Adore

Chapter Twenty

Taking Candy from a God is Easy.

"Are you really my father?"

"Yes, yes. This is not what we had agreed upon, but the punk has proven himself. We need to go a little softer with our approach."

"But. But Daaaaaaaaad." Triton whined, his face going clearly puppy dogged even if their connection was only a rainbow. "I got everything ready and all! I even got the hungry tiger sharks we planned on feeding them to!"

Poseidon sighed as he massaged his temple to ward of the building migraine from both talking to his clearly violence ridden son and the words of going soft to that punk of Hermes'. The first he can endure to some point, seeing as he put up with his son's whining about how utterly useless his mother is at helping them run their kingdom and domain, but the second one left a bitter taste in his mouth just to say it. It went against every protective bone in his body to just let the punk have his way and waylay his daughter into liking him. But, he grudgingly admitted to himself, the punk has indeed proven himself, being a solid shield for his daughter, and at the same time, a mighty sword. He was there to support her even if he himself and Triton were unavailable. That at least deserved a little leeway for the punk, even if he felt that the dratted boy still had many challenges to face before he could become worthy of the precious Pearl of their lives at this point.

"Triton." He said, neatly interrupting Triton's narrative of what he would do to the punk with a couple of rusty nailfiles. "I am not saying to completely abandon the plan. I'm saying not to induce bodily harm against the boy."

Triton instantly opened his mouth to complain, but then his eyes widened a little, and a smirk slowly built up on his lips. "No bodily harm, then, Dad?"

Poseidon felt the exactly same sinister smirk appear on his lips at the quick uptake of his Heir. "Exactly."

Triton then laughed, an eerie laugh that would have Ares himself run for the hills. "That I can do. I'll give you a good show then." And with a glint of sadism present in his now blue-green eyes, he waved his hand, and the rainbow disappeared, leaving Poseidon to look at the horizon in his altered temple, and smirk dangerously. The punk better be ready. If he fails to impress Triton, he'll have better luck convincing Zeus that he isn't perfect than to convince him to let him date his daughter.

Hades sighed a little, drumming his fingers on the armrest of his throne in an irritable manner. Another day, another massive headache to endure. Already, he's been called to different parts of the Underworld to deal with the various problems. Not only were the said problems of minimal concerns, but the headache that the blasted traffic he had to endure was definitely no picnic. And it's only the middle of the day. Joy.

"You look irritable, Hades."

Hades' eyes widened as he straightened involuntarily at that voice. What was she doing here? And as if on cue, a blinding flash of light had appeared in front of him, and materialized a woman with long raven hair, and sparkling blue eyes filled with joy. "Surprise, Hades."

"Aunt Aphrodite. What are you doing here? Does anyone know you've snuck out again?" Hades had risen from his throne as Aphrodite gracefully glided to him, arms wide open. Aphrodite just winked and hugged Hades, with Hades returning the hug.

"Don't worry, Hades. I'm not in trouble."

And Hades, being the observant god that he was, raised an eyebrow at her. "Yet someone knows you've snuck out again."

Aphrodite just giggled as she released him from her hug. Immediately as he was released, Hades snapped his fingers, making an exact replica of the Love Goddess' throne on Olympus appear beside his, usually where he would materialize Hestia's. The only difference with the throne was that when the original was covered with roses only, this one included the thorns, making Aphrodite mentally smirk at Hades' observance. However lovely a rose is, one must never ignore it has thorns, unless you want to be reminded of them painfully. She just smiled at her nephew as she sat down gracefully. "You never were as ignorant on word play as Zeus was."

"And still is, Aunt. Still is." Hades rolled his eyes at her statement as he sat on his own throne and faced her. "Now, are we going to continue the pleasantries, or shall you divulge what has happened for you to have snuck out of Olympus while Zeus is still having his apoplectic fit over his precious Bolt?"

Aphrodite just giggled at the mock scowl Hades had decorated his face in. "Oh shush, Hades. Is that how you greet your favorite aunt when you see her for Fates' know how long?"

"I seem to recall that you're my only aunt that is currently not found down in Tartarus." Hades deadpanned, making Aphrodite giggle at him.

"You know, Hades, Poseidon said the exact same thing."

"Fates forbid." Hades actually looked a little scared at that.

"Yes, yes. You'll gladly let Cerberus eat your head once you find any resemblance with yourself to your brothers. You do realize that you call them brothers for a reason, right?"

"And I abhor the exact same reason, Aunt."

Aphrodite's smile vanished as her eyes darkened into a midnight blue. "I really despise the one who gave that blasted Prophecy. Else, your loving father wouldn't have gotten it into his head to castrate my darling father. No. He'd be spoiled and pampered to his black heart's content. That pompous fool would have been father's favorite."

"Now, now, we mustn't wish that. How else would you have been born if it wasn't for that particular Prophecy?"

"Normally."

Hades just smirked. "Normal is overrated, dear Aunt."

"Better overrated than born out of your father's genitals." Aphrodite harrumphed at that. Hades just smirked and titled his head to her in acknowledgement of her statement. Though, the next second, his smirk widened even further.

"And don't think you changing the topic would make me forget about my question, dearest Aunt."

Aphrodite had pouted at that. "Oh, poo. You noticed."

Hades just chuckled, amused at her antics. Yet his eyes held a glint in them that told Aphrodite Hades still wanted to know.

"Hephaestus knows. He's covering for me." She smiled a little at the thought of her husband back at Olympus. She really couldn't believe that she had glossed over him in favor of Ares. Oh, how blind she was back then.

"It's nice to know that you've finally acknowledged Hephaestus worthy of you, and that pathetic excuse for a god a complete waste of your time."

"I tried to salvage our relationship, but he was the one who wouldn't budge on the subject. Long story short, I found Hephaestus more suited to my needs. My real needs."

Hades nodded, looking faintly proud. "I'm glad you've found your peace."

"I am too."

A few minutes had passed by in comfortable silence before Aphrodite had looked at Hades, mischief sparkling in her eyes. Hades took one look at her and promptly groaned. "Let's get whatever you've got running in your head out, Aunt, before you blow up my palace."

"I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Do you remember last Spring?"

"But that was just an accident! Besides, Minos was asking for it!"

"You've scarred Megaera permanently! She needed therapy to resume her job at the Fields of Punishment! She had never even imagined that particular use of a burnt grilled potato, and that's saying something because she handles the more gruesome punishments for infidelity! Even Thanatos had expressed his fear of you! Besides, Minos is already incorporeal. How you did that, even I don't have a clue!"

"I shoved it that far?" Hades' groan was all the answer she got.

"Oh, don't worry, Hades. I was only going to ask you what you thought of my dear friend up there." She then motioned to the conjured bonfire in the center of the room. Hades removed his hand from the bridge of his nose to look at Aphrodite with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm afraid dearest Hestia wasn't too careful with her exits from Olympus. I had to make sure she was relatively unmissed whenever she made her visits here."

"I see. I shall have to remind her that discretion must be her first priority. No matter how badly she wants to see me, it wouldn't be worth it for her to be in trouble." Aphrodite smiled at his concern. Really now. Hades was just adorable with his concern. And as if he read her mind, Hades had faced her with a raised eyebrow. "No, Aunt. I am absolutely not adorable, no matter what you and Hestia say."

Aphrodite giggled at that. "Yes, yes. But, really, Hades, what do you think of my dear friend up there?"

"She intrigues me. She clearly is her father's brood, as unpredictable as him, but she has inherited his mind as well. Unlike all previous ones before her." Hades rolled his eyes at that.

"Hmm. I think it has something to do with her mother. Besides, have you seen how he treasures her above anyone else? Triton is the same. They worship her to the degree of obsession. There is something special about her. Even someone as thick-headed as Ares recognized that, although he also made that utterly foolish move."

"Yes, we can all count on the buffoon to bring us some sort of entertainment once in a while."

Aphrodite just giggled a little at Hades as he rolled his eyes in utter exasperation. "Yes, well. I'm certainly glad that I've gotten rid of that so called buffoon before he inflicted me with the same disease, then?"

"As you should, Aunt. As you should."

Aphrodite had opened her mouth to banter back, but a rainbow had suddenly materialized in front of the two gods, prompting them to look. The rainbow then showed the face of a handsome man with brown hair and smoldering brown eyes. "Aphrodite, I'm sorry to cut your chat short, but Zeus has called you. It seems that he has a slight problem with his wardrobe. Apparently, someone thought it fit to curse all of his suits to transform into grass skirts and coconut bras."

Aphrodite laughed a little at the mental image, but then nodded to the image in front of them. "Alright. Tell him I'll be right over. I'm just touching up my make-up, alright?" She gave a wink which had the man fighting off the upward twitch of his lips.

"Alright." The man in the rainbow then turned to Hades, then nodded. "Good to see you, Uncle." By then, Hades' mind had already supplied him the identity of the only person who should have known where Aphrodite was, although his appearance had radically changed since the last time he had seen him. Aphrodite must've done something.

"Likewise, Hephaestus." The God of Forges then nodded, and the rainbow disappeared in a flash of mist.

Aphrodite then stood up, stretching gracefully. "Well, it looks like my time has been cut short, probably by the two troublemakers currently obsessed with altering everyone's dress choices. They altered Artemis' into risqué versions of Santa Claus costumes last I heard."

"How are they even alive?" Hades asked, an eyebrow raised in incredulity as he snapped his fingers and made the Aphrodite's throne disappear.

Aphrodite's blue eyes twinkled with mirth. "Demeter told me they hid behind Poseidon."

"Ah. That explains it." Hades deadpanned. Aphrodite just giggled at him.

"Well, Hades, I have to go now. Wouldn't want Zeus to have a bigger tantrum that what he's currently at, yes?" Aphrodite then blew him a kiss and gave a flirtatious wave as she shimmered from view.

Hades just sighed and leaned back on his throne. He honestly didn't expect Aphrodite to come barging in now of all days. Well, her visit had only highlighted the topic that seems to be always on his mind these past few days. He then stared at the bonfire, reminded of how utterly close his niece had come to finding his most precious kept secret. As she had found the Hotel in the first place was indicative of her strong scent that the Lotus Eaters themselves were interested in her. And yet, she wasn't ready. Sure, he could dump all of this onto her shoulders even before she's ready, but he's fairly sure, that with her attitude, that she would do this with a heavy and reluctant heart.

The Lord of the Underworld's eyes gleamed at that thought. No. He would stick to his original plan. He had already informed Tisiphone to put him a block away from the entrance to his kingdom. The girl has to pass this test first, before anything else; before he reveals his true face to her. He smirked. How will she react when she's facing her own half brother, the half brother that tried to kill another of her half brothers?

"Is the coast clear?"

"No one in sight. All clear."

"Alright. Quietly, now. Quietly."

Two figures quietly crept towards the looming oak door entrance to the Council Throne Room. Both were fidgety, looking at every direction every second, as if afraid something, or someone would jump out of the shadows and put them through rigorous punishments. As they reached the door, they quickly opened it and let it shut, with the two of them bracing it with their backs as they heaved a simultaneous relieved sigh.

"Hiding from someone?"

The two froze at the sound of a distinctive male voice. As they looked up, they unfroze in relief as they spotted the smirking face of Poseidon and the half reprimanding, half amused face of Hestia.

"Yes, boys. DO tell what you've done now." Hestia sighed as Apollo and Hermes unstuck themselves from the door.

"Would you believe us if we told you we didn't do anything?" Apollo asked, pulling off his best smile and puppy dog eyes.

"That look stopped working a thousand years ago, Apollo." Poseidon smirked as Apollo grumbled lowly.

"Well, couldn't hurt to try." Hermes lightly smirked as he patted Apollo on the back in comfort. As the two gods sat on their thrones, Poseidon then raised an eyebrow at them, prompting Apollo and Hermes to look at each other and grimace.

"Weeeeeeelllll." Apollo stalled.

"Just tell us." Hestia sighed as she stood up from her seat in front of the fire and put both her hands on her hips.

"We sort of replaced Father's wardrobe." Hermes smiled nervously.

Poseidon and Hestia looked at each other and laughed. Hard.

"Tell me you've gotten him the same outfit as Artemis. Please." Poseidon gasped as he roared with laughter.

"Oh, Poseidon, won't Zeus look rather dashing in an elf costume?" Hestia giggled as she imagined the Lord of the Sky grumbling as he's wearing said costume.

Hermes and Apollo looked at each other in bewilderment.

"You two aren't angry?" Hermes cautiously questioned.

Poseidon, if possible, laughed even harder at the question.

Hestia just stifled her giggles as best as she could to answer the two bewildered gods. "We aren't angry, you two. We're just as fed up with your father as you two, it seems."

The two gods gaped at them.

"I think we've broken them, Poseidon." Hestia giggled as Poseidon's laughs finally abated. This was the scene Demeter had flashed into. She raised an eyebrow at the four of them, clearly wondering why Apollo and Hermes were gaping like fishes and Hestia and Poseidon were looking like they wanted to roll on the floor laughing.

"Am I missing something here?" She cautiously questioned as she made her way towards her throne.

"Nothing, Dem. It's just that these two wanted to make it a point to continue replacing people's wardrobes." Hestia giggled. Demeter just raised an eyebrow at her before understanding flashed in her eyes.

"Ah. You mean Zeus' horrified cry awhile ago?" She asked as she sat on her throne, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Yes. And these two can't believe that we're not angry at them." Poseidon chuckled, wiping away his tears of mirth.

"Well, we do have sense of humors," Demeter looked at the two younger gods in amusement. "We just don't like being humiliated in front of Zeus, that's all."

"Well, seeing as we're here and all, why don't we arrange for ourselves to be pranked? You know Zeus won't take it well if he's the only one to be humiliated." Hestia's eyes glimmered with mirth.

"I always wanted to see myself wearing spy gear." Poseidon winked at the two, who snapped out of their gawking and looked at each other in bewilderment.

"And Demeter would look lovely in one of those puffy lacey dresses, don't you think?" Hestia's eyes were sparkling as she looked at Demeter's slightly nervous face. Though, it was immediately replaced by a smirk as she looked at Hestia with a glint in her eyes.

"I'll agree if you can dress Hestia in one of those bunny suits."

The gleeful faces of the two pranksters, and the slightly horrified faces Hestia and Poseidon were exchanging with each other were glorious.

"I agree. Hestia would look adorable in that."

All of them swiveled towards the sound of the voice, were a flash of energy appeared and out of it came a smiling Hera.

"I'll agree if Hera goes as a rockstar." Hestia quickly bargained. Hera just smirked at them.

"I agree."

As the Queen of Heaven took her seat at her throne, Demeter smiled at her. "You're cheerful today, Hera."

Hera just smirked and looked directly at the two younger gods. "Of course. The prank you did was delicious. Zeus' face will stay in my memory for eternity. Thank you."

The two gods just looked at each other. Hermes stood up. "Err, will it be okay if I faint now?" At the others' indulgent gazes, Hermes looked at Apollo pleadingly. "Catch me." He then fainted gracefully into Apollo's frantic arms.

"Well, Hermes seems to have inherited Zeus' flair for dramatics." Poseidon smirkingly said.

"Don't be mean, Poseidon. Hermes can't help who he's related to." Hera smirked at Apollo, making the Sun God blink rapidly.

"Alright, who are you people, and what have you done with my family?"

The four elder gods looked at Apollo and laughed. Even Hera. Once the four of them had finished, Apollo was rubbing his eyes and pinching himself, thinking he was dreaming.

"Apollo, we're not impostors. It's just you've done what all of us wanted to do for a very long time." Hestia smiled serenely at the confused Sun God.

"What? Replace Father's wardrobe with coconut bras and grass skirts?" Apollo blurted out, making the others have another round of laughter.

"Oh, dear Fates, you did that!? HAHAHAHA!"

"My sides! My sides hurt, Hestia!"

"Ha! Serves the bastard right!"

"Good job, Apollo!"

"I'm dreaming then." Apollo deadpanned.

"No, dear, you're not." Demeter kindly gasped, recovering from the stitch on her side.

"No. Even back then, we wanted to knock Zeus down a couple of pegs. We were merely considerate of Hera. The five of us had a decent relationship with one another, with us growing up together inside Father's stomach." Hestia forced out a smile at the last part.

"We weren't this callous because we knew that no matter how much of a bastard Zeus was, he's still Hera's husband." Poseidon claimed as he slouched back on his throne with a relaxed smile.

"But now that I'm finally gaining a backbone, no more." Hera's eyes flashed with power at her statement.

"About time, too, Hera. I was already wondering on how I can kill him without upsetting you." Demeter unabashedly confessed. "Honestly, I hate him more than I hate Hades."

"Oh? Really now." Hestia said, eyebrows raised.

"Yes. I know that while my dear Persephone could come to me for half the year, Hera has no escape routes." Demeter's face scrunched up in pain as she mentioned Persephone's stipulations.

"Yes, well, we all know Hades is more reasonable than Zeus ever was." Poseidon helpfully pointed out.

A chorus of agreements was voiced out even as a flash of energy materialized near the door. Once the light disappeared, Zeus stood there in all of his glory, surveying the present gods with an air of superiority. Raising an eyebrow at Hermes' prone state, he then promptly strode to his throne, sitting down amidst the sight crackle in the air. Poseidon just massaged his temple, while the three goddesses just closed their eyes in resignation. Apollo shut his gaping mouth at that.

"Why is Hermes on the floor?" Zeus raised an eyebrow at Apollo.

"I'll do something about it." The Sun God sighed as he bent down on the prone form of his brother. He then whispered something in his ear. Moments later, Hermes had shot up, grabbed Apollo's shirt and started to shake him vigorously.

"No, you won't, Apollo! You already have your Maserati! Don't take my shoes too!"

A pointed cough stopped his a***e of his brother, who already started to turn blue, and clued the Messenger God in that they weren't alone. Hermes, wide-eyed, slowly tilted his head to the side, cringing slightly when his eyes caught the reprimanding stormy grey eyes of his father. He then cleared his throat, let go of Apollo and sat on his throne, promptly deciding to act like nothing happened. Though, a second later, he looked at Zeus again and blinked rapidly. He then looked at Apollo with a raised eyebrow, but Apollo, who by now was panting and regaining enough oxygen to be at a normal color, just shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.

The other gods except Zeus were literally trying not to laugh at the pranksters' confusion. Thankfully, before they could be noticed, Aphrodite and a shockingly familiar man had flashed into the room, gaining all of their attention. Aphrodite was beaming as she tugged on the hand of a handsome man, who shockingly bore a strong resemblance to the God of Forges.

"Hephaestus?" Hera gasped faintly, her chocolate brown eyes welling up with tears as she gazed at her son. Not Zeus'. No. After Athena, he never wanted another child born in the first place. That's why he tricked her.

Hephaestus turned his own smoldering brown eyes to his mother, and for the first time in the thousands of years he'd known her, he could finally read the emotions flitting past her now unguarded eyes. He aimed a small nod at her, intending to let her know he wants to talk, prompting her to swallow her sobs and nod back in return. Maybe. Just maybe, it was time to make peace with her.

Before anyone could comment on his change in appearance, though, Artemis and Dionysus had flashed in the room, making everyone curb their tongues as Zeus cleared his throat.

"I already took the liberty of knowing about Ares and Athena, and it seems that the both of them still won't attend our meetings." Zeus thundered, making everyone groan at his blatant favoritism. If it as anyone else other than Hera herself, they would surely feel Zeus' wrath.

Zeus pretended to not hear them as he looked at Hestia imperiously, which had the gentle goddess sighing as she snapped her fingers, making the bubble surrounding the fire pop, and the smoke that had accumulated rise up and condense, showing Luke charming the driver of their taxi.

"Los Angeles, my good man." "That's three hundred miles. You gotta pay up front."

"How, exactly, would they pay for that, seeing as they left everything up on the Lotus Hotel." Demeter asked, though she got her answer when Luke handed over the green Lotus Card. "How much-?"

"Knowing the Lotus Eaters, as much as possible." Poseidon shrugged as they watched the meter stop at the infinity symbol.

Hermes looked at Apollo with a slowly increasing grin. "Dibs on Percy's Lotus Card!"

"Dibs on Ethan's and Grover's, then!"

As Hermes was about to go off, Aphrodite helpfully pointed out an important fact. "That is, if they don't give it to their parents first. Or, in Grover's case, Dionysus."

The two gods looked at each other, then looked at Aphrodite with considering looks. "As for Percy, I think she will." Hermes shrugged.

"Ethan would probably save his for his parent, too." Apollo nodded sagely. But then both of them took one look at a bored looking Dionysus and looked back at Aphrodite, both deadpanning and waving their hands in a negligent manner.

"We'll stick with Grover's card then."

The others laughed as Dionysus pinned the two troublemakers with an annoyed look. "Would you like to experience each other's lives in each other's bodies?"

"Ooooh! Please do! I still have to win that bet with Hebe!" Hermes nodded, bouncing up and down as the others, including Apollo, stared at him in confusion. Hermes noticed this and just smirked.

"Oh, now I'm curious. What bet did you do that requires you to change minds with Apollo?" Artemis raised an eyebrow at him. If possible, Hermes smirk grew even wider, and Apollo couldn't help but shudder at the implications.

"Well, Hebe might have been wondering why in Hades were there so many women, mortal or not, who wanted a piece of Apollo. Soooo, I tried to get a picture of- mmmmph!" Before Hermes could continue, Apollo had immediately pieced together what Hermes was hinting at and promptly slapped his own hand on Hermes' mouth, muffling the Messenger God's words.

"Oh? Please, do continue. I'm listening." Artemis smirked as she relaxed on her throne, eyes flashing with glee.

"Oh, no. No, no, NO. He isn't going to say anything." Apollo laughed uneasily, tightening his grip on his brother's mouth. Hermes, meanwhile, was struggling wildly, gesturing to his chest.

"Apollo, Hermes can't breathe." Demeter sighed as Apollo reflexively let go of his brother, who promptly yelled out what Apollo didn't want him to say.

"Hebe and I bet on Apollo's size!"

Silence fell after Hermes' statement. Then, all of a sudden, giggles had erupted from Artemis, prompting the others, except Zeus and Apollo, to start laughing uproariously.

"You know, I'll find a way to kill you for this, bro." Apollo's eyebrows were twitching as he crossed his legs together, glaring at the room in whole before landing his frigid gaze on his sheepish brother.

"Sorry." Hermes said, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh, for Fates' sake, stop chattering! I didn't hear a word of what the demigods were saying!" Zeus snapped, which instantly halted the laughter. The Lord of the Sky then looked pointedly at the bonfire, while the others just shook their heads. By this time, the smoke had cleared, so Hestia snapped her fingers, making the fire emit smoke. The smoke condensed to show Percy and her friends on a beach that looked like Miami.

"Why are they there, exactly?" Hephaestus questioned the room at large, only for most of the room to shrug at him. In turn, he turned to the one most likely to have an answer to his question, only for the God of Forges to raise an eyebrow at the almost sinister look Poseidon had. He looked at Aphrodite, only to find her shaking her head in exasperation. He caught her eyes and she mouthed two words: Spanish Inquisition. Hephaestus quietly snorted. Well, now he really wanted to see what happened.

Seemingly as one, the gods gasped as ripples upon ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the water in front of the demigods, growing larger and larger, indicating that something is fast approaching the surface. And as mermen slowly appeared, everyone save Zeus, who was scowling, was gaping at Poseidon, who was now cackling and rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"Now, what have you done, Poseidon?" Hestia sighed as the Sea God's sisters sighed in exasperation, while Zeus maintained a haughty, reprimanding air around him.

"What every parent would do." Somehow, his words really weren't that reassuring for Hermes, Poseidon's evil grin nonwithstanding.

"Presenting, Lord Triton, God of Tides, Prince of Atlantis, Heir to the Throne, Commander of the Atlantian Army! All hail Lord Triton!"

"Is Luke going to live after this?" Hermes whimpered.

"I did talk to Tyche, Bro. Besides, Luke's your son. He must've inherited something other than your looks, right?" Apollo smiled nervously, looking like he was convincing himself just as much. Hey. Luke wasn't his kid, but he was his favorite among Hermes' brood, including the Stoll brothers.

"Brother?" "PERCY!"

"Like father, like son." Demeter sighed.

"Oh dear. Shall I warn the women?" Hestia sweetly asked, blinking innocently.

"Yes, I'm afraid you should, Hestia. Fates know what havoc Triton has and will do if otherwise." Hera gave off a long-suffering sigh at that, to the irritation of Poseidon, and the amusement of the younger gods in attendance.

"Oh no! Galene! Erato! Come here and help the princess!"

"I have to hand it to Triton. He sure knows how to lie effectively." Artemis pointed out as the two Nereids he summoned appeared before Percy before dragging her a ways away from the others. "I mean, it's kind of obvious he's just looking for a reason for her not to be present when he chews out her friends."

"Hestia dear, can the projection be focused on Triton for now?" Hera suggested as Poseidon hurriedly nodded his head in agreement. Hestia just shook her head exasperatedly as she snapped her fingers, immediately refocusing on Triton.

The Prince of Atlantis then turned a gimlet eye on the three remaining questers. He then looked straight at Ethan, whose grey eyes widened a little at the intense stare. "You. Your name and parentage."

Ethan gulped a little before answering in a slightly wavering voice. "Ethan Nakamura, Lord Triton. Parentage is unknown."

Triton raised a finely shaped eyebrow at that before snapping his fingers impatiently. Instantly, the herald moved from his position to stand slightly behind Triton. "Your Majesty?"

"What does our scryer say about this demigod's parent?"

The herald then quickly materialized a clipboard out of water and began hurriedly flipping over the papers it held before stopping on a certain page. "She said that it was most certain that his parent is one of the more controversial goddesses. Either Hecate, Eris or Nemesis."

"The three misunderstood goddesses." Triton then narrowed his gaze at the brunette, making Ethan flinch slightly. "Tell me, young demigod, what are you to my sister?"

"She is special to me, Lord." Ethan confessed. "I would do anything and everything just to protect her, but I'm sure that I don't have any romantic feelings for her."

Triton stared at him hard for the next few seconds before nodding slightly, drawing out a relieved sigh from the brunette. "I see. Her Moirail. Very well. I trust that you would not put her deliberately in harm's way." Triton then focused his attention on Grover, making the satyr's legs start shaking. "But that trust does not yet extend to you, satyr." Luke was opening his mouth angrily, but Ethan's steady hand clamped down on his shoulder, urging him to keep quiet.

Grover, meanwhile, looked pretty close to fainting. "Lord Triton, I-."

"You have once proven yourself to be unreliable in protecting a child of one of the Big Three. You have also proven that you are incapable of heeding what you are instructed to do. Now tell me, satyr, why should I trust my sister, who is my most precious person aside from my father, to you?" Triton's sharp words cut through the group with unrestrained fury. With every word, Grover's head went lower and lower so that his curly hair covered his expression.

When Grover didn't say anything for a few more minutes, Triton's eyes sharpened. "I see that I was ri-."

"No!" Grover had looked up, revealing his angry but determined stare. "Percy is one of the people who continually believed in me even though she knows I'm such a failure! Yes, I know she knows! I mean, how could she not? She's as clever as any of Athena's children!" He continued on despite the obvious tightening of Triton's lips at the mention of the Wisdom Goddess. "And she doesn't care that I was such a failure in the past! She still believes in me and I would do anything to protect her! Anything! I know I'm a coward, and that I should have probably never given another chance at obtaining a license, but she believed in me and gave me that chance! And I won't waste it by being a coward! I'll protect her and be there as her loyal friend, even if being a friend means braving the Underworld for a quest!" Grover was heaving as he finished his diatribe, his face flushed a little as the lack of air caught up with him, though his face turned a violent shade of magenta once the implications of what he did rammed into his brain. Though, before he could stammer out a word, Triton had nodded, smiling.

"That's the protector I wanted to see. My sister was right in believing in you, young satyr."

At his words, Grover had gaped before nodding slowly, which gained him another smile from the Heir to Atlantis before his gaze slid to Luke, and all of his good humor vanished in the blink of an eye.

"And you, Son of Hermes. I know of your intentions, and I assure you, they are as far from pure as possible." Luke was opening his mouth but Triton held up a hand. "No. You listen to what I'm saying. My sister, to me and my father, is the most perfect female in this entire world. She is kind, beautiful, smart, gracious and everything you can think of. She is by far one of the most powerful demigods to have ever graced this pitiful world. Furthermore, she is, as of now, the only one who could fulfill the Great Prophecy. So why should I entrust her with a weak man such as you, Son of Hermes?"

Luke looked livid, but took a deep breath and gamely looked Triton straight in the eye. "Look, Lord Triton. I mean no disrespect, but frankly, you don't know me. For example, I know you're anticipating me spouting off nonsense that I'm as powerful and as deserving of Percy, but you're wrong. In fact, let me be the one to tell you that I KNOW I don't deserve someone like Percy. She's everything a guy would want on a girl and more. Why should an ordinary guy like me get someone like her? What did I do to deserve her?" Here, Luke's eyes glazed a bit, and a small smile appeared on his face. "But the thing is, whether I think that I deserve her or not, she seems to think that I might be the one who can stand by her side. I don't know what I did to earn that kind of favor from the Fates themselves, but she deemed me worthy. And just for choosing me, I'll forever support her in anything. Even when she gets tired of me and finds another, I'll gladly stay by her side, even if it means that I'll have to watch her with someone else." Luke then snapped out of his daydream and once more stared hard at Triton. "I know I'm not worthy of somebody like Percy, but damn all to Tartarus if I don't make a striving effort of being close enough to perfect for her."

Triton's eyes narrowed at Luke, while Ethan was trying very hard not to let his laughter out, and Grover looked like he wanted to be as far away from Luke as possible for the imminent explosion. What the three didn't expect was Triton to laugh uproariously.

"You'll do, Son of Hermes. You'll do." Triton then clapped Luke's shoulder, hard. Luke, to the amazement of the others watching, didn't budge, and just smirked.

"Well. I didn't know one of yours had it in him to admit that he would never be as good as a girl, Hermes." Artemis smirked, internally jumping in ecstasy at what Luke said. Now, she only had to wait until a son of Apollo said something similar and she would be set with blackmail material for at least a century! Or maybe on Ethan. Whichever one comes first.

"I never knew someone with Hermes' blood can be that humble." Demeter admitted.

"In retrospect, I can't believe a man would say that in front of his interest's older brother." Aphrodite pointed out.

"Well, we just saw proof that this particular demigod is rather different than most, don't you think?" Hestia's eyes were burning cheerfully as she gazed at the stony countenance of the Sea God. Oh, he might look upset, but she knew that he was reeling in surprise and slight admiration right about now. So when Poseidon met her gaze, she gave him an encouraging smile he just nodded to and returned his slightly glazed eyes to the bonfire. "My congratulations, Hermes. You've fathered an incredible young man."

"Don't congratulate me, Auntie. He did it all by himself." Hermes smiled, pride shining brightly in his blue eyes.

"If Percy doesn't want him, do you think I could sick one of my own daughters on him?" Apollo mused.

"Over my dead body, Apollo! No one separates this couple!" Aphrodite laughed, but her blue eyes conveyed seriousness.

"Let's focus on Percy again, Aunt Hestia." Hephaestus quietly requested. Hestia nodded and snapped her fingers once more, making the projection center around Percy, thus gaining the focus of the others. This time, the four of them were wandering around Los Angeles, desperately looking for the entrance to the Underworld under the rapidly darkening sky.

"Oh dear. Have we argued that long?" Demeter queried, looking at her surroundings in faint shock.

"I suppose we did, sister." Hera shook her head in resignation.

"Oh dear." Aphrodite gasped as they watched the four questers blocked by unsavory characters.

Hestia flashed to Poseidon's side and laid a comforting hand on his arm, making Poseidon unclench his hands from their crushing grips on his throne's armrests. "I'm sure they'll figure out something, Poseidon."

"Sorry, but we're in kind of a hurry." "Aww. We just want to make friends with you, especially the cutie. Don't you want to be friends?" "Don't touch her."

"Well now. It seems I have to thank Triton for his work. My little cowardly satyr finally developed a spine." Dionysus nodded to Poseidon, who grimaced a little and nodded stiffly, still tensed about Percy's safety.

"I think we lost them."

"Thank the Fates for small favors." Poseidon sighed, relieved.

"Lost who?"

"Err, Uncle, I think they have bigger fish to fry." Apollo cringingly pointed out, recognizing the, err, person, standing behind the demigods.

Poseidon whimpered as the projection showed an aged, but definitely still recognizable Procrustes leering over the questers. "What is he doing there? Was his 'time of death' shortened because he did a favor for Hades?" He groaned.

"We shall never know, I'm afraid." Aphrodite pointed out, but her eyes glimmered knowingly for a few seconds before adopting a worried shine.

"Aaaaaand he's now offering them beds. Wonderful." Apollo grimaced as he watched Hermes panic at the corner of his eye at 'Crusty'.

"This is my most prized model! Million-Hand Massage! Go on, try it! Don't be shy!" "Million-Hand Massage, come to papa! This is so relaxing!"

"Great. More work to pound the idiocy out of him, I suppose." Dionysus sighed as he slouched further on his throne, slightly grimacing at Grover's blatant idiocy.

"One cannot change instantaneously, Dionysus. Be glad that he's making the effort to change." Hestia reminded gently as she patted Poseidon's arm in comfort as the Sea God whimpered with worry. Though, his whimper quickly changed into hysterics once 'Crusty' had successfully pinned the three boys on three beds, and was now aiming for his precious daughter.

"No, no no! PERCY!"

"Poseidon, don't rip off your hair. You'll get bald spots." Hestia gently removed the Sea God's clenched hands away from his abused hair.

"Well, at least your daughter had inherited your brains, Uncle." Hephaestus smiled as Percy quite subtly manipulated her half-sibling exactly like Theseus had done all those years ago.

"Yes. And with her knowledge in mythology, I think she's got the handle in this situation." Artemis smirked, glad for another reason why she absolutely adored her little cousin. If this keeps up, she'll secure her own safety against pranks for at least a thousand years!

"You drive a hard bargain, missy! I'll give you a discount on all selected floor models!" "Hmm. I think I'll start at the top, then."

"She definitely has your cheek." Demeter laughed.

"Among other things." Poseidon sighed as he unclenched his vice-like grip on his throne.

Hestia just smiled as she once again covered the bonfire with a bubble. "We have been here for quite some time now. I suggest we adjourn." As the others nodded and flashed away, Hestia just giggled at what happened. 'I wonder how Hades would react.' And with that happy thought, she resumed her duties as Tender of the Hearth.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it! This wasn't supposed to be happening. He was still supposed to be respected as a powerful god in the Council, still have a trophy girl that cheating on her bastard of a husband AND fantasizing about that powerful bastard child of his uncle! But NO! Everything fell apart! He stupidly forgot that the others would all be watching the Sea-Brat so everyone saw what he did! Aphrodite broke up with him because of that! Now, he was certain all of the others were currently laughing at him for being humiliated like that! Everything's ruined!

No. Everything's not ruined. It could still be fixed. It could all be fixed, if he followed them. They promised to make everything better. He could believe them.

Decision made, he stopped trashing his temple like he had been doing these past few days, ever since he'd been shamed by flirting with the Sea-Brat. Come to think of it, he thought, the brat's not half bad looking. He smirked as he plopped down on the floor of his temple. Yeah. He could use a replacement for Aphrodite, after all. He closed his eyes, his smirk not disappearing as he drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, as he dreamed of luscious skin, long raven hair and green eyes that were as defiant as the sea, someone exited his temple, satisfied. The person mentally snorted as she shook her head. This was as easy as taking candy from a baby- a dumb, spoiled baby