Thalia woke Kia up when they were officially on Mount Olympus. She had to see this.

Kia groggily rubbed at her eye like a five year old, but the entire landscape sharpened her sight quick enough.

It was still quite early in the morning, so in the darkness, the torches with bright illuminating flames cast a fiery glow over everything, tinting everything into a marvellous spectrum ranging colours from vermillion to indigo. It seemed as though no one was asleep, because even though it was barely dawn, nature spirits and forgotten demigods and minor gods bustled around, some being carried around in chariots by Cyclops and some dance-walking while gracefully twirling down the streets. It didn't seem like winter anymore. Fresh scents of the most vibrant flowers curled into Kia's nostrils and she wondered how so many different scents could smell so nice muddled together—jasmine, roses, honeysuckle, you name it, it was there. Kind-sounding music drifted sweetly out of windows, lyres and reed pipes of the most euphonious notes and melodies.

"Woah," Kia breathed.

Thalia grinned.

At the peak of the mountain rested the pearly-white hall of the gods. The place screamed purity and elitism, but Kia assumed gods had a trademark for that kind of stuff.

The pegasi swooped down onto the outer courtyard, right in front of the hall. The grass was the most green colour Kia had ever seen. The torches on the street looked like little rubies lit aflame from so far away. The gates abruptly blew open, casting a strong gale of wind in the courtyard.

Thalia helped Kia down as Percy talked to the horse one more time. Kia petted Porkpie on his nape for getting them here. She didn't speak horse (like some other unnamed demigod) but he nodded his head and neighed appreciatively, so she figured he was happy for the pets. If Bessie kept picking Percy, some other adorable animal was going to be getting the spare hugs.

The pegasus flew away, and for a second, they all stood together, regarding the tall entrance of the home of the gods. So much had happened in such a short time, it felt like a million years ago from when Kia had woken up.

And then, they all walked in together.

Twelve enormous thrones were slightly overkill but Kia figured, if they didn't have hobbies, the only plausible activity would be to sit in aforementioned thrones and ooze superiority. They were lined up in a U shape, like the placement of the cabins Kia saw back at camp. The ceiling reminded Kia of the scene from Harry Potter, where the ceiling wasn't actually there, but in this case, it was like a replica of the night sky, glittering with constellations, including the newest one in honour of the brave Zoë Nightshade, running across the sky with her bow.

The glory of room couldn't compare to the people occupying each of the thrones. They were all fifteen feet fall (at least height difference wasnt an issue among them), and the sheer intensity of each one of them festered in their eyes and was currently being directed to the demigods. Not the best feeling in the world, having twelve all-powerful slightly hostile beings staring down at you like a stain of dirt.

"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.

"Mooo!"

Ah, so Bessie the traitorous Ophiotaurus was here. And so was Grover!

A floating blob of water stood at the centre of the room, next to hearth fire. Bessie was swimming around happily, doing a few flips to show off, dancing overall mirthfully in the water. He seemed content with his temporary home. Grover has been kneeling at Zeus' throne, like he had been submitting a report. He saw the demigods, and he cried, "You made it!" which was mildly insulting, but the tone was glad nonetheless.

He started running towards them, but then stumbled, turning to Zeus as if asking for permission.

"Go on," Zeus said, waving a hand distractedly. The lord of the skies was staring intently at Thalia. She squirmed a little, not meeting his eyes. Kia noticed, and brushed her hand against hers so as to calm her down a bit.

Grover trotted over, his hooves clopped on the marble floor, echoes bouncing off the walls of the otherwise silent room; the only other sound being the occasional splash Bessie made in her bubble or the fire of the hearth crackling.

Kia looked around the throne room, her eyes naturally finding Apollo's. Well, kind of. They were hidden behind a pair of Ray-Banz, but something about his expression irked her. He wore a black tank top and red shorts, which Kia thought was very appropriate for a dude who gave zero damns about the fact that he was surrounded by a bunch of celestial beings. A pair of earbuds were stuck in his ears, connected to an iPod; as if he knew he was being watched, he tilted his chin down, and the sunglasses slipped further down the bridge of his nose, and there they were. Those amazing blue eyes—like clear-cut sapphires diluted with the essence of spring skies. The smirk on his face grew wider, more playful, and it annoyed Kia even more. She was tempted to stick out her tongue, but she thought better of it. She'd flip him off later.

Even though she wouldn't admit it then (or ever), Apollo's presence was comforting to have. The humanness of his irritating nature was something Kia could use to comfort herself being in a room full of immortals who could look at her a little too hard and have her combust.

Grover gave Thalia and Annabeth hugs, and then when it came to Kia, he rocked her back and forth a bit. She couldn't help but chuckle a little. Then he grasped Percy by the forearms. "Percy, Bessie and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"

"Do what?" Percy asked.

"Heroes," Artemis called.

The goddess slipped down from her throne, her size following her movements and decreasing until she was human-sized again, complete with the auburn hair and unbelievable confidence in a room of Olympians. She walked toward them, silver robes shimmering in the column of moonlight she seemed to walk in, her face emotionless.

"The Council has been informed of your deeds," the moon goddess said. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

A wave of uneasiness amongst the immortals rippling through the atmosphere, but no one protested. Kia suspected it was hard to admit that it was finally time that they had to get off their lazy arses and actually do something. Immortals infamous for being massive jerks? The apocalypse was definitely on the brink of breaking out.

"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters" —Kia was pretty sure she saw Apollo flex his bicep a bit at that moment— "seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes..."

She turned to face the other Olympians almost challengingly, her face fair and unflinching. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?"

Artemis stared up at each god, meeting their eyes individually. Zeus sat in a looming throne, emitting so much power that it felt as if his throne was larger than all the others; he wasn't as awful to look at as Kia had imagined, given all the old stories; he was a handsome older-looking man wearing a dark pin-striped suit, finely tailored and a neatly-trimmed beard with hooded brilliant blue eyes—they looked grey, blue and navy all at the same time, Kia couldn't decide what shade they were. In the throne next to him, sat a simply ethereal woman with spectacular silver hair braided in intricate and beautiful patterns suited for the finest of royalty over one shoulder, a face of regality and a look that could be described as nothing other than pristine. If Kia couldn't already tell, the peacock stained dress was enough to reveal the goddess' identity; the Lady Hera.

On Zeus' right was a man that was easy to identify; Lord Poseidon. His eyes were the same endless shade of green as Percy's, they looked almost artificial, unreal, like there was a quality to them that made them beyond this realm. He wore beach shorts and a Hawaiian button up, and the flesh around his eyes crinkled slightly when he looked at Kia. He smiled. Next to Poseidon, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a scraggly brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus.

It was hard to tell who the next one was; he looked just normal enough to pass as another other human, but something in his face tugged at Kia, and then it clicked. The set of his eyes and the way his lips fell into an automated smirk reminded Kia of Luke; which could only mean that this was Hermes, his father. Frankly, Kia felt as it Apollo had had enough of an introduction, so she looked past him and at the god next to him, Dionysus. He looked as bored and as I-would-rather-be-anywhere-else as ever, waving his hand and his eyes following the movements of a grape vine following his hand. And of course, there was Ares, who, again, had an expression of way too much loathing for one directed towards a fourteen year old. Percy must've exploded his bathroom one too many times.

On the other side of the room, next to Hera, was Demeter, sitting on a throne of rich brown apple vines. She had kind eyes and golden hair with a flower crown sat atop her head. Demeter kind of looked like the garden princesses you'd read about in children's storybooks. Next to Demeter, a woman with striking grey eyes, wearing a muted grey dress with lavish dark brown hair—Athena, Annabeth's mom. And then, a woman who's face seemed to shift every moment, and Kia couldn't tell you exactly what colour her eyes were or her hair was, but she didn't have to. For a second, she thought about the nightmare she had on the freight train, the Sun West Line, but the logical part of her deduced that this was Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty. Her shaoeshiftimg face seemed to get more and more irresistibly gorgeous.

They were all here, all the Olympians.

"I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"these kids did okay." He winked at Kia and cleared his throat with a sense of dread filling her and began to recite: "Heroes win laurels—"

"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry. Kia fully understood this response. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?"

A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite. How touching.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and Percy with a short blade, baring his teeth. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—"

"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits."

"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."

Thalia blushed. Kia guessed gods weren't big on doling out compliments in industrial amounts.

Athena cleared her throat and sat on the edge of her throne tentatively. "I am proud of my daughter as well. But there is a security risk here with the other two."

Here's the thing, Kia would liked to say she paid attention to the entire thing, but if she was being honest, she had no idea what the fuck they said. It was obvious enough that there was no actual contest in whether they were going to kill Thalia and Percy or not; don't get her wrong, she wasn't fond of people debating on murdering her friends as if they were conversing about a football match (never mind, bad comparison; have you seen men watching football with each other? Suffice to say, not the most peaceful idea), but with the way Zeus and Poseidon were opposed to having their children killed, there was no way any smart god would actually try to permanently exterminate either of them, unless they were looking for a millennia-long grudge. Except Ares, probably; he seemed a little too keen to kill Percy. Athena was likely just putting this in to appease or show Ares just how much he would have to contest the opinions of two of the most powerful Olympians. In the end, their vote carried more weight; the council was still flawed.

Athena was the most intelligent goddess; surely she was aware of the dire consequences of killing off the only two chances of manipulating this prophecy in this favour. Even if the problem would be set back a few ages if they killed them, it'd be easier to get rid of the issue altogether with demigods that were fiercely loyal to their cause, rather than take a chance with future demigods that would likely hear about this slaughter and side against them. The odds were stacked against their killing. Kia earnestly had nothing to worry about. If there was anything to be concerned about, it would be how her feet were hurting from standing. Seriously, they just came back from a quest and they had to stand around like this? What type of blasphemous service was this? She wanted a nice cool Coke.

When Kia zones back in, the sounds cans back to life like her head had been submerged underwater and was now back up.

"—monster at least must be destroyed," Zeus was saying. "We have agreement on that?"

Almost everyone nodded their heads.

Probably didn't include the demigods, but Kia and Percy protested loudly against killing Bessie. Their voices clamoured over each other in various exclamations, such as 'You can't kill Bessie!' and 'No way!'

This could be a real problem. There was no real reason a monster that could be the end of Olympus, with no redeeming political quality, shouldn't be gotten rid of. Still, Bessie deserved to live and Kia knew it. They couldn't just let him die.

"Mooooooo!" Bessie protested.

Percy's dad frowned. "You have named the Ophiotaurus Bessie?"

In the moment, Kia had realised how stupid it sounded, and instinctively wanted to say, 'It was Percy' but she didn't and kept a firm look.

"Dad," Percy said, "he's just a sea creature. A really nice sea creature. You can't destroy him."

Poseidon shifted uncomfortably. It seemed even he wasn't impenetrable to Percy's stupid baby seal eyes. "Percy, the monster's power is considerable. If the Titans were to steal it, or—"

"You can't!" Percy exclaimed. Kia held his hand and nodded to him.

She stepped forward, meeting Zeus' gaze evenly. Calmly, she addressed him, "Lord Zeus. Prophecies can never be avoided, and even so, what does killing this sea creature mean? That it will be reborn within another few millennia and vulnerable to power again? Instead, we could keep this creature safe, guarded, so that no opposing force would be able to use it. There is no reason for it to be alive, or dead. And you have to admit, it feels wrong to kill a creature who has done no wrong. Keep it safe, exhibit your power, show your enemies that it would be unwise to oppose you. This can be a strength."

The idea itself was completely ridiculous, and Kia was aware, but she seemed to have worded it it well enough for Zeus to consider it, but his eyes said he remained hesitant. His eyes drifted to his daughter Thalia. "And what of the risk? Kronos knows full well, if one of you were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says."

"You have to trust them," Annabeth spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them."

Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?"

"Annabeth is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoë Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately."

Zeus beckoned Artemis forward with his hand. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear.

"Thalia," Artemis said finally. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"

Stunned silence filled the room. Kia honestly didn't expect this to happen; she didn't think it was the least likely outcome of this situation, but it made perfect sense. Annabeth squeezed her hand as if this were exactly what she'd anticipated.

"I will," Thalia said firmly. Kia stared at her in awe.

Zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. Odd look for someone who Luke claimed to care about nothing. "My daughter, consider well—"

"Father," she said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn sixteen. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again."

Okay, so Thalia's badassery just went up, like, twenty levels, maybe?

She knelt before the goddess and began the oath. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men..."

After she was done, Thalia confidently went up to Percy and stood in front of him for a second, before hugging him. He turned stiff and he whispered something to her, but she whispered something back and he seemed to relax, smiling instead.

She hugged Annabeth next, who looked like she was trying not to cry.

It was hard to think that it'd be a long while after this that she'd see Thalia again. Thalia has been the first person to take her under her wing; and now she was supposed to go on without her while Thalia lived with the Hunt. Kia tried to stay happy for her, but she had to admit that there was a small part of her that wanted her to stay.

Then she hugged Kia, and before she drew away, Thalia murmured in her ear, "There's no way this is the last time you'll have to deal with me."

Her eyesight started to get blurry. She chuckled, kind of like a shriek. "I'm glad."

Lastly, she gave Grover one big hug, who looked like he was just on the edge of passing out. Thalia winked at them, and then went to stand next to Artemis attentively, hands behind her back.

Matters circled back to killing Percy and the Ophiotaurus, for which Poseidon valiantly vouched for. They held a vote, and it seemed Poseidon had swayed them, because majority of the gods were in favour of not killing either of them.

"We have a majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes... I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"

'Celebration' was putting it mildly. The Nine Muses had the coolest sound system ever. Everyone seemed to be listening to something different; it played whatever you wanted to hear and it was awesome because you could listen to it even if you didn't know the name. No one would be arguing over the music, just requests to turn it up.

There were golden fountains overflowing with a surplus of ambrosia and nectar, and mortal snacks and goodies were lined on banquet tables while Dionysus walked hand-in-hand with a beautiful lady (Ariadne, Kia guessed) actually looking happy and growing refreshment stands out of the ground. Goblets similar to the ones at camp that filled up with whatever drink you wanted, and Kia was pretty sure she saw Grover was chugging coffee and chanting 'Pan, Pan!' like a prayer.

Kia had been looking for Thalia everywhere, but she had no luck. The most she'd gotten was being stopped by a few passing minor gods to dance or chat. She humoured them a little, but it seemed they could sense her being antsy to get away, so they politely excused themselves soon enough.