tears or sad tears?" She asked tentatively.

"...I don't know," he answered honestly.

"I know you really want it," she muttered sadly. "But I'm sorry. I just can't go through with it."

Slowly, he reached out and grasped her hand. He pressed a gentle kiss on her inner wrist, right where he could feel the heavy beating of her pulse.

He didn't think he could go through with it either.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

The sun was disappearing into the horizon, which meant that her father would be back to pick her up soon.

It was time to head back to Helheim.

Percy really didn't want to go. She wanted to stay here, she wanted to live here. It may not have been her city, but it was the closest thing she could have to it.

Almost everything was still the same. Her apartment, the food trucks she liked, Goode High School, the malls she would hang out with her friends at—

(—the Williamsburg Bridge where she killed Michael Yew, the spot on the pavement outside of the Empire State Building where Ethan Nakamura's broken body was found, the street where Silena Beauregard was killed by the Lydian Drakon—)

—the dog park where she would take Mrs. O'Leary on walkies, and hey! Even Sweet on America, the candy shop her mom used to work at, was still there (she had Beelzebub buy her a whole bunch of blue sweets which she proceeded to eat in under an hour)!

But her father wouldn't even let her step foot out of the palace—let alone let her live in the surface world of Midgar. Humans are a barbaric kind, he always told her. They have no sense of loyalty—even towards their own kind. They would never accept you.

He talked as if she was gonna go around introducing herself like, "Hey there! I'm Percy, daughter of Poseidon, you know, the sea god? Yeah, gods are real! Please accept me!". But for some odd reason, the idea of blending in amongst the humans seemed to baffle him (and everyone else) just as much.

When they returned to the familiar walls of Beelzebub's castle, Beelzebub undid the cuffs and Percy promptly collapsed on the nearest chaise and let out a heavy breath.

"This was probably the best day ever," she beamed at him. "Thanks, Beel. I really, really appreciate this."

"It was no problem," he replied swiftly, taking the basket of strawberries from her hand to set them on a nearby table.

She let out a yawn.

"Go to sleep," he said gently. "You must be exhausted from running all over the city."

"'Kay," she said, not even bothering to stay up and wait for her dad. She let out another yawn and got into a comfortable position. She peeked one eye open at him, "I'll see you on Monday, right?"

It was almost as if she was aware of his inner battle to stay away from her.

"Of course," he nodded. "We still need to catch up on your history lessons, after all."

She smiled.

He reached out and smoothed her hair back, and ordered, Sleep. She was out like a light.

He straightened up and sat beside her on another chaise and pulled out his phone. He started scrolling through all the pictures she took of them. Some were clear, and some weren't, not that he minded. Seeing himself on the screen was like a punch to the gut. He looked so happy beside her. He didn't want this feeling to ever go away.

"Happy birthday," he murmured lovingly, running a hand through her hair.

He wished he could have this forever, but all he could do now was sit in silence and wonder how long this happiness would last before he had to cut it short.

FANART!

Stormystorms made a poem about Posy AND they managed to fit it all in one pic:

Percy fanart featuring a lovesick Apollo and an annoyed Artemis by girlygrls:

Painting!Percy getting thirsted on from naoyaofficialmommy:

A whole series of fanarts from yagodnyizefir:

APOLLO AND BABY PHAETON

CLOWN!HADES

Thank you for the Beelzebub one, I needed that encouragement for my exams

And they also drew Anubis x Percy too!

Prim and proper Percy from nobodyunimportant!

Percy fanart from littlepotaaatosimp (the booty omg):

Everyone's favorite scheming aunty Hera from honeydew-mint:

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Chapter 25: i have the worst day ever

Summary:

Percy can no longer gaslight herself into believing her father loves her normally, but can she still gaslight herself into thinking her own feelings were normal?

Notes:

IM BACK FROM MY GAME BREAK!!!

It was fun. FF7 Rebirth is as perfect as I expected it to be (I haven't finished it so no spoilers pls!!!!) and HSR is fun as always. I'm currently awaiting the release of Wuthering Waves because Jiyan and Scar are really making me go

But anyways, THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WITH ME ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

Chapter Text

WARNING: some smut, hehe it's nothing serious, really. Just a certain yan getting too imaginative and handsy

ONE MORNING, PERCY WOKE UP to see her father's face just several inches away from hers.

The first time it had happened, it startled her so badly that she nearly launched herself out of bed. But now, she had grown used to the fact that her father liked to watch her sleep. Sure it was a bit... weird, but whatever, you know?

But there was something off about it this time. His stare seemed... different. It was his eyes. His gaze was intense, practically piercing through her soul as if he could see everything she was made of. It made her head feel funny and her face grow hot, so she pried her eyes away and sat up.

"Morning," she mumbled, yawning a bit.

She could hear him sit up. She stiffened when she felt his weight on top of her body, followed by his arms practically caging her against him.

"No good morning kiss?" He hummed, a teasing lilt hidden beneath his usually apathetic tone.

She gulped inaudibly and craned her neck to kiss him on the cheek. Then, she hastily tried to pry his arms away from her so she could get off the bed, only for him to hold tight.

"I was hoping you would kiss me elsewhere," he murmured, leaving a trail of kisses down her neck and to her shoulders. She sucked in a sharp breath; for every piece of her skin his lips would touch, goosebumps would rise up. She could feel a shiver roll up her spine.

Warning bells were going off in her head.

Lately her father had been growing increasingly affectionate for her—but not in the normal way, not in the right way. She may not have had a proper father figure growing up, but she knew what parental love was supposed to look like.

At first, the kisses and lingering touches earlier on were perfectly fine with her. She relished in them and greedily sought out more, wanting his love and acceptance to never end. But soon things started to change. The way he kissed and touched her was different now. It was all... wrong.

She tried her best to push the thoughts to the back of her head as it started to become a daily occurrence, but now it was getting harder and harder for her to ignore them.

She stayed still, eyes shut as she let him continue to do whatever he wanted. She tried her best to pretend this wasn't happening, that her father was just giving her a friendly hug and a friendly kiss on the cheek—that he wasn't practically trying to give her a hickey on the neck while his hands inched towards her chest.

She grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Daddy, I wanna get breakfast," she said, trying to sound normal.

He let out a hum of displeasure but finally released her.

She tried not to let out a sigh of relief as she practically fled her bed.

Once she was done freshening up for the morning, she went straight to the Great Hall. Today was Monday, so Beelzebub was supposed to be here.

The second they met eyes, her whole body went lax. It was easier to pretend that her father wasn't... the way he was towards her when Beelzebub was around to keep her distracted. She could just do her usual thing of hiding out in the library with him for the whole week pretending everything was fine until the weekend came.

She shot him a bright grin which he returned with a blank nod.

Breakfast was an ordinary ordeal, to her relief. She was just glad that her father didn't try to pull her onto his lap again with Beelzebub around (the last time had been embarrassing). She was in the middle of finishing her orange juice when Poseidon told her something important.

"Your birthday is coming up in two months," he began.

She furrowed her brows. "Huh?"

He stared at her with a raised brow. "Your birthday. December 13."

It took her a while to realize he was talking about the date she first arrived here and not the date of her actual birth. "O-oh!" She forced a grin, trying to ignore Beelzebub's scolding stare that she could practically feel on her back. "Right! My first birthday! How exciting!"

If Beelzebub wasn't in the room with them right now, he probably would've facepalmed at her terrible acting.

"I have decided to have your debutante ball on the day of your birth," Poseidon went on. "A debutante ball is the most important day of a young godling's life, a way to formally introduce them into divine society. Every major god will be there to attend."

Her smile became a lot more strained. "Gee, sounds fun."

"However, a debutante ball is usually shared with other young goddesses or higher ranked immortals who are also looking to make a formal entrance." His face darkened. "I refuse to have you share your party with other lowlives."

She swallowed thickly as the water in the room became several degrees colder. "Uh, well, I don't actually mind so—"

"—You needn't be so kind, daughter," he assured her, which wasn't actually necessary because she truly didn't mind sharing. "The presence of those other girls would only ruin what is supposed to be your perfect day. I have taken care of everything. It is why you'll be having your debutante ball on your birthday as well. I've turned it into a hybrid event—to celebrate your formal entrance into society and to celebrate your first birthday. None of those other trash share your birthday, so they'll have to set their debutante to a different date."

Those poor girls, she inwardly winced, but on the outside, she was beaming, "Aww, thanks, daddy! You're the best!"

He didn't show it, but he was practically radiating with smugness at her praise.

"The ball will be hosted at Valhalla, so when November comes we will temporarily move there." He said.

She blinked. "Are we gonna stay at Uncle Zeus' palace?"

He scowled, "Absolutely not. There's not a sanitary spot in that shithole he calls a home. We shall be staying in my old palace back from when I used to live in Valhalla."

She nodded along, remembering that Poseidon hadn't always lived down here in Midgard. Once upon a time, he resided in Valhalla for millions, maybe billions of years until humans were created and he realized how disrespectful they were towards the Midgardian seas. Then he moved down here to 'keep them in check' (ie. terrorize them into staying away from his territory).

"Is there anything you want for your birthday?" Poseidon asked her.

Percy perked up... but then deflated when she realized how unlikely it'd be that he'd grant her what she wanted. The first thing to come to her mind was a trip to New York—she hadn't been there since her first trip with Beelzebub because they couldn't risk her father getting suspicious of his frequent visits—but there was absolutely no way her father would ever allow that.

As if reading her mind, he drawled out, "I noticed that you've taken an interest in that city over in the States. New York City, was it?"

She immediately tensed up at the mention of her home city and she was pretty sure Beelzebub was in the same predicament. Were they caught? Did he find out?

Thankfully, that wasn't it, but the next words that came out of his mouth still filled her with dread:

"While I don't understand your fascination with such a filthy place, I will gift the city of New York to you. I shall sink it and we shall watch the humans drown amongst the disease-ridden rats that live alongside them—"

Percy burst out of her chair, horror written all over her face, "—No! You can't do that!"

There was a long silence that followed after.

Behind her, Beelzebub's fingers twitched. He watched Poseidon's face cautiously, waiting for the moment he would have to grab Percy and teleport them out of here to save her from her father's wrath.

But to his surprise, the wrath never came.

Poseidon merely tilted his head and asked her, "Oh? And why is that?"

Percy struggled to form words. "I... I don't want that as a present," she said, hoping that the tremble in her voice wasn't obvious. "You don't need to give me a present, daddy. I'm happy with everything I have now."

And that was true. She had everything she could ever want and more in this universe, and Poseidon had even gone beyond that (if she ignored the weird moments that occurred between them, of course...). Aside from privacy and some basic freedom, he had given her whatever she wanted and she truly was grateful for it.

After several more seconds of silence, Poseidon let out a sigh. "You are too modest, daughter. It ails me to give you nothing, so I will find something that you will like and present it to you on your birthday."

"As long as it doesn't involve mass homicide, I'm sure I'll love whatever you give me," she assured.

The corners of his lips lifted up; she hoped it was a happy smile and not a 'muahaha, I'm gonna kill a bunch of humans and you can't stop me!' kind of smile.

He rose to his fins and swam over to her. "Your lessons are about to begin, so I shall see you in a few hours." He kissed her on the crown of her head before swimming away.

She and Beelzebub finally let their shoulders relax.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

At the beginning of November, they finally moved to their temporary palace in Valhalla.

It was located in Olympus, which was no surprise to Percy. They teleported directly to a shore. Despite there being no humans in Olympus, the shore was completely empty. She expected to see some nature spirits mingling around or even some gods taking a dip, but there were none. It seemed like hanging out at the beach was completely forbidden everywhere, which was kinda sad in Percy's opinion. She loved beach parties and it was a shame that the people in this universe could never experience it.

(At least... those in Midgar and Olympus couldn't. She liked to think the sea gods from other pantheons were more generous.)

Rather than going under the water, Poseidon kept his feet planted in the sand and just... stood there. Percy glanced up at him and was about to ask if they were waiting for something, but then the ground started to shake violently.

"Whoa!" It got so bad that she had to cling onto her father to stay on her feet. To her envy, Poseidon stayed perfectly still as if the violent earthquake didn't affect him at all.

The earthquake kept going and going and Percy was beginning to wonder if someone pissed him off, but then she saw something out in the distance. Hundreds of meters away from them, she saw something poking out of the sea. Then it grew larger and larger... and soon enough, a whole palace was rising from the waters. Once the whole building was out, the quaking finally stopped.

Percy's jaw dropped.

But apparently her father wasn't finished. The water separating them from the palace solidified, turning into a makeshift bridge so anyone could walk across it to reach the palace.

"There," Poseidon said. "I understand it's a bit... smaller than what you're used to, but I'll have some servants make the necessary adjustments. I hope you don't mind, daughter, but your party shall be on land. As much as I prefer to stay underwater, multiple gods will come to attend and I'd rather not have their filth taint our seas."

"Uh... okay," she said dumbly. She was still flabbergasted by what she just witnessed.

He smirked, finding her expression rather cute. Then, he took her hand and teleported themselves directly inside the palace.

Poseidon proceeded to give her a tour of her temporary home. Percy had flashbacks to when she first arrived in this universe and Poseidon took her to his palace down in Atlantis, but he hadn't bothered to give her a tour at that time.

Now, he was personally showing her around.

Percy marveled at the place. He kept calling it small, but she—who spent her entire life living in a tiny New York apartment—could hardly tell the difference. To her, a palace was a palace.

"And this is the ballroom," he led her through a pair of double doors.

The ballroom was massive and could probably fit over a hundred people while still providing enough space for them to move around. It was two floors tall with large greek columns stationed underneath the second floor interior balcony that overlooked the bottom floor. There were large blue and gold chandeliers on the ceiling that were almost blinding to look at. Over at the other side of the room was a large staircase that led to the second floor.

When she stepped in, she never would've assumed that the palace had been abandoned because the floors were so shiny that she could clearly see her reflection looking back at her.

"This is where your debutante will be held," Poseidon told her. "I'll put a higher platform over there," he pointed to one end of the room. "And have new thrones built for us. And over here," he pointed to the center of the ballroom. "Is where you will have your First Dance."

She whipped her head to him so fast she nearly snapped her own neck. "My first what now?"

"Your First Dance," he repeated, but didn't bother to clarify. "Speaking of that, Proteus will begin with your dance lessons tomorrow."

"W-wait, hold on," her eyes grew wide. "I gotta dance? Like, the fancy ballroom dancing kind of thing?"

"Of course," he blinked. "You did not know that?"

"Um, no?" She paled.

If it was just the fun kind of dancing and jumping around you would expect at wild parties hosted by teenagers, then yeah maybe she wouldn't have a problem, but the kind of fancy ballroom dancing that was close-up and personal with your partner while a whole audience watched you? No thanks. Knowing her luck, she'd embarrass herself and whoever was unfortunate enough to get paired with her.

The next day, not only were her dance lessons going to start, but big changes had been made to the palace.

As she walked to the ballroom for her first day of lessons, she noticed immediately that her father made good on his promise to make the palace larger. The walls were wider and longer, rooms were bigger, and she was pretty sure more floors were added.

Even the ballroom was given a massive upgrade. When she walked in, it was ten times bigger than before and even cleaner. She didn't even think the latter was possible due to how pristine it already was yesterday.

Proteus was at the center of the room, awaiting her.

"Impeccable timing as always, Princess," he bowed to her. "Are you ready for your dance lessons?"

"Not really," she said honestly.

He sent her a reassuring smile. "Not to worry, Princess, you have ample time to prepare. Now, let me begin with showing you the starting position..."

They started with hand placements. Her hand on his shoulder while the other clasped in his. Meanwhile, his free hand was placed on her side. Easy enough. She did something like this with Anthonius during a school dance at Westover Hall.

The hard part was everything else.

Turns out, she couldn't just shuffle her legs left and right and called it a day. Apparently there were rules when it came to foot movements. She had to cross her leg over the other at a particular part, cross her leg from behind at another part—it was so confusing trying to keep up that it was a miracle she didn't tangle her legs together.

And when all the twirling, dips, and pick-ups were added to the equation? Forget it.

The dance lessons persisted for the next remaining hours until it was nearly time for dinner.

"That was..." She was breathing hard. "Uh, really complicated."

"It's only the first day so don't fret," Proteus told her. "You will improve."

"Daddy said I had to do something called a 'First Dance'? What is that?" She asked.

His eyes lit up. "Oh! The First Dance is a very special moment at a debutante party. At the beginning of the ball, young goddesses dance with a special partner of their choosing—the First Dance. Normally, they dance with whoever they're betrothed to—"

Percy blanched at that.

"—But if no marriages have been arranged by that time or if they've already chosen to dedicate an eternity to maidenhood, they usually choose to dance with an unmarried male relative." He explained.

An unmarried male relative? Percy made a mental list of all the unmarried male relatives she knew.

Zagreus? No thanks. Ares? Nah, he's dating Aphrodite. Apollo? NOPE. Hermes...? If it were the Hermes of my universe, then maybe, but I'm not close with the one in here.

...Hades?

She felt her face burn as she quickly shook her head. No, no, no, not a good idea.

But then she remembered a certain favorite uncle of hers and her face lit up.

"I'll have my first dance with Uncle Adamas!" She decided.

Proteus' eyes went as wide as saucers. "P-Perhaps that's not a good idea, Princess. Lord Adamas does not know how to dance." And he might not even be invited if my Lord can help it, he mentally added, wincing.

"Oh," she frowned, but then another idea came to her. "Well, since we're already practicing, how about you be my partner, then?"

The greenish tint in his skin turned white. He looked as if she had just ordered for his execution.

"A-a-also not a good idea!" He wheezed. "I am just a mere servant, my Lady. You should pick someone of a higher status."

"Beelzebub then?"

He somehow managed to turn even paler. "No, he won't work either." He cleared his throat. "Princess, please remember it must be a member of your family."

Percy went through her list of eligible dance partners and, once again, came up blank.

She shrugged hopelessly. "I can't think of anyone."

"Are you sure? Have you gone through all the options?" He pressed on. "I'm certain there's one god who would love to be your partner."

She stared at him blankly.

"A particular god who lives under the sea?"

"Are you talking about..." She furrowed her brows in confusion. "...Spongebob...?"

Proteus was baffled. "Who—? No! My lady, I'm talking about your father."

"Oh," she blinked.

"Yes," he stressed. "So I highly suggest you ask him to be your partner. I assure you, it would make him very happy."

Sometime after Percy's first sleepover at Asgard a few months ago, the shift in Poseidon's demeanor became very obvious to everyone working in the palace. Poseidon loved his daughter in more ways than one—and Percy was pretty much the only one in the palace who had yet to realize it.

At first, Proteus had been stupefied upon realizing the news. His Lord had fallen in love, and with his daughter at that? But then he quickly saw how wonderful this would be. His Lord and Lady, together! Oh, he could already imagine the parties the Atlantean Empire would throw once news of their marriage came forth! Or news of an heir!

"...Ask... my dad?" Percy said unsurely.

Oh dear. He couldn't have that.

"Of course!" He cried out joyously. "Who better to have as a partner than him? My Lord is an excellent dancer."

She looked up at him. "He's danced with other girls before?" She didn't realize it until a second later, but she was frowning as she said that.

What the fuck? She mentally slapped herself. Now wasn't the time to be getting upset. She shouldn't even care anyway. Her father could dance with whoever he wanted.

"Mostly with his sisters at parties he's been forced to attend," he replied. "So? Will you ask him?"

She gulped. "Um... I'll think about it."

His face fell. "Oh, alright then, my lady. But do make sure to pick a partner before the week of the ball."

She nodded wordlessly.

After the lesson, she left the ballroom for a break while scolding herself for daring to feel... jealous at the prospect of her father dancing with other people.

Gods, what was wrong with her?

First she was trying to avoid her father's wandering hands and now she was getting jealous at the thought of him having previous dance partners? What did she even want anymore?

I think I'm just getting used to being spoiled by his attention so much, she tried to rationalize. I'm just not used to sharing it, that's all.

There's nothing wrong with me, she tried to tell herself. There is nothing wrong with me.

She had to keep telling herself this for the rest of the night.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Her dance lessons persisted every day for the next few weeks. It happened right after her academic lessons with Beelzebub, so by the time dinner came, she was exhausted and ready for the day to end.

She went straight to her room and collapsed on the bed.

"Percy, may I speak with you?"

She lifted her head up, "Beelie?"

For some reason, Beelzebub was in her room. She didn't even realize he had come in. He took long strides to her bed and pulled her up into a sitting position. He looked tense.

She glanced warily at the door, half-expecting her father or someone else to burst in and see them together. "Um, dude, I don't think you should be here. If I messed up my math homework again, can you maybe scold me for it later 'cause I'm kinda—"

"—I activated the cloak so no one can sense me here," he cut her off with a sigh. "And I'm not here about the math homework."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, so I actually got everything correct?"

"No," he answered bluntly. "But we'll go over that later. This is important. It's about your father."

Her back straightened up in alarm. "W-what is it, is he okay?"

"He's fine, but you won't be," he insisted.

"Huh?"

"...As the Devil, I am able to sense the sins people have committed as well as their deepest darkest desires," he began to explain hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure if he should be telling her this. "Your father's dripping head to toe in them—most gods are, of course, but there's something new now, something that's been growing steadily and dangerously."

"What is it?"

"Lust."

She gave him a weird look. "...You came to tell me... that my dad's horny? Dude, TMI."

Beelzebub rolled his eyes. "You idiot, use your brain. The lust is directed towards you."

She stiffened, but managed to force a grin. "That's not funny, Beel." She laughed weakly.

"I'm not joking with you," he frowned. "I'm sorry for never telling you this before—"

"—What?—"

"—But I am telling you now, that your father's only going to get worse and you need to be careful."

She only shook her head in response and tried to get off the bed, but he grabbed her arm and forced her still.

"Percy, I know you've already noticed the signs," he insisted. "You cannot ignore this any longer."

"Let go, I want to leave," she said.

"Percy—"

Stop it, stop it, stop it! I don't want to hear this!

"—I said—"

There was a knock on her door.

Both of them went absolutely still.

A few more seconds passed, and another knock came. This time, Beelzebub stepped away from her. He gave her one last furtive look before teleporting away.

"Princess," came Proteus' voice. "Your father's requesting your presence at his office."

She bit back a gasp and tried to find some way to ease her nerves.

He's just gonna ask about my progress in dancing. He does this all the time, she tried to tell herself, but she didn't think she could continue lying to herself for too long anymore.

"Coming," she called back shakily.

"Princess, are you alright?" He asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" She exclaimed, hastily getting out of bed. "I'll be there! Thank you for telling me!"

He replied back, and she listened to the sound of his footsteps disappearing.

The walk to her father's office was agonizingly slow.

He just wants to know how my lessons have been going. He does this all the time, she told herself over and over again until she reached his door.

Before she could even knock, the doors opened automatically, as if sensing her presence.

Her father sat behind his desk and he looked like he was in the middle of writing something.

"Percilla," he greeted. "Come."

He's going to ask about my lessons, she reminded herself as she stepped into the room. The doors closed behind her.

"You called me for me, daddy?" She said with fake cheer as she ambled over to his side of the desk when he beckoned her over.

He hummed in response. He turned his body to her and spread his legs, patting one of his thighs. It didn't take her long to realize what he was asking: he wanted her to sit on his lap.

Her face turned red. "I... uh... I don't think I should..."

He raised an elegant brow.

"Daddy, I..." She swallowed, chuckling nervously. "I'm a little too old to be sitting on your lap, don't you think?"

"Old? You are but a child," he replied, amused, but also annoyed. He didn't know where this hesitance came from, but he knew it had to do with humans. Somehow, the humans had taught his precious daughter shame and he wanted to fix that.

She looked like she was about to protest so he took her by the arm and tugged her forward. He pulled her down until she was sitting on his lap, one arm wrapped around her waist to keep her still and her back pressed to his chest.

Percy stayed as still as a rock.

"How have your dance lessons been going?" He asked.

"Well," she replied. "Mr. Proteus says I've been doing really good lately."

"Excellent. And have you decided who you want to be your partner for the First Dance?"

"I highly suggest you ask him to be your partner," she remembered Proteus telling her on the first day. "I assure you, it would make him very happy."

"Um," she swallowed thickly. "No."

"You ought to pick a partner soon, my pearl," he drawled. "Your debutante ball is only a little over a week away."

She made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat and tried to find a way to distract herself. She glanced down at his desk and saw stacks of elegant envelopes.

"What are these?" She asked curiously.

"Invitations to your ball," he replied. "I'm almost done. Would you like to check them?"

She nodded and wordlessly reached out. She saw various names that she was familiar with; her uncles, aunts, cousins, her grandmother, followed by big names from other pantheons. Some of them she wasn't even familiar with.

But there was one thing that stood out to her.

"Daddy, why is there no invitation for Uncle Adamas?" She asked sharply.

She could feel him go still beneath her.

"You wish for him to attend?"

"Yes."

"Very few gods are aware of his existence, and he wishes to keep it that way. It wouldn't do to invite him, he won't come."

"He has a helmet," she told him. "And if he doesn't want to come, then that's fine, but we should still invite him."

"Percilla—"

"—Daddy, I want him to have an invitation," she demanded. "He's family. He should be invited."

She couldn't see his face, but she was kind of glad for that. This was probably the first time she had ever demanded something from him—something that he clearly didn't want to grant her—so the wait for a response was nerve wracking.

"Fine," he said. "I will make one for him."

Rather than having her get off his lap, he merely straightened up, grabbed a blank letter and wrote down his invitation. Then, he placed it in an envelope and had it sealed with blue and gold wax that had a trident symbol over it.

"There," he said after he finished writing 'Adamas' in Ancient Greek on the back. "I will have it sent out with the others. Does that please you, daughter?"

"Yes," she allowed herself to smile. "Thank you, daddy."

"As punishment, you are to stay with me until I'm done with the rest of the invitations." He stated.

Shit, she cursed herself.

For the next few minutes, she remained stuck there on his lap. At first, she didn't see why he needed to write down the invitations himself—he could just magic them to completion—but she realized pretty soon why he was doing them. Apparently he felt the need to add his own personal messages, or threats in this case, at the end of each invite.

For example, Indra's invitation had the warning: 'Do not smoke in my daughter's ball or I will have your lips sewn shut'. For Zeus, it was 'I'm only doing this because mother told me to.'. And so forth. How sweet of him.

It hadn't been that long, barely even ten minutes, but the time seemed to be passing on slowly. She tried her hardest not to fidget, but the ADHD was making it near impossible. What made it worse was the bulge that was pressing against her butt. Her face flushed, knowing just what that bulge was.

Her father had a boner. And she was on his lap. The very thought filled her with embarrassment and shame. The short dress she wore only made things a hundred times worse. Every time she moved even a little bit, she could feel his hard cock brush against her dampening panties.

Gods, she wanted to die. How could she be wet at a moment like this? What was wrong with her? This was just like with Hades—what they had done was disgusting, but her body (and mind) refused to listen to reason.

Her picture-perfect family was beginning to shatter. First it was her uncle, and now her own father was adding in the cracks. She couldn't help but blame herself for being so sick in the head. She wanted to die, die, die—she wanted to be anywhere but here experiencing this shame again.

She could feel her eyes beginning to water as self-loathing filled her. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to distract herself with anything. The dizzying words on her father's paperwork, the cool oceanic decor around the office, the large hand inching up to her bare thigh. Her breath hitched, feeling her father's fingers caress the skin of her leg softly before slowly traveling to her inner thigh.

"Um!" She suddenly spoke aloud. She started to sit up, desperate to get out. "Sorry, daddy, I gotta uh–"

"–Sit," he commanded, pushing her back down. She nearly gasped, seeing stars when her father's erection hit her clothed pussy, dangerously close to where her clit was.

"I'm almost done, Percilla, be patient," he chided her. He was so much bigger than her, so even though she was on his lap, he had to angle his head downwards to speak to her, his hot breath fanning against her ear. She shivered, and Poseidon inwardly smirked at that.

If only he had been able to swat those pesky thoughts of shame out of her pretty little head earlier on, then they wouldn't have to be suffering such agony right now. She would've been bouncing on his cock, begging for daddy to fill her up and thanking him afterwards like the good girl she was.

He could picture it; his large hands grabbing fistfuls of his daughter's perfect waist, lifting her up and down on his cock while she squealed and moaned for more. He'd push her down onto him, his massive cock piercing the deepest parts of her womb, and spilling creamy rivulets of his cum into her. He'd watch his sperm spill down from her hole and then he'd fuck her all over again.

Suddenly an approaching presence caught his attention. Just a few hallways down his office was Beelzebub, and he could feel him drawing closer.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Despite the great advancements Beelzebub had made to her education (aside from math), Poseidon was beginning to regret hiring him as her caretaker and educator. Just the thought of them being alone together for even a second made his ichor boil. He knew his daughter was beautiful, but he abhorred the thought of other men appreciating her beauty. She was his daughter. Only he was allowed to bask in her presence.

"Daddy?" Percy spoke up, sounding afraid for some reason. Perhaps she sensed his growing ire.

"It's nothing," he lied, running a hand through her silky dark hair to comfort her. Truly, she was such a perfect daughter. He loved her so much. His sweet little girl. His pearl.

He leaned forward, his broad chest meeting her back. His form nearly engulfed her whole as he held her against him.

"My sweet girl," he murmured, kissing the crown of her head.

"D-daddy...?" She said shakily. He felt her tense, her pussy practically throbbing against his cock.

He didn't respond, hands grabbing the edge of her skirt and getting ready to pull it up.

"Daddy, wait!" She cried out, grabbing his wrist. "I—I have something important to ask you!" She blurted out.

"What is it?" He said with barely held-back patience.

"Let me stand up," she said urgently. "It's something really really important."

"Fine," he scowled and allowed her to get off his lap.

Percy's whole body was trembling from head to toe.

"I—" she gulped. "I wanted to ask... i-if you would be my partner for the First Dance."

Instantly, his mood lifted up. "Is that so?"

She nodded.

"Why has it taken you so long to ask me?"

"I was just scared, daddy," she said shakily. "I, um, I thought you would say 'no' because it would be embarrassing."

"How silly," he purred, pulling her closer by the hips. He began to stroke the inside of her thigh. "Why ever would I say no to my sweet daughter's request to have me as her partner?"

She gently tried to push his hands away and back off, but he held onto her legs tight and tried to pull her in some more—

But then a knock came at the door.

Poseidon's face scowled as he pulled his hands away. "What is it, Beelzebub?"

"I require Percy's immediate attention, my Lord. I've noticed an error in one of her essays and it's imperative that I wo—"

"—Fine," Poseidon spat through gritted teeth. He then took a deep breath to reign in his temper since his daughter was in the room before motioning that she was dismissed.

She scurried out of the room, breathless and hot all over.

Poseidon watched her intently, breathing just as hard. If only they hadn't been interrupted...

But that was fine. He knew she wanted him, he just had to give her the right push.

When Percy walked out the door, she couldn't even meet Beelzebub's eyes. The shame was written all over her face, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he quietly walked her to the library to gather some privacy.

Once they were finally alone, he asked her, "Will you continue to deny it now?"

"I can't, even if I want to," she said bitterly.

She felt like her whole world was crashing down. All she wanted was to have a loving father—how could it have come to this?

"Does my dad even love me?" She asked desperately. "Has he ever?"

"Percy," he sighed. "Of course he has, and of course he still loves you. Love works differently for us gods. For us, there are no limits. It's drastically different compared to humans, who restrict themselves on who they're allowed to love."

"Because it's wrong," she said firmly. "You shouldn't be like that to your family—you're hurting them. Beel, if you've known how he's felt for so long, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was possible for Poseidon to feel so strongly, and while I noticed your discomfort... you still seemed so happy," he admitted guiltily. "So I stopped thinking about it. I didn't realize that you were just trying to convince yourself that what your father was doing wasn't real."

Of course she had been doing that. She had been trying so hard to push the warning signs away and just enjoy the picture she painted in her head: that her father loved her the same way all fathers loved their daughters.

But now she could no longer deny the true extent of how much his love went.

"Do you love your father?" He suddenly asked.

"Of course I do." She answered, ashamed.

"But do you love him the same way he loves you?"

There was a budding of dark desire that had been growing within her. It was tiny, so small and insignificant that he could brush it off. Everyone had dark desires, some not as dark as others. Even the purest of people had dark desires, what mattered was whether they acted on it or not, whether they were willing to commit that sin.

And Percy was too good to go around committing sins like most humans and gods do.

Say no, he begged. He didn't think he would be able to handle it if she returned Poseidon's feelings, even a little bit.

"No," she answered, but she wasn't looking at him.

His ichor turned to ice.

She had lied.

MEMES!

Memes: 1

FANARTS!

I WAS GIVEN MORE POEMS! But this time they're from basileiapetrova

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Chapter 26: loki gets what he wants

Summary:

Percy just can't hold it in anymore, but she deserves a pat on the head for lasting so long ;)

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

WARNING: smut again. Yeah I know, back-to-back smut! Who knew I was capable of doing that?? Anyway, it's nothing big. Just expect a slight dash of masturbation with a hint of voyeurism! Oh, and shame. Lots and LOTS of shame

THE NIGHT BEFORE HER DEBUTANTE ball was on a weekend, which meant there was no Beelzebub for her to use as a shelter from her father's… less appropriate advances.

Whenever Beelzebub wasn't around to shield her, she would use her dance lessons as an excuse to keep herself busy, even going so far as to beg Proteus to make the lessons last longer because "I'm sure I can get this move down, just lemme practice a few more times, pleeeaaase?". Luckily for her, Proteus was so enthralled by her 'dedication to work hard' that he would agree and they'd spend a few more hours practicing in the new dance room they were transferred to (the ballroom was undergoing decorations for the upcoming ball).

But unfortunately for her, that excuse wasn't going to work today.

"My lady, I insist we stop! Tonight's the night before your special day, and I won't have you tired! I know exhaustion lasts so long for mortals and we can't have that," Proteus chided her with a laugh. "And I've told you before, you've practiced so much that everything's perfect! You'll do wonderfully!"

"Oh, yay…!" She cheered weakly, when what she really wanted to do was yell out "nooooo!".

"Go freshen up, dinner's about to begin soon and I'm sure your father would love to hear about all the progress you've made!" He beamed.

She forced a smile on her face as she trudged out of the room.

It'll be just a quick dinner, she thought as she changed out of her practice clothes in her room. And then after that I can go to bed early under the guise of wanting to wake up with enough time to prepare for the ball.

Her face fell when she remembered the times Poseidon would pull her onto her lap after dinner was over. More shame filled her.

Honestly, how did this happen? She racked her brain in an attempt to find the moment Poseidon crossed the line between familial and romantic, but she couldn't piece it together. All she could think about was how good things were between them before this horrifying realization came to her. Poseidon loved her, but when did that love become so wrong?

Was this all her fault? He had been doing such a good job being a father, but he was still so new to it… maybe he just… didn't understand that what he felt was wrong and she had unknowingly enabled him? Should she have spoken up about it? Educated him? What should she have done—what could she do right now—to fix this?

A knock came to her door, followed by a servant's voice, "My lady, dinner is ready. Your father's waiting for you at the Great Hall."

"Coming," she called back.

Just like the servant said, her father sat at the head of the table waiting for her. His plate of food was already filled, as was his goblet, but he didn't care for any of that. The second she entered the room, he was out of his chair and striding towards her.

She stiffened when he tilted her chin up so she would look at him, but all she could see was concern on his face; his brows were turned down, he was frowning, and she could see worry swimming in his usually stoic face.

"You are troubled," he said. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she lied guiltily. His care for her was so genuine she couldn't help but feel conflicted. On one hand, he did actually love her, but on the other hand…

When it was obvious he wasn't buying it, she said, "I'm just nervous about tomorrow."

"Ah," he released her chin. "Your debutante ball."

She nodded.

"There is nothing to worry about. It will be perfect, I will make sure of it," he swore seriously. "As for your dancing, I'm fully aware of how hard you've been working. You needn't worry about that either."

It wasn't what she was actually worried about, but she could feel her heart begin to warm at how sweet he was being.

But then—

"And if someone dares to give you any trouble," he went on, his face and voice taking a dark turn. "I will rip their head off and display it for everyone to see. It will act as a reminder for them to be on their best behavior."

"Um, hopefully you won't need to do that," she replied, holding back a nervous shudder because she knew that he was serious.

"We shall see," was his response, which wasn't very reassuring.

Despite the ominous end to that discussion, dinner was a pretty light occasion that night.

In an attempt to keep her mind from worrying so much, Poseidon told her a funny story about what his own debut was like—or more importantly, the time baby Zeus waddled over to the ballroom and pooped so much that it leaked through his diaper and caused their father, Kronos, to slip and fall onto the refreshments.

The night was full of Percy's snickers as he recounted the story and even had a big laugh when he told her what he had done as retaliation; he had been so furious at his little brother for nearly ruining his debut that he actually tried to sell him online to a bunch of cannibals (he was worth a whopping one drachma).

It was pretty ironic to her, considering that back in her universe Zeus was the only one who was spared from being eaten unlike the rest of his siblings.

By the end of it, all the fear, shame, and anxiety was completely drained from her. It was as if the past events had never happened, that Poseidon was back to his normal fatherly self, and she could enjoy being his daughter without having to feel so disgusted with herself.

"I should get to bed," she said with an easygoing grin. "Big day ahead of me."

She pushed her chair back and rose to her feet, but Poseidon suddenly called out to her, "Wait a moment, daughter."

She looked at him questioningly. He beckoned her closer.

"Yeah?" She asked as she approached his side.

"Kiss me," he demanded bluntly.

It was so sudden that it took her several seconds to actually register what he just said. When it finally clicked, she could feel her heart stop.

"W-what?"

"I said kiss me," he demanded again.

All at once every horrible feeling she previously felt came flooding back to her as if a dam had broken inside her mind. But instantly, she tried to fix it all by thinking rationally.

Because surely he meant a kiss on the cheek, right? That was what she always did and what he always wanted. There was nothing wrong with a kiss to the cheek. Kids did that with their parents and vice versa all the time!

Heart still racing, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his cheek.

When she pulled away, she could see him deadpan at her.

"Don't be a coward," he said flatly before grabbing her by the jaw and yanking her lips to his. Then it slithered down her back and pulled her onto his lap. His other hand grabbed her by the back of her head and held her in place.

She should've refused, should've pushed herself away, and ran—it would've been the right thing to do. But the second their lips pressed together, she threw all caution to the wind and melted right into his embrace.

The kiss was forceful, dominating, and messy. Poseidon kissed her as if he wanted to devour her whole, as if he wanted to leave his mark for the whole universe to see. If it hadn't been for the Curse of Achilles, her lips would've been bruised by how harsh he was being, and the very thought made her body hot all over.

His hands roamed the sides of her legs, leaving a trail of goosebumps on her skin as he slowly pushed the skirt of her dress up. This time, she didn't stop him.

You're sick, you're so fucking sick, the voice in her head hissed venomously. The worst part was that she didn't know who it was directed towards—her, or Poseidon.

It wasn't until his tongue met hers did she finally remember how wrong this was. Her eyes snapped open and her hands—which were desperately clutching the back of her father's head—immediately tried to push herself off of his lap.

Poseidon clicked his tongue in annoyance. She could see a flash of his lust-filled eyes glaring at her before he forced her back into another messy kiss. He nipped her lower lip like he wanted to punish her for trying to get away from him before shoving his tongue back into her mouth.

There was a breathy moan building in the back of her throat. He let out an appreciative groan before stroking her tongue with his. She could practically feel her eyes roll to the back of her skull at how good this all felt.

Weak. She was so fucking weak.

First her uncle and now her father. Someone might as well throw her into Tartarus at this point. She felt like she was taking all the pure and tender love her parents and friends back home gave her and stomping all over it.

Her mom, her dad, Paul, Anthonius, Nico, Thalia, everyone she knew and loved—they were all going to hate her if they knew what she had done.

As if sensing the emotional turmoil she was going through, Poseidon finally stopped.

The two of them were breathless once they pulled away, a messy trail of saliva forming between them until it snapped. This was the hottest she had ever felt before—and she had nearly been burned alive by lava. When she looked down, she could see her fingers trembling as they held onto Poseidon's shoulders for dear life.

Poseidon wasn't any better. Despite gods not needing to breathe, he was just as breathless as hers. And his face—Percy felt like she could stare at him all day. His once stoic and cold expression looked so debauched. His perfect blonde curls were a mess from how much she grabbed at it, his pupils were blown wide from lust, and his cheeks were flushed a beautiful shade of gold. It reminded her of the way Hades always looked after he kissed her.

It made her want to throw up. As much as she wanted to deny it, she no longer could: she was attracted to her own family.

"We shouldn't have done that," she whispered hysterically. She hastily scrambled off of him, but before she could flee, he grabbed her arm.

"Is it not normal for daughters to be affectionate with their fathers and vice versa?" He asked challengingly.

"Not like this..." She said shakily. Her whole body felt like it was on fire and her thighs were rubbing against each other before she even knew it. The second she realized what she was doing, she put a stop to it, but a shameful part of her begged for the friction to return.

He arched a brow. Despite his face being almost as flushed as hers, his expression remained unbothered.

"Oh? Is that so? But you seemed to enjoy it," he pointed out, and she turned away in shame.

He clicked his tongue and held her chin, forcing her to face him. "Honestly, what a stubborn child you are. But..." He trailed off, a smirk crawling over his handsome features. "I guess you got that from me."

What used to be a trait he despised about her, was now something he grew to love and accept. As his mother and Hades pointed out, stubbornness was one of the few traits they shared and Poseidon was beginning to realize that he very much liked it when there were similarities between them—however little they may be. It really cemented the fact that she, his only daughter, was all his.

"There's no need to be ashamed," he murmured, his voice the softest it had ever been. She would be the only one to earn his soft side. He pulled her closer to him. "I quite liked it as well. In fact, I want you to kiss me like that every day. Would you do that for your father?"

It was too much for her to handle. At once, she burst into tears and pulled away from him.

His face quickly fell. "Percy—" He tried to reach out to her but she was already running out of the Hall and to her room.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

The next few hours were tense. Rather than chase after her, Poseidon decided it was best to let her have some space away from him—despite every inch of him wanting to burst into her room to comfort her.

He tried to keep himself busy by overseeing the last of the preparations for her ball, but it was pointless. While he ordered servants to move around this and that, he kept his Sight on his daughter. It was already past midnight and she should've been asleep by now, but she wasn't. Instead, to his absolute dread, she spent the entire night crying in her bedroom.

For the second time in possibly his whole life, he felt guilty. This was the second time he had made his daughter run away in tears.

Surely she didn't hate him now, right? No, no, she couldn't hate him. Percy loved him, she could never hate him.

She was just… confused. That was all. She was lost. And that was perfectly understandable given that she was just a child who didn't quite understand her emotions just yet.

Nevertheless, there had to be something he could do. Something he could say to comfort her, something to get those silly ideas of right and wrong out of her head.

He still didn't know how exactly they got into her head in the first place. So what if they were family? She was loved by him in more ways than one—the very prospect of that should have her rejoicing. And he knew that deep down she actually loved it too. She wouldn't have responded so well to his ministrations if she truly despised it.

And yet she felt ashamed.

He racked his brain trying to think of any god or goddess that would've felt ashamed by this and came up with none. Incest was prevalant in every pantheon to certain degrees. The only group of people who would put their foot down to this were… humans.

Just the thought of them made his ichor boil with fury.

At that moment, a group of servants approached him warily, each holding a golden vase filled with blue flowers—but to his annoyance, it was a shade of blue that clashed garishly with the rest of the decor.

"My lord, the floral decorations from Lady Demeter have arrived. Where would you—"

"—This is not the shade of blue I wanted you to get, can you people do anything right?" He snapped.

The color drained from his purple tinted skin. The other servants who came alongside him all shifted nervously.

"My apolo—"

Poseidon turned them all into a puddle of seawater before he could even finish.

"Proteus! Clean this up and get me the right shade of blue flowers," he demanded.

"Already on it, my lord," Proteus replied, dutifully removing the seawater with a wave of his hand before teleporting away to get the correct flowers.

After watching that terrifying display, the servants were moving around more quickly than ever, not wanting to be on the other end of his growing wrath.

Poseidon's patience was thinning as he watched them scurry around. He rested his cheek against his knuckles and continued to watch over his daughter, only to pause.

Percy had stopped crying, but her face was still soaked with tears and her eyes were red. She still wore that expression he didn't like—fear, shame, and doubt. He wanted to teleport himself into her room to make sure she never had a bad thought about herself ever again, but then she did something that made his mind absolutely crash.

She had thrown the comforter off her body, revealing one of her usual night dresses. The bottom of her dress had bunched up to her hips but she quickly hiked it up to her waist to get it out of the way. His Eyes zeroed in between her legs. Her underwear was completely soaked.

He straightened up. "Everyone leave. Now." He commanded.

Without another word, the ballroom was empty in less than a second.

He continued to watch her.

It was as if she was aware that he was watching her, because the time it took for her to peel off her underwear was agonizingly slow like she was trying to tease him. Legs still squeezed shut, she dropped it to the floor beside her bed and for a few seconds, sat there like she couldn't believe what she had done.

She bit her lip nervously, breathing in and out deeply like she was trying to prepare herself. Then, she began to part her legs open.

Poseidon's breath hitched once the sight of her cunt came into view. He could feel his mouth begin to water. She was all pink and tender, and he could catch the glimpse of a tiny hole peeking at him. She was absolutely—

"Perfect," he said breathlessly. His hands immediately went for his pants, shoving the front of them down so he could pull his already hard cock out.

Percy began to lay herself down on the bed, dark hair splayed around her head like a halo. Her chest was heaving up and down and he could see her nipples poking through the thin fabric of her dress. He wished she would take it off too, but he could wait. The scene playing before him all but guaranteed that he would see the rest of her lovely body eventually—if not today, then certainly another.

Come on now, he thought darkly, his hand lazily pumping himself up and down. Touch yourself at the thought of me. I know you want to.

Her hand trembled as she lowered it down. Tentatively, she touched herself. He wondered if she had ever done this before—he doubted it. She looked too nervous and hesitant, like she didn't quite know what to do with her fingers. He had half a mind to go in there and assist her.

Her fingers started to rub at her folds and he could already see her slick building up around her digits. She was wet even before she had started, and now she was practically dripping onto the bed sheets underneath her. It was a mouth watering sight; he wished he was there to lap it all up.

Tiny whimpers escaped her lips as she rubbed herself faster. She quickly covered her mouth to hide the sinful noises she was making, unaware that her own father was watching her.

From her frantic rubbing, she accidentally slipped her finger past her folds and judging from the way her body jolted like she had undergone an electric shock, she must have found her clit.

"Oh—!" She gasped, eyes widening.

She kept her finger in there, rubbing at her clit some more. She clenched her eyes shut, toes curled as she whined from the pleasure.

Poseidon's breath was going ragged at this point. When she finally slipped her whole finger into her pussy, his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he slipped out a small groan.

A second finger slipped in. She started to thrash on the bed, her legs trembling. The room was full of tiny gasps and mewls. If just two fingers were enough to send her to this state, a real cock would've ascended her to heaven.

Her movements were getting more desperate now. Her breasts started to jiggle with every squelching in-and-out of her fingers. He could tell that she was getting closer to her release.

"Mmm… Daddy…" She moaned into her hand.

He threw his head back into his throne, moaning out loud. "Fuck…!"

"Ah… ha… ha… daddy…! Oh! Oh, daddy!" She squealed, squirting all over the bed. Over at the throne room, ropes of cum shot out of Poseidon's cock as he moaned her name.

That night, father and daughter came together.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

The next day, after waking up bright and early so her maids could tend to her, the only thing going through Percy's head was a never ending, AHHHHHHHHH!

She kissed her dad. She touched herself to the thought of him.

She couldn't believe she just did that. Actually, wait, she could believe it because she was fucked up like that, but holy shit she didn't expect to be that depraved.

I'm a horrible person, I suck, I'm the worst, I'm disgusting, I hate myself, I hate myself, she thought repeatedly. She wanted to drive a sword straight into her mortal spot—maybe that would make her feel better.

"How are you feeling my lady?" The nymph curling her hair asked eagerly.

I feel absolutely horrible, thanks for asking!

"I feel amazing!" She said cheerfully. "I'm so excited! I can't wait for the ball to start!"

"It's your first birthday too!" Another nymph cooed. "I bet you'll get so many presents tonight!"

I don't deserve them, she thought miserably, but on the outside, she was clapping her hands. "Oh yay!"

The nymphs cheered alongside her before resuming their work. Meanwhile, Percy stared at herself in the mirror, trying to find any sign that the old her was still there. She looked completely unrecognizable. Her hair had been curled to perfection with not a single strand out of place. The maids had her bathe with some sort of glittery concoction so when she came out, her skin had a glimmery sheen (she was just glad she wasn't as sparkly as the vampires from Twilight).

And her gown was… she didn't think there were enough words to describe how gorgeous it was. She wore a long flowing gown that would've made the contestants of Miss Universe cry with envy. It consisted of layers of deep oceanic blue that looked heavy to wear but was actually almost watery to the touch. There were fine golden embellishments on the skirt, her bodice was lined with gold along with golden that fell delicately around her upper arms, and trails of priceless white pearls dangled around her hips. It was breathtakingly beautiful—and it also came with pockets!

Overall, she almost looked like a goddess. Almost. Because no matter how many pretty clothes she wore or how many nymphs did her hair and make up, it would never change the fact that a part of her was still human. And she clung desperately onto that piece of her. She may have been reduced to this disgusting, horrid version of herself, but at least she still had her human identity.

"Just one more thing," a nymph approached her, carrying a royal blue pillow. Atop of it was her tiara. She still couldn't believe she had one—or many, in this case because apparently members of the royal family normally had more than one crown (maybe it depended on the occasion?). This particularly tiara was made of gold and decorated with ocean diamonds and strings of pearls that draped around her head.

Percy stayed still as she allowed the nymph to fit it on her.

The nymph pulled away, beaming. "And there! You needn't worry about the tiara toppling off, my lady, it's been enchanted to stay on you until you're ready to remove it."

"Cool," was really all she could say, she was still in awe that this was really happening.

Another nymph suddenly gasped. "Oh! We forgot the necklace!" She held out a blue diamond necklace that probably weighed a ton. She was just about to clasp it around her neck until—

"There is no need for that."

Percy's breath hitched. Her father had entered the room.

"Lord Poseidon," the maids murmured reverently, bowing low.

He ignored them. Their eyes met through the mirror.

"Leave us." He ordered.

The nymphs were out in a flash.

The two of them were alone now. She gulped audibly, trying to forget the memories of last night. The kiss and what she had done afterwards.

He started to walk towards her. She watched him through the mirror, as if he was a predator waiting to lunge. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest.

Did he know what she did? She had cleaned up as much as she could without alerting a maid to clean up—too embarrassed to really explain what had happened—but it didn't dawn on her until afterwards that he could've been watching her from afar. He was all-seeing and she was right in his territory of all places. She could feel her face burn with humiliation. Stupid, stupid, stupid. This was the price she had to pay for letting her sick desires get the better of her. She deserved this.

Finally, he was standing right behind her, his eyes traveling from her to the mirror. Slowly she watched as his face began to soften the way it usually did around her. His lips curled up into a small smile.

"I would say that you look beautiful… but alas, even that is not enough to describe the perfection I see before me," he murmured, hands grasping her shoulders.

She said nothing, choosing to stare back at him in the mirror. He was impeccably dressed as always. Whoever picked out his outfit must have coordinated with her stylist because they complemented each other perfectly. He wore a deep blue blazer that matched with her dress. It had golden buttons that were shaped like miniature seashells and on his shoulders were golden epaulettes. His blazer was left wide open, leaving only strings of black pearls holding onto both sides. Underneath it was a skin-tight black top that looked to be made out of fish scales that was also embellished with gold. It reached up to his neck like a semi-turtleneck, topped by his usual radiant golden choker.

He wore a crown as well. Far grander than hers and fit for an emperor. It was taller and with more points, made out of gold and decorated with the same ocean diamonds as hers, but with black pearls that suited his outfit more.

She gulped again, forcefully prying her eyes away from his form and cursing herself for staring at him like an idiot.

"I know you said you didn't need a present from me, but I wanted to give you this," he said. There was a faint glow, and suddenly he was holding something in his hands.

It was a necklace—a choker to be more specific. But it wasn't just any piece of jewelry, it was a choker exactly like his. But there was one thing that hers had that his didn't. The choker was made out of a radiant gold that shined so bright it could probably be seen from miles, no different from his, but at the very center of it was a single pearl that sat between two tidal waves. She was no pearl expert, but she had a feeling that this was no regular pearl that could be found in Midgard.

"I made it. The pearl," he said softly. "Rather than summoning one, I crafted a new one by my own hands. I admit, it took me awhile—I wanted to make sure it was absolutely perfect for you—but… it was worth it. You are worth it, my daughter."

Ever so carefully, he clasped it around her neck.

"A pearl for my pearl," he murmured, kissing the side of her head.

It took her a while to speak up. She could feel herself getting emotional already, and through the mirror, she was pretty sure her eyes were watering too. There were probably a hundred types of pearls in the universe, but instead of just giving her one, he created a whole new pearl into existence. There was no other pearl like this in all the three realms.

She didn't know how long it had taken him to make it, but she didn't care. The fact that he had given her a present so personal, so meaningful, was enough to make her tear up.

Finally, she spoke, "Thank you…" She breathed out, reaching out to tentatively touch the present her father had so carefully crafted for her.

"Do you like it?" He asked her.

"Of course I do," she exclaimed. "This—this is the best present ever!"

"You haven't even gotten the rest of your presents yet." He pointed out.

She shook her head. "I don't care. Nothing they give me can beat this."

The Poseidon of her universe had visited her on her fifteenth birthday. He had given her a sand dollar as a present, but she didn't really count that as a gift. It was the fact that he went there in person that she counted as a present. Poseidon rarely interacted with her directly, too wary of Zeus and his Ancient Laws, and yet he had come to her on her fifteenth birthday. A part of her had a feeling it was to see her one last time, there was a war coming and the Great Prophecy decreed that she might die on her sixteenth.

Despite the threat of Zeus' rage, Poseidon had come to her, wanting to see her alive and happy, knowing very well that a year from then that all that might change.

The Poseidons, regardless of the universe, were pretty damn good at handing out birthday presents.

At her words, her father's smile became more noticeable now before he schooled his expression.

"I am glad to hear that," he said, but she could tell he felt super smug about it. "The ball is about to begin any minute now. Shall we?"

She nodded. He offered his arm and she took it. Together, they walked out of her room.

(He hadn't once mentioned about what she had done last night.

She could feel her shoulders sink in relief. He didn't know.)

They reached the second floor and stood before the grand doors that led to the ballroom.

Poseidon patted her hand, sensing her nerves.

"You will be fine," he said soothingly.

"I think I might throw up." She blurted out.

"Don't," was his helpful piece of advice.

She swallowed thickly. Proteus had already told her how this would go. At the start of the ball, their names and titles would be announced and the doors would open. Then, they would walk to the bottom floor and do the First Dance together for everyone to see.

For everyone to see. Those words alone were enough to make her anxiety skyrocket.

Look, she was no stranger to attention. Back in her universe, she had plenty of it. Mortals would stare at her because "hey isn't that that Jackson kid who's wanted by the FBI?", and don't even get her started with the demigods and gods who all knew her name thanks to the whole "savior of Olympus" thing. She practically grew up with attention. And most of the time, it was… manageable.

But this was different. She was a princess now—an imperial one, to be more precise—and she still wasn't used to the whole royalty thing. She would be dancing in front of a bunch of strangers and people she knew, with her father. Most debuting young goddesses didn't perform the First Dance with their father. Would people think it was strange? Would they get weird looks? Would they think bad of her for choosing her dad?

(After what had happened between them last night, could you really blame her for feeling a little paranoid?)

Suddenly, the doors began to open and she could hear the herald on the other side loudly announcing, "All hail Their Divine Imperial Majesty, Emperor Poseidon, God of the Seas! And Her Divine Imperial Highness, Princess Percilla of the Atlantean Empire!"

Not divine, she wanted to correct, but remained quiet.

Poseidon held her hand and gently pulled her into the room.

She hadn't been in the ballroom for the last few weeks since everyone was so busy with the decorations, so the sight of what it looked now left her shocked.

This palace was situated on land, but it had been decorated so well it almost reminded her of their underwater palace back at Atlantis. The columns, walls, and railings were either gold or white marble. The blue and golden chandeliers had strings of pearls hanging from them. The floors that were so shiny that she could see her reflection on them were now covered by what looked to be a layer of water. She didn't think that would be practical for dancing. Off to the sides where the tables were at, at each table was a centerpiece that consisted of an aquatic flower that was encased in a floating water-filled sphere.

She and Poseidon approached the round balcony that overlooked the ballroom. She froze at all the faces that stared back at her. She could see her family, and much to her delight, Adamas (who was wearing a helmet to cover his face), Shiva and his family, the Asgardians, and a bunch of other important looking gods she hadn't met yet. They were all dressed to the nines, representing their respective pantheon.

They all bowed down to them.

You can do this, you can do this, she chanted to herself. She had defeated countless monsters, pissed off a number of gods and titans, and even led a war. She should be able to handle a little dancing!

"You are nervous," Poseidon noted, looking down at her.

She was pretty sure it was the sweaty palms that sold her out, but she was just glad he didn't mention it.

"Kinda," she admitted.

"I can have them keep their heads bowed like this if you prefer," he offered.

"No, no! It's okay," she laughed nervously, trying to look calm and casual in front of all these gods. They had inhuman vision, so they could probably see every flaw on her right now.

"I never thought you would get nervous over something like this. Considering you shamelessly spat a soggy meatball at me less than a year ago, dancing in front of a crowd should be much easier for you." He said bluntly.

She blanched. "O-oh, you still remember that?"

"It was a very memorable moment in our lives." He said with a blank expression.

Ah yes, the day you tried to kill me with a fork. Good times.

Swiftly, he led her down the steps. They went to the center of the ballroom. Percy immediately noticed that there wasn't actually a huge layer of water on the floors, it just looked that way. Another thing she noticed; with every step she took, ripples would appear under her feet. Cool.

Poseidon released her so he could stand a few feet away.

Over at the stage, the Nine Muses—Mnemosyne's daughters—began to play a song.

Here it goes, she breathed in.

They bowed to each other.

Poseidon gave her a brief reassuring nod before reaching out for her hand. The song increased in tempo once they linked hands and began dancing. She tried to ignore the way he pulled her in closer—she was pretty sure this was too close, Proteus had always told her that there should be a particular amount of distance between the partners.

But she pushed that to the back of her head. Now wasn't the time for her to freak out over how close they were. She had to focus! She had practiced this over a hundred times already and Proteus always told her how she got better after each repetition. She could do this. She could DO THIS!

But in the middle of hyping herself up, she did the unthinkable: she stepped on his foot.

STOMP.

Time slowed down. She could feel herself tipping back from losing balance. Oh gods. Oh gods. She was about to fall in front of all these people!

The color drained from her face. She could hear several people gasp quietly in the background. Off to the side, she managed to catch a glimpse of several gods even gnawing on their nails in fear of Poseidon's reaction.

But before she could fall any further, Poseidon grabbed her by the waist and effortlessly lifted her up and twirled her in the air. Then, he set her back down, grabbed her hand, and resumed dancing.

"You stepped on my foot," he deadpanned, as if it wasn't already obvious to everyone in the room.

"I-I didn't mean to!" She whispered, heart pounding in her chest. "I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

"Of course I am. I hardly felt that."

But she was still so embarrassed that it even happened in the first place. "I'm so sorry, daddy, I promise I won't do it agai—"

STOMP.

Her face paled a second time. OH NO, I DID IT AGAIN!

Swiftly, he pulled her in close so they would be chest-to-chest and did a fancy whirl before pulling away and spinning her under his hand.

"How odd," he drawled when they were close again. "I could've sworn you told me how Proteus complimented your dance skills every day after practice."

This time, her face went red. "H-he did!" She squeaked. "I'm usually really good, I swear, I'm just nervous!"

Oh my gods, I'm gonna cry, when the fuck is this song gonna end?! She internally wailed.

To her horror, the song kept going and going. Was it just her or did ten minutes already pass? How long did Proteus say this was gonna last? Her mind was too frazzled to recall. But after stepping on her father's foot for the seventh time, she started to wish he would just smite her to save her from this humiliation.

"Daddy, I'm so sorry, that was an accident—oh gods, I think I might throw up," she warbled. It was taking her all her will to not burst right now. She felt like screaming, crying, and throwing up all at the same time.

He whispered to her, "Are you aware that everyone in this room is able to hear you?"

She lifted her head up to give him a horrified look, "Why are you just telling me this now?!"

Rather than gracing her with an explanation, he let out an amused snort before twirling her in his arms once more.

After stepping on his foot a few more times, the dance finally finished. They separated at last and stood at their respective spots before bowing. Instantly, everyone broke out into loud applause. She was just glad none of them burst out laughing at her—though that was probably because they were too scared of angering Poseidon.

"Do not look so upset, you were perfect," Poseidon told her as he held her hand to lead her to their table.

"I stepped on your foot like ten times…" She said miserably.

"It was twelve," he corrected, which didn't make her feel any less awful about herself. "And I don't mind."

They headed to the table. Hades, Zeus, and Adamas were already seated, and standing beside them was Rhea who was still clapping as they approached.

"That was a very… interesting dance, you two!" She commended them. "Well done!"

Percy let out a moan of despair as she collapsed on a chair Poseidon pulled out for her. She buried her face in her arms.

"That was so baaaadd," she moped.

"If it makes you feel better, this idiot," Adamas jabbed a finger towards Zeus, who was in his younger form, "Was even worse durin' his debut. He partnered up with Hera but he never even bothered practicin' the dance as seriously. Hera was so pissed she stopped dancin' to smack 'im in front of everyone," he sighed fondly as he reminisced.

"But I was dying out there and you all heard me too…" Percy despaired.

"Kid, gods have superior hearing, you'll get it one day." He clapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh crown up, Percy!" Zeus laughed boisterously when it was clear that she was still down. "How about some food, hmm?"

He snapped his fingers and a platter of cheeseburgers appeared in front of her. Poseidon lips curled in distaste.

"Are you serious? You dare to feed my child this filth—" Before he could snap his fingers and summon more appropriate and nutritious food for her, Percy had already snatched up the closest burger and began scarfing it down.

"Thanks," she said through a mouthful of food.

Hades wanted to chide Zeus for giving her something so unhealthy… but then again, it was Percy's first birthday so she should at least be allowed to eat whatever she wanted. Sighing in defeat, he snapped his fingers and a goblet of blue cherry coke appeared before her.

"Oooh, thanks!" She grinned at him, which made him smile. He also felt pretty smug when Poseidon shot him an annoyed look for that.

Sure enough, the food was enough to make her feel better about her many… many mistakes. As she sipped on her coke, she surveyed the room, trying to find a certain face amongst all the gods that came.

Where was Beelzebub…? She knew he had been invited, yet he wasn't here.

Frowning slightly, she pulled out her phone and tried to text him.

Percy: Yoooo dude r u coming???

:( where are youuuuuu

While Percy stared sadly at her phone, a certain pink haired god was staring at her.

Apollo smiled widely once he caught sight of her. He was dressed his absolute best and had actually spent the last ten days preparing for the ball—four days designing his outfit, three days on his hair, two days on his makeup, and one day fantasizing about their future dance together. It was a shame she hadn't picked him to be her partner for the First Dance, though it made sense considering Poseidon's… less than favorable opinion on him, but that was fine! He could snatch other dances with her anyway!

"Brother, what are you doing?" Artemis asked, frowning when she noticed that he was literally glowing as bright as the sun.

"If I make myself more radiant, surely she'll notice me and be so awed by my brightness that she'll request a dance!" He beamed, quite literally. Then he gasped, "Artemis! She's looking my way!"

Artemis looked over and sure enough, Percy was looking at his direction, but she certainly wasn't reacting in the way he hoped. Rather than her jaw dropping in awe, the second she saw him, she cringed and looked away, covering her eyes.

She sighed and took a sip of her drink. "I fear it's not working, brother."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Percy was groaning in pain.

"What is it, daughter?" Poseidon demanded, catching her rubbing her eyes.

"What's that light over there? It hurts to look at, can you turn it off?" She complained, motioning over to Apollo who was radiating so much that he looked like a giant column of light. To a god, it was harmless, but to a mortal, it probably wasn't safe to look at, hence why her eyes were hurting.

Poseidon's eye twitched. "Gladly."

He started to approach the foolish god. Artemis quickly nudged her twin to alert him. Apollo let out a tiny squeak and scurried away.

Over at the side of the room, a certain trickster god perked up the second he realized Percy's overprotective father had left her side. Even better, she was alone at the table. Adamas—and yes of course he knew he was alive this whole time, please, he wasn't stupid—was gone, Zeus had already left to annoy Hera into dancing with him, Hades had left to get more drinks—he was becoming quite the alcoholic nowadays; if he had a liver, it would've burst!—and Rhea left to join her other children.

Loki smirked widely as he approached her.

"It's been a while Percy!" He greeted her from behind.

Percy craned her neck to look at him.

"Oh, hi, Loki," she greeted him casually.

Like most of the Asgardians, his outfit was a fusion between armor and high-class aristocracy. He looked like he was ready to go ballroom dancing at nine and battle at ten. She figured it made sense; during her lessons she learned that Asgard had a pretty prevalent warrior culture.

He wore a long dark purple coat and a pair of black metal gauntlets over his hands. The front of his coat was lined with white fur—she wondered what poor animal he skinned that from—and on his shoulders were a pair of spiked shoulder plates. If it weren't for the fur, a head tilt could've impaled him. Underneath it she could see a pair of dark pants and dark chest armor.

"You look good." She complimented him like it was nothing.

Loki almost choked on his spit at how casually she said it, but kept his mischievous grin on (and he ignored the way his cheeks started to fill with ichor).

"I see you're all by your lonesome. Beelzebub isn't here either, hmm?" He crooned. "Did he not want to come?"

Oh this was just perfect. He could feel his face practically splitting from how wide he was grinning. Not only was she all alone, but her main protector was nowhere to be found.

She rolled her eyes. "Dude, I know what you're doing and it's not gonna work on me. I don't know what kinda beef you guys got going on, but Beelzebub said he's got you handled and I trust him, so I don't try to drag me into it."

"Oh, you trust him, huh? That's funny." He snickered. Oh he couldn't wait to see the look on her face once she knew the truth…

"I'm ignoring you now," she said bluntly, going back to her fries.

"Let's have a dance together," Loki exclaimed, pulling her up to her feet. Fortunately, he was wearing gauntlets so he couldn't feel her greasy fingers.

"My dad hates your guts," she reminded him.

"And I shall have fun running away from him afterwards," he grinned. "But for now, let's dance."

He led her over to the dance floor and spun her under his hand before pulling her in close. He motioned over to Nine Muses to up the tempo and the music's rhythm sped up.

He let out a grand laugh, "Now this is much better!"

He and Percy began to dance, much to the growing ire of a particular Norse god.

Odin could feel a headache building up in his temple—which shouldn't even be possible for a god, but Loki was always the type to accomplish the impossible. He watched, groaning internally, as his nephew danced with the girl he specifically ordered him to keep away from lest Poseidon blow a gasket again.

"I thought I told you to keep an eye out on him," Odin said to Thor.

A low rumble was all he responded with. Odin glanced over to see that Thor was too busy staring daggers at the god his daughter, Thrud, was dancing with.

Fine then, he decided.

"Go peck that fool's eyes out," he ordered his ravens.

Huginn and Muninn, always eager to give Loki his comeuppance, were more than happy to oblige. They flapped their wings, ready to take flight until—

"Before you do that, Lord Odin, care to hear us out?"

Two Grecian goddesses stepped into view.

"Aphrodite, Hera. What is it that you want?" He asked, feeling his mood sour even more. Mingling with Greeks was the last thing he wanted to do right now. "And make it quick. Loki is currently meddling with the youngest of your pantheon."

"Oh we're not too concerned about that," Hera waved a dismissive hand before plopping down next to Thor with Aphrodite on her other side. She quickly cast an enchantment to prevent any eavesdroppers. "How do you feel about a marriage between Loki and Percilla?"

He stared at her. "...Have you finally lost your mind?"

She gasped in offense, but before she could start spewing curses, Aphrodite patted her hand and took over, "Lord Odin, Loki has particular… feelings for her. Feelings that we believe to be love."

He scoffed. "So you can't even tell?"

"Your nephew's mind is full of twists and turns. It's practically a labyrinth," she defended herself.

"Loki's previous marriage ended in a divorce!" Huginn squawked.

Muninn chimed in, "Yeah! Lady Sigyn is the most patient person in our entire pantheon and even she had enough of him!"

"My ravens are right," Odin rumbled. "And I am not blind to my nephew's many, many, many faults. His children love him, but he was not a good husband. Tell me the truth, are you doing this to punish the girl?" He jutted his cane over to Percy's direction, who was currently being whirled around by Loki so fast she was probably dizzy by now.

"Of course not!" Hera was affronted by the accusation. Why did everyone seem to think she liked to punish people? "And Sigyn's marriage, while unfortunate, was expected. Sigyn and Loki are complete opposites and it was an arranged marriage against their wishes. This is different. Loki actually likes Percy."

Odin thought about it. They did have a point. Loki had always been against his marriage to Sigyn since day one and never bothered to keep it hidden from everyone. He had multiple affairs and sired multiple children while Sigyn stayed loyal and tended to Narfi and Váli—the two sons they had together. While he wasn't exactly cruel to Sigyn, the marriage did put a damper on her spirits until she finally snapped and demanded a divorce.

But Percy, however… Odin glanced back at the pair. Loki must have cast an enchantment over them too because he couldn't hear or read their lips, but from the way they looked, they were in the middle of shooting playful jabs at each other. The two of them looked happy. Plus, there were the other… incidents that occurred between them. Loki had kidnapped Percy numerous times and even infiltrated her slumber party. She had never minded it once and even requested a light punishment for him when anyone would've been more than happy to request a horrid torture…

Aphrodite smirked, knowing that he was finally seeing what they were seeing.

"And that's not all," she purred. "Every time she's around, he's always quick to latch on to her. Isn't that nice? I'm sure he'd be more… well-behaved if he was too busy being by his wife's side. You and Thor wouldn't need to watch over him as often."

Now that got him to perk up. Thor even pried his eyes away from his daughter for a quick second before resuming his job as a protective father.

"...Poseidon would not be pleased by this." Odin warned.

"Let us handle him," Hera said.

"And what does Rhea feel about this?"

"My mother doesn't mind, she just wants more babies in the pantheon," Hera replied, though it wasn't fully the truth. As much as Rhea adored her eldest son, Hades, and her grandson, Apollo, she leaned more towards Poseidon due to this being the first time he was ever in love.

And as for babies, well, who could blame her? It was so rare to see a baby walking around the streets of the divine side of Valhalla. Aside from the monsters and nature spirits, the gods had already been married to their partners eons ago and had children back then. Most families were content with the children they had now, and the only other kids being spawned were bastards who were usually kept hidden by their nature spirit mothers (or were killed off by furious scorned wives *cough cough* Hera).

"One more thing," Odin narrowed things. "Why are you both so invested in this?"

"Percy has an interesting love life," Aphrodite sighed dreamily. "And she has more than one suitor, so Loki's not the only one after her heart."

"I don't mind who gets her in the end, as long as it's not Apollo," Hera sneered. "I just want to make sure to remove any obstacles in their way."

"So you are meddling," he gave them a disgusted look.

"It's fun," Aphrodite said brightly. "So, are you going to get in the way or not?"

Odin stayed quiet for a few moments. He really didn't want to partake in their meddling, but by the gods, did he want a break from having to deal with Loki all the time. Even with Sigyn he was still a constant headache so if Percy could really reel him in… then—

"Fine." He decided.

The goddesses grinned at each other.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Back with Loki and Percy:

As he spun around, he cast an enchantment around them to make sure nobody could overhear their conversation. "So," he started. "I heard you've been spending a lot of time with Beelzebub."

"Jealous?" She couldn't help but tease, still 100% certain of her theory that he had a tiny crush on her. It wasn't very nice to tease someone over that, but this was Loki she was dealing with, he deserved to be teased now and then.

"No," he scoffed. "I'm worried for you, Percy. Beelzebub's been made your caretaker. I don't know what Poseidon was thinking, but that god is dangerous." And then, much more slyly, he added, "Don't you know what he did to his friends?"

Instead of leaning forward and asking, "what happened?" like he expected most curious individuals to, her face hardened and she shot him a glare. "That's none of my business nor is it your business to tell me."

She's quite the loyal friend, he noted. A noble trait indeed, but it irked him that Beelzebub was the one who got that loyalty. Didn't she consider him a friend too? A scowl was beginning to grow, but he quickly schooled his features to keep his grin up.

"Aww, well fine," he sighed in disappointment. But then: "Do you like him?"

"Hmm?"

"Beelzebub. Do you like him?"

"'Course I do."

He was getting annoyed now, "I meant romantically."

"Oh," she blinked. "No, why?"

He tightened his grip on her hand. He scanned her face up and down. He couldn't detect a lie from her; she wasn't purposely trying to deceive him but it was the way her heart skipped a beat just from the question alone. She wasn't even aware of it.

"You're lying." He hissed.

The song started to slow down. Just as it finished, Loki twirled her one more time before lowering her in a dip.

Percy let out a sharp gasp. She could feel the cold metal of his gauntlets press against her mortal spot through her dress. The tips of his fingers were pointed like claws, making it feel like she had miniature knives threatening to stab through her only vulnerability.

Loki noticed it immediately. He pulled her back up. "What was that?" He demanded.

"What was what?" She asked.

"You just—" And then it hit him all at once.

He found her mortal spot.

FANART!

Poki fanart from idkwhattonamemyself-00:

The Loki Percy wanted:

The Loki she got:

And here's some more!

Poseidon snooping through her phone:

Beelcy in New York!

Percades and Beelcy kids! From Nobodyunimportant:

Percy fanart from stormystorms!

Percy fanart from dorothyaeone:

Honeydew-mint drew traumatized Percy back in pjo! verse trying to cope:

LINKS!

Check out my tumblr for sneak peeks, updates, and questions: here

Notes:

Dun, dun, DUNNNNNN

Chapter 27: three old ladies crash my party

Summary:

Percy's party ends with a bang! (But not in a good way)

Notes:

HIIIII I'M BACK!!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was finishing up the semester and then I fucked off to a spa resort but I'm back now!!!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

PERCY'S MORTAL SPOT IS ON the small of her back, Loki thought over and over again like a never ending mantra. He found it. He actually found it—and it wasn't even on purpose!

I can kill her now, he realized, staring at her blankly. She stared back at him, looking confused and worried at the same time. Her mouth was moving but she sounded so far away, as if he was trapped underwater.

"Loki? Helloooo? Dude, you okay?"

His hand twitched, but other than that, it didn't dare move any closer to her.

He could finally kill her now. Hell, he didn't even need a Divine Weapon to do it. She was mortal—he could easily just rip his hand through her mortal spot and be done with it.

"Um, I'm really worried, should I get Odin?"

He finally looked at her. Her head was tilted and she gave him a look of genuine concern. He wanted to rip that stupid expression off her face.

No, wait, he quickly stopped himself. I shouldn't kill her yet. Beelzebub needs to be here.

Right, of course. His plan. As punishment for tricking him into that blasted contract, he would kill Percy in front of Beelzebub. Killing two birds with one stone, and it would be hilarious too! He could laugh at Percy for naively believing that the two of them were ever friends and he could relish in the look of utter anguish on Beelzebub's face as the life drained from her.

It's not like she'd be gone permanently anyway, Loki reminded himself. She's mortal, so her soul would just go to Helheim and because she's such a goody two shoes, she'll be in Valhalla in no time! And even if she wasn't, there's no way her family would let her rot in Hell. She'll come back. She will. It'll be fine!

…Right?

"Loki?" She started to wave a hand in front of his face.

"Tch," he swatted her hand aside, glaring daggers at her before stalking off.

Yeesh, Percy thought as she watched him storm away. He must be really jealous, huh? I didn't even think he liked me that much!

"Allow me, my love~!" A beautiful and cheerful voice exclaimed. A blinding figure stepped in front of her and Percy flinched and looked away. She knew automatically that it was Apollo, but she could hardly see him from how brightly he was shining.

She could feel a super hot hand (and by 'hot' she meant temperature-wise!) grasp the one Loki smacked away. She could sense him healing her, and as much as she appreciated it, it was kinda unnecessary since she didn't even feel a sting—not that he was aware of it of course.

"Um, thanks," she said once he was finished. "Apollo?"

The light brightened even more. She had to cover her eyes now. "Yes, my love?"

"Can you please, uh… dim down the light? I kinda can't see…"

"You can't…? Oh. Ohhhh! I'm so sorry, my beloved, I didn't think it would be hard for you to see!" Apollo sounded genuinely frazzled now and soon enough, the light finally dimmed to a point where it was safe for her to look.

Despite the light being mostly gone, Apollo was still as dazzling as ever. He was decked top to bottom in gold jewelry. He wore a pair of loose beige pants with a heavy looking gold belt wrapped around the waistline. A gold, pink, and red cape that hung over his shoulders and billowed behind him with a chain link of gold and rubies connecting it at the front. To her shock, he didn't have a shirt on. He had great abs and all, but Percy was more confused on whatever happened to the 'no shirt, no service' rule. Surely that still applied to fancy parties like this one?

He held his hand out (she noted that his nails were painted rose gold, just like his hair). "Shall we dance?" He asked, his voice now velvety smooth.

"...Oh what the heck," she shrugged. "Sure."

She took his hand. Apollo let out a funny little squealing noise in the back of his throat—the kind of poorly suppressed noise a fangirl would make when getting an autograph from their idol.

He twirled her around before pulling her in, and she immediately had a feeling this was going to end badly. Not because Apollo was a bad dancer—no, he was great—but because he was hot. Literally.

His whole body felt sweltering hot to the touch, and he only grew hotter. It was as if the happier he was, the more distracted and less control he had over his own abilities. Her hands were sizzling. Like, she could actually hear the vicious hssss! sound coming from them!

Not that she could really feel much pain though. If it hadn't been for the Curse of Achilles, she would've gotten worse than a third degree burn. Hell, she was pretty sure just standing in his vicinity would've gotten a regular human burned.

Nope. The worst she suffered was sweatiness, which was kinda gross but at least she wasn't roasting alive.

He grabbed her by the waist and spun her in the air. Percy was just glad her dress was fire-proof else it would've burnt off of her by now.

"...It's getting really hot," she said, her mouth already feeling parched. "Like, really, really hot."

His eyes went wide, then a wide smirk crawled over his lips and he leaned down. "Are you suggesting we head over to a more… private room?"

She gave him a weird look. "What? No, dude, I literally feel like I'm being flambéed. Can you cool it a little?"

It took him a while to understand what she was trying to say. Then his gaze turned over to her sizzling hands and he immediately looked faint.

"OH!" His eyes widened in terror. He jumped away from her. "I didn't mean to! I am so sorry!"

She kinda felt bad now. "No, no, it's okay! I can handle a little burning, it's fine."

Apollo still looked a little worried, but he tentatively began to reach out for her hand to start dancing again. Percy placed a hand on his shoulder to get in position, but then she spotted a dark figure a few meters behind him: it was Poseidon, and he was being held back by a frantic Zeus.

She quickly pulled away from him. "On second thought, you should run. My dad's coming here."

Just the words 'my dad' was enough to extinguish whatever light he had left. The color drained from his face as he whirled around to confirm his worst fears; the second he met Poseidon's deadly glower, he flinched. He whirled back to Percy to give her a convincing smile that didn't seem very convincing to her.

"Ah, I see! Thank you for the warning, I'll be off now! Splendid dance, goodbye!" He rushed, leaning down to smooch her on the cheek before sprinting out of the area.

She looked back at her father just in time to see him stomp on Zeus' foot before breaking free of his hold to hunt Apollo down. She grimaced as she watched Zeus complain to Rhea about his broken foot. Guess he learned that move from me.

"What a mess," Hades frowned at the scene as he approached her. "Are you alright, Percy? Your hands are still steaming after that dance with Apollo."

"Oh, it's… uh, fine." She mumbled shyly.

She tried her best not to stare at him, but it was pretty hard not to. Hades was dressed too well. He wore black pants and a skin-tight blazer and shirt. His blazer was black with gold embellishments and two skull-shaped amethysts on the lapels. His shirt was pure black and dipped so low that a good portion of his chest was shown off. Over his shirt and wrapped around his waist was a black corset belt tied with gold threads. He wore his usual black choker and his hair wasn't any different, but she noticed he had a sweet smelling rose tucked behind his pointed ear.

For fucks sake, STOP. LOOKING. She scolded herself. She wanted to punch herself in the face, but she didn't want everyone to think she had gone crazy.

He smiled in relief, and a part of her wondered if he was aware of all the horrible things she felt around him. "That's good to hear," and then he offered her his hand. "I hope you're not tired. May I have this dance, Percy?"

Oh gods, she blanched.

"O-of course," she forced a smile.

Just don't think about what happened between us, she thought in a desperate attempt to keep calm. But wait, what if he brings it up?! Shit, I gotta start a conversation!

"So!" She said, a little too loudly that it made several people glance at them curiously before returning to what they were doing. She chuckled nervously, "U-um, that's a nice flower you got there. Very pretty. Yeah…"

He chuckled. "Ah yes, thank you. And you needn't worry if it was from Persephone. Once she moved out, I had her entire garden burnt down—not that she minded. Rest assured, this rose is just a regular rose. Merely a decoration now."

She hadn't even thought of that, but it did make her feel better. "Oh," she relaxed. "That's good."

He nodded in agreement, but then his face turned into a serious expression. "Now I must ask you an important question, my dear. Has your father spoken to you about marriage yet?"

The question shocked her so much that she accidentally stepped on his foot.

"Oh—! Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to!" She fretted.

"It's fi—"

STOMP.

She stepped on him again.

"I am so sorry!" She squeaked in pure embarrassment.

"It's—"

STOMP.

"Oh, uncle, I'm so sorry! I'm terrible at this! Please excuse me!" She pretended to wail before fleeing the dance floor.

The second she was away from him, she let out a breath. Shit. That was a close one.

She hurried over to the refreshments table and grabbed a glass of water to drink.

Marriage. He was asking her about marriage. Why? Was he planning to… ask for her hand? That wouldn't go well. She knew that in here, she had no power to accept or refuse a marriage proposal—that was her father's job. And while the lack of agency usually would've upset her, she was just glad because she knew her father would've refused.

But then that just left one other problem: Poseidon himself. If he wanted to marry her, nobody would get in his way…

A hysterical laugh threatened to bubble out of her. Calm down, calm down. She rested a hand over her rapidly beating heart. There's no need to worry. I'll be out of here before any wedding could happen!

Suddenly a lovely perfume wafted in the air, followed by a melodic giggle.

"Hello, dear~" A familiar blonde came into view.

Percy's dread increased tenfold.

"Aphrodite… Hi…" She greeted nervously. "Um… w-what brings you here?"

Aphrodite wasn't dressed as scantily as she usually was—probably an order from her father.

"I just wanted to say hello to the birthday girl!" She exclaimed. "You look so beautiful, Percy! It's no wonder these gods can't keep their paws off you!"

"Thank you…"

"I also wanted to offer you my…" She winked. "Help."

"Help?" She almost didn't want to know.

Aphrodite's grin widened. "Oh yes," she purred. "I noticed that you and Poseidon have a particular… glow around yourselves. I take it that something interesting happened between the two of you recently, hmm?"

Her face turned absolutely red. "W-what? No!"

"And Hades too," she went on, giggling. "Oh this is just so fun!"

She gulped. "Wait, hold on, y-you've got the wrong idea—"

Aphrodite bopped her on the nose. "No use in trying to lie to me, dear! I know everything when it comes to love~! What you have between all these gods is so beautiful! And I'm so curious about those other bonds that you've made as well, but alas, that's for another time I guess. Now listen closely, dear."

Aphrodite leaned forward and lowered her voice, "We gods are selfish beings, we seldom bother to stop ourselves when it comes to getting what we want. You are quite lucky. These gods who want you, they're holding themselves back. I can't understand why—though I do have my own guess—but be warned that they're getting close to reaching the limit of their self-control. I am here to offer my assistance in dealing with the aftermath."

Percy stared at her in confusion. "The… aftermath?"

Aphrodite giggled at her naivety. Then, she reached out towards her as if she wanted to help smoothen her dress. Instead, her hand rested on her stomach. It took a while for Percy to realize what she was implying, but when she did all the color drained from her face and she took a step away from her.

"N-no," she choked out. "That—"

"—It'll happen whether you like it or not!" The goddess said cheerfully. "And as much as I adore babies, they tend to get in the way of my favorite love stories, and yours is by far the most interesting I've ever seen! I do not wish for it to end so soon, so do come to me once that issue arises, alright, my dove?"

"Wait!" Percy said, but Aphrodite was already twirling away with a bell-like laugh.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Poseidon broke his fifteenth fork when he saw Aphrodite chatting it up with his daughter. He wondered what sort of horrors she was trying to introduce his innocent daughter to and quickly rose to his feet to put an end to it.

"Don't," Rhea warned.

"But—"

"—Aphrodite likes Percy. They are friends. There is nothing to worry about, Poseidon," she told him.

"She doesn't need friends. She only needs her father," he said tensely.

Adamas snorted, "Just because you're a loser with no friends doesn't mean your kid should be one too."

Poseidon was about to stand up again only for Hades to grab his and Adamas' shoulder, squeezing them threateningly. There was a dark aura around him as his smile turned deadly.

"There will be no fighting here. Do not ruin Percy's debutante ball and first birthday, or so help me I will drag you out of the palace and kill you both." He threatened.

"Yikes, what got you in a mood?" Adamas asked with a grimace, wrenching his shoulder away.

Zeus snickered, "He's just like this 'cause Percy ran away from him in the middle of their dance."

Hades winced guiltily before slumping down on his chair. "I apologize, brother," he said to Poseidon. "I fear I may have upset your daughter. I did try to tell her that her dancing was fine, but…"

"Percy was just nervous," Rhea reassured him soothingly. "It was neither of your faults. She's only turned one and it's her first time ever dancing in front of such a large audience."

"And as for you," she turned to Poseidon next. "Adamas is right. Percy should have friends."

"She was dancing with Loki," Poseidon sneered. "I don't want that thing anywhere near my daughter. He could be scheming to kill her for all we know."

Rhea, remembering what Aphrodite had told her about Loki and his feelings for Percy, didn't believe that. "Loki is not a threat to her life," she told him. "I think he really likes her."

His face darkened. "All the more reason for him to die."

Rhea sighed in defeat. Gods, all she could do now was hope Poseidon didn't ruin his daughter's party with his own jealousy.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

After the whole mess with Poseidon, Loki, Hades, and now Aphrodite, Percy wanted nothing more than to just retire to her bedroom, but people kept pulling her in for a dance. She soon started to enjoy it though, since she was dancing with (somewhat) sane gods.

Naturally, she danced with her other uncles.

Zeus was first, mainly because he grabbed her first and dragged her to the dance floor. Adamas hadn't been kidding when he said his dance skills sucked. He was so bad that it made her feel better about herself. The fun part was when they got to the final part of their dance. Rather than lifting her up to twirl her around, he instead threw her up into the air so high that she nearly touched the ceiling. It was actually pretty thrilling. She was cheering and laughing by the time he caught her, but Rhea, Hera, Adamas, Hades, and Poseidon had simultaneously yelled out, "ZEUS!" and he fled the scene before they could catch him.

Adamas came second. It was kinda awkward for him. He wasn't much of a good dancer either but he was better than Zeus. The awkward part was how… careful he was. He handled her like she was a fine China vase that could break at any second. He didn't try to lift her up or twirl her around, but she was just touched that he cared so much about not hurting her.

Shiva was quick to snatch her up after that. He once told her that he wanted to be the God of Dancing once upon a time, but Percy couldn't help but notice that his movements were clumsy and lazy. "That's just 'cause this isn't my kinda dancing! This sucks!" He would whine before getting the bright idea of throwing her up in the air while twirling her around. Her father chased him away for that too.

Then she danced with Susanoo, a Japanese god with similar domains to her father. He had a grand laugh when he met her because of how similar they looked (he had super cool blue hair, but he had a grey streak just like hers), but when he loudly pointed it out to her father, he threatened to skewer him with his trident. Susanoo laughed him off. Percy decided that she liked him. Anyone who could casually laugh off her father's threats was cool in her book. Plus, he had blue hair! And it was natural!

Next was Buddha. But that dance was pretty short because Poseidon chased him out for not even bothering to wear shoes. He tossed her a blue lollipop before running away and Percy hid it in her pocket before anyone could scold her for 'accepting candy from strangers'.

She danced with a bunch of other gods for what felt like hours. At one point, she got so tired that she had to stop and get a drink.

As she relished the ice cold water that rushed down her throat, she watched silently as more servants filed upstairs with heavy loads of presents from all the party goers. She couldn't believe all of that was for her.

"I just gave them my present to you." A familiar voice said.

She turned around and her face lit up. "Mnemosyne!"

The red haired goddess smiled warmly. "Hello, Percy." She wrapped her up in a hug.

"I'm glad you're here! I'm sorry I couldn't save a dance with you. Everyone kept pulling me away and I'm exhausted now…!" Percy breathed out.

She shook her head. "It's fine. I just wanted to tell you that I've handed over my present. I think you'll really like it."

"You gave me a present?" Her eyes widened. "Oh! Mnemi, you really didn't need to!"

"No, no, I feel like this was prudent for you to have," she insisted, but there was an oddly sympathetic look on her face. "It's been a year already… I know you've been so patient, but mortals can only handle so much turmoil. So… I made you something to help you keep holding on."

Now she was super curious. "What did you give me?"

Her smile widened. "That is a secret. You'll see when you open it—" Mnemosyne stopped talking, because suddenly her daughters had stopped singing.

Everyone turned to look.

Percy overheard her father spit out venomously, "What is that idiot doing on the stage?"

She already knew which idiot she was talking about before she turned her head. Oh no, Apollo…! She thought, face paling when she saw the pink haired god practically skipping up the stage.

"Thank you, my dear songbirds," Apollo said to the Nine Muses before shooing them off the stage. The women exchanged disgruntled looks before shuffling off and joining Percy with their mother.

Poseidon had to be restrained by Rhea, Zeus, and Hades. Adamas watched Apollo with narrowed eyes. Meanwhile, Percy and Artemis exchanged horrified looks while Leto was muttering prayers under her breath.

"Percilla, my love! My present to you is a song that I've written," he began dramatically. "I hope you fall in love with it as I have for you."

And then he began to sing. Admittedly, it was the loveliest thing ever. He had the voice of a thousand angels, but his lyrics were… um. Most of it was talking about wanting to make love to her, but it was written so beautifully that people would've laid Grammy awards at his feet. Honestly, his song was so beautiful it would've made her cry in awe… if it hadn't been for the fact that Poseidon was currently throwing his brothers off of him. Rhea was now the only one that could prevent him from causing a murder.

Ohhh no, Percy thought, rushing to the stage and motioning for Apollo to run. She did not want a homicide to happen during her fake first birthday party. The pinkette beamed as she drew closer, probably thinking she was rushing up to him to give him a kiss or something.

"Dude! Run!" She hissed at him.

The song finally finished. Rhea was still the last god standing in between Apollo getting a grisly death.

"Percilla!" Apollo announced happily. "Would you marry m—uargh!" He was quickly tackled to the side by Artemis who came flying out of nowhere.

Oh thank gods, Percy thought. She glanced back at her father. He was seething, but at least he was no longer trying to murder Apollo.

‧彡𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟‧彡๋ ࣭ ࣭

Near the end of the party, the giant birthday cake finally came out. At that point, Percy had accepted that Beelzebub wasn't coming. He hadn't replied to her texts or calls either. She tried not to let it get to her; he wasn't a party person and he had a lot of things he needed to take care of. Plus, it wasn't her real birthday. He had already celebrated her real birthday with her and gave her the best present ever. It wasn't right to be greedy and demand for more.

But as she went up for her second slice of cake, she caught something in the corner of her eyes. It took her a while to register what she had seen, but the second it all clicked, she grabbed a second plate of cake and went straight for the second floor.

She walked through one of the doors that led to a hallway, and there he was.

"Beel!" She exclaimed joyously. "You actually came! Here, I got you cake!"

He was even dressed for the occasion too. He wore a long black tunic that reached his thighs with dark pants underneath. Tied around his waist was a black belt that had tiny dark gemstones embedded in them. He wore a long dark red cape that made him look like royalty and clasped at the front of his cape to hold it together was a large ruby that seemed to swirl with dark energy.

He took the plate from her and swallowed thickly. "Percy. You… you look breathtaking."

"You look good too!" She beamed. "Did you just get here?"

"Yes. I apologize for being late. I… I hesitated to come," he admitted.

"Let's sit," she suggested, already sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.

Beelzebub wanted to tell her it was unbecoming for someone of their status to sit on the floor, but he sighed and complied. He sat down beside her.

"So, why didn't you wanna come?" She asked curiously.

"It's nothing really." He replied passively, concentrating real hard on the cake as if to avoid her stare.

"Awww, come on!"

"...I fear I've become too attached to you," he finally said. "Percy. I care for you greatly."

She frowned. "Um… okay?" She shoved a forkful of cake into her mouth. "And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing good will come from this," he muttered darkly. "I've told you before that I've killed my friends, remember?"

"Yeah," she remembered him telling her that many many months ago. "But I still don't get it. What does that have to do with me?"

Beelzebub looked down and sighed. He figured he would have to tell her about that soon, he just wished it didn't have to happen on what was supposed to be her special day.

"Percy, I have this… this condition," he struggled. "I…"

"You don't have to tell me." She said.

"No, I have to tell you. It's imperative you know this risk," he shook his head. "I didn't want this to happen. I kept trying to convince myself that you mean nothing to me, but…" he let out a bitter laugh.

He took a deep breath. "I have this condition called Demonic Destrudo*. I don't know if I was just born with this or if it was a curse that came to me suddenly but… but when I…" He swallowed thickly. "When I reach the highest peak of love for someone, it just… a-activates and… and then I'll wake up and suddenly… suddenly the people I love are dead."

Her eyes widened. "W… what?"

"I didn't know what was going on at first. I was just in the woods with my friends—Lucifer, Samael, and Azazel. We were all happy. Everything was perfect," Beelzebub was talking so fast, almost like he was afraid that he might be stopped. She could tell that this was something he had been needing to let out for a long time. "But then I blacked out. When I woke up, my friends were dead and I was covered in their blood."

"I thought it was Satan at first. I was convinced that he was real and that he had been the one to kill my friends. I tried researching about him. That was when I met Lilith," he said her name as if it pained him. "She offered to help me because Lucifer was a close friend of hers too. We worked together, searching everywhere for him. And then I—I blacked out again. When I woke up, my arm had ripped through her chest."

Tears were spilling from his face now. His cake lay abandoned at his side. He hunched over, hugging his knees to his chest. He didn't look like a god anymore. Right now, to Percy, he reminded her of the traumatized campers who would wake up from nightmares of the war.

"That was when I realized it was all me," he said shakily. "It was not Satan, it was me. I was the one who was killing the people I loved. And Lilith—as she laid dying in my arms, she gave me a so-called blessing." He spat.

"A blessing?"

"She had good intentions, but her blessing was my curse," angrily, he ripped the front of his tunic to show her the tattoo on his chest. "This is no regular mark, Percy. It is a curse, from her to me. She ordered me to live on, and because of that, I cannot properly atone for what I had done."

"Oh wait," she gasped quietly. "The reason you're trying so hard to find a way to die—it's because of that?"

"Yes," he answered grimly.

"Beel, she wouldn't want you to do this, none of your friends would," she tried to tell him.

"I don't care," he shook his head. "This is the only way for me to atone. Do you see now, why I tried so hard to distance myself from you? I love you, Percy, and because of that, you will die."

"Beel—"

"—You still don't get it," he said mournfully, pain etched all over his features. He started to stand. "I shouldn't have come here. I'm sorry, but—"

She quickly threw her cake to the side and rushed over to grab his arm. "—Would you just listen to me for a second?"

He froze… before eventually staring at her, awaiting.

"Beelzebub, you don't have to worry about killing me. Trust me, many, many gods have tried to kill me before. Some titans too. They all failed."

His face fell, "Wait, what—"

"—Plus, I have the Curse of Achilles!" She reminded him.

He shook his head. "No, Percy, that alone won't be enough to protect you from me—"

"—Well it's enough to buy me some time to call for help," she then said.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, desperate to make her see reason. "I—will—kill—you." He said hysterically. "How do you not get that?!"

"Because you won't be able to kill me," she said firmly. "Beel, come on, trust me. You don't need to be alone anymore! You don't deserve to be alone anymore!"

And it was those words that finally made him burst into tears. He buried his face in his hands, the rush of emotions too much for him to hold back now. It was like billions of years of emotions that he tried to lock away were finally flooding back to him—all because of a young demigod girl and her beautiful way with words.

Percy stared at him, wide-eyed. Hastily, she turned her whole body towards him. Beelzebub had teared up before, but now he was full-on crying. She felt terrible. Perhaps she had done too much.

Nice going, dumbass! She scolded herself.

"Um… I'm sorry," she said lamely, hesitantly rubbing his back. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

Wordlessly, he leaned to the side to rest against her. Percy instinctively wrapped her arms around him. His cries had reduced to silent tears that she could feel drip onto her chest and dress, but she didn't care. Her only concern was him.

"Percy," he finally spoke after a while.

"Hmm?"

"Are you certain of this? Do you really wish to continue having me in your life and you in mine?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Now she understood why he was so cold to her at first. Why he tried so hard to deny any relationship between them. Why there were times where he would distance himself from her only to come back like he was seeking for warmth. He had spent billions of years isolating himself and shutting away his feelings, not wanting to suffer another tragedy.

She decided right then and there that she wouldn't be another dead loved one for him to mourn. Never again.

He let out a broken laugh and pulled away to look at her. His eyes were glassy, but they were so much softer now. "You have no idea how lovable you are, do you? You drive me crazy."

Heat flooded to her cheeks. "Thanks?"

He chuckled, then leaned forward to press his lips to her burning cheeks.

Oh, wow, she thought, blinking. A kiss to the cheek. She hadn't been expecting that… She could feel her whole body feel… lighter now.

Quickly, she cleared her throat and tried to change the subject.

"The party's almost over, you know," she grinned. "Can we… um, dance? Please?"

His eyes shined like rubies. "If that's what you wish."

Smoothly, he rose to his feet and offered her his hand. He pulled her up. With a wave of his hand, their appearances returned to their pristine condition. Her dress and skin were dry from his tears, his face looked perfect as if he hadn't cried at all, and his shirt had repaired itself.

Hand in hand, they walked back to the ballroom.

All eyes were on them the second they descended from the staircase. Even the Nine Muses had stuttered in their singing as they approached the floor, but one demanding wave from Aphrodite had them working again. Slowly, they began to sing, but nobody could really blame them for being so stunned.

The Lord of the Flies was smiling. And it wasn't just any kind of smile, but a bright and genuine one full of pure happiness. The Princess didn't look frightened at all. In fact, she was even smiling back. And it was a smile brighter than any of the smiles they had ever seen from her tonight.

Other dancers on the floor began to slowly walk out to give them more space, though they too were in disbelief at what they were seeing. Everyone stood at the sides, their eyes unable to leave them.

The audience watched with bated breath as the pair bowed down to each other, maintaining eye contact. The Nine Muses' voices rose in volume.

They stepped forward and circled each other before connecting hands and whirling around, chests close together. Then, he crossed his arms and spun her around. When she stopped, he pulled her towards him so that her back rested against his chest.

She spun out of his embrace before he pulled her in again and together, they moved in a circle. This was the point where Percy would always end up stepping on her partner's foot, but this wasn't the case now. Percy danced as flawlessly as Beelzebub, her eyes only on him. There was not a hint of anxiety on her face as they danced in sync with the music.

Off to the side, certain gods watched the scene intensely.

Rhea had a firm grip on Poseidon's shoulder, but to her relief, he hadn't tried to cause a scene. No, instead, he stared hard at the god he had entrusted to take care of his daughter. He could feel his suspicions arise, but… but this was Beelzebub, the god who was incapable of forming relationships with other people. He was logical, calculating, and emotionless—the perfect combination if he had to admit.

Surely, Beelzebub couldn't really have feelings towards his daughter… right? He couldn't have miscalculated his decision to let him near his daughter, right?

Beside him, Hades was an entirely different matter. He had a small smile as he watched them dance, completely unaware of the feelings building up within them. To him, he was just glad that Beelzebub finally found someone to open up to, and he was happy that the friend he made was Percy.

Over at the other side of the room, Odin kept his eyes planted on Loki and Loki only. The green haired god was furious. His face was contorted into pure rage as he watched the pair of dancers, breathing heavily as they spun and twirled around like a bunch of lovesick idiots. He could feel murderous hatred rise within him along with an array of other horrible feelings he wished to squash. He rose to his feet, but Odin and Thor pushed him back down to keep him under control.

Meanwhile, Artemis and Leto were exchanging worried glances. Apollo was… silent. He had an eerily blank stare on his face as he watched Beelzebub and Percy dance together. The two goddesses knew that he had been upset that his dance with her was cut so short, so they fully expected him to blow up upon realizing that Beelzebub had stolen her last dance. But this eerie silence… it was somehow worse than him blowing up in a fit of jealousy.

Finally, the music slowed down, indicating that the end was near.

At this point of the dance, they should've parted ways and bowed to each other. But that wasn't what they did.

Instead, they stepped closer to each other until they were chest to chest. They danced in a circle slowly.

They hadn't taken their eyes off each other once.

Then… Beelzebub began to inch his head lower. Percy didn't budge. She let his lips get closer and closer—

But then the doors burst open with a loud BANG!

The music stopped. All heads turned towards the doors. Percy and Beelzebub followed suit, but what they saw made the latter's ichor turn cold.

Three elderly women dressed in traditional Greek chitons walked into the ballroom.

Percy couldn't see what was going on at first, but many pale-faced gods started to stumble out of the way, and when she saw who they parted for, it was her turn to go pale.

She had never met them before in this universe, but she automatically knew who they were anyway: they were the three Fates. She knew that they weren't here for a friendly visit. They were here for her, and they knew exactly who she was.

They walked towards them.

Beelzebub snapped out of whatever stupor he had been in and quickly held Percy against his chest. He turned her away protectively.

"Get away from us!" He hissed in an Ancient language she couldn't understand. "Leave! She has nothing to do with you!"

She could feel his hand trembling as he held her head against him. He was terrified out of his mind.

"Step aside, Lord of the Flies," one of them rasped in the same language.

"NO!" He roared. He sounded demonic now. Percy could feel his nails elongating into claws. If it hadn't been for the Curse of Achilles, he would've pierced her through the skull by now. He pressed her against him even harder, desperate and terrified all at once.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Poseidon demanded, storming in. His brothers and mother followed suit. They all stepped in front of her and Beelzebub.

"Dear Poseidon," one croaked, no longer speaking in that ancient language. "You did not invite us."

"I did not think it was necessary, given that you are rarely seen out in public and never bother to attend the debut of any being," he replied stiffly. "Why have you come?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The third one chuckled lowly. Percy could see her lean to the side to get a view of her. They made eye contact. Her eyes made her shiver; it was like staring at the abyss, beautiful, but endless at the same time. "We are here for her."

It was just as she feared.

There was a tense silence that followed her words. Percy's eyes scanned around the crowd. She had never seen so many gods so terrified before. Everyone was frozen with fear. The Valkyries were exchanging looks of alarm. Mnemosyne had almost collapsed in one of her daughters' arms. She saw Apollo, who looked faint. Leto and Artemis held on to him, as if to keep him anchored. She even saw Loki, who looked strangely scared too, but his eyes were on her. He wasn't scared of the Fates, he was scared for her.

She wished she could see her father's face too, but all she could see was his back, which had tensed up even more upon their words.

"No," Poseidon's voice was hard and shaky, with fear or rage she couldn't tell. "You will not—"

"—Poseidon," Hades said in a quiet, warning tone.

"They wish to take my daughter away from me!" He snapped. "No, I will not let that happen. I don't care who you hags are, LEAVE."

His voice was so powerful it echoed around the palace. The ground immediately started to shake and large cracks appeared on the floor. They all headed straight for the three Fates, threatening to break the ground underneath them and let them get swallowed up by the earth.

One just laughed. "Children these days are so rude, sisters!"

"I think they're just confused," the second crooned. "They think we're here to kill her."

The quaking slowed to a stop.

"…You are not?" Poseidon asked, narrowing his eyes.

"We only wish to speak to the girl," the third said. "Now step aside, children."

Rather than doing that, Hades stepped forward.

"It's rude to walk into people's homes uninvited," he said stiffly. "Do mind your manners, my ladies. If you wish to speak to Percilla, you may, but it'll have to be at another time. Today is an important day for her. She should enjoy her night in peace."

"Oh, right," one chuckled. "Her first birthday, is it?"

Percy gulped and she could hear Beelzebub suck in a breath. The way she said it was mocking, taunting. They all knew the truth and were now dangling it over their heads as if they were threatening to expose the very secret they had been trying so hard to protect.

"My—my ladies, wait," Mnemosyne called out. She took a shaky step forward, ignoring the quiet cries from her daughters to come back. "Please—"

"—Cease your begging, dear girl," the second one let out a raspy laugh. "We already know what you wish to plead. It's pointless. Like we said, we are only here for a visit. No harm in that."

"They always get so afraid whenever we show our faces," the third sighed in faux despair. "It hurts our feelings."

If they're only here for a visit, Percy thought, might as well get it over then.

Bravely, she pried herself away from Beelzebub's hold and cleared her throat, trying to ignore the way he desperately tried to tug her back to him.

All eyes turned to her.

She tried to put on an 'everything's just fine and dandy, nothing to worry about here!' smile, but it probably looked more like a pained grimace.

"Ladies Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos," she greeted them formally, even offering them a very stiff bow. "It's an honor to meet you three." Again, she mentally added.

"We should be saying that to you," one of them said, their lips curling into a smile that didn't seem innocent at all. "You are, after all, the greatest singularity we have ever seen."

Her smile almost dipped. They know, they know, they know. Her eyes darted around; she could see many gods exchanging lost looks with each other. Aside from the Valkyries, Mnemosyne, Beelzebub, and Loki, nobody else seemed to know what they were talking about, which was good. The rest probably assumed they were referring to the whole 'half human, half god' thing.

Her smile remained stiff. She gestured to the grand doors and said, "We can have our discussion outside if you'd like—"

"—Nonsense!" One cried out. "This is a party, is it not? Let us have a dance instead!"

"A wha—?!" Before she could even finish her sentence, the first sister was already pulling her along.

Any god standing at the center of the dance floor was magically pushed back. She could see Beelzebub and her family frantically slamming against an invisible force field that separated the center of the room from everything else. The lights dimmed, leaving only one chandelier to shine a light over them. Music played, but it wasn't coming from the Nine Muses anymore. It sounded like dark orchestra music you'd hear in a period film where the main character was about to get slain by the villain.

Yeah. Not exactly comforting considering her situation.

"Oh, dear, please relax," she said. "We are not here to hurt you."

The really creepy background music says otherwise, but okay, lady.

"Which one are you?" She couldn't help but ask, gulping nervously.

The woman's smile widened. "Clotho."

Clotho. Spinner of the threads. She was the one who was in charge of weaving a mortal or god's life; when they were born, when they were saved, when they were put to death.

Clotho twirled her under her hand, and when Percy was yanked back to her, she was suddenly in a whole new territory dancing with a whole new person.

The gilded walls of her father's Olympic palace were no more. She found herself dancing at the center of a large cave. It was eerily dark and the only light source came from a bunch of glowing gold threads that were wrapped around the stalactites and stalagmites; they hung from the ceilings, and wrapped around the inside of the cave like tangled spider webs.

When Clotho pulled her in, she nearly jumped. The old lady was gone; replaced by a beautiful platinum haired woman with fair, wrinkle-free skin and milky white eyes.

She blinked in surprise. "How did you—"

"—You're aware of why we're here, aren't you, Percy?" She asked knowingly, her voice no longer croaky but young and full of life.

She swallowed thickly. "...Yes."

"And you know what my job is?"

Another gulp. "I do. You spin the threads of life."

"Good. Then I'll get straight to the point: your thread does not exist."

She nearly tripped over her footing, but Clotho, now younger, taller, and stronger, pressed her against her chest and twirled her around so fast that her feet lifted off the ground.

"Not yet, at least, though that entirely depends on you," Clotho added.

"I-I don't understand," she stammered. "How can I not have a thread?"

"The multiverse is a wondrous thing, isn't it?" She sighed airily. "So full of curiosities… such as you. You are from an entirely different universe; your existence lies in there, not here. Thus, why you have no complete thread."

She furrowed her brows. "Wait… what do you mean no complete—"

Clotho interrupted her by spinning her to the side. Their hands unclasped and Percy was left twirling around like a rapid spinning top before someone else grabbed her hand and stopped her.

It was another one of the sisters, young and beautiful once again. She had auburn hair tied up in twin braids and gleaming blue eyes full of life. Percy didn't know how, but she automatically knew that this was Lachesis, the allotter. She was the one who decided how long one could live and what kind of trials they would face in their life.

The second they met eyes, Percy felt as if a noose was hanging around her neck. Lachesis spun her around once, and the noose only seemed to tighten around her neck.

She glanced down and spotted a golden thread wrapped around her neck, one end dangling down to her chest. Something was wrong with it though; rather than glowing like the other threads in the cave were, this one was… flickering in and out of existence.

"Is this my string?" She asked.

"Yes," Lachesis answered. "Your fate is neither here, nor there. You have one foot in your original universe and one in here. For the first time ever, your fate now rests in your own hands."

Her eyes widened at hearing that. Her life had been molded by the Fates since day one, every hardship she faced, every battle she fought, it was all because of them. If they were saying she was free now…

Lachesis let out a laugh. "Oh dear, I wouldn't be so happy if I were you. Because now you've got an important choice to make, and you ought to make it fast. Because if you don't…"

She brought her down to a dip, but suddenly she disappeared and Percy was left to fall. She gasped, one hand outstretched. Before she could hit the ground, another hand grasped hers and yanked her back up again. The music increased in tempo.

It was the eldest of the sisters, Atropo, the cutter of the threads. She chose how each being would die and decided on the circumstances of their death, whether they would die nobly or wretchedly.

Her hair was long and pitch black, and her eyes were the same. They looked empty and devoid of light; Percy couldn't even see a single glimpse of gold reflecting from the threads in her eyes. All she saw was an empty abyss.

She yanked at the thread wrapped around Percy's neck. She felt a sharp pain as it choked her at first, but then the thread fizzled away into nothingness.

"You'll end up just like that," Atropos purred. "Gone. Erased. Wiped away."

Her face fell. "Wait, what?"

"Did you think having no thread makes you free?" Atropos chuckled. With every step forward she made, Percy took a step back. They were still dancing, but she was beginning to feel like a cornered animal every time she drew closer. "Everything has a thread, Percilla Jackson. Plants, animals, mortals, spirits, demons, gods, titans, everything. To not have a thread, makes you nonexistent. It makes you nothing."

Atropos spun her around halfway until her back was pressed to her chest. She grasped Percy's hands and held her arms beside her head, and she shivered when Atropos whispered into her ear, "Do you wish to be nothing?"

Percy suddenly let out an agonized cry as an excruciating pain engulfed her whole body. She screamed out loud. Her knees buckled and she started to collapse, but then the pain stopped. Atropos held her by the waist and twirled around so they were chest to chest again.

"Wh—what was that?!" She asked breathlessly, clinging desperately onto Atropos. The pain was gone almost instantly, but she was still left shaken by it. She didn't know how to explain it, but it was the worst sort of pain she had felt.

Atropos only hummed in response, one arm wrapped around her waist to hold her close while her other hand held Percy's. The music softened as they started to sway around gently.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" She asked. "The feeling of your soul being ripped apart."

She tensed in her embrace. "What?"

"It hasn't happened yet, my dear. I just showed you a taste of what to expect," Atropos warned her. "You don't belong here, Percy. Your string does not exist here. But you can belong here. You can choose to stay, and your string will form to its completion and you won't ever experience such torture ever again."

"But right now, you are stuck in-between," she continued. "You cannot decide whether to stay here or return to your original universe. This inability to make a choice is what will lead to your demise, Percy. Your soul will continue to break until you finally cease to exist. Niflhel shall be your fate."

Niflhel. She learned of it in her studies. Niflhel was where all the divine beings went to when they were killed—and it was also where mortal souls would go if they were killed in the afterlife. No resurrection. No reincarnation. No way of ever coming back.

"If I choose to go home," she began slowly. "Would you guys help me?"

A dry laugh left Atropos' lips. "It is not our job to help you in that. We only came here to tell you of your options."

"I have options?" She said bitterly.

"Of course you do," Atropos chuckled. "Did you think every being's entire life was under our control? How ignorant. No, that is not the case. Everyone can exert free will over their lives. There are many different paths people can take. All we do is weave their destinies based on contingencies and conditions. Each pathway results in different consequences and rewards. Some people, however… choose the point of no return. Like your dear friend, Luke, was it?"

Percy's face hardened. "Do not talk about him," she said in a steely voice.

Her lips curled in amusement, but thankfully didn't press on. "We're veering off topic now. Returning home is not your safest path."

"What? How is it not? You said I just needed to make a choice!" She said angrily.

"If you choose to return home and a way back has not yet been given to you, your soul will still shred itself to pieces until a way back has been opened. Even then, there is no fixing your broken soul. It'll cease to fracture any further, but you will live your life in constant agony once it begins. If you decide to return home, then you must find a way to do it quickly before your soul starts to break."

"Beelzebub hasn't found a way back yet…" She murmured fearfully.

She shook her head in agreement. "He has not. It is not a simple task, trying to understand the ways of the bifrost, let alone a damaged one."

"Then… what do I do?" She asked hopelessly.

"The soul is a delicate thing, Percy," she told her. "Do you remember the agony you experienced moments ago? That is what it feels like to have just a small bit of your soul chipped away. The more you lose, the more pain it'll be and it will never end until you're wiped completely."

"And… if I chose to stay here?" She asked nervously.

"Unfortunately, your soul will still continue to sunder, as you do not belong in this universe."

Her heart stopped. "So… so it's inevitable then? I'll cease to exist and… there's nothing I can do to stop it?"

"Of course not," Atropos smiled, almost kindly. "I told you we are here to tell you all your options, remember? There is only one path you can take where you are guaranteed to survive."

"What is it?" She asked eagerly.

She arched a dark brow. "I thought it was already obvious. Only mortals have souls, and if that mortal were to ascend…"

Her jaw dropped. "No way. No. You've got to be kidding me."

"Gods are made up of divine essence, they contain no souls. Even if 99.9% of your soul were to be obliterated, as long as a part of you still exists enough to ascend, you can become a god, a being that does not require a soul to live."

"Nope. No thanks," she immediately tried to pry herself away from her, but Atropos held on tight.

"It is the safest option for you, Percy," she reminded her. "You've been here for too long. Because of that, the first crack of your soul is sure to come soon. There is no stopping it, not anymore. Your only choice now is to stay here and become a goddess, or wait an indefinite amount of time until a way back home for you is accessible, and even then you will still suffer. Both options have a time limit, but the latter would mean a lifetime of pain."

"Becoming a god is not something I'll ever accept," she said firmly. "I'm going home."

Atropos smiled slyly. "That's what you say, but is that what you really want?"

She glared at her. "Yes. I am going home, and I trust Beelzebub to help me find my way back. He's been working on it. I know he'll find the answer soon."

Atropos giggled, and something in Percy's stomach sank. She didn't like the look on her face, as if she knew something damning that she didn't.

She's just messing with me, that's all they ever do, she told herself. Just ignore it. Beelzebub was her friend. She knew he would have her back.

Atropos' giggling evolved into full-blown laughter. They had to stop dancing because she threw her head back to cackle. It left a creepy echo around the cave.

"Oh my, you're so funny," she giggled, wiping away a single tear from her eye. "You trust the Devil that much, hmm? Well then, it's your funeral! Hahaha!"

She snapped her fingers and Percy felt like she was shoved back by an invisible force. Her body continued to be flung back as the scenery around her blurred. She had a pounding headache that only seemed to get worse the faster the room spun. Or was it even spinning?

Hands grasped her arms to help her keep steady.

"Percy," Beelzebub's face came into view, but he looked funny. There were three of him and he was blurry.

"H…huh?" She blinked once and twice. She looked around. She was standing at the center of her father's ballroom. Everyone was staring at her. The Three Fates were nowhere to be seen.

"Percy," Beelzebub called out to her again, but he sounded so far away now. "Are you alright? What did they do to you?"

Over his shoulder, she could see the worried face of her father rushing towards her.

"Percy," Beelzebub squeezed her arms and shook her lightly. "Percy, can you hear me? Did they hurt you? Percy!"

"I fucking hate my life," she managed to mutter before her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

The last thing she heard before everything went black was someone's frantic voice screaming, "I need a healer!"