The First Leg of The Challenge

"Percy, it's time to wake up!" Annabeth called me.

"What's going on?" I groaned, yawning as I looked at my Queen.

"What's going on, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth sounded amused. "It's time for Council!"

"Oh," I realized, getting out of bed and using magic to get prepared. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Not too much," Annabeth said as we walked through New Olympus. "Apollo and Artemis are having their usual spat about who's older, Poseidon and Mom having their usual disagreements as well, nothing crazy."

We reached the entrance to the grand council hall, and Annabeth breathed deeply as she seamlessly changed within a second to her official look.

I opened the door to the Hall, then I took my seat on the center throne, Annabeth taking her seat as the Queen next to me.

"Well, where is everyone else?" I asked.

"They're coming in a moment," Annabeth said. "You know how it is, they're getting their things straight before flashing here."

"Sure," I agreed.

Someone flashed into the room, and suddenly, someone was hugging me.

"Daddy!" Sadie said happily. "How are you?"

"I'm great, how about you, Pup?" I asked.

"I'm doing great, Daddy," Sadie said. "I just left behind a lot of new souls to judge, so I wanna get this over with."

"Of course," I said. "We just have to wait for everyone else."

"They always take so long," Sadie rolled her eyes as she groaned.

Sadie got out of my lap, the beads of her dress tinkling as she got out of my lap and sat on her own throne.

Apollo and Artemis flashed into the room at the same moment, greeting me as they sat on their thrones.

"Apollo, Artemis," Annabeth greeted. "It seems you two truly are twins, even coming at the same time."

"I came a split second earlier," both twins said, then Artemis glared at Apollo, while Apollo grinned unrepentantly.

Before I could make fun of them, Poseidon and Salecia flashed in.

"Sorry for the delay, Son," Poseidon said. "The seas were unusually angry today."

"That's alright," I said. "Lady Salecia, it's good as always to see you."

"Likewise," Salecia said. "And how many times do I have to tell you to just call me by my name? I'm your stepmother, not a foreign dignitary."

"We'll both learn the answer to your question one day," I teased, then Athena flashed in.

"You two are not arguing," I said to Athena and Poseidon. "I've barely had this throne, but I can safely say I've heard enough of you two arguing for a lifetime."

"Would that be a mortal's lifespan, or an insect's?" Athena asked.

I stared at her as her lips twitched minutely, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Sorry I'm late," Hestia said as soon as she flashed in. "I was giving some food to this mortal family, they were such a nice family."

"It's not a problem, Aunt Hestia," I said. "Let's just get this Council meeting done with, then we can all go back to our duties."

---

Three grueling hours later, I sighed as the meeting was finally over.

"I was worried that would never end," I told Annabeth as we walked through the streets of New Olympus.

"You say that every time," Annabeth teased.

"And I mean it every time!" I said. "There shouldn't be a reason to do all of that!"

"Well, you have to deal with it anyways," Annabeth said. "You didn't choose to become the King just to laze around, Seaweed Brain."

"What?" I paused.

For a second, I felt like something was... wrong.

What was I just thinking?

"What?" Annabeth looked at me confusedly.

"Nothing," I said with a smile. "Must have just been a little nudge from one of my Domains, it'll pass."

"Huh," Annabeth said. "Well, we cleared the whole day out for the meeting, and it ended rather early, so why don't we just go to our room and enjoy each other?"

I grinned at Annabeth. "I sure wouldn't mind that. Lead the way."

For the rest of the day, Annabeth and I would make love to each other, enjoying ourselves as the new King and Queen of New Olympus.

It was great.

---

---

I woke up in bed, and yawned slightly as I sat up.

"Good morning, Percy," Mom greeted as she walked around my room. "Are you ready for today?"

"What's today?" I asked.

"Today's the day we go to Rachel, who'll tell us how the baby is doing!" Mom said excitedly.

"Oh, I am definitely ready," I said, snapping and putting my clothes on.

Mom put her apron on, and I stared at her as she grinned at me.

"What?" Mom asked as we walked to Rachel's house. "Can't a mother be proud?"

"Is there such a thing as too proud?" I asked.

"Oh, definitely," Mom said. "That'd be the old deities, they were experts at that."

"Yeah, you're right," I said. "I wasn't thinking of them, but now that you mention it, it makes sense.

"Ah, here we are," Mom said, knocking on Rachel's door.

"You know you don't need to knock, Aunt Sally," Rachel said as she opened the door. "My door is always open for you."

Rachel hugged Mom, then she gave me a deep kiss.

"Let's go, we have a couple of things to check about the baby, don't we?" Rachel asked, leading us into her house.

"How are Apollo's old Domains treating you?" Mom asked.

"Well, it's a lot sometimes," Rachel admitted. "The prophecy is probably the one I'm most comfortable with, and thankfully, Zoë can handle the Sun. I haven't had much work to do with his Healing aspect, but I'll be experienced in it eventually."

"That's great to hear," Mom said.

"Thanks, Aunt Sally," Rachel smiled. "Now, if you could please take a seat on this bed?"

Mom lay down, and Rachel began humming as she put her hands over Mom's belly.

"What are you checking for?" I asked.

"Any abnormalities are the most important thing to worry about," Rachel said. "Thankfully, we seem to be in the clear when it comes to that, so I'll just be checking heartbeats, growth, just the basics, and all seems great! You two are good to go!"

"Thank you for doing this for us, Rachel," Mom said.

"C'mon, Aunt Sally, don't make it weird," Rachel smiled. "Of course I'd do this for you, you're my co-queen!"

"Even then, I do appreciate you," Mom said.

"We both do," I added.

"And you can show me your appreciation by making me some more blue cookies," Rachel said to Mom, then she grinned sultrily at me. "As for you, Master, show me your appreciation tonight, yeah?"

"As my Queen wishes," I said, grinning. "See you tonight, Red."

Mom hugged Rachel, then we left Rachel's house.

Once we left Rachel's house, I turned to Mom. "So, what's the plan for the rest of the day?"

"Honestly, I wanted to plan with you," Mom said, hugging her belly. "We have a child on the way, and soon enough, one of your other Queens or Concubines will be pregnant as well. You're the new King, how will you raise them?"

"Are you asking whether I'll **** my children to live on their own if they're demigods?" I asked.

Mom bit her lip and nodded.

"We've done away with the Ancient Laws, Mom," I said. "That won't happen again. That doesn't mean I won't train my child to be on another level, but that'll just be part of their life. I won't **** them to become warriors, nor will I **** them to live on their own. They're ours, and I'll make sure to raise them well, myself."

"That's all I wanted to hear," Mom said in relief, then she leaned up and kissed me.

---

---

"Wake up, my king," I heard Amphitrite teasingly call out to me as she peppered my face with kisses.

"I'm awake," I said, sitting up. "What's wrong, Amphitrite?"

"Must something be wrong?" Amphitrite asked. "Can I not wish to spend my time with my darling husband?"

"And what do you wish from me, My Queen?" I asked.

"Not much," Amphitrite said, but her grin showed the opposite. "Why don't we go visit your mother?"

"Damn, woman," I said, grinning. "You woke me up to spend sometime with me, or to have an excuse to visit my mom?"

"Alright, alright," Amphitrite said. "Before we do anything, we do have a few tasks, then we're free to spend the rest of the day as we wish."

"Well, what're we looking at?" I asked. "I don't want to deprive my dear Amphy of her time with her second love."

"Why, thank you, husband," Amphitrite said. "Zoë came to visit us last night, she said she had urgent news for you."

"Ah, so you did have a reason to wake me up!" I exclaimed.

Amphitrite huffed. "It wasn't urgent."

"Of course it wasn't," I teased. "Otherwise you'd have stayed sleeping by my side."

Amphitrite looked away, and I grinned in victory.

Amphitrite humphed again, then she switched her clothing to a more gaudy version.

"What's the change for?" I asked curiously as we walked to the Council Hall.

"They may be my Co-Queens, but we are still gods," Amphitrite said. "I need to look my best."

"Amphy, we all love you, none of us would think lesser of you," I said, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Even so," Amphitrite said, then we entered the Council Hall, where Zoë was waiting for us.

"My Percy," Zoë greeted.

"Zoë," I gave her a quick but deep kiss. "What is the issue?"

"Hyperia," Zoë sighed. "She's once again proving that she's Hyperion's reiteration."

"What's she done now?" I asked, taking my throne.

"She's been lowering the amount of light the sun gives to Earth," Zoë said.

Amphitrite sat on her own throne as well. "What was so urgent or difficult this time that you had to come down here to New Olympus? I know how uncomfortable staying underwater is for you, after all."

"I'm the goddess of stars, not the sun itself," Zoë explained as she took her own throne. "I wanted to suggest employing Juno."

"That's bold," I said. "Let's call the Council."

I slammed my hand against the armrest three times.

Within moments, all of the New Olympians flashed into the Council Hall.

"What is the problem, little brother?" Kymopoleia asked.

"Respect your king," Amphitrite chided.

"It's not a problem," I said. "Zoë, would you like to explain the issue at hand?"

"Of course, My Percy," Zoë said. "Hyperia is lowering the light output that the Earth may receive."

"Ah, no wonder the plants are unhappy today," Demeter commented. "How shall we fix this?"

"Zoë is suggesting we employ Juno's expertise," I said.

"That is a good idea," Hecate said. "This way, we can ensure the loyalty of Hyperia."

"I do not like the idea of that kind of cruelty," I said. "It's not what I became an Olympian for."

Once no one else spoke, I slammed my hand against the armrest once. "It has come to a vote. If you agree with employing Juno, raise your right hand."

Amphitrite, Hecate, Zoë, Demeter and four other goddesses raised their hands.

I slammed my hand again. "If you do not wish to employ Juno, raise your hand."

Kymopoleia, I, and six others raised their hands.

"Alright," I said. "We summon both Hyperia and Juno. Offer Hyperia the option of falling in line. If she behaves, all is good. Otherwise, Juno uses her skills. Any disagreements?"

The room was silent, and I summoned Juno and Hyperia.

Hyperia looked at me, and glared angrily.

"For what reason has the demigod called me?" Hyperia asked.

"Respect his Highness," Amphitrite said. "He is showing you mercy!"

"Pah!" Hyperia scoffed. "Like an Olympian would know the meaning of mercy."

"And yet you're the one who risks the destruction of the world," I said. "Everything depends on heavenly light, from the seas, to the plants, to the animals. Your actions could cause destabilization of the world, should we not act. I give you one chance to undo your actions, and to behave in accordance with our treaty."

"I don't kneel to demigods," Hyperia said. "You may have changed my gender, but you haven't twisted my spirit!"

Hyperia screamed as she ran at me.

I snapped unworriedly, and chains came from the floor, grabbing Hyperia and forcing her to kneel.

"I don't think you noticed who else I summoned besides you," I told Hyperia amusedly, and her eyes widened as she noticed Juno. "Juno, remove her memories."

Juno nodded, then she grabbed Hyperia's head, and seconds later, Hyperia was looking around confusedly.

"Who am I?" She asked confusedly.

One more crisis averted.

---

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