The Awakening

Dad?

Percy's POV

Just when I thought that things between my dad and I were cool, he had to throw this at me. I could tell Sophie was shocked, but not as much as me. She probably knew about this, but the way she looked at me made me assume she thought that she was the only one apart of the project.

"Twins?!" she squeaked, trying and failing to keep the panic out of her voice. Why is she concerned about us being twins when we have bigger fish to fry, like Dad?!

"Yes, Sophie, I understand the scorn that twins face in your world," Poseidon agreed, a sad glint in his eyes. "Part of the reason I altered your appearance was to make sure that, in the unlikely case that demigods and elves met in the middle of missions, you would not be seen as a child of mine. And, your creator had a simple explanation for your brown eyes, relating to them as an effect of modeling your DNA off an alicorn's. Whereas, there would've been no explanation for your natural sea green eyes."

I looked over at her to see her nod numbly. Yes, I was still fuming from being lied to my whole life, but I decided not to argue as I had it easier than Sophie.

"I would explain more, and answer the questions I'm sure the both of you have. But, there are more pressing matters to address first." His expression turned darker, and I prepared for the bad news that always came from meetings with the gods. "The Neverseen pose a serious threat to both worlds. You must work together to defeat them, both elves and demigods. First, I would advise you to show Percy around in the Lost Cities as it seems like most of your fights with the Neverseen will occur there. Introduce him to your friends, and learn from him.

"Later, Percy, you must bring your team of demigods to the Lost Cities for introductions. Your groups will train together, in preparation for what's to come. I'm afraid that some of the giants have allied with the Neverseen in a final attempt to overthrow Olympus, and now the Lost Cities. It is up to you two to thwart them. When the time comes, the gods will be on your side."

And with that, Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades went back to arguing while the other gods and goddesses sat stunned. Obviously, the others wanted to protest and call Poseidon stupid, but they knew better than to get in the middle of a fight between the Big Three.

I lightly tugged on Sophie's arm, gesturing out the way we came, and she followed silently. She wasn't even introduced to her father the first time they met, which made me feel even worse for her than I already did. I figured it was time I assumed the role of supportive older brother.

"Hey, don't worry. The gods act like this all the time. All they know is doom and gloom. They're not the best when it comes to their children," I said, attempting to pour all of my love and support in each word. She offered me a small smile and grabbed my hand, squeezing it softly.

"Thank you," she said, and sighed the second we stepped into the elevator. I moved forward to press the button marked 'lobby', but she pushed my hand away and lit up the 102nd button.

At my confused look she explained, "I'm taking us to the Lost Cities now so that you can meet my friends. We have to be high up for it to work."

I nodded, but on the inside my gut twisted nervously. It's not that I'm afraid of heights, more like heights and I aren't exactly compatible.

"What exactly do we have to do?"

"Well, you're going to hold onto my hand while we both jump off the building. I'm going to focus all of my energy on creating a rift into the void. Then, as we appear into nothingness, I'm going to concentrate on the place I want to go and bring us there. It's not that bad," she said, as if she'd done this with all of her friends. On second thought, maybe she did.