The Gift of the Lethe

Speaking of Olympus and Storms . . .

Despite the sensation that comes from their arrival being barely noticeable at all, Annabeth is quick to greet them when they arrive. She had been in the bedroom when they appeared in the kitchen, but she quickly comes running out, her hair a mess of curls and her hands almost flying to her hips.

"Please tell me that you're here to let me know what's going on?"

Pallas' mouth falls open in shock. "What?"

"The entire cabin has been calling me asking about a storm over Olympus and if I've heard anything. Please tell me that it's just a weird normal storm and not Zeus being pissed off?"

Pallas winces. "Well . . . it probably wasn't normal, but it's probably been taken care of now?"

Annabeth grimaces, running her hand down her face. "Oh gods, what happened?" She pauses and squints at Pallas. "Also, what happened to your arm?"

Pallas touches the false scar. "It's about the same story, I'm afraid." She sits on the couch, Athena sitting beside her and Annabeth in one of the armchairs.

She pauses, formulating her words, and Athena takes the chance to begin it herself. "Do you remember that tapestry your sisters wove, along with myself?" Annabeth nods, fear flickering across her face. "Zeus saw Thera's and believing it was mine, decided that Pallas was turning me against him. So he attacked her, striking her with lightning from the master bolt."

Pallas reaches for the hem of her shirt to lift it up and show the scars, before deciding to strip it off entirely and just sit in her sports bra. Thank the gods for that invention, it makes sparring and fighting easily more comfortable. But she digresses. Pallas wads up the fabric of the shirt and tucks it onto the couch beside herself before lowering her hand to reveal the scarring in its entirety.

Well, almost its entirety, in any case. Her bra still covers a small portion of it. The branching, fernlike scar spans the width of her stomach and curls up along her left side and chest before spreading along her shoulder and upper arm, peeking above her neckline to rise halfway up her neck as well. Annabeth gasps, her gaze fixed on the scars.

"Are those Lichtenberg Figures?!"

Pallas nods. "They are. Zeus attacked me, and it crossed the line Athena had set for him. She wouldn't tolerate his actions any longer. So she gathered allies and went to confront him on Olympus."

Annabeth pales. "This sounds dangerous."

Athena laughs. "It was, which is why I informed Camp Half-Blood that everyone was to stay in the camp for the time being. Now back to the story. We went to confront Zeus, fought him, and overthrew. This fight is what resulted in the storm over Olympus."

"What happened afterward?"

"Due to his crimes against the Fates, and his misuse of power, Zeus was stripped of his throne and domain and sentenced to an undetermined number of mortal lives. When his sentence is up, he will not regain his domain or throne, as well."

"Wait, so who's the ruler of the gods now? What's happening to Zeus' domain?" Athena gives her daughter a long look and Annabeth frowns. "What? Am I missing something? Why are you looking at me like that?" Then her eyes widen. "Wait, you?"

Athena nods, amusement spreading across her face. "Me, with Apollo as my second due to his experience living among you. As for Zeus' domain, . . ." She tilts her head toward Pallas, who flushes.

Annabeth gasps. "You're the new sky god? Well, goddess?"

Pallas grins. "Technically, my title is Goddess of Storms, but yes. Look-"

She touches the 'scarring' on her shoulder and the master bolt appears in her hands, glowing and humming. Annabeth gapes at it.

"That's the master bolt."

"It is. Have you seen it before?"

"When I was twelve, it was stolen and I went on a quest with Percy to return it to Zeus. It was right after he found out he was a demigod."

Pallas blinks. "I both want to ask, and don't want to at the same time."

Annabeth laughs. "Let's just say that it was orchestrated by Kronos and we recovered the bolt before anything happened."

Pallas stares at the bolt in question, innocently shining in her hand. After a moment, she sends it back into her scars, glimmering on her shoulder for a heartbeat. Athena leans forward beside her, gaze pinned on Annabeth.

"I thought you should know that the policy on interacting with our children has changed. We are free to spend time with them, though assistance on quests is limited - unless specifically asked by the child in question - so that you are able to prove yourselves. Not to us, but to yourself and the camp. I'm planning on introducing Pallas to the cabin, if you would like to join us. I can bring you back afterwards."

Annabeth beams. "They'll love to see you. Let me write a note to Percy, he's in one of his evening classes right now."

She steps over to the shelf to grab a pad of paper, and then to the kitchen to grab a pen from one of the drawers. While she's scribbling out a message to Percy, Pallas pulls her top back on to cover the scars. Annabeth is ready by the time Pallas is comfortable, and the two of them take Athena's hand, as Pallas honestly has no idea of how to travel herself. She'll have to learn that later on. As she's thinking, the sensation of feathers swirl around the trio to carry them away.

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What do you think of this chapter? How will the camp greet them? What will happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next time in the final chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out