❛ prophecy has ended... ❜
THE REPORTERS FED THE FOUR KIDS A WHOLE FAKE STORY.
They nodded and acted tearful and exhausted, playing victimized kids for the cameras.
"All I want," Percy choked back his tears, "is to see my loving stepfather again. Every time I saw him on TV, calling me a delinquent punk, I knew...somehow we would be okay."
Y/n kept biting her tongue to hold her back from bursting into a fit of laughter as Percy spoke.
"And I know he'll want to reward each and every person in this beautiful city of Los Angeles with a free major appliance from his store. Here's the phone number."
Apparently, the reporters wanted word from Y/n as well. She felt a huge grin creep up her lips.
The girl cried so realistically the people watching her were in tears, minus her friends, "I was so scared and worried I'd never see my affectionate father and his one thousand girlfriends who never got the chance to becoming my stepmother," she sobbed, "I know that if he was here right now, I'd give him the biggest kick in the shin since it's how we show our father-daughter love—and if anyone sees him, please give kick him for me. I'll sleep better knowing someone showed him my love."
The audience awed. Police and reporters were so moved they passed around a hat and raised money for four tickets on the next plane to New York.
"Don't worry," Y/n said nervously to Percy, "It's my first time too."
Takeoff scared the life out of Y/n, and Percy. They held their hands together and closed their eyes. They didn't unclench their arm-seat until they safely touched down at La Guardia.
The local press was waiting for them outside security, luckily Annabeth evade them away by putting her Yankees cap and yelling "They're over her! By the yoghurt stand!"
Outside the airport was where Y/n and Percy had another one of their fights. He had told them to go back to Camp and tell Chiron what happened, but the brunette was too stubborn to do it.
"Do I look like I'd listen to you? I don't care what happens, even if I die. I'm not leaving your side." The girl argued.
Soon, Annabeth and Grover went back to Camp while Y/n and Percy headed to Manhattan.
𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊
"SIX HUNDREDTH FLOOR." PERCY SAID.
The guard was reading a huge book, with 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone' as the title. It took a while for him to look up, "No such floor kiddo."
Y/n walked up, head high, "Give us the key to the six hundredth floor please."
Doing exactly Y/n said, the guard got up his seat and took out a key card. The brunette took it with pleasure, smiling at Percy.
As the elevator closed, Y/n slipped the key into the slot. The card disappeared and a new button appeared on the console, a red one that said 600.
Percy pressed it and waited and waited as the elevator music played:
If you like pina coladas...and gettin' caught in the rain...
Finally, the doors slid open. They stepped out and Percy froze, taking it all in.
They were standing on a narrow stone walkway in the middle of the air. Below them was Manhattan. In front of them, white marble steps wound up the spine of a cloud, into the sky.
From the top of the clouds rose the decapitated peak of a mountain, its summit covered with snow. Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled palaces—a city of mansions—all white columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires.
Y/n was ahead of him. She turned back, "You coming Kelp head?"
They passed giggling wood nymphs who threw olives from their garden. Percy had to hold onto Y/n before she could kill them. Hawkers in the market offered to sell ambrosia-on-a-stick, a new shield, and a genuine glitter-weave replica of the Golden Fleece, as seen on Hephaestus-TV.
Everybody seemed to be in a festive mood. Several of them turned to watch the two demigods pass, whispering to themselves. Some sending smirks and winks at Y/n, in which they received a respectful smile back from her.
"So if I winked and smirked at you, you would've been nicer?" Percy whispered to the brunette.
"Nope. I'll just think you're weird." She teased.
They climbed the main road toward the big palace at the peak. Steps led up to a central courtyard. Past that, the throne room. Massive columns rose to a domed ceiling, which glided with moving constellations.
Twelve thrones, built for beings the size of Hades were arranged in an inverted U, like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. An enormous fire crackled in the central hearth pit. The thrones were empty except for the two gods at the end: head throne on the right and one to it's left.
Y/n felt her legs grow weak as she took sight of the two gods. They were in giant form. Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, wore a dark blue pinstriped suit. He sat on a simple throne of solid platinum. His face was proud, handsome and grim, his eyes rainy gray.
As they got nearer, the air crackled and smelled of ozone.
The god next to him wore leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Tommy Bahama shirt with coconuts and parrots all over it. His skin was deeply tanned, his hands scarred like an old-time fisherman's.
The brunette would've thought the god was an old retired teacher who went on vacation if he wasn't so big. Y/n took notice of the similarities between the god and Percy. Same hair and eyes.
His throne was a deep-sea fisherman's chair. It was the simple swiveling kind, with a black leather seat and a built-in holster for a fishing pole. But instead of a pole, it held a bronze trident, flickering with green light around the tips.
The two half mortals, approached and kneeled, "Father." Percy spoke.
"Lord Zeus, Lord Poseidon." Y/n could feel the tension in the air. Her heart was racing. She could be back with Hades within millisecond if she spoke even the tiniest thing.
To their left, Zeus spoke, "Should you not address the master of this house first boy?"
"Peace, brother." Poseidon said, "The boy defers to his father. This is only right."
"You still claim him then?" Zeus asked, menacingly, "You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"
"I have admitted my wrongdoing," Poseidon said, "Now I would hear them speak."
Y/n noticed Percy's face shifted. She knows that look and she heard what Poseidon had said.
Wrongdoing.
Her fingers laced around Percy's and she held them tight, telling him they'll be alright. He looked at their intertwined hands and gave her a grateful smile.
"I have spared him once already," Zeus grumbled, "Daring to fly through my domain...pah! I should have blasted his out of the sky for his impudence."
"And risk destroying your own master bolt? Let us hear them out, brother."
"I shall listen. Then I shall make up my mind whether or not to cast these two demigods down from Olympus."
Y/n gulped at the thought of that.
"Perseus, Y/n. Look at me." Poseidon spoke.
The both of them did, nervous under a God's stare.
"Adress Lord Zeus. Tell him your story."
So they did. The two of them took turns telling everything. Percy took out the metal cylinder which began sparking in the Sky God's presence.
Zeus opened his palms. The lightning bolt flew into it. As he closed his fist, the metallic points flared with electricity.
"I sense the demigods tells the truth," Zeus muttered, "But that Ares would do such a thing..it is most unlike him."
"He is proud and impulsive, "Poseidon said, "It runs in the family."
"Lord?" Y/n asked.
They both turned, "Yes?"
The girl looked at Percy who nodded encouragingly, "Ares didn't act alone. Someone else—something else—came up with an idea."
Percy then described his dreams and the feeling on the beach, "In the dreams, the voice told me to bring the bolt to the Underworld. Ares hinted that he'd been having dreams too. I think he was being used, just as I was, to start a war."
"You are accusing Hades, after all?" Zeus asked.
"No! I mean, Lord Zeus, I've been in the presence of Hades. This feeling on the beach was different. It was the same thing I felt when we got close to that pit. The entrance to Tartarus, right?..something older than the gods."
The two gods looked at one another, having a quick and intense discussion in Ancient Greek. Y/n caught one word which made her freeze.
Father.
"We will speak of this no more," Zeus said, "I must go personally to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint from it's metal."
He rose and looked at them, his expression soften, "You both have done me a service. Few heroes could have accomplished as much."
"We had help sir," Y/n said, "Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase—"
"To show you my thanks, I shall spare your life. I do not trust either of you nor what your arrival means in the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live."
"Um...thank you, sir." Percy murmured.
"Do not presume to fly again. Do not let me find you here when I return. Otherwise you shall taste this bolt. And it shall be your last sensation." Thunder shook and with a blinding flash, Zeus was gone.
"Your uncle," Poseidon sighed at his son, "has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would've done well as the god of theatre."
Y/n didn't know whether she was allowed to laugh so she stayed silent.
"Sir. What was in that pit?"
The god regarded Percy, "Have you not guessed?"
"Kronos," Y/n whispered, "The king of the Titans."
Poseidon gripped his trident, "In the First War, Zeus cut our father into a thousand pieces, just as Kronos had done to his own father, Ouranos. Zeus cast his remains into the darkest pit of Tartarus. The Titan army was scattered, their mountain fortress on Etna destroyed, their monstrous allies driven to the farthest corners of the earth. And yet Titans cannot die, any more than we gods can. Whatever is left of Kronos is still alive in some hideous way, still conscious in his eternal pain, still hungering for power."
"He's healing." Y/n told him, "He's coming back."
Poseidon shook his head, "From time to time, over eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men's nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. He washed restless monsters from the depths. But to suggest he could rise from the pit is another thing."
"That's what he intends Father. That's what he said."
"Lord Zeus has closed discussion on this matter. He will not allow talk of Kronos. You have completed your quest. That is all you needed to do."
"But—" Percy stopped himself, "As...as you wish Father."
A faint smile played on his lips, "Obedience does not come naturally to you does it?"
"No..sir."
"I must take some blame for that. The sea does not like to be restrained." He shimmered and became the same size as the demigods, "You must go, child. But first, know that your mother has returned."
Percy stared at him, "My mother?"
"Your mother is a queen among women." The god said.
Y/n couldn't help but crept a smile on her face. It was rare to see a god talk so wistfully about their mortal partner.
She decided to let Percy know that she'd wait outside as he and his father caught up.
The brunette sat on the steps of Olympus, as she waited for Percy.
"Y/n?" Said a voice.
The girl turned to find a beautiful lady in a silk white dress. She had a small thin belt wrapped around her waist, making her body like an hourglass. Her hair was dark like Percy's—only with curls. But her eyes were Y/e/c like her's.
"Mother?" She gasped. Aphrodite nodded, opening her arms wide as the young girl ran to hug her.
"Oh, my baby. I'm so sorry—for the idiot I married—and Ares. Oh, I was so mad at him." Aphrodite stroked her hair lovingly.
"No worries mom. It's alright."
"I saw you at Olympus live. You still looked so beautiful while you fought with that handsome demigod." Her mother wiggled her eyebrows and winked.
"Percy? Oh, he's just a friend mom. That's all." Y/n laughed awkwardly.
"I'm a what?" Spoke a voice behind them. The duo turned to find Percy, standing there as he looked across to Aphrodite, "Oh. Um...hello."
"Hello Percy. I see you're friends with my daughter." Aphrodite smiled, "You two were cute in the tunnel of love, fending off spiders together—so romantic."
Percy blushed while Y/n gave him an apologetic look, "Mom!" She said through her gritted teeth.
"What?"
"Uh, sorry mom. But me and Percy—we've got to go." The brunette grabbed onto Percy and led him down the steps.
"Nice meeting you ma'am!" Percy called out.
Aphrodite smirked at the two, waving at Percy. She knew that this time, she'd make the perfect couple.
When they were a few steps down, Y/n turned to Percy, "Sorry 'bout her. Goddess of love, you know."
He shook his head, "No it's alright. You look like your mom. Same hair and smile. But her eyes are different from yours."
"Thanks." She said.
𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧𓋼𓍊
PERCY WANTED Y/N TO MEET HIS MOM BUT THE BRUNETTE INSISTED SHE WENT BACK TO CAMP, SO THE TWO DECIDED TO PART WAYS WITH A HUG.
As Y/n jumped out of the taxi, a smile made it's way onto her face. She missed the comfort camp gave.
Not wasting a moment, the girl ran past Thalia's tree before stopping and walked back, planting a kiss on the trunk.
She was greeted by a bunch of different campers until she found a familiar blonde haired girl who had tears in her eyes, "Annabeth!" She yelled.
The brunette hugged the arms of her best friend, "Oh my gods you're alive! Thank Zeus! You left me for so long!"
Y/n rolled eyes, "It was only a few hours, don't be dramatic."
"What do you mean a 'few hours'? That's the longest we've ever been apart." Annabeth gasped, "Have you found a new best friend? Did that kelp head replace me?"
Y/n laughed, "Of course not, Annie. No one will ever replace you."
"Not even me?" Asked a voice. Luke stood there with a wide smile plastered on his face.
Y/n jumped into his arms, "Lu! I've missed you!"
Luke laughed as he ruffled her hair, "I know, it seems like everyone does. I can never get away from my fans." He teased. Y/n rolled her eyes and hugged him tighter.
Clarisse even gave her a pat in the back before going back to her normal self, throwing insults.
Her brothers and sisters hugged her, some already crying. Silena was dying of tears, it flowed and rolled off her cheek, "Come here, you." she grabbed the girl into a hug.
Y/n closed her eyes and embraced her sister's hug. She caught sight of Chiron who gave a proud nod and a smile.
Not long after, Percy came back and everyone cheered. He informed how he was with his mother, telling them that Hades had sent her back after getting his helm back.
It was a camp tradition to wear laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in their honour, then led down to the bonfire where they got to burn the burial shrouds their cabins made for them—minus Percy.
Annabeth smiled proudly as she held the gray silk shroud embroidered with owls.
Y/n's was a white silk with little doves flying around. Percy told her it was a shame not to bury her in it. She made him punch himself after that.
Since Percy didn't have a cabin, Ares volunteered to make one for him. They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted a smiley face with two X-ed eyes around the border and the word LOSER painted in the middle.
Y/n burst out laughing and told the Ares cabin how much of a good job they did, making Percy glare at the girl, only for her to mouth, "Loser."
"Whatever, beauty queen." He mouthed back.
As Apollo's cabin led the sing along and passed out s'mores, Y/n sat with Annabeth's friends from Athena, Percy and Grover's satyrs buddies who admired his searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders.
On the fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a firework show, displayed by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus' kids, they weren't going to settle for a few red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles.
Y/n told Percy that the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky.
As the three demigods were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell then goodbye. He was dressed in usual jeans, T-shirt and sneakers.
His goatee grew thicker and he looked like an actual high-schooler. His horns grew at least an inch so he had to wear a hat.
"I'm off," he said, "I just came to say..well, you know."
Y/n smiled, but her eyes were doing the opposite of being happy. She hugged him tightly, "Don't make people bump into trees now Grover."
He chuckled, remembering their recent quest, "I won't." he mumbled.
Annabeth hugged him after, telling him to keep his fake feet on. Percy asked where he was searching first.
"Kind of a secret. I wish you could come with me, but humans and Pan..."
"We understand," Annabeth smiled, "You got enough tin cans for the trip?"
"Yeah."
"And you remembered your reed pipes?"
"Jeez Annabeth. You're like an old mama goat."
But he wasn't annoyed at all. He gripped his walking stick and slung his backpack over his shoulder, "Well. Wish me luck."
"Hey, Grover." Percy called, "Wherever you're going—I hope they make good enchiladas."
Grover grinned and then he was gone.
"We'll see him again," Annabeth smiled.
Y/n hoped so, for she knew how many went on this quest and never returned. But she had faith in her friend. She knows he'll come back alive.
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