บท 81: DA : Chapter 81: Guns on the Dance Floor II
"And they didn't take it well I'm guessing," Medusa finished as she glanced back into the darkness where the Fates ounce were.
"Not at all," Phoebe sighed as they finally arrived at the door leading out of her office.
...
It soundlessly opened again as three stepped out and turned towards the throne room. As they walked near the constant stream of gods and titans moving on into the room, many noticed Phoebe and gave bows or curtseys to her which she acknowledged with nods of her own.
Once they made it through the grand arch leading into throne floor, Medusa and Arachne split off towards the numerous seats spread about the hall facing the thrones while Phoebe moved on, growing by the step, to her throne.
Medusa quickly found her seat next to Lamia and Lupa, the wolf goddess making a showing of being in her human form, donning a similarly small black dress to Medusa and Lamia.
Once comfortably in her seat Medusa turned her gaze to the thrones and marveled at the imposing sight of all the council finally gathered before their subjects for the first time since forming.
Each was dressed formally, in either dresses colored to their domains, or suites. Medusa's eyes immediately went to Percy and she couldn't suppress a shiver at the sight. He, like the rest of the council, were currently in what she dubbed 'Ruling Mode', the very same that had made her feel like a bug when she'd supported Andromeda while facing Rhea and Hestia.
Luckily it seemed that even if the last two weeks have shown some odd tensions between some members, right here and now they were a unified front, all personal issues held back.
Each of their eyes glowed in the shades of their power, that same power that pulsed off them so thickly that Medusa could actually see the air distortion around every one of them.
If there were any gods in the city that held a doubt for the council, it was quickly washed away. Soon the chamber settled as each god found their place and turned to attention, all eyes slowly drifting to Percy as he cleared his throat.
"Thank you for joining us," he said in deep and smooth voice. "It seems that tonight, our long wait finally pays off."
Some chuckles ran out, amongst the audience, several even giving malicious grins knowing exactly what it is they've been waiting for. And judging by Percy's fanged smirk, he was very eager himself.
"Now, I'm not one for grand speeches and I've personally dealt with too many idiots going on and on without ever actually getting anything done. So, without further ado, I believe the Olympians are about to call their own meeting. Let's watch, shall we?"
With a wave of his hand, the light in the chamber dimmed significantly while Hestia snapped her fingers causing the hearth's flame to grow and spread into a massive orb in the center of the throne room. Within a few seconds a projection appeared within the fire, displaying the very throne of Olympus …
...
( Athena POV )
The goddess of wisdom sat tensely in her throne, the very air within the room feeling like a pressure cooker as tempers and paranoia alike ran at an all-time high. The throne room had never been so full before as gods of both Greek and Roman pantheon sat side by side, each god having absorbed their other aspects in enough to be a hair trigger from assuming their divine forms, causing the space around them to literally steam.
The spouses of even the council members were given small adjoining thrones to sit in and more, smaller thrones and tables had been set up to offer spacing for every representative present. Demigods, veterans of the last wars, had been called forth and for all those that couldn't attend were watching from the camps or their bases.
Iris, after some negotiation, had agreed to form massive IM's to Camp Half-Blood's amphitheater and New Rome's Senate House where almost all demigods and allied nature spirits were collected to watch.
Even contingents from small retired legionnaires and the Queen of the Amazons, Hylla, was present and all looking nervous underneath her perceptive, grey eyes.
This had never been done before but Athena knew that her father was getting desperate and all the Olympians that remained were worried. More and more gods, minor though they may be, were simply vanishing into thin air. Hestia's kidnapping and now possibly Ares being MIA as well, the council needed to come together.
She glanced across from her seat, her eyes narrowing as they set on her half-brother as the bastard picked his overly white teeth with a bronze tooth pick and looking as nonchalant as he could.
She knew it was a façade though. His were constantly shifting around, his back was tensed and straight, his left foot was tapping. To make matters worse for him, his wife was still shooting him evil glares from time to time.
Her daughter, how she lamented ever agreeing with Zeus on having Annabeth marry Apollo. Honestly she was somewhat still disappointed with her too, especially after how Annabeth all but let Percy get away.
Maybe she could have been enough to persuade Percy to becoming a god but no! The girl had to fall for Apollo of all people and even after Athena chewed her out and nearly killing Apollo, the pair continued their little affair.
Then again, it could have been her chance to snag herself a proper husband. One that she knew would never cheat and if honest with herself, rather attractive.
Then of course he had to go and give godhood up again, as if being mortal was better! Regardless Percy was gone now and no matter who or what tried to track him, they always came up empty.
However, it seemed that Percy had set a pattern and now several powerful heroes were MIA, making the task of hiding the disappearances a rigged game. The camps were biting at their heels, wanting to know what was going on and delivering reports of their own problems.
Chiron's report on how the influx of demigods had fallen slowly over the last five years to barely any arrivals within the last year was increasingly alarming.
Sure, right now the numbers in both camps were at all-time highs, both numbering in the several hundred each with the influx of children after Percy's first request. Now though things were silent and every god could feel a shift in the air.
There had been a surge of power in the north and many of the satyr teams sent to investigate didn't come back, Lupa and her entire pack was gone leaving the Wolf House abandoned, even Atlas was gone along with the Golden Apple tree and his daughters. Now the gods were visibly worried during their meetings and far more prone to violent action even without Ares to instigate them.
Athena did a quick sweep as some more minor gods filled in along with the final arrivals of senior demigods and the veterans. Artemis was to her side, the goddess' hands nervously fiddling with an arrow, her two accompanying hunters sitting tensely at her feet while shooting distrustful looks at any male that happened to be too close.
Demeter was fidgeting and unlike usual, wasn't going on and on about grains or what not. Aphrodite, much to everyone's shock, didn't look nearly as attractive as usual. Puffy eyes from crying, slight mistakes in her mascara, some of her hair having split ends, and her dress had wrinkles in it.
Then there was the obvious lack of her aura and slump in her shoulders making her look far older and tired, even to the point no one was having a problem looking away from her.
Hera to her other side, though managing to keep a decent poker face, still had a slight redness to her eyes and a visible tick of a finger tapping as she stared at the poor excuse for a hearth fire being tirelessly tended by no less than five satyrs to even keep the blasted thing from going out and the entire throne room still felt cold.
Her father was looking at it as well, his nostrils flaring as static crackled around him, his bolt not having left his grip in days. Poseidon, if she was being honest with herself, was looking terrifying.
His expression was frigid at best, with his jaw set, one hand firmly wrapped around his trident as he shot glances around the room. Amphitrite to his side sat morosely, keeping her face down and featureless but anyone could see the coldness between her and Poseidon.
Ares, much like Hestia's throne, was empty and seemed to gain dust regardless of how often it was cleaned and several of the gods kept shooting worried glances at it. Hephaestus couldn't seem to put down his hands and spare parts to save his life, his beard smoldering more than usual but he barely even noticed.
Apollo was still picking his teeth while Annabeth sat next to him, her blonde curls pushed out of her face so Apollo could see and likely feel the glares she launched at him but Athena could see that her grip on her trusty dagger that she'd kept was bone white.
Hermes next on the line was disturbingly quiet, his ever present cellphone stowed away and his little snakes not even hissing as he kept glancing around.
Several of his own wind spirits that assisted him for deliveries had disappeared, all along the northern borders but some randomly in the heart of the US. Even more alarmingly, Dionysus was alert and practically oozing nervous energy, not a Diet Cola in sight.
Lastly was her Uncle Hades and Persephone. He had been a rather occasional presence to their meetings ever since the debacle dealing with Percy's mortal family and had only showed during the winter and summer Solstice meetings or the few that Hestia had called him to.
And everyone knew that he wanted nothing to do with them but one thing was that he was always punctual. And now, he was not only late but simply not here at all.
Demeter looked increasingly worried as time passed, having not spoken to her daughter in well over a month, and now with so many gods not appearing, it was a reason for alarm.
Athena had been about to continue on to the veteran demigods present when her father shot a bolt into the sky, effectively silencing the nervous murmurs and beginning the emergency meeting.
"Order!" he boomed, all eyes falling on him. "This emergency session has begun."
At his words, several IM's formed above the heads of those seated in attendance, projecting the camps and independent groups watching this meeting as well.
"Now that I have everyone's attention, there are announcements to make," Zeus began as he glanced around, even to the IM's before continuing. "As of a month ago Hestia was kidnapped an—"
He couldn't finish as hundreds of voices coming from the demigods erupted in shock and surprise. A most, only rumors of Hestia's disappearance had reached the camps but now it was confirmed.
Over a minute of uproar, with the present representatives shooting to their feet to get Zeus' attention for explanations continued until Poseidon of all people slammed his trident on the floor.
"Enough!" he roared, his rage evident stopping everyone dead. "Yes, Hestia was taken but we are not going to lose our heads over this since it does nothing. We have searched and so far found nothing," he said more evenly as some murmuring followed up until a Greek Camper and Vet, Tracy, stood up.
"Do we have any clues who took her?" she asked looking around, likely noting how some of the gods shifted uncomfortably.
"We do but at the same time we don't," Demeter started as she glanced around nervously.
"Forgive me Lady Demeter but how can that be?" asked one of the new camp counselors, Roger Marcus from Hermes Cabin.
"We were present when the kidnapping occurred," Hephaestus picked up, his hands stilling for the moment. "And we saw who did it, the problem is we knew next to nothing about that person or thing."
"What do we know?" asked Hylla, her deep brown eyes narrowing as she tried to piece together an image while her four Amazon escorts murmured behind her.
"Apparently it is a demon of some kind calling itself Umbra," Hephaestus answered before waving his hands and causing an image to appear over the small hearth fire.
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Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
...
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