Consort to the Primordials

Chapter 23: Sentencing an old follower of Octavian to [REDACTED]

Frank's eyes snapped open at the sound of screaming. He leaped out of bed and scrambled to put on his armor before yelling at Hazel to wake. She moved to her side and covered her head with a pillow.

"Five more minutes," she grumbled out.

Frank shook his head and left the room, rushing outside. The streets were filled with panicked and confused people, all looking up. When Frank followed their gaze, his jaw fell.

The sky was flashing different colors, constantly switching between blues, greens, yellows, and reds. But what was more worrying was how it seemed to be getting closer. Every couple of color flashes, it seemed to inch closer and closer to the ground, just barely noticeable.

"Oh," Frank said. "What do we -"

Jason and Piper came running up to him.

"Frank!" Jason yelled. "What's happening?"

"I- I have no idea," Frank said. "I've never seen anything like this."

"Can you think of a way to stop it?" Piper asked.

"We could try and contact the gods?" Frank guessed. "Maybe they know -"

The sky above them suddenly rumbled, clearly trying to send a message. Unfortunately, the sound was garbled and choppy, as if the spastic sky was directly affecting it.

"I'm calling a meeting," Frank said. "Then we can -"

He was interrupted by Percy teleporting into the middle of the road. He looked up to the sky, frowned, and snapped his fingers. The sky instantly returned to normal, and the faintest of a smile appeared on his face.

"Still listening to me, huh Featherhead?" He whispered to himself.

He turned and looked at the stunned onlookers.

"Ouranus has died," he announced. "But I returned the sky to normal."

He walked towards Frank, stopping next to Jason.

"Are you calling a meeting?" He asked.

Frank nodded. "Yeah. Even though you fixed the sky..."

Percy shook his head. "Nah. Call it."

"Alright," Frank said. "What should we even -"

"The deaths of the primordials," Percy cut in. "Everyone deserves to learn about that."
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The building was silent as Percy slowly walked to the front of the room. When he reached the front, he turned to the Senate.

"The primordials are fading," he said simply. "All of them."

The room immediately burst into noise as questions and arguments were thrown through the air. Eventually, though, on voice stood out above the rest.

"How do we know that you're telling the truth?" Someone asked. "You could be lying."

Percy looked to had spoken.

"I would never lie about this. The only primordials left alive are Eros, Tartarus, Pontus, and Chaos," he said.

A member of the senate raised her hand.

"Yes?" Percy asked. "What is it?"

"How do you know this?" She asked.

Percy took a deep breath. "I myself, am a primordial. My ascension took place in Tartarus and was a one-time thing. The majority of the primordials are my husbands or wives, and because of that, I accepted their offer to join their ranks."

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

"No," a boy said. "You're lying."

Percy turned and narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Tyler."

The boy gulped. "You have to be lying. If the primordials were to die, we would know, right? Wouldn't their domains be going haywire?"

"Did you not see the sky?" Percy asked, annoyed.

"No, more than that," Tyler said. "Nyx wasn't in the list of primordials left. If she was gone, wouldn't that mean the night be messed up?"

"It would be," Percy said. "If I wasn't watching over those domains and keeping them in line."

"No one has that kind of power!" Tyler said. "Not even Jupiter!"

Percy glared at him before taking a deep breath.

"Jupiter... is nothing compared to me," he said. "I have fought Chaos herself."

Tyler gulped. "L-lord Jupiter is -"

"He's what?" Percy asked. "Amazing? Perfect? The Lord of the Universe? The single best leader you could have?"

Tyler paled. "He- how did you -"

Percy put his hand on his face and began to laugh. "I- I don't even know why I let you off with a chance, Tyler."

Tyler began to shake. "I- what are you talking about?"

Percy's laughter dwindled as he dropped his hand and stared at Tyler.

"How did someone like you, one of the most active supporters of Octavian, get his spot in the senate untouched?" he asked.

"Octavian tricked me," Tyler said.

"Right," Percy said. "Did he also trick you into trying to teach his ideals to children?"

Tyler's palms grew sweaty. "I- you have no idea what you're talking about. Your time in Tartarus must have messed your brain up. That place must've been awful, it -"

"That 'place' is my husband," Percy threatened. "So choose your next words very carefully."

Tyler licked his lips. "You-"

"Actually," Percy said as he lifted a hand. "17 days ago, do you remember what you did?"

Tyler shook his head, and Percy smiled. "Really? Because I know for a fact that you tried to manipulate my own children into hating me and worshipping both the gods and Octavian. You must have been very devoted to him."

Everyone turned to stare at Tyler, who was sweating. "I- I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, but I do," Percy said. "And unfortunately for you, I don't take kindly to people messing with my family."

Tyler gulped. "Y- you can't do anything to me! I'm a valuable part of the Senate!"

"No," Percy said as he raised a finger towards him. "You're not."

The moment his finger's trajectory reached Tyler's nose, the room went completely dark. Everyone looked around in confusion until the screaming started.

The sound of Tyler's begs and screams filled their heads until the lights turned back on. Where Tyler had been, a small red portal had a black tentacle sliding back into it. When it fully re-entered the portal, it disappeared.

Everyone turned to Percy, who looked at them all. "What?"

"Y- you can't just do that!" Jason said. "The Senate is supposed to be big, so we can vote on situations like this."

Percy pursed his lips. "Okay."

"Okay?" Piper said. "What did you do to him?"

Percy smiled faintly. "The standard. But I fed what was left of him to Vivet."

"Who's Vivet?" Hazel asked.

Percy smiled. "Tartarus's..."

His smile melted. "Oh. I forgot."

"Forgot what?" Frank asked.

Percy waved Frank off. "It's- time for the last two. I'm leaving."

"Wait," Leo began. "Percy, don't just-"

Percy disappeared, once again leaving the Senate in confusion.

Jason sighed. "We should be expecting that by now."

Frank nodded. "Yeah. Do we just tell them what we know?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah."

Frank groaned and walked to the front of the room, turning to face the Senate.

"Now that that's all out of the way," he said. "Let's talk."