Chapter Text
Apollo slunk down into his throne as he watched the rest of the Olympians bicker amongst themselves. He really wished that this meeting would end soon, so that he could visit his new friends in Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupitar, not to mention Annabeth and Percy in New Rome, Piper and her new girlfriend in Oklahoma, as well as Leo and Calypso in the Waystation.
He wondered what the other demigods who had aided him on his journey as Lester Papadopoulos (Really Zeus, at least he could have gotten a nicer, more elegant mortal name?) were doing right now. Last he heard from Artemis, Reyna was fitting in pretty well with the other Hunters. Will and Nico seemed to be doing alright, and all his other kids like Austin and Kayla seemed to like camp, as well as his brief visits after getting back his godhood.
Tapping his feet impatiently, Apollo sighed. Hermes was fiddling with his caduceus that was currently in phone mode (he certainly felt bad that his best friend had to deal with so many messages all the time. Maybe he should offer some assistance from time to time?), while Hephaestus was idly fiddling with some gears and wires.
Poseidon and Zeus were arguing again, with Ares goading them on as Artemis tried to figure out how to break up the fight before it got too nasty. Meanwhile, Hera and Aphrodite were watching on impassively, while Demeter was mumbling about something (most likely cereal) under her breath.
Apollo was just about to stand up and teleport to talk to Dionysus at Camp Half-Blood, and maybe visit his kids when suddenly, out of the blue, a flash appeared in the middle of the throne room. Dozens of kids tumbled to the ground, and before any of them could react, several other flashes appeared, dumping in smaller batches of kids.
Luckily, they weren't too high up in the air, and then landed relatively safely, though they were all confused.
Some of the kids stood up, and a familiar blonde haired boy tugged a black haired boy to his feet. The blonde scanned the room, just seeming to notice all the gods sitting at full size, staring at the group of small humans in bewilderment, before his eyes settled on Apollo.
"Dad!" Will grinned, before he turned around. He bowed respectfully at the other gods, before he turned to Apollo, "Did you summon us or something?"
"Honestly, I have no idea what's going on. We were having a meeting!" Apollo admitted, hopping off his throne and shrinking himself down to human size to give his son a hug, "But it's good to see you, Will!"
Nico gave a small grunt as he shook his head. He still preferred shadow travel to... whatever-travel had dumped them right in front of twelve humongous gods.
"Nico!" Renya smiled, dressed in a completely silver outfit, save for black combat boots. Nico huffed, and turned away from her; he still hadn't gotten over losing Bianca to the hunters. But he supposed to couldn't ignore her forever... he just didn't want to talk to her right now.
A gently jab from Will made Nico raise his head, glancing up at the Hunter briefly, "Hi, Reyna."
Nico's reaction made Reyna's face fall slightly, but Thalia just patted Reyna on the back comfortingly, before she turned to Zeus, "Father."
"Thalia." Zeus stated dryly as he nodded approvingly, while Hera just sighed and rolled her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to get angry at Thalia, especially after losing her champion, Jason Grace. He had been born out of wedlock, and given to her by Jupitar, but Thalia was his sister, and while she was a reminder that Zeus had cheated on her twice, Hera could still see Jason in Thalia.
"Thalia. Reyna." Artemis smiled softly, as both hunters bowed towards her, "Lady Artemis."
Thalia took a step forward, "What's going on? Where are the other hunters?"
A blonde boy stood up, and looked around, before his eyes rested on Athena, "Mom?"
"Hello, Malcolm." Athena smiled down at her son, as Malcom pulled up another boy, "You okay, Jake?"
"Yeah? At least... nothing's broken..."
"That's great." Malcolm grinned at the former head counsellor; after Leo had "died", Nyssa was the current head counsellor of the Hephaestus cabin.
"So... someone wants to tell me, the ultimate Bad Boy Supreme, what's going on?" A boy with curly black hair piped up, with a girl with braided caramel hair beside him. The girl smacked him gently, "Leo! We're with the gods! Be more polite!"
Hephaestus looked down at Leo and Calypso, and nodded approvingly, "Leo. And Calypso. I'm sorry we couldn't have freed you sooner."
Leo grinned cheekily at his dad, as Calypso looked up in confusion. She looked like she had several questions to ask, but she bit her tongue, opting to bow politely at the gods.
"Leo!" A girl with chocolate-brown hair stood up, shaking her finger, "We all knew you're alive after you sent your stupid scroll, but still! Don't do something so stupid ever again!"
"Piper!" Aphrodite smiled down at her daughter, but Piper just huffed, and turned away from her, much to her mother's dismay.
A stocky, muscular guy looked around, as Ares nodded at him, "Frank."
A girl clapped him on the back, and Frank turned around, only to be met with a muscular girl with pale brown hair.
"Frank, huh?" The girl snorted, "I'm Clarisse La Rue. Finally. Nice to meet a half-brother... or something."
Before Frank could react, a boy popped out from behind her, "Clarisse, be nice!"
The boy grinned, and turned to Frank, "I'm Chris Rodriguez."
"Hello." Frank nodded, and started looking around for Hazel. Last he checked, she had gone to New Rome to look for Annabeth, so he wasn't too sure if she had been teleported in with him.
Hermes looked around at all the kids, before he pointed at two boys who could have looked like twins. The two boys looked up at him in surprise, "Hello, Father!"
"Travis and Conner Stoll, right?"
The two boys lit up, and that immediately made Hermes happy. He wanted to go down and give them a hug, but he didn't want to risk Zeus' wrath, especially after his best friend was turned mortal and nearly died on his quest to reclaim the Oracle of Delphi from Python.
Connor turned to Travis, "So, how's college?"
He always tried to claim his children as soon as they arrived in camp, and did his best to learn about his kids despite Zeus locking Olympus down for the duration of the second Prophecy. After Percy had made them swear the oath to give other gods recognition, and especially after Luke sacrificed himself, Hermes didn't want to make the same mistake ever again (though it was technically Zeus fault for ignoring literally every single sign that was thrown in his face).
"Mother." Katie greeted her mother, who just smiled back sweetly, before the female demigod pulled a boy to his feet, "Pollux, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Pollux replied, looking around Olympus in search of his father, as a satyr and another girl with amber hair stood up.
"Grover... is this..." The girl looked around in complete awe, as Grover nodded, "Yeah. Juniper... welcome to Olympus!"
A red-haired girl with a blue hairbrush whistled, "So this is Olympus when it ain't being trashed! Awesome!"
"And might you be?" Aphrodite smiled at the girl, but before she could reply, Athena stood up, "May I ask... what are you demigods doing here?"
There was instant silence, as the demigods looked at each other, none of them knowing how to reply to the goddess, before another flash deposited a blonde girl into the throne room, as well as another girl with brown hair.
The blonde rolled, landing on her feet, before she immediately placed her hand on the hilt of a drakon bone sword, looking around warily, before deciding that her surroundings weren't a threat.
"Annabeth? What's going on?" The brown haired girl pushed herself up, before she found herself enveloped in a bear hug by Frank, "Hazel!"
Annabeth looked at the confused demigods and one mortal, before she looked up at the equally confused gods and goddesses, before she hazarded a guess, "Hello, Mom. I'm... assuming the gods didn't summon us to Olympus?"
Athena shook her head, as Poseidon let out a fake cough to get Annabeth's attention.
Annabeth turned to the god of the sea, and bowed, "Lord Poseidon?"
"Do you know where my son is?" Poseidon looked around the room, double-checking that he didn't somehow miss Percy's presence amongst the other demigods, "If all the children of the gods were brought here... I would assume he would be here as well."
"Lord Nep-... Poseidon, we were also looking for Percy." Hazel kneeled, but Poseidon quickly let her stand, "We believe he's swimming in the ocean at New Rome, but we aren't too sure -"
Another flash lit up the room, and a black haired boy dropped into the room. Before anyone could react, the boy pulled something out of his pocket, which immediately transformed into a familiar bronze sword.
The boy looked around, his sea-green eyes darting around wildly, as if he was expecting a fight. A haunted expression crossed his face for a split second, only to be replaced by confusion. Water dripped from his hair and clothes, before Annabeth let out a small, calm smile, "I believe we found your son, Lord Poseidon. Hello, Seaweed Brain."
Percy looked at Annabeth, and a smile appeared on his face, "Annabeth!"
He observed the rest of his surroundings, before he turned towards Leo and Calypso. The smile immediately faded as his eyes narrowed on Calypso, looking at her with an expression that Leo couldn't quite place, and he recapped his sword before walking over to the couple, "I need to talk to Calypso."
"Well, you can talk about it right here." Leo raised his eyebrow, but Percy let out a small frown, "It's personal. I'd... rather talk about it in private."
Leo looked like he wanted to combust on the spot, knowing Peryc's history with his girlfriend, but Calypso patted the fire-user's arm gently, "Don't worry about it too much. I'll be fine."
She turned back to Percy, "Hello Percy. It's... been a while."
Percy nodded, before he pointed towards the doors to the throne room, and Calypso followed the black-haired boy out of the room.
Annabeth glanced at the doors before she made her way over to Leo, "Don't worry about her. Percy wouldn't hurt her."
"I know... I'm not worried about that... it's just..." Leo groaned, unable to put his thoughts into words. Annabeth nodded knowingly, "She'll be fine. I'm more concerned why and how we're on Olympus."
Will whispered to Nico, "I thought Percy's waterproof? Ya know... son of the sea god kinda thing. Why is he soaked?"
Nico shrugged, "Maybe he felt like soaking himself?"
Apollo squinted at Percy. He hadn't really noticed it, since he had been more preoccupied with his missing godhood when he had knocked on Percy's door for help getting to Camp Half-Blood, but the boy seemed... off.
He was nothing like the boy who he had met while as Fred, trying to help them save his sister, or the boy who had rejected godhood outright in order for more recognition of the minor gods. Percy seemed tired, if the dark circles under his eyes meant anything, but Apollo couldn't really place it. University was definitely less taxing than quests, so the god was really wondering why Percy seemed so exhausted.
It wasn't long before Percy and Calypso came back into the throne room. Calypso looked slightly perplexed, and Percy, looking slightly calmer and dry, having most likely willed himself to dry off, bowed at his father, "Dad."
"You alright?" Leo whispered, and Calypso nodded her head, shifting her feet nervously... or was it guiltily, "Yeah..."
Poseidon glared at Zeus, daring him to make a move, as the god was definitely angry at Percy for ignoring them and talking to Calypso, before he nodded at Percy.
"So... none of us know why you're all here? And none of you know why you're here?" The sea god asked, trying to divert all the attention away from his son.
The confused looks from pretty much everyone answered his question. Poseidon was about to ask another question when a note appeared in Zeus' hand.
Bewildered, the god read the letter out.
Dear All,
We've brought you here to let the gods learnt to be more empathetic towards the lives of demigods. It is impractical to turn every single god or goddess mortal and send them off on dangerous quests. Thus, you shall be reading about the quests of the last two prophecies; the Great Prophecy, and the Prophecy of Seven. You cannot harm the children in any way, shape or form.
As for the demigods, perhaps you can use this opportunity to make peace with the ghosts of your pasts.
Please don't try to spoil major events on purpose.
The Fates.
Apollo nearly choked at the mention of "turning every single god or goddess mortal and sending them off on dangerous quests", and Hermes let out a dry, uneasy chuckle, "Er... ghosts? Of our pasts?"
"This sounds like a waste of time." Zeus grumbled, but Athena just huffed, and quoted, "Opinion is the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self."
"What quote is that from?" Hera huffed unhappily, seeing as the gods were all able to interact with their children, while her only demigod champion was now dead, and Apollo grinned, "Bill Bullard, legacy of Athena, though the quote has often been incorrectly attributed to Plato.
Athena looked surprised that Apollo knew who it was, and Apollo snorted, "I'm not that dumb, okay?"
"Father... There is more writing on the other side of the note." Artemis pointed out, and Zeus obliged.
We will send some Heroes who are currently in Elysium. However, some have chosen rebirth, and we will not be meddling with their new fates by bringing them here.
Nico exhaled in disappointment. His sister, Bianca, had chosen rebirth. He wouldn't get to see her again. Then again... he wasn't too sure what he would even say to her.
Will gently squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, as another flash deposited six other people landed on the floor in a heap.
A blonde boy with glasses stood up, looking around in confusion, before he was immediately tackled by Thalia, "Jason!"
Hera immediately lit up at the presence of her deceased Champion, as Piper and Leo ran over to Jason, before a boy with a glass of Kool Aid stumbled around.
"Dakota!" Frank and Hazel immediately, as Will stared at a boy with black hair.
"Michael?" Will choked, before he turned towards another couple who were holding hands, "Silena? Beckendorf?"
Beckendorf grinned, "Yep. Nice to see you again, Will."
Jake's face lit up when he saw Beckendorf. Piper and Leo both looked up, curious about their half-siblings that they had never gotten to meet, and only heard stories about, as Jason patted them on the back, "Don't worry about too much me."
Artemis stared down at the last girl with a silvery parka, a sad smile on her face, "Zoe..."
Zoe smiled up at Artemis, as Percy stared dumbly at the six ghosts. Aphrodite, Apollo, and Hephaestus were delighted to see their children, before they were immediately overcome by guilt that they hadn't really gotten to meet them before they died due to the ancient laws and Zeus' stubbornness.
"I-..." Percy stammered, his hands shaking, and Beckendorf turned towards the son of the sea god.
"Hey, Percy." Beckendorf grinned, examining his friend, "Now, you're my age, huh? You've sure grown."
"I'm... so sorry..." Percy felt like crying as he staggered closer towards his dead friend. The pain in his heart felt as fresh as it was on the day where he let his friend blow up a ship full of monsters with Greek Fire.
Beckendorf let out a sad smile, "It's not your fault. You know that, right? Didn't Nico pass the message?"
"Still..." Percy turned towards Michael with a haunted expression on his face, as the dead archer was being hugged by Will, with Nico standing next to them awkwardly, unsure of what to do.
"Well... I suppose if we have to read about some prophecy quests, we should start as soon as possible." Zeus stated, glancing at the demigods.
Hestia nodded, "It sounds like we'd be here for a while! Please, make yourselves comfortable."
With a wave of her hand, a bunch of couches, pillows and beanbags appeared, with her hearth magically placed in the middle like a campfire.
"Perhaps these demigods should also introduce themselves. After all, we don't know every single child of the gods out there! And some of you aren't demigods." Apollo smiled, catching the grateful gaze of some of the other gods who didn't even know half of the demigods in the room but didn't want to admit that.
After a brief introduction of all the demigods, dead and alive, as well as the mortal and the titaness and former Hesperide, the gods finally let the kids fool around with the cushions as they shrunk themselves down to human-size; more room for everyone, and less of a chance of squishing someone by mistake.
Apollo was super tempted to switch to his Lester form, since he knew most of the demigods had gotten used to seeing him in that form, but he really didn't want to do that around the other gods. Plus, here, he's supposed to be more of a parent rather than a friend to his kids and the other children, so the Lester form wasn't too appropriate either way.
Zeus was sitting on a couch with Hera, while Zoe sat with Artemis. Thalia and Reyna shared a beanbag by Artemis' feet. Silena and Beckendorf sat in a beanbag by Hephaestus and Jake's feet, as Leo and Calypso shared another.
Percy and Annabeth were sitting together, Connor and Travis were with Hermes, and Katie sat by her mother. Annabeth whispered something to Percy, but the Son of Poseidon shook his head.
"Er... where's Mr D?" Pollux asked, and Dakota nodded eagerly; he may be dead, but he was still interested jn meeting his dad, especially if both his Roman and Greek forms have made up after the Giant War.
Zeus let out a sigh, and snapped his fingers. A few seconds later, Dionysus appeared, looking confused as well as wary. His face lit up momentarily when he saw Pollux, but it immediately shaped into a neutral frown.
"Sit." Zeus ordered, and passed the note over to Dionysus. The god nodded, before he settled down between Pollux and Dakota.
"Shall we bring in Hades as well?" Poseidon asked, noticing that Nico and Hazel didn't have a godly parent or patron present, and Demeter nodded, "And Persephone. That girl needs to eat more cereal!"
Zeus snapped his fingers again, and after a few minutes, two figures melted out of the shadows.
Hades grinned smugly at Zeus, "You called, brother?"
Zeus nearly flared up in anger, but Athena quickly explained everything to Hades. The god, as well as Persephone, nodded, and they settled down on the vacant couch that was next to the one Apollo was sitting in. Will and Nico sat down in a beanbag between Hades and Apollo.
A few seconds later, two more figures appeared, and Poseidon raised an eyebrow, "Amphitrite? And Triton?"
"Father?" Triton blinked at Poseidon, before he glanced at Percy, "And you."
"Hi." Percy waved warily.
"Well, I just thought if my wife and Hades' wife was going to be here, I might as well invite yours as well." Zeus glared at Poseidon, as if daring him to refuse. Poseidon just sighed, and patted the empty space on his couch for his wife and godly son.
After all the kids had settled down (mostly by the feet of their parents), a stack of books appeared by Hestia's hearth.
The goddess blinked in surprise, before she picked the first book up, "The first one is called: The Lightning Thief."
Almost immediately, Hades, Zeus and Poseidon groaned. Annabeth and Grover shared a look, while Percy sighed, "Really? This quest?"
"I mean... it does make sense." Annabeth nodded, "The Great Prophecy was about you. It makes sense that these books would talk about your quests."
Thalia looked a bit guilty that she had pushed the prophecy over to Percy, while Jason whistled, "Ohhh, Percy's first quest. This ought to be fun!"
"Yeah." Beckendorf grinned, "Pretty sure you only told us a cliff-notes version of that quest."
Ares growled, but kept his mouth shut; he had a good idea what was going to be mentioned in the book, and he wasn't looking forward to it. Clarisse looked at her father in confusion, remembering what he father was like before the Titan War, before Chris gently gripped her arm comfortingly.
The other gods looked interested. Some of them had a vague idea of what happened, seeing as Zeus had sent them out to look for the master bolt, but none of them really knew how Zeus had gotten the bolt back, or who had stolen the bolt in the first place, given that Zeus was a hard-headed idiot and refused to talk to anyone about it, and Poseidon wasn't in the mood to anger his brother further, having just talked to his son for the first time in years.
"Who's going to read first?" Hestia asked politely, and Thalia reached her hand out eagerly, "Me, please, Lady Hestia!"
"No need for Lady." Hestia smiled, passing the book over, and Thalia grinned, "Thank you, Aunt Hestia."
She smiled cheekily at Percy, before she flipped the book open.