Son of Sea and Thunder

Chapter one

-Perseus-

Looking around at the assembled gods and my fellow heroes I had a feeling of unease deep in my stomach. Me and my friends had just defeated Kronos and his army and were now waiting for the council to make their big speeches before we could leave and I could get some well-deserved sleep. Along the back wall of the throne room seated the minor gods who had been pardoned after the fall of Kronos in exchange for them not siding with the Titans again should a similar situation occur. Finally Zeus flashed in and immediately began droning on in a speech talking about the gods bravery against Typhon giving me the chance to look around at my friends all of whom, like me, were seated in plain miniature thrones. Finally Zeus said "As for my brothers, " Zeus said, "we are thankful"-he cleared his throat like the words were hard to get out-"erm, thankful for the aid of Hades. " The lord of the dead nodded. He had a smug look on his face, but I figure he'd earned the right. He patted his son Nico on the shoulders, and Nico looked happier than I'd ever seen him. "And, of course, " Zeus continued, though he looked like his pants were smoldering, "we must . . . Um . . . Thank Poseidon. ".

"I'm sorry, brother," Poseidon said. "What was that?".

"We must thank Poseidon, " Zeus growled, "without whom...It would've been difficult-".

"Difficult?" Poseidon asked innocently.

"Impossible, " Zeus grumbled, "impossible to defeat Typhon. " the gods murmured agreement and pounded their weapons in approval. "Which leaves us," Zeus said, "with only the matter of thanking our young demigod heroes, who defended Olympus so well-even…if there are a few dents in my throne. " He called Thalia forward first, since she was his daughter, and promised her help in filling the Hunters' ranks.

Artemis smiled. "You have done well, my lieutenant. You have made me proud, and all those Hunters who perished in my service will never be forgotten. They will achieve Elysium, I am sure." she glared pointedly at Hades.

He shrugged. "Probably. ", Artemis glared at him some more until he relented "Okay," Hades finally grumbled "I'll streamline their application process. ".

Thalia beamed with pride. "Thank you, my lady." she bowed to the gods, even Hades, and then limped over to stand by Artemis's side.

"Tyson, son of Poseidon!" Zeus called. Tyson looked nervous, but he went to stand in the middle of the Council, and Zeus grunted. "Doesn't miss many meals, does he?" Zeus muttered, "Tyson, for your bravery in the war, and for leading the Cyclopes, you are appointed a general in the armies of Olympus. You shall henceforth lead your brethren into war whenever required by the gods. And you shall have a new ...um...what kind of weapon would you like? A sword? An axe?".

"Stick!" Tyson said, showing his broken club.

"Very well, " Zeus slightly unsure, "We will grant you a new…erm… stick. The best stick that may be found.".

"Hooray!" Tyson cried, and all the Cyclopes cheered and pounded him on the back as he rejoined them.

"Grover Underwood of the satyrs!" Dionysus called, Grover came forward nervously. "Oh, stop chewing your shirt," Dionysus chided, "Honestly, I'm not going to blast you. For your bravery and sacrifice, blah, blah, blah, and since we have an unfortunate vacancy, the gods have seen fit to name you a member of the Council of Cloven Elders." Grover collapsed on the spot. "Oh, wonderful," Dionysus sighed, as several naiads came forward to help Grover "Well, when he wakes up, someone tell him that he will no longer be an outcast, and that all satyrs, naiads, and other spirits of nature will henceforth treat him as a lord of the Wild, with all rights, privileges, and honors, blah, blah, blah. Now please, drag him off before he wakes up and starts groveling.".

"FOOOOOD, " Grover moaned, as the nature spirits carried him away, I figured he'd be okay. He would wake up as a lord of the Wild with a bunch of beautiful naiads taking care of him. Life could be worse.

Athena called, "Annabeth Chase, my own daughter." and Annabeth stood shakily and walked forward before kneeling at her mother's feet as Athena smiled. "You, my daughter, have exceeded all expectations. You have used your wits, your strength, and your courage to defend this city, and our seat of power. It has come to our attention that Olympus is…well, trashed. The Titan lord did much damage that will have to be repaired. We could rebuild it by magic, of course, and make it just as it was but the gods feel that the city could be improved. We will take this as an opportunity. And you, my daughter, will design these improvements."

Annabeth looked up, stunned, "My…my lady?" making Athena smile wryly.

"You are an architect, are you not? You have studied the techniques of Daedalus himself. Who better to redesign Olympus and make it a monument that will last for another eon?" Athena said.

"You mean . . . I can design whatever I want?" Annabeth asked joyfully.

"As your heart desires, " the goddess said, "Make us a city for the ages. ".

"As long as you have plenty of statues of me," Apollo added.

"And me," Aphrodite agreed.

"Hey, and me!" Ares called out, "Big statues with huge wicked swords and-".

"All right!" Athena interrupted, "She gets the point. Rise, my daughter, official architect of Olympus.".

Annabeth rose in a trance and walked back to her demi-throne muttering plans under her breath as she went until, "PERCY JACKSON!" Poseidon announced. My name echoed around the chamber making all talking die down, the room was silent except for the crackle of the hearth fire. Everyone's eyes were on me-all the gods, the demigods, the Cyclopes, and even the spirits as I walked into the middle of the throne room. Hestia smiled at me reassuringly, she was in the form of a girl now and she seemed happy and content to be sitting by her fire again, tenderly caring for it. Her smile gave me courage to keep walking, first I bowed to Zeus not wanting the drama queen to get pissed off, then I knelt at my father's feet. "Rise, my son," Poseidon said as I stood uneasily "A great hero must be rewarded.". "Is there anyone here who would deny that my son is deserving?" he said addressing the room at large and while I saw a few disgruntled looks but to my surprise nobody piped up. The gods never agreed on anything, and most probably hated me at this point, but not a single being protested.

"The Council agrees," Zeus said, "Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the gods." he hesitated though hesitated.

"Any gift?" Zeus nodded grimly.

"I know what you will ask. The greatest gift of all. Yes, if you want it, it shall be yours. The gods have not bestowed this gift on a mortal hero in many centuries, but, Perseus Jackson-if you wish it-you shall be made a god. Immortal…undying. You shall serve as your father's lieutenant for all time so long as you swear loyalty to Olympus.".

I stared at him, stunned, "Um…a god?" making Zeus rolled his eyes.

"A dimwitted god, apparently. But yes. With the consensus of the entire Council, I can make you immortal. Then I will have to put up with you forever.".

"Hmm," Ares mused "That means I can smash him to a pulp as often as I want, and he'll just keep coming back for more. I like this idea.".

"I approve as well, " Athena said, though she was looking at Annabeth and I knew that she was hoping that I would I would accept as gods were forbidden from having relationships with demi-gods.

I thought about the Three Fates, and the way I'd seen my life flash by. I could avoid all that. No aging, no death, nobody in the grave. I could be a teenager forever, in top condition, powerful, and immortal, serving my father. I could have power and eternal life, Who could refuse that? Then I looked at the assembled heroes and thought of my fallen friends: Charles Beckendorf, Michael Yew, Silena Beauregard, so many others who were now dead. I thought about Ethan Nakamura and Luke. And I knew what to do. "No," I said firmly. The Council was silent and the gods frowned at each other like they must have misheard.

"No?" Zeus asked, "You are…turning down our generous gift?" There was a dangerous edge to his voice, like a thunderstorm about to erupt but I ignored it.

"I'm honored and everything," I said hoping to appease them, "Don't get me wrong. It's just…I've got a lot of life left to live. I'd hate to peak in my sophomore year." the gods were glaring at me, Athena especially. "I do want a gift, though," I said looking them all in the eye, "Do you promise to grant my wish?" Zeus thought about this as if he wished a way out of it.

"If it is within our power." he said and I could tell he wished it wasn't.

"It is, " I said immediately, "and it's not even difficult. But I need your promise on the River Styx. ".

"What?" Dionysus cried, "You don't trust us?".

"Someone once told me," I said, looking at Hades with a grin, "that you should always get a solemn oath.".

Hades shrugged not ashamed in the least, "Guilty. ".

"Very well!" Zeus growled in anger, "In the name of the Council, we swear by the River Styx to grant your reasonable request as long as it is within our power.". The other gods muttered assent as thunder boomed, shaking the throne room signifying that the deal was made.

"From now on, I want to you properly recognize the children of the gods," I said, "All the children…of all the gods.".

The Olympians shifted uncomfortably, "Percy," my father asked, "what exactly do you mean?".

"Kronos couldn't have risen if it hadn't been for a lot of demigods who felt abandoned by their parents," I said "they felt angry, resentful, and unloved and they had a damn good reason."

Zeus's royal nostrils flared, "You dare accuse-".

"No more undetermined children," I said, "I want you to promise to claim your children, all your demigod children, by the time they turn thirteen. They won't be left out in the world on their own at the mercy of monsters. I want them claimed and brought to camp so they can be trained right, and have a chance to survive.".

"Now, wait just a moment," Apollo said nervously but I was on a roll.

"And the minor gods," I said, "Nemesis, Hecate, Morpheus, Janus, Hebe-they all deserve a general amnesty and a place at Camp Half-Blood, their children shouldn't be ignored. Calypso and the other peaceful Titan-kind should be pardoned too. And Hades-".

"Are you calling me a minor god?" Hades bellowed.

"No, my lord, " I said quickly, "but your children should not be left out. They should have a cabin at camp, Nico has proven that. No unclaimed demigods will be crammed into the Hermes cabin anymore, spending their days wondering who their parents are. They'll have their own cabins, for all the gods. And no more pact of the Big Three. That didn't work anyway. You've got to stop trying to get rid of powerful demigods. We're going to train them and accept them instead. All children of the gods will be welcome and treated with respect. That is my wish.".

Zeus snorted in disgust, "Is that all?" he asked derisively.

"Percy," Poseidon said, "you ask much. You presume much.".

"I hold you to your oath," I said firmly, "all of you." I got a lot of steely looks. It was Artemis who spoke up first and I wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not, "The boy is correct. You have been unwise to ignore our children. It proved a strategic weakness in this war and almost caused our destruction. Percy Jackson, you may be a male but you are a good one I think." this got strange looks from the council, "I move that we accept the boy's plan.".

"Humph," Zeus grunted, "Being told what to do by a mere child. But I suppose we must vote…".

"All in favor," Hermes said immediately and all gods raised their hands.

"Um…thanks." I said slowly backing up before I was stopped.

"We are not through Perseus Jackson." Zeus said glaring at me, "You have not only refused godhood but you have also refused to swear loyalty to Olympus. For this you shall die.".

At these words some of my allies on the council stood up in protest "NO!" Poseidon roared in anger as he moved in front of me along with Hades, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Hestia, Aphrodite, Thalia, and surprisingly Hecate while the demigods behind me backed me up… all apart from Annabeth who walked over to stand by Athena and Zeus receiving glares from the rest of the demigods, I wasn't surprised though as she never could go against her mother.

"I cannot allow him to leave disloyal to Olympus!" Zeus roared before he gestured with his hands causing winds to knock his allies aside while he threw his master bolt at me.

Just as it hit me the I was standing in what looked like a train station only pure white and pristinely clean (AN: Guess where Harry Potter fans), suddenly all the gods who supported me appeared, most falling flat on their faces while Hecate gently floated down.

"Where are we?" Hades asked, his dark robes sticking out in the white landscape.

"We are at a crossroads between worlds." Hecate said calmly "I brought us here to offer Perseus a choice but I am assuming that you all wish to understand what this place is?".

"Yes please." Hestia said as she brushed off her dress and sat down on a bench.

"Well do you remember my son Darien who was born a few centuries ago and was born of me and a son of Apollo?" she asked getting nods from the other gods.

"Yes it was after our bastard of a brother killed your son that he put the law saying that gods could not have children with demi-gods." Poseidon said.

"Well Zeus didn't manage to kill him." Hecate said making the others gasp "I have a separate world where I am the only one with influence as there is a hidden world of magic users so I sent my son there where he became that world's Merlin.".

This announcement got whistles of admiration from those assembled before Apollo suddenly spoke up "You're going to offer Percy a place in that world aren't you?".

"Yes I am." Hecate said happily "He will keep all of his current demigod powers as well as the abilities of the host body he will go into.".

"Host body?" I asked slightly nervous.

"I can put you in anybody I choose but I only choose those who are young children usually and about to die. You will gain all of their memories and they will have a copy of their personality in your mindscape which you can talk to." Hecate said calmingly.

"Is there anything else I should know?" I asked curious.

"Well along with your current powers, including the curse of Achilles you shall have some changes," she said cheerfully "for one Zeus's master bolt gave you some of its power so your storm bringer powers shall be stronger and you can shoot smaller lightning bolts from your hands without the storm. Along with that I will give you my blessing so magic will come easier to you in the new world.".

"Thank you Lady Hecate." I said gratefully as I went around and said my goodbyes.

"Now I will be able to come over every now and then physically but I should be able to mentally communicate with you more often." Hecate said after everyone was done "I will pass on any messages that I can for you." before giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I will also be making a few additions to the world to keep you company." she added before smirking mischievously and shoving me through the portal she made appear behind me.

Immediately I was in a new body and vomiting as I gained the memories of my new form, it was a little seven year old kid named Harry Potter. "Freak what are you doing in there?!" a large voice demanded from behind a door. Suddenly the door was ripped open and I realized it was a cupboard before I vomited on the man's shoes. "That's it you Freak I've had enough of you!" he yelled before backhanding me and crying out in pain as his fingers broke on my cheek.

Shaking myself as the new memories settled I ran out of the house towards the pull of the ocean, ignoring the cries of the injured Vernon Dursley as I went.