Chapter Text
We were being rewarded for our efforts in the Giant War and for our efforts to help Apollo during his time as a mortal.
Me, Annabeth, and Grover had never made it to Camp Jupiter, as we got news of Jason's death and turned the car around to go to camp half-blood for the funeral, as it was being held there. After that, the gods decided to invite us to Olympus for rewards.
So now we were in the Olympian throne room, waiting for the gods to call each of us up for our rewards.
"DEMIGODS," Zeus boomed.
"For your efforts in the giant war and for helping Apollo on his mortal journey, we, the gods, shall offer you Godhood. Should you decline, you will be granted a wish, disregarding one of you," he said.
"Piper McLean, do you accept godhood?"
"I do, Lord Zeus."
"Very well, you shall be the minor goddess of charmspeak and blowdart guns."
Zeus shot a golden beam at her, and when it stopped, her aura was significantly stronger. He continued this with every demigod that was to be rewarded.
Frank became the minor God of shape-shifting, Hazel became the minor God of jewels and precious metals, Leo was made the minor God of blacksmithing and machinery, with Calypso gaining partial immortality so she could stay with him, Nico was made the minor god of skeletons and shadow-travelling, Will was made minor god of healing and light, Grover was made minor god of the wild, Thalia was made the minor god of lightning, and Reyna was made the minor God of tactics. Meg had decided not to show up, and you could see that Demeter and Apollo were disappointed.
Annabeth was second to last, and when she was called, I thought I knew what she would say. I thought she would decline the gift so we could live life like we had planned. But...
"I accept!"
The gods looked surprised, and I stumbled.
"Wise girl, why?" I asked.
She looked over at me and said
"Percy, you don't understand. Now, if you accept as well, we can live our immortal lives together, and I could build Olympus, Camp Half-Blood, and Camp Jupiter into even better versions of what they are."
"Annabeth, I thought you knew me better than that. If I'm able to help others before myself, I will." I said sadly, shaking my head.
She looked crestfallen, as if she had just now thought through her decision. She was made the minor god of architecture and wisdom, looking sad the whole time while her domains were announced.
"PERSEUS JACKSON," Zeus said, announcing that it was time for my reward.
"DO YOU ACCEPT GODHOOD?"
I looked around the room, seeing many of the gods holding their breaths, awaiting my decision. Hestia seemed sad, as she probably already knew what my answer was, and Poseidon and Annabeth were looking on, hoping I would accept. But they both knew what my answer actually was. You could see it in their eyes.
"I decline, Lord Zeus."
"Very well," he grumbled.
"For saving Olympus twice, and for your heavy contributions in both wars and Apollo's time as a mortal, we, the gods, are granting you 4 wishes instead of 1. And yes, we promise on the Styx to make them happen if it is within our power."
"Thank you, Lord Zeus. But before I use my wishes, I would like you to complete the promise you made to me after the first war, the one where gods would be honored.
This includes Hades and Hestia gaining thrones on the Olympian council. They are both children of Kronos as well and deserve their spots."
Zeus grumbled a bit, but with some stares from the 2 gods in question, he relented. 2 new thrones appeared, one that was black, covered in jewels and bones, and a small crown of flowers at the top, while the other was a throne made of wood and fire, coexisting, and giving off a cozy feeling.
Hades and Hestia ran up to me, giving me a hug and their thanks before walking to their respective thrones.
"For my first wish, I would like a way to instantly travel between Olympus, Camp Half-Blood, and Camp Jupiter,"
"Very well, after this meeting, I will have Apollo, Hades, and Hephaestus, and Athena work on that. However, teleporting to Olympus will only work if allowed by a god."
"Thank you, Lord Zeus. For my second wish, I wish for a partial immortality field around Camp Half-Blood and specific parts of Camp Jupiter so campers will be stronger and can live longer, should they want to."
"This is a big ask, are you sure."
"Yes, Lord Zeus, I am sure."
"Very well, it shall be done. Now, for your third wish?"
"I wish for Lord Dionysus's punishment as Camp Half-Blood's director to be removed. Chiron is a good director, and Dionysus hates his already unfair punishment with every fiber of his being."
Dionysus almost fell off his chair, and everyone, including the gods, looked at me as if me asking for that had never crossed their minds.
"It is within my power, so I must accept. Dionysus, your punishment is officially over. Now, Perseus, what is your final wish?"
"I'll be honest, Lord Zeus, this is the biggest one yet."
"Just tell us Perseus, so we can continue what we were doing before this."
"Very well, Lord Zeus. I wish for the ancient laws keeping gods from seeing their children and fighting in wars to be disbanded."
The entire throne room fell silent, the gods looking upon me with silent gratitude and happiness. Zeus bowed his head.
"If I may be honest, Percy?" Zeus asked, his head still bowed. "I wanted for you to ask this. I think it would be good for us gods to see our children, and it would help prevent something like the modern titan war from happening again." At this, he looked up, tears of happiness and freedom threatening to spill from his eyelids. "I would have been bound by my own laws to not change them, so I thank you, Percy, for allowing us gods to truly visit and see our children again."
"It-it is my honor, Lord Zeus."
"Please, no more Lord or Lady nonsense, you have earned the respect of the gods, you have no more need to be so formal. NOW, WHO WANTS TO CELEBRATE AT CAMP HALF-BLOOD?" Zeus yelled, standing up.
The gods flashed us to Camp and went to get the Romans and Hunters. Soon, all three were at camp Half-Blood celebrating, partying, and talking with their children/parents.
Near midnight, as everything started to die down, some gods approached me. Hades thanked me again, Athena gave me her condolences with what happened with Annabeth, but she gave me her blessing to marry her, which was shocking. Then it was Apollo, thanking me for helping him through his time as a mortal and giving me a gold bow that can turn into a gold ring as a personal reward from him. Then Hephaestus, who told me that his forge was always open if I needed something built.
Then Dionysus, who surprisingly wasn't drunk. He thanked me for lifting his punishment, calling me "one of the only decent demigods out there," and gave me his blessing. I will never have hangovers and can not go insane. After him, it was Hestia, thanking me again and offering me the place as her champion. I accepted, of course. I can control fire to a mild extent, though not as good as Leo, I can instill some hope into people, make them feel calm, and I can summon home cooked meals. Then was my father, Poseidon. He pulled me into a hug and told me how much he loved me and how proud of me he was. Finally, Zeus came to talk to me.
"Hello, Zeus."
"Hello, Percy. I must thank you. I think you have brought upon a new era of peace"
"Yeah... if only the others were here to experience it."
"Thinking of the fallen?"
"Yeah," I say as I look down at the stump I'm sitting on. Shortly after Athena had given me her blessing to marry Annabeth, I went and sat on a stump right outside the party to process.
"Me too. I have thought of Jason every day since I heard the news. Along with the Castellan kid, Artemis's ex-lieutenant, and all the others down in Elysium. I think of them often. It's getting harder for me to understand why I just let it all happen."
"It's because you grew."
"Pardon?"
"I don't mean physically, I mean, as a leader and as a god. I think from here on out, you and the rest of the gods will continue to change for the better. The modern world, being able to see your kids, regretting your past actions, and remembering the fallen will all make you less self-absorbed and arrogant than you used to be."
"I think you're right, my boy,"
"My boy?" I question, raising one of my eyebrows.
"Yes. You call me Zeus, I will call you my boy. At least in private. You really seemed to do the impossible. You made us gods change for the better, not with threats, but with selflessness and patience, and even now, we are still changing. In fact... I, Zeus, king of the gods, give Percy Jackson my blessing. He will be allowed in my domain and will be able to summon and hold lightning."
I stare, shocked (pardon my pun) at Zeus. "Are you serious? Like 100% serious? Like not drunk at all?"
He claps his hand on my shoulder."No, my boy, I am serious. Now I must go, or else the rest of the gods will question why I've been gone for so long. And please, Percy, keep this between us."
"I will, Zeus."
"Thank you, my boy."
And he walked away. The next visitor I got was my Wise Girl, Annabeth.
"Hey Seaweed Brain."
"Hey, Wise girl."
"Do you want to talk about the whole... immortality thing?"
"No, I just want to dance."
She smiled and came up to me, putting her hands on my hip and hand so we could silently dance together.
We swayed back and forth, dancing to sweet nothing, just enjoying the closeness, and I whispered to her.
"I love you forever, Wise Girl."
"And I you, Seaweed Brain."
After about an hour of dancing, we both said goodnight and headed to our cabins to sleep.
And I had a dream...