Mateo prayed to Hades, asking for permission to enter the underworld. If he was going to do this, he wanted to do it right. Hades must have agreed as he met him at Charon's entrance.
"Hey, I need to deliver the news to some friends. I promise it will take less than 20 minutes."
Hades nodded in understanding, "Come on. Take your time."
Mateo followed him through the underworld. As he walked through the land of the dead, he couldn't help but feel sad. All of his friends and family will come here when their stories are over, but his- his will never end. He walked through Elysium to meet his friends,one by one they all came into view. First he saw Mason, Caleb, Jess, and Juan all having a barbecue while Sola played a guitar.
"Hey guys!" He called out.
They all looked at him with wide sad joy filled eyes.
"Wait! How?!" Juan called out.
"I came to say goodbye. I won't be here when the rest come. I won't ever be here." Mateo said as he came towards them.
"What do you mean Mateo?" Mason asked.
"My mortality is being burned away, I am slowly turning into a god. I will never die in a way like you guys did."
Caleb gasped, "Like my dad?"
Mateo nodded, "Just like that. These letters will explain everything. Here." He said and handed them each a letter.
"Mateo, can I have one last hug?" Jess asked, he nodded, holding out his arms.
"Mat?" Zeno, the son of Jupiter, asked as he walked towards the barbecue.
"Yeah, I'm here, but I am not dead." Mateo gestured to the letters he handed out, "They will explain what the letter doesn't. I got to go, but before I do. Why are you here Zeno? You're not dead right?" Mateo asked, hugging Zeno.
He looked away, like he didn't want to answer the question truthfully, "Uh...I was talking to Elara yesterday and she mentioned a guy named Mason, so I asked around and found out that he was here." He scratched at the back of his neck, "So you know came to figure out if he was truly a bad guy." Mateo nodded understandingly, though he couldn't shake the feeling he was being lied to. Before meeting Hades at the gates, he waved one last time.
As he was walking away with Hades, he blinked away tears for what he hoped would be the last time that day.
Mateo arrived back at Olympus, just in time for the second meeting to get started.
"Before the Minor Gods show up, let's talk about who is required to be here." Zeus said, looking around the room.
"Zeus, Poseidon and Hades are required. Aphrodite and Ares are required, and Hermes is also required. And of course Mateo. Everyone else can leave or stay by their own choice. The minor gods coming are Triton, Kymopoleia, Phobos, Eros, Tyche, Khione, and Macaria. Thanatos and the Fates might make an appearance but no guarantee of anything." Athena said, reading off a pad.
Everyone in the room nodded to the ones that needed to stay, they stayed in their thrones. What seemed to be every other god left. Mateo got ready to walk over to his bean bag but was called back.
"We need you to stay next to me, you need to be here not just for the meeting but also so you can meet your siblings properly." Poseidon told him.
"Triton hates me." Mateo told his father. Any time he had tried interacting with his half-brother it always ended in him becoming a Mateo-kabob.
"He doesn't hate you, he just doesn't like you."
Mateo looked at his father like he was insane, "You just said the same thing I did, but with different words."
Hermes laughed, "Just stop trying to deny it and see what happens when he shows up." He told Poseidon.
His father nodded, looking toward the door, with a pout on his face.
As Mateo began to fidget in his spot, the beanbag was flashed over towards his father's throne. As he looked around to see who did it, he met eyes with Apollo, who threw a wink in his direction. Mateo looked back at the beanbag, before looking back towards the sun god. Apollo smiled gesturing towards the seat, nodding his head.
Mateo sat down on the beanbag when more seats were added into the room. There were chairs similar to the thrones finishing the circle that ones already there started to make. Mateo watched as the others arrived. First was Phobos, he saw Mateo and grinned, "Hello there. last I saw you, you were so tiny." He teased, taking a seat next to his father..
"For what its worth, I was 12 and still growing!" Mateo yelled, crossing his arms. Hermes and Apollo chuckled before the room was met with silence again.
"Great, if he is like this with all of them...this is going to be interesting." Hades huffed. Hermes nodded, but his smirk showed amusement.
The next to arrive was Kymopoleia. When she walked in she headed straight for Poseidon. "Father." She greeted, in a thick hollow voice.
"Kymopoleia." He greeted back, nodding his head.
She looked down at her half-brother. "Mateo, hope this meeting isn't about you." She said, a teasing hint to her voice.
"And what if it is?" He says back, a smirk on his face standing up.
She laughed, "So, haven't seen or felt anything from you recently, are you okay? You're not holding back again are you?" She looked sideways at their father.
"I am fine, just...they will explain when everyone else gets here." She nods, ruffling his hair.
"Okay..." Poseidon said, shaking his head. It had been years since he had seen someone interact with Kymopoleia so freely.
"What Father? Never seen someone be nice to their sibling before?" Kymopoleia asked.
"No...that's not it..when did you two meet?"
Mateo smiled, "She saved me from drowning." Kymopoleia nodded her eyes gleaming with happiness.
"But your my son… You can't drown."
Mateo nodded, "No I can't. Not by accident at least."
Next to arrive was Eros, saving Mateo from the issue of having to explain what he meant. He immediately saw the love god, his glare fixated on him.
"Mateo?" Hermes asked, noticing his change in demeanor. Eros turned to him, a smile on his face. "Mateo Diaz, how's that crush going?"
Mateo jumped up, "No! You don't get to do that! It was supposed to be my choice!"
Aphrodite looked over at her son, "Eros, what did you do?"
Eros looked at his mother, "I helped little Mateo here tell people who his crush was." He looked at Mateo, a smirk on his face, "For someone who is so observant of his friends' choices you sure were unaware of your own crush and sexuality." He teased some more.
"Mateo, breathe." Poseidon told his son.
Kymopoleia looked at her brother, before getting up. "Matty, look at me." She flashed in a jar of water. Everyone but Poseidon watched confused, none of them ever had to control emotions or train with them. "Focus on the water, let it out on the water." She told him, so he did so.
At first it was a slow tornado that formed in the middle of the glass. Then it started to speed up, and not long after the water then became violent. The jar started spinning then it exploded. All the glass remains vanishing in a snap.
"Better?" Kym asked, Mateo nodded.
Eros watched the whole scene with wide eyes, "Yeah I am going to go sit down." Poseidon and Kym chuckled watching as he quickly sat in his chair.
Next to arrive was the three Fates, when they flashed in everyone froze. One by one everyone stood and bowed.
"Rise." They all spoke together.
"Mateo Diaz, one can not escape one's fate." The left one said.
"We knew the minute your string was no longer able to be cut, the future you held." The right one said.
"That trip was supposed to trigger it, but you didn't allow it." The middle one said.
"αυτός που μπορεί να ξεφύγει από τη μοίρα του είναι αυτός που θα δημιουργήσει τη μοίρα του"( the one who can escape one's fate is the one to create one's fate) They all said at once.
The gods all let out a gasp looking at Mateo, after delivering that final sentence they flashed out.
Khione was next to arrive and she went straight to her seat. Mateo noted who she was the minute she entered. She was wearing a long white dress that appeared to be made out of icy silk. She wore a crown that sparkled in the light of the throne room, and her hair was dark and flowing. It contrasted against her crown making it more noticeable.
The next to arrive was someone Mateo never met, He watched as she arrived and headed straight to Hades. "Hello father."
Hades looked up, "Macaria." He greeted her in a soft surprised voice. She smiled before heading to her throne, her white dress flowing with every step, as if she was floating on air. When she sat down her blonde braided hair sat neatly on her shoulders.
The second to last to arrive was Thanatos, he looked around the room, nodded to Hades then took his seat.
"So as usual, Triton is late. Poseidon go fetch him." Zeus told his brother. Poseidon nodded with a slight glare, flashing out.
"Hey, Mateo, have you met our brother?"
Mateo smirked, "Which one?"
Kym smiled, "Why the merman of course."
As soon as she said that Poseidon flashed in with Triton.
"Oh..the merman that grew legs. Yeah he is right there." Mateo said, pointing towards Triton.
Kym laughed looking at Triton, "Hey brother."
Triton grumbled, "Of course these two are here. Why wouldn't they be, they're never not in trouble." Poseidon looked at Triton then at Mateo.
"See, he hates me." He said pointing at Triton.
"No he doesn't."
Triton looked at his father, "Yes. I do."
Kym shook her head, getting up. "Triton hates all his siblings, especially Mateo and me." Kym told her father.
"Why?" He asked Triton, truly confused.
"Because you choose Diaz over me daily, then there is the fact I grew up hearing how Kym shouldn't be at the Castle, and knowing this Mateo befriended her."
Poseidon looked at his son. "You told me she saved you from drowning."
Mateo shook his head. "I didn't befriend her, she is my sister, so if she made a mistake, you once called me a mistake, so does that mean anyone who helped me or was nice to me are also mistakes? You should know I give second chances, from the sounds of it, you weren't the nicest father to any of us so, be glad the one child that joined the wrong side wasn't totally on that side." Mateo said, looking at his father.
Poseidon frowned but nodded. Triton walked away to his seat then the meeting started.
Zeus looked at Mateo amazed, he was able to calm Poseidon and win an argument. "The meeting shall now start!" Zeus yelled out. "Poseidon please explain the recent discovery." The minor gods watched with worry.
"Mateo Diaz will start the process of his ascension tomorrow. He will become a god in a month's time." Poseidon sat down after he said what he needed to.
"So, it's basically Dionysus all over again?" Thanatos asked.
"Precisely. We will announce his domains after he has ascended. However, if he is a part of anyone's domains here, you are to teach him the rules and ways to get his jobs done." Everyone nodded. "Thanatos, you are to help when his soul starts to burn away, keep him stable." Zeus told the grim reaper.
"Okay."
Zeus looked at Khione. "Khione, you are to spread word of this to the sky and wind gods." Khione nodded. "Kymopoleia. You are to control any storms that Mateo may cause when he starts the process." Kym nodded.
"Triton you are to spread news to the Atlantis Council and Citizens." Poseidon told his son.
"Eros you are to spread word to the love gods and gods in your domain. Same with you Phobos." They both nodded, "Macaria you are to spread word to the underworld and to the gods in your domain." She nodded.
"Now, Hades, Poseidon, Aphrodite and Ares, with them being your children, you guys are to make sure they do this." They all nodded. "Now, the meeting is dismissed!" Everyone stood up. "Mateo!" Zeus said, Mateo stepped forwards towards the middle of the room. "You get some sleep, you have a long and painful month ahead of you."
Mateo nodded heading out of the Throne room, to his father's temple to lay down. He thought about the meetings today. They were long and very eventful. He started to think of things to look forward to, struggling to think of things he actually wanted. He will find out his domains in a month, but he has to learn control again. Tomorrow he starts the very painful process of ascending. Before he could get another thought in he started to fall asleep feeling a warm hand run through his hair. Before he closed his eyes he saw Apollo next to him with the basket from the meeting earlier. Before he could get a word out to the Sun god, he fell asleep.
Apollo stood at the edge of Mateo's bed, a small smile on his face. Even with all the hardships Mateo has gone through he couldn't help but drop his hard face facade when the peace of sleep took him.