A little while later, we had finally arrived at the airport, courtesy of a limousine that was waiting for us near the beach. We didn't really trust it at first but as soon as the drivers window was lowered and Charon empty eye sockets stared back at us, we knew to trust him. And why wouldn't we trust the only transportservice that every Greek mortal will get to enjoy, atleast those that could pay.
"Hades asked for it, if you are wondering. Originally I wanted to object but honestly, the souls won't go anywhere, not that they would even be able to leave. And then he told me who I would be driving. Not going to miss a chance if one presents itself to me. Though I did have to dodge Thanatos a lot. That brother of mine looked about ready to kick my teeth out."
TF? Why was the god of death so.... You know what? I'm not even going to bother finishing that question. Something tells me the answer is more disturbing than what I can come up with.
Yeah, so after that and a weird look given to me by Grover, we arrived at the airport. Of course we couldn't forget Annabeth. Well, we could but Grover probably wouldn't get that license. Anyway, she is currently fast asleep and trapped not only in the form of a spider, one about as big as a grown adults hand, while trapped in a terrarium.
I also made her incredibly cute, like very cute. Or maybe I was just weirdly influenced by my Father-Spider form. Yeah, that's probably it.
Speaking of spiders, guess what the dream I trapped her in was about?
No? You can't guess?
Well, let's just say that I do love tormenting her if there is no way for her to know it was me. That dream she is having? It's more like the same nightmare I had that resulted in my giant spider form.
That's right. She is currently crawling through Tartarus as the very thing she has a phobia off. I hope she likes it because I won't wake her up until we're back at camp.
We got stopped by the gate as the TSA-Employees questioned us about the safety regarding the spider we had with us.
Our answer was: "Well, the terrarium is sealed as best as we can. The Glas is reinforced for traveling and she has been fed mice with sleeping drugs." (Grover)
The employees weren't really convinced but a bit of Hellish magic, mostly to make them more lazy and therefore negligent and a good amount of" Puppy Eyes" later, we were already seated in the aircraft. It was a Boeing and we all know what their standard quality is. Somehow, something that didn't suprise me was the intro that played once we started the small TVs installed.
"Sky Entertainment presents to you... A Greek seduction.... The Godly Lover!"
The brands logo was.. You guessed it. A mother ducking lightning. And the considerably bad wordplay with seduction and production didn't fly over my head either.
Neither did the fact that every seat and even the plane itself was covered in small hidden lightning logos.
Atleast that explains why Boeing is so bad at actually arriving at their location without engine failures and rapid, unplanned descent into the ground. This entire company was either sponsored or created by Zeus.
The flight was long, riddled with turbulences and filled with me staring at the roof of the aircraft while mumbling about how we had his lightning and what I would do with it if he decided we needed to die. That probably didn't calm him down but atleast it made him reconsider whether he actually wanted to lose his weapon somewhere in America where no one would find it. But eventually we arrived in New York and immediately headed to the Empire State Building. Annabeth, still asleep and trapped in that nightmare, was of course still in her terrarium. We wouldn't let her free before we arrived at camp because there was a real possibility for her to hotwire a car und then try to run us over. Grover and I weren't going to risk it. Thanks to both of us smelling like death, no monster tried to get closer.
We entered the skyscraper as soon as we could and there, right behind the entrance desk (or whatever those are called) sat a member of security. He wore a hat with the symbol of Olympus right in the center. We approached, though Grover told me that he would stay back and ensure Annabeths "safety". More like neither of us wanted to bring her transformed ass in front of the olympian council and risk getting cursed by Athena.
"Hello, I believe I have a meting with Lord Zeus scheduled? It should be under the name Jackson." I tried to sound official, that was fewer people would feel inclined to listen in.
"Ain't no meeting here, boy. Go back to mummy and cry about it."
So the guard was dismissive. Big deal.
I placed my hand on the desk and stared him deep into the eyes and said: "Dudy, I have the divine equivalent of 78 nuclear bombs in my backpack. All primed to explode if anyone but Zeus tries to use that lightning bolt. Send me up or I will take your live."
The guard stared back, his face palled at the mention of the explosives but as soon as I threatened him, a look of pride and annoyance took over.
" Listen here brat. I may not be one of the big ones, but I am still an immortal so you better... " but I Interrupted him. "First of all let me remind you, 78 nuklear bombs and second of all. Who do you think put Ares in that state? Because he certainly didn't just fall down a flight of stairs."
That shut him up. Quickly.
Afterwards the guy didn't hesitate or argue anymore and instead asked me to follow him to the elevator and upon entering it, he inserted a key into the console, turned it and pressed the newly appeared button indicating the 600th floor.
As the doors closed, the guard staying on the ground floor, I began to fix my appearance.
During the ascent, my connection to fate flared, allowing me to see what would happen if I appeared before the council as I was. They would put me to death, one that wouldn't be comfortable or throw me into Tartarus.
So, as to prevent that, I took out my grimoires and searched for a spell or seal that would hide my monstrous features and unnatural talents. Basically everything that wouldn't fit into the picture of a powerful but regular son of Poseidon. The seal I found, one that was quickly made and only traceable by users of the same magic system, was a mix of black and hellish magic. It affected the soul, body and even the mind of the sealed. I used it quickly on myself. Turning my body into that of a demigod, my soul into a human one and my mind into a regular, untraumatized one.
Well, as far as being a demigod would allow it.
Finally the elevator arrived. The path from it to the council chambers was long and scenic. A golden stone path lay in what could only be described as a field of clouds. I stretched for into a big fortress in the distance, walls made out of clouds with gold and marble peeking out sometimes. Golden towers and pale blue arcs connected the towers. Further inside one could see rows and rows of temples and houses.
As I walked along the path music began to play around me. Not my taste but still good. It was a slow, majestic beat that was meant to impress but it only managed to set a mood for me. It quickly got boring as after only 2 minutes it began again. From the start and continued to repeat.
Eventually I passed through the gates and was greeted by more clouds, Greek temples and buildings and again, more clouds. It reached a point where, even if just for a second, I was left wondering if Zeus had a small side gig as a certain god. His behavior would certainly fit with the old testament God. Even if a lot less sleeping around was happening.
Anyway, getting the picture of Zeus, sitting on a throne of clouds while throwing temper tantrums and quite possibly fucking some Angel, was very difficult. Mostly because of the worrying amount of clouds around. But also because it wouldn't be out of character for him. After some time I managed to block out the image, which was good. Though, mostly for my mental health.
The council chambers soon appeared with their giant, god-sized gates and an unhealthy amount of gold, marble and other precious metals. Some minor gods lingered around the corridors and a few even nodded to me in greeting. They probably felt like I was some minor god since the aura of the sea was literally pooling around me.
Finally I knocked on the giant gate.