Chapter Text
We find out the truth sort of"
"What do you mean sort of?" Apollo asked raising an eyebrow.
"Ever try to solve a puzzle with two or three pieces missing?" Percy asked and everyone nodded in understanding.
"Imagine the largest concert crowd you’ve ever seen, a football field packed with a million fans...
,you have a pretty good idea what the Fields of
Asphodel looked like."
"Why must you be so descriptive?" Hazel shuddered a bit.
"The black grass had been trampled by eons of dead
feet. A warm, moist wind blew like the breath of a swamp. Black trees—
Grover told me they were poplars—grew in clumps here and there...i guess the dead didn’t have to worry about little hazards
Like being speared by stalactites the size of booster rockets like us dumbass mortals."
"Love how you called me a dumbass Nemo." F. Annabeth said amused and Percy shot her a grin.
"Called myself one too Eda." That name earned a few snorts from the future people who understood the reference.
"Annabeth, Grover, and I tried to blend into the crowd, keeping an eye out for security... The Isles of the Blest, for
people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved
Elysium. Immediately I knew that’s where everyone wanted to go when they died.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Annabeth said, like she was reading my
thoughts. “That’s the place for heroes.”
But that wasn't where I wanted to go. There was no Demi there."
"Simp." F. Hecate said fondly and he stuck his tongue out at her
Without hesitation she leaned in and bit it lightly, pulling him into a kiss.
"Watch that tongue lover boy. Keep sticking it out and I might take it." F. Hecate teased when they broke apart as Demeter blushed while eyeing them.
"You and Demi enjoy it too much." Percy shot back and earned some grossed out noises from the ones old enough to understand. Thalia and F. Katie threw bags of skittles at him.
"Hm true." F. Hecate said unashamed.
"But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was
compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. ...They levitated
off the ground and started dragging him away from us."
"That shouldn't be happening. I enchanted those shoes myself." Hermes said looking alarmed and everyone was tense now as they stared at the book.
A few people were side eyeing Luke who was watching blank faced.
“Maia!” he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. “Maia,
already! Nine-one-one! Help!”...
It was a smart idea, but I guess it’s not so easy when your shoes are
pulling you along feetfirst at full speed."
"It's not. Hermes would know." Persephone said smirking and Hermes shot her a glare that earned him a stuck out tongue. Several other of Hermes siblings however snickered as well recalling that incident.
"Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn’t get close to the laces...
The tunnel got darker and colder. The hairs on my arms bristled. It smelled evil down here. It made me think of things I shouldn’t even know about—blood spilled on an ancient stone altar, the foul breath of a murderer. The father laughing as he consumed his child."
"No..." Persephone, Hades and Hecate recognized that place first and Hermes and Demeter soon after. They all went ashen pale and Hades hand shook.
Demeter and Persephone stared at Percy who nodded slightly and Demeter nearly smothered him in a hug.
""Then I saw what was ahead of us, and I stopped dead in my tracks...
What saved him were his hooves."
"They were enchanted to take him right to the Pit." Hera said her voice wavery as she realized how close they almost came to going into the Pit.
"Yep. If a human and been wearing them..." Percy trailed off and both Demeter and F. Hecate held him tightly.
"The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, and finally
Grover hit a big rock and the left shoe came flying off...
I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. Older than the gods..."
"The language of Titans." Hecate whispered and Rhea and F. Hecate and Aphrodite all winced. If that were true then only they and possibly the twins or Hestia could know the language.
"As if…
“Magic,” I said. But it was not magic like Demeter and Persephone described Hecates. It was not warm or fun or playful with a dangerous flaming undertone."
"Awww babe." F. Hecate said smiling at Demeter who shrugged slightly while present Hecate blushed at how her magic was described by her One and child.
"Mamas magic is really pretty, especially when it makes things glow and float and get all sparkly!" Amara beamed from Artemis lap as the huntress stared at her fondly.
"We have to get out of here,” Annabeth said.
...Something was not happy we’d gotten away."
"Very much not." Percy smirked a bit glad to have fucked up his grandpa's plans even back then.
“What was that?” Grover panted, when we’d collapsed in the relative
safety of a black poplar grove. “One of Hades’s pets?"... Was nobody's pet."
"Definitely not." Rhea murmured and Zeus trembled a bit.
"It's not him. Can't be." Zeus denied.
"Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I’d ever seen. Multicolored
mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as
big as my fist, clumps of raw diamonds. Standing here and there like frozen
party guests were Medusa’s garden statues—petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs—all smiling grotesquely."
"Absolutely not. I don't want those statues in my garden. Where did my wildlife ones go?!" Persephone looked furious with her gardens decor and Hades took her hand and kissed her knuckles.
"I'll fix it as soon as I get back to the palace. As many wildlife statues of any animal you could want." He assured her and she relaxed a bit.
"In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark.
"The garden of Persephone,” Annabeth said. “Keep walking.”
I understood why she wanted to move on. The tart smell of those pomegranates was almost overwhelming. I had a sudden desire to eat them, but then I remembered the story of Persephone. Both the current mortal version and the one my wife had told me once so long ago. One bite of Underworld food, and we would never be able to leave. I pulled Grover away to keep him from picking a big juicy one....
“You know,” Grover mumbled, “I bet Hades doesn’t have trouble with door-to-door salesmen.”
Most of the demigods couldn't help but laugh as Hades stared at the book in disbelief. That was the Satyrs first thought?!
"Why was that his first thought?" Katie asked even as she giggled.
"I think Grover has ADHD too." F. Annabeth grinned.
"My backpack weighed a ton now. I couldn’t figure out why. I wanted to open it, check to see if I had somehow picked up a stray bowling ball, but this wasn’t the time...
He was the third god I’d met, but the first who really struck me as godlike."
"Hey!" Ares whined and Dionysus scoffed.
"You looked like a jacked biker thug. And you looked like a trailer park cherub." Percy said dryly and they both pouted while Hades was very smug.
"He was at least ten feet tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robes
and a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-
length and jet black. He wasn’t bulked up like Ares, but he radiated power.
He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther.
I felt a pressure to kneel distracted when I caugh movement out of the corner of my eye. It was a small young looking girl. With tanned skin and brown hair and...her eyes were a shade of blue I had only seen on Persephone."
"Macaria! She gets so curious if we have guests!" Persephone perked up at the description of her daughter and smiled brightly. She took after Persephone more than either of her older siblings.
"My heart lurched as Grover and Annabeth started talking to Hades. I paid no attention to him as I looked at the goddess. That was Persephone's daughter...which one? She didn't fit the description she had once given me of Melinoë... perhaps she hadn't been born yet when I died? But gods she was absolutely adorable. My granddaughter was so cute."
"I wondered why you had been frozen and silent. I shouldn't be surprised you were distracted by your grandchild." F. Annabeth said dryly.
"She was born not long after Plutous was. My Macaria is the goddess of blessed death." Persephone said smiling brightly at the thought of her child. Demeter was smiling too at the mention of her grandchild and both versions of Hecate looked fond and soft.
"Did you just completely ignore an Elder God because you were focused on your grandkid?" Hera asked amused and making Percy nod proudly.
"I only paid attention again when Hades spoke to me directly.
"Open your pack, then.”
A horrible feeling struck me. The weight in my backpack, like a bowling
ball. It couldn’t be.…
I was speechless. I had no helm. I had no idea how the master bolt had gotten into my backpack. I wanted to think Hades was pulling some kind of trick but he was an honorable man and God. That wasn't his style."
"The backpack...the one from Ares." Apollo whispered and Ares grimaced as everyone looked at him. Zeus was ready to throw a temper tantrum.
"Yeah. Whoever or whatever is manipulating me had me enchant the backpack to frame the kids when they got to the underworld." Ares said grimacing and Aphrodite had a hand on his shoulder.
"No...not to the Underworld. Or at least to Hades. You heard the book. Grovers hooves saved him from falling into the pit. Percy was supposed to wear them." Aphrodite said and that made everyone glance at Luke or suck in a sharp breath.
"If he had been wearing them then he and the backpack with the bolt in it would be in the Pit." Hera whispered horrified and most of the Gods were pale and alarmed.
"Hades was the bad guy. But suddenly the world turned sideways...
She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you
displease me, that will change.”
"Hades." Poseidons voice was a growl. Amphitrites hair lashed like tentacles. Aphrodite was glowing slightly as she glared at Hades darkly.
"My daughter Hades and you dare..." Aphrodite hissed dangerous and snake like.
"Huh...so is that part of the reason you kicked Dad's ass at the Styx?" Nico asked Percy without giving a single fuck as everyone turned to look at him and then turned to Percy.
"Oh yeah definitely part of it. Between that and everything else? He's lucky all I did was pin him with a sword at his throat." Percy said and there were some noises of shock or disbelief.
"Did you fight an elder god in their own domain? And win?!" Hermes asked in disbelief.
"Hades used his mother as a bargaining chip and threatened her. He had it coming." Hera had no sympathy for her big brother right then.
"Eh it wasn't really a fight. Wait until you hear about a different immortal who really pissed me off." Percy said and he had a slightly cruel smirk on his lips.
"True. Although you did force him to flee into his shadow and then back to the Palace. It was hilarious hearing him try to explain and fuck up the explanation to Persephone. The misunderstanding... especially after they learned you were Iasion..." F. Hecate snorted remembering that entire shebang. It had made her entire decade given how hilarious it was.
Hades eyed his nephew and father in law and paled a bit. Resolving to not piss him off if he could help it.
"I thought about the pearls in my pocket...
“I’m a satyr,” Grover said. “We don’t have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won’t get me forever. I’ll just be reincarnated as a flower or something. It’s the best way.”
"Holy shit. That is one brave and loyal Satyr." Dionysus said staring wide eyed at the book.
"Eh it's the General. We're all loyal to him." F. Clarisse shrugged.
"Plus Grovers been with Percy since the start. Those two are thicker than thieves or most brothers." F. Connor said with his brother nodding along.
"No.” Annabeth drew her bronze knife. “You two go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. You have to get your searcher’s license and start your quest for Pan. Get his mom out of here. I’ll cover you. I plan to go down fighting.”
Athena gave a startled and worried croon before grabbing F. Annabeth and dragging her into the nest with the rest of the Owlets. Cuddling them all close and trying to hide them in her wings.
“No way,” Grover said. “I’m staying behind.”
"Think again, goat boy,” Annabeth said."
"They're legit arguing over who is sacrificing themselves." Hephaestus murmured in disbelief.
"What can we say? We repay loyalty with loyalty." F. Katie shrugged seeming unsurprised even as all the Gods and present day Demigods looked so shocked.
"Stop it, both of you!” I felt like my heart was being ripped in two... They had done nothing but save me, over
and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.
You shall fail to save what matters most in the end. The words echoed and I knew...I knew from the start what I'd have to do. I couldn't sacrifice them and save her. I couldn't save her...but she could save herself or someone else could...
My eye caught my granddaughter. She was standing protectively beside my mom. She nodded to me. She would protect my mom until she could be saved."
"Well she'll be safe then. Hades adores our children. He'd never risk upsetting them by hurting an innocent mortal woman." Persephone said smiling at her husband who hid his face behind the book as he blushed.
Nico gave a small scoff noise that he hid in Wills chest. He very distinctly remembered something very different.
“I know what to do,” I said. “Take these.”
I handed them each a pearl.
... “I’ll return it. Remember about Charon’s pay raise.”
"You are a mouthy brat." Hades said flatly and Percy grinned at him. Persephone perked at the book and snorted, gleefully taking it and reading.
"Do not defy me—”
"And it wouldn’t hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls.”
"Percy Jackson, you will not—”
"And you better treat my daughter and grandkids right."
"Wha-"
"How did he not question that?!" Hera asked in disbelief as the gods were cracking up as were the demigods.
"He was more confused than anything I think." Percy grinned.
"I shouted, “Now, guys!”
We smashed the pearls at our feet. For a scary moment, nothing happened.
Hades yelled, “Destroy them!”
The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to full automatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame. I moved to cover the others but was frozen.
Just as the skeletons opened fire, the pearl fragments at my feet exploded with a burst of green light and a gust of fresh sea wind. I was encased in a milky white sphere, which was starting to float off the ground.
I looked at the shocked Hades who's face was turning to rage.
"Say hi to your beautiful mother in law for me!" I couldn't resist saying and the look on his face would have had me in stitches any other time."
"He never did tell her Hi for you." F. Hecate said amused as the gods and demigods were wheezing in laughter. Demeter was staring at her husband in disbelief and embarrassment and Hades was just gaping.
"I forgot you said that." F. Annabeth was crying she was laughing so hard. Athena crooned and wiped away her owlets tears as they all wheezed for breath.
Persephone was laughing so hard Nico had to take the book and finish the chapter.
"Annabeth and Grover were right behind me.. We exploded on the surface, in the middle of the Santa Monica Bay, knocking a surfer off his board with an indignant, “Dude!”
>"That poor random surfer." Poseidon was grinning though and Amphitrite was giggling into her hand.
I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy. The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away from us as fast as he could."
>"Katie." F. Will looked at the daughter of Demeter who was snickering.
"Oh hop off Will. This was before the magic mushroom incident." F. Katie said throwing a snowball at him that he melted with a single touch.
"Somehow, I knew what time it was: early morning, June 21, the day of the summer solstice...
Most of all, I had to have a serious conversation with the god who’d tricked me."
"Well it was nice knowing you Ares." Apollo said grinning slightly.
"Eh sometimes." F. Clarisse shrugged.
"Better him than his damn sons." Nico threw out there.
"Yeah Phobos and Deimos are jackasses." F. Clarisse could agree with that.
"Oh I meant Eros." Nico specified and the future demigods all nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. At least grandma agreed not to say or do anything to you if you punch him as a wedding present." Percy said and Aphrodite raised an eyebrow.
"Why did I agree to that?" She questioned although she had a feeling she knew why.
"Even you admitted he had it coming after you learned what he did." Thalia told her and she sparked slightly at the memory of when Nico told her what happened.
"Bed time children." Hera said standing and scooping a few almost asleep little ones into her arms. Rhea stood and helped her as everyone began to gather their children for bed.
"Mama can I sleep with Granny tonight?" Amara asked tugging on F. Hecates dress.
"You okay with it love?" F. Hecate asked Demeter who smiled and nodded.
Amara instead of running to Amphitrite, ran to Rhea.
"Granny! We get to have a sleepover! Mama and mommy said it was okay!" Amara beamed at the Titaness who looked as stunned as Demeter did.
"Oh uh..." Rhea glanced around alarmed and wary.
"Amara sweetie she might not want to. Your grandma Rhea doesn't really like me or my children." Demeter said although she looked sad but accepting. Her mother couldn't stand the sight of her or her children...
Rhea felt a lump in her throat at how easily Demeter had said that. As if it were pure fact that Rhea didn't like her.
"Huh? But granny Rhea loves us? She always smothers me and Seph and my sisters and brothers and mama all in kisses every time she sees us?" Amara looked confused and Demeter swallowed thickly.
Did...could her mother get close to her without flinching?
She doubted it. Her mother couldn't even look at her.
"Well that must be a future thing baby. Granny Rhea hates us right now. How about you stay with me and your mommy and daddy? Or have a sleep over with your siblings?" Rhea froze at her daughter's words.
Demeter....thought she hated her?
"Oh...okay Mama! Aunt Rissa! Aunt Rissa can we have a sleepover?" Amara ran to F. Clarisse who laughed and picked her up with a grin.
"Sure munchkin. I still got to teach you how to pillow fight properly." F. Clarisse said smirking at the girl.
Rhea stared for once right at Demeter without flinching. Seeing the sad but accepting smile as Demeter glanced at her and then the small happy smile aimed at Amara who cheered about a pillow fight.
She watched Demeter gather up her children and guide or carry them all to her temple. Both versions of Hecate and her future husband following with more kids in tow.
Demeter...her daughter...thought that...that Rhea didn't just dislike her. But that she hated her?
Her daughter thought she hated her...and none of her siblings spoke up or said otherwise?