Percy had exactly zero interest in attending another Olympian council meeting. Nope. Not happening.
The last one had been a disaster. He'd almost gotten smited, Zeus had spent the entire time glaring at him like he wanted to turn him into charcoal, and worst of all—it was boring. Sitting on that tiny sun throne, forced to listen to the gods argue about things he barely understood? Hard pass. He'd rather be doing literally anything else.
And now, with the Winter Solstice approaching, Apollo was trying to drag him to another one.
No. Way.
Percy had a plan.
The moment Apollo got distracted—probably by his own reflection—Percy grabbed the keys to the sun chariot and bolted.
"Later!" he yelled over his shoulder, already jumping into the driver's seat. He activated the solar thrusters and shot off, leaving Apollo behind, mid-protest.
"Percy! Get back here!"
Whatever his cousin-slash-co-owner was about to say was lost to the roaring winds as Percy rocketed away from Olympus at top speed.
Mission success.
The last thing he wanted was to sit through another council meeting where Zeus could glower at him and Apollo could make things worse. He'd barely gotten out of the last one without being smited. Why risk it again?
As soon as he reached his usual cruising altitude, Percy reached for the solar radio and flipped through the stations before settling on his personal playlist. The very clearly labeled Percy's Solar Music Mix – Do Not Touch (This Means You, Apollo).
The first song started playing, and he smirked as Till the world ends blared from the speakers. The chariot pulsed blue in time with the beat—totally normal, completely coincidental, and absolutely not related to his divine connection.
Mortals were just imagining things.
He leaned back in the driver's seat, letting the golden controls rest loosely in his grip as he enjoyed the ride. The chariot glided smoothly across the sky, casting warm light over the clouds below. This was way better than being stuck on Olympus.
Or so he thought.
Because then, something weird started happening.
At first, it was subtle—clouds rolling in, the wind picking up. Percy frowned, glancing at the atmospheric readings. The sun's sensors detected a sudden drop in pressure.
And then, it got worse.
The waves below turned violent, crashing against the shores with unnatural force. The winds howled, twisting into furious gusts that rocked the chariot.
Percy's grip on the controls tightened. "What the Hades…?"
Then—BOOM!
A bolt of lightning slammed into the sky just a few feet from his chariot. Percy yelped and immediately activated the weather shield. A golden barrier flared to life around him, deflecting another bolt that had been way too close for comfort.
"What the actual Hades is going on?!"
This was way worse than his dad and Zeus's usual squabbles.
Because, yeah, they bickered all the time. Percy had learned to ignore it. Petty squabbles between the sky and sea were just part of life. Usually, it amounted to some rough waves or a little extra lightning in the sky—not this.
This storm felt wrong.
A rogue gust of wind sent the chariot lurching sideways, and Percy had to fight to keep it on course. He winced as another wave—hundreds of feet tall—crashed against the coastline below, swallowing entire cliffs in its wake.
He yanked the controls, steering the sun chariot into a higher altitude to avoid any stray lightning bolts. Meanwhile, he pulled up the solar communicator, debating whether to call Apollo or just pretend he hadn't noticed anything.
Then—BOOM!
Another blast of lightning nearly sent him spiraling. The sky exploded with raw energy, and the winds tore through the clouds like the gods themselves were fighting.
No, scratch that.
The gods were fighting.
This wasn't just a bad storm. It was war.
Somewhere, on Olympus, Zeus was furious.
And he wasn't just mad—he was accusing someone.
Unbeknownst to Percy, at that very moment, Olympus was in chaos.
Zeus's master bolt had been stolen.
And this time, he wasn't blaming Hermes.
He was blaming Poseidon.