Ch.3
Artemis had the hunters set up camp near the woods of the boarding school before teleporting herself and Percy to Olympus. They reappeared outside the throne room where Artemis shoved Percy through the doors. Percy stumbled through the doors and came face to face with twelve Olympian Gods and Goddesses all looking at him surprised. Artemis roughly shoved Percy towards the middle of the room and was about to flash to her seat when a voice stopped her in her tracks.
"How dare you treat my grandson like that in my presence?" A female voiced hissed at a now wide-eyed Artemis.
Everyone in the room turned with confused looks towards Demeter who was glaring at Artemis angrily.
"Don't worry Grandma, I came with her willingly." Percy said with a smirk as he looked around at everyone's confused faces.
"Then why are you in shackles?" Demeter asked still glaring at Artemis.
Percy's smirk grew and pulled on the shackles and revealed his free hands as he held the shackles in one hand now.
"It was better to have her not worry about me trying to escape, although these were rather easy to get free from." Percy said as he dropped the shackles on the ground.
"Who are you?" Zeus bellowed after his confusion wore off.
Percy turned towards the King of the Gods, "I am Perseus Jackson, Son of Hades and Persephone."
"You're a god?" Artemis asked shocked.
Percy shook his head, "I am the adopted son of Hades and Persephone. My birth father abandoned my mother and I before I was taken in by my real father Hades when I was ten."
"Who is your real father?" Zeus asked suspiciously.
"Hades." Percy said seriously before sending a distasteful glance towards the man holding a trident in his hand with a pale white face.
Zeus noticed the look towards Poseidon before his face reddened in anger, "Poseidon! You broke your oath twice? I knew I should have killed that boy of yours two years ago."
Poseidon seemed to ignore his brother's anger as he looked at Percy, "Perseus, you are my son. I di…." He began before Percy's eyes flashed with anger.
"You are no father of mine Poseidon." Percy spat.
Poseidon's eyes widened at his tone, "Perseus, the ancient laws would not allow me to see you. If I could have I would have helped but I was restricted by the ancient laws."
Percy's face darkened as shadows began to bend and swirl around the room. Percy's eyes began to glow as he looked angrily at Poseidon, "That is bullshit. You could have helped if you wanted but you were more concerned with the next mortal you knocked up. I don't care what you say Poseidon; you never have and never will be any relation to me. If you weren't a god I'd kill you myself for what you did to my mother."
Zeus was watching the argument unfold in front of him with an amused look on his face. He was more than happy to watch his brother be degraded by his own son before he decided whether or not to kill the boy.
Poseidon looked at Percy in shock, "I never hurt your mother."
Percy growled under his breath before a hand on his shoulder caused him to calm a bit. He looked up into the green eyes of Demeter looking down at him sympathetically, "Calm down Percy. He may be a terrible father but he is still a god."
Percy nodded slowly before turning back to Poseidon slightly calmer, "You killed my mother the day she met you."
Poseidon looked at his son sadly, "I could not do anything once you were born Perseus. I cannot be there to stop every monster that attacks."
Percy laughed a humorless laugh, "There were no monster attacks, there was one monster that you forced us to live with because of the disgusting scent you cursed me with. To protect me from monsters, she had to marry a piece of trash who smelled so vile it covered the potent sea scent I was forced to live with. Then he spent the next ten years making her life a living hell."
Poseidon's eyes narrowed as Percy's words turned harsher, "Watch yourself boy. I told you I couldn't help you because of the ancient laws."
"You're so full of shit. You can interfere with mortals all you want when you want to get laid but gods forbid you actually have to act like a man and protect someone after you knock them up. Where were you when both my mother and I were beaten every single night? Where were you when he would rape her and make me watch inside our piece of shit one room apartment? Where were you when he would pin me down and slowly run his knife across my chest and back for trying to fight him off her? You say it isn't your fault? Every single thing that happened to her is both your fault and mine. Yours for being an ass and a dead beat dad and mine for not being strong enough to protect her." Percy spat at a wide-eyed Poseidon.
Poseidon stared at Percy for a minute before he stood up furiously from his throne and raised his trident at Percy. Before anyone could react, a tendril of fire wrapped around Poseidon's hands and painfully wrenched the direction of his trident away from Percy and towards the hearth.
There stood the normally calm goddess Hestia in the form of a twenty-five year old woman, her eyes flaming orbs of rage.
"How dare you try to kill my champion?" She hissed at her brother.
Poseidon was too shocked by Hestia's actions to respond so she continued, "That boy has faced more pain and suffering than any other demigod I've met. He is guilty of no crime other than pointing out your shortcomings, brother." She spat, saying the word brother like a disease.
Demeter had taken the opportunity to pull Percy back to her throne where she sat him on her lap in her fifteen foot godly height.
"How dare the boy speak to his own father so disrespectfully?" Poseidon asked as he recovered from his shock.
Shadows gathered near the hearth of the throne room as Hades and Persephone appeared; both with looks of anger towards Poseidon.
"He is not your son Poseidon. My husband and I adopted Percy shortly after he lost the only parent he had when his birth mother died." Persephone hissed at the sea god.
Zeus stood from his throne and slammed his bolt into the floor, effectively silencing the room.
"Enough! If you have a throne, sit in it and shut up! If you don't, then conjure up a seat and shut up! We will discuss what happens next with some order damn it." Zeus bellowed.
Everyone did as they were told; Hades, Persephone and Hestia conjured up seats next to Demeter's throne where Percy sat calmly eating a bowl of cereal still on the goddess' lap.
"Now, I want to hear this boy's story from the beginning, starting with how he came into the care of my brother and daughter." Zeus asked as the room finally found some order.
Hestia stood up, "The story began about four years ago. My brother Hades and I were having a conversation in Central Park when we came across Perseus as he ran from Hellhound. After looking through the memories of his life, I convinced my brother to raise the child as Percy had had enough hardships for an entire lifetime. Everything the boy said to Poseidon is the truth." She said with a distasteful look at her brother.
Hades continued, "At the time, your daughter was still a tree and Perseus was in line to be the child of the prophecy. Rather than let the prophecy fall to someone who might fail, Hestia and I decided we would prepare Percy to face the prophecy and ensure he made the correct choice when the time came. For the past four years, Perseus has trained with the greatest heroes to ever live; Theseus, Perseus, Odysseus, Achilles and for a very short period Orion." He explained his face shifting into a smirk when he mentioned Orion.
"Why so short with Orion?" Apollo asked; a look of disgust on his face.
Persephone smirked, "My son has a strong distaste towards men who hurt women. When Orion spoke of the events that led to my sister killing him, Perseus convinced his father that Orion was not worthy to live in Elysium with deserving heroes. He is spending the next few centuries in the Fields of Punishment before Perseus will decide if he is worthy of Asphodel yet."
Apollo's eyes widened before he grinned, "I like this kid."
Artemis looked at Percy with shock and a little guilt, the boy was the opposite of what she hated about men and she had brought him here to be killed.
"How dare you betray your own brother?" Poseidon yelled from his throne.
Percy glared back at the sea god, "That piece of trash is no brother of mine. Even your own son Theseus was more than happy with the punishment given to that prick. Orion was a real chip off the old block, huh Poseidon?"
Poseidon stood from his throne again but was pulled back down by Hera, "Enough Poseidon. We need to hear the rest of Perseus' story."
Everyone looked a little surprised that Hera helped a demigod but she was rather impressed after his rant towards Poseidon earlier. He said what she had been saying for centuries about the male gods.
"Artemis my dear, please explain what happened in Maine." Zeus asked turning to his daughter.
Artemis nodded, "My hunters and I arrived at the school in search of the two demigods and found Thalia, Annabeth and Poseidon's boy trying to fight off a hoard of monsters that were preventing the trio from reaching the Manticore who already had Hades' two children captured. As my hunters were about to enter the fight, shadows engulfed the three demigods and sent them into the woods. Perseus stepped out of the woods and was single-handedly fighting his way through the monsters towards the Manticore. I ordered my hunters to aid him until we could discover who he was and why he was there. He reached the Manticore and had the monster defeated when my lieutenant stepped up to finish it off. The monster snatched her before trying to step back but it fell off the cliff with my lieutenant. Perseus jumped off the cliff and managed to rescue my lieutenant. Afterword, I planned to bring the two demigods to Olympus along with Perseus but the two vanished when they were engulfed by a shadow. Perseus explained he would be of much more interest to Olympus than his siblings and instead surrendered himself peacefully after rescuing his siblings."
Most of the Olympians stared at Percy in shock, he glanced at Artemis questioningly but when he didn't get a response he nudged his grandmother and pointed to his cereal bowl. Demeter beamed at her grandson before snapping her fingers and refilling his bowl.
"And what of Thalia and her two companions?" Zeus asked.
"They are fine. Poseidon's son has a broken arm and bruised ego but they were unavoidable as he tried to threaten Perseus as he was surrendering himself to me." Artemis explained.
"Did you attack my son?" Poseidon asked angrily.
Artemis rolled her eyes, "Perseus put your son in his place. Although you should thank him as I was seconds from turning the arrogant boy into a jackelope for interrupting my interrogation of Perseus."
Poseidon glared at Percy but bit his tongue. A number of Olympians snickered at the thought of Poseidon's son being shown his place. Zeus cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Now we need to decide what should become of this boy. He is very powerful from what I can see and would be a dangerous enemy to Olympus. He doesn't seem to have any ties to Olympus, perhaps it would be best to kill him now before he could become a threat." Zeus said thoughtfully from his throne.
Zeus was shocked to find a number of Olympians, including many of the goddesses glare at him.
"The boy will not betray Olympus; I will vouch for my grandson's loyalty." Demeter said from her throne.
Persephone gave her mother a grateful smile.
Athena looked at Percy curiously before clearing her throat, "I believe the boy could be a valuable asset to Olympus father. While he may hate Poseidon, he has no grudge against anyone else. He has been trained by the greatest heroes to ever live and could become the key to helping us win any war in the coming years. He is also not the prophecy child, so he poses no threat in that regard even though he would be an excellent candidate should something happen to Thalia."
"We cannot let the boy continue to roam freely; he could fall into the enemy's hands and forced to betray us anyway." Zeus countered.
"Then we will send him to camp. I will claim Percy and he will stay in my cabin with my children." Demeter announced.
Zeus sat on his throne thinking before Hera leaned over and whispered into her husband's ear. Zeus listened before he slowly nodded.
"We shall put it to a vote. Who believes we should kill the boy now?" Zeus asked.
Dionysus was the only person to raise his hand and received a number of glares in response.
"All for letting the boy live and sending him to Camp Half Blood?" He asked.
Ten hands rose while only Poseidon did not vote as he refused to vote for either. He disliked the way Percy spoke to him but was also feeling guilty about abandoning his own son to such a life.
"Very well, Perseus shall be sent to Camp Half Blood." Zeus announced.
Percy raised his hand from Demeter's lap, "Lord Zeus?"
Zeus nodded in his direction.
"What of my brother and sister? They don't even know they are demigods and pose no threat to Olympus. Will they be allowed to come to camp as well?" Percy asked.
Zeus realized he had forgotten all about the true spawns of Hades, "We do not know where their loyalties will lie in the future. Why were they not brought to Olympus?"
"I thought it was best if I went to Olympus first. I will make sure their loyalties never change from Olympus and will be responsible for them and anything they do." Percy said hopefully.
"You do know if they ever betray us that you will be punished along with them if I agree to this?" Zeus asked.
Percy nodded, "They are my brother and sister; I would gladly give my life for either of them."
Zeus nodded, "Very well Perseus, they are your responsibility then."
"Thank you Lord Zeus." Percy said gratefully.
"Artemis, you are leaving for your assignment soon correct?" Zeus asked.
"Yes father." She replied.
"Then you will send Perseus to camp with your hunters. Please ensure they boy is not killed while traveling with them." Zeus ordered.
Everyone expected Artemis to argue but instead she simply nodded to her father.
"Council dismissed." Zeus announced before disappearing in a bolt of lightning followed by most of the council.
Poseidon stood from his throne glaring harshly at his brother, "Who do you think you are adopting my child without my permission?"
Hades smirked, "I simply gave Perseus the option. He freely chose to be raised by me rather than wait around for you to remember you had him."
Poseidon's eyes narrowed, "You know I was not able to have any contact with him or else Zeus would have killed him."
Percy scoffed, "I see your other son, the arrogant little prick, managed to gain your favor enough for you to get him to camp. I doubt the one good son you've ever would be pleased to find his legendary blade in the hands of such a weak demigod."
Poseidon's glare shifted to Percy, "Theo? He is a worthy hero. How dare you speak that way about him?"
Percy looked at Poseidon confused before his eyes widened and he let out a loud laugh, "You actually named him after Theseus too? That is rich. I look forward to seeing the real Theseus' reaction to your feeble attempt to replace him."
Poseidon gripped his trident and stepped towards Percy only for Hades, Hestia and Persephone to stand protectively in front of Percy who was still sitting calmly on his grandmother's lap.
Poseidon glared at Hades, "This is far from over brother. You will pay for turning my own flesh and blood against me." He spat before vanishing in a bright sea green light.
Hades turned to his son with a look of pride, "You did well Perseus; I don't think I've seen Poseidon so angry in millennia. Take care of your brother and sister, I will send them to camp by the end of the day."
Percy smirked, "Thank you father."
"Don't do anything foolish at camp Percy. Many of the demigods may try to challenge you to test you but killing someone will not end well for anyone. I love you." Persephone said warmly before she and Hades vanished from the throne room.
Percy jumped off Demeter's lap as she shrunk herself down to human size, "I will inform my daughter Katie that you will be joining them in my cabin. Don't be afraid to Iris Message your grandmother if you need anything Percy." She said as she kissed him on the cheek before vanishing from the throne room as well.
Percy was left with his patron who smiled warmly at him, "You have made me so proud my champion. The hearth will always be there for you when you need it just as I am."
Hestia led Percy over to Artemis who stood in the middle of the throne room waiting impatiently.
"I trust my champion will not come to harm under your care niece?" Hestia said with a hint of warning in her voice.
Artemis shrugged, "He seems to be respectful enough and he did save my lieutenant, I don't see any issues arising."
Hestia eyes narrowed a bit but nodded, "Very well. Perseus I will be watching over you on your journey." She said before vanishing in a flash of flames.
Artemis looked at Percy curiously for a minute before gesturing for him to follow her. Percy was surprised but followed her outside the throne room. Artemis led him into a courtyard before taking a seat on a bench and gesturing for him to sit on the bench across from her.
Percy waited for the goddess to speak, knowing she was one goddess whose bad side he had no interest in getting on.
"I assume you are curious as to why I brought you here Perseus?" Artemis asked.
Percy simply nodded in response.
"Your sister, the daughter of Hades; I was planning on offering her a place in my hunt where she would become one of my immortal maidens. I will be going on a solo hunt but would still like to offer her a place in my hunters when I return, will that be a problem?" She asked stoically.
Percy looked at the goddess confused, "No offense Lady Artemis, but why are you even asking me? She is my sister but the choice is hers. Personally I would love if she joined the hunt despite that I would not get to know her better; but knowing she was safe would be worth it."
Artemis looked at the demigod slightly impressed, "I only asked because I wanted to know if you would try to stop her from joining but I appreciate you wanting what is best for her."
Percy nodded.
"That was very unwise of you to challenge Poseidon like that. You will need to be careful in the future and when around the sea." Artemis warned.
Percy shrugged, "I have no fear of death Lady Artemis. My home is in the Underworld and most of my friends are not alive. I could not miss a chance to knock him down a peg. The gods think they can go around impregnating any woman they want without consequence but someone needed to tell them otherwise."
Artemis gave Percy an impressed smirk as she agreed with his reasoning.
"Mind explaining how you managed to free yourself from the shackles I put you in?" Artemis asked curiously.
Percy's lips quirked into a mischievous smile, "Houdini was a son of Hades and taught me how to get myself out of a sticky situation should the need arise."
Artemis looked at Percy incredulously for a minute before her eyes drifted to the scar running down his face, "How old were you when he did that?" She asked in a surprisingly soft tone.
Percy's calm face quickly tensed as he looked away from the goddess, "It would be easier if you just looked through my memories. That is how everyone else finds out and I have no desire to relive any of the moments from my past. But I would ask that you keep what you see to yourself please."
Artemis nodded as she looked into the memories of Percy. After a few minutes she pulled back with a scowl on her face, "What happened to that man?" She growled.
Percy smirked, "He has his own section dedicated to him in the Fields of Punishment designed by myself and my mother Persephone."
Artemis' face shifted into a satisfied smile, "Did you kill him?"
Percy's smirk grew, "Very slowly."
Artemis smiled, "Good. Now before I bring you to my hunters, I have another question for you."
"Orion I presume?" Percy asked.
Artemis nodded, "What did you mean when you said the events that led to his death?"
"He was not very shy about what he called his accomplishments and I did not like the way he spoke about how he almost "scored" with the goddess of maidens. Theseus also explained that he tried to rape one of your huntresses as well." Percy explained.
Artemis' face reddened in anger, "He did not almost "score". He simply gained my favor for very short period of time."
"I know Lady Artemis. He is currently where he belongs and I have no plans to tell my father to release him from punishment anytime soon." Percy replied quickly.
"Good. I suppose I owe you some thanks for putting him in his place." Artemis added.
Percy shook his head, "No you don't Lady Artemis. I was more than happy to do it. He committed too many crimes against women in his short yet too long life to be considered any type of hero."
Artemis smiled, "Thank you for saving my lieutenant as well, she is very important to me."
Percy gave her a small nod in response.
"I will make sure my huntresses treat you with more respect than they do other males; you have earned that much. Come, we must return to them and send you all to camp." Artemis added.
Percy nodded and stood up as Artemis did the same. She put a hand on his shoulder as they vanished into a flash of silver light.