Chapter Text
"Zeus." Athena approached the god as he sat with his head buried in a mortal newspaper. She stopped in front of him with narrow eyes, intrigued and a little disturbed by his behavior. "It's unusual for you to be consulting the writings of mortal reporters."
"Have the demigods arrived yet?" Zeus asked, turning a page of the newspaper.
"Mostly, though Mr. Beckendorf and Mr. Jackson seem to have been delayed. Chiron thinks they shouldn't be too much longer." She sat down across from him and noticed a few of the headlines on the back. Most were reports of trivial problems or vain praise, but one, in particular, caught her eye.
"As for Typhon, has he moved, or is he holding position?" Another turn of a page.
"Holding position, but I see that there is damage that remains unaccounted for." Athena squinted, attempting to read the fine print. "Earthquakes in cities that should never have them. But they're not caused by the giant."
Zeus grunted, looking unconcerned. "Are we prepared to house the mortals for a while?"
"Efforts have been made to accommodate them," Athena answered, then paused. "It may be time to reconsider my suggestion."
"No. Out of the question." The sternness of Zeus's voice left little room for negotiation. For the first time since she entered the room, he deemed her important enough to meet her eyes. "It will open the door to more problems we can't afford."
"At least consider--"
Zeus raised his hand, silencing her. "I will not hear it. My decision is final."
"I'm well aware of the risks that my proposition entails, and I've accounted for them. I wouldn't have suggested it if I thought there was a better option."
"We could have made a mistake."
"That is a possibility, however, very unlikely."
"Leave me."
Athena hesitated and opened her mouth to retort but thought better of it. She left him, and Zeus sat alone with his thoughts once again. Athena's plan seemed too risky and farfetched, despite her being his best strategist. There had to be another option.
Zeus sighed as he thought of the moment she first suggested the strategy. It sounded even more ridiculous now than it did back then. Regardless, he would need to prepare a council for the upcoming events. No doubt Kronos would make a move before too long. The demigods are probably being debriefed on the situation right about now. If they were correct about the nature of the situation, then there is hardly anything they could do. Two wars at the same time would stretch their resources too thin.
He looked back at the newspaper. Mortals have been going missing for weeks now. In some cases, their bodies were found, but in various parts of the nation. In others, all that was left was a kill zone. The deaths were attributed to freak accidents or wild animals, all of which were wrong. The closest explanation the media could come up with was the speculation of a serial killer. Unfortunately, the only thing they could do now was wait. Wait until they were sure, but by then, it might be too late.