The Next Great Prophecy

NICO XXXIX

            The remaining demigods raced to the scene after hearing the rage of the god. Nico arrived first, in time to see the two heroes facing off against Zeus. Percy looked awful, even from a distance. Nico could tell that the only thing holding the hero up were Jason's arms around him. As Nico's friends arrived, standing behind him, the entire group was blinded by a flash of light, instinctively closing their eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he found a much different scene. The two heroes still stood before the ruler of Olympus, but between Zeus and his target stood the gods. All of them.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Zeus.

"Zeus, we stand before you today to prevent your greatest wrongdoing," announced a goddess in the form of a young girl. Nico immediately recognized Hestia, goddess of the hearth. Behind her, Ares nodded.

"This is the worst possible thing you could do right now. I mean, Percy may be obnoxious at times—hey!" he grumbled, rubbing his arm where Aphrodite elbowed him, and continued, "but he was right. He has saved all of us who knows how many times, which should earn him immunity at this point. And besides, you are the worst leader!"

"Let me handle this, Ares," said Athena, noticing the fury in her father's eyes. "There is no denying your power, Zeus, and there is no denying that you've done good things. But we also can't deny the bad. The majority of the mistakes made by the council can be attributed to you and your tendency to jump in without thought. You refuse to find the truth, content only to see the first version you hear. You've done us good, father. But you've done us too much bad to overlook. So we ask that you step down."

"We also point out that if you don't step down, we will knock you down," finished Poseidon, glaring at his brother. "And know, brother, that an attack on my son is an attack on me. I will fight back. I have been holding back thousands of years, and I will no longer."

Nico watched the scene unfold, unable to move as the gods stared each other down. He feared that Zeus would not listen, that war would break out among the gods, that Zeus would kill Percy.

Zeus's fury seemed to grow, but fizzled. He aged before their eyes, becoming old and gray. He lowered his bolt.

"Have I truly done so much wrong?"

"No," came a voice from the back, a voice Nico feared he would never hear again. Helped by Jason, Percy limped his way to the front, looking up at Zeus. And, in a move that surprised all present, he shrugged off Jason, and knelt.

"Lord Zeus, I don't pretend to know a lot; in fact, I know barely anything at all. I don't know what it is like to lead the gods as you do. But I do know what it is like to lead a quest; you may not have noticed, but I've done that a lot. And I know that I would have died years ago, when I was twelve, if I hadn't listened to my friends. They gave their input, and I gave mine. We acknowledged that others have plenty to offer, that one person alone doesn't have all the answers. And, if I may be so blunt, that is where you fail. You believe you hold all the answers, that you can make every decision without considering all ideas. That doesn't everything you do wrong, but it doesn't make it right, either." A fit of coughing paused the speech for a moment, but he finished and continued. "You each rule over different things, be it ideas, groups, or actual parts of the world. And each of those things has to be taken into consideration for the good of the whole. You may hold votes, but there have been times that the good of the whole has been ignored in favor of your idea. That's the part that needs to change. That may mean you stepping down, or that may mean a restructuring. That's for you—all of you—to decide." Finished, Percy rose, once again leaning heavily on Jason. The two heroes looked up at the man before them, and waited.

The remaining demigods moved forward, standing with their friends. Annabeth moved to help Jason support her boyfriend, who was, despite his best efforts, failing to stay awake. The two held up the semiconscious demigod, and waited.

"I suppose that there is a possibility that the boy is right," said Zeus. "We shall discuss this. I am not claiming to choose either right now, but I would like to come to a decision with all of you. I will see you at Olympus. All of you," he finished, looking pointedly at the demigods. He vanished.

Nico turned to his friends to find Annabeth and Jason laying Percy on the ground. He had fallen completely unconscious, and Nico sensed the life leaving him. "Guys, do something, now. He's dying!"

"Move!" cried Apollo, racing to the fallen demigod. He stood over him, his face falling. "He's gone."

"All of that, and he's gone?!" yelled Annabeth, sobbing. "You're a god, why don't you DO SOMETHING!"

"I can't! He's dead. Truly raising the dead, at this point in time, requires the approval of all three of the eldest," said Apollo, facing Hades and Poseidon. Both looked striken, and tears flowed freely down the face of the latter.

"This is true. There are certain things, like fully raising the dead, that we cannot do without the approval of the other two. This was a smaller portion of the pact we made after World War II, a part which we agreed to not undo. We must get Zeus's approval," explained Hades, barely restrained tears in his own eyes.

Alllooked down at the fallen hero, and departed for Mount Olympus.

So, I feel like a jerk right now. But it isn't over! I swear! 

Sorry if my writing is kinda shitty, my brain is already back in school mode. 

All my love,

T