An Intervention
Lightning flashed in the distance. Lighting up the dark city of New York for a moment. Following the bright flash a booming thunder crept in, silencing the sound of the heavy rain that splashed down from the dark sky if only for a moment. Everyone had opted to either go home or find shelter of some type, with some stragglers briskly walking to their destination. All except for three old ladies. Each carried some books, two with five one with seven. They walked slowly in their black hooded cloaks, their faces obscured from the shadows cast down onto their faces. They quietly walked past several shop windows, with a few owners who had stayed rather late peeking out of their windows to get a better look at the three ladies.
Off in the distance a loud rumbling could be heard that most would just associate with thunder, but the three ladies knew better. With the rumbling thunder and the roaring waves that masked Zeus and Poseidons fight up in the clouds of Olympus. Most mortals would just chalk that up to the weather.
“We can’t have anyone leaving Olympus brother, you know that with Gaea rising we can’t take any risks. You can’t just make up some terrible story about your son just so you can go visit and play happy family with him.” Zeus said from his throne, his temper already loose from worrying about his wife. “It’s already bad enough that Hera managed to escape and is now traipsing around the mortal realm doing who knows what.”
“My son and his girlfriend are in Tartarus, Zeus. Do you really think that I would make up something like that? And now with your stupid lockdown on Olympus, I can’t even go down and help them!” Poseidon bellowed in rage, slamming his trident against the ground as he paced in front of his throne. “You know how many demigods have survived the depths of Tartarus. Slim to none! Especially now with Gaea rising. If we don’t act fast how long do you think we would have until we find ourselves in the horrors of Tartarus? Just like the Titans before us. Just like our father.” Zeus flinched at the mention of Kronos, especially with how he had tried to overthrow Olympus not even a year ago. He had been so blinded by his fear of his father that he hadn’t acted as soon as possible. By the time he had realized the monstrous mistake he had made it had been too late. If it hadn’t been for the Sea Spawn and his girlfriend, and Hades and his son, Kronos would have easily taken over Olympus. Was he repeating the same mistake with Gaea? No, no he wasn’t. He was taking just the right precautions so that what happened with Kronos wouldn’t happen with Gaea. Gaea wouldn’t be able to get in with Olympus on lockdown, it just wasn’t possible. Who cared if a couple demigods wound themselves up in Tartarus and died subsequently. It was just two demigods, they weren’t important.
“Poseidon, stop with this foolishness. Even if Perseus and Annabeth did manage to wind up in Tartarus of all places, who's to say that they are even still alive. That place is not suited for gods, much less demigods. Stop worrying about them and focus on the bigger threat. Gaea is hoping to take over Olympus, we need to get every god on our side before it’s too late.” Zeus dismissed as he stood from his throne and made to leave the throne room. He didn't get far before a blinding flash engulfed the room. Bringing with it the rest of the Olympians and the three old ladies.
Apollo and Artemis both looked nervous, glancing around the throne room with curious gazes. Their eyes widening when their eyes laid on the three old ladies in the entrance of the throne room.
Hermes and Demeter stood back to back. Hermes's caduceus held tightly in his hands while Demeter had a packet of seeds brandished dangerously.
Dionysus seemed to sway from one foot to the other as he struggled to regain his balance, life in the mortal realm was not suited for him. He could feel the extent of his power draining every day, especially now with him and Bacchus fighting for conscience every hour.
Aphrodite and Ares were in a corner happily kissing each other, unaware of the scenery change.
Athena was sitting on the ground, an owl plushie held tightly in her hands as she whispered plans to herself on how to rescue Annabeth from Tartarus. She looked distraught. Hephaestus even came over and tried to comfort her but all he got in return was a harsh shove that made him crash into a thick pillar nearby.
Hestia was sitting on the ground, a bewildered expression on her face as she looked around herself.
Hera was in the corner of the room looking around. Once her eyes had landed on Zeus she started glaring at him.
Hades and Persephone stumbled blindly as they tried to get their bearings. Once they had and they took notice of the three old ladies that stood by the entrance they both took a knee and bowed their heads.
Hecate, who stood a little ways away from the three sisters, had her eyes closed as her hands worked with the mist that surrounded her.
“Morai.” Zeus breathed as he stared wide eyed at the three ladies. Every other head in the room swiveled to get a look at the Fates, falling into a bow just as Hades and Persephone had.
“Olympians.” Clotho, the youngest of the three sisters, announced. Her voice sent shivers through all that were present. Her eyes were sparkling with an angry glare identical to her other two sisters.
“Lady Clotho,” Hades acknowledged. His eyes tinged with uncertainty. It had been a long time since he had spoken to any other god or goddess besides Persephone. “If I dare ask, what brings you and your sisters here?”
Clotho bluntly said, “mistakes.” Her glare darkened with each syllable uttered. “There have been too many, it has affected hundreds of souls. Mortal and immortal.”
“What mistakes?” Zeus asked. He couldn’t think of any mistakes he had made, not any that were so detrimental that It required a personal visit from the three Fates themselves.
Lachesis spoke up. “Mistakes that have resulted in the crimson blood of the mortal and the golden ichor of the immortal. Resulted in thousands if not millions of deaths.” Her eyes lingered on Zeus before sweeping across the rest of the accused gods faces
Hera scoffed. What did a little blood matter when the earth goddess was rising? It didn’t matter how much blood was spilt, how many sacrifices had to be made, as long as Gaea was defeated. Zeus was being stupid thinking that Gaea was the exact same as Kronos. She was older than even Aphrodite, with more patience than anyone could fathom. Gaea didn’t want Olympus. She wanted the world. And she would have it at any cost. Zeus didn’t understand. He never would.
“Your mistakes have resulted in fate’s course being altered, the great prophecy that was assigned to Perseus Jackson was never meant to be his.” Poseidon flinched. “But because you decided that you would try to avoid the prophecy you have altered our loom, forcing us to give fates to people who were never supposed to own them.” Atropos continued, her fury reflected in her cold voice, making several of the mighty Olympians flinch.
“There is another war coming. And there is more riding on it than your safety this time. The existence of the entire world relies on this war. But due to your mistakes there are things that need to happen that if things stay the way they are will simply not happen.” Clotho spat. Her icy glare sweeping across the room, her rage evident like her sisters. “You need to learn. Change. We will bring those who will be instrumental in this war here so they can also learn from their mistakes as well as about each other.”
Atropos snapped her fingers, causing another bright flash throughout the room. As the Olympians eyes adjusted to the dimming light they registered that they might just not be in the throne room anymore.
Instead they were in a large, dome shaped room with glass that glowed serving as the walls. The stars in the night sky twinkling brighter than they ever had in millennia. Surrounding the dome was a large bright white palace like structure, possibly even grander than Olympus itself. Along with its impressive appearance with all its spiraling towers and glittering windows, there was also this mysterious yet calming essence that it gave off.
A snap echoed from behind them as many of the Olympians whipped around to identify its origin. It was the Fates as well as a rather large party that tailed behind them. Full of Greek and Roman demigods, as well as many people who had on multicolored robes. Each and every god turned their gaze towards Hecate, who was smiling softly.
“Hecate,” Athena said. “You didn't do what I believe you have. Did you?”
“To be fair their magic is much weaker than one of my children’s.” Hecate answered, her face filled with wonder. She hadn't been able to visit her Blessed in quite a bit of time. She wanted to know how their species had evolved, what advancements they had made. And specifically, how much stronger their magic was now.
“Hecate! They’re mortals!” Athena groaned. “They were never meant to have control over the mist.”
Hecate smirked, her eyes glittering with knowledge. “Oh, but they don’t have control over the mist.”
Athena looked quite conflicted, her face sporting a look of confusion that was rare on her. “But- how do they produce the magic if they don’t manipulate the mist?” She asked.
“And there, ladies and gentlemen, is the question of the day. It’s quite simple really.” Hecate’s eyes glazed over as she explained her Blessed’s magic to the other gods. “Instead of manipulating the mist, they have what they call a magical core in which is where their magic comes from. Really it’s just an infusion of natural mist in their bodies that they can expel in any way they want. There haven’t been many that have been able to do this though, at least from what I remember. Very few of my Blessed have mastered this, so their ‘core’ has remained dormant for quite some time. Possibly their entire lifetime.”
Persephone looked at Hecate in interest. “So you are saying they are basically able to do what mortals believe magic is?”
Hecate laughed. “Oh no, no it is much more complex than that. My Blessed cannot just make things appear on a whim, whenever their hearts desire. Even I can't do that.” Hecate was just about to elaborate when Poseidon interrupted.
“I am dearly sorry to interrupt your conversation ladies but I believe the Morai are summoning us.”
When the three goddesses looked over their shoulders they found one of the Fates, Lachesis, beckoning them over with her withered hands. The gods and goddesses who had been standing a little ways behind the three sisters all came and stood to the side, next to Hecate’s blessed.
Athena winced when she heard all the arguing going on between the Greek and Roman demigods. She was grateful that Hecate's Blessed were all huddled together, fear evident among them. Athena didn't blame them. If she was remembering correctly her Blessed has no idea that the Greek and Roman gods besides Hecate even exist. If she were in their position and was whisked away to a place where she did not know was safe or not she would probably try to find any semblance of safety she could. All besides one. He was currently arguing and demanding things of the Fates.
“Who are you?” A pudgy man in a bowler hat shrieked. “Why am I here? What is this place?”
The Fates all ignored him, instead choosing to move towards the center of the room.
“Do not ignore me!” The stupid man yelled. “I am Cornelius Fudge! The Minister for Magic and I demand you to tell me where I am!”
Atropos’s icy glare centered on him. Cornelius Fudge visibly paled, stepping a few feet backwards in the scrutiny of Atropos.
“You dare talk to my sisters and I that way, mortal?” Atropos interrogated, her wrathful aura sweeping off of her in waves. “You think that title will give you any power here?”
Cornelius cowered behind one of the nearby marble statues, hiding from Atropos who was approaching him with a furious expression on her face. He had made a mistake
“You along with many others have come here to learn from your own mistakes, don't think for even a moment that just because you’re Minister you are excused from doing so. You may have influence in your own home but you do not here.” Atropos forcefully pulled Cornelius from the safety of the statue he was hiding behind. “Do not delude yourself with the belief that you are better than anyone else in this room.” She looked up. “Atropos That goes for everyone in here.”
“Everyone here was brought for the same reason, there is an upcoming war that you all are involved in.” Clotho said, drawing all the attention to herself, effectively calming the tense atmosphere that had accumulated. “It doesn't matter whether you are a mortal or a Demigod. It doesn't matter if you are a god or a wix, this war will be unlike anything you have experienced. You all need to learn from your mistakes. Otherwise none of us will make it out alive. This very earth and life as we know it may cease to exist.”
Clotho nodded to her sister, Lachesis, who proceeded to open one of the doors leading into the palace.
Lachesis opened the ornately decorated double doors and three figures stepped out from them, two boys and one girl.
“Bianca?” Nico di Angelo gasped, his eyes welling with tears.
“Nico.” Bianca breathed as she stared, wide eyed at her little brother. He looked so different from the last time she had seen him. She quickly moved forward and encased her brother in a hug, muttering multiple ‘I’m sorrys’ in his ears.
Bianca leaned back, her hands firmly gripping her brother's shoulders.
She asked, “what happened to you?”
“Bianca- I-” Nico's face was overwhelmed with a flurry of emotions. Sadness, anger, misery, terror and happiness. He shook his head.
“There's too much to explain, Bianca. If I start I don't think I'll be able to stop. Can I tell you at a different time? One where we will be able to get through everything?” Nico asked, his eyes glowing with every tear that dropped.
“Of course.” Bianca said, pulling Nico close and kissing the top of his head.
Luke stood there in the doorway, looking rather awkward. There were dozens of blades pointed at his throat.
“Sorry about this, Michael.” Luke said, apologizing to Michael Yew who was caught in the middle of all the sword pointing, his arms up in an ‘I’m innocent’ gesture.
“Not your fault.” Michael grunted out. He had a sword shoved against his throat uncomfortably. He wondered why he had been brought back to life. The Fates had explained the three of them had pivotal roles in this seemingly upcoming war, but Michael just couldn’t see why he was imp0rtant. He was just one son of Apollo. What was his importance? To heal others? He was shit at that, he couldn’t even heal a scratch. Will was better than him. Even if Luke had been entranced by Kronos during the first war Michael could still see how he could be an important figure in another. He was a strong leader, great swordsman and had amazing battle tactics, that much had been shown when he and Michael shared a cabin. Michael didn’t know much about Bianca, but he could easily see her picking up a bow and arrow and be an absolute demon on the battlefield.
Will Solace stood from across the room, his eyes overflowing with tears. He couldn’t believe it. Was it really Michael? Or were his eyes playing tricks on him? He watched as sword after sword and dagger after dagger was pointed at Michael’s throat, ready to decapitate him if he showed even the barest trace of violence. Will couldn’t watch that happen. He needed to stop it. He started running.
“MICHEAL!” He shouted. Will pushed through the mass of people surrounding his brother, muttering hundreds of half hearted apologies to those he shoved around. Will stumbled as he kept running, tripping over a few people as he flew by. But he didn’t care. He needed to get to his brother. Once the crowd had started to thin and Will could see Michael more clearly, he sped up.
Michael’s eyes glossed over with tears. “Will?” He choked out, which was followed quickly by a quiet “oeuf” that he let out. Will had started punching him in the stomach.
“Why?” Will cried, repeating it over and over like a mantra. His hands hit his brother in the stomach weakly, with each hit lowering in velocity until Will couldn’t take it anymore and completely broke down. “Why did you leave me?” He choked out, his words almost inaudible as he squeezed Michael tightly. He felt if he let go he might just lose his brother once more.
“I never meant to.” Michael whispered as he held onto Will just as tightly, if not more so. Will knew his question was stupid, but he couldn’t keep himself from thinking it. Will had never felt fear like he had when he saw Michaels body fall into the river, the only thing left of him being his bow and arrow. When Percy had taken him to the plaza to heal Annabeth he had almost blatantly refused, he had wanted to find Michael. He didn’t want to believe that he was gone. So instead of dwelling on it Will did what he did best, heal. He healed so many people that day that he had almost convinced himself Michael was okay and that he would be the next person to come into the white hotel they were occupying. He never came in. When Will had gotten the news from his remaining siblings that the search for Michael hadn’t been successful he had broken down in the middle of the hotel lobby.
“Don’t forget about us!” A striking voice yelled out. It was Kayla running towards the two brothers at full speed with Austin at her side. When Austin and Kayla joined the hug they knocked their two brothers down, resulting in a heap of Apollo children on the ground.
“I've missed you guys.” Michael whispered as he hugged all three of his siblings.
Luke looked over towards the heap of laughing Apollo children on the ground. He felt a tightness in his chest rise up and the beginning pricks of tears well up in his eyes as he looked at the reunited siblings. He wanted that. A bond with his own siblings like that, where everyone was just glad to see him. He knew there was a time when he had that. And he had royally screwed up, losing that bond with his siblings. Everyone really. So he wasn't that surprised when he heard the shrieks of a girl in the crowd. He wasn't expecting to find the voice belonging to Clarisse La Rue though.
“YOU!” She screamed, her eyes alight with rage and grief. “WHY? TELL ME WHY YOU GET TO COME BACK AND SILENA AND CHARLIE DON'T? YOU WERE THE ONE WHO LED THEM TO THEIR OWN DEATHS!” Luke flinched, he lowered his eyes to the ground, suddenly finding it very interesting. How long ago was the floor cleaned? Probably a while.
“Look at me.” Clarisse growled, lifting Luke's chin up with the point of her spear. “Tell me. What makes you so special? What did you have to do to get this chance that they don't have? After killing Charlie with your own troops and leading Silena to her own death when she faced that drakon.” Her voice broke. “What is the reason that they aren't here?”
“I believe we have the answer to that Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares.” Lachesis stated, drawing everyone's attention back to her and her sisters. “As we have stated earlier, everyone here has a role in this upcoming war. These three have major roles in it, that is the reason why they were brought back from Hades’ realm.”
Clotho added onto her sister's words. “Miss. di Angelo is a special case however. She chose rebirth long before we were able to use this opportunity.” Bianca blushed slightly and lowered her head in an apology. “We had to take her soul from before she went through rebirth, so she is from a different time period. A small difference really as it's only a few months before right now.”
Lachesis clapped her hands, turning the entire room into a comfy one with bean bags, chairs, couches, and even mattresses strewn about everywhere. There was a small pedestal in the center of it all that held one book on top of it.
“Anyways this has dragged on long enough. Get on with the first book now, time will be stopped until you have finished all seventeen books.” Lachesis abruptly said as she nodded her head towards her two other sisters. With no warning the three Fates disappeared in a pile of sand.
One of the robed people stepped towards the pedestal that housed the book. He was about to grab it when he turned around.
“I guess we should all get comfortable before we start reading.” The boy said, grabbing the book and plopping down on a mega sized bean bag that could easily fit three people. Soon enough there were already two people sat beside him both wearing the same robes. One was a girl with bushy brown hair and this stance that told anyone that dared to question her that it would be the last thing they did, the other was a tall redhead with prominent freckles who immediately slung his arm around the boy in the middle.
Annabeth Chase stood on the outskirts of the room with all her friends. She took her boyfriend's hand and took a couch that could easily sit maybe half of their friends including them. This caused a chain reaction throughout the room with everyone finding themselves a seat.
Most of the wixen sat together on one side of the room while the demigods sat on the other side, with the gods making a crescent like shape around them.
Athena surveyed the entire group from her bean bag. “I believe we may start now.” She told the boy holding the book. He read out the title.
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.”
Said person groaned from his spot next to the pedestal. “Of course it's about me. Just my luck.”