"You mean to tell me he's gone?" The god rose from his throne, his skin glowing with power. His eyes were dark and burning, their gaze trained on the boy below. Sparks seemed to flicker subconsciously off his graying beard.

The boy shifted his footing, his hands playing with the hem of his shirt. He could feel the tension hovering above their heads, and it wasn't about to leave. The boy glanced at his sister behind him, but she wasn't watching. Her gaze was centered on the only empty throne in the room; cold and deserted.

"We don't know sir, we think he went to go find-well go see his mother in Manhattan."

The god knit his brows in confusion. "And you let him?"

"Well-um no, not exactly. He um, he might of snuck out when the person on duty wasn't watching." The boy seemed very interested in his reflection in the polished marble at his feet. He kept his gaze lowered, but his finger kept running through his almost pure yellow hair.

"Weren't you on duty?" The god towered above the boy, his figure outlined in the glowing light of the hearth. The boy gulped and glanced up, his ears burning.

"Uhhhh...I-um...Was I? I don't recall-,"

"For Hades sake Apollo, teach your kid how to lie." The boys gaze travelled behind the towering outline of the god, and found the god of thieves sprawled on his throne. His attention had briefly been diverted from his cellphone which was latched in his grasp like a lifeline.

"I'm sorry, my schedules slightly filled. You know...pulling the fudging sun and all." Apollo glared at the messenger, who was no longer looking at him and was instead playing temple run on his phone.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus, shot a angry glance at both men, or if you'd like to be literal...children, and turned back to the boy.

"But where is he now?"

The boy glanced at the empty throne behind the standing god. It's imbedded sea shells and pearls glittered in the firelight. The girl behind him shrugged.

"Um...We don't exactly know...we were wondering-well I was wondering...if you know, his father might know where he is."

Zeus glanced back half heartedly at his brothers dark and empty throne.

"You are aware of his emotional state, if he knew even the slightest bit of information it would be unlikely."

The boy glanced back his sister. "So he is aware of the fire."

Zeus stared solemnly down at them. "Why else would the ocean be a dangerous place to roam in these times. My brother was foolish to place his heart with a mortal, they perish so easily."

The boy kicked the polished marble with his worn sneakers, his face creased into a frown. A voice spoke from the back of the room.

"I thought Peter johnson was being babysat 24/7 by you nitwits; being chained down and all that fuss...he was slowly going insane by grief. And I would know, I mean I'm the god of madness." Dionysius spoke, his words drawling outward from his tongue. A laugh echoed achingly around the marble hall.

"The punk probably went to go visit his mother, saw her go up in flames, broke down and cried like a two year old, and ...you know...lost it-killed himself."

A gasp escaped the assembled gods. Ares shrugged and leaned back on his throne.

"He didn't die." A shadow rippled outward from the sharp corner of the marble. A man stepped smoothly outward from it, his robes spilling outwards like pitch black waves. His face was thin and sickly pale, long black greasy hair slicked back upon his scalp. In his grasp he held a smaller emo version of himself. Right down to the permanent scowl.

"His soul isn't in the underworld, he is still alive." The god frowned and rubbed his head. "But I have an appointment-um in less than 12 hours and I-I don't want to be late..." Apollo glanced at him tiredly, his eyebrows raised.

"Can't you just snap your fingers and Bam your there?"

Hades squinted at him. "Uh-it's broken."

Hera snorted from her perch on her throne. "How is that supposed work?"

Hades glanced at her as if she just spit on his cloak. "It doesn't. It's broken. Anyways

though you say that I'm welcome here, I assure you I am not. I must be going." The God gave a small, half glance at apollo, before thrusting his scowling child at the boy in front of Zeus and disappearing into the shadows. Nico stumbled, but managed to push the boy away before he could help. He crossed his arms and glared at the floor... A haunted look glazing his broken eyes.

"We have to find him, before he destroys himself." Nico whispered, his voice hoarse like he'd recently been crying. "We have to-please. I can't lose him, I-I can't."

Nico stumbled backwards towards the shadows of the corner, the boys eyes widened.

"Don't you DARE-!" But Nico had already disappeared into the darkness.

The boy cursed and gave the gods a single glance before turning to the entry way.

"You better find him." Zues' voice was hollow. "You don't know what power he holds."

Will nodded, and let his sister guide him to the door.

"He's unstable, he could destroy everything." Hera's voice carried out of the hall. But that was the last thing the siblings heard before they took the long elevator ride down from Olympus.

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SORRY 4 THE SHORT ONE!!

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