The Lost Goddess

Complications

ANNABETH

Annabeth was still conscious, although Dionysus had used his powers to make her sit still and quiet on her bunk.

People in the cabin talked flippantly about her as if she couldn't hear them, as if she wasn't right there.

She didn't want to listen anyways. She heard a few words thrown around, and became seemingly uninterested.

What she focused on was what story she'd have to make up after she was released from this trance.

After having to listen to their discussion about rehab and therapy and all the other things, Annabeth had found a way to get out of this without causing an uproar.

She'd just use logic, duh.

Clovis had given it to her, and he was a nice kid, not the type that would be peddling drugs. She'd trusted him.

Of course, he had told her that it was a drug, but she'd assumed he meant the prescription kind at the time.

Annabeth felt relieved. Telling the truth would make it easy to keep up with her story, and ultimately save her a lot of guilt.

She genuinely hadn't know that Drathm was an actual drug, she'd just had this idea in her head that it was a natural remedy that people administered as medicine.

But in her situation, she was royally screwed.

Annabeth knew that even if the other campers didn't believe her, that if even Dionysus and Chiron didn't, Percy wouldn't doubt it. He knew her better than anyone.

ATHENA

"Aphrodite what were you thinking!"

The Olympian goddesses and gods were having a discussion over Aphrodite's new changes to Camp Half Blood in the throne room, a place Zeus claimed to be neutral, but earlier he'd flicked Poseidon in the head for disagreeing with one of his notions.

Currently, it was Athena's turn to chew out Aphrodite.

"What were you thinking? What you did was a terrible idea, and the timing was even worse."

Aphrodite shrugged, unfazed by the yelling, and bit into the apple she was eating.

"Whap I dib was perfegly weasonable," she said, her mouth full.

Athena seethed. How could she be so nonchalant about a matter so big? It was their children they were talking about.

"I meab, gib me a good weason why it wus a bad ibea," she continued finally swallowing. "We did it all the time in the good old days in Greece."

"This is not Greece," bellowed Zeus, needing to feel important, "This is-"

"If you say Sparta I'm tying you to your throne," grumbled Hephestus.

"Quiet, semi-illegitimate child of Hera! As I was saying, this is not Greece, this is the United Arab Emirates!"

Artemis fell out of her chair, engulfed in laughter.

"I think you mean United Kingdom," Ares said haughtily.

Athena put her head in her hands.

"The only thing that needs to be united is our ideas on Aphrodite's decision," Athena amended.

The goddesses and gods quickly quieted, save Artemis's snorting laughter.

Aphrodite looked annoyed.

"I don't see what's so wrong with me unleashing Goddess Lust. I say those guys need it, after the war with Gaea and all. Its a fantastic way to relax."

Hera gasped audibly.

"Aphrodite, what about the babies! These children need to be able to fight. They can't do that if they're pregnant."

The other goddesses mumbled in agreement.

"Simple. I made it so that the pregnancies last a week. I did think it through."

"Then who will take care of the infants?" Dionysus spoke up. He'd already been called from his game of pinochle to Olympus, and now he was facing possible having his camp flooded with new borns.

Aphrodite laughed.

"Also easy. I can have Hecate come to the camp and use her magic to age them 7 years. Then they won't be completely helpless."

"How do you know Hecate would even be willing to help? She did turn on us in the war with Kronos."

Aphrodite smiled smugly and leaned back on her throne.

"Hecate and I have become.... friends, recently. I'm positive she'd help me."

A chorus of groans swept across the throne room.

"Okay Aphrodite," Poseidon addressed the goddess,"Since you have Hecate wrapped around your finger, you two should be in charge of the well being of camp half blood in the next few weeks, since you have things so figured out."

Aphrodite's eyes went wide.

"No. I'm far too busy."

"With what," Ares called from across the room "Makin' out with Hecate behind my back?"

Hephaestus sucked his teeth. "She's my wife, spearhead."

Ares started to stand up, but Zeus shot lightning in his direction, and he thought better of the action and sat back down.

Demeter cleared her throat, and rose.

"I for one agree with Aphrodite. It is spring, the season of fertility and bloom. Now is the perfect time for Goddess Lust. I am sure Persephone would agree that her season is meant for these type of things."

Zeus laughed. "If anything, she would be appalled that Spring was being used as an excuse for kids to get their groove on."

"You're one to talk," scoffed Demeter, "If you had just kept your hands to yourself the earth wouldn't be so overpopulated."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Hey, I could go and ask Persephone myself what she thinks about it." Hermes chimed in. He was sensing a conflict.

"No." Zeus flung his hand out and send Hermes reeling back into his chair. "I know my daughter, and she most definitely would not stand for this."

Face red as a garden tomato, Demeter stamped her foot against the smooth marble floor.

"Your daughter!? You don't even care about her existence! You were just being slimy old Zeus, and Persephone was just one of the many byproducts of yours."

"Well what about Despoinie? Do you even care about her?" Poseidon chipped in.

"HER NAME IS DESPOINA YOU FOOL." Demeter roared, shooting a glob of moss at Poseidon's head.

Poseidon didn't see it coming, and didn't have time enough to react before thick ivy vines coiled around his body, tying him to his throne.

Zeus shouted at Demeter while she continued to encase her Poseidon in her plants, but during this chaos, no one noticed the absence of one olympian, except Hermes.

"GUYS." He bellowed.

Everyone turned their heads around, and Demeter's vines even faltered for a moment.

"Where's Aphrodite?"