A/N: Hello readers,

So, I've been wanting to write a 'gods read' for the Last Olympian for a while, but I am still a very new writer and this is something I haven't tried yet. I decided to write this, partly to 'practise' for the full-length fic, and partly because when I read the end of The Mark Of Athena my head was spinning with ideas of the gods' reactions. Without further ado, here is the reading of Chapter 51.

The gods were getting impatient. They had no contact with the outside world. Zeus was getting more paranoid by the minute, and the last any of them had heard of their children was when the Seven set off in the Argo II. The twelve Olympians present had been locked inside a closed Olympus for what felt like decades. Their eyes were heavy and worn with worry.

The ground shook, and the gods tumbled to the ground. Some held on to their thrones for support. "POSEIDON!" Zeus roared. "WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?"

Poseidon looked at his brother in terror. "This is not me," he breathed. "This comes from deeper than the earth, or even the Underworld for that matter." The gods looked at him in shock. Each pair of eyes bore into his own, daring him to say the word they were dreading, the place they all knew the earthquake came from.

"Tartarus."

A deep rumble, getting louder and louder, echoed around the room. The rumble grew into a roar, and then cut out. The silence hung in the air like monster ash. Instantly, two dirty, small-ish bodies, caked in blood, flashed onto the floor of the room. The earthquake stopped.

At first the bodies were unrecognisable. Their features disfigured by layer upon layer of dust and blood, and their forms were frozen, save the shaking and shallow breaths that came in irregular gasps. Artemis, acting in protection, knelt down by their side and brushed a dusty grey fringe off one of the bodies. The girl's face seemed familiar, and as she looked across to the other body, their identities dawned on her.

"Annabeth, wake up. Open your eyes for me. It's Artemis, and you're on Olympus. Percy's here. Please, just open your eyes."

Behind them, Athena let out an audible gasp. Poseidon's eyes widened in dread. He ran towards Percy's body, desperate for any sign of life or consciousness. Annabeth's eyelids flickered, but stayed closed. She breathed deeply, and whispered.

"L-Lady Art-temis?"

"My dear, open your eyes." Artemis said calmly.

"Percy." Her tone turned desperate. "Gorgon's blood. Tartarus. Damasen. Help." Each word became more and more hysterical. Her eyelids shot open, revealing a pair of faded, grey, despairing eyes. Tartarus had drained the hope from them.

Artemis looked at her in disbelief. She called to her twin, who took Annabeth's face in his hands, and gazed deep into her eyes. Never before had he seen such despair. He grasped her hands protectively, and found a piece of paper scrunched up in her fist, which she looked at in confusion. He took it from her gently, and began to read:

"Olympians,

I have spat out these half-bloods to give you a taste of their pain. You should know that whilst you sit cowering in your grand palaces, the Earth Mother is rising and the giants are waking, and I am pouring monsters out of the Doors of Death by the second. You have one hour to read this story. If you do not read it aloud for all to hear, I will throw these half-bloods into the void of Chaos upon their return. You have been warned. Tartarus."

A small, deep purple, tattered leather-bound book appeared on the floor next to Apollo. Words on the front and a border were etched in flaking gold leaf. The book looked like three thousand years had been etched onto paper, and the tarnished clasp was brittle and worn. It was like the Sibylline books had been thrown though Tartarus. Apollo shuddered as he realised - that was exactly what had happened - and read the peeling lettering aloud.

"The Mark Of Athena, Chapter LI."

The room went silent. Regaining strength, Annabeth sat up on her elbows. "That's when I went to find the Athena Parthenos, right?"

Her mother looked pained. "If this is your story, I don't think I want to hear. Too many of my children have perished in search of that accursed statue."

"I'd rather not be thrown into the void of Chaos, if you don't mind," Annabeth said weakly. The gods nodded at the reminder of the fragility of the two heroes' presence.

From the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw a dull, white light, shining across the room. By the time her aching head faced it, the light was replaced with six sweaty, heavily breathing demigods. Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo and Nico were stood there in shock. The tired and worn crew of the Argo II rushed over to the huddle shouting.

"PERCY! ANNABETH! BRO, WAKE UP!"

"ANNABETH, HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?"

"P-P-Percy?"

"WHAT? WHERE ARE WE? GUYS?"

"ANNABETH, WHAT HAPPENED TO PERCY?"

"FOR GODS' SAKE, WAKE UP PERCY!"

Annabeth didn't know what to think. She grabbed Piper's arms hard, in a gripping hug, trying to hold on to a sense of reality whilst her head was whirring. Here she was, thrown out of Tartarus and reunited with her closest friends, yet with a death threat over her head and Percy showing no signs of consciousness.

Apollo piped up. "Speaking of that, Annabeth, what has happened to Percy?"

She almost died at that request. "Don't worry Annabeth, take all the time you need."

Zeus cleared his throat. "We only have about 45 minutes now, so maybe not all the time."

Annabeth started, "I- We- We were running. We ran and ran. Bob helped. Polybotes-" Poseidon drew in quickly, "-he chased- we found Damasen. He let us stay, let us sleep. P-Percy- poison. Gorgon's blood. He gave him soup and he slept. I slept. Then I woke up here."

Apollo ran his hand over Percy's chest. "He should be able to wake up; for once a giant did a good job." Ares glared daggers at him. "If I just-" He laid a hand over his heart, and murmured softly. He lifted him a little and put his other hand behind his back. Percy glowed. He pulsed once, then relaxed softly. His eyes flickered open.

"Wise girl."

He choked back a sob, then buried his face in Annabeth's chest, shaking with tears and hope. She realised what was happening and wrapped her arms tight around Percy's back. He whispered his confusion, with a voice full of desperation.

"What's happening? Are we out of Tartarus? Dad? Wait- where are we?"

Poseidon walked over to his son, a little shaky, but his voice was firm. "Hold on, Percy, all will be explained. First though, we must read this book."

A/N: So that was the intro, please review/comment! I will upload the actual 'reading' part later on this week, in one or two sections, and possibly an afterthought chapter. Enjoy the rest!

~ FlamesOfHestia