The Winter Solstice meeting of 2007 was one of the worst in all of Olympian History. The atmosphere surrounding every throne was thick and heavy like a gas-like syrup forced the gods to stay in their seats. In addition to the twelve Olympians, four individuals stood in the center of the throne room, waiting for their fates to be decided.
"Now that we're all present, I would like to propose that the council meeting start. But first, we should make a role call. Hera," Zeus said in his diplomatic way
"Present and voting" Hera told. So on and so forth, all the Olympians stayed their presence and their willingness to vote on the meeting matters.
"Alright. Now that we are all present here, does anyone have any points or motions to present?" Zeus asked.
Athena and Apollo raised their hands.
"Athena" Zeus motioned to the goddess of the wisdom
"Motion for a Moderated Caucus" Athena smiled
"That is in order. Apollo?"
"Point of personal privilege. Can I go scratch my buttho- I mean can I go outside and tend to my business?" Apollo said hurriedly
"Why couldn't you do that before the meeting started?" Zeus asked
"I didn't need to do it till now" Apollo blushed
"Fine, but be back quickly" Apollo bowed slightly, diminished his height and ran out the Throne Rooms doors. The gods all shook their heads in disappointment while the three demigods stood dumbfounded in the middle of the room.
"While Apollo is outside tending his business, Athena, may I ask you what the moderated caucus would be concerning?" Zeus turned his head to the wisdom goddess.
Athena stood up, "It would be concerning the actions we as a council should take concerning the lives of the Children of the Big Three who stand in the middle of the throne room"
"I approve of the motion. We may start the moderated caucus once Apollo returns from his personal privilege" Zeus decided
"Excuse me, but may I ask what a moderated caucus is?" Alex Pond, who stood in the middle of the room, asked the Olympians
"It's basically the parliamentary term for a moderated debate" Poseidon answered his son
"Wouldn't that imply that a time limit is in effect?" Annabeth asked confused
"Normally yes. But this is the Olympian council, and we thought that it was ridiculous for gods to have time limits when it came to talking" Athena answered her daughter
"Typical" Perseus coughed, earning a glare from almost every god except for Dionysus, who was sleeping
"What is that supposed to mean punk?" Ares asked, sharpening his spear.
"Oh nothing, just that it's typical for you Olympians to make rules that don't make sense just so that your egos don't get hurt" Perseus shrugged, "and don't call me punk, I'm older than you"
Before Ares could jump out of his throne and attack Perseus, Apollo came back from his trip with a satisfied look on his face. He swiftly grew his godly size and sat on his throne, a wide grin planted on his face.
"Now that Apollo is here, we may proceed with the caucus. Athena, you may go first as you suggested it" Zeus said, completely forgetting what Perseus had said just a few seconds earlier
"Thank you Lord Zeus. Olympians, we are gathered here today as part of our ordinary council meeting. However, not every year do we have two children of the Big Three and a rogue god with us. Their presence only confirms what we had been fearing for many years: the end of our era is near. The prophecy stated that a child of the eldest gods would turn sixteen and that he or she would either save us or doom us. Well, in only a day one of them will turn sixteen, and yet we do not know exactly where her loyalties lie. We should not think of them as children, rather as threats to our safety. That is why I propose that we exterminate the daughter of Zeus and son of Poseidon so that the prophecy at be stopped" Athena finished her speech with a glare at the son of Poseidon
"YOU WILL NOT HARM MY DAUGHTER!" Zeus yelled, grabbing his master bolt and standing up.
At the same time, Poseidon took his trident and pointed it at the goddess of wisdom. "I DARE YOU TO TOUCH A HAIR ON MY SONS' HEAD"
"Zeus, calm down. The moderated caucus is still in order" Hera told from her seat. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Zeus calmed himself down and sat on his throne.
"Who wishes to speak next?" Apollo raised his hand, "Apollo, you have the floor"
The sun god stood up, "Thank you Your Honor. Delegates, we are here because of a simple reason...because we have to. Let's be honest, nobody likes being stuck here for hours fighting over stupid stuff. Today, however, the pattern of the meeting has been changed. First of all, we have visitors from all over the country! I mean, even Florida is representing...that's a first. With this change, a decision has been put in our hands. Do we unfairly punish the children? Or do we become the bigger persons and help these children through the tough times? As the god of prophecy, I know that the prophecy will occur regardless if we kill these innocent children. So why spill more blood into our hands? I say we let them live, cause when the time comes, they will remember our faces when they save Olympus" he sat back down
Ares stood up, "I say we kill them right now! That punk will doom us tomorrow if she gets the chance! We cannot allow a pitiful demigod to destroy us"
"I agree with Ares. Thalia Grace is a menace. She will turn 16 tomorrow and is nowhere near ready to save us from the Titans" Demeter told standing up
"SILENCE!" Zeus yelled, "Artemis, I like your proposal. We just need to see if she will take it"
"What proposal?" Hermes asked while texting on his phone
"As many of you know, the hunt is without a lieutenant. Thalia is a very strong, smart, and good maiden who I would gladly have on the hunt. If she so desires, I would like to offer her a place in the hunt, as a lieutenant. This would stop her from aging immediately, which would mean that the prophecy would no longer fall into her. So, Thalia, do you accept?" Artemis turned to Thalia.
The demigoddess daughter of Zeus did not like being put on the spot like that. Every being on the room was staring intensely at her, all waiting for her response.
Whether she said yes or no would affect her whole life. On one hand, she could live all her life as a fifteen-year-old, without knowing what a family feels like, or what a kiss tastes like. On the other hand, she would die if she said no to the proposal.
"I accept Lady Artemis" Thalia Grace grinned.
Artemis let out air that she didn't know she was holding.
"Great, now repeat after me" The goddess of the hunt proceeded to say the oath, which Thalia gladly repeated. Once Artemis accepted the oath, Thalia began to glow a silver color. She looked stronger and healthier, with more powerful energy surrounding her.
"Well that solves Zeus' daughter. Now, what should we do with Poseidon's kid?" Hephaestus asked, tired of seeing the hunt's ritual
"I propose we kill him. It is the only way we can be sure that he will not pose a future threat" Athena said
"I also believe he should be killed" Ares proudly stated
Artemis stood from her throne, "are we seriously suggesting that?! How can we punish those who have just saved us? If this is Olympian Justice, then I wish no part on it"
"And what? Join the Titans?" Athena mocked
"Why not? I am half titan after all, and you are behaving like them right now. I might as well stay neutral during this war" Artemis glared
"If my little sis doesn't fight, then I won't either" Apollo stood up
"Traitors! You do not care for the future of Olympus, rather your well-being. We are just trying to stop the prophecy, and subsequently, the death of thousands" Athena proclaimed
"The prophecy will happen no matter what! We should help the child of the prophecy during his development, so that he may be able to help us in the future. We cannot simply run away from our problems" Poseidon yelled
"You can't seriously think that one of your children will be able to save us" Athena scoffed
"I don't think, I know it" Poseidon replied
"Stop talking you two. We should pass onto voting, as I'm getting tired of all of this. Motion in favor of letting the demigods live?" Zeus asked
With the exception of Athena, Ares and Dionysus, all the Olympians raised their hands. "This motion clearly passes. You are all free to go" Zeus said, moving his hand and teleporting the demigods to another place, leaving only Perseus standing in the middle of the Throne Room.
"Umm, hey?" Perseus said innocently, feeling just a little intimidated by all the flares he was receiving
"You vile creature. Tell me, how did you manage to escape from your cursed island?" Zeus' face turned red at the sight of the god of tides
"Excuse me, but who is he?" Hephaestus asked
"He is a creature that should've never been born" Zeus replied
"Well, that's a little broad Zeus. My name is Perseus or Perseus Jackson for any mortals. I'm the first god born out of two gods, so like my mom and my dad are both gods. I'm the god of a bunch of stuff, which include childhood, tides, feelings, technology, hospitality, secrets, humor, sacrifice, and time. I know, time is kinda taboo here, but I'm not bad I swear. Anyways, because Zeus here was jealous of me, which I can't blame him for, he banished me to an island when I was just a baby. Then, get this, he married my mother and forced my father to marry another woman. I'll leave you to figure out who my parents are" Perseus said, earning the wide eyes of many gods.
"B-b-but when? That isn't in any book I've read" Athena muttered
"Dude I don't know, probably thousands of years ago. And of course, it wasn't in any book, it was kept a secret for a reason" Perseus smirked
"How are you here?!" Zeus yelled
"You literally said it earlier dude, I escaped. We need to start a bruh chain. Bruh..."
"Bruh" Apollo joined
"Bruh" Hermes continued
"STOP IT BEFORE I SMITE ALL OF YOU WHERE YOU STAND!" Zeus lost control
"And here I thought that the parliamentary procedure wasn't just a show..."
"Boy, I am not in a mood for your jokes. Tell me right this instant, how did you manage to get out of your imprisonment"
"Fine, ruin my fun, it's fine. It was one fine August day, or maybe it was July, I don't know but it was hot" Perseus began to tell
"Get to the point!" Zeus fumed
"Don't yell, you're scaring me" Perseus let a few fake tears fall, "as I was saying, it was a really hot day and I was on my island. It was a really horrible island, but I made the best of it, you know? I planted my plants and did my own swimming pool like those Indian guys on YouTube. Have you seen em? Wait no, that won't happen for another twelve years"
"Gods you have more ADHD than our children" Hermes commented
"I know, that's what makes me so fun. Anyways, I was living my life when suddenly a woman arrived. This wouldn't have been strange under normal circumstances, except for two things. First of all, this chick was a total hottie, like a real babe, and she visited me on my island, unaccompanied. It was also weird because nobody had ever been on my island except for me, and there was no way that I could get out. I had tried to sail out of the island like Moana, but I couldn't do it. A strange force kept me captive there"
"Isn't Moana a European adult entertainment actress?" Apollo asked
"Right, the movie hasn't come out yet..."
"Which movie? I've seen plenty of them"
"A Disney one. Stop distracting me! Ugh!" Perseus shook his head. "On with the story. Fast forward, I spent a lot of time with this girl, and I fell in love with her. So, naturally, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. To do that, however, I needed to get out of the island, because she had a life outside of it. One thing led to another, I talked to the fates, I almost died, blah blah, the point is I got married and because of some weird rule, I was able to get out of the cursed island. Some decades passed, I started my own businesses, became a millionaire, went viral on Hephaestus TV, and other typical men stuff"
"That's where I know you from! You appeared on some photos with Aphrodite on Hephaestus TV!" Dionysus woke up just to say that
"Right, I remember you now" Hephaestus murmured
"Yeah, that was an unfortunate moment of my recent life" Perseus scratched his head
"But at least it wasn't as bad as when I caught you on a date with Athena" Apollo laughed, earning a glare from the god of tides, who in turn earned a glare from Artemis
"And if I remembered that moment was supposed to be kept a secret because I had no say in the matter," Perseus said with clenched teeth
"Right...oops?" Apollo grinned innocently
"Silence! From what I've heard so far, many of you already knew of Perseus' existence. Raise your hands everyone who knew about him, regardless of the level of familiarity" Zeus decreed
One by one, everyone's hands started to go up until only Ares hand was down.
"Huh?! How am I the only one who didn't know about him?" Ares pouted
"Guess I'm just popular amongst the cool kids Ares" Perseus winked at his little brother
"Enough! Each of you shall tell me how it is that you know about Perseus' existence" Zeus ordered "We will start in order. Hera and Poseidon are excused from explaining themselves. That means that the one who should start explaining herself is Demeter. Sister, care to tell?"
"I was sitting in my palace when, suddenly, I felt a great disturbance on one of my cornfields in Nebraska. Naturally, I went to check out what was happening, when I met this disgusting man and a very respectable teenager. I think his name was Hector, although my memory may be failing me. I engaged in a few words with this man, grew tired of the conversation, and went here to Olympus to investigate further on his existence" Demeter explained their encounter
"Was there any further contact?" Zeus asked
"No, brother"
Zeus nodded, "very well. Athena, it is your turn to explain"
"Back in 2004, I was in one of my favorite book stores in New York, and I saw him buying a children's book. We talked for a bit and I invited him for coffee. He accepted-"
"Objection, your honor. That is completely false, I rejected her proposition at first" Perseus interrupted
"Overruled. Continue Athena"
"As I was saying, I was able to convince Perseus to come and get some coffee with me"
"You blackmailed me!"
"We talked a little bit in the coffee shop, but I could not extract any information besides the fact that Apollo was his friend and that he owned a hotel in Orlando." Athena finished her tale
"I understand there was no further contact after that?" Athena shook her head, "great. Aphrodite, I understand that you know Perseus very well"
"Well yeah, he's my friend and has been helping me out a lot when it comes to saving my children, but that's all it is. I first knew about him because I felt a lot of heartbreaks coming from many of the women that met him. Naturally, I went to check out who was creating the disturbances in my domain. After that, we became friends and nothing more Lord Zeus. The rumors about us are just rumors. Never has anything even slightly romantic happened between us." Aphrodite laced her words with charm speak, making Zeus nod at her words without even processing what she was saying.
"Of course. Apollo, how do you know Perseus?" Zeus asked his son, breaking off from his spell
"I met him back in 2001 and became his friend cause he's really cool. Honestly, I get that he may be powerful and all, but he wouldn't dare do anything to anyone. So we can stop this trial. Hephaestus and Dionysus only know him because of a report, and Hermes knew him through me. There's no need to dig in deeper than necessary" Apollo laughed nervously
"What about Artemis? She raised her hand, which means she knew about his existence" Zeus raised an eyebrow
"I probably mentioned him once or twice. You know how I am, spilling secrets here and there. I sleep with a nightlight! Oops, there I go again spilling secrets. Gods, Apollo you need to learn to control yourself"
"Apollo, stop it," Artemis said from her throne, "the truth has to come out"
"No it doesn't!" Apollo counter-said
"What truth?" Zeus asked on the edge of his seat
"Father, as you may have noticed, my behavior has been quite different these past few centuries. Well, at first I planned to tell you this soon after the Second World War, but after the prophecy and everything, I was advised not to tell you until later. It is now that time, the truth has to be said. Lord Zeus, fellow Olympians, the reason Perseus was able to escape his imprisonment is me. It was declared that if Perseus married an Olympian, he would be able to escape the cursed island."
"Artemis...you're saying..." Zeus muttered
"I, Phoebe Artemis, goddess of the hunt and moon, love Perseus, god of time and childhood"