Embrace the Shadows

Ch 24

-Percy-

Sighing he leaned back into the car he was riding in, nestled between the door and Zoe with Damian on her other side while Argus drove them in the front seat. Chiron had tricked him into promising to go to Westover Hall and help Paris, Annabeth, and Grover recruit the two new children of Athena. When the ancient centaur said he wanted to wager a favor he was expecting to have to help train some of the campers when he lost…not go to one of the few damn places he never wanted to step foot in! Grumbling to himself he leaned back in his seat as he thought about what had happened only days before.

-Flashback-

"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about dad?" he asked his father, Chaos, as they walked down one of the corridors of the large base that they lived in when not at camp.

"One of my spies on Olympus has gotten wind of the fact that Zeus plans on kidnapping Thalia and finding some way to force her into the hunt, either by wiping her mind or by trying to alter it." his father explained angrily.

"Does he even have that kind of power?" he asked his father in disgust "I know he can't get to the Lethe as uncle Hades doesn't allow anyone besides our allies entrance into the underworld but could Zeus really re-write Thalia's mind?".

"I may be the oldest being in existence Percy but not even I know all," his father said with a sigh "I do know however that he has yet to find a spell that would allow such. He has assigned Athena to devote all of her time to researching such a ritual but should all else fail he may resort to kidnapping and trying to use psychological torture to break her mind down.".

"If he so much as touches her then I will force him to fade," he growled "and I will make sure his fading is painful.".

"I'm surprised that you haven't killed all of the Olympians off by now," his father noted with a raised eyebrow as they walked "I would have thought you would have just started chopping off heads years ago.".

"Before heading to camp I wanted to get a good feel for my new powers and weapons," he explained "future knowledge is worthless if you can't do anything with it.".

"And once the master bolt had been stolen and your little 'game' began?" his father asked in amusement.

"I like making them sweat." He admitted sheepishly, "Seeing them panic is amusing.".

"Never change Percy," his father said with a laugh "the world needs you just as you are. Anyway, onto other matters. What weapon from the stash did you give to Thalia?".

"The spear of destiny," he explained "she was thrilled at its abilities and the fact that its hidden form is an amethyst ring.".

"Fearsome warrior or not son she's a women and women tend to like sparkly things." His father said sagely, "I don't have a damn idea why but then again I'm not a woman.".

"Yeah but she's a prankster that can give the Stoll's a run for their money," he said with a snicker "they tried to hide some of her stuff as a joke so she put her crystal mines under their mattress. They laid down to go to sleep and got blasted through the wall.".

"You lot are so lucky that demigods are made of sturdier stuff than mortals." His father said in exasperation, the ancient deity pinching the bridge of his nose at the new information.

"You enjoy pranks just as much so you have no room to talk." He said with a snicker, ducking the swat his father aimed at his head.

"Anyway," his father groused, "I know you've replaced Aphrodite and Ares but who else is being replaced with whom?".

"Well," he began thoughtfully "Zeus is being replaced by Jason with some help from Thalia as you probably already guessed, speaking off I should really find the time to head to New Rome to see the Roman part of our forces. Poseidon is going to be replaced by Damian who will be aided by his sister when needed much like Jason. I haven't fully decided for Demeter but I'm leaning towards Katie Gardener, Castor is planning to talk to her more and see if she would be willing to join our faction.".

"You really think she'll join you over her mother?" his father asked warily.

"We're just testing the waters to see if she wants to see the corrupted gods replaced without resorting to the Titans this time around." He assured quickly "And we're going to be very cautious about it.".

"Just try to keep things on a low profile," his dad insisted "we don't want anyone panicking and giving Zeus information we need to keep private.".

"Right." he said nodding "Anyway, I was thinking of having Calypso take over for Hera as I think having someone who is actually kind in that domain would work wonders. As I told you before Zoe has already been selected to take over for Artemis when the moon goddess fades. I'm thinking, maybe, Lou Ellen to replace Athena, the girl always has her nose in a book and can actually use her intelligence with wisdom and not become an arrogant blowhard.".

"All three of those domains need a woman who's actually kind to run them." his father said with a snort, "One is a jealous bitter hag, one is a petty hypocritical hag, and the other is a stuck up arrogant hag.".

Trying to keep the smirk off his face he finished up "And I was thinking of having Juniper the Dryad take over for Persephone. She's already been welcomed in by my group and I think someone who knows how to be nurturing is a better fit for the goddess of springtime.".

"That makes sense." his father agreed with a nod. "Oh, I've also started working on finding Arachne and recruiting her to our side. I would have found her already but that damn Athena statue she's hoarding along with the power of the ancient lands is making it difficult. I did however give Chrysaor orders to keep an eye out for her and spread the word that we wanted to talk to her and, possibly, reverse her curse.".

"Thanks Dad," he said gratefully before he realized something and asked "where are we going anyway?".

"To greet the two most recent powers to join our alliance," his father explained "a pair of Titans who were a pain to manage to get here. The first is Rhea who has become disgusted with Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, and Hera at how they treated Hades and Hestia, her opinion only growing worse when she discovered Zeus' actions in the past timeline after she joined us.".

"That's sure to piss off Bolt boy and his siblings," he said with a chuckle "does he know yet? And who's the other Titan that joined?".

"Nobody outside of us and your other parents know yet." his father said with a shake of his head "And the other Titan is the Lady Metis who was Zeus' first wife. She was pregnant with their first child when the Fates came to Zeus and told him that Metis could only ever have two children by him, that one would be a daughter far wiser than he could ever hope to be while the other would be a son far stronger than he could ever dream of being. Fearful of being dethroned Zeus tricked Metis into turning into a fly before he swallowed her. The headache that 'birthed' Athena was actually caused by Metis creating her daughter's armor in Zeus' stomach.". (AN: This is an actual Myth)

"That's messed up." He said with a scowl "So you somehow got her out of the Drama Queen's stomach?".

"Yeah," his father said with a nod before pointing to a door they had stopped in front of "they're right in here."

Nodding his thanks he opened the door but the moment he stepped in he saw the familiar pink and gold light from when he had bonded with Circe engulf him causing him to sigh, why couldn't he ever just have one easy day?