"Percy XLVII," Chris read.
Hades and Poseidon sinisterly smiled, ready for the giants' demise.
Despite needing Dionysus's help, the demigods were still wary.
"Why did he decide to show up now?" Percy wondered to Annabeth. "Couldn't he have appeared before we started fighting?
The daughter of Athena looked just as perplexed with the god's actions. "Maybe Mr. B wanted a dramatic entrance?"
Percy frowned. "If that's what he was going for, it worked."
PERCY HAD NEVER THOUGHT OF MR. D as a calming influence, but suddenly everything got quiet. The machines ground to a halt. The wild animals stopped growling.
Dionysus's splitting headache eased up a bit but the god still rubbed his temples.
"Even the animals are shocked," Grover noted.
"Can you blame them?" Will asked. "We had a chapter with a tribute and prayers asking Mr. D for help and I still can't believe he came."
"It kinda makes sense when you think about it. I mean it took... what? A couple days before he finally answered?" Connor mused. "That's his usual reaction time."
Said god glared at the boy, silently making a mental note to punish him later. Washing dishes and cleaning the stables were always a hassle, maybe the harpies could use a break.
"Be respectful," Hera scolded the teens. While she couldn't help but agree on their remarks toward Dionysus, she refused to let demigods address an immortal in such a way. "He is here to help while the rest of us are incapacitated, the least you could do is thank him for that."
But he hasn't done anything yet. Percy wanted to point out.
The two leopards paced over—still licking their lips from Piper's pot roast—and butted their heads affectionately against the god's legs...
Dionysus's expression softened.
"Really, Ephialtes," he chided. "Killing demigods is one thing. But using leopards for your spectacle? That's over the line."
The teens rolled their eyes.
"It's distasteful." the god of wine added, cracking open a Diet Coke.
"Feeling the love," Travis muttered sarcastically.
The giant made a squeaking sound. "This—this is impossible. D-D—"
"It's Bacchus, actually, my old friend," said the god.
Dionysus winced, spilling some of his beverage.
"And of course it's possible. Someone told me there was a party going on."
"So, could we've just sent you a party invitation and you still would've came?" Leo frowned, twirling his marker.
Pressing the cold soda can to his forehead, Dionysus snorted.
"I don't go to just any party," he sniffed. The gods and Percy saw right through the lie. "You would need to do more than send me an address scrawled on a piece of paper to get me to come."
Like have Pac-Man, the son of Poseidon thought dryly.
"Like give you six million dollars worth of bribery," Travis pouted, still thinking about the abandoned treasure.
He looked the same as he had in Kansas, but Percy still couldn't get over the differences between Bacchus and his old not-so-much-of-a-friend Mr. D.
Dionysus scowled at the son of Poseidon.
Bacchus was meaner and leaner, with less of a potbelly. He had longer hair, more spring in his step, and a lot more anger in his eyes. He even managed to make a pinecone on a stick look intimidating.
"Argh! We get it! Get on with the story, Peter!" the god of wine snapped, head bowed, hand firmly gripping his hair.
"Percy," Poseidon corrected, rolling his eyes.
Ephialtes's spear quivered. "You—you gods are doomed! Be gone, in the name of Gaea!"
A couple of the gods snorted, some smirked at the display of fear.
Poseidon pretended to consider it. "No, I don't think he will."
"Hmm." Bacchus sounded unimpressed. He strolled through the ruined props, platforms, and special effects.
"Tacky." He waved his hand at a painted wooden gladiator, then turned to a machine that looked like an oversized rolling pin studded with knives. "Cheap. Boring. And this..." He inspected the rocket-launching contraption, which was still smoking. "Tacky, cheap, and boring. Honestly, Ephialtes. You have no sense of style."
"True," Aphrodite giggled. Hermes and Apollo snickered. Some of the gods smiled in amusement.
Percy remained unimpressed.
"This is great and all, but can we start killing the giants now?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"Yes, let's get on with it," Hades agreed, impatiently drumming his fingers on his armrest.
"STYLE?" The giant's face flushed. "I have mountains of style. I define style...
Aphrodite raised an eyebrow at this. "Have you looked in the mirror recently?"
"My brother oozes style," Otis suggested.
"Thank you!" Ephialtes cried.
"Coming from Otis, that doesn't mean anything." the goddess of love sniffed. "In fact, it makes it worse."
Bacchus stepped forward, and the giants stumbled back. "Have you two gotten shorter?" asked the god.
"Ppfftt!" Hermes laughed louder.
Dionysus/Bacchus would've smirked, if his head wasn't killing him. He struggled to maintain a form before his Greek side won out.
"Oh, that's low," Ephialtes growled. "I'm quite tall enough to destroy you, Bacchus!
Dionysus winced, pressing his soda harder against his head.
You gods, always hiding behind your mortal heroes, trusting the fate of Olympus to the likes of these."
He sneered at Percy.
Poseidon glared at the book.
Zeus cringed, having the enemy point out their greatest flaw stung. They were immortal powerful beings, meant to be worshiped by all, yet they were still so dependent on demigods. It was degrading.
"We've been doing a good job so far," Percy pointed out, narrowing his eyes. "We saved the world from Kronos, defeated Enchiladas and Poly-whatever-"
"Polybotes," Leo recalled, tossing his marker up and down.
"I was close," Percy said dismissively. "The point is, we're up to the task."
Jason hefted his sword. "Lord Bacchus, are we going to kill these giants or what?"
"Seriously," Percy muttered.
"Yeah, let's get some action," Ares said, bored out of his mind.
"Well, I certainly hope so," Bacchus said. "Please, carry on." Chris gritted his teeth.
Of course. he thought resentfully.
Afraid something like this was going to happen, the demigods sighed tiredly.
"And there's the catch," Annabeth muttered, rubbing her temples.
Percy cursed and balled his hands into fists. Figures the one god that supposedly came to help instead wanted a front row seat to the show. Did he forget that we're trying to save his life too? Not just the whole world?
The lighthearted mood from the immortals was brought down after hearing this.
Zeus pinched the bridge of his nose.
The other gods blinked in disbelief, caught off guard by the sudden betrayal. Once they regained their senses, Poseidon and Hades immediately turned to Dionysus.
"Excuse me?" the god of the sea growled.
Feeling the glares of two of the Big Three, Dionysus's face paled. He stubbornly refused to look at any of the other Olympians, instead staring down at his lap. He moved his Diet Coke from his forehead to the side of his face like a blinder.
"Why are you choosing to let the battle continue without helping, nephew?" Hades asked, his voice dangerously low. The god of wine fought back a shudder.
"Er... I'm not sure, uncle." Dionysus said delicately. "I'm not in control of my actions. It's possible you might have misplaced your anger...? My Roman side was the one who acted irresponsibly-"
Form wavering, the god of wine suddenly winced in pain. Cowed by the idea of getting on Pluto and Neptune's bad side, Bacchus immediately protested.
"Wait! This is the future, I shouldn't have to suffer for actions I haven't done yet!" The Roman god said nervously, daring to pull his now Diet Pepsi away from his eyesight to plea for his case.
"That's no excuse," Hades snapped, uncaring if the god was Roman or Greek. Both sides were ridiculously idle at the worst of times. "You know better than to risk the demigods' lives by watching them fight!"
"Exactly! What if they die? You can't defeat the giants by yourself! Are you trying to doom us all?!" Hera snapped.
"Um... well... Those are good points, but..." Bacchus/Dionysus fumbled, unusually anxious for his apathetic self.
"But nothing! You had one job, Dionysus!" Hera spat. The god winced, form wavering back to his Greek side.
Percy's scowl deepened at the scene unfolding in front of him. As much as he wanted to enjoy the god being held accountable for his actions, the son of Poseidon couldn't help but find the others' anger oozing with hypocrisy. Having enough, he snapped:
"How can you be mad at Mr. D, when he's doing what all of you have done this whole time!"
All of the immortals turned their attention to him in surprise, as if they had forgotten he and the others were there. Typical.
"You just started to pay attention to your kids, but only when you have to claim them and shut down Olympus but expect us to fight giants we need your help to kill. There are twelve Olympians here, and I can count off on one hand how many of you have shown up to help us!" he listed off. "You can't get angry at Mr. D if you're just as unreliable as him!"
The gods balked at his words. Poseidon guiltily winced.
Zeus's face turned red with anger.
"You have no idea what you're talking about," the god growled, causing the boy to fume. "Gaea is unpredictable even when she is asleep. We had to be cautious on what to do next before acting. Then there was the attack on New Rome that caused our personalities to clash- At this point, it's a constant battle to maintain a form!"
Percy gritted his teeth, wanting to snap back before Annabeth's warning look caught his attention. Right. Shouting wasn't going to get any of them on his side.
He forced himself to take a deep breath and let it out.
"Okay, you didn't know how to react before the situation got worse," Percy said, making an effort to keep his voice down. "You had a disadvantage, but you guys know what's going to happen now. We can't keep fighting the giants with the off chance you might show up and might help us, you need to be committed on this. We're already making plans on forming an alliance with the Romans, so your clashing personalities won't be as bad as they are in the books. All of us, not just the Seven, not just the camps, all of us need to be a team to defeat Gaea."
The room went silent.
Aphrodite nervously straightened the creases of her dress. "He does have a point, we can't make the same mistakes twice."
Hermes briefly chewed his lip. "We can't be too reliant on the demigods."
"He could've worded it better, but I agree." Hera said, crossing her arms. "We have to come together as a family to defeat Gaea once and for all."
"He's telling us what to do again," Zeus grumbled. He wished he could come up with a counterargument, but he couldn't. If he made the same mistakes his future self had, there was no doubt the others would question his authority.
"All in favor?" Poseidon said, already raising his hand. He gave his son a small smile to which the other shakily returned.
All the gods raised their hands.
The demigods heaved out huge sighs of relief.
"Wow," Leo said, eyes wide in shock. Did a book really help convince the gods to join their side? Maybe Nemesis knew what she was doing after all...
"I thought this was never going to happen," Chris admitted to Clarisse, who looked like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"This is great, I love the idea of us coming together and tackling the problem head-on," Apollo said with extra cheer. "Speaking of Gaea, let's work as a team and talk about that prophecy li-"
"Not now, Apollo," Zeus said, voice filled with aggravation.
The god ducked his head.
Chris continued reading.
Percy stared at him. "Didn't you come here to help?"
Reminded on where they left off, the readers groaned.
"Great, back to this again," Dionysus groaned, just when he stopped being the center of attention.
Bacchus shrugged. "Oh, I appreciated the sacrifice at sea. A whole ship full of Diet Coke. Very nice. Although I would've preferred Diet Pepsi."
The god of wine winced, form flickering.
"The Diet Coke wasn't for you," Percy rolled his eyes, a little annoyed but not as angry as he would've been.
"What about all the treasure you got?" Travis pointed out.
..."Yes," Bacchus said, "although with demigod parties of five or more the gratuity is included, so that wasn't necessary."
"Huh?" some of the demigods said.
..."Never mind," Bacchus said. "At any rate, you got my attention. I'm here. Now I need to see if you're worthy of my help. Go ahead. Battle. If I'm impressed, I'll jump in for the grand finale."
Poseidon and Hades glared at the god, still unwilling to forgive and forget.
With the soda can vanishing into thin air, Dionysus cradled his head and grimaced, struggling to ignore the looks.
"We speared one," Percy said. "Dropped the roof on the other. What do you consider impressive?"
"Ah, a good question..." Bacchus tapped his thyrsus. Then he smiled in a way that made Percy think, Uh-oh. "Perhaps you need inspiration!
"I just had to ask," Percy groaned. The others grimaced, now expecting the worst.
The stage hasn't been properly set. You call this a spectacle, Ephialtes? Let me show you how it's done."
The god dissolved into purple mist. Piper and Nico disappeared.
The readers tensed.
Aphrodite and Hades immediately hounded the god for answers.
"What are you doing?!"
"Where have you taken my son?!"
"How am I supposed to know?!" Dionysus finally snapped.
The entire floor rumbled and began to rise. The ceiling opened in a series of panels. Sunlight poured in. The air shimmered like a mirage, and Percy heard the roar of a crowd above him. The hypogeum ascended through a forest of weathered stone columns, into the middle of a ruined coliseum.
"So that's how we end up at the Coliseum," Percy sighed. To entertain Mr. B.
"Yup," Leo said, popping the 'p'. He drew smiley faces on his fingers.
...The giants' special effects machines had gone into overtime, laying planks across ruined support beams so the arena had a proper floor again. The bleachers repaired themselves until they were gleaming white. A giant red-and-gold canopy extended overhead to provide shade from the afternoon sun. The emperor's box was draped with silk, flanked by banners and golden eagles. The roar of applause came from thousands of shimmering purple ghosts, the Lares of Rome brought back for an encore performance.
Percy scowled. "I really hate ghosts."
"Join the club," Annabeth said.
"Don't they have anything better to do?" Leo frowned.
"It's either this or stand in a wheat field for all eternity," Nico said bluntly. Leo would've thought it was a joke if he didn't sound so serious, the son of Hephaestus turned to him in confusion.
"That's a thing in the Underworld?"
As Nico briefly explained to him the Fields of Asphodel, Chris kept reading.
Vents opened in the floor and sprayed sand across the arena. Huge props sprang up—garage-size mountains of plaster, stone columns, and (for some reason) life-size plastic barnyard animals.
Despite his pounding headache, Dionysus snorted. "Tacky."
A small lake appeared to one side. Ditches crisscrossed the arena floor in case anyone was in the mood for trench warfare. Percy and Jason stood together facing the twin giants.
"This is a proper show!" boomed the voice of Bacchus. He sat in the emperor's box wearing purple robes and golden laurels. At his left sat Nico and Piper, her shoulder being tended by a nymph in a nurse's uniform.
Will was relieved to hear that.
Both Hades and Aphrodite relaxed a bit.
At least I'm not in the way, Nico thought with a sigh.
At Bacchus's right crouched a satyr, offering up Doritos and grapes.
Dionysus shook his head in disgust. Who eats Doritos, when Cheetos exist?
The god raised a can of Diet Pepsi and the crowd went respectfully quiet.
Percy glared up at him. "You're just going to sit there?"
"Apparently," Poseidon scowled.
"The demigod is right!" Ephialtes bellowed. "Fight us yourself, coward!
A few people raised their eyebrows.
Um, without the demigods."
"You had me going there for a second," Hermes chuckled.
"I hate how even the giants know that this is stupid," Percy remarked, earning a sigh from Annabeth.
Bacchus smiled lazily. "Juno says she's assembled a worthy crew of demigods.
Hera winced in pain.
Show me. Entertain me, heroes of Olympus. Give me a reason to do more.
"The world will end without your help," Percy said flatly. "How much more reason do you need."
"I'm sure he has enough incentive now," Poseidon said, staring meaningfully at the god.
Dionysus sighed. "Yes, yes, I raised my hand in favor."
Being a god has its privileges."
The demigods fought back scowls at that.
He popped his soda can top, and the crowd cheered.
"That's the end of the chapter," Chris said.
"Finally!" Dionysus cried.
"It's not over yet," Demeter reminded. "There's still the giants to worry about."
"It would've been over sooner but..." Hades grumbled.
"I'll read next," Hermes said, taking the book from his son.
"Percy XLVIII,"
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This chapter was so nerve-wracking for me to write! Lol! I really hope you guys enjoyed it!