Hello my fans. Welcome to the train wreck I once called a story. I'm here to prove that my writing has gotten WAY better over the years so here is my new chapter of the Horsemen. It has improved but I do still need a Beta reader so I'm taking offers. Let me know and I will send you a copy of the story and if I like how you change it then you can be my beta tester. Anyways on to my story!

Terrifying. That was the only word that could be used to describe the cackle the cut through the poisonous air of Tarturus. It was unbelievably high pitched and seemed to shake the very pit with its ferocity. The mania behind it was something only to be heard in the laughter of psych ward patients who's final marbles had collided together and shattered. "Come on little dogos, don't you want to play with me?" As if in direct response to the voices question a hundred truck sized dogs came charging out from a cave with their tails between their legs and fear in their eyes. Darkness enclosed on the cave preventing anything or anyone from tracing the voice to an able body, that is until said able body stepped out into the fiery light of the Phlegethon. Tall and pale was just the beginning to describe this man? It was questionable if 'man' could be applied to this person, for there was a certain level of monster to this figure as well. His body was unbelievably thin to the point that he was naught but a skeleton with skin stretched over him. Across the left half side of his face lay part of a human skull shielding all from the left side of his face. However, it did not extend far enough to hide the full maniacal grin stretching across his face that would create a certain level of discomfort with any person. Barefooted he walked across the glass on the ground without even flinching and seem to even dig his toes into it as if it were warm sand. As for clothing, he wore nothing except for the ragged pair of cloth pants around his waist which was held up by a rope and even then it seemed to droop down low. Rubbing his wrist he chuckled at the sight of the hellhounds scampering here and there like a bunch of cockroaches forced into the light. "Come now, it isn't that bad little doggos, I'm just going to kill you" swinging his arm out he summoned a long scythe into his hand before twirling it around in his fingers. "Oh well guess I just have to go hunting." Bending his knees he prepared himself for a jump before taking off. Landing on the nearest hound and pierced its skull with the tip of his blade before taking off once more and clearing a good ten yards to embed his blade in the neck of another overgrown dog. "Surely you little dogs can move faster than this? Or are you just playing with me, because I like to play games too." Bending his knees he got ready to take off again but hesitated before gripping his skull with bony hands. "Fucking gods" His murmur was just barely above a whisper as he tried to control the throbbing headache beating like a drum in his skull.

"I fucking know that they're summoning him War, I'm not a dammed idiot," He said this to seemingly no one as the dogs had long since scampered off and he was alone next to the river of fire. "The thing is we both know that he wants nothing to do with them" the massaging of his temples grew more intense the longer the conversation went on. "Yeah while that is a possibility Strife it is highly fucking unlikely" groaning he went back to gripping his skull in pain. "Alright all three of you shut up and one of you take over or I'm going to kill the gods my fucking self for giving me this chaos forsaken headache." Insanity enjoys company so it only made sense when his body began to shift in response to his request. His chest grew broader and his muscles thickened to a bulge that was toned just enough not to look repulsive. His hair which was an ashen gray and short shifted to a pure white that fell down to his shoulders in choppy waves. Eyes once so pale it looked milky white shifted to a beady yellow that seemed to narrow even further at the headache crashing down on his skull. He seemed to grow even taller to a good 6'5" and must've jumped up way higher in weight compared to his previous body for like his body his arms and legs bulged with raw power. Protecting his feet from the glass covered ground was a pair of black steel-toed combat boots. Around his torso, he now wore a tight black muscle shirt that hugged his chest and abdomen revealing the, not six but, eight pack that set below his huge pectoral muscles. Around his waist, he still wore the same pair of ragged pants as his previous form wore. "There. Are you happy now Death?" The man stood there with his arms crossed over his chest as he listened to the silence. "Yes it hurts I just don't complain as much as you do and shut up Strife, you get shoved into a lake that connects all the rivers of Tarturus and see if you aren't brought to tears." Sighing he pinched the bridge of his nose before taking a deep breath, "though, I must concur with Death, this is annoying. What do you think we should do Famine?" He nodded along to the voice in his head before bowing his head in acknowledgment "Yes it's a chance sure, but we don't need our host getting hurt more than they already have." Pacing back and forth his kicked shards of glass and rocks in contemplation.

"Alright," he said out loud after a couple minutes of contemplation and a pounding headache "We will go but, if they do anything to try and harm our host, physical or mental, we shut them down immediately. Hopefully, we can get his sentence annulled but if they try to attack physically or verbally we will go and find a way out ourselves for him." Stretching his arms overhead he smiled at the thought of revenge for his friend and brother "Alright if we are ready then let's ride." With that, a flash of gold and white appeared around him encircling him with raw power as he just stared off into the distance and waited for the process to finish. For a good minute, he stood there before the energy condensed around him and swept him away from the depths of the pit and onto the highest place on earth, Mount Olympus.

The appearance of the man was not as spectacular as his disappearance, instead of flashing lights or twirling energies he just appeared kneeling in the center of the throne room. Fourteen beings stared down at him with confusion written across their face. This was not the person they intended to summon so who was this? War looked up at the beings surrounding him, brushing off the power rolling from them and gazed directly into the eyes of the King of God's "What do you want?" Zeus' face slowly reddened at the blatant disrespect but before he could begin his rant Poseidon cut in "Are you Perseus?" It was a simple question but the man just stared at the sea God as if he was uncomprehending of what he had asked. His face remained neutral and cold for a good minute before he spoke up. "I honestly don't know Death, I look nothing like Perseus if anything Strife looks more like him but I guess Poseidon was always a little slow." Poseidon face was indignant but held back from smiting the man for he held answers they needed. "Who are you mortal" Athena inquired causing his eyes to lazily focus on her. "Who I am is really none of your concern wisdom goddess and you prove your ignorance by labeling me as a mortal" He really wasn't pulling any punches as he stated cool back into the fuming goddess' eyes. "Why did you appear instead of Perseus" she continued trying to ignore the slight towards her intelligence. War sighed and shook his head irritably "So many questions Pallas Athena, why should I answer your question of Percy's location when this council has done nothing but harm him? You are either unbelievably arrogant or uncomprehendably foolish, and Death knock it off you'll get your chance but patience is a virtue." The gods stared at the man strangely as he talked to himself irritably. "Do you have multiple personalities or something" it was Apollo who asked this time staring strangely at the man.

As if in response the man's body began to shift, his muscles shifted from powerful to lean and he shrunk in height, it wasn't by much but he was still shorter than his previous form. His hair retracted back into his head to a good four inches and spiked itself back, making it look like he ran head first into a wind tunnel before freezing his hair in place. His eyes shifted from the beady yellow to a pair of round eyes as white as snow which was currently filled to the brim with amusement. Still, he wore the tight muscle shirt and ragged pants but instead of combat boots he now wore white sneakers lined with yellow lining. "Well, Apollo I suppose you could say a personality of a person could be considered a subject of multiple personalities but, where the roads meet in the end and the beginning is the fact that technically, our host has multiple personalities inside of him but he doesn't have multiple personalities. The god's face twisted in confusion at the seemingly paradoxical explanation, even Athena looked bemused at his explanation. For a minute every one stood there staring at the man who grinned widely at his success in confusing the gods of Olympus. Then Athena's eyes widened in realization, "You said host, does that mean you two are possessing this person." Strife lifted up his hand and showed his fingers about a millimeter apart "This close Athena, sit back and really think about it. Numerically you are incorrect and possess is too strong of a word we don't control this person he lets us live in it, inhabit it, and protect it. And this isn't just any "person," Why would a complete stranger appear in place of a specific person you tried to summon." Chuckling he lowered his hand "That's all the hints I can give or Famine will get a little bitchy with me." Athena stared hard at the man as spun around on the top of his shoes gleefully as if he had just found out he was getting a bouncy house for his birthday. "There are four of you in that body, the white-haired man, the one called death, the person you called Famine and you, Strife" surprisingly it was Aphrodite who spoke up causing everyone to turn to her in shock. Strife, however, clapped gleefully "Ding, ding, ding, way to go Aphrodite now can you guess the answer to our bonus question. Who. Is. Our. Host!"

The gods were irritated at this point, especially Zeus who jumped up from his throne and pointed his master bolt at the man. "Enough riddles mortal, you will give us the answers we desire or face my wrath." Strife opened his mouth to respond but before he could a ripple crossed his skin causing him to shudder before he began to change forms. His hips and chest flared out into an hourglass form causing many of the male gods to stare longer than necessary. Instead of the spiked black hair, he once possessed he (she?) now had crimson red hair that fell down to her waist. Eyes once white, round and full of amusement were now upturned with sickly green irises that held so much hatred and fury it was staggering even to Ares. "You will make no demands of us Zeus, youngest sibling of the gods. We are not of your court, nor are we under your service. If my brother wants to send your head spinning with those dammed riddles of his then he will very well do it. Also are you impossibly slow or just deaf to the fact we said we weren't mortals" She hissed almost like a snake as her eyes roamed over the gods? "You gods are unbelievable you sentence a young boy to hell with beings who loathe his very being when he has done nothing to deserve it. He has shown his loyalty to those he loved by bathing in the Styx just so he could defend your pathetic little thrones from your father. He returned your oldest siblings to the council and got the minor gods the recognition they deserved in exchange for his godhood. Scene two rolls around and he is finally getting in a statement le relationship with the girl that ends up stabbing him in the back only to be swept away by Hera and the gods. Memories erased, placed away from home and forced to risk his life again he didn't complain. He didn't complain when the gods abandoned him because of your arrogance Zeus, he didn't complain when he traversed Tartarus to protect the one he loved, he didn't complain as he watched the horrors the House of Night held. He didn't complain when he was attacked by primordials, he didn't complain when the girl he loved fell for some other person and he sure as hell didn't complain about the nightmares that kept him awake or the constant fear he had of this Chaos forsaken council. He didn't complain a single time, instead, he grits his teeth and pushed through it. What did he get for his love, hard work, and loyalty? Betrayal. You fuckers" she was panting for breath now, her face was red her wrath seemed to grow even further, "you fuckers threw him in that pit."

All the gods stared in shock as she began to glow bright black "You threw him to the dogs because you didn't like him. You used that bullshit excuse of him being a traitor to fulfill your own dark fantasies of throwing him in Tartarus and his disrespect going with him. The poor boy was awake for months and not just because of the nightmares. No, he was awake because if he slowed down to rest his worst enemies would catch up to him. Day after day his daily routine was to drink from the Phlegethon fight off some monsters then run for his life. Wash, rinse and repeat." Slowing down and lowering her voice she shook her head as tears welled up. "The human body has physical limits set to it to prevent damage. Every day for nearly a year straight he far surpassed those limits. His body goto do stronger but without sustenance, that strength came at a catastrophic cost. He slowed to a stop." Looking up at the slack-jawed gods she revealed that the tears were now freely streaming down her face but the anger still lay there, festering and fuming behind her sadness. "Monsters, Titans, Giants, demigods; everyone and their mother came crawling out of the woodwork. A passed out man has no way to defend himself so they swept them away to the vile dungeon they had crafted specifically for him." She took a shuttering breath before her form changed once more. In front of them no longer stood Famine but the man who called himself Death "Three years." The once maniacal voice was soft and laden with emotion "those sons of bitches tortured him for three years twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. And he knew that it was constant simply by the fact that Kronos kept a clock dangling in front of his face. It was one that told the date and time and it was specially named Percy's fun time clock." His pale eyes sharpened on Zeus' wide blue ones "they tried to incite so many phobias on to him: burial alive, spiders, tight spaces, wild and rabid animals. They tried them all but only two stuck, Aquaphobia and Pistanthrophobia. So for two hours out of every day, they would either drown him or replay the sights of all his friends and family turning their back on him. The rest of the hours? Well, the scars, bruises and burns tell a story of their own."

Death shook his head sadly before he switched places with the white-haired man "Three continuous years of torture he was submitted to, his mind on the very brink of breaking but he held on in the hopes that maybe the gods would see their mistake and welcome him back." War ran a hand through his hair and looked up into the night sky. "Personally I think he was foolish and naive for thinking that but that is one of the things we love about him. Loyal to the end. After three years of torture, Nyx and Tarturus took notice of the boy. Why? Well, let's just say Gaia is a very influential woman, especially when she threatens a person's children. With Gaia gone, there was no longer a threat so they took him away from that place and back to the house of night. Nyx personally layed him in the bed and catered to the needs of his body, after all, he had spared her daughter and freed her from the threat of Gaia. No matter how much energy she expended however she and Tartarus were only able to get him to barely sentient. So she came up with another plan. Us four had been stuck without bodies for millennia. Plenty of energy built up in us over the years with no way to expend it, the problem was, however, without a body to ground us we were slowly fading away. So Tartarus swept up our spirits and they gave Perseus a choice. We both were fading from existence, us without having a grounding point him without the energy required to survive. It seemed like a pretty simple choice, let us live in his body and we give him the energy to survive and protect himself." For the first time, War showed emotion, a mixture of sadness and twisted his face as he glared at the gods. His next words caused the gods to gasp "We were too late. He had already been broken and no desire to live. He apologized to us but he said he just couldn't take it anymore." His eyes softened at the memory "I've seen every memory and emotion he has ever experienced and I can say with a hundred percent certainty that he has never been at such a low point. I've seen him grow up thinking his father didn't die at sea but left because he didn't love him, I've seen him get picked on all through school because he couldn't read due to his dyslexia, and worst of all I've seen him get abused for years by Gabe Ugliano with none to comfort him for he refused to tell his mother. I've seen his worst memories and through seeing that I can say that your betrayal was the thing that broke him most of all. Not Gabe, not bullying and not even his father abandoning him broke him as much as you turning your back on him."

Artemis spoke up with a soft voice after a minute of silence "So how is he here if he had no desire to live?" War stared at her for a second before Strife took his place. The man gave an amused smirk as he thought about the memories of that day "Let's just say that Nyx is a very convincing person when she wants to be. She asked him plain and simple "So you're just going to let these four die because your feeling betrayed? You're going to die when there were still others who fought against your banishment and still loved you." I can still remember her piercing eyes digging into him "I was under the impression that you were the one who didn't give up and strived to defy the Fates' plans." His glare was furious as he began his little tangent about the betrayal and abandonment and how he has the right to quit. Let me tell you I'm surprised everyone on Olympus didn't hear the slap that she delivered to him, in fact, I'm even more surprised that he didn't get whiplash" Chuckling he sat down cross-legged on the ground. "His face was filled with shock as she glared right back at him. "There is a difference between quitting out and taking a well-deserved rest. Right now, what you are doing, you're quitting. You're running and hiding because you think that it's all over for you." A smirk still adorning his face he stretched and played back on the marble floor, enjoying the warmth being provided by the hearth. Tartarus' heat was a humid type of heat, the hearth gave off a nice dry heat that anyone could enjoy. "The rest of the conversation is for him to tell but in a basic summary she convinced him to take us into him which turned out to be... a little dangerous?" It was almost a question as he tilted his head in slight confusion. "How Nyx put it was there were a couple of factors clashing with each other when joined him in his body. One, with Poseidon disowning him it created a basic void in his DNA per se. He was half human half, well, nothing. There was a gap in his being that once held the DNA of the sea God so he didn't have the raw power from godly DNA instead he had the refined and well-exercised power developed on his human side. This was the power from fighting, surviving and ultimately training his body. Godly power and human power are embodied in different ways. Through raw energy Godly power forms but human power forms through a delicate balance in mental energy and physical might. What makes a demigod so powerful is that the raw energy balances out with the mental energy and physical might. A sort of mutualism relationship is born from these two types of DNA. They nurture and empower each other growing in synchronization."

Strife sighed before rippling and changing to Famine who looked a lot calmer than before but she still held her glare. "That is why demigods are so powerful if pushed to beyond their limits. Well Percy, for many years, had been pushed far beyond his limits. Monsters, Titans, Giants; he had fought it all so, naturally, his energies had become way more powerful than a typical demigod. A problem however with the energies is that they keep each other in check as to not overwhelm the body with unbelievable energy. You remove one side from that delicate balance and it is devastating to the host. For a person as powerful as Percy?" Hestia's whisper from the hearth echoed through the throne room "It would be catastrophic." Famine nodded in acknowledgment "Yes, quite, so it is quite surprising Percy survive as long he did but I guess I should be that shocked. The mental and physical power in the host's body feeds from the raw energy the godly side produces and in exchange the physical and mental energy lends it's power to the godly side to strengthen it. With Physical and mental energy it acts as a black hole, it must eat and eat to maintain its size or risk collapsing in on itself. A typical human body that does not eat that much in the first place? It won't collapse but it will remain in an endless game of tug o' War in which neutrality is the only result. A demigod? They have that raw energy from godly DNA to allow it to maintain and even grow in power. Exercise that power and it will use more energy to grow but in exchange, it fuels the godly to grow in power. An endless paradox but one that benefits the host. Well, you subtracted the fuel source from Percy's DNA and suddenly he is running on the fumes of his normal body. Why didn't he just explode with the raw power built up in him? Well, it is simple yet complicated." Looking around at the council she realized she held everyone attention, even Zeus', as they were listening raptly to the explanation. "Some are under the impression that in power the order of strength would be godly, body, then mental but, that is far from the truth. Without the mental, the bodily and godly powers wouldn't know how to interact and simply would try to overwhelm one another. The mental energies act as the barrier and door to both sets of power; interchanging, recycling and ultimately spending. When a demigod needs that extra burst of strength to match a Minotaur's ax the mental energy takes power from the godly DNA and fuels the strength with a basic adrenaline say a daughter of Demeter needs to summon stronger vines to restrain a Hellhounds the mental energy take the raw power and inserts it into the godly reserves. Wash, rinse and, repeat. However, subtract that godly energy and suddenly you have no power source for the body so how do you keep the body from collapsing in on itself? The mental energies pull power from the host life force. Just enough for the host to survive but losing life energy is still losing life energy. Now you're killing yourself to survive."

Famine shuddered at the thought but pushed on "Quite the conundrum but even more so if you are constantly spending energy by fighting, running, not eating and drinking from the Phlegethon. Now you'very shortened your time from maybe a year of survival too, at most, four weeks. This, however, is the real kicker and goes to show just how bullheaded and defiant Percy is he survived a year of running and fighting then proceeded to survive torture for three years straight. How did he not just fade and collapse? Well, not even Nyx and Tarturus could figure it out but maybe Percy was just stubborn, either way, add that whole predicament into the fact that we were going to spontaneously shove the energy of four immortals into his body well put in an understandable way he passed out. His body put his mind into a coma so it could recover and refuel his life force." Some of the gods looked a little nervous and guilty at what they had done but Famine ignored them "Before he passed out he made one request of us and I quote "Please, be the ones to keep me safe instead of me protecting others." Tears welled in Famines eyes as she heard the broken voice in her mind again "after that he gave us full use of his body to do as we please and protect him we did. On Nyx and Tarturus' request, we stayed in the House of Night and only went out to strengthen Percy and recover our fighting abilities. The rest of what went down is his story to tell but I don't think you will be hearing from him anytime soon. That is thanks to you fuckers so you better have a pretty damn good reason for calling us up here."

Ares, In his stupidity, spoke up with the wrong answer "The punk got what he deserved for betraying Olympus, he didn't get half of what he should have." Famine's eyes flew open to show unbelievable rage behind them. "You son of a-" She was cut off in her leap and sentence however as a ripple passed through her skin and she shifted to War who landed in a kneeling position. "I'd advise you cease your useless comments War God for my sister has no patience for insults to Percy. As for betrayal, it is hypocritical for you to make accusations of traitorous acts when it was you who hid Zeus' bolt and Hades' helm just to create petty war for your enjoyment." War glared at the gods before standing up and dusting himself off. "Right now it is only through the combined effort of myself, Strife and Death to hold back Famine's wrath so I would be careful in what you say." Athena, being the knowledge-hungry person she was blurted out "How come you all have such strange names?" War chuckled at her inquiry "have you not figured it out yet Wisdom goddess? I thought you read the ancient texts" Shifting once more Death appeared "You know four powerful beings, lost to time, said to be the embodiments of destruction, named each War, Death, Famine, and Strife. Come on Miss smarty pants think about it." Athena glared but tried to claw through her memories in search of the information until "The Four Riders of the Apocalypse!" Death began clapping loudly in applause for her revelation. "Correct Athena" Death shifted to Strife "We are the four created by Chaos to keep the balance." Ares once more couldn't keep his mouth shut "if you are great servants of Chaos then why were you in Tartarus without a body." Strife's eyes narrowed "Because we risked our lives saving your sorry asses from the Titans in the first Titan war. Do you think you gods were just powerful enough to overthrow the Titan who defeated a Primordial? Arrogance is unbecoming gods of Olympus. We were the ones who weakened Kronos and held back the other Titans, we maintained the balance that was being destroyed by the Titans, and we were the ones that kept you elder gods alive in Kronos' stomach. You gods appear to have been the lesser of two evils but sometimes when we remember what Perseus looked like we wonder if it was the right choice."

Zeus had reached his breaking point "We care little for Perseus sob story. He got what he deserved for betraying us to the Giants and we demand that he help us now. You horsemen or whatever, lay claim to the defeat of the Titans when I was the one who struck Kronos down with my bolt. You are nothing but pestilential immortals who stand in the way of us speaking to Perseus who is a servant of Olympus. Now let us speak to him or face our wrath" Strife lurched forward, his features switching to Famine's then back. "Do yourself a favor and for once in your useless life shut the fuck up. It is already hard enough to keep Famine in check without your pestilential and arrogant comments," He bared his teeth as he lurched forward before switching between Famine and himself. "Knock it off Famine, or so help me God I will have Percy reprimand you" at that statement the struggle stopped and he stood up straight. With a sigh and the shake of his head he continued speaking "I swear, Perseus is the only one who can keep Famine in check." Athena cut in before Strife could continue, however, her voice short and slightly impatient "So you can make contact with Perseus. Why do you prevent him from speaking with us?" Strife looked a little awestruck at the goddess' question which caused her to smirk at her ability to dumbfound one of the four horsemen. That smirk was quickly wiped from her face with Strife's next comment "You are the goddess of wisdom, just how stupid are you? We aren't sitting keeping Perseus from speaking with you he literally can't and more than likely doesn't want to. Years of recovering has allowed him to speak with us in a passive way through our minds but other than that his communication skills have pretty much dropped to the point that anyone wanting to speak with him is SOLJWF" Athena was too angry to respond so it was Hermes who spoke. "I've heard a lot of acronyms in the mortal world but that isn't one of them. What does it mean?" Strife faded from existence to be replaced with Death who cackled madly "Means that you are pretty much Shit Out of Luck and Jolly Well Fucked." Poseidon slammed his trident on the ground causing the floor to rumble heavily, apparently, he too had reached his limit. "Enough! Tell me where my son is or I will destroy you where you stand horseman." Death cackled at the demand "Your son ceased to exist when you cast him into Tartarus and disowned him because he refused godhood twice." Poseidon's eyes grew to the size of saucers at the accusation.

"Yup, even through the torture he was able to figure out each and every one of your reasons for banishing him. He was a lot smarter than most gave him credit for. Let's roll down the list, shall we? Number 1. Zeus, you simply didn't like him because he was a son of Poseidon and didn't show the respect you think you deserved. Powerful and uncontrollable he was a threat to you and your throne so you banished him. Number 2. Hera, poor, poor Hera doesn't have the perfect little family she wants. A husband who cheats, siblings who fight, children who don't quite meet your expectations what a hard, hard life for you. Then little Perseus came along, he freed Thalia from the tree, saved Artemis from her fate at the hands of Atlas and, worst of all, disrespected the Queen of the gods in the Labyrinth. So how do you get rid of such a pestilential demigod? You wipe his memory and send him over to the Roman camp. That didn't last very long, now did it? So everyone starts voting Percy as a traitor and you decide to go along all the while singing a merry tune for your job being made easier. 3. Poor old Poseidon, his son is one of the greatest heroes in history but he won't accept immortality for defeating Kronos. However a second chance rolled around, your son became even greater by surviving Tartarus and defeating Gaia in one on one combat but once again he refused godhood. What a slight to your pride that your greatest son refused such a great gift for a girl he could grow old with. Poseidon's greatest son would die of old age because he thought himself better than the gods. Am I in the ballpark Sea God?" His smirk grew into a full-blown delirious grin as the said gods began to shift to around nervously. With the click of his fingers, he shifted once more to War "Next we move on to my personal favorites" His voice was deep and seemed to resonate off the marble as though there was a power growing inside them. "Four: Dionysus, a petty and worthless man who hates demigods simply because of a punishment he brought upon himself. Percy Jackson was another demigod, and just like his father, he got angry that Percy didn't show the respect he deserved. So many times he hoped for Perseus' death, and so many times Percy prevailed. So imagine his excitement when a vote is started to send poor Percy down to Tartarus. One more demigod out of his hair." Dionysus looked indignant at being called worthless but before he could comment War continued. "Five: Ares, just as petty as his brother he hated Perseus simply off the fact that so many times Perseus embarrassed him. From the age of twelve, Percy beat Ares in one on one combat thus embarrassing him to no end. Then he revealed Ares as a traitor to the council causing punishment to be brought down upon him. So many times Percy didn't show the respect Ares arrogantly thought he deserved and in turn, Ares decided that Perseus' fate should be Tartarus. Pathetic."

Ares, in a fit of rage, leaped from his throne and charged War with a bastard sword "No one calls the God of War pathetic!" He screamed with fury at the white-haired man who merely raised his eyebrow in response. When Ares came just short of cleaving the man in half War raised his hand and on it appeared a thick gauntlet which caught Ares' blade relatively easy. Squeezing the blade tightly War looked into Ares' flaming sockets with a face so calm it was actually terrifying. "You bathe in your own arrogance if you think you can defeat me, Ares. You are naught but a God of War. Me? I'm the physical embodiment of war." By this point War had crushed the bastard sword, he then proceeded to take the sword and throw it into the hearth. Ares was about to comment but he was currently being lifted into the air by the throat. War had grabbed him with his gauntlet encased hand and looked directly in Ares' flaming sockets. "Now shut up and sit down" spinning around he threw the Ares' back into his throne where his head collided with the back of it, knocking him out. The god's stared for a good minute before Zeus came to his senses and left from his throne, bolt in hand. The lightning flew faster than the eye could follow but, faster than the lightning could travel War switched to Death who summoned his scythe and proceeded to catch the lightning on his blade before spinning and sending it right back at Zeus. With a loud explosion, the bolt collided with Zeus' chest dazing him and allowing Death to switch War and continue with his point. "Number six:" he continued as if hadn't been interrupted "Athena, the supposed God of Wisdom and Justice banished her daughter's ex-boyfriend"

A scowl fell on War's face as he glared into Athena's defiant eyes "He was a man of loyalty and honesty but, you took it on word of mouth, words your daughter spout out of hate and spite that Perseus cheated on her, broke her heart and left her for his own sexual desires. You knew Athena, you knew that this wasn't possible for Perseus to do but you hated him so much. Why? Is there a rational reason that the goddess of logic could provide that would be irrefutable? Why yes, he was a son of Poseidon and he tried to take your daughters hand in marriage. Not only that but he also made a slight upon your pride when he refused immortality. Your thoughts churned in hate, thinking that he saw himself better than the gods but particularly you. No one is better than the goddess of wisdom, Pallas Athena and it will be her wrath brought down upon those who think themselves superior. Now the betrayal rolls around. Perseus is being accused of betraying the Olympian council to Gaia? What better way to get back at the boy for his arrogance and impudence than sending him down into a pit with his worst enemies. That will show the boy that none are superior to the gods and none can slight the goddess Athena and get away with it." War looked straight into the goddess' stormy grey eyes before spitting at the foot of her throne. "You are pathetic Athena. You are no goddess of Justice or Wisdom. You are just a sad old deity with a spiteful streak twenty miles long. If your father wasn't running in first place then you might've been able to take the title of the goddess of arrogance." Athena's face was beet red, anger sprawled across he face as she fumbled for words to respond but War just blew her off as his skin rippled and changed to Strife.

His smirk was slightly lower as he stared into Demeter's eyes "Number seven: Demeter, you are one of the enigma's old Percy boy was hard pressed to decipher. You, the goddess of the harvest didn't interfere in mortal lives. You weren't as arrogant as you sibling, you weren't as spiteful as Athena, so Percy was left with a single question. Why? You barely spoke to him, barely acknowledged and most of all barely knew him. So imagine his surprise when instead of abstaining from the vote you vote guilty. You condemned a man you barely knew and entered yourself in a conflict when you usually stay neutral. Then through one of his torture sessions, it came to him." Strife looked right into Demeter's wheat yellow eyes that were filled with guilt and whispered barely loud enough to hear "Persephone." It wasn't just Demeter's eyes that widened but Zeus' too at the name. "The only reason that you get to see your daughter is that Zeus had created the perfect balance of time for Persephone to be underground with Hades and up here on Olympus. You hated it but you knew that Persephone needed to stay with Hades for spouts of time otherwise it might physically harm her. So Zeus' has kept that as his bargaining chip millennia now. He could simply keep Persephone away from you by revoking his orders and making her stay down with Hades underground so you would never see her again. You were his trump card against Percy and one that worked just fine." Demeter's eyes watered up as she looked away from Strife in guilt "I'm sorry, I truly am, but I couldn't lose my daughter." Strife shook his head and sighed "He has already forgiven you, Demeter. He forgave you the moment he figured it out so do not bury yourself in guilt over your choice. He understands more than anyone else could and he is happy you chose your daughter. He would never want to come between a parent and their child. So from now on rest assured that you hold no blame from Percy." The tears truly kicked in as Demeter cried into her arms, weeping so pathetically it was actually heartbreaking.

Strife stared at her for a moment, letting her cry feelings out before moving on. Zeus had recovered and was now glaring at the Horseman but his wife held him back with a hand on his shoulder. "The rest of the council fought against Percy's banishment and for that, he has unbelievable gratitude. Hermes, you proved to Percy that family is what matters when you fought so adamantly against his banishment. He had redeemed your son's name, saved your families life and in the end proved to everyone that you can't always rely on a higher being for help. You couldn't live with yourself if he got sent to Tartarus but no matter how hard you fought Zeus had set up from the start. You are not blamed for his banishment so there is no forgiveness to be given Messenger God." Hermes had some tears in his eyes but he nodded his head shakily. He couldn't trust his voice not to crack if he tried speaking. He was just relieved that his hero didn't blame him for his years of torture at the hands of his enemies. With a nod, Strife turned his attention to Hephaestus who was tinkering with some device. "You fought for what was right Hephaestus. Percy had saved the Olympians and all demigods from a fate worse than death. He respected you not for what you were but who you were. To him, you weren't the ugliest god of Olympus, the man who could build anything or the paralyzed son of Hera. No, to him you were the father of Beckendorf. The father of the man who had exchanged his life to save Percy's. You were the man he felt he owed for taking the life of your son too early. There is no forgiveness needed to be given to you God of the Forge but Percy would ask that you forgive him for what he has taken from you."

Hephaestus' beard smoked as he looked into the honest eyes of strife "Lad," he started with hesitation "Charles' sacrifice was his own thing. He chose the path he took and if he wanted to risk his life to save Percy's then I would be a terrible father to not honor his wishes. There is nothing to forgive so Percy can lay one of his many guilty thoughts to rest for I do not hold him accountable." Strife actually smiled at the Forge God before his skin rippled and he switched to Famine. "Apollo, for such a carefree god you sure latched yourself onto Percy." She said no more as she stared seriously into the sun god's wide blue eyes. Thinking about it a moment he tilted his head in thought "I suppose I did but Percy was awesome and I guess awesomeness attracts awesomeness." Famine smiled revealing her pearly white teeth with sharpened canines "You never were good with emotions so let me help you along with this one. You first met Percy on the winter solstice where a boy who had no form of guilt stood up to the gods and brought forth their weapons of power. He did not think his fate was absolute when he was accused, he did not lose hope when Hades to his mother and he did not bow to Zeus' threats when he brought forth the man's bolt. Then you met him officially when your sister called you to carry her huntresses to Camp Half-blood. He was pretty impressed with your ride, he thought you were a pretty cool god and, as a bonus, he had been around your sister with being turned into a Jackalope. So you were impressed as he went on a quest that he wasn't assigned to and defied the fates. You talked to him as you helped his group across states on your train and found out what he was really about. He was about what was right in the world. As the god of truth, you respected that and respected him for it. However, your respect grew to unbelievable levels when he took the sky from your sister's shoulders. He did something that most would shrink away from so his friends could be saved and so Artemis wouldn't have to bear the weight anymore. Many more times he proved his honesty and conviction throughout the titan and giant wars but that wasn't the thing that impressed you the most. No, as the god of prophecies you knew everyone was bound to the Fate's whims but seeing him defy the Fates over and over again made you realize he was beyond even the gods."

Apollo shrugged and smiled "Definitely better than I could have worded it Famine." Artemis smacked her forehead at her brother's casual attitude towards a series of complex emotions but she was stopped as Famine moved to her next. "Don't smack your forehead Artemis, you are no better than he is. At the winter solstice, he was just another boy to you who was just a little brave when bringing Zeus' bolt to him. That feeling changed however when you found him and his little group in front of Dr. Thorn trying to save the children of Hades. He tried to exchange his life for the children which most males wouldn't even think about doing. That wasn't his greatest feat, however. Now what his greatest feat was for you was an honest toss-up between earning Zoe's respect and taking the sky from your shoulders. Zoe Nightshade, the most elite of your huntresses and the oldest who was second to none in her hate for men had been befriended by none other than Percy Jackson. Something that you had thought impossible had been done by Percy and that was to befriend you, lieutenant. Then instead of risking his friend's lives by fighting Atlas and trying to claim the glory for himself, he took the sky from your shoulders. He took your punishment because he knew you were the only one that could save his friends. In your eyes, he had proved that he was better than any other male on earth, and the icing on the cake was that Zoe respected him. Fast forward to the Titan War now, Kronos is at the throne room waiting to destroy the gods once and for all but there is one person who stood between him and his ultimate victory, Percy Jackson. The thorn in his side for years came once more to prove that even the titan lord can be defeated. Knowing the risks to his life he climbed mount Olympus and fought Kronos one on one. Conquering his fear he met Kronos in combat. Ignoring his lack of faith in the gods he clashed swords with Kronos knowing he must succeed or risk the lives of his friends and family. He earned your respect not because he fought the Titan lord for the glory but because he knew he had to win to save those he loved. Then the reward ceremony rolled around.

"Though he had your respect you thought you knew what his choice was going to be when provided with the opportunity to become a god. Boy were you surprised when he said no. What surprised you even more was when he used his wish to help the other demigods and even more free the peaceful titans. I wonder who that included Artemis. Could it be Leto? Yes his one wish from the gods was one that made everyone else's lives better and happier. The Giant war rolls around and it was a practical wash, rinse, repeat with one little change. For a woman he loved he dove into a place that even the gods feared to tread. He willingly sacrificed himself for a woman just because he loved her. So you have no room to talk about being terrible at expressing emotions because you have your own repressed ones deep within your heart. On a side note, he saw the terror in your eyes when he was judged guilty and wants to lay to rest your fears and guilt. You did what you could in that situation so rest assured that he does not blame you. Instead, and though I've argued with him many a time about it, he would like to apologize for causing the death of your oldest lieutenant. There are many things he blames himself for but that is one that lays most prominent on his mind."

Artemis gulped as she searched for the right words. Famine was right one hundred percent; expressing emotions wasn't her forte. As a hunter and hater of males you had to keep a mask of calmness and indifference that eventually became permanent. "I- I do not blame Percy for the death of Zoe. I never did. In fact I was thankful that he had befriended her so she didn't die with the spite she held for Hercules. On that quest she made her choice, she knew she was going to die and that is her burden to bear." Artemis ran a shaky hand through her auburn hair as she searched the room for the words she needed. "There is no forgiveness to be given for he gave me something that day that I didn't think was possible. He let Zoe rest in peace, free from her hate. That is something I could never repay so, no I do not forgive Perseus for there is nothing to forgive." Her silver eyes met Famines sickly green ones which stared at her with some sort of undecipherable emotion "Instead I thank him for doing what I could not and saving my best friend from herself."

Famine nodded at the goddess and gave a slight smile "If you could feel his relief it would actually be considered staggering but let us continue to the final goddess on the Olympian council. Everyone's attention shifted to Aphrodite who (for once) looked nervous at being the center of attention. "Aphrodite, goddess of love, you young lady were almost as difficult to figure out as Demeter. You voted innocent for Percy but the real question became why? Why would the goddess of love who only knew Percy through his love life care what happened to the great Perseus? More importantly, you said you would make his love life more difficult, not flat out end it. So why did his relationship spontaneously end? Why would Annabeth suddenly leave Percy? At first Percy was blinded with hate, thinking that you ended their relationship to mess with him in another one of your games. Then he thought about it, you are the goddess of love. You nurture it, you radiate it but no matter how hard you try to convince others you cannot control it. You didn't and simply can't make someone break up with another person. With that little riddle solved then came the real question. Why did you choose innocence? We think we know the answer but I'd personally prefer to hear it from you." With that Famine stared into the goddess' kaleidoscope eyes and waited. Aphrodite shifted in her throne, a bit nervous under the horsewoman's intense gaze. "It was the right thing to do?" It sounded more like a question than an answer which caused Famine to frown a little. "You lie to us and to yourself Aphrodite. Before you try again I want you to hear something. These pants" She gestured to the tattered looking cloth pants around her wide hips "have been worn since the beginning of Tartarus and Percy isn't ignorant to the person who blessed them."

Aphrodite swallowed and began picking at her nails "He was the only one who saw me as who I really am. In that limousine ride, he immediately saw me as a combination of a model and Annabeth but that faded rather quickly. In the next two seconds, he saw my true appearance and wasn't immediately drooling over me. He didn't try to court me or get me in his bed as all men do. Instead, he stared confidently into my eyes as I tried to extract some form of reaction from him. I tried to be flirtatious, I tried exposing skin but he just continued all the same as if I were just another human being he was talking to." Her voice cracked as tears began to build up "He didn't try to treat me like a piece of meat he needed to nail, instead he treated me with respect. Not respect earned as a goddess but with respect every person deserves and I'm not going to lie, I loved it. It was nice to be treated like a normal god like Demeter and Hermes and not be lusted over. It was like a drug for me, but I couldn't just pop into his life every other minute so I had to beat back my urges and continue my life as normal. Every quest he did, every time he saved the gods from their own mistakes he became more and more of a white knight to me until I couldn't help it. I fell in love with him." The whole room went quiet at the proclamation from Aphrodite. This statement sounded so sincere it was actually astounding. "Before he was sent to Tartarus I managed to get a blessing off to his pants. They weren't invulnerable but they were a hundred times more resistant than normal but that was, unfortunately, all I could do." Her head tipped down causing her tears to fall into her lap and onto her folded hands. Famine seemed satisfied and turned back to Zeus. "He knew the reasons and motives behind all of this council Zeus and he isn't particularly fond of you right now so," Famines poisonous eyes seemed to almost turn to flames "you better have a pretty good damn reason for summoning Percy."

Zeus seemed to be on the edge of losing his cool so it was Hera who spoke up, though her voice was still laced with venom "Calling upon Percy is still well within our right. Though he was sent to Tartarus he is still a subject of this council and we have the right to" Famine quickly switched to Death and cut off Hera to fill in her words "Shut your fucking mouths. Was that what you were going to say Hera ol' chum or did you mean something else." The glare Hera threw his way was terrifying but Death just cheekily grinned back at her. "Let me put it this way Mrs. High and mighty. You lost your little right to command Perseus around the moment you cast him into Tartarus. The moment you did that he ceased to be part of your court and ceased to be under your control. He followed you as you were his family and he respected your infinite wisdom or whatever. He followed your words not out of fear or obligation but out of love and respect. Those two things, they disappeared in Tartarus, gone like a fart in the wind. So you have no right to command him around for he holds no obligation towards you or anyone on this council. Love? Yes, for those who fought for him. He would pick up his sword and lay down his life once more to protect those people. The rest of you? Well, let me go ahead and tell you that Tartarus hasn't frozen over and I'm well assured that it won't be anytime soon. Comprende chica?" The gods felt their hope deflate a little at this but not all was lost. No, no matter how bad they angered her or how many times they forgot her Hestia wouldn't let her family die.

"What if we offered to keep you out of Tartarus and never interfere in Percy's life?"