Consort to the Primordials

Chapter 15: Gifts

Percy walked through the roads of New Rome, trying to find the school. There was a school, right? He thought back to when he had last been here, trying to remember the layout.

Geez, that was so long ago. He was lucky he even remembered what his friends looked like.

He couldn't remember, so he asked a passerby. After getting over their shock, they pointed him in the direction of the school. He thanked them and followed their directions, eventually finding the New Rome Elementary school.

He walked inside and entered the principals office.

"Jason?" He asked, surprised.

Jason turned around from his papers and smiled at Percy. "Hey Perce!"

"You're the principal?" Percy asked.

Jason nodded. "Yeah. I never thought I'd be up for teaching, but I am good at leading, so they offered me this job."

Percy laughed. "That's great, Superman. Do you know where Coral and Arc are?"

"Yeah, why?" Jason asked.

"I would like to take them out for the rest of the day," Percy said.

Jason chewed on a pen. "I dunno... I can't just -"

"Jason, I wasn't there for the first six years of my kids' life," Percy said bluntly. "Please."

Jason sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll call the first grade teacher."

He pointed out the window and down the hallway. "Their classroom is down there, the last one to the right."

"Thanks," Percy said as Jason flicked a coin through a spray of water.

"Yeah, yeah," Jason said. "Fleecy, could you do me a favor?"

Percy walked out of the room, leaving Jason to talk to the first grade teacher. He walked down the hallway, smiling to himself. He knocked on the door of the classroom and entered. The teacher was helping Coral and Arc pack up, so Percy watched with a smile.

When they were finished, they ran up to Percy and grabbed his hands. The three of them walked out of the school together.

"Where are we going?" Coral asked.

Percy squeezed their hands. "Anywhere you want."

"Ooh! Can we go to Olympus?" Arc asked, jumping up and down.

Percy frowned. "We could... but the gods don't like me that much right now, so it's too dangerous."

"Mom says that were brave!" Coral said.

"Yeah," Arc chipped in. "We can go there. We're brave!" He said as he puffed his chest out.

Percy laughed. "I'm sure you can. But we're still not going. Pick somewhere else."

They both started to cry at the same time, as if scripted.

"But mommy says Olympus is beautiful!" Coral said sadly.

"Yeah, we wanna see what mom sees when she goes up there! She always leaves us behind!" Arc said.

Percy sighed. "Fine. I'll bring you to Olympus, but you have to not tell anybody. Including your mom."

"YAYYY!" They both yelled at the same time.

Percy let go of their hands and used an incantation, moving his hands along with it. In front of them, a golden portal appeared, with golden sand spilling out of it.

They both stared at it in shock. "What's that?" Coral asked.

Percy chuckled. "How we're getting to Olympus."

His kids whooped and ran through the portal, leaving Percy to rush after them, slightly panicking. As the portal closed behind them, the only thing left was a small puddle of golden sand.

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Nyx held up her hand. It was almost completely transparent, as if it was fading. She sighed and focused on the others in the room. "It's starting," she said.

The others nodded. "Do we tell Percy?" Ouranus asked.

"Percy already knows," Erebus said.

Eros shook his head. "That's not what he meant. He meant, do we tell him that it's starting right now?"

Aether nodded. "We probably should. I see no purpose in holding it off."

"So, do we go one by one?" Hemera asked.

Tartarus shrugged. "I thought we would, except the couples would go together."

Chronos nodded. "Yep."

Everyone looked at him. "Is that going to be your only contribution?" Hemera asked with a smirk.

He lifted his hands in a placating gesture. "Look, I already know how this all plays out. Percy does, too. Heck, all of us do. I think you should just tell him, have one last picnic or date or something."

Ouranus nodded. "I would like to do that."

"Is everyone in agreement?" Nyx asked.

Everyone nodded. "Alright. What's the schedule then?" Nyx asked.

"Percy said he'd make one. Or something like that," Erebus said.

Chronos opened his mouth to talk before standing up suddenly. "Excuse me, please, Percy just entered my dimension. Sorry I have to leave early."

He turned around and opened a gold portal before walking through it. It closed and left behind a small mound of golden sand.

"Wasn't he late, though?" Erebus asked.

Hemera groaned. "Yes. Yes, he was."

Tartarus rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Of course he was. But, we don't really have anything else to talk about, do we?"

Nyx shook her head, and they all poofed away.

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Someone knocked on the door. Annabeth opened it to see her children and Percy standing nervously.

"Hey, Annabeth," he said sheepishly. It was night, and Annabeth had been panicking the moment her kids weren't at school to pick up. She stared at him for a moment while Coral and Arc rushed past her into the building.

She took a deep breath. "Okay. Where were you?"

"Olympus," he said.

"WHAT!? THERE IS A REASON I DON'T -"

He held up a hand. "Not your Olympus, Annabeth."

She slowly closed her mouth. "Oh."

Percy nodded. "I wouldn't intentionally take them to a place that's dangerous for them. They're my children."

Annabeth sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry. Did they meet anyone new?"

Percy smiled. "They met Chronos. Oh, I also gave them some gifts."

Annabeth stared at him silently. "With a Ch?"

He nodded. "Yeah. The primordial."

"Alright, I guess it couldn't be avoided. Are you planning on staying the night?" She asked.

Percy looked up at the sky. "No... no, I need to do something."

"And what is that?" Annabeth asked, eyebrow raised.

Percy looked back down at her, smiling. "Go on a date."