PLEASE READ THIS, THE SECOND BOLD PART = NOT IMPORTANT, THIS IS. I am really busy guys, so I am sad to say that I won't have that much time to update, if I have any at all. So for now, all my stories are on hiatus. If people really ask me to continue something, I will try, but I won't promise anything. But, I have found some stories that you can read while ( and also after) mine are on Hiatus; I fell from heaven is a very talented writer and I happen to enjoy her stories. They never fail to make me laugh/ they are well-written, so I advise you to try them.

I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians. I never have, I never will ( sadly) and never should. Because really, the only way I could own it was by travelling back in time and writing it before Rick Riordan and I would rather not accidently destroy myself or doing something equally stupid in the past.

This is the third and final chapter of Lost , the original idea of Hunter10600, and I hope all of you will like it!

Oh and just a few explanations; the light I am writing about later in the chapter, is like magic, healing energy. It's a little bit like in avatar where Katara ( or other waterbenders) heal people. But instead of using glowing water, it is just magical energy not unlike the sun rays. You could also think of Tangled and that magic flower that makes Gothel young again/ heals Finn.

Athena, by the way, is uncharacteristically nice and almost human in this chapter, for two reasons; A- she is in love and people in love often get nice ( even when their better half has disappeared and is possibly being tortured and B; Annabeth and Percy have been living with her long enough that they aren't intimidated that much by her anymore and she actually cares a lot about them and feels comfortable talking to them/ occasionally sharing her feelings.

And I imagine Annabeth would be freakishly scary if Percy was hurt really badly again and someone that could possibly help him would be fooling around or wasting time.

Oh and I got the exploding rock thing partly from my geography lessons [ basically the only thing I remember] and partly from this site; . /bitesize/ks3/science/environment_earth_universe/rock_cycle/revision/6/ .

Also, I know very little of weddings and stuff, so that part might not be very accurate. You are warned!

Enjoy!

By three methods we may learn wisdom; First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest ; and third by experience, which is the bitterest- Confusius.

She was in a meeting when it happened. Another meeting that was about the possibility of a war, that was all about techniques, weaponry and how to defend Olympus. Another meeting where Poseidon's throne caught her eyes every few second , despite her best efforts to avoid exactly that.

She was discussing all kind of subjects reaching from warfare to mundane pleasantries when it was announced.

It was the second meeting in six years that came with an arduous message, the second meeting where she was shocked and the second meeting that had her pale and shaking. It was also the first meeting in her entire life that she left, the first time she didn't keep her composure, didn't even attempt to.

Her body acted before her mind had allowed it to. One moment, she was bending over the gargantuan table with the projection of the globe hovering over it , discussing the activities the exact replica of the real globe showed. The next moment, the door opened and let weary and grim Hermes in.

Everything from that moment , was only parts of memories; his mouth opening, the message, the shocked faces and gasps, her father's deep timbre growing fainter and fainter when she started shaking with suppressed fury and a whole range of indefinable emotions, a screech like that of a Banshee's that she didn't even notice came from her mouth and her father shouting her name as she ran away.

She wanted to really run away; to run away from all the pain, the sadness, the fear. She wanted to run away from all those emotions that threatened to overwhelm her, emotions she didn't fully comprehend. She wanted to run away from responsibilities, from being someone she no longer felt she was and throw herself in his arms. She wanted Poseidon back, wanted him to smile at her and make her feel calm and happy once again.

Most of all, she wanted to know.

She wanted to know so many things, had more unanswered questions than should be possible. She wanted to know who they were, wanted to know if he would come back, wanted to know if he felt just as incomplete and lifeless as she did.

She just wanted this entire situation to be resolved.

Athena started running even faster, her own turmoil of emotions spurring her one like nothing else could.

She didn't just feel sad and concerned the entire time, she also felt angry. Angry at her dad for not doing anything, angry at herself for not anticipating this, angry at herself for even caring, angry at Poseidon for disappearing and making her feel so confused and more horrible than she could ever remember feeling…

Even she, goddess of wisdom, couldn't stop herself from feeling this way while she ran towards another disaster, towards another reason for her to actually feel and not just experience.

She closed the distance between her and her destination and didn't slow down when she saw the doors. She merely ran faster and the doors automatically opened, recognizing her. She still didn't stop, didn't pay attention to anything, but the chamber she wanted to be; the one that served as a small hospital.

It was in the back of her house, for which Athena cursed herself now- why didn't she have the common sense to place it near the doors?-, and Athena still didn't slow down. She only slowed down when she saw the white doors with the symbol of Athens on them, so she could push them open.

The people inside the room stared at her when she burst in and why wouldn't they? She did look very different from the normally composed and calm woman she was supposed to be; her black hair was falling from the ponytail it had been trapped in, her eyes were stormy grey with burst veins glowing golden and the expression on her face was pretty much indescribable.

Although insane would probably come close.

Athena was as surprised as the other inhabitants of the room when she yelled " PERCY!" in a panicked tone and threw herself towards the hospital bed on which a pale boy was laying. She paid no attention to the people surrounding him, tending to him, attempting to heal injuries no one knew how to heal. All she cared about right now where the two people in front of her; the sickly pale boy that seemed to be devoid of life and the girl gripping his hand tightly while fighting sobs that threatened to overtake her.

Athena felt nauseous from worry, but also – she was ashamed to admit- fascinated when she saw him. He had two nasty cuts on his cheek that looked like crossed bones, his T-shirt and shoes were melted and glued to his skin. But what fascinated her, was his skin; his skin seemed to have actually melted, some parts were smoking and others blackened. She could only stare as she saw the blood that was on his arms and other places was actually boiling, making small hissing sounds and spreading smoke.

" What on earth happened?" She asked, her voice raw with emotions.

" H-he, they attempted to c-combust him" a small voice suddenly said. It was only then that Athena noticed the person gripping Percy's hands tightly, almost as if said person was drowning and his hands were a lifeline.

She felt decidedly guilty when she looked into the familiar grey eyes that were shimmering with tears.

" Annabeth. Were you with him when the attack happened?" Athena asked, composing herself and pushing any feelings she might have had to the back of her mind. Compassion and pity wouldn't help Percy , nor would it help Annabeth much, right now.

Annabeth nodded, her bottom lip trembling slightly. She had to take a few deep breaths before she could talk. " Y-yes. We returned from visiting Sally and were almost at the building when we heard a scream. Percy, the courageous fool, immediately ran towards it. When I arrived, he was fighting with a vaguely man-shaped cloud that emanated heat. I attempted to aid him, but something struck me from behind and the next thing I knew, was that I was frozen in a block of ice. I couldn't do anything but watch".

Annabeth stopped talking for a moment, to fight the tears that were threatening to spill. She closed her eyes for a moment and was actually shaking with the effort not crying took. Athena patiently waited until Annabeth had composed herself enough to be able to continue.

" I attempted to break free, but nothing worked. I could only watch as Percy fought the strange creature. No matter what he tried, the thing just re-formed and attacked even more fiercely. After some time, another creature appeared. I don't even know where it came from, it suddenly just was there. The cloud burned Percy's sword and he had to drop it. I could actually see blisters appearing where he had held the sword. The other creature used some sort of hook to strike at Percy and managed to strike him a few times. Perce managed to harm him as well though".

Annabeth managed a weak and grim smile. " Percy actually dodged the hook and it came back towards the creature's face. He also kicked him in his stomach, but he couldn't do much more than that. The heat that cloud emanated suddenly intensified a-and- "

Annabeth's voice wavered and looked away , appearing nauseous and shaken. Her grey eyes were blurry with tears she didn't allow to fall and fear.

Athena gently squeezed her hand in order to get Annabeth to look at her. Her daughter obeyed the unspoken command, but wasn't speaking.

" What happened Annabeth? You can tell me".

" I know. It's just, It was". Annabeth sighed. " It was possibly the single most horrific thing I have ever witnessed. That cloud-thing suddenly made this peculiar sound, like bees in a beehive, and the heat was impossible. Really, even I felt it in my protective ice block. And Perce..".

Annabeth gritted her teeth, looking even angrier than sad and nauseous. " He yelled in pain and fright. That cloud covered him and I only saw parts of what happened, but it was more than enough. You could hear his flesh melting and you could smell it, like burned food but only far worse. And his skin was actually moving like there were insects trapped beneath it or something. He started running, slamming into the wall and just.. just trying to make it stop. But it didn't. His skin turned red, then black and you could hear him scream even louder in agony. He was hitting at something invisible and punching. It was like looking at a wild animal, the way he was behaving. The pain must have been arduous for him to behave like that".

" True. Extensive burning like that is one of the most painful- Athena stopped herself when she saw the look in her daughter's eyes. She probably didn't want to know how much exactly it had hurt- never mind. What happened after that?".

Annabeth bit her lip, hard enough to actually draw blood, Athena noticed. " Perce's eyes actually rolled back and he kept screaming and running.. it looked like he was slowly losing his mind or like he was some caged animal. And that thing, the cloud, fucking laughed. Can you imagine it? My boyfriend was being tortured and the thing dared to laugh! I wanted to punch it, but I couldn't, because the damn block of ice still surrounded me, and the thing just kept laughing. It sounded horrible, like the scratching of nails on a chalkboard or a cat screaming or .. I just can't describe it. The thing just kept laughing, Percy was screaming and thrashing around and suddenly Sopatra appeared out of nowhere. I swear, I have never been so glad to see an owl in my entire life".

Athena allowed herself a small smile. She knew it had been a good idea to appoint her favourite owl as Percy's guardian.

" Anyway, Sopatra attacked the creature with the hook-like hand immediately, screeching like a banshee while she did so. He attempted to hit her, but she swiftly moved out of the way and flew towards his eyes. She eventually made this really great move and the thing hit himself with his hook-like hand. She immediately attacked the cloud afterwards. She is immortal, so she just repeated her ferocious attack when the cloud grabbed her and threw her against the wall. I don't know how she managed to avoid being combusted, but-".

" Poseidon" Athena muttered, sighing wistfully.

Annabeth frowned at her mother, both because she didn't understand what Poseidon had to do with it and because her mother was wearing a rather curious expression. If it had been anyone else, she would have thought Athena seemed lovesick.

Athena quickly changed her expression to a calm and slightly concerned one when she saw the way her daughter's eyes were narrowed in suspicion. Attempting very hard to not blush or feel awkward, and not succeeding on the feeling awkward part, she cleared her throat.

" Poseidon somehow managed to make her resistant to fire. It is nearly impossible to combust her or assassinate her in any way. It was an early birthday present to me some time ago".

" You know, now you mention it… You never told how you two became acquainted".

" I never deemed it necessary".

" And now?".

" Why the sudden interest Annabeth? My past has little to do with this, nor has my former relationship with Poseidon".

" I am just wondering what exactly this.. relationship entails".

" And why would you enquire such a thing and what exactly is it supposed to mean?".

" You are the goddess of wisdom, I think you can figure it out. So? ".

"Annabeth, just because you have been residing at my home for-".

" I am your daughter. I believe I deserve to know". The slightly arrogant and determined look wavered for a moment, giving away to the previous sadness and insecurity. " Besides, it might offer a rather welcome distraction from Percy's condition".

Athena briefly considered simply refusing to tell, but decided against it. She did want to tell someone of her inner turmoil, just so she could get it off her chest. And she knew Annabeth wouldn't tell others, or think less of her.

" Well.. " she started, only to realise she had no idea where to even begin describing those emotions that still confused and overwhelmed her. Annabeth waited patiently, apparently guessing the reason behind her mother's hesitance. She didn't have to wait for very long however, for Athena decided straight to the point and bold honesty would work best.

" I suppose there is the possibility that I have become quite enamoured of Poseidon". Okay, so maybe not really straight to the point, but she was the goddess of logic, not the goddess of straightforwardness. Or even a person who felt comfortable discussing these kind of things.

Annabeth seemed only mildly surprised; her eyebrows rose and she studied her mother quietly for a moment, before simply nodding. " I suspected as much. I told myself I was mentally ill or intellectually inept at first, of course, but I started to assume it. So I am not that surprised really".

" Why-".

" why did I surmise you were in love or falling in love?".

When Athena nodded Annabeth continued with a pensive expression on her face, like she was considering the question. " There were little signs from the beginning. On the few meetings before his disappearance, I started to bear witness to those little signs. How your eyes would meet and hold until one of you looked away with a smile. How your arms touched or your hands and you didn't reprimand him or pull away. How you seemed unable to fully hide your emotions for the first time ever and couldn't keep your eyes from sparkling slightly. I even saw you share a brief embrace once".

" You must have put a great deal of time into observing us if you noticed all this".

" Well, meetings are never exactly interesting. But I actually noticed for the first time when I happened to look your way and you were smiling at him, a hair's breadth separating the two of you. I had never seen such a display of emotion on your countenance before. That was stunning".

" It must have, if I truly displayed such uncharacteristic emotions and behaviour. When exactly was this? Surely it wasn't during a meeting".

" Well, it was some time before a meeting. I was early, as usually, and you and Poseidon were both already there. I believe Hermes was as well, but he was quite occupied with arguing with his phone. Anyway, I walked in just in time to bear witness to a beaming smile on your face that was matched with the beaming smile he was wearing. To say I was stunned would be stating the obvious, especially when you laughed about something he said. What really made me wonder if I was dreaming, however, was the part where you attempted to lightly punch him and he caught your hand and pressed a kiss to it. I especially believed it improbable when you blushed bright golden. I didn't even know gods could blush".

" We don't blush often, and especially I tend to avoid such an habit. Did you know by then?".

Athena didn't even try to deny that she had blushed, because she could recall it all perfectly. She could recall his teasing remark, the way his eyes had sparkled, how she had been unable to do something mundane as hiding her own smile and finally, the feeling of these soft, supple lips on her own skin. She could also perfectly recall her breath accelerating slightly, her heart stopping momentarily and the ichor rushing to her cheeks despite her wishes.

She had then known , on a certain level, why she was feeling that, but she had pushed the thought away. Refused to acknowledged it, knowing how much trouble just acknowledging it would cause. How much more difficult being around him would be if she was suddenly aware of the exact colour of his eyes, of his scent, of how pleasant the sensation those supple lips had caused had been.. Refusing to acknowledge those feelings had been so much easier, especially since she didn't precisely know what they were. Or she hadn't , not back then.

When Athena managed to travel back to the present, blinking to get rid of the images of Poseidon and the tears that threatened to fall, she looked into a pair of grey eyes that seemed to look right through her, into her thoughts. Athena had never felt studied like this and Annabeth had never looked more like Athena, Athena thought.

" You didn't even attempt to deny it" she remarked.

Athena shrugged. " I didn't believe denying it would fool you. Besides, I have already admitted to having certain inappropriate emotions regarding Poseidon, haven't I?".

" Why inappropriate?".

" Do the terms maiden, virgin and my dad's enemy sound familiar?".

" Do the terms uncle, Percy's dad and freaky sound familiar?".

Athena studied Annabeth, for the first time wondering if her daughter would actually think less of her instead of accepting it. " Do you disapprove of –".

" No. I am surprised you actually like him, slightly revolted by the idea of Percy becoming my stepbrother and the uncle thing doesn't matter that much because your DNA is very different from human DNA. I am just happy you have found someone, even if the timing is incredibly unfortunate".

" Tell me about it. You do realize that, even if Poseidon suddenly appeared and declared his love for me- not a likely occurrence- it is completely impossible for us to pursue that kind of relationship?".

" Complicated, not impossible. Percy and I managed to maintain one, didn't we?".

" That is a rather inane comparism. You two are demigods, allowed to behave unwisely and won't cause world war three when you desire a relationship".

" You and Poseidon could have easily caused world war three, I am not allowed to behave unwisely and the fact that we are demigods has nothing to do with it".

" Still, pursuing Poseidon in any way would be unwise- ".

" You are probably the smartest woman alive, I am convinced you can think of a way to pursue any type of relationship with any guy you want. And if choosing what makes you happy is unwise, I believe I prefer being unwise".

" Possibly. And I am the smartest woman alive".

" Then why didn't you act on your feelings?".

" It wasn't logical".

" Seriously? The best thing you can come with is it isn't logical? That is piffle!".

" Pursuing Poseidon would have dire consequences, as well as countless complications. The odds were not in our favour in any way and I am not about to risk everything for an ill-advised thing as love".

" Ill-advised? Okay firstly, there is nothing to pursue right now, since Poseidon is still lost somewhere in the sea of monsters. Secondly, most of those issues could be easily solved, especially by someone as intelligent as you. And thirdly; that is the most inane, weak and stupid thing I have ever heard".

" How dare you!".

" You know it is the truth. You might be able to fool others, but not me. You are scared of what it would mean to enter a relationship with Poseidon. That is why you didn't try harder to decode your own emotions".

" And pray tell, why am I frightened?" Athena said, only half aware that she had crossed her arms and was pouting - not that she would ever admit that- and not at all aware that she looked like a teenager arguing with her mom.

" Because emotions are unfamiliar territory, you don't know whether you can trust Poseidon not to hurt you and you don't know the first thing about relationships".

" Preposterous".

" Not really. It is actually logical if you think about it. You are all about thoughts and logic while love is all about feelings and anything but logic. It is not surprising that you intimidated by something you fail to comprehend".

" I am the goddess of wisdom, I do comprehend-".

" Not everything can be learned from books!".

" I have millennia of experience, of studying emotions and not only studying them for books".

" How often have you allowed yourself to experience them? Have you at all".

" Of course I have. And I dislike the tone you are utilizing right now Annabeth. It is disrespectful and-".

" I am just attempting to aid you, to assure you will be happy! There is a reason people think you don't experience emotions mother!".

" HOW DA-".

" And you need to learn how to deal with them in order to make this thing with Poseidon work".

" Who says I desire it 'to work', like you put it"?".

" Mother. You are in love with Poseidon. You do not simply like or tolerate him, you love him. Do you honestly anticipate you will be able to just be in denial the rest of your life? Do you honestly pushing your emotions regarding him away will work?".

" Again, I dislike your tone Annabeth".

Athena sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking about her daughter's words for a moment. A part of her wanted to punish her daughter for her indignant and disrespectful behaviour, but Athena also felt it might be plausible to call that kind of response overreacting. Her first instinct when she had heard them was lash out, offend by Annabeth's harsh, but – she realized now she thought about it- true words.

Of course her daughter had had the nerve to speak back to Athena, to interrupt her and to even call her stupid- something else would have be punished for before the words had even properly left his lips- but she had only spoken the truth. And like often, the truth hurt.

Now she had realized Annabeth hadn't necessarily meant to be disrespectful or rude, even if she had been aware her behaviour could be called rude and disrespectful, Athena looked at her daughter again.

And was stunned when she saw how much Annabeth looked like her in this moment.

Annabeth narrowed eyes were the exactly shade of grey- like a very ominous storm about to unleash hell's fire on unsuspecting mortals- and reflected icy anger that impressed even Athena. Annabeth's lips were slightly pursed and looked like they were about to spit poison- or poisonous and very hurtful words- and she radiated power somehow. Not the wild, uncontrollable power of the sea- Poseidon's power-, or the static in the air around Zeus that made hairs stand on end or the overpowering feeling of dread and the most intense fear that appeared wherever Hades went, but a different kind of power that made Athena feel like she was about to have to fight the most challenging adversary that would ever exist.

She had never realized how much of Athena's own character and talents Annabeth possessed. Like the ability to scare anyone. Athena actually believed her daughter might be able to make Zeus wet his pants if she faced him while looking like she did right now. Dang. When had her beautiful baby daughter grown into a creature capable of making the King of Gods wet his pants?

She didn't think she had ever been as proud at any of her children as right now. (Although making the King of Gods cry for his mommy was normally her job and speciality.. but she decided she could share that privilege with Annabeth. She wasn't greedy after all)

Athena smiled at her daughter – holding back a chuckle when she saw Annabeth's expression change quickly from angry to very surprised , no doubt because Athena didn't seem angry about the disrespectful behaviour- and gave a slight nod of agreement.

" You are right. Your wording ought to have been different and I detest the tone you used, but you are right. I have been avoiding my feelings for far too long".

Annabeth smiled hesitantly, the fight slowly going out her and leaving an exhausted and sad girl. Her anger no longer fuelled by Athena's stubbornness ( not that Athena would ever admit aloud she was stubborn, of course. Being stubborn wasn't wise after all) and tendency to deny her feelings, gave room for the sadness to return.

Athena was surprised when she actually felt her heart break a little- not literally of course- when Annabeth turned briefly to Percy ghostly white face and her grey eyes clouded with unshed tears. Never had Athena felt the urge to comfort, to cradle one of her children and protect it like this. The fact she was thinking about comforting Annabeth already proved how much Annabeth had been starting to mean to her in the time they had lived together.

Annabeth had managed to enter the normally impregnable fortress that was her heart slyly like a true child of Athena and make Athena feel much more like a woman of flesh and blood instead of a stoic goddess of wisdom.

So she didn't hesitate when her daughter lost the fight against the treacherous moisture pooling in her eyes.

Athena put her arms around Annabeth and pulled her in a warm, comforting embrace when the first tears fell. Annabeth tensed briefly, but eventually laid her head on Athena's shoulder while her body shook with great , desperate sobs.

Athena felt a painful jab in her chest when she heard the loud, desperate, animalistic sounds spilling from her daughter's lips. Had she normally been slightly irritated by the crying, now she felt her own eyes moisten slightly in sympathy. After all, Annabeth wasn't the only one who had a weakness for the young, brave ( but also incredibly foolish) man laying motionless and pale in a hospital.

Much as she loathed to admit the weakness, Annabeth wasn't the only demigod she had slowly grown to care for.

Annabeth kept sobbing, angst, fear and sadness all reflected in those sobs, while Athena stroked her hair and tried her very best to comfort her.

It wasn't easy.

Not only was Annabeth too overcome with the fear of Percy possibly dying – something that made Athena slightly nauseous and her throat constrict- to be comforted, but Athena also didn't have a lot of 'experience' on comforting people.

She normally cared little when people cried, thought the cause of those tears was inane , thought crying something typically weak, futile – after all, it didn't really change the cause of your tears- and mortal.

The great grief of beloved ones passing away was something Athena, immortal goddess of wisdom, was completely unfamiliar with. So she also didn't understand just how deeply such a loss could hurt you, especially since emotions weren't the normally stoic goddess' field of expertise.

Yet, at this moment, with a trembling and sobbing Annabeth in her arms, Athena understood just a little. Maybe she didn't know the true cruelity of death – it was so distant to her- , but she did realize she cared that Annabeth was crying, was hurt by the great sobs – like any loving mortal mother would when her precious child was hurt- and – stunningly so- concerned and sad about Percy's situation.

Athena leaned her head back against the bed Percy was laying on and continued to hold Annabeth's hair as she kept sobbing, occasionally muttering a strangled Percy that melted Athena's heart even more and made her entire chest feel like it had been crushed , like her lungs had been reduced to sacks the size of a coin – unable to hold oxygen, unable to do so without hurting her-, like her stomach was filled with sharp needles that were pressing everywhere and made her bleed, like she had swallowed a mix of acid and the hottest sauce possible and like someone had poured Greek fire into her eyes.

By the time Annabeth's sobs finally ceased, Athena felt like she would burst out crying herself.

For some reason, just the sound of Annabeth's desperate and grief-filled sobs hurt more than any injury in Athena's life ever had. It almost hurt as much as realizing Poseidon likely would never return, that he would never know how much she loved every piece of his provoking personality, that she would never look into sparkling eyes again and that she would never hear that special, beautiful voice she loved most of all ever again.

Pushing back her tears, anguish and own fears ( another thing she would never admit to having) – not to become uncaring and cold, but so she could offer Annabeth strength and comfort, not a sobbing mess-, she gently raised Annabeth's head from her shoulder.

Athena cradled Annabeth's head between her hands while she gently swiped away the tears on Annabeth's face. Athena then proceeded to very gently kiss her daughter on her forehead and pulled her against her once more. Both were silent for a few moments, lost in thought while Annabeth slowly composed herself and Athena stroked Annabeth's back, unconsciously still attempting to comfort the obviously distressed girl.

Annabeth was the first to pull back, eyes red and puffy, to look into her mother's eyes. The sadness was still present, slumbering in the back of her eyes, but the main emotions in these familiar grey eyes were confusion and disbelief.

" Mother.. why are you doing this?" Annabeth asked, her voice slightly hoarse from crying.

Athena smiled reassuringly at Annabeth. " I assume with 'this' , you intend to point out the obvious fact I embraced you?".

Annabeth nodded. " I wanted to comfort you, Annabeth. I rather detested being forced to watch helplessly while you cried".

" Oh. Right, you don't like crying. I am so-".

Athena immediately gently shushed Annabeth, understanding from the guilt and slight remorse in Annabeth's grey eyes that she thought Athena meant she was annoyed. Athena felt the barest twinge of shame when she realized that might have true once. Not that she would ever scold her children for crying or was a bad mother, she just didn't have much tolerance for tears and wasn't good at comforting people.

" Annabeth, that wasn't what I intended to convey. Not at all, actually. What I meant , was that I detested your crying because it made me feel helpless and hurt".

" Why would you feel that way?".

" Because you're my daughter, I care about you and thus naturally loathe the very idea of you in pain".

" R-really?".

Athena gently brushed a hair lock behind Annabeth's ear, pressing a kiss to her temple this time. " Really".

Annabeth's eyes filled with tears once more and she pressed her head into Athena's shoulder, muttering " You have no idea how often I have longed for you to say something similar".

Athena smiled sadly. " Actually, I do have a fairly good idea. I really have been a terrible mother, haven't I?".

" A little. I just hated feeling so alone, I guess".

Athena sighed, realizing some of those tears had not just been for Percy, but also because of the grief Athena herself had unwillingly caused. " I truly am sorry for my behaviour Annabeth".

"It's all right. I understand you are just not exactly the ordinary mother and can't always be available. You can't change who you am and I wouldn't want you to".

" It isn't okay Annabeth, far from it. I have treated you badly and I apologize for that. This entire episode with Poseidon, his disappearance and the occurrences that led to you and Percy- Athena felt another sharp stab of pain in her chest when Annabeth didn't manage to hold back a sob at Percy's name- living with me has taught me just how.. devoid my life has been and that I have made some very unwise and especially inconsiderate choices regarding my children".

Annabeth raised her head, smiling weakly, her eyes slowly gaining a slight sparkle. " Thank you. That means a lot".

" Don't mention it. Both as mother and goddess of wisdom I should have realized this a long time ago".

" At least you realized it now".

" I did".

Athena and Annabeth said together in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Athena risked saying " He was right , you know".

"Mmm. Who?".

" Percy".

Annabeth tensed at the name and Athena could feel her swallowing, her throat apparently constricting at the name of her boyfriend. Annabeth needed a few moments, but eventually whispered back a hoarse" About what?".

" About how the gods enabled the war to happen, about how the way we treated our children caused them to turn against us. We messed up royally".

" I am starting to doubt you are my mother now".

"Why?".

" Because- never mind how unlikely you embracing anyone already is- you never apologize and especially never admit you did something wrong, that it is even possibly you do something wrong. It is so uncharacteristically it is outright ludicrous to even imagine you saying anything similar to 'we messed up royally' ".

" Hm. So you are basically insinuating I am a heartless, cold bitch who is unable to admit her mistakes?".

" W-what? No! I-".

" Calm down Annabeth, I was merely teasing you. I didn't intend to spook you or anything of the like. And yes, it is completely uncharacteristically behaviour. But isn't caring for a son of Poseidon or – va te faire foutre, Aphrodite- falling in love with the insufferable sea god himself even more uncharacteristically behavior ?".

" Yes".

A silence, then " She is going to drive you insane, isn't she?".

Athena sighed, knowing immediately what- or rather, who- Annabeth was talking about. Aphrodite. The blasted love goddess whom she really wanted to throw into Tartarus for doing this to her, to her heart.

" Oh yes. She is going to make my eternal life impossibly difficult. I can just imagine her smug smile while she tells me she was right".

Athena snorted. " The cretin".

" Well, she was right. For once".

" Shockingly so".

"Hm-m".

They both fell silent again and Athena listened to Annabeth's breathing, noticing after a few minutes the exhausted woman had obviously fallen asleep.

Athena simply sat back for a moment, listening to Annabeth's soft, even, breathing and basking in the feeling of very human-like motherly love. She didn't think she had ever felt this peaceful, content and happy before.

Athena frowned and some of the happy feelings disappeared when she glanced at Percy. He was still a ghostly white, although the white gave away to angry, red blisters that looked much like the lava in an erupting volcano at some places. He obviously wasn't better yet, despite all the nurses and medic experts who had attempted to heal him.

Athena snorted softly. Gullible cretins. I could have easily told them their pathetic attempts wouldn't work. The boy obviously has been struck with a very powerful and, more importantly, unknown toxic. They are obviously not competent enough to treat his injuries.

Athena sighed, knowing exactly why her thoughts towards the kind people that had only wanted to help the beloved hero of Olympus, as Percy was sometimes called, were so harsh and unforgiving; she cared for Percy. Somehow, she had grown to care deeply for the boy that looked so much like the man her heart ached for.

Perhaps Athena thought, her eyes scanning Percy's face and silently willing the sea-green eyes to open even though she knew it was hopeless, perhaps it is because his appearance is so similar to Poseidon's. Or perhaps it is his courage that won me over. Or perhaps it is the fact that ,despite his failures and flaws, he is one of the only people with good intentions, who manage to make it happen instead of just saying I wish or If. Perhaps it is just that I miss Poseidon and use Percy as a substitute..

Athena sighed. She knew she cared because she admired Percy's personality ( well most of it, anyway), his never-ending loyalty and the way he never surrendered, never gave up hope no matter how bad the odds were ( and they had been very bad indeed). He was indeed the picture of his father, or at least his father's gentle side.

Percy is what Poseidon would have been like if he had been mortal.

It was true; Percy was a lot like Poseidon, but there were also differences, differences Athena contributed to Poseidon's immortality and the different point of view this offered.

Things were much less significant, less impressive too, when you had eternity- or at least millennia- to live. Immortals never treasured friends, family and other beloved places or creatures like mortals did. Immortals didn't appreciate, look at and see life the way mortals did. And they certainly didn't have the same opinion and fears regarding death, seeing as how they couldn't really die.

Athena sighed again. Poseidon's faint smile, the way he had looked tired and drawn yet glad to see her, grinning stupidly yet endearingly – yet another thing she would never admit- flashed through her mind and she thought about how immortals might be unable to die in the way mortals could, but that didn't mean they couldn't be hurt.

Athena should know after years of heartbreak.

And Poseidon hadn't even attempted to hurt her, had even attempted to avoid it. She didn't even want to think about how easily he could abuse the power he had over her. She didn't think she would survive it if Poseidon ever used her like she had so often accused him of with other women.

Athena instinctively embraced Annabeth a little tighter, subconsciously trying to protect her. Annabeth snuggled against her and Athena smiled back when Annabeth smiled in her sleep, no doubt feeling the love for once coming off Athena.

Athena looked at Percy again and silently promised the young man- she was aware he wouldn't hear her, but that didn't mean the promise wouldn't count- that she would care for Annabeth, protect her and assure Percy would heal. Even if it was just so Annabeth wouldn't die of a serious case of lovesickness.

Athena's eyes were stuck to Percy as she made her promise, studying his face silently. No further harm will come to you or Annabeth. And I swear on the styx that I will do whatever is in my power to protect you and assure you will heal. It is the least I can do, after all you have done for my daughter.

Athena's head snapped up and her entire body tensed, ready to jump to her feet and attack when the door suddenly slammed open, startling Annabeth awake.

" W-what?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes that were still slightly unfocused and sleepy. She didn't get much time to wake.

" Sis! And darling niece! Whazzup? I heard Perce was injured? Well do not fear, because Apollo is here!" A grinning Apollo, dressed in ripped jeans and a tight muscle shirt with an haiku printed on it – no doubt he thought he looked hot and cool, like he always thought- said.

Athena glared at him, wanting very much to punch him for his happiness. How dared he be happy while Percy was heavily injured and Annabeth exhausted and overcome with sadness?

Apollo only now turned to her ( he had been studying his reflexion and flexing his muscles in one of the cups with nectar the nurses had left) and his mouth actually opened without words coming out. For a few seconds, which was already a long time for the most talkative god ever, at least.

After staring a little, blinking, pinching himself, blinking again, pinching harder, muttering something what sounded suspiciously like 'holy cow of Hera', he managed to close his mouth – after , for some reason, biting his tongue on purpose- he managed to talk.

" Dude! You are , like, cuddling!" he exclaimed, looking at Athena as if she had just sprouted three rainbow-coloured heads that were spitting fire, acid and ice.

Athena gave him her coldest, most impressive glare, reserved for special occasions. " Brilliant observation Apollo. Hopefully your observations regarding Percy's injuries will be a little less… obvious. Otherwise I would very much like a competent person with the ability to make observations that are actually useful instead of the sorry excuse of a god of healing you are".

" He! I am very competent". He pointed a finger at her accusingly. " You can't blame my brain for nearly exploding when I see stoic, cold, heartless, emotions-are-for-the-gullible-and-insane Athena cuddle. I mean, come on! Any person would lose ability to function for a sec if he saw you cuddle. It is freakier than a bunch of clowns with blood-stained blades wearing clothes of human skins and laughing insanely while roistering body parts above a fire".

" That is the most ludicrous and exaggerated statement I have ever had the displeasure of being forced to listen to".

" Pff. You just aren't able to appreciate my imagination".

" If with imagination, you mean the proof of your utter ridicule and insanity, then yes I am not. If you mean with imagination, what sane people mean, then you're are an even bigger cretin than I had previously anticipated".

Apollo looked slightly offended. " Hey! I am not a cretin! I am the god of wisdom, so I cannot possibly be a cretin. I am not the god of idiocy, after all".

He grinned widely. " Now show me the patient and- he snapped his fingers, so his clothes changed into a white coat like doctors always wear in series or movies- I will use my awesome Apollo powers to cure him!".

" Well, let's see. It's obviously the grey-eyed girl that is my daughter, because she really appears to be dying and oh, she also has black hair, green eyes and is a boy" Athena icily said, satisfied when Apollo flinched a little at her venomous tone.

" The hospital bed Apollo, that is where your 'patient' is. Honestly, I find myself questioning not only your sanity but also your eyes or ability to notice the obvious".

" Okay okay, no need to freeze me with your eyes, sis".

" Do not utter that awful word".

" Sis? ".

" Naturally".

" Fine sissy. But you should have a little respect for me, because-".

" WILL YOU TWO STOP TALKING ALREADY?! PERCY IS FUCKING DYING" Annabeth suddenly screamed, her eyes taking on the same stormy grey from before, and the Athena-like, fear-inducing look and power back.

Apollo took one look at her, gulped, and nodded eagerly .

Athena smirked when she saw how pale he was and how he nervously went through his hair. She so enjoyed seeing Apollo afraid, nervous and , thank you Annabeth!, silent.

Anabeth glared at him – Athena found herself thinking Annabeth not only had her eyes, but also the icy glare she used to turn mortals and immortals alike into stuttering messes- and Apollo shrunk a little, trying to escape the cold fury and murderous intent in Annabeth's eyes.

" Well? Why are you still merely standing there, looking very much like the cretin my mother assumes you are instead of rushing to Percy and at least attempting to show me your 'competence' as doctor?".

Apollo almost fell over his own feet in his hurry to get to Percy's bed, muttering something about insane wisdom gods and demi-gods under his breath, and took his first look at Percy.

He cursed, then whistled.

" Damn! Perce, you do NOT look good".

" No Apollo, Percy's admirers from the Aphrodite cabin have merely decided to grant him this new , ' awesome' look. Didn't you know that looking like a crossover from Frankenstein and Dracula is the new look?" Annabeth hissed.

Apollo swallowed nervously, but drew himself upright and attempted – and failed epically- to look imposing and powerful. " Now listen you girl, I do not-".

Annabeth actually smacked him on the side of his head. " Heal Percy, you vlacas! Stating the obvious won't aid him in any way!".

Apollo glared at Annabeth- or tried to. He failed. Epically. Again. ( But to be fair, who would be courageous – or actually stupid- enough to face an outraged, mourning Annabeth ?) .

Annabeth took a step forward, looking very much like she was about to rip Apollo apart with her bare hands or –worse- force him to spend the rest of his immortal life solving mathematic problems and formula's.

Apollo huffed like a spoiled, insulted kid and turned to Percy. " Fine".

He whipped around, pointing his finger at Annabeth. " But you need to wait outside".

That was not the right thing to say.

Quite the opposite. It was possibly the stupidest, most insane and suicidal thing ever said. Athena silently marvelled at Apollo's sheer stupidity. For a god of wisdom- or any god really- he was extremely unwise. Athena really should ask king Zeus to take away Apollo's position as god of wisdom.

Not that the pieces that would be left of Apollo when Annabeth was done with him would be able to do anything but be proof of Apollo's stupidity , but still…

She felt like she should do something. After all, such an utterly idiotic, insane and suicidal person gave the epithet 'God – or goddess- of wisdom a bad name. Athena couldn't allow that to happen.

Later, she decided, she would do something about it. Right now, she had better things to do. Like watching -and being entertained as- Apollo wet his pants or fainted when facing an outraged Annabeth.

Athena smirked. This would be fun.

Apollo shrunk and took a small step back, his hands raised in front of him, the palms upward in some peace offering when Annabeth took a step towards him. Athena couldn't properly see her daughter's face and honestly, she was kind of relieved. Apollo's expression indicated that her daughter's face wasn't something she wanted to see right now.

It also indicated that he either A; was about to cry, B; faint from pure fear, C; Fall on his knees and beg for mercy or D; all of the above. But , just because he is an arrogant bastard that ever refuses to let his pride be bruised ( translation; because he is insanely stupid ) , he held his ground and managed to smile weakly. Very weakly.

Whatever Annabeth's facial features showed him as reaction – a frown? An eye roll? Teeth baring? The intense and all-consuming desire to slowly and painfully kill him or at least castrate him?- it made him pale to the point Percy looked healthy next to him ( if you could ignore the blisters and hissing sounds as well as the smell of burned skin) and then turn green, the gloriously shade of green that was normally a sure sign someone was about to puke big time.

Annabeth took a step forward. Apollo's eyes widened.

" I " Annabeth hissed. Apollo whimpered.

Annabeth took another step forward. " Have".

She jabbed his chest. Apollo let out a strangled, terrified, sob. " To"

Annabeth took another step forward. Apollo stumbled backwards, his eyes wide with fear he was trying to hide ( and, you feel it coming, failed epically). " Wait".

Annabeth took another step forward. Apollo took one backward, until the back of his legs met with Percy's bed. " Out-"

Annabeth hissed and moved her face that little bit forward that made her nose almost touch Apollo's. Apollo leaned back and started hyperventilating. " Side" Annabeth finished and the venom in her voice was so much that Apollo actually tried to jump back – forgetting he was standing with his back against the wa- eh bed- and fell on the bed.

Predictably, the limp and quite heavy body of one arrogant sun god falling on the heavily injured and vulnerable body of her beloved boyfriend didn't make one royally pissed off demigod any happier.

Time seemed to slow down. Annabeth tensed. Froze. Her eyes narrowed to the point there was only two millimetres of the stormiest of grey visible. Lips pursed. A sound akin to a growl, low and feral, slipped past those same lips. Nostrils widened, as if ready to breathe fire out of them. The silence was heavy, like a blanket made from lead was wrapped around mouth and nose, preventing you from breathing.

Apollo slowly, very slowly looked up. He froze. The air no longer passed his lips, as if the heavy silence or the look in those grey eyes prevented breathing. His eyes widened, to the point they should fall out of their sockets. A little, terrified squeak slipped past his lips. A heart stopped beating for a second, then accelerated to the point it was beating twice as fast as would be healthy.

Annabeth leaned towards the frozen-in-fear sun god. " I will not wait outside and if you ever even think about ordering me , and especially ordering me something this gullible again, I will hurt you. Capice?".

Annabeth's voice was a low, deadly whisper that was even scarier than her hiss had been, so Athena wasn't surprised when Apollo whimpered again before nodding eagerly.

Annabeth took a step back, nodding slightly and acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Because it is completely normal to scare a god to the point he is about to faint.

Apollo probably would have fainted, weren't it for the look Annabeth gave him. That look that obviously said; Lose consciousness and I will make sure you never wake up again, you worthless cretin.

Apollo got the silent threa- message- loud and clear, because he immediately jumped to his feet and didn't faint nor vomit. Probably because he would have vomited on Annabeth- which would have been almost as bad as crushing her boyfriend – or was desperately trying to save some of his dignity.

Apollo took a shaky breath, wrung his hands together nervously and tried to give a bright smile that looked more like a grimace. Annabeth glared at him- obviously not happy he was smiling while her boyfriend was dying- and Apollo almost tripped over his own feet in his haste to get to Percy and help him.

Annabeth had to turn away when Apollo started glowing brightly, and had to take a –small- step back when heat radiated off much like the sun would radiate heat when you came too close. Apollo started glowing more brightly and looked now very much like someone had covered him in golden glitter, mirrors and then used a different mirror to direct the sun rays at him, successfully making him turn into the godly equivalent of a firefly.

Athena, who didn't have to turn away from the light and heat as she was a goddess, watched closely as Apollo laid his hands on Percy's forehead, his hands overlapping each other, and closed his eyes while he concentrated. His form flickered- he even changed to his true form for a second- and the light that came from him slowly started to surround Percy as well, starting at where Apollo's hands were still pressed to Percy's forehead and slowly heading down. The light sank in the skin and wherever it touched Percy's skin, the bruises slowly faded away to leave unmarked, healthy skin.

The light slipped down and the harsh finger imprints- that were obviously burned into Percy's neck and throat where the creature Annabeth had described had grabbed him- glowed blood red for a moment before slowly fading away. The light gently slipped down more, to Percy's shoulders where his T-shirt was stuck to the skin, melted to it, when it happened. The light halted and Apollo frowned, his hands pressing a little tighter into Percy's forehead while the light that now shone from Percy's shoulders slowly started to fade.

Apollo's gritted his teeth and seemed to concentrate even more. The light shone a little brighter, but slowly faded again when it reached the horrible burns on Percy's shoulders, where the skin was black and slightly wrinkled. Apollo concentrated even more, sweat now dripping from his forehead ( which would be a first), but it didn't matter.

The light faded again despite Apollo's attempts to keep it shining and Apollo seemed to mentally shove really hard, for the light shone so brightly even Athena shut her eyes for a moment. She heard a muttered curse and opened her eyes just in time to see the light turn ink black before changing into muddy water that fell on the floor.

Apollo, panting, jumped back from the muddy water when he saw it melting the floor like it was acid. Apollo was too dumbstruck to react when the muddy, extremely smelly and hissing water started to boil, steam rising from it while the liquid actually seemed to move.

Athena, however, immediately reacted, jumped to her feet and used all her body weight to push Apollo away, just before the muddy water rose and hit the place Apollo had been standing moments before. She pushed Apollo –who had been clinging to her shoulders to avoid falling again- away, swiftly drew her sword and immediately slice the muddy water that had taken on the form of a tentacle in half. The two halves immediately sought each other out though and , with an angry scream like a mandrake's, attacked her.

Athena, however, was too fast; she sliced the thing in half before it had even reached her, moved her feet to make the thing think she was going right only to jump to the left at the last moment and slice it again.

When it was busy reforming itself again, she moved her hand in a circle, which would have normally been enough to make the thing either freeze of transform into a book. Instead, it seemed to have no effect and Athena barely had the time to frown when the thing attacked her again, this time with blinding speed.

Athena leaped aside again and threw her shield to Apollo who was now in front of the thing. She motioned to him that he should distract the thing so she had a moment to study it and discover its weaknesses. Apollo nodded grimly, signalling he understood her, but it didn't matter anyway, because the thing attacked him and Athena at the same moment, splitting itself again and gliding over the floor towards Athena.

Athena jumped over it, slicing it in half without even looking at it and studied it during the second it needed to heal. A hissing sound was heard again, much like a snake, and the thing suddenly changed form until it looked like a carpet with very sharp, dark purple that was nearly black spikes.

Athena muttered a curse when the thing grew and split in two again, now attacking her from three sides. Spikes were shot towards her like arrows from one side, while they were coming towards her like some invisible man with a spear from the other side and the liquid- whatever it was- tried to grab her ankles from the third side.

Athena jumped, zigzagged and sliced without much thought, studying her opponent and seeing blurring bodies right and left from her, indicating Annabeth had ran towards Apollo to help him and was now very busy taking her frustration out on ropes made from liquid that came at her towards all angles, trying to wind themselves around arms or legs.

One of the ropes suddenly changed direction and came towards Athena so fast she had only one second, to let herself fall to the ground, cut the thing in half, roll and get up again. She saw the thing reform itself easily and decided cutting in half definitely didn't work.

There were now six shapes coming at her, all different in appearance. There were the carpet-like spikes, the thing that looked like a rope, something that looked most like a small puddle of boiling quicksand, another puddle that looked like very much like sticky black ink and a black cloud that looked suspiciously like the cloud Annabeth had described. The liquid seemed alive; all pieces of it made a low hissing sound before attacking at the exact same moment, in perfect unison.

The rope flung itself towards her left ankle-moving like a snake through the grass-, the spikes flew through the air towards her eyes- obviously intending to pierce them and effectively blind Athena- , The two puddles merged and formed a brown-purple-black shimmering puddle that prevented her from jumping to the left and the black cloud that radiated heat that was unbearable even from a distance covered her.

Athena gritted her teeth when even her godly skin started to burn painfully from the intense heat the cloud radiated and she immediately closed her eyes to avoid being blinded.

She started turning really fast, like a miniature tornado and sliced through the 'rope', spikes – that shattered at impact-, then jumped out of the cloud, blindly sliced at another spike that she felt flying towards her and healed her skin without much thought.

When the spikes attacked again, she reacted instinctively; she raised her hands and she glowed like Apollo had only with a white-blue light instead of a golden/yellow one.

She balled her hands into fists, looking at the cloud in front of her and it cooled down rapidly, then she looked at the spikes coming at her again and they melted before disappearing when she gestured with her hand towards them. The rope quickly evaporated when she balled her hands into fists again, relaxed, balled them into fists and relaxed again.

Taking a deep breath, Athena turned to Annabeth and Apollo. She almost started laughing when she saw their shocked, awed expressions. With their eyes widened, their mouths hanging open so wide a tennis ball would fit in and their shared expression of complete and utter shock ( mixed with a healthy dose of weariness) they both looked very funny.

The only thing that kept Athena from laughing out loud, was the grave situation – Percy was near death and they had just been attacked-. Laughing wouldn't heal Percy, nor would it destroy any enemies. So she cleared her throat and arched her eyebrow, cold smile firmly in place.

" Is there any reason that you are attempting to imitate a codfish right now? Or are you both experiencing brain failure that makes it near impossible to fulfil a simple and automatic task as keeping your moth closed?".

Her sharp, cold voice, tone and the words themselves quickly snapped both Annabeth and Apollo out of it. Almost at the same time, they closed their mouths and tried their very best to not look shocked.

Annabeth was the first to speak and cease staring at Athena. " My apologies mother, but what you did to those attackers.. that was amazing. And I have never seen or heard of you doing such a thing before. Frankly, I was just very surprised. It actually- "

Annabeth's voice broke for a moment and Athena could have sworn she saw her daughter blink back tears. Before Athena could listen to her newly discovered motherly instinct and gather Annabeth in her arms once more, Annabeth had gathered her composure and continued. " I am not aware how or what exactly you did, but I do not it bears a striking resemblance to Percy's powers. It actually feels the same, the power you sometimes can feel him radiate".

Annabeth looked at the ground, the sadness slowly creeping back in her voice. " I actually believed he was awake and defending us for a moment. Completely illogical , of course".

" Hm. Yes, very illogical. But I do comprehend your reasoning Annabeth. You hadn't anticipated me to have the power of the sea of course".

Athena sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose and feeling very old for a moment. Realizing she had used his powers unconsciously just made her miss him more. She had secretly always liked feeling his aura of the sea, had admired his strength and power. Using his powers, feeling those powers again but without him actually present, hurt even more than looking at Percy and noticing how much they looked alike.

Pushing her emotions aside for a moment, knowing she wouldn't be able to function if she allowed herself to really think of the situation Poseidon could be in right now, Athena locked her eyes with Annabeth's. " Poseidon offered me some of his powers so I could defend and comprehend Atlantis and its inhabitants better while he was gone" she explained.

Annabeth's eyes widened. " I thought only Zeus was able to take away or give powers?".

Athena shrugged. " All gods are able to give away part of their power or bless people when they chose to. We merely chose not to, because it is possible it will weaken you and it requires a lot of trust on both sides. Power can easily be abused, after all".

Annabeth nodded. "I understand".

She walked towards the few remains of the things that had attacked them and kneeled next to them, studying them. "what are those things?".

She looked at Athena, obviously expecting her to know the answer.

Athena was very annoyed she didn't , for once, know the answer.

She kneeled down next to Annabeth, quietly studying the remains of the attackers. Perhaps if she had some time to study them, bring them to her laboratory and run some tests, she could discover what exactly they were. Until then, she was clueless.

" They ought to be a new species, since I have never seen them, heard of them or even read about them. I believe they are genetically manipulated".

" What leads you to believe that?" Annabeth asked.

" They bear some similarities to other species, but they aren't those species. They could have evolved from different species, naturally, but evolution takes a long time and someone would have noticed. I happen to know Poseidon used to monitor the entire sea and keep an eye on any new species appearing. I-".

" They aren't in the water" Apollo pointed out, looking accusingly at the remains of the attackers.

Athena rolled her eyes. " Thank you for stating the obvious Apollo. I am aware that these things aren't in the water, but that doesn't mean they do not come from the sea. Amphibians, like frogs, often start their life in the water but spend the remainder of their life on the land. I believe this species either start their life in the water or can survive under water as well as on land".

Athena and Annabeth studied the remains for a moment until Apollo cleared his throat and clapped his hands. " Well, never mind how utterly fascinating the remains of a hoard of revolting, non-shining things that wished to destroy my awesomeness are, we still have other things that need our attention. Like- uh I don't know? – the dying boy I came to help in the first place?".

Annabeth immediately jumped to her feet and ran to Percy's bed. Athena calmly stood up and snapped her fingers. When she saw Apollo's curious expression, she sighed. " I transported the debris to my laboratory for further examination. Hopefully I can discover what exactly these things are and how they are connected to Poseidon's disappearance".

"Ehh Sis? Last time I checked, they attacked us, not Poseidon".

" They obviously attempted to keep you from healing Perseus and thus assassinating him. And Poseidon asked me to defend Percy, which is why I allowed him into my house in the first place".

Athena narrowed her eyes when Apollo tilted his head and studied her for a moment, then grinned brightly. " Why are you studying me in this matter Apollo? It is provoking, cease this behaviour this instant".

" You never liked men studying you sis. You would and will always attack the innocent souls that even look at you, won't you?".

" Where on Gaia are you blabbering on about Apollo?".

" Nothing, nothing. Just that you don't like dudes checking you out. Like that fellow Tiresias, that you blinded when he accidently saw you naked".

Apollo grinned. " Or couldn't he take the sight, like when a person sees Medusa and turns to stone from the ugliness?".

Athena gritted her teeth, her eyes turning stormy gray a tell-tale sign she was getting mad very quickly. " Apollo. Did you just call me ugly ?" she hissed, taking a step towards Apollo.

He backed up a little, holding his hands in front of him to ward any upcoming attacks off. " No! I was just making a joke!".

" That wasn't a joke. A joke is meant to be entertaining in some way, this wasn't. It only served to make me question your sanity and usefulness even more".

" Pf. It was funny, you just don't possess a sense of humour sis. But I didn't say that to show you my joke-telling abilities-

" In the first place because you have none to speak off" Athena snorted.

" But because I have noticed something very odd. You despise guys checking you out, yet you didn't mind Poseidon checking you out that time during a party when you actually wore a dress. You despise it even more when men assume you are weak or unable to do things because you're a woman and normally kills anyone that even thinks about holding doors open or something like that. At the very least, you rip them to pieces by using that sharp tongue – metaphorically of course, although it would be way cool if your tongue could do that, gross but awesome- but you didn't do anything like that when Poseidon opened the door for you once. You actually smiled and thanked him. I almost got cardiac arrest then".

Athena felt slightly caught off guard, but didn't show anything, merely arched an eyebrow while she asked in a disinterested voice " And what exactly is the purpose of naming occasions where I might or might not have displayed unusually friendly behaviour towards Poseidon?".

Apollo grinned. " Well, the purpose is to satisfy my curiosity of course. Because I have noticed more of these things shortly before his disappearance and there are only two explanations".

He counted on his fingers. " One; you aren't the real Athena, merely a clone or alien trying to fool us into thinking you are the real Athena. If you are, you are doing a very bad job at pretending to be Athena. But this isn't that logical –

" No, it is ludicrous, why on earth would you even believe such a ridiculous and utterly insane thing" Athena remarked, drily.

- because if you were an impersonator , you would never chose to impersonate Athena, because come on, she is boring! You would chose some good-looking girl that I would want to spend time with and-

" Did you just call me ugly? Again? " Athena interrupted, now feeling very much like she should turn Apollo into something. Something very ugly. Preferably something that did not speak. People would only thank her if she did that.

Apollo glared at her. " No! Stop interrupting me. It is really annoying".

"Actually, being forced to listen to anything uttered by you, is far more annoying than me interrupting you could ever be".

" Sis! Stop it or I will take your voice away!".

Athena snorted. " I would like to see you try".

" Just let me finish!".

" Fine. But do get to the point, I may be immortal and thus have an eternity, but that doesn't mean I want to spend it listening to you. I have far better things to do".

" Fine. Second explanation; you like Poseidon. You miss know-it-all actually like our dear uncle".

" And why would you assume this?".

Apollo shrugged. " You smile at him, like all the time. You laugh when he makes a joke. You don't mind him opening and holding doors for you and such gentlemanny things".

Athena wanted to point out gentlemanny wasn't a word, but decided it wasn't worth pointing out. Apollo wouldn't listen either way.

Apollo grinned. " But what really made me sure, that you have visited him while he was in Atlantis to help him with stuff".

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. " What exactly have you.. helped him with?".

Athena pursed her lips, definitely angry now. How dared he make such assumptions! Such clearly ridiculous assumptions. Did no one around here understand the terms oath and maiden goddess?

" I was aiding him with rebuilding his palace! Honestly, what did you think we were doing?".

Athena held up her hand when Apollo opened his mouth to actually respond. " Never mind. I certainly don't desire to know what filthy and ludicrous things your mind has come up with".

" Aha! You think I had a very wrong idea of what you two were doing".

" So?".

" So your mind went down the gutter! Something obviously has happened between you two".

" It has. We build a palace. That is all there happened".

Apollo suddenly grinned widely, in a very devious way. " Uh-oh. Someone is fibbing here! My my Athena, does daddy know you're such a bad girl?".

" Where on earth are you talking about, you vlacas?".

" I am the god of truth. I know it when people are lying. And you were obviously lying when you said all that happened , was that you two build his palace. So, sissy, what happened?".

Athena snorted. " Oh please. Since when are you also the god of gossip? And you are obviously an horrible god of truth, because I am not lying. The only thing that happened besides building the castle, was that we consummated nectar and ambrosia. And talked about mundane topics, such as the colour he desired the walls to be".

" So you didn't Ahem 'help him to test his new bedroom?' ".

Athena frowned. " Help him test his new be-". Her eyes widened when she realized what Apollo was hinting at, then narrowed to menacing slits. " No! Nor will I ever. How dare you even make such assumptions Apollo? I strongly advise you to cease this interrogation or face the consequences".

" So you do , you know, want to do inappropriate stuff with him?".

" No!".

Belatedly, Athena realized she was talking to the god of truth. Belatedly, she realized she actually did want to do 'inappropriate stuff' with Poseidon.

She shouldn't have said no, she should have somehow avoided answering the question by distracting Apollo or given a more-or-less satisfying answer. Use trickery, deceive him. Instead, she had blurted out what she had told herself for ages.

It wasn't necessarily the truth.

Apollo's eyes hit his hairline when he obviously got the message that she was ,in fact, lying. Then he started to grin, chuckled and actually rubbed his hands together. Athena had never wanted to be able to die as much as she wanted it now.

" Well well well, looks like someone has a little secret" Apollo chanted, glowing. He was actually literally glowing from happiness.

Athena willed herself not to blush. Maybe she could find a way out of this mess if she just kept her composure and didn't show how flustered and embarrassed she was.

" What I actually meant, is that it depends on your definition of inappropriate. Appropriate behaviour for you isn't necessarily appropriate behaviour for me, after all".

Apollo rolled his eyes and took a few steps towards her, still grinning and glowing like an idiot. " No no, you didn't mean that! You meant you do want to do inappropriate stuff with Poseidon".

" That is what I said. The things I deem inappropriate and you deem inappropriate are different though ".

" Urgh. You are starting to confuse me. Just answer my questions. One; do you want to kiss him?".

I don't want to respond to this. But if I don't, then I might confirm his suspicions. I will just have to be very careful with my wording.

" I wouldn't mind a friendly peck on my che-".

" Answer it with yes or no. And I mean a kiss on the mouth, not on the cheek or something".

" This is ridiculous! I don't have to answer your inane questions, Apollo. It is none of your business".

" So yes".

"No of course I don't want to kiss Poseidon!".

Athena closed her eyes briefly. Damn. I answered that exactly like he wanted me to. Now he knows I have been thinking about those soft supple lips.. Damn Poseidon for having such perfect lips! If his lips hadn't been so kissable, then I wouldn't have to waste valuable time thinking about how they would feel against my own.

Athena couldn't help the faint gold that now adorned her cheeks when Apollo grinned so widely his grin seemed too big for his face. He obviously knew she had lied and thus knew she did , in fact, want to kiss Poseidon. Very much.

" Okay second-".

" Oh this is ludicrous. Cease this inane interrogation and help the boy Apollo" Athena snapped, still blushing, and gestured at Percy. Before Apollo could say anything else, she brushed past him and left the room. She had never felt humiliated and flustered like this. She couldn't believe Apollo had actually managed to pry that piece of information from her.

She normally wouldn't have been like this, but apparently she had not just gotten Poseidon's sea powers, but also his habit to say things before thinking them through.

Athena sighed. What a mess. I am in love with the man that is supposed to be my nemesis. I am in love with a man that has broken countless of hearts and surely won't spare mine. What on earth should I do? I desire , long, to find and save him, but what then? Does he even like me that way and – oh god I am behaving as an hormonal adolescent. I am the goddess of wisdom and I can't even do something as simple as admitting my own feelings!

Athena bit her lip, unsure what to do now. She knew what she wanted to do- find Poseidon, slap him for having the audacity to disappear and then kiss him senseless- , but that was hardly something she could do.

I am not able to do what I desire, because what I desire is improbable and gullible and quite insane. Especially since I don't even know if he likes me. For all I know, he only has been being nice to me because he sees me as a trophy. Perhaps he just wants to brag about he got me to fall for him.

Athena sighed again. Deep down, she knew that wasn't true, but she couldn't help herself. She had known Poseidon for centuries and had observed how he treated women. Which wasn't that well.

It wasn't like he was deliberately cruel, but it did always end with a broken heart.

And it never was his.

Even before she had started to like him, started to get feelings for him, she had observed him. She did that with everyone, observing them , getting to know their strengths and weaknesses, getting to know them. It was the wise thing to do.

If you knew people, if you knew their strength and weaknesses, then you was less vulnerable. You could anticipate their actions. You wouldn't get surprised, you wouldn't get hurt that easily. So Athena had observed all the gods, from the first moment she saw them and even before that.

She had learned everything about them. She had learned everything about him. She had seen him happy, sad or angry. She had seen his good and his bad side. She had seen him use his powers.

She had seen him do so many things and have so many emotions through the years, but most importantly, she had seen the women.

She had seen how many women he had, how he treated them and how their hearts were broken when he left. She had despised him for doing that, true, but it had also made her fearful. She hadn't wanted him near her, she didn't want to be just another woman , just another conquest in a long line. It didn't matter that she was a goddess, that didn't save her from heartbreak.

I will never be safe from him. I have attempted anything I could think of. I attempted again and again to drive him away, to keep him from hurting me, to keep him from making me another of his conquests. To keep myself from becoming one of his conquests. I even took that bloody oath so I couldn't be hurt! And now I still am. What on earth do you do when your heart is about to get broken.

Athena couldn't deny it any longer. She couldn't deny she had emotions, or act like she didn't, anymore. She couldn't deny she liked him anymore. She couldn't even deny that she needed help sometimes, because she really did need it. And she knew where to get it.

Athena didn't think Artemis had ever looked this surprised. But then again, she didn't get to see Athena blush, stammer and close to hysteria every day. Nor did she hear the words " Why did no one tell me it would feel like I am dying" from an immortal, especially not from her best friend, who was not only always calm, but also very level-headed and logical.

So it wasn't that odd that Artemis was surprised. Or shocked. Or a bit freaked out.

Athena couldn't help herself. She wanted to explain, wanted to be calm and composed like always, wanted to at least be understandable instead of seem like a stammering fool.

But the moment the door opened and her best friend said her name, she was talking – rambling actually- and didn't make any sense anymore.

" I love him. I shouldn't , but I do and I can't help it and you're probably going to loathe me, but he isn't that horrible even if he can be a complete cretin and so provoking" she blurted, making Artemis arch her eyebrow and look extremely confused.

Before Artemis could react in any other way than arching an eyebrow, Athena started talking again. Apparently she couldn't stop now she had started.

" I failed him. Percy is injured, heavily so, and I reacted late when they attacked and now I failed him and if I ever am going to see him again, he will detest me again because I failed. Why did I fail? I never fail? I thought it wasn't attainable to fail as goddess of wisdom. No, wait, that is idiotic. Of course I am able to fail, everybody is".

Artemis still looked stunned, but Athena didn't even notice it while she was rambling and not making sense. " I don't want him to loathe me! I can't have him loathe me, it will be unbearable, I might not even survive. Well, I would, because I am an immortal goddess, but that will just mean I have to suffer forever and be miserable and-".

" Athena" Artemis gently interrupted.

" And then I will never know if that damn Aphrodite is right and I need to know she is right, because I like him and I want him to like me and I want him to want to know and-".

"Athena!" Artemis said again, a little sharper. She was really getting worried now.

" But I apologize for never uttering a word regarding this- this mess , but I denied it in hope it would fade away and it didn't and then he was gone and I still couldn't tell you, because I had all this stuff to do-".

" Athena!" Artemis said, a little louder. If Athena was not only rambling and panicked, but also said stuff, then something must be seriously wrong. She disliked the word. She disliked rambling too, thought it was unprofessional.

" And I actually planned to write this speech with all my feelings spelled out, because I thought that would be less complicated than telling you, but I didn't know the words to explain what I was feeling and I just didn't – ".

" PALLAS ATHENA!" Artemis screamed , making Athena jump.

Athena looked at her friend with wide, grey eyes, her hair slightly messy and a frantic ( much like a very startled and panicked animal ) in her eyes.

What the.. She looks like she is about to have a panic attack. Or she already had one.

Artemis , genuinely concerned about her friend's health, gently grabbed Athena's wrist and pulled her inside. She could only hope they hadn't attracted that much attention. Artemis didn't think Athena would be happy if anybody had seen her behave like a lunatic.

With a sigh, Artemis closed and locked the door, then turned to her uncharacteristically flustered and panicked friend. Instead of rambling, Athena was now eerily silent.

" Athena? Could you please explain why on earth you're behaving like this?".

Athena raised her eyes- she had been studying the beige carpet made from deerskin very intently until then – and Artemis felt shocked when she saw Athena's grey eyes were shimmering with tears. That was unheard of.

She practically ran towards Athena and gently touched her friend's arm. " Theenie? " she asked gently.

Athena didn't say anything, but Artemis could tell from the way her friend closed her eyes tightly, bit her lip very hard and was trembling that that was because she was fighting her tears.

Now sick with worry, Artemis threw an arm around Athena and led her to the living room. They walked around various animal heads and paintings from wildlife before they reached the large, wooden doors that led to Artemis' living room.

Artemis gently pushed Athena down on one of the large, leather couches and lighted the fire before sitting down on the large carpet in front of the couches. She bit her lip while she studied her friend, her normally stoic silvery eyes filled with concern.

Athena was pale, shivering and burying her own nails in her wrists , leaving marks and causing ichor to run from little wounds. She had her eyes tightly closed and kept muttering to herself, repeating the same words over and over again. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

Artemis decided Athena could use a hot beverage and walked to the adjourning kitchen to make two cups of tea. Getting some mint from the cabinet filled with various herbs and spices, Artemis quickly prepared two cups of tea, adding two spoons of nectar in each. Mint tea and nectar mixed surprisingly well.

She also grabbed a hand chestnuts from the other cabinet and quickly heated them, then put them in a bowl so Athena had something to eat if she was hungry.

Carrying a tray with the cups of tea and the bowl of chestnuts, Artemis walked back to her friend, hoping she had calmed down enough to tell what exactly was going on that made her this distressed.

She entered the living room and searched for her friend, frowning when she saw Athena had pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them while she was staring out the window into the small forest that surrounded Artemis' house.

Artemis set the tray down on the wooden table that Athena herself had made and given to her and walked over to her friend. She gently touched Athena's shoulder to get her attention.

She felt even more worried when she saw how pale and lost her friend looked.

" Athena? Will you tell me now what is bothering you?".

Athena nodded and Artemis said down, taking one of the tea cups and sipping from it while she listened to her friend talk. " I am in love with him".

" You mentioned that, yes. Who is him?" Artemis said, pushing her feelings of shock and slight betrayal to the back of her mind. Athena didn't need accusations now, she needed someone who would listen and not judge.

She could yell at Athena later, when it didn't seem like it would make her break like some sort of china doll.

Athena looked down at her hands for a long time, studying them silently. Her voice was slightly hoarse and very soft when she spoke again. " Poseidon".

" Poseidon? You intend to tell me that you of all people have fallen for mister immature? Seriously Athena, do you remember the way he reacted when his game room had been destroyed? Honestly, you would think it was the worst thing that could have possibly happened".

" I know. I know he is juvenile, awfully temperamental and makes rash decisions and can be very vexing, but I just – I mean".

Athena hugged her own knees tightly, resting her head on it, when her voice broke a little with more emotions than she had ever allowed herself to feel.

Artemis got up and sat down to Athena, gently touching her friend's shoulder to get her attention. " Theenie?" she asked gently.

Athena didn't react, apart from a sound that sounded like a sob. She was obviously close to crying, something that made Artemis really sick with worry. The last time Athena had cried, really cried, was when she had accidently killed her dear friend Pallas. And that was a long time ago.

" Athena? " she repeated, a little louder.

" Are you all-" she stopped herself. That was the stupidest question she could obviously ask. Athena was obviously not all right or she wouldn't be rambling and nearly crying.

" Well you obviously aren't all right, so I shouldn't ask you that question. Is there anything I can do?".

Athena still didn't answer.

" Should I assassinate Aphrodite?".

That finally got a reaction. " Assassinating Aphrodite isn't attainable. She is immortal".

" Kick her haute couture-clad ass and throw her into Tartarus then".

" No. But thanks".

" You're welcome. What do you need?".

Athena sniffed, but didn't say anything anymore. Artemis was starting to fidget – she had never been very good at 'girl talk'- when Athena spoke again.

" Do you despise me now?".

" No! Of course not! Why would you even believe that?".

" I love him" . The small, teary voice that was used to say was heartbreaking and Artemis felt an overwhelming wave of pity and empathy for her life-long friend and sibling.

Athena was definitely her favourite sibling.

Together with Apollo, but she would never admit that. And she didn't think Athena would appreciate having to share the epithet of 'best sibling' with Apollo, whom she claimed was a complete cretin and one of the most provoking creatures that existed.

" I know. But do you honestly believe I would suddenly despise you for feeling that way?".

" It crossed my mind. I wouldn't have blamed if you did, you know?".

Artemis softly punched Athena. " Don't be ludicrous, I could never despise you. Even when you make me question your sanity by claiming to love Poseidon. Ugh, why do you even like him?".

Athena stared at the fire in the fireplace, picturing Poseidon like she had last seen him. Concerned. Grim. Tired. Tender. Sweet. Almost loving. She could perfectly recall his beautiful, soothing voice, the way his sea green eyes had locked with her grey ones and how his hand had lingered near her cheek, like he had wanted to cup her cheek or something. She even had registered the all too-short but blissful feeling of his soft, supple lips on her cheek while she dozed off.

Artemis studied her friend. Athena had suddenly blanched, like she sometimes did when she had a brilliant idea or plan, and was now mesmerized by the fire. Her eyes were shimmering with tears, she was softly rocking , her cheeks were flushed and she was gripping the tea cup she had just reached for like a life line.

Artemis didn't know what to think of it.

She grew even more concerned when she realized some things she hadn't immediately noticed; Athena had just noticeable circles beneath her eyes, her waist had shrunk and her nails were short and obviously abused at a regular basis by Athena's teeth. As far as immortals could look exhausted and sick, Athena looked it.

" Athena? Theenie?" Artemis asked, feeling her heart stop for a moment when Athena made the sound again and her upper lip started trembling.

She scooted closer to Athena. " He , calm down Theenie, no need to cr-".

Athena whimpered , cuddling herself and rocking with her eyes closed, mumbling again. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

Artemis, freaked out by now ( since when did Athena behave like this? How did you even deal with an hysterias Athena?) , lay her hand on Athena's shoulder. " Theenie? Are you-".

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

Artemis looked down at her friend, who had her eyes tightly closed and kept repeating don't cry in a tear-stained voice, and made a decision. She couldn't do this, she didn't know how. She needed assistance.

Artemis jumped to her feet and ran to the fire place. " Aunt Hestia? Can you come over? Now?" she called to the fireplace, praying Hestia would get her message immediately. " There is something wrong with Athena, she – well she.. Ugh, I don't even know what she is but she seems sort of insane".

Artemis sighed with relief when the fire suddenly started burning far brighter before the smoke from the fire came into the room and changed into a woman with gentle brown eyes, brown hair in a braid and comfy jeans and a T-shirt with ' the fireplace is where the heart is'.

Her brown eyes immediately locked on the still rocking and muttering Athena and she sighed. " Poor child".

She smiled at Artemis. " Good to see you Artemis. Now get me some Kleenex, the sweetest and most delicious food you have and a bottle with very good alcohol, mixed with nectar. I will take care of the rest".

Artemis, happy to comply, nodded and smiled. " Yes auntie". In a softer voice, she added. " Thank you for coming".

" You're welcome. Now, off you go!".

Artemis practically ran to her kitchen, grabbed a bottle of very expensive wine ( a present from Dionysos that he had given her when one of her hunters had 'accidently' made Greek fire explode on the wrong moment, leading to one of Dionysos' least favourite campers- which was saying something- running around the camp, grabbing his ass- that was literally on fire- and screaming like a mix between a banchee and a girl from a horror movie. Dionysos had literally rolled over the ground , tears streaming down his face. The bottle had been his way to thank her. Even if she hadn't really done anything) , a box of Kleenex ( no idea why she even had these. It wasn't like she got a cold often or cried a lot. Although she had been touched that time when she had watched 'black beauty' ..) and quickly filled a bowl with ice cream ( chocolate of course), whipped cream, pieces of chocolate ( too much chocolate didn't exist), small pieces of nuts and pieces of ambrosia.

When she walked back into the room, Hestia was embracing Athena and whispering soothing words into her ear while Athena seemed to be crying.

Artemis almost dropped the tray. Athena was actually crying?! And letting someone hug her?

She actually looked around, half expecting Hermes and Apollo to be hiding somewhere with a camera to 'preserve her reaction for the future generations'.

It wasn't like it hadn't happened before ( like the time when Apollo had filled her house with robots that looked and acted exactly like him for their birthday and had made them sing happy birthday to wake her. That had not been a good birthday. No wonder she preferred not celebrating it) , but she didn't see them this time. Which had to mean it was actually real and Athena really was not only 'showing weakness', but also allowing someone to embrace her. Which was really unheard of.

Sighing, Artemis put the tray down on the table and sat down next to a softly sobbing Athena. Hestia gave her a small smile, then focused on the very upset goddess in her arms again.

" Shush darling, you know Artemis and I are here for you. You're not alone in this".

" But y-you don't love him l-like I do!". She waited a moment, then added- hysterias and desperate by now. "And I am not even supposed to like him! B-because he is dad's enemy and I am a virgin and it's Romeo and Juliet all over again and I despise being in love, because it is only painful and complicated a-and".

Athena started to cry harder now and Artemis started at her friend with a fearful and concerned fascination when Athena – or the person pretending to be Athena, because really whenever did Athena cry? Over Poseidon , of all people- seemed to lose it completely and leaned into Hestia's embrace.

Hestia gently rubbed Athena's back and kept murmuring that's it, just let it go dear, I'm here while Athena managed to make Hestia's hair look like she had just stepped out the shower, a shower with tears as water.

Finally, Athena calmed down somewhat and her great, heaving sobs turned into hiccups. " I –hic- ruined your –hic- hair. My apolo-hic-gies".

Hestia smiled and pulled Athena towards her. Athena sighed and , tears now streaming down her face silently, sighed while she relaxed again in the embrace. " That doesn't matter dear. And really, since when do you even care about a thing as mundane as hair? ".

" I don't. I j-just don't want, I can't".

Athena sobbed again, biting her lip hard to keep more sobs from escaping. " I just d-don't desire to –hic- think about him anymore. It's j-just too –hic- p-painful".

" Darling..".

" I r-really am unattainable of this l-love thing –hic- aunt H-hestia. I am not caring or open or anyt-thing required for relationships. I am cold, logical and c-calculating".

" Oh Theenie, that isn't true. You might behave somewhat cold and distant, but you are always caring and loving to me and Artemis".

Hestia looked at Artemis, whom was still staring at her sobbing mess of a friend , occasionally withdrawing her intense look to check for any cameras and Apollo.

" Right Artemis?". Artemis didn't seem to hear Hestia and Hestia sighed softly. Honestly Artemis? My dear girl, I know you're uncomfortable with this, but I fail to comprehend why that wall seems to hold you in such a rupture.

Sometimes Hestia really felt like she was the only one actually taking care of the family, the only one that could be a comforting and solid presence and this was certainly one of these times.

Artemis and Athena had been friends for a really long time and all Artemis was doing now Athena was near hysteria, was glaring at the wall like it had somehow done something wrong. She could be hopeless, really.

" Artemis?" Hestia tried again.

" Hmm? ".

" Darling, I am sure the wall is fascinating, but I would appreciate it if you answered my question".

That got Artemis' attention. She arched an eyebrow, obviously not liking Hestia's slightly scolding tone. " Oh? What was this question?".

" It wasn't a question as much as a statement or opinion really. I simply wished you to confirm that Athena is always a loving and caring person to us, even if she can be a tad bit.. challenging ".

" Sure. Although she isn't the embracing-giggling-let's all be best friends type like some juvenile love goddesses are, for which I am eternally grateful".

"Eh yes, true".

Hestia turned her attention back to the still –silently now- crying Athena, wisely ignoring the thinly-veiled annoyance and anger in Artemis' voice when she talked about Aphrodite. She didn't have time to deal with one of Artemis' temper tantrums about Aphrodite right now, after all.

"See Athena? You aren't what people make you out to be and I am convinced you would be as qualified at this 'loving thing' as at anything else you do, dear. You're brilliant after all".

" B-but I have attempted to find a solution to t-the pain and it didn't work! My –hic- brilliance is no help at all in this matter! It j-ust keeps –hic- hurting!".

" Darling. Love isn't my field of expertise , but I do know one thing; it is supposed to hurt. With everything good, comes something bad after all. Without death, no need for new life. Without evil, there can also be no good. They have to balance each other out darling, so love will hurt to compensate for the intense joy when- well when it doesn't hurt".

" H-how do you know?".

" I might not be allowed or – willing- to experience love myself, but I have seen people fall in love, have read about people falling in love and have seen their intense joy when they were together and their anguish when they weren't. I know a little".

" I don't want it to hurt" Athena whispered, her voice small and broken yet determined and slightly angry.

"But it will hurt darling, so you will have to live with the pain, I fear".

"W-why? I never –hic- desired this!".

" Darling, I-".

"Okay, that might have been a futile and juvenile remark, but still.. I know I won't always get what I want, but this.. this is just too much! ".

" Athena, you're a strong woman, I am convinced you will survive heartbreak".

"It isn't just the heartbreak" Athena half-hissed, half-screamed.

She pulled back a little, flinging her arms wildly while she talked. " It is the endless waiting, the uncertainty, the fact I don't know. I don't know my own feelings, my own desires, I don't know his and I am worried sick day in day out. I am going to work myself into cardiac arrest if this-this madness continues!".

Athena sighed, the fight leaving her. Hestia's heart almost broke when she looked into weary, bleary, tear-filled glazy grey eyes. Athena had never looked as much as a small, defenceless little girl as she did at this moment. It ate at Hestia's heart to see someone she cared for deeply, almost like a mother, so vulnerable and small.

" I just don't know Hestia" Athena admitted, closing her eyes and sobbed once, very softly. " I don't know a-and it frightens me. I always know. I can't stand not knowing, not knowing whether he is all right, what is going on, I just, I just can't stand it. It drives me crazy Hestia, it really does".

Athena half-sobbed, half-laughed. It was a heart-breaking and strange sound, especially coming from the normally strong and proud woman. " I don't know how much I am able to take anymore".

"Oh darling, you're able to take so much more. You are possibly the strongest woman I know, and more than capable of taking this. But regardless of what you can or cannot take, what are you willing to take? What are you willing to risk Athena, to do?".

Athena swallowed and bit her bottom lip. " I d-don't, I c-can't, I mean- " She cut herself off, rubbing her forehead. " I can't risk or do anything. Atlantis is my main concern now and-".

" Bullocks. Whom told you this?".

Athena shrugged. " Palaemon. My father, every time I attempted desperately to make him either do something or said I wanted to go myself. Common sense".

Athena looked away for a moment. " It doesn't matter whom says it, it is the message that matters. I obviously ought to stay here, to maintain Atlantis' safety instead of running off to go on an ill-advised, ludicrous and inane mission to rescue someone who doesn't want to be rescued".

Hestia frowned. " What do you mean? Surely-".

" Poseidon has made it painstakingly clear to me he does not desire to be rescued, especially by me".

" How?".

" He visited one of my dreams, but that's beside the point. The point being the man that has reached new heights of idiocy and is overly capable of giving me skull-splitting headaches, practically growled at me when I suggested to come and get him".

" Have you ever considered the reason for his sudden animosity

–sudden? The man has been that way for millennia-

is that such a feat is dangerous if not lethal

- we can't die-

and would either result in your capture or something far worse?".

" Naturally. But-".

"No buts Athena, the poor man is simply attempting to keep you from injuring yourself in some way or another. You should be thankful".

" For WHAT? For being in love and absolutely miserable? From being literally nauseous with worry? For being a walking cliché? For being pathetic? ".

" No, for being in love with a sweet and caring man that loves you and would give up his powers and immortality to protect you".

" You honestly think he loves me?".

" I know so. How couldn't he? ".

" Well, I-".

" Don't you dare belittle yourself! You're an amazing woman and Poseidon should count himself very lucky to be the one that hold your heart!".

" He doesn't even know! He doesn't know how I feel about him and – even more importantly- I don't know how he feels about me!".

" I would say it is obvious how he feels".

" And how would that be?".

Artemis rolled her eyes and answered before Hestia could. " Well he loves you. Seriously Athena ,a blind person would know that!".

" A blind person can't see anything!".

" But a blind person can listen and hear how Poseidon's voice softens and get this peculiar tone that indicates he is smiling like the fool he is and would quickly comprehend Poseidon loves you. So you're a cretin for not noticing Poseidon loving you!".

" I am NOT a cretin! And you have no evidence whatsoever that Poseidon loves me".

" He threatened to kill that man that flirted with you. What more evidence do you need?".

" That is no evidence! He constantly threatens to kill people!".

" Well yes, but it was obvious he was just attempting to protect you and that he was very jealous". "

Preposterous. Poseidon does not love me nor will he ever love me!".

Artemis and Hestia rolled their eyes at the same time, both annoyed that someone so smart could be so oblivious and stupid. Their exasperated looks quickly turned into concern when Athena's eyes suddenly filled with tears again though.

" He detests me. He always has".

Hestia sighed. " He does not detest you Athena, nor has he ever really despised you".

Athena snorted. " So he has just been mentioning it to me all these millennia for the heck of it?".

" No. He was hoping those unwelcome feelings would go away if he pretended not to like you. Besides, you are a difficult person to love darling, it isn't like you encourage men to approach you in any way".

" Of course not! I am a virgin, a maiden goddess!".

" I didn't mean in that way darling. I was intending to convey you often push people away and are inclined to decline any offer of friendship".

' Oh. But Poseidon never mentioned he desired a friendship with me".

" He didn't dare to".

" What would he be afraid of? Of my father?".

" No, of you".

" Why would h-".

" Darling think. He has been in love with you for a long time. That makes him very vulnerable and you very powerful. You could easily break his heart after all".

" I never thought about it that way".

Athena sighed. " But it doesn't matter anymore. He is gone and I have failed to fulfil the one task he has given me, the one I really should have completed. Percy is in grave danger. Poseidon possibly detests me now, if he didn't already".

" No, he doesn't darling".

Athena sobbed softly. " He does. Percy is the most important person in the world to him".

Hestia sighed. " Darling, listen to me and listen carefully. Poseidon does not detest you. He will never detest you, no matter what you do".

"But-".

" No buts! Everything will be all right dear, I promise you".

" B-but Poseidon isn't here and Percy is hurt and I failed!" Athena half-sobbed and half-wailed, obviously very angry and upset with herself for 'failing'.

Hestia patted her hair. " Now now, you didn't fail darling. That is a little harsh, don't you think? Besides, Percy isn't dead and that is because you ordered Sopatra to guard him. You indirectly rescued him, not assassinated him dear".

" There is still a rather big possibility he will die. Even Apollo has no idea how to heal him".

Artemis snorted. " Oh please, like he ever does. I swear, he always improvises, even when it comes to medical problems. Besides – Artemis lifted her cup to her mouth and shrugged- several people are better at healing people than he is. His son even brought people back to life".

Athena suddenly straightened with lighting speed, grabbing Artemis' shoulders and pulling her closer to her. " What?!".

" You made me drop my tea!".

Athena dug her nails into Artemis' shoulders and shook her. " What are you talking about?".

"Asclepius. Apollo's son. My brother didn't stop bragging for centuries about his son's talents and abilities. Remember?".

Athena face-palmed. " Of course! Asclepius, I remember him". She tilted her head, apparently thinking about something. "Do you believe Asclepius would be able to heal Perseus' injuries?".

" Possibly. But you would have to find a way to urge him to aid you. And I'm not sure he will ".

" Why wouldn't he? I aided him once".

" By giving him gorgon blood that got him killed!".

" Correction, by offering him gorgon blood that enabled him to heal any injury , revive the dead and eventually made him a god".

" After getting killed".

Artemis looked at Athena and groaned. She wasn't crying anymore- which was a small blessing- but now she had that look. That look that meant she had some supposedly brilliant idea that would complicate Artemis' life to the point she questioned if her life was actually that good and if she should be friends with Athena.

" Oh nooo. You have an idea, haven't you?" Artemis said, sighing.

Athena shrugged. " I have ideas all the time".

" You know what I mean".

" Naturally. Will you assist me?".

" Well, I-".
" It is for Percy Artemis. You know, the young gentleman that held the sky for you? That risked his life for you".

" He didn't actually, he did it for his girlfriend".

" Well, that should be something you appreciate even more. Don't you admire people who actually care for their girlfriends like that? Don't you think such a display of the uttermost loyalty and care should be rewarded?".

" Okay okay , I will aid you. Stop preaching already".

Artemis rubbed her temples. " Jeez. No wonder Zeus had a killer-headache".

Athena rolled her eyes. " Oh cease exaggerating and whining already. We have better things to do".

" Unbelievable! How can you go from crying and pouring your heart out one moment to full-blown commander mode the next?".

" I am flexible. Unlike you apparently. Now , are you ready?".

Artemis rolled her eyes. " For what? Visiting Asclepius and request he heals Percy Jackson from something unknown? Because, that will totally work".

" Have some faith Artemis".

" I would, but you aren't exactly yourself. What if this being in love thing has already altered your capabilities to the point you can't function well enough to succeed -in what? What are we going to do exactly? Ask Asclepius to pour gorgon blood over the boy?".

"No. And I never fail". Athena looked down at her feet, suddenly trembling again. " Or almost never" she whispered.

Artemis, sighing, got up. " Listen Theenie, what happened to Percy wasn't your fault. You didn't fail. And really, the mood swings are just adding fuel to my suspicion you won't be able to think straight".

She gave Athena a once-over. " Say, you have been having a lot of mood swings lately. You didn't – she gestured at Athena's hips- you know?".

Athena looked confused. " No, I don't know. What do have mood swings to do with anything, for the sake of my sanity?".

" Well, you lost that one already" Artemis mumbled.

Athena glared at her and Artemis felt partly relieved her friend had recovered enough to glare at her and partly afraid. Athena really was good at terrifying people with her glares.

She shrugged, glancing at the door and planning her escape if Athena would go berserk and attack her. Small chance, but still. One could never be too careful.

" Well I am willing to admit my knowledge on subjects as love and lust is lacking, but I know a thing or two about childbirth and even pregnancy, so-".

" You think I am pregnant? " Athena hissed, the last traces of sadness lingering in her eyes disappearing and being replaced with fury. Uh-oh. Now she is pissed. Damn.

Artemis smiled cautiously, knowing all too well that an angry Athena wasn't something you wanted to encounter and that she needed to be careful. " Well, you have been having a lot mood swings lately, you eat a lot , but you have actually lost instead of gained weight and- ".

" You incompetent idiot! I have been having mood swings lately because every time I am joyful, something reminds me of him and I feel immediately saddened again, I have been consuming more food than normally because it – oddly- keeps my mind of things and I haven't gained weight because A ; I am a goddess and B; My stomach got involuntarily emptied every time I had a nightmare about Poseidon. Are you happy that you know now?".

Artemis sighed. She obviously had insulted Athena. Oops. " My apologies Athena, I jumped to conclusions with lacking knowledge on your.. situation. Can you forgive me?".

Athena glared at Artemis, but relented with a sigh when she saw Artemis was truly sorry. "I suppose I can compromise and accept your apology. But only because you haven't been judgmental and I assume you only asked that question because you care".

" True. So you haven't?".

" Artemis..".

Artemis held up her hands, unknowingly mirroring Apollo's defensive posture from earlier. " Just asking. It is my privilege as friend to be able to ask such questions, right?".

" I suppose". Athena rolled her eyes. " Not that I comprehend why on earth you wouldn't wish to remain oblivious to such actions".

" Well, you're my friend. I have to know whether to smile at Poseidon if he ever returns or whack him for doing something like that".

" I hope you're joking. And for the record, no we haven't".

"Damn. I promised the girls they would get an old-fashioned manhunt once. It would have been great if I could have persuaded Zeus to stripe Poseidon of his powers for a short time and give to my girls to play with".

" Artemis! Do not contemplate using the man I like for an insane manhunt. And why did you even promise such a thing?".

Artemis shrugged. " It's fun. Especially when you turn the men into jackalopes. I like turning people into jackalopes".

"I think we have established that already. Now that you know Poseidon and I have never done anything like that and wait a minute. You said damn. Almost as if you didn't like we haven't done that".

" That's revolting! And I only meant that it was disappointing that I now don't have an excuse to send my girls after him".

"Why do you even desire that?".

"Well, you have to admit it would be rather entertaining to watch Poseidon be chased by a bunch of teenage girls".

" I am not convinced he would dislike that".

" Girls that want to hurt him. Armed, lethal girls? While he can't defend himself like he normally would be able to?".

" Good point".

" Soooo?".

" No. I don't intend to give you permission to hunt Poseidon. And this is completely irrelevant, so cease talking about it".

" Well, then I will have to think of something else. What exactly is your plan?".

" Find Asclepius. Tell him what is going on. Bring him to Percy. Very simple".

"And you want me to do this because..?".

" I have other matters to deal with and you're my friend. And friends aid each other, right?".

"Right. I will shoot him if he attempts anything though".

"Artemis.. ".

" He is one of my brother's sons. That normally doesn't bode well. You can't blame me for being cautious".

" I suppose. Just don't injure him until he has given you a reason to do so. And for the record, those silvery eyes are unique and exquisite isn't a reason. Nor is making any other compliment".

" I still believe that creepy kid deserved it".

" He said you looked beautiful, what is so horrible about that?".

" The look he gave me while he said it! You haven't seen the predatory gleam in that gullible boy's eyes Athena".

" I will take your word for it. Will you go now?".

"You do realize this is my house, don't you?".

"Artemis…".

" Fine, fine I am gone already. I will contact you when I have convinced Asclepius to help".

Athena sighed. " Thank you".

" You're welcome. But don't think that being heart-broken and miserable means I won't blame you if anything happens! Just because your boyfriend is gone and possibly being tortured doesn't mean you can get away with everything!".

" I wouldn't dare think something preposterous like that" Athena , rolling her eyes slightly, said.

" Good. You will hear from me"

And with that, Artemis started glowing bright silver and disappeared. Athena immediately turned to Hestia, who had been listening quietly , and smiled at her.

" Thank you for your comfort and support Aunt Hestia". "

Hestia smiled. " You're very welcome dear. What are you going to do now?".

Athena shrugged. " I am going to search for Poseidon. I will speak to father and convince him to send a search party, then go with them. I refuse to simply wait and drive myself insane any longer".

Hestia frowned. " Are you sure , sweetheart? I sincerely doubt Zeus will be easy to convince. Not to mention our unknown nemesis must be very dangerous if he managed to capture Poseidon".

" I am even more dangerous, as both Zeus and our nemesis would better know and remember".

Hestia sighed and got up. " Either way, do be careful Athena. I don't wish to have you captured as well".

" I will. What are you going to do?".

Hestia shrugged. " What I always do. Tend the heart and pray our family won't tear itself apart".

She smiled at Athena. " Good luck with convincing Zeus, Athena. And know that I will be there, ready to aid you if you need help breaking his resolve".

Athena smiled and hugged Hestia. " I know. You always are there and I'm truly grateful for that. Bye auntie Hestia".

" Goodbye Athena".

Hestia withdrew from the hug and walked back to the fireplace. She waved at Athena while the fire started burning brighter and brighter and then swallowed her.

When the smoke disappeared, the fireplace was normal again and Hestia was gone. Athena looked at it for a few moments, quickly sending out her thanks for the last time and disappeared herself. It was time for a little talk.

" I wasn't asking for your permission, nor was I asking for your pathetic, inane and insignificant opinion. I was merely informing you of what is going and what should happen. You have no say in this, other than assuring we have a team of competent people that will return Poseidon to us" Athena said to a gob-smacked Zeus, her tone soft and icy, the tone she used during battle or when she was about to destroy an enemy.

Her foolish father ( because really, standing up to Athena isn't exactly courageous, it is just incredibly stupid) frowned. " Athena, you can't storm in here and order me to-".

Athena leaned towards her father and lowered her voice to an icy whisper. " Do not inform me of my abilities, I am well aware of them already. And you will do as I say or I will get the records of all your past affaires and hand them over to Hera. Do you honestly wish to spend the remainder of your life on a couch, one hand on your knife, because your wife has finally realized how you exceed at one thing only; cheating?".

Zeus paled a little. (okay, a lot)

Athena smiled, a small decidedly evil smile, and leaned a little closer to her now ghostly white father. " I have cooperated with Apollo and a few others and am well aware of any affair you have ever had, your majesty. And giving my reports of those hideous, pathetic affairs to Hera will just be the tip of the iceberg. I will do far worse to you if you even attempt to disobey my orders".

Zeus swallowed, his hand slowly creeping towards his lightning bolt, while he met Athena's eyes and managed a weak smile. " Are you honestly attempting to blackmail me daughter? Because I can assure you, that won't end well. I am the king and I refuse to be forced to do anything because you ordered me to".

" I am not attempting to, I am doing it. And you can solve this like you always solve everything you see as a problem- which would be with violence-, but that would only set things in motion. My allies won't accept that and my owls will immediately deliver the reports to Hera if you assassinate me. Your choice".

" Well I-".

" You will do as I say or I will no longer support you. You will do as I say or I will send Hades all the information he needs to overthrow you. You will do as I say or I will never forgive you!" Athena hissed, her eyes the stormiest of grey.

Zeus actually flinched a little when he saw that, but was determined not to show anything. " You will do no such thing daughter! I refuse to be threatened or blackmailed and I order you to-".

Athena sighed. " Fine. You leave me no choice".

She removed a phone from her pocket and dialled a number. Zeus watched in puzzlement when she spoke to the phone. "Yes, with me. It is like you already predicted. He is refusing to cooperate and playing the I-am-king card. You're coming? Oh, you're here already. Good. Yes. Thank you".

Athena hung up and took a step back.

Zeus narrowed his eyes and gripped his lightning bolt very tightly when he saw the look in her eyes. He didn't trust his daughter, especially not when she was smirking. Smirking was never good. It was doomsday-bad actually.

" What are you-" he started, only to never finish his sentence as the doors opened to reveal a familiar woman with long black hair with silver tips, green eyes and an expression of exasperation and sadness.

He swallowed. Hard. And looked at Athena , who had crossed her arms and was looking very smug and satisfied, to give her a look that clearly said; You called my mom? You traitor! You back-stabbing, evil traitor!

Athena merely arched an eyebrow, shrugged and mouthed; you asked for it. Deal with it, your majesty. And smirked.

Note to myself; do NOT get any more children. Especially not intelligent children that are in possession of mom's number. Especially not intelligent children that are masters at blackmail.

Zeus had barely finished berating himself for having such an intelligent child when his mother reached him. " Zeus.. I honestly can't believe you" she said, shaking her head.

Zeus got down from his throne and smiled. " Mother. What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?".

Rhea pursed her lips. " Darling, stop the games already. You're an intelligent man, you no doubt know exactly why I am here".

Zeus shrugged. " I assume it has something to do with Athena –whom I really should have swallowed when I had the chance- and her inane request to send a search party for Poseidon".

" Inane? Darling, sending help to your brother is NOT inane. We should always strive to help our family".

" That may be, but I –".

" No, not that may be darling, it is the truth. Why are you still standing there and doing absolutely nothing while your brother might very well be in immeasurable pain right now? Have I not raised you to be good to your family?".

Zeus wanted to mention she had not, in fact, raised him since his psychotic father wouldn't have it that way, but decided against it. His childhood was still a sensitive subject he avoided at all costs, since it tended to make Rhea tear up and cry over her 'poor babies being swallowed' and 'my marriage was a total failure'. He really didn't want that.

" Yes mother".

" Then why is my poor Posy still in danger? Then why isn't he here, with his beautiful girlfriend and-".

"His WHAT?" Zeus said, staring at his mother as if she had just decided to revive Kronos and marry him again. Which would be about as logical as what she had just proclaimed.

Rhea smiled at him. " His girlfriend , Zuso. Hasn't your brother told you of his plan to woe Athena?".

" NO! I WOULD HAVE KILLED HIM!'.

"Zeus! We do NOT kill our brothers " Rhea said, her voice slightly sharper.

Zeus narrowed his eyes. It was SO unfair that his mother got to kill her brother ( or at least get Zeus to do it), but he wasn't allowed to kill his sorry-excuse-of a brother when said brother tried to harass Zeus' intelligent, beautiful, inno- okay maybe not that much innocent as valuable and too good for Poseidon- daughter.

" But he deserves it! I should cut him into little pieces for this insult! I will NOT allow him to harass and abuse my poor daughter".

Athena rolled her eyes. " Poseidon did not do anything father. And that is the kettle calling the pot black, because you have done all these things and more".

Zeus turned to her. " Do not talk to me like that! And that's different!".

" How is it different, you- ".

" PALLAS ATHENA, SHUT UP THIS INSTANT OR I WILL GROUND YOU FOREVER" Zeus screamed, pointing his lightning bolt –unconsciously, he didn't want to hit Athena. Not really- at Athena.

Rhea stepped forward , sending Athena a warning look when Athena looked absolutely pissed off and ready to verbally assault her father until he was reduced to tears. " Zeus!" she called.

She shook her head again. " Zeus.. Zeus.. I am very disappointed".

Zeus froze when he heard those fateful words. The words that he and his siblings referred to as; The most potent weapon ever invented or, short, The MPWEI. The words that would make you apologize until your voice was hoarse and were able to make anyone feel guilty. It made his stomach churn like always, as well as complicated swallowing.

" I am very disappointed.." Rhea continued " That you would behave like your father".

Zeus stared as his mother, numb and shocked. That couldn't be true, could it?

" I gave you the benefit of the doubt when you swallowed Metis, just like I gave you the benefit of the doubt countless times before. But now you have really disappointed me Zuso, and I really believed you couldn't disappoint me more when you followed into your father's footsteps by swallowing a pregnant woman and thus an innocent, harmless, perfect baby".

" Mother, I-".

" Of course I shouldn't expect you to be someone I could be proud of, not while you are your father's son, but I hoped, I hoped- Rhea's voice broke a little and Zeus almost felt like crying himself when his mother's bleary, pained green eyes met his blue ones. " I just hoped you would be different. That you wouldn't break my heart like he did" she said.

Before Zeus could think about it, he was running towards Rhea and gathered her into his arms, muttering sorry in his mother's silky hair. She hugged him back and withdrew after a moment. " It is okay Zuso. It isn't too late to make amends yet".

" Make amends?".

Rhea nodded. " Send help Zeus, aid Poseidon instead of fighting him. I already have researched his position and gathered a few people that might be able to help. All you have to do, is give your permission and offer us protection, lead the search party to the sea of monsters safely".

Zeus frowned. He really didn't want to do that. " Mother, I don't think-".

"Exactly. You didn't think. You didn't think about my poor boy, alone and scared. You didn't think about my poor Posy, about what could go wrong when you send him away nor did you think what the consequences of his disappearance could be. You didn't think about how –how- ".

Rhea took a deep breath to calm down a little. Mothers tend to freak out a little when their children are kidnapped and possibly being tortured and slowly destroyed, which was why the normally calm and gentle woman didn't look that calm right now. "how he could be destroyed" she finished.

" I am sorry mother, I truly am. But I will fix this, promise".

Zeus gently took Rhea's hand and pressed a quick kiss to it. " I won't disappoint you again".

" I swear on the styx" he added when he saw she didn't believe it.

Rhea relaxed a little and smiled watery at him. " Thank you, my boy. That makes me feel a lot better. I knew I could count on my intelligent, handsome and strong son to solve this problem".

Zeus grinned. " Of course. Who else would be able to help Poseidon? ".

Rhea smiled. " No one but you, my precious boy. Now go and arrange everything. I will see you later".

Zeus and Rhea embraced one more time before Zeus exited, without another glance at Athena. Athena smiled at Rhea when the doors closed and her father was gone.

"Thank you, grandmother Rhea. I am very grateful for your assistance".

Rhea smiled and gave Athena a quick hug. " Of course my dear. I am always willing to assist you, especially when my dear boy has been teasing his brother again".

She gave her most blinding smile, the one that made Apollo extremely jealous. " Besides, you're in love darling and I simply love happy endings".

Her smile turned mischievous. " Perhaps the world will even be graced with a little Athena baby soon. I certainly hope so".

Athena groaned. " What is with all these people thinking I am pregnant? Honestly, do I look fat or something?".

Rhea chuckled. "No darling, we just dare to dream and hope. Although a child with your supreme intellect and Poseidon's powers is a frightening concept when you really start to think about it".

Athena frowned. " I don't know about that". She blushed slightly. " I actually think it would be rather endearing to have a small girl or boy with Poseidon's beautiful green eyes and pout. Or perhaps twins. Wouldn't twins be absolutely adorable?".

Rhea smiled when Athena got a faraway look in her eyes and practically swooned at the idea of having children that looked like Poseidon. " I am convinced they would be amazing".

She grinned. " As long as they won't behave as Artemis and Apollo, because let's face it, even I occasionally 'lose my cool' around those two".

" I suppose".

Athena sighed. " I just wish Poseidon was here".

"We all do darling".

" I will be honest with all of you. This rescue mission will be perilous, tedious and you will be stuck on a gigantic mass of water for an undetermined period of time with people you strongly dislike".

Athena paused a moment to look at the people around her, to give her words the time to really sink in. When the crowd started to murmur , she continued. " But it is also of the utmost significance that this rescue mission is carried out, it is vital that we find Poseidon and bring him back to Atlantis. We require Poseidon to be safe, at Atlantis or elsewhere, or the seas will no longer be ruled and be in a disarray".

" But Lady Athena, you have been managing just fine these past years" A small Telekhine boy said, causing a collective gasp from all those around him. Athena didn't know whether to feel flattered or incinerate the boy for interrupting her and sounding like he didn't want Poseidon to return.

She opted for neither and merely arched an eyebrow. " And what do you wish to point out with that?".

The boy swallowed nervously. " Well, not much your majesty. I just don't really believe Atlantis won't survive his majesty's prolonged disappearance. I mean, you really have been a great queen these past days. Alexandros said so, so it must be true! ".

Athena almost smiled. A part of her, she had to admit, simply found this boy cute. " And who is this Alexandros you're speaking so highly off?".

" Alexandros is my very best friend , of course. He is really smart".

" Ah. Well, then you should visit me later this day and show me this friend of yours. Maybe he can help".

She turned to the nearest guard. " Abaven, take the boy with you to the palace and entertain him until I return. I will require to speak with him when I arrive" she said in a low tone, careful of all the people surrounding them. She didn't want anyone to overhear.

Abaven nodded and left the stage, walking towards the small boy and whispering something in his ear. He said something to the boy, who nodded and allowed Abaven to lead him away.

The crowd started to murmur again, but Athena silenced them with a gesture. " Please be silent and listen to what I have to say".

When everyone was silent again, she continued. " I simply wish to ask you people to aid me , to support me in this. I require a number a good, strong people to help in returning King Poseidon to us. So my question is ; who wants to help?".

Athena allowed herself a smile when immediately, every hand was raised. Apparently the people really liked Poseidon.

She cleared her throat, hoping her voice wouldn't be hoarse with emotion. " Thank you. I will choose a few people to go with me on this mission. For the rest of you, there won't be that much that will change. During my absence, my daughter Annabeth and a group of highly qualified people I have personally selected, will govern Atlantis".

Athena choose a few people, careful to take people that didn't have a wife or children, and answered a few questions before she was free to leave.

She was glad too; although the people of Atlantis were very friendly and had really grown on her, she was afraid she would lose her composure if she had to answer more questions about Poseidon or see their concerned faces.

He couldn't be more than eight, Athena concluded.

His brown eyes had small, golden specks she saw from this distance and didn't yet have the bitterness or knowledge older people had. He wasn't tall; he was actually quite small. The way he waddled instead of walked was actually endearing and Athena was again surprised by her own feelings. She actually found this small boy cute, something she didn't often- if at all- think.

He was bend over and barked excitedly, all his attention taken by a small baby seal that was swimming around excitedly in the aquarium that had been placed here.

Athena stepped out of the shadows from where she had been studying them and approached the boy. " Am I mistaken or is that Alexandros you're talking to?".

The boy jumped a little and turned, his eyes widening, then relaxed and smiled shyly at her. " Yes. I asked the nice guard to bring an aquarium for him, I hope that's okay?".

" I can't think of a reason it wouldn't be".

She nodded at Alexnadros, who was now barking loudly. " Why is he behaving in that manner?".

" He likes you. He wants to say hello".

" Oh".

Athena walked to the aquarium and lay her hand on it. " Hello Alexandros. I am pleased to meet you".

The boy grinned when Alexandros barked even louder. " Calm down Alex, you're gonna break the glass!".

Athena smiled. " I very much doubt that".

She turned and arched her eyebrow. " So. You believed it wasn't necessary to rescue Poseidon?".

The boy looked at his feet and shook his head.

" Then what did you think?".

" Ehm?I think you're a good queen and that you should be careful?".

" Where do you base this opinion on".

The boy frowned. " Well, Alexandros said so. And you have been doing really good stuff. And my older brother said so, and he should know, because he works with you".

" Your older brother?".

" One of the guards".

" Ah. And what about your parents?".

The boy looked away and Athena frowned when she realized his eyes were teary. " I-I don't have any. They d-died".

Athena lay a hand on his shoulder. " I am sorry". When the boy still didn't say anything, she added " My mother is dead too. So I have an inkling of what that feels like".

He finally looked at her. " How did she die? Mine died in an accident".

Athena shrugged. " My father swallowed her".

" Ieew! Gross!".

Athena laughed. " Yes. Quite".

" Aren't you mad at your dad, then? I wouldn't like it if my dad ate my mom".

Athena shrugged. " I understand his reasoning. And anger wouldn't be beneficial, so why would I be angry?'.

" Because he ate someone you cared about? I would be really upset if someone did that to me".

" Yeah well. It was a long time ago".

Athena felt slightly uncomfortable and quickly changed the subject. " So. What more did Alexandros say about me?'.

" Ehm. He said you were smart. And uhm pretty. Oh and I said you were like King Poseidon, cuz your energy was the same".

" Alexandros can feel my aura of power?".

" Yeah. He says it feels like King Poseidon's power".

Athena narrowed her eyes, thinking. If this baby seal could feel her power, did that mean he could feel Poseidon's as well? Perhaps they could use Alexandros to find Poseidon.

" Is it possible for him to find me if he focuses on my aura of power?".

" Sure".

" And could he perhaps also find Poseidon by focusing on his aura of power?".

" Ehm. I think so?".

Athena kneeled down and grabbed the boy's shoulders". Bo- What was your name again?".

" Damokles. But my friends call me Mo".

" Okay. Mo, would you be fine with me borrowing Alexandros for some time?".

"Why would you want that?".

" Because I believe he could be crucial in the process of finding Poseidon. He could really help me!".

"Oh. Well, if he wants it, I guess you can" Damokles said, his eyes tearing a little again. He obviously didn't want to lose his best friend.

" You could go with us?" Athena suggested.

Damokles immediately started smiling. " Really?".

" Really".

Athena was very shocked when he suddenly practically threw himself in her arms. She almost lost her balance, but was able to catch him without falling.

" Thank you, thank you, thank you! " he said and she awkwardly patted his back.

" You're welcome. Would you leave my lap now?".

" Oh, ehh sorry?".

He left her lap, looking very embarrassed , and Athena got up and smiled at him. " That's all right. Could you prepare Alexandros for departure?".

" How-?".

" Just tell Abaven anything you and Alexandros will require. He will take care of everything".

" Okay. Where are you going?".

Athena smiled. " I still have to give my team some instructions, visit my daughter to inform her of her new duties and other things to take care of. I will see you later. Okay?".

"Okay!".

What is it with these people and embracing? What is so appealing about surrounding a person with your arms, about sharing bodily contact? And why does it keep happening to me? These were Athena's thoughts when she walked into the infirmary and was assaulted by her sobbing mess of a daughter.

Annabeth hugged her tight, so tight Athena would have had a serious case of oxygen deprivation had she required breathing like a mortal.

Athena looked down at her daughter and was flabbergasted. Not only was her daughter attempting to commit murder- impossible, since she was a goddess- by means of hugging ( or that is what it looked and felt like) , but she was also softly sobbing and muttering incoherently. Athena had never known Annabeth to be anything but calm and coherent. Or at least coherent.

She gently pried Annabeth's arms of her and pulled back from the hug to look at her daughter's tear-covered face. Then she became really concerned. " Annabeth ? Why are you smiling?".

Annabeth sniffed and wiped away her tears. " Because you send Artemis for Asclepius and now Percy is no longer dying".

And then she hugged Athena again, tighter than ever. " Thank you, thank you, thank you!".

Athena patted her daughter's hair. " You're welcome. Now could you kindly cease your attempts at making me suffer from oxygen deprivation?".

Annabeth pulled back immediately, apparently only now realising just whom she had been hugging. " Yes, naturally. My apologies for my behaviour, I just – Never mind".

" No, please tell me. You what exactly? ".

"Well, you have been behaving so differently I more or less had forgotten who you were. Again, I offer my apologies Lady Athena".

Athena looked down at her daughter's hesitant and weary face, thought about all the support and comfort Annabeth had given her all these past years and made a decision.

" Mother will suffice" she said softly, smiling at Annabeth.

Annabeth's reaction was immediate; her jaw dropped until it nearly touched the floor, her eyes widened to the point they should have fallen from their sockets and finally, she started to open and close her mouth various times. " You-I- what ?".

Athena sighed. Honestly, she might have always wanted to be adressed as 'Lady Athena' in the presence of the other Gods, but she had allowed her children to call her mom on other occassions.

" I permit you to call me mother, if you would like. Honestly Annabeth, it isn't that flabbergasting".

" It isn't? You have never allowed anyone to call you anything before. You told me yourself that you despise nicknames".

" Well mother isn't a nickname , is it? It's an epithet I will proudly wear".

" Oh. Thank you?".

" Again, you're welcome. Thank you for your support and understanding these years Annabeth".

" You're welcome".

" Good. You were attempting to tell me something regarding Perseus?".

Annabeth smiled widely. " Yes! Asclepius managed to heal him".

" Wonderful. Could you show me?".

" Of course , follow me".

Annabeth told Athena all that happened since she had left the infirmary. She told how Apollo had attempted various times ( this time without freakish yet fascinating shadowy things attacking) to heal Percy, but it hadn't worked. Apollo had been heartbroken ( Annabeth huffed and rolled her eyes when she explained it had not even been about Percy's injuries, but the fact there was something the 'amazing Apollo' couldn't do) and Annabeth had nearly given up hope when Artemis suddenly came marching in ,tugging a man ( Who was loudly protesting and screaming Auntie!) along with her.

The rest was history; Asclepius worked his magic and a few hours later Percy was well away on his way to discovery.

" Although I imagined Perce didn't really like what he was waking up to" Annabeth said, chuckling.

" Which would be?".

" Artemis and Apollo's argument. About whether black was a colour or not, of all things!".

" Why would they discuss such a mundane thing?".

Annabeth shrugged. " Apollo was telling Artemis about the peculiar creatures that attacked us , suddenly interrupted himself, made an haiku about black and said 'it was the most artistic colour of all' ,

Artemis countered it wasn't a colour at all and they spend the rest of the time arguing and calling each other names".

Athena sighed. " Even after all these millennia, Artemis and Apollo never cease to surprise me with their juvenile behaviour".

" Yes. They really do behave like children. I would anticipate that kind of behaviour from Lord Apollo, but from Lady Artemis… it is less expected".

Athena chuckled. " Ironic since Artemis spends most of her time as an twelve-year-old".

"Yes".

They had reached the infirmary by now and Athena smiled and rolled her eyes affectionately when two loud, angry voices came to her attention.

"You are ludicrous, you cretin! Why would you even care this much of black is a damn colour? It is not like it's even beautiful!".

" How cruel of thy, my sister, to offend such an honourable colour. Doth thy have no heart?".

" What on earth are you blabbering about , you idiot?".

" It's called personification, little sis. It is a technique used by poets to-".

" I am aware of what personification is, I just fail to comprehend why you would use it in this moment! You're not even making a poem!".

" So? It is artistic freedom, dear sis and –".

" You are a complete idiot, do you know that?".

"I am not!".

" You are too!".

" Not!".

" Are too!".

" Not".

" Are too".

" No- ".

" Actually, you are Apollo" Athena suddenly said, stepping forward.

He pouted. " I am not!".

Athena arched an eyebrow. " Honestly? Let's test the truth of that statement, shall we?".

" Who in this room believes Apollo is an idiot?".

Artemis, Percy, Annabeth and Athena herself all raised their hands.

" Very well. We have hereby confirmed Apollo is, in fact, an idiot".

" I am not!" Apollo said.

Artemis rolled her eyes. " You are. Basically everyone thinks so!".

Athena cut in before Artemis and Apollo could start another argument. " Apollo, you're an idiot, common sense says so. Artemis, don't encourage him. And both of you, kindly cease behaving as four-year-olds".

She turned to Percy, who was following the conversation with amusement. She noted with a great deal of relief that his burns were slowly fading, he didn't look that pale anymore and he seemed to be in not that much pain.

" Perseus. I am relieved to see you're feeling better".

" Thanks. You have got Asclepius to thank for that" he said.

" Ah. Where exactly is Asclepius now?".

Percy shrugged. " He went back to wherever he lives now. He claimed he had very much to do".

Percy grinned mischievously. " I personally think he just didn't want to be around when Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo started another argument".

Artemis scoffed. " Be careful Jackson. Just because I tolerate you, doesn't mean you can get away with uttering insults".

Percy's grin grew. " Aw come on, you know you love me" he teased.

Athena raised her eyebrow and looked at Artemis. " What kind of medication did they give him?".

Artemis shrugged, looking mildly annoyed. " I don't know. But apparently something that has made him lose any common sense he has ever had".

She looked at Percy. " Because I most certainly do NOT love you".

Percy winked. " I won't tell anyone Lady Artemis".

" That might be because there is nothing to tell Jackson" Artemis laughed.

Athena narrowed her eyes at her long-time friend, suspicious Artemis was laughing and not threatening Percy or something else. " Since when do you stay calm when someone assumes you like them?".

Artemis looked at Athena and arched an eyebrow. " Seriously? You mean, you haven't noticed?".

" What, that you are behaving uncharacteristically and peculiar?".

" No. Percy has been aiding me with the hunt these past years. He visits Thalia every now and then and helps setting up camp, teaching the girls when I am unable to, serve as target".

Percy frowned. " That last one wasn't willingly! Those girls suddenly claimed they needed a moving target and tried to shoot me!".

Artemis laughed again. " Your own fault. You shouldn't have mentioned you were practically invulnerable. That is just asking for trouble".

Percy crossed his arms. " Well, I never asked them to shoot me!".

Annabeth went over to him. " Yes, but I have to agree with Lady Artemis , Perce. It was quite stupid to tell them they couldn't just murder you".

" Is everyone against me?".

Athena laughed. " No, but we do agree on your stupidity".

" Jeez thanks".

" You're welcome".

Athena turned to Artemis again. " Why was I never notified that Percy visited you frequently?".

Artemis shrugged. " You were occupied with governing Atlantis and your usual duties. There simply was no time".

" Why did you even allow him in the first place?".

Artemis smirked. " Why would I refuse a free slave? ".

"He! I am not a slave".

" Fine. Employee then".

" I don't work for you".

Artemis shrugged. " Slave or employee, your pick".

" What do you think of friend ?".

" Don't flatter yourself Jackson".

Percy laughed. " I am not. I really have been having fun with you guys. Apart from the moments where they were trying to shoot me, your girls were great".

" Were they now? Well, you do tend to install friendliness in most people".

" Yep. So friends?".

Artemis thought for a moment. " Acquaintances" She eventually decided.

" Deal".

Athena smiled. " It looks like I am not the only one with a crush, hmm?".

Artemis snorted " oh please! " she said, at the same moment a stunned Percy said " Crush?".

" Athena has been secretly harbouring feelings for your father and now believes I am harbouring feelings for you. Which is absolutely not true" Artemis explained, glaring at Athena.

Percy frowned. " Wait a minute? Lady Athena likes my dad?".

Athena sighed. " We have already established that a few years ago Perseus".

" Yeah, that you didn't like hate him! But not that you loved him or something. When did that even happen?".

" Not that it is any of your concern, but approximately nine years, five months, three days and twelve seconds ago when your father had been spending more time with me and we were laughing about one of his stupid jokes. At least, that is when I realized".

Percy stared at her. " Ehm okay?".

He rubbed his temples. " Man, this is weird".

Athena sniffed. " Hardly. People fall in love all the time Perseus, it is a frequent occurrence , so you ought to not be surprised and speechless".

" Yeah, but those people are not maiden goddesses that have claimed to hate my dad like forever before falling in love with them. I think". He added the last part with a look at Artemis, as if he was saying; you too?

Artemis glared at him. " Don't even think about it, acquaintance".

" It isn't something I want to think about" Percy mumbled, making Athena laugh.

" I agree wholeheartedly with that statement". She pulled a face. " Just the thought of a love struck Artemis..".

Artemis glared at her again. " As if I wanted to hear your rant about Poseidon".

" I wasn't ranting!".

" You're right. I don't know what it was, but it wasn't ranting. It was more like hysteric, incoherent bits of conversation".

Athena glared at Artemis. " I was upset! Which is logical, after all that has happened".

" You were a mess, you mean".

" Do I honestly need to remind you of Orion?".

Artemis tensed, her hand reaching for her bow. " I would rather you not" she spoke through clenched teeth.

Athena felt slightly guilty for hurting her friend, but justified it by telling herself Artemis deserved it for teasing her. She nodded and turned her attention to Percy.

" So Perseus, do you feel ready to leave that bed soon?".

Percy shrugged. " I might need a few days, but after that, sure. Why?".

Athena smiled at him. " I have finally managed to convince my father to arrange a rescue mission. We will leave in less than a week".

" Finally! How did you do that?".

Athena smirked. " I called grandmother".

Even Artemis smiled when she heard that. " You did? How did he react?".

Athena grinned. " Like always. He grovelled. Rhea had him swearing he would arrange a rescue mission in no time".

Annabeth smiled. " That's great!".

Athena nodded. "It really is. But I will require your help, Annabeth".

" For what?".

" I will be gone for an undetermined period and I will need you to take care of Atlantis".

" Me?".

"There is no one else I would trust".

" Thanks for the confidence Athena" Artemis said, rolling her eyes.

Athena smiled at her. " I actually anticipated you would be willing to go with me, which is why you can't stay in Atlantis".

" Sure. I never understood what was so great about Atlantis any way".

Athena ignored that remark and turned back to her daughter. " So are you willing to take care of things in Atlantis while I, Percy and Artemis attempt to rescue Poseidon?".

" Are you sure?".

" Would I ask if I weren't".

Annabeth bit her lip nervously. " I suppose you wouldn't. I am fine with taking care of Atlantis, if you honestly think I am able to".

Athena clapped her hands. " Good! That is arranged, then. Percy, I and Artemis will make this rescue mission succeed and you will stay at Atlantis . We will contact you if we need your help or something else".

" But little sis, it is too dangerous " Apollo said.

Artemis rolled her eyes and resumed packing- or actually throwing clothes and other things she might need ( the new amazing bow based on Katniss' bow that Hephaestus had made for her, for example) , pointedly ignoring her brother's whining.

" Artyyy" he whined.

She sighed and turned around, almost colliding with a pacing Apollo. "What " she growled, then hastily added an " And don't call me Arty!".

He sighed. " You can't go on this rescue mission!".

" And why, pray tell, not?".

He threw his arms in the air. " Because it is dangerous ".

" So? I am a big girl, current appearance notwithstanding, and can take care of myself".

" Yes, but think about it. This enemy, whatever it is, managed to capture Poseidon. You don't have a chance!".

Artemis narrowed her eyes. " Are you saying I cannot defend myself?".

" Yes. No! Depends".

" What is it Apollo? Yes or no?" Artemis asked, her voice calm and controlled but her eyes saying don't even contemplate saying no.

Apollo shuffled his feet and looked away for a moment, but then seemed to strengthen his resolve and looked into her eyes. Artemis almost felt her anger fade when she saw the honest concern and affection in his eyes. Almost.

" Yes, you can defend yourself, but not against this Artemis. Even Poseidon couldn't!".

"Poseidon's capture is no guarantee for a failure on my part" Artemis answered, throwing one of the few swords she owned in her bag ( also made by Hephaestus and designed to hold as many items as she liked and still be light) without even looking at her brother.

She didn't have to; she could feel his concern, but also his frustration. They had always been able to gauge each other's mood, to know each other's thoughts and to communicate with only a look or gesture. Right now, Apollo was incredibly tense , frustrated and worried, she knew.

" No, but it does mean whatever this thing you're after is- ".

" We're after Poseidon, not the creature that captured him".

"But you know it is inevitable that you meet it! And what then Artemis?".

"What then?" Apollo repeated, his voice slightly broken. She could just imagine his eyes, filled with worry and fear, and knew she shouldn't turn. Don't look into his eyes. He will make you stay if you do that. Just ignore him and feign indifference.

She shrugged." Then we fight". It was a miracle, but she managed to keep a tone of feigned indifference and even boredom. If it had anybody but Apollo, they would have thought she wasn't affected by his pleading, by his arguments.

" And how do you know you will win? How do you know you won't get captured? Again ?".

Artemis stiffened. She still didn't like thinking about the time Atlas had captured him and Apollo knew it. All too well. " Because I won't get taken by surprise again".

" Artemis..".

" Leave it Apollo. You have no right whatsoever to tell me what to do. So leave me alone, because you're not going to change my opinion anyway. If all you are here to do, is complaining and pathetically attempting to change my mind, then your presence is not required or cared for" she said in a very icy, yet guarded voice. Even Apollo would have difficulty interpreting this, in deciphering her real feelings.

She heard him grit teeth. " You can be bitchy and cold all you want, but I am not leaving you Artemis. Not after what happened the last time".

" Your choice. I long ago learned I will just have to live with your annoying presence".

The air suddenly changed and before Artemis could realize fully just how hurtful and cruel her words were , strong arms gripped her shoulders and turned her. When she accidently looked into her brother's eyes, she tensed. Apollo was furious.

" Don't say that! We are twins Artemis and I don't want you to say that, because it isn't true. Your presence is something I need, don't tell me it isn't the same with you".

" Remove your arms, before I hurt you".

Apollo deflated and his arms left her shoulders. Artemis felt nauseous and angry at herself when the normal spark left his eyes and he looked almost broken. She knew that she was the only one allowed to see him like that- vulnerable- and it hurt when she realized that was partly because he didn't want to hide anything from his twin and partly because only she could hurt him like that.

" You already have" he said.

Artemis opened her mouth to say something, to apologise, anything to make him look less like a kicked puppy, but he held up his hand to silence her.

" Don't Arty. Why don't you just understand I only want to protect my baby sister?".

" I am NOT your little sister. And I can protect myself" Artemis spat.

Apollo turned towards her, former fury suddenly returning to his eyes. " But you fucking can't!".

He started pacing, going through his hair with his hands and even pulling on it. " Do you know what it felt like Artemis? Do you know how I felt when you were gone? Do you know how crazy it drove me to not know where you were, what was happening, whether you were safe or if I would ever see you again?".

He suddenly grabbed her shoulders again, with so much force it actually hurt, and shook her. " Don't you do that again to me Artemis! I cannot stand not knowing you're safe, you're happy. And don't be so damn indifferent!".

He let her go and rubbed his temples. " Just don't leave again, okay?".

" You're not my boss Apollo, I make my own decisions" she retorted, voice gentler now she had seen how worried he really was. She was annoyed by him, but she didn't necessarily want to worry him. She might be his baby sister to him, but he was her baby brother. Always.

He glared at her. " Don't use that condescending tone. And I will find some way to make you stay, if I want to. I only have to tell dad and-".

" Father won't mind letting me go".

" On an insane mission to rescue someone he despises? He will mind. Especially since Athena is going as well".

" He will only be glad we're together".

"No, he won't. He will make you stay".

" Neither of you can! No man holds power like that over me and I will never forgive you if you make me stay".

" Then don't forgive me! Because I can live with you ignoring and hating me, but I can't live with you getting captured and hurt!".

Artemis and Apollo were facing each other, silver eyes locked with his gold ones, anger radiating from both. They stood like that for a long time, eyes locked , fighting a silent battle, wills being tested, until Apollo deflated again and looked away.

When he looked back at Artemis, she was shocked to see his face was completely devoid of any emotion for the first time she had known him. " Fine. Go. Leave me again" he said, his voice just as devoid of emotion as his face, but a little venom hidden in there.

She stepped towards him, guilty and embarrassed that she had made him like this, but he pushed her away. " Don't".

He walked away and she treated after him, desperate to not let him let her leave like this, both angry and annoyed.

" Apollo.. come on, you know I didn't mean it like that".

He turned. " On the contrary. You always mean what you say, you're brutally honest and I have realized not only do you not need me , but you don't want me. Fine. Then I will just leave you alone , like you want".

" Don't be such a child Apollo! Cease sulking already and actually behave maturely. I just don't want you to always be so , so- ".

"Caring? Supportive? Anything an older brother should be?".

" Damn it, you're not even older! And I don't need protection. It's your protective behaviour that drives me insane, you idiot!".

" I am just attempting to assure your safety! Why can't you understand that I am only trying to help?".

" I know that, but I don't want it! I just want to be able to do something without you, without your support or so-called protection. Why can't you understand that " Artemis spat. Her sympathy and guilt was long forgotten now Apollo was once again trying to take away her long sought for and fought for independence.

Can't you understand I just require to be independent, that I don't want to be tied to any male, not even you? Don't you understand I want to be my own person, make my own choices, not always be one of two? Her eyes tried to convey.

Can't you understand you're my baby sister? That I will always cherish and protect you, because I was born for that sole purpose, to do exactly that? Can't you see I cannot not protect you? That I have no choice, that I can't even survive the thought of you not being next to me? His eyes tried to convey.

She relaxed a little, the familiar care and concern in his eyes calming her, reminding her she actually did like him, even if she wouldn't just say that.

I know. But you have to let go of your protectiveness, just this once. I need to do this.

But what if you get hurt? I won't. You can't know. Please stay, please? This once? I can't. You know that. You could. For me. Athena needs me, I need this. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't yours either. I shouldn't have let you go then either. It wasn't your choice, it was mine. But I knew you could get hurt, like now. Please stay? I can't. Please let go? I can't. Then understand.

Apollo sighed and broke their eye contact and silent conversation. " You're going no matter how often I ask, how hard I scream, how much I threaten, aren't you?".

Artemis smiled. " Yes. And you wouldn't threaten me anyway".

"Just take care sis". He smiled. " I could always- ".

" No! You're not going with me".

He pouted. " Why not? ".

Artemis snorted. " Because I would want to commit suicide if I were stuck with you and your haiku's for an undetermined period of time and I am immortal so I can't do that".

" That's mean! And my haiku's are beautiful".

Artemis rolled her eyes , but forestall comment as she turned back to her bag and resumed packing.

Apollo was silent for the next minutes, a rare occurrence indeed, but suddenly said " Promise me?".

Artemis frowned when she heard how insecure and small he sounded. She couldn't remember the last time he had sounded like that. When they were children, perhaps.

" Promise you what?".

" Promise me you will make a haiku of your epic battle" he said, chuckling. His tone was light and playful but the subtext was clear; Promise me you will return. Please.

She smiled. " You don't want to make one yourself?". I can't.

"Nah. Then I would miss out on you actually attempting to make one" You have to. I can't go on alone.

" I will try, I really will Apollo".

She tensed when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck, breathing in her scent. She could feel his rabid heartbeat from here. She could also feel him trembling slightly, obviously scared like her but both of them too proud to admit it.

" I am sure it will be awesome, like me". Try really hard. I don't want you to go.

" Then it won't be that awesome" she said, a weak attempt at their normal banter and teasing. I will have to. We can't always be together.

He chuckled, but it didn't feel that real and he appeared to be trembling a little. " Of course it will, what is more awesome than I am, after all?". Then we are, together. Like we should be.

Artemis smiled, realizing she would miss her idiotic twin and trying hard to not notice her slightly trembling hands. They had never done well with long absences from each other's lives, despite both claiming to not need the other. " I don't know. Pretty much everything?" she teased. I love you too, you idiot.

He didn't say anything, but hugged her tighter. Always love you, little sis. They stayed like that for a few moments, his arms around her and her head resting on her shoulder, until Artemis decided she had been nice enough.

She normally didn't allow anyone – not even him- to hug her. She lightly punched his arm and he immediately let her go.

She resumed packing quietly, as if nothing had happened.

" So how long do you think you will be gone?" he asked while she threw ambrosia and nectar, as well as hazelnuts and pieces of meat in her bag.

She shrugged, debating whether she should bring a green T-shirt or a black one with her. Both , she decided. " I don't know. Not long, I hope".

She could picture his frown perfectly, knowing nothing displeased him more than not knowing where she was, especially after she had been captured by Atlas. " Hm. Does Athena know?".

She threw a small knife in the bag. " No. She has attempted to plan every little detail, but even she does not know how long we will be gone".

He chuckled, but she sensed the worry beneath. " Must be driving her crazy".

She took her favourite pair of jeans and threw it in the bag. Another pair followed. "Hm-hm".

He handed her a T-shirt she often wore and she threw it in the bag. " So what do you and our favourite brainchild know?".

" Not much. We know where Poseidon disappeared. We know there was a fight. We know he was attacked. And we know it will be extremely difficult to free him".

" Hm. So our dear Athena has asked Hephaestus to make some kickass weapons?".

Artemis rolled her eyes. " Kickass, seriously? And she didn't even have to ask, he already offered".

Apollo snorted. " No doubt. He has been crushing on her for a really long time".

" Why is that notion so entertaining?".

"Well, he is married to the most beautiful woman ever, but crushing on the one with all the brains. I would know which of the two I would like to warm my bed".

" Yes. Well. You're an idiot".

" Am not".

She finished her packing, threw her bag over her shoulder and turned towards him. " You are. But I have neither the time nor the will to discuss your idiocy or incompetence, so don't even start".

He grinned. " Or you know you will lose, so you're making excuses".

She snorted. "As if. I would win from you any time".

"No, you wouldn't! I would-".

" There is not time for this Apollo. Athena expects me to meet her over approximately five minutes. So bye".

He pouted. " Bye? That's all? You're leaving me, despite my multiple requests not to, and you are only saying bye?".

" What else is there to say?".

He grinned. " Goodbye my awesome and immensely talented brother, I will miss you more than I could ever describe? It would be nice to hear something like that".

She laughed. " Never. I wouldn't dare to tell such an abhorrent lie anyway".

He rolled his eyes and embraced her. " I would know you weren't lying" he whispered, as if he was telling her a secret. I know you care, and secretly don't want to leave.

She hugged him back, for once not caring he was crossing her boundaries, testing her limits. " It is why you're the god of truth" she whispered back, smiling faintly. I don't want to leave you. You always know that.

She pulled back and playfully punched him. " And you're an awful god of truth too".

He rubbed the sore spot and grinned. " I can tell you're lying, so I am not".

" You are too! And you're making that up" she accused, fighting her own grin. She always felt like grinning when he grinned.

He hugged her again. " I am not".

He pulled back before she could hurt him. " And you know that".

He smirked. " Little sis".

She rolled her eyes and punched him. Hard. " Don't call me that. I hate it!". Never stop calling me that. I love it.

He grinned. " Sure thing sis" I will never. You will always be my little sis, no matter how old you become.

" Yeah. Well. Bye, I guess?".

He nodded, his eyes losing its sparkle again. " Yes. Bye. Be careful? " Don't get hurt.

" Am I not always?". I will try to.

" No, not really" It worries me.

" Oh shut up" Don't be worried.

She pushed him playfully, then gave him a quick hug and kissed him on his cheek. " I will return, if only to be able to show you how I beat you at writing those God awful haiku's".

" In your dreams sis. Writing haiku's is my thing".

She didn't say anything, simply arched her eyebrow as if to say; in what universe? And walked away. She could feel his eyes burning into her back. Don't leave. You're my oxygen, my ambrosia, my nectar, my immortality.

" You know, I really think you've lost it, because this is the most gullible, ludicrous and quite simply insane idea you have ever had" Hermes said, for the third time, at least.

Apollo ignored Hermes, not interested in all the arguments, protests and boring warnings his best friend had to say. He didn't understand. It wasn't his little sister running off again, no doubt about to get hurt and taken away from him, Apollo, again. It wasn't the person Hermes cared most about that was in grave danger, that wasn't taking care of herself, that was ignoring dangers.

" She is going to kill you , you know" Hermes continued, as if this was possible. " She is going to rip out your organs or something equally bloody and painful. You're going to be a second Prometheus if you aren't careful".

"I wouldn't be a second Prometheus, he isn't as awesome as I am" Apollo answered absently, too occupied with choosing between two different T-shirts to pay attention to whatever Hermes was saying.

Would a T-shirt with the text ; I'm hot, I'm the sun God or a T-shirt with; Green grass breaks through snow, Artemis pleads for my help, I am so awesome be more suitable for fighting an unknown, very powerful enemy? Eventually, he choose the first one.

" Little sis will only get mad when she sees the second" he mumbled distractedly.

Hermes groaned. " She will be mad, regardless of what you wear! She is going to find a way to kill you. And even worse, kill me !".

" Nah. She sorta likes you. She even laughed about one of your pranks once".

" That was because it went wrong and I was covered in honey, chicken feathers and Cerberus was chasing me".

" Well, it was not really smart to attempt to prank Hades during one of the only times he actually visited Olympus".

" I was just trying to make the meeting less boring. But that's not the point! The point is that your ill-advised idea is going to get us a one-way trip to Tartarus".

" I thought you liked pranks?".

" Pranks, yes. Not deliberately provoking Artemis to the point all the centuries of my careful, well thought-through attempts at making her like me will be completely useless!".

" Well thought-through? Doesn't sound like you".

" He! My pranks are very thought-through. Unlike your ideas".

"That's not true!".

" Oh really? How are we getting on the ship?".

"Easy. We slip past the guards".

" How will they not notice?".

" We will turn into small animals and slip past. Or we can hide between some of the weapons that are brought in".

"and they won't control that?".

" Fine, I will bribe them".

" With what? Haiku's?".

" I could, but then they would never let me go. They will want me to keep telling them haiku's".

Hermes rolled his eyes. " I honestly doubt that Apollo. But never mind thinking about it, I will do all the planning".

" I thought you were against this?".

" Well I am more against the idea of having to face an angry Artemis. I do agree with you that we can't just allow her to do this though".

He grinned. " She will need protection, perhaps some comfort if she gets nightmares or something..-".

Apollo froze and glared at Hermes, a straw hat and sunglasses shaped like little hearts in his hands. " What? Say, you don't like my sister or something, do you?".

" No! Why would you think that?".

" You're a little too willing to help her. And you sometimes ogle her".

Hermes held up his hands. " Calm down Apollo, I am not after your sister or something, I am just trying to help you both".

Apollo glared at Hermes once more, but then something shiny took his attention and he grinned. " He! My diamond watch, I thought I had lost that". He turned to Hermes. " If you make the plans, I will pack our stuff. Do you think I should bring my heart-shaped sunglasses or my star-shaped? ".

Hermes sighed when his friend resumed packing, occasionally asking what absurd piece of clothing fitted best and sometimes making a haiku when inspiration struck.

He allowed his mind to wander, to a vision of auburn hair in a ponytail, silvery eyes alight with mischief and mirth and a grown woman's body dressed in that amazing dress she had been forced to wear that one time during one of the meetings…

" You are crushing me!".

" Why sor- Get your foot out of my ear!".

" Get your ear out of my foot, you mean!".

" That doesn't even make sense! "

"Shush! We will be discovered".

" I am started to think that would be a good thing, If that would get your foot out of my ear!".

" Stop complaining already. I do not want my perfect foot anywhere near your disgusting ear, and I am not complaining am I?".

" No, but having to listen to haiku's is far worse than having to listen to complains".

" Haiku-hater".

" Everyone hates your haiku's".

" That is not true! Aunt Hestia said she was really glad when I gave her that book filled with Haiku's about all things awesome and her last Christmas".

" Hestia doesn't count. She would thank someone if that person gave her an exploding present".

"…..".

" You have done that, haven't you?".

" Yes, but it was intended for aunt Hera. George and Martha can't spell well".

" How do you make 'Hestia' from 'Hera' ? Those names aren't that much alike".

" You remove s, t and I and add an R, it isn't that difficult".

" Your snakes are weird".

" I know. But oddly, I have actually become attached to them".

" That would make a wonderful haiku. It would call it Snake's Support or something. Perhaps- ".

" Stop already! I do not want to hear another Haiku".

" Perhaps I will start with the sentence Hermes does not know good poetry or-".

" I will feed you to George and Martha!".

" I am too big for them. And they only eat rats anyway".

" No, they don't!".

" They do!".

"Don't!".

" Do!".

"Don't!".

"Do!".

Hermes and Apollo were too occupied with screaming at each other to remember to keep silent ( obviously) and to notice the footsteps that came closer ( the screaming also made it quite difficult, obviously).

They only noticed when it was too late; when the box they had been hiding in had already been opened and a pair of very familiar, angry silver eyes burned holes in them ( not literally. Yet).

" Do you wish to explain yourself before or after I drop you in the ocean?" an eerily calm Artemis asked them, making them fall silent at once. And pale. To the point where vampires would have looked sunburned next to them.

Apollo grinned weakly, trying very hard to not look scared now he saw the look in his sister's eyes ( angry. Hateful. And worse; disappointed) nor the fact she not only wore weapons , but also had a panther with her that looked more than ready to attack him ( which wouldn't have been so bad, weren't it for the fact that he knew Artemis would really hurt him if he even thought about hurting one of her 'pets') .

" Hi sis. How are you doing? Ehh, nice panther?".

He really wanted to ask why on earth she even had a panther with her while they were at sea, but decided against it. She didn't look like she would be willing to answer any questions. Artemis narrowed her eyes. " Apollo. I am not here to make small talk with you, I am here to get an explanation for the fact that you're hiding in a box, with that- she glared at Hermes, who shrunk a little under her disgusted glare- moron".

" Well, sis, it's funny really, we just-".

Artemis suddenly grabbed a fistful of Apollo's hair and pulled him out of the box. " Forget explaining. I will just throw you behind bars".

" But sis- Ouch! Don't pull on my hair, will ya?".

Artemis ignored him and threw him on the ground. Before Apollo could move a muscle or even think about it, the panther had already jumped on his back and made it very clear ( by pressing its nails into Apollo's back when he tried to move) that Apollo shouldn't move.

Artemis walked towards Hermes and crossed her arms. " Out" she practically growled, glaring at him.

Hermes sighed and put his hands up in a defensive gesture. " Listen Artemis, I know you're angry and you've every right to be, but please just let me expl-".

Artemis rolled her eyes and interrupted him. " I am not interested in your explanation. Just shut up and follow me".

She turned back to Apollo and whistled. The panther calmly got off and rubbed its head against Artemis' legs, then sat down and bared its teeth at Hermes.

Artemis poked Apollo with one of her arrows. " Stand up, you cretin. Don't talk, just follow me".

Apollo got up with a small grunt. " Damn Arty, was that really necessary? I-".

Artemis kicked him. " I said don't talk!".

Apollo grunted and seemed ready to immediately disobey that order, but shut up when Artemis glared at him and Hermes gave him an even-you-aren't-that-stupid look.

Hermes and Apollo followed Artemis without saying anything anymore and the next minutes were spend in a tense, total silence. Artemis didn't say anything, but she didn't have to; the looks she threw them spoke for themselves. They basically gave the entire rant Apollo really would have expected, making Apollo feeling annoyed but also the slightest bit guilty and Hermes mainly depressed. All his process was gone. Just when Artemis had started to tolerate and even like him.

After approximately ten minutes of glares and pointed looks on Artemis' part and basically annoyance and depression on Apollo's and Hermes' part, they reached a white door with an emblem of the moon on it. Artemis still didn't say anything, but Hermes assumed they were in her quarters.

Artemis turned – Hermes nearly walked into her, but the panther grabbed his leg with its teeth and pulled Hermes back before that action could get Artemis to hurt him- and pointed her arrow at them.

" In " she said, her voice so cold even Apollo flinched a little.

Still, he smiled at her – his goofy, brotherly smile- and even winked. " Arty, come on. I am sorry sis, but don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit? We didn't do anything wrong really, we just-".

" You just lied to me, broke your promise, acted as though I am too incompetent to protect myself and basically betrayed my trust".

Apollo really flinched this time, at the angry hiss that came from his sister while he felt as though he was punched really hard in his gut by the hurt and disappointment in her silver eyes. He stepped forward, ignoring the panther's low growl, desperate to hug her and make everything okay again.

" Arty, I didn't intend to- ".

" I don't care. You lied to me, betrayed my trust and nothing is worse than that". She bit her lip hard. " Especially because it isn't the first time".

Apollo really felt horrible now, because he knew that look in her eyes all too well; she got it whenever she thought of Orion. They had never really talked about it, but she got the same faraway, contemplative and longing look whenever she looked at the sky and saw the zodiac sign she herself had put there on that fateful day so long ago.

" Arty, the last thing I ever wanted, was to make you feel as though I had betrayed you".

Artemis gritted her teeth. " Then you shouldn't have lied to me, then you should have just told me you don't believe I can protect myself, that you are just another arrogant male that thinks I am incapable of handling myself".

"It's not like-".

" It seems like it!".

Hermes took a small step forward, afraid the argument would get out of hand like it tended to happen whenever Artemis and Apollo were like this. " Artemis, please listen to me. Apollo simply attempted- in his own, misjudged way- to aid you. It isn't that he thinks you aren't capable of defending yourself- because we all know you are-, but he just didn't want to let you deal with it all on your own".

Artemis glared at him with all the anger she could muster. Which was a lot. Enough to make Hermes wince and take a small step back, really. " I don't need either of you. So leave me alone!".

Before either of them could say another word, Artemis pushed them inside the small cabin and locked the door. Apollo immediately ran to the door, banging on it with his fists and not even caring that that hurt a lot and screamed for his sister. " Artemis! Come back!". " Artemis! Don't do this, just talk to me!".

He stepped back and conjured a fireball into his hand, throwing it at the door. Hermes tried to warn him- knowing all too well the entire cabin was probably designed in such a way no one , no matter how big their powers, would get out- but it was already too late. The fireball hit the door and immediately, both Hermes and Apollo were thrown backwards, their backs hitting the other wall painfully.

While they fell on the ground, something that looked like a power field slowly faded away until there was a simple door and nothing else again.

Hermes got up, groaning, and carefully reached out to touch the door. Nothing happened. Apparently, you only got electrocuted and thrown back if you did anything as dramatic as throwing a fireball at it.

He took a step back and took a few moments to study the door. It was a simple, grey door, but it had a very strong lock, seemed to be thicker and stronger than any material he knew – he guessed Hephaestus was behind that- and seemed to have some sort of force field – probably made by Hecate- protecting it.

Hermes turned back to Apollo. " There is no way we are getting out of this" he said, sighing.

Apollo stalked towards the door. " Well, we have to. I am not staying here".

Hermes sighed. " Well, you will have to. I don't know what that door is made of, but I do know whatever it is, that it is very resilient and unable to break. Hephaestus probably constructed the door and it also is protected by magic, so you can forget making it explode or something. Whatever you throw at it, will just bounce off".

Apollo gritted his teeth, looking at the door with pure hatred. " Well, I don't care! My sister is somewhere behind that door".

" Actually, she is more likely somewhere else. Probably upstairs, because that's is where the navigation room is , I believe".

Apollo glared at Hermes, his glowing eyes a sure sign Hermes should shut up or be burned. Literally. Unlike most looks, Apollo's looks actually could kill, because his position as sun god enabled him to burn stuff with his eyes. And even if that didn't kill Hermes, it was enough motivation to shut up.

He quickly took a few steps back, recognizing what Apollo was about to do and braced himself. Apollo ran forward and threw his body against the door; again and again until bruising formed on his shoulders and his bones made 'funny' noises. Still, he didn't give up, he just continued with more force.

" Apollo".

Bang.

" You're".

Bang.

" Not".

Bang.

" Going to".

Bang.

" Break down".

Bang.

" The damn".

Bang.

"Door!".

Apollo stopped momentarily, rubbing his bruised shoulder. " How do you know?".

" Because Athena and Hephaestus made this ship and I am convinced they won't make doors you can easily break down, especially not doors of cabins that are used to imprison people".

Apollo shrugged, wincing slightly at the pain this made him feel, and turned back to the door. " There must be some way to break down this thing".

He started throwing himself at the door again, but stopped after a few times when he finally realized it didn't seem to have much effect. He took a few steps back and started to throw fireballs at it from a safe distance. They sizzled when they made impact and the force field was visible for a few seconds, but that was basically all that happened when Apollo threw dozens of fireballs at the door.

When he finally stopped for a moment, he was sweaty and breathless. He wiped some sweat of his brow, took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged.

Hermes raised an eyebrow and watched , stunned, when Apollo pressed his hands together and closed his eyes. " Apollo? What are you doing?".

" Concentrating".

" Wh-".

" Because. Shut up".

Hermes shrugged and went back to his Phone, checking his messages and stuff, while Apollo took deep, loud breaths and seemed to be meditating. After a while, Hermes noticed the temperature in the room was rising and took a suspicious look at Apollo. He wasn't that surprised when he noticed Apollo seemed to be the source of heat; Apollo was now glowing with a faint gold light and the heat emanating for him would have been enough to seriously burn a mortal, if not worse.

Apollo didn't seem to bother , actually forcing himself to heat up even more. And more. And more, until he must have been as hot as the sun's centre and Hermes was feeling very uncomfortable and desperately wanted to jump into a pool. Intense heat like that might not be really threatening to him, but it was still extremely uncomfortable to be near someone who was literally as hot as the centre of the sun ( referring to Apollo's temperature, not the way he looked, of course).

Apollo slowly stood and took one last deep breath before screaming " Geronimo!" and throwing himself one last time at the door. The result was.. unexpected. The force field appeared again, making strange hissing noises and seemingly trembling, then there was the sound of lightning or electricity and finally, the force field shattered. Apollo yelled in triumph, grinning brightly and ignoring his Albert Einstein look and burned clothes, but frowned and yelled in pain when the force field returned and slammed into him with the force of an hoard of elephants.

Apollo was thrown against the wall again and fell on the ground, burned and groaning softly.

Hermes glanced in his way, then focused on the game on his phone again. " Give up already?".

Apollo pushed himself up, hissing at the pain he got as reward, and slowly shook his head. " No. I am not going to be defeated by a stupid door ".

He glared at the door with a look that would have made you think someone who had killed his entire family and tortured puppies in front of him was standing there. " You have not defeated me, you stupid door".

Hermes sighed. " I doubt that door will understand you Apollo".

" Well, I don't care if it understands me or not, I simply hate it!".

Apollo got up with difficulty and brushed himself off. " And there has yet to be invented something that will keep me where I don't want to be".

" Actually, I think that that door has already succeeded in keeping you somewhere you don't want to be. Or do you want to be here?".

Apollo glared at Hermes, but Hermes was too concentrated on his game to notice. Apollo huffed- much like a child- and glared at the door. He slowly sat down again, resuming his earlier cross-legged position.

For a while, the only sounds in the room were very soft breathing and Hermes' occasional shouts at his game.

" Damn!".

Hermes threw his phone away when he lost his last life and therefore lost the game. Now the game didn't need all his attention anymore, he finally looked at Apollo. He rolled his eyes when he saw him staring at the door with narrowed eyes.

" You know, you're not going to be able to stare it down, you know" Hermes stated.

Apollo sighed. " Well, what do you propose I do?". He lay down on his back, staring at the ceiling.

Hermes shrugged. " Not staring at the ceiling, that's for sure. I am not sure that the ceiling is just as strong as the door and can take your stares".

He immediately regretted making that joke; Apollo jumped up, grinned like a maniac and jumped on one of the boxes the cabin held, using his fists to bang loudly on the ceiling.

Hermes sighed. " Apollo, that was a joke. Stop that!".

Apollo only started banging harder. Hermes groaned and covered his ears, silently cursing himself for making that joke and Apollo for being so insufferable.

Hermes picked up his Phone again and put loud music on, deciding he preferred that to the banging and curses that came from where Apollo was attacking the ceiling. It also prevented him from noticing the door had opened and seeing Artemis face-palm.

" Seriously?" Artemis said, rolling her eyes when she saw her brother hitting the ceiling as if his life depended on it and Hermes with his eyes closed, listening to blaring music. She was severely tempted to just turn and let them be.

Instead of doing what she wanted, Artemis slowly walked into the room, turned the music down with a flick of her wrist and kicked the box away from under her brother's feet. She couldn't hold back a small smile when he fell on the ground and cursed.

Apollo jumped to his feet and turned, screaming " Hermes!" before he registered who actually had made him fall and his irritation vanished and was replaced with a bright smile. "Arty! You're back!".

Artemis pushed him away when he tried to hug her, rolling her eyes. " Yes. Unwillingly".

She felt a small pang of regret when she saw the hurt in her brother's eyes, but pushed it away. She wasn't here to be nice to that idiot.

"Oh" Apollo said, his bright eyes immediately dimming and becoming dull and lifeless.

Artemis pretended not to notice and pretended even harder not to be affected.

" I talked to Athena. She thought you could actually be useful" Artemis said , not giving away how much she had disagreed with Athena nor voicing her thoughts. Apparently being in love doesn't just make you blind, it makes you insane.

Artemis sighed. " So, you- She turned to Hermes- are going to work in the navigation room and you- she turned to Apollo and ignored his puppy dog eyes that were way too effective to be legal- will stand watch. If either – she glared at both of them- of you fail to succeed at the tasks assigned to you, I will throw you in here to rot. Am I clear?".

Both nodded timidly. She smiled coldly. "Good. Follow me".

She turned and walked away, not bothering to look at them. They followed, of course.

Percy seriously didn't know what to think. He was seriously confused and who would blame him? You would assume a millennia old God wouldn't sigh dreamily and ask a few decades old demigod for advice. And yet , that was what was happening. It was all very surreal.

It started with a simple, yet strange question. One he really didn't want to answer.

" So Percy.. do you think Artemis is hot?" Hermes asked, his eyes glued to the form of Artemis as she walked by and ignored him.

Percy immediately felt uncomfortable.

" Why?" he said, not really willing to ask that question as at least two immortals would want to throw him into Tartarus or something if he did. And even worse, whatever Annabeth would do to him.

Hermes shrugged, still following Artemis with his eyes. " Just a question".

They were both silent for a while, Percy desperately thinking of a safer subject than Artemis while Hermes was still staring at said goddess. Eventually, Hermes managed to look away from Artemis long enough to glance at Percy and repeat his question. " So, do you think she is hot?".

Percy sighed and faced him, his voice lowering so Artemis wouldn't hear them with her freakishly good hearing. " You do realize I have a girlfriend , right?".

Hermes shrugged. " So? Did she forbid you to call another woman hot?".

" I didn't even say Artemis was!".

" True. So? You think she is?".

" Seriously, why do you want to know what I think of Artemis?".

" I don't. I just want you to answer my question".

Percy glanced at Artemis briefly, watching her shoot at various moving targets and focused on the god next to him again. " She is what, twelve now? I am not a paedophile, you know?".

Hermes rolled his eyes. " Obviously. I mean, if she would be in the form of a twenty-year-old or something".

" I have never seen her look that old".

Hermes glared at Percy and shoved him. " Don't call her old! She isn't old, she is young and pretty and-". He actually sighed dreamily.

Percy rubbed his sore shoulder. " What was that for?". He frowned. " And stop looking at her already, I doubt she likes that".

" What are you? Her guard?".

" No, I am someone who thinks it's creepy to look at a twelve-year-old like that".

" She looks seriously hot when she isn't twelve".

"Ehm okay?".

"Really. We had this ball thing once where Artemis had to wear a dress to and it was this strapless, super hot dress that clung to her figure. She looked amazing".

" She doesn't seem like the type that wears dresses" Percy wondered out loud, asking himself why he was even talking about this. He really didn't think of Artemis in that way. That would be just weird, seeing as how she spend most of her time as a twelve year old.

Hermes sighed again. " Yeah. She almost never does". He frowned. " She should wear dresses more often".

" I really think that's up to her. And she won't".

Hermes didn't say anything for a while, just stared at Artemis , until Percy broke the silence. " Why did you even ask? Or care about what Artemis wears, which is kinda creepy".

" I am not creepy!".

" You're staring at her. And smiling. Creepily. ".

Hermes glared at Percy, but Percy merely shrugged. " What? It's true".

" I am not creepy".

" Sorry lord Hermes, but you kinda are. She is a twelve-year-old after all". Percy frowned. " Not that it would be less creepy if she looked older".

Hermes sighed. " Fine. But I don't want to be like that, you know? I just want to talk to her and make her laugh, but she won't let me. We were getting friendly and then I came here to help her and now everything is ruined".

" Ruined?".

" She won't even talk to me!" Hermes said, looking longingly at Artemis in a way that made Percy almost feel as if he should call the police and report him or something. Which was ridiculous, of course.

" Well, have you tried?". Hermes rolled his eyes. " Yes, of course I have! But she refuses to talk and either ignores me or insults me".

"Well what have you told her?".

Hermes shrugged. " Well, I started with jokes, hoping that might make her laugh, asked her if she could come to my cabin to talk and-".

"You asked her to come to your cabin to 'talk'?" Percy interrupted, gaping at Hermes as if he has just said the weirdest thing ever. Even weirder than 'you're a demigod' all those years ago.

Hermes made a vague hmm sound, which Percy took as a yes. " Jesus, I am surprised you're still alive".

" I am immortal".

" Yeah, but still. Getting Artemis angry isn't exactly healthy or smart or anything".

Hermes threw Percy a puzzled look. " Why would anything I said to her make her angry?".

" Well, you did ask her to come to your cabin and- wait. She wasn't angry?".

Hermes shrugged." Nah, not really. She just rolled her eyes, glared at me and pushed me aside".

Percy stared. " Really ? Not even some sort or comment or something?".

" No. Why?".

" Okay, what exactly did you say and how?".

" I asked her to come to my cabin , so we could talk and I guess I smiled and winked at her. Why?".

" Okay, I am officially confused".

" Why?".

" Because you're supposed to be in the hospital!".

"Excuse me?".

" Because even I know that what you said can be interpreted very differently".

When Hermes just gave Percy a confused look, as if to say what? , Percy sighed and decided to give him an example. " Annabeth and I had a fight once and I later asked her to come to my cabin so we could talk. She became even more angry and said I was a presumptuous jerk".

Percy smiled sheepishly. " It turned out she thought I wanted something different than talking".

" Why would you say you wanted to talk if you wanted something different".

" Dude! Sometimes when you say 'come to my cabin so we can talk' it translates to ' come to my cabin so we can make out ', especially when you wink and are you-

" Wait a minute! What's that supposed to mean?" Hermes said, glaring.

Percy shrugged. " Well, you are flirty around Artemis. I mean, even I have noticed you have a thing for her".

" I don't have a thing for her!".

" Riiight".

" No really !".

Percy sighed. " Fine. You don't have a thing for her. Just be careful all right? Artemis really isn't someone you want to be mad at you".

" Why would you want someone to be mad at you in the first place?".

" I- Never mind. Just don't do anything stupid. Even better, just avoid her".

" Why?".

Percy sighed and looked around him , as if he expected someone to jump out of nowhere and stop him. " Because Aphrodite visited me some time ago and asked me to help her with 'operation Hartemis'. She wants you and Artemis to be a couple. And she asked me to help, because she thinks you and I have become friends in the past years" he explained when Hermes gave him another what? Look.

Hermes grinned. " Ah. So Aph thinks Arty and I should be together? I wouldn't mind that, you know".

" Yes, but I think Artemis would mind and she would be mad at you too if anything happened".

" Right. What was Aphrodite's plan?".

" I don't know. She wouldn't tell me, she just asked me to help at the opportune moment. Whenever that is".

" Well, that is very vague and weird".

" Exactly. I have no idea what Aphrodite has planned, but she promised to make your love life very interesting and you know what happened when she said that about mine".

" So she wants me to hook up with a mortal, then be stuck on an island with someone and then finally fall in love with the daughter of my dad's enemy? That would be Artemis, I guess".

Hermes frowned. " Even though she is dad's daughter, not the enemy's daughter".

" I just thought she meant she would make your life even more confusing and difficult than it is".

" Well, you never know with Aph. Thanks for the warning Percy".

" You're welcome. I just hope Aphrodite won't be mad about it, because I really don't want to deal with an angry Aphrodite".

" Nah. She told me you were 'adorable' , so I think you're fine".

" That just freaks me out, actually. I really don't want Aphrodite to think I'm adorable".

" Well. Good luck with that!".

"Where are you going?".

" Back to the navigation room. See you!".

Hermes looked one last time at Artemis – longingly/creepily- before he disappeared inside the ship.

Percy still wasn't sure whether he should do something about that.

" I really hate those sirens" Percy said aloud amidst all the chaos.

They had just reached the place where the sirens apparently still liked to sit on rocks and lure people and Percy had just discovered that apparently not even Gods were completely immune to it.

The proof of that would be that Hermes was trying to jump over the ship while screaming; "I am shipping Hartemis!" . Athena was pressing her hands against her head while murmuring 'it's not real, it's not real " to herself. And Artemis sometimes stopped shooting arrows for a moment and look around with dazed look, but that quickly passed.

Percy really felt like killing those sirens, just for the fact that they made Athena's grey eyes- the ones that were exactly like Annabeth's- misty with unshed tears.

Artemis was looked simply terrifying; her hair had exploded thanks to the storm and gave her a 'just electrocuted look' , her clothes had blood ( and slime. And body parts) on them from various monsters she had killed and her flickering aura of power made the air feel way too thick and almost painful. She was shooting arrows at the sirens , but they were all deflected somehow. Obviously, something must be helping them.

The reason Artemis was outraged was clear; Apollo had been grabbed by one of the sirens and was now being dragged along. His powers had been weakened as well and the siren's influence seemed to be growing by the minute; had he looked angry and annoyed at first, now he was nearly smiling.

" Apollo! Damn it, don't smile you moron, that fish wants to eat you!" Artemis screamed, throwing her hunting knife at the mermaid. Apollo looked in her direction, his eyes not that hypnotized and weird for a moment before the siren roughly grabbed his hair and kissed him.

He immediately became limp and Artemis screamed, her aura intensifying and making Percy see black spots and make his skin tingle in a painful way, almost like he was getting little shocks all over his body.

He gritted his teeth and pulled harder on Hermes' arm, making him fall on the deck. " sorry "he muttered, before hitting Hermes as hard as possible and catching him as his eyes rolled into their sockets and his knees gave out.

He quickly dragged Hermes to the other side of the ship, bound him to one of the masts with rope and then covered him with fish from the provision so the sirens wouldn't see him. And perhaps the awful smell would keep him unconscious a little longer.

Percy ran back to the other side, hoping to help the others, when he saw a blur . He turned, his sword drawn, but was too late; something knocked the sword out of his grip and he felt something grip his shirt and pull him with it, into the water.

He tried to make the water pull the thing that was still holding him captive away, but the water wouldn't obey him. He tried and tried, but all he managed to create, was small waves and a great sense of exhaustion.

Sharp nails- or talons?- dug into his arm and Percy was yanked closer to the thing holding him. He kicked towards it, but the only reaction he got , was those nails digging into his arm again. He tried kicking and hitting with his free hand, but he barely had any energy left and the few kicks that actually hit the intended target, were weak at best.

Percy was only able to kick very weakly and felt like he was slowly falling asleep when bright light burst behind his eyelids and he heard a sharp shriek. The thing finally let him go and he tried weakly to swim away. The arm that no doubt had nail imprints on it, was limp and senseless, but his other arm still obeyed when he told it he wanted to swim, so he awkwardly used it to move to the water while kicking with his legs.

He tried to get away , while keeping an eye on the thing that had captured him. It obviously was in trouble; a different blurry shape had attacked it and taken it beneath the surface, where blood now flowed freely from it.

The attacker seemed to be in possession of a sword and easily dodged the capturer's attacks, moving gracefully and unbelievably fast every time Percy's capturer attempted to strike.

The capturer suddenly shot forward – nails out- and Percy marvelled at its speed. The attacker was even faster though; before the capturer came even close , the attacker had already drawn its sword and cut of the capturer's head with one movement. Percy swam away even faster when he saw that; he definitely didn't want to be captured by whatever had killed the thing that had made his arm limp and useless by simply planting its nails or talons in it.

It was no use though; Percy wasn't that fast with one limp arm and he could feel the attacker coming closer , swimming faster than he could with one limp arm and a further exhausted body.

The attacker reached him and he was pulled against it. Panicking, he kicked and slapped around him wildly, desperate to get away from that head-cutting stranger. He only calmed down when a familiar, soft voice spoke.

" Percy. It's me. Calm down, I am attempting to aid you, not assassinate you".

Percy relaxed against the body behind him, allowing the person to support him while swimming back to the ship. " Athena? ".

He heard a small chuckle. " Who else?".

" I thought you were another of these things".

" Eloquently put. And how flattering that you believe I am a cannibalistic monster" Athena sarcastically repeated, but her tone wasn't as cutting as normally.

" Yep. That's me". He yawned. " So tired".

" Percy.. don't close your eyes, all right? If one of these creatures returns, I will have to drop you and another one will be able to abduct you. You may be unable to see it, but there are dozens of them".

" Uh-huh. So you don't know what they are either?" Percy sleepily asked.

" They appear to be a cross between sirens and mermaids. They posses fins like mermaids, but also talons and seem to posses small, vulture-like wings. And they obviously love human flesh".

" Since when do these things exist?".

" I don't know. They are possibly only created a while ago, since I have never known of their existence until now. They could be created by genetic manipulation, I suppose. Or cross-breeding, but I am not aware of anyone psychotic enough to actually capture sirens and force them to mate with mermaids".

" Force?".

" Obviously. Would you desire to mate with a siren".

" Eh no. I prefer Annabeth a thousand times over creepy, vulture-like cannibals. And how is that even possible?".

" Jackson. Do you honestly wish me to explain the logistics of siren mating to you? ".

" Ehm no?".

" Good. I nearly believed you truly were as moronic as I believed when I didn't know you yet".

" Mm".

Something shook his shoulders. " Percy? I ordered you not to fall asleep!".

" Not sleep".

" Do you intend to convey you are not asleep or that you comprehend I do not want you to sleep?".

" First".

" Well, your eyes are closed".

" You can't even see".

" I believe you mean I am unable to see your eyes and therefore I can't know whether you're sleeping".

"Yeah". Percy did in fact have his eyes closed, but he couldn't help it. He was just too tired not to. Besides, he trusted Athena. He knew she liked him – even though she would likely never admit it- and wouldn't allow him to be killed. He felt safe enough around her to close his eyes while she swam. Even when surrounded by psychotic siren-mermaids.

Athena suddenly cursed and Percy's eyes shot open when a sharp talon grabbed his ankle. He immediately kicked the hand attached to it and tried to feel for the head, then was pushed away by a very annoyed looking Athena. He couldn't see it very well, but it seemed like she had cut of the creature's hand and was now chasing it while it attempted to get to the surface ( when had they left the surface anyway?).

Percy attempted to keep himself under water, but was too tired to even do that. He drifted to the surface and, the moment his head broke through the water, knew why Athena had kept them beneath the surface; the singing couldn't be heard underwater, they were safe there.

Above water, the singing was overwhelming and Percy felt drawn to it. He wanted to dive beneath the water again, but gasped and forgot all about it as he really took in the scene before him. It was chaos.

There were siren-like mermaids everywhere; some were jumping out of the water , some were using the vulture-like wings to fly around the ship and either lunge at the people on board or destroy the sails/other parts of the ship. All while screeching like a pair of banshees.

On board it was also chaos; some of Athena's elite guards that had come with them were running around, trying desperately to dodge the siren-mermaids sharp talons, others were shooting arrows that the siren-mermaids would 'dodge' by closing their wings around them and using them as shields and others were trying to stop the fire that the siren-mermaids had caused by stealing Molotov cocktails ( whose bright idea had it been to leave these laying on the deck in an area where they knew were going to be flying monsters? ) and throwing them on the deck.

Percy dove , the song already making him dizzy and willing to swim to his death, and began to swim in the direction of the ship. After what felt like an eternity , he reached it and he stayed beneath it while he tried to think of a way to get on board without having to pull himself up ( he didn't have the strength for it, especially not with one limp arm) or being seen by the strange mermaid-sirens.

He concentrated and , after probably at least twelve attempts, managed to make a very small whirlpool that carried him upwards and placed him on the deck of the ship. He focused for a little while longer and managed to make the whirlpool stop the fire going on.

He almost collapsed after that, completely exhausted with the effort and his arm throbbing, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay conscious. If he fainted now, he knew one of their attackers would get him.

He took riptide from his pocket – while cursing himself for not remembering he had a sword that always returned to his pocket earlier- and ran towards the nearest siren-mermaid. He cut her in half and she exploded in powder. He went on to the next one and the next one; rolling aside when they attacked and working with the guards so they could all cut them in half.

Just when he and the remaining guards had gotten rid of all the siren-mermaids circling the ship, Artemis climbed on board, dragging her brother with her. Without a word, she threw Apollo on the deck, turned and started shooting again.

Percy wanted to check if Apollo was okay, but now most of the adrenaline had left his body, he felt exhausted and nauseous. He was actually struggling just to keep standing.

He didn't have to be worried; Apollo opened his eyes not more than a minute after his sister had thrown him on the deck, took one look at his sister and the fact that she had a nasty talon-imprint on her shoulder and hip and got to his feet to shoot arrows at any enemy he could find.

" Take that, you bastards" he growled, furious.

Athena suddenly appeared too and Percy stumbled towards her, black spots covering his vision. He squinted and was able to see she seemed okay, even if she was covered in blood, feathers and had a nasty mark on her shoulder from where a talon had obviously grabbed her. He offered her his hand, but she ignored it and climbed onto the deck with ease.

She immediately put a hand to his forehead , then took it away and lay her arm around his shoulder to support him. " You're burning up Percy, let's get you out of here".

" But-".

" But Apollo and Artemis have everything under control, eighty percent of our enemies are dead and you are unable to aid anyone as long as that poison is spreading through your veins and weakening you".

" Poison?".

"I will explain later, come on".

Athena led him down into the ship, towards her personal chambers and ordered him to lay down on a gargantuan bed , complete with curtains. He smiled weakly when he saw the other half of the bed was occupied with books.

" Figures" he mumbled.

Athena's voice sounded from the laboratory connected to her room where she was making the antidote Percy needed, according to her.

" What figures?".

" That you sleep with books".

Athena appeared in the doorway, carrying a blue potion. " Well, I am the goddess of wisdom and there isn't that much room to store books on this ship, despite the considerably large size".

" We have a library" Percy pointed out.

Athena shrugged. " Compared to the libraries in Atlantis and the one at my own house, that one possesses the size of a broom closet".

" How much books did you bring? That library must be able to hold at least five hundred books".

" I brought far more".

" Why?".

" Because Percy- she sat down on the bed next to him- we still have little information regarding our opponent and I have been studying my books to see if I can discover any clue. Something that I might have missed. Also, I have brought my war strategy books in case another attack will follow".

" Haven't you all those books in your head already? And I don't think you will be able to study strategies during an attack".

" Don't be ridiculous. No one is moronic enough to study strategies during an attack. And yes, I have, but it never hurts to re-read. I might have missed something".

Percy laughed. " The wisdom goddess herself admitting she might have missed something. I never thought I would see the day".

Athena rolled her eyes. " Shut up , you cretin, and drink the potion already".

He opened his mouth to retort and Athena immediately slammed the spoon with the potion on it in his mouth, making him nearly choke. While he coughed and spluttered, the talon marks on his arm glowed a bright blue and slowly disappeared while the feeling finally returned to his arm.

He raised his arm and stared at it, then at her. " What the hell? What was in that potion?".

Athena smiled at him. " Believe me, you would be better off not knowing. It's quite revolting. Like every effective medicine".

She took a spoon herself and the talon marks on her shoulder immediately faded. " We better leave and check on Artemis and Apollo. I don't want them to kill all the sirens".

Percy got up and followed her. " What why not? And they might not even be able to kill them, Artemis' arrows were deflected before".

" When Artemis and Apollo cooperate, nothing can stop their arrows. And I require one of these sirens to tell us the whereabouts of whoever has captured Poseidon".

" Why would they know?".

" They no longer dwell in the same place, there are creatures that are a mix between mermaids and sirens surrounding them and their song is somehow stronger than ever. I have an inkling of an idea why that all is".

"Oh. Right. So what do we do now?".

" Artemis and Apollo hopefully left at least one of them alive, I swim towards the rock, grab the living one and swim back. We tie her up and force her to tell us where on earth the opponent is and , even more important, who it is. Do you comprehend that? ".

Percy grinned. " Savvy captain".

Athena merely rolled her eyes and walked a little faster, muttering idiot under her breath. Percy didn't say anything anymore and silently followed Athena until they had reached the deck once more.

Athena broke into a run, screamed " Leave one alive" at Artemis and immediately dove into the sea. Artemis immediately stopped shooting and ran towards the side of the ship Athena had just jumped off. " Why did she do that!" she yelled at Percy.

" She wanted to capture one of those sirens". " What! That moron".

Percy frowned. " She is the wisdom goddess. I am pretty sure she isn't a moron".

Artemis glared at him. " Well she is! If those sirens really are cooperating with whoever captured Poseidon- and I am convinced they are- then this is obviously a trap. Sirens aren't powerful enough to thwart Athena, not even when her powers are weakened, so obviously they would have fled if they hadn't some plan B".

" Athena is insanely smart though, I am sure she knows that".

Artemis face-palmed. " She is in love! And that song is somehow influencing her more than normally. What if she isn't?".

" What does-".

" Stop talking and follow her! You're the better swimmer and I will shoot down anything that attempts to attack you".

Percy hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and dove into the water. The song had stopped for a while, but was now a lot stronger again and the only way to completely ignore the pull it had on him was to stay under water. So he willed the waves to gather around his legs and push him forward like some motor, while staying under water and safe from the song.

He could see Athena swimming ahead of him and started swimming a little faster to reach her. His eyes widened and he felt his heart accelerate when he realized Athena was suddenly completely frozen, right next to the rock, and the siren was leaning towards her. Without any thought, he shot out of the water and collided with the siren, pushing her of the rock and into the water.

She was even uglier now she was so close.

With her talons outstretched, that mouth greasy and caked from meals he really didn't want to think about , her vulture wings limp and her face inches from his, she looked like something from a horror movie. It was even worse when her face suddenly changed into Annabeth's.

Percy was only frozen for a second before that mouth was suddenly nearly on his neck and he reacted instinctively, swimming away from her and drawing his sword in one move. He went to stab her, but hesitated when familiar grey eyes locked with his. He knew it wasn't Annabeth, but it was very difficult to kill something with her head.

She lunged again and he dodged her, scratching her with his sword when she went past him. Unlike the siren-mermaids, she was slow and even a little clumsy in the water. The wings seemed to weigh her down , useless now they were wet.

Percy took advantage of it and attacked, managing to drive his sword through one of her wings and draw back before she managed to grab him. He swam back when she lunged for him again, then attacked when her back was to him and drove his sword into her back. He hadn't managed to hit her heart and she wasn't injured enough to be completely unable to move; she managed to swim forward and then turned, lunging for him.

He let go of his sword and swam past her talons. She lunged again, but he simply swam backwards. Only when he saw her smile, he realized what an horrible idea that was. But it was too late; sea weed suddenly sprouted from nowhere and tightened around him, until his entire legs were covered by it and it was still growing.

Riptide appeared in his pocket again , but he couldn't reach for it through the seaweed. He saw a flickering light next to him and realized Athena was covered in the same seaweed and her powers wouldn't get her free. That, or the seaweed grow too fast.

Percy. Close your eyes. He suddenly heard her voice in his head and immediately closed his eyes, relieved she seemed to be all right.

The water suddenly started heating up, until it was almost boiling and he could feel the grip of the seaweed lessening. Then the water started cooling to the point he was shivering, then heating up again, then cooling. He tried to sent Athena a telepathic what the hell are you doing but he didn't think it reached her, because the water merely continued heating and cooling alternatively until the rock near Percy exploded and the seaweed gave away.

Percy immediately swam away and just on time; the siren had lunged for him again, but instead met Athena's sword. Before she could recover, Athena had already bound her in seaweed and motioned for Percy to swim upwards.

He immediately started talking when they had both reached the surface. " What the hell was that".

" Sea weed. An unknown species and obviously genetically manipulated".

" I was referring to the cooling-heating thing".

" Oh, that. There are two things every species of seaweed requires; sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis and a place to attach to. It was attached to the rock, so I made the rock explode by turning some of the water in one the cracks in the rock into ice, then heating it, then turning it into ice, then -

" Okay, get it. Rocks explode when you alternatively heat and cool water. But shouldn't that happen more often , seeing as the water temperature can change?".

" No actually. Those temperatures only happen gradually and not like I made it happen. Normally, it would have taken longer for the rock to explode, but had managed to weaken it earlier, before that siren distracted me with its singing".

" So that's why you didn't try to free yourself earlier".

"I was distracted long enough for that seaweed to capture me. My powers didn't work on it , so I tried the rock". "And what if that hadn't worked?".

" I would have found a different way. You can go first". Athena motioned to the ship they had reached by then and Percy pulled himself up, then offered her a hand and pulled her up.

Artemis immediately ran towards them, followed by Apollo. " Athena! You moron, what were you thinking?".

" That I really ought to converse with the person that is so great at genetic manipulation. It's quite interesting what this person can do with seaweed, for example".

" I really hope you aren't serious about that".

Athena rolled her eyes and pointed at the siren that was struggling furiously against the sea weed binding her and covering her mouth. " We can talk about that later, if you have to. Now just aid me in transporting that, all right?".

Apollo stepped forward. " I will do that".

He looked at the helpless siren and narrowed his eyes. " With pleasure. ".

Athena sighed. " Apollo, despite your current and understandable hatred for sirens, do not give in to your desire to torture her. We need real information, not information coaxed out of her by means of torture. Creatures that are tortured will admit anything to make it stop, so it will likely be all ridicule and only slow us down".

Apollo sighed and shrugged. "Fine".

He walked over to the siren, grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. Without another word, he opened the door to below decks and disappeared.

Artemis sighed. " I better follow him to keep an eye on him". She smiled at Athena. " Attempt not to throw yourself off the ship again, okay?".

"I wasn't planning to repeat that".

" Good".

Artemis smiled at Percy, her silvery eyes sparkling. " Good job saving Athena, acquaintance".

Before Athena could say anything, Artemis – wisely, if the look in Athena's eyes was anything to go by- disappeared below decks as well.

" He didn't rescue me" Athena called after her, offended. It was more the other way around!

Artemis only laughed.

"Do they already know anything?" Hermes asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He really hated being unable to do much for a long time, or being stuck on a ship while an unknown enemy is attempting to give him a one-way ticket to Tartarus.

Athena sighed and shook her head. "No. Sadly, the coordinates grandmother Rhea supplied us with, turned out to be wrong and Damoklos told me that Alexandros confirmed Poseidon has been there, but that it wasn't where he was captured. The siren might be the only way to discover where we are supposed to go".

" Can't we just follow the exact route my dad was following ?" Percy asked.

Athena sighed. " We could allow ourselves to be captured, but the outcome of that plan isn't clear. There are too many things that could go wrong. We can't even be sure that we're brought to the same location as Poseidon was".

"Okay. So what do we do now?".

" We will have to get our information from the siren. At the very least, Poseidon's location, but the identity of his capturer is even more significant. We require to know what we are up against".

" Yeah I have a question about that".

" Well, ask your question, Hermes".

" Why on earth are you expecting Artemis and Apollo to get that information from her? They will only argue anyway".

Athena smiled. " Exactly. After how many minutes locked in a room with those two would you snap?".

" You are evil".

Athena rolled her eyes. " Don't exaggerate Hermes, it isn't that bad".

" Actually it is. Apollo always apologises to Artemis by making her countless haiku's and singing them. Because she used to sing to him when he was approximately three days out and he has now deemed it family tradition".

" Perhaps we will have to remove Artemis from the room. Before she goes all gangster on him".

Hermes stared at Athena. " Goes all gangster on him? Who are you and what have you done to Athena?".

Athena shrugged. " It is a term Percy and I came up with, right Percy?".

Percy nodded. " Why on earth would you call one of her anger attacks that only happen when Apollo is around, going all gangster?".

" Hey! It's fitting. She loses the entire air of cold indifference and starts saying and doing crazy stuff. She even talks different".

" Don't compare my Artemis to a gangster!".

Athena and Percy both stared at him. " Hermes.. Did you honestly just proclaim Artemis is your possession? Because that would be unbelievably moronic".

Hermes glared at Athena. " Shut up sister. And I didn't say anything".

" You said my Artemis, as if she belongs to you" Athena said.

Hermes began to feel uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze. Why did his half-sister have to be so observant and intelligent? And friends with the woman he was in love with. (She might look like a twelve-year-old most of the time, but that didn't mean she wasn't a woman)

" I misspoke, all right? So stop behaving as though I just committed a crime!".

" We aren't. I believe I speak for both of us when I say we are merely behaving as though you just proclaimed something that is possibly one of the most idiotic and suicidal things ever said".

Percy merely nodded in agreement.

Hermes sighed. " Listen, can we move on already? I really don't wish to discuss this with you".

Athena shrugged. "Fine. Just don't fool yourself in believing Artemis is yours".

" I won't! Jeez, I misspoke, let it go already".

Athena shrugged. " Fine. I honestly do not desire to contemplate a romantic relationship between you and Artemis anyway. It makes me nauseous".

Hermes glared at her. " Well, your doe eyes towards Poseidon made me ill!".

" Hermes. Kindly cease uttering any more ridiculous words before I lose control over my emotions and show you what I could have done to that siren that is even more horrible than whatever Artemis and Apollo do to her".

Hermes took a small step back. " Fine. Miss doe-eyed".

Athena smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. It was the kind of smile you give to that person you secretly really hate. It was the kind of I-am-going-to-destroy-the-world smile that any villain would want to have.

Athena walked towards the equipment and pushed the button that activated the radio. Percy and Hermes followed her actions with interest. " Hello? Aphrodite?".

Hermes paled when he realized what Athena was about to do and took a few, very quick steps forward. Before he could get to the button that would turn off the radio, Athena pushed a red button and a cage fell from the ceiling, trapping Hermes in it.

" Yes, Athena darling, why are you contacting me?".

" Well, I just wanted to admit something. You know, all those years ago when someone turned all your eye shadow that horrendous colour and somehow made your clothes turn into a clown's suit?".

" Yes. Why do you remind me of that doom's day?".

"Well, because Hermes did it. He tricked you into believing it was someone else and has been doing that for years. Basically every time you were pranked, Hermes was behind it. I didn't tell you, because you continued to pester me about a non-existent love life, but because you have been actually aiding and supporting me lately, I thought you deserved to know". "

Thank you darling. I can certainly use this information. Now I have millennia worth of payback in store for a certain messenger god".

Percy was starting to feel sorry for a rapidly paling Hermes. No one would have to deal with a vengeful Aphrodite. She might look like you didn't have to fear her, but she held power over your love life. It was worse than someone who possessed the button that would activate an atomic bomb.

" Well darling, one more thing" Athena said, voice deceptively sweet ( it made Hermes shrink and Percy gave him a look filled with sympathy that basically said; I am sorry your life has to end like this) .

" Hermes just said my Artemis". She paused. " And I have it all on film. Do you require me to send it to you?".

Aphrodite laughed. " Oh I would love to! So our Herm has finally admitted he totally has the hots for Artemis?".

" Yes. It was revolting".

" Well, it is going to help me much. I have so many good ideas. I promise you, darling, Hermes' love life will even be far more interesting than Percy's. Far more interesting than Zeus' even!".

Hermes brightened a little at that, obviously thinking that meant he would get many girls.

Then Aphrodite spoke again and crushed all his hopes. " Really, I would be surprised if he ever recovers from it! Isn't that amazing?".

" Sure".

" Oh and one more thing The, I have some advice for you".

" Well, that is lovely, but I actually simply required to talk to Annabeth after telling you-".

" Yeah yeah. Hermes' life is ruined, he will never have a restful moment in his life again. But there is something even more pressing, something more important, something you really need to know".

"Have you discovered Poseidon's location? TELL ME! I need to rescue him and get him away from whoever is torturing him before they managed to destroy his physical strength and mental strength forever and then all we will have left is a broken, boneless man with a vague resemblance to Poseidon and-".

" Jeez, calm down gurl. And no, I don't know Poseidon's location. You've asked me that before, remember?".

" Then why –".

" Because…".

"Because? Aphrodite, I swear, if this is another of your inane and moronic monologues about aphrodisiacs or couple names, I am going to-".

" I know what you're going to do. And just hearing it creeps me out and makes me want to order an psychologist for you, so please don't mention it. And it's really significant what I have to say, even more so than couple names and aphrodisiacs. Have you attempted one already, by the way?".

"….".

" Aphrodite?".

"Yes?".

" Hold your ears close to the radio okay?".

"Okay, I am doing that!".

" WHAT PART OF MAIDEN AND INTERNAL VIRGIN DO YOU NOT COMPREHEND, YOU MINDLESS MORON!".

Hermes and Percy heard a girly shriek – presumably from Aphrodite- and the shattering of something. It was silent for a few moments- during which Athena rubbed her temples and muttered something in Greek that made Hermes gape at her and Percy decide he was really glad he still didn't speak fluently Greek- before Aphrodite's voice could be heard again.

" Ouch! Why did you do that, my ears are bleeding".

" Because I am a virgin aka I do NOT require aphrodisiacs and I am sick of you insisting I simply have to try them".

" Well you should, three thirds of them are very good food. Like chocolate. And oysters. And-".

"I am going to stop this conversation immediately if you do not cease talking about edible things that have the purpose of turning people into grunting, sweating morons that get involved in bestial activities I have long sworn not to be involved in".

"Okay, okay, fine. Just one quick question before I move on to the more important subjects; does that mean you have never eaten chocolate?".

" Of course I have. What does that even-".

" Did it turn you on?".

" Aphrodite!".

" I will take that as a yes then".

Athena glared at the point where Aphrodite's voice came from.

" Bye Aphrodite".

"No wait! I am sorry. I am super super sorry, all right? Please, just talk to me, it's really important".

Athena sighed. " Fine. But no more odd questions like that one".

"What's so weird about asking if chocolate turns you on?".

" I am a maiden goddess! Get that already!".

" All right. We will solve that conundrum later". "…"

Athena was completely speechless for a moment and stared at the radio with a frown. Then, she actually pinched herself.

" Did Aphrodite just say a word that isn't regularly used?" Hermes questioned, doubtful. It wasn't that Aphrodite was stupid exactly, she just wasn't interested in improving her vocabulary.

Athena ignored him. " Aphrodite? Were on earth did you learn that word?".

" Oh it was used in one of the shows I am currently watching. It's awesome. And really funny too. And apples are featured in it! Apples are my sacred fruit, so that makes the show even more awesome".

" Okay… words like conundrum aside, where did you wish to speak about?".

" Pothena! Duh. You know for such an intelligent person, you can be so moronic!".

" What is it with people calling me a moron today?" Athena muttered.

" What did you say darling ? I couldn't hear you that well, you really have to stop muttering, it makes you incomprehensible".

" You did it again!".

" I do it many times darling, it is my job".

"What, where on Gaia are you- I wasn't referring to that! That is absolutely revolting Aphrodite".

" You don't know whether you like something before you have tried it".

" Actually, I do".

" So you do it? Wonderful!".

" No, I meant that I know I won't like it! God, you are the single most infuriating person I have ever met".

" Thank you".

" That wasn't- never mind. You're welcome. And I intended to convey- Aphrodite interrupted Athena and Percy and Hermes shared a look when they heard Athena gritted her teeth audibly. If there was one thing Athena despised, it was being interrupted.

" So you meant to say" Aphrodite said smugly, obviously very proud she understood Athena.

" Obviously. Again, I intended to convey you were repeatedly using slightly more complicated lexicon".

" Oh that. Heph has been teaching me. Did you know he was intelligent?".

" Yes. I did in fact know that".

" Well, it is kind of hot. I have no idea why I didn't see that before! You know, Ares is super hot and everything, but Hephaestus is so much more intelligent and makes nice jewellery for me and because he is so ugly, he really wants to please me. Do you know how great- ".

" Do not finish that sentence!".

" Why not?".

"Because the last time you said anything with the word great in it, it ended up traumatizing me forever".

" Wow. You really have a photographic memory don't you?".

" Yes. And sadly, it also forces me to remember every single thing you have ever said. Now, will you already come to the point or are you just continuing annoying and disgusting me?".

" That's mean!".

" You're right. I am honestly happy for you and Hephaestus". Athena's voice softened somewhat, something that had happened more since she had spend more time around Annabeth and Percy. " Don't mess it up Aphrodite, Hephaestus is mostly a great guy".

" Mostly?".

Percy and Hermes were both surprised at the offended tone. They hadn't expected Aphrodite to actually care someone said something slightly negative about Hephaestus.

" Yes. He has made some mistakes. He has his faults. But that's okay".

"Well, well, look who's suddenly behaving as though she knows everything about guys and mistakes. Do I need to fear for my job?".

Athena laughed. " Of course not. Now, will you get to the point already?".

" Yes. But this is a private part of the conversation, so might want to send Percy and Hermes away".

Athena shrugged. " Okay". She pushed a blue button and the cage opened. Hermes immediately left it, happy to be a free man again. He glared at Athena, but she rolled her eyes at him and mouthed "out. Now".

Hermes and Percy didn't need more encouragement. If Aphrodite said it was a private conversation, then it must be something really sordid. Despite, Percy didn't want to intrude. And Hermes planned to sneak in a few minutes later, so Athena wouldn't censor all her words and he could film anything that could be used against her. For blackmail, of course.

Percy gave Athena a smile and made a small curtsy while Hermes grinned and winked at her before they both turned and left. Before the door had even closed completely, Athena was focused on Aphrodite again.

" They are gone. Get to the point".

" Pothena. I need to teach you some things".

" The last time I checked, my name was Athena, not Pothena".

" Oh don't be such a smartass. I told you it stands for Poseidon and Athena".

" I still believe it's ridiculous you granted us a couple name. We aren't even a couple!".

" True. You're an OTP".

" An –".

" It stands for One True Pairing. You two share true love, so you're an OTP".

" True love?".

" You have different kinds of love. You have brotherly love or fatherly love. Familial love thus. You also have motherly love, which can be for an adopted or own child. You have lust disguised as love- that's what I call it when someone thinks he/she is in love, but they actually just want to bang the other person. You also have love at first sight. No explanation needed there. You have mature love- which is basically like I need you because I love you. Then you-".

"What? Did you just say you needed me because you love me?".

" Well, I do love you, but as a sister or something. Someone that is really annoying but also a good friend. I was talking about how mature love is like when someone needs the person he loves, because he loves him while immature love is like I love you, because I need you. I heard someone describe it like that once and it really makes the differences between mature and immature love clear".

"Aha. Well, thank you for taking a minute of my life that I will never get back. Anything else?".

" Oh shut up. And yes. What I actually wanted to do, is give you some tips".

" I don't need any-".

"Darling, we're talking about love, not mathematics. You might be great at everything that has to do with minds and brains, but this has to do with hearts and yours has been rotting away in some forgotten place".

" What?".

" Figuratively of course. I meant that you don't know anything that has to with love and everything because of the eternal maiden thing".

" And you're stating the obvious, because..?".

" Because that means you , in fact, do need tips. Desperately. So tip one; make out with your cuddle".

" I'm sorry, the radio must be broken, I believed you said-".

" Make out with your cuddle. Yes, I did. You will need to practise kissing and because you most likely won't take my way better suggestion , you will have to practise it with your cuddle".

" I have this foreboding that I will regret asking, but what is the better suggestion?".

"Make out with Percy".

" Aphrodite!".

" What? He looks like Poseidon, so it will be very easy to pretend it's him and actually be a little passionate. Besides, he is a good kisser".

" He is my daughter's boyfriend! And Poseidon's son!".

" Aha! Your first words were not; I do not want to kiss him. You totally want to kiss him!".

" I don't! I merely hoped logic would appeal to you and clarify just how moronic your statement is, but obviously it doesn't!".

" Darling, I am goddess of love, not logical statements".

" Well, even a moron like Ares would be able to comprehend the idiocy of your statement".

" Actually, I told him about it and he thought it was a great idea".

" You told your former plaything that you wish me to kiss Poseidon's son?".

" Former boyfriend, darling. I used him for more than just pleasure. And yes, Ares sometimes helps me with my brilliant ideas".

" Firstly, I do not possess the desire to know anything about your dallying. Secondly, why on earth would you discuss anything regarding love with the god of war?".

" Firstly, you really need to stop being such a prude if you want to have any fun time with Poseidon. Se-".

" Aphrodite! I never proclaimed I wanted to do that with Poseidon".

" Darling, I am goddess of love and lust and you're not only hopelessly in love with our dear Poseidon, but you also want to rip his clothes off and-".

" I don't! I would never have improper thoughts regarding Poseidon, I wouldn't allow myself!".

" Do you really wish me to remind you of the time we all went to the beach, Poseidon took his shirt off and your salivary glands were working overtime?".

" Aphrodite.. are you suggesting I was salivating when Poseidon's chest was clearly visible?"

." I am not suggesting, I am reminding you of that occasion where it happened".

" I did not salivate!".

" Darling, you totally did. And calm down, it is understandable. You have been deprived of something you really need for millennia and Poseidon has a great body".

" He looks like a middle-aged-".

" Oh please , you know what he actually looks like. And – although I normally would enjoy teasing you a little and discussing Poseidon's body with you- I don't want to discuss this now. I need to you some tips and you, darling, need to practise".

" I don't-".

" So cuddly toy or Percy? Your pick".

" Neither. ".

" Well, you will have to practise kissing!".

" I don't!".

" Yes, you do. Your first kiss with your OTL needs to be perfect! So you will need to have your lips in perfect condition and thus train them!".

" I refuse to practise such a futile activity".

" Futile? Darling! It's Poseidon we are talking about. Locking lips with the handsome king of your dreams. And before you deny it, I know you have dreamt about him. It's adorable! Anyway, dreaming about kissing or reading about it won't teach you out, so practise!".

" No!".

" Athena, don't be so damn stubborn!".

" I took an oath!".

" Well , what did you want to do when you saw Poseidon then?".

" Tell him I'm glad he returned, scream at him for making me worry and being a moron and return Atlantis to him. What else?".

" Darling, you're in love with him!".

" So?".

"Aha , you finally admitted it to me".

" It would be foolish to attempt to deny it , seeing as how it is your job to know this kind of information".

" Exactly. Now, here is what you are really going to do; you run towards him , jump into his arm and plant one on him".

" I am not-".

" You know, if you really don't want to use a cuddly toy or Percy, then I can always come to teach you?".

" Please tell me you haven't just offered to teach me kissing".

" No, that's exactly- ".

" Aphrodite, if you even think about coming near me, I will make you miserable for the rest of your life!".

" Okay, calm down already. Jeez. What did I say that made you freak out?".

"You offered to teach me kissing!".

" Yes, so- Oh not like that, miss Mary. I do not have a secret desire to place my lips anywhere near yours. I meant that Hephaestus and I could visit and I could show you! ".

" I would rather throw myself into Tartarus".

" Don't be like that! You have to practise!".

" I don't!".

" You do. True love's kiss is only perfect if you actually know how to kiss".

" Who says I don't?".

" Making me believe you know how to kiss, isn't going to make me leave you alone".

" …"

" Who says I am merely attempting to make you believe it?".

" I doubt you've read books about it, but they aren't adequate if you have. You need to have actually practise it, because practise makes perfect! That's why I am such a great kisser".

" Will you kindly cease freaking me out with comments about your kissing abilities?".

" Don't be such a prude. Poseidon likes the shy type, but not the completely-unwilling-to-do-it type".

" Actually, if he does like me as you have suggested he does, then that is his type, because that is me".

" Shut up, smartass. And- I am simply talking to your mom, dear. Now, go and get lost".

" Aphrodite? Is Annabeth there?".

" Annabeth, darling, I really don't care you've so-called significant information regarding Poseidon's location that you desire to share with your mom. I am discussing something far more important with her".

" No, you aren't. Now give me my daughter, miss bane of my existence".

" Athena! Don't call me that. And Annabeth can talk to you later".

" I want to talk to her now".

" Tough luck, you're not going to and –Annabeth get away from that!".

" Mom? Annabeth here, I-".

" Am interrupting a very important talk and will now LEAVE!".

" No! I have to talk to my mother!".

" I don't care! Go away!".

" You go!".

" Don't be disrespectful darling or I will ruin your love life!".

" Listen lady Aphrodite, I do not intend to be rude, but I swear that if you don't allow me to talk to my mother, that I will-".

"Be incinerated by moi, a goddess? You're a mere mortal darling, I am not afraid of you".

" I am a mere mortal with very significant information for my immortal mother whom will be very upset with you if you don't allow me to give it to her".

" Did you really just play the mommy card?".

" In hopes of shutting you up, yes. Lady Aphrodite".

" Oh, you little pest!".

"Just give me the microphone already!".

" No! Athena dear, don't listen to- ".

" Cease talking, I need to tell my mother something!".

" That annoying girl, I- ".

" Lady Aphrodite!".

" Have something far more important to".

" Mother! Oceanus-".

" Is not important right now. We need to discuss the current king of Atlantis, not former ones!".

" Actually, since Lord Poseidon is missing he no longer is in possession of that title. He will only be king when he returns. And we do need to-".

" You need to get lost! Damn it ! Why can't I just throw you out?".

" I am queen of Atlantis for the time being, why do you think?".

" Because those guards are giving me the stinky eye? That will be dealt with".

"What did you to my guards! They are-".

" Fighting for my love. Not that they will get it, because I am already with Hephaestus".

"What?".

" I was surprised too. He is actually really great. Who would have thought such an ugly and handicapped man could be so great at-".

Athena's eyes widened and she decided now was the moment to interfere and quickly grabbed the microphone. " ANNABETH! COVER YOUR EARS NOW!".

" What? Why-".

" Sex. It might have something to do with the fact that he craves to please me and-".

Athena quickly pushed the button that disconnected the radio, just in time to avoid hearing any traumatizing context. She only connected the radio again when she was fairly sure Aphrodite wasn't talking about that anymore. Or actually when she started to feel really worried for Annabeth, because you never knew when Aphrodite stopped talking.

" Annabeth? Darling, are you all right?".

"…."

" That were the most disturbing, revolting and terrifying moments of my life. What is wrong with that woman!".

" Oh good, you haven't fainted. Or run away screaming".

" No, but I might have done something not very.. wise".

" What? What did you do?".

" I just couldn't take it anymore! I could still hear what she said, naturally, so I might have hit her with my sword. Repeatedly. On the head"

" Is she unconscious?".

" I beat her with my sword! Of course she is. Oh gods, she is going to do something terrible to Percy. She is going to torture him or make him fall in love with some creepy monster or-".

"Annabeth, calm down. She isn't going to harm Percy, I promise you. Now tell me what was so significant in the first place".

" Oh yes , that. Oceanus has left the depths. We suspect he is behind Poseidon's abduction. Also, we have received word from the ichthyocentaurs that Keto escaped them before they could assassinate her. And to make it all even more horrible, our equipment shows us there is a mayor storm coming your way , and likely also sea monsters".

" How long do we have?".

" A few minutes at the most, you can thank lady Aphrodite for that".

" Roger that. I will talk to you later, go to Delphin for help with the love goddess, all right?".

" I will. And you be careful, all right?".

" Don't worry, I already have a plan. I will talk to you later Annabeth. I am going to warn the others now".

Athena turned the radio off and sighed. Of course, there simply had to be a hoard of monsters and one of the most violent storms behind them. And couldn't Oceanus for once just stay where he was supposed to stay?

" Of course not. That would be too easy" she muttered, cursing stupid love goddesses and stupid monsters.

When she reached the deck and was attack by four gargantuan , crazy swans, Athena decided there and then that she hated swans.

She didn't even have time to duck before they had already slammed into her and throw her on the deck. They got to the air again and when Athena had jumped to her feet and shot an arrow at them , they returned. Going so fast that they were not more than a blur, they flew towards her with open becks, their intentions clear.

She ducked out of the way and used her sword this time, but it had the same result; nothing. Their feathers seemed to serve as armour and Athena ducked again when they turned and could only narrowly avoid one of their wings.

She whistled , getting their attention , and this time, when they rounded up on her, she rolled under them and stabbed one of them in the stomach. She heard an outraged shriek and had just enough time to smirk when she saw a small trail of what she assumed was blood, before the three others attacked her and she had to roll away to avoid their sharp beaks.

She attempted to stab them, but they were too fast and flew away before she could even reach them. Every time she attempted to attack, they flew away , quickly turned and attacked again. They didn't manage to hit her, because she was fast as well and just dove out of the way, but it was still annoying.

She aimed for the wounded swan's stomach again and managed to hit them and deter the others for a small moment. Giving her time to study them and notice two very peculiar things; they were attached to each other by a chain and the chain glowed and seemed to weaken slightly when she managed to stab one in the stomach.

Hm. Interesting. Their stomach are obviously their weak spots, so I should be able to beat them if I merely repeatedly hit their stomach. It will at least weaken that chain. Why would they be chained like that?

Athena didn't have any more time to ponder the chain; the wounded swan had recovered a little and the swans – now really furious- attacked again. She threw herself forward, rolled over the floor and stabbed at the moment that she was above them. She immediately heard an outraged and slightly pained shriek and grinned.

Serves you right for attacking the goddess of wisdom, you moronic and pathetic piece of food.

Athena quickly got out of the way when the swans noticed her and attempted to attack. They were still gargantuan , crazy and dangerous, but now Athena had an inkling of an idea as to how to beat them ( mainly by stabbing them in their stomachs), she felt much more in control. The swans ducked at her again and again, but Athena simply jumped or rolled out of the way and stabbed them.

Every time she managed to stab one of them in the stomach, the chain attaching them to each other glowed brightly and they seemed to get more tired and their attacks less vicious.

Athena was suddenly distracted by a familiar voice screaming in pain and the two seconds that that had her distracted, the swans attacked and managed to bite her. She screamed in rage and pain ( since when did swans even have teeth like that?) and quickly stabbed them one more time, making the chain break and the swans fall to the ground.

They made weird, strangled sounds and Athena raised her eyebrows when she saw their feathers were melting away ( literally, you saw smoke rising and the smell was awful) but before she could see what they turned into, they had already disappeared. Somebody had apparently found a way to transport them back to wherever gargantuan, crazy swans came from.

Athena finally had the rest and time to look at the other people and she sighed with relief when she saw everyone was fine. Then she frowned, because she quickly realized this wasn't just due to the fact that they were all good fighters, but also because the remaining enemies had quickly fled.

Peculiar, very peculiar. It could merely be that our opponents realized we weren't easily defeated, but I somehow doubt it. We will have to be very careful. Athena thought while clutching her injured arm.

99 % chance of getting captured and tortured like Poseidon. If I enjoyed gambling, then I would bet against us Athena thought, crouched behind a chariot with kelpies ( creatures that can turn into beautiful horses or men, lure you and then drown and eat you).

There was no way Oceanus wouldn't notice they were here. He wasn't that oblivious. She almost turned to leave – it wasn't very helpful if they were all captured- when she saw him. His beautiful sea green eyes were dim, his body was bruised and battered ( she didn't think that there was a body part left that wasn't scarred) and he looked awful, but he was alive.

She quickly scanned the room and smiled. Only two guards. Oh she knew what they were and exactly how dangerous those guards were, but they would never be a match for a goddess. Berserkers might be fearless warriors that seemed unable to feel pain , but that didn't mean they were immortal.

Or perhaps I don't even have to fight them Athena thought, looking at the kelpies who were studying the two berserkers with a very intense look. They were obviously hungry.

She took a few steps back and concentrated until she felt Poseidon's powers react. She imagined all that water outside the building, straining against the windows, hoping to get inside. She put the pressure a little higher and smiled when she felt the glass breaking a little. Opening her eyes to look at the berserkers, she was relieved to see that they were suspicious yes, but not yet completely aware from what was going on. Which might have something to do with Athena manipulating the mist to hide what exactly was happening .

She took a deep breath and 'pushed' with all her might, then immediately threw her body to the right as the water burst through the windows and took both the berserkers and kelpies with it. She then made the water form a giant tentacle ( much like the tentacles that had attacked her once) and pull the kelpies and berserkers behind the glass.

Waving her hand, the glass immediately restored itself and Athena smirked with satisfaction as she saw the berserkers trying to get the hysterical kelpies off them. Berserkers were excellent warriors yes, but they had never been excellent water-warriors.

Glancing one last time around her to assure that no one was watching, Athena left her hiding place and ran towards Poseidon's cell. " Poseidon!".

She had expected any reaction from him; anger because she had ignored his orders, surprise that she was even here or happiness because a friendly face had shown up to save him ( that was the least likely option), but she hadn't expected him to look at her, sigh and give her the 'cold shoulder'.

" Go away Freya. I told you, it doesn't work. And no matter how much you look like her, you're not even half the woman she is".

Athena frowned. " Freya? As in Norse love and sexuality goddess Freya? Why on earth would she be-" then she realized this wasn't exactly the time to figure out which deities were behind the abduction ( nor was it the time to punch a certain goddess that dared to approach Poseidon, she reminded herself) .

" It's me Poseidon, so get off that bunk immediately or help me, I will-".

He turned around, giving her a one-over.

She rolled her eyes. "Cease staring at me Poseidon. If I really were Freya, then the appearance would be nearly the same and the mistakes she would made, would only be visible if-" .

"It's really you! Athena, I have never been this glad to hear one of your boring monologues!" Poseidon said, grinning at her.

" Hey! They are not boring, how often-".

He rolled his eyes. " Sure miss smarty pants. Can you open this cell now?".

" Sure. But how comes you couldn't? And those guards, they-".

" were no match for me , I know. But they have weakened my powers, I will explain later. Oh and this is probably a trap, so hurry".

She shrugged and studied the lock, then snorted when she realized how easy it would be to open it. She managed it in about five seconds. " This is one of the most inane and weak locks I've ever encountered, was it made by brainless monkey's ?" she muttered , ready to start insulting the lock and whoever had made it, when she was pulled into an embrace.

" You shouldn't have come, but I am really glad to see that grumpy face of yours" Poseidon said and she could just hear he was grinning stupidly.

She rolled her eyes again. " Well, if you hadn't been moronic and incompetent enough to get captured, I wouldn't have been forced to" she said, but her tone was more teasing than anything else.

He pulled back. "Sure. I missed you too" he said , walking away from her towards the doors on the left side. She followed him. "I never said that I missed you".

" I can read between the lines. Besides- " he winked at her, which did not make her blush ( her cheeks were red because she was angry, if you asked her. She had been saying since the first time he had made her blush and she would always say that) . " who wouldn't miss me? I am one of the only gods who can actually tell jokes".

" You may be capable of telling jokes, but you are incapable of ever making people laugh".

" Not true. I make you laugh all the time. I will make you laugh as soon as we've escaped the cave of our madmen".

" Men? As in plural?".

" I don't know how many there are, but there are a lot of people here. That's why I was captured. Not because I am incompetent or moronic, but because I was taken by surprise by a bunch of maniacs".

" You are still a moron. And incompetent. But I am willing to admit that whoever is behind this, must be quite powerful".

" They attacked you too?".

" Why would you think that?".

" Well, you normally always assume everybody is weak and useless, so you must have seen them before. That and you look tired, your clothes still have some ichor on them and your arm is injured".

He suddenly stopped her and grabbed her arm, exposing the part that had a very nasty teeth-shaped bruise on it. " You need to get that treated" he said, studying the bruise.

Athena didn't say anything, too surprised by the concern showing on his face and in his voice and the fact that it actually didn't hurt. The injury had been throbbing and actually been buzzing like angry bees for the past days, but that all stopped now he touched it.

" What a startling and fascinating discovery.." she mumbled, forgetting for a moment that they were in a hall of a crazy person's house and not just at Olympus.

He looked up from the bruise he had been studying and frowned. " What is startling and fascinating?".

She gently pulled her arm away, telling herself she did not want him to keep softly brushing his thumb over her skin, no matter how good it felt. " You're touching it and it doesn't hurt" she mumbled, suddenly feeling a little dizzy.

The injury was no longer throbbing or buzzing, but now she felt dizzy and disoriented. She looked up at Poseidon to warn him, suspecting that something was very wrong, when she suddenly felt a really strange sensation. It felt like she was heating up, then everything tingled until she eventually felt really light and carefree.

She smiled at Poseidon, so wide in fact that he actually took a step back and looked at her with a what-in-Tartarus-is-freaking-happening-here look.

" Poseidon… You have such beautiful eyes" she said, taking a step towards him with that same smile.

His face fell. " Freya? But you look exactly like Athena and you speak like her.. that's nearly impossible".

Athena glared at him. " I am not Freya, I am Athena! Don't compare me to that gullible airhead!".

He took another step back. " You just said I had beautiful eyes. Either you have hit your head really hard or you're an imposer".

She smiled at him again, her irritation fading. " Of course not. You really do have beautiful eyes, such a rare and sublime shade.. ".

She sighed. Poseidon now looked at her with wide eyes and a startled expression ( because it was a little creepy to see her act this way and he actually liked the way she normally was). " And you have such a strong jaw. And you're tall and muscular. Did you that those are the traits that women pick subconsciously because it normally means that the man in question is capable of defending them?".

" Eh I suppose. But can we not talk about my abs now? You're free to talk all about them when we aren't surrounded by enemies".

Athena laughed softly. " We aren't surrounded by nemesis, silly!".

He pointed at something right from her. Which would be a grinning, malicious-looking wolf. "Well well, what do we have here?" the wolf said, grinning. A

thena looked at the wolf and raised one of her eyebrows. " Am I supposed to be intimidated by a talking canis lupus? Because I am not".

The wolf growled, showing a row of very sharp teeth. " Do not offend me , wisdom goddess".

" Really don't. One of these ladies left a hole in my buttock" Poseidon said, pulling a face.

Athena rolled her eyes. " They are merely the daughters of Fenrir Poseidon, we are more powerful than Fenrir and certainly more powerful than his daughters".

" Tell me that when you've had their teeth in your ass" Poseidon mumbled, secretly really glad Athena wasn't acting all weird anymore. Just when he had thought it , Athena suddenly gasped and made a low, pained sound.

"What? What is it?" he asked, quickly scanning his surroundings. " Did one of those wolves bite you? " he asked, scanning her body.

"No, I, it's my heart" Athena managed to gasp out. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "It feels as though I am having a heart attack".

Fenrir's daughter barked ( or actually laughed, but that's the same thing in her case) . " Ha! Some goddess of wisdom you are. You don't even recognize it for what it is, do you?".

Athena managed to glare at the barking/laughing wolf. " And what would that be?".

The wolf shrugged. "kjærlighetssorg".

Poseidon frowned. " Kja- what?" he said at the same time Athena gasped and managed to say "not possible!".

"Oh it is. It appears you have angered Frey and he has placed a little curse on you. Very painful. Very long. And also very amusing to watch. Now walk".

" I am not-". Poseidon bent towards her. " Don't protest, this might be the best thing. They could actually show us a way out. Besides, we aren't in the greatest shape right now".

He straightened again. " So.. what is kjærlighetssorg? Is it a dish?".

Fenrir's daughter barked/laughed. " No, you moron. It's a horrible curse, I just told you. Pay attention. It does to people what the tide does to stones".

" Wearing them away?".

" Exactly. Weakening them , hurting them, taking from them until they are only a fraction of the glory that they once were".

She grinned, showing off the sharpest – and creepily black, like raw diamonds- teeth you could imagine. " Your Athena has much to suffer, sea god".

He narrowed his eyes, tensing as he saw how much she was enjoying this. " That's not something you should be happy about, you rear end of a hippocampus".

The wolf-daughter stopped grinning and growled instead. " Quiet prey! Or I will take it out on your girlfriend".

" I" Athena suddenly spat, still doubling over with pain and pressing down on her heart. " Am not his girlfriend".

Poseidon turned to face her. " Seriously? You are in a lot of pain, should probably not talk and you open your mouth only to say that?".

" Shut up!" Athena managed to say ( more like groan).

Poseidon walked towards her , putting his arm around her waist to steady her when he saw how she was struggling to even stand upright. She weakly pushed at his arm, but he only tightened it. " Don't" he warned, earning him a glare and eye roll from the goddess of stubbornness ( as he sometimes jokingly called her) herself.

" You don't get to dictate me, you-".

" Chauvinistic pig. I know".

He leaned in a little, glancing at the wolf(ish, normal wolves don't talk or laugh like hyena's) " I know that you kind of hate me sometimes and that you hate it even more when people think you're weak or offer you help that you don't want, but just trust me, okay? I want to help you and Athena, you can't deny that you need it".

Athena glared at him another time, gritting her teeth and meant to push his arm away, but then suddenly smiled creepily again. " You're right… you're always right" she actually giggled ( Poseidon stared at her with his mouth wide open and actually thought something along the way of 'have insane aliens finally found the earth and kidnapped Athena or bleached her brain like in movies?) .

" Eh good" he eventually said, still staring at her ( as if she could suck at his brain any moment).

He started walking and she actually leaned on him, smiling creepily, with glazed eyes, at him. " So.. where are we going miss demonic wolf?" he said, talking to the wolf(ish thing) in front of him.

Fenrir's daughter grinned. " I am bringing you to my friends".

" That can't be good" Poseidon mumbled, thinking to himself that that probably meant they were going to torture him by making him listen to classical music for a week without sleep or food or something.

Then, he apparently lost his mind ( or it was a suicidal attempt, which is kind of impossible when you're immortal) , because the next thing he said was " and girl, you need some breath mints. Your breath makes me want to faint, the smell is horrible".

Fenrir's daughter turned and growled at Poseidon, baring her teeth at him. " Careful, sea god , or you might just lose a piece of your leg".

Poseidon glanced down at his legs, remembered when a group of those wolf girls had bitten him and promptly decided to shut up. Ironically, Athena didn't ( ironic , because the wise thing would be shutting up, obviously). " How dare you! Treating my Poseidon like he is some ordinary, inane, inept, moronic mortal!".

" Eh Athena? That's basically how you've always treated me" Poseidon said, glancing nervously at Fenrir's daughter.

Athena glared at Fenrir's daughter. "Exactly! I have the patent on offending and belittling you, she has no right whatsoever to do that to you!".

She clutched his arm possessively . " you're mine!".

Fenrir's daughter barked with laughter. " Oh little wisdom goddess, you're not so strong after all, are you? Even you are unable to fight Frey's power". "

Well, at least I am not a tiny, inept, bundle of fur that serves no purpose whatsoever except maybe decorating someone's body or warming it!".

The wolf narrowed her eyes and growled again. Athena rolled her eyes. " Oh please. Like that would frighten me. And really, don't you have something more intimidating than merely growling? Any lowly animal is capable of making that sound".

The wolf jumped. One moment, she was just baring her teeth, the next moment she was moving towards Athena with lightning fast speed. Athena jumped aside , narrowly avoiding getting bitten ( by a row of the sharpest teeth ever) and laughed triumphantly. " See? You're just a lowly animal, no matter how fast you are. I-".

Poseidon tried to run towards her when Athena suddenly doubled over, gasped and clutched where her heart would be as though she was attempting to pull it out of her chest. ( she wasn't. She isn't the evil queen).

The wolf stopped him before he could reach her, shaking her head. " Nuh-uh. Don't even think about it, sea god. Your little friend asked for it".

" Step aside" Poseidon said, glaring at the wolf, his power seemingly leaking out of his skin ( it was glowing faintly and if you would've touched him, you would've been electrocuted, which is not only disastrous for your hair, but also highly painful) .

The wolf actually raised an eyebrow ( do wolves even have eyebrows , you might ask) . " No. Why would I?".

" Because I will remove you myself if you don't".

" No , you won't. We have been absorbing your powers for too long, you're weak now".

" Step aside".

The wolf shook her head again . " I won't, sea god. And you're little friend deserved what she got, so helping her is simply foolish".

" You don't know Athena, you don't know what she deserves" :Poseidon said, before suddenly disappearing , then appearing on the side of the wolf before he hit her as hard as he possible could ( which is really hard, considering he is really muscular/powerful even when he doesn't have his powers). She was blown backwards by the force and hit the wall, falling to the ground while softly whimpering.

Poseidon ran towards Athena –who was still gasping and struggling to breathe- and pulled her with him. She staggered and he sighed, hoping against hope that she wouldn't suddenly come to her senses and kill him ( It's Athena, she is smart enough to find a 'solution' to the whole immortal= no killing thing) .

When he decided he could worry about Athena trying to kill him later ( like when there wasn't an angry wolfish thing that desperately wanted to torture them) , he hoisted her up and threw her over his shoulder. Athena made a small sound of protest, but seemed to be in too much pain to really protest so Poseidon just started running.

He took a few turns , never slowing down, while he tried to think of a way to escape the murderous 'Big bad wolf' and then get the hell out of the creepy villain HQ. Water, I need to have water. Not only will it strengthen me, but it might also get the stupid wolf of our trail. If it works with dogs, it might work with her.

Poseidon looked around him and cursed softly. Of course, there was a lot of water ( the HQ was deep in the ocean, after all) , but it was all behind glass windows that he couldn't shatter without concentrating or alerting anyone. Besides, the last time he had attempted to use the water around him to escape, it had somehow only made him weaker.

" Athena! Use that big brain of yours and come up with an escape plan".

" Isn't that your job? It seems to me that I am the damsel in distress in this situation. Or a sack of potatoes" Athena drily replied.

" Yeah well, Wise Stuff, you were kind of too busy with being hurt to be of any use. But now you're not in an insane amount of pain, I could use some help".

" Great. Lower me to the ground and –".

" Athena?" Poseidon said, looking over his shoulder as Athena suddenly stopped talking, fearing that she had fainted or something . He shouldn't have worried.

" You've such beautiful eyes" Athena said, smiling at him.

" Goddamn it Athena! This is really not the time to suddenly act like a lovesick-". Poseidon's eyes widened when a thought struck him as if Zeus had struck him with his master bolt. " Athena, it's the curse! That kg- something thing. Lovesickness, that's what is making you act so strange".

" Yeah.. " Athena replied dreamily , wrapping her arms around Poseidon's neck.

" Don't strangle me! And fight against it, you're creeping me out".

" Why? And I am not strangling you, silly".

" Whatever, just do something Athena would actually do, like coming up with some brilliant plan that saves everyone".

" I am Athena, why- ".

" You could just as well be a green alien that is inhabiting Athena's brain, making her behave like some lunatic because you have no idea of godly customs".

" What?".

" I saw it in a movie, never mind, just be normal again!".

" I am-" Athena broke off as the ground suddenly gave way ( to a black, Tartarus-like hole ) and they fell into another room. Poseidon managed to land on his feet, Athena clinging to his back like a monkey getting a piggyback ride.

He looked around the room and sighed when he realized they were now in the meeting room of the HQ, surrounded by enemies. Great. Athena either has an alien taking up residence in her brain or a serious concussion , I am exhausted and nearly powerless and we're surrounded by enemies. Man, what did I do to the fates that they did this?

" Welcome Poseidon and Athena, how lovely that you could join us " the man ,standing at the head of the gargantuan table that Poseidon was facing, said.

" Yeah, it isn't like you really gave us any choice Oceanus" Poseidon replied, glaring at the man.

" Oh and you still owe me a game room, seeing as how you destroyed the last one".

Oceanus grinned. " Actually, I think you owe me ".

He glanced at Athena, who was still playing monkey and clinging to Poseidon. " I have landed you a lovely wisdom goddess after all".

Poseidon gritted his teeth, his vision turning slightly red and anger bubbling up in hem as though it was a geyser. " You did this to her? That's low, even for you".

" Low? You're the one childish enough to bring some pretty mortal to her temple, in the hopes of making her jealous. Not to mention the fact that you're pining for an eternal goddess while being married to another lovely lady".

" Amphitrite knew what she was marrying, so-".

" Oh she knew all right. Why do you think that she tried to flee?".

Poseidon narrowed his eyes, his vision turning even more red. The only thing keeping him from attacking all the sorry excuses of gods in the room, was the knowledge that Athena was vulnerable and might be really in danger if he did that.

" Because my reputation preceded me and she thought it was a really bad idea".

" And you proved that to her , didn't you? Always cheating on her, always involved with other things. You even fell for a lowly mortal while you had a beautiful queen".

Poseidon lost it. He charged and grabbed Oceanus throat ( and also made Athena fall on the ground when he suddenly disappeared). " Don't ever call Sally a lowly mortal again. She was as much a queen as Amphitrite is, so don't give me that bullshit!".

" She was and is only a human".

" A human that gave me a wonderful son and some of the happiest moments of my life".

" Fair enough" Oceanus said before suddenly throwing Poseidon off him . He removed some invisible ( or rather nonexistent) dust of his body. " She was a queen, but she was no match for Amphitrite".

" I am not having this discussion with you. What do you and your NUB's".

" NUB's?" a man with long , golden hair , scantily clad asked. " Is that an insult?".

Oceanus sighed. " It mean Non-useable body. Now shut up, please".

The god huffed. " Fine. You two uglies bore me anyway".

" Uglies is a nonexistent word in the English vocabulary. And you are very mistaken if you believe that Poseidon is ugly" Athena said, giving the god her best glare.

He gave her a once-over ( Poseidon felt even angrier than he had when Sally had been insulted while Athena got her plotting look, which normally meant that men ended up dead or with severed reproduction organs) and grinned. " Aha, I see. It looks like a certain little wisdom goddess has a little problem with my spell, doesn't it?".

" Who cares?" Oceanus said, glaring at the god. " She isn't where this is about, this is about getting back what belongs to m- us, to us".

" Technically, the sea never belonged to us" A woman , dressed as a Roman woman of high status said.

"Veritas" Athena said, narrowing her eyes ( and looking like herself for the first time since she had suddenly started to act weird)

" Hi Athena. Or should I say Minerva?".

" I am not in my Roman aspect right now" Athena said, actually taking a step back. Another goddess laughed, shrill and cruel. She had black wings, long dark ( like the night) hair and her clothes were stained with blood. " What a disappointment. The famous wisdom goddess turns out to be a coward and a weak, lovesick girl".

Athena shrugged. " Not really. The weak lovesick girl thing is because of some illness and I am not a coward. I simply know when it's smart to not come near anyone. In this case, to not come near a Roman when there is a chance that it will turn me into a raving lunatic".

" Oh right, the split personalities " another god said, his creepy mouth ( ever seen a horror movie where someone's lips are torn in a way, and then stitched? That's what this God had, reminding Athena of an insane clown) turning up at the corners as he smiled at Athena.

She frowned. " Loki? But you should-".

"Exactly. Should. But I am not. In fact, my fellow gods- you're more a jotun than a god, Athena corrected, but Loki ignored her – are so sick of you Greeks, that they decided to let me go for a while".

" Well, then there is no end to their stupidity" Athena said, glancing at the other gods at the table, of which some were Norse like Loki.

Loki grinned. " Always nice to have my talent recognized by someone as talented as you, Pallas".

Athena crossed her arms and glared at him. " You caused them much harm and you're not exactly trustworthy. Why would they let you go?".

Loki shrugged, pulling a knife from the leather pouch above his boots. " Because your boyfriend stole something from Oceanus and the others all are sick of being the less known mythologies".

The others also pulled their weapons, looking more like hungry animals than creatures worthy of worshipping. Athena took a small step back, reaching for Poseidon's hand.

" Athena?" he said, locking eyes with her.

" It's starting again, the pain. I think your proximity lessens it. And we need to cooperate if we want to avoid being captured again, having our hearts ripped out and being sacrificed as though we were mortals, not gods".

Poseidon looked at her in confusion and she sighed. " There are Aztecs present, Poseidon, what do you think they want?".

" Oh right. They had this ripping out heart things going on".

" While the victims were still alive. Don't forget that part, it's the really painful part".

Poseidon and Athena took a few steps back as the group of Gods approached them, all with some weapon ( knife, spear, hammer, gargantuan sword..) in their hands.

" You know" Athena said, squeezing Poseidon's hand. " It's really remarkable how having a common enemy, can make people cooperate. Can make enemies cooperate".

" What? Athena, it's not the-".

" They are enemies, we should be able to-".

"Got it, allow me".

Poseidon suddenly stepped forward ( making the gods frown, since it isn't the normal procedure when someone is attacked by a bunch of lunatics) " Gentlemen! Ladies! Please, there is no need to attack us, we will go along with this all willingly. Of course, I can understand why you want my domain and I wish you nothing but the best".

" You called me a NUB!"Frey said, turning a harp in his hands (which wouldn't be intimidating if this harp wasn't enchanted to make music that shattered your eardrums and strings that could change into indestructible hooks which Frey used to pull out hearts).

Poseidon grinned at him. "Exactly! I only call people a NUB when I consider them to be inexperienced, but a raw talent. I would call my favorite nephew or godson that, if I had one".

" Oh thanks. But I am still going to hurt you" Frey said.

Poseidon smiled and nodded. " Of course, of course. But who of you is going to do it? Who is going to pull out my heart and become one of the most powerful and well-known deities ever?".

He winked. " And don't forget having a really hot wife".

There were a few murmurs of agreement. " So… who is the lucky guy?".

"He, wait a moment" a woman that was so creepy that even Hades wouldn't want to spend time with her, said. " Why lucky guy? Why not lucky woman?".

" Well.. traditionally, the ruler has always been a man".

" Typical of guys" another goddess said, her tone obviously annoyed. A beautiful goddess with an ever-changing appearance ( just think of the most beautiful woman ever and you would know what she looked like ) stepped out of the shadows and removed the cloak she was wearing, smiling at the (now drooling) gods surrounding her. "Well, this won't be a problem, will it guys? Is there anyone who would like to give me a gift? Something like a new position as sea goddess, for example?".

" You are not the right person for this position Freya. I am. I already am the sea god after all, it makes sense that I would get more fame and a larger domain " A large, muscular man said.

" That only means you don't deserve it Aegir, you already have a sea domain, so it's me who should have this" another goddess, holding a bow and arrow and clad in a hunter's uniform ( Athena and Poseidon both looked oddly at her, because she looked a lot like Diana) said.

" No! It's me, me who will rip out their useless hearts and take the position" the woman that had called Athena a coward , said.

"Wait a minute" Frey said, pointing at Athena. " She is mine. Her heart already belongs to me".

"Or me" Freya said, smiling at her twin brother.

" I don't belong to anyone" Athena said, glaring at the two gods.

" You're lovesick, you're under my control, so you belong to me " Frey reasoned.

The other gods started murmuring , then speaking and eventually shouting , all saying they had claim to the position or Athena. There was so much noise and mayhem, that Athena and Poseidon managed to walk away without anyone noticing. Until they reached the door, that is.

That was the moment when Oceanus broke up the fight ( by throwing gods around like they were tennis balls or something) and faced Athena and Poseidon once more.

" Enough! We share the position and I don't care who gets the wisdom goddess. You will fight that out later. We just need to kill him" Oceanus said, gesturing at Poseidon.

Oceanus walked towards Poseidon , his own trident in his hand. Athena tried to help , but before she had done much besides rendering a few gods unconscious, she was thrown backwards. She closed her eyes briefly when the horrible pain immediately returned and groaned, clutching for her heart and cursing softly.

Oceanus didn't pay attention to her, only focused on the –now very angry- Poseidon. Poseidon made to hit Oceanus, but before that could happen , Oceanus used his trident and Poseidon was tied to the wall by genetically manipulated sea weed. While Poseidon was tied up, Oceanus took a few steps back, then pulled his arm back and let go of his trident, aiming right for Poseidon's heart .

In the middle of the air, the trident suddenly evaporated ( literally, you could see a cloud forming, even though it shouldn't be possible). Out of the foggy cloud, raised a woman. Everyone gasped when they saw who it was and Oceanus became paler than a ghost.

" Rhea" he said, taking a few steps back. " I can-".

" You can be silent!" Rhea interrupted, glaring at Oceanus. " After all you've done, I won't have you talk more nonsense".

She looked around the room, giving every single god/goddess a disappointed and disapproving glare. " After everything all of you have done".

She snapped her fingers and Poseidon was freed. He glared at all the other gods, then ran to Athena, pulling her into a hug. She immediately hit him on the head. " I do not remember giving you permission to use your arms to trap me like that Poseidon".

" Only you would see a hug as an imprisonment " he said, grinning at her.

" See! See! SEE!" Rhea suddenly said, pointing at Poseidon and Athena who were having one of those moments where you stare at each other and smile like some fool. " That's what you almost prevented, you awful people!".

She inhaled sharply. " I have waited a very long time for this to happen, for Athena to finally see the light and fall in love and you had almost ruined it!".

She walked towards Poseidon and grabbed his arm, showing him to the gods, who looked all freaked out ( even Poseidon, because he recognized that Rhea was having one of her 'big momma moods', which basically meant that she obsessed over something and became really mad and protective)

" This man, this wonderful yet misguided man had finally after countless , fruitless attempts found the perfect girl the marry and you want to ruin it. What is wrong with you guys?".

She sniffed quietly. " Do you not want extremely intelligent children running around, their sea green eyes sparkling as they play pranks or study?".

" Eh no. Those two getting children is a terrifying idea" Freya said, actually shivering.

Rhea slowly turned her head towards Freya. "What" she said. " Did you just say you didn't want Pothena children, that you want to ruin this perfect love story".

" I am an eternal maiden , Poseidon is a player and we've spend centuries attempting to destroy each other. It is hardly perfect" Athena said.

Rhea turned towards her. "It is perfect! You two are complete opposites but also very much in love and you will marry in white and I shall babysit your wondrous children! Everything is perfect".

Athena shrunk, the look in Rhea's eyes making her feel very scolded and small. Although she was a little frightened ( we are talking about momma bear one here and you all should know that mom's can be crazily scary when their children are threatened) , she still spoke up. She wouldn't be Athena if she didn't.

Although you could argue, of course, that speaking up to Rhea who was in a 'shipping' mood was the single most ludicrous thing a person could do and the goddess of wisdom would probably transform herself into a spider-thing or someone with a really bad hairdo before doing something as stupid as speaking up to Rhea.

" Grandmother, with all due respect, your idea is.. invalid. It will never happen, because-". Athena froze like a deer caught in the headlights ( or an immortal suddenly losing his immortality and having to jump over a river made of fire) when Rhea raised one eyebrow and pursed her lips slightly ( normally, this would be silly, but it was Rhea's special 'stop talking because everything you say is stupid' look) .

" Athena. Honey. You're intelligent and beautiful and I love you, but when it comes to matters of the heart, you're not very bright. So please do not say it isn't going to happen, because I know it will".

She turned back to the 'villains'. You might ask why they were still there and had not instead done the sensible thing, which would be running away screaming mommy ( or even better , being silent. Rhea would notice if they screamed). The reason was very simple; Rhea had used some of her (virtually unknown) powers to freeze them. That and they didn't want to risk angering her even more and seeing her beautiful eyes tear up ( there is a reason why most guys hate it when girls cry. It's the most potent weapon ever) .

" So. Dears. Let's summarize your crimes, shall we ? First, kidnapping my Posy –

" Mother! Do NOT call me Posy" Poseidon hissed. He was , naturally, ignored-

Second. Torturing my Posy. Third, making his girl worried sick and lose weight. Those idiotic magazines that claim 'thin is the new black' are completely mistaken. I do not wish my granddaughter to be skeleton-thin like Posy's disappearance made her. Fourth. Attempting to take something that wasn't yours. Not to mention you separated the perfect couple".

She glared at Oceanus. " Those two newbies on the love matter finally started to realize that the things they were feeling meant that they are in love , not- she glanced at Athena- some illness that needed to be determined or – she looked at Poseidon- something that would keep him from jumping on any flat surface in any form they liked with pretty ladies. But instead of actually admitting those things out loud, some person with huge issues kidnapped them".

She sighed. " I am so disappointed in you Oceanus" .

" But Rhea-". She held up her hand. "I know Oceanus, believe me. You aren't normally a moron or such an awful person, but it's what unrequited love has done to you".

She sighed. " But shouldn't you, of all people, understand? Poseidon and Athena shouldn't have been separated. Even though it finally made them actually see what was in front of them all these years".

" Poseidon doesn't deserve her!" Oceanus practically growled, giving Poseidon his best glare.

Poseidon frowned. " Deserve who? Athena? Basically no one deserves her , you know. That's why the whole eternal maiden thing happened. I think".

Poseidon cursed when Athena hit him. " Cretin! The 'entire maiden thing'- as you so eloquently put it- happened, because I have no interest in inane things as kissing".

" Honey, you have been having dreams about Poseidon for ages and you turned a girl he liked into a hideous monster".

" They were frolicking in my temple! It was revolting!".

" Still. And Medusa's hair was turned into green snakes".

" So?". " Isn't that a symbol for jealousy? I just think you were very jealous honey and that that is the reason that you changed an innocent into a monster".

Athena gasped, looking baffled. ( she obviously wasn't used to people second-guessing her choices. Probably because people tend to not survive that or be changed into something horrific) " Grandmother, I was most certainly not jealous! I transformed Medusa, because she was displaying incredibly inappropriate behavior. And it wasn't just their lips touching either".

" Like I said. Very jealous". Athena opened her mouth for another round of protesting, but Rhea shot her a look that managed to make her shut up ( although she did mutter that Rhea's accusation was preposterous) .

" So Oceanus, are you ready to let this all go already?".

Oceanus shook his head. " No. Poseidon is a bastard and doesn't deserve her. I shall take good care of her and-".

" Who is this her you keep referring to?" Poseidon said, looking very annoyed that he was being left out.

Rhea sighed. I love that man dearly, but his slight tendency to not comprehend anything the first time, annoys even me. Sometimes. Aloud, she said " Amphitrite. Oceanus is in love with your wife. It's one of the main reasons he attacked Atlantis".

" Oh. Well, that's a lame reason to destroy my awesome gameroom".

He looked at Oceanus. " Why didn't you just ask if I was willing to divorce Amphitrite and then ask her to marry you?".

"Because obviously even you aren't stupid enough to let a woman like that go!".

" I am not stupid, but I am willing to divorce Amphitrite".

" W-what? Why didn't do it earlier, then?".

Poseidon shrugged. " I really like Amphitrite".

" You really like her? You constantly cheat on her".

" Yeah well, I can't help it that there are so many nice ladies out there".

" Doesn't mean that you have to engage in certain relationships with them".

"Hey! Don't use that tone, you-".

" Posy! Enough" Rhea interrupted, giving them both stern looks. " That's not the way to handle this situation. We are going to handle this like mature, wise people and not like a bunch of five-year-olds".

" But- " Oceanus started, still seething and glaring. Rhea's hand suddenly shot out, faster than the god of messengers (among others) himself, and grabbed Oceanus' ear. "Enough! If all that ever leaves your mouth, is dirty insults, than you can keep silent".

Poseidon laughed. " That's the way to go, mom! Good jo- ouch! Not the ear! Not the ear!". His laughing turned into a pained groan when Rhea suddenly grabbed Poseidon's ear as well, dragging both him and Oceanus along.

" Come on Athena, dear. We are leaving" she called over her shoulder, making Athena follow her quickly, giving the rest of the Gods (of which none dared to anger Rhea , by doing anything stupid like attacking Athena) her coldest and most condescending ( yes looks can be that) look.

Right before she left the room , she quickly studied the pillars that were holding it up, smiled sweetly at all the other gods before she said " No man will ever possess me" , then hit a certain point.

She stepped out of the room just when the pillars fell away, making the room collapse. Smiling serenely, she followed Rhea as she scolded the two gods that were whimpering as she pulled on their ears as if they were leashes.

"My lady, will you do me the pleasure of the first dance "Poseidon – dressed in a tuxedo, which made Athena raise her eyebrows a little bit- asked her, grinning.

She smiled, shaking her head. " I would rather not".

" Aw come on Athena, you have got to give the crowd what they want" Poseidon said, motioning to the various people that were screaming DANCE! ( the party had been going on for some time, so about half of the time people were drunk. Courtesy of Dionysus) .

Athena looked around, smiling when she saw that Percy was one of the people in the crowd, winking at her. She winked back, at the same time accepting Poseidon's hand and allowing him to pull her away from the secluded spot where she had been reading one of her favorite books.

" Fine. If it's what the crowd wants.." she trailed off and he grinned at her again ( she was starting to suspect he had enjoyed the free alcohol a little bit too much) .

" And if it's also what the beautiful wisdom goddess wants" he finished.

She rolled her eyes. " As if. You know that I don't even enjoy dancing all that much".

" Maybe you just haven't had the right dance partner yet" he said, shrugging.

"And I suppose that you are the right one?".

" Of course. I move like no one else can".

" I gladly agree with that, I am just not convinced that that is a good thing" she replied, laughing.

Poseidon grinned at her, not even fazed by the slight insult and she allowed him to pull her into his arms, swaying with him on the slow music. She also glared at Aphrodite and Rhea, because she just knew that this slow song hadn't played seconds before.

They both grinned, high fiving each other.

" Do I need to convince you it is, miss know-it-all?".

" No thank you. I wouldn't want you to break any bones attempting to prove something to me that is impossible to be proven, seeing as it is untrue".

" He! I am a good dancer, I really am!".

Athena laughed, not able to withhold that sound of mirth as Poseidon pouted and gave her his best puppy dog eyes. It looked a little ridiculous and really cute. " I am still not convinced , but I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. You do, after all, know how to slow dance. That's something".

"Good. And where, may I ask, did you learn to slow dance?".

Athena shrugged. " Just because I do not necessarily enjoy something, doesn't mean that I do not have to learn it. You never know when being able to dance comes in handy".

Poseidon chuckled. "Only you can make dancing sound like a skill necessary for surviving".

" Who says it isn't ?".

" Ehmm common sense?".

" Poseidon, have you ever even paid attention to fighting apart from your own? Some of it skirts into the dancing territory, you know. For example, Apollo's fighting makes me think of ballet. Same grace and both ballet dancers and Apollo are light on their feet".

" Great. Now I am stuck with the image of Apollo in a pink skirt".

" That's slightly disturbing".

" Yup" Poseidon grinned mischievously ( Athena glared at him to deter him, recognizing the look from occasions where he had made inappropriate jokes). " Just like the image of you in a pink skirt, but the length of the skirt would decide what kind of disturbing, if you get my drift".

Athena dug her nails into Poseidon's shoulders, then pulled him towards her, while also pressing her knee to a certain part of his autonomy. " Do you honestly want to make jokes like that Poseidon? You do know that I always have, at least, one knife on my body. And-".

" Okay okay, calm down Athena! Jesus, no need to go all psycho on me. I was joking".

Athena let him go and rolled her eyes. " I do not approve of that kind of humor".

" But it's my specialty. What kind of humor do you want me to use?".

" I thought your specialty was awful jokes that do not even deserve the term 'joke' about oceanic life?".

Poseidon pulled her back in his arms – Rhea was glaring at him and other people were staring- and rolled his eyes. " Like you have the skills needed to enjoy such jokes. They are for a certain kind of people, you know".

" You mean incompetent people that miss a functioning brain?". Athena smiled at him, her eyes sparkling like they only did when she was teasing him. " Or perhaps people with a very rare disease that makes it impossible for them to cease laughing?".

" You're mean, do you know that. I would never insult your joking abilities".

" That might be , because I never 'joke' ".

Poseidon grinned, pulling Athena closer to him and pushing some of her hair behind her ear ( her heart nearly stopped, then began beating so fast that she nearly pulled back and went in search of a doctor) to whisper in it.

" Percy told me something else" he said, his voice purposely soft and sending tingles down her spine. She swallowed, absently noticing that her salivatory glands really were working overtime this time. " Oh? What did he say, pray tell?".

Poseidon chuckled. " Oh a lot. Mostly he told me how much you had changed, so that you were no longer some creepy robot, but a breathing, flesh-and-blood human".

"I am neither human nor robot".

" You know what I mean".

" I do. And I shall have to talk to Percy, so thank you for notifying me". " No need to sound all official Athena, I already know that you aren't mad".

" I am not. Getting angry over something like this is counterproductive. Instead I shall talk to Percy about this like a mature adult- something you would never be able to- and deal with it".

" Fascinating. Should I warn him so that he can run? ".

" That would be futile, seeing as how I am a goddess and can transport myself to any spot I choose, but be my guest. It should be amusing to watch".

Athena and Poseidon were both silent for a while and Athena was starting to feel uncomfortable. Poseidon hadn't removed his lips from the spot that was a hair's breath away from her ear and she felt herself get dizzier every time that she felt his soft breathing. Also, the room's temperature seemed to have risen ( whose moronic idea was that anyway?) and her entire body now felt like it was following it's example, making Athena feel like a chicken in an oven ( or so she imagined. She had no idea what that felt like) .

"Where are you thinking about?" Poseidon suddenly asked.

Athena shrugged. " The polite way to remove you from my body, what else?".

Poseidon chuckled. "I have the idea that it might be something else".

" How so?".

" Because you never care to be polite when it comes to men invading your personal space. So again, where are your thinking about?".

Athena softly pushed Poseidon away from her, frowning when she suddenly felt all warmth leave her body when she did. Maybe the room wasn't warm, maybe she had a fever. But since when did goddesses get those?

" Are you okay?" Poseidon suddenly asked and Athena realized she must have been silent and frowning for longer than she had thought. She quickly gave him a smile and nodded. " I am fine, really. Just.. all that has happened, it's just a lot".

Poseidon laughed. " Yeah I guess it is. It must have been odd to rule Atlantis and to have Percy near you and everything".

" Mostly, I was unsettled that you weren't there" Athena replied without thinking, then froze when she realized what she had suddenly said.

Poseidon was frozen too, not moving or even breathing but he was still smiling ( although that could also be because he was so shocked that he didn't know how to stop) . " Really?".

Athena took a deep breath, hugged herself and nodded. " Yes. After all those millennia of seeing you every day, it's was just peculiar to not be able to see you. I didn't like it".

Poseidon suddenly reached out to hug her and Athena clung to him. Not only had she missed him so much that she couldn't care less that she might be ruining her reputation, she was also really cold right now.

" I missed you too, smartass. Totally drove me crazy, sitting into that cell with nothing to do but worrying about you and Percy".

" You worried about me? Why?".

Poseidon pulled back – but still kept his hands on her shoulders- and Athena stepped into his personal space, her eyes unblinking as she stared into his. She hardly noticed that the cold had returned and that she was shivering, but Poseidon did and he closed his mouth, frowned and started pulling her off the dance floor.

" Poseidon, what are you doing? You were about to answer my question and-".

" You're shivering" he interrupted , gently pushing her into a chair and kneeling down next to her. She rolled her eyes. " I am not. Just-".

" Athena. You're shivering, you're pale and your eyes.. I don't know how to explain it, but it looks like some of the color has disappeared or something. It's really creepy".

" You really do know how to treat a lady" Athena said, glaring at him. Honestly. What a pathetic attempt at hiding or denying his feelings. He was obviously going to talk about his feelings and-

" Stop whatever you are thinking and look at yourself" Poseidon said, taking off his jacket and laying it on her shoulders. She sighed, but complied. And was surprised to see that she was, indeed, shivering.

She nearly jumped when Poseidon suddenly grabbed her hands and blew on them, then rubbed them, then blew again.

" Poseidon, what are you-" Athena started to say, then gasped when she noticed that her hands were actually turning blue. Even weirder, her fingertips were turning black.

" What is going on Athena?" Poseidon said, his eyes locked with hers as he continued rubbing and blowing.

She shook her head. " I am n-not sure. Blue hands are usually a sign of frostbite , but the black fingertips could mean that blood flow is restricted. Or ichor flow, I suppose. It's what happens to your fingers if you wear a really tight ring or something else that prevents the blood flow from reaching your fingertips. Of course, there can also be other causes, but that's the first that I can think of".

" So you're freezing?".

" Can we even freeze to death? I have certainly never heard of a deity freezing".

" We can't even die".

" Technically-".

" Technically, I don't give a shit about technicalities right now. I just need to stop this. I will get you something warm and-".

" Bodily heat" Athena suddenly blurted out, blushing a little – then flinching, because it hurt for some reason- when she realized how that might sound. " Bodily heat works best against cold. It's the surest way to keep a person warm. After all, the average temperature of a body is 37 degrees, so-" she trailed off when Poseidon suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her along again. Before she had the chance to say much, he had transported them both and they were in front of one of the love seats that Aphrodite had installed.

"Lay down" he said. She hesitated , not very comfortable with even the idea of laying on a love seat ( and cursing herself for mentioning bodily heat) with him.

He sighed. "Athena, please. Just lay down, okay? I may have done a lot of shitty things, but I am not going to fondle you or anything while you might be doing the immortal version of dying".

"Okay" she said, then lay down gently, her entire body tingling – not like it sometimes did when Poseidon hugged her , but like it would when you walk into a warm building after playing in the snow- unpleasantly.

Poseidon lay down next to her and Athena stiffened for a moment when he embraced her , then practically melted into his embrace as the unpleasant sensations- the tingling, the cold, the pain in her lungs and throat- immediately started to lessen.

She sighed contentedly , then blushed when she realized Poseidon had heard ( he chuckled) and tried her very best to act like it was perfectly ordinary and innocent to lay on a couch with him pressed against her.

"Are you all right" he asked.

Athena sighed, annoyed, when she realized he was practically talking in her ear ( and she thus could feel his warm breath in that certain spot) again. " I am fine. Whatever strange condition I am in, it is starting to lessen already. So you can-".

His embrace tightened. " Don't even think about it, strix. I know you well enough to know that you would never admit to any so-called weaknesses".

" Don't call me Strix. And I've already admitted that I might have a slight issue".

"Slight? You seemed like you were ready to meet Charon in a whole new setting".

" We cannot die Poseidon, we are-".

" I know. But it doesn't mean that we can't get send to the Underworld" .

"Perhaps. But that doesn't mean I am planning to visit the place".

" Dead isn't exactly planned. Nor is the immortal version of it".

" Actually, both Kronos' death and Ouranos' death was planned. Naturally, not by themselves, but it was still planned".

" Oh shut up, you know that was not what I meant".

Athena sighed again, feeling rather drowsy now. Her entire body was warm again, Poseidon's arms around her made her feel safe and wanted and the couch was surprisingly comfortable. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift off, to finally get the rest that she needed ( she couldn't remember the last time she had had a good night of sleep and even gods needed it sometimes) and wanted.

Without thinking about it ( very unusual and only explained by the fact that she was tired and that she trusted Poseidon more or less) she turned around in Poseidon's embrace and rested her head on his chest. She could immediately hear his heart starting to beat hummingbird-fast .

" A-tthena?" he stuttered.

Athena smiled , already half-asleep. " Yes?".

" Uhm. Do you have any idea, like at all, that you're snuggling?".

" Hm-hm. It's quite comforting".

" Oh. Well, why are you?".

Athena sighed, opened her eyes and glared at Poseidon. " Honestly? You have done far more inappropriate things with basically anything remotely female and this is the moment that you decide to get spooked by a woman's proximity?".

"Yeah well, but those people – I mean, they- they weren't you, all right?".

Athena lay down and closed her eyes again. " What makes them so very different from me?".

" Well for starters, they didn't have a father that wants nothing more than brash my brains in and actually had the power to do so. They also weren't eternal virgins or really confusing. Well all women are, but you're like the goddess of confusing me or something".

"Poseidon?".

" Yes?".

"If every single word that leaves your mouth is going to be something inane and illogical, then just shut up, will you? You're far more likable when you're just serving as a pillow".

" Jeez thanks, I feel honored" Poseidon grumbled.

Athena could just imagine his 'kingly' pout. " Kindly refrain from behaving like a four-year-old, I did not come here to babysit" Athena said, smiling. She loved teasing Poseidon.

" I am not a four-year-old!".

"You're right. Even a four-year-old is more mature than you are. And your vocabulary is sometimes only slightly better".

" You're a bitch" Poseidon grumbled.

" Why do you sound so relieved? And using that lexicon to describe your 'savior' only serves to prove my point. So thank you for showing me that I am right like always".

" Your lovey-dovey behavior was freaking me out. And I was not trying to show that you were right".

" I never displayed that kind of immature and preposterous behavior Poseidon".

" Yes, you did. And I don't think I have ever seen anything more scary".

" Oh don't be ridiculous. I am convinced that you have seen things that are far more capable of frightening you than me possibly behaving similar to a love struck girl".

" Nope. Not really. Not even when I was in dad's stomach and that was so traumatizing that I still can't look at some particular types of food without feeling claustrophobic".

" Why would- oh right, your dad's stomach was claustrophobic".

" Yep. Very much. But anyway, lovey-dovey Athena was even scarier than Dad's stomach. So you're ultimately scary when you're love struck".

" You are not aware of what I am when I am love struck, because I wasn't love struck".

" I think you were, but never mind that. Are you love struck now".

Athena briefly raised her head and opened her eyes to roll them, then buried her head in his shoulder again. " No. Now shut up and behave like a good pillow".

"Athena, I just want to know if I have to be freaked out again, all right? In fact, it's already a little freaky that you're okay with me being this close to you".

" Contrary to popular belief, I am not allergic to bodily contact nor do I go up in flames if someone attempts to embrace me" .

Poseidon chuckled and actually dared to embrace her a little tighter, and didn't even try to hide his contented sigh. " Well, good that the rumors aren't true and that you're in fact not a cyborg. At least, I don't think you're are because you feel soft and warm and cyborgs probably don't.".

" Those are only part robot, so it's probable that they do , in fact, radiate heat and even are soft to the touch. Who called me a cyborg?".

" I think, most of the people in camp half-blood. And some of the gods too, it's sort of a running joke".

" I fail to comprehend what is even remotely amusing about that".

" Of course, that's part of the joke too".

" I am a cyborg. I have no emotions" Poseidon said in a weird robot voice.

Athena hit him on his head without ever opening her eyes. " Shut up. I swear, your mouth should be glued closed if you keep sprouting the same nonsense. Now, allow me to get up".

She started to push herself up and he groaned. " Aw why? I was just enjoying actually resting for the first time in ten years".

" Well I was too, but then you ruined it all by talking" she teased, giving him a smile before getting off the couch, grabbing one of the actual pillows ( she might actually prefer the Poseidon variety, which had heavenly smell as bonus) and hit him with it.

" He! What was that for?" he said, rolling of the couch and immediately standing up, grabbing her wrists to stop her from hitting him again. " for your laziness, among other sins" .

" Well it wasn't very nice".

" I never claimed to be 'nice' ".

"Good, because you aren't".

" Thank you for informing me, will you now let go of my wrists or do I have to cut your hands of?".

He immediately let go of her wrists ( after that little 'accident' during Christmas, when he had attempted to kiss her under the mistletoe, he knew she wasn't kidding when she threatened him).

" Fine. Miss grumpy pants".

" Poseidon, I do not-".

" Appreciate the name. Yeah, I know. But I don't appreciate the behavior either, so-" .

Athena pushed him. " Oh shut up".

" Fine. Are you all right now?".

Athena shrugged, feeling slightly uncomfortable. The truth was that she had started to feel weird again the moment that he let go of her wrists , but she would swallow her tongue before she ever said that ( and then she still wouldn't say it, because you can't really talk all that well without a tongue).

" I am fine".

He gave her a once over and frowned. " I don't think so, actually. Your eyes looks sort of funny, all glassy like you have the flu. Or like you ate something really hot and are going to cry. Either way, you still look like you're not fine".

Athena smiled, secretly impressed that he actually noticed she wasn't 'fine'. " Oh. And what are you going to do about it? Kiss it better?" She teased, feeling 'funny' indeed. If funny meant giddy ( and when was she giddy, that was so not her) and slightly pained ( stupid chest) at the same time.

He grinned. " Yeah, right Princess. Where does it hurt?".

" Only my heart, but that's probably only because you - mister heartbreaker- are near" she said, not even noticing- or caring- that she had stepped forward and was now actually with her hands on his chest.

He swallowed, looking down at her. " That's not very nice either".

" Hm-hm" she mumbled , leaning onto him and inhaling his scent.

" Athena.." he said after some time.

" Yeah?" she answered, her eyes closed now.

" What's going on? You're like hugging me. And you don't like hugs".

" I don't like the idea of people invading my personal space in general. But for some reason, I don't mind this".

" Okay… well that's just really odd. You are Athena, aren't you?". She opened her eyes to roll them at him.

" Naturally. And even if I weren't, why on earth would I tell you that I wasn't?".

" Because-".

" Rhetorical question. It means that you shouldn't respond".

" I know that!".

" So does 80 % of the population".

" Again, not nice".

" Again, I am not nice. And I thought you liked the bad girls?".

" Not necessarily". Then he mumbled something.

"What?" Athena asked, certain that she couldn't have heard what she thought she had , which was basically a description of her.

" Nothing. Absolutely nothing".

" So you weren't referring to me as your type?".

" What? No! Of course not".

He laughed nervously and she could hear his heart start beating faster. " That would be insane. Totally. Weird. So nope, not you. I don't have a type, I love all ladies equally".

" How very communist of you".

" Weren't those guys like the evil dudes with the moustaches?".

" No. More like the people with good ideas that didn't work out".

"Oh. Moustaches are cool".

" Sure..".

They were both silent for a while until Poseidon – of course- had to ruin it . " Athena, could you stop hugging me? Or the Athena version of hugging, actually".

" Why?".

" Because your dad is giving me the evil eye and I think the party might be ruined if we started world war three".

" You think?"

" Fine. I know that it will be ruined. So let go?".

"Let go? Why? Do you want to disappear again, you-".

" I meant, as in stop hugging me so you dad won't go all sky goddess on us".

" Sky goddess? ".

" Nut. You know the Egyptian sky goddess".

Athena opened her eyes and gave him her best da fuck? Look. He shrugged. " Those creepy deities kept telling me all about themselves, no idea why. Nut herself wasn't there- she is actually kind of nice- , but they did tell me about her".

" So you were calling me nuts?".

" No, your dad".

" Fantastic. I am sure that one of the most powerful Egyptian deities is thrilled that you are making fun if her name. And it's Nut, not-".

" I know. But it's funnier that way. Now, please stop hugging me. Your dad's eye is doing that creepy thing that it does when he is angry".

" What- never mind" . Athena stepped back, gritting her teeth when the painful feeling replaced the 'funny' one. She inhaled through her nose when the pain in her heart ( like someone was stabbing it, then slowly pulling it out, then throwing burning acid on it) and her eyes ( hot chili peppers in her eyes, that's what it felt like) returned.

"Okay. I am no longer giving you my version of a hug. So you can leave".

She turned around to walk away- hopefully before he somehow noticed she was in pain- but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Don't. Us hanging out is fine with your dad".

He frowned. " Well maybe not 'fine' exactly. More fine-ish".

" That isn't a word".

" I know". He looked at her and frowned again, perhaps because she was struggling to breathe( 'Did someone set the room on fire?', she thought). " You don't look very good".

He winked at her, still looking worried but also –obviously- trying to comfort her. " Well, you look beautiful like always , but also sort of like you're choking. Or getting a heart attack".

" I am fine" she spoke through gritted teeth, even though she obviously wasn't. Poseidon didn't have to look hard to see she wasn't; she was freakishly pale, her eyes were tearing up , her breathing sounded like that of an old man with all kind of creepy illnesses and she was even sweating a little.

" You aren't. A dead body would look healthier than you " he said, grabbing her and walking back to the couch, then pushed her down on it. " Now, just stay here while I go grab some ichor for you and perhaps some ambrosia. Don't run, don't do anything except just stay here and try to breathe, okay?".

" Poseidon, you do not have the right-".

" Right back" he said, quickly bending down to kiss her cheek ( Athena forgot what to say, inhaled his scent eagerly, then wondered what the hell was wrong with her) and sauntered away.

She was in Tartarus. Somehow, she must have been brought there without her knowing it. It was the only reason for this pain, for this awful, overwhelming, mind-numbing, pain that held her body in its iron grip.

Her eyes were watering as though she was washing them with the hottest sauce ever while cutting onions, her heart was skipping beats only to stop and beat faster than ever and it felt awful. She was more nauseous than she could ever remember being, she was trembling all over and she couldn't think. She could only feel, feel all the sensation wreaking havoc, feel all the pain.

She hugged herself tighter, gritting her teeth as she whimpered quietly. Poseidon. He left. He doesn't think I am beautiful like Medusa used to or smart and special like Sally or a suitable wife like Amphitrite. He thinks I am nothing was all she could think.

She tried to tell herself to stop, that Poseidon hadn't left her, that he was just talking to the pretty goddess she didn't even know ( the one an awful lot of gods had been seen drooling over) and that it didn't even matter because he wasn't hers or anything, but she was powerless to stop it.

He likes her. Really likes her, because she is like he wants women to be. He just sees me as his little sister or maybe not even that. She thought and immediately, the pain worsened. She actually dry heaved and gasped as the pain worsened. Her heart now actually felt like it was breaking. She actually heard the sound of bones breaking and felt a never-ending pain at her chest, making her go nearly insane with the pain. A

heart is a muscle , it can't break, a heart is a muscle, it can't break she muttered like some mantra, but it didn't help. She could still hear bones breaking and feel the pain every time she heard it. She actually saw some black spots in front of her and gritted her teeth as she dry heaved again , unable to stop the pain.

"Poseidon" she sobbed quietly, looking into his direction. He was still talking with 'miss Universe', occasionally nodding or laughing. He looked so happy...

She looked at him, hoping that he would see her and just help her ( she didn't even care that it would be weak anymore, she just wanted him there) , but he didn't look up. He kept looking at that woman. That woman , that had made him smile once and laugh twice in the span of two minutes.

He never smiles at me like that, so happy and carefree Athena thought and immediately felt the pain become even worse. She actually sobbed and whimpered as bile rose in her throat, her sight went away when her eyes burned like they were on fire or worse and her heart seemed to be squeezed and stabbed, squeezed and stabbed and – then she was suddenly on the floor. In fetus position, sobbing.

She looked up again, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to focus, to think and do something about whatever was causing this pain, but she couldn't even talk. She could only make soft sounds of anguish.

She managed to move her head a little, forcing herself to do so, to finally call for help, but then she saw it; Poseidon was kissing her . She actually screamed –once- this time when the pain became really unbearable, her heart beating faster than was healthy , then stopping only to start beating again and feel like it was being stabbed and squeezed every time it beat. Her lungs started to burn too; burn like she had inhaled smoke or had done some really heavy training. Then her eyes started to hurt and she finally fainted, unaware that people had finally noticed ( she had been sitting in a quiet corner where it was difficult to see her) and were running towards her.

"ATHENA!" Poseidon immediately screamed when he saw her, cursing loudly as he saw her eyes roll back and her body move as though she was having a seizure.

He kneeled down next to her, then lay two fingers on her throat. " You have a heartbeat" he exhaled in relief.

He carefully picked her up and lay her on the couch, then prepared to lean in to do something. Probably something stupid, but at least he was trying. Of course, before he could do something stupid, he was grabbed from behind and pulled away from her.

" Let go " he practically growled, turning to beat the person that had torn him away from a pale Athena. Some of his anger evaporated when he saw Zeus stand in front of him, trembling with barely concealed anger and ( although he would never admit it) fear.

His brother's eyes were basically looking like he had put lightning bolts in them (maybe he had, Poseidon thought that his little brother was weird enough for it) that were now leaking something ( his eyes were tearing up).

" You monster, what have you done to her" Zeus growled, clutching the lightning bolt in his hand as though he wanted to break it and use the sharp ends to crucify Poseidon.

" Nothing! She suddenly collapsed , I wasn't even near her" he spat back, pulling free and turning back to Athena.

" Get Apollo" he said without looking at any of the people surrounding them, carefully brushing away a few of Athena's hairs and looking at her.

" What is wrong Athena" he mumbled, searching for any signs of a possible injury.

" She is unconscious, what do you think" Zeus said, stepping towards his brother.

Poseidon rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to retort ( read; verbally abuse his brother) , then closed it and swallowed harshly. He paled and suddenly looked sick.

Zeus nearly electrocuted him when Poseidon suddenly stood up and ripped the corset that Athena was wearing.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY DAUGHTER, YOU!".

" She is bleeding!" Poseidon screeched , his voice actually breaking as he pointed at Athena. Or rather, at Athena's partly exposed chest that was covered in ichor.

Everyone gasped.

" W-what? " Zeus said, looking utterly confused. Which might be, because there was no sign of an injury. Just bruised skin and a lot of ichor.

" She is bleeding, you idiot! Do something, save her, do something" Poseidon said, nearly incoherent and actually panting because of the near panic attack that he was having.

Zeus hit him. With the fucking master bolt. Poseidon actually flew through the air for a moment before he crashed into a wall on the other side of the room , none too gracefully. He immediately jumped to his feet again and tackled his younger brother ( thank you football and soccer matches) .

He had actually surprised Zeus so much that he managed to grab the master bolt. " You moron! Why are you hitting me with that thing!" Poseidon screamed, hitting Zeus with the 'thing' on his head.

Zeus cursed. " Because you were having a panic attack, you big baby!".

" At least I actually show that I care and I am not just standing there, doing nothing but imitating a guppy".

" How dare you! I am king!".

" That is the most invalid and stupid argument ever, get over yourself already!".

Zeus and Poseidon were rolling over the floor, both trying to get their hands on the master bolt so they could fry the other ( or I assume that's what they would do with the thing, I am not sure about all the undiscovered powers of master bolts) .

They were quite happily acting as nine-year olds fighting about a game controller when someone screamed. They actually stopped fighting to look in the direction of the screaming and gasped, then jumped off each other when they saw it was Athena.

They ran towards her, both terrified when they saw the normally composed and indifferent wisdom goddess whimpering , sometimes screaming while digging her nails into her chest as if she was trying to pull something out.

" Athena" Poseidon said, grabbing her hand and cursing when she grabbed back and squeezed it.

" Honey, what is going on?" Zeus said, grabbing her other hand and glaring at Poseidon.

"Seriously? You're asking her, while she is like this? I am pretty sure she isn't able to answer" Poseidon spat.

Zeus gritted his teeth and raised his other hand, a small lightning bolt immediately appearing above it. " Want to repeat that, brother?".

"Sure , you-".

" Poseidon" Athena suddenly whimpered, her voice hoarse and soft.

Poseidon immediately lost all interest in Zeus and bend towards her. " Athena! You idiot, you nearly- ". His grin immediately faded when Athena groaned softly and bit down on her lip hard. " Athena?".

" Heart" she managed to gasp out and his eyes went to her ( still partially exposed) chest. There seemed to be even more bruises than before and ichor was still basically everywhere.

" Apollo" he said, turning – without letting go of Athena's hand- towards the surprised sun god.

" Yeah?".

" What on Gaia is happening".

Apollo shrugged. " I have no idea, uncle. I would have to-".

" Don't just stand there, come here and do something" Zeus and Poseidon snapped at the same time. Apollo rolled his eyes and came nearer, looking down at Athena- who was still groaning softly but no longer trying to rip her heart out.

He tentatively pressed down on the bruised skin and Athena's eyes rolled back at the same time that she squeezed Poseidon's hand so hard that some bones might actually have been broken.

" Get. Off" Athena managed to growl. Apollo took a step back , holding up his hands as Zeus and Poseidon both glared at him. " Just using my powers to see if I know her condition" he said, smiling sheepishly.

" Why did that hurt?" Zeus said, still glaring.

" Ehm, because her entire chest is covered in bruises? It hurts when you touch bruises" .

" Oh right. So?".

" So.. I have no idea" Apollo said.

"You always were a lousy doctor" Athena managed to say, only just able to speak through the pain in her chest, throat and behind her eyes.

" I am not! You just have some sort of unknown disease. Seriously, I can't help that you apparently decide to get ill right now. And- ".

" Apollo?".

"Yes Poseidon?".

" It's called heart illness by a bunch of creepy wolf girls. Do you know anything?".

" Of course! How to make haiku's or shoot a bow or-".

" I meant a cure, you dumbass".

" Oh. Nope, I don't know that. I am pretty sure it's incurable. That, and Frey never wanted to tell me the cure".

Apollo winked and grinned. "He is jealous of my looks".

Poseidon rolled his eyes and turned back to Athena. He smiled weakly. " I am sure we will find something".

He suddenly brightened when he got an idea. " Hi, I could ask Freya, she seriously digs me, so- ".

He paled when Athena suddenly screamed again, at the exact same moment that her eyes started leaking a disturbing mixture of ichor and tears. " Shit shit, Athena, don't do that, I am here, don't cry or bleed or whatever" he rambled, leaning further towards her and nearly crying himself when he saw how much pain she was in.

Zeus grabbed him and pulled him back. "Don't breathe on her like that, she in enough pain. Don't add acute inhalation injury from your awful breath to it".

Poseidon pulled himself free and rolled his eyes. " My breath is fine, shut up". Zeus ignored him and turned back to Athena, then cursed when he saw that she had fainted. He shook her shoulders. " Athena! Wake up, darling".

Poseidon pushed him away. "Don't shake her, what if that only makes it worse".

"well , you-".

" Athena!" somebody screamed and Zeus and Poseidon both turned when they recognized the tone of one seriously angry and upset Percy Jackson. Percy was held back by three guards, the only thing keeping him from running to Athena their swords that were pointed at his throat.

" Release my son" Poseidon snapped at the same time Zeus said " Keep that kid away from my daughter".

"Athena!" Percy said again, struggling against the –now confused- guards that held him.

Poseidon turned to Zeus. " Let my son go to her" he said.

Zeus snorted. " and what? Allow him to hurt my currently vulnerable daughter"

." He would never, he cares for her!".

" He is your son, he doesn't care".

" That's exactly why he likes her" Poseidon said without thinking and Zeus narrowed his eyes.

" What do you mean, you-".

" .GO" Percy yelled right at that moment, pushing one of the guards away from him. He quickly pushed the other one away too, dodged the sword that was flung at him and practically threw himself next to Athena.

He shook her gently. " Athena! Wake up, you moron, wake up" he said, continuing to shake her. He saw the bruises and everything and paled, his sea green eyes narrowing in anger and suspicion.

He hugged Athena , careful to avoid the bruises. " I am here, wake up" he repeated, less panicked.

"Wake up, wake up, w-wake up. You can't die, you're freaking immortal, don't go defying logic suddenly" he said, hugging her a little tighter.

By then Zeus had recovered from his stupor and tried to grab Percy and perhaps kill him for touching Athena, but Poseidon stepped in between them. " Don't. The boy is mourning" he said

." Mourning? She isn't even dead!".

" No thanks to you. We have no idea what is going on and she might be dying".

Percy looked up, glaring at Zeus and Poseidon. " What happened? Why aren't you helping h-her? ".

" We are trying" Zeus and Poseidon said at the same time, then glared at each other. Poseidon looked away first, sighed and kneeled down next to his son. " Listen Percy, it might be best if you-".

Percy shook his head. " No way, I am not leaving. She has been there for me these past years, I am not going to leave her to you guys".

"What does that mean Jackson" Zeus growled, sensing Percy –like nearly always- was being disrespectful.

" It means that you allowed my mom to get hurt!".

Poseidon paled " Sally is hurt?" . Oh god, not another woman that I love hurt.

Percy blushed. " No, I mean Athena. It was sort of this joke between us, she would- it's complicated".

Zeus gritted his teeth, looking longingly at his master bolt for a moment before speaking again. " Well whatever you think my daughter is to you, it doesn't matter. Just get away from her Jackson".

" I said-".

Poseidon lay his hand on Percy's shoulder. " Percy. Just go, okay? We will help Athena, I promise".

Percy seemed ready to protest again, but at that moment, Athena gasped and opened her eyes. They were ichor-shot and teary.

"Athena!" Percy, Poseidon and Zeus said at the same moment.

Athena smiled weakly. " Hi Percy" she said, her eyes glassy and unfocused.

" Where does it hurt? What can I do? Did any of those morons like your dad hurt you?" Percy asked quickly, squeezing her hand softly.

She squeezed back and shook her head, closing her eyes again. Percy used his free hand to gently shake her. " Athena! Just wake up, damn it. You're smart, you know what immortal means, so wake up! ".

Percy started panicking a little again and shook Athena harder, his eyes now tearing up and his voice hoarse. " Athena!".

Zeus glared and made to pull Percy away, but Poseidon stopped him and squeezed Percy's shoulder to get his attention. " Give her some room , Percy, shaking her won't help".

"Please " Poseidon added when he recognized the protective way with which his son held Athena and also shielded her. Like he would beat anyone who would even think about touching her.

" Fine" Percy eventually said, after looking at the pale, lifeless form of Athena. She was still smiling faintly. He squeezed Athena's hand one more time and pressed a kiss on her cheek, then pulled back to stand up and face his father. " You already let go one amazing woman, don't let a second one go. That would mean you're not just stupid, but freaking insane".

Poseidon smiled at him, secretly proud of how protective and loyal Percy was of someone who had once voted to kill him. " I won't. And don't think that you can always talk to me like that".

Percy gave Zeus a tense 'your majesty' and walked over to Artemis, who was actually hugging a very shocked and scared looking Annabeth ( Annabeth was scared because of her mother, of course, not because of Artemis hugging her. Although that was probably only adding to the shock).

Annabeth immediately went over to Percy and hugged him. Percy hugged her back and mouthed 'thank you' at a somber-looking Artemis who shrugged and focused on her deathly pale best friend.

" Is anyone going to do something? I know that Apollo is useless like always, but I was hoping that at least someone would have a good idea" Artemis said, looking indifferent like always apart from her slightly trembling hands.

She looked at Poseidon, narrowing her eyes at him as if she were about to give him a lecture. " What about you? Aren't you capable of healing her?" .

Poseidon shook his head. " I tried on the way back, when Athena was asleep. She said she felt much better after that, so I assumed that my 'secret mission' had been a success".

He sighed. " Apparently, she was just lying to make me feel better".

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Okay, let's ignore the fact that you apparently enjoy sneaking into Athena's rooms and focus on healing Athena. Does no one have an idea".

Apollo scoffed. He was standing behind Artemis, pouting and looking very sullen. " I do, but I am not going to tell, because you said that I am useless".

" Simple fact. And you either tell us now or I am going to tell everyone your secrets. Beginning with what exactly you collect".

" You can't do that, I am the oldest!".

" Invalid argument and an obvious lie. Now, tell us. Or have all your secrets spilled. And be used as target".

"Fine! Aunt Rhea knows, she knows all kind of healing processes and treatments".

" Of course! Get aunt Rhea".

Hermes was already running away before Artemis had even been able to give him the order and everyone waited with bated breath for his return.

Zeus was stroking Athena's hair ( while glaring at Poseidon and muttering nonsense stuff like "just hold on, daddy is here" like his presence would actually heal her ) Poseidon used a wet towel to dab at Athena's sticky forehead- she was simultaneously sweating and shivering and completely ignored Zeus as all his attention was taken by a very pale looking wisdom goddess. Artemis was just standing near, weakly smiling at Athena and glaring at Apollo whenever he tried to recite a haiku to make her feel better, Apollo was pouting and the rest of gods were just looking at Athena with varying expressions. Most looked concerned.

Annabeth was clinging to Percy and thinking of anything that could explain her mother's symptoms, quietly studying Athena to discover anything that would ascertain the cause of the illness. Percy was just being supportive of Annabeth and looking at Athena without blinking, as though he was guarding her. His sea green eyes were slightly blurry with unshed tears.

It took some time, but Hermes eventually reappeared, a concerned-looking Rhea right behind him. She immediately went over to Athena , lay a hand on her forehead and promptly glared at Poseidon.

" Why haven't you cured her yet?" she said.

Poseidon frowned. " Because I have no idea how to cure her".

Rhea sighed. "Posy.. are you honestly that oblivious" .

Zeus snickered, obviously enjoying it that Rhea seemed very disappointed and about to lecture Poseidon.

Rhea gave him a stern look. " Don't laugh yet Zuso, you're not going to like what the cure is any better".

" What is the cure?" Poseidon said.

Rhea shrugged. " True love's kiss of course".

" True love.. she is a goddamn eternal maiden!" Poseidon said at the same time that Zeus said " Anyone who even thinks about touching my daughter, will certainly get hot but not like they want to. She isn't sleeping beauty".

While everybody – sans Poseidon, he was too busy looking longingly at Athena- gaped at Zeus because he apparently read fairy tales, Rhea stepped forward and grabbed Poseidon's hair.

" My apologies, my dear Posy, but Athena is suffering" she said, ignoring Poseidon's protests and pushing him towards Athena. Poseidon only just managed to catch himself.

" Hi! Don't suffocate my daughter with your fat body" Zeus snapped.

" I am not fat, I am fit. And speak for yourself, you're the one actually eating fat food as titans called Metis".

" HOW DARE-".

" Zuso, be quiet. We will discuss your unhealthy diet later".

Rhea turned towards Poseidon. " And kiss the girl already".

" First sleeping beauty, now the little mermaid?" Zeus mumbled, scoffing. He was obviously annoyed that he wasn't allowed to scream at Poseidon.

"Zuso , be quiet. This is a magical moment" Rhea said, looking at Poseidon with a huge –and kind of creepy- smile as he hesitantly leaned towards 'sleeping beauty' .

" GET ON WITH IT ALREADY" Rhea suddenly screamed as Poseidon stopped inches away from Athena's lips. He was so shocked by his mother that he actually jumped back and Rhea sighed. " Sorry, darling. It's just that the dear girl is in a lot of pain and all you have to do to solve it is doing something you have wanting to do to her forever".

" But she doesn't like me. And there are a lot of people here" Poseidon said.

" Don't forget that I am going to throw you into Tartarus. After turning you into a eunuch. Preferably by crucifying you, but sticking those pins through something else than hands and feet" Zeus said.

He was ignored.

" Poseidon. Just kiss her. She loves you, you love her, you're perfect and she will be grateful. Now kiss her!".

" But-".

" Poseidon Kronos Junior, don't make me-".

"Okay okay" Poseidon interrupted, looking fearfully at his mother as she narrowed her eyes and used the addition to his name that his father had come up with ( kind of odd when you think about it).

He took a deep breath and quickly pressed his lips to Athena's, holding his eyes wide open. At first, nothing happened. Then , the ichor ( some of it, anyway) on Athena's chest seemed to crawl back into Athena's chest ( like tiny spiders. Annabeth screamed when she saw it , Hermes and Apollo filmed it while high-fiving each other) , her throat slowly healed and any other injury seemed to fade away as if someone had pressed fast backward. It was actually really creepy.

Poseidon shivered when a strange sensation – like insects moving beneath and on his skin without it being really unpleasant- went through him and suddenly stared into confused grey eyes.

" Hmmm" Athena mumbled.

Poseidon pulled back. "What?".

" Why are you giving me mouth to mouth? I wasn't drowning" Athena said, confused.

Before Poseidon could say anything else, he was pushed aside and two very happy teenagers threw themselves on the couch, hugging Athena. " Athena! You didn't do the immortal version of dying "Percy said while Annabeth smiled and said " Your illness was equally disturbing and fascinating".

Athena gently pulled Percy and Annabeth off her, then stood on wobbly legs. Poseidon immediately wrapped an arm around her, steadying her. " This all very.. nice. But no one has answered my question yet. Why was giving Poseidon me mouth to mouth?".

Poseidon frowned. " I wasn't. I was kissing you".

" Oh. Well, then you're a lousy kisser. And even more importantly, why on earth do you eat that much seaweed?".

" Hi! I am not a lousy kisser, and it wasn't seaweed that I was eating, but sushi".

" Sushi, wrapped in seaweed. And I am quite convinced that you are an inadequate kisser".

Athena smiled at Poseidon. " But to be able to claim that without doubt, we might have to conduct some research".

" Re-" Poseidon started, confused, then grinned. " Are you asking me to kiss you again?".

" No, I am asking you to participate in an experiment".

Before Poseidon could kiss Athena again, Artemis pushed them apart and glared at Poseidon. "Enough flirting. She just nearly died. Which would be quite impressive, seeing as how we are all immortal. Anyway, I doubt that Athena can think straight right now. You would be taking advantage of her".

Athena rolled her eyes. " I am a grown woman, Artemis. I dare say that I am sufficiently intelligent to think this through and make the right decision".

"Fine. But after-".

Athena quickly pushed Artemis away from her and turned , then stood on her toes so she could press her lips against Poseidon's properly. She pulled back after three seconds, then turned around again to smile at Aphrodite. " Like that?" she asked.

Aphrodite squealed and high-fived Rhea while the others were just staring at Athena. "Pothena!" Aphrodite and Rhea squealed together.

Artemis scoffed and rolled her eyes, glaring at Athena but also having a hard time not smiling when she saw how happy her friend looked. " Sure. Just go around kissing everyone , it's not like you're an eternal maiden or anything".

Athena smiled at Poseidon, an absolutely stunning smile that made Poseidon smile back warmly and stare at her as if he was hypnotized. " Not anymore" she said, kissing Poseidon's lips.

Poseidon was too occupied with soft, soft lips but their 'audience' looked all pretty shocked. " What" growled Zeus while Rhea and Aphrodite jumped up and down, sing-songing "finally" and " wedding" .

Percy just looked adorably confused while Annabeth just sighed and leaned against him, admiring the nice sight of her very happy mother and -apparently- future stepfather.

Artemis tried to look displeased, but her mouth kept betraying her; she looked very odd as she was fighting a huge grin. Hermes and Apollo basically just stared and said "no way. Dude"in awed voices, like little boys at a magician's show.

While Rhea held Zeus back - now he had recovered from the shock, he was very keen on murdering Poseidon, Athena's near death apparently giving him inspiration on how to do this succesfully- Poseidon stared at Athena.

" really?".

Athena shrugged. Her smile was shy, her eyes pointed at the ground and she was blushing. She looked a lot younger suddenly. "If you want to divorce Amphitrite and everything, then ye- POSEIDON!" she yelled as Poseidon suddenly grabbed her, lifted her in the air and started spinning.

Soon though, the anger in her voice turned into laughter as they spun around and around and around until Poseidon finally let her down, kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, her cheeks.. and whispered "yes. A thousand times yes".

Athena blushed, then grinned at him. Her eyes were smiling, her lips were drawn in a smile so big that half of her face seemed to be made of smile and her voice was filled with emotion, for once, when she spoke. " Then I am yours".

Poseidon opened his mouth, maybe just to gape at her with his mouth open ( after all, he didn't think anyone could ever deserve this strange, intelligent, cold, warm, amazing woman) or to say something romantic ( unlikely , but so were these two people getting together or an immortal goddess nearly dying, so who knows) , but Aphrodite started screaming at that moment, and Zeus started screaming ( bloody murder) and Percy hit Poseidon on the back , hard, and a thousand other loud things happened so that he couldn't say anything anyways and he just pulled her against him and embraced her while everyone went a little crazy.

Poseidon had never been happier.

Ares had never been happier. There was so much fighting; Apollo and Artemis were fighting about who got to be bridesmaid ( 'you aren't even a girl!'. 'That's so sexist!'. 'She is my best friend'. 'But I look far better in anything') , Zeus was fighting with everyone because he had to deal with 'delayed nest leaving syndrome' ( aka , his 'little' girl was getting married and he was SO not prepared to let her go) , Hera was fighting with Poseidon ( " I am the goddess of marriage! Who else is supposed to marry you two?' . 'Sorry Hera, but Athena sort of hates every atom in your body and I would rather not spend our honeymoon in Tartarus or wherever Athena will send me') , Demeter was fighting with Hades ( 'What do you mean, there shouldn't be any cereal, it's a wedding, how can there not be?'. 'No one eats cereal at a wedding!'. ' Don't be ridiculous, of course they do'. ' No, they don't. There is supposed to be cake or something, those things filled with enough sugar and other sweet things to make your heart stop!'. 'Never mind, cake sounds great. You will eat it, won't you'?) and a thousand other little fights.

There was so much tension and excitment in the air that a million bees couldn't have created more of a buzz and everyone was very emotional as they ran around Olympus gossiping or making arrangment or shopping.

While everyone was running and fighting and gossping and being as involved as possible, the one of the two reasons for all the excitement and fighting was at a certain woman's palace, suffering.

Athena finally knew why she hadn't wanted to get married. It wasn't even because men could be such jerks or marriage was so incovenient or even because it wasn't her nature; it was because of fucking Aphrodite.

The woman had already forced her into half a million dresses ( the worst part; she wasn't exagerrating. There were dresses everywhere. Even in the fridge) , put on make-up so often her face felt raw , told all kind of 'helpful' tips that make her look like she had a fever ( because they all had to do with her wedding night) and wouldn't. bloody. stop. talking.

" so like I said, that color so doesn't go with the hair, but totally with the eyes, so we probably need to change the hair a bit - the color I mean- and then see with hairdo fits. Because hair is a disaster, especially hair like yours. You aren't a love goddess, you're a wisdom goddess, so your hair doesn't have the genes that makes it as perfect as mine and- ".

Athena nearly broke a teeth when she gritted them.

" Darling don't do that, you have nice teeth. You will need them too".

" Stop talking about my hair. You've talked about it for hours. I don't need to hear this much about my hair" Athena growled.

Aphrodite sighed, pulling on Athena's hair as if to punish her for not wanting to talk about it. "Sweetie, hair is important. Heck, your entire body is important - it's what you need for the wedding night, after all- but your hair might be the most important".

" that is what you said about my nails! And eyebrows! And bikini line. And basically every piece of my body".

"Ooh that reminds me, you still need to get waxed".

" I am a goddess! I don't need that inhumane ritual meant to embarrass women".

" Not to embarrass us , sweetie, to make sure we don't look like apes". Aphrodite shook her head fondly, as if to silently say ' aw isn't she adorably stupid?'.

Athena wanted to break those perfect teeth. Or even better, rip her tongue out so she wouldn't talk anymore. " What I meant, was that I could just use my godly powers if I want to get rid of any unappealing body hair".

" Wax is better, believe me sweetie. We should do the whole deal, mennies and pedi's and a nice, long mudbath".

Athena closed her eyes and started to breathe slowly through her nose. She had a pounding headache. She wanted to kill Aphrodite. She wanted to stop this. " I don't want any of that" she said when she was finally calm enough to not attack Aphrodite.

" But it would make you so beautiful! And trust me, darling, it would be so much fun". She pointed at Artemis- who had been sitting on a chair , surrounded by wedding dresses and trying her very best to appear invisible ( by not moving or breathing or doing anything that would attract Aphrodite's attention). " We could make it a girls' day! Right Arty?".

" I would rather be thrown into Tartarus with my brother" Artemis immediately replied.

Aphrodite giggled. " Don't be dramatic, sweetie, I am sure you would manage to tolerate it. You might even like it!".

Artemis snorted. " Yeah right".

She stretched- she had been too weary of Aprodite to move, so she had sat still for like four hours- and yawned before cutting Aphrodite off before she could even talk and saying " you've been trying to talk us into this all morning, we're not going to. Two against one, so we don't have to".

" aw come on! Athena is actually the bride. You can't be a bride without pedi's. And mud. It's practically tradition".

"don't care".

Aphrodite groaned. " You two are hopeless".

" Gladly so".

"I mean, Athena less so because she finally got herself a man, but you're still both hopeless".

Athena and Artemis locked eyes, both very annoyed and miserable.

Aphrodite caught them looking like that. " Oh stop your mind reading and complaining about this! I am just helping our bride look pretty".

"Thank you for the insinuation that I require your aid to look beautiful Aphrodite" Athena said sarcastically.

Aphrodite smiled at her. "You know very well that you are pretty, you just don't really care that much, so you don't look as pretty, normally, as you could. Now, I am almost done with the hair, so put that frown upside down, kay?".

" Okay. Fine".

" You're still frowning".

" Shut up".

" You're such an ungrateful brat".

" You're fatuous".

" Did you just call me fat?".

" Fatuous. It means-".

" Weak-minded, foolish, inane etcetera" Artemis spoke.

Aphrodite turned her glare to Artemis. " Hush you. Or I will make all your hunters fall in love with men that you despise".

" That's basically all of them".

Athena frowned. " That's not true. You liked Orion- before he turned out to be even worse than most males- and you like Percy and Her-".

" Athena" Artemis hissed, her cheeks slightly pink. She slumped in her seat, looking like a grumpy ( and very embarrassed) teenager.

Aphrodite started grinning evilly, her eyes filled with malicious intent. " Oh? So you did admit it to Athena, then?".

" There is nothing to admit".

" I've been telling you that you've a crush on Hermes for ages. When did you tell her?".

" She didn't tell me that was infatuated, she merely mentioned that some of his jokes were amusing" Athena said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh. Well, I am still going to count that as proof that she is in love".

" I am not!".

" I am the love goddess. You're a maiden. Who is more likely to know that you're in love?".

" I am! My life, my choices, my everything".

Aphrodite smiled. " Such innocence. I obviously know that you're in love and you might just know too, you're just too stubborn to admit it".

" I am not in love! You said the same thing with Orion and I obviously wasn't!".

Athena narrowed her eyes in thought. " Actually... you were suspiciously upset when he died".

" I have been upset before when people died, that's no proof".

" Yes yes, but this was different. Don't you agree, Aphrodite?".

"Sure. It was different, because it was heartbreak".

" I didn't -".

" Yes, you did Athena. You were most definitely implying that it was heartbreak. Now shut up and look pretty".

" I am -".

" shut up! And Artemis, put on your dress. And don't stay in your thirteen-year-old form".

" You cannot tell me what to do" Artemis protested ( again, grumpy teenager)

" Of course I can, now go change your form and clothes before I get annoyed. You don't want me to get annoyed".

Artemis glared at Aphrodite and opened her mouth to tell Aphrodite exactly what she could do with her stupid clothes when Aphrodite snapped her fingers and a very familiar bow appeared in her arms. She calmly pointed it at Artemis.

Artemis' mouth snapped shut. Her eyes narrowed in anger.

" You wouldn't " she hissed.

"Oh, I would. I so would. So unless you want to become a random mortal man's toy, change".

Artemis grabbed the awful dress that Aphrodite had picked for and stamped away, muttering under her breath. Aphrodite calmly vanished Cupid's bow and turned towards Athena, inspecting her.

" hm. I think you're all right. Just try not to ruin it somehow".

" Believe, I will" Athena said, rolling her eyes. She was about to add another , probably scathing remark to that when Aphrodite pulled the sheet over the mirror ( she hadn't wanted Athena to see anything until she was done) away and all words disappeared. All words that had to do with annoyance anyways.

She looked very different.

Her dress was olive green, reached to her calves and was sleeveless. It also had tiny diamonds at the shoulder- one shoulder had a strap- and her back was bare. Around her middle, she wore a girdle that was similar to Aphrodite's with one important difference; instead of pictures of love, it had pictures of wisdom on it ( owls, for example). It looked absolutely gorgeous. She wore sandals made from soft leather. She had light, silver eyeshadow, the tiniest bit of lipgloss and mascara on. Her hair was done in traditional greek style and a tiny, very stylish tiara was on top of her hairdo.

Aphrodite embraced her from behind, both staring at Athena's reflection.

" So what do you think? Is it - Athena!" Aphrodite squeeled when Athena suddenly turned and hugged Aphrodite.

" I love it" A now grinning Athena said, still hugging her friend.

"good, because I worked my ass of to get you prettier than me".

Athena pulled back. "Did you just call me -".

" Prettier than me? Duh". She tapped Athena's nose. " Just for today , though. Tomorrow I will be the fairest of them all again".

Athena laughed. " Sure".

" well, if that's all... let's get you to your prince Charming, princess".

"I can't wait " Athena said, smiling and glancing at her reflection for one last time. She wasn't being sarcastic; she couldn't wait to finally have Poseidon all to herself.

They had talked over the past months, but mostly about his divorce and then their wedding. And although there had been moments when there were snuggles and Poseidon's deep, beautiful voice telling her all about his life, those blissful moments had been far and few in between.

And the last couple days she hadn't seen him at all - there had been bachelor parties ( he even had two; one with his brothers and the second one with friends and some special family members. Athena didn't particularly want to talk about her own, not in the least because she didn't remember everything) , dress shopping, shoe shopping, make-up shopping, nail polish shopping and a thousand more things that had kept the apart. She couldn't wait to actually have some alone time with him.

So she gladly accepted the arm Aphrodite offered her and started walking.

" We still need to get Art-" .

" ARTEMIS! GET YOUR LAZY BUT IN HERE AND IT BETTER BE IN THE DRESS I CHOSE OR I WILL KICK IT" Aphrodite immediately screamed.

Artemis appeared almost immediately. She looked absolutely stunning in her short , sleeveless one-shoulder dress and her hair curled. Her age was very difficult to guess, but she was most certainly an adult - around 25 perhaps- and tall and slender.

The only thing that wasn't beautiful about her was the murderous frown she wore, but Aphrodite ignored it and grabbed her arm, pulling her with them. "Let's go ladies! It's time for the wedding of the millenium".

Aphrodite pulled Artemis and Athena with them, towards the temple they Olympians used for weddings. It was a gargantuan, bright white building surrounded by gardens so beautiful and sweet-smelling no person could resist visiting them when they passed.

Aphrodite, however, had love on her mind and only paused for a minute to search for a very nicely smelling and gorgeous black rose that she picked and then pinned in Athena's hair.

Artemis wanted to stay for a while, but Aphrodite glared at her and buried her nails into her wrist, then pulled Artemis along. Artemis quietly planned her revenge while the love goddess made little indents into her wrist.

When they entered the temple, they turned left and slipped into a small chamber. Zeus was waiting there and practically jumped to his feet, looking handsome in his tuxedo but also slightly green.

Aphrodite finally let go of Athena - but still held on to Artemis, who was looking longingly at the exit- and smiled. " Well darling, good luck! Don't forget to say yes, okay?".

Athena rolled her eyes. " I am not going to stop the wedding at the last moment, Aphrodite".

"good". Aphrodite kissed Athena on the cheek, then lingered for a moment. " And don't forget my tips for your wedding night, sweetie".

Athena blushed. Aphrodite's tip were impossible to forget, not in the least because she had repeated them every day since the engagement. " I won't".

"Good".

Aphrodite let go of Artemis ( but moved to stand in front of the exit, arms crossed over her chest) so Artemis could embrace Athena.

" Good luck. If you do want to stop the wedding, I will cause a distraction, okay? " .

" I am not going to stop the wedding. But thank you".

Artemis pulled back and Aphrodite immediately grabbed her again, causing Artemis to glare at Aphrodite. " Will you let go of my arm already?".

" No". Artemis rolled her eyes and sent Athena a look, possibly asking for help.

Athena merely smiled and mouthed 'Good luck'.

When Artemis and Aphrodite had disappeared, Athena turned around and smiled at Zeus. " Hello Father. How are you?".

Zeus glared at a bouquet of flowers, beautifully arranged by Demeter, who had been partly in charge of decoration.

"You're going to marry my rival, so I am not fine at all".

" It may very well be something positive , you know. After all, I will make sure that he will be slightly less annoying".

" Slightly?".

Athena smirked. " It's Poseidon. Even I do not have that much power".

" I suppose".

Zeus walked over to Athena, his hands in his pockets and his eyes wistful. " I am not going to convince you to not marry him, am I?".

" No. Your list with 'reasons to not marry Poseidon' had some good arguments, but I am certain that the best decision is to marry him".

Zeus groaned. " I was afraid that you would say that".

He sighed. "Aphrodite didn't want to stop you either. She sent Eros after me when I suggested it, has burnt all my letters and threatened to make me fall in love with Poseidon myself if I suggested it one more time".

Zeus shivered, disgusted. " I don't think that is even possible, but I am not going to risk it".

Athena smiled and kissed his cheek. " Thank you. Are you ready to walk me down the altar?".

" Not really. You're still so young".

Athena rolled her eyes. " I am millenia old".

"Exactly! You're still my little girl, just out of the skull". He suddenly embraced her , holding her really tightly. " I don't want to give you to that awful man".

"I know. But you know I wouldn't even consider it if I didn't think it was a good decision".

Zeus finally pulled back and brushed a lock of Athena's hair behind her hair. " But love isn't about good ideas. It's anything but. Or do you think that it was a good idea to cheat so much?".

" You didn't think" Athena said, smiling at Zeus. She freed her arms from Zeus' loose grasp. "I do. Always".

Zeus sighed. " I know that. I will just have to trust that gargantuan brain of yours". He offered Athena his arm and she took it, squeezing it once.

When they left the chamber and entered the church, tenthousands of heads turned in their direction, all voices stilled and people looked at Athena with admiration and jealousy and want. But despite all the eyes on her, there was only one in the crowd that could get her attention.

He was already at the altar, looking at her with soft, worshipping eyes. His hair was untamed but it looked like it was on purpose- like some models had -, his tux was a deep blue and fitted him perfectly.

The way he looked at her was more worshipping than any mortal could ever be towards her. Every atom of her body felt worshipped, every thought, every action.. he seemed to say that anything she did, was worth worshipping.

Athena blushed, but kept looking at him, drinking him in. Zeus muttered next to her, obviously angry, Aphrodite was softly sobbing and people had started to talk again, but that was all in the background. Distant. Insignificant.

She finally reached the altar and turned to Zeus, embracing him.

" I love you daddy" she said, feeling emotional herself. She even felt herself tear up a bit as she looked in her father's sad, tired eyes.

As he pulled back, he smiled at her. Despite his faults, at this moment it was very clear he loved her. " I love you too".

He turned to Poseidon. " Hurt her and even Kronos would be shocked by whatever I will do to you".

Poseidon shrugged. " I am not going to hurt her, so I am not worried".

Zeus rolled his eyes and gave Athena one last , quick hug before walking towards one of the front benches and sitting down next to a very angry-looking Hera.

The priest that was to marry them, smiled and said " did both of you bring your vows?".

Athena nodded, Poseidon reached into his pocket and retrieved a small bundle of paper.

" Got them!".

"Very well. Please read them".

Poseidon cleared his throat and blushed a little. His eyes never left Athena's.

" Owlface, my dearest. Ever since you sprang from your dad's ugly skull, there has been tension between you and me. For a long time, I was intimidated by your intelligence and will and everything. I thought that I despised you, I ignored how beautiful you was in favor of noticing other women. I tried everything to keep a distance between us or at least have only animosity between us, but nothing helped. No matter how much I tried not to, I started caring more and more for you. Noticing more of how beauitful you were , how much I liked your smile, how even the sea couldn't offer me the peace your company could, how lively you are...".

He looked up and smiled at her, his sea green eyes crinkling at the corners, his flawless teeth exposed as he grinned at her. He grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it.

" How much I loved you and how I wanted to always have you near me, even if that would mean you would still insult me and steal my cities and make me crazy. How much I wanted to really be with you".

" those aren't even vows, it's just a story" someone ( Cough. Zeus. Cough) mumbled. Athena and Poseidon ignored him - and the sharp cry of pain that followed when someone ( Cough. Aphrodite. Cough) punched him.

" What I am trying to say, is that I like you more than the sea, more than immortality , more than my care for a thousand people combined. I want to always be your seaweedbrain and never , ever have to leave you again. And be happy. Yeah. Even when we fight".

He winked at Athena. " Or especially. You look really great, by the way, when you fight".

Athena laughed. She had never felt so carefree and cared for as now. "I will keep that in mind".

She squeezed Poseidon's hand. " It's my turn now". When a lot of people groaned, she rolled her eyes. " It won't be boring or long, I promise".

She took a deep breath, feeling nervous and shy. She had never been good with feelings and now she was about to pour them out in front of a crowd. The only thing that kept her from 'chickening out' was Poseidon's calmful presence.

"Poseidon. You're many things. You're brave and selfish and sometimes still selfless and beautiful in little and big ways. You're my dad's rival. You once were mine- or I very hard attempted to make you. There have been days that you drove me absolutely crazy and I thought I hated you. But there have been even more days where you drew me out of my shell, made me laugh".

Athena smiled at Poseidon, who was smiling at her. He looked happier than she could ever remember and it made her happy that she was the cause.

"You're an absolutely wonderful man , despite your flaws. Also, you complete me. You're emotional, rash, sometimes violent and I might need that. I need to be reminded that being wise certainly doesn't mean being happy and showing emotions can be as rewarding as it can be scary. You do that for me and so much more".

Athena took a deep breath. " What I am saying is that I love you more than I thought you could love anything and that loving you has given meaning to love. I want to spend my days with you, I want you to drive me crazy and to love me like I love you. I want to be your wife when you're calm, when you're angry, when you're vengeful and pained and happy and faithful. And I promie you that as long as I live, I will never betray your trust. There may be days where I am cold and distant, but I am sure you will tell me that I am being a robot and make that go away".

She turned to the priest, who was smiling at her. She kept looking at Poseidon from her eyecorners and noticed that he was grinning, looking very happy and calm like she had never seen him.

"Friends, family and other esteemed guests, I believe that it is time to join these two people in holy matrimony. Their vows have me convinced that they love each other very much".

He turned to Athena. " Athena, daughter of Zeus, do you take Poseidon, son of Rhea, as your lawful husband and promise to always cherish and care for him, in good and bad times, to the end of time?".

Athena smiled. "I do. I swear on the styx".

He turned to Poseidon. " Poseidon, son of Rhea, do you take Athena, daughter of Zeus, as your lawful wife and promise to cherish and care for her, in good and bad times, to the end of times?'.

Poseidon glanced at Athena. " Hell yeah" he immediately replied, laughing.

"Very well. Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss!".

Poseidon immediately grabbed Athena and gave her a long, very passionate kiss that was met with groans ( Cough. Zeus. Cough) , wolf whistles and even some shouts like "Get a room!".

When the kiss ended, both were flushed and grinning at each other. Poseidon slowly let go of Athena, giving her one last peck on the last and they faced the crowd, holding hands.

Athena slowly turned around when the clapping had stopped and threw her bouquet. A couple of women threw themselves towards it and even some men stared at it hopefully. In the end though, the person who catched it certainly hadn't tried to.

Artemis stared at the bouquet in her hands, mouth wide open and the most hilarious horrified expression on her face.

Athena burst out laughing.

I might be willing to write some other things that I haven't included here, but that might be funny; bachelor party, Aphrodite bothering Artemis after she had caught the bouquet, honeymoon.. etcetera.

And I might edit some parts that I dislike :)