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Ch28 – TLT – The truth shall set you free

Nemesis read out, "WE FIND OUT THE TRUTH, SORT OF"

"Finally." Athena said.

Zeus nodded. It was high time the children found his bolt and returned it to him. Hades on the contrary was relieved that now everyone would understand that he did not take the bolt. Despite everyone having already agreed on the fact that he did not have the bolt, he would feel better if it was properly revealed. He also had a feeling that something of his was missing and he wanted to know what exactly had happened.

"Imagine the largest ... never start."

"Fields of Asphodel." Persephone gasped. The description of a large field filled with whispering people sounded exactly like the Fields of Asphodel. But this description somehow seemed to be bigger than the current size.

"How big is a football field? How big is this place that you are describing?" Zeus asked his nephew. This was a description of his brother's empire and Zeus was interested in knowing just how big it really was. Hades always complained about the work load, but was it really that much? After all, how much trouble could the dead be – they were dead!

"Umm… The Fields of Asphodel would probably be a hundred thousand times this throne room?" Percy looked at Nico for confirmation.

"Almost…maybe a bit more… and it is completely filled with spirits. There is not much space to move around." Nico said, remembering all the times he went to stroll in the Fields, only to find himself suffocating in the swarm of spirits.

Hades looked worried. How many people have died for it to be such a crowded place?

Most gods tried and failed to imagine such a huge place. So many subjects would definitely mean a lot of work. They felt that maybe Hades had been right about complaining about the amount of work he had in his domain.

"If you can ... size of booster rockets."

Everyone listened with interest as the description was read out. It sounded like a depressing place to be. But then again, death was depressing. No wonder the Lord of the Dead was always in a foul mood.

"You don't have to worry about them falling, you know. That only happens when dad gets angry or if the Furies go and loosen one of them up." Nico said nonchalantly.

He looked at Will, trying to see his reaction to Nico's home, but Will only looked interested in knowing what the place looked like. Nico was scared that all these descriptions would show Will that he belonged to such a sad and dark place and maybe the healer would think that Nico wasn't worth being with. Will chose that moment to turn and look at Nico and smile at him, reassuring the younger boy to some extent.

"Annabeth, Grover, ... just sad."

Hades nodded. Most people and gods shied from the dead, thinking that the ghosts and spirits would be frightening. What no one understood was that they were just gloomy. Many of them had been taken before they could reach old age and because everyone craved interaction, all they wanted was someone to talk to. But the only ones who could talk to the dead were the other spirits – who were not good listeners at all – and Hades and his children. The Lord of the Dead realized that his nephew was actually paying attention to his subjects and soaking up the place, as if on a tour, rather than just barge into the palace and demand something. None of the other mortals or even gods who came down to the Underworld stopped to look at anything – they were too scared to, not knowing what they would find.

The other gods thought over this. They knew that each god represented their domain in some aspect. That way, Zeus was always sharp and on the defense, ready to attack at any moment; Poseidon was ever changing in his behavior, much like the sea; Apollo was mostly positive, like the sun and his music; Ares was harsh and rowdy, like the untamed side of wars; Aphrodite looked and seemed innocent and pretty but was in reality unforgiving and all consuming, just like madness of love; and so on. So, what if Hades too, reflected his domain? They all had until now categorized him as a fearsome tyrant, but what if he was sad too and not completely scary?

"We crept along,... Newly Deceased!"

"That's oddly cheerful."

"Out the back ... don't want to describe."

"How is listening to music torture?" Apollo asked. He was offended that his uncle would use the sun god's domain as a form of torture.

"It is if the music is opera." Will told his father. He hated opera music.

"It is horrible enough to drive away Stymphalian birds." Annabeth said, remembering when they had used Chiron's CD collection to do just that.

"Huh." Apollo was confused. Why was such music then created?

"The line coming... to go when I died."

The demigods sighed in happiness. That was their goal – to reach Elysium and maybe even Isle of the Blest.

"It sounds wonderful." Piper said in a dreamy state. All the troubles they had to go through, everything, it all led to just this one place. Every demigod's ultimate dream – to achieve Elysium and if they are lucky enough – The Isle of the Blest.

While the demigods smiled and dreamed about their afterlife, their immortal parents frowned. They knew that their demigod children did not live long, but to actually see living children dreaming about afterlife was jarring. No parent should have to live without their child and yet the gods had to. They tried to distance themselves as much as possible from their children in the hopes of not feeling too much when the child passes away, but it never helped. They still felt and cried every single time a child of theirs died. This was one of the reason why the ancient law was more or less strictly followed. This usually led to feelings of hatred from their children, but the gods wanted to protect themselves from all the pain.

Poseidon frowned and thought that even though he would be able to save his son this time around from Hades through the pearls, he knew that one day he would ultimately lose his son to his elder brother, like he did with every mortal child of his. He was already attached to Percy and he hadn't even known him for that long. The god had gathered from his talks with Percy that the future-he was also pretty close to his son and once he would remember all the details of Percy's life thanks to the reading… Poseidon didn't think he could handle when Percy's time came. He could already feel his throat closing up and his insides turning to ice as he just thought about the concept. No! He could not lose his son. He couldn't… he wouldn't survive it. The only other child of his that he was so close to was Triton and Triton was immortal. Poseidon had never had to worry about losing his son and heir.

Sensing her husband's unstable emotions, Amphitrite held his hand as he tried to calm down. She had a feeling as to what he must have been thinking about. She herself was thinking about the same thing – the day when her husband would lose Percy forever. She was quite shaken up when she saw the children's reaction to Elysium. It was like that was their only goal in life. She had never liked her husband's half-blood children, but to see all the demigods just be content about reaching Elysium someday really surprised her. She hadn't realized that these children had to be on constant alert for danger and that they were quite indifferent about dying. This worried her. She was a mother after all and she knew that children should not have to worry about such things. But, that was the price the poor children paid for being the mortal part of an immortal family.

""That's what it's all about," Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. "That's the place for heroes.""

The demigods nodded. Nico smiled as he thought about all of their friends who were finally happy in Elysium. Even though the half-bloods would prefer their friends and siblings to be alive, they were happy that at least after death, the heroes could find contentment. They definitely deserved it.

"But I thought ... was depressing."

"It really is." Persephone commented.

"We left the ... waiting for us."

"They would have been notified of your arrival, so yes, they were probably waiting for you to come to the palace." Hades said.

""I suppose it's ... back in the grass."

"What?" Hermes blurted. "There is no magic there that should affect the shoes." He was confused. His sandals never misbehaved in the Underworld and the base magic of his sandals and the shoes he gave his son should be same.

Annabeth whispered, "Oh no." Both she and her boyfriend mentally prepared themselves to hear about Tartarus in some time.

Percy reached over the armrest of his couch to tap Nico's hand and quickly told him what would happen so the son of Hades could also be mentally prepared to hear about Tartarus. Percy had a feeling that it might affect Nico more as he was in Underworld when he got sucked into the pit.

""Grover," Annabeth ... him away from us."

Hermes scowled at the book. This was not supposed to happen. The shoes should not be able to fly without the magic word. Something was gravely wrong.

""Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect."

Instantaneously everyone was on alert. If the magic word did not work on the shoes, then…

"Someone or something is messing with the magic of the shoes." Hecate said and Hermes nodded. That seemed to be the most probable answer. The shoes never ever malfunctioned.

""Maia, already! ... at full speed."

"Yeah, not easy at all." Grover mumbled, keeping an eye on his friends and checking on Percy through the empathy link.

"Grover tried ... the opposite direction."

All of a sudden, Hades and Persephone sat up straighter, a look of panic on their faces. Hades looked at Nico and saw that he was trying to appear calm but his hands were clenched tightly.

"What is it, Hades?" Poseidon asked in worry. His son was supposed to go straight to his uncle, so what was happening now? And why did his brother look so worried?

"Uhh… on the right side of the palace is an entrance to… umm… the pit." Hades explained, still concentrating on his son.

Everyone else quickly caught on and Hestia enveloped the room in a calm and homely energy so that the three demigods could feel safe. She didn't know whether they would be affected by the words of the book but she didn't want to take any chances.

Nemesis read on, "The slope got ... stalactites above."

Nico stiffened. This was the same entrance that he had fallen through. Will felt the son of Hades tense and quickly held one of his clenched fists, which had the desired effect of momentarily flustering the younger boy and making him push back the feelings of despair. Nico looked at their joined hands and blushed but didn't pull back. He knew he needed this support.

""Grover!" I yelled, ... size of a city block."

Nico gave an involuntary whimper as he recalled going near the cavern in the hopes of reaching the doors of death and then being pulled into… He frantically searched for something to ground him till he spotted Will's hand stroking his. He hadn't even felt the action. Without thinking, he immediately grabbed the other's hand and concentrated on it. Under normal circumstances he would have been embarrassed, but now he just wanted something, anything to calm him down. Will's hand was warm and darker than Nico's and this calmed him. A warm hand meant a person next to him and he did not have that luxury in the pit. He had been all alone and scared and… no… concentrate on the hand Nico, the son of Hades scolded himself. And so he played with Will's hand, focusing on the warmth and the unfamiliarity, tracing the palm lines and a faint birthmark on his wrist. Slowly but surely, he felt himself calming down as he continued to hold Will's hand.

Annabeth closed her eyes tightly but opened them just as soon, as she realized that closing her eyes only gave her a mental picture of the pit. She felt Percy pull her closer till there was absolutely no space between them. Trying to get her mind off the images flashing in her mind, the wisdom's daughter started tracing patterns on Percy's jean clad thighs. She focused on the patterns as if she could see them and soon began to trace the blueprints of a new cabin at camp and lost herself in her imaginary designs as she heard Nemesis reading in the background, but she didn't listen to it.

Percy was zeroed in on the hearth and feeling of calmness that came from relaxing at home, when he heard Nico whimper in fear and subconsciously pulled Annabeth closer to him. He quickly turned to see whether Nico needed any sort of help but the son of Apollo had beat him to it. Once Percy was sure that Nico would be alright, he checked up on Annabeth, who was busy tracing what suspiciously felt like blueprints on his thigh. He looked up to see similar sea green eyes looking at him in worry. The son slightly shook his head to communicate that he was fine to his father and tuned back to Nemesis reading out his life.

"Grover was ... get to him in time."

"What?" Hermes sounded like he was choking. "Why are the shoes dragging Grover there?"

"It might be explained later on, Lord Hermes." Grover told the god of thieves.

"What saved ... back up the slope."

"Oh, thank the gods." Thalia breathed out and turned to check if her friends were alright. Percy was staring into the hearth again, Annabeth had moved on to tracing lines on Percy's arm and Nico was holding hands with Will. Thalia did a double-take at that. She hadn't known that Nico…well, as long as he was happy and he did seem happy. Thalia wasn't close to the son of Hades, having met him only a couple of times, the longest being when she had first met him and his sister, but she knew that his life hadn't been easy and she was happy that finally most of the demigods were able to find happiness, even in the aftermath of a war.

"The other winged shoe tugged itself off, circled around us angrily and kicked our heads in protest before flying off into the chasm to join its twin."

Percy had a small lopsided smile on his face as he remembered getting kicked by a flying shoe. Ah! His life was most certainly the definition of weird.

"We all ... I said. "Listen.""

"No, don't." Hades said. "You should never listen to what it says. If you do, it will drag you down."

"I heard ... from the pit."

All of them were on edge by now. It was clear to most that Kronos or whatever that was in the pit was trying to get the children's attention, maybe to do something for him. But what? If the children had the bolt with them, it was understandable that he would try to convince them to give him the bolt. But something was odd.

"Grover sat ...

"Magic," I said."

"Definitely the Titan Lord or one of the other titans or primordial." Hecate said. They were the only ones who could speak the language of magic. Even amongst the gods, only the older ones could understand it.

Zeus was getting nervous. Where his bolt was and what did his father want from the children?

""We have ... into the Fields of Asphodel."

They all let out a sigh of relief. At least the children were safe. But what just happened only proved that something, if not Kronos (because the gods wanted to be in denial) was stirring in the pit and it had wanted the children or the something from them.

Nico slumped into his couch as he heard that they were out of there. He felt exhausted just by thinking about it. He felt Will nudge him slightly and whisper-ask him 'You ok?' Nico looked up at Will and nodded and turned pink when he realized that they were still holding hands, but neither of the boys tried to pull away. Instead, the son of Hades turned to look at the couple on the next couch and found that they too were ok. Percy turned at that moment to check up on him and gave him a knowing smile. Nico turned away and groaned internally. He had a feeling that he would not hear the end of this, at least in the days to come.

"The wind ... grove. "One of Hades's pets?""

"I wish."

"Annabeth and I... me that feeling."

Athena raised her eyebrow and thought that the boy was smart. Oh well, as smart as a child of Poseidon could be.

"I was almost relieved to turn my back on that tunnel and head toward the palace of Hades.

Almost."

"Compared to that place… you should be." Hades mumbled.

"The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story-tall bronze gates stood wide open."

Still shaken up from the unexpected and horrifying turn of events, everyone listened closely to the description of Hades' palace. The palace of the god of riches had to be magnificent, they thought, even if it was in the Underworld – the gloomiest place.

"Up close, I ... that had come true."

"Or would come true." Apollo said. He had helped in the carving… well, not really… he had just informed Hades of any prophesy involving mass death in the future. Once all prophesies carved came true, he would reveal the next batch of prophesies, if any. If they were lucky, the carved prophesies would carry on for centuries or even a millennia and they would not have to deal with more pain and suffering.

"These are new…" Hades said. He and Persephone listened intently as the palace was being described.

"Inside the ... all smiling grotesquely."

Persephone smiled. She loved the garden, although it was a bit different now.

"In the center ...  able to leave."

"Exactly!" Demeter cried out. "Why did you have to eat anything he gave you, kore?"

Persephone rolled her eyes as Hades glowered at Demeter. They had had this conversation one too many times.

"I pulled Grover ... down here."

"No. Not really." Hades said sarcastically.

"That is a lot of black in one place." Aphrodite commented.

"Well my palace is not going to be multicolored, now is it?" Hades retorted. He was justly defensive of his palace.

"Every side ... door salesmen.""

"The doors are guarded by marines holding grenade launchers?" Clarisse asked. "That's awesome. Cabin 5 is going to take that up."

Hades grinned. At least somebody appreciated a part of his palace… even if it were the guards and even if it was by a daughter of Ares.

"No." Chiron admonished. "Cabin 5 already has hidden land mines and barbed wire and assortments of fatal traps. I am not letting anyone get their hands on a grenade launcher."

The Stolls and Chris exchanged looks. They needed to hide their cabin's stash of dangerous weapons, including a bazooka and a grenade launcher.

"What is a door to door salesman?" Hermes asked.

"People who go from house to house, trying to sell things. They can get really annoying." Travis replied.

"Grover, you think about the weirdest of things at the worst of times." Thalia told her old friend.

"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."

"Why does he keep mentioning the weight of his bag?" Athena asked. What was wrong with the bag? Wait a minute… the Nereid had told Percy not to trust the gifts… and the bag was a gift. Could it be that she was talking about this particular gift and not the ride west as they all thought earlier? But, what could be in the bag that would suddenly make the bag heavy?

""Well, guys," ... me as godlike."

Hades grinned and was pleased that his nephew thought him as a proper god unlike Dionysus and Ares. It could be because he was in his domain and was probably very angry, but Hades didn't care. Now, hopefully the boy wouldn't come and say something stupid like he had the habit to.

Both Ares and Dionysus glared at Percy. How dare he not find them godlike? This child was turning out to be more annoying than Apollo on one of his deliriously happy days.

"He was at ... as a panther."

Hades smirked and Poseidon rolled his eyes. Now he would not hear the end of this.

Many gods looked at Hades and realized that there was absolutely no difference between the description and the Hades in front of them, except that he may have toned down his powers just a little bit.

"I immediately felt like he should be giving the orders. He knew more than I did. He should be my master."

"Hades…" Poseidon said in low voice to his brother. Why was he projecting so much?

Hades shrugged, "The boy is in my home, Poseidon."

Percy shook his head. If his father was like this now, then he didn't want to see his reaction to half the things he thinks about gods… both good and bad.

"Then I told ... simply very foolish.""

"Or perhaps both." Artemis said. She could not decide what kind of a person Percy was or would turn out to be.

"I do not have an oily voice." Hades protested.

"You do, when you are trying to be intimidating." Zeus replied off-handedly.

"I do not. And I am intimidating." Hades replied, putting his power into the words, which in turn made his voice kind of oily sounding.

"See…" Poseidon gestured towards Hades as if proving a point.

Glaring at his brother, Hades asked, "What do I mean by 'after what you have done'? What have you done?" He turned to Percy, who just gestured to read on and that he would not reveal anything.

"Numbness crept ... two requests.""

Hades raised his eyebrow. At the first meeting, the boy addressed him as uncle? Not many of his family members ever addressed him as their relative… it was always Hades or Lord Hades. Never a familial relation.

"Hades raised ... Hades' underwear?"

There was complete silence for a few moments as everyone comprehended the question. Then the room was filled with sounds of laughter, chuckling or disgust. Percy was blushing furiously and once again cursed the Fates for putting all his thoughts in the book. He hid his face in Annabeth's curls as Hades glared at him, and everyone else stared at him in disbelief.

"If you must know… it's only the robes." Nico said as he chuckled at his father's expense.

Persephone signaled Nemesis to continue reading before her husband could lose his cool.

""Only two requests?" Hades said. "Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet.""

"Again he mentions that Percy has taken something…" Theseus said.

"I swallowed. ... create the seasons."

"Not that it helped later on." Percy grumbled to himself, thinking about the time when she didn't help out when Hades wanted to imprison Percy.

"I can only calm his moods, not influence his decision… Well, I can if he hasn't made up his mind at that point." Persephone said.

"Annabeth cleared ... you have done?""

"What has he done?" Poseidon said in annoyance. What is going on? What have they missed?

"I would only care if one of my items were missing." Hades thought out loud. "Something is missing, isn't it? Something that I haven't informed the Council about." He asked Percy.

"You will find out everything in some more time. We should read on."

"I glanced back ... blocking the exits."

Poseidon glared at his brother. He better not harm his son in any way.

"Hades bellowed, ... a dangerous answer."

"No, really." Thalia muttered.

""You are the Lord of the Dead," I said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?""

"Unbelievable… just…" Hades shook his head and sat glaring at everyone. He was sure that he would explain in no uncertain terms that he didn't want war, to his nephew.

""A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?""

"It does seem quite large." Apollo said.

""Well..."

"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?""

"More subdivisions?" Hades rubbed his temples. The future was really going to be a headache.

Every single person was listening intently as they heard Hades explain about his kingdom. This was the first time that they actually heard an explanation. Usually, he would just complain.

""More security ... But my expenses!""

Nico nodded solemnly. Many a times he had helped out in all these problems. Persephone just patted her grumbling husband's arm.

""Charon wants a pay raise," I blurted, just remembering the fact. As soon as I said it, I wished I could sew up my mouth."

Nico face-palmed. "You should not have said that." He whispered to Percy, who nodded in return.

"Well, at least you kept your promise to Charon for speaking up on his behalf." Hestia said, the corner of her lips turned upwards.

""Don't get ... ask for this war.""

The other gods stared at Hades till he growled out, "What?"

"We had no idea…" Zeus started.

"Of course you didn't." Hades shouted. "None of you ever care to ask about how my kingdom is doing. No! All you care about is yourselves. If you have any work from me, you come and visit me, otherwise for the remaining time, I am forgotten." Taking a calming breath, he said, "I believe we have already discussed about all this before. Just continue reading."

His siblings stared at the Lord of Dead, thinking about how hurt he must feel for being ignored and used like that. They decided to make it up to him – whatever it took. The five, sorry, six (cannot leave Zeus out, now can we) of them had gone through enough together to actually leave him alone like that.

Demeter decided to drop the whole 'him kidnapping his daughter'. Even though she wasn't over it and probably would never be, somehow her daughter was happy with Hades. Hestia, the only one who usually talked to Hades without any ulterior motives, resolved to get the other brothers to bring him back to Olympus and treat him properly, like he deserved. Even though it seemed that in the future it had been done, she had a feeling that Hades might not feel comfortable in Olympus after being exiled from it for so long. Hera thought of making an effort to include her brother in the family, even though he didn't fit into her idea of a perfect family, he still was family. The two brothers looked at each other and came to a conclusion. They were the ones who had started the whole exile idea and removing Hades from his original position of an Olympian, Zeus more so guilty than Poseidon. Maybe, it was time that their brother was reinstated. They didn't hate him, no. But they were scared of his powers, so maybe they should push their fears aside and accept him.

""But you ... I see his plan.""

"What plan?" Poseidon asked no one in general.

""His plan?" ... and my helm…""

"My helm…" Hades said.

"So, both the bolt and the helm are missing?" Athena said. "This just proves our previous theory that with Poseidon being the only one not to have something missing, the blame will fall on him from both the sides. And a three way war will weaken us so that the Titan Lord can strike us and there is no way we could protect ourselves."

"True." Artemis said. "Without the three of them together fighting against him, we could not have won the Titan War and if it is truly him this time, then his first order of business would be to pit father and uncles against each other.

The three brothers looked at each other and hoped that it wasn't their father because that poor excuse of a father would know exactly how to make sure that the three didn't get along. The three, despite their difference had always fought together to protect Olympus and hoped that if they had too, they would do that again. Otherwise, Olympus would definitely fall and the era of gods would end.

""…Had I not ... supporting him?""

"I know we are being played for fools, but I would never do something like that." Poseidon said coolly. He did not like being blamed wrongly, nor did he like being taken for a fool. Whosoever was creating discord in the family was going to pay.

""No!" I said. ... to stop you.""

The Olympians looked away. It was becoming painfully clear to them that they had done grave injustice to Hades over the years. They knew that if he had informed them of his missing helm, they would have rejoiced rather than offer help. But when it came to Zeus or Poseidon, they automatically took sides and helped them.

Percy looked around him at the faces of the gods. It was clear that many were feeling remorse. 'Maybe now they would finally treat Hades with the respect he deserves.' Percy thought.

""You didn't ... out of Hades.""

"Hades!" Hera said in a mix of reprimand and fear.

"What?" Hades glared at his sister. "Those two are allowed to throw a tantrum but when I do, you cannot stand it? I see, your affinity towards double standards has not reduced, Hera."

Hera was positively seething, almost glowing with her powers. Hestia said in a calm, steely voice that left no place for any arguments, "That is enough. Both of you. You both very well know that father is involved in all of this. Do not let him get to you. And as for you Hades, that 'counterproposal' better never be used again. You know better than anyone else, what exactly will happen if death is stopped."

Nemesis took that the ensuing silence as a cue to continue, "The skeletal ... experience with that."

Poseidon nodded. He too could not control his anger if he was wrongly accused. His son was more and more like him than he thought previously.

""You're as bad as Zeus," I said."

"Do not compare me to Zeus." Hades scowled.

"As if I want to be compared…" Zeus trailed off as he caught Hestia's glare. She was the only one who could get anyone to keep quiet. Ah! The benefits of being the oldest sibling. Composing himself, Zeus said, "Carry on, Nemesis."

""You think I ... kingdom so easily?""

"The other monsters were probably sent by Zeus." Poseidon said.

"I do not think so." Athena said, her forehead furrowed like it usually got when she was thinking. "Assuming that the monsters knew that the Titan Lord was stirring at that time, and I think they would know, then the monsters were probably sent by him to test the children or bring them to him. But I do not understand the motive behind this. What could he possibly want from the children?"

"As horrifying as it sounds, I am quite certain that he might want the children to rise up against us." Hestia said.

"What?" Zeus yelled.

"Think about it. The titans are unlike us. They do not need anyone to believe in them to exist, they just do. But us gods? We require our domains and people to believe in us, lest we fade. And he might have known about the demigods feeling resentful towards us. He might try to exploit it."

"Knowing father, if he even had inkling of the situation, he certainly would. It would be a sort of poetic justice for him if he were able to get the children to rise against us. After all, we destroyed him, he would deem it right if our children would…" Poseidon was lost in thoughts, just like every other god.

No one noticed the slight look of panic that flitted over the demigods' faces. They could not imagine their parent's reaction when they would learn of Luke's betrayal – the first of many to come. Annabeth asked for the reading to be continued.

""Easily?" ... Hades shouted."

"What?" Zeus and Poseidon yelled together.

"He had the bolt all along?" Zeus shouted, glaring at Percy.

"We have been reading from his point of view, Zeus. Tell me, did you hear anything about him taking the bolt?" Poseidon rolled his eyes at his brother.

"But then how…" Athena trailed off as she thought about all that they had heard till now. Nothing seemed to point towards Percy having the bolt.

"We should continue reading… everything would be clear in some time." Annabeth said.

""You came ... your pack, then.""

"What?" Ares shouted. How can the bag of supplies hold the bolt?

Athena gasped as she finally understood what was going on. "The gifts. The Nereid told Percy not to trust the gifts. We thought she was talking about the ride west, but what if she was talking about both – the ride west and the bag?"

"But didn't the bag only have supplies?" Demeter asked.

"Yes. But any package can be magically enhanced to convert into anything else." Hermes said. "Percy kept mentioning that the bag was getting heavier."

"And that started when they reached the entrance of the pit. So, the pit's magic activated the magic in the bag?" Apollo thought out loud.

Hecate confirmed Apollo's theory, "That could be done."

"The bag could be a sheath for the bolt." Hephaestus said. "If the person knew what they were doing, they could have easily converted the bag into a hidden sheath, like the boy's pen which can turn into a sword."

"But I gave him the bag. Why would I give him the bolt?" Ares yelled.

"For a three way war." Enyo replied. "You yourself had told the boy before that you pulled Hades name into the fight…"

"Yes and that was a good tactic. But I will not allow the Council to be weakened because of a war." Ares told his sister. She was the more unhinged one out of the two of them.

"What if you weren't aware that the bag was a sheath?" Athena countered. "Someone could have used magic powerful enough to be hidden from a god, correct?

"Maybe…" Hecate said. As per what she knew, she was the only one who could perform magic powerful enough to go undetected through a hall full of gods. But why would she do something like this? No. It didn't make any sense.

During this whole time, the demigods were just staring in awe at the gods. There was no fighting and no insults, only the need to solve a puzzle. "They should have a family night and solve puzzles or riddles together. It would bring them closer faster than any counseling available." Percy said just loud enough to be heard by the demigods, who nodded in agreement.

"Enough." Zeus bellowed to be heard over the hall full of talking gods and gods did not know how to talk softly. "Nemesis continue reading." He was anxious about his bolt and all of his children were busy trying to solve the mystery when it would be revealed soon enough.

"A horrible feeling ... humming with energy."

Zeus breathed out in relief. Finally, after all this, his bolt was safe. Now, as for his brother's helm… where could that be?

""Percy," Annabeth ... my helm. Where is it?""

"What are you going to bargain it for?" Zeus snarled at his oldest brother.

"Seat on Olympus? I don't know…" Hades shrugged, uncaring about his brother's anger. He was worried more about his helm and couldn't care less for his brother's annoying bolt.

Zeus was about to shout at his brother again when Poseidon stopped him and told him to just listen to the story rather than jump to conclusions. He had done enough of that to last another millennia.

"I was speechless. ... the backpack from ..."

"Ares!" the king god glared at his son.

"I don't know why I gave him a bag with your bolt in it." Ares replied. He did not want to face his father's wrath.

"Father, we all heard about the Titan Lord talking about orchestrating the whole thing." Athena said, as the thought struck her. "What if… what if Ares too has been a pawn of his? Unwillingly or unknowingly of course." She added when she saw Ares about to start yelling.

"I… I… it cannot be." Ares sputtered. He looked at Nemesis and told her to read. He needed to get to the bottom of this. How could he – Ares, be anyone's pawn?

""Lord Hades... flicked her whip."

"You better not hurt my son, Hades." Poseidon growled in a low tone at his brother.

""There is no ... that will change.""

Hades leaned back on his couch. Now everything was starting to make more sense. Why he took the child's mother, why the Furies did not attack the child and why he didn't send more monsters after the children to discourage them from coming down to the Underworld. Now, hopefully the helm too would appear magically in the bag, because his nephew seemed to have no idea as to what was happening.

Poseidon hoped that Percy used the pearls soon, otherwise his brother would never let the children leave.

"I thought about ... accept my terms.""

"Do not give him bag, boy!" Zeus told Percy as if the exchange was happening in front of him.

Percy rolled his eyes. "This has already happened and I am not stupid enough to give him the bag and start another war."

Athena and Pan were worried. Percy would not give the bag, but he also would not leave his mother behind. He did come all the way, went through so much, obviously he would not leave her behind. Athena hoped that he would not leave her daughter there, while Pan hoped that he wouldn't leave the satyr. Despite all three of them sitting in front of the gods, they knew that he must have left one of them behind because he had mentioned his mother being alive and well before. Many gods, especially Artemis and her hunters were also eagerly waiting for Percy's decision. This decision would show them what kind of a demigod Percy is. Is he the same as all those prior to him or is he different?

"I looked at ... on your mom.""

"No." Pan said. "Do not leave Grover behind."

No one bothered to tell him that Grover was sitting right next to him.

""No!" ... go down fighting.""

"No." Athena whispered. Why did her daughter have to be so brave?

"You both are really good friends." Hestia smiled at Grover and Annabeth.

Poseidon smiled. At least his son had wonderful, selfless friends. But he knew Percy's answer. He knew his son would chose to save the world first and then his mother. That was when the god knew that he would forever be proud of Percy.

""No way," Grover ... lives for my mom."

Percy looked gratefully at his friends – all of them. At one point or another, they all had saved each other's lives. They all had been through so much over the years. They had grown up together, fought together, ate together, cried together and rejoiced together. Percy knew, that how much ever he hated going on quests and being the gods' pawn, he would do it all if it meant keeping this family of his safe.

""I know what ... most in the end."

The gods and the hunters stared at Percy in disbelief and admiration. Disbelief that he actually gave up his mother to save the world and admiration at the sheer amount of willpower such an action would have required. The hunters now understood why their future Lieutenant was close to this boy. He truly was unlike all the other men they had ever come across.

""I'm sorry," I told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way."

The smug look on Hades's face faded. He said, "Godling ... ?""

Poseidon grinned and said, "I would love to see that face."

"Well obviously I would be shocked." Hades defended himself. "I would have assumed that he would save his mother and himself and let everything else play out just like any other hero would have."

Chiron smirked and thought how underestimating Percy had been the downfall of so many.

""I'll find your helm, Uncle," I told him. "I'll return it. Remember about Charon's pay raise.""

"Why are you still talking about Charon's pay raise?" Hades was bewildered at his nephew's actions. He was really confusing.

"I did promise him that I would talk to you about it."

A couple of demigods including Nico laughed. It was such a Percy thing to do – even in the middle of the start of a war, he was keeping his promise of talking about pay raise.

""Do not defy me-"

"And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls.""

"Seriously?" Nico was having trouble controlling his laughter, while most of the gods, hunters and demigods had smiles on their faces.

Hades blinked his eyes in puzzlement. Percy was… there were no words that came to the god's mind to describe his nephew.

"I completely forgot about you saying all these things to Hades." Annabeth whispered to Percy.

"So did I. I am blaming it on the adrenaline."

"Sure…"

""Percy Jackson, ... nothing happened."

"Yeah, they take some time to actually work. You know, summoning the power of the sea and all." Poseidon told his son, hoping that he didn't get hurt before the pearls would work.

"Hades yelled, ... off the ground."

Poseidon sighed in relief. Good, nothing happened to the children, he thought.

"Annabeth and Grover ... bubbles and skewer us."

"Oh, no. Nothing can touch them or you till you reach the sea." Triton said.

""How do you ... Were we dead?"

"Unfortunately, no." Hades murmured.

"You are really dramatic, Prissy."

"No, I could ... indignant, "Dude!""

The demigods laughed and Jason said, "Only in LA."

"I grabbed Grover ... raced away."

"That one would probably go and spread some rumors." Triton said and Percy nodded.

"The surfer ... summer solstice."

"How do you know that?" Dakota asked.

"Son of Poseidon thing." Theseus replied. "We have perfect bearings at sea."

"More importantly, how are you going to go across the whole country and return the bolt on the same day?" Reyna asked.

"I do something stupid."

"Like always."

"In the distance, ... god who'd tricked me."

"Having a conversation with Ares is more important than returning my bolt?" Zeus asked.

"He tricked me and used me and got me angry. Yes, it is more important to find out why. I have your bolt – I'll return it… at some point."

"Your priorities are messed up." Athena told Percy, but realized that this was part of his unpredictable nature.

"Not really." Poseidon said. "If it was me in his place, I would have most probably done the same thing."

"By the way, the chapter is over. So, who wants the book?" Nemesis asked.

"I'll read it." Triton said.

Annabeth whispered to Percy, "You might want to get your dad's protection for the fight with Ares."

"Nah. I'm good… I think."