GG, Kronos, But I Have Foresight (Percy Jackson SI)

Prologue - I'm the Only One Without a Vote on My Fate, As Usual

It was early in the morning of the Winter Council, and the tension in the air within the throne room of the gods was a churning soup of discomfort and nervousness. Even in normal times, the Winter Council was never exactly a peaceful place when you grouped together twelve immortal beings who were all at varying degrees of boredom, as well as annoyance with each other. But group together twelve of these people when war with the king of the Titans, Kronos himself, and his small army is gearing up for full-on war? The tension was so thick one could cut it with a knife. Literally. Ares was actually congealing tension around him and cutting it with his knife.

"Plans are all stupid," Ares said sagely as he spread his tension on a slice of bread, humming something suspiciously similar to Iron Maiden. "This is never going to work out for us, you know. I don't care what Hypnos's dream said, mortals never succeed at anything we send them to do. And demigods are only slightly better than them. I'm telling you, we should just send hobbits. Those movies were awesome."

Athena's eye twitched. "First of all, hobbits aren't real. And second of all, plans always work better than just flying by the seat of your pants and trying to bust through with your strength."

"The sweet-ass silver Harley I rode through an alt-right rodeo during a solar eclipse begs to differ."

"Girls, girls," Apollo hummed, strumming his lyre, "you're both pretty. In Athena's case, stunning." This earned him a scathing glare from the god of war and a particularly loathsome frown from the goddess of knowledge (and olive branches). The musician poet pointedly ignored this. "But Athena is correct. I have a hunch that Hypnos's mysterious dream the other day might be just the thing we need to put a cork in this entire plot of our dear... forefather."

Zeus's hands clenched on his arm rests. "To think that we would desire help from a mere mortal... unthinkable!" he cursed, his godly knuckles whitening. "I refuse to go through with this plan!"

"Even if it means putting a stop to this pointless death?" Hades hissed, leaning forward in his own dark throne, eyes gleaming. "The immeasurable expansion of my kingdom -- which, I might add, is already filled to bursting?"

Poseidon raised a steady hand. "Peace brother," he requested. He sighed and shook his head. "We all know about the state of your kingdom -- you've been complaining about it since 1865. And Zeus," the enormous being added, his eyes green like the sea, "would you really refuse help that might save all of our children from countless unnecessary deaths? Haven't you already suffered from Thalia's first 'death' enough? Would you really risk the possibility of her dying a second time?"

Zeus's fists clenched his throne tighter. Ozone crackled in the throne room. "Thalia is stronger than she used to be," he hissed, his words like the soft, rolling thunder coming from the horizon on a stormy day. "She won't lose again."

"That Percy kid seems to be able to beat her ass just fine," Ares reasoned.

Hermes snorted. "Never thought I'd hear the warmongerer try to use logic," he snarked, grinning widely and high-fiving a smirking Apollo while Ares gritted his teeth. "But in any case, yeah, that's right. And..." His eyes grew downcast. "My son, Luke... he's an even better fighter than Percy. There's no telling who might lose their lives in the coming battle. But if it were at all possible to avoid it altogether..."

"I'm all for saving our children," Artemis said with a frown, "but must it be a mortal male? And must he be a mortal male from another world?"

Persephone stroked her chin. "According to Hypnos's dream, he apparently knows our future from a series of books... but can he really save us all?"

"Perhaps if he'd eat more cereal," suggested Demeter to Persephone's immense chagrin.

A few moments of silence hung in the air.

"We shall put it to a vote based on majority rule," Zeus said at last, sitting up straight. "Do we pull Evan Gamble from his world into our past to save our future, or do we proceed as we are now?"

One more moment of hesitation passed before Hades rose his hand. Three other hands rose into the air for the first option. Four hands rose into the air for the second option. The gods glanced at each other to see who had yet to vote, and everyone's eyes fell upon Artemis.

"Artemis? Hera?" Dionysus yawned, turning a page in his latest magazine. "I don't particularly care what you choose, but can you two at least make your decisions? I have a game of Pac-Man I need to get back to in Minneapolis."

Artemis sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Does this hero really have to be a hero? What's particularly great about him that a girl can't do, or do better?"

Hermes and Apollo looked at each other and shrugged. Athena, however, stood up and shook her head. "He's quite the smart young man, and his writings have shown he is a kind person who would be willing to change events for the better if placed in these situations."

The silver-eyed huntress sighed. "Be that as it may, he is a man, and I cannot let a man do a job a woman could do just as well at."

"I agree with Artemis," Hera huffed. "There are too many male heroes in the stories these days."

"What if we made him a girl?" Aphrodite suggested, tilting her head. "I could handle that. Would you both be willing to accept then?"

Artemis and Hera exchanged glances. An unspoken agreement passed between them, and they nodded.

"Very well," the Huntress said at last, and her and Zeus's wife raised their hands. "Do this, and I shall accept his... or rather, her involvement in the proceedings of our future."

"And I as well," Hera agreed.

Zeus, who had voted against, cursed. "Blast! Then it is decided. Evan Gamble shall be in charge of the future of our entire world... as Eve Gamble." There was a clap of thunder, and flashes of lighting rained down on New York City despite there being no storm clouds or rain. Foolish mortals, unaware of the giant mountain hovering above their beloved Empire State Building, were left to watch the light show with great confusion. And as for me? Well, I was left to curse like a sailor as, far away from the gods and goddesses in an entirely alternate version of the United States, I felt the ground suddenly disappear from beneath my feet and send me tumbling into a great abyss.